Its not nesting, I Promise.

The kitchen and breakfast room floor has never been so clean. It has been on my list to really really clean it. Today was the day, I swept the floor, cleared the chairs and everything else off the floor, I filled a bucket with hot water and some Pinesol, threw in a big sponge and put on my yellow "Why, yes I am domesticated" gloves. I got down on all fours, and scrubbed the floor, the baseboards, the cabinets, and was able to finish it all. My back hurts like hell right now lol, but its done, and i crossed it off the list. WOOHOO

Totally blog worthy.

Also, Michael has totally surprised me. He started organizing the garage on Sunday, and made AWESOME progress on it. He brought in the treadmill all by himself, moved the armoire from the back door to the front door, and got his work bench set up, and a ton of things on their way to being organized. I am so proud of him! He said that on Saturday he is going to finish it. Last night even, he put up the curtain rods in our room finally, I got as much as I could started, but he did it, and I am so thankful. Next on the list is Bisseling the carpets, and cleaning the rest of the baseboards in the house.

Late Weekend Recap

Friday Josie and I went in the morning to pick up Avery from daycare. It was pajama day at her school, so I let Josie stay in her jammies to go get Avery :) When we got home it was time for lunch, and then naptime. When the girls woke up they wanted to watch a movie, so I cut up an apple and peeled them each a mandarin orange and they got a couple pretzles and they happily watched The Little Mermaid together. Josie watched it for the first time, most other times she wasn't interested in anything like a princess movie (unlike Avery who LOVES princess movies)

Josie was quite concerned with Prince Eric and his boat catching fire and then him falling in the water. We have had long talks about how fire is dangerous, she has been cautious of things that are hot since she was 6 months old, to her hot and fire = owie ow! Smart girl if you ask me.

Saturday we woke up and got going right away. I had the girls try on and get their outfits in order the night before so that we only had to get dressed and do their hair. (after me taking a shower of course) I got the girls ready as Sarah arrived, and she did Avery's hair as I did Josie's hair. Pictures with Santa started at 10 am, so we planned on being there right at 10, which we were, only to find a HUGE line that would take us darn near 2 hours to get to see Santa.

The girls were good, but were drained by the time we got to see Santa.

I took a couple quick pictures, Josie really wasn't feeling smiley at that point, she was more of a space cadet, but I got my pictures and they were free, so whatever.

Then it was time for naps! I got the pics printed while the girls napped, and ran some errands. When they woke up I was there and made lunch for them and while they ate lunch Michael stayed with them while I ran to get the birthday cakes for Helen's second birthday party at Dave & Busters. We got there a little late, but it was fine, they sat up a table for us, and we all ate some food, Sarah brought the balloons and the LOL your 50, so we have to give you gag gifts like plastic walking canes with horns and things on it, over the hill balloons, and fancy pink coke bottle glasses, a piggy bank, etc not to mention the funny necklaces that had big 50's on them, and a flashing 50 pin.

So we had food, presents, cake and then played games.

There was an incident where I totally needed to have a spare pair of pants for Josie's pullup that leaked.... but it was make the best of it, or go home, and so we made the best of it, and I felt horrible as a mom, but Josie didnt seem to mind damp pants that had tried to be cleaned. We stayed as late as we could, and then cashed in the tickets, and Helen and her group of friend left to go to another event and had given us their cards and tickets for the girls which was super nice of them all. We were able to let the girls pick something out before we left. Josie picked out a ball, and Avery picked out a magenta dolphin.

We got home with just enough time for the girls to get a bath. There was no way they were skipping a bath having been in germville. After their baths I dried their hair, they had a story read to them, and then we all went to bed totally exhausted.

Sunday we took it easy. We made no plans other than to get the paper and brew coffee and watch cartoons in our jammies and have orange glazed cinnamon rolls for breakfast. MMM

Michael ended up doing a TON of work on the garage which I had been trying to get help with, but he needed to get his areas set up and unpacked finally. He even moved the treadmill into the house, and we go it set up in the right place etc. The girls played outside with chalk for a little while, and I made pizza for lunch which we were all super hungry and it was a great idea. Not too long after that Michelle came to get Avery and then our house was back to being just the 3 of us, which is a little quieter. :) Get those girls together and they become a whirlwind, sometimes a happy one and sometimes they need to be in their own areas because nothing will make them play nicer together. :) We had a great weekend though. This weekend is going to be a little less hectic. just some last min pre christmas things to do. Sarah has next week off, so at some point either this weekend or next week, we plan to take Josie to see The Princess and the Frog at the movie theater, for her second movie ( her first movie was with Avery and Daddy and I to see the new Christmas Carol.... not totally age appropriate lol) None the less, she is excited to go see it. Til next time.

Friday December 4, SNOW DAY!!! And The Weekend Update

It does not normally snow in Houston in the winter, so this year and last year were special in that we got some snow! Josie and Michael and I went out to let it hit our faces. The ground was really wet, and not quite cold enough for the snow to stick here, so we did not get to make a snowball or snowman, but we got some super pretty snowflakes!

Later that afternoon, we went over to my persons mom's house to visit and talk and let the kids play together. There was Chili involved and yummy coffee, which is like icing on a cake if you ask me. I had a pumpkin cheesecake that was just begging to be loved and eaten, so I took that over for anyone to enjoy, and to my surprise... almost everyone tried it and liked it! YAY!

Saturday I woke up and got started making chili for Helen's birthday dinner that we were celebrating that night. I also had an apple pie from scratch to make. :) I spent the first 3 hours of being awake on Saturday in the kitchen lol. But it all got done, including an avocado salsa, so that I wouldn't be rushing around later.

I then went to target to run some errands, and had to be back by 3 to go take my person's family Christmas pics. I made it there by 3:30 which is just after everyone else arrived. There were 11 people total! The pics were all taken, including an outfit change, in two locations close to the house, and everyone seemed to be pleased with the way the pictures looked... THANK GOODNESS. Nothing scares me more than taking pictures that no one likes. Although I did not want or expect them to give me money, they insisted, so I obliged them. I will put it towards the just in case we end up with a c-section fund.

Sunday was pretty uneventful, we went to Starbucks got the Sunday paper, went to see the fish and other animals at Petsmart also buying some dog and cat food while we were there. After that we went to Bed Bath and Beyond to get some more K-cups with our 20% off coupons, and then went to see if Kohls had any good deals on clothes for Michael or the girls, which we didn't find anything there, so it was time to head home and put Josie down for her nap. I had some leftover chili, Michael went to hang out at a friends for the afternoon, so I laid down while Josie did. When she woke up I made her a good lunch that she ate, and put on Christmas music and clipped coupons and sat with her while she ate. Then we put up the stockings on the banister, put some bows on the tree, and played until later in the evening. Michael came home just after Josie and I had dinner. All in all it was a special holiday eventful weekend with just enough busy mixed in with the relaxed to work out well. Next weekend the girls will be getting their pictures with Santa! WOOHOO can't wait!

Im so Thankful! Part 1.

Starting from the beginning, I was talking to my sister Shannon on the phone Friday and maybe a little on Saturday about how the whole family (my side of the family -minus my mom, because my parents are divorced, so the "whole family" has to exclude a parent) would be spending Thanksgiving together at my sister Kelly's cabin up in Blue Ridge. The last family reunion was last August, and we were all there, but Dave, who is my sister Shannon's husband (and of course my mom, because it was my dad's side of the family- reunion.) Needless to say, we have all resigned ourselves to not really getting to spend many holidays together. My sisters have husbands and spend time with those families too so sometimes its real hit or miss. I have kids and, me being a stay at home mom, buying plane tickets is not easily affordable. Anyhow, Shannon and I were talking about how nice it would be to see each other for the Holidays, and I am in my 3rd trimester so I wasn't sure that I would be able to fly, nor did we have the money to spend on 2 tickets, just before Christmas and the delivery date. We talked and Shannon said that if I was game, that she was going to look into tickets.

Sunday I woke up super early. Laid in bed awake from 4am til 5 when finally I went downstairs to set up coffee to brew and eat some cereal. I was standing in the kitchen, and checked my phone and saw that I had an email. OMG!!! It was a flight itinerary for later that morning... as in I needed to get Josie and I packed, and me showered and FAST!!! As it turns out, that email was not the tickets that she bought... about a half an hour before we would have had to leave for the airport, Shannon texted me that she had not purchased that flight, nor did she realize that it was a flight that was going to be leaving in a couple hours hahaha. So I called he and we ironed it all out and since I was packed and ready and so was Josie, we were able to get a flight booked for a couple hours later, so I was able to sit down and let my head stop spinning from the craziness and the tiredness... we were able to go to Starbucks and Sarah met us there to say bye to Josie and give her hugs and kisses.

We made it to the airport on time, Michael parked and got us all situated up to the security line, which was sweet of him. We all miss each other already. Josie decided that she was going to have a god potty training day all day! Each and every time that she had to go potty, she told me, and we went to the bathroom and she used them, even public self flushing toilets! EVEN THE ONE ON THE PLANE!!! Can I tell you how small those damned bathrooms are? OH EM GEE! There was not enough room for my 31 week pregnant belly to bend or squat down hardly with a toddler in front of the potty so that I could pull her pull up down. She hasn't gotten savvy to the pulling up and down her own pants or pullups yet. That will come soon I hope. Anyhow, we made it here. The plane landed at 6:30 Atlanta time, and Brian was at the airport to pick us up. We had about a 35 min drive to the house, chicken noodle soup was made and ready for us, with cheese bread and grapes, mmmm. Finnegan waved when we came in and flashed us a HUGE smile. It was awesome. I had to wash my hands first and Josie's because we were just at the airport all day, and where as we had washed our hands several times, it just needs to be a good habit. Finn stayed up about an hour past his bedtime to visit more. Josie said "Night" over and over again, for the first time ever. We got our jammies on when Finn did, and we were soon to go to bed after. I was delusional tired. We called Daddy to say night to him. He said that the house was too quiet. :( I told him I was sorry and that I missed him a bunch.

Good thing is though, my person's family decided to stay home for this Thanksgiving, and they said that they were hoping to come eat with Michael, so he will have some people to share Thanksgiving with. Im just sad that I wont be there to witness Michael's cooking, because truth is, he wouldn't cook if I was there, I am pretty sure about that anyhow.

Today I woke up earlier than I would have liked to, but thats just how it goes. I got to spend time with Finn before he went to daycare, which was super nice. He is such an adorable sweet boy. Today Josie and I get to just hang out and readjust to the new time of day, etc. I need a nap today, to try to recover from me waking up so early and waking up during the night etc.

Most of all I am excited to see us all be able to surprise my dad and Grandma with our visit. We are hoping for tears. We never get to spend holidays all together. I wish Michael was here so bad... He wishes he was here, that he could visit too... but we have to choose and pick how we can. I have to wait to post this, in the off chance that my dad checks this blog regularly, I don't want to spoil it. So, til tomorrow this post will remain in draft form.

Nevermind, the cat is out of the bag. My dad knows, lol. He called Shannon to talk about something and she couldn't keep herself from spilling the beans. *sigh* Oh well. We still get to be together for the rest of the week. :)

Tis the Season

I can't believe that we are already in the holiday season. One day it seems like time is passing normally, then all of a sudden there are days when I am surprised at how far away a date is, or how close a date is coming. I love the holiday season, I love a house decorated with trees, and lights and ornaments, and Christmas Villages, smells of the season like yummy things cooking, or nice woodsy smells of tree's and fires in fire places. Thanksgiving is a week away. I will be doing a bunch of cooking, and hopefully I can get some of the things done the day before, like the desserts so that those are out of the way. We were going to do something other than a Turkey, and then I was like.... but why? Turkey is good, and its traditional, and no one had an amazing idea for an alternative, so lets save the mixing it up for Christmas dinner I say, and everyone agreed. I am assuming that Michael's father will be having a meal on thanksgiving, but if we are eating at that time, then we will just have to make time to visit later in the evening. I don't think its imperative to gorge ourselves if not necessary, and anyhow I am pregnant and my digestion is so darn slow, that if i overeat, I will be in pain and need to sleep til Christmas, but wont be able to get comfortable enough to fall asleep lol.

Today I kinda got on myself about how is Josie supposed to take potty training seriously, when I am not seriously working on it with her, as in she knows that if she is wearing a pull-up that she doesn't have to go to the big girl potty every time otherwise there will be a mess. So today, we are low on Pull-Ups, and I want to save them for when she is sleeping because thats a reasonable accident time. She did pretty well. She is much more willing to use the potty when there is no pull-up as a safety net... and I am happy, that means that this is all happening at the right time. I need to just really stick with it, unless she has a major aversion to continuing potty training. We can do this!!!

On another side note, the baby... (which Michael and I have a couple of names that may be used still... it depends on what she looks like when she is born) she was kicking right behind my belly button, it was very odd feeling, but kinda neat. She even did it when Michael got home from work and he got to feel it, he swears it was her butt, but I think it was a foot or a knee. Also this is the second day where I have really noticed that I am having Braxton Hicks contractions every a couple times a day. During them, I cannot walk at my normal pace, in fact its best if I sit down and wait it out. Nothing to worry about, just one of those pregnancy things that some people have and some people don't. Its hard to fall asleep at night, because I can NOT get comfortable, then when I am asleep, anything wakes me up... so I don't get a lot of continuous sleep, but I am going to chalk it up to mother nature's way of getting you used to sleep deprivation with life with a newborn. Que cera cera though, right?

Ok, this is a late post that I am sneaking in at the end of the day... Maybe my person will enjoy reading it tomorrow, which is Thursday!!! Thursdays are my favorite days of the work week, because our favorite shows are on, and I go over to her house and we watch them together, sometimes there is coffee and treats and other times its just our good company. Either way, its our day, and I love her for wanting to share her Thursday nights with me.

Weekend Fun

This past weekend we had Avery. I made Chili for dinner, and Helen was down to spend the evening here, so the girls were happy to see Grammy like old times. Michael was super tired, so even though we could have gone out for a date, we did not. BOO.

Saturday we all went shopping for a new stove/oven. We found the one we wanted at Sears. Its wonderful and works and I love it, and I'm not scared to cook things in it anymore, not to mention the knobs don't fall off, and its not white! We all ate at the food court, then Michael took the girls home after so that they could take their naps. Sarah and Helen and I looked a little more for the girls Christmas outfits, but couldn't find the right ones.... We went to Babies R Us too and looked around... still finding nothing.... so we just came home. I was able to get my persons Christmas present while at the mall though, and got things for other people. So it wasn't a wasteful trip, more than what we planned to accomplish was done so YAY!

Saturday night we decided to do a quick dinner at home and take the girls to see A Christmas Carol. It wasn't bad, but not my favorite version of the movie. It was a little beyond the girls comprehension, but none the less they were VERY good for being the youngest ones there I would bet. We got out of the movie at 7:30 and when we came home, the girls played for a while before we got them ready for bed.

Sunday we were suppose to have the stove delivered anywhere between 8 and 10 am, they were here at 9! They were speedy and efficient and took the old one away! We had plans to meet Rick and Kelly, Sarah and Andrew for breakfast, and they changed it from Rick and Kelly's house to Cracker Barrel, we were able to make it there on time, and we all ate a bunch of food, and it was nice to finally be able to celebrate Kelly and Michael's birthday's, pretty overdue, but nice regardless. When we were done eating, it was just before noon, so it was time for the girls to take their naps. Sarah called around 2 pm and I met her at Target, where we got most of the rest of my Christmas shopping done! I just have some little things here and there to tweak, but Im happy to say I have the majority of it done, or at least figured out what I am doing. ALL BEFORE THANKSGIVING!!!

Today I am 30 weeks pregnant. Only 10 more weeks!

Belated Halloween recap

It was Miss Elaine Abigail's very first debut as a dressed up trick or treater! Amanda's family came over in the late afternoon so the girls could all get their pictures taken together (just wait until proms and first day of schools, and hey its Thursday, excuses to photograph the kids together lol) She was the most amazing little monkey ever!
Avery got to look like the princess she believes she is, for Halloween. She chose to be Belle this year, and Grammy happily obliged her with a very fancy and beautiful Belle costume from the Disney store. I made sure to make her hair and makeup look as Belle-like as possible, all while freaking out a little on the inside and telling myself over and over again that I was not being a pageant mom lol.

Josie for some reason, although she loves Nemo, and loved her costume, she was not wanting to dress up early for the photos or get her picture taken. She didn't really realize what the night had in store for her. In her mind we were jsut trying to dress her up for photos, and she wanted to exercise her ability to say NO! We managed to get a couple with her in the frame, but when she was done, she was done.

After pictures we tried to hurry through dinner (which next time it should just be pizza, not taco night) and there were trick or treaters at our door before we were done eating, so we got the girls all ready to go, Michael quickly carved his pumpkin and met up with us down the street. There were just enough houses giving out candy on our block to make it worth it for a toddler, but as the girls get older, they will know to start out earlier, to be able to cover more ground further back into the neighborhood, in order to achieve a bigger candy bounty! hehehe

All in all, the girls were still in bed on time, Avery chose a cupcake to eat and Josie chose a dumdum sucker (they are her favorite I think) They trick or treated like pro's! Well Avery did, she said Trick or treat, Happy Halloween, and Thank You every time! That makes me so proud, and makes her seem so grown up and polite, and was a great role model for Josie. :) I wonder what next year will be like, with a 9 month old added to the mix. HAHA!

27 Weeks

I swear that I look bigger in this photo than I do in real life, but oh well. haha

Here is the belly progression from beginning to end so far from when we found out, to now which is at the end of the second trimester.

The Rest of the Weekend Update

Sunday was an easy day as usual. Michael slept late, because he went to bed at 5 am, for why, who knows. When we all were up and ready, we made our Sunday trip to Starbucks where they were out of the Sunday paper :*( BOO! But we got our treats, and I went next door to Ulta for new mascara and a new nail polish color. (its a neat robins egg blue! see pic above)

Then we went to look at the fish etc at Petsmart (because its fun and the girls love animals.)

While the girls napped, I went with Sarah and Helen to run some errands. I picked up some things to help Josie learn her letter. I chose lower case magnetic letters (she loves playing with magnets on the fridge while I am cooking, so between the letters and the colors, we will work on learning them little by little) I also got some colored feathers to glue on stuff for crafts, and since Josie likes to paint, they had packs of bingo stampers of different colors, and a book that will allow her to stamp her letters and numbers, also some tissue paper squares in different colors to make rainbows etc with. I cant wait!

I got our weeks of groceries as well as we were out. When we got home, I rushed to put it all away, because Michelle was on her way to pick up Avery. I wanted avery to be able to decorate her pumpkin before she left. We were able to do that with the girls, and we got some family pics, and played in the front yard for a bit hahaha.

I have to say how grateful I am of our family's situation. Michael and Michelle have a very happy cordial relationship, all of us do. Therefore, we are all able to come together with no issues at all for Avery when there are birthdays or recitals etc. Its wonderful and we are all so lucky. I made black bean enchiladas, which are so easy, but I was stupid and put too much garlic, and since I dont have a food processor, i used a blender for the ingredients, and I think that the onion and the garlic in the blender woke their flavors up TOO MUCH. I couldn't finish dinner thats how garlic-ie it was. EWW. Needless to say, I wont be doing that again. Its too bad too, Michael had been really awesome at telling me how much better my cooking has gotten. lol. It happens though.

Weekend Fun Pt 1

This weekend was super awesome. Friday I picked up Avery in the afternoon, she and Josie each had snacks, Josie had Goldfish, and Avery had been given a popcorn ball as her treat at daycare. They elected to trade, which as long as they worked it out and were happy, then I was happy haha.

Josie with her popcorn ball.

I decided that it was perfect timing going to the park, it was afternoon and the weather was so nice, and we had time to kill anyhow before Daddy got home. We went to Stevenson Park. The girls ran around for a while on the playground stuff, and all was well until some super rowdy boys that were older came, they were screaming and throwing things and Josie acted a little freaked out by it all (Avery is much more use to being around rowdy crazy kids, so she thought nothing of it.) So i decided to see if the girls would like to go "exploring," which they did, so we walked around the park on the trail. We looked for squirrels and fallen leaves, and pine cones and rocks, and areas that were flooded from the storm early Thursday morning. We got to where the pool was, and a High School swim team must use the pool, because there were a bunch of kids swimming laps. Josie was pretty upset seeing them in the water, she really really wanted to go swimming too. Poor kiddo. It wasn't too chilly, but the breeze was cool enough that a light sweater definitely was more comfortable. The girls ran around the big gazebo for a while and then we finished up walking the trail and ended back up at the car. We made it home, and the girls played, we had dinner, the girls got their first bath together in the new bathtub upstairs! Then, kind of last min, I decided that I would go see Law Abiding Citizen with my person and her husband. I was happy to get out of the house and hang out. The movie was pretty good, I have a big celebrity crush on Gerard Butler anyhow, so that made the movie better, in my opinion.

Saturday we woke up and watched a little TV while waking up. Had our beverages of choice, coffee for the adults and chocolate milk for the kiddos. Then we had oatmeal for breakfast. After we ate we decided to get ready for the day. It took a while for Michael and I to get showered and ready and to get the girls in their cute halloween outfits (not their costumes.) Michael wanted more coffee and wanted to get a new book to read, and so we packed up and when Aunt Sarah got here, we left for Barnes and Noble (they have a Starbucks connected to them.) We hung out there for quite a while, when the Rosendahl's joined us we headed out to the pumpkin patch! We took some pictures, and bought some pumpkins!

On our way home, we grabbed some quick lunch, and the girls finally got to take their naps round 2:30. I laid down with Josie. She has been terrified of the smoke detector in her room ever since it beeped in the middle of the night apparently needing a new battery SHEESH! Then I cut the front yard. When the girls woke up, Damien was just getting dropped off, and I laid down two huge blankets on the yard for us all to lounge on for a little bit. Damien walked with me as I pulled the girls in their wagon around the block. We played with a ball in the yard, and when Kerry arrived a little later, we sat on the blankets and had some coffee and talked and Michael felt adventurous and washed his car! Josie and Avery decided to help and when Kerry and Damien left, we quickly gave my car a fast scrub down too. Then we came in, the girls got into dry clothes and I threw together a late dinner, pasta shells with zucchini and broccoli in a garlic butter E.V.O.O. sauce. I served it with fresh crumbled mozzarella cheese and pesto, and fresh sliced tomatoes for those who wanted it. It was a build your own pasta bowl dinner. Micahel gave me a pretty amazing compliment. He said that my cooking has gotten a lot better, that I am a lot better at making good food and throwing together some amazing dishes with no recipe, just things that we have. I thanked him and said that was a really nice compliment and I am happy to hear that! We finished the night off with watching Winnie the Pooh. The girls never ask to watch this movie, but they love it. Its too cute.