Insane and Insanability

I've been watching a lot of period films; hence, the title. I also thought to myself this week, "Self, what should I do with ALL my free time after watching three kids, caring for a newborn, cooking, cleaning, laundry, making meals for friends with new babies, writing thank you cards, preparing lessons, calling and dealing with doctors and their billing offices (grrr), taking care of my garden and a friend's, preparing for my nephew's visit, grocery shopping, diaper and various sundries shopping, making homemade ice cream, etc etc etc? Self, what should I do? Oh, I know, I'll make Noelle and Ruby matching dresses! Why didn't I think of that before?" And I did. Pillow case dresses to be precise. Here's my quick picts before Church this morning--Ruby was screaming for her bottle (notice the red eyes). In my defense, my ward was having a sewing day and the kids needed to GET OUT OF THE HOUSE, so really my motivation was to let the kids happily run around the Church for two hours with other kids. I'm not certifiable . . . or am I?

Chart Your Course

My nephew saw this chart on our pantry door and tried to explain it to my sister. So, here you are Alicia. Sorry about the shadow--it was a weird time of day. Allow me to explain how the chart works: Each square represents something naughty that the kids are wont to do and the discipline that will be taken thereafter. We refer to the chart so the chart is the bad guy--not Mom and Dad. An entire FHE lesson was dedicated to the understanding of the chart. If you spit, you will get a spoonful of vinegar. If you sass, you will get a drop of Tabasco on your tongue. If you hit, you will lose a favorite toy (in extreme cases, the toy will be smashed with a hammer no more to be played with). If you have a nuclear blow up, you will spend a goodly amount of time in your room.

No Stinky Fish Here

My parents and nephew came to visit for a week from North Carolina. This is the only picture I got (the rest I took on my mom's camera for her--Mom, I need some of those). You know how they say fish and guests stink after 3-days? Not in this case. We went to parks and swam and played and I got to nap everyday and my parents fixed up all the unsightly areas of our yard we had not been able to get to. If they wanted to live in my spare room permanently, I would not object.

Sunday Dress

We ventured out to Church for Sacrament meeting this past Sunday. My mom bought this dress for Ruby and I want one for me and Noelle too.

Finally Hair

After two and half years, I finally broke down and decided it was time to cut Noelle's curly tresses. That girl has THE MOST amazing head of curly hair and I was told, by more than one person, that the curls would die away with a haircut. So I let her hair grow to nearly Rapunzel status. My friend told me about a place down the road that will cut, style, and save a lock of your child's hair AND paint their nails--all for the low low price of $10. Even though Noelle is loving her new baby sister, I figured a little one-on-one special Mommy time was in order.

How cute is this picture? They let her choose her little cape to wear (pink, of course) and she sat in a pink and purple Barbie Jeep Powerwheel while they fed her animal crackers and lollipops.

They took off about 2.5"

Noelle sat down at the nail station and immediately put her hands out as shown above. Where do they learn it?

Cut hair, braided and sprayed with glitter. Pink painted fingernails. One happy little girl.

My Kids Are More Righteous Than Yours

What are my kids doing on the floor? Why, voluntarily reading the Book of Mormon together.

Adoption Day, July 17, 2010

Below are a collection of pictures my friend and photographer, Jamie, took on Ruby's adoption day. (FYI - She also took our profile pictures). These are in no particular order and, although there were some very special pictures of the birth family, I did not include them in this post out of respect of their privacy.

Well, technically, there is a picture of the birth mother here along with me holding Ruby together.

Signing paperwork, awe yeah.

The birth mother asked me to dress Ruby. No pressure, just everyone watching.

This is how Chad looks during a placement.

This is how I look (trying not to lose it in front of the birth family who were amazingly strong and positive).