9/15/11 - Progress, Finally

Today was a pretty standard day. Well, except the fact that it was actually below freezing when we woke up this morning! There was actually frost on the ground! LOL. I'm not QUITE ready for all of that yet, but that fresh, cool air felt really nice this morning. It's hard to believe, but I think fall is really knocking on our door now!

Work was work...Christian is starting early all week, so he's been getting up bright and early with me (and I've been having to get the girls up and loaded in the car by myself....). I ended up leaving a little early today because we FINALLY have some people stopping over to buy some of our sale items, so I wanted to tidy up the house and make sure the stuff was clean and ready to go. We've been trying to sell some baby stuff (swing, bouncer, changing table) on Craigslist for a while, with no bites, so I keep reposting them. And, we're trying to sell our old desktop computer items now too. Well, tonight we finally sold the swing and the computer monitor! Yes, finally making some progress. I sure hope we can get the rest of the stuff sold, and next up I'm going to try to sell our old DVD's and CD's. I figure, it's time to start getting rid of some of this stuff we never use. I go back and forth on selling the girls' clothes as Amelia grows out of them. I just can't bring myself to do it quite yet though.

So, Christian hurried home as soon as he picked up the girls, we ate some dinner amidst the sales, watched The Little Mermaid for the 10th time this week and took it easy the rest of the night. The girls have been goofing around and chatting for a while before they finally fall asleep at night lately. It's fun to watch and listen to them, but I sure wish they wouldn't stay up so late! LOL

The girls were taking turns wearing the camera tonight; I managed to get a cute picture of each of them. They thought it was pretty funny.

9/14/11 - Randomness

Today was a pretty exciting day. Anyone who knows me, knows that TV is a big part of my life. I don't know why, but it always has been. I've never been into reading, the outdoors, or any of those past times, I love TV. I just love getting lost in the character of it all, and just being able to really enjoy something, without having to think too much about it. Tonight was a great night of television too! The finale of Big Brother (and, the person I wanted to win, did, YAY). The finale of America's Got Talent (like usual for this show, the talent that should have won, did not). The Premier of Survivor (yes, I STILL love Survivor) and the Premier of a new show, Up All Night, about two new parents. The previews for this one just cracked me up, and I could see myself in so much of it. It was actually really good too, so hopefully it stays good.

I received our photo CD from our family session a few weeks ago today, which was super exciting for me. I just love them, I can't wait to actually print some of them off and get our photo walls done. A few weeks ago a company that makes those vinyl word decals for the wall had a big sale, buy 1 get 2 free, plus free shipping, so I ordered some. I can't wait to actually get our walls [started] finished.

And, exactly one month from today, I will be in Chicago. Away from life for 3 wonderful days, getting to know some of my mom friends and having a blast. YES!

As far as our actual day, nothing too exciting happened. Hence, my love for TV. LOL

Here are some of my favorite shots from the photo session.

9/13/11 - Ramblings

My day did not start off too fun. The next little paragraph will probably be TMI for some readers...so feel free to skip over it.

I started the day off heading to the doctor for my "yearly" check up. NOT exciting, not in the least bit. Honestly, as horrible as it may be, I would not go if they didn't hold my birth control hostage when I was overdue. So, in I went, and everything went fine. We talked about nutrition and my midwife was fairly confident that my breastfeeding, then stopping, has been a big part of my weight loss disappointment. I talked about (TMI alert) the fact that my period has not returned yet. She was a little surprised since it has been a little over a month since I stopped nursing. But, assured me that there is no "normal" time frame for it to return after having a baby. She said to wait another month, and if it still hasn't returned I may need to go in for a progesterone shot (which does not sound like fun). She actually had me take a pregnancy test, just to make sure (even though I was 99.9% sure that it was absolutely not possible). Of course, that came back negative. So, all in all, everything went well. I was on a special birth control pill for nursing, and am now switching back to a regular pill. However, I can't start that until my period returns. Nothing is ever easy...LOL

SO, other than that, it was just a pretty standard Tuesday. Work, chasing around the girls, the usual chaos.

I'm thinking that I'll finally get my head above water at work this week. I have a few meetings and projects due this week, but I should be able to make a lot of progress on my inbox, and I'm pretty excited about that. I hate, hate, HATE needing somebody to help me get my work done, it makes me feel like a failure, or like I'm doing something wrong. I'll be happy to get through this week and get myself caught up (well, as caught up as possible anyway).

The girls have been doing a lot better lately. While the incidents are still pretty severe, they are less and less often as time goes on. I still think we really need some help on how to deal with her. Our methods of discipline obviously do not work for her, and we're still at a loss. I'm worried that with winter approaching, things might get worse. The more they are cooped up in the house together, the more challenging it seems to get. Hopefully some kind of light switch flips in her soon, and she realizes that it's actually a good thing to have a built in playmate around, and not the end of the world.

Olivia has a new habit of cuddling up on the glider in her room...I've actually found her sleeping on it a handful of times during the night. LOL. She was laying around on it tonight, so I took a picture quick. Ha.

9/12/11 - Another Monday

Today was just another Monday in our world. I made a lot of progress at work, and while I've typically been leaving early on Monday's to do our shopping, I didn't feel like ruining my progress at work today, so I just made a SUPER fast run to Target after work.

Other than that, we didn't do too much today. We just are not very exciting people during the week, that is for sure! Christian and Olivia watched some video's on the computer while Amelia and I harassed the dog. That was about the extent of our partying tonight.

9/11/11 - 10 Years...

It's hard to believe, but it's been 10 year since the 9/11 attacks. I can remember everything about that day as if it just happened yesterday. All of the fear, sadness, anger.

I recapped that day in my post last year, so I don't think I need to get into it again this year. I didn't lose anybody in the attacks that day. I don't personally know anybody that has perished in the wars resulting from that day. But, I can still feel all of the pain that day has inflicted on the country as a whole. As I watched the anniversary recaps and stories on TV today, I was filled with all of that emotion again. Similar to that day, but rather than being overwhelmed with fear, I was overwhelmed with sadness of what has become of the world, of our country since that day. All of the changes, from flying to trying to enter a sports arena; changes that leave you a little intimidated to even enjoy those events. The massive recession we are experiencing, due in large part to the wars going on in the middle east. It's a day that is just never going to stop leaving it's mark on this country, or its citizens.

After spending the morning watching news coverage, it turned into football Sunday. It felt nice, because it shows that even though we've gone through and experienced this horrific event, we are strong, we do persevere, and we will continue to enjoy our lives as we are supposed to.

The Vikings as the late afternoon game today, so it was nice to have a little time before kick off. Christian's friend, Lorenzo, came over to grill and watch the game. Unfortunately, the game did not go well. The Vikings were in the lead most of the game (though, not impressively), but gave it up and lost in the end. Dang! Hopefully that was not a sign of the season to come!

After the game, Christian and Lorenzo ran over to his parents house to pick up the old snowblower, then were off to Lorenzo's to throw it in his apartment garbage. The girls and I hung out, attempted to paint our nails, and headed to bed. Another week down, and another week to come. Life definitely goes on; but the past is never forgotten.

Here are some pictures of the girls, sporting the Purple Pride!

9/10/11 - Heat Wave

Well, we're in the midst of a little Indian Summer style heat wave right now. It's a little too hot for my comfort, but by mid-next-week the temperature is really supposed to drop, like to freezing levels, so we'll definitely be enjoying these few days of warm weather.

I spent the morning going through the clothes Kelly dropped off last night. Lots of super cute stuff! I'm glad I went through it because there was a ton of cute summer clothes in there, so Olivia can get some use out of them over the next couple of days. Christian whipped up some breakfast and entertained the girls for a while.

Finally, it was time to get ready and head off to a birthday party, YAY! My cousin Chad's son, Aiden, turned 4 today, and we were off to celebrate. The party was outside, and of course, much hotter than any of us had anticipated. It was great though. There were TONS of kids for the girls to play with, so they had the time of their lives. A lot of my family was there, so it was nice catching up with them. And, of course, Christian and Chad had a chance to act dumb together for a while. Those 3 were not too happy when it was time to go, but it was getting dark, getting late, and I felt disgusting from sweating all day. It was definitely time to go.

The rest of the night was pretty low key. The girls went off to bed shortly after we got home, and I was not far behind. These hot days just take it all out of me!

Here are a few party shots to share.

9/9/11 - Finally Friday

Yes indeed, it's finally Friday. Even better, my Friday off work! YES! Spending the day with my crazy girls. It's exhausting, but oh so fun at the same time! The girls were actually great today. They pretty much did their own thing most of the day. Amelia did not sleep well last night AT ALL, so luckily she made up for that with a really long nap today. Giving me lots of time to catch up on my DVR (still shows from last season, LOL).

Christian picked up some take out on his way home and we spent the night hanging out around the house. Another exciting Friday night, you know the drill!

Here is a snap of the girls, eating their apples and Cheerio's and watching some movies. Friends today! YAY

9/8/11 - The Return of Football!

Today was a pretty typical day. Work went much better today. I plowed through my contracts like a pro! I finally felt like I'd gotten somewhere by the end of the day, and that felt great for a change. Maybe Melissa won't need to cover me for so long after all! Christian started early again today, but got off on time, so it doesn't look like he'll be getting as much OT this week as we expected.

After work, I rushed home to get some stuff done. I picked up the rest of the upstairs, did lots of dishes and cleaned up the kitchen. Ah, an almost clean house. Feels good! I was VERY excited when I checked the mail only to find the Sever's tickets I'd won yesterday AND the USA Baby Gift Card I won from KDWB a few weeks ago! Having those in hand felt so good. I also got another package today...the girls' pillow pets. I found them some generic pillow pets for SUPER cheap, and free shipping, so I have officially started Christmas shopping. LOL

Once the rest of the house showed up, I made some dinner and we settled in to watch the opening night of football, New Orleans vs. Green Bay. Two teams we Vikings HATE. But, I'm excited for the return off football. Sunday the Vikings open up their season, fingers crossed for a good one!

That was about it. My obsession with Words With Friends continued, so with that, I leave you to attend the 11 games I have going! Here are a couple pictures of Amelia...being a pretty ballerina and sleeping with all of her favorite things. They sure are cute when they are peacefully sleeping!

9/7/11 - Lucky Day

Today started off very stressful. Work is definitely still getting the best of me. I still feel like I can't get anything done...e-mails are popping up non-stop, my phone is ringing off the hook. I can't concentrate on anything because it's a constant stream of interruptions. SO FRUSTRATING! Not to mention the new stack of requests that showed up this morning. Seriously, it's never going to end. But, one of my amazing co-workers took a few more of my Contracts, and actually told our supervisor to assign all of my new work to her for right now, while I catch up. THANK GOD for her, and thank god things are unusually slow for her right now!

By quitting time, things were looking WAY up. After that burden was lifted, I received an e-mail from KDWB that my USA Baby gift card was in the mail, AND I won tickets to Sever's Corn Maze! YES. I am OBSESSED with free stuff. Seriously, I may be ridiculously pathetic when it comes to coupons, but I work my tail off for free stuff, and I'd say I'm pretty successful at it! I also spent a little time looking over our budget, and it looks like, if we stick to our budget, we should have all of our debt paid of by the end of next summer. Truck, Line of Credit, Visa....all of it, except the house of course. It feels amazing to see that light at the end of the tunnel! Things are finally going to start looking up, and life is going to get that much easier. Financial freedom is not that far away any more, and our hard work and budgeting is finally going to pay off!

After work, I finished up the laundry, got everything put away, and packed away another load of too small clothes. Christian worked late, and spent a little time at his mom's, so I spent some time relaxing and playing on the computer. By the time he got home, we ate a quick dinner, spent a little time together, then it was time for baths and bed. Another day down, from ultra stressful, to ultra amazing, it was quite a day indeed!

Here is a bath time photo (I'm sure they will LOVE all of the bath photos we have of them when they get older, LOL).

9/6/11 - It's What Day?

I love days like this. It's Tuesday, but it feels like Monday because we didn't work yesterday, but really it's my Wednesday because I don't work on Friday. LOL, did you follow that?

I don't really have much to share today. It was a pretty low key day. I'm still nowhere near catching up at work. I don't even know if catching up is possible at this point. To top it off, I have MANY projects posted for proposals right now, and 5 of them are due this week. OUCH. Christian is working some OT this week...he's not sure how much, but he's thinking a couple hours every day. Works for me!

After work, I cleaned up the basement and finally got everything put back in order following our get together this weekend. I did a few load of laundry, made some dinner, and took it easy the rest of the night.

The girls have been pretty good lately. Amelia is officially sleep trained now....YAY, YAY, YAY! I'm sure I've discussed it before, but I am very anti-cry it out when it comes to babies and sleep. I feel that if a baby won't sleep and/or is crying, it's for a reason...even if that reason is just that they want comforting. If that's why they're crying, then it's your responsibility to provide that and meet that need. So, that's something that we've never done. (Just to clarify, this game changes when baby becomes a toddler and is doing it simply to avoid going to bed). So, for the last week or two, we've been able to put Amelia down after her bedtime bottle awake, and after a little time rolling around, goofing around and/or talking to herself, she goes to sleep. All by herself. It feels AMAZING to finally reach this point with her. After all of the sleep issues we've had, we're finally at a wonderful place, and it feels very freeing.

Amelia is also officially moving into 9-12 month clothes completely. I miss my tiny baby...she sure seems to be growing fast all of a sudden. Olivia is still pretty aggressive towards her, but she's actually been playing with her really well lately. Hopefully things keep changing more and more, and they'll grow to have an amazing relationship.

That's really about it. Not much going on the next few days...but some relaxing time is probably a good thing! The girls were VERY into their cartoons tonight....