Carnivals and other Firsts

Our town is having a carnival this weekend called "Sunfish Days." (We're the Sunfish capitol of the world, you know!) We had been planning a trip to Mpls. this weekend for a family get-together, but John has been having some muscle pain/knots in his back, neck and shoulders for the last few days, and this morning he could hardly turn his head. So, instead of our roadtrip, we headed off to the fairgrounds.

Ok, can you say, BLAST!??? Today was one of those days where when I'm 80, I'll think back on this day with a few tears in my eyes. I even had 'em today!

The first ride was the Octopus, which John and Adam went on together. I stood there watching "my boys" completely blubbering! They both had the biggest smiles on their faces, and I was beside myself with happiness. They were so happy; I was so happy. The girls were clueless, but enjoyed watching the sites and listening to the sounds.

Next, the girls had their turn on the merry-go-round. I wondered if Aleksa would freak out, but she smiled and giggled - all the while white-knuckling the pole. That's ok. She did great. Liana showed off by going "no-handed" which didn't surprise me, but it really showed how different the girls are from each other. Major personality opposites. Again, more tears. I can't believe I have little kids to take to the fair!!!!!!! And they are at the PERFECT ages to take. Adam likes the wilder rides, and then Leks likes the little girl ones. Liana is ready for anything in between. Any and all. Doesn't matter. She's there. Just hand her her tickets already and be fast about it!

Ok, next the older two plus Papa did the bumper cars. Leks got bored watching that... she was ready to find her "swings" ride. She LOVES swings, and when she saw that one, she was all set. Surprised me that she'd be gun-ho about ANY of the rides, but she was practically pulling the bottom hem off my jacket trying to pull me away from watching the bumper cars to go by her swings. Liana wasn't tall enough to do her car by herself, so John did it with her. I think bumper cars are boring, but they loved them, and Adam asked to go a second time later on in the day.

Leksa's swings went along without a hitch, and she giggled, waved, screamed, and was pretty much the loudest little girl on the whole ride. It surprised me that my "tame" one in the family was so rambunctious all of a sudden. Everyone else on the entire ride was silently smiling to their Mama's. More tears. I hoped none of the kids noticed. Good thing for so much to distract them with. I had my few moments of undisturbed bawling-my-head-off to myself. Leksa is growing up. But yet, she's still my baby. She's sure come a long way this year. Amazing. So thrilled to be standing at the fair watching MY little kids on their rides. Can't believe I can be this happy!

Next Liana and Papa went on the Ferris Wheel. No way was I going on that thing. I hate the Ferris Wheel. I used to like it when I was little, but then I grew up and understood what they were doing to me. The last time I went on one, my knees shook, my hands sweat, and I practically cried for my mommy. That was about 7 years ago. That's the end of my Ferris Wheel days. Anyway, John had contemplated putting Liana on by herself, but I had a heart attack, so he went with her. Leksa, Adam and I stood back a bit and watched. Liana was all smiles. In fact, she was the only one on the entire wheel with her hands waving above her head showing off the fact that she didn't need to hold the bar. (Where'd we get her anyway! Doesn't she know how scary the Ferris Wheel is? Doesn't she know that you're supposed to be Freaked Out and scared, and clingy-to-your-papa? What's the deal!!!??) Anyway, she loved it. No tears for me watching that one. I was too freaked out for her. I wagged my finger at her trying to tell her to "put those hands back on the bar" but she didn't hear me, and laughed at my body-language. John was no help either. He told me later that it was HE who told her to do it. Bad Papa. Bad.

Speaking of Papa. Aleksa has been calling him all kinds of things lately. Usually he calls him "Pa" or "Pop," but all three have been calling him "Daddy" and "Dad" lately. The more they play with the neighbor kids, the more they do so. Liana came home with her first naughty word the other day and I really had to fight the urge to ground her for the rest of her life. ;O)

Anyway, back to the carnival. They also had a farm animal petting area. Baby goats, mama goats, a llama, sheep, chickens, a calf, and a goose. They loved those a lot. 'Specially Adam, my animal-lover. He would have taken home every one of those baby animals if we had let him! Oh! He composed a poem for me today after petting the animals... "Llama, llama, we love Mama!" :O) My first poem from my kiddos! :O) *loves being a mom* *contented all-is-well-with-the-world sigh*

One of my all-time favorite rides at the fair is the Tilt-a-Whirl. My dad took me on that one when I was little, and Leksa was the only one game to go on it with me. She loved it. I loved it. So fun to snuggle your little ones on carnival rides. (If John hadn't told Liana to take her hands off the bar on the Ferris Wheel, maybe he'd have gotten a little snuggling too. Too bad for him!) Anyway! ;O) When we were done, 'Leks declared, "Again!" She's getting to be a regular dare-devil these days! For her at least! :O)

After our afternoon running from ride to ride, we did a little shopping and then went to Grandpa's house to mow his lawn. Adam got to really have at it this time, under the watchful eyes of both of us plus Grandpa. Talk about figure 8's and crooked lines! Uff! Good thing that's the very least of Grandpa's worries. He could care less about perfectly-mown lawns. As long as it is short, he doesn't care how it gets there. It was the perfect lawn for his lawn-mowing debut. He was thrilled with the extra $$ Grandpa handed him afterwards. We were all surprised he could manage the mower as well as he did. But, he's growing right before our very eyes. When he first came home he was wearing size 5 1/2 boys' shoes. I just bought him a men's 8 the other day. Unbelievable!

THEN (boy has this been a packed day!), tonight I had Adam clean out Susie's cage. The new kind of cage gets stinky sooner than the glassed-in kind we had before, so we have to clean it out a lot more often. Anyway, for some *strange* reason, Adam forgot to take Susie out of the cage when he started dismantling the cage to clean it. He didn't notice that she was gone for a *long* time. Great. The whole family tore the house apart looking for her.

She got out the other night too, and John found her on the floor in front of the dryer. He told the kids that Susie looked up at him and said, "'Oh, I'm so happy to see you Papa! Save me!'" but then he said that "then she remembered that she was a hamster and started to run away again."

Anyway, this time, she was gone for quite a while, and things were not happy at the Fisher house. I was Not looking forward to going to sleep tonight knowing there was a (*shiver*) rodent loose in the house. Liana finally found her under her bed. Instead of grabbing her though, she started screaming "I found her! I found her!" and ran down the hall to get everyone. I thought for sure Susie would have taken off again, but she stayed put.

So, all the Fishers (Susie included) are now nestled down in their beds, after an adventure-filled day. This has been one of the sweetest, most incredibly fun days of having children that we've had yet. I hope I never forget a minute of it...

Oops. Forgot our 9 Month Home Update!

This has been a busy week. We're having special meetings at church, so I haven't had as much time on the computer at night. Completely forgot our 9 month home monthaversary.

Oh, before I launch into that, I found out that Liana really DID do a Kindergarten curriculum for math. I feel better now that I wasn't a complete idiot not knowing what grade my daughter was in!

Adam is coming along with his attachment to us, and I think my surgery has helped that. I haven't wanted to really launch into what the deal is with that because Adam's friends' parents read this blog, so I don't really want him to be labeled any further than he already is. If you are in the process of adopting, please feel free to email me and I'll explain the situation for you. Might help you as you bring your own kiddo(s!) home.

Liana has NOT liked seeing me down with my surgery. We took the kids with to one of my appointments out of necessity (I couldn't drive myself, so Grandma took me and watched them in the waiting room), and Liana really seemed to become the little girl at the orphanage temporarily. She floated like a bee from thing to thing, and not wanting to obey for the rest of the day, and part of the next. I think she was really freaked out about the possibility that something might happen to me and that she'd be left to herself again like she was at the orphanage. Who knows, but that's my take on it. I'm just thankful she snapped out of it. When we were at the orphanage, our translator told us that the kids would be different at home, because they are stressed there. Stressed is an understatement. They were SOOOO stressed. High alert at all times, and very afraid to put themselves under anyone's authority but their own.

Aleksa has developed some wings this month in a lot of areas. She's more willing to just pull out her paints and project stuff and "go for it" instead of asking me, more willing to go and play with the other kids (neighbor kids, I mean), and more willing to play on playground equipment, and McDonalds playland stuff. We don't have to convince her anymore. She just has at it. She's also more willing to voice her feelings. This month is the first time she has told me anything about the orphanage at all. She has never talked about it before this month - and then it was only one sentence. "Mama, I'm glad we have a family now instead of being at the orphanage." Or something to that effect. She's never once said anything like it before or since. The other two, yes, but not her.

I'm healing up well from the surgery. My infection is under control, and is on the way out. No longer a worry, and no longer have to go in to the doctor for it.

Someone reminded me that our 1 year anniversary is coming up. Can't believe it! It seems like just yesterday our kids came home! Amazing. I'm going to have to start my little "Shoe and undies drive" for our Gotcha day. I want to send a big box or two to the kids' orphanage. I thought about blankets too (Liana told me the other day that they didn't have any blankets on their beds at the orphanage), but I think that will be for another time. I've been burdened about shoes and undies for those sweet kids for a long time, and I hope to be able to do something for them. I'll have to think about how to go about it.

Gotta run. The day has started without me!

Whining and Stuff

The fun just goes on and on... My incision became infected last weekend, and so this week I've had the joy of going in to get the incision opened back up in one spot in order to drain the yuck out. Twice. Today as the doctor was finishing up he said, "I don't think we'll have to pack gauze in there." I thought, "WHAT DID YOU DO???" (I sure didn't watch what he did, and it took several hours at home before I got the nerve to look.) It's so ironic that this is happening to me; I can hardly stand to look at the GOOD parts of it, let alone have a big ole hole in it that "doesn't need to be packed up with gauze." Grosses. Me. Out. After today's drilling and draining, I decided that John gets to deal with cleaning and bandaid-ing. Just can't handle it. You don't have to say it; I know. I'm such a BABY!

Otherwise, it's really been life as usual for the kids. Adam found a baby bird the other day and made a nest for it in a plastic jug. He's also developed a real affinity for playing "Little Man" er, Mario on the Nintendo. (They all three call it "Little Man.") Liana has discovered the joys of green polish on her toenails thanks to her Auntie Cara. She can't bear to be without it now. Aleksa has been doing lots of painting and play-doughing. (So what if that isn't a word; My blog, my poor grammar!)

After completing all but 8 pages of her math book, I finally realized that Liana has been doing a first grade math curriculum instead of a Kindergarten one. Oops. John said he knew it all along and laughed at me when I was so shocked. I guess I just saw the "lowest level" math book on the Math-u-see website, and assumed it was kindergarten. It should have occurred to me that solving for unknowns, doing addition and subtraction, counting by 2's, 5's and 10's and telling time wasn't a Kindergarten sort of a thing. Good thing she's such a smart cookie. It really has been a good fit for her though. She's flown through the whole year's worth of curriculum, and we just started it in January. We'll be finishing it next week sometime.

Mother's Day!

Yay! I finally made it to Mother's Day with children! Let me tell you, I loved every minute of it. I'm completely drained of energy, (still not up to snuff since the surgery), but it was definitely worth it. The girls and I had matching dresses to wear to church. I sewed most of the girls' dresses, but Mom Fisher joined the bodice to the skirt for me and also did the button holes. She had to completely redo my dress. (Long story!) ;O)

I was ready for a long nap by noon, but we went out to dinner with the rest of John's family. It was really nice, but I came home and completely crashed.

John got me three dozen red and white roses! (Didn't he do good?!!!) The "kids" got me earrings, perfume and a watch. It was a really fun day.

Sorry about the pics... The "group shot" you can definitely tell that we'd all "had it" for the day. I was looking rather frazzled and ready for a long nap. The kids were all in "top form." (You'll see what I mean!) It's actually probably one of the best "real" pictures of us! Anyway, it made me chuckle, so I had to post it. We'll have to try again for a better pic a different day!

Adam (I had just told him to say, "I am a handsome Ukrainian Prince!") (Watch out girls, here comes my son!) ;o)
Liana
Liana
'Leksa
'Leksa

Happy Mother's Day!!!!!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you who are still in the process of adopting! (Lois, Lisa, Jo... and lots of others I know I'm forgetting...) Even if you have decided to adopt, then you're a mom, whether or not your child is here yet. Don't forget that just saying "we're adopting" is a BFP! (That's "Big Fat Positive" for those who don't know the "trying-to-have-a-baby" lingo.) Everyone who is pregnant is undoubtedly going to whoop it up this Mother's Day, and there is NOOOOO reason all of you shouldn't be doing the same. Your child is on the way! I'm so thrilled for all of you! We are all truly blessed. This holiday is is finally for YOU - and don't you dare let anyone tell you it isn't! Only moms put themselves through the hoops involved with adoption.

Don't let the old pangs of sorrow rain on your day tomorrow. Just because that child isn't in your arms yet doesn't mean you are less of a parent. If you were pg, you wouldn't have anyone to hold yet either. Maybe you're not pg, and maybe you don't even have a travel date yet, but you are most definitely "expecting!"

Happy Mother's Day to you all!

xo

Shelly

Oy!

Gonna be an interesting night at the Fisher house. 'Leksa just came running home to tell me that her sister pulled down her pants and went potty at the park. (And there ain't no bushes or trees in this particular park, if you know what I mean.) John will be home any minute. I think I'll let him field this one...

Solo Again

Today John went back to the office for the first time since my surgery. I'm exhausted, but I made it ok. Thankfully, I didn't have this surgery three weeks after the kids came home from Ukraine. That would have been ROUGH. (Note to those considering adopting multiples: Those first weeks home are harder than they sound. I was just reading some of my posts from the first weeks home, and boy did I accentuate the positive and "eliminate" the negative. Trust me, it's a lot of work.)

Anyway, John's mom came by before she went to work and did some laundry for me, cleaned the kids' bathroom, and swept my kitchen floor (my biggest pet-peeve). It was so nice of her to come over. Times like these I really miss my mom. I'm so blessed to have the mil I do though. Not everyone has the relationship with their in-laws that I do, that's for sure. Counting my blessings like crazy.

The excitement happened after Mom Fisher left though. Adam cleaned Susie's glass aquarium cage, and oops, dropped it. Shattered glass all over the floor. So much for my swept floor. Adam did the best he could at cleaning it up, but Liana still wound up with glass in her foot. I had her soak it in hot water, and then handed her a tweezers. She dug and dug until she got it out. Good thing this happened to the fearless one in the family. It would have been hard for me to hover over anyone's foot to find a hunk of glass with my sore tummy. I had no doubt she'd get it out herself.

Headed to bed early tonight. Like at 7:30. Hopefully I can store up enough energy to handle whatever comes tomorrow!