Jason's project...

When we moved in we saved enough money to pay someone to do our yard. Well, let's just say we didn't get what we paid for!!! First of all we were unaware of drainage issues in the subdivision, and second, we trused a "professional" to do our yard and grade it accordingly. We OBVIOUSLY sit lower than the surrounding homes to the north and back of us, unfortunately, the "professional" we hired decided not to take that fact into consideration when grading our yard....did I say he graded our yard? I take that back, the LACK of grading our yard and the LACK of leveling, smoothing or even using enough top soil for the grass to grow decently!! Okay, I have vented now. We are very sad we have to start all over!

Don't worry Cam...daddy will fix it right and chase all the buggies away!

We had some major low spots in our yard and everytime it rained or at the end of winter our yard was a pond from the back fence, about halfway to the house. At the end of last summer we put in a drain that runs along the back fence then down the side of our yard to the curb. It works great, except one BIG problem, we have to now direct the water to the drain it likes to pool up in the yard away from the drain. Here is an example of the yard after the rain this week. There is no more grass because we have decided the only way to fix our problems is to start completely over.

Jason has been really happy about doing all this work. He is excited to hopefully have a back yard that we can use that hasn't been overtaken by swamp smell, frogs, mosquitos, and MILLIONS of spiders! Yes, that is how bad the back half of our yard was. A constant wet swamp!

On a brighter note, the kids have had a BLAST during the demolition! There have been MANY trips to the dump (a kid favorite of mine too though I'm not sure exactly why). A big bobcat with fun rides.


Kaysia got a ride when I was at the store. I'm sad I didn't get a picture.

Then there was Kyson's favorite part about the whole weekend.....

A GREAT, BIG, GIANT pile of DIRT!! That kid LOVES dirt. He rolled in it, slid in it and yes, even attempted to cartwheel in it!!



Camden wasn't as interested, thank goodness. I think I can only handle on dirt lover! He just decided to pose for me and look adorable as always for the camera.

We are excited to have a clean slate and hopefully that excitement will drive us to get it done FAST!

We have lot's of ideas on how to make our yard not only beautiful but also make the water flow to the appropriate places to keep it stink free and like a park instead of a SWAMP!

All in a days work...

On Friday I started and finished project #2 on my list of things I would like to improve in our house. I am now LOVING my laundry room. It got a well needed face lift and is now completely organized! Our laundry room is off the garage entrance to the house so that is where EVERYTHING gets dumped. I am embarrassed to show the before picture. Instead of cleaning it all up I decided to keep it real...so here is to keeping it real...
BEFORE...


As you can see there are coats, backpacks and shoes all over the floor (aside from a laundry basket of clothes, but after all it is a laundry room). This is how it ALWAYS looks. We really don't have a great place to store those things aside from a coat closet that is on the other side of the house where the front door is that we NEVER use. Not to mention the kids are still too little to hang their own coats. Mommy solved a few of our problems...
AFTER...




I painted the room 'Heavenly Blue'. With a name like that I couldn't refuse, after all, who doesn't need their laundry room to be a little more 'heavenly'? I painted the ceiling and the shelving white. I also added some baskets to put the cleaners and stuff in that was on the shelf to make it look a little less cluttered. Also if you look at the picture closely you can see a shelf with wire drawers. I fold my clothes straight out of the dryer and this awesome little thing has made my life a ton easier! Each kid has their own drawer and they are responsible for putting their own clothes away. The basket is manageable for them to carry up the stairs even when it is full. The colors really brightened the room up which was one of my goals. Then I added the hooks on the walls, now coats and backpacks have a place! As for all the shoes...


I found this shoe storage cabinet at IKEA. I wasn't sure on how modern it looked so I went to home depot and bought some different knobs. That made a TON of difference! It fits perfectly behind the door and fits a ton of shoes for it's size!

I am very happy with the room which is a good thing because I spend a lot of time in there!

Projects...

Every couple of months I get in 'Project Mode'. My husband HATES it and to be quite frank so do I. I get my wheels turning and all I can think about is getting a project done. We did this bathroom a couple months ago and today I just fininshed it by painting the ceiling white and hanging the towel holder. Now I am back in project mode and decided that I can't start the next thing on my list (which is a VERY long list) until this bathroom was completed.

BEFORE....

I hated the pedistal sink. Although it is simple and beautiful, it really has/had no function other than a sink.

AFTER....

We replaced the pedistal sink, with this BEAUTIFUL cabinet/sink. I painted the walls a color called 'dusty olive' and changed out the light fixture and faucet to an oil rubbed bronze finish. I love that bathroom now and especially love the storage space under the sink!

One project down, a million more to go!! NEXT....dun, dun, dun, the LAUNDRY ROOM!

Finally pictures to go with the last post...

Here is a couple pictures of my poor van. I miss it so much. I am greatful that I have had Jason's truck to drive around, but it isn't my minivan! I never thought I would appreciate a minivan so much! I will hopefully be getting it back from the shop soon, I can't wait!