2013 - Week 30

This week brought us Amelia's birthday, party, and ended with some bad news...

Monday was a pretty standard Monday. They're never fun, it's just a fact, folks! The girls were off to school for their first Monday...it still won't quite be a full week for them though...we both have Friday off, so we'll be spending it together for Amelia's birthday. After work, I got some final cleaning done, and the house is basically ready for the party. Now, we'll be spending the week not touching anything. And, eating everything in the fridge we can making room for party food. Good times!

3 babies now. I have a feeling #4 didn't make it...

Our first picks from the garden. They are SPICY too!

Menards had these solar butterfly lights on super clearance so we got each of the girls one. They love them!

Tuesday was kind of a stressful day at work. We use all kinds of funding sources to pay for the Contracts we write....and, each has a little difference requirements. One of the funding sources I have to deal with is a federal program. This program gets audited every couple years and it's pretty stressful. We don't actually manage the program, so we don't have to do any prep for the audit....but my supervisor was off today, and my lead left early, so I got called into this meeting out of the blue this afternoon and basically had to defend our processes. Not fun! Other than that, I made some good headway with my inbox today. I was feeling pretty "caught up" for a while...not so much anymore. After work, we were able to pick a few strawberries from the garden. The plant is doing well, we just aren't getting a ton of berries...next year should be good. And, in other exciting news...the FINALLY started painting tonight. HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!!!!

The birds are growing fast!

So proud of the strawberries....

We're fairly certain this is a weed...but it was so big, I had to leave it. We're going for the world record now. HOWEVER, see that little plant with an arrow??? That just started, and it does not feel like a weed. I'm fairly certain it's a cucumber plant...fingers crossed!

Let the painting begin!

Wednesday was a typical day...school, work. My mom asked me to come over to a farmers market by her house with the girls...they have a HUGE market, and tonight had a popular band playing.  figured, why not...Christian was painting, my cleaning was pretty much done...so, I picked the girls up and off we went. Then...I was stuck in traffic forever and just about lost it. I just had to keep reminding myself "construction keeps me employed, construction keeps me employed, construction keeps me employed". We stayed for a big, had some food, danced, then made our way home.

Thursday was a low-key day. Last work/school day for all of us, and our last day with a 2-year old! Crazy. I can't believe 3 years ago right now I was at the hospital, in labor, ready to welcome our little Amelia Grace into our lives.

Friday was Amelia's birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY! Amelia is such an amazing addition to our family - we definitely would not be complete without her. She's such a free spirit, has the most amazing personality. She's so funny, so full of life. Always on the go and always up to something. There's so much life in that little body. She started out being such a difficult baby...colic, acid reflux, severely attached to me. It broke my heart (and, stressed me out beyond belief!). She's grown into the happiest most easy going little girl - it's pretty crazy. We spent the day celebrating. The girls and I had some breakfast and were off to "Pump it Up" to play for a while (I bought a groupon a while ago). We grabbed some McDonald's for lunch and met Daddy at home...he was busy mowing the lawn and doing some final outdoor prep for the party. We had lunch and gave Amelia her big present....their new riding jeep. They were so excited! Next up, naps. Yup - naps on your birthday, how mean! After naps were off to Noodles & Company for dinner, made a quick stop at Menards, grabbed some Dairy Queen for dinner and finally called it a day. Growing babies! It was an emotional day for me.

Saturday was a busy, busy day. We had some breakfast, then Olivia and I were off to swim class while Christian started filling the pool and setting up the yard and getting it ready for the party. Swim class was awesome...Olivia was swimming...like, face in the water, arms and legs going, REAL swimming. She was so proud of herself, and I was so excited for her. So awesome! Once home, I started prepping the food...making pasta salad and sloppy joes, filling the crockpots, cutting up watermelon...and, did some final laundry and picking up. Christian picked up the balloons and cupcakes. Unfortunately, the weather did not want to cooperate. It was chilly and windy...then, the rain rolled in. We had to move the tables into the garage (which also meant, moving the mowers and stuff out to make room, and set up the food and everything. So, the pool party was nixed, but we still had a great day. The kids had a blast and couldn't have cared less. It was a busy day, but a wonderful one!

Sunday was not a great day. The girls were being pretty mean all morning - telling me how horrible I am and I never let them do anything just because I don't let them do something. Usual kid stuff that I know they all do, but it was just out of control today. Then, I got a call from my dad. My grandma's health has been declining for years. Last summer they moved her to a nursing home because her dementia was getting worse. She was moved to the hospital overnight...apparently she developed a urinary tract infection that went un-diagnosed for to long...the infection spread and there isn't anything they can do. So, she's basically been sedated on morphine, just to keep her comfortable. But, they gave her about 72 hours until she passes. It was a pretty heartbreaking conversation. My mother's parents both passed away while I was in high school...I was very close to them, especially my grandma. While that was very hard, I don't think even at that age the finality of death really hit me. I spent a lot of the day thinking about them, missing them. Wishing they would have had a chance to meet my girls and get to know them. I'm not ready to go through it all again. It's going to be a tough week. I spent the day with the (bratty) girls. Christian was off to help our friend move, so nap time couldn't come soon enough. I got Amelia's presents unpackaged and put away, and got the house back in order. I, of course, developed a headache through the course of the day. We spent a little time riding bikes and playing in the yard, and stopped over at Bella's to have cupcakes for her birthday. It was a long day, and quite a week!

Olivia has been fighting her naps tooth and nail. As I put her down she exclaimed "I'm not tired! I'm not taking a nap, and you can't make me!"

Amelia rocked her new helmet tonight!

So, that was another week in our lives. Next week will bring us some polar opposite events....most likely some heartbreaking news about my grandma, and a visit from our Indiana friends.

Until next week!

2013 - Week 29

This week we got back into the swing of real life. But, this weekend brought me some much needed fun with my girlfriends at Lakefront Music Fest!

Well, Monday meant back to reality. It's never fun heading back to real life after vacation. The girls were off to my in-laws, we were off to work. The day went by pretty fast though, so that was a positive start to the week. The evening was pretty standard. I picked the girls up after work so Christian could go deck paint shopping with his dad. We hung out for a bit, had some dinner, the usual. With our lack of cable and DVR, I've taken up some new shows this summer. One of them is "The Bachelorette". I know the series has been on FOREVER, but I've never watched it before. I have to admit, I can see why people get obsessed with it. And, I do kind of like it. But, I find it pretty sad at the same time. It seems like everybody is just completely fake and looking for "fame" any way they can get it. The fact that people can be SO fake about something so important kind of breaks my heart. I don't know...I find the whole concept pretty interesting though.

I put together our side-by-side Duluth trip family photo collage today. Love it!

Christian asked to "retake" this shot we took two years ago, I love it!

I'm sure Rick was super happy that we were home!

Tuesday brought upon a long awaited decision...as of next week, the girls will be going to KinderCare full time. My mother in laws schedule has become too unpredictable, and we just can't count on her anymore. I know they're going to miss the girls, and my mom is really going to miss her day, but I'm honestly super excited for the girls - it's going to be so good for them, I'm very happy with this adjustment (maybe not the bill that comes with it). Now, I have to decide what I'm going to do with my schedule. Right now, I work 9 hour days so I can have every other Friday off. I can either 1) continue that and have that day all to myself...rest, chores, shopping, etc. or 2) I can go back to working 8's and get an extra hour a day at home. Both are tempting and have their pro's and con's...I'm guessing I'll stick with option 1, but we'll see. When I picked the girls up after work, Amelia's old toddler teacher, Miss Judy, was very upset with me for waiting until AFTER she moved up to preschool. I love how much they love the girls! I left work early to do some shopping...Toys R Us for a slip n' slide, Hallmark for Amelia's "3" figurine, Party City to order Party Balloons, and Target to do our weekly shopping and order cupcakes. BUSY! We immediately set up the slip n' slide when we got home and had a blast. The girls could not get enough, it was so fun. We had a quick dinner after...Amelia was not cooperating very well though. I left her sitting at the table and she whined about how she needed help. I finally, jokingly, told Olivia to go help her. And, she did! It was hilarious. I guess I need to do that more often...

Slip N' Slide Fun!

By Wednesday, we were in the midst of a heat wave. I'm not complaining though...bring on the heat after that crappy, never-ending winter! The extended forecast isn't looking so great though...looks like we're in for a cool down. I sure hope that changes though. Today was a pretty low-key, standard day. Work, school, a little more slip n' slide fun, dinner, baths. The usual!

We about have some jalapenos ready to pick! YES!

My Valentines Roses Are Popping Up Like Crazy!

Tomatoes Are Coming In

The Pumpkins are Flowering

The Pumpkin Patch Just Keeps Growing and Growing

I found the girls sitting at the top of the stairs. Secret meeting of the sissy club...I wasn't invited.

Thursday was not so good. Work has been stressing me out BIG time. Today was one of THOSE days....when everything you touch is a problem, everything that can go wrong does, everything is a mess, phone calls and e-mails are rushing in left and right. By quitting time, I had definitely been pushed over the edge. I hate days like this!!! One good thing that came out of the day....I got my short term disability acceptance letter! At my work, when you are first hired, you can sign up for any and all disability, insurance, etc. programs that you want. After that, short term disability is never open for enrollment. You have to apply, and provide evidence of good health, and be approved. I applied a few years back, before getting pregnant with Olivia, and I was denied because of my heart disease. I decided to try applying again, just in case we go for #3, and they had changed the application wording a bit to where I did not need to claim my heart disease in the health history. Sure enough, that did the trick! Got my letter today, and I'm covered. That was pretty exciting news.

Two of the Birds Hatched!

Friday was DEFINITELY a finally Friday this week. It was another long day of meetings, issues and an overflowing inbox. BUT, the day flew by. My mom dropped the girls off to me at work because she was coming into the city. So, we made our way home. I immediately started getting ready for the night....it was finally time for Lakefront Music Fest with my girls! I got myself ready, my friends Gini and Michelle swung by to pick me up, and we were on our way to Rock Night. Tonight's line up was Firehouse (we missed most of their set), Warrant and BRET MICHAELS!!! I cannot tell you how excited I was to see him. They all did a great job, and Bret definitely rocked it. The end of the night was pretty exciting. You can't park onsite...they have a couple of park & walk lots, and a couple park & shuttle lots. The walking lots appeared to be quite a walk on mapquest, so we decided to try the shuttles. It was fine getting to the show, but, imagine thousands and THOUSANDS of people leaving at one time, heading for the shuttles...that were not marked or well organized whatsoever. It was pure chaos. Luckily, everybody was in a pretty fun, festive mood, but it was crazy. Meanwhile, Christian was home with the girls. He and his friend Lorenzo have spent a few nights this week sanding the deck. I cannot wait until the deck is DONE! Mariano stopped over with the girls' BFF, Bella, for a bit, so they kept themselves better.

Mema, taking care of her babies while I get ready.

Ready to Rock Out! Firehouse, Warrant and Bret Micheals [Band]

Saturday was another busy, fun-filled day. First up, swim class. Olivia was super excited to be back in the pool after a couple weeks off. The girls and I picked up some breakfast on our way home. Christian and Lorenzo spent the day doing some more sanding, and power-washing the house. The girls and I played for a bit, had some lunch and they went down for naps. I took to the yard and FINALLY got the patio tables and chairs, outdoor toys, etc. sprayed down and cleaned. Time to finally accept that it's summer and get the yard cleaned up. Then, it was time to get ready...Country Night at Lakefront Music Festival. I got ready and tonight, Gini and our friend Skaar picked me up and we were off. Last night we HAD to be in the mix to get up close and personal with Bret. Tonight, we took it easy and sat back on the hill...relaxing night on the hill, and it was perfect. We did lots of chatting and catching up (both nights), which was much needed. This weekend provided some long overdue time with my girls.

The girls were pretty annoyed that I was going out AGAIN. We snapped a pic together before I headed off.

Hanging on the Hill. County Night - Kristen Kelly, Casey James and Montgomery Gentry

Sunday was back to home life. I spent the day doing my usual chores, on speed. While the house needed some picking up...more important, it's time to get ready for Amelia's birthday party next weekend! Christian dropped the girls off with his parents for a couple of hours. He took to the garage and got it cleaned out an picked up. I tackled the inside. Laundry, kitchen, dining room, bedrooms, entry and master bathroom. ALL CLEAN! Man, there is nothing like a clean house. Now, I'll just need to get the basement picked up and do some shopping and we're ready. I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed in regards to Amelia's birthday party this year. I sent the invitations out a month ago and NOBODY other than our parents, one of my cousins and a coworker even bothered to RSVP. I finally broke down and messaged the remaining invitees this weekend an one "no" RSVP after another came rolling in. I'm super, SUPER sensitive when it comes to parties. It (sadly) breaks my heart a little with each "no" I receive. I end up getting so upset over it, and I know I shouldn't. I guess it just leaves me feeling like we don't mean enough to people...people don't care enough...and that we put more weight on our friendships and relationships than other people do. And, I HATE that feeling. I keep a calender...I have birthdays on said calendar, especially those of the people we care most about, and would typically attend a birthday party for. I guess I just think it's strange that other people wouldn't do the same. And, to know that we do EVERYTHING possible to make it to ever event, party, get-together, etc., no matter what we have going on, how busy we are, how packed it makes our day - we still find a way...and, it sucks that nobody else will do the same for us. In the end, we invited about 45 people (including us, our parents and all of the kids). It looks like we'll have about 19 people at the part (again, including us). Far less than half. Ugh  - that seriously breaks my heart.

Anyway, that's our week! I can't believe my baby turns 3 in the coming week. SO CRAZY!

Until next week!