2015 - Week 44

Week 44 – the week of Halloween chaos! But, lots and lots of fun.

Monday kicked off the work on a right foot, for a change. We were up, ready and off – I arrived to work on time. Yes, ON TIME!!! Seriously, one less kid to get ready sure makes the world of a difference (Eliza still goes to my in-laws’ on Mondays). I had a super busy day at work, and I started the process of completely redoing our office’s website. I’m not a computer/web developing guru or anything close to that, but I do the basics and keep our site up and running. It’s nice to have something new and different to do once in a while. After work, I stopped at Walmart to pick up a few groceries and some craft supplies to do the girls’ pumpkins. I picked the big girls up, and helped them pain their pumpkins…we’ll finish up the decorating tomorrow after they dry. Every year their school asks the kids to paint/decorate/craft-up some pumpkins, following some kind of literary theme, and bring them in to display. We decided to do The Pigeon and The Duckling, from the Pigeon series, and they should be pretty cute. We helped Eliza do her “Mr. Potato Head Pumpkin” while Christian made dinner, ate, did our reading and settled in for the night. We played some videos on the Apple TV and the girls had a little spontaneous dance party before bed – my most favorite way to end a day!

Tuesday was another busy day. I had quite a few meetings at work, so the day just flew by. Meanwhile, Christian left work a little early for his surgery follow-up appointment. They told him that he’s healing and looking really great, no issues at all, but that they did have some concerns about the scar tissue growing back. I did bring this up to the surgeon after the surgery…he had developed this mysterious mass of scar tissue, out of nowhere (a muscle tear is our best guess), so I asked now that he’s had surgery, and surgery incisions SCAR, what’s to stop it from happening again? I’m curious if that got him thinking, because they had never discussed this previously. His surgeon has apparently been discussing the issue with some researchers at the University of Minnesota to get their opinions, and he wants Christian to set up an appointment with them. This is so frustrating – I mean, he cannot go in and have this pretty serious surgery regularly…like, “oh it’s been 5 years, better go have surgery again”. We just need some answers, and I want this whole thing to be behind us! Vent over. While he finished up his appointment, I picked the girls up and we settled in at home. I helped the big girls finish up their super cute pumpkins, and they’re ready to bring them in tomorrow. Success! Christian brought home dinner….we ate, watched a little TV and actually turned into bed early. Party animals!

On Wednesday, Christian was off to work  pretty early, so it was just the girls and I. We got up, ready, packed up and headed out for the day. I had a pretty productive start, but then I was stuck in a long meeting for a few hours. I usually bring my phone to meetings…kind of rude, but with three kids to worry about, I just feel like I need to be constantly contactable. Well, today, I forgot it. So, of course, today was the day I needed it. I got back to my desk to several missed calls, from Christian and school, voicemails on my cell phone and work phone, texts…and I think even an e-mail. Good Lord! I quick called the school nurse, and it turned out Amelia was in her office. She had been complaining of a headache and had a slight fever…nothing too horrible, but when she was in the office, the nurse was checking her over and noticed that she appeared to have some pink eye symptoms. Redness, discharge, itchy. OY! So, I had to rush out and pick her up. Poor thing. We went straight off to the Target Minute Clinic, and she was able to get right in. Sure enough, pink eye it was. While we were there, she got her flu-mist, we dropped off her prescription and did a little shopping. I actually found their Christmas dresses while wandering around, so at least one bonus came out of the visit. We finally picked up her drops and settle din at home. She rested and watched some videos, I FINALLY ate a super late lunch and watched a little TV, and then got started on the giant pile of dishes taking over our kitchen and cleaning up. I guess another bonus, actually getting some stuff done around the house! I picked the other girls up around closing time, and FINALLY got Amelia’s school pictures – her teacher sent them home with Olivia. I saw the digital version a while back, and have been debating retakes for her ever since. I had all three girls’ outfits set to coordinate, so when they were hanging up they flowed well. Well, little Amelia forgot to take her sweater off for her pictures, so it doesn’t flow as well with the other two anymore. But, I decided to just hang onto them. I don’t want her to think she did a bad job, and I don’t want to risk getting a terrible picture in place of it, so it’s official – the Fall 2015 school pictures are ready to hang up! We finally made our way home for the night, had dinner and had a quiet evening. Eliza and Amelia were off to bed early tonight – tired gals…so, Olivia helped Christian carve his pumpkin, while I had a lazy night on the couch, watching some TV. And it was a blissful, peaceful night.

On Thursday, Christian was off to work early again. My father-in-law offered to watch Amelia today, because she couldn’t go to school, so that I wouldn’t have to take the day off. So, the rest of us got ready, and I dropped the other two off at daycare. Olivia had a complete meltdown when I dropped her off. She was crabby and angry and when I tried to talk to her about what was wrong, she started bawling. We finally talked about it and she was really upset to be at daycare without Amelia (well, I think part of it was jealousy that she couldn’t go to grandpas). It kind of cracks me up. All they do is fight and pick on each other and drive each other crazy, but they have to spend one day apart, and it’s the end of the world. Sisters, I’ll never understand it. I had her settle in with her teacher to calm down, and was off to drop Amelia off at my in-laws’. She had drops, wipes and movies in hand, ready for a relaxing day. FINALLY, I arrived at work. It was a crazy day too. After a week of meetings, a sick kid, and tomorrow’s day off – I had a TON of stuff to do, and not much time to do it. The day went fast, but I don’t feel like I made much of a dent in my workload. Next week is going to be crazy! After work, I picked Amelia up, stopped home to get her into her costume, and we made our way to Daycare for their Harvest Party. I got Olivia and Eliza into their costumes, and fun ensued! Snacks, games, face painting and lots of laughs with their little friends. So fun! FINALLY, we met up with Christian for a quiet evening at home. Man this has been quite a week!

I committed to Amelia's school photo today, and they're all proudly displayed at work!

Friday…FINALLY Friday. The days this week have gone by so fast, but sometimes the stress can take its toll. My Friday off came at the perfect time for my sanity! Christian was off to work, I dropped the big girls off at daycare and it was just Eliza and I for the day. We had breakfast and some play time, watched some TV, and Eliza took a nice long nap after lunch. I did have to wake her up a little early, because she and I were off to school to watch the big girls in their Halloween parade and check out their class parties. I helped Olivia get into her costume before finding a spot outside to watch. Both of of the girls were so excited to see us, it warms my heart how happy they get. After the parade, I helped Amelia with a craft and hung out with her for a little while, before heading to Olivia's room and hanging out with her for a while. Eliza started to get pretty restless, so she and I finally made our way home. I started to feel pretty crappy shortly after we arrived home...my stomach was turning and I just felt run down. So I spent the rest of the afternoon resting and catching up on some shows. I picked the big girls up, met up with Christian back at home and we got the girls into their costumes, again. I wasn't feeling well, but I toughed it out and we made our way to a local church for a Harvest Festival they put on every year. They have lots of games, bounce houses, candy, food, AWESOME face painters and a ton of stuff to do. The girls had a blast, and Eliza had fun running all over. We had so much fun, but it was nice to get home and turn in for the night. One more day of Halloweening and we'll be done for the year. Whew!

On Saturday, Christian was off to work, so it was just the girls and I for the day. Amelia was acting up so bad ALL.DAY.LONG. She was talking back, not listening to a word I said and just being a straight up smartass about everything. I seriously got so fed up that I made her take a nap. UHG!!!!! Eliza went down for her nap shortly after, once Amelia stopped screaming and throwing a fit and finally fell asleep, so I finally got to enjoy some peace and quiet for a while. Olivia watched some videos on her tablet while I watched a little TV, showered and did some cleaning up around the house. Christian, along with his friend Lorenzo, arrived home from work right as the girls were getting up from their naps. We finished getting ready and got the girls into their costumes and ready to go. My in-laws and my mom each stopped over to see the girls and give them little Halloween gift bags, and the girls' BFF Bella, and her dad, came over to go Trick or Treating with us. We loaded up on hot apple cider, our parents left, and we were finally off to collect some candy. The weather was actually not too bad, so we were able to stay out for quite a while and hit up more than enough houses. We came home with three SUPER full pumpkins of candy, and three very tired girls. We were all pretty exhausted really and off to bed pretty early.

Sunday brought us the start of a new month...it's November. NOVEMBER! I cannot believe how fast this year has flown by. On top of that, today marked Daylight Saving...a parents worst nightmare really. The girls were up at 6:30AM and ready to party. Stupid daylight saving. But, it did give me some extra time throughout the day to do some cleaning and laundry. We watched some TV, had breakfast, the girls played in their room for a while, building a big fort between the bunk beds and the crib. Eliza went down for a nap, so the big girls moved their party downstairs to play (AKA tear the playroom apart) for a while. Christian mowed the lawn/mulched the leaves while the big girls and I baked some cupcakes and carved my pumpkin (OK, so one extra day of Halloweening than expected, and we were a little late, but it got done!). Christian ended up taking the big girls over to his parents' house for a while, to visit and have some dinner, so Eliza and I enjoyed a little peace and quiet. Finally, Eliza and I met up with Christian and the big girls at swim class. It was already dark and felt like bedtime - LAME! Amelia was acting up in class tonight - goofing around, leaving the platform when the teachers weren't watching, up to her old shenanigans basically. But, her mid-session progress report already has her at passing this level, so that's pretty exciting! She'll be moving up to beginners next session, with the older kids, and man was she excited! Maybe now I can hold that over her head and tell her that if she doesn't behave, she has to stay in the "baby" classes forever! Class ended, I helped the girls shower and get into their jammies, while Christian and Eliza left for home. We settled in for the night, and I folded a giant pile of laundry while watching The Walking Dead. Another Sunday down. Another weekend down. Another week down. Time just does not slow down, that's for sure.

Until Next Week! XOXO

2015 - Week 43

Monday…there’s little worse. I mean, it’s Monday. And Monday’s suck. Then, you wake up in the middle of the night with a RAGING migraine, and Monday does in fact, get worse. I took some Imitrex, which I really try to limit, chugged some water, grabbed an ice pack, and crawled back into bed. Until the very last possible minute. My head was still killing me, but I showered, got ready, got the girls up and ready. Still in pain, still nauseous, I had to tough it out. I could not stay home today, so off we went. With Christian still recovering from surgery, I had two drop-offs today. I dropped the big girls off at daycare, dropped Eliza off at my in-laws, and arrived at work. Super miserable. I had some breakfast and slowly started feeling better. FINALLY! By late afternoon, I felt pretty normal again. I’m not sure if it just took that long for the Imitrex to kick in, or it had just naturally run its course, but man it was brutal. I am so beyond done with these migraines! I had a pretty busy day at work, playing some catch up and hitting my inbox, before heading out. I picked Eliza up, picked the big girls up, and we settled in at home. Christian made dinner while Olivia and I made a quick Target run for our weekly shopping run. Christian is doing pretty well. He’s still really sore, but went the entire day without pain medication today, and is hoping he’ll be back to work tomorrow or Wednesday. He’s not supposed to return until Thursday, but he has a hard time missing work. After dinner, I worked on the girls’ reading homework, before sending everybody off to bed. We were off and running on another week.

Amidst my misery this morning, a project manager gave me this awesome "Thank You" for a contract I worked my butt off on. Sweet!

As Eliza and I were leaving my in-laws, and she looked just like this, an older man asked me if this was my son. UGH!!!!

Tuesday started off a little rough, again. This time, I overslept – right through my dang alarm! Oops. Luckily, I did feel a TON better today though, so that’s a bonus. Christian took another day off, so he helped get the girls ready – which is a nice change of pace might I say. Today, I had to attend an off-site training class. All.Day.Long. Training is right up there with meetings when it comes to biggest waste of a day ever at work. I was designated the driver for our little group in the office, and we were given a new, fancy hybrid car. Let me tell you….I’ve never felt so old in my life as I did trying to figure out how to work that damn car! No key, push button start – even shifting gears was the most confusing thing I’ve ever seen in my life! Somehow, we arrived in one piece – and even got back, but that was quite an experience. By the time I picked the girls up from daycare and arrived home, Christian was grilling up some dinner. Gotta love these beautiful fall days when you can still do that! We ate, hung out, did the girls’ reading, and then the girls’ little BFF, Bella, stopped over to play for a while. Christian was doing really well and had decided to head back to work tomorrow. We’re a little nervous, but hopefully he can ease back into everything.

My Girls. Nothing but trouble!

Wednesday was the big day…Christian was back to work. Still a little sore, but he toughed it out and made it through the entire day. While we were all getting ready to go this morning, Amelia picked up one of their books, was flipping through it, and actually read a couple of pages. Yes, it’s a simple kindergarten read-along book, but she READ IT, all by herself. And man was she so proud of herself. My little lady, she’s growing and learning so much every day, I just can’t believe it! I had a pretty busy, productive day at work. That’s not always the case (the productive part anyway), so I like to celebrate those days. After picking the girls up from daycare, we had to make a quick stop at Target for some forgotten groceries from our last trip…I usually avoid taking all three to the store with me at all costs, but luckily we survived our trip this time, with little issue. Christian fried up some taquitos for dinner tonight (YUMMMMMMMMMM!) while I hung out with the girls and worked with Olivia on her reading. We ate, hung out, watched some TV. Amelia and Eliza both passed out on the couch while we watched some shows together – poor babies, just plain exhausted! We transferred everybody to their beds, and settled in for the night. I can see the weekend coming!!!

Today the girls were supposed to wear orange, to stand up against bullying. We don't have much orange in our wardrobes, so we broke out our new Halloween shirts!

Thursday I overslept…AGAIN! I think I need to go back to putting my alarm clock across the room! I simply cannot be trusted anymore. Thanks to the late start, it was complete chaos trying to get everybody up and ready, pack up all of our stuff and get out of the door. Not to mention we had a pot luck at work today, so I had even more stuff to remember (which, I still forgot half of – oy!). Stress….these mornings are STRESS! By the time I dropped the girls off, fought traffic, and arrived at work – of course, I was quite late. Luckily my reward for the crappy start was a delicious pot luck lunch. After picking the girls up, we took advantage of the nice weather and played outside for a while. It’s hard to believe the cold, winter weather will be arriving soon – definitely have to soak up the warmer weather while we can! We had leftovers for dinner tonight, so it was a pretty low-key evening in the house. Eliza started getting pretty crabby as the night went on. We cuddled for a while, in fact she actually fell asleep on my lap…she’s been having a pretty hard time lately, so I think those last teeth are FINALLY coming in. Though, how many times have I said that now? Fingers crossed, this is finally it. My poor baby. Once the girls were settled into bed, I started catching up on some shows. Olivia woke up shortly after screaming and crying. She said she didn’t know why…she hurt, but didn’t know where. It was one of those “she’s awake, but not REALLY awake, so trying to hold an actual conversation with her is pointless” kind of moments. I ended up bringing her into bed with me for the night…but had a feeling that it would be a long night at that point...

Eliza was spending time with this guy today. Throwback to their playdate this time last year!

Friday was a rough morning, as last night was indeed a rough night. I came to the conclusion that Olivia is having some growing pains again, so she woke up a few times. A another point, I found Amelia in the hallway crying, because she had to go to the bathroom but “couldn’t find it”…ummmm, it hasn’t moved. And, of course, Eliza’s teething was a nightmare. With the long night, and slow morning…and two drop-off’s again, I of course was late for work again. Oh man, cannot catch a break! It was  along, quiet, rainy day today, which just made the day draaaaaag. I was the only person left in the office for a good portion of the afternoon. No bueno, ya’ll. No bueno. Luckily it was my “early” day, and I booked it out of there as fast as I could. I picked Eliza up from my mom’s, picked the big girls up from daycare, and we stopped at Target quick to get the big girls some Halloween shoes (technically, they’ll be Holiday shoes, but they’ll work for their Halloween costumes). Finally, we settled in at home. Olivia and Amelia were immediately at each other’s throats, bugging each other all night long, fighting about everything. Eliza was clingy and whiny – it was pretty much a nightmare as soon as we arrived home. Therefore, Christian was forced to stop and pick up some “cheer me up” Thai Food for dinner. My silver lining of having a hard day. With all of the drama, the girls were off to bed a little early, and I settled in with Hulu for the night, catching up on some shows. Some MUCH needed peace and quiet and alone time!

Saturday was a busy day. Shocker. Christian was off to work bright and early, while the girls and I spent the morning hanging out around the house. We had some breakfast, watched some movies, played for a while…we did some cleaning and picking up, the girls took a bath and Eliza went down for her nap. While she napped and the girls finished a movie, I started packing up for our evening. Christian was home earlier than usual, and one by one we started getting ready for the evening. Once Eliza was up and ready, we were off to our first event of the night…Zoo Boo at Como Zoo! We were so lucky to get some beautiful weather again this year. I took some pictures of the girls in their costumes before we made our way inside for the festivities. Seriously, it’s pretty lame…I don’t think I would ever actually pay to go to the event, but we end up getting free tickets every year. And, it’s something that I went to growing up, so it’s kind of a nostalgic thing. After making our way through, we loaded up in the van and were off to our friends’, John and Michelle, annual Halloween Party. The girls played with the other kids…video games, watched a movie, ran around like crazy…while we caught up with some friends and had lots and lots of laughs. It’s so rare we get to spend time with our friends these days, it’s such a welcomed relief. Eliza even got to have a little playtime with our friends’ little one, just a few months older than her, and it was so cute watching them wander around, copying each other. The big girls eventually passed out on the couch in the basement, and I was getting pretty exhausted, so we finally packed it up and made our way home. We arrived home at 11:00 and I swear, it felt like it was the middle of the night! Exhausted!!!! (and, old!)

Sunday was another pretty busy day. We actually got to sleep in a little big. Eliza and Amelia woke me up, while Christian and Olivia were still passed out. I woke up with a pounding headache, so I took some medicine and rested on the couch for a while. Olivia woke up short time later, so I got them settled in with some breakfast snacks and a movie while I  rested off my headache. I finally started feeling better, and got to work on the usual Sunday chores…picking up around the house, laundry, dishes. Christian’s lazy butt didn’t get up until almost noon….so, he was put on lunch duty. Eliza went down for a nap after eating, and the big girls played outside for a while, so we got a little peace and quiet. I continued working on laundry, finished some cleaning and watched the Vikings game. It started off rough, but ended up being an awesome game! The big girls and I ended up ditching Christian and Eliza, and spent a little time at Pah’s Market…they have little fall activities for the kids, and we buy any extra pumpkins that we need there every year. The girls played in the corn pit, ran through the hay maze and picked out some small pumpkins. They have a big pumpkin bounce house, and the girls were DYING to go in…then, we were told that Olivia was too big for it. WHAT?!? I cannot possibly have a child that is too big to do something…they are my babies, all of them, just BABIES! Needless to say, she was super upset about it (though, she did think it was pretty cool that she was too big, so that eased the blow a little bit). As upset as she was, Amelia was even more upset because I told her it would not be fair to let her jump, while Olivia sits there and watches. To compromise, we rushed off to swim class early, so they could play at the park for a while. After playing, and swimming, and showering, we picked up some dinner on the way home, and settled in for the night. The girls were up “late”, so I had to wait until the later showing of The Walking Dead this week. Christian couldn’t hang, so it was just me, myself and another super crazy episode to end the weekend. Man, I seriously love that show! Makes my heart race, every week.

Until Next Week! XOXO