Landscaping

We tried to brighten up the front of our home a little and improve the curb appeal by removing the large sprawling bushes that were half dead and spreading out mulch with a rock border in their place. Then we added fresh mulch to the other areas that needed it. There's not really anything we can do right now about the bald patches that need grass, but I think what we did was an improvement.

Weird Water

Katie wasn't sure what to think of the water fountains near the mall that shoot out of the grounds at random intervals and heights. It took her a long time to warm up to the idea of actually touching one. Daniel finally got her to try it out when they were spraying at a low level. She would grab at it, laugh and run back to Daddy for safety. Meanwhile, the other kids got a kick out of the fact that we let them get wet with their clothes on, since we didn't have bathing suits with us.

Unexpected Friends

While I was waiting for Shane to finish up with speech therapy the other day I started talking to a woman in the waiting area who had several kids. It turns out that we have a surprising amount in common. We were both born in Virginia but lived in Oklahoma most of our lives and moved to Colorado from Owasso, Oklahoma three years ago. She has 5 kids, some with speech delays, and homeschools her children. And her name, Amanda, is my sister's middle name. Small world, huh?

Our kids are close in age as well, so I got her phone number and we set up a play date at the library playground. The kids got along like gangbusters and had a great time playing in the water fountain and inventing games to play on the playground. They begged us as we were leaving to let them play together again soon. It's nice that we have overlapping appointment times at the Children's Hospital for speech therapy, because the other kids can play outside on the playground together. It's also nice to have another mom to talk to while we're there.

A Hunting We Will Go

We keep looking at potential homes to buy. It's mostly because I have a strong need to know where I'm going to live if we sell our house. I'm hoping to find the perfect house that's either a short sale or willing to take a contingency offer, which means they'd sell us their house just as soon as we sell ours. We've put in an offer on a few different houses now, but it never works out.

The longer we go without selling our house the more I start to worry that it will never sell. I think we have a nice home, but there are lots of things that a buyer could decide is simply a deal breaker, like the back yard that would require landscaping, and the fact that we don't have a dishwasher. I know things will work out in God's timing, but I can't even decide if we're really supposed to sell our house or not. I wish He would just put up a big billboard in front of our home with instructions for our future.

Pudding Princess

Katie is very much into the do it herself stage. She will not let anyone else feed her with a spoon, although she hasn't really mastered that skill yet. She's even trying to put her own pants on lately. She wants to brush her own hair and teeth, wash her own face and hands, and put her socks and shoes on by herself. I thought this stage wasn't supposed to come until she's at least two years old?

Foster Family Picnic

We attended our county's annual foster family picnic for the first time this summer. There were quite a few people there, but we only knew a few of them. The kids had a great time playing with other kids, and "Music Man" happened to be with us that week so he got to go, too. I think it helps to see that lots of kids are in foster care, and lets the kids know they are not abnormal.

Stylish Guy

When I was buzzing the boys' hair in June I let Shane have his dream hairstyle. He got a "faux hawk", which, as I've been informed, is different from a "mow hawk" because the sides of his head are not shaved. That seems like it would be a very high maintenance hair style.

He loves his faux hawk (pronounced "foe hawk") and would wear it all the time if I would let him. Unfortunately, the only stuff I've found that will keep it straight up in the air is a very expensive hair glue, so we only use it a couple of times a week. It's very hard to wash out, too. I told him he could keep it until his birthday, but now I think I'll let him keep it a bit longer since I still have some of the hair glue left. Shane loves all the attention he gets from his faux hawk.

Music Man Returns

Our former foster son, "Music Man", who was with us for a month from November up until the week of Christmas last year has been coming back for a few days to a week at a time all summer long. He didn't end up getting adopted, but instead transitioned home.

We got a call recently saying he may be coming back into foster care soon and has requested that he get placed with us again. I'm not sure what will happen, but we always enjoy having him here. He's a very high energy kid, full of silly jokes and entertaining song and dance routines.

One Loved Daddy

For Father's Day this year we got Daniel lots of practical gifts instead of video games or other things. He didn't seem to mind since he was needing new clothes. I also got him a new camera since I accidentally dropped and broke his old one. Unfortunately the new one is not as user friendly as the last one.

Daniel always gives his kids the best gift, the gift of himself. He gives them his time and attention. You won't find him running off to pursue personal hobbies alone or hanging out with "the guys". No matter what he's doing, he includes the kids. If he's working on a project at home he's teaching them how it works and why it's important. If he's playing a video game he's teaching them the controls and the tricks. If he's got free time he prefers to spend it with his family. I couldn't ask for a better husband or father for my children.

"Bad Baby"

I don't know who taught Katie to say it, but she keeps going around saying, "bad baby" in a stern tone of voice. Not to anyone in particular, just sort of chanting it. Brianna used to say it to her and we'd get onto her about it constantly, but I haven't noticed her doing that in some time.

Granted, Katie is rather destructive and randomly violent like most 1 year olds, but at least she's usually cute about it. At any given moment you can find her taking down one of her big brothers with a flying body tackle or giving a karate chop to her sisters. She likes watching "Xena: Warrior Princess" late at night with me and gets excited when Xena takes out the bad guys. If you say, "hi-YA" and make a chopping motion on her she'll pretend to flop over with her tongue out making a dying sound. Then she'll want you to do it, too.

Hail in June

Gotta love Colorado. Hail in the middle of June. Leaves plastered all over our car from the force of the wind. Hot and sunny an hour later.

Here and Gone

We briefly had a brother and sister ages 12 and 5 with us. It was only for two days but they instantly fit in and started bonding with our family. Danya and the boy tried to play checkers at the library with no idea of the actual rules, so after I taught them how to play I decided to call him "Checkers". The little girl I called "Rugrat". She had a rough couple of nights, but we spent lots of time snuggling and rocking until she was able to sleep.

When we were surprised by a call to have them packed and ready to go so soon after they arrived things got a bit crazy. Rugrat freaked out at the DCFS building when they separated her from her big brother to be sent to different family members' homes. The caseworker called me because they were afraid she would injure herself, so I yelled down the stairs to the kids that we had to go rescue "Rugrat" and we all rushed off to help her. She calmed down when she saw me and all the kids welcomed her into the van. She was exhausted but calm when we delivered her to her aunt's home. That was a first for us. We've never transported kids to a new home, only ever back to their parents as they transitioned home. It was interesting seeing them meet.

Blue Birthday

Danya decided to celebrate her 10th birthday with her favorite color, blue. The cake was blue, the food was blue, the guests were blue, even the games were blue.

They hunted for blue goodie bags in the dark using glow sticks and they had a race to pop blue balloons. They also played charades. I was so glad that Sarah was able to come over to help organize everything and play with Katie so the big girls could have some time with out little ones under foot. Most of the fun began after the boys went to bed for the night.

It's strange to realize I'm the biological mom of a preteen, double digits. She's becoming a beautiful, compassionate, super smart young woman with an ironic sense of humor. We're so proud of her and glad to see her growing in her love for the Lord.

Conversation Between Homeschoolers

Met a new homeschooling mom at a Mother/Daughter bible study Tuesday night. The conversation went something like this:

Me: Oh, I see you have three girls here. Are these all of your kids?
Her: No, I have seven actually, five girls and two boys.
Me: (Surprised) Wow! I only have six.
Her: (Laughing) Now I know you're a homeschooler. We're the ones who say "only" before saying we have six or more kids.

It's very true.

She's Got Skills

Katie is learning so fast it simply blows us away. She listens to everything around her and often repeats back what we've said. I think she's practicing and trying out how new words sound. Sometimes she'll come up to us and make a teeth brushing motion to let us know that she wants to brush her teeth. By now she can name most of her body parts although she still calls her nose her "beep" since everyone used to beep her nose.

Daniel is a great dad and it's good that he's more adventurous than me because I'd be too afraid to let the kids try most things. He's the one that let Katie try out the big girl swing at just over a year old. Of course she loved it and did just fine. Now she can even "spider" with Danya on the swing. I may have my heart in my throat watching it but I'm so glad that Daniel doesn't let me instill my fearfulness in the kids. He reminds me that educating our children isn't just about teaching them what's in a book.

Sidetracked Home Executive in Training

This book is the one that inspired the FlyLady that so many people like. I've tried both plans and this one seems to work best for our family so far. If you're like me, highly distractible, but with
good intentions then you might be a S.H.E., a Sidetracked Home Executive. I read the key points of this book out loud to Daniel and we agreed to try it together. We spent a date night last weekend buying the card file and cards. It took a couple of hours at a Starbucks setting it up together, writing out the cards, and prioritizing our family activities.

On Monday we called and canceled the maid service we'd been paying to help us with the bigger home cleaning tasks and dove head first into the system. In our card file we included not only cleaning and home maintenance cards, but also cards for our daily homeschooling. At the back of the box we put sections with the kids' names on them, so that the older girls can look through their cards each day. They've all been really proud of completing the jobs and moving the cards as they do them. We're finally getting them to brush their teeth and make their beds consistently. It's a good visual plan for us, and I don't have to have any charts hanging on the walls, which I've always disliked because of the cluttered look they create.

Here's a website that has great ideas for following the system. It's called 21 Essays to S.H.E.
Now, I'm off to clean out my fridge... because the card says it's time.

Katies First Goose Egg

While we were at Lakeside Amusement Park we let Katie ride all kinds of rides that we never would have let our oldest ride at that age. It's definitely a different experience with your last baby compared to your first.

One of the last things I let her ride was a turtle ride with a circular metal bench and no seat belts. I put her between Shane and Kevin and thought she'd be okay. As soon as the ride started she fell forward and cracked her head on the metal seat in front of her. She looked okay at first but five minutes later she had grown an enormous goose egg on her forehead.

We figured she was okay since she was smiling and waving at everyone. She demanded to be put on more rides, so we just let her keep going. She's quite the little tank.

Lakeside Double Birthday

Some friends of ours invited us to a double birthday party for two of their kids. Their son, Jimmy, had a super hero party so all the boys wore super hero clothes, although Shane left his mask in the van. This was Katie's first time to ride most of these rides.

All the kids had fun running around to the different rides and spinning themselves sick. Daniel rode with them, but I chose to just be the photographer. Still, by the end of the day my ankle was killing me. I'm really wondering if my ankle never healed quite right, because it frequently stiffens up and I can't get it to bend at all. I'm sick of limping around the house in pain any time I've walked around too much or gone up and down the stairs too many times.

That morning, before the party, I also got to spend an hour at a used book fair in Arvada. I found several good deals including the entire collection of Felicity American Girl books for a dollar and all six levels of Writing Strands (which Danya really enjoys) for $10. Normally each of those books costs twenty bucks new. Somehow I managed to leave the building with an armload of books and only spent about $15 total. It was a good day.

Katie is Walking!

We've known that Katie was capable of walking for quite some time now. She simply refused to. She could push toys while walking behind them and she could hold our finger and walk beside us, but she would stubbornly refuse to walk on her own. If we tried to make her walk she would throw herself down on the floor and cry angrily.

That's why it was such a surprise when she suddenly decided to walk at McDonald's on the last day of school. We were hanging out waiting for the awards ceremony and picnic that morning when she just started walking. Sadly, only Kevin and I were there to see it. So I recorded her walking for proof. Then when we got to the school we showed her brother and sisters her new trick. She was proudly walking and waving.

Then for some reason she refused to do it again for three days. Today she started walking again and hasn't stopped yet. It's so cute to see her wobbling around the house. I'm just so relieved that she's finally walking at 15 months old.

Missing Missy

My former neighbor from Oklahoma, Missy, came to visit us recently. She's a flight attendant and had a layover in Denver last week. I picked her up from the airport and took her to an Italian restaurant I'd never been to before. The food was amazing.

Then she hung out at our house for a few hours while we talked, looked at pictures of our (hopefully) new house, and took a walk to the park with our kids. Then I dropped her off at a hotel in Denver so she could catch a few hours of sleep before her next flight.

It was so good just to catch up and laugh and trade funny stories about our kids. Her daughters, Sydney and Sara are the same age as my girls Danya and Gloria.