read books in front of 2 fans

played our favorite game “monkeys & water”

chilled at Target for awhile

ate veggies & dip for dinner

looks peaceful, but it was actually kind of a fail.  someone decided she didn’t like applesauce, dropped some on the porch and put her feet in it.  maybe we’ll try again sometime

The part of our home that we would love to completely redo is the back yard!  Here are the details:

The GOOD: Our corner lot has a fenced back yard with lots of space to run and play!  With only one toddler (so far) we are just at the beginning of our playing outside career and would love a well-designed space that could be a part of our family’s life for many years to come!

The BAD:  The former owner’s landscaping skills left a lot to be desired.  The grassy areas were neglected and dogs dug holes all over.  There are also three huge misshapen bushes along the back fence that really need to go!

The UGLY:  The patio/privacy fence combo is a real head scratcher!  What inspired the funny double circle shape of the patio?  Why did they put up a small privacy fence (AKA “the backstop”)  instead of a taller fence all the way around the yard?  How can we make better use of the space?

Our dream would be to tear out the old, cracked patio (and the ugly privacy fence) and replace it with a stone patio, to replace the half-height chain link fence with a wooden privacy fence and add a play structure for our growing family!  If budget allowed, we would love to open up our dining room to the patio by adding sliding doors plus an awning for shade.  We love to entertain, so completing the space with a grill, fire pit and table and chairs would be the icing on the cake for our dream back yard!  As new home owners and inexperienced diy’ers, we feel this prize would fast-forward us to something we wouldn’t be able to do on our own for many years!

Here are just a few things I am thankful for today:

A new addition to our routine:  SUPER SPECIAL BLANKET TIME!  We’re working on 15 minutes of staying on the blanket with a fun toy while mama gets something done.  So far, we’re both enjoying it!

Lilacs from our yard on my dresser.  I’ve picked a ton, they are so pretty and smell amazing!  Below you’ll see the whole scene-just keepin’ it real-which leads to the final item on the list…

I am thankful for time to clean up this mess before I lose complete track of what’s clean and what’s dirty and have to start all over!

What are you thankful for today?

Last year, one of my favorite blogs had a recipe for Homemade Chocolate Peanut Spread.  I had a desire to make little valentine’s gifts and an overabundance of empty baby food jars.  That plus another idea I put my own twist on (I mean shamelessly copied) gave us this:

We loved the spread on pretzels, bananas, crackers, fingers and, well, spoons!  If your sweetie loves chocolate & peanut butter you can’t go wrong!