My Girls..

Last week I had found a new website of a store I somehow didn't know anything about...Crazy 8.  It is owned by Gymboree which is my favorite store to shop for the girls.  I ordered 100 dollars worth of stuff and the box just came today........the girls were so excited for their new clothes and now they are pulling them in and out of the box and playing their own game of dress up.  What I love most is that everything I buy, I know I can get two uses out of them.....  But anyway, the deals on that website were amazing, especially since I had a 20% off coupon.  I don't know what I would have done if I didn't have girls!!!!

In just an hour daddy will be home and we will be on the road to Windham to celebrate the New Year with the Hopkins/Young families.  We are all very excited to see them...we haven't seen them since August and boy have Liv and Abbie changed since then!  I have been keeping them awake all day today so they will (cross your fingers) sleep the majority of the way down.  I get so excited to spend 5 hours in the car with my handsome hubby......that is the most alone time we get!

Have a great New Years weekend.  One of my resolutions is to figure out how to add pictures to my posts!

Staying home...

As some of you know, I recently made the choice to stay home with my girls instead of working....I am working on figuring out a part time schedule with the school, but I'm not sure if that is going to happen or not.  So as of now, I am either home with my girls full time or just working 15 hours a week.....I am happy with either situation.

Days like today remind me why I have made the right choice.  The girls and I slept in this morning, got up and had a lazy breakfast, and momma had her coffee.....we read books, the girls played together with their kitchen, and played together in their new princess tent from Grampa Dave and Nama Charlotte...I got to watch them give each other kisses and hear Olivia tell her baby sister she is so beautiful.  These are moments I miss out on when I am working.  I know everyone has a different story, and working or not working isn't for everyone, but my story wasn't going the way I wanted it to go when I was working full time.  I am so content in my choice and I am glad I finally feel peaceful in my days.  

The girls just had a big lunch (which I actually had the time to cook for them), now Liv is watching one show before naptime and Abbie just fell asleep in my arms. I am counting my blessings and feeling very thankful that I have finally made the right choice.

Christmas Eve

I think I am more excited than my kids this year for Christmas morning!  Although Liv is pretty excited too!  The girls are snuggled in their beds in their new xmas pj's....I just finished a few last minute "santa" things, and now i'm in my new pj's too!  I have a feeling they will sleep late in the morning because they were up late tonight at Auntie Em's and Uncle Norman's.  Boy did they have a ball!!!!!  The best part about tonight is that my big brother is sleeping right across the hall from us....it's like being kids again all being under the same roof on Christmas Eve!


I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!

it's been a while!

I guess I'm not really good at this blogging thing..I enjoy reading other people's blogs instead of writing my own!!!!  Abbie is sleeping, Liv is watching Rudolph with Grampa Brian, Matt's playing a video game with my little brother, and mom and I are in the living room on our laptops......just a typical night living with my parents again!
for those of you who have been wondering, it is going very well.......we still have our own space, but we all enjoy being together too!  My new job is great....I leave right at 3 to pick up the girls and then start our time together.  Olivia has her first dance recital tomorrow and I think I am far more excited about it than she is!
We have the house plan we want and we are just waiting back to hear on some quotes.  I'm getting very excited about the fact that next Christmas we will be decorating a brand new house!
Abbie is taking about three steps now.  She has grown up too fast.  We were just watching videos last night of when Olivia was fifteen months, and I would give anything to have her that age again.......she is sweet now, but she was SOOOO sweet then!  I am excited to go through all of that again with Abbie.

Today we went to one of our favorite places, Wintergreen Arts, to decorate a gingerbread house.  We had the best time and both girls were very well behaved....that always makes it easier!  then we went to the mall to do some shopping, then we went to brad's game at UMPI then we headed to gram's for dinner!

I'm really not sure that anyone even reads these blogs, so when I update, I have no idea who might be reading this!!!!!  If you would like me to keep posting, maybe leave a comment so I know I am actually doing it for a reason!!!

Poker Night!

Matt is off to his first poker night in a while and that means it is our first girls night in a while....I just had a great Zumba work out...Abbie is already asleep (she is just deciding to cry as I type this..lovely!!!) and Liv and I are chilling on the couch.  I really can't believe I just sat down so happy about life and now Abbie is crying in her crib...the life of a mother, right?

Anyway, just wanted to get in a quick update while I had a minute.  Looks like my literal minute is up...

Settled and Loving It!

We officially closed on our old house and are all moved in and settled at mom's.  Olivia says the upstairs is Meme's house and the downstairs is our house.  She goes up a few times a day and knocks on the door and says, "Meme, can I come to your house?"  Abbie had a few rough nights when we first got here, but she is sleeping great now and we are so glad for that.....it is hard on a relationship when you are up a few times every night!

I love the fact that we have no junk....when we packed everything, we only kept things that we use on a regular basis...I also love the fact that we have little house stuff to do here at mom's, so we can spend our weekend and week nights enjoying each other.  I also love living with my mom........................I am totally soaking in this time living with her because I'm pretty sure it will be the last time!  She is away tonight for work and I miss her already!

We are working on house plans and think we have a house all picked out...we shall see! 

Finally Feeling Real

Some people would call me a procrastinator, but really I'm not.  I just don't have the ability to do things ahead of time.  The difference between me and a real procrastinator is that I do it on purpose...I truly work best under pressure.  Our basement is sooooooooooooo close to being packed up...I think we have 2 little boxes of junk to go through.  The linen closet is done, the entry way closet is done....and a lot of other areas of the house!  My great mom has been making room for us in her house, so this week while we are both on harves break I am going to be taking some loads of our clothes and the girls clothes over.  We are so lucky to be moving into a house where we will have our own room and the girls will have their own room and their own playroom.  I am really excited to be moving back to mom's for the winter...I think we are all going to enjoy each other.

Matt got out Olivia's powerwheels the other day and she LOVES it.  I can picture many afternoons in the near future of her and Jake outside playing.  (we are moving to mom's next Sunday!!!!)  We don't actually close on the house until October 21, but we want to get in mom's before I go back to work so the girls can get on a schedule there.  And truthfully, Matt and I are to the point where this doesn't feel like our home anymore.  I am really glad we got to that point...I was afraid of leaving, but I think we both realize this is not where we were meant to be.  We bought this house to be a drive away from our families so we could have some privacy, but we quickly realized that that is not the kind of life we want....we want our girls to be able to go spend a couple hours with their grandparents without it taking one person driving here and back to do that. 

Anyway, I am just really proud of myself for actually packing a lot of the house today and not worrying about what kind of mess it was making in the rest of the house.....it feels good to know I will never full out clean this house again!!!!!

I need to figure out how to put pictures of things on here becuase I can imagine my blogs with only text are slightly boring!!

Packing/Moving/OCD

Wow, this packing and moving thing is really hard on a girl who likes to be in control of the neatness and where everything is in a house.  I know I only have less than a month to be living here, but I don't want it to be chaotic.....and it is, and I can't help it!  I just spent the morning packing the girls' playroom and going through some of my clothes.  I like to go to bed at night with everything in my house organized and clean, and leaving these packing projects are driving me crazy!!!!  I have been trying to keep these feelings inside, but this morning I just had a meltdown!

I love our house, but yet I am ready to move.....I'm ready to design the house that is perfect for us.....I guess I should just count my many blessings...I have harvest break to pack, we get to move to my mom's and we are just lucky to have even sold our house....(although I will feel better about that after the actual closing!)  I guess I have just been a little scared to start packing because we haven't signed on the dotted line! 

I'm going to pack one project at a time.......I would like to do the linen closet this afternoon.....wow, this is starting to feel real...

Harvest Break!

I only have a minute to write this morning, but I am just so excited for harvest break....I have two days left of work and then I'm a stay at home mommy for three weeks!!!!!  I look forward to sleeping in with my girls, tuna fish tea parties at lunch, visiting daddy at work, going to play time at wintergreen on thursday mornings, baths with no stress in the evenings...doing laundry when I want....and on an on and on!!!!

have a great day

My Little Brother

I'll never know if it is just because he's my brother, or if I would notice this about him even if he wasn't, but if you want to see a kid play with all he's got, you should check out my little brother play goalie.  It's funny, because he doesn't even like or want to be goalie, but from the minute the game starts until the last horn blows, he gives it all he's got. I have always heard the phrase "leave everything you have on the field" or however that saying goes, and I have to admit, I was one of those kids who heard my choice say that, but I didn't really live by it.  I would run some, walk some, run some and walk some more.  My heart was never into the game of soccer, I just played so my team would have enough players...and now I feel bad, because I bet the girls who really did care were frustrated with me....

Anyway, I guess I'm just kind of in awe at all of the things Jake is good at.  Last week he got a 100 on one test, a 103 on another, and who knows how many shots he has saved as goalie.  All of those things are great, but by far my favorite thing about him is that when I pick him up for school every morning, he opens Olivia's door to say goodmorning and kiss her, puts his backpack in the trunk and then does the same for Abbie.  And on the way home he does the same......those two little girls are so lucky to have him.......................

I guess I just always wonder if he knows I think the world of him......

Wintergreen Arts

Today is the first day of Wintergreen Arts for the Fall! Olivia and I have been waiting to get back there all summer.  It is a great way for her to play with other kids and for me to get to hang out with some moms as well!  She has been asking if we could go to arts and crafts all week.......she has been ready to go since she woke up this morning!

Daddy is going to be packing some more of the basement while us girls are gone.  I feel bad not helping him pack very much yet, but it takes one of us to watch the girls while the other packs!  I was going through some totes downstairs and it is amazing how many nice clothes I will have once I finally lose Olivia's baby weight.........I'm not giving up just yet!

This morning was so beautiful.....it is only going to be about 60 degrees today, but the sun was shining through the house and it made me have one of those moments when I wondered if I really want to move!  (I know I do, I just have so many great memories of this house, but the best part is, I can take the memories with me!)

Have a wonderful weekend :)

the first cold of the school year

You got it, I was back to work for a week before I got my first cold!  I spent Friday afternoon and night shaking in bed with a fever and chills, but I think I am better now...just a little stuffed up.  I realized this weekend how much I take my health for granted.  It was so hard to be sick because I didn't want to get too close to the girls and get them sick....Liv did end up with it, but she seems to be doing okay night...she's chowing down some yogurt as I type. 

Yesterday morning matt and i did venture over to canada to look at houses....that was a fun little trip and I realized it is a place we should go more often...it's a nice normal city closer than bangor.  Nama Dale, if you are reading this, you need to get your passport so you can come with me over there shopping! 

Today we stayed in all day making sure everyone could get their rest....the girls and I took a two hour nap and my husband spent most of his free time today killing hornets in our basement......no idea where they are coming from, so if anyone is an expert on hornets, please come our way!  It was a rainy day, so it was a good day to rest.  Kind of pathetic that I have cabin fever from just one day cooped up inside all day.....I never have been a stay at home kind of girl!

Well i'm off to finish up our night time routine and then turn in for the night.....another fun week ahead of us!

Deciding on a house...

I never knew how hard it would be to design the perfect house for us.  Matt and I got up early this morning, took the girls to his mom's and went to canada looking at the modular homes over there....we didn't fall in love with anything, and we can't even decide if we want a ranch or a cape.....such a hard decision.  I am always so critical of our house, but when I got home today, I thought to myself, "if I would have seen this house today as a modular I would have fallen in love with it"  we do live in a beautiful house.......so i think that makes it even harder.  if we were living in a shack and building our first nice house, i think this would be easier.....(i know i sound like a spoiled brat, but this is how my mind is thinking right now)  There are so many options....how big to make the entryway...what a want in a kitchen...yikes!!!  first we need to decide if we want a ranch or a cape!!!!

House

We accepted an offer on our house today....we will be out of our house by the end of September!!!!!  One more mortgage payment to make..yayyyy!!!  Now we are off to design our new home :)

A Typical Friday Night

It's Friday!!!!!!!!  When I got home from work Matt asked if we might want to go to the mall for Chinese food for supper.....at first thought I was like yea sure, then I looked at my sleeping Olivia, my laughing Abbie, my empty bank account and thought, how about we find something we already have to eat??  I love how I have changed since I have switched jobs.  I no longer stress about going to work, and I no longer dread going to work.  I LOVE the middle school and high school age kids...they are great, and I love even more that I don't have to be their mother while I am at work.  I'm not sure I will ever be able to go back to the elementary school level again. 

So, anyway, back to friday night....we had turkey burgers from the grill for supper as we watched little abbie fling her peas all over the room....it beat chinese food by far!  Then we went for an hour walk to and from rite aid to pick up abbie's zantac which we are debating about trying to get her off of it.....we will see if we decide to or not.

Now abbie is sleeping, liv's having her juice, milk and teddy graham snack, matt's on the couch about to pass out and i'm going to catch up on the latest Parents magazine.......

Second showing on the house tomorrow morning.....hopefully this means something :)

Funny how things work

So last night as I was coming with with the girls from work, two ladies met me in the driveway.....one of them is moving here for border patrol with her husband and three kids, and she basically wanted to buy our house without even seeing inside.......she had just heard about the great work my husband did to it!!!!  She is supposed to call matt this morning, so we shall see!!!!!!  It appeared that she had quite a bit of money, so the only thing I am thinking is that she might find a house in a higher price range that she might like better...her friend lives right around the corner from us though!


Keep your fingers crossed that I sell my house on the first day of the kids coming to school at my new job :)

A Successful Day

I survived and even enjoyed my first day at my new job!  I have to say going to work is a lot easier than taking care of two little girls......my mom seemed pretty exhausted when I went to pick them up at 3!  My little Abbie is quite a handful and it was actually nice to hear mom say so.  I have spent the last six months with her and Liv each and everyday and man she's a lot of work.  She doesn't like the swing, jumperoo, exersaucer....she actually doesn't like anything but being held and played with alllllllllllll day.  I think it will be good for her to be with someone who might actually not run to her everytime she cries (although it would kill me a little if i saw it)  what I don't know can't hurt me, right???  That might sound crazy, but I have never been one to believe that a child should be played with and held all day...if they are, how do they learn to play by themselves?? 

Today was a great day and I"m excited to do it again tomorrow...

I also got to thinking on my way home that I am lucky....I might be away from my girls for a few years while they are really little, but I will get to enjoy them while I am working when they get to school age........not too many mothers get to do that!!!

Well, I think my words are starting to not make sense....getting up at 4:30 is a change for me!!!!

Goodnight

oh, and i survived a day and a half without facebook and it feels GREAT

First Day of work

Well today is my first day back to work after six months of being home with my two beauties and I'm actually feeling excited....I know my girls are always in good hands, and I am looking forward to getting back to work.  Abbie woke up at four thirty this morning...I was set to wake up at five, so I think she just didn't want me to be late!!!!  It felt good to actually sleep last night...when I was in charge of a classroom, I never slept the night before....

Well I'm off to get us all ready to be out the door...have a great day!

Goodbye Facebook!!!

I am happy to say I am saying goodbye to the world of facebook.............too much wasted time!!!!  My husband is going to LOVE me for making this decision.  Now maybe I will sit on the couch and watch tv with him at night instead of checking up on facebook statuses....I am so excited to have more free time...which also means I will be blogging more to keep my family up to date!!!!

The Second Child

I just got home from a shopping trip with my wonderful gram, and my beautiful second daughter, Abbie.  I realized two things while I was shopping today....one is that there are no clothes for toddlers in northern maine, which is okay because that just means some of my favorite girls and i will have to go to southern maine on a shopping spree, and the second thing I realized is that abbie is a sweet sweet sweet little baby.

Since Abbie has been born, I have naturally compared her to her older sister Olivia.  As many of you know, Olivia was one easy, easy, easy, easy baby.  She slept through the night her first week home from the hospital, drank her bottles down so good, ate all of of baby food with no mess, went out to dinner with her dad and i and never made a peep, and the list goes on and on about how great of a girl she is...

Well, I think Abbie is just as sweet, happy and good natured, it's just that we have Olivia to take care of too...  If we would have had abbie first, I think we would have thought she was just as easy as Olivia.  Today while we were shopping, she laughed and kicked and played with her toys while gram and I shopped.  She was a perfect little angel while we ate lunch...she chowed down her sweet potatoes and a bottle...then it was time to go and she talked nicely to me in the car halfway home then she fell asleep........it was such a nice day with her....I'm glad my mother-in-law took Olivia for the day so I got to spend time one on one with my little abbie. 

Sometimes I find myself wondering what my mom thought about me when I was little since I was her second.......I need to write things down for my girls so I have things to share with them when they are older.

Anyway, she is peacefully sleeping so I'm going to go fold some laundry...have a great weekend!

A Mom's Best Friend

What a girl my Olivia is.  It doesn't matter what I come out of the bedroom wearing when I get dressed after a shower in the morning, her response is always the same, "mommy, you look so beautiful mommy."  It doesn't matter if I have make-up on, my hair done, or not......I love it!  Today she was really excited about my outfit....I have a long flowy skirt on, and she chased me around the house saying how beautiful I am.  She is sitting next to me right now sharing my apple....she thinks I am the best thing on earth........and when she is around, I really feel like I am!

Have a great day!

time for a quick update

I only have a minute because I need to get stuff ready for a last minute yard sale, and pack for ct, but I just wanted to let the world know the hopkins crew is still alive!!!  the girls and I spent a great week at cross lake with mom and jake and we all had a blast...we can't wait to go again at the end of the month with uncle joe too! 

Abbie is now eating cereal and we are going to be starting veggies at supper this week!  She has two big teeth on the bottom, and it is a reminder to me to slow down and enjoy my precious baby because pretty soon she will be acting like a teenage like my little livvie!

I am off to change diapers and feed abbie, but I just wanted to update real quick!

I have some exciting news to share about my plans for work next year, but I'm not quite ready to do that yet...stay tuned!!

How did i get so lucky?

Today is one of those days that I feel blessed beyond belief.  I spent the day in the sun with Olivia, Jenn and Brenna at Portage Lake.  Olivia and Brenna were angels at the lake.  On the way home, I got a little lost and ended up spending an extra hour in the car, but it was okay because Olivia napped the whole time.  When we got home we decided we would unpack the car and head out back for some pool time.  I was seeing how much fun Olivia was having, so I told Jenn she should come on over with brenna.  We ended up having a BBQ and watching Olivia and Brenna swim, run around the yard, blow bubbles and spend an hour or so just playing at the sand table.  Those two girls are getting to be really great friends....they were so well behaved together today, it was great!  At one point the four adults were sitting around the kiddie pool with our feet in the water and none of us had a child attached to us......we couldn't believe it...then derek held abbie while matt and I ate dinner...it really was a great night!

Somehow it gets even better.  After baths, it was time for our night time routine..Olivia and Matt lay together on the floor and I give abbie her bed time bottle.  Olivia lays on the ground and says, "daddy, you want to lay with me?"  Like he could actually say no to that...then it's, "daddy, you got your blankie?  daddy, you got your pillow?  it's night time...love you daddy"  I swear it is the cutest thing you could ever imagine.  I was in the girls' room putting abbie to sleep....when I put abbie in her crib, she opened her eyes just enough to smile at me before I left the room.  Then i came to the living room where matt was already passed out and Liv said, "mommy, will you lay with me?"  She lasted one more minute and now the two of them are sound asleep next to each other and I'm going to finish the last fifteen minute of the Bachlorette I missed from last night. 

Who wouldn't sleep tight after a day/night like that??

It's the little things...

I am beyond excited for tomorrow...my gram is going to watch abbie for the day and I get to go to the lake with Olivia to play with Jenn and Brenna.  I love having two girls and wouldn't trade it for the world, but I love time alone with each of them as well.  I can't wait to play in the water with Olivia and not worry about bottles, or keeping abbie in the shade.  I love having Abbie with us, but tomorrow it is a day for me and my oldest angel.....we will both be ready to go pick abbie up after a day in the sun, but for now we are going to go to bed like it is xmas eve thinking about all of the fun we are going to have tomorrow just the two of us!!!!

Letting Go....

My mind is such a crazy thing.  I know I should be excited about Olivia's second birthday party, but for some reason my excitement is clouded by my anxiety about having a messy house after.  I know people are going to read this and tell me to just get over it, but it is not as easy as that.  When you have suffered with this for so long, it is so hard to just let go of just because you want to and know that is what is best for you and your family.  I know that my drawers are a little messy and my front closet isn't as clean as it should be, and why am I worrying about these things???  Instead of focusing on the fun we are going to have this afternoon, I am thinking about when I am going to get a chance to clean the house after everyone leaves.  (I am typing this because I am hoping that getting it out in words is going to help me deal today)  Trust me, if I could, I would snap out of this craziness.  I have come a long way, but I still have a long way to go.  I don't want to waste my summer worrying about keeping the house clean...I know I miss out on so much when I do that.  I want to sit outside by the fire at night and play with Olivia at her sand and water table and have lots of people over for bbqs often....even going to cross lake for the week next week and then my dad's for the week after that makes me a mess because I know I have to pack and sometimes that makes my house a little disorganized. 

Well there, I feel like that helped a bit.  I am going to go cut up the cheese now for the party and I am going to do my best tonight to not worry about my closets, or drawers, or the floor and just focus on my beautiful little girl who will too soon grow up and then I will want the floors messy again.  Thanks for listening, I feel better already :)

So Thankful :)

My girls left this morning with their dad to spend the day with their grandma vicki.  as I rushed around to pack their diaper bag and bottles and everything, i was finding myself so thankful that i don't have to do this everyday of the year like some people do.  then as olivia waved to me as the car was pulling out of the driveway, i remembered the feeling i had all of those days this past school year when I had to watch her leave each morning.  I do love going to work, but i LOVE MY SUMMERS with my girls too.  This morning reminded me to be thankful for my job, my girls, and the many people who love to spend time with them while I go get groceries, pick up around the house, get my pedicure, or just take a shower without two little girls in the bathroom with me.  tomorrow i will be ready to have them back in the bathroom with me....i only share for a day at a time!!!  this morning also reminded me to not take a single day of my summer vacation for granted...pretty soon I will be back to being a "working" mom again.

Have a great day :)

A Happy Day

Well, Olivia's official birthday-day celebration is done.  What a great day we had.  We started off with some coloring this morning, the girls took a trip to Meme's, we met Daddy at McDonald's for a special birthday lunch, came home for a nap then the company started to come with presents!!!!!  P and Nama came and brought her a picnic table with a nice umbrella for shade along with a great gift of coloring supplies from aunt jackie!!!...next Jakey and Meme came with a sweet pool and then Nama Charlotte and Grampa Dave came with a sand a water table.  Olivia played with that from six until we pulled her inside for a tub at 8!!!!  We have it out on the deck under the overhang so that even if it is raining she can go outside and play with it. She was quite a mess and she kept saying she had to wash her hands!  It was such a nice night to be outside....the sun was shining and there were NO BUGS...yes you heard right, we were in northern maine in june and there were no bugs!!!!!  Now the birthday girl is having some grapes and is ready for "lights out" as her dad says. 

I am loving this summer and look forward to many more nights outside after dinner watching my little princess play with her sand and water table.

Thanks to everyone who made her birthday so special so far, and I can only imagine what Saturday will bring!!

Happy Birthday Olivia Marie

Happy Birthday to my sweet baby girl Olivia.  She woke up this morning just as happy as could be.  I said happy birthday to her and she said, "Oh, thank you momma."  I wish I could give her a gift every hour today to let her know just how much I love her, but that's not possible.  I hope/think I show her everyday just how much she means to me.  I told matt that we owe her a fancy car on her sixteenth birthday for how good she has been to us these past two years! 

Tonight we are having just a small family gathering and then it's her big birthday bash on saturday.  Later this afternoon we are going to make cup-cakes together for tonight.  She is very excited....she said first you dump it in the bowl then you stir it then you put it in my mouth!!! She is a girl after my own heart eating the cake mix before it is cooked!!! 

I will post a picture later of the birthday girl with her cupcakes tonight!

Trying this again

Well just a couple of weeks ago I tried to start a blog...I went to post a blog and it was gone...so I will try again.  I used to be a good writer, but I am realizing that lately my mind is racing too fast to even make sense when I write.  You will notice I do this a lot......................(yes, those dots)  I never know how to end a sentence, so I just do that.  Anyway, I can't believe tomorrow is my little girl's second birthday.  I feel like I should treat her like a princess all day, but I think she would be confused, because she really doesn't understand that that is what is supposed to happen.  We are having her party on Saturday, so tomorrow is going to be a low key second birthday.  I am going to post this to see if it works!