with Zach. Staying with my sister-in-law, Kait. This visit was supposed to be her Christmas and birthday present but it certainly feels more selfish than our gifts normally are. Especially since my over-the-top fabulous parents/sister are watching my kiddos.

Last night I was able to go to dinner with these two beautiful ladies. Friends I’ve had for many, many years. Though we don’t see each other nearly enough, we seem to be able to pick up right where we left. Had a genuinely fantastic time with Jayme and Tressa.

Then we met up with Kait and Zach to try some delicious cupcakes. Sinful, absolutely.

After indulging we went to Kingston Mines, a blues club in Chi-town that comes highly recommended by me. Zach’s cousin, Amy, and her husband, Nick met us there. They are actually more beautiful and more wonderful and sweet in person, which as you know, makes me supremely jealous. Example A, both Amy and Kait. Compare the head/face size of hotflawedmama to her sister/cousin-in-law.

A few hours into the blues club experience I saw this guy come in. I just started watching the show called “The Deep End” that’s on the boob tube right before Grey’s Anatomy. He’s the token hot Aussie. I was just happy to hear him speak, forgive him for the scarf he’s not one of those guys that can pull that look off.

The cousins: Nick and Amy Jagoda, hotflawedmama, Kait and hotflawedmama’s bearded husband.

More fun in Chicago to come, but first a nap!

Most of the time, she’s the only one who will stand still long enough for me to snap a few pictures of her.

My boys are quickly becoming hard-to-catch targets. The last one I got of Trysten and Tariku was an angle from over my head when I was tackling them. They’re laughing and I look downright aggressive. It was promptly deleted.

But Dailah, well that’s a different story entirely.

Snuggle time after naps.

Sleepy cute

Just doing some light reading, lovin’ her little feet.

I really have no reason that I have been a bit quieter about this adoption than the last. I suppose it’s because I know it could still be awhile. I also vividly remember how, with Tariku’s adoption, Zach would sometimes come home and say things like, “Do you have to tell them (the blog readers) everything?”

Well yes, clearly I did. 🙂

So it’s a little different this time. But not much, because I do so enjoy (over)sharing. And honestly, sometimes this kind of stuff is easier with people like you.

This adoption…fun stuff, really. We’re “getting there” in the process. We had our first homestudy Wednesday. I have the entire dossier done and ready. It sounds like we’ll be able to complete our homestudy if not next week then the week after. So hopefully in two weeks we’ll be officially waiting.

As of right now we are open to 2 kids ages 5 and under. We’ve thought/prayed long and hard about it, and we’re pretty excited about the whole deal.

Our agency, we’re really happy with them. They are very good about answering any questions. Their top priority is very obviously the children. They have been on the international adoption “scene” since the beginning of time, which gives us a lot of comfort. I don’t necessarily want to get into it here, but if you have specific questions about the agency please email!

Thanks for asking about it, for supporting it, for actually wanting me to talk about it incessantly (you did say that, right?) 🙂

More to come!

Was done yesterday. It was a success. Our social worker actually quizzed the kids for about 30 minutes. I could be found sweating, nervous about their answers.

But they were amazing and beautiful and perfect and made me so, so proud.

So that was awesome.

Tonight Tariku made us Valentines.

Daddy: I love you, Dad. You’re so awesome and funny. He’s my role model, he got me to like the Bears!

Mommy: I love you, you’re so pretty. I love you so much you can’t even believe it. I love her cooking (!). Best mommy I’ve ever seen.

Mmmmhmmm, and those are just a few reasons I want to smother him with kisses.

Tonight Dailah (with a little help from one of the childwatch “teachers” at the Y) made Zach and me valentines.

To Daddy: “Daddy’s funny, he’s my hero. I love playing Barbies, I love him more than candy.”

To Mommy: “Mommy’s really pretty, I love mommy’s, dad (?). I really like dress up and play baby with mommy. I love mommy very much.”

The “teacher” copied whatever Dailah said.

And now you know one of the reasons we love her so very much.

It’s me, I’m starting to feel like me again. The weekend of workout extravaganza went really well. I managed to not mess up, which is a bonus.

Now I’m back, as a mom and a wife and a contributing member (relatively speaking) to society.

We had a terrific church service yesterday. Jody‘s husband, Andy (our worship pastor), led the entire service and did a great job. He is really good at what he does. And it just kind of re-centered me, which I needed (but didn’t know it before that).

This morning we were supposed to have our homestudy but the area from which our social worker was coming is supposed to be getting 8-10 inches of snow. So it’s put off until Wednesday. This is a bummer because we need to have it done by Thursday (I’ll explain that later) but good because I didn’t feel like cleaning my house this morning.

I managed to take a few pictures this week (applause, please) so I’ll try to load those sometime today. But no promises, right now I’m taking an electronic hiatus and snuggling under some covers with my babies for a hot cocoa/movie watching bonanza.

Still here

Still working hard for no money

Still very thankful there’s just 2 more days until my “deadline” and then I can become a good mommy and wife again.

Still even more thankful this life is mine and these kids are mine and that man sound asleep in our bed is mine.

And that you guys will count this as a post.

to do this week.

-I have to learn all new material for my 3 classes. That means memorizing 3 hours of moves, cues, etc. I like to wait until the very last moment. Makes me feel alive.

-Some work for Water. I know I’ve said this before, but you should be excited about what’s to come. ‘Cuz ladies and gents, it’ll rock your world.

-Zach and I did some budgeting tonight. Budgeting also makes me feel alive. Alive and poor. Which sounds like a joke but it isn’t. Because I know I’m not poor but that I am alive. In other words, Zach and I are dedicated more than ever to stop the madness.

-My mom-in-law is getting her hip replaced tomorrow. So I plan on making some food, having the kids do some crafts and praying lots. Terre, act surprised when you receive these things. 🙂

-I need to get tax stuff together because that money will make me feel more alive when it comes to the budget.

-I just noticed Zach recorded “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” on the DVR. Oddly, it makes me love him more.

-Last night Tariku and I were talking about Ethiopia. Zach and I were re-enacting the first time we saw Tariku (which he loves). Then Tariku says, “I don’t remember anything about Ethiopia but when you got on a bus and left me.” Yup, that’s what he remembers. The first day we met Tariku they only let us stay for a few hours and then we had to leave (it really does make sense). Tariku was crying so the nannies were translating that we would come back.

I’m fairly certain he held on to that memory to protect himself. I think he kept that in the front of his mind so that, in the beginning, when he’d feel happy or start to fall in love with us he’d go, “Nope”. “Don’t do that, they’re just going to get on a bus and leave you.”

He’d never told me he remembered that. Broke my heart. But I think the fact that he told me is a good sign. Right?

Man I love that kid. He cracks me up.

-That’s it. Oh, and take pictures of the kids. I think it’s been weeks.

So for the adoption they needed a picture of the front of our house. For most of you, this is probably not a big deal…for us, it really is.

Because you see we don’t have a garbage system, thus we certainly don’t have a recycling system. My “system” is boxes on our front porch marked things like “plastic” “paper” “cans”, etc. Note: Zach hates this system, hates, hates, hates this system. As he says, “I’m happy you want to save the environment but seriously.”

And seriously, I deserve that. From time to time I let it get out of hand so much so that our front yard has a random Tombstone cardboard loitering around. Again, Zach hates this.

To my credit, I’m saving the flippin’ planet.

I digress, they needed a picture. I searched (half-heartedly) for a picture of the house in better times. Preferably with green grass, kids and dogs running amok with smiles on their faces, things like that. No luck. So I trotted my happy butt outside and took one today.

When I looked in the viewfinder I noticed 2, rather large, empty cases of beer.

“Tariku, can you move those silver cases off the table?”
“You mean the beer cases?”
“Yes, Tariku, the beer cases.”
“Where should I put them?”
“Behind the tires, just hide them.”

You’ll notice there are any number of things wrong with this scenario. Which, my dear friends, is more troubling to you? That my son knows what a case of beer is, that we have a table (and chairs) on our porch or that I have 4-count them-4 tires on my front porch?

And it’s a 70-ish year-old structure. And it’s at camp, where no one sees my “recycling center”.

Do you think they can put a note on there: “May not look like much but this house is home to a family who is saving the planet and having a crapton of fun doin’ it?”

How would one translate that into Amharic?

For your viewing pleasure (after the removal of alcohol consumption evidence):