At our house, home improvement projects can either be items on the check list or emergencies that need to be taken care of asap.  The yard project has been on the list for awhile and we’ve been plodding along in random stages preparing for it.  First, the general vision a few years ago.  Then my husband and his father tore out a bit of rock wall and rebuilt it in other locations last fall.  Then husband killed off the weeds this spring and fought with the tiller (temperamental carburetor) to prep the land.  The next day, I ordered the sod.  They said they could deliver it two days later.  That made it my job to lay it. Hmmm…

The sod arrived bright and early that morning–62 rolls were on that pallet.

And this is where it needed to go.  Took me three hours to lay down the big chunks that morning.  Then I called husband home to do the detail work.  A bit backwards from most situations I suppose, but it worked well for this project.

It’s been two weeks and I’m so very pleased that the sod has taken root (and Mother Nature decided to give us cooler weather and a good round of rain).  Celebrating it’s new neighbor, the rhododendron in the center is blooming beautifully this year.  I’m not a gardener…mainly because I was stuck doing so much helping as a child.  If the plants that are here can maintain themselves with minimal care from me, welcome.  We transplanted the rhododendron in this location after we’d whacked it back to nothing as it was HUGE and in a bad spot (or, maybe it was just because I was pregnant/hormonal).  It’s been many years and we weren’t sure if we should just rip it out or not since it hadn’t done much since the move.  But, the rhododendron proves yet again that some beings just need time…

to bloom where they are planted.

May is a party month at our house as three out of four celebrate birthdays.  And, for the first time since the year he was born, my oldest’s birthday falls on Mother’s Day.  He doesn’t like to do things the easy way which began day 1 as he spent 8 days in the NICU for meconium aspiration and jaundice.  What an introduction to motherhood!He was the biggest baby in the NICU and the loudest (still is).  Not boisterous like my son but also very boyish at heart, J.M. Barrie’s birthday is today.  The Writer’s Almanac has a lovely bio-paragraph in honor of the shy Scotsman who took us all to Neverland.

When #2 was about two, she had lots of worries at bedtime.  To help take her mind off her worries, I began asking her what her happy thought was for the day.  It worked and became a bedtime routine staple for all.

What’s your happy thought?  Happy Mother’s Day!

These abandoned umbrellas are actually the imaginative domicile for younger part of my crew while our eldest mowed the lawn…for the first time.

Hard to believe pretty blooms like this cause so many people physical strife.  One of mine is in allergy hell.  At least I get to look at something pretty while I measure out the doses.

Like me, the hammock and the swing are waiting for the players to return home from school.  We may look lonely, but we’re ok.  The hammock has been in storage for 15 years and is still like new.  Give us a good season, we’ll break it break it in.

Sun is the word for the week in our part of the world.  And with that, a push to spruce up, inside and out (hence the uncovering of the aged hammock chair).  I did a quick drop at the local donation center and decided to see what others gave away before I left.

THIS dress!  Straight from Shanghai according to the original tag and creases proving it was never worn, but it is a bit frayed in a few spots (aren’t we all?).

Back to the tidying…I need to uncover a misplaced library book before my Kindergartener can’t check out again.

Aimee suggests we explore unintended uses of items.  We use the “dining room” as an office/music room.  I converted a free toilet paper holder (we go through too much to tuck one away in a cute lidded box) into the pencil/colored pencil container.  The new fancy pour spouts from larger OJ containers became Barbie/Polly/other smaller doll toilets.But, after using hands, apples and celery to paint with, I’ve expanded my repertoire to okra.  My children are far more interested in having it pan fried.  But I’m equally enamored with both options.

Topic, courtesy of Artsyville.  Deafening silence here at Scribbles has been courtesy of me. Still not sure how to be in this space as what I really want to say, I shouldn’t say or post on the Internet.  Maybe you can relate.  Maybe not.  Either way, here’s what is whirling around my head in no particular order:

• I can’t get WordPress to put any of my photos in the header and there are other weird things that didn’t used to happen but I have yet to make it a top priority with my resident computer guru.  I should take time to figure this out myself, but…
• I will be 40 this fall.  I don’t think this is a problem or a milestone, other than I really like birthdays, mine especially and I happily celebrate others.
• I buy LEGO minifigures for my kids because the thrill of the unknown in the package–one of us is usually disappointed.
• I am an 18 year survivor of ovarian cancer.
• I buy lotto tickets because I really hope we’ll win the big one (come on, Powerball!).
• I would love more people to say, “what a beautiful family!” instead of “you have your hands full!” when they hear or see that I have four children.
• I like to paint with hands and veggies.  Okra is a new favorite tool, although my children much prefer when I pan-fry it–sans paint.
• I stopped blogging last year because of a computer glitch which lost all of my 500 posts.  I would have been upset more at the time, but I was in the middle of a seven week substitute gig at the preschool and just stopping while I was behind seemed like a good thing.  But, frankly, responses to my blogging became weird with those in my day-to-day–they were talking at me instead of having a conversation with me.  As an introvert, I’m all for conversation starters, but when I don’t even need to be there for the conversation…um…
• As 2013 began, I helped my 62 year old mother move into senior housing.
• I care for people who have multiple allergies (mold, tree, cat, dog, tree nuts, etc.), amblyopia, kerataconus, and learning differences.
• Caregiving/Advocating is isolating.
• I wish I’d looked before I backed up last week as I bumped bumpers with the craziest woman ever.  No damage, but she yelled at me for 20 minutes anyway and still wasn’t satisfied after I called my insurance company right then and there. So, look before you leap or the crazy in the parking lot will find you.
• I should self-medicate more than I actually do.
• We have 30,000 digital photos.  Holy backup, Batman!
• My husband informed me the other night that he has finally discovered the key to keeping me happy–we should move to London/England.  This epiphany hit him while he watch an episode of The Graham Norton Show with me.  Um…I don’t know that we need to move, but a few trips to the whole UK would be a lot of fun for all of us. (Come on, Powerball!)

Cheers!

Artsyville has been wrapped up in holiday traditions this week.  Here are some of ours:

• count down calendars
• baking when inspired
• crafts when inspired
• handprint tree
• traditional tree
• holiday DVDs (I will only let my kids watch original cartoon Grinch… as I can’t bear to see the live action version; Arthur Christmas is a new favorite)
• Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas songs
• waiting for the elves to bring pjs the night before

Aimee at Artsyville loves lists and this week it’s all about the junk drawer.

The note pad/glasses blankies (microfiber cloths for those of you who don’t speak Scribbler)/comb/beads/clips/tape/scissors/glue sticks/mechanical pencils/hex bugs/paintbrushes/crafty odds and ends live in the same drawer with the practical peelers/bottle openers/pizza cutters/tin foil/press and seal.

7th annual family handprint Christmas tree now decorates the house along with our ceramic tree my mom made back in the ’70s.  Bored with brushes, I painted the border using okra; “ornaments” were from a project I did using apples earlier this year and the heart topper was an okra and celery project.