Holiday pictures

Watching movies with Grandma.

In Christmas finery.

Mr. Snowman!

Jim and Liam...zoom zoom...

Oh, Canada!!

Well, I haven't been blogging much lately because we have been busy in Canada. It has been a winter wonderland, and we had a beautiful white Christmas. The kids surprised us by loving the snow. I thought they would like to look at it, but I didn't really think they would want to play in it much. I was wrong. Liam didn't want to come inside. He has been snowmobiling with Jim like crazy, and shoveling snow.

Natalie took a little bit longer to warm up to the snow, but even she didn't want to come in after building a snow man and a snow fort. They also got to go sledding with their cousins, and Dexter the bouncy puppy. Dexter was quite a hit. It took Natalie a good hour or so to stop shrieking at the top of her lungs, trying to make the puppy chase her through the house. Natalie is still talking about Dexter.

I will try to post some pictures soon!

The only down part of the whole trip has been that Jim and I were both a bit sick. I have had some sort of sinus infection that won't quit. And the kids luggage was lost for a good 3 days. But they finally found the bag, and I am feeling better. Grandma Helen has made us forget all of our ills with her beautiful Canadian Christmas. Both kids are sad about leaving.

Merry Christmas to Baby Owen too. He probably didn't celebrate, but we were thinking about him the whole trip, wondering if he is also looking at a white Christmas.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Christmas Reading

One of my favorite parts of gift giving at Christmas is picking out books. In the past I always bought a book for each of my nieces and nephews at Christmas. I used to think I was pretty good at it too, but I have to admit it is a lot harder to do that now (2 of them are 16! Don't know how that happened.).

So I have been turning my book buying traditions to my own children now. I try to buy a special book for all the big occasions - Christmas, birthday, etc. This year I am very proud of my picks. It was one of those times when I picked with care, but even so, I ended up with a book even more perfect than I anticipated. I glanced at the title and did a quick thumb-through of this one, but did not realize until we read it last night how exactly right it was. It is called "You're All My Favorites".

I picked it for the message. It is about how parents love all of their children equally even though they are different. What I didn't realize is that there are 3 baby bears in the story, the oldest is a boy, the middle one is a girl, and the youngest is a boy. Perfect!! I even called them Liam, Natalie, and Owen when I read it, and Liam just grinned from ear to ear. Now I refer to Liam as my "Favorite First Bear" and Natalie as my "Favorite Second Bear", and can't wait to call Owen my "Favorite Third Bear".

I also got the Star Wars Pop Up Guide to the Galaxy for Liam. Of course, a hit! It really is an amazing pop-up book - such incredible complexity in the pop-ups, complete with a Darth Vader vs Luke Skywalker duel with light-up light sabers (there is a battery in the book). Excellent.

The third one I gave to Natalie, although I have to admit this one was more for me. It is a new version of Puff the Magic Dragon, with a CD included. I love, love, loved the book and 45 record of Puff when I was little. I did forget that it made me cry. It still does. I think Liam was also trying to decide whether he should cry. But the new version of the book gives a bit happier ending as it shows a new little girl meeting Puff (maybe Jackie Paper's daughter?). All is happy again in Honalee. The illustrations are incredible, and some of the buildings in Honalee actually look almost Russian (onion domes).

In other news, we delivered a new-baby gift to a neighbor today, and Liam's face when he saw her (she is about a month old, and VERY cute) was like a kid in a candy store. Tonight before bed he told me "Mom. I wish we could have Mia. If we had a baby like Mia, I think I would cry." Not sure if this was a good thing, I asked why he would cry, and he said "Because she is SO cute. Why are babies so cute??" Awwwww. I told him to rest assured that Owen would be very, very cute as well. I think he still might want baby Mia, however. I love it that he can love Star Wars AND new babies. I think he will be a Renaissance man.

Let the Holidays Begin

Well, we have had the first of many Christmas celebrations already. Due to our vacation plans, we decided to do most of our gift opening this past weekend. Then Santa is due to come early...on Friday while Liam is at school. Then we will no doubt have another celebration in Canada. I guess this way it will seem like Christmas for a whole month (can be good or bad...depending on your point of view). The kids enjoyed the first celebration, but Natalie has been sick and Liam had a sleepover on Friday, so they were both tired. Can't seem to keep Natalie well, with a congested cough and runny nose. I thought she was over it, but apparently the extreme temperature swings (40 degrees in 24 hrs) have been bad. I am hoping she doesn't have an ear infection, but if I look at the statistics...we are traveling soon, so she will most likely have an infection of some sort while we travel. It never fails.

In other news, we are still waiting for our next travel dates to meet Owen (did I mention we had decided on Owen as the new baby's name??). I would like to have dates before Christmas. But we wait patiently (ha). Jim doesn't seem to be holding any grudges towards me for being so quick to dump him. When we realized his Canadian visa was going to hold us up, I very quickly (and without Jim's full agreement) asked the agency to let me travel alone. In my defense, it was an adrenalin-fueled moment of maternal desperation. I just wanted to go on that trip NOW no matter what. They wouldn't let me travel alone (not because of the danger, but because it is when you officially accept the referral, and they feel the decision needs to be made by both of us), and in hindsight it is probably for the best. Of course, I want Jim to be there and fully make the decision with me.

I hope in the back of Jim's mind he doesn't wonder now if I would always be so quick to disown him. He can probably picture us going through customers some day, and if he gets into trouble, I'll say "What Canadian? I don't know any Canadian! Never seen the man!!" Just like a scene from a drug-smuggling gone-wrong movie. Speaking of which...we watched the movie TransSiberian this weekend. It was...interesting. It did NOT make Jim want to ride a train in Siberia. :-) I wouldn't exactly recommend it for anyone traveling to Russia. But it wasn't a bad movie.

Something To Cheer Me Up

Natalie does have a way of cheering me up. (Liam does too, of course, but right now I'm having fun with my new video cam, and for the moment it's all about my Nattie).

She is such a bouncy little thing. I think sometimes she has springs on her feet. Every time we go out to eat she has to visit the restroom at least once, and every time I watch her walk in front of me, or holding onto my hand, and I laugh at the way she bounces and bounds to the restroom. She has also nearly floored a couple waiters as she bounds back out of the restroom, but that isn't quite so cute.

She also has a soundtrack to her life. She can be caught humming or singing softly to herself quite often. Lately her favorite is the tune to Where is Thumbkin (I think it is the same tune as Frere Jacques). And then there is the tune that plays whenever Darth Vader walks into the room (Liam found it quite hilarious when I pointed out to him what she was humming). And then at dinner there was her rendition of Tequila (only myself to blame here - for some reason I pulled up a video clip on YouTube of PeeWee Herman dancing and singing Tequila....do doo do do do do doo do...Tequila!! and showed it to the kids because I knew they would laugh).

Anyway, I do love her spirit.
And I am going to try and attach a couple clips of the young gymnast. She has been loving her independent class. But now I don't know what to do with myself since I just watch...so I am taking endless video. Oh yes, and notice the leopard skin leotard. It is a hand-me-down from a neighbor, and she just loves it. Believe it or not, she's not the only one wearing one.

Bah Humbug

Alternate title: What goes up, must come down (like my hopes, for one).

OK, so I know a lot of people prefer their adoption blogs to be all sunshine and roses, with never a negative word to be uttered. I respect that. So, for anyone who prefers sunshine and roses, please skip this post and just wait to read another time. You see, I'm not really a sunshine and roses kind of person - I have to work really hard at sunshine and roses, and I just don't have the energy right now. Plus, my blog does dual duty acting as therapy for me, so It's My Blog And I'll Cry If Want To. I will try, in the interest of not being a total Debbie Downer, to make it as humorous as I can (though not finding it funny right at the moment).

The Christmas trip to Russia is off. We are back to most likely traveling in February. It came down to a little thing called a visa to get into Russia, and the completely unexpected revelation by some that Jim is Canadian (who knew????) . You know, Jim has been Canadian for 41 years now and never tried to hide this fact EVER. And every piece of paperwork we have ever filled out has called him out as a die-hard Canuck. He even mentioned his love of hockey in his Homestudy bio (seriously...he wrote about this in his "about me" paragraph).

Yet somehow we received travel dates, changed all of our vacation plans and tickets, and booked flights to Russia without his Canadianism ever being an issue. Until yesterday. So...after a zillion airline ticket fees, 3 extra days added to our vacation trip, and 4 days spent convincing ourselves beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was the best possible thing that could happen for Trip 1, as well as God's grand plan....we are back to where we started...with only the addition of change fees, extra vacation days, about 100 new gray hairs, a new eye twitch, and a growing mental instability (kidding, Homestudy lady, kidding).

Yes, everything happens for a reason...blah blah blah blaaaaaah...

The thing is...it's our baby we're talking about. It's not like a college Biology class that you were too late to get into, and you say "oh I'll just take it next semester". It's our baby. And next semester seems very far away. And if this can happen now, who is to say something won't happen then...or between Trip 1 and 2... sigh... Are we going to get him home just in time to pay for college?

Trying to positive: We have extra days in Canada now, together with Liam and Natalie. We might go skiing. And sledding (or toboganning, as they say). Jim can rest assured that he will have phone and internet access for his year-end sales efforts. I have some more time to find the exact right hat and scarf (after a frantic weekend, I'm OK with boots and coat). By leaving for Canada on a 6:30am flight now, we'll have lots of time to see everyone on our first day in Canada! (OK, being sarcastic here...nothing is really positive about a 6:30am flight with 2 kids...no, I don't think they'll sleep on the plane).

I hope to post better news later and promise to be sunshine and roses at some point in time before I die or turn 50. I think I'll have to just work on getting a video snippet of Natalie doing gymastics on the blog to cheer me up. Cheers.

Christmas Surprise!!

The adoption process...wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, now GO GO GO NOW GO!

We had some exciting, unexpected, and somewhat terrifying news on Friday. After officially accepting our referral, several hours later our agency emailed us with the directions that we are to leave for Russia on Dec 21st. 2008. Exactly 2 weeks from today. Over Christmas.

Be still my heart.

I am now in full-on panic mode. I had not finished my Christmas shopping or prepared for the trip we had planned for Christmas, much less thought about preparing for Russia. As a little insight into my personality...I was able to make the decision to adopt a child internationally and bring a third person into our family with relative ease....trying to decide on what coat, boots, gloves, and clothes to wear to Siberia in December has been IMPOSSIBLE. I was at at the mall this weekend, paralyzed with indecision. Checking the temperature ratings of coats...debating about shorter, longer, or extra long, having been advised by our travel guide not to wear the bright yellow ski jacket that is the warmest thing I own. Jim, being the ever more rational one about these things, told me I was being silly because even though it is cold there it is not like we are going to go out for a hike or making snow angels or anything. I decide that he is probably right, and even if the coat is not rated for the exact temperature, I can make up for it in layers.

Then tonight Jim pulled up the 10 day forecast for Novokutznetzk on Google. It is cold right now, but in the next 10 days is going to get significantly colder....if you consider -32F (at night) to be cold... (Insert expletive here!) Now I have to pull myself off the floor from my sudden faint and go back to comparing temperature ratings of boots and coats...

There is also the little issue of not being with Liam and Natalie on Christmas. I think we will actually be on a plane from Novo to Moscow on the 25th. I am trying not to think too hard about this aspect.

On the plus side, we are getting to meet Owen a lot earlier than we thought!

Oh yes, and a private note to God: You know, when I said that I wished you would drop a baby in my lap before the end of the year so that I would know it was meant to be...well, I get it...and I applaude your sense of humor.

Happy Birthday, Little One!

Happy Birthday, baby boy!

We know a lot can happen, and it's not over till it's over, but we are thinking about you today. Wishing you a happy First Birthday!

Wanting to tell you that we are hoping like crazy that you will be our new addition. I can't explain the excitement that the picture of your sweet little face has generated. Jim and Liam are both SO excited that you are a boy. I just fell in love with your face. Natalie doesn't really understand, but she was quite happy to eat your birthday cake today as we celebrated - she loved the blue icing.

Liam penned a sign that he taped to his bedroom door. It started off as a warning "No Babies Breaking Legos in This Room" (this is is his one big fear about babies in general). But then I think he felt bad for you, and amended it to read "Except Boy Babies". So apparently he is only excluding Natalie from breaking Legos in his room.

We are sending you our hopes and prayers on your birthday.

Oh yes, and Liam drew a new picture of the family that includes you in it already.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

We have a lot to give thanks for today. Not the least of which is that we enjoyed a wonderful meal with some good friends and neighbors. We missed family, but we still had some good company and good food.

We all listed 3 things we are thankful for, and Liam's list was: 1) My family, including Tigger, 2) Books, and 3) Star Wars video games.

Natalie's list was: 1) Family 2) My Farm Books (a little set of very simple books with pictures of farm animals, equipment, buildings, etc. that were given to Liam by Aunt Mary years ago - Natalie is currently obsessed with the farm books). and 3) Princesses.

Jim and I listed: Liam and Natalie, our extended family, and friends. Our warm, safe house which already has a Christmas tree decorated in the family room. And the potential addition of a new family member!!

We can't post too much information yet, and don't want to get too excited just yet (but of course that is impossible.) We have received a referral of a little boy, and without getting too excited (yeah right) I will just say that he is absolutely, impossibly adorable. He turns one in two days, and I so much wish we could celebrate it with him. We're keeping our fingers crossed that this one works out. And feeling very thankful this Thanksgiving!!

Letter to Santa

Liam sent his letter to Santa. I told him that we needed to tell Santa when to come so that we can be sure he comes before our trip to Canada (we will actually be in Canada on Christmas day). So he just wrote at the bottom "and come soon".

The other funny thing is that on the word "game" he drew an arrow from the "e" to the "a". This is apparently what they do in Kindergarten to show that, in Liam's words, "the silent e kicks up the a". Very interesting.

He was a little perplexed by my description of the mail carriers taking his letter all the way to the North Pole. I may have gone too far when I explained that the last leg of the journey would be by snow mobile. Not sure he believed that the mail was ever carried that way.

In case you can't read it, here is the translation:

Der Santa,

Hi How are you?

For Crismas I wud like Star Wars legos, Indiana Jones legos, video games.

Thanks Santa I love you

and come soon

Why 40 is Better....

OK, I have no shame, it's true.

I really don't think I have to even spell this out...but YES, 40 is better than 13. Much, much better. Much less painful. Much more relaxing. I would definitely NOT go back in time, even if I could. At least not until about...age 33 or so.

As I'm typing this, Natalie just came up and asked who this is in the picture. When I said it was me, she pointed to the hair and with a very perplexed look she asked "What is that??" Funny girl.

The Big One

4-0

Well, so far nothing appears to have fallen off or completely stopped working.

Jim ran interference this morning and let me sleep in a bit, so it was a good birthday even before I got out of bed.

If I can figure out my birthday present, I should be able to add some video to my blog in the near future...maybe even a clip of Natalie at gymnastics -she had another great week in her independent class! (Yeah, Coach Debbie!)

I was going to post a picture of myself at 13 just for amusement, but I'm too tired to scan it right now. Maybe I will do that later in the week.

Instead I will attach a list of things it has taken 40 yrs to learn:

1. When you are young having a baby seems like the easiest and the worst thing in the world. When you are old it seems like the hardest and the best thing.

2. If it tastes really good, you probably shouldn’t be eating it.

3. When you are a working mom you spend a lot of effort trying to find time to be with your kids. When you are a stay at home mom you spend a lot of effort trying to find things for your kids to do without you.

4. It takes 30 days to establish a routine (such as going to exercise class) and only 1 day to break it.

5. There is a good possibility that domesticated animals should never have been. (At least obnoxious orange striped ones.)

6. The times when your children drive you the most crazy, are the times when they remind you the most of yourself.

7. It is easier to tell your husband what you want him to do than to wait for him to guess.

8. Turning 40 is much, much better than the alternative.

Deal or No Deal

It is Benefit Enrollment time. Ugh. This is something I deal with mostly alone. Somehow Jim gets out of this chore by throwing up his hands and proclaiming that he doesn't understand the US healthcare system, and they don't have to worry about these things in Canada, so he can't help. I'm not sure why that works, since I am a US citizen and I don't understand healthcare either. It's not like I took a class on it in school.

So this year I notice an option to use an online tool that will assist me in my choice of health plans. All you have to do is answer a few questions and it will recommend a health plan for you. Sounds great. I start to answer questions...and realize I have a problem. What do they mean, would I prefer to get in to see a doctor quickly, or pay $xx less in premium? Is that really a choice? I picture myself bleeding on the floor of an ER and saying to myself "I wish I'd paid the higher premium!"

Would I rather have a doctor that communicates well, or a lower deductible?? Is this really a choice? First of all, show me one who communicates well. And then if you DO, do I really have to pay more for them?? I picture them in medical school dividing the doctors into categories: Communicates Better than Your Avg Fifth Grader...you will demand high deductibles; Communicates Like a Farm Animal...too bad, you will get the patients too cheap to pay high deductibles.

You get the idea. You may think I'm exaggerating this survey, but I'm not. I was really astounded by the "trade-off" questions. I can see what they are doing, of course, setting my expectations low so that when I get frustrated with my level of service next year I will think back to this survey and say to myself "Oh yeah, I guess I DID pick the cheaper option..." Very sneaky.

To which Jim just shakes his head and laughs. "We just don't have these questions in Canada." Hmmm...perhaps they just have low expectations from the beginning...most of life is, after all, management of expectations. Meanwhile, I made my choice and I can look forward to a year full of late doctors who don't explain anything. I guess I'll just consider myself lucky if they sanitize their instruments (if something isn't on that survey, can I assume it is included in the basic premium??)

My Little Girl Is Growing Up

Natalie has been taking gymnastics classes for about a year now. It has been a mom & tot class where I participate as well and help her through the routines after her "coach" shows us what to do. She does quite well...when she is so inclined...we had a rough summer of rampant disobedience in class. I was to the point where I would have to go stand with her in a corner of the gym facing a wall until she wanted to actually participate (yes, I know she was only 2, and it's not like we are preparing for the Olympics - but she was distracting other kids who had not yet realized they could be so ornery). At the age of 3, they move the kids to an "unassisted" class, where the Moms sit on some bleachers and watch from a distance. I have been dreading this transition. No wonder, considering my flashbacks to her first weeks at preschool when she was horizontal on the sidewalk screaming for someone, anyone, to save her from her awful fate. She can be...ummm..dramatic.

This was her first "unassisted" week, and I tried to play it up and repeat about 1,000 times how EXCITING this is because she is now a BIG girl like some of the neighbor girls (much admired). But let me tell you, I was scared. For myself, mostly. What would I do on the bleachers while my child was screaming loud enough to frighten a gymful of young gymnasts??

Turns out, she was excellent. I had a moment of panic during their warm-up when she turned to look at me, and I waved (why did I do that??) and she broke down crying. It didn't help that it was Mr. Jeff trying to comfort her out there. He's been her coach over the last year, and she has given him the cold shoulder the entire time. She apparently decided early on that middle aged men should not be gymnastics teachers. Who could blame her really? Although, to Mr. Jeff's credit he is incredibly patient, and EVERY other kid loves him. Anyway...she does not. But after warm-up she went with her new class, and Coach Debbie is...a woman...and a good coach, who can do real handstands...and a woman...

She went with Coach Debbie and never looked back. She did the bars and the beam all by herself (what 3 yr olds can do...wipe that image of Nastia Liukin out of your head), and the trampoline (of course, THAT she would do with the devil himself standing nearby...or even Mr.Jeff). I was so proud. And so relieved. Afterward, Miss Debbie told me that most kids run back to where the parents sit at least several times during the first class. Well, we'll keep our fingers crossed for next week. Meanwhile, this week was wonderful. Is it too early to request that all of her future teachers for any school or sport be women?

Misunderstandings

Liam asked Jim the other day why he couldn't just quit work and stay home with us all day. Jim tried to explain the facts of life about work and money...and Liam said "Well, Mom stopped working. Oh yeah. She was fired."

I guess my noble effort to quit my high-powered job (ha ha) and become a devoted stay at home mother has been misconstrued. Needless to say, I wasted no time in hunting Liam down the first chance I got and setting the record straight. I explained that I did NOT get fired. I decided to gallantly forego my steady income in order to spend much more quality time with he and Natalie. Liam just nodded and kept grinning at me with a coy little grin. I swear it looked like he was thinking "Sure, Mom, sure. And I was really keeping my hands to myself in line the other even though my teacher said I wasn't." sigh....

My misunderstanding with Natalie doesn't cut as deep, at least. The other day she grabbed a book and sat pretending to read. It was To Kill a Mockingbird. Good choice, Natalie. The problem was, she then wanted me to read it to her. I told her it was a really big book and we should probably try to read something smaller. She then hunted high and low and gathered up a pile of very small books. Teeny tiny books. I'm talking 3 inches by 3 inches. You know how they make some kids books very small...I'm not sure why...I guess they figure small people like small things. That day she refused to read a normal-sized kid book. Mommy had told her we must read "small" books. So she went for small. I tried to explain I meant easier to read...but then realized it was pointless and read her some very teeny tiny books.

At 40, Brain and Body Slow

This was an actual headline. Thank you, Discovery News, for being on top of this very important story. The funny part (??) is that they were surprised to discover that there IS an actual peak at 39, and the downhill slide begins after that. So I laugh about turning 40...how much difference does one year really make, after all...but apparently a lot.

Yikes.

I officially have 15 days left before it is all downhill. I guess I'll be up all night now, planning my next few weeks. These could be my final days if I ever want to play professional sports, win a chess tournament, or drive a race car. If I had only known earlier...

Here is the article...

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/11/03/brain-decline-age.html

Writing On His Own

Since school started, Liam's class has kept "journals" in which they write....who knows what. The idea is that they would start out mostly drawing pictures, but that before long they would include words that they know, and progress to sentences. He is just getting into the whole reading/spelling thing right now, but he has started to try and sound out words enough to spell things. Yesterday he brought home an assignment that had a page with this typed at the top:

"If I had a magic pebble I would...." and he was supposed to complete the sentence all on his own.

This is what he came up with:

"I Not B UFrad UF N E (and something not distinguishable at the end)"

All the letters were run together so at first I just scratched my head. Then he told me it says "I would not be afraid of anything."

SO cute. I love the answer to the question, for one thing. And then the writing...I think he has already mastered the language of Text Messaging!! In fact...it makes me wonder if young people these days are someday only going to write this way, because that is all they need to know to text. But aside from that...I was so proud of his effort. I will definitely keep this page to show him in 30 yrs.

And where is MY MAGIC PEBBLE???

Election Day, according to Liam

So tomorrow I go to vote for the Boss of Our World. That is Liam's term for the President of the United States. He has a hard time remembering that stuffy title, so he just refers to him as the Boss of Our World. (OK, maybe he'd LIKE to be over the whole world...but we know that only inlcudes the US...and Puerto Rico...right???).

NOT to be confused with the other very important title, Boss of Our Neighborhood. Our Home Owner's Association president is the father of Liam's good friend, Christopher. Somehow his perky little ears must have heard us talking about the HOA "president" in idle conversation, and now he is convinced that Christopher's father has some great power over us all as Boss of Our Neighborhood (sometimes also called Boss of Where We Live).

Who even uses the term Boss anymore??

I think Liam has an interest in all these political issues...he also told me the other day that his Kindergarten teacher "would like to be a principal." Not sure if she told him this (maybe during an exercise in goal setting?), or he deduced this on his own. Perhaps someday Liam will be Boss of Our World (actually, Natalie may already hold this title, and it may be more of a dictatorship) - he certainly has some diplomatic skills. He will always tell you what you want to hear. If asked if X or Y is his "favorite" he will always say Both. And if caught doing something sneaky he can definitely charm his way out of it. Yep, he's ready.

Happy Halloween & Happy 3rd Birthday!

Natalie opened her eyes this morning and the first thing out of her mouth was, "Am I 8 now?"

What is it with being 8? I can't even believe she's 3 already!

It was a wonderful, busy, crazy day. I swear Natalie is talking more like a big kid today and less like a toddler. And yes...she talked...and talked...after a day full of playgroup candy (Halloween party), birthday cake, and Halloween candy. Sugar, sugar, sugar...talk, talk, talk.

The birthday cake was a hit! It is a Barbie princess cake, with a real doll in the middle, and cake for her skirt. Natalie and Liam were both fascinated. NO, don't even ask if I made it. I can't even make a plain sheet cake right, so this was far, far out of my league. I know my limits.

The surprise of the night may be that Natalie was NOT a princess for Halloween. She was an adorable kitty cat. I was quite happy about that, as I figure we have many years of princesses ahead of us. Liam made a good Star Wars Clonetrooper, but of course (as usual) would not wear his helmet except to pose for a picture.

There were so many kids in the neighborhood tonight - I think we must have dished out about 50 lbs of candy. It was crazy, I tell you.

Yoda Pumpkin, it is...

And here is the pumpkin for...guess who...

It may not be quite as good as the princess pumpkin, but I'm a little more proud of this one because the princess one came from a Disney stencil, while this one I did on my own (from a picture). There were some stencils of Yoda pumpkins, but they were mostly side views and included the ears in the carving. I really wanted to do the clay ears. Now that it is done...I see why they would have carved the ears too. The full effect is not seen in direct light (because the facial features need the inside light to look good), and not fully seen in the dark either (because you don't see the ears or hair in the dark). So it was a good pumpkin experiment, anyway, and I will have different ideas for next year. And...most importantly...Liam loves it.

The excitement is building to the big Halloween and 3rd Birthday celebration tomorrow. Natalie knows she will be 3, but for some reason she periodically asks me if she is going to be 8. Just checking, I guess.

Happy Birthday Jim!!

Happy Birthday Jim!! I won't say how old you are - just that you are now officially Over 40. :-)

You have changed so much, and yet...some things stay the same (yes, that is Darth Vader he is holding).

We love you!

One Down...

Can you guess whose pumpkin this might be?

She liked it a lot more once we lit the candle. Without light from the inside it is harder to recognize the face. I hope it lasts until Friday without too much mold.

Now, on to Star Wars....

Feeling Fall-ish

OK, it doesn't really look a whole lot like Fall around here in terms of tree colors. But the air is cooler...

As part of a school assignment to collect leaves, we visited a nature preserve this weekend (yes, it IS that difficult to find leaves in the neighborhood). The kids both had a great time. Liam insisted before we left that he only wanted to stay long enough to collect 4 (only 4! No more! grump, grump, grump) leaves. Before we left he had a baggie full of them, and was singing the praises of the great outdoors. Natalie declared herself a "very good leaf picker". Even Jim said that maybe we should make this park a Sunday tradition (I think he will reconsider when he remembers that Football is supposed to be a Sunday tradition).

Yee-Haw

My little Pardners going to a school Hoedown. Yee-haw, Pardners. (Natalie must have said that about 100 times before we even got there).

No Good News

Quick update on the adoption.

We received a referral last week. It was sort of a surprise, even though we have obviously been waiting. We fell in love over the weekend with her cute little face and sweet eyes. Unfortunately, the review of her medical details with the Int'l Adoption clinic doctor did not go well, and we ended up making the decision to decline this referral. I know this happens, especially with Russia. I underestimated how hard this would be. At this point in time all I can see when I close my eyes is her face. I wish I could tell her that I'm sorry. In the end, we had to make a decision based on whether this was best for the whole family. Now we just pray that she does find a wonderful, forever family somewhere out there.

Camping and Halloween Prep

It is a busy time of year around here. So many things to do, pumpkins to buy, costumes to finalize, birthdays to celebrate (Natalie, Jim, Helen...).

Our neighborhood had a camp-out this weekend. We were all supposed to pitch tents in our front yard and sleep outside for the night. We ordered pizza and had a bit of a street party (despite the fact that our street is used for what appears to be drag racing at all times of the evening and night - dang people drive fast down this street!). Jim dutifully pitched the tent, but I didn't really think many, if any, of us (in particular the females of us) would sleep in the tent. Then, as the partying continued...Natalie was like the little Energizer bunny, wired up and chattering non-stop. Tigger got out of the house (kids opening the door...and he was waiting like he does, to make his dash), so Natalie and I walked the neighborhood with a flashlight. It almost made me sad that he was gone, as she kept repeating "Tigger is lost...forever and ever and ever...trying to eat bunnies...and then he'll burp and say excuse me...forever and ever and ever." Anyway, the point is that she was wired. So we stayed up late and then decided to sleep in the tent. We piled in blankets and all snuggled together. It was FUN. Then at some point probably around 2...we hear "Meow, meow" outside the tent. He found us. So I put the cat inside the house while we stayed outside. Didn't notice the feathers and carcass on the front porch until the next day (after finding the vomit trial inside the house). He does make it hard to miss him.

We made it out there until 4:30am, at which point the cold, hard ground was making it extremely hard for me to sleep. So we carried the kids inside and finished out the night in our bed.

We also have some shots of our pumpkin buying excursion. It wasn't a big pumpkin place, but it was big enough. The kids loved the hay maze. We have some big ideas for pumpkins this year...I won't give it away, but let's just say Star Wars and Disney Princesses may be involved.

7th Anniversary!

A few days late...but Happy 7th Anniversary to my wonderful husband! I can't believe it's been that long. We had a wonderful date night, thanks to Grandma Helen's wonderful babysitting. Thanks Grandma!! We always feel silly asking someone to take our picture, so all we have is a close-up taken by me, holding the camera as far aways as my arms will reach.

It's been a good week - some Halloween baking, some pleasant Fall-ish weather, a museum tour of King Tut artifacts. Good stuff. Today we all had lunch with Liam in the school cafeteria. It is so cute to see him interact with his school friends (and his GIRLfriend...yes, he calls her this- I can't believe it).

We're going to miss having Grandma around!

The Dynamic Duo

The girl of many tutus...

And let me just say Wow it is hard to get a picture of the two together these days.

I've Been Tagged- 6 Random Things

I've been tagged by my fellow blogger, Natalie. Now I have to list 6 Random Things about myself. So here goes.

1. I am terrible about keeping in touch with friends. I have a few long-standing friends, but I realize that it is probably much more due to their efforts to keep in touch. Time seems to slip by so quickly, and reaching out to my friends gets pushed down on my list. I'm ashamed of that, because I really do value my friendships.

2. I used to be a cat person. In fact, there was a time when I, and probably most people who knew me, imagined I would be 60 and never-married and happily obssessed with my cats. I will always remember sweet Rita (rest in peace), but have to admit that my current cat gets no attention and garners nothing more than exasperation. I never thought I would turn from a cat person to a kid-only person, but I have. Or maybe it's just THIS cat...

3. I'm painfully shy and self-conscious around people, especially large groups. I was a military "brat" and moved every 2 years or so until settling in Ohio in 3rd grade. I always thought that may have caused my shyness. But now raising children, I'm thinking genetics probably had a lot more to do with it than I realized. It's amazing the personality that emerges from a tiny baby from Day 1.

4. I'll add this one because it came up recently, and Jim could not believe it. When I was in elementary school I volunteered to work in the cafeteria. Cleaning off dirty trays, loading and unloading steaming hot, huge dish washers. I think I got free lunches. Now I realize that probably the only kids that did this, couldn't afford lunches. I did it because I thought it was fun. I liked feeling like I was working for lunch, and got satisfaction from being sweaty from the physical labor. If Jim knew this story before marrying me, he may have thought twice.

5. If I could have one persons wardrobe, I would probably pick Ellen Degeneres. Again, Jim may not have wanted to know this prior to marriage (I can hide this trait while dating). :-) I have always been uncomfortable in dresses. Comfortable, casual, slightly manly clothes...totally me.

6. I like to think I'm a patient person, but I'm not. I didn't think adoption waiting would gnaw at me the way it does.

Wow, this sounds more like a taxicab confessional. Maybe I should have added some lighter subjects.

I'm now going to tag: Marina, Robin, Heidi, Lauri, Lucky Mom (4 from Rostov blog - I don't even know your name!), and Dawn.

Noisy Cat

First, let me say that I know I desperately need to get some new kid pictures out here, and especially update the picture at the top of the page. I don't even like that picture much, but I don't have many with the two of them together. I am going to work on that this week.

Now, about the title: The Noisy Cat has become Natalie's code word for "please leave me alone now". It started as MY way of slipping out of her bedroom at night. Tigger was always around, and always noisy at bedtime. I think it started back in the days when Liam was struggling with bedtime so much, and we tried the Super Nanny approach which meant that we sat on his floor and moved farther away each night until we were outside the door. Except...we could never seem to get any farther than right outside his door, where we would sit... for a long time. So Tigger would come around and I would pet him, for lack of anything better to do. Long story short...now Tigger is programmed (Pavlov's cat) to come around lookin' for love at bedtime, and when he's lookin' for love he meows great big, noisy meows. Natalie has no patience for Tigger or his loud meows. So it worked well when I wanted to leave her room after tucking her in, I would tell her I had to "get the Noisy Cat" out of her room.

Well, Natalie has never really wanted lingering good nights anyway, and now she hardly wants a snuggle at all. If I stay much more than a minute now, she will tell ME "go get the Noisy Cat." The funny thing is that she tells me that even if Tigger is in the backyard, and not near her room. She even told me that the other day in the middle of the day when she wanted me to leave the room so she could get into something. "Get the Noisy Cat" is my directive to leave the room. It's good. I like it. It's much more tactful than - go away, Mom!

On the adoption wait: No news. I was hoping to hear of a referral this week that might bump us into #1 in line (I know that sounds like a game show or a contest or something). Instead, Liam brought home his pick from the school library last week, and I'll quote Dr. Seuss from the book "Oh the Places You'll Go!"

"The Waiting Place....for people just waiting. Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or a No or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting."

Excellent book. Thank you, Dr. Seuss. Some days the Waiting seems larger than life, and I'm ashamed at how much energy it takes away from other things.

Adoption Movement, No More Tears, & Oh Canada!

First a quick adoption update: we are now #2 in "line" with our agency. Still don't know what that means exactly for a timeframe, but it is movement!! It seemed even more exciting because the family that just received a referral this week was one I know from our Chat Board. They had been waiting since January (we consider ourselves waiting since February, since that is when our paperwork was sent to Russia). Very exciting!

Today was a fantastic day for preschool drop-off. No tears at all!! Natalie was as smiley and chipper as she could be. Again, very exciting!! She was rewarded at pick-up with a little package of Disney princess nail polish and lip gloss. I think she nearly hyper-ventilated. The lip gloss is almost gone from constant applications, and her fingernails are purple and glittery.

In other news, our family and friends from the North will be happy to know that Natalie has been channeling her inner-Canadian lately. I don't know exactly where she picks some of it up. I've caught her saying "Eh?" at the end of sentences lately. I suppose Jim must say it, although I don't notice it when he does. I DO notice when Natalie says it though, the same way I will notice the first time she says "Ya'll". Just one of those things that makes you do a double-take and say "What did you just say?" Then there is her newest favorite phrase "Silly buggers!" I find this one hysterical, while at the same time I worry that this is more vulgar than I know in the UK. I am hoping it is not considered to be a real curse word. She can find more uses for that phrase than you can imagine. We might not be able to travel to the UK for a few years.

And...every time she sings the ABC song she ends saying "Zed!" I do not say Zed. Liam does not say Zed. But Natalie does. There is one alphabet toy that Grandma brought from Canada that sings the song and says Zed, and she must have decided that this toy was saying it the RIGHT way and the rest of us the wrong way. In any case, it will come in handy if she is comparing notes with preschoolers from Canada or the UK. I don't correct her, because Jim also thinks this is the right way. I'll let her choose for herself.

Thanksgiving Early

Instead of complaining about the interminable adoption wait anymore, I have decided to concentrate on being thankful for a few things.

1) I am thankful that we were not traveling during the first weeks of Kindergarten and Preschool. Between adjusting to the earlier to bed and earlier to rise routine, new schools, separation anxieties, car pool, etc., I am so very, very glad that I was around to do this instead of leaving such an overwhelming task to Grandma (although I am sure she could have handled it).

2) I am thankful that Natalie is maturing so much, and she is starting to be helpful and fun. I can actually picture her as a wonderful big sister now, whereas a year or so ago I could only picture her being a very cranky sibling.

3) I am thankful that we are more settled in our new home and neighborhood, and have as good a support system here as we had in Ohio. I think this is due in large part to me staying home with the kids, and this neighborhood having so many moms at home, with very organized playgroups, etc. For about 6 months after we moved, it would have been a very unstable time for a new baby.

4) I am thankful that I've had a year now to adjust to staying at home. It was a HUGE adjustment. At 6 months I was still in shock. At 9 months I was getting the hang of it. At 12 months, I was able to fully enjoy a summer at home with both kids. I am so glad we had that before adding on.

I could go on, but the point is that I am glad we've had some time for us all to mature and grow a bit (at least the kids :-) ). So I am going to try not to complain about wait times. Meanwhile, I have started up my Russian lessons CD again (car pool lane waits are perfect for this), have started scrapbooking Natalie's pictures (shame, shame, shame it has taken this long). And look what I found at the library on sale for ten cents!! It caught my eye as I walked by the other day. Ten cents!! It is a March 1990 issue of National Geographic that is all about Siberia & the Soviet Union! Very interesting. It even has a huge pull-out map of Russia/Soviet Union from 1990. Yes, I know things have changed. Still, how great to have this little snapshot in time to provide some history. It does not necessarily make me want to visit in the middle of winter...but I will put that thought out of my head as I concentrate on the positive. I love National Geographic photographs, too.

Not My Finest Hour

As I approach 40, there are a few things that I apparently still need to learn. Anything, or everything, about car maintenance, for example. Our minivan has an alarm (loud) that sounds when the air in the tires ges too low. It went off the other day. The car kept calling it a Flat Tire, but the air pressure only read about 29 psi. I mentioned to Jim that I was going to take it to the shop to have them filled a bit since there is also a big plastic piece hanging down underneath that needs to be tacked back up (not as bad as it sounds). Jim laughed "Are you kidding? You're going to take it to a shop for air?? Haven't you ever filled up a bike tire? It's just the same!! ha ha ha"

Fast forward...to today... as I stop by a gas station and attempt to fill the tires. It's not exactly like filling a bike tire. Every time I held the hose onto the little...thingy on the tire...I hear that hissssssing sound. After "filling" 2 tires, I did see a button that said Push For Air. So I pushed it. And tried 2 more tires. Hisssss.. I have the feeling it's not working, but still I soldier on. When I squeeze the handle to make the little gauge pop out, it doesn't look like the numbers are any bigger. I drive away, and check the screen that shows tire pressure...and one of them is now down to 21 psi... So I drive back and call Jim and curse like a sailor. I really just want him to tell me how to fill them, but he says "I'll be there in 5 minutes." Slow day at work, and I suspect he can't wait to see this in person. Turns out, that handle should have been squeezed the whole time in order to let the air out of the hose. I don't understand why they can't post simple instructions on the machines. But now Jim at least has a story to tell...every time we drive by the gas station...on the way to soccer practice, I think he is going to remind the kids, "And that spot right there is where I found your mother systematically letting all the air out of her tires. I thought maybe she would stop at the first one, but for some reason she did all four."

To set the record straight, I did all four because I was still clinging to the hope that I was doing it right. I'm sure there are other parallels here I could draw, but I am just too embarrassed by it all right now to do that.

Finally, the Backpack

Finally, the backpack picture. We were told to bring a "large" backpack, so yes, the backpack is as big as the girl.

Adoption update: There appears to have been slight movement in the waiting "line" at our agency. I am speculating that we are now about #3 in line, and might hear something in November...but who is counting. (ME!)

A Good Thing

Natalie has contracted her first illness since the start of preschool. She's had a runny nose since pretty much the first day of school, and now it has morphed into an ear infection. No, that's not the "good thing." The good thing is how great it feels to be able to take her to the doctor and cuddle with her at home while she is sick. She had SO many ear infections (leading to tubes twice, and adenoid removal) as an infant in daycare. It bordered on ridiculous how often I had to take off work to take her to the doctor or stay home with her while she was contagious from some weird rash or virus or illness that defied definition. Not to mention the guilt on both fronts as I simultaneously felt guilty about being such a bad employee and horrible about not being able to be there as a mother as much as I would have liked. That was one of the primary reasons I quit to stay home with the kids - that awful feeling of having to choose between my child and my job. My manager never complained, and Natalie probably didn't know any better, but it still tore me up. So, pardon me now while I breathe a big sigh of relief and enjoy my time at home with my sick child. It's a good thing.

And I will stop on that blissful note, without going into too much detail about the "phase" that we are going through right now (I like to call it the "Oh NO you can't make me do ANYthing I don't want to do" phase) that makes giving medicine of any sort to Natalie more difficult than giving a sleeping pill to a cat. Yes, I've done both. The cat was slippery and noisy, but Natalie is as strong as NHL hockey player and about as fearless. I can only hope that antibiotics are good for the hair and skin. If she has a nice glossy sheen in the next picture, you'll know why.

Remembering

I hate to say it, but time gets away from me so quickly that I didn't realize what day it was until Natalie laughed and said "Look - that flag is down." I was surprised that she would even notice a difference in how the flag (at Liam's school) was hung. For a second, I had that jarring feeling of uh-oh, did something happen? Then I realized what day it was, and what it was that happened.

In some ways it is hard to believe it has been 7 years. In other ways it feels like forever (like when I tried to explain in simple terms to Liam why there were flags lining the drive to soccer practice, and he could not believe that this thing happened before he was even born).

I do remember it well. I remember hearing the news from cubicles all around me at work, as spouses called. I remember calling my Dad and having him describe the news. I remember standing around the one tv near our lobby, along with a large crowd, and watching the instant that the second tower fell, and realizing how serious this was. I remember running upstairs to email Jim, who was in London at the time. I remember barely sleeping that night, dreaming that attack planes were flying overhead. I remember the next few days of trying to figure out if Jim was coming home for our wedding that Saturday, and all the calls that had to be made when we decided he was not going to make it. I remember the strange month after that, until we did actually get married in a much smaller, quieter, more somber ceremony. Still, when I tell people our wedding story, they always comment on how hard that must have been to have to cancel and reschedule everything at the last minute. The truth of the matter is that it was a big-time reality check. All the worries about the centerpieces and the cake and the favors and the tablecloths and flowers...none of it mattered a bit. All I wanted was for Jim to come home safe and for us to be together. I was lucky enough to get that. I will always remember that, and I will always remember that day.

Still Settling

We are still settling into school routines. Tuesday was another bad drop-off for Natalie (only if you count it as "bad" when you have to pry each tiny finger off your purse strap one at a time from the death grip that the tiny hand has formed...only to find the other hand has found the other strap...and vice versa...about 6 times until the teacher finally comes to pry one hand while I pry the other...). The teachers smiled the entire time (how do they do that??) and cheerfully told me that "it's always hard after a weekend". Well, considering that she only goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I guess that means that I can expect 50% of my drop-offs to be horrible? On the plus side, when I picked her up, the teacher told me quite confidently that she did not cry "even once". "Not once?" "No, not once." Hmmm...she must count differently than I, because I heard many more than one before I was out the front door.

To be fair, Natalie is positively glowing when I pick her up, and quite animated trying to explain things that she did, without really knowing the right words to explain them. I think she has fun once she gives up trying to give me a huge guilt trip.

Still no picture of Natalie in her backpack. She is never happy to be photographed beforehand. I will have to try and take one after she returns.

I am the one still trying to adjust to Kindergarten. Besides getting yelled at in the carpool lane, and confusing Liam about which direction to walk, being the sweatiest mom out there by running to school (Liam has a career in track & field though - he can run the entire way, and I have to stop myself from yelling Run, Forrest, Run!!), and forgetting to send his snack, I have now caused him to forget his lunch box already. Yes, it was my fault. He was going to carry it and I stuffed it in the stroller basket instead and then forgot it. So I dropped it off at the school at 9am - plenty of time for them to get it to his class for lunch, right? Wrong. He came home that night proud of himself for buying his own lunch, and with no idea that I had rushed right over to deliver his lunch box to him. What? Didn't they bring you your lunch box? No, but that's OK, I bought a brownie for dessert!! sigh... So then I have to track down the lunch box...which one would imagine to be simple. Now I am beginning to think that either the school or, I suspect, his teacher, make this difficult intentionally in order to train parents/kids not to forget their lunch. I have been reading the parenting discipline book Love & Logic, which is all about letting kids feel the full consequences of their actions. So last night as I read the book...I realized...HEY, I think Mrs W just Love & Logic'ed ME!! I guess it worked, because tonight I was double checking everything for tomorrow. I wonder who she can train faster - me or Liam.

More School Stuff

Well, Natalie's second day of preschool last week went a tiny bit better than the first, I think. She still cried at drop-off but perhaps not ear-splitting. She even wore her red school t-shirt, and almost seemed proud of it later in the day. They did have a teddy bear picnic, with bears brought from home, so I think that helped.

Liam is enjoying Kindergarten, but I think we made an error in judgement today. After the first 2 weeks, parents are able to stop by and eat lunch with their kid in the cafeteria. Just a day past the 2 week mark, Jim decided to go for a visit. It was apparently a little too soon to mess with the new routine. Liam enjoyed seeing him for lunch, but when it was over he had tears rolling down his cheeks. I was a little surprised, since I haven't seen him shed tears over school so far. Maybe it was just too much of a reminder of the life that is going on without him while he is in school. Maybe it was just an emotional day after getting in bed too late last night. When Liam got home he made Jim promise (about 10 times- no joke) that he would NOT come to lunch again for a long time. He said he will let us know when we are allowed to visit. :-)

In less emotional, but no less disturbing, news, we caught Liam dancing the Macarena before dinner. He was very matter of fact that of course he knows how to dance the Macarena. He learned it in school. Of course. I think they do some dances while singing songs about counting, so I asked if there is a "Number Song" that goes with the dance. He said "No. Just the dance." I could see Jim's raised eyebrows...but it was very cute. I immediately looked up Macarena on YouTube to show him videos of people doing the Macarena to the actual song, and he was very impressed (although he did critique their style).

First T-ball Game

Liam had his first t-ball game tonight. The Cardinals were looking good! They don't keep score at this age, but everyone did great hitting, and Liam made a tag out. Coach Jim has done a great job getting them motivated. Go Cardinals! (Liam is #9 in the group shot - with his arms around everyone).

School Miscellaneous

Natalie's first day of pre-school went OK. She was letting out an ear-piercing scream when I left, but the teacher seemed positive when they brought her out to the car afterward. She looked like such a big girl with her backpack on, and looked quite happy at that point. (I will post a picture later- that morning she did NOT want her picture taken, and I know better than to poke a bear.) She said she had fun, and she also said she wanted to go home now. When we got home she wanted her too-small, overly-warm footed snowman pajamas on. I think she needed a little comfort. Since it is still about 97 outside, it didn't last too long.

Liam had a homework assignment from Kindergarten last night, where he was supposed to finish the sentence "One thing I want to learn this year is...." His answer was "how things work". So I asked what kind of things, and he said "like electrical boxes." :-) :-)

Awwwww...now that brought back memories. Before he could walk, and all he wanted to play with was eletrical cords of any sort (an old stereo receiver with the audio cords to plug in and out was heaven)...when he first started drawing real "things" and he would draw a box with lots of circles and dashes on it and tell me it was an electrical box...all the things every young boy does (??). It is true, he has always had a fascination with those things. I can honestly say that telling me "learning to read" was probably not even in his Top 10. We'll see what his teacher has to say. I really must ask her to add this to the Kindergarten curriculum.

Not a Dress!

Today is the first day all summer that Natalie wore something other than a dress (for more than 5 minutes)!! It took some kicking and screaming, but Jim was able to manage it. And when it came time to put on the tennis shoes, she had no issue at all. Now I am going to have to get Jim to dress her every Tuesday and Thursday morning for preschool (where tennis shoes are required, and she will probably need shorts under a dress).

We had the preschool Open House/Meet the Teacher last week and it didn't go great. She was full of attitude, and I can tell she is ready for battle about going. She definitely had her battle face on. They gave her a school t-shirt to wear every Thursday that is red and boyish, but it was tied up with a cute little bow. I used my best "excited" voice and told her "Ooooh look at the cute shirt they gave you as a present!" to which she declared YUCK and tossed it onto the floor. Oh my. I don't think I'll be posting any "this is Natalie looking cute with her teacher" photos for a long while...maybe 16 yrs or so.

On a different note, I've been giving some thought to what it might be like with #3, because the things that #2 does and sees and knows about already are SO different than #1. Yes, Liam was sheltered. Probably too much, in fact. I'm sure at 2.5 he only had eyes (and ears) for Barney and Thomas the Tank Engine. Natalie drew me a picture this week of something very round and large...."Look Mommy, it's the Death Star!" Great. I can only hope her speech doesn't get any more clear, so there is a chance her preschool teacher won't understand when she talks about the Death Star or Chewbacca or Yoda.