anatomy of a backyard renovation.

One of the main things that attracted us to this house when we bought it four years ago was the size of the backyard. It was just....HUGE! The sycamore tree in the middle of the yard gave gave it such great shade, and the 6 foot fences all the way around provided privacy and security that we could just let the boys RUN and not have to worry.

However, it has never had real GRASS, and from the start was incredibly bumpy and sloped. We finally got around to having 18 lloads of dirt trucked in so the slope would be a little less, but due to the busyness of the summer last year never got around to seeding. We talk about grass, we dream about grass, we CANNOT STOP THINKING about grass for our backyard. The kids have NEVER lived in a house that had a backyard with grass and that's what we are dying to give them. And I'm DYING to have it because right now anytime anyone so much as even LOOKS at the backyard at least a gallon of dirt and dust comes flying through the backdoor and is trucked in little footprint and piles of dusty dirt all over my house. The hardwood floors have suffered tremendously because of the wear from the dirt and I'm sick to DEATH of mopping.

So this year, come hell or highwater...this family is getting grass. AND SOON. We've gone back and forth between sod/seed/hydroseed and although sod is expensive I'm pretty sure that's what we're going to do if I have my way. Tee hee. I just can't imagine waiting for 5 weeks for my kids to go outside. Elijah finally was able build the terrace for the raised garden beds and all we need to do now is bring in dirt for them, and then decide what and how we're going to do this grass. The frustrating part is, he's about to start a major project at work that will take him away pretty much all nights AND weekends so I feel like I have to be the one to get it moving. Which is hard when you're on bedrest. I sit in bed and do a lot of thinking and scheming, and it gets me pretty much...NOWHERE. ;)

The scouts are earning money locally and Elijah has worked out for them to come and help til the ground to prep it for the seed/sod, and hopefully that will be done in the next few weeks. I've taken some great before/afters for posterity, and I'm excited to put them up here once the grass is officially IN. CROSS YOUR FINGERS, PEOPLE!

In baby news, we still have not told the kids, and will probably wait until my birthday or so. Which also means we're not telling anyone else so that way they don't accidentally slip and tell the kids. Because of continued bleeding my weekly ultrasounds have continued, and I'm starting to feel so much better on the new medicine they've prescribed for my thyroid. Here's hoping the stuff actually WORKS this time around. I have good faith it will. I'm getting really excited to find out the sex of this baby, either way will be SO fun but I just love KNOWING. I'm sooo not good at surprises... ;)