Dinner Time

It's basically organized chaos around our house. Except for a few hours in the afternoon while everyone naps or has quiet time. Then the noise descends, the pleading ensues and I start making dinner. Josiah is the worst during dinner preparations. He's hungry 24/7. If I'm busy in the kitchen he's hounding me. I'll do anything to keep my sanity during this part of the day. I let him empty tupperware, pots, lids, anything. Yesterday he was exceptionally cute. He pulled out bowls and then a big pot (that I never use). Then he promptly sat in it.

Tonight, I gave him my old cell phone. I thought it was dead. He turned it on. I thought it wouldn't make calls. He called 911. I couldn't believe it. It's almost cheesy. But I freaked out hearing "911 operator..." coming from my cell phone. She kindly told me that even phones that aren't active can call 911. Good to know...

The big kids are busy with my latest hated activity. Webkinz. Hate it. Eli 'needed' one for his birthday. It's quickly turned into an obsession. I allow webkinz while I'm making dinner on M, W, F for about 30 minutes. Seth thinks I'm crazy (being so stingy with their time), but I don't care. While I'm on the topic, if you have webkinz tips, leave me a comment. Eli really wants to make a friend but doesn't know how.

Makeovers by Toys-R-Us

I got suckered into buying my girls a make-up set for Christmas. My friend was with me. She has three boys (with a fourth on the way). She was so excited by the set (trimmed in a pink boa) that I forgot I would be the one living with the makeup. So I bought it. It was on sale and I'm a sucker for a good price. Deep down I know I'm raising at least one prissy, girlie girl. Shall I fight it or just let her wear nail polish and sticker earrings?

The girls were (of course) thrilled with the present. It's gaudy, complete with purple lipstick and matching nail polish. Big. Sigh. I was actually pretty pleased once I opened the package because all of the glossy things are...get this...clear. Whoopee for the gal who thought that up!

The big rule is that I have to be the makeup artist. These two can do some damage with a single tube of chap stick. We don't even need to think about what they could do with a case of lip glosses. From the look of it I should probably exercise more caution and care while applying makeup to the small children. I don't think it's supposed to hurt.

The pain was well worth it, "You look fabulous, dharling! That clear gloss was a great choice. It really complements your headband. I love that headband by the way, looks just like mine..."

Hair

I've started a post like this about 3 times over the past 6 months. Finally, I decided that if you don't know what to do with your child's hair; there are better people out there to give you a hand. I can tell you this, doing Sally's hair has humbled me. I read the books, watched youtube videos late into the night, and asked loads of questions. All of that for the day that my little girl actually grew some hair that would need to be tamed. The day came and went and we are still bumbling around. My latest idea was to spend an arm and a leg on hair products from Carol's Daughter hoping for a miracle. The much anticipated package arrived and we used everything with excitement hoping for something wonderful. She smells good, her hair is pretty cute (not too different than before), but I still have to 'do' it.

She isn't the big issue around here lately. It's this little guy. He woke up one day and was a cross between Kramer and Don King. It should be easy to see why.

Yes, he is indeed licking a screwdriver with a flowered handle. It's his favorite thing in the world (I've removed the pokey screwdriver end). He's cute but his hair is OOC. Even after meticulous application of aforementioned expensive hair products, he's still Don Kramer. Does this mean (cue foreboding music) we need to give him his first haircut?

Another Addition to Our Family

Does this give our announcement away? This photo wasn't posed, she actually grabbed that book and sat down with it. Only because the other two were hogging this one...

This addition to our family will be a furry, four legged variety. Don't ask me why, because I have no logical explanation. We are crazy. If you've been here before that shouldn't be news to you.

My girls are pretty cute together. After years of harassment from two brothers, Ella finally has someone on her side. Unless she and Sally aren't getting along then the sisterhood is ditched.

Today was a good day for the two sisters. They were busy making a huge mess in their room with fake food and baby clothes. I was nearby in the kitchen cleaning up lunch, but could hear their chattering. I smiled to myself after hearing Sally say, "I'm Mommy. Ella you be my dog."

Of course, Ella is perfectly happy with that arrangement. She's always the dog. Doesn't matter what else is being played, she'll be the dog. Her doggie career has included "Princess Dog", "Jungle Dog" and even once "Dinosaur-eating Dog".

It dawned on me that Sally just gave me the biggest compliment she could. She wasn't 'a mommy' or 'the mommy' she was "Mommy." I feel a little middle school saying this, but adopting an older child makes you feel a insecure. When we first came home I wondered if Sally wished she was back at the transitional home. She could run around and do what she pleased. I tried to ease her into the routine of our family. I still couldn't help but wonder if the first time she emptied the trashcan she wasn't thinking, "Back in Ethiopia they didn't make me take out the garbage."

It's been eight months since we came home. It seems like we've always been a family of seven. I get all the hugs and kisses, but it's nice to hear a completely innocent exchange that lets me know Salomae is pleased that I'm her mommy.

Happy Birthday Eli!

Happy Birthday to Eli, our silly, solemn, six year old, Happy Birthday to you!


Mayhem reigned while 10 kids ran screaming through the house to celebrate with Eli. After two exhausting hours the kid count dropped by half and the decibels dropped drastically. We were left with chocolate cake littering the carpet, four empty pizza boxes, a smashed pinata, and one very happy six year old.

Our big boy shed some tears this morning upon realizing that he is indeed still shorter than Ella (by barely an inch!). They are both six now (for two more months, then Ella trumps him again and turns seven) and for obvious reasons should be the same height. Discussions of growth, gender, and genetics followed but nothing seemed to stop the tears. I finally just told him to get a grip and enjoy his birthday.

His "wow" gift was my old camera. I'll go into hiding after typing that, because I have several friends who may hunt me down and strangle me since I gave a camera that they envied to my six year old. It's really a sad story. Last year we went to a water park for his birthday (January partiesare so hard). It was just the family, we all brought him gifts to enjoy there. He was thrilled with the disposable underwater camera until we had to drop it off to develop the pictures. Ever tell your kid the tale of how they get the film out of a disposable camera? Just expect tears.

So, we owed him big time. We bought a new charger on ebay (recall the 'oops, I just blew up the battery charger' in Ethiopia?) for $10 and have a very pleased little guy on our hands. Here's some of his handiwork...

There's definitely loads more where that came from (approximately 100 more pictures I think).

By Request

"What does this guy look like?" Here you go.... My urine drinking knight in shining work garb busy tiling the bathroom.

Once I took that picture I realized that many of you probably think my house is normal. Not so. Here's the proof. Our toilet doesn't usually sit in the hallway. Neither do the power tools and garbage. It's getting better though. Really.

This is what was going on shortly before I typed this post. Seth (you can see his face in this photo) takes a well deserved break after dinner. Honestly, a break doesn't mean that the kids just run wild. Right?

Josiah's latest feat is climbing. It takes him some maneuvering to lift his chunkiness onto a surface. Once the mountain has been defeated he starts yelling because he's stuck. It actually works out pretty well to keep him busy. As evidenced by the photo.

He was licking the tops of paint tubes and then chucking them around the room. I can't let you believe that I wasn't standing by watching this happen. He was well supervised during this dangerous activity (except for the millisecond it took for me to grab the camera). This is the table that the ceiling landed on a few months ago. Still in use, trashed, but still stable enough to allow 7 people to feast on it three times daily (and then support an overweight toddler).