The DIY Bug

My contrast...I love being a girl but need to play in the dirt from time to time to be truly happy.

Apparently, the DIY bug bites primarily when the weather warms up (when the Nuevo flies also come out in droves). This past weekend was a warm and sunny one in our neck of the woods, and it I fell victim to the DIY bug.

On Saturday morning, the boys and I headed to Starbucks (we had a gift card) and had breakfast together while drawing up plans for our first project of the weekend: sprinklers. First off, Danny has proven to be quite handy with projects since we purchased our home. If he doesn't know how to do something, he catches on quick and completes it "on the fly". That was what the planning session was: him figuring things out "on the fly" before our next stop...Lowe's.

I just have to say, I LOVE home improvement stores. Perhaps it is nostalgic in part; I used to go to them quite often growing up with DIY parents. I love the lumber section, especially near the saw. There is nothing quite like the smell of recently cut wood.

I digress. When we arrived at Lowe's, Christian napped in the stroller while we got all the supplies (and then some) for the sprinklers. I impressed myself with the restraint I displayed while shopping (we had no money...we were using a gift card...so I really had no choice but to restrain myself). I did give in to the urge to pick up grout and clear caulk though.

After arriving home, we got to work trenching. Our ground in Nuevo is clay-like, and in the areas that are in the sun often, the ground is as hard as a clay pot. Not the easiest to break through with a shovel. And so, the pick-ax also came out. I am proud to say, I trenched most of the 50' in the backyard while Danny worked on the front. YAY ME! I did run into problems when hitting buried CEMENT.

My trench...I messed with the contrast on this picture...the ground looks somewhat muddy, but I can assure you it WASN'T.

Danny's handiwork...he trenched the front, under the block wall and got lines hooked up

I had to quit in the backyard when my wrist was throbbing, my back spasming, and the kiddo awoke from his second nap. Then I took to a new project: fixing the cracks in the grout in our bathrooms and caulking the kitchen sink and surround.

Sunday night (after a Superbowl party at the in-laws') I steam cleaned the entire tile floor and the kitchen counters. Everything looked very nice...until my boys awoke this morning. ;-)

The sprinklers are still being worked on...Danny is taking charge of the pipes, etc. I have to say, he isn't doing bad considering the fact that he has never done this before, and is his own teacher. :-) I hope to have pictures of flowers and grass on that side of the house soon!