Life with Jack & Zach: Catchin' Up

Oh my goodness am I behind or what?! There is no need to sound like a broken record but it has been crazy busy, mostly at work because of the increased work load. Allergan is going through another expansion, which I will be leading at the request of the Corporate Vice President and President of North America. Umm, no pressure. The announcement was made public on Wednesday from the FDA. BOTOX has received FDA approval for another indication for urinary incontinence caused from MS. Wow, pretty amazing. We have such a short window to fill 37, possibly 45 positions to meet the launch date of the first week in November. We are going to streamline the recruitment process so that we are not constantly screening candidates day in and day out. Crossing my fingers it goes smoothly. In any event the next several weeks will be chaotic but then looking forward to end of October as Steve and I have planned a mini vacation back to Chicago.
Moving along to what has been happening elsewhere. When we are not working our tails off we are enjoying our time as a family, and Steve and I still have been able to get out at least once a week for our weekly date night; we try to capture those moments the best we can because life as we know it zips on by way to fast! Karley left for Oregon last Friday morning to get married to Jon Styles, August 27th. Her sister, Tenley, was so gracious enough to watch J and Z in the morning so we did not have to take a full day off. We were home by lunch. Since we were home early, we decided to take the boys to Los Patios for Mexican and we were there by 5pm. We were hesitant because the last couple of times Jack was not having a good time. But this time they probably were the best they have ever been. They ate so much, quesadilla, rice, beans, and the server even gave them a little cup of wather with a lid and straw. Jack's eyes lit up like...wow, this is so cool. We got home and who was standing in our driveway but Nana and Papa. They are in town as they get ready for their big move. Plus they are watching the boys for us until Karley gets home. Steve was able to recruit his cousin's daughter to help only in the mornings to break up the day. Although she can only do two mornings, it does help.

Last Saturday was considered our date night. Steve's parents took the boys and we were able to go out for a little bit. We went to PF Changs for dinner followed by a night cap at San Clemente Pier, Fisherman's. On Sunday we just hung out and played, played, and played. We also decided to change things up a bit. The boys now have a play room where we can keep all their toys. The cribs are now in the room that Karley was using. We figured this would be a good way to keep their toys separate from where they sleep. The first day we transfered their beds to their new bedroom was a little emotional. Jack cried for a bit because we think he was a bit scared. Zach on the other hand had a lot of fun ripping the blinds to shreds, until I walked in an hour later to lay the law down and said go to bed. Good thing this was over nap to prepare them for going nighty night in another room. After a day or so things went a lot better. We did have an Aha moment! Big news. So, we have been wondering why are they not eating, they have been cranky, just emotional, not sharing, fighting with each other. Then we looked...yep, we looked in their mouth and noticed they got their "2 year" molars. Since then, they returned to their normal demeanor! Thank heaven.

Date Night: PF Changs

New Bedroom

The blinds in "good" condition

Their BIG Playroom

This past Wednesday Steve and I went to the White Sox game at Angels Anaheim Stadium. Yes, don't remind us how horrible they did. We still had a great time. We had seats located in the Diamond Section; just about 6 rows back from where they practice just before walking up to home plate. Quite a few people from DPR were there that night on behalf of Turner Construction. TC has a sky box and invited a few select people that are working on a hospital job. After a few innings we made our way up to the sky box to mingle before the night came to an end. Boy was I tired having been up late working a couple of nights and then getting home late from the baseball game.

Ward (Architect) and Steve

This past Friday we were able to go out for our date night. Our first [IMPORTANT] stop was at DSW and I got a couple pairs of shoes :) and then we made our way to JT Schmits for Happy Hour. We always enjoy ourselves and then home in time to tuck the boys in bed.

Date Night: JT Schmits

The Helland Family enjoyed Saturday evening with a coworker of Steve's who works at UHS as a project lead. Her name is Tara and she is married to Matt and they have a little boy that is about 9 months younger than our boys, same weight and height :). Plus, his name is Zachary [Zac] too! We took them to Los Patios and looking foward to hanging out together again soon. We snapped a pic of them playing together but it didn't turn out. Zac and the boys played so good together! Tara is from Crystal Lake, IL and moved to CA about 9 years ago for her job, so they know how it is not to have a lot of family nearby.

I have included some pictures that I took of the boys over the past few weeks. Enjoy, and until next time!!