2016 - Week 19

Week 19 – our week of chaos has arrived!!!!

Monday kicked off the crazy week. Per usual, we were up, getting ready, and off for the day. I dropped the big girls off at daycare, and settled into work, while Eliza slept in a little, and Christian dropped her off at his parents’ house later in the morning. It’s such a relief that he’s been dropping her off on Monday’s – just that one less task seems to be such a huge break for me. I was feeling much more motivated at work today, so hopefully I can hold onto that drive and start catching up on some work. It still seems like maternity leave is so far off, but it’s really going to be here before I know it, and I don’t want to be that a**hole that leaves a ton of work for everybody else when I go. After work, I picked Eliza up, and we rushed home to get everybody ready, packed up, fed and off to the ball field. Oy! The big girls had their first softball practice tonight. Their coach seems really nice, and he’s great with the kids already, so that’s promising. The girls actually did really well, even though they still don’t seem super into the whole softball thing. They did say that they had fun though, so hopefully as they get more comfortable and learn more, they’ll enjoy it. Christian was off to work before practice ended, and the girls and I made our way home when they were done. Jammies, a snack and they were all off to bed. I FINALLY had some dinner, watched a few shows and passed out myself. Run, Run, Run!

Ready for their first softball practice!

On Tuesday, I was off work. I slept in a little bit, showered, got the girls up and ready and dropped them off at daycare. I stopped back home to finish getting ready and pack up my bag for the day, and then made my way up to school to meet up with Amelia’s class for her fieldtrip to the zoo. All-Day, Kindergarten Fieldtrip, to the Zoo…in this dang heat, at 28 weeks pregnant….what the heck was I thinking?!? Thankfully, they had a lot of parents sign up to chaperone, so I only ended up having Amelia and her little friend to watch over, which was perfect. I finally got to meet Amelia’s little school BFF, Hayden, which cracked me up because I can TOTALLY tell why they’re such good friends. They are two little peas in a pod! We arrived at the zoo around 10:00AM, walked around for a while on our own – checking out some animals, and then met up with the class for our “farm class”. After learning about the farm, we had lunch, and then spent some more time walking around and exploring the zoo. Thankfully they have two fun, large parks for the kids to play at, so that saved a bit of walking time. We met up with the rest of the class around 2:30 to head back to school. Success, we survived the day! Once back at school, we got Amelia all packed up, and I checked her out a tad early. We sat in the van and watched a movie while we waited for Olivia to get out of school. FINALLY, she was out, we made our way home, and I was SOOOOOO beyond exhausted, and sore, that I passed right out on the couch for a while. While I dozed in and out of a little nap, Amelia watched some videos, and Olivia locked herself in her room, as usual, for some alone time. Christian finally woke up and started dinner, while I picked Eliza up from daycare. She, of course, took a head drive outside today, and has a majorly scrapped up nose from it. Just in time for her birthday, LOL. Seriously, she’s the biggest clutz that I’ve ever met in my life. After dinner, we hung out for a while, before Christian had to leave for work. Olivia and Eliza played outside for a while after dinner, while Amelia fell asleep at the table because she refused to eat. I think the zoo and the heat just took it all out of her really. I did have to get her up, and get all of the girls in for their baths/showers before bed, and they all passed right out. I was basically off to bed myself as soon as they were…being THIS exhausted now, I’m not sure how I’ll survive Olivia’s fieldtrip next month!

Fieldtrip time!

Fieldtrips are exhausting!

On Wednesday, it was back to reality. We were all up, ready and off for the day. Eliza was SOOOOOOO crabby this morning, and I had to drop her off screaming and crying, which seriously breaks my heart. I’m pretty sure she woke the entire neighborhood up while trying to force her into the van. Then, it was back to work for me. No fun! Work actually went pretty well, and fast. And there were a million food trucks outside today, so I totally took advantage of that. YUM!!! After work, I picked Eliza up, and we stopped home for a quick dinner, and we were all off to softball again. Olivia did MUCH better tonight – I think she must’ve had a little nerves on Monday, because she was throwing and hitting much better today, actually trying (as in, not embarrassed to do things). Amelia was messing around a lot, so we have to work on getting her to pay more attention. Christian was off to work, and we made our way home after practice to settle in for the night. We watched some shows, had some snacks (well, I finally ate dinner), and the girls were off to bed. I tried to watch some of my own shows before going to sleep, but I was just way too tired. Story of my life!

28 Weeks 5 Days

Hanging with my muffin during softball.

On Thursday, we were off and running on another day. Everybody was up and ready, and thankfully in much better moods this morning. Olivia was so excited for her big concert, it was adorable listening to her talk about it. I was off to work for a busy, chaotic day, trying to pack in as much as I could, since I was leaving a tad early for the day. I picked Christian up, and we made our way up to school for Olivia’s concert/author day. We found some seats in the gym, and shortly after all of the little 1^st graders made their way in. I seriously got SOOOOO emotional watching my baby up on the stage, singing and dancing and being so brave. She even had a speaking part in front of everybody! It was tough to keep my pregnancy hormones in check and not just start bawling, let me tell you! After the concert, we were off to her classroom for juice and cookies, and to read the research book that she had written, all about Butterflies. I just love seeing them in their element – she was showing us around her classroom, filling us in on all of the stuff that they do. She’s getting way too big, ya’ll! Eventually she packed up her stuff, and I checked her out a little early, so we waited in the van for Amelia to get out of school. After a little time, I saw Amelia come struggling out of the school with a big ol’ bag, and finally got her settled into the van. Turns out, the big bag was my Mother’s Day gift, and it was “leaking”, LOL. Once home, I opened it up, and it was a cute little potted plant. She was so proud of it, and I was just glad it actually survived the trip home. Christian made dinner, the girls watched some videos, and I was eventually off to pick Eliza up from daycare. She had a Mother’s Day gift for me as well – a cute magnet picture of her, that is just too adorable. I love that the schools have them do these Mother’s Day crafts, they are just the best. We settled in at home to eat, and Christian helped me take Eliza’s birthday photo before he left for work. I edited pictures and hung out with Eliza while Amelia was sent to bed early for not eating and Olivia watched a movie. Once the girls were in bed, I actually stayed up for a while to get some alone time with Hulu. It’s been a rare treat these days.

Olivia's 1st Grade Concert

Author Time - showing us her book and reading to us.

The plant she made me. She was so proud of her "pinktunia"

Friday FINALLY arrived, and it was another busy day. We were all up and off for the day….big girls to daycare, Eliza to my mom’s, and me to work. I did get some muffins and water from daycare, which was a nice little morning treat. I worked the day away, with a little break to grab lunch with my friend Melissa. We did lots of catching up and it was so fun to see her, AAAAAAND, she gave us her double-stroller, which is a huge lifesaver. So exciting! After finishing out the day, I picked Eliza up and met up with everybody else at home. It was time to start getting ready for the big birthday party tomorrow! Since it’s really just our immediate family, we weren’t super worried about making everything perfect, but there was still plenty of work to do. Christian worked in the yard for a while…mainly cleaning up the tables and chairs, and picking up around the yard. I was eventually off to order some balloon’s from Party City, and grab some decorations, and made my way back home to hang out with the girls. Christian and his friend, Lorenzo, did the grocery shopping and went out for a couple of beers to end the night. Once the girls were in bed, I did some cleaning upstairs. It was SOOOOOOOO hot tonight, I couldn’t really do too much before feeling overheated and exhausted. It’s seriously going to be a LONG summer!

Saturday arrived…and, with it, we officially had a two year old in the house!!! I seriously cannot believe that our baby is two. TWO!!!!! Time goes way too fast, I just cannot wrap my head around it. I was up bright and early…I finished cleaning up the basement, cleaned the entryway and washed the dishes. Meanwhile, Christian picked up some breakfast and dealt with the girls. Eventually, the girls and I were off to gymnastics, while Christian vacuumed, swept, made the girls’ beds and did a little dusting in the living room. Everything was coming together, slowly but surely. On our way home, we picked up the balloon’s and the cake, and then I finished washing dishes and cleaning the kitchen. Christian showered and was off to pick up the bounce house, then finished getting the yard/tables ready. I finished the last of the cleaning, showered and got everybody ready. And, it was FINALLY party time (even though I was already ready for bed)! Christian had to quick put together Eliza’s car, her birthday present from us, so I hung out in the yard with everybody while he did that. We kept her party pretty low-key this year, for several reasons, so it was just our parents, his sister and nieces, and Lorenzo (her godfather). Eventually Bella and Mariano stopped over to play as well, and later at night Sara’s family, from across the street, for a visit. The kids bounced and bounced and bounced the day away – I’m so relieved we actually found a reasonable place to rent from! We grilled, played with Eliza, opened presents, had cake, and, of course, did our piñata. What’s a party without a piñata?! LOL.  The day seriously flew by in the blink of an eye. My dad and in-laws had to leave a bit early because they work early tomorrow, and pretty much everybody else left after the piñata was done. My mom and Lorenzo helped us clean everything up and get everything put away – huge relief, because my back was KILLING me by the time the party was over. We sent Mother’s Day plants home with our mom’s, as I take Mother’s Day “off”, all to myself, now that I am one myself. The girls all had their baths/showers and were off to bed, while Christian was off with Lorenzo to watch the fight. I did manage to watch a few shows before passing out, but man was I so tired. I went to bed, still in total disbelief that our little Eliza Jane is two years old. Where does the time go?!

IT'S OFFICIAL!!!!

Sunday was Mother’s Day, and the end of our super crazy week. Mother’s Day was pretty disappointing honestly. While I did get a lot of super cute, sweet homemade things from the girls (from school), the rest of the day was pretty much a total loss. Thanks to Christian’s late night out, I didn’t get to sleep in. I was up with the girls bright and early, and then got to work. Sorting and starting laundry, hanging out with Eliza (while the big girls watched some videos), cleaning up the last of yesterday’s party, un-packaging Eliza’s new toys and making breakfast for everybody (and, not even what I actually wanted for breakfast, of course). All while Christian snored the morning away. I was seriously so upset – even though I know it’s kind of dumb in the grand scheme, I just wanted one day of relaxation! He finally got up, so I got myself and the girls dressed and ready for the day, and made him snap some Mother’s Day pictures for me. He showered, got ready, and started packing up the bounce house to return it. Eliza took a nice long nap today, while the big girls played and watched some movies, so I had plenty of quiet time to work on laundry and catch up on some more Hulu. The girls eventually played outside for a while, and Christian stopped home long enough to put the van back together, before taking Eliza over to his mom’s for a visit. The big girls and I were eventually off to swim class, and then home for a big taquito dinner (finally, something kind of for me!) and a quiet night. It was a pretty lame Mother’s Day, especially with everything that I’ve been going through, but what are you gonna do?! At least I got to spend the day with my babies, and that’s what is most important.

Mother's Day Photos with my Babes

Until Next Week! XOXO

2016 - Week 18

Week 18….I can’t believe how much I’ve fallen behind on my blog! Life has been so crazy. Work has been overwhelming and insane, so I don’t really get any breaks to do any catching up, and home is just go, go, go. Or, I’m just too exhausted when I’m there. So, now it’s time to try to catch up before baby arrives!

Monday started the week of pretty slowly. We have a crazy week kicking off later, so I was taking full advantage of the not-quite-so-craziness. We were all up, ready and off for the day. All of the girls were in their new seats to kick off the week…the big girls in their boosters, Eliza forward-facing. It was so crazy to see them all looking so much bigger. Eliza seemed a little thrown off on our morning drive, but she was laughing and chatting with me the entire way home this afternoon, so I think she is OK with the change after all. After dropping the girls off, I settled in for a busy day at work, before turning around and making our way back home for the night. Christian had dinner ready shortly after Eliza and I arrived home, so we ate, I did some cleaning around the house, and then just felt totally run down. I hit the couch for the rest of the night, while Christian was off to work, the big girls watched their videos and Eliza kept me company until bedtime.

She laughs at my car dancing now, LOLOL

All of their new seats. Big girls!!!

On Tuesday I woke up feeling extra exhausted. Eliza woke up during the night and just would not fall back asleep, or stop screaming, for anything. I finally had to bring her into bed with me, even though I know that I shouldn’t. We’ll be co-sleeping with the baby, so I really need to break Eliza of this habit, but some nights I just need some sleep!! Of course, with the long night, I could not get myself motivated to get up and going this morning, so I just called in late and took my time. Got ready, got the girls up, ready and dropped off, and settled into work until my afternoon check-up. Of course, my doctor was running late, as usual. I wouldn’t mind so much if it weren’t for the waiting room, which always drives me nuts. My weight check went well, I’m still holding steady, actually down a tad from last appointment, so that’s good. But, my blood pressure was back up. On top of that, I’ve been fighting nagging headaches, some blurry vision and some insomnia recently, so they ordered some lab work to check my blood and do some pre-e testing. We finished chatting, did some measurements and listened to baby. So far, he seems to be measuring pretty much on schedule (via fundal height anyway), so things are looking OK. My next appointment is in 3 weeks, where I’ll have a check-up, get my tDap vaccination and I’ll have my growth scan, so I’m a tad anxious for that one. After my appointment, I rushed back to work to finish out the day, before heading out to pick Eliza up from daycare. I was not feeling well at all as the day went on, and made my way right to the couch when I got home. I’ve been getting these spurts of just feeling overheated, and nauseous again, and I’m really hoping it’s not here to stay. Christian picked up some dinner for him and the girls, and we hung out for a while before he left for work. It was bath/shower night, and Eliza has been spazzing out lately when it’s bathtime (she’s not a fan of water, but has always done great with baths). Lately I’ve had to force her into the bath and she screams the entire time. I finally found out yesterday that it’s all thanks to my mother-in-law…apparently, last week when she had Eliza, Eliza had a pretty bad diaper-rash going on, and his mom scrubbed over it too hard when washing her. So, that must just be stuck in her head. Poor thing. I hope she gets over that soon, because bathtime has been torture! After clean-up, the girls were off to bed, and I watched al little TV as I battled my nightly insomnia trying to fall asleep.

On Wednesday I woke up after another rough night of sleep troubles or me, and Eliza waking up. I seriously hope she adjusts soon, because the wake-ups are exhausting and the crying breaks my heart. It seriously bums me out because I would love to just bring her into bed with me and cuddle up to her. I finally drug myself out of bed to get ready, get everybody else up and ready, and we were off. I had a long, unmotivated day at work today. I have so much to do, but just cannot stay focused long enough to do any of it. I did get a break today to grab lunch with my friend Gini, which is always fun. Lots of laughs and catching up, always a necessity! After work, I picked Eliza up, and some dinner, and we settled in at home. We ate, hung out and watched some TV. Christian was off to work, the girls actually PLAYED together…like really played, not sat on their tablets, and I watched some shows while relaxing for a while. Eliza fought her sleep BIG TIME tonight, and would not go to bed for anything. I sat with her on the couch for a while, until she FINALLY fell asleep, and we had a nice quiet night. I even actually passed out while watching my shows, so it was a pretty early night for me. I’ll take it!!

27 Weeks (and 5 Days)!!! Heading into my FINAL final trimester.

On Thursday, I overlept. Oops!!! I finally got a good, quiet, peaceful night of sleep, and apparently I really wanted to take advantage of it! So, I rushed around getting all of us up, ready, packed up and off to daycare/work. Whew, it was a hectic morning! But, it was my Friday, which always makes the day better. I had a pretty fast day as well, trying to finish some things up for the week and taken care of before my “long” weekend. After work, I picked Eliza up and we stopped at Walmart for some groceries on our way home. It’s been a super rainy week, but today is supposed to be the last day of it, so fingers crossed for a nice weekend! Christian had dinner ready for us, and was off to work shortly after we ate. Once we finally relaxed for the night, I was feeling very relieved that it was finally the weekend, and I’d get a little break from the runaround. It’s getting harder and harder to be at work, and to handle the daily run-around. This week in particular, I’m really looking forward to my quiet day off tomorrow, because after that, we’re heading into a pretty crazy week:

-        Saturday – the big girls have gymnastics

-        Sunday – the big girls have swim class

-        Monday – the big girls have their first softball practice

-        Tuesday – I’ll be chaperoning Amelia’s all-day Fieldtrip to the zoo

-        Wednesday – the big girls have softball again

-        Thursday – We will be attending Olivia’s Music/Author program at school

-        Friday – I’m having lunch with a Friend and then we need to Clean, Clean, Clean for Eliza’s birthday party

-        Saturday – It’s Eliza’s birthday, the big girls have gymnastics and we’ll be hosting Eliza’s Birthday Party at the house

-        Sunday – we’ll be cleaning up, recovering from the party and the big girls have swim class

Oy, I’m not ready!

Eliza is OBSESSED with the goin' fishin' game

On Friday, I took full advantage of my quiet day at home, before kicking off our week of crazy. It was my Friday off, which is of course the best! I slept in a little, got the big girls up and ready for the day, and dropped them off at daycare. Eliza and I had some breakfast and spent the day hanging out. We played lots of games, did some building with her blocks, had lots of laughs and watched some TV. Just a normal day, just me and my little lovemuffin. I finally got her down for a nap, which didn’t last too long. She did end up napping on the couch with me for a while, so I just decided to be super lazy, and catch up on some shows while we cuddled. Eventually, I had to get up and head out to pick the big girls up from school. They played outside for a while (YAY for no rain!!), we had some dinner and had a pretty quiet night. I watched some TV, Christian hung out with his friend, Lorenzo, for a while and I was off to bed. Meanwhile, all of these months later, Christian STILL hasn’t learned that he cannot sleep all day on Friday. I understand working overnights is really hard, and a constant adjustment, but he’ll sleep ALL DAY Friday, like the rest of the week, and then he stays up all night because he’s not tired. Which, of course, then throws off his Saturday too. I’ve about reached my limit with it, let me tell you! This overnight thing is just not a family-friendly situation.

IT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!!! Officially entering the 3rd trimester. So crazy.

Now that is one stylin' girl.

I think we know where Eliza gets her fashion sense from, LOL

On Saturday I was up early so that I could actually shower and get ready for the day. Christian was also up early, and off to help his parents move (seriously, this BETTER be the last time…I’m so sick of he/us constantly helping people move. We never move!). So, it was just me and the girls for the day. We had breakfast, and were off to gymnastics. Eliza actually cooperated this week, which was a HUGE relief. And, she took a nice nap once we were home from class. Once she was up, I gave them some lunch, packed up their stuff, and they were off on an overnight at my Mom’s. All of them…all night long. My first night away from my baby, and I could hardly stand it. I was determined to get some shopping done while they were gone for the night, so I made my way to my first stop, the Outlet Mall, to use some coupons for Children’s Place and Carter’s. I took way too long looking around those stores, and then I was just too tired to do anything else and went home, LOL. I’m having a really hard time finding outfits for photos after the baby is born. I just don’t have a vision yet. So, that was a bust. Christian arrived home around the same time as me, and we watched some movies on Netflix for a while. He was eventually off to bed, really early, thanks to his super late night and long day of moving. So, the one night in 2 years that we’ve been childless, we did NOTHING to take advantage of it. I was so upset, and of course pregnancy hormones don’t help. I did get caught up on a bunch of shows though, and just had myself a lazy night (which, I could probably use anyway). Eventually, I was off to bed for the night. Still pretty upset, but what are you gonna do?!

She's just so dang cute.

On Sunday, I slept in a tad, but was too uncomfortable to stay in bed too long. So, I was up and at it, getting laundry started. Christian was up early as well, so we decided to get ready, and head out to have some breakfast on our own. So weird. After breakfast, we stopped at Payless for some summer shows, did our Target run and settled in at home. Finally got the rest of my shopping done. While I kept working on laundry and cleaning up around the house, Christian did some work outside…he started cleaning up and emptying the shed and mowed the lawn. Finally, I was off to pick the girls up from my mom’s. Apparently things went pretty well, but all of the girls wanted to sleep with her so I don’t think she got a very peaceful night of sleep, LOL. I know she was pretty exhausted though. We stopped at Walmart for a few forgotten groceries before settling in at home for the night. The girls played outside for a while, while Christian did some more outside cleanup and I folded laundry and watched some shows. We ended up going out for some dinner – I’d been craving some yummy pizza forever, so Carbone’s it was, and Christian’s friend, Lorenzo, came with us. The big girls and I had to leave as soon as we finished eating, for swim class, so the boys and  Eliza finished up, paid the bill and made their way back to the house. Amelia got to jump off of the diving board today, which she’s just been DYING to do, so she was pretty dang excited. My babies, growing up way too fast!! I got them showered before heading home to get their homework done, and a little playtime in before bed. Christian was off to have a couple of drinks with Lorenzo while I finished tackling my laundry pile and settled in for the night. Monday was fast approaching, along with a very hectic week!

My mom helped the girls make these super cute light-pots for me, for Mother's Day. Love!

She got to jump off of the diving board today!!! She's been dying to do it, she was in heaven!

Until Next Week! XOXO

2016 - Week 17

Week 17…it was a rough week pregnancy-wise – feeling so nauseous again, and lots of stomachaches. It looks like all of that early pregnancy inkiness is making a comeback here as I approach the 3^rd trimester. No fun! I did spend much of the week binge-watching some shows during the “Comcast Watchathon”, which was pretty exciting.

On Monday, we kicked off another week. Everybody was up and running, and Christian has continued to drop Eliza off which saves me a Monday trip. I dropped the big girls off at daycare, and settled into work for the day. Actually on time. Yeah, that never happens. It was a really busy day at work, so the day seriously flew by. That’s always nice, especially on a Monday! We finally got the bounce house rented for Eliza’s birthday…we’re not having a huge party for her, basically just family, but we wanted something fun for the kids to do since most of them are a little older now. I found a pretty cheap storage-rental place nearby that rents out a handful of bounce-houses, so we jumped on it. And, I FINALLY got the girls’ softball information day!!! They are indeed on the same team (obviously I made a specific request for that), but they don’t start until early May. Their season is way too short, which is kind of annoying, but I can’t wait for them to start! After work, I picked Eliza up and dropped her off at home. I walked into the house, saw the messes all over the place, and seriously lost it. Christian’s lack of effort around the house lately has really been getting to me, and with these pregnancy hormones raging, I just could not take it. He has all weekend to do stuff, plus all day Monday, so when I came home to find a kitchen FULL of dirty dishes, his laundry pile (probably  couple weeks old at this point) still not put away, and no dinner started, I lost my mind. So, rather than throw a big tantrum, I got in the van, drove off, and parked somewhere for a little me time. Sometimes you just need a little peace and quiet. I finally pulled it together, picked up some dinner, and settled in at home. We ate, the big girls watched some videos, Christian was off to work, and I hung out with little Eliza. “Watchathon” Week kicked off today, and my main goal is obviously to binge the last season of “Game of Thrones”. I also want to start watching “Girls”…I’ve heard a ton of great reviews, so I thought I’d finally check it out. Not sure how far I’ll make it through that one, but I do know that I’ll be up way too late, all week long, and completely exhausted.

On Tuesday, we were up, ready and off for the day. I dropped the girls off and settled into work for another pretty fast day. Things have been pretty crazy, but it keeps the days moving fast so I guess I’ll take it. I’ve been feeling overall pretty good lately, but my driving-induced morning sickness seems to be rearing its ugly head again. I sure hope it’s not going to be like that the rest of the way, because I was seriously miserable by the time I got to daycare. Christian met me at daycare with the big girls, so we could attend the “Ice Cream Social”. Of course, feeling so crappy I couldn’t participate, but the girls were in heaven. We finally made our way home, the rest of the family had dinner, and Christian was off to work. Per usual, the big girls watched their videos, Eliza and I hung out and I watched some shows. I finally got a little bit of food in before bed, but it was a rough night!

Ice Cream!! Amelia was too cool to sit with us.

Wednesday was basically just another day. Up and at it, busy day at work, the usual. Before I left work, I received a call from Amelia’s teacher, letting me know what a rough day Amelia had. She was acting up, not listening, throwing fits, disobeying pretty much all of the classroom rules and was finally taken down to the office to cool down. While I worked hard not to get upset, understanding that she is still very young and will certainly have those days, she was on punishment for the nightmare and VERY upset about not having her tablet. I picked Eliza up after work and we made a stop at the store for some groceries before heading home to make dinner. Christian was off to work…he’s been suffering from a cold for the last week, but finally seems to be feeling better. I mean, we all know what men are like when they have a cold, so THANK GOD he’s starting to feel better. The girls were eventually off to bed, and I settled in for some more Watchathon before falling asleep.

26 Weeks, 5 Days

On Thursday, we were up, ready and off to work/daycare. As with the rest of the week, it was busy and hectic, and I was not feeling well at all. I was SO uncomfortable, and having the worst pains in my stomach. It was just a terrible pregnancy day, which makes life quite rough. Christian picked up some dinner for him and the girls, they ate, and he was off to work. Even though I was feeling quite crappy, it was bath night, so I had to struggle through that. Thankfully Olivia takes showers now, so she handles everything herself, Amelia is still obsessed with baths though. And Eliza is hit or miss on how cooperative she’s going to be during bath time. It’s always an adventure, and not an easy task when pregnant, let alone when feeling so crappy. After baths, the girls were off to bed, I watched some shows but fell asleep pretty early.

Friday FINALLY arrived. I seriously hate my work Friday’s – I sure wish I could be off EVERY Friday! I woke up a little late this morning, so we were all rushed to get ready and leave the house. The girls were off to daycare, Eliza to my mom’s…waking late, and two drop-off’s is not a good mix. I finally settled into work, and had a rough day. My noise aversions seem to be getting worse lately…I have Misophonia, extreme sound sensitivity, and it has been OUT OF CONTROL lately. I try really hard to block things out…I have a radio at work to drown out a lot of sounds, I have to have the living room TV on when we’re eating dinner, I resort to using my headphones when I have to (but I only have earbuds, which aren’t comfortable, and it’s not very professional). Anyway, things have been so much worse lately, I’ve literally been on the verge of tears some days. I sometimes go down to use our quiet room and get away from it for a while, but of course it’s ALWAYS in use when I go down there. We have our resident cougher, which is always worse some days than others, and I don’t know what the deal is, but my friend who sits in the cube next to me eats ALL.DAY.LONG, and she’s a very loud eater. Everything she eats is super crunchy (apples, granola, cereal, etc.), so it’s on and off crunching, all day long. That on top of the general office noise had my brain spinning. I honestly considered leaving early because I just couldn’t take it anymore today. I don’t know why suddenly the last week or so it’s been so much harder to deal with, but hopefully it’s just a phase and I’ll start blocking things out better again soon. I did end up toughing it out, worked the day away, picked Eliza up, picked the big girls up (they didn’t have school today), and we settled in at home for the night. Of course, like the rest of the week, I still was not feeling well. Christian and the girls ate some dinner, and he and Eliza worked out in the garage for a while, while the big girls watched some videos and went off to bed. I did some more Xfinity binging before calling it a night, while Christian, who couldn’t sleep, finished cleaning the garage, and watched the kitchen full of dishes, literally in the middle of the night. He’s so ridiculous. I know it’s hard to shift your body from working overnights to a normal weekend schedule, but I’ve told him a MILLION times to stop sleeping ALL DAY LONG on Friday’s. I know he’s tired, but it’s the only way he’ll be able to go to bed at a halfway decent time Friday night…but, of course, he doesn’t’ listen. Men.

Look at these super cute little socks!!!

Saturday was a busy day! We were up and at it, had some breakfast, got ready, and I was off to gymnastics with the big girls. My mom met us there, so we chatted and watched the girls. I took the car today, so Christian could get to work cleaning out the van….which he was in the midst of when we arrived home. He took all of the carseats out, the floor mats, vacuumed, washed the mats, cleaned up the van, and it was seriously like brand new by the time he was done. YES!!! After class, I dropped the big girls off at home, and my mom and I were off to get early Mother’s Day pedicures down the street. Oh man, I seriously needed that. I need to start getting them more regularly, that’s for sure! And it was definitely nice to take some time out, all to myself. After our appointment, my mom dropped me off and left, while the rest of us changed and got ready for the day. We were off to the girls’ school for the school’s 50^th Birthday Celebration. Since the seats were out of the van, we decided to walk to school – which was apparently a much further walk than I anticipated, and I was SERIOUSLY exhausted by the time we arrived. They had (SUPER YUMMY) cake, lemonade, a DJ and dance party, and the girls had so much fun with their friends. After some celebrating, we geared up for the long walk home, and Eliza was down for a nice long nap. Christian was off to help his parents with some final moving stuff they were working on, so I did some more TV binging/relaxing while the girls watched some videos and played for a while. Christian picked up some dinner on his way home, we ate, hung out, and had a super lazy night. I finally felt pretty good today, which was a relief. Christian ended up falling asleep pretty early after his late night yesterday, so I had a nice quiet night, all to myself. Perfection!

Sunday was a quiet, relaxing, rainy day. I’ll basically always take that. We watched some TV, I started laundry and we had breakfast. The girls watched movies pretty much all day long, other than a little playtime downstairs with Eliza. Eliza would NOT take a nap today, which was so frustrating, but she eventually fell sleep on my lap and napped for a while. Of course, sleeping baby on your chest pretty much always makes you fall asleep, so I dozed in and out the entire time she slept. Oops. It was a perfect day for it though. Once Eliza was up, I showered and got ready, then took off for Target with Olivia. Our goal for the day was to register for baby stuff. We’re having a very small couples shower with our circle of friends in early June, so I needed to register for that…but, I also had a coupon for a gift card if I create a registry, and you get a “completion discount” to buy stuff left on your registry, so I figured why not. Olivia and I grabbed some ICEE’s and popcorn, and got to work. It was hard to know what to register for…we don’t’ have a ton of room, so we have to stick to real necessities, but a few people have told us they’re giving us all of this random stuff (pump, nursing pillow, bottles, double-stroller, clothes, etc.)…but it’s hard to know if it’s actually going to happen, so it makes me nervous. After our outing, we made our way home for dinner, got the girls ready, and were off to swim class. The girls showered after class, and once home, Christian finished getting the van put back together. We moved the big girls into booster seats (Olivia was getting pretty big for her convertible, and Amelia was TERRIBLE at buckling her harness) and we ended up turning Eliza forward-facing. She is too tall (per her seat) to make it rear-facing much longer, so I figured with her birthday just a couple weeks away, we might as well just turn it now. Big girls!!!! The girls were finally off to bed, a little late, and, of course, Eliza fought it. I hope she’s not reverting to being a terrible sleeper again! That would be awful timing! Christian hung out in the garage with his friend, Lorenzo, for a while, so I finished up Game of Thrones and settled in for a long night of insomnia. Ugh, pregnancy is not for the weak!!

Time to do some registering!

Until Next Week! XOXO

2016 - Week 16

Week 16, and it was quite a week of random crap. Baby check-up, a busy weekend, some quiet nights and lots of pregnancy hormones and continued insomnia this week.

Monday kicked off another week. The big girls and I were up, ready and off to daycare/work. Christian had a dentist appointment today (which went just fine – got the all clear for another 6 months), so he dropped Eliza off at his parents’ on his way to his appointment. I have to somehow turn this into a permanent thing, because it’s seriously such a relief not having to stop at two places in the morning! I’m back to a completely unmotivated phase at work right now…between the exhaustion, all of the stuff I’d rather be doing at home, the baby planning and just being distracted, it makes it so hard to focus at work. I picked Eliza up after work, and we made our way home for dinner. After dinner, I cleaned up a little around the house, and watched some TV with the girls, while Christian was off to work. A pretty quiet night, just how I like it!

I actually felt cute today, and had to take a picture to remember it, LOL

On Tuesday I was feeling beyond exhausted. I wish that I could just get ONE night of really good sleep! I got the girls up and ready…and talked to them about their upcoming fieldtrips (Amelia to the zoo, Olivia to a farm). Both of their teachers contacted me about chaperoning, but I didn’t want to commit if for some reason the girls really didn’t want me to go (you know, mom’s are so embarrassing!). They were both very excited though, and thought it was super cool that I would be there with them, which made me feel very loved. So, even though I’ll be totally exhausted and super pregnant, I agreed to go with their classes. I took a long lunch to go in for my latest baby appointment today. First up, I had to drink the oh-so-delicious glucose drink for my glucose tolerance test. I’ve passed this with flying colors with my previous 3 pregnancies, and even did one early on this pregnancy and passed, but there was no getting out of it. While my hour was passing, I stopped in for my check-up My blood pressure was NORMAL….AGAIN! I couldn’t believe it. And, still no weight gain, which is super amazing! I really don’t NEED to gain anything, so if I can keep this up, we’ll all be very happy campers. She listened to baby and everything checked out just fine. Back in two weeks for a check-up, and then I’ll be starting my grown scans at the following appointment. Hopefully everything will check out fine at my first scan, and maybe I won’t end up needing them regularly!! Fingers crossed. After my appointment, I was back to the lab to finish out my hour and do my blood draw, before settling back in at work to finish out the day. I got my results later in the evening…and, as expected, passed with no concern. Whew! After work, I picked Eliza up, we had some dinner and watched TV and Christian was off to work. The girls were off to bed so I caught up on some Hulu before heading to bed myself.

Wednesday was honestly just a standard day, all around. Up, ready, girls up and ready, daycare drop-off, work all day. Picked Eliza up, home for dinner and a quiet night. Christian to work. Days with no little extras are few and far between, so I’ll take it!

25 Weeks, 5 Days

On Thursday, we were up and at it. Off to work and daycare. The day went pretty quickly, and I “had” to leave early to pick the big girls up from daycare. Christian had a mandatory supervisors meeting to attend, so he wasn’t able to pick them up today. With their issues at daycare, I try not to have them there any more than necessary, so rather than have them pick the girls up day, I just took some time off. We stopped home to hang out and relax for a while, before heading out to pick Eliza up. All of the afternoon school-age kids were excited to see the girls…they ran right out to the playground to play and hang out for a while, while I got Eliza packed up and ready to go. We finally loaded back into the van, grabbed some dinner, and settled in at home. After dinner, we played outside for a little while to take advantage of the nice weather. I’m not ready for summer hot, but I’m hoping the warm up sticks around. After some playtime, it was time for showers/baths and relaxing time. I have Olivia completely converted to showering, she’s over the bath, but Amelia is still holding on strong. She loves to just lay in the water. I guess I can’t blame her, but it would be easier to just have her hop in the shower too! We finally had some quiet time, and everybody was off to bed.

Doing some swinging!

Friday was my day off, YES!!! We slept in a little bit, and I got the girls up and ready to go. Christian arrived home in time to stay with Eliza while I dropped the other two off at daycare. Amelia’s class was a “fine dining” lunch at school today (for good behavior in the lunch room). So, she had to dress nice for school today. Of course, I cannot send one to school in a dress, and not the other, so Olivia had to wear a dress too. And she was VERY bitter that her class has never won fine dining before. Oy, sibling drama! Once home, Christian was off to bed, and Eliza and I spent the day hanging out. I decided to take her to a walk late in the morning, and she went crazy when we passed by the park, so we made a pit stop there. The park by our house isn’t huge, but it’s not very toddler friendly either, so it’s not the easiest trying to chase her around the park. I was getting really hot and tired, so it was eventually time to call it a day and head back home. Of course, she threw the biggest tantrum ever, the entire way home. It was so frustrating, I was hot and sweaty and exhausted, and I can tell that it’s definitely going to be a LONG summer if I’m already this miserable. She went down for a nap once home, so I watched some shows and cooled down. She woke up way too soon after going down, so Christian ended up bringing her into bed with him, and she finished out her nap there. Eventually, I had to leave the couch and my TV watching to pick the big girls up from school. Once home, I made them clean out the van, which they were very annoyed about, but I sure don’t make the mess. It’s amazing, even though I keep a trash bag in the van, the trash never seems to make its way INTO the bag. After cleaning up, we the girls played in the backyard for a while. Our friend across the street, Tristan, stopped over with his little guy, Connor, to hang out for a while. The kids played the night away, the dad’s had a couple beers and chatted, and I had the house all to myself. Heaven! They took a break for some dinner, but that was about it. Eventually, Amelia started acting up and was sent inside (turns out because she “wouldn’t” bring her scooter back from the little drive way on the side of the house….even though he knows she has a really hard time getting it through the grass), so I decided to have Olivia come in and sent them off to bed (it was already after their bedtime anyway). Christian eventually brought Eliza in, because she was crabby and throwing a fit about everything, and he was getting super impatient with her….which just made me super annoyed with him. First his overreaction with Amelia, then his impatience with Eliza…it was 10PM by this time, and she’s 2…gee, I can’t imagine why she was “acting up”! I finally got her calmed down and changed, and I sat with her on the couch for a little while. Of course, it didn’t take long for her to pass out, so she was off to bed. I was not far behind. It was apparent; we were in for a long weekend!

Amelia dressed up for her "fine dining" day at school - so of course Olivia needed a dress as well.

Took this beauty in a walk and a stop at the park

On Saturday I woke up with a pounding headache, and it was totally not the day for it. We had a full day, and I could not let a headache take me down. We watched some TV, had breakfast, and I was off to gymnastics with the big girls. My mom came to watch again, and after class, we went shopping for softball gear for the girls. She “gave them” gear as part of their Christmas presents, but we told them we’d wait until closer to the season to actually buy stuff. Olivia needed new shoes and a bat, they both needed new gloves, and we wanted to get them a bat bag to carry everything in. We stopped at Sports Authority first, and then made a quick stop at Target for a few things. They’re all set – we’ll be hitting the field in a couple of weeks!!! After shopping, we picked Christian and Eliza up, and were off to lunch. After lunch, Eliza took a short nap, while I showered and got everybody ready to go. Next up, the girls and I were off to their friend from daycare, Lizzie’s, birthday party. Lizzie is the assistant directors daughter, and she and Amelia were seriously two peas in a pod until she stopped coming to the center this schoolyear. They are so dang cute together, little troublemakers! The girls had so much fun playing with their little daycare friends, Eliza called dibs on the sidewalk chalk as soon as we got there and never let go, and I had fun catching up with some of the other daycare mom’s. They played games, we ate way too much yummy food, did all of the usual party stuff, and were super exhausted when it was time to leave. BUT, our night was not over. While we were gone, Christian was at our friend, Mariano’s, place to help him hang some TV cords behind the wall of his new place. So, the girls and I stopped there on our way home so I could see his new place and the girls could play with their BFF, Bella. My head was stop pounding, I took some more Tylenol, and we chatted for a while, while the kids played. It was pretty uneventful…until, Bella and Olivia decided to go out on the balcony, Eliza following behind them, and Bella ended up slamming the balcony door closed right on Eliza’s hand. OMG…Mariano was SO upset, and poor Bella felt terrible. Eliza was crying and crying, she would not stop forever. My poor baby, my heart was breaking. I can’t even imagine how painful it must have been. At that point, I decided it was just time to pack it up, and head home. Even though we had eaten, the girls were still hungry, so Christian made them some food before putting them to bed. They were right off to bed as soon as they finished eating, and I passed out on the couch not long after. What a day!

Sunday was a lazy day around the house. Well, lazier for some more than others. Christian barely left the couch, much to my annoyance, while I spent the day doing laundry…sorting, washing, drying, folding, putting it away…cleaning up the kitchen and entryway, and hanging out with the girls. We had a late breakfast/early lunch, and the big girls played outside for a while. Eliza started losing it in the late afternoon, and tantrumed herself right into a nap in the middle of the living room floor. Drama!!!! Christian finally got motivated, and made is way outside to clean up the garage a little and fixed our falling-over mailbox. In the meantime, the big girls started coming in and out of the house, even though I told them to STOOOOOOP a million times, so they wouldn’t wake Eliza up. But, sure enough, Amelia eventually woke her up, coming in to complain about some BS. I finally lost it. Hormones and general rage took over, I pulled the big girls inside and yelled at them, and refused to take them to swim class. I was seriously DONE parenting for the day. In the 4 years they have been in swim class I have NEVER missed a class, but I was not giving in this time. Christian eventually got them ready and took them. I’m sure they arrived pretty late, and of course he forgot half of the stuff they needed (and, they wouldn’t get their usual Sunday shower after class), but that 90 minute break was MUCH, MUCH needed tonight. I’m just way too overwhelmed right now, and it all caught up to me. It was not an impressive mothering day, that’s for sure. The girls had a late dinner after class, and we were all off to bed. Tomorrow is another day…

She was so crabby, she tantrumed herself right into a nap.

Rico, the no personal space cat

Until Next Week! XOXO