Building a Play Area - Part 3 (the conclusion)

As Dave has already shown you in Part 1 and Part 2 of this saga, we have he has been busy building a play area for Jack in our back yard.  The actual play area arrived today in a huge 18-wheeler.  Thankfully, it only took up a very small portion of said lorry.

Dave moved all the pieces into the back yard (with a little help from Jack and me) and then got busy building the structure.  Once all of the pieces were in the back yard, Dave got to work.

We made a quicky video of Bob Dave the Builder hard a work and finished up with a few action shots from Jack.

Jack truly loves his new play area and I think we are one step closer to having the Mulley Compound that I've always wanted.  After his inaugural trip down the slide he must have gone down another 30 times before Dave brought him in for dinner.  Judging by the wails coming from that little body ( Jack-not Dave), he wasn't ready to quit playing yet. 

Building a Play Area - Part 2

At the end of Part 1 the play area had been framed and the fence had been installed but the area inside the frame was still uneven and sloped. The next step was to add some (5 cubic yards) landscape soil to the lowest area to bring it up closer to level. I forgot to take a photo of the mountain of soil that was delivered before I moved it all to the backyard and racked it in to place, but take it from me, it was heavy and difficult to move!

Landscape soil raked in to place

We had scheduled the delivery of the top layer of "playground mulch" for two days after the landscape soil to give me a chance to get the soil moved in to place but I was thankful that the delivery happened early in the morning a day later that we had planned as we avoided a big thunderstorm that would have made the mulch much heavier and harder to move. The photo below shows the mulch mountain.

Mount Mulch

The mulch was easy to move with my trusty ice scraper (I could scoop about three times more with the ice scraper than I could with a normal shovel) and by 10am on Friday it was all racked in to place.

Mulched and ready to go!

This photo from above shows the very nearly finished play area with just the gate to finish over the weekend.

The view from above

The major part of the project was finished just in time as Jack's first big outdoor toy arrived about 4 hours after the mulch was racked in to place. Check back soon to see Jack use his playground for the first time.

Building a Play Area - Part 1

Because Jack is a little boy that loves to climb on things, slide down slides and swing in swings, he of course needs a playground of his own in our back yard. For most families with a house that has a decent sized back yard, installing something to climb or swing on and slide down would be as simple as selecting the items, having them delivered and then following the pages of instructions to put them together. But, of course, we are the Mulley's and nothing is ever that easy!

We love our house but the back yard is on a slope, quite a significant slope which isn't illustrated all that well in the photo below. So, I decided I'd need to level an area of the yard to allow a swing set and some type of climbing frame and slide to be installed safely.

If you look closely you can see the string between those posts.

After some measuring (and research on materials) I settled on an area 24 feet by 16 feet and set about trying to determine how much of a slope I'd have to level. The photo above shows the "stakes and string" method that I used to determine that over the 16 feet from back to front there was 21" of slope! This meant that the front of the retaining wall that I'd need to build would be nearly two feet off the ground and that I'd need to fence the area in to ensure that Jack didn't fall out.

I scribbled a design down on paper and calculated the number of 8 foot pieces of lumber and the number of 8 foot fence panels I would need and got some quotes. I would have loved to support a local company, but when their quote was nearly 60% more than Lowes they unfortunately didn't get my business. Lowes delivered 52 pieces of 4"x4"x8' lumber and 10 fence panels the following day.

Scout wondered if I was building her a Molly-free house

I framed out the area of the yard and found a spot that I was happy with.

If the yard was flat I could have stopped here!

I dug holes on Friday evening around the base pieces along the back and quickly found that the trees from the neighbors yard had roots extending at least 15 feet in our yard, some of which were barely below the surface and required a lot of work to break/cut and remove. It took over 2 hours to sink and level the three pieces of lumber along the back wall of the play area!

Luckily the rest of the digging was root free and once I worked out how to best stagger the pieces along the side the frame quickly (read: all day Saturday) took shape.

Molly wondering when the roof of her new kennel would be installed

On Monday I installed the fence posts and put the fence up

Fort Mulley is taking shape

Here is a look inside the fenced in play area before the soil and mulch goes in and the area is finally level.

Here you can really see how sloped the yard was

To be continued...

Ooops, I Did It Again....

Unfortunately, we have been keeping a little secret from our friends and family for quite a while now.  We want to start off by apologizing for all the fibs, half-truths and flat-out lies that we have been telling you, but please know that it was all for good reason. 

We couldn't be more excited to tell you that we are welcoming the newest Mulley to our family this fall!  Baby Mulley #2 is expected to arrive November 4, 2012.

Here's what's been going on...

26 Feb:  I took a pregnancy test and it was positive.  YAY!  That night, as Dave was putting Jack to bed, I overheard them talking on the baby monitor.  Dave said to Jack, "Are you ready to be a big brother?  I just know you are going to be so good and will love your baby brother or sister." Melt my heart!  And the lack of control over my emotions begins!

9 Mar:  Had to go into the doctor a little earlier than expected as I was having some cramping and spotting.  Got an early ultrasound and some blood work.  Everything looked okay, but I would be going back for a follow-up appointment in a couple weeks.

11 Mar:  Started feeling a little bit nauseous, but nothing too big of a deal.  No vomiting, just a yucky feeling here and there.

13 Mar:  Med with the OB Nurse to discuss medical history.  Got some more blood work done.  When I left I look like I had been in a knife fight the bruising was so bad.

this was taken over a week after they drew blood...

 15 Mar:  Bunco night in the neighborhood.  I didn't drink and was immediately asked if I was pregnant.  I lied!  (Sorry neighborhood friends!)

16Mar:  Happy hour at a local bar with friends.  I didn't drink.  Told everyone that I had consumed too much at Bunco the night before.  (Sorry Marcus, Tati, Rob, Rick, Deron and Jess!)  Why the heck is everyone inviting me out to drink now.  I haven't had an invite to drink it months!

19 Mar:  Had my follow-up appointment from my ultrasound on the 9th.  This ultrasound found a healthy little embryo with a heartbeat (YAY!) and also something else in my uterus.  Maybe another gestational sac?  Doctor said we'd keep an eye on it.

24 Mar:  Threw up for the first time.  I was at a race with Dave and desperately needed to use the restroom.  The obnoxious race volunteers wouldn't let me use the real bathrooms inside so I had to use the porta-potty.  As soon as I had one foot in the outhouse, I lost my lunch!  I don't do well in a porta-potty on good days...especially not when I've been experiencing some nausea.  (Yes Rebecca, I was pregnant.  I laughed off your comment at the time.  I apologize for the fib.) 

29 Mar:  Ultrasound.  This was supposed to be my first, but I had some complications earlier.  No changes with the other UFO in my uterus, but the baby looked healthy and has a strong heartbeat.  Doctor said I'm measuring right with my due date of November 4. 

19 Apr:  Mom straight-up asked me, "Are you working on Mulley #2?"  I lied, "Nope."  (Sorry, Mom!)

20 Apr:  Went in for my monthly "belly check".  All my numbers looked great, said the doctor and I got to hear the heartbeat with the doppler.  Such a sweet sound!  All is looking good.  Mom was visiting so I took this opportunity to tell her about our newest addition.  I gave her a picture frame with all SIX of her grandkids' pictures.  Needless to say, she was thrilled for us!

*I typically blog while Jack is napping, but lately I have been taking advantage of Jack's naptime to do a little napping of my own.  That is one of the reasons that the blogging has been a little sparse lately.  I'm hoping that blogging will pick up again now that I'm not quite as tired as I was there for a while.*

Medal

Wow, this is only my second post on this blog! I typically leave the blogging to Elizabeth, but I wanted to share this great photo from last weekend.

I ran a Half Marathon and was a little disappointed that I didn't make my goal time. That was until I got home and Jack took an interest in my medal. I asked him if he wanted to wear it and he replied "gesh, gesh" (which we take as "yes, yes" around here!).

I put the medal around his neck and his face lit up with a huge smile and he took off running to show Elizabeth. I finally managed to get him to stand still long enough to snap these photos - note the beaming smile!

I am not sure who had the bigger smile for those few minutes - me or Jack, but he certainly brightened my mood for the rest of the day.

My Milkshakes Bring All the Boys to the Yard...

Okay, well not my milkshakes but Bruster's milkshakes certainly bring Jack to the couch.  Dave got a milkshake the other day and since Jack really likes to share things, he was more than happy to help Daddy with his milkshake (even though Jack had already had his own scoop of ice cream).  Daddy got a little tired of sharing and was worried that he wasn't getting his fair share so he told Jack, "It's all done, let's go put it in the sink".  Jack took hold of the milkshake and helped Daddy take it to the sink.  Here is what happened next...




Jack is no fool.  He knew there was still plenty of milkshake left!

Wagon Rides Around the 'Hood

We have been trying to take advantage of all the beautiful weather we have been having lately, so today we decided to go on a wagon ride around the block.  Dave wouldn't allow me to sit in the wagon with Jack so I acted at the historian and took some pictures of our journey:

oh, hang on, let me get my cup put away

looking good

uh, maybe I need a little more to drink

Daddy and Jack out for a stroll

acting like he's in a parade saying "hi" to everyone we meet

Jack Does Chores

At the ripe old age of 16 months, Jack already has some chores that he is expected to help out with around the house.  One of which is getting the laundry to the laundry room.  Obviously, he can't get the basket down the stairs, but soon he will be able to chuck the dirty clothes over the banister and then he can get them downstairs (I kid, I kid...or do I?).  Once we get the laundry basket down the stairs, Jack pushes it from the stairs to the laundry room.  This week, he also decided that he wanted to put the clothes in the washing machine, too.  Shwew!  Having him help, sure does take a lot of extra time!

I'm coming to get  you and I've got a basket full of stink with me!

Baking Baby

After dinner tonight, I decided I was going to make some blueberry banana bread.  I also thought this would be an great opportunity for Jack to help out in the kitchen some since he is always so interested in what I'm doing and often tries to copy my actions.  While it did take quite a bit more time and effort to make the sweet treat, Jack truly enjoyed himself and I loved sharing that special time with my little boy.

mixing the dry ingredients (and covering my cleavage with a speech bubble)

mashing the banana

Mom!  I can do it by myself

smiling for the camera as we mix the wet ingredients

working hard to whisk with one hand and not stick the other in the batter

licking the oven hoping that it will be done soon!

 Unfortunately, Jack had to go to bed before the blueberry banana bread was done baking, but he did get to enjoy a slice for breakfast and he was very proud of his fine culinary skills!

TOMS

Yesterday was One Day Without Shoes, a day that set out to bring attention to the many people who walk around daily without shoes.  While the Mulleys did not walk around town without shoes yesterday (just seems dirty and dangerous-but we appreciate the message), we did go buy some new TOMS to support their mission and with the purchase of every pair of TOMS a child in need is also given a pair of shoes.  It's a wonderful organization that we are strong supporters of.  Jack got his first pair of TOMS and could not be any cuter in them.

this shot cracks me up because Jack's belly is sticking out so far

Jack's new shoes

Mommy and Jack's new shoes

16 Months

There was no doctors appointment this month so we don't have any updated stats for you, but Jack has certainly been doing a lot this past month.

This month, Jack:

• wears mostly 12 and 18 month clothing
• wears size 4 diapers during the day and size 5 overnight diapers
• wears 4.5W shoes
• has had a real boom with his receptive language and seems to understand everything
• says "yes", "mom-mom", "da-da", "uh-oh", "hi", "bye" and some semblance of "thank you"
• favorite foods include: pineapple, fluffer-nutter sandwiches, hot dogs, chocolate, black beans
• enjoys pretend cooking
• likes to type on the computer
• loves to snuggle his "lovies" 
• says "awww" when he sees something cute (i.e. a puppy or bunny)
• barks when the dogs bark or when we mention dogs
• loves to blow kisses and wave at whoever he passes
• tantrums when he doesn't get his way
• is still transitioning from two naps to one
• sleeps anywhere from 11.5 to 12.5 hours a night
• likes to sit in his chair and watch Super Why!
• can play independently for upwards of 30 minutes
• likes to help in the kitchen
• likes doing his chores
• really likes to feed the dogs their treats before we leave the house
• is fascinated with how things work
• can repeat simple tasks after you show him once
• at last count, has 16 teeth

Splash!

With the heat wave that we have been experiencing here in Raleigh, we went out and bought Jack a water table so that he could cool off outside.  One of his most favorite things to do is to sneak into the laundry room and splash in Scout and Molly's water dish.  He doesn't make it in there often, but when he does you would think he had won the lottery judging by his squeals of delight.

Of course, right after we bought the water table we got a cold spell for a couple days, but we are certain it's going to be a hot summer and we are ready for some splashing around.

Daddy putting the water table together

Jack is making sure Daddy did it correctly

Look at this water...wonder if I can play in it

How about just a little test splash

Look how big I can stretch

And of course, no big new toy post is complete without a video:

*WARNING: super white legs ahead*

Hippity Hoppity Easter's Here!

One of our neighborhood friends invited Jack and I to her church's Easter egg hunt at a local park and we were happy to take her up on her offer.  I threw placed Jack and his Easter basket in the car and off we headed to the mother of all Easter Egg hunts.  Unfortunately, I was only able to get one picture because Jack was so busy chasing down eggs, girls and pretty much anything shiny!

Then, last night, the Easter Bunny came to our house and left us some treats.  Jack was so cute when he got his Easter Basket.  It had some Lovies (stuffed animals) in it and he immediately started saying "awwww, awwww".  He couldn't wait to get his hands on them and start hugging them.  Then he saw his giant English Easter Egg and he started saying "mmmmm, mmmmm".  He couldn't wait to get a hold of the chocolate.

Next, he was excited to help open the package from Grandad and Nanna Lin.  They included lots of chocolates and a very sweet bunny for Jack.  He immediately had to give it a hug.  We are lucky to have such a loving little guy.  Could you imagine if he couldn't wait to get his hands on the stuffed animals so that he could wring their necks?!?

Cool Dude with his blinged out eggs

There's Goldfish in this egg!

Jack knows which chocolate is his

loving his bunny from Grandad and Nanna Lin

enjoying some chocolate

chocolate carnage

I hope the Easter Bunny was just as sweet to you as he was to us!