Boys Will Be (Cute) Boys

Recycling.....

Or lack thereof.

We believe in protecting our environment.
We believe this earth is a gift and we can do small things to help preserve it.
So we recycle. Obviously.

So what happens when you've moved into a new house (a month ago) that doesn't yet have a recycling receptacle to put by the street?

This:




Apparently Todd and I are playing a game called Who's Going to Solve This Issue First and Recycle This Mother Load of Pickle Jars, Empty Boxes, Milk Cartons, and DDP Containers ?

So far we're both losing.

I'm now afraid to open the cabinet where recycling goes.

If one day I'm buried beneath an avalanche of recyclables,
at least I'll leave this world knowing I tried to do my part in protecting the environment.

Forever Family Day

I remember this day like it was yesterday.
I remember the smells.
I remember being fascinated by all the laundry hanging to dry at the care center.
I remember giggling as we watched a group of toddlers line up outside to sit on tiny toilets.

I remember the butterflies in my stomach.
I remember the doubts.
What if he doesn't love me? Or worse,
What if I can't attach to him?
What if we get to the room of babies and I don't recognize which one he is?
I mean, what kind of mother doesn't know her own son?

I remember leaving my shoes at the door to the building and grasping Todd's hand like a lifeline.
I remember getting to the room of babies and knowing exactly which one he was.
He was the one sleeping sweetly, covered in blankets with his little finger in his mouth.

I remember Todd stepping back and letting me go first because he knew if I had to wait one second longer, I would probably lose it. This mother's wait was finally over.
I remember breaking the never wake a sleeping baby rule.
And as I gathered him in my arms, I remember his little body slumping against me. I remember his wide eyes looking up at me. And then I remember him spitting up all over me and Todd laughing.

And that was it.
We were hooked.
And we've been hooked ever since.

Isaac is the one who never leaves your side.
Todd and I laugh and say he's like a cat.
He's always rubbing up against one of us or trying to sit in our laps.
So attachment wasn't really an issue.
And that serious look in his baby eyes has been replaced by laugh lines.
And that finger that he used for security is now used to hold light sabers.

And those doubts are long gone.

Because now I know that you can definitely love a child that didn't grow in your body just as much as one that did. And he can love you back. And now I know that you will always think of another mother, especially on these special days that mark your happiness. These days are always shadowed by another's loss and prayers for birth families all over. Because in a perfect world, no child would ever have to be separated from their birth family, but unfortunately we don't live in a perfect world.

And in this imperfect world, Isaac became our son.
And I know that we are blessed.
Very, very blessed.

4 Years Ago

What were you doing four years ago today?

I was getting ready to board a plane for a wild adventure with this guy:

A life changing adventure that involved two 17 hour flights, insomnia, being surrounded by people who spoke a completely different language, eating strangely different (but awesome) food, the strongest coffee one will ever taste, a bathroom where the toilet sat right next to a shower with no curtain, drinking only bottled water, meeting some awesome people who would become friends, a pink eye plague that attacked the group, turning in a lot of paperwork, the craziest drivers I've ever survived, and living amidst the most loving people ever,

oh, and meeting our 9 month old son.

More pics to come this week.
Has it really been 4 years?

Monday Love

Owen loves Mondays

because Dad's home

to keep him entertained.

(Oh..... and I love Mondays too.)

Proving My Theory

You've all heard me say it before:
It is impossible to get a good pic of three kids together.
Maybe I should amend that to just my three kids.
We got some wicked cute Christmas cards this year of 3 or more children smiling nicely at the same time. I don't know how their parents did it. Maybe they promised them ponies or something? My three must think smiling nicely at the camera would start a nuclear holocaust and therefore, they avoid it at all costs.

But I've learned something fairly recently.
I can get great pics of two of them.
Why two?
I have no freaking idea but am open to your theories.

Exhibit A: Remember this one from Saturday?
So precious I could cry.
2 kids. Smiling.

Exhibit B: Earlier today. One of them was even sick.
Yet......they're both looking at the camera and smiling.

Exhibit C: Eyes are open. Both looking. Both smiling.
They even threw in a hug for good measure.

Exhibit D: This one and about a million others just like it.
"Look out. Shut your eyes. Cry. Block your face with a dog toy. We're all three about to be in a picture together. The world must be coming to an end."

So that's it.
My scientific proof that it is, in fact, impossible.
Please get back to your normal activities and give an extra hug to your loved ones....because one of these days I will achieve the impossible. And then the universe may combust.

Title Rut

I'm in a title rut. Actually, to be honest, I'm in a blogging rut.
Can't seem to come up with anything creative to write about.
Maybe that's because the majority of my time is spent doing laundry, dishes, and painting.
Apparently, I'm also in a going to the post office rut.
So, to my beautiful sister who has a birthday today, sorry your gift this year is also going to be late. I know, I know....you're shocked to your very core.
I'm hoping a shout out on the blog makes up for it?
Doubtful though.

But seriously,
Happy Birthday to my baby sister.



You rock.
And I miss you.
And if you were here or I was there,
I would take you out for some Mexican food and margaritas and we would sit there and make inappropriate jokes and crack up together.

Enjoy your last two years of being in your twenties.

Saturday Morning Tour

Todd and Isaac went on an adventure with the high school boys. While they were gone, the remaining 3 of us spent the morning playing upstairs.

Here's a condensed tour of the upstairs:

The boys room. Obviously.

The Diva's Room.

Our favorite room. Haven't painted it yet, but we LOVE having a playroom.

And what's behind Door Number 3?
Two cuties in a tub.

Hope everyone else is enjoying a lazy, rainy Saturday spent in pajamas and sipping on coffee.

Concrete Oasis

They paved paradise to put up a parking lot our back yard.....

We went from having an awesome back yard with a creek, boulder, and a fun bridge to a very small yard with no grass, a huge shed, a hot tub that we don't know how to use, and stamped concrete. Apparently stamped concrete is very expensive, and while some say it's lovely, it's not exactly a great play place for kids....or so I thought.

But give the kids a baby toy,

a jump rope,

some sidewalk chalk,

and an old chew toy for a dog?

And apparently they'll roll with it.

While the rest of the country is covered in snow, we had 70 degree weather yesterday and enjoyed it to the fullest.

And today?
We're getting ready to head to the elementary school to register Isaac for kindergarten.

Gulp.

Will somebody please come pick me up off the floor later?

Homework

Homework definitely does not make for an exciting post...except that (in my opinion) she just looks so dang cute sitting there with her little boots concentrating on making her "patterins."