What a great week!

This was such a great week.  We finished up soccer, we had our fourth foster/adoption class, I had my last day of work, we had three GREAT parent/teacher conferences, I had great news regarding subbing, we had our home study, I had my birthday, and tomorrow my sister-in-law and brother-in-law and three beautiful nieces are coming to stay for 2 1/2 weeks!!!  I would not be excited about too many families of 5 coming to visit for that long but I am so stinkin' excited for them to come!!!


Yesterday was bittersweet.  It was my last day of work and while I am excited to be closer to home, I am going to miss some of those kids so much.  The parents were really supportive of what we are doing so that made it easier as well.  However: the idea of NOT having to get up at 5:30 every morning, driving 1 1/2 hours each day (plus the cost of gas!!!), and being so far from the kids in case something happens is such a relief.  I really feel like this is perfect timing and that it is the next right step in our journey.


After work, we had three awesome conferences.  We did not go to Emily's "open conferences" as she is getting good grades and we had no issues.  The other kids are doing awesome in school.  We have truly been blessed with very smart, friendly, respectful, and wonderful kids.  During Sophia's conference, her teacher (who is awesome and has had all 4 of my kids) was saying that she is going to go talk to the principal's about me subbing.  I got an e-mail from her shortly after this saying that they said they are just waiting for my resume.  Ironically, I have been waiting to hear back from them to know how to word my resume.  Saying that my objective is to "obtain ANY SUBBING JOB POSSIBLE (including but not limited to teacher associate, office assistant, cook, server, janitor, cross walk, or even the person that scans the lunch cards)" seemed a little desperate so I was hoping to be specific.  Now that I know they are waiting for it AND that I have a good "in", I am dropping off my resume Monday.


Our home study last night was AWESOME!  Not only does our worker go to our church, she is part of a family that has been there for forever and it was so great to sit and talk with her.  The best thing?  She is so excited about us wanting to possibly adopt this specific child and made about 4 notes for the workers who do the matching (who she shares an office with) that we want this little guy!!!  We had to turn in the kid's paperwork which consisted of either drawing a picture or writing a story of what they thought our family would be like when we were doing foster care.  I hope these are big enough to see because they really are awesome.  Matthew was stressing out about doing it and we had to reassure him several times that there was no right or wrong answer.  This is what he came up with...

Sophia's... "There is Dad, Mom, Emily, Samantha (who is almost as tall as Emily because she would be 11 now), Matthew, Abigail, and me.  Then I just chose a girl whose names that starts with an A but I really don't care"....  (And yes, I know she spelled our last name wrong.)

And Abby... my detail-oriented child.  I love it.   *The specific name is "not allowed" so I blurred it out with my mad computer skills.*

I LOVE that they are so excited for this!!!

Today was my birthday.  Happy birthday to me.  I had an awesome day planned with my great friend, Kelly Jones, and Matthew's great friend, Leighton Jones, and Abigail and Sophia's great friends, K.C. and Jaly Jones.  Yep, our families are a great combo.  The kids get along great, the adults get along great and the dogs will some day get along great (as soon as Kelly sets up that appointment to have Lightning demasculinized).  We were planning on going to the awesome Genoa Farms Pumpkin Farm that a friend started this year.  Two problems.  I woke up with a UTI and Kelly woke up with strep throat.  Great.  (Kelly's birthday is tomorrow and we agreed that it sucks to be sick on your birthday so we get do-overs!)  So this is what we did... we went to my appt in Amana while the 7 kids played in the grass on the side of the doctor's office and waited for my prescription, then we went to the pumpkin farm and played for a while until Kelly had to go to her appointment in Marengo.  What a crazy, not planned, day.  But let me tell you, those kids (and myself) had a BLAST.  It was awesome.  (Oh, and for the "guess the weight of the pumpkin", Abby thought you were supposed to guess how many pumpkin seeds were in the pumpkin.  lmbo)  We spent an hour in the corn maze trying to find all the stamps to get a prize.  The prize?  A free ice cream cone at McDonald's.  We left at about 5:00 to get Kelly's prescription before the pharmacy closed (remember we live in a tiny town where NOTHING is 24 hours).  We promised the kids their ice cream as a bribe to get them to not complain about leaving.  We go to the pharmacy then head to McDonald's.  I have 9, yes 9, free ice cream cone coupons.  I remember I also have a free medium fry coupon.  It is my birthday and I think I deserve some McDonald's fries.  Then all the kids are DYING of thirst, of course.  We get to the speaker and here we go...

Them:  Welcome to McDonald's.  Can I take your order?
Me:  Yeah.  I'll take 9 vanilla ice cream cones and I have coupons for all of them.
Them: Okay, can I get you anything else?
Me: Yeah, I'll also take a medium fry.  Which I also have a coupon for.
Them:  Okay.  Anything else?
Me:  Yeah.  Can I get 9 waters?

Poor Kelly, who couldn't talk, was slapping her knee because she was trying to not laugh because it hurt her throat.  We are all cracking up because I just went through the drive-thru, got 9 cone, fries, and drinks... all for free.  Anyone who knows me knows THAT was the best birthday present ever!!!   (I won't even go into the guy who was giving us the cones who was totally baffled at how my mini-van had room for 9 people.)

The best birthday present until Tim got home.  My dear, sweet, amazing husband got me an iPod Touch.  WE agreed that we were getting a family pass to the rec center for our combined birthday gifts yet he still went out and got me this (and even went to two different stores to get the best price- I have taught him well!!!) because he knew I missed my Blackberry.  The coolest thing about this is that I can face talk and "message" my wonderful sister-in-law even though she will shortly be in Germany!  I am so excited I can hardly type.

Speaking of... it is time for me to set up my new fancy schmancy iPod Touch.  Oh, and did I mention I have an iPod touch????

Two funny conversations

One funny conversation was with Emily (BIG surprise, I know).  Through work, I found out about another family of 6 that makes x (a lot of money but after I got done writing this, Tim says I shouldn't say the amount due to confidentially reasons but it messes up my post so just imagine the largest amount of money you can imagine a family making and triple it!!!) a MONTH.  Now you may think that I meant to type a year, but no really, they make x a MONTH.  I can not even grasp this.  I was thinking about this all day and it happened to be the night I took Emily out for Kid of the Week.  This was the conversation...

Me: I am not going to give you the answer to this question, but I am just curious about your understanding of money in the adult world.  How much do you think Dad and I make a month?
Emily: Um... hm.... $300?
Me: (staring at her) Seriously?  Our house payment is almost $1,000 a month!
Emily: Oh.  Then $1,500?
Me (laughing): Okay, let's go about this a different way.  MOST people, teachers, policemen, carpenters, your typical jobs, make between $40,000-50,000.  Got it?
Emily:  Yeaaaaaaah.
Me:  A family at work makes X!!!
Emily:  (processing, processing, processing, then her jaw drops)
Me:  Yeah, that means we could pay off our house in 2 1/2 months.  That is cuh-razy!
Me: (processing, processing, processing, then...)  Emily, we pay you $20 a week to get the kids ready for school.  Do you really think that we would pay you $20 if we only made $300 a month???  Almost a third of our income???
Emily: Well, when you put it that way.....


Second conversation....
Background:  Matthew is completely obsessed with making Lego safes, Lego candy machines, and Lego pinball games right now.  To be honest, they are cool.  I never knew all the awesome things you could do with Legos.  But anyway, he is making all these candy machines and we only had vitamins for him to use as candy which seems sad so Tim went out last night to the gas station and bought 4 of those $.25 boxes of jawbreakers to use.  This afternoon, this occurred...

Matthew: Mom, I have $1.50 now.
Me:  Yeah?  How's that?
Matthew:  Emily gave me $1.50 for a box of the jawbreakers to take to school this morning.
Me:  Matthew!  Those were only $.25!
Matthew:  (giggling)  I know.
Me:  And Dad bought them!
Matthew:  (giggling)  I know.
Me:  That just seems wrong.
Matthew:  Will Dad be mad?
Me:  I think he will pretend to be upset but will privately be really proud of you.
Matthew: What do you mean?
Me:  Dude.  You just found a way to make money on something you didn't even BUY!!!  That is pretty smart!
Matthew:  Cool.
Me:  But I am not saying it is okay.

I am NOT the strict parent.  Can you tell?

Kid of the Week (KOTW)

We had four kids in seven years (technically 5 kids, but you know what I mean) which means that we had several very young children all needing attention at the same time.  When we would run to the store, they ALL wanted to come inside with me instead of wait in the van with Daddy since he most often fell asleep.  It also means that we got to the point where we wanted to make sure that our kids each had "special" time with us and not feel like they were just one of the group.  When Abby turned one year old, I had a BRILLIANT idea.  Kid of the Week.  Each week, one child is KOTW.  It goes in order from the youngest to the oldest unless it is a child's birthday week and then they are automatically kid of the week. 

When you are KOTW, this is what you get to do:
-choose a special meal that we make at home
-go out to dinner with the parent of your choice to the restaurant of your choice (if they choose McDonald's, I REALLY try to talk them into choosing Daddy!)
-be in charge of the remote
-set the table for dinner to sit by who you want
-go first with your "Best Things of the Day" (another ritual at our house)
-run to the store with mom
-go to the dump with Dad (I think this may be the most exciting thing of all!  We are high class!)
-sit where you want to sit in the van
and most importantly.... drum roll please...
- get a KOTW treat (which is any candy $1 or under but they think it is da bomb)


This has been the most. awesome. thing. for our family.  It has eased tension about who gets to go where with who.  When the whining starts, they are SHUT DOWN by the phrase, "________ is Kid of the Week."  WE have been doing KOTW for well over 7 years now and it truly is brilliant. 


This is my issue... what do we do about KOTW when we have foster kids or have adopted?  With adoption, I feel like we can just slip our new child in on their week based on their age but what about a child who is only with us for a few days or a few weeks or a few months?  I have no answers, I am just throwing out one of the many thoughts that go along with this process.  One of the other many things that I struggle with... how do you plan for a child not knowing who or what age you are going to get but needing to have everything that you need to take care of said child.  Confusing?  Exactly.  For example... we have a room that will be empty soon just waiting for a foster child.  We don't know if this foster will be a baby, a toddler, or a child.  We have to have an actual CRIB, not pack and play, for them to place a baby with us.  We have to have a twin bed if the child is older.  So do we get both?  But then what if we get a call for two babies?  Or two children?  See my dilemma? 

And clothes.  Oh my good golly, clothes.  Do we get clothes for every single age group in unisex colors from birth to 6?  Do you know how many clothes (and more importantly, how many girls???) we have in this house?  The last thing we need is MORE CLOTHES! 


That said... I can not wait for our first "home study" next week so our worker can tell us what to plan for and what the best course of action is.  Speaking of our home study... another God moment.  I got a call yesterday from her and she informed me that she attends our church and just wanted to make sure we are comfortable with her continuing to do our home study.  I told her absolutely.  That is awesome.  What more could we ask for than a Christian worker who says, "I will be as professional as I can, but I can also help you with some of the tough questions of being a Christian foster home within a secular setting."  I love her already!

Now for a little insight to my daily life....

Tim has a lot of extra skin.  Really.  It is gross.  But these are the fun things he can do with it...

 And then Sophia thought it was too cool so she tried but did not inherit the extra skin.  Sorry Sopher.

 We put all of our computer paper up high so the kids can't get it because we go through it like ca-razy!  Really high so they can't get to it.  It is not working like we had hoped.

 My dear, sweet, husband who is a dead ringer for Ace Ventura!  I LOVE this man!!!

  And more...  LMBO... I LOVE my life...

Week 3

It was our turn to bring snacks tonight to our foster/adoption class.  I may be an overachiever.  This is the way it went...

Tim: Bring double-stuffed Oreos and milk.
Me: But Jessica (the girl who brought snacks last week) brought chili so maybe people are expecting dinner.
Tim: It is supposed to be SNACKS!
Me:  But she brought CHILI!
Tim: SNACKS!
Me:  CHILI!!!
Tim: So they can stop by McDonald's on their way home.
Me:  ??? (Imagine me looking at my husband with a baffled expression on my face)

So I make cocktail meatballs, spinach and herb dip with two kinds of crackers, Truffle Fudge Brownies, and grapes.  Why do I do this?  Because I have never made any meal (for my family OR friends) that has not involved leftovers.  I think that if I don't make enough food for everyone, the world just may come to an end.  Needless to say, we had 4 leftover meatballs (enough for Tim to eat as soon as we got home), 4 leftover brownies (enough for the kiddos who were so hoping we would have leftovers), leftover spinach dip and crackers (who doesn't need leftover spinach dip???) and enough grapes for me to snack on tomorrow.  See.  It all worked out well.  Except that everyone in the class is ticked that there are high expectations now.  I told the couple who is bringing treats next week to please just bring double-stuffed Oreos and milk.

I am not going to give you any info on the class tonight as it was depressing.  Talking about loss and grieving.  I have had enough of that to last me a lifetime so I am just going to say that we are one more week closer to being approved to do foster care or adopt!  Yay!

My children.  I love them.  I really do.  They make me laugh every day.  Today they did not have school.  Today I did not work.  It was an awesome rainy day to just chill together, relax, and hang out.  Matthew had his good buddy, Leighton, over and Emily was at a friend's house.  First thing that happened was that Abigail woke me up saying, "Look at my eye."  Since our room was pitch black and I was still coming out of a nice dream, I said, "Oh, looks pretty."  She said, "No, LOOK at it.  I think I have pink eye."  Turns out the poor child has pink eye so badly that it looks like her eyes are bleeding.  I have lots of pink eye meds around here.  My kids get it a lot.  The problem is that they all contain sulfa meds, which Abby is REALLY allergic to.  When she was 3 months old, she had an ear infection.  Within 15 minutes of receiving the first dose, she was in full-body hives.  A year ago, she had swimmers ear so I used some ear drops that Emily had to help and she broke out in full-body hives.  Turns out the medicine had sulfa in it (this is why you shouldn't share medicines, by the way) and they told us that if she had a reaction to EAR drops, that we need to be very careful.  So anyway, the medicine that she can use had to be picked up by Tim which means I get to take a sick day with her tomorrow.  YAY!!!  Um, I mean, suck.  I have to take a sick day.

Then later in the morning, as I was making lunch for the kids, they were playing hide and seek and it was Sophia's turn to be "it".  As she was counting, she was coloring on a new dry-erase board that I got.  She brought it to me and had made a connect-the-dot for me to do.  I did it.  I keep cooking.  She keeps coloring.  All of the sudden, I hear Matthew, Leighton, and Abby all yell out, "SOPHIA!!!" and Sophia startles and says, "Oh!!! Ready or not, here I come!!!!"  This is why a spacey child should never be "it".

After lunch, the kids decide to play Pictionary.  Leighton knows how to play the game but just can't remember what the letters stand for.  I explain that they are for the different categories and he asks a couple of other questions and then they are ready to play.  He and Matthew against Abby and Sophia.  They go first.  Leighton starts drawing.  Matthew watches.  Leighton keeps drawing.  Matthew watches.  Abby and Sophia whisper/giggle to themselves, "I know what it is!".  Leighton draws a little more and finally says, "Matt, you are supposed to guess!" and Matthew says, "OH!  An ice cream cone!"  The drawing had about three scoops by then.

The moral of these two stories is: Do not choose a Cronquist to be on your team if you are playing a game!!!

Am I crazy?

Hmmm, the question "Am I crazy?" could be asked for many different reasons in my life.  Am I crazy for getting engaged to some guy after we only dated for 8 months?  Am I crazy for marrying said guy 2 months after said engagement?  Am I crazy for getting pregnant (Tim's fault!!!) 2 months after we got married?  Am I crazy for having 5 children in 7 years?  Am I crazy for wanting to add more children to our four highly energized children?  Am I crazy for putting in my notice at work today without having a set job?

The answer:  Probably.  But let me take this one by one.

Am I crazy for getting engaged to some guy after we only dated for 8 months?  That was the longest 8 months of my life.  I told my dad after our first "date" (at York College, this meant going to the student center for some french fries and ranch dressing) that I had met the guy I was going to marry.  Let me tell you what happened and you will see why I knew he was "mine".  We were in a Monday evening class called Educational Psychology.  We had those long brown tables that can seat about 3 people on each side.  I was sitting next to this guy named Tim Cronquist.  All I knew about him was that he ran for freshman class president and won but I didn't vote for him.  Our teacher said, "We are going to take this quiz but I want you guys to spread out so you are not on top of each other."  I looked at this Tim guy and said, "As much as I would like to be on top of you, I am going to move over."  I owned him from that point on.  He got me my quiz, my pencil, and even asked, "Is there anything else I can get for you?"  He was mine!

Am I crazy for marrying said guy 2 months after said engagement?  Probably but since we were moving to a new city, it only made sense for us to get married so we weren't paying for two apartments in the same place.  I have to give kudos to my mom who pretty much put my wedding together.  I tried on and approved of the dress but other than that, I left the rest up to her b/c I really didn't care and she did an amazing job of putting it all together.  The only things that went wrong were out of her control.  My niece (thanks, Laura!) starting to bawl when my dad said, "Anyone who opposes this marriage, speak now or forever hold your peace."  And who would have thought that I would say, "Forsaking all lovers" instead of "forsaking all others"??? 

Am I crazy for getting pregnant (Tim's fault!!!) 2 months after we got married?  Tim and I were both dumbfounded when I got pregnant with Emily.  The fact that I got pregnant despite of using two forms of birth control was beyond our comprehension.  It wasn't until much later that we realized that this child was purely God.  Emily was the only reason I got up in the mornings after Samantha died.  Emily was the only reason that I continued to find joy after Samantha died.  Emily was the only reason we continued to have children because she was our proof that we could have healthy children.  All God.

Am I crazy for having 5 children in 7 years?  Also Tim's fault.

Am I crazy for wanting to add more children to our four highly energized children?  Probably.  However, we have four loving, caring, and supportive children who are so very excited to offer a loving environment to more children.  Once you have had four kids, what is one or two or three more???  The more, the merrier, right???

Am I crazy for putting in my notice at work today without having a set job?  I hope not.  This is one of those times in our life where I am just trusting that God has a plan for us.  I am putting in my application at all of the schools here to sub as a teacher associate or in the lunchroom or wherever they may need me.  Our goal is to get me back to being a stay-at-home-mom to be there for our foster/adopted kids just as much as I was for our own kids.  I am not saying that this is the only way to be a good parent but this is what we always wanted.  I have no desire to have a career.  I will get a job to get us through but my only goal is to be a good mom.  When I was a kid, all I wanted to be was a mom.  To eight kids, to be exact.  (Actually, at one point, I did want to be a pediatrician but that was before I realized how much school was involved.)  Maybe it isn't too late to be a mom of eight kids, but I just know that I want to do it closer to home than I am now.

So am I crazy?  Maybe.  But I would rather be "crazy" than boring.

What was funnier today?

That we decided that the soccer team we are coaching is our trial run for doing foster care?

That Abby had barely touched the ball until I promised her a hot fudge sundae and then she scored the one and only goal within about 30 seconds?

That Sophia is not keeping our top secret blackmail of "I will give you a penny for every time you kick the ball" deal when she yells from across the field, "MOM, I GET 100 PENNIES!!!"?

That I had this conversation with Sophia in the middle of the game:
Sophia: Mom, I get 60 pennies!
Me: No way!
Sophia: Fine.  You're right!  I get 50 pennies!
Me: Whatever.  I think it was more like 40!
Sophia: (long pause) Okay!
????

That Sophia was doing cartwheels while Abby was making "shadow butterflies" from the setting sun in the middle of our game?

That we had a parent ask us on Saturday about the pictures.  Oh crap.  We forgot to pick them up!  So we told this mom that we were going to go pick them up right away so we would have them for tonight.  Of course, she (VERY nicely) asked if we had them tonight and we had to confess to being big fat losers and not having them.  But we told her we would go get them right away so we will have them on Saturday...  Fast forward to the drive-thru line at McDonald's for the promised hot fudge sundae when Tim looked at me and said, "DOH!  (Okay, he really didn't say 'DOH' but it makes the story funnier if I say he did!)  We didn't stop and get the pictures!"???

This particular conversation in the van on the way to soccer:
Me: Did you get the balls?
Tim: Hee hee.  I got the balls and they're loaded.
Emily and Matthew:  EWWWWWWW!
Emily: Dad, you don't have ENOUGH of those!
Tim: I had enough to bring you into this world!
Matthew: No, Mom brought Emily into this world, right Mom?
Me: Well, we both did.
Matthew: ???
Emily:  And now that you brought me in to this world, you can't get rid of me!  Mwhahahahahaha!
Sophia: Ewwww!  That's disgusting!
Emily and I: What's disgusting?
Sophia:  That Dad farted!
??????

That Matthew accidentally spilled his milk at dinner and Lizzie (sweet doggy) lapped it up as it fell through the leaf cracks on the table, getting it all over her head.  Then 5 minutes later, Sophia spilled her milk, leaking again through the cracks and while Lizzie lapped that up, Tim accidentally spilled the plate that had the pork steak juice on it which also leaked through the cracks.  So now, our dog looks like she used hair gel this morning.  ??????

That while in line at McDonald's,
Abby: So... we live in America? 
Us: Yeaaaaaah. 
Abby:  Well, that is weird, because I thought America was some place that had brick streets and wooden ships and an ocean nearby.
???   *Thank YOU, American History books- you chose all the accurate drawings of America!*

OR that as we are trying to get approved to do foster care/adoption, I nearly gave Sophia a concussion!  I got something out of the freezer and gave it a good slam while I walked away.  I heard a "kuh-thunk" and turned around just as Sophia was about to pass out.  She was fine with no open wounds but a nice goose egg on her head.  Poor baby.  However, the two lessons I learned from this incident... 1) your child will continue to grow whether you want them to or not and 2) do NOT laugh when your child takes a freezer door to the head.    ????

One week down, nine to go.

We had our first meeting tonight.  We walked in, signed in, and then they proceeded to hand us a manual that barely fit into our 1" binder.  Then a packet of papers with about 20 pages to fill out.  Then a envelope with another 50 papers that will need to be filled out before the 10 weeks is over, including but not limited to... health form for each of us, forms for the dog, a blue print of our house, a safety checklist for our home, etc.  Gee, if I had known it was going to be this much work, I would have just gotten pregnant!  I didn't have to fill out any of this stuff when I had my own biological kids! :)

In all seriousness, it was good.  There was a lot of information but we didn't feel overwhelmed like we thought we might.  A lot of the stuff we talked about tonight was things we already knew  I think the "scary stories" will come later!  The people are all there for different reasons- adopting family members (one a niece and one a grandchild), adopting after attempting 3 1/2 years of infertility, etc.  We are the only couple from Williamsburg.  I find it "divine" that the class is one mile from our house.  One lady I was talking to tonight said that they went to their introductory meeting August 11 and was told it would be hard to get into this class.  When I told her we went last week, she couldn't believe it happened so quickly.  It is definitely not because of us, that is fo' sho'.

The three younger kids have to either write a story or draw a picture of what they think a new child in our house would be/look like.  Emily gets her own form to fill out.  Tim told her it was a 30 page test.  Judging from the way her jaw dropped, she believed him at first.  LOL  I am excited to see what the kids come up with.

In other news, I want to be a stay at home mom again so if any of you have any brilliant ways of making money from home without selling anything, having to do parties, or do home daycare, please let me know.  I wonder what I could find that consists of being on Facebook all day. :)  I don't know how this is going to pan out, but I know that while it was important for me to be with my own kids while they were at home, it would be important for me to be home for any foster/adoptive kids that may come along.  (Disclaimer: This is not to say that to be a good parent, you have to stay home.  It is a personal decision that Tim and I made for our family long before we even had kids- which was not too long if you recall our two month honeymoon before Tim knocked me up.)  That being said, I am praying a lot about it and keeping options open for what our future may hold.  At this point, it would actually work for any foster kids to come with me to work (as long as they are over 2) so that may be a solution until we can figure something else out.

Things I learned today...

1.  Marinating fish in lemon juice over night and then pouring lemon juice over it for cooking make for very puckered lips.

2. Halloween is NEXT month and I haven't even THOUGHT about costumes!

3. My husband looks hot in a pink shirt.

Tis all for tonight, my friends.  Time for this old lady to get to bed!