What's Been Happening?

We've been up to all sorts of fun this week. Summer is almost over and I've been trying to cram as much as possible into our last few days of freedom (from school). Plus, I'm painfully aware that keeping the boys cooped up in the house puts me in a bad mood, so I've been trying to keep them busy and wear them out. By last night (Wednesday) I was so dog-tired I could hardly see straight. However, my boys still have a ridiculous amount of energy. I don't understand that!

This week:

We went swimming twice. Sambo has started a habit of pooping every time he swims/spends too long in the warm bath. So I know that taking him swimming is really risky. This week he pooped once in the pool and once in the bath. It was 100 degrees yesterday, so I had to do something with the kids to keep us all cool so I tried the pool again. Thankfully the stars aligned and he managed to control himself in both the pool and the bath later that night!!!!

I wanted to do a class at the gym after the kids swam for a few hours, so I bought them hotdogs for dinner at the snack bar there at the pool. Sambo is a certified pig (well, they both are actually) and even though he eats constantly, he is still so small. He is also 1/8 Japanese, so G and I are guessing he's going to a competitive eater one day just like the awesome Kobayashi. We've joked about him being our little Kobayashi. I kid you not, while he was eating his hotdog last night, he started dipping his hotdog in water before he took a bite. Part of me wasn't at all surprised...

We've also been berry picking twice this week: blackberries yesterday and blueberries today. Buddy picks blackberries in the neighborhood all the time, so it was old news for him. But Sambo was thrilled. Usually when we berry pick I keep him securely strapped in his stroller so I can work and not have to chase him around. So yesterday was a real treat for him. He braved the brambles and ate quite a few. Neither boy collected any berries in their bowl, but instead filled it with rocks. Most got spilled on the walk home, but there were a few left we we got home.

Today we set out for blueberries and drove all the way to the farm only to realize I had left my wallet home. So I drove home to get it and when I was almost home I noticed a motorcycle cop on the sidewalk up ahead. I slowed down as did all the other cars. Next thing I know, he was pulling me over. I was certain I wasn't speeding but of course panicked at the thought of trying to explain that the whole reason I was driving home was to get my wallet/driver's license.

He was nice and explained that tomorrow is carseat safety awareness day so they've been pulling people over with kids in the car to check their carseats -- to see if they are installed properly and to make sure children are riding in the proper carseats for their age/size. Luckily mine were, although he gave me a few tips for making them safer. Thankfully, he never even asked to see my driver's license. You should have seen poor Buddy panicking in the backseat. He already worries about having his seatbelt on and riding in a carseat, etc. Buddy spent the rest of the morning apologized profusely for "making me get in trouble with the police" and he was so relieved I "didn't have to go to jail" or "get a ticket." If only that officer knew how petrified he made both of us! So just so you know, if you have children in the car, the police are watching you...

Buddy has also been attending "Kinder Readiness" at his new school this week. It's a 2-hour class each day to get the kids (and the parents) ready for school. He learned to stand in line, listen, raise his hand, and they did several arts and crafts projects. While we both were super nervous for him to go, we both feel a lot better about the start of school now. He actually really enjoyed everything about it, but surprise, surprise, he LOVED recess the most.

While I was picking him up today, I went to the office to ask a few questions because I'm clueless about how everything school-related works. I don't know if he'll go in the am or pm, when school starts, what time I need to be up and ready if he does go in the morning, how it works if he rides the bus, etc. I'm so glad I asked, because it turns out school doesn't start until September 10th, a few days later than I thought. So that's good news at least!

Every day when I pick him up, I ask him all sorts of questions. On the first day I asked him if he raised his hand when he had a question. Meaning, did he raise his hand or did he blurt things out. He said he raised his hand to ask when they got to color. I was happy about that and moved on to asking him something else. Awhile later, he said, "You never asked me what else I said when I raised my hand." "Oh no..." I thought. "What else did you ask?" "I raised my hand and told the teacher she was nice," he said.

Of course I asked him why he told her that and what she said. "I told her that because she's really nice to kids and then she said 'thanks." If you know nothing else about Buddy, that's all you need to know. Total kiss-up. He had been to kindergarten for a few minutes when he figured out how to work the teacher. I'm sure he made her entire day/school year by saying that, though!



Tuesday a few of my adoption friends and their children participated in the county fair parade. I also invited my good friends and my mom and I think we all had a ton of fun. I know I did! After the parade we all went to the fair for free. We are huge fans of the fair in the this family, so it was a very enjoyable day. We wore homemade t-shirts in the parade. Mine said "Blessed By Adoption," Buddy's said "I Support Adoption" (G helped him made it, so he's the one that came up with that phrase. Sort of strange, I thought...), and Sambo's said "I (heart) Adoption." Buddy's t-shirt is his new favorite shirt and he seriously begs to wear it every day. We also had a big banner announcing we were from Families Supporting Adoption and we passed out adoption cards, candy, and really cool bracelets. It was really exciting to see how proud and confident the kids were to tell people they were adopted. And it was fun to hear the wonderful responses from people along the parade route and later at the fair. I had quite a few people approach me when they saw my totally awesome t-shirt. One guy from rural Oregon told me his story -- that he had recently adopted his niece because her birthmother was on drugs. He didn't know anyone else that had adopted a child so he was really happy to talk with me for a few minutes. It made me thankful to be a part of such a good support group and to have so much education about the process and the effects of adoption on the adoption triad (birth parents, adoptive families, children).

Well, that's my week so far. How's your week been?