8/2/12

Today started off about the same as yesterday...although, I did wake up with a little headache. I took some meds right away, and hoped with all my might that it would go away. Christian was off to work, the rest of us had a big family breakfast, got ready and headed out for the day. Today, we were off to Como Zoo/Como Town for the day. A couple weeks ago there was a StarTribune Steal for Como Town, for two ride wristbands, so we both bought the deal.

We started off in the zoo, checking out all of the animals. It was pretty good weather today, not too hot, so all of the animals were actually out and alert for a change. Olivia couldn’t wait to see the Giraffes, her favorite, just like her mommy. Amelia loved the monkey’s, like usual. The polar bear was putting on a good show for the crowd, the grizzly bears from North Dakota were excited to see everybody and the penguins were having quite the pool party. It was a great day for the zoo.

We made our way back to the car to have a little picnic for lunch and rest for a little bit. Then, finally made our way to Como Town, which made the boys VERY happy. We went on tons of rides, Olivia played a little carnival game and won herself a cute stuffed frog and played in the water for a bit.

Finally, my headache started to catch up with me, and I couldn’t take it anymore. Our friends hung out and went on some more rides, while the girls and I made our way home. It just kept getting worse, and fast, and when I was about 5 minutes away from home, I had to pull over on the side of the road. I just couldn’t make it, and it was NOT a pretty sight. I was finally able to get us home…the girls had slept the whole way home, and went down for a nap. I also had to lie down and rest for a while. Christian made dinner and finished up as our friends arrived home. I peeled myself out of bed and joined the group for dinner, and took some more meds.

I finally started feeling better after I got some food in my system. We all made our way outside for a while. Running around, playing some ball, playing in the sandbox. Perfect night for some outdoor fun. As the sun went down, Christian started up the bonfire, we had some s’mores and relaxed around the fire. Everybody made their way to bed, and Dawn and I spent the night chatting around the fire until we were both ready to pass out. Another great day down, minus the debilitating migraine.

8/1/12

Well, it’s our first day as a house of 9, and it was a great one.

Christian had to work, so he was gone long before the house was up and running. We had some breakfast when everybody was up and mobile, and spend a little time chatting and getting reacquainted. Olivia was SO excited to see her friends again, and it was great to have them here, live and in person.

After breakfast, we all finished getting ready for the day, and were off on today’s adventure. It was a little chaotic getting into the swing of it with so many people, but we finally got out of the house around 11:30, stopped into Starbucks for Dawn, and made our way to Hyland Park in Bloomington for the day. The kids had a blast running around, and getting soaked in the misters. It got really dark shortly after we got there, sprinkled for a couple of minutes, and that was it. The sun came out, it warmed right up and it ended up being a perfect day outside. We had a picnic for lunch, played a little more, and then made our way home.

The girls and I arrived home just as Christian got home from work. We started dinner while our friends stopped into Walmart for a few things. We all ate together, and then spent the evening relaxing, bathing the girls, watching the Olympics and chatting the night away. It was tough getting the kids to go to bed in the new environment, but they were all pretty exhausted and finally went down. Christian has to work again tomorrow, so Dawn and I caught up for a little bit before passing out as well. Day 1 down, and it was quite successful!

7/31/12

LAST DAY OF WORK FOR SIX GLOREOUS DAYS. HALLELUJA!!!

And, it was indeed a crazy day. I will be working a TINY big while I’m off…keeping up on my e-mail and trying to keep as much circulating as possible. So, I caught up on as much as I could, set up some draft e-mails to send out while I’m off and the day was over before I knew it.

My mom watched the girls today because I pulled them out of school for the whole week. They obviously weren’t going to go tomorrow or Thursday with our friends being here, and if they are out for an entire week, we only have to pay ½ of our tuition. So, YAY for saving money! I picked the girls up after work and got them fed, while Christian mowed the grass, then he pretty much took over. He watched them and got them to bed as I did some laundry, did some final picking up and cleaning and ran to the grocery store to pick up some snacks, beverages and meals for the week.

Christian was only able to get Friday and next Monday off of work, so he has to work in the morning. He and the girls went to bed while I finishing up some laundry and waited for our guests. They ended up arriving around 1:30AM and basically went right to bed. I can’t wait until the morning to see Olivia’s reaction. So happy they are finally here!!

Olivia is usually afraid of the lawn mower, but tonight she BEGGED for a ride with Daddy....

7/30/12

Well, Monday again. It definitely sucks, but a little less than usual seeing that I only have a 2 day work week. Things at work are going to be crazy today and tomorrow through, trying to plow through as much as I can before I’m off for SIX DAYS STRAIGHT. Man, I love the sound of that.

After work, Christian picked up the party leftovers and brought them over to his parents’ house so that I could clean up the house a little bit. I cleaned out the spare room and washed the bedding. Yes, you can FINALLY see the floor and bed in the spare room again. Happy Day! I picked up the tiny mess from the birthday party in the basement (thank GOD for summer birthday’s, and being able to be OUTSIDE, leaving the house nice and clean!) and then it was basically bedtime. One more hectic day, then our friends will be here, and we’ll have a whole new kind of chaos going on! Can’t wait!

Amelia did get in some play time with her new toys tonight, LOL. Headbands, a picnic and a princess book. That's what I call a pre-bed party!

7/29/12

Today was a pretty good day. Christian partied it up a little too much last night, and was definitely feeling it today. I can’t fathom the desire to feel like that, ever, especially when you have two toddlers running around the house. I just don’t get it.

So, the girls and I spent the morning together. We played with Amelia’s new toys, did a little picking up around the house and got ready for the day. Today, we were all off to Olivia’s BBF Bella’s birthday party. Bella turned 4 on Friday, and Olivia was SO excited to celebrate with her today and give her a present. They ran around all day, played in the pool and had so much fun together. Bella is a little more aggressive than I like, and I can see Olivia is pretty reserved around her, but she seems to love her to death so it must not be that bad. I’m guessing she was a little more aggressive than usual since it was her party, at her house, with her family and friends around, but I was a little put off by it. It was nice getting to know her parents though. Her mom is really nice, super friendly and welcoming. Really laid back. Her dad is actually from Mexico City too, so he and Christian hit it off really well. Hopefully we can spend more time with them. They live so close, the girls love each other, and we have a lot in common with them - as long as they can play a little nicer, I think it's a great match all around.

After the party, we made our way home for a relaxing evening. No cleaning, no people, limited noise. Just what we needed after the chaos of the last week or so. Tomorrow, we start getting ready for our houseguests, and I couldn’t be more excited!!!

Here are a couple pictures of Olivia and Bella, so happy to be playing together...