Bowling with Santa

Every year my parents take the boys to and event called "Bowling with Santa." Before leaving to go Christian told us that he had a couple questions he wanted to ask Santa. He wanted to know "Santa were you born with that long white beard?" and "Santa why do you have to wear those fancy clothes?" I don't think he found out the answers to his questions but thought they were funny!

My boys love to bowl and with Christmas vacation starting next Monday (yes I said NEXT Monday) and the cold weather begining I know we will be bowling alot more. The boys really enjoy going because not only do they get to see Santa and bowl they also get a goody bag with a Toys R Us $10 gift card. Dan and I also look forward to the day because we go out to lunch and finish up any last minute Christmas shopping.

Surgery update

Well it is over and went very well. Logan did great but we had a rough start. To use his expression he was "freaked out." To the point that he was in tears numerous times before surgery because he was so nervous. It broke my heart to see him so upset and unsure. His tears turned into my tears. I promised myself I would be strong and not cry in front of him but I couldn't help it. I reassured him that everything would be okay and it was. Tonight he is laying on the couch recovering and watching Sports Center. All is right in his world.

Surgery

Logan will be having surgery this Monday to remove a mass on his arm. In May he was playing football on the playground with his friends and he ended up getting tackled and hurt his arm. A few days later a bump appeared on his forearm on top of his elbow. When this first happened I was angry and called the school to find out what was going on on the playground. This was the third time in one week that he was injured playing "two hand tap" football on the playground. I understand that playground monitors cannot see everything but when your kid is injured three times in one week it is cause for concern. One of the times he got hurt the secretary called me to tell me someone had stepped on his leg and bruised it pretty badly. They iced it and he seemed okay.

Back to "the bump" as Logan refers to it. We saw an orthopedic surgeon in the summer and he felt that we could wait to have it removed or we could just leave it alone. It doesn't bother Logan unless someone bumps it. The doctor thought it was possible that it could "rupture" on its own. Once football season began Logan was not interested in missing football to have it removed. The doctor felt it was probably just a cyst due to its location but could not say that with 100% accuracy. The only way we will truly know what it is is to have it removed. He also said it isn't entirely fluid filled and that there is something solid in it. Dan and I both feel that since we can't know exactly what it is until it is removed it must come out which obviously means surgery for Logan. After it is removed it will be sent to pathology and about a week later we will get the results.

Logan does not seem nervous at this point. The only thing he has told us is he does not want to have to wear "those hospital pajamas." Unfortunately that is out of our hands. I think I am more nervous than him. My children have never had surgery of any kind. Ethan had ear tubes but that was not under general anesthesia. The surgery should last about an hour and we will be able to go home that day. So after Monday "the bump" will be gone and all that will be left is a tiny scar.

Ethan's Christmas wish

Ethan was writing out his Christmas list tonight and told me that his Christmas wish was for a sister. He said "My wish is for Mia and I am going to write a story about my Christimas wish and Mia." Oh how I wanted to cry! Does he sense that this is also my Christmas wish? Maybe our wish will come true. What a Christmas miracle that would be!

The pictures that did not make the cut

While we were at my sister's house for Thanksgiving I decided to have her take a family picture of us to include on our Christmas card. I thought this would be a quick and easy photo shoot after all we were going for a completely casual look. To say it was a disaster would be an understatement! Christian did not want to cooperate at all! Aren't family pictures suppose to get easier as your kids get older? We are planning on getting our family pictures professsionally done within the next couple of weeks but after this "trial run" I may rethink that idea! Out of probably 10-12 shots we only got one decent picture that I would consider using. I am also comtemplating not sending out Christmas cards this year. I am feeling a bit unmotivated at the moment so we will have to see what happens. The idea of having to go through another Christmas card photo shot makes me want to cringe.

Blog makeover

I decided it was time for a "blog makeover." My friend Leslie at Sweet Berry Designs made over my blog and did a great job! I love pink and brown together so this is perfect! Thanks again Leslie!

Our Thanksgiving recap

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year! My sister and brother in law hosted Thanksgiving at their house this year. We arrived at their house on Wednesday night after almost 6 hours in the car. Usually it takes about 3 1/2 hours to get to their house but there was an accident on the highway and it was shut down for over 5 hours so we had to take an alternate route. As soon as we got there the work began! My sister and brother in law were hard at work before we got there and I think my brother in law was especially excited to see me so he could be excused from his "duties." We started on the stuffing and made a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake.

On Thursday morning had to get "Tom the turkey" ready. It is worth mentioning that Danielle and I have never made a turkey. I know it sounds pathetic especially for me but Thanksgiving is usually held at my parent's house or my aunt's house. With that being said cleaning "Tom" out was quite the experience! We let Brian clean out the "insides" though he tried to pawn this duty off on me several times! After about 45 minutes of a few mishaps and some extra cleaning "Tom" was ready to meet his fate~the oven!

Thanksgiving was complete with stuffing, mashed potaoes and gravy, corn, green bean casserole, rolls, pumpkin pie, apple crisp, cheesecake, brownies and of course good ole "Tom." The best part of Thanksgiving for us (besides the food and leftovers) was being able to spend it with friends and family. We are very blessed!

Back from my long but much needed break

All out silliness


Things are starting to get a little silly. Just look at Logan's face.

A nice picture of me and Ethan

Grandpa's ? birthday

Christian's 7th birthday

Time for a quick November catch up since taking a break from blogger world. First I would like to thank everyone who left comments or e-mailed me offering your prayers and support. It truly meant alot to me. I am feeling much better now and even though we made a difficult decision I know it was the right decision and I am at peace with it.

November was a busy month with football and soccer end of the season parties, Christian's 7th birthday, and the holidays quickly approaching! They come faster every year and I know the stores start playing the Christmas music earlier every year! This weekend we got in the Christmas spirit and put up our tree. We usually put it up the weekend before Thanksgiving since it is so much darn work! Getting up in the attic and dragging it out with attic dust falling all over the place! Separating all of the tree branches and cleaning up the many "needles" left on the floor! Straightening the branches and fixing the lights. It never fails that every year we need to replace a strand or two or three! I sound like a "scrooge" and I really do love the holidays and all of the festivities but you get the point it is ALOT of work! I love to see the kid's faces when the tree lights up for the first time! Christian said last night as we were trimming the tree "mom I think Santa will think we have the best tree!" I love how the tree is the first thing they turn on in the morning even before the TV! I love to catch a glimpse of them just staring and admiring the tree. Yes it is definitely all worth it!

I will end this post with random pictures from the month of November. Of course I will have more after Thanksgiving! We are looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with my sister and brother in law and his family! My parents bailed on us and went to Hilton Head. Can you believe that? Would you rather spend Thanksgiving with your family in Ohio or be on the beach in Hilton Head? Don't answer that I think I know the answer!

Taking a break

I have decided to take a break from blogging for awhile. We have had a challenging week that ended in making a difficult decision. I need some time to regroup and get a new perspective on things. I don't like the place I am in. My heart is broken and I am feeling very discouraged right now. I know this feeling will pass with time. I just need a break.

A big day for Ethan

Ethan has worn glasses since he was 6 years old. After a school eye exam it was suggested that we have his eyes further evaluated. When we took him to the eye doctor the doctor was surprised we never noticed Ethan having vision problems. He has always hated wearing his glasses. He really started to dread wearing glasses when the eye doctor informed us that since Ethan plays soccer we should invest in rec specs for him. I can't blame him for not wanting to wear rec specs because they are rather big and bulky but we have always insisted he wear them to avoid injurying his eyes in a sporting accident. For about a year he has been asking us for contacts. We told him that he needed to wait until he was a little older and he had to be getting good grades in school. Since the begining of the school year Dan and I have both noticed how hard Ethan has been trying in school. He is very determined to get straight As. We are able to check his grades online and I know that he is one B+ away from having all As. He also has always been very responsible with his glasses. They have had to be replaced twice and that was because of a defective frame.

Today he had an eye doctor's appointment and I told him we would "talk" to the doctor about getting contacts. Truth be told I had every intention of getting him contacts but didn't want to get his hopes up if they didn't have his prescription on hand. The doctor asked if he was responsible with his glasses and if he worked hard in school. Then they measured his eyes for contacts and fitted him with a pair. Next the doctor had him practice taking the contacts in and out. I must admit I was a little nervous about him being able to get them in and out. He popped them right in and out as if he had done this several times! He is allowed to wear them 4-5 hours today and of course chose to wear them to school. He is THRILLED to not have to wear his rec specs for soccer anymore. I have always loved him in his glasses but think getting contacts was a huge confidence booster for him. I will miss seeing my boy in his glasses all the time but I am so happy that is he so excited about his "new" look!

Tagged

My friend Donna tagged me so now I have to share 7 weird or interesting things about myself. I tend to avoid "being tagged" but this one sounded fun and I am sure I can come up with at least 7 weird or interesting things to share!

1. I hate, depise, and avoid at all costs public speaking! I am not a "center of attention" type of person and would much rather blend in with the crowd rather than stand out. However this past July I had to overcome my public speaking phobia. My sister got married in July and asked me to be her Matron of Honor. As honored as I was for her to ask me I knew I would have to give a toast at the reception. I even tried to pass off my "duties" to another bridesmaid but knew I would forever regret it if I didn't deliver my speech so I did it shaking like a leaf the entire time! I am so glad I took advantage of the opportunity and didn't pass out in the process!

2. I have this OCD habit of checking numerous times to make sure the garage door is down before we go to bed at night. I will also check to make sure all the doors are locked. Dan finds this habit very annoying because I will ask him to check right after I have checked and then I will go down and check again. It is very OCD!

3. I have never had a speeding ticket. Now in all fairness I have been pulled over a couple times for speeding but I have always managed to get myself out of the ticket. I have always said I think it is because the officer checks my license and notices I don't have any offenses and lets me off the hook. I know my time is probably coming but for now I can say "I have never had a speeding ticket."

4. I hate camping. I am not an outdoorsy type of girl at all. When I was younger and in girl scouts I actually quit scouts after our first camping adventure. The sad part is we actually camped in a cabin and I still hated it.

5. I get homesick very easily which will be interesting to be in China for two weeks! As a child I would hate to be away from home. I remember sleeping over at friend's houses and calling my mom in the middle of the night to come and get me. I think I am much better now that I am older but I still love the comforts of home.

6. Purell is one of my best friends! I am constantly sanitizing or disinfecting something. The first words out of my mouth when my kids get home from school is "Wash your hands." I also hate to shake people's hands but how do you politely decline when you are at church? I pay particular attention at church if anyone I am standing by is sneezing, coughing, or blowing their nose and I will turn from them when it is time to shake hands. I will also try to be discreet and get in my purse and purell my hands after shaking hands.

7. I was a band nerd in high school. No I didn't play any instruments I was a flag carrier. I actually enjoyed it in high school but hated our uniforms! They were old and the skirts were so long. We had to wear white boots with pom poms on them. Luckily my junior year we got new uniforms that were much more "stylish."

Now I am suppose to tag 7 people. I am to lazy to link blogs so I will tag any of my ladybug friends who have not participated yet. Leave me a comment when you are finished!

Your time is up!

Hopefully tonight Cloris Leachman's run on "Dancing with the Stars" will come to an end. Carrie Ann said it best last night when she said "we let Toni Braxton go for this?" At first I could find the humor in it all and even admired Cloris for attempting to learn to dance but I am tired of her antics and if someone else who has more talent and potential gets sent home tonight and Cloris stays I might have to boycott the show. Her entertainment value is gone and now I just find her annoying! She can't dance and just tries to "entertain" her way through it. I have never seen the judges score lower than a five but I think last night's performance deserved much lower than a five. I guess they are scoring based on effort. I told Dan last night the only reason I can imagine that she is still there is the same reason the worst singer on American Idol always seems to make it into the top six or so. People are "voting" for the worse and that is why Cloris remains. She certainly is not there based on her dancing skills.

Another contestant that needs to step it up before they are voted off is Susan Lucci. I really do think she has the potential to be a great dancer but something is holding her back. I think it is clear that she is not comfortable with her dancing. She was off several times last night and at this stage of the competition you need to be in sync with your partner. She needs to "let it go" and become more comfortable in her dancing.

Let's hope tonight we are bidding Cloris farewell so the real competition can begin!

Interesting fashion sense

First the backwards shirt (which by the way he did wear it that way to school and then decided to put it on the correct way once his friends started asking him why it was backwards!) and now this. Christian was putting on his shin guards and socks on for soccer practice and decided to make yet another fashion statement~tucking his pants into his socks! He asked if he could go to practice like this and since I am the type of parent to choose my battles (see previous post) I told him to go right ahead so out the door he went.

Since this week we seem to be on the topic of Christian I received an interesting call from his teacher today. The kids are allowed to bring a snack to school since they don't get to eat lunch until 12:30. I personally think this is way too long to go without a meal for a first grader even with a snack! His teacher asked me if I would send in an extra snack for Christian because he was complaining about being hungry. I told her I had no problem sending an extra snack to school but I was under the impression that only one snack was permitted. She told me it would be fine and that she has offered him ritz bits cheese crackers but he tells her he doesn't like the cheese only the cracker. She also said he asks to go to the office all the time to get some pretzels because he is hungry. I told her that if she hasn't noticed yet he is an extremely picky eater and she laughed and said "yes I have certainly noticed!" I could hear Christian in the background and she told him that she would let him talk to me but that he wasn't to ask for me to send candy to school for him. So what does he do? As soon as he hears my voice he says "Mom can you send me some candy?"

A backwards kind of morning

Today was a rough morning in our household! What can I say it is Monday and does anybody really want to get out of bed? Ethan had his last soccer game yesterday and even though they lost he played an awesome game! This morning Christian got up and was seemingly happy until after he ate his breakfast(not sure what caused the sudden change of moods). I started to hear stomping around in his room so I went up to see what was going on. He had "that" face on! You know the face I am talking about the "grumpy don't talk to me kind of face." He proceeded to get dressed and put his shirt on backwards. For some strange reason he always does this when he gets mad. I told him I didn't care how he wore his shirt and that he could go to school with it on that way is that is what he wanted. I am all for choosing your battles and this was a battle I was unwilling to fight! Well he left this morning with the shirt on backwards. I have a feeling he will put it on the correct way once he gets to school but maybe not.

Well it is October 9th and my prediction was correct.....

we have officially hit the 12month mark! We have yet to "surpass" it which I honestly hope we do not! I am so DONE with this wait! I think a more "realistic" timeline is 10-14 months even though our agency still quotes a 10 -12 month wait. I am so ready to be on the "other side" of this wait. I have been told that the "worst wait" is yet to come and that once you see your baby's face the wait becomes much harder as you again "wait" to travel. I understand that but I am still in this long phase of "waiting!" At least once I know "who" she is I will know "who" I am waiting for! Of course I am sure if we are blessed to have her referral by Christmas it will be especially hard to know who Mia is but not have her home in time for Christmas. That will be incredibly hard(not that I want to wait until after Christmas to have a referral!).

I am begining to feel like there is a light at the end of this very long tunnel. After much procrastination, I finally scheduled our travel immunizations today. I know I should have scheduled them a long time ago but I really needed to feel like this(adoption) was going to happen. I talked to the nurse and she said as long as we have our tetanus and the first two rounds of Hepatitis A & B we should be fine to travel to China. She said we can finish the third round when we get home. The first and second Hep A & B shots have to be given 6 weeks apart. She also suggested we take some malaria pills with us. Our first round is scheduled for November 5. Pray that we get a nice nurse because I am scared to death of shots!

As WE wait....I shop!

Since buying clothes isn't practical until we know what size Mia will be I have decided to build up Mia's hairbow collection. I have had to fight the urge on many occasions not to buy clothes. I love the combination of pink and brown and there are so many adorable pink and brown outfits! I ordered these cute clips from the site http://www.love2sparkle.com/. This is the first time I have ordered from this site but her clips are so cute and reasonably priced that I decided to give it a try! I ordered the purple and green sequin butterfly and the red sequin heart hoping that I will be able to use it in time for Valentine's day.

Two years~Seriously!

Seriously(to use a Grey's Anatomy line) has it really been two years since we have been LID? I can tell you that it certainly feels every bit like two years and than some! I am starting to see an end in sight since our MCC will have been submitted one year on October 9, 2007. We have been told the wait is about 10-12 months after you submit your MCC. I am certain that we will surpass the 12 month mark. It does seem that some families with our agency are waiting beyond the 12 month mark and I am sure we will be joining that group on October 9. How is that for optimisim? I would love to be pleasantly surprised and to have this part of the wait behind us. I am so over it!

Too sick for school?

When Ethan came home from school yesterday I could tell is wasn't feeling well. Of course he told me that he felt sick and didn't think he would be able to make it to his soccer game that night. I thought he must really feel sick to decide not to go to his game. I gave him some medicine and he laid on the couch for awhile under the blanket. About an hour later I asked him if I should get his soccer gear together. He said he was going to try to go and I assured him that I would tell his coach at the game that he wasn't feeling good and that maybe he could put his in a position that doesn't require a ton of running(he usually plays mid field so he runs alot). When we got to the game he was feeling a little better and the coach put him in as a forward which is his favorite position so he wasn't about to tell the coach he was too sick to play it. He played well during the game and even seemed back to himself after the game.

This morning he got up and was complaining that his head hurt, his throat hurt, and he was cold. I told him to go back to bed and he could stay home today. Our rule around our house is that if you don't go to school you spend most of the day resting~not watching TV all day. Around 10:00am he woke up and seemed fine. I told him that I thought he needed to go to school because he has an English test tommorow and I wanted him to be there for the review. To my surprise he agreed to go. In the end I think he discovered it might be more fun to go to school than lay around and "rest" all day unless you are really sick. In his defense I know he has a cold and I know he isn't feeling 100% but no fever, no vomit, to school you go! What a mean mom I am!

Bullets~again!

~We have been busy with football and soccer practices every weeknight. This makes me wonder how I would get anything accomplished if I had to work. My hat is off to working moms who manage to work and get their kids to their various activites, get dinner on the table, do homework, pack lunches, clean, catch up on laundry etc. I am tired just thinking about it!

~Speaking of soccer and football it has been an interesting year so far. Ethan is on a new traveling soccer team and they have had 6 games and only won 1 game so far. We knew this would be a challenging season with the team being new but it is hard to see the disappointment on his face as he walks off the field at the end of the game. Quite the opposite, Logan's football team is undefeated and his games always end with alot of cheering, excitement, and big smiles! And then there is Christian. He has only had one soccer game and he scored 6 goals! To be fair he has played a couple of seasons and is six years old so for some of these kids this is their first year playing. I would say he has quite an advantage over them.

~I went to a Pampered Chef party last week and ordered from another. My new purchases include the food chopper(how did I manage to survive without this?), a large serving spatula, a mini serving spatula, a garlic press, and the ice cream dipper. I have to say I have the ice cream dipper but it isn't suppose to go into the dishwasher and since Dan thinks any dirty utensil belongs in the dishwasher it is a dark shade of gray instead of the shiny silver it should be.

~About that ladybug on our timeline.....it will be two years on Saturday since we were LID. I wonder what will happen to the little ladybug once she gets to the end of the timeline. Will she just fall off? Or will our timeline continue to increase? I would love for her to fall off and our wait be over. I am trying to be patient and some days are better than others. Everytime the phone rings I hope it is our agency calling with a match. When I see that it isn't I can't help but feel a little dissappointed. So if you call and I seem dissappointed don't take it too personally~you just aren't "THE CALL."

~I have found another distraction or addiction during the wait~Facebook! I think it is great that you can connect with friends and see what they are up to. I am loving my new addiction!

Brothers divided

As the boys were getting ready for school today Logan and Christian both decided they wanted to wear their football jerseys today. Logan was first to get dressed and chose to wear his Ohio State jersey. With hearing this Christian had to wear his Michigan jersey!

First grade frustrations

I was expecting it to be a challenge for Christian to transition to first grade but I have been somewhat unprepared for his transition. I expected that he would be tired when he came home from school. I expected that he would be grumpy. I foolishly expected that he would be more than ready to go to bed at 8:30pm. Of the three kids he is more attached to me than Ethan and Logan. I understand it and maybe have even encouraged it because he is the baby of the family. He still loves to sit in my lap and watch TV. He readily gives hugs and kisses. He will lay in our bed and talk about the days events with me before it is time to go to bed and yes there have been many occasions that he has asked to sleep with me at night and I have let him.

I know it is a BIG change for him. Nighttime seems to be the most challenging for us. At night we will put him in bed and within a few minutes he is back out of bed again. Last night he came out quite a few times. One time his head hurt. The next time he had pulled the lamp off of the dresser and asked us to turn it on so he could see. He has never done this before and has never slept with a nightlight. Then he was too hot. And finally the last excuse was "I don't want to go to school" but not before he asked "can I sleep with you?" Every night recently this question has been asked. I tell him no and then put him back to bed. In the morning he is very grumpy. Ethan even asked today "why is he always so grumpy in the morning?" When he is getting dressed in the morning he will put his clothes on backwards and say he is going to school that way. Not wanting to give into that behavior I tell him if that is how he wants to go to school like that it is fine with me. As it gets closer to the bus coming he will quickly put his clothes on the right way. I know all of these behaviors are part of him trying to adjust to school and since I have been through this before I know this too shall pass.