Trick or Treat

The boys had a great time trick-or-treating this year!  They got way too much candy....and they got some really good stuff...stuff that I like.  And it's really not safe for kids to eat certain things - like Milk Duds for instance so I'm sure you can see where this is going.  ;)  Anyway...look how cute they are in their costumes!

A clone trooper, Tiny Pteranadon (didn't realize Tiny was a girl dinosaur - oops) and a cow.  Easton kept announcing to everyone he saw that he was a cow and then he'd say, "mooooo"!  Too cute.

As always, Easton and Zachary got the sweet ride....it's just safer, faster and easier this way....

Brady ended up in the wagon by the end of the night...he kept complaining that his feet hurt so then I felt like a bad mom and I'm worried that he might need bigger shoes.  :(

And when they were done, they were DONE and we couldn't get home fast enough.  Easton just couldn't figure out how to get the garage door to open.

We ended up with a ridiculous amount of candy....that should last until next year for sure!

And just 6 short hours after we got home from Trick or Treating, the stomach bug took over our house.  It started with Brady at 3AM, we sent Zachy to school on Tuesday because he seemed fine (that lasted about 15 minutes), then it hit Brendan yesterday and Easton today.  Guess who's next?  :(



Wordless Wednesday

What am I loving this Wednesday???

These guys!!!

If...

I love to fill out questionnaires for some reason so this is right up my alley!  :)

•If I were to get pregnant again I would be thrilled!!!  And then wonder where would we put another kid??


•If I could have any job in the world I'm not sure what I'd be...I just can't imagine having a job that I love but I'd sure like to try!

•If I had a day to myself I would do lunch (w/an adult beverage perhaps), shopping, mani/pedi - and all of this would be funded by someone other than me.

•If I could get married all over again I would hire a different photographer.  :(

•If I could live anywhere in the US I would (I can't believe I'm saying this) move back to Arkansas or Oklahoma.  Maybe.

•If Brady/Zachary/Easton were a girl he would have been named Reilly.

•If I could have any talent in the world I would like to be able to do something creative.  Anything.  I don't have a creative bone in my body....I'm not even creative enough to come up with an answer to this question.

•If you met me in real life I think you'd think I was the coolest person you ever met.  ;)  After you got to know me......I'm very shy at first.

•If I could go back to school and get a different degree I would major in anything but Accounting.  What was I thinking?!? 

•If money were not an object I'd be debt-free and have another baby...or two.  ;)

•If I could meet one celebrity I think I would want to meet Ellen maybe?  Or Oprah?  Or Kathy Griffin?  I don't know.....

•If I could only shop at one store for the rest of my life it'd be Dillard's.  That's a hard one but at least I could get shoes, clothes, makeup, etc. all in one store.

•If we get another pet I will admit myself to the looney bin.  Voluntarily.

•If I could go on a trip, RIGHT NOW, I'd want to go to Napa Valley or Italy.  Maybe Napa first since it doesn't require me being sedated in order to fly over the ocean.  :)

•If I had to chose between a house cleaner and a personal chef, I'd pick the house cleaner.  I hate to clean and I don't really like to cook but cleaning is a necessity!  Restaurants were invented for a reason!
•If I had the option of plastic surgery I'd get a tummy tuck/lipo in a heartbeat!!

Wordless Wednesday (Kinda)

This (Phantom of the Opera-inspired?) picture of Zachy was taken on our way to Brady's soccer game on Saturday morning.....about 20 minutes later Zachary and Brady were running (very fast) and ran into each other "head-on"...knocked Zachy out for a second and he ended up with a concussion.  Brady was fine (hard head)....

Zachy got an all-expense-paid trip to CCHMC's ER....but was feeling much better later that afternoon!  Of course, I'm still traumatized from the sound (and sight) of my two boys' heads hitting each other so hard!!  But they're fine and running around like crazies again.  :)

Brady's First Day of (Practice) Kindergarten

Today was Brady's first day of kindergarten - kind of....they are very wisely using a staggered start so today he and 7 other kids started.  Over the next two days the rest of the class will go for a practice day and then they'll all go together for the first time on Thursday!  He did great and really likes his teacher!!  Yea!

 He found his seat and was just as happy as can be.....

Especially once his bestie, Meryl, arrived!  



Wordless Wednesday

I feel like I only posts pictures of Easton these days (the other two are still faster and don't cooperate as much) so today I'm posting all 3 day!  Yea for me realizing today is actually Wednesday before it's over!!  :)  These were taken at Brady's soccer practice last week - I discovered that the "sports" setting on my camera is way more conducive for fast-moving boys!!

Wordless Wednesday

Cheese!!!!!!!!!!!



Flyin' Solo

Zachary is supposed to start pre-school in the fall.  This breaks my heart.  He's so shy and timid and sweet - and he's never done anything by himself.  He's never been to daycare and I've been a SAHM for the past year....and even before that he went to a babysitter but the only other kids there were his brothers.  So, he's not used to other kids or being without his parents.  In preparation for this, we decided to enroll him in a class at the Little Gym.  He started off in a parent-child class but last week was his first week to go to a new big boy class all by himself.  I was right outside the window and he could see me the whole time but he did really well.  There were other kids in the class (the session is halfway over now) that were running around and NOT listening a lot more than him.  The teachers thought he did great.  I was soooo proud of him!

He had lots of fun!  And now, Easton is taking his place in the parent-child class.  He loves it but throws a fit when Zachy goes to the Little Gym without him.  This week, I have to work on the night of Zachy's class so Brendan has to take him (and the other two boys).  Easton will not be a very happy camper when he doesn't get to go into the gym!!  That will not be prety!

Fourth of July (was two days ago but I'm trying!)

So, I'm behind as usual but we had a pretty fun Fourth of July.  Every year, my sister's husband's company "hosts" a softball game that Brendan plays in.  It's a bunch of middle-aged guys and now some of the younger generation has joined in to put them to shame.  ;)  The game has very interesting rules...the most interesting is that the game isn't over unless my brother-in-law's team is winning.  I'm fine with this when Brendan is on his team but this year he wasn't so it's not a good rule.  :) 

The boys liked watching the game and playing with their cousins (mainly Alli the dog).  They got to go run around the bases when the game was over.  I forgot my camera so all of these pictures were taken with my phone.  :(  I see other people's pics taken with IPhones all the time and they look so much better than mine do???

After the game, there's always a "cook out"....I use that term lightly b/c it's catered by a local BBQ place.  This year it was exceptionally nice b/c they had it at "The Deck" which is behind a building that my brother-in-law built.  The building has offices/retail places on the first floor and apartments on the second floor so I think he built this area for the "kids" (college students) that live there.  It's super nice and has a little wading pool that the kids had lots of fun in.

I didn't get any good pictures of Brady for some reason.  He was too busy having fun I guess.  Here they area all together in their 4th of July shirts....they actually volunteered for this picture?!?!

And here's the aftermath......three zonked boys.  They passed out!!!



Also - I'm now two days late participating in Jenna's Commenting Challenge so I gots lots of commentin' to do!!!  I found some great blogs last year during the challenge and I'm sure I'll find some more this year!!!  Fun stuff!

Easton-isms

Easton is so cute these days.  He has quite the personality and talks CONSTANTLY!  Since he's just over 2 years old, most people probably can't understand him - especially since he seems to have is own language.  But, I wanted to make a note of some of his Easton-isms so I can remember them a few years from now when he speaks with perfect English.  Ha!  He really likes to annunicate everything and pronounce it very loudly complete with some crazy facial expressions.  That's probably what makes it so cute!  Unlike Brady, none of his Easton-isms sound like cuss words at this point so that's a blessing!  ;)

• Geenking = drinking
• Wee Rex = T Rex
• Manimals = animals
• Tata (with a short a....like in cat) = Zachy
• Beady = Brady (Zachy pronounces it the same way)
• War-EE-Os = Oreos
• Nemonade = lemonade
• Papa - Grandma/Grandpa
• Guy-et-ball = basketball
• Aunt Mimi = Aunt Amy
• Wee Wee = Lightning McQueen
• Gaga = Hot Dog/Corn Dog
• Ping Ping = Penguin

He also likes to say, "what's that sound?" all the time.  And, just recently, he says, "why?" ALL THE TIME.  Any time we ask him to do something, that's his response.  And if you say his name, he says "what?" in this funny little way.  And his answer to every question is now "because."  Uggh!  It's cute but it'll get old I'm sure!

Wordless Wednesday

My Love.....

Double Rainbow

I had never seen a double rainbow..........until tonight!  I've never seen so many rainbows in one day!  It was amazing!!! 

Wordless Wednesday

My Lovey

Poor Easter Bunny

This went about as well as I expected.  Actually, it went better than expected because only one of the three boys cried!!!  Success!!!

Happy Easter!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Warning - Crayola's color bubbles are basically paint in bubble form!!!  :)

Happy Birthday, Sweet Baby Easton!!!

Easton, you're two years old!  I can hardly believe it!  I haven't made your two-year check-up appointment yet so I'm not sure how big you are - I'll post that later.  Here's what you've been up to lately:

• You're a big boy!  You weigh the same (if not more) than your big brother Zachary!  He's 3 or 4 inches taller than you but you sure seem heavier
• You're wearing a size 5 diaper and size 2T clothes
• You wear a size 7 shoe
• You LOVE letters!  You know more of the alphabet than Zachary does (he's not interested in learning at all)!
• You love the Cars movie (shocker) just like your brothers
• You're falling a little out of love with Dinosaur Train which makes me a little sad - it's such a cute show
• I think you'll be our little athlete - and I think you'll be good at it!
• You're a tough boy - you don't put up with any nonsense from your brothers!
• You insist on walking everywhere - you do not like for us to hold you in public anymore!
• You're still a good eater but you won't drink milk which really bothers me!  The only thing you drink is lemonade???
• Your big brothers say you're not a baby anymore now that you're 2.  Break. my. heart.
• You're a pretty good sleeper but you still require a paci at night - we will be working on this.  Eventually.  You nap for about 2 hours a day and sleep about 10-11 hours at night. 
• You're a momma's boy.  I'm pretty sure.  I hope!

My heart still melts at least once a day when I look at you.  You're a miracle and we're so blessed to have you in our lives.  We love you so much, peanut!!!

Random A-Z

A. Age: 36 (already?!?)




B. Bed size: King...key to a happy marriage. 



C. Chore you dislike: Folding/putting away laundry....and just about every other chore you can think of.  :)


D. Dogs: No, thank you.  They're too demanding.  :)


E. Essential start to your day: A nice, tall, cold Cherry Coke Zero or fountain Diet Coke!


F. Favorite color: Red



G. Gold or silver: White gold



H. Height: 5'2.75"



I. Instruments you play(ed): Piano


J. Job title: Stay at home mom, part-time accountant, part-time access rep.  No wonder I'm so tired.



K. Kids: Brady, Zachary and Easton!!!  So blessed!


L. Live: Ohio


M. Mom’s name: Connie


N. Nicknames: Honey, Cupcake, Whistle Britches (don't ask)


O. Overnight hospital stays: A few too many - broken arm that required surgery when I was 10; punctured colon, 2 c-sections (yea!) and of course, Easton's 10-day stay in the NICU which meant we stayed, too!


P. Pet peeves: Bad drivers and ignorant people (one in the same a lot of times!)


Q. Quote from a movie: "You had me at hello"  (I couldn't really think of anything else - not a big movie person)


R. Righty or lefty: Righty



S. Siblings: 2 sisters


T. Time you wake up: 8-ish....which is too early for me.  I will never be a morning person.


U. Underwear: Gap Body


V. Vegetables you don’t like: Pretty much all of them unfortunately.


W.What makes you run late: Ummmm....my husband??  ;)


X. X-rays you’ve had: It might be easier to list what I haven't had x-rayed??? 


Y. Yummy food you make: Apple pie


Z. Zoo animal favorites: Monkeys....and any of the baby animals!

Unanswered Prayers

Growing up with two adopted sisters you would think I would have WANTED to adopt.  Lots of people are led to adoption through the need to help a child.  Not me.  I didn't want to adopt.  I wanted my kids to look like each other and know what it was like to have a biological sibling.  Selfish, I know, but it is what it is.  So, as soon as my husband and I got married we started trying to have a baby.  I always thought I'd have trouble getting pregnant since my mom did.  I was right.  Luckily, we got pregnant 5 months after we were married thanks to Clomid.  We lost that baby at 13 weeks and continued to try through almost every method imaginable for the next year and a half to get pregnant again.  Our fertility specialist finally told us our chances were 'slim' and suggested adoption.  I was devastated but really wanted to be a mom so we set out on our journey.

I couldn't fathom the thought of an open adoption.  There was no way I could/would risk a birth mother changing her mind.  A friend at work had recently adopted a little boy from Russia - we decided this was the plan for us.....we wanted to adopt a caucasian child (to avoid "looking" like I couldn't have my own kids - selfish again) and I needed a "sure thing"....which seemed more likely with an international adoption believe it or not.

In November, 2005 - 23 months after we got married - we submitted our application to the adoption agency we picked and started to tackle the mountain of paperwork, home studies, government clearance, etc. with total excitement and the expectation of bringing TWO babies home the following summer.  We decided we wanted to adopted two at once because it's a lot cheaper than adopting one and then going back through all of the paperwork and trips a couple of years later (we knew we wanted more than one child.) 

On February 15, 2006 we finally received our government clearance which completed our dossier.  We mailed all FOUR pounds of paperwork a couple of days later and were put on "the list" as open to adopt two babies under the age of 18 months.  And we waited. 

The summer came and went with no referral.  We had a baby shower for TWO babies in July thinking we'd get the call any day.  By September we were past sick of waiting and decided to change our preference to ONE baby under the age of 18 months.  We kept getting updates on how many families were ahead of us on 'the list'....it seemed like forever.  All sorts of government nonsense made our wait a lot longer than we anticipated.  When we started the process, the wait was only expected to be a couple of months.  But, Russian adoptions basically came to a screaching halt in the summer of 2005 and everything got backed up making our wait even longer.

Finally, on a Thursday afternoon in October we got 'the call'.  Our social worker called me at work around 4:30 and told me she had a referral for us to review....but warned me that the child was born with heart disease and had spent a lot of time in the hospital and even had heart surgery at 5 months old.  So, my husband and I decided to review the referral information objectively WITHOUT looking at the pictures she was attaching.  I grabbed my laptop and borrowed an office for some privacy and waited for the email....on the phone with my husband the entire time.  For some reason, he got the email first....the anticipation was KILLING me.  He opened the email and said, "oh s**t" (pardon his French)....for some reason the pictures were showing in the body of the email.  I think he was done at that point.  Love at first sight.  And could you blame him?  This is what he saw......and what I saw a few minutes later.....

The first thing I said was, "he looks like you!"  We tried to remain objective as we read the information provided, called the doctor at the International Adoption center at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, and talked to our families.  The doctor requires 48 hours to review referrals and give an opinion.  Since it was late on a Thursday, we wouldn't hear from her until Monday morning at best.  In the meantime, we had every doctor and nurse we knew review the information.  They all thought everything sounded great but we still wanted to hear what the international specialist said.  I was in a meeting in the board room when my cell phone vibrated on Monday morning (I had warned my boss that I may have to take the call) so I ran out to take the call....the international doctor had consulted with a pediatric cardiologist and they both agreed that there was no reason they would advise against adopting this sweet little thing.  I think we had basically already decided to accept the referral so this was just good reassurance.  :)

I called Brendan and we decided to call our social worker and "accept"!  Unfortunately, we had to wait 6 long weeks before we could go to Russia and meet him.  He hadn't been on "the Russian list" long enough (another lovely rule) and we weren't allowed to travel until he was released from the Russian list and added to the international list.  If a Russian family came forward and wanted to adopt him at any point, they would be allowed to.  However, given his heart disease he wasn't seen as "desirable" (to anyone but us) and luckily we were able to meet him in mid-November.....and then bring him home on December 17, 2006!!!

Ironically.....his birthday is February 15, 2006 - the day we finally got our government clearance and could complete our dossier.  :) 

Our family has grown since then....you can read about that here......and we couldn't be happier.  Everything happens for a reason .....God REALLY wanted us to be Brady's parents and we're so glad that he chose us!!!

Happy Birthday, Zachary James!

My sweeb baby Zachary James turned 3 years old today.  I can't believe it - he's getting so big.  Breaks my heart.  Tonight, I was telling him that it makes me sad how fast he's growing and he said, "awww, I think you'll be just fine."  He is honestly one of the sweetest, kindest souls I've ever met.  I just love him to pieces. 

So, Zachy here's what you've been up to lately:

• You still weigh a scrawny 28 pounds - same as your baby brother!
• You're wearing 3T clothes
• You can still wear a size 4 diaper but.........as of two days from now, diapers will no longer be allowed!!!  :)
• You're a great sleeper - you sleep around 11 hours every night and take a 2-3 hour each afternoon
• You still sleep in a crib and I L-O-V-E this....and so do you.  You'll be in that crib as long as you want!!
• You're a very picky eater.  You love cereal bars, french toast sticks, chocolate milk, lemonade, french fries, bananas, apples, pasta, pancakes and JUNK!
• You love bulldozers, the Cars movie, Dinosaur Train and animals
• Your favorite color is red
• You think you're six years old for some reason??? 
• You love to "mother" your stuffed animals and refer to yourself as a mom all the time (melts my heart)
• If a 'stranger' says hi to you you'll say, "I'm shy" and look down
• You recently started referring to youself as a 'man'
• You have the sweetest, kindest, old soul of anyone I know and I can't wait to see what an amazing man you become.  I love you so much - you're a wonderful human being and I'm so proud to be your mom!!!