Summer was here...I think

I must say that summer went fast and without a whole lot of excitement for anyone in the family. I guess that is what happens when you work full time and the kids end up daycare! We did at least have the weekends and I tried not to cram them full of just errands.


Of couse we celebrated the twins 4th birthday with a big bash, which will eventually get it's on post. The weather was lovely and everyone was able to be outside. Although it was a little hot in the sun...


The 4th of July was spent with our friends A and A and their kids. They came up just for the day instead of a weekend of camping like last year. Sadly I wasn't up to enjoying the festivities to their fullest thanks to a bout of strep throat. Who knew you could get that in the summer?! I did enjoy some of the parade, and the kids loved it. After a BBQ lunch everyone else headed to the beach while I went to sleep. From what I hear they had a good time. Fireworks ended up getting fogged out and rescheduled for the next day. The twins and I discovered (Chris was working, Alexa was sleeping) that you can see the fireworks from our house. That was cool. Especially since they DID NOT like the noise involved. I can't (well I can but I don't want to) imagine their reaction had they been closer. Next year though we will remember to dress for mosquitos. They were incredibly distracting.

In August we celebrated Chris's 34th birthday and our 10th anniversary. We got to go out to dinner at Natalie's in Camden courtesy of a gift certificate. It was amazing food. And so very grown up. There were a couple of things served to us that I had no idea what they were. Of course I took pictures of the items in question and facebooked about it, while at dinner. :)

Alexa played with field hockey during the summer with the Oceanside Youth League. She loved it and discovered she's very good at it! Thankfully they continued the program into the fall for a few weeks.

I did manage to get a garden in and we got lots of produce. I am hoping that next year will be just as successful, maybe more so. I'd like to maybe be able to put some away for the winter...we'll see what happens.

We definitely didn't do all the things we had planned. I will do a separate post for the birthday party and our Taylor Swift concert weekend. That weekend was too awesome for a long paragraph. Summer just seemed to slip through our fingers.

yikes...it's summer already!?

Wow...once again I've been bad. But I do have a lot of great excuses...

The end of April included a week's vacation filled with doctor appointments for Alexa. Her wrist had really been bothering her and we'd gotten sick of her crying over it. They decided she'd damaged and possibly torn the ligament. So she spent 3 weeks in a cast, followed by 3 weeks in a splint. The longest 6 weeks ever in some ways...

May brought about a new preschool for the twins at the beginning of the month, followed by Alexa in the middle of the month. We moved from Friendship to Thomaston due to the pending sale of our building. And while I miss being so close to my Friendship friends, I do love the proximity to everything else. And I love the fact that all the kids have their own bedrooms and we have no noisy neighbors above us!

May also brought a big promotion for Chris at the hotel as the rooms division manager. It got him more pay, a few more vacation days and holidays, and as it turns out a lot of extra hours! I also started a new job with RSU 13. Some days are quieter than others but all in all I love it. I do feel a little bad about enjoying my time away from the kids so much, but think I am becoming a better parent for it. And they are all settling in nicely at daycare.

So nicely in fact that Jake is finally toilet training and been in big boy undies for 4 days. We've had 1.5 #2 accidents. I consider that a pretty good track record! I actually got interrupted mid-blogging by a potty call. Sadly Jake decided to flush the undies I had soaking rather than holler to me. Which led to a very unpretty sight and me panicking at the thought of everything backing up. But he was successful at flushing his underwear...just like both his sisters before him. A new rite of passage?

Spring also meant softball, umpiring for Chris, and a wrap up (almost) to Girl Scouts for the season. And we've got a busy summer ahead with a Taylor Swift concert, the 4th of July, a Bar Harbor trip, a trip to Boston to meet a group of fabulous women, a family party, 10th wedding anniversary...and how can I forget - the twins 4th birthday! phew...tired already.

what a week!

Tonight wraps up a very busy and interesting week. Well...it was mostly interesting for Alexa.

It all started a week ago with a HUGE snowstorm that left us with 3 day weekend (of course by now it is mostly gone!). Sunday the folks from Children's Stage Adventures arrived, a few hours earlier than expected. Luckily I was ready for them. I just had to rush home, put my groceries away at warp speed, and head down to the house I rented from my aunt for them. I finished getting things set up and waited for their arrival...with all 3 of my kids. The kids fell in LOVE with Ben and Chandra. Getting them to go home was rough!

Chandra, Alexa & Ben

Monday was audition day. We learned that afternoon that Alexa got the part of a sprite. She was very excited. Tuesday meant an after school rehearsal, while Wednesday and Thursday involved rehearsals both before and after school. It was an intense 10 hours of learning and practicing for all the kids involved. Today they had a dress rehearsal plus two performances. It was a wonderful play. Seeing the kids faces as they did what they were supposed to do was priceless. And hearing Jake's little laugh at the funny stuff made everyone around us laugh a little.

our little sprite...and no, not the soda ;)

But it wasn't just a busy day for Alexa. The PTO also ran a bake sale during both performances. Which meant setting up and organizing and selling for myself and the other 3 officers. But it was decent fundraiser for the school and very low cost.

Now the kids are snoozing and I had best follow! Our busy weekend has just begun - up for Sunday is my baby sister's wedding!

Spring has sprung...

I've been bad again and have to AGAIN refer to the calender as a reminder for what life has been for the past 2 months.

February:

There was the usual: school for the kids, work and sports officiating for Chris, Girl Scouts, guitar lessons and a vacation (well...from school). The month started with my first big event as PTO co-president - a benefit supper for a boy who lost his mother way too early due to violence. The night was a HUGE success in so many ways! Jake had his hearing retested and passed with flying colors and a distinct lack of tantrum according to Chris. Liz and I hung out in the waiting room. We had a family night in Portland. Chris, Alexa, and I enjoyed a hockey game while the twins hung out at the hotel with Kayla and Sean. The hotel we stayed at had a shuttle service which was great since it was snowing, again. Alexa got invited to hit the bars with some of our fellow riders but we reined her in. The three of us also enjoyed a night of UMaine hockey while the twins got to hang out at home with Lauren. Despite being a UMaine alumni this is the first game I actually attended in it's entirety. It was fun and the seats were great (box). Alexa made friends with the guys in the skybox with us. I wish I'd had a camera for the look on her face when she got tapped on the shoulder by Bananas the Bear. We followed the game up with

pizza and milkshakes at Pats...ahh takes me back to the good old days.

March:

In addition to the usual was the arrival of the Girl Scout cookies. Getting them delivered and the money collected is always fun (can you sense the sarcasm there...). We also did 2 cookie booths and I think I ended up having as many orders during the booth time as were sold the first round. I started guitar lessons with Alexa after they switched to Sunday nights. I am loving it! We had more doctor check ups courtesy of allergies and some rental viewings (none of which have panned out yet). Spring arrived officially on the calender at some point during the month, although you wouldn't really have known it thanks to the cold and snow. Alexa got the crowd going at the FVS Talent Show with a joke routine, a combo of ones she's written in class (to make a book) and found online. She was the youngest to participate and did great. The month ended with all the kids starting indoor soccer. And Alexa FINALLY had her 7 year check up at the beginning of March. That was the most rescheduled appointment ever I think.

And some pictures...

in her spiffy new UMaine hat - go Black Bears!

enjoying a cool yet springlike day

Sunny day play in Maine = warm coats, hats, and wading boots!

Showing off their Irish spirit...

January 2011

Here we are, already into the second week of what is already a very short month! January passed somewhat quickly in a blur of snow and sickness. First everyone caught a stomach bug, with Alexa getting the worst of it. J and E were barely bothered. Nevertheless it was not fun. Then she managed to get strep but thankfully no one else got it.

And the snow! If it wasn't canceling school it brought about delays that kept the twins from school. All of it also meant rescheduling appointments over and over again. Next week A will finally have her 7 year check up.

January also brought the start of speech therapy for J and E at school, plus OT for J at the headstart. It's only been a few weeks but already they are becoming easier to understand and learning how to use the correct sounds in the correct places. J's easy adaption to being left alone at headstart has been amazing. The first week I stayed with him. Then we had a holiday. The following week we were met at the door by his therapist. He took off his coat and off he went without a look back! Now if I could only say the same for E. She wasn't very happy about J going off to "school" without her. I took her to Moody's for some breakfast and that seemed to cheer her up. When we returned an hour later to get him she really wanted to stay and "have her turn".

A started a K-3 basketball program. According to her dad, who is also the coach, she's been showing some emerging skills. Good for her...I know I was horrible at basketball. I could run and dribble but couldn't get a basket in the hoop if I was standing over it (okay...slight exaggeration).

We also had it confirmed that should the pending sale go through on our building we will have to move by spring. So in addition to life in general I've been living with a knot in my stomach as we try to figure out what our next move will be. There isn't much in the housing department here in town. The one lead I had hasn't panned out as I can't seem to get a call back. I must admit the idea of moving into the "city" has it's appeal. More school options, daycare options, shorter commute to work, stores, and the library, which is handy as a 1 car family. But then you add in that we'd have to change and leave friends behind, again. Granted they won't be far away but even 30 minutes makes a huge difference. Even A is torn, she doesn't want to leave her friends but seems open to change.