08/24/2008

Embarrassed:
I did a finger swipe on my buffet yesterday and a lot of dust came off. It is thick enough to write on. Needless to say – I have decided it is time to dust and vacuum. I will confess, I am a neat freak wanna be. At one time in my past life – before husband and children I was a very serious house keeper. Everything had a place and there was a place for everything. And even if there was some clutter – I always dusted, vacuumed and took care of other household chores at least on a weekly basis. My dear friend Kristy has the perfect house I dream about. Organized, clean and always ready for company. We have the opposite. Earlier in our friendship I would not let them come over. Now they are like family and we remind them of that each time before they visit.

Observation:
Boys and girls are different in one respect for sure . . . cleanliness. Lacie can go a whole week without a bath and when she gets out and the water is drained, the tub still looks clean. Paul on the other hand can have three baths a day and each time he gets out of the tub, there is a dirty residue on the tub floor. Amazing!

Lacie:
Last week when I was asking Lacie not to jump on the bed, I said, “Lacie, I need you to obey me.” She looked at me with hurt in her face and said, “Mommy, I am Owing-bey!”

Today as I was telling her stories about when she was a baby, each time I would share something, she would respond, “Mommy, now my eyes are wide open.”

Going No. 2 in the potty is still a very big deal for Lacie. Her reward for going no. 2 is to sleep with mommy. What she does not realize is that she is sleeping with mommy every night now. One reason is that I am too tired to move her when I go to bed. Another reason is because Paul and Lacie roll over on each other and wake each other up. And Paul is getting used to sleeping physically away from another body. Anyway – The other reward for Lacie going no. 2 is doing the “poopy dance.” So, after we wash hands, I hold her in front of the mirror and we dance in place while I sing, “Doing the poopy dance – I just can’t sit still. We are doing the poopy dance – I am so proud of you. Doing the poopy dance etc etc etc.” IMAGINE what Euitag must think when all this is going on. Poor guy – he must think we are very “silly Americans.”

Paul:
Now when Lacie is just sitting on the potty, he begins to dance in anticipation. That is pretty funny to watch.

Things have been missing around the house. It has been a mystery for quite some time. Lacie’s flip-flop, Paul’s ball cap, Lacie’s ball cap, four of six tracks to the train set Paul got for his birthday, a sippy cup of milk, parts of toy sets, etc. Some things have been found and they were self explained. But one day, I witnessed something quite interesting(?). My beautiful 17 mo. old son was lifting a couch cushion and placing Lacie’s ball cap and a medicine dropper under it. He very carefully sat them in place so they would not fall and then lowered the cushion. Hmmmmm – now I realize – we have a little sneaky “hider” in our family. We are still missing the train tracks, his ball cap, AND only God knows what. Some things I do not even realize are missing till I find them, for example – the sippy cup of milk. Lets just say that I really wanted to just throw the thing away. For those of you with adopted children, do you think this is just something cute to watch and wonder over, or could this be something deeper and something we should be a little concerned about. I hope it is not. If you have thoughts on this, you can email me privately – either way.

Euitag:
Doing well in school. He started band this last week. On Friday night John went to a parent meeting with him (it was pot-luck dinner style) and the parents got the run down of the year. The band plans a trip in the spring to New Orleans. I think that it will be fun for him. He will have some fund raising activities for his participation in band. I am sure most of you out there would love to purchase an entertainment book AND/or some cookie dough AND/or something from the other two fund raising activities that will take place. Just remember, before you buy an Entertain book from a stranger – that we may have them for sale.

Here are some updated photos. Now that Paul has some interest in sitting still for a minute Lacie can resume some coloring/play dough activities like in the old days before we got a brother.

AND last but not least – ISN’T he just the cutest?

Have a great week