top 10 lessons learned at the stratton construction site

today was hilarious. the thought i kept thinking is "whoa. i am WAY out of my league. wayyy out!" our home is officially the stratton construction site. it's a beautiful mess.* hopefully soon, it will be just beautiful. here are some insightful lessons to glean wisdom from next time you want to get in over your head ;)

1. don't think for one second that if ray (ie, my dad) gets into a skid steer (ie, a bobcat) something crazy won't happen. like him flipping it over. into a ravine. in my yard. seriously. i was like "whoa. that. just. happened."


2. chainsaws that plug in are pretty much the fairies of the tool world. don't even bother with them. use a stinking hand saw.


3. also- when said chainsaw starts bouncing around when you're, say, pruning lilacs- don't try to "show it who's boss." then you'll end up with the chain caught in the branches. this is not cool. nor is it effective.


4. don't assume a bobcat has even CLOSE to enough guts to push as ridiculous an amount of dirt as what is in my backyard right now. what you need is a bulldozer. a HUGE one. or maybe some dynamite.


5. don't assume work gloves will save your hands from blisters. and then blisters on top of other blisters. and busted knuckles. this is not the case. work gloves are only to help you look tough.


6. building a rock wall...is not as simple as stacking rocks. this is a glaring misconception.


7. building a rock wall in front of a gigantic tree...makes it a lot harder. crazy roots.


8. and seriously. rocks are heavy. heavier than you'd imagine. it'll blow your mind. go find a big rock and try to lift it up. go on. i dare you.


9. don't think you're a landscaper, even it's your true calling (right, nick?). if someone isn't paying you, you're called a "do-it-yourself-er".


10. it's great to have aspirations. but be realistic with your timetable. c'mon now, rome wasn't built in a day, people.

and those, my dear friends, are the top 10 things i've learned today. i hope you've enjoyed them as much as i did.

*pictures of my beautiful mess coming soon

the thing about spring

you see, the thing about spring is that nice weather lures me into the outdoors. i live for being outside. i love the sun, i love nature, i love outside. and being inside all the time makes me irritated and hateful by january. so when the weather is nice, i can't help but be outside all morning with the kids, having a picnic lunches, and after putting them down for naps, i'll head right on back out with a book or a rake or something to busy myself.

today, however, is a rainy day (torrentially down pouring, actually, but...). it's wet and warm- very spring. and i'm conflicted. now that i don't have to option of being outside, doing yard work, or playing "chase" with elias, i have to choose between the things i want to do and the things i have to or should be doing. it was much easier to just go outside and forget all of the other responsibilities besides mothering.

this is what i want to do most days while the kids sleep:

-blog. i have too many that are half drafted and in the wings. and i'm feeling a green and brown makeover coming on soon. and my west coast girl, jessi, is making me a beautiful header to adorn my blase blog, too. like she has nothing else to do. my word :)

-watch television. i have, ohhh, i don't know, 98725872350 shows racking up on tivo that i either fell asleep watching or have not had a chance to see yet.

-nap. speaking of sleep, i could really use a nap. REALLY.

-read more of the irresistible revolution. it truly is irresistible.

-organize a few things that are getting out of control. like the garage. or eli's toy room. or piper's closet. i'd also like to organize the folders upon folders of pictures on my computer.

this is what i usually end up doing instead:

-laundry. yikes. elias is getting dirtier and dirtier with all his playing outside, so there's no wearing jeans twice anymore. and piper makes a hot mess eating these days, so forget it.

i have another 5, 6, 7 loads awaiting my attention. seriously. check out this pile....

-cleaning. my entire home is sandy and dirty right now, thanks to the piles of dirt in my backyard. talk about piles! there's no way to keep him out of them or off them, so he needs a hose down every night now. geesh.

so today, now that i've blogged about my time management issues, i think will go do some more laundry, and heck, maybe i'll watch a show or two while i fold. that sounds like a win-win.

what do you all think?

what are the things do you choose to ignore when there's a better option??