2013 - Week 18

Here's to another week! This was a pretty low-key week, but it did bring us a pretty exciting milestone for Amelia!

On Monday, I got to sport some open-toed shoes to work! YES!! I don't care what anybody things, after this winter, that's noteworthy! Especially since we're heading for another winter-weather advisory on Wednesday - WINTER-weather advisory, on May 1st. W-T-F. I also scored a a couple buy-on-get-one free deals on wristbands to Como Town (the little amusement park attached to one of our zoo's) for the summer - love me a good deal! Other than that, it was Monday as usual...work, kids to the in-laws, home for some dinner, play, baths and bed. Pretty exciting!

Open-Toes!

It's Official - see tomorrow's recap :)

Tuesday brought us Amelia's latest milestone - she is officially transitioning to the Preschool room at KinderCare. She's visited a couple times, but they're hoping to have her completely transitioned in the next two weeks. CRAZY - we officially have two preschoolers, I can't believe it! Olivia should still be moving up to pre-kindergarten this summer...I'm just hoping they can survive a couple months together! I left work a couple hours early. I was developing a headache all day long, and just couldn't take working on the computer with it any longer. I stopped into Target quick to pick up a couple necessities, got my workout in (yes, even with a headache...I'm NOT getting derailed!) and picked the girls up. Christian didn't get home from work until really late, so it was just the girls and I, leftovers for dinner and some QT with the iPad. Amelia did have me laughing pretty hard tonight. I was sitting on the couch with the girls, and Amelia snuggled right up next to me. I sarcastically asked her if she "had enough room" and she says "No, I need more room for my elbows...I need more elbow room!" (elbow space). It was the funniest thing - I can't even remember saying that to her, but she picked it up somewhere, and it's hilarious. As much as they can drive me absolutely CRAZY, man do they make me laugh.

Amelia's First Day of Preschool!

Olivia broke out the sidewalk chalk and wrote her name - for some reason, she's obsessed with writing backwards. I don't get it...

On Wednesday...IT happened again. Snow. Snow, snow, snow. Ugh. So over it. I cured my winter blues with some more deal buys online - a ProFlowers living social deal (YAY for Mother's Day deals!) AND, my next workout on babysteals. So excited. The very first workout series I did was Moms into Fitness "60 Day Slimdown"...the one I'm doing now is another Moms into Fitness program "Pretty Fierce: Weight Loss". I love this trainer and her programs so much, I'm obsessed. Her Pretty Fierce program was featured again today, so I snagged the next one in the series, "Lean Out". I think I'll end up doing another round of Weight Loss first, but I'm super excited! I LOVE these deal sites! That was pretty much the highlight of my day.

Playing with the Sock Puppets they made with Dad...

Thursday was my Friday, and it couldn't have come sooner! It's been a good week, but work has just been kicking my butt. Everything is so crazy and such a rush, it's exhausting! Our scanner was out all day today, and I was seriously about to go "Office Space" on it. Yes, "Friday" was very welcomed. When the girls and I arrived home, they decided to help themselves to some peanut putter toast...seriously, I don't even know where they come up with this stuff. They got themselves some bread, popped it in the toaster, gathered up some peanut butter and a butter knife, and Olivia served it out. Wow. I guess I should be happy their self-sufficient?

The girls, helping themselves to a snack...

Some cat "cuddles" before bed.

The girls were up bright and early on Friday, what's new! Christian was off to work, and the snow was coming down like crazy. I didn't even know it was supposed to snow today. Lame. I did a little cleaning, paid some bills and did our checkbooks. I got my workout in and the girls and I hung out - played some games, watched some TV and relaxed a bit. Gotta love the "weekend"! During naps, I caught up on some pinning - I haven't been on Pinterest forever...and, I can tell you, we'll be hitting some outdoor projects for sure this summer. I want us (probably meaning Christian, and my dad, LOL) to build a tree bench, get a vegetable garden going, and I'd love to lay down a brick/rock path to the firepit, and build an underground firepit. And, of course, get our plants going again. However, this all hinges on summer actually showing up at some point, so I guess we'll see what happens there! Our evening was pretty low key. Christian brought home some takeout for dinner, so we all hung out, ate, and had some family time. Since he works Saturday's now, it's usually a pretty early night for us.

This is how I found the girls this morning...in the 3 minutes it took me to get up and put my contacts in after they woke up, they helped themselves to some pringles and snuggled up with the iPad. The dynamic duo struck again!

This is how we felt about the snow this morning...luckily the rain that followed washed it all away.

Playing in the Rain

"Our" Ducks were out Playing the Rain too!

Saturday was a pretty good day. The girls definitely tested some boundaries throughout the day, but overall, we survived. We watched a little TV, had some breakfast...the usual. They played in their playroom while I got my workout in, showered and got ready for the day. Then, we were off! First, Olivia's swim class. I got her mid-session "report card", and I was a little disappointed. I'm pretty sure she's doing worse than she did last session - how is that even possible?!? BUT, it seemed like today's class was better - she was front floating way better than she ever has before, even putting her face under water, so I guess that's progress. After class, we were off to Target. I had to pick up a gift for a baby shower tomorrow, and some other goodies. I got myself some heavier hand weights for my program, I got Olivia a bike helmet, in anticipation of moving her to two-wheel's this summer, and finally got her a t-ball, bat and tee to start practicing for t-ball next year. I'm pretty sure I'm way more excited than her, but whatever, I can't wait! We got a couple other goodies, grabbed some lunch and made our way home, just as Christian was arriving home from work. We ate and the girls went right down for their naps...Christian followed suit, while I caught up on some Hulu. I seriously don't know what I would do without naptime - it's so amazing! After naps, Olivia wanted to try out her new helmet, and the sun finally made an appearance, so we played outside for a little while. I made some dinner, and Christian was off to watch the Mayweather fight with some friends. Once the girls were in bed, I did some blogging, played on the computer for a while and enjoyed the peace and quiet of an empty house. How wonderful!

Trying out her new helmet and bell!

Sunday did not go quite as expected. At all really. Sunday was supposed to be a day of working in the yard, trying out the new t-ball set, getting my usual chores done, and attending a baby shower for my cousin's wife.  However, that is not how the day played out. Yesterday, my car was sounding pretty bad again - basically, it sounds like an airplane taking off every time I stop or take off. It's done it before, and it's not pretty. So, Christian had to spend the day changing the brakes and a rotar...again. Obviously we realize there is something else wrong, actually causing them to go bad. So, he and his dad will be trying to figure that out in the next week or so. In the meantime, my car is out of commission, and that's not a good thing. Also, Olivia started the day off complaining that she didn't feel well. But, every time we'd ask what hurt, what's wrong - she just said "I don't know". Eventually, she rushed off to the bathroom to throw up. She was also running a 102+ fever along with it, so she was definitely in a rough spot. She spent the rest of the day on the couch, with a cooling patch on and a couple doses of medicine. Poor thing. So, I was starting to panic a little bit. I eventually got in touch with my mom, and she offered to watch Olivia while Amelia and I went to the baby shower. Whew! So, I quickly did my usual chores...dishes and kitchen/entry clean up, showered...we got ready, and we were on our way after my mom showed up. The shower was fun - it was nice spending time with my family, and I'm a big fan of shower games, so I always have a blast. Christian arrived home with my car just before Amelia and I got home. Olivia was still not doing too hot and it breaks my heart to see them like that. Christian took Amelia off to his parents house for the night...they had our nieces for the weekend, so both of the girls were supposed to go spent the night there and hang out with them. Unfortunately for Olivia, that didn't pan out. Amelia was off and very excited though. Olivia and I hung out - she finally ate a little bit and seemed to be on the mend - it's hard to tell if that medication induced, or reality though. Hopefully in the morning she'll be right as rain, and it will have all been a fluke. In the end, I got some chores done, about half of the laundry done, and we didn't get to enjoy the nice weather at all. So sad!

My Poor Baby! I have this part of parenthood...

Amelia entertained herself quite well while we catered to Olivia this morning. I was quite impressed! Here she is, enamored with the Mickey Train...

Ending the day on a happier note - looking better!

The mom-to-be! Awwww :)

So, there ends another week. Some twists and turns along the week, but we made it! It's looking like we're actually in for some spring weather in the upcoming week, which is pretty exciting. YAY!

2013 - Week 17

Here we are. Another week. Yet another blast of winter, followed up by some summer. Yes, summer. WHAT!

Monday was pretty typical. Dropped the girls off, made my way to work. The usual. Christian had to help his dad with his car after work again, so he and the girls had dinner at his parents house. YES! I stopped into Target to do our weekly shopping after work. As I left work tonight, it was raining a little bit. By the time I left Target, it had turned to snow, and there was already a coating on the ground. Here we go again! As soon as I got everything put away, I got my workout in. The last two weeks of this program was straight cardio. NOT my forte at all, so it definitely kicked my butt. For these next two weeks, it's a cardio/lean strength hybrid. The cardio will still kill me, buy strength training is much more up my alley, so I'm excited about that addition. After my workout I was able to eat dinner and relax in the peace and quiet of our empty house. What a treat! The rest of the family arrived home just in time to put the girls to bed...Christian and I weren't far behind.

Here comes the snow!

Well, this morning we awoke to a winter wonderland...again. They're claiming this should be the last snow of the year - but I seriously have little faith in that at this point. We'll just see about that. Needless to say, the drive was a bit of a headache. Not as bad as ACTUAL winter, since the highways and main roads clear off pretty quickly at this point, but still. So annoying. The day quickly took a turn for the better around lunch, when I FINALLY won Star Party tickets on the radio. AWESOME! One of our local radio stations hosts this concert every spring...you can't buy tickets, you can only win them. They usually have 6 or 7 acts - usually one or two big names, and a bunch of up and comers. I've been trying for WEEKS, multiple times a day, to get through, and it finally paid off today! This year, the acts are:
Nelly (who I'm DYING to see)
Jason Derulo
Outasight
Hot Chelle Rae
Olly Murs
MKTO
and Ariana Grande (who I think sounds just like Mariah Carey, and excited to see).

The show is on May 17th, and I cannot wait! YAHOO! After work, the girls and I made our way home, and found a package for them in the mailbox. It was from my stepmom with some goodies, some coloring pages and little monsters. The girls are now obsessed with these monsters and thought it was pretty cool getting their own mail. The rest of the night was pretty standard - workout, dinner, playing with the girls for a while. What a fantastic day though!

Winter Wonderland! Is it April 23rd...or December 23rd?!?

You've Got Mail! Enjoying their monsters...

By Wednesday, most of the snow had melted. Back to reality. It rained for a while this evening, but things are supposed to change drastically tomorrow, and stay nice through the weekend. FINALLY!! This morning I was pretty excited to hear the news that our Education Bill passed the senate. There are a few great aspects of it, but I'm most excited about them FINALLY adding all-day Kindergarten statewide! Right now, every district has the option, most don't offer it, including ours. You either do the completely pointless "half-day", which is really only 2.5 hours (seriously, what's the point?!? Especially when they go to KinderCare already - they might as well just stay there!), or you pay for all-day kindergarten - which is limited availability, and isn't cheap. In our district, it's $375 a month right now for all-day - not to mention we'd still have to pay before, OR before & after care at KinderCare on top of that. Ugh. OR, we just do the measly 2.5 hours, and then have to pay for them to go to KinderCare full time. Either way...ChaChing! The districts have 2 years to get their staffing and facilities up to par...so, for sure, Amelia will be fine. I have my fingers crossed Olivia will be good to go next year (2014). Other than that, it was a standard day...work, picked up the girls, workout, dinner, relax. What a life!

Watching the rain. I wonder what she could be thinking...

Cuddles with my little BFF before bed.

Thursday was not a great day. I made the mistake of weighing myself. I swore I was packing away the scale and I wasn't going to let it control me anymore. I was feeling really strong, I was feeling more energetic and thought I was really doing a great job. It's been 2.5 weeks of working HARD and eating well (after not doing so for several weeks). I didn't expect miracles, but I was hoping for a little scale motivation. So, I hopped on...and I hadn't lost a dang thing! I couldn't believe it. NOTHING! It sent me into an instant downward spiral (which is why I packed the scale away), and I was in a horrible, crabby, sad, emotional mood the rest of the day. And, of course, I spent the next few days self-sabotaging myself. So frustrating - I'm so sick of this uphill battle I could scream! But, next week, right back on track, and that's all I can do. Pick myself up, push through, and keep trying! Other than that, the day was pretty normal. The weather is starting to get better, FINALLY, so we spent a little time outside, playing, before dinner and bedtime. YAY for fresh air!

Spring is Springing! Some outdoor fun!

Friday was the start of our super, duper amazing weather! 70's, sun shining, blue skies. AMAZING - and how could you not be in a better mood! Christian took my car today, and ran to the tire shop on his lunch break. We replaced two of the tires abut 1.5 years ago, and they're already junk. So, he went back to the place we got them, and was able to get two new ones, put on and sealed for half price. Not too bad. The work day flew by pretty fast, he did have to work even later than usual though to 1) make up for his long lunch, and 2) fill in for his supervisor who's off this week. My mom dropped the girls off to me at work this afternoon because she had to come into the city, so we made our way home right from work. I changed them into some shorts and we spent a nice long time at the park down the street. They were in heaven! For a change - they actually must have worn themselves out though, because they were ready to go when I wrangled them up. We had some dinner when we got home, watched a movie and hung out. Fresh air, so exhausting!

WHAT?!?

Fun at the park! Shorts, t-shirts, sun, warmth. WOW!

Our ducks are back! I swear, these same ducks come back EVERY spring, since we bought our house. It's awesome! They're soul mates!

On Saturday, Christian was off to work. The girls and I hung out and I started doing some cleaning and picking up around the house (which, once again, looks like a tornado ripped through). Then, we were off to Olivia's swim class. Amelia has been getting a little more attention seeking during class...she started off pretty calm and just watched the kids swim when I started bringing her with...but, with every passing week, she gets a little more ants-in-the-pants and tests the limits. That's been fun. After class we stopped into Walmart to grab a couple things, and had lunch at Taco Bell. They went right down for their nap when we got home and I settled in to watch some TV just as Christian got home. Not long after, I got a call from Bella's mom asking if we could watch her for a while. So, Bella and I spent some time playing outside while we waited for the girls to wake up. Then, they went crazy the rest of the evening - eating some snacks, running around the yard, picking on each other. The usual. Bella's dad came by to pick her up and hung out with Christian for a while. Once they left to head home, I threw the girls in the bath, finished up dinner and we finally sat down for a bit. Christian's friend from work stopped over with some Mexican market goodies for him and they had a couple beers out in the garage. I was exhausted after dealing with the girls all day - it was just one of those days....they didn't listen to a word I said, they fought ALL day, about EVERYTHING, and I was at my wits end by the time they went to bed. It was a very frustrating, trying day to say the least. I was happy to have some time to myself..I cuddled up with a giant glass of Horchata and watched the repeat of Justin Timberlake on SNL before passing out. Mama said there'd be days like these!

The girls have become obsessed with making their beds. It's awesome and cute - but it makes it hard to get out of the house during the week some days...

For all of those non-believers - here is my almost 3-year old, happily rear facing in her car seat. Legs too long, uncomfortable...PSSSSSH, she's happy as a clam and thinks she owns the place!

Playtime with Bella!

Happy Plants and Tree and Dog...

Sunday was a pretty busy day. I spent a majority of the day finishing up my cleaning - I ended up getting the upstairs completely picked up and cleaned (the downstairs, is another story) - and doing laundry. Christian made breakfast and kept the girls busy most of the day. He took Olivia with him on a trip to Menards...time to get some fertilizer, and he decided to install a deadbolt on our front door. I took a quick shower and hung out with Amelia while they were gone...by little BFF. They had some lunch as soon as Christian got home, and went down for their naps. I did a little more cleaning and got ready while Christian installed the deadbolt, and got ready as well. Once the girls were up from their nap, we were off to Bella's house for a BBQ with them and some of their friends. BUT, first, we got to enjoy the first dog escape of the year. Of course...first nice weekend = first runaway dog = first annoyed neighbors. I'm seriously going to lose it - I told Christian I will NOT spend another spring/summer/fall dealing with this, so he better figure something out. We ate tons of food and watched the girls drive each other nuts for a while. We had to make a quick escape indoors for a bit while a rain storm passed by, otherwise it was a perfect evening! We finally made our way home, and got the girls to bed a little later than usual. I finished laundry and finally called it a night.

I've decided to finally tap into the beauty samples I've been collecting for the past year. Obsessed much?!? I love free stuff!

BBQ Time!

With that, we ended another week. It's hard to believe we'll be welcoming May this upcoming week. This year is just flying by!