5/20/12

Dells Day!!!!

Yes, today was finally our first family trip to Wisconsin Dells. Not only that, but meeting my friend, Dawn, and her family there was the cherry on top. I was so anxious the whole way there, it was ridiculous!

I was up before the girls this morning...hopped in the shower to start getting ready. Christian was right after me, then we were able to get the girls ready, do the last of the packing, load up the truck and head out. First up, we had to drop the dog off with my in-laws. He's such a big baby, I'm sure he'll be miserable the entire time we're gone. Next up, we stopped for a quick breakfast at McDonald's (yes, starting off on a very healthy note...). Finally, we gassed up, checked the tires and fluids, filled the cooler with ice and hit the road at about 9:30. Olivia was so excited to finally be on our way to "vacation", but she passed out for a short time right after we took off. Amelia fell asleep a little while later, for a lot of the ride...

We arrived at our resort around 1:00.

We were able to register, but not actually check in yet. We purchased a Living Social deal last month for half off a family suite, and our stay included passes to the indoor and outdoor water parks, and the resort theme park. After registering, we headed to the theme park to wait for the Stevensons. The girls went on a few rides in the kiddie area, and played a few games. The swings were a HUGE hit with them, and they LOVED their first Ferris Wheel Ride :)

Finally, the Stevenson's arrived and we were all reunited! We all sat down for lunch right away and started catching up. It was so great to be together again, and the kids all got along right away, like they really remembered each other. Our families blended together perfectly, just like the last time we got together!

After lunch, we were finally able to check into our rooms, so we split, checked in, unpacked a little and changed into our swimsuits. We headed down to the Outdoor Water Park for a while, but most of the water was still a little chilly, so it was short lived...

Next up, we hit the Indoor Water Park, where we met back up with our friends for some fun. The girls were OBSESSED with the water slides. Amelia found one out in the middle of one of the kid areas, and probably would've gone up and down it all night long if we would've let them. They were so cute, and just had the time of their life. Olivia and Dawn's little boy, Spencer, really started hitting it off and started to become inseparable, which was SUPER cute.

Finally, we were all watered out and exhausted, so we headed to our rooms. We all got changed, relaxed for a bit, them met up back in our suite for dinner. We ordered in pizza, the kids played for a while, and we spent a little time chatting and catching up. Until we were so exhausted, we were practically falling asleep where we sat! We called it a night. The girls went down with little effort, and we passed right out after them. Such an amazing day, can't wait for more fun tomorrow!!!! But, not looking forward to the drive, or the good-bye's!

Today's Photo a Day in May is Something You Can't Live Without. Of course, my little family fits this one. We aren't perfect, and certainly would never pretend to be. We are real, we have problems, we fight, we drive each other crazy...but we love, and we are there for each other, and we live life to the fullest. We never pretend to be what we're not, we never lose sight of reality, and we love each other, in all of our faults! I think too many people try way too hard to look, act and pretend to be perfect - and I think that's sad. I say, relish in your faults, and help each other grow and evolve!

5/19/12

What a day!! I'm exhausted, and definitely ready for vacation tomorrow!

Christian worked some OT again today, and of course, Olivia was up as he was leaving for work. So, she and I hung out and watched some cartoons while Amelia slept. Once both girls were up and driving me nuts, the day was certainly on. Soon after Amelia woke up, they escaped into the backyard. I went out to find them already at it in the sandbox. Seriously, it's impossible to keep them indoors!

I finally managed to get them in for breakfast, and then right back into the yard we went. Before I knew it. Christian was already home from work. We ate some lunch together, and the girls went down. They were both pretty out of control today - just not listening to ANYTHING we said, and fighting with each other non stop, over everything. Nap time could not come soon enough, that's for sure. And, Christian and I both took a little nap ourselves...

Once Olivia was up, she and I were off to do a little shopping. We needed some food and snacks for our trip tomorrow, and we needed to get a bed rail for Amelia. She just can't seem to keep herself on her bed! After shopping, Christian fired up the grill, I started packing and did some laundry and cleaned up around the house.

After dinner, some pretty big storms rolled into the area. The tornado sirens started going off right away, and it looked pretty scary. Usually I tend to ignore the sirens, but things tonight were a little scary, so we all headed down to the basement. When it seemed the storms had passed, we started hooking up the bed rail, and suddenly our weather radio started going off. It didn't look too bad out this time, but as we were checking it out, the sirens started up again. And, again, the rain started coming down like crazy. Huge hail, huge drops and it was coming down fast. It was so windy though, it flew over pretty quickly. Scary though.

Finally, things were quiet, and the girls went down to sleep. We finished gathering the last of our trip necessities, and we're all ready to get up, eat, pack the final few things and head out on the road. I cannot wait to get there, and I can't wait to see my friend Dawn again!! So excited for a couple days away :)

Today's Photo a Day in May is Favorite Place. Of course, my home. Where we live our lives, experience so many ups and downs, watch our girls grow day by day and where we'll grow old and crazy together. Yes, definitely my favorite place...

And, here are some other photos from our day. Olivia is the flower girl in my BFF's wedding next month, so we're trying to figure out what to do with her hair. I think we're going to need to use curlers, so I bought some today. Of course, she wanted to try them out right away. And, of course since she got to, Amelia had to as well. The end results - Amelia, hilarious, Olivia, cute - but still not going to do the trick. We're going to need to pull out all of the hair products in the book for that girl!

5/18/12

Today was my Friday home with the girls. They were quite a handful today, so that was a little frustrating. But, as I went to do my usual balance the checkbooks/pay the bills song and dance, I was pleasantly surprised. As I mentioned in my plan to save/bring in some more money last week, I did change my W4 from claiming 0, to claiming 2, and the difference was much more than I expected. And, Christian's raise showed up on this check, which was also more than I expected. Once our modification finally goes though, we'll definitely be able to start breathing a little easier. Definitely started my day off right.

I did weigh in this morning, and that wasn't quite as exciting. I was down .6 from last week. Not much, but I'm happy to be down. I'm hoping it's just my body adjusting to a new workout.

After breakfast and a little playtime around the house, we got ready and headed out for a picnic at the park. We stopped to pick up some picnic groceries, and spent a couple hours at the park, burning off some energy. There was a huge group of kids there (daycare I'm guessing), and Olivia jumped right in and started playing with a little girl that looked about her age. She's never been SUPER shy, but I've never seen her just play with a perfect stranger like that before. I suppose that's a result from school, but I definitely like it!

The sun started taking a toll on us, the girls were dirty and exhausted, and it was finally nap time, so we started on our way home. I relaxed while the girls napped. It ended up being a record breaking hot day - but I actually was OK with it. The thought of turning on the AC never even crossed my mind (at one point, it was 85 degrees in the house) - for me, that's crazy. I've always been a winter person, hated the heat and hot weather...maybe that's all starting to change a little.

After naps, the girls and I played in the backyard for a while. They checked out the sandbox for a big, and I watered the plants...which turned into watering the girls :) They had a blast though. Christian arrived home in time for dinner, which of course had to take place on the deck. After dinner we watered the front yard, AKA played in the sprinkler some more. Then, it was finally time for baths and bed. Christian was off for a work retirement/goodbye party, and I did my workout, took a shower and settled into bed with the DVR for a while. A long, busy day - but in the end, a great one.

Today's Photo a Day in May is Something I Made. Today, I started making our trip list for the Dells. YAY!

And, here are some photos of our day...

5/17/12

Today was my Friday. YAY! I weighed in for the Biggest Loser at work today...down another 2.1. Whoo Hoo. I have 4 weeks to lose 4.7lbs and reach my 12 week goal. Fingers crossed. Additionally, the incentive for our next 2 weeks is that whoever loses 5lbs will win $10 - I WANT that $10, so I'm going to bust my butt and try to figure out some way to do that. Toes crossed!

Today went super fast. My usual end of the week cleanup of everything, and before I knew it, it was time to head home. My mother in law invited us all over for Chilaquiles tonight, so we took her up on it and spent some time over there. The girls were so tired by the time we got home, we skipped their baths tonight. Amelia went right to bed while Olivia and I cuddled and played some tablet games for a little it. When I told her it was time for bed, she laid down and pretended to fall asleep, LOL. It was hard to kick her little butt outta my bed, but she cooperated pretty well :)

Today's Photo a Day in May was Snack. So, here is my morning and afternoon snacks for today - pretty much every day (at least when I'm at work)...

And, here is a picture of the 3-year old that tried to take over my bed tonight....

5/16/12

Wednesday - halfway through the week. Though, this week is my Friday off (and, I have next Monday off for the Dells), so I really can't complain. Today was the Health and Wellness Fair at work, and the little walk-a-thon they hold every year. So, I spent my breaks and lunch walking around the complex - ended up getting like 5 miles in, so YAY for some extra exercise. They had so many goodies at the fair too - lots of freebies and samples - of course, heaven for me. LOL.

After work, the girls were bugging Christian to go over to grandma's house, so he stopped home to fertilize the backyard, then they were on their way. I got some picking up done, a couple loads of laundry, and caught up on some shows while I had the house to myself. Always a win/win!

They took a bath over at my in-laws house, so they pretty much just went off to bed when they got home. Olivia and I hung out for a bit while Amelia fell asleep, but she was so exhausted, it didn't take long. Another day down!

Today's Photo a Day in May is What I'm Reading. Now, I don't read. I know that sounds dumb - but I don't. It doesn't interest, or stimulate me, and quite frankly, I can never figure out where people find the time to read. So, all I can really post, other than the "Twilight" book that has been sitting on my nightstand since I had Olivia, is what I read/write everyday - a Contract from work :)

Since that's super boring, here are a couple shots of the girls I took while Christian fertilized this afternoon...

5/15/12

Today was a pretty long day at work. The day just seemed to drag and drag. The office was pretty empty, so that didn't help. I did get a lot done though, so I guess that's a plus.

I got my pre-work workout in again, and I'm thinking I need to stick to these 20-30 minute workouts, because I really like getting it out of the way.

Christian wanted to get his hair cut after work, so I picked up the girls from school, and we spent time playing in the backyard. They insisted on eating outside, so I made dinner, and we all ate out on the deck. Christian arrived home just as we sat down, so we got to spend some nice family time together. The weather has been so great again, it's amazing!

After dinner and some more play time, we headed inside for the usual - baths and bed. Now that the girls are outside so much, that get so gross and definitely need a full bath, every night. Good thing they're both total water babies!

Today's Photo a Day in May is Love...Here is Our Love - My Love, Sister Love, Baby Love :)

And, here are a couple other snaps from tonight...

5/14/12

Well, another weekend has passed, way too fast, and here we are at Monday again. Work did go by pretty fast though, so it could have been worse.

This morning I started up my new workout, Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred. I think this one is more about toning and strength, so the weight might not come off as quickly, but I can definitely use the toning. And, a huge bonus, is that it's only 25 minutes long, so I can get up and do it before work. It's SO nice being able to get it out of the way before work and have the evening open to do whatever I want. The view was much harder than I remember - I contemplated skipping Level 1, and I am sure glad that I didn't!

After work, I stopped into Target. Christian and I both need swimsuits...my hope was to be swimsuit ready by the end of the summer - BUT, we're heading to Wisconsin Dells on Sunday, so I had to move that up a couple months. I wasn't super excited about the whole swimsuit business, but I've vowed to have a good attitude about it, and think positively. I did end up finding one that I really like, and a cute coverup to go over it, so I'm satisfied with it.

After Target, I met Christian at home for dinner. We had leftovers - Olivia was insistent that we shoudn't be having Chicken, because it wasn't Mother's Day anymore. LOL. After dinner, we were off on a family walk around the neighborhood. By the time we got home, it was time for baths and bed, so the day definitely flew by!

Today's Photo a Day in May is Grass. The girls spent some time rolling around in the grass before we took off on our walk tonight, checking out the clouds along the way...

5/13/12

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

Today was such a wonderful day, from start to finish. I have to give it up to Christian - he really impressed me, and stepped up this year!

The girls were up bright and early. Christian did get up with them, but they are so loud, I couldn't sleep. He made us waffles and sausage for breakfast. YUM. Then, we all got ready and we were all off to the grocery store to pick up some food to grill tonight.

On our way home, we grabbed some Thai food for lunch, DOUBLE YUM, and the girls went right down for a long nap. Christian and I cleaned off the patio tables and chairs, got everything set up, and he fired up the grill. My mom and his parents came over just as the girls were waking up from their naps, and we spent the rest of the night enjoying the weather outside. Christian grilled, the girls played in the bounce house for a while, we ate and chatted away the evening.

After dinner, our parents were on their way, we cleaned up, and it was pretty much time for baths and bed. Christian surprised me with some roses this morning, and I got my mother's necklace we ordered a few weeks ago. My mother in law gave me a little rose bush that I can't wait to plant outside. Mixed with the crafts the girls made me at school, and with my mom, I was showered with so many great figs this year. It was definitely a the best mothers day yet!

Today's Photo a Day in May is Mum. So, here is a photo of me and my mum, then and now :)

And, here are some other pics from today...