Mommy's Chores

I had been making up a new chore chart for Meagan when I found this in her doodle notebook:


Hmmm...Do I sense a little passive-aggressiveness? If the lettering is too hard to make out, it says:

Daily-before eating dinner

1. Put laundry in washer-dryer
2. Make kitchen counters clean
3. Cook dinner

Ah, if those were my only chores, I would be a happy woman indeed.

Recent NiNi quotes I want to remember:

Giving herself a pre-potty pep-talk: "Poop, come out of my body!"

Her new favorite movie: "The Poo-Poo Panda" (aka Kung-Foo Panda)

As you may notice, "poop" and its many variations is a popular word right now

While Chris is at work, NiNi likes to walk around the house and say, "Where daddy? Watching football?"

We were quizzing her on family members names...
me: "What's sissy's name?"
NiNi: "Meagan"
me: "What's NiNi's name?"
NiNi: "Alina"
me: "What's daddy's name?"
NiNi: "Honey!"

She also has an amazing memory and calls us out on ALL of our bad parenting moments. The other day we had switched car seats and forgot to reattach her seat to the seatbelt. As Chris pulled out of the driveway he looked back to see Alina strapped into her seat, with the seat itself laying sideways. Later NiNi ran up to me and said, "Daddy tipped my carseat...it was scaaaaaary"

Ask how old she is and she will proudly say, "Two-na-haf" I'm not quite sure where she picked that up since neither of us say that.

She has also learned to "joke" with us. We like the girls to respond with "Yes Ma'am/Sir" when an adult speaks to them. The other day I asked NiNi to do something and she looked me straight in the eye and said "Yes SIR!" At first I thought she just misspoke so I asked again, "What did you say?" Laughing now, she said again, "Yes SIR"

Playing catch up...

It's been awhile since I've posted any of the miscellaneous pictures that have been piling up or given a good update on the girls, so here goes.

Alina has finally and thankfully transitioned to her new daycare. It's been rough the past couple of months. At one point we couldn't even mention the name "Ms. Teri" (her teacher) without Alina bursting into tears. The report from her teachers now is that Alina LOVES school, and has a great time while she's there (M-W-F). Ms. Teri is wonderful, warm and kind. They have a short session of "school time" each day. Alina now knows her ABC's, can count 1-10 and writes the number 1. She does amazing crafts with the kids. One day Alina brought home this elaborate paper flower-pot. I said, "That is so pretty, who made that?" She said, "Ms. Teri did!" (Ms. Teri got busted)

We're still battling the chronic sinus infections. After two visits to the ENT and ruling out other causes, the doc came to the conclusion that the fistula is causing the infections (Um, I think I heard someone else mention that about 700 dollars ago) but that he would NOT do the surgery. Since the fistula is related to the cleft he is sending us back to the plastic surgeon at Riley. The problem is, our surgeon there happens to be world-famous and it takes months to get in even for a consultation. Meanwhile, NiNi is getting these infections about every 6-8 weeks now. Ugh. We're currently trying to change surgeons, at least for this procedure, since it is relatively simple.

Potty training is almost complete(Yeah!)and her language continues to develop by leaps and bounds. Recent quotes:

"Mommy, I play in the playroom....Don't say no to me" (Gee I wonder where she's heard that before?)

"That's so cute!" (When we're at a department store and she sees clothes or shoes)

"I need a mommy, I need a mommy!" (All of her babies and stuffed animals say this. If you've read the book "A Mother for Choco" [our favorite adoption book] this will sound familiar)





Meagan is doing great in school. We try to not let it go to our heads too much, but actually, Chris thinks she is a genius. Ok, we're just a little bias. She is reading at an end-of-fourth-grade level now. We are reading the Nancy Drew books together. (I have to admit that I struggle at times with some of the out-dated vocabulary...the books were written in the 30's after all!) She continues to amaze us with her 'deep thinking' ways. Most recently she came to the conclusion:
"Mom, 80 is really old...but when YOU'RE 80, try to forget about that."



We have her in swimming lessons now. She is the oldest in the class but she is overcoming her fears and gaining new skills and I think she really likes it. She is truly her mother's daughter in terms of being non-athletic.

She likes to do her own hair now. I guess the style is to have all of it pulled into a pony-tail except one strand which hangs down in front of the face. I have to really bite my tongue sometimes as I watch her go out the door in the mornings...as I'm sure my mother did with me! Hair styles are not the only things we are behind on. Chris recently got an iPod. We are always about 5 years behind in technological advances. Anyway, we were trying to figure out how to use it when Meagan asked what we were doing. Trying to put it into terms she could understand I said, "Daddy just got this new thing...it's like a little radio." Meagan said, "Mom, it's called an iPOD."

Last but not least, we tried to have yet another family picture taken. I thought the out-takes were pretty funny. Meagan was recovering from strep throat and Nini was minus a nap

Happy Halloween

Here are some pictures of our two pirates. Yes, I realize that one of the pirates bares a striking resemblance to Pocahontas, but that is just a coincidence. NiNi insisted that she was indeed a "piwat"


By the way, that's OUR candy she's slipping into her bag


We did have a pre-trick-or-treating emergency. Meagan could not find the eye patch that went with her costume. In classic "MacGuiver" style I was able to quickly fashion a new one using a piece of cardboard, a glue gun, and an eye glasses polishing cloth. I was very proud of the end product...unfortunately, Meagan decided that she did not want to wear the homemade eyepatch which is why she looks just a little bit ticked off in all of these pictures

More deep thoughts...

Meagan:

"If no one ever died, would there be too many people in the world?"

"Are there lice in China?"



There was a huge glob of green snot coming from Alina's nose and I asked, "Do you need a kleenex?"

She replied, "No, I wipe mommy's pants."

Of course.

Fall Pictures

Deep Thoughts by Meagan...

"If Adam and Eve were the first people God created, and Cain and Abel grew up and got married, WHO did they marry?"

"I can't wait to become an adult, because grown-ups get to make the kids do all the work while they sit and read a book"

Meagan had disobeyed and I doled out a punishment. She began arguing with me that she really HAD obeyed (in her own way) and I insisted that it was indeed disobedience. She then burst into tears and said,
"Wait! Mom! You don't KNOW me!"

What she was probably trying to say was 'you don't UNDERSTAND me', but isn't the pre-teen drama thing starting a little early?

NiNi is into ordering us around. I think it stems from when she was sick and we would bring her things while she laid on the couch. The other day she was parked in front of the TV and wanted her lovey (blanket).
NiNi: "I want lovey"
Me: "It's on your bed, you can go get it"
NiNi: "YOU get it"
Me: "No, you can go get it"
(pause, while she explores her options...)
NiNi: "Meagan get it!"
This was especially funny to me because I had never heard her call Meagan by her real name.

Random pictures:
Multi-tasking...

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil (sort of)
Playing hospital. (By the way, NiNi sat still for a record amount of time. She loves being 'fussed over'...go figure)
Meagan masters the monkey bars

Five Phases of the Ice Cream Cone

Phase 1: Catching initial dripping. Tongue and some lip involvement only. Face is still clean



Phase 2: Eating the ice cream. Definite face involvement now, although clothing is relatively spared


Phase 3: Eating the ice cream...continued. Chocolate now dripping down the arm and onto clothing. Clothing no longer spared



Phase 4: Tearing of cone paper (which has now become soggy and partially adhered to cone. Often a fit will occur over inability to completely remove paper)


Phase 5: Checking for belly drips. Cone is nearly gone. Whole body involvement in the eating process now. Notice immodest sitting posture resulting from full belly


By the way, the Barbie dress didn't make it...not even after a soak in OxyClean.

Going vertical

Our 3 bedroom house was feeling even smaller with the girls' stuff constantly underfoot, so we decided to get bunk beds. Having Meagan and NiNi share a room frees up the remaining space to be used as a toy room/office. Now I can just close the door instead of clean...Yeah!

We bought the beds over the internet...the first furniture purchase we've made like that so I was a little skeptical, but the beds are awesome...even better than the picture on the website and very sturdy solid wood. The only down-side was that my poor hubby had to assemble. He's not too thrilled as you can see from the picture.

It was a little sad saying goodbye to the crib, but NiNi loves her new big bed and, shock of all shocks, actually stays in it at night.

Meagan quote of the week

Chris very humbly asked Meagan the other day, "What can daddy do to be a better daddy?"

Meagan replied, "I don't know dad...you don't spend enough time with me for me to answer that question."

Wow, talk about brutal. (I might add that Chris happens to spend a lot of time with the girls and frequently asks us for input on how he can be a better father, husband, etc.)

And here's a little bit of NiNi to entertain you...

We were having a family devotional about the "little lost sheep", which included a special emphasis on how special the sheep was to the shepherd. We used marshmellows with little chocolate eyes as the sheep and acted out how we would take care of them (i.e. keeping them safe, giving them food, a soft bed). After carrying the marshmellow sheep to his special "bed", NiNi picked him up and said "Bye-bye sheep!" and crammed the whole thing in her mouth.

I doubt that the "good shepherd who eats his sheep" was the image that Jesus was going for on that one.

Holy Slugs, Batman!

She's a big one! Sorta makes your skin crawl, doesn't it? We found this under a log while cleaning out a flower bed the other day. I thought it was a snake! The girls "played" with it (ewwww!) for about half an hour before we let it go under some trees. I googled it...it's called a "Grey Great Slug" and can grow up to 8 inches!

Holiday World and misc.

This post is for my friend Monica who complains to me that I haven't posted anything new in awhile. It's true, I have been a little delinquent. I blame it on having a toddler. Which, by the way, also happens to be my excuse for the huge pile of clothes currently blocking the entrance to the laundry room, the 3-4 sippy cups of curdled milk laying around the house, and an unsightly jumble of post-vacation garbage that never made it beyond the entryway. It's not that I'm a slob, but rather my children suck all of the energy from my body on a daily basis. A case in point: The other day I was talking to someone about adoption and mentioned that NiNi was on the "special needs" list. Meanwhile, NiNi is rolling around on the ground at my feet. The woman got a very serious look on her face and said, "Oh, because she's HYPERACTIVE." Ha Ha! I guess I should be grateful that most people don't even notice her lip.

NiNi graduated from First Steps last week! She is officially developmentally on track compared to her peers. Here is a picture of her with her speech therapist (it looks like she's crying but she's laughing)



We had my niece over for several days while my sister took a class. Her and Meagan are only 9 months apart. Here are a few shots taken at the children's museum




We finally checked out Conner Prairie with my friend and her kids. Very cool...





And last but not least, we went to Holiday World with my sister and her family this past week. The kids thought they were in junk food heaven, not to mention the waterpark, rides and staying in a hotel with an adjoining room to their cousins. It was quite a treat. Meagan even rode one of the big roller coasters (Chris told her he would pay her $5.00 to get on...that breaks some cardinal rule of parenting, I'm sure, but it worked)










I like the call this one "Toddler Plugged-in." I have never been a big fan of portable DVD players (like they don't get enough T.V. at home?) BUT, they sure do come in handy on long trips

More adoption day photos...

Nini looking scrumptious in her Chinese dress...it still fits!

Family photo outside of PF Changs...gone the way of all other family photos before it: Meagan is mad and NiNi is pointing to a puppy in someone's car


Very excited to have her very own "mini" dessert

Gotta love the CHEESY grin