Box Day

Collin's history, literature and reading curriculum came in from Sonlight last week. I just love the sheer joy on his face as he opens the box. It was like Christmas in July! Dylan had to get in on the action too, of course! We had a fun idea to "bury" Collin in all of his books (or most of them anyway). We are so excited to get started!

No Summer Break

I'm still finishing up Collin's school year. We have two weeks of curriculum left to do, but it is so light that I'm sure we'll finish it in one week. I was planning to wait until late July to order Collin's curriculum for next year and start in August when Alana goes back to school. However, Collin started POUTING when he found out that we had finished all of the history lessons for the year. He also loves literature, reading and science. I planned to just continue math over the summer so that we can get completely caught up by the end of the school year. However, I spent the weekend researching curriculum and went ahead and ordered everything for next year. Now, Collin and I anxiously wait for the boxes to arrive!

We are sticking with Sonlight for History, Reading and Literature. We will keep our same Handwriting and Math curriculum as well. We are trying something new for Science, Grammar, Writing, Spelling, and Geography. I'm so excited! I always thought that if we won the lottery I would go back to school full-time studying foreign languages and whatever else struck my fancy and traveling. Since we are studying American History this year, I'm looking forward to checking out local and regional resources for field trips (plus I'm hoping to take a family vacation to D.C. next summer). So, I realized today that homeschooling has been like winning the lottery for me in a way. I get to learn new things right along with Collin and travel to fun locations (we went to the National Frontier Trails Museum in Independence -- actually a lot of fun -- especially the covered wagon ride pulled by two mules). When I realized this, it reminded me of the movie Under the Tuscon Sun -- when Diane Lane's character realizes that all her dreams had come true -- just not in the way she had initially thought they would. Such a fun thing to discover!

Who needs enemies?

Today I heard Alana telling Dylan to "swallow it" repeatedly. Come to find out, Dylan had a rock in his mouth (choking size). The saying came to mind -- "with friends like that -- who needs enemies?" I'm thinking that may be even more applicable to siblings! Geesh!!

Soccer Stars

Here are Collin and Alana's soccer pictures from this spring. They both really enjoyed their season and are ready for more this fall. I know I'm crazy, but I'm actually considering signing Dylan up for this fall as well. They let kids start as young as four. He just desperately wants to be like his big brother and sister. Plus, how cute will he be in a little soccer uniform!!

We are in all sports all the time mode right now. Collin has three soccer camps this month, and swim team, and baseball, and ballet class. Alana wants to do all the above as well, but she starts summer school next week. I don't think she will qualify for summer school next year, so I'm planning to sign her up for swim team and softball next summer. She wants to take ballet and gymnastics too, but I put the boys in those during the day and I just don't want to overload my evenings putting her in too many activities (we already have religious ed and soccer in the fall). Plus, they usually offer discounts (up to half price) for daytime homeschool classes, so it costs a lot less for the boys to do these activities. I'm still hoping to homeschool her after first grade and then they can participate together.

I've been reading a lot of great parenting books lately. "Hold On To Your Kids", "Siblings Without Rivalry", "How To Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk" and "Playful Parenting". I'm getting helpful information from each book, but "Playful Parenting" has probably had the biggest impact. I'm terrible about playing with my kids. When we do play, I like to play by the "rules". I'm learning to let that go and just play with them and let them lead. They make the rules and I just do as I'm told. It has been very therapuetic for us all.

Shopping

I used to enjoy shopping. What happened? Today I was out with my 4-year-old and 6-year-old running errands. My minivans power locks decided to fail. That was fun. Especially when I have 5 different places I need to go. Then Dylan has screaming fits (ear piercing screams) in nearly every store we go into. Then I get home and find Alana eating candy in her room that I did NOT purchase. Lovely. This is the second time she has been caught stealing in the past week (the first time was at school). I am reading parenting books like crazy these days to try to get me through what is turning out to be a very trying time. UGH!!! Somebody please tell me it will get better. Pretty please!

Together Forever

Alana burst into tears tonight at dinner because school will be out soon. She is upset because she will miss her friends and her teachers. I explained that they will miss her too, but she can still see them sometimes. I also explained that we are going to do fun things during her summer break like going to the pool and the park and taking a trip to Texas. She then started telling me that she was going to grow up and be a mom like me and she was going to miss me (with huge tears in her eyes) -- insert my heart breaking here! I asked her where she was going and why she would miss me. She kept saying she would miss me, but finally said that she was moving to Texas. So, I told her that I would move to Texas with her. She was overjoyed at that idea and eventually had it all planned out that when she grew up she would move to Texas and her entire family would move with her. I told her that we are a family forever and no one is leaving her. That we will all follow her wherever she goes. I think the pending transition at school is freaking her out and she started worrying that her family was going to change as well. She was so happy the rest of the night about us all living in Texas. It was really sweet! I wonder if a lot of adopted children have an extra layer of anxiety related to changing grades each year. I remember my mom telling me that I cried and cried each year when I had to leave my teacher behind only to do the same thing the next year. I went to a small school where there was one class for each grade level. So, I didn't have the extra stress of leaving my friends behind. I'm sure it also never occurred to me that my family would leave me behind as well. Poor Alana has so much more to deal with.

In other news, I am starting to think about homeschooling Alana in the future. It is going so well with Collin that I am wanting very much to homeschool Alana and Dylan too. I'm currently planning to have her attend public school another year though to continue her English as a Second Language services. I am going to use this summer as a test to see how stressful it is having all three kids at home and trying to get a limited amount of schooling done. Alana is already falling behind in kindergarten and I'm having to spend our evenings getting her caught up. Plus, I read the book "Hold On To Your Kids" recently and it had a big impact on me. I've started on a large list of other parenting books to hopefully give me new strategies on connecting with and disciplining my kids. I seem to struggle especially with Alana's spirited personality, but I really want to change that. I'm hopeful that this will all work out for the best and I know that I will never regret spending the extra time with my kids.

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter today! Ours was actually on the quiet side. The kids received some new toys, movies and plenty of candy. They always love to spend time with their grandparents. A great day!

Naps

I got a rude reminder yesterday of why I no longer put Dylan down for naps. He stopped napping over a year ago. Probably right around his 3rd birthday. Yesterday we took Dylan to Collin's afternoon soccer game and he had some pretty good temper tantrum meltdowns. I was so frustrated when we got home that I put him down for a nap. He actually went to sleep and woke up around 5:00 only because the dog barked like crazy when I came home from the library. Last night he could not get to sleep and it was probably close to 1 AM before he finally settled down. As I see it, I have three options.

1) Don't give him a nap and put up with his cranky, bad attitude all afternoon\evening.
2) Put him down for a nap (usually a huge struggle) and wake him up after 30-60 minutes, so he doesn't sleep too long. This also ends up with a cranky, bad attitude because he was woken up.
3) Put him down for a nap (huge struggle) and then stay up with him until the wee hours of the morning because he can't sleep.

I feel like I lose no matter which option I choose. Since he is still somewhat cranky even after having a nap (he just turned four after all), I feel like not giving him naps is still my best option. I just need yesterday's reminder every once in a while to remember why I don't put him down for naps. Collin napped through kindergarten, probably until he was close to seven years old. He still takes a good nap every once in a while when needed. Every kid is so different!

Birthday Photos

Here are a few photos from Alana and Dylan's birthday weekend. It was a busy one to say the least. We went to Alana's school carnival on Friday night, Alana and Collin's first soccer games on Saturday, and Alana and Dylan's birthday party on Sunday. The kids had a great time though and I'm still recovering!

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Today was Dylan and Alana's birthday. I can't believe my babies are 4 and 6! Where does the time go?? I think they had a pretty great day even though we had to a do a little shopping. Alana had a half day at school so I decided to take the kids out to lunch. Alana chose chinese food. She had a major craving for egg drop soup! We then ran a few errands and came home to visit with Grandma and Grandpa Dunakin who are spending the night. The kids got to open a few presents tonight (their party is on Sunday afternoon). Then we were off to Alana's carnival at school, which was as chaotic as I expected. Alana and Dylan got their faces painted and the kids had snow cones and bounced in the large inflatables. They had a great time, but I'm so glad that part of the weekend is over. Tomorrow Collin and Alana have their first soccer games of the season. I'm going to stay home with Dylan tomorrow so I can work on the kid's birthday cakes. I'm starting to run out of time! More pictures to come I'm sure.

Some other good news, our house in Leawood is back on the market today. We had it remodeled and staged and I think it looks fantastic! I will post some before and after pictures soon. I'm praying that it sells soon!!!

Facebook

OK -- I am now officially addicted to Facebook. I created an account a while back, but only started using it this week. Already, I've made contact with friends from elementary school, high school, college, former co-workers, fellow adoptive parents and lots of family. It seems like a fantastic way to find people and stay in touch. Victor is starting to call for an intervention and I'm less than one week into using Facebook. I've set up a page for him too and even found a group for his high school graduating class. They are having their 20 year reunion this summer and we probably wouldn't have known about it if not for Facebook. He'll learn to love it soon too (I hope)!

My wonderful husband

Is my husband wonderful or what? He bought me two dozen gorgeous roses for Valentine's Day. What a guy! We spent a quiet day with the kids yesterday. Well, as quiet as three kids will allow!

Little Wonders

My kids are going through a "Meet the Robinsons" movie phase right now. The song "Little Wonders" gets to me every time. I downloaded it the other day and we've been listening to it in the car over and over. I can hardly listen to it without crying. It reminds me so much of my struggle to have children and the sheer joy they bring to me. My children are my "Little Wonders" and I am grateful for the small hours I'm given with them.

P.S. If you have your sound turned on, the slideshow should play the "Little Wonders" song. Also, I just realized today that some wierd song has been playing since I added a slide show on Collin's birthday. I don't usually have my computer speakers turned on so I didn't notice until today. Sorry about that!

Something is Missing

Alana lost her first tooth last week! We first noticed it was loose a couple of weeks ago. Alana was very concerned when we explained that it would fall out and she would get a big one. She wondered if it would hurt or bleed, but as soon as we mentioned the tooth fairy, money and the fact that Collin had lost his teeth she was on board. She worships Collin, so anything he does must be OK. Plus, she gets money! I feel bad because the tooth fairy forgot to visit her the first night she put the tooth under her pillow. We explained that she was probably busy and sure enough she came the following night. Alana received $2 from the tooth fairy, which she tells everyone is two pennies or two moneys. Now she can't wait to lose more teeth!