happenings from the 5 of us

Soooooooooo

Wednesday, Chuck got home late – around 11. He had a bite to eat and we chatted a bit about something – school for Mel, maybe? I don’t remember.

A little while later, he said- I had a lunch meeting with ***. Guess what they want me to do?

Ummmmm – I thought for a minute – really had no clue – a promotion, I thought? Nah- a move – that must be it.

I said – move somewhere?

He said yes. I said – Maryland? 

No

MA?

No

CA?

No

I said – is it good or bad. 

He said – depends on how you look at it.

I said – should I sit down? He said yes.

The want him (us) to move to Hong Kong for 2-3 years so he can head up the office there!!

AHHHHHHHH

We are thinking about it. Before he says yes, we need to fly over. Check out the living situation/schools/way of life. 

It is sinking in a lot more….

It is doable. We’ll know more in the next few weeks – whether or not we really want to do it, and if they’ll send us over to spec things out.

So, we are teetering on the edge of a MASSIVE change. 

Big and exciting, but crazy at the same time.

Stay tuned!!!!  And send us some positive thoughts while we make this decision!

Carri

Today was one of those mish mosh days. You start off with a plan, but someone (or some people – Joey and Jules) take very long naps and things get thrown off.

The day started off normal – I was super tired, Joey woke up bright and chipper at 7:00 and he talked for a bit until 7:30, and then started to complain. We went downstairs – he crawled over the Care Bear couch about 1 zillion times. He had his breakfast, we watched a Baby Einstein video then Jules and Mel woke up. 

Around 10, Joey and I walked over to the train station where they have the Farmers Market set up. It was SO hot today! Even at 10. We were there not 5 minutes and there was a fender bender. A woman in an Acadia pulled the fender away from a car she was parked next to. There was a loud crash, a lot of us turned and saw her continue to pull away. She got out, looked at the damage, then looked at her car (front right bumper), hopped back into her car and pulled away!!!  We all stood there reassuring each other that surely, she was just finding a place to park and she’d be back. Well, she never came back. Someone got the license plate, I got her description and some marks on her car (college or school stickers on the back window). The police came by (two patrol cars), they took some info and off they went! 

This was the third ‘hit’ in a few weeks. I scratched the tire casing of someone’s truck, but left my info, and they didn’t have an issue. My sitter’s car was clipped by an older woman, and there was a witness. The police found her, but didn’t press charges (hit and run). She claimed she didn’t even notice, but her side mirror was ripped off -how can you drive around without that?. Three in one month! Crazy. 

So, I walked and tried to find a yard sale, but went the wrong way, and by then, it was close to 12 and it was SUPER hot. I went home, popped Joey into his crib and continued on the day.

I was going to take Mel to the pool, but Chuck found a ‘cat show’ that he thought would be fun (and it was indoors). We never made it to that, since Joey took a super long nap. Then, right before he woke up, Mel and Jules went up for their nap. Jules slept until 5:30. We thought about going to the carnival in Berkeley Heights, but when we finally got there (at 6:45), it was all dismantled! Oh, how disappointing. So, we went to the grocery store, went home and put Joey to bed and then eventually got Jules to bed at 8:00.

It is supposed to rain tomorrow, so we are going to make an effort to make it to the cat show! I’ll try to hit the gym in the morning (although, I’m still sore from the work out on Thursday with the personal trainer). I might head out to Washington to see some toys I found on craigslist -some fun things for Joey (instead of teethers).

We have a bunch of pictures up on the web gallery

http://gallery.mac.com/carrischramm#gallery

If you need the password, I’ll email it out shortly. I still have no idea how to get a subscribe button on this blog.

The most recent pictures are from Mel’s point of view….computer time, and what her and Jules were watching.

Also there are some pictures from the pool yesterday. We were out there for about 2 hours. Doesn’t Joey look so much older?

Next week is Mel’s birthday – still cannot believe she is going to be 6. We’ll have a low-key birthday party for her next Sunday, and her kid party in September (the 27th) with all her new friends (and, some old friends, too). 

I’m amazed that the summer is almost done.

Next week is her birthday.

The week after that, we’ll be going to the beach until the 10th.

Chuck, Mel and the Poolesville crew will be heading to Hershey Park on the 13th!

Then, we have two weeks until Labor Day Weekend.

Not sure what our plans are for that weekend….Julia starts school on the 3rd and Mel, on the 4th. 

Time is really flying by!

Hope you enjoy reading about our daily lives.

Well, Joey continues to ’seek and destroy’. Last week, he took out the gate door and lamp (he just knocked them over – no damage was done to him, or the lamp and gate door).

Today, I was in the kitchen and CRASH! He took down one of the end tables. He has a little bruise on his leg, but he is fine. I think he has learned that he is going to crash, a lot -he gets over his spills quickly (because he is the third?)

Mel did not get to head (no pun intended) up to Maine with the MA crew, as she has a nice case of lice – blech. I’ve never done so much laundry and vacuuming! 

I think we are getting it under control. Not a fun thing to go through.

I have some pictures up on the web gallery. Mel had her swim competition last Thursday. She did well for the group she was in. She will barely get her face in the water and she was in a group with kids who knew how to swim freestyle?!?!  She was sad she did not win a medal – she received two participant ribbons. We’ll sign her up this winter for swim lessons! I think she’ll appreciate that next summer.

It is hard to believe that July is almost over and then we just have 4 weeks and school will start up again! Wow. Still contemplating what to do with Mel. I talked to her school principal who thinks she’ll do great in 1st grade. I have a very disturbing gut feeling that it is not what we should be doing for her. I will be speaking with the Director of the local Montessori school tomorrow. They have an elementary school. After reading about the school, I’m very interested. 

Chuck is on the fence. My gut is really eating away at me! I always trust my gut – always.

We’ll see how things go.

Chuck has been crazy busy. 

(carried over from another day).

We are planning on heading to the beach for 10 days. I need to get on the stick. I want to get a photographer out there to take a family picture. I also need to get a babysitter, so I can enjoy the beach with jules and mel- he is too crazy!!!! (well, Jules is, too, but at least she listens to me (sometimes)).

Carri

So, I think I said something about how there will always be something to report on….well, I cannot think of anything to post about!

I guess that qualifies, right?

So, Mel and Chuck did their firework walk again…….

Last year, I was pg with Joey, so Jules and I hung back (well, she was only 9 month old, so she was asleep) and I watched the fireworks from the attic. I have a pretty darn good view up there!

It rained last year – they got SOAKED trying to reach the middle school (where they set them off). 

This year, they decided to try again. We watched Huey Lewis perform and a few other singers I’ve never heard of – oh – well, Taylor Hicks, but he still can’t sing, so he doesn’t really count……(were you one of the AI fans who voted for him?)

Anyway – we watched that for a bit, had our bbq dinner inside, since it was drizzling and then they set off (Mel wearing her raincoat – I was smart this year!)

I went up to the attic and snapped some pictures. Out of the 100+ pictures, only a few turned out. Which is where the title for this post comes in. In order to get a nice shot, without the camera shaking, I need a remote for the camera (and a tripod, but I think we still have Kevin’s…) So, a lot of them turned out looking like neat underwater pictures – only a few actually look like fireworks. I need to practice before we go to (shhhhhh – remember, it is a surprise) Disney and capture the fireworks there. Or, at least, practice at Disney, so I can take great shots next year….

So, here are some  shots – this one is Mel’s favorite:

This one is my favorite:

Looking back, I’m surprised how bright the show is! The school is quite a distance away, but still a great show from up in the attic! Since the baseball field is across the street, there are no trees or houses to get in the way.

So, Chuck and Mel made it just in time for the show to start. I think there are a bunch of people who like to get there early. They just walked right up! Lucky for them! I think the rain let up a bit, then it rained on their walk home.

Earlier in the day, we went to the local parade. One of the reasons why I love our town is that it is so ‘homey’. How much more ‘All American’ can you get – a cute little parade down Main Street!? The past couple years, we always arrived just as the parade started and Mel never got the candy, tossed out by the kids in the parade. This year, I promised I’d set up the chairs early. So, after Joey woke up, I walked up to town with three chairs. I was surprised how many chairs (and sofa) were already set up! I found a nice spot and laid our chairs long way, so we could fit all three of us and the double stroller with Joey and Jules.

This picture was taken after I had set out our chairs – I took Mel and Jules up to see how many chairs were already set up!

Back to why I love our town. At first Jules and Joey were scared when the fire trucks blew their sirens, but she moved over to Chuck’s lap and was ok. And Joey fell asleep! The music was great and it was fun to see some of Mel’s classmates in the parade – in the Brownies, local swim club teams, wrestling…….Jules was having a great time once she was on Chuck’s lap – smiling and waving and grooving to the bands. 

Here are a few  more shots!

A few shots:

And just so you all believe me when I say that Joey can climb up the stairs, here is a bonus shot!

He is thiiiiiiis close to walking. He cannot be trusted by himself anymore, so we had to buy him the same gate we had for Jules when she became mobile. He is happy in there. Jules likes to ‘pay’ in there, too.

He will be crawling soon! Anyone want to place bets? I’m going with July 13. He stood up today on his own, on the Care Bear couch. Just, let go of my hand and slowly stood up! Won’t be long before he is taking his first step on his own. 

Hope you enjoy all the pictures!

For those of you with the password, please visit my web gallery for more photos!!!