How I got a farmer's tan

The weather has been warm enough lately that I've been thinking about yard work. I've decided that I really want to try harder this year to learn what I am doing and work to make a decent vegetable garden. I also have been unhappy with the front flower bed since we moved in. Looking at this picture, you can clearly see why:Ugly plants and little greenery.

Ryan went out of town last week, and I made a secret plan to do something about both the garden and the flower bed. I figured it would give me and the kids something to do, and that it would be better for Ryan to not see all the mess involved in the process!Monday I went with my neighbor, her 2 kids and my 3 youngest to the nursery to pick out plants. The kids had a great time following each other (okay, I'll admit that they were running for a good portion!) around with red wagons while the moms looked at seeds and plants and bushes and more plants. After about an hour and a half, I walked out of there with 3 seed packets, 3 bags of compost, and 18 plants!

It was already mid-afternoon. I knew that although I had only marked 1 day on my calendar for planting, that it was going to go all week. I began by planting the peas, spinach, and lettuce in the garden. Then I moved to the front bed where I scraped off all the existing mulch and then started to dig off a lot of the dirt. When the builder did the yard initially, they made it a raised bed. But I thought it was up too high in comparison to the lawn and the way the yard slopes to the side . . . it made all the water run off. So my goal was to make everything a lot more level. I thought I'd have the boys help me for Family Home Evening, but they were so tired from playing outside all afternoon that I let them have a movie and popcorn night inside while I moved a few bushes around outside. Yes, besides purchasing 16 plants for the front and 2 strawberry plants for the back, I also moved around other existing plants! I'm crazy, I know!

Tuesday was cold and rainy so I spent my energies on other things that day. But Wednesday was nice and sunny again and so I got back to work outside. I bet by the end of the week my neighbors were tired of seeing me out there! Before I could plant anything, I wanted to get some rocks for the sloping side, to help with the drainage issues and help prevent the bed looking lop-sided. Lucky for me, we have some empty lots close by that have some nice rocks. Although yoga has helped tone my arms slightly in the last few months, my muscles were no match for the rocks! So my kind neighbor was home and he helped me bring 3 rocks over to our yard. Soon after that, another neighbor came out to see what I was up to. She was so kind to help be another set of eyes to decide what would look best for the rock placement. She even got in the dirt with no shoes on to help move things around! About the time we were done with that, my other neighbor came out and helped solve a plant placement dilemma. All of my neighbors were so helpful all week, and I couldn't have done it without them!

I did a lot of the work while Elizabeth was sleeping. But there were times I wanted to be out there when she was awake, yet I couldn't just let her crawl around the grass. Nathan and Benjamin LOVED taking her on walks around the cul-de-sac in her stroller, and she loved it too. It was so helpful for me to get things done! With some "help" from about 5 of the boys in the neighborhood, I got about half of the plants in by Wednesday night. By Thursday dinner time I had all the plants in, the weed blocker tarp on, and almost all the mulch back on. Plus an arm tan, stronger biceps, and sore muscles to show for it!

The "after" shot

I got the last of the mulch on and all the trash and dirt cleaned up on Friday, just in time for the weather to snow/rain a little. Ryan got home that evening, and just as I had predicted -- he didn't even notice when he pulled up! That's okay, I did this surprise for him more as a treat for me :) (To be fair to Ryan, he was just focused on getting home from being gone a whole week. Now that he has seen it, he loves it!)

This side view is from the sidewalk just leading up to the porch and front door.

There are 4 Japanese eunonymous bushes, 6 asters, 6 columbines, plus 2 Pot of Gold I brought up from the backyard (to make room for the strawberries in the back). Plus the burning bush in the middle that was there before, and 2 other plants that were there before that got moved around. All perennials, many of them that will flower, so it can hopefully be fairly low-maintenance.

before
after (LOVE the rocks!)

My teenage self would be shocked to know that I ENJOYED doing yard work this week! It was hard work, but it feels so good to have a vision and to put in the work to make that vision come to fruition. I am so happy with how it turned out -- I keep peeking out my front window just to see it! And I am so glad to have gotten it done so early in the season so we can enjoy it all spring and summer!

Jacks for Jack

Here is the latest quilt I've completed.

It is for my brother's newest son, Jack. Jack was born 2 days ago . . . look at his cute dark hair!
This is one of my favorite quilts I've done in a long time. It took FOREVER to pick out the fabric, but I'm happy how it turned out.
Nathan looked at it before I packed it up for mailing and said, "It's jacks for Jack!" I hadn't thought of it that way, but he was right.
Welcome to the family, Jack!

Things I learned today

1. When a contractor is scheduled to come to your home, and you plan your day around the 2-hour window of when they might show up, it is actually possible for them to come early! 2 hours early. It ended up being perfect timing!

2. You can get a free dinner for the entire family at McDonald's if you show up on a night that their machine cannot process the gift card you are trying to use. Thank you Eastbay Mickey D's!

3. It is somehow possible to clean the fridge (scrub out the inside) impromptu on a very busy day, even though you've had plenty of slow days where nothing got done!

4. Spending a day outside in sunny 55* weather makes 46* with wind and clouds the next day feel much much colder . . . brrrr!!

5. 8-year-old cub scouts, Scouting for Food plastic bags, and wind are not the best combination. However, their energy and excitement to run around in the cold makes up for the bags that were later seen blowing across the neighborhood! And we got the job done amazingly fast!

6. The checkout lines at Sam's Club are much shorter at 7:30 on a Tuesday night than they are on weekday mornings at 11:00.

7. Although we have some rough moments here and there, I truly am blessed with wonderful kids! (I already knew that, but today they reminded me of it!) I can count on at least 1 of my boys helping me when needed (it usually rotates which one), they can be so good in public that strangers compliment, and they get along well with each other.

Playing on St. Patty's Day

Yesterday turned out to be a little more exciting than I had originally planned (or maybe it's that originally I didn't plan!). Ryan called me a little while after getting to work, wondering if he had left his wallet at home. Sure enough, it was still on the dresser. I know he just planned to be without it all day and drive home very carefully. But I got the idea to take the 3 younger kids (Nathan was still in school) and show up at Dad's work around lunch time and surprise him.

Benjamin and Joshua were very excited -- I think more for the opportunity to eat at Dad's work than for the actual surprise factor. They love getting to eat the frozen pizzas that are at work! Ryan was surprised to see us and get his wallet, and then we went to Uncle Brett's office to say hi to him.

While we waited for the pizza to cook, Ryan made one of his famous sandwiches -- it looks beautiful, tastes amazing, uses many ingredients, and takes Ryan about 15 minutes to construct! Uncle Brett and the boys played ping pong in the adjoining room.

Brett had fun serving 3 balls at a time to Joshua.
Joshua tried 3 paddles at once. That lasted for about 30 seconds when he decided 3 is not better than 1!
Once the pizza was ready, the kids and I ate on the couch while we watched Ryan and Brett play a lively ping pong game. Brett got off to a good lead, but then Ryan came back and won the game. This puts their ongoing game total to Ryan -- 9 wins, Brett -- 0. Sorry, Brett!

This is Benjamin's whiteboard drawing; with Brett on the left, Ryan on the right, and me with the 2 boys and our pizzas on the couch (on top). Elizabeth was in her carrier on the floor, and so I guess she didn't make the picture!
The afternoon consisted of lots of great outdoor time. The weather was perfect -- so perfect that I actually did some yard work!

What to make for dinner? Some days I figure out the answer to that question much sooner than others. I kept procrastinating that decision until about 5:00 when I realized that it was St. Patrick's Day and so maybe I should make a green dinner. The kids were so excited when they saw we were having a green breakfast dinner!
Nathan looked at the scrambled eggs on the stove and asked, "What is that?"
Me: "Eggs."
Nathan: "No, really. What is it?"
Me: "Eggs. Think Green Eggs and Ham."
Nathan: "Okay. But what is that?"
It took me a few minutes to convince him that they really were eggs!

A yummy dinner was had by all -- a great end to a beautiful spring day!

4 kids are easier than 1!

I know that statement seems impossible to newer moms, but here is proof why more kids can be easier (sometimes!):

Normally Elizabeth eats her dinner at the same time as the rest of the family. But on this day she was so ready to eat right when I was in the middle of cooking dinner. I couldn't do both at the same time, and neither could wait. What to do? Get the 8-year-old to feed her!
I was a little nervous at the mess that could happen, but oh well! Nathan was SO excited to be in charge of helping his little sister.

Benjamin and Joshua decided they wanted to help, too!
I love how Joshua is dancing in this picture!
This picture is a little dark, but I had to include it because it is an accurate portrayal at how bombarded Elizabeth got from her 3 eager brothers.And I'm happy to report that all went well. Elizabeth had a great dinner, and there was not any more mess than there normally is! Oh, and dinner turned out great, too!

Exploring

Elizabeth is quite the adventurer! She loves to explore the entire house.

She has recently discovered the open dishwasher:

Sometimes I will put her in her room to play with some toys so that I can help someone else. Within, oh about 30 seconds, she is out of her room and already into Benjamin and Joshua's bedroom. I guess she realizes that there are exciting legos and other people in there!
She loves to stand whenever she can. She will pull herself up to toy baskets, chairs, couches, and the stairs. When she is at the stairs, she will sometimes stay there for a while. She looks like she is trying to go UP the stairs. Not yet, Elizabeth. I'm not ready for that!