stickyfeathers

no. 2: spruce up my gardens and landscaping.

we didn't have any big plans for this weekend, so we took advantage of our time and completed phase one of 'operation fix-my-garden'.  i also managed to knock something off my list! 

i have two rock gardens in my yard that needed major overhaul.  i basically have neglected them since tucker was born.  this was the worst year by far, as i haven't touched them at all.  gardeners all over the land would cringe knowing the weeds were basically as tall as my toddler.  whoops.

on friday, we bought five yards of black dirt (REAL black dirt from the southern part of the state).  matt brought his dad's dump truck and bobcat in to help rip out the old and bring in the new.  friday night we completed the first garden.

here is the before shot (one hell of a scary sight):

here is the after shot (oh yeah baby):

on saturday morning, we got up and cleared out the second garden.  tucker LOVED riding in the bobcat with matt.  he wasn't even out of his pj's yet when we were out the door.  i threw his hat and shoes on, sprayed him with sunscreen, and out we went to work.

here is the before shot taken on friday (natalie and tucker were playing on the swingset):

here is a shot after we leveled the sucker off (there's matt and tucker in the bobcat):

and here is the final shot of it this afternoon (oh yeah baby):

i could post a ton of different shots, but really, pictures just don't do it justice. 

random thoughts about this project:

• love the two big rocks matt brought in from his parents place (thanks jamie)!  they make a great addition to each garden.
• so happy i put my birdbath in the back garden.
• praying to god the deer stay the FRICK out.  i have many plants they won't eat, but i'm sure those bastards will destroy something.
• love using the river rock i wanted to get rid of as an accent in both gardens.
• i hate ants and spiders (and most other insects).
• grateful for my husband and stepmom's help with this project.
• hoping the gardens thrive and are bigger and better next year!

i say this is phase one because i have a million other project around our yard i want to do.  i have gardens along our house that i need to revamp.  we are going to be putting in a slab patio and then using our current deck to build a small porch on the front of our house as well as a sandbox for tucker.  i need to trim all of the bushes in our yard.  i need to mow.  and weedwhip.  see, the list never ends.  :)

my assistant.

yesterday, i took pictures of this little lady.

that's little anna.  she gets cuter every time i see her.  when tucker found out i was taking pictures, he ran to go find his camera.  i didn't expect him to COPY EVERYTHING i did during the photo shoot.  it was SO funny.  he copied the baby talk and goofy actions and also was snapping away with his PLASTIC camera.  now, more than ever i want him to get his own real 'kid' camera. 

i happened to grab one shot of him in his element. 

i think i have a new assistant.  :)

pay it forward.

a few weeks ago, i won a pay it forward contest over at bonbon rose (go check this blog out if you haven't yet - very stylish).  i entered only knowing that i would have to pay it forward on my blog.  i figured it would be a good jump start back into blogging since i feel like i've been such a slacker lately.

when i received my surprise in the mail, i was very excited to see what was inside.

it was a...

...rume reusable shopping bag!  as kristen pointed out, it's the same one nicole richie uses.  dude, i'm one step closer to being in style now!  :)  if you are jealous and want your own, you can find them here.

so, since i won, i need to pass on the good fortune.  contest time!  the only rule is you promise to pay this forward on your blog.  if you don't have a blog, then you just have to go buy someone an ice cream cone.  :)

ETA:  i forgot to mention something important: 
if you win, you will get a few of my favorite things!  yey!

to enter, leave me a comment on this post answering the following question:

what is the last thing you purchased? 
the last thing i purchased was lunch at the trestle while camping this weekend.

contest will end at midnight on july 4!  happy commenting!

i officially have baby fever.

i have a thousand things to blog about, but my time has been consumed by one little lady.  her name, berkley.  i took her pictures last week and i couldn't help but finally share one here. 

i love babies.  i have the fever.  save me.  :)

painting the birdhouse.

a few weeks ago, a lady from work had given me a birdhouse for tucker.  she didn't need it and i thought it would be a fun project.  we both love birds so i was excited about it.  last week i bought some paints (no idea if they are the right 'kind' of paints, but oh well). 

tonight was the night we finally painted the birdhouse. 

tucker was TOTALLY into it.

he finished his masterpiece and i snapped a few shots of his art. 
the front door is pretty colorful.

i helped with the back.  i could't let him have all the fun!

a closer view.  i'm so crafty it's insane.  :)

and a 'bird's eye view' which i think is cool.

it was a fun little project.  i think we might be doing many more this summer!

he looks like i feel.

i took this shot of tucker this weekend (which i still haven't blogged about).  i'm not kidding when i tell you, this kid looks like i feel.  exhausted.  i'm trying to catch up, i swear.

matt told me that this picture reminds him of me.  tucker drools in his sleep and has crazy bed head, just like his momma.  i love it.

this is one of my new favorite shots of my little dude. 

an interview.

my husband has been laid off since may 17.  since then, he's been a stay-at-home-dad.  i work (800 - 430, monday - friday).  the silver lining in matt being off right now is that he gets to be at home with tucker.  i give matt a lot of credit, he's been doing an awesome job.  however, i know he now has a different kind of stress: dealing with a crazed three-year-old.  :)

i asked him a while ago if i could do an interview with him about 'life as a sahd'.  he said yes.  i wanted to document his thoughts about this time.  tonight, i'm throwing questions at him and i'm very curious to see the answers. 

me:  what is the best part of your day at home with tucker?
matt:  naptime.  i'm just kidding!  probably when we're out doing something, like in the garage or at the playground.  it kind of makes you feel good when your kid knows what kind of screwdriver is a philips and he can help you fix the boat.

me:  what is the worst part of the day?
matt:  probably actually right before naptime.  trying to get him to nap...

me:  does he listen to you?
matt:  he has his moments, but yeah.  if it's not fixing something, playing trucks, or sliding (at the playground), he doesn't want to do it.

me:  what is his favorite thing to eat for lunch?
matt:  chicken nuggets and french fries (please note: mcdonalds is 30 miles away so technically it's not fast food).

me:  has staying at home been easier or harder than you thought?
matt:  it's easier than i thought.  if it was up to me, i wouldn't go back to work.

me:  when tucker isn't listening, what is the most effective form of discipline?
matt:  putting him in his room. 

me:  do you think you'd like being home as much if we had a newborn in the house?
matt:  with him?  ha.  it'd be hard with a newborn chasing him around, but i'm sure i'd figure it out.  yeah, it'd pry be about 10x more difficult with a newborn (NOTE: we are NOT having a baby, this is JUST a question).

me:  how many questions do you think he asks in a day?
matt:  well, on average if he asks one, it turns into 20 with the why's, the what's and how's.  it don't matter what it is, he asks how? why? or what?

me:  what are your nicknames for him?
matt:  willis.  bozo.

me:  what is the one thing you think you say to him the most?
matt:  either 'tucker, come here' or 'listen' or 'just eat' or 'quit it now'.

me:  do you think i've got it easy working all day?
matt:  yeah.  no, if i had the choice to stay at home, i would.  you think i'm joking.  my worst day at home is still better than my best day at work.

me:  do you think staying at home during this time has increased or decreased your stress level?
matt:  depends how you look at it.  it's worse cuz you're not at work, but i don't know, it's not really stressful being at home with him.  there's times when you get burnt out, you just want a break and to be by yourself. 

me:  what is one of the funniest things tucker has done while at home with you?
matt:  either gotta be when he gets off the toilet and shakes his naked butt at you or his numerous sayings he whips out like, 'dad, you better be nice to me or you're goin' in the naughty spot!'

so, there you have our little interview.  do you guys have any questions for matt?  i couldn't think of anything after i sat down and started asking him questions.  i guess i'm lacking that 'oprah factor'. 

i have to admit, i think we'll all be a little sad when matt goes back to work.

the itch.

last night, i had the itch.  it's the itch i get when i want to take a few photograph's.  to cure my itch, i called my cute little sister and had her get dressed and come over.  she wore her favorite dress.  :)

it totally cured my itch. 

meanwhile, tucker was being a total crazyman, flying around the yard (and even growling).  i did manage to get some shots of him and natalie in his jeep.  he was talking to someone on the radio, 'come in, come in' and natalie was hamming it up for me.  oh, and if anyone finds a nice sparkly dangly (is that a word) earring, natalie lost it somewhere (in case you were wondering why she had only one nice sparkly dangly earring).  :)

i love these little cheeseballs.  :)

will you accept this rose?

so, i've been watching the bachelorette.  yes, i know it's totally useless drama that just takes up brain space, but i enjoy it.  this season is starting to heat up and my guys are still hanging around so i'm pretty happy about that.  i actually like jillian.  i liked her before (when she was falling in love with jason - it's tv love so the rebound is quicker i hear).  anyways, i don't really care about her, i just like watching these guys pine over her (and fight like old women).

okay, here is my rundown on some of the current (and EX) bachelor's.

kiptyn - LOVE this guy.  sometimes he's not so cute, but other times he's smokin'.  i like that he is really easy going and on their last date it seemed pretty 'normal' (for tv land anyways).

jake - this guy would basically worship the ground she walks on for the rest of her life.  i think.  he's getting some guff for being 'too perfect' sortof.  i wasn't sure if she was turned off by that or if she wanted him to just 'be himself'.  i think he is pretty perfect.  great job, great smile, nice body, nice personality...do you think the guy even has a dark side?  probably not.  think she might want a guy with a little more edge?  probably.

speaking of edge - WES.  i HATE this guy.  i think he's this wanna-be-a-country-star-dude that will stop at nothing to reach stardom.  this includes writing cheesy songs for jillian.  he just looks like a creep!  i can't believe she is falling for him.  jillian + wes = a bad country song.

a few other guys that i'm glad are gone include - julien (weird), juan (full of himself), and david (crazy pig).

i like ed, reid and michael too.  it just doesn't seem like they have had a TON of time with her.  ed had a date last week and scored the rose.  i would like to see reid and michael get a date alone with her to see what happens.  oooh lala - i bet there would be KISSING!

oh, and tanner p. is weird.  i like feet but geesh - this guy is certifiable!

okay, i know SOME of you have been watching. 
who is your favorite/least favorite dude?  spill!

this, that and the other.

seriously, THANK YOU all for commenting on the last post.  it made me feel better and hell, i even got some dude from qwest to comment - KICK ASS.  i will be following up on that and seeing if there is anything they can do for me. 

on my way home for lunch today, matt calls and asks if i'm on my way.  i told him i was and he said he would see me in a minute.  no biggie.  i walk in the door and tucker screams 'surprise!' and nearly falls over in the process.  i then look and see that my boys have made me a (late) birthday cake!  the candles were lit and they even sang to me!  i was TOTALLY surprised.  not only did i get cake for lunch, but i now know that my husband can make a mean box cake.  :) 

i've been working on my photography website since after dinner tonight.  i'm dying to launch it!  it is taking a bit longer than i expected only because i don't have a TON of time to work on it.  hopefully this weekend i can really crack down on myself and get things finished.  i have so much floating around in my head related to photography, i just wish i had time to accomplish it all!

stay tuned for my first dish on the bachelorette.  about time, huh?