Haircut pics by Popular Demand...

Christmas Update!

What a nice Christmas! We all headed up to northern Minnesota to John's grandparents' house. It was so nice to see so many aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. It seems so strange that this was my 12th year of going up there... and the kids' fourth. Whoa. I'm getting old. *sigh*

Of course the highlight this year was introducing everyone to Abrielle. Though I was going into Abrielle Withdrawal pretty heavily by the time we left. She was rather passed around among so many grandparents, aunts and cousins! ;O)

I was so proud of my older three though... They were so good! Well, we did have one incident where Liana informed me that Adam was being mean to her. He had "taken the arm off her doll and then put it back on,(!), and he fed her too much water and she peed all over!" It was awful hard to not laugh at her, but I did make up for it by hanging up the doll clothes to dry and saying, "No, no!" to Adam. Otherwise, they did beautifully up there with so many people around, kids running all over the place, etc. They were in 7th Heaven with so many cousins to play with. We had some pretty sad kiddos on Wednesday morning when we left.

Anyway, another highlight was actually a tragedy... The night before our trip (the 23rd), I asked John to trim my hair. Easy, he's been doing so for ages. Just trim the ends. Well, this time, he decided to cut my hair "the fast way" which was to grab all my hair in one hand, and start cutting with the other. Oops. He started cutting and I started asking him what on earth he was doing... but it was too late. He had to finish. I lost six inches. And it was an uneven Mess. The kids all stood around me with mouth a-gape. Liana couldn't believe I didn't cry. There wasn't anything I could do about it either - it was way too short for me to even out. It needed Something Major.

So. The next day after we drove north, John took me to a hair salon to fix it. On the way there he told me I wasn't allowed to use the word "idiot" in my explanation to the beautician. LOL! So I didn't. ;O) I wound up with an ok haircut, but it's one of those trendy cuts that take some getting used-to if it is on your head and you're not a trendy kind-of-a-gal. Layered, and chin length. Haven't had hair this short since the sixth grade.

But the fact that he got me a new wedding ring made up for it... I had lost mine three years ago at Christmas time and never had it replaced 'til now. My ring finger is very happy to have something on it!

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas too!

The Amazing Aleksa Strikes Again

This weekend we had planned to travel to my dad's... Unfortunately Wisconsin is under a storm warning, and there is a bunch of ice out there. We chickened out and stayed put after a friend called and said they were too iced-over to even make it out of their driveway.

So, to drown our sorrows, we decided to open presents this morning. (We'll be headed to John's grandparents' house on Monday-Tuesday).

Adam got a toy rocket. He launched it, and it landed on Aleksa's head.

Somehow.

Who knows how.


And not only did it land on her head, but it THEN got tangled in her hair.

These things could only happen to her.

Merry Christmas!!

Comments

Just so y'all know, I'm moderating the comments now so I don't miss any --- I just found a few that I really wish I hadn't missed at the time they were posted. I also put up my email address in case you'd like to chat more privately...

Domestic Bliss

It has been quiet around here, hasn't it? I've been trying to keep my internet time down to during "baby feedings" - but I've quickly discovered that typing with one hand is rough. I decided this morning to put Abby in her swing while I checked my mail and my favorite websites so I can finally start writing more than one sentence here and there.

Almost done Christmas shopping. Still stumped on a few people, but the kids, I'm thrilled to say, are finished! John says he's never letting me shop solo again! I sorta had a good time. ;O) (At Fleet Farm; gotta love that Toy Land!) He gasped pretty heavy seeing everything in the trunk and back seat, but just between you and me, I know he's just as excited as I am about seeing the kids open presents this year. *wink*

A few ladies looked at my cart and lamented that they didn't have any girls to buy for this year. I wasn't cruel enough to tell them I had THREE girls -and a boy! but it did make my heart smile to realize I got to have fun buying stuff for both genders... Just a few short years ago, I didn't have any kids at all to buy for... so, I'm definitely making up for lost time, especially with the realization that my kids aren't going to be asking for dolls and toy cars for much longer. Gotta git while the gittin' is good, as Dad always says! :O)

Yesterday I spent the day doing school with the kids, wrapping presents and helping the girls clean their rooms. Uff was it a PIT. We pulled out a huge garbage bag full of junk from their room, and packed away two garbage bags full of toys. Hopefully their rooms stays a little more manageable this way. It was pretty evident that their mama was out of commission for a long time - I hadn't helped them "deep clean" their rooms for months and months and months. Between morning sickness at the early end of the pregnancy, and Big Belly Syndrome at the end, well, I had to let them fend for themselves too long. We still have yet to do their closets. (They have two). That will be today's project.

Abby is now sleeping pretty well at night. John stays up with her until her first feeding which is anytime between 12-1:30, and then she's good til morning. Big relief to be able to get caught up on some sleep around here! :O)

The older kids are loving having the baby around. Liana knocked on my door yesterday while I was wrapping presents and asked if she could "hold the Princess." She is definitely treated like royalty around here by Everyone! No sibling rivalry toward this little one at all - only toward each other over who gets her next!

The other afternoon, John and the kids were outside working on their snow fort, (an on-going project around here), and Adam happened to be near the livingroom window. I was in the kitchen cooking and didn't want Abby to get spattered on, so I had to leave her alone in the livingroom for a while - which she hates - and which she fusses about. Adam heard her crying from outside, left his Much Beloved Snowtime, came inside, got his coat and boots off, and promptly picked Abby up to comfort her. He just adores his little sis.

Leks needs to be more aggressive about Abrielle Time... she has a hard time elbowing in through her older siblings to get at her. She loves to help change her clothes, hold her, talk to her, etc... of course, that's only when her older sibs, Mama, and Papa aren't already doing so. :O)

Haven't gotten out much since Baby has been born, but I love these hunker-down winter days anyway. I love having hot chocolate ready on the table for my snow fort builders, and I love turning on the tree lights early in the morning and early at night. Nice and peaceful. And now that there is also a baby to snuggle on these chilly days too... ah, bliss.

New Look!

Thought since the Fisher Family is new and improved now that Abrielle has joined us, that we should have a new look for the blog too... :O)

Another one for Guiness

She did it again. How, I have no idea, but our Leksa Lou has managed to have another "impossible" accident. Do you remember when she slammed the car door on her ear? Or fell off her bike and scraped only her earlobe?

This time, she scraped her bottom lip on the under side of her bed. That's right folks, she was under her bed, and scraped not her nose, nor her forehead, but her Bottom Lip.

HOW DID SHE DO THAT????? LOL!!!

Visit from Auntie Sharon!

We had a super visit from Auntie Sharon this week!!! She was brave enough to take the four hour drive all by herself in the dead of winter in Wisconsin... I was so proud of her!!! We would have missed out on a really, really nice time if she had chickened out.

Of course the main attraction was meeting Abrielle, but she also had some great bonding time with my older crew. She had them making candy! They got to dip pretzels, peanuts and marshmallows in chocolate and almond bark. I also got a tutorial on making Mom's popcorn balls. (I never have good luck with a candy thermometer, and she taught me how to make them without having to use one of those at all.) We had a BLAST. The kids probably ate more than they should have, but oh well. ;O) They just couldn't believe that Sharon was going to LEAVE all that good candy here and not take a single piece home with her. Aleksa must have asked her four or five times if she was SURE she wasn't going to take any home with her. lol!

Auntie also came with PRESENTS! They each got cool fleece blankets. While they were a big hit with all three kids, Aleksa opened hers and said, "A magic carpet!!!" and promptly took a trip to Jerusalem. :O)

The best part of her trip, however, was that we just got to sit and chat. I honestly don't remember the last time we've had such a luxury to do in person. We IM each other every day, and that's wonderful, but to just sit on the couch and talk about nothing and everything was so nice. Sharon and I have always been really alike - we wind up finishing each other's sentences and guessing each other's responses nearly every time we chat. Sometimes it is spooky, but always fun to know that even though we may not be physically with each other all the time as "in the old days," we do still have that Sister Bond that just doesn't fade. For instance, once she and I were talking via IM, and she was telling me about a rather stressful ambulance run she'd just taken, (she is an EMT), and as we were wrapping up the conversation, I told her to go have a Diet Pepsi and a bath. She quickly typed back that she was already drinking her Pepsi, and that she had planned to hop in the tub as soon as we were done talking! Ah, sisters. Aren't they wonderful!?

Another neat part of her trip was that Sharon is one of the only people on the earth right now that would remember what I looked like as a baby, and be able to compare Abrielle to what I looked like. Since Mom is gone, nobody had yet examined Abrie and compared her to what I was like as a baby. The rest of the family has seen her pictures and commented here and there, but it was nice to have an in-person inspection. Dad, of course has met her, but Dads aren't as good about that stuff as moms and older sisters. ;O)

For example, Sharon told me the red blotch on Abrie's eye was a birthmark like one I had on my own eye. (Well, it was on my forehead and stretched down on my eye). Sharon told me that my birthmark got darker when I was sick and that was Mom's way of knowing how I was feeling... and that it faded away as I got older. You know, stuff I wouldn't know, but will come in handy with Abrie.

Nobody can replace Mom, mind you, but well, Sharon comes awful close.

Meeting Grandpa

Saturday we were finally able to drive "back home" and show off our new little girl to my dad and brother and sister-in-law. That was a LONG month of not being able to show my kid to *anyone* in my family. John's parents and siblings have seen her, but nobody on my side had yet with the distance, and the sicknesses we've had floating around here this month. With my dad's immune system we just plain had to wait until every last one of us was completely well before we came anywhere near him.

Anyway, how fun! My dad took one look at her and said she looked just like his sister Della. !. Not what I was expecting, but it was fun anyway. Abby was super bright-eyed by the time we got to Dad's house, and it was fun to see her staring at Grandpa as much as he was eyeballing her! lol! Dad said next time we come, she'll already know him because she was studying him so long and hard.

The drive down and back was sure interesting with an infant. Uff Da. Talk about extending an already-long trip! It was the first time I'd wished that we were bottle-feeding! (That ain't happening, btw!)

On Friday the kids and I did "cooking day" for Grandpa at our house, and then took it with us instead of cooking it there as usual. Dad must have close to eighty meals in his freezers now. He was rather neglected for a few months there. *sigh* He was sure happy to see the food start rolling in... Spaghetti dinners, Aleksa's Famous Meatloaf, chili, goulash, polish sausage, etc. Plus dinner rolls, desserts, veggies, etc. We even left him a package of lefse! (That's good stuff to us midwesterners! *wink*)

Adam and John and my brother (also a John), took care of Dad's iced and snowed in driveway while the girls swept and mopped and my sister-in-law and I assembled meals onto individual plates.

The only bad part of the trip was that Abby got her days and nights switched because she slept so hard and long in the van. She was up almost all night, and I am a zombie again. I could almost throw up I'm so tired. (Last night's missed sleep combined with the missing sleep from the night before plus alllll the work we've done in the last few days have wiped me out.) I haven't missed so much church since before college. No wonder I never know what day it is anymore! lol!

My sister Sharon is planning on making a trip up here this week... I sure hope the weather cooperates. The kids are sooooo looking forward to seeing her, plus Abby is getting bigger every day - she's gotta see her before she outgrows her newborn clothes! lol!

Recent Pics

When Papa bundles up his little girl, she isn't going to get cold.

She isn't going to be able to move either.

*tee-hee*

Yesterday morning John got the urge to take the kids outside in their stocking feet and run around. I was welcomed to join them, but I decided I'd be the one in the window taking pictures of everyone hopping around. Too cold for me, but the kids had a blast - even if their snow run did only last about 30 seconds...

Still. Brrr.

Not a very good pic of our gingerbread project, but it was requested, so here it is!

Finding Maddie

For anyone out there addicted to adoption stories... Tami, who comments here allll the time, is in Kyiv right now, and had her SDA appointment today...

Wanna follow along with me? http://findingmaddie.blogspot.com/

Praying for you, Tami, my friend. I can't wait to hear that you have your Maddie safely in your arms...

Drifts and Shuffling

It has been snowing here the last few days, and the temperature has plummeted. John has one of the livingroom windows insullated, but the other won't get done until this afternoon. The draft coming through had me a little paranoid about keeping Abrielle warm enough, so I put up a blanket in front of the window temporarily while John was working (he's been working from home these weeks since the baby has been born.)

When John noticed the blanket, he asked what the deal was. Liana told him that I had put up the blanket "to keep the drifts out."

Adam, also had a language oops today concerning the snow... He asked if he could go out and shuffle the sidewalk. I'm sure there are a few drafts out there. ;O)

Adam's story

Boy do I wish I'd just had a video of Adam with Abby. He was holding her and they were staring at eachother silently, and I finally coaxed Adam to tell her a story. Instead of telling her a fairytale or "princess story" like her sisters enjoy doing, he decided to tell Abby "his" story.

He told her how he was at the orphanage, and that he was adopted, and then he told her what he thought of his new home when he got here... He told her he had a beautiful bed, and his own room, lots of food, etc. He also told her that he used to get in lots of trouble and one time almost went to jail... (he'd pocketed a few things from Walmart when they were first home, and one day after doing so, I packed him up and we all went to the police station for a chat with the cops about what happens to boys who steal...)

Anyway, Abby sat totally bright-eyed listening to Adam go on and on. It was really sweet. He wound up saying, "We didn't think we'd ever have another baby sister, but now God blessed us!"

He's sure a great kid...

Gingerbread!

Have to quick blog about one of the coolest presents the kids have ever gotten. Well, according to their mama anyway...

We got a package in the mail the other day from a very special aunt... She sent the kids the Jan Brett book called The Gingerbread Baby, and then gave them aprons, (the girls' aprons were make with gingerbread men fabric!), stuffed a cookie cutter in the pockets of them, included the dry ingredients for gingerbread, plus a jar of molasses, gingerbread men cookie cutters, a sweet little red corduroy dress with gingerbread men on it for Abby, gingerbread men Christmas ornaments, etc. Talk about going all out!! She even gave ME a cool book and wrapped it in a gingerbread men kitchen towel as the wrapping paper.

Today the kids and I rolled out the gingerbread men, and while they sure don't look all that "professional" the kids had fun making them, and boy were they good! One of those really fun memory-making kind of presents... Loved, loved, loved it!

Tired

And so, we're closing in on three weeks with an infant. Very different from having three Ukie kiddos home three weeks. Yup, it's hard work having an infant, but, oh is it infinitely easier than what we went through the first weeks having the other three home. Do you know that when we lay Abby down, she STAYS there? lol! And while she does cry when she's lonely, hungry and wet, she never once screamed "Durka Mamka!" at me ("Stupid Witch Mother!") Or run away from home, or tried to pee in anyone's sippy cups or broken anyone's prized possessions, or, or, or...

That said, however, I do admit to being somewhat of a zombie lately. The Little Miss loves being awake at night, and that means I am too. And because my energy level is so low lately, my laundry is piled higher than it has been in AGES, and the house is about ready to fall apart with clutter. The girls' room is a disaster zone. I didn't even make our bed this morning. I *ALWAYS* make our bed. This is big news over here.

But we're happy! :O) And Abrielle is getting to be a little, uh, shall we say, um, spoiled? lol! I don't think she's been set down by herself more than a handful of times Ever. Not unless we're putting her in her swing, and that doesn't count, 'cause it's educational. (It has a mobile and plays music..) There is always someone who wants to hold her around here. If she makes even the slightest peep, there we all are trying to pacify her. We're pathetic.

Abby was just now in her crib, and started to fuss. I thought, "I should see if she knows how to calm herself down..." And so, instead of running over to the crib, I let her cry. Not five minutes later, John came into the room and said, "Aren't you going to get her?" And he picked her up, and instantly, she quieted down. John said, in his gurgly I'm-talking-to-a-baby voice, "All she needs is a little love... oh look! A TEAR puddle on her matress! Ma-ma! Shame! It's ok, Abrie, Papa is here..."

And so I invited him to go love on her for a while. Hopefully she'll stay awake longer so she'll sleep tonight. I really just plain gotta get some laundry done tomorrow...

Sick?

So, Miss Abby has come down with everyone's chest cold. This does Not make me a happy Mama.

The night before last, she was up fussing and coughing and rattling all night. We got very little sleep.

Last night, she ate at 11:00pm, and then wasn't interested in anything but sleeping. Wouldn't eat, and didn't want to move from her comfy spot next to Mama. She slept through the night with no coughing, or rattling, but she scared me half to death that she didn't want to eat.

So. Babies are scary when they're sick and don't sleep, and they're scary when they're well and sleep like rocks... I'm never happy.

Mother, er Sister Hen

Just got home from Abrielle's two week check-up... Took Liana with me. (John is still off work, so he was home with the other two.) I'm *SOOOOO* lucky to have such great helpers!!!! She is such a mother-hen!!! The nurse told us to take Abrielle's clothes off, and Liana asked if that meant her little mittens too. The nurse said yup, and then Liana said, "You know she has sharp nails and she might scratch herself, do we have to take them off?" lol... I knew she'd be a fabulous big sister! :O)

Happy Thanksgiving!

What a nice Thanksgiving! John's sister and kids came up for dinner (her hubby is a hunter, so he was off looking for his deer for the day). We had way too much food, but this mama is going to appreciate the leftovers, especially since I'm still dragging from whatever bug this is. It was nice to not have an enormous house full of company since we're still sick, but it was also nice to not be "alone" for the holiday too. Just enough company to be special, but not enough to make it stressful, know what I mean?

Last night the girls and I finished up the pies (four kinds this year; apple, plum, cherry-cranberry and pumpkin.) And when I say "girls" that includes Abrielle. John plunked her in the middle of the kitchen table between the flour canister and the Crisco and she had her very first pie-making tutorial. Can't start too young I guess! She'll be a pro by the time she's ten! It was really fun, though it did seem "wrong" to let such a new baby get floured up! Liana and Aleksa love to play with dough scraps, so they were having a ball. (Adam and Papa were off playing a game together).

I've been really intimidated about making the turkey... only tried that a few times before and it hasn't ever been very good at all. (Can you say D.R.Y.?) This year though, we put the birdie in a salt-water brine overnight, and WOW was it yummy! I'll never make it any other way again! (Thank you allrecipes.com!!) (Well, John actually made it, because I couldn't do all the lifting involved.) If you've never tried making a turkey this way, ya gotta give it a whirl - you don't even have to baste it in the roasting process! It's juices are sealed in from the salt-water soak. Easy.

We have so much to be thankful for... I hope you all found many things to thank God for too.

Hospital Pic!

Have to share Abrielle's hospital picture! Hope this works!

http://www.our365.com/webnursery/WebNursery/BabyFinder/BabyFinder.aspx

birthdate 11-12, last three letters of my last name: fis, and I think you have to select the state: WI

Sick

Well, five down, one to go. Everyone except Abrielle is or has been down with a nasty upper respiratory bug since we've been home from the hospital.

I've been down the hardest I think, but I'm sure it's because I've been sleep-deprived on top of being sick. I'm actually wondering if I don't have pneumonia... if I'm still rattly in the morning, I'm going to the clinic. *groan* I thought I was done with doctors for another few weeks.

We're really praying our littlest princess doesn't catch this one. It really is a nasty bug, and she's just such a tiny thing...

Pictures!!!

Had to show off my sweetie... I couldn't get these to post in the order I wanted them to, but you get the idea... The mixing bowl bath pictures were kind of a nostalgia thing... Abby was the same birth weight I was, and my mom gave me my first baths in a mixing bowl. I thought it would be fun to give Abby her first bath in one too. (I do have a regular bathie for her, so don't feel too sorry for her yet!) ;O)

Doesn't the little Miss look thrilled with her Mama? lol!

I love this one of Liana and her Grandpa. I extra love how much they resemble each other!

My favorite picture so far, though is below... The older three aren't having Any Fun at All with their baby sister, as you can plainly see...

Below is our coming home picture... I'm not sure we can smile any broader.... :O)

And here's our Little Fish... the Princess Abrielle aka Abby, Abri, Brellie, Abriella, Lella, Lelly, Abriellie or Sweetie Pie, depending on Mama's mood. :O)

Four of my own

Can't believe it. Today, John and I drove home from the hospital with a healthy, bouncing (well, not quite!) baby girl. That's never happened before. We've always had quiet, sad drives home from hospitals complete with plants and sympathy cards. We've never done the "happy reasons to leave the hospital" routine.

And frankly, we're still more than a little bit in shock over everything that has happened in the last nine months, let alone the last few days. A baby? For US? The belly kind? No way, nuh-uh. Fisher babies don't stick. Or, maybe they stick, but stick to the wrong spots. Everyone knows that the Fishers adopt their kids. But, Abrielle has so far lived up to her name. It means "Strong one of God." She must be a strong one to still be with us...

And here she is. No pie sales, no rummage sales, no plane trips or paperwork. Instead, she's wrapped in a quilt I hand made for a baby that slipped into heaven many years ago. I never could quite give it up to anyone as a gift or to our girls as a doll quilt. But now, seven years later, there is someone actually wrapped in it... a beautiful little girl with John's eyes and cheek dimple, my nose and my chin. How many times had I used to wonder about what "our baby" would look like. And here she is, in the flesh. John and I just look and look, and look and look. And even when we rub our eyes, she hasn't gone away.

I'm sure every new parent feels that way, but to us, she's still a shock to our system. Even while I was in labor, she wasn't quite alllll the way "real" to us. I was just going through the expected motions of "what comes next" not really letting myself totally soak in that at the end of the day there would be a little baby handed to us. John felt the same. And when they actually DID hand her to me, I just couldn't believe it. My tears crashed into me like a semi out of nowhere. I didn't think I would get all emotional, and I didn't expect to, but I couldn't stop. There couldn't still be some mistake, could there? No, here she was, on my chest, with the doctor and nurses congratulating me. She must be mine. Wow. That just seemed way too easy. Where were the strings?

And yet, aside from so many people telling me how miraculous it would be to be handed "my own" baby, I still stand by my stock answer that I do indeed know how wonderful it is to be presented a child "of my own." The day we met Adam, Liana and Aleksa, I bawled like a baby. Adam loves to remind me of that... And while none of my older crew have green eyes like us, or "my nose" or whatever, they are miraculously "our own" dear sweethearts, just as Abrielle is. It's just that our three didn't want to sit still for any length of time, and certainly weren't willing to let Mama nurse them. ;O) The love amount and quality, however, are the same, and that's what makes a family.

We are so blessed. Four babies of our own! God is so good.

Announcing....

It's a GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Abrielle Koryn, AKA Little Fish, was born at 11:29 this morning! She has lots of hair, a dimple in her chin, and enormous feet! She's 6 pounds, 1 ounce, 20" long, and came out screaming, and the only one who could console her was her Papa. Everyone is doing great, and we couldn't be more thrilled.

Sack Cloth and Accents

Poor Adam. English vowel sounds have always been hard for him. Spelling has been difficult sometimes, because he hears certain vowels the same way, or he flips them. Like today during school, he was writing a story and wrote "pup" instead of "pop" - he pronounces them the same way, so he has a hard time hearing the difference between them. The short "e" and "a" sounds are also trouble-makers for him.

Tonight though, his accent and vowel problem about made his Papa choke on his spit.

John was telling the kids the story of David and Bathsheba (as delicately as possible, of course!), explaining that after David had seen Bathsheba, that he had her husband killed so HE could marry her. John really tried to camp on the fact that after David was confronted about what he'd done that he was terribly sorry about it, just as we should all be, and that David was actually a man after God's own heart, etc.

After the story ended, Adam said, "Papa, I bet David had sex."

John said, "Um, what?"

Adam said, "I bet David had sex cloth and tore his clothes because he was sorry."

John breathed a relieved sigh. "Um, I don't know, Adam, maybe he did have SACK cloth, but we do know he was very sorry..."

Times are changin'

Woke up this morning totally thinking I must be in the wrong household.

I walked down the stairs to the kitchen where Liana was busily scrubbing away at the stove. She wasn't tired anymore, she said, so she decided to clean. *blink, blink, blink*

Next, I walked to the kids' rooms, where Aleksa was making her bed and straightening their room. Nobody to remind her, she just did it. *blink, blink, blink*

Then, I checked Adam's room to see him reading in bed, enjoying a book. He's the only one that didn't completely floor me, as he's been our bookworm lately.

My kids are growing up. How could that possibly be?!

The doctor told me this week that Little Fish (uff da, almost wrote in the name there and completely spilled the beans) is supposedly ready any minute.

Life is changing around here, for sure.

Stromboli recipe

I've had a few people email or ask me what stromboli was. Thought I'd just post the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 loaf of bread dough (you can use frozen, but I always just make a pizza crust dough in my bread machine. Then I don't have to thaw anything out!)

Ham or Turkey lunchmeat

Shredded Mozzarella and/or Cheddar/American (cheese slices work too)

Pizza Seasoning

Pepperoni

Any other pizza topping you want. We like black olives and mushrooms too.

Pizza sauce for dipping (served at the table)

Directions:

Roll out the dough into a big rectangle

Arrange lunchmeat and Pepperoni "single file" down the middle (lengthwise) (don't cover the whole crust, just the center third)

Put cheeses / toppings on top of that

Sprinkle generously with Pizza Seasonings

Take one side of the bread dough and fold it over the meat/stuff. Pinch it down. On top of that, put another layer of meat and cheeses and seasonings. Fold other side of dough over that. Pinch down well. Seal all edges. Butter the top of the stromboli, and sprinkle with more pizza seasonings (to make it pretty!) and maybe some parmesan cheese too. Make slanted cuts all up and down the stromboli (again, to make it pretty.)

Bake for 30 minutes on 350º. Serve with pizza sauce for dipping, if desired.

Number Of Servings:3-4 adults

Preparation Time:about 15 minutes (not including time to make dough/thaw dough)

Stromboli

I wonder if I should be flattered that at supper tonight Liana told me proudly that she "didn't even gag yet."

I added some mushrooms to the stromboli tonight. It didn't go over too well, I guess. ;O)

Awol again, sorry!

I've been asked where I am, so here I go with a much belated blogpost... Sorry guys!

Thanks everyone for the emails and posts about my dad... What an emotional rollercoaster ride it has been on our whole family. He's actually feeling pretty good right now, I think, and his pneumonia is clearing up pretty well. His regular hemotologist came back from his vacation this week, and Dad got right in to see him his first day back, and was able to hear some good news about the bloodwork that had been worked up... He had been told that he had leukemia and myeloma just a few weeks ago... further testing has shown that to be false. *whew* His hemoglobin, platelets, etc are still horrible, but at least the other two "biggies" aren't going to have to be dealt with too. There isn't a whole lot they can do for him, however, to improve his health other than to make him comfortable and careful about not getting injured etc. He's been talking more and more about heaven and seeing Mom though, and while I am sooooo happy that he has that peace, it is hard to know that my Little Fish isn't probably going to know Grandpa like the other grandchildren in the family, especially since Grandma will also be "just pictures" to him/her as well.

Speaking of the baby, lets just say I'm getting to the "uncomfortable" stage of things with only 3 weeks left before my due date. Not sleeping well these days, and am feeling like I'm a whale. I'm DEFINITELY "Big Fish" right now! lol!

The kiddos are doing fine and dandy. Not a whole lot to report... Um. Hmm. Nope, not a lot happening there. They're all wonderful. Most days. ;O)

Prayer Request

Asking for prayer here... My dad went back to the hospital today to get two blood transfusions (his hemoglobin is like flat-lined)... when his body freaked out on him. He didn't even get one of the units of blood in him when his pulse and bp went out of whack, temp spiked, and he couldn't breathe. It wasn't a pretty sight. They had to "call in a team" to get things back under control, and kept him in the ER for closer observation until things stablized.

Plus, this week the doctors found some Leukemia and Myeloma cells in his blood. Just what a man with hemophilia and hepatitis C doesn't need. They took 14 vials of blood and we will get some more definitive results when his hemotologist gets back from Ireland on the 22nd.

Very hard for me to be so far away being 8 months pregnant. I'd love to hop in the car right now and see how he is for myself.... *sigh* Please pray for my dad, and also for us kids who are worried about him and wishing there were more we could do...

Eeek!

You know you're the mother of an impulsive pre-teen son when you get to the bottom of your ice water, notice something strange inside your ice cube, fish it out, and see that there is a big ole SPIDER frozen inside it.

Can you say, "EEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!"

Shower!

It has been such a busy weekend! Fun, stressful, more fun, less stress....

My big sis threw me (and John!) a baby shower on Saturday! Husbands were invited, so I got to see my brothers AND sisters at this one. And three aunts and two cousins. It was really, really, really nice. Got a ton of loot, and had a great time. It was truly a day I'll never forget. John's mom and sister had a shower for me a few weeks ago which was really nice too. Little Fish sure has a lot of people out there who are excited for his/her arrival!

The stressful part came in as we all watched my dad barely be able to breathe... He had just gotten out of the hospital on Wednesday after a three-day stay for a scare with bleeding from his intestines, and had developed pneumonia. He didn't want to go back in to the hospital, though, until after my shower. So. The poor man slept in a chair most of the afternoon. After the shower, John and I hauled him to emergency where they took one look at him and admitted him. John and I finally left the hospital after 11:00pm!

The good news is, that with the antibiotics and iv fluids they pumped into him, he was looking much more like himself by the next morning. He still stayed Sunday night though... I hope they keep him until he is good and well!

The Fishers also had some gifts from folks at our old church... John and I were at the hospital with Dad Sunday morning, so we didn't get them ourselves. John's mom also gave us a rocking chair that had been theirs from when she was pregnant with John. Very nice. She also gave me ice cream cake. Well, kinda. John's sister's birthday was Thursday, so we went to the Olive Garden for dinner and afterwards, we had ice cream cake. I only had a tiny sliver, and my blood behaved itself afterwards, but I did take a brisk walk after dinner and before cake time just in case! ;O)

But anyhow! We got home with all our loot, and there was a package on our doorstep from TULSA with yet another baby gift for us! (Laurel! How adorable! Thank you!!!)

After the kids went to bed, I spread alllll the loot allllll over the livingroom. Had to sort it you know. *wink* It is still quite a disaster in here, but it's a blissful one! :O)

Speaking of disasters! lol! After leaving the shower on Saturday, we were asking the kids how they enjoyed the day, etc., and Liana told us that she was talking to one of the twins (you remember my twin nieces I've mentioned?) Liana told us that Annie or Katie had told her that after the baby is born, that she was going to come and visit us. Liana told her, "Oh, ok. I'll try to make sure the house is clean."

She keeps me humble, doesn't she? lol!

Snack-time Issues

Well, I think the baby stuff is getting squared away. Finally! Just a few more things to do (Still need a dresser up there), and we'll be all set for Little Fish's arrival.

My dad has been in the hospital this week - been pretty stressful over here. He's ok, but it's rough to be so far away sometimes. Sniff, sniff.

Snack-time is an issue around here. If the kids see me eating something, they deserve it too you know. Even if they have something even yummier awaiting them, they still need what I've got. Drives me BATTY because I CAN'T have theirs, and now I have to feed them MY snacks, some of which are rather expensive. Yes, I have been saying no to them. Not always, but I have. And yes, we've had bad attitudes about it at times.

None of my kids are real "pudding" eaters. They just don't like it. So, I figured if I had some for my snacks, it wouldn't be an issue. Liana informed me that when pudding comes in a plastic cup from the store, that it tastes different, and that she likes those. (What. Ever.)

The other day we made two apple pies. (Early, for those of you who know we usually do that on Columbus Day). The kids still ate up all the peelings and cores. Fine. I half-expected them to. It's kind of a tradition by now, right? But after we were finished, I sat down with my snack of cottage cheese and cherries (How 'bout that, those frozen cherries have come in handy!), and of COURSE the kids were instantly starving. Starving for cottage cheese and cherries. Even though they had JUST finished off the cores and peels of at least 16 apples. Very frustrating to this mama. There is just plain no way they were starving for anything. They just didn't like that I had something that they didn't.

I just cannot comprehend the hunger these kids have known... Very hard for me to wrap my mind around.

Connie's Recipes

Thought I'd share these... Thanks again, Connie!!!


Old Fashioned Applesauce Cake

1 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger
1/2 c. reduced calorie margarine (25% less fat and calories)
1/4 c. molasses
1/2 c. egg substitute (she used 2 eggs)
1 t. vanilla
1 c. Splenda
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce

Preheat oven to 350*.

Spray an 8x8 metal cake pan with veg. cooking spray.

In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, cinnaomon, and ginger. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat margarine and molasses with an electric mixer on high speed for approx. 30 seconds. Mixture will be very liquid. Add Splenda and beat on medium speed until smooth, approx. 1 1/2 min.

Add flour mixture and applesauce and beat on low speed until mixed, approx. 45 seconds.

Spread batter evenly into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes at 350*.

Serves 8

Serving size 2.3 oz.
Calories 170, Carbohydrates: 24 g., Protein: 4 g., Dietary Fiber: 1 g., Saturated Fat 6 g., Cholesterol: 0 mg, Sodium: 310 mg

----------

Apricot Oatmeal Bars

1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 oatmeal quick or old-fashioned oats, uncooked
1/2 c. Equal Spoonful (or splenda)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 c. cold stick butter
2 Tbs. water
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup apricot or peach spreadable fruit

1. Combine flour, oats, Equal, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture is vey fine in texture and begins to stick together slightly. Stir in water and vanilla until well blended.

2. Reserve 3/4 cup flour mixture. Press remaining mixture firmly and evenly onto bottom of lightly sprayed 8-inch square baking pan. Bake in preheated 375* oven 12 to 15 minutes or until mixture is lightly browned at edge.

3. Remove from oven and spread with fruit. Sprinkle with reserved flour mixture, pressing gently into fruit.

4. Bake an additional 20 to 25 minutes or until flour mixture is lightly browned on top. Cool completly on wire rack. Cut into squares.

5. Store in airtight containers at room temperatures.

Makes 16 servings.

Nutritional information:

calories 108, protein 2 g., carbohydrates 14 g., fat 6 g., cholesterol 15 mg., sodium 27 mg.

---------------

Double Chocolate Brownies

6 Tbs. stick butter, softened
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 c. flour/whole wheat flour
1 c. Equal Spoonful/Splenda
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or mini choc. chips
6 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

1. Beat butter, applesauce,eggs, and vanilla until blended. Stir in combined flour, Equal, chocolate chips, cocoa, baking powder and salt until blended.

2. Spread batter in sprayed 8-inch square baking pan. Bake in a preheated 350* oven 18 to 20 minutes or until top springs back when gently touched. Cool completely on wire rack. Cut into squares.

3. Store in airtight containers at room temperature.

Makes 16 brownies.

Nutrition information per serving:

calories: 105
protein: 2 g.
carbohydrates: 10 g.
fat: 7 g.
cholesterol 38 mg.
sodium 77 mg

-----------------

Almond Granola Bars

1 1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 c. oat bran (or just use more oatmeal)
1/4 c. finely chopped almonds
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbs. veg. oil plus
1 tsp. veg. oil
1/3 c. honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. almond extract

Preheat oven to 350* F. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray.

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Combine remaining ingredients and add to dry mixture. Mix until all ingredients are moistened.

Press mixture into a rectangular shape 7 inches wide and nine inches long. (Wet hands or use one hand and a damp spoon.)

Bake about 12 minutes. Remove from oven and cut into 16 bars using a sharp knife. Separate bars slightly and return to oven for 3 to 5 minutes more. The browner the bottom of the bars, the crisper they will be when cool.

The edges will crumble slightly when cut - set aside for a snack. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

1 bar = 86 calories, 2 grams protein, 4 grams fat, 12 grams carbohydrates, 1 mg sodium, 0 cholesterol, 1 gram fiber.

Dessert!

Ya know what?

There are some really neat people in the world.

Wanna hear about one of 'em?

There's a lady at church whose hubby is diabetic. She's been emailing me recipes links here and there for the last few weeks, but wanna know what she did for me THIS week?

She went through her recipes, and made me FOUR different diabetic desserts. Of course, she kept some for her hubby, but because of the samples, I KNOW which recipes I want to try. I got a heaping plate full of apple spice cake, double-chocolate brownies, granola bars, and oatmeal-apricot bars. Plus their recipes of course. And all of them are LEGAL for me! YAY!!!! (Well, they're prob'ly not legal if I eat the whole plateful at once, but you know what I mean!!)

I have discovered though, that when eating the brownies, that you shouldn't try to sneak them up to the bathroom so the kids don't see you eating them - you should definitely put them on a saucer and eat it with a fork at the table. I got too many crumbles on the bathroom floor, and not only could I not eat 'em up after they fell, but I wound up on my hands and knees trying to pick up the evidence!. If I had been eating at the table, I could have eaten every crumb just fine and no acrobatics by a basketball-belly-lady. (I'm sure I was quite a sight!) LOL!

Awol!

Been awol for a while... sorry about that. I've been up to my eyeballs in school, and then trying to get the house "baby-ized" which means I'm having to rip apart the whole house. Well, at least it appears that way! Our loft area upstairs has been the kids' computer area, plus we have a gazillion books and games up there. It now needs to be the spot for a midnight feeding, so I'm trying to make it a cozy spot for a rocking chair (or whatever), and a bassinet or baby swing. The crib and dresser (which is still-to-be-got) is going to be in our room. That means, everything up there in the loft and in our room has been distributed throughout the house. But in order to put say the games downstairs, the kids' closets needed to be overhauled, which meant we had to pull everything they owned out, sort it, make piles of outgrown clothes (nearly everything!), etc. And for some reason, the overflow winds up in the livingroom. (Ever noticed that whenever your house is like that, the next door neighbor decides to visit? lol!)

So.

While trying to manage all this, I'm also trying to keep up the laundry, cooking, etc., with a basketball attached to the front of me. The dusting and floor-scrubbing is just plain not going to be done for another week or two, I'm certain. Yes, you can write your name on the mantle with your finger. No idea how this is all going to straighten out in the eight short weeks I have left before Little Fish arrives on the scene! And the baby stuff keeps pouring in! I had a baby shower this last weekend, and there is another coming up soon... Been having fun, don't get me wrong, but uff, pressure, pressure! Eight weeks! Yikes!

Hence, my absence from Blog Land! :O)

Corn Field Trip!

Went on a corn field trip today.

Well, that's what Aleksa was thinking we were going to do. Last night she told John, "Papa! Tomorrow, we're going to a corn field and then we're going on a train ride instead of doing school!"

And so the wires were a little crossed. We explained to her that we were going on a "Field Trip" and the the trip was a train ride where we'd learn about trains, kinds of trains, see beautiful fall leaves, etc.

I thought she got it. Really.

But half-way through the train ride she said, "Mama, when are we stopping in the corn field?"

Argh!

Ha-ha-ha

And so when John heard my idea about letting the kids in on my "science project" of helping with my blood tracking, etc., he very seriously sat me down and said, "Shelly, most people wait until they're dead to donate their bodies to science."

Hardy-har-har...

Broiled Tilapia Parmesan

And so you know I'm on a new diet. Well, not the lose weight kind (better not be anyway!) Been scouring the 'net looking for low-carb recipes and HAVE to share this one...

I have to confess, I'm not much of a fish-eater. I know it is super good for me and all that, but well, it tastes fishy.

I'm desperate to eat right these days, however, so last night I tried a recipe off of AllRecipes.com (don't you LOVE that site?) and I have to say, this was some kind of fish! John said it was as good as anything from Red Lobster. Whoa. And to think it only took a few minutes to throw together! Really!

And don't just take MY word for it, this recipe got 5 stars from over 2,000 reviewers. (That's the only reason I had the nerve to try it in the first place...) Really. Ya gotta try it. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Broiled-Tilapia-Parmesan/Detail.aspx

Ok, enough advertising.

Anyone have any good low-carb/low sugar snack ideas? Sick of carrot sticks...

Feelin' Good!

I am amazed at how different I have felt in the last few days since watching my sugar/carbs... I feel like a million bucks! I haven't been dragging in the afternoons and "NEEDING" my nap, and I haven't needed to get up to use the bathroom 3+ times a night anymore! Just once! Usually on Sundays after dinner I have to catch a two hour nap or feel like garbage, and yesterday I didn't even need one! I still layed down for a bit, but I got antsy and got up. Unheard of for me, truly.

My biggest challenge is going to be coming up with snack ideas that are legal, but hopefully the dietician I talk to on Wednesday will have some good ideas for me.

Been thinking of the finger-poking thing... I'm thinking I'll include all three kiddos in the endeavor (since I have to poke myself four times a day!), and make it into a science project this fall. They can help me track my blood sugar levels and see how food affects them, and which kinds, etc. Great opportunity to learn about the food groups, and what carbs are, etc. (Plus, I have a feeling Liana's microscope will get some extra use - she loves looking at blood and gunk under that thing...) lol!

Rough Week

Been a gruelling week for me. With all the neighbor kids back to school, and us getting back into the "school schedule" the kids threw their usual fits trying to settle into the new routine. We had some major "testing Mama" moments, er, hours, this week. Was ready to hand in my resignation papers on Friday! lol! I find it so interesting that horrible behavior can be predicted so faithfully just by looking at what the calendar says.

Aside from that stress... I found out this week that I flunked my glucose test, and had to do the 3-hour one. Flunked that too. So, guess who has gestational diabetes?

*sigh*

That would be me.

I see a dietician next week the day before my doctor appointment. I'm such a baby about needles! I've been reading a friend's blog who just finished doing IVF, and hearing how many shots she had to give herself made my stomach churn... She's braver than I am, that's all I have to say! These four finger-pokes a day are gonna take some major inhales and exhales! (I could just let Liana do it for me, but uh, it would go to her head awwwwful fast!) lol!

Anyway, I've been watching my diet like a hawk, and writing everything down to show the dietician and doctor. My mom had diabetes so the drill isn't all-new to me, but wow, have I been tempted with the cookie jar this week! I'm proud to say, I haven't cheated and I've had more energy in the last two days than I have in weeks! I keep saying, "Shelly, you are NOT messing with the health of your baby for a stupid cookie... Do you know how many women would gladly trade places with you and never eat another cookie again in their LIVES if it would mean they could have this baby?" Somehow that reality check is all I need to "just say no."

Since telling my family about my diabetes, both of my sisters and a niece are going on the Little Fish Diet (Yikes, almost used Little Fish's name right there!) right along with me. I HAVE THE COOLEST FAMILY!!! Sharon even passed up a World Class Caramel Apple straight from the orchard this afternoon because it didn't fit the diet. We're checking in with each other every night to see how we each did. Aren't they the sweetest?

It's definitely true that misery loves company! lol! If I can't have my Monster Cookie, it is comforting that some of those closest to me aren't eatin' theirs either!

Money

John has been trying really hard to teach the kids about money, budgeting, saving, etc.

This morning after helping the kids put their money in their appropriate envelopes, Aleksa declared, "Mama, look how much blow-up money I have!"

*blink, blink, blink*

I've been really trying to keep excess "pregnancy stuff" off this blog, and keep a pg journal elsewhere... But. Just this once I have to make a small exception...

The neighbor lady came over today.

She asked me how many weeks along I was, etc., and when I told her I had 11 weeks left, she said...

*drum roll*

"You must be carrying all your extra weight in your butt then."

LOL!

Meal Calendar

I got an email this morning from someone asking me about make-ahead kind of cooking, and since my response turned into a book instead of a quick reply, I thought I'd post it here too in case there is someone else out there who needs some encouragement in this area...

Hi M---! Boy do I feel your pain... It took us a looooong time to get into a healthy groove, and I must say, the cooking department remains my most daunting "homemaker" task. I hate it, really. But, we hafta eat, so whaddawedo? lol! And because we have three kids, we just can't afford to be running to a restaurant every other night as "in the old days."

Truthfully, I've found that what has helped me most wasn't necessarily a pile of recipes, but instead developing a good system. This is what I try to do. I print out a blank calendar, and on each day of the month, (or just two weeks, depending on how I shop), I fill in a different "meal" option. THEN, I make out a shopping list for those meals. When I do this, (which I've been doing a few years now except for some stressful months when my life is chaos!), I am MUCH less inclined to pop in a frozen pizza or ask John to pick up Burger King for everyone. If I have a plan, and know I have the ingredients, I'm not overwhelmed and it takes my decision-making off my stress-pile for the day. I find that no matter how stressed or tired I am, if I can just look at my calendar and pick a meal, then I can just buck up and do it. But if I just shop generically for two weeks and then "hope" I have two weeks worth of groceries in the pantry once I get home, I just flunk out in the meal-making department. I just can't function that way, though that's exactly what I used to do. I'll be eating frozen pizza every night, no matter what ingredients I've brought home for other things. I also spent a gazillion more dollars on groceries in the "old days" since I'd have to keep running to the store for this or that, or else going out all the time. I suggest that you don't start off with exotic meals scheduled every night, or you'll quickly burn out and get discouraged. Mark down meals you KNOW and love and are comfortable making.

Another thing that helped me was that when I fill out my meals on the calendar, I keep a guideline written for myself on the bottom. It changes with the season, but it says something like, "Pizza twice monthly, 3 new recipes monthly, vegetarian meal once per week, dessert twice monthly, soup once a week, (or in the summer "grill out once a week"), roast or chicken every Sunday, etc." John also has a favorite meal or two that have to make it on the menu once a month. :O) Ask your hubby what he'd like to see on the menu, and then make sure to follow through. Makes you happier those nights to be in the kitchen, and it warms his heart to know you're going out of your way to please him. Actually, as I made my "guideline" I really consulted John a lot as to what he'd like to see on the menu; took some of the work out of it for me, plus it made me feel all nicey-wifey. ;O) You can also make sure you're inviting people over more regularly because you just fill it in on the calendar instead of constantly thinking, "Oh, I really should invite so-and-so over, but I wouldn't know what to serve, and I don't know when to plan for it..." You may be better at this than we are, but I'm not naturally very hospitable. When it happens it's great, but I just don't think to plan for it like I should.

Also, save those calendars! I have over two years' worth of them that I consult heavily especially when there is a season change to get my mind thinking "summer meals" again, or whatever. I can either reuse the calendars, or just steal the ideas from off of them. I have a special "yellow" folder that holds my calendars from previous months. This month's calendar is actually on my kitchen table under a thick table cloth of clear vinyl plastic that I got at Walmart. I stick all kinds of notes and things under that table cloth, and they are right there for me to be able to consult whenever I'm seated at the table. I've put verses, notes about appointments, recipes, etc. under there, along with a world map for the kids (we homeschool)... And when we have company, all I do is throw a cloth table cloth over the top of everything to hide my housewife stuff. :o)

Another thing I do on my calendar is that on the days I have "special" recipes that I want to try, I write the name of the cookbook and page number right under the name of it. Or, I'll just write, "in recipe file" or whatever. It saves me a lot of headache that way wondering where the recipe is. For some recipes, I'll even flip the calendar over and write it out right there. I just have to make sure I don't trash my calendar when I make the recipe. (Done that!) I just heard a tip the other day that when someone is cooking, they'll put their recipe on the range hood with a magnet up and out of the mess and then their recipe card stays nice. Fabulous idea! If they are loose recipes, I'll just stick them inside my yellow "meal calendar" folder.

You asked about "make ahead" kind of meals. Well, I honestly only really do that occasionally anymore, and for my dad's meals. But! I do cook a lot of meat ahead of time, which is my biggest "hangup" for wanting to cook... If I have a burger recipe, I'll cook double the meat (usually with onions), and freeze half of it for the next time. It takes about the same amount of time to brown four pounds of meat as two, so I like to get a little ahead for my next meal. I'm much less inclined to pop in a pizza if my "burger recipe" meal already has the burger cooked up and ready for me in the freezer! (Actually, I use venison burger). Same goes for chicken. I'll roast a whole bird, and then de-bone the leftovers for another meal, and throw the bones/carcass in a big ziploc bag to make soup later on.

Hope that helps! Let me know how it goes! If you need some accountability on this project, let me know that too... I'd love to help, as I TOTALLY understand that desire to throw up my hands after poking around the fridge and pantry and say, "Let's go out tonight!"

Three Years Home

Three Years Home. Unbelievable.

I feel horrible that it has taken me so long AFTER "The 17th" to write this up, and truthfully, I'm not even sure if I'll finish it before the troops start requiring my full attention for the morning, but my conscience is bothering me, and I've gotta take a stab at it!

Three big years for these guys. They are completely different kids now than who we brought home. Well, same kids, just not such "exaggerated" personalities anymore. Older, wiser, more settled, calm, and attached than ever before.

Adam. Well, aside from the fact that the boy is towering me now, and has a foot bigger (and smellier! Uff!) than John's... he has really grown in other areas too. He no longer breaks Everything he owns. Well, he still loves to dismantle things, don't get me wrong, but it used to be that we couldn't give him ANYTHING without it being broken five minutes later. And that really isn't too bad of an exaggeration. I remember handing Adam a toy and as I was still standing there, he'd proceed to try to break it. First reflex was to break and destroy. Not so any longer, thankfully.

I've already shared his bike story this summer, how he worked so hard to earn the money for one, and wow, if that doesn't speak volumes of how much Adam has changed!!! He would never have had the stick-to-it-iveness necessary for such an endeavor even last summer. He would have just gone without a bike.

He still has very impulsive hands, especially when he is wound up. I still cringe when I see him getting wound up because *anything* can happen when he does. I still think of when my brother was visiting this summer and he was "way excited" over the visit. I stepped into the livingroom in time to see Adam yanking on my brother's leg... who wasn't playing with him, or even standing. But, Adam got excited, and just started acting on impulse. His hands have also gotten him in other kinds of trouble, and while he isn't malicious about what happens with them, he does find himself in alllll kinds of hot water over them. We're really praying that he'll outgrow a lot of that, but I know that his disabilities have a lot to do with his impulsiveness, and that worries this Mama.

School has gotten a lot easier for Adam, and I have no reason for it other than he is emotionally settling enough that his brain isn't fighting emotional stress on top of just trying to absorb new material. He occasionally has a hard time concentrating though, and when he does, he might as well throw in the towel for the day. Yesterday, for example, he had to write words that rhyme with knight. He came up with the word kite, though he spelled it wrong. The "ight" was throwing him. I told him how to spell it. He sat down, and promptly forgot what I'd said. I spelled it again. He got the "k" on the paper and forgot again. I spelled it one more time. He still couldn't get it. Then I told him he needed to figure it out himself because it was an easy word, I'd already told him three times, and he needed to remember to TRY to remember what people tell him when they tell him things. The boy sat there a half hour. He spaced off and threw up a wall in front of him.

Math, however, is coming a lot easier for him than ever before. He is still way behind his peers in math (hence the year-round math regime!), but thankfully, it is sinking in faster than ever, and better than ever. Big relief to not have to fight for every mastered concept anymore.

Food is still big to him, though in a different way maybe. In the morning, Adam will be the one to set the breakfast table -without being asked... He'll also wash up any dishes left from the day before without being asked. He loves to help bake... he'll help cook too, but he loves baking treats. He can make a mean carrot cake, brownies, muffins, bars, you name it. I'm lucky to have so many extra hands around. For some reason, my incredible NEEEED to snack and snack and snack ended with my first trimester, and while I do have "regular" snacktimes with everyone else, my constant grazing isn't grating Adam anymore. He will often still ask for seconds, thirds, etc. until he doesn't see anymore food left, but frankly, he's been growing so much, that I'm sure he needs it! It still means a LOT to him to see me in that kitchen cookin' and bakin' things up for everyone. Even if I have some major flops in there, it means a lot to his security that I'm trying to fill his belly somehow.

Liana is really getting to be the right age to be super-helpful without me having to watch her like a hawk. She's been enjoying helping out in the kitchen quite a bit, and I'm so thankful that this stuff is fun to her, instead of a drudgery. She loves it when I hand her a recipe and she gets to decipher it. She has her own set of measuring cups and spoons and you'd think I'd given her the Keys to the Kitchen! lol! Liana is a baby magnet... She loves them to pieces and is willing to mother anyones' baby who will let her. She loves to hang out outside the nursery at church, and it isn't uncommon to see her lugging around one of them, or feeding them. She has always been a little mama. She'll be really handy to have around this November, let me just say!

She's doing great in school too... She is finishing up the Little House on the Prairie series this summer. I think she's on the last book right now, just in time to start the new school year. I'm so proud of her efforts! She has really taken off. She has also been enjoying American Girl books that she got for her birthday from Uncle Jared. She loved the Addy books especially.

Aleksa. She's really shot up this year too. She's quite the little reader also, and is only five units away from finishing the math book she started late this spring. (That's a whole year's worth of math!)

Leks still has a hard time staying on task though. We'll ask her to do something, and she still gets side-tracked and finds herself playing instead of finishing what we asked her. She enjoys her own little world too much at times! She loves pretending she's on that Magic Carpet, or that she's a princess, a horse, or whatever. She can just flip off the real world and go visit these wonderful places too easily! She'll be making her bed in the morning, and find herself sidetracked by having to fold a blanket- it becomes a picnic spread with royal guests seated all around. She needs constant reminding of what "her job" is. Love that imagination though - there is no doubt she'll excell in writing, acting, speech-giving, etc. She also loves to sing made-up songs at the top of her lungs. John likes to joke that she needs to write an opera!

She is also really spreading her wings in regard to her older siblings. She is a smart girl, and she doesn't mind correcting her brother and sister if they say or read something not the "right way." She'll also scold them for doing something wrong. They tend to get rather annoyed over Baby Sis trying to be their teacher/mother!

She's still the happy-go-lucky one though. She has the most consistant demeanor, and it is usually very sunny and happy. She just has a way of making everyone feel like every day is the best day of the year. Wish I were more like that!

The thing I admire most about all three kids, though, is their ability to make friends so easily. They see someone new, and they bee-line right over to them to talk to and play with them. They've never felt an ounce of fear, hesitancy, etc., over meeting anyone new. They are all three very naturally hospitable. I love that. I wish I were more like that. I'm such an introvert at times! It makes me CRAZY how scared I am of new faces. I'm working on it. And I'm learning a lot from my kids. They just so easily think of the OTHER person and how to make them feel loved and liked and wanted, and my own default is to think of MY discomfort. I'm really wondering how Little Fish will wind up. John and I are both introverts, but if he/she (thought I was gonna slip there, didn't ya?!) is hanging around his/her siblings all the time, won't some of that extrovertedness rub off? I sure hope so. It is so much nicer to be a people person than a self-person. (Read: selfish).

It will be very interesting to see what the changes in our household this year will "do" to and for the children. Little Fish is going to be a lot of fun, but I'm hoping that my energy stays steady so I can still be the mom to my older crew that I need to be. But looking back instead of ahead, this has been a really good year!

Whaddayado?

I'm fairly certain our social worker did NOT cover this one in our homestudy conversations, but uh, I just had a first, and frankly, I'm rather stumped as to what to do about it.

Liana just told me that Adam "licked her nose." He just leaned over and licked her on the nose.

This was Definitely not a topic in the parenting strategy books I've read.

Why would he do that? I dunno. It was there? She was in his space? He felt an urge to gross her out? Who could possibly ever know?

All I can think to say is, "OY."


Edited to add "The rest of the story..."

And so, after sitting here perplexed as to "what to do" I called Adam back out from his room, and held The Questioning. lol.

Found out that Liana had asked him what he had in his mouth, and when she wasn't satisfied with the answer she got, she proceeded to STICK HER NOSE IN HIS MOUTH to smell for herself what it was.

And since that's pretty annoying, he licked it. (This mama would have been tempted to BITE, and not lick.) ;O)

So.

We have a bossy-pants little sister who Must Know things that don't concern her, and then tried to get her brother in trouble when she found her nose wet. Talk about backfiring! lol!

Thankfully Mama wasn't hasty in doling out lectures or consequences this time.. *whew*

Canning Resumed

Fridge and freezer now all cleaned out, and everyone is still alive. ;O)

Back to the pear-canning business. Haven't gotten much done with all the chaos around here this week, but I'm hoping to really crank out a bunch of quart jars today.

By the way, Kate, canning is a pretty straight-forward process- just a lot of backache. You buy some glass canning jars, lids and rings for around the lids, a water-bath canning pot, a few odds and ends, and then a whole ton of fruit. The magic ticket though, is buying the book called "Ball Blue Book of Preserving." It tells you how to can or preserve just about anything you can think of. Jams, fruits, veggies, meat, soups, etc. Plus how to dry, freeze, etc. Preserving your own food is a great way of knowing what you are eating, getting delicious food stored up for the family, and having the satisfaction of seeing all the jars all lined up and "pretty" on your shelf. Makes ya feel all domestical and wholesome somehow! lol! Some day I want to try tomatoes, but I need a garden first! I can totally see you getting into this stuff, Kate... ya gotta look into to it for when you bring your babies home. ;O)

Fridge Woes

Woke up this morning to find everything in the fridge and freezer WARM.

The fridge/freezer dials were set to Off.

Am I a happy camper?

Bee Sting!

Still up to my eyeballs in things to do, but we had an "emergency" a few hours ago that I MUST sit and blog or I'll lose it.

I was in the kitchen starting to think about what to make for supper, and suddenly I heard the most blood-curdling scream I've heard in ages... Miss Aleksa Lu at her finest. She was stung by a bee. And, as Liana announced, "The bee's butt is still in her skin!"

How exciting. Nobody freaks quite as well as Leksa. Nobody. And I haven't heard her freak like this since she was newly home. I instantly thought back to the days when just leaving her alone in a room by herself could send her into orbit.

So, in she came, and I very calmly held her little cheeks in my hand and said, "Ouchie, Aleksa, that hurts. I'm going to lead you over to that chair and then we're going to set you down. OK?" And then I said, "Ok, now Aleksa, Mama is going to get you a cold rag and some ice. I'm right here." Then I said, "Leks, we gotta get the tweezers so we can get the stinger out." After a few more minutes of hugs and kisses, she started to calm down. I got the stinger out and put the rag and ice on her (it got her on the inside of her wrist - ouchie!) Layed her down on the couch, got her Twinkle Bear and her Pony and she settled right down. Never saw such a sweaty, pitiful mess of a girl, but she was ok.

Ok, why am I giving the blow by blow? Well, because she actually calmed down. Three years ago, she would STILL be screaming, and I'm not kidding you.

Big brother Adam really doted on his sister. Thankfully, he didn't tell me it was all my fault - he's been known to get really mad at me and tell me that any time his sisters are hurt. He decided that he was going to read her a story. She had it made. Got her some ice water, her own tv tray, and a snuggly blanket, and she was happy as a lark.

I snuck back into the kitchen to get our supper going again, and a little while later Aleksa came into the kitchen and said, "I'm so glad I have a mama to take care of me and give me hugs and ice when bad things happen like bee bites. Those orphanage mamas didn't take care of me like that, and it was scary."

No wonder she was such a screamer when she first came home.

I think those were the most profound words out of Aleksa's little mouth. She has NEVER EVER EVER talked like that. She has NEVER talked about the "orphanage mamas." She has only very seldom ever said the WORD orphanage let alone tell me what she remembered or how she felt. Her brother and sister are the talkers and rememberers. She only ever talks about life since we brought her home. It's like she has forgotten everything else. But I guess not.

I'm sure it goes without saying that we had a Hug Fest right then and there....

Busy!

Incredibly busy around here. I owe this blog a major post about our Three Years Home, but I'm actually too busy to write one! We've had company this weekend (John's parents), and besides that, I have been up to my eyeballs in fruit to can. Peaches and pears this time. I put John's poor family to work on Saturday, (well, truthfully, they volunteered), and our peaches, thankfully, are all under control. Today is Pear Day. (Yesterday was "untrash the kitchen and get my back feeling better day.")

I'll post again later. Gotta get going though for the day!

Party!

Fun day yesterday! Friday night Uncle Jared stayed overnight. What a nice uncle! My kiddos sure had him busy! Liana asked him to watch her make bread and I thought, "oh, no, poor guy, he's gonna want to watch that about like he wants to watch paint dry!" But, he did it anyway! What a sweetie! Lots of tickling, reading, chatting, joke-telling, etc. It was so fun!

Yesterday the rest of the Fisher Clan came over. Big birthday dinner, nasty "little girl" cake. (You know, the "fun-fetti" kind with the canned frosting.) (*shudder*) But, the girls liked it, so *sigh*, that's all that mattered, right? lol! I'm going to have to work on their tastes for REAL cake from scratch... we've been making a few lately, but I guess they just aren't "pink" enough for a birthday cake request! ;o)

Grandpa and Grandma spoiled them rotten with dollies and hair thingies and clothes and, and, and... :o) They had an awful lot of fun opening presents! Auntie Cara got them fingernail polish. Their favorite thing in the world! This summer I've been the victim of multi-colored toenails from my polish-lovin' girlies. Good thing I don't much care - my summer shoes are toe-less. lol! Just another badge of motherhood, I guess! When my girls are older, my toes will be one color again, but for now, I enjoy looking down at my tootsies and seeing two layers of smudged, over-the-cuticle purples and pinks. It means my girlies love me!

Back to the usual routine now though. This week has been lots of fun, but I'm looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow!

Birthday week update!

Leksa's birthday today. *sniff, sniff* How can my baby be SEVEN????? She has officially spent half of her life with us now. Wow. And my Liana is NINE? Uff da. She's going to be married off before I can blink.

I've been so busy this week. I'm exhausted. I mentioned VBS in an earlier post... We've actually been directing it... Lots more things to think about than I had imagined. Hopefully if we ever do this again, (read: If we're ever asked!), we can do so a lot more smoothly. Very stressful. I was also teaching the little ones, and John was the MC/song leader. Last night was the big "bash" night where the kids could spend the "VBS Bucks" they earned all week by saying verses, attending, bringing visitors, etc. We had a family give $400 toward "Cool Prizes" so, whoa, were there prizes! Liana wound up with a doctor kit, Adam got a cool flashlight that has a compass, radio, alarm, etc. on it. (And best of all, it doesn't need batteries; you crank it up to charge it up!) Leksa got a new Bible and bible cover. And on top of all the prizes, there was a Ton of Candy. We had carnival games, and pony rides. I asked Leksa how many times she rode the ponies, and she giggled and said she had no idea, she had ridden them so many times! I don't think she played even one carnival game - she was too busy over by the ponies. I had a feeling that would happen! ;O)

For the girls' birthdays, we woke them up early so John could see them open one of their presents (the rest will wait for their party on Saturday.) Liana got a watch she's been hoping for, and Leksa got a toy horse and carriage. Two very happy girlies.

You should see Adam with his flashlight though. Talk about giddy! He hasn't put the thing down since he "bought" it last night! (It's only 7:38am right now, but they've all three been up a while already)... "Mama, this is East! Did you know this is East!" "You want the baby to hear my music?" "Watch me crank it up, Mama! Can you believe it, Mama? No batteries!!" "This is so cool!" Looks like the prize buyer - (John!) did good! ;O) (He said he "might have" had Adam in mind for that one...)

I'm ready for a vacation. But! That's not to be for a few more days. Lots more excitement ahead of us this weekend with the girls' party and all our company. Tomorrow also marks the three year anniversary of our court date in Ukraine. The whole Fisher crew is headed this way today and tomorrow.

*edited to add that I do know the difference between a horse and a pony... There were mostly ponies and this one token horse... Had forgotten about the horsie until I saw my pictures! lol! (Jiss be quiet, I've had a long week! lol!)

My Letter to Zhanna

(This is my letter to Zhanna, slightly edited to make it ok for public eyes, but I thought it was newsy enough about the kids that you all might enjoy it too.)

August 7, 2007

Dear Zhanna,

What a nice surprise to hear from you! I have been wanting to write you for many weeks, and I’m so sorry for leaving you waiting and wondering about your sweet babies. I hope you can please forgive me for that.

Yesterday was Valya’s birthday! She is so proud to be a big 9-year-old girl! She has become such a sweet young lady… I know you would be proud of her. Her newest interests have been sewing and learning to bake bread. She made a quilt square into a pillow a few weeks ago, and sleeps with it every night.

She is right this moment making bread in the kitchen all by herself! (Bread machine bread, for you blog friends reading this). She’s a smart girl, Zhanna! She has been growing up right before our eyes, and many days it makes me teary to see her getting so tall and mature. She loves most of all to be with her friends and family. She loves people and makes friends immediately. I wish I myself had such a gift with people! Her hair is getting long… She has been growing out her shorter front bangs, and they are finally long enough to tuck behind her ears. It drove her crazy to get them that long though! She is becoming such a beautiful young girl.

This week we are having special children’s meetings at our church, and as I was in the hallway talking to another mom, Valya could be heard singing loudly from inside the bathroom! She actually could be heard all over the church! She then came out of the bathroom dancing down the hallway. That’s our girl! She was extra-happy because it was her birthday, and told everyone all about the new watch she got as a gift. She is very proud that she can tell time all by herself.

Friday is Zinochka’s birthday. She is very excited to be a 7-year-old. We are planning a big party for both girls on Saturday. John’s parents and brother and sister and her children are coming. Zina is getting so tall! One of the reasons we had asked you what height you and Misha were is because, the children are getting so tall so fast! We expect that they’ll all be very, very tall when they are fully grown… I myself am quite short, so it won’t be long before all of them are taller than me! (Misha already is!)

Zina loves horses and ponies, and is thrilled that she gets to have a horse ride on Thursday this week. She loves to pretend she is a horse, and crawls all over the place making horse sounds. Her little knees get quite black, and she has stained many, many play clothes that way! She also loves playing dress-up, and pretending to have tea-parties. She loves “pretending” things more than the other two do. She has quite an imagination! She also loves to read. The other two do also, but Zina is very far ahead in school because of her love of reading. It makes us so proud and happy that she is doing so well.

Her hair is getting long too… We had wondered if it would darken, but she remains our little blondie. She still has her sweet little chubby cheeks, and those dimples melt our hearts. She has a way of charming everyone she meets with her friendliness and smiles. As you know, she’s just adorable! She now has three of her permanent teeth on the top, and the fourth one is on the way. She looks like a big girl now!

The biggest thing she is excited about right now is also the biggest thing that is happening in our family this year. Surprisingly, after ten years of marriage, John and I are expecting a baby this November! Zina can’t wait to finally be a big sister, and of course Misha and Valya are anxious for the new baby to come also. They will all be great helpers for me this winter, I know. They are so eager to help with this little one.

I hope I don’t need to tell you, but you don’t know us well, so I’ll reassure you anyway. I want you to know that just because we are going to have a biological child now, that it won’t at all affect how we feel about our Ukrainian sweethearts. We love them with all our hearts, Zhanna, and I hope you always take comfort in knowing that.

That leaves me to tell you about Misha… He wants me to tell you how strong he is, and smart, and what a good bike-rider he is. (He is standing here making sure I write that!) He bought himself a brand new bike this summer with money he earned doing jobs for neighbors. He did yard work, did painting, wood projects, and other things in order to buy his new bike. Misha had ruined his old bike, and so, John and I wanted him to learn a lesson from that, so he had to earn a new one himself. The lesson worked, because he has been taking excellent care of his new bike.

He also wants me to tell you that his pet fish “Bubbles” died a few days ago. He had a hamster for a long time too, but it died this winter. He is very tender-hearted boy, and made both of them little boxes and buried them in the woods by our house.

You asked what we’ve been doing on vacation. We have had a fun summer! There is a big park near our house, that we have visited many times this summer for picnics, swims at the beach, and also hiking along the trails. We have seen many wild animals like deer, snakes, and many different kinds of birds. The kids love our trips to that park! We’ve also made a few trips to see family members. My sister lives several hours away, and we went to visit her. Her husband is a fireman, and my sister works in an ambulance, so we brought the children to look at the fire trucks (they even got to go for a ride!), and got to look inside an ambulance. They loved that! My sister has a little puppy that the kids loved to play with, though Valya broke out in a rash afterwards, so we’re wondering if she is allergic to dogs. We hope not, as we were hoping to get the kids a dog next summer.

I think of you often, Zhanna, as do the children. They talk about you all the time, and I encourage them to do so. It is so hard that your deep loss was our richest gain. All three children would love to see you again, and while I don’t have any idea how we could afford a trip to Ukraine any time soon, we can pray that one day they will see you again, and that John and I can finally meet the woman who gave our children life. We love you, pray for you, and only wish you well.

Shelly, John,

Misha, Valya and Zinochka