Big Guns.

When we bought our house in 2008, it was a foreclosure. We loved that it was a quarter acre lot with a pretty big backyard, but we did NOT love that the back yard and front yard were *entirely* made up of star thistle. We tackled the front yard first, because...well, curb appeal, and then we pulled up the star thistle in the backyard.

From the house listing back in 2008.

Once we pulled up all the thistle, we realized that we didn't actually have dirt in the backyard, we had red clay. Apparently, weeds don't mind the clay, but we could not get anything normal to grow. So, since we were looking at bringing in topsoil and seeding, we put the project on hold for a couple of years (do you KNOW how expensive it is to bring in almost a quarter acre of topsoil?!) to save up. And in 2012, we finally brought in the topsoil.

We (and by we, I really mean Justin) spread the topsoil up to about two feet from the fence all the way around. We also skipped the garden area that wraps around the side of the house (you can just barely see the trellis over in the upper left hand corner of the above pic). We did this for cost reasons, and also because we weren't sure whether we'd eventually do planter boxes along the fence, flower beds, or something else. Then, we seeded. By the fall of 2012, it looked like this:
Womp womp. Not gonna lie, I was expecting a lot more progress at that point! Anyway, last year we planted some trees--we had *zero* when we moved in, and we quickly determined that we needed at least some shade somewhere in the backyard, and so we've planted a maple, a honeycrisp apple, a pear, and a plum tree. Justin also planted a couple of wine grapes that a couple from church gave us, but we're still waiting to see if they survived. We basically left the grass alone last year other than mowing it, and at the beginning of March this year, it looked like this:

A lot more green, but also a LOT of clover in there! It looked much better once it was mowed for the first time, but we still have a good deal of weed and feeding in our immediate future :)
Anyway, this past weekend, we finally started to tackle the jungle that was the border between the grass and the fence. Justin brought in the big guns, and we BOTH spent most of the weekend pulling weeds, shoveling dirt, moving the two raised beds you can see in the upper right corner of the clover jungle photo above.
One of the benefits of having a husband who works in construction? His bosses will often let him bring home the equipment on the weekends. This time, he brought home the excavator, and got to digging. We transplanted our thornless blackberry from the fenceline to the trellis over by the garden beds, and then he dug up that fenceline jungle. Lizzy was *thrilled* to get to take a quick ride with him!

 While he did that, I weeded our 5x20 garden bed and also our strawberry patch, which was no small feat! I may or may not be really sore today, ha!


Now, in the next couple of weeks, we'll be laying down landscape fabric around the fenceline, and bringing in mulch. I haven't quite decided what (if anything) will be planted along the fence, but being that I have a bag of 180 Brodiaea bulbs from Costco, I'm strongly leaning towards those!

source

We sort of hope that we'll eventually be able to buy the empty lot directly behind our house. It isn't currently for sale, but the couple that originally owned our house subdivided their acre lot into four lots. They've developed one of the lots, and have left the others undeveloped. The husband was a contractor and I think was developing them himself, but recently retired. We've been thinking about sending them a letter that if they're ever interested in selling that quarter acre directly behind us, we'd potentially be interested in buying it.

So anyway, we don't want to invest a lot of money in flowers or bushes on the fence line before at least making contact with the owners of the other property, but I wouldn't have a problem sacrificing $12 in Brodiaea bulbs :) It's sort of a dance between thinking about what could maybe-possibly-someday happen in the future, while also making what we've got now a space that we love. Especially since realistically, even if we did buy that property, it would require all the steps we've taken here (weeding the thistle, bringing in topsoil, seeding, etc), so we'd be looking at a long term several year project there anyway.

 Whew. We still have a lot of hopes and dreams for this space, including installing a gate kit where the plywood is in the above pictures (we had to remove part of the fence to bring in the heavy equipment). This will also include moving a fencepost, so it isn't a small project persay, but doable. We'd also like to build a pergola over the patio, and maybe tear out the raised beds for a bigger garden area. I'd love a firepit and a swing set too.

So basically, we have a long way to go, but I forget sometimes how far we've come already!

We ended the weekend with our first time eating alfresco this year, which was a blessing!

I'm hoping this is a space that we'll be spending a LOT of time in this spring and summer--after all, when you're outside all weekend long, it's amazing how clean the inside of the house stays!

A few random things...

{one}

Last night, I checked on Lizzy before we went to bed. She was happily sleeping while snuggling with a stack of books that she had tucked into bed with her. Attaway kiddo.

 {two}

Slowly but surely, our grass is growing. Here's what it looked like a month ago (after we brought in dirt) and then what it looked like this morning. It seems like it is taking FOR-EVER for the grass to really get going, but I'm seriously looking forward to a month or so from now when it's actually useable. I can't believe that we've never had a backyard in all the time we've lived here! I'm also super excited that Ryan and Renee are giving us their swing set that their kids have outgrown. I think we'd like to build one eventually, but I'm so excited to have one for the time being--Lizzy will LOVE it. And I have a feeling that there will be many an afternoon this summer where I'll love being able to just say, "Lizzy, go play outside!"

('scuse the plywood--we had to take down a part of the fence to get the big machinery back there)

{three}

I think my Blackberry is on it's last legs again. It's started to do this thing where I randomly get an hourglass, a white screen, and then a flashing red light, and it cycles through that for hours until the phone finally dies. Then, sometimes I'm able to charge it, and assuming it actually charges fully instead of only half-way like it often does, sometimes it works like normal until the crazy cycle begins again. Coincidentally, this is exactly the same thing that happened to my previous Blackberry, which was then replaced with the one I have now. Needless to say, if I can help it, I don't think I'll be getting another Blackberry.

{four}

Our garden is in! I'm still on the fence about how it's going to do this year--a few things died right off the bat. A few things seem to be doing really well, like the tomatoes. The weather's been tricky--alternating between cold and rainy to 80+ degrees. So, we'll see.

{five}

I'm fairly certain that our house hasn't either been clean OR tidy in the last.....oh, about 15 weeks. I keep hoping that Justin/the cleaning fairy will just clean the entire house from top to bottom some weekend while I'm napping, but so far that has not happened, despite the fact that I kept dropping hints that it would be the most excellent Mother's Day present. So, it's probably time to buck up and do it...but it's just at that point where I feel like I could clean all day long and still not really make a difference, so it just doesn't feel worth it to even start, ha!

Hello Day.

 

 Hello dinner. I've largely missed you these past few weeks. You really hit the spot! 

Hello purple toenails! I can't remember the last time I bought a new fingernail polish, and when I do, I usually stick to the cheapies (I've never had or used Essie or OPI nailpolish in my life, so I don't even know what I'm missing). This time, you didn't let me down Wet N' Wild. I'm digging this pretty lilac-y color, and the huge oversized brush that made painting super fast. 

 Hello grass seed. Grow baby, grow! We planted almost 6,000 sq feet of grass seed in our backyard this past weekend, and now we are watering like crazy and anxiously waiting for it to sprout. I don't know why, but I'm so nervous that it isn't going to grow! I'm so happy we seeded when we did and didn't wait--because if we had waited until after Justin had gotten paid, I think the money we had allocated would have ended up being used for other things. And we've been talking about doing the backyard for four years, so I'm kind of relieved that we didn't have the opportunity to be all sensible and say, "We can hold off another year...we could really use that money elsewhere." It's done already, there's nothing to do about it now, I'm sure things will work out this month, and I'm super excited to use the heck out of the yard this summer. 

Hello perfectly timed encouragement from a blog friend, Megan. This is one of the things that I love so much about blogging. You all are a BLESSING, and such an encouragement to me on so many occasions. 

  Hello OB appointment and ultrasound tomorrow. I'm still super nervous. But today, I noticed for the first time that it's on the same day as the National Day of Prayer, and that kind of made me smile. Lord knows I'll probably be praying up a storm that morning! 

Hello day :) 

Thursday Thoughts....on a Friday

{one} 

Justin just might kill me for posting this, but he totally scared the beejebus out of me yesterday--when I woke up at 6:30am to a text from him saying, "I just crashed a work truck." Thankfully, he's okay (the truck, not so much).

{two}

About three (four?) years ago, there was a girl at the local beauty school who used to cut and color my hair better than any professional. People used to stop me on the street and ask who colored my hair. Once, a doctor at the ER asked if I would allow her to write down my name and take it to the beauty school and say, "Just do whatever you did to Meredith." But, sad day, she graduated, and for whatever reason, I never found out where she went. BUT, happy day, I found her! And I have an appointment with her today for a haircut! I really wish I could do a cut AND a color, but today I'll just have to settle for a cut. I don't think I've had my hair cut since October, so it is long overdue.

{three}

Potty training? Had been going very well. All of a sudden, not so much...and I'm not very happy about it. It has made the days VERY long lately.

{four}

Justin and the band are playing at a church fundraiser tomorrow night...which means that Lizzy is spending the night at my parent's house, and Justin and I get to enjoy a dress-up, adults-only dinner. And maybe sleeping in. And is it ever needed!

{five}

I am totally chomping at the bit to build our new dining room table. It probably won't be this month, or likely even next month, but I am so excited to have a table that is functional and FITS in the designated space!

Mundane Beauty: Version 3.0

Hello family Easter pictures...even though I hate pictures of myself right now and always forget that if I tuck my hair behind my ear, it looks like I have a funky blonde spot. Oh well.


Hello homemade ice cream...for breakfast. After 40 days of no ice cream, candy, cookies, or anything that qualifies as a dessert, if this is my one big splurge, I think it'll be okay.


Hello GIANT pile of dirt in my backyard...which will eventually (hopefully) transform our backyard of star thistle to a backyard oasis. Or at least a patch of grass to play on.


Hello purple irises. You are always my favorite.


Hello editing a newborn session. Almost finished :)

Hello dinner in the Crock Pot!

The Home Organization Binder

I'm not a naturally organized person, and I REALLY hate spending money when it comes to organizing things. Organization doesn't come easy to me, and I'm definitely not an expert at it. That said, the Home Organization Binder that we made at Mom's Group a few weeks ago has been a big help to me, and so I wanted to talk about it here.

I'd seen similar binders all over Pinterest, but hadn't actually made one because (a) I hadn't seen one configured in a way that I thought I'd actually use, (b) I hate spending money on that sort of thing and (c) I don't have a lot of craft supplies, so it would probably end up being very expensive for me to buy scrapbook paper and all those other goodies necessary in order to create a binder that I wouldn't mind having just sit out on a day-to-day basis. That's the beauty of my Mom's Group--you pay annual "dues" and part of that dues money goes towards providing all the materials needed to do the craft of the day. It's awesome.

Anyway, we were instructed to decorate the outside of the binder however we wanted. Again, my goal was to have something that I wouldn't mind sitting out on the desk all the time. Then, on the inside, we were supposed to create divided sections based on something called a "brain dump" that they had done the previous session. I missed that one, but from what I gather, you basically take a blank piece of paper, give yourself an allotted amount of time, and then just write down everything on your mind until the time is up. The suggestion was that you then review your brain dump and see if there are any themes or categories that might help you decide what your divided sections should be. Here's what I ended up with:

1. Finances: Included in this section are two zippered pouches--one for receipts that need to be entered into our budget, and one for receipts from the month that already have been entered. We enter most of our financial info directly into an Excel spreadsheet, but I also printed out a copy of our monthly budget for easy access. It might also be a good place to keep track of due dates for various bills, interest rates for credit cards/student loans, and that sort of thing.



2. Prayer: I mentioned the Inspired to Action website a few days ago, which includes some great e-books that include monthly calendars for praying for your kids and spouse. I have them printed out and in sheet protectors in this section. I also added lined notebook paper so that when I hear about prayer requests, I can jot them down and (hopefully) actually follow through later.

3. To Do Today: Exactly as it sounds. It's a section of lined paper. I fold each piece of paper vertically, and write two days worth of to-do's on each side. Another great option is the Weekly Overview (again from Inspired to Action) which allows space to write your Bible Study plans, a menu, and a to-do list.

4. To Do Later: This section is also filled with lined paper and is for things that I want to remember, but don't necessarily need to do that day. I also have a few sheet protectors for fliers/brochures, and my brain dump is also here. I really liked the brain dump and I think I may do it more often.

5. Meal Plan: My plan was to print our my meal plan and keep it here, along with a master list of the recipes that I can cook. That said, I'm finding that I actually end up looking on the computer (I keep the meal plan in a Word document and also look on Pinterest a lot) than in the binder, so this category may turn into something else.

6. Toddler Activities: Awhile back, when I was venting about the parenting/cleaning balance, Emily commented that she tries to do three activities with Thomas each day. I really liked that idea, and have implemented it a lot with Lizzy with my own little spin. I keep a list of activities to do with Lizzy in this section. This isn't anything fancy...typically I just take toys that we already have, and couple them with developmental stuff. So, one activity might be to play with Legos with Lizzy, with me focusing on counting as we're playing (or colors). It isn't anything structured--just while we're playing, I make an effort to count the Legos as we stack. Sometimes, the activities are just going to the library or to the park...but the key for me is that it helps me to be more present and to really feel like I have some freedom to clean, or read, or whatever doing the day because I know Lizzy is getting some quality time. And as a bonus, it helps me remember to rotate in books and toys that we haven't read or used in awhile. This would also be a good section to keep lists of free things to do in your area, printouts from places like www.icanteachmychild.com and more.

7. Notes/Other Info: Since the binder typically sits next to the computer, I like to just have lined paper where I can scratch notes as necessary. Justin's been working on an inventory of our DVD collection, so that may eventually go here, as may schedules for baseball/softball, etc.

8. Emergency Info: This will probably just be a place to store phone numbers of our doctors, Justin's work, our insurance agent, etc. Phone numbers that I may need quickly, but probably don't know by heart or necessarily want/need in my phone 24/7.

Other ideas for divider sections that I've seen are things like cleaning, take-out menus, sports schedules, etc. The bottom line is to do what works for you...do the brain dump, identify what is stressing you out, and do what you can to make yourself a bit more organized in those areas. I know, it sounds so simple, right? Well, it's not that simple, and you won't do it perfectly (I don't anyway), but doing something is better than doing nothing I figure!

I know this post is getting long, but I also have to mention that our mail is stored elsewhere (in the living room post, I showed you the inside of the flowered box--it's in there). We have sections in that box for incoming bills, things to be filed, cards/notes, etc. But, all of those categories would probably also work in a Home Binder if you think that would work best for you--I just already had a system going for that and figured there's no sense in messing with what's already working.


Also, does it drive anyone else crazy that when you put things in sheet protectors, you can no longer see the divider tabs?! No? Just me? Okay then....  :)

Snippets & Living Room Photos!

-So, while our living room is still far from being "complete", I finally took some photos to share with y'all!

I must have driven to 5 different thrift stores yesterday looking for a chair to paint for the computer desk. I couldn't find one anywhere that wasn't under $30. Sorry, not paying $30 for a basic wooden chair that I'm going to repaint to have what I want anyway. So anyway, picture the above setup with a white chair at the desk. 

This little Photoshop DIY is my favorite addition to the shelves...I love me some Matt Maher!

Sorry for the blurriness of this, but I wanted to show you the inside of the box on the bottom right--it's from Target, and I LOVE it for filing things temporarily until I move them to the bigger file box every three months or so.

At Mom's Group a few weeks ago, we made home organization binders...the binder almost deserves an entire post of its own, but it has really helped me when it comes to keeping things organized--especially these zippered pouches that I added to the front for our receipts to enter to our budget and receipts that have already been entered.

But I'm getting off track. Here's another view of the living room...you can see that I still haven't painted the fourth wall. Eventually, I swear. Anyway, even though the color isn't that different, I feel like the undertones make a BIG difference, especially when it's overcast or cloudy outside--now, it still feels happy to me instead of feeling dreary. Also, I made Justin re-hang the curtains about 6 inches higher (a bit wider too), and I'm really glad I did. And yeah, I know the fuzzy pillows are probably not "in style", but they are so comfy and I love them:

Lizzy still has her own little corner, which works great for us.

So there you have it--there's still a lot left to do *COUGH* TRIM AROUND DOOR JUSTIN *COUGH*, but I'm liking where we're heading :)

-Lizzy totally does not understand what the word "maybe" means. I think her understanding of it is 'the word I say when my mom says no, but I'm trying to convince her otherwise'--as in:

Lizzy: I have candy? 

Me: Not today sweetheart. 

Lizzy: Maybe!?

-This video? I DIED laughing.



 

-Since early January, I have been participating in the Hello Mornings challenge with Kat at Inspired to Action. Basically, the premise of the challenge is to get up in the mornings before your kiddos to (a) have quiet time with God (b) plan your day, and (c) exercise (or at least make a plan for when you're going to)... I don't particularly enjoy getting up early and will admit that I have majorly slacked in the past few weeks, but I can also admit that I find that when I do get up and get a few things accomplished before Lizzy wakes, my day feels a lot more productive overall. I'm thankful for the opportunity and for all my #hmc2 ladies on Twitter for accountability and support!

-I don't know if you guys are familiar with a story that's been in the news here in the PacNW of Josh Powell killing his kids in Graham, WA over the weekend. I really don't want to talk about him or what he did--the pure unbridled evil that he displayed was and is horrific, and he does not deserve to be written about. But what I wanted to say is about the social worker who was there to supervise the visitation between Powell and his sons, and I feel like I have to give some back-story to make it all make sense--Powell shut the door after the kids came in the home and wouldn't let the social worker in the home. She smelled gas and immediately called 911 explaining that the father had recently lost a custody case (not to mention he's a person of interest in the alleged murder of the boys' mother) and that she was afraid for the boys' lives--the dispatcher told her that the authorities had to attend to other life-threatening calls first. So, while she was attempting to convey that she smelled gas and was scared for the boys, she witnessed their father blow up the house while he and the boys were inside.Ugh. It's really terrible to type that all out. It literally makes me sick to my stomach.

The social worker, Elizabeth Griffin-Hall, has been on my mind constantly since hearing the story. What an awful thing to witness and experience. It feels a little strange to throw this in with all the other happy snippets, but it's been on my heart today to ask those of you who pray to lift her up in your prayers, and I just don't want to ignore that gut feeling. I just don't want her to be overlooked.

Linking up to: 

and hopefully (if I remember):

Funk.

I'm going through that blogging funk that we all go through at some time or another--you know, where you want to write something interesting, and profound, and real, but all you can seem to come up with are a bunch of snippets, book reviews, and funny stories that sort of capture what you're thinking, but not really.

I'm pretty certain that it may be directly related to the fact that I haven't actually used my camera for the love of it in several weeks. I know it's not true, but around this time of year, I always feel like there is nothing to take pictures of--no fall leaves, no flowers yet, often no sun. I'm sure the beauty is still there...I just may need to make a concerted effort to find it.

I have several half-posts floating around in my head. I want to show you our new blue walls (which I LOVE), but I don't have any photos yet, and the living room isn't quite how I'd like it yet...and I'm still holding out hope that it may get there eventually. We'll see.

I want to talk about baptism, because I feel like this is something that I'm constantly being asked to debate--both online and in real life. People want to know why Lizzy was baptized and not dedicated. They want to know whether I was dunked or sprinkled. They want to debate about whether one baptism is enough or whether if you really mess up, whether I think you might need another. I've wanted to post about this, but honestly, I get frustrated with these debates...I feel like sometimes we forget that it's God doing the work in baptism and not us. 

I want to blog about how I'm still feeling a little nervous, excited, worried, conflicted, thrilled, and 1,000 other emotions about some of the things Justin and I have been talking about lately in terms of this next year and what it will bring for us...but I'm not totally sure how to put it all into words.

I want to talk about budgeting, and how well it's working for us right now, but I'm not sure what I can really say when I still have the very strong urge to RUN to JC Penney and their new 40% lower prices and shop with abandon...while putting it all on my credit card.

Aaaaaannnndddd...I have no idea how to wrap up this particular post, so I'll just leave it as it is, and ask for your patience as I wade through the funk :)

Big Old (Painting) Mess

Our house is in a state of complete chaos...because I'm painting the living room. We'd picked up a ton of paint samples and taped them up to the wall, moving them around and checking them out in different light. Justin and I had differing favorites, but both also loved a third swatch by Glidden, which I was planning to see if I could have color matched to Behr. I've never used Glidden, but knew I liked Behr, so I figured why mess with a good thing. I had been holding off though because the nearest Home Depot is a bit of a trek from us, and it didn't seem worth it to drive out there just for paint--I'd wait til Justin got paid next, and we were out in that direction.

And then yesterday I was at Wal-Mart and remembered that Better Homes & Gardens has paint now, and it's made by Glidden. I had the swatch in my purse, so I headed to the counter, and sure enough, they could mix me up a gallon. I knew we could probably shuffle a few things around in our budget to make it work to buy one gallon and get started, so I went for it.

I'm not sure that I love it right now--it's definitely not quite as saturated of a blue as the photos I had for inspiration. But, it was definitely one of our favorites of the swatches when we saw it in all the different types of light and all the different walls (the wall on the right in the photo above seems to always be significantly darker than the rest of the room--probably because we don't have any overhead lights), so I'm pretty sure we'll like it once it's all painted and our stuff is back as usual. It's a lot less dreary and depressing than the gray (which my dad totally warned me about when we painted initially, but I didn't listen), so that's a plus.

Also, the paint is okay. I don't like it as much as Behr--it feels a little thinner, and I feel like I have to stir it more often while I'm painting. But, it's not a bad paint for the price point.

I've decided that painting when you have to shuffle around furniture, play kitchens, and a gazillion books is 856 times (rough estimate) more difficult than painting an empty house. I can't wait to be finished! In the meantime, I think we'll have a few Dora filled days around here.

PS- I mentioned that I want to do floating shelves on that wall as part of the wall gallery. Before, our floating shelves were espresso. They might still be usable, but got pretty banged up in the garage, so we may end up buying more anyway. If we do, would you buy white, or espresso? Our couches and bookshelves are espresso, but our desk (which the shelves will be above), a bench, the trim, and a few other pieces of furniture in this room are white...and then there's the hutch that is more cherry and doesn't match anything else in the room. Not sure which direction to go, and would love some advice.

Thursday Thoughts

{one}

I get my stitches out today. FINALLY. They are driving me crazy. Starting yesterday, they started to itch terribly and are getting red and a little painful. Most people I've consulted said it looks like they're just ready to come out rather than that they're infected...I hope the doctor agrees!

{two}

I'm excited to hopefully get back to some real exercise soon. I've been walking on the treadmill with some regularity since I had the stitches, but after years of playing competitive sports, walking just doesn't feel like a "real" workout to me--which is probably something I need to get over. I know intuitively that it should just be about moving my body in some way every day, but I really love to feel that burn and exhaustion of really killing myself.

{three}

I'm starting to get the D&R itch (decorating & renovating for any non-nesties out there). First of all, I definitely want to paint the living room...a light blue sort of like this:

 

Source: remodelaholic.com via Meredith on Pinterest

Or maybe this, though the paint color may be a little bright in this one:

Source: houseofturquoise.com via Meredith on Pinterest 

I prefer Behr paint (or something that Behr will color match)--any suggestions? I also think I want to re-do our gallery wall to incorporate some floating shelves. My parents got us the most amazing wireless printer for Christmas, but it takes up a big portion of our computer desk (and even though it's wireless, the desk really is the best spot for it in our home). I was thinking that if we incorporated some shelves into our gallery wall, I might be able to find some cute hanging folders and/or boxes, they could help with the stray paper issue we're experiencing!

Source: centsationalgirl.com via Meredith on Pinterest

But as always...it's a juggle between all of the projects that I WANT to do (i.e. build a table, organize our spare room, organize the garage), and having the time and money to do them!

{four}

You may (or may not) have noticed that my blog was blacked out yesterday in protest against SOPA. You may be sick to death about hearing about SOPA (good--have you done something about it?), or you may be wondering why people online are having such a fit about a piece of legislation designed to stop online piracy. Here's the deal--the idea of stopping online piracy and copyright infringement is a good one. However, this particular piece of legislation is pretty poorly written with lots of holes, and the practical application for a good portion of the internet, including bloggers, is SCARY. I'm not suggesting that there shouldn't be a piece of legislation designed to combat piracy (in fact, there's been an alternative piece of legislation drawn up by my own Oregonian senator that, with some tweaks, might be a good alternative), I'm just suggesting that THIS particular piece of legislation is a bad one. This article "Everything you need to know about Congress' online piracy bills in one post" is an excellent recap.

Link up, over at Life of Love!