Woosh!!!

Man it's been a busy week. Tatiana has decided to do band next year. So we spent all Tuesday night trying out all the instruments. She started out wanting to play the Sax or the trumpet. The sax because she likes the sound & the trumpet because Liam is going to play the trumpet. When she tried all the the instruments she really couldn't decide. I'm not sure is Liam lost his appeal or she actually decided to give everything a try. :)

So we talked to Mrs. Brown, the band teacher and signed her up for the clarinet. The clarinet mainly because Claire (her camp counselor) plays the clarinet. She also likes the flute. I much prefer the flute, not because it sounds any better, they are both beautiful, but mostly because it's quieter. Does that make me a bad mom?
Anyway, my friend Crystal has a flute that she used to play and I think she's going to loan/give it to Tati. So now I'm REALLY leaning towards the flute. Quieter AND free. What more can a girl want? I think we may invest in some private lessons this summer and see how it all pans out. If she hates the flute, we'll see about the clarinet.

Wednesday Cianah had Pompom pictures. Have you ever tried to get a teenage girl out of the house on time? I think to do so, you must alter the time/space continuum.

She's so good. I just wish I could get her to believe she's half as good as she is.

Tonight we had Jr. National Honor Society induction.

What an honor.

Cianah was so excited to get in!

We are very proud of her.

Cianah and some friends who also were inducted tonight

And of course Ms. Toretta. The sponsor and one of Cianah's favorite teachers.


I'm hoping and praying that all the running I do pays off. If they can get into a good college and make a better life for themselves, it will all be worth it.

Time to sign Bryana up for basketball again too. Woosh! Someday I'll rest.

No more babies!

So Karl and babysat for the cutest little guy this weekend.

No one can say he's not adorable. Daniel is a happy baby. He smiles when you talk to him. He only cries when he's hungry (or you stop feeding him to burp him.) He was a perfect angel.

All that being said, Karl and I are 95% sure we want NO MORE babies.

We've been tossing around the idea for probably 2 years. We researched invetro and adoption. Invetro costing $10,000 easily was really kind of out of range. It was also around $10,000 to get my tubes untied (which I'm not 100% sure I could even do.) The adoption thing was where I was heavily leaning. First we can guarantee it would be a boy. We really need some more testosterone in this house for Karl's sanity. :P
Plus if we went through DFS the cost would be non-existent. Plus the deal with the state is even after adoption they continue to pay the daycare costs for your child until they turn 12. That's a HUGE benefit.

I've been harping on Karl for at least 2 years to sign up for the classes. It doesn't commit us to anything but at least we'll have all the information to make an enlightened decision. He hasn't agreed so far.

My friend Catina just finalized the adoption of her beautiful, spunky 3 year old daughter Joanie.

This also makes me want to adopt even more.

Karl's whole theory is, he has adopted three wonderful girls, if he were to want more children he'd want some with his DNA. I can completely understand his feelings, but I push on anyway. :)

So watching Daniel this weekend reminded me how free I am. One of my kids fixed me some lunch while Daniel was sleeping. (Yes Daniel was sleeping and my slave child still cooked for me. :P) No sooner did Cianah bring me the bowl of food than Daniel was wide awake and ready to eat himself. Now maybe this should encourage me, seeing as I'd like to loose about 30 lbs. Nope, it just made me remember how a mother never gets to eat on her schedule.

After they came to pick Daniel up Karl and I decided, NO BABIES! We have it so easy now. Everyone goes to the bathroom on their own. If they're hungry they feed themselves. If they're tired they go lay down. No diaper bags, no bottles, no burp rags, or going to work not realizing you have spit-up on your shirt.

Though I still want to point out that I reserve the right to tap into that 5% motherly tug that hits me ever so often.

I love babies. I just think I love them more when I can send them home when I'm done playing. :)

God Bless you Carol. I'm not sure how you do it. Having a three year old wasn't enough you had to go and have the grand baby at home too. :P

Kids or no kids

Sometimes it's nice to have NO KIDS! This weekend the 2 youngest went off with their dad (which only usually happens every 3 months or so,) my mom took Cianah for her "special day." My mom instituted this a few years back, she has 9 (#10 is on the way & no I am not pregnant) so in order to make the grand kids feel special she takes them out on or around their birthday. Usually they pick out their gift at this time, then they stay the night alone with her. Since none of these kids are only children, one on one time is good for them.

So Karl and I had Friday night and most of Saturday alone. I was asleep by 10:00 on Friday. :P

Saturday we went to a Chinese restaurant that Karl's boss has been raving about for months. Karl loved it, for me it was edible. (If you haven't already experienced my eating habits, I tend to be a little picky. Just a little though.)

Do you have any idea how nice it is to have a conversation with your husband without having to stop in the middle to yell at some one, stop a fight, catch something/someone from falling, or put out any other multitudes of fires?

I've been a mom so long, sometimes it's hard to be anything other than a mom. It was nice to be a wife and a friend. Karl and I really are friends. We can talk about anything. That's not to say we do not equally grate on each others nerves, but we are happy. It was really nice to sit and talk, watch a movie in the morning and have a meal together alone.

After lunch we picked Cianah up and met up with Susana (mother in law.) Us three girls went off to shop. The girls and I are going to make a quilt to send to Karl's Grandmother in Florida. Some family bonding time and I'm sure a nice gift for their Great Grandmother.

Steph, I know what you're thinking. This is not another millennium quilt, we already started cutting out squares. It'll be done by this summer. :P

I did a photo shoot on Sunday. What a family. Cianah went with me (the family was the family of a friend of both Cianah and myself, I don't usually bring my kids on jobs.) Cianah and I decided that we want to be adopted into their family. What fun! They were overwhelmingly welcoming. I felt like I knew them all forever. It was a celebration for their March birthdays. They even sang for Cianah. It was nice.

I can't say I'm as thrilled with the pictures. It's so hard with groups, some one always looks away, blinks, doesn't smile. I haven't finished working through them. That's tomorrow night's project. As long as the customers are happy, I'm happy.