------ the long and winding road to home

I'm addicted to Pinterest :O)

2011-11-11T10:09:00.002-06:00

I saw this idea on Pinterest and just knew I had to try it out. I've made several with friends and family names, but I don't want them to know yet, so I'll just show my Noel one.

Creamy Chicken Soup with Wild Rice and Autumn Vegetables

2011-10-18T20:33:00.003-05:00

It's not really a pretty soup but it tastes DELICIOUS!

CHICKEN SOUP WITH WILD RICE AND AUTUMN VEGETABLES

3 stalks of celery, diced very fine

1/2 onion, diced very fine

2 medium carrots cut in slivers

2 T butter (I used real)

1 T olive oil

1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast or 2-3 boneless skinless thighs (I cooked mine in my microwave roaster for 7 minutes)

2 chicken boulion cubes

5 cups water

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 box Uncle Ben's Original Long Grain and Wild Rice (already prepared per box instructions)

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp.Mrs. Dash Original

Sautee the onions, celery and carrots in butter and oil until onions just begin to carmelize - about 15 minutes or so on med/hi heat. Add salt, pepper, garlic salt and Mrs. Dash. Add water and boullion cubes and allow to come to a full rolling boil. As this is boiling - for about 20-25 minutes - prepare your chicken breast and Uncle Ben's rice. Cut chicken into small cubes/chunks after it's been cooked. Add cream of chicken soup and allow to boil until it is no longer lumpy. Add in the prepared rice and chicken. Let soup lightly boil for about 30 minutes to combine flavors.

This would be delicious served with a crusty bread!

Makes approximately 5 hearty bowls of soup. (If you are feeding a family of more than 4, I'd suggest to double the recipe.) If your family likes mushrooms, I think it would be good to do one can cream of chicken and one can cream of mushroom soup.

Daria's 10 year Adoption Day Celebration

2011-10-18T20:17:00.006-05:00

Daria and Cash below the Russian Flag. We fly the Russian flag for about a week around Daria's adoption day each year.For the past several years, Daddy makes a Russian "inspired" dinner. He made Chicken Kiev; creamy mashed potatoes; Russian sausage from the Russian grocery in Dallas; Russian Sok (juice) and Russian Chocolates. We also had broccoli and bread. It was yummy.

It is hard to believe that ten years have flown so quickly! We have a wonderful little girl who is growing into a young lady right before our eyes!

My how he's grown!

2011-07-26T16:30:00.004-05:00

Last summer's family trip - 1 year 10 months

This summer's trip - 2 years 10 months

Summer Pix

2011-07-07T20:17:00.008-05:00

In Sunday School this past Sunday, July 3.

D at Ridgecrest, NC

C at Ridgecrest, NC

C with his Day Camp on a hike. I took this picture from our hotel window :O)

He didn't know we were watching him. I like how he is the only one looking at the camera even though he didn't know.

On Father's Day

How?

2011-01-22T17:49:00.002-06:00

Every now and then I check the Russian Data Bank of children available for adoption - just to make sure Viktoria is not back on there. She's not.

She turned 6 years old this past week. I just pray that she is in a happy family.

I decided to click on the children left from when Daria was there. It is unbelievable! There are still 2 pages of girls and 3 pages of boys who are Daria's age. They may have even been in Daria's room! These are beautiful boys and girls who need Mommies and Daddies and they are in a region where it will not happen! It just breaks my heart! If people from their own region do not adopt them, they will not be adopted.

It just breaks my heart.

Snow in East Texas

2011-01-10T09:27:00.006-06:00

D and her friend made a big snowball - mostly with snow from the pad on the trampoline.

They turned their big snowball into a snowbunny/snowman.

C needed to mow the snow. He's a mowing man!

Well, it wasn't quite the blizzard we'd hoped for, but we got out and played in it anyhow!

This and That

2010-11-16T14:15:00.008-06:00

Some Jack-O-Lantern carving pictures.
On our first cool day I made some hot spiced tea and C drank it up
in his tiny little cup like Grandpa.

People say that we live in the best small town in Texas. I guess so! Our firemen come right into the house and carry the trash out for us! That's service!

For Halloween supper I made Mummies. I said, "I guess I could cut them in half and do them at Christmas and they could be baby Jesus in swaddling clothes."

But Hubby said, "I wouldn't want to eat Jesus!"

We finally got a good bit of rain. I keep getting in trouble for letting C leave his wagon out where it can get rained in. Oopsie.

D is 10!!

2010-11-15T08:48:00.009-06:00

A couple weeks ago we celebrated D's 10th birthday. I CANNOT believe my baby girl is double digits now! Here are a few pics of the festivities.

Our tradition is to take a picture of D going to bed one age and waking up the next age. I don't know what we'll do next year for 11 - add a big toe??

On the Thursday before her birthday we were in Dallas for her eye doctor appointment so we celebrated with Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt D. Grandma made a homemade cake - yummy.

Before her friends arrived for the party.

On the Friday before (her birthday was mid-week) she had a sleepover. Here they are doing "cheers" with the ice cream cone cups over pizza and cheese balls.

On her actual birthday, November 3, it was a school day so I put a candle in her pancake that morning and we sang happy birthday again. It wasn't Walt Disney World this year, but I think she partied sufficiently for a 10 year old :O)

Fall Festival - 2010

2010-10-28T13:40:00.009-05:00

We had a great time at the Fall Festival this year! C ate and ate and ate! He had more candy last night that I think he's had in his entire life! He also had a hot dog weiner, popcorn and some cotton candy. D ate half a lollipop and didn't get her hot dog till right before we left, so she ate a weiner and some fritos on the way home.

Thanks Debbie B for the idea for the Scarecrow cake. I didn't buy enough fruit roll ups, so he's a little bare in the hair department :O) I made him and 2 dozen of the spider cupcakes below as well as a German Chocolate cake for the Cake Walk that the Sanctuary Choir hosts each year. I started baking when Hubby and D left for work/school and only got finished about 4:30 p.m.!

Here's the Baker's little helper!

I have SUPER KIDS!

(look at those big feet on Superman - he's wearing an 8! D didn't wear that size till she was nearly 5 years old!)

Happy Family Day - D!

2010-10-12T15:53:00.003-05:00

Nine years ago today the judge said "Da!" I can't believe it's already been nine years!! The time has flown so quickly it's scares me to think how quickly the next 9 years will pass!

I love you so, so, so!

I made my goal . . .

2010-10-10T13:28:00.010-05:00

Please bear with me for a momentary tooting of my own horn . . .

I haven't said much on the blog, but in January I set a goal that by 10-10-10 I would wear a size 10 again. This morning the tag in my dress read "10!"

I actually achieved the goal back in August when I wore a size 10 dress to church on my birthday and I had also bought a couple pairs of size 10 jeans. Now, I am realistically a comfy size 12 with a few 10's fitting in here and there. I'd like to lose about 15 more pounds so that 10 is my main size with a few 8's popping in every now and then.

I know that size 10 to many people is still big. But I don't have aspirations of being tiny - I've never been and I never will be. When I got married 15 1/2 years ago, I wore size 10/12. So that was the focus of my goal. I just wanted to be able to shop again in the "regular" sizes. To be able to be "average" and to reach for a normal size on the rack and be pretty sure it would fit. I was so proud when I was finally able to move out of the plus sizes! It is not a happy place to have to shop!

I've lost about 60 pounds since January. Over the years of struggling with infertility and the emotional roller coaster of adoption, my weight had crept up and up. In the years of waiting for and then losing Viktoria, it really crept up. But I truly didn't realize that it had gotten as bad as it was. I'd been in a size 18W and some 20W's creeping in here and there for several years. But I didn't "see" myself the way others must have seen me. Actually I looked to myself pretty much the same as I look in the current pictures above. But . . .

. . . pictures surely don't lie. My "Ah-Ha" moment was last Christmas when we had our Family Portraits done and I couldn't believe that was me! Surely I didn't really look like that! But the worst thing was that we got so many compliments on the picture! I will admit, the rest of my family really did look great, but if people thought "that" picture was of me looking GOOD? Something had to be done - and that was when it clicked.

So on January 4 I started focusing on my goal of being in a size 10 again by 10-10-10. It really helped to have that to focus on.

I started out by just making a few changes that Dr. Oz had outlined in his shows. Automate breakfasts (Oatmeal and turkey bacon); eat almonds (100 calorie snack each afternoon); eat yogurt (morning snack); take fish oil; drink lots of water; really watch portions; exercise at least 30 minutes per day. I did this for a few weeks and I saw results! Then I started really focusing on calorie counting along with these previous changes. I did very well for a couple weeks and then I figured, "if this is working - less calories and more exercise would really work!" WRONG. I dropped my calories too low (1000-1200) and my weight loss stalled. It took me nearly 3 weeks to realize this. So that is when I settled on keeping my calories between 1400-1600 each day; drinking about 100 oz of water and exercising at least 30 minutes, but most days closer to an hour. Steadily the weight just disappeared - about 8 pounds per month. In the last several months it has slowed way down, but I've also relaxed on my calorie counting and have held fairly steady.

Ok, end of horn tooting. Back to pictures of cute kids and fun family times!

Long Time No Post

2010-10-08T20:42:00.013-05:00

I'll add some pictures for our recent trip to SW Texas. We were surprised there were "mountains" there, weren't expecting that! We stayed in a log cabin and visited Lost Maples State Park.

We ate at a place called Mac and Ernie's that Guy Fieri visited for Diners, Drive-ins & Dives - click here. I must admit I'm kind of a snoot when it comes to going to Dives, but when I learned he'd featured it on his show, I was better about it. The food was pretty good!

Ok, here are the pics!

Here we are cooking our first supper outside our log cabin. Grandma and Grandpa stayed in another cabin called, Little Feather.

D was excited to climb her first tree.

When we were unloading the car, we had a little shower and this pretty rainbow appeared over the mountain.

We hiked in Lost Maples State Park, I like this picture of D & C walking together.

Walking across the rock bridge over the stream.

There were lots of beautiful butterflies. I was happy with the way this picture turned out!

C "fishing" with Mommy (he didn't have a hook!)

Daria looked so forward to fishing, but didn't get a nibble - yes, she had a hook. Maybe next time?

We enjoyed wading (D actually swam) in this spring fed part of the Sabinal River which was on the property of our cabins. The water was so clear.

D and I rode horses on Saturday. She has ridden a few horses before, but doesn't really remember it. But never before for this long and all on her on. We had a trail ride of 30-45 minutes. The horse she rode is named Red.

D's 4th Grade Texas Project

2010-09-19T15:02:00.008-05:00

D made a mobile for her first Texas History Project. It had to have four official symbols of Texas.

This is the eco-friendly portion of the project, a recycled Texas shaped Lone Star Flag from 3rd grade! I'm glad it was still tacked to my kitchen bulletin board - this was the easiest part of the project.

This was the most time consuming part of the project, she made the armadillo from papier mache.

The First Day of FOURTH Grade!

2010-08-23T12:34:00.004-05:00

Unimaginable!!

My baby girl started Fourth Grade today.
She had to carry all her supplies to school with her this morning and that backpack probably weighed at least 15 pounds! We have always taken her supplies to "meet the teacher" in the past. But she has 4 different teachers this year.

It seems just yesterday she was starting Kindergarten!

Hot Stuff

2010-07-28T08:56:00.006-05:00

C likes hot stuff. The last several times we've eaten at Mexican Food Restaurants he has wanted to dip his chips in the salsa. Then he started drinking it! He just picks his little dip cup up and guzzles it down! Tough little dude! His Grandaddy will be proud!

Summer Fun

2010-07-20T14:14:00.009-05:00

It's that time again! Swimming lessons.

D has been taking lessons since she was four so this is her 6th summer of lessons.

C has been a really good boy to sit in his stroller and watch the big kids.

July 4th

2010-07-04T16:58:00.009-05:00

The kids are still feeling a little puny, Daddy's got it now too - poor Daddy. Mommy is getting better but still not best.

Aunt D sent the kids some July 4th shirts (along with some other goodies) so I took some pix this morning after they finished feeding the rabbit.

I broke down and bought C some of the new Huggies diapers that look like blue jeans. They're really pretty cute, I think.

Edited: REVIEW OF HUGGIES BLUE JEAN DIAPERS

Yes, they're cute and C liked them. Thumbs down on absorbancy. We went through them really quick because we were changing lots of diapers. We're back to our regular old Luvs size 4. We love Luvs.

Here is C giving the baby a "kiss."

Here is Mommy trying to get a picture of the cute diaper.

This is what most pictures end up looking like when trying to get a picture of our little Taz! Thank goodness for digital cameras where we can take oodles of pictures in order to get ONE good one!

We're making homemade vanilla ice cream right now, the machine is sounding like it's almost ready!

Home from Vacation

2010-06-30T10:25:00.027-05:00

We originally had planned to go to the Gulf Shores area for vacation, but had to change our plans about 6 weeks ago, due to the oil spill. We decided to go on a cruise to someplace with a beach. We cruised out of New Orleans to Progreso, Yucatan and Cozumel. It was fun, but a little harder with a toddler and all the "stuff" a toddler requires. But we made great family memories! Here are some pictures ...

ON OUR WAY! NEW ORLEANS, HERE WE COME JUST 6 HOURS TO GO!

D, THE FIRST TIME SHE FIGURED OUT JACOB'S LADDER!

FATHER'S DAY DINNER AT LANDRY'S SEAFOOD IN THE FRENCH QUARTER. I guess the pink hue is from all the neon lights.

OUR LITTLE CAJUN'S FIRST TASTE OF BEIGNET FROM CAFE DU MONDE IN THE FRENCH QUARTER. HE LOVED IT!! NOW, WE'RE ON OUR WAY TO THE CRUISE PORT!!

IN OUR CABIN ON THE CARNIVAL TRIUMPH, RIVIERA DECK #1230. WE WEREN'T REQUIRED TO WEAR OUR LIFE VESTS TO THE MUSTER DRILL, BUT THE KIDS WANTED TO TRY THEM ON ANYHOW.

BYE BYE NEW ORLEANS, WE'RE ON OUR WAY - HOOOOOOONNNNNNKKKKK!!!!

FORMAL NIGHT IN THE PARIS DINING ROOM.

D IN THE ROME LOUNGE WITH HER CAMP CARNIVAL GROUP. THE SHOW WAS REALLY GOOD! C WAS WONDERFUL THROUGHOUT THE SHOW, IT MESMERIZED HIM.

SHOPPING IN PROGRESO. IS THAT HANNAH MONTANA??!!

MY GORGEOUS BEACH BABY!

MY BEAUTIFUL LITTLE MERMAID!

BURYING SISTER IN THE SAND. WE DIDN'T GET TOO FAR.

MOMMY AND C IN THE POOL AT THE REEF CLUB BEACH RESORT PROGRESO.

D AT CHANKANAAB PARK IN COZUMEL HOLDING A PARROT AND AN IGUANA ON HER SHOULDER!

C WASN'T SO SURE ABOUT THE PARROT.

MOMMY AND D SWAM WITH AND RODE ON TITAN THE DOLPHIN!

D RIDING THE ZONKEY IN COZUMEL.

MOMMY AT LUNCH IN THE PARIS DINING ROOM ON THE LAST FULL DAY AT SEA.

C WITH OUR WONDERFUL WAITER, JAYA, FROM INDONESIA.

D OUTSIDE THE DINING ROOM WITH THE PICTURE OF MOSCOW IN THE BACKGROUND.

ON OUR WAY HOME FROM NEW ORLEANS. 'NUFF SAID.

D's new "do"

2010-06-18T13:40:00.005-05:00

D got her hair cut yesterday. She loves it! Mommy and Daddy think it's real cute, too.

Watch Extreme Home Makeover Tonight!

2010-05-02T16:06:00.001-05:00

Tonight's episode of Extreme Home Makeover features a family originally from our small town in East Texas. They now live about an hour away. They have adopted several special needs children from Kazahkstan. Here is a link to a report about the show and the family.

TAKS TEST DAY FOR D

2010-04-27T07:55:00.003-05:00

Today D will take her first State Standardized Test which is called the TAKS test in Texas. 3rd grade is the first time it's given. She was a good bit nervous last night.

The kids are supposed to eat a good, big breakfast on TAKS test day. So, I made her favorite pancakes and bacon. Since today is the math portion of the test, her pancakes were shaped like a plus and minus sign. I also made two dots (not pictured, they were still on the griddle) to turn the minus into a division sign. She could look at the plus sign sideways for the multiplication sign, so she was covered!

Pictures of D

2010-04-25T20:30:00.003-05:00

Well, they're not the best example of my photography, but here we go.

I took them before we left to take D to Sunday School and the sun was so bright. We were going to take more when she got home from church, but she came straight in and changed into play clothes so we didn't get more in her pretty dress.

Sick?

2010-04-25T10:14:00.010-05:00

Well, we're home this morning with Mr. C having the yucky nose/cough sickies. He's still going and playing, but we can't go to church nursery like this and I really do not think he'd make it through the church service in my arms at this active, noisey age!

Anyhow, this is what Mr. C was up to this morning:

p.s. Pictures of sister coming later. We tried taking some this morning in her pretty dress before Sunday School, but the sun was too bright.

Silly Boy

2010-04-08T20:38:00.004-05:00

Last night while cleaning in D's room, D and I were busy doing something and I looked over and saw C! I whispered to D to run and get me the camera fast . . . here is what he was doing-

Riding on D's Barbie VW Bug!

Guess Who??!!

2010-04-08T20:24:00.008-05:00

Did you think I'd fallen off the face of the earth??

I thought I'd better get on here and get some new pictures up for the g-parents!

Hunting eggs in our yard, after church on Easter.

This is the best we could do this year of getting D and C's picture together on Easter. C would NOT sit still.

C at the family Easter Egg hunt.

C with his first egg dying experience.

Here is D with Boots, her new bunny rabbit. Boots was nervous, so her ears are laying back. She has one white paw.

Our East Texas Winter Wonderland

2010-02-12T10:54:00.012-06:00

It started snowing yesterday morning right as D left for school. It snowed all day until about 1:30 and then it stopped. This was our accumulation from that snow:

When D got home from school, she gathered the snow from the top of the picnic table and made a little snowman named Chillie Willie. . .

Chillie Willie's eyes are chocolate chips, his nose is a bit of yellow bell pepper and his mouth is red bell pepper. He is about 8 inches tall.

THEN IT BEGAN TO SNOW AGAIN about 8:00 last night and it snowed all night until D came into our room this morning at 4:30 to tell us it snowed!!!! So we looked out the window and I sent her back to bed, but she never fell back asleep. So we were out and playing in it this morning about 6:45!!

We got about 5 1/2 inches. This is a HUGE snow for us. The last time we had anywhere near this much snow was New Year's Eve 2000/2001.

C didn't really love the snow first thing this morning, so Daddy took him on a ride in the wagon while sister worked on Chillie's Mama, Mrs. Willie!!

Here is D with our completed Mrs. Willie.

Mrs. Willie's close-up. Here she is decked out in her apron, snow hat and a friendly smile.

D decided to see how it would be to jump on her trampoline with it covered in snow. She didn't jump long.

C warmed up to the idea of the snow a bit more as the morning went along, but he still preferred to look at it from his window.

Photos Of The Week

2010-01-28T15:10:00.008-06:00

When I came out from the bathroom, this is what I found on the treadmill. Now the arm bars, that you push back and forth when you walk, are disconnected. Yes, a certain boy who will be 18 months old tomorrow did this Engineering feat! I guess fine motor skill are not something we need to worry about??

The weather was warm, so the kids played outdoors. Blowing bubbles with a neighbor friend.

Winter in East Texas.

C still doesn't like the ground. He tumbled down and refused to touch the ground with his hands!

Another view looking up, this time into the pines which are MANY here!

Picture of the Day - 1/21/10

2010-01-21T21:37:00.002-06:00

D on the first day of 2nd grade - 2008

Picture of the Day - 1/20/10

2010-01-21T21:33:00.003-06:00

D and Grandpa fishing together September, 2007 - D was in 1st grade

I don't have the pictures on this computer of D on the first day of First Grade - 2007

Picture of the Day - 1/19/10

2010-01-21T21:30:00.001-06:00

Ok, we're going to take a trip down memory lane . . .

D on the first day of Kindergarten - 2006

Picture of the Day - 1/18/10

2010-01-21T21:16:00.005-06:00

I was noticing the other day how tall D is getting in relation to the counter top. I remembered I'd taken a picture of her in the kitchen as the house was being built. Look how much she's grown just since we've been in the new house!

Picture of the Day - 1/17/10

2010-01-17T14:21:00.003-06:00

I don't feel like taking any pictures today so I'll just post some from Christmas that never got posted:

Here are C and his cousin L, (C is 2 1/2 weeks older.) Last year we put them in big Christmas stockings, this year they're big boys!

Picture of the Day - 1/16/10

2010-01-16T22:13:00.005-06:00

A few more cute pictures from our photo session the other day.

I didn't take any pix today, so thought I'd share these.

Picture of the Day - 1/15/10

2010-01-15T00:06:00.005-06:00

THE HAIRCUT -

During:

And after:

p.s. this bottom photo

is the one I'm sending

in to Regis & Kelly's

Beautiful Baby Search.

I'll let you know when he wins ;o)

Picture(s) of the Day - 1/14/10

2010-01-14T23:30:00.003-06:00

This afternoon D got her skip-ball out and said, "take a picture of me doing my skip-ball for your picture of the day for your blog!" I think it's fun that she's getting into it! I hope she still will be in a few months. I'm already running out of ideas! I guess Grandparents will be happy to see a new picture of someone every day :O)

So here is D doing Skip-Ball -

p.s. I'd pre-planned for C's hair cut this morning to be the picture of the day, but I'll do that one tomorrow ;o)

Picture of the Day - 1/13/10

2010-01-14T13:20:00.002-06:00

Caught . . . again :O)

Picture of the Day - 1/12/10

2010-01-13T10:21:00.002-06:00

We have 7 new canines in our house and they don't have 4 legs! C has just sprouted his first 4 and D is sprouting 3 new ones of her own. The Tooth Fairy visited again after a very long absence. Now we need D to lose the two bottom ones that she is terrified to pull.

Picture of the Day - 1/11/10

2010-01-11T16:58:00.005-06:00

Trying to get back into the habit of cloth diapering C. When he had his surgery in August I stopped because the ointment will cause them to repel instead of absorb. I spent time organizing and preparing the diapers to use again. It really isn't that big of deal to do, especially with the new types of diapers available these days.

p.s. Stacy, I really like the convenience of the pocket diapers, I only have one Fuzzi Bunz left, that yellow one in the bottom of the second bin from the left. I have two Bum Genius that I like to use over night. I have 4 Bagshot Row Bamboo (you have to use a cover with) and 5 Snap EZ Ecos that are similar to Fuzzi Bunz and I liked them better than Fuzzi Bunz. I have home-made 7 pocket dipes that need covers and I really love them. I also have about 7 prefolds to use with covers and I like them too. I have a mish-mosh and love most all of them.

Picture of the Day - 1/10/10

2010-01-11T16:57:00.002-06:00

'Nuff said?

Picture of the Day - 1/9/10

2010-01-09T22:32:00.003-06:00

Yay Dallas Cowboys!!

p.s. Happy Birthday to our Pastor, Dr. Tilley - a huge Cowboys fan!!

Picture of the Day - 1/8/10

2010-01-08T23:38:00.001-06:00

Morning routine for D as she gets ready for school.

Picture of the Day - 1/7/10

2010-01-07T20:36:00.003-06:00

C "talking" on the computer mouse. Lately everything is a telephone to him. He picks it up and puts it to his ear and says in the sweetest little Texas accent "Hi!"

Chelley, I tried to get video of it, but of course he won't do it when you WANT him to!

Picture of the Day - 1/6/10

2010-01-06T19:19:00.007-06:00

I've been getting lots of C's outgrown baby things ready to give to a friend who is having a baby boy in a couple of months. I cleaned his baby car seat and got it re-set for a tiny baby. When C was born, he was the same size as D's new doll, so I made the straps a little big on her since C was extra tiny.

The top picture is C taking his "car seat test" before he could leave the NICU. He had to show that he was able to handle the 1 hour ride home without slumping so much it impaired his breathing. Looking at this picture, it looks like C was smaller than the baby doll!

Which one?

2010-01-05T22:58:00.002-06:00

Ok, so it's the big question of the week - What will you be saying: Twenty Ten or Two Thousand Ten?

I personally like Twenty Ten, but I'm afraid I'm in such the habit of saying Two Thousand "such and such" that I'll forget and keep saying it that way.

Time will tell I guess.

Picture of the Day - 1/5/10

2010-01-05T18:34:00.003-06:00

C has been super sick since yesterday. He woke from his nap with 100* and in the next 3 1/2 hours it climbed to 103.6* under the arm. We hurried to the doctor yesterday before they closed and it seems he has Coxsackievirus which is often called Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. Today his fever has broken, but he's still miserable. So this is what today's picture portrays.

Picture of the Day - 1/4/10

2010-01-04T07:55:00.002-06:00

Back to school day for D. Mommy wasn't ready. I would have liked another week!

Picture of the Day - 1/3/10

2010-01-03T17:09:00.004-06:00

C getting ready to go to Sunday School in his new Greendog overalls with little puppies on them - too cute! Thanks Aunt Diane!

2010 Pictures of the Day

2010-01-02T22:10:00.006-06:00

Ok, I'm going to try this, we'll see how well I can do at it. The goal is to post a picture every day in 2010 .

Jan. 2, 2010: D with her Paperroni Elephant creation she got for Christmas from her cousins B, K & L.

Since I just heard about this challenge today, I'll have to back track with yesterday's picture.

Jan. 1, 2010

Downtown Dallas on New Years at midnight with fireworks over the American Airline Center. Taken from the 21st floor of the Renaissance Hotel.

Ok, so far so good. Just 363 to go :O)

Some pix of Christmassy Things we've been doing . . .

2009-12-17T14:34:00.010-06:00

D's Christmas Countdown chain. We had to hang it way up high so little "helping hands" can't reach it! We can lower it tonight since it's getting ever shorter!

Little Stinker!

Christmas Party at School on Wednesday.

Early morning Christmas Baking Session with Mommy

Step One: Try and get baby brother to cooperate.

Step Two: Just do it yourself.

Step Three: Let him go and smile and look pretty.

Oh well, maybe next year!

D's Piano Recital

2009-12-12T23:01:00.008-06:00

D had her first Piano Recital this Thursday night. She did really well. We are so proud of her.

D and her piano teacher.

Please forgive the rocking motion of the video, I was rocking C's stroller back and forth trying to keep him calm and quiet and didn't realize I was also swaying the camera! You can hear him call out, "Dah Dah!" in the middle of her performance. Another girl played "Deck the Halls" and he started singing Fa La La La La La La La La. We went out into the corridor after that and listened through the door!

You'll need to turn up the volume a bit to hear it well.

Caught!

2009-12-11T11:36:00.006-06:00

C has "mostly" left the tree alone, I don't think we could expect more from a 16 month old. BUT he has found the power strip and many, many times each day I have been finding the tree dark. You'll notice the lack of "ornamentation" on the bottom part of the tree (it's much more noticeable when the lights are off) and yes we do have gifts, but they're stacked up in the office out of reach from little hands. We'll put them under the tree Christmas Eve night after the kids are in bed :O)

D playing piano at church last night

2009-12-07T10:29:00.004-06:00

In the beginning, the prayer was still being said. That is why she's sitting so still - she's praying :O)

This is her first time to play in public. She has only been taking lessons for 3 months. We are very proud of her!

When you see her looking out after each song, she's looking out at me.

Christmas Fun Weekend

2009-12-07T08:00:00.006-06:00

This weekend we went to see Santa at Bass Pro Shop, like we did last year. We went on a Saturday and it was much more crowded than it was last year on a Tuesday night! C did really well not being afraid of Santa, I was worried he may be. D shot the Red Rider Laser gun and played remote control cars and did a craft. It was a really fun day and a great place to visit with Santa. The pictures are complimentary and they'll take as many as you want.

C had fun "riding" on a 4-wheeler:

More Disney - Day One

2009-11-13T20:13:00.016-06:00

Waiting for the Magic Kingdom to open. They had hula hoops out to keep the kids entertained. We went to the Magic Kingdom on Tuesday, D's actual birthday.

The park was decorated with pumpkins and fall colors.

D upon rounding the corner and seeing the castle for the first time.

After passing through the castle, the Bibbidi Bobbity Boo helpers sprinkled D with Pixie dust.

Meeting Mickey and Minnie

C got his first haircut at the Harmony Barber Shop on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom. They put stickers all over him to keep him entertained and pre-occupied.

I didn't let her cut all his curls off, I just wasn't ready! They gave him Mouse ears and on the back it has embroidered "First Haircut."

D had her birthday dinner at the Crystal Palace Restaurant with the Pooh Characters
Here she is with her birthday cake in a pink treasure box.

And lastly a view of the castle as we left the park that night

On this day we visited Fantasy Land; Tomorrow Land; Frontier Land and Mickey's Toontown Fair.

P.S. I don't know why the video in the previous post isn't playing for some. Here is the URL for it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDJGgLSs6d0 maybe that will work.

"The Time of Our Lives"

2009-11-10T15:41:00.006-06:00

Last week we surprised D for her birthday! We told her she would get to skip school Monday because we needed to take Daddy to Dallas and we'd stay in a hotel. We went Sunday night and stayed in the hotel and when she woke up Monday morning we let her open her birthday present a day early. This is what the "card" said:

She was pretty much in shock and asked when we were going. I answered, "as soon as we get dressed we're going to the airport!"

*I'll write more later. Baby brother is having a hard time with "re-entry" and is crying in his crib.

Fall Festival Pictures

2009-10-29T11:56:00.007-05:00

Jeannie

Bamm Bamm

Here is an extra that I took a couple Sundays ago in front of our fall decorations at home. I couldn't get C to sit still so he's in action.

I thought he looked like such a big boy in this picture!

Happy Adoption Day sweet D

2009-10-12T22:52:00.006-05:00

Today is D's adoption day (and also Grandma's birthday)! Her Daddy made Chicken Kiev; Russian-y mashed potatoes; Russian Rye bread with Provolone melted on top (the nearest we can find to the cheese we loved in Russia); salami and Mommy made her favorite (for right now) white cake with chocolate frosting.

We hung the Russian flag out in honor of her heritage. We watched the video of when we first met her. It was a sweet time. I think she really enjoyed it and couldn't quite wrap her head around the fact that that baby was her :O) She asked a few questions that were a long time coming and I think it was good to talk about them. Our stance is to answer when she asks and to always let her know that she can talk and ask anything and we'll always tell her the truth.

It was a great night. Her video choice was to watch Charlie Brown - The Great Pumpkin first and then we watched First Trip to Russia - Meeting D.

D - the BIG reader!!

2009-10-06T23:15:00.006-05:00

A couple weeks ago D brought home a library book. It was huge! Remember she just started third grade a little over a month ago! At her school, they do a reading program called Accelerated Reading and after they read a book they take a test on computer to evaluate their comprehension of the book. They earn points for each test when they make 80% or better. Usually she brings home books that are worth 1 or 2 points. This book was worth 16 points! I must admit, I was a little worried that she'd read the whole thing and then forget on the test. So, after a couple weeks, she finished her book Saturday night. She took her AR test yesterday and made 100%!!! Her Daddy and teacher and I are very proud!!

I took some pictures of her getting near the end and finally finishing the book.

Our Morning with the Duggars

2009-10-06T14:00:00.020-05:00

Here are C and I with our new friends, the Duggars. Michelle and I were talking behind smiley teeth. We only had a minute with them, but they are so "real." The Duggar kids in this picture are Jinger, Joseph, Jason, Jeremiah and baby #19 :O). Michelle is 16 1/2 weeks along with this baby. The other kids went to the bus and were resting and putting the little ones to bed.

The Duggars were the speakers at Chapel today at the Seminary where hubby went for his Master's Degree. Jim Bob Duggar's uncle John was once the president of this Seminary. Which led hubby and I to realize that John Duggar was also once the Pastor of our own church (where hubby has been on staff 15 years this month). I never would have imagined it was the same Duggar family.

We sat on the very back row in case C was too noisy (and he was, hubby spent most of the time with him in the foyar) so my zoomed pictures are not too sharp. Michelle said that the older girls had violin lessons and have taught the younger kids how to play. You could tell Jana (the girl on the far right top row) was the leader.

All the kids were there except Josh (he and his wife are expecting their baby on Oct. 18) and John David who was at the home school camp in a volleyball tournament.

Jim Bob and Michelle shared their family story by taking turns talking. A lot of it was familiar from watching the show, but much was new to me. They shared from a much more Christian based approach today than what we usually are allowed to hear.

I've got to go pick D up from school, but when I get back later I'll upload some video.

Edited this evening to add:

I just took several small snippets of video. Like a dork, I didn't check my memory card before we left (I did charge the battery though!) and I didn't have much memory left.

In the video snippet below, Michelle is talking about how she teaches the children scripture from the Bible. You can see Johanna scoping out how to climb up that pulpit. A few minutes later she started scaling it - I missed that on video :O)

Here the kids are reciting the whole verse of Exodus 20 (the chapter with the 10 commandments)

Here is just a tiny bit of them playing Onward Christian Soldiers on their violins.

Ok, here are just some things that I observed. Michelle is short - on tv she looks taller, but she's really about my height (I'm 5'4") or maybe an inch shorter. I had on heels and she had on flats today. Jim Bob is really quite thin and tall - much thinner than he looks on tv. They told us that there are not a ton of people in their house at all times filming them. There are generally only 3 men and they've been with them for the entire time, so they're like family by this point. Michelle's eyes are super blue, they almost glow. Jinger really looked different in real life than she does on tv. I almost didn't recognize her. Jennifer is still really a baby (she's the second youngest) and Jordyn (the youngest) looked bigger/older in real life, but that is probably because babies change so quickly and the shows are probably at least a couple months behind.

I'll probably think of more little things like this later, but that's all I can think of right now. I've got to get to bed :O)

Here is a link to the news interview they did right after the program. We were standing very near them, we could hear the entire interview - she left a lot out.

2009-10-02T13:04:00.001-05:00

This morning, C was so seriously doing his "work." He spent at least 20 minutes just dragging this basket of toys all around the house. Every now and then he'd stop and smile and I'd tell him what a good job he was doing! He was so proud of himself :O)

Pictures and video for Grandparents

2009-10-02T12:31:00.012-05:00

Grand-parents are clamoring for something new :O)

On open house night at school D wanted to show us how she can climb to the top of the monkey bars and hang upside down and then flip backward off it.

D started piano lessons about a month ago. She is doing really well. Her teacher came out to the van last week to tell me that she is doing great and "is a natural."

D at church before a presentation by her group, Out of Darkness. They do correography with glow in the dark sticks to Christian songs. They did a great job.

Yesterday afternoon, D was making drawings of all her horses. She has an idea for a new video game she is creating called Adventure Pasture.

First Art Work

2009-09-02T21:01:00.008-05:00

After lunch today, I decided to give C a piece of paper and a couple of crayons and see what he would do. I was really surprised, he picked right up on what he was supposed to do. I guess I've been under estimating him!

Crayons make good drum-sticks too!

Hmmm, I think blue tastes better than orange. Yes, he did try a bite or

two that Mommy had to fish out of his mouth.

The first of many masterpieces to be displayed on the fridge by the famous artist known as C!

First Day of THIRD Grade!

2009-08-24T10:55:00.008-05:00

Going to bed a second grader....Waking up as a third grader!!

I cannot believe my little baby girl is already in THIRD Grade! She was ready and excited for school to start. Believe it or not, I wasn't quite ready yet.

We went last Thursday for Meet the Teacher, but her teacher wasn't there. Her elderly mother fell and hit her head and was in the hospital, so she couldn't be there. I just hope she was there this morning. We are very happy with the teacher that D got for 3rd grade. She's had great teachers every year so far.

Going to meet the teacher with all her new school supplies!

Here are some pictures of the big day:

The traditional picture outside the front door. She was excited about wearing her new outfit that Grandma bought her, she said she felt like a teenager in it - ey, yi, yi!

And she's off for her first day of Third Grade!

Water Park in our own front yard

2009-08-24T10:46:00.008-05:00

D and her friends decided to build their own waterpark (well, mommy built it) and they had an end of summer blast last Friday. We have three 8 year old girls (the other two are both named G) in a row on our street which is great. D had her pool and slip-n-slide; G1 had a little pool; and G2 had a medium pool and slip-n-slide and we put C's little pool out too along with a water sprinkler spraying over the whole thing. D made a sign to put on the front porch for their "Snack Shack" and I made menus for them to choose their lunch and drinks. It was a fun day.

Still pretty rough

2009-08-14T18:19:00.002-05:00

C is still having a bit of pain and ouchie, does it look like it must hurt! I was hoping he'd be further along than this by now but hopefully by Monday . . .

Poor mommy broke into tears this morning because there is nothing I can do to help him other than give him medicine and try and keep him comfy. He'll toddle around & play a minute, cry to be held, cry because he wants down, cry to come up again, so on and so on.

My sweet friend brought lunch (& gifts) over today and thankfully C slept mostly through it so we could visit.

Surgery and Such

2009-08-12T07:35:00.007-05:00

C had surgery Monday morning and although Mommy was so scared about them putting him to sleep he did really well. He had some boy stuff surgery done. He was pretty out of it Monday afternoon and evening but by about mid morning yesterday he was acting pretty ok with just occasional bouts of fussiness (I'd be fussy too - probaby fussier!) He keeps waking and going back to sleep this morning, so here I am on the computer. I'll hear him on the monitor and get up and by the time I get back to him he's asleep again.

So here are some pictures of his surgery day:

^Hanging out in the holding room, not having a clue what's coming up!

^He fell asleep waiting. We'd all been awake since 3-ish a.m.!

^After his dose of goofy juice.

^The nurse came to get him to take him to surgery. I was surprise he didn't complain at all about her taking him, I guess the goofy juice did its job. They just carried him around, to the surgery and when we went back to recovery afterward they were holding him at the nurses station. He was the tiniest patient of the day.

^After the surgery in the recovery room. Poor little guy! Mommy was trying to make him feel better.

What does the puppy dog say?

2009-08-01T21:37:00.001-05:00

C Laughing at the Ice Maker

2009-08-01T16:41:00.004-05:00

Every time we get ice from the fridge, C comes running and squeals with laughter at the noise. I think it started because at first it scared him, but I'd always laugh and make an excited, surprise face when we get the ice and now he gets so excited about it.

Then you'll see us playing chase and you'll be able to see all our little barriers that we've set up to keep C either "in" or "out" of a space. We put a barstool and exersaucer up in the office opening and the ottomon to block up the living room area and make a "corral".

Excuse my tablecloth hanging on the back of the love seat. It just came out of the dryer and I was trying to get away with not ironing it.

Enjoy!

p.s. Joanna, those are the pants you sent with the "little brother" outfit. I love them for when he naps, but they got so short (size 3/6 mos) that I just whacked the footies out of them LOL.

One year ago today - our miracle!

2009-07-29T21:48:00.012-05:00

I can't describe the gamut of emotions I've had today. I'm sad to see the day nearly passed. I want to hang on to every moment of this, my baby boy's first birthday. It truly is a miracle the way he came to be ours and I admit I often take it for granted (especially after I've said "no-no" for the thousandth time that day.) But today I've really remembered to be thankful for the miracle that he is. I've prayed on and off all through out the day for his birth family.

The year has really flown by. Some of the days were long, but the year as a whole has zoomed past.

Of course C didn't realize what was going on today and I'm sure he wondered why Mommy was singing "Happy Birthday" while we rocked instead of his usual "Dinah, won't you blow."

He is such a precious, funny, happy, beautiful boy.

Happy Birthday my little Cashew!

This is a picture of the first time I got to really hold him. I got to hold him about an hour after he was born for about 1 minute, then I had to wait three more days before I could really hold him.

Here he was today, waiting for his cake! He didn't know what to make of all the people and activity. I don't have many smiley pictures from his party because he was just "taking it all in."

This is when we were singing happy birthday to him. D blew out his candle for him.

I snuck into his room at 3:20 this afternoon, which is the time he was born a year ago, and took his picture. He was sound asleep, I didn't wake him.

He didn't really get into digging into his own little "smash cake" that I made him. He'd already done it twice this past weekend - once at Grandma & Grandpa's and then at Grandaddy and Granny's and he did it up big those two times! Plus he was tired and I think was pretty full. That's ok, it stresses Daddy out to see him dig in the cake!

Some C Cuteness - just because.

2009-07-20T14:57:00.007-05:00

I think Grandparents are having withdrawals from seeing C, so here are some day to day pix. He's growing and changing so fast!

I had to pull the pack-n-play into the kitchen so I could get the dishwasher loaded. He is just into everything and he is so strong he can totally lift the bottom rack out of the dishwasher and remove it! He didn't love having to get into the pack-n-play, but he got over it and soon started playing and "reading."
Here he is toddling away after getting his diaper changed (into his racecar diaper that I made!) This was about a week 1/2 ago, he isn't holding his hands up like that anymore. He's zooming now!

C's first time swimming in a big pool. He really liked it and knew how to kick his legs naturally.

I'll have to take some new pictures, I've been falling down on the job lately! I'll try to keep up better.

D's Fun Morning

2009-07-20T14:48:00.007-05:00

There are two things D LOVES!

Horses and Dogs. This morning she got to visit 10 new baby puppies and a horse named Pumpkin!

More pictures coming soon

2009-07-17T23:50:00.002-05:00

I know, I've been terrible about keeping up with this blog. I've got some pictures coming, I promise.

C started to bark today, I'm so proud! Really! This morning he saw his stuffed dog and made a baby bark, bark sound. Then he went to the glass door and when he saw our dog Sundae, he did it too. It's more like an ug-ug. But now that I know what he's doing, it's precious. Of course he may have been doing it for days and I just figured out what he's doing. He's a talker - Mama, Dada, and Ug Ug. That's my boy!

Am I the only one who loves this song?

2009-07-17T23:40:00.004-05:00

I just love the song on the Suave Shampoo Commercials. The one with the mom and she's juggling all the kid stuff, but her hair looks great no matter. Any time it comes on, C and I just dance around and he loves it too. Here's a little link if you want to listen to it.

Stay tuned for a new episode

2009-07-17T23:40:00.002-05:00

Hee hee, a new episode of Cooking with D will be ready for air soon. Check your local listings ;O)

A new blog to check out!

2009-07-11T18:12:00.002-05:00

You need to check out this fun new blog! It has the cutest girl in the world sharing how to cook.

If you're happy and you know it . . .

2009-07-01T23:08:00.002-05:00

More Blurry Walking Pics

2009-07-01T22:47:00.009-05:00

Ok, I tried again today and I even fiddled with my camera settings to try and get a less blurry shot. Here's our busy boy (and some of his beautiful sister too).

This is why I can hardly get any good pictures of him walking, he just wants to see the camera!

Sister takes a break from playing Wii to say cheese.

Edited to answer Debbie's question:

No, D didn't walk till she was nearly 14 months old. She waited till she could do it perfectly before she would take off. She walked on New Year's eve and she turned 14 months old on Jan. 3.

We have a Walking Boy.

2009-06-30T21:01:00.004-05:00

He is walking everywhere. He reminds me of a little crab, he goes really fast and short steps and sometimes kind of sideways.

Ok, so I just realized I have no good pictures of him walking! Every time he hears the camera, he gets down and crawls toward it! So here's a blurry pic of him at the hotel this past weekend.

He actually started walking about two weeks ago, but in just in the past two days he is walking more than crawling.

I'll try and get some better pictures in the next day or so. Maybe I can figure out how to turn the "music" off my camera when it comes on.

C Standing on his own

2009-06-03T18:26:00.003-05:00

Instant Motherhood??

2009-05-30T08:41:00.005-05:00

Debbie posted on her blog how, for her, instant motherhood didn't equate to feeling instantly like a Mommy. I started to write this in her comments section, but it got longer and longer, so I decided I'd just make it a post of my own.

I think with us, having C in the NICU for a week was a blessing in disguise. That gave us a mandatory incubation period. By that I don't mean the time he was in an incubator :O) rather a time when we were just alone without a lot of people around (if you don't count all the nurses and doctors.) I am thankful he was one of the most "well" babies in the NICU - it was scary enough as it was. But that gave me hours of just sitting quietly beside him, getting to know him and talk to him and just stare at him while he slept. By the time I could finally hold him, we had certainly already begun connecting.

Being in the delivery room and being right beside the little warming table they lay them on right away, and being one of the first faces he saw (aside from nurses) I am sure helped. Although it was just completely surreal. Like I'd taken some weird trip into TLC and landed in a combo of "A Baby Story" & "Adoption Stories!"

Since Hubby was on his way back from Dallas while C was being born and I was all alone on the adventure, I think the protective Mama lion immediately came out in me. And that carried over into the NICU since I was there alone most of the time while Hubby worked and held down the fort at home and then came over (it is an hour drive) at some point in each day.

The first few weeks home were hard. I'd never been through the newborn phase personally and it is MUCH different than bringing home an 11 month old rigidly sleep trained child. The sleep deprivation was the worst thing and the biggest road block. There's just no way around that.

And I must admit (Hubby and hundreds of others will say "I told you so") there is some magical bond between a Mommy and her baby boy. I really didn't understand beforehand, how could I? But it has happened to me.

So, to sum it all up, I think I bonded with C more quickly than I did with D. Not that I don't love D now with all my heart, but it took me about 3 months to really feel like I was her Mommy. But I think just having the experience of C's first days attributed to our quicker bonding.

10 MONTHS OLD !!!

2009-05-29T16:57:00.003-05:00

Can you believe I am already 10 months old!?!?

It's hair raising!

Hee hee, do you like my after the bath hair-do? If they decide to remake Seinfeld in 2038 I can play Kramer!

AT THE ZOO

2009-05-01T14:03:00.006-05:00

D's second grade class visited the zoo on Tuesday. I went along to help out and ended up as "mama" to four children. We had a great time, but a storm came up and ended the day a couple hours earlier than expected.

D rode home with me instead of on the bus, so I went ahead and took her to feed the birds after the busses left. While she was feeding the birds and catching birds on her stick, for some reason the birds liked the mesh on my shoes. It was a bit ticklish with all those birds pecking on my shoe!

OUTSIDE

2009-05-01T13:41:00.008-05:00

C loves to be outside in the sunshine.

But he still isn't sure if he loves the grass or not???

I need to cook

2009-04-21T12:36:00.002-05:00

I really need to start cooking more. I run out of ideas and the same ol' stuff gets boring.

You'll notice I added a bunch of mom blogs on my bloglist that have gobs of ideas for quick, easy, cheap dinners.

The one named $5 Dinners is a good one and she is on Rachel Ray today! It comes on here in 22 minutes. I can't wait to watch!

So, what am I making for dinner tonight? I dunno. Maybe I'll figure something out watching Rachel Ray :O)

Just some cuteness . . .

2009-04-18T16:41:00.004-05:00

Springtime by DY 2nd Grade

2009-04-16T09:46:00.004-05:00

I was going through the schoolwork D brought home yesterday ( I keep EVERYTHING in a Rubbermaid tote).

When I read this poem she wrote, I said, "Wow!"

So, this proud Mama will share with you an original work by DY:

SPRINGTIME

It's Easter, a grand old day,

eggs are hidden in every which way.

Rabbits hop all day long,

bees buzz along, small but strong.

Children play there and here,

I can tell that Spring is near.

The Family of God

2009-04-15T18:39:00.003-05:00

On Sunday morning, EASTER morning, D made her Profession of Faith in Jesus as Lord of her life! We are thrilled beyond imagination.

At the end of the service she grabbed my hand and said, "I need to talk to Dr. T" and I said, "Right now?" and she said "Yes, right now." So we went forward and her daddy had a choir member come take his place in the pulpit and he met us in the front as we stood with the Pastor.

We bought her a special gift in Russia, even before we met her, that we knew we would give her on the day of her Baptism. We had faith that she would come to know God and accept Christ into her heart! I'll let you know what that gift is when we present it to her (she reads the blog sometimes ;o)

She'll be baptized on Mother's Day. C will be dedicated that day as well, so grandparents will already be here. It will be a great Mother's Day!!

Here is the picture that will be published in the Church newsletter announcing her decision:

Some Easter Pix

2009-04-15T13:51:00.008-05:00

We had to hunt eggs indoors because of the rain. We "hid" C's egg right in plain view beside his bucket and he crawled right to it!

We had to be creative hiding D's eggs, this one was in the clock. This clock has the different time zones (Los Angeles, NY, Moscow and London and the big one in the middle has our time, Central Time) my hint to her was that the last egg (a camoflauge plastic one) was in California. It took her a few minutes to figure it out.

C took his turn wearing the bunny ears, hubby had to keep them on since they were a bit big.
D wore the bunny ears all afternoon, during lunch and "hunting" eggs.

Here's our beautiful girl in her Easter dress.

Here are D and C at church in front of the lillies.

It Won't Be Like This For Long

2009-04-14T16:59:00.001-05:00

Oh my goodness, have y'all heard the song, "It Won't Be Like This For Long"?

Darius Rucker, who was the voice of Hootie and the Blowfish in the 90's has now gone country.

This song just made me bawl!

I've been thinking about this topic so much lately. The time just zooms past so quickly. I wish I could hit Life's pause button and then barely tap play so it just plays really, really slowly.

Going to get the Kleenex.

You've got the cutest little Baby-Legs!

2009-04-13T16:12:00.013-05:00

Now that C is crawling everywhere, his little knees are just red as can be. I'd looked at buying Babylegs brand leg covers at Target and they only had the skull ones and I'm just so not into skulls (I just don't get the skull thing - ick!) plus at $12 a pop that's a little pricey to me. I looked online to see about making them myself and found this tutorial and it looked simple enough.

I found some cute puppy dog socks for $1 at Walmart and wah-lah! C has some cute little baby legs for his cute little baby legs! And for $1 and about 15 minutes of time - you can't beat that!

Here are my own step by step photos:

Easy as 1-2-3!

p.s. Yes, he kept them on all evening, I think he liked them! He hates socks on his feet and they're off 1 minute after I put them on him, but he didn't try to bother these in the least.

Who'd Have Thunk It?? I wish it would have been ME!

2009-04-13T09:41:00.003-05:00

This is one of those things, I wish I would have thought of! It's a great idea.

It's called Teething Bling and it is jewelry that is child chewable! I rarely wear a necklace anymore and if I do, C goes right for it to chew on! This would be great to have, especially during church.

Final Court Hearing!!

2009-04-03T13:50:00.009-05:00

We went to court yesterday, April 2, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. CT and finalized the adoption of our sweet baby son!

We are FINISHED!!!!

Waking up yesterday morning, getting ready for court, hubby and I both noticed that we weren't nervous at all. The day we went to court in Russia for D was probably one of the most nervous days of both our lives! We've been to this judge twice already for D's re-adoption in 2005 (in order to get a Texas birth certificate for her) and for the first hearing on September 11 for C's adoption.

We were so surprised that 20 friends from our church were at the court house to support us. My sister is here visiting this week, so she was able to be there too. The judge said usually he takes adoption cases in his chambers, but his chambers weren't big enough for this group, so he allowed everyone to come stand behind us as we stood before him.

When it was time for us to raise our right hands and swear everything, even C raised his hand and D raised her left hand (she's left handed ;o) The judge asked D a few questions of her own, it was really sweet. After she answered her questions he gave her some candy.

Our attorney is a friend of ours and when he was presenting the criminal history section to the judge he added that luckily we were both all clear with no criminal records since it would be a little embarrassing if we had a record and all these people would learn about it!

The whole thing took only about 10-15 minutes and we were done!

I am so glad to have it signed, sealed and delivered and to be fully and wholly C's mommy forever and ever AMEN!

Early Easter

2009-03-30T09:40:00.008-05:00

We went to the DFW metroplex yesterday to have "big family" easter. I got some fun pictures!

We have three babies in our family born within a month. W was born on 7/17; C was born on 7/29 and L was born 8/18. I haven't asked W's mom if it's ok to put his pic up, so I've only got pics of C & L.

We had all the babies in Easter baskets and when I was taking this picture it was one of those wonderful moments because I just happened to catch C right in the midst of his first time "pulling up!" Talk about praise! He had about 50 adults looking on and cheering for him.

The babies had their first "egg hunt" they were so curious about them.

Then the big kids hunted their eggs in the back yard. It was mayhem as they ran amock! D found lots of eggs and even climbed up on the fence to find some.

Spring Break

2009-03-28T10:55:00.006-05:00

We had a good but busy time on Spring Break.

First we took D (and C) to a little amusement park in a nearby larger town. She had been looking forward to this for months!

D made a hole in one and is jumping for joy! I like how I caught her mid jump.

We rode bumper boats, D drove "race" cars, rode in a big race car with her daddy. We played mini golf and spent way too much in the arcade in order to win tickets for way chinchy little prizes.

Afterward we drove to the "half-way" town between our house and Grandma & Grandpa's house and met them for supper and the switch off as D was going home with them to spend a couple days by herself at their house in Dallas.

Next day hubby, C and I went to Dallas and stayed in a hotel nearby G&G's house with the hopes of swimming indoors, but the heater was broken on the pool. I tell you, 3 nights in a hotel with a 7 month old, even the most well behaved 7 month old in the world, is tough!

On Friday night we went over and visited with my Daddy and Step Mom and had dinner with them at Texas Roadhouse which was good boy sooooo noisy - I'm getting old!

On Saturday hubby met up with some friends from high school days and had lunch and then that night met up with his college roommie/best friend for dinner.

On Sunday we went to Sunday School with G&G and then back to their house for lunch and then headed toward home.

We stopped at a big outlet center and I found an Easter dress for me. C kind of determined the color this year and I've had a hard time finding a dress in that color. Each year our whole family wears the same color at Easter. Every year I have a hard time finding a dress because usually I buy D's dress first then we work around that. Last year I was smart and found my dress first and then getting D's dress and hubby's tie was no big deal. C got a precious Feltman Brothers outfit that is size 9 months (they run small) it's white on top and blue on bottom. So our color this year is blue. Next, D is going to be flower girl in her cousin's wedding in August and their color is light blue, so I found her dress online, a periwinkle blue toile.

Anyhow, all that to say I found a periwnkle blue dress at Dress Barn, I don't really LOVE it, but it's the right color.

Ok, C's got to go down for a nap so I've got to run. Bye!

The most dangerous chocolate cake

2009-03-14T16:26:00.005-05:00

4 tablespoons flour

4 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 egg

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons oil

3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)

a small splash of vanilla extract

1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high).

The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.

EAT!

And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

I just made one and it actually took me 8 minutes. Here is my photo montage:

I suggest not adding the chocolate chips. They all fell to the bottom and clumped up so it didn't pop out as prettily. I also suggest mixing it in a seperate bowl and then adding it to the mug. It was hard to get all the flour up from the bottom so there was a bit of white still sticking around down there. Also, know your microwave. Ours is strong, so I should have just gone with 2 min 30 secs. It was a tad overdone and rubbery. Overall, though, very tasty and fun to make!

We'll try it again later tonight for D. She came in from playing and said, "it smells like brownies in here! Can I have one?" So we'll try it again tonight with some tweaking :O)

D's I-Pod Valentines

2009-03-10T22:24:00.006-05:00

I just realized I never posted about D's I-Pod Valentines for her classmates! They turned out sooo cute! I got the idea out of Family Fun Magazine. Here are some pix of her making them . . .

She attached the free Chuck E. Cheese token Valentines as the nametags.

They are made from a small box of Sweet Heart conversation hearts, covered with colorful paper and the play list and tuner printed from Family Fun's website. Then add string and we used chocolate kisses for the ear buds. The kids LOVED them and were putting the kisses in their ears pretending to be listening! They weren't very hard to do at all.

Free Diaper Giveaway!

2009-03-08T15:38:00.000-05:00

Win a free Bumgenius 3.0 Diaper!

This is a valuable All-In-One cloth diaper that you can use for yourself or give as a gift to someone expecting a baby! Go check out Hot Belly Mama's Blog for details on how to win this wonderful All In One Cloth Diaper.

Hot Belly Mama will announce the winner on March 30th, after her 30th birthday! Here is the direct link to her blog:
http://hotbellymama.blogspot.com/

Good luck!

BY MY BEST GUESS, C IS 7 MONTHS OLD

2009-02-28T15:54:00.004-06:00

Ok, this is a toughie when you're born on the 29th! When is C really 7 months old since there IS NO February 29, at least not this year?

I figured I'd take the half way point between Feb. 28 and Mar. 1 which by my best foggy brained figuring was 12 noon today. So I GUESS C turned 7 months old at 12 noon today??

Hubby thinks I'm nuts, but this has really been bothering me! I count these month birthdays very seriously!

p.s. Were you wondering where I've been lately?? C has been very, very sick and is finally getting better. It was a harrowing 10 days of very sick baby and VERY tired Mama. He had a really bad upper respiratory thing. He's still not wanting to eat much, so I hope that comes back soon. He's lost a bit of weight, I'd guess at least a pound.

Here's a pic of Mr. Sicky trying to eat - it's hard to eat when you can't breathe!

Extreme Makeover

2009-02-16T16:21:00.010-06:00

D has been growing her hair since last spring with one goal in mind, to donate it to Locks of Love.

Here she is on the last Sunday for her to have big beautiful curly hair.

Here is the BIG CUT!

She felt fancy because the hair stylist put the grown-up cape on her instead of the childish one. This one came from New York City!

TA-DAH! Here is the cut and the pony tail that we will send to Locks of Love!! It had to be at least 11 inches to qualify to be sent off.

Here is the back view:

She loves her swingy new bob. I think it does make her look all grown up, though :o(