2015 - Week 20

Alright, after a two month hiatus from blogging – I’m going to do my best to get back at it, get caught up and actually STAY caught up. No promises – you can’t hold me to it.

Week 20 – HOLY CRAP, we’re almost halfway through the year already! Monday kicked off, and it was about welcomed as every Monday. I was not ready…but, alas, we were off. And, we had a busy week ahead of us! Christian and I were off to work, the girls off to daycare/school. It was a cold and rainy day, all day long. So thankful we had such amazing weather for Eliza’s birthday party before this weather kicked in! Amelia’s baseball game was canceled, which gave us a tiny reprieve from the chaos. Olivia’s game however, was not. Rather than have Amelia and Eliza out in the freezing cold (and rain), Christian picked them up on his way home, and they got to sit in the nice, warm house, while Olivia and I froze our butts off. My van is NOT equipped to handle these cold sport days – I need to fix that, ASAP. Time to stock the van up with chairs and blankets…and sweaters, and gloves maybe! I was pretty dang happy when they decided to end the game early, I’m not gonna lie. Tonight Olivia played 2^nd base for a while and did REALLY well, even tagged a few girls out at 1^st. She also hit the balls a couple of times, a really awesome hit the 2^nd time up, so she really seems to be catching on. So proud! Eliza threw up on the way home from my in-laws, but was acting completely normal. This is the second time she’s just randomly thrown up like that in the last couple weeks. I’m really hoping it’s just a freak thing. Poor baby. Thankfully she had a blanket draped over her, so her car seat needs minimal cleaning. After ball, Olivia and I were on our way home to thaw out, and eat some dinner. We cleaned up and were all off to bed, one by one. I was literally still frozen when I went to bed, had to double up on the blankets. When I say it was cold, it was SERIOUSLY cold!

Excited to be thawing out after softball.

Tuesday was a busy day at work. I’ve been roped into sitting in on the planning committee for our new department-wide database that is being developed. They’ve already completed one big, upfront portion – but my supervisor wants to pull me in now as the “contracting expert” now that they’re developing the contract preparation/routing portion of the database. Just what I needed – one more task on my list! I have to admit though, I’m kind of interested in how they develop everything and piece it all together, so that part will be pretty interesting. After a chaotic day at work, I picked the girls up, and we stopped at Walmart for a few groceries. Finally, we made our way home…the big girls played outside for a while – it was still chilly out, but nowhere near as bad as yesterday. Meanwhile, started dinner. Eliza was being super cranky, so I put her in her chair with some snacks. Next thing you know, I look over and she’s passed out, right there in her chair! Poor baby, she was just exhausted! When Christian arrived home, we had dinner, hung out, watched some TV, and everybody was off to bed. Well, admittedly, I was up too late watching some finales – Revenge (series finale, sad!) and Bates Motel (SO GOOD!). When we went to Amelia’s kindergarten orientation a couple weeks ago, one of the teachers gave her some sunflower seeds and this really cute poem – basically, it tells them to plant the seeds, and once the flowers are bigger than she is, it will be time to head to kindergarten. She’s been dying to get out and plant them, so Christian took her out after dinner to do that. She was so excited – now, fingers crossed that they actually grow, or she’s going to be one disappointed little lady!

I got some new birthstone charms to add to my bracelet, and I added my necklace pendants to it.

She fell asleep while I was making dinner. So tired!

Wednesday was a pretty standard day. Work, daycare, school. The weather was just better, chilly – but some sunshine and no rain, so base/softball was much more bearable this week. Christian took with Olivia to her game, while Eliza and I were off to watch Amelia’s. She finally got her hat and shirt – team red! She’s actually doing pretty well this year. She’s pretty small, so swinging that dang bat takes a lot of effort for her, but she tries really hard in the field, and isn’t quite so ball-hoggy as Olivia was last year. She doesn’t seem as overwhelmed and anxious as she did with soccer, so that is a huge plus. After ball, we all met up back home for dinner, baths and bed.

Sissy got her uniform today!

Olivia, ready to play some ball!

Little cutie, watching Amelia's practice.

Thursday was off to a pretty typical start. This week was spirit week at school – every day is a different decade. We really don’t have much for most decades, but today was “80’s Day”, and you better believe we have some neon clothes! I “crimped” her hair, threw it up in a side-pony, and she thought she looked AMAZING! She was so cute. After work, I picked the girls up, and we were right off to school for their annual spring carnival. It was POURING rain, and we had to park a mile away…the girls had their umbrella, but I had to give mine up to the baby, so I was just soaked by the time we got inside. Miserable!  But, it ended up being a really fun night. Christian met us there…the girls played some games, went in the jump house, got some crazy hair, tattoos and nail painting done. We ate some food, met Anna and Elsa. What’s so funny is seeing the way Olivia acts at school. She definitely thinks she’s pretty hot stuff now that she’s in REAL school, let me tell you! We were all pretty exhausted, especially little Eliza after being trapped in her stroller the whole time, so the girls got some quick baths when we got home, and we were all right off to bed. Thankfully, tomorrow was my day off, so the girls and I were able to sleep in for a little while.

Woot, ready for 80's Day!

Carnival fun!

Friday was finally here, and it was my Friday off, so even better! The girls slept in, like I hoped they would, and then I rushed to get then ready and off to daycare in time for breakfast (hey, I pay for it, you better believe we’re going to get there in time for it!). Eliza and I settled in back at home….we snuggled, played, hung out and just relaxed. She took a nice long nap while I showered and got ready. And, finally, we were off to her 1-year check-up. She weighed in at 24lbs (76%) and is 29” long (46%). Just growing away! She always seems so much bigger than she actually is…I always think she’s going to be off the charts, but she’s fairly average in reality. It’s just that sweet belly! The doctor came in to check her over, and she is pretty dang perfect developmentally, and growing well – right along her curve. So, thankfully, no issues or concerns. Always the best kind of appointment to have, that’s for sure. Then came the sadness and heartbreak…THREE shots! Poor baby. She was not happy, not one single bit. But, after some screaming and giant tears, she settled in for some cuddles and recovered well. She fell asleep right away in the van and napped on the way home/ We stopped at Target for a few things, then made our way home to do some cleaning up. Christian left work “early” – aka, on time, showered and got ready. I picked up the big girls, then finished getting ready myself. My mom arrived to babysit the big girls, and we were off. Yes folks, we were going out. Both of us. ME, going out!!!! I know, let that sink in. I left the house, for adult entertainment, and I was beyond excited! We dropped Eliza off at my in-laws house (we’re just not quite ready for anybody to watch all three of them yet), picked up Christian’s best friend, Lorenzo, and we were finally off to see Kevin Hart. After months and months of waiting, it was FINALLY Kevin Hart night. Christian and I have two favorite comedians – George Lopez and Kevin Hart. We say George a few years ago, when I was pregnant with Amelia, and we were so excited to check Kevin off that bucket list. Our drive there was complete and utter chaos. CHAOS!!! The show was at the Target Center…Target Field is right next door, and there was a Twins Game going on. Plus, it was Friday night. It was just pure mayhem, everywhere. We were stuff in traffic, about 2 blocks from the show, for a good 30-45 minutes. BUT, we finally made it. We stopped for a drink, found our seats and settled in. We missed half the opening act, “The Plastic Cup Boys”, but what we saw was pretty hilarious. And, of course Kevin did not disappoint, at all. We had actually seen the first portion of his show on one of his Netflix specials…it was funny still, but a little disappointing. The rest was brand new to us though, and absolutely hilarious. I swear we barely stopped laughing the entire time we were there, what an amazing (much needed) night out! Luckily, leaving the show was much easier than getting there. We dropped Lorenzo off, picked Eliza up, and made our way home to relieve my mom from babysitting duties. It was super late, and we’re going to be exhausted tomorrow after a late night, but it was SO worth it.

Crazy Hair Day!

Cuddles with my Sweetheart!

Off to Kevin Hart

Saturday was a mighty busy day. The big girls and I were off to swim class, while Christian stayed home with Eliza. These morning classes are going to kill me! When we arrived home, it was time to hit this weekends task…getting the gardens going! While I hung out with the girls, Christian cut the grass, cleaned up the yard a little, and tilled the garden – this year, he expanded it all the way across the back of the yard, to the fence. After some play time, and a nice nap for Eliza, we all got ready and we were off to Gerten’s to pick out all of our flowers, fruits and veggies to plant. It rained on and off throughout the day – but man, it was HOT, HOT, HOT! Being in those green houses was pretty miserable, that’s for sure. We left just as a storm rolled in, so that was perfect timing. After the storm passed, we got everything planted…the garden, the pots, and hanging baskets. Now, we watch everything grow! After all of the heat and the work, we were all pretty beat - we had a nice, quiet night to end the day.

Planting Away!!

We pulled a dying bush out, and put in another lilac bush.

The lilies are coming in fast!

The tiny mini-rose bush Christian gave me a few years ago, finally planted outside in a big pot. It's already growing like crazy again.

Sunday was a pretty standard Sunday. It was chore day…laundry and cleaning up around the house. Christian made a quick trip to Menards for some salt and a few final things for the yard. It stormed on and off all day, so the girls were stuck inside. They were getting pretty stir crazy, so Christian took all three of them over to his parents’ house for a few hours. That’s right, I had the house, ALL TO MYSELF! I caught up on some TV, folded laundry and relished in the peace and quiet. It was the perfect  way to end the weekend. Once the rest of the family was home, the girls got their baths, and they were off to bed. Back to reality in the morning.

Until Next Week! XOXO

2015 - Week 19

Monday showed up like a lion, and I was battling a headache big time. I showered, I started getting ready, I got the girls ready to go, and I gave up. I knew there was no way I could spend the day looking at the computer, so I called in and called it a day. I dropped the girls off at daycare, and turned right back around. I had a small breakfast, to take some medicine, and rested on the couch for a while. I slowly started feeling better, and while not quite 100%, eventually forced myself to get up, and get to work. I plowed through the basement…got the toy room and spare room cleaned up and organized, I cleaned up the entry way and the closet (with all the shoes….oh, ALL the shoes, it’s out of control!) and I did some laundry throughout the day. Oh man, so much to do, but we’re getting there! Next up, I did a little Walmart shopping to grab a few groceries and picked the big girls up from daycare. I quickly packed up some snacks while they got changed for base/softball, and as soon as Christian arrived home, we were off. Today was Olivia’s first night of practice…so, our first night of divide and conquer duty. Christian took Amelia to her practice, and I took Olivia (and Eliza). She was a little nervous, being her first night, but she was excited. And, she warmed up quickly. It helps that a little girls from her kindergarten class is on her team, which is great! Olivia’s team/league is ALL girls now, which is awesome, and she actually did REALLY well at practice. Her throwing is really coming along, and she worked a lot on batting. I’m excited to see where she’ll be at by the end of the season. Christian arrived home before us, so he started dinner…we ate as soon as we arrived home and by the time we finished, it was basically bedtime. These ball nights are going to be pretty exhausting, that’s for sure! Eliza did go to bed MUCH easier tonight than she has been, so at least that is getting back on track.

Tuesday, was lost in my lack of blogging. I was back to work, I know that much. And, it was a non-base/softball night, so much less stressful!

This day, one year ago, kicked off THE most stressful week of my life!

As one baby is turning 1, my other baby hit a milestone today!

Wednesday was a busy day. I dropped the girls off at daycare and was off for a busy day of meetings and catching up at work. I did take a break in the day to go to lunch with my friend Gini. It’s so great getting a rare chance to catch up with friends and have real adult time! Doesn’t happy nearly enough, that’s for sure! After work, the chaos began! I stopped home to let the dog out and pack up some snacks, booked it to daycare to pick up the girls, and get the big ones changed for ball, and we were off to Olivia’s practice. Christian met us there after work, to take over for me, and Amelia and I were off to her practice. She didn’t start until 7:00, so it was a SUPER late night for all of us. We had a quick dinner once home, and settled in for the night. Then, the emotions started setting in.

Snuggles and Kisses and Laughter as we get ready to ring in the big ONE!

As we put the girls to bed, I couldn’t help but swell up a little. It was officially the last time I would be putting a “baby” to bed. Sweet little Eliza was turning 1 at the stroke of midnight, and I just could not believe it. As I was putting her to bed, I thought back to exactly one year ago, as the contractions were starting up and becoming more and more real as the night went on. It seems like it was just yesterday. Yes, she’s ONLY turning 1, and yes, she’ll ALWAYS be my baby (which I’m sure she won’t always be too happy about!), but it’s so hard to say goodbye to those baby days. That first year, those first months, those first weeks, those first days – they are hard, hard, HARD work. Things change at rapid pace. Just as you think you have a handle on this new little person, a growth spurt hits, a tooth starts poking through, a new infection settles into a little immune-building body, and it shakes your household to the core. The nursing, the never-ending diapers, the long, LONG nights, the struggle to adjust to bottles/pacifiers, the pain of returning to work after maternity leave, the crying. All of those hard things, seem like a lifetime ago, and mean nothing compared to all of the amazing firsts. The first smile, the first laugh, the first roll, the first food, the first word, the first time sitting, crawling and scooting, the first steps, the first hug, the first kiss. Watching them discover the world around them and figure everything out. Watching their amazing, individual, unique personality start to shine through, more and more with each passing day. It’s all such a blessing. Such a complete and utter, amazing blessing. The good, the bad, the hard, the joy, the pain, the emotions. It’s all just plain amazing. I went to bed Wednesday in awe of my sweet baby girl, and flooded with every emotion possible.

Then, Thursday came. Thursday, the BIG day. Eliza was officially one. ONE!!! We have a one year old folks, can you believe it?! She’s 24lbs (76%) and she’s 29” long (46%)….up from 7lbs14ozs and 20” long at birth. She’s tripled her weight, isn’t that crazy?! She’s still my short, stocky lovemuffin, and I wouldn’t have it any other way! She has 6 teeth and we’re pretty sure she’s teething again. She’s been in her convertible car seat for a few weeks now (though, she’ll be rearfacing, of course, for quite some time yet), and my arms thank me for that change! She’s wearing 12-18 month clothes, which are already starting to get snug in the leg roll area (and, don’t always cover that wonderful belly), and she’s in Size 4 diapers now (which, I think Amelia maxed out at when she was 2 and potty trained!). She’ll be sporting dresses most of the summer I think! She babbles the day away, loves to laugh, clap, wave, play “so big”, give hugs, blow kisses, and loves when we chase each other around the house. Mama and Up remain her main words…with more coming up next. She eats pretty much everything we eat, but surprisingly, she doesn’t eat much in a sitting. We’ll start transitioning her to milk, and the sippy cup now and hopefully that goes smoothly. She zips around the furniture and is crawling at lightning fast speed, and she stands on her own for a good period of time now. AND, she is officially “taking steps” now. They’re rare, teeny tiny baby steps, but THEY COUNT! She’s shy and cautious about it right now, but it’s only a matter of time! One, holy moly! Today, she arrived at daycare to a special “Happy Birthday” sign from her teachers, which is so sweet. I was grateful to know she still gets a little bit of special on her big day, even if I have to be away from her. I had a quiet day at work, and got a TON of stuff done, so the day was quite successful. After work, I picked the girls up, and we met Christian and his friend (Eliza’s Godfather) Lorenzo at Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. We ate, laughed, played and Eliza got a special birthday ice cream bowl. YUM! Finally, we made our way home to give her some gifts, hang out for a big and head to bed. Her gifts from us this year is her “1” Precious Moments figurine, just like her big sisters get, and her Hello Kitty bedding, to match the other girls. Hopefully in the next few weeks we can get their room painted and redecorated! The day went by in the blink of an eye. The big girls were SO excited that it was Eliza’s birthday, and were so happy to help celebrate, which warms my heart. Sweet Eliza, forever our baby girl.

On Friday, I ended up calling into work. Apparently turning 1 is really hard work, because Eliza was up ALLLLLLL night long. I was so exhausted, there was no way I was going to be able to function all day. I think she’s been battling some allergies, taking after Amelia, so she’s been pretty miserable. Watery eyes, sneezing, sad face. Poor baby. Between that, and her birthday party coming up tomorrow, it was the perfect day to take off. I dropped the big girls off at daycare a little late, drive in to drop Eliza off at my mom’s house, and made my way back home for the day Even though all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and relax, I got right to work. I cranked some music, and cleaned my butt off, all day long. I got our bedroom cleaned, got the girls’ room cleaned, and started replacing the stuff in there (the window valances, the lightswitch cover, put Eliza’s new bedding up), and I got started on the kitchen. Before I knew it, it was time to head back to my mom’s to pick up Eliza, daycare to pick up the girls, and back home for the night. Christian and Lorenzo came home after work to start working on the yard…Christian mowed the lawn, they washed down all of the tables and chairs and the deck, they weeded the gardens so they didn’t look like such a mess and everything was looking good, and ready for the big party. Finally, they ran to the store to do the last of the party food shopping, while I hung out with the girls and got them to bed. Parties stress me out to the max, but I couldn’t wait to celebrate my sweet girl!

Saturday finally arrived! It was swim class day, but we decided to keep the girls home. It tears me apart to “throw money away” and keep them out of class, but we just had way too much to do. I threw a load of laundry in, and got to work cleaning the last of the kitchen and the dining room. Meanwhile, Christian cleaned the bathroom and the entry way. Lucky for us, Eliza took a nice LONG nap, so we were able to get everything cleaned up and ready to go. One by one, we all showered, got dressed and got ready for the big event. Christian and Lorenzo set off to do all of the running around…pick up the a balloons, the cake and the sandwiches, then finished getting the tables set up. My mom arrived and helped me set up the rest of the decorations, and our friends and family started to arrive. We ended up blessed with AMAZING weather, which was such a relief, and the kids all had a blast! I set up a table of fun stuff for the older kids…bubbles, hula hoops, silly string, jump ropes; we put up the bounce house (which I think may be on its last leg) and everybody had so much fun running around and acting like a bunch of crazy kids. Such a good time. Meanwhile, we got to catch up with our friends and parents, while running around like crazy moving the party along. We ate, opened gifts (thankfully, she got pretty much all clothes, because Lord knows we don’t need any more toys in our house!), had cake and let the kids take down the piñata. The party was a complete success!! But, all good things must come to an end. Slowly, everybody started to leave. We gave each of our mother’s a bouquet of flowers on their way out – because THIS Mom is taking tomorrow off! While Christian saw the last of our guests off, I gave Eliza a quick bath and got all the girls settled into bed. Everybody was complete beat, exhausted, worn out and everything in between. What a day!

 

  

Sunday was Mother’s Day! I’m pretty sure I’ve noted it every year, but I’m not a big “Hallmark Holiday” kind of person. Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day. Not my thing. I mean, it’s nice to acknowledge it, and feel a little special, but I hate the whole gift giving, stress-inducing part of it. So, we try hard in our house to keep them low-key, because we don’t want our kids growing up thinking they need to go all out or make a big deal. For me, I just want Mother’s Day to be a quiet, family day, and I love the little handmade stuff they make at school for me. And that’s really all I need. After the long day outside yesterday, everybody was exhausted, and the kids started the day off great by sleeping until 8:30! How awesome! We spent the morning relaxing and hanging out…the girls gave me a card, that Christian bought for them, and Olivia gave me her gift from school (a handmade card and a little “flower pot” coupon book thing), it was sweet and perfect! The big girls played downstairs for a while, while I snuggled with baby and Christian made waffles for breakfast. YUM! I did a couple loads of laundry throughout the day, and while Eliza took a nice nap I went through all of her gifts and got them ready to put away. Olivia came with me on a quick Walmart run. I have a new obsession with maxi skirts, so I bought a couple. They don’t look great on me, but they are comfortable and probably look better than squeezing into my regular clothes at this point. We made our way home to watch a movie and relax, while Christian whipped up some taquitos for dinner. Before it got to be too late, I took some Mother’s Day pictures with the girls and the rest of the evening was pretty dang lazy, which was perfect. Eliza started getting pretty crabby, so I gave her a bottle and put her to bed, while the big girls took a shower and were off to bed themselves. Another week down, boy do they go fast!

Until Next Week! XOXO