Snaggletooth

I've been calling Jaelyn Snaggletooth for the last few days and she does not like it. Jaelyn's top teeth have been loose for a while. She fell out of the swing a month ago and caught herself with her mouth. The fall loosened one of the teeth up quite a bit more. Well, we went to Baskin and Robbins on Thursday to celebrate Jaelyn's last day of school. Jaelyn hurt her loose tooth biting into her ice cream cone and we had quite a time with bleeding and crying before she settled down. Poor thing - who knew an ice cream cone could hurt you. The good news is her tooth is really about to come out now. It's hanging on by the tiniest of roots. It's probably 1/8" lower than the other teeth and hanging to the side. It looks so funny and absolutely adorable. I can't wait to see her smile without that tooth. I wish the other one would hurry up and come out too so that she's have a big gap there. I think kids are so cute when they've lost those two teeth at the same time.

Crazy for Reading

Jaelyn had an assembly on Wednesday and she brought home a reading medal. She said only 5 kids in her class received one. To earn it, she had to read every time she was supposed to - I'm guessing that means doing her nightly reading for her homework. She's doing so well with her reading. She picked out Junie B. Jones has a Peep in Her Pocket to read with me today. It's the first chapter book she's wanted to read. Normally, she shies away from books with a lot of words. She finished the first chapter. I had to help here and there, but for the most part, it was all her reading. I never imagined she'd be reading chapter books by the end of kindergarten. I'm amazed!

BTW - The end of kindergarten has come. Thursday was her last day and she was so excited. I picked her up after school and took all the kids for ice cream to celebrate and I'll write more about that later. Jaelyn is so proud to be a big 1st grader!

Jaelyn with her reading medal.

Last day of School.
Jaelyn with Miss Cathy, her bus driver. Miss Cathy absolutely adores Jaelyn.

Completed Pride and Onto the Paperchase

Our last two Pride classes were great. Angie and her daughter Lexie stayed with the kids on Monday night and Kelley and Lyssie stayed on Wednesday night. Angie had to deal with an Allie melt-down and Kelley had to deal with a Jaelyn tantrum; so both nights were equally fun for my friends. Thank you, gals, for helping out! I so appreciated it and even though there were a couple of issues the kids had a lot of fun.

Dan and I also had fun finishing our classes. Wednesday night was a graduation of sorts with lots of food and cake. They had a panel of social workers from different departments and several foster families to speak to us. While I enjoyed it, I wish we could have taken the classes in our County. I feel like I know several of the workers in Cecil County, but no one in ours. Oh well, I'm sure we'll get to know them very well before this is over.

Friday, I met with Brenda who is the new foster parent intake person. We spent about an hour going over paperwork and talking about what I learned from the classes and how we came to want to foster. We were also able to both get fingerprinted for the state and federal clearances. They have a fingerprint technician in their office so there were no trips to the jail or to the FBI fingerprint office to get fingerprinted this time. Also, no waiting months for an appointment to get fingerprinted. I like this domestic foster care/adoption thing. The paperwork, knock on wood, is going to be a piece of cake. It is so easy compared to what we did for our home study and Russian dossier. I don't even have to have anything notarized. It just seems so unofficial to me after all that apostilling I did before. I've already completed everything I can complete. As soon as Dan finishes his autobiography, I can drop everything off and get the ball rolling. Just for your general knowledge, we will all have to have physicals and get that form filled out (no notarizing or begging for a copy of the doctor's medical license this time!). I have the appointments scheduled as soon as we get back from vacation. We'll have to meet with our social worker twice in our home and have the fire marshall and health department out to inspect. They are basically looking to make sure we have smoke detectors and a fire extinguisher and that our chemicals are locked up. Our references will have to fill out a form and two will have to meet with our social worker. After that, our social worker will write up our home study, our license will get issued and we'll wait for that first call! We are hoping to be licensed in September or October. I want the kids settled into school before we get a placement. Keep praying!

Now She Likes My Bed

I normally make my bed as soon as I get up. I didn't today and went back upstairs later to make it up. Look at what I found snuggled under the covers:

Zoe used to sleep by my feet at night, but since our vacation, she has started sleeping on Caden's bed. He is definitely her favorite. He's nice and calm around her. He doesn't try to carry her around. He ignores her when she's in the same room. All of those things are the opposite of how the girls react to her so I'm not surprised Zoe has picked Caden to be her buddy. I'm a little sad though because I want a furry snuggle buddy at night too!

Queen Bee...Spelling Bee That Is

Jaelyn had a spelling bee yesterday. Out of 17 children in her class, she finished FIRST! Some of the words she spelled were: of, I, a, you, am, and, an AND her winning word was are. She now knows more than 100 sight words. She is reading me books without any help that she needed help with just a few months ago. My soon to be first grader is ready!

ETA - Since Jaelyn seemed to have very easy 1 and 2 letter words, I quizzed her on a few of her harder words over dinner. She did great spelling the 3 and 4 letter words too.

Random Pictures from the Last Few Weeks

Dress up time. Caden is a cowboy gladiator wearing...uhhhh...high heals? Ready to ride.
Caden is trying to wet his sisters no doubt.
Jaelyn sitting on the tiki man sprinkler. He's going to blow his top in just a moment. I hope she moves!
Allie all wet and cold, but happy.

My Challenge

I have a confession. I spend way too much time playing on the computer, checking my message boards and email and reading my friends' blogs. The kids are happy playing by themselves and I let them. That's going to end. I'm not giving up my computer time, but I am going to start limiting it: 15 minutes in the mornings and an hour in the afternoons during rest time (hey, I can't give it up totally - this blog takes time and it's important :p). Anyway, I want to get back to a more structured, activity oriented day. I want to do arts and crafts again and spend time putting together puzzles. I used to spend hours a day reading with the kids. We do read, but not nearly what we used to. I want to turn the TV off and play more games. We've been coloring more and I even got out the finger paints today for Allie and Caden.

Hold me accountable, okay?

The End of School

Jaelyn has almost survived 180 days of school. She's gotten tired though and cries some morning because she just doesn't want to go anymore. Thursday is her last day. Monday, she had a picnic that I was invited to come too. It was fun. First, they let the kids play water games outside. They paired up and played catch with water balloons. Encase you don't know, 5 and 6 year olds aren't very good at throwing and catching. They got very wet, which was great because it was hot - high 90s. Next Jaelyn's group ran a relay race. They had to get water from one bucket to another using big sponges. The first time, they let the kids run, but after that they made them hold the sponges over their heads and hop. Jaelyn was pretty wet at the end. Because of the heat, they moved the picnic inside to the common area outside the kindergarten classrooms. The rest of the games were held in the gym. The kids got to play with a parachute and have sack races. It was a lot of fun and I'm glad I was able to go and watch.

Jaelyn with her teacher, Mrs. Daughtery.

Boyfriends

We've had a couple of teasing discussions about boyfriends since seeing Liam at the pool on Saturday. We've told Jaelyn that she's not old enough to have a boyfriend. Liam can be her friend and when she's older (does 22 sound good?), he can be her boyfriend if she still wants. She went to school on Monday with instructions to tell Liam she can't have a boyfriend. I was at her school for a picnic and she told me she told him. She brought home a paper that said "Liam Loves Jaelyn" with a big red heart colored on it; so he obviously wasn't too phased by it.

Allie told me Drew told her she could be his friend as long as she didn't follow him around all the time. She also told me Kyle already has a girlfriend so he can't be her boyfriend.

Apparently both of our girls are boy crazy and they are only 5. Can you imagine what 15 is going to be like???

Oops, She Did It Again

I have a friend babysitting for me tonight and she asked that I get crafts together for the kids. When putting everything into the basket, I hesitated on the kid scissors, but put them in the basket anyway. Angie stopped by today and I was showing her were everything is. Allie must have heard me mentioned the crafts, because when we went downstairs to show her the lock on our back door, Allie got into the basket on the counter.

We were gone just a few minutes and came upstairs to quiet. Allie and Caden were in his room with the door closed. I found her sitting on top of his dresser looking in the mirror. There was hair all over the floor. Now, I've got to back up and say, it's taken her hair a year to grow out from the incident last summer (also 1 week before her ballet recital). She didn't cut quite as much (or as short) as last year. She cut the left side up above her ear so it looks like she has half a head of bangs. She also thinned out the back w/ a couple of layers. I can fix the back without any troubles and I can pull her hair up in little clippies to make the side look okay. She's been wanting her hair cut shorter, and I told her after the recital. She's dancing to "Good Ship Lollipop" w/ a sailor costume and her teacher wants Shirley Temple curls. I guess she couldn't wait. Unfortunately, she also cut 4 bald patches in Caden's hair. I just buzzed his head this weekend so there's nothing I can do to fix it except except shave his head and that's not an option. At least his hair grows fast. Maybe she was getting even for him cutting her ear last year.

There are days that I feel like such a failure as a mother and those feelings really flare up when Allie gets into trouble. Why can't I convince her to be good? I do love her free spirit, but it's frustrating at time. My friends have all been awesome and I've been reassured Allie is not the only one who gets into things. I'm not alone in my struggles!

April Photos

Sorry so late...

So You Know What I'm Up Against

Fun Day at the Pool

I thought winter was never going to end and all the sudden we've hit summer. I think Spring was those 3-4 weeks we had the windows open. I was expected a longer Spring, but who knows, it might return. Anyway, we hit 90 yesterday and were forecasted to have a hot day today so I had Dan check the base pool schedule. It's been open for a few weeks now. We packed up after lunch and headed off armed with our sunscreen, arm floaties, duckie rings, nerf balls and a snack.

The pool was packed. We only went on weekdays last year and it was always empty. I wasn't prepared for that, but we still had fun. We divided our time between the baby pool and the big pool. The girls did great; although no one attempted to swim without floaties in the big pool. Caden trusted his floaties this year and was even jumping off the side of the pool to me. What a difference a year makes. I really need to schedule swim lessons for August.

Jaelyn had a little surprise today. There was a boy swimming back and forth where the kids were jumping to me. He was kind of annoying me because he was in my way and kicking and splashing me. He popped his head up one time and Jaelyn said "Liam???" It was one of her friends from school. I haven't heard her talk about Liam very much other than he's one of the boys she kissed that day (picture me rolling my eyes). Today, she told Dan that Liam is her boyfriend and let me tell you, he likes her. He followed us back and forth between the baby pool and the big pool. His mom came and got him several times to get in the big pool, but he kept coming back to where Jaelyn was. I wish I'd had my camera to capture the silly grin on her face. It was priceless...young love (rolling my eyes again). What am I going to do with her???

Babysitting and Making Up Our Class

I finally talked to the foster parent coordinator for our county yesterday. Once we finish our last two classes next week, I need to go in and meet with her to go over our home study paperwork. That's only a week and a half before we head to Florida so I'll get as much done in that time period as I can. For a small fee, we can complete session 2 that we missed online (yea) so we won't have to wait until September. We'd heard home studies had been taking months in our county, but the social worker (SW from here on out) said they've hired extra people for the summer so they should go faster. We'll have to meet with the SW two times in our home and we'll have to have the fire marshall out to clear us. Then of course there's the fingerprint clearance, reference interviews and medicals forms to complete. There may be, probably is, more, but that's all I remember from our home study 5 years ago (Yes, 5 years ago this summer we were beginning the process to adopt the girls. We've come full circle.)

I've found one friend who can cover one night for us next week. I'm still searching for someone to help the other night. Please continue praying.

Allie and Spelling

Not too long ago, Allie decided she wanted to spell monster. For days, she would ask me how to spell it and I would sound it out while she wrote: mmmmm....ooooo...nnnnnn...sssss....tttttt....rrrrrrr. She did well getting the letters - monstr. Today, I found her sounding out Polly Pocket and writing it down. She spelled it "pole pocet." Pretty good for a soon to be kindergartner, I think!!!

Jaelyn's Stories

Jaelyn has been writing more and more stories for school. I thought you might like to read a few.

In her words what she had done the week before:

I got alt my swiming pool. I plad altside I brog Anu to my hals. We at kupkaks. It was fun. It was hr brda.

Translation:

I got out my swimming pool. I played outside. I brought Anna (our babysitter) to my house. We ate cupcakes. It was fun. It was her birthday.

In her words - Math about me:

My birthday is July the 17. I have 1 sisir. I am 5. My fonubr is xxx-xxx-xxxx (she got it right). We have 8 mor days uv skool. my brudr is 3.

Translation:

My birthday is July 17. I have 1 sister. I am 5. My phone number is xxx-xxx-xxxx. We have 8 more days of school. My brother is 3.

In her words - My Favorite Season:

My favorite season is winter. I like to go slating. I like to skat. I like to fro snobos. I like to bild snomen.

Translation:

My favorite season is winter. I like to go skating. I like to skate. I like to throw snoballs. I like to build snowmen.

And the Phone...

Didn't Ring!!! Two classes to go. We left a little earlier last night because of a horrible storm. The kids were happily eating hot dogs and mac 'n cheese with Anna. We went to walmart in the day and bought 3 new, much wanted movies that will only be watched while we are at class. I also helped everyone be a little more mellow with a dose of benadryl (I hoped anyway).

We had different instructors at the class. They joked that the Kristen and Rose show wasn't there meaning we'd be going till 9, not getting out early. It was actually a refreshing class because it was all about permanency and adoption. The two adoption coordinators were there and went through the court process. We watched another movie. I think we are both learning that we are doing the right thing with the girls being so open and talking about their adoptions. We are doing the right thing by doing a birthparent search so when they do hit that questioning period (Who am I? Where do I fit?), we'll have answers or we'll at least be able to share that we tried to get them answers if the searches are unsuccessful. It's helping to reinforce and give us guidance in how to help them process everything. The videos we've watched each week have been a little hard as they all be documentary types showing real adoptees who are struggling to figure out who they are and to come to terms with their adoptions. Of the adoptees we've seen, the ones who had adoptive families that were open and supportive during that period are the ones that grew closer to their adoptive families in the process. In the movie last night (it was about adoption and searching for bio-family), there was an 80-something year old women who finally decided to search for her son. She found him when he was 61. It was quite a reunion. Having all of this training really makes me wish we had been required to do some with the girls' adoption. I think it would have been helpful in guiding us. Anyway...

I called Anna on our way home and the kids were all doing great. They opened up our craft cabinet and had gone to town doing projects with construction paper, squiggly eyes, stickers, glue, pipe cleaners, you name it. Anna drew the line at paint, thankfully! Smart girl. I don't know if it was the prayers and movies and or the crafts and or the rain and or the benadryl, but it was a great night and I am thankful.

The only bad news is that Anna has finals next week that count more heavily than she thought. She may not be able to babysit for us so we are on a babysitter hunt again.

"I Want My Mommy"

I had such high hopes for last night. We had a good day. We played outside in the back yard and at the park, rode the bikes and went for a long walk. The only problem was that Caden didn't take a nap. I was hoping that might be good since he'd be tired, but it turned out to be bad because he was tired. We left Anna and the kids at 5 happily munching away at dinner. We had an oops moment on the drive over when Anna called to ask how to open the bar on the door. I meant to open it - oh well. I must have forgotten my supermom cape at home.

Our class ran LONG - meaning we finished on time. We'd finished early every other class. The phone in the room rang about 8:40 and I knew it was going to be for me. Caden was in full melt down mode and just wanted me. He was so exhausted, but Anna didn't know what to do. The girls, btw, had been great and Jaelyn had even been trying to distract Caden by getting him to draw me a picture. She can be a really good big sister when she wants to be. I talked with a very weepy Caden and convinced him to get one of my teddy bears to hug until I got home. The last 15 minutes of the class took forever and then we had to clean up snacks (on a side note - my snacks turned out great. The 7 layer dip was totally devoured and I got several compliments on my cookies. I'm a words of affirmation kind of girl, you know!). We made it home around 9:35 to find Jaelyn awake, Allie just about asleep, and Caden conked out on the floor.

We brainstormed on the way home and I'm going to leave Anna with my parents cell phone so that maybe Baba can talk to whatever child is having issues before she tries calling us in our class. It's just such a long time for us to be gone (a 3 hour class, plus a good 45 minute drive each way) and it's late. It's a bad combination.

Jaelyn's Question of the Morning

Jaelyn finished getting ready before I did today. She came to me in the bathroom and said "Mommy do I have time to....














...DUST before I go to school?"

I love this little girl. She found a dusting cloth and off to work she went. Letting her play clean when she was smaller has definitely paid off!!!

Nap Still Required???

We've been going back and forth with Caden on his naps. I normally put him down 5-6 days out of the week. He still needs it, but we are getting close to giving it up based on his bedtime antics. The days that I let him stay awake, I usually find him sacked out somewhere half way through the afternoon.

Notice his thumb is NOT in his mouth, but it's in close proximity encase he needs it.