A Friday Potporri post and pictures

Grace's new bed


The hand and foot prints we had done in January are finshed and hanging on her wall


Grace's Baptism cross from Grandma and Grandpa


Grace's face when she first saw her bed all set up


sitting on the bed, she would not smile at Daddy, just hide behind her hands, the stinker.

This post will just be a little of this and a little of that and then some pictures tossed in at the end.

Yesterday was a big day at our house, Grace's new big girl bed finally came!! We waited with anticipation all day for the delivery guys to get here. Grace seemed very excited and kept saying new bed, new bed. Sadly when it was time for bed, Mommy wasn't home, she was at sewing class, so she had to miss the big moment. Scott put her to bed and she went to sleep end of story. And it really was just that easy. The hard part was later, when she fell out of bed, at 3:30 in the morning. Yes, I've heard of bed rails and we have one, but it is 9 years old and doesn't fit her pillow top mattress. We didn't find that out until bed bedtime so Daddy said she'd be fine and went on with his night. Until 3:30 am when she fell out with a big thump and then a wail. Scott just called to say her bought her a new bed rail on his lunch hour, and I said well I'm sitting here worried she'll fall out of bed during her nap. He claims all I need to do is listen for the thump and wail, and if I don't hear it all is well. He's right, but he's such a man about it.

Grace is still obsessed with her Crocs, and tries to wear them every day. We were going out to run some errands today and there was much wailing about not being ale to wear the Crocs. I know I could just choose my battles and let her wear them, but I've chosen my battle and my kids looking good and matched appropriately is the one I've selected. I also fight the boys to have their hair comber, with water before school. they have fallen like a house of cards and just do it now, maybe I can be so lucky with Grace.

She is talking more and more every day, I don't think it has thing to do with the speech lady, but I'll take it. Scott has no clue what she wants or needs most of the time, but I get it, drives him a bit nuts.

A girl and her shoes

Grace has many pairs of shoes. Scott often laments the fact that she has more pairs than he does, and possibly more pairs than all the boys put together. What can I say, I like shoes and I buy them for Grace. She NEEDS to have them to match her outfits.

I bough her a pair of Crocs last weekend, I don't really care for the look of Crocs, but I will admit on her tiny chubbers, they are adorable. I bought these for the ease of her getting them on. We go to the bus stop three times a day, five times a week. Grace can put these on by herself everytime, you do the math.

When I gave Grace the Crocs she was so happy and went on and on about her shoes. The only words that are clear in the talking are Mommy look shoes, but that's all I needed to know. She wear the shoes All. The. Time! With her jammies, as in over the footie part, when she strips down to the nude, she puts them back on. Grace always.wear.these.shoes.

Cut to Friday, she is wearing a cute little skirt outfit, that did not go with Crocs. There was much screaming and tossing of oneself onto the floor, dare I say the biggest tantrum we've ever had out of the girl. Because Mommy said she couldn't wear those shoes.

If there was ever any doubt that she is my child, it ended right there!

(I know she isn't wearing a helmet, our local Hospital only fits them for the kids once a month and we can't go for another week, I promise she's hardly moving on the scooter and trike)

One year ago tomorrow...

Scott took the day off work and we ran like crazy people. Our agencies, AIA, accredidation was expiring March 1 and we NEEDED our paperwork there by that day. We had been waiting two weeks for one little piece of paper to complete our home study and it was finally done. We pulled the boys our of school and drove down to the Seattle waterfront to meet our Social worker as she drove off the Ferry. I laugh today at the picture I must have made huddled at the stop light peering around for her car so I could catch her as she slowed down to enter the intersection. She handed me the papers and yelled good luck and drove off.

We finally had everything we needed to be registered, so we rushed off to Olympia to get everything apostilled. I was not prepared for the big check I wrote, just the first of many mind you. We rushed home and then Scott spent hours scanning the paperwork and emailing them to our agency. Our agency then emailed them on their Magadan contact so they would be there in time. We had been told that they would accept those, since our originals would be arriving March 2nd with another family. It was a wild and crazy day, that ended with a tip to the Fed-ex place to overnight the paperwork. We were truly blessed that day that everything went as it should, it led us straight to Miss Grace.

Not long after that I saw a picture on a blog of the outside of the Magadan baby house. I remember staring at the picture and thinking our daughter is in there. So I am now going to post the slide show we made after trip one, there are some shots of the both the inside and outside of the baby home in it. For all the wonderful people who are heading to Magadan too, we wish you all the best!

http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/view_shared?p=2c727ec1f90c6f2178ab09&skin_id=0&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=email

Again, Long time no blog

The computer is now fixed, thanks to my brilliant hubby. Now the story about how we got the virus. I was looking on google for Pink Poodle party ideas and the first site that popped up, I visited. It was of course porn, and things have been wrong ever since. There is now a running joke about pink poodle porn at our house. When I say I'm having a pink poodle birthday party for Grace, Scott shrieks in horror.

Add to the computer virus set back, the fact that my Father in law and his girlfriend are visiting for a week and I've had no time. Grace has been calling the girlfriend Mommy, and she just started calling me that last week. (before that she called me Mom, but I took the Mommy as a whole deeper level of attachment sign, instead of she can now say the whole word, which is what it is.) The girlrfiends name is close enough to Mommy that we suspect that is the problem, but it didn't stop me from crying about it, and it does bug me to no end.

Grace has really been clingy this past week, she wants to be held all the time, no matter what. This is nice and I'm so excited that she wants the affection, but I can't hold her all the time. She is also much more into Daddy now too, she goes to him for affection and tells him she loves him, which in the past was intermittent. She is really just blossoming even more. It's funny this attachment stuff, you think you are all the way there, and then you see them getting closer and you realize it's not all the way there yet. I wonder if bells will ring or something so I'll know when she officially attached?

Grace is now the proud wearer of an eye patch for 4 hours a day. She has exotropia where the eye drifts out. We are trying the patching and seeing if it helps and we'll just see from there. Everything I read on FRUA says surgery is the way, everything on the web says no to surgery. I didn't get in to it with the opthamologist, I figured we'll cross that bridge another day. We are keeping our fingers crossed that this works, we're noticing the drift less. Grace loves the patch and asks for at the right time every day, she's is so darn smart!

Grace is also talking more and more each day. She tends to say the first part of words and leave off the end, one of the boys did this too. She is trying to say more words every day, to the point that I can't keep up writing them down. Do I think it's the speech therapy, not really, we haven't seen her in two weeks. The fact is I don't care what it is bring on the talking.

Grace is also potty trained and almost dry at night. I thought I'd be sad to see my last baby growing up, I'm not, I'm excited about the future. Her big girl bed will be here soon and no more baby, bring on the pre-schooler!

pictures

Just because she's so stinking cute!
Still cute
And Still cute!
J and I went on a "date" to Playhouse Disney live, he is a Mickey freak!! If it comes to your town I highly reccomend it, they do a really great job with show. This is J with his magic wand and box of popcorn, the he is convinced Mickey popped for him.

pictures

Grace in her eye patch. We are trying patching to correct her strabismus. She loves the patch and never fights us when it's on. Her brothers think sh looks like a pirate and have taught her to say Argh! Boys, ugh.
Grace and M decorating the Valentine's Day cake.
Carefully placing each m&m
J, Grace and M after they decorated their cake, we all got to enjoy the fruits of their labor, yummy!
Grace got a back pack for Valentine's Day, she takes J and runs around with it. Good news if anyone is interested it was 6 buck at the Disney store, since it isn't prime back pack season. She wears it ALL the times and carries her baby in it.

Long Time no Blog...

And I have many good reasons for my abscence. First, my husband was gone for two weeks! I have always had the utmost respect for single parents, but my respect for them has multiplied a thousand fold! I have to admit it wasn't too bad, the boys understood and were on their somewhat best behavior. Grace on the other hand... that girl. She is all about testing me and if I ignore her she goes back to being her regular sweet self, but any reaction starts her testing me even more. While being a single parent it got harder to ignore her, and I was tired and not all together myself. I reacted to her a few times and by the time Scott got home we were conflicting all the time! If this is a preview of the teen years, I am dead meat.

When Scott got home there was much rejoicing, and then we both got sick. We were coughing and wheezing and generaly miserable for several days, and then when I was ready to blog my computer became very sick and now has some virus, that my be incurable.

I am on the laptop, which I HATE, and I can't download pictures to it, which is frustrating. My wonderful hubby is trying to fix the real computer, but we are on day 6 with no success, and he knows computers. I really don't want to buy a new com,puter right now, ugh, and double ugh.

Grace news, lets see, I'm getting used to the speech therapist, she still drives me little nuts, but Grace is making a lot of progress. (I'm not sure it's the therapy, but I'm not complaining) She is talking more and trying to say many more words, which is helpful to all of us. She is very proud when she is able to communicate her needs. The therapist did clarify her statement about Grace and her opnion that she has some sensory issues, and I'm more comfortable with how she is handling it. All in all things are great. I'd say more but writing on this laptop kills my wrists. So, please say a prayer that the big computer can be fixed. And finally Melissa tagged me to say seven weird things about myself. My hubby would laugh becuase he thinks there are way more than seven, but that's a different post!

1. I cannot stand my food touching, I would like to have those plates with the seperate compartments for every meal. My kids are like this too, and I'm trying to break them of it so they don't end up ike me.

2. I hate raw tomatoes, will not eat them, but I love marinara sauce, go figure.

3. I have had the same best friend since I was 2, and I'm sure we'll still be when we're in the nursing home.

4. I am a Pepsi addict, I love the combination of sugar caffein and bubbles, and I must always have some in the house. I get nervous if the supply gets low and run to stock up. I've recently almost cut it completely out of my diet, but I still have 5 twelve packs in the pantry.

5. I am the biggest new cleaning product freak there is, I try it all. I swear I tried Mr. Clean erasers the day they came out and have been singing their praises ever since.

6. I am slightly obsessed with my kids clothes, they must match or I can't take it. When the little ones dress themselves I make them change if the shirt and pants don't go, I know it's bad, but I cannot stand mis-matched clothes.

7. I hate board games. I mean I will do most anything to get out of playing them. We have been invited to game nights, but always pass, because I hate to play games. That said, I have played two games of Sorry and two of Candyland today, I will do anything for my kids.