Sneak Peek

I have about 10 different projects going on at once right now.  I don't know why I do this to myself, but that's just the way I am.  Here is a little peek into the biggest, most time consuming project (for me and hubby) currently in the works.

(This is a good man, here, people!)

Spicy BBQ Sauce

I married a renaissance man.  Not only does he build and fix things around the house and help take care of the kids, he can cook too!

He's been on a wing kick lately.  He prefers hot sauce.  We have none - at least none that would work on wings.  Time to kick the BBQ sauce up a notch, or two.

Easy-peasy and oh so good!

Spicy BBQ Sauce 


1/3 C favorite BBQ Sauce
1 T Chalula Hot Sauce

Mix these together in a bowl that has a lid.  Place your wings in the bowl.  Put the lid on the bowl and give it all a good shake.  Place them all on a platter and enjoy!

Obviously, if you like your sauce hotter, add more hot sauce.  Kevin is just being kind to my taste buds.

Bragging. Again.

Projects are multiplying and chasing each other around in my little ol' noggin lately.  Unfortunately, there are only so many hours in the day.  AND, I am a mother before being a crafter.  (Ugh.  Priorities!)

So, here's another project sweet hubby was able to finish up and put in our garage.

Yes, there are only four slots for bikes. But, we figure by the time child #5 is riding a bike, child #1 will either not be interested in riding or can just use the kickstand.  (Genius, I know!)

If you would like the information on how to do this, feel free to email me and I'll go get all the measurements for you.

Time To Brag

On my husband.

We have been doing some gardening this spring and have really enjoyed it.  When it was raining like crazy earlier in the year, Kevin and I were both talking about how we were going to miss all the rain when summer really set in.  We wanted to get rain barrels, but couldn't get past the price tags.  Very few people (one family) would be seeing them so we didn't need to worry so much about the aesthetic value - just storage.

Gotta love an engineer with a practical side.

We now have three 55 gallon barrels full of rain water.  This sits at the back of our garage, so it's not visible from the front of the house.  (The reason aesthetics are not factored into our equation.)  It all sits a top a level platform built with leftover pressure treated wood from the deck construction.

 The barrels are connected with PVC.

He fitted each barrel with its own valve at the bottom - complete with shut off and quick release hose attachment.

I'm just so proud!  Didn't he do a good job?  And all for less than one of the fancy store bought ones.  Although, I do have this uncontrollable urge to paint them all.

Total Randomness

On wish list:

wool felt

Latest project:

For the kids:

Most recent predicament:

Family pictures:

Mother's Day:

 From oven to freezer:

Hubby project:

Something red (almost):

Greens in the garden and on the table:

Lettuce

Spinach

Spring Planting

We've been getting excited this year about all the possibilities a small garden plot can give us.  Kevin has been hard at work building and positioning frames.

Moving LOTS of dirt.

Building a second raised bed and moving more dirt.

We got a surprise one day full of this toward the end of March.

And now we finally have some plants planted.

The kids played in the sunshine.

 Little Man got in on the action from a distance (yes, he is in a pink seat).

 We plotted out a grid.

 And finally planted some early season items.

We're looking forward to enjoying some fresh lettuce, snow peas, kale, and carrots before too long.  As the season moves on and gets warmer, we hope to get some tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, beans and asparagus planted.  Can't wait to share it all with you as the sprouts start to come up (and you can see them without me having to point them out in the picture).

Biggest Project of All

Have you ever gotten a quote for having someone come in and do any sort of contracted service?  Yeah?  Um, have you ever seen the amount listed on the line for labor?  Wow!  The bigger the project, the more zero's there are on that line of the quote.  I know it is well deserved money for their time and effort.  And, IF we couldn't do the job ourselves, we would gladly have that work done by someone else.   So, when we started looking into getting a deck on the back of our house, 'sticker shock' is a mild way of stating our reaction to the quote given to us.  

Fortunately (or unfortunately - depending on how you look at it), my husband and I are 'cut from the same cloth'.  We really needed wanted a deck.  Perfect time for the 'I Can Do That' Monster (?) to enter the picture.  (Even my practical husband suffers from this illness on occasion.  :)  So, plans were drawn up, permits requested and granted and products purchased.  My dad was even nice enough to help in the project since I was once again pregnant and just overall a huge wimp.

It wouldn't be a true project if there were no unforeseen problems, right?  Like - 1.  The ground breaking started during the hottest week of the year in MAY! (Temps above 100 F - Who'da thunk?!)  2.  We sit on one huge pile of rock - limestone, I believe.  And, 3.  Kevin had several business trips that were made between start of the project and winter setting in.

We Kevin resumed the project this spring and has finally finished his biggest project to date.  I'm extremely proud of him and his hard work.  We've even had a final inspection and passed with no problem!

I can't believe how nice it is to have the extra space and the access to the back yard from the kitchen.  The kids are loving it too.  Here are a few pictures of the deck project, start to finish, for you to enjoy.

The back of the house (pre-purchase, I believe).

Jackhammering the rock out to get to code depth.

Isn't it lovely?  Not much dirt in with all that rock.

Taking a break.  Notice all the Gatorade?

Filling the forms.

Various stages of the support structure going up.

Taking another break.  Kevin had a sinus infection during this week, too.  He could barely breathe.  Poor Baby. :(

There is about a 12 foot drop at outside edge of the deck and those pressure treated boards were wet and heavy.

The last day Dad was here to help.  So much done, but still a lot of work to do!

Look!  Decking!

View from one of the upstairs windows.

Railing!
There is a big jump now to the work that was done at the very end.  Even our oldest got in on the action.

The big finish!!  An extra 325 sq ft of usable outdoor living space!

We keep waivering between staining this fall or waiting until spring.  It will probably be done this fall leaving the stairs to weather and then be stained in the spring.

Now,  to get Kevin started on his next project! Mwa hahaha! {laughing evilly and rubbing hands together}