I hate school

I had finally come to terms with taking two more classes next semester when--BAM-- my advisor emails to tell me that one of my classes had to be cancelled due to under enrollment. My only recourse was to take a class at 10am on Tuesdays. Seriously? Why even have a part-time program if you are not going to accommodate people who can't take daytime classes?!

I'm more than a little pissed--this is going to mess up my scheduling completely!

Almost too much cute

This is the newest addition to my Family. I am very happy to be an aunt again and I'm especially excited for the kids to meet their new cousin.

Meet Alyssa Nicole, she is rather adorable!

Dogs

On a recent episode of The Dog Whisperer someone mentioned that big black dogs are the last animals to get adopted from shelters. I did a little research and it turns out that this is probably true...

Apparently Chad and I did not get this memo--

These are our two, wonderful, lovable, big, black dogs

Moses


Nina


Moses and Nina

Celebrating the birth of our Lord with cultured primates

Last year I got Annie Harrelson a picture of a monkey smoking a pipe, for Christmas. What says Happy Birthday Jesus better than primates and tobacco?!

This year I would like to get her the picture on the side of this piano



(Happy Birthday Jesus, it's another monkey, and this one very possibly plays golf!)

This Boy

So this boy lives in my house. He looks exactly like me (and I exactly like my mother, and she exactly like her mother, so this boy will look like his Mom Mom Doris before it's over). Well, wait, he has his father's eyes, and when he smiles he looks very much like the Asian side of his family tree. But besides that we are alike in every way. We have more arms than are natural, long gangly appendages that have noticeable elbows. We have skinny legs and pointy knees. Brown hair and thin faces with chins that make little circles at the tip of our jaws. We are thin and awkward and we look silly when we run. We both fall down a lot.

We also refuse to look for things. We will say that we have looked but really we just mean that we have scanned the room and not come across the item, will will not move other things in an effort to search.

When I was small I would get notes from teachers that said "Maria is polite" or "patient", this boy gets called "conscientious" and "sweet."

To tell a story we must flail our long arms about in ways that are not gestures or signs but wild body movements--an awkward dance that in no way helps to tell the story. When asked to stop flailing, we forget what we were saying.

Sometimes I catch him posing or acting. Things that I have done as long as I can remember. Things that made me a weird kid and things that I used to find awkward in certain small children. He will wait for the bus, by himself, and act out little plays for the passing cars. He will freeze in silly positions in hopes that the motorists are paying attention. He has my flair for the dramatic and my need to be the center of attention.

I feel as if I know him in a way that the other children remain a mystery. This boy who lives in my house, the reflection of his Mother.

Cleaning all day and it's still not clean

You get to point where you keep cleaning and things don't get any cleaner and you realize. I have 4 children. Unless they move out and I have two weeks to scrub every surface and repaint most of teh walls, it's going to look like this.

My goal this year was to get "Excellent" on my foster care recertification, but I think I'm gonna have to settle for a good or hopefully a very good.

The house is always presentable and we did repaint some kitchen walls that were colored on, and pullout the steam cleaner. It's just that the house is being torn apart by small people all day, every day.

So whatever, It's as shiny as it gets around here and that will have to be good enough!

Oct-April: The most wonderful time of the year!

Pre-school starts tomorrow. The angels can be heard singing and Delilah and I have been dancing short jigs of joy in preparation. Thank you Lord Baby Jesus for two, quiet, Larry and Pearl free hours, three days out of every week!

(And tomorrow is a Moms play date at the YMCA so that means that I get an extra two beautiful hours after Pre-school, to study and eat a very quiet lunch!)