5/21/11 - Another Playdate

Today was a pretty low key day. It rained all night, and all morning. So, we pretty much just hung out indoors. Even though it was gloomy and rainy, it was also very humid and warm, so the house started getting pretty gross from it. YAY for the return of humidity!

After we ate some breakfast and hung out for a while and watched a movie with Olivia, Christian and I took to a little spring cleaning around the house. We cleaned up the entry, put away all of the winter coats and gear, I cleaned up the office a little bit...just a bunch of random tasks around
the house.

During nap time, it finally cleared up outside, and we got an invite from the Madrid's to join them for a little BBQ. So, we all quickly got ready and headed over there. The girls played outside for a while, the boys did some grilling (and some drinking)...it was a semi play date/semi celebration for Nixon's birthday. It never got super nice out, the gloomy clouds hung around all night, but it was nice enough to get some outside time in. After a little more playing, we headed home, and the girls passed right out. I was not far behind them, but I was woken by a massive storm at around 12:30. This was the worst I've experienced yet...thunder shaking the house, A LOT of hail pounding down, the rain was coming down so fast and so hard and was just banging the windows and the side of the house. I couldn't believe it, but the girls slept right through it! Eventually things calmed down to just a standard rain storm, which is supposed to last all through Sunday too...at least we don't have to water our plants! YAY

Here are some pictures from our play date today!

5/20/11 - Girls Day

It's Friday, and my Friday with the girls! I always get a little worried about how things will go...with Amelia being so attached to me, and Olivia being such a daddy's girl. Today went amazingly well though. Other than Olivia getting a little too rough with Amelia before nap time, she did really well all day. I took the girls to Perkins for breakfast. I was a little nervous for our first restaurant visit all on my own, but it went well. Olivia was a little too distracted by the other kids, but overall the girls were well behaved.

After breakfast, we just hung out around the house playing and hanging out until nap time. We danced, gave ourselves some fake tattoos, ate some food, took some naps, just the usual. Once Christian finally got home from work, we had some dinner, watched a little TV and got the girls off to bed. Then, we were finally able to spend a little time together. We were all set to watch a movie, but it did not go as successfully as the last few times. I passed out not long into the movie, oops.

Today I have a little variety of pictures. First, a pic from our breakfast outing. Also, modeling our new tattoos (Olivia has the car & mouse, Amelia has the blue flower and I have the yellow flower). Fially, some funny pictures from dinner. Fun day!

5/19/11 - Playdate for All (almost)

It was my Friday at work, so I spent the day cleaning up loose ends and getting ready for the weekend. We had our Thursday "weight loss" group meeting at work. For weigh in I was down, just slightly, but down none the less. Hopefully this will be a better week! Christian and I have decided to take a summer vacation up north to Duluth in July. I'm SO SO SO excited. It's our first family vacation, and I just can't wait to get away for a few days. I started looking at hotels today, and should be able to book something this weekend. YAY!!!

After work I ran home to do my usual chores...picking up, dishes. As I was wasting some time on facebook, the BFF posted that she and her son were on their own tonight, so I invited them over for dinner and a playdate. She and I got to catch up, Olivia had a chance to play with Andrew (so she was in heaven), and even Chuy had the chance to play with her dog for a while. Poor Christan was left out, but he seemed fine with it. LOL

After dinner and some time outside, Kari and Andrew headed home, the girls got their bath, and we were all off to bed. Hopefully the playing and fresh air will result in a long night of sleep! The girls have been doing SO WELL, sleeping all night long, in their own beds, it's been wonderful. Hopefully that will continue, because this mama is loving the world of getting sleep again!

Here are some pictures of the playdate fun!

5/18/11 - Family Night

Well, after a long, late night last night, we were all dragging today. The girls would not wake up for anything this morning. Christian has been putting Olivia on the potty before we leave the house in the morning, and she wouldn't even open her eyes when she went this morning. LOL. Christian and I were not in any better shape either. I swear, we are seriously sad people now!

Luckily, it was a pretty boring day. I continue to keep up on my "rushes" and my not so fun tasks at work, so YAY for that. Christian continues his OT, double YAY for that. After work, we just hung around the house. Christian grilled some steaks for dinner, and we just spent some quality family time together.

Olivia and I were working on her flashcards tonight. Of course, when we got to the "I for Ice Cream", she then insisted that she needed some ice cream. We don't have any, but were able to trick her into thinking that some frozen applesauce was the same thing. She even shared it with Amelia...totally caught it on camera. What a sister!

5/17/11 - Goodbye, Again

Today was another full day at work for both of us. EXHAUSTING!!!

After work, we all rushed home for dinner. Tonight Christian's mom, sister and nieces were coming over for a goodbye BBQ. His sister and nieces are moving to Mexico...they leave Thursday morning. We're very sad to them go, again, especially because moving to Mexico seems much harder than moving to California. Olivia is going to miss those girls to death, and it breaks our hearts to think about that. And, I know Christian is taking it very hard. Though he and his sister don't spend a ton of time together, she is his baby sister, and they've always been together, so it's really hard for him to watch her go. All we can do is hope that one day, they'll be back for a nice long visit! Or, maybe even some day, WAY down the road, we'll get a chance to go visit them!

His mom made some rice and beans while Christian grilled some chicken. His sister and I played in the yard with the girls. The dog tormented our nieces the entire time. Poor things. After dinner, and some chatting, it was time for our girls to go to bed, and the rest of the ladies to head home.

Here are some pictures of our last playdate with all of the girls.

5/16/11 - Just Another Monday

Another Monday has come and gone. At least they go as quickly as they come these days!It was another busy day at work for both of us. Christian continues working an hour early every day, so the extra OT should pay off nicely. Work for me continues to not slow down. Luckily, most of the new Contracts I have to write are not needed for at least a couple of weeks now, so that is giving me a chance to finally catch up on some of the not so fun tasks. The legislature is still nowhere near a budget deal, so things are looking worse for us. The "silver lining" in everything is that if the state does shut down we'll be officially laid off, so at least I can collect unemployment. Unfortunately, there goes our benefits, and who knows how long we'll be off. The waiting game is definitely starting to get to me. I just want to know what's going to happen!

I left work a little early to do some shopping and get a little alone time. I decided to try out Walmart for a change...mainly because for Amelia's birthday party this summer, we're going to have a "pool party", and their pools are pretty cheap, so I wanted to check them out. I did grab a couple pools, and managed to find a few necessities, but shopping at Walmart will NOT happen again for me. I cannot stand the way that store is laid out, it does not flow well, and it's not worth the little bit I would save over Target. I did get a few rotisserie chicken out of the deal, so that was something!

After shopping, I managed to get the house picked up, get the dishes done, and whip up some fixings to go with the chicken for dinner. Christian arrived home just in time to eat, but Olivia decided she wanted to stay at his mom's house and play with her cousins a little longer. After dinner, I got Amelia washed up, fed and in bed, while he picked up Olivia and got her to bed. Another day down!

Potty training went back to being great today. I think having her cousins around is helping...they like to take her to the bathroom and "help her", and she thinks that's fun. She's finally learning that it's OK to stop what you are doing and go to the bathroom, that the fun will still be there when she's done. Hopefully by the end of the week we'll officially be potty trained! YAY

Here is a picture of Amelia, just thought is was cute. I just want to make note..I do a lot of pictures of Amelia, and it's not because I prefer that or anything, Olivia just does not really cooperate with picture taking right now. Just wanted to go on record with that...no favoritism or anything going on!

5/15/11 - Hard Labor

Today was a long and very busy day for us. Luckily, the girls "slept in" until about 7:30, so that was a treat!

Potty training today was very frustrating. Olivia actually climbed out of her crib this morning and came to find Christian because she had to go potty, so that was an AMAZING start to the day. We were beyond happy. The rest of the day was pretty hit or miss. She had several accidents because we were outside all day. We're trying to get her to understand that it is OK to stop what you are doing and go potty, and that you can just go back to playing when you are done. I think if we can get that part to click, we'll be on the home stretch. By the end of the day I really, REALLY just wanted to throw a diaper on her and be done with it, but we didn't, and I'm glad we struggled through it.

We ate a quick breakfast, got ready and were off to The Home Depot. Today was round one of who knows how may rounds of yard work....and man, we got a lot done! We pulled all of the dandelion weeds (all thanks to our neighbor, who does nothing with theirs), we filled five pots with plants, we put out some random yard decorations, put out some track lights along the driveway and walkway, we put borders around our trees, mulched throughout the yard and planted a Hosta. Olivia was outside with us pretty much all day. Amelia fell asleep on the way home from the store, and took a VERY long nap (which was great). After she woke up, and we all ate lunch, she joined us outside. We were out there from about 11:30-6:00, and I was exhausted.

Amidst all that "fun", I got several loads of laundry washed, folded and put away. Another fun task. Olivia was quite out of control today. We tried getting her involved and having her "help" us, but she would never listen. She'd start off great, then would slowly go crazy. It's so frustrating.

Finally, at around 6:30, we ate some dinner and relaxed inside for a little while. Then, it was time for baths and bed. While giving the girls their bath, Christian looked over at me and pointed out that I was incredibly sunburnt. I looked in the mirror, and I couldn't believe it! It was warm out, but not super hot, so it never even dawned on me that I should've had some sunblock on. At least I have physical proof that I really was out there working!

So, another weekend down. A little bit of fun, a little bit of work, perfect mix! Time to start another chaotic week at work now! Here are some pictures of out outdoor craziness today!