5/21/11 - Another Playdate

Today was a pretty low key day. It rained all night, and all morning. So, we pretty much just hung out indoors. Even though it was gloomy and rainy, it was also very humid and warm, so the house started getting pretty gross from it. YAY for the return of humidity!

After we ate some breakfast and hung out for a while and watched a movie with Olivia, Christian and I took to a little spring cleaning around the house. We cleaned up the entry, put away all of the winter coats and gear, I cleaned up the office a little bit...just a bunch of random tasks around
the house.

During nap time, it finally cleared up outside, and we got an invite from the Madrid's to join them for a little BBQ. So, we all quickly got ready and headed over there. The girls played outside for a while, the boys did some grilling (and some drinking)...it was a semi play date/semi celebration for Nixon's birthday. It never got super nice out, the gloomy clouds hung around all night, but it was nice enough to get some outside time in. After a little more playing, we headed home, and the girls passed right out. I was not far behind them, but I was woken by a massive storm at around 12:30. This was the worst I've experienced yet...thunder shaking the house, A LOT of hail pounding down, the rain was coming down so fast and so hard and was just banging the windows and the side of the house. I couldn't believe it, but the girls slept right through it! Eventually things calmed down to just a standard rain storm, which is supposed to last all through Sunday too...at least we don't have to water our plants! YAY

Here are some pictures from our play date today!

5/20/11 - Girls Day

It's Friday, and my Friday with the girls! I always get a little worried about how things will go...with Amelia being so attached to me, and Olivia being such a daddy's girl. Today went amazingly well though. Other than Olivia getting a little too rough with Amelia before nap time, she did really well all day. I took the girls to Perkins for breakfast. I was a little nervous for our first restaurant visit all on my own, but it went well. Olivia was a little too distracted by the other kids, but overall the girls were well behaved.

After breakfast, we just hung out around the house playing and hanging out until nap time. We danced, gave ourselves some fake tattoos, ate some food, took some naps, just the usual. Once Christian finally got home from work, we had some dinner, watched a little TV and got the girls off to bed. Then, we were finally able to spend a little time together. We were all set to watch a movie, but it did not go as successfully as the last few times. I passed out not long into the movie, oops.

Today I have a little variety of pictures. First, a pic from our breakfast outing. Also, modeling our new tattoos (Olivia has the car & mouse, Amelia has the blue flower and I have the yellow flower). Fially, some funny pictures from dinner. Fun day!

5/19/11 - Playdate for All (almost)

It was my Friday at work, so I spent the day cleaning up loose ends and getting ready for the weekend. We had our Thursday "weight loss" group meeting at work. For weigh in I was down, just slightly, but down none the less. Hopefully this will be a better week! Christian and I have decided to take a summer vacation up north to Duluth in July. I'm SO SO SO excited. It's our first family vacation, and I just can't wait to get away for a few days. I started looking at hotels today, and should be able to book something this weekend. YAY!!!

After work I ran home to do my usual chores...picking up, dishes. As I was wasting some time on facebook, the BFF posted that she and her son were on their own tonight, so I invited them over for dinner and a playdate. She and I got to catch up, Olivia had a chance to play with Andrew (so she was in heaven), and even Chuy had the chance to play with her dog for a while. Poor Christan was left out, but he seemed fine with it. LOL

After dinner and some time outside, Kari and Andrew headed home, the girls got their bath, and we were all off to bed. Hopefully the playing and fresh air will result in a long night of sleep! The girls have been doing SO WELL, sleeping all night long, in their own beds, it's been wonderful. Hopefully that will continue, because this mama is loving the world of getting sleep again!

Here are some pictures of the playdate fun!

5/18/11 - Family Night

Well, after a long, late night last night, we were all dragging today. The girls would not wake up for anything this morning. Christian has been putting Olivia on the potty before we leave the house in the morning, and she wouldn't even open her eyes when she went this morning. LOL. Christian and I were not in any better shape either. I swear, we are seriously sad people now!

Luckily, it was a pretty boring day. I continue to keep up on my "rushes" and my not so fun tasks at work, so YAY for that. Christian continues his OT, double YAY for that. After work, we just hung around the house. Christian grilled some steaks for dinner, and we just spent some quality family time together.

Olivia and I were working on her flashcards tonight. Of course, when we got to the "I for Ice Cream", she then insisted that she needed some ice cream. We don't have any, but were able to trick her into thinking that some frozen applesauce was the same thing. She even shared it with Amelia...totally caught it on camera. What a sister!

5/17/11 - Goodbye, Again

Today was another full day at work for both of us. EXHAUSTING!!!

After work, we all rushed home for dinner. Tonight Christian's mom, sister and nieces were coming over for a goodbye BBQ. His sister and nieces are moving to Mexico...they leave Thursday morning. We're very sad to them go, again, especially because moving to Mexico seems much harder than moving to California. Olivia is going to miss those girls to death, and it breaks our hearts to think about that. And, I know Christian is taking it very hard. Though he and his sister don't spend a ton of time together, she is his baby sister, and they've always been together, so it's really hard for him to watch her go. All we can do is hope that one day, they'll be back for a nice long visit! Or, maybe even some day, WAY down the road, we'll get a chance to go visit them!

His mom made some rice and beans while Christian grilled some chicken. His sister and I played in the yard with the girls. The dog tormented our nieces the entire time. Poor things. After dinner, and some chatting, it was time for our girls to go to bed, and the rest of the ladies to head home.

Here are some pictures of our last playdate with all of the girls.

5/16/11 - Just Another Monday

Another Monday has come and gone. At least they go as quickly as they come these days!It was another busy day at work for both of us. Christian continues working an hour early every day, so the extra OT should pay off nicely. Work for me continues to not slow down. Luckily, most of the new Contracts I have to write are not needed for at least a couple of weeks now, so that is giving me a chance to finally catch up on some of the not so fun tasks. The legislature is still nowhere near a budget deal, so things are looking worse for us. The "silver lining" in everything is that if the state does shut down we'll be officially laid off, so at least I can collect unemployment. Unfortunately, there goes our benefits, and who knows how long we'll be off. The waiting game is definitely starting to get to me. I just want to know what's going to happen!

I left work a little early to do some shopping and get a little alone time. I decided to try out Walmart for a change...mainly because for Amelia's birthday party this summer, we're going to have a "pool party", and their pools are pretty cheap, so I wanted to check them out. I did grab a couple pools, and managed to find a few necessities, but shopping at Walmart will NOT happen again for me. I cannot stand the way that store is laid out, it does not flow well, and it's not worth the little bit I would save over Target. I did get a few rotisserie chicken out of the deal, so that was something!

After shopping, I managed to get the house picked up, get the dishes done, and whip up some fixings to go with the chicken for dinner. Christian arrived home just in time to eat, but Olivia decided she wanted to stay at his mom's house and play with her cousins a little longer. After dinner, I got Amelia washed up, fed and in bed, while he picked up Olivia and got her to bed. Another day down!

Potty training went back to being great today. I think having her cousins around is helping...they like to take her to the bathroom and "help her", and she thinks that's fun. She's finally learning that it's OK to stop what you are doing and go to the bathroom, that the fun will still be there when she's done. Hopefully by the end of the week we'll officially be potty trained! YAY

Here is a picture of Amelia, just thought is was cute. I just want to make note..I do a lot of pictures of Amelia, and it's not because I prefer that or anything, Olivia just does not really cooperate with picture taking right now. Just wanted to go on record with that...no favoritism or anything going on!

5/15/11 - Hard Labor

Today was a long and very busy day for us. Luckily, the girls "slept in" until about 7:30, so that was a treat!

Potty training today was very frustrating. Olivia actually climbed out of her crib this morning and came to find Christian because she had to go potty, so that was an AMAZING start to the day. We were beyond happy. The rest of the day was pretty hit or miss. She had several accidents because we were outside all day. We're trying to get her to understand that it is OK to stop what you are doing and go potty, and that you can just go back to playing when you are done. I think if we can get that part to click, we'll be on the home stretch. By the end of the day I really, REALLY just wanted to throw a diaper on her and be done with it, but we didn't, and I'm glad we struggled through it.

We ate a quick breakfast, got ready and were off to The Home Depot. Today was round one of who knows how may rounds of yard work....and man, we got a lot done! We pulled all of the dandelion weeds (all thanks to our neighbor, who does nothing with theirs), we filled five pots with plants, we put out some random yard decorations, put out some track lights along the driveway and walkway, we put borders around our trees, mulched throughout the yard and planted a Hosta. Olivia was outside with us pretty much all day. Amelia fell asleep on the way home from the store, and took a VERY long nap (which was great). After she woke up, and we all ate lunch, she joined us outside. We were out there from about 11:30-6:00, and I was exhausted.

Amidst all that "fun", I got several loads of laundry washed, folded and put away. Another fun task. Olivia was quite out of control today. We tried getting her involved and having her "help" us, but she would never listen. She'd start off great, then would slowly go crazy. It's so frustrating.

Finally, at around 6:30, we ate some dinner and relaxed inside for a little while. Then, it was time for baths and bed. While giving the girls their bath, Christian looked over at me and pointed out that I was incredibly sunburnt. I looked in the mirror, and I couldn't believe it! It was warm out, but not super hot, so it never even dawned on me that I should've had some sunblock on. At least I have physical proof that I really was out there working!

So, another weekend down. A little bit of fun, a little bit of work, perfect mix! Time to start another chaotic week at work now! Here are some pictures of out outdoor craziness today!

5/14/11 - 50 Years!

Today was a pretty good day. It didn't start off that way, with a 6:30AM wake up call, but I think that was because Olivia had to go potty, so I'll take an early wake up if it means successful potty training!! She actually had a really great day potty training, no accidents, she even went when we were out in public (after several false alarms, of course). So, it was a great day on that front. Not so great was shortly after waking up, Olivia was walking around with a glass of water, tripped, and spilled it all over the cable box...of course, frying it out. Oops. Luckily, I apparently agreed to one of those "pointless" service plans when I signed up with Dish Network, so we actually get a replacement box, completely free! Awesome! Just have to survive a few days of no TV upstairs, and endless kids movies until the new box arrives. LOL

I spent the morning home with the girls, while Christian was off to get an oil change and his tires rotated. Once he got home, we got the girls down for a nap, and got ourselves ready for the day. They didn't take a very long nap, but just long enough for us to get ready, so that worked out. Then, we were off to my aunt and uncles 50th wedding anniversary party. 20 Years! I can't even imagine that...WOW! Definitely something to aspire to, and look up to. It was nice to see some family that we NEVER see, especially since we'll miss out on this summer's family reunion. Olivia had so much fun being around other kids, and Amelia was quite a hit, so we had a lot of free time while everybody else drooled all over her! YAY.

After the party, we headed home and just kind of settled in for the night. It was pretty rainy/gloomy/chilly all day, so there wasn't a ton to do. We were both pretty exhausted once we finally got the girls to bed, so it was not a late night for us at all. Party animals!

Here's a picture of Amelia, enjoying a mini-cheeseburger for dinner. LOL, we're great parents!

5/13/11 - Happy Friday the 13th!

Another Friday has come along. Friday the 13th nonetheless (the only one of 2011!). I honestly cannot believe it's Friday, and that Friday is over for that matter. The days, weeks, MONTHS are just flying by. Seriously, where does the time go?? I mean, the weekends are booking up fast, which definitely means summer is creeping up on us. I love having a lot of fun, great plans, but it sure makes a chaotic life that much more chaotic. Not only the events and "plans", but the yard work and keeping up on all of that on top of the usual every day things. Oh summer, you sure know how to keep a girl on her toes!

Work was the same as it's been for months...crazy, busy and hectic. Even though we started our weight loss group yesterday, I'm REALLY starting tomorrow, so today was my last day to kind of indulge. I didn't really do that, other than Chinese food for dinner, but still...my last day. We still haven't heard anymore about the budgets or shut down...and in this case, no news is NOT good news. The legislative session ends on the 23rd, so in about a 1.5 weeks. So, with not even the slightest signs of a budget in sight, a special session is extremely likely. That just never means good things! But, as I've been doing, I'm trying to just block it all out, and not think about it. I did start to panic when something I hadn't even thought of was brought to my attention...if we do shut down, I lose my health insurance...which means we ALL lose our health insurance because I carry the whole family. Scary!

After work I rushed home to my naughty girls. Olivia had one accident today, and went in her diaper after her nap before getting to the potty. Dangit. BUT, other than that she did well all day. She woke up dry this morning (really early, before we left for work), and went to the potty right away! We were so proud of her. She was in quite a mood today...for my mom, and then all evening for us. It was rough. Getting up so early didn't help I'm sure, plus a fairly short nap AND, I discovered she has another 2nd molar popping through, so mix it all together and you get a VERY cranky toddler! Amelia slept a majority of the day, so hopefully that doesn't mean we're in for a long night...she went down really easy last night, slept ALL night, and apparently she didn't get up at until 9:00 this morning! Almost 12 whole hours! Now, that's more like it!

Once we got the girls to bed, Christian's friend stopped over, to have him help work on his car....AGAIN. I love having a hubby who cares about his friends so much, but it really does get old sometimes. Sometimes, you just have to learn to say no!

As we were waiting for Christian to get home from work, I gave Olivia an apple...when she set it down, Amelia started eating it...the whole, big apple. LOL. Then Olivia asked for a banana, and after taking a couple of bites, she "switched" with Amelia...and Amelia proceeded to eat thewhole banana, then went back to gnawing on the apple. Porker!

5/12/11 - Everybody Check Your Teeth

Another busy day down the drain for us!

Work was good. I made some good progress in my work, which was refreshing. And, we started a little weight loss support group in my office, and I'm really excited about it. I need as much motivation as I can get to get myself back on track. Seriously, it's so frustrating! I know what i need to do to lose weight...I've done it before. I just can't stick with it. But, I'm going to do it, and I think this will really help me! I'm going to start up on Saturday....restart my 60 DaySlimdown videos, and get back to eating healthy. I'm not going to hardcore diet because I had a clear dip in my milk supply last time I tried to do that, but I'm just going to make better food choices. Pumping still takes up my breaks and lunch at work, so for exercise I'm just going to do my videos, and try to add in an after dinner family walk now that it's getting nicer out. Hopefully these changes will help me for now.

Christian and I both had dentist appointments today. I left work early for mine. Luckily, I have pretty great teeth. I never had a cavity until I was 19 years old, then had two or three bad appointments, and ever since I've been in the clear. I had my wisdom teeth pulled 3 years ago, but that's pretty standard. So, like usual, I got a pretty clean bill of health. Christian's dentist seems to think he grinds his teeth when he sleeps...seems odd to me that he would all of a sudden start doing that though. Of course he tried to convince Christian that he needs a molded mouth guard. I said no way, you can try a regular old sports mouth guard to start with. Maybe it would help with his annoying snoring too!!!

I stopped at Target after the dentist to exchange Olivia's too small clothes, and return the rain boots. I ended up finding another paid of shoes for $2.00!!! And, got her some 3T pants...my baby is getting so big! Then, I picked up the girls, and we headed home. Olivia had another good potty day...used the potty every time except after her nap. I think it's going to take some time, but we're making progress. However, her behavior is not getting any better. It's getting to the point where I think we're going to have to talk to somebody. She is just so evil towards Amelia, and it's not getting better. I expected some backlash in the beginning, but it's been 9 months!!! Come on! Yesterday, Amelia was in the pack n' plan, and Olivia started shaking it wildly because Amelia wouldn't say "papa". Today, when my mother in law walked away for a minute, Olivia actually pushed over the high chair, with Amelia sitting in it. This behavior just seems beyond the standard jealous big sister behavior. Grrrrrrrrr

While I ran to Target and picked up the girls, Christian helped his friend with his car for a little while. Then, we were finally all home for the night. We ate a quick dinner, and just hung out until bed time.

Here is Amelia, sporting her new "shoes". We're never been big "infant shoe" people...I prefer for them to go shoeless, because they are a useless expense, and delay then from walking properly, so these are more like slippers. And, I love them. These are part of my new obsession of online shopping. I am obsessed with the website babysteals.com, and they've had a ton of great stuff lately! I ordered these, a pair of sunglasses for Olivia, an "elephant ear" pillow for Amelia and some glass storage containers. Seriously, they have the best stuff, I'm obsessed, really.