2013 - Week 38

So, the big week finally arrived! The surprise anniversary getaway I'd been planning the last couple of months was finally coming to fruition. YES!

Monday started off COOOOOOOOOOOOOLD! I swear, they still have the air conditioning on at work too, making it that much worse. (I know, 1st world problems, but come on, who wants to sit in a freezing office all day?!?). I did give Christian some hints about our upcoming weekend this morning. I told him not to make any plans this weekend, because we're busy, and that he doesn't work on Friday. I figured, I better make sure he knows that just in case there's anything he NEEDS to get done before the weekend. That left him pretty sufficiently annoyed, and intrigued. I did leave work a tad early to do our weekly grocery shopping, and pick up a few things we needed for the trip. The, the usual Monday routine...soccer, dinner, baths and bed. Luckily it warmed up a tad by soccer, but it was chilly still. Monday nights sure fly by though, that's for sure.

Some Soccer Pics

Tuesday was a busy day at work. I finally feel like I have a good handle on my workload, and don't feel like I'm constantly drowning like I was for so long, so I'm doing my best to really stay ahead of the game. Plus, short weeks (while they tend to drag) always seem so much busier work wise. I finalized the last of our weekend plans for vacation...our friend Sara, that lives across the street, will be keeping an eye on the house for us, my mom is keeping the girls all weekend - and bringing them to soccer Saturday, my father in law is driving us to the airport and picking us up and my in-laws are taking the dog for the weekend. I have all of the carry-on luggage guidelines memorized and in the back of my head, I found out I can pre-check in on Thursday and print our boarding passes, I have our Cubs tickets printed and ready to go and our itinerary finalized. I can't wait! Our evening was pretty standard, we hung out around the house, played in the yard for a bit, had dinner. The usual.

The girls picked me some flowers at school today, and hid them in their cubbies all day long. LOL

Wednesday was another pretty typical day at work. After work, the girls and I were off to my in-laws to meet Christian there for dinner. They asked us to come over, but I had no idea it was a little early anniversary dinner for us, so that was really sweet. My mother in-law made taquitos and a Mexican soup for dinner (I don't eat that, but the taquitos were delish!). The girls played for a while and watched some movies while we hung out and chatted for a bit. She surprised us with a little cake from work, which was OMG so good. Of course, Christian no my in-laws eat sweets, so the girls and I each had a piece...the rest will be going to work tomorrow, or I will devour it all myself. What a fun night!

YUM!

Thursday was a busy, busy day. I finalized everything up at work and got as much done as I could. Then, left early to get my weekend started. I made one last stop at the store for a couple travel size things we needed, then made my way home. I had to do some quick cleaning (dishes, vacuuming and general picking up) because my mom has decided it will be easier to just stay at our house with the girls this weekend. It really is too...now she can keep an eye on the house and all of the animals can just stay there, and be fed regularly. Then, I dug out a couple of carry on suitcases, and started packing. Finally, I picked up the girls and started dinner. When Christian arrived home, still completely in the dark, I directed him to the bedroom to see his "gift" (of course, he's a guy, and things turned dirty for a minute there). He found the suitcases and I think it really started driving him crazy. At this point, I was pretty sure he just thought we were doing "up North" for the weekend or something, so he was still pretty much in the dark. We spent the night packing up, hanging out with the girls for a bit, and finishing up our housework. TOMORROW IS THE DAY!

Friday finally arrived. I was up and showered at my usual time. Once ready, I got the girls up, ready and off to school while Christian showered and got ready. My in-laws picked us up around 8:00 and we were off. He now knew we were heading out on an airplane, so it was all starting to come together. While in line for security, I gave him his boarding pass and he finally knew where we were heading. He seemed successfully surprised, so that was exciting. We made it through security...he REFUSED to follow my direction of taking his ziploc of liquids out of his suitcase, and sure enough, he was pulled off to the side for inspection. Come on man, I did my research! Once we were set free, we grabbed some quick breakfast, and made our way to the gate. Our flight took off at 10:00, as planned, and the flight went off without a hitch. We arrived, made our way through the airport and took the train downtown to the hotel. We were able to check in right away and drop off our stuff. Then, we were off. We walked to the Shedd Aquarium and hung out there until it closed. I couldn't believe how HUGE it was, it was VERY cool. Once we were kicked out, we found a Mexican restaurant within walking distance, had a nice big dinner, and made our way back to the hotel. My feet were KILLING me by this point, so it was a loooooong, painful walk to the hotel, but we made it. We settled in for the night, watched a movie and relaxed. Ahhhh, vacation!

Ready to Go!

Saturday was a busy, fun-filled day. We were up and at em' pretty early. Showered, got ready, and we were on our way. We walked back up to the Museum Field, and caught a water taxi over the Navy Pier. We had lunch, walked around, rode the Ferris Wheel, did a little Window Shopping and relaxed by the fountain across the street for a while. Next up, we caught a taxi to Wrigley Field for the Cubs vs. Braves Game. Our seats were WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY at the top, but we were pretty sheltered from the wind up there (it was sunny and nice out, by the wind was very cold, and picking up as the day went on) and we could see everything, so the seats were actually pretty good. And, the Cubs won, so that was pretty exciting! We left the game and walked down to a pizza place down the road - which was delicious. After dinner, we caught a taxi and took it back downtown to a Dueling Pianos bar, Howl at the Moon, that our hotel recommended. We used to LOVE going to see some local Dueling Pianos, so it was fun to do that again. And, they were actually really good. We started getting a little work out and took a quick taxi ride back to the hotel. We were sufficiently exhausted again, and hopped right into bed. Party animals indeed!

Sunday was 1) our actual anniversary, and 2) another busy day, of course. After were showered and got ready for the day, we packed everything up and made our way out. We checked out and were able to check our bags at the hotel for the day. We grabbed a taxi and made our way down to the John Hancock Observatory building. We spent some time in the observatory checking everything out. It's crazy how HUGE the city really is. We picked up a gift for the girls at a gift shop in the building (some My Little Ponies, of course) and grabbed some lunch at The Cheesecake Factory (our official anniversary meal). We took some time and walked back to the hotel after lunch. We walked down Michigan Avenue, so we got to experience the "Magnificent Mile" - though no shopping actually took place. We walked through Millennium Park and took in all of the sculptures and scenery. Finally, we stopped and sat at Buckingham Fountain for a while before calling it a day. I couldn't believe our trip was coming to an end already! Time sure flies. We walked back to the hotel, grabbed our bags and caught the train back to the airport.

Now, throughout the day (starting at about 9:00AM), I started receiving phone calls from the airline that our flight had been changed. Originally, we were leaving at 5:10PM...the time kept going up and down, and we finally decided to just head to the airport at the same time, just to be safe. Still, the time kept changing. We checked with the airline before going through security, and the "host" for our flight happened to be there...he informed us that the plane was having mechanical issues in Minneapolis...just what you want to hear when you are about to board said plane. So, we went through security and made our way to the gate. Throughout the day, our flight time changed EIGHT times. Our 5:10PM flight home ended with us actually boarding around 9:15PM. We each got a free dinner from the airline, but we were pretty miserable. I was exhausted, and I was SO hoping to see my babies before the went to bed. But, we finally made it home, safe and sound, and that was all that mattered at that point. My father in-law picked us up...my mother in-law had relieved my mom from kid duty, so she was there waiting for us. We finally got home around 11:30...I gave the girls each a big hug and kiss before passing out. Work is NOT going to be fun tomorrow, that's for sure!

Nevertheless, it was a great vacation, an awesome break from real life and an anniversary we'll definitely always remember! 6 years, I still can't believe it's been 6 years! Life has definitely changed in those 6 years, that's for sure!

With that, another week comes to a close. A very exciting one indeed! Now, back to real life! But, I sure do love that life, so I'm definitely OK with that.

Until next week!

2013 - Week 37

This week was...well, pretty boring! And, I am most definitely OK with that!

Monday was a hot, hot, HOT day. We were all off to work and school as usual. When I picked the girls up from school it was just scorching out...they had just been outside for a bit and were sweating like crazy. We decided that it was not worth dealing with the heat at soccer practice, so we decided to stay home (this is big deal for me...I do NOT take lightly to people who don't show up to things/cancel/quit, but it was just way too hot, especially after watching them suffer at Saturday's game). So, we took this as our last opportunity to fill up the pool and have a water night. The girls had a blast and I kicked up my feet watching over them. After some play time, we had dinner, watched a little TV and it was bedtime before we knew it. Today was pretty exciting though, in that my new glasses came in! YES! Roughly 4 years ago, a 9 month old Olivia got a hold of my (fairly new) glasses, and ripped one of the arms off. Christian fixed then, as well as he could, and that held for a few months. I spent the next year or two taping them together (yes, I wore glasses, that were taped together), until the tape would not hold anymore, and I finally resorted to wearing them with one arm missing. I wear my contacts 95% of the time, and just never had the money to spend on new glasses, that I hardly wear (even though they were significantly broken, and several prescriptions outdated). Well, with my drastic prescription change this last appointment, I decided to bite the bullet and order some new ones. I had a few people recommend zenni.com to me, and I found some SUPER cheap ones (like, $15 for the complete pair cheap) and ordered them. I cannot believe how well I can see in them...it's crazy! Yes, it's very exciting to have sight again, and have an option when my eyes aren't handling contacts well. YAHOO!

Dawn posted another one of our family pics today! YAY!

My new glasses!

Tuesday was just a regular old day. I have to admit, I've been HORRIBLE at taking pictures lately. I think I'm getting so depressed with not having a nice, fancy, fantastic camera yet, that I'm boycotting ours. LOL. In reality, we've been busy, but nothing super picture worthy. Work has been going well. Christian hasn't been working as much overtime for a while, but he should start working Saturday's again pretty soon with the holiday's approaching. My work continues to be crazy, chaotic and often overwhelming. But, as hard as it could be, I couldn't imagine it any other way. The days fly by, and we know how important what we do is, and that's comforting. School has been going well. Amelia is really coming into her personality in class, and is LOVING her teacher, Miss Jenn. She has learned how to write an "A", and is SUPER excited about that. Miss Jenn, like all of Amelia's previous teachers, just loves her and can't get enough of her goody personality, which still warms my heart to hear. Olivia is loving Pre-K and learning all kinds of new stuff. She's been talking a lot about Kindergarten, especially with Bella starting last week, and about how excited she is to start next year. I hope she keeps that spirit!

Wednesday was another pretty standard day. Monday was the last of our latest heat wave, so we've cooled down pretty significantly. We may get an Indian Summer or two yet this year, but overall, I'd say fall is setting in. It's sad how quickly time passes, but I'm excited for fall and all that it brings, like usual. Changing colors and trolling the neighborhood with the girls, the apple orchard, sever's, all of the Halloween activities, pumpkin EVERYTHING, sweaters, new clothes for the girls, thanksgiving. I just LOVE it! Of course, I would be remiss not to acknowledge that today was the anniversary of 9/11. 12 years later and I can still remember everything about that day like it was yesterday. It is definitely engraved in my mind for life. And I still just hope every day that our children never have to live through, or God forbid experience, anything like that in their lifetime. Definitely ALWAYS REMEMBERING!

Made our first batch of salsa from the garden (well, tomatoes and jalapenos from the garden, fresh onion and garlic from the farmers market)

Well, yet again, Thursday just proved to be a pretty standard, boring day. Well, work was kind of hell for me. My supervisor is out of town and I was roped into a horrible meeting. It's not worth explaining to anybody that doesn't actually work there and know what I'm talking about, but the meeting ended up consisting of 3 very frustrating, irritating topics and I was very annoyed that I had to deal with it on my own. Ugh, just one of those days when having a job really sucks. ONE MORE DAY this week. The evening went well. I picked up the girls and we spent a little time playing outside before Christian got home. Then, of course, dinner, baths and bedtime. The usual!

The picture Olivia drew for school. Melts my heart, I love that girl! I asked her what we were doing, playing with maracas? And she said "No, Mom, we're eating popsicles". LOL. And, apparently the purply thing on the left is her and sissy, swimming. 

Friday could not have come soon enough this week! I plowed through the work day and cleaned everything up for the week and was very excited to clock out. I wasn't feeling too well today, so that just added fuel to the fire. But, since I get off a little earlier on my Friday, I picked up the girls and we took a walk/bike ride down to the park for a while. We spent quite a while there, and they continued playing in the backyard while I made dinner once we got home. Christian worked pretty late, per his usual Friday, so we had a late dinner and played with the girls for a while. Once they were off to bed, we settled in for a movie night..."This is 40" and "Mama". This is 40 was actually really funny, way better than I was expecting. Mama was good...I thought it could've been a little better and they went just a tad over the top on the supernatural side, but it was still pretty suspenseful. The biggest success was that I actually made it through TWO movies! Whoa.

Heading to the Park

Saturday was a pretty low key day. I did a little cleaning right away in the morning, and then we were off to Olivia's soccer game. My father in law came to watch again, and it was pretty entertaining as always. Olivia was getting herself right in the mix, doing me proud. After last weeks game I talked to her and told her "you just keep going for that ball, don't let those boys push you around!" I think she took it a little too literal because she was getting pretty into it with the little all-star boy on our team. She gave him a couple little pushes and maybe a body check or two when he would take the ball away from her. THAT'S MY GIRL! (I did have a chat with her after the game though, LOL). We got a little play time in after the game, and then it was time for naps. It started raining in the late afternoon and rained all through the night, which was much needed. And, I LOVE rainy days/nights - it's just so relaxing and calming. We babysat Bella for a little bit while her parents were at work, so the girls watched some movies and did some arts and crafts. Once she headed home, we had some dinner and hung out for a bit. Christian was off to watch the Boxing match with Lorenzo tonight, so once the girls were in bed, I had the house all to myself. I finished Dexter Season 7, and caught up on some Hulu. Perfect night!

A little backyard playtime.

Sunday started off as usual...CHORES! I got the upstairs picked up, did the dishes, some laundry and swept the house. Always a busy start to the day, but man it feels good when it's done! We ended up meeting Bella and her dad at Edinborough to play for a while and burn off some energy. The girls had a blast, and were pretty exhausted by the time we got home. Amelia complained a few times (including on the way there) saying that her head hurt. Christian said she's told him that a few times, so we're getting a little worried about it. I'm going to be SO upset if she ends up with my migraines (well, if any of our kids do). I wouldn't wish that on anyone, and I sure don't want to watch my babies suffer with them. Hopefully it's just a fluke thing. After some playtime, w made our way home. We had a late lunch, and let the girls skip their naps. We relaxed and played some games, watched some videos and watched football the rest of the day. We got the girls in the bath a little earlier than usual and Amelia went to bed fairly early. One bonus to no nap. Olivia wasn't too far behind, and with that our weekend came to an end.

BFF playtime!

So, there went another week. Next week is our big anniversary week (well, it's not actually until Sunday), so I'm excited to finally let Christian in on my big surprise trip to Chicago for the weekend! I will be frantically making sure everything is ready and in place for that and I just can't wait!

2013 - Week 36

Here we are, Week 36! Can you believe it, the year is flying by!

Monday was Labor Day, so no school and Christian and I were both home. We all spent the morning relaxing and being lazy around the house. Christian eventually started on some yard work while I watered the gardens and picked up a little around the house. My mother in law is in Canada visiting her other son right now, so my father in law offered to make some ribs and bring them over for dinner. So, we grilled some chicken and sides and we all hung out for a while. Sara and Bella stopped over to visit for a while, but Bella was a little crabby, so they didn't stay long. Plus, she starts Kindergarten tomorrow, so she has a BIG day ahead of her! After dinner, we cleaned up and rested for a bit, our long weekend came to an end.

Spent the morning cuddled with my boy and by baby.

Practicing Headstands. LOL

Tuesday kicked off a busy week at work. With the holiday yesterday, and my day off this Friday, I'll have a hectic 3-days trying to keep up on everything. DEFINITELY not complaining though. It was fun watching all of my friends and family posting their "back to school" pictures today. I can't believe that will be US next year, and my biggest baby is going to be starting Kindergarten. It's sure going to sneak up on us fast, I know that. After work, I picked up the girls, we had a snack and were off to soccer...it was moved to tonight because of the holiday yesterday. Olivia has pretty much destroyed her tennis shoes (she's been wearing them to soccer), so we ran to the shoe store after practice because she needs them for school. Of course, our Payless was closed. We stopped at Famous Footwear, but there was NO WAY I was spending that kind of money on kids' shoes. So, Walmart it was. She picked out a new pair and they should last a while. It will be winter before we know it, and she'll only be wearing them IN school, so they won't get as much wear. Finally, we made it home for a quick dinner, a quick bath and bedtime.

Trying to steal my BFF - it's never gonna happen though!

A pretty funny "discount" fail I spotted at Famous Footwear

Wednesday was not a good day. I don't know why - I was feeling overwhelmed in general. At work, at home, on facebook...just one of those days I guess. It felt like everything I did at work was turning into a problem, everything I touched has some issue attached to it, everybody was just rubbing me the wrong way. I couldn't wait to get home, that's for sure. We had a pretty relaxing night at home, watching some TV and playing with the girls. And, let me tell you, those girls DRIVE ME UP THE WALL some days, and make me nuts, but when I'm feeling down or having a bad day, they sure know how to put a smile on my face. They are so funny and say the most amazing, entertaining, hilarious things sometimes. Tonight was one of those nights where I honestly don't know what I would do without them in my life. Kids, truly an amazing creature.

The pumpkin patch, update. Still looking great, and getting some new growth. I don't think anything will come of the new vines though, it's getting pretty late.

Thursday, I was definitely happy it was my Friday, that's for sure. It was a short week, but they always seem to go sooooooooooo slow for some reason. I kept myself busy though. Christian and I have officially decided we're going to try to get the girls into one of our District Magnet Schools, the STEM school. Our Middle School is actually a STEM school, so it would be a great stepping stone for them. And, I'm all about whatever gives them the best opportunities. Plus, it's one of the schools our daycare buses to, so that's an added bonus. So, today I decided to start looking into the application process and prepare for that. Turns out, the application process opens on September 23rd, with tours of the schools on October 1st! What, I can't believe I have to actually starts on this stuff already! I was not prepared for that shock.

My friend Dawn posted one of our family pictures today!

The girls were playing "school" under the stools today. They were so funny.

Friday was AMAZING! House to myself, all day long. Christian was off to work, I dropped the girls off at school and commenced my day alone. I balanced the checkbooks and paid bills. I went shopping...Old Navy for clothes, Sports Authority for soccer shoes and Target for a birthday present. I went home, ate some lunch, and spent some time going through the 3T clothes. I had high hopes that Amelia would finally fit in some of it...but after looking at it, there's NO WAY. It's all definitely too big for her. Boo! Next up, I FINALLY cleaned the basement. Between our houseguests' visit last month, and the girls' general playing down there, it's a disaster (the toys - not like dirty or anything, LOL). So, I got everything picked up and put away, did a little dusting and vacuumed. YES! Finally, I picked the girls up and got them fed. THEN, they were off to Sara's house for the evening while Christian and I went out for our friend Gini's birthday. We met them and some other friends at Chatterbox for dinner, drinks and some catching up. It was great, and after being stressed out this week, it was nice to relax with a few adult beverages! We left around 10:00 to rescue Sara from the kid chaos, and made our way home. The girls were off to bed, we watched a little TV and ended up passing out, of course. What party animals we are!

The girls at the "slumber party"

Saturday was a pretty busy day. I did some quick cleaning up around the house, and then we were off to Olivia's very first soccer game! She was so excited, and did so good. They don't keep score yet (there isn't even a goalie or anything like that - still learning the basics), but I think it was a close one! Olivia was actually keeping up with the kids and getting her foot on the ball quite a bit, she seemed really excited. We were so proud! My mom and father in-law came to watch. It was SUPER, SUPER hot out, so after the game, we stopped home to cool off and get Olivia changed. Then, the girls and I were off with my mom to lunch at Noodles & Company. After lunch, we headed to Wisconsin for my cousin's little family picnic/housewarming party. It was fun hanging out with the family for a while and catching up. The house was beautiful, and SWARMING with hummingbirds, which was really cool. While we were gone, Christian babysat Bella for a bit while her parents were working, and Lorenzo stopped over to hang out. We had dinner and hung out for a while after Bella went home, before the girls went to bed and Lorenzo headed out. Christian and I watched "Guilt Trip" and PASSED OUT. Seriously, we're losers.

First Soccer Game!

Party Pics - Awesome Hummingbird Shots!

Sunday was another busy day, what's new! I spent the morning finished up my weekly chores - cleaned the upstairs, did laundry, dishes...the usual. We had breakfast and Christian kept the girls entertained. Finally, it was time for naps and football. Dang Vikings lost - it's not looking like a very promising year. At halftime we showered and started getting ready, and had to leave a little before the end of the game for my friend Kelly's sons, Finley, birthday party. It was at their new house in Woodbury, so we got to take a little new home tour while the girls jumped in the bounce house and played with the kids. We played, ate some food and cake, watched the presents (I still LOVE how excited kids get to watch each other open birthday presents, it's so fun!) and made our way home. The girls were pretty exhausted. Amelia went to bed not long after, and Olivia was barely holding on. She finally fell asleep watching her videos. LOL

With that, another week came to an end. Definitely NOT looking forward to a full 5-day week, that's for sure!