7/25/12

Work has been pretty crazy…still. It seems like every time I get a Contract written, 2 more show up in my box. I keep thinking the chaos will stop at some point, but it doesn’t. At all. Transportation is really booming right now…it’s great for us, and the state, but definitely stressful! Christian’s work has been going well. He’s enjoying his new position, but hasn’t been working as much overtime lately. Hopefully that changes, because I enjoy the extra money, that’s for sure!

After work, I picked up the girls, dropped Amelia off at home with Christian, and took Olivia shopping. We went to Toys R Us to get Amelia a couple small birthday gifts, and find a gift for her BFF Bella’s party on Sunday. She helped me pick out a baby doll bath and medical kit for Amelia, and a My Little Pony for Bella. We grabbed some cards for them, and we’re good to go! Next up, we stopped into the big Burger King by the store so Olivia could eat and play in the Playland for a while. Then, we made our way back home in time for baths and bed. Another busy night down!

I got my workout in when the girls went to bed, and caught up on a couple of shows. I feel like I can really DO Level 2 now…I can pretty much get through the entire video now, with a couple short water breaks. I do still do some modified exercises, but that’s really because of my knees…I’d rather modify a couple exercises, than hurt myself and not be able to do anything. So, YAY me!

Since we'll be pretty busy the next few days, I took Amelia's 2 year photo tonight, and put together a little collage. So much change in 2 short years.

7/24/12

Today was just a pretty typical day. Work the day away, play with the girls, bedtime. Nothing too exciting. We did some random cleaning and picking up around the house, getting ready for the party this weekend, but nothing strenuous. We made some great progress yesterday, and plan to get a majority of it done on Friday and Saturday morning, so we're trying to take it easy when we can.

This is my final week of 30 Day Shred, Level 2. I’m getting really anxious for Level 3…nervous, but anxious. Excited to see how I progress through it, and if I survive! Although, I’m not sure when exactly I’ll start up Level 3. The party is Saturday, we have plans on Sunday, and then our friends arrive late Tuesday to stay for a week. I’m thinking that I’m just going to have to face the facts, and put it off until after our friends leave. Better to just plan that, than be disappointed in myself for not doing it.

Today we got a special birthday card from our online friends, Jenna and Nicholas. I can't believe this little girl will be 2 in a couple days! Love!

7/23/12

Monday again. They just show up, no matter how hard you wish them away!!

Today ended up being a short work day for me. The thoughts of everything I had to do at home just kept piling up on me. I’m still super swamped at work, but nothing was TOO pressing. So, I put in a few hours, got a couple piles cleared off my desk, and made my way home.

I grabbed a salad from Wendy’s for lunch, ate quick, then got to work on the basement. I put the toy room back together (which took up a majority of the afternoon), vacuumed the whole basement, put the princess area together, including moving around the little decals I put up a while back and I cleaned up the laundry room and laid down some rugs. Everything is really starting to come together. I have some laundry to move upstairs, otherwise the basement living area, laundry room and toy room are done! YES. Just have to buy the ottoman, clean the bathroom before the party, and clean the guest room before our friends come, and we’ll be golden!

Christian picked up the girls, and got right to work on the yard (before the rain!). He mowed and fertilized. The yard has taken quite a hit with the sun. We’ve stayed up on watering it pretty well, and even our plants are doing pretty well still, but there are some burnt patches around the yard. Ugh. TOO HOT! I made dinner, ate with the girls, gave them their baths and put them to bed. Christian went out for a beer with his friend after his yardwork was done. I got my workout in made my way to bed. Another day down!

Olivia was cuddled on the couch with her blankie, a bag of rice cakes, Amelia’s blanket and the dog watching some TV before bed tonight. I wanted to snap a picture, but of course, that was the perfect time to make a goofy face instead! LOL

7/22/12

Busy, Busy, Busy day!

Amelia was up fairly early this morning, but she played well by herself while we rested and Olivia slept. Olivia finally woke up around 8:30, we had some breakfast and I got them dressed and ready for the day right away. Today, they were off to my mom’s house so Christian and I could clean in preparation for Amelia’s birthday party next weekend.

I dropped them off around 10:00, stopped into the party store to order balloons and pick up a couple things, stopped into the Dollar Store to pick up a couple more things, then home to get to work, sweeping up the kitchen. Christian ran to Home Depot while I was out to pick up some yard stuff, a new toilet seat (VERY exciting stuff) and rent a heavy duty carpet cleaner.

We ate some lunch when he got home, and slaved away the rest of the day. I vacuumed the living room, stairs and bedrooms, then he followed up with the carpet cleaner. OMG it looks so great! He was also able to clean the couches with them (the k ids have DESTROYED them over the years) and they look brand new. SO EXCITING! I dusted the living room and bedrooms while he worked on the carpet. I also had to clear out the toy room and vacuum in there so he could clean that carpet too (this is the room the cats used to pee in a lot…we’ve had it cleaned before, but the smell was starting to come out again. I can’t wait until we can get new carpet in there too!) The girls arrived home right as Christian was finishing up, so perfect timing! He went to return the carpet cleaner while I packed up the girls’ bag…they were off to spend the night at my mother in laws. We still had so much to do, and she watches them tomorrow anyway, so it worked out well. Then, he was off to drop them off while I finished some final dusting upstairs.

Next up, I started on the kitchen. I cleaned out the junk drawers and random piles that have accumulated on the counters, got all of the recycling together, cleaned out the fridge and washed dishes. Still a lot to do, but that’s all I could get in before I was just too exhausted to go on. I had done a few loads of laundry throughout the day, so I folded the final load, and made my way to bed. Christian cleaned the master bathroom (I’m so grateful he is OK with cleaning the bathrooms!). He was beyond exhausted by the time he was done. BUT, the house is looking great, so at least it’s all worth it in the end!

Here's a shot of Christian, hard at work today. Love to see him cleaning the house :)

7/21/12

Today was fun for me, exhausting for Christian.

Christian was up bright and early to help our neighbor move. This was supposed to happen weeks ago, but she changed the date a couple of times. We had plans today, but I agreed to go solo while he helped her…ONLY because she was paying him and we can always use the extra money. Otherwise, I was pretty upset about the delays and several changes of plans. He ended up helping her from 7:00AM-7:00PM. Crazy. She didn’t plan well at all…it was just Christian, his friend and our other neighbor doing EVERYTHING. Poor guy.

The girls were up SUPER early today. I was upset about it, but we had a party to go to at 1:00, so it actually worked out well. We ate some breakfast, played for a while, and I was able to get them down for an early nap around 10:30. I showered and got ready, packed up our bag for the day, did a little picking up, then woke them up to get them ready. We stopped into Target, and made our way to the party. Today we were celebrating my BFF’s son, Andrew’s birthday. 8th BIRTHDAY. Wow. They had his party at Cascade Bay, and the weather was PERFECT for the waterpark. The girls had so much fun. Olivia went down the slides over and over again and practiced swimming…she actually puts her face under water and tries to swim. I don’t even know where she’s learned that! Amelia is not afraid of water at all…which is good, but bad at the same time. She’ll travel into water that’s too deep for her. She’ll sit down in the water, where the water can then go over her face, and just laugh like it’s the funniest thing ever. Terrifying. I try not to panic or go crazy because I don’t want her to be afraid of water, but it’s scary. Definitely need to get them into swim lessons!

After a few trips down the lazy river, some slides, some presents, dinner and cake, and lots of sun, we made our way home. We didn’t end up getting home until after 7:00. The girls were a handful most of the day…not listening great, fighting with each other and just driving me crazy in general. They were finally quiet and playing well together. I was working on their baby books to wind down a little bit (I FINALLY printed some pictures to add to them), and things were fairly peaceful. Then *CRASH* in the kitchen. I went to check it out, and they had gotten ahold of Amelia’s “2” figurine for her birthday, and broken it. I was furious…it’s not even her birthday yet, I didn’t even GIVE it to her yet, it was in a box, in the Styrofoam and everything. It was the last straw. They were both sent to their room, and they knew immediately this was serious. I called Christian, who was FINALLY on his way, and he rushed home to deal with them.

We all relaxed, composed ourselves and took some deep breaths. The girls finally went down to bed, and I was basically done for the day. I had grand plans of starting on our cleaning tonight, but I was way too worn out to even think about it. So, we all called it a night.

Here are some pictures from the party fun.

7/20/12

Today did not start off well. I weighed in, and I gained 2lbs. I knew it wouldn’t be a great week…I lost a lot last week, we had out little vacation and I’m just feeling heavy this week, but 2lbs seems extreme to me. BUT, I’m still down 29.6 total, so I’m trying to focus on that.
Work was good. This day, the week, flew by just like they have been for a while, so I can’t complain. Christian has been going into work around 6:00 to get in some extra overtime, so YAY for that!

I picked the girls up from my mom after work and we made our way home. We played in the basement for a while. Christian brought home some dinner and we all spent a little time together. Then, he hung out with the girls and got them to bed, while I got some work done in the basement. I got the last of the wall décor hung up and submitted the photo’s I needed to print for the walls, AND for the baby books (which currently don’t have any photos in them…oops). Christian went to bed pretty early because he’ll be helping our neighbor move all day tomorrow. So, I just did my workout, watched a couple shows and relaxed by myself before passing out. Fun, busy weekend ahead of us!

While I was cleaning up some downstairs, the girls were upstairs coloring and Christian ran outside to start up the sprinklers. I went upstairs to find Amelia crying and upset...Olivia had written all over her face with marker. It's fairly harmless, and pretty funny, except that she got REALLY close to Amelia's eye, and just the thought of what could have happened terrified me. Seriously, cannot take your eyes off of them for a second!

7/19/12

Today wasn’t a great day. I just felt kind of off, and emotional all day long. I don’t get like that often, but it seemed like everything was going wrong. I stepped on the scale out of curiosity this morning, and it wasn’t good. The girls were not cooperative this morning, we were running late, I forgot Amelia’s new package of diapers and wipes in the car when I dropped them off, then was late for work. I got e-mail after e-mail with problem after problem all day at work. My inbox keeps growing and growing and it’s stressing me out. The day just couldn’t end soon enough.

I picked the girls up after school, and they were in better moods, so that was nice. Christian could tell I was pretty stressed out, so he ended up taking them to his moms for dinner. I worked out, relaxed for a little while and enjoyed the peaceful time to myself. Did some laundry, folded some clothes.

The girls arrived home in time for bed, and we weren’t far behind. I did find them both in the bathroom, having a little potty party before bed though, which was an entertaining highlight of the day.

Hoping for a better day tomorrow!

7/18/12

Well, this week is flying by, again. Love it!

After work, I picked up the girls, we met Christian at home, ate some dinner and hung out for a little bit. I took to the basement and hung some of the frame and decor we bought. I can't wait for the basement to FINALLY be finished! YAY.

As I was hard at work, Christian and the girls were outside watering the plants and setting up the sprinkler...when, the Ice Cream truck drove by. This was the first time we’ve ever seen an Ice Cream truck in our neighborhood…Christian flagged them down and ran in to tell me he was there. I think he was more excited than the kids – so of course, they all needed a treat. LOL. Oh, good times.

Once the girls were finally in bed, I got my workout in and headed to bed. Another tiring day has come to an end.

7/17/12

Today was a very productive day. I plowed through some work, which felt great. Then, I left a little early to run some errands. First up, Michaels’ for some picture frames. Time to finally finish up the basement…I needed 4 frames for the princess prints and two collage frames. All of their frames were on sale, and I had a 25% off coupon, so it ended up being fairly cheap. And, I bought a HUGE collage frame for the hallway that I am totally in love with. YAY!

Next, I stopped into Hallmark to get Amelia’s “2” figurine. Both of the girls get the Precious Moments Train for their birthday every year, it’s so cute!

Next, Target. Grocery shopping, picked up the cool butterfly mirrors for the princess area in the basement, ordered Amelia’s birthday party cake, bought her a party outfit and made my way home.

I got everything put away, then I was off and running again…Walmart to pick up salsa ingredients (damn Target for not carrying tomatillos anymore!), then picked up the girls.

Holy Moly!!! Exhausted much?!? I started our dinner…salsa, tacos, rice. We ate, and then I finally sat down for a few minutes. We hung out for some family time, including putting together our little lego train models from Duluth (for their souvenir shelves), until the girls went to bed. Then I ordered the girls’ 2 Year/3.5 Year photo outfits, got my workout in and PASSED OUT. Whoa!

Also, I’m not sure if it was my outfit, but I had several people at work ask me if I’ve been losing weight today. YAY, best question ever!

Here is a shot of the girls with their Lego Trains. They were so excited to add them to their shelves :)

7/16/12

Back to reality today. Ugh. Oh how I wish we were still sitting by the beach…

It hit me this morning that I really need to start planning the girls’ pictures. I knew it was “coming up”, but holy crap Amelia is going to be 2 in 10 DAYS! And, Olivia is already over 3.5. Clocks ticking. We can’t afford to spend the money on professional pictures right now, so I was just going to take some myself. So, I posted on facebook for some location ideas (and, yay, got a couple). Right after I posted, I got a message from my friend Dawn, from Indiana, who’s family is coming to stay with us in a couple of weeks...who is a photographer. It never really dawned on me to ask her...not because she’s not talented (I LOVE her pictures), I just would never want to ask her and make her feel obligated to do it. But, in her message to me, she offered to take them, almost like it was a given that would be doing them. I’m SO excited. Works out perfectly…I bet the girls will cooperative for her really good, and this way we can actually get some family shots too. Perfect! Now, I just need to get outfits situated, and a location…more planning!

After work, I did a little picking up around the house and relaxed for a while. The girls always end up taking a late nap at his parents’ house on Monday’s, so they ended up eating dinner there and coming home late.

When the family arrived home, it was time for baths and bed. Olivia kept asking about vacation tonight, she misses the beach. As they were getting ready for bed, I was watching America’s Got Talent. There was a contestant named Spencer…which is the name of my friend Dawn’s 6 year old (the one we went to the Dell’s with). Olivia LOVES him, and got so excited when she heard his name. She looks at me and says “Mom, Spencer?!? I know Spencer! Spencer is my boyfriend” and she had the biggest, girly, lovestruck smile on her face. It was so cute. I can’t wait to see her reaction when they come for their visit in a few weeks! PS – I don’t know WHERE she learned about boyfriends…

I got my workout in after the girls went down. I started Level 2 today and OUCH. It’s SO hard, I can’t imagine making it to Level 3! But, I will…I WILL get there.

Apparently the animals missed me while we were away, because they all swarm me when I go to bed. I have a little body pillow of cats and dogs when I sleep now...awesome.