Monday, May 30, 2011

watching the grass grow

Well, it wasn't so much "fun" for my husband, after he had to do the work, and he had to fork over the money for it...

But today he fertilized the whole yard for me :) I've been begging him to for weeks now. The grass used to be wonderful here, but last year it wasn't too great, but this year... oh, I just can't stand it. You can't walk across the yard barefooted because of stickers, there are parts where the grass has just decided to not come back at all, and it makes no since what so ever. When I mow, I feel like I'm just mowing dirt, not grass in some spots.

So we loaded up this morning to get the supplies. And oh boy... I didn't realize how much this little project would cost. No more than $150, right? 

No, ma'am. Way off.

He had to have a broadcaster to hook up behind the mower. $40 after the gift card we had from the store. I'm not complaining though, because at least he agreed to fertilize the yard. 

(In our 7 years of marriage, I've convinced him to fertilize the yard once before. ONCE. At our old house, and he then gave me go-to-you-know-where looks all summer, when he had to mow every 3 days. But now that we have a reliable mower, I've taken over the mowing, so he just fertilized to get me to shut up)

That store was out of fertilizer, I've boycotted the local feed store, so I refused to go there, so that left one option. 

Wal Mart.

*shudder*

I picked out a fertilizer that also had bug poison in it too, to kill ants, fleas and ticks. Perfect for the "farm" (ticks are so terrible this year. The dogs keep coming up covered in them, the horse had one in her ear... oh lordy, I'm itching thinking about it.) Joey also decided that I needed a soaker hose and timer for the flower bed. I don't know what bit him and made him decide to do this, but you don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Or a husband that's doing nice things ;) Also got a better, big sprinkler to water in said fertilizer.

I then nearly had a mini heart attack at our total. $350. 

OMG!

I change my mind!
 

I don't need a pretty yard that bad!

I'm working on the Dave Ramsey plan. I'm pretty sure that a pretty yard is not on his list of how to get out of debt.

But... we went on and did it, because I can't have my babies walking through stickers.

Hey, have you ever noticed that kids will run HALF WAY across a two acre yard, THEN realize hey! I just ran the whole way through stickers, and this mess hurts, so I'm gonna stand RIGHT here and scream until some adult comes running, also barefooted, to try to save me, and watch them do the "I have stickers in my feet dance but I have to save this kid."

Kids. They're evil.

So. Now I'm sitting here watching the grass grow. Hopefully going to watching the stickers disappear. And watch the bugs disappear.


How long does this take? How long until I have to start mowing every other day? 'Cause I'm ready!!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

girl gone crazy

This week, I nearly drove my self crazy. With a decision I needed to make.

I lost sleep over it.
I went back and forth. Just couldn't decide.

Couch pillows.
Yes, seriously.

My pillows have issues, keep coming unsewn (geez... is that even a word? I'm not sure.), and I kept resewing them, but they would just ravel some more, and the same thing. So it was time for new pillows.

Pottery Barn
 These were the first that I found, automatically fell in love. Had to have them, they're prefect! Guess what. The one on top is sold out.

That where all the problems started. I found about, oh, gee, i don't know, about 50 more that I liked on etsy.com, but none were as great as these and... ugh. 
I finally just went back to Pottery Barn's website, and ordered these, in ivory. And guess what?! They're on back order! Until the middle of June! AGH!

Later, I'm going to get some accent pillows, but for now, I need a rest from thinking about pillows. I think I've found a few grey hairs.
So I've moved on to the next "drive me crazy" thing. Jonah wants me to redecorate his (and Peyton's, since they share) room. We've done absolutely nothing to this room since we've bought it. The things that I know we have to do, and are easy:


New closet doors. They're the bi-fold kind, and one half of them has been missing for a while.

Also, new blinds. We're going to go with the faux wood ones. We have them in Blythe's room, and we love them. The only problem, we have freakishly narrow windows (old house). One set, each window is 25 and 1/2 inch wide. The other set is 22 inches wide. The smallest ones on Lowe's is 27 inches, so I guess we'll have to get custom ordered ones, and I don't know, that just screams expensive.

And they need a new ceiling fan. It's about the only light fixture that we haven't replaced. I've picked out this one:
Source: lowes.com via Jenna on Pinterest



LOVE IT OMG I WANT IT NOOOOW!!!


I also want to find some sconces to put on the wall over both beds, that are little lanterns. I think it would be supper cute.


As far as bedding and wall art and rugs... omg, I can't make any decisions!


But Pinterest makes it easier, I swear it does! You've got to check this place out, I'm in love with it too!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

One of those afternoons

I'm usually running in 15 different directions at once.

Blythe is doing home work, "Mom, how do you spell...," Peyton is tugging on my shorts holding a sippy cup, "Mo! Mo!" Jonah is over there having a complete emotional break down, about only Lord knows what. While all this is going on it the background, I'm thinking about how I still have to feed the horse and donkey, and the ducks, and the 5 dogs (dammed things are multiplying, and new ones randomly showing up. It's like people drive by and say, Hey! That house looks good! They already have 4 dogs, what's one more?!), and 8 cats (my momma cat, who's the best mouser ever, and the black ones are the only ones that are supposed to be here. We then had 5 kittens. And yet again, another randomly showing up animal, a yellow tom.) Oh, and don't forget to water the flowers. And this is all just while I'm cooking supper.

It's usually even worse during supper. This is how it goes:


*I take a bite* (+10 calories)
kid: momma, I need a spoon.
*I go get a spoon* (-15 calories)


*I take a bite* (+10 calories)
kid: momma. You forgot my drink
*Get drink* (-15 calories)


*I take a bite*
kid: momma. I think Peyton pooped.
*Throw spoon down, mumble words that shouldn't be said in front of small children, stomp off to the bathroom with the child, slam a few doors for good measures* (-100 calories)


*I take a bite* (+10 calories)
kid: momma. 
*ignoring kid, take another bite* (+15 calories)
kid: momma.
*still ignoring kid, take another bite* (+15 calories)
kid: MOMMA! I don't like this.
*I pitch a total fit* (-200 calories)


You know, give or take. 


So tonight I decided that I would fed the kids before I dropped them off at church, and once they were gone, I would then come home and eat with out having to hear "momma". 

Perfect plan. 


I came back home to the (outside) cat, sitting on the kitchen island. In the middle of all the food.

You know, with food hanging from her whiskers.


*sigh*


I just opened the back door all the way and pointed and she moseyed on out.


Bowl of cereal it is then.


Oh well, at least it was enjoyed without hearing "momma."

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Vacation 2011 - Part One - Swamp Tour


If you've never been on a swamp tour, you have no idea what you're missing out on. This was my third time, and I swear it gets better each time. This was the smallest tour I've been one, only 10 people total on the boat, where as the other times, the boat was packed. This makes a difference, because if you're sitting on one side of the boat, and the gators are on the oppisite side and the boat is packed, you can't just get up and walk to the other side to see it. You have to wait until the gators are on your side of the boat. But since this time it was only a few people, we could get up and walk around.

Cajun Pride Swamp Tours



 This was our first stop on a three day vacation. It was a nice trip, wasn't too far from home (about 4 hours) and we love staying in our state. Louisiana has so much to offer.


Tour boat. Trust me, if  I  got on it, it's safe. I don't do boats.

Riding along


Two of the kids and a gator... scary







On the tour, the guide feeds the gators chicken parts, and also... are you ready for this?...


Marshmallows. 


Yes, that's right marshmallows. They usually let the kids throw a few, but since my kids were the only kids on the tour, they got to throw a bunch to the gators. The guide told us that they tried several different things before the marshmallows. They tried biscuits and toast, but neither really worked that well. Then they started using Cheetos. Which worked great, the gators loved 'em... but then the coast guard pointed out, "Hey, man, you're teaching the gators to come to bright orange, that orange means food. Dude. What color are the life jackets?" So they tried the marshmallows. Don't worry, marshmallows are safe for all the swamp animals.


Jonah spotted a gator!


Alright! This is what we were waiting for! The guy behind Jonah had no idea that this was going to be part of the tour. For a minute, I thought he was going to jump off the boat.



Peyton - "give it to me. give me give me give me..."


He was so happy to have the gator! They all got a turn, and Peyton kept steeling the gator.


hi!
We had a great time, and we plan on going back soon! This was our first family vacation with out dragging back up with us (aka, grand parents). I was nervous about keeping up with three kids away from home, but we kept up with all of them and no one was fed to the gators :)


Part Two of Vacation 2011, The Audubon Zoo.



 

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

I'm loving...

We haven't done much the last few weeks, so I don't have much to blog about (well, we did go on a short vacation, which I will have to tell you about at a later time...). So I'm just going to share some things I'm really loving right now from the internetz.

House of Smith's Gallery Photo Wall
Oh my, the love I'm having for this! I'm so inspired by this, but it's kinda intimidating. I actually love the whole room. The two chairs, the little blue table, love it ALL! And those yellow lamps! I've been thinking about doing a gallery photo wall for a while, and this just may have given me the push to do it :)

Nesting Place - Process: Slow Decorating
I don't think there's much I can say, but this was exactly what I needed to hear. Sometimes I just want to get things done, NOW, yesterday even. But honestly, it'll never be "done" I'm sure. I'll always be changing something, it's never going to be "perfect." And It's ok when there are toys every where, and children every where, and the scratches and dents and color marks on the wall... and so on.

Censational Girl - $25 Writer's Desk
This one got me to thinking about painting furniture again, mainly the dresser in the master bedroom. And I just love this desk, I'm really needing one. I'm feeling the need to go to the flea markets and thrift stores to look again. (on another note, WHY are they called flea markets? Hum...)




I've fallen in love with Etsy again, which can be dangerous for the husband's wallet...








I absolutely adore this. Thinking of trying to make my own version of it, we'll see how that goes... 







And all of these pillows! LURVE them! I want one of each from this shop!







These peacocks make me happy :) I'm really digging the frame it's in, I really need to find something like that. This print is something I'm going to purchase, no doubt.






This is something else that I'm going to make my own version of. It's lovely, with New Orleans street names and locations, and I love anything Louisiana-ian (yeh. making up words now. 'Cause that's how I roll.) 


I just love Etsy. Even though most of the time I'm like, "I can make that..." but other times I'm just lazy and buy it ;)

 

Friday, May 6, 2011

Couch hunt starts...

It seems like everyone in blogland is on the hunt for the perfect couch. And everyone is trying to decide between the same two brands: IKEA and Pottery Barn.

Well, guess what? Me too. 

Our couches are old, and smell funny, and are starting to fall apart. I've decided that it's time to invest in new ones.

But, I don't want to invest too much. I do still have small children in the house, and it's going to get pee-ed on. It's just part of life around here. My kids pee on things. (And then the dog smells the pee and thinks hey! I need to pee here too! This is why the dog has been evicted from the house. Too bad I can't evict the children too. Then I wouldn't need new couches, because they wouldn't have been pee-ed on a million times. Anywho.)

And I'm loving the idea of slip covers, so that I can wash them. The only thing holding me back, is even though they're custom fit slip covers, they still slip and wrinkle. So they don't always look perfect. I'm not sure if that's going to bother me or not.

Still a lot of thinking to do.

Thrifty Decor Chick and The House of Smiths both recently went through these hard choices too.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Front Door Makeover





This is what our house looked like the day we bought it, 3 and a half years ago. But this picture was taken just a month ago. I hated the dark door and shutters, the oval trim was painted a tan color, for reasons I don't even know. I wanted to paint them since we bought the house, but we just couldn't ever seem to find the time.

But while Joey was home for that long period, we went on a shopping spree to Lowe's. The morning before we went, I finally picked out a color for the door and shutters. That's another reason that we hadn't done it yet.

Along with the paint for the project, my hubby bought me a new toy...

 It's an airless paint gun sprayer thingy! Yeh. I'm not even going to pretend like I had any idea what that thing was. 


(How about this chippy paint porch? Maybe I could use the airless paint gun sprayer thingy on them?)

So, this was totally MY project, all me me me...
Until I realized the shutters had to be sawed off..

Oh Honey :)


(Seriously, is there anyone in this world that
thinks that I should be trusted with
a saw? no? I didn't think so.)

They had to be sawed off because they were installed with shutter-locks, I believe they were called. They're meant to be for permanent installation. That doesn't mean you can't remove the shutters later, it just means that you have to buy brand new shutter locks.

(I do believe the first dirty look I recieved during this
makeover was when I told him he had to
saw the shutters off.)

So. Now. Totally MY project.
me me me me
We now wash the shutters...
And look, there just happened to be a 7 year old girl that wanted 
to wash them for me! Who am I to deny her?!

 (my sweet girl scrubbing the shutters.
she also did the door.
and yes. I took this picture from the front porch
swing. where I was sipping sweet
tea, watching everyone else do the work.)


So if you're keeping count, I still technically haven't done anything. Besides go to Lowe's and buy the paint. But that's was hard work!


I went on and bought a new door handle while we were at it, and got rid of the ugly brass one. But it wasn't exactly the same size as the old one, the holes didn't line up, so Joey had to send me back to the hardware store (2nd time that day), to get some type of epoxy. So he fixed that all up for me.

We (he) started painting. The sprayer worked really well, and the project was moving along quit nicely, right until we accidently touched one side and messed up about a quarter of the door. And until I looked at the color of the paint I picked out at Lowes and realized... this is almost the same. exact. color. of the siding on the house. It was supposed to be green-ish. This was tan-ish, with no hint of green at all. Great. Just great.

At this point, we had ran out of day light, and one of the kids had a ball game. 

"Joey, what are we going to do about the door?! It's not done?!"

In true roughneck fashion:

he rigged the door opening up with....

trash bags and duct tape.

Oh yes, several neighbors called me that night, "Jenna? WTH?!"

So day two starts of the door project. Started late, because we had an early Easter at my mom's.

(I'm not sure if you can tell, but he's giving me
a really bad look.)

After he fixed where we messed it up the day before, and I went and bought more paint, we (he) finished painting it. When then waited for it to dry REALLY well this time, went and ate crawfish with the neighbors, and at 12:45 am, I finally had a front door again.


I'm very pleased. The shutters still aren't done. (That's them laying on the right side of the porch.) And I'm not about to ask Joey to do them after all the trouble we had out of the door. So I guess that's up to me. And we need to repaint the porch AGAIN. I'm really getting tired of painting the porch. It's getting old. Maybe I can just say that's the look I'm going for, ya know? Old? Rustic? Do you think anyone will fall for that?


Very please. Also, we (he) removed the glass from it when we (he) painted the door. I do believe that it was much easier than trying to tape it off.

We (um, again, he.) replaced the out side lights with those little lantern ones when we bought the house. I loooooved them in the store, but when we got them home and put them up... I didn't. But now we the new door color, and the new door handle, I love them again!

And it only took 3 and a half years :)

Sunday, May 1, 2011

A Problem...

We bought a massive 55 inch tv about two months ago.

(yes, it was the best day of my husband's life. You know, aside from our wedding day and the the days our children were born. Tv day comes right after those. At least I hope.)

(And, a pat on my back, we paid cash for it. A year ago, I would have never thought we could make a purchase like this without a loan. Funny how things change, and how quickly.)

It's great. The picture is so clear. I had no idea that Jason Aldean had piercings until watching CMT on the 55 inch. Big difference in it and the 20 something inch tv we had before.

Here's the problem: what to put under the tv? For the time being, I stuck a little cedar table cabinet thing I already had that was short enough to go under it. And it looks tiny. I tried to do some research as to how to decorate around a large tv, with no luck. 

 (oh look. I found an iPhone picture.)

But, I'm thinking, and I may be wrong, but whatever I put under it, should be as wide, or wider than the tv, correct? Yes. I do believe that's the correct thing to do.

Now to find something. I found something at Paul Micheal's back at Christmas, but I haven't been back to see if they still have them. I really hope they do, because it was so awesome.

Now I leave you with a picture of a sweet little boy playing in the dirt at the ball park a few days ago.

(edited with Instagram for iPhone. Awesome stuff)

About Me

My photo
I have three kids:
Blythe Anne, 8
Jonah, 7
Peyton, 4

My husband and I have been married for 6 years, and I spend my days being a stay at home mom while he's a driller on a land rig. So for six months of the year (he works a week on, a week off), I'm raising these kids by myself. I would write more, but I hear children screaming :)

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