Now A Family of *gulp* Six.

Martha Stewart's "Chrismas Card Wreath" idea. My copy of Martha's idea. Of course, my cards aren't color-coordinated, but I think it turned out cool.

Oh, Charlie. He was so excited to sing for the mayor at his holiday party today. But could I get him to wear something festive? Oh, no. Could I even convince him to wear a more traditional color like red or green? Heck, no. So there he is, front & center, wearing a bright orange shirt & camouflage pants. Not worth the argument, although on the inside I want to make sure everyone knows - he chose his own clothes today! It was so darling to see them sing. They performed four songs - Jingle Bells, Up On the Housetop, I Made A Snowball, and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. The other 3 songs are together on a separate video and too long to post here. But I hope this gets you in a festive mood!

One of my many talents I guess! Long and short of it - I had gas pains and cramping for about 3 days. One of the days I also had fever and nausea. When I had a lightning-strike pain on my right side Monday morning, I decided I better get to the hospital. All signs pointed to appendix but they ordered a CT scan to confirm. Imagine the surprise when the ER doc comes to the room to say - "It's not your appendix. However, there is... something... in there."  Off I went to ultrasound where it was confirmed I had a mass, just smaller than a golf ball, outside of my small intestine. I was admitted. Tuesday I had to wait all day for surgery because I wasn't technically "emergency," so I didn't go under the knife until 6:30 or so that night. A mass was removed and a diverticulum (pouch) was stapled up. Since my blood and urinalysis were fine, and it didn't look like cancer, doctor said it was most likely just a cyst or polyp. I will get definite results thi...

November 28. I want to mark this as the day I realized I need to find that Advent calendar... because usually it's December 1st and I'm taken by surprise. I feel ahead of the game this year. I finished shopping for both boys today. I have a few stocking stuffers to buy for Doug, easy enough to do. Half my extended family is taken care of, and I know what I'm doing for the rest - just need to get out there and do it (or wait until next paycheck!).  This coming weekend we will put the tree & the rest of the decorations up. It all seems too good to be true - I'm actually ahead of the game for once! We are looking forward to being at home through Christmas morning this year. It will be our second time in 11 years. The older the kids get, the more enticing it is to stay home. Go to our own church for Christmas Eve service, have Santa visit our house. We will embark on our usual Tour of the Families afterward, of course. It makes sense more than ever this year, because ...

Last week Doug and I requested a meeting with both Roman's therapist and the doctor doing his neurofeedback. We had done 20 sessions and wanted to ask some questions, and kind of re-orient ourselves on the path we were taking and future steps. It was decided that for the next 5 weeks we would drop talk therapy and do neurofeedback 2x a week. We all were noticing that Ro does well for a few days after the neuro, then has a "spike" of uncontrollable moods for 2-3 days. We are hoping that by having neuro 2x a week this spike will go away. The meeting was good in another way too - for me, it was great to get some positive feedback on the work we've been doing with Roman. So much of it has been adjusting how we planned to parent; what works for Roman is usually the opposite of our gut reaction. They both commented on how far we've come and reminded us what Roman was like 2 years ago... besides his sweet side, there was a definite love-of-violence and lack-of-compassi...

It's hard for me to put in words my feelings about work without sounding like what most of America thinks teachers are. This has been one of the hardest school years already for a variety of reasons, and it truly is enough to make me daydream about not working anymore. It's the first year I can honestly say I don't love my job. What has happened? State pressure = district trying to stay ahead of the curve. Here in Michigan teachers are apparently overpaid and underworked. The tenure system is horrible and must be gotten rid of. Union protection is unnecessary, & pay raises should be based on test outcomes. To this end, my district has been changing the evaluation process. Where it used to be every 3 years, now it's every year. They introduced a new rubric & goals about 5 years ago that now is out the window. Our goals must now be SMART - I forget what it all stands for, but measurable, attainable, blah blah blah. We are required to have 3 of them, 2 related to...

Roman sold enough Entertainment coupon books to win the keychain, the drawstring bag, AND his heart's desire - the Alvin Chipmunk. It claims it's life-size but I've never seen a chipmunk that big before! We started Charlie at "Tiny Tigers" tang soo do (karate). He is wearing Roman's old top but we had to get new pants since he's much smaller than Ro was when he started. Here he's striking his fearsome Tiny Tiger pose!

I don't even know how to start this post. So much has happened. I thought about listing all the subjects that are dominant in our life right now... it would go something like this:  ...Washington DC, Star of the Week, following directions, peeing in the potty, coordinating schedules, packing lunches, grocery shopping, laundry, doing homework, grading papers, mowing the lawn, need more underwear & socks, how in the world are their pants too short again, Roman needs a haircut, put some clothes on Charlie, we've got to watch that movie and send it back to Netflix, is the Crock-Pot clean so I can make tomorrow's dinner, don't forget to fill out the form.... I guess that gives you a good indication of life in our house right now! The above picture was our back-to-school portrait. While I would love to have those cool shots of the same pose at the same place every year, I also realize I'm the mother of boys. And I'm just happy they were willing to stop...

About this time of year, people ask "So, are you ready to go back to school?" They say this with a sort of sympathetic look. And I always seem to surprise them by saying "Oh, yes!"  I like my job. I like having some space from my own kids. The only other way it could be perfect is if I could be guaranteed part-time with the classes I want (fat chance!). I look forward to school beginning again. There seems to be a true rhythm to the routine that is definitely lacking during the summer. It's great for the kids to have free time, but me? I like being in control of my little pocket of the middle school. Roman is very excited about school starting too. We won't find out his teacher for another day or two, but he has already started tracking down items, sharpening pencils, asking what the date is. We are talking up Charlie's daycare, and they have an Open House scheduled for tomorrow night. He is going to have a very hard time being away from Mama. It seems...

"Three out of four of the markers for bipolar."   "If the medication works, you'll know he's bipolar."  "What you're describing are the symptoms of bipolar."  And yet I still want to be in denial. Not that it isn't manageable with medication, but it's a life sentence. Roman will always have to be on medication. He will always need to see a specialist. For a boy who does not want to be in touch with his feelings, or sometimes can't even identify them, this is horrible. We had been suspecting for a few weeks that the medication Ro was on to stabilize his moods wasn't working as well as it had. We were noticing more ups and downs, and they were getting both more frequent & larger in scope.  We had agreed that when we saw the psychiatrist today we would talk with her. But Roman put his bipolar on display Saturday - we haven't seen a low like that in months. Poor boy. Even as he is experiencing it, he can't explain why....

Charlie is in underwear all day now! He has only had one partial accident in 5 days. Awesome.  Roman's neurofeedback is finally showing some success too - we have had 14 sessions now. In tracking some of his behaviors, we have noticed 4 of them, most significantly his anxiety/fear of being alone, have really decreased. We also no longer see the constant interruptions & overtalking; his "boredom" and arguing has gone down as well.  Ro still has trouble regulating himself and keeping on an even keel, and we have noticed his impulsive behavior has ramped up. But, it's all the 3rd month of summer, and who knows what will happen when school starts? We have been pleased with what's happened so far. I have been on Weight Watchers for a month now and have lost a grand total of 13.5 lbs. What's even better though, is the every day things that have changed. I was able to pull 3 shirts out of storage that now fit me again. My belt has gone in one hole. A couple p...

In an homage to the truly entertaining Lego A Day , Roman has asked to create his own blog. It can be found at this link . We just started it, but he is having fun thinking up ideas.

(Proud Lake camping) The halfway mark of summer has passed for us - that's VBS. It's always the last week of July and I dread it and love it at the same time. I taught Roman's class this year which was fun - but Charlie had a real hard time being separated from me every day. We had a very busy weekend a couple weeks ago - camping & the air show - so this past and this coming weekend we're being lazy and sticking around home. I am also excited for and dreading school starting again. Now that my kids & I have a routine down, there's lots we want to do - and we'll have to undo it in a few short weeks! (P51 Mustang at air show) On the losing weight front, I am proud to tell my gentle readers that I have lost an unofficial total of 13.5 lbs in a month (weigh-in is not until tomorrow, but I may have cheated this morning and looked). I have gone down a shirt size and probably a pant size too, except I mostly wear elastic baggy capris in the summer so who kno...

Enough stress, deep thinking, & angst! We are having fun this summer, too. First, my news: In the first 2 weeks of Weight Watchers I've lost 5.5 pounds! Even had a 24-hour period where I blew it in terms of restaurants, but back on the horse & doing well. Now, my kids - when they're not annoying each other: Playing dress-up Helping Dad wash the car Eyeing the sprinkler before he runs through... Sparklers on the 4th of July!

I have mentioned my weight issues before. I may not have mentioned that I am also the queen of "any excuse in the book" not to do something. I have successfully put off going back to Weight Watchers since my previous post (March). First, it was to get through the end of school... then I switched medicine again... then end of June... then 4th of July... but I did it. I rejoined WW Online for the third time on Tuesday. It's a slightly different system than they had before - they reconfigured their Points. This caused me to melt down on day 2 or 3 already, because all the bookmarking & figuring & counting I've ever done - now it's no good. Where a poptart was a good treat at 4 points, now it's 6 points! My favorite bread was 1 point a slice - now it's 2! Granted, you get more points... but everything "costs" more now. So that was frustrating, although I'm getting the hang of it. I dig why they changed it - frankly, I could get away with ...

We have reached the part of summer I had been dreading. Roman was enjoyable the first few weeks, being a great kid and I thoroughly liked being with him. Probably the first summer I've felt that way. Charlie was cute and sweet, a few tempers but nothing significant. It was the honeymoon. Little by little, we have devolved. roman doesn't want to do anything, go anywhere, nothing is fun, he's bored, etc. When I tell him of something we're going to do, he simply says no. I inform him he's going anyway, and a meltdown occurs. Charlie has entered the "push your buttons" phase. Verbally he asks "why" all the time, asks the same question two to three times in succession, or asks all of us the same question individually. When I turn the "why" around on him, he simply shrugs his shoulders and says "I don't know." Gah! Too early to be doing that! He has picked up many things from his older brother, some funny (inflections in his voi...

It has been hidden away for years, tucked into a paper-box at the back of the basement cabinets. Oh, I would think of it from time to time, always meaning to scrap it in some way. But I just didn't get to it. Until this past May, when I saw this cool shadow box from Tim Holtz and these little glass jars and everything started to come together in my brain. It was time to liberate my dirt collection. It's a far cry from my complete collection from back in the day - from 1994 through 2000, I received dirt from people who would travel, I would collect it myself, I would even get dirt from friends of friends. But I went through it all, saved the most memorable or thoughtful, and have put them on display. I stopped collecting in 2000 when my canister of St. Andrews golf course dirt opened in my suitcase. I figured that was a sign... plus, as newlyweds we just didn't travel that much! But putting this display together has inspired me again. I go to DC once a year & I would lo...

The dreaded training... potty, that is. Just like when he was a newborn, I am now talking about Charlie's pee and poop all the time. Whatever nice words my parents taught me for these bodily functions have gone out the window. Whatever works, baby. Yesterday was our first true day of training. Decided to go without diaper outside and C. notified me immediately when he had to go. Success! Decided to go inside without a diaper, and he went another 4 times throughout the day. No accidents. Great success! Today we started out well again, with C. requesting "to go nakey like before." Continued to do his #1 when at home in the toilet, with warning. This afternoon we were playing (him nakey) when C. said, "Poop!" I said with some urgency, "go to the bathroom! Go! Go!" He stood up... and it was already done. On the carpet. Easy to clean, luckily. After dinner he said his tummy hurt, but he gave us warning, and did his first #2 in the toilet! Woohoo! But I shou...

Two nights ago I had one of those dreams that you swear you were there for real. Me - I was in Moscow again. This time it was me, Doug, my parents, and Roman, although it was only my parents and me in the actual dream. I was playing tour guide, clearly knowing Moscow better than I do in real life. We checked into our hotel and I realized we were just a couple blocks from Red Square. So we went out to walk it, and I was pointing out shops like the McDonald's and Tiffany's, talking about the bookstore - yes, people, my geography was spot on. We crossed the street and I was pointing out buildings and identifying them by their rooflines; where Gum department store was, where the Communist Museum was, churches, St. Basil's. Talked about Lenin's tomb. You guys, it wasn't a regular dream. I was RIGHT THERE in Red Square with my parents. I have dreamed of Russia before, but nothing as vivid as this. I was so sad when I was awoken by Charlie - I knew I wouldn't get back ...

Tomorrow marks the first real day of summer for me. It's also when my kids become my only job for a little while. That's good and bad, of course. I'm not sure about those moms who have the best kids and can't wait to spend summer with them. I always have an ounce of dread when I think about summers home. Perhaps because my 8-year-old can't hold his attention on anything for more than 10 minutes at a time. Summer is like the starting of a new job. I am their primary entertainment & disciplinarian now, not school or daycare. And where at school I can get a new set of kids every 55 minutes, I'm stuck with these 2 all day every day! We will have some awesome times, no doubt - Ro already wants to go swimming, have lots of playdates, go to the zoo, etc. - but there will always be those "long dark tea-times of the soul," for us usually around 4:30-6pm, when they've played everything they can think of, and I just want to get dinner started... ooh. Just...

For a calm and planned-out Saturday, today turned into one big emotional crazy day. It was supposed to be easy - errands in the morning, Charlie naps, buy Ro's birthday gift, grandparents arrive, dinner, etc. Nice, right? Well, errands got done. Then Charlie's naptime came but he was not pleased. Long story short, he ended up whacking me twice in the head. He's lucky I didn't throw him into his bed. Instead I just sort of... tossed him. I ended up brushing off Roman because I was so angry, so he got upset thinking I was pushing him away when he wanted to give me a hug, and HE started crying. I started crying because I just wanted to be by myself for 5 minutes!! So my parents arrive in the midst of this. Roman had calmed down so he went to entertain them, Charlie was no longer screaming but just kicking the wall, and I calmed myself down. Then it was my Dad's turn to cause a ruckus. He voiced a concern that he needed something sweet to help his sugar. We gave him a c...

The new carpet is coming today. I love when you discover you know people who "know people." This time around, a coworker's brother owns a carpet & tile shop in Dearborn and he cut us a great deal on new carpet. We're going with a darker shade of tan/taupe/brown whatever. It's a soft berber, with a design in it to hopefully camouflage soem of those spills that occur. Concrete floor makes the basement just such a depressing... hole. I haven't been down there except to quickly flip laundry. Roman's birthday is coming quickly. He will be getting a new bike from us, probably Saturday morning. he went to the dentist today and got a filling and was a really brave boy. I was very proud of him. Charlie has been just charming, wanting to help outside. He loves filling birdfeeders, playing in the dirt and plants, and both boys covet watering the plants so they can play with the hose. In 1.5 weeks summer will be upon us and I'm lining up ideas in my head of th...

While it has been an unplanned minor catastrophe at our house, it really couldn't have happened at a better time. Truly: I wanted to clean out the cupboards downstairs. We needed to put everything into plastic tubs and had just been putting it off. We had been putting it off for months, but we just got our reimbursement check from my daycare account. So we had money to pay the cleanup crew! After 10 years in this house, we finally built a garage. So now there's a place to put everything from the basement. We had been talking about moving some things around in the laundry room and putting a different type of flooring in. Now, we can definitely do that. In fact, we can adjust the flooring in the office area, and truly clean out all toys like we had been daydreaming about. It's practically a blank slate! So blessing always come from tragedies. I'm just paying attention to which toys the kids miss and which ones they don't, so some may just never make it back in.... And...

I always loved that Pooh song. Piglet gets washed away... much like our basement. Now before I go on detailing our minor trauma, I am well aware that we are blessed and blessed again - that we only had 3 inches of water in our basement, that we have the finances to cover it (although painfully), and Doug has tomorrow off to deal with the cleanup. However... Wow, has it been raining. And more, and more. Yesterday's took the cake. The volume that fell in just an hour or so flooded the sewer system of my town, therefore forcing water back up into people's homes. In a neighboring town, main roads and intersections were closed due to flooding. Many buildings were closed because of extensive water damage today. So our 3" was nothing. Except... the carpet & padding. The floor molding. The couch. The laminate flooring in the office area. Storage area. Everything soaked. The amusing part, according to Doug, was watching the boys' aircraft carrier realistically float across ...

Just wanted to document this somewhere. Birds we have seen at our feeders: Blackbird Red-winged blackbird Chipped sparrow white-throated sparrow Cardinal Mourning Dove Black-capped chickadee (Robins, obviously, in our yard) Oh yeah, that hawk that attacked another bird once Doug's favorite is the chickadee. I like them too, and the cardinal. Charlie seems to like the blackbirds, but he calls them starlings. He and Roman like to scare the mourning doves off. I have recently been interested in the white-throated sparrow though, because they look odd - brown bodies, with black-and-white stripes on their head. Anyway. Back to your regularly planned surfing.

An oxymoron, no? It is near impossible to be a scrapper and to be up to date at the same time. There's always a side project, or an idea bouncing around your head, or the sheer volume of pictures to contend with. Last year I decided to forgo Project 365 and focus instead on "The Monthly": doing layouts by month. I can choose how many for each month, stick the shots in a template, and by the end of the month they are ready to be paged through. I also picked 8.5x11 size because it's easier to sit with it in your lap. It worked so well for 2010 that I am doing it again this year and am very pleased. I just finished April - take a look! It's a simple matter of digital photos sorted by date, templates purchased at Designer Digitals designed by Cathy Zielske , and the color-dropper in PSE. About one hour, & I had 4 layouts done. Hooray!

Here in Michigan, it's hard to tell what season it is somedays. We can go from 70s to 40s in a day, or like yesterday, 60s to 40s when the wind blows just right. It's been rainy too, but not the April-showers kind. It's been the rain-that-could-turn-to-sleet-at-any-minute kind. Today, finally, it feels like Spring. Upper 60s, cool breeze, just right for playing outside. Spring around our house means busy weekends. Roman has started Spring flag football so has practice and games. Doug has turned his attention back to the grass (or lack thereof) and I start dreaming of a relaxing outdoor area. My brother will be working on the latter - we hired him to design a space for us now that the whole thing is trashed from the garage-raising. Charlie, always an outdoor kid, wants to spend every waking minute outside. He is the type that can wander around outside for an hour, amusing himself with sticks and mud. He is working on making friends with Jumpy, our squirrel - they sat and sta...

There IS a difference. No matter what people try to tell you, or convince you, there just is. Charlie is more compatible with Doug and I, behavior-wise, because he is similar to us genetically. Roman has behaviors that, because of his genetics and environment when he was a baby, we find mystifying. We struggle daily trying to figure out what parts of Roman are just "him" and we have to adapt to. Sometimes we get so frustrated with a behavior and upon reflection later, realize that he has always been that way and probably always will be. I often wish we had a biological kid before we adopted Roman. I think we would have noticed much earlier that Roman wasn't like "regular" kids. On the other hand, we just soak up any affection given from Charlie because we never got it from Roman. Roman is also learning from Charlie, both in playtime and affection-wise. We have noticed that he is giving kisses and being slightly more spontaneous in telling us sweet things; I thin...

I have always been okay talking about death. Because it is unavoidable, perhaps because my parents handled my early experiences with it well. I had the privilege to talk to my Grandpa about his feelings about impending death when he was given just a couple months to live. It still remains as one of the best conversations I have ever had. My Grandma was the same way, very pragmatic about the whole thing. Because other family members were "too emotional" in her opinion, she asked me to write up her informal bequeaths, her obituary for the newspaper, and general directions in how her memorial service should run. It didn't bother me to do this at all - not only a favor to my grandmother, but also something I feel is pretty important anyway. So. I try to talk with Roman pretty factual about death too. It's not scary, it's not something to avoid - in fact, we refer to it as going to live with God . And for hard-believing Christians, is there anything better, really? Wou...

Swim is over Tuesday. While I've had fun, I'm looking forward to getting my day back to normal. I've missed picking Roman up and having an hour ro so to catch up on things at home before cooking dinner. Doug was told to expect a phone call regarding a career opportunity Tuesday. We both are excited to hear about it, but I haven't seen Doug this giddy in months. Doug is going to see Rush in concert with his best friend Sunday night. It's the last week of school before Spring break. We are going to Cleveland for a couple nights and looking forward to spending time with the boys with no real schedule. We would like to take in the Natural History Museum (dinosaurs!), Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Great Lakes Science Museum, and of course lots of time in the pool at the hotel. Roman starts neurofeedback over break too. Hoping it helps with anxiety & ADHD. It's the 4th marking period at school. That means we're on the downhill slope! It's Doug's and my ...

In January I chose the word "time" to reflect on this year. I've done a lot of reflecting - just haven't blogged about it! Today I thought I'd do a fun post on the time I spent cleaning up the kitchen & putting groceries away - the music playlist I listened to while I did it! Life's A Dance by John Michael Montgomery I Feel Lucky by Mary Chapin Carpenter Our Song by Taylor Swift Viva La Vida - Coldplay Don't Stop by Wade Hayes The Nations of the World - Animaniacs Rock of Ages by Def Leppard Take A Look At My Girlfriend - Supertramp American Woman by Lenny Kravitz Stupid Girls by Pink Fruits by Knee Deep Shag Doug caught me grooving & singing at Coldplay and just laughed at me. All were good sing-along songs and the kitchen now looks great!

Ah, the pun intended. I'm revealing some HUGE information here, folks. Yes, another pun. I have struggled with weight since college. When I married I was 185, 190. Pretty pleased with that nowadays! By the time we did paperwork to adopt Roman I was pushing 200, so I started dieting (my first foray into Weight Watchers Online). Got back down to 185 before we went to Russia. Gained it right back the first year with Ro home! Flash-forward to 2007, I'm now pushing 215. Found out I was pregnant with Charlie and so no problem - I'll lose it all after he's born! And I did, with Weight Watchers' help: back down to 185, 190. Pleased again. And then I started some medication in 2009 for anxiety, and guess what - it's one of the worst meds for weight gain! I piled and piled it back on, now at a whopping... I don't even want to say. But the pictures tell all, gentle readers - when I saw a shot of me almost double the size of my cousins at a wedding last summer, I cried....

Roman and I were having a great time at a craft store today. As we were finishing up, I saw some Willow Tree brand figures and stopped to see if they had the one I've wanted (mother with two boys). They didn't, but had a "Brothers" figure . I immediately thought of Ro and Charlie, picked it up and said, "Hey Roman, what does this remind you of?" Roman immediately replied, "Me and my brother in Russia." Oh. My. Gosh. Where I thought of him as the protective older brother, Roman immediately placed himself as the younger one. His mind must roll over those thoughts every day. I played it really well, saying "Oh it does? So this is you..." and we talked briefly about it. But my heart ached for him - wanting to know his birthfamily. We talked again about it at bedtime and he said, "even if we go back to Russia we may not find them." So clearly that little brain is spinning plans that he hasn't verbalized yet. I shared with him my ...

Warm weather, sun, a nice breeze... it really does a lot to lift the spirits. Even if my spirits didn't need much lifting, I always feel better once the weather turns for good. It still doesn't smell like Spring out there, but the temps are telling me to go out and play. So we have been - the boys have been to the park at least once a day since Thursday. I got outside to fill the birdfeeders, wishing I could see the ones that I've been hearing for days. And then.... Oh yes, folks. That's a hawk. We were sitting there tonight, and out of the corner of our eyes we see this huge winged shadow come swooping in. We all jumped back, and I looked out to see this hawk on a rock in our landscape. He apparently was going after another bird at the feeder. Doug is all thrilled now, hoping to see some hunter-prey action.

Today, with all the rain-turned-snow, it has been a lazy day here. Luckily, the boys cooperated. So often when Doug and I want to just putter around the house, that's when the kids are bouncing off the walls and needing to get their energy out. Today they were happy to read books, play, and do errands with their Dad (separately, of course. We don't try to take them out at the same time!). Even better, today they played together really well! We know tomorrow will probably be horrible in those terms, so we are soaking up the goodness today. These pictures, taken just a few minutes ago, shows the awesomeness in our living room; Daddy and Charlie watching "Johnny Test," with Charlie believing he has a better view through his handyman safety goggles... And then Roman, who sold back a game at GameStop to get Pokemon SoulSilver for his DS. He is very happy to sit in the comfy chair and play! So many times we get caught up in the struggle of day to day, meds and tantrums, sc...

I know I should do a better job of recording Charlie's little sweet nothings, so that's today's post. Except I really have to bullet-point it. One Liners: Charlie, after this song it's naptime. Charlie, do you know what time it is? "Um... hide & seek?" You can have one cookie. "One at a time?" Funny words or phrases: "Mugot" instead of forgot "Actually, no." But really, the funniest thing he does at the age of 3 is try to control his little world. He likes to tell Doug and I how to sit or lay down with him. He orders us what songs to sing at bedtime. He is also fighting for independence - we regularly hear "I'll do it myself!" He is putting his pants on but still gets tangled in his shirts. And when it comes to toys, it's anything with wheels or wings - planes, trains, & automobiles. He is really sweet too, and shows affection we never got from Roman. I finally had to ask another mom if it was normal for ...

I love that Army phrase. "Situation normal: all *$&@ up." That's pretty much life here at the VE household. While on a day to day basis everything is just fine, our kind of "fine" is much different than most people's. We've been tracking Roman's probable bipolar on a calendar and have found a definite peak & valley cycle. Now that we expect things on certain days, I think overall his larger rages are happening less and less frequently. So our weeks generally look like this: Sunday: Emotional meltdown or rage. The buildup of fun/less structure. He will end up needing to be helped to calm down. Monday: Very emotional, typically anger; occasionally needs help; still coming down from weekend. Tuesday: Good day. Wednesday: Emotional, cries easily. This is his "low" day. Thursday: Good day. Friday: Good day. Beginning to ramp up for "high" weekend. Saturday: Will have a short and quick "high" in the a.m. which we can...

I am proudly a lefty. In fact, I am dominantly left-handed - it is uncomfortable for me to do most things with my right hand. And one of the great things about having a biological child is that he's a lefty too! Charlie showed off his dominant hand very early on when he first started grabbing at spoons. Life is hard for us, sure - but it is pretty awesome to be left-handed. I thought of this today, though, as I flipped over the paper towel roll for the umpteenth time - do righties have any idea what it's like to live in their world? Here are the things I encounter: Notebook spirals digging into my hand/arm can openers operated with my weak hand had to train myself to use the computer mouse on the right the number pad on a keyboard is always on the right the paper towel always has to be flipped - it's on a vertical holder and I want the loose end on the left, whereas Doug wants it on the right I put cards in envelopes upside down and backward I change diapers opposite of Dou...

A remote control Lightning McQueen! He can run it himself. Obviously, he's very pleased. Charlie got (Roman's) toy of the Leapfrog alphabet singing thingy. He clearly likes it. And this last one? Just an adorable shot of him sleeping in our bed while Doug was out of town. So. darn. sweet.

I've been pretty emotional the past couple days. I thought it was stress. At my support group, they're thinking it might be because of Charlie, and my body remembering . Interesting idea.

In reflecting on my word of the year, TIME, and reflecting on my scrapbooking, of which I would like more TIME to do it (and cover more TIME in my albums), I remembered an album idea. Rather than a picture of the day, where I fall behind in my journaling, do an album on a monthly basis. So to expedite this process, I bought a template kit, learned my PSE8 a little better, and behold: I have done 8 pages already - 4 for January, 2 for February, and 2 for March. I am so much more enthusiastic for this - I can actually get a bunch of pictures in an album in a few hours, and then go back and scrap more in-depth pages at leisure (or on scrap weekends, which seems to be the only dedicated time I have anymore!). I also am playing around with the 8.5x11 layouts, because I don't take time to look at my 12x12 albums as often because they are awkward on the lap. So either I change size or buy a new coffee table. But that's a different post!