1/20/11 – And So It Begins…

The arctic freeze that is! We are in the midst of a deep freeze here in good ol’ Minnesota, and it’s just starting! Tomorrow morning the actual air temperature is going to be -19! So, with wind chill, they are guessing about -30. Seriously, you don’t know cold until you experience this time of year!

Today was a good day. I feel like I’m finally catching a break at work. I have plenty to do, but it’s like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now! Traffic has been horrible going home because, while it’s bitterly cold, the sun is out now on my drive home…blinding everybody, so we all have to drive super slow because we can’t see. I’ll be happy when the sun sets a little later in a few weeks and we don’t have this problem anymore! Christian has continued to pick up the girls, and even wait a little bit to come home, so I can get some exercise time in. It’s been great, YAY for being a good husband!

After my workout (which didn’t kill me quite as much as the first day!), I made some dinner, cleaned up and got the house in order. Then, it was just the usual….eat, play, baths, bed. Amelia took FOREVER to get to sleep tonight, so I didn’t get any “me” time, but that’s ok…I enjoyed the cuddle time instead!

Tonight the girls took their first bath together! It was great. Olivia thought it was really funny having her little sister in her bath with her, and Amelia was just in heaven with all of the toys and new surroundings. We need to find one of those little bath chairs for Amelia though, because her infant bath takes up way too much space.

1/19/11 – Happy Happy, Joy Joy

Well, week one of “the new me” paid off! Today was weigh in day, and I lost 4 pounds! AHH, I’m so proud of myself! 4 more to get to my first goal (pre-Amelia weight), and I’m so excited. Go me!

After a busy day of work, my procrastinating bit me in the butt. I ended up leaving work a little early so I could get to Target and get our shopping done (that I didn’t do Sunday, or Monday…or yesterday). I ended up spending a good amount of time reviewing the weekly add and going over our menu for the week, and got just about everything for our meals this week on sale. In addition, we needed diapers (of course) and a few other things, and Target was running some “buy theses and get a gift card” deals this week, so I was able to cash in on those! Go me!

It was pretty late by the time I got home. Luckily, this first week of my workout comes with a “floating rest day”, so I used that today. Quickly made some dinner and then we just went about our usual routine. Tonight American Idol started, with the new judges. I was pleasantly surprised with them, and I think I’m going to enjoy this new, revamped season! Olivia was too funny…she’s always loved American Idol (the music and lights and stuff)…she was actually laughing at the bad auditions, like she really gets it now. It was cute.

Here is a [dark] picture, Olivia showing a random act of love for her sister.

1/18/11 - Ouch

Why is it that the first day back to work after a long weekend always DRAGS so much? Like we were off for so long. Then, the rest of the week drags as well. Short weeks always end up feeling much longer than normal weeks for some reason.

So, after a long, busy day at work, I was home to start my 60 Day Slimdown exercise program. And, holy moly did it kick my butt! Today was kickboxing and “just cardio”. Yeah, I’m already hurting…I don’t think I’m going to be in very good shape tomorrow! But, I felt so great afterwards. And, isn’t that how it always is? The thought of exercising just sounds like death, but then you do it, and you feel great! I’m really excited about this program. Calorie counting has been going well too, so I think this is really going to work out.

After working out, I headed upstairs to start dinner and cleanup the disaster of a kitchen (that we refused to clean all weekend). Once Christian was home with the girls, we spent the night just doing the usual. Olivia has been overly obsessed with the iPod lately…she knows how to turn it on, how to unlock it, how to find her music and her games, and just goes about it like it’s nothing. She’s really into this puzzle game that we have on there, and is shockingly good at it. We bought the full version of the app tonight, and she was all about it. It truly amazes me what they can do at this age!

Amelia did not sleep well last night. She just would not go to bed, so she ended up in bed with me all night. Other than being stiff and uncomfortable from sleeping in the same position all night…it was OK. I get an odd sense of comfort having her in bed with me…I like having her close by for some reason. Maybe because she’s so cute and cuddly! LOL. Here she is, happy and smiley before her bath. Seriously, who could resist that smile?!

1/17/11 – I *heart* Holiday’s

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, so we had the day off work! While I was secretly hoping for a day all to myself (Christian has to work), my mother in law had scheduled some medical appointments for today, so the girls were home with me. Of course, it was a welcomed girls day though! And, while I was hoping for some “me” time throughout the day to get some cleaning and chores done…the girls decided they would be on complete opposite schedules all day, so that didn’t happy. Secretly…I was not too sad about that! LOL.

Amelia actually slept straight through to about 5:45AM! Right about the time she finished nursing, goofing around and fell back asleep, Olivia woke up. Amelia ended up sleeping again until around 10:30, so Olivia and I got in plenty of time together. It was great spending time with her. We played with her toys, read books and played games. She played on her own for a while so I was able to eat an actual breakfast and watch a little TV. Shortly after Amelia woke up, Olivia ate her lunch and (very cooperatively) went down for her nap. Amelia and I hung out downstairs so I could finish up the laundry and so she wouldn’t wake up Olivia. Finally, Amelia went down for a short nap, but of course, Olivia woke up shortly after I put her down. So, no “me” time, but plenty of one on one time with each of my girls, which in the end is much better anyway!

After Christian got home, we all ate and spent some time together. I’m all geared up to start my new excise program tomorrow…nervous, but ready to go!

Here’s a cute picture of Olivia. She’s starting to look so grown up. Tear….

1/16/11 – Lazy Day

Well, today was pretty much just a lazy day. I did a few loads of laundry, but knowing that I have tomorrow off work, I wasn’t too worried about getting it done.

We spent the day just hanging out. Olivia was completely out of control today, the worst we’ve dealt with yet. She just threw a fit about everything, and anything. She was acting out towards Amelia again, she wasn’t listening to a word we said…she was utterly frustrating. Christian finally just took her in another room, away from Amelia, for a while. I swear, I’m going to have a nervous breakdown.

It makes me so mad. Everybody talks about having their kids close together, and they were the best of friends, and the older sibling loved to help out and help take care of the baby, and everything was just peachy keen. Apparently our kids didn’t get that memo, because while we have had some good, fun days here and there, it’s mostly just been the hardest almost-6 months of my life. I keep waiting for things to get better, get easier. And they just get worse, and harder. Where is that magical mommy manual when you need it!

Here are a couple pictures for today. Amelia, sitting even better, with her Choo Choo! And Olivia, hanging out with her friends eating a snack. We really need to do something with that hair of hers…

1/15/11 – Busy Bees, Again

Today was a pretty busy day. What’s new!Per our usual routine, I was up feeding Amelia in the wee hours of the morning, and her new thing is taking FOREVER to go back to bed, so we got our usual QT in. Christian was up with Olivia, who for some reason decided 6:30 was a great time to get up. Not cool. I finally rolled out of bed around 9:00. I took over Olivia duty while Christian was off to run some errands. First, he was having a problem with his remote starter, so he ran to get that checked out. It was a quick fix. He stopped back home to pick up Olivia, and they went to get his oil changed together. Once they were home, we all had a quick lunch, the girls went down for a nap, and he was again off, this time to pick his mom up from work (something that will NOT be a regular thing).

He was home., and it was time for me to start getting ready. I showered while Christian took over with the girls and made some dinner. We all ate, then Olivia and I were off. A friend of mine is a choreographer at a local dance studio, and they were putting on their annual show this weekend. Olivia and I went to watch the show, along with Kari and Andrew. The kids did really well, I got to spend some time with my BFF and the show was great!

Finally, we were on our way home. Christian was having trouble getting Amelia down, so Olivia went right off to bed, and I got Amelia to sleep. We both pretty much passed our right after they did, so it wasn’t a very exciting end to a Saturday night! But, it was a good day anyway!

Here’s a picture of Olivia, VERY happy and excited when I told her we were finally leaving to pick up Andrew! LOL

1/14/11 – Ready for the Weekend!

Well, after a very stressful, VERY busy week at work, I am most definitely ready for the weekend! And, Amelia slept ALL night, and ALL morning, so I woke up refreshed and ready to go! Such a treat.

I made REALLY good headway at work today. Cleared up a few piles and got a lot done. It was such a relief! My mom had a great day with the girls today…they were both well behaved, and didn’t give her too hard of a time. Even more of a relief!

Christian and I took it pretty easy after work. I did my exercising for the evening, we had some leftovers for dinner and got in some good play time with the girls. Once they went to bed, we watched some TV together and just relaxed! I am SOOO ready for this 3-day weekend, that’s for sure!

Tonight I snapped a picture of Amelia, holding herself up so well! She’s a strong little thing, that’s for sure!

1/13/11 – Free Food = The Best Kind

Today was another crazy day at work. Just the norm for now I guess.

Amelia decided that 3:15AM was a good time to get up this morning…so by the time she’s done eating and back to sleep, it’s about time for me to get up anyway. So, needless today, I was up bright and early today. But, of course, this was 10 times better than the NO sleep I got last night. I’m really starting to wonder how I can possibly still function!

Today ended up being my free day from exercising. On my way home from work, Christian called and his mom decided she wanted to make us some dinner with the leftovers from his dad’s birthday dinner last weekend. So, free food was calling our name! We ate and watched the girls play for a while. Olivia of course was just being her crazy, off the wall self. Amelia was rolling and scooting all over, playing with her toys. She was THISCLOSE to making some forward progress. I think army crawling is right around the corner for that little girl!

I headed home shortly after eating so I could do the dishes and some cleaning around the house. Once they got home, it was just about time for bed! Let’s hope for a tad bit more sleep tonight!

I snapped a picture of Amelia, sitting on the play mat. I also have one of Olivia, around the same age, with the mat at well. They look so different!

1/12/11 - Chaos

Today was a VERY hectic day, from beginning to end!!

First, Amelia did not sleep well…AT ALL. We have finally moved on to Stage 2 of swaddle weaning (no blanket at all). She was not a fan of this change. She woke up a million times. Finally, I just kept her in bed with me. I love snuggling with her and having her close, but I know it’s a “horrible” habit to break, so we try really hard not to do it often.

Well, it was finally time to get up and head to work. Traffic was a bit better, but still annoying and slow. Work was again, crazy and I still feel like I can’t get my head above water! Ugh, one of these days I’ll catch up. I started off by weighing in for the week. While disheartening, I’m excited to see how successful I can be. I’m still 8lbs up from what I weight when I got pregnant with Amelia, which is my first goal, so hopefully I’ll make that goal quickly and start feeling accomplished!

After work, I did my exercising, fed the animals, took Chuy outside and started dinner…my new “after work routine”. We all ate some dinner, watched some TV and just hung out for the evening. Then, more chaos ensued.

While Christian was filling the tubs, I had the girls on our bed, getting them ready for their baths. Olivia was jumping around, making noises and being goofy. Amelia was laughing and thoroughly enjoying the entertaining. Then, it was like a switch went off in Olivia and she turned evil. She lightly kicked Amelia; then rolled on top of her. Then, she grabbed my body pillow, and tried to suffocate Amelia. Finally, she slapped Amelia….LITERALLY slapped her. I was livid. I finally just removed her from the room, to which she threw a fit about. I’m so frustrated with this, and we just don’t know what to do. We’ve been very consistent about time-outs for hitting and throwing, but so far it’s not making a difference. She’s getting more violent every day. When she gets upset now, she starts punching the walls and the floor out of anger on top of everything else! We’re just at a loss.

While playing with her house, I did get a picture of Olivia appearing to be sweet and innocent!

1/11/11 - <- Check out that Date!

Another busy day for me! Christian’s work has really slowed down since the Holiday’s. He hasn’t had any overtime and it’s been nice! Me on the other hand, things are busier than ever! My main job is writing Contracts (which entails many steps). Typically, the administrators (like me) have maybe 20-25 different types of contracts in process at any given point. I counted mine up today, and I have 53! Way more than anybody else, and way more than I usually have. Ay, it gives me a headache just thinking about it!

Of course, traffic was a nightmare today. We had a fairly small snowfall yesterday through the morning. It wasn’t much, but it’s been VERY icy out. So, of course I was very late for work. Awesome. After work, and after finally getting home, I did my exercising. Christian’s drive also took forever, so I had time to clean up the living room, the kitchen, make dinner and do some other odds and ends around the house! That was a pleasant surprise.

Because it was so late, we didn’t get much time with the girls. We ate dinner (which, by the way, Olivia was been such a great eater lately, which makes me super happy) and then it was basically time for the girls to take their baths and head to bed. I hate days like this…days where we don’t get any time together. But, come the weekend I know to cherish that time, that’s for sure!

I did manage to snap a couple pictures. Amelia, getting even better at sitting, playing with her Choo Choo. And, Olivia pretending she likes Amelia, giving her a little kiss.