And, our vacation is now over. Back to the real world.
Yesterday was a catch-up day. The girls woke up from camping at just about the same time as normal, so they were a little cranky but we still managed to have a nice lazy day at home together. We considered going downtown to an Italian-American festival, but we just plain didn't get around to it. The girls had an early bedtime, which set us up for a really nice day today. It wasn't a vacation, really, but I did spend almost 2 hours cleaning the kitchen and dining room, and the girls' room is finally in order. I did two loads of laundry, too!
Last night, Travis had a couple of Guinesses and some whiskey, and came to bed much after I did. I don't know what time it was, but right at that same time there was a thunderstorm, so Emily came in and said she was afraid of thunder. Travis went with her and laid down in his bed, which I vaguely remember but didn't recall immediately when I woke up. I guess I was quite the bed hog, because when Trav woke up at 5AM in Emily's bed, and no idea why he was there, he tried to come back to our bed but I was diagonal across the bed, and clutching his pillow. Poor guy finished the night on the couch! It's been a long time since I've had a morning where we're trying to piece together just what happened, and how we ended up where we did. :)
Tonight, we finished off our vacation by going down to the Indianola hot air balloon festival. We didn't go in, just watched from a nearby park. It was incredible - I'll try to get the pictures posted tonight, or soon, at least. Emily and Audrey were so excited, and saw the first balloons rising above the trees, coming right towards us. But, they were floating kind of low, and we could hear the flames, which absolutely terrified Emily. Audrey said she was scared too, but I know she only said so because Emily was afraid. She was enjoying the thrill of being scared. :) Funny to see my girls react so differently. I think Clara was watching them, too, because she was laying on her back on the ground, looking up at the sky.
On the way home, we came up through downtown Des Moines, over Emily's favorite bridge. I got a couple really cute pictures of that, too. What a crazy kid she is. And a great way to wrap up our week together.
Tomorrow, it's back to normal, and I think we'll all be glad to get back into the regular routine. But, 3 and a half weeks from now, it's a new normal, when I go to work. I don't mind the thought of going to work, but I really will miss my girls. I'm getting quite fond of Clara, as her personality emerges. She cooed at me for a good 10 minutes tonight, after she nursed her evening meal. What a sweetheart she is. :)
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Friday, July 27, 2012
Friday
We got home late last night after going to Story City to see the carousel, and having dinner with Grandpa and Grandma Sullivan. What a beautiful evening!! We had a great time. Audrey rode the carousel FOUR times and loved holding onto the horse. Emily went twice in the whirling tub, and would not even consider getting up on a horse, or animal of any kind! Then we walked around the park (well, everyone else did, while I nursed Clara), and enjoyed the beautiful evening. We ate dinner together at Pizza Ranch, and came home after bedtime. The girls were so tired they were loopy, giggling like crazy about nothing at all. I thought for sure, after two late nights like that, that they'd sleep past 6:45, but no, up early again. Tonight, they are camping, so it'll probably be another short night for them again. But, I'm not sleeping out there. Clara and I are inside, so Travis can deal with it. And since he's taken to having an afternoon nap during his vacation, he can handle it!
So it would be no surprise that today is a recovery day. Trav took Emily to Earl May to see if they could spend their July fun-bucks, but all they found was the free popcorn that Emily loves. I did some shopping for school supplies that were on sale, and successfully did my entire outing during Clara's afternoon nap (which is getting to be more predictable! woohoo!!). We built a "crazy town" out of boxes this morning - okay, it was mostly me, with input and ideas from Emily. She's good with getting the tape off the roll, but not so secure with application. :) I think it'll be fun for them to play with for a good long while. There's lots of doors and tunnels and even a little bridge.
I FINALLY got the ice cream to freeze. It took nearly an hour, while I was fixing supper, and even then it was pretty runny. It churned so long the other day that I think the cream was starting to turn to butter, because although it's pretty tasty, it does have a bit of a greasy aftertaste. *sigh* I guess I learned my lesson about making ice cream!
We watched the opening ceremonies of the olympics tonight, and the show depicted the advancement of Britain over the last 500 years. It was really beautiful to see it all done, starting with grassy hills and turning into factories with smokestacks. It was, however, really tough to describe the Industrial Revolution to Emily! Then it turned into kids jumping on beds and crazy costumes dancing to music, and that was easier.
And now everyone is asleep, and I can be too. I transferred all the pictures from this week to my computer from my cameras, and it's going to be fun to post those. Going to wait until the week is up, though. More fun to be had, tomorrow!
So it would be no surprise that today is a recovery day. Trav took Emily to Earl May to see if they could spend their July fun-bucks, but all they found was the free popcorn that Emily loves. I did some shopping for school supplies that were on sale, and successfully did my entire outing during Clara's afternoon nap (which is getting to be more predictable! woohoo!!). We built a "crazy town" out of boxes this morning - okay, it was mostly me, with input and ideas from Emily. She's good with getting the tape off the roll, but not so secure with application. :) I think it'll be fun for them to play with for a good long while. There's lots of doors and tunnels and even a little bridge.
I FINALLY got the ice cream to freeze. It took nearly an hour, while I was fixing supper, and even then it was pretty runny. It churned so long the other day that I think the cream was starting to turn to butter, because although it's pretty tasty, it does have a bit of a greasy aftertaste. *sigh* I guess I learned my lesson about making ice cream!
We watched the opening ceremonies of the olympics tonight, and the show depicted the advancement of Britain over the last 500 years. It was really beautiful to see it all done, starting with grassy hills and turning into factories with smokestacks. It was, however, really tough to describe the Industrial Revolution to Emily! Then it turned into kids jumping on beds and crazy costumes dancing to music, and that was easier.
And now everyone is asleep, and I can be too. I transferred all the pictures from this week to my computer from my cameras, and it's going to be fun to post those. Going to wait until the week is up, though. More fun to be had, tomorrow!
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Wednesday, Thursday...
We are finishing up our Ames leg of our vacation today. Yesterday, we loaded up the van early in the morning and drove to Ellsworth, where Travis introduced the girls to Ragbrai!! The route went from there to Story City, which is about 6 miles. Clara and I drove to Story City, where we met up with the bus and the rest of Team Petting Zoo. It was already sweltering by 10:30 AM, so I'm glad the girls weren't in the burley any longer than they were. They stopped for chocolate milk along the route, and thoroughly enjoyed that.
Then we picked up lunch at Battles BBQ in Ames, and took it to my grandparents to eat. Audrey and Clara (and Travis!) all napped there, while I got a nice chance to chat with Mommo and play with Emily. Then we went to visit some friends of mine in Gilbert, whose daughter was born two days before Clara. Sure was fun to catch up with them! Then we came back to Ames, to Jenny's house, and ate take-out Chinese food. Emily had been waiting all day to play with Megan and have a sleepover night. They set up tents in Jenny's enormous basement, and had a wonderful time.
This morning, we went to the Berry Patch in Nevada and picked blueberries. Thankfully, it's a little cooler today (finally!) due to a super-awesome thunderstorm that came through last night. Audrey ate every single berry that she picked, blueberry and raspberry! Emily picked about 30 blueberries in her bucket, and was very proud of herself. Then we ate West Street Deli for lunch, and are now back at Jenny's house for naptimes. Once those are over, we'll go back up to Story City to ride on the carousel, and Grandma and Grandpa Sullivan will meet us there. The way Emily is talking, this will be a highlight of the vacation, even topping the camping sleepover night.
We're really enjoying these activities, but I'm keeping the posting brief, just to get it all written down. We'll see if I get a chance to add in any more specific anecdotes later. But I'm taking pictures, too, so that will help jog my memory!
Then we picked up lunch at Battles BBQ in Ames, and took it to my grandparents to eat. Audrey and Clara (and Travis!) all napped there, while I got a nice chance to chat with Mommo and play with Emily. Then we went to visit some friends of mine in Gilbert, whose daughter was born two days before Clara. Sure was fun to catch up with them! Then we came back to Ames, to Jenny's house, and ate take-out Chinese food. Emily had been waiting all day to play with Megan and have a sleepover night. They set up tents in Jenny's enormous basement, and had a wonderful time.
This morning, we went to the Berry Patch in Nevada and picked blueberries. Thankfully, it's a little cooler today (finally!) due to a super-awesome thunderstorm that came through last night. Audrey ate every single berry that she picked, blueberry and raspberry! Emily picked about 30 blueberries in her bucket, and was very proud of herself. Then we ate West Street Deli for lunch, and are now back at Jenny's house for naptimes. Once those are over, we'll go back up to Story City to ride on the carousel, and Grandma and Grandpa Sullivan will meet us there. The way Emily is talking, this will be a highlight of the vacation, even topping the camping sleepover night.
We're really enjoying these activities, but I'm keeping the posting brief, just to get it all written down. We'll see if I get a chance to add in any more specific anecdotes later. But I'm taking pictures, too, so that will help jog my memory!
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Monday, Tuesday...
Yesterday was our trip to Winterset. We drove down in the morning after breakfast, and it really is a beautiful drive through Madison County. The only covered bridge we saw was in the city park, and it's in such an illogical place that I'm thinking it must have been moved there. Why would anyone need a bridge there?? Anyway, we drove up to Clark tower, and the girls agreed that it did look like a castle and they excitedly put on their princess outfits, and ran up to the tower. Clara was a good sport and was awake during activities and asleep in the car. Then we finished up the crazy drive back to the main area of the park, and played on some playground equipment and ran through the English maze (hedges!). That's about the time that it started getting hot, so we headed back to Des Moines, and ate at Tasty Tacos on our way home. Throughout the trip, the girls were very observant, but didn't seem to be too impressed. I was shrugging it off as a semi-failure, except they described it in very different, dramatic terms when Kerri stopped by last night. They got to be princesses in a castle! Wow! And play on a new playground!! Delayed feedback, I guess.
We tried to make ice cream yesterday afternoon, like this, but it didn't turn out. I double-bagged both mixtures, because the only massive amount of salt that I had was driveway salt, which has added chemicals in it. I wanted to keep that away from the ice cream, but I think the ice cream has to be in contact with the ice on the other side of the bag, so it didn't set up. It was still delicious, but definitely liquid and not solid. It says it will set up in about 5 minutes, but after 15 minutes of shaking, I gave up to the whines of how it was taking too long and just let them eat it the way it was. Audrey managed to spill hers all over the kitchen, which was the final straw for me after being whined at throughout what was supposed to be a fun activity. They spent much of the rest of the afternoon outside in the water, or on the 100° porch, stripped down to almost nothing. They really played nicely together for a very long time yesterday, which is pretty impressive, I think.
This morning, we went to Big Creek to go to the beach, but apparently nobody else in Des Moines thinks that a high of 100° is the perfect day to go. But we did! We were there by 9:30 or so, and it was already really hot out on the beach. It took some convincing, but Travis got the girls down by the water, playing in the sand and making sand castles with their buckets and shovels. The water was pretty stinky and full of algae, so no swimming, but they did play on the playground equipment for quite a while. Throughout this, Clara was in my arms, wanting to nurse because she was thirsty and uncomfortable, and nursing fixes everything if you're 8 weeks old. The nice thing about nobody being around - carefree breastfeeding! I thought it seemed a bit post-apocalyptic, with the empty playground and enormous parking lot (we got one of only two shady spots! woot!), but Travis said it was just good planning on our part. Emily seemed to concerned that there were no other kids around, but honestly, our kids are more likely to have fun if there aren't other kids around that they have to size up or be intimidated by.
And now we're home, chilling for the afternoon. We might make some more homemade ice cream this afternoon, but in an ice cream machine this time! Tomorrow, we're headed to Ames, I think, for a social day.
We tried to make ice cream yesterday afternoon, like this, but it didn't turn out. I double-bagged both mixtures, because the only massive amount of salt that I had was driveway salt, which has added chemicals in it. I wanted to keep that away from the ice cream, but I think the ice cream has to be in contact with the ice on the other side of the bag, so it didn't set up. It was still delicious, but definitely liquid and not solid. It says it will set up in about 5 minutes, but after 15 minutes of shaking, I gave up to the whines of how it was taking too long and just let them eat it the way it was. Audrey managed to spill hers all over the kitchen, which was the final straw for me after being whined at throughout what was supposed to be a fun activity. They spent much of the rest of the afternoon outside in the water, or on the 100° porch, stripped down to almost nothing. They really played nicely together for a very long time yesterday, which is pretty impressive, I think.
This morning, we went to Big Creek to go to the beach, but apparently nobody else in Des Moines thinks that a high of 100° is the perfect day to go. But we did! We were there by 9:30 or so, and it was already really hot out on the beach. It took some convincing, but Travis got the girls down by the water, playing in the sand and making sand castles with their buckets and shovels. The water was pretty stinky and full of algae, so no swimming, but they did play on the playground equipment for quite a while. Throughout this, Clara was in my arms, wanting to nurse because she was thirsty and uncomfortable, and nursing fixes everything if you're 8 weeks old. The nice thing about nobody being around - carefree breastfeeding! I thought it seemed a bit post-apocalyptic, with the empty playground and enormous parking lot (we got one of only two shady spots! woot!), but Travis said it was just good planning on our part. Emily seemed to concerned that there were no other kids around, but honestly, our kids are more likely to have fun if there aren't other kids around that they have to size up or be intimidated by.
And now we're home, chilling for the afternoon. We might make some more homemade ice cream this afternoon, but in an ice cream machine this time! Tomorrow, we're headed to Ames, I think, for a social day.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Stay-cation
I usually hate combined words, or made-up words, like "friend" as a verb, or "orientate," "architected," or worst of all, "guesstimate." But this week, we are in fact staycationing, so I guess I'll have to go with it. We have big plans, and I'll try to post each day, more as a record of our awesome time together as a family than out of a need to really update anybody. :)
We kicked off our family time together by having a nice lazy day at home. I got groceries, to prepare for some of the things we'll do this week, and then Travis and I went out to dinner (with Clara) while the girls ate mac'n'cheese with Dan and Kerri and Milo. Everybody had a fabulous time!
This morning, the girls went with Trav on a bike ride, in the burley, and I'm headed out with Clara to meet them at the restaurant where we'll have brunch together with friends. The plan for later today is to build a balance beam, and paint it. We'll see how that goes!
Hooray, summer!
We kicked off our family time together by having a nice lazy day at home. I got groceries, to prepare for some of the things we'll do this week, and then Travis and I went out to dinner (with Clara) while the girls ate mac'n'cheese with Dan and Kerri and Milo. Everybody had a fabulous time!
This morning, the girls went with Trav on a bike ride, in the burley, and I'm headed out with Clara to meet them at the restaurant where we'll have brunch together with friends. The plan for later today is to build a balance beam, and paint it. We'll see how that goes!
Hooray, summer!
Monday, July 16, 2012
Long post
There is so much that's happened in the past month that it'll be hard to make this post make any sense at all. I think this is the longest I have ever gone without a blog update. It has been absolutely crazy, but I'm sure you know why! There are more reasons than just Clara, though. My sister's divorce hearing was last week, and I took Clara with me to go support her in the process. It was really weird, crazy, and stressful, and therefore, exhausting. But it's done, and Jenny was awarded primary custody, so it should be uphill from here. It was kind of interesting how nice it was that Clara was with me, because nothing makes a person feel better than snuggling with a baby, right? When you're nervous, a hug is the best thing, but you can't really just hug another adult. So Jenny was holding Clara, rocking and bouncing, before things got started at the courthouse each day, and it really was helpful, I could tell. It was funny that for all the support I wanted to provide, it was probably Clara who did the most good. :)
Also this past week, Travis also had to travel for work, an opportunity he couldn't pass up. The meeting was in South Africa, so he left Tuesday for Johannesburg and came back Saturday. Between his jetlag and my exhaustion from the stress of the trial and caring for 3 kids on my own, we were pretty worthless yesterday. But today is better, since Trav slept 10+ hours and I slept the same 8 hours as Clara. Next week, Trav is in Miami for most of the week, so I'm taking the girls to my parents' for a few days. The week of Ragbrai, though, he is taking vacation! He originally planned to bike a few days, but when the South Africa trip came up, he figured it made more sense to just keep the vacation week but do things as a family, just around Des Moines, instead. I can't wait!
Travis didn't get to see much of anything while he was there, because it was so work-intensive, but he did bring back a vuvuzela and a couple baby stuffed animals for the kids (giraffe for Emily, elephant for Audrey, and a lion for Clara). The girls most enjoyed the vuvuzela, though. Travis would give it a loud honk and they'd jump and giggle and run around the house.
So the most fun thing: Clara has started talking! Jenny was playing a video for E and A, and I started singing the song for Clara, since we were having the nicest little conversation at the time. The coolest part was the next day when I sang the same song for her, and she totally recognized it!! Her eyes lit up and she started talking (singing?) along with me. She even let out a really nice little squeal that she surprised herself with. :) I think we've got a chatty one on our hands. And her smile is so much more frequent and genuine now. It looks great on her - what a beauty! She's always been really bright-eyed and expressive, but now it seems like she's really getting her own personality along with her expressions. I feel bad that she's got baby acne, but it shouldn't be much longer before that goes away.
Clara is a fantastic sleeper. She likes to be awake for a while after she's done her main 6-8 hour stretch at night, which is a little bit annoying but even if I don't get the opportunity to go back to sleep after that, I've generally still gotten an uninterrupted night, even if it is short. And she's never up for more than an hour during the night, so I don't have those disastrous 1AM to 4AM nights. It makes such a huge difference in how I can function!
Clara is also very strong! She's been doing great with tummy time, lifting her head and looking back and forth. She likes to hold her own head up if carried vertically - no snuggling into your chest unless she's already half-asleep. We've gone for a couple of walks with her in the baby carrier, and she is super unhappy if she's facing in, but she loves facing out! She has started using her legs when she's mad, she'll straighten them out and flex her little muscles, which is so cute because her legs are so small!! It also makes me feel like it's all right for her to be a little upset once in a while, cuz she gets some more exercise that way. Other than that, she's really a chilled out baby.
One of the biggest things to report is that our nanny started! It's been 3 weeks and the girls really like her. She's taken them fun places, she's really gotten to know them. There have been a few things I've had to get used to, like someone else cooking in my kitchen, and being second in command when she's here during the day, but the latter will go away once I'm gone at work while she's here. For now, I am enjoying that Travis will leave the door unlocked when he leaves, and she comes on in before I'm even up, some days. It's music to my ears when she walks in and greets my girls and immediately asks them if they'd like breakfast. I can snooze a few more minutes, or get nice relaxed shower. Luxury, I tell ya. I really think it's worth the money to make my life easier for now. I don't like to shop, I don't spend much money on actual "stuff", but spending money to improve an experience is totally worth it, I think.
There are a few especially funny (or notable) things that the girls have done lately, but I'll just get this posted and add another entry later this week. Maybe I'll have time in Rockford to write.
Also this past week, Travis also had to travel for work, an opportunity he couldn't pass up. The meeting was in South Africa, so he left Tuesday for Johannesburg and came back Saturday. Between his jetlag and my exhaustion from the stress of the trial and caring for 3 kids on my own, we were pretty worthless yesterday. But today is better, since Trav slept 10+ hours and I slept the same 8 hours as Clara. Next week, Trav is in Miami for most of the week, so I'm taking the girls to my parents' for a few days. The week of Ragbrai, though, he is taking vacation! He originally planned to bike a few days, but when the South Africa trip came up, he figured it made more sense to just keep the vacation week but do things as a family, just around Des Moines, instead. I can't wait!
Travis didn't get to see much of anything while he was there, because it was so work-intensive, but he did bring back a vuvuzela and a couple baby stuffed animals for the kids (giraffe for Emily, elephant for Audrey, and a lion for Clara). The girls most enjoyed the vuvuzela, though. Travis would give it a loud honk and they'd jump and giggle and run around the house.
So the most fun thing: Clara has started talking! Jenny was playing a video for E and A, and I started singing the song for Clara, since we were having the nicest little conversation at the time. The coolest part was the next day when I sang the same song for her, and she totally recognized it!! Her eyes lit up and she started talking (singing?) along with me. She even let out a really nice little squeal that she surprised herself with. :) I think we've got a chatty one on our hands. And her smile is so much more frequent and genuine now. It looks great on her - what a beauty! She's always been really bright-eyed and expressive, but now it seems like she's really getting her own personality along with her expressions. I feel bad that she's got baby acne, but it shouldn't be much longer before that goes away.
Clara is a fantastic sleeper. She likes to be awake for a while after she's done her main 6-8 hour stretch at night, which is a little bit annoying but even if I don't get the opportunity to go back to sleep after that, I've generally still gotten an uninterrupted night, even if it is short. And she's never up for more than an hour during the night, so I don't have those disastrous 1AM to 4AM nights. It makes such a huge difference in how I can function!
Clara is also very strong! She's been doing great with tummy time, lifting her head and looking back and forth. She likes to hold her own head up if carried vertically - no snuggling into your chest unless she's already half-asleep. We've gone for a couple of walks with her in the baby carrier, and she is super unhappy if she's facing in, but she loves facing out! She has started using her legs when she's mad, she'll straighten them out and flex her little muscles, which is so cute because her legs are so small!! It also makes me feel like it's all right for her to be a little upset once in a while, cuz she gets some more exercise that way. Other than that, she's really a chilled out baby.
One of the biggest things to report is that our nanny started! It's been 3 weeks and the girls really like her. She's taken them fun places, she's really gotten to know them. There have been a few things I've had to get used to, like someone else cooking in my kitchen, and being second in command when she's here during the day, but the latter will go away once I'm gone at work while she's here. For now, I am enjoying that Travis will leave the door unlocked when he leaves, and she comes on in before I'm even up, some days. It's music to my ears when she walks in and greets my girls and immediately asks them if they'd like breakfast. I can snooze a few more minutes, or get nice relaxed shower. Luxury, I tell ya. I really think it's worth the money to make my life easier for now. I don't like to shop, I don't spend much money on actual "stuff", but spending money to improve an experience is totally worth it, I think.
There are a few especially funny (or notable) things that the girls have done lately, but I'll just get this posted and add another entry later this week. Maybe I'll have time in Rockford to write.
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