2015 - Week 49

Week 49 – winter hit and we entered another month. The final month of 2015 – INSANE!

On Monday we woke up to snow. Lots and Lots of snow. Of course, that meant a LONG drive to work. It took me nearly 2 hours to drop the girls off and get to work. NO GOOD! I ended up leaving work a tad early, just in case traffic was terrible on the way home too. I also had to stop at the DMV to get new tabs for the car. DMV on the last day of the month – I don’t recommend it. There were some serious characters there, that’s all I know. I stopped home before picking the big girls up from daycare, to finish up, and order, our 2015 photobook and do a little cleaning up around the house. I picked the girls up around closing time, met up with Christian and Eliza at home…we had dinner, watched a movie and had a quiet night. Olivia stayed up late with us to have some hot chocolate with me before bed. Love that special one on one time with the kids every once in a while. FINALLY, time for bed. It ended up being a much more chaotic night than I expected.

Snow and the Lit Up House - starting to feel like Christmas around here!

Somebody was stealing sips of my hot chocolate tonight

On Tuesday we welcomed December, and I worked from home. They were predicting another night of terrible snow, and Olivia has an afternoon appointment, so I figured I’d get the most work done possible just working from home. Well, it didn’t end up nearly as bad as they thought, but I still got way more work done than I would in the office anyway. I picked Olivia up from school a little early for her latest eye appointment. Today they did a full exam, dilation and all. The muscle reaction they were concerned about seems to have corrected itself, so that was a relief, and the swelling she had is gone, so they are pretty sure all of the issues at her last appointment were related to her injury and/or the Iritis from a few weeks ago. No glasses and perfect sight, WHEW! We made our way home for a while and watched some TV, so she could relax on her own for a bit. They said dilation in kids’ eyes is a lot stronger than adults, and takes a lot longer to “recover” from. She started complaining of a headache as the evening went on, so she took it pretty easy. We picked the other girls up and met Christian at Perkins for “kids eat free” night, before settling in at home and heading to bed shortly after. Eliza is still completely miserable, and would not sleep for anything. She kept gagging from coughing and it just breaks my heart. Poor thing. Of course, December also marks the return of our elf, Buddy. Per usual, he arrived with some cookies and a note for the girls. They were so excited…and Eliza just wanted to get her hands on the treats!

Yay for a successful eye appointment!

Dinner with my favorite people.

Welcome, Buddy

On Wednesday, we were up and off to work. The girls and I are all super stuffed up and coughing like crazy. It’s starting – the winter horribleness and constant sickness. HATE IT! Eliza finally fell asleep for good last night around 2:30AM and then she didn’t want to get up, so I felt terrible forcing her out of bed so early. She was happy again once we got to daycare and she could snuggle up with her teacher though, so I think it will do her some good to be there and out of the house. All I know is, this house is beyond exhausted right now. Somehow, I ended up having a pretty productive day at work, illness and all. My workload is out of control again, and I feel like I’m constantly playing catch up. Then, I got a call from daycare in the afternoon. She didn’t need to be picked up, but they were really concerned about Eliza. She was wheezing in her sleep, looking pale and her cough was out of control. They weren’t sure what it could be, but wanted to let me know. I finished out the day, and we made our way right to Urgent Care after I picked the girls up. I was sure it was nothing, but better safe than sorry. They checked her over…strep test was negative, no ear infection or croup, lungs sounded good. Just a bad viral cold, getting her all blocked up and giving her a sore throat. It’s of course reassuring to know they don’t have anything serious going on, but sometimes it really sucks when there’s nothing you can do for them, except wait it out. For now, lots of clear liquids, a cool mist humidifier in her room and some Benadryl to help loosen things up and help her get some sleep. We arrived home at the same time as Christian, and had some dinner. Olivia started complaining that her stomach hurt, how she was SOOOOO tired and that her SUPER loose tooth was hurting her (but she “can’t” pull it out – and I won’t, teeth disgust me). Then, Amelia claimed that her tongue hurt and she was SO exhausted too. Seriously, they’re all a mess. Needless to say, it was a pretty early bedtime. For Buddy Day 2, he brought the girls their Christmas tree to set up and decorate. Funzies!

On Thursday, we all woke up exhausted again. The Benadryl didn’t seem to help Eliza too much. She still woke up a ton during the night, just miserable. But she was actually falling back asleep, which was a change. Hopefully every day is a little better. She was miserable again this morning, but, again, perked up once she got to daycare. I was off to work, another busy day that flew by. I stopped at Walmart after work to pick up our Christmas cards, and seriously, it was a NIGHTMARE! The do layaway and ship to store items at the same place as the photos, and it’s just terrible. I was in line FOREVER, and it seemed everybody else was there to pick up items, that were apparently nowhere to be found. So frustrating. Then, I finally checked out and arrived to daycare to find Olivia crying and upset. I was sure she had gotten in trouble, but as I got closer I could see a little cut on her face, right below her “good” eye, and the teacher informed me that another child had punched her in the face. Like literally punched her in the face. Apparently they were playing a game, Olivia was winning, and another little boy was upset, so he decided to pack up the game and put it away. When she tried to take it back, to continue playing, he threw the game cards at her and punched her. I’ve never been so upset before. After EVERYTHING she’s been through, the thought that something else much worse could’ve happened was just too much for me. I had the big girls pack up while I went to get Eliza from her room. There, I came upon the director, on the phone with the puncher’s parents and apparently it was not his first incident of the day. And, according to Olivia, the behavior was not out of the norm for him. We’ve encountered a few of these kids in the 4 years they’ve been there, and I get a little frustrated wondering “when is enough, enough?” We pay a lot of money for our kids to be in a safe, learning environment, and shouldn’t have to be worried about them being “assaulted” by kids that consistently act out in that way. I was relieved to hear them dealing with it though, and not just trying to brush it under the rug. Definitely helped me cool down a bit. I’m just thankful that I pick them up, and not Christian, because I can’t even imagine what he would have done/said! We finally settled in at home, and I was so over the day. Christian made dinner, we watched some Christmas movies on TV, the girls took their baths and we were all off to bed. Hoping for a better night! For Buddy Day 3, he showed up with the girls’ 2015 Christmas Ornaments.

Finally Friday arrived – man it’s been a long week! Eliza did indeed sleep much better last night, but she’s definitely still not herself. Poor thing. Now I’m pretty sure that I’ve caught it and seriously cannot breath. So gross. Winter – sucks! I dropped the big girls off at daycare – they don’t have school today (shocker) and Eliza off at my mom’s for the day. It was a quiet day at work, which was really nice. A lot of the office was out at training, so it was a productive end to the week. My mom stopped in with Eliza for a little afternoon visit, which is always nice. I also got a few “personal” things done today…sent our Christmas cards, booked Olivia’s birthday party and sent her invitations. Checking things off the list!! I picked Eliza up after work, and she was quite a handful. I think just exhausted – she didn’t nap too well today. Of course she passed out once I finally got her in the van and on our way. We stopped at Hallmark quick, picked the big girls up, and stopped home to change and get ready for gymnastics. While we were there, Christian arrived home and made dinner. We ate as soon as we got home and watched some TV movies before sending the girls off to bed. I caught up on  some Hulu before passing out myself. For Buddy Day 4, he brought the girls their 2015 Hallmark Singing/Dancing Snowman. I love those!

The cut from yesterday's punch. Thankfully it wasn't any closer to her eye.

On Saturday, we had a busy start to the day. I was up early, showered and got ready for the day. The girls were up, had some breakfast and got ready. I packed up some stuff, packed the big girls up in the van, and we were off. I dropped Chuy off at the vet first, for his 6 month check-up, we stopped at Target for a few things, and then were off to my friend Michelle’s for a Christmas Cookie baking party with some of her family and friends. The girls had fun helping, and watched some movies in between. I had a blast chatting and laughing and baking away, catching up with friends and getting a little break from the usual routine. Meanwhile, Christian hung out at home with Eliza – basically did nothing all day long. Shocker – multi-tasking is definitely not one of his skills. Once we were done baking like crazy, we packed up our goodies, I packed the girls up, and we made our way home for dinner, some movies and a quiet night. Christian left to have dinner and hang out with a friend for a while, so it was just us girls for the night. Eliza ended up falling asleep on my lap, which never happens, so the other girls cuddled up next to us and we watched “The Santa Clause” before bed. Once the girls were tucked in, I caught up on a few shows and was in bed pretty early myself. For Buddy Day 5, he made it snow inside. Very exciting!

Let It Snow!

Sunday was a pretty typical busy day around the house. I put up most of the Christmas decorations, which is always quite a task, and did some cleaning around the house. And, of course, laundry ALL DAY LONG. We had Breakfast, and Christian took Olivia with him on a tip to Menard’s. Eliza ended up taking a SUPER long nap, so Amelia and I worked on her “Star of the Week” stuff for school tomorrow. She started acting up, and got in big trouble. While throwing a fit on the couch, she ended up falling asleep and taking a nap as well. I swear, she’ll never grow out of needing to take a nap! While she slept, I worked on our giant mound of dishes, and then Olivia and I went on a target run. After getting home, unloading the van and putting everything away, I started dinner and helped Olivia with her homework. I finished dishes after dinner and finally settled in for the night. Eliza didn’t want to go to bed, so we cuddled for a while before she finally agreed to lay down. LOL – she’s the boss, that’s for sure. I couldn’t believe the weekend was already ending. Life is just way too crazy and chaotic! For Buddy Day 6 – he wrote little messages all over the bathroom mirrors. It was pretty funny listening to the girls when they woke up and found it. Funny guy!

Until Next Week! XOXO

2015 - Week 48

Monday was a pretty good, productive day. I’m really looking forward to the really short week this week. Two days of work, I can handle that!! But, with only two days to work, I definitely had to find some motivation to get stuff done! I made some appointments today that I’ve been putting off….dentist appointments for the girls, Chuy’s vet check-up, a check up for me. Check, Check, Check!!  Then, it was time to focus in on some work and plow through my inbox. After work, I met up with my mom at Sam’s club to get a few things for Thanksgiving, and then stopped at Target on my way home for some other final supplies. Other than some cleaning, we’re pretty much Thanksgiving ready – woot!!  I picked up the big girls from daycare, and we settled in at home. The girls played, I made some dinner, and them my back was just KILLING me. I don’t know what I did to it, but I barely left the couch the rest of the night. Christian was pretty much on duty, while I rested my back. Early bedtime for all tonight!

Tuesday was a pretty “boring” day. I did wake up from a FULL NIGHT SLEEP! Seriously, amazing. Just plain amazing. I can’t wait for the day that is case every single night. But, Eliza was craaaaaabby this morning. You’d think after a peaceful night she would have been happy as a clam. She’s not a morning person, that’s for sure! I was off to work for another busy day, getting as much done before 5 glorious days off. After work, I picked the girls up and we settled in for a standard night at home…some TV, some dinner, some baths and a quiet night.

Wednesday began my little vacation. This week is my “flex” week, but my flex day falls on Friday, a Holiday, so I moved it to today. And, bonus, I had the entire house, all to myself, ALL DAY LONG! Christian was off to work, the girls to daycare/school, and it was WONDERFUL! I dropped them off at daycare, had some breakfast and watched a little TV to start the day. Then, it was time to get to work. I finished cleaning and organizing the entire basement – hallelujah!! Next up, I got started on the living room, dining room and kitchen cleaned up. I was exhausted, and ready for a nap, but making amazing progress. I picked the girls up from daycare around closing time, and we had dinner as soon as Christian arrived home. We all worked together to clean up the girls’ room, and Christian worked on cleaning up the entryway. Olivia was fighting sleep tonight, so while the other two went down, she helped Christian start brining the turkey for tomorrow. While they did that, I finished up the kitchen and dining room, and finally settled in for the night. Exhausted, back REALLY killing me now, and I don’t think I’ve passed out that fast at bedtime in a LONG time. Tomorrow is going to be hectic and crazy, but we’re ready!

Amelia the Turkey, and Eliza the photobomber

Thursday came, and it was finally Thanksgiving!!! I have to admit, I don’t look forward to it as much as I used to. I used to LOOOOOVE Thanksgiving. The food, the family time, it was great. Even when we started hosting it, I really liked doing it. Now, I’m just too exhausted for it, and it feels like such an ordeal. Once we’re really into it and things start coming together I usually perk up a bit and start getting into the mood though. We had some breakfast and watched the parade to start the day, and one by one started getting ready. Christian was off to pick up a pie and find somewhere to fill the propane tank for the deep-fryer. Oops, probably should’ve checked that! Eliza took a nice long nap while we finished getting ready and did some final picking up around the house. I started the mashed potatoes (we have this GREAT crockpot recipe, which is really nice that it doesn’t take up any other space), Christian fired up the deep-frier and things were officially in motion. Christian’s parents showed up, and shortly after my mom. And finally, my sister in law and her family, complete with our new 2-week old nephew arrived. One by one each dish was cooked and ready to go, and as soon as the Turkey settled, we all plated up and started eating. OMG – so dang good! Clean-up actually went well this year too because I actually cleaned and washed dishes as we went – which is not my usual, so I felt totally on top of everything. Go me! After dinner, the kids resumed playing and yelling and destroying the house (8 kids plus a baby – whoa) and the adults watched some football and chatted for a while, exhausted from eating way too much food. I finally got some sleeping baby cuddles, so delicious. Finally, we had dessert, loaded everybody up with leftovers, and everybody started on their way home. We hung out with the girls for a little while before they were off to bed. After these last couple of days, you better believe we weren’t far behind! Exhausted!!

Eating some snow from the deck

So Thankful for these Beauties

Snuggling our new nephew.

Friday brought us a MUCH needed long, lazy, quiet day around the house. I did some very minor picking up throughout the day, and that’s just about it. The big girls were acting up so much today though – lazy days don’t really agree with them. Fighting, arguing, talking back, not listening. Just general “mom wants to rip her hair out” behavior. Ugh. Eliza was her usual crabby, clingy self as well. He’s been really burning up lately and not acting herself. She never has a fever, doesn’t throw up – nothing like that, so I really have no idea what’s going on. Like usual, I just jump to teething. I’m not sure why those last 4 teeth are giving her such a hard time – I wish they’d just pop through already! We had takeout for dinner, relaxed for a while, the girls were off to bed a little early. Christian went out for a while, for one of his friends’ birthday, and I was pretty excited to have the house all to myself for a while. MUCH needed peace and quiet. I’m just about done with our “2015 Photobook”, which was my main task – I just have to put in a couple photos from this weekend, and I’ll be ready to order. Whew! Otherwise, I spent the night catching up on Hulu. Perfect!

My fancy girl

On Saturday, we actually slept in a little. Love it when that happens! We hung out, watched some TV, and then Olivia and I were off to Target to get a few things. We had to get some cards and flowers for my dad and stepmom, checked out some of the sales, and got some groceries for “Turkey Taquito” night. We had breakfast with the family once home, and got some cleaning done. Christian was off to get a haircut, while Eliza went down for a nap. The big girls had lunch and watched “Home Alone”, and we all got ready for the day. My dad and stepmom stopped over for their annual birthday/anniversary dinner. We use the leftover turkey and make a TON of taquitos with it – I can’t even tell you how amazing they are. I drool just thinking about them! We chatted, ate, did some coloring and watched a movie. The girls are always excited to spend some time with their grandparents, and it’s always nice to catch up. After my parents left, the girls were off to bed, and Christian and I watched “Furious Seven” before I passed out. I seriously was in tears thinking about Paul Walker – it’s still so crazy to me. I loved the little tribute they had for him at the end of the movie. Very touching.

Birthday picture with Grandpa Scott

Turkey Taquito Night!

Sunday came WAY too fast. I couldn’t believe that Thanksgiving break was over already. Back to work tomorrow – gross. I slept in a little bit again today, while Christian woke up with the girls (well, laid on the couch opening his eyes once in a while, while they run around). I did some general cleaning and picking up around the house, made some breakfast, and the girls took some baths. Christian and I showered and got ready, and we were off. I wasn’t in the mood to set up our fake Christmas tree this year, so we decided to go for it and try a real tree. I’m not sure why I thought it sounded so much easier – but it’s not. It’s not easier AT ALL. We found a local tree farm, loaded up the van, and made our way there. Turns out, cutting down a tree isn’t THAT easy. And then, after you get it down, you have to somehow get it on top of your vehicle. We had to ask another family for some help there. And, holy crap it’s expensive!!! Next up, you get home, and you have to somehow get it into the house. We had to move the living room furniture around and take the gate off of the stairs, then pretty much drag it up to the living room. Finally, once in, you have to get it UP and INTO the tree stand. That was another ordeal. Good Lord, it was definitely quite the task. And, it’s HUGE. It pretty much takes up the entire doorway on that side of the living room. Oops! We did some vacuuming, Christian got the lights hung up while I watched a movie with the girls and got some dinner made, and finally, we let them load it up with ornaments. We finally finished around 8:00PM – it seriously took the entire day! Needless to say, the girls were right off to bed. I watched this weeks “The Walking Dead” episode, while Christian started “Jurassic World” – I caught bits and pieces, and the second half. Pretty good, but not sure what ALL Of the hype was about. TWD mid-season finale was not QUITE as crazy as usual, but it was still really great. I can’t wait for it to come back already! Finally, I was off to bed. The snow was on its way, so I already knew the drive tomorrow is going to be a nightmare. So it begins…

Picking out, cutting down, setting up and decorating the Christmas tree.

Until Next Week! XOXO

2015 - Week 47

Monday kicked off another week, in kind of a rough way. We had a very long night. I don’t know what was going on, but between my mind going a mile a minute, thinking about a million things, and the girls all having a rough night, there was little sleep going on. I drug myself out of bed to shower and get ready, beyond exhausted, and we got our day started. Olivia seems to be healing really well from her eye issues. Her eye is still kind of droopy, so I’m not exactly sure what’s going on there. I hope she didn’t cut a nerve or something horrible when she got her injury, but it seems weird that it’s still so out of whack. Christian was off to work, I dropped the big girls off at daycare, and then I took Eliza in for her 18 month check-up. She’s still soooooo crabby, just plain miserable, especially in the morning. And, we noticed that she’s been chewing through all of her pacifiers suddenly. I don’t know if it’s because she really doesn’t need them anymore, or if her teeth are bothering her. Maybe a combo, but now I’m terrified she’s going to choke on them. Ugh! She fell asleep on the way to the clinic, and ended up spilling her sippy cup of water all over herself. Of course, I had no extra clothes with me, so she was soaking wet the entire appointment. A+ parenting right there! The doctor was running late, as usual, but the check-up went well. She’s 92% for weight, 83% for height, so pretty much online with where she has been all along. She’s healthy, and perfect as can be developmentally. He was able to verify that she doesn’t have any pink eye going on, just a standard head cold, so that’s a relief. She got her flu shot and another vaccination, which she was NOT happy about, but now she’s done with shots until she’s 4, so that’s pretty awesome! Finally, I dropped her off at my in-laws for the day, and I was off to work. The day went by pretty fast, being late and so busy, it just flew by. I stopped at Walmart after work for a few groceries, picked the big girls up, and got some more laundry going. I never seem to finish it in one day anymore…too many clothes!!! I started dinner, and we ate as soon as Christian and Eliza arrived home. We did receive another e-mail today, from Amelia’s teacher, about ANOTHER incident. Today, she hit another kid in class. Apparently a little boy took her hand sanitizer, wouldn’t give it back and then threw it across the room…so, she got mad and hit him. So, we had to have a little chat about that tonight. I was sure to point out to the teacher “why did he have her property to begin with”, but it obviously doesn’t excuse her actions. Just another day of joy!! We’re getting some crazy rain right now, and of course, our sump pump clogged, so Christian and to go out in the rain and fix that. Always something to work on, that’s for sure. We finally got the girls to bed and relaxed for a little while before passing out. Eliza only woke up once tonight, so fingers crossed that she’ll finally be sleeping better soon!

Waiting for the doctor.

On Tuesday, Christian was off to work early. He’s starting to shift his hours up a little bit, to start transitioning to his overnight hours a little bit over the next couple of weeks. As soon as he left, I got up, got ready, got the girls up and ready, and we were on our way. Eliza was very clingy and upset this morning, poor thing. I’m guessing a shots and teething combo, and it’s NO FUN! Traffic was pretty bad today, a lot of standing water along the highway, and no end to the rain in sight either. So weird, mid-November and these crazy rain storms – definitely not normal. I picked the girls up after work, and we settled in at home. Eliza was still SUPER crabby and wouldn’t let me do ANYTHING. She’s drooling like crazy too – they’ve been keeping her in a bib at daycare, so while I’ve said it a million times, she has GOT to be teething. Poor thing. I whipped up dinner quick when Christian arrived home, we ate, watched some TV, did our reading, the usual. Amelia brought home her first “Book Bag” today, and she did SO WELL reading her book. It brought me back to last year and how exciting it was to see Olivia really reading for the first time, and just starting to learn. Now we get to do it all over again. I seriously think watching your kids learn and start to figure all of those things out (reading, math, sounding words out, spelling, etc.) is one of the greatest gifts of being a parent. It’s so amazing. Overall, the girls were so goofy and loud and crazy, full of energy and having fun, I think they’re definitely feeling better and we might actually be on the road to recovery in our house!

On Wednesday I woke up after a full, quiet, peaceful night of sleep. FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!! I swear, I didn’t think it would ever happen again. And, we were actually able to sleep in a little bit today, which is even better. I got up and ready, got the girls up and ready, and we were on our way. I dropped Amelia and Eliza off at daycare, and Olivia and I were off to her eye appointment. While things were healing well, the Urgent Care doctor still wanted her to be seem by an ophthalmologist just to be safe. We ended up with kind of a mixed bag of results from the doctor. Her actual vision is great, perfect, and there are no scratches or lingering issues from her injury or Iritis. So that’s GREAT! But, she felt like the swelling on her lid (likely causing the droopy look) is still pretty significant for how much time has passed, and the muscle reaction time of her eyes was a little off, so she’s concerned about a possible lazy eye. Of course, if that’s the case, she’d need glasses to correct it. We didn’t have time for them to dilate her eyes today, so the doctor asked us to come back in a couple of weeks to re-check the swelling, and do a full eye exam, dilation and everything. Now, pins and needs for a few more weeks. I just can’t wait to get the all clear on all of this eye stuff, or at least a plan of action if that’s not the case. After her appointment, I dropped her off to school for the day, and was finally off to work. Another pretty quick day going in late. After work, I picked the girls up, started dinner while the big girls watched a movie and Eliza cried and pulled at my pant leg the entire time I tried to cook. This kid…I know part of it is that she’s not feeling so great, but she also needs CONSTANT attention and entertainment. I wish we could figure out how to get her to entertain herself…play with her toys, do her own thing. I don’t remember the other two being like that, so clingy and disinterested in all of their stuff. It’s so weird. We finally ate dinner, got into our jammies and settled in for the night. Except for Christian…we discovered that between the chewed through pacifiers we threw away and the one (or two maybe) that were forgotten at daycare, we were out of pacifiers. AND, our main bathroom toilet isn’t flushing well, so Christian was off to get supplies to fix it, and a new set of pacifiers. Those damn pacifiers, they’re going to be the death of me! As soon as he arrived home, the girls were off to bed, he fixed the toilet and we passed out as well. It seems like it’s been a hectic week!

Ready for her 1st real eye doctor appointment!

I caught them taking selfies tonight. Oh boy!

On Thursday, we woke up after another rough night with Eliza. I SERIOUSLY wish I knew what was going on. She just seems way too old to have this hard of a time sleeping, I don’t get it. Teething, maybe still from her shots, a cold…I think it’s just this terrible storm of everything possible hitting her. It’s so hard to watch her so miserable and having such a hard time, and I am BEYOND exhausted! This time, Christian eventually took her out on the couch until she was passed out again. Sometimes he just has to take one for the team; overall he gets off pretty lucky. What seemed like much too early, we were up, getting ready, and out the door. I dropped the girls off at daycare and then I swear that I saw snowflakes as I pulled into work. SO NOT READY FOR THIS!!! I had a really busy day at work today, and we had an office meeting that took up ½ of it, so it was another quick day. I stopped at Target after work to pick up a few things for the house and some donation items for school, picked the girls up from daycare, and we settled in at home. We got homework done, had dinner, and a pretty quiet night. Eliza, of course, still super clingy and just not herself. I sure hope she shakes whatever is going on REALLY soon.

Sometimes we just have to put baby in the fridge, and let her figure out what she wants on her own. Drama!

On Friday, we were up and going. It did snow a little yesterday, so the girls needed their snow stuff for school…I packed all of that up, backed up their backpacks, my purse, Eliza’s diaper bag, and laded everything, and everyone, into the van. It seemed like I was packing up the entire house, goodness. It was a quiet day at work today, so I was able to get a ton done. Sometimes you just need those quiet days to buckle down and focus on your work. After work, I picked Eliza up, and stopped to pick up a “garage sale site” sale…a rollercoaster for Eliza, for Christmas. I CANNOT wait to see her ride this thing, it’s going to be so awesome! We picked the big girls up from daycare, stopped home to change and have a quick dinner, and we were off to gymnastics. Christian had to work really late tonight, she he wasn’t able to go. Luckily Eliza was really well behaved tonight, otherwise I think I would pull my hair out with how chaotic gymnastics is. The girls are doing really well, and I think they’re really going to pick up some skills fast. They are LOVING gymnastics, and I think it’s going to be really great for them. Christian picked up some dinner for us on his way home, and met us right about the same time we got home. The girls were off to bed a short time later, Christian passed out, and I spent a little time with Hulu before passing out myself. Finally the weekend!!!

The girls got some ribbons in the coloring contest at my work! Amelia, Honorable Mention for her age, and Olivia 1st Place for hers! Woot!! What a fun little keepsake for their baby books.

The twins had an ice cream party before bed tonight.

On Saturday, Christian was off to work, so the girls and I hung out around the house. We watched some movies, played some games and had a pretty good day just hanging out. No major incidents, no battles to the death, even Eliza was in a pretty good mood. Hallelujah, a happy day!! I worked on some dishes and did a little picking up around the house, and right after Christian arrived home from work, my in-laws stopped over with some food to grill. We chatted, ate, hung out for a while. Just a pretty low-key get-together. After they left, Christian was on dad duty, while I started Phase 1 of the basement cleanup…which is getting everything from upstairs, that belongs downstairs, downstairs, and then moving everything around back into it’s appropriate area/room (toy room, spare room, living room). While I worked on that, Christian got the girls to bed, and he left to go watch the fight with some friends. I was pretty exhausted by the time I finished moving stuff around, and my back was killing me, so I decided to work on Phase 2 another day. I settled in to watch some shows for a while, and I started on our “2015 Photobook”. I’m getting a late start on it this year, but hopefully I’ll have it done in time to take advantage of some “Cyber Monday” deals!

Leftover Thai today, and apparently baby is a fan.

On Sunday, we had a pretty early morning. The girls were not interested in sleeping in today, so chore day was off to an early start. I got laundry going, did some cleaning up around the house, worked on some dishes. The usual. Christian made a late breakfast, Eliza went down for an early nap, and one by one we all got ready. Today we had a PACKED day. First up, we were off to take our Holiday photo. We usually just visit Santa at the mall, and we usually just take a photo in front of the Christmas tree for our Christmas Cards. A girls I went to school with is a photographer, and every year she does this special Santa shoot…it’s pretty reasonable, and we decided to take advantage of that this year. Well, then it turned into chaos…I’d never been to her studio before, so I went by the address on her e-mail “signature”, which is a good 40 minutes from our house. Well, of course, we got there and it was “abandoned”. I did some internet searching and found out she had moved studios…and there was no way we’d made it there in time (another 20 minute drive). Luckily I got ahold of her, and she said she’d get us in as soon as we got there. So, we booked it there, finally found it, and we were in. Olivia and Amelia of course were ALL OVER it, so excited to see Santa and photo ready. Eliza didn’t cry or throw a fit or anything, but she was totally stone-faced the entire time we were there. She’d look back at Santa, then at the camera, then back. Over and over again. It was actually pretty funny. There was NO getting a smile out of her though. After the photo, we raced home so that I could drop Eliza and Christian off, pack a bag, get the big girls changed, and then race to a birthday party, that we were already late for. It was a swimming party, so they got right to it as soon as we arrived. Luckily they still had plenty of time to swim and play. Chaos!!!! Finally, after the party, we were off to their last swim class of the year. Both of the girls did really well. Olivia will stay in the same class, but I think she will for a while now that she’s in the intermediate classes. Amelia officially passed her Aqua Kids program, and she’ll be moving up to beginners with the big kids. She is SOOOOOO excited, it’s so cute. I’m so proud of how far they have come, they just love to swim, my little fish. We finally settled in back at home, and I was beyond exhausted. I wasn’t feeling very well, so I settled into bed with the iPad, watched The Walking Dead and passed right out. Christian got the girls ready for bed and tucked in for the night, but Eliza had another tough night. She cries and cries, not really an “in pain” cry, just miserable. She wouldn’t stay asleep for anything. I finally brought her into bed with me…after kicking me and punching me and rolling all over for a while, she FINALLY passed out and we got a couple hours of good sleep. I hate this bug that just won’t let go of her, my poor baby. Breaks my heart.

Until Next Week! XOXO