Front Yard Planters

I think this is the first year in a long time that I actually feel mostly on top of my outdoor stuff. Our grass has been aerated, over-seeded, watered like crazy, and fertilized. I've got eight containers of flowers planted on our back deck (so far), and my two little backyard perennial gardens have been cleaned up and weeded. Our deck has been washed, repaired, and stained. And in the front yard, I've got my front planters and windowbox planted and well watered. Of course the only reason that we've accomplished so much so early in the season this year is that we've had tonnes of help from both sets of grandparents. They have been so generous to entertain the kiddos for little intervals so that we can duck outside to get some work done. It's also amazing how fast you work when you all of a sudden have two kids!!!

Every year I like to try a different combination of flowers in my front planters. I'm still working on trying to find the perfect mixture that will flourish in late afternoon, dappled sun. 

Way back in 2012 I did a combination of pink, yellow, and green flowers:

In 2013 I tried to stick to a neutral colour scheme of white and green:

{I have no idea what happened in 2014. I guess I forgot to take and post pictures!?!}

This year I decided to try a colour scheme of white, purple, and green. I LOVE how this combination looks!

I just love the contrast of the soft green licorice plant against the black container. So, so, so pretty! Now, if only someone would come and cut the grass.......

I can't wait to see how everything fills out in a couple of weeks. While we spend a lot of time in our backyard, we also love to sit out on the front steps in the evening eating ice-cream or popsicles. 

:)

P.S. If you were kind enough to leave a comment on a previous post, I try my best to respond but it's usually about two weeks later. :S

P.P.S. I just ate a whole row of Chips Ahoy cookies for lunch. I thought about making a healthy sandwich but blogging took priority today, hee hee.

P.P.P.S. What are your favourite flowers to plant in containers?

Winnie a.k.a. Gummy Bear - One Month

I have to apologize for being two weeks late publishing this post. I keep going back and forth between wanting to be an over sharer and being weirded out by posting pictures of my kids on the internet. 

However, after rereading the post about Cooper at a month old, I just had to go ahead with this one. I wouldn't want Winnie to feel left out that I didn't give her as much attention on the 'ol blog. :)

So, where do I start?

1. She is a total Sweetie McSweetie. 

2. She gave me real smiles when she was only three weeks old! Her biggest smiles are when she sees me after waking up (awwwww) and when I talk in a really high-pitched, squeaky voice.

3. She is an expert at tummy time and loves looking around at everyone and everything.

4. She often looks like a little old man (in a cute way!!!).

5. She loves being all squished up in her baby sling thing. This time around I tried out a Baby K'Tan wrap. I'm loving it so far!

6. She eats like a champ. That's every two hours day and night. (I cannot for the life of me remember what uninterrupted sleep is like.)(At least I get to surf Pinterest at 4 a.m.???)

7. She loves bath time. Well, except for the very first one we gave her. She screamed bloody murder for that one. 

8. She is super easy-going and has adapted really well to being carted here, there, and everywhere after her big brother (upstairs / downstairs / parks / birthday parties / gymnastics lessons / etc.)

9. She makes this adorable purring sound when she is snuggled up in her sling or on your chest. And no, it's not just snoring.

10. She was named after my great-grandmother. (Nope, she was not named after the character from The Wonder Years.)(Although apparently every boy growing up watching that show had a crush on the Winnie character.)

And here's more of my little munchkin:

 I know I haven't had a chance to post much lately. So here's a little peek at what we've been up to:

I'm hoping to be back soon to share some pictures of our newly stained deck and progress in my little perennial garden. 

P.S. Cooper has been playing in his little workbooks the whole time I've been writing this post. However, he just said that he was off to build a road with his markers. Uhhh, I think I'd better go!!!!!

P.P.S. At Winnie's request, I gave her a Photoshop Facial in the above photos. She is a wee bit sensitive about her baby acne. Hee, hee.

P.P.P.S. Thanks for reading, you da best.

A Trellis / Privacy Screen for the Deck

You might not believe this but we actually, for realz, got a project done.... from start to finish.... with a newborn and a toddler and two crazy dogs. Let me add that we were only able to do this because of our awesome family that has been here, there, and everywhere helping us out almost every day since little Winnie was born four weeks ago. Grandparents are really and truly the best.  

I mentioned a few times that I really wanted a privacy screen / trellis to make our bottom deck a bit cozier and to create a little bit of privacy. Remember how I often have to run outside in my skivvies to stop the dogs from attacking greeting people that walk behind our back fence? Yeah. Super awkward. 

The great thing about having a birthday in the spring is that I can ask for little outdoor projects to be completed as birthday gifts. It's pretty genius actually. Especially when your hubby thinks that a trellis on the deck is a waste of money and will only be a "bug factory".

I showed Alex a few inspiration pictures and gave him a few requirements. I was hoping that the screen would be as wide as our stair opening and as tall as the upper deck railing, I was also hoping that the trellis would have three panels and that the slats would be spaced equally to create square openings. At first I wanted a plain, straight top but then opted for raised posts so that we could use the same post caps that we used on the deck railing. 

Alex and his dad went to work on a Saturday morning and were done by mid-afternoon. It was really hot that day so they definitely deserve some sort of medal for finishing the whole thing in one day. 

They did a FAB job and I am absolutely in love with it. 

Of course I couldn't wait to plant some white clematis in behind so that maybe, just maybe, they will grow up the trellis by the end of the summer. First, I dug out all of the grass all along the side of the bottom deck. Since there were so many tree roots (there is a giant willow tree on the other side of the fence), Alex helped me dig down about a foot and a half. I replaced all of the old soil and clay with triple mix. Then I topped the whole thing off with a few bags of garden mix that I had lying around. My mom split a few of her hostas so that I could plant them in between the clematis. She is a gardening wizard so of course I wrangled her into helping me with this project.  Fingers crossed that my crazy dog Lexie doesn't trample everything on one of her puppy-run sprees.

P.S. The boys used pressure treated wood from Home Depot for the privacy screen.

P.P.S. My yard is in serious need of some landscaping. This is a start, right?

P.P.P.S. Here are a few pictures of my adorable kidlets. 

Winnie - 20 Days Old

Cooper - 3 Years Old

The cutest ever, right?