11/24/12

Today was a pretty relaxing day around our house. The girls played the morning away and were actually pretty well behaved. We watched a couple movies, ate breakfast, and they chased each other around for a while. I spent some time online checking out some of the Black Friday deals and we just had a nice, quiet day.

While the girls napped, I watched some Dexter and started doing some blog updating (what’s new, I’m weeks behind). I did get some exciting mail though – our annual mortgage statement came in. EVERY year we’ve owned the house our mortgage has fallen short and we’ve owed money to our escrow at the end of the year. And, to make up for it, our monthly payment goes up a little bit. It’s so frustrating. Well, after this happened last year, I talked to our insurance agent and got our homeowners insurance lowered significantly (we have our insurance and taxes rolled into our mortgage) in hopes that would avoid this issue. Well, it definitely did, because this year they actually owe us money! I’m so excited. And, our payment is going down $20.00 – not a lot, but I’ll take it. Between this and our modification a few months ago, we finally have a NORMAL mortgage payment and it feels good. It was such great news to receive – especially after getting our annual tax assessment and seeing how much the home value dropped AGAIN this year. Ouch. But, our taxes went down a little bit too this year, so great news all around.

The rest of the evening was pretty low key. I planned on decorating the tree and house today, but I was just not in the mood, and a lazy day sounded much better. We ordered Chinese for dinner, and just spent the night hanging out.

I watched some more Dexter when the girls went to bed (Hey, I have 5 seasons to catch up on!) and Christian pretty much passed right out. We’re so awesome!

Here is proof of the girls actually getting along...playing TOGETHER on the iPad. YAY!

11/23/12

Ahhh, the day after Thanksgiving. I don’t know why, but I love this day. No work, everything is quiet and back to normal. Christian did have to work today, so it was just me and the girls! They played some dress up and colored the morning away while I did some online Black Friday shopping. You really couldn’t pay me to actually go Black Friday shopping. I honestly think Black Friday is a complete joke. For one, most of the “Great Deals” the stores have, show up again over the next few weeks. Also, I just can’t stand what’s it’s become. I used to LOVE it – when it was ACTUALLY Black FRIDAY shopping. Christian and I would get up early in the morning, stop somewhere for breakfast, then head to the mall. We’d spend the day shopping, getting deals and lots of “gift with purchase” goodies. It was fairly calm and what it really should be. We’d stop at Target after our day at the mall and get a few more gifts, and pretty much do all of our shopping in one day. There was no standing in lines, camping out, trampling each other, chaos, angry shoppers or fights breaking out. THAT is what Black Friday should be, not the spectacle it is now. It’s sad to me, I miss our fun Black Friday.

So, on my online shopping – I got some great deals at Children’ Place and got the girls a couple sweaters for Christmas. I also got some awesome deals at Payless – finally got myself some new brown and black shoes (my brown ones bit the dust long ago, and I can literally feel the earth through my black shoes when I walk they are so bad. I’m not a big show person at all, so I just try to have my basics – brown shoes, black shows, winter boots and a pair of sandals or two for the summer. I also got Olivia a pair of “everyday” shoes and some dress shoes. Poor Amelia, she just gets the hand-me downs! LOL. Not for long though, they both just destroy their shoes now. Ugh.

The girls and I did spend some time playing in the snow before their naps. It was SO cold though, we didn’t stay for long, but we had fun, and they were exhausted, so it was successful. While they napped, I relaxed, caught up on the DVR a little bit and got all of our Christmas stuff out of storage (which was quite a task).

When Christian got home from work, we had dinner, and got the tree set up. Olivia was so into it this year, she was such a great help. Amelia was her usual ADD self and just ran around like a chicken with her head cut off. We got the lights on, and called it a night. I can’t wait to see them decorate it; they are going to love it.

Once the girls were in bed, Christian ran over to our neighbor’s house to hang out and have a couple beers. I, of course, settled in for a night with Dexter and did some playing online. Love me some quiet alone time!

11/22/12

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! Today was definitely a wonderful day. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Thanksgiving! First of all, of course I have so many infinite number of things to be thankful for. To name a few:

1. Thankful for the hubby. We fight, we argue and it isn't always pretty. But, he's my partner in crime...we've grown up together, we've lived so much life together and every day is a new adventure. I know he'll do anything for me and our family, and for that, I'm thankful.
2. Thankful for the little divas I've been blessed with.  No matter how crazy they drive me, or how trying they may be - they are a daily reminder of how amazing life truly is. They are so funny, so energetic, so full of life. They make me a better person, and make my life complete.
3. Thankful for my family...immediate, step, extended and by marriage. I may not see them as often as I'd like, or be as close to them as I wish, but I have so much family, and they are all such wonderful people, inside and out. I'm truly blessed to be surrounded by such them. Especially my parents, who I know would do anything and everything they could for us.
4. Thankful for my friends...the old, the new, the ones I see often, the ones I never see at all..."real life", online, highschoool, co-workers. My friends have helped make me the person I am, and are definitely more like family. For that, I'm grateful.
5. Thankful for our jobs, and everything that it provides for our family...from a house to keep us safe and warm, to the food on our table. From basic necessities to the few splurges we enjoy in life.

This year, we have a few extras to be thankful. I'm thankful we made the decision to put the girls in KinderCare. It's done WONDERS for their development, social, physical and educational. Watching them grow through REALLY learning has been amazing. It was a hard decision to make, a difficult step – but they are SO much better for it.

And, I'm thankful for our furbabies, especially our Rico Suave for still being with us.

It's been a year of challenges, but so many happy times and amazing memories. We have so much to be thankful for.

We were all up bright and early. Our rolls rose wonderfully overnight, so I started up the stove right away. Christian put the laundry room back together and cleaned up his handy-man mess while the girls and I ate our rolls and watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Amelia didn’t really care much, but Olivia loved seeing all of the balloons and characters this year. It’s so fun seeing them get into things more and more every year.

The weather today was amazing (well, the first half). So, after cleaning up and watching the Parade, Christian took the girls outside to trim some of the plants and bushes down and play for a while, and I got started on the food. I baked the apple and pumpkin pies, made the cranberry sauce and peeled the bags of potatoes. I got together all of the pans, measuring cups/spoons and everything we’d need for the cooking extravaganza. We were READY TO GO!

I got the girls down for their naps a tad early and we finished cleaning up, showering and getting ready for the day. Our family started arriving around 2:30 – this year it was us, my mom, her friend Jerry, Christian’s parents and his sister with her 3 girls. The men headed outside to fry the turkey (seriously, the ONLY way I will eat turkey – it’s amazing). The kids destroyed the basement, having the time of their lives together. And, we ladies got to cooking. I actually did a large majority of the cooking and prepping myself this year – I hope to do it ALL myself soon. My in-laws did bring the rolls and stuffing, and my mom brought some salad. We made the green bean casserole, cheesy potatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy couldn’t wait to eat.

We sat down to eat around 4:30 and OMG did I eat. So good. There’s nothing like a good, traditional Thanksgiving dinner. We cleaned up the kitchen and got everything put away…the girls went right back to playing while the adults all sat our full butts on the couch and watched some football. Eating is hard work! 

After a little rest, we all made our way outside to “flip the switch” on our Christmas lights – a tradition. The house looks so great! Every year we add a few more lights to the display, so it’s pretty exciting. The weather took a drastic turn today around 1:00/2:00, and it was FREEZING out at this point, with a nice coating of snow on the ground. We went from mid 60’s in the morning/early afternoon to upper 20’s with snow and wind tonight. That’s CRAZY!

We had some pie, and everyone started heading home. Christian has to work tomorrow, so it was a pretty early night for us too. I watched a couple shows while everybody else passed out, and called it a night myself. Another year down. Now, time to prepare for Christmas! I can’t believe it’s a little over a month away already. YAY!

11/21/12

Happy Friday! I love early Friday’s!

Today was a long day at work. I’m busy, so that’s not the issue. It was just that “day before a Holiday” drag. It’s always hard to focus when you have other stuff going on/coming up. I’m just excited to actually be ready for tomorrow, for a change! I resorted to listening to Pandora all day to get me through. N’Sync radio to the rescue!

I picked up the girls after work and we made our way home. I did the final picking up and cleaning around the house, we ate some dinner and the girls played for a while. I got the cinnamon caramel rolls for breakfast set so they could rise overnight, and Christian and I put the turkey in the brine and got that going. YES, Thanksgiving is starting!

Once the girls were down, Christian and I settled in to watch some Dexter and relax. So ready for tomorrow’s deliciousness!

Here is a shot of the girls tonight...they were pretty tired and crabby, but Olivia did read to her little sister for a while, which was pretty cute.

11/20/12 - Italian Pork Chops

Today was a busy day at work, catching up from my long weekend. So, they day flew by!

I picked up the girls and did some final picking up and organizing in the basement, and with that – our basement make over is finally done! It looks great, just how I pictured it. It feels so warm, cozy and inviting, I just love it.

Christian picked up the piece he needed for the washer, and got right to work when he got home. He did manage to fix it and get it running again, YAY! He also checked the dryer, vacuumed out all of the dirt and dust, gave it a little tune up and got it up and running again too! My handy-man to the rescue! I’m so grateful that he is so willing to rip things apart and try to fix them. He keeps my car running, fixes all this stuff around the house. I don’t know what we would do if he wasn’t willing and able to do that. We’d be so screwed!

While he did that, the girls and I ate dinner, did some cleaning around the upstairs and our usual bedtime routine. I even got a shot of Amelia doing one of her favorite things...flossing! Strange child...

Tonight’s dinner was Italian Pork Chops. I really didn’t have anything prepared, so I just had to throw together something simple…

Ingredients:

• Italian Dressing
• Bread Crumbs
• 3 Boneless Pork Chops

Sides:

• Frozen Corn
• Stuffing

Directions:

1. Marinate pork chops in Italian Dressing, overnight is preferable, but at least 30 minutes.
2. Coat the marinated chops in bread crumbs, and place wrap in aluminum foil
3. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Unwrap the chops, switch oven over to broil and broil the chips for 5-10 minutes.

11/19/12 - Hawaiian Crockpot Chicken

Well, it’s Monday. I had requested this day off because my mother in law had to work. Well, on Friday she informed me that she actually does not work today, she works NEXT Monday. BUT, my supervisor is off all week, and my request already went through, so I couldn’t really go in today. So, instead, I sent the girls over to her house, and was able to get a ton of stuff done.

I relaxed in bed for a while this morning, watching TV, putting together our menu for the week, and making our grocery list (for Thanksgiving too). Once done, and motivated, I got ready and made my way to Target to grab everything.

Once home, I ate some lunch and got to work on the house. I cleaned up the bedrooms, did a little cleaning in the bathrooms, did some laundry and got the basement in order. I even put the DVD storage up, and put the coffee table back in the living room! Go me. With that, our basement makeover is FINALLY done! YES!!!!

Unfortunately, there was a MAJOR mishap while I was working away. The washer AND the dryer gave out on me. I washed a load of towels, and when I took them out they still felt super wet, drenched even. I didn’t think too much of it and threw them in the dryer. I started the next load in the wash, and noticed the dryer was making a strange sound – like it just didn’t want to go. And, it finally stopped, and wouldn’t start back up again. THEN, I noticed the wash machine didn’t sound right. I opened the lid, and it was not spinning. So, that’s clearly why the towels were so wet still. They were SO wet, it seeped through the dryer and was leaking on the ground. I was so stressed, and didn’t know what to do. On top of this, our vacuum cleaner gave out last week (so we’re borrowing one from Christian’s parents) and we’re still recovering from Rico’s vet bills. Ugh, money. It’s always something.

So, once home, Christian drained the washing machine and started checking it out. The girls and I ate dinner, hung out and went through our usual routine. He found out what was wrong with the washer – some piece had cracked and needed to be replaced. He wasn’t sure if the piece would be available, or how much it was, and didn’t have time to look at the dryer, so we still weren’t sure what was going to happen. He ended up taking the towels and the load from the washer over to his parents’ house to finish up so they wouldn’t get all gross. Good times!

After this long, stressful, busy day, I did discover something that restored my joy. My girls are so funny, they crack me up from the time they wake up, until the time they go to bed (and, yes, they drive me crazy most of that time as well). They can always put a smile on my face. Amelia has this new habit that is just hilarious. When I put them to bed, all they have is their blanket, and their little blankie’s. I always put Amelia down first, then Olivia 30 minutes later or so. Lately, when I go in to put Olivia down, this is how I find Amelia…

She runs around the room, hoarding everything in there (all of the stuffed animals, and Olivia’s princess blanket). She hangs blankets over each side of the crib, almost like a little tent, and lines all of the stuffed animals up along the frame. Apparently she likes an audience when she sleeps! I seriously could not stop laughing over this picture.

Regardless of anything else going on, how stressful it gets, how broke we are – we have these two little girls that are so full of life, so pure, so unaware of all of these issues and stresses. It’s so calming, and truly reminds you that yes, everything WILL be OK.

Tonight’s dinner was a super easy Crock Pot Meal, Hawaiian Chicken.

Ingredients:

• 4-6 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• Hawaiian Style BBQ Sauce
• Can of Crushed Pineapple

Sides:

• Rice-a-Roni
• Garden Salad

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in crock-pot and cook on low for 6 hours. Done!

11/18/12

Today was a pretty lazy day around the house. I did some cleaning in the living room, we watched some football and we just hung out most of the day. We had leftovers for dinner, I worked on our “year in review” photo book and the girls caused chaos all day long. Just another day!

I did get some passes to see a screening of “Rise of the Guardian” tomorrow. I debated all day long if we should go or not. In the end, I decided against it. While it is a kids movie, I just didn’t think it was age appropriate for a 3/4 year old, so we will be skipping it.

I was also really annoyed today. I got notice from my Nickelodeon Universe Rewards program that they are having a special “Holiday Party” in a couple weeks – free rides, free coupon books, coffee, etc. OF COURSE, it’s in the middle of the day, on a Thursday. I hate that – I don’t understand why they do that. People WORK, and kids to go school!! Even if I wanted to take the day off, I’m not going to take them out of school for it. It’s not fair (in my whiny voice). The Mall of America is already on my bad list because of their awesome “Toddler Tuesday” program, that also caters to Stay at Home Parents who can attend the events they host. It was so great when I was “laid off” last summer and could actually go to a couple of the events. It’s just not fair, it’s really annoying. Ugh, rant over.

Anyway, here are some cute post-bath pics of the girls. LOVE!

11/17/12 - Spicy Chicken Rigatoni

Today was a pretty long day. The girls were SO crabby this morning. All they did was whine about everything, fight over everything and just bug each other nonstop. Luckily for me, Christian had to deal with most of it while I tackled cleaning the kitchen and dining room. Happy to have that task done and over well before Thanksgiving (for a change).

We finally got ready and took a trip to the grocery store to get out of the house for a little bit. We had to take advantage of the great turkey coupons – so we picked up our Turkey, some other miscellaneous Thanksgiving ingredients that I knew we needed off the top of my head, picked up some lunch and made our way home. We ate and the girls went down for their naps. THANK GOD, nice LONG naps.

I finished cleaning the kitchen while they napped and got in some R&R time. Christian did some cleaning out in the garage and then got ready to head out for the night before the girls got up. We had dinner and he was off to a going away party for a co-worker. The girls and I relaxed, watched a movie, and bedtime came up on us fast. I cuddled into bed with the computer and DVR and had a quiet night to myself. My little Saturday ritual really, LOL.

Tonight’s dinner was one I’ve been dying to make! It was a Spicy Chicken Rigatoni – basically a mock of our favorite Buca Di Beppo meal. SO GOOD!

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup oil
• ½ tbsp crushed red pepper
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp chopped garlic
• 6 oz chicken, sliced
• ¾ cup. Marinara sauce
• ½ cup Alfredo sauce
•             (or, like us, you can use 1½ cups of a Rosa Sauce)
• 2 tsp butter
• ¼ cup peas
• 1 lb Rigatoni pasta, cooked according to package directions

Sides:

• Garlic Bread
• Leftover Green Beans

Directions:

1. In a sauté pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add crushed red pepper, salt, black pepper and garlic and sauté just long enough for garlic to caramelize and red pepper to release flavor into the oil. Add sliced chicken and sauté briefly to coat in spices and garlic.
2. Add Marinara Sauce first and then Alfredo Sauce and bring to a simmer. Cook until sauce thickens slightly and chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165°. Turn off flame, add butter and peas and incorporate into sauce.
3. Drop cooked pasta in boiling water for 3 seconds. Let drain for 15 seconds. Toss with the sauce. Place pasta and sauce in pasta bowl, reserving the majority of the chicken to be placed on top of the pasta. Using a rubber spatula, scrape any remaining sauce from the pan to the pasta. Garnish with crushed red pepper and serve.

11/16/12

Well, I was all excited for my flex day. Especially after my late night at the movies. I was really holding out hope the girls would sleep in. But, no. Christian was SO noisy this morning getting ready for work, he woke all of us up. I was so upset. I mean, I know they weren’t going to sleep the day away, but still – we didn’t need to get up before the sun came up on our day off! We definitely need to talk about etiquette on my days off…

The day was pretty low key really. The girls and I just hung out, and didn’t do much of anything. Breakfast, play, lunch, naps. That about sums it up.

I did spend some time looking at places to have Olivia’s birthday party this year. We did the jump house place last year, so I think we’ll do an indoor playground this year for something a little different. I looked around at a few around the cities, and the best deal seems to be Edinborough, where we went to the Halloween party. So, I just need to put together our list, figure out a time and contact them. It may take a while though… I’m not super motivated quite yet.

Christian arrived home shortly after the girls woke up. He brought home take out for dinner – Happy Meals for the girls, Thai for us. YUM, YUM! We ate and did the usual evening routine.

Once the girls were in bed, Christian and I started watching the show “Dexter”. My dad has been giving us the seasons to watch, and I hear great things about it, but we’ve just never gotten around to starting it. So, tonight, we finally popped in the first season. So far, so good – I think we’ll really like it!

It got a little windy overnight, and must have woke Olivia up, because she came into the room and wanted to sleep in our bed. Sounds good to me, I like toddler cuddles all night long!

11/15/12

So, as I arrived to work today, I was very perplexed. I seriously get to work 15 minutes late EVERY day. It does not matter what time I get up, what time I leave, where I’m dropping the girls off for the day. I am ALWAYS 15 minutes late. Either I oversleep, the girls are putzy, I have to do something/fill something out at school, I need to put gas in the car, there’s an accident along the route, a trooper on the side of the road or just some slow moron in front of me in the left lane. It just never fails, I can leave on time, early, late – 7:15 is still the time I get to my desk. I don’t get it.

At least today is my Friday!

I spent my lunch break today putting together a nice long e-mail to our insurance agent. Our homeowners insurance is set to go up again this year (after I just got it down last year!), Christian doesn’t have a loan on his truck anymore so I want to adjust his coverage, and my life insurance policy is outrageous (because of my heart disease), so I’m putting him to work trying to figure out how to lower our premiums. Also, today was the last day of open enrollment for our insurance at work. My medical and dental stayed the same. I finally added Life Insurance on the kids (it just seems to morbid to think about...) and I’m good to go for the year!

I picked up the girls after work, gave them some leftovers for dinner and hung out for a while. Christian stopped to get a haircut on his way home and then we had dinner. Once Amelia was down for the night, I was off on a date night with the BFF. Tonight we were off to see the new (last) Twilight movie! They actually offered a 10:00 showing this year, which is much better than trying to stay up until midnight! And, it’s a good thing I ordered our tickets ahead of time, because we got there 2 hours early and it was already sold out! There was a line forming, but we were told that was for the midnight showing and could just head in. We thought it was strange, but we weren’t complaining. The ticket handler pointed us to our theater…which was dim and empty. We grabbed the best seats in the house, and chatted away. Eventually another employee came in and asked us to step into the hallway while he ran the film through to make sure everything was working. When he let us back in, we asked if we were actually supposed to be in there. He informed us that no, we WERE supposed to be in line, but he let us stay! So, instead of sitting in the loud, crowded, full, uncomfortable hallway with everybody else, we had our nice, quiet, plush seats to relax in! Seriously awesome!

The movie was SO GOOD! Kari read all the books and even she thought the movie was pretty amazing. It really had one of the best twists I’ve ever seen in a movie – even the people that read the books didn’t see it coming (but still thought it fit fine with the books). I can’t wait to see it again when it comes out on DVD!

I dropped Kari off after the movie, and watched a show to wind down for bed. I’m definitely going to be tired tomorrow! You only live once, right?!?

Here is a shot I got of Amelia before I left tonight. Again, no clothes. Do you see a pattern here?