Happy Belated Valentines Day & a Visit with Kayla!

Hope you all had a nice Valentine's Day! We thought about going out to eat, but knew it would be incredibly busy... especially with it being a Saturday night. However we wanted to do something being it was also my parents 37th Wedding Anniversary! We decided to invite both sets of our parents here and I made dinner. I served a platter of cold shrimp with cocktail sauce and cheese and crackers, then made prime rib, fried chicken, baked potatoes, creamed corn, rolls, and had two pies... lemon and french silk. We also threw in a 12 pack of bottled Bud Light and 1 bottle of wine! The night was perfect! I'm NO Martha Stewart so I was a bit afraid of what I might do to the food, but it was really good! The pies were store bought, so no going wrong there ; ) Anyway, it was the perfect plan. The kids got to stay in pj's and play, while we eat and talked. Nice and relaxing!
Last Saturday Sean, Sonja, and Kayla came over to our house for a visit. Since Kayla's been home we try to meet up often so the kids can play. They get very excited to see each other! Rylan calls Kayla, Nina. Not sure how you spell that in Spanish, but Nina in Spanish means little girl. He's called her that since we were in Guatemala in Dec 2007! So cute that the name has stuck!!! Anyway, when he saw their car coming down our road he screamed for her over and over. Too cute! It's amazing how comfortable we feel around these guys. Let's just say Rylan and Kayla most especially share some common personality traits! Between the three kids there was a lot of energy and excitement in the air! They ran through the house like wild indians at times, literally! But I LOVE it! They were excited and who can blame them. We're just happy to not have to be embarrassed around this family! They now know what it's like to parent a strong willed child.... and I think they have a very mild version of that compared to my two!

The first picture about Kayla was checking out Rylan's stitches! Then they decided they both needed a hug. And they stood still for about 8.2 seconds for a quick picture on he bikes before they headed in another direction! This could explain why Sonja said Kayla slept until 9am the next morning and took a 3hr nap! Oh, and notice Lucy our dog in almost every picture. The kids had FOOD so she wasn't leaving them out of site.

Fabulous Blog Award (a little late!)

Fabulous Blog award!!

Thank you SO much Terri, http://abbieandisaiah.blogspot.com/, for giving me this award! It's the first one I've ever received on my blog, so I'm honored! Since I've never got one, it took me quite awhile to figure out how to copy and post it! Hope it comes through ok!

Now here are the rules to receiving this award:

1. You have to pass it on to 5 other fabulous bloggers in a post.

2. You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.

3. You must copy and paste the rules and the instructions below in the post.Instructions: On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them.

So here are my addictions:

1. My schedule. I've seriously become a scheduling freak (hmmm, that's part of my job that's apparently worn off on me). I put everything into my outlook calendar, including appts for the entire family, activities at school, upcoming fun events in the area, etc, etc and check it countless times in a day! Don't get me wrong, I still like spontaneous activities though too!

2. Caffeine. I'm an addict! I have to have some sort of coffee in the morning whether it be regular coffee, a Mocha, a Frappe... whatever! In the afternoon, it's a Coke or Mountain Dew normally. I've tried to cut back some, but it's a must for at least one of each every single day.

3. My Computer. I NEED it! I MUST have it! I need my email, my internet, my Ebay, my blog, my favorite blogs, my forums, my friends! It's got a bit better since Rylan is home, but still, I need therapy for this horrible habbit.... that I LOVE so much!!!!

4. Chocolate. Total must have on a daily basis. Even if it's a small piece of candy. The only thing you won't catch me eating is the disgusting insects covered in chocolate... otherwise, I'm in!

5. My kids. I obsess over every detail of their lives for what seems like most every waking moment. I think I'm above and beyond the normal parenting obsessions I think. I'm not over protective, just over obsessed. I want them happy, but I also want them to be raised as good people. Respectful and trustworthy, happy and healthy, proud of who they are. So when I see them with any upset or worry, or anger or fear... I freak out myself worrying about it!

Now for the 5 blogs that I think are FABULOUS!!

1. - Cammie! I think she is terrific. I had been following her blog for a long time and then coincidentally we were on pickup trips in Guatemala that over lapped one another. We ended up on a tour to Antigua together. She has a beautiful family and I still love following her blog!

2. - Wendy! Wow, what a test of patience and faith she has had. She and her family adopted their son through the same agency we used. They started quite awhile before us and just brought him home a few months ago. They also are adopting a daughter whose case was started after their son's. The adoption started off good and then things went bad. They haven't given up hope, nor have the rest of us who are following their story!

3. - Terri! Well, your the one who gave me the award so not sure if I can give it back, but I follow your blog the most, since we became friends 2yrs ago! What would I have done without you? We helped each other through some very dark and scary days. Terri and her family also used the same agency as us to adopt their daughter, Abbie. They started a month before us and Abbie is still waiting to come home.... although they are finally near the end!!!! Just a few weeks away and we couldn't be more excited for them!

4. - Lisa! I love reading your new blog and following the lives of your children! Your family is beautiful and so is your devotion to them. Lisa and her family also used the same agency as us bringing their daughter home a year ago. They also adopted a son from Guatemala. It's been another incredible journey with the happiest of endings....

5. Considered yourself tagged if you read my blog and have one of your own! Now I will ask a favor. If you do read my blog and have one yourself, leave your blog address in the comments section as I would love to follow you! I know I have lots of readers as I get lots of hits on my blog in a day.... so come on out and introduce yourselves!

4.

Ouch!

We had our first E.R required accident in our house this weekend for a child! We spent the day Saturday in La Crosse at a Railroad Show. Cameron just loves those things. Well, Rylan got a little impatient with walking through so slowly, so I walked ahead with him. We found on one a table a cute little Diego toy. He loves Diego and Dora! It was sort of like a hot wheels, except that it had Diego and a Tiger seated in the front seat... it was metal and that is why I bought it. They hold up so nice! Well, after the show we were leaving and were walking in the skyway to the parking ramp. Cameron and Rylan ran off ahead of us. Just as I yelled "stop at the doors" we heard a scream come out of Rylan. Our first thought was that he got his fingers in the door. But I knew the doors were extremely heavy and that he couldn't push them open. It's a straight corridor, with a little 5' corner jog at the ends that curves. The kids were just inside the curve when the accident happened. Rylan tripped and fell (which he does 50 times a day). From the best we can figure out, his head slammed into the Diego Jeep! At first I couldn't find anything wrong with him. I picked him up and we scrambled checking him over.... then I lifted his stocking cap. There was a huge gash right by his eyebrow! It was horrid! It began bleeding and a woman came off the elevator with her kids and offered me a alcohol free wipe. So we applied it and headed for the car. I knew urgent care was open, so we stopped there first. They called a nurse and she said it was "way too fleshy" and would require stitches. She walked us to the E.R. Rylan was screaming like crazy at this point... not because of the owie but because he knew where we were! We can't go to a simple doctor appt anymore with him because he thinks he's getting shots. Well, in this case he had reason to scream! We got the ER and the nurse came in. She started putting on a gel right away to numb the wound. The doctor came in 20 min or so later and the nightmare began. The nurse took Rylan from me and he screamed like I have never heard before. So much so nothing was even coming out anymore. They put his arm into this coat like thing that they wrapped around him tight about 6 times. Another nurse came in to hold his legs. He was kicking so bad he threw his shoes off. The nurse told me to sit down and I said I was fine. Then she said "NO, you NEED to sit down". So I did. Right after that I began to feel woozy and I realized why she made me sit down. I was sobbing with Rylan. It was horrible. Thank God it was over in a short time and we were on our way out. Total visit was less and an hour! John was in the car with Cameron. Cameron refused to get out. He would not come in. I found it good that he didn't want to see his brother in pain! Anyway, he's doing better today and is handling it like a pro.... which is scary! This kid will have many more E.R visits I'm afraid. He's just a daring, tough, tank of a kid! Although I am home with him today. Yesterday he developed a deep chesty cough with a fever. That is bothering him more than the stitches!