2015 - Week 30

Here we are, week 30. And, the week didn’t start off the greatest (but, ended amazingly!!). We spent much of the week getting ready for Amelia’s birthday party this weekend….5....my sweet little best friend ended the week as a 5-year-old!!

On Monday, I ended up calling into work, and staying home. I had another LONG night with Eliza, and then just couldn’t sleep myself. My head was pounding and I was just plain exhausted when my alarm went off. There was no way I could make it into work, or sit there in front of the computer all day. So, I dropped the big girls off at daycare, Christian and and Eliza were off on their way, and I took a mental health day. I spent most of the morning relaxing, catching up on some shows, and laying with an ice pack. I started to feel better, little by little, as the day went on. I slowly started cleaning up the living room, getting everything picked up, dusted, and looking so pretty. Then, I tackled the girls’ room. I re-organized the girls’ closet to get ALL of their clothes in there (including the between sizes nobody is wearing right now). It looks INSANE, and I’ve never seen so many clothes in my life, but it cleared out some more room in the spare room, and looks good. I was able to throw out a lot of old crap, and found a few more things to sell, so yay for that as well! I got their beds made (I was not built to make a bunk bed), the room dusted and picked up, then vacuumed the upstairs. By the time I finished vacuuming, I was feeling pretty bad. My stomach was turning and I just felt terrible. I picked the girls up, grabbed them some dinner, and we settled in at home. They ate, while I rested on the couch and did nothing. Christian and Eliza arrived home, and Bella stopped over. They all hung out outside for a while…he watered the garden and did some picking up. Christian helped the big girls shower and got them all ready for bed, while I mustered up some strength to fold some laundry. I didn’t make it through everything, but amidst the illnesses and chaos, I got quite a bit of cleaning done, which made me feel successful. Eliza was in a much better mood tonight, but still fought bedtime.

Now, THAT is a lot of clothes! The girls' finished closet. Amelia is on the right, Olivia bottom middle, Eliza top middle, and all of their off-size clothes on the left. Wowza! Then, their pants, underwear, socks and jammies are in the dresser. Clothes everywhere!

On Tuesday, I was back to work. It was a busy day of catching up, and being off Friday through next Tuesday, I had a TON of stuff to get done this week. The day was over before I knew it as I tried to plow through as much work as possible. I stopped at Target for a few things after work, before picking the girls up from daycare. Bella stopped over again tonight when we got home. I have to admit, it gets to be a little too much sometimes. But, I know the girls LOVE spending time with her, and I know it has to be tough to be out of school and out of daycare for the summer, so I know she really looks forward to spending time with the girls, but after long, stressful days at work, and trying to get ready for the party/vacation this week, it gets stressful having an extra kid in the house every night. It’s funny, because Bella and the big girls just do their own thing…it’s not like I have to “watch them” or entertain them, but when they get together it’s like little girls energy times a million, and I just don’t have the appropriate level of energy to keep up with them! Today, they did play outside most of the night though, so that was helpful. And, big shocker, Eliza was in a bad mood all night. One of these nights, I think I’m going to run away! I tell the girls that, and they just tell me that I can’t, because they’ll miss me. I guess that makes me feel better. Christian worked on cleaning up the yard and garage some more, starting to get it ready for the party (I’m determined to not be going crazy the morning of, like usual!). We had a late dinner, and were all off to bed. Another day down! More importantly, another day closer to vacation!!

Just a little cuddle with my bug to end the day. Love!

Wednesday…work, work, work, work! Still plugging away, still can’t WAIT to be off and away for a few days!! I don’t care how crazy and chaotic the preparation is, it’s totally worth it! I picked the girls up after work and we made our way home. They were not very well-behaved at school, and carried on that crabbiness to the house, so they were on punishment most of the night. No playing outside, no swimming, no tablets. Bella came over, but was pretty bored with the fact that the girls couldn’t do anything really, so she made her way back home. We had dinner at a fairly normal time, for a change, and the girls were actually off to bed earlier than usual. I think they’re getting so exhausted, between daycare, the heat, playing with Bella every night, they just needed some downtime. We sold an extra firepit we had tonight, and are officially taking a break from selling stuff until after vacation now. I’ll have to regroup, take some updated pictures and gear myself back up in a week or two.

When we took Amelia for Kindergarten Registration, and she met the teachers, one of them gave the kids a little baggie of sunflower seeds to plant. With a poem, that I don't have, but in essence told them to plant the seeds and once the flowers towered over them, it was time to start school. We planted them in early May, and look at the grow!

Garden Check - growing away!

Cherry and Big Tomatoes are Growing and Turning

Cucumbers and Zucchini are Growing

Tomatillos are Starting to Come In

Pumpkin Patch is Sprouting

Our First Stab at Cantaloupe...it's growing and flowering!

Getting LOTS of Jalapenos!

Thursday was my last day at work, before 5 glorious, amazing, wonderful days off! I finished up my busy, chaotic week, getting as much done as I possibly could, before gleefully heading out of work, and to the van, with a bigger smile on my face than I’ve had in quite a while (well, since my last vacation, in early June, anyway, LOL). Tomorrow Christian and I are both off, so we’ll be finishing up getting the house ready for Amelia’s birthday party. Saturday is the big party day, Sunday is the official 5^th birthday AND we’re heading off to Duluth for 3 days. I CANNOT WAIT! We didn’t go on our Duluth trip last year, with Eliza being so little, and while my overly responsible side was telling me that I should cancel this year, and save the money…we decided to go for it. We’ve worked too hard saving up, and planning, and NEEDED this time away, together. So excited!! Now, back to today. After our busy days at work, we met up back home with the kids for the night. Eliza didn’t take much of a nap at daycare, so she was exhausted. She ended up falling asleep on the couch while I was making diner, at 6:30, for the night. Poor thing. She officially has 3 of her 4 molars all the way through, and the 4^th is getting close. I can see the light at the end of the teething tunnel!

Sleepy Baby!

Friday was my usual day off, and Day 1 of vacation! Christian was home as well, which doesn’t happen too often. I dropped the big girls off at daycare for the day, and then spent the morning with little Eliza. Christian finished cleaning up the garage and yard, making sure it was all ready. I spent most of the day doing laundry, and I did as much picking up as Eliza would allow throughout the morning, and worked on cleaning up the kitchen, we had some breakfast and lunch, and while she was napping, I got to work on the basement. I got everything in the basement back in the general area it should be in, and most of the living area cleaned up, before it was time to head out and pick the girls back up from daycare. The three of us were off to order balloons for the party, and pick up a few things at the party store before settled in back at home. Once home, Christian and his friend Lorenzo got all of the party tables and chairs set up, so all we have to do in the morning is decorate. WOOT!! Meanwhile, the girls and I had dinner, we hung out for a while, and eventually the girls were off to bed. Before bed, I tackled the rest of the basement…got everything put away, cleaned up, vacuumed, and it was all fresh and clean and ready to go! We’re SO close to being ready for the party, and this is truly a first!

Today's Harvest! YUM!

Saturday was Big Day #1. We were all up bright and early. I got to work on the final load of laundry, and started getting everything put away. With us leaving for vacation tomorrow, I had to make sure it was all done and packed away ahead of time. Whew! Next up, I took the big girls off to swim class while Christian stayed back with Eliza. They both did SO well, I couldn’t believe it. Last week was a nightmare with them, and their poor behavior, so not only did they have better attitudes, they swam amazing! Amelia can officially swim, front and back, on her own now!! She just needs to work on actual technique, and she’ll be good to go. So exciting! I got the girls showered up, did their hair, and they were officially party ready. On our way home, we stopped at the party store to pick up the balloons, and stopped at Target to pick up the cake and the last of the party food and supplies. FINALLY, we were home for a late breakfast/early lunch, and I got Eliza down for a nice long nap. While I fed the big girls and got them settled in, Christian cleaned the entry and bathrooms quick and cleaned the pool. FINALLY, our friend Lorenzo was over to help us decorate and help us fill the coolers and take care of some final tasks. Christian and I took our showers and got ready, and we were officially ready for the party, with PLENTY of time to spare. What a huge relief! Our invitees were the usual, the grandparents, cousins, our usual family friends. AND, we let her invite a few friends from school. All of them actually RSVP’d yes, so she was super excited about that. Everybody started to arrive, just after the party start time, and Amelia was so excited to see everybody and celebrate. We filled the “bunch-o-balloons” for some water balloon fun, and let me tell you – those things are AWESOME, and totally worth the money. They flew through the balloons in no time, and one by one jumped into the pool for some swimming fun. The adults chatted and caught up with each other, Christian ran to pick up some pizzas….we ate, and then proceeded with the usual party fun…presents, piñata, cake. YUM! Before we knew it, the party was coming to an end, and everybody started to leave one by one. Parties are so much work to prepare for, and then the actual party seems to go by in the blink of an eye! My dad took Chuy with him when they left…they are dog-sitting while we’re on vacation. It was SO weird not having the dog home with us all night – you really get used to them being there. We got the yard cleaned up, the tables put away, the presents and goodies inside the house, and it was like nothing ever happened! Before our nieces left, all of the girls played no the scooters and rode bikes and had some fun together. Olivia was trying out Amelia’s new scooter and took a HORRIBLE spill, flipping over the handle bars and onto her face. Thankfully, she was wearing her helmet, or it would have been really scary. Oh man, I swear it’s always something!! Finally, the last of our guests left, and we settled in for the night. Exhausted, hot, sore…and completely unprepared for vacation tomorrow, but it was such a wonderful day. Well worth it!

See, they're awesome!!

Party Time!!!

Sunday was Big Day #2, in two ways!! First, it was Amelia’s official birthday. That’s right folks, my little best friend is officially 5 years old! This little girl was not even born yet when I started this blog. That is just so crazy to me. She is still the free-spirited, independent girl that she has always been. She likes to do her own thing, and is set in her ways. She likes to instigate fights, watch Netflix, and paint her nails. She’s obsessed with wearing dresses. She hates animals, even our own lovely family pets, and minimally interacts with her baby sister. She’s SO funny, absolutely hilarious, and always keeps us on our toes. She’s sassy and talks back way too much. But she’s so sweet, with such a big heart, and she loves to cuddle. Our little middle child, I could not possibly love you more!

Today, we started the day off by sleeping in a little. A big ol’ outdoor party will sure take it all out of you! We had a big breakfast, Christian stopped to get a haircut, and took the van in to get an oil change, while I packed up all of our vacation stuff and hung out with the girls. Once he was home, we showered, got ready, loaded everything into the can, fed the cats, did a final cleaning through the house and hit the road. Well, we did stop for some gas and beverages, THEN hit the road. The big girls watched a couple movies on the way up, Eliza chatted to herself for a while, then fell asleep for a good nap most of the way.  We stopped for some lunch just before we arrive in Duluth, then FINALLY checked into the waterpark. We arrived in our room, to find that the air conditioning wasn’t working. We waited, and waited, and waited…but the girls were beyond anxious to get swimming, so I finally took them to the waterpark, while Christian stayed back with Eliza, waiting for maintenance to come get the air working. He finally met us about an hour later, and it turned out they had to just move us to a whole new room. What a pain!! They did give us some free drink and arcade coupons for the hassle though, so that was pretty cool. Eliza is still pretty leery of the water/pool, but she warmed up a bit by the end of the night. The big girls were in HEAVEN though. We went around the lazy river a million times, they went down the waterslides with Christian, we swam in the outdoor pool, hung out in the hot tub, and just had such a blast. Once waterlogged and exhausted, we settled into the hotel room. We ordered some food from the hotel restaurant, ate, and passed out one by one. The girls were complaining that their eyes were bothering them, and they were SUPER red, so I think there was just way too much chlorine in the water. Poor things…we were a little worried, but hoping a good night’s sleep would help them clear up. We were looking forward to a full, super fun day in Duluth tomorrow though! Ah, vacation, nothing better!

Ready to Load up the Van!

Ahhhhh, vacation!

Until Next Week!! XOXO