Little Red Riding Hood

Claire took an acting class with a couple of friends and the class ended with a performance of Little Red Riding Hood. I'm so proud of Claire for remembering all her lines, we tried to practice every day. She was a little shy on the stage...as she says 'I'm embarrassing in front of all those people.' It was a great experience for her.

'Mama' giving 'Red' goodies for her 'Granny' who is sick in bed.


'Red' meets 'Winston, the Wolf' in the forest. 'Winston' learns where 'Granny' lives and makes sure 'Red' gets lost on the way.


'Harry the Hunter' arrives to save the day.


The Cast.

Olivia's spring party

Her class walked to a local party for their 'Spring Party'. We put eggs out for them to hunt, the Easter bunny came, then they did a bunny sack race and had pizza for lunch. It was a nice low key party.

A Birthday Surprise

Well, today was my birthday. There wasn't much planned. My hubby took me out Saturday night to celebrate, we went out to eat and to the movies. We saw "I Love You, Man", I thought it would be a man flick, but it was hysterical.

Today, I took the girls to the Santa Barbara zoo. It's a small zoo and near the beach. It was a beautiful day to do this and we could take our time around the zoo and have enough time for the girls to play in the play area and for them to spend some of their money on souvenirs.

We got back home around dinner time (well, a bit after) and I got a phone message AND an email from our adoption agency. Our dossier has cleared the consulate! It has been hard to wait, but as we make our way through each step, it is so exciting.

This is breakfast, no foolin'...

I attempted an April Fool's joke on the girls yesterday. So I made them scrambled eggs and buttered toast, only it was dried apricots/marshmallows melted together and toasted pound cake with frosting. They seemed more confused by it than anything. They didn't like the 'scrambled egg', but loved the pound cake. Before anyone reports me to the food police, I did make some real eggs for them so they would have a proper breakfast. It was really hard to figure out how to make fake scrambled eggs look real.

When we got up, Olivia was so excited it was April Fool's Day, she told me 'Mommy, it's 8:30" (we have to leave at 7:30 in the mornings) and of course, I played along, saying "oh, no, we're late", and she had this grin from ear to ear while telling me "April Fool's"!

April Adoption To Do List

So for this month my goals are:
-declutter master bedroom to make room for office furniture, computer, etc.
-declutter extra bedroom/office to 'flip it' into a nursery
-research medical issues in adoption and research international adoption doctors (I'm leaning toward one in the NW area, but I'm wondering if there are any good ones in CA)
-shop for caregiver, driver, translator gifts while on vacation in San Diego

It doesn't look like a lot, but really, the decluttering is time consuming. Let's see how much I accomplish this month!

Little Speed Bump

So we last heard our dossier was sent to the consulate in mid February. I was so excited because it seemed to be going smoothly. Well, wouldn't you know, it's true what they say about international adoption...it is unpredictable. We found out a few weeks ago there was an issue with a piece of the dossier. When we did our medical forms, we stapled the copy of the medical license of the doctor to the form and had it apostilled (authenticated) that way. Well, I suppose after it was reviewed at the consulate, they said the copy of the license needed to be notarized and apostilled. Fortunately, our agency took care of it. So, our dossier was just resubmitted about a week or 2 ago. That's okay, we are in the midst of spring cleaning, trying to declutter a couple of rooms to make room for the crib and nursery items.

Sweet sisters

I wish I had grabbed my camera sooner. This was one of those priceless sisterly moments between Olivia and Claire. For once the house was quiet, so I went to check on the girls who were supposed to be getting ready for a nap Sunday after lunch. I saw the girls in Claire's bed and was just about to tell them for the umpteenth time to go to nap, when I realized Olivia was reading a book to Claire. This was always Olivia's routine when she was younger. We always let her pick out a few books at naptime and bedtime. Sadly, we let this go by the wayside as we got busier with 2 kids (I can't even imagine with 3...). This was a sweet moment I hope to remember the next time one of them tells me "MOMMY, (insert name) HIT ME!"

Our Kazak friend

We took "M" to our local museum which includes a pioneer village, buildings dating back to the late 1800's and early 1900's from our area. This was the day before she was flying back to Kazakhstan. We met her through someone at our church who was related to her host family. She was enrolled in the intensive English program at the local university for about 7 months. I enjoyed getting to know her a little. We only met a few times as I'm a very busy mom and she is a very busy young woman who wanted to make the most of her time in America. Who knows, maybe we will see her in Kazakhstan. I doubt it though, her family lives in Atrau, a region where our agency does not work.

Mischief

Well, I guess the leprechaun came to our house last night, look what he did to the cookies the girls decorated yesterday

Cookies from yesterday:

This morning:


This morning, the girls ran in our room exclaiming, 'the leprechaun was here'. Not only did he turn the cookies green, he also turn the toilet water green, moved the kitchen table around, moved some things around in the girls rooms and in the family/play room. It was fun to see them so excited, running around breathless finding something new that the leprechaun did.

Baby stuff

Looky what I got from a friend of mine. I asked to borrow a carseat in case our son is under 20 lbs and she gave me all this! What a generous friend!

Go Claire!

Brave girl, she had her Kindergarten physical today with 2 shots, 1 TB test and 1 finger poke.

Trip to the park

Our writer

I know I'm biased but I happen to think Olivia is a good writer. I don't know where she gets it from!
Claire made a Pixos cherry and Olivia helped her draw a picture of cherry trees. Olivia wrote the following on the note for Claire for Claire's friend:
"This is a cherry so red and proud.
From Claire anyhow.
When you see it you want to eat it so hide it. forget it!"

She is in first grade and I sure don't remember writing much then. They learn so much more earlier than when I was in elementary school. She is already doing multiplication.

A day in the snow

This morning, we decided to take advantage of the snow in the nearby mountains, so we headed up to Mt. Pinos which is about an hour and a half away. We found a small area with a tiny tiny hill...or maybe you would call it a mound. We all had fun sledding, making snow angels, and playing in the snow. We just go for a short time, especially today the girls were tired. As we headed down the mountain, we called in our pizza order to this fantastic pizza place we discovered...Mike's Pizza Company. They have some of the best pizza and cheese breadsticks...all lowfat I'm sure! They get so busy, we found it is easier to order our pizza as we are coming down the mountain.

Here are pictures from Robert's Blackberry, not very good but you get the idea!

Mardi Gras

It's that time of year when Mardi Gras is celebrated in New Orleans and 'Fat Tuesday', the time before Lent starts in the Christian calendar all over the world. Basically we go all out and indulge ourselves before we have to give up things for Lent (some Christians follow this, others don't). We had a Mardi Gras shin dig at our house Saturday with friends from hubby's work. It was potluck except I made red beans and 2 different King cakes, so it was a little easier than completely hosting the event. Luckily I found bunches of beads and decorations when I was in New Orleans last July, it definitely made the evening more festive. It was a really great time to catch up with people and for the girls to play with an old friend and a new one. I wish I had taken a picture of the cakes, they really turned out. I was worried since I never made a King cake before.

Progress

So we received word that our dossier (which includes every single detail of our life right down to the color of our roots) completed the translation stage and was submitted to the Kazakhstan consulate here in the U.S. I truly thought it would take longer and was so excited that it is on it's way. I kept thinking about our little boy, when we would travel, how are we going to get our house in order, where are we going to put him, is he okay.... I tell people it's like a roller coaster because I get worried how this is going to change our lives and then the next minute I get excited how this going to change our lives. Then I just have to let go and trust things will work out and leave the worrying to God, but that can sometimes be hard.

The Travelin' Texans to become 5?

Well, we have big news to share (with all 3 of my readers..lol). We are expecting to become a family of 5 this year. And no, I'm not pregnant. We have begun the adoption process to adopt a little boy from Kazakhstan. This might come as a shock to friends or family that just happen to be reading, but this has been in the works for a while.

Since I was a young girl, I have always been drawn toward adoption, in fact, I never wanted birth children...of course, that has changed. We have 2 wonderful, beautiful biological girls who are precious to us. So, why another? Why adoption?

I think both of us just felt we weren't finished growing our family. And I decided I was done being pregnant. We've had the sorrow of one lost pregnancy and the joy of giving birth to 2 wonderful daughters. Although I treasure the moments of my pregnancies in which I felt the babies kicking or seeing their ultrasound, I just knew I did not want the experience again. I knew there are children out there who need a loving home. They need to know what it's like to have a family and we have lots of love to go around as well as resources to handle the challenges that will inevitably surface.

We are hoping for a boy. To be honest, at first, I was drawn towards having another girl, I mean we have 2, we know what to expect. On the other hand, I knew my husband was missing having a boy to share his passion for sports and other 'manly' pursuits. My husband also rightly pointed out that it would probably be hard for the girls to accept another girl in the family. I agree with him, I think a boy would perfectly complete our family.

Why Kazakhstan? Well, about 2 years ago, I was talking to a mom who recently adopted a child from Russia and she mentioned Kazakhstan. So I started looking into adoption from Kazakhstan. I actually knew about Kazakhstan as I knew an international student from there when I was working at a university. Also, my husband's company has a presence there and he has talked to a colleague who worked there.

Before I started looking into Kazakhstan, I was researching all kinds of options, from domestic adoptions, to foster care and even thought about emergency foster care. I also had to think about our family and our daughters and how this would impact them. I just knew a child from Kazakhstan, hopefully a Kazak child or mixed Asian child, would fit in with our biracial family. (In case you didn't notice, I'm caucasian and my husband is asian.) I looked into China, but it seemed to be getting harder for adoptions there and most of the children available are girls.

So I just want to invite you along for the ride as we begin our adoption journey. Buckle up, it might be a bumpy ride!

Sacrifice

I talked with Olivia for about the past 2 years about donating her hair. It was originally my idea but when she saw a picture of her friend in the salon who had donated her hair, she liked the idea of donating her hair (or maybe it was just the idea of having her picture on the wall?). She had been growing her hair out for about a year and a half and her hair reached the right length. In fact, I felt it was just getting too long. It would get tangled, and she hated when I tried to brush her hair.

We made an appointment about 2 weeks ago, but then the girls both became very sick with fevers and ear infections. We had to cancel the appointment and Olivia was upset and still wanted to go...but she was just too sick. So on Monday, when it was a holiday and we had some time, I made appointments for the girls for hair cuts. Claire just needed a trim. I told Olivia she would get her haircut that afternoon. I realize now, it just wasn't enough time for her to feel ready for the haircut. She protested and I said we'll see what the stylist says and Claire will go first and she can think about it.

While Claire was getting her hair cut, Olivia had time to think about it and look at the pictures of all the kids on the wall who donated hair. I told her she could get a little cut off or get it cut off short to donate. She decided to go for it. I was worried she was going to flip out afterwards, but she seemed fine. And she looked so cute and stylish with her hair cut in an A line bob. She looks so different now because she usually wore a ponytail with her hair completely out of her face. Now it sort of frames her face.



Unfortunately, the next morning on Tuesday, the full ramifications of what we did surfaced. Olivia started moping around not wanting to go to school. She followed me throughout the house and clung to me. This is so unlike her, she loves school and is very independent. She had tears and said she missed her ponytail and I tried to comfort her and explain what a great thing she did to help kids who did not have hair. I tried to explain that her hair will grow whereas some kids never can grow hair. Oh, I felt like the worst mother ever, I pushed it on her too much. I walked her to class and explained to the teacher she might have a bad day.

Later her teacher said she was fine and he even took a picture. I think she enjoyed getting the attention. Tuesday night, my wonderful husband suggested we go to dinner at Denny's to celebrate her haircut and donation. I think this helped tremendously.

Wednesday, she told me she thought it would be different, that her hair would have been longer. Then I searched on the internet for Locks of Love, the organization that receives donated hair to make hairpieces for children who have temporary or permanent hair loss. I showed her pictures of some of the kids who received hairpieces and pictures of kids, like her, who also donated their hair. I gave her big hugs and told her how proud I am of her. I reminded her of her Uncle Jay who routinely donates his hair and 2 of her school friends who also donated their hair. I think she is now beginning to understand what joy her sacrifice will bring to another child.

Happy V-Day!

The day before Valentine's Day, Olivia's class had their party. Claire was able to come along and participate too. The heart box was a gift of decorated mini chocolate cupcakes to Olivia's teacher. It doesn't look nearly as good as the picture in the 'Hello, Cupcake' decorating book.

Just Hangin'

The other day after picking up Claire, we went to our neighborhood park. I walked and the girls rode their scooters.

Christmas

Here are a few pictures from Christmas. One is with our exchange student from Japan, Rina.

Flour, sugar, peppermint, chocolate, cinnamon...more chocolate

22 tins and containers of cookies and candy

14 loaves of pumpkin bread


I was up till midnight last night doing some last minute baking. I'm exhausted, but it was all for a good cause. I had a bake sale at our church this morning to raise funds for a donation to an orphanage in Kazakhstan. I sold everything! I couldn't believe it, I really wasn't sure if I priced everything right and if there would be a lot of people at church this morning. What a joyous thing to see so many people support such a great cause!

Merry Christmas!!!

The Nutcracker

Here is Olivia dressed as a 'bon-bon' for our city's Nutcracker ballet.

Waiting to go onstage.

With the other dancers in her scene.

Here, the Gingers and Bon-bons are piling underneath Mother Ginger's HUGE skirt for an onstage performance.


This week has been extremely busy with the extra rehearsals and the performances, but I have to say I am VERY proud of Olivia. She is performing her part very well, and listens to the director and teachers. I watched her dress rehearsal from the theater on Wednesday night and they were all so dang cute! The Bon-bons are the youngest performers in the casts. Tonight is the first performance, I'm excited and nervous for her. This is all so new to us, but the other parents have been very helpful in teaching me about stage makeup, etc.

An American Castle

So about a week ago, we took a short trip. We met my husband in Morro Bay where he had business meetings. We stayed one night in a hotel room with a balcony overlooking the bay. We could see and hear the seals playing right across the street! I just love going to the coast. I think I would choose the beach over any other place.


The next day we drove up a short way to San Simeon to see the famed Hearst Castle. I've been wanting to tour it ever since we first moved to California. It is amazing. I tried to imagine what it would have been like back in the day after it was built. The guest house we passed by is bigger than any mansion I've ever seen and the pools looked so cool and inviting.

Ooops I did it again....

When I originally started this blog almost 3 years ago, I was chronically my recovery from a kitchen accident and subsequent surgery on my left hand. I don't know, it's something about knives.... I had another accident. I was home while the girls were in school. I just finished chopping the potatoes and went to wash my chef's knife. I was washing it and it slipped out of my hand and cut the first knuckle on my right hand. I took a deep breath, washed it and wrapped it. I tried to remain calm, all the while, praying I didn't do any serious damage. I called my husband at work and asked him if he was sitting down and calm. I calmly told him I had another knife accident and I might need him to take me to the ER.

Thankfully he just works down the street less than a mile from our home. He took me to the ER, they triaged me and sent me to urgent care. The whole time I am recalling my accident about 3 years ago when I severed a tendon and a nerve and partially cut another tendon in my left hand requiring major surgery and physical therapy. Thankfully, I got an awesome P.A. who tended to my fears and even had xrays done to make sure the bone was not nicked. He even poked in my wound and showed us the bone...uh, okay, that was a little much for me! Anyway, after it was cleaned, he put dermabond on it and it is now healed. I had to wear a splint so I wouldn't bend my finger so the cut would heal. I think my husband is getting me safety gloves for Christmas!

In my lifetime ...

I found this on someone's blog and thought this would be fun.

So here's what you do, copy and paste this into your own blog or send to friends. Put in bold type all the things you have done in your life so far. Here's mine!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band ....at school
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland /world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped...no way, no how!!!
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratchDoes knitting count?
15. Adopted a child -- working on it
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestorsI visited Sedan, France where my ancestor, Susannah de la Rochette (sp?), a Huegenot
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfiedat some times, probably not right now
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke in Japan no less
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlightI was by myself in Carmel
46. Been transported in an ambulance2 times with my kids for febrile seizures
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud I remember making mudpies when I was a kid
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle/mopedDrove a moped in Jersey of the Channel Islands, the only part of the UK occupied by the Germans in WWII.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day I'm sure I have

Claire's 4th birthday party

Why oh why did I decide to plan her party for the day AFTER Halloween? The girls were up way too late after trick or treating and eating some of their loot. They woke up this morning before 6am because they were so excited.

We decided to have Claire's party at a theater where a puppet show was playing, Hansel and Gretel. It was so cute, Omnipresent Puppet Theater always does a great job (of course, we are biased as we know them from church!). Afterwards we walked a few doors down to a local pizza place, it was like we were in a time warp from the 70's. The kids enjoyed playing some of the arcade games and eating pizza. Then instead of cake, we had ice cream cake cones. They loved it! They really looked like ice cream cones, but they were really cupcakes in ice cream cones.

After the puppet show:


At the pizza place:

Happy Halloween!

Introducing Dorothy from Wizard of Oz
and Miley Cyrus:

Fun at the 'Happiest Place on Earth'

Happy 4th Birthday Claire!!

Something in the works

We just mailed this last week. I'll share more in the coming months.

Letting go...

What, you might ask, does this backpack have to do with letting go? Well, let me tell you!

I bought this backpack back in 1991 while I was in college. I was preparing to spend a semester studying in Paris while living with a French family in Versailles and I coerced a friend into going backpacking for a month in the summer prior to the beginning of our semester. The time I spent in Europe was truly unforgettable, I spent my entire Senior year of my college years in France. That summer before my Senior year was adventurous, cultural, and magical. I was 21 and Lauren and I bought Eurail passes so we could travel all over. We also joined the youth hostel and many times stayed in youth hostels. Later on when I worked for Franklin College Switzerland, my boss called it the American tour since we spent about 1 or 2 days in each of the major cities of Europe.

I will never forget some of the fellow travelers we met and the welcome (or unwelcome) we received in some of the countries. This was also a time of great change in Europe and in our world since the 'Wall' fell in Berlin in 1989 and Gorbachev was about to be replaced. When I look at this backpack, I remember sleeping in the train in the couchettes (sp?) and occasionally even sleeping in the train station. I remember certain hostels, like the one in Copenhagen that was so clean and had so much food and the hostel in Heidelberg that had no shower curtains (I had to throw my modesty away that day!).

I remember seeing all the pickpockets who tried to steal from unwitting tourists, fortunately they left me alone for the most part. I remember eating alot of good food and not so good food. When I look at this backpack, I get warm feelings thinking of how my life was about to change in the next year from being a college student to an adult and the time I travelled was a time of great independence for me.

I also remember using this backpack when I hitchhiked with friends through France. We never planned on doing it, it just happened. I had a Eurail pass, but the places we wanted to go to, we had to pay on our own, then we arrived in a small town in France, trying to head to a remote area on the coast. When we arrived, we discovered there was no train, no bus to the next town, it was fall and the tourist season was over. We also found out there were only 2 taxis in town and one driver was ill and the other driver had already taken a fare. So that was that, we decided to start walking down a road headed in the direction we wanted to go. There were 3 of us, myself, my housemate and her classmate. We were 3 women of different ages in different stages of our lives and from different backgrounds. We managed to hitchhike the rest of our trip through Northern France...Normandy and Brittany and back to Paris.

Since my first hitchhiking trip was so successful, I talked another friend into hitchiking down to Dijon and back. Kelly and I were housemates in the spring semester. We were living with a French family in Versailles and we hit it off from the beginning. We had a blast meeting different people, we were amazed to see how complete strangers would help us out with rides. Sadly, I lost contact with Kelly many years ago.

Well, that's just a snapshot of the memories I have when I see this backpack. I guess I was holding onto it in an attempt to hold onto my youth. Recently, my husband and I started to clean out our closets and declutter our house somewhat. I realized the things I hang onto are JUST things, they aren't the memories and it's okay to let go of THINGS, I will still have those memories. So this backpack was one of the items I donated to a thrift shop. It's in great condition and I hope someone will take it on a new adventure.