Christmas Time Is Here

It finally did stop snowing, but we pretty much were stuck for about 10 days in the house. Super-hero dad was able to go to work every day, although he left later than normal. The kids played outside and here are some great pictures of the piles of snow around our house, as well as Christmas Day pictures of the kids and family. Make sure you have your volume up so you can hear the song!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

The Answer to THE Question

Today I was at my Physical Therapy appointment for neck and back pain from my accident. I really thought it would go away, but it hasn't. And of course, the more I do around the house and with the kids, the more pain I feel.

Today I brought Egypt with me. Both boys are in school, so it was the best time to go in. I have stretches to do and she checks my range of movement. Then she gave me a back and neck massage. We're chit-chatting and she asks why Egypt isn't in school. I said, Well, she's only 3 1/2. She asked me What do you DO all day? So for the benefit of all those well-wishers who wonder what a Stay-At-Home-Mom does all day, here's a sample schedule:

We get up before all three kids so we actually GET to take a shower.
Get all three kids dressed, lunches packed, remind them to get their socks, shoes and notebooks. Stop doing Origami, we need to focus on getting our teeth brushed. No, turn off the TV and get your shoes on. Please take your dishes to the sink. Ok, you can feed the cat. Let's check your backpack so you don't accidentally take toys to school. Oh, I forgot to sign your daily report. Find a pen, scribble my signature, put it back in the backpack. Now, two of you, get into the car and you there, wait outside for the bus. No, I'm not going to carry you to the car you can walk by yourself. Stop bothering your brother and get into your car seat.

One kid leaves on the bus and we pull out of the driveway only to notice we're attempting to drive 10 miles on Empty. Go get gas. Turn around and drive back down the hill to school. Come back into town and stop at a store for prescriptions and a few necessities. Come back home and feed the cat and bring the bags into the house. Make a few phone calls, and then head back out the door for the PT appointment. The rest of my day will look like this:

Feeding Egypt and putting her down for a nap. Making more insurance related phone calls or calls about a new van. Going through paperwork for an upcoming IEP meeting. Eating lunch before running out the door to pick up Holland from school and taking him to a doctor appointment. Rushing back home so my mom can leave and I can run over to the bus hub to pick up Romania. Letting the kids play outside, trying to do some laundry, picking up the mess that whirled through the house, cleaning up the kitchen from last night, and trying to figure out what to make for dinner, which nobody will like anyway.

Doing more laundry, getting three kids ready for bed which always takes longer than it humanly should. Sewing a few stitches on a new blouse for Egypt. Getting backpacks and clothes ready for the morning. Doing research online for alternative learning methods. Picking up Legos, dirty clothes, cleaning a bathroom, washing sheets and sleeping bags and finally clearing the clean clothes off my bed so I can crawl in.

So, I guess I don't do much all day.

Big Plan Gone Kaput

I haven't exercised once! I'm not kidding. I had this whole big plan of swimming at the club three times a week and walking with a friend the other two (sorry jaqui!)
I cannot believe how much time is spent in the car. After I get Holland on the bus at 8:25, I tell the other two to jump in the van and we head out at 8:35. It's about a 15 minute drive to Romania's school. Then Holland gets off school at 2:00. It used to be 1:00 and the bus would drop him off at 1:05 (he was the only passenger), but now he's not the naughtiest kid on the bus, so it takes him 45 minutes to get home! I could drive to the school 5 times and pick him up in that amount of time. We live about 3 minutes from the school. But I can't be out running errands because the bus driver may have fewer kids on board and he could get dropped of anywhere from 2:15 to 2:45. It's like waiting for a repairman ("between 10 and 3 we'll be there").

So the past 3 weeks I've had a zillion doctor appointments, been to the pharmacy countless times, post office, grocery store, library and oh yeah, two days in the hospital. Then there are parent/teacher conferences (which got rescheduled because of the 1/4 inch of snow we had yesterday and the district freaked out and cancelled school), the parent night at Romania's new school and Women's Bible Study (not a bad thing!) So, basically I'm home less than I was before. My house is still a wreck (still haven't washed those curtains) and I haven't seen the inside of the gym yet. Maybe I could lose weight from the STRESS of it all!! and then I wouldn't even have to exercise!

Big Mess

Sometimes I want to rip up the carpet in my house and throw it in the washing machine. Either that, or just rip it up. Having three kids, you're bound to have things spill on the floor. Someone "forgets" and brings hot cocoa into the family room. They start horsing around and then it gets spilled. Egypt has taken to changing her own diaper. Not the urine soaked ones; the other kind. Yes, it does make for a messy floor. She uses about 20 wipes to get it all off.

Today's mess had nothing to do with kids spilling stuff. My cat, who is about 15 years old, likes to hang out in our room. She lounges on the bed (or under it if she doesn't want to be bothered). Lately she has been throwing up. At first I thought it was just hairballs, but it's actually food. (gross, I know) During Egypt's non-nap today, I kept hearing noises upstairs. I went up, and there is my cat throwing up on the carpet. Two minutes before that, she had been laying on an old blanket that Egypt had spread out for us to play on. Why couldn't the cat have thrown up ON the blanket? Now I have a huge gross spot right on the carpet. If we were to sell our house, the people would think we lived like animals with all the stains on the carpets, drawings on the walls, broken molding and peeling paint.

The Christmas Letter

Oh boy. I'd better get my Christmas cards put together. My hard-working husband loves to write up a letter every year. But I end up proofing, editing and condensing it. I caught him this morning starting to write it. He had even added a picture of us in Hawaii. Now, having a picture of our family in Hawaii isn't bad, but Holland wasn't in the best of moods on our trip (he cried almost the entire time. And not mad crying-sad crying.) So this wonderful trip turned into a really depressing experience because he was so gloomy the entire time. The one family picture we have, he's standing there in a wet suit, staring down at the sand. I really don't want to send this picture out. I'm hoping to include a short typed message on a 3X5 piece of cardstock. I already ordered the prints and will just need to assemble them.

The Run-Down Family

I use that title because doesn't it feel like that sometimes? Some days I feel like a Mack truck hit me. Here's the low-down on our family:

I've been married to the same man (incredible, I know) for 16 years. We have 3 children; two boys and a girl. Each of their stories is different, and yet each one is an amazing gift from the Creator.

We had been married for several years and I was teaching at a Deaf School. Our attempts to start a family were unsuccessful, so we turned our attention to adoption. During spring break of 1999, we flew down to San Diego to pick up our new little son. My students had a huge shock when I didn't come back from the break, but instead showed up with a newborn to show-off.
(Some of my students never let me live that one down. "Why didn't you tell us??" "You abandoned us!", etc, etc.) Did I mention they were dramatic middle schoolers?? But, when you're dealing with infertility and all the emotions that go along with it, you become very guarded as to what you share with people. My teaching career ended and motherhood began. It was an easy transition for me. I loved being at home with him. He was a very sweet baby and I was in love.

Fast forward 2 years later. Son #2 comes along. And not in the same manner as before. Shock of all shocks, we got pregnant. I know, I know. You're saying "I've heard that so many times. People always get pregnant right after they adopt". Here's my sarcasm: It had nothing to do with adopting first. It had everything to do with trusting God's timing. I was actually at peace that I wasn't going to have biological children. And like Emeril Lagasse says "Bam!" Got pregnant without the aid of any drugs, in-vitro, etc. He was truly a miracle. A 9 pound, 14 ounce miracle.

Here's where husband informs me that we are done. (Hard thing to wrap your brain around when YOU'RE not done). So, we adjusted to life with two and went on our merry way. What do you think happens next? That's right. Pregnant again. We're talking, I used no birth control our first like 5 years of marriage. Funny how that happens. You've got your whole life planned out and then God steps in and says "Whoa, there Nelly". (insert horse neighs here)

In the midst of all this, our oldest son was having trouble in social situations. Picture being kicked out of a private preschool because your 3 year-old cannot control himself. I was called back to school so many times to come pick him up because they couldn't control him. So, many years and doctors later, we find out he's Bipolar and possibly FASD (fetal alcohol spectrum disorder). So, basically, I'm going to be writing about my daily life with a bipolar son and all the chaos that ensues. Hope you come along for the ride.