2014 - Week 44

Well, we’re off on another week. Halloween week, and welcoming another month. I can’t believe how close we are to the end of another year, this year is just flying by at a ridiculous pace. Monday was really just another Monday – nothing too interesting to share. The girls were ready to kick off a week of Halloween fun though…they’ve been waiting for what seems like FOREVER for Halloween.

Bathing Beauty

Tuesday brought a HORRIBLE start to the day. Just plain horrible. Eliza was up bright and early, around 3:30 and REFUSED to go back to sleep. Fed her, changed her, laid with her…nothing was working. I finally fell asleep, and she finally fell asleep, and then I slept right through my alarm clock. I flew out of bed, pumped and started running all over trying to get ready. The big girls refused to get out of bed and I had to pretty much grad them out kicking and screaming. I finally got them ready, got everything packed up, got Eliza up and ready, and loaded everybody/thing into the van. I got them to daycare, unloaded and checked in, and then realized just how freezing cold it was, and had to run back home for a sweater. I was finally on my way, when I hit some horrible traffic. Seriously, nothing was going my way. I finally arrived in the parking lot, about 45 minutes late, and as soon as I parked my right eye was just killing me. It started burning and itching and my eyes we were watering. I didn’t have any contact stuff with me, so I took my lens out and went to put it in my wallet for safe keeping, until I got to my desk (where I had a case and solution), when, of course, I dropped it. It was lost, lost forever. And I was officially done. I didn’t have any extras with me, I didn’t have my glasses with me…I was just over the day. I gave up, called my supervisor, and went home. Driving home with one contact in and one completely blurry eye proved to be quite interesting – I had to pirate it most of the way home. I ran into the house as fast as I could, took my other contact out and put my glasses on…ahhh, relief! Then, I spent the rest of the day working from home. I was pretty much ready for bed before the day had even started. I rewarded my horrible morning with starting the last season of Sons of Anarchy while I worked. LOVE!!! I’ll be done with it in no time, that’s for sure. After work, I was off to pick the girls up – tonight was their Harvest Party at the center, so I got them into their costumes and we celebrated…they decorated candy bags, played a couple of games, decorated cookies and had so much fun. We were all sweaty and exhausted by the end of the party, and made our way home. Christian picked up some dinner and met us at home, and we settled in for the night. Halloween celebration #1 done!

Fall Festival at Daycare

Wednesday was bit less hectic, but I was still feeling exhausted. I went in to work since I worked at home yesterday, so we were all up, ready and out the door as usual. I could barely keep myself awake at work, I was just drained. Eliza hasn’t been sleeping great, and has been a tad crabby lately (teeth maybe?), so I decided to sit out tonight’s Halloween festivities and stay home with Eliza (even though I HATE missing events with the kids, HATE IT!), while Christian took the big girls to the local church festival that we’ve gone to a few times. They get a TON of candy, they have food and treats there, they play lots of games…they had an AWESOME face painter there this year; I couldn’t believe it when the girls came home. They had a blast and I enjoyed my much needed rest time. I had Eliza try avocados tonight – she’s been doing pretty well with the Quinoa, but seems to be getting pretty bored with it. She wasn’t a HUGE fan of the avocado, but we’ll keep working on it. My in-laws stopped over to drop off some Halloween treats and some little gifts for the girls, and the girls were off to bed as soon as they left. Another busy day! I did get some exciting news today – I found out I won some free Dairy Queen blizzards from a local news station’s pumpkin carving phot contest I entered over the weekend. Serious, DQ Blizzards – best prize EVER!

Olivia's picture today, Love it! I told her she was missing baby, so she drew her in...see, I'm holding her. LOL

Harvest Party at the Church

Avocado Time!

Thursday was my Friday, THANK GOD! It was a pretty standard day…the girls were off to daycare/school, we were off to work. I’ve been so crazy busy at work, the days just fly by. Christian’s work is picking up with the holiday’s approaching, so he’s been swamped, and will hopefully be picking up lots of overtime over the next couple of months. Olivia has been doing great at school – she comes home with little good behavior “tickets” ALL the time, which I just love to see. I haven’t heard much about how Amelia is doing in Pre-K…her teacher is always gone when I get there to pick them up, and I haven’t heard anything about hem doing conferences any time soon, so I’m getting really curious. I haven’t received any notes for her since this past summer though, and I’ve noticed a bit of a personality change in her over the last few months…like she’s maturing, so I’m getting anxious to hear how she’s doing. Eliza has been doing great as well – she just loves being around the other kids, and is gaining more and more confidence every day. Now that she’s sitting up, they’re moving onto working on crawling with her – she’s not a fan of being on her tummy, AT ALL, so they’re working hard on getting her used to us, and getting her into the crawling position. I can’t believe we’ll have a mobile baby in the next couple of months, so crazy! We gave them the go ahead to start her on a few foods during the day, so I’m hoping that helps keep her full and happy throughout the day. After a busy day of work, I picked the girls up, and we made our way home for a quiet night – a much needed quiet night at that! We had some dinner, took some baths and were all off to bed.

Pumpkin Carving!

This week's throwback was a look back at all of our Halloween's.

Friday was the big day – finally Halloween! It’s funny, before we had kids, I really couldn’t have cared less about Halloween. It just was never my thing, even growing up – it just never excited me. Now with the kids, I just love it. I love seeing their excitement, I love getting them dressed up and experiencing all of the fun with them. It’s like being a kid all over again (all of the candy I get to dip into does help too). Today was also my Friday off, so that’s a bonus! I dropped the girls off at school, and Christian was off to work. Eliza woke up shortly after he left, so we had an early morning, but she did take a nice long nap. I did some cleaning around the house, took care of some paperwork that’s been piling up, showered and got ready for the day while she slept. Once up, I fed her, and we were off to meet Christian at Olivia’s school for the “Fall Parade and Party”. It was cute…for the parade, you just took a seat in the gym, or stood along the hallway, and each of the classes walked by in a little parade – most of them in their costumes. They were all so cute – it’s crazy how much older the 5^th graders look than the sweet little kindergartners, that’s for sure! After the parade, we were able to stop into Olivia’s classroom and help them with a couple little Halloween crafts and play a couple of games with her before heading out. It’s so fun to see her in her class and see how they all interact. Christian took Eliza home with him while I ran to Kohl’s quick…we have a wedding to attend tomorrow, and Eliza’s baptism next weekend, and I have NOTHING to wear (literally, NOTHING, my weight issues are a little out of control right now). I found a pair of dress pants and a cute dressy tank top to wear under a sweater I already have, so I was good to go. I also stopped into Target quick to grab a few things before picking the girls up from daycare on my way home, fed them a quick dinner, and then got them into their costumes. Eliza got to try bananas for the first time tonight – it was definitely a hit! Their little best friend, Bella, and her dad came over, along with Christian’s friend Lorenzo, to go trick or treating with us. It was cold…REALLY cold, but we survived, and managed to say out for about 90 minutes, walking all over the neighborhood. We all stopped back at the house when we were done, had some snacks/food, and everybody left. The girls were off  to bed and we weren’t far behind, per usual. Another Halloween down, and boy were we exhausted!

Halloween Parade at School

Saturday was a pretty fun day. Christian was off to work, so it was just me and the girls for the day. We had some breakfast, and I gave all the girls baths. Eliza went down for a nap, I showered and got the big girls packed up – they were off to my mom’s to spend the night. Christian arrived home a little early, showered, we finished getting ready, packed up the diaper bag and we were off to our friends’, Dan and Michelle, wedding. We arrived to the ceremony just in time (literally, JUST in time) and met up with our other friends, John and Michelle. Eliza survived the ceremony, with barely a peep (thankfully), but it was pretty quick and to the point. After the ceremony, we met John and Michelle at Buffalo Wild Wings for a drink before the reception started (well, I was starving, so I indulged in some wings). We brought a couple of bottles with so I could enjoy a couple of drinks while we were out, so I started with a delicious mojito while we hung out. YUM! Then, we were off to the reception. Going to friends’ weddings is always a little awkward to me…the only people we knew there were John and Michelle, so we all just sat at a table together all night, just us. It was just weird, and uncomfortable. We had a couple drinks, ate, chatted for a while, and we all ended up leaving around 8:00. It’s so strange how different it was from our own wedding, 7 years ago. All of our friends were there ALL NIGHT LONG, it was at a hotel, so everybody booked a room and we all hung out and partied it up together – and, all of our friends knew each other, to some degree, so it wasn’t as awkward. Eliza was getting pretty tired anyway, so we wouldn’t have been able to stay much longer regardless. When we arrived home, we got her off to bed, and settle din to watch “Non-Stop” together before bed. Pretty good movie!

She found her toes!

All Dressed Up!

Partying with my Babe

Sunday was the dreaded Daylight Savings times. Of course, we were up nice and early as a result! It wasn’t so bad though…we ate some breakfast, I got Eliza fed and down for a morning nap, then got to work on my chores around the house. I spent the day doing laundry, I did some organizing in the basement, got all of the dishes washed, cleaned up the kitchen and did some random picking up throughout the house. We have Eliza’s baptism next weekend, and Thanksgiving in a few weeks, and a TON of stuff to do before, but I made a good dent in our list today. My mom brought the big girls home around 1:30, and Christian was pretty much in charge of them while I finished up my list of tasks. I took a break from my chores so we could take the girls to swim class, and made our way right back home. We had dinner and the girls spent the rest of the evening just driving each other INSANE. They would not leave each other alone or stop picking on each other for anything, so, it was early to bed for them. And, Eliza wasn’t far behind. Christian we out for a couple drinks with his friends, so I settled in with a few episodes of “The Blacklist” and some laundry that needed to be folded before I passed out. Another busy week comes to an end!

My Love Bug, Sitting So Big!

Until Next Week! XOXO

2014 - Week 43

Monday was a pretty standard start to the week. Christian and I were back to work, Eliza was off to my in-laws for the day, and the big girls were off to daycare/school. Back to reality! I ended up being late for work…I mean, technically I’m late pretty much every day, but I can usually make the time up with shorter breaks, staying a tad late, etc….today, I was too late though. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again – it does not matter what time I get up, what I do, how cooperative the girls are, how the weather is – something ALWAYS happens to make me late. I’ve just come to accept this fate. Since I was so late this morning, I ended up taking a little extra time and leaving a tad early as well. I picked the girls up and made my way home to finish putting away yesterday’s laundry and pick up a bit. Christian picked Eliza up after work and met us at home.  It was a pretty quiet evening…dinner, a little family time. However, we did get some pretty exciting news. Olivia had a letter in her backpack from school, letting us know that she had been placed in their “Youth Scholars Program”. According to the letter, there are a few teachers that run this program; they have been going into the classrooms for the last month or so and conducting special lessons with the kids. From those lessons, and teacher input, they have selected students for this enrichment program – where they will be challenged and get to demonstrate their “higher level thinking skills”. Seriously, we’re so excited for her, and I couldn’t be more proud. And, it certainly doesn’t surprise me. Olivia, as much as she can act up at home, is so focused and well-behaved at school. She loves learning, she adapts so quickly, she is patient with herself when learning new things. She seems really excited about all of her new challenges, so I hope this will all help foster a love for learning as she gets older!

On Tuesday, I woke up with the worst migraine. I had been up with a pounding headache a few times during the night, but it was a full blown migraine by the time I woke up. I got up, showered and started to get ready. I thought I could tough it out – my little bank of leave time just makes me cringe. Then, I threw up. It was over. The day was over. I dropped the girls off at daycare, ate some breakfast, and passed out until around 10:00. Since Eliza was away, I had to pump my normal schedule. And, even though I was off, I did have to call in to a meeting that I couldn’t get out of. Luckily, it was quick. I had some lunch and rested some more. I finally started feeling better, though the degree of pain went up and down throughout the evening. I got up and did a little picking up in the living room, the kitchen and the girls’ room. So, at least the day wasn’t a complete waste. I picked the girls up, made some dinner, and we all settled in to eat once Christian was home. Eliza even tried her first food today, quinoa with apples. We don’t do rice cereal since it’s really just filler, but Eliza has been acting pretty hungry lately. The quinoa was my compromise with Christian. She didn’t really know what to think about it, and only had a few bites, but it’s a start! Finally , we got everybody to bed and we weren’t far behind. Being sick can sure take it all out of you!

First Food!

On Wednesday, I did still have a little bit of a headache, but I was feeling much better than the day before. While it’s usually my work at home day, I really don’t like to be away from work two days in a row – things just start to pile up like crazy, so I went in to work. I had a ton of stuff to route and move around, so the day went pretty fast. I also got all of our family pictures back from my friend Dawn, from this past summer. We didn’t take a ton, but I just love them. I’m so excited to finally have them! After work I picked the girls up and we made our way home for the usual dinner, baths and hang out. Eliza at a little more of her food tonight, so we’re making progress already!

More Food!

Family Pictures

Thursday was a pretty quiet day, nothing really out of the ordinary. Eliza ate almost her whole bowl of food tonight, she’s doing so well! She’s going to be ready to move onto other foods in no time! And, she also took a LOOOONG nap at daycare today, which is very rare for her, so that was a plus. Apparently, she still won’t really sleep in her crib though. I fully admit to them that it’s my fault, but there’s not too much I can do about it. At daycare, she prefers to sleep on the floor map, on the little mini-boppy pillows…I say, just let her be!

My cuties!

Official Kindergartner!

Friday was a working Friday. No fun, I was sure glad when it was over and it was finally the weekend! My mom watched Eliza today and they had a good day, always a relief. Eliza is really starting to sit well on her own now too, which is very exciting. I’m not really ready for a mobile baby anytime soon yet, but I love watching them grow and gain some independence. After work I picked the girls up and we made our way home. It was pretty nice out, so the big girls played in the backyard for a while, while Eliza and I hung out. Christian brought home some pizza for dinner, so we ate, watched some TV and hung out for the night. It was an early to bed kind of night for everybody.

Sitting so Good

Saturday was a busy day around the house. We had some breakfast, and then Christian and Olivia made their way outside to do some work in the yard/gardens. Time to start cleaning up and get ready for winter – BOO! Amelia wasn’t interested in helping them – and I don’t blame her. So, while they were busy outside, she played some games and watched some movies. Eliza was pretty crabby today, and I was fighting off a headache, so that wasn’t the best mix ever, but I finally got her down for a good nap, and got some much needed quiet time. In the afternoon, we were off to a local greenhouse to pick out some pumpkins. Luckily it wasn’t too cold out…they have a mini corn pit and hay maze, and a big pumpkin bounce house so the girls kept busy. We picked out our pumpkins and made our way home. We decorated all of the girls’ pumpkins...we decided to save a little carving time by trying out some different decorating ideas this year. For Eliza’s, we used a “Mr. Potato Head” kit, and for the big girls, we used some painting kits. Christian and I planned to carve our pumpkins, but we just were just too dang tired to do it tonight. Hopefully we’ll be in the mood later this week. Instead, we went to bed shortly after the girls…seriously, we sure party hard!

My Girls, Entertaining Themselves

Trying an Orange, LOL

A little fall fun

Decorating the girls' pumpkins

Sunday was another busy day. Feeling a bit better, I put Christian on dad duty for the morning and got to work on some chores. I got the laundry going, made some breakfast, gave the girls some baths, and worked on swapping Eliza’s closet out for her 6-9 month clothes (time to do some shopping!!). She’s growing way too fast! Christian ran out for a quick haircut, we got ready, and we were all off to my Dad’s house for lunch and some Halloween crafts with my stepmom. My oldest sister was there with her daughter and granddaughter, who is the same age as Amelia, so the girls had tons of fun playing. From there, we went straight to swim class. Amelia has been listening a lot better lately, which is a relief. Olivia is doing great, getting better and better every week. Finally, we made our way back home….had some dinner, I finished up some the laundry and we had a little family time before bed. What a day! I was a little bummed today because the last season of “Sons of Anarchy” was released on Netflix this morning and I’m DYING to watch it, but have no idea when I will be able to. I just need a day to binge….come on!

Lunch and Craft Day with Grandma Renny

Until Next Week! XOXO