11/5/10 - Fail=DirecTV

Today was my Friday off work, so I spent the day with my girls. They both slept in to a pretty decent time, which was nice. Amelia was extra clingy today for some reason, that made things a little more difficult than usual. But, we survived. Amelia took relatively early nap today, so that gave me some alone time with Olivia. We had some snacks, and played downstairs in the play area. She was finally starting to seem tired, and I got her down for a nap just as Amelia was waking up. Ugh, that was horrible timing! Luckily, she was content by herself for a little while so I could grab some lunch and pay bills.

Once Olivia was up from her nap, we all got dressed and were on our way to drop Olivia off at Grandma's house. It sounds like Christian is going to get to work some overtime tomorrow, so she's spending the night over there tonight so I can get some stuff done while he's at work. Christian had to work EXTRA early today because he had his second ear appointment today. It's not looking any better to me, but they gave him another shot and he'll be going back in a few months for his final one. We met back up at home around the same time, ate some dinner and spent a little time together.

We have been having a HORRIBLE experience with DirecTV ever since canceling with them in September, and today was no different. When I logged in to check our accounts, I found out that they had taken money from Christian's account to pay an "overdue bill" - which was not really even due until 11/11. We've been going back and forth with them for the last week over this bill (it ended up being for a UFC fight we'd ordered 2.5 years ago, but were never billed for), and had explained that we would pay it next time we got paid (which was well before the due date). Well, apparently they took it upon themselves to just take the money, even though we are no longer their customers, the bill wasn't due and I was never enrolled in automatic payments or anything like that to begin with. Anyway, I'll spare you all of the details, and just say I am SOOOOO happy to be done with them. You could not pay me to go back to them...I've never been so disgusted with a company like I am in them right now. So, if anybody is wondering, I would NEVER recommend DirecTV...never!

Here's a picture of Amelia having a nice chat with Minnie Mouse this morning (Olivia would NOT be happy is she knew Amelia was talking to HER Minnie!).

11/4/10 - Typical, Yet Busy, Thursday

Today was just another Thursday for me. Like usual, I was swamped trying to get things done before the weekend...I ended up leaving work 30 minutes late! Ugh, I hate when that happens. Christian had to work a little early because he had a dentist appointment this afternoon. He got a clean bill of health, yay!

We met up back home and invited his mom to stay for dinner with us. Today was her last day watching the girls at our house...I'm sure she'll be happy to be back in her own home now! So, she ended up preparing most of dinner, while Christian grilled and I fed Amelia. After dinner , Christian and Olivia brought his mom home and helped her with a couple things around the new house while I gave Amelia a bath and put her to bed. Once they got home, Olivia just went straight to bed...she was exhausted! Apparently she just loves the new house and was running all over! Christian has to work VERY early tomorrow, so he quickly took Chuy out, and passed out once he got home.

We have a very busy weekend ahead of us, and I'm not looking forward to daylight savings time being thrown into the mix, but we'll see how things go! A couple weeks ago I was led to a website giving out free pink headbands for breast cancer awareness month. I finally got it in today and had to try it on Amelia right away...she loved it (gotta love this face)!

11/3/10 - Who Dresses Their Pets? We Do!

Well, I really don't have anything interesting to post about today! It was just a normal day for each of us. Christian brought his mom home right away when we got home from work, while I fed Amelia and started dinner. He finished up dinner when he got home and we all just hung out. That's really it, nothing too interesting.

It's been pretty cool around here lately (but, it supposed to get really nice again this weekend!), and we finally broke down and got Chuy a sweater! He's so little (still less than 6lbs), and barely has fur, so he just freezes outside (which makes him not want to go out there, which is NOT good). So, we finally put his sweater on him. He likes it! He bites at it here and there, but he hasn't been shivering as much lately, and has been going out. I'm nervous about winter though still! I know, we are now THOSE people, who dress their dog, but...better that than have him freeze to death! Here's a pic, he's cute :)

11/2/10 - 22 Months!

Oh boy, Olivia is 22 months old! I have officially begun planning her 2nd birthday party! It's going to be a gold themed party for her big golden birthday. I can't wait, and I can't believe how quickly it's coming. My baby is really not my baby anymore.

She continues to grow and learn everyday. She's getting very good at putting things away/back now, which is fun. We're trying to get her into picking up after herself...some days are more successful than others! I downloaded a bunch of kids songs on the iPod a couple weeks ago, so we listen to those on car rides now. I think they really are helping with her memory skills...she responds to the songs and copy's what they say. She's still not into her ABC's or 123's really, but we're not worried about that. She does have "two" down though...strange. She still won't have another doctor appointment until January, but I'm getting anxious to hear her stats and where she falls in line now. Basically, she's still crazy, entertaining, amazing and completely full of life! Love her!

Other than that, today was just a pretty busy day. Christian brought his mom home right after we got home from work, then stopped in to FINALLY get the oil changed in my car. It was SO overdue! He finally got home and we all just hung out around the house for the night. Cooked, ate some dinner, played. Just another day!

I'll have to come back and add Olivia's 10 month photo (oops)...

11/1/10 - Hello November!

It's November! The "busy time of year" has officially in begun. Halloween is over, now it's time to start planning and thinking Thanksgiving, and Christmas shopping! We're pretty much at a complete loss for Christmas gifts this year...better start thinking! I am very excited for Thanksgiving though...hopefully everything turns out as well as it did last year!

Today was a pretty busy day. Christian's mom is watching the girls at our house this week since they haven't had a chance to unpack or setting into their new house yet. It's going to be a little strange having somebody in our house all week long, but it's really nice not having to get the girls up, pack them into the car, drop them off, and repeat after work.

We were both pretty busy at work today. I ended up leaving an hour early to do our weekly shopping since I didn't have time this weekend. Christian's mom "joined" us for dinner I say "joined" because in all reality, she got roped into making dinner! It was very tasty :) After dinner, Christian and Olivia brought her home while I cleaned up a little and played with Amelia. Now, the week and November are in full swing, here we go!

I didn't take any pictures today...since yesterday was Halloween, I'll do a flashback to last Halloween. Our little chicken, my how time flies!

10/31/10 - HAPPY HALLOWEEN

It's here! It's Halloween. And, the last day of October! WOW!

Today was such a great day, and so much fun! I spent the morning doing a little cleaning, and finishing up our laundry. Christian was on kid duty most of the morning, which was a nice break for me!

Luckily we were able to get the girls down for naps, at the same time, pretty early, so we were able to get ready for the "Harvest Festival" going on at a church by our house. We didn't really know what to expect...but it was free, and close to the house, so we figured we might as well check it out. My mom stopped over to see the girls, and decided to join us for the party. The girls finally woke up around 2:30, so we got Olivia in her Costume (and wanted to pass out she was SO cute), and got Amelia in her Halloween outfit (her costume is not car seat friendly, so we decided against it all together), and were on our way. The festival ended up being very cool! They had all kinds of food and beverages, all free. Games and rides for the kids, all free. A little petting zoo and a "hay ride", free! And people just walking around handing out candy. We got home with a full bucket before we even went trick or treating! It was very cool, and we'll definitely be going back next year!

As soon as we got home, Christian's parents came over to see the girls in their costumes, so we got Amelia in hers (and again, wanted to pass out over the cuteness!) and we all visited for a little while. Kari, Jay and Andrew showed up around 5:30, and our parents headed home so we could all get ready to head out trick or treating. Olivia did so great! She said "trick or treat" and "thank you" at every house and just loved it. She got pretty exhausted from walking, but she did so good. Now, I have a house full of candy! Ahhh, what am I going to do!?!?

I never cared for Halloween, but now that I have the girls, I just love it! It's so much fun :)

10/30/10 - Getting Festive...

Today was a good day!

Olivia was pretty excited to have us and her grandparents there to play with when she woke up this morning...I don't think she quite understood what was going on. We were treated to a yummy breakfast by Christian's mom...YAY for that! Christian and his Dad did some work in the garage, hanging up racks and trying to get some stuff up off the ground (of course, to make room for more stuff....). I managed to get a few loads of laundry done and get the girls down for their naps. It was quite a productive morning!

Finally, his parents got the go-ahead to move into their new place around 1:30, so they were all off to get the truck unloaded, while I showered and got ready, and got the girls ready, for tonight's Halloween festivities!

Kari, Jay & Andrew, along with Kelly, Nixon and Meeka came over to carve pumpkins! It's our annual tradition, but is much more about the kids now, which is just that much more fun! Kelly brought some Mr. Potato Head like things for the girls to use on their pumpkins. Olivia was much more interested in running around with Andrew and playing. Of course, 6 year old Andrew is much more on par with her type of "playing" than poor little Meeka...Olivia is just far too rough for her liking! Poor thing. Eventually, everybody headed out for the night, which Christian and I cleaned up and relaxed. I actually stayed up and watched Saturday Night Live...I haven't done that FOREVER! Now we're all just SUPER excited for Halloween tomorrow....we just can't wait!

10/29/10 - Long Day

Today was a long day...but, at least it's Friday! Work was busy, for both of us, as usual. Today was my mom's day to watch the girls, so at least I did get a break from dropping them off and picking them up! And, she has a much more successful day with the girls too! She said Amelia was a completely different baby...thank goodness! The probiotics are definitely working!

After work I came home and took over kid duty. Poor Olivia has the worst diaper rash in the world right now. I have no idea what's going on, but she was just miserable. I cleaned her up and just let her sit around diaperless for a while...she thought that was quite fun actually. Then, I stuck her in a nice warm bath for a while, and that really seemed to help. After that, she seemed like a whole new little girl. She ate some dinner and was happy as can be again.

Christian went right from work to his parents house to help them pack up the last of their house (they are moving over the weekend). What we thought was going to take "a couple hours", ended up with him not getting home until 10:00. I had already gotten the girls to bed and cleaned up and was ready to pass out! His parent's are staying over at our house tonight because they can't move into their new place until tomorrow, so they hung out for a while...I could not hang though!

Right now, we are just VERY excited for Halloween weekend! The girls are going to be SOOOO cute in their costumes (and Olivia loves hers, so keeping it on won't be an issue). We're carving pumpkins tomorrow and spending time with friends. Sounds perfect to me! Here's a picture of Amelia in her milk coma after eating. I just love that!

10/28/10 - Another Lazy Thursday

Well, the trend continues. It's Thursday, and we weren't up to much! Christian had to work a little over time tonight, then headed over to his parent's house to pick a few things up that they are giving us. The girls and I just hung out at home and relaxed. Olivia was a perfect little angel for me too...she even ate ALL of her dinner! That never happens, I just about passed out. Amelia spent a really good amount of time on her play mat, which was a real treat. She even just about rolled over (back to tummy - the REAL kind of rolling over) while she was playing! It's WAY too soon that!

Christian finally got home, and picked some Taco Bell up on his way. So, we just spent the rest of the night hanging out. We watched "Scared Skrekless" on TV...Olivia loves Shrek so she was mezmorized! And, we watched Charlie Brown's "Great Pumpkin". She was more into that than I expected. Finally, it was time for baths and bed. I am so grateful that the girls love their baths...they are total water bugs, and it's wonderful. Even if we have to get Olivia into the bath by telling her she's going swimming...whatever works!

I thought I'd show off the cats tonight! I still think they're cute too :) Rico has his water beard because he likes to drink from the wrong side of the bowl. I just love Frank's baby blues, and Chloe, my sweet girls, was hiding out downstairs by herself. My poor loner, I don't know how she's survived all of these changes over the years!

10/27/10 - Taken A Turn For...Boring?

So, after months of adjusting and chaos and craziness, I think life has taken a turn for boring around here! I don't know if that's a good thing, or a bad thing...maybe a mix of both. It seems like since hitting the 3 month mark, Amelia is becoming quite "easier". She spends time on her mat, or just sitting on the couch watching TV. She isn't crying as much...it's more when she's ACTUALLY hungry, or needs her diaper changed rather than constant random crying. After a short bought of not so great sleep, she's back to sleeping right through to 4:00/4:30, which works for me! Olivia seems to be losing a little bit of her "interest" in the baby, which helps a ton too. If the baby is fussy or crying, she'll want to "help", other than that, she pretty much leaves her alone. She gets a little jealous still...I always have to make sure I say "hello" and give her a hug when I pick them up before I even think about looking at the baby...but overall, she seems like she's finally adjusting to this new world of being a big sister.

It's still hard to find time to do everything. Every night we get home, and Christian and I both have lists of things we need to do...but obviously one of us has to be on parent duty, so it's a never ending battle of who's stuff is "more important" and who needs to just wait...somehow I always get screwed into waiting though...not sure how that seems to be happening.

So, in the end, it was a pretty low key, normal kind of day. Work, dinner, play, baths, bed. Basically, the usual! You don't get more peaceful than this...ahhh, sleeping baby!