9/9/10 - SKOL Vikings

Today is the big day...NFL kick-off day. And, the Vikings are kicking it off against the dirty Saints! YAY!!!

It was a pretty low key day today. We got a couple more bogus responses from the Craigslist ad. So annoying. Seriously people...READ the ad! Do you really think we'd be selling a 52" TV for $150.00 if it was in perfect working condition??? No, which is why we state that the picture does not work in the ad. Ugh, sorry, just had to get that off my chest!

Amelia decided today was not a good day to nap, so she took up most of my day. I got in a little light cleaning, but that was just about it. We anxiously awaited the big game all day. I hoped we'd get the new TV set up for the game, but by the time Christian got home, and we ate, it was just too late. Oh well, next week!

The game....was crap! Both teams played like crap, it was low scoring, not exciting in the least bit, and....the Vikings lost. Not a good way to start the season! I don't know what was going on, but that was NOT the Vikings team from 8 months ago, that's for sure! Hopefully next week is much more successful, and entertaining! The girls were decked out in their "Purple Pride" (I've been too lazy to pick up some actual Vikings gear for Amelia yet....)!

9/8/10 - A New "Toy"

Today was a very blah day. I'm getting quite bored sitting at home. The weather hasn't been so great lately, so that doesn't help.

Today, I didn't do much. The usual cleaning, which is getting REALLY old. I did however finally send off Amelia's birth announcements! So glad those are out, I love them so much and I'm happy to finally check that off my list!

I made a really yummy dinner tonight...one of my Let's Dish meals, but we didn't even end up eating it!!! Christian got home, and it turns out his mom surprised him with some yummy Mexican food. But, she didn't know that we had plans this evening, so she just sent him home with everything (so yay, I get to eat it!). We were right away off to the UPS store to return the lamp we'd purchased for the TV. We've decided to try to sell the TV, for cheap, and just explained what's going on with it. Hopefully somebody is willing to put in the time to get it running again, or maybe somebody will be interested in it for the parts or something. Who knows. I got two responses right away, but neither panned out...

After that was on it's way, we stopped over to Best Buy to see if they had any deals going on. We ended up finding a pretty good TV on sale, so we decided to go for it. Of course, our Best Buy didn't have it in stock, so we ended up running to a different one to pick it up (after stopping home to feed the girls). Finally, by the time we got home, it was bedtime for the girls. We quickly inhaled our dinners, and it is most definitely bed time for us. That was WAY too much activity for the evening.

Amelia spent some quality time on her mat today, and LOVES it! She even rolled over from her tummy to her back! She's getting to big :) Look how well she can hold her head up, that's my girl!

9/7/10 - Doctor, Doctor

Today was my big 6 week post-partum check up. I was excited to see Ann and talk about everything, and introduce her to Amelia! the check up went well. I haven't been losing weight as fast as I'd like...but she said I look great, so that made me happy :) I have 10lbs left to lost (then another 10 from Olivia....then a bunch more just in general...). We talked, and she checked me out, and everything looks perfect. Of course I didn't think anything was wrong, but it is nice to get that reassurance!

After the appointment, Amelia and I relaxed at home, completely lazy for the rest of the day. Christian's mom had a dentist appointment this afternoon, so I picked Olivia up a little bit early, then stopped over to my mom's to pick up our Vikings change boards, them finally met Christian at home. We planned on going TV "browsing" tonight, but we were both just too tired and not motivated at all...so, maybe tomorrow.

Instead, it as just the usual around our house. That sounds familiar :) I took the play mat out today for Amelia, but Olivia decided it was still just for her...

9/6/10 - Happy Labor Day!

Labor Day...a day off work. Wait, I'm already off work. Well, it's just not as exciting as it normally would be! Although, Christian is home with us, so I guess that counts for something!

After a normal morning of breakfast, playing and fighting with Olivia to leave the baby alone, the girls were down for naps, and we got ready for the day. Originally, we were going to do a little grilling at our house, but Christian's parents offered to grill, so that worked out better for us! We ran over there right after naps, and just stayed for a couple of hours. Short weeks mean lots of work for Christian, so he'll be putting in some extra hours this week. YAY for OT!

The evening was pretty low key when we got home. It was needed, as usual! Side note...I will say, I became completely obsessed with the show "Hoarders" today, and it grosses me out. The way these people live...I can't imagine. I told Christian, I can ALMOST understand the obsession with "stuff", and shopping. Whatever. But, the people who are just dirty, with bugs and trash and rats and everything surrounding them, THAT I do not understand. Some of these people have their children taken away from them because their homes are so bad. Man, I couldn't be more opposite! I hate "stuff" and trinkets and clutter. I'm obsessed with throwing things away to be completely honest. I can't go to bed without everything being in it's place (which is why most of my blog entries include some type of cleaning every day, LOL). I just can't fathom...

Here is a picture of Olivia from Labor Day last year...right after this picture was taken, she stood by herseld, unassisted, for the first time. Love her!

9/5/10 - Not Much

There's not much to day today. Today was just one of those days. Christian and I were definitely getting on each other's nerves all day. The dog was out of control, therefore spent most of the day outside. Olivia was even more out of control, and just pushed every button we have all day long. Amelia just cried and cried and cried ALL DAY. It was just about more than we could handle. Christian had already promised his dad he would go over and help him work on his car for a while, which left me with the uncontrollable household on my own for a while.

Yup, it was one of those days. BUT, at the end of the day, when I put Olivia to bed, and she gives me a kiss, tells me "Lub Yooooou", and says good night....and when I nurse Amelia to sleep, and she gives those uncontrolled smiles that I just decide means "Lub Yooooou", I instantly remember that no matter how hard the day was, it's over, and tomorrow is a new day with the most amazing two girls I've ever met. Here's one of the two smile that keep me going every day :)

9/4/10 - Hitting the To-Do List Hardcore!

Today, we hit the to-do list big time. It was time to be productive, and we REALLY needed to get some stuff done.

The girls were both up, bright and early. YAY. We decided that fast food breakfast was in order, so Christian started the day off by picking up some McDonald's. YUM. After breakfast, it was time to get to work.

Since Amelia has been so clingy and refusing to nap on her own, I decided to try out chores with her strapped to me to see if it would kill two birds with one stone. So, I put on the baby carrier, loaded her in and was on my way. I had to finish laundry...just had the kids' clothes left to do. Got that going. Jumped on the computer to balance the checkbooks and address Amelia's birth announcements (finally). Got that done. I also finally organized all of our pictures on the computer...that was quite a task!

While I was busy with all of that, Christian and Olivia started cleaning up the house. They picked up the living room and started vacuuming the upstairs and the stairs. Finally Olivia was down for a nap, so Christian took to his outdoor chores and mowed the lawn. Brrrrr. After nap time, he and Olivia continued cleaning up the outside while I cleaned the kitchen and did the dishes.

Finally, Christian started dinner....chicken and potatoes on the grill. YUM. While Amelia FINALLY napped on her own for a while, I played with Olivia outside until dinner was ready. We all ate, played a little, then it was time for baths and bed! Christian and I finally got a little alone time once the girls were down. He started a fire and we had some s'mores and chatted for a while. It's been a long time since we could do that!

So, it was a long, and very busy day, but it felt so good to get some stuff checked off the list! Here are a couple pictures of Olivia today. First, swinging, and all of a sudden her baby goes everywhere with her. Also, she had to try out dad's sweet head lamp :)

9/3/10 - It's Friday!!! Apparently...

Like usual, the days just basically blend for me right now. According to the calendar, it's Friday. So, just by rule, I'm excited! It will be nice to have Christian around for a couple days...it's even a holiday weekend (again, apparently), so we get an extra day!

Amelia actually let me sleep in this morning! But, she was up REALLY late last night. She refused to go to bed, so I had to finally just hold her...so I fell asleep. Christian eventually woke me up and we got her down in the bassinet. Ugh, it's exhausting! Good thing Olivia spent the night at Grandma's, otherwise she probably would have been up pretty late too! And, thank goodness, she seems to have just had a little 24-hour bug, because she's doing MUCH better today!

It's actually cold out....COLD. YAY. I think it was 52 degrees when I woke up this morning. The dog of course just about had a panic attack when I sent him outside. Poor thing, he really isn't going to last through the winter! I think he needs to head south for a few months! It's crazy...it was 98 degrees on Monday...that's quite a change in a matter of a few days!

Today was pretty low key. Amelia slept most of the day (making up for her complete LACK of sleep yesterday I suppose), so I rested most of the day. Finally, it was time to get ready. I'm actually leaving the house today, and spending time with my BFF. I was so excited! Once Christian got home, Olivia and I were off to dinner with Kari and her sister Amy...at Khan's, of course. YUM, even Olivia actually ate a little bit while we were there! It was so nice to get out of the house! I needed it.

After dinner, we made a quick stop at Target, then were home for the evening. It's going to be an early night for our household, everybody is BEAT! I got this little wink and mischievous smile out of Amelia today...

9/2/10 - 20 Months!

Holy Moley...our "baby" is 20 months old today...she will be TWO in 4 months, I can't believe it. With the holiday's and our crazy lives right now, her birthday will be here before we know it. I just can't believe it.

Olivia, hand full as she is, still amazes us every day (of course). If seems like her vocabulary has grown a TON. And, it's not just "words" to her anymore, she actually knows what she's saying,a and the proper times to say things. Her most often used words right now include: Grandma (bupa), Daddy, Mommy (yes, she finally says it a lot), Puppy (along with "woof woof woof"), Duck (along with "quack, quack quack"), Cow (along with "moooooooo"), Monkey (no sound effect), Love You (my FAVORITE), Bye Bye, Hi, Kitty (again, no sound effect), Milk (which she calls "baca" for some reason...), All Gone, All Done, Bath, Stop It and Get Down. This her her list of favorites. She also love to help out cleaning around the house all of a sudden, picking up, throwing stuff away. She is our certified diaper fetcher. She goes down and lets the dog out of his kennel when we ask her to. She knows the difference between my car and dad's truck, when we're going in which vehicle, and climbs into her car seat all by herself (which by the way is still rear-facing, and she is still loving every minute of it. So glad we will definitely be making it to two years, maybe even more if I can convince dad...). She loves to hold the baby, and finally knows she has to sit down first, so she sits down randomly and holds out her arms to ask for baby all the time now. It's cute.

Here is a TMI mom moment right here...One of the best things is that when she goes potty, she actually comes to us, says "poo poo" and lets us know that she has gone and needs her diaper changed. YAY, first step in potty training...showing that she no longer can stand a dirty diaper! So, I think in the next couple of weeks we'll be getting the potty out. I know that it's (typically) a lot of work, but I'm really excited to start potty training. I'm glad we didn't force it a couple months ago like we planned...she's actually showing signs of readiness on her own now, thank god!

So, that's our little girl now days. She doesn't seem so little anymore. I just can't believe it. She can do so much, it's just amazing! Today she spent the evening at Grandma's house because mommy and daddy needed a little break. Unfortunately, I got a call this morning from the other Grandma letting me know she wasn't eating or drinking and felt very warm. I packed up Amelia and we went to check her out. I took her temperature, and it was a little high. I decided it was best for her to stay there because with the baby I couldn't give her the attention she needed. And, I decided to go ahead with her staying at Grandma's house like we planned, since, again, she could get much more attention out of her than us right now. Hopefully it goes alright tonight, and I really hope she's feeling better tomorrow! She was perfectly fine last night, so I have no idea what could have happened :(

9/1/10 - Bad to Good Back to Bad

Well, today was a roller coaster! The morning was rough...Olivia was home with Amelia and I today. My mother in law got a chance to go to the fair with some friends, and she never gets to go, so I offered to keep her home with me. It was NOT a good experience this time. Both girls woke up, very early, and very crabby. Amelia cried all morning and Olivia was just difficult as can be. She whined, refused to eat, kept trying to sit on Amelia every time I was trying to feed her. It was horrible. I finally packed them into the stroller and walked down to the park. Luckily there were some other kids there, so Olivia ran around the played with them for a while. When we got home, she finally ate some food, and went right down for a nap. Amelia even went down for a nap. The day was taking a turn for the better. Then, the mail showed up...including the new lamp for the stupid TV and Amelia's birth announcements. I just LOVE the announcements, and I can't wait to get the TV up and running again....oh how I've missed my DVR!

Christian had a doctor appointment this morning. He has these growths on his ears, not sure exactly what they are, but he's had them removed a couple of times and the keep coming back. One isn't too bad anymore, but the other one is worse than ever right now! I finally convinced him to see a new doctor about them, and today was the day. They are doing to do a couple rounds of steroids, then remove it again, and after the removal they are having him use some cream that is supposed to help the healing. I sure hope it works this time!

The girls woke up from their naps, ate some "lunch" and then Christian was home. We pretty much just did the usual, eat, play and hang out. We did get a little yard work done since it's cooled off a bit. We trimmed the plants up a bit and just did a little cleaning up.

Once they were down for bed, Christian went down to fix the TV. Then, things turned back to bad...the lamp was NOT the problem. So, not only did we just waste the money buying the new lamp, the TV is still broken! From our research, it's looking like the only other option is that the TV's color wheel is broken. And, one person we talked to said it would cost $600-$900 to replace. Ummmm, we could get a new TV for that! Are you crazy!!! So, now who knows what's going to happen...and this was NOT a cheap TV either, so it just adds to the pain. It's never ending, I swear!

Here's a picture of Christian and the girls before bed time :)

8/31/10 - August, Out

The last day of August, how can that possibly be?!? It seems like just yesterday we were gearing up for Olivia's 1st birthday, I was barely pregnant, and it was winter! Now it's about to be September! WOW!

Today was a very frustrating day. Today was one of those days where you ask yourself "what the hell was I thinking?!?". The animals have officially gotten on my last nerve. Chloe is the only one I can stand, and that's because she just hides all of the time. Frank cries constantly, and scratches/pounds on the bedroom doors at night. Rico also cries all night, but more importantly throws up ALL THE TIME, all over the house (including on OUR bed the other day, which soaked through all the way to the mattress....um, ICK). And Chuy, OMG Chuy. Today was the last straw. He's been back to going to the bathroom in his kennel again...twice today. I can't take it. We take him outside, he'll be out there for hours, but still goes inside. Never barks or cries to let us know he has to go outside, just goes to the bathroom whenever he feels like it. I was so upset this morning, he literally spent the entire day and evening outside. I just don't know what to do. On top of Amelia's fussiness and Olivia's craziness, we cannot handle the out of control animals! A few people have told us to put him in a smaller kennel, one where he just has enough room to stand up, and turn around. So, I suppose we'll have to try that out.

Other than the verge of insanity I was feeling, the day was pretty normal. Christian has been working some overtime lately, including today. By the time he gets home we just have to eat quick and get the girls to bed. We're usually not far behind them either. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day! At least I got to see a bit of this today...