Lessons learned

Back in the day when I had one child and was learning about all the junk in baby care products, I decided to be thrify and healthy and make my own wipes. As Samuel got older and Catherine came along, it was great fun cutting a roll of paper towels in half, unrolling it, tearing off each sheet and making a big pile on the floor. We were blessed with wipes when Caleb was born and have only had to buy one refill in over 5 months. I saw we were getting low and thought it would be fun to make our own again. The kids had a blast, although not the fun of a 2 1/2 year old, it was still a good time. Yesterday I went to use some of our homemade wonders and thought- hmm I don't remember them having any pattern on them when we made them. As I looked closer I saw it was MOLD!!! Lesson- don't try to make homemade wipes out of paper towels from Whole Foods- no chemicals to repel the mold.

I asked Samuel today if he wanted an orange in his lunch. He said, "not really." When I asked if he'd eat it anyway he said, "I'll have it for snack. I'm not really into oranges right now." Well.

He told me he has figured out when to let go of the paci when he puts it in Caleb's mouth. "It's when his face isn't red anymore, then he calms down and that's the signal it's ok to let go. "

Yesterday I got to take a lovely hour trip to meet Buddy to get another paper notarized. It was nice to be together, just the 2 of us for a few minutes. We should do this more often- oh that's right, we have LOTS more papers to get notarized!

I got the templates from Hopscotch today, so I tried to get busy on those AND do taxes, while guarding my time by staying away from adoption blogs. If I'd just keep better track of things during the year it wouldn't be so hard. I say that every year and it's time to do it, I guess. We got new video and pictures of Hannah yesterday. So sweet! She seems to be very loving with her care giver. The kids watch over and over and so enjoy hearing her talk and laugh. We have no idea what they're saying, but we pretend! One night after we'd watched, Samuel, Buddy and I left to go in another room. I kept hearing the video playing over and over- Catherine was watching her little sister.

My Grandmas aren't doing so hot right now. It stinks that both are going down hill. Last year, Buddy's dad died shortly after we found out about Caleb. This year, it's Hannah coming and a Grandma leaving. I'm so grateful Samuel and Catherine knew their great grandmas and have a vague memory of Grandpa Sams. We've tried to keep the tradition going of chewing on the kids' ears like Grandpa would have. I'm also grateful that my Grandparents loved the Lord and left us that legacy which will have an effect on so many lives for years to come. I'm thankful to be so blessed.