Yard: Work in Progress
We have lived in our house for almost 2 years and have spent countless hours talking (dreaming) about things we want to do in our yard. Flowers, new garden beds, shrubs, trees, a sandbox, a firepit, patio, etc. The list is long and expensive. All we had was the "builder's grade" landscaping in the front, and even that was in dire need of new mulch and some TLC.
So we finally got started. Our side yard had nothing but grass. Our ugly foundation, stained with red clay (which is what we have instead of real dirt), was visible for all to see. A community walking path goes right along our yard. So this is what people had the pleasure of looking at along their way.
Not attractive. But with a little blood, sweat, and tears (well, ok, no tears) we prettied it up. We started by making a trench along the border of the front garden, and removing the sod from some of the side to create a new garden bed.
We used black plastic edging to help keep the mulch from washing into the yard and on the sidewalk. To help keep weeds away, we covered the whole area with black landscape fabric, cutting around the existing bushes and flowers.
I planted holly bushes, knock out rose bushes, a hydrangea (my fave!) and some other evergreen bushes along the foundation. They're small now, but they'll grow and hopefully cover up the concrete.
Oh my word. I love hydrangeas!
Then we mulched.
We even had some help from our big kids and the neighbor kids!
Now, we have a spruced up front yard and a pretty side yard for all those walkers on the path.
My plan is to put some perennials in front of the bushes. I'm all about flowers that will come back on their own! There are so many more things on "The List", but this was a good start. We feel very accomplished after a hard day's work! Have you done anything new in your yard this spring?
Clutter. Check.
Don't you love a perfectly clean kitchen? Here's a quick glimpse into my kitchen on a busy Monday morning, after getting kids off to school and Mr. Helpful off to work. Breakfast is all cleaned up - not a crumb to be found.
Look at those clean shiny counters. No dishes in the sink. No piles...oh wait. This is what the other side looks like.
So take heart if you have a messy surface (or two or three!) You are not alone! Aside from the phone and maybe the tissues, nothing on that counter actually belongs there. Just being real. I need to find "homes" for things that just get dumped here. To be honest, the shiny island will likely be covered with school papers and lunch boxes in just a few short hours. So there you have it. Happy Monday!
Freeze Pop Tip
It's spring, but it feels like summer some days, and it has become routine on our culdesac to have popsicle "parties" almost every day. This usually involves 5-15 kids, depending on who's out, so it needs to be cheap and easy. I buy those freeze pops that come as liquid in the long tube and then you freeze them. The biggest downfall of these cool treats is that you have to cut them open, and usually end up cutting into the frozen, sticky, goodness.
So the last time I bought a bunch, I froze them standing up, so the liquid was at the bottom, leaving a few inches of non-sticky air at the top! No more sticky fingers or scissors. No more kids upset that theirs didn't get cut all the way through. Just popsicle bliss.
Spring Wreath
My front door was looking a bit bare. With spring temps in January/February, I was inspired to go use some springy ribbon and a wreath form. My plan was to do a fun ribbon wreath like I've seen on Pinterest, like this one.
source: She's Kinda Crafty
Nevermind that I've had my supplies for almost a month, just sitting in my studio. Now it's officially spring and my wreath is officially hanging on my door. I started with a 12 inch wreath form and five colors of polka dot ribbon.
I had skinnier grosgrain ribbon in my stash in solid colors to match each of the five polka dot ribbons. These were used more as fillers here and there to cover up the green wreath form. I cut strips around 4 inches long and hot glued each into a loop.
I found it easiest to cut a batch of strips and get them all glued into loops, as opposed to doing one loop at a time on the wreath. I did not use a pattern for colors or position - just randomly glued my loops onto the wreath, moving around until it was fully covered.
I ended up using all of the polka dot ribbon - a total of 45 feet of ribbon! That's not including the grosgrain! Definitely a time consuming project - not hard at all - just time consuming. But I'm pretty happy with the result!
Happy Spring!
Growing Green Onions
I recently learned something fabulous. I can grow my own green onions. In a jar. On my window ledge. With just water. So now, any time I want fresh green onion, I just snip some off. And it grows back! I've been using the same (store bought) green onions for about two months now, and it's still working! I feel like I've uncovered some sort of secret. Shhh. Tell everyone you know!
Stuff Jail
About two weeks ago, I got fed up (again) at the mass of stuff my kids leave around the house. Toys, books, rocks, socks, and everything in between. I saw a brilliant idea (on Pinterest, of course) where another fed up mom created a clutter jail. You can check out her post here.
source: IMom.com
I decided to start my own Stuff Jail. So I grabbed the nearest box (no time to make it pretty - this was serious!), printed out my JAIL sign, and explained the new plan to the kids. I gave them 20 minutes to go around the house and put things back where they belong - or else - it would end up in JAIL. They were responsible to "Post Bail" for an item in the slammer, which was a chore assigned by the Deputy on duty (me or Mr. Helpful).
They were all into it. They scrambled to gather up their precious things - but of course, they missed a bunch. So....
They vacuumed, dusted, washed dishes, folded blankets, washed windows, etc. And they earned every last thing back that same day. It was beautiful.
That night, I found almost everything they had posted bail for sitting on the steps to go upstairs. So, back to the slammer they went. I have to say, most of those things are still in jail - must not be that precious after all. Girlie posted bail for 11 socks of hers that landed in jail. (11, right? There's always one that's MIA.) Bud washed dishes to get a pencil, which baffles me, since we have a ton of pencils. The Bear washed windows for a Christmas ornament. (I know - it's March - this one stays out year round.)
Well, one of Buds' precious things went "missing" the other day. His IPod Shuffle. He was very upset. Really, it was sitting on the kitchen counter, but he glanced over it and missed it. So he threw a fit and blamed everyone else. Next thing I know, I find this on the refrigerator.
Wow. That's quite a threat. Well, I showed him where he didn't look hard enough, but he left the note up. That was yesterday. Guess what's in jail today. His IPod Shuffle and ear buds, which he left sitting out on my desk. And, I admit, I smiled a little when I put it in jail today.
Trying to teach responsibility is such a joy challenge. I see housework in Bud's near future.
Homemade Detergent
There seems to be a trend of people making their own laundry detergent. Or maybe people have done that for years and I'm still the fool who pays too much for detergent at the store. Either way, I'm going to give it a try. Most recipes I've seen out there are about the same, with a few variances, using ingredients including Borax, Washing Soda, and a bar of soap. Here are a few blogs that provide tips and recipes.
source: www.diynatural.com
source: homesteadrevival.blogspot.com
source: www.greatoakcircle.com
source: www.sew-much-ado.com
Ok, I'm excited about making my own and saving money. But I might be slightly more excited about finding something cute to store it in, making a label, and making it look pretty!
I'll let you know how it goes!
Happy Valentine's Day
This morning, Mr. Helpful handed me this card that he made, and I just have to share. Here's the front.
And inside...
Hope you all have a great Valentine's Day filled with love or chocolate or both!
Kitchen Chalkboard
There is a space on my kitchen wall between the end of my cabinets and the beginning of the window that has been empty far too long. I wanted to find one of those swirly vintage frames from an old mirror or something. My plan was to spray paint the frame a fun color, and make it into a chalkboard. I've seen lots of them on Pinterest like this.
Source: Little Lucy Lu
But during a recent date with Mr. Helpful to the closest Hobby Lobby (30 minutes away!), my love for "swirly" was met with great resistance. I found lots of things at Hobby Lobby that qualify as that style. None of which got any support from him. (And yes, I did say "date" because it included dinner and did not include any children.)
We were able to meet in the middle and decide that a simple oval frame would work. I know. Drastic move. Everything else in our house has straight lines and squared off corners. It was our compromise between straight and swirly. But, after several laps around the store - just to be sure we looked at everything at least twice - we also found a cool wooden tray. Yes, it was a straight rectangle. Not anything close to my vintage swirls. But a tray would catch the chalk dust, and provide a little shelf on which to place the chalk.
We suffer from major practical-itus. It's been plaguing us since before we were married. I don't think there's a cure. We will forever think practical, buy practical, do practical.
So we bought the tray. Which would catch the chalk dust, hold the chalk, and was cheaper anyway. (Annoyingly practical.)
I was going to post the dinner "menu" on it. But we've had an increase in sibling disputes and they've just plain been mean to each other lately. So I found a great Bible verse to put up to remind them that it's not just Mommy who's telling them to be nice. I love that I can tell them that I'm just following God's instructions when I insist they be sweet to each other. His words are way more powerful than mine!
Fridge Finds
Life got busy. And that is why you haven't heard a peep from me in awhile. I don't have a project to share today, but more of a humorous discovery. I was rummaging through our fridge looking for a snack. I was hoping to find something sweet and salty, and healthy. A girl can dream.
Instead I found this.
Really? Three small carrot sticks left in the container. Who does that?! As if whoever was in there last couldn't finish three measly carrot sticks. Or they possibly felt bad for eating them all. Still.
I guess the up side is that our family ate a whole container of carrot sticks - a healthy choice. They may or may not have been dipped in peanut butter. I cannot confirm or deny.
Happy Weekend!
I'm a stay-at-home mom with three great kids, a fabulous husband, 2 cats, and a dog. I enjoy making things (but not cooking), painting, rearranging furniture (that one's genetic), organizing, purging, and most things DIY. Thanks for stopping by!