MOVING

Yup, the time has come to put this blog to bed. Thank you for following along. It's been great fun, showing off my babies!

If you are interested, you can catch all of us at our homesteadin' blog at:

http://hallland1896.blogspot.com/

JUST ANOTHER ONE

We're in week #2 of our school routine...and it's going pretty well. Ry has been eager to get up and get going...although she did tell me this morning that the day is just too long and she'd like to come home earlier every day. Hmmmm. I have also noticed that the "family unit" isn't coming now for drop-off...it's just the mom or just the dad. Makes for a smaller group but it's still chaotic in that yard.

I gave the nod to one of the Dad's yesterday, whose wife is quite pregnant. I asked if he was getting excited about the new baby coming. This is where my happy mood ended....
He says, "nah, it's just another one." Just what do you say to that statement? Oh I know what I WANTED to say but that just wouldn't be right!!! As I'm imagining a dozen different ways to rip him a new one...I put on my PC face and asked if they knew "what" they were having. He said they didn't know for sure but that it seemed similar to the boys'. When I mentioned no more pink booties, he was adamant that they didn't want any more girls because....wait for it....because they couldn't carry on the family name!!! Geez where have I heard this archaic bull before?!

At this point someone joined the conversation and it turned to sore knees and forklift driving. I hugged Baby J just a little tighter and walked away.....

I don't know if I'm more mad or sad about this latest encounter with another "father of the year".

Just when I think I'm totally "over" not being able to have another baby....no wait that's not right... Just when I think I'm totally "over" the fact that someone deemed us too old to parent another child, I am reminded just how unfair the situation is. Ohhhh I'll cry for the next couple of days and then get "over" it yet again. But always in the back of my mind I wonder where "they" are. You know who I'm talking about....the "they" who checked our health, scrutinized our financial statements, toured our home....all for the "good of the child." Where are "they" when it comes to this unborn child?!?! Where??

VISIT

My sister, a.k.a Auntie Bev, came for a visit last week. It was really good to see her again! For those of you who don't know, Auntie Bev traveled to China with me to receive Baby J almost 2 years ago!! How time flies....

She arrived to excited squeals:

They played:

A little differently then:

They talked about photography:

Just like in China:

J helped her pack:

And made smoochie faces:

One last hug:

.....and she was gone! We miss you already, Auntie Bev!

NEW YEAR, NEW TRADITIONS

Day 3 into the new school year and Rylee is doing great!! We're very proud of her! At the end of last year, I wasn't so sure that she should do a whole school day, but she's handling it quite well. We will continue to pick her up 20 minutes early though, just because she's on overload by the end of the day and can't handle all the chaos of several hundred kids leaving the school at once.

Okay, so on to our new tradition....actually a stolen idea from Penny, but hey I would like to be a memorable Mom too! lol Every day after school, Jayme and I prepare a special "snackie snack" for the big girl. It's been fun coming up with ideas and I'm hoping that Rylee will remember this when she's older.

Yesterday's fare - veggies and dip with a mango smoothie:


The mango smoothie was just orange juice, a banana, frozen mango chunks and some ice. It was a real hit!!

If you have any ideas for "snackie snack" time, please I beg of you, write me!! My creative juices will be all dried up by October, I'm sure! lol

EAT, EAT, EAT

Big Daddy's lunch bag:

Nope, that monstrous bag belongs to a very cute First Grader, who eats like a teenage boy. I've tried to pack/squish it all into one of those "cutesy" Dora lunch bags, but forget it!

....and she's still hungry when she gets home!!

Day 2 sporting their "hippy dippy" outfits:

FIRST DAY OF GRADE 1

First day of Grade 1:

Noooo, you can't go with Ry today:

Rylee's Helper:

Safely heading home with Big Daddy:

....AND THEN SHE WAS 6

I always told Ry that she had to turn 12 to get earrings, but somehow that got changed to 6. lol She's been sooooo very excited about hitting this milestone. So without further ado...the great earring adventure:

Numbing patches on her ears - getting ready to head out:


In the chair and removing the patches:


Ready, set:


Empty chair - where's Rylee??:


Sometime between pulling the patches off and marking a dot on her ear, she decided she would wait until she was 7....or was it 15? lol

Opening some gifts:

....and more gifts:

Eating some "worm" cake:

Just a couple more shots of her goofiness:

.....and then she was 6.

DORA

It's official - J is diaper-free!! Woohoo!! And to celebrate, she got some very sporty and very tiny Dora panties. She is soooo proud of those panties....she had to show 'em off. When Big Daddy got home, she ran full tilt to him, bent over and grabbed up the front of her little dress, with one hand, pulled it right over her head and yelled "yook Daddy, Doro pannies!!!" Last night we went to bed very late because she kept getting up and taking me to the potty - she was so worried about having an accident in her prized possession! Finally, I just put a diaper on her so she could relax and go to sleep...or she could relax and I COULD GO TO SLEEP! lol

So here's to Baby J....not so baby anymore! sigh

WALL OF FAME

Okay, it's more like a bi-fold door of fame at Grandma's house. lol








Not bad for a 5 year old...

12 MONTH REPORT

I know Penny is doing the math right now....yup, we're a little late with the report. lol

Anyway, Marie came to do the last report for Jayme to be sent to China. Of course "the last" of anything sends me to tears! lol It was a very funny feeling to be sitting across the table from Marie that night. She answered our call in April 2003 and agreed to do our homestudy for a China adoption. Here we were almost 6 years later, with 2 beautiful healthy little ones home...but it was "the last" time we'd be doing this!



Thank you Marie for doing such an awesome job for us!



And most importantly....thank you for making me a Mommy!!!

HELP WITH BAKING

We made bread yesterday.....what a mess!! lol

Jayme made a loaf and put it in the measuring cup to rise.

SNORING STORY

I'm not going to name names....but someone in this house snores like a truck driver! And Big Daddy snores even louder! lol In an attempt to remain happily married, Big Daddy purchased some of those "breathe right" strips...for himself. I must say, it's an improvement. Well, on the first night of the experiment, Rylee just needed to wear one like her Dad. The next morning, I hear this howling from the bathroom as Rylee was trying to remove the strip from her face. During the night it had attached itself to the bags of her eyes and man she was having a terrible time. I didn't know what to do....run for the camera because this was "one" of those moments or be "mom of the year" and help my child remove this oddity from her eyes.

So after I delicately removed the strip from her face, I gave her one of those "stern mom" talks. You know the kind..."don't ever do that again and yadda, yadda, yadda". Enough said!

A few nights later while we were hanging out in the playroom, Rylee was extra busy with her craft stuff. This is what she made out of paper and scotch tape:

She cracks me up!!

PAINT

I broke out the paints last night BEFORE bathtime...what a mess! Too funny!

On the paper please....don't get your sister started....

Yup, here we go....

Nooooooo, not your feet!

Look at the grin..

Great frog!

KIDS UPDATE

Big Daddy taught Rylee how to use the drawing toolbar in Excel about a month ago....here's a sampling of what she does with it:

She can use the free rotate, group/ungroup, draw freehand, 3D, etc. And she's fast as lightning!

At 5, I could draw a tree and a house. Actually that's as far as my artistic ability developed! lol

Rylee is a real mystery...just when I think that she's not even going to grasp a certain concept, she masters it! For example: a couple of days ago we were horsing around while counting. I'd start out using a funny voice and she'd follow along...well next thing I know we counted all the way to 100. She blows me away!

The other night after bathtime, we were standing in the mirror as usual - her directing what kind of hairdo she wanted - when I asked her what D-A-D spells. She looks up at the ceiling...I could see her drawing the letters in her mind...then she says "Dad." We went through a little list of words and she was getting them. I was so proud of her!

For the past couple of years Rylee didn't want me to read to her...I mean not at all. Books are a big thing in our house and she loved books until she turned 3. Anyway, now there's a fire in her to read all by herself. It's fantastic! She can read simple books now and there's no doubt that she'll master this too!

I have a feeling that she actually does grasp all the concepts but chooses not to show us what she can do. It's not important to her at the time. And I'm finally realizing that everything is on Rylee-time! lol

Jayme's speech is really coming along. She makes me laugh everyday! Her favourite sayings are:

Hold yer baby - when she wants me to pick her up.

Mommy talk a me - usually while we're in the car and she's in the backseat by herself.

Tadah - usually when she kicks her diaper off and runs naked! Now who taught her that?

She started counting this past month. 1,2,4,7,10,22,23 Yeah, we need to work on that.

I know, you're here for the pictures of the kids...I'll stop yapping! lol

DAY 4 OF SUGARLESS COFFEE

When I have my 2 cups of coffee in the morning, I add one of these:



Just a teaspoon I thought....no big deal. When I actually measured what is on that sugar spoon, it's more like 1 1/2 - 2 tsp.

Do you know how much that adds up to at the end of one year?

That's right...over 20 pounds of sugar. I almost fainted! It's not the extra calories that I'm worried about...although shaving 7.7 pounds of body fat off my frame would excite me and I'm sure Big Daddy as well...it's just that it's SUGAR. That can't be good for a body! Now if I could just kick my chocolate addiction....hmmmm!

MONDAY

I had 4 wake-ups with J through the night...even had to move us both to another room to make sure everyone got some sleep. Then at 6am I wake up with the blackest, meanest headache I've ever had. You know the kind...the only way to get some relief is to upchuck. With every bloody heartbeat, I can feel the pounding in my brain. It was awful. Thankfully the kids slept through this part because I wouldn't have been able to deal with them. The sweats start, my mouth is salivating all on its own - interesting how our bodies work - then...nothing. Half an hour later, my headache starts to subside but I'm left with that bruised brain feeling. All this due to skipping sugar in my morning coffee? Bad case of refried beans? Or is it the beginning of round 2 of the super flu that kicked our asses during Christmas? Hmmm?! Gonna be a lonnnng day!

I had the usual small tiffs with Rylee -brush your teeth, eat your breakfast, get off the computer, let's get ready for school. We make the trek over to school - the cold air feels pretty good to me - helps with the nausea. I did manage to get a lie-down during J's nap today - that also helped. But I'm still feeling crappy!

3:20 rolls around and J happily gets into the backpack so we can go get Rylee from school. (insert ominous music here) The usual pleasantries with the other waiting parents are now out of the way and here comes Rylee. Uh oh, she has that glassy, unfocused look in her eye. She's a powderkeg and this is going to be tricky. Must get child home NOWWWW!

For those of you who don't know my family personally, Rylee has autism with a little bit of RAD thrown in for good measure! Fun, fun, fun.

I start talking to her, trying to distract her from this minefield of kids that we have to make our way through. Not working. She's yelling, "I'm not going home with Mom". She gets in line with some other kids who ride the bus. I tell her that if she gets on the bus, she'll go to a stranger's house. "I want to go to a stranger's house". That statement brings wide-eye stares from the other kids. The bus driver is looking at me. All of my tricks aren't working, she's defiant! I have to pull out the threats now in order to get her to move. She goes 30' and then veers off into another bunch of kids. I'm still talking...but she won't have any part of it. Then IT happened. Through all the commotion, a parent steps in between us and says "Is she yours?"

I'm an adoptive parent. I'm used to THAT question. I know I don't look anything like my children and yes they will have to deal with THAT one day in their own way.

But THAT question didn't come with the usual tone this time. She meant - are you sure you should be taking this child away from the school because it's obvious she doesn't have a connection with you. I'm feeling sick, I'm in distress, I could use some help here....all I can muster is a "yes".

Now she's running - towards the street - I can't catch her with Jayme in my backpack. I've resorted to yelling now...to stop! The crossing guard stops her in time - thank you Lil!! One more street to cross, one more wild tantrum while lying on the ground....almost home. She's adamant that she's going past our house and not going in...more screaming...she's in such a state I'm frantic that she'll dart into the street so I grab her coat to get her to stop in the driveway. She's kicking me and screaming at the top of her lungs. I'm sure we were quite the spectacle...but my fear for her safety was outweighing my desire to look sane.

We are finally in the house and within minutes she has stripped down to her underclothes and is doing her run/bounce off the furniture routine. She'll be fine...just needs to let it out. Me on the other hand....sick, exhausted from this latest outburst, emotional, crying over a sink of dishes, defeated!

It wasn't always like this...Ry and I were inseparable just 2 short years ago. She played in the sandbox, I played in the sandbox. She would colour, I would colour. We'd go to the park to play and have fun. There was a bond! I know there was a bond! Now everything is a fight. Every little detail has to be worked out before we do anything or go anywhere. It's an outburst if she gets the wrong coloured cup, the wrong ponytail holder, anything!! And just when I think I have the rules (her rules) straight, she changes them on me. I have become the person who she lashes out at...the person who washes her clothes and feeds her. She doesn't see me as her Mom. There are no "I love you's." I'm a caretaker with a specific purpose - tend to her needs only. And that's really hard to accept!

But Tuesday will be a better day....please God, let it be a better day!