Carpenters 2015 Edition

It has been FOREVA since we have had any family pictures, that is…with all 4 family members in the shot not doing something strange. Needless to say we hoped to get a few nice ones of all of us. Thus began our photographer search…well, that was 2013, I was hard pressed to find someone with my style on a realistic budget. And by realistic budget I only mean that I didn’t have to foot their studio rent that month. But…..late in 2014 a friend forwarded information for silva photography timing was perfect and we immediately set up a session for mid January. We wanted the feel of the third ward in MKE but there was an art show the day of our shoot. The photographer suggested cedarburg and that was perfect. We have some beautiful shots, I just had hoped we’d get them back on time. Anyhow, take a look!
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~all pictures taken by silva photography~

Changes and challenges

While daily life seems pretty basic here we’ve had a few big steps in family life overall this month.
First, the play room is DONE!! I couldn’t be happier and I think the boys are ecstatic! The morning of our reveal A played for almost 30min solo…and NICELY. Almost unheard of for that mischievous lil guy. So, stay tuned I’ll be doing a DIY entry on the magnetic chalkboard with storage that I made for about $50 and the $5 book shelves!!
Work life for Scott has been exciting to say the least, with his boss moving to a new position Scott is being “groomed” by that bosses boss. Though there’s no official word, we’re hopeful. But, if that doesn’t work out the company he works for recently acquired a smaller company….IN TEMECULA, CA! They are starting to post job openings out there now. This is where Scott had his second internship with Abbott. We absolutely fell in love with the area and both of us dreamed of living in the picturesque mountains. At this point I think we would welcome either option as we are simply enjoying life and open to whatever changes it brings.
The dogs seem to be, well more specifically JACK, full of issues lately. On top of the skunk incident he also stepped on glass leaving a half inch wide and inch deep “stab” in the webbing between his left rear paw. This is the same spot that exactly a year ago he had an auto immune flair up and the hair still hasn’t grown back. AAANd he cracked his “I” tooth, so that needs to be removed. He will be having surgery pre-op next week for that and his joints. As some of you know he’s been battling joint related auto immune issues most of this life and this is just another step in dealing with that. Also, on the dog front we are getting more :0 not to keep…just foster pups. I’m finding naming becomes harder with every new foster, so out came the baby names books πŸ˜‰ Hopefully, we will be picking up a pup or puppies soon!
In other news we finally got the jogger pod! I couldn’t be happier with it, really, it turns on a dime, and it’s suuuuper easy to push -even Scott was gushing about this thing! Plus, it’s discontinued so were able to get it brand new at a sale price:) It’s making outings a bit easier again and we’ve been out practically everyday since it arrived! I know Scott’s looking forward to getting out jogging with them.
Last week was also Scott’s birthday so I set up a few different surprises and a trip to the fair for the weekend! We met up with an old friend of mine who’s husband is also military… so while the guys got to laugh about the bad drill formations they saw, and she and I caught up a bit. We had a blast and the kiddos did too. You can see them sneaking a nap together in the pod
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Life is good

After many challenging times, July has brought some amazing news! We have gotten official word that Scott’s “work-from-home status” will kick in the last week of July!!!! I couldn’t me more ecstatic πŸ™‚ He also got word that he is eligible for upcoming bonus cycles…..AAAAnd that there is potentially a new position in his future. Needless to say his gusto for work has been rekindled πŸ˜‰
The littles are changing and growing daily. A is regularly stringing 2/3 words together. And were one goes the other follows in a matter of days. They have been loving the magnetic chalk wall I made for them though, I have yet to actually put it on the wall. They love using the magnets, but Im not quite daring enough to use chalk(I HATE the sound).
The neighbor also found us a grill….we have to hook it up yet, but hopefully Scott will get to it this weekend! It will hook right up to our natural gas lines though so super convenient and no worries about forgetting charcoal. Plus, super timing, now well have it for our get together next weekend πŸ™‚
Jack threw us for a loop on Thursday night when he killed a skunk in the yard. Never thought that would happen :0 but, since we washed him up immediately the smell hasn’t really lingered. It did scare the crap out of me though. 20140718-122045-44445212.jpg
And it looks like well be rounding out this week by getting our TV wall mounted today (I have been waiting for this day since A&B could pull up on it) and getting our new stroller jogger pod this weekend!!!
The garden has just exploded, all except my mini-multicolor peppers and watermelon(possibly some of my favorite garden fresh items, sad-face….)at least the pineapples are finally growing. It looks like we will have plenty to store for the winter! Now we just need to find a cheap freezer….. πŸ™‚

Organization

Ok, so it’s fair to say that the meaning of “organization” has greatly changed since having A&B πŸ˜‰ Before it meant perfection all around, now, it just means I picked up….kind of.
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Yes, we had an amazing date night πŸ™‚

We got the chance to unpack a bit more (our last few…i think… I hope) and organize old fashioned way in the office! It’s almost done πŸ™‚
In the mean time I’m attempting to get a magnetic chalk board for the boys play room finished up this week.
The garden is also keeping me very busy and has really taken off….we had so many tomatoes and I couldn’t bare to kill em so I put then in old totes :0 they are still growing, flowering even. We just want enough for sauces.
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Back to the Basics

Well, after much consideration I have decided *for now* I will only be doing family updating on the blog. While I don’t want to loose all of the memories stored on the page I have found the time it takes for me to log the DIY and product reviews is too much. I would rather spend it on the boys:) for that reason I will keep projects to a minimum and do mostly updates on family a nice way to log our lives and look back!

Daddy Day!!

Well not quite the weekend but Scott surprised me and took off today to extend my Birthday celebrations. So as promised we FINALLY went to Rebuilders Exchange!!!

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AAAAnd we even made it to IKEA and Carters πŸ™‚ seems even for mommas birthday the kiddos get spoiled. But they did need new mattresses as they are a whole 3ft and 1inches already!! The train track since they have been loving trains lately and a paper roll for crafts. And a few new shirts from carters were only a dollar since we had that “carters cash.”ikea train track
Plus we even had time for homemade Popsicles and a Water blob!

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Mini Men birthday bash!!

I know every parent says it’s crazy and they can’t believe it and time flys and yes it’s all true. But with twins I think it’s a bit of a love-hate thing. The early years are so difficult yet we miss them being little (and not touching everything they shouldn’t while saying they’re saying “no, no”). So, feeling a little bittersweet about it, we celebrated our mini men’s 2nd birthday on Saturday! Take a peek!
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invite design by tanias design studio

mini men!ABB

we were shocked to see so many family and friends come to celebrate the special day with us THANK YOU!!!
all party dΓ©cor done by me- you can find me on etsy at ModLilBB