I am here, I am here, I am here!

There has been so much I've wanted to write about in the past month but the days are slipping by a little quicker than I'd like. And family time has been too precious to waste a moment at my computer. Long summer nights have pushed dinner & bedtimes back, many of late nights are spent cleaning the kitchen and of course spending a few precious moments of silence before crashing for the night. Finally Nater and I were on the ball tonight and we had everything finished by 8:30 and I sit drinking a homemade strawberry shake (with homemade ice cream - and quite delicious) and finally some free time to catch up on the blog.

I've been so torn lately on where I want my blog to go. So often I want to use it as a journal; where I can document memories, emotions and photos. But then I worry about who all is reading my blog; will they be interested, offended or bored? Sometimes I want to whine and complain. Other times I want to squeal with excitement about how much I love my life. But I don't want to come across as ungrateful or arrogant. Do you see where I am headed with this? I realize I have very few readers but I know most of them, hence the worry. That being said, I've kind of enjoyed the past month without worrying about my blog. So we'll see where it goes from here...

Life in Oklahoma is treating us well. Up until this past week the weather has been wonderful. I've developed some awesome friendships with some local moms. There is an active adoption group that gets together every month at an Ethiopian restaurant - LOVE!! I've planted and enjoyed my first garden. I've been relaxing with the boys, exercising again and have fallen even more in love with my hubby. We even had our first night away in a long time while my little brother & sister babysat. Our destination - 45 minutes from our house. We rode mountain bike trails, ate greasy food, napped at the hotel, went out to dinner, listened to live music, slept without having a child in our bed and rode the trails again before heading home. It was perfect (thanks again K & T)!

I've also wanted to blog about how great the boys have been. For nearly 2 years (just after Biruk was home) I was either holding a baby or had one hanging on my leg. I love my children but it wore on me sometimes. And the past few months have brought independence, quiet play and a lot of fun! I am finally caught up on laundry, keeping a clean house and cooking an occasional meal. We are doing so much more as a family (outside of the house) now that they are 2 on up. It makes such a difference not lugging around diapers & baby food for 2, toys, booster seats, change of clothes, etc. I feel free! And not to mention the bond that continues to grow between these three. It's so fun to sit back and watch them play, or quietly listen to their conversations. And best of all - their laughter! It's music to my ears, time and time again. I have felt so blessed these past few months and fortunate to have these three, healthy little men in my life.

The past couple weeks we went to the kite festival, we've been flying our own kite, riding bikes, went to the 4th of July parade, movie night with the boys and even made it to the fireworks (we watched from the van in a parking lot - but we made it!) All precious memories I want to hold onto forever.

For those of you heading to Minnesota this weekend we wish we could be there but after our last road trip (almost 2000 miles round trip and 2 weeks of not sleeping in their own beds) we knew our little boys needed a break. I am terribly bummed we'll miss it but hopefully next summer will include a couple fun getaways with other Ethiopian families (ahem Cathy).

I'll leave you with some photo favorites!

Where have I been?

- On a two week adventure that included driving down to Texas to babysit my 4 nephews and 1 niece while my sister and her husband took a much needed vacation together.

- after my other sister arrived to take over I flew back to Indiana to join my hubby & 3 kids for a visit to see our family

- stayed up waaaaay too late celebrating at the reception for Nater's brother Matt and his wife Melissa (they married in Florida in December)

- drove hubby to the airport and the kids and I stayed another week to visit a little longer.

- the week included dinner & drinks with my sisters one night, lots of yahtzee, a campfire with a hilarious game we made up, s'mores, more games, movies, slip n slides, lots of sunshine, relaxing visits with the in-laws and beautiful scenery.

- drove 900 miles back to Oklahoma with 3 exhausted kids (who do not sleep well in the car) and managed to keep my cool the whole time. I even stopped on the side of the road at a truck pull off, lined up all 3 boys and played "mommy says". By 9:30 they had all fallen asleep and I enjoyed the last two hours in silence. Looooong day in the car but worth it for the memories we created back home.

- 40 hours after arriving home my sister arrived and we started preparing for a movie marathon that was starting Monday morning (her and my other sister that just came home from 9 months in London had planned a 30 hour movie marathon). It was exhausting but very fun!! Lots of good laughs, candy and caffeine included.

- Still visiting with 2 siblings. Still laughing and still eating candy. Damn you 5 extra pounds!

- This weekend Nater and I are planning on spending some quality time together since we have a couple of great sitters. Yay!!!

Shelter from the storm

The clouds just didn't look right last night so we hung out in the closet a bit with the boys (while taking turns running outside of course). There were tornadoes spotted but thankfully we were missed (again). Afterwards, the sun came out and the sky looked beautiful!

Little L

Throughout the day I'm constantly coming up with blog posts and then dinner time rolls around, followed by family time, bed time and finally some relaxation with Nater. And frankly I'm too tired to actually come up with anything blog worthy by then. So I'm going to slowly peck away at a post for little Landon, aka - Baby Diddo (deedoh). He got that name from his big brother Biruk who has been calling him that since he could talk. I would always thought he was saying Diesel but Biruk would always correct me, saying "Diesel in Thomas (the trains), he baby Diddo". Finally I figured it out and now Nathan and I call him Diddo, as much as we do Landon. Anyway, little Landon is something else. He is spoiled rotten and gets away with waaaay more crap then either of his brothers did at his age. And we know we are complete suckers and that he has us wrapped around his fingers. You'd think he puts us under a spell when we look at those sweet, blue eyes of his. And don't get me started on his yummy cheeks!

Baby Diddo's latest antic involves carrying around his doggies (3 of them) and his baby daughter. It's a little beanie baby that he carries around the house and if he doesn't have her he'll say "where's baby daughter" in the sweetest little voice. There are numerous other dolls he likes but those are his favorites.

Landon's vocab has really taken off this past month. He repeats everything and his latest is "what that". But it's the way he says it, in this fast, high pitch tone. It cracks us up every time. Tonight, while getting ready to go on a bike ride, he followed me around the bathroom asking "what that? what that? what that?". And I answered him every single time. Even when we are reading books, he interrupts me, pointing to objects on the page "what that?".

He is very affectionate and loves snuggling up with his brothers or Nathan and I. He gives hugs to his brothers before bed and if he hears them cry he runs over, rubs their back and always hunts down "buddy" for Biruk.

However, he has an attitude that can make you want to pull your hair out. The little booger used to eat everything under the sun and has now made mealtime a nightmare. His brothers went through this phase but it ended much quicker. Landon is standing his ground, night after night. It's exhausting sometimes.

I find myself constantly amazed watching him with his big brothers (or them with him) and I can't help but think about what a blessing it was that he joined our family. Somehow we've managed to get 3 completely opposite personalities and it only makes each individual all the better.

Landon will be 2 next month and I'm so happy with where things are right now. It's definitely the most content I've felt since becoming a mother and it's such a great feeling. I feel at peace as a mother and I'm really enjoying the time spent with these 3 little sweethearts. This time is so precious and I am thankful to be able to spend my days with them. I think if I could freeze time I would be very tempted to do just that.

Landon, thanks for making all of our lives richer and more full of love and laughter. You are something special and I'm so thankful for the moment you joined our lives! Your baby days are numbered and I'll be so sad when your sweet arm rolls, chubby little legs and buddha belly are no longer there. Please take your time growing up because your big brothers have done so too quickly. Love ya kiddo!

Tornado Time

I love nasty weather. I know I shouldn't because of the damage that sometimes comes with it, but I can't help but love a nasty thunderstorm. Today I started hearing about the "tornado" weather that was headed our way so I was secretly excited for some storm watching. Around 4:00 the clouds started rolling in and within 15 minutes our yard was filled with hail, the tornado siren went off, I scrambled to the closet with the kids and the next thing I knew the sky was clear. Unfortunately the storm system continued wrecking havoc on other parts of the city with several tornados touching down. I must clarify, I like thunderstorms ONLY, I would not wish a tornado on my worst enemy. It was so sad watching the news and seeing all the homes torn apart. It's just one more reminder of the struggles people have to deal with in this world. I know for some it's a hassle and a call to their insurance company. But for others (the mobile home park that was destroyed) they are left with nothing.

And tomorrow I'm going to purchase a welder for Nathan so he can rig up a safe room in our closet under the stairs since basements barely exist in OK. I joke, but it is very tempting :) Here are some pictures I captured this evening.

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

This year I looked at Mother's Day a little differently. Friday I spent a little more time thinking about what it meant to me and of course, my mind continued to go back to our 3 little boys. I am so grateful for them and like most mothers, I tend to criticize myself and constantly try to improve. So Friday night I decided we needed to spend the next day with all our attention on our boys. So we spent the day at a state park near our house hiking with the boys, enjoying a picnic, playing at the playground and spending the afternoon watching the boys play in the sand at the beach. It was perfect!! I forget my camera which is very unusual for me but it allowed me to focus so much more on the day, and not taking photos. We brought their buckets and shovels and they played so peacefully in the sand. It's moments like this that remind you of what's important in life. I am aware that we are fortunate enough to have these luxuries (weekends spent with each other and not one of us working) and we try taking advantage of it. So with that being said, I think each year, we'll spend the day before Mother's Day with our children and away from all distractions.

Happy Mother's day to all of you wonderful mothers in my life. I've learned so much from all of you!! And of course, to my own mother, who has done SOOOO much for me. Thank you Karen!! You are a superstar and I am still amazed that you managed to come out alive after raising 11 children. Love YOU!

For your birthday....

I wish we could be in Colorado celebrating with you but know we are there in spirit! Miss you lots, hope the pictures bring a smile to your face. Happy Birthday Keely!!!!

And he still likes to sleep like this....

Just one of his many expressions...

And to think I almost gave up...

Thursday night, while sitting on the back porch and staring out at the empty, weed filled, garden beds I convinced myself that it was too much to tackle.

I was already over analyzing what soil would be the best and had convinced myself that I didn't know much of anything about gardening. Perhaps it was already to late to plant any starts. And didn't I have enough going on? I decided I would just wait until next year and I'd be all prepared with knowledge and supplies! Fast forward 14 hours when I was at the park with my friend Jill, watching the kids play and I told her my plans to wait until next year. She wasn't going to have it. She pushed me forward and told me it didn't matter if I didn't know it all, just buy some local soil and wing it! And she was right. I told my mom later that day and she too suggested the same thing. This year could be a trial, a learning experience, I needed to do it! So Saturday morning quickly arrived and I started calling about soil. I needed it delivered asap and I found a winner. I headed to the farmer's market where I picked up 5lbs of asparagus (yum) and 5 different herb starts. (note: I have ZERO experience with herbs but I'm going to give it a shot). I arrived home and Nathan and I started to shovel away the layer of grass and weeds in our raised beds. And let me tell you, it is a PAIN in the ass. You had to shove the shovel in a couple inches repeatedly and then finally lift up and listen to the rip of all the roots of the nasty weeds that have taken over our yard. And do this over, and over, and over, and OVER again. Meanwhile, a gentleman arrived to deliver over FOUR tons of soil to our driveway. I'm pretty sure Nathan wanted to back out at that point because we knew we had to remove that soil from the driveway in the next 24 hours.
Finally, the scraping was finished, then we layered newspaper over the ground, wetting each layer with the hose, and then dumped in the soil. A big thanks to our little helper who spread the soil around with the rake. And of course, the handsome hubby hauling the soil, trip after trip.




The day quickly got away and by sunset we had only put a dent in maybe half of the dirt and we officially had nothing planted. So, blisters in all, I started scraping away and making space for raised bed no.3. Secretly I was excited by this because it only meant more space for planting. After an hour of shoveling I was halfway there to clearing the weeds. I passed out on the sofa at 9:00 from exhaustion while watching a movie with Nathan.






Sunday. Day 2 started bright and early. We had a quick cup of coffee, I went back to scraping the weeds and Nathan headed out for lumber for bed number three. By lunchtime we had the newspaper laid, half the bed finished, and all 3 boys fed. I was feeling confident we'd be done by supper time (forgetting about all that SOIL). So I headed to the nursery to get plants and left Nathan to finish making the bed and fill it with soil. Finally after hours of shoveling and 2 trips to the nursery the garden was finished! I am so excited to have it done and I have to say "it was much harder than I expected". The work involved this year, thankfully, will not be duplicated next year (making the beds, scraping weeds and moving 4 tons of soil). I am thankful for that! Even after 3 beds we still had leftover soil so I laid newspaper and poured some of the soil over our front landscaped area and I will mulch it tomorrow. And still there is more. But it's no longer in the driveway. The weekend was hard but I kept chanting in my head 'fruits of our labor, fruits of our labor'. We will soon be reaping the reward. More excitement to come...

Wordless Wednesday

The Cure

I've found my sanctuary by cleaning carpets and listening to some good music. Feeling much better! Does anyone else find cleaning/organizing calming or I do I have a screw loose?

SSDD (literally)

Warning: The following post WILL include profanity and negativity. Read at your own risk.

Same Shit Different Day has taken on a whole new meaning in this household. I have lost track of the number of times I've cleaned up Biruk's shit. It's either been in a cloth diaper, streaked all over the toilet seat and down the stairs as he's come looking for me or a trail of poop he's decided to scatter through the house. Today, was the latter of the three. I shut and locked my door for FIVE minutes as Conner read to me. Five minutes of peace and quiet so he could read without distraction from his younger brothers. My punishment; a HUGE turd outside of my bedroom door, followed by a pile around the corner. Landon has it all over his shirt while looking at me with his finger in mouth. Lovely. Just lovely. And all I kept thinking was "how the fuck do I handle this?". How in the world do I not harm this child who has just punished me with yet another pile of shit (literally). Tell me oh wise ones, how to I end this awful 9 months of potty training that I've yet to conquer? Conner was potty trained at 22 months old. Yet the nightmare will NOT end with Biruk. I'm at wits end.

In the past 2 weeks I've bragged to people how well Biruk has been and that I thought he was out of his "holyfuckingterrorfromhell" phase. So this morning he kindly reminded me it wasn't over by scooping cup fulls of Conner's morning pee out of the toilet all over the bathroom (they sleep upstairs with their own half bath). Then I later found him in the other bathroom with his cup and ready to rock and roll but thankfully I caught him in time. And trust me people I'm not sitting in my closet crying while this is happening (which would seem perfectly reasonable at this point). I'm a few feet away. I have kept bathroom doors shut but he now knows how to open them (guess I'll be investing in some baby proof things that cover door handles). But please share with me the bright side of all of this because I can no longer find any charm or positives from this nightmare of terrible twos, going on threes.... I feel like I can't get any more organized and clean, yet somehow he finds trouble. He never fails. And I fear my sanity and control that is about to be lost. One moment I feel I have it all figured out and then I'm rudely reminded that I will never have things under control. That there will always be a turd waiting for me around another corner and even more "shit" waiting to be cleaned up.

Time to dust off the carpet cleaner (again) and wander off to fantasy world (calgon take me away PLEASE)....

Now or never...

It's been 3 weeks since our first camping trip of the season. It was my youngest brothers spring break so my folks drove down to Arkansas to meet us and brought along my nephew. My sister drove up from Texas with her five kids and Nathan headed out with me to enjoy the first couple nights. We had an 8 night camping trip planned and we were busting out our new tent (thankfully a cheap tent as well), warm blankets, jackets and winter hats because the weather forecast was not in our favor. The days were going to be in the 50's, nights in the 30's. Thankfully I threw in our little electric heater as a last minute thought. Nathan drove seperately so he could spend the first weekend with us and help me get set up. The weather was beautiful and we got our tent set up while the kids played in the dirt. We ate a late dinner, put the kids to bed without a fuss and enjoyed a fire while gazing at the stars. Thankfully we brought the electric heater because it dropped to the low 40's the first night and started raining around 3 in the morning. And it didn't stop precipitating for the following 48 hours. Saturday our kids spent the day in the van while we either drove around or let them watch movies. It was freezing outside and they didn't have the appropriate clothing. We set my sisters tent up and her screen room and shivered around a fire (a very pathetic fire I might add). I was so desperate to make it feel like camping that even in the cold rain I cracked open a beer and roasted a marshmallow. It helped. By evening the rain turned to freezing rain. That night after setting up my parents popup camper we decided to play it safe and stay inside with them since the weather was unpredictable. Somewhere in middle of the night the rain stopped. I was optimistic things were about to turn around until I went to sneak outside to pee and couldn't open the door because the awning had collapsed and wouldn't allow me to open it. Why you might ask??? SNOW! SNOW! SNOW! And we aren't talking flurries. It must have snowed at least 10 inches (I have the photos to prove it). While it made for a very pretty setting, it was not at all what I had anticipated. And the kids were getting a little stir crazy. Our new tent collapsed (busting the poles) from the weight of the snow, as did my sisters screen room. By this point Landon was on day two without a nap and sleeping 2 hours less per night. To say I was slightly irritable would be an understatement. All that kept running through my head was "why the hell do you like camping again?" My van was flooded with camping gear and we had crashed my parents popup. I don't like not having my own space. But we somehow survived the day and Monday we woke to warmer temps. We ventured to the store for a shovel and rain boots for my boys so they could play outside. By Tuesday it had all melted and we even played at the park and had a wonderful game of tag (my dad even played) that included me learning my bladder mixed with laughter and running is not a good combination. Wednesday was gorgeous as well but by Thursday night (when I was certain Biruk had an ear infection) I called it quits. 7 nights was enough. The rest of them held out until Saturday morning. It was great seeing my family but apparently I am only a fair weather camper who likes her own space.

After a weekend of rest we ventured out the next 2 weekends for more camping. And both trips were wonderful! One was with 3 of my siblings (which included ball tag and learning that my bladder control STILL SUCKS) and the other with Nathan's family (hiking and kayaking). I am already researching for the next trip. I hope to post pictures soon because all three trips offered a variety of beauty! Thanks to all my family for the memories (good and the bad :)! More 'adventures in camping' to come....

Good Friday, Good Listening

The boys enjoying The Clash, Hitsville UK, with dad.