Mud Pie Fun

A couple of weeks ago Emersyn told me that she wanted to make mud pies.  Hmmmm, I thought to myself, sounds like fun.  So I set her and Maximus up with some cupcake pans, utensils and of course water and dirt.  They had a GREAT time and were so dirty!  GROSS.

But dirty is just fine, because I don't do baths, that joy falls squarely on their daddy's shoulders.  Don't get me wrong, I have been known to give a bath in desperate daddy hasn't been home in a week circumstances, but they usually include bathing suits, Jacuzzi tubs and older siblings. :)

By nature I am not a "player."  I am much better at setting the kids up with activities than getting down on the floor with them.  Realistically I just don't like the silly games,  or running around like a nut.  I don't love doing projects with my kids and I don't like playing Polly Pockets or Little People.  You will rarely find me coloring with them.  I will board games when they are old enough to play.  Just sayin'.

You know what I do like though, finding that one super fun idea that they will just go ga-ga over.  I don't care how messy or annoying it is.  Play-doh or finger paints, goop or rice.  Shaving cream with food color. Highlighters on the windows. Water play in the sink. And, of course, mud pies.  I don't even mind picking it up when they are done.  The 20-30 minutes of peace I get while they are occupied with something fun is worth the trade off to me.

Their father on the other hand is a whole different animal.  He finds giving baths relaxing, and you will NEVER find him breaking out ANY sort of messy toy or craft; I actually think the thought gives him hives.  He would much rather run play baseball with the kids or practice hip-hop moves in the living room.  Wrestling is also a much loved past time.  And even now as I write this he is out in the yard with the kids playing a loud and annoying game of Capture the Flag.

Me, I am going to finish this, post it, and then go inside to get the ice cream ready.  Give me a good mud pie any day.


'til next time,

*please disregard the fact that I have no lawn.  Lesson learned, don't buy a house in the dead of the winter without asking if there is grass under the snow.  

Bullet Points

Whew, it has been wild and crazy around here!  We are smack in the middle of our CRAZY time of year!  With 6 kids, 5 of whom are in some kind of sport or class,  it is a bit insane!

High school soccer is going strong and it seems like we have practice, a game or a tournament every day!  It's also competition season for Alainna so we are running like crazy for that!  Both girls are having a very good season!

 Brenna #17

The boys are hanging strong with their various extra-curricular sports.  Ki is taking hip-hop and gymnastic, he is also planning to do soccer in the fall (as long as his dad coaches him).  

Griffen is taking weekly music lessons on both his trombone and keyboard.  He seems to prefer the keyboard though.  And he has a great ear for music!  I am not sure where he gets it!  It must be his Grandpa because it's not from his dad or I, that's for sure!  Oh and he now wears glasses!  And  he is TALLER than I am!  The first kid to do it!

Emersyn is finishing up her first year of pre-school dance.  She was in gymnastics for a bit too but our schedule was out of control so we didn't re-sign her up.  And we hear about it everyday!  I am thinking come the fall she will be back in the gym too.

Maximus is in NOTHING at the moment.  He has decided that he doesn't want to potty train, so we have decided that he is not ready for any sports or activities!

Hope everyone out in blogland is having an AMAZING Spring!

'til next time, 

*Sorry I don't have pictures of all the kids this time!  I am too tired to keep going!

Going Down the Domestic Path

Surprise!! We have decided to try a Domestic Adoption.  It still feels sort of odd to tell people that we are no longer paper chasing for a China adoption.  But, after lots of research and talking to our new social worker (still miss Audrey but we do like Heidi too!) we started to feel more and more pull to the African American domestic program.  


Honestly, we never really put much thought into adopting domestically mostly because of our family size.  Then it was brought up to us and so we started asking questions, attended a couple of meetings and talked a bit with Heidi.  And we really liked what we heard, it felt, I don't know if this is the right work, comfortable.  


I think one of the biggest reasons that we are drawn to this program is because it is a chance for Brian and I to do everything together.  From paperwork to baby.  With the China program there was always the knowledge that only one of us would travel, and get to experience those first days with our new little one.  


Also, if I am being honest, I was just soooooo tired already of all the hoops that we were having to jump through for China. Hoops that have nothing NOTHING to do with our ability to raise a child.


 I don't know if this is popular opinion or not but as someone else recently said to me, "Hague, is a pain in the ass."  True that!!  For those that don't know the Hague Convention is supposed to be:  Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-Country Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention) is an international agreement to safeguard intercountry adoptions.  


I don't know if it really works or not, but I will venture to say that it definitely makes things much more tedious!



We are so excited and nervous around here right now!  It's all different to us, making a profile (which is basically the story of us), complete with pictures. Hoping that a birth mom will feel a connection with us and choose us to raise her child. It's sort of unnerving to put ourselves out there like that.  I still have some skepticism that our family will be picked but I am trying to be cautiously hopeful.


OMG!  A baby!  I haven't had a baby in almost 3 years!!!  I will have to say that this is the first time that I feel like we might be getting too old for this!  


We took a trip to Babies R Us this past weekend to look around and I have to tell you we were the ONLY  people there wandering around over 30 with 6 kids.  Awkward! 


 Where is the hey my family is huge and we just keep growing but my husband gets rid of the baby stuff EVERY time store?  That's the one I need to be shopping at!!


Oh, and holy crap with the bottles....there are glass bottles and BPA free bottles, and bottles with tubes? and tomee tipee bottles and bottles that are super short and fat,  and bottles made from recycled sheep skin (ok I just made that up). I am feeling slightly out of my depth here.


I will get it all figured out though!  There is nothing this momma likes doing better than making things nice for her babies!  Unless it's Margaritas.  Keepin' it real.


'til next time,

Crazy Days

Mondays:

4:15-5:00 Ki hip-hop

4:45 Brenna pick-up Drivers Ed (through end of Oct.)

6:00-7:30- Brenna soccer (30 min. away)

Tuesdays:

4:30-5:00 Griffen music lessons

4:45 Brenna drivers ed. pick-up

6:00-7:30 Alainna dance

Wednesdays:

4:15-8:30 Alainna dance (not a typo)

4:45 Brenna drivers ed. pick-up

6:00-7:30 Brenna soccer

Thursdays:

5:45 Emersyn dance (too too cute!)

6:00-7:30 Alainna dance

Fridays:

6:30-7:15 Alainna dance

Saturdays:

Brenna soccer games (1+ away)

Sundays:

Brenna soccer games (1+ away)

This is our after-school schedule this year. And honestly most days we love it, there are more days than not that we still manage to eat dinner together, because we are really big believers in that, not saying that it's everyday but we do try to make it happen. And we make a big effort to spend time all together before bed on most days too. We have a few family shows that we watch (after Max and Emersyn go to sleep) and there is always some kind of craziness going on with Brian and the kids. I will say that homeschooling has really helped make this feasible. I feel like I can still spend time with most of the kids and not feel super guilty about running at night. And it's really helping Alainna not get exhausted with her craziness.

I know that I really enjoy peeking into other people's lives so I thought I would give you all a glimpse into, ours. Next up, our homeschooling day.

Water Fun

This weekend we hit the pool for a little bit of family fun....I guess I only got pictures of some of the kids. The ones that we had to keep our eyes on at all times. The kids had a blast and Maximus got pink eye, of course.

Cheaper by the 1/2 Dozen.....Not So Much..

"The Teenager" 14

"The Boy" 12

"Drama" 9


"The Diva" aka "Miss Competitive" 7

"Miss E" 2 (almost 3)

"Little Man" 2

"?"

I think I am spending way too much time thinking about our #7. I don't know who he/she is going to be yet. I don't know when we will be able to start, though I have a time line in my head, I don't know if it's meant to be.

I struggle with patience, like the fact that I have none, not even a little bit. I am the type of person who likes to jump in head first and worry about the outcome later. Especially when it comes to something that I want.

I tend to focus on how long it's taking and how much time I feel is being wasted. Told you, no patience. Then I take a long look at "The Teenager" and I could swear just yesterday she was saying, "Up momma, up." And today it's all, "Hey, can you pick me up at 11 p.m. from so and so's house."

It goes so slow and at the same time so so very fast. All in all I wouldn't change it for the world, because I think it's the journey that shapes our lives.

'til next time

me