Big Brother

So, here's your quota of cute kids for the day. I got this shirt for Sol at the outlet mall and he wears it proudly. This is my kid who wants another baby, "a real little one". He's a cuddler and loves to hold sleeping babies. As you've probably surmised, Zephan is not a cuddler and refuses any of Solomon's efforts to hold him or snuggle him.
He's got a better shot with Malachi or the dog.
So, when he sees babies who cry to be held and receive comfort from being snuggled he gets envious. Even if we thought we were done having children we would probably reconsider for Solomon's sake! I'm very excited about the potential for many Grandchildren coming from my eldest and his wife. He's a wonderful big brother and will be a wonderful Daddy and Uncle in due time.
But, in the mean time he'll have to sit tight and be happy with the brothers he has, because.....drum roll please.....
Micah has applied for the Nursing Program. We won't know if he's been accepted until June. Why it takes them 3 months to decide? I dunno. But, if he gets in, we probably won't be adding any more little ones to the mix until he's done. Which is 2 years. Do I want that much of a space between #4 and #5? Not really. Buuuut....do we have room for any more in this house? Not really. So, we'll see what God does with all this. Well, the boys have a cold and it's naptime, so I'm off.

"Soooo, you like rats, huh?"

So, there I was, petting my dog on the floor, watching Discovery channel. When my cat popped through the cat door with a huge, dead rat in his mouth. I took little notice of him until he practically laid the thing in my lap. Then I noticed.
Boy, did I notice.
Micah later said that I made an odd yelping noise and he thought to himself, "Uh-oh. That's not a normal sound." He rushed into the front room to see what was up. We figure Furgus was thinking 1 of 2 things in his kitty brain:
"Oh! They like rats in the house now! I'll earn my keep and add to the collection!" -OR-
"Stupid, selfish humans refuse to share their rats? Fine. I'm perfectly capable of obtaining my own, thankyouverymuch."
Either way, it was gross.
I grabbed Lexx and begged Micah to handle the situation. But, of course, he had to grab the camera and snap a pic (making sure to get the rat cage in the background, for irony's sake) before he disposed of the poor guy.
Blah.

Introducing...

Sable and Margo!

Solomon & Sable



Malachi & Margo (and Sable)



...and, yes, they named their rats with the first letters of their names on purpose. The rat sisters came to us from the boys' cousins, Nikki and Edan. The girls enjoyed the rats but their parents were concerned that the family was traveling too much. Plus work/school all day and activities. They began feeling guilty about leaving the rat sisters alone so much of the time. Now, for those of you who know my husband, this will surprise you: they asked Micah about adopting the rats and he was the one who approved.

And meanwhile, my weekend away at the Homeschool Mom's Retreat was so refreshing!

This was our view on the deck (where I drug the Lazy-Boy recliner and my blankie and read my book - yes I go to great lengths to relax).

And this was the view out my window (where I lounged on my bed, drank tea, chatted with homeschool buddies and....read my book.)

We also watched movies and played board games and soaked in the hot tub. And since we all go in together to rent the house, it only cost $60 per person. Including the awesome homemade breakfasts and dinners Shelley and Liz make every morning and evening.

Nothing like coming home from a full day shopping for bargains at the outlet stores to a beach house that smells of freshly baked garlic bread from scratch. We ate on the deck and laughed and listened to the sounds of the waves and watched the sunset. It was such a refreshing time with good friends traveling the same path.

I'm already looking forward to next year and will begin putting $5 in my (now empty)"retreat jar" every paycheck!

This Chick's Outta Here

Well, tomorrow I'm off to a big ol' cabin at the beach with my fellow homeschool moms. We always rent the place over Presidents Day weekend because the outlet mall in the town has amazing clearance sales on all their winter stuff. Now, if you live in a state where it rains 9 months out of the year, you covet your sweaters!
This beaut was one I got 3 years back and it has stood up through Solomon, Malachi and is now looking great on Levi.

I paid $1.99
Score. This far out-weighs the day after Thanksgiving sales!
We also enjoy way too much food, play board games, sleep in as long as we want and relax in the hot tub that overlooks the ocean. It's so layed back and nice. I plop $5 bucks a paycheck in my special jar throughout the year in anticipation.

I'm excited, but I worry about Zephan a bit. I don't want him to feel abandoned. But, his brothers are all here to give him the sense of sameness. And it will be nice for the boys because Papa & Goga are spending the night. They're so excited about their slumber party with Papa! And Daddy has a special bowling outing planned for the 7 of them.
I know we'll all have fun.
See you Monday!

Valentine's Day

The boys had their Valentine's party yesterday. Fun times! Too fun to get a decent picture of the 4 of them as they were playing games and eating cookies. They even all had little temporary tattoos on their cheeks. Dad always rolls his eyes at that tradition. Guess he doesn't like his boys wandering around with butterflies and hearts on their faces.

Look at Zephan's hair, though - it's coming in curly on top! Finally! For so long all the curls remained in back. I'm so glad he's looking more balanced.

Oh, and, here's one: Zephan's caseworker confided in me that she was puzzled as she watched his birth mom in a recent visit. It's a group visit, set in a classroom-type of environment with activity tables and such. This offers more accountability as multiple supervisors roam around and keep an eye on things. Well, it seems that birthmom began eating the snack I packed for Zephan. Then, it seems that she also....wait for it....drank his juice from his sippy cup. Like the no-spill kind with the screw-on lid. For babies.
Weird.
Well, so next visit she sends a note home in the diaper bag, "Please pack the baby more snacks. He is mooching off other kids and my food stamps go towards rent."
Excuse me?
Keep in mind that this is the only note she's ever written me despite the fact that on that very visit I sent a package with about 30 new pics of the baby, an update and locks of hair from his first haircut.
A thank you?
Nah.
I'm just ordered to send more snacks for her to eat while her child gets hungry enough to "mooch off other kids".
I know that she's immature, but sheesh!!
So. next time I'm making sure he has a full belly before he leaves and I'm not packing him a thing. If he gets fussy, well, she'll have to deal with him being fussy.
Welcome to my life.

Tonight....

We're celebrating our win at Committee!

Looks like we'll be finalizing Zephan's adoption in April! And after the session his caseworker told us she'll give us a call regarding his farewell visit with birth mom! YAY!!

Cake & Committee

Well! I think I forgot to mention that we have Committee for Zephan tomorrow! That's where they'll "designate placement" by the board (and potentially schedule his farewell visit with birth mom? please?). Since it's pretty much a sure shot, we're bringing him with us to meet the board.
This may or may not be a good idea since the little guy, who has a double ear infection and pneumonia, is on a med containing steroids. This is making our little angel a bit...volital.

The doc warned us that these meds may cause frustration and irritability.
Ya think? Sheesh, it's nearly as bad as the stupid Red Bull incident. And he's got 3 more days of it to go! Anyway, I think we'll still bring him, if only just to force the board to hurry up and sign the paperwork and let the cranky baby go home.

In other news, my sister (www.javadragonadventures.blogspot.com) e-mailed us this easy recipe for making little cakes in coffee mugs. You probably have all the stuff in the kitchen already, there's only a few ingrediants. The boys each made one this evening and really enjoyed both the process and the end result. Yum!
Here's the link in case you want to let your kiddos try it: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Cake-in-a-Mug

Another Gold Star Moment

So, one of Solomon & Malachi's favorite classes this year is sign language. Every class they learn a few new commonly used signs and are tested on their knowledge of prior signs they've been taught. Today one of our signs was, "Excuse me".
We practiced the sign several times until we were proficient at it. I looked over at my eldest and was surprised to see the look of contemplation that graced his face.
"Whatcha thinking about, Sol?"
"Well. I'm wondering why we have to learn how to say, 'excuse me' when deaf people can't hear me fart."

Sigh.

Just a heads up...

If you happen to have a 16 month old meth affected child who already has the frustration tolerance of a jackal, make sure your husband puts his open Red Bull up high.
Very, very high.
Remind said husband that said baby is now adept at pushing various toys around the house in order to make convenient steps for reaching shiny objects which entice him...
or you will have a very difficult morning.
Very, very difficult indeed.
Holy Guacamole.

Happy Birthday, Son

Nursery!

Yay. It's finally done. The stupid dresser required 4 coats of paint.
4.
Ugh.
Getting a pic of the complete finished project is difficult, but here's the gist:

And here's his Noah's Arc hanging above the crib, the sheets match it:

Ooo - and this is cool - remember macrame? Well, I have a groovy neighbor who makes these macrame plant hangers. Any sort you can imagine.
I think it adds a touch of hippy to my baby's room.
It's far out.
It's bitchin'.
But, best of all, IT'S DONE.

Pasts

Levi got his first letter from his birth dad yesterday. It was....interesting. He seems to think that he'll be found innocent of all charges against him and walk out of that prison a free man. He said that he, "didn't do this crime". I wanted to say, "Which one? The assault with a deadly weapon? The attempted manslaughter? The theft? To which are you referring?" He wanted me to understand that that he always tried to be a good father for his son and did everything for him. He apparently doesn't know that we know as much as we do about the sitch. That we've done our homework. That I'm a terribly curious person, downright nosy about my sons' pasts. Like I've said, these letters will go into a box for Levi to read when he's a well established adult, sure of his identity. When he understands that his parents created a child but it's up to him to create a man. That his identity doesn't lay in his blood, but Jesus's. My #3 son will turn 3 on Sunday. It's been over a year since my son came home. Gosh, I love that kid!

"Don't call us that."

It's funny. The white cat was named by Micah. He declared him "One of One" because he was the only one in his litter. Later we got the tabby and named him "Furgus". Somewhere along the way "One of One" became "One-ee-Bologna" and now answers simply to "Bologna". Similarly, somewhere along the way "Furgus" became "Gussy-Pants" and now is doomed to a life of being called, "Pants". Lately (I think I may have started this one but forget exactly how it evolved) the boys have been calling Alexxander, "Sausage".

A Pomeranian named Sausage. And his kitty-brothers, Bologna and Pants.

No wonder the cats are less than thrilled.

Oh, and please don't tell Micah that they were on the counter. I did shoo them off. After the picture. Even scolded them a bit, "Who are these baaaad boys on Mommy's counter? Who's a bad booooy? Yes! My boys are bad boys! Yes day are!"

Nurface Becomes Nursery

Here's the boys helping me sand my Great-Grandmother's old dresser so we can paint it. Just a few days ago the HUGE desk that inhabited half of Zephan's room made it's big move to the garage. Up until now the room has been half nursery and half office: we affectionately called it "the Nurface".

Now the big ol' desk is in the garage and the dresser is moved in. We still have a bit more work to do (notice the mail slots are still on the wall) but the move is more conducive for 4 small ones sharing 2 rooms. They have more space, although my poor hubby has now completely lost his office.

It was inevitable, I suppose...

Levi is still bunking with Solomon and Malachi, however. He's not about to relinquish his big boy status, thankyouverymuch. The nursery is for babies. Although, he will visit Zephan's room periodically to play and pillage.

In other, adoption-related news, Zephan had a visit with his birth mom today. The first one in 10 weeks. The agency couldn't find her for a time, but did finally track her down. I guess she gets supervised visits, "until placement is designated". Which is basically some paperwork to send here and there for signatures and nods of the head from the mucky-mucks.

The caseworker picked him up, kicking and screaming and brought him back 2 hours later, puffy-eyed and snotty with a garbage bag of belated Christmas gifts. There was a card that said, "Merry Christmas. I sure miss you, but I know you're happy...and that's all that matters." She signed both her first name and "mom". Made me sad for her.

Zephan's been clingy and dazed all evening. I hate it. I'm glad that Micah's home to tote him around while I fix dinner and do dishes.

I'm looking forward to the end of these - why are they prolonging these visits? It's hard on all parties.

We also sent off the PO Box address so that Levi's birth dad can write him twice a year as stipulated in our adoption mediation. Those letters should be interesting. They'll probably just go into a shoebox until he's....let's see......retired? Yeah. By the time he's eligible for social security we should feel OK about giving them to him. And it's nice that our mediator wrote that we can ditch the letters and shut down the box if we deem, for any reason, that they aren't in Levi's best interest. And we don't have to send pics. Which is good as we found birth dad's myspace page. It's written for him to spread the news of this poor innocent man's unjust incarceration. It also has pics of Levi and him and Levi as a baby and says his birth name. I will not have new pictures of my son on that stupid page. Makes me mad.

"And this is the last picture taken of my little boy before they came and took him..."

Cry me a river.

Didn't want to mention any reasons they would take your child into protective custody, huh? Because they probably just came to your doorstep and demanded that you hand over your beloved firstborn with absolutely no reason.

OK. Calming down, now. Taking breaths. Levi's just fine now. Running around in his Superman jammies with his little 'fro bouncing on top of his adorable little head.

Still makes me mad, though.

I'll keep you "posted"....

The other song my boys love (that I'm also sick of)

The new song my boys all love (and I'm so sick of):