The big "A" word...... ADOPTION

A few days ago, a friend asked me if I thought that Miss O was "just like everyone else her age". My first thought was "WHY??? Does she act different??" Before I got my hackles raised too much - I asked her to clarify... she was asking more about the developmental part of things - you know, the big "A" word! Some people don't like to say it, because they are worried about offending you some how... Quite honestly, I am rarely offended.... annoyed yes, but not offended -haha!

The Big "A" word... Adoption

Some days, my kids "forget" that they were adopted - and actually ask... it's almost funny when one says... "Was I adopted?". Whenever my kids ask that, I always add a few comments like their "egg was hatched in Ukraine" as well as the "you were CHOSEN". We talk about how we actually got to CHOSE them... they were not assigned, they did not pop out, they were not delivered... THEY WERE CHOSEN, and that makes them extremely special. It is so important for them to realize that there is NOTHING wrong with being CHOSEN.. that is the way their lives here started. Making a bunch of nonsense up and trying to add to any fantasy that they may have about their previous life is just asking for disaster!

We don't like to dwell on the reasons that they were made available for adoption... I will never lie to my kids and tell them something that is not true about their past. The boys and Miss O have seperate tales... their reasons for being here today are completely different. What they have in common though, is that the past that they were able to leave behind carries much tragedy. When they are MUCH older, they will have access to everything that we know - if they want it... that choice will be theirs.

To try and compare an internationally adopted child to an American homegrown kid is virtually IMPOSSIBLE!!! No matter how much love and attention you give - there is a part that will be missing - even though it may appear very small, it is there in one form or another. Just an example - Miss O is very well rounded and well adjusted. She has no memories of life in the orphanage. The orphanage/hospital is the only place she lived until she came home with us. In the orphanage, children were deposited into their cribs at night - no tuck ins, no hugs good night, no cuddling. Many of these kids learn ways to self - soothe themselves to sleep. Miss O had a method of rocking on her head and sucking her thumb. While she still does a little of it today, she has slowed on the thumb sucking - but can still spend 20 to 30 minutes of hard rocking on her head - making a real hairbrushing nightmare for the next day!!

My kids are about as "on track" as they are going to be... I don't compare them to others - or compares others to them... that would be unfair! :)

She is getting better!

Well... she is not quite the "natural" athlete, yet!!! Miss O has been having fun playing basketball! She is finally getting some of the basic concepts down... oh yes, we still run down the court (the whole way) galloping with our arms up... but she is finally getting the "basics!".

They sure are cute to watch at this age!!

Our "big" snow storm!

Usually - we get 5 or 6 decent "snows" in a winter... This year - we had nothing but a dash here and there... all winter long... until last week!

We probably got around a foot over two days.. perfect amount to be able to finally use the sledding hill!!

Not one of the better basketball weekends

Miss O had the first game of the day. Needless to say... she IS starting to get a little bit better... ok.. just a little! The picture above, if you look closely, she has the green armband on her arm. And, if you will notice that the ball is behind her... at the other end of the court!! But, she is trying to block the other girl... tooo funny! She did make her first basket today - boy was she proud!!!



Today, Little J's team had an absolutely HORRIBLE game! At halftime, the score was 24 to 2... and the coaches agreed to just turn the scoreboard off so that self esteem was not totally ruined for the day. I lost track at the score about 52 to 6... it was not pretty!! Hopefully, next Saturday will be better!

Thinking of my dad

16 months ago today, about this time, my dad passed away. There has not been a day since that I have not thought about him and what he is doing. I miss his laughter and dumb jokes; his sarcastic humor; the fun we would have while bantering over politics.
Big Al found this picture in his room in his stuff. He was with my brother in Florida golfing - one of the things he really enjoyed doing. I miss him every day and I think about what he is doing. Thankfully, my kids still talk fondly of him and some of the things they did. I hope that they will always remember how much he loved them.

The luck of the draw... when it comes to roosters!

You would think with all the feathered beast around here, that I would have more baby chicks!! Last summer, we were fortunate enough to hatch out a total of 12 babies!! Chicken Ralla was our hen that got the deed done.. well, she did all the sitting at least! Ralla hatched out her first batch of six.. they were super cute and sadly only lasted 4 days. Ralla is not exactly a "responsible" mama! She decided to take them out of the coop before we could stop her. Phebe - our lover of fine, soft and fluffy chicks made sure they did not get far. One survived another 2 weeks, and then Phebe took care of that one as well.
In July, Ralla went back at it. This time she hatched out another six. Two died shortly after hatching... but four made it to the wean off period (4 weeks). One died of unknown causes (but I have an idea that an un-named black lab was involved) *sigh*
So now, we have our lucky three.. which are almost 6 months old. And of course at this age, you can figure out the boys from the girls! And of course.... one is a rooster!!

We have not official named him yet, but I call him Flighty Whitey... he is probably the lowest chicken on the pecking order - so he tends to get a little leery of anyone or anything near him! He is cute though, and I am excited to start hearing him crow!


This big beauty is Leaf. He was actually called Baby Leaf for about 6 months - until we realized it was a "he"! He is our largest rooster - and super gentle. He is the first chicken that we have actually hatched out here that has survived over a year (knock on wood!!).
Hopefully, this spring, our newer hens will decide to become Mama's! :)

A great day for a river walk

Today was such a gorgeous day! We took a walk/bike ride down by the river to burn off some of those winter woo's! So pretty today! :)

Weekend Rockets

We have been blessed (so far) with a very VERY mild winter... usually, the first week of January, we are in the single or negative digits with snow on the ground! Today, it was in the mid-high 40's.. no wind and a perfect day to launch ROCKETS!! Luckily for the kids, we had plenty of motors, so all the rockets got to go up 3 or 4 times. The kids love to do the countdown, and then go and fetch the rest of the rocket wherever it may land!

Phebe, our brave and fearless Lab (haha) does NOT appreciate the joy of the rockets! She is the first to hide under a car! The horses, cows and birds are not big fans either!!

Tis the season for Wrestling.....

Well - the New Year begins, as does a new season on Wrestling! Big Al decided that he wanted to do Middle School wrestling (yet again)... so he started practice this last week. Unfortunately for him (and a big bonus for me!) is that the school put a new policy into place regarding the bad grades issues. If a student is not passing a class (that would be an F) they cannot compete (though they can practice) until the grade is passing AND they have to complete four days of afterschool study help before practice !! I totally LOVE that part!!! Since Big Al is not passing math, he gets to spend the next four days of school in afterschool homework help!!! Yippeee!!! That means that he better be having that math done AND having someone else looking at it to see what help he needs! Cool! I am not sure if he will be able to get his F up before the first meet... his grade is far below the F level... so it will take alot of work on his part to redo homework AND retake and pass a couple of tests!! But I am thankfully that it is the school finally kicking in and being the bad guy - rather than me!!! :)

First time ever being on a team!

Miss O started Basketball this year as well. This is her first time in a team sports type function. Her team, the Golden Bears (in navy) had a fun first game. I think the ending score was like 16 to 2... fortunately, the Golden Bears got their only basket in the last minute! The girls all had fun, most of them have never played before - so it was VERY entertaining!! The coach told Miss O to keep her arms up to block the ball... so she literally kept them up THE WHOLE TIME - even while running!! It was super cute! She is lucky because she also has a little friend named Josie, who was one of her best buddies in preschool, on the team. It was a good first time out - hopefully next weekend the girls will be a little more practiced :)

Little J's First B-ball game

Today was Little J's first basketball game of the season...His team, the Blue Devils, lost today by one point - 20 to 19, even though they led most the game. The boys all seemed to have a great time, especially since most of them know each other from school and other activities. Little J scored his teams' first basket of the season and ended the game with 6 points! He had a great time, which is the most important part!

Her first attempt at Bowling!

A few days ago, we met up with my BIL/SIL and all my nephews to celebrate my nephew Tommy's birthday. They had decided to have everyone go bowling!

I can honestly say, in all the years with our kids, we have only gone bowling maybe 2 or 3 times!!! It has been well over 5 years since we have gone, because Miss O has NEVER gone! While we do have a small bowling alley in town... it's just not something that we do because it seems to cost over $30 for us all to bowl a game or so... and for that much - I'd usually rather take everyone to a movie!! Not to mention that I am not a fan of bowling... Many moons ago, I ruined a beautifully manicured set of (my real) nails on my right hand... haha! Broke every single one and then had to cut the other hand to match.... anyways - back to current times....

Miss O was SUPER excited that they had PINK balls!!! She did really well (we used the bumpers on the sides so the kids had more fun!) with throwing the ball and watching it (ever so slowly) make it's way down the lane! She jumped up and down the whole time while watching it go too... so she got a workout as well!

She had a great time, so did the boys as they got to spend some extra time with their cousins, so it all worked out! And of course, she wants to do it again... soon!!! :)

New Years Resolutions...

I am trying hard to be optomistic that 2012 will be MUCH better than 2011.... Unfortunately, I am a realistic!! And, since I seem to know way more than the average Joe about my kids, I am going with the optomistic approach that this year has to be either the same or just a tad bit better than last!! haha! I really do not want to get my hopes up!

While most people put in their wishes/hopes/goals... aka resolutions for the year, I for one will just be hopeful that I can stay sane!! As much as I would LOVE to drop 20 pounds, or save for that vacation of a life time, or do something really amazing... I know that my energy will probably be better served just trying to make each day proceed with as little disruption as possible! Oh the joys!!! haha!

Not that it is a New Years Resolution, per say, but we have been trying in the last month or so to really work on simplifying our house.... Getting rid of alot of excess stuff, clutter... and that heinous beast known as PAPER!

PAPER is NOT my friend... yet we have a love - hate type relationship! I'd LOVE to throw it away.. and I hate being make to do it! I have tried and tried to get as many things paperless as possible. It never seems to work! I've tried the tossing all the unimportant papers in the trash BEFORE walking in the house (tried but apparently not conquered!) I've tried to do as much online as I can.. but it still seems to multiply into multiple piles all around the house! We have a shredder (covered in dust) that gets an occasional feeding of paper... but man oh man purging the papers are tough!!!

Excess "stuff" is our other problem... we both tend to buy or get things that either we don't have a place for, (or really a true need for!) or just bought on a whim... these things tend to pile up and then become "Mount-pile-of-crap!" Sometimes just looking at the piles is more daunting than actually getting it purged through! haha! I hate getting rid of those "I'm gonna fit into them after I lose 20 pounds" pairs of jeans... because - what will I do when I actually DO lose the 20 pounds??? I'd probably honestly buy new jeans - haha!! I have done a bit better! I finally purged all but a few essential work outfits and got them bagged up for Goodwill. Sadly - I need to come to grasps that by the time I actually get to go back to work, most the clothes will probably be so out of style that they will become Halloween Costumes!! haha!

But, overall, it IS nice to have a few bags ready to donate to the consignment store or Goodwill and then have this clear and open space that looks clean and neat... even if it is a small corner of the room!

Here's wishing that YOUR resolutions are obtainable and at least make a small, but encouraging change for your New Year!

The boy's favorite thing

What boy does not have the dream of tearing around on motorcycles all day long?? Ok, I know more than a few that DON'T think that would be fun... but my two... well... they really dig it!

Right before New Years, some good friends of ours, their sons, and the hubby and the boys went about an hour south of here and enjoyed riding in the "desert"! It is a great place - wide open with some hills to climb, room to whip around, and of course some jumps!

The really GREAT thing about motorcycles is the fact that if the boys are both on the bikes - they leave each other alone (for the most part)... no fighting, very little bickering - and it makes it alot harder for them to get in trouble! Since I usually do not go on these events, the hubby gets the more fun activity (while I get a much quieter house and alot of Princess time!) of having to keep those boys in line!

While it CAN be dangerous (Big Al came home with a shiner and a little roughed up).. it is a great thing for these two to be able to burn off some energy - while both getting to spend some time with old friends.

Hopefully, they both can keep their behavior in line for the next trip!!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year !! From our Family to yours!!!

It has been such an unusally mild winter so far... today we decided to drag the kiddos out for a bike ride to get them out of the house! It sure would be nice to have some really cold weather (to kill the bugs) and snow.... but for now - we'll take this!!!

Happy New Year to all!