Sunday Snapshot: {Ben}

I can't believe how fast my kids are growing up. It seems like Ben should still be my sweet little toddler, learning to walk, but next week he will finish up the first grade.

This has been a year of changes for him. A year of growth. A year of creativity. He has had an amazing teacher who has worked hard to challenge him, which is a challenge in itself.

He has dreamed big dreams.
He writes me poems that melt my heart.
He writes funny short stories, inspired (ok, required) by his weekly spelling homework. *See bottom of post if you can't make out the words...*

In typical little boy fashion, his papers always come home crumpled like this:) He is also working on a new Star Wars story and a Captain Underpants comic book. It's hard to believe this is the same child who swore he could never do it the first time he had to write sentences for homework.

Occasionally he comes home with some.... interesting projects. Including this monster he created on Earth Day.

He was so proud, but thankfully understood when I explained that we would be recycling those water bottles and LJS box. As long as I took a picture first, of course.

He has grown from a sweet little baby, into a sweet almost-eight-year-old boy. I am so proud of who he is, and who he is becoming.

**For those of you having trouble reading the above stories:

• One day in Spring, in the month of march, a bug climbed up a tree to look for his missing gloves and saw some frogs drinking out of cups. When they were done, the frogs read books about trains. So the Bug turned around saw some birds in the tree, and said, "Have you seen my gloves?"
• Once I met a mean sheep with big feet. He said, "Maybe I should destroy Earth." I said, "I can see you want to destroy the planet, but you won't." Then he decided to be friends with me and invited me to eat pizza.

Time for More Tubes

After multiple frustrations to get in to see Kate's new ENT, we finally saw him today. Of course, not before I had to discuss Kate's case with the Commission...again.

Me: Hi, I'm just calling to make sure you sent my daughter's paperwork to her new ENT. We see him today at 2:10.

Commission: Ummm, ma'am, you can't do this to me. You have to give me more than a few hours warning. The doctors get really mad when I don't send the files....

Me: (Interrupting) I understand you have to know ahead of time. That's why I asked you to send them a month ago. I am just calling to make sure you actually did it. This is a check on YOU.

Commission: Oh, yes, ma'am. I'll send them right away.

Me: Thank you. (Much growling and complaining to follow...)

Anyway, as I drove over there, I thought to myself, if she didn't actually send the files, then we can't actually see the doctor. If that happens, I swear we are just not meant to see this doctor. I will just take it as divine intervention. Perhaps we should choose Dr. P..... (More muttering and growling...)

Thankfully the file and pre-authorization had been sent, and the clinic staff was much nicer than any others I have dealt with at the university hospital/clinic. But of course there are pros and cons to the university clinic. For example, it's so old and beat up and ... gray that you feel like you are in a Soviet block country. It's also one of the least child-friendly places I have ever been. On the other hand, we saw three different doctors. Dr. S. is an assistant to the ENT we were there to see. She cleaned out all the wax out of Kate's ears. We had been trying to get doctors to do this for about a year now, but no one would do it until today. Everyone has been terrified of scaring poor Kate, but they couldn't see what in the world was in her ears for all the gunk. So we held her down while she cried, and Dr. S. got it all out. She also diagnosed Kate with retracted ear drums. This is a fancy was of saying her ear drum is bending in ways it should not be bending due to the pressure in her ears.

Then a second doctor came in. She was obviously there to learn. It is a teaching hospital after all, and anytime we are in that situation, doctors send their students in to learn about cleft issues first hand. As long as they don't perform any procedures, they can look all they want.

Then, finally, Dr. M. came in. He was very nice, looked in her ears, and then took quite a bit of time to explain what a retracted ear drum was. (I needed the extra help.) We discussed long-term possible prognosis and treatments until I felt really confident with the whole thing. I have always liked Kate's old ENT and his comfy, child-friendly office, but there have always been two things that drive me nuts. First, he would never fish that wax out. Second, he was always in a hurry, and I never felt like I understood why we were doing what we were doing. So, Dr. M. is OK in my book. And Kate should have her new tubes next week.

Pray for her. Pray for me. And pray for whatever clinic/hospital employee gets in my way in the next week. Mama Bear is looking to take care of her babies.

First Grade Art

Ben painted this at school. I am considering framing it:)

Of course I am not biased.

I like it. I promise.

I started this post 4 days ago, but I haven't been able to finish it for some reason. Perhaps it is the 5 children in my house? Nah, it's probably that I've just been excited about the LOST finale:)
I mentioned a few weeks ago that I am doing babysitting in my home. Since then I have become aware that several of my friends and family are concerned for my well-being. Or maybe it is my sanity. Either way, I wanted to put their fears to rest.

We are not destitute, and I am not bored. Likewise, I have not lost my mind, and my own children are not being neglected. In fact, my kids actually like it. Kate's first question every morning is, "Who is coming to play today?" Will doesn't want to go to school because he misses the babies while he is gone. Ben is probably the least affected because he goes to school before they get here, but when he steps off the bus, he gives the kids hugs before he gives me one. The kids have learned great lessons about sharing, empathy, and helping because we are caring for others on a daily basis, and they have to help me do it.

And yes, we have had our moments where they are tired and want to be alone, but for the most part, they are really enjoying it.

As for me, my days are definitely more hectic. Don't be surprised if I don't return your phone calls immediately, or if I can't remember what I did yesterday. Or what my kids' names are;) But truth be told, I have always loved taking care of kids. When I was in middle school I used to sneak out of church so I could rock the babies in the nursery. Once I had a license, I spent every summer hauling other people's children to basketball practice and swimming and whatever else, basically earning peanuts.

I like kids. I just do.

So surely it's not too surprising that I have chosen to earn a little extra income babysitting. (Or providing in-home child care, as I call it when I want to remind myself that I'm not in high school anymore.)

The kids I watch are really great kids. They are funny, smart, and sweet. They love to be cuddled and read to and play peek-a-boo. (OK, well maybe not the 7 year old boy, but Ben keeps him entertained.) Their parents are great, which makes my job a whole lot easier. Most of them are toddlers, and I never have more than three at a time. Usually it's just two. I work 4-5 days a week.

And I feel like I am good at what I do. I don't mean to sound boastful. Really, I don't. But I have been doing this for 20 years. And I have parented 3 great kids for the last 7 years. Even though I am not a perfect parent (who is?) or a perfect babysitter (let's not talk about the bed-jumping or the incident involving stairs), kids generally like and listen to me. A careful balancing act.

And when I don't want to do it anymore, I will stop. I am not a martyr. I am doing this because I want to do it.

So, please don't worry for me. Don't worry about my kids. I am a big girl. A grown-up. Well, most of the time:)

Wonderfully "Wicked"

I don't get out much.

It's true. If it isn't the grocery, library, church, or school, I probably haven't spent much time there in the past seven years.

Which is why I was so excited about using my long-held gift certificate to see a real, professional, with-other-adults play! Part of the reason the certificate was long-held was that it can be fairly difficult to leave the kids alone long enough for anything like this. Emotionally, it's all good. I'm talking logistically finding someone who can take the time out of their schedules and navigate our schedules. Not to mention finding a Saturday where Tim doesn't have to work.

But back to the point of this whole post. The other reason that I had waited was because I wanted to see something really good. I knew there were several small productions coming to town. I knew that there were some cool kids plays that would be showing at Christmas time. But I soooo wanted to have a grown-up day. And I hadn't been to a real theater in years.

In the end, I chose to purchase 2 tickets to see Wicked. Honestly, I wasn't entirely sure what it was about. I knew it had something to do with the Wizard of Oz because my friend Maribeth had borrowed my old VHS copy to watch before her trip to New York last year. And I knew it was popular and critically acclaimed because I had seen members of the New York cast performing on various talk shows.

What I didn't know was that apparently people who love Wicked, really love Wicked. I don't think I have ever been in a theater with that much energy before. People were just so excited. Some of them even had emerald green gowns or witch hats. When the lights went down, the audience cheered before the first note was sung.

And it was great. I enjoyed the story, the music, the vocals ("Defying Gravity" has been in my head all weekend) and of course, the social and political commentary. And my date wasn't too bad either;)

Did I mention that the Wizard in this production was played by Larry from Three's Company? (Yes, I am aware that is a very sad little name-drop.)

Oh, and for those of you who are like me and don't know anything about Wicked, it is the back story on the various witches of Oz. It turns out that the Wicked Witch of the West wasn't really wicked, only misunderstood.



And who knew that the Not-So-Wicked Witch and Glinda were roommates?

Soccer is On!

This year both boys are playing on the same team through the Y. They are on a 6-7 year old league. We have had 2 big games so far:)

Ben's favorite part is playing goalie. He says he likes that he can concentrate on one thing: keeping the ball out of the goal. And he is pretty good at it too. He had several great stops tonight.

Will likes to be on the field where he can run. He has been using some of Uncle Jacob's tricks to turn the ball around. He is probably the smallest kid out there, but he can definitely hang with the big boys.

Most importantly, we are all having a lot of fun. Go Stars!

An Announcement and a Story

I know I have been a blog slacker lately, but I promise I have a good reason. I am pleased to announce that I now have a thriving small business right here in my own home.

That is a professional way of saying that I am now babysitting a bazillion kids.

I decided I wanted to do this, and with some encouragement from my friends and loved ones (thanks especially to Sarah C.!), I took the plunge. I got off to a very slow start in January (with one paying client the whole month), but I am officially All Booked Up as of this week.

All of my clients are part-time, and I never have more than three kids here that don't belong to me. I actually still have a few slots, but they are completely random and at odd hours of the week.

But all of this is really a preface to an exciting Kate NaNa story.

Kate NaNa knows not to jump on the bed. She knows how much trouble her biggest brother got into when he broke his bed. She knows that someone could jump on top of her and hurt her. It's happened before. But this did not stop her, her bigger brother, or her buddy, C, from doing it anyway.

I was downstairs with C's little brother and another little boy I watch. I heard a thud, a pause, and then a cry. Then Will comes tearing down the stairs to get me. When I got up there, Kate was crying, but I couldn't find any wounds so I brought her downstairs to calm down. After a quick search I found it. Kate had a gash on the back of her head, and I was fairly certain it would need stitches.

I calmly called C's mom, and told her I needed to take Kate to the doctor. I calmly called the other boy's mom. I calmly called Tim and then the doctor's office to let them know I would be arriving soon. While all of this is going on, I am holding pressure on her head and giving instructions to C (age 4) to bring me a phonebook, bring me a blanket, bring me... whatever.

C's mom got here very quickly, and agreed that it would need to be closed, offering to stay with the other child until his mom arrived. So I get ready to put Kate in the car. The mom said, "Umm, Amy, where is Will?" Oh, no! Will put your shoes on NOW! (Perhaps I am not as calm as I thought?)

So off we race to the doctor, who decided that staples were in order. Don't you just cringe when you hear that? I know I did. But I promise, it was way less traumatic than it sounds (or looks). And it was much faster than stitches. Kate informed me later that it didn't even hurt:) Well, the falling part did, but not the doctor part. I would post pictures, but I am pretty sure it would gross out 95% of you.

OK, so it wasn't super exciting, but it was more excitement than I care for in a day. I wish I could tell you I had a boring weekend planned, but alas, it is not meant to be.

You really should read this.

If you have ever adopted...

If you are waiting to adopt...

If you have ever considered adoption...

I strongly encourage you to go read Tonggu Momma's Love and Adoption. There is some hard stuff in there. But it's important stuff.

*Update* And just so you don't think that adoptive parents have it all together {cause most of us don't}, see what she shared today when someone asked her if she already knew all that stuff when she went to China.

Will: {Developing an Eye for Art}

I know that I have mentioned Will's developing artistic skills before, but it has been awhile after all. Since then, he has continued to impress us with his use of color and lines. I mean, it still is the work of a 5 year old, but it is impressive to me (who admits to being a wee bit biased).

I am also sure that most of you are aware that Will is ... my ... (how can I put this?) ... child who has taught me the most about parenting. Yes, that is a nice way to put it. Anyway, this past Wednesday he and I were having a ... disagreement. Yes, that is what it was. He insisted on screaming during soccer, and I insisted that wasn't in his best interest. And of course, I didn't lose my temper either. Of course not....

Afterwards, he and I both needed a cool off time. It was time for church, but we opted to take a walk around the neighboring college campus to collect ourselves. It just so happens that the campus has several modern art sculptures on the grounds. I don't know if Will had ever noticed them before or not, but he did on this day. The first one he noticed looks like a teeter-totter. He said, "What is that?" I asked him what he thought it was, and he said, "Well, it looks like a teeter-totter (remember not to pronounce your 'r's), but the kids here are too big for teeter-totters, so it must be a symbol of something." I smiled and said, "You're right. It is a piece of art that symbolizes something, although I'm not quite sure what." (Really, I have no idea. I never did well with modern art.)

Then he spotted another one. "That one looks like a sand castle!" So we talked about the different stones that were used in it. On and on he went. His goal was to find 5 sculptures on campus. (He is five, and thinks this is the perfect number, so everything must come in 5's.)

And today, we did actually get to go out on our date. Our first stop was the library (a place we both love). Right now there is a poster up of Hokusai's Great Wave. I don't know where he has seen it, but he immediately recognized that it was a famous painting and commented on it. He is such a visual guy.

Both days turned out to be such a good, sweet time for the two of us to be reminded that we do actually like each other a lot:) And I love hearing his insight into art. I sometimes joke that someday he will be drawing graphic novels, but I am only half joking. I want to encourage him, but I am not ready to close any doors for him right now. I am positive that whatever he decides to do, he will be amazing at it.

BTW, I wish I could take credit for Will's skills, but much of the credit must go to his teachers, Miss Carol and Miss Ginger, who were the first to recognize his talent and encourage him. I'm afraid my patience in the art department is lacking. (And now I must apologize to Miss Jane, my art teacher. Please forgive me.)

Not much

I had planned on blogging about the boys' first soccer game of the year, but alas, we woke up to rain, rain, and more rain. So no cute soccer pictures to post. Bummer.

I also considered writing a blogpost about any number of topics that have been floating around in my head, ranging from God's will and adoption to civil rights and racial profiling (don't even get me started... well, maybe later), but as those topics would require a bit of delicacy and word-smithery (which I obviously am fresh out of), that probably won't happen today either.

I had also planned on doing some gardening today, but I would be up to my eyeballs in mud if I did, so that is a no-go too.

Then I thought I would run some errands and take Will on our "date". But then I found out Tim is working most of the day, and I can't exactly leave Ben in charge of Kate, can I?

I am sure the kids would like it if I planned some grand indoor adventure for them, but I am fresh out of creativity at the moment.

It would be nice if I was motivated to mop my floors or clean my bathrooms, but I am most definitely not motivated.

So, what am I going to do today? Apparently not much.