Weekend Bliss

Watching movies while it sprinkled outside...

Firefighter B

My lil monkey!

Just a swingin'...

Somebody loves the swings!

What a cutie!

Popsicles!

ATV rides

The girls!

Off to the park

Sister help

Sister races

Ready...set....GO!

More sister help...with sister races.

Finally brave enough to try the stairs on her own - I think the holes freaked her out!

B and me; she's such a doll!

Pumping away!

"Help." Haha she was so cute, grabbing my hand and leading me around!

What a blessed weekend I had; a busy Saturday - Munchkin Market in the morning {spent $83 on a whole new wardrobe for B this summer...so worth it!}, cleaning in the afternoon, and a Girls Night In with some of my closest friends! We exchanged our Favorite Things: Urban Decay Roller Girl Eyeshadow Pallet, Victoria's Secret PINK lotion & candle, Scotch Dishscrub {with refills and soap!}, and foot scrub/lotion. We watched Bridesmaids and talked, and it was so relaxing and nice to have that time with my friends! Sunday was nicer, so the girls and I ran to the park for a while, they took naps while I tried to update my Gypsy and Cricut {battery life died, so I had to charge the Gypsy and have to continue tonight}...then it started to get windy, cold, and showed signs of sprinkles so we headed to the couch to watch movies and the girls played "Applebee's", serving food to us from their kitchen. It was delicious.

Short week at work today, then "Scraptails" this weekend - a perfect opportunity to make a huge dent in completing my wedding album!

Tuesday's Tidbits

1. It's Tuesday - I'm on time!
2. I'm so exhausted. Like, 90% of the time I could fall asleep on command. I go to bed early, take naps on the weekends, and the snooze button has become my best friend during the work week.
3. Nine days until I leave for my weekend scrapbooking retreat with my mom and BFF. I have been looking forward to this for MONTHS! I'm nearly packed, just three more things to corral on top of my clothing. That's it! It can't come soon enough I tell ya!
4. Over the weekend my hubby was sick with the stomach flu. Literally I cleaned every cupboard handle, door knob, and surface area possible on Saturday. He was a trouper and went to work Sunday, so I tackled our bathroom and bedroom with chemicals and washings in hopes to rid our home of this virus. It's awful! My worst fear is B getting it again, there's nothing worse than watching your tiny princess fight the sickness and not being able to help her.
5. Gatorade has become a must have for me lately. I get so thirsty for it! Is that bad?
6. B crossed the monkey bars by herself last night at the playground. Watching her face and the determination in her eyes, the hesitation when she paused...it brought me back. Do you remember how scary it seemed to let one hand go and try to swing to the next one when you were that little? How it seemed like such a big feat when you could do it, and when you could sing "One, two, skip a few..." as you hauled across them the next summer you felt so giddy? I'm excited for her to get to that point. But for that moment last night, I remembered how it felt and the thoughts that would race right before letting go to get to the next bar. I love being a mommy.
7. I have pictures on my camera, ready to upload, and posts started ready to publish. I just need to marry the two.
8. This weekend I'm hosting a Girls Night In. It was supposed to be last weekend, but with the sickness buggies I had to move it. Now I will have both girls running around too, but that's OK with me. I get my break the weekend after! I'm excited to show off the house to my closest girlfriends and have a night to chat, catch up, and overall have fun.
9. I don't know the last time I slept through an entire night. Either I wake up from one of the kids, the hubby, or even a dream I had. Earplugs and my sleep mask are a must for next weekend.
10. It's warm today, finally. We had a beautiful March, and so far a chilly, spring-like April. Who am I to complain? I'm excited for summer and being outside. Hurry summer, hurry!

Weekend Bliss

A mini-me in a mini-scrap area just for her...

Learning to write and spell...

Playing "stylist"

...and rocking out.

Pink, glittery, princess elephant look is in, right??

And some lovey-time with the nephew Sunday afternoon.

Tuesday's Tidbits - on Wednesday (again)

1. I'm sick. B is sick. This is Day 2 and we are spending it recovering. Both have stomach bugs...it's no fun to watch a 5 year old get sick.
2. Speaking of 5 year olds, B had her birthday parties this weekend. I will not be hosting a child's party in my home for a very, very long time. 10 girls were here total {including B & E}, and it was a huge project. I take for granted how well I know my own daughter and found that it's very difficult to keep 7 kids I'm not familiar with happy. One sat there repeating, "I'm thirsty...I'm thirsty...I'm thirsty..." after I had already told her I was tying a shoe and would get her something to drink in a moment. One was upset that I couldn't fix her shoe. Tacos and cupcakes covered my deck...and kitchen floor. Apple juice sticky spots were discovered days later. To top it all off, one decided to go #2 without asking for help, got that #2 all over, and clogged the toilet. The rubber stopper got stuck and while we were downstairs singing karaoke, the toilet was overflowing. Tank after tank after tank. For probably 5-10 minutes before the girls noticed a "waterfall" in front of my craft room door. Yep, it had soaked through the ceiling. Our rec room now has water damage all over and my hubby has to rip it out. While my friend was trying to stop the toilet, I was trying to get ahold of my hubby and calm one of the girls down who was hyperventilating and telling me I needed to call the police. In hindsight, the madness is pretty hysterical. At the moment, I wanted to die. 
3. B's family birthday party was the next day and went much, much smoother. No toilet messes. A few spills, but good times with our loved one. My grandpa even made it out, and that's a huge trip for him! It's good to see him out and about, and B loves seeing "great papa" at her home.
4. After the beautiful weekend, it snowed on Monday. Tornado warnings on Sunday, snow on Monday. That's Minnesota for ya.
5. My younger sister is pregnant again! Her son was born in November, and baby #2 is due Christmas Day...I bet they will be BFFs! Can't wait to meet the lil one :)
6. I am really disappointed that Blake Shelton sent Jordis Unga home. Not only is she from MN, but she is frickin awesome! Ugh. Blake...bad decision. Bad, bad decision.
7. This Saturday I'm hosting a Ladies Night at the new house...I can't wait! The theme is Favorite Things...and I will definitely blog about it!
8. There are so many books I want to read right now, but I want to wait until my birthday to see if my hubby gets me a Kindle Fire :) teehee!
9. For the life of me I cannot find the kid's clothes hangers. What the heck is that about? I wonder if the bag got tossed in the trash instead of loaded into the truck on accident. That's the only explanation - this house is pretty black and white at this point!
10. I'm hoping we are done with being sick for a very, very long time in this house.

Tuesday's Tidbits (on Wednesday...)

1.       I ended up with a gastro-infection of sorts; my stomach and small intestine basically caught a virus and slowed down. I fought it off for two days and finally I’m feeling better, although my stomach is grumbling and growling nonstop. I’m on the BRAT diet…bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. It’s bland, bland, bland, but thankfully I can eat something because after two days of not eating I am starving. I also have to stay clear of dairy for the next five-ish days. Sheesh. Anyway, I have only been working half days and it's frustrating. I need to get the hours in! Boo to getting sick.

2.       Home updates have been crazy; it’s tough to take pictures when we are in such a hurry to get as much done as we can before B’s birthday parties this weekend. However, I did some fantastic work to my craft room that I will feature as soon as I can get my hubby to hang some wall décor for me!

3.       Speaking of B, today is her Kindergarten Round-Up. Oh. Em. Gee. It seems like just yesterday she was a teeny toddler and now here I am prepping to send her to school. It’s going to be tough for me. I don’t know how I will handle it come September…

4.       Last night my handsome, handy hubby installed the closet unit in the girls’ closet. It looks awesome, now I just need to add my personal touch of organization and it will be complete! I can’t wait…is that weird?

5.       New Girl is my favorite TV show. Tuesday nights on FOX. HILARIOUS. If you haven’t seen it, you must.

6.       It’s gotten really cold the last few days here, which is unfortunate because we want to finish the deck. March was a big, warm tease and I hate teases, especially when they backfire.

7.       Easter weekend I got to watch my 5-month-old nephew and was so excited…plus he’s the easiest baby to watch and is happy just hanging out in the same room and having something to look at! I definitely would watch him again in a heartbeat! Oh babies!

8.       Every summer, my mom’s side of the family goes on a family campout. I’m really excited this year to bring B and E and just have a planned weekend to get away and do something different, especially after working on the house! However, we won’t be camping simply because the girls are too young but will stay at a nearby hotel and join the family for the activities and festivities.

9.       There are not enough hours in the day.

10.   I am selling some wedding stuff on Craigslist and over and over again I am reminded how crazy and rude people can be. Over marbles. Seriously woman? I feel for her fiancé. I’m tempted to call this off because she’s just a nutcase. Anybody else have bad experiences with selling items on good ‘ol Craigslist?

Weekend Bliss

Babysitting, scrubbing, striping {read that carefully please}, and a surprise visit from the Easter bunny on Sunday!

Tuesday's Tidbits

1. I went to get my hair highlighted again yesterday! I love being blonde...not a natural, so it takes work, but it feels good to me. I'm excited to get the process started again {went brunette while house hunting to save dinero}.
2. Easter is this weekend and I haven't even thought about what to get the girls or when to dye eggs or any of that. I've been so preoccupied with moving and getting the house situated it hasn't crossed my mind but for a moment!
3. Speaking of getting the house situated...it's next to impossible with two kids running around on the weekend. I clean up, walk to the next room, and BAM there's a mess two minutes later. It's exhausting. Without closets there's nowhere for clothes except the extra room in trash bags or on the floor, dirty clothes are being put wherever, and there are tools all over the place. I'm frustrated!
4. Every week day I go on a walk for a half hour {during my lunch} and it has actually helped a lot! I feel better and look forward to the fresh air each day.
5. As seen in my previous post, I dropped my iPhone on Friday and it cracked. It's useable and there hasn't been any negative affect from it, just a minor annoyance with the one that split across the middle of the screen. It's a bummer. Big bummer.
6. I love watching Dancing With the Stars; particularily for Donald Driver {green and yellow, green and yellow!}...however, many of the celebrities this season are extraordinary! Katherine Jenkins, Maria Menounos, Jaleel White - who I heard had an outburst last week, and unfortunately I lost respect for him at that point. William Levy was really good with his salsa last night, but he's from Cuba! Free pass. DD better go all the way - he's hilarious and can move!
7. I'm super excited for B's birthday party next weekend. I received all of the favors and such, so now it's just food and balloons! We also ordered her gift, which is HUGE, and I am simply giddy thinking about how elated and happy she is going to be when she sees it!
8. My camera has been collecting dust lately, and it's frustrating me! Any suggestions on websites to check out for educating myself on the ins and outs of photography?
9. A few years ago {Dec '09 and Mar '10} I recorded a couple of demo songs - one was a prize in a karaoke contest and one was an answer to an ad for a female vocalist {I exercised extreme caution with that one, no worries}. Anyway, I wanted to do one for our wedding too but never got around to it, and I'm thinking it might be a good time to go forward with it again. It's something I enjoy and do for fun, not like I'm looking to be the next BIG THING by any means, but we'll see what happens!
10. Tis the season for allergies...yikes!

Weekend Bliss

My weekend looked something like this:

Many self-portraits of this little one after discovering she can see herself in my phone.

Lots and lots of sisterly love. Love muffins.

A dropped and cracked iPhone. Sad face. Luckily still functional...to find the bright side I guess!

Painting, and a horrible green color gone wrong. I was hoping for a pretty light sage color, ended up with seafoam. Not sure how I'm going to make this work. Any suggestions?