Weekend Update

Well last week ended with less excitement than the previous week and weekend, which we are thankful for!
Thursday I had my monthly work outing, we had a good turn out with 10 of us there and I was still home by 9 to watch Parenthood. (OMG, I was a sobbing mess watching this!) Piper, of course, had another incident report at Generation on Thursday....somehow fell down and scraped her head against the wall. So basically it looks like rug burn on her forehead.
So in the last week, she has two rug burn marks on her stomach, one on her forehead, she has a scrape on her cheek from this morning and now has a scraped up toe (and that doesn't include her puking last Sunday or her never-ending cough)....this girl is a walking mess!!!

Saturday Piper woke up at 5.....huh? For 45 minutes I went back in there, pat her back, then she'd cry again? So Steve was kicked to the couch and Piper came into our bed....and then we all fell back asleep until 9! Woohoo! We were up and out of the house by 10:30, Steve took the girls to Sky Zone which ended up being too busy and at capacity so then took them to Playground for Kids which closes at noon on Saturdays, he said it was extremely busy there too but they had a good time for the 45 minutes they were there. I took advantage of this time and ran some errands by myself!

That afternoon the girls spent some time running around outside and enjoying the awesome weather!
My mom watched the girls for us that night so we could go get dinner and drinks for my early birthday night out (b/c our next two weekends are packed full). We had dinner at Americana, it was VERY good! I think we were both impressed. Then we headed over to Mickey's on 86th St, which was where Steve and I spent a majority of our nights when we were dating! It was nice to go back and watch him still run the pool table there! :)

This morning we got up and ready and out of the house to go have brunch at 1908 Draught House. It was perfect! We were basically the only ones there, the food was good, the kids were good and they ate good, we'll be going back for sure. Then we ran to the mall and let them run around the play area for a while, trying to wear these girls out. HA!
We got home and it was basically time for Piper to go down for a nap, I was exhausted too so I put some laundry in, took my contacts out and laid in bed.....Presley came with me. She was playing on the ipad, I turned on a movie for her and figured she would be good....no, she would not shut up! So I did get some sleep in between her requests for an apple, pretzel goldfish, paper to color on (she got all of them by herself, b/c she was tired of waiting for me to do it...but let's face it, she is almost 6, these are all things she can do without my help anyway!)

Overall it was good weekend! The kids didn't kill each other, neither one got into too much trouble, the house is fairly clean picked up, dishes are done, floor is clean, dusting is complete and the laundry is done....sitting in baskets throughout the house! HA!

Random

Piper is crazy! She is just SO different from Presley it's strange, funny and awesome! We ate dinner tonight at Texas Roadhouse and two guys sat down at the table next to us and she said 'hi!', 'HI', waving, waving...she wasn't going to stop until they said Hi back! Good thing they did quickly and didn't think she was too annoying! (of course, this was in addition to her singing Sunshine and her Abc's as loud as she could!)

We got a letter from Presley's school last week, basically informing us that she has missed too much school. She has missed 6 days so far, we'll get another notification at 12 days and then other possible meetings with teachers and principal could happen if she were too miss more than that. I'm not worried, I know this is part of the politics of the school but she is doing great and we have no worries about her learning yet!

Presley loves learning, I think she really loves school. The things that come out of her mouth are shocking and SO funny! I love it! And we know she is learning it from school and NOT from us!

P : I know everything!
Me : You do?
P : I know opinions, facts, narratives and stories!
Me : (WTF?) Ok!

Presley coloring a page out of a coloring book "Mom, I'm just going to copy the colors on the illustration!" (pointing to the front of the color book) (THE ILLUSTRATION?)

I had told Presley that I know everything b/c I'm a mom the next day.....
P : Jupiter is the hottest planet (or maybe she said Venus?!)
Me : Oh really? I didn't know that.
P : I thought you knew everything?! (and not said in a nice way...but said in a snotty, see-I-knew-you-didn't-know-everything kind of way!)

P is excited for her birthday, however there is one request. NO one singing Happy Birthday to her. She cries every year when we do this, so I've decided that it is her birthday and she should get what she wants especially if it is as something as easy as NO singing! :) And she is very nervous about having to open presents in front of people, she does not like this attention so I'm hoping Piper will help her and distract her from the 'other people'! :)

UGH

This is just not my favorite weekend either. With Steve working both days and after being hung over Saturday, and the Packers losing on Sunday and then waking up at 2:30 in the morning to Piper throwing up in her crib, I'm over it. Get me back to work.

She ended up sleeping in bed with me and never did throw up again but I knew I couldn't take her to Generation! I did have the day off but unfortunately I had 3 errands I had to get done and had even decided weeks ago to keep Presley home with me all day.

So I called up Grandma at 7:15 in the morning so she could come watch Piper for a couple hours.
We got a letter in the mail about a month ago from P's school....they had done a hearing test and it had come back that she had mild to moderate hearing loss! We weren't completely 100% shocked, she often says 'What?' multiple times but we really just figured that she is 5 years old and not listening to us! So of course we were worried but didn't want to jump to conclusions until we got her into an ENT. So she had that appt this morning and passed with flying colors. No issues! They said the previous test could have been an issue with pressure on her ears (like when your ears need to pop) and now that pressure has passed.

After that we went to Nobbies to get party supplies and order balloons for her birthday coming up and then headed to David's Bridal to try on a bridesmaid dress for Samantha's wedding. We actually got thru our errands fairly quickly so we made a pit stop at Village Inn for brunch because I felt bad that I wasn't going to be able to take her to see Paddington like we had planned.

Piper had basically slept until 10:30 and we got home about 11:30, mom had given her Tylenol and she seemed ready to play. The girls did nothing but irritate each other all day, didn't help that Presley was bored and Piper threw a fit over EVERYTHING. Piper did want a nap but it was a late (and short) one from 2:45-3:30.

Steve had to work late again today, so us girls had an early dinner, took a quick walk down the block to get out of the house, and took baths so that they were all ready for bed once Steve got home. He is just exhausted (too many 12 hour days and too many months of shitty sleep!) and they are SO excited to see him when he gets home, that they don't want to leave him alone. I know he misses them and I know he is wanting this job over with so if we can get thru this week, maybe we'll just let him sleep all next weekend! :)

MIA

Over a week since an update?! What???
The week was not my favorite. Steve is finishing up a job and it is taking it everything out of him to get it done. He is tired of it and just wants it done. He worked late Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday....long days working from 7-8 pm......the girls not really seeing him, me acting as the single mom, me having to cook dinner 3 nights in a row....WHAT? But it was overall pretty good, the girls and I made it thru without too much crying or fighting! :)

Thursday morning I won VIP tickets to the concert that we had already bought tickets to go to! So we were able to sell our tickets to Sam and Scott. Carlyn came to watch the girls Friday night about 6 and Steve and I went to Macaroni Grill for dinner. The food was really good, but can't say the service was that great. Then we met Scott and Sam at the concert. We all had a good time, lots of laughs, beers and fun!



In fact, too much fun for this girl! I was hung over Saturday, not cool when Steve has to work and it's just me and the girlies! Basically, I let them destroy the house as I laid on the couch. If they fought, I listened, eventually they figured it out! HA! While Piper napped, I napped and Presley played on the Ipad. Then I agreed to let Allie come over and play with P, for the most part they played pretty good together and Piper would go play with them and then come sit with me for a while. It worked out and kept her entertained for a couple hours!

 

Finally about 7, Steve got home from work (another 8-7 day!), he showered and then Piper started complaining about her owie?! I had kissed it once (which is usually all it takes to get her to forget about it!) but she just kept crying and whining about her stomach, wouldn't let us touch it, kept pulling her shirt away from her tummy/chest area and she had two red marks basically on her ribs. She was whining, crying, and wouldn't let us touch it. We were fairly certain she had tried to squeeze thru the chair and stair railing and didn't know if she had just hurt herself or bruised a rib or what! So about 8, we decided we needed to do something with her or we would worry and not sleep. Off they went to the ER! UGH! She was more than cooperative with the doctor, did everything they asked her to, the doc said he didn't think anything was broken but we could have xrays done if we wanted. We opted to have it done, just to be sure, to put our minds as ease....they took her little shirt off and put a little gown on her and took her little xrays like a champ! She was fine!  Ended up being mostly just a 'rug burned' rib area, even today she still has those marks on her! Even on her way out of the ER she was the entertainment for the waiting room, saying 'buh bye guys!', 'thank you!' and singing you are my sunshine on the way out! Seriously love this girl!

 

(Did I use enough exclamation points in this post?)

Quiet time

So I was hoping for the girls to sleep until 9 am this morning....they needed it. Steve got up about 7:30 to head to work and I never fell back asleep, which SUCKS....but I did some reading, ate some toast in bed, got caught up on my American Idol and enjoyed the peace and quiet in my comfy, warm bed.
I did go in to check on both of them at 9, worried since they had both been sick! Just listening at each of their doors I could hear them snoring away!
I finally heard Piper start talking about 9:30 and went in to get her about 9:45 when I heard her keep saying 'help you' (which means help me), 'mama, help you!'.....from what I could figure out from her baby jabber, was that she had slept on one of her pacifers and it hurt her back so she wanted me to kiss it! HA!

We got up and did breakfast, 'cuddled' on the couch (she loves getting under a blanket to 'cuddle' with me!) and then finally about 10:30 Presley woke up!

I had plans to run some errands with both girls this morning, but they were actually playing pretty good and I didn't want to ruin a good thing so we stayed in. Presley went to our room and played on the ipod for a while, Piper played with her baby dolls and did some reading on my lap. I hung out, read my book and enjoyed it!

Once Piper went down for her nap, Steve was home from work and Presley and I went to Target and out for an early dinner! We got home about 4, Steve left about 5 to  go out for his nephew's 21st birthday and the girls have been surprisingly good! I have figured out that if I can get them to play away from me, they play SO much better. They go to Presley's room and play school or house, tonight they pretended to be puppies for a while....I wish we could have more good playing times like we did today!

So now here I sit, with more time to myself! So many movies I want to watch, so many DVR'd shows I need to watch, my book has been calling my name all weekend and of course, there is laundry I could do, photo books to be made and really I'm tired and just want to sleep! HA!

Over it.

Tuesday I was ready to get back to our routine, back to the grind, back to a normal schedule.
At 3 pm, I got a call from school...Presley was in the nurses office for the second time complaining of a sore throat and now also had a fever of 101. Steve was about done with work so he went and got her.
Wednesday morning we were lucky enough that Presley was able to go to mom's since she had a fever (and school was cancelled for cold weather anyway!). About 10 am....I get a call from Generation about Piper....she had 3 bad diapers (in 3 hours!) so they are required to call the parents and have her picked up, no fever and acting fine. (We found out she had 2 bad diapers on Tuesday morning b/c since it was only 2 she was fine to stay for the day!)....So Grandma to the rescue! She took Presley and went to pick up Piper! At least everyone was able to take naps at Grandma's I'm sure she appreciates those hours of silence.
Wednesday night Piper coughed ALL night long, none of us got much sleep.

Thursday, Piper went back to Generation and Presley went back to mom's, but my mom noticed white spots on her throat. I made her a dr's appt and was able to get off work early to take her. Strep throat and 103 degree temp. She never really complained about her throat and we have to FIGHT to get her to take Tylenol for the fever.
We fought ALL night to get her to take the strep meds....it did taste terrible. She refused. We tried adding it to applesause and Sprite, but it just changed the taste too much. We tried holding her down, she would panic, gag, throw up (most of this she did with taking Tylenol too, but she got better). I just couldn't hold her down anymore, it was torture to see her panic and freak out like that....it almost made me panic for her. So she didn't take it and most of the meds were gone.

Piper was up coughing most of this night too. Presley's fever got really high. I was worried, another night with little sleep.

Today, Friday, finally. Presley once again went to mom's. We had her meds refilled (which insurance wouldn't cover, so it costs us $50, but we got bubblegum flavor.....she better LOVE it!). My mom and Steve did get one dose in her so that is a start....only 4 days left to struggle with. However, her fever seems to have gone down and she hasn't eaten that much (I'm surprised she hasn't lost weight, but weighed her normal 45 lbs at the doctors office)

So it's 10:30, why am I still up? I think I'm letting my stress and anxiety wind down for the night. Enjoying the peace and quiet (while Piper isn't coughing....good dose of medicine and Vicks on her chest.
Please, please children sleep in tomorrow! I'll be happy with 8 but would REALLY love 9! :)

Sunday and Monday Funday!

Sunday we went over to Holly and Jerry's to watch some football, eat some pizza and weigh in for our family weight loss challenge. Of course, you want to weigh alot on the first day, I think we were all pleased (?) with our beginning weights! HA!

Piper took a late nap and Presley was dying to have neighbors Talea and Naiah over so they kept her entertained for a couple hours! Then we met Holly and Jerry out for mexican (might as well end our weigh in day with eating more crap!), the girls were actually pretty good while we were there so they got treated to a bubble bath in the whirlpool tub! Piper was not impressed with the jets, Presley loved it! We almost lost her in the bubbles! :)

One of her purchases on our Friday shopping was pj's like mine! (sometimes she likes me)

Steve went to bed at 8 and I fell asleep in Presley's bed! Oh well! I rarely see 10 pm anymore!

 

I also took Monday off from work, Presley didn't have school so this was  a good excuse to have one more day together to drive each other crazy (she tells me I'm a terrible mom at least once a day, it's fun). So once again, Steve took Piper to daycare, Presley and I slept in and then we headed to run some errands and do some shopping for me! She was less than entertained with today, and it was starting to snow so we headed home after one store at the mall.

We got home and I had all sorts of energy and determination to get the house clean and laundry done! Presley is usually good about playing and keeping herself entertained however she just wanted to whine and be unhappy. I was able to get the neighbor girls over to play again but the three of them couldn't get along either......BUT on the otherhand, the house was clean!

 

I think it is time for our family time to come to an end, with me going back to work and Presley going back to school hopefully that will help...of course, with the snow and cold weather, school will probably be cancelled. :)

Saturday

It was time for hair cuts! We went back to Sheer Madness, the kids seem to like it there so it makes it easy. Plus they get to choose what cars they want to sit in and what movie they want to watch!

Crazy Piper sat there, stone-cold, not moving, not smiling, no nothing!

I wanted to get pictures of them together, of course, it was after a complete crying fit by Piper. But my teary eyed baby, still smiled for me

Presley got about 3 inches cut off, she would've gone shorter but I didn't want her to. :)

 

Saturday night we decided a last minute to have mom come over to watch the girls so we could get a late dinner and go watch our friend Baird play/sing at Trostels Dish. It was nice, we weren't out late and we got some time to ourselves over my long weekend! Thanks mom!

 

Catch up

Time to play catch up! New Years Eve, the start of my 5 day weekend and we had no plans.....I think it just came up on us faster than we thought but really by that night both kids were annoying and there was no way they were going to stay up until midnight. So we put Piper to bed and had a popcorn party in the basement.

Presley fell asleep about 9:30 and me about 10. Kinda sad huh? It was nice getting a full night of sleep though!

This was just a random picture of Miss Piper, I just love those little naked baby butts!

New Years day we decided to take the girls to Playground for Kids in Ankeny, we had success after we took them to Skyzone a week ago so we took another chance.

We got there before the rush and the girls had a good time. So we'll be going back! We've decided that for the next two months we are going to have to keep them busy on the weekends otherwise they are going to drive each other and us crazy!

 

Friday I had the day off to spend some time with Presley. Steve took Piper to daycare and Presley and I slept in, got up and ready, went to Target (she was in desperate need of clothes) and then met my mom at the new Flix Brewhouse to see Annie! Presley loved it (even though she saw it once already), it was really cute and Flix is really cool and we'll be going back for sure!

After the movie we met Steve to watch the Iowa football game (which we won't talk about) and then we hung out at home....going to bed early. Presley just CANNOT leave Piper alone, she has to pick on her, drive her crazy and just get in her face ALL the time....so we are just tired of it.

2014/2015

So my goals for 2014, I just don't think I did very good......

1) Get both girls into some sort of swimming classes: Presley did take one session
2) Run a 5k, in a race, on the treadmill, around a lake....wherever, just be able to run 3.1 miles again! : Fail....I got up to 1.5 miles but didn't run nearly as much as I wanted to.
3) Payoff both credit cards (stupid Cancun and new mattress!): Done! I just opened a Disney credit card, but I'll be paying this off every month. So we have no credit card debt.
4) Open a savings account for Piper (and continuously add to hers and Presley's accounts!): Fail....my mom reminds of this every couple months and I still didn't do it.
5) Sign my baby up for Kindergarten and eventually get Piper into fulltime daycare at Generation Next. Done! Both girls are done with daycare at my mom's (unless they are sick or daycare is closed!) :)
6) Go on a weekend family trip just the 4 of us, whether to the Megamall, Omaha, KC....somewhere! Fail.....we went to Okoboji with Steve's family, Colorado for my family reunion and KC with my family but never got our weekend away with the 4 of us....really they test our patience ALL the time and I'm not sure a weekend away would be fun for us at this point.
7) Once a month give to someone. Whether it be a surprise gift card in the mail or a dollar to the guy who plays guitar in the skywalk. Once a month isn't much but it is more than I'm doing now! I did pretty good, I gave baby clothes to different people, sent a surprise gift card to a friend, we gave our glider and ottoman to a friend....so I did more than normal, but didn't do something every month.
8) Pinterest more! Whether cooking/baking, crafts....something to get my creative juices flowing (b/c I have limited creativity) Fail....I know I did some things, but honestly can't remember anything significant so I won't give myself any credit for it.

My goals for 2015 are similar to last year, hopefully I can achieve more in 2015!
1) Get both girls into swimming classes
2) Run a 5k, in a race, on the treadmill, around a lake....wherever, just be able to run 3.1 miles again!
3) Open a savings account for Piper (and continuously add to hers and Presley's accounts!)
4) Steve and I take a trip, even if it is just another weekend trip like we did in November when we went to Omaha. But we really need to branch out and go somewhere we haven't been. Chicago, Nashville, Memphis.
5) Get Presley involved in something...teeball, gymnastics, soccer....I don't care but it has to be something. One thing is not too much to ask, is it? Most kids are involved in everything (which I really DON'T want!)
6) Lose some weight (10 pounds I would be more than happy with) and get in shape. We are doing a family weight loss challenge from January to May, so this should help. Running and cutting back on my cider beer addiction should help! :)
7) Either have a garage sale or give our crap to Goodwill! We both need to go thru our clothes, we have girls clothes and toys in bins in the basement that are just sitting there that can go to a nice home, other than ours!

Random Reader

My friend Janelle! It's been.....9 years?! Really has it been that long? Her husband Ryan (or as I have always known him, RT) and Steve went to highschool together. These guys from Creston always seem to keep contact with each other and Janelle and I have hit if off over the years. We've done lunches, they've come over a couple times and both of her kids are almost exactly 6 weeks older than both of our kids!
I think we get along so well b/c of our sense of humor and our parenting styles! I don't think either of one of us live in the world where this parenting thing is the easiest thing we have done. We both have challenges with our first (and second) born, and we love sharing and laughing at each other stories!
Janelle, we must do our Panera lunch again soon!
You can read more about Janelle and her adorable family here....
http://taylor-hawks.blogspot.com/