Oasis in the chaos

As I type, the third cement truck is rolling in....they started work right at 7am.....yesterday they placed in the forms for the foundation, today they are pouring in the cement. This is Rob's Friday off and he is in his glory watching all the work. I have been busy planting the annuals, herbs, mulching the perennials, and setting up the side porch. We have a bit of an oasis on our porch compared to the chaos in the backyard. After a rough couple of days we are looking foward to taking the kids to Boston for a day trip on Sunday.

Memorial Parade

Still playing catch up from the weekend.....here are a couple pictures from the Memorial Parade...Caroline was on a float with her preschool and took her job of throwing candy out very seriously....Cooper and I waved them by....

Memorial Weekend

Life sometimes feels like a rollarcoaster ride...so many ups and downs...so many things out of our control and we truely are just on this "ride"....sometimes hanging on (white knuckles and all) and sometimes letting go and waving our hands up in the air. We started out on our trip up to Vermont, little over two hour trip.....the kids very excited about seeing Gramma and Shener...half way there we get pulled over for speeding...what a bummer! We survived the trip, and survived the day of keeping a big secret, Shener's surprise Birthday Party!!!! What a celebration!!! Lots of family and friends, great food and Irish music!!! The kids were amazing all night...and they even slept through the night!!! We made it home slowly and safely. On Memorial Day we spent the first part of the morning cheering on friends and family at the Finnegan 5K, and then off to the parade....Caroline and Rob marching with Caroline's Busy Bee preschool and Cooper and I watching, waving, and clapping!!! A beautiful day, sunny and blue sky. We are really enjoying this "ride of life" our hands are in the air with smiles on our faces...but we are at the top now.....and on our way to a picnic I get a phone call that Mimi (my grandmother) has passed away.....I want to get off this ride. That afternoon as we were putting the kids into their car seats, Caroline spotted a lady walking her dog....Caroline asked if she could pet it...any other day I would have come up with an excuse not to...but not wanting a struggle of any kind I lifted Caroline out of her seat and we went over to see this dog...Caroline asked if she could pet it and wanted to know the dog's name...the owner said "Her name is Mimi."

Happy Birthday Shener!!! Surprise!! Surprise!!! We had a great time at your party!!! Wonderful friends and family, great food.....and great Irish music!!!!

Day 3

The kids just had to get in the hole....for 2 days now Cooper keeps saying "back" when he sees the construction...we are not sure if this means he wants to get back in the hole or that he wants all the dirt to go back. The next two pictures below are what we found! We found an old oven of some sort, made of brick, in a dome shape, about 5 feet wide, 5 feet deep, it has been filled in with ash and coals, about 20 feet away from the house, the top only a couple feet from the surface....neighbors who have been in the neighborhood remember an old garage near the site, but no recollection of a stove, or the garage even having a basement to it.

Day 3...we are really moving now....the forms for the footings are built and as I type the second cement truck is getting in place to pour.....its a rainy, damp day and the yard is a bit cramped for the big trucks but the work is amazing to watch. The trucks wheel is practically over the edge at times. Once again Cooper is napping through it all....thank goodness for noise machines.

Day 1 No Turning Back Now

Well, I never thought that when they said they wanted to start digging on Wednesday that they would actually show up on Tuesday to start early! Yippee! The fun has begun...I never thought I would be so happy to see a digger in our yard! We moved the swing set just in time!!! But the tower got stuck on the wrong side.....oh well! After only 2 hours they had the kitchen space dug and now as I type (and Cooper sleeping through it all) they are digging out the garage space....holy crap...its a mess!!! The point of no return. At lunch time we had to move Cooper's high chair near the window so he could watch all the excitement...I can't wait to see Caroline's face when she gets home from preschool.
The picture below is of the foundation...or lack of....we knew there was only a crawl space under this part of the house....but its amazing to see that this house is still standing after 150 years with only this below it! We'll all sleep a bit better once the new foundation is poured in.

Folly Beach 2008

Our trip to Folly Beach, South Carolina was great!!! We spent the week on the beach, flying kites, digging in the sand, walking on the pier, eating yummy seafood (Caroline loves shrimp!!! who knew?!?), shopping, walking downtown, visiting with my college friends (congrats Mindy!! Amy!!! and Sam!!!). We can't wait for next year!!!!

Weekend update

There are days (full days....I'm talking from 6am until 7pm) when the kids fight with each other constantly....I hear Cooper screaming out of frustration and Caroline screaming just to be loud...the difference between an almost 2 year old and almost 4 year old. Then there is the rare day when all I hear is a wonderful chatter between the two of them...Cooper babbling and Caroline whispering to him like a little mother. Amazingly this is occurring more often and for longer periods of time. The other day there was silence. A bit panicky, I searched the house to find them here....both sitting in the dog's bed which is tucked in a corner of the living room......Caroline reading and Cooper eating a snack...both smiling up at me.

We had a great weekend...I had oodles of time with my side of the family....We met up with Grampa and Nonna at the Apple Blossom Bash up at Hilltop Orchards....yummy food and wine (Furnace Brook Winery), great music and sunny weather!!! When we got home we invited the neighbors over to our porch to have a dinner of munchies and wine. My brother and his son stopped by on their way through town to visit with the kids and to see if there was any progress on the addition (there is not). The day was full of family and friends....

Construction update: As soon as the "dig safe" check is complete we are good to go! We are told that digging will start on Wednesday. Rob spent Sunday clearing out the back yard and I was inside clearing out the kitchen. We are very excited to get started but anxious about the journey ahead of us!!!

Bedtime

Two images from last night's bedtime. We ended the day with a "family huddle" and a few prayers. The kids love piling their hands together and saying "1,2,3 family!!" over, and over again. And we pray....for our family, neighbors and friends.

Wonderful Weekend

This Mother's Day weekend I was completely spoiled....on Saturday we spent the day at my favorite spot, The Berkshire Botanical Garden! It was a glorious day, the sun was shining and the kids were getting along! We found our favorite place to take pictures and then we let the kids run, chase their daddy with squeals of delight, and of course, Caroline's new favorite game, hide and seek. Rob surprised me with a date night all planned out...babysitter called, dinner out, and tickets to a show....I am so in love with this man. It was a perfect day.

Sunday I was treated like a queen, breakfast in bed.........the kids joined me and thought it was the best thing ever.....church....and then a visit to Nani and Grampa's house to spend a day outside playing with the cousins. The kids were completely worn out and bedtime was a breeze. I ended my day with a bowl of ice cream in bed.....life is good.....no, life is great.

Happy Mother's Day

Hi Gramma! Welcome to our blog! We just wanted to send out a Happy Mother's Day message to you.......and tell you how much we love you!!! Thank you for being the best Gramma ever......

Caroline says, " I love Gramma and she loves me and she always loves me and she is very sweet to me. I like to play some games with Gramma, play on the swingset, and she always listens to me because she loves me!" wow! Cooper is talking too...but we can't figure out what he is saying :) Have a great day Gramma!!! We miss and love you lots!!!!!!!!

Lemon bars gone wrong

Well......our attempt at lemon bars went smoothly until we tried to get them out of the pan. We were planning on bringing them over to Grampa and Nani's house as a "get well" goodie to go along with the card Caroline made at preschool. Grampa loves anything lemony.....so plan B was a visit to our favorite coffee shop in town. This plan benefited everyone....goodies for Grampa and Nani, key lime cookie for Caroline, muffin for Cooper, and a coffee for me. ok.....this entry is not very exciting, but its been a long week......we'll see what the weekend brings.

MerryGoRound

Our busy weekend ended with a wonderful ride on a MerryGoRound. Caroline loving every minute of it and Cooper clinging to his bunny. We had fun meeting up with friends, listening to music, face painting and hotdogs and ice cream for dinner.....at the end of the day we had 2 very tired kids...hurray!!!
Spring is finally upon us, and the kids helped me do some planting....... even though the days are warm the nights have been very cool with some surprising frost that only the hardy pansy can survive.

Cooper's curls.........to cut or not to cut? Cutting his curls would mean a "big boy haircut" and I am just not ready for that.....I'm going to keep him my baby for as long as possible.
Caroline came back from her friend's birthday party with these great glasses....and she made a pair for her little brother.....what a pair!
Here is Caroline on the rings during her "gym show" She was so excited!!!

To make room for the new driveway we first needed to cut down a couple of trees.....so we called in the professionals to do this job. The kids loved watching all the action.......they even got to pull one tree down by pulling the rope, Cooper wasn't ready to give up the rope just yet.

The big maple tree came crashing down all at once! Coming within ten feet of the house!

wow...talk about blogging anxiety.....I was never one to keep a diary when I was little, but the thought of having a new diary with a lock and writing down secrets was appealing....but i never followed through.....i haven't changed much.....still not very good at finishing projects (lots of great ideas though!) I am a bit of a list junkie, so my reasons for starting this blog are as follows:
1. To capture the daily ups and downs of raising two amazing children. (my photo albums are collecting dust on the shelves.) I thought this would be a great way to share our memories with friends and family near and far.
2. As Spring is upon us we are embarking on a construction project, an addition to our home which will include a new kitchen and garage. I thought this would be a great way to document progress. (nothing happening yet....)
3. Maybe, just maybe....this blog will help me to focus on starting and finishing projects that i start. I have been so inspired by so many other bloggers.....its time for me to focus.

So...that's all for now....cooper is just waking up from his nap, so my time is up.