9/17/10 - Oh The Simple Joys

Today was pretty boring around the house. Olivia was at my mom's for the day, like usual. Amelia and I just hung out around the house and took it easy. She's been going back to sleep after her morning feeding until around 9:30/10:00, so it's been great getting a chance to sleep in a little bit. we caught up on some TV and just relaxed all day. She eventually went down for a real nap, so I was able to shower and get myself presentable.

Christian helped my mom pick up some tables for her garage sale after work, then we were off to the Madrid's for a visit. Kelly and I went to look at baptism gowns for Amelia, and found a super cute one at babies are us. Olivia and Meeka ran around like mad women all night, they were hilarious. Of course they each want what the other is playing with, they copy each other like crazy. They are so fun to watch.

Finally, it was WAY past bed time, so we were on our way home and the girls were quickly put to bed. Today was the start of a very busy weekend, should be tons of fun though!

9/16/10 - Another "Boring" Day

I say "boring", but not in a bad way. Boring is good right now, boring is ideal. Life is too hectic, too crazy and has been passing up by way too fast! Our 3 year anniversary is next week, Amelia is going to be 8 weeks old already on Monday, Olivia is like a real little person now, and I'll be sitting at my desk working away like crazy in less than 3 weeks. WOW!

Amelia and I just hung out around the house today. She took a nice long nap, so I was able to get a lot of little tasks done around the house. Christian's work is making him start at 6:00AM tomorrow, so my mom offered to take Olivia overnight so she wouldn't have to get up so early to be dropped off. Christian decided to grab a couple drinks with a coworker after he dropped Olivia off, so, we ended up with a REALLY boring, quiet evening. I'm thinking Amelia may have enjoyed that....

I talked to Olivia just before bedtime, and it was so great. She chatters in her own little language, so excited to be on the phone, then says "Bye Bye, I love You". Ay, that is the best thing in the world!!

Here's a picture of my little baby girl today, she's starting to look so big!

9/15/10 - Feast Time!

Today was a great day! Amelia is in this new routine of sleeping in, so I get to sleep in, and it is just beyond fabulous! We hung out and relaxed...I think it's going to be that kind of week the rest of the week!

Amelia and I met Christian and Olivia over at his parent's house for a big Mexican fiesta! Tomorrow is Mexico's Independence Day, but his mom works so early on Friday, so she decided to have a big dinner tonight to celebrate. OMG...so tasty! And, bonus, she's sending all of the leftovers home for us tomorrow...so the yumminess will continue!

After dinner, we chatted for a little bit, then were all on our way home. Good Day!

9/14/10 - It's Tuesday...No Clever Title to Insert

Well, it was another low key day for us. I did leave the house today though, so that's something!

Amelia and I were off to complete a couple tasks today. First up, we stopped at the post office (again), so send off a few more items. After that, we stopped to get the car washed and cleaned. I have not had my car washed in a LONG time, it hasn't been cleaned (inside) in a much longer time. It was long over due.

We just spent the rest of the day at home...and that's about it! Amelia was on her play mat when the rest of the crew got home, and Olivia immediately had to join her there...goofy girl!

9/13/10 - Blah...

Today was a blah day. We're pretty tired after a busy weekend, so we just pretty much hung out, did nothing, relaxed and recouped all day. This should be a pretty low key week, followed up by another very busy weekend, so we'll just be gearing up for that!

Christian came home with a rose for me today...wonder what he did wrong :)

9/12/10 - Another Busy Sunday

Well, another busy Sunday has come and gone. If the weekends are this busy when I'm off of work, I don't want to know how they are going to be once I go back!!!

Today started bright and early with the girls. Boo for that. The first item on our agenda was a quick breakfast because we were off to Amelia's baptism preparation class at 11:30. My mom was going to come over to watch Olivia for us while we were at class, but she ended up feeling ill today, so that left us scrambling to figure something out this morning. Luckily it turns out Christian's mom didn't have to work today, and since his dad was there as well, they were able to take both girls while we went to class. It was also good practice for them for when I go back to work...his mom is REALLY nervous about taking both girls!

The class went really well. We really like the church. We got to meet the pastor, his wife and a lot of the staff and program volunteers during the class. Everybody seems so nice and inviting, and the church offers a TON of activities and events for the whole family. I think it's going to be a great fit for us, and it's only a few blocks away from our house! I'm really excited. I just have to call the baptism coordinator tomorrow to finalize the details. I can't wait for Amelia's big day!

After class, Christian quickly mowed the lawn while I ran to Target for the usuals. It was nice to mozy around Target, childless, taking my time and enjoying all of the things I could not buy! After the lawn was finished, Christian was off to pick up the girls. I put everything away and cleaned up the house a bit when I got home from shopping. Finally, we were all home and settled in around dinner time. We cooked, ate, played a little, read the new books I bought Olivia from the Dollar Spot a MILLION times, then it was time for baths and bed! Another busy day comes to a close.

Starting tomorrow I have 3 weeks left of maternity leave...WOW that's going fast! It's bittersweet, I'm getting anxious to get back to work, back to the real work, back into a routine, back to adults and leaving the house every day. But, I'm going to miss my baby girl so much, and I know how much harder life is going to get as soon as I go back...THAT, I'm not looking forward to!

Amelia and I took a little cat nap on the couch together this morning...until Olivia lovingly woke us up :)

9/11/10 - Remembering...

Today is the 9 year anniversary of 9/11...NINE years, it's so hard to believe. It feels like it was just yesterday, I cannot believe how much time has passed. It's even crazier to think that we've been fighting this war for that long. WOW...

9 years ago today....I was fresh out of high school. I'd been working at my job for just over 2 months, and had just been moved up from the basement to our actual office area. I started work at 7:00AM, and had just settled in for the day with my Diet Dew, a little breakfast and switched on the KDWB morning show, like usual. I remember the head morning show DJ, Dave Ryan, was on vacation, so it was just Angie and Pat. I remember a little before 7:30 Angie broke in with news that a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center buildings in New York. I clearly remember not "caring", it didn't really phase me other than to think, WOW, that would be really scary! Next thing you know, shortly after, she broke in again with news that a second plane had crashed into the other World Trade Center building. Now I'm thinking, OK, now this is getting serious, how does that happen??? Chaos started breaking out everywhere. The entire building was buzzing, every news channel, news website, radio channel was up in arms. It wasn't long after, that news of the Pentagon being hit, and the derailed plane crashing in Pennsylvania came out. I remember panic taking over, everyone. Why was this happening? What else is going to happen? WHY is this happening?

Now, I was (as I still do) working for the state Government, in a building right next to the state Capital, so, we were basically on lock down for the day. Nobody was getting in or out. It was crazy. Finally, later in the afternoon, then Governor Jesse Ventura, held a press conference from the Capital lawn, which we were able to go witness. I will never forget the look of pain and worry on his face, this big former wrestler turned Governor.

Just about every TV channel was covering 9/11 related topics for the days following. On top of everything, Christian was actually in Mexico visiting family at the time. We'd only been together a little over 2 months at the time. Christian was due to fly home on 9/13, but all flights were grounded for days, international flights longest of all. I was so worried, wondering when he'd be home, if he'd ever get home, and of course, just worried about him flying period at this point. Finally he arrived home on 9/18, and I felt the biggest sigh of relief when he landed, safe and sound.

I'll never forget that day. It's etched in my mind as if it were just yesterday. It's hard to believe, 9 years...

As for TODAY, it was a good day. I left the house, again, only this time...completely ALONE! My first few hours of complete freedom since Amelia was born, and it was amazing! I met Gini for pedicures and lunch, a late birthday celebration for Gini! It was so nice to be able to catch up with her for a while, and of course get pampered a bit.

After I got home, Christian and Olivia were off to dinner with the Madrid's, while baby and I spent some time together. They all stopped back to the house for a while after dinner, until bedtime. The Madrid's were on their way, the girls were off to bed, and Christian passed out on the couch shortly after. Oh man, we sure know how to live it up!

I wanted to get a cute picture of the girls' feet together (wow, Olivia's feet look HUGE), so I thought I might as well take one with Amelia as well, and show off my new toes :)

9/10/10 - I'm Outta Here!

Well, not really THAT dramatic, but I did leave the house tonight (for something other than shopping or family related...for some "me" time)!

Today was a pretty crazy Friday! Olivia was home with Amelia and I today. And, she was VERY exhausting. Amelia, of course, decided to sleep in today (the day Olivia is home and I don't get to sleep in...). So, it was just Olivia and I for most of the morning. We ate, watched some cartoons, played around the house. It's been a bit chilly around here, so no outdoor fun today. As soon as Amelia woke up, the badness began. Olivia was overly jealous of Amelia, all day. It was horrible. I don't know where this is coming from all of a sudden, but thank goodness Amelia slept in because I could not have handled much more of the drama today!

Both girls ended up taking pretty long naps, so I had plenty of time to pay bills, do the checkbooks, clean up and do the dishes. I got Olivia up and fed and dressed, then got Amelia fed right before Christian got home, and Olivia and I were off! My first Skaar is getting back into the PartyLite candle business, so we, plus Gini, were off to her "kick-off" party tonight. It was so nice to get out of the house, hang out with some ladies and just relax a bit. Olivia did pretty well there, when she did start going off to explore, Gini and Skaar were really great about watching over her. It was a nice little break :)

By the time we got home, Olivia was straight off to bed. Amelia and I sat by and watched Christian set up the new TV (which is great by the way!). I got in about 5 minutes of watch time before she and I were off to bed. I'm too old and too tired to stay up that late anymore!

Frank seems to like the new TV...or maybe he just REALLY likes The Apprentice! Ha.

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!