summer fun has begun

We hit the ground running our first two official days off from school for the summer.  The first day, I got out the new water ball and water slide that I picked up from Target and the kids had fun getting wet. 

The second day, we went to Storybook Land.  It was my first visit and a first for the kids.  Carl had been there as a kid.  I still can’t believe it was basically right in my own backyard and I had never been there.  It ended up being the perfect day…it was hot but low humidity and it was EMPTY. 

Last weekend ended with Carl, Connor and Pop Pop Heil going to the first Philadelphia Union game.  It was so hot but they had fun.  It’s awesome to have our very own MLS team now and especially right over the bridge and in Chester, PA…20 minutes away. 

Yeah Soccer…Go Union!

school's out...kind of

School (for Connor) and work (for me) was officially done on June 23rd. I, however, still have work to do. Paperwork. Lots and lots of paperwork and unfinished case management responsibilities that has unfortunately meant that I have been back at work for a few hours per day. But, it's still summer and there is something to be said for not having to set an alarm for 5:30 a.m. and not having to be somewhere by a certain time. I have to admit though, my workload has been looming over me this past month because I knew that it was going to be an impossible task to get it done by the last day of school. I was hoping for July 2nd. That has passed. Now I'm hoping for July 5th to be my last day. We'll see.

I was going to post about the kids' outside water fun and trip to Storybook Land last week but I'm realizing that it's too late for me to do this and I should already be asleep. I'm actually only up because I have do-it-yourself, firework-shooting neighbors who keep waking up my kids. Thank a veteran, be grateful for your freedom but please, don't shoot off fireworks in your backyard. They're illegal, and they're annoying to all of the people who have animals and small children. July 4th...bah humbug.

Next post..."summer fun has begun".

fun-filled weekend

We had a busy, busy weekend.  We fit three events in this weekend…a visit to see Thomas the Tank Engine, Monster Jam and a Heil Family Baptism.  We were constantly on the go but it was so much fun!

This was our third visit to the Strasburg Railroad to see Thomas the Tank Engine.  Our first was when Connor was 2 and a half, our second visit was when he was almost 4 (and Emily was 6 months) and now the visit was for the girls.  He’s been over Thomas for a while now that he is 6 and a half but he didn’t mind going along for the ride.  A few weeks ago I dug his old train table out of the basement and set up the tracks and Thomas trains for Emily and Camryn.  They’ve been having a lot of fun with them so I thought they’d like to visit the real Thomas, just as Connor had.  They were so excited to see him and take a ride on the real Thomas.

 

Monster Jam came to “The City of Monsterly Love” so Carl, Connor and I got tickets with Paul, Sherry, Christian & Carter and Dave, Gina, Justin, Andrew & Landon.  It was awesome!

We arrived in time for the “Party in the Pits” where we got to get up close to several monster trucks.  The best part was Connor getting to meet and get the autograph of his favorite monster truck driver, Jim Koehler, who drives Avenger.  

Me and the hubby

Monster trucks in action

Heil family cousins after the show

And here’s how they finished up their weekend at the party celebrating their newest Heil cousin, Kenzie… 

excited

Excited is not a word I often, or really ever, use to describe myself.  If I’m happy about something that happened or looking forward to something and someone says to me, “Are you excited?”, it never really feels right to say “Yes!”  It’s just not me.  But I love to solve problems and get organized so when I do both at the same time, well let me tell you, that is about as close to excited as I can get.

So here was the problem…

  Specifically this area…

And here is the solution…

I love baskets but my baker’s rack was out of control and the baskets just weren’t cutting it.  Some were storing things I just didn’t need and others just weren’t big enough to store what I wanted.  So, I got rid of two of them, threw out some stuff that I didn’t need anymore, relocated some things and most importantly, found this AWESOME shoe storage bench online to solve the problem of the kids’ shoes.  That mess of shoes on the bottom shelf had been killing me for months.  As much as I tried, I could not keep it organized and I could never find the other shoe when looking for a pair.  This bench is the perfect solution because it’s practical, functional and it’s orderly…just like me! 

So after my purchase (props to my wonderful husband for putting it together for me) and some time spent reorganizing the area, here is what it looks like now…

I am pretty close to excited! ;)

what’s been going on

Our last 2 weeks have seemed busier than usual. I could never remember all there is to blog about but luckily I’m a little OCD about writing everything down so I just checked my calendar on the fridge and here are the highlights from the last 2 weeks…

Music class continues. The girls and I are still going every Saturday morning and we love it. Only two classes to go.

Pitman craft fair. Emily and I went since she’s not napping anymore. I asked Connor to go too but he said he remembered going last year and it was “boring”. I was really only going to see the “Clip Lady” as my cousin Danielle calls her. She makes hair clips for little girls and now that I have a little girl (who since her first haircut and clip a few weeks ago is into wearing things in her hair), I wanted to let her buy a few. I was skeptical because I couldn’t imagine that any hair clip could really be that great, especially to stay in Emily’s very fine and very thin hair, but I am pleased to say that the clips are all that and more! I got to talking to the owner/clipmaker, Jayne, and found out that she lives in Mullica Hill and has her clips at a local children’s shop right down the road from me. So we’re a fan of the clip lady now…even Camryn is wearing them.

Butterfly parade. The lifespan of the Monarch Butterfly is the Science curriculum in Kindergarten. Not much else Science to cover I guess at age 5. Connor’s class started with a caterpillar in the Chrysalis stage back in September. It sat in their classroom, hanging from a twig in a green cocoon. After it emerged, it was tagged and “launched” from the Butterfly garden. Apparently they all fly to Mexico. The parade is at the end of the year and each class dresses up as a stage in the lifespan and then takes a 10 minute stroll around the courtyard at school.

Park hopping. We officially began our park hopping season when I took the kids to see their cousin Jeremy play tee ball. We couldn’t leave without using the play set. I love taking the kids to different parks in the area once the weather warms up. We’ll probably hit at least two or three a week once school is out (countdown has started…17 days left!)

Crazy hair day at Harrison Township School. Need I say more?

Laurie Berkner concert. My cousin Danielle heard about a free Laurie Berkner concert so we all went together. We (as in the kids of course) LOVE Laurie. I discovered her when Connor was a baby and she’s just an awesome singer/songwriter of children’s songs. The weather was supposed to be 75 and overcast (outdoor concert by the way). We were two minutes out of the car and walking up a hill to the entrance and the skies opened up. We tried to huddle against a building with our blankets (for the lawn seats) draped over the kids but we were all drenched. I kept telling the girls, as they shivered and got soaked, that it was an adventure. It stopped and somehow we found our way to actual seats because of some nice girl who told us she was going to ignore the fact that we didn’t have tickets for reserved seats. We must have looked really pathetic…two women carrying soaking wet blankets and bags, one pregnant, and 4 little soaking wet girls. Thank you nice ticket lady…it was awesome to actually have seats.

Baseball season ends. Connor’s first season is over and we are all going to miss it. He loved it and I love that he loved it. The girls had fun at the games too, always finding ways to occupy themselves.

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KG Field day. This is their fun, end-of-the-school-year, outdoor games day. I took a personal day to be a volunteer. I was in charge of the “golf ball on a spoon relay race”. Some of the kids were all business…very competitive and some could care less and were just goofy. It was fun watching and cheering them on (but no pictures :\).

Amy’s Prom. Amy went to her senior prom so I took the kids over to see Aunt Amy “dressed like a princess” as Em put it. When I went to my senior prom, Amy was two months. I. Am. Old.

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first haircut

Last weekend Emily had her first haircut.  I seriously think she could have gone another three years without ever having a hair cut on her head but I had it done now for a few reasons (none of which was because she really needed a haircut).  First of all, I just felt it was time.  I mean, despite her hair looking like some 6 month olds I have seen, she is three years old and it was time to let her experience the excitement of going and “getting your hair done”.  Secondly, in everywhere but the length department it was looking like it needed a cut.  It was growing uneven and the ends were still that fine baby hair that seemed to be splitting and ending up just frizzy most days.  And the third reason…because I truly am hoping that with a fresh 1/4 inch off the ends, her hair responds by actually GROWING.

So…the haircut itself.  Em was excited and totally into it.  She told me that she wanted me to go first since I was also getting a cut.  When it was her turn, she sat so still.  It was funny because she would only move her eyes, like she was frozen.  It took all of five minutes.  My hairdresser, Dawn, put a little clip in her hair that had butterflies dangling off of it and we were on our way.  Emily’s favorite part is the clip and she has been wearing it everyday. 

em’s new room

It’s. Finally. Done.  Em’s room has been a work in progress since Easter weekend.  I had a few days off then so I started the project, kind of impulsively (for me).  I got some of the trim done and some of the existing stenciling painted over, didn’t have as much time as I thought I would and then the project sat when I had to go back to work.  Working full-time really interferes with this kind of stuff.  I really need to not work, you know, so I can paint rooms.

I typically paint at night, after the kids go to bed.  Obviously Emily sleeps in her room so that wasn’t happening.  After weeks of this literally eating at me…an unfinished, not even half painted, AND unorganized room, it made me sick.  So I took a sick day Monday and BAM…done.  I love it, yes I do.  I’m loving the bright pink now, which I wasn’t sold on.  I’m loving the green on the bottom (mostly because that was already there and meant less painting for me) and I’m loving the bright white chair rail that pops in the middle (also selfishly loving that because it was already there).  Okay, so basically I only painted the top half of the room pink.  There are still curtains to go up and some pictures that I want to hang on the walls, which I’m still finalizing plans for in my mind.  I’m either going to go with framing some of her finger painting or going to download some free art and frame that (awesome decorating idea courtesy of my cousin Danielle).  Until then, here’s her new room…