Back Yard Bettering

In the interest of reviving this sad, neglected blog, I'm going to tell you about our super-productive week-end. Complete with pictures even!

Before getting into the productive stuff though, check out the boys' new toys. Their Grandpa Mac, who they lovingly call MAC!, brought these for them a few visits ago. They've been through each of his grandchildren and now it's the boys' turn to try to destroy them. Yay!


They're learning words like "gear shift" and "steering wheel" and "horn" thanks to this car. They love that horn.


Ok, back to the productive bit...

I've been in a crunchy kind of mood lately. And when I'm in a crunchy mood, Greg gets worried. It inevitably means he'll be roped into crunchy diy projects, projects like starting our own composting heap! Oh yes.

My grandpa used to compost. He'd dig a big ol' hole in the ground of his lush backyard and bury left-over food scraps in there. When it was full, he'd fill it in and dig another one. Since our backyard seems to consist of mostly rock covered with a smattering of dirt, we have to devise other means of crunchification.

After doing a bit of reading on the interwebz, I came across a remarkably simple set of instructions that involve a 30+ gallon trash can with lid ($15 at Lowes), a handsaw or serrated knife or strong pair of scissors and a drill. Oh! And a husband willing to manhandle all of these things so my nails remain intact.

First, use that handsaw/knife/scissors to cut the bottom off of the trash can.

Joseph, ever the helpful little guy, directing Daddy in his work

Luke, who is kinda in love with that swing, swinging

Back to little boy cuteness...

Gosh, being a mom is distracting.

Ok, back to productivity...

Next, take that drill and poke many, little holes all throughout the trash can to allow air flow through your compost heap.

Bored of helping Daddy so it's time for a few laps around the yard.
I love, love, love that look of determination on his face.

Luke, showing me his battle scars
Poor guy did a back flip off a ramp at our local garden center.
He landed on his face.
It was not pretty.
The battle scars, not his face. His face is always pretty.

This is why we were at the garden center.
2 tomatoes, squash, bell pepper, rosemary & parsley
Me = excited

Next day (because when you have twin toddlers, things always take 300% longer than you think they should)...

Dude. You missed a spot.

Yeah, Dad. HUGE hole. Right there. Between your legs.

::grumble, grumble::tyrants::grumble, grumble::composting::grumble, grumble::football...

In a few short hours (spread over a couple of days) Greg graciously finished the composting bin, and now it lives behind our storage shed.

We added leaves, some grass clippings, a bit of old potting soil and our first table scraps. Then we hosed it down a bit because it should be slightly moist (like a squeezed-out sponge), and we'll turn the pile to mix everything up at least once a month. (Table scraps should always be buried in the mix to minimize bugs.) And in 6-8 months, we should have a nice bit of compost to spread around our yard.


Delayed gratification? Yes, but I'm still happy we finally started doing something. Ideally, I'd like to have a few more of these to help deal with all the yard trimmings and autumn leaves that we obviously never bothered to rake, but we can see how this goes first.


Oh, and this is the reason we planted our container garden on Saturday night after the boys had gone to bed.

Dirt! YES!!!

Ok, Dad, now what are you going to do about this overrun containing wall?

From the mouths of babes, right?


The boys are 21-ish months old.

Our Last Day at the Beach

Our last day of a wonderful, relaxing vacation

It's been so great to have Mimi & Uncle Trav here to help us celebrate and relax (and clean and cook and entertain and babysit).

It's been fun introducing the boys to the ocean and waves and sand.

Next time we're here, they'll be old enough to run and splash and get into all sorts of trouble.

I don't want to think about that though.

I look forward to the adventure and fun of impending toddlerhood, but right now I'm going to enjoy the last days of their babyhood while I still can.

Love them sooooo much!

My sweet babies boys are one year & 1 week old.

Snuggle Time

Pucker Up

He does this a lot lately.

I am choosing to believe that's his cute way of telling me that he wants a kiss from his mama. And, like any good mama, I oblige.

He finds this hilarious, and it usually leads to many more puckers and many more kisses.

I just threw this one in because it's cute. All those kisses went to his head and apparently brought the crazy out.

I love the crazy.

My boys are one year & 5 days old.

Water Babies

Grumpy babies need dunks in the pool. Fact.

I find this photo hilarious. Sorry, Mom. :)

Despite their best efforts, their grouchy resolves were no match for pool time.

It was a family effort...

...but they totally came around.

Ok, Not So Cute But Pretty Dang Funny

When he's done, he is D.O.N.E. Hahahaha!!!

No Words; Just Cuteness

I know I have too many pictures in my posts. I know I need to cull them down to only the best, cutest ones. But I just can't. I love them all. Sorry.

Like It's His Job

Luke took his first steps yesterday! And now all he wants to do is walk. Walk, walk, walk, walk. But since he still hasn't got the whole solo thing down yet, he instead is obsessed with pushing things around. It doesn't really matter what it is - boxes, end tables, patio chairs (that are really, really loud when pushed around the patio, so loud in fact that the manager called us to keep it down - oops!). But what he really loves is pushing his wagon.


We guide; he pushes. That's how it goes. And he will push for.ev.er if you let him. In fact, he gets really upset if we don't go fast enough or get stuck while turning a corner. His face scrunches up, he lets out a high-pitched squeal and will bounce up and down like he's saying, Come on! Come on! COME ON! He's so obsessed that we've started hiding the wagon when we need a break because as soon as he sees it, he has to push. It's a little insane.

Then, of course, Joseph (who also took a few steps on his own yesterday!) wants to push as well, which leads to even bigger problems. Can you say jealousy? Since Joseph just wants to be a part of the action and isn't so fussed about the actual pushing, we just stick him in the wagon and belt him in to enjoy the ride. Then everyone's happy.

So to avoid narrow hallways and the getting stuck therein, we took our little train to the walkways outside.

Oh, and shoes! I've been a slacker mom. I figure if the boys aren't walking, I'm not bothering with shoes. Well, now they are so it's time to bust these bad boys out! Luke was confused, but after a little coaching and a lot of coaxing, he got the hang of shoes pretty quickly.





My boys are so freakin' adorable! In case I haven't said it in a while, I love, love, love being their mommy.

First Trip to the Beach

On our second full day, we loaded the boys into the wagon, headed down the boardwalk and hit the beach.

(Apologies for the image quality in these. My camera lens fogged up as soon as I took off the cover.)

There was a ton of seaweed on the beaches during this trip unfortunately. I did some reading up. Apparently they used to clear it from the sand all the time but are now leaving it more often to prevent beach erosion.

The boys didn't seem to mind though. They were having a great time just enjoying the ride and checking out the water & birds.

Such cutie patooties!

We stopped to let the boys dip their toes into the water. Joseph is such a water baby! He loved every second of playing in the waves.


Luke was a little more apprehensive. He was okay with just checking it out from the safety of mama's arms thankyouverymuch, but he did let me wet his toes.


Joseph, on the other hand, wanted to dive right in.



That is, until that salt water hit his diaper rash. Then it was the end of our beach excursion. Poor baby. :(

We will have to come back to the beach and let the boys go wild. Like when they're no longer in diapers. And can swim like fish.


The boys are one year & 4 days old.