Monday, November 27, 2006
Tummy Ache
Everyone is feeling better today, though Aleksa woke up with another tummy ache. It freaked her out. She sooooooooo didn't want to be puking again. Poor girl cried and everything. It wound up though, (after sitting on a stool in front of the toilet forEver), that she was really just hungry. Had to explain that bellies hurt when they are hungry too, and not just ready to upchuck. She perked up nicely after a full bowl of Cheerios... Sure is wonderful that she can't remember what an empty stomach feels like!
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Sick Kids
We had such a nice Thanksgiving! Headed up north for the holiday, and slept in Grandma Fisher's apartment, since it was still in the process of being cleaned out and was room for all of us. That was kinda hard, but we were able to help clean out her appliances and bathroom, etc. It was nice to be able to do something useful.
But actually, Thanksgiving isn't what I hopped on here to write about. We got home from our trip last evening, and everyone was sent to bed. At 3:00 a.m., however, Liana came running up the stairs screaming/crying. Scared me half to death. Her stomach hurt, she said. I was thinking it was her appendix until she quit crying and let us poke her tummy. We wound up giving her some M.O.M. and I snuggled down in bed with her. Well, at about 4:30, I hear Aleksa throwing up above us. (Liana has the bottom bunk now, so Leks was over us). Oh nice. That was the beginning of a very long day for us. Aleksa threw up at least ten to fifteen times today, and is finally right now (as in 7:00pm) feeling a little better and able to keep down some fluids. :O( Adam has been just fine though, so that's a blessing, and Liana felt much better by this afternoon. She was as sacked out on the couch as her sister.
I've been really lucky so far with these kids. Aside from our initial giardia medicine throwing up mess, the kids really haven't had much of any stomach flu. Aleksa never has had a tummy flu. She's had lots of respiratory viruses, but nothing ever like this. The poor girl didn't know how to throw up. John and I had to actually teach her. She started out just throwing up where she was (in bed, in the middle of the floor, on the couch, etc). Then, she would run to our room and tell us her tummy felt yucky. (Threw up on the floor outside our door.) Finally, we got her to go into the bathroom. That time she went into the bathroom, sat on the toilet, and promptly tossed her cookies on the floor. That one made me chuckle. She was so tired/sick, she couldn't think straight. Eventually she learned that the head goes IN the toilet when puking though. Uff.
So, there went the idea of putting the Christmas tree up. I had planned to leave the table full of appetizers and do the tree-trimming today, but instead I left the appetizers out (lots of raw fruits and veggies), and let the kids graze as they were up to it, and ditched the tree idea. Bummer. I was really looking forward to a fun day of Christmas doings.
Hoping tonight is a little less dramatic...
But actually, Thanksgiving isn't what I hopped on here to write about. We got home from our trip last evening, and everyone was sent to bed. At 3:00 a.m., however, Liana came running up the stairs screaming/crying. Scared me half to death. Her stomach hurt, she said. I was thinking it was her appendix until she quit crying and let us poke her tummy. We wound up giving her some M.O.M. and I snuggled down in bed with her. Well, at about 4:30, I hear Aleksa throwing up above us. (Liana has the bottom bunk now, so Leks was over us). Oh nice. That was the beginning of a very long day for us. Aleksa threw up at least ten to fifteen times today, and is finally right now (as in 7:00pm) feeling a little better and able to keep down some fluids. :O( Adam has been just fine though, so that's a blessing, and Liana felt much better by this afternoon. She was as sacked out on the couch as her sister.
I've been really lucky so far with these kids. Aside from our initial giardia medicine throwing up mess, the kids really haven't had much of any stomach flu. Aleksa never has had a tummy flu. She's had lots of respiratory viruses, but nothing ever like this. The poor girl didn't know how to throw up. John and I had to actually teach her. She started out just throwing up where she was (in bed, in the middle of the floor, on the couch, etc). Then, she would run to our room and tell us her tummy felt yucky. (Threw up on the floor outside our door.) Finally, we got her to go into the bathroom. That time she went into the bathroom, sat on the toilet, and promptly tossed her cookies on the floor. That one made me chuckle. She was so tired/sick, she couldn't think straight. Eventually she learned that the head goes IN the toilet when puking though. Uff.
So, there went the idea of putting the Christmas tree up. I had planned to leave the table full of appetizers and do the tree-trimming today, but instead I left the appetizers out (lots of raw fruits and veggies), and let the kids graze as they were up to it, and ditched the tree idea. Bummer. I was really looking forward to a fun day of Christmas doings.
Hoping tonight is a little less dramatic...
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
27 Months Home (Ok, 27 1/2...)
For the last few days I've been trying to mull over what I'd say for this month's update on the kids. Today, however, is the perfect "snippet" of what the kids are like this month. Mostly the same old stuff, but there are some new leaves turning over here and there.
Today was a huge baking day. I tend to have these, but you can imagine what it's like over here the week of Thanksgiving! ;O) It's a sugar-stuck-to-the-bottom-of-your-feet-as-you-walk-across-the-kitchen kind of a day today. It wouldn't sound like this would have anything to do with the kids, but actually, I think it is directly related to some of Adam's "turned leaves." The more he sees me in the kitchen, the more he "likes" me. Or so it seems. (Remember, food means the most to this guy.) At the last two fellowship meals at church, Adam has sat next to people and told them all about "how mama made that" and that they "really need to borrow some of Mama's recipes." Now, I'm *really* not the greatest cook, but it means a LOT to my Adam to see me in the kitchen. The ladies at church are about ready to hurl hearing Adam go on and on. But it just seems that the "food" topic is always right on the tip of his tongue. When he prays at night, he always starts, "Thank you that we have good food to eat..." It's just always *right* there. We went out to eat yesterday, though, and he didn't finish his bread bowl that his salad was in. (He loves salads! He'd rather have a salad than a burger any day! Ukies tend to really love veggies from what I've heard of other peoples' kids. Mine are sure that way at least!)
Once upon a time, Adam was the one of my kids who would "tell it like it was" when he spoke of Ukraine. Liana was the one to embellish her memories and make Ukraine into the Fairy Land, and her birth mother the nicest woman on Earth. Adam used to remind her how things *really* were. But now Liana doesn't talk so much about Ukraine, and now Adam has found that he can tell us any manner of story and if he says "In Ukraine" before it, that we can't tell him he's lying. After a ham dinner, he told the lady next to him that he was a pig farmer in Ukraine. Today, while the girls were having a tea party, he told me he worked in a tea factory in Ukraine. A few weeks ago we finished up reading the book "Old Yeller" after which he announced that in Ukraine HE had a yellow dog that got hydrophobia too. After Grandma Fisher passed away, he said that in Ukraine, he had 25 grandmas... I could seriously go on and on with his "In Ukraine, I..." stories.
What are we gonna say, right? He was there and we weren't! He *loves* telling stories, so now after SOOOO many "In Ukraine" stories, I have absolutely no idea which things are true, and which ones are a big ole fish tale. Frankly, Papa is getting a bit tired of these stories and has been reminding him of the definition of the word "Lie" quite often.
Liana is sure turning into a young lady. That's her *deepest* desire anyway. She tries to use as big of words as her mouth can hold, and though they sometimes aren't used "exactly" right, today she sounded like a regular Princess.
She was hoping for a tea party today, what with so many cookies around here. So, she said, "Aleksa, perhaps we could have a tea party!" And then, "Mama, would you prepare some tea for us, please?" (How could I refuse such a properly-phrased question?!) Another thing she said was, "What a proposition!" after I carefully handed her the full teapot and told her if she dropped it her life would be drastically shortened. (I didn't say that, did I?) *tee-hee*
She's still speaking her mind as always though. Tonight at the Thanksgiving pie social at church, an older gentleman told us that Liana had smitten his conscience the other day when she informed him that he needed a shave, so he went home and shaved off his two-week beard. Groan! I confessed to him that of the three, Liana usually causes us the most mortification. He laughed and *completly* understood! lol!
Seriously though, she and I have had the most "grown up" talks this month ever. She and I have talked frankly and seriously about her life in Ukraine, and she spoke so eloquently and with such maturity that it really blew me away. While Mama Zhana hasn't fallen off her high pedestal at all, she spoke a lot more fairly than she ever has before, and extremely matter-of-factly about Papa Misha. The way she has been carrying herself in serious conversation has been like a peek into what kind of a young woman she will some day be. And I must say, I'm impressed. While I battle that strong will of hers every day, I'm beginning to see that her fearlessness will (if carefully lassoed), bring her much success in life.
I took her shopping with me the other night, and all through the store, I kept thinking how much she had changed since we brought her home... she went from being a little, little girl who I had to watch *every* minute, to someone who I actually consulted for an opinion on purchases, tastes, etc. (And well, you can imagine how she eats that up!) Didn't have to worry about her *at* all. It seems like she has aged about 5 years in the 2 short years she's been home. Don't get me wrong, she still has definite rambunctious tendencies, especially when teamed with her siblings and maybe a rowdy friend, but, well, they're NORMAL rambunctious tendencies. Know what I mean? (Though I did have to remind her to get off the floor a few times in the store, come to think of it.)
Aleksa's behavior today was pretty typical of the month in general as well. Still trying awful hard to fly under the radar while sneaking in some bossiness with her brother, and also trying to shirk as many responsibilities as possible without detection. Like today she was supposed to read a story in her reader, and because she'd already HEARD the story, she decided that she knew it well enough so that if I quizzed her on it (which I always do), she'd be able to parrot enough of it back at me that I'd be convinced of her comprehension, etc. Well, I had peeked at the story before handing it to her, and I also counted the pages. Then I went off and did something or other and when I came back into the room, she was doing something else. There was no way she had time to read it. So, sure enough, when I quizzed her on it, she got the story "right." Until I pressed her on it, and she finally confessed that she lied about having read it, and that she was trying to trick me into thinking she'd done it. That lazy bug in her sure causes her to get into some kind of hot water!
Like her sister, Aleksa's vocabulary has brought an amused smirk to my face more than once. One of the last times was when my brother was asking her why she needed Mama to help her with the zipper to her coat, and she explained that this was "an unusual" coat and that the zipper gets stuck quite easily, etc.
I've been noticing her mimic people's body language quite a bit lately. She'll be watching someone talk, and she'll do their hand motions herself, or she'll mimic their facial expressions. She's gonna be a humdinger of an actress some day. I'm thinking she'd absolutely love it if I found her an American Sign Language video series for kids. She'd just soak it up.
Leksa and I were talking the other day about moms and babies, and she mentioned "when she was in (my) tummy." Well, I had to remind her that I found her at the dyetski dom and that she didn't grow in my tummy. She's been drawing pictures of me with her in my tummy for the past year now at least. It almost startled her that I told her she didn't ever grow in my tummy. Kinda rocked her world momentarily. Of course I reminded her that some children find their mommies when they come and get them from an orphanage, and she kind of shook herself awake with an "oh yeah, I knew that" kind of an expression. Though she wasn't an infant when we adopted her, she has very little memory of the orphanage/life without us. She "remembers" the orphanage when she sees pictures of it, but John and I get the feeling that her memories are kind of second hand... that she remembers what we've TOLD her about the pictures. I suppose being so young at the time of her adoption is a blessing and a curse. A blessing that she was spared so much more. A curse that she'll deal with more baggage of not really KNOWING what she was pulled out of, and having to really sort out a lot more as an adult. Could be wrong though. Who knows.
She's grown like a weed, and she too seems to have aged five years in these two short years. Makes. Me. Sick. She's promised to always be my la-la (baby) though, so I'm ok for now... But John and I just tonight were talking about which country/ies we might consider adopting from the next time around...
Today was a huge baking day. I tend to have these, but you can imagine what it's like over here the week of Thanksgiving! ;O) It's a sugar-stuck-to-the-bottom-of-your-feet-as-you-walk-across-the-kitchen kind of a day today. It wouldn't sound like this would have anything to do with the kids, but actually, I think it is directly related to some of Adam's "turned leaves." The more he sees me in the kitchen, the more he "likes" me. Or so it seems. (Remember, food means the most to this guy.) At the last two fellowship meals at church, Adam has sat next to people and told them all about "how mama made that" and that they "really need to borrow some of Mama's recipes." Now, I'm *really* not the greatest cook, but it means a LOT to my Adam to see me in the kitchen. The ladies at church are about ready to hurl hearing Adam go on and on. But it just seems that the "food" topic is always right on the tip of his tongue. When he prays at night, he always starts, "Thank you that we have good food to eat..." It's just always *right* there. We went out to eat yesterday, though, and he didn't finish his bread bowl that his salad was in. (He loves salads! He'd rather have a salad than a burger any day! Ukies tend to really love veggies from what I've heard of other peoples' kids. Mine are sure that way at least!)
Once upon a time, Adam was the one of my kids who would "tell it like it was" when he spoke of Ukraine. Liana was the one to embellish her memories and make Ukraine into the Fairy Land, and her birth mother the nicest woman on Earth. Adam used to remind her how things *really* were. But now Liana doesn't talk so much about Ukraine, and now Adam has found that he can tell us any manner of story and if he says "In Ukraine" before it, that we can't tell him he's lying. After a ham dinner, he told the lady next to him that he was a pig farmer in Ukraine. Today, while the girls were having a tea party, he told me he worked in a tea factory in Ukraine. A few weeks ago we finished up reading the book "Old Yeller" after which he announced that in Ukraine HE had a yellow dog that got hydrophobia too. After Grandma Fisher passed away, he said that in Ukraine, he had 25 grandmas... I could seriously go on and on with his "In Ukraine, I..." stories.
What are we gonna say, right? He was there and we weren't! He *loves* telling stories, so now after SOOOO many "In Ukraine" stories, I have absolutely no idea which things are true, and which ones are a big ole fish tale. Frankly, Papa is getting a bit tired of these stories and has been reminding him of the definition of the word "Lie" quite often.
Liana is sure turning into a young lady. That's her *deepest* desire anyway. She tries to use as big of words as her mouth can hold, and though they sometimes aren't used "exactly" right, today she sounded like a regular Princess.
She was hoping for a tea party today, what with so many cookies around here. So, she said, "Aleksa, perhaps we could have a tea party!" And then, "Mama, would you prepare some tea for us, please?" (How could I refuse such a properly-phrased question?!) Another thing she said was, "What a proposition!" after I carefully handed her the full teapot and told her if she dropped it her life would be drastically shortened. (I didn't say that, did I?) *tee-hee*
She's still speaking her mind as always though. Tonight at the Thanksgiving pie social at church, an older gentleman told us that Liana had smitten his conscience the other day when she informed him that he needed a shave, so he went home and shaved off his two-week beard. Groan! I confessed to him that of the three, Liana usually causes us the most mortification. He laughed and *completly* understood! lol!
Seriously though, she and I have had the most "grown up" talks this month ever. She and I have talked frankly and seriously about her life in Ukraine, and she spoke so eloquently and with such maturity that it really blew me away. While Mama Zhana hasn't fallen off her high pedestal at all, she spoke a lot more fairly than she ever has before, and extremely matter-of-factly about Papa Misha. The way she has been carrying herself in serious conversation has been like a peek into what kind of a young woman she will some day be. And I must say, I'm impressed. While I battle that strong will of hers every day, I'm beginning to see that her fearlessness will (if carefully lassoed), bring her much success in life.
I took her shopping with me the other night, and all through the store, I kept thinking how much she had changed since we brought her home... she went from being a little, little girl who I had to watch *every* minute, to someone who I actually consulted for an opinion on purchases, tastes, etc. (And well, you can imagine how she eats that up!) Didn't have to worry about her *at* all. It seems like she has aged about 5 years in the 2 short years she's been home. Don't get me wrong, she still has definite rambunctious tendencies, especially when teamed with her siblings and maybe a rowdy friend, but, well, they're NORMAL rambunctious tendencies. Know what I mean? (Though I did have to remind her to get off the floor a few times in the store, come to think of it.)
Aleksa's behavior today was pretty typical of the month in general as well. Still trying awful hard to fly under the radar while sneaking in some bossiness with her brother, and also trying to shirk as many responsibilities as possible without detection. Like today she was supposed to read a story in her reader, and because she'd already HEARD the story, she decided that she knew it well enough so that if I quizzed her on it (which I always do), she'd be able to parrot enough of it back at me that I'd be convinced of her comprehension, etc. Well, I had peeked at the story before handing it to her, and I also counted the pages. Then I went off and did something or other and when I came back into the room, she was doing something else. There was no way she had time to read it. So, sure enough, when I quizzed her on it, she got the story "right." Until I pressed her on it, and she finally confessed that she lied about having read it, and that she was trying to trick me into thinking she'd done it. That lazy bug in her sure causes her to get into some kind of hot water!
Like her sister, Aleksa's vocabulary has brought an amused smirk to my face more than once. One of the last times was when my brother was asking her why she needed Mama to help her with the zipper to her coat, and she explained that this was "an unusual" coat and that the zipper gets stuck quite easily, etc.
I've been noticing her mimic people's body language quite a bit lately. She'll be watching someone talk, and she'll do their hand motions herself, or she'll mimic their facial expressions. She's gonna be a humdinger of an actress some day. I'm thinking she'd absolutely love it if I found her an American Sign Language video series for kids. She'd just soak it up.
Leksa and I were talking the other day about moms and babies, and she mentioned "when she was in (my) tummy." Well, I had to remind her that I found her at the dyetski dom and that she didn't grow in my tummy. She's been drawing pictures of me with her in my tummy for the past year now at least. It almost startled her that I told her she didn't ever grow in my tummy. Kinda rocked her world momentarily. Of course I reminded her that some children find their mommies when they come and get them from an orphanage, and she kind of shook herself awake with an "oh yeah, I knew that" kind of an expression. Though she wasn't an infant when we adopted her, she has very little memory of the orphanage/life without us. She "remembers" the orphanage when she sees pictures of it, but John and I get the feeling that her memories are kind of second hand... that she remembers what we've TOLD her about the pictures. I suppose being so young at the time of her adoption is a blessing and a curse. A blessing that she was spared so much more. A curse that she'll deal with more baggage of not really KNOWING what she was pulled out of, and having to really sort out a lot more as an adult. Could be wrong though. Who knows.
She's grown like a weed, and she too seems to have aged five years in these two short years. Makes. Me. Sick. She's promised to always be my la-la (baby) though, so I'm ok for now... But John and I just tonight were talking about which country/ies we might consider adopting from the next time around...
Monday, November 20, 2006
(Great) Grandma Fisher
Well, before I launch into an update about the kids, I need to talk about Grandma Fisher first...
John's grandma died on the 15th, and the funeral was Saturday. It was so nice to hear so many stand up and say a few words about her. John and I learned a lot about her that we never would have heard otherwise. Like how she was one lady's Sunday School teacher and she had given her a Christmas cactus as a gift one time, and that this lady still had it after all these years. (Grandma was so shy I was amazed to hear that she taught *anything* ever! But Grandma always had oodles of Christmas cacti, so I could totally "see" her giving one away.) Another distant cousin read a letter that Grandma had written to her sister the summer she met Grandpa. Grandma was telling her in the letter how she had met a "nice boy" and he'd sent her some flowers, and that she was thinking he was probably really interested in her, etc. It was so sweet. That nice boy was Grandpa, and they were married only a few months after that letter was written. Such a treasure.
And speaking of her marriage to Grandpa... When the family was looking through Grandma's things, they found the receipt for Grandma's wedding dress kept in Grandma's coin purse. Evidently she'd kept it there all these years. (We're talking like 59 years!) If that isn't the sweetest thing I've ever heard! She was definitely a sweetheart. She paid $28 for it way back in 1947.
One of my favorite memories of Grandma happened just a few years ago. We were trying to raise $$ for our adoption, and I had a $250 order for some angel pins. After Thanksgiving that year, John and I stuffed Grandma in the back of our car and took her home with us for a few days. She helped us finish up those 500 pins, and did we ever have a wonderful time! Grandma was a woman of very few words. She'd hardly EVER talk without someone talking to her first. Consequently, in a crowd, she tended to sit quietly and just watch and listen. One on one, however, people would take more time to talk to her. While I had her all to myself, I asked her lots of things about Grandpa (who has been gone since '99), and I asked her about her parents, her boys, the baby girl she lost, her life, etc. Things I never would have known otherwise, because she never would have talked about them if no one had bothered asking. It was truly a wonderful few days.
When John's dad came to pick her up to take her home she walked down our sidewalk, and at the midpoint, she turned around, smiled at me and said, "I need one more hug." I sprang down the steps and gave her a big hug and told her I loved her and would miss her. That really meant a lot to me. I'll always keep that mental "snapshot" memory of her. It was one of the few things I've ever heard her say without someone talking to her first.
She will be very missed, but I know she is so much happier where she is, I could never wish her back... I'll definitely be looking for her one day in heaven though.
John's grandma died on the 15th, and the funeral was Saturday. It was so nice to hear so many stand up and say a few words about her. John and I learned a lot about her that we never would have heard otherwise. Like how she was one lady's Sunday School teacher and she had given her a Christmas cactus as a gift one time, and that this lady still had it after all these years. (Grandma was so shy I was amazed to hear that she taught *anything* ever! But Grandma always had oodles of Christmas cacti, so I could totally "see" her giving one away.) Another distant cousin read a letter that Grandma had written to her sister the summer she met Grandpa. Grandma was telling her in the letter how she had met a "nice boy" and he'd sent her some flowers, and that she was thinking he was probably really interested in her, etc. It was so sweet. That nice boy was Grandpa, and they were married only a few months after that letter was written. Such a treasure.
And speaking of her marriage to Grandpa... When the family was looking through Grandma's things, they found the receipt for Grandma's wedding dress kept in Grandma's coin purse. Evidently she'd kept it there all these years. (We're talking like 59 years!) If that isn't the sweetest thing I've ever heard! She was definitely a sweetheart. She paid $28 for it way back in 1947.
One of my favorite memories of Grandma happened just a few years ago. We were trying to raise $$ for our adoption, and I had a $250 order for some angel pins. After Thanksgiving that year, John and I stuffed Grandma in the back of our car and took her home with us for a few days. She helped us finish up those 500 pins, and did we ever have a wonderful time! Grandma was a woman of very few words. She'd hardly EVER talk without someone talking to her first. Consequently, in a crowd, she tended to sit quietly and just watch and listen. One on one, however, people would take more time to talk to her. While I had her all to myself, I asked her lots of things about Grandpa (who has been gone since '99), and I asked her about her parents, her boys, the baby girl she lost, her life, etc. Things I never would have known otherwise, because she never would have talked about them if no one had bothered asking. It was truly a wonderful few days.
When John's dad came to pick her up to take her home she walked down our sidewalk, and at the midpoint, she turned around, smiled at me and said, "I need one more hug." I sprang down the steps and gave her a big hug and told her I loved her and would miss her. That really meant a lot to me. I'll always keep that mental "snapshot" memory of her. It was one of the few things I've ever heard her say without someone talking to her first.
She will be very missed, but I know she is so much happier where she is, I could never wish her back... I'll definitely be looking for her one day in heaven though.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Back!
I'm IN! Finally! I've been pulling my hair out trying to figure my way into posting here, and it took John about three seconds to figure out how to remedy the situation. Figures!
So anyway, I tried to sneak a smoke signal to y'all on the last entry's comments section, but not everyone reads the comments. I haven't been able to post lately. My "cookies" got poofed and had to come up with my username and password again. It wasn't what I thought it was, so it wouldn't let me in no matter how many times I tried to shout into the scream, "I'M ME! LET ME POST!"
This has been a doozie of a month. John's dad had a heart attack on Saturday the 3rd, and then this past Wednesday, his grandma (his dad's mom) passed away. Yesterday was the funeral. I'll post more later on everything in between, but there has been a lot of running hither and thither, and in fact, I don't think there has been a weekend yet this month where we haven't gone somewhere.
Anyway, now that I'm back, I need to sign off. (Figures, I know.) I'll write up a lengthy make-up post tomorrow with the nitty-gritty...
So anyway, I tried to sneak a smoke signal to y'all on the last entry's comments section, but not everyone reads the comments. I haven't been able to post lately. My "cookies" got poofed and had to come up with my username and password again. It wasn't what I thought it was, so it wouldn't let me in no matter how many times I tried to shout into the scream, "I'M ME! LET ME POST!"
This has been a doozie of a month. John's dad had a heart attack on Saturday the 3rd, and then this past Wednesday, his grandma (his dad's mom) passed away. Yesterday was the funeral. I'll post more later on everything in between, but there has been a lot of running hither and thither, and in fact, I don't think there has been a weekend yet this month where we haven't gone somewhere.
Anyway, now that I'm back, I need to sign off. (Figures, I know.) I'll write up a lengthy make-up post tomorrow with the nitty-gritty...
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