Happy Turkey Day!

Yesterday, the children and I took numerous meals from the Madison HospiceCare office to the Janesville office, where staff members delivered the meals to individual patients and their families.  Not that it was any hardship for the kids.  We went into the kitchen to pick up the meals and talk about spoiling!!  Cookies, juice, and total fawning over the kids.  Have I mentioned how lucky I am in BOTH of my work environments?

We went to my mom's later, where she was meeting with a relator--to start getting the house ready for sale.  So, yes, mom is planning the big move to Madison, if all goes right.  House on the market after the first of the year.  Anyone interested in a 4 bedroom, 2 bath house in Janesville?  Huge yard too!

Today Ted is doing his usual cooking for Thanksgiving.  I'm a good assistant and stay the heck out of his way.  Just do the pre-holiday buying (which I didn't have to do too much this year) and then I go to work.  With much relief I'm going to work--the kids are bouncing off the walls.  I predict a long post meal walk--possibly a playground visit!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!   

I'm Disgusted

So Redbook--in their November issue--published an article on what is the right-size family.  Numerous families presented--all biological and blended families!  In November--National Adoption Month.  What a slap in the face!  So, I sent off a nice little email--letting them know that not all families are biological--in fact, a significant amount of their target market are adoptive parents or in some way adoption has touched their lives.  And perhaps not to exclude us.  After all biology is not what makes a family.   The choice to love is what makes a family.  

Blindside

Wow--just watched the preview that was put out on the Blindside--which coming out this weekend.  Incredible.  Besides the fact that I like Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw--it just looks so awesome.  I'd probably cry the whole movie.

 

Middle of November.  Humm.  I have to tell you that the weather is pretty crappy right now.   But I have alot to look forward to.  First off--I have vacation this next week.  Silly me--I picked up extra hours at HospiceCare.  But that's ok.  For some reason, the stress level there is different--but I just come in and do my job and I'm outta there.  Tuesday I get my teeth drilled on.  I've stressed myself out so much that I've pretty much destroyed the right side of my mouth.  Is that crazy?  Due to stress I've wrecked my teeth but in order to pay for those teeth, I have to work more.  Crazy!

Off of me now.  The kids are doing great.  So far--no more sickness!  Knock on wood.  Julia is going to compete in the Badger State games.  Pretty cool!  And she's getting ready for her first communion.  We are definitely doing that with her class, but she has her retreat in January.  She's growing up so fast.  Rauan is still his normal self.  The temper tantrums are picking up again.  I'm not sure if that is growing pains or what.  The morning of the social worker visit for our post placement report what does Rauan do but get into a fight with his brother and shove him into a wall--causing Chewie to hit his head.  Unacceptable.  To his room until daddy got home.  Then a talk.  Oh well, we've been through this before with him and actually its improving.  He is slacking on his schoolwork too--"it's boring".  The boy is too damn smart.  Well little boy don't speak too soon--Sr. Eileen will give you a challenge.  Chewie--what can I say?  Growing and growing!  Loves school, loves his friends, loves his life.  But today while at his brother's hockey game, he decided that taking off without saying anything to mommy was ok.  Then--I catch him drawing on the video games with a marker--tagging.  I made him clean it and then it was out to the van to wait for everyone.  Home to bed.  Ahhhh, boys.   The joys and the challenges.

So, I ordered the Christmas cards.  Playing with my camera is fun--and its fun mixing things up with the iphoto on the MacBook.  The first photo is from Halloween when I had their little photo session.  Manipulated it a bit.  What do you think?  The second one is Chewie eating an Airhead at Rauan's hockey game.  The kids love those things.  Yuck.  Last one is Rauan waiting to go on the ice.  Thought it was kinda cool.

Have a good week!  

Did you know.....

that November is National Adoption Month??  I was reminded of that today when I received a letter from Lutheran Social Services--the organization which we went through to adopt Julia.  For me it's even more significant because our anniversary is in November.  And the 4th Saturday of November is National Adoption Day--again significant because our anniversary is the 4th Saturday of the month--which of course changes--but this year its November 21.  Humm--even though we didn't plan it (original plan was for a week before but the reception hall wasn't available) do you think that this was the "plan" all along?  I think so.  

So celebrate!  Hopefully your community has an Adoption celebration.  Madison doesn't have much--but we'll celebrate in our own way with our own children--who came to us through the wonderful gift of adoption.

Give me a break!

As you can probably guess this is going to be another venting session--so stop here if you don't want to hear about it.

This morning started off crappy to say the least.  I'm fighting to get the wireless straightened out--and I'm the first to admit I'm not tech savvy.  Some kind person decided that honking their horn before 6 in the morning was a good thing.  I brought the milk in from the cooler and one of the milk bottles broke--whole bottle of fresh milk all over.  Stepped in cat puke in my bare feet, Ted forgot his ID badge and I had to take it to him--all while getting my slow slow slow children ready for school.  Normal day in paradise, right?  Get home, settle in with a fresh cup of coffee and get ready to fight the wireless AGAIN!  So what's the first thing I see--apparently a mom from school decided that our teacher isn't smart enough to do anything and wrote her an email that her daughter said my daughter spit on her--and had she contacted me about it yet.  Pardon me here while my eyes roll.  First of all--we pay for this school--I certainly trust the teacher's judgement.  If she needs to call me--she knows how to get me asap.  Second of all, mom--you have my phone number and email address--don't you think you can contact me without adding to the teacher's burden--this is a parental issue that should be discussed between two ADULT parents.  Third of all, remember there is always two sides to every story.  Your daughter isn't an angel--but me being an educated, responsible adult--works with my daughter so she can learn to solve the problems.  After all, I'm not always going to be there.  Fourth, these are 7 year old girls--they do stupid things.  Please refer to my previous comment--educate so they can learn to think for themselves.  

Ok, mom--I know you have your own concerns.  But you are educated--highly educated I might add.  You know what elementary school children are like.  What would you think if a parent keep coming to you with every single little thing?  Yeah I thought so.  I know you are worried about germs and infections--rightly so, I might add.  Remember what I do for a living?  I've seen what can happen.  That's why I vaccinate my children and teach them hand-washing, coughing into their sleeve, etc.  Also, refer back a couple of my posts--I'm pretty worried too.  Healthy 7 year old children don't get shingles.  If you are that concerned about germs--I suggest you home school.  Of course, you can be walking through the grocery store and someone can sneeze.  Again--proper precautions.  

So, mom, relax.  Let your child be a child and help her figure things out--instead of her running to you all the time to figure stuff out.  Breath a little bit for goodness sake.  This too shall pass.

Oh and by the way--Julia doesn't spit.  If it was Rauan--yeah possible.  But my daughter is kind of a weird one in that way.  She's had enough dental issues that spitting is almost impossible. Drooling yes.  Spitting no.

Halloween, birthday parties and all that

It has been an interesting couple of weeks around here.  Besides the normal craziness, I developed a rather nasty case of the flu.  To top it off, the kids killed the computer.  So here I was home, going stir crazy because I had a fever, but wasn't really that sick, no computer and then the kids were home for a couple of days with no school (teacher conferences).  HAHA--Ted had to do the parent teacher conferences.  Sr. Eileen said that Rauan--while and extremely sweet little boy, has a bit of a smart mouth.  Hummmm--imagine that???  

Obviously--a new computer in our house.  I'm loving the MacBook.  We were planning on buying a laptop anyways--this just got moved up a few months.  We have to take the desktop hard drive in and get everything copied--then redo the whole system.  I don't want to lose those pictures.  Heaven only knows how much that's going cost or how long it will take.  Damn kids.  They WILL NOT touch the computers ever again!  Most definitely not the MacBook.  

So, Saturday, was cousin Henry's birthday.  Henry and my kids absolutely love each other.  I'm so happy.  I want them to be close.  Of course we did have to endure Chuck E. Cheese's on a Saturday--but we survived.  Then out to try and get some pictures of the kids for the Christmas card.  The leaves never really changed color this fall--it was so windy and rainy--I swear the leaves just turned brown and dropped.  I just want something half decent to try and record the kids' growth.  Plus--we lost all the pictures right now--so I have to get some photos ready for the upcoming post placement report!  Then Saturday evening--Halloween and trick or treat.  We had Daphne (Scooby Doo), Evil pumpkin, and Wolverine.  Julia says no wigs next year--we'll see.

For some reason I can't type under the photos to talk about them.  And I can't get rid of the underline and blue.  Hummm--more things to play with.  Anyways, first photo is one of my "fall" pictures"--of course the one with Bubba's eyes closed.  Oh well.  Second one is Julia and Henry--this one just cracked me up.  It was a jet rider game--and both of their little cheeks were just jiggling away!  Everyone cracked up watching them!  Third one is my beautiful baby sister with her beautiful baby boy--playing Deal or No Deal.  Interesting game concept.  Then Mr. Handsome.  Need I say more--except that is the happiest kid I think I have ever seen.  Last photo--trick or treating.  Some hair there huh?