4/24/12

Well, I started off the day feeling a little down. I had a pretty bad weekend, diet and exercise wise. I didn't exercise...my body was really aching, and I just felt really tired - tired to my bones. The rest was nice, but it leaves me feeling guilty - knowing how far I have to go yet. I spent the weekend not eating HORRIBLY, but not eating very well either. WAY too much sodium. I cheated and stepped on the scale this morning - and it was NOT good, at all. Definitely need to hit it hard the next few days.

Work was long, LONG, LONG, LONG. After a week of short days, and a long weekend, it was tough to make it through. And there is still so much I want to do outside of work...get some shopping done, a little more cleaning, work on the basement some more. Some days, work can seriously get in the way!

Christian's first day home from vacation didn't really go too well. He decided to sleep most of the day away, and I was less than thrilled about that. He finally decided to roll out of bed and get some stuff down around noon or so. He FINALLY put away all of the clothes he left sitting around when he left, and took care of his recycling. And, he mowed the front yard. When the girls and I got home, he was just finishing up the front yard. I attempted to work out while keeping an eye on the girls - which never goes too well, while he mowed the back yard. He finally finished up as the girls and I sat down for dinner. We spent a tiny amount of time together after dinner, before it was time for baths and bed. As I got the girls into the bath, Christian decided it was a good time to start unpacking, and, apparently, to shave. So, I was on bath and bedtime routine duty - as I have solely been for the past week. So, today was basically a culmination of most of the issues I have with Christian. I don't talk a ton about any "relationship issues" we have on here - but it's been rough. I can't lie - I was actually looking forward to his vacation a little. Some time apart never hurts, and it was a nice little break from taking care of the "third child" in the house. I kind of enjoyed the routine, and the quietness we had while it was just the girls and me. I think it's going to take an adjustment to all be back together again. LOL

Christian showed the girls all the fun stuff he brought back for them tonight...a little train set, some little Mexican drums, a few little toys and some Mexican candy. His sisters sent them some fun little hair clips and ties, and even sent me a couple really cute necklaces. The girls thought everything was SUPER cool, and had a blast checking everything out. Especially the little train set...

4/23/12

Today was a pretty amazing Monday. I know, I know - that sounds like an absolutely CRAZY statement.  It was though. I took the day off...sent the girls over to my mother in laws like usual, and had the entire day all to myself. I spent the morning curled up in bed - catching up on the new show "Awake". I eventually rolled out of bed for some lunch and to get going on some cleaning and organizing around the house. I got our rooms, the kitchen, the bathroom and the living room picked up and looking shiny and new. I did laundry throughout the day - even got it folded ad put away! I was on a roll.

Finally, I was off to pick up the girls. I grabbed us some dinner on the way home, and we spent the night hanging out together. Our last little bit of time before Christian comes home - and luckily they were on their best behavior. Tonight was another "my sister is my best friend" kind of day - they couldn't get enough of each other, and I cannot get enough of days like that. It's so great to see - I hope they are able to grow up truly being the best of friends, realizing what an amazing gift they have in each other. I would give anything to have been blessed with a sibling (well, a blood sibling, that I actually lived with). They are lucky, and I hope they always feel that way.

Christian finally arrived home tonight around 9:45. He was pretty exhausted from his travels, and I was just tired from life in general. He filled me in on a few tidbits, and I was off to bed. He already has plans of taking tomorrow off to recuperate - hopefully he'll take some time away from his R&R to get a few things done...

I got this picture of the girls tonight. They put on their little dresses, so I asked if they wanted to take a picture...they both ran into the kitchen, to "their spot", and this was their "pose". Seriously, they melt my heart!

4/22/12

Sunday has once again come too soon! At least I took tomorrow off work, so it' not so bad :)

Today shaped up to be a pretty busy day. I actually did sleep in, until 9:00, which felt pretty nice. I jumped in the shower right away and got ready for the day. My mom dropped the girls off around 11:00 and I was so excited to see them. It's amazing how much you miss those little terrors when they are away! We were right away off to my dad's to visit with him and my stepmom for a while.

The girls ate some lunch and played with just about every toy they had in their house. They definitely keep my stepmom busy whenever we visit! It was great getting the chance to catch up with them for a while, it's far too rare that we see them.

We hit the road around 2:00 and the girls passed out on the way home. I got them settled in for naps when we got home, and ate some lunch myself. I ended up waking them up a little before 5:00 and we were off to Christian's parents for dinner. Nothing like free food! The girls were so excited to see all of their grandparents this weekend :) They were so well behaved all day took, which is amazing. They usually get pretty out of control when we go to his parents house...then again, he wasn't there, and that usually seems to be when they start acting up!

Finally, we were on our way home around 7:00 for the night. We cleaned up, had a little bedtime snack, and the girls were off to bed. They'll be going to his parents house like usual tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to the day to myself. Cleaning, maybe a little more work on the basement, and getting back into my workout routine! My body definitely needed a little break this weekend!

I snapped this picture of the girls and I tonight. I couldn't believe I actually got them both smiling...as the camera was dying. Ugh they are SO cute!

4/21/12

Today shaped up to be a pretty great Saturday. The girls and I spent the morning hanging out around the house. They hung out in their play room for a while, we did the usual coloring, chasing making  mess. They were a little bit more rowdy than the last few days, but we survived.

My mom offered to take them for the day/overnight, so after lunch I dropped them off with her. It was definitely weird being in the house, especially overnight, without anybody else. Way to quiet, that's for sure!

My freedom for the night was very exciting...a couple loads of laundry, dishes, cleaning up around the house. Oh so fun! I did take a break from all that fun to go hang out with my BFF for a while. I had some venting to do, and we had some catching up to do, so it was nice to hang out with her for a while. It does not happen nearly enough!

I played on the computer for a while before heading off to bed. Just hoping my body would cooperate and actually sleep in for a while! One can hope!

We finally tried out the little magic paint set Amelia got for her birthday last year. Olivia thought it was amazing, and worked really hard on her picture! Of course, I had to show off my amazing skills as well...

4/20/12

Another wonderful Friday! Started off with my weekly weigh in, and I was down another 1.8 lbs this week, for a total of 19.6. I fell .5 short of my first goal, which bummed be out a bit, but at least I know I'm close! There's always next week, and the scale is moving in the right direction!

We started off our morning heading to Perkins for breakfast. The girls LOVE going out to eat, so they usually do pretty well. Amelia didn't eat too well though, I think her teeth were bothering her. She ate a nice big chunk of my muffin though! Probably better for both of us :)

After breakfast we hung out at home for a big and the girls tore apart the house. You know, the usual. We ate some lunch, and they went down for a nice LONG nap. I took the time to do our checkbooks, pay some bills and just catch up on some shows.

We had a quiet night as well. We played some games, did some coloring, watched some shows. The girls were BFF's all night long, which always makes life easier. I wasn't in a cooking mood today, so we splurged on some Taco Bell for dinner. I hadn't eaten there FOREVER. Surprisingly I was able to eat much less than I used to :) The girls love it, so it's a win/win!

It was time for baths and bed shortly after arriving back home. Olivia and I hung out on the couch for a bit after Amelia went down, she definitely loves her one on one time, so she was pretty happy. I just spent the night catching up on more shows. My DVR is going down quickly with all of this alone time!

The girls helped themselves to the treat shelf in the kitchen, and enjoyed some peeps. They think they are pretty sneaky...

4/19/12

Well, today was my Friday at work! It was a nice, short workweek, if only they could all be like that!

I again left work early to get my workout in and get some stuff done around the house before picking up the girls. Tonight was my kickboxing video, but I didn't make it all the way through this time. I just felt completely drained, and my legs were killing me. I do love the video, but I don't think it gives enough variety for me. It's just constant kicks and punches, it wears me out too fast. Hopefully next time I can push myself through it.

After picking up the girls, they spent some time playing outside before we settled in for dinner and some relaxation before  baths and bed. So, another pretty low key day. I did get some exciting news from Amelia's teachers today. I guess she's woken up from her naps dry a few times, so they've been putting her on the potty...and she's actually gone a few times :) We're going to actually work on putty training this summer, when she turns 2, but it's nice to know between watching her sister, and the school working with her, she won't be afraid of it or anything. Hopefully she'll be as easy as Olivia was! It will be so nice to get a break from diapers!

Here are some pictures of the girls picking "flowers" in the neighbors yard....and bird watching. Amelia LOVES bird watching. LOL

4/18/12

Well, one of my goals while Christian is away is to break the girls of their waking during the night habits. I am not a fan of "crying it out", but I also don't believe at toddler-stage it qualifies as crying it out anymore. I believe that at this point, it's most important that they actually get their sleep, a good full night of sleep, especially on school nights. So, last night, the girls both woke up right as I was going to bed. They cried and yelled for a while, I shouted in that everything was OK and they needed to go back to sleep, and a few minutes later they were both out. Not another peep the rest of the night. Hopefully I can work with them this week and get them over it before Christian comes home - he's too much of a softy.

I weight in at work today for our Biggest Loser Challenge and I was down 4 lbs from 2 weeks ago! YAY, I liked that for sure! I also went to lunch with a few co-workers to celebrate a birthday - we went to Ruby Tuesday for the salad bar and YUMMY! So, the day definitely flew by today. I was off early again to workout and relax a while before picking up the girls.

The girls were a little less cooperative tonight. They were annoying each other all night long and wouldn't eat at dinner. Until they were "sent to bed" - then they scarfed it right down! Another habit I'll be working on breaking.

We did have a little break in the fighting. My stepmom sent the girls some coloring pages in the mail, so they opened up envelopes and got to work :)

4/17/12

Well, Christian is off on his travels. Of course, not without a few bumps. Apparently they were very confused on what to do during their Chicago layover - very apparent when he called me from baggage claim. No dear, you don't get your baggage. He said they had a pretty turbulent landing/end of the flight. But, they did land safe and sound.

The word day actually flew by - hopefully a trend for the week. I left early to get home, get my workout in and get a little something done before I had to pick up the girls. The girls were very well-behaved tonight, which made for a great start to our week of girls only club. The played together, ate well, took their baths and went to bed like perfect little angels. Let's see how long this lasts!

The girls got ahold of the Easter stuff (that I still haven't put away...) and had a ball tonight. Who new baskets, plastic eggs and dye cups could be so exciting!

4/16/12

Monday - and I had a raging case of the Monday's ALL day long. The only thing that got me through the day was the fact that this is going to be a short week for me. I'm leaving work early tomorrow-Thursday, Friday is my day off and I'm taking next Monday off to have a day ALL to myself after a long week of single parenting...before the husband comes home. The thought of this time off is so exciting for me!

Christian left work early today to run to Menards and pick up the girls a little early - he had a LOT to do before he leaves tomorrow. When I got home, he was off to pick up his travel companion. His dad is bringing them to the airport in the morning, so it was easier for him to just stay at our house. While he was gone, I got my workout in while the girls played in their playroom.

They arrived home as I was finishing up, so we all had some dinner and Christian started packing. They made a quick trip to Target and Walmart for some traveling needs while I got the girls bathed and ready for bed. After he said his goodbye's to them, they passed right out, Christian and Lorenzo fixed the broken hose in the laundry room and I slipped into bed for the night. Christian leaves bright and early in the morning, so we'll see how things go!

Olivia did spike another fever today. She was pretty warm when I dropped them off this morning, and it got a little worse as the night went on. Nothing like Easter though. She was complaining that her head hurts - I really hope that she doesn't develop my migraines - that would just kill me!

4/15/12

Sunday has come too soon! Especially because the girls did not sleep well last night at all. They were both up several times throughout the night - too much partying I suppose! You could tell Amelia's teeth were just killing her - she wasn't talking much and was biting on her gums, her rash was pretty prominent and she had a low grade fever all day. She was quite a cuddle bug, that's for sure!

They were both up for the day pretty early. Somebody else in our house decided to drink a bit too much yesterday/last night so, like usual, I was left to care for the girls all morning. Was not happy about that...not at all.

I did some laundry and some random cleaning up throughout the day. Once Christian finally pulled himself off the couch, we got the girls some lunch and down for their naps, then took to the basement to finally start getting everything back in order. We got the playroom put back together, hooked up the TV/surround sound, got the girls' princess stuff set up (well, most of it) and did a little picking up in the laundry room. Still a TON left to do, but we're getting there.

We spent the evening just hanging out with the girls, eating dinner and relaxing. And then, a new mishap. As I mentioned, I did laundry all day. I had out last load, Christian's jeans in the washer and was going to just leave them to dry tomorrow. I realized that we left the baby monitor downstairs, so I had to go down stairs to get that. As soon as I opened the door, I hear water. RAN back to the laundry room (after the disaster a couple months ago) and found water spraying EVERYWHERE. The hose running from the cold water pipe to the washer sprung a leak. Christian came down to turn the water off and help clean up. CHAOS. It's a good thing I had to get the monitor, otherwise who knows what kind of disaster we would have had on our hands :(

Rico was holding Christian's luggage hostage tonight. Looks like somebody else wants to head for the border too!