Happy Birthday Zoe!

Out of the Mouths: “…sometimes”

In Noah’s pre-school class, the teachers and students were discussing being thankful. Noah told the class, “I am thankful for my sister…sometimes.”

Fun with Bubble Wrap

They think packing materials are fun…
I just wish they were old enough to help pack boxes!

Trafficking reports raise heart-wrenching questions for adoptive parents

From the Los Angeles Times:
Trafficking reports raise heart-wrenching questions for adoptive parents

The Puppy, the Princess, and the Policeman (or Happy Halloween!)

 
 

Tet Trung Thu

At the beginning of October, Noah, Zoe, and I went to a celebration at a local Vietnamese Buddhist temple for Tet Trung Thu (the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival). What’s even worse than the fact that I am posting these more than five weeks later is that we went with Kelli and Aiden, and Kelli posted hers [...]

We close in two weeks and I haven’t packed one d*mn box

Yep, that’s right – not one.single.box. I’m starting to freak out a little. We close on our current house on November 23rd at 9am. We close on the new house at 4pm the same day. We don’t actually move until two weeks after we close, so technically I have four weeks left, but the clock [...]

To cut, or not to cut?

Colin has the best hair. It’s thick and wavy. I thought it would look cute a little longer, so I’ve been letting it grow. Lately, though, I’m wondering if he’s starting to look too much like Rod Blagojevich.
  
Should we get it cut, or wait it out?

Why we are moving (an open letter on diversity)

This is going to be a long one, so grab your coffee (or a glass of wine) and settle in.
I know many people who read my blog are from the adoption community, and may have multiracial, multicultural families. These readers probably understand why Christian and I believe that it is best for our family to [...]

We think we found a house

We think we found a house. Strangely, I found it on Facebook. If that isn’t a sign of the times, I don’t know what is. I posted: “Tracy needs to find a house. STAT.” A friend from high school messaged me that he had a for-sale-by-owner four-bedroom with a basement in the township where we [...]

I tend to back into things when I am stressed, so don’t park in my driveway for a few months

I backed into my mother-in-law’s car today. Luckily I didn’t hit it hard and there was no damage. However, backing into things when I am stressed out has become a bit of a habit for me. After Noah was born and I was ex.hau.sted, I backed into my cousin Shannon’s car. Again, there was no [...]

We are homeless

Well, not really, but we will be soon. We are supposed to close on our house November 23rd, and we have possession for 30 additional days. That means we have to be out by Christmas. Crap. Like there’s not enough to do around Christmas…
Ideally, we would close on a new house at the end of [...]

Out of the Mouths – Country Music

I loathe country music. Unfortunately, my parents love it, and my children are exposed to it when they are with Grandma and Grandpa.
And the kids are paying attention to the lyrics. Last night Noah said, “God is great, beer is good, and people are crazy.”

Sold

We listed our house Thursday afternoon and started getting showings within 24 hours. At 5pm today, we got an offer for list price. Now we have to move, which means we have to pack all of our crap, and find a house to which to move. I’m either going to throw up or sh*t my pants. I [...]

Out of the Mouths – Wedgies

Grandma and Grandpa taught the kids about wedgies last week. Sweet.
 
Noah: “Mommy, you would be mad if I gave you a wedgie, right?”
Me: “Yes, Honey, you’re right. I wouldn’t like that.”
Noah: “OK. I’ll wait until Daddy gets home.”

Miscellaneous Monday

I have a lot going on right now and don’t have the brainpower to write about any of it in detail, so I just thought I would share some miscellaneous stuff.
Moving:

We are considering moving, just a few miles south of where we are now. We are looking at houses that might have a little more space [...]

Out of the mouths: “I’m gonna wear a really big one”

Zoe has had an obsession with bras lately. She was at my parents house the other day and she put one of my mom’s bras on over her clothes.  She said to my mom, “It doesn’t fit!”
Then she said, “Grandma, I’m gonna wear a bra when I get big.”
My mom said, “Yes, you will.”
Zoe said, “I’m [...]

Favorite Photo Friday – Florida Photos: Babies and Beer

If you’ve read my blog for a while, you know that I love photos of Babies and Beer*. I’ve posted them here, here, here, here, and here. So what would my set of 10 million Florida photos be without some Babies and Beer pictures like these from our dolphin cruise?

 
And this one isn’t from Florida, [...]

One year ago today…

One year ago today, we finalized Colin’s adoption. I remember how overwhelmed I was a year ago, after Colin came home so suddenly. We were thrilled, but overwhelmed.
Having three kids three-and-under is still overwhelming sometimes (OK, a lot of the time), but I can’t imagine it any other way. I love my family.

And Here’s Another One (or My Third Corruption Post in Two Days)

I think I’m going to go crawl under a rock now (or at least abstain from reading more of these articles for the rest of the week).
 
Watch this video about adoption in Ethiopia, called Fly Away Children.
A summary:
Some adopting parents suspect or discover the new child they’ve taken in is not an orphan as they’d [...]