stuff

Ok, so after our trip to the science museum I decided to make a toy for Matthew. We trekked over to the hardware store...which is a little slice of heaven for a baby boy...and picked up the necessary items. It's pretty much just a board with hinges and such on it...but good for hands-on fun!



In a previous post I mentioned the stack o' books we keep at our kitchen table. Here is a photo of our stash which includes 4 real books, a book that M and I made using photos from a Buckner brochure, and the info sheet for the child we sponsor through Compassion Int. We read from/talk about these at both breakfast and lunch. If you have any questions about the books, let me know!
Scott UPdate:
Me: You want a piece of licorice? It's stale.
Scott: Yeah.
Me: Yes, even though it's stale?
Scott: That just means it's aged to perfection.

After viewing a preview of Akeelah and the Bee, Scott declared, "Babes, that makes me not want to use spell checker ever again...EVER!

4th of July!

ok...our 4th of july fun could be summed up as "It's all fun and games til someone pukes in the pool!" luckily, it was no one in our family so we took our rain check and high tailed it outta there!
we never go to mcDonald's, but what's more american than the golden arches and greasy fries? so we had our independence lunch there and, well, that was pretty much our celebration!

oh no...there's more! my family back in IL always gets together for the 4th so while talking to smooch i asked what the big contest was for this year. in the past it has been boat races, baking contests, etc. i was bummed to find out nothing was planned, so i told her they needed to have a "4th of july haiku contest" and they did!!!! she called me back, read each one over the phone, and i served as the judge! now that was really fun!!!!

other items:
xena has a new boyfriend. he's a miniature. haven't asked farmer tony what his name is yet, but i'm thinking he is only here for a short time...a time of sweet love...a time of procreation...a time of us walking into our backyard to see this tiny little burro trying to "romance" an uninterested xena. i'm talking EVERY time we walk outside.....

matthew made a second book. this time i had him choose photos from the buckner orphan mag, i cut them out, he helped me glue them into the book. it's a good one because it allows us to look at the kids from various countries and talk about their differences and similarities.

tinyrockstar.com - is REALLY tiny! not kidding! i orderded a 2T for M, and it's gonna be a snug one. so if you order, go with a bigger size!!!

giving to others - just a reminder that, if you feel uncomfortable giving cash to people you meet on the street (like my gas station story), there are other options. for ex, in my case i could have simply filled up her gas can at the pump i was already using...that way i would have known the money was being used for gas. but in other instances, like people who stand with signs on the street, why not put some food items in your car...the thing that comes to mind are the packages of crackers with cheese...that you can easily hand out. or buy some mcDonald's gift certificates and give those in place of money.

Meet the Author

This morning Matthew wrote and illustrated his first book. He had a good time drawing with the markers, but the part he loved most was using the stapler! There will be a book signing at Borders on Saturday....

Last night we had dinner with Scott's family. I was so busy cutting up M's food that I forgot to take photos! And then I spaced it again as he and Layne played in the fountain. Fun stuff! Right before we left uptown it began to rain. One of my favorite things about living in the southwest is that you can be in a total downpour and the sun is still shining! Makes for lots of rainbows!

Yes, I took these pics while driving 70 down the freeway with my baby in the backseat. You can go ahead and put my name on that Parent of the Year nomination form now. I'm pretty sure this has clinched it for me. It's spelled T...I...S........

edited2add: if you are looking for a recommendation on adoption books, check out jenna's comment to this post! this girl is one fierce reader!

Three, Three, Three Posts in One!

Another good book! It's based on Ecclesiastes 4:9, 10 which says, "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other." In addition, it is a rhyming book!!! I am a rhyming lovah...sometimes even making Scott play this game with me where we start with a word and each take turns saying a word that rhymes with it until someone runs out of words and is the big loser!

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I took Matthew to lunch today and realized that, at 15 months old, my son is the type of person that buffets lose money on.
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I'm assuming most of you mamas find that quality time with your husband is about as extinct as...I don't know, as some extinct animal...or dinosaur....or good french fries at McDonald's. Scott and I are terrible at getting caught up in "busyness" and cutting short our time with each other. Perhaps even more than we realize. So last night we had a pretty lengthy conversation...we were both completely engaged in the talk. It wasn't an intimate conversation about our dreams, our love, our desires...nope, it was about business. But at the end I was all giddy and exclaimed, "That was the BEST conversation we've had in a long time!!!!" Hmmm...maybe we should work on prioritizing. Scott must have felt bad because he busted out some old school dance moves for me in the kitchen while I read outloud the 47 Beavers book.