2014 - Week 13

Monday was a tough day. I could not sleep last night, at all. Maybe my punishment for actually sleeping in yesterday, who knows! All I know is that I woke up around 2:30, and pretty much did not fall asleep the rest of the night. So horrible. I guess it’s time for my body to start getting used to those looooong sleepless nights we have coming! I did manage to get in to work and made it through the day. There was a freak snowstorm mid-day, but it didn’t really effect either of my drives. I kept hearing all day about a bad pile up on one of the highways all day, and eventually say a video of it online. It looked pretty scary, and I couldn’t believe everybody pretty much escaped it unharmed…and just kept thinking it was so crazy to see something like that in late March. I later came to find out one of my really good friends, Gini, was right in the middle of the whole thing. GOOD LORD, let me tell you my pregnancy hormones kicked into high gear and I got so emotional. Luckily she is OK…her car is totaled, but she is OK. I couldn’t stop from freaking out though, it was so scary.  The rest of the evening was much less eventful. I picked the girls up, we made our way home, and the evening was pretty standard…dinner, some playtime. The usual.

Tuesday was a pretty good day. Works remained pretty busy, and steady. Christian’s work seems to be picking up a little, but his OT is still down a bit – that should pick up though with Easter and summer coming up. The girls are doing well at school – we haven’t had any big issues or any big changes for quite a while, so that’s always good. I know they can’t wait for some consistently good weather though, to finally get outside and enjoy it! One exciting thing for me at work is that I’m starting to get some projects that I will definitely not be here to see through to the end. I hate the thought of dropping stuff on my co-workers, but at the same time, it’s exciting! Makes it feel like things are really starting to get real – it’s really not that much longer now. And with each passing day, maternity leave is more and more appealing. Man, I cannot wait! After work, the girls and I were off to target to pick up some birthday gifts for Christian. He never really needs anything, so he’s pretty hard to shop for. I refuse to buy him clothes, because he has enough clothes/shoes/jeans to clothe a small village, and refuses to go through any of it. And he’s just not a “stuff” kind of guy. So, I usually just bring the girls to Target and we fill up a bag of stuff…some necessities (deodorant, lotion, etc.) and some fun stuff (a fun shirt, some coffee). Olivia was pretty upset with me because she didn’t understand why Daddy didn’t need “Frozen” on DVD. Meanwhile, Amelia snuck in a bottle of bubbles that he just had to have. Ha – they crack me up. We arrived home about the same time as him, and settled in for the night. Last day of his 20’s – AHH!

Olivia's drawing today, I thought it was pretty impressive!

Wednesday was Christian’s birthday…the big 3-0!! So crazy, I can’t believe we’re officially in our 30’s! Man do the years fly by. I had the girls give him a little “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” wake up this morning, and they thought it was pretty hilarious. Him, maybe not so much. The rest of the day was pretty standard, we were off to work, the girls to school. We celebrated this evening…I made some tacos and we had some cheesecake for dessert, gave him his presents and had a great night together. So fun!

Thursday was another odd weather day. It rained pretty much all day long. Not always the best, but it took away so much of our snow, I was beyond happy to see it coming down. It did turn to snow for a short while, but nothing that stuck or caused any issues, so not too bad. I can’t wait for some good weather!! This week is spirit week at school, and today was “mismatch day”. Amelia thought it was hilarious, Olivia on the other hand, hated me for making her look silly. What a drama queen! I swear, some days I think we already have a teenager in the house! I think she was better once she got to school though and saw that it was all in good fun. Nothing too exciting happened the rest of the day – just the usual work, school and home for our nightly routine. Just how I like it!

My lovies, all cute for mismatch day!

This week's TBT was my and Christian's prom photo - well, his prom, in 2003. Crazy!

Friday FINALLY came along. Seriously these 5-day workweeks are for the birds, especially when you have to save your leave time! Ugh. We had a busy, fun weekend on tap though, so I was really looking forward to that. We made it through the day, and Christian arrived home much earlier than usual. Hopefully his OT picks up SOON! He helped get the girls fed and hung out with us for a bit, then was off to hang out with his friend Lorenzo for the night…for a late birthday celebration. What a spoiled brat! I settled in for a little “Good Luck Charlie” marathon on Netflix, as they just released the final season. Yup, that’s a Disney show. And, yup, I love it! The girls actually watched it with me for a while and found it pretty entertaining. So, at least I had some child company…until bedtime anyway. Ha.

Saturday was a pretty busy day. Christian didn’t have to work, which is pretty rare, so we spent the morning cleaning and getting some chores done around the house, and I made a quick run to the grocery store. The day is definitely much more productive when Christian is home. We had some lunch, watched a couple movies and we were off for the evening. Today, we were off to my Dad’s for a visit and dinner to celebrate Christian and my stepmom’s birthdays. We tried out a new Mexican restaurant by their house, and it was DELISH! Finally, we made our way home. My dad surprised Olivia with “Frozen”, so, of course, we had to watch that right away. It was Amelia’s first time seeing it, so she was pretty excited. We were all pretty exhausted, and didn’t make it much past the Frozen viewing.

The girls were helping my dad play a little tug-of-war with their dog - Amelia was actually helping! Maybe she's FINALLY warming up to animals!

Sunday was another busy, BUSY day. I was up and started on laundry right away, per my usual Sunday routine. We had some breakfast, another viewing of Frozen and got ready for the day. First up, a trip to the circus with the Arnesons. The girls were SO excited, they love all the different stuff that goes on. Their special activity this year was pony rides, and shockingly, Amelia actually participated. I was pretty excited. I love all the acrobatic stuff they do, the girls love the animals, it’s a good mix for all. After that excitement, we were on our way home to have a BBQ for Christian’s birthday (yes, as ridiculous as it is, he has like 50 birthday celebrations every year, and it drives me nuts). This was supposed to be dinner at his parents’ house, but the weather was so great, we wanted to BBQ (his parents rent an apartment now, so they can’t), so we offered our house and a package of Brats we had in the freezer. Outside of that, his guests were on their own. I was a little (OK, a lot) annoyed  by the fact that when we arrived home, EVERYONE was already there, settled into the garage with the grill fired up already…his parent, his friend Lorenzo, and Bella and her Dad. I mean, seriously, I was being welcomed into my own home, and I was not happy about it. Definitely had my pregnancy hormones raging on high. We ate, and not much later I was done and made my way inside. I had piles of laundry to fold and put way, The Amazing Race to watch, and I was c-r-a-b-b-y! Not long after, everybody made their way home, and Christian was actually off to watch a soccer game. The girls were off to bed, and I enjoyed a little peace and quiet before bed. These busy weekends are too much for my hormonal self!

Speaking of which, today marked 34 weeks. I’m still feeling OK, but definitely getting more uncomfortable and more exhausted with each passing day. It’s hard to believe in a few short weeks I’ll be considered full term and baby will be able to come at any time. In about a month we’ll be making the big mini-van purchase, and my friends will be hosting a little baby shower for me, which I’m super excited for! Other than that, we haven’t done a ton of planning or preparing yet, so there are definitely a few things I need to get going on. Tick Tock!!

Until Next Week XOXO

2014 - Week 12

This week just kind of sucked. Ugh!

Monday was back to reality. Back to work (though, it was sure to go fast with how little I would actually be at work), and back to school for the girls. I've still been feeling pretty numb over my grandpa's passing. It's just still so surreal to me. It helps to be busy, and distracted, but with the upcoming funeral, there's no escaping it for long. One bright spot in the day was that all of the supervisors in our office chipped in and bought the office lunch...pizza, fruit, salad, treats. Oh man, it was SOOOO good. I love little surprises like that, really boosts morale! I also scored a good deal on Circus tickets again this year...there was a Steal for $25 for $50 worth of tickets...and, I had $20 in referral cash, so I only had to pay $5 for the steal. Then, I had a $5 of each ticket code, so, we ended up with $15 tickets. With the steal, had to pay $10 out of pocket, so $15 total! Nice!! Saving money and getting a good deal always brightens my day! I picked the girls up after work and we made our way home for the usual...playtime, dinner, baths, hang out. They were actually best friends today, which is rare, but makes life SO much easier. Once they were off to bed, Christian and I settled in for a CRAZY episode of "The Walking Dead"...*spoiler alert, the one where a little girl kills her sister, and then Carol kills her. Officially, in my opinion, the craziest thing to ever happen on TWD. Whoa.

Little BFF's, for today anyway!

Tuesday was not a great day. I was off to the doctor for an ultrasound and check up. I was SOOOO excited to begin the day, I just love seeing the little peanut on that screen. However, things became very discouraging, very fast. As of today, I am 32W3D, and the baby should weigh about 3lbs12ozs. The scan started out OK...checked baby's heartrate, even got to watch baby practice breathing, which was really cool. The baby waved a bit, and nodded at us. Oh man, just melts my heart. Fluid levels were looking good, and baby was head down. Then, things started looking down. She started taking measurements...head, abdomen and femur bone, checking each a couple times. I was watching the screen, and I could see what the estimates were coming in at. While the femur bone measured almost exactly on point with my date, the head and abdomen were both measuring 35-36+ weeks, and they estimated baby's weight at 5lbs11ozs. I just couldn't believe it...basically, I'm measuring about 4 weeks ahead, which is HUGE. I followed up my scan with my check-up, which of course was pretty much geared around those results. Ann, my midwife, did not change our plans or do anything at this point, but I know, chances of letting me go late are pretty much obsolete at this point, and I'll be lucky if they let me go to term if baby keeps measuring this far ahead. Don't get me wrong, it was amazing seeing baby, hearing that little heartbeat, and I'm so grateful for this new life growing inside me, but reality of a possible repeat c-section hit me big time. I held it together until I got to the car, but then I was in tears at the thought of it. So frustrating! But, I was back to work to finish out the day. The evening was pretty much a bust as it's all I could think about. I know everything will work out and everything will be fine, but it all just consumed me at this point.

Kind of strange, but babies picture from today. The tech took a body and a head shot and merged them together for me.

Our surprise flowers!

What a perfect fortune to receive tonight...

Wednesday was definitely not much better. Christian was off work...his work actually gives them bereavement leave, so he was able to take today and tomorrow off, without using his leave time. I however, was off to work 1/2 a day...thanks to my lacking leave time balance. I left around noon, and was on my way home to have some lunch, get myself ready and gather up the girls' stuff. Christian picked the girls up, we got them ready, packed up some snacks/food for them, and we were off to my grandpa's wake. the girls did not come to my grandma's wake last summer, so I wasn't sure how they would do. The funeral home has a pretty cool program, the "star program", where they sit down with the kids, do some activities with them, and explain what's happening. Then, after the adults go in to say their goodbye's, they bring the kids in so they can also say goodbye. The girls did really well, but definitely don't quite understand yet. They were interested though, and not afraid at all. Of course, they had plenty of fun hanging out in the family room with all of the other kids all night anyway, so they were pretty distracted. We were off as soon as the wake was over, and straight to bed.

Thursday was another very tough day. I dropped the girls off at school...I figured the wake was enough for them, and there really wasn't a reason for them to go to the funeral as well. Christian and I got ready, and we were off to the church. I had actually been keeping it together pretty well, up until the service started. Just hearing stories about my grandpa and knowing that this was IT, we were officially saying goodbye, started getting to me. After the service, the church hosted a lunch for the family again, and it was nice to sit around and talk about him, even laughing and feeling almost normal for a little bit. Then, it was off to the cemetery. Again, we were heading to Fort Snelling. This time, the funeral had full military honors though, which was incredibly touching. Pulling up to see all of the service men and women on guard, the 3-volley salute, taps on the trumpet. It was all just so haunting, so emotional. I'd never been to a military funeral before, it was pretty amazing. We didn't get rushed out of the cemetery quite as fast as with my grandma, so we were able to chat and say our goodbyes to each other. He'll be buried right on top of my grandma, so once the headstone is in, we're going to go and visit. Christian dropped me off at home and was off to visit with his parents for a bit, while I rested and even napped for a bit. He picked the girls up on his way home, and I had to do a little shopping...the girls have their school pictures tomorrow, so I had to finish getting stuff for their outfits, and some new shoes (these outfits will double as their Easter dresses). Then, we were all home to eat and RELAX. Exhausted doesn't even cover it at this point!

My Throwback Thursday photo today was, of course, a photo with my Grandpa (and my cousin, who is 6 days older than me).

From Grandpa's funeral...the flag, which goes to my Dad, his three volley salute, a red rose for me and a white rose for each of the kids.

Friday started off a little touch and go. It was my Friday off, so obviously that was pretty exciting. Christian dropped Amelia off at school, while Olivia and I were off to her dentist appointment. Today, she was getting the first of 3 fillings. I did now know what to expect, whatsoever....from the procedure, or her. I didn't tell her much about what was going to happen, I just told her she has a little hole in her tooth and they're going to fill it in so it doesn't get bigger and hurt. She settled into the chair, and she was seriously perfect as can be. She did everything they asked her to do and cooperated to a T, never a single peep, cry or anything from her. I will say, their dentist is so awesome, he is amazing with the kids. We were in and out in 20 minutes, and she left smiling away, like nothing had ever happened. I was wondering how she would react to the laughing gas and all that, but she didn't get too crazy. She was making some pretty hilarious faces, waiting for the feeling to come back, but that's about it. We stopped at McDonald's so I could get her some oatmeal to eat on the way home. I wasn't sure if she'd be able to, but she was doing great, so she was off to school. I made my way home...spent the day catching up on some shows, relaxing as much as I could,. I did manage to get most of our laundry done throughout the day, and did a TINY bit of picking up, but that's about it. It was a ME day! The girls and I stopped at Target quick on our way home, and the rest of the evening was pretty standard...dinner, movies, some play time. Christian had to work SUPER late tonight, so he was pretty exhausted when he arrived home.

My baby girl, ready to head off to the dentist

Haha, oh the joys of being 3 & 5!

Baby's bed is up and ready, I just love it!

Saturday kicked off another cold snap, hopefully a short one. We started the day off with a "feels like" temp of -11. Seriously, IT'S SPRING, it's the end of March, this is so unfair! Christian was off to work, while the girls and I hung out at home. They have a couple of weeks off swim class before their new session begins, so it was a pretty relaxed morning. I finished up some picking up around the house. My mom stopped over to pick the girls up for the night, just after Christian arrived home. We had some lunch, and started getting ready for the evening. Tonight we were off to celebrate Christian's birthday (early) with our friends, and we were so excited! We were off to Buca's for dinner, then met everybody at our old stomping grounds, The Glockenspiel. We used to spend just about every Friday and Saturday there, at least a quick stop. Seems like a lifetime ago, and it was kind of strange being back. It was so fun though...catching up, chatting, laughing the night away. Sure do miss those days sometimes! I made it until about midnight, and just couldn't hold out any longer. This pregnant lady had to hit the hay!

See, no lie. BRRRR!

Ready to take my giant baby out on the town!

Cuddles with baby Brittany at dinner!

Sunday I REALLY slept in, until 10:00AM! Never thought I'd see the day that would happen again. Although, it was a really late night, and of course, I was up plenty throughout the night, so I say it doesn't really count, in my defense. I finished up my laundry, and since I'd been working on my chores the last couple days, I actually got to take it pretty easy most of the day today. The girls were pretty antsy when they arrived home, so Christian took them over to his parents for a while. Worked out for me because I actually got in a few hours of work, to make up for some of my time off this past week, so that was pretty awesome! Gotta save up every hour possible. By the time they arrived home, it was pretty much time for baths and bed. Another weekend quickly came to an end. This week is either going to fly by from catching up on work from this past week, or it's going to draaaaag being a 5-day workweek. Only time will tell!

Welcome home cuddles with my babies!

Today also marked 33 weeks. I updated a bit on how things are going earlier this week. I'm still pretty anxious about how everything is going to pan out, but I'm trying my hardest to not focus on that, and just enjoy this home stretch with my last little growing life. I've been feeling more and more exhausted every day, more and more uncomfortable, but of course that all comes with the territory. We're all getting very excited though, with every passing day! We just can't wait to meet this final piece of our family puzzle.

Until Next Week XOXO

2014 - Week 11

Week 11 brought our family some more heartache, that we definitely were not prepared for.

The week started off pretty standard. Well, Monday was post-daylight savings time. I don't feel like it typically effects me much, but MAN we were all dragging today, big time. The girls had the hardest time going to bed last night, and it was so hard for all of us to get up and going. We were finally all off to school and work, and got the week started. I have to admit, it was nice leaving work, and having it still be light out...that's pretty crazy! The girls were a little confused why I was picking them up when it was still "morning", LOL. We made our way home and the girls spent some time playing downstairs while I started dinner. they came up, dressed in their princess best, which they're always so proud of. I actually found Amelia, in the bathroom, on top of the vanity checking herself out in the mirror. It was so hilarious. I snapped a picture of her before she spotted me...I showed her the picture and she says "Mom, wait. give me my shoes and take another one". Ha - what a princess. I almost did it, until I thought better of a 3-year old in toddler high-heels on the vanity. The rest of the night was pretty typical...dinner, baths, playtime, bed.

Tuesday, March 11th, marks exactly 2 months until my due date. CRAZY! Work and school were pretty normal. I stopped at Target after work to pick up a few groceries and necessities, before picking the girls up. It's nice that the girls are actually old enough to help me get things into the house now, saves me some time running back and forth, and they love being able to help. I've definitely had some 3rd trimester morning sickness going on lately...usually at night, as I start making dinner, I start to get really sick to my stomach. So, there has not been much dinner eating going on for me lately. Hopefully this doesn't last the rest of the way through! So, I spent the rest of the night relaxing on the couch, while everybody else ate, played and had a grand old time.

The girls' fancied up beds, thanks to their handy Daddy.

Wednesday was a pretty good day. The morning went along as usual, until some coworkers and I decided to have an impromptu lunch lunch trip to the Thai restaurant downtown. YUM!!!! The weather today was beautiful...sunny, warm, snow melting all over the place (pretty much for the first time all winter!). It's making me long for spring even more. On top of that, traffic was actually pretty light on the way home tonight...that, mixed with the later sunlight, makes it pretty awesome to get home and feel like it's not time to head off to bed right away! And, I'm not sure why, but Christian surprised us with some flowers when he arrived home tonight! I'm sure he has something up his sleeve, but for now, we enjoy the gift. The girls were so excited, they couldn't believe they got their very own flowers! So funny.

Thursday, I really don't have anything to report. It was just a standard old Thursday...work, school, home. Dinner, our family American Idol night, and a little cuddle time with the girls. Just a relaxed day...before the storm hit...

For this weeks TBT, I didn't go back too far. Two years ago, almost this exact date...Park, Shorts, a dream spring...

Friday started off pretty normal. I've been getting more and more flustered over dealing with the girls, and their sibling quarrels. As an only child myself, they honestly just leave me baffled. I'm sure they're no different than any other siblings, especially those that are close in age, but their fights and arguments just shock me sometimes. Right now, the biggest fight I have to deal with DAILY is every morning, them fighting over where they sit on the stairs to get their shoes on. I mean, seriously...THIS is what we have to fight over? THIS is how they choose to start every morning? I tell them all the time, the things they fight about are completely ridiculous. I really need to start being more proactive about how we deal with these kind of battles...ways to avoid them. Because, it's going to send me to the nuthouse. The day went along pretty standard...it was my Friday to work, but the week actually went fairly fast for my long week. I left for the weekend, picked the girls up, and arrived home at about the same time as Christian. He had his work "holiday" party tonight...yes, in the middle of March...so he got off work on time to get home and get ready. As he was getting ready, the girls were watching videos and I was laying on the couch relaxing. My phone rang, it was my stepmom. I didn't think much of it...we hadn't seem them for a while, so I thought they were just calling to check in. She immediately asked if I was sitting down, and let me know that my Grandpa had passed away this afternoon. I was just in utter shock, immediately. My Grandpa has been battling quite a few health issues over the last few years, most recently with his kidney issues, and I was worried about how his body would react to dialysis at this point. Apparently, my parents arrived to take him to dialysis, but his blood pressure was really low. So, they were off to the hospital instead, to meet two of my aunts and see what was going on. They ended up getting his blood pressure to go up, significantly, and he seemed in pretty good spirits. He was talking to them, even asked to use the restroom, and they were going to have him do his dialysis there as he became more stabilized. My parents left the room so the nurse could help him to the bathroom and get him all cleaned up. My Dad and aunt Lisa were escorted back to the room, to talk with the doctor and find out where to go from there, and as they were in the room, they noticed his heart monitor didn't seem to be doing anything. The doctor checked him over, and sure enough, his heart had stopped beating, and he had passed away. I'm so happy that he did not suffer, he was not in pain, and he was surrounded by family. I'm so happy that he and my Grandma have been reunited and he no longer has to deal with all of these medical issues. He's finally at peace....they are at peace together. But, it doesn't hurt any less. My last grandparent passing away, it just leaves such a huge hole. And, just over 7 months since losing my Grandma, it was just kind of numbing. Christian offered to stay home from the dinner, but I really just wanted to be alone at that point. So, he was off...the girls and I grabbed some dinner. Olivia must have overheard me tell Christian that my Grandpa had died....while we were waiting for our food, she says "Mom, do you keep crying because your Grandpa died?" It was pretty hard to try to answer her questions...we never really talked to them about my Grandma's passing, but they're getting older, and especially Olivia, understanding more. I asked her if she knew what that meant, died, and she said no. I explained that when somebody dies, it means they go to live in heaven, and we don't get to see them anymore. She looked at me kind of puzzled, and said "Well, my Grandpa's didn't die." I agreed, and we moved on. I haven't decided yet if they'll come to any of the services with us this time, we'll have to see how they deal with things over the next few days. Once home, we ate, watched a movie, and they were off to bed. My head was pounding by that point, so I took some Tylenol and was off to bed myself. What a painful evening.

On Saturday, I still felt pretty in shock. I did my best to stay busy throughout the day, with just a few breakdowns. Christian didn't work today, so he stayed home and did some picking up around the house. The girls and I were off on a few adventures. First up, their final swim class of the session. They both did REALLY well today, I told them it was their last class, so they had to listen close and try really hard. Olivia did end up passing, so she is off to Level 3 next session. They actually said Amelia is close to passing, likely after her next session. I don't know if I'm quite ready for her to move up though. She is still so flighty in the water, and they don't use floaties in Level 2, so it makes me a little nervous. We'll have to see how she does in her next session. After class, we were off to meet my cousin Jody at Sky Zone. She is borrowing us her arm's reach co-sleeper, so we set up a little play date for the girls and her daughter, Nattie. The girls had so much fun playing together and jumping the afternoon away, it was a fun distraction to see them having such a good time. And, I was really excited to bring the little bed home with me. Once our time was up, we parted ways, and I dropped the girls off at my mom's for the night. I always miss my tiny tornadoes when they are away, but I knew a quiet night would be good. I hadn't eaten anything much, so Christian and I were off to Applebee's for an early dinner. Then, made our way home and started a movie night early. We watched "We're the Millers" - which was WAY better than I was expecting...actually  made me laugh quite a few times, which was welcomed. Next up, we watched "Oblivion" - I wasn't sure what to expect from it, and I'm not SUPER into those alien/space/futuristic movies, but it was actually pretty good as well. Finally, we watched "Erased" - your typical mystery, suspense, kind of movie, but not horrible. Yes, we actually made it through 3 movies...it pays to go to dinner at 4:30, LOL.

Waking up with these cuddle bugs made me smile right off the bat this morning.

Sunday arrived, too soon as usual. The girls weren't home, but I couldn't really sleep in anyway. I started laundry, watched some shows, and slowly got ready for the day. I was off to meet my friends Gini and Michelle for lunch...they are throwing me a "friends" baby shower next month, so we used it as an excuse to get together, catch up a little, and chat about the shower. Again, a much welcomed distraction this weekend, that's for sure. It was fun chatting and catching up, sure wish it could happen more often! After lunch, I was off to pick the girls up from my mom's. As soon as I pulled out of my parking spot, I knew something was up with my car. I took off, and sure enough, I could tell right away I had a flat tire. I slowly made it across the highway to my mom's house, parked it, and sure enough, flatter than anything I've ever seen before. So, Christian was on his way to check it out. He put the spare on, and the tire was completely wrecked...huge crack on one side, and the other side was starting to just shred apart...I'd never seen anything like it before. Of course, the tire place was closed, so he drive it home on the spare while I took the girls in the truck. Our friend Mariano followed him to the tire place by our house, and they left it there overnight for them to work on tomorrow. He was pretty sire both of the back tires needed replacing...NOT an expense I was planning on, that's for sure. Ugh. Meanwhile, Mariano and Bella stayed to hang out, and the girls played the evening away. I was a little overwhelmed at the time, and definitely not in a place to have people over, but the girls had been dying to play with Bella, so I sucked it up. Bella's mom, Sara, stopped over after work...she agreed to bring our car keys to the tire shop in the morning for us since neither of us could spare the leave time. So, we chatted and watched a little TV while the girls finished up playing. They all headed home for the night, we gave the girls a late dinner, and called it a night. What a weekend!

In happier news, I turned 32 Weeks today! Starting my 8th month, and about 8 weeks to go! So exciting!!! As I mentioned earlier this week, I do have some 3rd trimester morning sickness going on, that really kicks my butt some days, but it could definitely be worse. I get more and more uncomfortable with each passing day, and insomnia is starting to kick in a bit. The baby doesn't squirm around quite as much, but has some super powerful kicks all throughout the day. I think s/he is definitely starting to run out of room in there. I have an ultrasound and check-up this coming week, so I'll be able to update with some more details after that!

Until Next Week XOXO

2014 - Week 10

This week brought us a bit of a warm up, another odd medical issue, my latest check-up, some relaxation and a big appointment for little Amelia. Quite a mixed bag of a week indeed!

Monday was back to the usual grind. Back to work for Christian and I; back to school for the girls. Work has been going well for, just the right amount of busy…I’m certainly never bored, but it’s been quite a while since I felt like I was drowning, so it’s perfect. I do have a hectic week ahead of me…the big Minnesota Transportation Conference is going on this week, so much of our office will be away volunteering at that, so it will be interesting. Christian has been doing great at work. Taking more charge and getting more responsibilities. I’m so proud of him, and I’m hoping he just keeps climbing his way up. The girls have been doing well at school. Turns out Olivia LOVES writing, so we really need to start working on that more and encouraging that at home. Amelia is still her usual crazy self. Her teacher was having a hard time getting her to nap, so I told her that from now on if she doesn’t nap, she’s going right to bed when we get home. Apparently that has, at least temporarily, helped the problem – and her teacher was very appreciative of my threat, LOL. So, things are moving along pretty well. I did leave work a tad early to get some grocery shopping done. With my recent illnesses and exhaustion, this has been a much ignored task, and the house was looking pretty dreary on the food front. It was a spendy trip, but feels good to have some food in the house again! When I picked the girls up, I had to talk to Olivia’s teacher about a spot on her face. Last week, she had this mosquito looking bump on her cheek; we didn’t think much about it. Over the last few days, it’s grown into this large red-ish spot. So, I asked her teacher if she had any idea what it might be. Without hesitation, she said it looked like ringworm to her. WHAT?!? I’ve heard of ringworm, but never actually seen it before, and certainly didn’t know much about it. I started looking online, and I posted a picture on facebook to see if any of my friends had dealt with it before. The general consensus, including my online research, showed it is most definitely ringworm. As most know, I’m not big on doctors or running off to urgent care for anything and everything, so I continued my research once home. From what I read, they don’t take antibiotics or anything for it, so there really wasn’t much purpose in going in…that all you need is a good anti-fungal medication. So, I had Christian stop at Walgreens, talk to the pharmacist and get some cream on his way home. So weird, poor Olivia sure seems to get EVERYTHING. So far, nobody else in the house, or at school, has anything going on, so hopefully we can contain it to this one spot. Good Lord, what next?!

The ringworm. Ugh.

Tuesday started off FANTASTIC, with the temperature actually above zero! Not much, but dang it’s a start! The girls were off to school, Olivia with a good dose of cream on her spot and a bandaid to keep it covered. She’s really good about leaving stuff alone when you tell her too, so we weren’t too worried, but its better safe than sorry. I was off to work, but did leave for an early, long lunch for my latest check-up…30 weeks, crazy! The appointment started off as usual, with my blood pressure registering high, my highest yet. So, I was already set to stay late for a recheck at the end of my appointment. Everything else checked out well though…I wasn’t condemned for my weight gain or anything, which is always nice, no swelling or anything going on. Ann gave me the whole VBAC talk, so we got that out of the way. Finally, she checked for baby’s heartbeat, and it was again, a nice strong 147, baby is still measuring right on, and she still thinks baby is head down, so YAY! Things are looking good! Once she was done, I had to lay down and relax for my blood pressure recheck…which ended up coming out normal. Thankfully. She did have to check with the OB to make sure they didn’t want to take any kind of action now, and they were not concerned. They just suggested we move forward with my 32 week ultrasound…to check size, position and fluid levels. I’m SUPER excited to see baby again in a couple weeks…gonna have to stay strong again and not take a peek at the goods! Finally, I was on my way back to work. Today was day one of being “in charge” with much of the office at the conference, and a few others out sick, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Luckily, it was fairly quiet, so I mostly got to work on my own stuff and get pretty caught up. We’ll see how the next couple of days go. After work, I picked up the girls, we made our way home for dinner, baths, and relaxation. The usual.

Wednesday was Day 2 of me being “in charge”, with even less people around! Today did turn out to be much more hectic, with quite a few issues coming up and some fires to put out. I’m not going to lie, it’s kind of fun feeling like I’m in charge and getting to make some decisions and help people out, but at the same time, I am SO not a people-person, so the massive contact I’ve had with people this week is a little overwhelming for me. It is definitely a skill I am going to have to work on though if I actually do want to move up over time, so it was good practice. I do enjoy problem-solving, so it’s kind of a give and take. I will say, the day definitely flew by, and I was off to pick up the girls before I knew it. And, of course, the evening was pretty standard. The week is already halfway over, hard to believe!

The new infant car seat came today, Rico took care of the inspection.

I started Thursday off with my little Amelia. Today she had her big early childhood screening appointment. I was a little worried about how she would do…she seems so young still. I’m not sure how it is anywhere else, but here they need to be screened before they turn 4. I remembered Olivia’s screening did not go well at all…she had only been at KinderCare for about 6 months at the time, so was still pretty leery of strangers, and not great at participating. She ended up BARELY passing her screening, getting exactly what she needed to get to pass, 16. Luckily, Amelia did much better. She does have a much more outgoing personality in general, so that definitely helps, but I know being in the “school” setting all this time has really helped her skills and participation abilities. She ended up getting 20 (needing at least 16 to pass), so there weren’t any issues there. The teacher did notice some speech “concerns” that she wanted us to watch. Mainly, her C’s and K’s sound like T’s, and her G’s sound like D’s. She said they are the most common articulation issues, and are all skills to achieve by 4, so she has some time left, but just wanted to point it out. I guess since we talk to her every day, we just know what she’s saying and don’t’ pay much attention to the specifics, but we’ll have to start. At her next conferences at KinderCare, I’m going to bring it up and ask her teacher what she thinks. The nurse ended up calling in, so we had to reschedule her hearing and sight test for next month, so we were off. As I was psyching her up this morning for her appointment (thinking the more excited she was, the more she would cooperate), I mentioned we were going to McDonald’s for breakfast afterwards…well, that brought about a little kid-funny I have to share. As we were driving after her appointment, I looked in the mirror and noticed she looked quite perplexed…like she was really tired, or upset about something. I asked her if she was tired, and she said “no, I’m just thinking”. Hmmmm….I thought we were in for quite a conversation, like maybe something about the screening was on her mind, or something was going on. So, I asked her what she was thinking about. She looked at me in the mirror and says “well, I’m just thinking about McDonald’s”. Seriously, I just about died. I can’t even explain the look she had on her face, I honestly thought there was something wrong, something going one – but, no, she’s just a girl after my own heart, food on her mind. Man, I love that girl. So, we did make our way to McDonald’s, ate some breakfast, I dropped her off at school, and made my way to work. It was my Friday at work, and my last day being “in charge”. Similar to yesterday, there were a few issues that came up today, that I spent most of the day dealing with, but I’ve also managed to stay on top of my own work, which is good. Again, the day flew by, and I was off before I knew it. It was a pretty standard night again….I picked the girls up, we had some dinner, took baths and spent the evening relaxing.

Ready to hit the road with my mini-BFF

Breakfast with my beauty.

My first ThrowBackThursday picture, my BFF Kari and I, 15 years ago. So funny.

Friday was my day off, and much deserved after this busy week! I did enjoy being in charge, but not with EVERYBODY gone, LOL. I dropped the girls off at school and spent the morning relaxing, catching up on my shows. I did check my work e-mail mid-morning, and I had a pretty great note from my supervisor that made my day:

Thank you for all you did while we were at the conference. I have heard nothing but great things including phases like…..”she was amazing”…..”she took charge and solved many issues”…”she was a great team player and problem solver”. This comes as no surprise to me, however I do want to thank you again for keeping it all going while we were out.  It means a great deal!

Pretty cool! It’s nice to really feel appreciated, and know that what you do matters…and is noticed. I definitely makes going to work, and the sacrifices you make to do so, much more worth it, that’s for sure. Go me! After a morning of laziness, I got ready, picked up some Chipotle, and I was off to spend some time with my BFF, Kari…and of course, to get some baby snuggles in! I spent a couple hours hanging out with them, and her sister, catching up, chatting, laughing the afternoon away, and getting LOTS of baby cuddles in. So sweet; I can’t believe little Addie is already 6 weeks old, time goes so dang fast! Her sister made her way home, and shortly after Kari had to head off to pick her son up from school, so I made my home for a little more down time before picking the girls up. Christian had to work extra late tonight, so the girls had dinner and we hung out together. Lately, I haven’t been feeling too well in the evenings, I haven’t been eating dinner very often. I get stomach aches, and start to feel sick to my stomach…the baby is getting more and more active, and I remember going through something similar with Amelia because she was SO active, so maybe it’s related to that. Hopefully anyway; and hopefully it passes! Christian arrived home just before the girls’ bedtime, so they didn’t get much time together. Once they were in bed, we stayed up WAY too late finishing up “Breaking Bad”…Christian did not care for the ending, but I actually thought it was pretty good. Seemed like a fitting way to close the series, so I have no complaints. Now, we have to find a new show to watch together! I’ve been watching “House of Cards” on Netflix, but he doesn’t. And, I also took it upon myself to watch “Game of Thrones” online, which starts up again next month, so he doesn’t watch it. We’ll see what we come up with…

Sweet Baby Addie

Saturday was very unusual…Christian didn’t work, which doesn’t happen often, so he was home with us all day. We spent the morning watching some TV, playing, eating breakfast. Then, we were all off to swim class. Christian couldn’t believe how well Olivia can swim now…no, really, she CAN SWIM. It’s crazy. Not for a long distance of course, but she’s doing really well, and she’s especially good at swimming on her back. I’m so proud. He also got to witness Amelia’s antics, and the fact that she is sure to drown herself one day. She does well when the instructor is actually working with her one-on-one, but when she’s left on her own, she just thinks she can do whatever she wants…she walks off the platform, she lets go of the wall…thinking she can REALLY swim, but she can’t. It’s a little scary to watch, even though I know the instructor and lifeguard are RIGHT there. I can’t wait until she can actually swim, and I can feel a little more at ease. After class, we made our way home for lunch and naps. I dozed in and out while watching some TV, and Christian ran to the grocery store to get some stuff to grill…it was only 26°, but man did it feel warm after what we’ve been through. However, by grilling time, it was noticeably colder, and we decided to wait until tomorrow to grill. Again, I wasn’t feel well, so Christian and the girls ate, while I laid on the couch. Once the girls were in bed, Christian was off to watch another boxing match and I was pretty much off to bed. Exhausted!

I always seem to have an animal in my face at home...

Amelia was my personal masseuse for the night...

Sunday was a pretty typical Sunday in our house. Well, it was Daylight Savings today, and springing forward is NEVER a good thing (except for being light later at night, that part is pretty awesome). I spent the day doing laundry, got all of our dishes washed and picked up the house. We’ve managed to keep it pretty clean this week, and man it feel good to have a clean house! The girls did well playing with each other most of the day…they played in the playroom, played in and cleaned up their room, watched a couple movies, had some breakfast and lunch amidst the fun. As the girls finished up their naps, Christian fired up the grill…chicken for the girls, steak for us. YUM! It was very nice out today, 40°-ish, but it’s still not great “play outside” weather yet…there is still way too much snow in the yard, and with the melting, the streets and driveway are pretty gross, so we just hung out inside. I can’t wait until we can get out for some bike rides, some playtime at the park. It’s going to be so wonderful! It was a bit of a rough night…the girls were wide awake and had the hardest time falling asleep. Olivia has still been sleeping in our room, and I’m pretty sure I fell asleep before her, LOL. Hopefully we all transition to the time change SOON!

Today also marks 31 weeks for me and baby – officially single digit “weeks to go”, which is pretty exciting! As I mentioned earlier, baby has been SUPER active, more than ever. I’m still carrying pretty “basketball” like, and low, but I feel most of the activity under my chest, which leads me to believe baby really is head down. Things seem to be moving along just fine, and quickly. Christian and I had our first, initial, name talk this week. I have two girl names I like, and one boy name I’m pretty “set” on. I mentioned them to Christian and seemed OK with the boy name, and one of the girls’ names, but (of course) didn’t have any suggestions of his own. We’ll have to have a real conversation about it sometime down the road. We also got our new infant carseat this week, which was pretty exciting. It sounds ridiculous, but I honestly feel like we’re just about set…that was really the main thing we needed. The baby is sleeping with us…either in the bassinet, in a co-sleeper we’re going to borrow from my cousin (if it fits with our bed), or in our bed…for quite a while, so I’m not planning on getting a crib any time soon. We’ll buy going home outfits for each sex, and a boy blanket, so we’re ready to go home from the hospital either way, but don’t plan on buying much else in the way of clothing and accessories until after baby comes. So, really, I’d say we just need to get some diapers and stuff like that. A couple of my friends are going to throw me an (informal) shower next month, so I’m sure I’ll get that kind of stuff, and maybe some neutral jammies and onesies there, otherwise not much needed. People think I’m crazy, but I can’t really think of anything else I need to do. Maybe I’m just delusional, LOL.

Until Next Week XOXO