Thank you Kelly

here are the girls wearing their necklaces.
which they love, and whenever someone asked where they got them they were quick to say from Kelly.

scrapbooking

a few pages I completed yesterday. All I need to add is a bit of journaling and they will be completely done. I started the adoption album at 6pm last night and by 10:30 it was done.
now if only I could figure out how to photograph those finished pages so they didn't look blurry or crooked. perhaps I should try to do that when I am more awake rather than at midnight while talking to Kelly on the phone
Today I started and finished the baptism album, obviously it's not completely done, but the pages are completed just waiting for photo's.

4:35am

this is the conversation I had at 4:35am with the youngest member of my house:

"Mommy?"

"ummmmmm???"

"I have Goldfish?"

As I slowly opened my eye (yes only one, good grief it was still dark) and registered who I was talking to, actually I knew who I was talking to, there is only one in my house who requests Goldfish, I think perhaps I was holding out hope that I was simply dreaming (what you don't dream about Goldfish? what a quiet life you have) and that the little wonder wasn't truly standing by my bed requesting Goldfish, completely ready with her little snack cup.

"I can't reach the box" she said when she realized I was actually awake enough to process her words. (making a note to leave the darn box on the floor for her from here on out. Ok, so I didn't actually think that, after all I wouldn't encourage the consumption of snack crackers at 4:35 in the morning by the resident 3 year old in my house, I wouldn't)

So I glance at the clock, since my internal clock was wonky (from lack of sleep I would presume) and cringed when I saw the numbers glowing back at me. 4:35, good grief we are not having this conversation at 4:35 a.m.

So I turn back to the little wonder who is ever hopeful, since I'm actually moving that she may just have her request granted, and who is grinning at me and holding her little snack cup to emphasize it's emptiness. So I take the logical approach.

"It's dark out" I say. Which results in her staring at me as tho I have grown another head. Apparently logic isn't going to work.

"the Goldfish are sleeping, we shouldn't wake them" I said She paused for a moment and then replied "I can have them when the sun is out?"

"sure" I said (I have no problem with Goldfish for breakfast, if it means I'm going to get to sleep at 4:35 in the morning. What? you don't feel Goldfish is a breakfast food? guessing you think that way cuz you get to sleep all night)

"ok" she cheerfully replies "I have to go potty"

I groaned, most likely out loud.

"go in my bathroom" I suggest.

"ok" she says as she bounces away. a moment later I hear her return and as I hear her settle under her blankets I hear her voice one last time

"mommy?"

"what" I reply in a clear voice now, since I'm awake, fully awake and now bracing for what next this little wonder will need at 4:35 in the morning.

"I love you"

sigh, she gets me every time

"I love you too" I said, to which I'm not sure she even heard since she had already drifted back to her dreams.

as I glanced at the clock and read the current time of 4:39 I realized that giving up 4 minutes of sleep wasn't such a bad trade off when balanced with the gift of energy and fun she adds to my life.

Kindergarten

Her day to register for Kindergarten was Wednesday.
She was very excited, once she found out she wasn't going to get shots on that day.
I didn't feel it was necessary to explain that she would eventually need those shots before school begins in the fall, we will just cross that bridge when it happens. As we explored each room, checking out the toys and meeting each teacher I found myself wondering at how quickly time passes, it truly doesn't seem possible that she is old enough to begin school this fall. That little baby is forever etched in my mind and my heart, and I wondered if I was ready to let her go. As I listened to her confidently spell her name for her name tag, giving the teacher a shy smile, and explore each room with curiosity it occurred to me that to the people she was meeting she was simply a typical 4 almost 5 year old about to embark on one of the greatest adventures of her life. They had no idea the adventures her life had already held, how she simply wasn't suppose to be here in this place, how typical could certainly not describe her early years. For a brief moment the mom in me wanted to say to her future teacher, "She is special, she is amazing, she is a miracle" I didn't of course, instead I understood that to every mom her child is each of those things. As I watched her explore another room, venturing away from me, pausing occasionally to glance back to see that I was indeed still there I saw what an amazing gift this was. The fact that she is viewed as normal, the fact that no one knows her history. Where she is simply Yahaira. Not Yahaira the shaken baby, or the child with special needs, or the child in foster care. I can't think of a better start to her career in school than to be viewed as a typical, little 5 year old. She is ready, so very ready to begin this next part of her journey, and I am ready to watch her show those who will teach her just how special, and amazing she is.

one last photo

from our weekend away.
loved how this one turned out.
Any guesses why?

and yes it was staged, I didn't randomly capture that shot, instead as I took a pic of Anthony riding the dragon
I noticed what would be an awesome pic so I stepped to the left and snapped away.
for those of you who do most of the photographing in your family you understand how rare it is that the photographer
is in a photo. This time I captured the picture and the photographer.

Chuck E Cheese

the one thing all three little ones requested.
gotta love commercials.
I opted to keep this one until Monday morning.
Thinking that perhaps it wouldn't be nearly as
crazy/busy as a weekend would be.
Of course they nibbled on their food and then quickly
found their way to the games and rides.
Glad we don't have one nearby..it is truly a place
that visiting every now and again is more than enough.

zoo

Spent a few hours one afternoon taking in the wonders
of the indoor exhibits. It was nice to spend time indoors where the temp
is tropical and not have to face the usual crowds we encounter during the summer.

white castle

dinner to go one night...
the last time I ate at a white castle I was Anthony's age.
A big hit with my little ones, they loved the tiny hamburgers in their own
little boxes.

Disney on Ice

waiting for the show to begin,
after all the parking ramp wandering it was wonderful
to sit in one place. We had awesome seats, three rows from the
ice.

this years show was called
100 years of magic.

loved watching the kids faces as they recognized familiar characters,
and sang along to the music.

Lost in a parking ramp

seriously
lost.
just like in the movies where it shows lost people arriving back at the place they started
virtually circling and never arriving.
that was us.
we visited this particular elevator many times.
Finally stumbled across a help button...
where a wonderful voice pointed us in the correct direction.
whew...so happy to see crowds of people when we stepped off the final elevator.

Nickelodeon Universe

the all new theme park at the MOA. The kids love the rides
at the fair each summer, but of course they are relatively mild compared
to what this park had to offer. Rosie did one ride, you can see her pictured above.
That was the last ride she went on, apparently the Swiper ride was not
a good first choice.

His face says it all. He watched this ride for quite awhile. Then said I want to go on it.
"Really?" I asked "are you sure?" He was adamant. His face quickly turned to fear
which remained etched in this way until the ride was over. No, he didn't opt to do this ride again.

Meeting Dora was certainly a highlight. Rosie waved from the stroller, up close and personal just
wasn't her style. Josh rode the sponge bob roller coaster, I had been watching it as we roamed thru the park and commented
a couple of times that it looked way cool. To which each person near me said absolutely not. Glad someone did decide to ride it.
It really did look way cool!

this would be

what we did often during the past few days.

Adoption Announcement

Thinking that most who were going to receive one have...
so I guess it's safe to post it now.
Nichole took my ramblings and picture choices and turned it into this
wonderful little work of art. She amazes me.

Happy colors

these dresses just jumped at me this morning,
love the bright,happy colors and patterns.
Makes me think of spring....and on days like this
(cloudy, foggy, dismal) when spring seems so far away...
I'll take the reminder even if it is in happy little dresses.
found these here.

Happy Birthday Dr. Suess

Today we continued our birthday celebration for Dr. Suess.
Yesterday, March 2nd is the official date, but some birthdays just need to be
celebrated over the course of a few days. Today we had cat in the hat snacks. I admit as I
was creating these I was a bit skeptical of just how they were going to be received, after all Ritz crackers with frosting
ummm not working for me. Until I tried one, and turns out they are almost as good as those darn Girl Scout Cookies.
I have to admit that I was hoping that perhaps these would not be well received, that way there would be more for me.
Really sharing is overrated some days :) I'm afraid they were a resounding hit, and I had to share, not horde.
Yesterday we had green eggs and ham for lunch, we do this every year. I love reading the story to my daycare kids and then serving the green eggs and ham for lunch...love the skeptical faces, and that first hesitant bite...also love that most plates are clean after this meal. Alas there is no picture of this wonderful culinary event (I forgot, seriously how do I dare call myself a scrapbooker?) but if you need a visual go here

Girl Scout Cookies

these were delivered to our door last night...
Rosie was simply over the moon excited.
When I told her she could have one, she excitedly picked a box to open and picked her cookie.
Soon I heard "just one mom?" "yes" I replied distractedly. Not really sparing her a glance as I tried to finish some paperwork.
A bit later I heard her say "just one mom?" and thought to myself well isn't that so sweet she is reminding herself that she can only eat one. After a bit the mom radar tuned in and I glanced over to where the little wonder was sitting...and discovered that those Just One comments had not been reminders to herself to only eat one cookie but simply telling me she was eating One More. 5 just one comments later she certainly had consumed enough sugar to keep her going until the wee hours of the morning.