Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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My 1st Mother’s Day & Patio Progress

Oh man Sunday was fun. In that nontraditional I’m-sure-some-other-moms-might-not-get-it way. The whole weekend was sort of an extended Mother’s Day extravaganza since we made time for visits to the farmer’s market and a Bon Air parade/festival with Clara and John on Saturday (Burger’s afraid of firetrucks and loud noises, so he skipped the parade). Then on Sunday, I was awakened by the bean who was holding a handmade card (she scribbled all over it with crayons- so cute) along with an equally sweet card from John and Burger. I was also given a printout that was entitled “The Tale Of Sherry’s First Mother’s Day” which explained that John tried to hunt down the gold Calypso for Target dangly earrings that he knew I had been drooling over, but they were sold out in two stores that he drove to as well as online. So he snuck onto my Pinterest boards and saw that I was also obsessed with these lovelies (found here on Etsy)…

Etsy Earrings

… so he ordered them for me instead. Yes there was excited arm flapping. I love them so much. They kind of remind me of lemons which take me back to our wedding day. And I love that John thought to check Pinterest to find something I was obsessing over. Smart man.

Alas, my new lovely lemon earrings didn’t arrive in time to be handed over in the flesh, so a picture of them was sweetly included in my little First Mother’s Day printout along with news that John was also getting me a Mother’s Day massage to continue the tradition that he started last year when I was hugely pregnant and desperate for some prenatal massage relief. Wahoooooo. He intentionally didn’t book the massage for Mother’s Day (he told me to pick a later date because he knew I wanted to spend the whole day with Clara). Sweet, huh? Thanks hubs. For the Mother’s day rubs and the beautiful baubles.

Anyway, after my little wake-up slash card & gift fest, Clara and John and I went to Einstein Bagels (one of my favorite breakfast spots) where I got an asparagus and mushroom flatbread sammy (for two bucks with a coupon- haha). It was so delicious I can’t even say. John and Clara shared a muffin and a coffee cake in case you’re wondering (suddenly this play by play got very specific). Then we headed home for Clara to catch a nap and John parked me on Karl The Sectional to watch some delicious reality TV (Pregnant in Heels) while he went outside and got back to work on the patio. The plan was for him to work for two hours while Clara napped and then come in and shower and play with us for the rest of Mother’s Day.

Mothers Day John Cuts

Here’s where Mother’s Day veers of into the nontraditional realm. By about two hours into Project Patio it was apparent that John needed waaaaaaay more time to make progress, so I decided the best possible way to spend the day would be to play with Clara while daddy kept working on the pavers (what mom doesn’t want a finished patio for Mother’s Day?). So Clara and I played with blocks and puzzles and crayons and had some lunch and brought daddy some granola bars and even practiced walking a little bit (don’t worry, it was all assisted so John didn’t miss any true first steps). We even got outside for some fresh air and had fun on the patio while John worked away in the background.

Mothers Day1

Burger was especially excited to have some fun out there too, and it was cute to see both of “the kids” enjoying our new space- even before it was completely finished.

Mothers Day2

Mothers Day3

Mothers Day4

Mothers Day5

Mothers Day6

And about eight hours of hard hubby handiwork later, I had my Mother’s Day patio! John had completely cut all the edge pavers – he just needed to add sand between the cracks, which he planned to do on Monday (final “after” pics should be up tomorrow morning for ya, btw). And we had just enough time to enjoy a nice family dinner (burgers from Five Guys – mmmm) and then it was time to put the bean to bed and enjoy some sofa chillaxing (John wrote Monday morning’s post while we watched a criminally long episode of The Apprentice – seriously three hours is about two hours too many). But it was the best Mother’s Day ever.

Comments

  1. Katy says

    On a completely random note, is that a tulip tree leaf Clara is playing with? One of my favorite trees ever! We are trying to figure out where we can plant one. I love the shape of the leaves and always thought they’d make a great stencil pattern for a floor or wall or something. :-)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I think it’s one of those orange flowers dropped by an oak tree. But I know nothing about plants so I could be completely wrong! Whatever it is, it’s a huuuuge tall tree, and it drops little orange flowers that do look like tulips, but it looks just like an oak to me.

      xo,
      s

    • Martha says

      Yup, it’s a tulip tree for sure. We had several when we lived in NJ. Warning, our tree guy told us they have soft wood are are susceptible to blow-overs in a bad storm. We lost one when we lived there. Not sure if that is true about being soft but that is what we were told.

      The videos are so great. Sherry, you are totally nothing but adorable on tape. Love the sideways clapping by Clara!! What a doll!!

    • Katy says

      If it’s really a huge tulip tree you guys are extra lucky! Or maybe they’re more common where you are, but they are a treat here in Michigan. They’re related to magnolias. Even the scientific name is pretty, I think – Liriodendron. Then again, I’m a nerdy biologist. :-)

    • Melissa C. says

      Liriodendron tulipifera, one of my favorites (yes, another nerdy biologist/botanist). Such beautiful trees, used to be harvested for ship masts (…and the really nerdy part starts to come out). I was so happy to see the leaves!

  4. Ashley M. says

    Such a cute video of Clara clapping and I love how the patio is coming along! (and am I the only crazy who noticed they misspelled your last name? Petersick?)

    Reply

  5. Emily says

    Very eventful Mom’s Day! MY DH cleaned out the garage so that I could put my car back in its spot. Believe me, that was a really great M’s Day gift!

    Reply

  7. Janna says

    I’ve always wondered how to pronounce your last name… Now I feel silly because it’s totally pronounced how it looks.
    My hubby cleaned the garage for me- it was the best mothers day gift ever! Patio building and garage cleaning must be the way to a mothers heart!

    Reply

  8. Jennifer says

    Great post! On Mother’s Day, I said to my husband, “I wonder what Sherry is doing for Mother’s Day?” and he made some comment about how I don’t even know you. So I wanted to say thanks for sharing everything and letting me get to know you guys!

    YHL is always a refreshing read when I get home from work.

    PS: The husband is kinda in to as well. He won’t admit it, but I totally now have a homemade consol table behind my sectional :)

    -Jennifer

    Reply

  9. Dana M says

    Clara’s clapping on camera could be the funniest thing ever! I love both of your faces when you realize it but are trying not to show it. Too cute!

    Reply

  10. Allison says

    Ahh! The clapping video was so cute. You guys are adorable and the diy king and queen. I absolutely love the patio so far. Cannot wait to see the full reveal!

    Reply

  12. Amanda says

    that video of Clara clapping just made my day! so cute! and your reaction so cute either! congratulations proud mom and daddy :)

    kisses Clara!!! :*

    Reply

  15. Alex says

    If your sewing machine is giving you knotted up bunches or messed up seams, you likely need to do one of these issues:
    – Oil your machine: the manual should have an explanation for how to do this, and sewing machine oil is only a dollar or two at Wally World.
    – Use a different needle: different needles do different things. Using the wrong one can make sewing much harder than it needs to be
    – Adjust the tension: the tension knob on the front tells you how tight the thread is being pulled as it sews. Easy to fix and will make your sewing much better
    – The Bobbin: if it is threaded wrong, the tension is off, or the thread is hanging the wrong direction it can cause your thread to bunch up.

    Google, of course, will help you immensely. If you are just sewing straight lines like these, with regular cotton, your machine shouldn’t be knotting up the threads or messing up seams.

    Reply

  17. Ali says

    Happy belated Mother’s Day!

    LOL at the “we’re going to die tonight!” because that’s probably something like what I’d say on air and then laugh at myself too. :)

    Thanks for talking about the radon issue. When we just bought our first house in Bon Air, people thought we were a little nuts (including our realtor!) for insisting that there be radon tests. Turned out that the levels were a 6 and so we had the sellers put in a mitigation system. We’ll sleep better at night knowing that our boys (and us) are breathing healthier air! Why don’t people know about this more?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I know, right? Lately I think realtors are getting more savvy (within the last year or so our agent was saying lots of people have been asking for tests since Richmond is such a radon hotbed). Thank goodness it’s catching on!

      xo,
      s

  19. Nicole says

    I love how you were flapping your arms in the outtake. Maybe that was Clara’s problem with learning to clap…she was looking at that for an example. lol!
    Glad to hear you had a wonderful Mother’s Day.

    Reply

  20. Lady Kay's kitchen says

    Thanks for posting the radon video…we just moved into a house and I didn’t realize how important it was to get it checked out for that. And that clapping video made me smile :) So cute!

    Reply

  22. Hilary says

    Gorgeous – everything! Earrings, patio, the bean… awesome.

    Now the question is, what patio furniture will you get?! It will be great whatever it is.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We’ll have to save up a while so it probably won’t be soon… but we’d love to get one of those outdoor daybed or loveseats with a coffee table for a casual hanging out area. And we want a sandbox/baby pool for the bean of course!

      xo,
      s

  23. Keri says

    LOL! That radon clip was so hilariously choppy. Local news never disappoints in the unintentionally funny department.

    Reply

  24. holly says

    sherry i love that you are silly and flail around on camera. i appreciate the lengths you go to show that you are not perfect.

    Reply

  25. candace @ thecandace.com says

    It sounds like you had yourself the most perfect Mother’s Day – getting a chance to spend it with your family! Love the earrings – so pretty! The video of Clara clapping for the first time was so incredibly adorable!! Way to go, Clara!

    Reply

  26. Jessica says

    Naaaaw! I can’t see the cute Clara video!!! Maybe cos I’m in Australia? Load it to YouTube!!!

    Reply

  27. Lynn says

    Love those earrings! Sherry have you considered writing a blog post on fashion? I always love your outfits, especially that yellow cardigan you are wearing in this post!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      The humor in your statement might be lost on you, but I’m laughing because I wear the same five outfits over and over and over again. That yellow cardigan popped up in Easter pics a few weeks back for example. It would probably be the worst fashion blog ever! After five posts I’d run out of outfits to share. Haha.

      xo,
      s

  28. kelsey says

    i love the clapping! she is so cute!! your mother’s day sounds wonderful! can’t wait to see the patio – i bet it is so amazing!

    Reply

  32. May says

    wow, seriously impressed with the patio stones! John has some mad cutting skills! happy belated mother’s day too!

    Reply

  33. Collette Douglas says

    Jealous of your mommy day!
    And hands down silliest part of the news clip is Sherry’s subtle nose-pick! Hotness!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, it sure looks similar! We’ve heard it’s the leaves of a tulip tree. I think that’s what it’s called. I’m so bad with identifying trees and shrubs.

      xo,
      s

  36. Nina says

    I just saw you guys on Fox 5 in DC! Is it weird that I get all excited, like I’m watching somebody I know on TV, even though I’ve never met you and you have no idea who I am?? Yes… yes, it is weird…

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh man the suspense is killing us! We don’t get that channel here so we’re not sure when/if we’ll get to watch it. Hope I didn’t scream aliens or flap my arms wildly.

      xo,
      s

  37. kelly says

    glad you had a wonderful mothers day! glad someone else thought that the apprentice was way too long. we had tivo’d it and just started fast forwarding!
    the patio is looking so great!

    Reply

  39. Amber says

    Radon gas is really popular in Michigan most people get the test done when buying a home as apart of their inspection.

    Clara is such a sweetie – I like to believe she was clapping as she also disapproves of cigarettes.

    Reply

  40. Jen Jeffries says

    I love the lemon earrings!!!! They’re so cute :) Even cuter than the ones from Target actually! Also, you really didn’t sound bad at all in the video. I thought the second video of Clara clapping was the funniest…especially when you both first noticed it and then kept trying to talk while also glancing down at her a few times and then just cracking up eventually. So cute! It’s awesome that her first claps were caught on tape. :)

    Reply

  41. Andrea says

    Adorable — your bean, the earrings, your post, the video. nAnd kudos again on your amazing porch!

    Still reflecting on your birth-story post, which I found very moving. So deeply glad the result was a healthy mother and healthy child… you all remain in my thoughts.

    Reply

  42. Amanda says

    Happy [late] Mothers Day Sherry. I love those earrings, I wish they sold more than one pair. :(

    The video of Clara clapping for the first time was so good. Sherry looks at John as if to say “did you see that?” And the guys expression “Oh really!?” Adorable + you got it on tape!

    Reply

  43. Anne G. says

    I saved the video for when I got home tonight and I am wishing I had watched it earlier (it would have made my day WAY better)! Sherry, you are too cute. The comment about aliens cracked me up especially. What? But, I love that you can laugh about it, and share it with the world, no less! The fact that you share these kinds of things makes the rest of us, who are also a little crazy in our own ways, all feel a little more “normal” – whatever “normal” is! THANK YOU!

    Reply

  45. yael says

    This is great post I love the pictures and there are also lots of great reading stuff on your blog. I can smell the home improvements indeed LOL

    Reply

  47. Devon says

    Leave it to the news editors to cut the adorable stuff and leave the crazy! But really, you guys were charming as usual.

    We don’t hear much about radon here on the West Coast because our houses tend not to have basements, but that doesn’t mean our homes can’t be affected. I had no idea what it was until I got to know some East Coast homeowners. I’m really glad you guys brought some attention to this, so thank you.

    Reply

  49. Virginia says

    You are definitely not (too) weird! All of the mother’s days for my mom involved yard work. That is definitely her dream and it would be mine too if I actually had a yard!

    Reply

  50. Rebekah says

    I don’t know for a fact, but I believe I’m your no. 1 fan living in Switzerland! I got hooked on your blog while I was in the U.S., and I look forward to your posts every day.

    The video was fantastic–thanks for the laugh! I’m still giggling about the “We’re gonna die tonight!” comment.

    Reply

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