Enjoying the fruits of our labor

Yesterday (Sunday) was an interesting day. We missed church. Not because one of the kids slept too late (on the contrary, Colby seems to know when it's a weekend and get up at 5am EVERY DAY accordingly....even after having been up in the night for a bottle (that boy better grow!)....but I'm not bitter)....not because we needed to be somewhere else....we missed church because I had a tantrum. I'm not proud of it, but there it is. Mommy had a tantrum and Mommy needed a TIME OUT!!!!

I got up with the kids. Knowing that I'd been up in the night with Colby, and knowing that I've been just exhausted lately, I should've known better and asked my husband to do it even though he'd let me sleep til 7:30 on Saturday morning. I failed. I could do it all, I decided. Bad decision. I should know myself by now. I'm NOT one of those moms I look up to who can miss tons of sleep in the night (or ANY sleep) and then get up early the next morning and be all chipper and cheery and patient. Part of the problem is that I'm also not one of those moms that deals well with continued whining and crying for no apparent reason. I guess there was an apparent reason - Colby went to bed late, was up in the night, and got up at least 2 hours too early.... but he was just unhappy with any option whatsoever. He didn't want up, he didn't want down, he didn't want to eat...he just wanted to fuss. Kailin WHINED about everything and it just put me over the edge. By the time Steve got up and got in the shower (still thinking that we were headed to church), I knew that neither child would make it through the service and that I needed to be as far from people as I could get for awhile. What I should've done (and what my husband suggested after he read the note on the closet door that said, "NOT going to church") is GO to church myself. I always feel better after I do, but I was just so far from being in the mood to be anywhere with other people that I nixed it. I self imposed a time out (after my husband suggested (read - close to ordered) that I go visit my mom, my sister - ANYONE and get out of the house - if he, mister anything rolls off his back, laid back, nothing bothers me, is telling me to get out - it's BAD), took the paper and my breakfast and went upstairs. I told him that I'd be back when I could be a decent human being. I read the whole paper and then showered and I was back to human again. (I was perturbed, however, to read an engaging article about an orangutan baby that just ended in the middle. I searched the whole paper in vain looking for the conclusion. No luck. Strange and annoying!)

We let the kids play in the water table again. Steve went downstairs to work on the toy box he's been building for them and I sat outside in the warm sun and read a magazine while they played. I love that water table!!!

We all walked over to the little store to get pectin so I could finish off putting up the strawberries. (it's too bad I forgot to get sugar as I'll now be finishing that off today instead!!) We've been having a grand weekend of it with strawberry shortcake on Friday night, fresh strawberries on Saturday, and strawberry pancakes last night. I froze lots of cut strawberries and will make some strawberry puree and freezer jam to freeze today. I love strawberry time.

Last year, we took a picture of a very exited Kailin with a giant bowl of strawberries and I got to thinking that it would be an awesome tradition for us. We don't have a pic of the first year she was home, though, and I was thinking back as to why I didn't pick that year. I remembered that I was all set to go with my neighbor, Jill and that very morning was the morning that mono hit me like a Mack truck - so there were no strawberries to show off that year, and who'd think to take a picture of Kailin with an empty bowl.... ha ha ha. So here are this year's pictures. (It was really hard to snap a happy one of Colby without letting him get his hands in the berry bowl!!!) I already can't wait for next year!

It was a weekend to remember for certain - more good times than bad, and one of the few where we have virtually no plans and can just enjoy time together as a family. I love weekends like this, and I love (save my tantrum) when it works out that we really do spend the time together. That, for me, is what life is all about, and what I've hoped for and dreamed about for so very long.

A bittersweet day...

I thought that yesterday was going to be a happy day where I'd report that we trucked off to the first farmer's market of the year and had a wonderful time (as always). We did truck off to the first farmer's market of the year, and we will be dining on fresh beets this week (which I'll need to remember the morning after or I'll be panicked in the bathroom once again). What were not doing yesterday morning, nor will we be doing on any Saturday soon, is enjoying our weekly treat at Goosey's Galley. While we waited patiently for the summer to come, Goosey's fell victim to the economic downturn. It was a sad day indeed. Each of the kids ended up with a monster cookie from the scratch bakery and Steve and I got two mini-pies. The pie flavors are noteworthy, I think, as I'd never had either before. Bumbleberry was a mix of blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, apple, and rhubarb and the other was mulberry-currant. YUM!!!!

By the time we got home, Colby was way past nap time so we put him down. I cut Steve's hair and then while he was in the shower I decided it was a fine day to let the kids play in our water table while I finished my garden tasks from the Fourth. I woke Colby up at 11 since I was afraid that he'd refuse an afternoon nap if I let him sleep any longer. He was very displeased at having been woken, but once he was dressed in his swimsuit, hat, crocs, and donned his duck whistle things started looking up. This was Colby's first experience with the water table since I usually let the older kids play with it while the younger ones nap in the morning. To say that he delighted in it would be an understatement. He squealed and splashed and had quite a time. After some initial squabbling about splashing and space, the kids calmed down.

While I was digging I found a small angle worm. I called Kailin over to look at it. She'd been watering my flowers for me with her little bumblebee watering can. She looked at the worm and said, "Awwww.....he is so cute!! Can I water him?" I told her she could not water him as it would hurt him. About 3 seconds later she exclaimed "Wook! I found 'nother one!" I looked and it was a potato bug. I told her so and she said, "Can I water him?" I told her she could. I'm not sure that I know what potato bugs do in life, but there is no love lost between the potato bug and me. I chuckled at her desire to water the world.

It turned into one of those times, as I sat on my garden stool with the sun filling my body with warm rays, that I looked over at my kids splashing in the water, hooting and hollering together, having the time of their lives that I wondered how they could ever frustrate me to tears or make me question my sanity....

And then it was after nap time and they were both cranky as all get out and Steve and I were looking at the clock wondering if it was time for bed yet (us or them - wouldn't have mattered to us!) and I remembered all about how they could ever frustrate me to the point of saying "I don't want to hear another kid voice today!!!! (to myself - not to them!)" ha ha ha. Soon enough they were back to treating each other well and enjoying a fun little racetrack toy that I hauled out of the basement (I was down looking for the dishwasher manual and found a stash of toys Colby got for Christmas that we haven't brought out yet.).

The other high point of the day is that MY man (as opposed to "the" man) fixed our dishwasher!! He doesn't charge $70 to walk through the door, either! Hooray!! I'm thrilled to have it back in working order again, although we have decided that we need to spend the money to get a water softener as we believe that hard water gunk was the primary cause of the problem.

I was just thinking that I should post an update pic of Colby's toe (since I'm going to print this blog into a book format to save as my journal later on) since it was turning ever blacker. I did snap this pic the other morning when it was at it's worst. The blood blister must've worked it's way to the surface because without any protest (leading me to hope it was painless!) from my little guy, it burst on Saturday night and now his toe looks very nearly normal. I'm hoping this means that he won't lose his nail as I'd feared and also that we'll all look somewhat normal for our family picture next Tuesday. What remains to be seen is if any of us will be smiling and whether or not I can find coordinating clothing options for all four of us!

Fun Family Fourth

Kailin was up early (BIG surprise there!). I had a mommy moment and declared it chocolate cereal day (which is Saturday, not Friday). Kailin was elated and she and Steve took Peanut for a walk after the three of us ate breakfast. I tried to get some gardening done, but it was shortlived. Captain Cocoabeard was happy to eat his chocolate cereal when he finally decided to wake up at 8am. I wanted to get a few pictures of the kids on the Fourth and they actually were affectionate toward each other for the occasion!

We asked (suckered) my mom into coming up to watch the kids so we could go strawberry picking. Kailin glommed on to her from the moment she got out of her car. I couldn't get a word in with her without Kailin screaming "Nai Nai!!! Come and play wif me!!!" Quick instructions and we hit the road to the strawberry farm. It was a beautiful day for it - very low 70's and sunny. The mosquitoes weren't bad at all and we had five 5qt buckets picked in just under an hour.

(As a funny aside, Colby liked fruits of all sorts when we first got home and then about two weeks ago he determined that strawberries and blueberries were no longer to his liking. He still wanted them every time I pulled them out, but would then thrust one into his mouth, make a horrible face, and remove it in disgust. As we played out this little song and dance on Thursday, Colby changed up the ending a bit and ate the strawberry and then requested more. It was almost as if he knew our household would be tuned in to the all strawberry channel and figured he'd better get with the program.) This picture is unrelated to that, but I wanted to show off what I think will be Colby's version of "the cheesy smile" most kids seem to get at about his age. Ask him to smile for the camera, and this is what you get....

The troops (Nai Nai, Kailin, and Colby) were thrilled with our loot. We (Steve and my mom) commenced to allowing our bibless children to eat their way through enough strawberries to thoroughly stain all of their clothing. Lovely. We decided to feed everyone lunch early since I'd promised Kailin on Thursday (when we were coming back from the cheese store and passed McDonalds and she asked the question that she always asks when she sees those golden arches) that we'd all "go McDonalds - get some ice cream" when Nai Nai came. We coaxed Kailin to eat (as usual) while her brother polished off an entire pb&j and some cheese and then convinced my mom to make him another half sandwich (on which she used half a jar of jelly - I swear!). When we got him out of his high chair, the evidence of too much jelly was all over his pants. Swell. We trooped off, Sugar in tow, to "get some ice cream." Kailin declared that she and Colby would get tiny ice creams and the rest of us would get big ones. That girl.... Sugar got her own tiny cone and we all had a good time of it. Then it was home for naps - but not without figuring out that Colby'd lost a shoe along the way and me trekking(okay, it's entirely flat and paved, but I like the idea of me setting out on a harrowing journey to find the beloved (not so much) lost shoe) back to find it.

I'd already hulled one bucket of strawberries before lunch, but we needed to run to the store for a few things I needed for dinner (and according to my mom, to lay in a new supply of food for Colby - that boy must be about to grow because man alive is he eating us out of house and home lately!) so the strawberries had to wait.

Colby was up from nap first, but it wasn't long and Kailin (who CLEARLY needed more sleep) joined us downstairs. I resumed strawberry hulling and was in my own little world. It occurred to me that I'd been rather tuned out and was now hearing what sounded like a child TOO happy in the living room. Sure enough, it wasn't apparently logical to my mom that Kailin would not be allowed to jump on the couch. COME ON, MOM - were WE allowed to jump on the couch as kids?? Alrighty then!! So I told Kailin that she knew better. She figured that if I left the room all bets were off and when my mom told her that she was no longer allowed to jump on the couch, she threw herself on the floor and began wailing. I came in to see what was going on, and I'm so glad I did! I just wish I'd brought the camera with me. Kailin is on the floor wailing and over comes her brother and gives her a little (giant and wet) kiss on the cheek, complete with sound effect. It didn't work. Not one to give up easily, he went in and gave her a little hug. It didn't work. He went in and gave her a hug while resting his head on her shoulder. It didn't work. He shrugged and moved on. I ran out in the garage to tell Steve. It gives me hope that they will one day get along more than they fight. One day....

It wasn't long and we were eating dinner. Mom enjoyed the corn show. Ha ha. Colby needed BED, but we let Kailin stay up a bit longer than normal - and it proved to be well worth it for me at least. My mom and Kailin were playing "driving" where Kailin finds something to serve as a steering wheel and then the elaborate scenarios begin. Let me set the scene. Mom is sitting to the right of Kailin on the couch and Kailin's got a purse which she assures us both is filled with money to finance all the adventures they'd be going on. Kailin states that they should put their seat belts on. They do. Mom's got the steering wheel and is making appropriate car noises. They've been "traveling" for some time when Kailin casually mentions "Nai Nai. Close your door." She then closes her door as well. I bust out laughing because I've determined that a. they're either in Australia or England as Mom is driving on the right and b. I had a rather hysterical vision of Mom and Kailin driving through the English countryside with their car doors open. They went to feed the goats, hit some local cheese stores, and I believe the zoo as well. What a good way to end a good day. Not a typical Fourth and the kids still haven't seen fireworks (we just can't keep them up that late yet), but it was a fun one, and one I'll remember for a long while.

Mom, this is AWESOME!!!!

Okay, so I am using the word "tomorrow" loosely these days (other than if I make a promise to my kids - I always keep my promises - learned that from my mom and I think it served her well...). Today is now tomorrow and yesterday was neither today nor tomorrow..... how's that for confusing?

Kailin is killing me at swimming these days. On Monday she let me dunk her all the way under twice! ("Let me" should be read to mean "did not protest openly when I announced that I was going to do it after she'd previously indicated that she would rather not do so...") She survived just fine and actually shed no tears (to my shock and amazement). She also started paddling around on a couple of pool noodles.

Wednesday made Monday look like a paddle in the kiddie pool. Granted I am a way biased, overly proud mama, but man that girl amazes me. First she made me laugh, though. As we were cruising around the pool she suddenly exclaimed, "MOM! This....is.... AWSSSOME!!" It took me by surprise and I giggled out loud and then she giggled out loud and then I felt guilty for having wanted to skip swimming because I was worn out and it was supposed to storm.

Next she requested some pool noodles. I obliged in the colors of her choice. She got going doing her little doggie paddle around the pool and then.....she told me to let go!!! I was in shock! I'm pretty much in shock anytime she does anything daring. She's just not normally the daring type. And then suddenly she is. Monday I'd tried to let go a little and both times she pitched forward and got a face full of water - far far far from her favorite thing, so me letting go being her idea was nearly astounding. She kept sending me out further and further away from her (further than I was comfortable with - I was a little afraid that if she got out past arm's reach, she'd keel forward again and I wouldn't get there fast enough to stop her from going under. I had no fear that she'd drown or anything. I just worry that given her personality, one bad experience will sour her on the whole deal. I worry too much, I know.). She agreed to let me stay near her if I would let her try to paddle across the pool. She made it!! I talked to her teacher about potentially putting her in the next level coming up. Dakota is signed up in the mid August session and I think I may go ahead and sign her up (no moms in the pool for that one!).

Anyway, the teacher suggested that maybe we could let the kids jump in off the side of the pool (allowing them to fall in only to their comfort level). I didn't need to ask Kailin twice! I hoisted her out of the pool and set her on the edge. Suddenly, her eyes got wide and I thought "oh no, she's not going to want to do it....oh well.... I'll just bring her back in here..." Eyes open as wide as they'd go, she hissed, "Moooommmm......" and pointed to the steady drizzle of water coming from her suit. She presumed that, without her go ahead, her body had betrayed her and she was peeing right there at the edge of the pool!!! The nerve!!! I explained that it was just water draining out of her suit. She seemed relieved and then jumped (read that real fast....like the relief is just setting in with her and the understanding and amusement with me and then WHAMMO, she's jumping - head's up Mom - think quick - don't miss!!!!) The next 27 jumps were preceded by the instruction to STAY THERE UNTIL I TELL YOU IT'S OKAY!! Around jump 20, I told her that I was going to let her go all the way under. She said okay. In retrospect, I don't think she was very clear about what exactly was going to happen. She went down and then I yanked her up and she sputtered and thought about crying and declared that she didn't like it, but bless her soul she climbed right back up on the edge of the pool and jumped in again (but requested (read demanded) that I not let her go under again).

I think this has been a long enough stream of syrupy pride to send anyone into a sugar coma. We had a fun Fourth of July, so I'll post about that tomorrow. (relatively speaking anyway)

A word problem....

*It's evening now, and having read this post out loud to Steve, I have now recognized several egregious errors in my grammar. Word omissions and substitutions abound, and I will commence immediately to righting the situation.*

One three year old and one four year old (close enough for both) choose (for the umpteenth day in a row) to eat approximately 1/10th of their breakfast. Given the metabolic rate of a typical child this age, calculate the amount of time it will take for their blood sugar to drop to a level where I will begin hearing "MOM!/SARAH!!!!!!! he/she hit/kicked/shoved/didn't share/called me a name/got in my face!!!!!!!!" and/or crying? The answer is not even as long as it takes me to clean up the breakfast dishes and finish my bowl of cereal.

Seriously, people, what do I do with this???????? I'm not going to have them sit there and force them to eat their breakfasts and yet it will inevitably get uglier and uglier as the morning wears on and we progress toward snack time. Here is an equation you may need in working this problem - the increase in number of times they tattle on each other and the wonder twins is directly correlated to the increase in my blood pressure and the decrease in my patience.

I will entertain any solutions you would like to offer up. It does not seem to matter what the breakfast menu is(except for syrupy waffles/pancakes which in their sugary decadence burn off in the same time period as the 1/10 of a bowl of something remotely nutritious), it will yield the same results. (I must also caveat that the wonder twins are at a stage where they will have an enormous breakdown if they don't have the same thing as the older kids, so whatever you suggest must be practical to all. I'm just not up for a screamfest at 7am...) So I cry out - SAVE ME!!!!!

To further my cranktastic mood (which elicited the above rant about the breakfast situation), our dishwasher is broken AGAIN. I'll be feeling the joy of calling "the man" in a bit to see how much financial life THIS is going to suck from us. Being that this is the second time this dishwasher has already crapped out in 3.5 years, I'm all for getting a new one and calling this one a dud. Steve is willing to sink more of our non-existent cash into it and hope for the best. I guess we'll see what "the man" has to say regarding how much this might run us before we make the call. *I didn't call "the man" as I found more than one website suggesting that we might be able to remedy this ourselves without causing any further harm if we fail. We're going to give it a go on Friday. Until then we'll be enjoying the pleasures of hand washing....*

And while I'm whining - I HATE TMX Cookie Monster right now. I thought he was adorable when Colby got him as a gift. Heck, I still think he's adorable. I am such a sucker for big, googly eyes (what do you think got Peanut in the door??) I'd have bought him for someone as a gift, and in fact, I may still do that. There is actually little wrong with TMX Cookie Monster himself. It is the fact that my son is drawn to him like a moth to the flame yet is just as horrifed as the moth when he actually reaches the flame (TMXCM). Colby wants him turned on - all the time. If he could talk, I'm quite certain he'd be saying "please poke this in the belly, Mom...." every time he carries TMXCM over to me (which occurs about every 37 seconds for the entirety of the time he is awake). I oblige despite knowing full well that what will ensue is his alternate amusement and horror with the thing. So he will first laugh at TMXCM laughing and then the moment he moves, run to me screaming with his arms up. While it is indeed a somewhat endearing (and funny) vision, it is NOT funny or endearing for the 850th time today. And no matter where I try to hide TMXCM, he seems to reappear. I ask you - spooky boogy (as my grandma would say) or just coincidence??? As a small aside, and not having actually disemboweled TMXCM (yet), I believe that it works on some sort of a level system, so I am a little annoyed that if he's not standing up perfectly straight when you poke his belly, he will right himself and require another (or more) poke to actually commence with his little song and dance. The requirement of two or more pokes isn't terrible, but the fact that I don't even have the song and dance to distract from the (apparently horrifying) movement. For a busy mom who is already committing to the "calming down period', it's a little obnoxious. Again, for the rest of the world, this would be a fantastic toy. Who knew??

Tomorrow's post will be a much less cranky me bragging about how fantastic Kailin is doing in swim....

Oh my aching toe!!!

Not so much mine as Colby's. Last night he knocked a chair from the "tiny table" over onto his foot. He gave me quite a scare because my tough little boy HOWLED like I've never heard him howl before for a LONG time. I was getting worried that maybe he'd broken it - the chairs are very sturdy and solid wood - those buggers are heavy!! He finally calmed down and a few minutes later I noticed that his toe was hard as a rock and his nail was getting black. Ick. I did call the Dr. because I was worried about his toe being so hard. She said that unless he won't walk on it, they prefer to leave it alone, so that's what we're doing for now. It's tender and he was up in the night a couple of times, but other than that, he's still motoring around like always. I do swear that boy will have us in the ER before he's five!! We've come close twice now....

I also thought you'd like to see a picture of Captain Cocoabeard from the other morning. Our kids get sugared cereal once a week on Saturday morning. Kailin always picks cocoa puffs, so we let Colby have some this weekend. The result, as you can see, was a bit hilarious. As of yesterday, he's making "bock bock bock" for a chicken noise and is starting to imitate more and more sounds. I think I've heard a few "dada"s and he's working hard on "dog". His comprehensive English continues to amaze me sometimes, so I suppose it won't be long and I'll be wondering why I couldn't wait for him to talk!

Then of course Kailin wanted me to "picture her" and I was only too happy to oblige. Who could resist a face like hers?

She let me dunk her twice at swimming last night and also swam on her own (doggie paddle) with a couple of pool noodles, so she's coming along and getting braver than I ever would've given her credit for!!

My kids are constantly amazing me (and challenging me and making me question my parenting abilities and methods --and sometimes my sanity!). I'm so thankful to be their mom and even more thankful that I have such a supportive and loving husband to help me through it all!!!

Visitors from the South

We had some special visitors this past weekend. One of the families with whom we traveled in China when we adopted Kailin was here to visit. We haven't seen the Bond family since we left China and it was wonderful to see the girls together, although poor Hannah spent Friday night and most of Saturday saying "Hi Kailin" to no avail. The girls mostly just co-existed. The picture to the right (with Kailin's new, somewhat ridiculous smile pose) was the best of our attempts to get a close-up of the girls together.

Of course, as the visit wound to a close, they finally decided to interact. Figures, doesn't it?

We're so happy that we'll be getting to see more of the Bonds as they now have family in this area. We hope we've lured them back with the promise of good frozen custard and squeaky cheese curds!!