Need some Father's Day ideas?

I found a great Father's Day Gift Guide with some fun ideas for gifts - things beyond the normal and boring! Take a look at what they have listed!

A little quiz about me

I found this on another blog, and you are supposed to tag people to complete it, but I thought I would skip that part and just do it myself!

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?

Working at Spa Paradiso as Assistant Director and living on the South Hill in an apartment.

2) What are five things on your to-do list for today?

It's 6 am, so this is a good time to start this list. Let's see - send out e-mails for my Relay for Life, fold and put away boys' laundry, send out Silent Auction e-mails, send out MOMS Club weekly reminder, get picnic and stuff ready for tonight's Torchlight Parade.

3) What snacks do I enjoy?

Chips & Mango salsa, kettle corn, ice cream

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire?

Buy a big house in the country, pay off all our debts and my parents debts and my mother in law's debts, buy a building for AHAF (foster & adopt support organization), travel to fun places with my family!

5) Three Bad Habits

Procrastination, staying up too late, aggressive driving

6) 5 places I have lived…

Spokane, WA, Elk, WA, Coeur d' Alene, ID, Edmonds, WA - only 4!

7) 5 Jobs I have had

SAHM, bookkeeper, administrative assistant, assistant director, waitress

So instead of tagging anyone in particular, feel free to cut and paste and fill this out on your own blog. Leave me a comment if you do - I'd love to read your answers!

Dirt in my eye!

I sent the kids out this morning at 8:45 to play, after everyone had breakfast and dressed for summer. By 9 am, Daniel was throwing sand on Gretchen and Austin - and right into Austin's face, thus getting his right eye full of sand. After dusting him off outside as best as I could, I brought him in the house and flushed his eye out with lukewarm water under the sink faucet. Needless to say, he didn't not like this method in the least bit. But I could think of no other way to get the pound of sand out of his eye before he rubbed scratches into it. What would you have done? Is there a better method for this? I need to know, because I can bet you money this won't be the last time the kids throw sand in each other's faces.

Park Day

After our dentist visit, I took all three kids up to a park to meet up with some other moms and their kids. We had a fun morning playing. It was bit windy, but we stayed for a couple of hours, and had lunch there, and the kids took good 2+ hour naps afterwards. I even got a nap in - a little over an hour. It was nice!

Dentist Visit

The boys had dentist appointments today, and surprisingly, Daniel did much better with the dentist than Austin. Austin was supposed to have his very first cleaning - James even went in late to work so he could be there for it and help corral kids. But Austin would not open his mouth without forceful help from Daddy. So, he got examined - enough to count teeth - but didn't get a cleaning. He has twenty teeth, and all are in good shape.

Daniel, however, did great! He wasn't scheduled for a cleaning, just an exam, and he let the dentist do everything he needed to do. He is beginning to cut his 2 year molars, especially the upper right, and his bottom teeth are starting to get a little crooked. Daniel gives us a fight almost every night when we try to brush his teeth, so it was no surprise that we need to pay more attention to the back sides of his teeth. Looks like more wrestling matches in store for us!


Both boys got new Sesame Street toothbrushes, and kids Crest toothpaste. Even Gretchen got her first real toothbrush, now that she has 2 teeth. We noticed the second one today - on the bottom left. Here first one was the top left. She is getting them so out of order, and so late, but hopefully that means we won't have future problems with her teeth.

Menu Plan Monday

Here you will find my menu plan for this week. I really need to get better at planning my menu out more often - life is so much easier when I don't have to guess at what to cook for dinner! You can find lots more great menus, recipes and organizing ideas at
Organizing Junkie

Monday - Honey Dijon Chicken with fettucini (plain chicken for the kiddos!)

Tuesday - Hawaiian Pizza - an extra Papa Murphy's leftover from hubby's poker night on Saturday - we just kept it in the fridge without cooking it, so it will be nice and fresh tonight!

Wednesday - Ravioli Lasagna

Thursday - Mac-n-cheese with hot dogs for kids & chili dogs for Daddy - mommy gone for dinner tonight!

Friday - Foster Parent Appreciation Dinner/Fiesta Night for Mommy & Daddy - "leftover love" for the kids

Saturday - Picnic in the Park before our Lilac Parade - probably roasted chicken sandwiches/fruit/veggies/chips & popcorn (pre-popped at home) for the parade. I buy a full already roasted chicken at Costco and use it for different lunches/dinners the few days after buying it. I'll probably buy it Thursday night before choir.

Sunday - Roasted Chicken & Mashed Potatoes & veggies

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was a fun but busy day. After going to church, everyone in my family gathered at my house - my mom and dad, gram, sister & niece, and brother & girlfriend. My brother coming was a total surprise to everyone except James and I - we had known about it for a week. Needless to say, Mom was thrilled to see him. James and the kids got me a beautiful mother's bracelet in sterling silver with the kids' birthstones in it. Very very nice! My mom made me one of her domino necklaces and got me a pretty pink geranium. My gram got me a nice apple candle. We had lots of fun before dinner playing in the backyard with the kids, and tossing the plastic ball for the kids to hit with their bats. Even Gretchen got in on that! Daniel was actually connecting on a few swings, but Austin was more content to play with his police car. But we all had a good time!

A new family picture

We went out to my mom and dad's for my birthday, and decided to try and get a new family picture that everyone was smiling in. I think it turned out pretty good!

This is a great shot of the boys!

And I love this little dress on Gretchen!

When Love Takes You In

This is a great video, and a really touching story about adoption. If you are not familiar with Steven Curtis Chapman, he is a Christian musican/singer and is both a biological father and an adoptive father. He has an organization that helps people adopt children. My friend dedicated this song to our family, and I thought I'd share it with you.

Monday Update

Today so far has been a quiet day. Gretchen went down for an early nap a little before 9 am - she was very grouchy this morning, so I'm glad that she is taking a nap. It should make for a much better day for her! Daniel and Austin have just been hanging out, playing with their toys and coloring and watching cartoons. I wanted to have a mellow morning/afternoon, because this evening is going to be pretty crazy and fun! Our church's adoption shower is tonight, and the whole family is going. It's been such a blessing hearing of all the people that are involved in putting this shower on - I've been getting calls from all sorts of ladies needing info for the shower. My mom is coming in for it, and my grandma - not sure about my sister yet - I haven't heard. Gram is even bringing dinner over tonight so I don't have to cook - always a welcome treat!

I'll be sure to share details of the event on tomorrow's blog. Until then - see you later!

Park Day

We went to the park today - a little chilly, but the kids needed to get out for some fresh air! We had lots of fun.

Cutey Patootie!

I love this picture of Gretchen! The outfit is a hand-me-down from her cousin Aimee, who is now 7 years old. The outfit is a 6-9 month outfit, but it seems to fit her pretty good at 14 months! She's just so stinkin' little! And even though Gretchen didn't want to wear the hair bow that goes with the outfit, Daniel didn't seem to mind it at all!

Family Picture

Our church is holding an adoption shower for us next Monday - I'm really looking forward to it! The planners asked for a current family picture of us to use on the tables, so on Sunday, we had one of my friends take a photo. Unfortunately, Daniel was in a very sour mood, so trying to coax a smile out of him was impossible! This was the best we could come up with after 10 tries!

Gretchen is Walking!!

We are so excited! Gretchen is finally really walking. Since a little before Easter, she had been taking a couple steps here and there - the most at one time was 5 steps. but on Saturday, she walked all the way down the hallway unassisted. She has finally figured it out! She hasn't stood on her own to walk yet - she still uses furniture to get up - but she'll let go of the furniture and start walking. It's so fun! Pretty soon she'll be able to run after the boys - and then we're all in trouble!! Here's a video of her walking.

Good news about the adoptions!

We met our social worker last night, and she is wonderful! And she gave us good news - she thinks the adoptions can be finalized all at the same time sometime in May or June! That's so exciting! We are thrilled that it will be so soon, after waiting so long for this time to come! We plan on throwing one huge party, probably at Franklin Park since it will be the summer. She just made our day when she gave us that news!

Ahhh...Monday!

Other than the boys waking me up at 6:15 this morning, it's been a relatively good day so far! I'm feeling so much better after my head cold that lasted for three weeks! I can actually breathe and my head doesn't feel three feet thick. Sure makes taking care of the kids easier when I feel better! I don't think they like a sick mommy any more than I like being sick - I'm kind of a grumpy sick!

We had a playdate this morning at 10 am at the mall - the kids had a really good time playing with their friends. I packed a lunch so we wouldn't have to buy anything, and we sat in the food court after playdate and had our sandwiches and applesauce. Then I let the boys ride the coin cars one last time before heading for home. I like these morning activities - if I can keep the kids busy enough, they go right to bed when we get home - all three of them - and then I can have an hour or two to get things done around the house.

Today our adoption social worker is coming by for her first visit to our home. We've not met her yet - she only recently got assigned our case. From what we've heard, she has had no complaints against her, so that's a good thing! I believe all our referral letters have been returned, and all the paperwork that we had to update for our home study has been done. I don't think our doctor's letters have been returned yet, and we just got a stack of paperwork to fill out regarding the kids' history, but we are well on our way to having things completed. Of course, Austin's social worker has not forwarded his file on to our adoption worker yet, so hopefully she can get that done soon. We would really, really like to have the same adoption day for all three of the kids.

Well, since the kids are sleeping, I'm going to straighten up this house in prep for our home visit with the adoption worker today. Keep us in your prayers!

Here it is!!

OK - so I'm the world's biggest dunce. I created this lovely family blog in December, and then completely forgot all about it until this last week. That's what having three small children will do to you! Yikes! But I'm bound and determined to get this thing up and running and keep it updated. And if I forget - well, then, post a comment to remind me - it'll be dumped into my mailbox and I'll get it! Let me dig up some stuff and post it here for you - I'll probably back date the items so they show up in the right order.

Anyone seen my brain lately???

Finally Outside for Play!

Today was a really good day for playing outside. The kids were out for 2 hours in the morning, right before lunch - even Gretchen was scooting around the backyard! Then we had lunch, went right down for naps, and the kids all slept for at least 1.5 hours. Then back out to play in the afternoon for another hour or so. At bedtime, they went right to sleep - no playing around after lights out or nothing! Just three very tired little children - the fresh air did them some good! Hopefully they will sleep all night tonight!!

Maggie Moo's Field Trip

Today our MOMS Club took a tour of Maggie Moo's Ice Cream store and the kids got to meet Maggie Moo and get some yummy ice cream. The kids weren't all that interested in listening to how they made their ice cream, but they did enjoy eating it! And Daniel even willingly went up to Maggie to shake hands and even dance with her - on several different occasions. Which was a huge surprise since he didn't want anything to do with the Easter Bunny that was walking around the mall this year!

A New Wagon! Yippee!

Today, the kids got a fun new toy - a big wagon to ride around town in! This will be perfect for summer walks and we plan on using it for the Torchlight Parade in May. Already Austin has had a ball with it, loading it up with all his outdoor toys and pulling it around the backyard. The day we got it, I dressed the kids in their coats, gave them their lunch in little baggies, and took them for a walk around our neighborhood. I think the brisk afternoon air will help clear the ickies out of all of us! Lots of fun!