Lauren Love

After yesterday's blog entry, I knew that I needed something more positive. And, I have it. Gabe, Lauren and Davrin. Lauren is such a big love muffin and really brings out the best in the boys - they love making her smile and totally get into her accomplishments and antics.

Today I had to drop snack off at Gabe's school and had Lauren with me. I set her down so that I could go back to the car to get the watermelon I had included. (FYI I was supposed to bring snacks for the whole week but was in a fog the first part of the week so didn't send anything in. Today, I made up for it and allayed my guilt by spending about $30 bucks on snacks for Gabe's classmates)
Anyway...when I went back in, Lauren was in performance mode, shaking her head and moving about. The kids were asking her questions and then waiting for either a yay or a nay. It was so funny!

Gabe loves making Lauren laugh and if you could hear the sweet sound of her you would know why. It's so unique, so pure and so wonderful. Gabe goes to the greatest lengths to get her to giggle but it fits him as he is so active, energetic and persistent. If Lauren picks up anything from Gabe, let's up it's the persistence!

here are some pictures of my sweet boy, Gabe and LoLo
Gabe is one of the greatest people I know. He has so much energy and enthusiasm and emotion. He's also incredibly smart and self-assured. I admire him in many ways and he has taught me so much as a parent. He tries me to my very last nerve but it's always worth it.

Life as I know it...

it's been one of those days, I suppose. Not enough sleep, too much stress and some surprises thrown in for good measure. Lauren was sick the past week or so but is doing much better, so much better that sleeping has become her least favorite past time. I like sleep and I seem to need lots of it. Lauren...not so much. Kids seem to find sleep pretty pointless most of the time. Just last night I talked to Gabe about it. He swears that he is never tired and that he never actually falls asleep. I told him what sleeping does for us and he didn't seem very sold on it, even so.

So, what else? The house is pretty much a mess most of the time. The dishwasher is broken in that it leaks water because there is a clog somewhere in the drainage system. The thought of hand washing dishes isn't over whelming to me; nor is it something I can see doing from this point forward. But, on the big scale of things not a big deal.

These things are harder to take:
A friend of mine emailed me a couple of days ago to let us know that her daughter, who we thought had beat breast cancer a few months ago, is now at U of M because the cancer has spread to her brain and there is a very poor prognosis. She is basically at U of M to receive treatment that will alleviate her discomfort.

and this:
a family from our church lost there little boy to Zelwegger's syndrome last year and gave birth to a beautiful baby girl this past December. I just found out that this baby has the same congenital syndrome - with a better prognosis - but it's rare to live past 2 years.

Everywhere I turn there are issues and challenges...and yes, blessings and amazing things, too. But, it is truly hard to feel grateful at times. I know how lucky I am to have a home, healthy and happy children, an education and a future. But, geeze,,,my husband and I really don't get along much at all and we don't see eye to eye on much of anything. Home feels like a battle field at times. There are lots of reasons why and I do plan on getting help for it: help in understanding what is going on, what I do to contribute to the problems and what we can do to make things work.

That's it for now...I needed to get that off of my chest.

(almost) Wordless Wednesday

Lauren and Marge - we "heart" her. She works with LoLo on hearing skills. Lauren absolutely adores her and if you met Marge, you would know why!



















Lauren wearing her beautiful hand-me-down dress from Naomi; her friend with Ds from Dundee.


Happy, Happy Lauren! She LOVES the camera! check out the bangs! Who would do that to their child?

Have you even seen anyone this happy with a bottle?











Just my cute girl~

not too much to say but wanted to let you in on the fact that 1. I'm trying to get rid of those ridiculous ads that show up on my blog. It's not as easy as you think to undo them.

Favorite things - LoLo style

Lauren has been up to lots lately but I'm mostly interested in sharing with you some of her favorite things as I think they may give you a window into her soul.

Puffins cereal
throwing things
chewing on my toothbrush
watching us play frisbee (this cracks her up)
bubbles
pulling the cat's tail
food, glorious food
her sister, Ada
stacking blocks (she's up to 7)
flipping through books
wagging her finger at us, mocking our " No, No Lauren"

Lauren is a bundle of energy and emotions. Don't mess with her unless you are prepared to deal with the consequences. Lauren has feelings and expressions and needs and wants and desires. She is tiny and mightly and can hold her own. She gets the attention of all around her (picture her giving high 5's to my son's entire soccer team today). There is no stopping this little lady.
And that is just the way we like it....

Toddlers and Tiaras

A.K.A. Crazy Mothers on Parade A.K.A.See you on Springer in 20 years
I am Assuming that anyone reading my blog would not also be a fan of this brand of child rearing (or abuse)... I was flipping between Chopped and this show last night and could barely watch it without wanting to hurl something, perhaps my dinner, at the T.V. It was like a train wreck - you know it's bad and painful and horrible, but you still want to see the end result.

On Toddlers and Tiara's, perfectly typical little kids are made into Star-Lettes and Boy-Toys. They primp, pose and parade around the stage, at the command of their parents. Do they want to please their parents? Of course they do? Do they do what their parent's tell them to do? Mostly, yes, but not all of the time. And when they don't, oh boy, look out!

It's natural for some little girls to play dress up, put sparkly powder on their faces and act out little dance routines. Signing them up to do it for a prize is ...well, kinda wacky. It's like signing up your 2-year old for a pie eating contest. Sure, they'll love the pie, but is it necessary to find out how much pie they can eat?

On last night's episode were 2 brothers (aged 2 and 3) and the mother who was very passive-aggressively 'encouraging' them to perform. She actually went onto stage with them and told them each thing they had to do. These poor kids didn't know the stage from their bedroom floor but Mom was there acting like this was important for their development and success as a human being. They tried so hard to please their Mommy - and that seemed to be the point; to give these parents, through their children, something they never had themselves: unconditional love and regard.

As a school counselor-in-training, I find this so disturbing. Every day, I see kids who have lost their parents, have a parent in prison, are dealing with neglect and abuse and have to experience things that would stop some adults in their tracks. I live in a typical, medium-sized community and yet, even here, there is so much pain and sadness caused by the randomness and uncertainty and unpredictability of life.

These pageant parents much believe that what their doing is okay, and maybe even great. I just think it's a shame that they don't see their children as beautiful enough, smart enough, talented enough or charming enough just as they are....without spray-on tanning, pancake makeup and revealing clothing.

anyway, those are my thoughts....