3/16/12

Friday!!! YES!!! The weekend is supposed to be AMAZING, weather wise, so we're on a quest to find something fun to do!

Today was weigh-in day. A great one, I more than made up for last week, losing 2.6lbs this week. So exciting. That puts be down 13.2lbs total, and I'm back above the pound-a-week goal I have for myself. YES! I'm finally starting to feel a little bit of a change in my clothing fit - not that I need new clothes or anything yet, but they are definitely more comfortable these days. I think my diet is definitely under control now. I've been making great choices, without even really thinking about it. Getting in my fruit, veggie and water servings every day. Feeling good folks!

Work actually went by really fast today. It was pretty dead around the building, but I got caught up on all of the stuff I usually don't care to go. Not fun, but kept me busy. After work, I was off to pick up the girls. Christian worked late today, but as soon as he arrived home, we were off to spend the evening at a local park. We brought some snacks and sandwich fixin's and had a little picnic at the park and played the night away. It's so great being able to get the girls out of the house again!

Before we knew it, the sun was setting, and it was time to head home. Christian handled baths and bed while I did my workout. Tonight was a SEVENTY minute aerobic workout...I thought I was going to die, but I made it through. YAY. Then, we actually managed to stay up and watch a movie...Hangover 2. Not the best movie ever, but plenty of laughs still.

Here are some pics from our night out.

3/15/12

Seriously, this has been the longest week EVER. And, it's only Thursday. The weather has been so amazing, it makes the days at work just draaaaag on. Eventually we all adjust to life of missing out on awesome weather, but when that initial change starts up, it's tough to come to work. Everyone kept thinking all winter "we're going to get it eventually"...and, we never did. We never had a real winter. Now, I'm wondering what the heck that means for our summer. Last summer got virtually unbearable with the humidity...I wonder if we're in for another rough and hot summer, or if that is why we had such a mild winter. Hmmm. Only time will tell. All I know is that our weekend trip to Duluth has been on my mind lately, and I cannot wait. Too bad it's still 4 months away.

Work was good today. Slow, but good. With the weather, Amelia's "class" at school has been spending a lot more time outside. I think they're out there pretty much all afternoon, so YAY for exhausting fresh air. It's a good thing the playground is not near Olivia's classroom - I can imagine how upset she'd be to see sissy outside running around while she was stuck inside. LOL.

Christian handled dinner tonight while I did my workout. Tonights video was kind of an 80's aerobic/dance workout. I had a really hard time keeping up - my body just does NOT move that way - but I stuck with it. I like it, so hopefully I'll catch on better next time. At least nobody can see me. Olivia was quite an attitude tonight, and Amelia was exhausted, so it was an early bath and bed time for them tonight. Toddlers...exhausting.

I'm excited for my weigh-in tomorrow...hoping I made up for last week! Our trees and plants are starting to bloom, in mid-March! CRAZY...

3/14/12

Today was a pretty good day. The girls went to bed great last night. Hopefully they have adjusted to the time change. I on the other hand am still having trouble getting to bed before midnight! Ugh.

A few of my coworkers and I are going to form a team for a "Biggest Loser" challenge at my work. I'm so excited! Just another level of motivation, and I can use all of it that I can get! Our first weigh in is on Tuesday, and we'll be weighing in every other week for 12 weeks. They have prizes for the top male, female and team weight loss, and percentage of weight loss. We all have to set a 12 week weight loss goal, and if you meet your goal, you get $5.00 backs. I'm obviously not on my weight loss journey to win money, but whatever gives you a little extra push is worth it. We decided our team name would be "The Biggest Losers", and it cracks me up. Go us!

Tonight's workout was a Yoga video....but more of a workout than your standard Yoga. I really liked it. Christian's mom invited them over for dinner tonight, so I had some time to do my workout, eat some dinner on my own, catch up on a couple of shows and, of course, my blog. I love a little alone time, that's for sure!

We finally got Olivia's first batch of crafts from school :)

3/13/12

Well, Olivia and I still have this horrible cough, mainly at night, hanging on. I think we'll be making another trip to Urgent Care this weekend if it doesn't clear up to make sure it hasn't turned into anything more than just a cough.

The girls have been having a had time adjusting to daylight savings time. Sunday they were still waking up past midnight, not able to stay asleep. Last night, Olivia woke Amelia up, and they were playing in her crib until almost 10:00. So far, they seem to be down for bed at a much more decent time. Fingers crossed. Now, if I could get my own clock in check and get to bed earlier!

Tonight I started up my new 60 Day workout challenge. It's called "Top Trainers", and I purchased it from one of those deal sites. It's 10 videos, each from a different trainer, ranging from Yoga, to Kickboxing to Latin Dancing. I'm really excited to see how it goes. Tonight was kind of an Aerobics workout, and was harder than I expected. SO happy to be back to working out!

Here is a picture of the girls, all bathed and ready for jammies :)

3/12/12

Today was back to work. Back to normal. I'm finally starting to feel better. FINALLY. Still holding on to a bit of my cough and congestion, but nothing like it was. The girls seem pretty well. Amelia is clearly teething, just two more to go, and they are showing, so hopefully not much longer!!

Work went pretty quickly. Lots to catch up on from last weeks lack of attendance. I left a couple hours early so I could go through my coupons, make up my shopping list and get our weekly shopping done. Then, of course, off to Target. I collected up all of our groceries and necessities, loaded them into the car, then Christian and the girls met me so we could try some shoes on for them. It's time to retire the boots for the year, and get them some comfy shoes for school. We got a few cute pairs for Olivia, and a pair for Amelia. I picked up the start of their summer wardrobe...they both need new stuff for the summer, so it will take a while to collect all of that.

Finally, it was home for dinner and to settle in for the night. Christian got the TV in the basement hooked back up so I can start my workouts again tomorrow. YAY, FINALLY! We had a hard time getting the girls down to sleep again tonight. Damn daylight savings time. They just don't think it's time for bed, when it most certainly is. I hate when this time rolls around!

Things were a little hectic tonight, so I didn't get a picture in. I did put together this little collage I thought was pretty cute.

3/11/12

Sunday, Sunday. A very productive one at that.

Technically, thanks to daylight savings time, the girls slept in. We got some major payback at bedtime though, when they refused to go down. I was up passed midnight because they wouldn't stay asleep. GRRR!

After breakfast, we spent a little time playing outside, enjoying another ridiculously beautiful day out. After a little play, Christian's parents arrived to take the girls for a while. They wanted to take them out to the mall to walk around, which worked for us because we had a TON of stuff to do around the house. As soon as they left, Christian was off to get his hair cut quick, and I got to work. Spent the day doing dishes, TONS of laundry (in the process of washing just about every piece of fabric we own) and Lysol'ing everything in sight. We took the plastic off the windows and let the fresh air take over our house. I scrubbed down the girls' room, and our room, while Christian took care of the master bathroom. Spring cleaning in full effect. Still plenty to do, but at least we made some progress.

Christian went to pick up the girls around dinner time. After eating, Christian was on bath duty, while I put together the girls' clothes for the week. Hard to believe another weekend has come to an end. I swear, they are never nearly long enough!

Here are a few pics from our time outside this morning. I'm pretty sure seeing the grass this time of year makes Christian cringe! Rough shape.

3/10/12

Saturday. I LOVE Saturday.

The weather has taken an amazing turn, spring has sprung - early even. We had a virtually non-existent winter, and it's now actually spring - it's supposed to stick around and everything. YAY!

My friend from work, Kelly, found out about a special the Minnesota Zoo is running right now. If you bring in an old cell phone (working condition or not), and you get in for free. We usually don't go to the Minnesota Zoo because it's so expensive, but I wrangled up 3 old cell phones, and Amelia is free, so WALAH, free trip to the zoo! This happened to be the last weekend for the special, so it was perfect timing. We met Kelly and her family after a quick breakfast and some showers, around 10:30. It was pretty packed, but not horrible. The weather was perfect, the kids had a good time, and it was nice to spend the day outside. Her kids, Annabelle and Finley, are 4 and just couple months younger than Amelia, so it worked out perfect. Olivia and Annabelle were pretty shy towards each other, but started to warm up towards the end. I'm excited for them all to get to know each other better...I know Christian and her husband would get along fabulously too, so YAY for new playmates :)

After the zoo, the girls went down for their naps. Christian spent nap time helping his friend work on his brakes, then they were off to grab some grillin' goodies. My dad stopped over to visit and help move all of the downstairs furniture back into the family room. We also had a surprise visit from my BFF...she found a super cheap flower girl dress that she wanted Olivia to try on. It was super cute, and Olivia loved it, so we were all sold! YAY.

After some dinner and catching up, my dad was on his way home, the girls were off to bed, Christian and his friend were off to have a couple beers, and I had the house all to myself. HEAVEN! Daylight savings time is overnight - NO FUN. Not looking forward to it at all. Let's see what trouble that brings.

Here are some pics from our zoo visit with our new friends. Good times!

3/9/12

Today was a ROUGH day, well, rough is probably putting it lightly. I woke up with my sinuses a complete mess. I could hardly see, my eyes were watering all day long and it was just painful. Olivia spent the morning complaining that her tummy hurt. We brushed it off as her typical attempt to get out of eating her breakfast, and lunch...until she woke up early from her nap, whining in pain, and then threw up everything she'd eaten. Proceeding to throw up a few more times over the course of the evening. Amelia took a 4 hour nap, which didn't strike me as odd...she had eaten well all day, until dinner, when she wouldn't eat at all. She was acting completely normal other than that...until, out of nowhere, she LOST it, EVERYTHING, right in the middle of the living room floor...right in the middle of Christian and my eating dinner. Ay, Ay, Ay. Let's just say, between we 3 girls, Christian was a very busy guy today.

To top off this horribleness, my weight in today was disappointing. Even though I completely expected it, I took it really hard. I ended up gaining a pound this week. With my array of illnesses the last few weeks, I haven't been able to work out (really, there is NO way I could have), so while I have been good about watching my diet, I knew it was going to catch up to me. As the day went on, I started to put things into perspective and wasn't quite so hard on myself. Tomorrow marks 2 months since I started my diet and exercise program. I've lost 10.6lbs (4.82%), only gained once in 8 weigh-ins, and I'm down 8.75" (from 4 spots). It's nothing impressive, but I'll definitely take it, and it's progress, and that's all that matters! As soon as I start feeling better, I'm starting my new 60 day workout program. I purchased a new set from one of those daily deal sites, called "Top Trainers". I'm a little nervous to start it, but I'm excited to see some more results!

One piece of very exciting news is that our new carpet is officially in. I LOVE it. The basement is already so much more comfortable and cozy. It looks great, and feels even better. SO exciting. Now, it's time to shop and decorate! Good times.

Christian and I both passed out shortly after the girls did. Christian and Olivia spent in our bed so he could keep an eye on her. I passed out as soon as the girls did. Here's hoping for a much healthier day tomorrow!

Here is my Chloe, my sleeping buddy :)

3/8/12

Today is my Friday at work. THANK GOD. It's been a long, rough week, and I'm happy to see it go. I even made it through the whole day at work. Nice.

Work has been pretty steady. Thankfully not too crazy with all of my absences lately, but definitely enough to do. Christian had his interview at work for a new job today. I'm a little confused by this new job...supposedly it's a higher, managerial classification, but it's salaried, so it sounds like he wouldn't be taking home as much as he does now in the end. I guess we'll see what happens after the interviews and go from there.

Today, we officially booked his trip to Mexico. I mentioned a while back that his grandmother is very ill...she basically raised him when he was younger, so he's been taken it pretty hard. He's gone home to visit twice since we started dating....right away, shortly after we met in 2001, and then in 2006. So, apparently we're on a 5 year cycle. His mom was thinking of going with him, but the tickets are too expensive, so she's not able to go. His friend from work is actually going to go with him. Any excuse for a vacation I suppose! I know Christian was really nervous about traveling there alone, so I think that was pretty comforting to him. So, tickets are purchased, and he has his vacation request in. I'm a little nervous for another week of single parenting, but it actually ended up being kind of relaxing last time. My big concern with being on my own is fitting in my workouts.

The girls seem to be feeling a bit better. Amelia still isn't sleeping well, and Olivia has her cough. Olivia was obsessed with Rico tonight...they usually don't pay any attention to the cats, but for some reason, they were BFF's tonight.

3/7/12

Today was horrible. There really isn't much to say. I woke up feeling deceivingly better, and I was just DRAINED by the end of the day. I ended up leaving work a little early to get some rest before everybody else got home. I snuggled in bed until it was time for dinner. It was just a very difficult day, and I'm so, so, SO over this plague!

One bright spot...Amelia brought home her first batch of artwork from school, and it warmed my heart. Her apple sauce drawing was from her very first day at school. Ugh, I just love them!