6/18/11 - New Love...And New Milestone

I have a new love...working on the weekends. I'm sure that sounds completely disgusting to most people, but I think I would honestly switch my schedule if possible to work on the weekends!

We were up bright and early this morning. I was hoping for some sleeping in after our late night last night, but I definitely got my hopes up too high there. After a little "waking up" time, and a quick shower, I was off to work. I finally had a free weekend day, Christian didn't have anything going on, I was off yesterday and I'm gone at training all day Monday, so it was the perfect time to go in and get some stuff done.

No ringing phone to ignore. No constant stream of e-mails coming in (enhanced greatly with the recent shut down notices that went out). No noisy coworkers. No cubicle crashers interrupting me. Just me, my radio and my computer, putting in some good, hard hours. I only ended up staying for 3 hours, but I got SOOOO much done in those 3 hours.

The rain rolled in just as I was leaving the building. I headed home, with a quick stop at the post office to buy some stamps and mail Amelia's birthday invitations out (YAY, more party progress!). Then, I pulled into the garage, it was definitely nap time, and I was excited for some peace and quiet....only to be met with the little baby squeals and giggles from Amelia as I walked into the house. Even worse, Olivia, while in her crib, was wide awake talking to herself as well. Grrrr. So, I took Amelia and nursed her to sleep, and Olivia eventually dozed off.

Christian spent the rest of the afternoon napping as well...apparently when it rains, he doesn't have anything to do. I spent the rest of the afternoon doing laundry, paying bills and having a little quiet computer time all to myself.

We made a big switch today....Olivia is no longer in her crib as of tonight! AHHHHHH. I swore I wouldn't do this until I absolutely had to, but after the other nights middle of the night accident because she couldn't get to the potty, it is time. So, we mounted the new monitor (LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it by the way), and changed her bed from the crib to the toddler setting. We're attempting the no side rail thing right now, so we'll see how it goes. She is VERY excited about her new big girl bed. I, am not. Praying that we don't have a long stream of long nights.

So, that's our Saturday!! Here are some pics of the big bed switch, including our awesome monitor, I just had to share! Of course, Olivia had to help take the bed apart. And, the girls already had to have a little party in the new bad together. It warmed my heart to see that actually. I can't believe my baby is big enough to be in a big girls bed! So sad!

6/17/11 - Day of Randomness

So, here are my facebook posts from today:

"is spending the morning watching baby shows on TLC...awwwwwww, ♥ me some baby shows. BABIES!!"

"It's hotter outside than it looks. Payday Friday means take out for dinner; repeat craving for Thai going on. Chicken nuggets and fruit all around for lunch! I've resorted to having the toddler nap in mommy's bed on my day off just to get a nice, LONG naptime. We are officially pulling the plug on one of our potted plants, RIP. I need to stop watching baby shows because it's making me have bad thoughts. That is all."

"I love my weeble wobble walker. I love that my girls took LONG naps today and are actually getting along. I love that my honey is bringing me Thai food for dinner. I love our new kickass baby monitor. I love that I finally caught up on SYTYCD today. I love that I still have DQ cake in the freezer. YAY for ♥!"

And, that about sums up the day...lots of randomness. It was my Friday home with the girls. Olivia was shockingly, curiously good today. She was actually nice to Amelia, played with her, listened well. I was pleasantly surprised. After the girls were up, we all ate some breakfast, hung out for a bit, watched some TV and got dressed for the day. My maternity leave obsession with baby shows was back in full force today, so I spent the morning watching them. Man, it makes me want a baby so bad. Nothing like baby shows, pregnant women, new babies, etc. to throw your baby fever into full effect! I often worry that I'll never get over that desire to be pregnant again. I'm sure, it will one day pass though.

After all that excitement, I loaded up the stroller and we were off on a walk to the park. I decided to try out a new park, and it ended up being a much further walk than I anticipated. On top of that, it was incredibly humid out....I was not expecting that. By the time we got there, played, and got home...I was sweating like it was going out of style, my feet were killing me because I definitely wore the wrong shoes, and we were all very exhausted. So, I heated up some chicken nuggets, cut up some fruit, and that was our lunch. The girls quickly went down for their naps...Olivia in my room, Amelia in her crib. I was longing for a nice stretch of alone time, and this usually does it for me!

While the girls napped, I caught up on some DVR wonderfullness, cleaned up a little bit, and ordered some takeout Thai (again) for Christian to pick up on his way home. I got a surprise text from the BFF asking if she and Andrew could stop over for a while, so we had some fun guests make a surprise appearance. We quickly ate some dinner, then spent some time in the back yard. I realized a few things. 1) We definitely need to re-pot one of our plants, the dead flowers in it make me sad. 2) Chuy needs to be fixed, like REAL bad. 3) There are an ungodly amount of bugs around our house, and it's grossing me out.

After they left, we put the two dirtiest girls I've ever seen in my life into the bath, and then they were off to bed. It was quite late by the time they went down, so I'm hoping for a little bit of sleeping tomorrow! Our new monitor came in, and I was really hoping to get it up tonight, but of course it has to charge and all that jazz. Boo, can't wait to try it out tomorrow!

So, that was my day of randomness. Here are some pics from the park today.

6/16/11 - I'm Too Old...

Going to a concert, on a week night, definitely reaffirms the fact that I am, indeed, Old.

I fully intended on going in to work late today. I was going to get up just in time to drop the girls off, then go home, and sloooowly get ready and head in to work. However, my loud sleeper of a husband had different plans. He decided to keep me up most of the night with his snoring/loud breathing, so as I laid there, awake, at my usual time to get up, I figured it was pointless to go in late at that point. Not to mention the middle of the night event we had...Olivia had to go to the bathroom during the night, and didn't call out for us in time, so we had a little accident. Her first accident in a LONG time, and first ever during the night. Poor thing.

So, off to work I went, barely awake, semi-zombie, and that fact was very obvious to everybody at work. I spent the day doing some catch up from my early day yesterday, and was given a few rush items to get done, which didn't, so I think I will for sure be heading in for a while this weekend to get some stuff done.

After work, I stopped into Target, again, because I forgot to get Christian some new socks yesterday (seriously, the man goes through socks like crazy). I checked out the kid clothes while I was there and picked up a few clearance stuff for Olivia. Finally, we all met up back home for a spaghetti dinner and some family time. A pretty low key, very tired Thursday. But, I was on cloud 9 still after the great night last night, so that kept me going :)

Christian laid down some fertilizer tonight, so we played outside for a little while. I got a cute picture of Amelia checking out the flowers :) Love her cute face!

6/15/11 - T. Swift!!!

Today was the day...the day of my very first real concert. I was literally on pins and needles all day, I just couldn't wait! I was a kid in a candy store. I ended up taking a half day off so I could do our weekly Target shopping, get home, do a little cleaning, eat some lunch and take my time getting ready.

I found a bunch of cheap pool and sand toys at Target, and snatched those up. Got my and the girls' father's day cards and a little extra gift for Christian (the Twins game on Sunday is his actual gift), and the usual food and necessities. I really think I could spend all day, and every penny I have, at Target. I swear, we'd go broke if I actually bought everything I wanted! LOL

Finally, I was showered, "gussied" up and ready go to. I met Nate and Gini at his parents' house so he could drive us to the show. We arrived, and had no idea what to expect. Gini's been to a million concerts, but nothing like Taylor Swift. The first guy to play was a solo artist, Randy Montana. He was REALLY good. Then, NeedtoBreathe took the stage, and I really enjoyed them...they had a different sound, and were actually very good as well. Then, finally, Taylor took the stage. It was actually a really great show. She had a costume and stage chance for almost every song, with a fun surprise entrance every time she came back. She walked through the crowd to the other side of the stadium to play a few songs, then came back. Her encore included my favorite song of hers, "Fifteen". And, she ended the show by getting into the "flying" balcony, and floating around the stadium, over the crowd (including us because our seats were AMAZING).

I couldn't believe how great the show was. Even Gini, who was a little apprehensive about going to a Taylor Swift concert, thought the show was really good, and was pretty impressed with her. I mean, she plays a ton of different instruments, writes her own songs, and puts on a pretty great show. All in all, it was a great night!

We got out of the show a little before 11:00 (it took FOREVER just to get out of the stadium), and I finally got home a little after 11:30. Pumped, and PASSED out. My plan is to go in late tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes.

Here are some of my favorite concert pics. They aren't the best because I didn't bring the good camera, but it did the job.

6/14/11 - ...

... = I really don't have anything to post today. It was just a pretty normal day. Work is going well for me right now...well, except the whole layoff thing of course. But, when it comes to my actual work, I have managed to keep up pretty well the last few days. The last hald of June is pretty chaotic as it is, since it is the end of the year money wise, so things will definitely pick up over the next couple weeks. How that will tie into all of the shut down preparations and everything, I have no idea.

After work we all just met up at home and took it easy most of the night. I was just very excited all day because tomorrow is the big concert, and I'm a big nerd for that, but I don't care!

Here are a couple pictures to share tonight. Olivia decided Mickey needed a little pre-bed nap, so she laid down with him. And, Amelia, with a tornado of toys left in her path. LOL.

6/13/11 - YAY, Yes, YAY for Monday

Today started off on a wonderful note. And yes, it really is Monday.

I was up and at it early as usual. Amelia tossed and turned a bit, but got herself back to sleep. I'm glad she's starting to develop that skill...FINALLY. However, Olivia was a very early riser today, waking up shortly after I finished my shower. So, she got to hang out with us while we got ready for the day.

I dropped the girls off, like usual, and headed in to start my day. I have to admit, it's tough to be at work right now. It's hard to concentrate on work, hard to work [rush] on Contracts that will probably not get off the ground, and just hard to be there right now. I mean, it's "business as usual", yet that's all anyone can think about. I try to just stay in my cubicle and avoid everything. Our office was working on sending out certified letters to our consultants to stop work today. While I am finally catching up, I still have a little ways to go, and I'm not willing to get myself back in a tough spot...so I wasn't really a team player today. Of course, I could hear some conversation about me behind my back for not participating, but whatever. Had I actually been asked, or told by my supervisor to help out, I would have, however, that didn't happen, so I focused on what I really needed to be focusing on right now.

Shortly after I arrived to work, KDWB gave away Taylor Swift tickets. They usually do some game or something during the morning show, and I don't participate, but today they just did caller 10, so I gave it a shot. And....I WON!!! I'm so excited. I am going to the concert, on Wednesday, for FREE! Man, I can't wait. I ended up leaving work a couple hours early so I could run to the station and pick up the tickets, then stopped in to Kohl's to buy a new outfit (and some other necessities I needed), then stopped home to pump and clean up...the usual.

Once Christian arrived home, we grilled some dinner, hung out outside in the beautiful weather, and enjoyed the evening. I was on cloud 9 all day from my big win, and I'm super excited. Here are some pictures of our outside time. Olivia finally discovered there is a little boy living next door. Uh oh...

6/12/11 - I Called It

Yes, indeed, I called it. I woke up with a pounding headache, and was dragging ALL.DAY.LONG. So frustrating! Between my TWO drinks (hours apart), being up late, and my 4:45AM wake up call, I was definitely feeling every bit of my 28 years today!

I managed to get a couple loads of laundry done, we ate some food, watched some TV and just kind of hung out. Amelia was having a really hard time with her teeth today and wouldn't nap for anything. We finally gave her some Motrin, and got both the girls down for a nap. At the same time, Nixon showed up to try to fix out wireless Internet. It took him a few hours and lots of trial and error, but he did it, and we're so excited to be back connected to the real world! He ended up giving us one of his old, more powerful, routers, which was super nice of him. YAY for Nixon!Amelia didn't nap for too long, but was content enough to play by herself as I rested and they worked on the computer. Then, Olivia woke up and Christian ended up taking her with him over to his parents house for a little while. Much needed break for me!

So, that was about it. The end of my birthday weekend, lots of R&R, that's for sure! I did get this super cute picture of Amelia today, playing with her new favorite toy...the curtains. Grrr

6/11/11 - Party Day

Today was a looooooooong day.

The girls had us up, bright and early. After a quick breakfast and a little hanging out, I hopped in the shower and started getting ready for the day. Amelia and I were off to my cousin's fiancee's bridal shower today, so we geared up for the 100+ mile drive down to the shower. It was a very long drive, but it went well. Amelia slept the entire drive, so that helped. The shower was a ton of fun too. I'm actually a big fan of showers though, and while shower games make me nervous, I actually really like them. I got to spend some time with my aunts and cousins, Amelia was the only baby there so she was a complete hit, and it was a nice to get out and get away for a while.

After the shower, I headed back on the road, and arrived home a little after 5:00, just in time to quick get ready to go out and "party". So, after getting ready, and getting my mom settled in for her night of babysitting, we were off to Minneapolis to meet a few friends...dinner at Famous Daves (YUM YUM YUM), and an Improv comedy shower, which, was SO FUNNY. It was different and very entertaining. I'd definitely go back!

After the show, we met Nate and Gini back at the house for a bonfire and some s'mores, and then called it a night. Now, I did have a Daiquiri at dinner, and a Mike's around the fire...so chances are, I won't be feeling well tomorrow. LOL, just can't hold anything anymore. LAME!

Here is a picture Jay snapped at the comedy show.

6/10/11 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY to ME!

YAY, it's my birthday. The big 2-8. It's hard to believe...soooooo close to 30! Where does the time go, seriously?! I love birthday's...mine, everybody's, I just love them. I love to celebrate birthday's and make people feel special on there's. I only wish everybody felt that way though! Every year, Christian asks what I want to do. Every year, I say nothing. My birthday is at the beginning of summer, when calendars start filling up and it's hard to plan anything. On top of it, most people I know don't seem to be very proactive about assuming when birthday celebrations will be held, so unless you give several months notice, people just aren't available. So, I always end up taking it personally, and get my feeling hurt because the turn out for my birthday celebrations is never very high. This year will be no different, but in the end, I agreed to celebrate, and we'll be going out tomorrow night. Even though it won't be a big crowd, I'm excited to get out, and I know those that really care will be there to celebrate with me, and that's all that matters!Today I went to work like normal. My mom came over to watch the girls, and gave me a Visa gift card...YAY, new clothes, here I come! I headed on into work, and it was a pretty standard day. For my work celebration, I requested Dairy Queen cake and Taco Dip, and that's exactly what I got. AND, it was delicious! My mom brought the girls in to celebrate with us, and they gave me some flowers and a card. It was too cute, and they were a hit, as usual.

Christian arrived home around 3:00, and took to our WAY overgrown lawn right away. He finished shortly after I got home, and gave me some flowers and a card as well. YAY for flowers :) We ordered some Thai food for dinner, and took it easy. I was pretty exhausted (well, I am old, so...), and headed to bed right after the girls went down. Party animal for sure!

So, 98% of my day was WONDERFUL, unfornately, there was some bad. As I opened the mail after work...IT had arrived...my layoff notice. What a great birthday present! I knew it was coming, and I've tried not to think about everything too much, but actually seeing it in writing, and having that black and white proof, was a hard pill to swallow. But, I quickly filed that away, and went back to enjoying my day. We'll just have to see what the coming weeks brings at this point.

So, here are some pics, the good and the bad...

6/9/10 - Final Day = A Quiet One

Well, this is it. My final day single parenting. And, I'm happy to say goodbye to this! I will admit, though Tuesday was a bit overwhelming, and I'm overly exhausted, the week actually went really well. The girls both went down to bed well each night, and slept straight through the night no problem. We're all clean, alive, fed and doing well. I'd say, it was a pretty successful week. I enjoyed out girls time, but I'm definitely ready for papa Duran to get home tomorrow!!

Work was good today. I'm STILL chipping away at my pile, and it is definitely getting smaller every day. I'm so excited. I was able to write a TON of Amendments today that I've been stalling on forever...some of them were assigned to me back in April!!! I've seriously been about 2 months behind for so long. I also made a committment today to start walking the stairs at work. I don't leave my floor too often, other than to pump, so I'm going to work up to taking the stairs back to my desk each time I pump. It's 7(14) flights of stairs, so it should end up being a pretty good work out. We had our weekly meeting today, and I was down a couple pounds, which was exciting. But, I have a long way to go, it's my birthday weekend, and I still need to really get motivated. I'm getting there though.

I left work a few hours early today. It's been tough keeping up on the usual housework between work, the kids and trying to get out and entertain them. So, I headed home and did some major cleaning up. If felt good to get in some good housework. Then, it was time to pick up the girls and go about our usual evening. Dinner, some play time, and bed! YAY. I will wake up older and wiser tomorrow, and when I get home from work, my other half will be home! Tomorrow will be a great day!

I snapped this goofy picture of Olivia today. This is what I get when I ask her to say "cheese" now. LOL