Tackle It Tuesday


It's been a while.  I am not going to tackle these things today, but am posting the pics as a reminder of a couple of the bigger projects I want to tackle this Spring/Summer.

What are your favorite do it yourself landscape and garden sites?  This space has so much potential to be a retreat where we can read a book, sip a smoothie,  etc.

Another view of the swing area.

This bench was in our front yard, but the extra stroke of trim paint from the windows in addition to the need for TLC just got on my nerves.  It's probably going to happen before the swing retreat area.

****

My actual tackle list for today is much more mundane, for the most part:

1) wash, dry and put away dishes in the sink

2) take a shower

3) wash the sheets from Bear's bed and the guest bed

4) sweep and "shark" the floor- kitchen and downstairs, at least

5) the big one- fill out paperwork for Bear's Kindergarten registration and go to the open house tonight.

And apparently little mister who just sat on the potty but did nothing has now done something in his diaper.  Oh, joy.  So changing diapers is still on my tackle list.

less than 5 days until our first house is no longer our home

Our house is in a complete state of disarray right now. The storage unit has been procured and is being utilized little by little. In a nutshell, here are the things we've accomplished so far, with the help of wonderful family and friends who have generously helped in some way:

• emptied kitchen cabinets, except cleaning supplies under sink
• pantry emptied, except for plasticware and paper plates/bowls
• laundry room/utility cabinet cleaned out
• buddy's dressers emptied/packed
• 4 loads of boxes and totes transported to storage unit
• mini fridge defrosted
• linen closet almost empty, except for a couple of sleeping bags and blankets
• Stereo system disassembled
• walls clear of photos and frames/decorations all packed up

Yet to do:

• Empty remaining dressers and closets
• Clean out under bathroom sinks/drawers
• Desk area....
• Miscellaneous boxes
• Returned borrowed items to individuals
• Clean, clean, clean...

That's the nuts and bolts. It doesn't begin to cover the emotions I'm feeling right now. I'm running in overdrive, I think. Little man developed the habit of waking up in the middle of the night during our travels the last couple of months.... so sleep is usually interrupted from 2-4am.

We still have a lot of unanswered questions, and are praying that the one thing that appears clear stays that way. We feel incredibly blessed to have received an offer on the house so quickly, and pray that the closing process continues to go as smoothly as the rest of the listing/selling process has gone.


The kiddos have been able to spend some time with friends this week, and I so appreciate those who have taken care of them while we've tackled the packing. One of the hardest parts of this process is realizing that there are people I should have reached out to more, and beginning to realize how much I'll miss so many people.

As for the unanswered questions, we pray that God directs our paths. Anyone who thinks they completely determine their own destiny must be greatly misguided; so many things are beyond our control. It's comforting to know that there is a time for everything, a purpose and a plan, and we don't have to know every step. Yes, this whole process has been a lesson in walking by faith. At times, very stressful, and other times very peaceful. Always a tiresome adventure.

Tackle It Tuesday, weekend edition

It's been a while since I posted anything substantial for Tackle It Tuesday. Well, I'm so excited about the progress we made this weekend, that I cannot wait until Tuesday to post.

First, hubby posted some pics of some things we needed to sell on Craigslist:

SOLD!!!!

STILL AVAILABLE
I think a scammer tried to bait me with this post but I did not respond. This couch has a slipcover on it and a chair that matches what's underneath. I like to refer to THAT pattern is psychedelic candy-cane striped.

SOLD!!
(I TOLD hubby we should have posted it for more. Tech Mom made the slipcover and Dad made the frame. It has been through the entire family....
Alas, it has a new home because we are trying to make space.)

There are a couple of boy things, too...
a sub woofer and something I forgot the name of but goes with stereo stuff. Capacitor, maybe?

Next, we began the arduous process of going through our dressers and closets. It hasn't been done to this extent since, well, I'm almost too ashamed to say, but my pride at our progress overshadows the shame: since we moved in almost 6 years ago.

My side, the miracle. Hubby's is normally fairly neat, except for shoes sprawled all over

the floor- haven't seen that in a while

the donation pile and trash box

Hubby also took a few boxes of junk to some open dumpsters in the area.

I HAVE to thank our friends Ruth and Paul and their brother who works at chick-fil-a for the boxes! They collected them for my parents, but Dad made me take some, too.
They are coming in handy.

So the tackling has begun. And I can actually check a couple of things off the list!

Making a list, checking it thrice...

Not the Christmas list, but the "get house in order for the first time since we moved in" list. Ugh.
But my little Sis is right, checklists are good. And there is so much to do, I don't know how my friends with many kids do it. Part of me wants more kids someday, but I can't keep up with just 2. That's my rationale for not getting a pet yet, too.

So I listed 3 rooms and still have a TON left to jot down.

****
I LOVE my mystery irises. They are purple and periwinkley/lavenderish.

my "vision"

I'm not talking about some kind of mystical, philosophical goal. OR my eyesight. This is, or should be, much simpler and attainable than that. After almost 6 years in this house, 3 since we finally got the wall up, give or take a year (I've lost track), I think I know what I want to do with the cliff. I want a butterfly garden. Now, the plants I put in today are not really butterfly friendly. But we have all this slope, it's a pain and an eyesore because we can't get the grass to grow nicely on it. And while I am pleased with what I did today, in my mind it says, "just the beginning."

If I were to admit that aloud to hubby, it would translate something like "be afraid, be very afraid." (I could go crazy buying plants.) Although I think it SHOULD mean, "less to mow."

See how the grass STILL hasn't filled in very well along the retaining wall? Hubby has worked very hard to make the grass grow every year. It already looks better this weekend than it has since last July or so. But I can't help but want to try to grow something else there. I planted what I bought yesterday in the worst patch; lots of slumping going on there. My hope is that the roots from the plants will help reduce the slumping. Eventually, the phlox should grow closer together, ast the instructions said to plant them 15-18 inches apart. The forsythia should grow to be 6-8 ft. Eventually.

My vision is still a bit cloudy, but it includes a big butterfly bush placed down the hill from the patio. And butterfly-attracting flowers, grasses, and/or ground cover of some type in between. Perhaps some cascading petunias or ivy hanging over the wall.

I haven't told hubby about my vision yet. I think I'll just suggest that he read the blog.

balloons from Granwendy & Grandaddy

We have been incredibly blessed by support from family and friends, even since before Little Guy made his appearance. My parents took care of Bear on Monday and Tuesday. We had several visitors at the hospital, but not too many. Upon arrival home, a friend from church brought a meal, and the next day our next door neighbors brought over a crock pot full of pulled pork (BBQ here in the south) as well as a tray full to freeze for later. Bear's friends came to meet her little brother (their mom brought us drinks from Sonic while we were still in the hospital- yummy lemon berry slush!) And Tech Mom and Dad, Caslon & Camera Guy were here until this morning. They took great care of us, and gave Bear the extra attention I am not able to give her just yet.

flowers from hubby

Overall, recovery has been easier so far than after Bear's birth. Oh, I am still exhausted. That won't change for about 18 years, I suspect. Little Guy is nursing better than his sister ever did, though I am still a bit anxious about weight gain, etc. Trying to relax. That's my biggest concern right now. (Yes, i did see a Lactation Consultant before I left the hospital.) He had dropped less than 8% of his birth weigh the morning we went home, considering he fasted after the circumcision, that's not too bad. But of course, I can't help but worry a bit. So pray for peace for Mama, lots of milk for baby, etc...

sweet feet

Home....

no play by plays like you are used to. :) we're doing well, tired of course. Brandon, aka "big shooter" as his daddy calls him and "squeaker" as i have dubbed him, is napping.
he is absolutely precious! last night was a making up for not eating night, so i am going to try to get some rest myself before he wakes up.

zann, i was already almost 3 cm at my last checkup, and by the time i was giving in to the fatigue and pain, it was too late... the epidural would have kicked in after the birth! i am still shocked that we made it through, and thankful. God definitely gave me the desire to try to deliver without the epidural (i did have to have iv meds for GBS+ and fluids, though). I am sure a longer labor would have been too much for me to take... when we left the house around 7-ish the contractions were 12-15 minutes apart, and my body kicked into full speed. I was barely on the IV for the amount of time they want the baby to get the medicine before delivery.

Hubby says next time we can hire 2 doulas, someone help me hold him to that, LOL! (If there is a next time, no rush here....)

are you my conscience?

or rather, is my mother-in-law my nesting instinct?

if you've read my blog, or know me in real life, i've made it pretty obvious that i am domestically challenged. at times, i am what you call a "defeated perfectionist" who suffers from "analysis paralysis." i made a spreadsheet of several nesting projects, room-by-room about a month ago. then i got so overwhelmed by the magnitude that i have really only done a few things here and there, the bare minimum. of course, getting sick didn't help, but i honestly can't blame my lack-of-productivity on just one week.

a few weeks back, tech mom asked if i wanted her to come help tackle some of the projects around the house. this weekend became the chosen weekend for our tackles.

today was our "tackle it tuesday", weekend edition. we:

• cleaned out all except 2 of the cabinets in the kitchen (one will be easy, the other, well, this pregnant woman won't be leaning into the corner cabinet any time soon)
• cleaned out and reorganized the hall "pantry" which is really a storage closet for kitchen stuff that doesn't fit in my cupboards because the floor plan is so darn open we have limited cabinet space.
• reorganized the microwave cart/cleaned out the microwave/threw out old phone books
• went through old baby clothes... set aside several boxes for goodwill, boxes to give back to sis in law to go through to see what she wants to keep in case they have a surprise 3rd daughter, kept several plastic totes "just in case", since hubby and i are open to the idea of more kids in the future, reorganized bear's dresser and closet
• threw out a bunch of junk... boxes, plastic bags, old gift bags, store hangers

not only did she help with all that cleaning, she brought a few things to help me utilize my space more efficiently... spice steps for the spice cabinet, lid baskets for tupperware/gladwarelids, and 2 small wire shelves.

plus, hubby and his dad took bear along on a trip to lowe's to buy previously mentioned totes and some shoe box-sized clear boxes. they also took one of the shelves out of the kitchen cabinets, bought 2 more just like it, and installed them. you see, our builder put in these nice tall cabinets for us, claiming they were an "included upgrade" but they should have put in at least one more shelf. so now some glasses which were in storage in their box on the floor of the hall closet have a home in my kitchen cabinets. we actually had more kitchen cabinet space in our 1000 square foot apartment than we do here.

bear was a really good girl all day. she kept trying to find ways to help, and as we sorted through her old shoes, she decided to squeeze into her squeaky shoes and run around the house in them. then she decided she did not like where mommy put her current shoes in her closet and set them up the way she liked them. she also helped carry good hangers from "ground zero" in the guest room back into her bedroom, which was actually a huge help so i did not have to squat to pick them up off the floor.

so, here is a list of projects left to tackle, hopefully before baby boy makes his appearance:

in the kitchen:

• clean out junk drawer in kitchen
• clean out cookie sheet cabinet: done Sunday (thanks, Tech Mom!)
  
• clean out big awkward pot/pan cabinet:done (thanks, Tech Mom!)
  
• clean off counter (begun)
  

in the nursery:

• put crib side back on toddler bed and raise mattress
• put batteries in mobile and set it back up
• finish washing little guy's clothes
  
• organize little guy's dresser a bit better (done Sunday)
  
• organize crib sheets and blankets in closet shelves (done Sunday)

master bedroom:

• clean off my dresser
• clean out my dresser... go through clothes, get rid of the size 6's which i will never squeze into again after birthing 2 children
• clean mirror on dresser
• set up mini pack and play (sheets are washed)

miscellany:

• put cleaned bouncy seat and car seat covers back on their respective homes
• put clean boppy cover on pillow (done Sunday)
  
• go to publix and use my baby club buy one get one free coupons on miscellaneous needs for little guy

bathrooms:

• thoroughly scrub/clean everything one more time (it's been almost 2 weeks... sigh)
• clean out and reorganize cabinets and drawers. (1 done, 1 to go, thanks to tech mom)
  

utility room:

• clean out and reorganize tall cabinet (done Sunday)
  
• "dust" top of dryer and washer again (just did it a couple of weeks ago) (done Sunday)
  
• vacuum and mop floor
• vacuum corners and behind washer and dryer

oh yeah:

• pack hospital bag for me and baby
• pack a "just in case" bag in the event we have to drag bear to the hospital with us to meet my parents there, in case there is not time for them to make it to our house before we leave for the hospital
  

there's still a lot to do, but i am so thankful for the help i had this weekend. and thankfully, if our little guy were to decide to come tomorrow, it will only take a couple of minutes for hubby to put the cover back on the car seat and set up the mini pack and play next to our bed.

thanks, tech mom, for all of your help!!!!! i couldn't have done it without you (and without tech dad and hubby keeping bear occupied)

so, today tech mom decided she was on a roll and wanted to get more done... did she ever. in addition to the things listed in brown on the above list, she reorganized my linen closet. we packed away some table cloths and other linens that we don't use very often in a tote in the bottom of the closet, which basically made an extra shelf on which to put the recently laundered baby bath towels.

after church and lunch, i also tackled a couple of things, listed in red.

Tackle It Tuesday


I really don't feel much like tackling things today. Bear and I were supposed to meet up with a Mom and daughter from her Kindermusik class, but my allergies complete with bark, I mean cough, have come back and I do not feel like going out into the smothering heat and allergens.

A couple of weeks ago, I began a master list of tackles to do before Little Guy arrives. I think I need to revisit that and get some things crossed off... or at least begun. Even if I don't feel like it. If Little Guy is as good a sleeper as his sister, I will credit it to learning to tune out my coughs while in the womb.

adventures in gardening, continued...

about 3 weeks ago, i decided to humor the hoa and send in my approval request for the big garden pots in my yard. i haven't heard anything back, so i am assuming no news is good news. i added basil to the herb pot last week, transplanted green bean sprouts into one pot, and today i planted 2 varieties of cherry tomatoes, some beefsteak tomato seeds, a red pepper plant, and some green pepper seeds. It's probably too much for the small space, I don't know. But I think I had too many coffee grounds and not enough dirt in the pots way back when I first planted seeds, so I have added potting soil since then. Well, hubby poured the soil into the pots for me. Anyway, hopefully at some point this summer we will have two or three types of home-grown veggies. Bear eats cherry tomatoes like candy, so I figure it's worth a shot if I can get them to grow again. (I am not exaggerating, either. She still loves them. While her toddler pickiness has manifested itself in other ways, toe-toes are still yummy to her.)

hubby worked on the lawn for 2 1/2 hours today. yes, you read that correctly. no, our yard did not grow overnight. he mowed, trimmed the weeds, roughed up some patches where the grass was spindly at best with the mantis, used the spade to rough up some really bare patches a little more deeply, spread 120 pounds of lime, fertilizer, spot seeded, and put a little left over soil over the seeds by the sidewalk... we're hoping tonight's expected rain doesn't wash all the seed away. He's heading out for a ride on the road, the wind blowing over his protective helmet instead of through his freshly chopped hair (trimmed by yours truly). I think he deserves the break.

Hope this Saturday finds you well!

For this week's Tackle It Tuesday meme, I'm bragging on my hubby. When he got his bike (motorcycle) a few weeks ago, he was also bit by the "organize the garage" bug. We began by throwing out a bunch of junk that had accumulated on the floor. Now, considering my parents' garage is 25' by 25' and at best has room for one car in it, ours was in pretty decent shape. But after almost 5 years of living here, it was past time for a little TLC. Here's an "in process" photo:



A lot of the junk was old flower pots, some of which were broken Then we went to Lowe's and priced out shelving and hooks. Our goal was to safely get as much up off the floor as possible without spending a lot of money. While Bear doesn't play in the garage, she does wander in there from time to time. While his Dad was here with the trailer this weekend, they went back to Lowe's and bought a couple of shelves and brackets to haul back to the house. Hubby had discovered that our drill battery does not seem to hold its charge, so Tech Dad brought his drill along, too. Together, they found the studs, made sure they were level, etc...


I went to take a picture of the "completed" tackle (to this point), and my camera batteries are dead. So after the charger does a tackle of its own, I'll post the "after" pic...

Maybe Caslon can post a pic of the jimmy-rigging Tech Dad did on our counter, or e-mail it to me... that was another tackle in itself.

As for my own personal tackles... I am trying to not let Mt. Laundry pile up and to be more conscienscious about gradual pick-up so I don't get overwhelmed. (I seem to live in a perpetual state of either overwhelmed-ness or denial of chores.) I managed to fold 3 loads last night IMMEDIATELY after washing them.

And I moved a mum plant because it was in the middle of the calla lillies which have begun to poke through. (scroll down a few days to see the spikes if you are so inclined.) Now it's at the very end of my flower bed, where it has room to spread out a bit. That entailed transplanting one of my purple salvia flowers, too. Hubby dumped compost into my big pots and I planted the basil plant in the pot with my perennial herbs (thyme and oregano). I also planted some green beans that I started from seed into one of the other pots. They were at least 2 inches tall and needed more space than the little 6" pot they were in could offer. Let's hope the HOA doesn't deny my retroactive "yard ornament/landscaping" approval request that I submitted for the pots.

If you would like to see other tackles, click on the Meme tag at the top of the post. You can also get the code for your own "Tackle It Tuesday" label from 5 minutes for Mom.


Update: After Pics

I am so glad to know the poisonous chemicals are out of our daughter's reach! But in hubby's zeal for cleaning up, he took a raft (that pink blob)out of a box that it needed to be stored in in order to protect it from punctures. Oh, well, I'll find another box for it.

Tackle It Tuesday: Operation Nursery, Phase Two

It's been a while since I tackled something other than dishes, laundry, or gardening. In case you are wondering, Phase One was turning the office into the nursery, which happened before I became a blogger. With child #2 on the way, we made the decision that Baby Bear will share her room with her new sibling. Most of our family lives out of town, so we need that guest bedroom. Plus, I need the place to dump Mt. Laundry until I get around to folding it or hubby gets exasperated with me and folds it himself. (That happens a lot.) Hubby also uses it as his office when he works from home. As you can see, we simply do not have a spare room. Well, my parents had a twin mattress, boxspring and frame to get rid of. Since we decided to keep the guest bedroom in tact, Baby Bear needed a big girl bed. This tackle started yesterday morning, and today I moved the stack of boxes of clothes into the not-so-spare room. The quilt was made by hubby's gramma for his high school graduation. I think it's too flowery for him, but it looks great in Bear's room!

Before:

During:

After:

Just don't ask me to show you what the inside of the closet looks like. That will be a future tackle, or series of tackles.

vicious cycle...

my toilets need to be cleaned.
cleaning them makes me gag and puke.
etc....

while most pregnant women's morning sickness is backing off at this stage, mine is getting worse.

i wish i could afford a maid.

it's about time....

we managed to take down our Christmas tree before February. Barely. And in the process of putting away the decorations, we cleaned out a storage closet. Now we have another potential hiding place for our games of "boo" (hide and seek).

our little wren(?) on our porch

bird's nest

chrysalis or caccoon?

Reaching for the sole remaining yellow leaf...

Cut-off

No more Christmas decorations for me. Hubby hung the icicle lights on our front porch. I plugged them in before he hung them, and they seemed ok. Well, apparently there was a short in them, because about 10 of the icicle strands did not light up when we plugged them in after being hung. We checked to see if any bulbs were loose... nope. So down they came, to Kroger I went with my dysfunctional lights and receipt, and I exchanged them for another set. Mr. Snowman is now at home under the soft white glow of icicle lights.

in case you were wondering...

12 feet of 1/8" gold ribbon is the perfect amount needed to hang 20 glass bulb ornaments.

My tree was missing something. Though it did not look bad, there were too many bare spots which kept calling to the ornaments buried in the closet across the room. And those ornaments called back, "save us! We're lonely in here! It's dark! Let there be light!" But the thought of actually hanging ornaments with hooks disturbed me. My toddler is curious. It's part of her spirit, and I am glad. But I felt that by using hooks I would be asking for trouble.

So when I made my trek to Joann's yesterday, I browsed the ribbon... both the holiday display and the standard aisles. Finally, after perusing all my favorite aisles (scrapbooking, floral, yarn, crafts, Christmas and ribbon- in that order), I found the perfect braided thread on a spool in the ribbon aisle. And after we put Bear to bed at the late hour of 9:30 tonight (Daddy came home from being out of town, and naptime was late this afternoon), I decided that since I had to vacuum the dry cereal off the couch and top steps, I might as well see if my ribbon did the trick and be able to vacuum the trimming from the ribbon. I still have 1 box of smaller gold balls, and am undecided. I think some of them would accent the tree nicely, too, but I am out of ribbon for now. At least I found a way to safely adorn my tree. (Unless my daughter pulls down the tree and crushes ornaments in the process, as my friend's DD did last year.)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

FINALLY!!!
Our 1st Christmas Tree since 2004.

Yes, that's right. Before you call us Scrooges, let me explain.

Baby Bear was born late October, 2005. Hubby left for 7 weeks of training a week later, coming home or meeting us about every other weekend. We were much more interested in spending time together with our new baby when he was home, and by the time he came back for good, there was less than 1 week before Christmas. Last year, we spent the Christmas week at Tech Mom and Dad's. I DID put up my techno-Charlie-brown-counter-top-tree both years. But it just was not the same.

So as we set up the tree tonight after we put our daughter to bed, it was nice. In less than 3 hours, we set the thing up, put on the lights and decorated it. This is not one of those simple 3-piece pre-lit trees. They were brand new and way too expensive when we were tree hunting. Allergies keep me from even considering a natural tree, plus picking one out at the school yard is not the same as choosing one for Dad to chop down at the tree farm as we did prior to, was it my 2nd grade year? They don't exactly thrive in this climate, so by the time we get them, they have well-begun the drying out process, posing a fire hazard. But I digress...

Decorating our tree was... like Christmas. I opted to leave off the glass balls. With a 2-year old, hooks and the risk of shattering scare me. We have no hooks on our tree this year, so I don't have to worry about Bear chewing on one. DH and I worked together to put all the branches in place and drape the strands of lights around the tree. (Note to self: buy some replacement bulbs, and perhaps another strand for next year at the year-end sales.) As I dug through boxes, I uncovered lost treasures. You see, our ornaments may not all match or coordinate, or fit one theme. Instead, they reflect bits and pieces of who we are and where we've been. That's how my family's tree was growing up, and I'm following suit. Making their debut on our family tree this season: Baby Bear's "Baby's 1st Christmas" Pooh ornament, which was given to us by one of hubby's buddies from Police Academy. The crystal-cut plastic bear that my Dad brought back from Grandma's house after she died. I added a white ribbon to it and it is so charming. A pottery ornament which my parents bought while on Cape Cod for my cousin's wedding in 2005. A mirrored angel ornament from a neighbor, also given to us to commemorate Baby Bear's birth. A hand-colored wooden ornament which our "niece" gave to us. And last, but not least, a star with 3 bears on it and our family name and the year written on it. Hubby and I picked it out while we were on our last pre-parenthood vacation together.... the one where I hiked 2 miles to see a waterfall in the Smokies at 26 weeks of pregnancy. Oh, there are many more ornaments which remind us of friends and family, and there are also some I picked out just because they were pretty and in my price range. I may pick up some shatterproof ornaments to fill in some of the bare spots, or I may not.

I can't wait to see Baby Bear's reaction to the tree when she sees it tomorrow.

Now to get some lights up outside and decorate downstairs...

Thanksgiving Travel Preparations

It's been a while since I posted my to-do list as a tackle. Today I have to make up for the hours I've spent procrastinating earlier in the week. Will I ever learn?

Anyway, green means it has been completed, yellow means in process.

• Make gift labels and finish wrapping gifts(we're celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas with DH's family since we'll all be together.)
  
• Finish washing dirty laundry and folding/putting away Mt. Laundry
• Sweep/Mop kitchen floor
• Clean off kitchen counter.
• Empty dishwasher & reload
  
• Remove science projects from fridge
• clean bathrooms
• wash and change sheets
• Pack baby bear's clothes, diapers, etc...
• Pack casserole ingredients
• pack ingredients for peppermint bark
  

Still to do tonight:

• Pack my bags and toiletries (and make sure hubby puts them in the car.)

Thankfully dinner has already been made... I made 2 chicken pot pies last night because it's just as easy to make two as it is to make one, so we're having leftovers. I'll just throw it in the oven to heat.

If I took pictures I would be procrastinating further, so no photos today.

What
are
YOU
tackling
today?