2016 - Week 24

Week 24, almost officially halfway through the year. This week brought some big events…the big girls’ last day of school, my 33^rd birthday, the big girls’ last day at KinderCare and some time preparing them for their first day in the YMCA program.

On Monday, we kicked off the week. I was up and ready, got the big girls up and ready, and dropped them off at daycare. Christian is back to bringing Eliza to his parents’ in the morning, which is seriously a relief. Work continues to be insane. I feel like I’ve been in this “where do I begin” phase for so long, it just seems to be my new normal. This are definitely going to be rough for the rest of the office when I’m gone, that’s for sure. Around lunchtime, a massive bought of nausea hit me, and it was so terrible. I haven’t been that sick in a LONG time, and it made for a pretty miserable afternoon. Thankfully I was able to power through, finish out the day, pick up Eliza and make my way home. We had take-out for dinner, got the girls ready for softball, and made our way to the field. It was raining on and off all afternoon, but luckily cleared up before the game started. Olivia played 1^st base and caught on pretty quickly. Amelia played short stop and actually had a couple of balls hit to her…she even made a really great play. Again, they were only able to play 2 innings, and again, they worked on batting instead of playing outfield. But, it seems to be working, because they do seem to be catching onto everything. Christian left early for work, and the girls and I made our way home after the game. They played a bit, watched a video, and were off to bed. I relaxed and finished bingeing “East Los High” on Hulu (yes, it’s basically a teen, Mexican soap opera, but I love it) and passed out.

On Tuesday, I woke up from a terrible night of sleep, and had another attach of 1^st trimester nausea. Ended up throwing up from brushing my teeth – bringing back so many wonderful memories. Seriously, I feel like I’m going backwards all of a sudden. I finally pulled myself together, finished getting ready, and got the girls up and ready. I dropped them off an put in some work before heading off to my latest check-up. I actually had a totally normal blood pressure, 114/76, which is seriously amazing, and unheard of. Still no weight gain, which is also a huge relief. We talked about post-birth birth control options for a while, and I’m pretty confused about what I/we should do. Last summer we were finally all set on Christian getting the big snip. He had a physical, where they noticed how poorly a previous ear surgery he had healed. The doctor didn’t believe Christian was a good candidate because if his poor surgical healing. In addition, it’s when they noticed the lump in his chest, requiring testing and surgery. Not only did that delay the snipping process (resulting in this pregnancy’s possibility), but now seeing the way that surgery has healed so poorly as well, we’re thinking it’s not a good idea for him to have surgery in such a…ahem…sensitive area. I’m not comfortable going back on anything hormonal anymore at my age, and after years of it, and we need something permanent. It doesn’t sound like I’ll be a good candidate to have tubal done right after the baby is born (unless of course for some reason I need a c-section), which means I’ll have to do it after the fact. She talked about how vasectomy’s are more successful, less invasive and have a quicker recovery – but, I just don’t think it’s in the cards for us. So, now I’m nervous about the tubal – both the procedure, and the effectiveness. No fun. After the talk, we listened to the baby, and scheduled my weekly bio-physical scans for the rest of the pregnancy. Finally, I made my way back to work to finish out the day. I had a pretty productive day, but, man a I SOOOOOO exhausted! Traffic was terrible getting home, so Christian made dinner while I made the slow commute, and picked Eliza up. We ate, Christian was off to work, the girls played outside for a while, and I made their “last day of school” chalkboards before sending everybody off to bed. I can’t believe my baby’s are all done with Kindergarten and 1^st Grade! They grow way too fast!

After Sunday's trip to Grand Ol' Day, today I got a little throwback to our first trip there with Olivia (just a bit before Amelia was born)

Up, show Wednesday I was up a little early to shower and get ready, and get the big girls up and ready to take their last day of school pictures, before waking up the little Tasmanian Devil. Finally, I got Eliza up and ready, dropped them all off at daycare and got to sit in the later morning traffic into work. Another long, slow, terrible drive. I spent the day plowing away at my inbox, and before I knew it, it was time to pick Eliza up, get the big girls ready, and make our way to softball. All of the girls were clearly dragging today after their exciting last day of school, and a little distracted, but we all survived. I have to say…our team is by far the best in our little league. It’s pretty exciting since they’ve both pretty much been on the worst teams since they started playing sports. I feel like they’re really, finally learning, which makes me very excited. Christian was off to work, so the girls and I settled in at home, watched a little TV, they took their baths and everybody was off to bed. It’s officially summer vacation!!

33 Weeks, 5 Days. Woot!

Thursday was overall a pretty typical, boring, standard Thursday. Daycare, work (work, work, work), home…dinner, Christian to work, some play time, and everybody to bed. Now, this is my kind of day!

Such a cutie!

Friday was the big day…MY BIRTHDAY! The big 3-3! That seems so crazy. I feel like it wasn’t that long ago that I thought 33 was SOOOOOOO old. Now, here I am. Dangerously close to my mid-30’s. To top that off, it was my Friday off work, which basically makes it the best birthday ever. Today also marked the big girls’ last day at KinderCare…which was unusually emotional for me. They started there 4½ years ago, which was SUCH a hard day for me. Before that, they had never been cared for by anybody but us or our parents, so the thought of leaving them with complete strangers was so overwhelming. They looked so scared and nervous that day, and I think I cried more than they did. Now, they are saying goodbye to so many friends, and to teachers who treat us like family. Our week of big lasts continued. The rest of the day, I spent with Eliza. We had breakfast, hung out around the house, and met my dad and stepmom for birthday lunch. Proof that I’m a full-fledged adult was solidified when they gave me a birthday gift full of stuff that was actually for the baby. Meanwhile, Christian ended up staying up for the day, and he and his friend, Lorenzo, started filling up the pool. They had to do a little leveling to the ground (which we later found out was still not quite level), set up the tarp and get the pool in position, and then it filled the rest of the day. Eliza fell asleep at lunch, and went down for a nap when I dropped her off at home. While she slept, I was off on my next adventure…the DMV!!! Procrastination at its finest, my license renewal was due. The DMV was a total madhouse, filled with the most obnoxious children I’ve ever been around in my life. The place was seriously packed, and not one single person would get up to let my obviously VERY pregnancy self sit down. I managed to keep my hormones in check, but it was tough. They finally called my number, I paid my fee, I took my picture, and I booked it home. Next up, I sent Christian on a Facebook sale purchase, to pick up a dresser (with a changing pad and covers!) for super cheap, for the baby. He’ll be rooming with us for a while, and I didn’t think we’d be able to afford a dresser, so this came at the perfect time, because I had no idea what we were going to do with all of his clothes and blankets and stuff. He picked the girls up from daycare, grabbed some carne asada to grill for dinner, and they gave me a new “boy” charm for my bracelet. Christian made dinner, and we all settled in for the night. Overall, it was a pretty interesting, pretty great birthday.

First and Last Day at KinderCare. Wowza!

Baby's New Dresser and My New Charm. Happy Birthday!

I spent most of Saturday doing some cleaning and picking up around the house. Nothing too strenuous, just making it not so tornado-like. Meanwhile, the girls played outside for a while and got to swim for the first time this summer (and, I was SOOOOOOO jealous, I can’t even tell you how jealous). While the girls were playing and swimming and running around, Christian was did some work in the yard and the garage. I eventually called it quits on cleaning, and watched some TV, including a Netflix movie, “A Girl Like Her”, which makes me really, REALLY wish that I could keep my girls from growing up. Seriously, if you have young girls, don’t watch it. I ended up selling Christian off on another Facebook sale, to pick up a really cheap swing for the baby (which, again, I didn’t think we’d be able to get, so YAY!). So, he was off to Menards, and to pick that up, before heading out for a few drinks with Lorenzo, while I got the girls into bed, and watched some shows before bed.

First Swim Day!

Baby's New Swing. Such a Steal!

I love when she just passes out on the living room floor. There's something so peaceful about it.

Sunday came all too fast, like usual. And, it was a busy day around the house. I finally finished  laundry, well, I ended the day with one last basket of clothes to put away. But, I still call it a success. We had breakfast, and I did some more cleaning around the house. We put together the baby’s Rock and Play, moved the dresser into our room, and I got “his corner” of our room ready. Slowly but surely, we’re getting ready for this guy! The big girls swam on and off all day – Eliza is still pretty leery about going in the water. So, she and I watched some TV and played together. I went on a big Target run in the morning, even washed some fruits and veggies and started getting food ready for the Y program this week. One big downside to the new program is that they don’t provide food and snacks…so, I need to have them eat something before we leave, send morning and afternoon snacks, a lunch with a beverage, and a water bottle. Ugh – this has seriously stressed me out for weeks. But, after doing some shopping and planning, I think we just might survive. Finally, we had dinner, the girls took their baths, we hung out for a while, and the girls were off to bed. Christian planted the new trellis (for the zucchini) and started sanding a new bench my mom picked up for us at a garage sale, while I had a nice quiet end to the day/week. Eliza was seriously fighting her sleep but thankfully, Christian happened to be inside and was able to deal with it…this preggo needed sleep!

Hugs for Kitty!

Baby's Corner, Coming Together

Bathing Beauties. Living the Life.

Until Next Week! XOXO

2016 - Week 23

Here we are, kicking off another week. This week brought us into a new month…it’s officially June, ya’ll!

Monday was a Holiday, Memorial Day, so we got to start the week off on a pretty low key note. The big girls had spent the night at my mom’s, so the rest of us got to sleep in a little bit. I got some laundry going, we ate some breakfast, I got myself and Eliza ready, and we were off for a BIIIIIIG Target run. We were critically low on groceries, and needed lots of home goods. Elia did really well, but the cart ended up being WAY too full, and being oh so pregnant, I couldn’t carry her to the car and push the cart, so somebody had to help me get everything to the van. I felt so guilty, like a big ol’ needed pregnant lady. While we were gone, Christian worked on the pumpkin trellis and did some yardwork. Once home, Christian unloaded the van, and then was off with Eliza to visit his parents for a while, while I put everything away, continued on laundry, did the dishes and started on some corn and ribs for grilling. Everybody was finally home around 2:30, and my mom stuck around to grill with us and spent some time together. Christian fired up the grill, the girls played in the sprinkler for a while (even Eliza, woot!!!), played with some water balloons and their water guns. We may just be in for a real summer this year, so I see many water days ahead of us. We finally ate, and got to open up some gifts from my mom (a few late birthday gifts, and some stuff for the baby). My mom left for home, we got the girls dressed and stopped over to our neighbor, Sara’s, BBQ for a visit and some playtime for the kids. We dragged the girls home, Olivia did her homework, Eliza helped Christian cleanup around the yard, and the girls were all off to bed. Well, technically Eliza passed out next to me while I watched “Age of Adeline” and folded laundry, which I just loved. Back to work tomorrow…but, at least it’s another short week!

Memorial Day Fun

  

On Tuesday, we were all back to reality. But, it was a 3-day week for me, so I couldn’t complain. I had a terrible night of sleep…it was so hot, Eliza kept waking up crying (until I finally brought her into bed with me) and I kept having back spasms all night long. Needless to say, sleep was at a bare minimum, and it was a rough morning. I finally pulled myself out of bed, got ready, got the girls up and ready (who were also quite exhausted) and we were off. I was so unmotivated at work…exhausted, uncomfortable, crabby and just not interested in anything. This end of pregnancy stuff is not a pretty sight! After work, I picked Eliza up, we met everybody else at home and I had a pretty lazy night. We ate dinner, the girls played the night away (Eliza has pretty much just been following them around, playing with them, which is awesome), Christian was off to work, and I basically just watched some shows and relaxed. I was off to bed pretty much as soon as the girls were, in hopes of some actual sleep…

It's JUNE!!! I can't believe it! Wednesday was a morning heaven sent…not only did I actually get some sleep, but so did Eliza! HALLELUJAH!!! I showered, got ready, got the girls up and ready, and we were off. I have an ALL day meeting tomorrow, so between that and the short week, I had to really buckle down today and get some work done. So, I plowed through my e-mails and as much of my inbox as possible. I picked Eliza up after work and we stopped home to get the big girls ready for softball, and eat a quick dinner before heading off to the field. They only ended up playing 2 innings tonight, which is getting really annoying. Since they didn’t have many practices before the season started, the coaches wanted to continue practicing before games to work on basic skills. While that is good in essence, it doesn’t leave much time for the actual game, which I think is also very important for learning. Hopefully soon, the games start to last longer. They did change one thing this week…instead of having the “outfielders” just standing around in the field, they worked on batting, so at least they get a little more action. Olivia got to play pitcher tonight, which is obviously the most active position at this age, and she did SUCH a great job! Amelia got to play 3^rd base…and, after a few batters, she started to get the hang of it. She’s been saying that she LOVES softball lately, so hopefully it really is growing on her (them). I helped “bench coach” again tonight, while my mom hung out with Eliza…tonight the girls on the team were asking me lots of questions about the baby and trying to help me pick out a name. It was pretty funny. Christian left early to head to work, so the girls and I made our way home after the game for baths and bed.

32 Weeks, 5 Days. Getting there!

Thursday was a very hectic day at work. It’s my last day for the week, and my in-box is seriously OUT OF CONTROL. I had an all morning meeting, which I had not been looking forward to at all, so I really couldn’t even get much else done at all. It’s so frustrating! I just want to feel focused, and have time to just work without interruption. But, alas, the day flew by, and I was off to pick Eliza up and meet the rest of the family at home for dinner and a quiet night before bed. I’m excited for another long weekend, but I’m honestly pretty nervous about tomorrow. I’m chaperoning Olivia’s all-day fieldtrip to the farm. 8 months pregnant, and all-day on my feet, walking around, watching the kids…what was I thinking?!

The kids' picture outfits are here. SO CUTE!

Eliza decided she needed some barrettes today. Lots of them.

Friday was the big day. We had a busy morning, getting the girls up and ready, dropping the big girls off at daycare, and Eliza off at my mom’s, and then heading back home to eat quick, do my makeup and get to school for the fieldtrip. I met up with the class, got our directions, and then we were off to load up on the bus for the LONG drive to the farm (45 minutes…on a HOT, humid school bus, with lots of screaming 1^st graders). Once we arrived, we separated into our groups. This fieldtrip was much different than Amelia’s…each group had a larger number of kids, but several parents, and a farmer leading everybody. So, the chaperoning part was much easier. We got our instructions, and then started on our tour of the farm. Of course, it started raining shortly after we arrived…and, we got nice and wet for a little while. We went on a long walk to visit and feed the pics, checked out the gardens…even got to make some salad dressing and pick some veggies to try it out and we visited the chickens before having lunch. Next up, we met the dairy cows, saw the goats, the kids did a craft, and we started getting ready to head back to school. With the rain and the rush-hour traffic starting up, it was a MUCH longer ride back. And, Olivia was too cool to sit with me this time, so I was all on my own. But, it worked out well…we grabbed her stuff from her classroom, drove back to the pick-up area, and not much later Amelia came out. They watched a movie while we drove up to pick Eliza up, and finally made our way home. Christian got ready for work…thanks to Monday’s Holiday, he had to make up the time lost tonight. He picked up some dinner for us before heading off to work, so we ate and settled in for the night. I was beyond Exhausted, and right off to bed as soon as the girls were. What a day! 

Fieldtrip Time

On Saturday, we had a nice lazy start to the day. Well, I almost had a heart attack in the middle of the night. Chuy was acting weird…growling and half barking (which he never does), and I heard some rumblings. When I got up to investigate, Christian came around the corner and I just about died. He was home WAY early…and it was not expected at all. He ended up sleeping until about lunchtime, so the girls and I had breakfast and hung out. Eliza was whiny and crabby, the big girls were fighting, and I was pretty sure that I was going to lose my mind. Until I FINALLY got Eliza down for a nap and was able to take a nice long shower, while the big girls watched some videos. Amelia was acting up, running around, and ended up spilling an entire glass of pop in our room (my pop, from yesterday). After getting in trouble for her behavior, she snuck into her room and fell asleep, taking a MUCH needed nap. So frustrating. Shortly after, my mom arrived for a pedicure date, and we ended up bringing Olivia with. Now that relaxation was also MUCH needed. After our relaxation, my mom was on her way home, Christian showered, and we got the girls ready, one by one. I finished getting myself ready, we loaded up the van, and we were off to our friends’, John and Michelle, for the little baby shower our friends are throwing us. It was just a small gathering of our little circle of friends, and we had such a great night. We chatted and spent a lot of time catching up, we had a big taco feast, and she even had a piñata for the kids to do. We opened presents, and they had a little birthday cake for my upcoming birthday. YUM!! It was a great time, and we didn’t end up getting home until 11:00! Exhausting!!! We got so many great things, we’re so blessed! The girls were right off to bed, and we watched a little TV before I fell asleep…which is basically like every night.

Pedicure Time

Baby's Shower

 

 

 

On Sunday, we were exhausted, but up bright and early. We immediately got ready, packed up, loaded up the van, grabbed some drive-thru breakfast, and were off to my mom’s house for St. Paul’s Grand Old Day parade. Parking is terrible around the parade, so we parked at my mom’s house and walked. The walk was MUCH longer than I anticipated….especially back to the car after the parade! We found a spot to watch the parade, just as it was starting, and the girls got SOOOOOOO much candy, it was pretty ridiculous. I guess it pays to be seated at the beginning of the parade route. We walked for a while, got some food and lemonades, checked out some of the vendors, and finally made the long walk back. The girls were miserable once we finally go there (and, Amelia lost her balloon in the process) and I was swelling up really bad. It wasn’t a pretty sight. The girls stopped inside for a potty break before we hit the road and made our way back home. We watched a little TV, the big girls played for a while, and I attempted to get Eliza to nap, but she wasn’t having any of it. He was SO crabby, but fighting it with all of her being. Christian took the big girls over to his parents’ house for a while, while I cleaned up the living room, went through the baby’s new goodies and put everything away, played with Eliza and relaxed. Once everybody was home, they played outside for a while before baths and bed. My whole body was so achy and I was beyond exhausted. 6 more weeks…just need to make it 6 more weeks!

Grand Ol' Day

I was using my phone camera to check out my sunburn (ouch), and Eliza snuck behind me thinking that I was taking a picture. Haha, my little ham.

Until Next Week! XOXO