Finding our way.

Momma's getting a new (well new used) car!

2012-02-01T14:30:00.000-08:00

Next week, this is what I will be driving! A Buick Rendezvous! Pretty nice, huh?

I love my Trailblazer and I love the idea of no longer having a truck payment, but it is getting pretty old and has well over 130,000 miles on it. With all of the driving I have to do (especially far distance driving) between horse back riding, co-op, work, etc... Jason and I were starting to get a bit worried about the cost of repairs and the idea of whether or not the Trailblazer could continue to handle all of the extra miles.

This truck is used, a 2006 but the mileage is really low (47k) and it is in great condition. It is comfortable, has 3rd row seating, it is a bit smaller than my Trailblazer and good on gas.
Best of all, we got it for a steal. The dealer closed another lot and aquired about 150 of thier car, which they have been sitting on for awhile now. It was the fastest and easiest car purchase I have ever made. We asked them to "eat" the cost of taxes and title transfer, and they agreed pretty much instantly - which is something that we didn't expect considering he showed us that they were already in the hole a few thousand dollars! After everything, the bank confirmed that we paid about $4,500 less than what the truck is valued at. WOW!

My budding author and illustrator.

2012-01-31T15:54:00.000-08:00

This is the book that Olena is in the process of writting and illustrating for her co-op class. They have to tell a circular story such as the series by

By Laura Joffe Numeroff

With that being said, I introduce to you, (the begining of at least)

If you give a Tiger a Tomato

Written and Illustrated by Olena Warchol.

To be continued...

Wedding bliss.

2012-01-31T15:38:00.000-08:00

My weekend was spent in Windsor Canada with Rickie - my best friend - helping her with some wedding chores. We had to shop wedding boutiques crowed with lots of chatty women and we had to assemble and stuff wedding invites.

Olena couldn't join us, due to the fact that busy mommy still hasn't made time to take her to the post office to get her passport renewed! it expired a few weeks ago, so now it is impossible for me to take her over the border! It all worked out for the best. She got to spend the day with her cousin playing, and Rickie's wicked bridezilla was not able to scare the pants off my kid. Yes, my very best friend is a completely unruley bride-to-be. She is sassy, demanding and not very nice. But I sigh a breath of patience and try to remember that this is a woman who has been waiting about 14 years to get married. I know it will never ruin our friendship, I don't think much of anything ever could, but it is enough to drive me batty for the next 4 months!

Things on my to do list:
Buy Olena's flower girl dress, and shoes

Buy my dress and shoes

Enjoy the wedding shower

(These are the invites I ordered for her, I just removed the details and contact information before posting it on this blog)

And lots and lots of little things all in-between and up to May 19th!! Here comes the bride!!!!

7 Year Check Up!

2012-01-26T11:49:00.000-08:00

Jan 2007 - 2 year well visit.
She was 19 lbs and 31 inches tall.
Fast forward to last year. Feb of 2011 - 6 year well visit.
She was up to 29 lbs and 39.5 inches tall. We steadly climbed up roughly 2 lbs and 2 inches every year.

Now, Jan 2012 - 7 year well visit.
She puts on her little hospital gown, stands to be measured for her height.....42 inches. Ok our usual 2 inches.

Then she stands on the scale... drumroll please..............................39.5 lbs.
10.5 lbs in 11 months. I almost fell out of my chair. I couldn't believe it. I told the medical assistant her scale was wrong and she giggled. I said "no seriously, according to the scale you are telling me my daughter gained more this year than in the last 4 years."
She just giggled again, wrote down the numbers on the paper, and started fishing back through the chart looking at last years numbers. You could see her face start to get a look of concern and confusion as she shuffled back and forth through the thick chart. I started laughing. I looked at her and said "don't worry, it's right. Yes she did gain over 10 lbs this year. But it's a good thing." She left the room and when the doctor came in, she too was laughing. The MA so was shocked she ran and told the doctor; her response was "well we finally we got that girl on the growth chart" and sure enough after 5 years, it seems we did!

Happy 7th Bday!

2012-01-26T11:18:00.000-08:00

Not that I believe it, but my baby is already 7...and yes I can call her my baby because she still is! :) It is always hard for me to process just how old she is. The fact that she is so small and that I missed the first 2 years, always makes me feel 2 years behind. I told her we should have gone backwards from 6 and did 5 all over again because 5 just feels right. She did not necessarily agree with me on that. Hey, it was worth a shot.

Her birthday was on Friday but Jason works afternoons and I didn't want him to miss out on anything so we waited until Saturday night and invited a few friends and family members over for a delicious cake and some ice cream. I figured after a couple of hours everyone would go home and we would have an early night...but boy was I wrong. It turned out to be a late night, with a house full of people, lots of laughs, and lots of fun. Olena didn't even go to bed until almost midnight....a first for her. The latest she has ever stayed up is 10:30. She was being so well behaved and was having so much fun, I figured it would be a nice bday treat for her. The cake was her choice. She wanted yellow batter, white frosting and purple flowers; and that is exactly what she got. It was yummy too. We like to get our cakes from Kroger with whipped frosting. The same lady has been making all of Olena's cakes since the day we brought her home...she is from Ukraine herself. It is one of the only times I can call and place an order using Olena's name and I do not have to spell it out for them.

We asked that gifts be kept to minimum to avoid any over stimulation (and over spoilage!) She got a beautiful horse bedding set from her Grampy, a few odds and ends from her aunt Rickie, the riding gear from my parents and her cousins passed on their Build a Bear collection (4 stuffed animals and a tote filled with over 50 outfits and tons of accessories) Which to my surprise she loved and has been playing with like crazy. She is not usually into "doll" stuff and clothes but then again they are all costumes for Hippo so I should have known she would love it.

Pictures below are of what Olena and I woke up too on Friday, the morning of her bday. My schedule has been so hectic and I was so tired that I gave up on Thursday night. I bit the bullet of guilt I felt, and just went to bed without decorating. Well daddy came home from work, had a few barley pops with a friend and decided to decorate for me. While I was extremely grateful and reminded of how blessed we are having such a marvelous daddy/husband I was bit less enthused with his confetti party. Seems that drinking a few too many beers can make throwing confetti around, a little too much fun. I did let her enjoy it for 2 whole days, but it took me over 45 minutes to vaccum up the mess it caused. She liked it though, and said her room looked like vanilla ice cream with sprinkles...which is of course, her favorite! Happy Birthday Olena.

Jason and I bought her a new pair of purple derby roller skates with wheels that light up. The original pair of skates we bought her last year are so beat up and the wheels are in rough shape. She loves them and we spent the afternoon on Friday at Great Skate letting her break them in. We are now "regulars" at the rink. The workers are starting to recognize her, she has made a few friends, and has even earned a few admirers who love watching her tiny little self zoom around the rink.

2012-01-26T10:42:00.000-08:00

My littlest equestrian! This is her last week sporting her new riding gear that she got for her birthday. She got the fleece lined and padded riding pants, the fleece riding coat, the helmet and face warmer, as well as a pair of leather riding gloves. She thinks she is so cool now!

The horse she has been riding is named Kidd (see him here) I tried to put his picture on the blog but it is secured. Unfortunately the light has been awful since they have been riding in the indoor arena but once they get outside I will get some better pictures of her on the horse instead of the just modeling the clothes! :)

Here is a little bio about Kidd...

Registered Name: M&M Kidd
Donated By: Ann Crawford
Arrived At Banbury: June, 2008
Birthdate: April 20, 1991
Nickname: Kid-A-Roo
Color: Bay Roan Breed: Appaloosa Height: 15.3 Hands
Kidd has become an instant favorite. His demeanor is similar to that of a gentle giant. While he stands pretty tall, he is tolerant of any rider on his back. He enjoys every minute of his time spent in the ring. Kidd also sports a short tail, which makes it hard for him to fight off flies, so you will see him sporting many interesting tools in the summer months, including tail extensions! Before Banbury, rode english and western, and competed in 4-H shows with his owner.

2012-01-26T10:34:00.000-08:00

A few random pictures taken over the course of 2011 with my mom's camera. She let me borrow it until mine is fixed and when I downloaded the card I was able to get a few extra pictures that I didn't have before :)

Catch up

2012-01-23T15:47:00.000-08:00

I know it seems I already feel off the wagon by not posting all weekend, but you are wrong!! I have been writing down a few sentences everyday. I have just been so swamped I haven't had time to log onto the blog and type everything out. We had an extremely busy weekend but it was filled with lots of good company and tons of laughing. My sides are still aching because of it :) but right now I have dinner to cook, a little girl to get to bed, some reading to get done and some sleep to catch up on, so I promise tomorrow I will get everything posted and bring you up to date! Ta ta for now.

Short and simple

2012-01-19T18:11:00.000-08:00

It is late, I have been up since 4:30 and I am whipped. My truck broke down...but thankfully it happened while I was at my parents house. So it now sits in their barn until Jason can get out there on Saturday to fix it. In the mean time I am driving mom's car.

Today was a simple day. We had riding lessons which went really well. Olena received some wonderful gifts from my parents and had all new riding gear today. I will get some pictures up maybe over the weekend. (my mom is letting me borrow her camera for a little while)

Olena's 7th birthday is tomorrow! I cannot believe it. I am sure I will have more emotions to share about that tomorrow night. Lots to do still.

The things we eat...

2012-01-18T16:48:00.000-08:00

Can You Guess What McDonald’s Food Item This Is?

Say hello to mechanically separated chicken. It’s what all fast-food chicken is made – things like chicken nuggets and patties. Also, the processed frozen chicken in the stores is made from it.

Basically, the entire chicken is smashed and pressed through a sieve — bones, eyes, guts, and all. it comes out looking like this.

There’s more: because it’s crawling with bacteria, it will be washed with ammonia, soaked in it, actually. Then, because it tastes gross, it will be reflavored artificially. Then, because it is weirdly pink, it will be dyed with artificial color.

But, hey, at least it tastes good, right? And I love how everyone I show it to says, "hey don't show me that or I will never eat McDonalds again!"........REALLY!!! Olena may be upset but I am not really sure I am too willing to give her a Happy Meal again any time soon.

Source: http://docakilah.wordpress.com/2011/05/11/can-you-guess-what-mcdonald%E2%80%99s-food-item-this-is

Why homeschool?

2012-01-18T16:40:00.000-08:00

This was sitting unnoticed in my draft box. I read it today and had to chuckle because it was written quite awhile ago, back when I just started homeschooling. I remember the day I wrote it, I was flustered because of comments from the family regarding our choice to homeschool. I can laugh now, but I use to be a bit defensive .

I have been asked the question a few times...why do you home school Olena? And we definitely have family that feel that way.

With the way I seem to stress with juggling work and homeschooling it seems that it would be easier to send her to public school. Believe me...the thought has crossed my mind a few times throughout this process. The doubt only lasts seconds though because my reasons for homeschooling heavily outweigh any other choices I feel we have.

One thing I do find surprising is why everyone considers us (the homeschooling community as a whole) "out of the norm". Personally it seems to be the other way around in my eyes. When did it become right to send your kid away for 8 hours a day to sit in an over crowded, windowless, cynderblock room? To be taught over a period of 14 years by strangers. During the earlier centuries and in the HS community now...the same education can be taught  in half the time?
Why is it considered socializing when your child is continuously surrounded by peers his/her own age? and usually carries through their whole school career with the same group of kids?
Your child is not encouraged  to talk or ask questions during class, and they are inevitably going to be socially labelled? That is socializing??

I am not judging those who chose to send their kids to school. And I am not saying it is the wrong choice. As long as you are doing what is right for your family and your children. I am merely asking to please don't judge us, our choices or look at us as unsocialized group of homebody weirdos, because you are so wrong!

A great day.

2012-01-18T16:27:00.000-08:00

Today we had a fabulous day of school. We studied horses.  Labelled parts of it's body, read about their senses and behaviors. We also learned the proper names for their colors and markings. Which I found pretty interesting myself.

She goes to therapeutic equestrian classes at Banbury Cross and they have all of the horses pictures and a biography on their website so we then went there, and she had to distinguish what color each one was and what marks they had using the reference web page. She really enjoyed it, and I know tomorrow once we get to class she is going to be pretty geeked about sharing her new knowledge.
We also had a HUGE break through in math today.  As I have mentioned before addition and subtraction has been a bit of a struggle for us. Today we went onto Starfall to do something a bit different and they added a new add/subtract game. She was hooked and within a few minutes she caught on and was adding and subtracting like some mathematical genius (ok so I am exaggerating but that is what it felt like to me)

We have been working on this subject for months. I continued on with other things like reading a clock, greater than/less than and she can do all of that.  Every week I just made sure she continued to work on a few math problems every day using different media. Worksheets, caulk board, salt tray, math blocks, board games, manipulative's....you name it....I tried it. Today the switch finally flipped and the light bulb is burning bright! Thank you Lord :)

2012-01-17T17:02:00.000-08:00

Today was start of Olena's second semester of co-op. She has "We Love Books" and "Outdoor Survival" I am the teachers aid for W.L.B because it has over 23 first through third graders!
Then, Ms Locke, in Outdoor class said she would probably need a hand when it comes to building shelters and the hands on activities too. Guess that means the 2 hours of reading time that mommy was looking forward too, won't quite be in the schedule this semester. It's ok, I like being there with her, and it gives me a chance to watch over her. She is smart as a whip and truthfully I don't have too much trouble keeping her attention here at home. She will easily work on a project for 30-40 minutes if it interest her enough. But oh my...what a difference a classroom makes. This girl is in complete lala land the entire 2 hours. She is so busy looking at everyone else, copying what they do, and fiddling around in her seat. And it is never without fail, she is always drawn to the class clown...every single time. She seeks him out like a hawk and he then becomes her point of interest throughout the entire class. She laughs when he irritates the kid next to him, she copies his movements, she gets excited when he does, she studies him closely....it is a mothers nightmare! We have had several heart to heart talks but once she is in that class it as if she just can't control herself. Sigh!! ...............We'll get through it. We always do. Tomorrow we start our lesson plan about horses. She is excited and it should be fun.
Things are always so much more pleasant within these walls! I love homeschooling.

Resolution

2012-01-16T19:28:00.000-08:00

I read a story on line about a man who had a journal and devoted to writing at least one sentence everyday...something simple about anything that may have happened or how he was feeling. He said he planned on making copies and giving them to his sons once they were adults.
I got to thinking what a wonderful idea. We often go through our days not noticing or being grateful for even the simple moments in life. And then they are gone...and we don't ever think about them or even remember them for that fact, ever again. This blog is similar to my journal and I plan on having it around for Olena so I am going to make this idea one of my new daily tasks.

A few sentences everyday.

With that being said...
Today, my cousin Kevin (21 years old) babysat Olena for the first time ever and at his house. I am so happy that she has him in her life. Neither Jason or I have any brothers, so she doesn't get to experience the fun/good times with young uncles like we had. But Kevin does a great job filling those shoes. She adores him and he equally adores her. They had a fabulous time together and when I got there to pick her up she was well and happy as can be. Thank you for my fabulous family!

Big cry babies.

2012-01-14T07:45:00.000-08:00

Olena was fussing the other day so I looked at her told her if kept crying I would call the "WAH-mbulance." of course she thought that was hiliarous and stopped her fake crying. It was nothing we have ever said around here before, it just came to me and we thought it was funny.

Fast forward to last night...she was reading a book to me before bed. It was way past her bed time (due to guest being over for dinner) and I knew she was too emotional to deal with much but she was determined to read the book. She was getting stuck on a few hard words...(exubuerent) and started to fuss again but would not let me help her or see the word. I put my face in my hands in frustration because I just wanted her to get some sleep but I didn't want to unmind her efforts. All of sudden I feel this little wet finger shoved in my ear and she belts out "what's wrong mommy??...should I call the WAH-mbulance?"

Truthfully I don't know what was funnier...the wet willy in my ear, or the comment! but we both got a really good laugh and she finally let me finish the book, while she fell fast asleep! :)

Where's winter?

2012-01-11T16:22:00.000-08:00

In Michigan mid-January should be a time of ice skating, sledding and shoveling. But not this year. We have barely even seen a snowflake. Instead of ice skating Olena has been roller skating up and down the street. Lots of people complain about the snow, but I love it. The smell, the twinkle, the crunching sound when you walk on it....I love it all! I imagine that either we will have primarily a wet rainy winter OR we will get blasted with snow in Feb and it will stick around until June! That is something that could easily happen here. Hopefully soon!

We have had a pretty mellow few weeks. My Kindle broke which I was really upset about. I had just bought 3 new books, turned it on to download them and nothing. The screen went all crazy on me. When I called Kindle support they so kindly said "oh yeah that's a defect but your warranty ended last week". I was so bummed. I had just read the last paper book I have in the house, and I haven't been to the library so I had to trudge through a few weeks with no chance to get lost in the oasis of a book. Then my amazing and loving husband came home with one for me over the weekend!! I did ruin his surprise by interrogating him (because financially we currently have other obligations and not much "fun" money) but it was a well welcomed gift! I read one whole book that night when he went out with some friends. :)

Olena is doing fabulous. The trampoline and pool of balls has been amazing in her therapy needs. It has made a huge difference in her ability to stay focused and together for most of the day. She goes down stairs with Jason in the morning while he "es-cer-sises" (as O calls it) and for about 45 minutes she jumps, plays and does jumping jacks.
It is great having her "back". It is hard to explain but Olena's SPD can be so off balance that she almost seems to have a dual personality. There is the amazing 6 year old girl who is funnier than heck, and completely curious about every single thing around her. Obedient and proper.
Then there is the other O....she on the other hand is nothing short of the Tasmanian devil from the cartoon I remember as a kid. She is constantly on the run around this entire house and leaving a path of destruction in her wake. And she has no regard or care for punishment what so ever. She will laugh at anything and everything you do and say. It can be so frustrating.
We figure it out though. Thankfully we have the resources and knowledge so it helps and we get through it. I am really lucky to have the support of understanding family too. I have parents who are my assylum. My mom always knows when it is time to take O to her house for a couple of days. It gives me time to regroup and get caught up. and then there is Jason...there are just no words for how blessed I am having him as the father of my daughter. Those two are like peas in pod, or peanut butter and jelly....they know how to work together. She respects him. She loves him. And she loves to drive him crazy! They love hot rods, motorcycles, and loud fast things. He is a very active participant in her life. Not just meaning he plays with her in his spare time, he really takes care of her. He cooks her breakfast every morning...poached eggs, sausage and toast and basically takes over whenever I am not around. Granted he grumps a lot at her when she is over rowdy, but God definitely chose the right daddy for this little girl.

Well maybe I will get back on later but I have a half dressed little girl (nothing but underwear, tutu and tall knee socks!!) dancing around behind me carrying on wildly about reading Olivia and bouncing in a bouncy house....good grief! I need to tame the lion and put her to bed!

Lost in life...

2012-01-03T19:11:00.000-08:00

So here I sit, house is quiet, dark and warm.  Once again I find that I am lost in thought instead of working on the 1 million things on my TO DO list. It is 2012 and I find the need to "renew"....but renew what? this has been something on my mind for several weeks now, and while I had strongly hoped that come January 1st it would hit me like a brick, and I would start living this renewed life with such joy and success....well, hhmmm...... here I sit still in deep thought.

Thoughts about what you ask? EVERYTHING! It is kind of hard to explain without sounding like a complete raging lunatic but I really feel like I don't know myself. Somewhere along the line, I lost that person. My life...a whole series of events made me who I am today, but yet this person is not really me, is it? Don't get me wrong, I have a lovely life. A fabulous husband who has walked this rocky road of marriage with me through good and bad. I am blessed with the most perfect daughter, and I have a loving and gracious family. I am a very fortunate woman, and I am grateful - though I honestly think I forget to remember that everyday. But, lately I feel like life is happening around me...almost like a movie, I am just watching it, not a part of it.

Whats my purpose? where do I fit in this world?

Again I am happy for my many blessings, but I have to be more than the house cleaning, caretaker, underpaid office grunt worker that I feel like. (I am putting my dirty laundry out there for the blog world to read.) My #1 flaw is my inability to follow through with my ideas, dreams, and wishes in life. Over the last few days I have started a bucket list, only my bucket list doesn't contain what I want to do before I die but what I have wanted to do either currently or in the past but never seen it through for one reason or another?  Embarrassing to say, but it is quite lengthy. I feel like I have a lot to figure out, a lot of soul searching to do, but life...it keeps going, so instead of being so distracted, I need to get my head out of clouds and join this movie reel before my TO DO list drowns us all, my unschooled daughter is running the streets, and my ravaged animals take over the house!
I have considered telling Jason "lets sell everything, move overseas and start a new life"...but maybe coming back to reality is a better idea?

Mid Semester breakdown??? or Midlife crisis???

Christmas Cheer

2011-12-27T17:43:00.000-08:00

We had a lovely Christmas, and according to Olena it was the "most awesome day ever!" She was so cute, and absolutely LOVED her gifts. We set up a sensory heaven in our basement...aka: a trampoline and a huge ball pit! and she thinks the ball pit is the coolest thing ever. Sadly I don't have any pictures since my camera is still out of commission but as soon as it is in working order again, I will definitely put some up for you to see. She also received the Leapster Explore from my parents, which is a child version of the IPad, she is starting to grow more fond of it everyday but she was a bit disappointed to find out that there was no app for Angry Birds. Crazy girl.

We spent the morning together just the three of us, but the rest of the day was spent traveling around to see the parents. Though it was a busy day, it was still wonderful. This year was one of the first ones in a long time that I can remember that we didn't have any snow. When you are from the "North", it just doesn't feel like Christmas without snow. I am sure that soon enough we will be blanketed and it will probably stick around for way too long!

Jason has the week off and hopefully we will see a few of the straggling projects come to completion. My husband is marvelous but he has a huge issue with completing things. Every project in this house is missing the final 10% - it is enough to drive a wife insane. but I am optimistic and hoping for the best :)

As for this week, I am hoping to tackle a couple of projects myself, particularly my January lesson plan. I have completely feel off the wagon and had my midterm breakdown. I am beginning to learn that this is normal process to the homeschooling life. So hopefully some planning and reorganizing will fix this problem.
I also want to start researching travel ideas for a family vacation. We have never, in the 5 years of being a family - have taken a vacation with just a three of us. We got some money for Christmas so we decided to use it to book a trip. But now the tough part...where to go? I would love Disney but truthfully I am not sure if it is worth the money. Granted it is the most magically place on Earth but really the cost to go there and the surrounding expenses such as food, gas, lodging are ridiculous if you ask me. If I am going to spend that kind of money to go I would rather wait until O is older, would get more enjoyment out of it, and remember it. Not to mention my idea of a vacation is relaxation, not running around some humongous park with thousands of people and standing in lines all day. My two main ideas at this point is either Alaska or the Bahama's....quite the extreme difference huh? But I am also torn about flying. The cost of that is crazy too, do I want to spend all that extra money or would it be better to chose a place within driving distance? hhmmmm....the choices. Any suggestions? I'd love to hear what some of you have done.

2011-12-19T17:39:00.000-08:00

While I wish I could say that the night we decorated our tree was a beautiful peaceful night of carols and lots of love. But really it was more about 2 exhausted adults and 2 exhausted children, and lots of dropped broken bulbs.
After a full day of hard work and play we finally got to the moment we had all been waiting for...tree decorating time. Well we were not quite prepared so it started off with Jason spending 45 minutes trying to fix lights just to realize we didn't have enough so at 8p on a Sunday he went on the hunt. He was gone way too long and the kids were practically falling asleep so I let them go ahead with the decorating, we had some cocoa, and then I put them to bed.
It took them about 2 minutes to fall asleep so I then undecorated the tree. When J got home we strung the lights and redecorated until midnight! Thankfully both the kids were excited enough with the final outcome the next morning that they didn't even notice the changes I made :)

This year we got a real tree, and I LOVE IT. It has resorted to me having to take Zyrtec everyday to be in the house with it, but it is worth it!

Fun Day at the park!

2011-12-19T17:26:00.000-08:00

Wedding Shower Bliss.

2011-12-19T17:15:00.000-08:00

My dearest and bestest friend Rickie's Canadian wedding shower.
I will have one for her, here in the States in April! This one was held by her fiance's family.
Her and Dan will marry (finally after 12 years) on May 19th, 2012.

2011-12-19T17:09:00.000-08:00

My grandmother is selling crochet sets; hat, scarf and wristlets.
Color and style of your choice.
Made to order. $28 per set!

2011-12-19T16:49:00.000-08:00

I should be diligently wrapping Christmas presents while I have a few moments to spare but I thought I owed it to everyone to at least try and update once before the Holiday.

Things have been really busy so of course the blogging has taken the back burner. A-Line (my job) is super busy and I have been working about 10 more hours a week than usual. And while that doesn't seem like much, it definitely makes a difference to a homeschooling mom. School has slowed down a bit. She has been doing a lot of computer work and projects which she is thrilled about. No writing or arithmetic is her idea of a great school day. I am hoping to work on a lesson plan for the month of January between Xmas and New Year. I want to spend the month working on her speech. She hasn't made a lot of progress over the last 9 months or so and I see some regression in certain areas. I also have noticed that more and more adults are having difficultly understanding her. I plan to make it a month of lots of verbal work, and I have a CD program that I got from the homeschooling conference that we will work with.

I have a few pictures to share but sadly my camera has been broke for about 2 months now and the few I do have I had taken with my point and shoot but the quality is awful not to mention I have to take them "blind" because the screen does not work and the view finder is fogged over for some reason! Christmas and lots of other things have caused a bit of a financial crunch so the camera being fixed will have to wait for the time being :(

We just finished up our first semester of co-op. It has been fun and the field trip opportunities are amazing. The three classes we just finished were Painting Like the Masters, Spanish 101, and Lego Engineering. Lets just say I am pretty confident that she will neither be an artist or an engineer. In January she will start Outdoor Survival and We Love Reading and Writing. In addition to the horse back riding lessons. Looks like 2012 will be arriving with a bang.

We recently toured the Meadowbrook property which was AMAZING!! If you live in MetroDetroit this is a must see. Country mansion built in 1925 by Matilda Dodge who at that time was the wealthiest woman in the world. She sold her Dodge shares in 1925 for $146M. She was an amazing woman and lead an interesting life...not to mention that she had fabulous taste in design. This house so warm, inviting and cozy.All you wanted to do was curl up on one of the big cushion coach and read a book. The detail was in every nook and cranny was unbelievable. Olena went with us of course and she did great being patient with us but I would love to go back with some adult friends and really spend time looking at everything. Your not allowed to take pictures but I will try to put something together from pictures online.

Well I do still have a few things to do and I want to get some pictures posted.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Lady Pirates of Halloween Night!

2011-12-19T16:43:00.000-08:00

2011-11-07T19:04:00.000-08:00

I am back...at least for the moment. I figured it was about time I take the extra 15 minutes to check in and try to keep things interesting. However, it seems my life has lacked a lot of things interesting lately.

Being a working/"stay at home"/homeschooling mom has been quite the challenge for me lately and I basically just feel like I am constantly fighting a mental battle about where I should be, and what I should be doing. When at work trying to get things done, I get caught up late and I feel "I need to be at home working on school". Then when I get home I have things to finish I didn't do at that office, the phone is ringing constantly all through the evening, I have household stuff to take care of and oh yeah...that homeschooling thing too. Did I mention we also have three co-op classes, and 1 field trip a week?

Not complaining...just sharing my daily life. I am grateful for my job. Is it ideal? No. But none-the-less it gives us an income that we surely can use. This has never been an easy part of my life to navigate. I always second guess my decision and it seems I am always struggling with a hint of guilt. My employer could surely use and would love to have me full time, not to mention the extra full time income would be AWESOME for our family. Then on the other side of the coin I feel that I shouldn't even be working part time. Money is not the answer to everything and we can make ends meet with one income. Because I work, even part time, I often find it hard to keep up with homeschooling and I always fear I am not doing enough. For now, it is what it is! I pray for the energy to keep up the pace, I pray for days of cooperation and a "whole" daughter, and I pray for the knowledge and ability to keep all of my current responsibilities juggling smoothly. All of these prayers have been faithfully answered thus far so I will take it as it comes!

As for Olena, she is doing awesome. She learns like a sponge and obviously LOVES reading. It is common to see her grab a book, sit down and dutifully read it over and over until she masters it. In one week she taught herself how to read 3 Mo's Nose books that I ordered for her on-line. They are not even geared towards early readers for example..."Red strawberries are plump, delectable, and bursting with sugary juices." She would figure out all the words and then come ask me what certain ones, like delectable, meant. It was amazing because the entire week she completely engulfed herself in reading and learning what the words meant. btw...I know a few of my blogger friends have children with sensory needs. The Mo's Nose books are a great tool. Olena has a strong drive for scent so these really help to meet her needs. Word of warning, roll down the windows while in the car. Once she got done going through the books 100 times during our hour drive we were both woozy from all of the aroma therapy.

I haven't spoke too much about Olena's and her "challenges" lately. To be honest we have been very lucky in that we haven't been faced with many new issues or concerns. However the time has come where we are once again finding that we are dealing with "episodes" more frequently. Episodes are not easily defined, but to help you understand; basically when Olena is feeling overwhelmed or her sensory needs are not being met she will "act out" in various ways. Sometimes she will break out into an obnoxious uncontrollable laughing fit. She may start to become very active such as running fast continually around and around, jumping, climbing. There won't be any "purpose" to her action, it is almost robotic like she is determined to burn the energy. She has a few other quirks that signal us to her needs such as rubbing her hands together, making humming noises and smelling everything. When she is attending OT, Theresa teaches us different techniques which we of course carry over into our every day life. We go to OT and practice this "sensory diet" for about 6 months. We get her to what I call her "whole self", we get discharged from OT and we can maintain this for about 6-8 months after therapy ends. So basically for about a year we can help her control herself and help her to recognize her own needs. But after that year, it's as if she grows out of these techniques.

I took some time to go back through her medical journal. The files I keep charting her OT, our appointments, concerns, etc and sure enough for the last five years - just like clock work we are continuously coming full circle. Winter/early spring OT, late spring/summer no issues, late fall she starts to decline. This time though, we have decided to tackle it from a different approach and it is another one of my many prayers each night that I am doing what is best for her. I have enrolled her into a year long therapeutic equestrian class. Basically horse back riding for children with special needs and cognitive disorders. I did a lot of research, received tons of fabulous information, and she absolutely adores animals. I figured it would be a perfect "substitute" for OT. That paired with a few changes we are really focused on making around here should give us a great outcome...at least I hope. I did a lot of thinking, and I want her to learn about new "natural ways" to meet her needs. I am not sure if as an adult she is going to want to wrap herself in a tight blanket burrito, lay in a bean bag and listen to classical music on her headphones every time she feels overwhelmed. Obviously as she grows, it is very likely she will carry some of these challenges with her into her adult life. I don't want her turning to medications, or risking the use of drugs to deal with this. If she is aware and has the knowledge and power to tackle these challenges she will be able to accomplish anything. She is perfect in every way. She will surely be independent and extremely intelligent, I have no doubts about that, but the fact of the matter is, that she suffers from prenatal alcohol exposure. That is the truth, there is no candy coating that. She also shows many signs of FAE. None of this tags her as incapable of anything, but it does, as her mother, make me worry about what she may encounter down the road. I can't drive myself crazy with the what-ifs so I feel my best plan of action is to continually teach her different ways to handle any roadblocks and/or discomforts that come her way. I love this girl with every cell in my body, and I want nothing more than for her to love herself just as much.

2011-10-29T17:46:00.001-07:00

Thanks for being a blessing...

First...I must say there are a whole bunch of 19 mamas who are just blown away by your outpouring of love, support, and generosity for the precious souls that still weigh heavy on our hearts. YOU have donated from your heart to give an orphan a Christmas blessing this year and oh how awesome it has been to see the Christmas goodies keep rolling in....

Many of you have donated cute toys...

...socks, underwear, gloves, hats, hair bows...

...and then there were the boxes...

When the mamas of baby house 19 wanted to do something for the children we said goodbye to...we were praying that we would collect enough boxes to provide a gift to each of the 115 children that live behind the walls of baby house 19. NEVER would we have imagined that the Lord would use so many of His servants to spread the word and provide for His children. As I'm typing this post...we have collected 189 boxes with more still on the way. You...our sweet friends...have not only provided the children of baby house 19 with a Christmas blessing...but we have gotten word that an older children's internat located in the same region will also love to have Christmas blessing boxes for their children. Isn't it amazing! The children of 2 different orphanages will be receiving Christmas gifts this year...Praise God!

We still need your help! Please spread the word...we are still in need of monetary donations to help cover shipping. Remember...all donations of $25 or more are TAX DEDUCTIBLE!

On behalf of the mamas of baby house 19...thank you for giving

2011-10-21T15:23:00.000-07:00

You gotta love this pirate regardless of how mean she looks!

We have been so unbelievably busy for the last 2 weeks but I promise to get on soon and post, hopefully later tonight. I also wanted to get this picture posted for my parents - my amazing momma made her costume again this year. We had a skating party on Wednesday so I tried to get a few pictures to show my mom and dad the sweet final product. We have 3 more events which require costume so I am sure I will have no shortage of this Pirate at her best.

Writing on the wall can be so much fun...

2011-10-14T14:38:00.000-07:00

I love to spend my Friday nights alone sitting in the computer room surfing the Internet reading blogs. Adoption, travel, home school and I especially love the country living style blogs. One the new trends I have been seeing lately is the caulk board wall.

I am pleased to announce...I now have my very own caulk wall and I LOVE IT!! This was against my husbands better judgement, and my moms, my father-in-law, my friends - the list goes on but I persevered, stood my ground and did it. I am so happy I did. Jason now admits he is starting to like it and thinks it pretty cool he can write right on the wall. I think the little love notes that I have been leaving there for him at night could have something to do with his change of heart??
Sure, one day I'll out grow it and end up painting over it, but for now its all in good fun and looks fabulous.

It takes about 4 days to do, between the drying and conditioning. And I have to admit, when you first paint it on, it is a bit overwhelming and very black but the final project is completely different.

I am not going to post the full picture yet because it is still a project in the making - (it is being transformed into the house hold communication center.) But here's a few others that inspired me.

This picture is from my wall.

One dirty bird school girl...

2011-10-11T17:47:00.000-07:00

She goes to bed looking like a shiney new penny, within an hour of being awake, she looks more like this! As for school work, I thought that this was worthy of a photograph because it was the first day she actually enjoyed our handwriting lesson! It gets better every week!

A fun afternoon.

2011-10-11T17:32:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Olena and I spent the afternoon at a local nature center. It was my first time here and I was very impressed. I was however bummed that I didn't take more and/or better pictures so I hope to go back again soon. They have 2 deer there name Sunshine and Serria. Both are beautiful and very friendly, however one of them has a serious licking problem. HAHA. Anytime I got within a few feet of the fench she would run over stick her head through and start licking my hands and arms. Even when I tried to feed her, her first concern was to lick my hand before taking the offering. Guess I am just too sweet! LOL!

We were even able to spend a few hours inside of thier nature center showroom. It was beautiful. Fire place, cozy couchs, with tons of books. Toys, lots of taxidermy animals and furs to touch...a sensory childs heaven. They are usually only open on the weekends or during field trips but I called ahead of time and the manager said he had take care of the lawn work that afternoon so he opened the doors for us while he did his work outside. It was the perfect afternoon. We walked the trails, seen frogs and turtles in the pond, they had an old one room Little House on the Prarie cabin set up on display. That was really cool. You could look through the windows of the house to see how a home was typically set up, then they had an outhouse, a barn, woodworking shed, a working water pump and tons of farm tools. They even had an old wooden tree swing which Olena loved.

Introducing Lady Mantis....or maybe Sir Mantis???

2011-10-11T17:15:00.000-07:00

My mom found this Mantis at work and brought her home some time back in the early summer. After Olena checked her out we released her into our garden. We are very proud to say that she decided to stay and every day we got to see her at least once. It was neat to watch her "move" from one part of the garden to the next over a course of a few weeks. She started at the flower box on the far end from the porch, we would see her there hanging out on the Dahlias every day around 1:00p. She stay there for a few weeks before she moved to the front of the porch and lived in some vine flowers we have there. She would come out late afternoon and bask in the sun on the cement porch. Then once fall hit and the mums bloomed she moved in there, and every day for hours she would sit right on top of the bush greeting us whenever we came or went :)

One afternoon I thought I better get a picture because this will be something neat for us to remember years from now; so I go get my camera, come out and start taking a few close ups when I notice something moving out of the corner of my eye. I look down and low and behold...there was another one! So I was able to get a few pictures of him too. Olena swears they were husband and wife. Not sure if that was the case or not, but I will say, we only seen Sir Mantis for 2 more days and then he never returned. You know what they say about those crazy Lady Mantises'.....guess we'll never know the truth.

I made this one bigger so you can see her a little better. Whenever we watched and observed her she would turn and look at us, and tilt her head back and forth. Olena thought this was hilarious and would crack up laughing every time.

Unfortunately we did not ever get to see her hunt, but we did watch several videos on YouTube and studied Mantis' all week for school. Did you know that some Mantis eat prey as big at birds and rodents? sorry but I have to say that was so gross to watch and a bit disturbing.

The joys of home schooling!

2011-10-11T16:08:00.000-07:00

I think about Olena's adoption often. Not necessarily the fact that she is adopted but the experience, our time in Ukraine. Our time with her, our new friends and most heartbreakingly...all of the other kids. I kept a journal during our time there, and to this day whenever I read my entries regarding the others, it brings tears to my eyes. Looking at those 4 weeks from their eyes, it completely heart wrenching. How awful it must be and feel to watch us leave, and leave them behind.
I have read that if every Christian would adopt just 1 orphan, there wouldn't be any left in the world. That is something amazing to think about.

With that being said, my purpose of this post is to let you all know about Operation Christmas for Mykolayiv. This is the baby house 19, Where Olena, (Lyra and Angelina) were adopted from. Other families that have been blessed enough to find their children waiting for them there in Mykolayiv, have come together and started a fundraiser to bring Christmas to the children this year. Please take a moment to read through this and if you can help in anyway, it would be greatly appreciated. Olga, the director, of the Baby House is amazing and she loves these kids with all of her heart. She has brought so many wonderful things to this orphanage including renovations, a Montessori classroom/program, an inground pool...I can assure you that all donations and gifts will go to the children.

www.operationchristmasinnikolaev.blogspot.com

Christmas in Nikolaev! Blessings for the Children of Baby House 19

“Christmas in Nikolaev”

Blessing the Children of Baby House 19

Please consider helping bring Christmas to children living in an orphanage in Nikolaev, Ukraine. In conjunction with Circle of Hope, a charity located in Huntsville, Alabama, Christmas boxes are being collected to deliver to children in time for Ukraine’s Christmas holiday. There are approximately 115 children living in the orphanage, ranging in age from infant to 5 years old. Christmas boxes will be delivered directly to the children by a group of volunteers living in Ukraine.

Christmas gifts are going DIRECTLY to the children. This project began because many of us have children adopted from this very baby orphanage. Others are connected to this project because baby house 19 is very special to them.

We want to help by sending Christmas cheer to the children we saw each day during our adoption journey and to remember all our children's friends still living in baby house 19.

Thank you for your support and for helping bring a smile to so many little faces!

How you can help:

1.Create your own Christmas box, decorated if you wish

2.You may donate items which we will then assemble into Christmas boxes (instructions below, if creating your own, we ask you please keep your contents between $5-$20)

3. Consider a monetary donation using the chip in button located on the sidebar. All donations over $25 are tax deductible. You can also mail your donation to Circle of Hope, P.O. Box 4921, Huntsville, AL 35815. Include your name/address if you would like to use donation for tax purposes.
Monetary donations will be used to purchase toys, clothing, gift wrapping and to cover shipping costs.

4) Follow along on this blog to watch as children receive their Christmas gifts!

Due to shipping time, all items will need to be ready for shipping on November 7th.

In order to meet that deadline, we need your donated gift box or items by October 30th, for packaging and shipping to Ukraine. Please ship your boxes/donated items to the following address: Huddle House 1802 Main Street East Hartselle, AL 35640

Instructions for shoe boxes:

Decorate a women’s shoe box with the following suggested items, label “boy” or “girl” on outside of box and rubberband box closed. Please do not use a large "boot" box.
Socks – white (girls box), black (boys box)
Underwear (girls or boys or all white for either)
Children's sunglasses, hats appropriate for warm weather or cold weather (boys or girls)
Small toys – ideas include: barbies, Lego's, puzzles, crayons, action figures, dolls with clothing, hot wheels cars
Children’s gloves
Hair bows/barrettes (girls boxes)
New clothing (inexpensive) all sizes up to age 5
*Please do not include nail polish or candy*

We thank you for helping make this a very special Christmas for so many little children!

"In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

The Window from which we look

2011-09-16T16:38:00.000-07:00

A young couple moves into a new neighborhood.
The next morning while they are eating breakfast,
The young woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside.
"That laundry is not very clean", she said.
"She doesn't know how to wash correctly.
Perhaps she needs better laundry soap."
Her husband looked on, but remained silent.
Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry,
The young woman would make the same comments.
About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a
Nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband:
"Look, she has learned how to wash correctly.
I wonder who taught her this."
The husband said, "I got up early this morning and
Cleaned our windows."

And so it is with life. What we see in our lives
Depends on the purity of the window through which we look

This was in my email the next morning after I boo-hooed in my last blog post! Believe it or not, the person who sent this does not know of my current "emotional instablity" LOL! I prayed for answers and it seems I got one. I vow to clean all of my windows this weekend! :)

2011-09-14T18:26:00.000-07:00

The mid-year or maybe mid-life crisis is upon me. I have lost all physical and mental stability that I had. I am tired, extremely unmotivated,  brain dead and emotional.  I have already had 2 mini melt downs about homeschooling - fearing my ability and decision.  Every time I try to read something I don't comprehend a darn word, it is like my brain is completely fogged over. I also have a pity party going on in my head for myself. I have not been necessarily depressed on the outside but the thoughts are constantly going and it seems like it never rests. I can tell I am on over drive because I have crazy off the wall very vivid dreams when this happens, and so far for the last 2 weeks this has been the case nearly every night

After some thinking and praying last night I thought about this... if a person is not growing, then they are dying. Growth is something I can honestly say has not happened for quite some time.  Myself and this family have been on the straight and narrow for the last 5 years. No changes, No growth. Play it safe and keep it routine. There are lots a things in the "bank", per say, but for one reason or another they just don't ever seem to work out. Some things, sadly, have not happened due to lack of effort. Other things, just haven't found the right time.

The weather here has cooled by about 15 degrees this evening in a matter of hours. The beautiful sunny sky of the day clouded over as the sun set. The rain has steadily but gently been falling ever since. It is peaceful sitting here with the window open listening to it, it has a way of completely quieting the mind and the world around me. There is no wind but the smell of wet earth is very strong and fills the room.
I think I will sit here for a little while, forget about the chores I still have to do and appreciate the blessing of senerity He has just given me.

Better Food, Better Body, Better Health

2011-09-05T14:37:00.000-07:00

Tuesday (tomorrow) marks the start of a new begining for Jason and I. We have decided to start the Nutrisystem Program in conjuction with juicing. If you are not familiar with NS they mail you prepackaged astonaut food (not really but that is what it reminds me of) and with that you are suppose to eat lots of veggies and some fruit. Instead of added that by eating it, we will juice instead!
We set everything up yesterday and had a practice run......EEEWWWW is all I can say about that. I did manage to get it down but from this point forward I vow to use a recipe instead of just guessing. We had way too much cucumber and lemon, very bitter and I burped up cucumber all day long!
This morning was carrot, apple and strawberry.... a much much better combination. As for Olena, she loves it too. She juiced her own cup of OJ this morning and drank some of what Jason made with the veggies. I love that she is such a health food junkie! Wish us luck.

2011-09-05T14:33:00.000-07:00

First Day of "School"

2011-09-05T14:09:00.000-07:00

Well I wasn't fully prepared for the first day of school but all morning she kept asking me "can we do school today please!!", so I improvised and we worked with what we had.

Unfortunately I waited until the last minute to order a few of her books and they have not come yet so we worked on Math (math-u-see) along with some reading review from Starfall.

It took her a few times to catch onto the Lesson in math but after about an hour she started to get comfortable with it. I figured we will work on that Lesson one more time this week before going to the next. As for Startfall, she breezed right through. I am making her start back at the beginning for review from last year because we have not spent a lot time practicing our reading this summer. I was happy to see how well she jumped back in.

Last night we also started reading Jack London's White Fang. She sat on her bed and looked through her picture books while I read aloud. The beginning is a bit over her head and uninteresting to her but I know as soon as we get to the parts with the dog she will start to listen a bit closer. She LOVES dogs so I thought it would be a great story to start with. Speaking of dogs....as you can see Luther wanted to review the math lesson as well this afternoon. He never comes in her room so I have no idea why or what he was doing but she was pleased as punch to have him in there. If you look at the picture on the bottom of the collage, you can see her her other "pet friends" laying on the bed watching her learn. I am convinced she will be the new Crazy Croc Lady or at least maybe a vet! I can't wait to find out what the future holds!

Welcome Fall....Welcome School

2011-08-31T18:24:00.000-07:00

I am panicking a bit, not nearly as prepared as I would like to be but school is starting next week and I know that Olena will be thrilled. I had full intentions of schooling through the summer but with work and my cousins son staying with us a few days a week, it just never worked out. She loves doing school work and I know she has been a bit bummed we haven't done much lately. Today she raided the school closet and pulled out all of the workbooks and sat in her room working on them. Hopefully she maintains that enthusiasm throughout her life!!

I figured I would share what we will be working on this year.
1st grade!

Science:
Exploring Creation with Zoology.
She is absolutely obsessed with animals so I figured this was hands down the number 1 choice.

Math:
Math U See
Olena is a kinesthetic learner. This means she learns better by using her hands and manipulative's. This program does exactly that, by incorporating math blocks into the lesson.

Handwriting:
Draw Write Now
So far it is not a success. We tried it at the end of last year and she hated it. You would think that a kinesthetic learner would love to write and draw but not her. She does not like color either, at least not nicely. She scribbles frantically on each page and says that's how she likes to do it. (it drives her coloring perfectionist daddy crazy) :)

Reading:
We will use various things such as Starfall and some computer CDs I have. We will read about a particular subject every 2 weeks or so and I want to start reading chapter book aloud to her. We tried this a while ago but I think I approached it wrong. This time I will let her either sit with me or at my feet while working with something like a puzzle or coloring. I think the hands on activity will help her focus and comprehend what I am reading. Before she would almost get bored...fidget and not retain any of what I read. When we tried to discuss it the next day she wouldn't remember anything.

Bible Study:
Who is God and How Can I get to Know Him by Apologia. This is for the both of us :)

Along with all of this we are enrolled in a new Parent Partnership Program with the local school district. I will be teaching and she will be attending an Art Class (Discoverying the Great Artists) We will meet once a week for an hour and a half. Discuss an artist, his biography, and look at some of his works of Art. We will then do an art interpetation project.

There is field trip class - we will attend 1 field trip a week with other homeschoolers.

Then lastly she will work on Rosetta Stone - Russian. I think it is important for her to try and retain her native language in addition to the fact that I think it will be great for all us especially if persuing the adoption of an older child from Ukraine.

That just about covers it. I am really looking forward to this year. I plan to try and blog more about our daily school life. This way she has something to look back on and remember all of the fun she had and also to help support the homeschool community. If it wasn't for the fabulous HS families I followed via blogging world, who knows if I would have ever considered it?
Just maybe we will help another family too!

Reunion 2011 - Smokey Mountains

2011-08-30T17:24:00.000-07:00

We stayed in a gorgeous 5 bedroom, 4 bath cabin called Norton's Creek Hideaway in Pigeon Forge. It was cozy, warm and it was the perfect size for all 14 of us. It sat on a pretty big piece of property and had a beautiful creek that ran right through the "front yard". There was a complete wrap around porch with a porch swing and several old rockers, which is where us adults spent lots of our time. The sounds of nature and the creek made for perfect relaxation and plenty of entertainment for the kids. I only wish we could have stayed longer.

2011-08-30T17:16:00.000-07:00

2011-08-30T17:14:00.000-07:00

Gatlinburg hangin with friends

2011-08-30T17:10:00.000-07:00

To see it bigger, just click on the collage.

Cades Cove

2011-08-30T17:00:00.000-07:00

After the Kissacks left on Sunday afternoon the Whites and us decided to go for a drive through

Cades Cove. It was a very pretty drive!

Angelina and Olena

Olena was taking tons of pictures with my old camera...she took this one of the Whites!

2011-08-30T16:54:00.000-07:00

These are not very good pictures, sorry. Playing down in the creek. She had a fabulous time hanging out with the boys too. She followed them around all weekend trying to do everything they do! She fell a few times trying to keep up with them but she was a trooper, jumped right back up and kept on going.

2011-08-30T16:50:00.000-07:00

The kids found a few big crawfish in the creek so the boys cooked them up on the stove, cut them open and gave everyone a taste. Olena was not very pleased with the outcome....but it was fun anyhow!

Once it was turned into lunch, she was brave enough to hold it!

when alive, she said it would pinch her.

All the kids watch as Noah tried to find the good parts to eat.

All little crawfish teasing is always fun.

This was her reaction to tasting it! Not to happy.

2011-08-30T16:42:00.000-07:00

Daddy and Olena in Gatlinburg TN

2011-08-30T13:48:00.000-07:00

November 30th, 2006

Jason and I left for Ukraine November 10th 2006. We were on a journey of a life time. One that would lead us to one of the most amazing little girls I have ever known, and she would become our daughter. I thought of her every day the previous 2.5 years. How old would she be? What color hair would she have? What kind of things would she like? lots and lots of questions. I was traveling half way around the world to bring her home. Little did any of us know that not only would I gain a daughter but a whole family.

That November the Whites (Brian, Pam, and Angelina) and the Kissacks (Landon, Tonya, Noah, Micah, Silas, Solomon, Lyra and Karys) would be on the same journey; looking for a their little girls. Adoptions had been on hold for over 11 months, we had all been invited to the SDA from different parts of the country and we all had different stories that lead us there. First us, then 4 days later Brian and Pam, and a day or two after that, Landon and Tonya. We all found our daughters waiting for us in Mykolaiv. Finally there we all were, sitting together in the "sleeping room" hugging, kissing and completely falling in love with 3 of the most precious little girls we ever laid eyes on. Over the next 3 weeks, while bonding with the girls we all bonded with each other as well. Sharing our stories, laughing together, sometimes even crying together. We went bowling, had dinner, and shared a few drinks. Tonya gave support for us less knowledgeable new mommies, we talked about our frustrations, the future, our hopes and our dreams.

Once home we all continued to keep in touch via email and our blogs, over the course of the year we all grew closer and thought it would be a great idea to get together for a reunion. The Whites were in China but Pam and Angelina were home for Easter so we met in KY in April of 2007.

In September of 2009, we were able to meet up with the Kissacks in GA, sadly the Whites could not join us as they were relocating to NY. Then finally last week, almost 5 years later we ALL came back together. We stayed in a cabin in the Smokey Mountains, and had a perfect 4 day vacation. The kids played together like they were best friends, not a single fight or problem. The adults talked about the years that have gone by and even went down memory lane about our 3 weeks together and how it changed us all. Today all three girls have completely different personalities, but when they are together they fit just right, each complimenting the other. We never knew 5 years ago when taking that picture above that we would all be so lucky to continue this treasured memory.

Going on a bear hunt.

2011-08-30T13:02:00.000-07:00

One of the more exciting stories of our reunion is about the great bear encounters. Saturday morning around 6:30a, just about everyone was asleep so I decided to wander outside and check out the morning. Quietly I came out the door being sure not to slam it, walked down the porch and came around the corner, much to my surprise and his, there was a young black bear cub. Yes I freaked, let out a little scream and he took off down the stairs and down to the creek. As soon as I processed it all, my heart started pounding and I realized, where there is a cub - there is usually a mother so I of course ran back into the house...a bit excited I have to admit. Landon and Brian where sitting at the table enjoying some coffee when I came in trying to explain what happened. They both looked at me like I was a bit crazy but then quickly realized I was not so they too went outside to get a look. While it wasn't the best view, we did get to see the little guy running down the road, stopping briefly to check us out.

Fast forward to Sunday afternoon. All morning, us adults sat on the porch lazily talking and reminiscing about our adoptions while the kids all played in the creek. The Kissacks finally decided it was time for them to head back home. While standing on the porch saying our goodbyes, all of a sudden Angelina screams "BEAR!!!!" we all turn around and sure enough, there she was walking right out of the woods, right in front of all of us. Everyone started screaming, running around, moms where throwing kids and babies into the van and into the cabin (all the smart moms I should say... this did not include me) Instead I was one of the few paparazzi who crazily grabbed my camera in one hand, Olena in the other, and we took off to take pictures. God was surely shining over us that day. Letting us experience one of his most beautiful creatures, while keeping us all safe. At the time, it was nothing but excitement, however now that I think about it...we were nothing short of being unsafe lunatics.

Thankfully a few of us did have fear and common sense so Jason and Pam grabbed Olena from me and took her in the cabin. (Keep in mind Olena was squealing with complete joy and glory the whole time she was running around with me. She had been on one mission during this trip, and that was to see a bear.) The Kissacks made it to the van, us and the Whites ended up barricading ourselves in the house while Ms Bear decided to explore the property and our porch. She scared poor Pam, Angelina and Jason by lunging at the window they were observing her from, all while Olena laughed her butt off....hahaha.

I was determined to get a few more good pictures so while she was below the porch I decided to go out and get a few good shots. Those are the ones from below. Brian and Jason yelled at me several times from the bedroom while I did this, but I was all worth it...especially after she decided to stand up and show herself. I personally think she was just curious, but the men on the other hand thought I was an idiot who needed to get in the house because a standing bearing is a mad bear.

Landon ended up driving back down our driveway while honking the horn which eventually made her go back up the mountain. I would have been happy just watching her roam around but majority rules and it seems the others found peace in having the bear go back into the woods.

Then Monday morning before us and Whites loaded up the car to go home, there she was again on our back porch and she even had her 3 cubs with her. It was great. Jason missed it but Olena got to see them and one even stood up at the window looking in at us. It was a perfect ending to the perfect reunion!

how the time has changed them all....

2011-08-30T12:25:00.000-07:00

2011-08-30T12:18:00.000-07:00

2011-08-10T16:51:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the hiatus. I have been pretty busy and just haven't had much desire to blog...blogging blues I guess. There are quite a few things brewing in the Warchol household though so I figured I might as well share.

One thing I did forget to mention for awhile now is Jason and his new....old....job! If you have been a follower for some time you already know, Jason lost his job of 16 years due to the economy back in 2008. He was off for a pretty lengthy amount of time with one job that wasn't a good fit, and then he did land a decent opportunity in January which is where he had been working up until June. It is a fabulous company and he loved the job but the pay wasn't all that great, the hours were not the best and it was a far drive. When Motion called him back it was lots more money, he gets his sonority and PTO back, PERFECT hours for us, and 15 minutes from home. He has been there now a few months and it has worked out wonderfully for us. I am so happy and so is he. Great thing about this Company too is that they offer an adoption grant. We were lucky enough to get it when we adopted Olena and now we will be able to use it again. Talk about perfect timing!

Adoption news. We are praying to still move forward with adopting from Ukraine. We are currently looking for a good adoption loan. Interest rates are bit crazy right now, but we think we might have finally found a reasonable offer from a credit union in CA that offers actual adoption loans. So we have a bit more research to do and then we will see what happens. I guess if it is meant to be, it will work itself out. I had one of my "dreams" which again...if you are follower of this blog I have history of having dreams about future children of this family. I dreamt of Olena before we left for Ukraine, and she turned out exactly as I pictured, I dreamt about my aunt being pregnant 3 months before it happened....completely unexpected by any of us. The last one I had was a few years ago about 2 good friends, both were pregnant at a Christmas party. One did indeed get pregnant...the second, not yet! but she is not married yet either so maybe next Christmas? as for the most recent dream. A little girl about 6 or 7, long dark brown/black hair which was wavey. She was sitting on the floor in a hallway crying and telling me she was sick. I walked up to her, crouched down, rubbed her head and when she looked at me, I handed her something and told her not to worry I loved her and would be there to get her very soon and she had no reason to be scared. She jumped up and hugged me and then I woke up! It gives me goose bumps just writing about it. I don't like to hold onto my dreams assuming that they are true, but history has proven otherwise. I was truthfully looking at a lot of blogs that day, and I did see several girls who captured my heart so I could have merely been remembering thier faces; but then again I find in peace in the fact that if that is my daughter, who is waiting for me....I know I would never lie to her....so I do plan to keep my promise and go get her soon.

Only time will tell!

Roller Derby maybe in her future?

2011-08-02T14:43:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, this is her first trip to the roller rink. Needless to say, we have a pretty good roller skater in the family so we will be returning again soon. She had a blast, it was cheap and fun! Not to mention 2 people gave us a couple free passes so now we get our next 6 visits for free. Can't beat that. While I feel some what guilty admitting this, Jason and I had a great time people watching. There were many victims falling all over the place, it was like watching America's Funniest Videos. It was a great afternoon.

watch the next video post first.

2011-07-20T16:59:00.000-07:00

So she finally did jump, but the camera split up the video due to size, so here the grand finale.
Then I had to stand there and watch her do it about 100 more times.

2011-07-20T16:56:00.000-07:00

I finally pulled out the old camera and got some video of her. I always forget to do that! She was watching Little Einsteins - still one of her favorite - and she wanted to jump like the kangaroo joey. She came running into my office screaming "mommy come watch me do something very very dangerous!" so I jumped up and said "hang on, let me get the camera!" LOL!

golden brown baby girl.

2011-07-14T19:36:00.000-07:00

Not such a baby anymore. She has grown up so much the last few weeks. I looked at her today when she got out of the shower and I was shocked, it was like I had just seen her for the first time in months. She looks so grown up.

My 2nd best friend

2011-07-12T18:34:00.000-07:00

so in theme of lasts week wonderful people post I would like to tell you a little bit about my 2nd best friend....Adriana. We haven't been friends nearly as long as Rickie and I but we have shared a fabulous friendship over the last 3-4 years.

She is not just wonderful because she is my one true fan when it comes to this blog...she is amazing for lots of other reasons too. She is energetic and full of life. We have tons in common, we share our secrets, we vent to each other when life is hard, and we both have a passion for the simple and natural things in life, organic foods, and healthy kids.

I thought this would be a little fun to do....

A   mazingly kind
D   orkie in her own way ;) wink LOL!
R   adiant
I    ngenious
A  dmirable
N urturing
A   wesome! (that was Olena's choice)

She a kind and cheerful daughter, a radiant and dedicated wife, a trustworthy confidant and wholehearted friend.   I am truly blessed to have her in my world, and hope she is here to stay.

State offered adoption "credit"

2011-07-11T18:33:00.000-07:00

One of the agency's that I contacted regarding the Bulgaria program sent me some information about financing your adoption. While reading through it, I was pleasantly surprised to read about a State offered adoption credit. I was completely unaware of this so I wanted to share it with all of you who maybe just adopted or are going to be soon! Every little bit of extra money helps!

This is administered by the county and State Human Services Department. This program reimburses adoptive families (including international) up to 2000.00 of the adoption expense. This is not a tax credit or a tax deduction, but a check issued to you upon finalization of you adoption. The process of application is started prior to travel. The application can be obtained from the Human Services Office (keep asking, somebody will finally know

what it is you are wanting...) and is submitted showing who you are, who the child is, and why the child qualifies for this.

Normal reasons for approval in an international adoption include the age of the child (too 'old,') and/or that the child has been available for some time for adoption without placement, and/or that the child has some sort of special needs. This last category can include things like lack of immunizations in the country of origin (leaving the child unprotected from lifethreatening illness,) chronic illness that would not receive proper medical care (can include otitis, asthma, parasites...) and any sort of developmental delays.

After adopting your child, you submit the finalized papers to the Human Services Dept. along with any documentation you might have on the child's special needs. This might mean a letter from your doctor, or even a letter from your agency or in-country facilitator stating what the child's situation had been prior to adoption and the presence of developmental delays caused by institutional care, etc. Please note: many states have such a program even if it is not "advertised".

All around the mulberry bush the monkey chased the weasel...

2011-07-10T19:20:00.000-07:00

OK, so I have to admit something.... though I sounded so cool and collective in my post last week about Ukraine closing I have secretly been on an adoption hunt. Prowling the Internet in all of my spare time and even staying up way too late. Just searching searching searching. What are my other options? what other countries should we consider? reading blog after blog and agency sites galore. I have an inbox full of inquiries from practically every agency in the US. Every day I have presented my husband with a new idea...Mexico, Costa Rica (I just wanted to go there because it sounded like a good vacation!), Colombia, Ethiopia, Bulgaria. On and On and On. Well today He made me realize what a fool I really am. I just couldn't be patient and wait for things to unfold could I???

So this morning I received an email from a family in Ukraine. Looks like the SDA petitioned to stay open until a new agency is put into place. The petition was approved, therefore the SDA will NOT be closing tomorrow and previously presumed! Adoptions will continue of children who are age 5 and older, or special needs.

With that being said...looks like the original plan is back on. Lesson learned silly monkey.

Some random pictures.

2011-07-10T08:37:00.000-07:00

Jason took this with his phone a few weeks ago...she fell alseep while reading.

She is such an early bird, wakes about 5:30-6:00a so with all of our summer activities she is usually exhausted by 4 in the afternoon. Since she doesn't like to take naps she fights it until she finally just falls over!

My dad bought her these paper masks a few years back but she has never wanted to use them. The other day she asked if we could play with them so we pulled them down and this is what they looked like. Personally....I think they are kinda creepy!

this was not one of her favorites as you can tell by the look on her face. I had to beg her to wear this one because I wanted to see her with the cute blond curls. She said she looks like a clown...I think I have to agree.

the Japan mask. She was laughing hystarically when she seen the picture. She thinks it funny that the "head is so high in the sky" (her words, not mine)

the jury is still out on this one. cute but still on the creepy side!

Finally a winner. She loves this one. Big Smiles and a little dancing too.

2011-07-06T16:05:00.000-07:00

I was thinking the other day about how I never really share a lot of personal information about me or my family in general. Of course due to some sort of privacy I chose to keep certain things off the Internet but then again, there are lots of things I could manage to share with all my friends in blogger world. I decided I would start by telling you all about some of the most important people in my life, and why I think they are so wonderful.

I am an only child.

I have a very limited number of "good" friends.

I have LOTS of friends who I work with, talk to occasionally, or maybe have a lunch date with now and then.

but in truth, I have 2 true friends; and I am not ashamed of it.

Having good friends is a lot of work - and I have a busy life. I don't have time for drama and I especially don't take kindly to those friends who choose to whine because I don't pay enough attention to them. I have found over the years it is much easier to keep the BFF list short.

With that being said I would like to introduce Rickie Renee -

She is my best friend. Very best friend. The closest thing to a sister that a girl can have.

We met when we were 4 years old, in preK (the one and only class we EVER shared in our entire school career.) and we have remained friends ever since.

She is in all our family vacation photos, we have pictures of us together the first day of school every year throughout elementary, we survived my family moving away and her moving out of the country, we went to college together and both left together. There are only a handful of experiences that we have without the other. She has been one of the most important people in my life without doubt.

One of the unique things about us is that we are COMPLETE opposites but that doesn't seem to bother either of us. We completely accept each other flaws without problem, our friendship is completely effortless - which is something I have never experienced before and something that I find is very rare. Maybe we are soul mates?

We spent the Holiday weekend in Tennessee with her brother - SIL - and her newest little niece, Madison. Watching her with little Maddy reminded me of just how lucky I am and how Blessed Olena is to have her as an aunt. Rickie is amazing in lots of ways but the thing that stands out to me most is her ability to love with her whole heart and soul. I thank God everyday for this special "sister" who helps complete my fabulous life.

Hanging out in the city square.

2011-07-06T13:22:00.000-07:00

O and her cousin Ethan...in thier own words ~ "they are the bestest of friends"

Perhaps someone should have reminded them of that when I caught them beating the snot out of each other this afternoon???

OoH LA LA!

2011-07-06T13:14:00.001-07:00

Today I wore red lipstick.

Olena came into my office this afternoon with a tube of bright red lipstick.

She said I should wear it because I would look so beautiful.

I have never worn red before but I figured..what the heck, so I let her put it on.

Not only was I surprised how good of job she did, but red lipstick really does have a way of making you feel like a beautiful woman!

boo hoo hoo...it is so hard being 6

2011-07-06T13:14:00.000-07:00

fake boo hoo hooing because she doesn't want to pick up her mess

such a good actress huh??

trying not to laugh at mommy (I was snapping pictures like a crazy journalist)

"why are you taking so many pictures mommy?"

my answer: "because I am going to mail them to all of our family and friends so that they can all see how Olena is acting like a spoiled little girl...and I am not sure how impressed they will be?!!"

...she turned around and started to plea with me...."please stop now. I don't want anyone to see me like this. I will pick up my mess."

DEFEATED!!

I recieved a gift today...an email with pictures.

2011-06-23T16:15:00.000-07:00

I feel

overjoyed

touched

a bit of sadness.

but most of all

THANKFUL!

thankful for this precious baby and the woman who holds her.

thankful for being the woman who now holds her close.

thankful for being her mother!

Olena Sergeivena K. age 5/6 months.

born to Olga and Sergei

I chose to crop the pictures but one of the best parts was the fact that in these pictures Olena is happy, Olga is happy, and she looks well taken care of.

The picture in my mind - was painted much differently.

The stories I were told were far off from what these pictures show me.

I am not naive, I know that there was much more to the first year of little girls life then a handful of gleeful pictures.

BUT

I am so blessed to have such a beautiful picture enter my mind now when I think of Olena as a baby!

Summer is in full swing...

2011-06-18T21:00:00.000-07:00

June has come in like a lion and has stayed that way! I haven't blogged much because truthfully my days have consisted of basically nothing but projects, chores and every day life.
Jason fractured his ankle about 4 weeks ago while at work, so he has been on medical leave. With him being unable to walk I was responsible for taking over his chores too....oh my was I busy busy busy! Thankfully, he is able to walk on it now for short blocks of time and at least help out with a few of things I get too busy for. But it is nice having him back in the mix!

I have decided to still continue with school over the summer I have changed things up a bit so continuing through these next 3 months shouldn't be a problem. I have veered away from trying to make our days too much like "school" It didn't work for us and I realized that I was trying to do everything that I "disliked" about the idea of a classroom. Olena is a very kinesthetic learner and her sensory issues present different challenges everyday so we have to be flexible. We basically learn throughout the day and do whatever comes to us. I do pick a Unit/Theme, which we "study" for 3 weeks. I get about 15 books from the library that coincide with the theme, I usually find 1 or 2 educational movies, a few work sheets and a couple of "projects". Some days we use the computer or I make her write. She loves learning this way, and really does soak herself into what we are learning that week. I sometimes panic a little at the idea of Oh My Gosh is this ok? and I know that there are those who don't agree but my daughter is brilliant so I must be doing something right! I have had several people tell me how smart she is, and I love the idea she LOVES learning. I don't force anything on her anymore. If she doesn't want to do it, we don't, but since changing our approach over the past 2 weeks I found she hasn't complained or whined about anything I have asked her to work on.

Next on the news line...adoptions from Ukraine will come to a halt on July 11th. There is no timeline when it will resume. There are currently 139 Americans that are registered that will not not be able to proceed with their adoptions. Chat boards are buzzing with a few rumors of course but I am sure it will be at least 2 years before things are up and running again. The shut down during our adoption was 11 months and there was a "plan" in place. This time around the SDA will close but there is no established unit to take it over. Did I freak? actually no, surprisingly. I know I have to trust Him, so I am just gonna keep moving forward and eventually this family will grow, one way or another! or maybe it will be just the 3 of us. I am still happy so I can't complain.

I don't even have any new pictures to share. I haven't dared pull out the camera :) LOL! I will surely have to document this week so that you can see what I am laughing about. This girl dresses like nothing I have ever seen - she came out the other day in a size 5 halter sun dress that she called her Waldo dress (red/white striped) she was swimming in this thing it was so big; it was hanging from around her neck like a rag. She had a pair of tiny white shorts with pink and purple hearts, a pair of pink socks pulled up her calf, and purple crocks. We ended up having to run up to Home Depot and boy did we get a lot of smiles. She was just as happy as a bumblebee skipping through the aisles. All I could think of was how she looked like one of those orphan street kids but she insisted she LOVED her dress. (Tonight I fixed that problem and made some alterations to the dress so it will fit her better.) Another thing is that she is constantly dirty. And not just a little dirty, COVERED! from the second she hits the back door in the morning. She is such a busy and dirt loving girl! I'll pull the camera out tomorrow and we'll have Olena fashion week!

Time to call it a night. Thanks for checking in on us!

adopting from Ukraine?

2011-05-18T17:08:00.000-07:00

Adoption is Ukraine is very unique. In this way I mean that there is one agency, within Ukraine of course, that is in charge of ALL adoptions. Agencies have no place in Country and are not allowed to operate there at all. The reason for this is simple, Black Market Baby selling. Back in the 90s, agencies would pay hospital staff to "supply" them with healthy babies. When a mother would come in and give birth she would often be told her baby did not survive. The truth being that the hospital was paid to give the baby to the agency who would turn sell it to hopeful parents from other countries. Some babies were even taken right from the mother's once they were home. Sad huh? I personally know a few adoptive parents who have found that this was the case with their adoptive children. Imagine being told that your child's birth parents have died, a true orphan. Then down the road a few years later, the truth is you adopted a kidnapped baby. A mother somewhere on the other side of the world was grieving and praying for the baby that she thought was in Heaven. It is completely tragic.

However sad, the true reason for my post to bring to light the fact that Ukraine has a law. NO PRE-SELECTION OF ORPHANS and they are not allowed to be "advertised" as being available for adoption. According to their rules, adoptive parents must attend a meeting with the social workers at the Adoption Center in Kiev. Here, and only here, are you allowed to be "matched" with a child(ren). There are extreme exceptions to this rule - when considering children about to age out or in the case of siblings. These adoptive parents are able to submit a request expressing their interest in a particular child and ask for a referral.

For some reason, lots of people, who I don't doubt have totally true and heartwarming intentions, break this law. Their excuse....these children are special needs. Still not acceptable! No one except the SDA can match and refer a child to the adoptive parents.
I have seen these happening all over the internet. One particular Blog started a huge chain effect regarding a boy from Ukraine who was HIV+. She started a fundraiser, put his picture on the internet, raised money, and then "found" a family to adopt him. Of course this little boy's picture melted everyone's heart just as it did mine, and they all started posting this on their blogs. Doing that IS ILLEGAL. Whoever doesn't think that the workers of the SDA search the Internet for this stuff is completely in the dark. They do! Things like this - cause problems - problems equal conflicts of interest between countries. Look at everything that is going on in Russia. Adoptions are harder than ever and the country doubts our ability (the USA) to raise "their" children. All of this is happening because of the bad choices only a handful of parents made. One incident can disrupt the whole adoption system. I can't help it, but I take that personally. There are also several advocates/agencies who post pictures of available children and basically make promises to you about adopting him/her. This, again, is illegal. Not only is that a problem, but I have heard that several of these Agencies have already been "caught" and reprimanded by the SDA, not to mention I have often heard of the good ole "bait and hook technique". This is when you are promised a particular child, you pay your "fees" but once you arrive to the SDA, surprise - sorry but that child is not available or already adopted. What now, sure you can get another referral but not all parents can handle a situation such as this. As a parent, you have your heart set on a certain child - you were given pictures, updates, medical records. He/she is yours and you have travelled half way across the world to finally hold them in your arms. Only to find out that was never the case. It is like having your newborn ripped from your arms and then immediately saying ok, now chose a new one from these pictures of strangers.

There is no reason to risk adoptions. There are too many children who need families. Sadly the arrogant American attitude is displayed way too often. As a proud parent of a Ukrainian daughter, I fully respect the country of Ukraine and their laws. I may not always agree, but I live in the US - not Ukraine - so my vote doesn't count. I am going there to adopt, and I fully intend to follow all laws..... and I ask that all you consider doing the same. For the sake of the children.

stepping off my soap box now!

Micro what???

2011-05-18T15:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Olena and I were working on Starfall for her reading lessons. The game she was playing was a picture of the kitchen, with letter blocks (similar to a cross word) and she had to match the correct words to the labeled items. So we start to go through it and she is doing just fine....refrigerator, stove, oven, sink, table, and then the mysterious item - the microwave!

When we got to the mystery microwave, she just sat there for a few moments staring at it.

Me: Well Olena what is that?
O: I don't know.
Me: lets try to read the word. Sound it out.
(My hopes were that she would start sounding it out and then item recognition would kick in. After working the word for a few minutes she was able to realize that is started with MICRO)
Me: OK Olena think about it. micro.......
O: Micro WHAT?
Me: break it up, what does the second half say.
(after a few more minutes we establish the second half says wave. but now I am slightly confused because yes she is figuring out the word, but why is she not recognizing the item??)
Me: Microwave Olena. The microwave.
(she looked me straight in the face with the most puzzled looked)
O: Micro WHAT?
Me: microwave, you know - you cook popcorn in it.
O: NO, you cook popcorn on the stove
(yeah, thats true. J cooks it in the kettle pot with oil)
Me: Well I sometimes warm up left overs in the microwave.
O: Where is it?
Me: Where is what? the microwave?
O: yes, we don't have one.
Me: it's in the basement
O: oh...well I never seen one before.
(then she let out a big sigh)

We do have a microwave but barely use it, it sits in the basement. We give it a whirl about once a month. Same goes for my parents. My mom actually keeps her in a cabinet in the garage. But honestly, never in my wildest imagination did I realize that she had no idea what the microwave was. I was a bit embarrassed at first, but now after the fact - I can chuckle about it!
OMGosh!

Handmade Tutus

2011-05-17T18:08:00.000-07:00

To make a long story short my coworker came to work all excited over these adorable tutus she just bought for her girls online. She shows me this website of a very quaint little mom run baby boutique and she shows me these cute but rather basic tutus - however they were $40 each. OH MY! I couldn't believe it. Don't get me wrong, they were cute, but I would never in my right mind pay $40 for a tutu. So the Martha Stewart side of me kicked in, I went home and tackled the project myself....using over 90 yards of 6inch tulle I was able to make a darling tutu! Which I took to work and showed her. She LOVED it, and I told her I could sell them for $25 each....she ordered 4! and now I am in business. I have 10 orders that I am currently working on and I figured why not. It is easy for me to do, it doesn't take up too much of my time, and I can use the money I make to put towards the adoption.

With that being said...if any of you lovely blogger friends are interested. I am taking orders. Custom made to order, any color/colors you like. I add embellishments (a bow or flower attached with a claw clip) and I can even add things like small rhinestones/flowers/butterflies to the tutu as well. I have a few more pictures and ideas so just email me! candjwarchol@yahoo.com

I didn't realize I was going to be selling them when I first did it. I made 2 from the start and gave them to Olena and my niece Madison for her 1st bday. So I didn't get good pictures of each one. As I work on the newest orders I have, I will post more pictures.

Baby tutus: $20 (60 yards of tulle)
toddler/little girl: $25 -up to size 6/7 (90 yards of tulle)
young girl: $30

Baby Maddie (and her family) - this is made with lavender and pale pink tulle, there are little rhinstones scattered along the edges and it has a big pink satin bow at the waist with white poka dots.

She was not feeling cooperative this day while I tried to take a few pictures so this is the best I have to offer. This one is made with 90 yards. 30 of dark purple (2 inch tulle), 30 purple with sparkles (3 inch tulle) , 30 white (6 inch tulle.) This one has a bit more of a "messy" look to it because of the different widths of the tulling. I had a big purple gerber daisy for the waist but she didn't want it.

a bit of peasant soup...

2011-05-16T17:07:00.000-07:00

Peasant soup is one of my favorite soups...just a mix of whatever you have left in the frig (of course within reason) I am sitting here thinking about what to write, and apparently what to have for dinner. I figured this post may be a little like peasant soup - a mix of whatever is floating around in this head of mine.

One thing I noticed that I did not post about is that I did attend the National Home School Conference in Cincinnati Ohio. It was amazing. I attended the one in Lansing last summer but that was Michigan based, this one was HUGE!! My usual sidekick partner in crime/BFF/"adoptive" sister I never had, Rickie, joined me for the weekend. We had a great time and I got lots of good stuff.
I really wanted to get the Math-U-See program last year but couldn't justify spending that much money for the beginning of Kindergarten when my husband wasn't working...so I put if off. This year, well lets just say my "reasoning" didn't really help much this time. It was the first booth, and I walked away spending half my budget in the first 15 minutes of the exhibit hall! LOL. I am ok with it though. It is suppose to be a fabulous program and the cost will never be this much again. It would just be a matter of buying the next level book.
She despises handwriting so I bought the Draw Write Now book to see if that was any better. Of course she likes the drawing part but the sentences are the death of her...at least with all of the whining you would think that was the case. I completed about 4 lessons and we have backed off a bit. I let her draw the picture and then we do 1 sentence a day (4 sentences total) When she does write it is fairly legible so I am not too worried about it. I suppose there are worse things than having bad handwriting.
I haven't really been using much of a reading curriculum but she seems to be doing very well so I am trying not to stress about it. She knows how to sound out the words perfectly, she can read the little BOB BOOKS, and the 1st LEVEL READERS without much help, and she is pretty clever at spelling. My daughter can spell Camaro and Corvette in her sleep but seems to struggle with remembering words such at "and"..... therefore I am fully convinced she is a spelling bee champion only if the words are interesting to her.
I haven't made any definite decisions yet but I am throwing around the idea of introducing an instrument in the fall. Lessons in maybe piano. When I asked her, she said the guitar but she still suffers with her fine motor ability. Granted I have no clue how to play the guitar but it doesn't seem to be a fitting idea for a beginner 6 year old. She loves music and she is very familiar with her instruments - she use to LOVE Little Einsteins. Any idea?

Well for now I gotta call it quits. I need to eat some dinner and finish up a few chores.

"Why would you want to do that?"

2011-05-13T11:42:00.000-07:00

The title of this post is a question I have heard a lot lately. The funniest part of it, is that it always comes after the 45 second moment of silence that followed the fact I just told them that we are pursuing another adoption from Ukraine....of a HIV child.

.................................. let me guess what you're thinking? Why would we want to do that?

There are actually lots of reasons, but my main reason..... I prayed for it. I prayed for a larger family, another child....anyway He found fit; adoption, foster care, biological - hey I am open to suggestions. :) That is when information about HIV orphans started falling into my lap. Every new blog I found seemed to mention HIV children, a good friend directed me to a few sites with special needs children and I always found myself searching the database of HIV orphans. At first, I truthfully didn't give it a second consideration. Until one night while, again, praying for "answers" I fell asleep to the words of...."you can handle it" I woke up the next day, started immediately doing research and finally my heart fluttered and my mind found peace just as it did 5 years ago. Returning to Ukraine, and going with the open heart to accept a child who is considered HIV+ is where our journey will take us next. I don't have all the answers. I don't have any idea when or how we will get there. But I will say that He is doing a very very good job at making it possible. I can't share details yet but the financial aspect of our life will be improving dramatically over the next month or 2, and that is surely one of the only things that would be a hurdle for us at this point.

So why would I want to do this? My dearest friend Adriana said it best the other day....
If we don't believe in the signs that we are asking for, then why even talk to Him at all?

There is one thing I have always known since being a little girl; I know for a fact He put a great love in my heart for His orphans. I want to accept a HIV+ child into this home because (she) needs the love, she needs a family, and because it is what I was meant to do.

With that being said...Welcome to our revised blog; POSITIVELY BLESSED!

Spring Pictures...my sweet angel!!

2011-04-15T19:12:00.000-07:00

Organizing 101

2011-04-14T13:58:00.001-07:00

So I am avid follower of the blog A Bowl Full of Lemons, and I love it. I have been dying to get my home as organized as hers so I finally tackled a few projects over the weekend. I have to admit there is nothing better than opening the door to such a clean and organized space, it brings such peace to the day :)

Hall/Linen closet. I made sure I had 2 sets of sheets and pillow cases for each bed. Everything else, went to goodwill this morning. They all now perfectly fit in the big tote on the top. Before, every time you pulled something out an avalanche of linens would fall on your head. And often this was fixed by just shoving everything back up there.

Make up and Meds are in the mesh baskets that pull right out of the frames so that I can look through it easily.

The large tall tote holds stuff like shampoo, toothpaste, extra vitamins, and lotions.

Lower shelf, as you can see it towels and wash clothes. I got the box from the grocery store and it holds my hand towels perfectly so I think I am going to cover it with some contact paper to make it look a little nicer!

Catch all counter. The rack is actually a bathroom rack. On the towel bars you can see I put mugs on one, and my wax paper on the other for easy access. Spices are lined up in little rectangle baskets (there are three of them in a row)

Paper plates and napkins on top for easy access.

Fridge, which is my worst enemy. For some reason I always have trouble keeping the fridge nice. Things always mange to get shoved to the back, and it always seems like something falls out every time you open the door. I used ice cube buckets from the $1 store on the top shelf. It holds all of the condiments and dressings. There is a white tray on the middle shelf that I can pull out and see what is in the back, before forgetting about it!! The bottom, I have 2 buckets - one holds all of Olena's snacks. She knows when hungry she can eat anything out of that bucket. The other bucket behind it hold bags of cheese, and any other bagged items. Drawers hold fruit and veggies and the door now holds all drinks and big jars.

This use to be my worst cupboard. There were many "leaning towers" in here and it was a sure safety hazard. I pulled out a few things we never use anymore (put in the garage sale pile) lined the bottom with contact paper and now it holds my small appliances, and in the back is a basket with my glass cookware.

Food pantry! I was going to label the containers like she does on favorite blog, but I figured that if I changed the contents, I would have to worry about peeling off the labels and redoing it. I don't want to be bothered with that. All the containers are clear and it hasn't been a problem for the hubby so I think I will leave it as it is. I didn't take pictures but I also did a complete overhaul in the bathroom - the medicine cabinet, under the sink and all of the drawers. I used

organization continued.

2011-04-14T13:41:00.000-07:00

She doesn't have many hanging clothes, so what few items she has are in my closet. Instead we use this space for toys. One, this avoids the extra space that a toy box requires, and of course it allows for a much more organized space. It also make it easier for me to go through all of the toys quickly every few weeks to rid the collection of any broken and/or unnecessary aquired junk!!

thankfully I found time to clean her carpet and I have to say I am very impressed with myself. It turned out beautiful. I scrubbed all of the spots (marker, muddy foot prints - kids and dogs - and only God knows what else) with a baking soda paste, and then I used the carpet cleaning machine with a little bit of softner (for smell) and a little bit of soap! Looks great huh?!

organization for the DVDs and other media.

She is working hard huh?

After I finally opened the door and let her after a full day of forbidding her entrance. She came in laid on the bed, covered up and said "aahh, it is great having a clean room!"

A fraction of her books, and her coloring supplies.

Dog and Daughter!

2011-04-12T12:09:00.000-07:00

A few advantages to this - 1. my floors get cleaned 2. the puppy gets his excerise 3. both are fully entertained for at least an hour!!

2011-04-10T19:02:00.000-07:00

I am worn out and beat to the bone tonight but I do have lots to share and talk about so stay tuned this week and I will update as soon as I can. Enjoy a few pics.

Dirty Birdie

2011-04-10T18:52:00.000-07:00

Today we finally had some beautiful weather. It was in the mid 70s, a bit too cold to swim so since she was driving me crazy to put her suit on and play in the water, we decided to have some fun in the mud!

Not sure what this is....Kung Fu Mud fighting I think :)

She was thinking about what she wanted to do next.

This is her look of satisfaction.

water+dirt=one extremely happy 6 year old.

I love the butt!

Table Top Tree House~

2011-04-10T18:48:00.000-07:00

This was my solution to a daughter who was insisting all day that we needed to find a way to make a tree fort. A kid table set, a flat sheet and about 6 binder clips and you can build anything! She loved it, and at least it was out of my way unlike the usual big fort built right in the middle of my living room.

A Michigan Summer.

2011-04-10T18:43:00.000-07:00

It has been so unseasonably cold, this is what us Michiganders have had to resort to...long johns and our bathing suits :) LOL. I told her it was still too cold to swim so she came out of her room with "just the right solution!" and those were her exact words.

On a side note, my daughter has the strangest fashion sense.

Manic Monday.

2011-03-28T18:12:00.000-07:00

Not too much to chime in about these days. The gloomies have been here for about the past week. Everyone is sick of cold weather and snow, Michigan is very unseasonably cold and we just want to be outside and have the windows open. We started a herb garden in the house a few weeks back and they were looking great. We had lots of little sprouts and decided to put them on the porch one sunny afternoon. Well, I forgot about them. The next morning when walking outside at 6am in the morning to go to work...there they sat...frozen as a popsicle. Darn it! I tried spraying them with water but they just wilted and never came back. I still had lots of seeds left so I spent some time over the weekend replanting everything. I have been doing a lot of soul searching these last few weeks. I have a strong urge for a makeover...not a physical one - though I could use it...but a spiritual one. I have been trying to view things in my life through different color lenses. Re-evaluating everything I do and asking "is this something beneficial to me and this family?" if not, I am trying to find a way to rid my life of it and I am really trying to stay focused and diligent to the things that I know are good for us, and me. Simply put...I am looking for ways to better myself, better this family, and better the world. One of things I have started to do is study the Bible. I have finally read it, but truthfully it doesn't have too much meaning to me yet. I didn't grow up with a strong religous background and the extent of my religous education comes from what I learned over 25 years ago. Pretty safe to say I don't remember much. Of course there is a lot of obvious stuff that you can learn from the Bible but there is also TONS of underlying stuff that I can't even start to try and tackle without some help. I decided to try and learn about the History of different religions too, it has intrigued me a bit and makes me wonder about what others believe to be the truth. Any recommendations? Lets just say that there is nothing short of a million books recommended on the internet! Sorry for the format and any spelling errors, something wierd is going on and it is not editing properly.

Refreshing!!!

2011-03-28T17:59:00.001-07:00

Before.

After! and I have to say I LOVE IT.

now the room is even more fabulous because it is so well lite, bright, and refreshing.

www.forjapanwithlove.com

2011-03-18T12:52:00.001-07:00

too tired for much.

2011-03-17T17:46:00.000-07:00

I am way to tired for much more than pictures tonight. It was a bit of a better day and it was the first beautiful day of the year so we took advantage of it, cut school short and spent a few hours at the park. Then we hit Target to use a gift certificate for some new summer clothes and some shopping at the fruit market.

My patience was even a bit more under control today - but it helped that Olena was as sweet as peach pie. On the way home she asked if she could ride her bicycle when we got home. I told her it was in the shed and that after I carried the groceries in I would go out and get it for her. She so sweetly replied, "that is nice of you mommy, I will be sure to use my patience and let you get your chores done before helping me."

My heart swelled and I was gently reminded once again just how blessed I truly am.

the oven during and after my baking soda clean up

2011-03-17T17:32:00.000-07:00

This is what it looked like after only wiping it out. This weekend I plan to tackle those stains with a brillo pad. But for as bad as it was, this is amazing.

Spray with water, sprinkle baking soda, spray with water again and leave overnight.

In the morning I scraped it with a spacula and wiped it down with rag

I forgot to take the before picture but here you can still see the nasty it is!

praying for patience.

2011-03-16T17:05:00.000-07:00

I have no idea why but I have completely lost all patience the last few days. Deep in the pit of my stomach there is this anxiety that is just eating away at me and the only thing it is good for is making me short fused. I don't have any particular stress going on and nothing to really worry about in my life but it is there, and I can't make it go away. Any tiny bit of arguing that my hubby gives me, just jabs at my side and makes me bite my tough to avoid speaking the very unGodly words I am thinking. I could share the long list of things that Olena is doing that is driving me out of mind this week, but for the sake of my good heart and fact that I am trying to draw in some kind of positive energy tonight, I will throw that list away. Something I will whine about is the fact that this little girl NEVER STOPS TALKING!!! I tried to vent to my mom yesterday in some hopes that she would understand and come up with some magic answer but instead, all I got where a few good laughs. Seems He put the joke on me. According to both of my darling parents, I had the same problem. However, I can hardly imagine that I ever had that much to talk about and not to mention I was the perfect child!! :) lol! It has been so bad I found myself in deep prayer for patience at the STOP sign today when the guy in front of me found it necessary to sit there for over 10 minutes waiting for cars that were 3 miles away. Oh and the mail lady.....who keeps taking MY parking spot in front of my house - though there is not a single car in the street anywhere. Today when I got home she was AGAIN in my spot. She was packing up to leave and putting her bags in the back of the van, I pulled up real fast and real close then sat there and waited for her to move, all while giving her my stink eye. When she pulled away she was watching me through her mirror, I pulled into my spot and gave her a big smile. OK that was very childish and wrong to do, but boy did it feel right at the time. Then I asked for forgiveness and had to laugh at myself a little bit. What has the day resorted to when you are bullying the mail lady!

I now have 1 1/2 hours before J gets home, Olena's asleep and it is finally quite so I think it is time for some reflection and work to squash this nasty spirit who has reared her head this week.

Being brave the best way she knows how.

2011-03-15T17:51:00.000-07:00

Olena has a big issue with getting her nails clipped. This has been a problem since bringing her home and though it has improved a bit in four years, it is still a 45 minute fight just to trim her fingers and toes. She has never been hurt - she just has a problem with it due to her sensory disorder - she is extremely over sensitive when it comes to her feet or hands.

I am cutting her nails the other day....

O: do you have to cut the baby one too?
M: Yes!
O:NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO, not the baby one OK?
M: I have to, it's really long
O: NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO, its my dragon claw.
M: I still have to cut it
O: NNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO, just leave it ok! Leave them all. I can do it.
M: how? you don't know how to use the clippers.
O: like this! (as she attempts to put her toes in her mouth and act like she biting the nails off)
M: that's just wrong....not to mention disgusting. I need to cut them. Please give me your foot.
O: (as nervous as be) just wait a minute.....**big sigh**....(grabs her foot, hugs it and starts rocking back and fourth) then she starts chanting..."be brave like Dave, be brave like Dave, be brave like Dave, be brave like Dave"

The chanting/prayer must have worked because we managed to get all 10 toes trimmed with only a moderate amount of drama.

do you ask who's Dave?
David from the story of David and Goliath.
Only Olena!

time change syndrome

2011-03-15T13:38:00.000-07:00

I am completely suffering due to the time change. It is unbelievable how one hour can make such a drastic change in your schedule. Today I am totally dragging butt, and at this moment nothing sounds better than a nice nap. Jason is now on afternoons so for the last 2 weeks I have gotten into the habit of going to bed at 11:30. When he gets home we often sit up and talk but I am beginning to realize that I just can't keep the pace with only 5-6 hours of sleep. For the last 2 1/2 years I have been in bed and laying on my pillow by 10p the latest! worst part about the late nights is even though I go to bed later, my wake up call still comes in at 5am. sigh...

Outside of being tired and falling terribly behind in my chores things are going pretty well.
I have been sewing/making burp clothes and few other baby items to sell at a mom to mom sale and on line for a little extra money. That has been interesting. I am not much of a sewer. My mom....she is awesome. Me, not so much!! but I am learning. I get better with each one I make :) Last night when I made a complete one without having to use my seam riper once, I was a very happy girl. Lets hope that luck continues.

Olena is growing like a weed. She has been complaining for the last few weeks about her legs hurting. She has been sleeping a lot and she eats constantly so I new a big sprout was coming. Then I looked at her this afternoon and I couldn't believe my eyes. I swear she grew an inch and it is all in her legs.

Her newest fascination is roller skating. She would roller skate all day if I let her. She is not all that great at actually skating and gliding, but she gets around and very rarely falls down so I am sure it won't be long. Besides with this ridiculously long and cold Michigan weather, her skating has been confined to the dining room which really doesn't offer much space to glide.

Green 101:
the oven cleaner recipe I posted last week is FABULOUS!! I used it over the weekend. I will try and download all of my pictures tonight to show you. I did it on Saturday night and cleaned it up on Sunday. The clean up consisted of using a metal spatula running it right across the oven and simply scrapping up the mess. I threw it all in a garbage can, used a wash cloth with a little bit of the all purpose cleaner (water, vinegar and dish soap) wiped it down and it was gleaming!!! I was so impressed. and most of all happy I didn't have to use that awful smelling toxic oven cleaner!

I am also looking to start using a new laundry soap. We use to make it, then we went a powder that I found a Walmart for a great price. But here is what I learned the other day - within ten minutes of putting your clothes on the chemicals from your laundry soap are circulating through your body. To prove this - cut a clove of garlic and put it between your toes *just next to the big one is fine* and wait 10 minutes. what happens? you start to taste the garlic in your mouth.
I know I cannot eliminate all of the stuff that goes into our bodies, but what things I can control easily seem silly not to do. In reality, the idea of using all of these chemicals on a daily basis is fairly "new". As consumers we have only been doing this for the last 50 years or so. We now see huge numbers of cancers, autism and diseases we didn't deal with back then. But its no wonder, we slowly poison our bodies every single day with the products we use. Not trying to be obsessive, just conscientious. Anyone have any recommendations? Need something natural and affordable.

Zero Waste...

2011-03-10T12:41:00.000-08:00

If you have 2 minutes and haven't watched it already, check out this video about the Johnson Family.

Here's thier blog site too: zerowastehome.blogspot.com

I found it a bit inspiring - (oh and what I would do to live in such a white house...sigh...) LOL!

I challenge each of you to try and at least make one change in your household - every bit helps!

The nasty things we breath.

2011-03-09T17:16:00.000-08:00

My newest obsession - indoor pollution! I came across an article in one my magazines about indoor pollution so I started to research it and I was appalled. My biggest problem....4 big dogs, 2 cats, a messy husband and a 6 year old! They make this house a big stye, especially the dogs! and I can't stand the idea of my house smelling like a barn yard so I am continuously spraying air freshener, burning candles, there were plug ins everywhere and I can use a whole bottle of dollar store bleach spray in one day. I am smart enough to know that none of the stuff is necessarily good for me or my family but I never gave it much thought. I was to involved in the idea of a clean and good smelling house. Good grief, after learning everything I have over the last few weeks I think I may have actually been recreating Chernobyl within my home...ok not that bad but bad enough.

We have done away with the chemicals, candles, said bye-bye to all the plug-ins
(sorry SC Johnson!), and no more air freshener.

Now my biggest problem...trying not to forget about the simmer pot on my stove. Did that twice already! Good thing we change the batteries in the fire alarms this week.

I thought I'd share a few of my recipes so far.

Simmer in a pot on the stove mint leaves or Cinnamon sticks.
Use a cup full of vanilla as a room freshener.
You can use a spray bottle with orange oil (20 drops), lavender oil and eucalyptus oil (10 drops each) mixed with distilled water. Use this as a all purpose freshener.
I haven't tried this yet but you can use crushed up green tea leaves as an odor eater. Sprinkle in your carpet or dog bed let it sit for 10 minutes then vacuum. I read you can put it in a bowl under covered in your frig and it absorbs odors. Wonder if green tea bags would work for that?? I do have a box of those.
Use a baking soda/water paste as a soft scrub.
bottle of water, 3 tablespoons of vinegar and 1/4 tsp of dish soap = glass cleaner.
to clean your oven spray the surface with water, cover completely with baking soda and spray again over the top. Let it sit over night and in the morning you are supposed to be able to clean it right up with a damp rag and some dish soap. I will be trying this over the weekend so I will let you know how well it works.
1/2 teaspoon washing soda, some dish soap and hot water makes a great all purpose cleaner.
1/4 cp of lemon juice with 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil will work as a wood polish.
2 cps of water with 2 teaspoons of tea tree oil, will get rid of mold if sprayed on and not rinsed.

Hope you all consider a little change, better for you and better for the earth! Enjoy!

The pressure is on!!

2011-03-09T11:51:00.000-08:00

OMG, not even 24 hours I have 2 comments...that means that there are still people reading this blog and even checking it daily. Truthfully, it still amazes me people find anything I write interesting, but to all of you who do THANK YOU! I love the comments, they make me smile! and sometimes even cry (in a good way of course).

I figured while I had a moment I would chime in on a few things that I thought of after I posted last night.

Olena is back in gymnastics and was even invited into the advanced class :) she is my little jumping gymnast. In my own opinion, though she is very strong and is able to preform all of her "stunts" (not sure what you would call this?) she is lazy about it. Guess I am too tough, but after class on the drive home I always give her a hard time..."don't you think you could stretch your arms a bit taller and straighter on your landings? next time when you do your tumbling be sure to remember to point your toes?" :)
I promise I am not some crazy stage mom, I just like her to be aware of what is necessary. I do have to sit on a freezing, uncomfortable, jam packed bleacher for 2 hours. The least she can do it give it her best!! LOL
Truthfully, while I know she loves the class I dread going and we have to go tonight so I am a bit cranky about it. Remember a few months back how elated I was about this?...mainly because it was going to give me at least 1 hour of good reading time. Well in 6 weeks, it hasn't happened once. Jason got me a Kindle for xmas, which I take with me and every single week, while reading my Kindle I have had someone interrupt me to ask how I like it and then the conversations never seem to end. I LOVE people, I love making new friends but all I want to do is have a moment to actually read a chapter of something without interruption. I don't have to stop to yell at dog for chewing something, get up to let a dog out who is bugging, yell at a dog who is barking for 10 minutes straight, squirt a cat with the water gun for scratching my couch, answer a phone because work is calling, answer one of the many 100 questions my lovely 6 year old has for me, or even deal with a loving husband who never seems to have anything to say until I pick up a book. EVERY single week for 6 weeks!! I am tempted to write a letter or make a little flyer advertising how I adore my Kindle and never leave home without it. I can put it in everyone's cubby and answer the one burning question they all want to ask. or maybe I should seek out the same person every week and sit by her?? she wouldn't have to ask about the Kindle, but then again maybe she'll want to talk recipes?

The FedEx guy just came and he brought me lots of goodies! my delivery from Barnes and Noble. I must have been half asleep the night I ordered this stuff because there were a ton of things in there that I don't even remember ordering. They had a great deal going on and I only spent $30 and got free shipping. I got a 1st grade curriculum guide book (780 pages, it looks like a yellow pages), a 1st grade test prep book, 3 boxes of flash cards (States and Capitals, Phonics, and Sight words), 4 "I can read books", 4 Judy Blum books and a sight words/handwriting work book. I feel like I hit the jack pot!
Speaking of school, this week we had 3 successful days in a row so far...knock on wood. Met our goals and our deadlines, all without any fuss. She caught on quick to what we were studying and she didn't struggle so that usually makes the day go by smoother. When I start to work on things that challenge her, she tends to make the lesson difficult. Starts to fuss, wiggles around, gets distracted, etc. So we regroup and go onto something else. But for sanity sake I kept the lesson plan pretty basic this week. I am more so concerned with getting her back into the swing of our schedule.

I do have to more to discuss but I will save it for later tonight or tomorrow, we have to start getting ready for "gym class"!

((HUGS)) to you all!!!

2011-03-08T17:33:00.000-08:00

OK, so my computer is fixed and has been working fine but I haven't had the strength to post. No I am not sick...at least not physical but mentally I guess you could say I have been under the weather. I was sitting here on the computer tonight and figured it was time to finally share some of those "thoughts out loud" I seem to advertise in my title but haven't dished out. I have been completely lost lately but slowly finding my way back.

Back in January, Jason started a new job which of course is an amazing blessing, but he was training on a shift that totally did not work for our family. He had to be at work at 6a and I work in the office 6:30a-930a so that meant I had a 3 hour block were someone needed to stay with Olena. You would think that 3 hours would be no big deal but when all of your family and friends live at least 30 minutes from your home and work, it is a problem. After several trial and error situations we ended up having my MIL stay with us during the week. We of course love having grammie around, but having a house guest for 5 weeks tends to put a kink in your daily routine. As of today he is finally on his normal afternoon schedule and things are finally looking a bit sunnier.

So are ready now? all because of this weak link in our chain the domino effect started and our whole family seemed to start falling apart.

Olena started acting out and acting out like a sassy 6 year old - daddy is not around as much grammie was here a lot, and mommy was stressed, so she made sure to try her best and take full advantage of the situation.

I was already struggling with her curriculum because the one I bought for this year was kindergarten but it ended up being too easy for her. For the last 3 months I have been using that curriculum as a guide while sitting on the Internet night after night digging for the first grade equivalents. My goal was to just wing it for a few weeks while I researched and purchased a 1st grade curriculum but due to the chaos and changes in our schedule I never had the motivation to look into it. Which ultimately made me stress out even more! We usually have school 4 days a week and because I was so drained we ended up decreasing to 3 days, which made me feel guilty, and did nothing more than put us that much further behind!!! :(
Before anyone yells at me, I finally bought a new one over the weekend and it should be here tomorrow!! YEAH!
On a good note, she loves to read and is pretty darn good at it. However, she has lost complete interest in spelling! She loves math, as long as it doesn't have anything to do with numbers. Math without numbers meaning she likes working with shapes, patterns, measurements, etc. Adding and subtracting and even the number line are of no interest to her. She loves science especially animal science. She is very inquisitive about the world around her. She will have you talk forever about how something is made or done. One thing that we have the biggest issue with is that she absolutely hates handwriting. She would be 100% content if all of her school work was done on the computer. I have tried everything from the magnadoddle, A salt trays, markers, crayons, pencils all different shapes and sizes, chalk, the dry erase...you name it - I tried it. She gets so dramatic when I ask her to practice her writing. A pen pal letter to Lyra or Angelina will take her a week to do because I have to fight with her to write more than one word.

Another elephant in the room is growing our family. It seems every direction we have turned there is a road block stopping us from going any further. We tried some basic fertility, neither one of us are real comfortable with the idea of heavy treatments or invitro. We decided to go the foster care route but it required almost 6months of classes that we could not attend because Jason now works afternoons. All classes are held in the evening, and both parent are required to attend. We recently looked into domestic infant adoption but I almost fell out of the desk chair from sticker shock. After hanging up the phone with the 5th agency and not hearing a number lower than $25k I was tore up inside trying to figure out what we were going to do. Last night I made my final attempt and only good thing I can say is that we are so far only encountering hurdles and not road blocks. My final attempt was contacting Cathy Harris from Ukrainian Angels. She is the one who guided us to Ukraine the first time and possibly now for a second time. Price wise, we are not looking at much more than what we spent 4 years ago. Do we have that money now? NO! but we didn't have it when we started our first adoption either. Jason and I talked about a plan and we think we can make it work but we are still a little hesitant. I never in my mind or heart thought I would be going back so mentally I am not prepared. And this time around the situation in Ukraine is a bit scarier. We adopted Olena under a "brand new" system, we walked into the SDA only weeks after reopening in 9 months...there were a back load of available children. For those of you who don't remember we were shown 5 profiles, all little girls under the age of 3, all "healthy". That was a rarity and not a typical appointment, but now a days it is even rarer...possibly even unheard of. Not to mention that they are adopting out and pushing sibling groups. From what I've heard lately, finding a single child under the age of 10 is tough.

Sadly through these rough 3 months I have veered away from the faith that I have so strongly been trying to build. I stopped reading the Bible, I stopped thinking about God (at least didn't think about him enough) and I very rarely prayed. That is very embarrassing to admit because this should have been the time that I relied on my faith the most. So I am back on the wagon and like I said at the beginning of the post I am slowly finding my way back. I started the Book of John over the weekend and much to my delight the scriptures are much more meaningful and "clearer" to me this time around.

Well I hope I didn't bombard you with too many negative thoughts, but I am back on the up swing and hope to start journaling/blogging more. It feels good to vent at the end of the day!

PS I am tired and don't feel like proof reading tonight so hopefully there were not too many rambling mistakes :)

2011-02-14T16:51:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the leave of absence. Our computer got a virus and it has been in the repair shop...aka my BFF Rickie's house while they reloaded and fine tuned it. Now we are back in business. Here's a few picture to hold you guys over until I can get around to posting.

2011-02-14T16:34:00.000-08:00

Note the Veggie Tale obsession - I came in the room and asked if I could take a picture of her make up job and she insisted I take a picture of Larry first.

So you can see Larry (in case you do not know, he is the Cucumber), the Larry shirt (which she wears EVERY TIME it is clean), the Veggie Tale fruit snacks that she spotted while out at Big Lots with me (it only had 4 packages in the box and she has been stretching them out because she doesn't want me to throw the box away. We have been down to the last bag for over a week now.) All she has been doing is carrying the box with the one package still inside! LOL! Oh lets not forget the green pants which are not necessarily Larry related but they are green so that is Larry enough for her, and if you look closely next to her on the bed is her Veggie Tale's DVD and Bob!

Don't let that fool you though, Bob takes the back seat in this relationship, it is all about Larry!

The really reason for this photo shoot.
I gave her the vanity mirror and a barrage of my old make up. This was the outcome.
She said she painted her face like a tiger.

Anyone buy this? Do ya think she is really this sweet??

2011-02-14T16:20:00.000-08:00

What falls down....must get up!

This is the little ice rink daddy made for her in the back yard.

She would stay out for hours every day if we let her.

This was pre-snowmagedden so now when you look out our back door you can't see the rink, instead we see nearly 2 feet of snow with snow piles that are as tall as me!

Gotta love Michigan winters.

Love the snow suit, both from Target on clearance. It is a ski set so it is ultra warm.

Pants were $5 and jacket was $11.

2011-02-14T16:14:00.000-08:00

My cute snow bunny, getting ready to go ice skating!

Happy 6th BDay!

2011-01-13T17:20:00.000-08:00

My only reason for lack of posts, is lack of motivation. Not a very energetic start to the New Year but there is lots to share.

Christmas was wonderful, we spent time with family and friends...managed to keep things simple and calm and rang in the New Year sitting on my couch with my husband.

Olena went sledding for the first time, and of course the thrill seeking over stimulated little girl had a BLAST. She screamed with intense joy all the way down, never fell off and never spun around backwards. A pro from the start!! but because she is so darn light she travelled half way across the park. I felt bad because she had to walk so far before even having to hike back up the hill. True trooper though and never gave up. In fact we had to make her leave after an hour and half because her cheeks were so cold and pink I was fearful of frostbite. I didn't take pictures though which is a bummer, but J and I sledded too and I didn't want to risk breaking it.

She also learned how to ice skate this week. My mom got her a pair of double bladed figure skates and she is fascinated with it. Our entire street is ice covered so we went up and down the block. Then while visiting my parents for a few days, my amazing mother built her a rink and from what I heard the obsession continued. My mom has those pictures so I will try to get them up in the next week or so. :)

I signed O up for gymnastics again. A new gym opened about 5 minutes from the house and with cabin fever setting in I figured now is a better time than ever. It is an advance kindergarten class and will last 1.5hour. Mom's excited because all I keep thinking about is the fact that I will get at least one solid hour of reading time to myself. That's priceless. :)

Some of the most exciting news of the night, I got my own office/school room. Jason calls it my Labatory. I LOVE IT> I LOVE IT> I LOVE IT!! We had to give up the guest room and unfortunately whoever stays over will have to sleep on the air mattress but having this room is amazing. The space, the ability to have everything right here for us, the privacy, the organization, everything about it is perfect for Homeschooling. I couldn't be happier. It took some convincing on Jason's part, but he finally agreed.

Olena's 6th birthday is next week. Thursday. She has grown so much, physically and mentally, in the last 2 weeks or so, the reality of her age is starting to set in. Of course, as all mothers do I am dwelling on the fact that my baby is growing up. I am so blessed to have such an amazing daughter. I am sitting her thinking of words to describe her...most little girls are summed up with words like nurturing, sweet, loving and creative. Olena....well Olena is surely not your typical little girl.

Energetic. Boisterous. Loyal. Cheeky. Funny. Bold.

She doesn't like to cuddle very much, she would rathered be tickled than snuggled. She does not play with dolls. Books, puzzles and HotWheels consume her play time. She pretends to be a different animal every day. She LOVES animals, but not in a lovey dovey kind of way. You don't find her in the bedroom brushing or loving our dogs. She is usually playing wrestle mania with them or torturing them in some kind of way. Her love for animals comes by learning about them. She constantly looks through animal "encyclopedia" books, wants to know where every animals lives, eats, how they walk, how they run, what there babies are like, and if they are mean or nice. Her imagination is beyond belief. She sleeps with about 100 things in her bed. It drives me crazy and I can take everything out 20 times a night, only to return and find everything back in bed with her. and did I mention, she is perfect in every way!

Happy 6th Birthday.

2011-01-13T17:11:00.000-08:00

Santa visiting our house. Olena was extremely excited...not that Santa came but that Luther got to see him! "How COOL!"

Christmas morning.

Playing in the snow.

Christmas evening before going to dinner at my parents.

Lots to life, but little to say

2010-12-13T17:54:00.000-08:00

Things have been buzzing around here, and even though there has been a steady pace of interesting days I haven't had much motivation to write. However, I have TONS of things rattling around in this head of mine.

First things first, Door to Door Organics ...check out the website. If you are in one of their service States and areas I highly recommend their services. I signed up with them about a month ago and Jason and I couldn't be happier with the service and the quality of food we get. For $23 we get what they call the "Bitty Box". well this so called bitty box is pretty big box stuffed with fruits and veggies. We get a delivery every week on Wednesday morning. They offer you the opportunity to substitute for any produce you don't want, you can order additional groceries - which are delivered with your produce, and every week they have given us 3-4 additional servings of various produce. Such as last week, in addition to my order I got a bunch of 4 bananas, a bunch of collard greens, and 2 pink grape fruit. You can log onto their site and see the exact farm that your produce comes from too. Believe it or not, this has been saving me money too. 80% of the time, I end up going to market merely because I need produce. Of course with my lack of will power and the idea that I "may need" this later, I always end up getting a few more things than just the produce. Now instead of going to the market every week, I have been going every other week. Give it a try! You can cancel at any time if you don't like, though I couldn't imagine why.

SNOW SNOW SNOW...so for those of you readers outside of our Michigan borders. We are covered in snow. And LOTS of it. I was so happy. It has been quite a few years since we have been blessed with snow so early in December. This is how I remember winter as a kid. Over the last decade or so, we have been counting down the days until Christmas and praying for at least a light covering of the fluffy white wonder! I don't know how you Southerners and Westerners handle green, warm Christmas' but I personally love the snow.

Imagine going for a walk, somewhere quiet - the day is completely still with no wind. The only thing you hear is the snow crunching under your boots. Your warm, but the air you breath is frigid yet clear and clean. Hopefully it is first thing in the morning because just as the sun rises the rays bounce off the snow and sparkle like thousands of diamonds around you...it is just so magical to me and always has been. That is why I love winter.

On a sad note, my grandmother passed away last week. This is the first time I have lost a grandparent and I obviously don't look forward to what will ultimately reoccur in the years to come. I have many cherished childhood memories with my grandma. She always had fun things at the house for me to play with. Lots of Barbie stuff. Cool stuff no one else had like a soda fountain machine, or the Mr. Gameshow game. She was also a southern woman who could cook a darn good meal. A few of my favorites, surprisingly enough was the scrambled eggs in the morning, the fresh Polish sausage at Christmas or her potato salad. Yum! I still have never tasted any other as good as hers. As a child...she knew how to make me feel special and loved. I will never forget that about her.

Olena - she is now 32 lbs! this is a huge milestone!! She had been 29lbs for about 2 years now. LOL! It is very strange to watch a little girl grow up so much, get taller and fit into bigger clothes, yet her weight never changed.

She is doing as well as expected. Winter is usually the dreaded time of the year. She is not a child who can be cooped up in the house all day so we try to break it up and get her out of the house to do things but with the weather and of course other daily obligations leaving the house for a "field trip" every day is not always feasible. I have decided to move on and work on a new curriculum for her and my goal is to have a whole new schedule and approach ready to start in the New Year. She really enjoys using the computer so I have added some more computer time and invested in an online lesson plan which has proven itself worthy thus far. I am not completely satisfied with it, but it earns a B in my book! and I think I may keep it for the final cut. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed but all I keep thinking to myself is that the New Year will bring good change and a new start.

Winter Pictures.

2010-12-05T14:15:00.000-08:00

November 30th was our 4th Gotcha Day! I thought I'd share a few of our adorable yearly winter pictures!

5 years of Christmas!

2010-12-01T17:41:00.000-08:00

2009

2008

2007

2006

The clan.

2010-12-01T17:20:00.000-08:00

I was having a heck of time trying to get this picture and my camera would not focus so after about 50 shots I gave up and this was the best I got....terrible!!!