After we bought the mower, we figured we would need a shed in which to store it. Last week I was mulled how big I should make it, but I realized that no matter how big it was, it would get filled up (as evidenced by our basement). So I took the morning to clean scrub out the garage and see how much I could actually fit in the space we already have.

There's about a foot to spare between the mower and the vibe.

I can't open the tailgate in the garage anymore, but I can still pop the window.

Here's the secret to parking without hitting the mower.

I decided to chop down the overgrown bush (it was more like a parasitic tree) that was blocking our view. It was hot, and I didn’t feel much like dragging the branches around the house. So I hitched them up to my new responsibility and made short work of it.

I made two trips because I wasn’t sure how much it could haul, but it could have done the whole thing at once.

The boys’ blue room had rather bare walls. We had white paint left from the baseboard, so I put together these box shelves. I got Ben’s up first, and Miles wasn’t happy about that. He kept reminding me to finish his.

One part of the house we really like (and didn’t know we got) was a patch of tiger lilies that come out at the end of June.

No, not the They Might Be Giants album, the real thing.

This is actually the first time our backyard has been overrun in the summer. It happens at least once each winter/spring with the thaw, but this time is was just a ton of rain in a few hours.

This is what we saw on Sunday morning.

For comparison, here's what it looked like today.

The transmission on my John Deere walk-behind lawnmower is totally shot. It’s out of warranty and was never really adequate for out just-over 1/2 acre. So, I started looking this year for something more… substantial. I didn’t want to go with JD again – though I understand their tractors are much better than their walk-behinds – because there is only one authentic JD dealer out here (and they’re to blame for the short life of my other mower).

Consumer Reports covered mowers in May, so I looked into their top-rated riders and found the midrange Craftsman models (actually, they’re just rebranded Husqvarnas) were rated “Best Buys.” So, off to Sears I went during their Memorial Day sale. We bought a 42″ 21-hp YT3000 with a hydrostatic tranny, but they couldn’t deliver it on time, so they upgraded me to a 46″ deck. Darn!

Isaac helping me adjust the deck

Me and my three babies

Miles out for a ride

I’m not crazy about the color, but the results are hard to argue with. The Griffiths gave us their spare lawn roller, so no more bumpy yard. Now I get to build a shed to house it. Yay!

These hideous bushes have sullied the curb appeal of our home since we moved in two years ago. I finally got enough time (and gumption) to chop them down and rip out the stumps on Saturday. It took a little less time than I had expected.

Here's the before picture. You can see that I had already chopped down the bush on the far right.

My dad gave me this idea.

And the after shot. The pile of branches is from another set of bushes that Brooke trimmed back.

Now I have to call someone to haul away the remnants.

(BTW, my pneumatic pruning shears came in handy for cutting out the roots.)

Now we have to figure out what to do with the space. Right now we’re leaning towards a concrete walkway and tiered planter boxes. Any ideas?

Our home improvement projects are not as exciting as gluing Ikea flooring to the walls, but, hey, were just less exciting people. When we returned from Wisconsin Brooke said, “I’d like to get the boys’ room done this week.” I should have known better. What she meant was, “I want to pick out the color and watch you do all the work.”

Here’s what we were up against:

Notice the drab blue, the painted baseboards and outlets. Brooke had already taken down the wallpaper border in the middle of the wall.

It took an entire morning to take down the room, and then to putty and sand the walls. It was apparent that the boys would be sleeping on couches for a few days.

Yes, the previous owner had a teenager in the room. Can you tell my the number of tack holes?

A trip to Sherwin Williams set us up with a bright blue-teal and all the supplies we needed. We bought baseboard by the foot at Home Depot.

Primed.

The boys begged to help.

By Saturday the only things left to do were putting up the baseboards and replacing the outlets and the registers. I absolutely had to finish that night because the in-laws will be in town next week, so the boys needed to be off the couch by then.

Somewhere between an old Sharks Pacific Teal and Tiffany Blue...

I know there are no mattresses, but it was 2am.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have to buy any new tools for this project (unless you count the putty knife).

None of our upstairs bedrooms have overhead lighting. I think it’s just tradition here (since they have so many really old homes) to wire the switches to outlets. I want to install some fixtures, but I was too lazy to clean out the bathroom closet to access the attic. So I asked the boys to help me out with a really super important job.

I handed them the camera so I could get a look at what I’m dealing with up there.

We have a six-foot-wide step down from the living room into the kitchen. When we bought the house, we loved the open floor plan. We love it a little less now with the twins to watch over.

I spent a day or two putting together this fence and gate. It’s all doweling, which means I now own a jig, and I was able to tap it all together before gluing it. I decided not to stain it because it would take forever to dry before the twins could gnaw on it… which, as shown in the picture, is their favorite pastime.