Wide open spaces

My dad’s house has a massive and very flat back yard. I was never a “Hey, let’s go play outside with the hot and the bugs and the dirt” kind of kid. But in retrospect, I wish I’d taken more advantage of the yard. It’s a great yard.

I’d always envisioned my own kids playing in a similar space. The house we’re renting* now doesn’t really have any playable yard space to speak of, though. The front “yard” is taken up mostly by a gravel driveway. The back has a good amount of space, but I’d have to give the kids climbing gear to play on it. It’s pretty steep, is what I’m saying. I’m of the opinion that we don’t need quite as much driveway as we have and that if we could reclaim some of that space as yard, it would give the kids a place to play.

And so, I have made a little diagram and I would like your opinion.** I’m not sure how you’d go about shrinking a driveway, but I’d imagine it would take a good bit of manual labor to remove the gravel. And then you’d have to put down grass seed or sod, I think, unless you wanted to give the kids a mud pit. Which I don’t want to do.

What do you think? Would this be possible? Or affordable? I don’t know how many landscaping experts are stopping by here these days, but I’d appreciate any input you may have.

*And yes, we’re renting. So this might all be hypothetical talk, depending on our landlord’s opinion on the topic.

**Said diagram was lost in a tragic domain transfer accident. Terribly sad. It was a doozy of a diagram.

What Pete talks about when he talks about things

I made a list of Poppy’s words when she was about 15 months old. I think her comprehendable vocabulary took off a bit quicker than Pete’s has, but he’s been jabbering with meaning for much longer than she did. He’s starting to pull all the babbling together lately, though. Here are some of his words. (Maybe all of them, but I’m betting I’ve forgotten a few.)

  • No. He uses this one mainly when he’s in a mood.
  • Please. Offsets the “no” nicely.
  • Mama. He used to say “mama” only when he was very, very impatient and angry. He started using with a joyful voice recently, and it’s been a terrific change.
  • Juice. Milk is also “juice” to him, which can be a little confusing.
  • Cheese. He’s always very happy to get cheese, so it’s usually pronounced “cheeeeeeese!”
  • Daddy. Almost always said with an Exclamation Point or seven.
  • Biper. Not quite “Poppy,” but that’s what he means.
  • Hallo.
  • Bye-bye.
  • Whatchudoin. This is usually reserved for telephone conversations. As in, “Hallo! Whatchudoin?”
  • Cars. Poppy occasionally leaves one of her “Cars” cars unguarded. You can tell Pete’s found it when you hear, “Caaaaarrrrrssssshhhh!!!”
  • Vroom. See: “Cars.”
  • Go Go Go. This means it’s time to run as fast as his skinny little legs will carry him.
  • Gogur. Yogurt.
  • Addie. The little girl who spends the afternoons with us.They’re pals.
  • Melmo. Elmo.
  • Papa. That’s my dad.
  • Gamma. (Grandma.)
  • Gampa. That’s Rockford’s dad.
  • I didn't really intend to have a theme

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    Menu Plan Monday logoWe’re going to be on the road again later this week, so I only had to plan a few days’ worth of meals. I’ve put a tofu meal on the list once more, even though I’ve never successfully cooked the stuff. Any suggestions on that front would be appreciated.

    Monday: Mongolian beef

    Tuesday: Stir-fried ginger tofu

    Wednesday: PF Changsian lettuce wraps