11/10/11 - "Service Men & Women"

Today, my "30 Days of Thankful" item is, our Service Men and Women. In preparation for Veteran's Day tomorrow, I thought it was only fitting to get into the spirit. So, today I am thankful for the men and women, past, present and future, who risk their lives to make a better life for the rest of us. They are brave, they are strong, they are courageous, they are truly amazing for the sacrifice. So many pay the ultimate price, all to make a better world for the rest of that. They deserve our eternal gratitude, and thank you does not even begin to provide the reward they deserve.

Today was actually a pretty great day. First, we had our first (very minor) snowfall of the year! I was really excited to look out the window and see HUGE, fluffy snowflakes falling from the sky. I thought for sure we'd be pulling out the snow gear for some fun this weekend...but, alas, it stopped snowing soon after, and that was that. Boo. Things were D-E-A-D at work, and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it that way. By lunch time, there were only 4 of us left in the office, and it was great. It was quiet and automatically less stressful just by the lack of persons. Seriously, it would be perfect if work was just like today, every day!

After work, I picked up the girls while Christian helped a friend check out some possible re-wiring work he's going to need in the house he's buying. Of course, the girls decided to take a REALLY late nap today, so they were still passed out when I got there. So, I chatted with my mother in law about Christmas and Olivia's birthday for a bit. I need to get on gift lists...time is going too fast!

Finally, we all met up back home, ate some dinner, tore about the hard and acted like a pack of crazies. Just another night in the Duran household! Of course, as a government employee, I have tomorrow off, and I've very much looking forward to it. My mom is taking the girls for a bit so I can get some stuff done around the house...exciting stuff!

Here is a picture of Olivia that I just LOVE! I could get lost in those big browns!

11/9/11 - "Seasons"

Today, my "30 Days of Thankful" item is, Seasons. And, I mean REAL, Minnesota style seasons.

• A Winter, filled with cold, crisp, breath-stealing air and glittery, snow-covered surroundings. Comfort food, hot chocolate, Christmas joy. Twinkling lights and snowmen. Such wonder, in every unique little snowflake that falls.
• A Spring, that swoops in to clean the Earth as only Mother Nature could. Fresh, clean air. Fresh, growing flowers and trees full of budding leaves. You look around, and it's as if the world is being reborn, right in front of you.
• A Summer, full of sunny, family-fun-filled days. Trips to the zoo, the parks, the lake. Days spent "poolside", no matter how kiddie that pool may be. Thunderstorms and a never ending list of things to do.
• A Fall, filled with amazing, vibrant colors and comforting scents. Trips to apple orchards, corn mazes and pumpkin patches. Halloween and Thanksgiving amazingness.

We are blessed with so many amazing things, on a daily basis, just by taking a minute to step outside, and look around.

Today was a pretty decent day. I've been enjoying myself much more at work lately, now that I finally have a normal work load going on, and consistently at that. I finally have the chance to step out of my cubicle and even chat with co-workers every once in a while...I've been so secluded for so long, unable to escape my piles, upon piles, upon piles. I can just feel the stress leaving my body. Now, the trick is to actually stay on top of things for a change!

I did leave work a tad early. I had to pick up Olivia and bring her in for her flu vaccination. She got the flu mist for the first time this year. I was a little nervous about it...to be honest, I could never bring myself to spray something up my nose. I debated doing it for Olivia. She actually does great with shots...she never cries, she watches the whole thing from start to finish. But, the thing I like about the mist is that it's active immediately, which is nice. I feel more secure knowing that she's instantly protected, versus waiting 2 weeks. She did better with it than expected. She wouldn't "sniff" for the nurse, but once we were heading to the car, on our own, I got her to do it. Then, all was done.

We picked up Amelia, and were on our way home. I whipped up a quick dinner, and then got back into my wall art projects. We borrowed a blow dryer from my mother in law...one that actually works...and I was finally able to get the vinyl from Monday to stick. And, I got the remaining two up as well. YAY! Now, I just have to finish the picture displays that go along with them, and I can finally check another "design" task off my list! Next up, the playroom!

Here are some pictures of our new wall art.

11/8/11 - "Me" and the 20 Controversy

Today, my "30 Days of Thankful" item is....me! Yes, I know how strange that may sound, but, hear me out.

I know who I am, I've always been me, and I have not wavered in that. My opinions, views and morals, whether personal, political, religious or world view, have not changed with time, surroundings or convenience. I do not alter myself for anybody around me, I do not try to be, or portray, something I am not. I am me, and I am proud of that.

I have nothing in my past to be embarrassed or ashamed of. There is nothing in it that I would not be happy to share with my children. There will be no hypocrisy on my part as I try to guide my children down the right path in life. I am proud of my past, not only because it made me who I am, but because I've always made smart decisions with my life and the choices I make. Whether relationship wise, drugs, alcohol, sex, general behavior. I can truly say, I am comfortable with my past, and I don't think a ton of people can really say that.

I am secure with my present. I have a husband that loves me, regardless of the arguments and the downs of our relationship. I have amazing children, that brighten my every day. I have a job that I love. I have a home full of love, happiness and laughter. I surround myself with good people. I work hard for my family and I would do anything for the people I care about. For these same reasons, I am I am excited to see what the future holds.

I may be stubborn, but with that comes strength. I may be opinionated, but I would NEVER try to push my opinions onto somebody else, or begrudge somebody for having a different opinion than me. I may be not trust easy, and I may hold a grudge, but only when I'm pushed beyond a pretty thick line.

So, yes, today, I am thankful for me, and the person that I am!

Today was a fairly boring day, other than events that kind of led up to my realization of the above declaration. Today, it was announced that the "Duggar Family" is expecting their 20th child. This is a story/family that I've followed for years. And, I do not agree with their choice to continue having children, for many reasons. I have many opinions on this matter...

• The main reason I do not agree with their choice to continue having children...the risk, not only to mom Duggar, but to the unborn child, and really, the family as a whole. Michelle is 45 years old. While a women's body IS meant to bare and birth children, it's not meant to go through 19 pregnancies, including multiple c-sections. She is not only risking her own life, in turn taking the very legitimate risk of leaving her 19/20 kids motherless, but she is risking the life of her unborn child. The last child was not just premature, but extremely premature, and barely survived. It's just scary to think of the risks she's taking.
• People say "well, at least they can support their family". Well, of course they can. They make who knows how much money off of their TV show. The only reason they can support their family, is by exploiting them for the world to see.
• As much as a lot of people hate to hear it, the world is extremely overpopulated. Now, obviously this is not solely to blame on the Duggar's or anything like that, but no one family should carry such a burden on the environment. The resources it takes for each individual person to survive...the water, the energy and overall footprint we leave behind. I mean, if half of the couples in the world were doing what this family is doing, everyone in the other half would think it was a problem...so why is it that just because it's a fairly rare occurrence, it's OK?
• People say, "well, at least the kids seem smart and well behaved". First of all, why should that matter? I mean, yeah it's great that they aren't just a family of juvenile delinquents, but I still don't know why that matters? And, half of them haven't even reached their teenage years yet. I think it's a little early to grant them all sainthood.
• Finally, I hate our cultures latest fad of "who are we to judge". We are human beings, that is what gives us the right to judge. EVERYBODY judges, almost on a daily basis. Furthermore, in my experience, the people who declare that nobody has the right to judge, are usually the ones that judge the harshest! You see somebody walking in an outfit that you don't care for and you comment on it to a spouse or friend...you are judging...you are judging the designer for designing such an ugly garment, or the wearer for purchasing the monstrosity. Somebody doesn't follow your religion, or a religion at all for that matter, you judge them. Whether silently, or by "praying the lord provides them guidance". Who are you to decide what god somebody should pray to, or even if they should? You judge people's parenting skills when they aren't in line with your own choices. You judge people for being working parents, or you judge them for being stay at home parents. You judge somebody for not being charitable, not going to church, for not having children, for not liking pets. The list goes on and on. A lot of times, just by forming an opinion, you are judging. It is part of life, and it is a right of life. In the end, it is what you do with those judgements that shows the true person you are. How you treat others, even if they make decisions or have opinions you don't agree with. How well you hold your tongue and realize that your opinion is not the be all end all and you don't need to force your choices down other peoples throats. And, knowing that sometimes, it may be best to just keep your opinions and judgements to yourself.

Today was a frustrating day for me. I posted the Duggar story on my facebook page, because, as I said, it's a family I've followed for a long time, and something i am interested in. And, yes, I have an opinion on it. I ended up getting "attacked" by some for my opinions, and found myself having to defend myself. Which is fine, but it's frustrating. I mean, it's not like I was sitting face to face with the Duggar's telling them my every opinion. I would never do that, because in the end, their family is their family. It's not my place to tell them how to live it. But, yes, in the "privacy" of my facebook page, I am in fact allowed to say whatever I want. More than that, I didn't say anything malicious, mean or degrading towards any of the family, I spoke my concerns, and my honest shock in the whole situation. Then, when people pull out the "who are we to judge card" it gets me all riled up. Yes, like it or not, I have an opinion and I am in fact allowed to express it, even if you don't agree with it. And, in the end, this family CHOSE to put their lives on TV, week after week, season after season, for the world to see. They have chosen to let the world develop and have an opinion on them and their choices. It is basically like celebrities who complain about being in the public eye. Nobody forced you into the world of celebrity, and, it comes with the territory.

So, that was basically the start of my day. Everybody is entitled to their own opinions, and I fully respect that. As long as everybody else does as well....

Other than that, it was a pretty low key day. Once we were all home, we pretty much just hung out, ate dinner, watched our nightly installment of Tangled and just enjoyed a typical day together. And, that was that.

Here is a shot of Amelia, officially entering the technology world. I think battles over the iPod will be here in no time...

11/7/11 - "My Chuy"

Todays "30 Days of Thankful" item is, our Furbaby, Chuy! As much as he drives me crazy, Chuy is definitely a part of the family, and we would not be complete without him. No matter how much I may ignore him, or how many times he hears "no", "stop it", "go away"...he still loves me, unconditionally. He greets me, tail wagging at top speed, barely containing his cries of joy, as if I'm the most amazing person in the world. He provides ample entertainment for the family as a whole, and, Olivia is just over the moon in love with him. We jokingly ask her all the time if we should get rid of Chuy...she says "oh no, I love my Chuy". So, yes, Chuy the Chihuahua, we are truly thankful for you!

Today was a pretty good day. I found out our bank is offering discounted tickets to Disney on Ice next month, so my mom, Olivia and I, along with Kelly and Meeka will be going, and we're all super excited about it, I can't wait to see the girls' reaction! So fun. I was feeling a little under the water today, just kind of run down more than anything I think, and being that I don't have anything too pressing sitting in my box right now, I took the afternoon off. I took right to the couch and relaxed for a while, which was much needed. Once I had some energy back, I took to my newest decorating project...our wall vinyls. I had a BIG, BIG problem with it though. I think the mixture of our cold basement, a textured wall, and a blow dryer that really doesn't work made it a very difficult task. In the end, I got it up, but had to do it letter by letter, and it's not perfect yet. I'll need to touch it up when I get access to a better heat source. At least I've finally started on a task I've been wanting to do for a long, LONG time.

Once Christian and the girls were home, I started dinner, did some dishes and hung out with the girls while Christian replaced a drippy laundry room faucet. Seriously, there is always something that needs replacing! We didn't get much down time today...it was bed time before we knew it! Thankfully, the girls seem to have adapted to the time change with no issue. They went to bed last night at a decent time, woke up on our way to "daycare" this morning, took their naps at a normal time this afternoon and were off to bed tonight with no issue. YAY, take that time change!

Here's a picture of my sweet Amelia Bedelia. I just love this face!

11/6/11 - "Luck"

Today's "30 Days of Thankful" item is, the fact that my girls "get" daylight savings time, so, as a parent, that would mean....luck! To most kids, time change means nothing. They are still up, at the same time, regardless. Not my girls though! They usually get up around 8:00...today, they still slept until 8:00, which was really 9:00, so they took full advantage of that extra hour. Knock on wood, we've never had an issue with either of the girls when it comes to time changes...YAY! Hopefully that continues over the next few days.

Today was a great day, filled with a lot of random stuff. I got most of our laundry done. Christmas got most of the Christmas lights hung up outside. We took a family trip to Target for groceries and necessities (and some not so necessary necessities). We did a little picking up around the house, and just enjoyed some rare down time together. A weekend of no plans, and the ability to just really do what we want, and need, to do all weekend long has come to an end. I think we need to make a conscious effort to make it happen more often.

Christian passed out on the couch last night. The girls were more than happy to wake him this morning...

11/5/11 - "Excedrin"

Yes, that's right. Today's "30 Days of Thankful" item is, Excedrin. Today, like so many days, I woke up with a pounding, toeing the line of migraine, headache. I don't know if I've ever stated it or not....but, I started getting childhood migraines when I was maybe 9 or 10. I mean throw up, room spinning, knock me out headaches. I was put on prescription ibuprofen at a pretty young age. Well, most kids who have childhood migraines grow out of them...but, not me. I still get them on occasion. They were the worst when I was pregnant with Olivia, HORRIBLE. So, today, I am thankful for modern medicine to make me able to perform at full strength!

I thought for sure we would be able to sleep in today...Olivia staying the night at my mom's, Amelia being up fairly late last night. But, nope. The neighbors are putting on a new roof, right outside our and Amelia's rooms, at 7:30AM. So, up and at em we were! In the end, it was a good thing. It forced us to get going on all of the stuff we want to do. We cleaned the basement, scrubbed the carpets and cleaned the couches. Did some general picking up around the basement. Much needed cleansing of the house.

Christian started putting up Christmas lights outside (head start, rather than freezing to death in a few weeks when he did it last year!). Olivia was home after nap time and we all just took it easy the rest of the night. Of course, after a night apart, the girls would not leave each other alone...and, this is NOT a good thing. They just followed each other everywhere, kept fighting over everything and were just driving us up the wall. I don't think they can ever be separated again! LOL

Rico and Chuy have actually started tolerating each other lately. I got this picture of them basking in the sun together today.

11/4/11 - "My Day Off"

Today, my "30 Days of Thankful" item is, having every other Friday off. It's my special day, home with my girls, just the 3 of us. They are always so happy to wake up in their own room and when they see me come in to get them out of bed. I cherish our Friday's together.

After a little breakfast, we got ready for the day and then we were off to Perkin's for a girls lunch. They ate so well and we survived, just the 3 us us, at a restaurant. YAY! Then, we were off to Amelia 15 month appointment. For the first time ever, I was not nervous for her appointment. I just KNEW she had finally gained some weight, and I couldn't wait to get her update. She ended up weighing in at 22lbs, which puts her in the 35% for weight (up from 18lbs9ozs and 12% 3 months ago), and she is 30.25" tall, which puts her in the 41% for height (up from 27.5" and 10% 3 months ago). I was pretty shocked to see just how much she's grown! What a difference 3 months can make, talk about a growth spurt! She is officially over her reflux, and her breathing issues are a thing of a past. She's developmentally on track and perfect as can be! YAY :) She did have to get 3 shots, plus her flu vaccination. Poor baby. Hoping she doesn't have any kind of reaction like last time.

After the appointment, we made our way home. Amelia passed out in the car, and proceeded to nap for a few hours. My mom met us at home, picked up Olivia, and took her for the night. It's always hard for her to be away, but life with 1 child is quite a bit easier than 2, so it's nice to be able to get some stuff done around the house. I spent most of the night cleaning and storing away all of the downstairs toys. We're going to work on converting the "office" into a play room, and we're getting the basement ready for some professional carpet cleaning.

Christian and I just hung out, watching some shows and cleaning up once he was home from work. Nothing too exciting, just the way I like it!

I got this cute picture of Amelia tonight. She is quite the "talker" these days, and does NOT like to be interrupted when she's "talking" on the (fake) phone. She has quite an attitude...already.

11/3/11 - "My Husband"

Today's "30 Days of Thankful" item is, my hubby. Things are not always perfect. We struggle, we fight and we certainly annoy each other at times, but he completes me and we've had the amazing opportunity to grow up together. We've started a beautiful family together, we have a wonderful home and our lives are filled with laughter and joy, even through the hard times. He's an amazing father, a wonderful husband an a pretty great guy all around. I'm a lucky woman, even though I may forget that some days.

Today was a pretty standard day. Work, home and the usual craziness. No need to drag the post out :)

I've been looking through some old photos and boxes of "stuff" lately, and I ran across this picture...me and my love, a lifetime ago...

11/2/11 - "My Job"

Today's "30 Day of Thankful" item is, my job! I'm lucky enough to have a job that I actually enjoy. I gets stressed out and am often overwhelmed, but I wouldn't have it any other way. My days fly by, and I learn something new every day. I like (most of) the people I work with, which is also a bonus. I am proud of what I do, and the service I provide for my state. I'm lucky enough to have a fairly secure job, with pretty great benefits...and, this day in age, just lucky to have my job period! My job is part of me, it is one of the many things that completes me. I don't know what I would do if I ever lost it, or if I didn't work there. I would definitely know something was missing. I love my job, and I don't forget how lucky I am to have it!

Today was a pretty boring day over all. I think I'm in the midst of a lull right now. Really, I'm OK with that. Our lives have been pretty low key, and it's a nice change of pace from the usual craziness. We've been pretty lazy about the shopping and the household chores and, well, pretty much everything these days. I think everybody deserves a little laziness here and there!

I think I mentioned a while back that I got the girls some hats. Well, Olivia's was too big, and the person I bought them from had a big sale, so I got her another one. It came and we tried it out today. Fits much better, and, it's SUPER cute!

11/1/11 - "My Girls"

So, last November, my facebook was flooded with friends doing the "30 Days of Thankful" game. Pretty self explanatory, but basically every day, you post something you are thankful for. It's a good lead into the Holiday season, and in a world where it is so easy to focus on the bad, the things we're "missing", the negatives, it's nice to take a step back and remember all of the great things that we do have. Well, I didn't really notice the game until we were a bit into November, and I think I was just too overwhelmed with life at that point to focus on anything really, so I'm excited to take part in it this year. I'm sure some days, depending on the immediate situation, are bound to be somewhat trivial. But, we'll give it a shot!

Today, my "30 Days of Thankful" item is, obviously, my girls. My beautiful, active, energetic, smart, devilish little angels. They bring more meaning to my life than I ever imagined possible. They make me laugh, make me cry, drive me crazy, excite me and everything in between, every day. There are no words to describe how amazing it is to be a parent, to look at these little girls and know there are a living, breathing part of me, and I have the honor of helping shape their futures. I could never thank them enough for coming into ours lives!

So, outside of that, it was Tuesday as usual in our house. We were all a little beat after all of the Halloween festivities, so tonight we took it pretty easy. Just the usual work, dinner, hang out and bed. I know, it doesn't get much more exciting than our lives, I get it :)

Here is a pic of my babies. They are newly obsessed with flossing...I guess there are worse things to be obsessed with!