Saying "Hello" to our New Yard

We're all settled into our new home and back into our usual routine. Thankfully, all the work inside the house got done before we moved in so I can concentrate on the yard. It needs a lot of love but I see potential and I've been working like a dog in it. It needs a lot of maintenance work but I'm excited to see what I can do with it!

And we need a lot out of our yard. Not only do we need a place for the girls to run wild but we need an adult retreat and a garden space. The girls part is done. They can wander anywhere in the yard and be fine (thank goodness for a fence) and the adult retreat part is basically there as well. I do feel relaxed when Daniel and I can go out there and sit in our chairs and just sit and talk. I see a lot I can do each time we sit but I know I can do it later. I have an ongoing list of tasks I can do in the yard. I don't feel like I'll get it all done this year or even the next, but it's tasks I'd like to see done over the next few years.

This week I've worked hard in our yard. Monday, I bought a lemon tree, potting soil and flowers for our patio pots and to put a few in our mailbox bed. I then came home and planted 2 flats of flowers, tilled up a small area for some raspberries, scouted out an area for some fruit trees, pulled up ivy and a lot of other weeks and planned the yard for a bigger bed. Tuesday, I bought 2 ever red loropetulam and 20 bags of mulch. I came home and bricked in my new large bed, extended a bed up by the house, raked and cleaned up the yard. Today I sprayed round up on poison ivy (yuck) and all the ivy I can't get up, as well as other vine stuff that just doesn't go where it is. I obviously have big plans for our yard. I may be a little too ambitious but hey, I see potential! I think I'm getting a little addicted too. :)

I'm also investing in fruit trees. My sweet grandma sent me a generous check for my birthday and I decided I wanted some fruit trees that we can enjoy for years to come. I bought 1 pear tree, the variety is Moonglow (my sister bought me one for my birthday and I found out it needed a companion for pollination; she bought me a Bartlett Pear). I also bought a sour cherry tree, the variety is Montmorency (note: sour cherry trees don't need a second for pollination, if you want sweet cherry trees, buy two for pollination). And lastly, I bought 2 peach trees (our favorite). The two varieties I bought are Redhaven Dwarf and Gala Standard. I bought all my trees from Stark Brothers. Last month, I bought my blueberries and strawberries from them and they've been very helpful. I follow them on Twitter and whenever I have a question I ask them there and they respond within 24 hours (at the latest) with the answer. That makes this newbie gardener more comfortable!

At last, here are a few pictures of our yard. It's only pieces of the yard. It's pretty big and I'm trying to add more gardening plants to it so there's less grass to cut. That is NOT my favorite thing, at all!

The first iris's are blooming!

I created a big bed. It's a work in process and probably will be for a long time. I like it!
Behind the bricks will be the bed. There's already a few things there that are planted or waiting to be planted.

I invested in 4 blueberry plants this year. I hope we'll be enjoying blueberries from them next year! I bought 2 O'Neil and 2 Misty. You need two different varieties for pollination. I ordered them from starkbros.com. They have a 1 year money back guarantee. 

Our strawberry patch. I planted 25 bare-root strawberry plants. I hope they'll spread like crazy and we'll enjoy them next year as well. The variety I chose was Ozark Beauty.  

. 

My raspberry bed. I made a gardening friend on Twitter and she sent me 5 raspberry canes. She told me I'll probably have 25 canes in 5 years. I'm excited. She thinks the variety is Heritage.

Our Meyer Lemon tree. I'm going to keep it in a pot and on the patio through the summer and fall. I'll move it into our house before the first frost. The man I bought it from said it should give us lemons this summer. It looks like it might!
I'll be interested to see how this works for us.
It's definitely an experiment. I thought a $21 experiment wouldn't be too bad. :)

A bigger picture of the lemon tree.

A peony! I'm anxious to see what color the blooms will be. I'll be moving this into the big bed by the fence in the Fall. For now, I'll enjoy it in this spot. 

As you can see I have a lot going on in the yard. My mom is going to help me with a few things in the yard for my birthday present from her. We're going to Digger O'Dell next weekend to pick out a few things for the new big bed and talk about what can be done in it.

What's going on in your yard this year?

"No TV" update

About ten months ago I wrote a post on how I turned off the TV during the day. Since making that decision about a year ago we have continued to have the TV off in our home during the day. We do watch basketball and football games when they're on the weekends but that's usually the extent of our TV watching. We turn it on at night when the girls are in bed but sometimes even then it's not on for long. Turning the television off has truly been a blessing to us!

Because of that decision we have read dozens of books over and over again, we have put together countless puzzles, used imaginations, built tents and forts, played outside a lot more, had a healthier diet, talked more, sang and danced, cooked meals together and just had fun! My stress level is much lower and I'm able to get more done around our house. I feel more accomplished each day!

Nyla's language skills have exploded and continue to this day. We have full out conversations with one another and she knows a lot of words. At her 2-year well appointment she was about a year ahead in language skills and her knowledge of all her colors, shapes, etc. She knows what an octagon is and how many sides it has and that the stop sign is that shape! She is also very observant when we're in the car. She loves looking for Beetlebugs and cruisers (PT Cruisers), diggers, dump trucks, fire trucks, ambulances and so on. Yes, she may have learned those things if we kept the TV on all day but I'm very convinced that she wouldn't be where she is today if the TV stayed on.

Naomi was a newborn when I made the decision but I feel like she's ahead in language skills more than Nyla was at her age. She's babbling constantly and will "talk" to us all the time, something Nyla never did. I know they're different people and they'll develop differently but I feel it's because there's no television distracting her.

All-in-all we're glad to have made the decision to turn off the television. It's not for everyone and that's fine but it's definitely been a blessing in our lives. It also goes along with my goal of being intentional with my time. And that's a huge goal for me this year.

 Our girls are only this age for such a short period of time and if turning off the TV means more time to enjoy this age, then I will gladly do it. It's certainly not a sacrifice to me. It's a way of life!

One Goal

Every year I have a nice long list of goals that I want to complete before the year is up. Just a few weeks ago I was looking over my 2012 goal list and while it wasn't as ridiculous as lists in the past, it still had too many items on it. The good news? I actually did complete some items on my list and am still following through on a few more. The bad news? There were still too many to count on one hand that didn't get done. A few years ago I would've beat myself up about it and made another list. Yes, really!

Over the past couple of years I've tried to not be as "listy." That's my word for being a big list maker. :) I've tried to pick six things each day and if two or three don't get done, so be it. They roll over to the next day. And if they don't get done that week? It doesn't matter! What matters is my man has a yummy dinner after work, the girls feel loved and were cared for all day and D and I spend some quality time together each night. As long as though three things are accomplished, I feel accomplished.

This year I have one goal. Be intentional. That word felt a little heavy when first thinking about it. To be intentional with my life will take some effort but effort I'm willing to put forth.

Being intentional is just paying attention and making an effort. I want to lose weight but without running and paying attention to my eating habits, losing weight will never happen. If I want to save money on groceries and have a nice dinner each night then I have to plan for it.

This year I want to pay attention and make an effort. I will go forth and be intentional!

What are you 2013 goals?