A while back I mentioned a particularly pushy check-out clerk who felt free to probe about exactly why my kids don’t look like me.  I hit another one of those cringe-comments at church this weekend.  From a great person, one who’s known me since I was a little girl, one who meant to be encouraging me, no doubt. 

“I think it’s so great that you adopted them.”  ["THEM," meanwhile, are standing right next to me.]

And as I’m thinking “Oh, no!  Shh!” she continues about how great it is that Fred and I have brought the boys here and are “giving them such a great chance in life that they didn’t have before.  And that you really love them like your own.”

And while my brain was firing red flags every which way, my mouth just wouldn’t work.

However, I plan to be ready with a reply next time because… Read the rest of this entry

Well, yes, just like every other mom-blogger out there, not only did I take my kids’ pictures bright and early this morning, but I also have a sharing platform.  So because I know all the words have already been said at several thousand other web addresses, no more from me.  Happy 1st Day to the rest of you!

(Yeah, they just walked back inside and sat down.  Guess that’s a little anti-climactic, huh?)

Now that I’m fairly sure Amy and Chris have discovered most of what we did to their home while they were away on their honeymoon, here’s the follow-up post.  [If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check my earlier post about our custom of pranking newlyweds].

 We’ll begin from the entrance point.

Read the rest of this entry

I’ve run across this issue a bunch lately as I’ve started reading adult-adoptee blogs, then turning back to the usual adoptions-in-progress blogs.  Of which mine is one.

And I’ve become really sensitive to something that keeps coming up.  I ran across it again tonight.  An off-handed, hopeful comment by an adoptive-parent in-process about how great it is that her agency has connections with an orphanage with “plenty of young children available for adoption.”

To her, that’s great news!  Lots of babies and toddlers, so she and her family can get one! 

But then look how that sounds from the child’s point of view: “Hurray!  Something has gone horribly wrong in your life (and the lives of a number of your peers), and your birth parents can’t parent you - just what I’ve been hoping for!” Read the rest of this entry

In the midst of renovations, adoption updates and home-schooling, we decided this year is actually the best time to take the boys back to Guatemala for their first birth-country return trip.  They’re old enough that they’ll remember it, we’re hoping our next adoption will complete in the next year (meaning we’ll need to be at home with a strict routine again for a while, while we and the newbies adjust to one another), and we don’t want to let too much time lapse before we re-connect with the people we (sort of) know there.

So that’s the boys’ “big” birthday item from us up there in the picture: Read the rest of this entry

It turns out it was a wise idea for me to get a little time away on my own birthday because the twins’ birthday managed to become a “Happy 6th!” extravaganza that encompassed the whole following week!

Birthday Dinner at Pachanga Cocina Mexicana

We redeemed their free birthday meals at Pachanga the Sunday before their birthday.  Sorry for the grainy pictures; I only had my cell phone camera.

Yes, the icecream dessert is about the size of José’s head:

Read the rest of this entry

Pachanga is one of our favorite low-tomid-cost places to eat.  The food is authentic (verified by a couple of my native Central American friends).  The service is friendly and usually pretty quick.  And it’s a great place for me to encourage our kids to try out their Spanish.

And now there’s one more reason to love this place - FREE BIRTHDAY MEALS FOR KIDS!   Read the rest of this entry

Because it’s my birthday (and mostly because I’m going to be at Delta Faucet headquarters  representing One Project Closer all day and night), gonna take the day off here.  But if you read last Tuesday’s Tiny Talk, you can do the math and figure out my ancientness. 

Happy Wednesday readers!

So lest I seem too predictable in my blog post trends, I’ve taken a turn for the bizarre.  Flew out this morning to Indianapolis for a blogger event with Delta Faucet Company/Brizo Faucet to tour their headquarters, learn about the brands… and…

’cause you think I’m craay…

… stay alone (yes, all by myself – no kids!) in a fancy Marriott Renaissance Hotel…

Did I mention “no kids?”

Here’s my room: Read the rest of this entry

Fred and I packed up the boys and some quickie Dollar Store purchases and headed over to Amy’s and Chris’ after dinner tonight to celebrate a time-honored tradition in our friend group:  pranking the heck out of the newlyweds’ house.

This tradition started almost seven years ago when Fred and I got married.  It wasn’t our house that got it.  It was Fred’s car.  Aside from the usual painted messages and cans tied to the back…

…the interior of the car was TOTALLY trashed.  Read the rest of this entry