What's for dinner?

Long are the days where we eat gourmet dinners and eat out.  Instead we opt to eat in and make kid friendly food.  What's for dinner at our place?  It is wiener wraps and macaroni & cheese.  YUM!

Every time I think of wiener wraps I think back to my grade school days.  I always gave my wieners to my friend Sarah and she gave me her wraps.  Isn't it funny how something like a food reminds you of a memory from the past? 

Anyone want to come over?  We'd love to have you!

Next meal - chicken nuggets :)  Ha!

Together At Last!

Today Makenna had to transition yet again to a new daycare.  As you may have recalled from my earlier post, Makenna was not able to get into our regular daycare center until today.  Up to this point Makenna had been going to a home daycare with 3 other kids.  I wasn't sure how well this transition would go as Makenna's has become very attached to Dave and myself.  This past weekend she would barely let her Aunt Kerry hold her.  At drop off today, Makenna easily went to her new teacher Lezlie and could care less that she was being held by her versus me.  I have to say, I was kind of disappointed.  Part of me wishes she would have cried or fussed a little.  I know most parents would have been thrilled by this but as an mom of an adoptive child, I kind of wanted her to be sad and to want her mommy.  Thankfully big sister Maya is just downstairs and is able to check in on her little sister.  Apparently Makenna did great and had a good day.  She was overwhelmed at first but what can you expect with 8 little ones, 2 teachers, and people coming and going all day long?  I would be overwhelmed too!  We are just thrilled to have both girls under the same roof as life just got easier for Dave and myself.

Before leaving for school, I took some pictures.  I had to promise Maya a gummy bear in order to get a smile.  Strange, I know as Maya always smiles for the camera.

  

All Smiles

One happy little girl...that smile melts my heart.



I just love this one...

Time Out for Myself - BON JOVI!!!

I thought I would participate in this month's "Time Out for Theta Mom Thursday".   The rules: you have to make an hour’s time for yourself sometime during the month, without the kids and blog about it.

 

Do you find it easy to get time for yourself?  I don't.  I find it incredibly difficult.  Part of the issue is I want to be home and be with my family.  The other issue is I just don't take the time.  One Saturday night this month, I actually took time for me.  I enjoyed a night out at a Bon Jovi concert.  Wow, so much fun!  My good friend Andrea snagged awesome tickets near the stage on the raised seats which gave me a great view of hottie Jon Bon Jovi!  I spent the evening with my sister, her husband, my friends Andrea and Tom. 

David decided to stay home with the kids considering he isn't the biggest fan and has seen him twice already.  I'm not sure how he could pass on an incredible concert and a night out of the house, but he did.  It felt so good to be out and to feel like me and not Maya's or Makenna's mom which is how I feel most days.  After the concert we hit a local spot for a round of drinks  and some chit chat.  I loved it!!



This night was not only a blast but it reminded me it is important to take time for yourself.  You may not be able to every day or every week but once in awhile is good for the soul.  Thank you Dave for giving me a guilt free night out!

Twists

About 2 weeks ago, I tried out a new hairstyle on Maya's hair.  I thought it turned out fairly cute but it didn't hold too well.  Maya's hair is fairly soft so twists don't hold as well as cornrows.  I ended up taking them out after a few days and instead did some cornrows in her hair.  The nice part was her hair was already parted in sections so it didn't take long. 

Here are some pictures of the twists. 


It is fun to try something new but lately we've been doing head bands and ponytails.  So easy.  I'll have to visit the blog Happy Hair for some new ideas.

First Trip Out of Town

Have you ever gone on a trip that didn't turn out exactly the way you had envisioned it?   This weekend we took our first road trip as a family of 4 and Makenna's first car trip. We left Saturday am and drove 3+ hours to visit my brother and his family.  I had a plan before we left home.  The plan was this...we would meet my brother and his family in Sioux Falls, make a quick trip to Once Upon a Child, have lunch at a local Ethiopian restaurant, shop at the mall and then drive to my brother's which is 45 minutes north of the city.  Easy enough.

WRONG!  Although we did managed to complete everything, it wasn't without consequences.  The girls were tired and excited to see their cousins and us adults were ready to lose our patience as the girls did not listen and did not make good choices.  I guess I shouldn't have had expectations as it is normal for a 3 year old to be wild after sitting for 3+ hours.

We did make it to a local Ethiopian restaurant.  The food was delicious!!!  It was the first time for my brother and his family.  They gave it a shot and I think they actually liked some of it.  Maya was too busy being naughty to enjoy it  which was a disappointment.


 

After lunch we hit the very busy mall with 4 tired children.  You can imagine how well it went.  Why does it seem when you have awesome store coupons to all your favorite stores, the mall is absolutely crazy?  Apparently all these people had the very same coupons and had the very same idea.  Darn it.  Well we stayed longer than we should have and finally left.  I did managed to quickly stop in at a few places.  It wasn't the most pleasurable shopping experience. 

After we arrived at my brother's the girls could finally burn off some energy.  Maya and her cousin Olivia had a blast playing with each other.  Makenna decided it was time to be fussy while her cousin Rachel was a sweet and calm child.  They really have different personalities.
 

Sunday we had a nice morning and the girls enjoyed dying and decorating Easter eggs. 

 

We also tried taking a picture of all 4 kids.  The key word is "tried". 
 

After lunch, we packed the car and headed for home.  The first 45 minutes were fine as both girls fell asleep in the car.  After a quick stop at Target to feed Makenna, we started our 2+ hour trip home.  It wasn't the best as Makenna screamed for most of it and Maya got upset when her movie didn't play (darn DVD  players).  What seemed like forever, we finally made it home.
 
We actually did have a nice weekend and the girls enjoyed themselves.  I just have to remember to not have any expectations and not to expect my girls to cooperate after a long car ride.  I must first let them run off their built up energy before we attempt anything such as shopping.  I've learned my lesson.

Thanks Jon and Shannon for hosting us!

Parades

Maya enjoyed two parades in the past week.  The first parade was the St. Patrick's Day parade.  Maya enjoyed it with her good friend Wren and her cousin Benjamin (along with Dad and Wren's parents).  The girls loved wearing their hats Dave picked up for them. 

 

The second parade was the Shrine Circus parade.  Maya loved watching all the animals and had many stories to tell her friends at school.


 

I unfortunately missed both parades but I heard all about them!  I'll have to be sure to go with next year.

Discussion - Children and Activities

As a working mother of two adoptive girls, topics arise in my head about various things such as parenting, arts & crafts, kids related topics, etc.  Therefore I have decided to start a discussion on my blog twice a month on a specific topic.  I'd love for anyone reading my blog to provide their insight to the topic to help all of us learn more.  If there is a certain topic anyone is interested in, please let me know.  I can always been reached at ethiopiatofargo@gmail.com.

This week's topic:

Question: How many activities does each of your children participate in?   At what age is the child ready to participate in activities?

I find myself struggling with this topic.  Part of me thinks Maya is too young and doesn't need to participate in activities right now.  The other part of me feels it is good for Maya to participate in structured activities that get her body moving and for her to interact with other kids.  So far I have enrolled Maya in a few sessions of gymnastics and swimming lessons.  However, she has never done both of these at the same time.  I guess you could say I believe in only 1 activity at a time. 

When I talk to other parents specifically other mothers, I get a mixed response.  Many parents feel the age of 3 is far too young to have them participate in group sports.  Other mothers feel 2 activities at a time is just fine and isn't too much.

Is there a magic number or does it depend on the child?  Maya is soon going to taking a class called Toddler Time which will introduce Maya to many different sports such as basketball, bowling, and soccer.  Swimming lessons follow this class and then soccer begins.  I feel overwhelmed already and they don't even overlap! 

What do you think?

Wordless Wednesday

Good Hair

Last night I watched the documentary "Good Hair" by Chris Rock. I found it to be very interesting and informative about black hair, specifically black female hair. From watching it, I learned that many black women will go to any length to get the hair they want regardless of money and time. Apparently it isn't "cool" to have natural black hair, an Afro, as the women in this documentary all wanted smooth, ‘European’ style hair.

I recommend watching the movie if you haven't already. I really think you will take something away from it and learn a little more about black hair. Here is a trailer of the movie.

Did you know there is a large International hair show dedicated to African American hair held twice a year in Atlanta, GA – Bronner Brothers? At this show, there a hundreds of hair vendors selling any product you could imagine. These vendors make thousands of dollars at this show as people will buy and try anything to get the hair they desire. At the show they also have these amazing competitions – check it out!

The movie also talked about hair relaxers and weaves. A weave can set a person back over a $1,000 just for the hair alone! You then have to pay to have it put in as well as the maintenance. Good news is many salons have a lay-away program (oh my). I might have to forgo a college fund for my girls and instead start a hair fund!

Americanized

This morning all 4 of us headed out to a fun kid's store in town.  We usually never do anything like this as a family as it is just too hard and much too stressful.  While there, we were talking to an acquaintance when we were interrupted by an older woman.  She said to us "I heard you adopted from Ethiopia.  Are they sisters?"  I started saying "no" as I was jumping into the adoption mode of explaining my girls are not biologically sisters when Dave chimed in saying "well yes they are sisters".  Good answer Dave because they ARE sisters.  The woman then says "I think it is so great that they come here and become so Americanized".  What????  Excuse me?  I beg to differ.  Yes, my girls, and other adopted children who now live in America, will probably love McDonald's, Dora, and all that the US offers but it is also incredibly sad that these kids are being taken out of their home countries.  Ethiopians are beautiful people and the culture is so rich.  We attempted to explain to the woman that it it is great that these children our now part of our family but it isn't so great what they had to go through in their short lives to be in a position to be placed for adoption. We also explained how wonderful Ethiopia and its people are and both girls will grow up proud to be Ethiopian.  She seemed surprised.  Thankfully our shopping was done and we left. 

We try to raise our children as Americans and Ethiopians because they are both.  I often struggle with how much of their Ethiopian culture should we make apart of our lives.  I find it hard as there are only so many hours in a day and so many days in a year.  I don't want my girls to resent us one day for not doing enough.  I think the amount we do will depend on what feels right at the time for our family.  We are proud to have Ethiopia as part of lives.  Our connection has never been stronger.

How much culture do you bring into your family or how much do you plan to?  How do you incorporate your kid's culture into your family?  Love to hear your thoughts.

Makenna Update

I realized it had been awhile since I have written a blog post dedicated to Makenna. She has been doing pretty well overall. We have had several doctor appointments to ensure she has all her vaccinations and has a complete bill of health. We met an amazing doctor in our town from Africa who mostly sees immigrants and adopted kids. I can't even tell you what a blessing it was to have found her. She was able to explain to us every mark on Makenna's body. When we first met Makenna, we were concerned about a mark on her upper right arm. Turns out if was from a TB vaccination and the doctor had the very same mark on her arm. Makenna also has some blue spots on her back which look like bruises. Turns out those are perfectly normal and they have a name for them but I can't recall. I'm just truly thankful my city has someone like her as a doctor.

Makenna hasn't been doing too well in the sleeping department. We are told she takes okay naps at daycare but she hasn't been sleeping through the night. We have had 3 nights in a row of little sleep. Makenna thinks 12:30 is time to get up and play when it is certainly not time to wake up. After 3 nights of trying to combat this, Dave took her to the walk-in clinic. It turns out she has a double ear infection. Well that explains why she doesn't want to sleep. It probably hurts! Tonight she has her medicine so I am praying she makes it through the night.

Makenna has also gained a little over 2 pounds since being home. She loves to eat and cries terribly when you are making a bottle. She has really good ears too as we swear she can hear the bottle being made from a different room. So far we haven't found any food she hasn't liked. Hopefully this will continue into her toddler days and beyond.

Overall, she is doing well. It is still difficult to make her smile or to get her to laugh. Maya doesn't seem to have any issue with this as Makenna loves her big sister. I tried finding a picture with her smiling and could only find a handful out of many. I hope she opens up more and begins to smile. I just love it when she does as personality changes drastically and she is so darn cute with a smile on her face (not that she isn't cute without it).

Here is a picture we took during bath-time which she absolutely loves.

My Kids Clothing

Over a week ago I had a conversation with one of my girlfriends about children's clothing and brands of clothing.  I had told her that I tend to be cheap, meaning I don't want to spend a whole lot on any one piece of clothing except for maybe a good pair of tennis shoes.  I tend to like deals and I really like to use store coupons to save even more money. 

But she had me thinking.  Is it wrong to spend a little more on my children's clothing if it means it will wash better and wear longer?  My thrifty ways always seem to catch up with me.  The clothes either shrink a size in the wash, the stains don't come all the way out, or the garment looks awful after a few washes. 

I have made a decision - I am going to buy better quality clothing and less of it.   I feel good about my decision and it certainly helps that I have two daughters who hopefully will both be able to wear whatever I buy at some point.  So I guess that means Maya will get the new clothes while Miss Makenna will have to wear hand me downs.  I assume this will work out just fine until Makenna starts catching on.  I should note that this doesn't mean I won't consider buying something at any random store because believe me, I love all kids clothing.  I am just going to shop smarter and get more wear out of everything I do buy.

I found a few sites that I am in love with that have the most adorable kids clothing.  I haven't actually purchased anything from these sites (except for Naartjie) but I have heard the quality is fantastic and they do have sales!!!  Yippee for me as I can save a little, get better quality clothing, and my girls will look adorable wearing the clothes.  It seems like a win-win situation to me!

Hanna Andersson	Tea Collection	Naartjie

What do you think?
I'd love to find even more sites, so do you have a favorite site or store? 
Does spending more money equate to better quality? 
If so, do you have suggestions on where to find quality at a decent price? 
Does it even matter? 

Let's get a discussion going!

My Book Came!!!

My Shutterfly photo book finally arrived today and I couldn't be happier. All 63 pages are about our amazing trip to Ethiopia. I included as many pictures as possible considering I took over 500 pictures and I tried to document everything. You think we were there for weeks versus 7 days as apparently I had a lot to say! I am just so happy about this book and can't wait to show it off. I love talking about adoption and about Ethiopia. Makenna likes the book too!

A Brother?

On our way home from daycare on Friday, Maya and I were in a deep conversation.  It started with a discussion of her day.  I usually ask which kids were at school, what she ate, and if she was good, etc.  Then are discussion turned and I'm not exactly sure how.  We were talking about her friend Noah and Noah's brother Cole. 

I then asked Maya "Do you want a brother?"  Her reply "Yes".  She then said she wanted us to take Makenna back to Ethiopia and bring home a brother.  She continued saying Grandma (Julie) would then come to stay with her while we are in Ethiopia.  If you recall, my mother did come and did stay with Maya while we were in Ethiopia.

My response to Maya was "You do not want her baby sister to go back to Ethiopia because you love her and she is apart of our family".  Maya didn't agree and thought Makenna should return to Ethiopia.  This continued all the way home.  I told Dave about our discussion and we talked to Maya some more.  We have agreed that Makenna will not return to Ethiopia and Maya agreed she wants a sister and a brother.  We'll see about a brother as two girls are enough for now!

Kids seem to say the craziest things in the most adorable way!  I love this girl.

Balancing work, kids, and everything else

Well I made it through my first week being back at work. I am happy to report it went smoothly and no one yelled at me. Makenna also made it through her first week of daycare but not without some grumpiness. She seems to be exhausted and restless. Poor thing. I know this transition must be hard on her. I am thankful we have a low key weekend planned as family time is very much needed.

I am finding being back at work has its challenges. It is going to be hard trying to find the right balance between working, playing "momma" to my two girls, trying to keep the house up, and everything else in between. Being home the last two months had really allowed me to keep up on the daily chores, run around doing errands, and have time to spend with my family on nights and weekends. I'm already feeling guilty that I don't have the time or the energy to clean up the kitchen or to fold the clothes that have been lying in the clothes basket since last weekend. I wish there was a magic formula on how to balance everything or a magic wand to make all the dishes sparkle and land in the cupboards or to give me 4 more hours in the day. Reality is - I must find the balance and realize I have to let go and not be so hard on myself. Clothes may need to be washed or folded, dishes may need to be washed, but that is okay. My family comes first and I don't want to miss spending time with my two girls. They are only little once and everyone tells me that I must treasure this time with them.

I'd like to know from those reading this - how do you balance work, parenthood, and everything else? Have you found a way that works for you and your family?

You NEED these necklaces!

Purchase of these necklaces goes towards Kolfe Boys Orphanage!

Jodi from JStudios created these awesome necklaces and the proceeds go towards helping all the boys at Kolfe. Who wouldn't want to help an orphan and have a beautiful unique piece of jewelry? I love mine and you will love yours too. I only have 4 left to sell so contact me if you are interested by leaving a comment or emailing me at ethiopiatofargo@gmail.com.

Means "Hope" and is $22 (with chain)

$22 (with chain)

Means "Faith" and is $22 (with chain)

a pendant only no chain, $10

JStudios has many other wonderful pieces of art including more jewelry so check her blog out as you won't be disappointed! Go here. And...if you don't feel you want to purchase a necklace, you can also help sponsor a pizza party for the boys. Check out Lindsey's blog for more details!

my first day back - not so bad

Last night I had a terrible headache, took some Tylenol PM, and went to bed early.  I was hoping for a good night sleep but I found myself awake at 2:15 am.  I then tossed and turned until I finally got out of bed. 

During my restless sleep, I dreamt my desk at work was moved into a closet.  On my first day back I was sitting in this closet and my co-worker who has been covering for me came in with his laptop.  He sat across the table from me and was just pissed.  All of a sudden another co-worker came in and she started to yell at me.  I have no idea why and I have no idea what she said.  I honestly have no idea why I dreamt this but Dave got a good chuckle as it reminded him of the episode on the Office where Dwight moved Ryan's desk into the closet or was that Jim that moved it?  I am happy to report my first morning back went well and no one yelled at me or moved my desk. 

I am at home now for lunch and it seems weird being here without Makenna.  I cried again this morning saying good-bye to her.  Everything will be fine and I'll be fine.  I just need a few days to adjust. 

My Last Day Home

Today is my last day at home and I'm sad.  It really hit me last night and I tossed and turned all night.  We must all adjust again to a new schedule and routine.  Unfortunately Maya's daycare doesn't have a spot for Makenna until the end of March but I found a great alternative.  I am relieved that I found a great place but sad that Makenna must adjust again and then again at the end of the month.  Too many transitions for a little one but what choice do we have?  I must get back to work. 

I had a few goals for myself while I have been home and I feel pretty good about what I have achieved.  My goals:

1. spend quality time with Makenna - done!
2. pull off a fun 3rd birthday for Maya - done!
3. complete my digital photo book of our trip - done!
4. send out baby announcements - done!
5. have professional photos taken of the girls - done!
6. create adoption video - not done :(
7. finally finish Maya's 1 year book - not done :(
8. complete some painting projects around the house - not done :(

Considering my #1 priority was getting to know Makenna and adjusting to a family of 4, I think I did okay.  So what if some things on my list didn't get done.  It doesn't mean they won't ever get done just not right now. 

I will miss spending my days with Makenna but I am excited to get back to the job I love and to see all my co-workers again.  Another transition for us and we can do it.  I have faith!