Friday, 30 April

I can't believe it's almost May. Wow, this month went by fast. It was a nice night, day flew by - I left at 5 today so it was nice to leave on time. I picked up Olivia and we had a really nice evening. Went to the gym, worked out, Olivia played - I rode my bike up to the gym so had a nice ride back. We stoped at the park and she played on the swings and slide. After that, made some dinner, ate then it was bath time. She had a slight cold so gave her some medicine and she fell asleep by 8:30. I cleaned up a bit and did some laundry. I then did some reading before falling asleep.

Thursday, 29 April

Long, very long day. I ended up staying at the office til after 7:30. Got home and basically ate some dinner, played with Olivia for a bit then went to bed. I was so tired, worst part was that I didn't eat anything until dinner so I had a horrible headache. After dinner, I got Miss Olivia ready for bed, we then played for a little bit but I was whiped so pretty much called it a night.

Wednesday, April 28

Work was good, learned a lot - so the day flew by. At lunch, went to the mall and ate at the food court. Chinese food. Yum. After work, picked up Olivia from daycare then headed home. Kurt was already at work so made dinner for O and myself. We ate then took a bike ride to the video store and returned some movies, we then went for a bike ride to the park. Olivia had fun but then she threw a little tempertantrum so left with a very unhappy little girl. After getting home, gave Olivia a bath then got her ready for bed. I had some stuff to do for work, so stayed up a little late then fell asleep watching the simpsons.

Tuesday, 27 April

It ended up being a really nice day. I worked late but after work, got home to a sweet surprise. A big hug from Olivia and Kurt made dinner. It was delicious. It was a Michigan Cherry Pork Loin. Brocolli and Stuffing too. So ate dinner then I played Giraffe Limbo with Olivia. Fun game (for Olivia) just seeing her so happy made me smile. After that, got her ready for bed (it was late) then we watched a little TV before putting her to bed. I then spent a little time getting stuff ready for Work then called it a night.

Monday, 26 April

Happy to be back home and working at the office. Got up, showered and dressed - got Miss Olivia up and dressed, got her some milk and a muffin then we headed to day care. Got to work, it was good - busy, learning a lot. Left a little after 5, picked up Olivia and headed home. Changed into my gym clothes then headed to the gym. Worked out for about 1 1/2 hours, got home, fed Olivia dinner, then cut the grass, edged and trim. Gave Olivia a bath and pretty much that was my night. I got Olivia to bed around 9:30 and went to bed myself around 10. Busy day.

Sunday, 25 April

I never do this, but I slept for almost 10 hours. I feel asleep around 9 pm last night and didn't get up until 7:00 am. I was just so tired but feeling good now. Had a couple cups of coffee, it was rainy and gross out so all the plans I had didn't plan out. Oh well, I guess I can put off cutting the grass for another day :) Once Olivia got up, gave her a bath and dressed then made her some breakfast. Once Kurt got up, we all ran a few errands, rented some movies, got some Chinese take out then watched movies and ate a late lunch. The evening, didn't do much - just made it a family day.

Saturday, 24 April

So Miss Olivia woke me up at 6:30 am... yes, 6:30 am - 3 hours of sleep. I was tired but more excited to see my baby. Got showered and dressed, got Olivia dressed and we headed to Costco. I had to pick up some stuff for the bowling tournament - I promised a gift basket so got stuff for one. Picked up some muffins too - because I love Costco muffins. After getting home, we got Kurt up and ready then we all headed to Fairview Lanes for the Bowling charity event. It was a lot of fun and a success - we raised more than $2,000.00 for charity. Yeah. After that, we picked up some lunch then headed home. We had two hours before Kurt had to work so we just relaxed for a bit. Olivia and I met up with Dawn and her sister Sarah for dinner. It was so good seeing them. It ended up being a great evening. So nice.

Friday, 23 April

Today was the longest day ever. Worked from 8 until 3:30 pm. We then immediately left Moorhead, MN and Fargo, ND police departments and headed to the Fargo Airport. We dropped off the rental car and checked in. Unfortunately, we had a delay and our 5:10 flight was delay about an hour. So because of the delay, we missed our connecting flight. Ugh. So instead of getting home at 10, I wasn't going to get into Detroit until 12:30. So had 2 1/2 hours to kill, walked around the mall, had some vegan sandwich that tasted like cardboard with a spicy tomato sauce. Once I did finally get into Detroit, I got lost in the parking structure then ended up going South on 275 instead of North. Didn't realize it till I entered Monroe. Finally, after getting turned around and picking up Olivia at my parent's house - I got home around 2:15 am. After unloading the car and unwinding down - I got to bed around 3:30. I still got home so I'm happy about that but I only got about 3 hours of sleep.

Wednesday, 21 April

Day three in Fargo, ND and Moorehead, MN. It went really well. Most of the day we had meetings with the client. Such nice people. Went out to lunch with the former Deputy Chief of the Moorehead Police Dept. Italian, delicious - I ate too much. Ugh, actually this whole week, I have eaten way too much. Got to talk with my babies so that made me happy. Looking forward to seeing them on Friday. In the evening, a coworker and I went to a fun Mexican restaurant. The place was a little cheesy, they had a giant fountain in the restaurant with huge stuffed animals all around it - I guess it was suppose to be like the rain forest. The tables and chairs were carved with animals. It was fun and the food was good. After dinner, pretty much just chilled out at the hotel room.

Thursday, 22 April

Today was a really long day, got up and ready then slammed a couple cups of coffee - went down to the first floor of the hotel and had breakfast. Waffles... delicious. After that, we headed to city hall and worked on reports all day long. We worked till about 7:30 pm. Diane and I went to the mall for a bit, I got a horrible headache and headed back to my room. I got some pizza, had dinner in bed and went to bed. Only one more day till I see my babies.

Tuesday, 20 April

So today, I was in both Fargo, ND and Moorhead, MN - they border each other. Had a great day, sat in meetings all day and then some training. Worked till about 5:30 or so.... After that, came back to the hotel and I'm now getting changed before heading out for dinner. We are going to try a really fun place - it's in the shape of a Space Ship. I will update after dinner.

Monday, 19 April

Long day again. Got up and ready for work, then got Olivia up and ready for daycare. Headed to work, was just there for an hour before having to head out to the airport. Had a flight at noon, first to Minneapolis and then Fargo. Flight was good, no complaints. Got into Fargo around 4:00 pm, 5:00 pm our time. Met up with Dianne, (Co-Worker) and got to the hotel. Nice place, the town is pretty big - our hotel is right next to the big mall. Dropped off my stuff then we went driving to the city hall. Our meeting is there tomorrow. From there, grabbed some dinner at Granite City. I had pretzel encrusted chicken, delicious. I saw a bunch of wild rabbits, huge, I mean just huge - never seen rabbits that big. They are everywhere. Rest of the night, just staying in and relaxing a bit before bed. I miss Olivia and Kurt.

Sunday, 18 April

Sunday - day to relax. Slept in till about 9 - got up and showered then headed to my parent's house to pick up Olivia. I got to hang out with Shon, Mark, and all the kids while I was there. Nice to see everyone. Brought Olivia home and gave her a showere. After that, got her dressed and ready for her other grandparent's visit. It was a really nice day. Grandma and Grandpa Stanley came over, we hung out for a bit before going out to lunch. Lunch was good - we went to Rosie O'Gradys. After lunch, Olivia took a nap - while we played cards. Ugh, I did horrible, lost both games really bad. After cards, Mom and Dad Stanley left. Pretty much the rest of the evening, we just relaxed. We went to Mike and Dan's house for dinner. I ate so muc food this weekend. I feel gross. After dinner, came home and vegged for the rest of the evening. Really nice weekend.

Saturday, 17 April

Busy busy busy day. Got up early fed the animals, made some coffee then got Olivia up. Got her cleaned and dressed and then headed to the gym. I attended a spin class, it was tough but got through it. After that, got showered and dressed and took Olivia out for breakfast. We went to Pronto, had pancakes. Delicious. After breakfast, ran a few errands then went home. Got Kurt up and we headed to my parents house to drop off Olivia. Hung out with my mom for a bit before heading back home. We got home, fed the animals and pretty much got ready to go to Michael's surprise party. The party was so much fun, probably 45 people or so were there. Good food, good drinks and good company. Really fun night. Ended up staying there till about 1:00am or so. Went up to Pronto for a little bit before going home. I was exhausted... Long day. Happy 40th Michael.

Friday, 16 April

What a fantastic Friday. I had a great day at work, good meetings, I have my trip all set up for Fargo, ND for next week. The day flew by, my coworkers are really nice. After work, picked up Olivia from Daycare and headed home. Got to hang out with Kurt and Miss O for a bit before Kurt went to work. I did make dinner - Fish Sticks and krinkly fries. After Kurt left for work, I took Olivia into town and we got a treat. A chocolate sprinkle cupcake.... We ate that and came home - it got really cold. Watched some TV and pretty much fell asleep fully dressed - Olivia was right next to me asleep as well.

Thursday, 15 April

Today was great. I shadowed a coworker and I'm starting to get a real good understanding of the software we develop. I don't feel so overwhelmed today. The day went by really fast, I ended up staying at the office late. Kurt picked up Olivia from Daycare - so I got home and was greeted by my two favorite people. I got Olivia and went to the gym. Had a great workout and Olivia had fun playing at the kids area there. After that, got home and made dinner - okay, I picked up Macaroni and Cheese from the deli...delicious. After dinner, gave Olivia her bath and we read for about an hour. I have Snow White memorized now... we have changed the words to Snow Olivia. I put Olivia to bed and then got ready for Friday. Almost the weekend. :)

Wednesday, 14 April

So first day of new job. It went really well - before work, I had a really good workout then headed into the office. Met with HR then met with my team. A lot of information and it's going to be challenging but really going to like it. After work, came home to a really nice surprise. Kurt made dinner for us, a nice grilled shiskabobs. After dinner, cleaned up and we went for a walk. Really nice evening. Olivia is so cute, she made me a cute little flower picture. Such a good girl. Had a good night sleep, was a little stressed but now feeling really good about the career change.

Tuesday, 13 April

Got up and got Olivia to daycare. Had a great workout this morning - I ran into a friend, Mikey - it was great to see him. Did over an hour of cardio, then got showered/dressed. Lots to do today. Getting ready for tomorrow - big day. Going to the movies later on today, Going to see "Clash of the Titans". Can't wait. Okay, so saw the movie - Ahhh, didn't really like it. The original was way better. The effects were cool but the storyline no so good. After the movie, picked up Olivia then we came home, we went to Pizza Hut for dinner. After that, came home - gave Olivia a bath, Kurt got her ready for bed. Then we hung out for the evening. I had a ton of stuff to do for Wednesday. After that, pretty much went to bed.

Monday, 12 April

Okay so yesterday was great, last night though was rough. Olivia had a busy day and ended up falling asleep several times in the very early evening. Didn't want to put her down to bed so early because she would have gotten up several times during the night and I didn't want that. So trying to keep her up was a "situation", she basically cried and cried until finally I just let her sleep around 7:00 am. Well, exactly like I thought would happen - did. She got up at 11:00 pm, 2:00 am, and 5:00 am. Which meant, I was up at 11:00 pm, 2:00 am, and 5:00 am. Now that she is in her big girl bed, she gets out of bed and will come to the bedroom door and first quietly say "Daddy, I'm up" and it then gets louder and louder until I wake up. So got up and tried having her lay down with me for a bit but her snoring is so loud that I couldn't fall asleep. Finally around 6:00 am, I got up, fed the animals, got showered and dressed, got her up and ready and off to daycare. Helping Bill out at the commissary today so got in there early. I stopped for a Berrylicious coffee at 7-11. My favorite. Hopefully the day goes by quickly and I have time to get maybe a tiny nap in before picking up Olivia.

Sunday, 11 April

It's been a really nice day. Got up early, little Miss O. decided to get up at 6:00 am. So we watched some cartoons and I made some cinnamon toast. After getting showered and dressed, Olivia and I went to Barnes and Nobel, got her and Kurt a book. We then walked to get a coffee and scone, delicious. After that, we came back home and got Kurt up. We played croquet (Olivia and I) while Kurt got showered. After that, got some lunch at Cole's place. I had a Greek salad, went to Costco and then came home. After getting home, I worked on the back yard for a while, raking and picking up leaves, cutting bushes and taking the netting off the pond. When Kurt left for work, I fed the dogs and then made Olivia dinner. It was a really nice Sunday. Oh, we did watch Barbie and the Magic Pegasus (True Oscar contender).

Saturday, 10 April

I got up early and went to the gym. I did the spin class, it was an hour and 1/2 of killer cardio. My shirt was dripping sweat. After that, got showered and dressed - got Olivia from the gym daycare and we went to Walmart. Picked up her pictures from the photo studio, went to Scout in Royal Oak (Love that store) then met up with Kurt for lunch at Jimmies. Got a delicous salad. Olivia started the terrible twos, ugh - she likes to say 'No'. After lunch, went to the mall - picked up some new dress shirts and ties.. Yeah new job. The mall was nice, the three of us walked around for a bit, got Olivia a few things, got a coffee. I'm wired now. After mall, came home and worked around the house. Cut the grass... yes, cut the grass and raked up some leaves. Olivia rode her bike around the block...almost - Terrible 2's. She had a temper tantrum about half way around the block. She got a time out for that. I made a really good dinner, spinach and ricotta stuffed shells with a tomato basil sauce, green beans with a light butter sauce. After dinner, went grocery shopping, put everything away and then got Olivia ready for bed. She slept in her bed for about an hour then I got "Daddy, I want to lay down with you just for a few minutes". So we are watching "House" and then she is off to bed.

Friday, 9 April

I have a big meeting at 3:00 pm today, I'm really hoping it goes well. Please keep your fingers crossed. Today has been really good. Got up around 4:30 AM yes, AM ... and went to the gym. Got a good cardio and shoulder workout in. Came home and got Olivia cleaned up and dressed. Made her some breakfast and then got Kurt up. He had to take her to the doctors for a checkup. I've been at the Commissary all day. Getting a little nervous the closer it gets to 3:00 pm. This evening, I have a project to work on and I might head back to the gym with Olivia. She loves it there and she is always so tired aftewards. The weather is horrible... freezing and even a few snow flakes. Ugh. This weekend it should warm up a bit. Cute picture of Olivia alert.

Thursday, 9 April

Today was a really nice busy day. Got up and ready, got Olivia cleaned up and we headed to the gym. Got a really good cardio workout, a little over an hour did some abs and then got Olivia from the gym daycare. After that, we went out to lunch at Pornto, it was good - had the Lettuce Wedge salad. Delicous, some crumbled bleu cheese, bacon, crumbled eggs. So good. After lunch, had to head up to the Steppin Out office for a minute. Kurt met up with us and we all went to Chuck E. Cheese. She had a blast and it was fun watching her. Kurt had fun playing some of the games too... Okay, so did I. After that, we headed home - I had a horrible headache so tried to relax for a bit but not much time to do that. Had to return some calls, some emails and then I had some stuff around the house to do. Kurt left for work - I took Olivia to the dollar store.... She loves that place.. me too. We then picked up her medicine and then got home. Made her some dinner, gave her a bath and she fell asleep while watching Survivor. I have a big day tomorrow so keep your fingers crossed for me... more to follow. :) PS - New favorite picture.

Wednesday, 7 April

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted. NO excuses, I just basically didn't feel like writing anything. I was feeling a little down but things are looking a lot better. So over the last few months, just been basically being a Stay at Home Dad. Loving my time with Olivia just missing the 9 - 5 kind of thing. The new gym opened up so started getting back into the workout thing. So far this week I've gone everyday at least once. Twice on Tuesday and today, plus been riding my bike with Olivia. The new gym is great, so many familiar faces. This past weekend was Easter and had a terrific time with our families, really enjoyed seeing everyone and watching Olivia searching for eggs and her basket was a hoot. She was spoiled of course, between both sets of grandparents and us - she made out big time. In the past week, we also got her pictures taken - we can pick them up later this week... very excited about that. Olivia did really good, she is such a professional when it comes to pictures. :) I'm looking forward to getting back onto here everyday - hoping to make it a regular part of my schedule again. XO -eric