No digital camera...No cute pictures of the kids...

If I don't get it back soon, I'll have to buy a disposable. Today was babysitter day(Yay for babysitter day!) and instead of cleaning or grocery shopping as I usually do, I went to the movies! (Yes, I go to the movies by myself, it's not a big deal). So,I had been wanting to see Brokeback Mountain. I know there is a lot of controversy surrounding this movie, and frankly, I don't get it. The acting was incredible, it was a little slow at times, but very good (bring Kleenex!). Now I don't want to get into a whole "thing" but I really want to teach my children to be tolerant and kind to all people. I wish everyone could do that. I would recommend it.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Share Video at DropShots.com

You can't shelter them from everything, it seems...

Kids are little sponges. They soak up everything and at some point repeat it! My kids do not watch anything on regular T.V. no news, no Saturday morning cartoons. They only watch PBS, Nick Jr., or playhouse Disney where there are no commercials. The reason for this is that once in a while if Scott has it on and they happen to see it, Cameron repeats everything he sees and hears. He hears the word "war" and we have to have a whole discussion about it...He hears "murder" and wants to know what that is. The other day on the radio he heard a commercial for suicide prevention. He repeats "that girl inside the radio(that cracks me up!) said she lost her dad to Suicide! How do you loose your Dad???What is suicide?. Yesterday he said "mommy, making the baby is the fun part". WHAT?? I asked (as calmly as I could) where did you hear that? He said from someone at school. I guess my point is, I can try and shelter them as long as I can, but then it will just be a matter of talking things out with them...What things mean, what is true and what isn't and not to believe everything you hear...And Gracie just copies whatever Cameron does. The other day we were at target and she was pointing at anything and everything and saying "IWannabuy!". It starts early with the second kid...
on another note, I had to send my digital camera to be fixed. I hope the kids don't do anything cute this week!

SCARED.HALF.TO.DEATH.

Today we went to a friends house and the kids rode their bikes to the park. (well, Gracie was in the stroller). Cameron was not too far ahead of me, but he was crossing a driveway at the same time that a car was backing out. He wasn't stopping. They weren't stopping. I felt like everything was in slow motion. I screamed louder than I have Ever screamed in my life for him to STOP. Thank God, he did. And I had screamed so loud, that the elderly person in the car came to a screeching halt also. Tradgedy averted. You see, a very good friend of mine had this happen to her and her son was killed, right in front of her. It was the saddest thing that I think has ever happened to anyone I know. And today it almost happened to me. I was shaking so badly I could hardly stand up. We had a long talk about looking into the driveway to see if a car is coming, and I made him stop at every driveway after that until we reached their house. But I am not sure he will ever be allowed to ride his bike in a residential neighborhood again...

Ok, so the link didn't work....

Before:
 
 

After

 
 

I have lost 4.5 lbs on weight watchers so far...

I celebrated by eating a bag of chips and queso dip. They were low fat, but still...I have not been motivated this week to work out at all. Scott is usually my inspiration. We will go to the gym together, or do a work out at home after the kids go to bed. He also rarely eats junk food. The amazing thing about this is that He is in the best shape of his life. Almost two years ago,after just losing his Mother (he had lost his Father 6 years before) He decided he really wanted to be around when his kids are grown and decided to loose 90 lbs. He just decided and did it. He worked out every day at 5:00 in the morning and went on the Atkins diet. The transformation was amazing. I never saw him as "fat", but when I look at pictures, it is unbelievable to me. Here he was then
and here he is now. He is a totally different person.(notice I look pretty much the same!) I am so proud of him. And I hope some of it wears off...

Flying solo...

Thanks for all the good wishes on our new journey! Scott is out of town until Friday. I am tired. I don't sleep well when he is gone. Gracie cried for 20 minutes before going to sleep (not like her) and I kept going in to check on her and she would say "I want Daddy"...sigh. This is the first time he has gone away in a while and the longest he will have ever been gone. I miss him...

Top 3 reasons we should not adopt another child...

1. We can't really afford it
2.College? Can you say scholarship?(see # 1)
3.Who am I kidding, I can't handle the two I have!

# 1. Reason we are going to do it anyway:
We want to. We really, really want to.
Strap yourselves in, here we go again...

FCC Chinese New Year Party

 
 

Lion Dancer

 
 

Gracie and Nora

 
 

Cute Girls!

Catie, Meigan and Gracie
 
 

I am so embarassed!

Ok, so I didn't realize that my son didn't have any pants on when I posted that picture!!I think there are laws against putting these things on the internet!!! He would walk around naked, if I let him, and sometimes he takes them off after going potty and doesn't put them back on, sorry!!!

I hate weight watchers....

that is all I wanted to say...

Cool Stick!

 
 

Crissy field

A pic from this weekend...
 
 

I've been tagged!

I have been "cyber tagged" by Stacey
the first time I have ever been tagged! So here it is:
What were you doing 10 years ago?
I was Living in Houston, Married for one year and working as a nanny while Scott was in Law school.
What were you doing one year ago?
I was still adjusting to having two kids, Gracie has come home in August...hmm...Working in Cameron's co-op preschool...I guess that's it...
Five Snacks I enjoy:
Chips (when I am not on weight watchers, but I am...bummer)
2 points bars
strawberries with whipped cream (both low point weight watcher snacks!)
pretzels
candy
Five things I would do if I were a millionaire:
Buy a big house in a great school district
fill it up with more adopted children
help my family
give to charities-china adoption,cancer research
hire a House keeper!
Five bad habits:
not being patient with my kids
being absent minded!
procrastination
eating too much
not paying bills on time (see procrastination!!)
Five things I enjoy doing:
Scrapbooking
going to Disneyland
going to the beach
playing with my kids
going on "date nights" with my husband
going to the movies
Five things I would never wear, buy, or get new again:
This one is hard for me...
hmmm
definitely high heels, I would kill myself
A bikini!
most anything sleevless..Maybe when I loose weight
a hummer
I can't think of a last one...
Five favorite toys/games
My laptop with wireless connection
digital camera
Ipod
cell phone
chase with my kids
so, remove the first blog and add yours to the bottom, and tag five people of your own!
www.teaguefamilyadoption.blogspot.com
www.smithpartyof6.blogspot.com
Let's see...who to tag, well, my
sister, ofcourse!
Jen
Maggie's mom
Kristin
Gen

The birds, the bees and orphanages?

I have been getting a lot of questions from Cameron about "where babies come from". It started last year when a lot of his friends were having baby brothers and sisters. He asked "Mommy, did so and so's sister come from China". I just said, No, she grew in her mommy's tummy. "oh" he said and that seemed to be enough. Then he would say things like " did you come here Before I came, when I was in the orphanage?"then I had to explain how he grew inside my tummy. Then came the usual questions about how he got in there, etc...I used simple terms like a woman has an egg and the man fertilizes it and it makes a baby grow...But today he put two and two together and said "so Gracie didn't grow in YOUR tummy, but she grew in someone's tummy, right? (smart boy!) I said, yes, she grew in her birth mommy's tummy. Then he went on to ask why her birth mommy put her in the orphanage and why didn't I put him in the orphanage?? I had to think about that one...I am just trying to get to school on time here, OK??? So I said that Gracie's birth mommy couldn't take care of her, so she brought her to the orphanage so I could become her mommy. I am not sure if I said it the right way, but it was the best I could do at the time and she was in the back seat listening to all this, by the way! So, if anyone has any suggestions on how to better address, please advise!!

Nebulizer Treatment...

Cameron took this picture, not too bad! I look tired, though!
 
 

Stern Grove

Today we went exploring in Stern Grove park. They have a great Amphitheater where they have concerts in the Summer. We will definitely check it out this summer. They also have a great dog park area that Buster loved!

Now playing at the Stern Grove Amphitheater

Share Video at DropShots.com

On the log

 

Cherry blossom

 

King of the rock

 

Four year olds are hilarious

Actual conversation:
Cameron (whispers) "Mommy, Kiss me good night with your toungue, like you do with Daddy"
Me"Umm, no that is only something Mommy's and Daddy's do"(Not sure when he saw this, it's not as if we are doing this in front of the kids all the time!!)
Cameron" Just once!"

Having a better day...

And let's make Mary-Mia's blog the winner of the best blogs contest. Go here and scroll all the way down and vote for "Do they have Salsa in China" under adoption/infertility blogs. So yesterday turned out OK. When I told Scott about the babysitter, he came home early so I could go out to the movies. I think I'll keep him! I saw Memoirs of a Geisha, which I had been wanting to see since I read the book on the cruise. It was almost as good as the book and filmed mostly at the Japanese Teas Garden which I just went to.

I am losing my mind and other rambling thoughts

I swear, I am losing my mind. Yesterday, I went to the gym. I got my parking ticket validated and put it in my bag. I got it out on the way to the car and had it in my hand on the way to the car. I get the kids in and can't find it. I tear the car arpart and an half hour later just leave without it and have to pay $22.00 to get out of the parking lot. I get home and find it in my pocket. I checked there, twice. My driver's liscence has expired. I just keep forgetting to go and renew it. Gracie started wheezing to day again and this time I decided to go straight to the doctor so they can see how bad it is. I call them "Hello, I am taking my daughter in because she is wheezing". Them"do you have an appointment" Me "no, but she is wheezing" Them"well, you need an apointment" Me, "well, i don't have one, but we are coming in" Them"well, you need an appointment" Me " WELL THEN I NEEED TO MAKE ONE!!!" Them "oh, well we have one at 9:30 (it's 9:15)" OH, why didn't you just SAY that?? SO we go in and she listens to her chest and says "yes, I hear wheezing" she tells me to do the nebulizerevery four hours for up to two weeks and to call her if it doesn't get better. WHAT??? What she really just said to me is "You don't really need to sleep fot the next two weeks, right?" So I am going to do it for the next three or four days and then call them back and see if they have any other suggestions....if I am still alive. Hey, I got up every two hours the first 6 weeks of Cameron's life and survived that...
Oh, she also has diarehha every hour or so that soaks through her clothes and onto mine and I was supposed to go out to the movies tonight with some friends, but Scott has to work late, so I can't...now I just sound whiny...

The Great kindergarten Debate

It seems that in parenting(or anything) a lot of things are controversial. What to feed/not feed your child, what to let them watch on T.V., co-sleep or not. My newest obsession is whether or not to send Cameron, who will be 5 on August 5th, to Kindergarten next year. As a former preschool teacher and having worked in a Kindergarten class right before giving birth, my first thought was to keep him back. I have sat in conferences with parents and praised the idea of "giving them the gift of another year" so many times, you would think it would be an easy decision when it came my turn to make it. And the more people I talk to , the more confused I get. The first thing about California is the crazy kindergarten cut off date of "they must be 5 by December 1st". That means there could be a four year old going to kindergarten. I have long felt that the cut off should be September 1st, or 5 by the first day of school, but that still wouldn't help me here...Then there are the parents who get hostile(seriously) when I talk of not sending him. They say things like "that is an unfair advantage, if he is 5, he should go, it is not fair to MY child to have a child a whole year older in the same class" Great, now I not only have to think about what is best for my child, I have to consider what is best for YOURS, too? I have enough to think about...So here are my reasons for not sending him: He is a little on the immature side. He has some speech issues that he is in speech therapy for. He cannot recognize his letters and isn't at all interested in writing them. He has trouble cutting. He can be fidgety and impatient. This, combined with the fact that I believe that kindergarten has now become first grade in what they expect them to learn and comprehend and first grade has become second grade, etc...I am leaning towards not sending him. I am not saying that anyone with a child born August or after should not send them, but I just think it is what is best for MY child. And that should be enough.
Then there is the debate between private or public school, but I will save that one for another day...

FORE!

For my Birthday, Cameron and Scott had planned a "birthday surprise" for when we returned from the cruise. It was minature golfing! (Guess who picked it?) It was a lot of fun!  

That club seems a little big

Catalina Island

 

The Big Boat

 

Man overboard!

 

Cruising buddies

 

A drink on the balcony

 

Sunset at sea

 

Happy 35th Birthday!

 

Happy Belated 35th Birthday to me and my sister!!!

The cruise was AWESOME , still catching up on my 800 E mails and all of my friends in blogland, but I had a great Birthday and I hope my sis did too!

Hola, Amigos!

Having a great time, can't post pictures, will when we get back...Went to Catalina today, we haven't been there in probably 14 or more years, fun! Ensenada tomorrow, have to go, time to eat, again!!

Who needs a cat when....

You have Buster the amazing mouse catcher on the job? After the screaming subsided(mine) I took a picture of it....doesn't he look guilty???