Seen: walk from orphanage to Metro on 9/14/2008 AM.
Door Decorations Using Cars
13 years ago
Friday, January 26, 2024
Thursday, August 9, 2012
I'm Serious This Time
I've been on a hiatus for a while now. We've been home nearly four years now, and a lot has happened in that time. I've gotten a Masters of Science in Historic Preservation, which I haven't been able to use. I'm working on how to get a job in my field and still give these kids what they need. How do you do that when you have to stay on top of figuring out nutritional therapies, neuro therapies, psych therapies and occupational therapy? I have no idea!
My latest endeavour, after Sophie's psychiatrist and Liam's neurologist wanted to prescribe yet another medication for them, is to try to address some of these negative behaviors with alternative therapies, mainly nutritional therapy for both and neuroreorg for Liam. So, begins our journey with a gluten-free, dye free, preservative free diet.
Today I ordered these natural dyes for baking.
I love to bake my kids' birthday cakes, and it's even more important to do so now that we are gluten free and dye free. I'm a bit leery of some of the natural ways to impart color to frosting, although I know these are vegetable based. I mean really, do you want your cake frosting to taste like turmeric? I sure don't. I'll probably do some kitchen testing anyway with the berry based natural dyes. I can deal with my cake frosting tasting like blueberry.
I'm also trying Michigan Door to Door Organics. I've heard really good things about this and it seems a cost effective way to get locally sourced, organic produce. We grow our own tomatoes, basil, oregano, chives, mint and beans. I'm not sure if my broccoli and carrots are doing what they are supposed to do though. I'm going to have to do a comparison with my last Trader Joe's trip to see if the cost is in line, but I like that it's local.
Last night I introduced my kids to quinoa. It wasn't a success.
My latest endeavour, after Sophie's psychiatrist and Liam's neurologist wanted to prescribe yet another medication for them, is to try to address some of these negative behaviors with alternative therapies, mainly nutritional therapy for both and neuroreorg for Liam. So, begins our journey with a gluten-free, dye free, preservative free diet.
Today I ordered these natural dyes for baking.
I love to bake my kids' birthday cakes, and it's even more important to do so now that we are gluten free and dye free. I'm a bit leery of some of the natural ways to impart color to frosting, although I know these are vegetable based. I mean really, do you want your cake frosting to taste like turmeric? I sure don't. I'll probably do some kitchen testing anyway with the berry based natural dyes. I can deal with my cake frosting tasting like blueberry.
I'm also trying Michigan Door to Door Organics. I've heard really good things about this and it seems a cost effective way to get locally sourced, organic produce. We grow our own tomatoes, basil, oregano, chives, mint and beans. I'm not sure if my broccoli and carrots are doing what they are supposed to do though. I'm going to have to do a comparison with my last Trader Joe's trip to see if the cost is in line, but I like that it's local.
Last night I introduced my kids to quinoa. It wasn't a success.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Slamming Doors and Tony
Slamming Doors
Our morning began with both kids crawling in bed with us. Eventually, they got out of our bed and started playing. This is when doors started slamming. We are officially entering the dueling siblings years of parenthood including arguments, threats of loss of friendship and slamming doors. I think we have about 13-15 more years of this to enjoy before it subsides. After Liam telling Sophie off for not sharing, during which he was actually very cool, calm and collected, the door fireworks began! In the end, Sophie relented, taking the toy Liam wanted ( I might add that there were two of said toy, so she could have easily shared from the beginning) to him and apologizing. As always, there was a motive behind this for her. She wanted something from him! It worked, and I stayed out of it. That's my new goal- let them work these things out for themselves.
Tony
Liam still has problems with language, especially with proper use of who and what and sentence structure. It can be very frustrating, as we have been working with him for the last 18 months or so on this and he just doesn't seem to get it. We often get completely non-sensical questions from him. Sometimes you just have to laugh at it and move on. Today, Pete had found a watch beeping in a bag on the couch and was turning if off. Liam came up to Pete and asked, "Who is that?" Firstly, there was the who/what thing. Secondly, Liam knows perfectly well what a watch is (another frustrating thing- he often asks questions to which he already knows the answers.). After giving Liam a bewildered look, Pete replied, "Tony. This is Tony, Liam."
Our morning began with both kids crawling in bed with us. Eventually, they got out of our bed and started playing. This is when doors started slamming. We are officially entering the dueling siblings years of parenthood including arguments, threats of loss of friendship and slamming doors. I think we have about 13-15 more years of this to enjoy before it subsides. After Liam telling Sophie off for not sharing, during which he was actually very cool, calm and collected, the door fireworks began! In the end, Sophie relented, taking the toy Liam wanted ( I might add that there were two of said toy, so she could have easily shared from the beginning) to him and apologizing. As always, there was a motive behind this for her. She wanted something from him! It worked, and I stayed out of it. That's my new goal- let them work these things out for themselves.
Tony
Liam still has problems with language, especially with proper use of who and what and sentence structure. It can be very frustrating, as we have been working with him for the last 18 months or so on this and he just doesn't seem to get it. We often get completely non-sensical questions from him. Sometimes you just have to laugh at it and move on. Today, Pete had found a watch beeping in a bag on the couch and was turning if off. Liam came up to Pete and asked, "Who is that?" Firstly, there was the who/what thing. Secondly, Liam knows perfectly well what a watch is (another frustrating thing- he often asks questions to which he already knows the answers.). After giving Liam a bewildered look, Pete replied, "Tony. This is Tony, Liam."
Friday, May 20, 2011
Random Pics from 2011
Let There Be Snow- January 2011 Sledding
February Pictures
Valentine's Cookie Making
A snow day resulted in a pajama party and cookie making. We had a few snow days this winter and it got harder and harder to get creative inside!
This is the beginning of the process- cookie dough is made and ready for cookie cutters.
Finally, cookies to ice! The kids told me how to color the icing. I think Liam wanted more of a red color, but I couldn't get it.
Enjoying the fruits of their labor!
Big Black the Cat- One of our "temporary" outdoor brood of cats. We have two black cats that are "ours" for the time-being. Nicest cats ever- and available for adoption to a good home.
Snow Day Part 2
Valentine's Day Dinner
Pete is icing the heart-shaped red velvet cakes that are our tradition. I added heart plates for dinner too.
February Pictures
Valentine's Cookie Making
This is the beginning of the process- cookie dough is made and ready for cookie cutters.
Big Black the Cat- One of our "temporary" outdoor brood of cats. We have two black cats that are "ours" for the time-being. Nicest cats ever- and available for adoption to a good home.
Snow Day Part 2 
Valentine's Day Dinner
Pete is icing the heart-shaped red velvet cakes that are our tradition. I added heart plates for dinner too.
Toads
Sophie loves animals, bugs, snakes, toads and basically anything that moves. We were on day 4 of success of no underpant accidents today when I discovered that indeed she did pee herself today. Here's how it went:
Sophie is playing in the great climbing tree at the bus stop with Erin, Paul, Kate and Liam.
Me: Sophie, did you have any accidents today?
Sophie: {mumbles something I can't hear}
Me: Was that a yes?
Sophie: No, I didn't.
Me: Yay!! Good job.
{she goes for a high five I was not expecting and basically slaps me}
Me: Ow!
Erin: What happened? {Erin is sitting in the tree in a spot below Sophie. She's in 4th grade.}
I explain what happened.
Erin: Ummm...It looks like she has a wet spot.
I look up. Yup. She was lying.
Paul: Is that why she has to sit at the front of the bus?
A conversation ensues, where I found that the safety guards (Erin and Paul are safety guards) are afraid of Sophie and think she's mean! She also called a boy, Tony, who told her he loved her last fall, that he was a jackass. Apparently, she told him over and over again. I'll admit she got that word from me. It's one of my favorite phrases, though I try not to use it around the kiddos.
We play for a few minutes then come home and play at home. Sophie and Liam are toad hunting in my vegetable garden, with good success when I discover that Sophie is burying the poor toads alive.What alerts me to this is that she is saying something about "when they die". I don't think she was trying to kill them. I think she was pretend burying them and just didn't get what could happen. It still frustrated me.
I promptly rescued the poor toad struggling under the soil and freed both of the toads she was holding hostage. Liam and I had already hidden his toad so that it could be free without Sophie grabbing it. Sophie is currently suspended from my garden for trying to kill the residents.
Sophie is playing in the great climbing tree at the bus stop with Erin, Paul, Kate and Liam.
Me: Sophie, did you have any accidents today?
Sophie: {mumbles something I can't hear}
Me: Was that a yes?
Sophie: No, I didn't.
Me: Yay!! Good job.
{she goes for a high five I was not expecting and basically slaps me}
Me: Ow!
Erin: What happened? {Erin is sitting in the tree in a spot below Sophie. She's in 4th grade.}
I explain what happened.
Erin: Ummm...It looks like she has a wet spot.
I look up. Yup. She was lying.
Paul: Is that why she has to sit at the front of the bus?
A conversation ensues, where I found that the safety guards (Erin and Paul are safety guards) are afraid of Sophie and think she's mean! She also called a boy, Tony, who told her he loved her last fall, that he was a jackass. Apparently, she told him over and over again. I'll admit she got that word from me. It's one of my favorite phrases, though I try not to use it around the kiddos.
We play for a few minutes then come home and play at home. Sophie and Liam are toad hunting in my vegetable garden, with good success when I discover that Sophie is burying the poor toads alive.What alerts me to this is that she is saying something about "when they die". I don't think she was trying to kill them. I think she was pretend burying them and just didn't get what could happen. It still frustrated me.
I promptly rescued the poor toad struggling under the soil and freed both of the toads she was holding hostage. Liam and I had already hidden his toad so that it could be free without Sophie grabbing it. Sophie is currently suspended from my garden for trying to kill the residents.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Pics 2011
England- first day of our trip in April. This is at the pub in the village where we stayed.The Hiatus Is Over
Today, after the kids came home from school, we read a version of The Very Hungry Caterpillar that Sophie created in Kindergarten. It was very cute, and led to Liam asking me about whether I smiled at him when he was born. We have had many conversations about them being adopted, not being in my belly etc, so I was a little thrown by this. I told him that I would have smiled at him when he was born if I had been there, but that I wasn't. I told him that I certainly smiled at him the first time I met him, and proceeded to tell them about the first time Pete and I met them, including them running into the room, screaming with joy. I thought I had video of this on my blog, so we sat down and looked at this blog, and looked at pictures.
As it turns out, there wasn't a video of that moment on the blog, but there were plenty of other videos and memories that we all enjoyed seeing again, or for them, experiencing them again without the benefit of a clear memory of it. They watched videos of themselves speaking Russian, and asked if they were speaking Russian. This was another potential revelation, as I have believed that they actually do remember Russian and are pretending not to remember it. Maybe I'm wrong? They acted pretty amazed to see themselves speaking a different language.
Regardless, it made me realize that I should really keep up with this, not so much for others, but for us. I stopped posting because I just got too busy, but it's definitely worth the time. Expect lots of posting- I'm going to schedule a time each week to post updates, or possibly more often.
Coming Soon: 21 months captured in pictures!
As it turns out, there wasn't a video of that moment on the blog, but there were plenty of other videos and memories that we all enjoyed seeing again, or for them, experiencing them again without the benefit of a clear memory of it. They watched videos of themselves speaking Russian, and asked if they were speaking Russian. This was another potential revelation, as I have believed that they actually do remember Russian and are pretending not to remember it. Maybe I'm wrong? They acted pretty amazed to see themselves speaking a different language.
Regardless, it made me realize that I should really keep up with this, not so much for others, but for us. I stopped posting because I just got too busy, but it's definitely worth the time. Expect lots of posting- I'm going to schedule a time each week to post updates, or possibly more often.
Coming Soon: 21 months captured in pictures!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Educational Websites
For all the moms out there that have kids toddler to preschool age, I am going to list some of the sites I have found or been referred over the past couple weeks. I am currently teaching the kids how to use a computer-basically using a mouse and using a keyboard. I searched high and low, and the best thing I have found is http://www.boowakwala.com/kids/boowakwala-homefirstclicks.html. They are on Lesson 2 now and its pretty comprehensive, starting with roll-over mouse games.
I like http://www.starfall.com/n/level-k/index/load.htm?f for ABCs. I have started to let them click through it, but I'm trying to concentrate on 4 letters right now, not all of the alphabet. Another website is pretty good, and it has numerous links to other sites for various learning games: http://www.uptoten.com/kids/uptoten-home.html. This site is how I found the Boowa and Kwala site.
A few others:
http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=2602&e=gamesLanding&mcat=game_infant,game_toddler,game_preschool&site=us
http://www.noggin.com/
http://home.disney.go.com/foryou/preschool/
I like http://www.starfall.com/n/level-k/index/load.htm?f for ABCs. I have started to let them click through it, but I'm trying to concentrate on 4 letters right now, not all of the alphabet. Another website is pretty good, and it has numerous links to other sites for various learning games: http://www.uptoten.com/kids/uptoten-home.html. This site is how I found the Boowa and Kwala site.
A few others:
http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=2602&e=gamesLanding&mcat=game_infant,game_toddler,game_preschool&site=us
http://www.noggin.com/
http://home.disney.go.com/foryou/preschool/
MRI
Liam had an MRI last Thursday. Unfortunately, the neurologist did not properly educate me about the sedation and it was a bit of nightmare. I took Sophie along, and that was a mistake. If your child has to have a procedure involving sedation, do not bring any other children with you. Second mistake- going alone. Liam fought the sedative and had to be given more. In the end, a nurse was holding his legs down and I held down his upper body and tried to soothe him as he fought until he gave out and fell asleep. Not all children fight sedation, but it is also not uncommon.
The MRI itself went just fine. He came out of it and the nurse immediately started trying to wake him up. I had been given paperwork that indicated it could take up to 4 hours for him to wake up, so I anticipated that they would let him emerge from the sedation naturally, but apparently not. The same paperwork indicated that he could be "irritable". That was an understatement.
On the journey home, Liam fell asleep in the car. Immediately, of course, he woke up when I carried him inside at home. Keep in mind, the sedation has made him totally "drunk" and he can't walk for his life! So, Sophie was being difficult and not helpful and ended up locked outside our deck while I carried Liam inside and arranged him "safely" on the couch. I went out to fetch a crying sophie and was gone for about 2 minutes, but Liam still managed to fall on the floor (missing the pillows I had arranged for this situation) and hit his head. Fantastic! It only got better from here.
As I tried to get Liam to stay on the couch, as he would invariable injure himself otherwise, he fought me harder and harder. It started with scratching me, then biting and smacking me. Then he started hitting me. He was then counting, "one two three" and throwing himself on me. I was fully under attack, and he had adrenaline running through him giving him strength. Eventually I got Pete home and we were able to get things under control.
My advice: if you have to take your child in for a procedure involving sedation, anticipate the worst. DO NOT bring your other young children and have your spouse take the day off. You will most definitely need the help.
Finally, I got the results today and Liam's MRI came back normal. That's excellent news!
The MRI itself went just fine. He came out of it and the nurse immediately started trying to wake him up. I had been given paperwork that indicated it could take up to 4 hours for him to wake up, so I anticipated that they would let him emerge from the sedation naturally, but apparently not. The same paperwork indicated that he could be "irritable". That was an understatement.
On the journey home, Liam fell asleep in the car. Immediately, of course, he woke up when I carried him inside at home. Keep in mind, the sedation has made him totally "drunk" and he can't walk for his life! So, Sophie was being difficult and not helpful and ended up locked outside our deck while I carried Liam inside and arranged him "safely" on the couch. I went out to fetch a crying sophie and was gone for about 2 minutes, but Liam still managed to fall on the floor (missing the pillows I had arranged for this situation) and hit his head. Fantastic! It only got better from here.
As I tried to get Liam to stay on the couch, as he would invariable injure himself otherwise, he fought me harder and harder. It started with scratching me, then biting and smacking me. Then he started hitting me. He was then counting, "one two three" and throwing himself on me. I was fully under attack, and he had adrenaline running through him giving him strength. Eventually I got Pete home and we were able to get things under control.
My advice: if you have to take your child in for a procedure involving sedation, anticipate the worst. DO NOT bring your other young children and have your spouse take the day off. You will most definitely need the help.
Finally, I got the results today and Liam's MRI came back normal. That's excellent news!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Conversation at the Dinner Table Tonight
Context- I was trying to persuade the kids to eat their delicious dinner, made by me natch, by talking about growing up to be big and strong like Thomas the Tank Engine (for Liam) and a princess (for Sophie).
Sophie: I want to grow big to grow cows.
Me: You want to grow cows at your princess castle?
Sophie: yeah.
Me: Will you be wearing a princess dress while you are growing cows at your princess castle?
Sophie: Yeah (as in yeah, what a stupid question).
Liam: I want to grow train tracks.
P.S. will postpics soon. I am newly mobiliy connected, and inventing words as I type.
Sophie: I want to grow big to grow cows.
Me: You want to grow cows at your princess castle?
Sophie: yeah.
Me: Will you be wearing a princess dress while you are growing cows at your princess castle?
Sophie: Yeah (as in yeah, what a stupid question).
Liam: I want to grow train tracks.
P.S. will postpics soon. I am newly mobiliy connected, and inventing words as I type.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Snyeg
That's Russian for snow. And we have lots of it. Its going to be a white Christmas here. We've got 8 inches on the ground, and
Santa
I have been trying to "educate" the kids about Christmas with Christmas TV specials, "The Polar Express" movie, "Elf" the move and books. I don't think they fully grasp what Christmas represent both on the spiritual level and on the festive level, but they are starting to recognize aspects of Christmas. A couple nights ago Dominic had his Christmas pajamas on, which had Santa Claus on them. I asked both Liam and Sophie who the person on Dominic's pajamas was, and they both knew it was Santa Claus.
I have planned all along to take them to see Santa, but sometimes things are difficult to do logistically. That seemed to be the case with finding a Santa, and going to see Santa. On Sunday, I enthusiastically asked Sophie if she wanted to meet Santa and she said she did. I did some things around the house and rethought taking them to see Santa for a few reasons- it was bitter cold out, it was getting late and Liam was napping. I made up mind that it really would be OK to not take them to Santa. Unfortunately, the next time I saw Sophie, she was talking about meeting Santa. That sealed the deal- we had to go.
So, it was about 3:45pm, and I had to wake Liam up from the short nap he had. He wasn't happy about this at all. Papa was feeling very ill and decided he was going to stay home and rest. I dressed the kids warmly, all the while Liam was whining. It was 8 degrees fahrenheit...bitter cold! We rushed the kids to the car, and it takes about 5 minutes to get all three kids buckled in. After much maneuvering, we were ready to go and quite cold.
The mall was packed, which was completely expected, but I had hoped that the cold might work in our favor on this front. Nope. I dropped the kids and Rachel at the door so they didn't have to walk in the cold and found a distant parking space. I froze! And Liam freaked out because I wasn't with him.
In the mall, both kids just stared at everything-this was their first trip to a mall or store other than a grocery store. When we approached the elevator to go down to Santa Claus, Liam had a meltdown. I wasn't totally sure it was the elevator, so we walked some more and tried another elevator. No go...so Rachel and Dominic took the elevator and I tried to take the kids on the escalator. He wasn't having that, or the stairs for that matter. So, I carried him down the 20 or so stairs and held Sophie's hand. I tried to be enthusiastic and calm with him about visiting Santa, and we got in line.
The Santa area was Polar Express themed, which was familiar to Liam and Sophie. Liam would be calm for about 2 minutes then melt down. This repeated. I tried to find out if he wanted to go home, and he said he didn't. In a last ditch effort, Rachel stayed in line with Dominic and we went to the play area. He was much happier here. Unfortunately, he pushed some kids and was being a bit aggressive, so our visit to the play area lasted about 50-60 minutes.
By the time we got back to Rachel, we were pretty close to the front of the line. Dominic, of course, was very cranky by this time. It was a little after 6pm when our kids got their pics with Santa, and then we had to wait forever to get the prints, pay etc. We got out of the mall around 7pm, and it was 2 degrees! Oh my!
Needless to say, it took the kids forever to fall asleep. They didn't fight getting into bed, but they had A LOT to process in their little heads so they had a very time getting to sleep.
Next year, I am going to plan this whole Santa thing a lot better- no malls!!!! Enjoy the photo!
I have planned all along to take them to see Santa, but sometimes things are difficult to do logistically. That seemed to be the case with finding a Santa, and going to see Santa. On Sunday, I enthusiastically asked Sophie if she wanted to meet Santa and she said she did. I did some things around the house and rethought taking them to see Santa for a few reasons- it was bitter cold out, it was getting late and Liam was napping. I made up mind that it really would be OK to not take them to Santa. Unfortunately, the next time I saw Sophie, she was talking about meeting Santa. That sealed the deal- we had to go.
So, it was about 3:45pm, and I had to wake Liam up from the short nap he had. He wasn't happy about this at all. Papa was feeling very ill and decided he was going to stay home and rest. I dressed the kids warmly, all the while Liam was whining. It was 8 degrees fahrenheit...bitter cold! We rushed the kids to the car, and it takes about 5 minutes to get all three kids buckled in. After much maneuvering, we were ready to go and quite cold.
The mall was packed, which was completely expected, but I had hoped that the cold might work in our favor on this front. Nope. I dropped the kids and Rachel at the door so they didn't have to walk in the cold and found a distant parking space. I froze! And Liam freaked out because I wasn't with him.
In the mall, both kids just stared at everything-this was their first trip to a mall or store other than a grocery store. When we approached the elevator to go down to Santa Claus, Liam had a meltdown. I wasn't totally sure it was the elevator, so we walked some more and tried another elevator. No go...so Rachel and Dominic took the elevator and I tried to take the kids on the escalator. He wasn't having that, or the stairs for that matter. So, I carried him down the 20 or so stairs and held Sophie's hand. I tried to be enthusiastic and calm with him about visiting Santa, and we got in line.
The Santa area was Polar Express themed, which was familiar to Liam and Sophie. Liam would be calm for about 2 minutes then melt down. This repeated. I tried to find out if he wanted to go home, and he said he didn't. In a last ditch effort, Rachel stayed in line with Dominic and we went to the play area. He was much happier here. Unfortunately, he pushed some kids and was being a bit aggressive, so our visit to the play area lasted about 50-60 minutes.
By the time we got back to Rachel, we were pretty close to the front of the line. Dominic, of course, was very cranky by this time. It was a little after 6pm when our kids got their pics with Santa, and then we had to wait forever to get the prints, pay etc. We got out of the mall around 7pm, and it was 2 degrees! Oh my!
Needless to say, it took the kids forever to fall asleep. They didn't fight getting into bed, but they had A LOT to process in their little heads so they had a very time getting to sleep.
Next year, I am going to plan this whole Santa thing a lot better- no malls!!!! Enjoy the photo!
The Lowdown
Here's what happening in our house. I've had some repeat questions for friends, so I thought I would answer some of them here.
I went back to work on December 8 part-time. I'm so glad that I have the luxury of working part-time! I have Wednesdays off, which I think is good for me, the kids and our nanny (Rachel). So, many have asked who is watching the kids while I'm at work. My step-sister Rachel and her 20 month old son, Dominic, moved in with us in October. While I was still at home, Rachel cleaned for us, did some cooking and watched the kids as necessary when I had to run errands. Now that I am back at work, she is the nanny, and is a Godsend! She makes dinner for us on the days I work, and still does our laundry a lot. Because the kids knew Rachel when I went back to work, and were used to being alone with her, the transition when I went back to work was very easy. It has worked out beautifully.
There is a however, however. Liam has regressed in his behaviour due to my return to work. He's gotten more aggressive and tries to bite me, hits me etc again. Its not easy to stay calm when he does this, but I'm trying! I've been reading a book called, "Nurturing the Hurt Child". I think he is emotionally at about 1 year old, so I think I may need to regress him. Our little boy has a lot of hurt inside him and he has a lot of healing to do. He's a very loving little boy, but we have a lot of work to do to make him whole again. I'm learning...anyone who reads this who has some concise tips on regressing children please comment with them. I think I will be getting a bottle and bottle-feeding him some milk every night with a cuddle. No nasty comments on this please- he missed out on a lot of things with his birth mother so we need to give the nurturing back to him.
Pete is now in the vicious cycle of illness I had when I was home. He was on antibiotics for a week or so, missed a day, took the next dose and woke up with red spots covering his body a week ago. It turns out he's allergic to Penicillin! He had three days of waking up with various issues but those seem to have subsided. The spots are still there though. Now he has a very sore throat...poor guy. I can empathize.
So, the kids have reconnected with an old friend here in Michigan! A few weeks ago another mom from our adoption agency emailed me that she and her husband had adopted a little girl from Liam and Sophie's orphanage and gruppa! I had no idea that anyone else was even going to Detsky Dom 2 in Moscow, because our agency doesn't work there that often. We've had two play dates with S (won't mention her name until her mom gives me the OK) and I am just so excited that Liam and Sophie have their friend from Moscow so close! S and her family live in the city where I work, which is close to us (by large city standards). S was a little shy on the first play date, partly I'm sure because it was at our house, not on her "turf". The second play date was at an indoor playground called Jungle Java, and she and Sophie played together a lot. S would run up to Sophie and hug her and kiss her! It was so cute!
Hopefully I'll get the OK from S's mom and can post some pictures of the three kids together on their next play date.
Next up....our Santa Experience!!
I went back to work on December 8 part-time. I'm so glad that I have the luxury of working part-time! I have Wednesdays off, which I think is good for me, the kids and our nanny (Rachel). So, many have asked who is watching the kids while I'm at work. My step-sister Rachel and her 20 month old son, Dominic, moved in with us in October. While I was still at home, Rachel cleaned for us, did some cooking and watched the kids as necessary when I had to run errands. Now that I am back at work, she is the nanny, and is a Godsend! She makes dinner for us on the days I work, and still does our laundry a lot. Because the kids knew Rachel when I went back to work, and were used to being alone with her, the transition when I went back to work was very easy. It has worked out beautifully.
There is a however, however. Liam has regressed in his behaviour due to my return to work. He's gotten more aggressive and tries to bite me, hits me etc again. Its not easy to stay calm when he does this, but I'm trying! I've been reading a book called, "Nurturing the Hurt Child". I think he is emotionally at about 1 year old, so I think I may need to regress him. Our little boy has a lot of hurt inside him and he has a lot of healing to do. He's a very loving little boy, but we have a lot of work to do to make him whole again. I'm learning...anyone who reads this who has some concise tips on regressing children please comment with them. I think I will be getting a bottle and bottle-feeding him some milk every night with a cuddle. No nasty comments on this please- he missed out on a lot of things with his birth mother so we need to give the nurturing back to him.
Pete is now in the vicious cycle of illness I had when I was home. He was on antibiotics for a week or so, missed a day, took the next dose and woke up with red spots covering his body a week ago. It turns out he's allergic to Penicillin! He had three days of waking up with various issues but those seem to have subsided. The spots are still there though. Now he has a very sore throat...poor guy. I can empathize.
So, the kids have reconnected with an old friend here in Michigan! A few weeks ago another mom from our adoption agency emailed me that she and her husband had adopted a little girl from Liam and Sophie's orphanage and gruppa! I had no idea that anyone else was even going to Detsky Dom 2 in Moscow, because our agency doesn't work there that often. We've had two play dates with S (won't mention her name until her mom gives me the OK) and I am just so excited that Liam and Sophie have their friend from Moscow so close! S and her family live in the city where I work, which is close to us (by large city standards). S was a little shy on the first play date, partly I'm sure because it was at our house, not on her "turf". The second play date was at an indoor playground called Jungle Java, and she and Sophie played together a lot. S would run up to Sophie and hug her and kiss her! It was so cute!
Hopefully I'll get the OK from S's mom and can post some pictures of the three kids together on their next play date.
Next up....our Santa Experience!!
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Nyet
Wow! Its been a month since I posted last. I'll try to be better. I go back to work tomorrow, so I think things will be chaotic again. Perhaps it will force me to be more organized though?
Liam's birthday was yesterday. I made a firetruck cake, and he got lots of car/truck related gifts.
They still don't really get the birthday thing, so Sophie and Dominic didn't understand why they didn't have any presents.
We're all still getting sick often. Liam was feverish and sleeping on and off all day Friday. His temp got up to 103.4, which obviously is scary. He's better now though, and a trip to the doctor yesterday showed there's nothing serious going on. He still has conjuctivitis though. We can't seem to get rid of that.
We are going to do "Potty Training in Just One Day". I've ordered Corolle potty training dolls, gotten big kid underwear, training pants, printed off potty charts etc. I need to finish reading the book though.
Enjoy the pictures
Friday, November 7, 2008
Sicko
Status Quo at our house is the following:
Many pieces of a torn-up catalog or magazine scattered on the floor
At least two members of the household are sick
Toys are everywhere
No countertop surface is visible
If there's quiet, there's trouble a-brewin'
Little hands are reaching for something the adults don't want the children to have
No matter how hard we try, the house is in a huge disarray!
I'm sick once again. I'm sick of being sick. When I'm sick, I have a short fuse and my kids know how to push my buttons. Its a vicious cycle though, because I also am too tired to stay on top of the things that might prevent illness- purelling the heck out of all hands, lysoling all surfaces and eating loads of vitamins and minerals!
The kids are progressing very well. The rages are much fewer and Liam really is a the best behaved kid of all three. He actually listens! I think Sophie and Liam are definitely improving in their adjustment to us, and their emotional output shows it. Their English is coming along very well. I don't speak in Russian very much now, and they do seem to understand most of what I say. They repeat a lot of what we say, which shows they are working on their English language acquisition. Eating, on the other hand, is a daily battle. That seems to be normal with kids in general though.
Rachel and I had a night out last weekend. I wasn't feeling great, but I knew I needed to get out of the house and do something that didn't involve running errands. We went out to dinner and had drinks, and just let our hair down a bit. It was good and we both needed it.
Last weekend all six of us had family portraits taken. I can't wait to see the proofs! I think we got some very cute pictures. Now I just have to figure out how many Christmas cards we want to send this year. I think I will have to do the adoption announcement pics ourselves, because photographers don't seem to like to sell their digital images.
Liam seems to have a big fan in Dominic, which can be quite funny. Nearly 4 year olds and 18 month olds express things very differently. Dominic likes to get Liam's attention in non-verbal ways by doing things like gently bumping into him! The three kids really wind each other up at night so we are still working on that.
I'll try to post more often....I have lost a few things in the disorganization- my driver's license and the memory card to our camera that has all the kids' pics on it! Ackkkkkkkkkkk!!!
Many pieces of a torn-up catalog or magazine scattered on the floor
At least two members of the household are sick
Toys are everywhere
No countertop surface is visible
If there's quiet, there's trouble a-brewin'
Little hands are reaching for something the adults don't want the children to have
No matter how hard we try, the house is in a huge disarray!
I'm sick once again. I'm sick of being sick. When I'm sick, I have a short fuse and my kids know how to push my buttons. Its a vicious cycle though, because I also am too tired to stay on top of the things that might prevent illness- purelling the heck out of all hands, lysoling all surfaces and eating loads of vitamins and minerals!
The kids are progressing very well. The rages are much fewer and Liam really is a the best behaved kid of all three. He actually listens! I think Sophie and Liam are definitely improving in their adjustment to us, and their emotional output shows it. Their English is coming along very well. I don't speak in Russian very much now, and they do seem to understand most of what I say. They repeat a lot of what we say, which shows they are working on their English language acquisition. Eating, on the other hand, is a daily battle. That seems to be normal with kids in general though.
Rachel and I had a night out last weekend. I wasn't feeling great, but I knew I needed to get out of the house and do something that didn't involve running errands. We went out to dinner and had drinks, and just let our hair down a bit. It was good and we both needed it.
Last weekend all six of us had family portraits taken. I can't wait to see the proofs! I think we got some very cute pictures. Now I just have to figure out how many Christmas cards we want to send this year. I think I will have to do the adoption announcement pics ourselves, because photographers don't seem to like to sell their digital images.
Liam seems to have a big fan in Dominic, which can be quite funny. Nearly 4 year olds and 18 month olds express things very differently. Dominic likes to get Liam's attention in non-verbal ways by doing things like gently bumping into him! The three kids really wind each other up at night so we are still working on that.
I'll try to post more often....I have lost a few things in the disorganization- my driver's license and the memory card to our camera that has all the kids' pics on it! Ackkkkkkkkkkk!!!
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Sophie as Birthday Princess
Sophie's third birthday "party". It was just Pete, me, Sophie, Liam, Rachel and Dominic. Everything seemed to be new to them- the hat, the birthday cake with candles, blowing out the candles, the presents. Bedtime was not good- they were way overstimulated from the toys!
Cousins Playing
The cousins playing together on our deck and in our backyard. The curly haired cutie is Dominic, my nephew.
A Picnic at Pontiac Lake
It was a warm day, but the water was very cold. After our picnic, we took the kids down to the lake and they experienced a beach for the first time! They loved the sand, and they are real water lovers. We rolled up their pants, but soon enough they were naked with only diapers on, after falling in the water a couple times. Tantrums ensued when we made them leave.
Pics at the Playground
This is our local playground in Farmington. Its really nice, and there are loads of families that go there, so there are a lot of other kids there at the same time!
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