I thought I’d go crazy and post twice in one day. Here is a great article written by another adoptive mommy from our agency we used for Tariku’s adoption. She made it in Vogue for goodness sakes! She says they edited quite a bit from it but I think she did a pretty terrific job.

I’m hotflawedmama. It’s been awhile. So long, in fact, that I have no memory whatsoever of what we did this past week. Isn’t that what my blog is for? Anyway, the week flew by in a blur of work, kids’ activities, hair appointments and parties. A good week indeed. My favorite husband kept forgetting to bring home the computer, so if you miss me on the blog, send him hate mail at…just kidding. I know he’ll get better because he loves me so much.

The few pictures I have of the week…

Our first tomato arrived. It was just the most beautiful thing.

Zach attacking it.

Me coddling it like it deserved.

The crew at our farmer’s market yesterday.

Abe’s following. We can’t get 2 feet without people wanting to pet my beautiful great dane.

We also got Tariku’s hair cornrowed for the first time. This is him before.

And after. 2 hours of tears and sobbing led to this. So cute but definitely not worth it for this lady.

Then went to my sister’s housewarming where I took a total of 1 picture. This one, with my family playing Rock Band. Good times either way.

We have had the pleasure of spending some QT with Zach the last few days because camp closes on the 4th weekend on Wednesday. So yesterday we decided to have kind of a relaxing day.

We went to the minor league baseball game for approximately 5 minutes. It was packed, the kids were hungry and there was still 3+ hours until fireworks. So we decided to head to one of our favorite restaurants instead, Woodfire Grill. After that, we had just enough time to head to the Y. There are many perks about having a father-in-law/grandpa as CEO of the YMCA and one of those is sitting on the roof during fireworks display.

The kids had a great time and were extremely well behaved considering they didn’t go to bed until 10:30 which is a whole 3 hours later than usual. And did I mention they slept in until 8:30 today? Hallelu!

ETA: The boys decided to wear their Ethiopian sweat bands. When we were at the balloon table a woman and Trysten/Tariku had this conversation.

Woman: Where did you get those?
Tariku: Home
Trysten: Ethiopia

Woman: Ethiopia! Have you been there?
Tariku: No
Trysten: No, but he has.

Woman: You’ve been there? Are you just visiting?
Tariku: Yes
Trysten: No, he used to live there but now he lives with us. He’s my brother.

Needless to say, Tariku gets a little confused when asked questions from strangers and Trysten is both happy to translate and to show off his brother.

Brothers!

Tattoos of our most favorite organization.

Amid our 5 minutes of the game.

An awesome dad is he.

Of the kids during dinner.

Upon completion of his entire grilled cheese Tariku pointed to the empty plate and said, “That makes me very sleepy”. (Note: it was already 1 hour past bedtime at this point). So his idea was to go up to the Y, take a nap and then have me wake him when the fireworks started. Didn’t turn out that way but this was his A+ effort.

The kids are lucky to have this guy as a grandpa. He was a jungle gym most of the day and finished strong at the end of the night. I love this picture.

Trysten started his baseball season this week. At 6-years-old, “baseball” is a term I’ll use VERY loosely. They bat twice, they field twice, they throw dirt a lot (well at least one kid, thankfully not mine, but his little habit did get into Trysten’s hair). After Thursday’s game I asked Trysten what his favorite part was and he said it was the snacks and pop he got after the game. A boy after my very own heart.

Getting a five from first base coach.

The fans for one little boy.

Why I spend ridiculous amounts of money on stain remover. Oh that face!

The homerun…or at least it was going somewhere.

Trysten came home yesterday. After 3 nights and 3 days away we were reunited. It was great. Even though I saw him at least once a day in the dining hall, it was simply different not having him with me on our every day outings.

Most parents would agree that when our kids are gone we think, of course, how we miss them. But sometimes even more so, “I hope they’re on their best behavior.” So before I sent him off I sat him down and had that talk. About being the great little man I know he is. Representing himself in a true manner and standing up for anyone who might need it, etc.

At closing ceremonies with parents, the counselors in charge of activities give out awards for stand-out behavior. His resident counselor, Nacho (from Colombia…thanks Alex, must be better about editing!), was also his activities counselor. Trysten chose “Outdoor Living Skills” that includes building fires, etc. I honestly wasn’t expecting anything because Trysten can be a bit shy at times. He’s a really great boy and because of that can often go unnoticed. He’s not bad enough to be remembered but he’s not typically outgoing enough (in certain settings) to call more attention to himself either.

But with all that said, Nacho gave him the award. He said Trysten deserved the award because, “He is so positive. When the other kids would get negative he would be encouraging to them. Whenever I asked him to do something he did it without complaining.”

Most the time, I’m like Cathy, I think our kids are awarded-out. They get awards for stuff they should be doing anyway. But in this case, I was so proud of him. As he’ll learn as he gets older, it’s TOUGH to be optimistic and energetic when everyone else around you is doing the opposite. But life is so much better when you can appreciate the beauty in even the simplest things. That’s what this award signified to me, that my son at just 6, figured that out for a short amount of time. Oh how I hope he keeps it!

I am so, so proud of him.

Here, eating walkin’ tacos with his friend and bunk mate, Matthew Hill.

With Nacho and his award.

This award is amazing. Most counselors just decorate a piece of paper. Not Nacho, he takes the morning off and works on his, as you can see. It is absolutely beautiful!

Don’t ask me why I’m slightly emotional about Trysten heading off to resident camp this week, but I am. He might as well be hours from me, but he’s not. He’s across the front yard. Either way, he was actually really excited and I was equally excited for him. Lots of friends have their kids here this week as well so he’s going to have a blast. Love him.

This weekend we went to my parent’s lakehouse where most of my mom’s side of the family would be housed for 3 days. I’m kind of without words because it was a most perfect weekend overall. I was able to have great chats with cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents that I don’t get to see nearly enough. And perhaps most awesomely (yes, it’s a word) the kids had so much fun with their second cousins that it left copious amounts of time for me to fry my skin regardless of how much sunscreen I used. The weekend in pictures…

The kids with my 1st cousin once removed, Sophie.

My siblings and my kids and their siblings.

Tariku is OBSESSED with this thing. Was on it for at least 3 straight hours.

My most favorite part of the weekend was when the boys “volunteered” (read…”were forced by me”) to ski for the very first time. Initially they wanted my brother, Marcus, to help him in the water. So eldest was first. Putting on skis was essential for obvious reasons.

And the process.

He did really well the first time. Actually stood up for a few seconds. Then fell and didn’t let go of the rope so proceeded to gulp lots of lake water. After which he decided he wanted mommy in the water with him. Two shots and he was done. Little brother’s turn. Tariku was excited while Trysten was nervous leading up to the big ski. First time Tariku toppled forward and gulped the remaining lake water left behind by Trysten. So twice and he was done as well. Good times had by all, I think. Here I am helping little brother.

Then my grandparents (who each had birthdays this weekend AND celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary!) and my cousins, 1st cousins once removed.

Here we have my grandparents and 3 of their 5 kids, with spouses.

That’s what Dailah says when she’s carrying her baby and purse, etc and that’s what’s been going on at the homestead.

Today Dailah was at swim lessons and went under the water NOT on purpose. Scary stuff but when she was done I asked her if she was thirsty, “No, mom, I drank the pool.” Hilarious.

Work junk is happening with me, hard to believe since I work a mere 7 hours but it is. What doesn’t kill me will make me stronger, right? Anyway, have I mentioned I hate drama?

Today Tariku bumped his head pretty hard on a chair. It was the first time that he ran into my arms and just melted. Typically he would stand alone until I called him over to me. Another moment in our ongoing relationship that showed he trusts me to comfort him, to love him regardless. My heart bleeds for my boy.

And then MJ. Who knows why its devastating to me. I’m too young to remember him when he was cute but I’m perfect age to remember him at his best. His best coincided with some of my first concrete memories and they all involved my family. Dancing, laughing and trying very hard to moonwalk. Love MJ for those memories.

More pictures soon!

What a weekend! This might be the longest post EVER, by the way. So as said in a previous post, myself and the kids took off to Minnesota this weekend to attend the Ethiopian Mehaber. The Ethiopian Kids Community in the Twin Cities puts it on every year but this was the first one I felt like Tariku would be ready for. Boy was I right!

Overall, Tariku has never been happier. Right when we pulled into the parking lot to the Mehaber Tariku says, “Mom there are Ethiopians EVERYWHERE”. Yes, he really is that cute.

PLEASE finish this post because there is more cuteness ahead.

We left early enough that we’d miss any traffic on Friday and were pretty successful. My strategy for the 6 hours was to let the kids watch a movie for the first 2 hours, nap for the next 2 hours and then watch another movie for the next 2 hours. Honestly, it worked almost perfectly, the kids do so well.

Our first stop was Julie, Tony, Raina and Fantaye’s house. Tony and I first connected because we were supposed to originally travel with them. Since then he has been a resource and support so I was so excited to meet them. Plus, I was excited to meet Fantaye. In Tariku’s care center video he pretty much finds her and slaps her in every scene, poor thing. So I wanted to be able to apologize in person. With how well all of the kids got along, however, Fantaye apparently forgot the abuse she suffered at the hands of my little habesha.

This kid is a friend to all 4 legged friends as well.

Honestly Dailah might’ve been the most excited about Raina and Fantaye. GIRLS! There was pink and babies and strollers everywhere. She was in her little heaven. These two got along famously and if they lived closer I’m sure would get into all kinds of cute trouble together.

After a delicious dinner and great conversation with the hosts, we were off to Matt, Amanda and Teshome (and soon Samrawit!) where we were to stay for the weekend. Tariku was definitely most excited to see Teshome as they were great friends in the care center (though Tariku again expressed that by slapping). We got there a little late so we let them play and then they somehow talked us into letting all 3 boys sleep together. Amanda was nice enough to read a book to them in their air mattress bed.

That didn’t work so well so at 10:30 we separated them. Tariku literally woke up at just before 6am the next day whispering, “Teshome”. Couldn’t contain the kids’ excitement for too long so we were up and ready for the Mehaber. First some trampoline time, though. I taught the kids the “crack the egg” game, which they loved. Turns out Teshome is a tough egg to crack!

I have a feeling I’ll be begged incessantly for a trampoline for the coming days/weeks/months.

The Mehaber was, in a word, amazing. It felt so good to get Tariku around all these families that looked like him. All these Ethiopians. He was so eager to see a few faces from Ethiopia but I could tell he was a little nervous at first as well.

But then he saw these two. Agiro and Twedros. He ran headfirst into Twedros. This made me cry (surprise, surprise) and made the three of them shout with glee. Look at Tariku’s face, seriously.

When the kids heard about all the events at the Mehaber they were most excited for 1) the bounce houses and 2) tattoos. So we did both, lots.

Trysten with his woosha (dog).

Tariku and Teshe with their tattoos and smitten faces.

Doozie with her fish face.

Right after the tattoos Tariku got to see his other friend from the care center, Eshetu. These two were called “the twins” for obvious reasons. When we got back from Ethiopia I emailed Eshetu’s mom, Jodi, to tell her she had the cutest, sweetest little boy. Turns out he still is.

They taught the tricks of Ethiopian dancing. Can you see the permanent smile on this kid?

Tried to take a picture with our travel group’s kids. Were missing a few, but this was the best shot I got. Sad, I know.

We got to see and spend time with so much of our travel group, Tiffany, Rebekah and others. It was so great to reconnect with them, you have no idea. This world of adoption has brought me to the most amazing women and families. Families who understand why I would be excited about the littlest things with Tariku. Who celebrate those with me. How blessed that I got so many inspiring women to travel with.

After the Mehaber, Matt and Amanda graciously hosted a small party at their house. Talking late into the night with Jodi (Esthetu’s mom) and her family, Julie and Tony, Matt and Amanda, Sara (whose blog I will come link once I know the link!) and Tiffany just absolutely solidified my love for these people and their families.

As a bonus this weekend I also got to meet Mamasweetpea, Chandra and AnnMarie. Wanted to soak them up as well but wanted MORE TIME!

I’m ready for another one this weekend but wouldn’t mind if it was in Iowa. Thank you so much Matthew and Amanda. They really are the hostesses with the mostestes.

This man is amazing. He provides more than enough love for me and the kids. I can’t say enough about him other than that he loves to be a dad, which works because he is so darn good at it. I love him and so do they.

And to my dad who has always and will always do anything for me, thank you! Love you!