All in a Day's Work

 

Hooray for weekend projects!  For a while now I have been thinking of making Elliot a sandbox.  We had the perfect spot for one in an area right under her swing set that was really doing nothing except serving as a gathering spot for fallen leaves and stray grass.  Well, yesterday I decided to make this thing a reality.  So before church Elliot and I ventured to Home Depot in search of landscaping fabric, play sand, and some plywood.  To give you a visual, picture me pushing a regular sized shopping cart with Elliot in the child seat in the front, both of us in our Sunday church dresses, trying to lift and load six bags of sand into a cart that was clearly too small for the job.  Yeah.  I had no idea how big and heavy bags of sand are and I certainly didn't know how many bags I would need.  To my credit, the guy there tried to convince me I needed ten bags, and I knew that was too many, so I got six...turns out I only needed five.  Meanwhile, when I told Elliot that morning I was going to make her a sandbox, I think she was confused and thought I was taking her somewhere to play in a sandbox.  So when we arrived at Home Depot she was pretty sure there was a giant sandbox in there just waiting for her.  She kept looking around saying, "Mommy, sandbox?"  Eventually, we got it sorted out, and thanks to the good people at Home Depot, who brought me a cart appropriate for the job, loaded it up for me, and then loaded it into my car, we were on our way!

 

During girlfriend's afternoon nap I got to work on my project.  

 

 

Step 1: Clean out the area of all debris, including random grass clumps, leaves, roots, and, as the case was, wayward golf balls.

 

 Step 2: Cut the appropriate length of landscaping fabric and pin it down with some fabric staples.  Your dog can help.

 

 Step 3: Fill the sucker with sand.  (Actually, Step 3 should be carrying the bags of sand from your car to the sandbox, which was, by far, the hardest part of the whole project.  But as it was just me and those bags of sand were 50 lbs. each, there was no way a selfie was happening.)  Once all the sand is dumped in, rake it out so it can remain pristine for 30 seconds before the dog runs through it.

 

 Step 4: Insert ecstatic, post-nap toddler.  (Me: Do you love it? Elliot: I LOVE it!)

 

I am proud to report that this is a success story!  It turned out well, didn't it?  And I earned some pretty big Mom Points.  She has played in it pretty much non-stop, insisting she go out first thing this morning in her jammies.

 

Oh, and did I mention that in addition to making a sandbox yesterday I also made a pie, entertained my in-laws, cared for my toddler, and took care of my sick hubby?

 

Supermom out.