12/27/11

Back into the swing of things. The Holiday season really screws with my schedule - makes it really hard to go back to working every day once it's all over! LOL. Since yesterday was our Christmas Holiday, and Friday is my regular Friday off, it's a 3-day work week for me! I definitely do not hate that! Honestly, that is ideal for me. I would love to work 3 days a week, every week.

I was actually really busy at work, and got all of my highest priority Contracts written, which felt really great. Christian is working at least 2 hours overtime all week (like last week, and probably next week). It turns out they actually get Holiday pay for yesterday, and they posted Saturday, which he'll hopefully get. Should be a nice paycheck next time, which will really help out.

After work, I stopped into Walmart to pick up a couple necessities, and spent the rest of the night actually putting away all of the Christmas gifts and getting the house and toys in order. We have a ton to get done over the next week or so before the carpet cleaners come. Then, it's onto our next big project, finally - the play room! I cannot wait to get started, and see what we come up with. .

Christian and the girls arrived home just in time for dinner and a little family time. We have a Christmas celebration left this Saturday, but it's hard to believe that Christmas is over. It's come and gone again. We're so close to saying goodbye to another year. Really, where does the time go?!

With everything going on, I'm going to be a little out of whack with the age pictures, so I'm doing them today. Amelia's 17 month picture (a day late) and Olivia's 3 year picture (a few days early). Such beauties!

12/26/11

Amelia Badelia is a whole 17 months old today! It's so hard to believe it. She is such an amazing little girl. She's starting to talk more and more every day. Her main words now are mom/mama, dada, grandma, grandpa, purple (seriously, clear as day, it's a pretty strange one), milk, more, baby, bowl and blue. She knows where we keep just about everything, and communicates what she wants so well now days. She is still the sweetest little thing in the world, but she definitely doesn't take much crap. She can defend herself pretty well, that's for sure. Her appetite still seems to come and go...some days she can't eat enough, other days I'm not sure how she survives. She is wearing 12-18 month clothing, which are actually getting a little short on her, so she just may move up a size when she is "supposed" to. She's in Size 4 diapers now, which look HUGE on her, but they give her more protection, and less irritation.

It's so amazing watching her grow, and seeing the relationship between the girls change as they both get older. They get very competitive and jealous of each other, but they are also SO in love with each other. When they are apart, Olivia asks about "sissy" non-stop. She's always worried about what Amelia is doing, how she is doing, who she is with. It's so cute. And, Amelia just thinks Olivia is amazing. If she gets a snack or a toy, she always asks for a second and brings it to Olivia. She never wants to leave Olivia out. They have been doing much better with sharing. We're trying to get Olivia into the mode of "if you want something, you have to ask to "switch" and give them something else in return". She's doing better. It will take some time, but I don't see Amelia having any issues sharing, so that might help.

Other than that, it was a fairly quiet day. Christian had to work, today was my Holiday, so it was just me and the girls. I took them to Perkins for breakfast with some of my Christmas cash, then we stopped into Target. I wanted to pick up some Christmas lights to expand our display next year...but they were ALREADY sold out, at 10:00AM! I couldn't believe it! Then, it was home to play for a bit. We checked out some of the new toys and did a little craft project my stepmom sent home with the girls. Then, NAP TIME. I took it easy during nap time, and just relaxed with the computer and the DVR. You are never going to believe this...but, I am 100% caught up on the DVR now! There is not a single recording on it! I don't think that has ever happened to be before. It feels strange. LOL

After naps and a quick dinner, I got the girls ready, and we were off on another Holiday adventure! We picked Christian up from work, then headed into the cities for the "Holiday Lights in the Park" display. It's a really cool light display in St. Paul, that you just drive through and check out all of the displays from your car. It's normally $8 or $10 a car, but I won a "ticket" on facebook last week, so it was FREE (of course). The girls LOVED it. Amelia is so small, and rear facing, so she couldn't see much. We ended up taking them out of their car seats and Christian held them so they could see. I mean, we were in a park, going 0-2MPH, so if anybody wants to give us flack for that, so be it. I'm really glad we made it this year, definitely a new tradition!

Finally, we were home tonight. We arrived home to another mysterious "disaster"...one of our potted "trees" in front of the garage was knocked over. So now we've had the cut string of lights, the mailbox destruction and this. Seriously, can this all really be a coincidence?? Strange.

Bedtime came soon after arriving home. It's hard to believe the long weekend has come to an end. It's never a good thing.

12/25/11

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Christmas, such an amazing day. From the true meaning, to the commercial spirit. I just love it all. Christmas brings such a sense of joy, love and magic. As the girls get older, and more excited about everything, it's just that much better!

Today the girls were up bright and early, as usual. We got right to opening up presents when they woke up, and they had so much fun. They just loved EVERYTHING they opened, like it was the most amazing thing in the world. It was so fun watching them open every package and investigate every gift. After the gift and stocking frenzy, we quick fed the girls, and got ready for my mom to stop over with her gifts. Then, the chaos started up again. Again, the girls were just in awe of every gift. Olivia is VERY princess'ed out now, and Amelia is just too funny. She has a good collection of Winnie the Pooh stuff now, and she LOVE, LOVE, LOVES to get clothes. Every time she opens clothes, she right away wants to put it on. It's the cutest thing ever. My mom brought Christian and I some breakfast too, which was a nice added bonus!

Finally, it was time to shower and get ready. The girls were dolled up and cute as can be, and we were off to Christmas at my grandparents' house. The house was packed and filled with lots of laughter and fun, like usual. The girls had so much fun playing with the other kids. The girls each got a couple of gifts, we got a nice gift from my grandparents and had fun playing in the dirty Santa exchange. No naps and a busy few days started catching up to the girls, and we were on our way home fairly early (missed out on the sandwich dinner and almost missed PIE!). They fell asleep on the way home, and we decided to just put them to bed, and keep our fingers crossed that they would say there (and, they actually did...from 6:30 straight until morning!).

Christian and I just took it easy the rest of the night. Tomorrow is my Holiday at work, but Christian has to work, so he was passed out pretty early too. It's hard to believe Christmas has come and gone again. But, we all know it will be here again before we know it they way time fly's by so fast!

I hope everybody had a wonderful Christmas, surrounded by happiness and loved ones!

12/24/11

Merry Christmas Eve! I hope everybody is celebrating in some way, big or small!

We had a very relaxing morning today, which was really nice. Christian did spend some time putting in a new post for the mailbox, but thanks to the lack of snow and extreme cold, that went pretty fast. Buddy came bright and early for his last visit. He got pretty fancy today, and even wrapped the girls’ gifts! Today they each got a new pair of jammies to wear today, and their own personalized place mats for the table. Lucky girls! They were so excited to see him today – I think they’re going to be pretty sad to say goodbye to good ol’ Buddy!

We just spent the morning hanging out and relaxing. Once the girls were up from their naps, we were off to Christian’s parents’ house, with my mom, for the evening. They didn’t do anything super formal, just lots of yummy appetizers to pig out on. The girls were TOTALLY spoiled and got a ton of great stuff. We got a new set of pots and pans which I’m very excited about. The drinking didn’t get too out of control (always my big concern), and we had a really good time.

After we got home, the girls and I put out some milk and cookies for Santa, and they were off to bed. Christian and I put up the new princess castle Olivia got so she would be able to play with it tomorrow. That thing was a major PITA to put together too, let me tell you! She is going to love it though!

Christmas celebration 2 of 4 down, man I love this time of year!

12/23/11

Today was an AMAZING Friday. Seriously, amazing!

Well, it didn’t start off that way. I received a phone call from my mom that Olivia had thrown up after breakfast. Hoping that it was a fluke thing, we let it go. I made a couple of pretty big Craigslist sales on my lunch break, and my co-worker surprised me with Thai food for lunch! YUM. And, my supervisor ended up sending the few of us that were there home early for the day! Awesome!

I was able to run to a couple stores and pick up some last minute gift cards before I picked up the girls – and with that, Christmas shopping is over! Olivia was doing well, but she threw up again after lunch, and after the car ride home. It seems to be just an upset stomach, maybe she ate something that didn’t agree with her or something? It seems to only be food or motion induced; otherwise, she seems completely normal.

Buddy made a hasty appearance today, completely destroying our Gingerbread house. He brought the girls some Princess stickers and magnets though, that seemed to cheer them up. After a little hanging out, we were off to the Madrid’s house for our first Christmas celebration. We met Christian there, ate lot so yummy snacks, the kids opened their presents and we had some time to catch up. The girls seem to be getting better and better at sharing and playing together, which is nice.

Eventually, toddler crabbiness started up, and it was time to head home. We made a quick stop on the way home to check out this beautiful tree that's lit up every year. We can see it from way down the highway, and every year I'm just in awe. The girls thought it was the coolest thing ever. I love it.

The girls fell asleep on the way home, and Christian and I didn’t last much longer. It was an early night, but a really great day.

12/22/11

Today I was home with the girls because my mother in law had to work. It’s always kind of an adventure when I’m home with the girls – you never know exactly how the day is going to go with them. Today was actually a really, REALLY great day. The girls were beyond well behaved, I couldn’t believe it really. They actually slept in, which was a nice change of page. They were quiet and played so well together, all day long. Sharing, laughing and just having the time of their life. They both ate all of their breakfast AND their lunch. They went down for their naps with no screaming or fighting it. It was seriously one of the the easiest day I’ve ever had with them. I LOVE days like this! No fighting, no stress, no yelling – just an entire day of truly enjoying every second with my girls.

I spent nap time doing my usual…paying bills, balancing the budget, catching up on some DVR’d shows and relaxing with the computer.

The girls went down for their naps pretty late, so Christian arrived home shortly after they woke up. We ate some dinner, and Buddy showed up, hiding upon the girls’ ceiling fan with some fairy wings (“Buddy” may or may not have hurt himself getting into position today…ouch). You should see how the girls react to Buddy’s arrival now days – they just LOVE the whole thing, and ask about him all the time. It’s been so fun, but I’m not sure what they are going to do when he’s gone…

Christian went outside to pull his truck in, and discovered that our mailbox was lying out in the middle of the street. Our mailbox is actually a double mailbox (we share with the neighbors across the street) with quite a solid post into the ground. We both went out to investigate, and it was clear a car had hit it. We saw tire tracks coming across the grass, heading straight for where the mailbox is supposed to be. We were so upset, and at a complete loss of what to do. We did some investigating and we are indeed responsible for replacing it (you know, in all of our extra time, with all of our extra funds). The neighbors across the street never even came out to check or talk to us (it turned out they were in Vegas on vacation, but even to this day – weeks later – they never once mentioned it, thanked us for fixing it or anything. GREAT neighbors we have). Just one more thing to fit into a busy Holiday weekend. Ugh.

Here is a picture of Buddy with his goodies, and the girls, snuggling together on the couch. They were total best friends today!

12/21/11

Today was a pretty low key day. It FINALLY snowed today, a pretty decent amount, but it doesn’t sound like it will stick around through the weekend. Boo. It’s looking like we will definitely NOT be having a white Christmas this year. Pretty bummed about it, but I suppose one brown Christmas every once in a while isn’t horrible.

Work was pretty busy today. Half day yesterday, I’m off tomorrow, Half day Friday = REALLY busy when I’m actually here! I’ve been pretty good about keeping up lately, which makes work much less stressful. Christian has been working a lot of overtime, another great perk of the Holiday season. The girls have been pretty good lately – probably all of the Buddy goodies and Santa bribes :)

Speaking of, Buddy showed up today, hiding under the tree, with some Pez Dispensers. The girls thought they were just the most amazing things ever! Too funny.

I was a little upset today. The Happy Feet contest has been on for a few days now. You can’t see the number of votes you’re getting, but you CAN see which of your facebook friends have been voting. I have 200 friends on facebook, and only 25 have voted within the last few days. And NONE of Christian’s friends. I couldn’t believe it. I mean, seriously, how sad is that? This is literally the easiest contest ever, one click, and you are done. No registering, no giving them personal information, nothing. It was really discouraging, and it makes me question a lot of the people on my friends list. I ended up posting something about it on my page, and got a ton of responses from people. Some said they just plain hadn’t seen my posts about it, and voted right away. YAY. Some wouldn’t vote because they didn’t want to allow the “contest” application associated with it. This kind of bothered me because it’s SUPER easy to remove an application after you are done – but, I get some people are really worried about their privacy so I can't blame them for that. Others only access facebook through their mobile devices, and I guess the contest isn’t accessible through all of them. And, others just didn’t even respond. In the end, after this, I got up to 40 some friends voting, which is much better, but still kind of a dismal amount. In the end, all I can do is be grateful for the opportunity, and thankful for the friends and family that decide to support us.

Here's Buddy with his goodies. And, of course, a random ornament. The bottom half of our tree is just about empty of ornaments at this point. I've just given up on putting them back up. KIDS!

12/20/11

Today was a pretty exciting day. Work flew by this morning, and I ended up taking the afternoon off, picking up Olivia and taking her out to the Mall of America to meet Cinderella! One of our local theaters is putting on a production of “Cinderella”, and Cinderella and her Fairy Godmother were appearing at the Mall, doing a little performance, and a meet and greet after. We met the Madrid’s out there so the girls could meet them. I got Olivia all dressed up in her Cinderella costume and she was SO excited. She loved every minute of it, and couldn’t wait to meet Cinderella and give her a big hug. It was so fun, I love doing stuff like this. I’m glad we were able to make it.

After the show, Olivia and I stopped into Target to pick up a few things, and then she passed out and took a short, late nap. She and I ate dinner together when she woke up, and then waited for Christian and Amelia to come home. Buddy showed up, hiding on top of the girls’ curtains in their room, with some Bubbles for the girls. Bubbles and kids – it never fails.We had a pretty relaxing evening, just blowing bubbles and hanging out.