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!