Out Of The Mouths Of (RAD) Babes...

Had to post this, as I've been laughing about it all evening:

As most of you know, Anastasia is on the antidepressant celexa. It's been two months now & hugely successful. She would never remember to take the pill on her own -- I give it to her at dinner time each day. Today I tried to give it to her and she insisted I had already given her one.

" No, honey, that was yesterday. You're confused." I explained. She refused for a while, and I became insistent. (Side effects of skipped meds are no fun..)

So, as she is about to put the pill in her mouth, she stops and gives me a very serious, stern look.

"Ok, if you say so!" she yells...

" But it's YOUR fault if I'm extra happy today!"

She swallows the pill, storms out of my room and slams the door.

I'm still giggling.

One of THOSE Days..

I'm having one of those days. The ones that suck. The ones where everything seems to be plotting against you. But I am making myself blog about this day, because I tend to not want to show my grumpy side, but it exists. Just ask Anastasia! I need to validate the yucky unloveable part of myself, too, right? So here is my day thus far. I will list the joyful events in chronological order:

1. Up all night with the most violent stomach bug known to man. You know the kind: the I'm-chained-to-the-toilet variety.
2. Puck (cat #1) puked all over my pillow and sheets.
3. Matilda (dog #2) tried to eat it.
4. Dog #2, angry that she was not allowed to eat said puke, found the litter box. And ate to her hearts content. (can you say GROSSSSS???)
5. Got a never-ending nosebleed while cleaning up puke and dog poop.
6. Slipped in dog pee while running to the bathroom because of event #1 (see above)
7. Found out I am out of one of my meds and the pharmacy is now closed.
8. Get talked into driving Anastasia to the local sandwich shop in my pajamas. Run into everyone I know while looking like death.
9. Send Anastasia into Starbucks for me, and wait SEVENTEEN MINUTES for her to come out.
10.Have a 'bathroom call' while sitting in the car waiting for Anastasia for SEVENTEEN MINUTES. Regret going out even more.
11. Drive home quickly, only to find that my coffee is COLD.
12. Come into house to find Henry ( Dog #1) had gotten into the trash. And ate disgusting things.
13. Cry.

So, that's my day thus far and it's only 4pm. And I only rolled out of bed at 10:30am because of said bug. So, I managed to jampack in ALL that great stuff into only five hours!

Can you say vacation?

And Now For Something Completely Different...

If you have not discovered Etsy yet, I will assume you have been living in exile and I will therefore forgive you. If you have already discovered Etsy and, like me, spend waaaay too much time drooling over items, you may want to skip this post. It may send you back into Etsy addiction.

I love Etsy. I visit there at least once a week. I've only bought ten things from them in the past two years, but I am a die-hard Etsy addict nonetheless. I save hundreds of things in my "favorites" file. I could never buy them all, but I like to look! So let's take a little visit to my Etsy "favorite items" file....

Above is an original watercolor map of fairyland by Paint & Ink. I love it!

And here is an adorable little wool felt bluebird in his nest by vermontfairies. I would put him on my kitchen windowsill....

Ok, I am enamored of this artist. His name is Joseph Blake. I wanted this watercolor so badly! But , alas, it was not to be...

And what about these adorable, hand-carved stamps? Too cute for words!

Now I'll show you a few of the things I broke down and actually bought from Etsy. Here is a gorgeous bag by Pineblossoms. Mine is a bit different, but no less beautiful. She uses recycled clothing and vintage trim to make them...

And can you believe I got this oh so sweet original lilac painting for under $50? It is in my bedroom (that I never sleep in...lol.) Sadly the artist is not on Etsy anymore...

Here is my hand batiked tablecloth from Margotbianca. It's in my favorite color - periwinkle!


And here's an adorable little item I use every day. It's my iphone case! It puts a smile on my face everyday, when I fumble thru my pocketbook to find my phone...

Hope you enjoyed my little vacation from all things RAD and mom-related! Now you should go on your own little Etsy vacation, here!

They Called! And More Great News

A social worker from DSS finally called about foster care! Of course I didn't get the message until today, so I have to wait until Monday to call back. And of course this call comes right before the start of one of my busiest months of the year! Anyway, I'm happy. I'm really excited to start the training and see what God has in store for us as a family!

And more happy news: My friend J and his partner R have decided they are ready to start a family through adoption! J and I have been friends for 25 years, and he and R have been together for ten. They want to get coffee this week to pick my brain. Where they live is a bit of a trek for me, but a place I love. I'm excited to make an adventure of it with Anastasia. They live almost RIGHT on the ocean in Gloucester, MA. You can see all the fishing boats from there house.

They are going to be wonderful parents!

Mommy, Do You Like Me?

This is the question my daughter woke me with today. She has asked me this same question every day for at least a week. Though I'm not sure why she asks, I treat each time as if it is the first. I never brush it aside. This morning we played out a ritual of sharing we have done so many times. But I never tire of it....

'I like you and I love you and I ADORE you,' I answer, 'You are my everything! You are the best gift God ever gave me.'

'But do you really, really like me?' she seems suspect of my answer.

'I like you and I love you with all my heart and soul, and I don't know what I would do without you.' I remind her again.

'But I was your second choice.' She knocks me over with this one.

'What do you mean?' I ask.

'You didn't want me first, you wanted some other little girl named Katya. You didn't choose me first. I'm kind of like chopped liver. '

First I need to calm myself before responding. (And try not to laugh at the 'chopped liver' comment) It is so upsetting to me to know she has been carrying this thought around in her head for so long. I take a deep breath.

I explain how badly I wanted to be a mom. I explain about signing with an agency and knowing she was out there somewhere. I tell her about all the letters and journal entries I had written about her over the years. I told her about the empty spot in my heart.

'But you had a room set up for another girl. Not me.'

'I had a room set up for my daughter. I did not know where she was coming from yet, but I knew that God knew.' I reminded her.

I told her the story she already knew -- how the agency had sent me a referral for a little girl named Katya from her orphanage. How I had been told I would be bringing her home at Christmas. I told her about how the trip was cancelled at the last minute because Katya's birthmother that came back into the picture and wanted to bring her home again. I told her about trusting God, that He knew all along that Katya was not my daughter, but was only the way He would bring my true daughter home to me.

'But I was still second.' She insists. 'You just took me because you had to.'

And then I remind her of the agency sending me referral after referral after Katya. I remind her of my looking at the countless photos and knowing that each beautiful child they sent me photos of was not my child. I tell her of the two year old boy with wispy hair and of the rosy-cheeked eight year old girl, I tell her of the dark haired toddler and the curly blond haired girl of seven. I tell her how I prayed each time a referral was sent to me, but none answered the call of my heart.

'until you.' I remind her.

'Why me?' She knows the answer. She has heard it a hundred times. But I delight in telling her even if she needs to hear it a thousand more.

'Because before I even saw your photo, or even read about you, my heart knew. Because when they told me there were no referrals left in that region, my heart told me they were wrong. You were still out there, and I begged them to check once more. Because when they finally called and told me they had found one last referral left in Prokopyevsk, but that she was out of my range -- over twelve years old -- I still knew it was you. And then, when they sent me your info and I read about you, my heart lept. And when, later that day they sent your photo and it slowly loaded on Grammy's computer and I saw your eyes for the first time, a light filled my heart. I knew you. I recognized you. I don't know how, but I did. There was my daughter staring back at me, for the first time.'

'I love you mommy.' she says and squeezes my face to hers.

I love you, too, daughter of my heart. More than words can ever say.

(Photo: Anastasia, March 2005. A week after I met her for the first time.

Taken by another adoptive parent who was visiting the orphanage.)

100

Annie posted a challenge. And, as I'm always up for a new way to procrastinate doing laundry, here it is! You are supposed to put in bold the things you've done from the list. Annie added comments -- I will too!

1. Started your own blog ( umm, kinda obvious?)
2. Slept under the stars (many times!)
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Gone rollerskating
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train in Russia and the US
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset over the Grand Canyon
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise (not unless you count a Boston Harbor cruise..lol)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (Ireland, yes!)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Acted in a play or performed on stage (my life's work!)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit
59. Visited Russia (3 times)
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching ( you'd think, living on the ocean...but no!)
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar (yuck... does it count if I spit it out?)
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London (sadly, about 30 times...)
77. Broken a bone (my nose, 3 times)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book (that I edited, yes, four..but not written...yet)
81. visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible (and Koran and Upanishads and..)
86. Visited the White House (in 1978)
87. Won money
88. Had chickenpox (age 1)
89. Saved someone’s life (one who was choking & two suicide attempts)
90. Sat on a jury (a big kidnapping trial...it took months!)
91. Met someone famous (Truman Capote, Ted Kennedy, Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellan, Angelina Jolie, Maggie Smith, Vanessa Redgrave, Ralph Feinnes, Mark Rylance,to name a few!)
92. Joined a book club
93. Had to put someone you love in Hospice Care
94. Had a baby (can't, unless by divine intervention)
95. Seen the Alamo in person (and I'd want to because...?)
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit (sadly, yes)
98. Owned a cell phone (just since June 08!)
99. Been stung by a bee (over 30 times...long story)
100. Read an entire book in one day (many times!)

Whoa! I like this list! It makes me seem so....cosmopolitan! So, how about you? If you do this challenge, link to my post!

2009: The Year of Joy and Buoyant Exuberance!

I decided to give this year a name so it could get to work on all the good stuff it is going to be bringing us! It's hard to function without a name, right? So welcome to the year of Joy and Buoyant Exuberance. Don't ask me why -- I just took a breath and asked for wisdom on what this year should be dedicated to, and that's what came out!

I noticed alot of fellow unschoolers have been dropping by my blog and even following (thanks!) So I thought I'd give a really quick nod to our unschooling life as we enter this awesome new year.

We're new to unschooling. I've read all there is to read about it. ALL. But living it is much different, and I'm still finding my sea-legs. Anastasia, on the other hand, has taken to it like a duck to water. She is thriving. And she is happy.

So what do our days look like? That's really hard to say, because each one is very different. It might be a morning at the beach that leads to an interest in sharks that leads us to google images that leads us to the discovery channel. It might be a day of cuddling on the couch watching three movies in a row. It might be Anastasia coming to work with me, hanging out with my newest class. It might be volunteering at the animal shelter, walking the dogs and cuddling the cats. It might be going through old family scrapbooks and learning about those who came before us, which may lead to wanting to know more about a certain era in history.

So each day is a blank page and our imagination and curiosity fill it up.

If you're an unschooler visiting my blog, what do your days look like? What is the best unschooling day you've ever had?