Project: Fix the Yard - Step 2

In my last post I detailed how I was tackling the fixing up of my front yard. I've attacked the out of control weeds around the driveway with weed killer. I've cleaned out 95% of the weeds out of one of my flower beds and yanked out a bush that's been dead pretty much since we bought the house a few years ago. I also wiped down one section of my deck railing with vinegar and water, which has made the color go from a dirty green to a much nicer white (that still could use a fresh coat of paint.)

I didn't get a ton done over the weekend because of rainy weather and having to supervise a toddler who would love to run off down the street by himself. However, my mom and sister came over for a bit on Saturday, and we were able to get that hydrangea in the ground, as well as the pretty pink plant that I'd bought on Friday.

I still need to pull a few of the little weeds that escaped the first cleaning session. I'm hoping to be able to go buy some more vinegar tomorrow to start working on cleaning the rest of my railing. And once it stops raining every day, my husband can actually cut the grass and get up around the area that is going to be the worst to get to. It's going to be a huge pain to get in there and sort out what everything is and what needs to go, but I'm hoping I can start into it sometime this week.

We'll see how it goes!

Project: Fix the Yard

I'll admit, since becoming a mama, I've had to let a lot of things go. Working a full time job and then coming home to care for a toddler is exhausting. I barely have enough energy to make sure the laundry is done and the toys are, if not put away, then at least shoved over to the side so I won't kill myself by tripping over them.

So, it should be no surprise that I've let my front yard go to pieces. Oh, my husband cuts the grass, but my flower beds are overrun with weeds, my trees and flowers have become this one giant ball of nature that may or may not house birds, bugs, possibly snakes and probably Bigfoot.

[It's a giant mass of green. I think there's a hydrangea bush in the back somewhere ...]

Now that summer is here, the itch to clean up the mess has been constantly nagging at me. Every time I pull in or out of the driveway, I inwardly wince and think, "I really need to do something about that. Do you think the neighbors have noticed this jungle growing in my yard?"

Not that I've had much time for gardening. By the time I get home from work, it's time to feed my 2-yr-old his dinner, give him a bath, play a little bit, then get him to bed. Then it's time for me to eat, and consider doing a chore like the dishes or laundry so the inside of the house doesn't turn into as big a disaster as the outside. Then it's dark out, and I'm certainly not braving that snake pit of a front yard in the dark.

Well, this evening I got a break. My son was completely run ragged at his grandmother's house and zonked out at 6 p.m. I grabbed a shovel and some gloves and attacked a bush out front that's been dead probably since we bought the house two years ago. I yanked up handfuls of weeds. I dug a hole in preparation to plant a hydrangea that somebody gave me like 2 weeks ago that desperately needs planting. (Going to wait to get some good soil for it before I plant it, though.)

[You can actually see dirt here, instead of a blanket of weeds!]

I also pulled all the plastic chairs off the deck and hosed them down. Now, when I'm sitting on the deck while my child plays with his water table, I don't have to be afraid of a giant spider crawling out of one of the crevices of my chair. Also, apparently the neighborhood birds thought the chair was the perfect place to perch and then poop all over the back of it. Gross.

While hosing down the chairs, I noticed that the railing on my deck was a lovely green. I'm not sure if it's pollen or mold or a combination of both, but it looks awful. So, I rummaged around in my cabinet for my vinegar. I put it in a spray bottle and had just enough to attack one portion with the vinegar and a scrub brush. It looks a million times better, though it could also use a fresh coat of paint. But one step at a time, here.

[Before.]

[After. Quite a difference, no?]

After that, I was tired, and I'd lost most of my daylight, so I decided to call it an evening. I'm hoping the weather stays clear tomorrow so I can get a little more done. There's still tons more to do. I need to finish scrubbing the rest of the railing. I have to plant my hydrangea. I have to plant a little potted plant with pink flowers that I bought today. Then I need to tackle the jungle on the other side of my porch, trimming back my overgrown plants and praying I don't get attacked by Bigfoot while I'm back there. But at least I've made some progress.

And at this point, any progress I'm making feels like a major accomplishment.

Still here!

It's been quite a while since I've updated! My son is now two years old and I'm busy with the everyday stresses and pleasures that come with being a mom to a toddler.

This has been the most challenging two years of my life. Having a miniature person looking to me for basic needs, teaching, fun and direction has been overwhelming much of the time. A lot of the time I felt like I was doing it wrong. I'd listen to my friends talk about their kids, or see them post their perfect photos on Facebook that seemed to suggest that raising kids was easy. I'd get discouraged. Why was it so hard for me? What was I doing wrong?

And then a coworker whose children are now a little older than me asked casually, "Oh, do you cry? I used to cry all the time. My son was so difficult."

I hesitated only a moment before nodding. Yes. Yes, I cry. I feel like I'm the stupidest, most incompetent mother on the planet. You mean that's not unusual?

Since that day, things have gotten better. My coworker's stories of raising her son have made mine not seem so bad. I don't find myself crying in the bathroom any more. And even though my son is still a bigger challenge than I'd expected, I feel like it's a challenge I can handle.