February 29, 2008
Hanging out
We're looking forward to the weekend so we can just hang out. Sure, we're not in Florida any more, but we can cherish our memories.
February 25, 2008
Back to reality
We're all in our places today. Our daily routine is back and I was surprised that the kids actually got up on time this morning without much fuss. This is not an easy task after sleeping in for nine straight days. We got out of the house with our lunches, my coffee mug, Tara's school bag. Austin made it to the bus stop on time. Life was good.
I was on automatic pilot driving to Tara's school when I bumped her chocolate milk right into her bag, covering her blanket with brown streaks. Don't trust the sippy cup tops. Ugh. We turned around and headed back home to get another cotton blanket, which I found jammed under some towels in the upstairs linen closet. At the pre-school she insisted that I put four little braids in her hair, pouting when I said I was in a hurry. The braids took 10 minutes. I have a hard time saying no to her, especially when I am dropping her off and the working mom guilt thing kicks in. Plus, I know I will miss her throughout the day, those silly things she says, the hugs for no reason.
Finally, I was driving to work, sipping my coffee, the radio blasting some 1980s tunes and suddenly, a car pulls up alongside me and the woman is waving for me to open my window. This is never a good sign. She is pointing at my back tire: "It's low," she shouted. OK< thanks, I said, closing my window and then gripping the steering wheel for four miles to the next exit. Now my knuckles hurt. I turned off the music as though I might hear a warning signal before a tire blows.
I pulled into a gas station at the air machine and hopped out of my car. Sure enough, the back tire was very low. Oh, 75 cents for air. I dug in the bottom of my purse for some change, amidst the fuzzy Skittles and Tara's chewed gum in a tissue, and plugged in the money and pumped some air into the tire. There was no gauge to check it, so I just pushed on it with my fingers, like you do with a bike tire. Good grief. I need to check it again before going home today.
So when I got to work a little bit late, I felt like I already used up a whole day. Anyone else ever feel like that?
February 22, 2008
Heading home
Tara and her friends. So long for now, beach. Hello winter, here we come.
February 20, 2008
Busy doing something close to nothing
It's so easy to fill a day as you go: Get up and stroll across the street for Crispy Creme donuts and a cup of coffee, read the paper and watch cartoons, stroll a block across the street to the beach.
Today we actually got in the car and drove to Lakeland to watch the Detroit Tigers practice during spring training. That was pretty cool. We managed to get a lot of autographs of the players. I gave Tara a ball and a pen and held her up to some of the players, who couldn't resist the blue eyes and smile of a five year old girl amidst a lot of middle age and older guys who are baseball memorabilia collectors. Catcher Vance Wilson asked Tara her name; she told him and he smiled and said, "what a cutie."
We get worn out after our long days of doing something close to nothing. And we only have one day left. We go home on Friday. Is the snow gone yet?
February 19, 2008
February 17, 2008
A little R & R and some sunshine
This is it, we're heading south to spend a few days in the sunshine and ocean air. Tara has been so giddy all day, she has been driving us, well, crazy!
Sometimes she acts like our cat---she climbs in the suitcase while we're packing, she jumps on the bed when we're laying out what we're taking, she walks so close behind me talking all the while that she bumps into me when I stop, she hops up and down the hallway inside a pillowcase like she's in a potato sack race. Yes, this is all true. And bless her little heart, she clearly needs some outdoor playtime too!
Time to go, I'm still looking for my water shoes. I think they're somewhere under my boots and snow pants...
February 15, 2008
Tara-isms Part XX
We're sitting down to eat dinner last night and Tara says, "Oh no, not chicken again! It's so annoying!"
She still can't quite get the hours, days, weeks situation down. Last night we were picking out clothes for her to wear the next day, she said, "I'm going to wear that yesterday." I reminded her that yesterday already happened. "OK, I'm going to wear that in five days." You are? "Yes, for five minutes." Ok...
She told me that a boy in school named Nate is her boyfriend. We were watching "Hannah Montana" and a teen boy kissed a girl and Tara said: "You have to be married to kiss. Right Mommy?" Right! I said. :-)
February 11, 2008
Bathing suits and snow pants
Tara walked into the family room yesterday in her new blue one-piece bathing suit, sat down and watched TV. That's right, her bathing suit. In February. It is 12 degrees outside. The countdown to Florida has, apparently, begun.
Let no one get in the way of a 5-year-old anticipating the beach. We leave in a week for five sun-filled days in Florida. It might as well be this afternoon, as far as Tara is concerned.
I ordered the Beach Beauty to change into something warmer. Sometime in the afternoon, we went to the pharmacy to get a few things. Tara was dressed much more appropriately in her purple pants and matching hoodie sweatshirt. On the way to the store, she got a bit antsy. "I have an itch! I have an itch!" she yelled. Bundled up in a down coat, she couldn't quite get to the spot to scratch. "Hurry!" she said. "Hurry!!"
We pulled into the parking lot and I quickly opened the Drama Queen's door to help her out. She frantically pointed to a spot on her back as though she was covered in bugs. I pulled up her coat and her sweatshirt to reveal, what else, her bathing suit.
Why are you wearing this??! I asked. "Because I like the way it feels," she said. Indeed...
February 04, 2008
Tag I'm it
I have been "tagged" by my friend Susan, mother of Rachel from China, to reveal 7 things about myself, and then to tag other bloggers to do the same.
I'm not usually an Internet game player, but I can't say no. You don't want to make adoptive moms mad, we are a very tough group.
OK, so here is my Top 7 List of Previously Mostly Unknown Things About Me.
1: I usually forgive but I never forget (I'm not proud of this one.)
2: I'm decent in a lot of sports but I'm not great at any one in particular.
3: I'm a writer but I've always felt my sister was the better writer even though she did not study this in college. She's also better at sports (see number 2 above).
4: I can probably hold a conversation about anything for 10 minutes. This is a specific skill that journalists learn in school, I think. That, or the degree in liberal arts only goes so far.
5: I'm a Scorpio. But I guess most of my friends already know this (and see number 1.)
6: Family and friends mean everything to me. I could walk away from anything else--a job, a town, an expensive car. I would throw myself in front of a bus for my two kids. If I had to. Not that I want to.
7: I'm the youngest of five kids. My mom always told everyone that I was the baby of the family. When I'm around all of my siblings, I feel like I'm 14 years old.
I'm supposed to tag some fellow bloggers. I'll pick Greta and Wendy.
Enjoy!
Check out their blogs to see if they played. Leave them a message to let them know you visited.
February 02, 2008
"This is the one"
The journey was long, the skies were gray and the wind was cold. Inside, the scene of families crammed in the waiting room and government workers walking briskly through hallways was surreal. It was finally our turn and we sat down at the desk with wide eyes and big hopes. John and I opened the large binder and saw page after page of photos and descriptions of children who need families. Many of the pages had sticky notes attached to indicate various illnesses recently diagnosed.
Our facilitator was speaking to the psychologist in Russian and then told us that a little girl just became available a few days ago. We stared at her file. We saw a smiling 10-month old with a sweet face. She had just turned 2 and lived in a Kyiv orphanage. We could stay in the big city instead of having to travel 17 hours by train or 6 hours in treacherous car ride to some far-flung region. Her report said she was healthy. We stared at her some more. "This is the one," we said.
That was three years ago today.