Backyard Makeover

What a difference two weeks can make! (and a tax return).

For the whole story, check out the slideshow. There are some similar shots but it shows you all the stages as I didn't always take a picture of every step from every angle.

So, here's what we did. The ($) means we paid other people to do it, not because we couldn't (at least, in some cases) but because we were realistic about what we could accomplish. Eric doesn't have the time around his work schedule and I don't have the energy after taking care of the kids, so it was totally worth the money. If you want to know what certain things cost, you can ask us and I'll tell you, I'm just not going to post it all here.

From start:

1. Cleared out weeds ($)
2. Removed the palm trees that grew after falling from our neighbor's giant palm ($)
3. Hauled off and dumped nearly 10 tons of debris ($)
4. Extended the pipes from the spigot in front around to the back ($)
5. Trenched out sprinkler system and drip line for the entire back yard, laid piping and connected wiring for an electronic timer box in the garage ($)
6. Leveled area for sod, brought in topsoil and prepared dirt ($)
7. Designed and laid decorative concrete border ($)
8. Laid sod (all a labor of love!)
9. Bought and planted 2 hibiscus (love!)
10. Pruned lemon and tangelo tree (love! well, all Eric, while I supervised with a cold drink on the patio)

To Finish!

Now it's just making sure the timer is set right to keep the sod properly watered, and buying a few more plants and connected them to the drip system. It's paradise here, people, so come visit!

Praise to the Man -aka Why I Love my Calling

I'm the primary chorister in my ward, so it's my job to teach a wide variety of songs to small children. I spend about two hours running and jumping and singing and marching and being very animated and energetic. Church has never been so much fun! or so tiring...

This month the kids are learning Praise to the Man (#27 in the LDS green hymnbook, click on the song title link to hear it through the lds.org music player) and although I initially was worried about the vocabulary lesson, I'm having a great time. Mostly because it's obviously meant to be sung as part of a parade. With streamers (aka ribbon pencils). And bagpipes (if you don't know this stupid human trick let me know, it's hilarious). And lots of marching around the room in circles.

Even more than that, however, is the chance to teach these kids about the Prophet Joseph Smith, and to hear their sweet voices so excited. I challenged them all last week to memorize the words (we're singing verses 1 & 3) and I would bring them a surprise. I haven't brought any treats before so I'm not shamed by the occasional bribery.

Scotty is helping me make cookies right now and he knows he won't get one just because he's my son, so he's working hard. He sang the chorus for me this morning:

"Hail to the Prophet, singing in Heaven!
Traitors and tigers now fight him in bed.
Singing with Gods he can plan for his brothers,
Death cannot conquer the hero again!"

I can't wait for primary today!

P.S. We have since made a few "adjustments" to words, but I think I like Scotty's version better....

Super Scotty

"I can't fly mama--I don't have wings or pixie dust."

This kid continues to alternately crack me up and drive me nuts (in a normal, kid way). There is not an off button, no volume button, and definitely no mute button on this one. I timed him on Monday to see how long he could go without talking. Care to guess? 20 seconds. From the time he woke up until early afternoon "quiet time" he literally only stopped to breathe. In the past few months he has grown a lot, as evidenced by the high-water church pants and tiny pajamas he can barely squeeze over his head. And he weighs 30 pounds! Not exactly a heavy weight, but at 3.75 years he's finally out of the 20s.

I found this self-portrait on my camera. Now I know where the phrase "getting off Scott-free" comes from ;o)

He continues to say hilarious things but is also pretty bossy. A month ago, as I was putting him to bed, he asked for a drink of milk instead of water. When I explained that we only drink milk at the table, he replied: "Mama, you're all done being in charge. I think I'm the mama now, and I want a drink of water."  Since then, I have tried to relinquish mom duties to him in exasperation. Scotty does the cooking and cleaning while I get to take a nap? Yes please! But then he panics because "he's not big enough to use to real hot stove, only the pretend one." Very true, but unfortunate. I could really use that nap!

Sometimes he outsmarts me. Last week I told him I had a lot we needed to get done and was very tired, so I needed him to be my good helper. He looked at me skeptically and asked: "Is it still Mother's Day?" Instead of laughing I replied that every day was Mother's Day! "What about Easter-day?" He asked under furrowed brows. Touche, little man, you caught me.

And two nights ago, while Eric was reading scriptures with him before bed, he related this gem of a conversation. "Why did God put angels and a fire sword in Eden's Garden? Is it because those people stole the snake's apples?"

he created this look all on his own.

Scotty gets himself dressed everyday but still struggles with shoes--and yes, they are VELCRO. It's not that he lacks the dexterity or even the know-how, he just doesn't see the point in struggling to learn something hard when he can ask someone to do it for him. So it's a work in progress. Fortunately, we live in AZ where he can wear flip flops pretty much everywhere but church, and he can handle those just fine. As for clothes, occasionally the pants end up backward or the shirt inside out, but most of the time he gets it right, and most of the time they even match. There have been a few awesome days where he proudly wore a navy blue shirt, black basketball shorts, red socks with brown shoes, and a green hat...

His vocabulary is enormous and he's starting to show some interest in letters. He recognizes S, C, O, T, Y, A, and E. He also knows 1, 3, 8, and 2/5. He makes a very valid point that S, 2, and 5 all look like snakes.... If I write his name on a piece of paper, he can write it below my example with decent clarity, all on his own. I never appreciated how hard it is to learn the correct grip on a pencil and how to push hard enough to make marks but not hard enough to puncture the paper! Skills, I'm telling you :o)

A plethora of projects

It's official: when it comes to hobbies I have a serious case of ADHD. One week I read 3 novels, the next I'm redesigning my entire blog, for about a day I actually enjoy cooking and trash my kitchen, then spend the next three days detailing my floorboards and the inside of my washing machine. These past two weeks I've been in a DIY decorating frenzy.

First up? A much better looking fan. The promised details and pictures.

Eric has been bugged by this fan since we moved in, but since it functions perfectly it seemed silly to pay $100 for a new one. Bring on the spraypaint!
1. Old school? Black, brass, grainy wood, nasty globes? CHECK.
2. Yes, it really was that bad.
3. Metal primer spraypaint ($3). Already it looks much better!
4. Hammered silver spraypaint ($6). Sometimes this didn't come out as even as I would have liked but once I got the hang of it it was super easy.
5. Espresso brown spray paint ($3). We then coated everything with 2 coats of clear sealer in satin ($4). For the next fan we plan to use a more glossy finish.
6. New globes ($4.50 for all three) from the Goodwill. Yay!
7. Eric was a great sport in letting me experiment. He probably thought we'd have to end up buying a whole new fan but he just nodded and smiled while I rambled about spraypaint and directed him toward "how to uninstall a ceiling fan" videos on Youtube. (it's actually not that hard, although you have to hold the fan above your head while standing on a ladder...)
8. Ta da! Total cost = $20. We have leftover brown spray paint for the next fan...

Family Time

Eric's busy season extended into May this year (LAME) so I did my best to keep the kids engaged in fun things. Scotty has a great sense of adventure and thinks we should go somewhere everyday, and I find that getting out of the house cuts down on my whining. It helps that Scotty loves being a big brother and helping out with Alyssa and that Alyssa thinks Scotty is the coolest thing ever.

We've hit up the children's museum, a Diamondbacks baseball game, the zoo to see the new orangutan exhibit, the splash pad, and a billion different playgrounds, playgroups, and errand running trips.

Eric snagged us tickets to a baseball game

Scotty is a big DBacks fan. Even when they really stink.

I think he has a future as a dragon impersonator

I love the "little kid" areas of the children's museum. They hide mirrors and pictures under the benches for kids to find--while preventing them from escaping!

Driving the pencil car

A ginormous climber....unfortunately you can't carry kids or have them in slings, so I just have to stand at the bottom with Alyssa and crane my neck to find my 3 year old as he wanders around by himself....he LOVES this thing but there has got to be a better system.

At the zoo! Never seen it so crowded, but the people distracted her and helped keep her hands from finding her hat...

he was communing with the statue...

i LOVE hanging out with my mom!

playing peek-a-boo with the 5 year old orangutan. How cute is THAT?!

Getting some grass time at my mom's. Soon we can do this in our OWN backyard!

yep, she still flaps her arms when she's excited

Sorry for the photo dump, but really, who takes pictures and details the joys of sweeping the floors three times a day because your crawling munchkin loves to find shoes and bugs and leftover cereal bits? Or documenting all the bruises I keep finding my legs and feet from the proximity of small kids and lots of toys? Don't worry, detailed updates of the kids including Alyssa's powerful set of lungs and Scotty's firing of his mom to come soon.....

She's Crafty

I've been on a crafting binge lately. Are you a crafter? Some people just aren't into this stuff. Some are fabulous scrapbookers. Or sew amazing clothes. Or decorate their homes fabulously. I can't say that I'm particularly good at any one craft...but I can make a decent showing at most of them and I have a blast jumping from project to project. I second what I wrote previously about the joy of creating something.

So, what have I been up to?
1. Choreography and staging for an hour long youth production based on the Book of Mormon for the youth Book of Mormon Journey (think Pioneer trek but based on the BoM) in my mom's stake.

2. Editing the video of the recorded production.

3. Creating and scrapbooking a photobook for my mom with pictures from the production and thoughts from those involved.

4. A bulletin board for clipping Alyssa's hair flowers, bows, and clips, since she pulls them off the low hanging ribbon and chews on them.

5. A way to hang the quilt that matches Alyssa's room on the wall.

6. Heart shaped hooks for hanging her jacket, towel, and hat.

7. More painted and fabric covered boxes for storage.

8. Tie dyed Easter Eggs. I've been wanting to do this for months but waited for Easter as an excuse to create a few dozen hard boiled eggs. This is seriously easy and fun to do--I'd recommend it to anyone! Next year I'm planning to throw a tie-dying party and have everyone bring a few silk ties. We can have more variety without having to spend more on ties!

9. Hanging more pictures! I've added our most recent kid pictures to the hodgepodge in the hallway and finally gotten around to hanging this picture that I made last fall...

10. Updating the old-fashioned ceiling fans in our front room. This is a multiple step project but I'm getting there, bit by bit, so you'll have to wait for pictures of the entire process....


What's up next on the list?
1. Painting Scotty's room (I've designed it and picked paint colors already)
2. Making and hanging curtains in Scotty's room.
3. Making a t shirt quilt in memory of my Grandma Gay (I have the layout arranged and the pieces roughly cut).
4. Finishing the other two ceiling fans (one in the front room and one in the master bedroom)
5. Painting the end tables and mini-bookshelf so our mismatched furniture looks more coordinated :o)
6. Reupholstering the purple chairs in our living room. Bring out the staple gun! Just looking for the perfect fabric.
7. Paying someone to haul out the random rock and weeds in our backyard and put in a sprinkler system and grass. We've finally got this arranged, so sometime in the next few weeks we'll sign the contract, fork over some hard earned money, and watch the magic. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures, as it is guaranteed to be an impressive transformation...