September 30, 2007 | Mama Smith
the clearing
Our jungle of a backyard is no more. Four hours and one hefty skid steer was all it took to reduce our knotted bramble and dilapidated storage shed to a pile of wood and red dirt. I am still in shock over how much space now resides in our backyard. Granted, it is currently a dusty mess of space, but one can dream and hope for the day when it becomes a grassy yard for the boys and their imaginations.
B adored having a skid steer hang out with us all morning. His “uncle Charlie”, my cousin and a local project manager, had offered it for our backyard overhaul. Which we would have never accomplished in that short amount of time with a simple chain saw and rake! The only part that cause a little concern for B was when the storage shed came down with a loud crack.
He just whispered beside me, “Uh oh, Mama. House broke.“ I tried to assure him this was all a part of the plan, but with all the reprimanding he gets for breaking things, I don’t think it vibed with the paradigm we’ve been hounding into his head. Broken = bad.
The earlier part of the day was spent at a local farmer’s market. Lusting over plants and shrubs – a new temptation we had never faced until becoming home owners – and snatching up some fresh local cheeses that we’d been missing from our Philly co-op.
For some unexplainable reason, we had this sneaking suspicion that they really like peanuts around here. Especially the warm, soggy kind. Callie even had a weakness for those and tried to sell B on them. At least she didn’t try to hook him on the bags of pork rinds everywhere. A favorite of my dad’s.
We enjoyed the cool morning, the harvest colors and the general feeling that fall just might be on it’s way…despite the fact it’s been in the upper 80’s and looks like it will be that way for awhile. Yet I complain now, but come March, I’d take a warm fall over a frigid spring involving two feet of Philadelphia snow any day.
And yes, the stroller saga is resolved. Anyone with two young children close in age, know an AWOL stroller is quite a saga. We had begrudgingly tried a different kind. One of those annoying side-by-side ones. Only to return it and reinvest in the one that worked. I am an OCD baby/kid product researcher. We don’t buy much, but what we do purchase has to pass a multitude of annoyingly strict requirements I’ve outlined. With the hyper walking family we are, this stroller was by far the biggest, but most worthwhile investment we’d made for our kiddos. And we’re all four glad he’s back.
I also justified it by finding out our “walk score” here in GVL is 57, only 3 points down from our “walk score” of 60 in Philly. A ridiculous, but fun find. Find your home’s walk score here.
Anne Deeb said,
crazy!!! i just did our walk score for our new home here in old louisville, and it is the exact same as our old address in center city philly…78.
that farmer’s market looks awesome!
we can’t wait to visit you guys at the end of the month!
Rach said,
keep at those b’oul (boiled) peanuts :) Glad you’re enjoying the new sites and sounds. miss ya up here. hung out with Mar last night. good times.
Jeannie said,
Well, just when I was discontent about my life here…I checked our address and we are a booming 94. God’s way of reminding me to be thankful. Now all I need is to have 2 boys to walk! :)
mom said,
Yes, dad loves his peanuts, but come on, pork rinds?....no way! we LOVED the shots of B looking with every nerve on alert! And the vine pic…is that on your property or at the mkt? i used to pull it off the trees down by narnia creek and make wreaths of it, remember? missing you each and filled w/gratefulness for family (way to go Charlie!!). hugs, m
amy smith said,
Uuuum, YES he does! Don’t you remember those car trips where he’d buy a bag?? Or maybe that was just to gross us out as little kids. I always assumed they were his favorite. Then again, he did order chocolate-covered-booger sprinkles on his ice cream at McDonalds that once, so I should have figured out not to trust his “tastes” :) And I WISH that vine was from our property. It is at the market, for a whopping $8 a bunch. Bummer :( Callie and I were reminiscing all your dried flowers and wreaths you used to make walking around though :) Hope London is treating you well. We love you all!!
emily said,
so AC, the phil & ted stroller is worth it? did you ever try it with the car seat / infant carrier attachment? we are thinking in investing in it because it seems like a great deal – regular stroller and jogger in one. does levi get bored sitting behind brighton? does he get wet in puddles? :) thanks for the help…and i’m so glad y’all are enjoying some fun times after all the moving stress!
amy smith said,
This is what I’ve told other friends, Em…if you spend 50% or more of your time outside the car (walking to parks, stores, etc…) then it is DEFINITELY worth the investment. If you are mainly a car person (drive to parks, drive to stores, etc…) it may or may not be the right investment. As with all baby products, it just depends on your lifestyle and needs. The side-by-side Maclarens/Combis/Jeeps are supposed to be great, but they stunk navigating these tiny, bumpy sidewalks here at our place. But if you’re going to be sticking it in and out of your car, just to use when you get to your destination, I think those are a great pick. We needed something smaller, tougher and more easily navigated. It’s not a great jogger though. You kick the bottom seat too much and the shocks aren’t as great as a real double jogger. It was nice being able to use if from the time L was a tiny babe and throughout their toddlerhood….well, if we hadn’t had to buy it TWICE, that would have been an even better feature :)
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