Multi-cultural Night

The school had Multi-cultural night at school Thursday where each class celebrated a country. Here we have J, her friend La and their teacher in front of one of their Austalia projects.

J had come home from school on Wednesday with 'the plan'. She and La were going to run from room to room to check out everything and then report back. I informed her that I felt like the school had this night for an opportunity for families to spend time together and I thought she should stay with S and me.

Thursday J presented the new plan - we would all meet at the classroom and La and J would show us around together. We met at the classroom and took the pictures and J and La were off and out of sight. S and I wandered through Australia, on to places like Mexico, Egypt (awesome pasta/rice dish), Asia, Mexico, Europe, Africa...and the US by the kindergarteners. Didn't catch up with J and La. Along the way we would her of J sightings..."There were here, J got a fortune cookie" , "J is in the Gym" "J is watching a movie in the USA".

S was not convinced we would catch up with her but she was handling it well..."I guess if we don't find her we'll just go home and have one kid in the family".

All is well - two kids at home...

Photo 46 - Day 58

Bowl-ing

This is a picture of our friend L (closest to the camera) intently listening to the instructions for her elementary school Black History Bowl (note the buzzers). L was one of 6 first graders chosen to participate in the contest and we are SO proud of her. L’s favorite things to do are often quiet/private things like reading and her art (you remember the pink ballerina she made S), so to see her stretch herself like this and dive into a competitive front is all the more exciting.

One of my dear friends from several years ago, Sissi, used to do things all the time that she wasn’t comfortable doing (like when she did the TV spots for the Humane Society animals)...she thought it stretched her as a person. I loved doing those spots and on things I wasn’t as comfortable doing, I thought things like " I am a grown up and I don't have to do what I don't want." I SO admired that trait in Sissi. And I have seen it in L as well – holding giant snakes and enormous macaws when my kids wouldn’t venture a touch, and now I have seen a ‘not yearning for the spotlight’ child be a star in the history bowl! Yay L! This was an excellent opportunity for L to stretch and I am so proud of her!!

I showed J this pic last night. She was aware of L’s involvement with the Bowl and had been making a list of possible bowl questions. When she saw that picture, she got serious buzzer envy…A light bulb went on and she said, “I am going to write a persuasive letter to the principals and tell them we need a history bowl. "

So, at what was supposed to be bedtime – but how do you stop passion??? – J was busily writing a letter to the principal and the assistants about wanting a history bowl, how it should be done for ALL the grades K-5, how it would make kids really want to learn more history, and what school (L’s) already did a bowl so they could call and get help on how to set it up. I should have kept a copy of that note… Only thing left to wonder is whether she wants to be on a panel, be writing the questions, or be the moderator.

Photo 45 - Day 57....got some catching up to do....

Ohhhhh…I forgot

I was out enjoying a lunchtime car ride yesterday. I worked from home because of an appointment and took advantage of lunch time to celebrate Fat Tuesday at the quilt shop. Fat Quarters were at a bargain price!

From the backseat where the 5 yr old sits …”owwwww my neck, my neck…something's poking it” I am asking the normal questions and keep getting something cryptic that makes no sense to me. Finally I zero in on the problem...

Mom: Is it the Velcro from the pillow attaching to the car seat?
S: No – like the movie, you know when the girl puts it on her neck.
Mom: What movie?
S: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Mom (Uh-Oh…this can’t be good.): What did the girl put on her neck?
S: Her gum. ‘member, she put it behind her neck for later?
Mom: She put it behind her ear – Did you put your bubblegum behind your neck?
S: Ohhhhh…I forgot

Good thing I go to a full service quilt shop. Armed with Peanut Butter and ice from their breakroom, I had S with her head on a table in the classroom as I worked in the wad of gum and hair that was at the top of the back of her neck. We were quite successful, there was only a little hair lost and she did not need a reverse Mohawk haircut.

Here we have her, the gum chewing, going-for-the-record girl from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. S absorbed this fascinating process but never mentioned that she found it interesting. She has since learned that anywhere near hair is not a good place for gum.

Photo 44 - Day 56

Extreme Makeover - Home edition!

Today's picture is not one that I took - it is compliments of Tallahassee.com. Here we have an old friend from my pre-kids days walking away from her home for the last time.

The Extreme Team is in Tallahassee and has selected a family from my first DTC group! DTC is Dossier (adoption paperwork) to China, and the groups were Yahoo! e-groups that formed during the wait, to share the waiting and make new friends.

It’s hard to explain why it happens but often there are lasting friendships made just through the keyboard. I have met up with some e-friends in China, in North Carolina and even at Disney World…more than once.

Barbara Kadzis is one of my fond memories from March 2001 DTC. She was using the same adoption agency as I was, so there was a chance that we would end up traveling together. I was hoping we would – she was bright, lively, upbeat and ‘fun’.

During the then 13 month wait Barb and (husband) George opted to go with the Special Needs program and adopted a cleft affected child, Phoenix. That would mean her schedule would be different than ours and we would not be going to China together. Since then they have also adopted Celeste, Julia, Aileen, Melody and Martin (all from China). They also have a bio son Chris still at home. Their (at home) kids' range from about 6-16. I was so very excited to hear they were selected as a makeover recipient in Extreme’s Everyday Heroes theme.

Good for them, also, as their home had sustained some hurricane damage. Unfortunately, the hurricane damage is not the only challenge at home. George has an aggressive brain cancer and was admitted to the hospital last Thursday-Friday morning the knock came to the family's door that they had been selected for the home makeover. What a rollercoaster of emotions for this family.

I look forward to watching one of 'our' families on the show and was happy to see Chinese dragons and lions dancing for the demolition scene-apparently fireworks too, from what I read at the Tallahassee website.You can see a short interview with Barbara here - please keep George in your prayers... and I’ll be posting about it again when airtime
comes.

http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20090220/BREAKINGNEWS/90219016&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL

Photo 43 - Day 54

Baby Gift re-visited

When S joined our family she was one day short of 14 months old. A co-worker had knitted her a beautiful orange, lavender and pinky poncho. She was such a slight thing it barely would stay on her shoulders but she wore it a couple of times. Here it is now...and she was very excited to see it...the color, the fringe the softness. One of those gifts that keeps on giving...




Photo 42 - Day 53

Doodling...

Today's picture is J's choice. She spent quite a bit of time today writing books and here is one of her illustrations.


Pic 41 - Day 52

Inventions

Typically, J is my ‘inventing’ child. She loves to save reject parts or broken pieces so she can use them in an invention. Right now she is poring over the blueprints she and her friend La (not to be confused with friend L) designed. If I interpreted them correctly they are working on building their karate sensei a workout center. J brought home the blue prints to work on along with the letter for sensei and La was charged with getting sandbags (actually, she was charged with getting sand and bags, I made the leap on what they would end up as).

Not to be outdone, S has been working on an invention of her own the last couple of days - her first. It’s a book holder. The book is secured at the end of a 'handle' and the user shakes the handle to make the pages turn. The handle - a paper towel holder - has a tissue secured by a lime green hairbow at the opposite end from the book. I asked her what that was there for, and it is in case you need little things like snacks with you, you can put them in and they won't fall out. Of course, it was cute when she presented it…but once she added the S flair…well, words don’t do justice.


Photo 40 - Day 51