Day 18 A Coca Cola Dream

We had Coca-Cola Chicken Wings tonight. Isabel's grandmother makes it, and Isabel taught us the recipe. This might interest the families with children adopted from China. Let me know if you want the recipe.
I am still getting really good at this no spending thing. Eric is doing okay. He faltered a little today by buying a red envelope. It was $4. He had to buy the card with it. He knows I have a problem with stealing, so I wouldn't let him just take the envelope and run. I will forgive him for spending $4 today. It is for a good cause. (He is gritting his teeth at me right now. I frantically called him from work today because I forgot to get the red envelope. He scoured the house looking for one, but we only had white and purple. I told him he had to go get one for me, so it was really me that caused the spending.)
Our day ended with a feverish Hattie. She was running 102.2 with the complaint of a tummy ache and possible earache. My mom is meeting me in the morning at the school. She is going to watch Hattie in my van while I give the IOWA test. Then I am going to take care of Hattie. I am going to get her an appointment to get her ears checked out.
On a great note, I twisted my ankle/foot today. That isn't the great part. I called the pharmacy to see if the prescription I filled on 3-18 could be refilled. Today was my last day to get to use our insurance. They filled my prescription, yay! Now I have enough anti-inflammatories to get me through the twisted ankle. I am self-medicating. Aren't you proud of me?
I will see you again tomorrow for Day 19.

Stickermania!

Why, oh why did I let my children join a sticker club? Is is because I love them? Maybe. It totally paid off, they enjoyed opening every single envelope. It was great. They would have received more, but some people didn't participate after I sent them the instructions. I'm not sore about it... anymore. I have forgotten who didn't participate (Melissa and Kristi and Amanda), oh could you hear that. I'm sorry, I guess it slipped out of my memory and onto the blog. Sorry ladies, but you wronged Emogene and Hattie. Now my friend Alicia is top notch. She helped me out. Emogene and Hattie got lots of stickers from Alicia's friends. Nannie also helped us out. She felt sorry for the girls because she knew a certain aunt that was not going to participate. Nannie anonymously sent the girls a huge pack. Nannie doesn't realize that this super sleuth detective (me) has seen her handwriting for many years and has even taken on some of her handwriting mannerisms. I figured it out right away. We collected about 20 packs of stickers. They have been put into a box and get pulled out only occasionally. If you look below you will see why we only do it on rare occasions.

Hattie did some decorating on the bathroom door while I was bathing.
Emogene decorated her bedroom door. The knob has an interesting feel now.

This happened a few months ago. Hattie gave me some decorations.

She got Daddy too, and Daddy showed it off at the local grocery store. He heard a few giggles from the other shoppers.

Day 17 Busy, Busy, Busy

We had a repeat of last Monday (Ranch Style Chicken and Fluffy New Potatoes). We only had one problem this time, Eric wasn't home all day to marinate and get it ready. It still turned out good to me. Emogene and Hattie had lots of complaints.

Why was Eric not marinating and playing Mr. Mom? He was being drug tested, getting personal with a doctor, and taking a test about electrical work. Cross your fingers about that drug test. Not really, but the guy next to him needs those fingers crossed. He apparently had to redo his, because his first sample was not warm like fresh urine should be.

After taking care of today's busy-ness, Eric probably has a job! We will find out soon. It will cost us some to get started, because he will have to bring his own tools and get a TWIC card.

I am excited about Eric's possible employment, but I realize that I liked Eric being home. Too bad he doesn't get paid to cook supper and pick us up. I really liked that. It just brightened my day to see him enter my classroom to pick us up. An update on the van. We got it back on Friday only to have it sputter all the time. It was very annoying. We dropped it off this morning at 7:00 am (tooooo early) and got it back this afternoon. It is running like a dream.

How is our spending freeze going?

Eric is our accountant. He said that we are definitely saving a good amount of money. I am just hoping it goes towards Lydda and not our regular, nasty bills. Eric has even uttered the words, "adoption on hold." I am terrified of this and have shed many tears. I have been spending most of my time praying about it. My heart is longing to hold Lydda. We need this job so Lydda can come home. Please continue to pray for us.

Thanks to the last two weeks, I have realized that I can have extreme dedication to saving money. In the past, I have not been the best at saving money, but now I am a pro. Something good can come from Eric's bout of unemployment.

I didn't have a picture for today's post, so I decided to put sweet Isabella on my blog. She was adopted from Guatemala. Everytime I squeeze and kiss her, I think of how it will feel to have Lydda in my arms.

What Was That?

I forgot to share Hattie's favorite Christmas song. During Christmas time, we listened to a local station that played Christmas music 24/7. It seemed that the most played song was "Feliz Navidad." Hattie was processing the words differently than was intended. Her version (be sure to have the tune in your head), "Mommy's gonna die." I understand that she doesn't speak Spanish, but really why did she have to bring me into it. I quickly corrected her and discussed her choice of words. She understood... for now.

Day 16

We did another menu for the next 14 days. We are over half way done. I have some repeats from our last menu. I had to bring back some favorites.
We need to stop grocery shopping altogether. Our pantry is too full and our refrigerator looks like it is going to explode. It is embarrassing. We will definitely try and eat a lot of the stuff from our pantry before we shop again. Here are pictures of our meals today.

We had "build your own flat tacos" for lunch. I think it is actually called a tostada, but I like to call them flat tacos. They were pretty good. I fixed one for my lunch tomorrow.
We had a repeat from 2 weeks ago. These are Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwiches. They were still yummy. I would still use less worchestershire sauce, but Eric apparently doesn't feel the same way. Isabel made a tomato and cucumber balsamic vinegar salad. It was delicious. I have leftover meat to bring on Tuesday. I am going to pair it with a salad.
Tomorrow is our anniversary, and I am getting the gift I wanted, Ranch Style Chicken.

Busted!

What is happening if everything is quiet in the living room? Sheldon is taking his chance to lay on the couch. This is a big NO NO, and he knows it. We had him trained to stay away from it, but it has worn off. The lady at Pet Smart recommended filling a soda can with rocks, and then closing it with duct tape. Everytime he gets on the couch, shake it. He will be scared of the noise and will associate it with the couch. Well, the fear has worn off.

He took over this chair early on. Hattie likes to share it with him. She says Sheldon doesn't like to share it with her. He likes this old, fonky chair so much that he has just about chewed off the end of one of the arms (not the pictured side). I was very upset with him.

Notice Hattie's pajamas. She put them on at noon. They are on backwards and inside out. She claimed she was soooo tired and needed pajamas, but she never took a nap for me.

Poor Sheldon is so tortured. His eyes are screaming, "Save me!" This did get him off of the couch though. He was ready to get off once Hattie stopped choking him.

A Missing Shirt

As I was getting ready for church today, I had a puzzling problem. I could not find a pink shirt that I wanted to wear. I knew it was clean. I distinctly remember seeing it hanging in the laundry room to dry. There was nothing hanging in the laundry room this morning. Hmmmm, where could it have gone? I searched my closet and drawers but couldn't find it. I gave up and wore another shirt. Later, I think I figured out the mystery.

This is a picture Hattie drew of her daddy. Notice the dress color.
I found this picture drawn by Emogene.

This has only led me to realize that my husband has been wearing my clothes when I am not at home. The girls must have found out his secret when they stayed home from school. I am still in shock from this revelation. Hattie pointed to Daddy's picture and said, "Daddy is happy about this." Well I guess it makes him happy. Maybe this is getting him through the no job depression. We will celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary tomorrow. I wonder if I will celebrate with Eric or Erica.

Red Envelope Day

I found this on Life at Killeny Glen. I thought you guys might get on board and do it.

What is it?

Get red envelopes or postcards and mail them on March 31st to the White House.

When?

Plan to mail your red envelopes on March 31st, 2009.

Here are the directions.

1. Get a red envelope. You can buy them at Kinkos, or at party supply stores.

2. On the front, address it to

President Barack Obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW

Washington , D.C. 20500

3. On the back, write the following message:

This envelope represents one child who died because of an abortion. It is empty because the life that was taken is now unable to be a part of our world.

4. Put your envelopes in the mail on March 31st. Then forward this event to every one of your friends who you think would send one too. I wish we could send 50 million red envelopes, one for every child who died [in the U.S.] before having a chance to live.

It may seem that those who believe abortion is wrong are in the minority. WE DO HAVE A VOICE! Let us show our President and the world that the voices of those of us who do not believe abortion is acceptable are not silent and must be heard. Together we can change the heart of The President and save the lives of millions of children.

Tea Party Pictures

It was a beautiful spring day. It was a little chilly though. We did not get out of the 50s, but it felt fine in the sun. It was a welcome change from three days of storms which included tornado warnings. The blue sky was beautiful.
Emogene and Hattie were posing with everyone. That is Kate's daughter Tayler. She embarrassed her mommy too by completely stripping down in the backyard because she got wet. She was completely nude. It was hilarious. I know Kate was mortified but not enough to remember to grab her camera and snap some shots before clothing her again.

Emogene was enjoying story time. She was probably trying to read it herself. She has become such a great reader. She reads everything. On Wednesday nights, she takes out a Bible and tries to answer the questions for our study at church. She does a good job.

Hattie loved it and the reader insisted Hattie sit next to her. My girls were the only ones to sit for the entire story. That does give me some hope for Hattie in kindergarten.

This is sweet Kole. He didn't fuss once. He has beautiful blue eyes and loves to smile.

They were all ready for the puppet show. Hattie is in front. She didn't sit in a chair.

She rode right up to the puppet show, parked her trike in front, and sat on it.

This is poor tortured Fifi.

Emogene, age 7

My joys were enjoying the tea party.

Hattie, age 4

They love each other most of the time.

She was enjoying the coloring table.

Isabel and Nannie (my mom) were having a good laugh. Isabel was drinking some tea. The tables were decorated beautifully. The food was delicious and so were the drinks. I accidentally drank something that was spiked. I thought it was orange juice and sparkling grape juice. It was not. I could tell because of the cringing I was doing as I swallowed. It didn't taste that bad, it was just a shock. Kate said it was orange juice and champagne. It was called a mimosa. I didn't have another. I went back to what I knew was plain orange juice. We will be going back again next year. It was in another state, but going out to the middle of nowhere with no phone service is very appealing to me. The owner had actually killed a deer in his own yard. It then fell into his swimming pool. That had to have been a first in deer hunting weirdness.

Why Yes, She is Mine

We went to a fancy tea party today. The highlight for the girls was a puppet show. It was very cute. It began with Henrietta talking to the children.

This is Henrietta. I am definitely making one of these this summer.

This is Kate. She was the hostess today. She needed help getting ready for the tea party, so Henrietta volunteered to do her makeup and hair. She also gave her a dress and shoes. Do you see Hattie? Does she look a little too close to the show? That smile looks very mischievious.

It looks like Kate is wondering what is going on with the new visitor. I am harshly whispering "HATTIE!! HATTIE!" You see, they were filming the puppet show, and I didn't want to ruin it by hollering Hattie's name loudly. Do you think she will continue up those steps and completely enter the show?

Why yes she did! Here was the problem. Kate has a chihuahua named Fifi that kept appearing from around the curtain and then going back. Fifi had already had many run-ins with Hattie, but had disappeared for a while for her own safety. Well you could imagine Hattie's complete surprise when Fifi appeared during the puppet show. Hattie's little 4 year old excitement could not contain her in her seat. She had to go and get that dog. I did eventually ignore the fact that they were filming and hollered her name and told her to go sit down. She was able to do it, and from then on, everyone knew Hattie's name and who her mommy was.

This was the finale. Kate looked very funny with her tea party outfit, hair, hat and boa. All of the girls cheered. It was great! At the end, many of the girls wanted to go up and hug Henrietta. Emogene gave a quick hug and then Hattie ran up. I'm not sure what Henrietta said behind the curtain, but I hollered at Hattie because she punched the curtain. I'm not sure if she made contact with the lady behind the curtain, but I sure was mortified.

It Was Pudding!

My mother has insisted I clarify what was on Hattie's face here.
It was pudding. What else could it have been?
For a time, Hattie had difficulty getting pudding in her mouth. She was a licker and refused to put her spoon in her mouth. She did the same thing with ice cream. I included another picture to illustrate her pudding problem.

Good job Eric!

Eric has passed the first hurdle in the hiring process to get a job with Exxon. He passed the test he took last Friday. The next step is an interview. Please pray that he does well and wows the interviewers. Who and what does Eric need to kiss to get this job? I'm not sure, but he will do it.

Day 14 Ole!

We had some after dinner entertainment. Hattie and Emogene played Guess Who. In my opinion, this game has really gotten cheap and flimsy. My sister had this game when we were little and it was hard plastic and very durable. This game falls apart during most games. I was also disappointed that they still only give five girls. This is totally not fair. I am very disappointed in Milton Bradley.

The girls played well together. There was just one flaw. Hattie didn't have any idea if Emogene had correctly guessed because of reading abilities. She would tell her no, even if she was right. I got very tickled at her.
Now on to our fiesta mealtime. We had chicken and cheese quesadillas, refried beans, southwestern rice (gag), and some corn chips with sourcream and guacamole (yum). I have been dreading the rice for a while. I saw it in the freezer and have been avoiding it. I was just not very excited about rice with corn and red and green bell peppers mixed in. If the rice doesn't have gravy, then my taste buds aren't interested. The quesadillas were tasty. I am a guacamole addict, so I was loving this treat. Emogene looked at the sour cream and said, "Is this ice cream?" We didn't answer her. We decided to let the taste do the talking. She was very shocked and didn't want anymore of the white stuff. I thought it was funny that she would think that we put ice cream next to and touching the green stuff.
I am looking forward to tomorrow. We are going to a tea party.
I have also already requested the Ranch Style Chicken for Monday. It is our anniversary and the only gift I need.

Day 13 A Chicken Dream

We had a good day, except that my children are starting to try and wear me down. They want donuts and Starbucks and the mall. I am being very firm with my "No we can't. Maybe Daddy can make donuts for us. Wouldn't that be cool girls?" I don't think they will buy it for 17 more days, but I am going to keep trying. Also, Daddy does not want to make donuts.
Our dinner tonight helped me feel better. It was delicious. Do you ever get sad when your plate is almost empty? That happened to me. Tonight we had some of the best chicken I have ever had. It was called Ranch Style Chicken. Strangely, there wasn't any ranch dressing involved. I think it has to do with a ranch, like farm. I got the recipe from The Pioneer Woman. The picture doesn't do it justice. I actually took a picture of my dinner plate (this is a picture of my lunch for tomorrow), but my memory stick was not in the camera and I didn't realize it until I had completely cleaned my plate. Now, the picture Pioneer Woman took looks scrumptious. We also had some Fluffy New Potatoes . They were very good too. We (Eric) made a double batch and froze the rest. We will get to have those again. Sweet! The corn was good, but just about anything would pale next to that chicken and those potatoes. I only get to eat half of a potato tomorrow. Hattie wanted the other half. Man I wanted to tell her she shouldn't over eat and keep it all to myself, but then that thing (my heart) told me she really wanted another potato and so I gave up half of mine. I could have given her the whole thing, but that would have been completely selfless and that isn't me.
P.S.- Eric wanted me to tell you that this meal was a bit labor intensive. He doesn't want to make them again soon, but I think I might pout and whine A LOT until I just wear him down. Then I win, not really, we all win.

K4 Trouble

I was visiting with Hattie yesterday. We were on our way home, and she was aggravated that I wasn't going 90mph to get her home sooner. "I never go fast." I was trying to distract her a little. Here was our conversation.

"They at school call me mean."

"Who calls you mean?"

"Mrs. Tara."

"I am going to have to talk to Mrs. Tara about that."

(long pause) "Not really, you don't have to talk to Mrs. Tara about that."

I talked to Hattie about her lying to me about her teacher. We talked about what God likes and doesn't like.

This morning, I told her teacher about it and she decided to let me know that Hattie didn't just lie to me yesterday. Hattie also told a lie about another child hitting her. Here was how Mrs. Tara knew it was a lie. The other child was absent yesterday.

Her teacher laughs about it. I didn't think it was that funny.

She also had trouble in school today. She threw a rolling pin at another child and refused to apologize. She also scowled at her teacher. She is very good at that.

I am very worried I am being punished for all of the good behavior challenged students I have had. I will be deep in prayer about this. We will survive and so will Hattie's teachers. It will be tough, but I promise I will not, I repeat will not, be the type of parent that blames other children for her child's behavior or distrusts the teacher's viewpoint of a situation I was not present to witness myself. I know that my child does not behave the same at school than at home. I also know that my child may be dishonest about things that happen at school. I will not be snowed by my child and then led into thinking everyone is lying about her and she actually doesn't do any of those things. Okay, I feel better.

Scaredy Cat

Emogene had a police officer visit her class. He wanted each student to say their name, and then say something they liked. Emogene stood up and said, "I am Emogene. I like to be scared." The police officer asked why she liked to be scared. She said, "I don't know. I am just scared of everything. Every night I'm scared of a fire or a flood."

This is so true. Why is it that all of my children's weirdness comes from me? I am such a scaredy cat.

Emogene panics when it starts to drizzle. "Mommy, is it going to flood?" Hurricanes and Noah have not helped this fear.

I promise, I have not taught these fears to her. She inherited it. I am really not that scared anymore. Prayer has really helped in that department. But, I do still run and jump in my bed if the room is dark. I am terrified a hand from under my bed will grab my leg. Am I a little nuts?

P.S. Spellcheck has another flaw. Scaredy is not listed as a word. They really need to get their act together.

Day 11 Nugget Heaven

We had such a well thought out meal tonight. We had McDonald's nuggets cooked at home. They tasted just like them, but a little crispier. We also had salad, candied yams, and biscuits. I forgot to put Hattie's biscuit on her plate before taking the picture. I was so proud of Emogene for eating all of her salad. I had to put lots of blue cheese crumbles on it to entice her to finish, but she did it. She even said I could put some in her lunch box for school tomorrow. Wow! I think she might finally start eating healthier (minus the nuggets). She did tell me not to put any tomatoes in it. She has a lot of dislike for those little things. I think the cookie she got to eat if she finished the salad helped. Does that cancel out the healthiness of the salad?
I know the candied yams aren't that great for you, but they are good. I am also trying to finish off the last 4 cans of them. I am going to promise Eric that I won't buy anymore for a long time. Unbeknownst to me, I went on a candied yam shopping bonanza. They just kept adding up. I will try and get healthier vegetables next time. By the way, unbeknownst is not showing up as an actual word on my spell check. I decided to keep it because I think spell check is wrong.

Hattie's Words

I decided to start digging into my stash of old pictures for posts that don't need a picture or if I just don't have a picture to match the story. These are pictures of Hattie at Disney World when she was 2. I'm not sure I would recommend that age for DW, unless your child is different from Hattie. The two pictures were what I looked at for most of our trip. She didn't like walking and still doesn't. We did have a stroller for the whole trip, but that didn't seem to stop the whining and fits. I really can't wait to go back with Lydda. I also want Hattie to really enjoy it. I change that sentence. I would like to enjoy it more. Hattie still remembers it fondly. Emogene had a blast. She was five, and it was the best age to enjoy Disney. We will eventually get back to the House of Mouse.

Anywho, let me get to today. We went by my friend Amanda's house to drop off some dinner for her family. Her daughter Isabella had her tonsils removed yesterday and the teachers at work wanted to help her out. I told Hattie she could not get out of the van. She protested because I think it is just in her blood. Her thought, Mommy doesn't like her. Well I explained that Isabella was sick, and the house had to stay quiet so Isabella could get better. She seemed to understand. We arrived at Isabella's house. I got out. Hattie was fine. Then Isabella ran out of the house smiling and wanting to ride her tricycle. Hattie started seeing cracks in my reasoning. I visited for a few minutes and then got back in the car. Hattie says (a little sarcastically), "Mommy, did you get sic?." I said, "No Hattie, it wasn't that kind of sickness." She is silent for a few minutes. She then announces, "Mommy, you like for me to be sick." What? Where did that come from? Just to be perfectly clear, I do not like for my children to be sick!!! I think therapy may eventually be needed here. What do you think?

A Broken Wrist

Here is a picture of Nana. She went with us to Disney World in 2006. I wanted to ask for prayers for her tomorrow. She broke her wrist last week and is having surgery tomorrow to put in a plate and screws. It should be a short, simple procedure, but she could still use prayers. Thanks everyone.

Class Rings

Why is it class rings have not changed over the past 15 (30) years? Isabel got her new ring today. I remember when she was shopping for it. I was shocked that the design of rings had not changed hardly at all. Eric's ring (with the pink stone) still looks like the ring boys order today. My ring was a little bit different when I ordered it. I didn't want one that looked like a class ring, although it was pretty hard to avoid it. The only thing on it that says it is a class ring is my graduation year. I usually have to point out the date for people to see it. Isabel's ring is different from 15 years ago because it is silver. That wasn't very common in the not so early 90's. I am pleased with her purchase. I like the purple stone. It looks very girly. I really like the silver. I wish there was a way to change gold to silver on your rings whenever you want.

Do you like Isabel's tag? She was goofing off during class.

Morning Meltdown Prediction

My strong minded princess it so excited that we have gotten a new van (rental). I wonder what will happen when she can't find a tv in it.

A New Video

I finally figured out how to add a youtube video to my blog. I couldn't figure out how to fit it on the side, so I put it on the bottom. I'll try and figure that out later.

The New Doggy Door

While Eric and I went to Walmart, Isabel kept Emogene and Hattie. They had a lot of fun playing in the tub. Isabel had them bathed when we got home. She is awesome!
We asked her if they were good. She said yes, but Sheldon was terrible. Apparently Emogene and Hattie were outside playing and Sheldon does not like to be seperated from his girls. Eric had raised the windows to use nature as our AC. Sheldon used this opportunity to jump through the screen to get outside. Now we have only one working screen on our back windows. My mom says I can't complain about the dog. We wanted him.

Here he is getting ready to make an escape.
He needed to get back in. This took a lot of coaxing. We then rewarded him with a game of catch the red laser dot. We laughed and laughed while watching him freak out about the dot on the carpet. After we finished playing, he looked for it for five minutes.

A Third of the Way Through

Day 10 was a day of temptation. We went to Walmart for an ink cartridge for my classroom computer (getting reimbursed). We walked by all of the Easter things, and I did not want to purchase anthing. It was amazing. Here is a little about our tenth day.

Eric cooked pork sauce picante. It was yummy.
My mom brought over the food Dendy put together for me. Wow! I'm not sure she has anymore food at her house.

Here was the other half of my table. She sent us at least 10 bags of actual frozen McDonald's nuggets. Eric said we should have 30 days of nuggets. She apparently knows somebody. We have three different kinds of frozen cookies. We are baking some of the frozen cookies now. She sent us two bags of frozen crawfish tails. She even sent us a loaf of bread. How did she know we were almost out? Thank you for your sweetness Dendy.

Here is the door of my freezer. It doesn't look so bad.

Here is the inside. It is jammed packed. Can you see all of the nuggets?

Isabel made a tower with the canned food. Her smile is so cute.