Whew

Randy started his new job this week…(whew)…. I got to cut back my work hours to only 3 days a week…(whew)… I found a GREAT babysitter for my kids…(whew)…

I think we now have a small routine.

I must say things are really starting to fall into place, which is great because our life for the past 10 months has been far from routine. I am so relieved that we found a great babysitter for our kids. That was the BIGGEST stressor for me. She is fabulous and my kids really like going over there. I love it because she thinks the same way I do and I know she will do for my kids what I would.

Randy got a little antsy being home near the end of the summer and thus took on a TON of projects. This is what he has been up to …





Building a shoe shelf in our master closet…




Building shelves in our cold storage…
I know we would only last about a week on what we have so far. Baby steps. Hopefully or neighbors are willing to share in a crisis.



Working in the yard... Our house sits on a 1/2 acre which = a TON of yardwork



Pulling the weeds out of the yard…
Our property used to be an old alfalfa field. If you look at some of the pictures you can see the weeds in the empty lot next door. That is what we have been battling. Look at the roots on those suckers. It took forever to get rid of them.



Leveling the back yard and making a retaining wall…




Has anyone else had to buy these stupid rocks?? I swear they have gold nuggets inside. They cost a fortune.



Assembling the rock wall…



Trenching for sprinklers...

We almost left the yard sloped. After a lot of thought we bit the bullet and decided to make the majority of the yard level and build up a garden space on top. I am so glad we did it. I think it will be totally worth it. I now have a new appreciation for a PRE landscaped yard. However, it has been really fun to watch our yard transform.


Randy has been so productive this summer. I don't feel like I have much to show for my summer. I did the laundry for the first time since we moved here. Don't worry I didn't forget how to do it. Unfortunately it is like riding a bike.
I had 2 days off this week so I got to take Brad to Kindergarten and back. I know it sounds stupid but I felt awkward doing it. I wasn’t sure which door to take him to, or exactly what time I was supposed to pick him up. Luckily Brad is well seasoned and he coached me through it. It was so fun to see his face after school when I was there to pick him up. I got a little emotional. He is so grown up.
My kids are so precious in the morning. I love being home when they crawl into our little tiny queen bed. Claire is a snuggler. After a good snuggling we head to the kitchen. One thing I really enjoy is making breakfast. I think the kids are so happy to get something besides cold cereal at least twice a week. I had some over ripe bananas on the counter so instead of tossing them I added them to my pancake batter. They turned out awesome so I am including it at the end of this post.
I did notice that I am a little rusty at being a stay at home mom. It was fun to be home but by the end of the night I was staring at the clock hoping that bedtime would come sooner than later. My patience was worn so thin by the end of the night. Hopefully my motherly instincts will kick in soon. I forgot how hard it is to stay at home. Way to go Randy for doing it all summer. Not to toot his horn…but my husband is seriously amazing.


I Can’t wait for more snuggly mornings, walks to school and back and amazing pancakes.

Banana Pancakes
3 dark ripe bananas (mashed)
2 eggs
1 ½ cups milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbs oil
Whip all this together then add:
1 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
Mix just until blended (don’t over mix)
I used my electric skillet for these. I set the temp at 300 degrees. I made smaller than usual pancakes because the batter is not firm when you flip them so they were easier to turn.
Lightly butter and sprinkle with powdered sugar or spread with jam.