Go, Green, Go!

Okay, peeps.

Let's talk about something major.

Something physical. Something green (or brown). Something annoying and expensive and infuriating--and alive (sometimes). Something that I curse more often than I'd care to admit and loathe for the mostly the same reasons.

But something that brings great JOY when it's thriving.

Something called...

GRASS.

Yep. That's right. This is a post all about the grass in our yard, ha. (Brace thyselves for important subject matter, and if you're not interested, abandon now, ha.) But, first, before I drone on about this very riveting topic, please enjoy a couple of glorious pics I took two night ago, in the beautiful witching hour light:

Look! It's green grass! That's pretty darn filled in! And, yeah, sure, it's just one small area of the property, but on the whole, things are looking pretty solid--especially on the hells of August (our worst, hottest month!).

It's hysterical how invested we've become in the growth and maintenance, of late. Look at the hubby, in the distance of this pic, checking things out with a closer eye, ha:

Okay. Now. To rewind...

We live on 3/4 of an acre of land and pretty much have every terrain you can imagine.

We've got some manicured areas, some xeriscaped areas (mostly mulch), we've got a fun lower-level to our backyard that's untamed and wild, and...we even broke down a couple of years ago and installed turf in the upper level of our backyard, for all the reasons I'm about to list (but see the post below, if you're interest in a walk down memory lane):

https://delappenings.blogspot.com/search?q=turf

We live in South Texas.

We've had heinous weather fluctuations--and really devastating freezes in the past few years.

We don't get a ton of rain.

We've been on water rationing/restrictions for as long as we've lived here (meaning: you can only water your grass one day a week--during certain hours).

And...oh, yeah. We have a ton of wildlife that roots around and ruins the grass (ahem, I'm talking about you, armadillos). 

So. Yup.

For all those reasons and many more, it's been really, really difficult to keep our grass alive--let alone, attempt to have it thrive (tehe, I rhyme).

Honestly, our property is a little overwhelming at times, in terms of upkeep, and the hubby and I definitely pick and choose our battles over the years. And if you've followed along with this here blog for any length of time, you know that we've definitely had some major property battles over the years. To say the least.

But this past year--likely because we have Coda pup and take her on approximately 2,734 walks a week that require us to survey our property as we come and go--the grass has really become a thorn in my side. A thorn that I want to make thrive! (More rhyming!)

So.

In the springtime, I waged a campaign for us to pick a couple of zones and try to get them looking perkier, if you will.

Our first order of business was the half-circle area that's right by the curb, as we had a lot of grass that was just dying or crying out for help because of the full sun onslaught and the roots of our aging Bradford Pear trees, and it was just looking sad. 

So we could better support the area and get it looking pretty, we dug up a portion of the never-gonna-survive grass right by the curb, and created a mulch bed for visual interest. Already, it was SO much better, but you'll see how the grass was patchy and most definitely not thriving:

Then, we started focusing on the grass that was left, BIG time.

The hubby even went to painstaking effort to dig and replace sections of sod, and it was a whole thing that we watched, day by day, wishing it and coddling it into healthy existence! (Hand watering is allowed, but it's a whole thing. Dedication, I tell ya.)

Excuse Coda pup's head in the corner of this pic, but it will give you an idea of some of the patches we installed:

When I tell you we looked at it, talked about it, and worried about it for the past six months, nearly every day, it's no exaggeration, ha. Not in a crazy way. Just in a we're-walking-past-it-yet-again-so-let's-check-on-progress-way, ha.

I am thrilled--thrilled!--to report that the whole zone is looking so much happier. I really can't believe it actually worked! In part, because we've learned you really have to keep the grass very high down here, in the Summer, for it to have any promise of shading itself and surviving the heinous heat. So we asked our yard crew to please, please keep it high--and only mow every other week--and it's helped in a major way!

Also. Please hysterically note the DIRTY brick in the above pic. That zone has been power-washed, now, and it never fails to shock me when I see the before/after!

In addition to the sod that was replaced in certain areas, we also went to a lot of trouble adding top soil to help the grass thrive in the rocky, rocky terrain down here.

I mean, our area is called Stone Oak for a reason.

Specifically, near the edges and near the driveway portions, the additional soil seemed to help, and now the grass is growing in more bountifully. Also: hello, power-washed driveway!

Hysterically, we've always had one lower-hanging tree limb in the above pic that we've wanted to trim so you can better see the house when you're driving up to it from that view. But we've recently decided we will NOT remove it, because it shades the grass! Ha.

Truly, it's hysterical to ponder how much care we've put in to the grass, but every little bit (along with very recently hiring a new weed service!) is helping.

So...onward and upward! And, next year, we'll probably pick yet another zone to baby and help out. 

Home ownership is such a thing. Everybody in the world who's fortunate enough to own and maintain a home feels the burden. It's equal parts joy and pain. And the lists of to-do's or to-fix are never-ending. 

But...I'm so grateful for positive results regarding this one, tiny endeavor. It will be a constant, uphill battle, and next week or next month, our grass might look like crap, again. But, for now, I'll take the win!

Okay, peeps.

More (non-grass) posts, soon!

Over and out.

Tween Fashion Finds

Okay, peeps.

Holy goodness.

There's a lot about parenting that's a constant learning curve.

But there's also a lot that can be learned through in-the-weeds experience.

And if there's one thing I've learned through the years (on the kid fashion front, at least), it's this:

It's not worth a lot of time and money to do back-to-school clothing shopping, because my kids never seem to know what they really want to wear until they launch school and start looking around and others.

Truth.

My first run-in with this whole wait-and-see-what-peeps-are-wearing situation occurred in 5th grade, with Chica.

We've never really done a whole heaping lot of shopping just before school because temperatures are still hella hot where we live and nobody is all that interested in buying the same hot weather clothes they're sick of by that point.

So our tendency has always been to buy: 1) a pair of shoes, and 2) just a couple of tops, and call it a day until autumn. 

And this tendency toward holding off solidified in a major way about four years back (in that 5th grade year of Chica's) when I realized that my kiddos were inevitably going to have a fashion crisis of some variety that we'd need to address, and I realized it was a whole lot more efficient to just wait to shop until we knew what that particular crisis--or need--was going to be.

Enter: CHICKET.

If you know and love my middle born, you are aware that she does not like to shop. Like, at all. Will pretty much do anything to avoid it, and has long preferred that I act as her personal shopper, doing all the legwork (and hefty return work!) to spare her the effort of going and doing.

NOT an efficient process.

But, if you know and love my middle born, you are also probably aware that this is sometimes the path of least resistance. It's often better to just cave and go shop for her and buy a slew of things she *might* like, than drag her unhappy and unhelpful, along for the ride, ha.

So.

When she came to me about a week ago and told me she wanted a pair of jeans, I was equal parts excited--and terrified.

I mean, the horror. The Everest! Buying my jean-averse (at least, up to this point in her life) tween, a brand-spanking-new middle schooler some jeans, off the cuff, without her guidance and input???

An impossible task!

But if there's one thing I've learned about Chicklet's clothing needs, it's that impossible tasks are just part of the game. Oye.

I spent one afternoon, last week, sweating until I thought I would pass out in triple-digit temps, running to several places, buying a whole slew of options for my girl, imagining her possibly-heinous reaction to all of them, and...you know what???

I brought nine pairs home, and we had ONE winner! Woohoo!

And one kind of substandard runner up, but you know what? That's a victory to me!

Welp. Fast forward to the next day, when she actually wore the jeans (a fun, black pair, actually) to school, and it was a MAJOR moment. :)

However.

There was a bit of angst to go along with the Black Jeans Wearing because my girl didn't have any shirts she liked with the jeans, so she had to do the hilarious and obvious thing: steal something out of her sister's closet!

I DIE.

First time this has ever happened, and it warmed my heart--and Chicket's, if her Cheshire Cat smile was any indication. She loved the fact that she could go into her sissy's closet and grab something, and her sister (who wasn't home at the time, as she had to go to school early, that day) was shocked and tickled when she crossed paths with Chicklet at school and noticed her "borrowed" clothing.

It was the CUTEST.

Until...the very next morning, when the first word's out of my Chicklet's mouth upon waking were: "Are my black jeans clean?"

And I was like: "You mean the black jeans you just put in the dirty clothes last night? Yeah--NO."

And I realized we were about to have a big, BIG problem.

Because once you tween up your wardrobe, there's no going back! (For the record, this is technically the second iteration of Chicket's teen glow up, since the first iteration happened last year, when she switched from colorful leggings to black, only black--plus fun cropped tops.)

At that point, I basically saw the writing on the wall, and was like: okay, I love you, but if you want more clothes--and specifically, more jeans--you're going to have to come shopping. With me. Because I just can't do this alone.

And Chicklet proved her interest in gathering up a few new clothing items, because...she agreed to some shopping! Reluctantly. Begrudgingly. But, she agreed!

Fast forward to yesterday, when we planned to send Coda pup to the play place for most of the day so we could have a family marathon of church, lunch, and shopping. What we didn't plan on was pouring down rain for, like, eight hours, which made shopping at an outdoor mall quite the ordeal. But...we were determined! In it to win it, if you will!

After gathering some intel from fellow Mama friends, we made a plan to launch at Abercrombie Kids for the greatest jean success of the tween variety (meaning shorter lengths in many styles, for the kiddos who haven't hit their massive growth spurt).

It helped in a MAJOR way to start with a successful store, because, even though it required lots (and lots!) of trying on of various styles and fabrics and cuts, we found two, versatile winners! Whew!

If absorbing trends by observation is at all a thing, it seems like Kids These Days are gravitating toward lighter washes. It's a thing for Chica (and her one pair of jeans, ha). It's a thing for all the kids I see at drop off. And it's become a thing for Chicklet.

It seems my Chicklet also enjoys herself some fun distressing to her jeans, which I love.

The above pair is a low-rise, baggy style (again; seems to be the trend). And if my kid gravitating toward it wasn't a heads-up that it's more of the style these days, the fact that the store carries this cut in 16 (yes, 16!) color variations was a dead giveaway, ha.

Blessedly, my Chicklet also really liked this higher rise, tighter-but-flared pair (also distressed; also in a light wash):

So we came away with not one, but two, fantastic pairs of good quality and decent price (bless you, buy one get one 50% off!), and it was a HUGE relief. And, yes, yes I did go online last night and order yet another pair of the low-rise baggy pair--in black. Because I know my girl. 

As part of this shopping excursion, we sent the men off to do something while the girls shopped, and it was a joy when I sent Chica out of the dressing room to find a random top for Chicklet to pair with the jeans as she was trying things on (because she was wearing a dress, since we were straight from church).

Anywho, Chica comes back with this adorable grey sweater that's kind of wide necked, so it fell off one of Chicket's shoulders and when she slipped it on, she started glowing. Loved, loved, loved it--and Chica was bummed because she wanted it for herself, ha. I see more sister swapping in the future!

It was really so precious to see them interact. And how happy it made Chicklet when she selected something that her sister liked, as well. They have VERY different styles, but it's adorable--and fascinating--to see the small crossover. :)

Okay. Now.

Jeans? Check.

One sweater? Check.

But we live in South Texas. So that sweater will come in handy in...oh, JANUARY.

So the real challenge came in finding tops. Because I've learned that if Chicklet doesn't have a full outfit, it's pretty much going to be a disaster all across the board.

Welp. By that point, Chicklet was over it. A couple stores is pretty much her max--full stop. So the hubby and I realized we were fighting an uphill battle, and that we should forge on alone. So we picked up Coda pup, dropped the kiddos off at home...and went back out into the fray, for MORE shopping, on Chicklet's behalf.

Oh, how we love this kid to go to so much effort for her!

I'm thrilled--and relieved!--to report that Old Navy really pulled through for us. I find that it's either an epic win or a colossal fail for me, in recent years, so I was so happy for it to be the former, this go-'round.

We found a few basic, fitted (stretchy, soft) tees; the kind that Chicklet was wanting to pair with her baggier jeans, and we basically scooped them up in every color. Especially since they were on sale!

Seriously--when I say we bought them in all the colors, I'm not really exaggerating. The only one Chicklet flat-out rejected was the hot pink (and I got to say I told you so to the hubby, on that one, ha). Hysterically, when I pulled the white one out of the shopping bag once we were back home, Chicklet scrunched her nose in judgment, wondering when she'd ever wear just a plain, white top.

And, do you know what she wore, today???

That's right. The white top! Sometimes, Mama knows best!

Better still...the hubby and I took a risk and bough Chicklet some nicer sweatpants, thinking she'd probably reject them, and do you know what she wore, today??? That's right: the sweatpants! Go figure.

My girl was happy and light, this morning, dressing in her new clothes. She loathes posing for pictures, but I snapped a couple of candids that she didn't yell at me for, ha:

So cozy. So cute. So tween-y.

It was so lovely to see her in a positive mood--in part, thanks to her clothing. In fact, when I dropped her off at school, as soon as we pulled in, she said, "It's bright and happy today. It's going to be a good day." And I know her mood was boosted by her new gear. She came home solid and stable, too.

I know it probably seems obnoxious (and uber privileged!) that my kid could request some new jeans and we could buy a whole slew of items that basically amount to a mini wardrobe-lift in one weekend, but if there's one thing I've learned with my Chicklet, it's that we have to roll with the momentum when she requests it! Because it will be light years before the willingness comes around, again.

Middle school is tough. But my beloved middle born is handling it with such stability. :) I'll share a longer post about her launch into 6th grade soon (I'm waiting to get a few more weeks under our belt before I make any bold declarations), but it's just fact that clothes influence moods.

They can build confidence, help kids assimilate, or simply just not feel different from their peers. And if a little bit of shopping once in a blue moon can help my girl feel happy in her skin, then I am here for it!

Okay. Whew! Long post after a long weekend!

I'm not gonna lie: this weekend was so busy with errands and to-do's that I had to cancel a couple of things this morning just to regroup and square up on life. But it was worth it!

And, now...onward and upward for this 5th week of school!

It's going to be a bit of a wonky one with two early release school days for Little Man (I loathe those days), plus the middle school Meet-the-Teacher night (tomorrow), and a whole host of other things. But...we can do it!

More soon, peeps!

Until then...over and out. :)

Spook & Spirit: It's TIME!

Okay, peeps.

It is a a truth universally acknowledged (within our household) that is NEVER too early or too often to begin celebrating any given holiday!

So if my son is wandering around looking like this on September 5th, all is right in the world.

Now. To rewind for some much-needed context... ;)

When Bath & Body Works sent me an e-mail declaring it Summerween the week after 4th of July, I was HERE FOR IT. And when Homegoods started stocking their spooky decor that very same week, I almost WEPT IN JOY.

I am totally that person who will always be game for launching a seasonal celebration, and the lead-up to autumn/Halloween has long been an absolute favorite time of year for Yours, Truly, because it signals the start of alllll the fun months ahead.

Somebody sent me a funny meme the other day about people who love the 'Ber months (September/October/November/December), and that is hands-down, 100% my time to thrive and shine!

'BER months for the win!

Okay. Now. Obviously, since my kiddos have half my DNA, they're also early-and-often celebrators (for the most part. (With the exception of when they start shaming me for putting up my Christmas trees and bypassing Thanksgiving-specific decorations, but I'd like to see them tackle nine trees, all on their own it a short amount of time!)

So, it's NO surprise that the moment it hit September (and, let's be honest, wayyyy before then), they were begging for a visit to Spirit Halloween to start looking at costumes. :)

My Chicklet even bemoaned the Covid that hit the household the weekend before last, because it delayed our planned outing. And when we still hadn't made it to the store to prowl last week, she boldly declared that we were so "late" in getting there that all the good stuff would be gone. (Mind you, this was September 2nd, ha.)

I mean...I DIE.

Also. I'm not sure she's wrong!

It was a JOY to end the school/work week and make an evening visit to Spirit as a family, last night! And we were far from the only ones there! It' was hoppin'!

AND, I gotta say: Chicklet was kind of right that some of the costumes would already be gone, because we snagged the last of a certain size for her particular selection. Wild!

It's always a riot to see what the kiddos gravitate toward. They might go in with an idea (like Little Man, who planned to find some sort of glow-in-the-dark skeleton costume), and come out with something totally and completely different (again, like Little Man, who left the store with Peely Bone from Fortnite).

I've learned to go with the flow regarding their selections--AND to save the receipts, because there's always (always!) one child who changes their mind between early September and Halloween).

We had such a fun hour (yes, HOUR) in the store, and everybody came away with a selection (or at least the idea of what they wanted). 

Chicklet landed on a costume I have long wanted one of the girlies to tackle: Poison Ivy! It's going to be fantastic, and we snagged alllll the really fun accessories. So fun! My heart is so happy!

Little Man, of course, came home with the outrageous mutant banana situation (I mean, typing that, alone, gets me laughing).

And...true to form, Chica wasn't so quick to make a decision, but...she did make one! We're just going to be piecing together some of her costume. She's going to be a Devil/Angel, and it will be glorious.

Part of the reason we have to piece hers together is because all the options skewed either too childish, or too, shall-we-say, revealing, ha.

I got the biggest laugh when she looked at this bustier, waved her hand in its general vicinity and said, "Yeah. No. It's giving Easy A vibes."

Bahaha.

If you know you know--and I adore that Chica now knows! (Bless you, Olive Pendergast and your hilariousness). 

We brought some white/red wings home, an eye mask and some gloves, and we're going to piece together a skirt and top based off of some inspiration like this:

But in a white/red combo, obviously.

I seriously can't tell you how much joy it brings me to be back in this seasonal time of year that I love, love, love. And this year will be extra fun, because we're going on a family adventure for Halloween that will make it extra-special. (But, more on that, soon!)

I also can't tell you how much joy it brings me when the kiddos have their costumes on hand early, and I get to see them creep around the house looking all adorable and hysterical. Like Little Man, last night, getting his Peely Bone mischief on.

Creeping around downstairs...

Then creeping around to scare Daddy...

Then creeping up on Chica, trying to record her violin Chair Test, baha:

That one wasn't so appreciated (by Chica), but it was hard to intervene when it was so stinking funny.

Needless to say, it was a great way to kick off the weekend, and the first official weekend in September, and we've got nothing but positive momentum to help us forward from here on out!

Looking at the Big Picture of our family calendar for September/October, it's going to be a busy one (shocker). Chica started Cross Country, this week. Little Man starts soccer in two weeks (just before his birthday!), the same week he starts Chess again--not to mention his regular Table Tennis.

Chicklet is acclimating to all the demands of middle school--plus the commitments of Dance, Theater Arts and Band! She spends so many fun evenings practicing away at the moves she has to learn for an upcoming school festival. It's presh-us. She also officially begins Confirmation in two weeks, and that's a major event for her 6th grade year!

Add in Chica's long-standing violin and choir commitments, the Robotics Club Little Man is going to join, and a lot of other odds and ends, it's...A LOT. Our wall calendar is getting pretty dang colorful.

All that said...it never gets chill or easy, but if we make it to Halloween, a couple of things will come to a close or spin off into other activities, so that's looking like a finish line, of sorts.

So...here we go! Busyness and seasonal fun is RAMPING UP. But we're pretty stable and excited about it all.

And, lookie here! A double post day, to boot!

Okay, peeps. More, soon!

Until then...OVER AND OUT.