Well, I had some time post-4AM and pre-leave-for-work and had been wanting to make it so I could actually eat breakfast at, you know, the breakfast nook in the kitchen.

All of us in the house have a bad habit of just tossing stuff on available horizontal space and leaving it there and this counter is an extremely good target.

I took it upon myself to be the one to clean it up this time and I thought it would be a good surprise for Mary. Well, the kids got up and out without supervision and managed to turn my nice surprise into an lovely AM annoyance for her and my mom. There were two vases, one with a rose and one that Jarrod made ("pen flowers" in dry beans). Because I made the stools accessible and the counter area free to access the items, Ian took the beans and scattered them all over the floor.

Sigh.

We both got a good post-event laugh out of it, tho, and the space is clear now (for how long remains to be seen)...

Jarrod did a self-portrait as part of an art activity from the Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School (PAVCS). They have a robust art program and Jarrod does more in it that I ever did, even in high school.