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.