Our fourth of July

For Porgie's seventh birthday, she wanted a pool.  We bought her a 10ft Intex pool, which actually cost a pretty penny.  We set it up on a "level" section of the backyard.  I put the word level in quotation marks, because we were just eyeballing it.  I am sure you can see where this story is going.

The pool filled up in a very lopsided fashion, but the kids didn't seem to mind.  They splashed and played and had tons of fun.  But after about two weeks, one side of the pool collapsed and all the water went rushing out.  John and I decided that before we set it up again, we would try to make the ground more level.  We wanted to have it all fixed and ready by the 4th of July.

To remedy the problem, first John tried to dig out the high side.  Unfortunately, there were a million tree roots, which made it basically impossible.  So, John decided to buy some dirt and build up the other side.  I should probably mention that it has been raining a lot lately.  For the past week, there has been a  thunderstorm nearly every afternoon.

On Wednesday night, John went to Lowes to buy some dirt.  He pulled his van into the backyard and started to unload the bags.  While he was doing this, it started raining again.  It was pouring buckets.  John hopped back in his van and tried to pull out of the backyard.  But his wheels just spun hopelessly in the mud. 

By this point, John was livid.  He was screaming and being pretty over-dramatic.  I was really hoping he would somehow manage to get his van dislodged from the mud, but after 30 minutes of pure hell, he gave up.  His van was stuck.

The next morning (the 4th of July), he went back to Lowes to buy some plywood to put in front of his tires for traction. After an hour of rearranging boards and going backward and forward, he was finally able to get his van out of the yard.  But holy crap, our yard was destroyed.

After all of that chaos, it was finally time to put down the dirt and set-up the pool.  John swears that the dirt was level, but when he filled up the pool, we had the EXACT same problem.  It was still lopsided.

So, we wasted a bunch of money on dirt, got a vehicle stuck in mud, and destroyed our backyard for another lopsided pool.  Oh the joys of parenthood. 

Baby eating a cupcake

Obsessions

I am currently obsessed with adding a bathroom to our basement.  I swear, it never ends with me.  One thing just leads to another.  We currently have a laundry space that is about 6ft by 5 ft.  The space is pretty much empty except for the washer/dryer and a utility sink.  Our washer and dryer are both on their last legs.  We've had the washing machine repaired in the past (but it still acts funny sometimes) and the dryer door will only stay closed if I prop a heavy box against it.  But they work, so I've put up with all their problems.

So here is my plan.  I want to purchase a new stackable washer/dryer unit and place a nice utility sink set in a cabinet next to the washer and dryer.   Then I want to install an up-flush toilet on the opposite wall.  I already have the whole thing planned out in my head.  I am going to have blue floor tiles, white bead board on the half the wall and a lighter shade of blue on the top of the wall.

There is only one problem with my fabulous plan - money.

It seems like we have been spending money like crazy lately.  The impromptu trip to KY was definitely expensive.  Our van needed some maintain before we drove back to KY, which cost a pretty penny.  I just made the final payment on my last round of dental work.  And the list goes on and on.  It just seems like we are barely making ends meet right now.

Originally I was pushing for the bathroom project to begin this month, but we are going to have to hold off until the fall.  I am disappointed, but I don't really see any way around it.