It's a blog summer!

So the summer has brought many fun experiences but has taken me away from the blog...and much needed organizing!!! But as I get back in the saddle I thought I would put together a little pictural of what we have been up to this summer!                                            

 Sprinkler fun!

 She didn't stop for a second!

 Not one second!

 And, he just wanted to play in the mud...such a typical boy!

 Water for the mud!

 Finally warm enough for the pool.

 Even the big brother loves the little kid pool.

 We saw an end to preschool for our little guy..which means kindergarten in the Fall!

That's him on the right with the coonskin hat...he was William Clark for the end of the year concert.

 We have also gotten some time to spend with family....cousin Carter James

My little God son swinging! 

Jake was excited to see a real plane up close...this is the plane that miraculously landed on the Hudson River in New York City. It was passing through our town on its way to North Carolina. Very impressive site to see and I got to share it with my four year old! 

 A day at Dutch Wonderland with the Holland clan...these two are twin cousins...born on the same day only hours apart. Can't believe they will be five soon. Time really flies!

 We had to spend some time at the water park.

 Ah, and the trip I had been looking forward to  for months has come and gone, but not without some amazing images to look back on!

"Oh Nantucket, if I were to get on thy soil again, I do think I'ld stay."

 Brant Point Lighthouse

 And it was everywhere! For someone who is deathly afraid of getting it again I was very careful everywhere we went. Still didn't take away from any of the absolute beauty of the island.

 Our mode of transportation.

 The sites on the streets have really inspired me. Loved the bold colors.

 Blue doors...need I say more? Coming soon to the Holland household. I just need to figure out how to paint a metal door.

 An amazing surprise to me was just how much I loved my Christmas present from my parents. As many who have known me since I was 10 know...I was obsessed with New Kids on the Block. Finally after twenty, yes I said twenty, years I got to see them in concert...with Back Street Boys. We had great seats with amazing views of the guys. I felt like that 10 year old who so wanted to see her favorite band just once...thanks Mom!

So most of my summer so far has been working in the yard with the kids. We have planted many gardens and had so many fun times together. But that is all for another post!

MUDRUN!!!! Take two

Okay so I have one more to add before I say goodnight!!! Last summer a friend possed a challenge to me. A 10k MudRun...hadn't ever heard of one and wasn't a runner to begin with. Never really had been...even though I have been an athlete my entire life running never was something that I was good at. But a challenge is a challenge and I hardly ever shake off a challenge....so I took it. Much  to the shugrin of my team mates, all runners. I may have held them back with my lack of running prowis but I so loved the obsticales and of course the MUD...once Messy-Jessi always Messy-Jessi.

So now not even a year later I am doing it again...with a number of my good friends we will all wake early tomorrow morning and get ready to head to Washington's Crossing, NJ for a 5k MUDRUN (runamuck) . I am beyond excited that this time we have all coupled off and my partner is my best friend. My husband, Jeff, will be running with me. He can so out run me, which of course isn't saying much, but whenever we have been able to get out and exercise together he is the most encouraging partner. I am can't wait to complete the course tomorrow. Click here for more info on what the Runamuck is all about.

Here are a few pics from my first mudrun appropriately named The Beast of the East!

 The Mudi Chic girls

 Notice the water level mark on my shirt!

 The Muddy Shot!

 The last leg of our race...I have to say I was hurting by now with an annoying strain in my calf but I wasn't going to stop now!

The after shot...we are all still standing!

Spring Cleaning and then some!!!

So the Spring has brought it's challenges in getting organized and spending time with the family and our many outside excursions. My blogging time has been the major area that has suffered. Honestly, after hanging with the kids all day and trying to stay on top of cleaning and organizing I just haven't had time at the end of  my nights to sit on the computer or post pictures.
Our spring has consisted of lots and lots of gardening!!!! We have gotten rid of 6 large hedges from the front our porch, replanted the beds where the hedges had been, began construction on a vegetable garden with some sprouts we started in plastic baseball card holders, moved plants in our backyard garden to make room for the veggie garden, and took a wonderful day trip to Longwood Gardens (highly recommended).
I have spent some time inside...with all this rain I have really had no choice! I have had the chance to really work on keeping my kitchen decluttered so that I can have some clear counters!!! I have also been working on the room that looked like it exploded....I will be posting more pictures soon but honestly it has been a long day of cleaning and keeping the munchkins entertained (more like they were entertaining me!!!) to keep going right now!

challenge...what challenge???

Okay so little over a week ago I challenged myself to organize two rooms in my house, which is basically my whole second floor. As I am making small amounts of progress, I have been distracted by the beautiful weather we have had and because of the beautiful weather I have been doing yard work and taking day trips to Longwood Gardens!

Now looking forward to an Easter celebration with my family I am afraid to say that I might miss my mark. I am not saying that I am going to stop trying though. I will be spending my week cleaning, folding, dyeing Easter eggs, making large piles of trash, filling plastic Easter eggs and baskets, and decorating.

I will post pictures of my progress soon.

Organizer??? Not quit yet!

So I was featured on my friend's blog. Jill has a blog that gives advice on everyday organizing and cleaning. I love using her tid-bits. One of her great points was to use five minutes here and there to get some small messes dealt with.


I tend to have problem areas in my house that drive me crazy! But no matter how much I try to keep them clear it just doesn't happen. So taking her advice I started with a few minutes I had while I was making dinner and my husband was entertaining the kids outside. I cleared off a few areas  and let me tell you I felt so much better about the rest of the evening. I also had a lot more space to get dinner set out and cleaned up afterwards.


Usually, I don't have more then five or ten minutes to get much done. This has always kept me from really dealing with the small areas that get cluttered with extra junk, piled on papers, and kid stuff! Now I really try to utilize that few minutes when my kids are happy playing and go for it!


So when my tiny kitchen counter looks like this...

I take a few minutes and sort it out...

Get rid of the trash or old or expired and wipe the counter clean...

I even set out a plant to spruce it up a bit!

Now I know there are still things there and I haven't completely cleared the counter. First I have very little drawer space and secondly there are lots of things that need to stay out of little hands. But it is much more organized and clean!


I am really trying to continue to take Jill's advice and clean as I can...even if it is just a small 2ft by 2ft area. If you want to benefit from her help click here.

The Sweet Life!

We love smoothies...and it took a bit of tweeking but I have perfected ones that my kids love. And it couldn't be a simplier recipe!
All you need is....

One blender
Yogurt...we love Stonyfield's French Vanilla and we get the big container!
Juice...we use orange or apple
Frozen fruit...my kids are strawberry freaks!!! but you can use any you like. Using frozen gives you the smoothie consistancy...you can use fresh but then you need to add ice. Sometimes I use both fresh and frozen. Depends on the time of year and what produce is available.
Put equal parts yogurt and juice and as much fruit and frozen stuff as you want into the blender and mix!

While I mix a special treat for the kids...they create artwork for me!!!
Then it is time to enjoy!!!!!

A great refreshing and healthy snack that won't fill them up before dinner...gotta love that!!!

2 WEEK CHALLENGE

With moving my daughters room from the nursery to our old bedroom created a ton of work on my part. By doing this we lost a "storage room"...which really wasn't a storage room but that is what we were using it for. This room had to once again become the master bedroom it was before we had kids and the clutter had to go.

Due to my rush to move Lizzy into a "big girl" room I didn't get any before pictures. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the room in question was a total embarassment! Nothing!

But once we did switch rooms I got a few pictures.

This is the view when you get to the top of our stairs...not pretty! This is the hallway that leads to our bedroom. Really not the relaxing sanctuary I would like it to be. But at the time we were down a dresser and lost a ton of closet space by moving rooms.

This is the front of our bedroom...crammed with stuff waiting to be sorted into keep, give away and yard sale! The yard sale will clear out so much. And yes that is All My Children on the tv. The kids were napping!

And the other side of our bedroom...again not relaxing. But we were able to give the futon to a happy home (my sister in law!!!).

This room was a labor of love from both my parents and my in laws and both my husband and I. We worked very hard to create this room for my son and it was a great space for what we used it for. Now it will become my craft area. But it will remain such a loved area. But for now it is storage.

Much of what  you see is yard sale stuff...most is going to be taken to some kind of local thrift store if it doesn't sell. Some is craft things waiting to be used. But all is apart of my two week challenge.

One of my greatest weaknesses is procrastination. My college roommates can attest to me starting many 10 page English papers the night before they were due. So I am going to see if I can use this to keep me going. I am giving myself two weeks to prepare a yardsale and clear out and organize this room and my bedroom areas. I want it usable at least for crafts so that I can have a sewing machine out and my scrapbooking stuff easily accessible.

Over the next two weeks I will post pictures of the process of getting to the yard sale and getting all of our dressers in place.

Pray for me and pass on any tips that can help me out in getting this all done!!!!