It has been far too many days since my last blog post. I am "falling down on the blog" so to speak. So I have some serious catching up to do. Someone really should be following us around with a camera. When I am living in the moment of all this nuttiness I never remember to take it out of my purse and snap a few shots.
- Last weekend we attended a Lunar New Year banquet for our local FCC (Families with Children from China). It was disastrous. Please, if you are an FCC party planner out there reading my blog, don't be offended. My family was a good 50% of the disaster. It was held at a restaurant that very possibly has the largest Chinese buffet line in the world. But quantity does NOT equal quality. The food was awful and you had to wait in line for about 30 minutes to get through the line because there were so many people at the restaurant. Our group was packed into a banquet room that didn't feel quite large enough for the number of people attending. In my opinion it was not a very kid friendly event. But the real disaster of the afternoon had to do with the Lion Dancers. Those are the giant puppets you see dancing in clips of every Chinese New Year parade. We knew they would be performing and we knew this could be a problem since Haven has a dramatic, hysterical fear of people dressed in animal suits. Like Chucky Cheese. A few minutes before the performers were set to arrive I took Grace and Haven to the gift shop to kill some time. The dancers were waiting in the lobby, not yet in costume, with their giant puppet heads on the ground next to them. Haven took one look at those puppets and FLIPPED OUT. He started screaming and running in circles. So I picked him up and headed the other direction. He was screaming "Daddy Daddy" and thrashing around in my arms. I wondered as I passed through the incredibly crowded restaurant if people thought I was kidnapping Haven. He certainly wasn't acting like my kid. So Brian spent the last 30 minutes or so of our day, in the van with Haven and JoJo, while Grace and Manny stayed with me for the show. Grace loved the dancers, she got to dress up in a "princess" dress, and she had an all around good time, so I guess the day wasn't a total bust. But it was close.
- Also last weekend Brian and I worked in the nursery at church. We have always worked with the babies (since Manny and JoJo were in that room), but we got moved up to 2 and 3 year olds. It was not a promotion. In the baby room, when someone starts to cry you can usually get them to stop with a diaper change or sippy cup of milk. But not with the 2/3's. When a 3 year old wants their mommy you better find her fast because there is a full blown melt down about to ensue. We had 2 of those on Sunday. We had 2 other kids who put baskets on their heads and raced around pretending they were football helmets. Another boy kept stealing the other kids snacks and juice boxes. One little girl locked herself in the bathroom. Our nursery director kept assuring us that it was never like this on a normal Sunday morning. I'm not sure I believe her.
Luckily Unfortunately, me and Manny and JoJo all have very bad colds this morning and we had to miss out on church.
- We filed out taxes this week. That, of course, always sucks the life out of you for a few hours. Keep your fingers crossed that we don't get hassled about our adoption paperwork. Apparently about 70% of families who have processed adoptions last year had to send in followup documentation.
- This week at work was the longest week of my life. No particular reason, it just seemed to drag on forever. OK, one reason I can think of has to do with temperature. It was freezing cold in my classroom all week. I had to wear a coat all day long for 5 days straight. Everything seems harder to accomplish when you are wearing a coat.
- Manny and JoJo are part boy and part terrier. It is virtually impossible to re-direct or distract them. Once they have turned down a path of destruction and mayhem you just have to stand back and get out of the way. This week JoJo has broken a chair and a lamp. I am running out of furniture.
- I think I have to go lay down now. Manny just head butted me in the chest and knocked the breath out of me. Someday he will make a fine professional wrestler.
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| Here is what happens when the "terriers" get loose in their bedroom. |
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| One of the culprits trying to flee the scene of the crime. |
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| And there he is, at it again! |
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| I swear Mom, it was all JoJo's fault! |
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| That's the guiltiest looking ladybug I've ever seen. |
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| Poor Daddy, the victim of a hit and run attack. |
It may look like chaos, but its my chaos. And I love it!
