Pictures from Camping Out

Amelia in front of the tent

Getting some marshmallows

Telling Ghost Stories

Ready for bed

Very exciting!!!

Saturday Fun

This Saturday was a good one. Big A had a T-ball game at 9:00 am. I had to keep the scoreboard this game--I didn't muck it up too much, thankfully. In past games, Big A has been very apathetic about T- ball. She refused to run around the bases-- instead she sort of pranced or skipped around them very slowly-- the more people yell for her to run faster, the slower she seemed to go. She would half-heartedly swing at the ball, and she would pay absolutely no attention to the game while in the outfield.

Well, today was different. Last week she asked me if she could get her ears pierced. At first I wasn't sure about that-- she is only 4 years old after all. Then I got an idea. I told her that if I saw her really trying during her games, ie. actually running fast, trying to swing properly at the ball, paying attention while in the field, then at the end of the season she could get her ears pierced. She was every excited and said she would. So, before this game, I reminded her of our deal. And it worked, so far. She really paid attention out there and ran very fast around the bases, she even hit the ball while the coach was pitching to her! I was very proud! There was one slight incident-- once she struck out and started crying because she thought that she wouldn't be able to get her ears pierced because of that-- I had to explain it is okay to strike out, I just want to see that she is really trying. After that every thing was okay. Her team ended up losing unfortunately , but the coach praised Her improvement in front of the whole team. I think that made her very proud.

Later, the girls played out in the backyard. It was a beautiful day! They played on the swing set, then soccer, then practiced T-ball some more (Little A really likes T-ball more than her big sister, but is too young for the team). Then they played in the sand box for a while, while I sat by and read. Little A kept getting into the water bowl and drinking the water! She will not take no for an answer, so stubborn. All that eating sand and drinking dog water will soon result in a parasite, I'm sure.

Saturday night we camped in the back yard. I set up the tent and we made a fire in the outdoor fireplace. The girls have never camped before, so they were very excited. We tried to roast marshmallows, but neither girl liked them "with black stuff" so they just ate them unroasted on sticks. I never made the s'mores I had planned. Maybe another time. Big A told us "ghost stories" while Little A clung to sat on my lap and pointed out shadows. I think she may have been a bit scared. Both girls slept great in the tent though. We stayed out all night. It was very chilly last night, but we were nice and cozy in our sleeping bags. Bobbit (one of our cats) slept in the tent with us, too. I must say that I was reluctant about camping out, but it actually turned out to be fun!

A Typical Friday Night

Well, I had intended to write last night, but, as usual, I fell asleep while putting the girls to bed. Last night was a typical night in our house-- I picked the girls up from school at about 6: 30 pm-after having sat in traffic for over an hour! Of course, the first thing Little A does when I pick her up every night is run to her cubby saying "paccy!, paccy!" (they won't let her have her paccy in school) I usually have to remind her to say hello to me and ask her to give me a hug. Then we go to Big A's classroom (the pre-k room) to get her big sister and collect all her drawings (all the other cubbies have about 2-3 drawings, but Big A's cubby typically has at least 5-10!-- she LOVES to draw). Then comes the ordeal of trying to get Little A out of the pre-k room, so we can go home. The pre- k room has better toys, puzzles, paints, etc than than all the other classrooms, so Little A is fascinated by it--also she likes to watch all the bigger kids play. The whole time I am trying to get Little A to leave, Big A is talking a mile a minute-- explaining every detail of every drawing she has done. On our drive home, Big A thinks of question after question to ask me -- last night it was why was I in traffic for so long? Why are there so many people in Atlanta? Where do they all work and live?, etc.
Once we get home-- I feed the girls and attempt to make myself some food. Of course, by the time my plate is made, the girls have wolfed down their own food and are ready to get up from the table. Then they stand over me and watch me eat. Little A will often try to eat my food as well, and Big A will say " So Mom, that's pretty good spicy food you have, huh?" ( I have the habit of putting barbecue sauce on everything, and I like my food very spicy) I say " yes it is" and she says " You like spicy food, don't you?" and I agree that I do. It's pretty much the same conversation every night.

Then, the girls get changed for bed. Then they play in the playroom for a while. Last night, Big A performed a puppet show for me and Little A. Then Big A held a "fashion" show for us with her bratz and barbies. After that, Little A and Big A took turns making me lay on the floor with my eyes closed, so they could pour fake spiders on me and make me scream when I opened my eyes.

At bedtime, we read Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretal from one of my childhood books. Big A calls them the "old books". After that Big A turned off the two lamps, and Little A turned off the overhead light (she gets really mad if she doesn't get to do this every night). Then Big A climbed into her top bunk and I laid down in the lower bunk with Little A. As, usual Big A said " So Mom.." and began to ask more endless questions while Little A proceeded to kick the wall and occasional pinch me in the face and laugh. Finally, they both fell asleep-- and so did I.

That is why I didn't write last night. It is also why my back and neck are killing me today.
Later, I will try to write about Big A's T-ball game this morning, but right now I need to get off the couch and take some more Advil.

Introduction to my blog

I have decided to start this blog for a couple of reasons. The first, of course, is to have a place to brag about my wonderful kids! It seems like a good way for family and friends to keep up with the happenings of my family. This blog will also give me an outlet to write about my experiences with Russian adoption---something to do during this long wait. All those who are attempting to adopt from Russia at this time can sympathize, I'm sure. Although everyone will have to forgive me-- I do not claim to be a great writer- or speller (thank goodness there is a spellcheck on this thing!)


SO here is a little about me and my girls to get things started. I am 36 year old, single mother (although, you probably read that in my profile). I own a mobile veterinary practice and live in the Atlanta area-- so I am always in traffic and running late!! I have always wanted to be a mother, but not necessarily wife or partner, so I began the process of starting a family in 2001. My immediate family thought I was crazy, of course--they still do. But, as anyone who knows me knows, once I set a my mind on something, I do it. I attempted IUI, using several different donors, for a little over a year without success. Finally, in April 2002, I found the right donor! Ironically, I went to an afternoon Braves game on the successful insemination day-- walked about 3 miles to the ballpark from a friend's house and baked in the Atlanta sun for several hours. Guess the sperm donor was a baseball fan. My friends later told me if I had a boy, I must name him "Chipper". Fortunately, I had a girl!! Maybe I should have called her Chipper though, because she is a "chip off the ol' block" Amelia is definitely a mini me--except for the fact that she is extremely "girly" and I am not. She is extremely dramatic, very talkative, and, of course, highly intelligent (okay, so maybe she didn't get that from me).



My little one came about 2 years, 8 months later. No good insemination day story in her case, though. Her exciting story began when she came out screaming and didn't seem to stop for the first 6 months. You know it's bad when your nurse tells you in the first 24 hours that in all her years of being a nurse, she's never had a baby that cried that much the first day. It was funny, really, the poor nurse came in every 15 minutes to ask if I wanted her to take her to the nursery. I guess she felt sorry for me. I, of course, kept my screaming bundle of joy in my arms that first long night trying to calm her---obviously she did not appreciate being cut from my uterus --that's what I get for having a scheduled C-section. Maybe Adelaide was also mad that two pediatricians at the hospital never noticed that she had a heart murmur--she was later diagnosed with Ebstein's Anomaly and ASD (thankfully, her heart is doing fine these days). When she was about a month old I noticed, while her mouth was wide open--screaming at me as usual, that she had a "forked" uvula. I brought this up to the pediatrician. I also told him about the little pits that she has in her lower lip. I then mentioned that I had googled lip pits and a rare genetic inheritable condition called Van der Woude Syndrome had come up. So, he referred us to a geneticist who said that Adelaide did, in fact, have this rare syndrome. So, my little girl has two extremely rare anomalies! No wonder she was so mad those first months. The good news is, she is mildly affected by both and is doing great today. I have to say that Adelaide is one of the most interesting characters that I have ever met! I am so very blessed to have her-- even if I still can't quite figure her out. She's like a little cyclone that never stops, and sometimes you have to remind her to acknowledge your very presence, but somehow she gets every ones attention. People just seem to love her. Guess that's called playing hard to get. It seems to work for her!

I am also in the process of adopting a little boy from Sakhalin, Russia. I am hoping to finally get some travel dates for my first trip soon. My agency (WACAP) has not yet received accreditation, but the region has finally agreed to allow independent adoption. Hopefully, my paper work is somewhere in Russia right now, and they will allow me to travel soon. I have, unfortunately learned not to get my hopes up. It has been over a year since I started this process-- the majority of it has been waiting. Patience has never been my strong point, but I have tried not to let the whole process stress me out too much. Amelia is very excited about having a younger brother, even though he is only 4 months younger! I'm not sure how Adelaide feels about having a big brother--I guess she will enjoy having another older sibling to pinch and hit. We are all looking forward to adding "D" to our family. Because he is an older child and he has some special needs (mild cerebral palsy), there will be a lot of adjustments and challenges ahead for all of us. But that's all part of life's adventure...