How do you eat an elephant?

 

One bite at a time

....so here is one corner of our lot...the upper side.

We had SEVEN pallets of sod delivered...and yes when it was on the driveway I was a bit overwhelmed.  We did hire a few guys to come and help install.  And we were told they were going to arrive between 4-6 pm that night.  By 7 pm and no guys-- Jonathan got to work.  We ( I really should say Jonathan here) were very worried about having to do this job by himself, but an hour later the guys showed up and they finished the job about 1:30 am. 

As a recap this is the before shots of the entire yard, along with the tiers and levels that needed sod.  The middle teir will be full of plants, and the border around the house, so we marked accordingly...but 5000 sq feet of sod - and I see green...not brown so I am super happy!

Nursery thoughts...

Redecorating? Not likely…. When we initially got pregnant I was sure I was going to do lots of redecorating to the boys space. Elijiah and Tristan were going to share a room, and the baby would have his own room. It was a grand idea that I would morph Tristan and Elijiahs stuff together with all these great ideas and new things…and with a nursery to do- I started pinning great ideas for the space. Well…..reality is getting hold of me. I have old items. A bedskirt/bumper from Elijiah/Tristan. Pottery barn rug that I cant stand to look at, but it fits in with all the other décor Ive got….to do what I REALLY want to do would take oodles of time and money and honestly does anyone REALLY see the rooms besides us anyway? I totally want to redo most of the other rooms in the house eventually….our bedroom/bath, the living room, the dining room, office, basement…but the boys rooms? The ones that get trashed only seconds after Ive spent an hour cleaning? The rooms that neither of them spend much time in except to mess up looking for something or sleeping? Its not like they are going to APPRECIATE the expensive redone furniture, or rugs/drapes and accessories. It would be for ME! So in light of this epiphany – Im sure that I will have the most hodge podge rooms for the boys and new baby. I guess there really is something to be said about having kids- it gets less exciting each time to buy anything when you already have stuff that still works. It’s a waste of money! We have gotten a few new items….a highchair, and changing pad! EXCITING! But the rest? Nah its going to be either hand me downs or 2nd hand. Sorry kiddo, I think you may enjoy the backyard space that we are in the middle of vs the new rocking chair, or bedding I had planned…..:) **After checking to see if my leg had a blod clot yesterday, the very talkative tech said it wouldnt be fitting if he didnt check out the baby as well. Jonathan had a hard time seeing what was on the screen, thus the outline...but I laughed out loud when I saw our little one with his legs over his head touching his toes but sucking on his knee! :) Seriously soooo cute.

Projects and staycation from the man's view!

So as Amber mentioned, we weren't able to do our beloved Canada trip this year and decided to stay home and work on various projects. We quickly realized that renovations of a certain scale are difficult in many ways. The first stage went fairly well for the first week but with daily changes to the plan and unforeseen issues arising on nearly a daily basis, our nerves began to fray.

Honestly, the first couple days of our "vacation" were super rough! Amber and I were extremely short with each other and the kids and I thought that I would just go back to work and not "waste" my vacation days. However,  by day 3, I really began to enjoy my little family. No, the kids didn't stop being the kids, and the projects didn't magically become easy, but my patience seemed to improve a bit, and I started enjoying the extra time with my babygirl and the monsters.

The first major milestone was the completion of the bathroom as Amber's post mentioned. The next was the completion of the fire pit. I majorly strained my back trying to man-handle a 200 pound boulder the day before, but with the help of Amber and Elijiah, we were able to get all the masonry and 60 pound bags of gravel up the hill to the fire pit area.

Although it's surrounded by unfinished backyard, we decided to strike a fire and roast a few marshmallows tonight. I was quite the stuffy turd with the kids about the "rules" for the fire pit, but as I sat on one of the sitting stones and enjoyed my fluffed sugar, I caught a glimpse of the wonderful times we'll have in the years to come. Tristan threw one fit and while freaking out was served some karma with a self inflicted poke to the eye with the roasting stick he was carrying but otherwise, we had a nice time with our new backyard feature.

Rewinding a bit to yesterday, Elijiah and I were able to spend half the day (6:00AM - 2:00) attempting to be mighty fishermen. He only had a couple bites and I only pulled in a few fish barely worth mentioning but we had a really nice time away from the usual home chaos. I haven't had one-on-one time with Elijiah for far too long and was glad for the laughs, great conversation, and generally quality memories.

the fast food reward for our manly efforts

Rewind yet another day (yes, I'm going backwards for some reason), and Amber and I were able to have some much needed "us" time. We went to The Dodo with my wonderful in-laws and had a blissfully stress-free time filled with great company and food. It always amazes me that it just takes a little time away from the day-to-day to remind me how much I love my little lady.

More home improvement projects

Half bath...updated.  FINALLY ;) - New tile, vanity, toilet, lights, paint, molding, mirror, accessories...Its the nicest room in the house now! haha.  

With our Canada trip cancelled...we decided to have a staycation.  Kids are fighting and driving us batty, even though we try and do something daily...movie, water park, pool, trampoline park, hike, fishing...along with a major Fence Snafu, sprinkler quotes( gulp), sod prices/install and the planting still to come....and firepit install- the backyard will hopefully be done( or about 90%) sometime before Oct.  Its just super overwhelming and more money than we even thought.  However...hopefully it will be an oasis for us all and a place I can send the kids to run around and enjoy!  More pics to come.

Pregnancy Pic

6, 5, 4 months...not being super excited about taking pictures while pregnant I did decide we should mark each month with a pic. So here are the last 3 months....almost 25 weeks now and our little one is getting bigger each week. Not sure how much weight ive gained thus far but I hope im not too far off track. The next 4 months Im sure will equally drag and go by quickly...and I have to remember to be patient. As much as we are excited about him joining the family...there is still lots to prepare for and I need to enjoy what little rest I have! :)

And yes the first 16 weeks were hell...can you tell? Not sure if being sick all the time had anything to do with my terrific pics lol but heck its reality....:)

And even breathing feels alright...

Shot From Fire Pit @ 11:00 PM

My love... It seems lately that it's only in the quiet hours, long after both children (and you) have fallen victim to sleep, that the right amount of lucidity, and the right absence of insanity strikes such that my mind goes back to the nights when we courted. Good ol' Alexi... Every time I randomly hear "our song" I break down in tears re discovering how much you mean to me; how firmly I know you are the one for me.

Our lives are chaos 98% of the time. Between strong willed children, the normal day-to-day grind, and whatever other random madness life has to throw at us, I fear that we lose sight of what brought us together and what keeps us as one. To steal from yet another wonderful song; "I don't know much, but I know I love you... That may be all I need to know"

Bob the Cat- the day he died

The day Bob died ( the first time)

They say cats have seven lives right?  Well yesterday our cat BOB died…and came back to life…( no not literally…keep reading) 

Elijiahs piano teacher is a friend, but also the mother of our neighbor Genevieve….and as such Naveve the piano teacher comes to our home, knows our cats, is a cat lover herself etc… 

Well on her way out of our neighborhood she called Gen( our neighbor) and said…you might want to call Amber and ask if Bobs in the house….I think it’s a possibility however that if not, Bob has been run over…it looks like Bob that has just been hit on the road….Gen immediately called me and asked if Bob was around and I said nope, put him outside this am, why? And so she told me.  Well as you can imagine I was very worried – Elijiah and I got in the car and went over to where the cat was hit and was killed.  We knew it was bob.  It was him.  100% sure.  However my first thought was where was his collar?  Then I dismissed it as it could have easily fallen off when he was struck….Elijiah was completely distraught as Bob was “his” cat.  Always favored by him and Bob took to him specifically as well…..anyway Im on the side of the road not exactly sure what to do- so I call Jonathan at work and he decided to leave work and come get him from the side of the road and we could have a proper burial later that night.  Genevieve called me at the same time told me to go home and she was coming to do the grisly deed of picking him up so Elijiah didn’t need to be waiting anymore etc. 

So the day begins…. 

Jonathan arrives home a few minutes after Gen delivers “Bob” in a cardboard box to our house and Jonathan inspects him as well and determines yes its Bob but likewise wonders about the collar….So he spent the next 30 minutes constructing a coffin for our precious cat wraps him and seals the box and we decide to bury “Bob” in the backyard later that night.  He had to get back to work and while I was trying to work from home yesterday- the events, Elijiahs continued sadness and crying were a bit of a distraction so I was fairly unproductive for a while…. 

Anyway about an hour later Jonathan emails me….saying something along the lines that as he was at the scene of the crime…he looked extensively around for Bobs collar….Elijiah really wanted it and we thought that we could frame it for him and it would be a good memory piece…so he says that while he couldn’t find it he had a doubt that perhaps it wasn’t Bob” even though he had handled the cat himself…he wasn’t sure now.  I immediately pushed him off saying to myself “ HELLO how many cats look EXACTLY like him in the neighborhood and of course its Bob! 

But then I felt the same….maybe it was a twinner and we didn’t know there was another cat just like him!  Jonathan decided that when he returned home he would open the casket…check the cat for front claws( we had Bob declawed).  So in the mean time…we had been searching through old photos for memories, ones that we could frame in the house of Bob and the kids…and talking about if we should get another cat…..Gen had come over with Dinner for us- and she and I were swapping funny and sad cat stories….

Jonathan came home with Tristan ( which Tristan was super funny…marching up to the neighbors to announce that Bob had died) and so the yucky task of looking over the mangled dead cat became Jonathans…. 

He discovered claws….so immediately Jonathan told us….um….this isn’t Bob!  Elijiah lit up!  Tristan said “What? Bobs not dead?” and all the grieving and crying of the day was replaced by….we almost buried someone elses cat in our yard!  And since its not Bob whos is it?  Well Sherrell- Gens daughter told us that her friends cat that looked like Bob disappeared about a month ago and it could be theirs… 

Well long story short after Jonathan retrieved the cat yet again for another families inspection, comparing photographs it was determined it was indeed their cat.  So we provided them the ready made casket( albeit we turned some of the panels the opposite direction so they didn’t see our RIP BOB with dates and loving inscriptions…we handed “Bob” over to them to take home. 

Jonathan was a little sick to his stomach given the handling of the dead cat so many times during the day and wouldn’t you know…not an hour later…BOB comes sauntering up to the backyard fine as can be of course….which made us all a little more happy to see him and appreciate the silly thing.  After the days events Jonathan did a very indepth inspection of Bob and did say that honestly the markings and specific size and everything were identical…it was really the collar/claws that made the difference to us knowing it wasn’t our cat. 

So Elijiah is happy….we are happy, but likewise it was a very odd and emotional day in which Bob came back from the dead.