Who needs sleep?

Saturday night I hosted a sleepover for mutual friends of Mimi and Max and preparations were under way... After shopping for all the required elements to ensure a successful party,

Max helped to ready the house for our guests:

And then our sleepover guests arrived.  There were six children in my home.  It was loud with laughter and squeals of excitement and delight.  To say they had fun would be an understatement. Here are some highlights that were captured.

 

 

 

 

How did Mama get through the night?  With a little help from my friends at Clorox, of course!

Smashing Good Time....

Every Friday when I have the kids it is "family night..."  We have dinner and then watch a movie.  Tonight at dinner, the conversation took a turn for the awesome.

Mimi: Who is your fave... Batman or Hulk?

Me: Batman.

Mimi: Hulk is mine because ... Wait Mommy! You be Captain America and say "it..."

Me: Hulk, smash.

Mimi: NO!! You have to pause for the count of 4. Do it again.

Me: *points* Hulk *1...2...3...4* smash!
 

 

Mimi: *makes Hulk fists then turns to Max* Who are you?

Max: Thor.

Mimi: Where is your hammer?

Max: *raises his corn dog high*

Mimi: What does Thor say to Captain America?

Max: *in a gravely voice* I'm Batman!

--- signed, Proud Mom

Wordless Wednesday

Three Cheers for Family!

Tonight we had the joy of dinner with Grandma Martha, Aunt Dawn and cousins Jessica and Alyssa, all of whom were in town for a cheering competition!  We met up at OK Cafe in Atlanta for great and easy conversation.  It was so good to see my NY family, however brief it was. 

Wordless Wednesday

Clean Water is a Human Right

This post will have nothing humorous in it.  No witticisms or funny anecdotes.  This post contains nothing more than the plea of this mother for you to help her honor the life of her only son's birthmother who died because she did not have access to clean water in Ethiopia. 

This is my son's birth mom (Etenesh) and his maternal grandfather (Ermias):

Etenesh died in the fall of 2012 from Amoebiasis, a condition caused by living in unsanitary conditions and drinking contaminated water.  She was only in her mid-20s.  To read my entire letter about how this has impacted my view of the world, please read my story here: I Am Not The Babysitter.

This woman gave me THIS incredible gift when she placed her only son up for adoption so that he could have the chance of life with his "forever family":

And now I ask you to help me honor this woman while literally saving thousands of lives by donating to Project-Ethiopia, the fundraising effort that WILL bring a clean water filtration system to the village of my son's birth family. 

Clean water is not a privilege.  It is a human right.  Together we can fix this.  We can make an actual difference.  So let's do this.  And please share this post with your friends and family. 

Class Pictures

Max, First Grade:

Mimi, Fourth Grade:

Max Rocks The Vote!

Mom The Mystery Reader!

Max's first grade teacher offers various ways for parents to be involved with classroom activities.   One of them (and my favorite) is the "Mystery Reader."  I was scheduled for today.  Keeping this from Max was not easy but I did it! 

I arrived at the school just as Max was lining up in the lunchroom readying to return to class.  When he saw me there was no masking his absolute surprise. Once he recovered from his state of shock (a I offered a quick wave to Mimi and her friends in the lunchroom still) he escorted me to his classroom with great excitement and much pride. 

As we're so close to Halloween I decided to read three books with that general theme, including The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything, There's No Such Thing As Monsters, and Room on the Broom.  I had a little extra time after finishing the third book and at the children's begging (and the teacher's okay) I read one more book that Max chose from the class library.

I encourage all parents to make plans to visit your children's class.  It is so rewarding for all involved.

It was a very ghoul date...

Each year Max and I attend our town's Mother/Son Halloween dance.  It is something he looks forward to as much as I do.  I dread when the day comes that he's "too cool" to attend lest he be seen in public with his mummy but thankfully that day has not yet arrived as a few of his friends were also at the event this evening with their mummies:

Here's some bonus footage of Max getting his groove on.  Love this kid!

Wordless Wednesday

Sleeping giant

Max fell asleep on the couch this evening while I was in Mimi's room. When I found him there, I carefully picked him up and carried him to bed. It's what any parent would do, right?

Wrong.

Little dude had a nuclear level meltdown asking - no, demanding - that I put him back where I found him.

I was so taken aback by his commanding tone that I actually did as I was told, and fast.... So the important thing is he is asleep, right?

Right!

The Power of YES!

Last night I spoke to Max (who is with his father this week) and right as we're about to hang up he asks "Mama, can you bring me my bowling pin water bottle?"  

Did he need it?  No.

Was he going to see me (and the water bottle) the following night when he is with me?  Yes.

Could this have waited one night?  Yes.

Why did I say yes?

Because when Max asked me to bring what he has no attachment to or immediate need for what he was really saying is "I miss you, Mommy. I need to see you." 

How can I say no to that?

It is important to go beyond the words and actions of a child to discover the true meaning of what they are trying to say.


My children will never be an inconvenience and seeing the bright smiles on both my kid's faces as they ran to my car where we shared hugs and kisses in a profound and mutual expression of love is always going to be worth my time.

Lucky Number Seven

Max just celebrated his 7th birthday.  Before we begin you all need to know that he and his sister are being raised by a woman who never ever ever had a birthday party.  Not even a Sweet Sixteen.  *le sigh*  Soooooo to compensate for the childhood trauma their mother *coughs*me*coughs* experienced, she throws fabulous birthday parties for her children.  MTV should really come document these events.  No, but seriously... they should.  

I kid... I kid...

These parties are simply about making fun memories and being sure that no matter what they're eventually in therapy for they will never be able to blame me for not throwing them birthday parties.  So a party we had.  This year: BOWLING!

Max's beloved friend Dagny was in attendance.  I always contact her mother before finalizing any plans to be sure she can come because a party isn't a party if his sweet friend isn't there celebrating with him. 

Look at those smiles.  That's genuine 1,000 watts of happiness right there.  Oh and the outfit my kid is wearing?  He chose the entire thing himself.  I know... It was inevitable he be that cool with me as his mother. *grins*

Back to the party.... So who knew Max could actually bowl?  I didn't. 

This year's theme was Spongebob Squarepants.

Unfortunately Max didn't get to enjoy any birthday cake because he got sick at the bowling alley.  He did recover enough to be able to fully enjoy everyone singing to him before he blew out his candles.

Then we went home where Max was genuinely overwhelmed by all the presents his friends gifted him with.  It was clear that they know him well as he received all his favorite things:

He was a very happy birthday boy.

Our story so far....

Long long ago I began a blog to chronicle the journey my (now ex-) husband and I took with starting our family through adoption.  We brought home our son Max on May 14, 2006.  He was eight months old:

For a short time I kept a blog for everyone to keep up on the expansion our family with the arrival of our daughter Mimi.  She came home on July 19, 2008 at the age of 6.  Her story picked up with her little brother's on the main family blog.

I stopped blogging when life took a turn down SNAFU Road but I have been finding my voice again and enjoying my children (now ages 10 and 7) in ways I never thought imaginable. I always found blogging to be an incredible tool to enable friends and family to stay connected.  So I'm back.

Here are my kids today:

And then there's me:

Single mom working full time and trying to find my place in the world after spending years of it lost.  I have a blog (that needs to be updated!) which is a fun place for my "alter-ego" Spank to wax poetic about the things that really matter in the world: Hot guys, great movies, pop culture, current events and my favorite books.

It's Magically Delicious!

This evening Max asked me if magic was real. I decided honesty was the best policy and so I responded with what I believed to be true when I said no.

Max shook his head and spoke in a very matter of fact tone, saying "Yes it is. I can even make popcorn come out of your ear."

Max then placed his hand next to my ear and voila:

POPCORN!

I stand corrected.  Magic is VERY real. 

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Weekend Getaway

Mimi was invited to spend this weekend at Lake Lanier with her best friend Lauren and her family.  I have to be honest, I was very anxious about this trip.  It was the first time Mimi actually went away beyond a sleepover at a friend's house.  Her father and I discussed the pros and cons and we both agreed it was time to loosen the ties and let her enjoy this time with her best friend.  We both knew that she was in excellent hands with Lauren's mom, Lisa. 

 

 

Mimi had a fabulous time and came home with many stories to share of good times at the lake.  While Max certainly missed his sister he was able to have a great weekend as well, spending quality time with two of his other favorite girls.  Me:

 

 



and Dagny who came over for a swimming playdate:

Everyone had a great time. 

Baby No More....

It feels like I'm saying goodbye to my baby as this little boy emerges marching forward through the grades... first, second, third... *sighs*  I'm just not ready to close the door on coloring and finger painting for math, science and history.  But no matter how much I protest, my kid keeps growing up so I got with the program and went to celebrate the end of kindergarten:

For today's party they offered lots of fun activities and games for the students to enjoy.  Oh, and cotton candy.

Max had to deal with a lot of changes in his life this year.  I'm super proud of how sensitive, thoughtful and loving he remained through it all.  His sweet demeanor was all he needed to win over his teachers with whom he forged a very strong bond after a challenging start.