1/31/12

Today started off on a REALLY bad note, all around. I have to get up and going so early, that I really depend on Christian to help me get the girls up and loaded in the car. He ALWAYS waits until the last possible minute to get up and help me, which in the end, really doesn't help me much at all. I get so frustrated, and I'm SO sick of being late to work every day. I think he was pretty well aware that I was upset this morning, but I don't know what to say or do to get him to realize that I need him to actually get up and help me.

Then, I was off to work, and the first e-mail I opened up was a promotion announcement for one of the other people in our office. I just had to roll my eyes, and it was SO frustrating. It's a person that I don't really like a ton to begin with, but it was not just your run of the mill promotion - she jumped several classifications, above just about everybody else in the office on top of it. I couldn't believe it. Of course, this person is in the accounting section, which, as I've said in the past, pretty much is the only area that matters in our office anymore. So, it wasn't a huge surprise really, I guess.

The day got a bit better as the day went on. My friend forwarded me a Groupon notice for today...Pump it Up, where we had Olivia's birthday party, was a Groupon today, so I snatched that one up. Later, I found a Heart Rate/Calorie Burn monitor on another daily deal site for super cheap, and ordered one of those. I can't wait to find out what I really burn, especially when I do my videos.

We've also realized that we do, indeed, need to just re-carpet the basement. The smell is already starting to come back up, and I just can't stand it anymore. It sucks! But, we'll see what happens. Hopefully we can find something reasonable. We did receive our state tax return today, so that's a bright light in the day. I'm guessing we'll have to adjust our debt payoff plans A TAD, but we'll see what I come up with.

The evening was pretty low key. I got my walk in at work, did my workout tonight, and stayed within my calories. Still pushing along! The girls were OK tonight. A little rowdy, but a nice long bath was good for them. They both love taking baths, so it's one thing to make them happy. Speaking of, here is Amelia, my cute little water bug :)

1/30/12

Monday, again. And, I definitely had a case of the Monday's today. Work seemed to drag on. Hopefully not a sign of the week to come.

After work, I stopped into Walmart to pick up a few more things for the play room...curtains, a curtain rod, a little storage unit and some photo prints. Then, home to work out, make dinner, eat with the fam and relax the night away. Very quiet night for us, which was perfect and always necessary.

The diet and exercise has been going well. I got my walk in at work today, and my video workout when I got home. I've been watching what I eat, and bringing my breakfasts and lunches into work, keeping myself on track. It's been great, and I do feel like I'm starting to feel better, and look a little better, already. Hopefully I'll get some better results this week, and that always motivates me even more!

Here is a picture of my little cheeser tonight. Gosh, I just love that face to pieces!

1/29/12

Today was another fairly low key day. A much cleaner start to the day, thank goodness!

We spent the morning just hanging out, playing and relaxing. The girls were doing pretty good today...nothing other than the standard toddler fights to break up.

After naps, we split up for a bit. Christian and Olivia took our neighbors snowblower over to his parents house to his dad could take a look at it (when, we have NO snow, NONE in the forecast, and she lives in a townhouse and shouldn't have a snowblower anyway). They hung out there, did that and ate dinner. Meanwhile, Amelia and I were of to Target to do our weekly shopping. We picked up our groceries and some goodies and just spent some time there.

Amelia and I had some time at home to ourselves while we waited for the rest of the house to get home. We put the groceries away (Amelia was a HUGE help, even though she sounded like she was having a hernia every time she picked up a bag), ate some dinner and got ready for bed. Chaos ensued for a while once the rest of the house got home. Amelia quickly got tired and crabby, and was off to bed. Olivia sat and watched a movie, while Christian and I took to the play room again. Tonight we hung some shelves I bought.

I'd spent the day doing laundry on and off. As we were hanging shelves, the draining tub sounded EXTRA loud, and just not right. I went to check it out, and sure enough, the wash tub had overflowed and there was water EVERYWHERE. I couldn't believe it. So, our hopefully early night turned out to be VERY long as we cleaned up that mess. Seriously, always something. Of course, upon realizing what was happening, Christian was quick to blame me - surely I MUST have done something. While examining the tub, he pulled up a cleaning rag, that had fallen in and covered the drain.....that HE had left on the tub. He was quick to shut up after that. I LOVE moments like that. LOL

Here is a picture of our lazy animals today. Lazy Sunday for all :)

1/28/12

Today was a pretty good day for us. It started off a little rough. I woke up to the sound of little toddler laughter coming from the girls' room. I turned on the monitor to find that Amelia has climbed out of her crib, and the girls were going to town in their room! They emptied their dresser, threw all of their bedding and stuffed animals out of bed, emptied part of Olivia's portion of the closet, threw the princess dresses, makeup and jewelry all over, and emptied the diaper hamper. I finally got them out of the room, and all I could do is laugh. I mean, of course this would happen. Those girls will be the death of me!

So, we were up and at 'em. We all ate some breakfast and hung out for a bit, before it was time for baths, showers and getting dressed. We were off to get the girls' pictures done, 18 months and 3 year. We've gone to Kristi at Images by Kris FOREVER, but just couldn't swing it financially this time. We decided to go a little cheaper, and more low key this time, and just went to Kiddie Kandids in Babies R Us. The girls were a little nervous, and the process was a bit rushed, but we ended up getting some pretty great shots, so that's all that matters. We did a little shopping around while we waited for our photos to transfer, and were able to find a few things for the play room. YAY!

After pictures, we stopped to grab some lunch, and some ice cream for the girls. Well, Amelia fell asleep, so Olivia was solo in the ice cream celebration. Lucky duck. Once home, we ate some lunch and the girls napped for a bit. Christian also took a little nap, so I took to the play room to put up the new animal decals we bought today.

The rest of the night was pretty low key. We all just hung out around the house. Nothing too exciting. Once the girls were down for bed, Christian hung some picture frames in the play room and that was about it. We got plenty done, but also a lot of rest. Good day!

1/27/12

Oh crap. I've done it again - forgotten to write up Amelia's monthly update. Oops.

Amelia turned 18 months old yesterday. Can you believe it?!? Today, she's officially closer to 2 than 1, how can that be? 18 months ago, we already had an 18 month old, and had just added a newborn into our already chaotic life. It's amazing how much has changed in these last 18 months.

Amelia is doing great. She still sleeps great - would probably sleep a lot more if it wasn't for her sister. She's talking more and more - repeating what we way, mimicking our voices. She becomes more understandable every day. She takes directly well, is developing a pretty amazing memory, and is actually super helpful around the house. It's so crazy when they really start becoming "real people" in that way. She's been eating great lately too, which is a nice change from the last few months. She's been using utensils for a while now, but is starting to get REALLY good at it. She also attempts to use a real cup from time to time, but that is not quite as successful. She seems to have grown a lot this month as well. We don't have her 18 month check up until next week, but I'd be surprised if we have to worry about her growth any more. She is still wearing her 12-18 month clothes, but is starting to grow out of some of her stuff.

Amelia is really starting to develop her personality as well. She is still a little cuddly, sweetheart, but she is becoming quite feisty. She doesn't take much from anybody, and she can sure get a temper sometimes. However, that is typically provoked by Olivia, so I'm curious how she would be without that influence. She's been growing more and more attached to Christian lately...hopefully that's just a phase though, 2 Daddy's girls in the house would just not be fair.

All in all, she's doing great! Growing fast, and learning by leaps and bounds. I'm excited for her appointment next week to see how she's doing. I love getting growth updates.

As far as our day...today was my Friday off work. I started off the morning weighing in. I lost .8 pounds this week. A loss is a loss, and I'm definitely happy about that, but I was quite disappointed with my results. I worked SO hard this week. My whole body aches, I'm exhausted, and I'm fairly hungry, and I feel like I should have made more progress this week. I'm trying to remind myself that there are going to be ups and downs, and it's a roller-coaster, and, of course, you can't always control what your body does. I couldn't get it off my mind all day though. I did force myself to workout during nap time, even though I was in full-on pout mode, and I felt better for doing it. I also stayed well within my calories for the day, so I'm just going to keep pushing forward!

Christian brought us home some Thai food for dinner (YUM, and, not really THAT bad for you, so bonus), and we hung out with the girls for a while. After baths and bedtime, we started in on the play room again. We got the letter stickers up on the wall, and started un-packaging some of the storage/decorative stuff. It's coming along - hopefully will be just about done after this weekend. We still need to vacuum, hang a few more things and start going through the toys/loading them into the room. I cannot wait to see how the girls react to their new haven!

Here is Amelia's 18 month picture!

1/26/12

Today was my Friday at work. YAY, I seriously love my flex weeks! And, I actually ended up takin a couple of hours off this afternoon. Our house is LITERALLY a disaster. While I have taken most of the Christmas decorations down, they are not put away...hello, it's almost February. I'm pretty sure every dish we own was dirty, and there was so much to be done - so we could focus on finishing up the play room. So, I headed home early to get some stuff done.

It took me quite a while to get the dishes washed - WOW, what a task. Next up, I cleaned the kitchen and the living room. YAY, we can walk around the house again, AND we have counter space again. Finally, I cleaned up the entry way, including the coat/shoe closet - what a chore. We've finally decided that we can trust Chuy to roam the house when we aren't home, so I took down the kennel and we packed that away. It's nice to have more space in the entry again, and he seems much happier about it too :)

It wasn't the greatest day on the diet and exercise front. Since I was leaving early, I didn't get my walks in at work, because I wanted to get as much done as possible. Time got away from me amidst all of my cleaning and organizing around the house and before I knew it, the family was home and it was time for dinner, then right on to baths and bed time. By the time we got the girls down, I was beyond exhausted, and my body was aching so bad. So, no workout tonight. Hopefully I can get right back on tack tomorrow!

The girls rummaged through the Christmas stuff in the dining room, and drug the singing snowmen out again. Amelia had them lined up and just kept starting one up after another. You can imagine what that sounded like...

1/25/12

Today was kind of a long day. I'm not sure why. I've just been off all week - thinking it's a different day every day. That's probably a big reason.

Work sort of dragged all day. I ended up going on 3 walks today, and I was SERIOUSLY exhausted when it came time to trek it to my car after work. I had to leave work an hour early today...my mother in law asked if I would pick the girls up a little early today because she had been invited to dinner with some old work friends she hadn't seen in a while. Rarely do I turn down an excuse to leave work a tad early!

The girls were so excited to see me when I arrived to pick them up. They both ran to me, screaming, looking for hugs and kisses. It was the best! As I tried wrangling them up to get their winter gear on, they started acting up. Olivia kept trying to LITERALLY drag Amelia over to me, so Amelia was getting really frustrated with her. By the time I got a hold of Amelia, she was really upset, and ended up slapping me across the face out of anger. I couldn't believe it. As aggressive and out of control as Olivia can get, she has NEVER done something like that, so coming from Amelia I was really shocked.

Once home, things were pretty good. The girls played and were getting along fine. As soon as Christian arrived home, I made my way downstairs to do my workout before dinner. Tonight's workout was strictly cardio, and I had a tough time with it for some reason. Just exhausted I think.

Then, it was chaotic - cook, eat, play and bed before we knew it. The evenings just fly by, more than usual, now that 25-45 minutes of it is taken up by my workouts. I did really good today though. 3 walks, workout, and ate really good. Hoping to see some good results again this week, that's for sure!

Here are a couple pictures of my little fighter tonight. It's a good thing she's so darn cute, that's all I know!

1/24/12

Today was a pretty low key day. Work has been going good. I've been keeping on top of my work for a while now, and it feels SO good. I have enough to keep me busy throughout the day, but I don't feel like I'm constantly falling behind. A very nice change in pace!

I don't think I've mentioned it before, but Christian is going to be traveling to Mexico sometime in the coming months. His grandma, who basically raised him for years after his mom moved to the states, has become very ill. She was diagnosed with Stage 2 Cancer (I'm not sure exactly where the cancer is), and is going downhill fairly quick. So, understandably, Christian wants to go visit her. Today he went to renew his Passport ($100.00, seriously?!), and we've been checking out airfare. It's over $600.00 for a roundtrip flight right now?!? I don't understand why it has to be so freaking expensive! So, we've been trying to figure all of that out, and I've been dealing with it all OK. Tonight, he informs me that his mom would like to go with him (not on our dime or anything) - which kind of bothers me. It frustrates me, knowing the bind that puts me in. Not only is Christian going to be gone for X amount of time, but now I'm supposed to take off work and/or arrange childcare for the kids while he's gone because his mom is going to? (which, I know I'll get over with a little time to process). It would just be nice if she could go on her own, another time...when Christian AND I can split the child responsibilities. I'm wondering if it was really her idea...or his anyway...

Ugh.

Other than that little news, it was a good day. I got my walks and workout in. Ate good. I feel like I'm really hitting my stride. Tonight's workout was full on kick-boxing, and it pretty much kicked my ass. Ouch.

We reverted back to putting Amelia to bed first at night, then Olivia once Amelia is asleep - after Sunday's fiasco. It's been working the last couple nights, so looks like we'll be sticking with that. Those girls can't be trusted!

Here is a picture of the girls, playing in the laundry baskets. A favorite past time around here. Which, is why my laundry basket is completely destroyed.

1/23/12

Well, it's Monday. Pretty standard as far as Monday's go, that's for sure! Tired, worn out, and not really wanting to be at work one bit. It snowed overnight, so my commute was not pretty. It took me an extra hour to get to work this morning. And, I figured since I already have to take an hour off, might as well leave a little early too! I was able to do some cleaning up and start dinner before the rest of the crew arrived home.

I was excited to start another week of my diet and exercise though. I got my walks and workout in tonight, and ate really well all day. Good start to another week!

Olivia was SUPER cute tonight. She came downstairs when they got home, while I was doing my video. We haven't allowed the girls downstairs for a while - first because of the car, now because we're working on the play areas and we want to surprise them when they are all done and ready. Well, she came bursting through the door tonight, and she saw the "princess are" (which, is not done yet), and she was in shock. She went from her vanity, to the tent, to the castle, to the table and chairs and just kept saying "OH, thank you Mommy, thank you". She was very dramatic about the whole thing, like she'd never seen anything so amazing in her life. It was so cute. First of all, I'm excited that apparently I get to take credit for everything, just for being present when she found it all. Secondly, I'm so happy that my little girl is so genuinely grateful and excited about the things she gets. It warms my heart, my little sweetheart!

After my workout, it was time to eat and hang out for the night. I'm wondering if I'll ever not ache again at this point! One of my online friends posted the poem below on facebook today, and I just love it. It sums up exactly how I've been feeling lately. I don't feel like I really have anybody in real life that I can turn too. Everyone is too busy, or doing their own thing, or in a different place in their lives right now - or, we just plain don't really talk to them anymore. It's been really frustrating. I've noticed that when I post a status or picture or something, it's always my online friends that comment/like things - never my REAL family and friends. I guess at some point, you really learn who actually cares for and about you. Now, if only these people I've grown to depend on, and built such amazing relationships with actually lived anywhere near me...

My husband has finally gone to work My children have finished their play they've gone to bed their stories read Now it's my time of day. I've had one of those days you know what I mean so I sit back and relax and turn on my screen.

I'll talk to all my friends
who know just what to say
to make my stresses go
and my troubles fade away.

My friends you're always there for me
whenever I feel blue
and though we've never met before
I know our friendships true.

And although we haven't been friends for long
in this short time it seems
we shared so many things already
our hopes, our fears, our dreams.

We come from different walks of life
but we share a common bond
and it's time to say that of all of you
I've grown so very fond.

So thank you friends for being there
whenever I've needed you
I know you're always there for me
and you know I'm there for you.

Here are some pictures of the girls, checking out the princess toys tonight.

1/22/12

Today started a little rough, but ended up being a pretty great day.

The girls were up WAY, WAY, WAY too early. It was still dark out, and I was not happy about it. I have to get up early enough on the weekdays, I like to at least make it until daylight on the weekends. To add insult to injury, the girls were still exhausted, yawning and crabby - clearly still tired. WHY ARE YOU UP THEN MY CHILDREN?!?

Once we were finally functioning, I went to take a peek at my dish washing war wound, and as soon as I un-bandaged it, it started bleeding again, badly. I washed it out and applied pressure, but it wouldn't stop. I finally called the Clinic CareLine. The nurse said it was most likely too late for stitches, but if it wouldn't stop bleeding, I should go into Urgent Care and get it checked out. Our Urgent Care didn't open for another few hours, so I waited it out. Luckily, it stopped a while later, so I decided to save the trip, and the co-pay. By the end of the night, it was already looking pretty good, so that was a wise decision.

I spent the morning looking through ads and coupons and planning our weekly menu. I'm adjusting my breakfast and lunch menu to add in some protein and a little more variety, but still stay low calorie. Then, I was off to Target to do our shopping...Cub was on my shopping plan too, but the weather was already starting to get bad, so Cub will have to wait.

While at Target, I ended up picking up some outfits for the girls, for their pictures this weekend. I decided to get them matching outfits...we've never done the matching thing before, so I'm excited. It's going to be SO CUTE!!!

By the time I got home from Target, the rain/sleet was getting pretty bad, and the girls were down for their naps. Christian and I were back at it down in the play room. He painted the magnet and chalk board boarders, and we put together the last of the furniture, the cube storage. SO CLOSE to actually putting stuff in the room, I'm so excited!

Christian ran to his parents house to get some tools while I did my daily workout. The girls and I hung out after naps. They were both in much better moods tonight, which was much less stressful. Once Christian arrived home, he cooked dinner while I washed, cut and packed up some fruits and veggies for work this week. I am ready to head into another week, very excited and hoping to see some good results again!

Today was pretty good on the diet/exercise front. I ended up skipping lunch again today with all of the running around, but I got a pretty well balanced diet in today anyway, and was well under my calories, so that's good. I did my 60-Day Shred at naptime today, and it was pretty painful. But, getting more manageable every day!

Tonight, bedtime was out of control. We put the girls down together so Christian could hammer in the boarders in the play room before they fell asleep. They were playing all night, and Olivia kept insisting on sleeping with Amelia, and kept climbing into her crib. This is what I walked into (before eventually taking Olivia out of the room until Amelia fell asleep)...