Thanksgiving went off without a hitch. We had a great time, and I was most thankful for the end of Audrey's diarrhea with a successful, normal poo yesterday at my parents' place, after a two-day break. *phew!* She's also stayed dry for at least 3 days now, and I'm starting to relax about everything. Seriously, seriously, thankful. Her last awful episode was Thursday while we were visiting Patrick, and thankfully most of that went in the potty and it was only a small amount to clean up in the prison visitiation room bathroom. Thank you, Audrey, for yet again helping me to expand my list of life experiences. :) The girls did great during their visit with Pat, though, and I was really proud of them. The most special part was that we got a picture of the entire Sullivan clan together, for the first time.
After we got back to Trav's parents' house, we stuffed ourselves with the traditional dinner, and Audrey took a hearty nap during the afternoon. The rest of us went outside since it was warm and beautiful out, and the guys got out a couple of shotguns. I got to shoot baskets, and even though it was windy and most of the "court" was grass, I had a great time. Then I chilled out on the grass chatting with Tilly and Lea, and it's so nice hanging out with them. Then we ate pie, and the girls were quite confused as to why we were having dessert but no supper, and Travis's explanation didn't seem to quell them so I gave them cheese and bread, too. :) Then they had a fantastic, relaxing bath, much to the amusement of their grandparents, and we piled them in the car to go Rockford for part II of our lovely, relaxing, fantastic holiday.
When we got to my parents' place, my siblings and parents were chatting in the living room, having some wine and cookies. I stayed up waaaaaay too late, but it was our only evening together, since Jenny had to get back to Ames the next day. It was so very, very fun. The meal the next morning went really well, and I was impressed that my mom pulled everything off so well. She had some good sous chefs between my dad, my sister, and myself, but she was in charge and calm and collected by the time we sat down to eat. Made the whole day just relaxed and easy.
Saturday was an Emily and Grandma day. It was so fun to have a day with nothing going on, and Emily really took advantage of it by bring book after book after book for my mom to read to her, and they did a bubble activity that she absolutely loved. It was like her own little private preschool day, which was amazing that she had the energy for that considering this was the end of three wild days of attention and interaction with her favorite people. We piled them in the car and got home after they'd been asleep about an hour. When we walked in the door, the house was so clean and empty, but by the time we got everything unloaded, the house was trashed again. Ahh well. We got a lot of it put away today, but we also got a Christmas tree, up and half-decorated, and Travis did a TON of work in the garage getting ready for winter. And the piano tuner came today, so now my piano sounds fabulous again. :)
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Happy Holidays, I guess
I can't believe it's Thanksgiving week already! I am so not ready for Christmas season!!! Heck, I'm really not even that ready to travel at the end of this week. I mean, I just did a ton of laundry after we got back from Minneapolis, so I'm not ready to do it all again so I can pack up and move on out. I suppose it would've made sense to take Tuesday off from work so I could get ready... maybe I still will take the afternoon or something. we'll see.
We had a nice lazy weekend here. Travis took Friday off from work so he could tailgate all day in anticipation of ISU's football game vs. #2-ranked OSU. I thought he was crazy - I was sure that it'd be cold and windy and miserable, and then the game would totally suck. I was wrong about everything except the wind, I guess!! What a game!! Lucky for me, Dan and Kerri came over to see the game so I wasn't alone to go berserk as they actually won.
And then I had about a 180-degree swing the next day as I discovered that Audrey can't have oranges without it triggering a mass release of the entire contents of her lower intestine. insane. Poor girl. We're still holding steady with 1-2 accidents per day, which pretty much occur when we let her take the lead on when she goes potty or not. I can trick her into going, or I can mandate it (like before naps) and pretty much she will fight me unless I'm very conniving and get her to think that it's her idea in the first place. it's tiring, but mostly it's annoying since I know how many other incredible things she's capable of doing, and she's proven she's capable of this too. I just keep telling myself, as long as she's got it figured out by, like, March, well, at least I won't be nursing and potty training... sheesh.
As for those other incredible things, I started the day by Emily requesting that I play the piano while she sings Golden Slumbers. So Audrey sat on my lap and sang along with Emily's pretty clear voice. It was soooo cool. Tonight at bedtime, they were both singing twinkle, twinkle, and it was absolutely the best. They spent the evening doing puzzles with me and Travis, and it was pretty amazing to see what they could do. Audrey was putting puzzles together licketysplit that she hadn't ever seen before. AND, she's getting more words! We read a book about a frog tonight, which she exclaimed to be "Gog!!!" And she wanted a cup that she couldn't reach from the bathtub the other night, and she actually said her word for cup. I'm working on shushing Emily enough to give Audrey a chance, and set the expectation that Audrey needs to use her words and not just rely on big sister or her expressive little face to communicate for her.
And Emily has been so snuggley and sweet lately, and so beautifully expressive with the way she words things. Can she just stay 4 forever???
We had a nice lazy weekend here. Travis took Friday off from work so he could tailgate all day in anticipation of ISU's football game vs. #2-ranked OSU. I thought he was crazy - I was sure that it'd be cold and windy and miserable, and then the game would totally suck. I was wrong about everything except the wind, I guess!! What a game!! Lucky for me, Dan and Kerri came over to see the game so I wasn't alone to go berserk as they actually won.
And then I had about a 180-degree swing the next day as I discovered that Audrey can't have oranges without it triggering a mass release of the entire contents of her lower intestine. insane. Poor girl. We're still holding steady with 1-2 accidents per day, which pretty much occur when we let her take the lead on when she goes potty or not. I can trick her into going, or I can mandate it (like before naps) and pretty much she will fight me unless I'm very conniving and get her to think that it's her idea in the first place. it's tiring, but mostly it's annoying since I know how many other incredible things she's capable of doing, and she's proven she's capable of this too. I just keep telling myself, as long as she's got it figured out by, like, March, well, at least I won't be nursing and potty training... sheesh.
As for those other incredible things, I started the day by Emily requesting that I play the piano while she sings Golden Slumbers. So Audrey sat on my lap and sang along with Emily's pretty clear voice. It was soooo cool. Tonight at bedtime, they were both singing twinkle, twinkle, and it was absolutely the best. They spent the evening doing puzzles with me and Travis, and it was pretty amazing to see what they could do. Audrey was putting puzzles together licketysplit that she hadn't ever seen before. AND, she's getting more words! We read a book about a frog tonight, which she exclaimed to be "Gog!!!" And she wanted a cup that she couldn't reach from the bathtub the other night, and she actually said her word for cup. I'm working on shushing Emily enough to give Audrey a chance, and set the expectation that Audrey needs to use her words and not just rely on big sister or her expressive little face to communicate for her.
And Emily has been so snuggley and sweet lately, and so beautifully expressive with the way she words things. Can she just stay 4 forever???
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
A Big Fat Greek Engagement Party
We went to Minneapolis last weekend to go to Mark and Lea's ("leah", not "lee") engagement party, and we really had a nice 48-hour vacation. Trav took the afternoon off so we could travel during Audrey's nap on Friday, and Emily did really well in the car. We made it to the hotel in time to swim for about half an hour before we had to get cleaned up for supper, and Emily screamed most of the time in the water. She was pretty freaked, but I think she was enjoying it on some level, deep down. Audrey was more transparent about what she liked and didn't like. Since the pool was 3' minimum, we had to take them around with us the whole time, and they didn't get to just run and play in the water. But it was a good experience overall - by the time they swam on Saturday and Sunday mornings, they were both kicking like crazy and using their hands out in front of them as Travis and I floated them arond. Emily liked to sit on the steps of the pool and practice blowing bubbles. They'll be fine swimmers once we get them started... I think.
Anyway, we met up with Minnesota friends who both have newborns, so it was fun to put our kids to bed in the hotel and stay up chatting with them, enjoying their little ones!! The next morning, after swimming, we took the girls to the sculpture garden and got some great pictures of them running around in the sunshine. We ate dinner at a cafe that was featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, which is something I've always wanted to do because that show makes food look SOOOO good. They find places where things are homemade and made out of real ingredients, and this place really was fabulous. And, even though it was the middle of November in Minnesota, we were able to eat outside! It was a gorgeous day and we sure took advantage of it. The girls were plenty tired to take solid naps (both of them) on Saturday afternoon, so Trav and I decompressed while they slept and then got ready for the engagement party.
Lea's family is Greek, and their wedding will be in a Greek Orthodox church in Minneapolis. I absolutely adore Lea - she's so cool! And her family is wonderful, too. We really enjoyed meeting all of them, and a lot of their family friends who have known her since she was a tiny girl. We met her cousins and grandparents and felt a little overwhelmed but definitely welcomed. Lea has said that her wedding will probably be kind of like the movie Big Fat Greek Wedding, not exactly, but yeah, kinda, and I can totally understand now! The people we met weren't over-the-top characters, but at one point there were three ladies singing children's songs in Greek to my girls, who just sat and watched in amazement. They sang "wheels on the bus" and "itsy bitsy spider" to Emily and Audrey first, and they just loved that, so they launched into something in Greek, and then they laughed and said, "oh, they probably don't know that one!" Yeah, not really! And then the waitress brought more wine and everybody said "Opa!!!" and the party continued. This was just a 2-hour informal reception in the back room of a restaurant -- I can only imagine what a full-out wedding will be!! I'm so excited!!
My girls did really, really well during this party, considering that it was loud and crowded and they didn't know anybody except their Sullivan grandparents and Mark and Lea. When we walked in, Audrey saw Lea and immediately leaned in for her to hold her, and snuggled up under her chin. It was SO sweet, and I just love that Lea's family got to see a little genuine taste of how much we all love her. But after that, everybody kept coming up to me and saying, "Oh! These must be Mark's nieces! We've heard so much about them! they're so beautiful!" And the girls just clung tighter and tighter to me. They loosened up after a while, about the point where they couldn't contain their wiggles anymore, but they really, really handled things well for being so intimidated. Then Lea's brother started playing silly games with them, and they thought that was great, too. Emily is SO excited to be a flower girl for their wedding, and I wonder if Audrey might be invited to be one too, since she'll be 3 1/2 at the time of the wedding, almost as old as Emily is now, and Emily will be FIVE. yikes!
And the weirdest part - I will have a one-year-old then, too. :) My due date is May 24, 2012, and their wedding date will be May 26, 2013! I'm 13 weeks along now, and have heard a heartbeat so I think things are all good there. I haven't announced on Facebook yet, but people at work know, and of course family and close friends. so, now my blog knows, too! I spent weeks 6 - 8 sleeping on the couch in the afternoons, during which time Emily complained that she was lonely because she was the only one in the house who was awake - oops. The nausea seemed worse this time than with the other 2, but a few weeks away and I'm already thinking it wasn't really that bad in retrospect. I did manage to throw up a prenatal vitamin on the day of Audrey's birthday party, though, which is a TERRIBLE experience. I don't recommend it!
So, that's the scoop on the weekend, and things. All in all, it's good to be me. :)
Anyway, we met up with Minnesota friends who both have newborns, so it was fun to put our kids to bed in the hotel and stay up chatting with them, enjoying their little ones!! The next morning, after swimming, we took the girls to the sculpture garden and got some great pictures of them running around in the sunshine. We ate dinner at a cafe that was featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, which is something I've always wanted to do because that show makes food look SOOOO good. They find places where things are homemade and made out of real ingredients, and this place really was fabulous. And, even though it was the middle of November in Minnesota, we were able to eat outside! It was a gorgeous day and we sure took advantage of it. The girls were plenty tired to take solid naps (both of them) on Saturday afternoon, so Trav and I decompressed while they slept and then got ready for the engagement party.
Lea's family is Greek, and their wedding will be in a Greek Orthodox church in Minneapolis. I absolutely adore Lea - she's so cool! And her family is wonderful, too. We really enjoyed meeting all of them, and a lot of their family friends who have known her since she was a tiny girl. We met her cousins and grandparents and felt a little overwhelmed but definitely welcomed. Lea has said that her wedding will probably be kind of like the movie Big Fat Greek Wedding, not exactly, but yeah, kinda, and I can totally understand now! The people we met weren't over-the-top characters, but at one point there were three ladies singing children's songs in Greek to my girls, who just sat and watched in amazement. They sang "wheels on the bus" and "itsy bitsy spider" to Emily and Audrey first, and they just loved that, so they launched into something in Greek, and then they laughed and said, "oh, they probably don't know that one!" Yeah, not really! And then the waitress brought more wine and everybody said "Opa!!!" and the party continued. This was just a 2-hour informal reception in the back room of a restaurant -- I can only imagine what a full-out wedding will be!! I'm so excited!!
My girls did really, really well during this party, considering that it was loud and crowded and they didn't know anybody except their Sullivan grandparents and Mark and Lea. When we walked in, Audrey saw Lea and immediately leaned in for her to hold her, and snuggled up under her chin. It was SO sweet, and I just love that Lea's family got to see a little genuine taste of how much we all love her. But after that, everybody kept coming up to me and saying, "Oh! These must be Mark's nieces! We've heard so much about them! they're so beautiful!" And the girls just clung tighter and tighter to me. They loosened up after a while, about the point where they couldn't contain their wiggles anymore, but they really, really handled things well for being so intimidated. Then Lea's brother started playing silly games with them, and they thought that was great, too. Emily is SO excited to be a flower girl for their wedding, and I wonder if Audrey might be invited to be one too, since she'll be 3 1/2 at the time of the wedding, almost as old as Emily is now, and Emily will be FIVE. yikes!
And the weirdest part - I will have a one-year-old then, too. :) My due date is May 24, 2012, and their wedding date will be May 26, 2013! I'm 13 weeks along now, and have heard a heartbeat so I think things are all good there. I haven't announced on Facebook yet, but people at work know, and of course family and close friends. so, now my blog knows, too! I spent weeks 6 - 8 sleeping on the couch in the afternoons, during which time Emily complained that she was lonely because she was the only one in the house who was awake - oops. The nausea seemed worse this time than with the other 2, but a few weeks away and I'm already thinking it wasn't really that bad in retrospect. I did manage to throw up a prenatal vitamin on the day of Audrey's birthday party, though, which is a TERRIBLE experience. I don't recommend it!
So, that's the scoop on the weekend, and things. All in all, it's good to be me. :)
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
raising a stink, apparently
So I should be flying high today, on a beautiful sunny day with my girls at home, happily playing, enjoying the new snow that's sure to disappear soon. I had my year-end review yesterday with my boss, and he had nothing but glowing, wonderful things to say about me and my performance last year - and a high overall rating, too, which was apparently unanimous when "normalized" with other managers in my group. Compliments are so good for my ego! :)
But apparently I offended a few people, my husband being one of them, when I asked a group of friends to back me up in supporting my sister, to whatever degree they are comfortable doing. Travis argued that the intent was fine, but it was poorly worded, such that I expected other people to confront her husband should he show up uninvited to an affair (tailgate, party, bike ride, etc.), even if he brings the girls in a cowardly attempt to shield himself from such confrontation. I was surprised that I got two email responses - one from someone I've always liked and respected, and one from someone I've not held in as high esteem but never really had a personal reason to dislike either. It was amazing that the person I was not so crazy about replied with outright support, saying this guy's actions were not cool and he's on board with what I suggested. The other person told me to "back off" and that i had made it uncomfortable for everyone by bringing up someone else's problems. I'm having a hard time getting over it, because I was actually called selfish in the email, and my feelings are hurt. I really know that it's best to let it go, not ruffle any more feathers and just realize that not everyone understands the severity of domestic abuse. But it still stings, and it's made me grouchy today. Travis and I stayed up last night discussing it - fortunately it didn't cross the line into a real argument, but it was definitely heated - because he could see this person's point. I just can't understand how telling my friends that my family won't be offended if you don't offer Dave a beer the next time you see him is really asking that much of people, especially considering what all Jenny is tolerating on a daily basis and what Travis and I have done for other friends in this same group over the years. And I just can't fathom that anyone could tolerate domestic abuse on any scale, at any level. At very least, you'd think that pointing out that he BEAT UP someone they know and like and who couldn't possibly deserve it (really?? what could a wife do to deserve to get beaten up???) would mean something... but I guess not. The worst irony is that I've heard so many people talking and posting about how awful the situation at Penn State is, where young boys were abused and people knew and didn't do anything to stop it. Yet, situations like this can go on in your neighborhood where women and their kids are abused, neglected, berated, and emotionally beaten down for YEARS and everyone can say, well, they're intelligent adults, i'm sure they'll work it out. Or worse, they actually think she does have it coming. Yeah, sure. Until somebody ends up dead, either the guy going on a shooting rampage in a beauty salon or the wife "runs off" with some mysterious guy never to be seen again, or the wife finally kills the husband to stop the abuse, people will never believe it. "He seemed like the nicest guy!"
I'm not fooled anymore. My few dear loyal readers, I hope you aren't fooled either, and will listen with a new ear the next time you hear a girlfriend complain about how her husband abandoned her with the kids for a weekend while he went off playing, or he told her she can't have friends over because the house isn't clean enough, or he spent all their money on himself when it should have been spent on the kids or family, or how she was told she was overreacting when he misused her belongings. Did he make it up to her? did he apologize? did he understand he was wrong and reacted positively when she gave him the ultimatum to not happen again? Or, did he bring up something he thinks is really her fault and make the argument about that instead? It's up to us to help our friends out, because they might be being told at home that they're overreacting if they get their feelings hurt, that they're lonely because their friends don't really like them, that they're not as attractive as when they got married, that they're unreasonable, they're bitchy, they're PMSing, that they HAVE to have sex because a husband is entitled to it, that they're just like their mothers... and so on. If you were being told those things constantly, would you feel like you deserved help??
So, if you're suspicious that a friend needs help, give her access to the Power and Control Wheel and read through it with her. Each of the sections is as important as the other. Even though they may seem like little things that everybody puts up with - they're NOT. Domestic abuse isn't just a black eye or suspicious bruises.
And we have to help each other out, because I've lost all faith in the male gender.
And, please read the comments on this blog. If that doesn't convince you, I don't know what will!
But apparently I offended a few people, my husband being one of them, when I asked a group of friends to back me up in supporting my sister, to whatever degree they are comfortable doing. Travis argued that the intent was fine, but it was poorly worded, such that I expected other people to confront her husband should he show up uninvited to an affair (tailgate, party, bike ride, etc.), even if he brings the girls in a cowardly attempt to shield himself from such confrontation. I was surprised that I got two email responses - one from someone I've always liked and respected, and one from someone I've not held in as high esteem but never really had a personal reason to dislike either. It was amazing that the person I was not so crazy about replied with outright support, saying this guy's actions were not cool and he's on board with what I suggested. The other person told me to "back off" and that i had made it uncomfortable for everyone by bringing up someone else's problems. I'm having a hard time getting over it, because I was actually called selfish in the email, and my feelings are hurt. I really know that it's best to let it go, not ruffle any more feathers and just realize that not everyone understands the severity of domestic abuse. But it still stings, and it's made me grouchy today. Travis and I stayed up last night discussing it - fortunately it didn't cross the line into a real argument, but it was definitely heated - because he could see this person's point. I just can't understand how telling my friends that my family won't be offended if you don't offer Dave a beer the next time you see him is really asking that much of people, especially considering what all Jenny is tolerating on a daily basis and what Travis and I have done for other friends in this same group over the years. And I just can't fathom that anyone could tolerate domestic abuse on any scale, at any level. At very least, you'd think that pointing out that he BEAT UP someone they know and like and who couldn't possibly deserve it (really?? what could a wife do to deserve to get beaten up???) would mean something... but I guess not. The worst irony is that I've heard so many people talking and posting about how awful the situation at Penn State is, where young boys were abused and people knew and didn't do anything to stop it. Yet, situations like this can go on in your neighborhood where women and their kids are abused, neglected, berated, and emotionally beaten down for YEARS and everyone can say, well, they're intelligent adults, i'm sure they'll work it out. Or worse, they actually think she does have it coming. Yeah, sure. Until somebody ends up dead, either the guy going on a shooting rampage in a beauty salon or the wife "runs off" with some mysterious guy never to be seen again, or the wife finally kills the husband to stop the abuse, people will never believe it. "He seemed like the nicest guy!"
I'm not fooled anymore. My few dear loyal readers, I hope you aren't fooled either, and will listen with a new ear the next time you hear a girlfriend complain about how her husband abandoned her with the kids for a weekend while he went off playing, or he told her she can't have friends over because the house isn't clean enough, or he spent all their money on himself when it should have been spent on the kids or family, or how she was told she was overreacting when he misused her belongings. Did he make it up to her? did he apologize? did he understand he was wrong and reacted positively when she gave him the ultimatum to not happen again? Or, did he bring up something he thinks is really her fault and make the argument about that instead? It's up to us to help our friends out, because they might be being told at home that they're overreacting if they get their feelings hurt, that they're lonely because their friends don't really like them, that they're not as attractive as when they got married, that they're unreasonable, they're bitchy, they're PMSing, that they HAVE to have sex because a husband is entitled to it, that they're just like their mothers... and so on. If you were being told those things constantly, would you feel like you deserved help??
So, if you're suspicious that a friend needs help, give her access to the Power and Control Wheel and read through it with her. Each of the sections is as important as the other. Even though they may seem like little things that everybody puts up with - they're NOT. Domestic abuse isn't just a black eye or suspicious bruises.
And we have to help each other out, because I've lost all faith in the male gender.
And, please read the comments on this blog. If that doesn't convince you, I don't know what will!
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Audrey is Two!
My sweet baby is two years old today. What a great day we had!
Since it was the start of daylight savings time, the girls were up and in my room at 6:15, and we had some family snuggles before getting up and having breakfast. It was good we were up that early, because there was plenty to do before family began arriving for the party at 10. Mark and Lea were already here, because they came the day before to watch Iowa State win their football game, and then just hang out with us in the evening, which was really fun. It was especially awesome this morning, because Audrey hung out with Lea while I was straightening up the kitchen and things, and Emily and Mark and Travis worked together to get other things ready. It was just great. When 10:00 rolled around, we were all just chilling in the living room, taking a break, since everything was ready. I love that it's so easy to get this group together. Not many people look forward to having their in-laws hang out with their family, but I do. it's a really fun bunch, and I am looking forward to the day that Pat and Tilly join us regularly for these things.
Unfortunately, Milo got sick right around lunchtime, so Dan and Kerri ate quickly and took him home. They ended up taking him to urgent care where the doc said he had bronchiolitis, which I think is caused by RSV but the doctor was unclear on that. Anyway, it's a big bummer that he's so sick, but he's such a good sport! His mom and dad are so intuitive with him that he hardly has to fuss and they meet his needs, so, of course he's agreeable. What a sweetheart. Megan also wasn't feeling well, but she was a trooper, too, until the end of the day when she crashed on the couch with a blanket. It's crazy that my kids' birthdays seem to be full of sick children, but at least they're sweet kids about it -- and this time it wasn't either of my kids!
The food was fantastic, I might add. I was pretty pleased with the way things turned out, especially since I did a pretty severe degree of recipe wrangling. I never make things exactly the way the recipe says - I tweak things, or intentionally try something different. I made pumpkin pancakes by adapting Mommo's recipe for buttermilk pancakes - added whole wheat flour, took out the butter and sugar, added pumpkin and spices. I made cranberry-strawberry sauce by combining two recipes I found online and adding orange juice, just because it seemed like I should. I made pecan pie bars, which was also an adaptation but one that I did a while ago so I had made a few times. I added more pecans and some interesting spices, and lessened the gooey part a bit. Plus, egg casserole and grapes. Mmmmm :) Next year, Audrey can tell me what she would like for a birthday meal, but this year I had a good time deciding on her behalf what she likes (and I was right, too! she ate a ton!).
Audrey got really fun birthday presents, and did a great job opening everything. She especially likes a singing purple hippo that I bought for her when she and I went to the toy store to shop for her birthday. I remember doing this for Emily, too, when she turned two. She picked out the things she wanted for her birthday - a schoolbus, BucklePig, and a few others - and I just put them in the basement and then when it was her birthday, well, what do you know? Exactly what she wanted!! This singing hippo plays songs or you can play his teeth like a keyboard, and the notes are labelled in solfeg, which is what convinced the music geek in me that it would be okay to have one more noisy toy.
And, for me, the best part of the day is that Audrey was DRY ALL DAY!! She even pooped on the potty after lunch, while everybody was here and the excitement was going on! She had a bit too much mango for snack yesterday which was just too much fiber for her, so she had a couple of surprise poops later on after people left, but just before bed, without any prompting at all, she actually took herself potty!!!! It's been a whole week since we re-ditched the diapers, and she finally, finally trusted herself. She even scolded me for following her to the bathroom, so I just turned on the light in the bathroom and left. Then a few seconds later I hear, "Yeeaahhhh!" No kidding, yeah!! I sure hope this means i have reached the bottom of my double-dip potty training trend, and things are really headed up, but even a plateau at this point would be just fine for a while. She sure seems happy, so I'm gonna just go with what we've got for now. it's SO much better than diapers!
Travis and I had a discussion last night, after he got home from his trip, about how I really needed some kind of a noteable success so I could relax about other stuff that may not be optimal. Because, really, does anybody's life really get more blissful than mine, in general?? I have absolutely everything a person could really want, and yet, i still get grouchy and feel sorry for myself. But today, and this whole weekend, was absolutely a success, from start to finish. I woke up this morning hugging my girls, feeling like I hadn't seen them in a week, I was so happy to see them. They snuggle and wiggle and chatter and I just want to smother them with kisses, I love them so much. I just marvel at every little thing, from the clever way Emily puts her sentences together, to the way Audrey operates so expressively that words really aren't that necessary. I can't even put it into words, really. And then I look at my husband, and I feel just as strongly about him, and how good it feels to be his partner, while allowing each other to still be our own selves. When I look down the road and wish success and happiness for my girls, I can only hope that it's the level I've got now.
It was a fantastic weekend!
Since it was the start of daylight savings time, the girls were up and in my room at 6:15, and we had some family snuggles before getting up and having breakfast. It was good we were up that early, because there was plenty to do before family began arriving for the party at 10. Mark and Lea were already here, because they came the day before to watch Iowa State win their football game, and then just hang out with us in the evening, which was really fun. It was especially awesome this morning, because Audrey hung out with Lea while I was straightening up the kitchen and things, and Emily and Mark and Travis worked together to get other things ready. It was just great. When 10:00 rolled around, we were all just chilling in the living room, taking a break, since everything was ready. I love that it's so easy to get this group together. Not many people look forward to having their in-laws hang out with their family, but I do. it's a really fun bunch, and I am looking forward to the day that Pat and Tilly join us regularly for these things.
Unfortunately, Milo got sick right around lunchtime, so Dan and Kerri ate quickly and took him home. They ended up taking him to urgent care where the doc said he had bronchiolitis, which I think is caused by RSV but the doctor was unclear on that. Anyway, it's a big bummer that he's so sick, but he's such a good sport! His mom and dad are so intuitive with him that he hardly has to fuss and they meet his needs, so, of course he's agreeable. What a sweetheart. Megan also wasn't feeling well, but she was a trooper, too, until the end of the day when she crashed on the couch with a blanket. It's crazy that my kids' birthdays seem to be full of sick children, but at least they're sweet kids about it -- and this time it wasn't either of my kids!
The food was fantastic, I might add. I was pretty pleased with the way things turned out, especially since I did a pretty severe degree of recipe wrangling. I never make things exactly the way the recipe says - I tweak things, or intentionally try something different. I made pumpkin pancakes by adapting Mommo's recipe for buttermilk pancakes - added whole wheat flour, took out the butter and sugar, added pumpkin and spices. I made cranberry-strawberry sauce by combining two recipes I found online and adding orange juice, just because it seemed like I should. I made pecan pie bars, which was also an adaptation but one that I did a while ago so I had made a few times. I added more pecans and some interesting spices, and lessened the gooey part a bit. Plus, egg casserole and grapes. Mmmmm :) Next year, Audrey can tell me what she would like for a birthday meal, but this year I had a good time deciding on her behalf what she likes (and I was right, too! she ate a ton!).
Audrey got really fun birthday presents, and did a great job opening everything. She especially likes a singing purple hippo that I bought for her when she and I went to the toy store to shop for her birthday. I remember doing this for Emily, too, when she turned two. She picked out the things she wanted for her birthday - a schoolbus, BucklePig, and a few others - and I just put them in the basement and then when it was her birthday, well, what do you know? Exactly what she wanted!! This singing hippo plays songs or you can play his teeth like a keyboard, and the notes are labelled in solfeg, which is what convinced the music geek in me that it would be okay to have one more noisy toy.
And, for me, the best part of the day is that Audrey was DRY ALL DAY!! She even pooped on the potty after lunch, while everybody was here and the excitement was going on! She had a bit too much mango for snack yesterday which was just too much fiber for her, so she had a couple of surprise poops later on after people left, but just before bed, without any prompting at all, she actually took herself potty!!!! It's been a whole week since we re-ditched the diapers, and she finally, finally trusted herself. She even scolded me for following her to the bathroom, so I just turned on the light in the bathroom and left. Then a few seconds later I hear, "Yeeaahhhh!" No kidding, yeah!! I sure hope this means i have reached the bottom of my double-dip potty training trend, and things are really headed up, but even a plateau at this point would be just fine for a while. She sure seems happy, so I'm gonna just go with what we've got for now. it's SO much better than diapers!
Travis and I had a discussion last night, after he got home from his trip, about how I really needed some kind of a noteable success so I could relax about other stuff that may not be optimal. Because, really, does anybody's life really get more blissful than mine, in general?? I have absolutely everything a person could really want, and yet, i still get grouchy and feel sorry for myself. But today, and this whole weekend, was absolutely a success, from start to finish. I woke up this morning hugging my girls, feeling like I hadn't seen them in a week, I was so happy to see them. They snuggle and wiggle and chatter and I just want to smother them with kisses, I love them so much. I just marvel at every little thing, from the clever way Emily puts her sentences together, to the way Audrey operates so expressively that words really aren't that necessary. I can't even put it into words, really. And then I look at my husband, and I feel just as strongly about him, and how good it feels to be his partner, while allowing each other to still be our own selves. When I look down the road and wish success and happiness for my girls, I can only hope that it's the level I've got now.
It was a fantastic weekend!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Happy Home
Travis traveled to Florida this week, leaving on Sunday morning and got back Wednesday afternoon. It was a tough 4 days but the girls and I managed to have a really nice time, in stretches. :) Now we're on to plan Audrey's birthday party on Sunday. Can you believe she'll be TWO??
I haven't been updating this blog as much lately because much of my typing effort is being done on the ohcrappottytraining.com forum. Last Saturday was the first day of our Reset, so we threw out the diapers and she was happy to try pottying again. Each day had more and more accidents until yesterday, when she had only one success early in the morning and varying styles of poop and pee accidents the rest of the day. So frustrating!! I finally looked her square in the eyes and told her she MUST stay dry. She MUST put it in the potty. No more accidents - it all goes IN the potty. And this morning, I got her up onto the potty as we were getting ready to go to ms. Teri's, and she refused. I reinforced what I told her last night, and then just left her in the bathroom while I went to wake up Emily. Lo and behold, she took down her pants, climbed up there all on her own, and went!! I heard her from their bedroom, and then her little shout of delight. So, something about laying the smack down and setting the expectations did it for her - only one accident today and she was seriously distracted by play-do. And she was home with her Dad, who hasn't laid the smack down yet ;) and he didn't probably know the last time she had gone at daycare. But she was even dry after nap!! Rockstar! the advice i got on OhCrap was that I've gotta be 100% all-in, because Audrey is sensing my hatred for the process and assumes I will fix it to make that go away. But I'm stubborn - I'm going to make Audrey fix it. heh heh!!
So I went back over this blog, and found a particularly insane rant of mine from April 2010, when Emily was going through her casual pooping phase. I essentially did the same thing to her, although I phrased it as "hitting bottom." I told her I was NOT dealing with that any more, and she was going to put ALL of it in the potty. I don't know if doing that sooner might have shortened her phase down from 4 months to something more reasonable, but I'm glad to have at least caught on with audrey!
Now, to something less excrement-related. The girls and I went out and picked up pizza for supper the other night, and they really enjoyed that. The next night, we ate random leftovers and then went to Coldstone where I spent a coupon to get us all ice cream for super cheap. It was a lovely evening, and we even ate outside!! In November!
Halloween was really fun, too. We went down the street on Beggar's night (Sunday night - yup, Travis missed out!) with our neighbors across the street, who Emily adores. Okay, I adore them too. They're an awesome family. Anyway, we tagged along with them down the hill, but the girls and I came back because half an hour was plenty for them, and their buckets were plenty full by my standards. :) They were the cutest little bumblebees!! They also got to be bumblebees at an outing that was sponsored by my workplace, out at Sleepy Hollow Sportspark. It was really fun, and they had set it up pretty well for young families. It was pretty fun! A pretty successful Halloween, I must say!
I haven't been updating this blog as much lately because much of my typing effort is being done on the ohcrappottytraining.com forum. Last Saturday was the first day of our Reset, so we threw out the diapers and she was happy to try pottying again. Each day had more and more accidents until yesterday, when she had only one success early in the morning and varying styles of poop and pee accidents the rest of the day. So frustrating!! I finally looked her square in the eyes and told her she MUST stay dry. She MUST put it in the potty. No more accidents - it all goes IN the potty. And this morning, I got her up onto the potty as we were getting ready to go to ms. Teri's, and she refused. I reinforced what I told her last night, and then just left her in the bathroom while I went to wake up Emily. Lo and behold, she took down her pants, climbed up there all on her own, and went!! I heard her from their bedroom, and then her little shout of delight. So, something about laying the smack down and setting the expectations did it for her - only one accident today and she was seriously distracted by play-do. And she was home with her Dad, who hasn't laid the smack down yet ;) and he didn't probably know the last time she had gone at daycare. But she was even dry after nap!! Rockstar! the advice i got on OhCrap was that I've gotta be 100% all-in, because Audrey is sensing my hatred for the process and assumes I will fix it to make that go away. But I'm stubborn - I'm going to make Audrey fix it. heh heh!!
So I went back over this blog, and found a particularly insane rant of mine from April 2010, when Emily was going through her casual pooping phase. I essentially did the same thing to her, although I phrased it as "hitting bottom." I told her I was NOT dealing with that any more, and she was going to put ALL of it in the potty. I don't know if doing that sooner might have shortened her phase down from 4 months to something more reasonable, but I'm glad to have at least caught on with audrey!
Now, to something less excrement-related. The girls and I went out and picked up pizza for supper the other night, and they really enjoyed that. The next night, we ate random leftovers and then went to Coldstone where I spent a coupon to get us all ice cream for super cheap. It was a lovely evening, and we even ate outside!! In November!
Halloween was really fun, too. We went down the street on Beggar's night (Sunday night - yup, Travis missed out!) with our neighbors across the street, who Emily adores. Okay, I adore them too. They're an awesome family. Anyway, we tagged along with them down the hill, but the girls and I came back because half an hour was plenty for them, and their buckets were plenty full by my standards. :) They were the cutest little bumblebees!! They also got to be bumblebees at an outing that was sponsored by my workplace, out at Sleepy Hollow Sportspark. It was really fun, and they had set it up pretty well for young families. It was pretty fun! A pretty successful Halloween, I must say!
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