I am almost 13 weeks along, and it seems like my laziness is coming to an end! Finally. I didn't experience the exhaustion with Bobby, but I have needed a nap everyday or I would be ready for bed around 5 o'clock. Yesterday was the first day that I didn't feel sleepy during the day. :)

The weather here has been gorgeous, so Bobby and I have been hanging outside for most afternoons. Yesterday I started a garden!! I planted carrots, squash, bell peppers and tomatoes. I decided to start small so it would be manageable. I also have a strawberry plant that I won at my last Bunco (sniff, sniff...).

Hopefully, these little guys will start growing! I am excited to see if I can actually produce edible food. I have only ever had flower gardens, so this is all new to me! I'll update with more pictures as the garden grows.

I had the strawberry plant (yellow pot) in the shade, and it was looking very sad. I finally got around to moving it somewhere sunny, and overnight it perked up and looks so much better!

Back Yard Spruce-Up

I love flowers, spring, and being outside. Last year, we had just moved into our house (hard to believe we have been here a whole year already!), so I really focused on making our front yard look nice. This year, I have been consentrating on our back yard. I want it to feel warm and welcoming to anyone who comes over. I have had to plant different plants then I am used to, since I have a lot of shade in the back yard. Here are some of the things I have done:

I found these 'old-but-new' retro chairs at Lowes. Very fun! They are actually pretty comfy. Lately I'll go outside with Bobby and Oliver in the morning and enjoy the yard before it gets too hot. I got the table from Round Top last year, I was using it as an end table in the living room, but I thought it was better suited for the outside, plus it isn't very stable, and Bobby will be pulling up before you know it!!

I decided to give Hydrangeas another shot. Last time I planted a hydrangea, I was only able to get a few petals after the initial blooms died off. So far, so good! I have 2 different ones, in two different spots, so we'll see which one does the best. (See the larger leaves off to the left? Those are new growth! Yea!)
I planted some flowers in the wagon that I got from Round Top this year. It looks really cute! Probably my favorite part of my back yard. Some people may pass up a $10 two-wheeled wagon, but not me! It gives it character...I knew exactly what I was doing when I bought it!

New Landscaping!!

Saturday was a very productive flower garden day, complete with digging, planting, and mulching. It has been so long since I planted anything, I really missed working in the yard! My back and hamstrings are paying the price now, but the results are worth it! (Don't worry, Rob did most of the hard digging/manual labor for me. Isn't he the best?) To top it all off, I think I only sneezed once or twice, hallelujah!

This is what it looked like when we moved into the house...yuck!! Christina and my sister Michelle kindly removed all those weeds for me. I planted Petunias, they will get a lot bigger and it will look really pretty.
















Here is the front of the house when we bought it. One of the first things Rob did when we moved in was pull up all those bushes and weeds. I also had him remove the wooden beams so I could put some stones along the border, and I also curved the flower bed a little bit, instead of keeping it rectangular.














Ta Da!! I just love my Topiary!(Rob thinks it is weird, but I think it is a guy thing...)

Also, we have this rose bush on the side of our house, and it is blooming! Isn't it pretty? I have never had roses, so I'll have to read up on how to care for them, don't want it to die, ya know!!

New flower bed

Rob and I have been working on our yard lately, and we finally finished one of the flower beds in our back yard. It turned out really good! We lined it with paper that is earth friendly, but will still keep the weeds out, b/c I hate pulling weeds! We plan on doing another one, but that will take more time, b/c it will be longer than this one. And just wait until you see what is planned for our front yard! We would be working on that as I am typing, but it is yet another rainy day in Sugar Land.

Enjoy the pictures!

Before...










After...

Spider!

Check out this spiderI found in my garden today. It is the biggest spider I have ever seen! I looked it up online, and I think it is an Orb-Weaver spider. They aren't harmful, thank goodness, but they can bite! They wind their prey up in the web, which I saw evidence of that as well. When I saw it, I jumped and screamed! :) I hate bugs...

I would like to think that I am an aspiring gardener, so I planted a Hydrangea in March, I think. For awhile all that seemed to be growing was the foliage, I was discouraged, I thought I had cut it back too much, and would have to wait until next season, but after months of patiently waiting for my Hydrangea to bloom, I walked outside the other day, and saw that it finally has some tiny blooms on it! I was so excited!