I think we have a plan

Today was a really hot day in MN. (I know, hot day, MN, April all in one sentence sounds TOTALLY unbelievable.) It was 91. We spent a lot of our day outside. We moved our little playset from the living room to the yard and it helped a little. Ryan still loves the street for some reason. It was better today, but still hard.
I do believe we finally figured out a reasonable plan that won't break the bank and keeps us in our house and neighborhood which we love.
1. We are taking 2 trees down the next nice weekend we have. Both are pine trees by our house that were planted too close. That will make 2 spots we can have some play equiptment. In the front we will have a smaller plastic climber for this year and next year we will build a wood one in the back.
2. We are putting a sandbox in where we have the land that is too uneven for a climber. Ryan loves the sand and I see us spending lots of time in the sandbox this summer.
3. We are paving under our deck to make it a patio. That will take some work, but it is doable.

The nice thing is that none of this really breaks the bank. We can do most of it on our own.

So what do you do with a house/yard that doesn't work...

We are having problems. BIG outside problems. And it all starts with a little boy who learned the word OUT last week. He loves the fresh air and the fresh air loves him right back. Sadly, our yard is really not condusive to a toddler.

We have lots of land in the back, except it all slopes downhill and is wooded, like really overgrown wooded. What is a mom to do? We tried playing on the deck, until he started carrying the deck chairs over to by the railing and thinking playing on the railing was a good idea. That solved that.

We can't fence the front, however putting in an underground fence and putting collars on the dog and kid has crossed our mind...kidding people kidding.

When we are out front he runs and runs and runs. Sometimes he runs into the cul-de-sac, which isn't good as it isn't a habit we would like to see continue.

We do have a playset in the back but the land isn't flat enough for it to work and it is just too big for him right now, or maybe not in the right place. We are trying to sell it, and if we can't, we have offered it to my parents as they have a flat yard.

So.....we either do a couple of things. Take down some trees in the back, building it up, put in a retaining wall, etc. Sounds expensive.

Take down a tree in the front of the house and landscape that and put a smaller size playset. Our neighbors should LOVE that...LOL!

Or...we move. Our house works for us. The right number of bedrooms, a good layout, etc.....and we LOVE our neighborhood. This lot, is becoming unworkable however.

Any great ideas?

Easter

Happy Easter to All!

Oh my thighs.............

First day at health club. First day with personal trainer. Must I say more? Sad thing is I go back tomorrow to swim.
Why can't we just wish the weight away?????

More Vacation Pics

Isn't Facebook cool?

I have been having a really good time finding old high school friends on Facebook lately. Early this week I connected with someone I hadn't seen in 20 years. Man..that is a LONG time!! It has been fun seeing who is doing what now, and sometimes I could have never seen that person in that profession, and some aren't a surprise at all. In our graduating class there are a bunch of social workers, I found that quite interesting.

My 20 year reunion is in June and I plan on going with a friend from high school. Aaron has no interest in going and that is okay with me. :)

Today is the last day of my work week I think. Unless someone is sick, then I will work tomorrow. I have a lot of catch up to do at home and the laundry is never ending. Oh well, it never will be!!

Thinking on joining a health club.........

So, why you ask? Because I went through my vacation pictures and went BOOHOO! I know I haven't lost any, but also haven't gained any, but it is just sitting funny on me. My clothes don't fit and all the other stuff that goes with it.
I have it narrowed down to 2. One that has childcare, and one that doesn't. I am leaning toward the child care one as it has a really good special going on right now, plus, I won't have to fight with Aaron to watch him while I go.

Pictures

Back to Life...Back to Reality

Ahhh...vacation is surely over! I jumped right back into work with both feet and it hasn't let up yet. I am looking forward to the weekend to catch up on laundry/grocery shopping/cleaning/etc...

Kids are still on spring break so they are enjoying some extra time off this week as well. Back to school on Monday though.

Ryan still has his nasty cold/cough but no fever so that is good. He is supposed to start speech therapy but I haven't gotten the insurance part of that worked out, so I am going to try and work on that tomorrow I hope.

I am looking forward to the last episode of ER tonight. I am proud (or maybe not so proud) to say I have never missed an episode in 15 years. Longer than my son has been around...LOL! I don't know what I will do with my Thursday nights now. :)

I will post a bunch of pictures this weekend from the trip.