Cousin Love on 4th of July

I'm not sure why but I've been writing and rewriting this post for nearly a month now.  I think every year since I started this blog, there has been a dedicated 4th of July post.  Maybe not last year because - well - last year in general doesn't count.

If you've been following along for the last SIX 4th of July's, you know this holiday is near and dear to my heart.  My parents have been hosting an annual get together on the 4th of July for as long as I can remember.  The party has evolved over the years and they've taken breaks here and there but it's always been one of my favorite memories growing up with my cousins, and it's now even more fun as adults.

Holidays growing up were always spent with my extended family - Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, 4th of July brought my dad's entire side together.  I grew up surrounded by my cousins, most of whom are technically my second cousins.  As Mike and I have gone through life together, this was at first a hard concept for him to understand (now he just rolls with it and is glad there are more adults to drink with).  Even for myself, it wasn't until high school I realized how rare this actually was.  My brother and I have one first cousin - but can you tell which one she is?  Well I said she so it's got to be a process of elimination for you.

As life has gotten busier, our full family gatherings have become fewer and farther in between.  We alternate holidays now and with kids and in-laws it's rare the entire family will be in one place together.  I soak up every minute when even just a few of us join and I love that Lily loves spending time with her first and second cousins once-removed because that rarity takes my breath away. 

Perspective

Do you ever have a day where you wonder what exactly you're doing?  One where you have a conversation that shakes you to the core and suddenly your problems are insignificant?

That was my day yesterday.  Julia had decided to spend two hours of the night awake so my mind was extremely foggy when I woke up to the realization my alarm didn't go off because my cell phone was dead.  And when I say dead I mean wouldn't turn on, wouldn't charge but holds the key to everything I need work and life related.

I scrambled to get myself and the girls out the door and off to work for a day I knew started at 8:30.  Of course there was an accident on the highway, which already has an influx of traffic being rerouted to it as a result of construction.  My normal 15 minute commute took me 40 and I walked into the office to see my appointment sitting in the lobby.  She was 5 minutes early.  We're trained to be right?  I'd had zero cups of coffee, couldn't check my email without booting up my computer, had no idea what conference room we were in without access to my calendar but I slapped a smile on my face and hit the ground running.  It was full speed ahead until I got devastating news from a girlfriend.  My life halted.  There may be a day I can write about it but today's not it.

I sobbed while Mike and I split a bottle of wine.  An unworking cell phone, discovering termite damage under our kitchen floors, it all seemed so trivial.

I talk a lot about our life's chaos - chaos that we inflict upon ourselves.  Every weekday we roll out of bed and we just go.  When we get home it's dinner, bath, bed, repeat.  Weekends pass in a blur.  Last night I made Mike promise to help me snap out of it, to stop taking even the littlest moments for granted. 

On my way home last night, my phone booted up and connected to my bluetooth.  It was as if the universe knew I needed just a little light at the end of my tunnel. 

 

We survived week 1!

It's been awhile since we've had a home project going on.  For awhile there we were just living amongst a construction zone.  It seemed completely normal to have at least one area of our home completely ripped to shreds.  The last DIY related thing I tackled was an art center in the basement playroom and before that the nursery, neither of which were major, or for that matter dusty.

Almost two years have passed since we've had anything completely gutted.  And really, the only two areas left inside were the kitchen and master bath - two of the most expensive rooms in the house.  So we put those on hold to get a chance to really enjoy our house (and get some more $$$ stowed away) before we could tackle those.  But we (ok I) have gotten antsy and so begins our life in a construction zone....this time with TWO kids not just one.

We've got a lengthy list of projects for the house this summer, we're tackling the kitchen first...and I'm keeping my fingers crossed my sanity doesn't fly out the front door (which is on the list to be replaced).  So far I'm doing ok - I've only had to do the dishes in the bathroom for two days and I've vacuumed once.  I think Mike might be the first one to crack.  He's been spending a lot of time outside...our flowerbeds are starting to look in decent shape (I know - there's a first time for everything) so stay tuned as we journey through!

In short, the plans for the kitchen are all new cupboards, countertops, backsplash, appliances, flooring, removal of the bulkhead, and most notably taking the walls around the staircase down to a half wall opening up our kitchen into the living room.  The overall goal is to gain as much light as possible and I can't wait to see the river while we cook!

 Here's a quick look as we emptied out cupboards and setup a new home base for the kitchen in the dining room - note the essentials on our card table.

Progress after day one

End of the week - somehow it actually looks smaller!

Chief Chaos Coordinator

It's too bad this isn't a paid gig - because I think I'd probably be worth millions.

If you're a household with two working parents and a couple of kids, I think you can probably relate to the fact that your life always feels like chaos.  We do our best to minimize the amount of chaos we're living through at any given moment but I honestly think we'd be bored without it. 

Mike and I travel relatively often for work and managing these trips and the girls could be a full-time job.  We do our best to avoid weekend departures or arrivals and minimize the overnights.  It's ideal when I can catch a flight and be home by bedtime and I'm extremely grumpy when I have to arrive at the airport before Starbucks opens.

I leave behind daily schedules, pre-packed backpacks/daycare bags/dance bags/overnight bags, casseroles (and frozen pizza and chicken nuggets), and two sweet little girls who never give their daddy any trouble (but grow horns the second he leaves for the airport).  There are times when it feels like we have it all together.  And then there are times when we clearly don't.  Like the week I'd planned out crockpot tacos.  I'd left myself a sticky note to start the crockpot before I hit the road and of course the sticky note came unstuck and I forgot...until I was halfway to Detroit...so I called and reminded Mike to do it for the next day.  But wait - it gets better.  The tacos made it out of the fridge on day 2, they just didn't get plugged in.  And that's why we always have pizza on hand.

So, while I'm sure many of you are cursing the arrival of July and complaining about how fast summer is flying by, we're over here clinking glasses and celebrating how we managed to stay married through this month of COMPLETE chaos.  Bring it on July - we're ready for a month with minimal weekend plans, zero overnight work travel (at least as of today), and lots of family time.

• June 4th - we onboard about 80 interns in the Midwest at BDO
• June 5th - I hop on a plane and head to NOLA for 3 days.  We call in reinforcements to help with Julia who has been banished from daycare in hopes of stopping HFM.
• June 7th - My girlfriend saves us and gets Lily dolled up for dance pictures.
• June 8th - Lily's last day of kindergarten (tears) and dress rehearsal for dance recital.  We hang out at the performing arts center for 3 hours Friday evening.

• June 9th - Lily's dance recital...literally takes all day of preparation for hair and makeup and all afternoon for showtime
• June 10th - We rapid clean the house, do yard work, laundry, hit the grocery store, pick out backsplash and flooring for the kitchen, meal prep for the week, and somehow fit in a boat ride.
• June 11th - I hit the road for three days in Detroit (this is when the taco fiasco ensued).
• June 14th - Our builders stop by to discuss final details for the kitchen, discover a slight error (ok big error), and this starts a weekend long binge drinking.
• June 15th - Impromptu get together with friends we haven't seen in way too long involves everything we love on the river: grilling, tubing, water balloons, cocktails, bonfire, and s'mores

• June 16th - We head to the 'Burg for a graduation party...for our RING BEARER...which means clearly we're old.
• June 17th - Happy Father's Day!  Annual bloody mary bar at my parents including Mike's parents and brother.  Sunday Funday spent in the water before heading home and repeating all activities from June 10th.  I think it's like Groundhog's Day around here.  Oh, and Julia smashes her face on the concrete patio (I'm telling you this to preface upcoming events...this child will make make me prematurely gray).

• June 18th - I meet with kitchen designer (twice) and we figure out a plan to fix the kitchen.  Crisis averted.  Julia gets bit and smashes her face on a bookshelf at daycare.  On our watch the same evening she bites through her lip. 
• June 22nd - Wait...we have nothing planned?  Sigh.  Wait...we have no groceries?  Oh but we have stale bread.  French toast for dinner it is!  While crawling through a play tunnel, Julia bonks her face on the hardwood floor and reopens her lip.  More blood.  More tylenol and straight to bed.  
• June 24th - I hop a plane to Chicago for five days.  Julia sleeps through the night EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. while I'm gone.
• June 29th - Mike's entire family joins us for a weekend on the river less than 24 hours after I arrive home from Chicago.  I forget to use my camera the entire weekend and am kicking myself for it.  We had such a blast watching all of the kids play together and even got to enjoy fireworks.  

So as we head into the 4th of July holiday, I'm taking a deep breath and looking forward to relaxation (and using my camera).  Stay tuned for the next update...the kitchen reno is about to commence!