Now A Family of *gulp* Six.

Be safe and thankful. Or thankful and safe. But do both this weekend, will you?

After a trip to the university where I'm doing graduate studies tomorrow, I will have more to update. Suffice it to say I am still not considered an active student there, but they approved my request for an independent study - which I've done all the work for except one paper. There's a laptop goin' traveling with me this weekend. And it's been recommended I apply for graduation as soon as possible, even though - that's right - I'm not an active student. Hmm. Honestly, I think the entire Education department and Graduate Studies department will stand up and cheer if I ever make it across the stage to receive my degree. Drama at my work, too, unexpectedly. I became the unwitting pawn in an argument between 2 other colleagues when one referred to "the younger teachers" and the other decided to corner me specifically (as a younger teacher) and subtley threaten me. The matter has been turned over to my principal, but I don't think this is the end o...

So much doesn't seem to happen, and then - I think of about 5 different things to blog about. I sat down Saturday to compose a blog about the auto companies, and then Mitch Albom pretty much spoke my mind in his column on Sunday. Take a few minutes and go read it. On a personal note, if GM goes bankrupt Doug's job is still okay and the loss can be covered. If all three file... obviously. We're up a creek. Of course the Big 3 have made mistakes, and I really don't think they deserve a handout. However, so so so so so many suppliers will go out of business because when bankruptcy is filed, the $$ owed to them is immediately negotiable. And suppliers are way down on the "pay our outstanding bills" list. And my other thought is, you can argue all you want about how they're making gas-guzzlers but seriously, folks - it's called supply and demand. And demand went down fast based on gas prices and loan issues, too fast for the car companies to retool - it t...

I wish I could come up with catchy titles. I have that problem with scrapbooking, too. My page titles are often things like "Family Camp" (for family camp weekend, naturally) or "Hungry Baby" for pictures of Charlie eating. Yeah. Real creative. Anyway, so here's "pictures from last weekend." Roman getting his yellow belt, and the couple small projects I worked on. Ones of Ro are a little blurry, but it's a big area and Doug was far away. :)

I was getting Charlie's medicine this morning, which this time around is measured in cc. I had the brief thought that the last time I measured cc it was when Charlie was feeding through his NG tube and I was pumping only a few cc at a time myself. And Charlie was crawling on the floor near me as I was thinking this, and I suddenly was so awash with memories and emotion that I actually started to cry. Charlie as his little preemie 3# self, his wrinkly skin over his too-small bones, the tube up his nose, his long spindly fingers as he squawked like a kitten in his incubator... it all came rushing over me. I scooped Charlie up and just squeezed and squeezed him. I cannot believe how amazing he is.

I can't believe it's been a week since I blogged. Impossible. Yet, there's the evidence in the dateline. A quick update since I should be in bed but instead am surfin' the 'Net: Roman went back to the dentist today for 3 fillings, hopefully his last for awhile. He will return in March for a cleaning. He was not the brave yellow-belt we had hoped for (screamed through the whole procedure) but no more problems in his mouth. Charlie also went back to the doctor today as he's still pulling on his left ear and pretty grumpy overall. Dr. said it's hard to tell what's going on with him - his ears are still fluid-filled and dull, but he also has congestion from a regular cold & his teeth are ready to pop through "any day." Because we've just finished a 10-day course and he's still not acting like himself, we are starting another 10 day course of Augmentin this time. This house is like antibiotic central. One of us is either on medication (...

Charlie is just moving along with his development like nobody's business. We introduced actual solid foods this weekend, trying beans, pasta, chicken, ground beef, & homemade french fries. The only thing that went over well was the french fries. Everything else was about a two-bite maximum and the chicken he actually spit out. Partly he had trouble because he fists the food and then can't maneuver it into his mouth and gets frustrated. He wants to crawl all over, and he's beginning to navigate the steps in our living room. He can go from carpet up to wood floor, but more trouble with wood floor up to carpet (too slippery). I pulled out a lot of "older" toys that were Roman's and cleaned them up. Charlie took to them immediately, proving he's no longer an infant. In fact, as evidenced in the video above, he can grab a ball and shove it into the toy pretty darn well. This weekend Charlie got to know his grandparents again, as it had been awhile since he ...

A fantastic weekend - so good, there's too many pictures and videos to load up at one time. So first I'll talk about Roman... he tested for his yellow belt on Saturday and passed. Daddy took him and was awesome with the camera - got shots and videos of many aspects. Above is Roman doing high blocks and low blocks. Doug said they also were led through a 20-step form that Roman did really well on. Next Saturday is the ceremony where he will be presented with his yellow belt. Hooray! My parents were visiting this weekend and Grandpa took Ro out to lunch to McDonald's for some "just the two of them" time. Roman was thrilled. It also worked out that for most of the day, the 2 brothers got time apart - and that wasn't all bad. Ro wanted movie night on Saturday and we all watched part of "Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets." He's getting into HP now, which is okay by us. There are a couple scenes here and there that he is scared to watch, but we...

Charlie has been sick with a cough and stuffy nose that just isn't going away. Took him in this afternoon to the ped. and the pronouncement made me feel so bad for him - double ear infection. Poor guy! No wonder he's been in such a bad mood the past few days. So amoxicillin for 10 days. Poor thing wakes up coughing up a storm and is spitting up mucus at all times of the day. And instead of grabbing his ears, he's been rubbing the back of his head so it hadn't even occurred to us. Roman goes to the dentist tomorrow for another round of cavity fills. I haven't written much about this but it struck me when I was conversing with another adoptive parent the other day, I should probably mention it. Ro's teeth are in terrible condition - filled with cavities, and one was so infected he had to have it pulled. We were feeling bad (and responsible) that things had deteriorated so quickly, when the dentist pointed out his history - we have no idea of the prenatal care or ...

Doug voted this morning and waited an hour. Got in line at 6:40am and didn't get out until 7:30. I myself ended up going at lunchtime (big mistake!) and waited 1.5 hours. I didn't want to risk standing in line with Roman for who-knows-how-long, so not too bad - took a book and enjoyed the company of my precinct neighbors. Ro had a babysitter. On Monday my students and I looked at sample ballots and talked about how to cast a ballot. The kids were pretty amazed at how much was on it - I'm sure they figured it was president and maybe senators, and that would be it. We laughed a bit about "pick no more than 18" judges and that sort of thing, but one comment made by a kid cracked me up. He first stared at me incredulously and said, "how do you guys know what to do?" I said that an intelligent voter would listen, perhaps do research, and know what they felt strongly about and choose a candidate that was aligned with their beliefs. His second comment was, ...

(loosely to the tune of The Muppet Show) It's time to clear the shelves off It's time to put things away It's time to lock cupboard doors Because Charlie crawled Saturday... Yup, folks, the boy is mobile. Not very fast yet, but he's definitely propelling himself across rooms. The first official crawl was to go after Roman's candy that he was sorting on the floor Saturday morning. Charlie also has launched himself down the step toward the side door to get at my Crocs, and has gotten into our videotapes three times. He also tried to eat a dried leaf that someone had tracked in. Needless to say, the time has come - more vacuuming, small toys are spirited off to Roman's room, and once he's roaming room to room, cupboards will be locked again. Haul those gates back out of storage. Time keeps marching on... We also had returned to us a little play table that encourages kids to stand. Charlie would stand at it all day if he could, he was enthralled with it yesterd...