February 28th ~ Comfortable Chaos

That's the only phrase I can use to describe our household. Comfortable Chaos. Things are always busy and noisy. The boys are ususally wrestling in my livingroom or kitchen (risking and/or breaking things as they tumble) and the girls are usually either screaming at each other or playing very loud (to be heard over their brothers, I'm sure). Sigh. I'm not sure what I would do with a quiet household. I would probably go insane with the silence. :-)
Ella continues to blossom and has really turned into this amazing little girl. I'm sure she was amazing before, but I think she has finally brushed off the last of her "shell" and her full identity is beaming. She is so different from Mary, not in a bad way on either side. She is just different. She's so inquisitive and completely fascinated with the entire world around her, yet she's also so laid back and relaxed about almost everything. She and Mary are starting to get along a little better. They still have their days, which I imagine they WILL for the rest of their lives.
We heard from the Shriners in Chicago and it looks like April 30th is the earliest that she is going to be seen. Sigh. Now what? He teeth are not going to make it that long. It already hurts her to bite anything and THAT is a problem for a girl who loves food. The appointment on the 30th is just an intake appointment to basically see what she needs to have done. I don't know where it goes from there. I feel so bad that I can't help her right now. Not with her speech or her tooth or anything. It's so frustrating.
Mary had her first Bunk Bed Boo Boo as she fell over the side rail and landed face first on the floor. Uhg. She ended up with quite a black eye. It looks so bad. Hopefully she will be a little more careful up on her bed, but I doubt this is the last time this will happen.

February 14, 2008 - In Perspective

Things around the house have been their normal state of chaos. I'm not sure what I would do without a nutty household. I would probably go crazy in the silence, but then again I'm not exactly sure what silence really is.
The boys are up to their typical selves-wrestling each other in my LIVINGROOM, flushing the toilet when one of them is in the shower and food fights galore (great! more catsup on the ceiling)!!! It is certainly a different situation with the girls. Their brawls consist of running up to the other, stealing the toy and running around in circles through the livingroom and kitchen while the other SCREAMS and chases. I suppose if you really thing about it, they are all alike. :-)
The girls have been sick over the last week. LOVELY! Mary brought a nice bug home from her friends at daycare and has passed it around to everyone, especially Ella. Poor Ella has just been laying around the house for three days feeling completely yucky. She doesn't want to play. She doesn't want to eat. I feel so bad. I wish there was something (besides cold medicine) that I could do to make her feel better. Then again, perhaps I should be enjoying this quiet time (in between whining) because she has NO voice to scream at her sister (Mary doesn't have much more of a voice then Ella)! Sigh. The joys of parenthood.
I've been working on Ella's adoption video lately and listening to a bunch of songs trying to figure out which ones to use. There are many songs (especially country songs) that I really had never listened to the words before. Several of them have made me think. They talk about enjoying what you have and enjoying the "here and now" and especially enjoying your family. These words seem to have stuck in my head and are replaying over and over in my thoughts. I really cannot believe my children are growing up as fast as they are. I'm almost mad at myself for not appriciating them more. My time is running short with my boys. Adam leaves for boot camp five months from today. FIVE MONTHS! That may seem like a long time for a senior waiting to gruaduate and move on with his life, but that seems like only a few heatbeats for a mother about to lose her first born child. It's stirred up all kinds of feelings inside me. Jake is learning to drive and Canaan is not far behind him with his permit. Before I know it, they are going to be gone too. The girls are growing fast too. It's amazing how much they have grown and blossomed.
So, I started looking through pictures (probably should not have done that). My goodness, where did my little ones go?
Here is Adam then (Jan 1990)...

And here is Adam now...

Here is Jake then (Dec 1992)...

And here is Jake now...

Here is Canaan then (Nov 1993)...

And here is Canaan now...

Here is Mary then (June 2005)...

And here is Mary now...

Here is Ella then (approx. March 2005)...

And here is Ella now...


I just can't believe they are growing up so fast. I wish I had a magic remote control that would allow me to slow down the important parts (learning how to walk or ride a bike) and fast forward through the no-so-fun parts (fights and words that I wish I didn't say). If anyone finds one of those kind of remotes, please let me know. In the mean time, I'm going to start noticing more of what my kids do and TRY not to notice some of the little bad things (I said TRY because I DO have three teenagers after all, so there are no promises).

February 3, 2008-Cat Fights & Owies

It's been just over two months since our precious Ella was placed in our arms (well, actually shoved into our arms would be more like it). Life with two three years olds is...interesting. Just like life with three teenage boys has been interesting! I don't know what I would do if I didn't have a house full of chaos.
The transition between sisters is work in progress. Good days are playing princesses and barbies, bad days are cat fights. No, I'm not kidding. It is full out cat fighting completely with biting, scratching, screaming and hair pulling. I have to say that even though it's frustrating, it is also somewhat humuorous.
Ella is growing like a weed on Miracle Grow! Wow I can't believe how much she has grown in just two short months. Huh...it's also hard to believe it's already been two months since we met her for the first time. Her language is improving dramatically. There are still things she simply cannot say, but she sure does try. That is kind of the reason we chose not to use sign language with her. She has the ambition to try and I don't want to douse that fire in the slightest.
Ella got her first urgent care trip. She was playing my favorite (insert sarcasm here) game...the Fall Down Game. Canaan was quick to grab her arm and accidentally pulled her arm right out of the socket. We didn't realize what happened right away. She was crying but we figured it was because she didn't get what her big sister got. Wrong. I kept looking in the baby mirror in the car and noticed that she was not moving her right arm and she was fussy...big time. I tried to ask her if she had an owie, but she wouldn't answer me. When I got to the office and tried to take her coat off, I noticed she couldn't even pick her arm up and she wailed in pain. Oh crap. The doctor's office opened at nine so I put an ice pack on her arm and opted to wait versus taking her to the ER. This is only because we had just BEEN to the ER the week before with Canaan and had to dish out a $200 co-pay because HE dislocated his arm (his shoulder anyways). Well, to make a long story short, she dislocated her arm at the elbow and the doctor showed me how to "pop" it back in place since she said it was very common for toddlers to do this. Great!
This weekend has brought us a new challenge. Something is wrong with Ella's lip, right where she had the cleft fixed two years ago. OMG, it's swollen up twice the size! This has all happened in a matter of two or three days, but most of the swelling seems to have happened in the past 12 hours. Eek! I don't know if it's an abscess from her rotty tooth or if there is some kind of growth under her scar. I can feel a "bump" when she LETS me touch it. Sigh. So...it's off to see the dentist AND the doctor tomorrow.
If I have not said it before I will say it now...my life is certainly never dull.
Here is a picture of Ella's owie. :-( I feel so bad. I hope the doctors can help her tomorrow.