Lost and Found

Lucky day for Luke...he found his retainer after searching the entire house for it for 2 straight days. Luke has had his braces off for 3 months and now only has to wear his retainer at night. We see the darn thing laying around everywhere! I am constantly reminding him to put it away and put it in at night.

A few nights ago I told him to put it in and he said he couldn't find it. No worries I thought. We would find it laying on the kitchen table or downstairs on the table in front of the TV. But we weren't so lucky. Yesterday we got serious about looking. I told him that we couldn't fork out the money it would take plus the drive to Orlando to get him a new one. And if he didn't find it, he would be getting a new one for his one and only birthday present in a couple of weeks. This put some motivation in him.

We checked all the usual spots and then began tearing the place apart. We searched everything that had a pocket. We searched every single drawer. We took all of the sofas apart. We looked under every bed. I told him I though he threw it away with a paper plate. I knew we had it last Tuesday because we took it to his new dentist to have it adjusted. The garbage man hadn't come yet. So he and his sister (she was so nice to help him!) looked through a weeks worth of garbage! No retainer! I searched the recycling...no retainer. I was really beginning to think the dogs ate it.

This morning he and I went downstairs to search under the sofas one last time. I have been after him for about 4 days to pick up a puzzle that had been laying around. Bingo! The retainer was in the box with the pieces!!! He was so happy. I know he was sweating it thinking his birthday was really going to stink! I know if Drew would have given in and picked up the mess the retainer would have been gone!

I dreaded the braces coming off for this very reason. I knew as long as they were attached to his mouth we wouldn't lose anything. I wonder if he will lose it again....

Summer Rain

Drew and the kids love the warm summer rain of the south. In Portland it rained for 9 months straight and it was cold! Here in the south we get rain nearly every afternoon and it is so warm.

Drew and Luke thought it would be a perfect time to play catch. They had a lot of soggy fun!

Think Luke needs to get a little sun? He has inherited his dads Irish Casper skin! He is so dang skinny!!!

Summer Bordom

Who's big idea was it for children to be off for 90 days? Did they not have children of their own? Do they know that kids get BORED with "nothing to do"? That the kids will drive the parents up the wall daily? I think kids were off in the "olden days" so they could work on the farms for their families. News flash...most kids don't work on farms during the summers anymore. What about all of the info that just falls out of their brains all summer? We could eliminate the first quarter review that the schools waste so much time with!

So like most parents with kids home all summer, I am the entertainment advisor in the house. Since our budget is super slim I have to think of fun things to do that are either free or cost next to nothing. Here is a recent project the kids did.

The house already has a resident. We have been watching this little bird set up his new pad. Instead of using the front doors, he drags his furnishings through the little hole at the top. The twigs are packed so tightly in there. It is pretty fascinating to see how they make a nest.

The kids had so much fun with this I am afraid our whole backyard is going to be decorated with birdhouses soon!

Can You Believe The Difference??

I was moving some framed pictures around the other day when I came across the top picture of Sage and her best friend from the orphanage. She looked like such a little girl and now I think she looks so much more mature. I have noticed this about many adopted children after they come home to the US. I just couldn't believe the change in her....

Twelve Step Program for TV Addiction!

Is there such thing as TV Watchers Anonymous!! Sage (still working on calling her that :) ) cannot go into a room without being glued and mesmerized by the TV. It doesn't matter what is on...CNN, commercials or the digital music channel she can't take her eyes off of it! My kids are such polar opposites sometimes. I can hardly get Luke to sit his little butt down long enough to watch a show!

I have tried limiting the time she watches because she would just sit there all day long if we let her. If we tell her her TV time is up, she will move to the computer. I am not sure how much she was allowed to watch in the orphanage but I do remember if we took in a DVD to pass a little time, she wouldn't pay us any attention while it was on. Sometimes I really hate not having any history!! What was her life like before she was ours? Had she never seen TV? All of her memories are so jumbled now.

One nice thing is, she is really getting the hang of reading. We went to the library and checked out some books that are on her level (I kick myself for donating the 100's of Luke's books over the years!). In the evening before bed we have her go and read for some quiet time alone. It is a really hard thing for her to do but I think with time she will get used to it and I think it will give her a sense of pride in herself. Maybe I can get one of my children to sit still long enough to discover the love of reading!