Who Needs a Doll...

...when you have a brother?
Putting her dolly, uh, I mean brother, night-night:



All done:



P.s. You can't see it in this picture, but her pants are backwards. And I don't mind, because she put them on by herself. At a tender age of 21 months! (can't you tell I am proud of my little miss. 'do it by meesef'? It does get very irritating when we are in a hurry, just in case you are wondering :)

The Ride of Eternal Significance.

I don't know why I am called a 'stay at home mom'. Some days I am only at home when it's time to go to bed. Yesterday was one of those days. M was home so we took an hour for ourselves after he dropped the kids of at school and I had my teeth cleaned. We went to T.arget and got a pound of freshly ground Sta.rbucks coffee (oh, what a difference a cup of good coffee makes!), a mocha and a scone for M. It was so wonderful to only have one child with us.
After picking the boys us from school we went to Fire.house for lunch. I had lunch all cooked and frozen but M had discovered a gift certificate for Fire.house in his wallet the day before and I LOVE their beer bread.For some reason I always have to drag him there. He likes their food, so I don't know why he doesn't want to go. That certificate was two years old at least. Our lunch cost us 50c!
M. took the kids home for naps and I went to the YMC.A to work out. When I came back 1 1/2 hours later everyone was still sleeping. Did I get a chance to enjoy it? Yeah, right! Remember, I am a 'stay at home' mom. I did get a chance to take a quick shower before we had to go get our flu shots. I haven't had the flu since I moved here almost 7 years ago, but M gets it twice every year (and denies it, too) and he told me he will only get it if I get it. Well, ok. I had three kids with no pain meds, what's taking a little prick for the one I love? Plus, we had a coupon for Co.ld Sto.ne for after we were done (Jadin and I had the following conversation in the car on Tuesday after they got their flu shots. Me 'Mommy and Daddy are going to get those tomorrow, too, but unlike you we are not getting any candy' Jadin 'Oh, I will give you a hug and a kiss for your treat, then' Have I ever mentioned what wonderful kids I have?).
Than it was time for kids' swimming lessons. After that we had a potluck and a movie at church with just enough time to bake my hot dish in between. And while it was baking we went and bought a waffle maker (it was on sale 1/2 off and while I hate pancakes I really like waffles). By the time we finally came home it was time for bed.
So, now to that ride. Since we spend so much time in the car, that's where most of our conversations happen. Jadin started asking why we were not decorating for Halloween. I had to explain to him that Halloween is a celebration of evil spirits and some people that decorate like what we had seen, do not know God. He asked me if they are sinners and if they are going to hell. I said that, yes, some of them are. Then he asked about us. I told him that if we know Christ we will go to heaven where God had prepared wonderful mansions for us (something he told me he was looking forward to when he goes to heaven) and that we decorate for Christmas instead of Halloween. We want to celebrate the birth of our Savior and not the evil spirits. He thought for a minute and said 'Mommy, I choose that. I choose Christ'. His first ever profession of faith.
Sometimes you just have to turn off the music...

What a Difference a Doula Can Make

My friend V asked me to write her a letter of recommendation as she is applying for Mother-Friendly Nurse Recognition. As I was writting it I was reminded how big a difference a good doula can make.
So, to honor my friend and all those women who are there to support us during labor and delivery, I am going to publish my letter.
Here it is:

Dear CIMS Staff,
I am writing this letter to recommend my personal friend and wonderful nurse V.G. for Mother-Friendly Nurse Recognition. Let me first tell you about my background and why Mrs. G’s services were so crucial to our family. I moved to the USA seven years ago after marrying my wonderful husband and we got pregnant right away. Coming from a former USSR country I didn’t know what to expect. I was afraid to ask questions or going to doctors. Prenatal care in my native country is far from great.
V. approached me and offered birthing classes to me and my husband. Knowing that we could not afford to pay her at the time and being a strong believer in importance of positive birthing experience for every family, she gave us her time as a free gift. Her classes were very informative and lessened my fears. She was willing to answer all my questions without making me feel uncomfortable or uneducated. V turned my feelings of fear and embarrassment into feelings of confidence and pride.
When the time came to deliver V. answered my call and rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night even though she was out of town on a getaway with her husband. She was there when the pain hit and helped me use the techniques of relaxation we had talked about during our labor and delivery classes, like breathing, cold compresses and warm showers to make pain less intense. Not only did she provide support to me personally, she also gently guided my husband in being the best birthing partner he could be and worked with the hospital staff to insure a positive experience for all . Her support helped me stay with my original plan of drug-free delivery. She also was there with me after the birth of our son so that my husband could go and be with him in the nursery while I recovered.
V. was there for the birth of my second son and though she didn’t quite make it for the delivery of my daughter she stayed with me in the hospital during recovery. The words can not express the depth of my gratitude and appreciation for what V. has done for us. She and her husband will forever be a part of our family.
I believe that V’s classes and her presence made the births of our children a calm and happy experience.
With best regards,

Olya Bunger

THANK YOU, Mrs.G!

Really Disappointed.

I love a good deal. I also am addicted to little girl dresses. So, yes, I shop on e-bay all the time. I was able to find these most adorable summer dresses for Rachael last spring and paid less then 10$ for three of them.
So, when I couldn't find any pretty winter dresses in the stores we have I went to ebay. And found these:

I know, the picture is a little small, but don't they look adorable?
Here's what came in the mail today:

Let me tell you this picture really doesn't represent the dresses. The blue and black one is really really worn and faded and has holes in it! See for yourself:

This is what normal fading from washing looks like according to the seller's description. If I knew it was THAT worn I would have never EVER bid on it. This dress has NO life left in it.
The read one with bears is very faded and the read one with flowers has elastic coming off of it (though it is so worn the elastic is shot anyway)
I wrote the seller an e-mail telling her how disappointed I am. The problem is, even if she returns my money she wanted so much for shipping (and it will cost more to return them)that at the end of the day I am out of my 15$ any way you look at it.
Sigh.
** Update **
Since posting this I have contacted the seller and she agreed to refund the full price (including shipping). So I will be mailing those dresses back. I am glad she was willing to work with me.

Protected By Cuteness Factor

Alternative title : 'Why Did I Get A Dog?' Yes, she is cute (my dog, that is) but I didn't mean her. I meant the babies. God makes them cute so that the parents don't get rid of them as soon as they can. At least, that's my theory :) Let me explain. I was making shrimp sliders yesterday which is an involved process. First, you have to stuff 48 of them (with 1/2 t. of stuffing at a time, guess how long THAT takes). Then you fry them 5 at a time. That involves 1/2 of water in a HOT skillet and grease spattering all over. Yes, not a fun thing to do with a 21 month old trying to help. And then said 21 mo decides to play with her high chair (which she was told NOT to do on more than one occasion, since she can get the tray loose and it usually lands on her head) and half of those sliders go tumbling down with the plate they were on and the tray on top. The grease is still spattering and the current batch is burning (I was just reaching to get them off the skillet) The dog goes for the plate with the raw sliders. I am trying to save said sliders and absentmindedly put the plate with 5 of the cooked ones on the floor. By the time I am done saving the raw sliders I realize that the dog is happily swallowing the cooked ones whole. As quickly as they would go down, because she knows that the second I figure out what's going on her time will be over. But that's not the end, folks. The sliders were so hot that the dog's stomach can't digest then and proceeds to throw up on the kitchen and dinning room floor while I a trying to get her to go outside while keeping Rachael and the boys from stepping into the throw up. All the while Jadin keeps whining about not liking something in his food. The sliders on the skillet are beyond saving. The kitchen is filled with smoke, the stove is covered in grease and my food just got wasted by the dog. I still have to clean the vomit off of the floors (which is a problem because our dinning room floor is concrete. Have you ever tried cleaning dog vomit off of concrete? I don't recommend trying).
And my bathroom is still covered with pee because apparently Daniel can't aim. Little kids really are protected my the cuteness factor.

Dinner Plans

Why, yes, it is a bag of home made pelmeni. We are having them for dinner tomorrow. A couple from church is coming over and I don't want to have to fuss over what to serve and then have to make the kids eat what I served. It's a win-win. It takes 15 minutes to cook and my family will do ANYTHING for these little guys. Also, the wife is from Brazil, so I thought it would be fun to share my favorite dish from Ukraine.



And what does this pic have to do with the dinner plans? Absolutely nothing! I just love my chunky monkey :)

My plans...

are to get back to blogging. I have been very busy with the boys starting school and doing some freezer cooking and holiday freezer baking/cookie dough making. I am done now (as much as anyone can be done with cooking :) so I am hoping to have more time for blogging. We will see how that works out.