Is This Normal?
The chaos that is the KerbersArchive for household stuff
The new tree
Since we have been taking so much out of our yard, we decided it was time to put some more back in. Dave and I went to Growing Grounds because we knew that we wanted two new trees in the parkway between the sidewalk and the street. Although we technically don’t own that piece of land, we figured that planting trees just makes it look better, so why not? We ended up with a maple and an oak tree. When we told the kids we were going to plant the first one tonight, they were super stoked to help.
And there you have it, a new tree at the bottom of our driveway.
Projects galore
We were lucky to have some help this weekend working on our deck project. Grandpa Scott, Grandma Judy and Brett came down to see Ben’s soccer game Saturday morning and to see Emma sing in church this morning. That left a whole bunch of time in between to get a lot of stuff done. Grandma and I decided it was time to tackle the window treatments in the dining room and front room. I have wanted to get going on them for months, but I knew I could get them done in two days with her help. It’s always easier to do these things with another set of eyes and hands and another opinion. So, while we headed to Hobby Lobby to buy fabric and supplies, Dave and Grandpa got to work on steps for the deck.
It seemed like smooth sailing out there. They got the steps put on and all of the railing up and secure. Awesome. Meanwhile, Grandma and I were making serious progress, too. We finished the front room window with very little problem on Saturday.
Today after church and lunch, the men decided it was time to take out the ugly bushes that lined the deck. Grandpa hooked up a tow strap to his truck and a bush, and viola…those things were gone in no time. Even though the weather didn’t cooperate with us, thankfully the rain held off until we got all of the bushes out.
And Grandma and I were back at it, too. Although the dining room window treatments was a bit more complicated than the front room one, we did a pretty good job with it, too.
It was a really great and productive weekend, and having help was so nice. The kids were so excited to have Grandma and Grandpa and Brett here at their events and spending the night with us. I’m super excited with all the new things we’re doing around here. I can’t wait to make even more progress!!
The great deck project
As usual, we finished one project and jumped head first into another one. This time we’re altering our deck. It’s a huge deck, and I always thought it was disproportionately large for our yard. Plus the deck went all the way in front of our bay window, which was just weird to me. You’d look out the bay window and see deck railing. Yuck. So, we decided to tear half of it out. Dave started with just a few floor boards to see what he was in for, but very quickly immersed himself into deck demolition. The following pictures represent about three days of hard work.
I would have to say that most people’s reaction to this project is that we’re nuts. But Dave and I are both very excited about this. I’ve always wanted a patio, and now I finally get my chance to have one. The next step will be to rip out all of the super ugly bushes that are around the current deck space. I. hate. Them. THAT will be very rewarding for me, and I know it will make things look better instantly. We’re still thinking about what we’re going to do to the concrete that’s there. Right now we’re thinking about having some stamped concrete poured over the existing slab or laying some flagstone tiles on top of it. No matter what we ultimately decide, it’s going to be better than that giant deck taking over our entire back yard. Even though I know there’s a lot of hard work ahead of us, I can’t wait to keep making progress.
Sand…YIPPEE!
So it’s been ongoing for some time now, but every part of the play set is now done. Dave finished up the cover for the sandbox tonight, and we filled it with sand. It was like the moment of truth that the kids have been waiting for since it started to get nice out. When they first saw the cover and how it folded into benches, they were super excited.
The benches really are awesome for them to sit on while playing, and they were a perfect solution to the problem of having a good, study cover that you didn’t have to remove and put in the grass.
The boys started dumping bags of sand in.
And both kids helped spread it around. Typically, Ben used a shovel while Emma just spread it all with her hands. Messy, schmessy.
Finally it was ready for them to play. Emma was in seventh heaven. She just loves her some sand.
Although it took some serious time to come up with and execute the plan, Dave definitely did not let us down. It’s, in Emma’s words, “the best sandbox theyuh evah WAS!” We’re all so lucky to have a Daddy who can do things like this. He’s the best.
Bye, bye, willow tree!
One of the most distinctive things about this house was the giant weeping willow tree next to the driveway. The branches, in true willow tree fashion, were so long that many of them dragged the ground. The kids loved that, as they ran through them and even swung from some as soon as they saw it. Neither Dave nor I were quite that enthusiastic about it. We hadn’t lived here more than a couple weeks when Dave cut the branches way back, making them about my height off the ground. That was a huge improvement, but we noticed that it dropped leaves and branches all the time. But then again, it was fall. That’s what trees are supposed to do in the fall, right? I think it was after our first snow that Dave started talking about cutting it down. I wasn’t with him at first…it was a really pretty tree.
Then came spring, and the darn thing dropped even more branches. Like all the time. And when mowing season started, those stupid branches had to be raked up. Dave started talking more often about taking it down, but I still wasn’t really convinced. Then one day last week I decided I would rake up the sticks because Dave wanted to mow the next night. I raked and raked, and as I did, I realized that this would have to happen every. time. we mow. What a pain in the butt! That was pretty much the turning point with me…I was on board for the willow tree destruction.
And so it began…this morning at about 9:00 am. Dave was a little nervous about doing this. You just never know how trees will come down.
Uncle Steve came to help, and between the two of them they were able to direct the big branches down right where they wanted them.
Dave pretty much went branch by branch with the chainsaw.
A few of the bigger limbs took a little bit of convincing to fall the right way. This is where Uncle Steve was very helpful.
Everyone pitched in helping haul branches and limbs to the curb. Thank goodness Bloomington picks up all yard waste for you. That made the job much more manageable. The kids absolutely loved helping, and Ben was hauling pieces bigger than him!
Once all the branches were gone, Dave started in on the trunk. I think getting that cut off took more time than the rest of the tree combined.
Before we knew it, there was simply a stump in the yard and a giant pile of wood and leaves in the street. We couldn’t believe how much it opened up our yard.
Although neither Dave nor I are the types who want to take down perfectly healthy trees, we really felt that it would be better without that tree in our yard. Once it was done, we knew we were right. I think willow trees just belong in pastures or next to a lake. A side yard in the middle of town just isn’t the best fit for such a giant, messy tree. RIP willow tree.
Fort finishing
The weather has very quickly turned in a good way. It’s been really nice the last few days and it’s supposed to get even nicer next week. So it was time to get the play set finished. Dave had knocked a lot of it out last fall before it got too cold, but he still needed to finish leveling it out to attach the swing arm, put on the swings themselves, and put on the climbing wall handles.
The kids were so excited to have it finished. Now we just need to get that sandbox filled up!
Doing taxes
This is going to sound very bizarre to many, but I love doing our taxes. I know, I know, it’s a very weird thing to hear…especially from someone who has a severe aversion to math. But I use Turbo Tax to do ours, and it’s so easy and awesome. I just have to get all of the documents organized, plug in the numbers, and then watch our refund numbers grow with every deduction I put in. It’s awesome.
I have been itching to start them, but we hadn’t gotten my W2 from ISU yet, so it was pretty much impossible to begin. That finally came today, so tonight I got started. An hour and a half later they’re done, and Dave and I are thrilled with our return number. We don’t have anything super specific to spend it on this year, so I think we’re going to start our Disney trip fund. We’re hoping to go in October, so if we can put that money in the bank and add to it a bit before then we should be in good shape to go. I know there is probably someone reading this who will try to argue with me about how declaring zero on our W4s is a bad idea because we’re giving the government an interest free loan. I’ve heard it all before. the truth is, I know we wouldn’t have saved as much as this refund is, so I still feel like we’re ahead. There’s not much like a bunch of money showing up in your bank account…and in about 10 days, that’s what we’ll get. Love it!
Break?
Even though school’s been out for two days, I hardly feel like I’m on a break. The last two days have been full of last-minute shopping, grocery shopping, wrapping presents, cleaning house and making food for the next four days. Although I love doing most of this last-minute stuff, I feel a bit overwhelmed this year. I usually start making treats and cookies earlier in December, but this year it just didn’t get done. Now I have just two more days to knock out this big-time list before the big guy comes on the 24th. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…
A super busy week
It’s Friday night and I’m pooped. We’ve had so much going on this week that it simply flew by. Some of it was professional; I had a curriculum chair meeting on Monday and class on Tuesday. Some of it was for the kids; Ben had basketball on Monday and Wednesday and Emma had choir on Wednesday. Some of it was social; I had a girls night out on Thursday. If you add that all up it equals some committment every night and some nights two commitments. Ugh.
We were supposed to get together with our friends the Mathiases tonight, but half of their family is sick, so that got canceled. I have to admit that although I’m bummed we’re not going to see them, I’m relieved to have a nice relaxing evening with the entire family home.
Tomorrow the craziness continues as Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Nancy and Brett are coming down to watch Ben’s basketball game. After that the ladies are going shopping, which is good, since I haven’t even started mine yet. I do love this time of year, but sometimes it can just get too busy!
Decking the new halls
I absolutely love decorating our Christmas tree. Well, I guess that’s not entirely true. I love getting it up, and I love starting the lights. But once I get about halfway done with lights, I’m totally sick of it. Shockingly, I’m a bit of a perfectionist with the lights, and I wind them around branches, make some layers deep inside the tree, and generally get that thing completely covered in lights. It’s a very lengthy process, but totally worth it when it’s done. Once I’ve finally gotten that part done, we let the kids hang their own ornaments. The first year we did this it was pretty difficult for me to give up the control of placing the ornaments just where I thought they needed to be, but now, in year three, I’m very relaxed and just let them hang wherever they want. Dave’s really great at helping guide some of their choices, so they don’t end up being too bunched up on one or two branches. It turned out great, as usual.
Then I started hauling up all of the other Christmas decorations. It was so weird to pull things out this year because nothing had a ”home” like it did in the old house. It was fun, but difficult, to place things. I think I got most of it in places I’m happy with, but my guess is I will change at least a few things over the next week or so. I also haven’t gotten anything on the built-in shelves on either side of the fireplace. I’m still debating whether to put up my snowmen or my Christmas village. Both would work really well in that space. I haven’t had my village up in years, so that’s a huge attraction to that. But my snowmen can stay up long after the Christmas, which is a huge plus for them. I guess we just have to wait and see which wins.
The house is looking festive, and the beautiful thing is I have so much more room that now I can get some new decorations! That’s something I haven’t been able to do for a long time since I barely had any room to display what I already had. Can’t wait to do some shopping after Christmas to get some bargains!
