Barefoot in the Yard: she lives!

ok, so i've been inspired. i haven't touched this blog in a year, mostly because i overwhelmed myself with ideas and schedules and things i wanted to include here, and gave up to get away from stressing over something that hadn't even happened yet. i have been known to bite off more than i can chew on occasion. bleh.

it's a virgo thing.

but i've recently started reading two blogs that i've fallen in love with, and the ladies that write them have inspired me to rejoin the blogosphere. not for everyone else, but for me. this will be something i can look back on years down the road and remember what was going on in my life at the time. and with a memory like mine, i'll need it.

*in case you're interested, those two blogs are Tidbits from the Tremaynes and Domestic Imperfection. i highly recommend them both.

so i don't know exactly what i'll share here, and i'm not going to try to schedule when i'm going to blog (!). i'm just going to do it when it feels right. and, more importantly, when i have time. i'm back to work after my maternity leave with JW, so i'm now juggling a full-time job and three kids at home.

and in every spare moment, we're working on renovations around the house. here's just a sample.

this is the master bathroom re-no we've been working on for about a year and a half now. it's still not done, but getting closer a little at a time.

that's new trim we just put in this weekend - it's getting done, Mom, i promise!

here's the giant shop my dad just built for us in the backyard (yes, my dad is cooler than yours, but we did pay for all the materials ourselves). we're partially through relocating all the crap from the garage out here.

does it look huge here? it looks huge in the yard. like ridiculously huge.

this is where my new pantry is going. this is another baby step project. eventually this part of the garage will be walled up and a doorway added between it and the laundry room, and every wall will be lined with shelves. it's going to be awesome. it's just taking for.ev.er. i hate being frugal. :(

those bottles on the floor are our emergency water supply, just in case

and here's the real reason i never have any "mommy" time anymore. i can get this:

or i can get this:

but never at the same time.

and on top of the renovations to the house (plus the continuously expanding "to do" list), i'm trying to squeeze in smaller projects, mostly things i've seen on pinterest. *that site is absolutely addicting. seriously, it's crack for the suburbanite. i have ~~wasted~~ spent more time on that site than pretty much anything else, except when i used to work from home and played on facebook all day.*

this is the awesome stuffed animal zoo the hubs helped me build:

and here's what it looked like 5 minutes after installation:

yes, that's my 2 year old climbing around with the stuffed animals. he told me he was going to sleep in there. he hasn't yet, but i'm certain one day i'll be looking for him, and find him curled up and napping under a pile of toys.

anyway, that's what i've got for today. here are a few pics, just because i can. :)