Quote for the day...

Overheard while Josh was playing dress up with the girls,

"Honey, I'm house."

The Emasculation of my Dog

For someone who doesn't particularly like pets, I sure find myself blogging about them an awful lot...
Justine has been begging for a girl poodle that she can dress up for about two years now. She tells everyone she's getting a poodle. Birthdays, Christmas, Groundhog Day... any and every holiday; the request is the same. And my reply is always the same as well, "We'll see."

A girl poodle. That's all she wants. A dog in a dress who can fit into one of those cute pet purses.

I don't want another dog. I don't really even want the ones I've got.
You've heard about my experience with the barking menace and the pogo jumping, pool cover crashing mess.

I think Justine has come up with the perfect solution.

Yes we have changed Russell into a girl. No we didn't do anything surgical or permanent. It's simply a matter of changing a pronoun. He is now a she. Him is now a her. If we spoke Spanish, it would end in an a instead of an e. It's all about the vernacular.

Come on people, I need to know I'm not doing permanent damage by allowing my kids to put dresses on my male dog. And call her "she." And paint "her" nails.

I know we have taken away this little dog's last little bit of dignity. Self-esteem. Self-concept. Self-worth.

The good news is that this little dog has had more love and affection since "her" transformation than "she" has had in years. I think that even little Russell would agree that a little lovin' is worth dressing in drag for a while.


Doesn't "she" look so happy?
Justine and "Russell" with the new pet carrier purse.
Doesn't "she" look so thrilled?

It's almost a look of utter despair in those eyes...

Yes, that says Biker Babe.

My Drag Queen Dog.

A Perfect Day

I am a list maker. I am a planner. I am a dreamer. I admit I have a list, a criterion of sorts, of what constitutes my perfect day. It usually involves the beach, but other than the fact that we were no where near the beach; today was my perfect day.

We celebrated Jameson's birthday at the gym. She was appreciative and happy. We had a great time playing with the kids. Sometimes I fear that I spend way too much time cleaning and running around and not nearly enough time actually PLAYING with my kids. So anytime I can run around and act like an idiot, jumping on a trampoline, pl aying indoor soccer and doing cartwheels, I take advantage of it.

As I have stated, I am a planner. Usually everything we do is well thought out and planned by me. Although I must admit, sometimes the best times we have are those that are not planned.

After the party, we spontaneously decided to go out to eat with our friends Jeff and Charity. We decided to go to our new favorite place - Red Robin. Jeff and I are quite sentimental about the endless french fries. No not really, Red Robin is where Jeff and I went after our first adoption informational meeting, and where we shook hands and agreed that we would jump in with both feet and finally adopt! I guess you could say that's where we did the deed and got paper pregnant... well maybe we shouldn't go there....

During dinner, I mentioned that the Springfield Symphony was giving a performance at the Park downtown beginning at dusk. I had not planned on going because we are in the middle of some weird ice age and it was, once again, freezing cold. The sun was heading down and we were all the way across town from our house. We decided that if we hurried, we could make it. This would cause a change in drivers because Jeff is afraid to break the speed limit, and I've been known for having a bit of a lead foot. The whole way home, he's reminding me the speed limit and how many miles you can go over before you have to go to jail. (I've never even had a ticket...)

Any drill sargeant would have been proud of me. I proved that our kids can hurry when they want to. Once we pulled into the driveway, before I even put the car in park, I was yelling (nicely), "5 minutes. You've got 5 minutes to get ready and meet back at the car." And you know what? It worked. Jeff was the last one out. The kids were all waiting in the car! So now we are driving the opposite direction across town. On the way, Josh says, unsolicited, "Mommy, Daddy. I love you." He's said he loved us when we say it to him, but this was the first time, he has initiated that phrase. I almost ran off the road... but I was going 80 in a 55 around a corner...

We made it to the park and got our blankets laid out, everyone cuddling in their blankets listening to the symphony play songs from our favorite musical, "The Sound of Music." All 5 kids (we were sans Jordan) were singing along as this is one of our favorites. Even Josh and Jameson were singing along. Jameson leans over and says, "Mom, this is your favorite." I sat back, and all I could think was, "This is my favorite." This was my favorite kind of day. Sitting under the stars listening to the music, all I could think was this is what I had imagined life would be like. This is what I wanted when I wanted a large family. After the concert was over, the kids ran all over the park like lunatics. They were all playing and laughing together. This is why I wanted 6 kids. It is times like this that make me imagine having more. This is when I forget about all the daily crap we endure. The road rage. The dishes. The laundry. This is when the frustration and pain go away. This is my perfect day. Now all I've got to do is make this happen more often... because I feel like I'm in a dream. And I know 5 kids who fell asleep smiling, exhausted and very, very happy.

2nd grade Olympics at Gloria Deo Academy

The 2nd grade at Gloria Deo Academy celebrated a very windy Olympics day. We had running events, long jump and the discus throw. It's hard to believe these are the kids that made up the first Kindergarten class at GDA 3 years ago. They've grown so much, and learned even more. We love our school.

Jack and the three little bears

So I've been putting a lot of thought into how we can get the most out of our summer. What do all the kids need help with the most (academically speaking), and what can I do to make it the most fun? So I have come up with some curriculum ideas for Josh and Jameson, am still working on teaching Justine to read before she starts Kindergarten in the fall, and in general making Jack and Jaiden read their little tails off this summer.

Part of this plan is to READ, READ, READ to them. I realized that Josh and Jameson have never heard a lot of Fairy Tales or Mother Goose stories that most kids know; so that's where we're starting. Tonight we read Jack and the Beanstalk... they were all yelling in unison, "Fe Fi Fo Fum..."
We also read The Three Bears. It's amazing how much all of them enjoy these classic stories. I can honestly say having all 5 of them piled into my bed while I read to them, using different voices and goofy facial expressions was a really good way to bond; both the kids with me and the kids with each other.
It's so awesome to see them learning how to interpret fantasy and creativeness. When it go to the part of the giant eating the little boys on toast, they both said, "What's toast?" When I explained that it was bread... it took a second and then they both said, "OHHH Gross."

This is Jack and the three bears trying to con me into letting them sleep in my bed...

Trying to pretend to be asleep... Kids, it's not working...

I know you're not asleep...

Don't they look so sweet? It was tempting but...

I know somebody's sleeping in my bed... and they're all still there...

No way, no how are you ALL sleeping in here...

And poor Justine who just wanted to be rocked;waiting patiently in the rocking chair. By the time we got everyone out of my bed and tucked into theirs, she was asleep.

A Fun Day...

Well I've got some fun pics to share tonight.
Don't want you to think we're all drama, all trauma or that I'm a bad mama... we went swimming tonight and as usual, the kids had a great time. They are beginning to play together more in different combinations... Josh and Jaiden love to dive for the rings, Jameson and Justine played together all night, and as usual Josh and Jack wrestled a lot....

My idol pick this week...

OMG! I almost forgot my idol prediction for the week. I'm a hard core David Cook fan. He gets better every week.

Expectations

We are taking this week to clarify our expectations. Josh and Jameson's expectations of America. Our expectations of Josh and Jameson. As usual, God is giving us plenty of opportunities to do this.

Last night at church we had a "baby" shower for Isabel's house. Isabel's house is a crisis nursery in our community which serves as a safe house for children ages 1-12. The children are allowed to stay up to 1 month during the year if they are in an unsafe environment, parents are unavailable or ill, or they have no extended family to care for them. It is meant to be an answer to emergency situations where parents can leave their children, no questions asked, without fear of losing them to foster care etc.

The children who go to Isabel's house receive a pair of shoes, a pair of PJ's, a new outfit and a toy. In order to have these items, Isabel's house depends on donations. As I was trying to explain why we were taking these new items wrapped as a gift, I could sense that all the children were confused. I went on to explain that there are children whose parents can't or don't take good care of them. There are children in this city who do not have enough to eat, clothes to wear, toys to play with, or a safe environment in which to live.

Jameson looked right at me as if I were insane and said, "There are no orphans in America. There are no poor people in America. There are no children who need things in America. I am orphan. I need those things." WOW.

So what a great opportunity to tell her that she is not the only one in the world who has been poor. She unfortunately is not the only one who has lost parents. She is not the only one to have lived in an orphanage. I explained to her that there are children ALL over the world, ALL over America, ALL over this city who have had bad things happen in their lives. I tried to explain to her that being an orphan or being from Africa is NOT what makes her special. The fact that she is one of God's children is what makes her special. And that's what makes all of us special.

Now readers, please don't get me wrong. I know she has had a rough life. I realize she has experienced loss beyond anything I have ever experienced. However, I want that fact to make her more compassionate. I have always felt that when people go through terrible things, there are two ways they can use it. They can use it as a way to help others or they can use it as a crutch. They can focus that pain and life experience into something positive, or they can feel they are owed something from society. This is what I want from all of my children. I want them to make a difference for someone else. I want them to dream big and work hard. Yes, both Josh and Jameson have difficult things to overcome, but I believe they can channel that pain into something good. Does that make sense? I feel it is my duty as a parent to teach them this.

Ironically, I found Laurel's blog about entitlement versus appreciation, and it really hit home with me. You can read it here. Check it out. I find the comment about the Russian orphans who believe they shouldn't have to wait in line at the post office especially interesting.