Different Storks??

My girls are so different from each other. Lauren is so "girly". Her favorite colors are pink and purple. She loves dresses and jewelry and make up. She's facinated with Barbie and princesses. Her favorite things to do are play dress up and put on dance shows or plays.

Addison is obviously much younger, but she already can't stand wearing dresses, peels off dress up clothes as soon as her sister puts them on her, and loves to put Barbies in toy cars and crash them into the wall! She thinks this is hysterical and will do it all day long. Her favorite things are to run fast and go down the slide and climb on furniture and jump on the bed or the couch. Preferably all at once.

They get along pretty well most of the time, though, and they are so cute to watch. They both love to read books, and share snacks and watch movies. I'm so glad I have them both, and that they have such different and vibrant personalities. I feel very blessed...

...especially after a day where I had to call a parent to tell her that her daughter with a traumatic brain injury thinks she is pregnant with her fictional boyfriend's baby, process a college application for a senior who was suspended for chewing tobacco in school and then drive a mentally ill student to the local homeless shelter with her garbage bag of belongings because she was asked to leave her home. What a world. It's so nice to come home to relative normalcy, and silly, cuddly, snuggly little girls...

That's what it's all about for me...

A Memorable Balloon Festival...

Ok, here are the traditional Adirondack Balloon Festival photos... and one from Maine this summer.

It was a balloon festival to remember. I think Bryan, Colleen and I all have fond memories of getting up in the middle of the night (at least that's what it seemed like), bundling up and driving to the Balloon Festival to watch the balloons and sip hot chocolate. I was hoping to recreate that experience for my own children and for Bryan and Jill who came into town specifically for the Balloon Fest. It was an experience all right! Addison didn't sleep much the night before, so I actually got up at 2:45 instead of 4:30 like we had planned. I finally got her to sleep in our bed a little after 4, then had to wake her up again shortly after that to go to the Balloon Fest. We all piled into the van and stopped at Dunkin Donuts so we would have something to eat if we wound up waiting in traffic for a long time. I had the brilliant idea to drive on Rt. 149 and try to come to the airport from the back to avoid all the traffic from Quaker Road. However, it was dark and foggy and early in the morning (those are my excuses) and I missed a turn and took us all the way to Rt. 4 in Kingsbury. Then turned back and ended up running over a skunk, which made the van smell just lovely. I ended up missing a turn again and found myself on Dix Ave, thus making a big, unnecessary circle AROUND the balloon festival. So we turned right and ended up waiting in the traffic that I was trying so hard to avoid. We made the best of the situation, though, and things weren't that bad. Then as we got close to the parking lot Jill noticed that Lauren was crying in the back seat of the van. All of us sudden she said she was going to throw up and proceeded to do so into her hands. Meanwhile there was no where for me to pull over since there was no shoulder on the road and we were in the middle of traffic. So I turned into the parking lot, paid to park (dumb) and made the bumpy trip into the next parking spot available, making Lauren throw up again in the mean time. Poor thing. I'm sure it was a combination of having two parents who get car sick, the early morning bagel breakfast, longer than necessary car ride and skunk scented car. From that point on things did get much better. I cleaned Lauren up (thank goodness for baby wipes) and bought her a nice, pink balloon festival sweatshirt to wear. We got there just as the first balloons were inflating and the weather was perfect. Jill got some really nice pictures of bright balloons against a beautiful blue sky. We all enjoyed the balloon festival from that point on and the ride back wasn't too bad, just a little traffic and a still stinky car. We came home and napped all afternoon, then walked around Lake George Village that night. We had a great time and I'm glad Bryan and Jill came to visit.

What else has been going on? We had a fun, but less eventful visit from Colleen and her boyfriend Nate the weekend before. We enjoyed Oktoberfest at the Great Escape. Also, Lauren loves Kindergarten and is doing very well. I didn't get the job I interviewed for at Queensbury High School, but I actually now see that as a good thing. There were some staff changes at my current school which resulting in me getting a bigger office, desk and being the most senior person in our three person department! I get along amazingly well with our secretary, she almost reads my mind. I think the new guy we hired for the junior high counselor position is going to work out really well, too. I feel like I've finally hit my stride as a school counselor at Whitehall and I'm really doing a good job. I also feel very appreciated there, by students, staff and parents. It's a nice feeling. This may be me rationalizing, but I think I can make a real difference in the life of Whitehall students, whereas the Queensbury students have so many resources that I don't feel like I would be helping all that much. Who knows what will happen in the future, but I'm doing pretty well for right now.

We had a great trip to Maine this summer, had a nice time with the Marstons at their cottage, with Bryan and Jill, Colleen and Nate and Mom and Dad. Looking forward to many more trips to Maine.

I'm also finally sure that I don't want to have more children. Tyler was always sure he only wanted two children but I wasn't totally convinced because I love babies so much. Now I'm so happy that Addison is getting more independent and I think my brain was a little muddled during all the middle of the night crying, breastfeeding and diapers. I'm enjoying starting to do things for myself again like yoga, manicures, going out for drinks with other moms and reading novels again! I love my children dearly, but pregnancy was really hard me and babies are cute but a lot of work. I also feel fortunate to have two healthy children. I almost feel like having another one would be selfish and greedy, and we might not be so lucky the next time. I look forward to traveling on family vacations and enjoying watching my girls grow up. I love to hear them giggling together...

That's all for now. Still busy planning a high school reunion for October 18th. Hope it's a success..

Pre-K Graduation

Lauren's Pre-K graduation was cute. They did a play which was really cute, but totally inaudible. We videotaped it but you can't hear a thing except the teacher narrating. Lauren recieved a scrapbooked yearbook which is such a nice keepsake. One of my favorite things included was a list of her "favorites". I included the list below.

My Favorites

Animal: birds

Food: ice cream

Game: hide n seek

Number: 6

Toy: Lambie

Holiday: Halloween

Place: The Great Escape

Thing to do with Mom and Dad: watch a movie

Color: pink and purple

Movie: Barbie Swan Lake

Sport: volleyball

TV Show: Noggin

Book: Anastasia

Restaurant: El Mexicano

Vacation Spot: Mimi & Pop Pop's

Outfit: "the one I'm wearing"

We didn't even know about this so we couldn't coach her, either! I wonder what outfit she was wearing? So cute. We went out for ice cream afterward at Friendly's. One of Lauren's teachers commented in her yearbook that she is one of the brightest kids he's ever taught (out of about 100). All the teachers commented on her reading skills and outgoing personality. I suspect she'll do just fine in Kindergarten next year.

Addison goes to sleep so easily now. I think the key is doing the same exact routine every night. She starts yawning halfway through the routine out of pure conditioning. She happily lays down in her crib, smiling. Then I leave the room and she plays and babbles for a few minutes then goes right to sleep. Usually around 8 pm so she'll sleep till 6 or so. Why do second babies sleep so much better than first babies? I don't know...

Pics

Science Museum in North Carolina
Photo we are using on Lauren's birthday invitations.

Cute photo of the two girls from Mom and Dad's house in Oak Ridge.

Crying it out...

I have never been a fan of the "crying it out" method, but I'm finding that it has it's merits. Both with Lauren and with Addison so far I mostly nursed them or rocked them to sleep, which is one of the nicest things in the world to do. However, it makes it almost impossible for them to go to sleep any other way. Some nights that's just fine, but other nights I really want Addie to go to sleep so I can get a couple of things done before I crash for the night. Those nights I try nursing her and rocking her and giving her a bottle and giving her Tylenol... and she still doesn't seem sleepy and I've just spent and hour an a half just trying to settle her down and it's now 10 o'clock and past MY bedtime. It gets frustrating. The past three nights I've tried everything and she won't settle down. She pushes away from me when I try to rock her or nurse her, and refuses a bottle. So I eventually give up and put her in her crib with a kiss, and a sippy cup of water, a binky and a teether toy. The first night she cried for about 5 minutes, then I went in and silently comforted her and left. Then she cried for 10 minutes and I gave in and picked her up and brought her back to my bed. She was so tired from the crying that she fell right to sleep and I moved her into her crib later. Last night she cried for less than 5 minutes, then I heard nothing. So I was worried that something happened, but I didn't want to go in there in case she was awake and would start crying again if she saw me. It took all of my willpower to wait, but I did, and when I checked on her 10 minutes later she was sleeping peacefully! Then tonight, we did the whole bedtime routine, then I put her down to sleep. She knew what was up and tried to climb up me as I laid her down in the crib. She cried for about 5 minutes and I haven't heard anything in about 10 so I'll go check on her in a minute. They say it's an important skill to learn, to put yourself to sleep, so hopefully she's learning that and not feeling abandoned by her Mommy. Mommy is much happier to see her in the morning after a good night's sleep!



Lauren has been much better about bedtime. She really liked sharing a room with Addison, and she went to sleep sooner because she knew she couldn't have lights on or make a lot of noise. Lately she's been sleeping in the guest room because she can't hear her music over the sound of the crying, but I expect that they will share a room again in the near future.



We're enjoying a week off. Lauren slept over at Linnea's on Saturday, and we had dinner with the Careys, Careys and Wileys on Sunday night.Today Leila spent the day with us. We went to see Mr. Twisty, a free magician/comedy show at the Queensbury activity center, and then went to Friendly's for lunch. We have lots of other little activities planned, if I can keep up with them. Both girls will spend some time at daycare tomorrow and Thursday so I can do some other things (we're paying for it anyway!)



Bye for now...

Lo-lo and the Goose

We have such silly nicknames for the girls, it's a wonder they even know their own names. I like nicknames, though, they seem to imply a close, playful relationship. I always wanted a nickname and tried to make up some for myself, but they never really stuck. The only one that really stuck was KK, which Monica started to call me in college. It stuck and I liked it. Even when someone calls me Kris, it makes me feel somehow closer to that person.

I'm flying solo tonight. June offered to watch both girls, and Tyler is at volleyball practice. I don't know what to do with myself! There is plenty that I could do (clean), but instead I'm enjoying a little "me" time and a glass of wine or two. I'm really enjoying working on this class reunion project and I spend a lot of free time contacting people and working out details. It gives me a goal and a purpose other than being a Mommy and being a school counselor.

I guess this blog is more about me than the girls, but that's OK, I am the Mommy after all. I've noticed that I have a really hard time making decisions. Not so much at work but in my personal life. Sometimes I wish I had a decision maker following me around and making all of my choices for me so I wouldn't have to think about it. Like what to make for dinner, whether I should buy this shampoo or that one, whether I should buy myself some new clothes, or what I feel like doing during my free time. I find myself asking Lauren to decide for me, but I really have to watch that, because then she feels like she can make all of the decisions and gets mad if I decide something that she doesn't like. I think I'm rubbing off on her, too. The other day we were looking at Valentines, and I gave her two options and she was about to make a choice. Then I said "or what about this one, or this one or this one" and overwhelmed her with so many options that she wanted me to choose. So I narrowed it back down to two again, made a suggestion and she went with it. (We decided on puppies and kittens because they are gender neutral). I'm also always trying to please everyone, which is impossible, so I'm working on that, too...

Also, I'm surprisingly disturbed by the death of Heath Ledger. I don't know why. It's not like I know him or anything. I really loved his performance in Brokeback Mountain, and a few other movies... Maybe it's because he has a little girl and I think about how much she will miss her Daddy. And because he was only 28 and had so much going for him. It makes me so sad and I think about it a lot and keep hoping that it's not true... I admit I want to think the world is a happy place and bad things only happen to bad people. I guess I just want to think I'm raising my kids in a good place where they are likely to be healthy and safe and it scares me that I can't be 100% sure that they will be...

On a lighter note, Addie is MOVING!! She started really crawling last Sunday and now she can really get around. She does this funny, diagonal crawl where she starts with the right arm and leg and kind of scoots the left arm and leg behind. It works, though! She also pulls herself up to stand and is always babbling. She coos to herself in the crib, and she'll repeat "Mama" if I say it first. She's really growing up by leaps and bounds, which is fun, but a little sad because she's my last baby. I want her to grow up but I don't want her to at the same time. I'm sure Mom knows what I mean... She's had some separation anxiety, and wants me to hold her all the time. She does OK at school, though, because I'm not around and there's always a lot going on. Her class has grown from 2 babies to about 6 or 8 depending on the day. Fortunately she's more independent now, and the teachers seem really great.

Lauren has been much better lately, at home and at school. She loves her teachers, Mr. Hoffman and Ms. Jessica. We rarely get any complaints about her behavior. I think she was not a good match with the teacher from last year. I also think the adjustment to a sibling affected her more than I thought. She's so in love with her sister that I didn't see it at first, but she's missing having my full attention. She asks me to rock her and sing to her like I do with the baby, and she wants to be carried a lot. She's also learning to be a lot more independent, though, and she's really good at keeping Addison entertained for me. Sharing a room has been working out well for them. And we acquired a guest room, which as really just been a storage facility for luggage and laundry and various other items that don't have a place.

Hmm... that's about all for now. Think I'll make some more phone calls before I go over to pick up the baby. Bye for now!

New Year

Had a great time over the holidays. The girls got way too many gifts, but of course they we love them all, (thanks to everyone!) Happy to be home, but a little sad about going back to work and daycare. We'll be OK once we get in the groove again.

Had a nice, quiet New Year's Eve with friends, and caught up with loads of laundry today.

Addison is now crawling backward, and can clap! She claps often, it's so cute. One hand is held out in a funny way and the other one claps it. Makes a little noise and everything! She's fascinated.

Lauren LOVES her bouncy house. It inflates in seconds, and actually fits in the basement. It's big enough for 2 kids, we put Addison in there for a little bit and she loved it, too. Great job, Santa...