2015 - Week 30

Here we are, week 30. And, the week didn’t start off the greatest (but, ended amazingly!!). We spent much of the week getting ready for Amelia’s birthday party this weekend….5....my sweet little best friend ended the week as a 5-year-old!!

On Monday, I ended up calling into work, and staying home. I had another LONG night with Eliza, and then just couldn’t sleep myself. My head was pounding and I was just plain exhausted when my alarm went off. There was no way I could make it into work, or sit there in front of the computer all day. So, I dropped the big girls off at daycare, Christian and and Eliza were off on their way, and I took a mental health day. I spent most of the morning relaxing, catching up on some shows, and laying with an ice pack. I started to feel better, little by little, as the day went on. I slowly started cleaning up the living room, getting everything picked up, dusted, and looking so pretty. Then, I tackled the girls’ room. I re-organized the girls’ closet to get ALL of their clothes in there (including the between sizes nobody is wearing right now). It looks INSANE, and I’ve never seen so many clothes in my life, but it cleared out some more room in the spare room, and looks good. I was able to throw out a lot of old crap, and found a few more things to sell, so yay for that as well! I got their beds made (I was not built to make a bunk bed), the room dusted and picked up, then vacuumed the upstairs. By the time I finished vacuuming, I was feeling pretty bad. My stomach was turning and I just felt terrible. I picked the girls up, grabbed them some dinner, and we settled in at home. They ate, while I rested on the couch and did nothing. Christian and Eliza arrived home, and Bella stopped over. They all hung out outside for a while…he watered the garden and did some picking up. Christian helped the big girls shower and got them all ready for bed, while I mustered up some strength to fold some laundry. I didn’t make it through everything, but amidst the illnesses and chaos, I got quite a bit of cleaning done, which made me feel successful. Eliza was in a much better mood tonight, but still fought bedtime.

Now, THAT is a lot of clothes! The girls' finished closet. Amelia is on the right, Olivia bottom middle, Eliza top middle, and all of their off-size clothes on the left. Wowza! Then, their pants, underwear, socks and jammies are in the dresser. Clothes everywhere!

On Tuesday, I was back to work. It was a busy day of catching up, and being off Friday through next Tuesday, I had a TON of stuff to get done this week. The day was over before I knew it as I tried to plow through as much work as possible. I stopped at Target for a few things after work, before picking the girls up from daycare. Bella stopped over again tonight when we got home. I have to admit, it gets to be a little too much sometimes. But, I know the girls LOVE spending time with her, and I know it has to be tough to be out of school and out of daycare for the summer, so I know she really looks forward to spending time with the girls, but after long, stressful days at work, and trying to get ready for the party/vacation this week, it gets stressful having an extra kid in the house every night. It’s funny, because Bella and the big girls just do their own thing…it’s not like I have to “watch them” or entertain them, but when they get together it’s like little girls energy times a million, and I just don’t have the appropriate level of energy to keep up with them! Today, they did play outside most of the night though, so that was helpful. And, big shocker, Eliza was in a bad mood all night. One of these nights, I think I’m going to run away! I tell the girls that, and they just tell me that I can’t, because they’ll miss me. I guess that makes me feel better. Christian worked on cleaning up the yard and garage some more, starting to get it ready for the party (I’m determined to not be going crazy the morning of, like usual!). We had a late dinner, and were all off to bed. Another day down! More importantly, another day closer to vacation!!

Just a little cuddle with my bug to end the day. Love!

Wednesday…work, work, work, work! Still plugging away, still can’t WAIT to be off and away for a few days!! I don’t care how crazy and chaotic the preparation is, it’s totally worth it! I picked the girls up after work and we made our way home. They were not very well-behaved at school, and carried on that crabbiness to the house, so they were on punishment most of the night. No playing outside, no swimming, no tablets. Bella came over, but was pretty bored with the fact that the girls couldn’t do anything really, so she made her way back home. We had dinner at a fairly normal time, for a change, and the girls were actually off to bed earlier than usual. I think they’re getting so exhausted, between daycare, the heat, playing with Bella every night, they just needed some downtime. We sold an extra firepit we had tonight, and are officially taking a break from selling stuff until after vacation now. I’ll have to regroup, take some updated pictures and gear myself back up in a week or two.

When we took Amelia for Kindergarten Registration, and she met the teachers, one of them gave the kids a little baggie of sunflower seeds to plant. With a poem, that I don't have, but in essence told them to plant the seeds and once the flowers towered over them, it was time to start school. We planted them in early May, and look at the grow!

Garden Check - growing away!

Cherry and Big Tomatoes are Growing and Turning

Cucumbers and Zucchini are Growing

Tomatillos are Starting to Come In

Pumpkin Patch is Sprouting

Our First Stab at Cantaloupe...it's growing and flowering!

Getting LOTS of Jalapenos!

Thursday was my last day at work, before 5 glorious, amazing, wonderful days off! I finished up my busy, chaotic week, getting as much done as I possibly could, before gleefully heading out of work, and to the van, with a bigger smile on my face than I’ve had in quite a while (well, since my last vacation, in early June, anyway, LOL). Tomorrow Christian and I are both off, so we’ll be finishing up getting the house ready for Amelia’s birthday party. Saturday is the big party day, Sunday is the official 5^th birthday AND we’re heading off to Duluth for 3 days. I CANNOT WAIT! We didn’t go on our Duluth trip last year, with Eliza being so little, and while my overly responsible side was telling me that I should cancel this year, and save the money…we decided to go for it. We’ve worked too hard saving up, and planning, and NEEDED this time away, together. So excited!! Now, back to today. After our busy days at work, we met up back home with the kids for the night. Eliza didn’t take much of a nap at daycare, so she was exhausted. She ended up falling asleep on the couch while I was making diner, at 6:30, for the night. Poor thing. She officially has 3 of her 4 molars all the way through, and the 4^th is getting close. I can see the light at the end of the teething tunnel!

Sleepy Baby!

Friday was my usual day off, and Day 1 of vacation! Christian was home as well, which doesn’t happen too often. I dropped the big girls off at daycare for the day, and then spent the morning with little Eliza. Christian finished cleaning up the garage and yard, making sure it was all ready. I spent most of the day doing laundry, and I did as much picking up as Eliza would allow throughout the morning, and worked on cleaning up the kitchen, we had some breakfast and lunch, and while she was napping, I got to work on the basement. I got everything in the basement back in the general area it should be in, and most of the living area cleaned up, before it was time to head out and pick the girls back up from daycare. The three of us were off to order balloons for the party, and pick up a few things at the party store before settled in back at home. Once home, Christian and his friend Lorenzo got all of the party tables and chairs set up, so all we have to do in the morning is decorate. WOOT!! Meanwhile, the girls and I had dinner, we hung out for a while, and eventually the girls were off to bed. Before bed, I tackled the rest of the basement…got everything put away, cleaned up, vacuumed, and it was all fresh and clean and ready to go! We’re SO close to being ready for the party, and this is truly a first!

Today's Harvest! YUM!

Saturday was Big Day #1. We were all up bright and early. I got to work on the final load of laundry, and started getting everything put away. With us leaving for vacation tomorrow, I had to make sure it was all done and packed away ahead of time. Whew! Next up, I took the big girls off to swim class while Christian stayed back with Eliza. They both did SO well, I couldn’t believe it. Last week was a nightmare with them, and their poor behavior, so not only did they have better attitudes, they swam amazing! Amelia can officially swim, front and back, on her own now!! She just needs to work on actual technique, and she’ll be good to go. So exciting! I got the girls showered up, did their hair, and they were officially party ready. On our way home, we stopped at the party store to pick up the balloons, and stopped at Target to pick up the cake and the last of the party food and supplies. FINALLY, we were home for a late breakfast/early lunch, and I got Eliza down for a nice long nap. While I fed the big girls and got them settled in, Christian cleaned the entry and bathrooms quick and cleaned the pool. FINALLY, our friend Lorenzo was over to help us decorate and help us fill the coolers and take care of some final tasks. Christian and I took our showers and got ready, and we were officially ready for the party, with PLENTY of time to spare. What a huge relief! Our invitees were the usual, the grandparents, cousins, our usual family friends. AND, we let her invite a few friends from school. All of them actually RSVP’d yes, so she was super excited about that. Everybody started to arrive, just after the party start time, and Amelia was so excited to see everybody and celebrate. We filled the “bunch-o-balloons” for some water balloon fun, and let me tell you – those things are AWESOME, and totally worth the money. They flew through the balloons in no time, and one by one jumped into the pool for some swimming fun. The adults chatted and caught up with each other, Christian ran to pick up some pizzas….we ate, and then proceeded with the usual party fun…presents, piñata, cake. YUM! Before we knew it, the party was coming to an end, and everybody started to leave one by one. Parties are so much work to prepare for, and then the actual party seems to go by in the blink of an eye! My dad took Chuy with him when they left…they are dog-sitting while we’re on vacation. It was SO weird not having the dog home with us all night – you really get used to them being there. We got the yard cleaned up, the tables put away, the presents and goodies inside the house, and it was like nothing ever happened! Before our nieces left, all of the girls played no the scooters and rode bikes and had some fun together. Olivia was trying out Amelia’s new scooter and took a HORRIBLE spill, flipping over the handle bars and onto her face. Thankfully, she was wearing her helmet, or it would have been really scary. Oh man, I swear it’s always something!! Finally, the last of our guests left, and we settled in for the night. Exhausted, hot, sore…and completely unprepared for vacation tomorrow, but it was such a wonderful day. Well worth it!

See, they're awesome!!

Party Time!!!

Sunday was Big Day #2, in two ways!! First, it was Amelia’s official birthday. That’s right folks, my little best friend is officially 5 years old! This little girl was not even born yet when I started this blog. That is just so crazy to me. She is still the free-spirited, independent girl that she has always been. She likes to do her own thing, and is set in her ways. She likes to instigate fights, watch Netflix, and paint her nails. She’s obsessed with wearing dresses. She hates animals, even our own lovely family pets, and minimally interacts with her baby sister. She’s SO funny, absolutely hilarious, and always keeps us on our toes. She’s sassy and talks back way too much. But she’s so sweet, with such a big heart, and she loves to cuddle. Our little middle child, I could not possibly love you more!

Today, we started the day off by sleeping in a little. A big ol’ outdoor party will sure take it all out of you! We had a big breakfast, Christian stopped to get a haircut, and took the van in to get an oil change, while I packed up all of our vacation stuff and hung out with the girls. Once he was home, we showered, got ready, loaded everything into the can, fed the cats, did a final cleaning through the house and hit the road. Well, we did stop for some gas and beverages, THEN hit the road. The big girls watched a couple movies on the way up, Eliza chatted to herself for a while, then fell asleep for a good nap most of the way.  We stopped for some lunch just before we arrive in Duluth, then FINALLY checked into the waterpark. We arrived in our room, to find that the air conditioning wasn’t working. We waited, and waited, and waited…but the girls were beyond anxious to get swimming, so I finally took them to the waterpark, while Christian stayed back with Eliza, waiting for maintenance to come get the air working. He finally met us about an hour later, and it turned out they had to just move us to a whole new room. What a pain!! They did give us some free drink and arcade coupons for the hassle though, so that was pretty cool. Eliza is still pretty leery of the water/pool, but she warmed up a bit by the end of the night. The big girls were in HEAVEN though. We went around the lazy river a million times, they went down the waterslides with Christian, we swam in the outdoor pool, hung out in the hot tub, and just had such a blast. Once waterlogged and exhausted, we settled into the hotel room. We ordered some food from the hotel restaurant, ate, and passed out one by one. The girls were complaining that their eyes were bothering them, and they were SUPER red, so I think there was just way too much chlorine in the water. Poor things…we were a little worried, but hoping a good night’s sleep would help them clear up. We were looking forward to a full, super fun day in Duluth tomorrow though! Ah, vacation, nothing better!

Ready to Load up the Van!

Ahhhhh, vacation!

Until Next Week!! XOXO

2015 - Week 29

Monday kicked off another week. And, actually, quite a quiet week at that. We were off to work and daycare as usual. And, I was on the search for a vet. With the garage door behind us, we were onto the plan of getting Chuy neutered. Finally. Our hope is that getting him neutered will get him to calm down, and stop running away. And, I didn’t realize that prostate cancer (or whatever the equivalent in dogs is) was actually quite common in male dogs. I posted on Facebook for some recommendations, and made an appointment with the cheapest, recommended vet that I found. Later in the evening, another friend recommended a vet about 30 minutes south of us, much cheaper…and we were able to get in with them in a few weeks, so I moved his appointment. It amazes me how much some vets charge for a 7lb dog to be neutered, just seriously ridiculous. And, I think it’s crazy the huge range of prices that I was quoted…the vet he’s going to is $150…I got quotes up over $400! INSANE! So, that was one big task of the day. After work, I picked up the big girls, Bella stopped over to play, and I took to the spare room for my other big task of the day…cleaning it up, and photographing some baby “sale stuff”. Christian and Eliza arrived home shortly after us, and Eliza was CRAAAAAAAAABY! Oy. She’s teething really bad right now, and, for some reason, we couldn’t find her pacifiers anywhere in the house. I don’t know what’s happening to all of them, but we finally found one in Christian’s car from the drive home. Going to have to rip apart the house and find the rest of them soon. Amidst her crying and drama, we had dinner, the girls took a bath, and it was time for bed…where Eliza fought me with all of her might.

Tuesday was a pretty low key day. Work, daycare, home. I did finally post a ton of the more “specialty” baby stuff that we’re selling…holiday dresses, Halloween costumes, swimsuits, etc. I got a ton of interest in stuff, so I’m hoping they pan through. None of it is “expensive”, but all together, it all adds up! And, we did sell our double stroller tonight, which was a nice big sale. I think we’ve officially decided that we can make our Duluth trip next weekend happen. We’ll be taking the girls out of daycare for the following week, so the amount we save in their tuition will pretty much pay for the hotel. So, we can use our “sale money” for food and all that. Whew! How, we just have to figure out daycare for the days they won’t be in daycare. After work I picked up the girls, Bella stopped over again, and they spent some time swimming in the pool. Luckies! Christian cleaned up the garage a little work and worked in the garden a little it, while I hung out with Eliza and got dinner going. She has still been SO crabby, it makes it so hard to get anything done at home. This too shall pass, This too shall pass! She does have one molar finally poking through, so hopefully the rest are on their way…and come out quickly! After dinner, we settled in for the night, before sending the girls off to bed.

Eliza wants to be like her big sister

Wednesday was the usual. Work, work, work. Things are crazy as ever, busy all day long, but at least I feel pretty productive most days. I don’t talk about what I actually do too often, but I write contracts related to highway construction work and transportation research. This is one of the biggest construction seasons we’ve ever had…it’s massive. Of course, all you hear from people, and read on social media, is how horribly planned the work is, how terrible construction is, what a mess it all is, etc. It’s beyond annoying. This is Minnesota…we have a very short window to get construction work done…so, I’m not sure when people expect it to happen. And, it’s such a double-edged sword. People complain if you don’t fix the roads, and people complain if you do. People think they are SO dang smart, think they know everything. All of the work going on must be poor planning…or, “why can’t you finish one project up before starting another”. Gee, I don’t know, because each project takes at least a few weeks, if not a few months (really, if not a few years, depending on what’s being done), and there are these  magical things called ground freeze, and snow that eventually settle into the state and take away the chances of doing the work. And, even more than that, every two years the state budget is disseminated, and you have to work with what you get. If you are given money, you HAVE to use it. If you don’t use it, you lose it, and it jeopardizes your departments’ future budget. So, basically, the work needs to be done, not only to fix the roads, but to spend the money, to continue doing the work, and continue fixing the roads, before everything falls apart. It’s such a frustrating world to work in…in the summer you can’t do any good because you’re ruining people’s traffic. In the winter, it’s your fault when the snow and ice takes over and the roads are bad, because your snowplows aren’t magical vehicles that just make everything instantly disappear. Ugh, rant over. In the end, I myself had a terrible drive into work today because of construction going on. I always say, I can’t wait until we can teleport! Won’t that be awesome? In better news, I continue to get interest on the sale stuff , and have a few sales set up this week, so fingers crossed! The spare room is quickly emptying, and I LOVE it! After work, I picked the girls up from daycare, where I discovered that Eliza has FOUR pacifiers. FOUR! No wonder we couldn’t find any at home, LOL. What a hoarder! She was crabby, again, and I really couldn’t do much at home because of it. Bella was over, again, but with the stress of Eliza and the girls being loud and running around, it was just too much. Christian picked up dinner on his way home, and we had to send Bella home. The stress caught up to us today! Amelia was acting up, and ended up being sent to bed early. Olivia finally calmed down and watched a video. Eliza is still fighting sleep, but the baby orajel and some Tylenol seems to be helping her finally get down, and stay down. So exhausted, so very exhausted.

On Thursday I was late for work. These late, stressful nights caught up to me, and I just couldn’t get going. I dropped the girls off and finally made it in. Work was busy, and I had quite a few sales throughout the day/evening, which was pretty awesome. I like when these “craigslist” sales actually come through! I left work early today for a dentist appointment, which I hate, but I had another very successful visit. No cavities, everything looks great, and I was pretty much in and out, woot! I stopped home to relax and get a couple things done before I picked the girls up. Christian’s brother in law stopped over to take his push lawnmower…it was gifted to us by Christian’s dad, but since we have the riding mower, he never uses it. So, he passed it on to his sister. While they chatted and loaded that up, I hung out with (still) crabby Eliza. COME ON MOLARS, FINISH COMING THROUGH!!! The top ones are all the way through now, so we just need to get those bottom ones out. At this rate, I’m nervous for soccer to start up next month. I sure hope she pulls it together by then, or I’m going to have some miserable nights at the soccer field. We had a late dinner, the girls were off to bed, and with some medicine Eliza actually fell asleep really easily tonight. WHEW!

She cleans her plate, just like mommy. LOL

Baby's First Piggies!

FINALLY Friday arrived, and not soon enough. It’s been a quiet, low-key week…but you forget how long and exhausting those days can be with a crabby baby on your hands. I finished off another busy week at work before picking up the girls and settling in for a lazy evening at home. We did head outside for a little while when Christian arrived home to play for a while…and, Olivia officially learned to ride her bike without training wheels!!! SO EXCITING! Now, she’s 6.5, so a little on the older side to be learning, but we really aren’t bike riders. They don’t really get the opportunity to ride them too often. So, with little opportunity, I can’t believe how quickly she picked it up. SO PROUD!!! Next up, we’ll have to start working on Amelia. So far, she doesn’t seem to get it whatsoever. One thing is evident though; time to get Olivia a bigger bike, before she breaks her knees!

Saturday was a pretty standard Saturday. Christian was off to work for the day, and Eliza was crabby ALL.MORNING.LONG. Which, made for some fun at swim class. To top that off, Olivia and Amelia were both acting up at swim class big time…splashing, letting go of the wall, going under the water, general not listening whatsoever. Both of their teachers talked to me after class, which always mortifies me. I was so angry with them. They both got a stern talking to, and then were not allowed to play with their toys or watch their videos once we were home. We had lunch, and I snuggled up with Eliza on the couch. She ended up passing out sitting next to me, so I put her down for a nap. Thankfully, a nice LONG nap! The big girls were fighting and arguing and driving each other crazy all day, and I was seriously at the end of my rope. My mom finally showed up and took them for an overnight (which was already planned, but could not have come on a better day!). With them gone, and Eliza napping, I finally felt like I could catch my breath. I worked on washing some dishes and started picking up around the house. Christian and his friend Lorenzo arrived home after work, and worked on cleaning up the garage some more. And, we sold this wine cooler Christian had, but we had no use for, which was another exciting, big sale!  We’ve definitely got the neuter, Olivia’s fillings and our Duluth trip covered now, which is a huge relief. After that, I think we’ll just use our savings for the state fair later this summer. While I spent the evening with Eliza, who was in a much better mood than she has been, Christian was off to help his friend Mariano move (and have a couple beers). It was nice to have a quiet house, all to myself all night. I watched my shows, and even had myself a hard apple cider (or two) once Eliza was in bed. What a day!

Haha, she just makes me laugh! Finger lickin' good!

A little trike ridin'

On Sunday I slept in. REALLY slept in. Christian was tired, but TOO BAD! I had a stressful day yesterday, and it was his choice to stay out last night, so I had zero sympathy! I took the opportunity to sleep, and he was on Eliza duty. Eventually, I did have to get up, and take over, because he was off to finish helping Mariano move. Eliza and I hung out, had some lunch, she took a little nap while I showered, and then we were off to my mom’s to have an early dinner, and pick up the big girls. Thankfully they were much better behaved for her than they had been for me. I was afraid she would return them last night the way they were acting! After dinner and some visiting, we met up back home with Christian. The girls played outside for a while, while Christian worked in the garage some more (soon, VERY soon, we will actually be able to park in it again!), and while I worked on some laundry and cleaning up inside. Bella stopped over for a while, we ordered pizza for dinner and hung out for the night. We also discovered that Amelia has quite the hula-hooping talent tonight! I mean, seriously impressive! She was so proud of herself too, which just makes it that much better. Oh man, they make me so mad, but boy do I love my girls. We made some more sales today too, which was exciting…Christian’s old truck hitch, an extra baby gate and a few other baby stuff. YES! Seriously, those facebook garage sale sites are the best thing ever! I’m so obsessed with them! I like it better than Craigslist too…because I feel like the people you deal with are really REAL people…like you can click on their profile and see that they are legit, not just some troll or bot messing with you. Seems less risky. So, in the end, I highly recommend them!

Now, that's a tired baby!

Until Next Week! XOXO

2015 - Week 28

Monday hit hard. After a fun-filled, action-packed, busy 4^th of July weekend, it was a hard shock back into reality. Everyone was exhausted, but…off to work, and daycare, we went. The day went pretty quickly though, so not the end of the world. I picked the big girls up and we stopped at home. Tonight’s sale was the sand and water table…I posted it yesterday and ended up getting a TON of interest, which I figured, so it went quick. YES, one more thing down! While I packed up a few things and got Amelia ready, Bella stopped over and played for a bit. Then, we were off to Amelia’s baseball game. I can’t believe her season is almost over! While we were at ball, I let Olivia go to the park on her own. She’s 6.5 now, and was wearing a bright yellow shirt, and does well playing outside on her own and all that at home, so I decided to give it a chance. NEVER again. NEVER! At one point, I focused on Amelia while she was up to bat…she got a hit, ran to the base, and right away the next kid got a hit and she ran to second. Then, she yelled over to me, asking me where Olivia was. I couldn’t spot her yellow shirt, so I started walking over to the park, thinking she was hiding behind something. Getting closer and closer, I still couldn’t see her. I picked up my pace, and slowly started panicking more and more. I finally made it to the park and she was officially nowhere to be seen. Behind the park is a walking trail along a little pond. Immediately I was sure somebody had snatched her along the path, or she was in the pond. I have honestly never been so terrified in all of my life. It was the worst few minutes of my parenting life, by far. I yelled for her, and thought I heard a response, but still didn’t see her. I yelled again, louder, and spotted two little people playing in the high grass down by the water. Finally, I was sure one was her, got closer, yelled again and she came running. I let her have it about leaving the park – which, believe me, it was drilled into her that she could NOT leave the park. I finally got her back to our spot by the field and she sat on the ground next to me the rest of the game. My heart was still racing…oh my God, the gear, I can’t even explain it. Just as we finished settling in, things went downhill for Amelia. She ended up fielding two line drives in a row (come one, what pre-k age kid can hit a line drive, let alone two of them in a row!)…she did really well staying in front of them and trying to catch them, but one bounced off her glove and hit her in the face…which she recovered from alright…and the next got her right in her leg. She did come off the field after that for a little break, poor thing. I mean, seriously, what re the odds?!  She did brave it and went back in for her last at-bat though, what a trooper! FINALLY, after all of that chaos, we made our way back home to meet up with Christian and Eliza, had dinner, gave the girls some baths and settled in for the night. Exhausted doesn’t even begin to explain it!

On Tuesday, I woke up with a raging headache (can’t imagine why!). I toughed it out, got ready, dropped the girls off at daycare, and made my way to work. As the day went on, my headache got worse, and worse, eventually becoming a full blown migraine. I finally packed it in and made my way home. I went straight to our bed, took some Excedrin and laid there in the dark, with an ice pack, for the rest of the day. Oh man did it feel good! I picked the girls up from daycare just before closing time, and I set up a few more sales for the week (I’m so beyond excited – all I could think was PLEASE let them all come through!). If these come through – we’ll have more than enough for the garage door opener, and Olivia’s fillings. If we can save up a little more, we should be able to cover the cost of getting Chuy neutered…and then, I’d feel comfortable going to Duluth in a couple of weeks for our vacation. Again, fingers crossed!! While I made dinner, Bella stopped over again to play with the girls and Christian’s friend Lorenzo came over to pick up our old, big couch from the garage (he’s taking our old couches – YAY for cleaning out the garage!). Christian followed Lorenzo home to help him unload it, and help him with a few things around his house, so it was just the girls and I. THANK GOD I was able to get some rest in earlier and get rid of my headache, or it would have been a seriously miserable night. It sure ended up being a busy one!

Tuesday also marked Eliza turning 14 months old! She is 27.2lbs and 30" long. She's walking, running, climing and going up and down stairs (usually successfully). She never, ever, EVER stops. She understands more every day, she closes the gate/door when asked, she goes to her chair when we tell her its time to eat, she likes to help clean up and put things away. She is talking more and more, lots of her own language, but she says mama, dada, up, down, more and mimics better every day. She nods yes and no, loves to give hugs and kisses, loves blankets, animals and playing outside, and her sisters are her FAVE! She's such a joy!!

On Wednesday, I was back to work. My headache had returned, but not nearly as bad. I had a super busy day catching up at work and had a ton of stuff coming back, needing to be moved on, so the day went quickly. On top of that, I met my friend Gini for a late birthday lunch at Boca Chica. OMG – there’s little better than a delicious Mexican buffet! YUMMO! Plus, it was so wonderful catching up with Gini. We have to make sure we keep it up on a regular basis! After work, I stopped home to let the dog out and pack up some snacks, picked the girls up from daycare, and we were off to Amelia’s last baseball game of the season. Lorenzo and our parents came to watch and cheer her on, and she did so well. She got her little medal and she was so proud of herself. My big girl, she’s growing way too fast. I’m still not sure that she’ll end up being much of an athlete, at least not the team sport kind, but she tries, and she’s brave and definitely not shy, which helps a ton. She’s having fun, and that’s all that matters! After her game and little “medal ceremony”, we made our way back home…Bella was over again (I’m thinking this may become a problem…), but not long before we had to settle in for dinner, baths and bed. Sports nights don’t leave much time for anything else, that’s for sure. It will be nice to get a little break from activities for a while.

Thursday was my Friday at work, again. Which is always wonderful. It ended up being a super busy day at work, which is usually the case when I’m preparing for a day off. But, again, like always, busy makes the day fly by, and that’s always more than welcomed on a work day! I stopped home after work to let the dog out and do a few things, picked the girls up from daycare, and then made a couple of stops. We made a quick craigslist sale at Walmart, then stopped to pick up some clothes I won in a contest, for Eliza. I LOVE me some free clothes, that’s for sure. Meanwhile, Christian was off to a Saint’s Game with some people from work, so it was just the girls and I all night. We picked up some dinner on our way home from running errands, and they were off to bed shortly after.

As I was sitting, watching TV, I heard a large crash. It sounded like somebody had hit garbage cans or something, like a crunching plastic sound. A little later, I saw flashing lights out of the kitchen window, and of course, had to go out and investigate what was going on. We leave off of a pretty busy street, which is where the lights were coming from. Bella’s mom was outside, so I made my way over to her to see what was going on, and there was a HUGE crash, right outside of their house. An ambulance, the cops and some fire trucks were already there. One car was flipped upside down, the other was totaled. The ambulance was taking the driver of the flipped vehicle away…turned out; Sara’s boyfriend had run out just after the accident and pulled the girl out of her car. Scary! And, the accident rumor mill filled up quickly, and we all came to find out the girl had been drinking (there’s a pretty popular neighborhood bar/restaurant right down the street, and that’s where she was coming from). Eventually, we found out that she was trying to pull a U-Turn, from the far lane, not realizing that there was another car in the other late…cut that car off, and then her car flipped. We did see the cops take something out of the other guys’ vehicle, in evidence bags, before the tow truck took it away. We watched them do a breathalyzer on him, and sobriety tests, which he clearly failed even from our perspective, and then load him into the back of a car. So, basically, two drunk drivers, totaled each other’s cars, and were taken off. I mean, seriously. How stupid can you be?! Hope those drinks were worth it...I think they’re both in for a pretty bad ride now.

Friday was my day off. YESSSSSSSS! More than that, it was my first Friday off home with Eliza, all day, just the two of us, in such a long time. I was really looking forward to our day together. Christian was off to work, I dropped the big girls off at daycare, and Eliza and I stopped back at home for some breakfast. Then, I loaded her and some stuff up in the van and we were off to meet up for a couple more sales….today, I sold that sale that fell through a while back, with a bunch of smaller things, our highchair and my old bedding set (seriously old, but in great condition). WOOOT! Eliza slept much of the driving around, so that was good. I grabbed a smoothie and some lunch on our way home, and we settled in. We ate, she stole much of my smoothie, and then she went down for a SUPER long nap. All three of our kids have been the same way, which I absolutely love….they only nap once a day, from a fairly young age, but they nap for a long period of time…like 2-3 hours, sometimes up to 4 hours! I’ll take that over a couple of cat naps a day anytime! While she napped, I caught up on some TV, relaxed, and started to catch up on my blogging. At this point, I was literally two months behind on my blog. You wouldn’t think it would be so hard to do…but for some reason, I just never think of it, and before I know it, a week or so has gone by. Then, those weeks just start adding up. I debated just throwing out that missed time and starting fresh, but I decided to just TRY to catch up, and see how it goes. Shortly after Eliza woke up, we were off to pick the big girls up from daycare. We all stopped at Target for a few things, and by the time we got home, Christian and Lorenzo were there. And, BIIIIIIIIG Exiting News – Christian surprised me with a brand new garage door opener! Somehow, for some reason, his work had two garage door openers on hand, that they didn’t need, and apparently after a week of hounding them, they told Christian he could take one. I could have cried – I could have seriously cried! We hit these patches of bad luck all the time, where it seems like one thing after another piles on and we can’t catch our breath. But between all of these sales I’m busting my butt to make, and this sheer luck with the garage door opener, I’m thanking my lucky stars. Now, we can cover Chuy’s neutering, Olivia’s fillings AND we should definitely be able to go on our little vacation to Duluth. It was the most amazing way to end the week, I can’t even explain it. Bella came over to play with the girls and eat some dinner for a while, and while I hung out with them and, eventually, got the girls to bed, Christian and Lorenzo got the opener installed – it’s working and I’m so beyond excited! Now, we just need to get the shed filled up, he needs to do some cleaning up in the garage, and we just may be able to park our vehicles in there pretty soon!

Smoothie Thief!

Saturday was a busy day. Christian was off to work, bright and early. After a week off for the Holiday, the girls and I were off to swim class, also pretty bright and early. Eliza is still quite a handful at swim class, and carrying her, our bag and the stroller up and down the stairs at class is still beyond exhausting, but keeping her contained and full of snacks seems to help. And, as she gets older, she’s started actually watching the kids swimming down below and paying more attention, so maybe that will help. I had the big girls shower before we left, we had some lunch when we got home, and Eliza went right down for a nap. While she napped, the big girls played for a little while, before getting ready for our next adventure of the day. Christian arrived home from work, and stayed home with Eliza, while the big girls and I were off to their daycare friend, Lauren’s, birthday party. Lauren’s mom was the director at daycare since we started there, up until recently, and the girls just love her. The party was pretty much all kids and teachers from daycare, and they have a nice underground pool, so the girls were in heaven! They just swam and swam and swam, and had so much fun playing with all of their friends. It’s nice going to these “kids of teachers” parties, because I feel like I don’t have to be such a helicopter parent…there are plenty of people around to keep an eye on the kids, and they actually know them, and I feel like I can actually visit and have fun myself! As the party ended, we packed up and made our way back home. Christian had been working in the garage while Eliza napped and played, and he got our double-stroller put back together (so we can post it and sell it!), so as soon as we got home he showered and got cleaned up. Meanwhile, Bella stopped over so the girls loaded up with tattoo’s, I painted their nails, and we all headed over to her house for her little brother, Connor’s, 1^st birthday party. Yes, it was another infamous two-birthday-party kind of days! The girls played with Bella pretty much all day, Christian chatted with “the guys”, while I played with Eliza and kept her busy. It was SO hot outside, and they don’t have much of a yard, so everybody was packed in the house. Eliza started getting pretty crabby, I think from the heat and all of the people…and, limited freedom not being able to just run around and do whatever she wanted, so I eventually took her home. She played for a little bit, but it wasn’t long before she was passed out in bed. I quick went out to the garage to give the double-stroller a good cleaning so it’s ready to post and sell, and then relaxed on the couch with the TV for the rest of the night. Christian sent the big girls home a little later, after Bella’s dad picked her up for the night, and went straight to bed. I have no idea when Christian called it a night – but he can definitely hang much later than I can!

Today marked our 14 year dating anniversary! So crazy!!

Sunday was off to a pretty great start…we slept in until 10:00! What a nice repeat of last weekend! Oh I wish every weekend would result in these late mornings! In reality, Amelia was up before everybody else – but not nearly as early as she usually is, and she just watched some videos for a little while. As everybody woke up, we had breakfast, and the girls were pretty much immediately out into the pool. With our heat this summer, that pool is getting PLENTY of use, that’s for sure. Meanwhile, we did pretty much the usual….dishes, laundry, general cleaning up around the house. Christian made a Menard’s run while Eliza napped, and I was off to Target as soon as he got home. We both got to visit our “favorite” places, as Olivia would say. Ha. After our shopping fun, Christian worked on the lawn while Eliza and I hung out inside, we grilled some dinner, and had a nice quiet evening together. Baths and bedtime came way too fast – this weekend went way too fast. I say that every weekend, and it’s always true! Back to reality tomorrow!

She makes doing laundry super easy...

Until Next Week! XOXO