We had a pretty nice Halloween here. Emily was a butterfly (same costume she's worn all summer) and Audrey was a tiger (same costume Emily wore at that age), and I was a "Mommy tiger, (same costume I wore for Halloween in 8th grade!). We went trick-or-treating at my workplace on Friday afternoon, and Emily got a big kick out of that, wandering around the maze of cubicles to find pumpkins posted at people's desks to indicate they had candy to give away. And wow, my co-workers give out GOOD candy, too! On Saturday, we went trick-or-treating to two of our neighbors during the local beggar's night, but no other houses near us had lights on, so we just ate supper and went over to Dan's house for the Halloween party. It was really fun over there. I took Audrey home at bedtime, but Emily stayed out late playing with her friends, and she came home with Travis at about 9:15.
So, for all this fun, the girls have really made us pay. Or me, really, since Travis was gone for most of the week. He left Sunday morning to go to Florida for work, and came back super-late Wednesday night. I had to work Thursday, and he was at work on Friday, so he was gone essentially the entire week. To add to it, I decided to start the girls at the new daycare on Tuesday, so they were super-stressed out. It wasn't a great start; the first day I picked them up, they were huddled together in tears in the infant room. The teachers all told me that Emily had really had a great day up until about half an hour before I got there, and that Audrey would fit in better in the 1-year-olds room. So, on Thursday Audrey was in with the 1-year-olds and I picked them up earlier, and they were still both super-stressed and tearful. It was SO hard. But, long-term, I think it's the right thing to do. I just would like to really feel good about it, and I don't yet.
Since Travis was gone, I went up to my parents' place on Sunday and Monday, and it was extra-special because my grandma was visiting from Holstein. She's turns 92 in a couple of weeks and is in a nursing home, but my parents were able to care for her during her visit that was nearly a week long (when combined with a few days at my aunt's house). She stayed up late one night telling us about what running a farm was like when she was growing up and when she was first married; what they did during the day, what they ate, what they grew and sold, when they got running water and electricity and a TV (they actually had the TV before they even had just a water supply to the kitchen; they finally got full running water in the early 1960's). It was really nice, because she seemed to perk up and seem more young again. I think she was a little overwhelmed with all the little girls running around (my sister and her girls were there, too), and she doesn't see very well so I think she probably never knew whether it was me or my sister around, but it was really a lot of fun.
And then I came home, where it hit me how overwhelming the trip had been, and that I still had to face the rest of the week alone. Friday was such a letdown for us, that it was really overall a horrible day. I couldn't keep Emily from assaulting Audrey, taking toys, tackle/hugging, pushing her over, etc. I couldn't cheer Emily up - we tried going to the library, dancing in our living room, eating her favorite lunch, snuggling and reading books, and she still just whined at me. I knew she was tired, and tried to get her to lay down for a nap, but instead she screamed and woke up Audrey. I left her in her room while I dealt with an unhappy Audrey, and apparently during that time Emily decided to raid her underwear drawer. When I was helping her get into her costume (hours later), I realized that she had put on 3 additional pairs of underwear, then put her pants back on. I am so glad she did, because I laughed and laughed and laughed, and it was about the only time the entire day that I felt good at all.
Saturday I had some emotional hangover left from the horrible day before, but we set out to go up to Ames for ISU homecoming. Both girls did a great job at the tailgate, which, I'm sorry, but I don't understand why our tailgate has to have BLARING MUSIC the entire time! Why? Nobody else does! Nobody is dancing! Nobody is paying any attention at all except to try to stand so that it doesn't hurt their ears! Everybody has to shout... it's very stupid and I don't need another obstacle to my feeble attempts at being social and having casual conversations. Anyway, Trav went to the football game, the girls and I went to my sister's house, and it was a very nice day.
Today, we "dug out" of the mess we'd created all week. It was starting to look like those houses you see on the TV shows about hoarders - it was bad. I did 5 loads of laundry, vacuumed, cleaned the kitchen, and put away all the odds and ends from the week. Travis swept, ran the dishwasher, and spent nearly an hour getting the girls' toys organized and put in places where they'd be fun to play with again. Then in the afternoon, Travis went shopping with Emily and bought a bench for the hallway (YAY!) while I put puffy paint on the bottom of all of Emily's socks so they're easier to sort in the laundry and make them not so slippery on our floors (I did mine, too). It feels good to have gotten things accomplished. I needed that; I am a much better mother when I am not so overwhelmed.
As for the girls - Audrey is now interested in pulling herself up on things! She crawls up onto the fireplace mantle and is just so pleased with herself. She'll stand at the coffee table and she looks so tall! I'm sure she could manage to get up the stairs, but I tend to just keep her away from there. I've bought a portable jail, as Travis likes to call it, which I will use on days like Friday (I'm sure they'll happen again) to keep the girls from killing each other. And maybe it'll help keep Audrey off the stairs for a while. The girls and I have had a great time playing in the leaves lately, so we were sad to see Travis get them all cleaned up out of our backyard this afternoon; Emily was consoled by the thought there will probably be snow soon. We're all getting excited about Audrey's birthday next weekend, although I'll need to go splurge on some toys and plan a lunch for everybody. I much prefer the thought of that to what we did last week, though. I am definitely, definitely ready to be done with October.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Party time
This weekend was the big Trip to Kansas City that we've had our sights on for months. When we got the invitation to Felix's wedding, Travis said that we're GOING and we're NOT TAKING THE KIDS. So we did! I had been fantasizing about this weekend, especially last spring when I was so thoroughly exhausted, wondering what it would be like to be undisturbed for a whole night's sleep, but it didn't exactly go like that. We partied it up at the reception, made tremendous fools of ourselves (says me; Trav said we were totally fine), and I crashed at 12:30. Travis went out to the Power and Light district in KC for more festivities, and came in two hours later. Then he woke me again at 5:30 with a coughing fit, and I woke up at 6:30 cuz that's when it's time to get up. I did sleep until 8:30, though, so that was pretty nice. I did have quite a bit of coffee that morning!
The wedding was in this tiny town NW of Missouri, set in the hills with a crazy little old-fashioned main street, with almost european-feeling shops and pubs along it. There was a beautiful little park, and they were having a street organ festival, with the hand-crank kind all along the streets, and a few big trucks full of them at intersections. I can't even describe how bizarre they all sounded together! The church was at the top of a hill, overlooking the town with all the yellow and orange trees, the bright blue sky, it was SO pretty. The singer they had for the wedding was incredible. She sang Schubert's Ave Maria and it was absolutely gorgeous, like, relax and let the music wash over you in this beautiful setting, because you know you won't need to cringe or anything, just lovely. The reception was downtown KC in a trendy location, with incredible food and an open bar. There were people from all over the world at the reception - mostly German, like the groom, but he's got quite a few friends from around the world, and they were all friendly and interesting, with excellent English and ready to party. And then Sunday, I met one of my dearest friends for brunch before we skipped town! It was really, really a fantastic time.
I have to keep reminding myself of how great my weekend was because today has been such a letdown. I'm thoroughly exhausted, but so are the girls, so they mostly wanted to scream at each other today. We did some errands this morning, but I think I jumped the gun putting Audrey down for her afternoon snooze so she wasn't tired yet, and then didn't end up napping until 5:30. In addition to unpacking, sorting laundry, cleaning floors and washing high-chair trays, there was Play-Doh mashed into the carpet on the porch (Emily spent literally HOURS playing out there with Grandma and Grandpa Sullivan over the weekend, so it was probably a good investment of time). So with all the emotional let-down and the catchup work to do, I've been pretty grouchy today. It was worth it, I know, but wouldn't it be great if I could do all the catchup stuff before I left, so the mood swing went "extra-sucky to great to normal", instead of "great to extra-sucky to normal, if you work hard enough"? AND, my new shoes gave me some wicked blisters, and even with bandaids on my heels they cracked open, so I have a nice little limp today.
The girls had a really great time and did just fine without us, even though they somehow knew to get up and cause some trouble Saturday night at about 3 AM. Audrey missed me at bedtime and wanted nothing to do with the bottle, but she still went to sleep no problem. They were both kinda funny when I got home. Audrey just stared at me blankly and suspiciously, but then finally snuggled up and was happy to be with me. Emily was excited to see me, but not so excited that she stopped what she was doing with Grandma. You'd think that somebody (like me) who doesn't leave her kids that often would be that way because she's worried about the welfare of the kids, micromanagement style, but that wasn't really it. It's just that I'm too lazy to do all the extra work that comes with it!
The wedding was in this tiny town NW of Missouri, set in the hills with a crazy little old-fashioned main street, with almost european-feeling shops and pubs along it. There was a beautiful little park, and they were having a street organ festival, with the hand-crank kind all along the streets, and a few big trucks full of them at intersections. I can't even describe how bizarre they all sounded together! The church was at the top of a hill, overlooking the town with all the yellow and orange trees, the bright blue sky, it was SO pretty. The singer they had for the wedding was incredible. She sang Schubert's Ave Maria and it was absolutely gorgeous, like, relax and let the music wash over you in this beautiful setting, because you know you won't need to cringe or anything, just lovely. The reception was downtown KC in a trendy location, with incredible food and an open bar. There were people from all over the world at the reception - mostly German, like the groom, but he's got quite a few friends from around the world, and they were all friendly and interesting, with excellent English and ready to party. And then Sunday, I met one of my dearest friends for brunch before we skipped town! It was really, really a fantastic time.
I have to keep reminding myself of how great my weekend was because today has been such a letdown. I'm thoroughly exhausted, but so are the girls, so they mostly wanted to scream at each other today. We did some errands this morning, but I think I jumped the gun putting Audrey down for her afternoon snooze so she wasn't tired yet, and then didn't end up napping until 5:30. In addition to unpacking, sorting laundry, cleaning floors and washing high-chair trays, there was Play-Doh mashed into the carpet on the porch (Emily spent literally HOURS playing out there with Grandma and Grandpa Sullivan over the weekend, so it was probably a good investment of time). So with all the emotional let-down and the catchup work to do, I've been pretty grouchy today. It was worth it, I know, but wouldn't it be great if I could do all the catchup stuff before I left, so the mood swing went "extra-sucky to great to normal", instead of "great to extra-sucky to normal, if you work hard enough"? AND, my new shoes gave me some wicked blisters, and even with bandaids on my heels they cracked open, so I have a nice little limp today.
The girls had a really great time and did just fine without us, even though they somehow knew to get up and cause some trouble Saturday night at about 3 AM. Audrey missed me at bedtime and wanted nothing to do with the bottle, but she still went to sleep no problem. They were both kinda funny when I got home. Audrey just stared at me blankly and suspiciously, but then finally snuggled up and was happy to be with me. Emily was excited to see me, but not so excited that she stopped what she was doing with Grandma. You'd think that somebody (like me) who doesn't leave her kids that often would be that way because she's worried about the welfare of the kids, micromanagement style, but that wasn't really it. It's just that I'm too lazy to do all the extra work that comes with it!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Birthday fun
Emily is 3!
The birthday was very, very fun. Saturday, we met my sister's family and my parents and my grandparents and Travis's parents in Boone to take a ride on the scenic railway - Emily's first train ride. She had a fantastic time, although I think most of it was that she had all her grandparents and cousins to be with, and the train ride was a secondary thrill. We ate dinner in Boone that night, and drove our two sleeping girls back home, listening to the Cyclones LOSE miserably over the radio. It's sure easier not caring about college football. You might call me a fairweather fan, except I don't care that much when they win, either. I was more concerned at the time about how to construct a butterfly birthday cake, which turned out pretty well. I don't have a picture of it because of course the camera battery needed recharging right in the middle of things, but there were 3 other very active picture-takers that day so I'm sure I didn't miss much.
Sunday, the real party started, when the whole crew from the day before came to our house to celebrate Emily's birthday. Emily had a bath in the morning, and then picked out a brand new dress to wear. Travis caught a video of her singing happy birthday to herself, shortly before everybody arrived. Then once people got here, she was a little bit overwhelmed by all the people and the tremendous task of opening all her presents, but she made it through. She was frustrated for a few minutes, though, even shouting, "I don't WANT to open presents!!" But I guess that means she was really liking the ones she had gotten so far. She received such great presents, really. She got a beautiful doll from Grandma S., complete with home-sewn outfits and diapers; from her cousins, she got a camping chair that looks like a hippo on the back; she got a teaset from uncle mark, and a car magna-doodle from mommo and poppo. There were books, games, a shirt that changes color in the sunlight, and even a toy trumpet. It's only been 24 hours and I think she's played with nearly everything (except the games, I think, which she'll grow in to in no time, I'm sure.) What a lucky girl.
And what a beautiful day it was! We got some gorgeous pictures of the girls out in the yard in their matching butterfly dresses - so pretty. One of my favorite memories of the day was seeing Emily sitting in her new chair, rocking her new baby, singing the prettiest songs to her, while Mommo and Poppo sat just behind her, listening and smiling. I don't know when my girls will realize it, but their entire extended family is so awesome. We are so lucky!!
In other news, we are starting a new daycare two weeks from now. I'm tired of Audrey smelling like cat and being attacked by the other girls there, and by Emily watching so much TV that she sings the Barney song all the time, and now knows who all kinds of kids' characters are. (Going through the toy section in Target was interesting, seeing who all she recognizes from TV). There's nothing wrong with recognizing them, except that it means she's been watching too much TV, in my opinion. So, we're going to a center that has a preschool program for Emily (she'll be in with the 3-year-olds, *phew!*), and Audrey will be in the 1-year-old room starting in January, which I am less certain about but will probably be better than what we've got now. I can't believe I put this change on myself with everything else going on in October, but it'll be better for us in the long run, I'm sure.
So, next weekend is my first night away from my girls! I'm sure it'll go fine, but I'm still a little nervous. I haven't had my brain all to myself in so long, I'm sure I'll do/say stupid things until I get used to it.
The birthday was very, very fun. Saturday, we met my sister's family and my parents and my grandparents and Travis's parents in Boone to take a ride on the scenic railway - Emily's first train ride. She had a fantastic time, although I think most of it was that she had all her grandparents and cousins to be with, and the train ride was a secondary thrill. We ate dinner in Boone that night, and drove our two sleeping girls back home, listening to the Cyclones LOSE miserably over the radio. It's sure easier not caring about college football. You might call me a fairweather fan, except I don't care that much when they win, either. I was more concerned at the time about how to construct a butterfly birthday cake, which turned out pretty well. I don't have a picture of it because of course the camera battery needed recharging right in the middle of things, but there were 3 other very active picture-takers that day so I'm sure I didn't miss much.
Sunday, the real party started, when the whole crew from the day before came to our house to celebrate Emily's birthday. Emily had a bath in the morning, and then picked out a brand new dress to wear. Travis caught a video of her singing happy birthday to herself, shortly before everybody arrived. Then once people got here, she was a little bit overwhelmed by all the people and the tremendous task of opening all her presents, but she made it through. She was frustrated for a few minutes, though, even shouting, "I don't WANT to open presents!!" But I guess that means she was really liking the ones she had gotten so far. She received such great presents, really. She got a beautiful doll from Grandma S., complete with home-sewn outfits and diapers; from her cousins, she got a camping chair that looks like a hippo on the back; she got a teaset from uncle mark, and a car magna-doodle from mommo and poppo. There were books, games, a shirt that changes color in the sunlight, and even a toy trumpet. It's only been 24 hours and I think she's played with nearly everything (except the games, I think, which she'll grow in to in no time, I'm sure.) What a lucky girl.
And what a beautiful day it was! We got some gorgeous pictures of the girls out in the yard in their matching butterfly dresses - so pretty. One of my favorite memories of the day was seeing Emily sitting in her new chair, rocking her new baby, singing the prettiest songs to her, while Mommo and Poppo sat just behind her, listening and smiling. I don't know when my girls will realize it, but their entire extended family is so awesome. We are so lucky!!
In other news, we are starting a new daycare two weeks from now. I'm tired of Audrey smelling like cat and being attacked by the other girls there, and by Emily watching so much TV that she sings the Barney song all the time, and now knows who all kinds of kids' characters are. (Going through the toy section in Target was interesting, seeing who all she recognizes from TV). There's nothing wrong with recognizing them, except that it means she's been watching too much TV, in my opinion. So, we're going to a center that has a preschool program for Emily (she'll be in with the 3-year-olds, *phew!*), and Audrey will be in the 1-year-old room starting in January, which I am less certain about but will probably be better than what we've got now. I can't believe I put this change on myself with everything else going on in October, but it'll be better for us in the long run, I'm sure.
So, next weekend is my first night away from my girls! I'm sure it'll go fine, but I'm still a little nervous. I haven't had my brain all to myself in so long, I'm sure I'll do/say stupid things until I get used to it.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Go Audrey! Go Cyclones!
Audrey's really crawling now. She's on the move, and she's so much happier. Emily is a little annoyed, but we're handling that just fine.
We've had a crazy weekend, and thankfully we still have Sunday left to enjoy! Friday we spent the day in Ames because my sister won a free lunch for 20 people from the Ames Visitor and Convention Bureau. We ate pizza outside on a beautiful day on the patio north of Stephen's auditorium, and they even sent a limo to pick us up from Jenny's house! The girls and I followed in the van, cuz I was leery of Audrey traveling without a carseat, although it was Emily's choice to ride with me. The best part for Emily - Cy was there! She was really scared at first, but we ran around with Cy while she held my hand, and then finally gave him a high five right before we left. She was surprised that his hands were scratchy. :)
That was good warm-up for last night, when we went to the football game, where she saw Cy again! Members of the Little Clone Club got to go out onto the field to see the team run out before the game, and she got to be up close to the band. She LOVED it, although once the game started she was less happy to be there. I got lots of cute pictures of her and Travis together, while Audrey and I stayed in the stands. Audrey didn't last two plays into the actual game - too loud, too many people - but she did enjoy riding in the backpack carrier, and she squeaked and kicked and cooed all the way back to Mommo and Poppo's house. We ate supper there, and Travis and Emily came back after halftime. It was a really nice outing, even if the tailgating experience was rough beforehand. Travis tried to drop off me and the girls at a place close to the tailgate, but it turned out to not be close at all. I was carrying both girls for most of a mile-long hike - 25 lbs on my back, 35 in my arms in front. Then once I got there, the music was incredibly loud, and I kept losing track of Emily, and when I did find people that I wanted to talk to, I was so frazzled that I didn't know what to say. If I ever do get to have a conversation with somebody, it's a max of 15 seconds before somebody else needs me and I have to tend to someone else. So that was a personal frustration, but as a family it was a really nice outing.
Really, there were other kids at the football game at the tailgate, of all ages, just having a nice time enjoying it all. My kids don't handle it well, and I know that and I'm totally fine with that. So why am I expected to keep dragging them into places that I know won't work well?? Yes, other kids are fine with it, but mine are not. So what?? Can anyone just believe me that I really do know my kids that well? Besides, I prefer my kids the way they are - why should I try to make them act more like other people's?? Just my little rant there. I feel better with that off my chest!
Friday night, after the exciting day in Ames, we went on a hayride at my co-worker's house south of Norwalk (a good 45 min drive!). There was a bonfire and kitties and lots of other kids, and it was a beautiful warm evening with hot dogs and marshmallows for roasting. It was really, really nice. I had the same social anxieties / frustrations as usual, but it was still really fun and worth the drive. We know some really nice people!
This morning, Travis found Emily washing off Audrey's high chair tray in the bathroom sink. It was really cute - she had the bar of Dial and was waving it over the tray as the water ran over it. She turned to me and said, "now it's ALLL clean!" What a helper! We had a rough go of things for a while, because she had told me she wasn't going to go potty anymore, that she was done with that. She held it in for so long that... you can imagine what had been happening. Days we dealt with that, until Megan came to play, and Emily decided she could go, "just like Megan." I guess the days of me being able to fix things for her are over (that went fast!!). If it's up to Emily, she's gonna have to work it out herself, I guess, and my help really doesn't go that far.
Audrey is proving to be a champion eater! At this age, Emily had already developed her aversion to anything green and/or vegetable, but Audrey will eat zucchini, mushrooms, green peppers, and beans of any kind. She loves squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes, and she just about freaked out in anticipation last night when she saw me cutting up a peach for her. She loves pears, plums, apples, bread, yogurt, noodles, and even ratatouille! She hasn't been much of a fan of meat, but either she'll figure that out or I'll just have a healthy eater on my hands. That's such a relief - even if she does think her hair is a napkin!
We've had a crazy weekend, and thankfully we still have Sunday left to enjoy! Friday we spent the day in Ames because my sister won a free lunch for 20 people from the Ames Visitor and Convention Bureau. We ate pizza outside on a beautiful day on the patio north of Stephen's auditorium, and they even sent a limo to pick us up from Jenny's house! The girls and I followed in the van, cuz I was leery of Audrey traveling without a carseat, although it was Emily's choice to ride with me. The best part for Emily - Cy was there! She was really scared at first, but we ran around with Cy while she held my hand, and then finally gave him a high five right before we left. She was surprised that his hands were scratchy. :)
That was good warm-up for last night, when we went to the football game, where she saw Cy again! Members of the Little Clone Club got to go out onto the field to see the team run out before the game, and she got to be up close to the band. She LOVED it, although once the game started she was less happy to be there. I got lots of cute pictures of her and Travis together, while Audrey and I stayed in the stands. Audrey didn't last two plays into the actual game - too loud, too many people - but she did enjoy riding in the backpack carrier, and she squeaked and kicked and cooed all the way back to Mommo and Poppo's house. We ate supper there, and Travis and Emily came back after halftime. It was a really nice outing, even if the tailgating experience was rough beforehand. Travis tried to drop off me and the girls at a place close to the tailgate, but it turned out to not be close at all. I was carrying both girls for most of a mile-long hike - 25 lbs on my back, 35 in my arms in front. Then once I got there, the music was incredibly loud, and I kept losing track of Emily, and when I did find people that I wanted to talk to, I was so frazzled that I didn't know what to say. If I ever do get to have a conversation with somebody, it's a max of 15 seconds before somebody else needs me and I have to tend to someone else. So that was a personal frustration, but as a family it was a really nice outing.
Really, there were other kids at the football game at the tailgate, of all ages, just having a nice time enjoying it all. My kids don't handle it well, and I know that and I'm totally fine with that. So why am I expected to keep dragging them into places that I know won't work well?? Yes, other kids are fine with it, but mine are not. So what?? Can anyone just believe me that I really do know my kids that well? Besides, I prefer my kids the way they are - why should I try to make them act more like other people's?? Just my little rant there. I feel better with that off my chest!
Friday night, after the exciting day in Ames, we went on a hayride at my co-worker's house south of Norwalk (a good 45 min drive!). There was a bonfire and kitties and lots of other kids, and it was a beautiful warm evening with hot dogs and marshmallows for roasting. It was really, really nice. I had the same social anxieties / frustrations as usual, but it was still really fun and worth the drive. We know some really nice people!
This morning, Travis found Emily washing off Audrey's high chair tray in the bathroom sink. It was really cute - she had the bar of Dial and was waving it over the tray as the water ran over it. She turned to me and said, "now it's ALLL clean!" What a helper! We had a rough go of things for a while, because she had told me she wasn't going to go potty anymore, that she was done with that. She held it in for so long that... you can imagine what had been happening. Days we dealt with that, until Megan came to play, and Emily decided she could go, "just like Megan." I guess the days of me being able to fix things for her are over (that went fast!!). If it's up to Emily, she's gonna have to work it out herself, I guess, and my help really doesn't go that far.
Audrey is proving to be a champion eater! At this age, Emily had already developed her aversion to anything green and/or vegetable, but Audrey will eat zucchini, mushrooms, green peppers, and beans of any kind. She loves squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes, and she just about freaked out in anticipation last night when she saw me cutting up a peach for her. She loves pears, plums, apples, bread, yogurt, noodles, and even ratatouille! She hasn't been much of a fan of meat, but either she'll figure that out or I'll just have a healthy eater on my hands. That's such a relief - even if she does think her hair is a napkin!
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