Getting Laid

Our new andesite path that is!!!
A few months back, we asked my mom, who used to be a landscape designer, to draw up a plan for our super boring front yard. This is what she came up with!

Our lot is quite narrow at the street and really wide in the back, its perfect! We have a huge backyard and tiny-ish front area. No complaints here! We love the plan Mom came up with, so we (James) started with the install of the path.

VERY first! Call 811 before you dig and have your utility companies come mark where they are. Save yourself the hassle of hitting a water or gas line. Its worth it! 
First we measured and flagged it out so we could run a cord along the edge, which I painted over to mark our edges. Then James went through with our edger tool and cut the sod into chunks small enough for him to lift. Grass is heavy! He then rolled it out and tossed it into the back of our truck. We took it to our local recycling center for disposal, it was only $5 to dump!


Next, we got a yard and a 1/4 of 3/4inch sand and raked that in as our base. The stones we used are 2", so we needed to build up a firm base to rest them on and bring them to level with our driveway.

Then came install! Our stones were delivered from Instant Landscaping for the low cost of $40, and off we went! Hubs has a time lapse of this process, I will see if I can upload it here.

Here is the path with the stones in, but no fill dirt. Up until this point, I'd been acting as forewoman of the project. Lots of directing, not too much heavy lifting. Hey. I'm pregnant ya'll!

The final step was my time to shine though. I purchased ten creeping thyme plants and planted them in some of the cracks, then filled in with top soil! Here is the final project!

I know its a little blown out, good ol' midday photo for ya! But we are super pleased with the final outcome! Its so nice to have the massive expanse of lawn broken up now, and a more organic path leading from the sidewalk to the front door. Next we are tackling the blank are in front of the windows. James expanded the bed size last night, so we are ready for top soil and plants!!

What do you think of our new path? Any landscaping tips for us? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

21 Week Bump Date

 Happy Labor Day weekend everyone! Its so hard to believe that its the end of Summer already, although I have been jonesing for Fall for a few weeks now. I've been noticing subtle leaf changes around town, our nights are definitely cooling off, which means we are getting closer to meeting the Miniwicki!! Today I'm going to include a little Friday letter after my update, which I'll  be linking up to The Sweet Season, a lovely little blog run by Mrs. Ashley Slater, who just welcomed a sweet baby of her own! Be sure to stop  by and say hi and fall in love with her precious bundle!
Without further ado...

Umm... hello Baby bump!!!!! This thing is in a massive growth spurt. Check out my last update for a little comparison, hard to believe that was only two weeks ago!!

 How far along: 21 weeks + 5 days
Total weight gain/loss: Not sure, I was up 6 lbs at my last checkup. Next one is the 9th, and I bet I gain at least 5 this round. Lets just say dessert and I have become very good friends...
Maternity clothes: Pretty much on the daily. This belly can't be restrained any more. Old Navy is having 30% off this weekend, so just today I bought some skinny jeans, a skirt and a new tank top. Woot for cute and comfy!!
Stretch Marks: Still nope!
Sleep: This has been a ROUGH week for sleep. Baby is growing a lot right now and its making sleep very hard! I just can't get comfortable! I woke up a few days ago and was literally sore internally from the stretching. Ugh.
Best moment this week: Finishing a major landscaping project at our house (post on monday about that), and my darling friend Kendall will be delivering her baby boy soon!! So excited! Also... Will Ferrell came and ate dinner at our pub on Wednesday. I didn't wait on him or meet him, but seeing him as a normal guy with his family, not Ron Burgandy or Ricky Bobby or anyone else silly was pretty cool. You stay classy Central Oregon.
Miss anything: Usually at this time of year we're getting ready to head North to Whistler for a couple weeks, which we aren't doing this year. Sniff, tear. But I'm looking forward to our Michigan trip instead!
Movement: Oh yeah. And Papa hubs has been able to feel it a few times now, so that is super exciting!
Food cravings: Nothing too weird, just heaps of desserts! 
Anything making you queasy or sick?: Just gross smells. My gag reflex is high, if I'm gagging I'll probably lose it. Yuck.
Have you started to show yet?: Definitely showing now! Even strangers can finally tell I'm expecting!
Gender: Known but not shared!!! Soon, I promise!
Labor signs: Hell no! But I think I'm having a teensy bit of Braxton Hicks? Going to ask about it at our next appt.
Belly button in or out: Innie, and if it ever pops out I will be super impressed. I have the deepest belly button ever!
Wedding ring on or off: On! Always!
Mood: Cheerful and happy, I have been experiencing mood swings and MAJOR nesting. Cleaning and cooking are my favorite hobbies. And dessert eating.
Looking forward to: January!!! Really looking forward to our MI trip too, and the Detroit Red Wings game we will be catching while we are there! Woot! Go Wings!

On to my letters...
Dear Husband: You are already the most incredible papa and hubby out there. I don't know how its possible but every day you get more attractive to me and I am so blessed to be your wife and baby mama. FLU boo.
Dear Baby: I feel like I am getting to know you so much already! Your personality is already shining through, you are wild and pushy and really don't like it when I mess with you in the womb. And you already seem to have good taste in music. Your papa and I love you soo much already and we can't wait for you to get here! Don't rush, but come Janaury we will be ready for you!
Dear Cash and Sammy: You boys are such good dogs and I know you will be the best brothers ever to your new sibling! Cash, I am especially proud of you for not needing to go in the crate anymore when we are gone.

I think that's about it for now! Be back Monday with a major update to our yard!! Curb appeal baby!!!

Urban Farm {August}

Holla friends! Baby and I are back at you with another urban farm update!!! Our gardens are in flourish mode right now! We have been getting a decent regular harvest out of them, which is awesome! Tonight I am making chicken with risotto,  using chard and kale from the garden! It saves so much at the grocery store on vegetables and they taste SO much better! On with the photos and updates!

First up, we have... something that's not in the raised beds?! That's right, these are FREE pumpkin plants that I rescued from our compost bin! A couple months ago when I was struggling with my tomatoes (more on that in a minute), I decided to add some of our homemade compost around the tomatoes for a nutrient boost. When I opened the bin, I found two pumpkin plant sprouts! Last year I just tossed our whole pumpkins into the bin and thought nothing of it! Well circle of life friends, here are the next generation of pumpkins, growing among the rocks in our backyard. They are thriving, and I hope we get a couple pumpkins off them by the time Halloween rolls around!

On to the Tomatoes!!! 

After my woes of last month, tons of flowers and no fruit, the tides have turned on tomatoes at our house! As mentioned above, I supplemented my soil with our compost, and hand pollinated my flowers. Say what?! Thats right, I went from flower to flower on my tomato plants with a teeny tiny paint brush and distributed the pollen myself, since our bee population is down this year. And it worked! And I keep getting more and more fruit! I am amazed, I think my hand pollination jump started the process, but I also helped Mother Nature out by planting some bee/butterfly (aka pollinators, my BFF's) attracting plants around my yard. Anything to get those bugs out and about! So far so good!

This is the raised bed on the right. Everything is in giant mode, and I am so happy I could burst! I have two baby zucchinis on the plant in the left there, and my giant tomatoes are happy in the back row!

This is the left of the two raised beds, which was planted a bit earlier so things are huge! That brussel sprout in the front right dominates this box visually, but everything is doing splendidly!
Here is an above view of the same bed.

In the front left there we have a single cucumber plant which is producing heavily after a very slow and rocky start to life! We are cutting the cukes early to pickle for cornichons (tarragon pickles), which are the hubs favorite!

And in closing, I will leave you with an adorable photo of my dogs of course, my four legged children. For those who are new in following, Cash is the boxer/pitbull mix, he will be two at the end of the month. Sammy is the chow/newfoundland mix and he turned 8 in June.

These boys have my heart!

Hope everyone is enjoying these last few weeks of summer and the bounties that come along with it!

19 Week Bumpdate

 Hey friends! So I am ashamed at how bad I am doing with weekly updates. To be honest though, not a lot changes from one week to the next, so I am okay with only updating every two or three. Lots of new and exciting things happening here though, we finally got an ultrasound, and the MiniWicki is doing amazing in there! I'll tell you what, the word 'Normal' never sounded so good.

Here I am rocking that bump!! Its finally looking like a pregnant belly and I am very pleased about that. Also, we did find out the sex at our ultrasound, but I'm going to make you all wait a tiny bit longer. We are having some photos taken next week for the big reveal!

 

Here is our sweet little babe. It was so surreal to see it swimming all around in there! Active little Mini, just like it's parents! 

How far along: 19 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: I'm up six lbs so far, which is on track for an average pregnancy! Feeling super pleased about that, considering White Cheddar Cheez-Its and ice cream are among my fave foods at the moment.
Maternity clothes: Still haven't bought any more. My gracious friend Ashley has loaned me quite a bit, and I am figuring out how to make my wardrobe work for my changing curves.
Stretch Marks: Still nope!
Sleep: Almost back to normal. Its so nice to be well rested again!
Best moment this week: Seeing our baby for the first time on ultrasound AND finding out the sex in the same visit! We are overjoyed, and now I am just really anxious to meet him/her!
Miss anything: Our local Brewfest is this weekend and I am jealous I will be missing that for the first time since I've lived in Bend. So yes, I miss beer. A lot.
Movement: We've got a little party animal in there!
Food cravings: Nothing too weird, I like food a lot though. Nom.
Anything making you queasy or sick?: Just gross smells. My gag reflex is high, if I'm gagging I'll probably lose it. Yuck.
Have you started to show yet?: The round belly is here!
Gender: Known but not shared!!!
Labor signs: Hell no!
Belly button in or out: Innie, and if it ever pops out I will be super impressed. I have the deepest belly button ever!
Wedding ring on or off: On! Always!
Mood: Cheerful and happy, I have been experiencing mood swings and MAJOR nesting. Cleaning is my new hobby.
Looking forward to: January!!!! I am also looking forward to our trip to Michigan next month, and just feeling our baby grow and taking good care of it and myself in the meantime!

So lets hear your guesses for the sex!! No spilling the beans if you already know!

16 Week Bumpdate!!

Holy moly, time is flying! How can I be 16 weeks already?! Sorry we missed week 15, I will admit not much has changed since week 14, which I posted last week while I was 15 weeks pregs. Confused much? Hahaha, just thought I'd inflict you with a tiny dose of the pregnant brain I am suffering from.
On with the bump update!

Don't mind the dog food bowls... lazy momma.

How far along: 16 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: It was 3lbs at my last check up, and for my personal sanity I don't own a scale. I'm eating healthy and not much more than when I wasn't with child, so I'm hoping to keep the weight gain in check!
Maternity clothes: Same as before, although I am loving leggings and tunics more than ever! I hate to say it, but I am so looking forward to fall because its dang hot out and I don't want to buy maternity shorts!
Stretch Marks: Nope! and hoping its nope the whole way through!
Sleep: getting better, I am figuring out the safest/most comfortable positions, and not forcing myself to sleep only on my sides.
Best moment this week: I felt the baby move, like FOR SURE yesterday!! I was holding my friend Ashley's sweet baby Anders on my chest while he slept and very distinctly I felt a movement go across my lower stomach! It felt like knuckles being dragged! So incredible! James happened to be standing right there and I was so happy to be able to share that moment with him, although he couldn't see or feel it.
Miss anything: I am really missing mountain biking. Our local ski area is in the process of building lift access downhill bike trails, and you all know how much we love Whistler, so I am wicked jealous I won't  be able to ride when they open this fall.
Movement: Yep, first little flutters are here!
Food cravings: Chicken strips. Need them like, yesterday I want some so bad! And figures, I work at the only restaurant in the world it seems that doesn't have them! Prob a blessing in disguise...
Anything making you queasy or sick?: Not too much, I get random nauseous spells but they pass pretty quickly. Heartburn is another story. 
Have you started to show yet?: Still pretty small, but round. If you know me, yes I'm showing, if not I just look kind of fat. : /
Gender: Unknown, we find out August 13th! I have a strong feeling its a girl, but we shall see!
Labor signs: Hell no!
Belly button in or out: Innie, and if it ever pops out I will be super impressed. I have the deepest belly button ever!
Wedding ring on or off: On! Always!
Mood: Cheerful and happy, but around 5:30pm, I am in need of a nap!
Looking forward to: Finding out the gender in a few short weeks! And our friends Kendall and Chuck's baby shower in a couple weeks as well! 

When you least expect it...

Life. It loves throwing curveballs, am I right?!

Hubs and I have been enjoying married life for about 10 months now. Things are glorious. Marriage is the greatest thing I have ever been apart of.
Until now, or April to be exact.

The Mister and I are soon to be a party of three!!! We are overjoyed, and have been enjoying the journey immensely so far. We found out we were expecting in late April, and our due date is January 10th!

So here goes, the first of 26 weekly bump updates!

How far along: 14 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: About 3 lbs gained so far. Hub says its all boobs and belly, thanks love ; )
Maternity clothes: 1 pair of Rockstar jeggings from Old Navy which are super cute and comfy. I also rock some maternity capri's a friend lent me to work in, so comfy! Usually I am in a dress though, or I use the hairband trick to expand the waistband on my pants/shorts.
Stretch Marks: Nope, doing my best to lotion/massage every day to keep the skin supple. Hubs likes helping with that too lol. 
Sleep: Meh. Somedays its great, somedays not so much. I am a back/stomach sleeper so adjusting to sleep on my sides is rough going so far.
Best moment this week: Finally announcing our pregnancy on Facebook. Most everyone we work with and the family and close friends already knew, but now being able to talk about it anytime anywhere feels awesome!
Miss anything: Beer and wine, medium rare steak, sushi, and being able to ride my mountain bike! But its all worth it!
Movement: Not really. Sometimes I think maybe, then I realize its probably gas or disgestion. But in the next few weeks I hope to!
Food cravings: Only the things I can't have...
Anything making you queasy or sick?: Not really, heartburn is another story though! Drink water, heartburn, eat anything, heartburn... Le sigh.
Have you started to show yet?: There is a definite roundness there, its awesome. Although mostly I just look like I ate a big burrito.
Gender: Unknown, we find out August 13th! I have a strong feeling its a girl, but we shall see!
Labor signs: Hell no!
Belly button in or out: Innie, and if it ever pops out I will be super impressed. I have the deepest belly button ever!
Wedding ring on or off: On! Always!
Mood: Just my usual cheerful self. Tired easily but feeling awesome.
Looking forward to: Enjoying the beautiful summer and finding out the gender soon!

There it is folks! Our big news! Check back soon for weekly updates and more fun fun baby info!!

Urban Farm {June & July}

Hello Hi Hey bloggy land!

Boy! Just when I feel like I can catch up and become decent at blogging regularly, life just rears its head and says, "Ah hell naw!" So I apologize, but here I am with an update on the ol Urban Farm!

Our last update, May, showed the little sprouts / seedlings of our soon to be flourishing garden! These photos were taken in late June.

We are stoked. Things are filling in nicely, although the top bed, which was planted about 4 weeks later than the bottom one, is having a slow start on carrots and beets. I admit that I left the tiny sprouts for one too many days with no water, but I am redeeming myself now! I'm hoping for a September/ October bumper crop utilizing the covers I sewed earlier in the year.

Anyhow, lets catch up to this week!

 

As you can see, we had out first harvest! The garden is rocking right now! We harvested Curly Kale, Spinach, Sugar Peas, and Heirloom Carrots and made ourselves a salad!

My goodness it was fantastic! We had such a good time in the garden together choosing our veggies as well! Hubs kept getting confused about what veggies were what, since planting and tending to the garden has been largely my job!

It is so nice to finally be able to reap some rewards for my hard work, and it feels great knowing we are eating as local and organic as possible! Hubs even commented how cool it was that the scraps from the veggies went right into our compost, which will be used for next years garden! Circle of life friends! It's worth the hard work and time!

On another garden note, I'm having a bit of trouble with my tomatoes. (Shocking, I'm sure). They are flowering like crazy but not fruiting! So frustrating! Upon further investigation, I've come to realize that there aren't very many bees in our backyard to help with pollination. I purchased some lovely butterfly and bee attracting plants, and I'm hoping that will help! Otherwise I may have to resort to pollinating by hand with a teeny tiny paint brush! It is not below me! I need the tomatoes! So if you have any advice and tips about tomatoes, please spill!

And, lastly, please stop back by tomorrow!! Big big news on the ol Urban Farm... a garden isn't the only thing we've  been growing!!! Are you dying of suspense?! See you tomorrow!!