Thursday, March 28, 2013

Busy Week of Random Stuff

~I'm glad I took an entire week off work to unpack/set up the house/adjust to everything.

~I officially do not know how stay at home moms do it.  I prefer to go to work!  I love the girls but I don't get a single thing done when I'm with them.  And I've eaten way too many cookies since I'm here and the cookies are here and they speak to me and beg me to eat them from the pantry!

~Annabel has really taken off with walking since we've been here.  She walks EVERYWHERE now and looks like a little drunk person wobbling around and falling everywhere.

~I wore yoga pants for 5 out of the last 6 days.

~2 of those days I wore the same yoga pants, unwashed.

~Today was the first day I wore "real" clothes.

~We've officially picked our new pizza place and Chinese restaurant (take out) right by our neighborhood.  There's nothing else to pick because there's nothing else out here besides a Wendys, McDonalds, Ruby Tuesday and Applebees and I don't really care for any of those unless I'm in a junk food mood and then it's Wendys.  Need to stop eating that crap though!

~Today we went to the mall down the street from us, it's an outlet mall and I'm in love.  Bought dressy capris for work from Gap (dark blue w/white polka dots) and two pairs from New York and Company (a black and khaki).  I was in desperate need of pants for work as I've suddenly dropped down smaller than pre-Annika and pre-Annabel clothing size (yay!).  I'm almost able to squeeze my booty into pre-wedding size jeans, soooo close.

~Speaking of size I ordered Insanity.  I don't want to lose more weight but I would like to tone.  Like do some major toning and work on butt as with age it's decided to get smaller and flatter.  Smaller I can deal with, flatter I cannot!  I'm hoping to tone that and my abs.  Running is only getting me so far.

~Also speaking of size where the hell do flat chested people buy shirts??  I tried on shirts at 4 different stores today and x-small was too big in all of them.  My bra (why do I even bother, but I do, I have a "must wear bra in public" rule that every women should have) shows in just about every single shirt.  Either the top part of my bra or the straps.  I hate to do it but I  might have to move into the children's department for tops like I used to do...

~At the mall today (it's an outdoor outlet mall) I noticed that we were the only local people there.  Why or how did I notice?  We were the only ones wearing sweaters and jeans!  It was 60 degrees and people were wearing shorts, tee shirts and flip flops!!!  Brrr....I barely function in temps below 70.  I even had second thoughts about going to the mall having it be so cold.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

We're In

We're all moved in and unpacked but we're still setting things up.

We did relax bit by our pond out in our back yard.


Annika and Bo played in the back yard (this was a warm day it's currently 40 now! brrrr)


We made cookies in our new kitchen!


And we found some sunglasses while unpacking and acted silly!


More to come soon :-)

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Good-bye Old House

Josh and I usually move every 2-3 years.  We started out in a 1 bedroom apartment, then moved to a 2 bedroom apartment and then our 3 bedroom townhouse.  This 4 bedroom house we bought is so exciting because we've continued to move up and now we have our home that I hope we stay in for long while.

Our 2 bedroom apartment was hard to say good-bye to because it was where we brought Annika home to when she was born.  It was where she took  her first steps.  It was the last place that Annika saw both my parents in before they died.  I got the phone call that my mom died while standing in the living room and the phone call that my dad died while standing in the front entry way.  It was hard to say good-bye to that place but in a way it was nice to not have some of those memories associate with where we lived.

Our townhouse is the same.  This is where we started new after my parents died.  We brought Annabel home from the hospital here.  Annabel took her first steps next door at our neighbor's house, our neighbor whom we've become great friends with along with her children that we love like they're our own!  This house is the last place I saw my grandmother alive at Easter last year.  We had family gatherings here.  The girls played here.  We've enjoyed walks around the pond, walks to the playgrounds and living so close to everything.

But we're ready to make new memories (sorry, no babies will be coming home to this new house, baby making is OVER!) at our new home.  So excited to make our house a home :-)

Monday, March 18, 2013

Work, Work, Work

Our busy weekend started Friday when we woke up early and headed to our new house.

The first project was hanging our curtain on our sliding glass door since we both hate vertical blinds and didn't want to use those.

2 minutes into the project we realized that the curtains weren't long enough so that was scrapped!

We moved onto the blinds and in an entire day we hung 4 blinds out of the 6 we needed to do.

After working at the house we went home, ate a quick dinner and ran to the furniture store where we had put a hold on a new dining room table!  Josh and I have had the same GLASS dining room table for over 7 years and it's a mess.  Annika has scratched it up and Annabel hangs from it!  Not safe or practical for two kids!

After setting up our delivery of our new dining room set we ran to another store to look for a longer curtain and found one.  I had only paid $40 on Amazon for the original curtains so I cringed having to pay over $100 for curtains that would fit.

Saturday we had no babysitter with us so all our projects had to be done with both girls hanging around.  Luckily Annika is occupied with a laptop and some DVDs to watch but not Annabel.  She screams, whines, steals pieces of blinds and fans and climbs ladders when you aren't looking.


And she is VERY proud of herself on that ladder too!

Somehow during the day Saturday and Sunday (both of which we spent 7 hours each at the house) we got all the blinds done, put together all the fans (Josh's help is coming Friday to assist with those, we didn't want any accidents with those!), hung up the curtain and curtain rod for the sliding glass door, put together the lawn mower and I unpacked a few boxes of things I brought over.  I also managed to grocery shop even though I felt awful that the girls had fallen asleep on the drive from the house.  I woke them up and luckily they weren't bad in the store.



Each night we put the girls to bed early, around 7:30 or 8pm and they both would go straight to bed.  In the morning Annika would come into our room around 7am telling me to get up and get her milk because it's light outside!  Oh that was torture when I just wanted to sleep in!  Especially since Annabel slept till at least 9am every day during our long weekend!!  I didn't even wake Josh up to go work on the house until Annabel woke up so it was nice for him to get to sleep in some!

For some reason I didn't take a single picture with my camera of the house!!  Next week I will, I want to get some of us moving!

I'm so excited to move in on Saturday!!  I just want to be at the house all the time now! :-)

Friday, March 15, 2013

Homeowners!

We're officially homeowners!

Everything went perfectly and it's great to finally having the closing behind us.

Afterwards we went to Home Depot and got some great deals on a washer, dryer, fridge and tons of lawn equipment!  Let me just say that it helps to bring me to a store like that to work out deals with the male employees and I'm not embarrassed about it at all.  Josh couldn't believe that by the end of all the deals I got we saved $700!!!  He actually didn't have anything to do with the discounts I was able to work out because he was so tired from having worked the day before that he was in a daze 90% of the time we were in the store.

Now I'm waiting for him to wake up so we can head over to the house to hang blinds, curtains, closet shelves and put together the fans so that his friend can help him with them tomorrow.

It's so exciting to walk into our new home and be able to say that it belongs to us!

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Ready to Close

It's closing day!

As of right now we are completely set with our closing.  The title person has received all the information from our lender and the builder.

Let's go!! :)

Updates will be sporadic from now until we move in.  We're taking this weekend to hang blinds, fans, curtains and extra closet shelves.  Josh has a friend coming over to help with the garage door opener too.

Sometime in there I will lose Internet connection while we disconnect it at our old house and reconnect it a few days later at the new house.

Next weekend we move!

I also wanted to thank everyone for the birthday wishes on here and Facebook :)

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

The Big 3-0

Can't believe I'm 30 today!  30!  I remember thinking how old people seemed when they said they were 30 and yet here I am really not feeling all THAT old! :-)

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

The Last Decade

People I'm turning 30 tomorrow.  30.  I can't even believe it and I swear I don't feel a day over 16 sometimes :)

My 20s have been a huge adventure full of change.  I wanted to write some highlights (and low lights) of each age in my 20s (that I was able to remember!):

When I was 20 I was still living at home with my parents.  I had just gotten my first "real" job at a dentist office working for a horrible man (whom I worked with for 2 1/2 years).  I was a dental assistant.  During this time my boyfriend and I were living with my parents while trying to save up to move out on our own.  It was also later this year that I decided that I was unhappy with my appearance and got brace put on my teeth in order to straighten them and correct my awful overbite.

I turned 21 and remember ordering my first drink from a restaurant.  I went with my boyfriend who made me feel guilty about even having a drink, it was a house margarita.  He drank all the time but decided to make me feel guilty and ashamed for having one drink.  I took only a sip and left the rest.  Since I didn't have any girlfriends at the time I didn't have anyone to take me out for a real 21st birthday celebration.  During my 21st year I also came to the realization that my boyfriend of 5 years sucked.  Not only had we still not moved out of my parents' house he would make me feel bad for not paying for his bills (since at the time I made significantly more than him).  One day I developed a horrible stomach bug and had to go the ER.  I had no one to drive me there and had to call his boss to force him to come  home and drive me to the ER.  After sitting in the waiting room with me for 30 minutes he became angry and left me alone puking in the bathroom.  My dad drove by the ER on his way home from work and was angry that I was left alone and went home to get my mom so she could sit with me the rest of the night.  Then my asshole of a boss told me after I was sick for 4 straight days that if I didn't come back to work the next day he would have to fire me and hire someone else because he couldn't run an office with someone who was "sick"!  I had a stomach bug!  I went to work the next day totally weak and laid on the floor in the break room half the day.

22 was the year I got smart.  The dentist I worked for retired and sold his office to a shady guy that eventually drove the place to the ground.  I walked out one day without telling my boyfriend (who was always depending on me for money AND we were still living with my parents) or my parents (who were often times depending on me to pay their mortgage).  I took 2 weeks off from working, opened my own bank account (I had a joint one with my boyfriend) and got a new job where I actually still work today!  I met up with Josh who had given me his phone number a few months before (he was a patient at the dentist office I worked at) and we went on a date after I told my boyfriend he would have to move out of parents' house because we were done.  After 2 weeks of the loser not moving out I packed my bags and moved in with Josh (it was supposed to be temporary until I could get my own place).  Later that year I had my braces removed, went to a dermatologist and got a haircut, completely transforming myself inside and out!  I had friends, a nice boyfriend and a place to live on my own!

At 23 I was rear ended in my Jeep by a kid without a drivers license on my way to work.  Thanks to the accident I had surgery for the first time on my knee and ended up needing it done twice.  Josh and I took our first vacation together to Key West and we decided that we were going to be a long term thing.  We got Bo, our dog and at the end of the year Josh asked me to marry him.  We were married in February of the next year.  We decided to get married at the courthouse because we couldn't believe how expensive a wedding was going to be when we started looking into it!  We were afraid that we'd never get married because we'd never be able to save up the thousands of dollars we needed so we spent $80 on a courthouse wedding!  Neither one of us regrets it at all!

I was promoted twice at work when I was 24.  Josh was laid off twice.  It was a rough time as we moved from a one bedroom apartment to larger 2 bedroom apartment since we wanted to start trying for a baby.  We became frustrated that month after month and finally a year we weren't getting pregnant.  We visited a specialist but all the tests came back fine.  I also traveled to Sweden with my dad during this year and it was my first time out of the country.  It was amazing to get to see where my dad grew up and visit my grandparents.

One significant thing I can remember about 25 is going to Sweden with Josh.  Two non-Swedish people in a country together.  We had a good time and a bad time, things were rough at this time as we still weren't pregnant and were debating on what we were going to do so we weren't always getting along.  At one time we turned to adoption but became frustrated after one class with the state.  I decided to get laproscopic surgery to see if I had Endometriosis, I did and it was removed.  2 months later just 2 days after our 2 year wedding anniversary I found out we were pregnant!

26 was clearly a big year as Annika was born!  We waited and wanted her for so long and she was (and still is) perfect!  Josh had a surprise birthday party for me this year and it was pretty exciting!

Oh, the dreaded 27.  Do we even want to go there?   Josh and I both struggled trying to manage our jobs, life and paying a fortune for daycare for Annika.  She was always sick and we were missing tons of work because of it.  I had to put her in a daycare my work pays for when children are sick and it was heartbreaking to not be able to stay home with her while she was sick but I was feeling a bit better that she was at the daycare a the hospital with nurses caring for her.
Just as I was settling into being a new mother I lost my mom and dad within a 7 week period.  27 years old was the year that my life changed the most.  I no longer cry at stupid little things, or care about stupid little issues with people in my life.  I ignore people I was friends with because of the way they reacted (or didn't react) when my parents died.  To some people I'm different, maybe a bit cold?  But I lost my parents and I've still never really had enough time to process it all.  I also started running and ran my first half marathon.  Annika turned a year old and Josh was laid off of work.  We pulled Annika out of daycare and decided that Josh needed to get a job at night which he got 2 months after being laid off.

I did not want to turn 28.  I didn't want to have a birthday without my parents but I did and ran a half marathon on that day. Josh and I decided to expand our family so we moved into a 3 bedroom townhouse, I was promoted at work again (perfect timing) and we became pregnant with Annabel!  Annabel was born later that year.  Right after Annabel being born I lost my grandpa in Sweden, it was sad not being able to say good-bye.  We took our first family vacation while I was 18 weeks pregnant with Annabel to Orlando for a wedding and went to Downtown Disney with Annika.  We actually had a lot of fun without having to spend a ton of money on an actual Disney theme park!

Just like I didn't want to turn 28 I hated 29 too.  I hate birthdays without my parents because they always made such a big deal about my birthday.  Shortly after turning 29 my grandmother died which brought back feelings of my parents dying.  It was a rough year with Josh and I working opposite schedules and dealing with family drama.  Finally after much realization of the last year I now know that the only person in this world I can count on is Josh (and the girls) and if it's just us together it's okay with me.  We also decided to look at houses to buy and built one!!  I've had a great year raising these two crazy girls even though our life is sometimes crazy and hectic! 

Now I do hope for a calmer, less life changing decade up next please!!


Friday, March 8, 2013

Oh The Things She Says Part 2

If you want to see my original "things she says" post click here: Oh The Things She Says

Let me just say that Annika is a riot and then there's times when things she's says are scary because they sound exactly like something that me or Josh say!

I was wearing some different earrings that I had actually bought for Annika a few days before.  I wear the same stupid diamond studs every single day because I'm boring and lazy! So Annika says to me:

"Momma those are my earrings, take them off and wear your diamonds!"

Sassypants, she's been getting in trouble for being a bossy sassypants lately!

Bo, our dog, has been growling lately at Annabel if she doesn't drop him enough food from her high chair during dinner so when he did it the other day Annika says:

"Knock it off Bo, knock it off.  You need to go outside, bad dog!"

That's 100% Josh right there.  She even opened up the sliding glass door and put him outside!

The other day while Annabel was holding my hand to walk Annika kept telling her:

"Good job baby!  You're doing so good.  Yes, good job."

Annika is Annabel's biggest cheerleader and I love it!

We've also got the occasional "I'm shaking my butt" or "My butt itches" or "Scratch my butt for me momma".  Always in public when people are listening!

I was impressed with her at Publix, the grocery store, when she asked the lady in the bakery for a cookie, she said:

"May I please have a cookie with chocolate chips?"

I almost cried, what a big girl!

If she does want to eat something she'll either say "This is stinky" or "This is too spicy, I can't eat this!"  We're getting the spicy comment a lot, she said it a week ago when I had some Girl Scout Thin Mints.

I'm afraid for us once Annabel starts talking, they're never going to stop and my "oh the things she says" posts are going to be VERY long!

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

The Little Walker

Guess who decided to stand up and take a few steps Friday??

This one!


I wish I had the video to share here but it turns out it's on Josh's phone and because of our schedules I won't be able to post it till next week but it's awesome!

We were at our neighbor/friend/babysitter's house next door.  I was helping her hang up some lanterns and Josh was sitting the couch "supervising" us :-)  Next thing we know Annabel stand up in the middle of her living room and takes two steps!  After that we got her to take more steps to us for a grand total in one shot of 5 steps!  She's already a pro.

She's only taken a few more steps here and there since Friday.  She totally prefers speed crawling or holding on to things to walk.  I took her and Annika on a walk around the pond in our neighborhood and she held my hand to walk for a while until she seemed tired.  Every time I try to pick her up though she throws a fit and wants to get down to walk!

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Weekly House Update

We're getting closer!


(I've started to black out the house # and our license plate number for safety, there are like 3 other houses that look EXACTLY like ours in our neighborhood though)

From the outside all we need is paint on the garage door, front door and shutters (those are not staying blue!).  They will be another shade of brown.  Most of our neighborhood is shades of brown or yellowish.  The yellow houses really stand out though, we preferred the browns.

But look, we have stone!  And grass!

We also have a shower and flooring in our bathroom!


And flooring in the kitchen/dining/living room areas.


Annika brought in her "brown bear" kitty (she calls the color brown "brown bear", funny girl) in with her to see the house.  The kitty approved!


Annabel approved too by trying to eat my sweater!


We are still on schedule to close next Thursday!  We have our final walk thru in a week!  I might not be able to go because of some projects I have going on at work but Josh will be able to go up with the girls.  At least I'll see the house on Saturday and if I see anything questionable I can just make a note for Josh.

Can't believe we're moving in just a little over 2 weeks!

Friday, March 1, 2013

The Girls

Can you believe that this girl is 14 months old???



Annabel loves to swing so this week we've walked down to the "good" playground down the street that has swings.  Her laughs are amazing and turn any bad day into a good one!

She's still not walking.  She can stand on her own without holding anything and can walk holding hands with one of us (she even does it with Annika) but she's just not confident enough to just let go and walk!

Last week she started to talk a bit more!  She says hi, bye and that.  She always says "that" and points to things and wants us to tell her what they are.  Little sponge is probably just observing now and I can imagine that before we know she'll been speaking in full sentences like Annika!

Annabel also now has a total of 6 teeth!!  So far behind on the teeth growing than Annika but she's just as easy as Annika was with teething.  I haven't been able to tell that either one was teething, just one day I see a new tooth with no signs or warnings that it was coming!!


Annika is very much a "mommy's girl" lately.  I guess I'm enjoying it while it lasts because once she turns 13 she'll hate me (those teenage years are going to suck!).

The other night she asked to stay up and color in my bed while I showered so I let her.  This is how she was when I got out.  I had to carry her to bed which isn't easy when she's more than half my height and around 40 pounds!  She's totally not a baby anymore :(


Saturday Josh and I got out for a date for our anniversary and Annika went over to our neighbor's (and one of our best friend) house.  She has a thing with her Dyson vaccuum because she always requests to clean for her!  Needless to say she's welcomed anytime over to their house!


Friday night I felt a little down because once again I overheard everyone making plans to do a happy hour and I'm never invited.  I don't know if it's the whole intimidating thing or that everyone assumes I can go because of the girls (they're right, I probably would stay about 30 minutes and miss the girls and go home!).  So I did what Annika and I think is the most fun and we stayed up late watching a movie in my bed.  She brought all her favorite toys (monkeys and cats currently) and we watched one of the Ice Age movies (I think it's the 2nd one).  We had a good time, stayed up way too late and then she slept in till 9 on Saturday!