Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for some amazing people in our lives.

Tonight Chris came to the studio after work and removed a pole in the middle of the studio and fixed a whole wall of electrical outlets so we can put up our mirrors according to code. He did this after work! Seriously...such a good friend! Now the girls can dance freely in the studio without worrying about dancing into a pole. It has been prohibiting us from using all of our space. I am just so thankful that he took time out of his night to come and do that for us. 

My dance families have also been crazy amazing throughout this transition. We have a 2,000 sq ft + outdoor area that used to be a playground. The preschool took their playground with them and also took the pads. That left us with concrete with lots of bolts sticking out of the ground. One of our moms spent the last two nights of practice sitting out there with work goggles on and used a grinder to grind down all of the bolts so it is a safe place for children to walk around. I am so thankful that she took the time to do that.

We have had many parents donate to the studio as well. We now have a 50" flat screen, a leather ottoman, a 6' table, toys for the kids and a basket for shoes so no one comes in with street shoes. (our floors are hard to clean). 

We have two moms that are donating their time to do office work and to clean the studio every week. We also have had so many parents volunteer to be on the non-profit board for the team. I had to cut it down because there were too many. What a great problem to have.

And to make this post easy on the eyes...look at my hottie husband. I love this picture of him :) Me...not so much. We were chillin at camp while the kids were eating lunch. I just like this picture of Matt a lot.

Dear Avery,

Please stop growing. I can't even handle your cuteness! 6 months old already?! Please stop.

Thanks, Auntie Chelsea

(Zeeks with Chris & Katie last night...and Avery...followed by some Ben & Jerry's...yum!)

Future Hip Hopper!

Good cuddles :) 

..... why is the girl in the background evil glaring at us? Jealous that we're so good at trivia ; )

I feel so blessed with our friends, family and our extended dance family. 

I'm exhausted this week, but definitely have tons to be grateful for and thankful for. 

--Chelsea--

"Just Dance..." No, Literally.

It is no new news to know that I have been turning into a workaholic. 

Is it really only Tuesday? I kept thinking it was Wednesday all day and didn't realize I was wrong until around 2pm. Yikes. Matt and I did a camp today, "Shake it Up Dance Camp" for 5-8 year olds. Matt is such a good camp counselor and helped me so much. He obviously didn't dance, but he was awesome playing with the kids and helping me keep them in line. We also rocked arts and crafts time today helping the kids paint and glitter popsicle stick picture frames. I was a little worried that because he couldn't help me with the dance part that I'd be struggling, but he was awesome. It was fun having him there. He'll do camp with me every Tuesday and Wednesday until the end of the summer. It saves us over $1,000 the next two months. Yay :)

On Saturday I took my Mini Xtreme Team kids to the zoo. (In the pouring rain). After I scrubbed the studio floors for almost 5 hours. 

Sunday I did my best to not work. I went to Starbucks and got a pedicure with my sister-in-law, Megan. When I got home I had to work. I was glad to have the morning and afternoon to chill though. 

Here are some pictures from the last week...

Pirates and Princess Dance Camp (Ha, I told them to make pirate faces)

Some of my team kids at the zoo. We bought them ponchos :)

Cinderella :)

The kids did awesome chalk art at camp today. I loved the sidewalk. I don't want it to rain and get ruined... :(

Our Shake it Up campers made a hop scotch to 100 today. 

Thanks :)

We just have to get through 3 more days of camp this week and then we have a super fun weekend :)

-Chelsea-

2 Down, 9 to Go.

Summer camps = the death of me.

For real...what was I thinking. 

Oh hey, lets do 11 summer camps and then open a studio and then have practice for 3 hours, 3 nights/week. Uh....................can we say dumb?!

I had two this week. 

Hip Hop Hooray Camp for 4-6 Year Olds 9am-noon and then Pirates and Princess Dance Camp for 4-6 Year Olds 1pm-4pm. They were super fun camps with some crazy cute kids, but I am definitely glad we knocked two off the list. Now just 9 more to go. 

Next up, Shake it Up Dance Camp! You know, like the show on Disney Channel. 

This is my favorite camp. We did two last summer and are doing two this summer. Hip Hop all day long with somewhat older kids (5-8 yr olds). 

Yesterday and today were Matt's first days having Avery alone and I sat at camp today thinking how awesome it is to have a husband that is amazing with babies. Seriously. How cool is that?! He starts school again on Monday. Then summer will officially fly by. 73 more days until our First Anniversary and then just one more after we leave for our cruise. 

This weekend is going to be so much fun too! Tonight we're going to see Brave (been waiting for-ever!). Tomorrow I'm taking my Mini Team to the zoo in Seattle. Sunday my sister-in-law, Megan, is coming here and we're going to go have a girls day for my birthday :) I miss her so I'm so excited! 

I liked having so many fun things to look forward to for the weekend because it made this crazy week a lot easier. I feel like it was just Sunday night and we were playing Mexican Train with Matt's family while I chowed down on a tuna sandwich. I like that the summer will fly by because I love fall, but I really want to soak this summer up too :) 

Have a good weekend, everyone!!

-Chelsea-

Our Dance Studio:: Move-In Week #1

I can't believe it.

I wish I had more time to sit back and have a moment to appreciate what is happening right now and soak it all in. 

On Monday we got the keys and began to move into our studio!

I was so excited to have the keys and get in there. We opened the door and most of the preschool was still in there. I was disappointed, but it was fun to watch them move out. With every piece of furniture they took out...it became mine that much more. This just isn't real. Man....

My team girls had practice in there on Monday night (both teams).

They didn't have much space, but they didn't mind :)

All of that playground equipment is now gone. We have that complete outside area as well as our studio space!

I have already been spending so much time there. On Monday I didn't leave until 9:30. I would have stayed longer, but I started missing Matt :) 

Tonight I came in and the space was completely empty! The only things left are one desk (they'll be taking next week) and our cubicle walls that they are letting us keep. There is also a pole in the middle of the room that we need to have removed asap. It's just covering some useless wires right now that were used for an aquarium they had. We don't need or want it there so we'll need some help getting rid of that. One of my kids already thought it would be fun to stick their finger in a hole in the pole today. AH! Thank God she didn't get shocked but I freaked out. (We are insured...but still!)

This week was the beginning of a big adventure. I cannot wait to be done with this summer so I can become crazy super organized. Everything will feel better when all of our camps are over. I had two camps this week. They are done after tomorrow, then I only have 9 weeks of dance camps left. Countdown to our Disney Cruise :) 

This weekend Matt and I will be scrubbing the floors and bringing all of our things (a desk, computer and some trophies) over to the studio and get organized. I set up our cable/internet/phone and that will be put in this coming week. I have the company who will be doing our mirrors and those will be in the studio the first or second week of July. We are having 9 4x8 ft mirrors put in :) 36 feet of wall will be covered in mirrors!!! I can't wait to go there and dance all the time!

I'm thankful for some incredible dance families who have been more than helpful and ready to jump in when I need help :) One of my moms came in on Tuesday with a mop, a trash can and garbage bags...studio warming present :) Hehe. I was actually CRAZY excited to buy hand soap and toilet paper for the studio yesterday lol. Today I told the girls, "Okay, you decide where you want the toilet paper so you can help make sure theres always some in our bathrooms" They are loving helping too! Tonight I thought I was being funny by threatening to make them scrub the floors and they all said, "YEAH!! Can we!!!???!!!" Ha...it was a tempting offer to pass up ; ) 

I'll have more pictures up soon!

-Chelsea-

America's Favorite!

Saturday was so much fun!

We went to a Giant's vs. Mariner's game with Matt's parents, siblings and niece. Clare was such a cutie pants the whole time and she was cracking me up the whole game. I should have wrote about this while it was still fresh in my mind because it was really so much fun! I even wore Giant's colors too :) 

Someone's excited! :)

Sisters :)

If you try really hard you can tell this is me, Matt & Mel ; )

Bah haha! Every time I see this I start laughing again!

Wait, I'm confused...are we in Seattle or San Francisco? 

Clare Bear :)

Ha. I love this picture.

Clare learned how to crack the peanuts and had them all over me. She almost ate the whole bag! Anytime Matt would try to take one she would get so mad lol.

Good job, Clare.

Cuddle time with Nana :)

Miller!! True Wisconsin girl ; )

Beautiful Seattle skyline. 

YUm!! Garlic fries. We each got our own...I shared mine...

...Matt downed his. I'm not sure if he was even breathing while he was eating lol. We smelled great when we got home.......

More snacks with Papa. Clare ate more food than any of us.

Chris & Katie were at the game too so we went down to say hi. Avery saw us and got so excited and was kicking her legs and smiling like crazy. :)

It was a super fun day :) I love going to baseball games. I'd love to get season tickets one day :)

I would have posted this earlier but we started moving into the studio yesterday and camps start tomorrow. ... yikes!

-Chelsea-

It's a Miracle. (Auntie Lori Update)

I just wanted to write an update to this post about my friends mom, "Auntie" Lori, who was in a motorcycle accident with her husband a few weeks ago and was in a coma. I woke up this morning with her on my mind. I think about them a lot. I definitely am a believer of miracles after this. I admit, I have a hard time fully believing in God sometimes. Okay, a lot of times. It makes me sad. I wish I could be the 10 year old Chelsea on this one. The one who fully believed her mom and dad 100% that when she dies there will be a green swing set for her in Heaven and an orange one for Cody. Now as an adult I obviously think way deeper about it. I have my moments where I believe, but a lot of me still questions everything too much.

When this happened to Lori, I prayed. 

I prayed that she would wake up from this. That she could see Sam walk down the aisle with Mark.

(Her fiance proposed in the hospital room and Lori's heart rate went up because she was excited).

Things started happening with her that were just glimpses of what was to come.

My dad went to visit and sat there talking to her. The nurses had to come in and ask him to leave so she could rest because her heart rate was going up too much. She could hear him. She could hear everyone. 

Sam's 4 year old daughter, Reagan, was talking to her (her Grandma) and she opened one eye...

The next day, her son, Sean (Sam's oldest brother), was in the room with her reading to her and...she opened two eyes!

The next day...she was sitting up and able to respond to commands such as "hold out your index finger", "wiggle your toes", etc. She would move her eyes to see you my mom said. She was waking up from her coma!! The most touching part that made me cry so so much was that my mom said how happy my "Uncle" Jim was because she could pucker her lips to kiss him. This is really a miracle!

That was 2 weeks ago.

My dad went there yesterday and stayed for almost 3 hours.

She can nod at things you say and remembers everything! My dad said "She's almost Lori again".

The amazing part is that the doctors said there is no chance she will ever make it out of the hospital...and...she is going to get to home in a couple months!

It really is a miracle. And believing got a whole lot easier.

Another small example.

Things were tight last week. A lot of tuition payments that I've been waiting for just weren't coming in. I prayed again all week for things to please start feeling better; less stressful.

Yesterday I went to the po box and half of what I was waiting for was sitting there waiting for me to take to the bank *sigh*. I thanked God. 

A similar, but way more amazing, story happened to my Dad yesterday with his mom. That is his story to tell, but it was another sign from God saying, "Chelsea...hello! I really am up here!"

I got an email from our church asking for renewal of our membership because we haven't gone in a long time. I held off on answering because I didn't know what to do. I think I know now...

-Chelsea- 

Apartment Make Over :) (Pinterest Friday) Long Post..

It is that time of year again.

The time of year when Matt and I start looking at apartments because we're not happy with our current one. Last year at this time, we went out looking at apartments and decided, you know what...we like our current one more, so...we stayed :) 

We have now lived here for 1 year and 4 months. This is our record for staying in a home. 

We chose this apartment for one reason. I said, I don't want to move anymore...the next time we move, it is to an apartment where I can see us starting our family. 

So this brought us here, to our 2 bedroom/2 bathroom + den/nook 1,200 sq ft apartment that for the most part I am in love with.

That is until.....Mr. I Want Everything I Own To Be The Coolest Ever (Matt) started bursting my apartment bubble ; )

Things I hear:

"I'm so sick of our cupboards not closing without bumping each other, we should move."

(maintenance can fix this if I just ask them)

"If our neighbor throws his cigarettes down from his balcony one more time..."

(I agree, this is annoying)

...oh I can't think of any more, but Matt really wants to move. He finds things wrong with it.

I agree, the neighbor situation right now is not ideal. We live in suburbia. It's like Wisteria Lane from the 90's in our community inside our community. But...because we live in the apartments, there are still some crazy weirdos. I'm pretty sure the guy who lives next to us and above us is a drug dealer. I watch from the blinds in our office. Matt does it too. Ha. There are different men coming to the door all the time. They look around all suspicious, go in, and then come out quickly always looking to see if anyone is watching them. Duh! He's got to be dealing drugs. Awesome! I'm on a mission to catch him. I'm also an idiot and Matt keeps telling me I'm going to get killed because sometimes when we're walking in from our car to the apartment and someone is waiting to go in (usually teenager/college boys) I always yell a quick "I know what you're doing!"before running in the house. Ha. Am I 5? Maybe. But I want them to stop. Or I will give the evil glares. 

Anyyywwaayyyssss....Matt and I have been saying "When this lease is up, we're OUT." 

But...really, when I think of being anywhere else I get sad. 

I know I'm weird when it comes to babies, but sometimes when Matt and I are working in the "office" I already daydream of when there is no longer desks in there but a crib and glider and beautiful dressers and the most perfect little baby sleeping so peacefully. We got this apartment because of that.

We got it because the bedrooms are huge. Our closet is huge. And, we have an area off of our kitchen separate from our kitchen, living room and dining room that we call our "nook". It's about a 9x10 space that we currently use for nothing. BUT..that space will eventually be our office/playroom. 

Sorry I'm rambling.

Okay...getting to the point.

After talking with Lance & Mel about all of this. I am putting my foot down and we are staying here. At least one more lease. 

No other apartment is going to give us this much space. We also have a "yard". 

Done & Done.  :)

BUT...there are some changes that need to be made.

I am now on a mission to make this home.

We are going to suck it up and be patient and I am going to get over the fact that I want our future baby to be born in our future house. We can save so so much living here, enough for a huge down payment which in the long run will get us a huge house in the Highlands and I love the sound of that :) 

So, here are some things I've been pinning to do our Apartment Make Over.

One of the issues we have here is that there is not enough storage space in the kitchen. We have a big kitchen, but the layout is weird and doesn't offer enough space for casserole dishes or baking dishes. I want to put something like this (or this actual one) in the nook as extra storage. This will solve one of my stresses here.

Two of our chairs broke and are now in the dumpster. Our dining room is on cushy carpet and it makes our chairs wobbly. They have been in the garbage for a good 6 months now and we haven't gotten new ones yet. I have no idea why. Maybe because we're lame and eat dinner in front of the tv...I told Matt this will be changing because dinner is when we should be spending quality time together. We have such great space to eat together and we don't use it. I hate making dinner and working hard and then just sitting on the couch with it in my lap. I want to enjoy it more and enjoy good conversation with Matt. So, anyways...we need new chairs. I think it would be fun to cover these seats with some fun bright fabric.

 One thing we are awful at is keeping our apartment clean. Matt has ADD and I have undiagnosed ADD (for sure, no doubt!) so we get sidetracked really easily. We read that the divorce rate for couples with one having ADD is 50%. Couples with 2 having ADD is well, you're screwed lol. We are definitely going to beat those odds :) I will admit that it's tough though.  They say the reasons are because you get frustrated about things not getting done. Ex: "Chelsea, did you take dinner out to unthaw?..." "uuhhhhhh.......". Ex: "Matt, you forgot to let Cogsy out and now he pooped." "uhhhhhhh....." Ha. No joke. That's everyday here. Not Cogsy pooping lol, but both of us forgetting important things at least 3 x's a day. We are both horrible at setting our tasks and goals for the day and actually sitting down to do those things. It's only going to be harder to stay on top of chores when we have a baby. I know what you're thinking...YOU are like that and you own a business? You see, I have extreme motivation for things I LIKE doing. That is like the number one trait of ADD...you get stuck on stuff that you love and then can't concentrate on anything else. Me= Dance, babies & houses. Matt = Disney, sports, checking the news.....Anyways. 

I've been making a crazy conscious effort to load the dishwasher every night. Unload it every morning and to put my dishes into the dishwasher when I'm done with them. I also have been chasing Matt around throwing away all his water bottles and picking up his socks that he leaves in little balls everywhere lol. I'm really proud of myself for doing this. We get so annoyed when our apartment smells in any way. DUH...do the damn dishes and it won't. We always say,"Ugh, it smells here. I hate this apartment!" HA. Vacuum so it doesn't smell like dog & do the dishes. Easy. Done. (Also..I'm hiring a maid next month lol...shhhh) ; ) I need one for the time consuming things that I just literally don't have time for (well, I guess I could have done them instead of blogging...but, my time for myself is important so that I never hate my job for taking over my life.) Wow...So...staying on top of cleaning. Important. Check!

Our desks are going over to the studio. This will be perfect in the nook.

 The nook always feels cold and blah. I hate going in there. The tile floor is cold. A good rug will be the perfect thing to make that a cozy space for studying (Matt) and reading (me) :)

 We. Love. Maps. I say we because Matt has gotten me really into loving them. We want a huge world map like this. Like a classroom one (this is a classroom one) on our wall. I am going to transfer our gallery wall to the one across. I'm also painting our wall back to the original taupe color because I hate the teal wall. I feel like I'm in a playroom or a kids room. I'm going to do that before summer is over. This map will add good color :)

Last and the one I'm most excited for...a pot rack! Again, great space saver and I love the way this one looks with the book shelf on top for all of my cookbooks that are currently sitting on the kitchen counter taking up prime cooking space. 

HOLY LONG POST.

Damnit...see what happens. 

I told myself. Okay, you can take a break from work for 15 minutes to blog.

I've been writing for 40. I gotta go!! :) 

Have a good day everyone.

And since it's no secret anymore lol, we are going to the Giants game tomorrow and I'm so excited!!! I LOVE baseball games!! Yay :) No seriously...I do. It's like the only sport I get. ; )

-Chelsea-

Meal Swap! (Freezer Meal Recipe)

Last night we had our meal swap. 

I love this so much and am so happy that one of my dance moms, Carly, let me join. 

There were 7 of us last night. We all make a recipe and make enough for everyone's families. 

Yesterday I made Tomato-Basil Soup with Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.

Everyone in the group except us have kids so I thought this would be fun :) 

I just ate the soup for lunch and it was super yummy. I'm definitely going to make this again. 

Yesterday I was a teary mess in the kitchen cutting onions (9) lol. 

I started making the soup at 2:30 and before I knew it, it was 5:30 when I finished. Yikes. 

Here is the recipe for you all! I got it from my freezer meal book, "Fix, Freeze, Feast". That recipe calls for zest of an orange but I felt it was tangy enough after adding the lime. You need a big stock pot for this recipe. I only have a regular pot and was unable to put all the broth in which made smaller portions :( I felt bad so I just gave everyone a can of broth to add when they reheat it lol. Overall this recipe was super easy to make, it just took me so long because I tripled the recipe so I had to make it twice because of our tiny pot.

Tomato-Basil Soup

Makes 3 entrees with 4 servings each (2 to freeze, one to eat)

1/2 C. Butter (1 stick)

3 Medium Onions (chopped)

3 Cloves Garlic (minced)

3 Lbs. Roma Tomatoes (chopped)

1 T. Lime Juice

Pinch of Sugar

8 C. Chicken Broth

3/4 C. Fresh Basil Leaves (chopped)

3 Gallon Freezer Bags

Melt butter in stock pot. Add onions and stir until soft (about 15 min.). Add garlic and cook 2 minutes. Now you can add the broth, tomatoes and lime juice. Cook and stir until boiling. Once boiling, add basil leaves and sugar, stir, reduce heat, cover and simmer. Let cool slightly. Then put everything into a food processor until smooth like soup. Transfer to labeled bags, let air out, seal and freeze. 

To eat: thaw and re-heat. Easy :)

I'm so excited about the meal we're having for dinner tonight. Thai Peanut Chicken and Noodles :) Matt's just having the chicken part because of his diet. So he says..we'll see :) Mmmmm!!

Studio Progress: Day 1 (The Signs)

I got an email from my Mother-in-Law this morning saying that on her way to work she saw that they were taking the preschool signs down. I was excited but panicked all at the same time. I asked them not to do it until Monday because the preschool is still there! I immediately called the company and he immediately knew why I was calling and before I said anything said, "I talked to the preschool and they told us to go ahead today." :) Yay! One week early. One more week of sign advertising. We now have 3 signs at our studio. Two on the building and one out by the road :) They're perfect!

When I pulled up I almost cried. Then I took all these pictures. Then, because I knew Matt was at home taking a test and I had to show someone/tell someone, I ran (physically) over to my in-laws while on the phone with my Dad. When I got there Lance said he already saw it : ) Matt didn't tell me lol. So...I just ran back and stared some more. A man asked me, "Are you a real estate agent or something?" "Nope...I am the owner." :) So awesome!!! 

Our new logo that I purchased on Etsy! :) I love Etsy :)

Oh happy day!! 

Now I can't wait to have some dancers and my Mac in there :) Just 6 more days!!!

-Chelsea-

Family.

When you think of family, what comes to mind?

Your parents and siblings? Your husband and children? Close friends?

I am really thankful for my family. Thankful that my "family" is now huge. It has doubled. More than doubled. I have always had a large immediate family, but now that number isn't 7 anymore...it's 17! 

I have the best in-law family out there. Sorry bloggy friend readers if you think yours is the best....your wrong! ; )

This weekend was great.

We spent Saturday morning with our friend family...Chris, Katie & Avery. We hung out at our local farmers market, ran some errands and then hung out at their house making donuts and playing Wii Dodgeball. Matt & Chris even whipped out the old school Nintendo for a while :) 

Saturday evening we went over and hung out with Matt's Dad & Mel while Matt's Mom was at a Mariners Game :) We just talked and watched TV. Even though that's all we were doing, I had a blast with them.

Sunday, we went over for breakfast like we do every Sunday and ended up staying until after 9pm :) 

We got home and realized the tv had barely been on the whole day. We were all just talking. Matt and I went with Mel to see her try on her wedding dress too! (beautiful). 

I loved this weekend and would have 100 more like it all in a row if I could. 

I miss my family a ton, but am so glad that I have the rest of my family close. I'm glad our children will get to have two sets of grandparents that they'll be close with. Maybe not physically, but they will both love them to pieces near or far :) I'm really thankful for that. 

I know you are reading this, Dad L. and Mel :) Thanks for such a fun weekend!!  

Now I'm off to Panera to do a final round interview with a new teacher we're hiring :)

 I love me some Panera! 

-Chelsea-

PS. I do not have any photos from this fun weekend because we really did just talk and have some awesome deep conversations, but I still wanted to remember it. 

Moon Rocks & Disneyland

We had a spontaneous day.

While we were getting ready for Katie to bring Avery over this morning, Matt got an email from his brother Chris saying he was taking Clare to the Museum of Flight, Rainforest Cafe & the Disney Store today and asked if we would like to join.

I was so excited. I have never been to the Museum of Flight and I missed Clare :) 

Avery was so good all day and only cried a bit before she fell asleep at Rainforest Cafe.

(over stimulation lol)

Clare says the cutest things and I love, love, love being her Auntie :) Now we need to plan a trip to go see them so we can see Caitlin & Quenton too. I also miss Megan!

Today when we were leaving Clare said, "I love you SO much! I promise you I will come by your house SOON!" She's getting to be such a big girl. I loved it when she said that. Made my day :) I always give her squeeze hugs and tell her I love her but never ask her to say it back. So now that she says it to me on her own it's awesome :) I am so excited for Caitlin & Quenton to start talking too. I want to visit them soon. I love having nieces and a nephew. It's so much fun spending time with them. 

Ha!! I told Matt he should make this his profile picture. I just can't stop laughing looking at it. 

Clare told us all about her trip to Disneyland and says her favorite part is "the stretching room" (Haunted Mansion). Hehe, I can't wait until we have a house full of Disney kids one day too. She loved looking at all the fish :)

We had a really fun day with Chris & Clare. 

Matt just told me we're going on another hike this weekend. I'm looking forward to that! 

Side Note: I'm super proud of Matt. He's lost 17 lbs and has been working really hard. He says he's not happy yet because he hasn't noticed any difference. I can tell and I'm proud of him :) 

We have weird yucky weather right now. I wish it would feel like summer. Summer camp starts in 12 days and it doesn't feel like it's time for that at all yet! I'm having a hard time mentally preparing for this summer. 

Have a good weekend everyone!!

-Chelsea-