Tuesday, July 22, 2008

I think fate is telling me something.

I'm determined to do some little project each week that makes a difference in our home. De. Term. Ined. Darn it.

But if I listen to what the universe is telling me, I'll curl up in a ball on my closet floor and only come out on those comfortable rainy days where the sky is grey and fuzzy and the tempreture isn't warm but it isn't cold either.

You suck, universe.

Sunday I thought I'd go out and buy a new garden hose and one of those nice hose reel boxes for the side of the house. Simple, yet it would make a big difference in how that area looked. We had a *bright* (ugly) blue hose that had more kinks in it than my hair, and the old reel had been removed from where it hung on the side of the house when it was resided back in April. We decided that because of the new siding, we'd get a box that sat on the ground rather than drill holes into said new siding.

Only I couldn't figure out how to take apart the "inner spool" of the box; the directions were vague and included those oh-so-helpful illustrations that are 1/2" x 1/2" square. Of course, they gave the same craptastic directions in 14 languages, but that didn't help me.

And it was one of those days where it was 87 degrees with 1000% humidity and my boys were crabby and Will decided he was going to eat chalk.

Don't EAT the chalk!!!
Yeah. It doesn't taste good, dummy.

So I abondoned that project and figured that my hubby could probably figure it out in two minutes and it wasn't worth another moment of my frustration. I quickly retreated back into my air conditioned house to lick my wounds and be proud that I made a nice dinner and gave my kids a bath before bed.

Then Monday rolls around, and I get this grand idea that I should try a different project. After working all day. When I have no idea whether or not my kids have napped. (Cuz I was too busy at work to call hubby and ask, since he's with them during the day.) When they might possibly be crabby for no apparent reason, nap or no.

I bought a deck box for all the toys that are usually left strewn about the yard. They really have no "home" and it stinks to drag them in and out of the garage every. single. day.

Its a big plastic box with a hinged lid - 4'x2'x2'.

Hmmm...a little project!
Aaahhh...pretty, no?

The front of the box promised "Easy, 5-Minute, Tool-Free Assembly." They lie.

Simple, right?

Twenty seconds into the project, I had all the pieces out of the box

Pre-construction

when I hear Nick yell, loud enough for the neighbors' neighbors to hear:

"MO-O-O-O-OM! I HAVE TO GO POOP!!!"

Niiice. Thanks, hon.

Fast-forward 10 minutes and we're back outside. (And, no - he didn't poop.)

Again, I'm following directions with the teensiest tiniest pictures imaginable, accompanied by instructions in 15 languages. (This one included Farsi.)

I accidentally inserted the tabs from the bottom piece that were supposed to go into the right side into the left side instead. Only they fit. Perfectly. They clicked into place, even. But the tabs on the other side wouldn't fit into the right side. (You following me here? Basically I had to take it back apart and I'm glad my brother happened to be there or there would still be two plastic pieces stuck together at a right angle in my driveway. With a bullet hole in them.)

Actually, two of my brothers were there - one rents the upper flat from us, and the other we're paying to paint the front porch.

How many people DOES it take?
Yes, it takes a village. Of really tall big men to put together a deck box they advertise goes together in five minutes with no tools.

Finally, after another twenty minutes and *two* minor injuries, the box was put together.

See? Kids fit perfectly.
Perfect for shipping off the kids when they're naughty.

HA! No, really, it looks great next to the back steps and its already full of all the toy guns, basketballs and tee ball sets that normally litter the backyard. Throwing stuff in there every night before we go in for the evening, that works for me.

Finished product!

15 comments:

Lisa Knight said...

Oh I so want one of those! A place for all the STUFF!!! Great tackle, and isn't that what brothers are for??? LOL!!!

The Frugal Momma

Lovely Lalo-Cha said...

It is so Purrdy!! Shipping the kids off...too funny!

Angie [A Whole Lot of Nothing] said...

I am the WORST at putting things together. I end up saving it 1/2 together for Patrick to finish my mess.

Heart of Wisdom said...

Great tackle.

robin@heartofwisdom.com
http://www.heartofwisdom.com/heartathome/

Karin said...

Great job. That looks like a perfect box for gathering together outdoor toys. Enjoy it!

Smarty Pants Mama said...

We have nearly the same one! It's great! It hold all our gardening stuff that I never use!

Caroline
SmartyPantsMama.com

Suzie said...

But you did it...sort of...good for you!

Amber said...

I did the same thing with a large plastic little tikes toybox. (And it didn't have to be assembled.) :P

I can't believe your brothers stood and watched (and looks like laughed) before stepping in to help you.

Brothers.

Unknown said...

The smallest of accomplishments usually reap the biggest rewards. Now you just have to train the kids to put the toys away every night in the box--and that doesn't come with instructions. Not even crapy ones.

Muthering Heights said...

LOL, at least you finally got it done!

Anonymous said...

LOL I got one of those for my pool lanai and "thought" I could put it together before the hubby got home from work. Was I wrong? Anyway, it looks very nice!

BTW, I've been there with one of mine yelling that he needs to take a poop for all the neighbors to hear! Thank goodness, they are over yelling for me to come and wipe their butt!

Kim said...

I bought the same thing for the same reason.. my backyard is overrun with baseballs, basketballs, etc.. this hides it all and the kids perfectly..hahaha

JoggingInCircles-Kimmylyn

Kate said...

Great job! I love the idea of using the box for toy stuff. I'm SO stealing that idea. :)

Marni's Organized Mess said...

That's awesome. GOOD job!

Danielle said...

I came over for the Bloggy Giveaway and couldn't help but keep reading! This one made me really laugh...as did the one with the box that a braclet could come in! Thanks for the laughs!