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