Show and Tell Tuesday: Our Yard

One of the blogs I've gotten wrapped up in recently is Mix and Match Family.  And by wrapped up I mean, I sit on my couch nightly reading from the very beginning! Anyway, that blog led me to Momfessionals, which has been having a bi-weekly link up called Show and Tell Tuesdays.  This week just happens to be about showing off your yard, and since one of the things I want to write about is our house renovation process I thought this was the perfect thing to link up with!

Quick background info: We started moving into our house in March 2014.  It's a very long story (that I'll go into later) but it was a home that was vacant for years and needs a lot (!) of TLC.  We didn't actually fully move into the home until May and although it has a loooooooong list of renovation projects one of the first areas we started to conquer was the back yard.  Why? Well, our daughter was getting baptized in October and our plan was to have her reception in our back yard.  Totally validates working on the yard before the inside of the house, right? ;)

The "before" pictures

(I apologize for the quality of the before pictures.  These are pictures I took with my iPhone of my camera display.  I then ended up losing the memory card with these (and about 2,000 other pictures!) on it, so these are all I have to show the before shots :( )

Looking straight back from our back door

Looking to the left

Looking to the right

The (original) "To Do" list:

1.  Remove large tree stump

2.  Create a garden bed along the back wall

3.  Pull up old grass and lay new sod

4.  Replace funky trees with new ones (I want dwarf fruit trees)

5.  Throw down large brick grill/oven thing (doesn't work and is an eye sore)

6.  Get rid of all the clutter (there are probably 60 pots scattered around the yard)

7.  Replace patio cover (current one is old, rusty, and held up in one corner with a wood slab)

8.  Clean up rock area around the shed (no before picture, it is beyond the picnic table in the last picture)

9.  Clean up dirt/weed/goat head mess on the far, far right of yard (no before picture)

10.  Clean up garden bed along the back of the house (no before picture)

11.  Pull down clothesline

12.  Paint back gate (it's a light maroon color now)

13.  Level out dirt on walkway to gate, lay stepping stone, lay a garden bed one either side

14.  Level out walkway extending to the left and right of back yard (ideally, just replace it)

15.  Stain concrete on patio

16.  Pull up walkway that extends straight out from patio and make one big grassy area for the kids to play

17.  Buy new patio furniture (for lounging) and create a sitting area with a fire pit

18.  Buy new outdoor dining table

19.  Buy swing set and other fun toys for the kids

20.  Move shed so that it isn't in the center of the back yard

As you can see, the list was lengthy...and overwhelming!

Now, for the reason you came over.  Here is a look at our back yard today.

The "after" pictures:

Looking straight back from our back door

Looking to the left

Looking to the right

Walkway to the back gate (imagine a pile of dirt, a bunch of weeds, goat heads and dead grass - that was the "before")

Beyond the shed and to the left (not much work was done here)

Beyond the shed and to the right (not much work was done here, either)

The current "to do" list:

1.  Remove large tree stump

2.  Create a garden bed along the back wall

3.  Pull up old grass and lay new sod

4.  Replace funky trees with new ones (I want dwarf fruit trees)

5.  Throw down large brick grill/oven thing (doesn't work and is an eye sore)

6.  Get rid of all the clutter (there are probably 60 pots scattered around the yard) 

7.  Replace patio cover (current one is old, rusty, and held up in one corner with a 2x4 wood slab)

8.  Clean up rock area around the shed (no before picture, it is beyond the picnic table in the last picture)

9.  Clean up dirt/weed/goat head mess on the far, far right of yard (no before picture)

10.  Clean up garden bed along the back of the house (no before picture)

11.  Pull down clothesline

12.  Paint back gate (it's a light maroon color now)

13.  Level out dirt on walkway to gate, lay stepping stone, lay a garden bed one either side

14.  Level out walkway extending to the left and right of back yard (ideally, just replace it)

15.  Stain concrete on patio

16.  Pull up walkway that extends straight out from patio and make one big grassy area for the kids to play

17.  Buy new patio furniture (for lounging) and create a sitting area with a fire pit

18.  Buy new outdoor dining table

19.  Buy swing set and other fun toys for the kids

20.  Move shed so that it isn't in the center of the back yard

As you can see, we still have a long way to go, but I'm happy with the progress :)

  

Day In The Life 6.8.15

I figured one of the easiest ways to introduce myself and allow you a chance to get to know me was to just dive right in and start with a "day in the life" post.  These are always one of my favorite blog posts to read as I love to get a glimpse into other people's typical days.

So, let's get this party started :)

8:05 a.m.  After lying in bed for a while listening to the Hubby get ready for work I finally got myself out of bed.  Perfect timing as my Son, C, got up less than a minute later.

8:07 a.m.  He always needs a little bit of time to wake all the way up before we start the day with breakfast and getting ready and such.  So, I turned on a Kate & Mim Mim episode from the DVR and sat on the couch with him to get a little computer time in before the baby woke up.

 He looks really sad, but that's just his "I'm still tired" face

8:40 a.m.  After the show ended he was ready for some breakfast, so we made our way to the kitchen for some cereal.  On the weekends we do big, hot breakfast meals, but during the week he's all about the cereal.  As long as he's been a good eater for his lunch and dinner meals the previous days I oblige. 

8:44 a.m.  While he enjoys his cereal I make my bottle of water and convince myself that the lime makes it taste so much better.  I absolutely hate drinking water and am horrible about it.  I've made a goal for myself that I have to drink this bottle of water before I can drink anything else for the day.  Still not nearly enough but it's a start.

8:49 a.m.  Hop back online to finish reading a blog post before getting ready to attack the rest of the day.

8:52 a.m.  After C finishes his cereal he works on some puzzles.  This has been one of his favorite activities since he was a little over a year.  

Again, he looks sad, but he just isn't a morning person (like his Momma!)

8:54 a.m.  Get a load of laundry started.  I've gotten way too far behind and feel as though I'm never going to be able to catch up.

I wish this was all of it, but it's not :(

8:55 a.m.  Go check on E who is sleeping WAY past her normal wake-up time.  She's still snoozing away, and since we don't have anywhere we need to be I don't wake her.  Instead, I utilize the time to hang out with C and get some housework done.

She starts out the night in her own bed, but always ends up in our bed by morning

9:24 a.m.  Realize that I never ate any breakfast and grab a quick (and very unhealthy!) oatmeal cream pie instead.

9:39 a.m. C asks me if I want to sit on the couch and cuddle.  I'm majorly guilty of being the "just a minute/hold on" Mom, so I stop what I'm doing and sit with him.  At 4 I know my days of him wanting to do this are limited, so I'm trying to absorb the moments when I can.

10:15 a.m.  We hear a little voice calling out and C races into our room at record speed.

They are normal siblings that argue, refuse to share and tattle like crazy, but gosh do they love each other

10:17 a.m.  Unlike her brother, E wants to eat the second she wakes up, so it's cereal time for her.

10:19 a.m.  While she's eating breakfast I head out to the backyard to check on our garden.  We had grand plans of doing a big vegetable garden bed, but it ended up turning into a container garden instead.  C thinks it's pretty awesome either way, so nobody's upset that our garden bed never got built.

10:21 a.m.  Since it's so hot and dry everything needs to be watered.  I'm more excited than I probably should be that our rain bucket is actually full enough to use it for the watering.

10:28 a.m.  After I get all the veggies watered I move on to the flower bed.  Gotta hook up the regular hose to get that job done.

We planted several mum plants last year for E's baptismal reception.  It makes my heart so happy to see that they are coming back this year :)

I also take a look at what flowers are doing well so far and what aren't.  It's only my second year trying out a flower garden, so there's lots of trial and error going on around here with that.

This little guy is surviving no problem

10:35 a.m.  After getting everything watered I head back over to the veggies to prune and harvest.

10:37 a.m.  C is excited to see what I brought in and even gives a piece of romaine a try.

He is the pickiest eater in the world, so I'm beyond excited that he's trying "salad" from his garden

I really have no clue what I'm actually doing.  My Sprout It app is loved more than you know for helping me out in the veggie garden department :)

10:38 a.m.  Start working on getting everyone ready for the day which involves laying out clothes, pulling out toothbrushes, rounding up last night's dirty clothes etc.

Yay! More dirty laundry ::sarcasm::

11:02 a.m.  Finally get around to getting myself ready.  We don't always get dressed so late in the day, but it's Monday and we have no plans, so we were lazy today ;)

One of my favorite little corners: the glass jar holding my perfume samples used to belong to my Grammy, one seashell is from my trip to California (Disneyland) with my sister in 2004, and the other seashell is from our Disney Cruise honeymoon in 2008.  Makes me happy to see these 3 things every morning :)

11:18 a.m.  I'm finally dressed and C got ready while I did, now it's time to get E dressed and ready for the day.

I don't know how long it will last, but right now she is SO good about sitting still and letting me do her hair.

All ready for the day!

11:22 a.m.  Time for some playing and Pandora streaming

11:42 a.m.  Time to start thinking about lunch, so I text the Hubs to see if he will be able to come home today or not.  While I wait for his response I go tackle some quick cleaning.  I set the timer for 15 minutes and made all 3 beds, switched out a load of laundry, and folded what was in the dryer. 

Don't ya just love the "artwork" above our bed ;)

12:10 p.m.  Still waiting to hear back from Hubs, so I sit down to plan out what to do for dinner and update the never ending to do list with things I though of while folding laundry.

12:48 p.m.  Still haven't heard back from Hubs and kids are still playing nicely so I go tackle their bathroom real quick.

Before

After

Clean towels and my favorite boat ;)

12:55 p.m.  Kids are ready for lunch, so I get them started and grab myself a handful of carrots for now.

Lunch was easy today since we had leftover chicken and rice from last night's dinner

1:02 p.m.  Hubs apologizes for being stuck in a meeting and lets me know he won't be able to come home for lunch today :(  I heat myself up some lunch as we continue to chat back and forth via text for a bit.

Fun, fun, fun!

1:42 p.m.  Everybody is fed and happy, so I decide we need to venture out of the house for a bit.

I got the cutest leather riding boots at Kohl's last week, but when I got them home I realized one of the boots had a broken zipper.  Thankfully they had another pair in my size that wasn't broken.  Do you see the price on those babies? #clearanceforthewin

We were already at the mall, so it would've been a sin not to take a peek ;)

2:36 p.m.  I conquered my two errands, so I stopped to let the kids have some fun.  

Unfortunately, this stinky ride ate the only 3 quarters I had :(

In an attempt to sidetrack their sadness over the broken ride I pointed out the photo booth that takes debit cards.  We loaded in and then I saw this message when I swiped my card #mallfunfail

3:03 p.m.  Back home and I made some ice cream for everyone to forget about all the broken things at the mall.

They enjoyed their ice cream & I unloaded my goodies :)

I finished my water which means I get the good stuff ;)

3:25 p.m.  It's nap/quiet time, so I sit down to look into the trips I was texting the Hubby about earlier in the day.

Maybe next year #nofenwaymeansnobostontrip

4:28 p.m.  Doorbell rings bringing an end to nap time.  I would've been more mad if I didn't open my door to see a stack of goodies waiting for me.

Gotta love those free samples and GWP codes

Sadly half of it is going back due to improper fit

4:54 p.m.  More playtime for the kiddos and texting Hubs and sister for me.  We decide on a couple more places to research for our getaway.

5:51 p.m.  I get to work in the kitchen (dishes and dinner) while the kids play outside and the Hubs climbs onto the roof to check on our air that wasn't working well today.

7:31 p.m.  We all sit down to enjoy dinner and talk about our day.

8:39 p.m.  Time for clean up and bedtime routine.  I do another load of dishes, C picks up his toys, Hubs gives E her bath.

8:57 p.m.  Kitchen is clean(ish), toys are picked up, kids are bathed.  Time for prayers, one show and lights out.

I never wanna forget the look of their sweet little hands saying goodnight prayers

9:01 p.m.  It's my turn to put E to bed (we rotate nights because she is difficult to get to sleep).  Tonight was worse than usual and it takes a little over an hour before she is out for the night.

10:22 p.m.  I do some more blog reading while we watch an episode of Hell's Kitchen and enjoy a few too many cookies.

11:17 p.m.  I sneak a peek at the kids before getting ready for bed myself.

This looks so uncomfortable to me, but he always sleeps like this

11:23 p.m.  I climb into bed and turn on a guilty pleasure before fading off to sleep myself.

So, there you have it.  Most days we aren't quite so laid back ::coughcough:: lazy ::coughcough::  But it's also never anything glamorous or over the top.  We are just your typical family of four living our day to day life.  Throw in some minor house renovations and a love for Disney and traveling...and especially combining the two, and that's us :)