Morning Anticipation

You know that feeling when you were a kid, when you headed to bed knowing the next morning Santa would have visited your house. You lay in bed trying so hard to go to sleep. To set aside the excitement of the next day. After all Mom and Dad said Santa will not come until you are sleeping. Then usually waking earlier then normal and waiting as patiently as you possibly can for all to wake so you can dive under the tree and see what Santa brought you.

It is funny that as an adult I get the same feeling of anticipation, the excitement, but it is not for me. It is for my children and foster children. To see the look on their little faces when the walk out of the room and see a tree full of presents. With 4 kids in the house it looks like a lot, lol. Especially when we are just using our indoor palm as our Christmas tree. (by the way the kids think any tree is cool, even when it sits there all year round we just added lights and ornaments). I still go to bed later, this time not because I am waiting for Santa, but because I have to stay awake until my little ones excitement passes and they fall asleep. I have to be Santa (last year santa fell asleep, oops. Woke in a panic at like 4am, haha). Then I still wake early with excitement because I want to be up and see their sweet little faces when they wake up. So really nothing has changed about the anticipation and excitement accept where it is directed. I love Christmas!!

Although we have fun with the Santa thing we still teach our children about Jesus and that this is really the day to celebrate him and his birth. We have a special birthday party on Christmas day, it is all about Jesus. We bake a cake and we sing! It is another reason to celebrate a wonderful day filled with smiles, love, and family!! Merry Christmas everybody!

Busy Bee Catering

I am trying to help out my Brother and soon to be sister in law. We are trying to win a catered lunch or dinner which they will use for their rehearsal dinner. Please everybody go to facebook.com and locate Busy Bee Catering. Like them. The click on the View every ones comments, so you can see what every body has written. You need to go to my comment of " I Want Free Foooooood!" and like my comment. I think the deadline is Oct.14th so lets get this won for them. It is simple. Thank you in advance for helping make their wedding time special!!

Kindergarten Already?

Kendall had her first couple days of Kindergarten this week. I keep thinking to myself, "seriously she is not old enough for kindergarten." She is my little girl. It feels like just yesterday we were at the hospital anticipating her birth. Then after we first laid eyes on her we looked into her Birth Mothers eyes and promised to give her the best, to protect her, and love her always. The firsts have continued to come, first teeth, first steps, first birthday, first tooth lost, and first dance recital! Here we are now, she is 5 years old (for a few more weeks) and having another big first, SCHOOL! Kindergarten is such a great year, fun and learning all mixed into one. The teachers get these little ones all set up for the next 12 years of their lives. Trying to instill in them an excitement about learning and reading. I can see it in Kendall already! We are so excited for her. She has grown to be such a sensitive, wonderful, kind, glamorous little girl and we could not be more proud of all that she has accomplished and will accomplish as she discovers and explores this new world of learning and independence.

She was nervous, but she put on her brave face and stepped out of my arms with one last hug and kiss of course. I will miss her while she is away, but will always look forward to hear about her day when she gets home. When you hear people say those firsts come and go quickly they are not kidding. Cherish all the firsts, no matter how little or big or at what age your child reaches them. They are so very special.

Two Front Teeth and a Sleeping Tooth Fairy

Well after Kendall's shower accident we made an appt. to see the dentist and check for any damage hitting her teeth so hard could have caused. First up an x-ray, everything looked good from what I could see, although I am not into the x-ray reading business.

While we waited for the dentist, sitting on a child sized couch, I looked around and saw how much dentists have changed since I was a kid. Books in the waiting area have been replaced with 6 tv's all hooked up with different video game systems. Kopelan really enjoys trying to figure these out. The children in the chair are given a choice of toothpaste. The list is long too, marshmallow, vanilla, strawberry, mint, chocolate, etc. They get to choose from a variety of characterized tooth brushes and to finish it off when they are done they get a token, which they then take to a machine and can buy a little trinket.

We waited for about 10min before we were called back to the little room to be seen by the dentist. She laid Kendall down looked at her teeth and the x-ray and proceeded to tell me that the teeth are causing more pain and soreness then need be staying in and that she could quickly numb them with gel and pluck them out. So with some encouraging Kendall agreed to let her try. She numbed up the gums and gave one of the teeth a solid tug. With that tug also came flailing feet and arms from my child. Followed by a gush of blood, but when i got a look i still saw 2 teeth hanging. Not good. We had to come up with a new plan and fast. My child is now scared, crying and bleeding. The dentist moved us to another room where a dose of laughing gas was on order. Kendall calmed down and the assistant explained to us that the funny clown nose goes on the face and Kendall will soon be smelling waffles or pancakes (just a ploy to get the kids to breathe in deep trying to smell, lol). Within a couple minutes Kendall was no longer scared. She had a silly grin on her face and was giggling. 5min later both teeth were out and she was good to go. She proudly carried her 2 top teeth out the door in a plastic bag, ready for a visit from the tooth fairy.

Fast forward to bed time. We got the teeth all set up under her pillow and ready for the tooth fairy. Since my child can not stay a full night in her own bed, I semi remember being awaken by her telling me she was getting in my bed and had brought her teeth with her. At 5:30am when my husbands alarm went off, I gave my routine nudge for him to get up and turn it off. On most mornings Kendall would not even react to the alarm, but i guess she had important things on her mind as she jumped up and looked under her pillow. OOPS. The tooth fairy fell asleep. I quickly came up with an excuse telling her it was still dark out and daddy was just going potty. Must have worked as she went right back to sleep and gave me enough time to do the big switch. She awoke to find $6 left by the tooth fairy. She then wanted to know why when I was little the tooth fairy only brought me quarters ( I do not know, why mom and dad)? She was very pleased and put the money straight in her bank. She loves to look in the mirror and smile and herself. She really looks cute with those missing teeth. I can not believe my little girl has now lost 4 teeth. This tooth fairy is gonna be a broke one over the next few years, but before that happens she better by herself an alarm clock or she's gonna get caught.

Shower, Teeth and Urgent Care

I wonder what reading the title makes you think? What your first thoughts are? For me it is not a good combination of words. Well this was my reality this evening. These words were front and center in my world.

I asked Kendall to get in the shower before dinner. Usually not a problem, but tonight for some reason she wanted to shower in her own bathroom. I didn't feel like a fight so said sure. Got her all set up. Stuck the non slip froggy shaped pads in the bottom and she started showering. I was running around getting the babies dinner ready, the kids dinner cooked, Kope ready for his bath. I went into the bathroom, gave her the shampoo for her hair. Turned around to get Kopelan ready to get in for his bath and before I knew it I heard the thunk and then the cry. It took me 2seconds to open the curtain and she was already standing rubbing the shampoo in her hair, but with blood pouring out her mouth. Umm hello, trying not to freak out as I help my dripping wet, naked child out of the shower as blood pours out her mouth. Head and mouth wounds are so ridiculous with the amount they bleed. I grabbed the first towel I saw and put it to her mouth, then another for her body. Ushered her downstairs where I knew my phone was, all the while telling my other child to get all his clothes back on.

Staying calm for the sake of Kendall who is starting to notice the amount of blood on the towel, and panic is rising in her.

"Mom, I am never gonna be able to talk again."

" I think you will be okay you are talking now, lol"

I got her to move the towel long enough for me to see 2 good size teeth marks on her outer lower lip, and her front teeth looking very pushed back.

Called KC told him to meet me at Urgent care as Kendall may need stitches. So I pulled dinner out of the oven, helped Kope get dressed, quickly made a bottle for the baby who was not so patiently waiting for her dinner, and threw them all in the car for the 2min drive to the Urgent Care.

Got all checked in, fed the baby and tried to keep my wild monkey under control aka Kopelan. KC finally arrived to take the little ones home and Kendall and I went back to see the Dr. He checked her out and said he could put a stitch in her outer lip if I wanted, but thought with neosporin and an antibiotic she would heal up nicely. As for her teeth he could not give me any info so I have left a message with her dentist who of course is not open tomorrow. I do think I will have her seen though as one of her teeth looks like it has been shoved up in to the gum. I went and looked at photos of her prior to the accident and it looks different. Her two front teeth are very loose and I think the tooth fairy will be visiting very soon.

So she is all good, but has some nasty marks on her mouth and a fat lip. Kendall is not a stranger to mouth injuries though. It seems if she has something happen, it always happens to her mouth. She has had an ER visit with stitches in the lip and a previous Urgent Care visit where she also narrowly escaped stitches. I am praying this will be the last of these mouth incidents, at least for a while. Kendall has informed me that she will no longer ask to take a shower in her room. I think it is a great plan since I always discouraged it, but just didn't feel like the fight tonight. Sometimes our kids have to learn the hard way on things we are constantly telling them. This just ended up being the hard way and I am sure a very expensive way. Blah

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

I never thought I could make anything that required the use of Yeast and rising and setting and all these terms I am soooo unfamiliar with, but I did it!!! Today I took the plunge into the home made world. Took myself back to a way of baking that was an everyday event back in the day. The best part, they turned out yummy and edible, lol! Kendall and I split a warm roll right out of the oven. WE both agreed that it was delicious even with out the sugary drizzle.

Why you ask did I decide to make cinnamon rolls? Well, we are starting a tradition here in the Lee house. We have started making it a routine on Saturday mornings that momma (ME) gets up and makes the family cinnamon rolls, before waking them up. It makes the house smell yummy and makes everybody happy to wake up for a special treat. This tradition though is starting to get expensive. Cause with out a good sale refrigerated rolls are over $2, and that is the generic/store brands. So this cheapy momma, I mean frugal, lol, whatever I am, decided to try something new. Make my own cinnamon rolls. How hard could it be, lol!

I headed to my trusty netbook to find a recipe. There are a lot out there and I took what looked like to be an easy one. As I continue to make the rolls I may start tweaking it to make it a little more healthy. I did some tweaking as we drink Almond milk so that is the milk I used and I use splenda brown sugar. Eventually I will try to use Whole Wheat Flour and see how that tastes.

It was a rather fun and simple process. The majority of the time is waiting for the bread to rise. Mix all the ingredients, roll into a ball, let it rise. A very cool process for kids to see. The dough goes from a small ball to a big ball. Then you divide and punch, that is a fun part. Save this step for when you need to get some frustration out, lol! Then you let the two seperate parts sit and grow. Then once again when you have actually made the rolls you let them sit and they grow again. Just a cool process. The kids loved painting on the melted butter and sprinkling the cinnamon.

All in all this was a fun and yummy activity for me and the kids. I will post the recipe at the bottom for all you brave souls who would like to take the leap also. They freeze and that is what I plan on doing. I can make 2 or 3 weeks worth, and it is way cheaper. I can not wait to keep this tradition going and now we will get to make the rolls together creating even more memories.

HOMEMADE CINNAMON ROLLS

4 1/4 to 4 3/4 c. all-purpose flour 1 pkg. active dry yeast 1 1/4 c. milk 1/4 c. granulated sugar 1/4 c. butter 1 tsp. salt 2 eggs 6 tbsp. butter, softened 1/2 c. packed brown sugar 2 tsp. ground cinnamon 1 recipe Maple Nut Glaze or Powdered Sugar Glaze Step 1: In a large mixer bowl combine 1 1/2 cups of the all-purpose flour and yeast. Heat the milk, granulated sugar, the 1/4 cup butter and salt just until mixture is warm (120 to 130 degrees) and the butter is almost melted, stirring constantly. Step 2: Add milk mixture to flour mixture; add eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds; scrape sides of bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can. (Dough will be soft.) Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough (3 to 5 minutes total). Shape dough into a ball. Step 3: Place dough in a lightly greased bowl; turn once. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double (about 1 to 1 1/2 hours). (The dough is ready for shaping when you can lightly and quickly press two fingers 1/2 inch into dough and indentation remains.) Step 4: Punch dough down. On a lightly floured surface, divide dough in half; shape each half into a smooth ball. Cover; let rest for 10 minutes. Step 5: On lightly floured surface roll half the dough to 12x8 inches. Spread with 3 tablespoons softened butter. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle half over rectangle. Roll up from a short side. Seal edges. Make a second roll with remaining dough, butter and sugar mixture. Step 6: Slice each dough roll into 8 pieces. Arrange slices, cut side down, in a greased 13x9x2 inch baking pan. Cover; let rise until nearly double (about 30 minutes). Step 7: Bake rolls in a 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until light brown. Invert at once onto a wire rack. Cool slightly. Drizzle rolls with Maple Nut Glaze or Powdered Sugar Glaze. Serve warm. Makes 16 rolls. MAPLE NUT GLAZE: In small bowl combine 1 cup sifted powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons maple syrup or 1/2 teaspoon maple extract and enough water or milk (2 to 3 teaspoons) for drizzling consistency. Stir in 1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans. POWDERED SUGAR GLAZE: Combine 1 cup sifted powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and enough milk (about 3 to 4 teaspoons) for drizzling consistency. FREEZING AND REHEATING: Bake and cool rolls as directed, do not glaze. Wrap in moisture and vapor proof wrap. Seal, label, and freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat in a conventional oven, wrap frozen rolls in foil. Place in a 350 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until warm. Drizzle with your choice of glaze. To reheat in a microwave oven, wrap 2 of the frozen rolls in microwave-safe paper towels. Micro-cook on 100% power (high) for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until warm. Drizzle with glaze.

YES

As I was singing in the shower, (yes I sing in the shower) these lyrics came to me and I started singing away

" I'll say yes, Lord Yes, to your will and to your way, I'll say yes, Lord yes, I will trust you and obey. When your spirit speaks to me, with my whole heart I'll agree, and my answer will be yes, Lord Yes."

Yesterday on mother's day I was basking in the love from my children and my husband I feel so blessed. I was also sad at the same time. There is a little girl on the other side of the world that has captured my heart. As these lyrics were being sung, I was saying yes Lord yes, I hear you Lord, but I have to have patience. Because the decision can not be my own. I need my partner, my friend, my husband singing the same lyrics at the same time. For now I sing these lyrics and I wait. She has waited 4 years for a mom and dad, she has been so patient. If this truly is what God is asking then she will be there waiting as I do. In the meantime I will continue to pray and say yes Lord yes and show patience.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mother's out there. Whether you are a birth mother, an adoptive mother or a foster mother. We all play a very special role in raising children day in and day out. Helping them learn and grow. Teaching them how to be the parents that someday we hope they will be when they grow up. I have so many happy memories with my mom and still make them when we get to be together, she still is teaching me how to be a better mother and parent. The job of a mother never goes away no matter how old your children are today.

Now as a mother myself I see how hard this job called MOTHER really is. You become responsible for these little people. Protecting them and teaching them and loving them. From the minute they arrive in your arms, no matter how they got there, they become a part of you. It's like a piece of your heart is now on the outside of your body and you would do anything for it. I love my children so much. Sometimes I look at them doing something and just want to cry happy tears. Just the other day Kopelan had a little program at his school where they sang a few songs. I got teary eyed (yes I am a emotional mess, lol) I just could not believe he was big enough, old enough to be finishing his 1st year of preschool. I swear he was just born not that long ago. And Kendall, Tuesday we went and picked up all the forms to register her for Kindergarten. Kindergarten, seriously is she already old enough to go? I remember the day we brought her home from the hospital so clearly, the day the judge let her pound the gavel and say that she was forever my daughter. She made me a mother. It has all gone by so fast yet I do not want to go back, because everyday we are embarking on new journeys in our life. I learn something from my kids everyday about being a mother, they are helping and teaching me new ways to be a good mother. Teaching me new levels of love that I never knew existed until they came around.

My kids and I are so lucky to have the bond of mother and child. On this day though it is so hard for me not to think about the 100's to 1000's of children that do not have a mother to share that bond with, that have never known the love of a mother even for 1 second of their little lives. It breaks my heart to know today as my kids and I enjoy our time together barbecuing and loving each other, some of these kids will lay in their beds all day with no interaction except being handed a bottle. As a mother I want to go love on them all. To show them a mother's love even if for a minute. To show them they are lovable and worthy of a mother despite their difference's or the way they were born. I know we can not save them all, or even help them all. We can all pray though and donate when you can. We can give hope to children who have none. Our hearts as mother's would do anything to help a child in need. Visit Reecesrainbow.com to donate or choose a child to pray over for a day or week, a month. See how your prayer can make a difference in the life of a child.

To all the women, mother's who have played a role in helping me to become the mother that I am today and continue to become,(there is a lot of you. They say it takes a village right.) I love you with my whole heart and hope that today you feel special. The word Mother is a special role and never ends. Happy Mother's Day!

Saved and Safe

Yesterday we came home from the kids gym to find Kendall's beloved flamingo Pinkie surrounded by white fluff. Not sure what got in to the guilty party or parties, but it was a mess. Needless to say there was some tears over this flamingo that I do not think Build- A-Bear hospital will be able to fix.

The point of this blog though was to share a sweet act of kindness from Kopelan. He was down having breakfast this morning and saw that Pinkie was still sitting on the table. I told him we needed to head out the door to get him to school. He promptly said, " I got to take Kendall's flamingo upstairs so the dogs won't get it again". I did not think that was necessary, but was not in the mood to argue so off he went.

Fast forward a few hours as I am running around packing the kids and I to head to Ft. Lauderdale to meet my aunt. I head into the kids room to see the bed sheets cubby had exploded all over there room. I was a little confused as the last time I was up there this morning the room was clean. So I start gathering the sheets and open the sheet cubby and who do I find tucked safe and sound where no dog would ever think to look, Pinkie. Kopelan had took all the sheets and thrown them around the room, lol, to hide the flamingo safely in the cubby. What a sweet and kind little brother to save his sisters flamingo from a second chomping on. He really does love his sissy and little things like this are proof. Love me kids.

Back to Basics

So we are headed back to the basics of potty training. My very stubborn, sometimes I think just lazy son has reverted to peeing his pants quite often again. This is not acceptable especially at a school where they have to be potty trained. He had made it a routine thing to wet his pants during recess everyday. Now to me that is just laziness and the fact that he does not want to stop playing. So the teachers are being extra vigilant in taking him potty before the go outside. At home he was also wetting his pants a lot more. He never really seemed to care and plus there was always a clean supply of underwear and shorts, so why not lol! So we have gone back to basics with the positive reinforcement. 1 jelly bean for a pee, a chocolate for a poo and if he can stay dry all day at school then he gets to pick out of the treasure box. I am hoping this will be some what of an incentive to again start using the toilet on a regular basis. Only time will tell. All fingers are crossed.

Boat Day!

We had a great day out on our friends boat! We have truly made some great friends down here. Adults get along great, kids get along great what more do you need! The kids are always so excited when we tell them we are going out on the boat with friends. It is always just a layed back day of sun, water, food and laughs. Great friends are great to have ! Thank you again Webster family for always being so GREAT!

Chosen?

Iwonder, how are we chosen to live the life we do? I mean I know God is in full control of our lives and knows how it will start and end before we do, but sometimes I struggle with the fact that some have it good and some have it horrible. How is that decided?

I have been really struggling with the fact that I want to adopt again. I have been researching and reading and came across the site Reecesrainbow.com , a site that helps families connect with special needs orphans around the world. Orphans because they were not born perfect in somebodies eyes and in their society are not accepted. How is their life chosen to live a life in an orphanage. Some who never leave, they are taken their at birth and they die there, ALONE. Never being loved on like a child should be, never being snuggled and kissed and comforted. How am I so lucky and deserving to have 2 happy healthy children, that of course are perfect to me. To always have a full belly and a roof over my head. Two parents who loved me growing up and taught me to love. How was I so lucky?

Vacation

This vacation has been a whirl wind of activities. Everyday is go, go, go! Our children picked up pamphlets for many different activities and had an itinerary for us all their own. It was pretty funny actually to hear them with their list. "First we will do the Horse riding, then the golf, then the candy mirror maze." then Kopelan would add in, "and see the transformers." I do have to report we have rode horses, played golf, went through a mirror maze, candy store and the Knoxville zoo. It has been so fun!

KC had to fly home yesterday and so we drove into knoxville to drop him at the airport. Sad to see him go as I hate that he does not get to spend as much time on vacation as me and the kids. He is the reason we get to do these trips and it sucks that his job ties him down so much. One day this will not be the case I know this. Anyways we took advantage of being in Knoxville and visited the Knoxville Zoo. Being a member of the Palm Beach Zoo we got entry for free (SCORE!!!) for all of us. It rained off and on, but we all made the best of it and enjoyed seeing all the different animals. I enjoy going to Zoo's with the kids as I know it will not be to many more years where they will want to do amusement parks and other exciting things. Zoo's will be become to babyish. So for now we will see the zoo's, everyone so unique from one another.

Today is our last full day. We are moving slowly today, but that is okay. The kids want to play board games with Mimi and Papa and that is okay with me. They are enjoying their time just being around my parents and I am loving just watching them.

Road Trip

So we left yesterday March 11th on a road trip to Gatlinburg, TN. We started our trip at 6:30pm arriving in Jacksonville, FL 4 hrs later. We stayed with some great friends over night and headed out early this morning. We had an 8 hr plus stops drive to arrive in Gatlinburg. Kids honestly did soooooo good. The drive was pretty uneventful. No car trouble (thank you God), no meltdown (by the kids or parents), all in all pretty good. We enjoyed our time together, singing, watching movies and celebrating with Kendall as she LOST HER 2ND Tooth!! Can you believe it! Tooth number 2. So both bottom teeth are gone. She looks so cute and grown up all at the same time. WOW! Of course we had are scrambling tonight for tooth fairy money, lol! Kendall assured us that the tooth fairy goes everywhere, so she is not worried.

Okay on another note we get to Gatlinburg, and get checked into our cabin, get unpacked, all is good. K.C. takes the kids to ride their bikes and get some energy out while I put everything away and call out for dinner. While I am putting stuff away I notice spots on the white bedding, upon a closer look, I notice they are ladybugs. Upon further exploring I find many ladybugs around the cabin, like over 10. So I call the front desk to ask about this ladybug invasion. The man says, yes he is aware and yes they are everywhere. I guess the national park up the road releases them and now they have left their home and found homes in everybody else's homes. Sort of gross, you may say but they are just ladybugs, well imagine looking up at the light fixture and it being completely black around the inside. Needless to say we will be calling in the morning to have them removed. We have decided they must like the heat of the lights and we will be leaving the lights on all night praying that they will stay put. They better.

Oh Wow!!

Oh WOW!! I am bad at this blogging thing. To finish up the very last post I did, yep I still have no green thumb and I killed every single plant we tried to grow. Go figure. So flash forward not months, but years now. Yes it has been years since my last post. Told you I was bad at this. HAHA!!

We had a great time while living in Riverview, FL. We enjoyed making many new friends and had lots of foster children come through are home. Now flash forward YEAAAAAAAAAAARRRRR!

So we are currently residing in Jupiter, FL! KC has gotten a new job and we are living the beach life, lol!! Kendall is now 5 1/2yrs old and in VPK. Kopelan is 3yrs old and attending preschool. I am still in shock at how fast my children are growing. Isn't there a tupperware or something that I can use to slow the growth, preserve their sweet little faces and tiny bodies. Maybe I should invent that, I know it would be a seller to all the mother's out there. HAHA!

I guess that is all I have, I am sure you all would like to see some updated photos so if I can figure out how to get them on here, you can enjoy them.