2016 - Week 12

This week brought us an overall pretty quiet, week. No appointments, no catastrophes and fairly minor illnesses. And, we kicked off some Easter festivities this weekend. Easter really sneaks up on your when it’s so early in the year!

On Monday, we were up and it, kicking off another week. I did “accidentally” oversleep a little, but with one less kid to get up, ready and dropped off, I made some pretty decent time into work. Woot! After dropping the big girls off at daycare, I settled into work for a long, boring day. I’m back into the total lack of motivation frame of mind, which sure makes the day drag on. I did get notice that Children’s Place is having a big sale right now, plus doing their Place Dollars promotion, so I took advantage and ordered some clothes for the baby. Seriously, the CUTEST stuff! I can’t wait to see it all. And, I’m excited for the Place Dollars – the big girls need some summer “play” dresses, so I’ll be able to save a bunch on those. After work, I picked Eliza up, and I was SOOOOO excited to see her after her night away. My baby!! We settled in at home, where Christian was back to his super lazy ways, just laying around. So, I went on strike and refused to cook anything. This has been a HUGE battle we’ve had since he started working overnights…the rest of the weeks, I understand his exhaustion, but he doesn’t work on Sunday’s, so he literally sits around the house all day long, doing nothing, so Monday nights I just will not stand for it. The big girls ended up going across the street to play with Olivia’s BFF, Bella, for a while, so once Christian was ready and off to work, it was just Eliza and me for a bit. I called the girls home, heated up some leftovers for dinner, and it was basically time for bed. I was so exhausted, I wasn’t far behind. I just can’t seem to catch any energy at all this pregnancy.

Happy to snuggle my baby again.

On Tuesday, I woke up just completely drained after a horrible night of sleep. On top of that, I had a headache, my stomach was turning, and things just were not looking good. I ended up calling in, and taking the day off to rest and hopefully feel better. I did go back to sleep, but ended up REALLY oversleeping, and had to rush to get the girls up and ready and off to daycare. Oy! After that chaos, I relaxed on the couch pretty much all day long. I did some Hulu watching between dozing off, and managed to fold a little bit of laundry, but that was really about it. I ended up picking the big girls up from school (usually Christian’s job), and we stopped at Target to pick up some groceries and a few things for the house. We finally picked Eliza up and settled in at home. The girls did their homework while I got dinner started and put everything away and Christian got ready for work. We ate, watched a little TV, and had a lazy night. The girls went to bed a tad early tonight, so I had a nice, quiet evening to myself. This lazy day was seriously just what the doctor ordered!

Got this bad boy on sale for 1/2 off!! Been getting some great deals on the baby stuff we need!

This face. She asks me "mommy, you wanna play?!" OF COURSE!!!

On Wednesday, I was back to work. No fun! But, I had a TON of stuff to catch up on after being out, so the day really flew by. I’ve been doing a pretty good job of staying on top of everything, but of course everything seems to suddenly hit the one day I’m gone. There’s specifically a ton of chaos around this program that I’m working on, that HAS to be put in place before I go on maternity leave, so that’s causing me a ton of anxiety (which of course is great for pregnancy). We had a taco potluck lunch at work today, which was super delicious, but of course I felt like complete death afterwards. Ugh, I just cannot really each much of anything. I guess it’s not a terrible issue, but hopefully I’m at least getting some nutrition that baby needs. After work, I picked Eliza and hung out at home for a bit, before picking up some drive-thru for the rest of the family for dinner…I just couldn’t stomach the thought of eating anything after the big lunch. Christian was off to work, and we girls had a quiet night before bed.

21 Weeks, 5 Days. Cruising right along!

Thursday was FINALLY my Friday, and another crazy busy day. My supervisor offered up my services a couple of weeks ago to help out another office who is “too swamped” to keep up on their contracts. While the contracts are actually pretty easy and quick, compared to a lot of what we do in our office, it’s still a lot of work to take on. Well, today, they asked if we’d do some more for them. Again, not a big deal, but I mentioned to my supervisor that I could see this happening and that she had to keep in mind that I’m going to be going on leave “soon” and it might not be a precedent that she wants to set. I guess that will be their issue to deal with when that time comes though. On top of that extra work, trying to keep on top of my work workload, and a long afternoon meeting to end the day, it was an exhausting one. After work, I picked Eliza up, and as soon as we arrived home, she threw the biggest, most massive tantrum that I’ve ever seen. For no apparent reason. I feel like the terrible-two’s are definitely setting in! I had a bit of a rough night…I was exhausted and having terrible leg cramps. I’ve had them with every pregnancy, but this time it’s so much worse, and seems to be happening a lot sooner. I’ve been getting them literally from my toes up to my knees – the worst in my ankles. Which, makes it really hard to “walk them out” like I would usually do. I ended up resting on the couch most of the night, while the girls played and Christian made some dinner and got ready for work. I managed to get the girls bathed and off to bed, and relaxed with some Hulu before passing out for the night. I have a pretty long 4 months ahead of me at this rate…although, this entire pregnancy has been pretty rough really.

Ready for some St. Patrick's Day!

I can't believe how much older they all look in just one years time!

Eliza was snuggling with the baby tonight.

Friday was my day off, which is always the best thing ever. I got up with the girls, got them ready, and we were off to daycare. It was picture day, so I had to get Eliza ready and in for her pictures. She is getting WAY better about taking pictures, but is still leery of actual photographers…but, she did pretty well. Then, she threw a massive fit about having to leave with me and go home. I seriously debated going back in to find out how much it would cost to leave her there for the day. I finally got her out to the van and buckled in, and she continued to sit at the door crying for a good 30 minutes once home. She eventually calmed down…we had some breakfast, played with some toys and had a fun morning. Christian ended up helping his friend, Lorenzo, fix something on his car before going to bed for the day. Eliza took a nice long nap, so I watched some shows, paid bills and played on the computer for a while. Some much needed, quiet, alone time! I eventually left to pick the big girls up from school…who came out with massive piles of paper and artwork from doing their “spring break” clean up. My Lord, the paper!!! We settled in at home for a while, while Christian showered and got ready, then were off to Old Chicago for dinner. It was a complete madhouse, we were seated next to a table with a young child, maybe 18 months or so, who was just SCREAMING the entire time they were there, and I was beyond annoyed with the entire experience. The girls were off to bed shortly after we arrived home, until Eliza woke up screaming and crying around 11:00. She does still wake up here and there, so I’m trying really hard to let her get herself back to sleep (so hopefully it doesn’t happen as often once the baby is here), but she just would not. Christian finally went in to check on her, and she had thrown up all over her crib. Ugh, guilt trip city!!!! He got the crib stripped, and we got her in the bath to clean up. We sat with her on the couch for a while…she seemed perfectly fine, content as can be, and wanted to go back to bed, so Christian started to bring her back to bed when, sure enough, she threw up again. I don’t get it…she seemed totally normal otherwise, so I have no idea what could be bothering her. After cleaning her up again, she laid on the couch with me, and finally fell asleep. We finally brought her to bed around 1:00AM, and had a rough night waiting on edge to see if she made it through. Poor baby, it’s so heartbreaking to see them not feeling so well.

Late night cuddles, poor thing.

On Saturday, we were up and at it pretty early. I was busy doing some cleaning and picking up around the house, while the girls played and entertained themselves. Eliza did have one more throw-up incident, but otherwise seemed perfectly fine. She was happy, playing, running around, totally normal. It’s so strange! I had the girls clean their room, while I cleaned up the kitchen and living room, and Christian cleaned the entryway. It’s so nice when we can get the house back into halfway decent living conditions! After some breakfast and getting ready, we were off to the mall for our Easter Bunny visit. Our timing was perfect…the bunny was on his short break, so we were first in line waiting for him to return. The girls were so excited to see him….Eliza went running up to him first to give him a big hug. It was so dang sweet! After our photo op, Christian took the girls back to the van, while I stopped into Build a Bear quick and grabbed a snack. Build a Bear just started doing a line of Care Bears, and I thought it would be super cute to “collect” those for Eliza…so, I wanted to get her one for her Easter basket. They ended up being on sale, 2 for $35 (vs. $25 each), so I got a second one to give her for her birthday in May. Woot! I finally met back up with the family, and we made our way home. We had lunch and relaxed for a while, before packing up and heading to our friends’, John and Michelle, house for the night. They invited us over for a “make your own pizza” night and some time to hang out and catch up. The big girls watched some movies and took over their basement, while Eliza and our other friends’ little one, Britney, made fast friends and played the night away, and the adults had a blast catching up. Such a fun night! We finally packed it up and left around 10:00…all of the girls passed out immediately, and were straight off to bed once home. I watched a little TV, but was off to bed shortly after myself. Hoping for an uneventful night, and that that our late night would result in a late morning!

We're off to see the bunny...

Pizza making fun!

Sunday was a pretty busy day for us. We did indeed sleep in, but I had to jump out of bed around 9:00 to shower and start getting ready for the day. The girls were up shortly after, so I got them settled in with some breakfast while I finished getting ready and packing up for the day. First up, we were all off to my mom’s house to make a little Easter snack together. After decorating, some nail painting and playing, we were all off to have lunch together. All of the girls were acting up at lunch, and I was getting so overwhelmed. They usually do really well when we’re out to eat, but they were all just getting on each other’s nerves, and not listening to anything we said. Once the good came, they finally calmed down a little, but it was still a completely frustrating event. After lunch, we dropped my mom off back at home, and were on our way. Olivia and I ran to the store quick for a few things, while the rest of the house settled in at home. I got some laundry going, we watched some movies, and we spent some time dying our Easter eggs. Eliza got in on the action a little more this year; she’s still completely untrustworthy though. I did some cleaning and continued laundry throughout the night, and we watched some movies, relaxing while doing our eggs. We had leftovers for dinner and the girls played for a while, while I watched “The Walking Dead”. The girls were off to bed, and we were saying goodbye to another weekend. The girls are heading into spring break this week, and will be at daycare all week long. It makes me really nervous after the recent issues they’ve been having with the other kids there, but I’m hoping we can just survive this week with little to no incident.

Until Next Week! XOXO

2016 - Week 11

This week was the BIIIIIIIIG week…finally having our big anatomy scan, and finding out if surprise little Duran is a boy or girl! And, nothing could even touch the excitement of that.

Right away Monday, it was the big day. Ultrasound day!!! We were up and at it, as usual, and I dropped the big girls off at daycare on my way to work. I got a little work done, while Christian got ready and dropped Eliza off at his parents’ house for the day, and picked me up for the appointment. Off we went, so very anxious. We checked in, and when the tech came back to get us, I was quite surprised to realize that I knew her…we went to school together! What a small world. So, she made the scan extra fun – she explained everything she was doing and looking at very thoroughly and it was just a little extra comforting. The scan went great…baby was SUPER active, moving non-stop, which I think was actually helpful because she got shots of everything she needed. Everything looked perfect, baby was growing great, and they didn’t have any concerns. I don’t feel the baby move very strongly yet, but there’s kind of a constant “swimming” feeling going on, and after seeing it for myself, I’m thinking the level of activity plays into my constant nausea. Once the officially scan was over, she turned the screen away from us to search for baby’s sex. We felt pretty confident because she appeared to have found it pretty much right away, which was a relief. She snuck off to put the information in an envelope for us, while the OB came in to go over the scan and let us know exactly how everything was looking. We got the all clear, got our secret envelope, and we were off.

Christian dropped me off back at work, but I could barely concentrate the rest of the day. I was SOOOOO anxious to get home for our little reveal with the kids. Our friend Gini stopped by my work to grab our reveal box and the envelope, and stopped to fill it up at the party store for us. I FINALLY left work a tad early to pick Eliza up…who was sleeping, and very angry that I woke her up. By the time we arrived home, Gini was there, ready to go, and Christian had picked the big girls up from school. We set everything up, and got right to it…and…

I couldn’t believe it!!! When I saw those blue balloons pop out of the box, I was in complete shock. Amelia was so upset that there wasn’t actually a baby in the box, which was quite hilarious, and Eliza was pretty much only interested in getting ahold of some balloons. Olivia was the first to finally realize that the blue balloons meant we were having a boy, and then she was ecstatic! It was so sweet. Christian, of course, is OVER THE MOON, so excited to finally have his boy. I’m in shock, and not quite sure what the heck we’re going to do with a boy, but it’s going to be an amazing adventure. AHHHHH, so exciting!!! We let our parents know right away, and they were all just giddy with excitement, and then shortly after posted the big announcement on Facebook. I was going to wait until tomorrow, but much to our surprise, our family and friends were all just DYING to know what the baby was, which seriously warms my heart, and they were all so happy and excited. My biggest fear when we found out about this little hitchhiker was that we would get a lot of negative comments from people about having 4 kids, but it hasn’t been that way at all. Seriously makes life much easier when the people around you truly support you. Shortly after the big reveal, my mom arrived, with some pizza for dinner, so we ate and chatted and hung out. Our friend/neighbor Sara stopped over with her kids to visit for a bit and congratulate us on the big news, so it was pretty much pure chaos all evening. Gini made her way home, Christian was off to work, and the girls and I, with my mom following behind, were off to gymnastics. It was their last class of the session, which they are NOT happy about, at all, and the place was a madhouse! Their class is at a high school, and the school had some kind of concert going on, and parking was insane. Eliza was seriously a handful, and quite frustrating, so it was helpful to have my mom there with us this week. My mom left for home after class, and we finally settled in back at home. The girls watched their videos for a few minutes before bed, and I worked on editing some pictures from the big reveal. I was seriously still in shock, even looking at the pictures. A BOY!!!!!!

On Tuesday, we were all up and at it, still pretty much on Cloud 9. It seems so crazy to be over the halfway mark of this pregnancy, to know what we’re having…just to even be going through all of this again. It’s just insane. You really never know for sure where your life journey is going to take you. I dropped the girls off at daycare, and settled into work. One of my co-workers made a yummy reveal cake for us to have this morning, so the rest of the office could find out what baby Duran was. We cut right into it around 8:30AM…I mean, cake for breakfast, why not?! Everybody was so excited, it was really sweet. I started working at my job almost 15 years ago…and my mom worked there before me, so I’ve known some of my co-workers since before I even started here. I’ve always been like the “baby” of the office, so I knew everybody would be really excited about the news. It was pretty awesome! My mom also brought in some onesies she picked up at the store the other day, “just in case”. Seriously…the baby, the only boy, this guy is going to be SPOILED! After Eliza grew out of it, I sold our infant car seat to my coworker, for her grandkids, but she never ended up using it. So, I bought it back from her, and she brought that in for me today too. It was quite a baby day. I wasn’t feeling too well in the afternoon….feeling overheated, had a headache, and just exhausted. I went down to our “quiet room” to take a rest, but it was in use, so I decided to see how the weather was outside. It’s been really nice out, but thankfully there was a nice cool breeze, which felt amazing. After sitting outside, cooling off and resting for my afternoon break, I made my way back to my desk to finish out the long, slow afternoon. After work, I picked Eliza up, and we settled in at home. Olivia and her BFF Bella were playing downstairs, so Eliza made her way right down to play with them. Christian was getting ready for work, Amelia was watching some Netflix, and I cuddled up next to her for a while. It was a pretty quiet night…reading, dinner, relaxing, and bedtime. After yesterday’s chaos, it was a good thing.

Some onesies my mom picked up for baby!

The reveal cake at work. YUM!

On Wednesday, we were all off on our day, as usual. Most of my office was away today (and tomorrow) at our annual conference, so it’s that time of year again, when I have to turn my customer service switch on. NO FUN, but I do enjoy the overall quietness and being able to get really caught up on my work. Which was exactly what I did. I did leave a tad early to run some errands….I had to stop at Walmart for a few groceries, at school to pick up the girls’ fundraiser stuff, and then finally at daycare to pick up Eliza. Finally, I unloaded the van (including the car seat from yesterday and some other random stuff that had been piling up), and hit the couch. Christian made dinner, we all ate together, and he was off to work. I played with the girls for a while and we had a pretty quiet night before bed.

I also finally remembered to snap Eliza's monthly photo. As of 3/7/16, she's 22 months old, 29lbs and 3" tall. She's such a busy little bee, and getting SOOOOO close to TWO! She is talking up a storm these days, picking up new words and phrases every day. And, seeming to really understand just about anything we say to her, or ask her to do. She's no baby anymore ya'll! She never, ever, EVER stops moving, never stops talking and is pure entertainment. She's remained pacifier free, for well over a month now, and she's almost off of sippy cups completely. She's still in 24 month (and some 2T) clothing, so she doesn't seem to be growing quite as rapidly these last couple of months. She's so funny (and she'll tell you so), super picky, and by far the boss of this house. She's now responsible for feeding the dog, which is quite an entertaining process.

On Thursday we had a really slow-going morning. This whole week has just been a nightmare trying to get up in the morning. Just feeling so exhausted for some reason. With everybody still off at the conference, it was another quiet and productive day. Well, quiet with the exception of our resident all-day, every-day cougher, who drive me absolutely insane, and seriously tries my ability to control my pregnancy hormones. But, I really made a ton of headway on my inbox, and even caught up on a lot of that random crap that I put off for as long as possible. Success! Christian had to work early tonight, so he was pretty much off to work as soon as Eliza and I arrived home. So, we girls watched some movies, and American Idol, had dinner, relaxed and we were all off to bed early. Need to catch up on some sleep!!!

Friday FINALLY arrived, and it could not have happened any sooner. The big girls didn’t have school today, so they spent the entire day at daycare. After last week’s incident, I was pretty nervous about this all day long, but they ended up having a great day. And, I was able to hear more about the behavior system they’ve put in place, which makes me feel a lot better. The weather today was AMAZING!!!!!!!!, so I think they spent a ton of time running around outside, which probably helps. At work, everybody was back, and the office was back to the usual hustle and bustle and chaos. The day went pretty fast, and I’m seriously the most caught up that I’ve been in probably YEARS, so I’m feeling quite successful right now. After work, I picked Eliza up from my mom’s, picked the big girls up from daycare, and we settled in at home. Christian was just getting up for the day, so he hopped in the shower right away, and we debated what to do for dinner for quite a while. We finally decided to head to Buffalo Wild Wings, so we loaded up the van and were on our way. It was crazy busy, and it took FOREVER to get our food. Like, people who had come in after us were getting there food well before us. After our food finally came, Christian “complained” to the manager (not about our server or anything specific, just about the overall slow service). I HATE complaining at restaurants and it seriously mortifies me, but they ended up taking off about ½ our bill, so I guess it was worth it. After dinner, we settled in at home and watched some TV before the girls were off to bed. Christian hung out in the garage with his friend, Lorenzo, for a while, so I caught up on some Hulu before passing out myself. Today I turned “21 weeks”, and I seriously can’t believe how fast this is going. I’ve been feeling baby more and more every day this week…still very “fluttery”, not a ton of power kids yet, BUT, I actually felt my first kick from the outside today! I can tell that this guy is definitely going to be quite active, that’s for sure.

On Saturday, we were up and at it early. We hung out, had some breakfast, and I did some cleaning up around the house. Christian showered, while I got the girls ready to go, and we were off to swim class. This week also marks the last class of their swim session, and while I LOVE watching them do their activities, I’m really looking forward to taking a few weeks off and getting a break. This pregnant mama is EXHAUSTED! The girls did really well, and both ended the class working on some diving. Both of the girls ended up passing their session…but, I’m not comfortable moving Amelia up yet, so she’ll be staying in the same level, unless they choose to move her once class starts up in a few weeks. She’s getting better every week, but still seriously lacks endurance. After class, the girls showered, got dressed, and we made our way home. We played outside for a while, and Christian spent pretty much the rest of the day cleaning up the garage and getting things moved around and tidied up. My mom arrived around 1:30 to pick the big girls up for an overnight, so it was a pretty quiet night with just little Eliza in the house. While Eliza napped, Christian took a break from garage—duty and took the car in for an oil change. While he was in the area, he stopped to get the tires rotated at our tire place, and sure enough, just our luck, they said the van needs two new tires. UGH!!!! Not what I was in the mood for, at all. Eliza had a tough time napping today, she woke up yelling a few times, so my alone time was quite limited. The evening was pretty lazy though…we played outside some more and watched some shows before Eliza went down to bed, and I really wasn’t too far behind her. Of course, the dreaded daylight savings time is tomorrow, and we’ll unfortunately be springing forward, so I figured I better not stay up too late.

Swimmers!!!

She was walking around with little balloons all day, looking just like mommy. LOL

Sure enough, Eliza was up BRIGHT AND EARLY on Sunday. Damn it, daylight savings! So, we did some cleaning up around the house, I started some laundry, and we had a super lazy morning. Christian and I watched a movie before the big girls arrived home around noon. My mom would’ve kept them later, but they both had a bit of homework to do, and of course, we’re procrastinators and didn’t do any of it Friday or Saturday. Amelia and I were off to Walmart to grab some crafting supplies for the “leprechaun trap” she needed to make for school. We got right to work when we arrived home, while Christian showered and was off to the store with Lorenzo to get some grilling supplies. Olivia had 3 worksheets to do for class, so we let her spread them throughout the evening. My in-laws arrived around 2:30 to grill and hang out for the late afternoon. The weather wasn’t as nice today, but still quite survivable. The girls rode their bikes and scooters and got in a lot of outside time before we ate and settled in for the night. My in-laws ended up taking Eliza for an overnight (they watch her on Monday’s, so it works out), and I was seriously on the verge of tears all night long. My sweet baby, and her first night away from me. So hard. Christian was off to watch the soccer game at a friend’s house, while I got the big girls off to bed, finished up some laundry, and watched “The Walking Dead”. When I settled into bed, I used my doppler to check in on baby, and he seriously did not like that. He runs away from the doppler every time, and it cracks me up. But, it definitely woke him up big time, because he was kicking like crazy. I could actually see the kicks, one after another. So cool!! He’s getting so strong, so fast!

Working on Amelia's leprechaun trap. I hate crafting...

All done!!

Until Next Week! XOXO

2016 - Week 10

Week 10 of 2016! So crazy. This week marked the halfway point for this pregnancy – I can’t believe how fast this is all going, this baby is going to be here in no time! I spent the week still battling some nausea and appetite issues, I had my stress-inducing echo, a big issue with Olivia at school and just about every random thing you can think of. What an interesting week….

On Monday, I woke up dragging after a really crappy night of sleep. I’m beginning to accept the fact that pregnancy insomnia is start to rear its ugly head. No fun!! But, we were all up, ready, and off for the day. I dropped the big girls off at daycare, Eliza off at my in-laws and settled in for a pretty low-key day at work. After work I picked Eliza up, and we arrived home just as Christian was finishing up dinner. We ate, and rushed to get ready for gymnastics…and just as we were getting in the van, I started feeling really sick. Sure enough, I rushed to the side of the van and threw up. Seriously, this is NEVER going to end! The big girls were already in the fan, but I hadn’t gotten Eliza loaded up yet, so she stood back behind me, asking me if I was OK. Poor thing, I hate when they see me sick. No rest for the weary though…off to gymnastics we went. Thankfully I was otherwise feeling OK, and didn’t have any more issues (and, thankful it happened before we hit the road, or got there). Eliza was quite a handful tonight, not listening and running onto the mats where she’s not allowed. It was really frustrating, and I get so embarrassed. Toddlers, they’re super fun! After class, we settled in at home and relaxed for a little while, before the girls were off to bed for the night. I wasn’t far behind.

On Tuesday, I was up after another terrible night of sleep. On top of that, my stomach was turning flips all morning. I showered, and still wasn’t feeling any better, probably worse, so I called in late to work so that I could rest for a while. I finally started feeling a little better, and was able to get up and ready for the day. The girls woke up shortly after, so I helped them get ready, and we loaded up into the van. Then, all hell broke loose at daycare, because I wouldn’t let Eliza sneak her handful of Shopkins into daycare. Ugh. She usually grabs some random blanket or stuffed animal, which is fine, but I couldn’t let her take choking hazards in with her, so she threw the biggest fit! In addition to that, since we were late, she went right to her classroom, instead of the baby room, so she wasn’t with Miss Barb. DRAMA!!!! Thankfully, there weren’t any babies there yet, so Miss Barb came out into her room and held her until she calmed down. Seriously, she has the world wrapped around her super dramatic finger!  It was a really hectic day at work, one issue after another, and the days are already starting to feel long and exhausting. I have a LONG 4+ months ahead of me if I’m already feeling so drained. So looking forward to maternity leave…already. I picked Eliza up after work, and we settled in at home. My stomach was still bothering me quite a bit, so Christian and the girls just had some leftovers before he left for work. We watched some TV, relaxed and had a pretty quiet night. The girls were off to bed a little early, and while I TRIED to put myself to bed early as well, I just couldn’t fall asleep. Seriously, LOOOOOOONG 4+ months to go.

On Wednesday I was up and at it, much better than the last few days. I slept a bit better, I was feeling quite a bit better, and the world seemed much more doable. The girls and I were up and ready, and off for the day. Eliza was extra tired and crabby, but we survived. I left work early today for my echo appointment. While I’m not concerned, and I was actually “cleared” years ago, during my first pregnancy, they decided they would rather be safe than sorry, and have me screened again. And get back on an every-three-year schedule anyway. Of course, while I don’t really worry about anything changing, it’s still a pretty stressful thing to go through. Luckily it went much faster than I anticipated, so I still arrived home at about the same time as usual. However, while I was in the waiting room, my phone rang. I debated answering, since I would be called back any time for my appointment, it was the girls’ school, and I knew I couldn’t ignore it. I answered, and sure enough, it was Olivia’s teacher calling to discuss an “incident” that occurred this morning. This proceeded into a series of conversations throughout the night, in order to piece together the entire story.

-        First, my conversation with her teacher. She said that there were a few versions of the story going around, but that this morning Olivia came rushing into class, crying and noticeably upset. She said that while getting off the bus, she had been punched in the face by a little boy (from daycare). That apparently some of the girls that go to daycare together have been having a hard time getting along together…bothering each other, bickering, just driving each other crazy. And it escalated today on the bus, to the point of some of the other girls’ little brother punching her in the face, “seemingly unprovoked”. She wasn’t sure what really started it all, but heard it was over who was going to sit with Amelia on the way to school. She said all of the kids involved had spent some time talking with the counselors at school, discussing what happened and how to move forward. Her teacher said that Olivia and one of the little girls, who is in her class, have been having a lot of issues lately – just not getting along and bothering each other. Of course, now this whole thing sat with my through my entire appointment, and I was so upset and anxious to get home and get the next piece of the story.

-        Next up, I arrived at daycare, and thankfully the assistant director was still there. I asked her if she was aware of the issues on the bus this morning, and she took me into the office to discuss. She had talked to the bus driver and had a little more to what started it all (this morning anyway). The kids were all playing tag on the playground before school, and while they were playing together, they was some teasing and pestering going on. One of the other girls started telling Olivia that she was going to sit with Amelia on the bus and wouldn’t stop bothering her. They eventually loaded up and were on their way to school, and Olivia and Amelia sat together (which I would assume is pretty typical). Once they got off the bus, the other girls’ brother punched her in the face. The bus driver got off and brought him back on the bus to separate them and talk to him, while Olivia went off to school. The director said that two of the other kids had been written up (which leads me to believe that Olivia really didn’t do anything to provoke it, since I didn’t receive anything for her). I know this group of kids gets in trouble quite often, but the little boy especially has been a lot of trouble. He’s now hit both of the girls (he’s actually in Kindergarten, Amelia’s age), he’s been suspended from the center, he is just a violent, bad kid. This pushed me to get into a conversation about his behavior, and how they’re dealing with it, and discuss some of the other issues Olivia and Amelia have expressed to me over time (the things these kids will say and do, the name-calling and bullying they’ve described to me). They said he’s on a behavior plan and they do everything they can, but that after this incident, they’re going to meet to come up with some more plans of how to move forward. I mean, it’s something, but doesn’t really make me feel better. After our talk, I grabbed Eliza, and made my way home.

-        Once home, I immediately made my way to the girls’ room to talk with Olivia about what had happened. I didn’t really say much…I wanted her story, I didn’t want to prompt anything. So, from the beginning, she said they were playing tag on the playground before school, and the other kids weren’t playing nice, and were calling her names. She didn’t want to play with them anymore, so one of the girls (older, in her BFF Bella’s class) started telling her that she’s going to sit with Amelia on the bus to school, and how she’s Bella’s BFF now, not Olivia, and they’re going to have sleepovers and not invite her. Just typical “mean girl” kind of stuff, nothing Olivia can’t handle. She brushed it off, went about her business, and they eventually got on the bus to school. She said she sat with Amelia, and the other kids sat behind her, kicking and pushing their chair the entire way to school. I asked her what they did, and she said they didn’t say anything, they just sat there. She said at one point the boy who eventually punched her, hit her in the back of the head. Then they finally got to school, got off the bus, and he ran up and punched her in the face. She did say that at that point she “threw him to the ground” (which, sorry, I laughed about. Sorrynotsorry, he deserves it) to stop him from hitting her again. She said the bus driver took him back on the bus, and the other kids (mostly his sisters and cousins) were teasing her, because she was crying, telling her to stop acting like a baby, and “just stop crying already”, and that’s when she ran off to class. She seemed to be handling everything OK, but she was clearly upset about the things that have been going on. I think a lot of the shift has happened since she stopped going to the center in the afternoons – like she’s being “left out” now (Amelia doesn’t really seem to be affected by any of it).

-        After talking with her, I chatted with Amelia just a little, to see what she said. I asked her if they were doing anything, or saying anything, when all of this was going on, and she said no, they were just ignoring it, and didn’t say anything. I asked her what she was doing while all of this was going on, and she just said “nothing”. So, I told her that she needs to stand up for her sister when people are bothering her, just like Olivia does for her. She said “well, I went right over to her after he hit her and asked her if she was OK”. LOL.

After piecing everything together, I sent a very lengthy e-mail to the director at daycare, and Olivia’s teacher. I basically just summed up the entire story, and went on to explain my issues and reservations with this other group of kids (more so with daycare, since it involves more kids and interaction there than at school). I told them I’m not comfortable with my girls being around these other kids anymore – that I don’t want them playing with them, talking to them, hanging out with them. That it’s becoming more and more of a concern, that I can see the way things are escalating with them, and I’m honestly worried for my girls’ safety at this point. I have all of this anxiety over sending them to daycare, or school, at this point, and the entire thing has me all emotional. You hear about the things that go on these days…the things kids do and say, the way they bully each other and push other kids to their emotional limits. And with so many of “them” vs. my two girls (there are 4 siblings, plus 3-4 cousins), I can just see them all ganging up on Olivia and/or Amelia one day, and something violent happening. Sure, maybe I’m over exaggerating, but I’ve watched the way things have escalated to this point, and my fears are getting the better of me. Thankfully, they’ll only be at that daycare for 3 more months. We just need to survive 3 more months! At this point, I was all worked up and upset, and exhausted from all of the drama. We ordered some pizza, ate, and settled in for the night after Christian left for work. And, eventually, we were all off to bed early. What an exhausting night!

Here's this week's baby picture (19w5d)

On Thursday, we were up and at it, and it was FINALLY my Friday!! It’s been a hectic week at work – lots of issues and weird things popping up, so my brain is totally ready for the weekend! In addition, with the issues at daycare/school yesterday, I just feel like my mind and hormones have been on overdrive. I’m not going to lie, I was SUPER nervous dropping the girls off this morning, but by the time I arrived at work, I already had a response message from the director, which made me feel a lot better. She validated a lot of my concerns, understood where I was coming from, and went over some of the changes they’re putting in place. She was going to drive their bus for a while, to keep an eye on things, and they were going to have assigned seating, with Olivia and Amelia right up by the driver. She said they were going to implement more behavior tracking and discipline plans, and keep an eye on things. I reiterated my desire to have them separated, and she seemed to understand. Later, at lunchtime, she did e-mail me again with an update of how the morning went, and she said everything was smooth and they didn’t have any issues. She did say that at drop-off, the other kids’ mom had them apologize to Olivia, which was nice to hear (but, doesn’t change my opinion). Olivia’s teacher responded to my e-mail later that day, and let me know that things had been going OK at school, and that Olivia and the girls in her class both had sessions with the guidance counselor again today to talk about the issues and focus on the “golden rule”. I told her that I appreciate their working with the girls, and we’ll certainly work on that at home as well, but that I’m past the teasing/name-calling concerns right now (even though, yes, it’s important to discuss the harm that can cause), and that I’m much more concerned with the physical violence and my concerns over the way things are escalating. And, again, reiterated that I don’t want Olivia involved with this other girl anymore. I again received another e-mail later in the day, from the guidance counselor. Basically, saying the same thing her teacher had. So, I pretty much responded with the same response I sent her teacher. I’m happy they’re dealing with it, and not just brushing it all under the rug, but, like I said, I just want them to put a little more concern than they seem to be on the violence. At the end of the day, I’m just happy that it was a successful day. I ended up working a little late today, trying to get as much done before I left for the weekend as possible. I picked Eliza up, and we settled in at home with the rest of the family. Christian had to work a little early, so he was off shortly after we arrived home. The girls and I watched some TV, had dinner, and hung out for the night. Olivia spent a lot of time playing with Eliza, and they were all running around, laughing, having a blast together, and eventually all snuggled up in Olivia’s bed and she was reading a book to them. I love nights like this – just complete perfectly. Eventually everybody was off to bed, and I was SO looking forward to the weekend.

School Pictures!!! Olivia, 1st Grade, Spring Picture

Amelia, Kindergarten, Spring Picture

On Friday, I let the girls sleep in a little. Christian arrived home, and hung out with Eliza while I dropped the big girls off at daycare. Christian was off to bed as soon as I got back home, and Eliza and I spent the day together. She’s so funny, I just love spending time with her. We ate, played with ALLLLLLLL of her toys…I did some laundry, picking up and caught up on Hulu. Just a standard, low-key day at home together. Eliza took a nice long nap, so I rested for a while. It was seriously a pretty perfect day. I picked the big girls up from school, and had to give them the unfortunate news that their BFF movie-night had been canceled (Bella’s mom had to work late). They were pretty bummed, but we watched some movies and spent the night hanging out together. Once the girls were in bed, Christian and I settled in to watch the movie “Focus”, which was actually pretty good, but Eliza woke up about halfway through screaming and yelling, refusing to go back to sleep. We tried sitting with her, and she wouldn’t go back down for anything. So, after the movie, I settled into bed with her, and she spent the night with me. It doesn’t happen too often, so I enjoyed our all-night cuddles.

On Saturday, we were up and at it. I cleaned up around the house a bit, an got breakfast going. After eating, and getting ready, I was off to swim class with the big girls, while Christian and Eliza hung out at home. I had decided to take the electronics away from the girls for the weekend…not for any specific reason, they just needed a break from them, so we spent some time watching movies together and hanging out. They kept bugging us to go somewhere and do something, so Christian finally gave in and told them they were leaving soon for an overnight at Grandma Mary’s house. Sure enough, maybe an hour later, she called to tell me that she wasn’t feeling well, and had to cancel the overnight. So, again, I had to tell them that they’re plans had been canceled. Poor things. There are two reasons that I NEVER tell them what we’re doing/what our plans are. 1) They’ll drive you insane wondering “is it time yet?” “are we leaving soon?” “can we go yet?”; and 2) I don’t have a ton of faith in other people keeping our plans, and I hate disappointing the girls. After telling them two days in a row that their plans had fallen through, I felt terrible. So, I quick hopped in the shower, got ready, and loaded the big girls into the can for a little girl’s day out. We went to an indoor play area for a couple of hours (I had some free passes), and then we stopped into Davanni’s for dinner (all while Christian hung out at home with Eliza). It was nice to get out of the house for a while, even though the girls still drive each other crazy, whether at home or away! We settled back in at home, and the girls played pretty well for the night, and entertained Eliza. Christian’s friend, Lorenzo, stopped over to watch the UFC fight, and I painted our “gender reveal” balloon box for Monday. Two more days, I can’t believe we’ll know what little baby Duran is!!! The girls ended up going to bed pretty late, so it was a complete mystery what the morning would bring…

Play Time!

Dinner Time!

Sunday was another lazy kind of a day. The girls did indeed sleep in a little bit, thankfully, so it was nice to get some extra rest. I was actually feeling pretty motivated for a change, so I took advantage and got right to work on chores around the house. The girls helped me clean up their room, and then I got our room and the bathroom cleaned up. I got the dishwasher unloaded, and loaded back up, cleaned up the kitchen, and worked on laundry throughout the day. I even actually got ALL of the clothes put away and everything – bonus! We watched some movies throughout the day, and hung out…the girls played outside for quite a while – the beautiful weather is making an appearance again, and it’s amazing!! Olivia made some rainbow loom bracelets for everybody and it was just a perfect Sunday around the house with the family. Eliza refused to take a nap, but eventually fell asleep sitting with Christian on the couch. He delated putting her down, but it was getting pretty late and I told him that he shouldn’t, or she’d be up way too late. Of course, he didn’t listen, he put her down, she napped for quite a while, and was indeed up way too late. UGH!!! We had takeout for a late dinner, and I watched “The Walking Dead” on the computer while the girls watched some shows before bed. I finally showered, and got Eliza down for bed. I was so, so, SOOOO tired from the busy day around the house, but SO excited for tomorrow’s anatomy scan…making sure everything is looking OK, and seeing what this little hitchhiker is finally. I weight myself today out of curiosity, and at just over 20 weeks, I’m actually still down the 7ish pounds that I lost early on! I’m seriously hoping to keep my weight gain very minimal, or preferably non-existent, this pregnancy, so hopefully I can keep it up. I guess it’s one bonus to the sickness and lack of appetite!

Our reveal box is ready to go. TOMORROW!!!

Until Next Week! XOXO