[mamayogibear]

So this might sound dumb but I can't figure out how to mow my lawn. I have two dogs and two kids. My house has no interior doors so... I can't leave the kids in the house with the dogs. I could baby wear the baby when mowing the lawn but I don't want him to be inhaling all the gas and dust and what not, it leaves me congested and I don't want to do that to him. I also don't think my three year old will stay away from the mower while I'm mowing. I could lock the dogs in their crates and leave the baby inside but he would probably cry. And then I would only have my daughter to deal with and she might behave after a while.

I am really going crazy over this, I have only managed to mow my entire yard once this year a half an hour at a time while both kids are napping. However it seems like they never both nap at the same time anymore. My yard looks like a jungle! I am tempted to ask one tof my neighbors if I could hire their teenager to mow it for me but I'm not sure how much to charge. It's a small yard but very unkempt and would probalby take an hour or two to mow.

If you read this thanks for listening to me vent. And I appreciate any suggestions.

 

[tinuviel_k]

Do you have a friend who could come over for one hour and watch the kids while you mow the lawn? If you feel bad about asking you could always offer to make them lunch or dinner as a thank you, or pay them $10 for their time.

 

[RosieL]

You might find a babysitter to sit with the kids for an hour for less money than you'd find a willing lawnmower.

 

[SweetSilver]

Is the lawn small enough for a rotary push mower? That's what we use. Used to put our youngest in the baby wrap to sleep every time! And such great exercise! What I like is that the kids don't have to go anywhere for me to mow (except not right in front of the blades.) Clearly before you do that you need to hire someone and get the lawn under control because old-fashioned push mowers don't work well on long lawns.

 

[mamayogibear]

Oddly enough a couple of days after posting this both of my kids took really long naps (over an hour) at the same time! I think it was because of all the fun and exhausting activities on the Fourth. So I was able to somewhat mow my lawn. Thanks for all the advice. Now that it's under control I'll look for a cheap push mower so we can mow it together!

 

[fiona2359]

My kids are a bit older, so I can leave them inside. I would lock the dogs in a crate or bathroom and do 10-15 minutes on the yard at a time over several days. I never mow for more than about 20 minutes at a time, max. However, even with my relatively large yard, I can get it done in 3 swoops. Also, now that it is lighter later could you possibly do some mowing after bedtime?

 

[RoamingWidgeteer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mamayogibear

Oddly enough a couple of days after posting this both of my kids took really long naps (over an hour) at the same time! I think it was because of all the fun and exhausting activities on the Fourth. So I was able to somewhat mow my lawn. Thanks for all the advice. Now that it's under control I'll look for a cheap push mower so we can mow it together!

Don't go too cheap - they tend not to work well or have dull blades!

 

[SweetSilver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoamingWidgeteer

Don't go too cheap - they tend not to work well or have dull blades!

I'm not sure they ever do quite as perfect a job as a power mower. But ours is good enough, and not hard to push at all, also an important quality. The lightest weight ones will be easiest to push-- a good thing, since your kids will be trying to mow the lawn every time it gets pulled out!