A Little of This and a Little of That

I took the kids to see Santa last week. We actually went earlier in the week and I had really been talking it up to Riley. Well, when we got to the shopping center to visit Santa we found out that Santa only makes appearances on the weekend. To say that Riley was devestated doesn't really do justice to the meltdown I had to endure. You would have thought that he had just lost his very best friend. That boy cried and cried and cried. He was so distraught that Santa was not going to know what was on his list. I reassured him that Santa would be back on Friday, and he could give him his list then. Finally, he calmed down.






When Riley finally saw Santa he was able to tell him the one thing that is on his list...a cap gun. Oh, my! How can this be my son? Haha! Now little does he know that while Santa is not bringing him a cap gun his Grammie and Granddad are. Santa is bringing him a nerf gun...I don't know if he delivers cap guns.

This weekend we enjoyed a beautiful snowfall! We ended up with about 6 inches at our house, which is pretty big news around here. Yesterday the kids had fun playing in the snow...sledding...and watching their dad and Uncle Ben build a huge snowman! It was a fun day!





Now, this is your friendly reminder to go vote for my sweet Mary Kenzie in the Santa Baby contest. Here is the link: http://tinyurl.com/votemk Mary Kenzie has made it to the TOP 12! But, she needs your vote! The contest ends on Tuesday, so you can vote one time per day between now and Tuesday. If she is the winner she will win $500! Thank you for voting for her!!!

Please vote!

I entered Mary Kenzie in a local radio station's Santa Baby photo contest. If she wins, she wins $500!

Here is the link: CLICK HERE You can vote once a day!

You will have to register the first time but you don't have to put your address or phone number. Will you please take 5 minutes and vote? Thank you!!

Here's the picture I entered:


Please go vote!! CONTEST LINK

Fa La La La La

Yes, we are alive! And, yes, we are healthy! Praise the Lord!!

I have been very negligent in keeping up the blog but I promise to post more regularly now that I am back!

In the midst of the craziness of this season, I hope that you are able to spend some time reflecting on the blessings you have.

This season I am especially thankful for my husband and the rock that he is to me. I am also especially thankful to be a mommy to two...my miracle Riley boy who is growing up so fast and my miracle Mary Kenzie girl who is home for her very first Christmas with our family!

Live from the Infirmary

This is your live update from the infirmary!

We have now been in "lockdown" mode for 8 days. Mary Kenzie stopped running a fever and started to perk up a little bit just in time to pass the flu baton off to Riley. We are going through the Motrin, Tylenol, hand sanitizer, Lysol, tissues, and movies. We have been laying low and spending lots of time watching movies and washing hands!

The month of November seems to be zipping right by us. Hopefully we are getting all of the sickness over with before the holidays...one can certainly hope!! And, as I ended my last sick post, "Is it spring yet???" PLEASE!

Mr. Sickness

The last week has been spent with Mr. Sickness. He came in the form of a low grade fever and a cough Wednesday night for Mary Kenzie. After a trip to the doctor where Mr. Sickness was pronounced "sinus infection" we began antibiotics for little miss MK. After 2 days of being on the antibiotics, Mary Kenzie was doing worse. So back to the walk-in clinic Saturday where Mr. Sickness was rediagnosed as "the flu."

Saturday night, Riley started complaining that his stomach was hurting. He only ate one bite of dinner and then we put him to bed. About an hour later he started crying and complaining of a tummy ache again so we kept him up with a bowl handy and pretty soon Mr. Sickness reappeared in the form of "stomach bug."

On Sunday, Michael finally went to the doctor after fighting a sinus infection for almost a week and got an antibiotic. This time Mr. Sickness was correctly diagnosed as "sinus infection."

We seem to be on the road to recovery. Riley's virus was very short-lived, Michael seems to be getting better, and Mary Kenzie has now been fever free for 24 hours. We have gone through a ton of Lysol, hand sanitizer, and good old fashioned soap! Is it spring yet????

The Chef and the Chicken

Tonight instead of the magical world of Disney we were more like the sizzling wonder of a Japanese steakhouse. Riley really, really wants to be a chef in a Japanese restaurant when he grows up. He talks about it all of the time. When he rejected my idea of dressing up like Mickey this Halloween he chose to dress up like a chef in a Japanese restaurant instead. Poor Mary Kenzie...rather than a beautiful Minnie Mouse...she was dressed to be the entree! I really don't think she minded one bit.

Family Outing

Last Friday we went to a local farm with the kids and enjoyed some of their fall festivities. There was a corn maze, a cow train (10 gallon buckets decorated like cows and pulled by a big tractor), and silos full of corn kernels that you could jump in.

Here are some pictures of our fun night:

Highlights of Our Week

Mary Kenzie, Riley, and I had a great trip to Boston! We had so much fun visiting Karoline and spending time with her.

Highlights for Riley
*definitely the transportation. That boy had an absolute blast in the airplane, on the ferry, on the bus, on the subway, in the taxi, and his favorite "the commuter rail!"

*the cotton candy at the football game

*being crazy with Aunt Karoline in the snow

Highlights for Me
*spending time with my sister

*getting to spend time in person with adoptive moms from one of my online adoption groups

*good behavior and no bad poops on the airplane (seriously...I will never forget the trauma of Riley's dirty diaper where I had to throw away the entire outfit on the airplane when we were flying home from Colorado...nightmares!!)

*spending quality time with my kids and especially seeing Riley's excitement over simple things like being able to ride the subway for one more stop

And now for some pictures!!


Mary Kenzie and I on the train

Aunt Karoline and Riley on the train

Feeding Mary Kenzie some carrots with chopsticks (no spoons so I had to be resourceful!)

A fun evening with other moms in the Boston area who have adopted from Korea; 2 of the moms I have "known" through an online adoption message board so it was so fun to be able to meet in real life! :)

Loyal Wolfpack fans cheering on our team who lost miserably to Boston College

Road trip to Maine (yay! another state we've been to!)

Riley and I posing in front of President George Bush's vacation home in Kennebunkport, Maine

Riley at his worktable at the Boston Children's Museum

Looking out of the car window on the Maine coast, Riley said he just wanted to hear the ocean

Mary Kenzie at the Boston Children's Museum...she wanted to sit in this chair and kept pointing at different books she wanted

Boston Bound

The kids and I are headed to Boston for almost a week! My sister Karoline moved to Boston back in August for grad school at Boston College. So, we are off to visit her and do some sightseeing! While I am a little nervous about flying with both kids by myself, I know it will be an adventure (and maybe some good blogging material!).

In a follow up note to the Potty Talk post earlier in the week...yesterday while I was showering I put both kids in the kitchen to eat their breakfast. I figured that was a safer option than letting them roam. When I went to check on them Riley had pulled out Mary Kenzie's yogurt out of the refrigerator and had opened it, stirred it really well, and was sitting in my chair feeding his baby sister. Much better! :)

Okay...we're off!!

Potty Talk

This morning Michael had to go to the first service at church, so I was still at home with the kids and we were going to meet him for the second service. Riley and Mary Kenzie always play really well while I jump in the shower and have never been involved in any mischief until today.

Oh, yes, mischief...with a capital "MIS"...

Disclaimer: you may want to quit reading this post:

IF you are easily grossed out

OR if you are waiting to be a mom and you still have high sanitary goals in mind

OR if your children never do gross things

So, I was taking my fast shower and as soon as I got out I went to check on the kids. Mary Kenzie is crawling down the hall. Wet. Soaked. Hair drenched. Then, I look down the hall and there is Riley. Also, wet. Also, soaked. With his hair also drenched.

"Riley, why are you and Mary Kenzie wet?"

"Well, Mommy, I was going pee pee and Mary Kenzie started playing in the toilet while I was going potty." GULP

"But, why are you wet, Riley?"

"Well, when I finished going potty I flushed and played in the water with her."

OH MY! Both kids were immediately stripped down and thrown into the tub where they were scrubbed down and disinfected again and again and again.

This would be an incident that would gross out even the most laid back mom. Much less this mama whose number one rule (See, Mom, you taught me well!!) that we do NOT share drinks with ANYONE!

Now I have to include and we do not play in the potty E V E R!!!

They Need You; You Need Them Even More

Orphan Sunday from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

What Are You Waiting For?

I have seen this on a few blogs, and I watched it and found it so inspiring that I had to share it with you! I hope it inspires you, too!

From Sighing to Breathing

Sometimes when Riley gets really upset about something I tell him that he needs to relax and just breathe. I coach him through taking some deep breaths to help him calm down, pause, and take a break. Usually this helps him through the crisis he is experiencing and helps him regroup and be able to handle whatever it is that's bothering him.

Last week as I blogged I confessed that I have days where I struggle with trying to do a good job at all of the jobs I have during this season in my life. I confessed that I struggle sometimes with being overwhelmed with trying to be the wife Michael needs, the mom that Riley and Mary Kenzie need, etc...

This past weekend I had the chance to take some deep breaths...allowing me to calm down, pause, and take a break.

This past weekend Michael and I spent time at a marriage conference. It was a breath of fresh air. The conference was held in our town but Michael surprised me with a weekend away from home at a hotel. It was wonderful! Michael's sister Beth and her husband John were so gracious to keep Riley and Mary Kenzie for us. The kids love being with them, and I know they had a fun time!

There were about 200 couples at the conference...all different ages and all at different places in their marriages. One of the points that was emphasized throughout the weekend was that a marriage is always moving. Your marriage is either moving towards oneness or towards isolation.

So many of us get so busy and caught up in the daily grind of life that we forget to be intentional in nurturing the relationship we have with our mate and we begin to isolate. Now that we have kids, I can see that it takes extra effort in nurturing that relationship with my husband because there are so many added tasks and responsibilities that can consume my attention and energy.

It was a refreshing weekend in so many ways, and I am so thankful to have a husband who loves me enough and values our marriage enough to spend a weekend with me at a marriage conference. I think we both came away with a greater appreciation for each other and a deeper desire to make our marriage stronger.

When we stood at the altar 7 1/2 years ago we never would have dreamed the struggles that we would experience as a couple. We both came from very functional families...we didn't have a lot of relationship baggage from the past...we both had a lot going for us.

NEVER did we dream when we stood at the front of the church that rainy night in March the challenges that would come our way. When we both pledged to love each other "for better or for worse" we really had no concept of how that would be.

As we reflected this weekend on the struggles and heartaches and pain we have experienced together, we can see God holding us together. We have learned in many painful ways that we have to lean on God and look to Him for our security. And, through His power, we hope to have a marriage that is strong and a home that is a refuge.

Sighing

We are rolling with our fall routine...I like staying busy and we have several different activities throughout each week. I still have some days where we have no committments, and we can head to the library for storytime or grab lunch with a friend.

But, many days lately I have found myself sighing. It seems like in this season of my life it's so hard to do a great job in each of my roles. I have some days where I am a great mom but find myself lacking in the great wife category. Other days I may be a great wife but I failed to spend that quality time alone and with God. I have found myself sometimes physically sighing as I go from task to task throughout my day and feeling frustrated that I am succeeding in some areas and falling short in others.

I know that all of these feelings are normal and that just like the seasons change our responsibilities and committments also change and adjust. I pray that God will help me learn how to better "be"...a wife, mom, daughter, sister, friend...instead of always "doing."

In this season I am also soaking up the joys that come with being a mom and enjoying the time I have with the children I have longed for and prayed for for so long...the answers to many, many prayers.





Today, Mary Kenzie was having fun getting me to put these sunglasses on her and then she would take them off and say "boo!" She was cracking herself up and kept bringing the glasses to me so that I could put them on her over and over again. We just laughed and laughed and I sat there in awe...once again...that I get to be her mommy. Amazing!

Mr. Opinion

So, today is the first day of fall and as much as I LOVE the summer (3 cheers for the waterpark!) I also love the changing of the seasons. Pretty soon it will be time for wearing jeans and burning my pumpkin spice candle!

I also can't believe how soon it will be time to put the kids in their costumes for Halloween. This brings me to my tip for this Tuesday...don't plan too far ahead what your kids will wear for Halloween because they might surprise you and have their own opinions.

For you veteran moms the fact that children have their own opinions is probably old news, but this past week my 3 year old's opinion and I became very good friends. You see, until this past week, my 3 year old's opinion and I had yet to really meet. We had casually been introduced during the "pacifier throwing phase" and the occasional "Target meltdown" but really I would have to say we were more acquaintances than good friends.

Well, this all changed this past week. You see, back in March as you may remember, we took a family trip to Disney World. It was SUCH a fun week and we had the best time! While we were at Disney (in March, mind you!) I had what I thought was a genius idea! I should dress the kids up as Mickey and Minnie for Halloween!

It would be so fun because this would be the first Halloween we would have 2 kids and how fun to dress them in corresponding outfits and how even more fun that we would be able to always remember that the year we went to Disney the kids dressed up like the king and queen of Disney for Halloween!

I have spent a lot of time scouting out costumes on Ebay and kids consignment sales. I have spent a lot of time thinking about HOW CUTE Riley and Mary Kenzie were going to be as Mickey and Minnie. I have spent a lot of time talking about my great idea to friends and family members and random strangers who would listen to my costume plans for this Halloween.

BUT, I failed to mention MY plans to my 3 year old's opinion. You see, Mr. Opinion does not want to be Mickey Mouse. Mr. Opinion asked if he could please be Superman or a Power Ranger or really ANYTHING but Mickey Mouse. I begged and pleaded and tried to talk up the Big Cheese as best as I could but Mr. Opinion was not to be swayed.

You can call me a wus...you can accuse me of trying too hard to be my 3 year old's friend instead of his mom...but honestly it wasn't any of those things. Instead, it all boiled down to this one statement made by my 3 YEAR OLD:

"But, Mommy, if I dress up like Mickey Mouse the other kids will laugh at me!"

Gulp...I think my 3 year old is growing up...

So, down the drain go my plans for a Mickey and Minnie Halloween but my wallet is happy because the costume he ultimately begged me to let him wear this year was already hanging in the closet!

Shattering the Image

So, in an attempt to foster authenticity I am writing this post today.

You see we all hide behind masks...or in this case blogs...and choose to share whatever we want with our audience. So, maybe I am the only one, but when I read other people's blogs I sometimes come away a little jealous, a little envious, a little jaundiced (don't be too impressed, I used the online Webster's).

It seems like so often the things we put on our blogs are the things we're most proud of. To the reader it may appear that everything in our life is perfect...we have the perfect marriages, the perfect homes decorated to the nines, the perfect days, and definitely the perfect children.

How many pictures do we go through before we find the ones that we deem "blog worthy?"

So, in today's attempt at authenticity and so that I can remind you (once again) that I am just an ordinary girl with struggles and baggage and highs and lows, I wanted to share these pictures of my sweet kids. Some of you may remember that I had the kids' pictures taken recently and we definitely got a few good ones. BUT, we also had a few bloopers, too. Here are my little ones in their blooperfied best!

Feel free to laugh...I sure did!!