2014 - Week 9

Here we are, onto another week. This week brought us a change of month, some better health, more COOOOOOOLD and a little snow to accompany it, some birthday celebrating and a girls day out at Disney on Ice with my ladies.

Monday started out pretty well...except for being Monday, and an extended drive to work thanks to the still icy highways. I was feeling quite a bit better, and the work day flew by though with my being gone so much last week. It literally took me just about all day to go through my e-mails, route the stuff that came in while I was out, and get the work I did at home last Thursday going. I finished the day off doing some tedious tasks that I tend to put off as long as possible, and it was quitting time before I knew it. Christian's days at work remain long, with plenty of overtime coming in...which is good, because he was worried it would be dwindling. The girls were off to school and happy as always to be back with their friends. It remains to cold for them to go outside...not that they could even do anything with all the snow we have, but I feel so bad for them, cooped up ALL.THE.TIME. I'm glad we have a pretty fun weekend coming up for them. After work, things went downhill a tad...but, surprisingly, I held it together pretty well. I arrived at my car, to find the battery completely DEAD! Not a dang thing would work. I texted Christian, my phone was on it's last bit of battery and I wasn't sure what to do. Luckily, I caught my friend Kelly before she left the lot, and, luckily, I am always equipped with jumper cables and an well versed on how to jump a car, so she was able to give me a jump. The car started right up, and I realized I had left my headlights on this morning. Oh man did I feel like an idiot! The drive home was long and slow. LONG and SLOW. I picked the girls up and we stopped quick at Walmart for some dinner ingredients. We rushed through as fast as we could and made our way home. It was SO late at this point, I had to get dinner going immediately. To top that off, our wonderful dog got into the trash and it was all over...I became distracted picking that up, I ended up burning the rice (to go with our tacos) to a crisp. Christian "happily" stopped to pick up another box of rice while I finished getting everything else ready. Thankfully, the girls were shockingly well behaved this evening, otherwise I may have just fell apart. We got them ready for bed, had a VERY late dinner while watching the premier of "The Voice", and they were off to bed shortly after. Christian and I watched The Walking Dead and called it a night as well. Hopefully tomorrow my brain will be working a tad better!

Tuesday did go quite a bit better. The drive wasn't AS bad, but still annoying. The work day was fairly productive, but I also got a few personal things checked off the list throughout the day as well. I got Olivia signed up for her first season of "baseball"...it runs from roughly late April-early July, depending on the weather. Softball was my big sport growing up, so I'm really hoping they both take to it over the coming years!  I also realized that the next session of swim classes is filling up fast, so I had to get them signed up. Olivia is right on the cusp of passing Level 2, so I checked with the program to see what I should sign her up for, and they said go for Level 3...so exciting! So, I did get them signed up, this will run from early April-early June. It's so crazy to think in the middle of these activities, baby will come...it really made me realize how close we're getting! So, along those lines, we FINALLY ordered our new infant carseat! We have FINALLY done something in preparation of baby's arrival! Woot! My in-laws are actually buying it for us, but I offered to order it online, using my redcard, to save them some time and a little money. We do still have our old carseat, but it may be expired now, and is definitely in rough shape from the girls playing with it, so we needed a new one regardless. I also ordered a new fun gadget from babysteals.com...the Baby Shusher, which I'm super excited about, just in case this baby decides it likes to cry non-stop like Amelia. I'm a sucker for gadgets! Christian and I even had a brief name conversation, so I feel like we're actually making some progress! I have 1 boy name I really like, and 2 girl names...he wasn't a big fan of 1 girl name, but seemed OK with the others, so we may just even have our names picked. Pretty exciting! After work, I picked the girls up (after another long drive) and we made our way home for some dinner and a quiet night. Christian wasn't feeling too hot today, so he just took it easy. It was an early bedtime for all tonight. I will say...today was my first truly uncomfortable day of this pregnancy. While I LOVE it to pieces, this baby was moving non-stop, all day long...in a lot of very uncomfortable positions, which just seemed to get worse as the night went on. Hopefully that's not a daily thing from here on out quite yet!

Olivia has been LOVING feeling baby move around. She says "Mom, where is the baby at? I wanna push him so he will push me back". LOL - so fun!

Wednesday I was really feeling better. Down to just the slightest cough and just your run of the mill pregnancy stuff (started to get really tired, congestion, etc.). Christian seemed to be feeling better and the girls have still managed to avoid the most recent illnesses, so things are looking up. I still can't wait for the day we can open up some windows and start letting some fresh air in! Which, will not be anytime soon...we're now back below zero, with crazy windchills, so it's going to be a while. Work has been driving me nuts...there are 3 women in the office right now sick...coughing, hacking, sneezing, sniffling, ALL.DAY.LONG. Seriously, STAY HOME!!!! I can't tell you how much precious, MUCH needed leave time I had to use over the last month+, there is no excuse for these people to be coming in every day like this. I swear, if I get sick again, I WILL unleash a wrath like nobody has ever seen before. I made it through the day, with some sanity left and was off for a busy evening. I stopped at Target for some cards and flowers, picked the girls up, and we were off to dinner with my mom...to celebrate her birthday. YAY! We met her at Applebee's and the girls were so excited. We chatted, ate, enjoyed the girls' entertainment and stories. And, to top it off, they sang to my mom and gave her a little dessert - OMG the girls could not stop laughing, they seriously thought it was the most hilarious thing ever, and, they now insist we always go to Applebee's for all birthdays. LOL, so funny. We met Christian at home, got into our jammies and watched some American Idol. Not kidding, I literally passed out on the couch about 5 minutes after we got home...yes, 3rd trimester exhaustion is starting to kick in!

Birthday Dinner for Mom/Grandma

Thursday was another long day of listening to the hacking symphony in the office - and I'm growing VERY impatient over it. On the bright side, the drives were slightly better...in anticipation of tomorrows snow I guess. I was able to get quite a but done, so at least it was a productive day. After work, I stopped at Walmart for some dinner groceries (apparently I still don't actually go grocery shopping...maybe this weekend), picked up the girls and we made our way home. They had a pretty quiet night, watching some videos and playing iPad games together. I made dinner and got our laundry folded, finally (now, ask me when it'll actually get put away), and it was another fairly early night for the house. Hopefully this weekend I can manage to stay awake later than the girls, so Christian and I can finally have our little "final episodes of Breaking Bad" marathon!

Friday came, and marked the first full week I've worked in God knows how long. HALLELUJAH!! It was a long week, but I made it. And, this weekend couldn't have come fast enough....finally feeling better, AND, I couldn't posssibly take one more day of the coughing, hacking, sneezing-fest going on at work this week. So gross, and so over it. Hopefully these GROWN ADULTS will make some better choices and STAY HOME next week if this is still going on. After work I picked the girls up, and we made our way home. Watched some movies, had some dinner, and hung out around the house for the night. Our "Breaking Bad" marathon did not happen tonight....Christian passed out shortly after the girls went to bed, so I pretty much followed suit. OLD!

These two crack me up. Amelia was handing out head massages, whether you wanted one or not!

Saturday was a fairly lazy day. Even though I'm feeling better, I just wanted to do nothing....all day. Christian was off to work, so the girls and I had some breakfast and relaxed around the house for the morning. Until, we were finally off to swim class. Amelia is still a handful in the pool...her poor teacher. She constantly lets go of the wall and flails about. Hopefully she ends up being a REALLY quick learner, because that girl needs to learn how to swim, for sure. Olivia is doing better and better every week. She pretty much has her floating down, and she has a couple of strokes down pretty well. She mainly has to work on her endurance. I can't believe how far she's come in a year though, it's such a wonderful thing to watch. After swim class, we made our way home for lunch, and naps. YAY naptime! I caught up on some shows while they napped. Christian stopped to visit his parents for a bit after work, and arrived home shortly after the girls woke up. We ended up breaking out some paint and  art supplies and crafted for a while. After dinner, Christian was off to watch tonight's boxing match with some friends, the girls were off to bed, and while I planned on having a little Netflix binge, I didn't make it much longer than the girls.

They fight all morning, then hold hands as we're driving. My girls.

My Beautiful Girl

Art Night!

We had our own "Wine & Canvas" Night...minus the wine, or canvas. I'm very proud of my preschool artisic skills!

Amelia did not follow the example.

Sunday was a BUSY day around the house. After my long stint of illness, and a lay day yesterday, the house was in need of some major cleaning, on top of my usual weekend chores. I spent the day doing laundry, sweeping the kitchen, dusting and picking up all around the house. Christian got the entryway cleaned up and vacuumed the house. I was pretty exhausted, but boy does it feel good to have a CLEAN house! Before I knew it, the girls were down for their naps and it was time to start getting ready. As soon as they were up, we were off to pick my mom up and head to our annual trip to "Disney on Ice". This was Amelia's first time joining us. Olivia was SO excited when she finally figured out what we were seeing, and Amelia was just in awe of the entire show. It's so fun watching them experience these shows and watch the wonder in their eyes. After the show, we made our way home, had a quick late dinner and we were all off to bed. Hard to believe another week has come to an end!

My princesses, ready for Disney on Ice

  

 

 

Also, day I began the home stretch of this pregnancy...30 weeks! 3/4 down, 1/4 to go, and I honestly cannot believe it! I have my next check-up this coming week, baby gets more and more active every day...we're entering that "alien" stage now, where you see some major shifting going on. So exciting!!! However, there are 3 big "unknowns" hanging over my head right now, that are really starting to drive me crazy. I'm a planner by nature...an overplanner really. I love my budget, and I love looking over it, updating it, finding places to save money. And, no, love is not an exaggeration. Basically, these are the major hangups right now:

1. Childcare: Childcare while I'm on leave, and once I return to work, is so up in the air right now. If it were ANY other time of  year, I'd most likely keep the girls home with me while I'm on leave (for savings reason - I think it's more important for them to be at the center than sitting at home with me), but, during the summer, they do so many fun activities, have a lot of special events and Olivia will probably get to go on a few actual field trips this year. I really don't want them missing out on those things. So, I'm faced with figuring out if I do want to bite the bullet and keep them home (and, pay a holding fee), have them go 3-days a week, part-time every day, or keep their schedule as is. Then, once I do return to work, we're still not sure what we're doing with the baby...either full time like the girls, or, 3-days a week, one day with my mother in law, and Fridays with me/my mom. All of these things make big differences in pay, and our overall budget, and I just wish everything was finalized.
2. Leave Pay: I will be taking the full 12 weeks off this time, because it's summer, and my last chance to do that. While FMLA will protect my position while I'm out, I'll probably only have abuot 9 weeks of leave time saved up...so, I'll be going 3-weeks unpaid. BUT, as I've mentioned before, I was finally able to get approved for Short Term Disability last summer. That will pay me out for 6 weeks after the baby is born...but I have no idea how much that will actually be (you only get a portion of your pay, and of course it's taxed, so I'm kind of in the dark). I'm hoping it covers my unpaid weeks, but at this point, I have no idea.
3. The Van: Finally, the minivan. There's a good chance we won't have to take a loan out for the new van...we'll have a good downpayment, we should get a pretty good trade-in value on the truck, plus we get a small discount because I have an uncle that works for Dodge. But, we won't know exactly how much the trade-in is, or the discount, so we don't know exactly how much we have. There's a chance it will basically cover the costs...and that's my hope, but there's also a chance we'll have to take at least a small loan out. So, we have no idea if we will, or how much the payment might be.

Basically, all of these things drive me batty. Funny enough, it seems to drive EVERYBODY crazy that we don't know baby's sex, and that seems to be the only unknown that doesn't bother me! I know all of these things will start working themselves out over the next couple of months, but for now, I'm slowly going insane!

Until Next Week XOXO

2014 - Week 8

On Monday I was off work for President’s Day…and SUPER thankful because we were hit with a pretty big snowstorm right smack dab in the middle of the morning commute. It would’ve been torture trying to get to work in it. It’s funny, we’re apparently WAY over the average snowfall for the year so far, but it’s been so cold, I don’t think any of us realize just how much it has snowed. The daycare center was closed today for a professional development day, so the girls were home with me. We’d made tentative plans to hang out with Sara and Bella, but the roads were just too bad, and the drifts had piled up pretty high at our garage door, so we decided to hold off until the weather is a little better. The girls spent the morning watching some movies, coloring and doing their own thing. I could tell their cabin fever was at an all-time high (I really, REALLY cannot wait to be able to go outside again!), so, we pulled out some crafty stuff I’ve had packed away. We had this Cinderella play-doh thing that’s never been used…where you create a dress for her. So, they tried that…of course, destroying the play-doh in the process. Next up, we made some jewelry with this little kit Olivia got a couple years ago (Amelia got to make a ring…eventually breaking it, of course)…that was quite a glittery mess. Finally, they got to decorate little stuffed animals. I finally gave them some lunch and they went down for their naps. I had grand plans of finishing my cleaning (mainly, the kitchen), but I was just too drained. I relaxed and watched some Netflix instead! Christian stopped at the store for some dinner ingredients on his way home; we ate and spent the night relaxing. Throughout the day, I could feel myself feeling worse and worse, especially my sinuses, and I’m afraid everything is starting all over again. So miserable…I honestly can’t take much more!

Tuesday was back to reality for all of us. The girls were excited to head off to school (finally!) and show off their new shoes. I sat in horrible traffic all the way to work – I thought I saved my sanity by not working yesterday, but the roads were pretty icy this morning, so it wasn’t much better. BUT, it’s going to be WARM today and tomorrow, like 40!, so that makes up for it. Then, the next snow storm is going to hit, and we’re plunging back down. Winter…sucks. I was back to feeling pretty miserable today…pretty much just like how everything started a month ago. My cough is still out of control and my sinuses were killing me again. I called it a day around 2:30 and made my way home to rest until Urgent Care opened. I got right into Urgent Care…all of my stats came out good, my ears, throat and lungs were clear, but she said I definitely had a sinus infection. The draining from my sinuses is apparently what’s making me cough. So, I was prescribed a 5-day antibiotic. Now, I’m just praying this clears things up, and I can finally get back to feeling somewhat normal…before pregnancy misery REALLY sets in anyway. After my appointment, I picked up the girls and we made our way home. We had some leftovers for dinner and I didn’t really leave the couch the rest of the night. The girls were fighting like crazy, again, and not listening to a word we said, so they were both pretty much on restriction for the night. Amelia has still been pretty combative at bedtime, which bites because she was always the easy one to get off to bed. And, Olivia is still on her kick of sleeping in our room…and I’m not sure how to break that. Kids!

Wednesday was a pretty standard day. I was off to work, but again only made it about ½ the day. This time, my medication seems to be making me sick to my stomach. It definitely hasn’t started working on my sinuses either, so it wasn’t a very pretty morning. I brought some work home, in hopes of getting some rushes done, but I just couldn’t do it. I ate some lunch, and laid in bed the rest of the day. Christian picked the girls up from school on his way home because I just didn’t want to get out of bed. He fixed them some dinner, I couldn’t even bring myself to eat I felt so crappy. So, we had a quiet night, watching some American Idol and relaxing together. Just what the doctor ordered!

Thursday started off OK, but ended horribly. I woke up still feeling pretty sick…from the cold and the medicine, and with the looming storm set to hit mid-day, I decided to just work from home today. I dropped the girls off at school, stopped at Walmart for a few groceries before the storm hit, then spent the day working. It worked out well…I actually had enough to get through the entire day AND I was able to get all of my current requests written. The rain started around 11:00, and quickly turned into snow, which stuck around the rest of the day and night. When all was said and done, we got around 10” of snow in the city, above a sheet of ice from the rain. Ouch. Keep in mind, with the exception of the last couple days and a very small amount, we haven’t had ANY thawing this year, so all of snow we’ve gotten…is still there. It’s crazy! When I finished working, I did a little picking up around the house, excited to finally have a little energy back. Then, it happened. As I was walking around, picking up, I coughed and felt something in my back snap. I instantly dropped into a chair in so much pain, I couldn’t believe it…I was literally in tears. I had to pull myself together and pick the girls up, because with the weather there was no telling when Christian would be home. It was a very painful drive and event picking them up…I fell apart in tears again on the way home with them. I rushed to get them in the house, set up with some leftovers for dinner, and didn’t leave the couch the rest of the night. I haven’t seen the girls so quiet in a long, LONG time, they were so worried about me. I hate letting them see me like that. I had Christian pick up some icy hot patches on his way home, and broke out the heating pad. I didn’t bother taking Tylenol, since I really didn’t think it would even touch the pain. After that, I was just praying I’d actually get some sleep tonight, and somehow wake up feeling better.

Friday was a rough day. I was in so much pain all night; I could not sleep with my back acting up. I finally went out to lay on the couch around 3:00ish, hoping that would be better. Christian woke up around 4:00 to shower and take to plowing the driveway before work – it took him FOREVER! He said every time he would make a pass, he’d turn around and the wind had blown the snow right back over. Poor guy. The girls woke up while he was outside, and I did the unthinkable…I actually let them pick out their own clothes for school…because I couldn’t get off the couch. Seriously, that took a lot of restraint on my part. They were both pretty hot messes, but I let them have their way. I managed to get their hair up, and they were off…Christian dropped them off; then made the long, icy drive into work. Watching the news, I was feeling pretty blessed that I didn’t work today (not that I could’ve in my condition anyway)…the highways were seriously sheer ice. The city schools were closed…for the snow, which is very rare. I couldn’t believe all of the accidents, the stalled or trapped cars in the middle of the highways. It looked pretty crazy. I spent the entire day on the couch, with my icy hot patches and the heating pad. I even took a nice hot bath, which actually felt REALLY good (until I had to attempt getting up and out of the bath of course). Seriously folks, at this point, I’m just feeling completing defeated, for a variety of reasons. First, of course, this cold that won’t let go has had me in its grips for over a month now. Now, this “broken” back has me feeling really miserable. Also, I haven’t talked about it much, but my Grandpa (my last grandparent) has been in the hospital for about 2 weeks now. He had fluid building up all around his organs, and he has started on dialysis now. It sounds pretty likely the dialysis will be permanent, as his kidney’s aren’t doing their job. I haven’t been able to visit him, in fear of passing anything on to him in this very weak state, and I’m so worried for him. And, finally, just some friend/family drama that has me feeling a little down. Nothing serious, and nothing I really want to delve into, just feeling a little lonely I think. I’m sure once I feel a little better, and some of the pregnancy hormones back off, I won’t be such an emotional wreck about it.

Saturday still was not a very great day for me. Christian was off to work, so I got the girls some breakfast, and rested as much as I could. I mustered up the strength to get them off to swim class, but that was pretty much it for my leaving the couch today. We picked up some lunch on our way home, ate, and they went down for their naps. I applied my final icy hot patch and spent pretty much the rest of the night on the heating pad. Today was my final pill for my sinus infection, so I’m hoping that today will be the last of my stomach aches. I can definitely feel that my head is “lighter” and clearer, and no more sinus pain, so it did help. I’m still pretty congested though, and coughing about the same. We “babysat” Olivia’s little BFF Bella for a while this evening…I was pretty short with all of the girls, it’s hard to be pleasant after being so sick for so long. Amelia quit playing with them after a short time, because they tend to pick on her and leave her out, so she watched her videos on the couch with me. I’m sure typical for many kids, Olivia and Bella proceeded to take out/play with just about every toy in the house over the next few hours, including taking out every board game, putting it together (or making me), playing with it for 5 minutes, then moving onto the next. Ay, I can’t handle it! Way too much chaos for this tired mama! Christian had to run to the store and pick up some dinner for the girls, but once he was finally home, he did a pretty good job taking over. He helped them put everything away and try to keep things under control. Way too much little girl drama for me, that’s for sure. Once Bella left for the night, we all pretty much called it a night. On top of insisting she sleep in our room, Olivia also insists that I go to bed when she does…so I usually just watch a little TV while she falls asleep, and end up passing out myself. Tonight, was no exception. Not like I can’t use the sleep though!

Sunday I woke up feeling a tad better. Hopefully each day is a little better, and I’ll be back to normal soon! I did manage to shower and get ready, and we all went off to Perkins for breakfast. Olivia has declared it is officially her favorite place to eat, ha. After breakfast, we made our way home. We actually all cuddled in our bed, cuddling, laughing, playing and joking around. That is very rare, so it was pretty fun. I started laundry, Christian left to get his hair cut and grab lunch with a friend, and the girls went down for their naps. I took some time to rest on the couch with the heating pad and Netflix for a while. I managed to get all of our laundry done…I just never got around to folding any of it. That will be quite the task tomorrow! We had some leftovers for dinner, watched some movies with the girls and watched the Amazing Race premiere…one of the rare shows that Christian and I both enjoy. While I’m not too excited about Monday on the horizon, I AM excited that I’m finally starting to feel better, and just may get a full week of work in. Fingers crossed!

Today also marks 29 weeks for baby. Can you believe that in 2 weeks, I’ll be down to single digit weeks left! WHAT! It’s funny, when people ask when I’m due and I say May, it still sounds like May is so far away. But, in reality, in a week, we’ll be in March. It’s officially almost spring, so it really is upon us! Olivia and Christian both spent some time feeling baby kicks this weekend, and I just love sharing that with them. It was actually Christian’s first time taking the time to feel this one moving around…I think he forgot just how special it is. Luckily, I did not gain any weight this week, so that helps make up for last week! Sitting at 24lbs gained. Next week I’ll have my next check-up and schedule my ultrasound. We just keep plugging right away!

Until Next Week, XOXO!

2014 - Week 7

Monday was a pretty standard Monday. Another cold, dreadful day. But, another friend of mine had a baby today, making it very exciting! She was exactly a week overdue (seems to be a trend so far this year), and had a little girl (also seems to be a trend). So fun! I can’t wait until she’s home and settled in so I can swing by for some more baby cuddles. I also talked to my friend Gini today, and it sounds like she and our friend Michelle are going to throw me a baby shower in the spring. I know it’s not super traditional, but it’s going to be so fun to spend some time with all of my friends and get spoiled a little bit! We probably won’t be doing it until late April, so I’ll be pretty miserable, it will be a welcomed distraction. The work day went pretty well. Christian is officially caught up on his leave time, and pretty much won’t have any time off until the baby is born. The girls were off to school, and have been doing really well again. I have to say, whenever Olivia acts up at school, and we have a conversation about it, she really whips back into shape. Amelia is still a handful, but her teacher (while tough) loves it. After work, I picked them up and we made our way home for a pretty typical evening. However, I did have Olivia fill out her Valentine’s Cards tonight, and help me put them together. I gave her the class list so she could use that to help her write out the names, and she actually did a REALLY good job. She was so proud of herself. It was really cool seeing her work so hard on it. Definitely growing up! Once the girls were in bed, it was The Walking Dead night for us…it’s finally back from the mid-season break, and it seemed like it took FOREVER!

Filling out her Valentines. Big Girl!

Tuesday was a baby day! I dropped the girls off and I was off to spend the morning at the clinic. First up, the dreaded glucose test (to check for gestational diabetes). I passed it no problem with both girls, so I was hoping the same for this time…I don’t think I could handle the 3-hour test! Luckily, I got my results by lunchtime and I passed, with basically the same level as each of the girls, coming in at 97 (out of a “normal” range of 70-129). So, YAY! But, the drink definitely makes me a little dizzy (and, of course, is gross!), and blood draws are never too fun. Next up, I was off to my check-up. I always get nervous about my weight, like I’m going to get in trouble or something, but she actually commented that she was satisfied with my gain to date. So, that made me feel better. We didn’t really go over too much…she’ll be looking into if I need to fill out any paperwork and/or have an OB consult for the VBAC again. Hopefully since I’ve already had one, I can skip all that. My blood pressure is creeping up on me again, just like the other two. I normally do have a little higher blood pressure (always the top number, my bottom is always normal), but it was up to 139 this time, the highest yet this pregnancy. I’m starting to think there is a good chance I’ll end up on partial bedrest by the end of this pregnancy again, which, honestly, I’m more than OK with. Luckily I have a very flexible work, and they are OK with me working from home when needed. She also mentioned she’ll be ordering me an ultrasound for 32 weeks, to check baby’s size and position (basically a VBAC requirement). I’m so excited to see baby again, but anxious about having to stay strong through another scan! Next up, heartbeat time! Man, hearing that little pounding heart just never gets old. It’s so amazing. It was a strong 147, which it’s been pretty much all along, and I’m measuring on point. She things the baby is head down…while there is certainly plenty of time for all kinds of flipping around to happen, it’s at least a good sign. Finally, I had to get my TDap vaccination. OUCH! They used to do it after each birth (for the whopping cough aspect), but recently changed the recommendation to do it in late pregnancy, in hopes of passing some of the immunity off to the baby. With the crazy whopping cough outbreaks over the last few years, I didn’t question it one bit. And, with that, I was off to work. The day went pretty quickly…it was our last FREEZING day, hopefully of the year, so that was pretty exciting. The day went pretty quickly, thanks to the late start. I picked the girls up and we made our way home for some dinner, movie time and playing. Once the girls were in bed, we watched a little of the Olympics, until Christian passed out and I became too obsessed with the new “Guess the 90’s” game I started playing, before passing out myself. Seriously, just what I need, another obsession! Good Lord.

I started Wednesday off very annoyed. We got a coating of snow overnight, but the traffic folks on the morning news made it sound like everything was moving along fine. Well, that was most definitely NOT the case. Again, took me an extra hour to get to work. I can’t even explain how beyond over this I am. Then, I get to the parking lot, and of course it’s like a jigsaw puzzle put together by morons…which is pathetic in itself, but when you can actually SEE half of the parking spots/lines, there is no excuse for it. OMG, Spring, please come ANY time now. The rest of the day went pretty well. I wasn’t feeling too hot…I had a hard time getting up this morning, and just felt sluggish and uncomfortable all day. Not sure if it’s from the test and shot yesterday, or just one of those days. I picked the girls up after work and we were off to meet Christian at the elementary school, for Olivia’s kindergarten registration. She was SO excited, even though all we did was fill out some paperwork. We’re still hoping she gets into the Magnet school, but still had to go through the normal registration process, just in case. Once I finished up, we made our way home. Olivia has been doing great at school, but she’s been driving us CRAZY at home. She’s become obsessed with the animals, especially the cats. She locks them in her room, sometimes in her closet, because she wants them to sleep in there with her (even though she doesn’t even sleep in there, LOL). So, every day, as soon as we get home, I tell her to leave the animals alone. By the time Christian gets home (while I’m picking up, making dinner, etc.), she has at least one of them in her room, and gets in trouble, so then chaos just ensues the rest of the night with drama and whining and I’m SO over that too. They did finally calm down, and watched a movie on the iPad for a while, while Christian and I relaxed and watched American Idol. We’ve been having a great time watching this year…not just because the judges/show itself are so much better, but the girls have really gotten into it, and like to make their own guesses on who gets a “card” and who won’t. They didn’t watch much of it tonight, just chimed in once in a while. It was a pretty early night for us, as we pretty much went to bed along with the girls. We’re over the hump now, the weekend is in sight!

Heading in for Kindergarten registration. Crazy!

Thursday was a bit of a hectic day. For a change, Olivia jumped right out of bed to get ready when I reminded her that her Valentine’s Party was today. She got ready, and was so excited to bring her treats to school. Of course, Amelia was very upset that her party wasn’t today…the concept of tomorrow is just too much for them to grasp yet. But, she eventually got over it. Work was pretty standard, until this afternoon. Our office was scheduled for a meeting with one of the big wigs, as  “Thank You”…mainly for a specific program a few people helped put in place (not me, for a change), but really for everything we do. They had a little speech and brought cake, YUM, but also surprised all of us with some recognition awards. They are called “Above and Beyond” awards…for, well, going above and beyond your normal “call of duty”. With them, you can either get a nice plaque, or a $50 meal voucher. These awards are fairly rare…this is my third, in my 12.5 years here, and that’s actually pretty impressive, so it really means a ton when you get them. That was a fun surprise. I will be getting a plaque…the meal is temporary, the plaque is a permanent reminder, and I think they’re really cool (picture of my current ones below). After that, we were all in a bit of a sugar coma, and excited about everything, so the afternoon wasn’t super productive. After work, I stopped at Target quick…I’ve been debating it, but I finally decided to do little teacher gifts for the girls to bring tomorrow, and I need some stuff to make dinner tonight, and a couple other things. I picked the girls up, and Olivia couldn’t wait to show me all of her Valentine’s (seriously, there are 20 kids in her class, and I’m pretty sure every single one participated this year, so she has LOTS of goodies). I’m jealous of how creative some parents are! Meanwhile, Christian had to stop at his parents’ house to install Amelia’s carseat for them (they are taking the girls tomorrow!). The girls and I made our way home, and I had a list of things to do, but didn’t make a ton of headway on it. I started dinner and did some dishes while the girls watched a movie. While we ate, I addressed Amelia’s Valentine’s cards, and put together the teacher gifts. The girls decorated the teachers boxes while I packed up dinner and got everything picked up. Finally, I painted their nails, and my own, red so we’re ready to go! They were off to bed as soon as they dried, and I was exhausted. Christian and I watched some Olympics, until we passed out. I’ll have a busy morning making sure the girls are ready for school and packing up their stuff for their overnight…and I’ve decided we’ll just do our Valentine’s with them on Saturday…baking brownies and giving them their “Love Buckets”. Just never enough time in the day! Ugh.

Ready for her big Valentines party at school!

My award at work. Yay!

Tonight, I watched my little family, laughing and playing and cuddling, and I was reminded of how blessed I am.

Friday started off pretty standard. Amelia was SO excited to “finally” have her party at school. We packed up her Valentine’s and she was ready to go. I’m glad I held off on the teacher’s gifts until today, so Olivia had something to bring as well (one day of a disappointed “left out” child was enough drama for me!). Olivia’s day was pretty standard…her teacher brought the kids little gifts today, and a few kids that were gone yesterday brought stuff, so that worked out. Amelia’s class had a party, with cupcakes and all! So, she loved it. Work was pretty standard for us. I was going to stay an hour late today (since I typically get off an hour earlier on my working Friday), but it was pretty quiet and I was just too exhausted I couldn’t do it. My in-laws picked the girls up from school for their big overnight, so, I just made my way straight home. Christian arrived home, surprising me with some roses and chocolates (awwww!) and we started getting ready for a night out. He received a gift card from work to a big family-owned steakhouse place in St. Paul…their reservations were booked, but we decided to just risk the wait…which, luckily was just about 30 minutes in the end. Steak isn’t really my thing, but it was good (and, free). We ended up meeting our friends Nate & Gini at the Mall of America after dinner to hang out for a bit. They grabbed a drink and we ended up bowling a couple games. I did not do well at all, and two games of bowling pretty much took it all out of me! Ay. By the time we left it was around 12:00, which is WAY too late for me…I was ready to pass out as soon as I got home, that’s for sure.

My favorite Valentines!

My beautiful flowers!

Ready to head out with my honey

On Saturday, I couldn’t really sleep, so I was up fairly early, spending some time with Netflix, relaxing in bed (I honestly don’t know how I survived a TV-less bedroom for so long!). I finally got Christian up so he could head into work, and slowly got myself ready…feeling pretty exhausted and stuffed up, with a headache that just got worse throughout the day, that wasn’t easy. My in-laws arrived at the house around 10:30 to drop off all of the girls’ stuff, then ended up following me to swim class to watch the girls in action. My mom also came today, to bring the girls some Valentine’s gifts and take us to lunch. When we arrived at class, the weather wasn’t doing anything…by the time I got them changed, and headed out to the observation balcony, it was an all-out blizzard outside, I couldn’t believe it! The girls were so excited to see so many people there to watch them, it was really cute. My in-laws gave the girls each a new pair of shoes (which were MUCH needed) and an outfit for Valentine’s Day – they are too spoiled, I swear! – so they loved showing off their new shoes. Today was the halfway mark of the session, and I’m anxious to see how they’re doing. Olivia seems to be the most advanced in her class, and was close to passing Level 2 last session, so I’m hoping she can move up after this one. Amelia doesn’t really have many skills down yet, but she definitely has NO fear of the water….the teachers seriously have to watch her non-stop. After class, the girls and I were off to Noodles & Company with my mom…it was FREEZING out with the crazy wind, and we couldn’t see more than a couple cars in front of us with the blowing snow. Haven’t had a snow like that in quite some time; by the time we arrived home, we had a good couple of inches. The girls were off for their naps, and I actually settled in to my bed with Olivia I was watching a little TV, but passed out myself. I still wasn’t feeling well, and was getting some bad leg cramps again, so it was a fairly miserable day. Christian didn’t get off work until around 4:00, then plowed the driveway, so he had a pretty busy day. We had some dinner, relaxed for a while, the girls went to bed and Christian went out for a couple drinks with Lorenzo. I watched a little TV and planned on going to bed early, but I think with my nap I just couldn’t fall asleep. I finally turned the TV off around 12:00 and tossed and turned for a while. Olivia woke up around 1:00 coughing like crazy, and I became an emotional wreck. Christian had to bring her to her room to calm down and sleep in there…at that point, I just couldn’t take it. I was pregnancy, sick, exhausted, miserable, and all I needed was a decent nights’ sleep. I felt so bad for “kicking” Olivia out of the room, but I was literally a basket-case at that point. Major sleep deprivation going on here!

Sunday was a pretty busy day around the house. The girls were up bright and early, and I started on my chores right away. Got the laundry going, picked up the bedrooms, bathroom, living room, cleaned the entry. The usual. Christian spent much of the day dealing with the girls…breakfast, lunch, even napped with Olivia (taking a cue from me yesterday I guess…). I took a break during naps to watch some Netflix, but, other than the kitchen, managed to get everything picked up and in order throughout the day. Tomorrow is a holiday, so it was a much better Sunday as usual! It is my last holiday before baby comes though, that’s pretty crazy!

Speaking of which, today marks 28 weeks! According to statistics, baby is approximately 2.25lbs and 14.8” long – that’s a pretty hefty size! Valentine’s celebrations (and all of the treats it brings along) were not kind to me this week. But, I’m still on track to stay at/under the 35lb mark I made for myself, so I’m OK with that. Not to mention I’ve been feeling so crappy, grocery shopping has been the LAST thing on my mind, so we’ve had to make due and eat out quite a bit these last few weeks. The baby is getting more and more active of course, and more powerful with each week. By all accounts, I am officially in my 3^rd trimester now, which just seems so crazy. Less than 3 months to go before we meet his little one and life gets turned upside down all over again! Per my usual, overly-laid back approach to this pregnancy, we still have yet to talk about names or do any preparing for baby’s arrival. However, it is starting to set in that we should probably start doing SOMETHING. I’m watching the sales for my in-laws, for the new infant carseat, so hopefully within the next couple weeks we’ll have that. We’re not getting a crib until long after the baby is born, and we start shuffling the kids around, so I’m not worried about that. If the arm’s reach my cousin offered us doesn’t work, we’ll just co-sleep/use the bassinet we already have, so again, not worried about that. Other than a coming home outfit for each sex, and maybe some gender neutral onesies, we won’t be investing in any clothes until after the arrival. We have bottles, pacifiers, and all of those little extras already…we really just need diapers and bath supplies. A couple friends have offered to throw a little shower, so I’ll probably get most of those general necessities and some gender neutral stuff there. All I’m really DYING to get is a Moby wrap, so I’ve been stalking the baby deal sites waiting for one to pop up. Fingers crossed! So, in conclusion, I just don’t really feel like there’s much TO do. Well, other than pick some names of course. Yeah, that, we should get on…

8 Weeks (2 months) to 28 Weeks (7 months). Growing away!

Until Next Week! XOXO

2014 - Week 6

Monday was a pretty busy day. Back to reality…well, for the girls and me, and I was feeling a TAD better. They were off to school, I was off to work. Luckily, the day went fairly fast. And, I found out we won the new born photography session, and am BEYOND excited for that. It’s a free session, plus we get a CD with 15 edited photos, and copyrights. We weren’t really going to be able to afford a photo session for the baby….and even though my friend Dawn will be coming, and will take some, she won’t have her props and stuff with her, so I’m excited we get this chance. So awesome! Meanwhile, Christian had the day off…along with this upcoming Friday, the last of his using up his leave time (which, I thought was strange, since it’s February now, but whatever). He spent most of the day working on the car. He got the censor replaced, the “check engine” light is gone, so hopefully that will cover us for a while now. I’m so grateful that he’s so willing to figure out how to fix stuff like that…he had to pay $60.00 for the part, and that’s it. I can’t imagine how much it would cost to have gotten it done in a shop. I left work a tad early, stopped at Target for a few things, picked up the girls, and we were FINALLY off to visit my BFF, Kari and her new baby, Addison. I’ve been dying, being so sick and not able to visit them, I was so excited to finally get to see them and hold her. She’s just the littlest peanut; it’s so hard to remember them being that small. The girls checked her out, otherwise didn’t seem to care too much. But, later, as I was putting Amelia to bed, she tells me she doesn’t want our baby to come home. I asked her why, and she just said because. Then, she kept asking to sleep with me, and I told her “remember, we all need to work hard at sleeping in our own beds again”. She asked why, so I reminded her that the baby is coming, and the baby will need to sleep with us because it will be too small to care for itself. So, she came up with the plan that the baby can sleep in her room, with sissy, in her bed, and she’ll sleep with me. LOL – I think the true colors are starting to show as the time gets closer. I’m still not sure how she is going to adjust to the change, being such a mama’s girl. And, anxious to see how Olivia reacts this time, vs. when Amelia was born. It’s going to be interesting, that’s for sure!

I officially can't see my feet anymore! I was feeling cute today...like my belly finally popped OUT, so I had to snap a shot :)

Visiting Baby Addison

Tuesday, I continued my climb to getting better. Still coughing, but that’s about it. I can’t wait for this to be behind me! The girls did well in school – we FINALLY got our daycare tax paperwork today, and their class lists for Valentine’s Day – last year, I literally got their lists the day before Valentine’s Day, and I was NOT happy about it, so I was proactive this year about asking. So, I’ll be finishing up our taxes this week, and we’ll be doing their Valentine’s this weekend. Work went well…it was a long day, but actually quite productive. Things have been going pretty good…I haven’t been getting super overwhelmed or under water lately, so that’s a good feeling. After work, Christian was on pick-up duty, and I was off to meet my friend Gini for a quick dinner at Potbelly…more for chatting and catching up than anything. It was nice to get out for a short time, and catch up with her – doesn’t happen nearly enough, that’s for sure! I arrived home as the girls were finishing up dinner and watching some videos. I did a quick load of laundry, and I was off to relax in bed as soon as I got Amelia down. We got them both to sleep in their room again, so hopefully we’re over the hump of them wanting to sleep in our room all the time. Oh, and, we actually got a money order today from the whole Chicago taxi mix-up/scam – I did not think it would actually happen, so I’m pretty excited about that. Finally, our friends Dan and Michelle welcomed their first little one into the world today, little Brittany! I have 4 friends that were expecting this year with me, and this was baby #2 to come. So fun! I can’t wait to meet her!

Wednesday was a long day. Any time my work week is shorter, it seems to just draaaaag on forever – this week is no exception. I’ve also been battling some pretty sever leg cramps during the night, and the pain from them likes to stick around all day long, so dealing with that on top of the cold just is not fun, AT ALL! Work was pretty standard. I picked the girls up, to find out Olivia didn’t have the best day, eventually letting her temper get the best of her, throwing a toy at another kid and hitting him in the cheek. So, she was on restriction for the evening. When I asked her why she did it, she said because they were playing and he hit the toy out her hand. So, like usual, it’s just a reaction that gets the best of her, which is so frustrating. Seriously, how do you get through to them, and get them to just walk away, tell the teacher, etc.?!? I’m at a loss on that. When we arrived home, Christian was already home from work. He ran to Walmart quick to grab a few groceries while the girls and I settled in. I was feeling pretty exhausted, and my coughing fits were getting worse, so I pretty much relaxed for the night – I did manage to fold yesterday’s load of laundry, and get another load done, but that’s about it. After putting Amelia to bed, my coughing was so bad it was making me gag/throw up, which was horrible, but Olivia was so sweet and concerned about me. She rubbed my back, and then laid down on the couch with me for a while…even though she was in trouble. They definitely have a knack for comforting you when you need it the most. She had a pretty bad cough going on herself, so I’m hoping it’s not the same thing. Finally, she was off to bed, and so was I. Like every other night, just wishing I’d wake up miraculously healed…

Thursday was my Friday. As usual, I was VERY happy about that. It was also Christian’s Friday, as he’s still finishing up his leave time. We were both looking forward to a long, fairly quiet weekend, that’s for sure. Overall, the day went pretty normal. I was busy clearing out as much as I could for the end of the week. I spent my lunch break finalizing our taxes for the year. I’ve used TurboTax for years, but decided to try a couple online programs this year to see if they all came out the same. So, I tried TurboTax, TaxAct and H&R Block. Our State refund came out the same on all programs, but the Federal refund differed. TaxAct was about $200 more than TurboTax, and H&R Block was another $10 more. I’m not sure why there is a difference – seems very odd to me. I also compared the costs of each program, with TurboTax and H&R Block each costing about $68 to complete and file both returns, while TaxAct was only $18. I kept waiting for there to be a catch, but we ended up going with TaxAct, and sure enough, $18. We didn’t get back quite what I was expecting, but it wasn’t far off, and we’re still on track to have a good mini-van downpayment in April. In any event, I’m pretty excited that we don’t have to immediately turn around and spend our entire return like the last few years. It will be nice to feel like we have a little extra cash for a few months! After work, it seriously felt like death walking to the car. This deep freeze has been NO JOKE, and I’m beyond over it. A bonus on days like this is having to stop for gas. Ouch. When I picked the girls up, Olivia was sure to immediately update me, and assure me that she did NOT get in trouble today, so hopefully she’s learned her lesson, for now anyway. I arrived home to find an appointment for Amelia’s early childhood screening in the mailbox. I seriously wanted to cry…my baby, it can’t possibly be time for her kindergarten screening!! Ugh – she thought it was pretty funny that I was throwing such a fit about it, but it’s seriously just so hard to believe. First this, now next week we have Olivia’s registration. Time is moving WAY too fast! After I regrouped myself, we had some dinner and had family night at home. Christian and I watched some of the first night of Olympics after the girls went to bed. Figure skating, which I love and it always reminds me of my Grandma, and the Moguls, which I do not understand whatsoever, my knees hurt just watching them!

Olivia's Drawing from School today, I just loved it.

Our Early Childhood Screening notice for Amelia, can't believe it!

Friday started pretty busy, and it came in handy having Christian off work. We started the day off bringing the girls in for their dentist appointments. Amelia is still young enough that they really just look at them, count them and talk to us about care. Overall, they were happy and didn’t see any concerns. Olivia gets a little more of an exam, and she got her first x-rays today. And, unfortunately, it came back with FOUR cavities. All of them are on her molars, between the teeth. Apparently, her molars are all very close together, so they’re going to be really susceptible to cavities. They are going to let one go for now, but she’ll need 3 filled, at two appointments. I’m nervous…they’re going to use laughing gas to relax her, and aren’t sure yet if the area will need to be numbed. My poor baby. They also said that Amelia’s teeth are pretty much the same, so we need to really watch her. They are recommending we definitely floss every day, and we use a fluoride rinse, at least with Olivia for now, to help get between those tight teeth.  Of course, just needing to put her through that is hard enough, but then knowing we’ll have to pay for it, hurts even more. These unexpected expenses, it just never stops! After the appointment, we stopped at McDonald’s for breakfast and dropped the girls off at daycare. All of Olivia’s little friends were so happy to see her and crowded around her, which was really cute. And, they always think it’s pretty cool when both of us drop them off or pick them up, so that’s fun. Christian and I made our way home…I paid some bills and did some chores on the computer, while he hung out and relaxed. I suddenly felt exhausted, so I ended up taking a little nap. He was off to take his mom to lunch for her birthday, so I spent the rest of the day doing pretty much nothing but snooze on and off, and watch some shows. He picked the girls up on his way home, while I ran to Target to get a few things for the house and a few groceries. Of course, when he picked the girls up, they ran into Olivia’s BFF, Bella (like we often do), and, like usual, they made plans to hang out for the evening. Christian apparently doesn’t realize that is a daily conversation, and agreed to it, so he invited Sara and Bella over for dinner and to hang out for a bit. So, we suddenly had to pick up and whip dinner together quickly, unexpectedly. Men, seriously. The girls were right off to bed after our friends left, and we weren’t far behind. Christian had to be to work early in the morning, so there was no partying it up for us.

Wearing my red for Go Red for Woman!

Dentist Check-Ups

Saturday was pretty quiet for us. Christian was off to work bright and early, and worked until a little after lunch time. The girls spent the morning watching movies and playing…driving each other crazy. We had some breakfast, hung out, got ready and were off to swim class. This week went better again. The crybaby kid was back in Olivia’s class, but they handled it a lot better this time. Clearly, this boys’ parents just placed him in that class, because there’s no way he’s been through Level 1. Amelia’s class did MUCH better this week, thank god. Week 3 and we’re finally getting into some basics. After class, we made our way home for some lunch, and the girls were off for their naps. The news has been claiming these next few days will be the last of our bitter cold weather, and then we’ll be getting back into the normal range. I’ll believe it when I see it, but I’m pretty excited about it! We had a pretty lazy day around the house after that. I made some Take-Out Fake-Out tonight (sweet & sour chicken and fried rice), which we haven’t had forever, so that was delish. I was hoping for a movie night, but the girls were up a little later than usual, and we were just too tired to focus on a movie. There’s always next weekend!

Sunday was another pretty quiet end to the week for us. The girls were up bright and early, as usual. I started laundry and doing a little picking up as soon as I was up, while Christian slowly started moving about, and made us all some breakfast. We watched some movies and the girls played in their room for a while. It was a pretty uneventful morning, which is always welcomed. After lunch, we were off to meet the latest baby, little Brittany, and catch up with our friends for a bit. Christian and Dan chatted, guy stuff, while I snuggled the baby, caught up with Michelle and tried to keep the girls from destroying their house. Again, the little babe just slept the entire time I had her, peaceful as can be. Hopefully I have the same effect on our little bundle! The girls again weren’t overly interested, but they had also never been to their house before, so they were busy exploring…and annoying their cat, who HATES kids. We didn’t stay super long, knowing what those exhausted early days are like, and made our way home. I had dinner going in the crock pot, so we watched some movies together, ate dinner and had a fairly quiet evening. Back to work…a LONG 5-day week at that. Ugh – I hate those! LOL

My pretty pretty princesses!

Visiting baby Brittany

Also, today marks 27 weeks! By some accounts, entering the 3^rd trimester (some say this week, some say next…I have no idea why there would be different opinions on it). It’s so crazy...it seems like just yesterday this little one was something we were just debating. A decision we were contemplating, and questioning all day, every day. Now, I’m in the final stretch, and we’ll soon be meeting him/her. So amazing. I’m still feeling pretty good. Getting sporadic Braxton Hicks contractions, but so far only the one day that got pretty draining. Of course, more and more movement every day, and more powerful. Somehow, I didn’t gain any weight this week, so I’m still sitting at 20lbs gained. 3 months to go, and getting more anxious every day! And, just for updating sake…no, we still have not talked names at all, and we haven’t made any additional plans or purchases for the arrival yet. I feel like I’ve been body snatched or something, because that is SO not like me!