On Account of it Being National Adoption Month

I scanned these pictures a while ago and just realized I never posted them. Shame on me. Oh well, it makes for a great November post. November is National Adoption Month, so to commemorate adoption and Adjoa's family, I'll share these pictures.

Adjoa wanted to draw a picture for her uncle (birth-father's brother) and her aunt (birth-mother's sister) and send them to "Ah-free-cuh" Once they were drawn, it also became necessary to paint them in a really colorful manner. Because when something is really super colorful, it's always better.

Here's the picture she drew for her aunt.

Her aunt in making fu-fu. It was very important to make sure her aunt had shoes - critical, actually. She also wrote {with a little help from me} I LOVE YOU! It was also necessary to draw "lots of houses on the street". "Lots" turned into just two. There is also a chicken - can you see it? It's in the red blob area.

Anyway. the chicken is also very important. Adjoa told me a story about the chicken as she was drawing it. Once, it bit her finger and she cried and cried. But her uncle was there and he held her and gave her hugs and it was all better. That's pretty much exactly how the story went. lol. Sometimes it amazes me that she remembers some things. I hope she always remembers, even though I know it's not really possible. I just hope one day, when she returns to Ghana, she will feel at home there and love it the way I do.

Here's her uncle's picture. She drew herself in this one. His house was there and she felt it was necessary to make sure there was a door so he could go inside. She also wanted to include the big truck that he drives - complete with the exhaust pipe that she assured me is where the beep-beep noise comes from. She insisted that it wouldn't be able to make the noise if she didn't draw it. Funny girl. This on says I LIKE TO GIVE YOU HUGS. I'm pretty sure she wanted to say that because of the chicken story.


They are pretty cute pictures and I was so proud of her for what she remembered and that she was thinking of them. She is so sweet and she really loves her family still in Ghana.

So You Think You Can Dance? Shoot. Adjoa KNOWS She Can

One of my fav shows is SYTYCD I've watched it religiously for years. And I have to admit sometimes I miss the days when people messed up, or fell, or forgot the dance. The dancer's caliber is so much higher now than in years passed, a major screw up hasn't happened forever.

Of course, it's also getting harder to wow everyone when all the routines are great.

Even though it's one of my favorites, I haven't blogged about it recently like I used to. Mostly because we have Adjoa now, so it cuts into my blogging, but also because instead of blogging about the routines, I have to watch them a second time. I get too caught up in watching Adjoa.

I had some terrific vids from Season 5, but they were lost in the great Memory Card Erasure at the end of the Hawaii trip this summer.

I'll post a few vids from the fall season so far.

Warning, this might only be cute and adorable and funny to mommy and grandparents.

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary!

I get a kick out of this picture every time I see it. lol.

I think it's pretty clear who gets in trouble all the time. Not that he cares. I'm pretty sure he loves to rile me up.

It's a Good Thing Kids are so Cute... and that they know when you've reached your limit and they turn on the charm and melt your heart

After just over 2 hours of trying to get Adjoa to go to bed - I was at the end of my rope.

There had been lots of crying and lots of insisting "But I'm not tired!" and lots of ignoring, cajoling, begging, promising, bribing, threatening, etc. on our part. lol.

So. just over 2 hours into it, I'm in her room gritting my teeth, asking her to pretty please go to sleep.

"I'm not tired." She insists simply.

"Adjoa, it's WAY passed your bed time. It's soooo late. You need to go to sleep."

"I'm not tired."

"Ok. Just lay there then. You don't have to sleep, just lay there and relax."

"I don't want to relax."

"Fine. But no playing. No singing. No talking. Everyone else is tired and trying to sleep. You need to be quiet."

"I will sit. I'm not tired. I don't want to lay. I don't want to relax."

"Sit. Just don't make any noise."

About 5 minutes later, I'm amazed that she is actually being quiet finally. I peek in her room to see this:


I think she fell asleep sitting up - probably seconds after I left her room. Her bum was sticking up in the air so far I started laughing out loud. I couldn't really get a good angle to show the height - but you get the idea.

I straightened her body out, covered her up, tucked her in, kissed her, and by then I had forgotten all about how frustrated I had been with this stubborn child who 'was not tired'.

Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too!

Or just tiger.

Adjoa looked really cute in her Halloween costume and she had a blast. She's at such a fun age to be experiencing all these things for the first time. S he's old enough to get what's going on, and young enough to be ridiculously excited about it. And of course, it's all new to her - her absolute first time for everything.

I loved how excited she got about pumpkins - and then when she discovered that we get to cut them all up and make funny faces with them, she about died from excitement.

We went costume shopping and she insisted on the tiger, because "tigers are scary! Rrraar!!!" Even though she was way more cute than scary, we let her think she was absolutely terrifying.

The week was full of fun for her - she got to wear her costume to school and participated in a Halloween party there. Costumes were encouraged for her music class the next day, and she got to go Trick-or-Treating at Robert's work. She had a pumpkin-bucket full of candy before Halloween even got here!

Robert took her out to some neighbor's houses while I stayed home to hand out treats. She had a blast! They took Eden as they walked around, and Eden was very worried every time Adjoa went up to knock on someone's door. Cute how concerned she was for her little buddy.

All in all, it was a fun holiday and it's making me really excited for all the upcoming celebrations!

Here's a picture of our adorable -

uh, I mean scary - tiger!


After a long, fun week of Halloween Adjoa was still all smiles! {Probably because mommy had LOTS of candy left over}

Food Issues Update

Ok. So I spent 4 days allowing Adjoa to eat however much she desired. Just to see.

I wrote down everything she ate - to make my list easier for blogging purposes, instead of stating 1/2 an apple in the morning, and then 1/2 an apple in the evening, I'll just write 1 apple. So, the list won't be in order and exact quantities as eaten, but a daily total. Does that make sense? {If I have to explain it, I should probably just write it out as eaten! But alas, 'tis too late for that}

She also had water, milk, soy milk, and a bit of juice throughout the day that I didn't really track.

Day 1

• 6 pieces of french toast {as in 6 slices of bread made up to be french toast}
• 4 carrots
• 1 cup soup
• 1 slice of wheat bread w/cheese
• 1 cup peaches
• Baked potato with vegetarian chili and cheese
• 4-5 bites of apple pie

Day 2

• 3 whole wheat, blueberry pancakes with applesauce. {She doesn't like it when I put blueberries in the pancakes. This even resulted in a tantrum. That said, she still ate 3. I had 2 and Robert had 3}
• Apple
• Whole turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread
• 5 baby carrots
• 1 apple
• 1 cup soup
• 2 cups peaches

Day 3

• 6 or 7 pancakes {I lost track at one point}
• 6 crackers with peanut butter
• 1 whole tuna sandwich on whole wheat bread
• 5 carrots
• 1 apple
• 1 cup vegetarian chili
• 1 hard boiled egg

Day 4

• 1 bowl Cheerios
• 1/2 apple
• Crackers with hummus
• Quesadilla with salsa
  
• Whole tuna sandwich and whole wheat bread
• 1 tomato
• 1 brownie
• 2 cups of applesauce

That being said, there were many times throughout the day she would come and tell me she was hungry and I would give her a drink and send her away. Often, I was sure she stopped eating only because the food was gone. Especially if she really likes the food.

So you see, back when I cut her off at three pancakes, I was really cutting her off from 6 or 7, not just 4.

Thoughts?

That's a lot of food, right? And this is pretty normal for her if I don't cut her off. She doesn't really go in waves or anything that correlates with growth spurts. Actually, she probably eats even more and begs for food more often and cries and throws fits {in relation to food} more frequently when she's about ready to grow a bunch.

When I took her to her pediatrician a while back - when school was starting - she wasn't overweight or anything and the Dr said she was healthy. When she wakes up in the morning her stomach is flat and normal looking. As she starts eating, it balloons out.

It's weird. I went back to controlling her portions for her.

Anyway, let me know your thoughts!

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

My book club was scheduled to read March in a couple months and I had nothing, at the moment, in hand to read. So I moseyed over to the library and peeked about for March. It was not available. But Year of Wonders was.

The subtitle: A Novel of the Plague was just too irresistible. Plus I liked the font used for the title. It's also a pretty thin book, so I didn't feel like I was really committing a whole lot in case my spontaneity and impetuous book selection didn't pan out.

But then I loved it.

Based on a small village, Eyam, Brooks encountered in England, the novel is about the so-called "plague" town and what happened when the town was infected with the bubonic plague. In 1666, they willingly shut themselves off from all contact with outsiders until the plague ran it's course. Which ended up taking about a year.

I really liked the book. I thought it was well written and had some nice everyday-type moments that helped the reader really get a feel for the time and place. It's one of those blessed books that comes along and makes you think you could read everything the author has written and like it all. It made me VERY excited to read March and I added Book of the People to my list. {I didn't even put it at the bottom. I snuck it in closer to the top and am right now, several months and many books later, considering it as my next. I wonder how long the hold line is at the library?}

Onward. After all that you are now going to be surprised. I hated the ending. I will not spoil it, but it was terrible. Came-from-left-field-forced sort of ending. Which was sad. But the rest of the book was delicious enough to ignore the ending. It was simple; I just sort of re-wrote the ending in my head. I promise I held true to the character.

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

Prepare to be inundated with book reviews as I go through my list of the things I've read in the last few months and blog.

I read this one several months back, so I don't know how much I'll remember - for instance, I can't remember why I even picked it up, but I think it was because of some-thing I read some-where on some-one's blog. Or maybe I was at the library for some other purpose {all books should be treated with purpose} and saw it and thought, "oh yeah! I remember wanting to read this at some point and never got around to it and looky here, it's checked in and everything and *insert whatever other book I had intentions for here* isn't. So I'll just get this one." But probably a little bit of both.

Plus. There's something about the fashion from this time period that makes me tingle. Or rather, the fashion of the ludicrously wealthy, and I'm certain the fashion of the time dictates the literary quality of the stories gleaned from said era.

Ahem. Back to the book.

Not particularly historically accurate throughout, but I didn't want to read a history book and I warrant a certain about of poetic license is what makes historical fiction good and fun to read {i.e. NOT a history book}.

Centered on Mary Boleyn, the story swirls around her and her family's experience in the court of Henry VIII. I had mixed feelings about Mary. I felt sorry for her most of the time, but there were also many times I felt she just let things happen. Of course, the sixteenth century didn't offer much of a voice to women - especially women who stood against their family.

Some historical hearsay was taken as pretty literal in the story, which left me a little uncomfortable, but it also made for a more interesting read on the characters, too. Considering the length of the book, it was a quick read and quite engrossing.

I think I'd chalk it up to more entertaining than literary, but there is certainly enough there to have a good, fun book club discussion. Which makes sense. I'm pretty sure this is a wildly popular book club book.

That's all I really remember about it at the moment. I'd recommend it to most people.

RE: My Mantra and The Terrible Three and One-Thirds

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who posted comments so far - I should have turned to my blogging friends sooner! We've spent weeks in chaos and turmoil lately and I have a sneaking suspicion some of it could have been avoided! Well, maybe I would just be a little more sane, but still, that's huge.

I really like the bean idea. I like being able to take away a bean as discipline. Because, knowing Adjoa, there will be times when giving up a chance to put a sticker on the board will not really make a difference to her, but losing a bean would. I also like that I can carry beans around with me and reward her even if we are not at home, etc. It makes for more immediate consequences, and in my ahem dog training experience immediate reward/discipline is always best.

Sadly, I did just admit that most of my parenting techniques come from what I learned training dogs - and most specifically, a crazy, hyper Weimaraner. lol.

Behavior modification is behavior modification, right?

I'm going to keep a food record for Adjoa. I'll spend a few days putting it together and then post the results on the blog. There is definately something going on with her and food right now, and I can't quite figure it out. It started a few weeks ago and at first I thought she was just prepping for a big growing spurt, but it's gotten very nearly out of control lately and I'm not sure what's behind it all.

It seems late {9 months!} for her to be worried about being hungry like she was in Ghana. I assumed she had figured out long ago that there's no shortage of food here. She never really went through it when she came home, so maybe it's just a little delayed... I don't know.

My Mantra Yesterday: I Love My Child, I Love My Child, I Love My Child

There are no words for yesterday. Or even the last few days in general.

I can't bear to go into detail, so I will be forced to paint large strokes for you and you will need to use your imaginations. Ok, medium strokes. Large strokes aren't that much fun. You need a little detail.



Adjoa was mad because I told her 4 pancakes was too many and she would be sick {I need to post about the food issues we have been experiencing as well}. I caved a little, and cut one in half so she ate 3 1/2 pancakes. I had two. Robert ate three. Really, she should have been full. But she was mad. She ate the half pancake and wanted more. I explained again that she would be sick if she ate more. She started licking her plate.

I asked her to stop and explained that it's bad manners and "gross" to lick your plate like that. I took the plate away and set it down. She glared at me. Pick up the plate. And started licking again.

Adjoa, I asked you not to do that.

I took the plate away again and set it down. She glared. She picked it up. She licked it.

Adjoa! I said no.

So I took the plate away and put it in the dishwasher. I turn around and she is glaring at me, licking her knife and fork. I take them away and put them in the dishwasher. I turn around and she is glaring at me, licking her cup.

Robert is aghast. This is pretty much the first time he witnessed her deliberately disobeying me.

~~~~~~~~~~

It was time to take out Adjoa's hair and re-do it. The day before, I really talked it up. Told her we could watch princess movies and she would get beads and braids and all that jazz. She was excited.

I put her in the tub {much easier to take out the old 'do when the hair is wet}. She starts with being silly. Then it morphs into obnoxious. And suddenly, I have this child who refuses to cooperate with me. I warn her that she won't get to play in her bubble bath while I take out her hair if she keeps it up. She keeps it up.

I drain the tub. She stops the drain.

I ask her to get out of the tub. She lays down.

I had my fill. I pick her up, sopping wet, and carry her to her room. I was holding her away from me because I didn't want to get wet. She started fighting me. She was so slippery. I dropped her. I felt terrible. She was mad at me. She began again with her fit-throwing.

I left the room and told her I would come back when she was ready for me to do her hair. I few minutes later I hear her in the bathroom. I walk in and she has this totally guilty look on her face. I figure it's because I caught her out of her room. I pick her up and carry her back to her room and begin taking her hair out. She had cut off two of her little ponies clear down to the elastic!!!

I was horrified! 9 months of growing her hair out wasted! The hair is like 1/4 inch long! The section is 1 inch wide, and 2 inches long. I wanted to cry. I was beyond words. She had school pictures the next day.

I think we are going to have to basically shave her head. 9 months! No more cute beads. No more braids. We are back to headbands. I am distraught.

~~~~~~~~~~

More fits, crying, fighting me while I try to do her hair. She refuses to talk to me. She just suddenly starts crying and stomping around. 20 minutes of tantrums.

I called Robert and asked him to come home early from work.

~~~~~~~~~~

I Love My Child. I Love My Child. I Love My Child.

When are those scholastic books going to get here????