Aleksa's Cookie Mess
Purple Cookies... Eww
Goofy Liana
Frosting Mess
Adam's Cookies
Lady Bug Project
Saturday, October 02, 2004
Friday, October 01, 2004
Cookie Mess!
This afternoon I had the kids make cut-out cookies. What a Disaster Zone. First of all, this morning one of the kids ran off with our kitchen timer, so the cookies turned out rather crispy. When I pulled them out of the oven they asked, "Crackers, Mama?" I figured though, that with a dollop of frosting, the "crackers" would be ok. ;O)
Then! I put the canister of flour on top of the fridge away from little hands and apparently I put it up there carelessly. I had to go into the freezer for something or other and you guessed it, the canister fell on the floor. Flour EVERYWHERE. I instantly had a flock of little kids wanting to "help" clean it up. Mess, Mess, Mess.
This evening I had them frost the cookies, and that was a big disaster too, but they had a blast. John helped mix the colors for the frosting, and being the curious soul he is, he decided to mix the food coloring colors together to see what kind of shades he could come up with. Nasty ugly purple (Sorry, honey, I thought they were hideous!). Then the Sprinkles. Oh what fun they had with sprinkles. I think we're going to be finding sprinkles in nooks and crannies until 2020. But, of course, they loved it, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. They were really good today. Everyone got along, everyone was cooperative, lots of memories made today.
The only trouble of the day was how slooooow the girls ate their lunch. If they aren't terribly thrilled with the menu, they will usually drag out the meal for as long as they possibly can. They are actually discussing this topic on my "Older Kids" adoption board right now, so I have a few tips on how to speed them up a bit now. We'll see...
With all the attention I have to give the older two with their school work, I have been feeling like little Aleksa has been "out in the cold" without her mama. I've been trying to include her in a lot of what we do, but there is only so long I can hold her attention too. I use puppets a lot when I explain new words or concepts, and that helps, but... So, I break things up with reading books here and there, but I still wish I could be a few places at once. At naptime I slept with Aleksa on purpose just because of that. I'm going to try to do that more often.
Once Liana's Tylenol wore off, her nose was still pretty tender this evening. I don't think it is broken since the swelling went down so fast overnight, but who knows. I hope her eyes don't blacken, but I appreciate the heads up from the one who posted below about their little girl's eyes taking a few days to blacken. We might just wind up taking her in so I can find out whether or not her nose had been broken before or not. Might not ever get the chance to find out otherwise. We'll have to think on that one.
Our kids' favorite word is "smatree!" ("Watch/look!") We hear it about five million times a day as a preface for something they just plain HAVE to show us. Tonight, the girls actually started saying "watch" instead. It kinda made me sad. Earlier, Aleksa was singing one of the many songs she knows from Ukraine. This one was something about a dog, and in it she was apparently to count to 10. (If it rings a bell with anyone, I'd love to get the words to it somehow!) She got to 6 just fine in Ukrainian, but then when it came to 7, she said, "seven" and then finished counting in English. The number seven sounds similar in both languages so it was an easy number to transition with. That kinda made me sad too. I got the song on video though (poor girl was on the pot when I taped her though. Sorry Aleksa, you should get inspired to sing elsewhere if you don't want Mama to tape you on the potty!)
Because I was curious about the counting thing and switching languages with Aleksa, tonight I asked Adam to count for me in Ukrainian. He did the same thing, only it wasn't number 7. He didn't know he switched languages either until I started counting with him. Then he sort of pantomimed his brain being all scrambled up. Can't even imagine! It has to be soooo frustrating for them! I've heard that at about 2-3 months home, the kids will be officially "language-less." Meaning, they won't remember their Ukrainian (well enough to be fluent), and won't know English yet (well enough to be fluent.) It will probably take longer than that for us since the kids have each other to talk to and reinforce their first language. So sad that it will be gone soon. I really do feel bad about that. You lose your language and you lose your culture. Imagine us Americans speaking French. We would not be the same kind of people. I know, I know, just get over it, Shelly.
The kids' certificates of citizenship came from Immigration today. They are soooo pretty! Very official documents, having seals, signatures, the kids' pictures, etc. Plus a letter from the President that actually made me cry. They got their US passports a little while ago. Next stop is to get their SS numbers and then we're done with all the US stuff. Our kids possess soooo much with their citizenship here. So many have died trying to obtain it. I truly hope that some day they will understand what an enormous gift and privilege they have being Americans. They do have dual citizenship with Ukraine at least until they are 18. I hope they always keep their Ukrainian citizenship too, but I'm not sure if that is even possible. Never heard exactly how that works.
Some people choose to readopt their children in their state and get them a US birth certificate, but I don't see any reason they'll need it. Ukraine doesn't require it. Our adoption was official before we ever came home. They'll have a SS card and a US passport - and those are the only things they'll ever need for proof of citizenship, job employment, etc, and if those aren't enough, we have their official "proof of citizenship certificate" as of today. I'm proud of their Ukie birth certificates. They were born in Ukraine, they should keep their Ukrainian birth certificates. I've heard that it would help us on our state income taxes for this year if we did readopt, but I think it is silly, so I don't want to do it.
Then! I put the canister of flour on top of the fridge away from little hands and apparently I put it up there carelessly. I had to go into the freezer for something or other and you guessed it, the canister fell on the floor. Flour EVERYWHERE. I instantly had a flock of little kids wanting to "help" clean it up. Mess, Mess, Mess.
This evening I had them frost the cookies, and that was a big disaster too, but they had a blast. John helped mix the colors for the frosting, and being the curious soul he is, he decided to mix the food coloring colors together to see what kind of shades he could come up with. Nasty ugly purple (Sorry, honey, I thought they were hideous!). Then the Sprinkles. Oh what fun they had with sprinkles. I think we're going to be finding sprinkles in nooks and crannies until 2020. But, of course, they loved it, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. They were really good today. Everyone got along, everyone was cooperative, lots of memories made today.
The only trouble of the day was how slooooow the girls ate their lunch. If they aren't terribly thrilled with the menu, they will usually drag out the meal for as long as they possibly can. They are actually discussing this topic on my "Older Kids" adoption board right now, so I have a few tips on how to speed them up a bit now. We'll see...
With all the attention I have to give the older two with their school work, I have been feeling like little Aleksa has been "out in the cold" without her mama. I've been trying to include her in a lot of what we do, but there is only so long I can hold her attention too. I use puppets a lot when I explain new words or concepts, and that helps, but... So, I break things up with reading books here and there, but I still wish I could be a few places at once. At naptime I slept with Aleksa on purpose just because of that. I'm going to try to do that more often.
Once Liana's Tylenol wore off, her nose was still pretty tender this evening. I don't think it is broken since the swelling went down so fast overnight, but who knows. I hope her eyes don't blacken, but I appreciate the heads up from the one who posted below about their little girl's eyes taking a few days to blacken. We might just wind up taking her in so I can find out whether or not her nose had been broken before or not. Might not ever get the chance to find out otherwise. We'll have to think on that one.
Our kids' favorite word is "smatree!" ("Watch/look!") We hear it about five million times a day as a preface for something they just plain HAVE to show us. Tonight, the girls actually started saying "watch" instead. It kinda made me sad. Earlier, Aleksa was singing one of the many songs she knows from Ukraine. This one was something about a dog, and in it she was apparently to count to 10. (If it rings a bell with anyone, I'd love to get the words to it somehow!) She got to 6 just fine in Ukrainian, but then when it came to 7, she said, "seven" and then finished counting in English. The number seven sounds similar in both languages so it was an easy number to transition with. That kinda made me sad too. I got the song on video though (poor girl was on the pot when I taped her though. Sorry Aleksa, you should get inspired to sing elsewhere if you don't want Mama to tape you on the potty!)
Because I was curious about the counting thing and switching languages with Aleksa, tonight I asked Adam to count for me in Ukrainian. He did the same thing, only it wasn't number 7. He didn't know he switched languages either until I started counting with him. Then he sort of pantomimed his brain being all scrambled up. Can't even imagine! It has to be soooo frustrating for them! I've heard that at about 2-3 months home, the kids will be officially "language-less." Meaning, they won't remember their Ukrainian (well enough to be fluent), and won't know English yet (well enough to be fluent.) It will probably take longer than that for us since the kids have each other to talk to and reinforce their first language. So sad that it will be gone soon. I really do feel bad about that. You lose your language and you lose your culture. Imagine us Americans speaking French. We would not be the same kind of people. I know, I know, just get over it, Shelly.
The kids' certificates of citizenship came from Immigration today. They are soooo pretty! Very official documents, having seals, signatures, the kids' pictures, etc. Plus a letter from the President that actually made me cry. They got their US passports a little while ago. Next stop is to get their SS numbers and then we're done with all the US stuff. Our kids possess soooo much with their citizenship here. So many have died trying to obtain it. I truly hope that some day they will understand what an enormous gift and privilege they have being Americans. They do have dual citizenship with Ukraine at least until they are 18. I hope they always keep their Ukrainian citizenship too, but I'm not sure if that is even possible. Never heard exactly how that works.
Some people choose to readopt their children in their state and get them a US birth certificate, but I don't see any reason they'll need it. Ukraine doesn't require it. Our adoption was official before we ever came home. They'll have a SS card and a US passport - and those are the only things they'll ever need for proof of citizenship, job employment, etc, and if those aren't enough, we have their official "proof of citizenship certificate" as of today. I'm proud of their Ukie birth certificates. They were born in Ukraine, they should keep their Ukrainian birth certificates. I've heard that it would help us on our state income taxes for this year if we did readopt, but I think it is silly, so I don't want to do it.
Pics of the Patient
I had expected to wake up and see two little black eyes on Liana today, but they weren't, and the swelling has gone down. Still a little puffy and tender though.
Here are some pics...
Liana's Nose1
Liana's Nose2
Liana's Nose3
Liana's Nose4
Liana's Nose5
Here are some pics...
Liana's Nose1
Liana's Nose2
Liana's Nose3
Liana's Nose4
Liana's Nose5
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Broken Nose?
Well, there's sure never a dull moment at the Fishers' house these days! It looks like our Liana might have broken her nose. Maybe, maybe not. John and the kids were at the park this evening, and while they were getting rides in the wagon, it tipped over during a sharp turn, and Liana wound up on her face on the pavement. Instant bloody nose, and instantly puffed-up and swollen. At bedtime it was pretty black and blue already, and quite tender. She did blow her nose without screaming, so who knows if it is actually broken.
We called a nurse-hotline and were told not to bring her in (since she didn't have trouble breathing, and wasn't crying anymore, etc.), but to watch her closely in the next few days, and if it starts looking worse, if she starts acting not herself, throws up, etc. then we should take her in immediately. Apparently you can tell after five days just by looking at it if it is broken, and if we think so, we should definitely take her in. I don't quite get why the long wait, but they said that they said that if there needs to be surgery that the doctor can see better what is going on in there after that long. *Shrugs.* It wouldn't surprise me at all if it is broken. In fact, my gut says this is the second time her nose has been broken. Her nose just seems a bit wide at the bridge, but of course that could be genetics. But, if it was broken before, it would be easier to break now. Either way, MY POOR LITTLE GIRL HAS AN OWIE!!!!!
She was very concerned about having to go to church tomorrow. We assured her that there wasn't any church tomorrow, so she wasn't going. She said that everyone would laugh at her. (She sure didn't like the looks of her nose after she saw how swollen and bruised it was). Guess that means running my errands tomorrow is out. Poor little kid. I layed with her until she fell asleep tonight, and I couldn't help but cry just a little. She was extra clingy and vulnerable. I feel soooo bad for her! I love those kids so much it just makes my heart hurt. I cry just thinking about how much I love them. Just doesn't seem possible to love them so much!
Speaking of crying, Aleksa cried as much as Liana did all the way home. It scared her reallllly bad, and the poor girl was left to herself until we could get the bleeding to stop on Liana's nose, and to "assess the damage" and calm Liana down. Aleksa shut herself in the bathroom and cried. We scooped her up and sat her next to me, and then had her hold Liana's head on her lap. That made her feel a little better, and once Aleksa quit crying, she gave Liana a big "I'm-so-sorry-you-got-hurt-but-please-don't-do-that-again-'cause-it-freaked-me-out" hug.
Lets see... what else happened today. School stuff went well again. After a few hours, Adam sort of glazes over though. We have to take a break or he just can't get anything new to soak in. Today we worked on learning more body parts, and finished up learning the shapes. I led them all over the house looking for shapes. Ovals, rectangles, triangles, circles, etc. are all over the place if you just keep your eyes peeled! (Our toilet bowl, btw, is oval-shaped!)
I took the kids to see Dad today. When I told the kids where we were going Aleksa said "Grandpachka is a good grandpachka." (In Russian). It was so cute. As much as I love "Mamachka," I think "Grandpachka" is much cuter. The kids were really really really good at his house too. Might be because he happened to have the tv on, so they were glued to the tube for a few minutes.
Oh yeah, Aleksa is feeling better today - no fever, though she did throw up once. Can't figure that one out. She has her appetite back, and is her perky self, but she just had to upchuck. It was weird. I'm so thankful she and I didn't have it as bad as Adam did. He was out of the game for a long time!
Uff-da this is getting to be a long post. Too bad I keep thinking of things to add to this thing. I don't want to leave anything out though! You know how I am!
We were at Good Will today on a book run. (I just love spending a buck or less on good books!) At the check out, the lady asked me what language the kids were speaking, and when I told her it was Russian/Ukrainian, she started rattling off a few words that she knew. She said "Good morning," "thank-you," "please," etc. I asked her where she learned it and she said that a few years ago she bought a dog that was actually from Romania and only knew Russian commands. So, as a family, they learned some Russian so they could "talk to their dog." I thought that was hilarious! That's some kind of dedication! (And one SPOILED DOG!)
Way past my bedtime. Signing off...
We called a nurse-hotline and were told not to bring her in (since she didn't have trouble breathing, and wasn't crying anymore, etc.), but to watch her closely in the next few days, and if it starts looking worse, if she starts acting not herself, throws up, etc. then we should take her in immediately. Apparently you can tell after five days just by looking at it if it is broken, and if we think so, we should definitely take her in. I don't quite get why the long wait, but they said that they said that if there needs to be surgery that the doctor can see better what is going on in there after that long. *Shrugs.* It wouldn't surprise me at all if it is broken. In fact, my gut says this is the second time her nose has been broken. Her nose just seems a bit wide at the bridge, but of course that could be genetics. But, if it was broken before, it would be easier to break now. Either way, MY POOR LITTLE GIRL HAS AN OWIE!!!!!
She was very concerned about having to go to church tomorrow. We assured her that there wasn't any church tomorrow, so she wasn't going. She said that everyone would laugh at her. (She sure didn't like the looks of her nose after she saw how swollen and bruised it was). Guess that means running my errands tomorrow is out. Poor little kid. I layed with her until she fell asleep tonight, and I couldn't help but cry just a little. She was extra clingy and vulnerable. I feel soooo bad for her! I love those kids so much it just makes my heart hurt. I cry just thinking about how much I love them. Just doesn't seem possible to love them so much!
Speaking of crying, Aleksa cried as much as Liana did all the way home. It scared her reallllly bad, and the poor girl was left to herself until we could get the bleeding to stop on Liana's nose, and to "assess the damage" and calm Liana down. Aleksa shut herself in the bathroom and cried. We scooped her up and sat her next to me, and then had her hold Liana's head on her lap. That made her feel a little better, and once Aleksa quit crying, she gave Liana a big "I'm-so-sorry-you-got-hurt-but-please-don't-do-that-again-'cause-it-freaked-me-out" hug.
Lets see... what else happened today. School stuff went well again. After a few hours, Adam sort of glazes over though. We have to take a break or he just can't get anything new to soak in. Today we worked on learning more body parts, and finished up learning the shapes. I led them all over the house looking for shapes. Ovals, rectangles, triangles, circles, etc. are all over the place if you just keep your eyes peeled! (Our toilet bowl, btw, is oval-shaped!)
I took the kids to see Dad today. When I told the kids where we were going Aleksa said "Grandpachka is a good grandpachka." (In Russian). It was so cute. As much as I love "Mamachka," I think "Grandpachka" is much cuter. The kids were really really really good at his house too. Might be because he happened to have the tv on, so they were glued to the tube for a few minutes.
Oh yeah, Aleksa is feeling better today - no fever, though she did throw up once. Can't figure that one out. She has her appetite back, and is her perky self, but she just had to upchuck. It was weird. I'm so thankful she and I didn't have it as bad as Adam did. He was out of the game for a long time!
Uff-da this is getting to be a long post. Too bad I keep thinking of things to add to this thing. I don't want to leave anything out though! You know how I am!
We were at Good Will today on a book run. (I just love spending a buck or less on good books!) At the check out, the lady asked me what language the kids were speaking, and when I told her it was Russian/Ukrainian, she started rattling off a few words that she knew. She said "Good morning," "thank-you," "please," etc. I asked her where she learned it and she said that a few years ago she bought a dog that was actually from Romania and only knew Russian commands. So, as a family, they learned some Russian so they could "talk to their dog." I thought that was hilarious! That's some kind of dedication! (And one SPOILED DOG!)
Way past my bedtime. Signing off...
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Aleksa sick
The older kids were a million percent better behavior-wise today. Adam and Liana were extra snuggly and affectionate today and cooperated all over the place. We have some Really Awesome little kids. They just have "off days" like the rest of us I guess. No ink on the carpets, no paintings hung outside. No sippy-cups contaminated. It was a great day. Except!
Aleksa is not feeling well now. She had a fever of 102 before the tylenol/whatever-it-was kicked in. Poor little kid. She asked to take two naps today, and was pretty much a dishrag all day. I had both girls sleep in the same bed for one of the naps and I layed with them. It was so nice to have two sleeping little girls snuggle with me, (a little slice of heaven!), but it made for my nose to inevitably itch like crazy since I couldn't move my arms. I used poor Aleksa's head to scratch it once or twice. (Shhhh).
I took Adam and Liana to Patch Club tonight and left John with the little patient. I don't think he's ever been home alone with Aleksa yet, so this was a great chance for some quality time - even though she was sick. John said they read lots of books together.
Patch Club had "backwards night" tonight, so the kids had to wear all their clothes backwards. That was a toughie to explain to them; they thought I had lost my mind. (I'm sure they were relieved to see everyone else wearing their clothes backwards too!) I didn't get a chance to talk much to the leaders, but they said they did "fine." Hopefully they would have told me otherwise! It is so hard to find out from the kids what went on, but we picked out a few words like "chocolate" (for the treat), and "outside" for the game. Who knows what all happened! When I came down to get them, another boy was helping Adam write some answers in his Patch book. Nice that he took him under his wing a bit; (wasn't surprised, the other boy is a great kid!) Liana was wearing a fancy necklace that apparently another girl had given her. SHE LOVED it! I'm sure we'll have a hard time getting it off of her!
When we came home tonight, I took note of the backseat. I almost couldn't believe my eyes. We have two carseats back there! Such a beautiful sight. I just can't believe we have little kids!!!!! :O) :O) :O)
Adam and Liana have wanted to stand out on the lawn every night this week waiting for John to come home from work. Liana has also been waking herself up extra early so she can say goodbye to John in the mornings before he goes to work. Hopefully he'll STAY at work from now on, but there hasn't been any news of a lift on the rotating lay-off.
I'm missing going over to my Dad's. With everyone being sick, John needing to take the car to work, etc., I haven't had much of an opportunity to get over to Dad's recently. I feel awful about that. Dad, I miss you! I guess our blessing of having all these kids has the negative of not being as free and loose anymore. I hope you're ok, and I hope you know how much I love you and that I wish I could be in more than one place at once to help you out some more. I'll try to get over there soon to mop that floor. (((hugs))) The kids have begged more than once this week to go see Grandpa. I got your note, btw! Thank you! xox
Ok, now that I'm all emotional and bawling my head off, I need to put myself to sleep. Aleksa's tylenol should wear off at about 2:00a.m., so it is going to be a long night of checking on kids. Night!
Aleksa is not feeling well now. She had a fever of 102 before the tylenol/whatever-it-was kicked in. Poor little kid. She asked to take two naps today, and was pretty much a dishrag all day. I had both girls sleep in the same bed for one of the naps and I layed with them. It was so nice to have two sleeping little girls snuggle with me, (a little slice of heaven!), but it made for my nose to inevitably itch like crazy since I couldn't move my arms. I used poor Aleksa's head to scratch it once or twice. (Shhhh).
I took Adam and Liana to Patch Club tonight and left John with the little patient. I don't think he's ever been home alone with Aleksa yet, so this was a great chance for some quality time - even though she was sick. John said they read lots of books together.
Patch Club had "backwards night" tonight, so the kids had to wear all their clothes backwards. That was a toughie to explain to them; they thought I had lost my mind. (I'm sure they were relieved to see everyone else wearing their clothes backwards too!) I didn't get a chance to talk much to the leaders, but they said they did "fine." Hopefully they would have told me otherwise! It is so hard to find out from the kids what went on, but we picked out a few words like "chocolate" (for the treat), and "outside" for the game. Who knows what all happened! When I came down to get them, another boy was helping Adam write some answers in his Patch book. Nice that he took him under his wing a bit; (wasn't surprised, the other boy is a great kid!) Liana was wearing a fancy necklace that apparently another girl had given her. SHE LOVED it! I'm sure we'll have a hard time getting it off of her!
When we came home tonight, I took note of the backseat. I almost couldn't believe my eyes. We have two carseats back there! Such a beautiful sight. I just can't believe we have little kids!!!!! :O) :O) :O)
Adam and Liana have wanted to stand out on the lawn every night this week waiting for John to come home from work. Liana has also been waking herself up extra early so she can say goodbye to John in the mornings before he goes to work. Hopefully he'll STAY at work from now on, but there hasn't been any news of a lift on the rotating lay-off.
I'm missing going over to my Dad's. With everyone being sick, John needing to take the car to work, etc., I haven't had much of an opportunity to get over to Dad's recently. I feel awful about that. Dad, I miss you! I guess our blessing of having all these kids has the negative of not being as free and loose anymore. I hope you're ok, and I hope you know how much I love you and that I wish I could be in more than one place at once to help you out some more. I'll try to get over there soon to mop that floor. (((hugs))) The kids have begged more than once this week to go see Grandpa. I got your note, btw! Thank you! xox
Ok, now that I'm all emotional and bawling my head off, I need to put myself to sleep. Aleksa's tylenol should wear off at about 2:00a.m., so it is going to be a long night of checking on kids. Night!
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Porchlight Painting
Adam has been a handful today. He and Liana got into a knock-down-drag-out fight this morning and when I made him kiss his sister and say he was sorry, he bit her cheek instead. Couple of those kinds of things today.
This afternoon I happened to point out one of the small oil paintings that we picked up in Ukraine to Adam. He was very proud of it since it was of Ukraine, etc. This evening Liana let me know that earlier Adam had hung that painting OUTSIDE on the porchlight. (I've been letting the kids play outside in the yard without me there a few times recently.) Anyway, I suppose he thought that porchlight would be a place of honor, but it freaked me out. (What ELSE is out there???) He also put our ladybug project outside too. He definitely keeps me on my toes!
Sorry this is so short. I'm exhausted!
This afternoon I happened to point out one of the small oil paintings that we picked up in Ukraine to Adam. He was very proud of it since it was of Ukraine, etc. This evening Liana let me know that earlier Adam had hung that painting OUTSIDE on the porchlight. (I've been letting the kids play outside in the yard without me there a few times recently.) Anyway, I suppose he thought that porchlight would be a place of honor, but it freaked me out. (What ELSE is out there???) He also put our ladybug project outside too. He definitely keeps me on my toes!
Sorry this is so short. I'm exhausted!
Monday, September 27, 2004
Art Projects
I woke up not feeling the greatest yet, but I still made the kids some eggs for breakfast. Big mistake. I hate eggs anyway, but when I'm sick, well, GROSS. I got to my last bite and then had to drop my fork and make a mad dash to the bathroom. The kids' eyes really bugged out when I started gagging. I feel ok now though, and I'm sure I'll be completely better tomorrow.
All three kids were extra good this morning while we were "doing school," so I broke out an art project to do today too. We made 3D ladybugs out of construction paper and then made a mobile out of them and hung it in the kitchen. It's just too cute. Even Aleksa made one, though she had more fun dumping the glue all over herself. Actually, all the kids loved using their art supplies. Afterwards, Adam was still experimenting with the paper punch and was punching holes in a piece of junk mail. I didn't think much of it until Liana told me that Adam had punched a hole in his shirt too. *sigh*
All three kids were extra good this morning while we were "doing school," so I broke out an art project to do today too. We made 3D ladybugs out of construction paper and then made a mobile out of them and hung it in the kitchen. It's just too cute. Even Aleksa made one, though she had more fun dumping the glue all over herself. Actually, all the kids loved using their art supplies. Afterwards, Adam was still experimenting with the paper punch and was punching holes in a piece of junk mail. I didn't think much of it until Liana told me that Adam had punched a hole in his shirt too. *sigh*
Sunday, September 26, 2004
"I Mama was talking!"
After church was over, John called me from the cellphone to see how I was doing. He put each of the kids on the phone and I quickly realized I'd never heard my kids' voices on the phone before. I cried!!! They're sooo sweet! They chatted on about this and that and the little I understood, I responded to. It's so wild that we have regular conversations all the time in two languages. John and I speak English and they speak Ukrainian, and yet we usually understand each other perfectly well. (They understand us a lot better than we understand them!)
John told me that after they got off the phone with me, Liana ran over to Babushka and said, "I Mama was talking!" Can you believe it!? ENGLISH!! A SENTENCE!!! And one she had to construct herself instead of relying on ones she's heard over and over like, "shut the door please!" *Proud Mama here* :O)
Still not feeling well. I threw up again this afternoon and I have a doozie of a headache. John goes back to work tomorrow, so hopefully I can sleep it off, whatever it is.
John told me that after they got off the phone with me, Liana ran over to Babushka and said, "I Mama was talking!" Can you believe it!? ENGLISH!! A SENTENCE!!! And one she had to construct herself instead of relying on ones she's heard over and over like, "shut the door please!" *Proud Mama here* :O)
Still not feeling well. I threw up again this afternoon and I have a doozie of a headache. John goes back to work tomorrow, so hopefully I can sleep it off, whatever it is.
Lonely
Looks like I might have the bug Adam just got over. I woke up feeling really yucky today. I got the girls bathed and dressed, and then decided to go toss my cookies. So, poor John is taking the kids to church by himself today. I'm sure they'll be fine, but he was a wee bit nervous about it I think!
This is the longest I've been alone in the house since before we left for Ukraine. I don't like it. The house is sooo quiet. Reminds me way too much of how quiet the house used to be and how very, very alone I was in it while John was away at work. (Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for my hubby, but he didn't make quite as much racket as the kids tend to do!) I wish they'd hurry up and come home. I want to break up some fights in the livingroom or something.
(btw, I added another picture to the post below in case you missed it.)
This is the longest I've been alone in the house since before we left for Ukraine. I don't like it. The house is sooo quiet. Reminds me way too much of how quiet the house used to be and how very, very alone I was in it while John was away at work. (Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for my hubby, but he didn't make quite as much racket as the kids tend to do!) I wish they'd hurry up and come home. I want to break up some fights in the livingroom or something.
(btw, I added another picture to the post below in case you missed it.)
Saturday, September 25, 2004
First Visit to Grandma's House!
Today was sure a great day!
Adam found some battery-operated-I-don't-know-what's-it while playing outside. He said it was in the street, but who knows. (*gulp*) Anyway, it had wires and a flower with a light inside that lit up. He stripped the flower off and had a ball playing with the batteries, wire and light all afternoon. We'll have to rig up some cool science experiments with him in the weeks ahead. John's wheels are already turning.
Tonight we took the kids to Grandma and Grandpa's house for the first time since they've been home. We stayed a whopping 3 1/2 hours and they did really, really well. They got to go play at the park midway through the visit, and they got their all-time favorites to eat for supper; pizza and ice cream! Aleksa got sidetracked and had a little tinkle accident on Grandma's carpet outside the bathroom, but she sure tried hard to make it in time (I saw the dance she did trying to hold it in. I had to giggle to myself about how cute it looked... Sorry Aleksa!) Good thing Grandma had some extra clothes for her... and some carpet cleaner! (She must have stocked up on that stuff knowing we were coming!)
Speaking of clothes, I got to look through the patterns that Mom Fisher had for little girls. Talk about FUN. The girls are at the stage where if you want to dress them alike in frilly foo-foo pink, etc., we'd better do it NOW while we can still get away with it. I've been daydreaming of trying to sew some matching dresses for them myself, so I was able to borrow a really cute pattern that looks relatively simple (yeah right). We'll see how it goes, but I really hope they turn out. I just can't believe we came home with two girls! How FUN is THAT?! I feel like I've hit the lottery or something!
I forgot to mention that last night when I tucked the kids in, Liana told me I was a "big princess" and she was a "little princess." What a smart girl she is! (That's my kid!) Then I called her "Princess Liana Valentina" and she loved it. She asked me what my name was and I told her it was Shelly. She said, "Princess Shelly" (though she can't really say my name right), and she decided that was not really a good name for a princess and let me know that she didn't like my name. I told her I didn't blame her because I haven't ever much liked it either. So, she thought up some new names for me. She listed off some that she liked. She liked Victoria, Tanya or Marina, but she decided on Marina for me. Okie dokie! So, tonight when I tucked her in, she called me Princess Marina. Alrighty then!
Speaking of princesses, (Ok, this is a stretch since this isn't really about princesses, but it is about dressing up fancy), Mom Fisher gave me a wrap skirt that she had been given in a box of fabric or somewhere, and when we got home, I put it on over the top of my clothes. It was way too small, but then I took it off and wrapped it over my head like a middle-eastern dress to show the girls what they could do with it themselves. The girls had a blast playing dress up with it for a little while before bedtime tonight. I'm definitely going to have take the advice to go to Good Will to buy up some of their gaudy clothes for the kids to play in. They LOVE that stuff.
I got to thinking today of how close we came at one point during our adoption process of veering away from Ukraine altogether. The process had gotten more difficult just as we were trying to make the decision of what country to adopt from, (as it has again, unfortunately). I had mentioned this to another friend who had adopted from Ukraine, and she said, "Shelly, yes, Ukraine is getting more and more difficult, but if you feel like God is leading you there, then just trust Him to take care of the details." (THANK YOU JULIE!!!) Those weren't her exact words, but I hadn't thought of it that way before, and ever since then, I KNEW we were going to Ukraine. I'm sooo thankful we didn't chicken out. I know there are lots of readers out there who are still in the preparing-to-adopt process. Please don't lose heart with all the negatives floating around. If you know your kids are in Ukraine, then put on that mother-bear mentality and go fight your way to get them. Walk through the fires, man your battle stations, do whatever, but GO GET YOUR KIDS. Sweet little children like these are out there, and they need you very, very much...
Children from the orphanage (Btw, these are three of the children whose shoes I posted a picture of while we were in Ukraine.)
Adam's Groupa
Adam found some battery-operated-I-don't-know-what's-it while playing outside. He said it was in the street, but who knows. (*gulp*) Anyway, it had wires and a flower with a light inside that lit up. He stripped the flower off and had a ball playing with the batteries, wire and light all afternoon. We'll have to rig up some cool science experiments with him in the weeks ahead. John's wheels are already turning.
Tonight we took the kids to Grandma and Grandpa's house for the first time since they've been home. We stayed a whopping 3 1/2 hours and they did really, really well. They got to go play at the park midway through the visit, and they got their all-time favorites to eat for supper; pizza and ice cream! Aleksa got sidetracked and had a little tinkle accident on Grandma's carpet outside the bathroom, but she sure tried hard to make it in time (I saw the dance she did trying to hold it in. I had to giggle to myself about how cute it looked... Sorry Aleksa!) Good thing Grandma had some extra clothes for her... and some carpet cleaner! (She must have stocked up on that stuff knowing we were coming!)
Speaking of clothes, I got to look through the patterns that Mom Fisher had for little girls. Talk about FUN. The girls are at the stage where if you want to dress them alike in frilly foo-foo pink, etc., we'd better do it NOW while we can still get away with it. I've been daydreaming of trying to sew some matching dresses for them myself, so I was able to borrow a really cute pattern that looks relatively simple (yeah right). We'll see how it goes, but I really hope they turn out. I just can't believe we came home with two girls! How FUN is THAT?! I feel like I've hit the lottery or something!
I forgot to mention that last night when I tucked the kids in, Liana told me I was a "big princess" and she was a "little princess." What a smart girl she is! (That's my kid!) Then I called her "Princess Liana Valentina" and she loved it. She asked me what my name was and I told her it was Shelly. She said, "Princess Shelly" (though she can't really say my name right), and she decided that was not really a good name for a princess and let me know that she didn't like my name. I told her I didn't blame her because I haven't ever much liked it either. So, she thought up some new names for me. She listed off some that she liked. She liked Victoria, Tanya or Marina, but she decided on Marina for me. Okie dokie! So, tonight when I tucked her in, she called me Princess Marina. Alrighty then!
Speaking of princesses, (Ok, this is a stretch since this isn't really about princesses, but it is about dressing up fancy), Mom Fisher gave me a wrap skirt that she had been given in a box of fabric or somewhere, and when we got home, I put it on over the top of my clothes. It was way too small, but then I took it off and wrapped it over my head like a middle-eastern dress to show the girls what they could do with it themselves. The girls had a blast playing dress up with it for a little while before bedtime tonight. I'm definitely going to have take the advice to go to Good Will to buy up some of their gaudy clothes for the kids to play in. They LOVE that stuff.
I got to thinking today of how close we came at one point during our adoption process of veering away from Ukraine altogether. The process had gotten more difficult just as we were trying to make the decision of what country to adopt from, (as it has again, unfortunately). I had mentioned this to another friend who had adopted from Ukraine, and she said, "Shelly, yes, Ukraine is getting more and more difficult, but if you feel like God is leading you there, then just trust Him to take care of the details." (THANK YOU JULIE!!!) Those weren't her exact words, but I hadn't thought of it that way before, and ever since then, I KNEW we were going to Ukraine. I'm sooo thankful we didn't chicken out. I know there are lots of readers out there who are still in the preparing-to-adopt process. Please don't lose heart with all the negatives floating around. If you know your kids are in Ukraine, then put on that mother-bear mentality and go fight your way to get them. Walk through the fires, man your battle stations, do whatever, but GO GET YOUR KIDS. Sweet little children like these are out there, and they need you very, very much...
Children from the orphanage (Btw, these are three of the children whose shoes I posted a picture of while we were in Ukraine.)
Adam's Groupa
Friday, September 24, 2004
Free Ice cream and Clutter Stress
Mama ustala. (Mama's tired.)
John took the car in for an oil change and took Adam with him today. The "guy" there struck up a conversation with him and Adam and John explained that Adam was just learning English, etc., and what the situation was. The guy treated them to free ice cream cones in the adjoining convenience store, and then John bought extra cones to bring to "us girls." They aren't used to a lot of sugar, so I'm sure these helped contribute to the kid's "high-energy" levels today. It was sure nice of him though! You don't see that kind of treatment around very often! Pretty cool.
I keep forgetting to mention that at the One Month anniversary home I put the girls' clothes back into their rooms. They've handled it just fine, and it is a relief to not have to be so in control of what they wear. They don't tantrum about their clothes as they did when they first came home, and they aren't changing their clothes a half-dozen times a day anymore either. They must be settling in!
The toys are still in the kitchen, though, except for some "quiet toys" like the girls' dolls and Adam's legos, books, etc. It is a blessing to have the toys out of their rooms from the clutter perspective too. The more cluttered their rooms, the more wound up they get. Same goes for the rest of the house, so I have to keep on my toes. Mess=stress to them, so I try to keep it neat, but with three kids constantly needing attention, it doesn't always happen, so I'm thankful that at least their bedrooms stay nice. Also, the tv has stayed in our room now. They only get to watch one video maybe once a day or once every other day. I can't imagine the chaos of what it would be like if we gave them free reign over the remote. Scary.
The room that gets me the most frustrated though (aside from our own!), is the kids' bathroom. In order to keep that room clean I have to scrub it down at least twice a day or it starts to stink. (And I only have ONE boy!) I've gotten great advice from our "Older Kids" adoption group, but it still makes me crazy to have to clean the bathroom that often. I had been letting the kids clean it (they LOVE to clean the bathroom), but they were having way too much fun squirting the squirt-bottle, so I had to start doing it myself. The best advice I got was from someone who mentioned the obvious to me: Squirt the bathroom down myself and then hand a kid a washrag. Duh. Another "no duh" suggestion I've gotten was when I mentioned that our kids were putting their used tp in the wastepaper basket. Answer? "Just take the wastepaper basket out of the bathroom for a few weeks." Oh. Yeah. Duh, Shelly.
Anyway, off to bed. I'm exhausted. Sorry if this post has seemed like rambling babbles. I suppose they ALL are babbling though, so nevermind. ;O)
John took the car in for an oil change and took Adam with him today. The "guy" there struck up a conversation with him and Adam and John explained that Adam was just learning English, etc., and what the situation was. The guy treated them to free ice cream cones in the adjoining convenience store, and then John bought extra cones to bring to "us girls." They aren't used to a lot of sugar, so I'm sure these helped contribute to the kid's "high-energy" levels today. It was sure nice of him though! You don't see that kind of treatment around very often! Pretty cool.
I keep forgetting to mention that at the One Month anniversary home I put the girls' clothes back into their rooms. They've handled it just fine, and it is a relief to not have to be so in control of what they wear. They don't tantrum about their clothes as they did when they first came home, and they aren't changing their clothes a half-dozen times a day anymore either. They must be settling in!
The toys are still in the kitchen, though, except for some "quiet toys" like the girls' dolls and Adam's legos, books, etc. It is a blessing to have the toys out of their rooms from the clutter perspective too. The more cluttered their rooms, the more wound up they get. Same goes for the rest of the house, so I have to keep on my toes. Mess=stress to them, so I try to keep it neat, but with three kids constantly needing attention, it doesn't always happen, so I'm thankful that at least their bedrooms stay nice. Also, the tv has stayed in our room now. They only get to watch one video maybe once a day or once every other day. I can't imagine the chaos of what it would be like if we gave them free reign over the remote. Scary.
The room that gets me the most frustrated though (aside from our own!), is the kids' bathroom. In order to keep that room clean I have to scrub it down at least twice a day or it starts to stink. (And I only have ONE boy!) I've gotten great advice from our "Older Kids" adoption group, but it still makes me crazy to have to clean the bathroom that often. I had been letting the kids clean it (they LOVE to clean the bathroom), but they were having way too much fun squirting the squirt-bottle, so I had to start doing it myself. The best advice I got was from someone who mentioned the obvious to me: Squirt the bathroom down myself and then hand a kid a washrag. Duh. Another "no duh" suggestion I've gotten was when I mentioned that our kids were putting their used tp in the wastepaper basket. Answer? "Just take the wastepaper basket out of the bathroom for a few weeks." Oh. Yeah. Duh, Shelly.
Anyway, off to bed. I'm exhausted. Sorry if this post has seemed like rambling babbles. I suppose they ALL are babbling though, so nevermind. ;O)
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Failures, Progress and Transformations
Lots of testing again today from Adam. This morning I told him to get dressed three times, then he decided to only put on pants. So, I sent him back into his room and the next time I checked he was wearing his pajamas. Sent him back again and he was in his church clothes. (Yes, he did know that he wasn't supposed to). Then I sent him in to have John deal with him because I was getting Way Too Upset with the child and to deal with him myself. (I think I sounded something like this... "John, your son is going to be killed unless you get out of the shower and handle this one.") John worked his Papa Magic with him and Adam came out of Papa's room very remorseful and told me he was sorry and gave me a big hug. *whew*. Bad parenting on my part in that situation. I shouldn't have let him get to have soooo many chances. That just makes for a more and more and more and more upset Mama when he doesn't do what he's told. Game should have been over when Chance One didn't pan out. Mama is still getting the hang of this stuff.
The older kids are doing great at sitting at the table and doing their schoolwork. When they first came home getting them to sit still at the table was a next-to-impossible feat, and getting them to actually do school-type work was like pulling teeth. They seem to enjoy it now, but I'm a lot more relaxed about it and they are a lot more relaxed about US. Plus, I'm trying to make it seem more like an impromptu "wouldn't-it-be-fun-if-we-did-THIS-right-now" type of a thing. The LeapPad has been a god-send. The phonics program we bought for it has helped them a LOT when we sit down with them "at the table" and work on it officially. They are already both noticing words that start with different letters, etc. (Some of the words are Ukrainian, but they are getting the concept down. Like "dyeduska" they knew, started with a "D." Sounds right to me!
Also, midway through breakfast this morning they were all three having a hard time eating all their eggs (who could blame them! Yucky!), so we played a game of "I'm thinking of things that are the color ---." It seemed to make the last few bites a little less horrible, and it snuck in some more teaching time for colors and vocabulary for common "stuff." Other "snuck in" lessons come in when Adam gets to practice his counting at least six times a day when we do his leg stretches. We have to count to 30 twice, three times a day when we stretch his heel tendon, and he's getting really good at it. He even correctly said his "th's" today several times. (Usually thirteen and fourteen sound exactly alike when he says them.)
Tonight we all played hide and seek. It was soooo much fun, but Aleksa gets so excited that she simply MUST holler out where she is, or where anyone else is that she happens to know about. Her older brother got a little frustrated with her about that!
Aleksa is still doing really well bonding to me/us. She doesn't push my hands away when I stroke her back or hair, and even craves it now. (She would let me hold/carry her around while we were in Ukraine, but she hated to be "touched.") She looks me dead in the eye for longer stretches of time, and has more than once just today needed comfort only from Mama. She's come a long way in an amazingly short amount of time. She was the one I thought we would have the most trouble with once we got home. Her temper in UA was realllly bad. She's now a happy little girl who just loves to be tickled, held, play with her dollies, etc, and very rarely has had tantrums or any real disobedience issues. And she's smart as a whip. She's doing great at learning the alphabet and can count better than I expected so soon. She also loves to sing songs (English and Ukrainian) and is basically an all-around great kid. Not at all the warrior princess she *definitely* was in Ukraine.
Liana is a completely different person now too. I was looking through some more orphanage pics today and the Liana in the pics is NOT the Liana we have here at home right now. It is amazing to me what a transformation she's undergone. The scared, skinny, gaunt little girl at the orphanage now has quite a twinkle in her eye, a ready laugh and rosey cheeks. She's just beautiful. I'll have to post some pics from the orphanage that never got put up while we were in UA. Some aren't the most flattering, but you can see the transformation if you compare some of the current pics (Sept 13 post) with these.
Liana July 30
Liana August 4
Liana August 6
The older kids are doing great at sitting at the table and doing their schoolwork. When they first came home getting them to sit still at the table was a next-to-impossible feat, and getting them to actually do school-type work was like pulling teeth. They seem to enjoy it now, but I'm a lot more relaxed about it and they are a lot more relaxed about US. Plus, I'm trying to make it seem more like an impromptu "wouldn't-it-be-fun-if-we-did-THIS-right-now" type of a thing. The LeapPad has been a god-send. The phonics program we bought for it has helped them a LOT when we sit down with them "at the table" and work on it officially. They are already both noticing words that start with different letters, etc. (Some of the words are Ukrainian, but they are getting the concept down. Like "dyeduska" they knew, started with a "D." Sounds right to me!
Also, midway through breakfast this morning they were all three having a hard time eating all their eggs (who could blame them! Yucky!), so we played a game of "I'm thinking of things that are the color ---." It seemed to make the last few bites a little less horrible, and it snuck in some more teaching time for colors and vocabulary for common "stuff." Other "snuck in" lessons come in when Adam gets to practice his counting at least six times a day when we do his leg stretches. We have to count to 30 twice, three times a day when we stretch his heel tendon, and he's getting really good at it. He even correctly said his "th's" today several times. (Usually thirteen and fourteen sound exactly alike when he says them.)
Tonight we all played hide and seek. It was soooo much fun, but Aleksa gets so excited that she simply MUST holler out where she is, or where anyone else is that she happens to know about. Her older brother got a little frustrated with her about that!
Aleksa is still doing really well bonding to me/us. She doesn't push my hands away when I stroke her back or hair, and even craves it now. (She would let me hold/carry her around while we were in Ukraine, but she hated to be "touched.") She looks me dead in the eye for longer stretches of time, and has more than once just today needed comfort only from Mama. She's come a long way in an amazingly short amount of time. She was the one I thought we would have the most trouble with once we got home. Her temper in UA was realllly bad. She's now a happy little girl who just loves to be tickled, held, play with her dollies, etc, and very rarely has had tantrums or any real disobedience issues. And she's smart as a whip. She's doing great at learning the alphabet and can count better than I expected so soon. She also loves to sing songs (English and Ukrainian) and is basically an all-around great kid. Not at all the warrior princess she *definitely* was in Ukraine.
Liana is a completely different person now too. I was looking through some more orphanage pics today and the Liana in the pics is NOT the Liana we have here at home right now. It is amazing to me what a transformation she's undergone. The scared, skinny, gaunt little girl at the orphanage now has quite a twinkle in her eye, a ready laugh and rosey cheeks. She's just beautiful. I'll have to post some pics from the orphanage that never got put up while we were in UA. Some aren't the most flattering, but you can see the transformation if you compare some of the current pics (Sept 13 post) with these.
Liana July 30
Liana August 4
Liana August 6
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Talkin'
Adam is feeling much better today. His fever is gone and his appetite is back. He's still looking pretty gaunt, but I'm sure he'll get his rosey cheeks back by tomorrow.
We had a meeting with the ESL teacher at the elementary school today. She is going to have a meeting with the principal and another teacher tomorrow or the next day, so we'll see what kind of a plan we can work out. In the meantime she gave us some really nice resources.
Both Adam and Liana have speech impediments in Ukrainian, so it will be interesting to hear how they are going to sound in English. Liana can't say her "sh's" and her "r's" aren't rolled; they're like a "w" sound. The word for "OK/good" is "kharosho," but she says, "khawosso." So far she hasn't been able to say those sounds in English either, but hopefully we'll get that all taken care of. Adam also has troubles with his "r's." Sometimes if they are in the middle of a word, he'll say an "oy" or "w" sound instead of the "r." We're seeing that most obviously as we are teaching him his numbers. The number "four" turns into something like, "foy." Lots of work to do!
Today when I told Liana to put her socks on, she looked at me all frustrated and said, (in Ukrainian/Russian), "Mama, you called these 'put-your-socks-on!' These are SOCKS!" and then said something with an expression on her face that I presume meant something like, "Would you please make up your mind and quit trying to confuse me half-to-death?" Cracked me up.
John and I noticed that there has been a huge difference in their behavior even in just the last few days. We don't have to watch them quite so intensely lately. I even took a nap this afternoon without the baby monitor on, and nobody was killed, maimed, or damaged in any way. And the carpet is still a light grayish blue. In most places.
Liana found a pinecone today that she carried around with her for the rest of the day. She loves the smell of it, and was soooo excited when we explained that if you buried it, it might become a big tree. Time to hide all digging tools.
Food is no longer an issue at all for Adam (though the last few days haven't been the best time to judge that since he's been sick.) He routinely refuses certain foods, and doesn't insist on having seconds, thirds, etc. He eats everything on his plate 9 times out of 10, but doesn't get freaky about it anymore. We haven't found any hoarded food either. Nice to have that behind us for the most part. Now if only Liana and Aleksa would start to like milk... They're our 'juice' or 'water' girls.
Adam and Liana have shared quite a bit with us about their orphanage and pre-orphanage lives. I sooo wish I could understand more of what they were saying, but I want them to keep on talking about it to reinforce their memories. It sounds like they had some fun times along with some very bad ones. I video taped some of Adam's stories today. We really need to start burning all our pics and videos onto cd's. My sister lost her hard drive yesterday to a "Poof!" so I'm a little paranoid about computers now. I needed the wake up call.
I'm exhausted. Time for bed!
We had a meeting with the ESL teacher at the elementary school today. She is going to have a meeting with the principal and another teacher tomorrow or the next day, so we'll see what kind of a plan we can work out. In the meantime she gave us some really nice resources.
Both Adam and Liana have speech impediments in Ukrainian, so it will be interesting to hear how they are going to sound in English. Liana can't say her "sh's" and her "r's" aren't rolled; they're like a "w" sound. The word for "OK/good" is "kharosho," but she says, "khawosso." So far she hasn't been able to say those sounds in English either, but hopefully we'll get that all taken care of. Adam also has troubles with his "r's." Sometimes if they are in the middle of a word, he'll say an "oy" or "w" sound instead of the "r." We're seeing that most obviously as we are teaching him his numbers. The number "four" turns into something like, "foy." Lots of work to do!
Today when I told Liana to put her socks on, she looked at me all frustrated and said, (in Ukrainian/Russian), "Mama, you called these 'put-your-socks-on!' These are SOCKS!" and then said something with an expression on her face that I presume meant something like, "Would you please make up your mind and quit trying to confuse me half-to-death?" Cracked me up.
John and I noticed that there has been a huge difference in their behavior even in just the last few days. We don't have to watch them quite so intensely lately. I even took a nap this afternoon without the baby monitor on, and nobody was killed, maimed, or damaged in any way. And the carpet is still a light grayish blue. In most places.
Liana found a pinecone today that she carried around with her for the rest of the day. She loves the smell of it, and was soooo excited when we explained that if you buried it, it might become a big tree. Time to hide all digging tools.
Food is no longer an issue at all for Adam (though the last few days haven't been the best time to judge that since he's been sick.) He routinely refuses certain foods, and doesn't insist on having seconds, thirds, etc. He eats everything on his plate 9 times out of 10, but doesn't get freaky about it anymore. We haven't found any hoarded food either. Nice to have that behind us for the most part. Now if only Liana and Aleksa would start to like milk... They're our 'juice' or 'water' girls.
Adam and Liana have shared quite a bit with us about their orphanage and pre-orphanage lives. I sooo wish I could understand more of what they were saying, but I want them to keep on talking about it to reinforce their memories. It sounds like they had some fun times along with some very bad ones. I video taped some of Adam's stories today. We really need to start burning all our pics and videos onto cd's. My sister lost her hard drive yesterday to a "Poof!" so I'm a little paranoid about computers now. I needed the wake up call.
I'm exhausted. Time for bed!
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Mama Memories
Adam was a little dishrag again today. Fever, chills and nausea on and off all day. We had to take all the kids in for some shots, and thankfully he was able to do that without any trouble, but when we tried to stop at the grocery store this evening, he let us know that there was no way he would make it. John and the girls shopped while I sat in the car with Adam. He's got a great sense of humor. We silently watched as a lady pushed her shopping cart *really* hard into the "cart corral" and then the cart at the back started rolling out the other end. It kept right on rolling into the parking lot. Adam broke the silence with a "bye-bye."
That just reminded me of another little story that none of you will care to hear, but I want to jot down so I don't forget it. We were getting into the car the other day when an empty Mt. Dew can rolled end over end all the way down the street headed our direction. The kids wondered what it was, so we paused at the edge of the lawn to wait for it. The Mt. Dew can stopped dead in its tracks right at our feet, with none of us saying a word until Adam piped up, "Privyet!" ("hello!") as if it was a little puppy. (Ok, I told you you wouldn't care about that story. Had to be there, but I really want to have that little memory etched somewhere, and here's my spot for that!)
We had to exchange our Leap Pad thingie for the second time today. They keep breaking. Not sure if it is our kids, or the toy, but this is the third one in just a few weeks! We love it, so we don't want to be without it, but it is getting embarrassing to walk into Walmart these days!
Speaking of breaking things, I was checking in on a website of a family in our adoption group today and noticed that they have a separate section called the "Destruction Calendar." You click on the individual days and you get to see what the kids broke that day. It cracked me up! I can SOOO relate to that! (And I might just have to start paying more attention to what things our kids are breaking!) Here's the link if you're interested. They celebrated their "two months home" the day after we celebrated our "one month."
The kids' English is coming along sooo well! More and more words are being replaced all the time, and their comprehension is really expanding to things outside of what is right there in front of us. Like while I was doing laundry today, I told Liana that I wanted her to bring me her blankets and sheets and without any hesitation, she went and got me just what I asked for. I was really surprised, since her blankets and sheets weren't right there to point at and then talk about. Can't remember if I've mentioned it or not, but the kids can say their ABC's for the most part. They need a little coaching right around the letter H, but after that they're home free. Except for Liana; she can cruise through the alphabet and then say the whole rest of the song too. The other two come awful close, but not as clearly and consistantly as Liana. One day they can all do it, the next day they stumble. So, they don't have it down pat yet!
Speaking of songs... (boy, and I thought I had nothing to write about tonight!), tonight as I was tucking in the girls, Liana asked me to sing the song about the "sky." I thought a minute and then remembered that "Twinkle, Twinkle" has that word in it, so I started singing it and both girls heartily started singing it soooo sweetly. They didn't get the words right at all, but it brought me back to somerthing that one of the people in our adoption group had written a while back when he heard his son sing that song in bed, and how thankful he was to have adopted an older child and what an amazing experience it was. I couldn't agree more. All these wonderful "firsts" we're experiencing are so precious to me, and to get to hear their reactions to their new world is amazing. Like when Liana held her first gooey marshmallow at the cook-out a few weeks ago and said it was like boogers. How hilarious, and how cool to get to be the one to introduce such "wondrous things" as marshmallow snot! (Hope none of you are eating while you're reading this!) ;O) I look at my kids now and think, "Yikes, I was soooo against adopting for so long, (it took me a few years before I could even SAY the word 'adopt' without bursting into tears), but if things would have worked out and I would have gotten pregnant, I would never, ever, ever have had these amazing, smart, hilarious, and completely adorable little kids." Good thing God is such a great family planner! We couldn't have ever had three kids that we could love any more. We're very, very blessed.
That just reminded me of another little story that none of you will care to hear, but I want to jot down so I don't forget it. We were getting into the car the other day when an empty Mt. Dew can rolled end over end all the way down the street headed our direction. The kids wondered what it was, so we paused at the edge of the lawn to wait for it. The Mt. Dew can stopped dead in its tracks right at our feet, with none of us saying a word until Adam piped up, "Privyet!" ("hello!") as if it was a little puppy. (Ok, I told you you wouldn't care about that story. Had to be there, but I really want to have that little memory etched somewhere, and here's my spot for that!)
We had to exchange our Leap Pad thingie for the second time today. They keep breaking. Not sure if it is our kids, or the toy, but this is the third one in just a few weeks! We love it, so we don't want to be without it, but it is getting embarrassing to walk into Walmart these days!
Speaking of breaking things, I was checking in on a website of a family in our adoption group today and noticed that they have a separate section called the "Destruction Calendar." You click on the individual days and you get to see what the kids broke that day. It cracked me up! I can SOOO relate to that! (And I might just have to start paying more attention to what things our kids are breaking!) Here's the link if you're interested. They celebrated their "two months home" the day after we celebrated our "one month."
The kids' English is coming along sooo well! More and more words are being replaced all the time, and their comprehension is really expanding to things outside of what is right there in front of us. Like while I was doing laundry today, I told Liana that I wanted her to bring me her blankets and sheets and without any hesitation, she went and got me just what I asked for. I was really surprised, since her blankets and sheets weren't right there to point at and then talk about. Can't remember if I've mentioned it or not, but the kids can say their ABC's for the most part. They need a little coaching right around the letter H, but after that they're home free. Except for Liana; she can cruise through the alphabet and then say the whole rest of the song too. The other two come awful close, but not as clearly and consistantly as Liana. One day they can all do it, the next day they stumble. So, they don't have it down pat yet!
Speaking of songs... (boy, and I thought I had nothing to write about tonight!), tonight as I was tucking in the girls, Liana asked me to sing the song about the "sky." I thought a minute and then remembered that "Twinkle, Twinkle" has that word in it, so I started singing it and both girls heartily started singing it soooo sweetly. They didn't get the words right at all, but it brought me back to somerthing that one of the people in our adoption group had written a while back when he heard his son sing that song in bed, and how thankful he was to have adopted an older child and what an amazing experience it was. I couldn't agree more. All these wonderful "firsts" we're experiencing are so precious to me, and to get to hear their reactions to their new world is amazing. Like when Liana held her first gooey marshmallow at the cook-out a few weeks ago and said it was like boogers. How hilarious, and how cool to get to be the one to introduce such "wondrous things" as marshmallow snot! (Hope none of you are eating while you're reading this!) ;O) I look at my kids now and think, "Yikes, I was soooo against adopting for so long, (it took me a few years before I could even SAY the word 'adopt' without bursting into tears), but if things would have worked out and I would have gotten pregnant, I would never, ever, ever have had these amazing, smart, hilarious, and completely adorable little kids." Good thing God is such a great family planner! We couldn't have ever had three kids that we could love any more. We're very, very blessed.
Monday, September 20, 2004
Messes!
I already mentioned in my last post that Adam was sick. He threw up this afternoon before supper. All down the hall, on the wall, etc. I've never used my carpet shampooer so often as these last few days! I used it earlier this morning when, after staying out of the livingroom/kitchen for more than five minutes because I was talking to John about his lay-off, one of the kids got out a popsicle, and then as they ate it (in the livingroom, which is off-limits for food), it melted allllll over the carpet. (Of course, no one was willing to fess up, but Aleksa had a very red and sticky face.) It wasn't a regular popsicle either.. It was one of those fruit-types that are bright, bright red. Don't worry; everyone is still alive and well at the Fisher house. ;O)
After the girls got up from their naps, Aleksa didn't make it to the toilet in time, so I got to clean up that mess too. Three ucky messes in one day. That's a record for our house. Maybe we'll call Month 2 the "Month of the Carpet Shampooing." We'll see! (I hope this is the end of it for a while. At least 'til we go shopping next... we're running out of shampoo!)
I noticed today that the kids are almost always calling each other by their new names now. In fact, Aleksa slipped once today and called Adam "Misha," and Adam informed her that he wasn't Misha anymore. He's the most proud of being Ukrainian of the three, but he's also very happy to be here in America, and proud as punch to be an American. I hope that never changes!
They're really starting to use a lot of English words now, but they are "Russifying" some of the English words they know. Like today Liana asked for some bread, and so she asked me for some "breadchik," and later "breadichka." That's just one that comes to mind, but they are doing that all over the place.
I read Adam a long version of Cinderella this afternoon, and it was one that he had already known, so as soon as he's a little more perky, I'm going to take a video of "his version."
I'm exhausted. Time for bed!
After the girls got up from their naps, Aleksa didn't make it to the toilet in time, so I got to clean up that mess too. Three ucky messes in one day. That's a record for our house. Maybe we'll call Month 2 the "Month of the Carpet Shampooing." We'll see! (I hope this is the end of it for a while. At least 'til we go shopping next... we're running out of shampoo!)
I noticed today that the kids are almost always calling each other by their new names now. In fact, Aleksa slipped once today and called Adam "Misha," and Adam informed her that he wasn't Misha anymore. He's the most proud of being Ukrainian of the three, but he's also very happy to be here in America, and proud as punch to be an American. I hope that never changes!
They're really starting to use a lot of English words now, but they are "Russifying" some of the English words they know. Like today Liana asked for some bread, and so she asked me for some "breadchik," and later "breadichka." That's just one that comes to mind, but they are doing that all over the place.
I read Adam a long version of Cinderella this afternoon, and it was one that he had already known, so as soon as he's a little more perky, I'm going to take a video of "his version."
I'm exhausted. Time for bed!
Stressful few days
Yesterday the kids did great at church again, although after church was over, Adam got really wound up when one of the adults tried to tickle his sides. That was all it took to get him waaaay overstimulated and wouldn't calm down. A man came up to me and told me Adam was being naughty, and told John he needed a spanking. *Sigh*. (Btw, in case you're curious, NO we did NOT go home and spank our kid.)
It is now midafternoon of Monday, and as a typical busy-to-the-max mom, I cannot remember anything else about yesterday anymore. It's a good thing I've been writing my blog entries in the morning when "yesterday is still fresh."
Today John went off to work again after having been layed off last week. Well, when he got to work he discovered that he was also layed off THIS week. How is THIS going to be paying our bills I wonder? *trying not to worry, but when there are suddenly three extra mouths to feed, it is a little difficult* Also, Adam woke up with a fever and told us that he threw up in the night. He's been a limp dishrag all day. Poor kid.
Anyway, the kids' naptime is up, so off I go again!
It is now midafternoon of Monday, and as a typical busy-to-the-max mom, I cannot remember anything else about yesterday anymore. It's a good thing I've been writing my blog entries in the morning when "yesterday is still fresh."
Today John went off to work again after having been layed off last week. Well, when he got to work he discovered that he was also layed off THIS week. How is THIS going to be paying our bills I wonder? *trying not to worry, but when there are suddenly three extra mouths to feed, it is a little difficult* Also, Adam woke up with a fever and told us that he threw up in the night. He's been a limp dishrag all day. Poor kid.
Anyway, the kids' naptime is up, so off I go again!
Sunday, September 19, 2004
Squirt Guns
Yesterday my brother gave us his couch and we gave him ours. Great trade for us since his was a nice sectional. Adam happened to find a squirt gun in my brother's van as they were shuffling around the furniture, and my brother gave it to him. My first instinct was to say "No Way, Jose." But, he is a boy, and boys love squirt guns, so I got over it and let him have it.
A few hours later Adam had put some red-dye-looking "stuff" inside the squirt gun barrel and squirted it all over the girls' room. After nearly strangling him to find out what the red stuff was, we found out that Adam had taken my red pen with the ink-cartridge (liquid-ink-type), broken it open, dumped it into the squirt gun, put some water into it, and then had a good ol' time.
It took a loooooooong time of scrubbing and carpet-cleaning, but we got most of it out. Miracle of miracles. Mama was not impressed with his curious streak yesterday... ;O)
A few hours later Adam had put some red-dye-looking "stuff" inside the squirt gun barrel and squirted it all over the girls' room. After nearly strangling him to find out what the red stuff was, we found out that Adam had taken my red pen with the ink-cartridge (liquid-ink-type), broken it open, dumped it into the squirt gun, put some water into it, and then had a good ol' time.
It took a loooooooong time of scrubbing and carpet-cleaning, but we got most of it out. Miracle of miracles. Mama was not impressed with his curious streak yesterday... ;O)
Friday, September 17, 2004
One month home!
Well, we made the One Month Home mark today! They say that the first month is the hardest. Whenever anyone ever said that before we adopted, I wondered what exactly that meant... Let me see if I can summarize.
- The kids have tested us and tested us and tested us. Not only on behavior, but on trust. "Will they really always love me?" etc. A "scared-you-might-not-love-me" child can be a TERROR as far as their behavior goes. The plane trip home is proof positive of that for us. Aleksa's hitting and pinching and screaming and biting have almost completely subsided. Now we have Liana triple-dog-daring us to make her do what we ask of her. They have tested where all the Lines are in our relationships. They have had to hit up *hard* against many behavior rules and we have had to go over and over and over some of the same things. If we say "no" to one kid, the others will purposely and immediately do the same thing just to see "what will happen." This is normal "kid" behavior, but most parents get to gradually deal with their kids as they go from infancy to toddlers, and they get to usually deal with them one at a time on different levels. We have three kids testing us full-force all the time. That has gotten lots better, but there is still a long way to go. The first month we are all still really trying to get to know everyone. Though we loved them the moment we saw them, we didn't KNOW them yet and they didn't necessarily love US immediately. That takes time, and our relationships have been hard-tested and our love from our kids has been hard-won.
- The kids are way too easily over-stimulated. For example, last night the kids went to the park. When they came home, we happened to get a visit from the grandparents. The kids WOULD NOT settle down. They were putting clothespins on grandpa and grandma's faces, stuffing animal crackers in their mouths, etc. No matter how often we told them to settle down (or even SIT down), they absolutely would not. Adam took off with grandpa's shoe when they got ready to leave, etc., etc. This doesn't happen as often as when they first came home, but it still happens. I know a lot of kids get hyper, etc., but the first month home, this happens a lot, and with the language barrier, the relationship barrier (you are still getting to know them and them you), and the "everything is new" factor, it is VERY hard to control. Trips to my dad's house can be really tough if we bring all three. They feed off of each other's energy levels and then they are constantly stuffing things into Grandpa's face and touching/picking up all of Grandpa's Stuff. (Sorry Dad!)
- All three kids, though their ages are 4, 6 and 9 come home developmentally like 2-yr-olds. I don't mean that they are idiots, I just mean that everything is as new to them as things are new to a 2-yr-old. If they are given crayons or markers, they have to break them and color all over anything with them. If they have glue, they want to spread it all over the table, their hands, etc. Markers have to be tested on the couch or their bodies. Give them a pen and they have to carve some writing into their much-sanded-and-stained-handmade-by-mama-and-papa-and-Uncle-John headboard. If you give them stickers, they will put them all over their bodies, their sibling's bodies, the wall, etc. If you give them a sippy-cup... (Ok, I won't go there.) If they find the cleaning supplies, they'll squirt half a bottle of cleanser on the wall/sink/wherever. If you give them a toy, they'll disassemble it or break it, just to see if they can. They are like 2-yr-olds in 4, 6 and 9-yr-old bodies. DANGEROUS. They have to smell everything, touch everything, pick up everything, taste *most* things, etc. I was not prepared for the amount of things we would have to take away from them or how quickly or easily they become overstimulated. When we gave them pencils, they would chew them up and literally take bites out of them. Not just the eraser either. Wood-in-the-mouth type of chewing. *shiver* Give them bandaids and they'll be all used up by the end of the week. One bottle of shampoo lasts only a few days. Liquid soap is a toy too. Ours lasted one day. (We use bar-soap now). One roll of tp lasted 2 days at first. We're now up to about one roll every five days. If I disappeared into the bathroom myself for more than 5 minutes, someone winds up screaming. Basically, we've had to watch them Every Second. All of the above has gotten a LOT better the longer they've been home, but these things still happen with regularity.
- There is also a TON of extra work involved. We adopted three, so that won't be the same for everyone, but I was shocked at how many dirty dishes and dirty clothes three little kids would add to the work-level. Not to mention vacuuming. I did luck out though in that our kids LOVE to clean. They will dust, vacuum, rinse their plates, etc. It is also amazing how much food we are buying. Not only housework, but getting everyone bathed and dressed and teeth brushed and read-to and fed and played with, etc., etc., is a HUGE life adjustment. I was busy before we adopted, but it was a different kind of busy. It was an "at-my-own-pace" busy.
- I almost forgot to list the language issue. Really, that is the least stressful thing about the first month. Most people would consider the language issue a big deal, but we communicate well enough, and they understand a TON of what we say. (For instance, at the lunch table today I kept looking over at Aleksa and I finally said, "Boy, Aleksa, you really did cut a lot off of your hair." She gave me an embarrassed grimace, patted her bangs, and said, "Izvini (I'm sorry), Mama." They aren't speaking a whole lot of English, but are they ever understanding it!
I've mentioned before though, that this isn't "hard," that I'm just "busy." I still stand by that. Hard isn't what we're going through. Hard is what we have ALREADY gone through to get these kids. Hard is wondering why God isn't letting you have children that you desperately want, when all around you people are "accidentally" getting pregnant and are upset and ungrateful about it. Hard is when the free world keeps asking you when you're going to "get busy and have kids," even though you and your hubby have been trying to do so for years. Hard is miscarriages, years of infertility, doctors, vitamins, supplements, hormones, drugs and "bbt's." THAT is hard. Hard times are when you can't sleep at night because of how much you are grieving. These days I'm out as soon as I hit my pillow, and I don't wake up 'til morning. Not hard. We're just busy... and we've never been happier.
- The kids have tested us and tested us and tested us. Not only on behavior, but on trust. "Will they really always love me?" etc. A "scared-you-might-not-love-me" child can be a TERROR as far as their behavior goes. The plane trip home is proof positive of that for us. Aleksa's hitting and pinching and screaming and biting have almost completely subsided. Now we have Liana triple-dog-daring us to make her do what we ask of her. They have tested where all the Lines are in our relationships. They have had to hit up *hard* against many behavior rules and we have had to go over and over and over some of the same things. If we say "no" to one kid, the others will purposely and immediately do the same thing just to see "what will happen." This is normal "kid" behavior, but most parents get to gradually deal with their kids as they go from infancy to toddlers, and they get to usually deal with them one at a time on different levels. We have three kids testing us full-force all the time. That has gotten lots better, but there is still a long way to go. The first month we are all still really trying to get to know everyone. Though we loved them the moment we saw them, we didn't KNOW them yet and they didn't necessarily love US immediately. That takes time, and our relationships have been hard-tested and our love from our kids has been hard-won.
- The kids are way too easily over-stimulated. For example, last night the kids went to the park. When they came home, we happened to get a visit from the grandparents. The kids WOULD NOT settle down. They were putting clothespins on grandpa and grandma's faces, stuffing animal crackers in their mouths, etc. No matter how often we told them to settle down (or even SIT down), they absolutely would not. Adam took off with grandpa's shoe when they got ready to leave, etc., etc. This doesn't happen as often as when they first came home, but it still happens. I know a lot of kids get hyper, etc., but the first month home, this happens a lot, and with the language barrier, the relationship barrier (you are still getting to know them and them you), and the "everything is new" factor, it is VERY hard to control. Trips to my dad's house can be really tough if we bring all three. They feed off of each other's energy levels and then they are constantly stuffing things into Grandpa's face and touching/picking up all of Grandpa's Stuff. (Sorry Dad!)
- All three kids, though their ages are 4, 6 and 9 come home developmentally like 2-yr-olds. I don't mean that they are idiots, I just mean that everything is as new to them as things are new to a 2-yr-old. If they are given crayons or markers, they have to break them and color all over anything with them. If they have glue, they want to spread it all over the table, their hands, etc. Markers have to be tested on the couch or their bodies. Give them a pen and they have to carve some writing into their much-sanded-and-stained-handmade-by-mama-and-papa-and-Uncle-John headboard. If you give them stickers, they will put them all over their bodies, their sibling's bodies, the wall, etc. If you give them a sippy-cup... (Ok, I won't go there.) If they find the cleaning supplies, they'll squirt half a bottle of cleanser on the wall/sink/wherever. If you give them a toy, they'll disassemble it or break it, just to see if they can. They are like 2-yr-olds in 4, 6 and 9-yr-old bodies. DANGEROUS. They have to smell everything, touch everything, pick up everything, taste *most* things, etc. I was not prepared for the amount of things we would have to take away from them or how quickly or easily they become overstimulated. When we gave them pencils, they would chew them up and literally take bites out of them. Not just the eraser either. Wood-in-the-mouth type of chewing. *shiver* Give them bandaids and they'll be all used up by the end of the week. One bottle of shampoo lasts only a few days. Liquid soap is a toy too. Ours lasted one day. (We use bar-soap now). One roll of tp lasted 2 days at first. We're now up to about one roll every five days. If I disappeared into the bathroom myself for more than 5 minutes, someone winds up screaming. Basically, we've had to watch them Every Second. All of the above has gotten a LOT better the longer they've been home, but these things still happen with regularity.
- There is also a TON of extra work involved. We adopted three, so that won't be the same for everyone, but I was shocked at how many dirty dishes and dirty clothes three little kids would add to the work-level. Not to mention vacuuming. I did luck out though in that our kids LOVE to clean. They will dust, vacuum, rinse their plates, etc. It is also amazing how much food we are buying. Not only housework, but getting everyone bathed and dressed and teeth brushed and read-to and fed and played with, etc., etc., is a HUGE life adjustment. I was busy before we adopted, but it was a different kind of busy. It was an "at-my-own-pace" busy.
- I almost forgot to list the language issue. Really, that is the least stressful thing about the first month. Most people would consider the language issue a big deal, but we communicate well enough, and they understand a TON of what we say. (For instance, at the lunch table today I kept looking over at Aleksa and I finally said, "Boy, Aleksa, you really did cut a lot off of your hair." She gave me an embarrassed grimace, patted her bangs, and said, "Izvini (I'm sorry), Mama." They aren't speaking a whole lot of English, but are they ever understanding it!
I've mentioned before though, that this isn't "hard," that I'm just "busy." I still stand by that. Hard isn't what we're going through. Hard is what we have ALREADY gone through to get these kids. Hard is wondering why God isn't letting you have children that you desperately want, when all around you people are "accidentally" getting pregnant and are upset and ungrateful about it. Hard is when the free world keeps asking you when you're going to "get busy and have kids," even though you and your hubby have been trying to do so for years. Hard is miscarriages, years of infertility, doctors, vitamins, supplements, hormones, drugs and "bbt's." THAT is hard. Hard times are when you can't sleep at night because of how much you are grieving. These days I'm out as soon as I hit my pillow, and I don't wake up 'til morning. Not hard. We're just busy... and we've never been happier.
Cooking Day at Grandpa's House
Today was Cooking Day at my Dad's house. I told Liana about how Grandpa didn't have a lot to eat, and she was instantly very burdened for him. She told me that she didn't have very much to eat at the orphanage either, and that this was bad. So, I put her in the car (the other two stayed with John), and we went grocery shopping. We walked into the store, and Liana said, "Grandpa needs pizza, Mama." (She LOVES pizza). All through the store she kept saying things like, "Grandpa needs some bread," or "Grandpa needs some juice," etc. Like she knew just exactly what someone who is hungry wants. She was very pleased with the pile of food in the shopping cart, (and even insisted that we buy Grandpa a few treats!)
When we got to his house, she opened up his refrigerator, and sure enough, he didn't have very much in there. "Mama, he has so little!" And then started putting things away. She's my little sweetie.
We cooked and cooked, and Liana helped put together the meals on the plastic plates to put in the freezer. I made the frozen pizza for all three of us to eat (Grandpa, Liana and I), and she ate 5 pieces while Grandpa ate one (he hates pizza, but she insisted that he'd love it), and I ate two. Liana loved sampling all the foods we made, and especially loved SAUERKRAUT. She sat and ate the kraut right out of the can, finishing off half a can all by herself (and begged for more, so we opened a second!) Later when John and the other two came over, Liana let Aleksa try some, and SHE loved it too.
(Btw, Aleksa's texture thing has subsided greatly. She eats a lot better now. She loves pizza, toast with jam, etc., etc. She eats better than Liana does now, though neither of them like hotdogs or macaroni and cheese. Weird.)
Late this afternoon we took the kids to the park to fly kites. They had a great time running around. They definitely got their exercise!
Speaking of exercise, John noticed yesterday that he has been hiking in his belt lately. I guess he's been on the "three-kids-diet" for the past month-and-a-half, and it has started to show!
Running late again... gotta get off this thing! (These aren't the greatest pics, but if I post a picture of one, I gotta post one of each of them, right?)
Kites!
John with his kite
Aleksa's kite
Aleksa
Liana's kite
Adam tying his shoe
When we got to his house, she opened up his refrigerator, and sure enough, he didn't have very much in there. "Mama, he has so little!" And then started putting things away. She's my little sweetie.
We cooked and cooked, and Liana helped put together the meals on the plastic plates to put in the freezer. I made the frozen pizza for all three of us to eat (Grandpa, Liana and I), and she ate 5 pieces while Grandpa ate one (he hates pizza, but she insisted that he'd love it), and I ate two. Liana loved sampling all the foods we made, and especially loved SAUERKRAUT. She sat and ate the kraut right out of the can, finishing off half a can all by herself (and begged for more, so we opened a second!) Later when John and the other two came over, Liana let Aleksa try some, and SHE loved it too.
(Btw, Aleksa's texture thing has subsided greatly. She eats a lot better now. She loves pizza, toast with jam, etc., etc. She eats better than Liana does now, though neither of them like hotdogs or macaroni and cheese. Weird.)
Late this afternoon we took the kids to the park to fly kites. They had a great time running around. They definitely got their exercise!
Speaking of exercise, John noticed yesterday that he has been hiking in his belt lately. I guess he's been on the "three-kids-diet" for the past month-and-a-half, and it has started to show!
Running late again... gotta get off this thing! (These aren't the greatest pics, but if I post a picture of one, I gotta post one of each of them, right?)
Kites!
John with his kite
Aleksa's kite
Aleksa
Liana's kite
Adam tying his shoe
Thursday, September 16, 2004
Errands and the Gimmes
Today we dragged all the kids all over town. I had to find Adam some navy pants and Liana a navy skirt for their first night of "Patch the Pirate Club" at church tonight. I found Adam his pants, but there doesn't seem to be any such thing as a navy skirt for a little girl anymore. Good thing Grandma said she'd make her one! The older two were ready to go long before Aleksa was this morning, so Adam and Liana took it upon themselves to help Aleksa get her teeth brushed and her hair brushed. I had to grab the camera for that one. Couldn't believe my eyes.
We stopped at my Dad's house too during our errand run, and Adam helped himself to one of my dad's toys. I found it in his pocket while we were out running around. So, we all piled back into the car and I had him knock on Grandpa's door, return the "stolen goods" and say he was sorry. I patted him down for the rest of our stops today, and we'll have to start remembering to do so until we can fully trust his sticky fingers. (That isn't the first time he's taken things... Once at the grocery store in Kiev, and another time at Grandpa's house.)
Speaking of the "gimmes," it seems like it doesn't even matter what it is, the kids just want it. We found one of John's enormously-thick programming books on the girls' bookshelf along with a stack of his Computer/Science magazines. Definitely not good reading material for a 6 or 4-yr-old. (John was proud though, that his little girls might want to take after him!)
We also took the kids through their first car wash today. They loved it, and just as we were coming out of it, the kids wound down their back windows. John couldn't resist putting the car into reverse for the kids to get a little "wind blown" by the blow-dryer-thingie that still had a few seconds left on it. The squeals from the backseat were worth the effort... *tee-hee*
Gotta run! We have a million things to do today!
Getting Aleksa Ready
Aleksa at Walmart
First Carwash
First Patch Club Night
We stopped at my Dad's house too during our errand run, and Adam helped himself to one of my dad's toys. I found it in his pocket while we were out running around. So, we all piled back into the car and I had him knock on Grandpa's door, return the "stolen goods" and say he was sorry. I patted him down for the rest of our stops today, and we'll have to start remembering to do so until we can fully trust his sticky fingers. (That isn't the first time he's taken things... Once at the grocery store in Kiev, and another time at Grandpa's house.)
Speaking of the "gimmes," it seems like it doesn't even matter what it is, the kids just want it. We found one of John's enormously-thick programming books on the girls' bookshelf along with a stack of his Computer/Science magazines. Definitely not good reading material for a 6 or 4-yr-old. (John was proud though, that his little girls might want to take after him!)
We also took the kids through their first car wash today. They loved it, and just as we were coming out of it, the kids wound down their back windows. John couldn't resist putting the car into reverse for the kids to get a little "wind blown" by the blow-dryer-thingie that still had a few seconds left on it. The squeals from the backseat were worth the effort... *tee-hee*
Gotta run! We have a million things to do today!
Getting Aleksa Ready
Aleksa at Walmart
First Carwash
First Patch Club Night
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