Okay, so I know I've been a terrible blogger lately and I really don't have any good excuse. We have been spending most of our time outside, enjoying some absolutely beautiful weather. We've also been getting the boys ready for school. School starts in our area later this week (we have year-round school so summer is shorter than most other places). Both of the boys had physicals and are perfectly healthy (and the Monkey's stitches were removed with no problems; the scar is tiny - the doctor did a great job). We've had the parents-meeting to go over the rules, etc. And we took the boys to the open house so they could meet their teachers/see their classrooms/meet some of their classmates.
I think they are excited about it and will do great. I think that I, on the other hand, will be a quivering blob of tears when it comes time to actually drop them off. I'm sure Stu will roll his eyes at me; I know it's only preschool and the Monkey will only be going 3 mornings a week, but my babies are going to school...sniff, sniff. On the plus side, Chipmunk's teacher was my first-grade teacher (gotta love small towns!) whom I absolutely adored. And our niece and cousin will be in the Monkey's class with him.
I did want to touch on our recent visit with our friend from Astrakhan (before I forget too many of the details). We had a wonderful time with V. She was amazed at how big the boys have gotten. She last saw the Chipmunk 3 1/2 years ago and the Monkey almost 2 years ago so they have definitely changed a lot!
We drove to St. Louis to our agency's annual picnic so we had lots of time in the car to catch up; she is absolutely one of the nicest people I've ever met. She spent a lot of time on the drive trying to teach us some Russian phrases. I'm proud to say that the boys and I can now count to 20 in Russian, we know how to say most of the colors, and a few other simple words and phrases. The boys love to show off this new ability, although most of the people around us have no clue what they are saying. At the picnic, V. was able to see 7 other families whose adoptions she worked on. It was neat for her to see how much these children have grown. She assumed that once these families flew back to the US (after their adoptions) that she would never see these children again (other than pictures through email). For her to be able to talk with, hug, and kiss, these children in person was amazing. I think she had a wonderful time. I know we were all thrilled that she was able to come. When I dropped her off at the airport, it was wonderful being able to say that we'll see her again soon...when we return to Russia. That definitely put a smile on our faces.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Friday, July 20, 2007
One Little Monkey Jumping in the Bed...
He fell off and cut his head
Took him to the hospital and the doctor said
Four little stitches are needed in that head.
Yep. Just as I was starting a big post about our time with our interpreter and our adoption agency picnic, I heard a big thud from the bedroom were the boys were supposed to be taking a nap. Evidently the monkey had jumped out of bed and had a huge cut in his forehead. A quick trip to the ER and 4 stitches later, he is as good as new. It didn't slow him down a bit (I was really hoping for at least a day or two of more cautious behavior).
I'm actually shocked that this was our first trip to the ER for stitches with him. As active and busy as he is, we've been very lucky that this is the first big injury.
I'll try writing the original post sometime this weekend. After spending 2.5 hours at the ER, holding down a screaming 3-year-old, I am exhausted and going to bed.
Took him to the hospital and the doctor said
Four little stitches are needed in that head.
Yep. Just as I was starting a big post about our time with our interpreter and our adoption agency picnic, I heard a big thud from the bedroom were the boys were supposed to be taking a nap. Evidently the monkey had jumped out of bed and had a huge cut in his forehead. A quick trip to the ER and 4 stitches later, he is as good as new. It didn't slow him down a bit (I was really hoping for at least a day or two of more cautious behavior).
I'm actually shocked that this was our first trip to the ER for stitches with him. As active and busy as he is, we've been very lucky that this is the first big injury.
I'll try writing the original post sometime this weekend. After spending 2.5 hours at the ER, holding down a screaming 3-year-old, I am exhausted and going to bed.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Tagged
Christen tagged me so here are my answers:
4 new things I did in the last 4 years:
(1) Adopted Chipmunk (from Russia, Jan. 2004)
(2) Moved back to my hometown.
(3) Adopted Monkey (from Russia, Nov. 2005)
(4) Quit my job to become a SAHM.
4 new things I hope to do in the next 4 years:
(1) Adopt HotDog - hopefully by the end of the year.
(2) Adopt #4 (okay, I know this is a little premature since we don't have #3 home yet, but a girl can dream, right?)
(3) Find a part-time job in a local library.
(4) Take a grown-ups-only trip with Stu. It's been 4 years since we've been on a vacation with just the two of us (other than the occasional long weekend).
It's funny because I had a really hard time coming up with 4 things I want to do in the next 4 years. I'm very much a "live-in-the-moment" kind of girl. I used to be a planner but life through a few curveballs my way and now I force myself to not look too far into the future. I am wonderfully happy with my life right now and I can honestly say that if nothing changed at this point in my life I would be perfectly content. But of course, it is fun to think about the future and try to imagine what my life is going to look like. I thought this tag would be easy but it has really made me think. Good tag, Christen!
4 new things I did in the last 4 years:
(1) Adopted Chipmunk (from Russia, Jan. 2004)
(2) Moved back to my hometown.
(3) Adopted Monkey (from Russia, Nov. 2005)
(4) Quit my job to become a SAHM.
4 new things I hope to do in the next 4 years:
(1) Adopt HotDog - hopefully by the end of the year.
(2) Adopt #4 (okay, I know this is a little premature since we don't have #3 home yet, but a girl can dream, right?)
(3) Find a part-time job in a local library.
(4) Take a grown-ups-only trip with Stu. It's been 4 years since we've been on a vacation with just the two of us (other than the occasional long weekend).
It's funny because I had a really hard time coming up with 4 things I want to do in the next 4 years. I'm very much a "live-in-the-moment" kind of girl. I used to be a planner but life through a few curveballs my way and now I force myself to not look too far into the future. I am wonderfully happy with my life right now and I can honestly say that if nothing changed at this point in my life I would be perfectly content. But of course, it is fun to think about the future and try to imagine what my life is going to look like. I thought this tag would be easy but it has really made me think. Good tag, Christen!
Friday, July 13, 2007
I'll Be Back
Sorry I've been gone but we've been super-busy. And now our wonderful interpreter from Astrakhan is visiting us and we're leaving for St. Louis (for our adoption agency's picnic) in just a few minutes. So I'll be back with a new post in a couple of days once things calm down again.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Grown with Love
*Photo removed
I just had to share a picture of Chipmunk with the first vegetables out of his garden this year. A pretty good squash and zucchini. Can you tell how proud he is? All of their hard work is starting to pay off and I'm afraid that soon we'll have more squash than we know what to do with. Anyone got any good recipes for squash???
Not only is this garden saving us money and giving us lots of great-tasting fruits and vegetables; I find it amazing what kids will eat when they grow it themselves!
I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July! We'll be enjoying the day by going swimming, grilling out with family, and watching the fireworks display our small town puts on each year.
P.S. Thank you for all of the nice comments on Monkey's train cake. I did make it myself and it was pretty easy, honestly. Growing up my mom always made us special birthday cakes each year and I've vowed to try to carry on this tradition. I can't cook at all but I do love to bake.
I just had to share a picture of Chipmunk with the first vegetables out of his garden this year. A pretty good squash and zucchini. Can you tell how proud he is? All of their hard work is starting to pay off and I'm afraid that soon we'll have more squash than we know what to do with. Anyone got any good recipes for squash???
Not only is this garden saving us money and giving us lots of great-tasting fruits and vegetables; I find it amazing what kids will eat when they grow it themselves!
I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July! We'll be enjoying the day by going swimming, grilling out with family, and watching the fireworks display our small town puts on each year.
P.S. Thank you for all of the nice comments on Monkey's train cake. I did make it myself and it was pretty easy, honestly. Growing up my mom always made us special birthday cakes each year and I've vowed to try to carry on this tradition. I can't cook at all but I do love to bake.
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