Ode to my parents

I love my parents! They do everything for all of us. We are very lucky to have them so close and so involved in our lives........

but I think they might be losing their minds.

 

This is the bush my dad trimmed up and left one lone branch that had a birds nest in it.

 

This is a flamingo next to a tree.....neither one is real.

 

When there aren't fake flowers in the flower bed...there are these Christmas decorative things sticking out of it.

 

Why not?

Sunday Funday....has a whole new meaning

This weekend was great! G.R.E.A.T!
Friday night we went out to dinner at Jethros, one of our favs even though we haven't been there in a LONG time b/c the whole BBQ thing didn't sound so good when I was pregnant....and b/c Presley doesn't like to eat anything there.

Saturday I was up at 7 with Piper but I got some of my DVR shows watched and read some of my book (Thank you Rachel!). Steve and P got up about 9 and we hung out, did some cleaning, picking up and such and then took a trip to Kirklands and Gordmans (still looking for things to put on the walls of the house!) and then of course made our weekly trip to Target.
We did some more fiddle farting around and then headed to my parents house for the Packer playoff game. Goldschlager shot for every Packer score! It was a great game!

Of course, we were over there way too late and go home and put the kids down about 10:30-11 pm. You know what is completely awesome?! No one waking up in our house on Sunday morning until 8:30! This was the third night in a row that Piper had slept thru the night! Woohoo!
Steve got up with the girls and when I rolled out of bed at 9:30, he was making bacon, hashbrowns and waffles for breakfast! Perfect!
We had some time to play play-doh, dress up like a princess, watch a movie.....then Steve took Presley shopping and Piper and I hung out. She fell asleep about noon and I did some housework and then read my book (while watching my DVR'd shows). It was the perfect afternoon! They got home about 3 and Presley dressed up again, we played kick ball in the basement, did a puzzle and Steve made dinner! Both kids were in bed by 8:30 and I took a glass of wine and my kindle and took a nice, hot bath (my back seems to hurt alot more since I had Piper!) Sunday funday!

On a side note:
- I finally packed up most of Pipers newborn size clothes, we are on our way to wearing 0-3 months and 3 month clothes! **Fingers crossed she continue to sleep thru the night!**
- Presley has been fairly good this last week. I don't know if we have and any time-outs....alot of warnings and counting to 3 to get her to do things but no major meltdowns.....yet. I'm hoping since we are getting back into a fairly normal routine of things, that she will continue to be the sweet, funny almost 4 year old that we know and love!
- She finally changed her mind on the Christmas birthday party she wanted *mom breathes a sigh of relief*...we are now having a Tinkerbell party!

Bored

- So I have been back to work 2.5 weeks, it hasn't been bad. I have to test case to get my authority back and that process is very slow. So I'm taking advantage of it, I know the overtime will kick in soon so I might as well do my one file a day and sit back and enjoy it. Now I just have to pass these test cases! YIKES!
- The bad part about being back to work is leaving the house at 6:40 every morning and not getting home until about 5:30 at night, there just doesn't leave a lot of time for much else besides dinner, bath and bedtime routines!
- Steve is now responsible for taking and picking Presley up from Aprils on Monday and Thursday, I think this little extra responsibility is good for him and honestly those days are less stressful for me!
- I love the deer that we see on our way home (and sometimes in the mornings), just last night I saw 12 deer from my moms to our house! We had a nice buck in our backyard last week and the deer tracks are all over the yard! Now the goal is to NOT hit one, that scares me!
- Presley keeps telling us she wants a Christmas birthday party this year! LOL! Maybe I should've taken advantage of the clearance Christmas decorations when I had the chance! I'm really hoping that when she sees the Tinkerbell (or Hello Kitty, Barbie, princess) stuff that she will change her mind....or we'll be having a Christmas birthday party in February!
- Piper slept thru the night last night! She ate her bottle at 7 and then we gave her a little more about 9 in hopes to hold her over thru the night. It must have worked b/c at 6:30 this morning she was still sleeping and I had to wake her up to leave for work! No worries, we will not get our hopes up that this will continue.
- The best thing for me to do when I get home from work is to NOT sit down! If I can keep moving, picking up, putting laundry away, or whatever else....I get so much more done than if I were to sit down for an hour and then try to clean. Now I just have to find time and motivation to work out too!

Five Question Friday

1. Have you set any goals/resolutions for 2013? See previous posts

2. Have you made any travel/vacation plans for 2013? Well, of course! That is what we do! We are going to see Pink in concert in March with Holly and Jerry. We are going to a wedding in Algona in April, taking Presley with us and leaving Piper with Grandma. And of course, our annual Okoboji trip in July!
And we are throwing around trying to go to Vegas in May/June, so we'll see if that happens!

3. What room is never cleaned in your house? We've done a pretty good job of trying to keep the house picked up since we moved in. But CLEAN, CLEAN? Heck no room is ever fully, really 100% CLEAN!

4. What food must be in your house at all times? Milk and fruit, these are the two things Presley has before bed every night. If we don't have them, it's like the planets are out of line, hell has frozen over and pigs are really flying....b/c the routine of this fruit and milk is like breathing for this kid...it has to happen!

5. Are you a hugger or more of a hands off person? Depends on the person, but in general I would say the older I get the huggier I get!

Thursday Thoughts

Outside my window... it seems the sun is going down already....too early!!

Today I feel... tired and bored actually. Not having my authority at work right now really keeps my stress level down!

I am thinking... about how life is too short.

I am thankful... for a husband who likes to cook!

Tomorrow I am going... to get paid! First time for a full pay check since November

I wish...Bostons dad wasn't a dead beat

This weekend... the Packers HAVE to beat the Vikings! Packer party with Goldschlager shots!

I am reading... nothing! Sad, after all the reading I did last year. I just haven't got back into yet but I hope I come out of this funk soon!

I am working on... lots of little things! Thank yous, pictures, planning P's bday, still decorating parts of the house

Yesterday I... should've gone to bed earlier

I am hoping...my parents don't kill each other on the drive to New Orleans next week!...but that they have a great time!

I am hearing... not much. The big man in the corner is talking AGAIN. And I only mean 'big' in the sense that he is high up in the company, definitely not his stature.

One of my favorite things... the sound of my baby cooing and giggling! And a happy Presley!

2013 Goals

1) Lose 10 pounds

2) Sign Presley up for full time daycare/preschool either in June or September (we'll see how her attitude is and if my mother is willing to deal with her all summer! LOL)

3) Sign Presley up for soccer or dance. She loves gymnastics but I think she need something additional to help burn off some energy.

4) Take Piper to waterbaby classes like we did with Presley!

5) Payoff off the Equinox and my student loans (it's a stretch to do both this year but we can try!)

6) Limit my time on the computer while the girls are awake! I think both Steve and I need to work on this and I think as the weather gets nicer it will be easier to get out of the house and not be tempted to turn on the computer all the time.

7) Limit the amount of overtime I work. I actually did a good job of NOT over doing the overtime this year, with being prego and the house and preschool, it was just a crazy summer filled with appointments and places to be. Though I am thankful to have my job, I have to remain focused on my family. I will not give up every night or weekends for work. This is hard sometimes when my desk is overflowing and people are screaming or crying b/c they won't have a place to live if I don't get their loan approved YESTERDAY.

8) Donate blood. This is on my life list but really shouldn't be that hard for me to do. I just need to do it!

Adios 2012, Hola 2013

So NYE my mom volunteered to watch the girls if we had plans, well Nick and Sarah were supposed to come up from Creston but then couldn't get anyone to watch their dog! We had an overnight babysitter and no one would watch their dog?! Come on guys! LOL! So we decided to go out anyway, we had attempted to make reservations at a couple restaurants but of course they were all full so we decided to do a red neck/white trash new years and have dinner at Mullets! Our friends Derwood and Lesley came and met us out! It was fun and nice to just sit and talk and have fun!

Then about 11 pm we headed to The Boat House to be closer to home, it's a small bar a couple miles from our house. We got home about 1:00 and went to bed (we were tired b/c we had both been up since about 4 am!)

I remembered to take a picture of us!

This morning we got up and went to get the girls and decided to go bowling! None of us had been in years and thought it might be fun to take the kids!

Bowling has changed a little....for one, the automatic bumpers for the kids are awesome! My mom wanted them but she wasn't allowed b/c she was above the height limit! 

Boston wanted to bowl like the big kids!

and the dinosaur tail they had for the kids to use to help them get the ball down the lane was perfect! Presley wasn't too sure about the shoes but after her first two times bowling she was willing to put the shoes on and was always excited for her turn and knocking down the pins! It was so cute! We had lots of high fives and I think everytime someone bowled Boston said "Good job!" He is too adorable!

It was fun....and expensive. Steve and I were talking about how bowling always usde to be a cheap form of entertainment...not so much. It was $40 for 3 of us to bowl 2 games! Piper slept thru the first game and was good as normal

 

After bowling, Piper and I came home and hung out. I cleaned, did laundry, watched some of my DVR shows and hung out while Steve and Presley went to see his brother Jason's new house at Lake Panorma!

Presley said to me as she was going to bed tonight..."It was a fun day!"