Oops I'm Already Behind- July 25th

Ok I'm already behind in my goal of posting once a week- it has been 2 weeks since my last post. Life has just been that crazy and busy. Let's see where to begin.....

I'm doing extra hours (about 3- 5/week) at work to gain a bit of extra cash as Charlie has to take a 6 month leave from his work. Since he is contracted by the company he is supposed to work 18 months and then take 6 months off (something to do with the whole Microsoft contractor hoopla and whether you get benefits or not, if they do it this way they do not have to give you benefits). We have been so fortunate that for the past 5 1/2 years he has been able to work straight through with no 6 month time off period- but alas our luck seems to be running out. His last day was supposed to be July 21st but they extended him a month (until August 21st) and may be extending him another month (see how we got to do 5 years!). For me it's a bit stressful being so up in the air- but I'm happy they keep extending him. He's been looking for other jobs and has an interview today as well- so we shall see. If it turns out we are fine- I'll have extra cash for bills and maybe some scrap goodies!!!!

Hannah had her 5 year check up last week and 3 shots for kindergarten. She is still so excited for kindergarten- I'm still having a hard time believing she is old enough! She will be attending a local parochial school, so at least there will be no fights over what to wear- it's a uniform. She is so smart and can read so well already as well as writing and spelling and addition and subtraction. I'm a bit afraid she will be bored at school- but do not want to have her skip right now. We are hoping she wants to try soccer this fall and she will continue to do choir at church. Owen may join choir this year as well.

Wednesday the 16th, I did a kennel call for Mrs P's at Chesapeake Safe Harbor she rescues Chessie's although she ends up with a bunch of others as well. The website is http://www.chesapeakesafeharbor.com/ . I go about 4 times a year and make sure all the dogs are up to date on vaccines, heartworm tests and are in good general health. Mrs P is an amazing women with a big heart and I'm always amazed at how she handles the dogs. If you don't know anything about them- Chessies are great dogs they can be as wonderful as Labs and Goldens but unfortunately, because of poor breeding the have a bad rep for their attitudes and can be aggressive. She had a mix breed mom with 4 puppies and my sister will be adopting the little boy.

We had a blast at our friends Midsummer Eve Dance Party and Camp Out. Her family invited a few families over for a BBQ that included dancing to an awesome mix of music, silly string fights, bubble blowing, chalk art, making slime, hula hooping, milkshakes and then camping out for the evening. It was our first time camping out with the kids and they did great. Of course now they want to do it some more! It was just an awesome, laid back time with the kids being kids- perfect.

Sunday we got together with a college buddy and his family. Just chatting and catching up. It's funny how we have changed a bit now that we have families of our own. We will be seeing them for lunch tomorrow as well before they head back to NY.

Monday we had another BBQ, this time at our house with our best friends from Virginia. They used to live across the street from us, but moved to VA in November. We miss them a bunch but it has been great seeing them the last few weeks. This was to be their last night before heading back home and we were able to get them addicted to the Wii. I see them getting one very soon. I unfortunately had to cut the night short because I was going to see Big Papi/David Ortiz play with the SeaDogs- our local double A baseball team for the Boston Red Sox. I have never seen that stadium so full and loud! Papi hit for 6 innings- and was 3 for 4. I got some pictures and had a great time, even got to enjoy a SeaDog Biscuit (an ice cream sandwich).

Wednesday we had a playdate with some friends from daycare- some we don't see much anymore as they are no longer in daycare with us, so it was fun to see them again. The kids played in the kiddie pool and sprinkler, played in the yard and had a great time. We host the playdate next week- I'm hoping for good weather. Then I had a lobster dinner with some girl friends. We had lobsters and steamers and an amazing pie, plus tons of laughs! They are crazy and I'm so happy they have included me in their circle- they are an amazing group of ladies and are so fun to be around.

Alright I think I have caught you all up to my life now. I have a long weekend this weekend- it is also the only weekend from now until school starts for Hannah on the 28th that is completely free of a commitment. So I'll try to stay updated but we are looking busy!

TGIF July 11th

Time to catch up on the home front. It seems we have been so busy I have not been able to catch up on things in my life. The last few weekends and days off have been jammed back with things to do- mostly all fun- but for an OCD, control freak like myself I need time to organize and ensure nothing is forgotten.

Had to work Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Wednesday we had a blast at our friend Heather's house. One of our favorite and best friends is visiting from Virginia with her girls and we all got together at Heather's house for some beach fun, frolicking in the river, picnicking on the beach and having a great time. Hannah and Owen were beat afterwards- although no naps were had on the ride home.

Izzy had her 1 yr check up yesterday- she is 24# 12oz and 29inches long (all in the 51%). She was pretty cranky last night after her 3 shots, even with Tylenol on board. Poor little girl. Seems better today- but not much sleep for me yet again (maybe 4 hours?)

Today I am paying bills, doing laundry, got my haircut (just a trim), printed out the school supply list for Hannah's kindergarten class, organizing the school paperwork for her doctor's appointment on Tuesday, writing the thank yous for Izzy's birthday presents, sending off e-vites for the MOMS club bowling event later this month, and then off to my in-laws for yet another birthday party for Izzy.

This weekend I'm planning on posting some old clothes and toys on Ebay and scrapping some. Also need to pick up some spools of thread for H and O's art class on Monday (Art with our friend Heather- she is so creative and fun. She planned 3 mini art classes for the kids of her friends for the Mondays in July). See why I'm afraid things may get lost in all the shuffle- there is so much to do!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Fourth of July Fun

Hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth of July. We were at my parents house in NH from July 3rd- 6th and had a great time. We were able to cram in tons of things this trip. Took Hannah and Owen to see the new Disney movie WallE, which was pretty good, although the message went over both of their heads. Went to Build A Bear where they were able to use their gift certificates from Christmas- Owen got a triceratops that he picked out the roar voice box and dressed in a Spiderman costume (he is all about superheros recently, my Mom bought the batman costume for his birthday- shh) and Hannah got the pink Cheetah and dressed her all in pink and added a blonde wig (she is soooo girly!) Their cousins Alexa (2) and Sydnie (10) joined us and picked out a cute rabbit and the Boston Red Sox mascot the green monstah, Wally, respectively (go SOX!!!) We were also able to run to Harrison's for some roast beef sandwiches which I got with extra sauce- love those sandwiches. Charlie went and picked up some fireworks which we set off on Saturday for the kids- just small ones and sparklers (the real hit). Sunday my family hosted a big family brunch for all available cousins, aunts and uncles- it was an informal gathering for all the June and July birthdays (too many). So, lots of yummy food and catching up with family I only see about twice a year. The children feel asleep on the way home (and so did I- sleeping with Izzy during the weekend did not allow for a lot of sleep) to Maine. Thankfully we were going into Maine and missed all the wonderful traffic heading out.

Hope you all had a fun filled Fourth. Please keep in mind all the soldiers fighting for our freedom!

This past weekend and Izzy's Birthday

What a blast we had this past weekend. I was on vaca this past week and did mostly boring organizing and purging stuff, ended the week with the yummy Strawberry Festival in town. Saturday we went to a friend's (Jen - she has been my BFF since high school- we met at the orientation and have been friends since- 21 years now!) lake house on Panther Pond (near Sebago). The weather wasn't great, but we had a blast! Played a bit inside, had lunch, went out on the boat (Izzy not liking the boat so much) and despite the 62-65 degree weather the kids, (with Charlie and Jen- Vaughn and I were the sane ones just watching) went swimming! You can not keep my children from being in the water. We picked up fast food on the way home and had a picnic in front of a movie before crashing for the night.

Monday June 30th was Izzy's first birthday!!! Hard to believe a year has gone by already. She is so stinkin' cute and has really completed our family. Owen adores her and Hannah is such a big help- especially reading to her. We had a small our family only party for her that day with cupcakes- but Izzy was not all that interested (Owen would have gladly helped her eat hers). We will have a larger extended family and friends party this weekend at my parents house. Will update after that.

Vacation?

I'm going to start including a layout with some of my posts. This is one of my all time favorite scrap layouts. The picture was taken by a friends daughter who does photography (Carriemarine.com) and it's the best photo in the world. This layout is super simple- but I really wanted the focus to be the amazing photo.

Ok now on with the update- I was on vacation this week. Besides some long (3 day weekends), a 4 day weekend on Memorial Day and a 5 day weekend in March- this was the first vacation I have taken since being back from maternity leave in September! 10 months is a long time to go with more than just 2 days off in a row, but we have been down a doctor since the first week in February- finally filling that spot the first week in June. She is working out great and just in time, as we start to get busy in the summer with all the tourists and summer folk. I was getting pretty tired of doing extra shifts.

So how did I spend my week off from work? Cleaning, organizing and purging stuff. We have decided that our family is complete, so it was time to organize our storage areas- a bittersweet project. I needed to get all the boy stuff together for my sister who is due in August. I gave some girl stuff to a neighbor who is due in September and a co-worker who has a 13 week old. The rest, along with the maternity clothes I no longer need, I'm going to sell on Ebay and hopefully make some spending cash. Also went through some scrapbooking stuff to sell at the local scrapbooking store's yard sale (to get credit to buy new stuff :)- I'm a bit addicted).

The week was actually very nice weather wise- in the high 70s and 80s with a few T-storms in the early part of the week. Besides cleaning this week Charlie's parents moved into their new house in Topsham (the town next to ours), there was my Dad's 68th birthday on Monday- so he got a singing phone call (I'm sure it was off key), the dogs had baths, I had my book club (read "Love the One You're With" by Emily Geffen- quick chic-lit read), and today was the church's Strawberry Festival. We went and met some friends for some ice cream and strawberry shortcakes- strawberries are one fruit Owen will eat and he had many! I think we are going to go picking this weekend- if Owen stocks up on fruit during the summer, maybe I won't feel so guilty over the winter. I hope you are all enjoying your summer. I'll write more later.

Why That Title?

A client referred to her house of many animals as "happily chaotic". I loved it and felt like it described our house pretty well too. With 2 full time working parents, 3 young children (all 5 and under), 3 rambunctious dogs (between 30-75 pounds!) 4 attention seeking cats and some fish- we are certainly chaotic. But I wouldn't have it any other way. Although the clutter gets to my OCD at times I love that our house is "lived" in and not one of those sterile environments where you're not sure where to sit for fear of dirtying or wrinkling something. No formal living areas here, even our dining room is more of a laid back room- more of an eat in kitchen feel, with a bench and some small stools for the kids. When we got married we didn't register for (and still do not have) a fancy china pattern. We use some pottery pieces from LL Bean and almost unbreakable Corelle dinnerware. I do let my children jump on the couch and make forts (caves as Owen calls them) with the cushions. We will have picnic lunches and dinners on the rug in front of the TV. We have lived here for 5 1/2 years and still do not have all the painting done or all the window treatments up. And while I would love to live in the Pottery Barn catalog someday- for now this is my life and it is a perfect Happy Chaos.

Here goes nothing

Alrighty- here I go. First post on my blog. I finally jumped on the bandwagon and decided to start a blog. Thought it might help me keep in touch with friends and family better than I have been recently. So bear with me as I learn all the ins and outs of blogging. My goal is to ost once a week- we'll see how well I do.