I have an interview!

I'm so excited. I've been looking for a second job to help replace the savings that we used while I was out, plus if we want to go to the "princess castle" next year I need to save up. While there are plenty of nursing jobs out there, most want you to work with just them and/or more then 1 shift a week. Yes, I am insane, but not completely crazy. I do need sleep occasionally. Well, I've had a friend who has tried to get me to look into her current organization for a while. So, I did and I have an interview next Thursday. When I talked to the person on the phone, she sounded very willing to work with my schedule and having me work 1 shift per week. So, some more additional prayers please! I really want this to work. I love peds--but it isn't reliably giving me the extra hours I need. This would be completely different--so I think that would be a good change for me.

Hyper kids

I'm sitting here listening to slamming doors, yelling, running feets wondering if I should go and intervene. And this is more then 24 hours before the sugar rush starts. Huummmm, now I hear a door bouncing against the wall--well there's the reason I'm going to be painting during my 5 days off in December! I don't hear anyone jumping on the beds.....yet! OOOhhhh--a screech! And this folks, is why I travelled to 3 different countries in less then 5 years and am in some serious debt. Would I change it??? HELL NO!!!! Now I go find a big mess. I don't expect a reasonably clean house for at least another 10 years. Furballs, toys, clothes, books, and newspapers (although that's Ted--so at least another 50 years of that God willing!).

Surgery scheduled for Alihan

Just got the call today. The fabulous Dr. Mount will be back from her Vietnam trip and performing Alihan's revision on January 28, 2009. While he's under, he is going to get his ears and teeth checked and also circumcised. No flames please---it is my husband's decision and I've learned to pick and chose my battles. I don't have the equipment so I can't relate. Anyways, my primary doctor is back--now part of UW health and I set up his pre-op. I think highly of the primary that is in Cambridge and she was awesome to me--and up for sainthood after dealing with me--but my doctor is now less then a mile from my house. And she's been my doctor since 1997. Makes sense.
Anyways, please start saying prayers that there are no snotty noses, snowstorms or anything else that holds up this surgery. He needs it--and really needs that nostril straightened out to help with his breathing!

My comments

First I have to say the new washing machine is AWESOME!! I've just folded clothes, since I worked last night Ted did alot of washing. They smell so good! I wonder if that machine had been pooping out on us and the fleas just finally did it in. Oh--and there is a special machine cleaning thing on it--one a month, throw bleach in and it does a special cycle to keep the tub clean. With my sports crazy family--this is just a wonderful bonus.
Ted's previous post. Humm what can I say--especially since we have replaced almost every single appliance in this house! I do think Madison has an unfair division. All one has to do is read the paper and the west side certainly gets more pluses--the schools on the west side are ranked highly and get the "bonus" monies available. It's an unfortunate set of circumstances. And to be perfectly honest--while it would benefit the children in their sports to move to the west side--I really can't see the benefit to me and Ted. And let's be honest--are the children really going to make their living at sports?? Possibly but not likely. My concern is for their education. That's how they will make their living--getting a good education. Now, is staying on the eastside going to benefit them? Who knows? We don't have to make a decision on that for a few more years--St. Dennis goes through 8th grade. And--who knows what is going to happen to the economy and Ted's job? Let's be honest--I can work anywhere. Ted can't. His job is very specific. If something happens--we have to go where he can be employed. Anything can happen. As we have found out with our appliances!
The eastside has some wonderful features. We are close to the lakes and their benefits. We are close to Woodmans--and with the boys I frequently am at the grocery store! We are close to both Ted's work and the interstate. That was important to me when we moved here. I can be on the interstate and in Janesville in 35 minutes flat. With the majority of our family there, and in particular with the recent health issues, that's a priority. And, with the exception of one neighbor, we are blessed with some incredible neighbors. Common, normal, saying poop (or the other term) when you step in it neighbors. No one tries to out do the Jones here, we're all just living our lives to the best of our ability.
So, back to Ted's original post--is it fair and free in this country? No--it isn't. But it's what we have and what we make of it. Freedom isn't free--but it's alot better then the options--some of which could be total chaos. Compromise is what it all about and that's what we do best.

Are the kids really free...?

Since Alihan's former roommate Aidai is on her way home to land of the free(?) it got me thinking about how free these kids really are. Ok in the orphanage they were told what to do and when to do it(i.e Go potty now!). We strongly believe Alihan was abused in more ways than one. Since the boys are now playing hockey I really started to wonder why do we have so many rules for American kids. Many of you know that Julia figure skates. Well the only place she can do that is on the West side of Madison. Unfortunately when we looked for a house 9 years ago, we bought one on the East side close to my job. Well Ok no big deal, we will just sign the boys up for the West Madison hockey club so they can skate at the same Ice arena to make this work. Problem solved, right? Well no so fast, the Wisconsin youth hockey assoc. rules state the boys would need to skate on the east side(Hs district) if they want to join a competitive team. Great now they are being told what to do again, even though there is no way in heck they will ever attend an east side HS. We will move some day, but unfortunately the govt. screwed up the economy. Oh I could always request a release for the boys, but it sounds like it would need to be a really cold day before that is granted. So really, how free are American kids? The boys have made some good friends playing hockey and in a couple of years I will have to say: "Sorry guys, but someone made a rule and nobody really cares about how you feel!" If you ask me, parents have ruined youth sports! You have parents pushing their 6 year old to specialize in something year round to beat the 1-1,000,000 odds and be the next pro superstar, instead of just letting the child enjoy their childhood. I just shake my head, because 6 months ago Alihan was labeled as being an 'orphan', so now he comes to the US and is labeled by what side of town his parents live on. Nice! Some of this PO's me, because I have met some incredible parents in the hockey club. There have been a few that have gone out of their way to be helpful and I am really going to miss them when we are forced to leave the club. So really, how free are the kids?

I have noticed a bunch of people lurking again, some in Madison even. What do people think, am I wrong? Do we think that all these rules will somehow yield a better child than others from another country?

Oh yeah, I took over the blog again...........
Sounds like Aidai will be home soon, hopefully her mother had a better trip than the nightmare from HE-double-hockey stix I had with the facilitators..............

Ahhh C'mon now!

So, Loki has fleas. Which isn't a crisis of itself--but as I'm frantically washing stuff, the washer starts to smell. Humm what's that? Well I figured it out when I went to take the couch cover out and the tub is full of water and it won't do nothing. Dead motor. For God's sake! Can we finally have some good luck here? This is just getting to the point of ridiculous. So, the visa card got used again. I'm sure they are loving me. The new washer arrives tomorrow--cheaper to buy a new one then replace the motor on this one (which would have run around $400). Ummm--anyone have a direct connection to God cause I think God isn't listening to me anymore--or just trying to see how far I can be pushed before I have a breakdown. Now--after I've worked here at home--I'm going to work.

Can you see me blushing???

In order to be home for Ted's birthday I have totally deprived myself on sleep--working last night until almost midnight, sleeping a few hours and being back at work at 7 am for a class. A computer class no less. We didn't have to worry about falling asleep in class though d/t Janiece and her stupidity! The instructor at the start of class says please turn cell phones and pagers off or to vibrate. No worries--my phone doesn't work in the basement. Usually (see where I'm going??) About an hour into class--as we are all struggling to stay awake (at least I was!) the phone starts to ring. Guns N Roses. Welcome to the Jungle. Did I mention that I have turned the ringer up as high as it will go because I can't hear it over the kids??? Did I mention that the nursing director for the peds hospital is sitting directly in front of me?? SHIT!!!!! So, I grabbed the phone and left--mumbling "I'm sorry" on the way out. My co-worker sitting next to me--well I think she was laughing her ass off. So- Ted couldn't find his keys. Couldn't even get into the truck, muchless drive the kids to school and himself to work. Might I mention it is fricking freezing here in Madison right now?? Yes, Janiece has both sets of keys and can't leave. I seriously thought of calling a taxi. Luckily, my mom forgot to take the carset out of her car and and we have an old crappy one in the garage (not crappy that it doesn't work--just without cushions, etc). So, mom loads the kids in her car, takes them to school, comes back for Ted and Alihan and buzzes him to work. All the while, I'm back in class trying to pretend I'm not that quiet nurse in the background who has Guns N Roses as her ringtone. There goes my image.

Hockey Pics

As promised, the boys hockey pics

A few pictures to enjoy. Chewie enjoying his first hay ride--literally hay, horses and a really bumpy ride--to the pumpkin patch. We met our friends Michelle and her children Levi and Colton there and made our way through the farm. There's a HUGE corn maze which we made our way through and the children played and played. All, except me (the driver) fell asleep on the way home. Now, if we can just not have rain on Tuesday and Friday--then everyone can do their class pumpkin patch visit!

No pumpkin patch

Well, all my worrying was for nothing. It was raining and raining hard this am. I hadn't heard by 8:30--and Rauan's old boots didn't fit Alihan (when did his feet grow???), so I ran to Farm and Fleet to buy some boots for him. Can you believe he is in a size 12 already???When he came home 6 months ago he was wearing a size 8! Anyways, while I was out, the preschool called. The pumpkin patch told them not to come! So, he is going next Friday, the 24th.
It was deary here today, so I called Ted and after I picked up the boys, we went out to lunch. Times it right--Tumbleweeds(it Tex-Mex) does kid's meals for 99cents on Wednesday! The boys loved it.
Julia recovered--school today and no problems with skating. Mommmy driving on the beltline is another situation although. Now I know why I work an off shift job! I told Ted if we move and the skating continues--it's going to be close enough so I don't have to drive that awful beltline!
Back to work tomorrow. I'll get some hockey pictures up later!

My sick family

I really really want the kids to get better. I'm dealing with sick kids at home, then sick kids at work. This is a bad precursor for this winter. They are scheduled for flu shots on Oct. 30, the first day our clinic is offering them, but I'm wondering if that is going to be too late. Julia seems to be better. We're going to try school tomorrow and then her skating lesson. She only spiked her temp once early today and since then she's been bouncing off the walls. It lasted for about 48hours with Rauan--so if it holds true she'll be perfectly fine tomorrow. The one I'm worried about is Alihan. It's the preschool pumpkin patch visit and Ted is taking him. He's excited about going someplace with daddy, but I don't know if he gets the whole pumpkin patch field trip thing. We try to rotate the field trips so at least one parent attends. This is why I work PM shift. If I'm needed at school, I can do it. So, a few prayers please that is Alihan is going to get sick--it holds off until tomorrow night! I'm excited for him to have this opportunity. Ted has promised to take lots of pictures!
Elizabeth and Maria have picked up their baby girls--ok Aidai isn't a baby, but once your child always your baby! I'm so excited for them. I remember that thrill --combo of excitement and nausea--when I got Julia and Rauan. We all know Ted's feelings with his "birthing" experience (there was a loud very unlady like snort from me with this statement!). Alihan is sending a present to his orphanage buddy and he is so excited.
I have to comment, Hilary has noted the compassion in her children. Last night, while holding feverish Julia, I was reading a magazine and there was an ad for Smile Train with a lovely girl in the picture with a rather large cleft. Holy moly, did I get the questions then! She can't understand why the parents didn't fix the girl's lip, why is the medical system bad, etc etc. From the mouths of babes! Do you think it's because our children have been exposed to this other part of the world--the not so innocent part? Julia asked me again this morning about the little girl and wanted to know if I could go and fix her. I can only wish. Someday. Right now I feel very powerless. I want to do something, but what, how, where, when. I hope the answers will show themselves.

Whys and hows?

I'm not sure why I my thinking has turned into questions. Perhaps my ovaries are kicking back or maybe it's the multitude of sick children I've dealt with lately--both at work and home. Poor Rauan had the nasty flu bug (vomit and 103.4 temps) and now Julia is feverish. The big kid (Ted) is recovering from a nasty cold. Alihan--fingers crossed!

Why I mention this, when things finally slowed a bit at work last night, I showed off the wonderful family pictures we had taken. A coworker asked "how did you ever get your husband to go along with this?" It took me back for a minute because there really was no "going along with it" for Ted. He expressed apprehension before Julia's adoption--more so because he had never changed a diaper before--but the cleft issue was minor. He held faith in that the cleft could be corrected and her hand--well whatever. We would get that figured out.

Ted and I have always been opposites in so many ways. Our upbringings were very different--but similar in the most important ways. Family is first.

Ted grew up in a family filled with sports. My family--not so much. We spent our time at museums, parks, visiting family. Ted's--from what I gather--ice skating, hockey, football. Totally different. I grew up Catholic--catholic schools, church every Sunday, church activities during the week. It was the way it was. Ted went through RCIA in the early 90s, well into his 20s. I was a total geek in high school, worked through school (high school, college--both times!), and didn't really do the party circuit too much (if at all). Ted, on the other hand, sports guy in high school, sports in college, did the typical drinking, partying, girls and stumbling into class hungover. I'm glad I didn't know him then!

But then Ted grew up and so did I. Still different personalities. I'm a go to it person, Ted needs to be motivated. Well into my first nursing position, I met a nurse who was hilarious. Nightshift--you do what you have to stay awake. She talked me into meeting her brother--who was also younger then me I might add. I did and that was that. I called Chari the next day and told her I met the guy I was going to marry. Ted needed a little more convincing, but a year later we were engaged. 11 months after that we were married. Ten years later here we are.

I mention all of this because while there are differences--strong ones at that--I feel we embraces each others differences. Obviously I've become the armchair sports girl. With the checkbook. Ted and I mutually developed a love for the outdoors and the majority of our summers and weekends off are spent biking, hiking and just being outside. Ted's been to some of those museums I spent my childhood in. We've grown together. The other important thing to mention is both of us love children and family. Ted got tested pretty quickly after we met. My sister's children love Uncle Teddy to this day and Chari gave birth to Zachery soon after that fateful phone call. That Memorial Day weekend (1997) Ted got my "other family" approval. I have a picture of Ted laying on a bed face to face with Zachery. Zachery, in the middle of our wedding ceremony announce in church that he went poop! Ahhh, the memories! I also have precious photos of Julia and Zachery in a bathtub together and as Zachery got older, him dragging her around on a tractor ride. There are pictures also of my nieces and nephew(who joined us after we married) who spent weekends with us before and after we had the children. We now have a niece and nephew that are younger then our children. While Amelia is too young to tell us, Henry delights in saying he loves his cousins and they love him.

What I am saying is there was no convincing of my husband. He agreed adoption was the way to start our family. The decisions making involved the wheres and whats--domestic, international--once we found out about Julia, then can we do this special need and why the heck not? Once Julia was home, there was no going back to biological children or non cleft-affected children. If God wanted us to have biological children it would happen. We wanted children and a family. God gave us a means to be more then parents. God gave us the ability to be advocates for healthcare for cleft-affected children and internationally adopted special needs. God gave us the ability to be more then ourselves.

P.S. And Ted is the better parent. Together we are a great team.

P.S.S. And some photos of the darlings. Rauan was sacked out on the couch but Miss Julia posed in her skating outfit and Alihan showed off his shoulder pads, jersey and breezers--six years ago I would have no ideas what breezers were!

A year ago

I can't believe it. I was just looking back through old emails and I realized that on Oct. 5 we found out about Alihan (remember that phone call, Mom?) and then today (Oct. 7), Ted and I officially threw our hats into the adoption ring for the third time. It would be a week or so until our papers went out--had to get the money issues settled etc., but this was really the day that we decided. What a year it has been! And now, our little man has been home for 6 months, is in preschool, and today daycare, is starting to ice skate(hockey baby!) and is such a happy guy. And we are a family of 5--plus 2 dogs and 3 cats just to make it more interesting!

Another week gone

And another busy one. I ended up working an extra 1/2 shift Thursday night--turning it into a 12 hour shift--a super busy one. I don't function too well on just a few hours of sleep. But we got a hole in a tire of the van, meaning the tire had to be replaced. At this point, I just shake my head!

Julia and Rauan had their hunger walk at school on Friday. Grandma came up and cheered them on. Chewie's school had a fire department visit about fire safety. He did well--but one of the firemen is Lance, Kelsey's dad. He's knows him very well and I think that makes a big difference. Saturday was the Fall Frolic at MIA that Ted and the Polar cap board planned for the hockey skaters. I seriously couldn't get the kids off the ice--except for food! Chewie is one determined little boy! He kept pushing himself around and actually did some "stepping", without the walker. Julia and Rauan coached him around the ice--it was so cute!

Ted took Julia and Rauan out skating again today. He couldn't get Rauan off the ice! He is just like his dad. Julia starts Tuesday with her new coach and she is joining the figure skating club. So, now we start the competitions. I'm going to try to stick it out for as long as I can--but I think eventually I'm going to have to find a position that I'm not working weekends anymore. I love the pediatric floor--but there is the reality of hockey games and skating competitions. Time will tell.

School is going great for the kids. Julia is starting in the Title 1 program again. She just doesn't want to read. I'm not sure if it's stubborness, short-term memory issues, a learning disability, or she just isn't interested. I did notice something tonight with her and I'm going to get her eyes checked--just in case. Then there is Rauan. What can I say? All I can say is that I'm glad we are in Madison because there is so many ways we can challenge him! Chewie just loves school, he loves daycare and he loves hockey/ice skating. He's a happy boy.

Oh Miss Belle is now crated while we are gone. She ate the couch, she ate my recliner, she pulled down my new curtains and snagged them so bad I have to replace them. This was all in one afternoon. Yeah--she needed to be crated. The couch is now on the side of the road. Ted's parents are replacing their couch--so we got their old one. I bought a slip cover for that--easy to wash! The recliner is now "broken in". I'm not going to replace anything until she is done chewing and the kids are done with their jumping/running/destruction stage. When does that happen???