It's never too early...

It's never to early to make a game plan for next year's school picture day.

Today was school picture day.  Both Moses and Fabi attend the same school, which mean they both need to be gussied up on the same day.  Not too big of a deal, right?  Apparently, for me, it is!

I kept meaning to get Mo's hair cut, but it didn't happen until last night.  Meaning today he had the 'fresh from the barber' look.  Then he argued about what to wear - I totally wasn't caring about the pants, so of course he chose sweats.  Whatever - the picture only shows you from the mid-section up!  But we haggled over his shirt.  He wanted a short sleeve button down w/a tie.  We have no short sleeve button downs.  So then I offered up the short sleeve polo shirts.  No go.  He got excited when he saw the sweater vests - they are really handsome! - but asked if he could pair one of them up w/a white undershirt and a tie.  Um, no.  So we settled on the undershirt and vest.  A little casual, but it worked for us!

On to the girl.  Um...why are all these dresses sleeveless??  Or too big?  What's the deal?  I have no nice shirts, but plenty of wrinkly T-shirts.  It was bad.  I even asked Dave to help me rank the choices.  We found a decent sleeveless dress and a sweater.  Cute!  Ok, hair...um...thankfully I still have my 80s tiny curling iron!  I did her bangs to hide the cowlick (85% successful) and made a few ringlets around her face.  After finishing one side, the other looked flat.  Fixed it and the other looked limp.  Seeing a pattern here?  We don't own hairspray (yuck!) but for once I felt I needed it!  Oh well - off you go!  It's not getting better so leave well enough alone!

I felt crazy then b/c I had all these notes and the teachers always say to pin them to the kids.  "Take the sweatshirt off for pictures please" and "I'll bring the snack before 9am" (oh yeah, did I mention it was also our day for snack?  I had some ready to go but *someone* left it out on the counter all night instead of the fridge...sigh...)  My poor kids had notes all over them!!

Back to the boy.  Hair.  He wanted a spike.  Due to the previously mentioned haircut, there was not enough hair for a spike!  We agreed on a 'ramp', like his uncle always does.  I grabbed the 'palm-aid' (sp?) type stuff I bought before school started (and never used!) and we gave it a try.  One half looked great while the other was curling...ah well!  We giggled a lot!  That stuff is thick!  Then I heard the requests for a pull-over sweatshirt and my pulse got faster - no!!!!  I explained that once you do your hair like that, pull-over clothing is not an option.  Seemingly satisfied w/that, he went off to hunt for another sweatshirt.

Back to the girl.  In case I didn't mention it before, she gets tube feedings in a McKey button.  Before going off to school each day we go through the motions - her whimpering like a cat and me reassuring her she's fine.  Sometimes it takes longer than others and sometimes all her tears render her shirt useless.  Thankfully, it was not a day where we needed to change clothes!  PHEW

Got some replacement snacks on the way to school, made sure everyone had their receipts for the photographer and drove home, replaying the morning in my head.

It's never too early to make a game plan for next year's school picture day.

Secretly rich

Apparently baby Ray finds Jillian Michaels soothing.  He fell asleep half-way through the 30 Day Shred!
*side note* Remember when I couldn't think of any anecdotes for myself?  Read on...*
-So I started the 30 Day Shred.  Not that I need to lose weight (it might be nice to lose a few, like 10) but I need to get into shape!  Day one reflections - not that hard.  I only did level 1.  I did, however, miss day 2 since I was sore and couldn't find a chaos free 20 minute block.  I just completed my 2nd day of it.  It's good!  I wonder what level 2 holds...do you think I should jump ahead on only my 3rd day?  Am I too cocky?  I was thinking of 10 days of level 1, 10 days of level 2 and 10 days of level 3.  I suppose I could get to day 5 of level 1 and make my decision then.  Yes, I need a work out DVD to actually do something. I tried Fit TV but the workouts on there all have a theme, like Bollywood dance workout or something I couldn't stomach.  I used to workout twice a week w/my cousin at the HS gym, which was SWEET but now w/Ray home and Leah working, Mo taking piano, Dave teaching piano, church on Weds...yada, yada...I literally cannot find a time when we can both go.  And the HS gym is not open to the community during the day.  We'll see how this DVD thing goes.
-I had a really awesome birthday week!  I opened a present early, w/permission.  It was a mug w/a bunch of photos of me and ALL the kids on it =D!!!  I drink out of it all the time and how can you not be happy when you see pics of your babies grinning in your arms all day?!  I also got breakfast at one of my favorite restaurants in town and a massage.  You have no idea how badly I needed that...I had been to the dr already and muscle relaxers are not my style.  The massage did the trick!  Dave also remembered that I wanted a T-shirt from a ministry we support - Drawn From Water.  If you haven't heard about it already, please go check it out.  The T-shirt has the outline of Africa w/all the babies' names that they have saved.  I also got some PB cup ice cream, attended a run/walk for the unborn w/my parents of a beautiful fall day (it was almost 80*!) and I managed to get a few of us decent and smiling for a cool family photo!
-When I was hanging wash the other day, I felt a lump in Fabi's sweatshirt pocket.  Um...?  Whatever it was had gone through the wash, so I was a little annoyed.  I peeled the little pocket open to find half a walnut shell, a rock, a piece of yarn and a fake leaf.  I laughed - Moses was never one to start collections unless he could proudly display them somewhere.  Fabi is not like that.  One of her favorite phrases is, "Keep it?"  She squirrels things away in pockets, car seat cup holders, her backpack, her bed, and her hand (when no other option is available)!  Anyway - to keep this anecdote from being about someone else, let me steer you back to my finding all this treasure in her pocket.  I did laugh, but then I just carelessly tossed the stuff out in the lawn.  Later the wash line broke and guess where her sweatshirt landed?  On top of the stuff.  I took it as a sign and collected her treasures.  After shaking out all the wash and re-organizing it on racks, I tucked the treasures on the ledge by the back door.  There are so many things I treasure that I would be crazy if someone just tossed them away.  I was a little crazy since the wash line broke - I love hanging wash!  I treasure the nutchie/pacifier I clipped when trying to break Mo of the habit.  I treasure coming in the back door and seeing a bunch of kid-sized shoes lined up near the size 12 men's ones.  I treasure my new mug and the kids I'm holding in the photos.  I treasure the notes Dave wrote me when we were dating - Mo just recently found one where Dave had drawn some pictures and used markers to color them.  He was grilling me on what kid made that note since he couldn't believe his dad did it!
-One last weird one.  Lately I have been having the knack of finding a product on the shelf that is not entered into the system.  I found a bottle of dish detergent that failed to exist at Big Lots.  The new guy and the manager couldn't figure out how to sell it to me.  Rocket science, I guess.  They finally found some way to override the system and accept my $2 payment.  How gracious of them.  Then at Shopko a stainless steel canteen had an unrecognizable bar code.  So did all of it's neighbors.  They kept bringing up a different one to see if each worked.  None did.  Other aluminum ones were in the system, but I don't want aluminum.  Again, they were finally able to override the system and take my $2.50 payment.  Then, I found a box of diapers, apparently the last of the 'old style'.  No longer in the system.  How could they offer it for sale if there wasn't an entry?  I'm not blaming the clerks at these stores, I'm sure they are not experts in computers and how the store handles the programming.  But even the managers have been baffled at how to sell a product to me if it's not in the system.  It's almost like they don't want my money, but they do want to make me happy.  Couldn't I just get the 'new style' of diapers?  For $1.50 more, probably.  If you are one of the clerks at a place like this, please don't be insulted.  I'm not trying to bash you or the stores.  I just find it ironic that this has happened to me at 3 different places in less than a week.  I feel like I should sign up for a secret shopper program!  There should be a bonus for finding flaws in the system like that, right?  I could be getting rich off my odd-ball talent!  "Go ahead, get the deluxe model, I hit it big at WalMart the other day - the bread I tried to buy was unrecognizable!"

Bodacious love

I am not talking about surfer dudes and dudettes falling in love.

I looked up the word unconditional today.  I liked the list of synonyms...

...all-out...categorical...clean...

...complete...definite...flat-out...

...outright...profound...pure...

...sheer...simple...thorough...

...total...absolute...unqualified...

...and...

...bodacious.

As a foster parent, our unconditional love for the kids is constantly being tested.  There are times when I know I should unconditionally love on them, but I don't want to.  I ask, "God, really?  This too?  I don't think I can do it..."  But then even as I'm talking to Him, I'm reminded of the unconditional love He gives me.  When I fail as a parent, when I fail as a wife, when I fail as a Christian, God loves me unconditionally.

But today I just didn't like that word.  So I went in search for another.

And I found BODACIOUS.

God has BODACIOUS LOVE for me!

I have BODACIOUS LOVE for my kids!

I'm praying that you, too, feel BODACIOUS LOVE from someone in your life.  Most importantly, I pray you feel the BODACIOUS LOVE of GOD!

Putting off the update

We had a TPR court date.  It passed.  A lawyer was late.  Really late.  So late that we couldn't even start.  It was postponed again.  As they were all trying to find a date that worked for everyone, it became clear that it would be a month before the next available date.  It was frustrating and annoying.  Of all the possible outcomes, of all the ways we thought it could go 'wrong', the lawyer being late was not one that we had imagined.  Anyway, most of you all already know this, but I figured I would make a post.  For posterity.  Or in case someone stumbles on the blog and looks for foster care stories.  This is a story that should be included.  Stuff happens.  Don't make plans.  Especially when lawyers and social workers and a bunch of other people are involved.  Too many variables.  I realize that this post sounds negative and crabby, but I'm sorry - that's not my intention.  That's why I waited a bit before I posted.  So...now we are looking forward to the next date.  But there's going to be a whole lot of other stuff that will happen between then and now - lots of fall fun to enjoy!  Tomorrow Fabi goes w/her class to the apple orchard, Moses has been helping me make tons of pumpkin pies, Leah went to a bunch of Homecoming activities...and we eat a lot of pie!!!  Here's a pic of some of the garden harvest...there's eggplant, squash and pie pumpkins of course!  We also got 4 pie pumpkins in our CSA box.  So far, each pumpkin has yielded 2 pies =)  YUMMY!  I love fall!