8/16/11 - Planning Machine!

Today was a pretty typical day. Work actually flew by, it was crazy. I got a ton of stuff done. And, spent lunch getting upset with Christian and his dumb work. We're trying to reschedule our family pictures (thanks to the lip incident, followed by the eye incident), and weekends just will not work out. But, his work will not let him take any time off. He can't take a day off until September 19th! Seriously?!? Dumb. But, I think they'll let him leave a LITTLE early, or come in early to get his hours in, one day so I'm hoping we can fit them in next week. I'd hate to wait much longer...they aren't really Amelia's 1 year photo's any more then...so, I'm working on that.

We have so many exciting things coming up that we've been working on planning. Next week a church by our house is putting on a free family festival, the last one we went to was SO fun, so we're excited. Then, we're going to the Renaissance Festival next weekend, YAY! Then, the next weekend I have a couple online friends coming into town for a big family trip to the Mall of America and the State Fair. Then, we'll be hitting up the Apple Orchard and a day trip to Stillwater in September. October we'll be going on our annual trip to Sever's Corn Maze and I'm off to Chicago for a mom's vacation with some more online friends. So many fun, exciting things coming up. I just can't wait for any of it!

Tonight was pretty low key. Christian's truck went into the shop today, for a couple days. Luckily the other guys insurance is paying for a rental car, so he still has transportation. His work gave everybody a store credit to get new work shoes, so I picked up the girls today while he went to buy those. We ate a quick dinner when he arrived home, and then some big storms rolled in. Lots of thunder and lighting and a complete downpour. Once it calmed down a little bit, we went to the garage so I could check out the "new car"...it's actually really nice. It's a Dodge Caliber, and I really like it. The girls spent a little time running in the rain and jumping in puddles. It was cute :)

Finally, it was time for a warm bath and bed. Olivia threw a fit tonight because there was no Dora. She got over it quickly though and was off to bed. I go back and forth. Maybe it would be good to get into a routine of watching that before bed...then we have something to "take away" when she misbehaves. But, I also don't want her to become obsessed with watching TV/Movies. I'm OK with a little bit, but not to the point where she demands it, or expects it. I don't know, we'll see.

Here are some pics of the girls, playing in the rain.

8/15/11 - Black Eyes and Glee

Well, today was a great Monday for me, not so much for another household member or two.

Work was work as usual. I left work a little early today, my typical Monday routine. My plans were changed when I received an e-mail that I'd won a Glee Prize Pack from the Mall of America. I had plans to go see Glee 3D with my friend Gini tonight, so when I received that e-mail, and I didn't know what the prize pack actually included, I thought it would be a good idea to pick it up right away, just in case there were movie passes included. So, I left work, and headed right out to the mall. No passes, but I did get the movie soundtrack (SO good) and a couple other little trinkets the kids will play with.

So, I stopped home to wash some dishes and do a little cleaning up, then was off to meet Gini. Of course, more chaos ensued. She called me as I was on my way to meet her to let me know the Theater we were going to (a 5:15 show) had a broken 3D screen and canceled the show. So, I stopped at a different theater. They had it, but not until 7:05...and no other theaters were showing it until around then. So, we decided to just grab a quick dinner and chat for a while. So, it ended up working out better in the end anyway!

The movie was really good, just like being at a concert! LOL. I'm not sure how I feel about the 3D though...I liked the effect itself, but it seemed like the people were blurry, and it was giving me a little bit of a headache. I arrived home around 9:00. Christian had just gotten home from his parents house shortly before me, and had just put Amelia down to sleep. Not happy I didn't get baby snuggles at all today...Olivia was watching some Dora (again), winding down for bed. And, I was filled in on some news. Apparently Amelia was touching "Olivia's" princesses this morning, and Olivia got upset, grabbed them away from her, and punched her in the face. She has a nice black eye and accompanying scratch underneath her eye now. I swear, I don't know what we're going to do with her! SO SICK OF IT!

It's not actually from today, but here is a shot of her eye. It's hard to actually get it on camera, but it looks pretty bad right now. Thank god babies heal fast! I snapped one of Olivia too. Looking at this face, how could you imagine she'd do such mean things?!?

8/14/11 - Surprise Trip to the Zoo

Well, today started off like so many weekend mornings have over the last year....Christian and his dad, working on my car. The shaking of my car has become downright scary, and I now intend on driving it when I go to Chicago on vacation in October, so we need it fixed, and we need to know that it is indeed fixed before that. So, off he went, bright and early, so buy the part and head over to his parents house. After a couple hours (with a lot of chatting I'm sure) it was done and he was home. Now, it's ready to head into the shop for new tires and an alignment. Yay...While he did that, the girls and I ate some breakfast, played for a bit and I made the decision that a trip to the zoo was in order on this beyond beautiful day. So, I showered and we got ready to go. Christian quickly got himself ready while I packed up and loaded up the car. Then, we were off.

It turned into quite the adventure. We were literally a minute away from the zoo, and way too far from home, when I asked "you didn't take the stroller out of the trunk or anything, did you". To which I was met with dead silence, and then finally an "oops, yeah I did". Luckily, my mom doesn't live far from the zoo, and has a double stroller as well, so we stopped to grab that. Next, we decided to park at the shuttle instead of fighting the crowds to park at the zoo, only, we couldn't find the shuttle location anywhere. I was POSITIVE it was at the state fairgrounds, but we looked all over, and decided maybe they weren't running any more. We attempted to park at the zoo, and couldn't find a spot anywhere. GRRRR. Then, what do you know, we see one of the shuttle buses drive by. It finally dawned on me that no, the shuttle lot is at Midway Stadium (where our minor baseball team plays). We finally found it, hopped on and were FINALLY at the zoo. The only good thing about this fiasco is that Amelia got a nice nap in!

After a couple hours walking around the zoo and conservatory, we packed it up and headed back home (with ease). Olivia fell asleep on the way home, and proceeded to take a nice long (kind of late) nap. Amelia refused to sleep, even after a bottle, so she and I hung out while Christian went back over to his parents house for a little while. I finished up a couple loads of laundry, fed the girls their dinner and played with them until he arrived back home. Then, it was time for baths and bed. Olivia wasn't quite tired thanks to her late nap, so she watched some Dora while Christian and I hung out for a while. She's VERY into TV right now for some reason. She never really was before, but she's temporarily obsessed. Every after her bath she says "OK, time to watch a little bit of TV"...and says it over and over, trying to avoid bed. Hopefully this obsessed passes soon...

With that, our weekend is over! Never a good feeling. Here are some pictures from the zoo to share!

8/13/11 - Saturday's Should Never End...

Today was a wonderful, family, randomness filled Saturday. If only every day could be like this!

We woke up earlier than I'd hoped after our late night. After sitting around, slowly waking up for a while, I started on some laundry, cleaned up the kitchen, and we all ate some breakfast. The girls were playing together so well again today, and it's beyond great to see that. I think the more Amelia fights back, and stands up for herself, the better their relationship will be. I think Olivia is starting to realize that she can't just push Amelia round as much anymore, and, more importantly, I think she's realizing how much fun having a sister around can be. FINALLY, progress!!

The morning was pretty much just spend doing laundry, cleaning up and hanging out. Nothing too exciting. We had some lunch, and the girls were down for their naps. Christian and I spent the next hour or so claiming we were going to go shower and get ready before finally getting off our lazy butts and actually getting ready.

Once the girls were up from their naps, we were off to the Mall of America to hang out for the evening. Amelia has outgrown her 6- month PJ's (which are all from Target), and I knew Carter's runs bigger than Target, so we stopped in to get some. 9-12 month PJ's are just too big still, but she should be able to wear the Carter's 6-9 month until it's colder and she can move up to the 9-12 month winter jammies Olivia had. Such a pain!! After that we stopped into The Disney Store. Olivia decided to get a Princess Lunch Bag (to use to carry around all of her princesses, LOL) and Amelia fell in love with a stuffed Winnie the Pooh. Winnie the Pooh is the first thing she's ever showed any real interest in, so YAY! We finally have something to spoil her with! Next up, dinner at the food court! And, finally Nickelodeon Universe. I had some points left from our last trip there, so Olivia took a spin on the Carousel. Then, used up the rest of them on the SpongeBob Bounce House...going in over and over again. LOL, whatever keeps them happy!

And with that, we were on our way home with two full, spoiled and exhausted girls. They took a nice long bath, and then were off to bed. Christian was then off to have a couple beers with a friend, so I was left to a nice, quiet house, all to myself! What a way to end a wonderful day!

8/12/11 - Blissful Day

Another Friday home with the girls. Another start to a nice 3 day weekend. Another long weekend off to a too-fast start.

Today was a great day. The girls were great...playing together, getting along, sharing. They both ate their breakfast and lunch. I'm hoping this is finally Olivia and Amelia turning that corner on their relationship. I know we have a lot of fights and arguments in our future, but hopefully they just become fewer and far between. I did unfortunately have to cancel our photo session this weekend. Amelia's lip doesn't look horrible, but when she smiles or opens her mouth, you can see the cut and bruise pretty well, and I just don't want that to be smack dab in the middle of all her pictures. Boo! I sure hope we can get in soon!

After breakfast and some play, the girls needed baths like nobody's business. Then, we were off on a walk, with a stop at the park. After lots and lots of swinging, Olivia built a bunch of "castles" and Amelia just wandered around the park. Then, it was home for lunch. While Olivia and I finished up our food, Amelia passed out in her high chair! Poor thing, guess the park really took it out of her! So, I got both the girls down for their naps, and decided I was taking advantage today, and just relaxed in with the TV and the computer for some me time.

It was take out Friday, so Christian picked up some Thai for dinner. YUM YUM. After dinner, we were off to my cousin Chad's new house to check it out and hang out for a while. The girls had so much fun playing with his kids, and Christian was excited to catch up with Chad for a while.

Finally, we were home and quickly off to bed. Bedtime came very late tonight, and all I could do was hope that meant a really late wake up call. Fingers crossed! Here us a picture of Amelia, passed out in her high chair. LOL And, one of her thinking she's a big girl, hanging out, on the phone and all. Cutie.

8/11/11 - Ouch

Well, today is Friday/Thursday! YAY. Work was good. Another busy week down. We did have a meeting today. Our entire office is being reorganized, and they are getting closer to finalizing that. Turns our, we are going to lose our boss. I'm pretty sad about that. He's was the assistant director when I started working there, and has been the director for a long time now. It's going to be a little intimidating getting used to a new director. Hopefully it won't equal a bunch of changes in store for us...I cannot handle any more changes right now! So, over the next couple months, things will be adjusting in our area. We'll just have to wait and see what happens I suppose.

I saw a commercial tonight that was very exciting to me..Huggies Slip On Diapers. HELLO! Why did it take this long to come up with that? Now, we don't use Huggies, so I'm hoping it trickles over to the other brands soon, but seriously, how great is that?!? Amelia HATES getting her diaper changed. She runs as soon as she sees you getting ready, and screams and cries (tears and all) the entire time you change her. I don't get it...hopefully it means another easy potty trainer though. LOL. I'm thinking these things would be great...as long as they actually are a tight enough fit of course.

Christian worked a little OT tonight, so I had some time at home to myself. We had Taco Night tonight, then spent a little time outside. Olivia and Christian played in the jump-o-lene while Amelia pushed around her bubble mower. I love that thing! Then, finally, we were back inside...and then, IT happened. Amelia was running around with her sippy cup, tripped, fell right onto it, and cut open her lip! There was SO much blood, I thought she'd lost a tooth or something. It stopped bleeding pretty quickly, and she seemed fine. I gave her some Motrin before bed, and the only thing I could think to do was put some baby orajel on it to numb it a little. Hopefully it heals quickly, and thank god it wasn't worse!

Here are a couple shots of her play time tonight....she was sporting my favorite onesie today ;)

8/10/11 - Going to Chicago??

Well, today started off like any other day. But, shortly turned into a VERY exciting day. One of my mother's groups, my January 2009 Working Mama's group, jokingly threw out the idea of meeting up somewhere the other day. Well, today it became more of a reality. We're starting to plan a get together in Chicago!! I didn't think Christian would go for it, but after a little convincing, he actually said it was totally up to me! YAY. If we can get my car fixed in the next few weeks, I think I'm going to drive there. I should be able to get there on one tank of gas, so one there and back is still way cheaper than a plane ticket. Plus, going to and from the airport, and dealing with an airport I've never been to, all by myself does not sound appealing. So, I'll take the 6 hour drive over all that I think. And, one of the girls from our group actually lives there, so I think we're just going to stay with her, so no hotel costs either! AHHH! Perfect! I seriously cannot wait already, but we're not getting together until October. YAY.

Other than that, it was a pretty boring day. I was a contract writing queen today, cranking them out like crazy! My mother in law had to work today (again...), so Christian was off with the girls. I was pretty interested to see how that was going to go. He's only been alone with them one other time, a long time ago, so I think he was a little nervous about it. He did good...the girls were pretty out of control today though. It was clear when I arrived home that he was pretty exhausted from dealing with it, and it didn't get any better. We ate some dinner and took the girls outside, hoping that it would calm them down, but it didn't work. Amelia was standing at the top of the play side, and Olivia pushed her down the slide. It was not a pretty sight, and I was absolutely livid. We went inside and that was that. We've been trying to take a different approach to discipline lately...trying to be more consistent with time outs, explaining why we're upset/what she did wrong rather than just losing it, and getting her to apologize and show that she understands what she did. It seems to be working, maybe today was just a bad day for her.

So, after that incident, it was clearly time for bed. Hopefully it was just a today thing and not a set back! Here is a picture of Olivia, pre-incident. I can't even explain to you (well, the people that didn't know me as a child) how much this looks like me...it's seriously like looking through a time traveling mirror or something. LOL

8/9/11 - Annoyed

Well, nothing too exciting to report today. Christian is working with the other guys insurance company from the accident last night. It sounds like the truck will be going in next Tuesday for a few days. Hopefully it actually looks good as new when it's done!

I was REALLY annoyed at my morning show this morning. One of the DJ's is expecting his second child, and his wife has a c-section scheduled for next week. They got to talking about the baby, and one of the other DJ's brought up the fact that it was scheduled, and this guys says "yeah, it all scheduled. She had a c-section last time, so that's just the way it is from here on out". GRRRRRRRRR. I seriously wanted to throw my computer out of the window. VBAC's are one thing that I will never lose my passion for, and I despise the lack of education out there. I hate that the medical community doesn't push them and provide education on it automatically. I hate that women blindly follow the "once a c-section always a c-section" misconception still, and knowing that so many women don't put any thought into their own choices. I hate that VBAC's are still so rare, rather than being a pushed (not forced) option for women. It makes me so sad, angry and frustrated, all at once. I thought about writing in to the station, but figured it was pointless and gave up. But, felt the need to vent about it here! LOL

Our local newspaper had a BOGO deal on tickets to the Renaissance Festival today, so we snatched ours up and made plans to go with the Madrid's. YAY. I've only been once, but I'm thinking Olivia will get a hoot out of it. It's so crazy, we have our Ren Fest and State Fair trips planned, we'll have to start figuring out our Apple Orchard, pumpkin patch and Sever's Corn Maze schedule pretty soon. Fall is seriously right around the corner, and I can't wait!

After work we pretty much just hung out around the house. It was FINALLY beautiful outside, we were able to open up the windows (and actually be cool), turn off the AC and enjoy the change. Hopefully it sticks around for a little while now...we've definitely had our share of heat and humidity for the year!

Here is a picture of Amelia, who still rocks a pretty good mohawk once in a while!

8/8/11 - Aye

Today started off like any other Monday. It was Monday. Boo. They just never stop coming.

Work was good, playing catch up right now...I'm just enough behind to keep myself busy, but not too far behind that I feel pressured. Perfect!

I ended up leaving work a little early, like usual, to do my shopping and chores around the house. I stopped home, got my coupons and list together, cleaned up a little and was off to Target. As I was checking out, my phone was ring. Turned out it had rang 4 times, from Christian and his mom, I had a "call me ASAP" text from Christian, and a voicemail. I tried calling him but it went right to voicemail, so I finally checked the voicemail. All it said was "I got into an accident, call me when you get this". Nice.

Christian was on his way to pick up our camera, so he wouldn't even typically be in the accident area, which is even more frustrating. I finally called his mom, and ended up picking up the girls not knowing how long he would be. He finally called me when he got over to our friends house, and it turned out that he was rear ended (thankfully, not his fault at least). It was stop and go on the highway, and when he came to stop...the guy behind him didn't. Oops. I guess it was an older man, in his 70's, and he was pretty shaken up. His air bags went off and he said it was his first accident ever. Poor guy. He was driving an SUV, so the tank of a truck did end up getting damaged. The SUV went right on top of the bumper and smashed in the tail gate. Christian was NOT happy, but hopefully we can get it fixed soon. Just another thing to deal with.

So, now I had a car full of kids and groceries to unload...and Christian arrived home shortly after. We all went outside to check out the damage (a sad sight), then in to eat some dinner and hang out before bed. What a night! Not exactly what I was expecting, that's for sure.

Olivia was flipping out when I picked her up because she wanted to wear a dress. We didn't have any other there, so his mom put on of his nieces Easter dresses on her. LOL. It passes for "princess" to her, so whatever.

8/7/11 - Recovery!

Well, today was definitely a day of recover for the Duran household!

Starting off with a REALLY late wake up call...I mean a 10:15AM wake up call. How nice is that?!? I didn't think I'd ever get to sleep until 10:15 again in my life! It almost made up for Amelia being up every hour on the hour until I gave her another dose of Motrin at 3:30AM. Poor thing.

So, after that, we whipped up a nice big breakfast/lunch, and hung out for a while. Amelia was feeling much better this morning, but still didn't eat a ton. As the day went off, her fever came back though and she was not a happy camper. Man, I just hate that. I want my poor baby to just be better!

Shortly after breakfast, Christian took to the yard work. It was actually really nice out today, which was very exciting. We turned off the air and opened the windows. Fresh air was a nice change of pace! I was worried about naps with the late wake up, but I managed to get the girls down by 3:00 for a few hours. So, I took to my chore...going through kid clothes again. I wanted to get out all of our 9-12 month clothes so I could see what we had. And, I had a bunch of random clothes in the spare room that needed to be put away. I finished up that task right about the time Amelia woke up. So, she, Christian and I hung out for a bit and waited for Olivia to wake up.

Before we knew it, it was time for dinner. And, after dinner we spent a little time in the pool. It wasn't super hot out, but Olivia still wanted to play in there, so we let her for a little while. Then, before we knew it, it was already time for bed! Another week down, another fun filled weekend behind us, and back to work tomorrow. Just another Sunday!

I left my camera at the birthday party yesterday, so no pictures today! I'll just share a couple from this time last year! Olivia taking Chuy down the slide, one of her favorite games last summer, and Amelia's first "not really real" smile. My what a difference a year makes!