Fun Days!

Here is the crew that lived at our house this past week. :) We had SO much fun with T's brother and his family. The kids went to skating lessons each morning, which they enjoyed. Otherwise we really just did a lot of hanging around together. Quite a bit of Wii playing, too, which is very, very fun for all ages.

Now I am getting ready to take Z, H, and G to Wisconsin. I'm really looking forward to the trip, though a bit anxious because this is my biggest solo mom undertaking. All in all, I'm guessing it will be easier than taking 3 under 3 to the doctor's office, though. :) I'm just trying to keep things in perspective. ha-ha. Happy New Year to all!

Merry Christmas!!

Here is a picture of our family on Christmas Eve. It was taken by J's friend, M, who joined us at home and church that afternoon.

T's parents joined us for his birthday several days on the week before Christmas. We had a great time with them! We did NOT wake up the kids at 1 am. However, T's parents worked it out so they got in around supper time. We didn't tell the kids about the change in plans, though. We took them out to eat and to an ametuer ice skating show. T's parents called us and let us know we'd locked them out. (oops!) and we gave them our garage code. They they went in and unloaded presents and called us to come home. We brought the kids home, and I laid it on thick telling them how it was late and they needed to get their pjs on and get ready for bed. Then the big moment came.

We got home and sent the kids in first, with us on their heels. H first noticed the plate of cookies G'ma B left on the table. The kids gathered around the table discussing where they could possibly be from. Grandpa and Grandma and a heap of presents were in clear sight, but the kids couldn't get past the cookies! It was hard not to laugh! :) Finally H noticed the presents and the grandparents and there was much excitement, jumping up and down, etc.

The kids did stay up until around 10pm. G had a melt down when we tried to take her to bed - she was NOT done playing with her toys! But she was clearly exhausted, so it didn't take long to settle her down. We had a good time with T's parents in town. (I got my first pedicure!)

We celebrated Christmas alone. It was quiet and low key. Our Christmas service provided some excitement, when the fire alarm went off mid-service. Thankfully it was a false alarm and quickly resolved without interrupting anything. The kids managed to sit through most of the service with little arguing. And as T said, if the Christmas eve service is the most stressful part of your holiday, you're doing something right! :)

Now T's brother T2 and wife K are here with their two kids, about the same ages as ours. We are having a good time! T is off all week to enjoy the time they are here. It's been a great vacation. :)

I took a look at my calendar and realized that the kids don’t go back to school until Jan 7! I was getting panicky at entertaining them after Jan 1 when T goes back to work. I decided to load up the van and drive them to my mom’s for a first of the kind trip to Wisconsin’s winter wonderland. :) I hope they get a chance to sled on the really big hills. I hope even more that they behave on the long trip up and back. We leave Jan. 2, weather permitting.

I crocheted a scarf and mittens to match my hat on Christmas day. Santa gave me the yarn! :) I'll post a picture soon!

Multicultural kids

Above is a picture of G holding a bird I crocheted for her. But you might also notice that she has a jewel in the middle of her forhead. :) Our neighbors came from India, and often wear a bindi. From wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bindi_(decoration

A bindi (from Sanskrit bindu, meaning "a drop, small particle, dot") is a forehead decoration worn in South Asia[1] and Southeast Asia. Traditionally it is a dot of red color applied in the center of the forehead close to the eyebrows, but it can also consist of a sign or piece of jewelry
worn at this location. Traditionally, married Hindu women wear a bindi. The traditional bindi is made with red sindoor powder or perhaps a black ointment. The bindi is a form of tilak, religious Hindu signs worn on the forehead. Nowadays, bindis are also worn by women who are not married, children, and by women who are not Hindu.

Regardless, G sees it as something very pretty. In fact, our neighbors just have a smudge of paint in different colors, but G quickly saw that she could upgrade it to a sparkling jewel. It's interesting to me that I am concerned about keeping H in touch with African American culture, and here my kids are soaking up other cultures without me trying. I think it's a very good thing.

My Favorite Things

Last night I was watching Oprah with J. (We bond over Oprah, Dr. Phil, and taped episodes of The View) It was Oprah's "Favorite Things" show, the show where she gives away her favorite things to a studio full of people. It got me to thinking about *my* favorite things. So I made a list. So, imagine yourself in my studio audience, and that you would be receiving one of each of these. (Wouldn't this be fun???) So, in no particular order, here are
Carin's Favorite Things 2007
Stouffer's Frozen Casseroles (Broccoli & Cheese is a favorite, as is Chicken Cordon Bleu)
Lindors Chocolate Truffles (especially the dark chocolate, filled with peppermint)
Reece's Peanut Butter Cup miniatures
World Vision Basic Bread Mix (as ordered through Homemade Gourmet)
Lands End Fleece PJs (I don't think they even make these anymore...)
Crocs
Bath & Body Works Foot Cream (the peppermint kind)
Bath & Boday Works any fruit scented thick lotion
Yarn - Yarn Bee Luscious (made my sweater out of this), Yarn Bee Frosting (my hat), and Paton's Allure (made a hat for my nephew)
Playmobil Zoo (Gladys has this, and *I* love it (so does she))
Planet Earth DVD set
Natalie Grant CD (the one with "Held" I love this song, and the others, too)
Casting Crowns CD (the one with "The Voice of Truth")
Alvin & Chipmunks Christmas CD (the classic - I had a record as a kid!)
Baby Sling
Boppy for nursing
New Living Translation of the Bible

Well, the kids are wanting snack, so I'd better go. I'd love to hear what would make it on your list!!

Like a kid again...

I was sitting in my quiet time, enjoying my 2 hours kid-free. (Well, ok, there were a couple social workers doing a post-adoption visit, but it was brief, so I’m ignoring it.) The doorbell rang interupting my peace… but it was the postman, with FIVE HUGE BOXES of Christmas presents from my Dad and step-mom!!! I felt like I was 7 years old again! I thought about waiting for the kids to come home to open the boxes and put the presents under the tree. I thought about it for about 2 seconds before I tore into them. I only did minimal shaking before I put them under the tree. :) Christmas is a very fun time of year!

What I am Good At

I have been crocheting a LOT lately. Lots of sewing, too. I was talking about my life with some friends and came to an important realization. The crocheting and sewing is an outlet for my creativity. When I had my hands full of kids, earlier in our fostering days, this same creativity served me well.

When H came home from the hospital she needed bandage changes on her burns. The best way to get the bandages off was to soak them in warm water in the bathtub. That was probably a good solution for anyone who hadn’t been scalded in a bathtub. Clearly another solution needed to be found. So I used my creativity and drug out all of our beach towels in November. I pushed aside the kitchen table and cleared all the chairs off the linoleum floor. I lined it with beach towels and brought out some newly washed toy bins. I filled them with lukewarm water and Z, G, H and I gave some dolls baths. Then we laughed and soaked our own feet in the water, even H.

I used my creativity multiple times when caring for other kids in our home. I have been uniquely gifted by God for the work He has for me to do. And I guess, when I’m not using it as a mom it comes out in crochet. :)

Still stitching!

I have almost all of my Christmas shopping and preparations done, and I'm enjoying a lot of down time. I'm spending it stitching, de-cluttering, and playing with my kids. It has been really fun. :) I want to share some of my stitching with you.

This is a skirt I put together with scraps of fabric from my Christmas dresses. When I got it done it didn't turn out as cute as I thought it would. In fact, I think it looks like Christmas threw up on a skirt. :) But G still likes it, so I guess it's ok. I traced the pattern from a skirt H has , and that, at least came out well. So I have options for the future, when I probably won't mix as many different patterns together!

My friend Napart exchanged some craft supplies with me and sent me the most fabulous yarn. The pictures here really don't do it justice. It's all different kinds of purples and blues, all different textures and types of yarn tied together in a chain. The bag on the right is crocheted with just the yarn alone. The one on the left is one strand of the cool yarn and one strand of worsted weight purple that matched. It made a sturdy tote, though (again) not as cute as I envisioned it! I sent both to Wisconsin in the hopes that someone in my family would love or use them!

I made this bag/purse for my grandma out of yarn that she picked out. They aren't colors I would have picked, but it actually turned out better than I expected.

Now below you'll see my latest obsession. It's called amigurumi. Which is Japanese for something like cute little crocheted animal. (No, that's not a literal translation, it's a functional one!) Anyway, below are some of the animals I've made.

This one went to a friend going through a rough time. I actually thought of her with each stitch and said prayers. I just wanted her to know I was thinking of her!

These two are even smaller than the blue bird. The purple one is G's and the pink is H's. They are so small they can be made in under an hour start to finish, and so cute that the girls actually let me work on them so I could get them done. :) Z really wants something, too. I'm working on a frog for him.


The bigger penguin is actually the first one I made, using a pattern. Then, once I understood the basics, I made up the rest of the birds. Finally I came back to make a baby penguin. I haven't decided who will get these. I really think the mom penguin needs another baby or two. We'll see. :)

Now I'm working on a very soft scarf for G. The first set I made she decided was too itchy. Ugh! So I donated it to charity in the hopes that a less sensitive, but still colorful child would love it. So now I'm doing a soft scarf she can use on our cold walks to drop Z & H off at school.

Then J told me that the other guys at the carwash he works at are all wearing "pretty fruity" scarves at work to keep warm, so he thinks he would be ok with it if I made him one. (In the past he told me not to, because he'd never wear one.) So a fruity scarf is on my to do list. :) And they have a Christmas tree at the kids school they want to cover with hats, mittens, and scarves, so I think I'm going to crochet up some fuzzy hats to send in.

Finally, an idea I'm working on to make a memory. T's parents are coming to visit next weekend so they'll be in town for his birthday. We will exchange Christmas gifts with them while they are here. They'll get in very late on Saturday night. Because the kids are in school, Sunday is really the only good time we'll have for a gift exchange. Unless.... T's mom and I decided that we think it might be fun to wake the kids up in the middle of the night when his parents arrive and do the gifts then. Something they would always remember. "Remember the time Grandpa and Grandma woke us up in the middle of the night to open presents????" So we'll see. T is often the more grounded parent in situations like this, so we'll see if I can talk him into it! I'll let you know!