Homeowner Right of Passage: Mowing the Lawn

I have a confession to make and it is one that will warm my father's heart (because who else insisted that I mow five acres of land almost every weekend? Thank goodness the other twenty acres were wooded). I love landscaping and gardening. I love to mow the lawn. Maybe it's because I enjoy the outdoors and I like to feel the warm sun on my skin, maybe I enjoy the tangible evidence of my labors, or maybe it's because only the roar of John Deere mower can adequately shut out the rest of the world and provide precious mental clarity. Whatever the reason, I am happy to work outside in the yard.

When we decided to buy a house, we knew we wanted a decent yard to garden and to provide space for running and playing. While others might daydream about the curtains they'll choose for their new bedroom (our windows are still bare), I looked forward to the day we would select a lawn mower and gardening equipment. So, imagine my initial disappointment when my husband announced that he has always wanted an old-fashioned push reel lawn mower and come on, Linds, they're better for our health and for the environment! Well, we agreed to give it a try. If it didn't work out or if it was completely inadequate, we would be out $130 but we could always sell it on craigslist.

Today, we bought a Scotts classic push reel mower.

Some of its finer points include its very quiet blades. While the mower doesn't provide the buzzing hum to provide a bit of "alone-time," it was quiet enough not to wake our sleeping Evie. So, in a roundabout way, it did provide some of the aforementioned solitude. The mower also doubles as an exercise aid as it is not self-propelled. Am I really reaching to look for pros on a list pre-loaded with cons? Perhaps, but I am willing to give it a shot. The cons, as one might imagine, include the necessity of mowing the same line in the lawn several times to really cut all of the grass. I had to hand-pick about a dozen stubborn blades of grass. The mower is not self-propelled and we didn't get a mower with a bag for grass clippings, so we need to rake the lawn after mowing, although I recently discovered bag attachments for the push reel mowers, so this "con" may not sit on the list for long.

All in all, using a push reel mower was actually a fun experience, if only for the novelty of it. Time will tell whether this eco-friendly method becomes a staple of our lawn-care regimen. One thing is certain though, Evie loves her new yard! And so do we.

Snapshot: Pony Tail

Five Finger Inspection

This morning, Evelyn did something that 12 month olds the world over are doing right now, she tripped. She fell over, palms on the patio, and then stood back up and looked at her right hand. Was it OK, I asked her. Evie very thoughtfully waved with her right hand, rubbed her hands together, clapped, and then went back to playing with her ball. Her hand passed its inspection!

Milestone Alert: Baby's Got Bangs!

Pretty clips, pony tails, braids. . . we are fully initiated into the realm of toddler hair styling. And yet, Evelyn's long, baby-fine bangs slip into her eyes each day. After some discussion, Chris and I decided that while we did not want to cut Evie's hair yet (no baby's first lock of hair for the baby book), we do value her ability to see clearly. It was time for a little trim.

I should preface this post with a disclosure. I have a small pet-peeve when it comes to children's hair styles: your child can sport whatever style she likes, but please, please do not give her bangs that begin at the top of her head. These thick, bowl-cut resembling bangs do favors for no one. Honestly, it is not flattering and it looks a bit odd. With this minor consideration in mind, I took Evelyn to Common Folk Kids in Bellevue for a bangs trim.

The stylist was wonderful with little ones and she completely agreed that Evie's bangs just needed a little trim. Evelyn got to climb into a red race car. She wore a colorful cape (for about thirty seconds). She could tell that this would be serious business, best handled without the help of a jazzy '80's print. It's a good thing Mama was fast with the camera, Dada has a photo from his baby years just like this one and the resemblance is uncanny! We will have to find it for a side-by-side comparison.

Before Evie could blink, the stylist handed her a bucket of little toys and went to work snipping about an inch off of her bangs. Evidently she could sense what kind of gal Evelyn is, because there was a rubik's cube in the box and Evelyn loved it. It was just like Dada's.

Three minutes and $7 later, we were finished! Evelyn got a bright green balloon and she was quite interested in it. (This was surprising since she has been terrified of them lately.) We shared a cup of navy bean soup and chicken salad at Thyme for Soup and then headed over to Bed, Bath, & Beyond to check out the "Beyond." While browsing the drapes, the balloon mysteriously became free and floated to the rafters of the store. Evelyn pointed this out to me, and while she seemed agitated, I am not sure if she was upset that the balloon had escaped or if she was hoping for some recognition (I tied a tight knot around the stroller handle, Evelyn must have been working at it for a while).

Why didn't I just trim her bangs on my own at home, sans race car? Although I am quite adept at nursing while cleaning the kitchen and talking to my sister on the phone while composing a poem in iambic pentameter, I have not yet mastered the duel role of hair stylist/ photographer. Maybe next time.

Snapshot: Tea Time

Ch-ch-ch-changes

We are definitely a family in flux. Our new house (and the whole neighborhood actually) is great! It is exciting to be in our first house together and we feel blessed to be in this position. I mean, a few years ago we were both living with roommates in college. Nevertheless, routines, scenery, sleeping-- everything is fairly "off" for the time being. Boxes, though dwindling in number, comprise much of our indoor space and we are still making decisions about several large purchases (furniture, mostly). If this is stressful for us, as adults, it is doubly so for our little Evie. She's even taken to grinding her baby teeth a couple of times.

I have been giving her a lot of extra physical touch, especially at night, to reassure her that everything is indeed OK, but the past few days were awful for her. She had her first real fever. It reached 103.5 F and she was just miserable. We spent a few hours on Saturday at the pediatrician's office. She had a test that induced heart-breaking cries. And honestly, I cried too. How can you hold your baby down and look at her red, puffy eyes without tearing up? How? Fortunately, everything looked normal. She just had a high fever, no other symptoms, no good explanation. And this morning, the fever broke. Evie slept in Dada's arms during much of Mass, and then kept sleeping in the Ergo carrier.

I am hopeful that this week will bring some calm to our household. Although I've only been able to secure help for three hours this week, I plan on using that time to set up our bedroom and try to unpack the rest of the living room so that we can have some comfortable, clean spaces to play. We're also picking up a preschool play gym of sorts, though it remains to be seen whether Evie will actually set aside her interest in the endless number of pine cones, rocks and sticks her new backyard has to offer. And, most of all, I am hoping that we will all begin to get more sleep!

*Disclaimer: plenty of lovely, happy things have happened this week, too. No Debbie Downer here! We met the neighbors and were invited to their annual BBQ. They're a great couple and we had a lot of fun. Evie and I also enjoyed going to the second meeting of the newly-formed LLL chapter nearby.

Mini-post

Evelyn said "water" today while we frolicked in the backyard and played with the garden hose. The temperature reached about 88 degrees this afternoon, so the cold "wawa" felt wonderful!