6/28/10 - Puppy Update

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Monday, Monday. Well, it’s over! The household is doing well over all, just busy, busy, busy!!

First of all, I don’t think I mentioned it, but we did finally name puppy over the weekend. Puppy is Chuy, Chuy the Chihuahua :) He loves it. Olivia is absolutely in love with puppy now. She can’t get enough of him. She loves to carry him around (he actually accommodates it…with a REALLY annoyed look on his face), she likes to lay down so he can jump all over her and lick her (ick) and she gets REALLY upset when we put him downstairs or outside and she can’t get to him…REALLY upset! It’s pretty entertaining. The cats are starting to adjust…Chloe doesn’t instantly hide anymore, but still won’t go near him. Frank goes near him…just so he can bat at him and hiss at him and show him who’s “boss”. Rico is getting more and more interested. He’ll check him out, but will pretty much just leave him alone now rather than try to pick a fight. So, it’s becoming more peaceful and Chuy is fitting right in!

However, we have bathroom issues. And Christian and I are just about at the end of our rope with that! I spent my lunch at work skimming through Craigslist for a kennel. It took forever, but I found the perfect one! We wanted something way oversized so that he was comfortable in there for long periods of time; something completely “open” so he had plenty to look at while he’s in there. I found the perfect one, and it was only $15.00!!! Definite score. Christian picked it up after work, washed it out when he got home and we set up Chuy’s bed, blanket and toys in there right away. He ran right in and made himself comfortable, so I think this is going to work out very well! Thank goodness, I couldn’t take much more!!

6/27/10 - Sunday, Already?

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It’s true, it’s Sunday…already. It’s hard to believe how fast it comes. Silver lining…ahead of me is a 4-day work week, 4-day weekend, then another 4-day work week, so, that’s not SO bad!

Today was another pretty busy day. I was feeling much better today. Still had sporadic back pain all day, and minimal pressure, so maybe not being so hot and so busy calmed things down. I’m anxious for my appointment Tuesday to see if anything really is going on.

After getting to sleep in (well, I don’t really sleep all that well these days, but I didn’t have to get out of bed, so to me that counts as sleeping in), I was up cleaning and picking up the house and Christian cut the grass. Then, it was time to get ready for the day. My mom dropped Olivia off around 11:30 and I was SO excited to see her! She ran up the stairs and gave me a huge hug when she got home, it was so wonderful. Even though it was nice to “sleep in”, at was very awkward not having her home. Shortly after my mom left, the Madrid’s showed up for the afternoon. Kelly and I were off to Let’s Dish…I’m so excited to have a freezer full of yummy ready-to-cook meals for after baby comes! Once we got home, the girls took their naps and we watched the Mexico World Cup game. Unfortunately, they lost…poor Christian. After nap time, the Madrid’s headed out, and I started on laundry. Only got a few loads done of course, so looks like laundry will be a weeklong event again this time. Boo.

Now, the weekend is over, and it’s back to reality. Maternity leave looks better and better every day!

6/26/10 - Day O' Fun

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Today was a crazy, hectic, busy day….but tons of fun! We started out the morning packing bags, getting ready for a long day away from the house. Packing up for us, Olivia AND the dog takes a long time! Christian headed outside to do some post-storm clean up. Everything survived pretty well, so thank goodness for that! We did end up getting another round of storms tonight. We weren’t home for them, and we heard they were pretty bad, tornado warnings and all, but the yard held up much better this go’round.

Then, it was time to get ready! We all showered, loaded up the truck and were on our way. First stop, Game Day! Game Day is one of the best days of the year for us. It’s basically a “family reunion” of types, on my dad’s side. We get together every year, play games – specifically a croquet tournament, eat food, chat and just catch up. It’s a blast…but, this year was SO hot and SO humid, I was pretty miserable. I ended up winning the first game I was in, so that sent me straight to the championship round. It was a blessing that I didn’t have to play all day like some of the family. Christian ended up getting himself into the loser’s round! Fortunately, he didn’t get himself out first in that round, so we escaped the trophy again this year. Unfortunately, we had to leave before the championship round began. So, my dad stepped up and played for me. Much to the dismay of some of the family, he ended up pulling off a win for me, so YAY, I get some money! Go dad!!

We packed everything back up and dropped Olivia off at my mom’s…where she is spending the WHOLE night. It’s going to be VERY strange spending the night at home, with her not being there. I’m anxious to see how it goes! After we got her settled in there, we dropped the dog off at home, freshened up and were out for the night. Tonight we celebrated our friend Michelle’s 30th birthday!! We met up with the group at a comedy club, took in a show, headed back to Michelle’s for a couple drinks (well, no drinks for me…), then stopped at the bar for a little while.

We wanted to stay out longer…but I’d actually been having some preterm labor pains most of the day, and just couldn’t take it any longer. I had really dull, constant lower back pain going on, some pressure and abdominal cramping…3 of the main preterm labor symptoms. I decided to just head home, try to sleep it off and see how I feel in the morning. So, we’ll see how things are looking tomorrow! While I’d be happy to go a little early, this is NOT a good time of year to have a baby…lots of birthday’s, Game Day, the 4th of July….no thanks! Let’s give it 2 more weeks please!

6/25/10 - And The Thunder Rolls...

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Today was the most exhausting day I’ve had in a LONG time!! And, it was pretty much all for nothing…

Work was crazy. I finally plowed through most of my new Contracts, but unfortunately my supervisor was so busy she didn’t get time to review my work, so I couldn’t even get them going. So, all for nothing…

I took some vacation time to leave a little early and get ready for tonight. Tonight our Relay team is participating in the South St. Paul parade to help promote the event. So, I left work, stopped to get gas, stopped at Target to grab a couple of things then stopped home. I let the dog out and fed him, changed my clothes, packed up the cooler and the wagon, and was finally on my way. Let me tell you, that wagon was going to be the death of me…it was NOT meant to be jammed into the back of a sedan with a large car seat already taking up lots of space! I quickly picked up Olivia, and then was off to meet Kari for a quick dinner. By this time, the sky was getting VERY dark and you could hear thunder and see lightening off in the distance. We stayed optimistic though. We met up with the rest of the team at Amy’s, packed everything into the cars for the parade, and were on our way. I’m not exaggerating here…we got about a block down the road and a complete downpour began, hail and all. It was out of control. A few blocks later, we passed a parade employee in a golf cart who confirmed…the parade was canceled!! So, we all met up back at Amy’s, waited out the storm and family by family packed it up and headed home. So, all for nothing…

Meanwhile, Christian had met up with our friends for Dan’s 30th birthday dinner. He was going to be our representative since I had the parade, but because of the cancellation (and since the storms had died down quite a bit), Olivia and I went to meet up with them for a little while. That was a nice surprise, actually getting out and hanging out for a bit. After a quick bite, Olivia was about ready to pass out, so she and I headed home, and she was knocked out for the night. After I put her down, I went to let the dog out and noticed that the yard, patio and deck were in complete shambles. Chairs everywhere, lawn toys everywhere…just a mess. We’ll have to see what it really looks like in the morning!

So, it was a very eventful day, but again, like I said, mostly all for nothing! Here are some pictures from the “parade”…which are really Kari and I waiting out the storm and Olivia and Caleb watching intently out the window.

6/24/10 - Early To Rise, Early To Bed

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It’s Thursday, that’s just about it. Nothing exciting to report on. I made it through another crazy day at work. Stopped at Target on my way home for some groceries and necessities, and FINALLY go home around 6:30. I quickly put everything away and whipped up some dinner. Olivia went to bed shortly after dinner, and I was not far behind. This week has taken it out of me already, and it’s not even the weekend yet! So, it was a boring, early night for our household tonight!

I’m doing some flashback photos today. Some pictures of Olivia’s very first time in a pool, last summer, right around this time. She LOVED it, just as much as she does today!

6/23/10 - 35 Weeks!

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Yup, 35 Weeks! Doesn’t that sound crazy?? I’ve been pregnant for 245 days now, with just 35 to go! 35!! We’re very excited. Not much to share…my next appointment is next Tuesday, so I’ll have some news next week! There has not been any more name discussion, so this baby is still completely unnamed. It’s getting quite ridiculous if you ask me! I’m still pushing for Amelia though…hopefully I get my way! Everything else is going well. We were planning to pick up the double stroller this paycheck, but things are so crazy, I don’t think we’ll have time, so hopefully NEXT weekend! Other than that, we’ll just need to pack all of our bags for the hospital and we’re ready to go! It still seems like just yesterday we found out, and now it is officially time to get ready for the whirlwind! The thought of maternity leave becomes more wonderful with each passing day as well…oh man am I looking forward to my “summer vacation”!

On other fronts, today was a long day. I feel like I’m drowning a little bit at work, but hey, the days fly by. I was able to get Olivia an appointment to get checked out this afternoon, so I did get to leave a little early. The doctor said she looks great and is reacting well. She said after 24 hours they cannot do stitches or anything on a “laceration”, but that it should heal over on its own perfectly fine. So, it looks like we’re good to go and everything will be great there. Part of me obviously wishes we’d taken her right in after hearing the 24 hour rule, but at the same time…if it’s going to heal over perfectly fine on its own, why would I want to put her through getting stitches? That didn’t make sense to me at all. But, anywho, she’s doing great and that was such a relief!

6/22/10 - "Girls Night Out"!

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Well, Christian decided he just HAD to watch Mexico’s World Cup game today, so he stayed home from work. He must be bad luck though, because they lost for the first time this go’round. But, it was good for him to be home with Olivia all day to keep an eye on her. She again did really well…eating, sleeping, playing. So, I think she’s pretty much in the clear. But, when we were giving her a bath at bed time, I finally got a good look at the “cut”, and it’s actually a little deeper than I thought. So, I’ll be calling the doctor in the morning to see what they think…hopefully it’s nothing!

After a busy day at work, I was off for a girl’s night out with Gini! We stopped to get pedicures…now, I hate people touching my feet, with a passion, but for some reason I’ve been craving a pedicure so bad. And, it was great! I think I need to make it a regular thing for sure! After that relaxing event, we grabbed some Chipotle and stopped at our place so Gini could meet puppy and hang out for a while. It was nice to get out, with a friend, and pamper myself a little bit.

Once dinner was over, Gini headed home, and Christian and I tackled another task…re-rearranging the kids’ room. Hopefully this will stop the climbing out of her crib phase because I just refuse to move her to a toddler bed yet! I can’t handle that…here are some pics of “take 2” of the kids’ room!

6/21/10 - Long Monday!

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Today was a pretty normal day. For me, work was pretty crazy after two days off. You really can’t be gone around here…things just pile up! Christian’s work has been busy and steady, which is great. He gets an hour OT here and there, which adds up, so things are good there. He called me very excited today because his boss gave him a Target gift card, just for doing a good job! YAY!

We did have a little scare today though. Christian called me again, later in the afternoon, a little before he normally got off work. He was at his parents’ house. Turns out, Olivia was playing, being her usual out of control self, and fell backward into a standing radiator. He said she was playing, doing well, but did have a little cut on the back of her head. We decided to see how she was the rest of the night, and play it by ear. I stopped at the pet store on the way home to finally get puppy a collar and some necessities, then we all met up at home. Olivia was doing great…she played, she ate well, she was acting completely normal. So, we decided to just see how the evening went.

Tonight puppy got his very first bath! He was really not sure what to think about it, but we got it done. Poor thing was FREEZING afterwards, so we had to cuddle for a while :) After the bath, we got his new harness on; it has skulls and bones on it, because he’s tough like that! Then, we all headed outside to play for a while. I’d say Olivia and puppy are becoming great friends…

6/20/10 - Happy Father's Day!!!

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Today is Father’s Day! Happy Father’s day to my Daddy and my baby Daddy...the best daddy's around :) Olivia gave Christian some cards right away this morning, she was very excited about it! After some breakfast, some cleaning up and some getting ready, she and I hopped in the car and headed to my Dad’s house for a visit. We hung out there for a while, then grabbed some lunch at Snuffy’s. YUM, I haven’t been there forever, and it was delicious as ever. Olivia even scammed some of my malt out of me (well, it really wasn’t that hard!). Lucky girl!

Christian spent the morning relaxing, then mowed the lawn and headed over to his parents’ house. I met up with them after lunch and we hung out there the rest of the evening. Olivia and puppy put on quite a show. They spent the day chasing each other and having the time of their lives. It was way too hot, so I just couldn’t bring myself to eat anything, but it was nice to be outside, hang out and not really do anything for a while!

Olivia was completely wiped out by the time we got home; she took a bath and was in bed at 7:30! I actually got to put the house back in order after the sale mayhem, watch a couple shows and get to bed early.

Now, onto another busy week!! I can’t believe Monday is just about here already!

6/19/10 - Sale Over! Go Team!

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THANKS MARY ANN FOR YOUR DONATION!

The sale is officially over! Today was actually a very fun day too! The weather was nice and cool (until about 2:00 when it all of a sudden shot up about 20 degrees!), we had lots of helpers to hang out with, Olivia had a playmate most of the day (then took a REALLY, REALLY long nap), I got to spend the day with the BFF, and Christian was there to help us all out too. We really didn’t have a ton left at the end of the sale…one of our team captains is taking the remaining kids stuff to Once Upon A Child to try to get some more money for the team, and everything else is being shipped off to a Habitat for Humanity garage sale, so YAY! Everything is gone! In the end, without the sale of the remaining kids stuff, it looks like we’re just over $500.00. I don’t know about the rest of the team, but I’m pretty happy with that! Now, it’s over, we have our garage back, and our team is doing better than ever! Out of all the Relay teams, we are in #2 for raising donations, so go us!

After the sale, we rested for a while, ordered in some food and just hung out. Once Olivia was down for bed, Christian and I attempted movie night…I ALMOST made it all the way through “The Hangover”, but didn’t quite get there. What I saw was really good though :) I’m so old!

Here are some pics of Olivia and her newest playmate, Caleb!

And here is one of her just looking like the big girl she is!And shout out to Gini, who did an awesome job running Grandma’s Marathon today!! We all knew you could do it!