Two Texans & A Little Russky

Life's Little Frustrations

2012-01-17T11:24:00.000-06:00

this morning was not unlike any other morning in the johnson house. kris went to the fire station bright and early, so i was on momma duty. it began with me sleepily stumbling up the stairs, arousing my little russky with a quick back rub and good morning musings.

"did you sleep well? have good dreams? what would you like for breakfast? get up and go potty and wash your hands. i'll meet you downstairs."

10 minutes later i'm downstairs, still waiting for nick to finish getting dressed and come down for breakfast.

"nick? what are you doing? hurry and come down to eat!"

"okaaayy! i'm coming!"

{waiting...waiting...waiting...}

"nick? come on! your breakfast is getting cold!"

"okaaayy..."

he finally makes it downstairs and sloooooowly puts on his socks and shoes while chattering away to himself, as if reminding himself the steps to follow. comes to the table...takes his meds {like. a. champ. - i should really start praising him more for that.}, and starts to eat. i tell him i'm going to get dressed and to hurry and eat because he's going to be late since he spent so much time getting dressed.

15 minutes later i come back out of my room, expecting him to be finished eating, putting his dishes in the sink, and heading to brush his teeth. nope. still sitting at the kitchen table. barely touched his food. staring into space. waving his fork around. humming.

"nick! what are you doing?! you haven't even eaten yet?! well there's no time now! you're going to be late for school! let's go!" {breakfast thrown away}

"okaaayy..." {walks as slowly as possible to bathroom for the brushing of the teeth & hair}

"let's go dude! walk faster!" {seriously! is this opposite day?! does "fast" really mean "slow as possible?!}

i brush his teeth & hair, and send him to put on his coat and grab his backpack as i grab my wallet and jacket. does nick act with expediency? nope. meanders to the coat closet. gets the items necessary. talks to the dog. happy go lucky. not a care in the world.

"nick! come on! get your coat on! let's go!"

"okaaayy..." {i swear the kid is eeoyre sometimes!}

i slow my pace. take a deep breath. put on my own jacket. walk to the car. nick...well...still moving at a snail's pace. jacket dragging on the floor. backpack slung {upside down} over one shoulder.

"nick! hurry up! get in the car! move it!"

"okaaayy. i'm coming."

{and the slower he moves, and the more calm he is, not even caring that my voice has raised, make me even more angry}

several ~~hours~~ minutes later, we're finally heading to school. with me asking him "do you like being yelled at? is that what you want? our mornings to always start out like this?!" do i really expect him to say "yes mom. i looove to be yelled at and to make you angry and frustrated first thing in the morning. i live for it!"

several hours later and i'm still rehashing the morning, as i do every morning that starts this way. it should bring me some comfort that my ever-patient, laid-back, easy-going husband becomes just as frustrated at this morning routine. but - it just makes me sad! i know he really, truly can't help his daydreaming, and his lack of enthusiasm for being awake so early, however, some mornings i really find myself counting the seconds until his ADHD meds kick in! they make such a difference, and even his teachers at school tell us that the mornings are especially rough and they can definitely tell the "aha" moment when they finally take hold of his wandering brain.

so what do i do? wake him up an hour earlier and deprive us both of much needed sleep? wake myself up earlier and down two cups of coffee immediately so i'm a little more bearable? i wish the answer to all this could be as simple as "just slow down and enjoy this time with him...", which is great for the weekends when we have nothing going on, but during the week, i can't do that or he'll always be tardy for school! {soo not a morning person to start with!} i don't know the right answer, but what i do know is that we can't go on this way with the constant prodding for the next step in the morning routine...

the "get dressed...get your pants on!...get your socks on...ok...now put your shoes on...eat...take another bite...put your dishes away...dude...just put the dishes in the sink stop looking at the sink...brush your teeth...ok you're done now...wash your face...ok i'm sure your face is clean now...dry your face and hands now...dude...dry your face!...etc, etc, etc..."

all that's gotta stop. it's driving us parents nuts & apparently he's so used to us yelling at him, that it doesn't even phase him anymore! why can't parenting come with a magic guide book, with steps that actually work on every child? i love that he's an individual...but... well... i guess that's really it... BUT... cuz what else is there to say? we're at a loss... :( any advice from the peanut gallery out there?

xoxo...liese :o)

We're Off to See the Wizard!

2012-01-14T14:07:00.000-06:00

the dutton {& russky} cast of the wizard of oz!

we spent halloween as we did last year...trick-or-treating with our good friends the dutton's. sweet girlfriend blair turned 2, so they decided to have a big backyard halloween birthday party for her. there were games, munchies, and crafts to keep all the kiddos busy, and everyone seemed to have a smashing good time!

wendy always wanted to have a full-family wizard of oz themed halloween, so we dressed the little russky as the cowardly lion. he was so cute if i do say so myself!

lion's and tigers & blair's oh my! hee hee hee! here's the birthday girl with her boyfriend nick & big brother trevor.

kris was a bit tall to be one of the flying monkeys, and glenda the good witch was already being played by wendy's mom, so we decided to go out on our own and be a "pair of blue jeans/genes". clever, no? the other parents at the party didn't get the memo about dressing up, so we scored ourselves the funniest costume award! woo hoo!

cowardly lion nick & tin man trevor

dorothy & the cowardly lion all set to fill their bags with trick-or-treat delights

kris had to work at the fire station the night of halloween, so i decided to just dress up as a SAHM! {stay-at-home-momma}

me & my sweet russky lion :) <3

we all had a blast at the birthday party, and scored a ton of yummy loot the next night trick-or-treating. i remember going door-to-door with our neighbors growing up, and i feel so fortunate we have made such awesome friends, and have started our own traditions for the holidays! can't wait to see how the kids all grow and compare the pictures of the years gone by!

xoxo...liese :o)

Holy Heck...I Have a Kindergartener!!!

2012-01-14T14:05:00.001-06:00

i can't believe nick is already a kindergartener! it's crazy to think he's been with us just 3 short years...kinda makes it feel like he should technically only be 3 years old. he's definitely come a looong way from that scared little guy that took his first car ride outside baby home number 1! he has a lot more confidence and has overcome a lot of his shyness, altho he still does become a little unnerved in unfamiliar circumstances.

nicky was very excited as we walked him to school the first day. he was all smiles, and chattered the whole way; asking a million questions about what kindergarten would be like. the closer we got tho, the more anxious he became. as we crossed the street and walked up to the front of school, his grip on my hand tightened and the questions about when he could come home started. he told me "i just wanna to stay home wif you momma!" so sweet! :)

we found his locker and helped him hang up his backpack and put his lunchbox in the right spot. we walked into the class and met his teacher, and as he saw the other kids in his class all reading a book, he delightfully joined them. he was excited to see that a little girl that lives across the street from us was in his class!

once he was settled, he barely even paid any attention to us! it was as if he was thinking "adios parents...this is my world & you gotta go!"

i picked him up at the "walker door" after school and he came bounding out full of exuberance. he told me all about how fun his first day was, and that he couldn't wait to go back the next day the whole way home, and all thru snack once we got home. then...he fell fast asleep! i guess kindergarten is hard work!

xoxo...liese :o)

Back to School Party

2012-01-14T13:25:00.002-06:00

being able to quit my job and stay home with nick this past summer was one of the best decisions i've made in my life. it seemed like he and i bonded so much more than we had in the 3 years since we brought him home! i was finally "fun momma", instead of "hurry up and get ready for school/eat your dinner so we can get ready for bed/let's go grocery shop & run errands/i'm too tired to do anything fun momma"! we had play dates, went swimming, church camp, traveled, hung out and played at home, you name it! things were so easy going, and relaxed and it felt awesome to not have much of a care in the world...not to mention not know what the heck day of the week it was!

sadly, all things have to come to an end, and as the days grew shorter, and the weather got chilly...wait...what am i talking about?! this is texas! the weather only gets hotter in august! anyway...you get the picture! it was back to school time, so the fun in the sun had to wind down. the momma's group from church decided to get together for one last blow-out swim party and one of them brought an adorable pinata pig she made for all the kids to smash and enjoy

here's our rag-tag group of kiddos all ready to beat the pig and score some loot!

we let sweet little blair go first since she's the youngest...she was very dainty with just a small tap on the piggie's belly...

then after the girls all had their turns, the boys got their turn...trevor {on the left} had quite the swing and meant business as he smacked the poor pig. nick was a bit more subdued in his approach...

eventually the pig was busted open, and the spoils were on the ground for everyone to grab!

we all bid farewell, and decided that us momma's would meet up for breakfast after dropping our kiddos off at school on the first day of school, only a few days away! yikes!

nick passed out in the back seat on the way home, as he tended to do after our long days running around this summer. i only hope that next summer brings as much happiness and fun!

xoxo...liese :o)

Project: Nikita Miles Alexander Johnson

2012-01-09T10:52:00.002-06:00

i'm a little behind on my posting, as usual, however i do want to introduce you all to a new tab i've created at the top of the blog called: "2012 photo journal". i'm going to {attempt!} to take a picture a day of nick this year to see how he's grown, and better document what the crazy guy is up to! i've already missed one day, but with all new year's resolutions, i think we're allowed a do-over or two early on in the game! hope you enjoy watching the russky grow with us!

here's the direct link in case you want to save it...
http://2texansandalittlerussky.blogspot.com/p/2012-photo-journal.html

xoxo...liese :o)

Summer...Summer...Summer Time!

2011-12-18T18:34:00.001-06:00

after much consideration, i decided the quit my job to stay home with nicky for the summer. i had been with the company for almost 7 years, and not only was it pretty dead-end, i realized that i was missing out on the most important thing in our lives...spending time with nick. we've had quite the rocky road post-adoption - nick and i's bonding experience unfortunately didn't come as easily as expected. we also realized that nick was going to need to start a medication regime for his recently diagnosed ADHD and anxiety, and i didn't feel comfortable relying on a stranger to update me on his progress/set-backs. so...quit my job i did, and a fun summer we had! we got to travel here and here and we had a lot of lazy days, hanging out with friends, and a lot of pool time. what more could i have asked for?!

visiting daddy at the fire station

swimming lessons with best bud trevor

fun night grilling and hanging out with friends...

church arts & music camp... more riding of horses...

quality time with girlfriend blair bear

nicky & trevor ready to race their lego stompers...these things took about an hour to put together...3.7 seconds to fall apart! but...they were fun for the boys none the less.

nick in a bucket...

2nd annual 4th of july at the fc dallas game...

when ya gotta go...ya gotta go...

sun goes down...shirt comes off. this kid's come a loooong way from the one who used to pull at his shorts legs to make them longer and the days of not even wanting to walk around the house sans shirt!

one smart little russky...chillin' like a villian with girlfriend blair while trevor gives them a ride around the pool

the silly faces above definitely summarize the summer and it's awesomeness! getting back into the swing of the school year was pretty rough. most every day the first few weeks involved a nap as soon as snack time was over. i don't know about the russky, but i'm so ready for the warm weather and swimming and hanging out with friends. the daily grind of being back to work, getting up early and having the responsibility of school is a drag! summer break 2012 can't come soon enough!

xoxo...liese :o)

B.E.N. to San Antonio Lately?

2011-12-18T17:47:00.000-06:00

nick and his cousins, brenden and emily, are not only related, but they're good friends as well. it gives me the warm fuzzies to see him spending time with them, much as i spent time with my cousins who were close in age as i was growing up. they have nick-named their little cousin club "B.E.N." {get it? Brenden, Emily, Nicky...pretty clever of the short people i think!}. since i quit my job in june to spend the summer hanging out with nicky, we had nothing but time to kill, and when uncle brent said they would all be at nana & pop's for a visit this summer, it was a no-brainer! we loaded up the car and headed down for some fun in the sun, and some quality bonding time!

b.e.n. havin' a little breakfast...with brie and blitzer ready to catch anything that should drop to the floor...or lap...or corner of the table!

b.e.n. having a little lunch in the club house/tree house/fort/whatever it's called - we all call it something different, and each kiddo will correct you no matter what you call it. silly adults...get it right! {ps...thank you pop for building such a fun hang-out space for these crazies!}

miss emily ready to get her party on!

uncle brent's, emily's & pop's birthdays are all in a row at the end of july/beginning of august, so we always lump them all together into one celebration...but we all know who runs the show... yep! pop's fave color is pink & he's quite the princess! :0)

em all dressed up like the princess she is

me & my fave little peeps hanging out at uncle edward's & aunt marsha's homestead

b.e.n. with their buddy "sunny"...nick & sunny are old pals...if we had a bigger back yard, the russky would make it super hard for us to explain why we didn't have a horse in it

nick showing his mean face

other than hanging out in the club house, and jumping on the trampoline, b.e.n.'s fave spot is the pool. they loved us to get in and lounge on rafts, while they pulled us around on "cruises around the caribbean"

man how times have changed...he's listening to brenden's ipod...which you can't even see. not that long ago the common listening device would've been the boom box, or walkman, or diskman! dang these kids have it good today! what will be next? a chip in the neck that you can tune to your fave satellite radio station?!

what trip to SA would be complete without a visit to the rainforest cafe? the kids love it and it gets us all outta the house for a nice lunch.

unfortunately, all good things have to come to an end, but uncle brent made sure we all went out with a bang. cookie cake anyone? complete with each of the kid's names spelled in their favorite colors and "BCF...best. cousins. forever." can't wait to get together again! {oh yeah...that'll be in less than 2 days when we all head to SA for christmas! that's the best part about waiting so long to post about the trip...just as i'm reliving all the fun memories...we get to make new ones shortly there after!}

xoxo...liese :o)

Valentine's Day in Paradise

2011-12-16T10:56:00.000-06:00

kris and i abandoned the little guy to take a trip to paradise last february. i had pretty well recovered from my surgery and we decided to let loose! we made a marriage pact before we brought nicky into our lives that we would always, no matter what, make time to take an "adults only" vacation. i kinda felt guilty leaving the little russky behind since this was our first long trip without him, but i quickly got over that once i had a nice beverage in my hand {thanks to my brother who knows how to pick up visitors from the airport in style!} and the sand between my toes!

we hung out with family and friends, ate, drank and were merry for a week before we headed back to reality. here are some snapshots of our craziness in st thomas, norman island {woo hoo for willie t's!}, and jost van dyke {where colbie callait began stalking us...seriously...we met her there & then she ~~followed us~~ was at dinner at the same restaurant as us that night!}. i love to travel and altho it's not exactly across the pond, being in the british virgin islands is the next best thing to actually being in another country for now...plus...it's the beach...and who doesn't love the beach?! we love it so much down there, we just planned our next trip for february 2012!

day one of fun...hanging out at the beach house...

3 "men" on one paddle board...do i even have to state the obvious that there was copious amounts of adult beverages involved?

me taking my turn on the paddle board...what you can't see is kris behind my board...i'm afraid to be in the open water alone, so in case i fell my super-stellar hubby hung out in the water waiting for me <3

pop taking his paddle board turn...he actually went before me...i figured if my 63 year old dad could do it, i could do it!

evening of day one...yummy food and then night at the fat turtle for some crazy dancing!

my brother's friend travis, brother brent, & the hubby...hot men ready to party

me hanging with the gals before heading out

me & the hubster at the fat turtle. as you can tell...i got me a little sun! i had to resort to a ball cap & long-sleeved shirt for a lot of the rest of our sun time :o(

day 2...big beach house bash...

my "little" brother enjoying the fact that he can pick me up and pretend to launch me into the drink

my family all gussied up :o)

day3...boating to the british virgin islands...

photo op at st john...pre "potty break"

high five after jumping off the willie t! afraid of heights or not...i was gonna do it... after the 3rd time i kinda strained my neck, so that kinda ended that!

view looking down sandy cay with tortola to the east

hmm...wonder what kris is doing waaaaay out there in the water all alone while we're all on shore? {jost van dyke}

our first encounter with colbie callait...{soggy dollar bar...try the pain killer drink...trust me!}

at some point my silly brother commandeered my camera & started taking random pix...here are a few i can actually show :o)

um...i think travis, kris and i were pretending to be "charlie's angels"? there are too many things i could say about that...

apparently kris & i had a great story we were telling

the rest of our trip was spent lounging at the beach and pool, soaking up the sun, spending time with family and with no worries about having to "parent" anyone. don't get me wrong...we missed the little guy, but it sure is nice to take a break now and then!

xoxo...liese :o)

Happy New Year 2011 (um...like 11 months ago...)!

2011-12-16T10:43:00.002-06:00

{nothin' like talking about the current new year celebration just before the next year begins! what can i say? i'm a slacker & just gettin' around to this!}

brenden, emily, & nick {aka "ben"...their crazy cousin club name}...all ready to ring in the new year...at 8pm :)
we headed down to nana & pop's house to ring in the new year with uncle brent & the kiddos last year. it was the first year since we brought nicky home with us that kris & i actually went out to celebrate. usually we sit in our neighbor's back yard by a toasty fire, and watch the ball drop on their big outdoor screen which is always a blast, but being able to get all dressed up and head out like adults was awesome!
we celebrated with the kids before we went out, complete with "hore dee vors" for dinner, dessert, party hats & noise makers. then it was game on as we scrambled to get them all snug in their beds while we prepped to get our adult party on!

pretty girl emily flaunting her stuff...not sure where her other sock is!

whoo hoo! happy new year!!!

shot of the mr & i...at the beginning of the night. good thing we got a good one in this early, cuz they got pretty silly as the night went on! this was shortly after we arrived...the second time. i went out like a rookie partier and forgot my ID, got carded {woot woot!}, and had to swing back to the house! you can really tell we don't get out much anymore...and if we do...we have a kid in tow & for some reason we don't get carded often :(

brother brent, "vivvy" {as nick says..."viv" is hard for him to say for some reason...plus it's a cute moniker i think!}, me & my hot hubby

hot party chicks

the VIP crew...really...we had a "VIP" area, which was really just a small section roped off from the general public on the dance floor. it was nice to actually maintain a place to sit and hang out and not have to worry {too much} about being bumped into all night.

aw...how sweet...get a room!

get enough wodka in this guy & he'll strut his stuff!

these boys are hilarious. no clue what was going on here...but it makes me giggle every time i look at it!

we had a blast ringing in 2011 like the party people we pretended to be, but...it all came with a price the next AM! oh well...the best part of all was getting to spend time with the family, and nicky getting to hang out with his cousins :)

xoxo...liese :o)

How Dare the Tooth Fairy Leave "Paper"!!!

2011-12-03T18:49:00.001-06:00

nick lost his first tooth while we were in san diego, on our way to the zoo...while eating an apple...and must have swallowed it...and never said a single word about it until daddy randomly noticed he was missing it when we walked into the zoo! then, all heck broke loose, because "it bleed" and nick is NOT a fan of the "bleed". after calming him down, and surmising that he swallowed it, and telling him that it's ok to tell us that he's lost a tooth, that it's a good thing & that he will get money from the tooth fairy for each tooth, all was good. we didn't have a real tooth to put under his pillow, so instead we used a piece of folded paper as his "tooth" {may have been daddy's folded up beer label...may not have been...}. here's how things went down the next morning:

momma: good morning nick! what'cha doin? did the tooth fairy come see you?

nick: no! she didn't leave me anything! see!

momma: looks like there's something there...

nick: yeah. just this paper! {of which he had wadded up because he apparently didn't have a clue what it was...or probably thought it was still the "tooth" we had placed under there the night before}

momma & daddy: well...that looks like that's money!

nick: this paper is money? but it's not coins!

momma & daddy: yeah bud! that's $5! it's worth more than the coins!

{if the tooth fairy had known she coulda just left a few quarters...}

nick: oh! this is a lot of money?

momma & daddy: yep! you can use it to buy something you see while we're out & about today!

nick: really?! i can BUY something?!

momma & daddy: yep! anything you want that costs $5!

nick: granny! poppa! look! i got MONEY!!!

nick has since lost his 2nd tooth...of which the tooth fairy paid him in a sandwich baggie full of coins. she ain't no dummy! ;o)

xoxo...liese :o)

So Cal Livin'

2011-12-03T18:49:00.000-06:00

this past june the johnson's headed west to san diego. i had never been to so cal, and had always wanted to, and it's not too terribly far from el paso, so granny & poppa met us there. we stayed in a pretty nice condo in the pacific beach area, where coincidentally the real world cast had just descended upon the city and we saw them out & about several times. kris loves him so "reality" tv, so he's checked out a few episodes. me on the other hand...well...i think i'm getting too old for all that d.r.a.m.a. they were pretty annoying and thought they were oh so cool.

but...i digress...

look how oh so cool nick looks above showing off his big muscles! :o)

our condo wasn't available our first night in town, so instead, we stayed just out of the city at the harrah's rincon in a fancy suite & had a de-lish dinner {thank you granny & poppa!!!}.

the next morning, we awoke to this view...

soggy mountains. yup. soggy. not foggy. soggy. pretty funny! nick, having a slight obsession with storms, couldn't get past the fact that we were just viewing the notorious "june gloom", and that it was not going to rain on us. most days were a bit gloomy in the mornings with the clouds clearing in the afternoon. the further inland we were, the more sun we saw. i always thought i would love to live in san diego. now i know i'm a wuss & it's just too darn cold for my old bones!

anyhoo...we had a blast. we spent time touring the city, which is FABULOUS for traveling with kids. there was never a shortage of fun things to go and do and see. of course, nick's favorite times were spent at the beach...i swear he has to be our birth kid as much as he loves the same things we do!

we headed down to seaport village one morning and tooled around prior to our taking a seal tour. it drove us around the city a bit, then took the plunge into the big bay. nick thought it was really cool that a big "bus" could drive and float!

it was pretty chilly on the ride, so i snuggled under a blanket with nicky {aka the russian heat-box} on my lap.

best part for the little russky was getting to see the sea lions...they were cute; loud; and stinky. and not necessarily in that order!

after our ride, we ventured around seaport village a bit more, where nicky & i rode the historic carousel.

from there, we scooted across the bridge and headed out to coronado beach for the afternoon. i may not have thought it was warm enough to strip down to my bikini, but man...i could definitely get used to living there. the houses were amazing...not that we could ever afford them, but it was fun dreaming!

nick and poppa dug up quite the number of clams over the course of our trip...and some of them were quite large. nick wanted to take them all home...um...yuk!

the next day we headed to the san diego zoo. wow. that place is HUGE! we took the bus tour just after we got there so we could get the lay of the land. good thing, because we were pretty wiped out by that point and there was no way we coulda done that much walking!

oh...almost forgot to mention...the nickster lost his first tooth while we were there! technically i think he lost it while sharing my apple on our way there, but it's much more funner to say he lost it there!

go figure...nicky's petting an animal. funny thing...as soon as he saw this guy, he told us the story of how he was butted in the head by a little goat at the san antonio a few years ago. sheesh...the things this kid can remember, yet the things he lets slip his mind!

all the animals in the zoo...and nick was soo excited to see: 1. pigeons; 2. ducks. seriously?!

the zoo has plenty of fun, interactive areas here & there to keep the rugrats' attention...

aw...nicky & momma... :o)

aren't we a cute family?!

here's a pic of nick with his cash money the next AM from the tooth fairy. i'll get into that story in another post, because that was some funny stuff!

after discovering what the heck it is the tooth fairy does, the three of us headed up north a bit and hit up the sea life aquarium...

it was fun...but i wouldn't say it was worth the drive unless you're gonna visit legoland as well. but...kept the russky entertained...

i think he had more fun in the little cafe area that had a lego play area than he did looking at all the aquatic animals...

we slowly made our way back down the coast to san diego, stopping off at ruby's diner in oceanside. the restaurant is located at the end of the longest wooden pier on the pacific coast. pretty cool...but creepy walking on it!

we also detoured in la jolla for a bit to check out the seals at children's pool beach...it was amazing to see the little guys swimming up to the beach. nicky wanted to bring a few home with us...i don't blame him! he says "when he's 8 & we get a pool we will get some". done.

the next day we walked down the boardwalk to crystal beach and hung out at belmont park for a bit. nick was too short to ride most of the rides, but that didn't matter much...he loved this thing & poppa even rode with him & they bumped into each other while nick spilled over with laughter!

father's day started out with a big breakfast and some nice down time just hanging out.

kris & i took a bike ride for a bit, and when we returned, nicky & poppa were busy digging a hole to china!

we finished off the trip with an awesome dinner on the beach where we sat outside and watched the sunset {as much as we could at least with the bit of clouds there were}. nicky decided he wanted all our lemons...never mind the fact that they made his face pucker!

we were thankful to be able to spend the time with family, & kris & i were blessed to have the next week all to ourselves, as nick stayed with granny & poppa in el paso. thanks a million, granny & poppa, for the fun trip!

xoxo...liese :o)

Nicky Turns 5

2011-12-03T17:24:00.000-06:00

nick's 5th birthday was a two-fer. we decided to forego the big, hoopla-palooza big bash style favored by so many of his classmates, and instead did the old school down-home family style version. uncle brent flew brenden and emily down to nana and pop's for the celebration, and to make it even better, we kept it a surprise! brenden and emily helped decorate nana & pop's and nana made a fun pirate-themed birthday cake.

we kicked off the celebration with lunch at the rainforest cafe...

...then a boat ride downtown on the river.

later that day we had the extended family over for a big dinner and...yummy cake...

...the opening of presents...

...and a little calorie burning fun on the trampoline.

unfortunately...nick did suffer a minor leg injury and we ended up at the ER monday morning :o( {not that it was uncle brent's fault or anything...just happened to be a fun pic! nick says it happened when daddy was jumping with him, and daddy has since been banned from the bouncing ballyhoo}

thankfully, there wasn't anything major wrong with the little dude's leg and a nice ace bandage did the trick!

part deux of nick's birthday was a month after the fact when we went to the great wolf lodge with our good friends the dutton's. here's nick and his partner in crime trevor just after the fun began...

we went last year just the 3 of us for daddy's & nick's combo birthday, and yay for nick - he grew and was able to go on more of the slides this time! not to mention, having a friend to run around and play with there was a bonus!

sweet blair bear enjoyed herself as well. she was pretty funny trying to walk in the water with water shoes on...she kept lifting her feet up as high as possible with each step!

we had a yummy pizza dinner and hung out in our jammies...

...then all went down for the evening story time in the hotel lobby where the kiddos all got to meet wiley...

they say it's a balmy 80 degrees inside the water park, but it's a little teeth chattering for me...and nick agreed. shivers or not, we had to drag him outta there kicking and screaming for more! we had so much fun, we've decided to make it an annual event with the dutton's and we're going back in january for trevor's birthday!

The Return of Dobby

2011-12-03T07:55:00.000-06:00

last year we broke down and joined the ranks of all the other parents who are trying to keep the "Santa-ness" alive and brought the "elf on the shelf" into our home {aka "dobby"...nick named him...very cool because as you may or may not know, nick has a really hard time remembering names, much less giving inanimate objects names...& oh yes..."dobby" is the house elf from harry potter...that kid loves him some HP!}. dobby was pretty boring last year...showed up in random spots all over the house, but nothing fun like all the ideas i'm reading this year on pinterest. {i.e. making snow angels?! turning the milk green?! oh you crazy elves!...totally copy-catting those ideas this year!}. anyhoo...dobby started off this year much the same...in fact, he didn't even show up for duty on day one! musta gotten lost in traffic? yeah...that's it.

more to the point...keep getting distracted by the flushing of the toilet up in nicky's room...over & over & over & over...and hearing him jump from his bed to the floor...over & over & over... oh yeah... where was i? oh...so we watched the elf on the shelf show the other night, and read the book, and dobby joined us on day 2. boring spot, can't be creative cuz i still don't have all our trees decorated...yadda yadda yadda. anyhoo...nicky's behavior has been less than stellar lately. pretty much every november since we brought him home has been a challenge {it's the month his birth mother abandoned him, and he subsequently had a seizure and stayed in the hospital for a bit, then moved to the orphanage...quite a lot to take in for a 7 month old!}...feel sorry for him now? good...we do too. but...he takes a lot out on us this time of year, and it's hard to get into the "buying of presents" and the "joy of Christmas" and all that when he's just constantly fighting, arguing, whining, lying, tantrum-ing, etc! i mean seriously - how many times can one say "i don't want to..." in a short period of time? well...i lost count at 375...ok maybe not that many, but pretty dang close!

this past week has been so rough that at bedtime, nick exclaims "i don't want to go to bed! i want to stay up all night and watch movies!", etc {basically says any & everything to avoid going to bed & to get our attention}. once in his room, he plays in his bed, jumps up and down, peeks out of his room, etc, until he finally puts himself to bed and falls asleep. last night he jumped up and down on the top few steps outside his room and tried to get our attention for over an hour before he finally went to bed...and that's only because we turned off the tv at 9:35pm and "went to bed" ourselves! sheesh...stubborn much?! i even told him he didn't have to go to bed if he didn't want to...he could play all night for all i cared, but...he had to stay in his room.

well..."dobby" must have finally had enough and told "santa" all about it. and "santa" wrote a letter to nick telling him that all his crazy behaviors had better stop or there will be no presents in his sack for him...basically, nicky can stuff his sorries in a sack unless he shapes up!

we'll see how it goes...nick's been up for about 30 minutes now playing in his room...and it's 7:45am. seriously...can't a momma enjoy a quiet cup of joe before reporting to "work"? i have a feeling it's going to be a long day...your prayers are much welcomed!!!

xoxo...liese :o)

fall mantle 2011...

2011-11-19T16:34:00.001-06:00

you can see the entire post & shout-outs under the "she's crafty" tab, but here's a few pictures of my handiwork. i can't quite figure out how to get my "pages" to work correctly & let me do individual posts there, so in the meantime, please bear with me!

xoxo...liese :o)

Christmas 2010...better late than never!

2011-11-18T11:26:00.000-06:00

last christmas we celebrated with granny & poppa {kris' parents}. it was the first year nick truly understood what all the fuss was about and he was actually excited for the big red man to come. we were also fortunate enough to spend time with our good friends the dutton's (andrew, wendy, trevor and blair bear). we walked the lights in our neighborhood with mugs of hot chocolate and had yummy desserts. we also attended the candlelight service at our church. it was a great christmas and each one is better than the last as nicky learns all about the true meaning of christmas...

here are a few shots of nick helping make and decorate our christmas cookies. i bought some fun beach inspired ones to go with our home decor, but the cookies themselves turned out really flat...and huge! we did our best with what we had, and they tasted good none-the-less!

trevor & nicky dancing to the light show at one of the houses in our neighborhood

our hot cocoa light tour crew

blair bear all cozy

nick & trev struttin' their stuff

marshmallows...yum!

nick ready to meet santa

ho ho ho...how cute is this?!

leaving cookies for santa

loved his trampoline so much he had to open all his gifts while sitting on it!

best. present. ever.

nicky thanking granny & poppa for his gifts

nicky & daddy making granny's birthday cake

the whole family out to dinner to celebrate granny's birthday...

turkey day 2010...a tad overdue...

2011-11-17T17:01:00.000-06:00

the end of 2010 was quite the blur. we busily prepared for my parents, brother, his kids, and my cousins and their families to join us for thanksgiving. that meant prepping the inside and outside of the house - which for kris, meant spending countless hours outside trimming, planting, mowing, hanging decor, etc. he's such a good boy! :) anyhoo...at this point, our pictures are gonna speak a 1000 words...because i don't have any super stories to go along with them other than the fact that spending time with family can be both rewarding and stressful at the same time. at the end of the day, i'm so thankful to have such a wonderful, loving, awesome family that i get to spend time with and i cherish every moment!

kris, brent, viv & pop all got to go to the Cowboy's game on thanksgiving day itself, so our feast was the day after. here's kris & brent testing out some Cowboy's apparel for the game. {notice i capitalized Cowboy's & yet nothing else...yeah...i live in texas...football always comes 1st!}

the kiddos hung out playing, making crafts while nana & i prepped our thanksgiving feast

we took our stir crazy bunch to look at christmas lights in our neighborhood while we waited for the football bunch to return

after lights, we came home for dessert and cozy-ing up in our comfy jammies

over the weekend we took the kids to the mckinney dickens' of a christmas for some food and activities. 2010 was our 3rd annual visit and we must like it because we already have plans to attend this year!

the beautiful miss emily with her face painted

brenden & nicky with their faces painted...this was nicky's 1st time to actually allow it to be done! he's not the biggest fan of paint on the face...i don't think he likes the way it feels.

other than that we pretty much just hung out at the house, ate a TON and enjoyed spending time together!

xoxo...liese :o)

1st Rule of Fight Club...

2011-11-16T11:52:00.000-06:00

...you don't talk about fight club!

lesson learned: don't mess with a feisty 2-year-old red-head...she's liable to launch a sippy cup at you. and ~ if you have less than stellar catching abilities, well, your face might get in the way!

figures too...poor kid always seems to have some random facial issue or another any time we have plans for a family gathering, photo session, trip planned. i'm surprised child protective services hasn't placed a visit yet! little dude tends to just fall on his face...it's like 'really? can't you put your arms out to catch you or something?!' oh well...i suppose it adds character...and he's still cuter than cute all the same!

#surehopeourphotographercaneditthatthingoutinourfamilypix!

Random Wednesday Nicky

2011-11-16T11:43:00.000-06:00

nice hair dude!

nicky: momma...it smells WEIRD outside!

momma: it does? what's it smell like?

nicky: like God's pooping!

momma: wow...i don't think i've ever smelled that before...but i'll take your word for it!

Keepin Cool in Da Hood

2011-07-03T13:27:00.001-05:00

one day this pool will be a beautiful underground version with palm trees all around. until then (which we've promised nick will be when he's 8), this cheapo blow-up version will have to do! i think we might have to test out running thru the sprinklers next, cuz the water in this puppy gets hot...fast!

happy 4th weekend!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Liesey...You've Got Some Splaining to Do!

2011-07-01T16:40:00.045-05:00

ok...here's the situation...my parent's went away for a week's vacation...

wait...i think i got off on a song lyric tangent there for a sec! sigh...that brings back a lot of 80's memories! gotta love old school rap.

anyhoo...i've taken quite the break from this here blog. as in, it's july & i just posted about last halloween. i had actually written that post a while back, but, darn blogspot was giving me grief with the uploading of photos and i just gave up. not to mention, i was getting frustrated with the look of the blog and the formatting, all while learning to use my new macbook pro. i could complain all day...really it just boils down to plain ol' laziness for the most part, but you get the point.

oh yeah...speaking of that halloween post...that crazy back injury of which i spoke...yeah, well, it flared up again in november and just kept giving me grief, so i finally went to my pain management doctor and he ordered an mri to see what was going on. to make a long story short - i do have a lower back degenerative disk issue, however, what they found, which was even more annoying, was the fact that i had several complex (i.e. nasty, not so friendly fellas) in my ovaries and a pesky splotchy thingy (technical term) on my uterus. oh yeah - throw in some awesome endometriosis, like all over the entire girly-part region, and seems like poor kris wasn't the only culprit in our not being able to get pregnant scenario. so...i went to a specialist and the situation came to a head with my scheduling a total hysterectomy with a bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. huh? basically, all my girly innards were removed. so - at the age of 37 i am officially in surgical induced menopause. awesome.

the good news is: my migraines appear to be a bit better, because my hormone levels are somewhat evened out. the bad news is: my hormone levels are only somewhat evened out and i have obnoxious side-effects which are just way too personal to discuss with the world wide web. ladies - if you're ever bored, and sorta curious as to what you can expect when it comes to menopause...check out the website: www.hystersisters.com. it's pretty fabulous and has been my best friend thru this process, especially in dealing with the random "WTF is going on?!" types of questions.

in summation...the end of last year, and the beginning of this year was a big blur. there were many bouts of crying/freaking out/wondering when i would return to "normal". i think i'm finally on the mend, but when the doctor's told me that it could take up to a year for my body to finally heal, well, they weren't joking!

and that, my friends, is yet another excuse as to why i haven't been feeling up to blogging much lately!

Happy Halloween!

2011-07-01T16:19:00.000-05:00

da dum. da dum. da dum.

...ok...ok...i know this is a little late...but...here it is anyway!

This year we decided to ditch the Dallas Arboretum (which last year we vowed to make our "annual Halloween trick-or-treat adventure since it was so beautiful). After working in the yard all day, and me re-injuring my poor aching back, I just couldn't deal with all the crowds. So instead, we joined our friends the Dutton's and their extended family. Nicky was super-excited to get to see his friend Trevor, as it had been about two weeks-ish since they last ~~ran around like crazy fools~~ spent time together.

We arrived at their house around 6pm, snacked on some yummy chips and queso, then rounded everyone up for a quick photo...

...then around their neighborhood we trekked...in search of all things sugar!

I was surprised to see a few things:

Most people trick-or-treating in the Dutton's neighborhood, did not in fact live in their neighborhood.
There were really no two costumes alike - yes, there were several witches, etc, however, they were all decorated differently, so I thought that was kinda nice.
The age of which most trick-or-treaters has definitely increased since the last time I went house-to-house begging for candy. And I don't mean there were 17 year olds instead of 14, although there were those as well. I mean there were grown ADULTS, toting Wal-Mart bags with which to carry their free loot. Really? Ya can't just hop on down to the local gas station and buy yourself a Kit-Kat?!

Anywho...we had fun nonetheless, and it looks like our new tradition will be spent with good friends engaging in good ol' fashioned house-to-house hunting candy family fun!

The Deep Fried Texas State Fair

2010-10-21T13:46:00.003-05:00

5 months ago we took Nick to the Texas State Fair with Nana and Pop, and since I'm such a slacker, it's taken me this long to finally get this post published. I (sorta) have a good reason. We took him to the fair just after we returned from Russia with his Granny and Poppa and like the rookie parents we were then, we forgot our camera and had to stop to purchase a disposable one on our way there. I mean, who gets film developed anymore?! I know they could put it on a disk for me, but that means I a) have to remember to take the camera with me to the store; and b) have to take the time to go and pick it up. I actually carried the thing around with me for a while, and always forgot to drop it off. Then I came across it just before we went to the fair this year (2010 that is) and had big plans of posting both the pictures of his first year at the fair and his second excursion in a before and after kind of post. Yeah - that didn't happen. I have absolutely no idea where I've put the camera again after carrying it around in my purse for a few months!

So...this post will just be some pictures of his second trip to the fair and once I find the camera I promise to have it developed, wait at the store to pick it up, drop whatever I happen to be doing at the time, and get the darn pictures posted! Now that I write about it - I'm pretty anxious to see how cute and stocky he used to look!

Anyhoo...we went to the fair! Nicky was thrilled to climb on some "diggers"...he woulda driven one right out the gate if we let him!

We spent some time in the kids' section where Nicky got to pretend to work on a farm...he LOVED it! I think we're going to have to make sure he goes to a school with an Ag program.

We ate a bunch of deep fried yumminess...fried margaritas anyone? (sorry...no picture of that, but I assure you it was good!) We watched a dog show which made me want a border collie even more than ever). Pop, Daddy and Nicky visited the Tom Landry collection - Pop was in heaven. Then Nicky played some games and rode some rides.

Nicky thoroughly enjoyed the day and didn't want it to end. He chatterboxed the whole way home about everything we did and although the fair was super-crowded and we didn't get to tick off everything on our list of to-do's/see, we can't wait to take him back next (this 2011) year for some more craziness!

Nicky's First Sleepover

2010-10-05T13:52:00.040-05:00

Nicky and his friend Trevor are complete opposites, yet they make the best little buddies ever. They get along really well and seem to balance each other out perfectly. They can play alongside each other or together and rarely have they had a disagreement. One beautiful sunny afternoon we decided to take Trevor and Nicky for a round of putt-putt. From there we played soccer, played on the playground, a round of baseball in the front yard, took a bath, ate pizza, played in Nicky's playroom before finally succumbing to the tiredness around 9pm. Since this first sleepover, they've had two more...all containing the same crazy fun and excitement. It's the next best thing to having two kids full-time!

Here are a few pictures from all the fun...

Futbol Round Two

2010-09-17T09:52:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again...the weather's getting a little cooler. The sun goes down earlier. The kid's strap on their shin-guards and cleats and head to the soccer fields! This year is really no different than last year. Yes, Nicky is about a foot taller (man this kid grows like a weed!), and yes, the uniforms are much nicer. However, the randomness that is our child running around like a crazy man on the field hasn't changed a bit!

He still enjoys chasing his shadow; the chalk lines are somehow amazing to him; he can't be bothered to run for any long periods of time; and running and kicking at the same time...forget about it! On the plus side...he does really enjoy the time he spends with the other boys on his team. We were lucky enough to have Ethan and Jordan (twins), and Trevor on our team again this season (we also played t-ball with them this summer).

I suppose that's the most important thing - Nicky is having fun and getting over his social anxiety somewhat and he's outside being active. Never mind the fact that Momma has a hard time watching because he refuses to try (Daddy had a harder time with the non-t-ball playing). Not that we want to be those parents that push their kids into various activities, but maybe if he actually tried to play, he might find that he's good at it. Oh well...we're happy he gets out on the field and doesn't just sit on the sideline refusing to go in at all!

5 Fabulous Years!!!

2010-09-16T16:48:00.000-05:00

(We had our "official" anniversary date last Saturday night (9.11.10)...we went to the Dave Matthew's Concert...Blitzer wanted to join us!)

Being that it's our anniversary today, I wanted to ride into the office with my super-cute hubby so I took my time getting ready this morning waiting for him to come home from the fire station. I sent him a text to see if he was on his way, and he called back to say that he "just left work and is stuck in traffic so it might be a while". Well, poo. So, I loaded Nicky in the car for school and wouldn't you know, as soon as we turned out of our neighborhood, Kris turned onto our street. Not being one to give up, I called and told him to hurry up and get ready mister! I dropped Nick off at school then swung back to the house to grab my amazing husband of 5 years and to work we drove.

We had already gotten each other gifts in St Thomas...tanzanite earrings for me...

and a Tissot watch for my man...

Anywho...we parted ways and went to our respective corners of the office, and as I approached my desk I was surprised to find these beauties...

Yay for me! Wasn't expecting them at all. They are they same flowers we had in our wedding...how sweet and sentimental is that boy?! Turns out, he didn't fib about "just left work..." - I just assumed he meant the fire station, when in reality he was leaving me a prize at our office...little sneak! We're also going to have a hot lunch date to round out the day. Not too shabby I think! :)

Mr Frog Visits the Fire Station

2010-09-14T09:57:00.029-05:00

Nicky likes to share his "babies" with Momma and Daddy. Daddy usually gets "Mr Frog", which we love because Mr Frog is the guy we took to Russia on all our trips to see Nicky at the orphanage, and was his first daily companion. The other night, Nicky gave Mr Frog to Kris and told him to take him to the fire station with him the next day. Kris, being a good daddy, obliged and even took pictures of Mr Frog enjoying his day at the "boys club" (aka the fire station). Here he is on the ambulance...

And hitching a ride on the fire engine...

When I picked Nicky up from school, I told him that Daddy had taken Mr Frog to work with him as he had asked. Only problem was, Nicky didn't remember that conversation! :( He asked me "daddy bring him back to me?" I assured him that yes, Mr Frog would return in the morning and showed him the pictures of Mr Frog above. This he was super excited about and wanted to know if we could go and visit him right then and there. Then he became very concerned that Mr Frog would be dirty upon his return and I had to promise to give him a bath...that's one silly Russky!

Mr Frog, to this day, is Daddy's faithful companion at home, as Ellie Nellie is mine. Nicky will even tuck them in our arm just so while we sit and watch tv and will rearrange them if we happen to move an inch!

A Little Russky in Paradise

2010-09-06T16:04:00.000-05:00

We promised our little Russian transplant a beach vacation this summer, and we were bound and determined to deliver. We bit the bullet and decided to visit Uncle Brent in St Thomas, USVI. I say "bit the bullet" because who in their right mind goes to the Caribbean in the middle of hurricane season?! Yeah...that would be us. And when I say in the middle, I mean we literally traveled just after Hurricane Earl hit and with 3 impending tropical storms following! Luckily, Earl spared St Thomas, and left us wonderful weather to enjoy to boot! Here are some fun pictures from our trip...we are already planning a trip back (adults only this time...sorry little guy)!

Nicky reading some smut on the airplane...have we taught this kid right or what?

Fresh off the plane, Uncle Brent took us for a tour around the beautiful island.

The morning coffee view...never got old...

Lunch at the Shipwreck Tavern...Nicky was less than thrilled to be so close to a shark...real or not.

Nicky enjoying our first morning out on the boat...headed to St John

Beer man Kris bringing us thirsty boaters adult beverages back to the beach where we enjoyed an afternoon of throwing around the football and basking in the sun.

Nicky and "captain" Brandon. Brandon told Nicky he could "drive" the boat if Nicky would allow Brandon to do his hair...take a long look at this pic...you'll probably never see Nicky's hair styled in such a fashion ever again. He's more of a nice and tidy comb over kind of dude!

1st Mate Nicky driving the boat with his "girlfriend" Julie (aka Brandon's real-life girlfriend)

Nicky defiling the bathroom at Havana Blue...why oh why can't this be done at home?!

YUMMY dessert at Havana Blue, which followed a stellar meal!

Nicky sharing his ice cream with girlfriend Julie - he patted the chair next to him and requested her to join him...ah...young love!

Jost Van Dyke

Nick never wanted to pee while in the water, but somehow peeing off the boat was ok in his book! Guess it's a guy thing...

White Bay, Jost Van Dyke

Nicky relaxing and allowing Daddy to bury his feet at the Soggy Dollar Bar

Nicky eating a pb&j which he pilfered off some cute chick in a bikini on the boat tied next to us...which was after he consumed french fries and a grilled cheese at lunch moments before...the kid's a bottomless pit when we travel!

Upon finishing the pb&j, he was awarded an orange from the same bikini-clad hottie...guess being a cute kid has it's perks!

"I'm not a playa I just crush a lot"...Big Pimpin' Nicky's new saying...here he's posing with a bachelorette party in White Bay with girlfriend Julie...

Momma and Julie keepin' it real...

That's right Uncle Brent...hook 'em horns!

Nicky "surfing" on Brandon's back...

The happy Johnson family chillin' on the beach by the Soggy Dollar...wish we were there now!

The tiny, yet beautiful Sandy Spit...a must-see when cruising the BVI's...

Nicky swimming to Sandy Spit with girlfriend Julie (that's the island of Tortola in the background)

Nicky and Brandon digging on Sandy Spit

The happiest little Russky...ever...

Momma enjoying the tranquil ocean setting...

Nicky and Daddy as we left Sandy Spit...

Nicky met yet another cute girl at dinner (yummy pizza!) after boating all day...

Magens Bay...

Family picture...Magens Bay...by the look on Nicky's face, I am led to believe he's thinking "enough with the pictures already - i'm ready to swim and dig in the sand!"

Nicky finally let Kris bury him (almost) completely on the last day. Check out his hands...he'll dig all day, but when buried, he won't touch the sand...so silly!

Nicky and Daddy enjoying a dip before we had to leave paradise...

Chillin' at Magens Bay...note to self...Sand Fleas abound - take caution and stay in the water! My legs were so ate-up and were covered in tiny red dots from my knees down for weeks after the trip! :(

On the way back to Uncle Brent's condo from Magens Bay, a sleepy little Russky leaned over and said to me "momma. i no wanna go home. i stay here at unka brent's house." Enough said. If there was ever a question as to whether or not Nicky had fun on the trip, I just have to remember him uttering those words.

Gotcha Day 2010

2010-08-29T18:00:00.021-05:00

Early on, we decided that we would be very open with Nicky about the fact that we adopted him from Russia. What better way to do so than to celebrate "Gotcha Day" - the day we literally "got" him?! This year Daddy was home, and since it was so hot outside, we figured the best way to celebrate this year was to head to Gina's for a dip in the pool (aka Nicky's favorite place to be...if there's water...this kid's in it!).

It's so hard to believe that it's been two years since we brought a scared little guy home from an orphanage in Russia. So much has changed. He's come so far! He has started asking me questions again about whether or not my belly was big when he was in it. Hmm...well...you see Nick, you didn't quite grow in my belly...

From that starting point I explained to him (again) how he had 2 "momma's" and 2 "daddy's" and that one Momma and Daddy lived in Russia. That led to a "why? why they not here?" I get kinda squirmy telling him too much too early/young. But, in the end I was forced to tell him that they couldn't take care of him and we came and got him and brought him back here to live with us. In response to that I got "oh. ok momma. i have peanut butter jelly for unch?" Sure buddy, you can have whatever you want for "unch" - it's your day!

One day I hope to have a fully mapped out story that we will tell him. Of course, one day he'll understand, and that day will unfortunately bring about some sadness at the loss of his former life. In the meantime, we'll enjoy the bliss of him only remembering being with us, where he belongs!

Back to School

2010-08-23T11:52:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe it's already the end of August and school's starting up again! Nicky will now be going to Beaty only 2 days a week (Monday & Wednesday)(communication class) instead of 3 since we felt that he was missing out on a lot of the pre-school type work at his private school. His classes are only 1 1/2 hrs long, then 1 1/2 hr of another class where he plays and does art, etc. He would leave the house at 7am and not arrive at his private school until 12pm! Luckily we have a later bus pick-up time this year - 7:30am. So much easier to manage getting him up at 10 'til 7 instead of 6:20am...he would barely be fully awake by the time the bus would arrive...heck...neither was I!

Kris and I met Nicky's new teacher, Mrs Gallaher, on Friday, and she seems really nice. She works closely with the teacher that Nicky had last year (Mrs Jasper), so she's fully prepared for the crazy man! :0) We've been telling Nicky that school would be starting again today for about 2 weeks now, and when I told him we had to get ready for the bus this morning he asked me "i go japper's class today?" - "Jasper" is a bit tough for him to say...we giggle at his every attempt. For some reason we find "Japper" pretty funny! I reminded him that he has a new teacher and that yes, he was going to Beaty school. He then became very concerned with the logistics of it all:

Nicky: i ride da bus to japper class?

Momma: Yes, you are riding the bus to Beaty school and you'll be in Mrs Gallaher's class.

Nicky: i get to come home?

Momma: Yes buddy, you'll come home after TLC school.

Nicky: i ride da bus home?

Momma: No, you'll ride the bus to TLC school and Momma will pick you up and bring you home.

Nicky: but i get to come home?

Momma: Yes, of course you'll get to come home!

Nicky: see. i tole you momma.

Momma: (heavy sigh) Ok Nicky. You told me.

waiting for the bus

Anywho...he did really well with getting on the bus...no major melt-downs. Kris came home right as the bus arrived, so he got to help send him off. And it was a good thing too...Nicky's backpack was so loaded down with school supplies that as he climbed up the steps, he fell backwards a bit and Daddy's cat-like reflexes caught him and set him straight!

We unfortunately didn't get a good-bye wave from the little Russky as the bus pulled away. Oh well... I think we only got 3 or so each all last year, so we're not taking it personally. Guess it's not "cool" to wave to the parents!

First Movie with the Russky

2010-08-21T10:39:00.041-05:00

This past Saturday we took Nicky to the movies to see Marmaduke. Technically it's not his first movie at a theater (he saw Toy Story 3 with his private school earlier this summer), but it's his first one with Momma and Daddy, so it's still a first in our books!

The movie itself was pretty cute and had enough adult humor to keep Kris and I entertained. Nicky seemed to enjoy it, although it was kind of dicey for a bit...about 30 minutes in, he started to rock back and forth in the booster seat (presumably out of boredom), and a little later he started talking...loudly! But, overall, I'd say it was a success. Shockingly, he didn't need a potty break, which is practically unheard of when we're out in the public!

At the end of the movie, as we were watching the credits and letting the theater clear out a little before we attempted to leave (we went to the matinee at the dollar theater...apparently due to the heatwave everyone else had the same idea!), Nicky asked us "i have dat movie at my house?" We told him that maybe Santa could bring it to him and he got all excited...guess we'll have to let "Santa" know what he can put in Nicky's stocking this year!

Gearing Up for Round Two

2010-08-19T13:24:00.000-05:00

Two weeks ago I received round one of three epidural injections for my crazy pain in my neck/shoulder blade regions. Although it seems to have helped, I wouldn't say that I'm quite cured just yet. I'm really not a fan of needles, but I'll suck it up if it helps alleviate the pain. I asked my pain doc if he thought it was really necessary for me to have the trifecta and his answer was "you're trying to avoid having surgery, right?" Ok then...you'll see me at the surgery center next Tuesday!

So, bring on the "cocktails" and cross your fingers that the second time's the charm!

*my "wining and dining" post-injection...they sure know how to win a gal over!*

2 Years ALREADY?!

2010-08-19T12:08:00.000-05:00

Last Monday we had our two year post-placement home visit with our Social Worker, Jenna. She was amazed at how far Nicky's come. The first visit with her, he barely spoke (Russian or English) and was definitely not into giving hugs to strangers. This visit, he greeted her at the door, gave her a hug and sat right next to her for most of the time she was at the house. Of course, she did give him her iPhone to play games she has on it for her boys, but still! He never would've done that before! Of course, he flitted from one game to the next, just pushing the icons on the screen to which elicited a "wow - short attention span, huh?" from Jenna. We went through the typical "how's he doing with this and that" questions and we all marveled at how well he seems to be doing in a lot of areas.

We confessed our concerns with respect to his cognitive abilities and how it seems to take him a lot of explaining of things before he finally seems to "get it"; and even then, it's almost as if he's just telling us he understands so we'll move onto a new topic. He still doesn't consistently recognize colors; doesn't know his numbers; doesn't recognize the letters in his name, much less, actually write his name correctly. We know that a lot of kids his age may not be able to do these things either. But, at what point should you stop and actually think "huh...something might be going on here". Should we wait for him to fail before getting him some help? This is one of the many questions we ask ourselves on a daily basis. Having your son look at you with a blank face when you're trying to explain something to him, or trying to tell him a joke or merely carry on a conversation, is so hard and frustrating. It's flat-out heartbreaking.

I told Jenna how slowly me and Nicky's bonding process was moving about, and based on all the other info we provided, she said she thought he might be suffering from attachment disorder. We had done some research prior to our adopting him, however, we didn't really consider it as being a factor in our relationship because he does give us affection. Now, after looking at the list of symptoms, Nicky does show many of the other signs. It's hard to tell what's attachment disorder and what behaviors are that of being a "normal" child his age. All I know is that despite all we've done thus far, something still feels "off". We go through times where we feel that everything seems to be on track; then we turn around and think "what the heck is going on here?!".

Jenna carefully broached the subject of Nicky possibly having to repeat Kindergarten. We looked at each other, nodded our heads, and agreed that yes, we feel that it's a strong possibility. And we're ok with that - there's nothing wrong with it. Whatever we need to do for him, we'll do. We don't doubt how far he's come; but we're not naive in thinking we don't still have a long road ahead of us either. The hardest things we've heard up to this point is "he's just 2" or "he's just 3" or "he'll get it; give him time". Well, how much time? It's been two years and we still have a three year old! The more opposition we receive from everyone around us, the harder it is for us to receive the help and support we crave. Nicky's (unfortunately) not doing so poorly that he's able to get extra help at public school; he's merely getting by. If he hadn't been a candidate (due to the fact that he was Russian) for the communication class when we first enrolled him, he wouldn't be a candidate now - he's at the top of his class of his 8 peers. But, he's at the bottom of the class in his private preschool. I don't know about you, but I don't think that's giving him the best that we can offer.

So, back to the drawing board.

Kris and I are going to meet with a new therapist (the last one we saw wanted to dismiss the fact that Nicky had issues, and instead, wanted to talk about Kris and I's childhoods...um...how's that gonna help?!) We aren't too proud to admit that we don't know what we're doing. Anyone can have a kid...but being a parent takes more than that.

Guess Who's Back?

2010-08-19T11:32:00.000-05:00

Nana and Pop brought our sweet baby back to us two weekends ago. We figured we would have some trouble getting him back into his routine, so the little bit of sassiness he's picked up and decided to throw at us has been expected. We thought we had done a pretty good job of preparing ourselves...that is until the first morning back to school rolled around. We knew we were in for a long morning when the first thing out of his mouth when Kris woke him up was "i no wanna go to school! i stay in bed! i sleepy!"

After trying to convince him to get dressed countless times, I went with the - "Ok. You're right. It's your choice. You can either go to school nekked or with your clothes on. You decide." - method. As you can see from the picture above, he decided that the new fad which all 4 year olds should adorn is the highly fashionable bathmat!

Needless to say, he managed to snap out of it, put his clothes on, eat breakfast and go to school with Daddy and perform a seamless drop-off. I swear. Sometimes I really feel like I'm living life on a roller coaster. This kid changes his moods more quickly than a woman with PMS!

ps...despite all that...I'm soo glad he's back home...the house was a little too un-eventful without his silly self around!

The San Antonio Russky

2010-08-19T11:29:00.000-05:00

After spending over a week with his Granny and Poppa, Nicky got to spend a week with his Nana, Pop, Uncle Brent, cousins Brended and Emily, as well as GG, Aunt Marsha, Uncle Edward, and 2nd cousins Marshal and Kelsey. His first day in San Antonio, he went to Sea World...

Brenden and Nicky ready to ride the roller coaster...

Brenden and Nicky after the roller coaster...

Playing in the "water park" at Sea World...

Day two was spent out at Aunt Marsha and Uncle Edward's farm...

Nicky, Brenden, Emily and Pop...

Nicky and Pop...with Nicky's favorite thing EVER in the background - "digger!"

Shooting with Uncle Brent...this has had quite the impression on him...he now wants to be a "peaceman" (we're still having trouble saying the letter "l" - although I think this pronunciation is quite fitting!) when he grows up!

Catching a ride with Marshal...

Picking vegetables with Uncle Edward...

Day three was mostly spent being lazy by Nana and Pop's pool while Uncle Brent got everything packed up for he and the kid's trip home the next day. The afternoon, however, brought about a trip to the school where Aunt Pam used to teach. The Ag class takes care of animals and they let the kids pet them...

Friday, Nana, Pop, Nicky, "aunt" Brie and "uncle" Max (what? dogs are people too!!!) all piled into Nana's CRV and headed north to the Big D. Put a dog next to this kid and he's one happy camper...except our Bailey - "she bite you" as Nicky would say. She's a little testy...to say the least!

Nicky hasn't stopped talking about his cousins since he's been home. Everything he talks about doing includes Brenden and Emily. We're so thankful he was able to spend time with his extended family this summer, and hopefully we can make this an annual event. Most of my memories from being a kid involve the summers I spent with my cousins Stefani and TJ, and although we had our little spats (I remember my Aunt Sharon making us stand in the corner several times!), it was definitely time well spent.

The Great Russky Hand-Off

2010-08-19T10:53:00.000-05:00

Kris flew to El Paso to gather the little Russky from Granny and Poppa, while I spent time in San Antonio with my family. We had a group birthday celebration for Uncle Brent, Pop, Uncle David, and cousin Emily on Saturday evening. Uncle Brent surprised Pop with this bad boy...and it's been a big hit...

What is it about tractors and such that thrill boys so much?!

We spent most of the weekend being lazy around the pool and playing with Emily's new Barbies - Brenden included. When we were kids, Brent and I walked across Ramstein AFB to the "toyland" for him to purchase a "Ken" doll, only for Pop to send us right back to the store to return it because "no son of mine will play with dolls!" Funny how things have changed - in fact, Pop didn't even bat an eye as he watched me, Em, and lil' B opening the Barbies and getting them all set up!

Sunday afternoon, I picked Kris and Nicky up at the airport. Nicky was so excited to see me that as I got out of the car, he ran up to greet me and fell off the curb! :( Guess the excitement won out, because that didn't stop him from picking himself up at warp speed and jumping into my arms!

We only spent a few hours with him at Nana and Pop's before we had to get in the car to head home. Nicky was so thrilled to be with his cousins that he would barely even tell us good-bye! Oh well, at least he didn't have a meltdown due to our leaving him, although he did call me this morning to tell me that "brie hit me in da face and i scared an sad an i miss you momma"...I miss you too buddy! I'm sure with all the fun they're having, his little bout of sadness is short-lived.

As for Kris and I, it's super-quiet around the house. We've enjoyed spending some time to ourselves (and with each other of course). I've gotten to pee all by myself...I had almost forgotten what that was like!!! We've been able to enjoy a few dinners out without having to supervise a crazy man (ironically though, we dined at a restaurant on "kids eat free night"...so there was still a bit of chaos!). We even went to see two movies...man we live on the edge! :) Nicky comes home on Friday, so we better make the most of it while we can...the little devil will have us back on our toes in no time!

The Russky Takes El Paso

2010-08-19T10:51:00.000-05:00

Despite a few "i miss you's" and "i come home morrow's", Nicky had a super-fun time in El Paso with Granny and Poppa! While Momma and Daddy had to stay in Dallas and work, the little dude got to go to work with Poppa...

visit a diary farm...

take in the sights of EP via the mountains...

have dinner at a cool restaurant situated on a ranch...

and Visit the El Paso Zoo...

He also did plenty of swimming and running around Granny and Poppa's backyard playing ball.

He was full of stories about all the exciting things he got to do and can't wait to go back "someday" (as he says). Thank you Granny and Poppa for helping to make this summer so great for the little Russky!

From the Motherland

2010-08-16T12:29:00.000-05:00

Check out this little Russky...

Luntik, from Vladivostok, Russia, proves that just because you're different, doesn't mean you can't be a cutie!

The Empty Nesters

2010-07-30T09:01:00.000-05:00

Last Friday morning Nicky left for a fun-filled week with his Granny and Poppa in El Paso. From the sounds of it, he's been having a blast! He got to go to work with his Poppa...

...and they've been to the zoo and a dairy farm. All that on top of swimming in their pool every day has made for one happy little Russky! We talk to him each night and he wants to know every detail of what we're doing. It's so cute! He'll ask "whatcha doin momma?" "where are you?" "you watchin tv?" "where daddy?" Then he'll tell us all about the fun stuff he's doing and he gets so excited he'll squeal more than talk.

We've had a few of the "i come home morrow?" questions...and "morrow" was like Wednesday, so we were a little worried we might be making a long drive to EP, but he was pretty easily distracted by the promise of more fun stuff to do the next day.

Kris and I have enjoyed the time to ourselves...not that we don't miss the little guy, don't get me wrong! But, it's been nice to come home from work and do NOTHING. No rushing to the preschool to endure endless chatter until 8pm. No scurrying around to fix dinner all the while entertaining the chatty Russky. No getting up early in order to get him to school on time. It's been pure laziness! We did get to enjoy a "romantic getaway" at the hotel Nylo...thanks to the wonderful planning of my awesome husband!

We've also been to a movie and enjoyed dinner at one of our favorite haunts without having to scarf it down while keeping an eye on a preschooler who constantly drops food/almost spills drinks/bounces in his seat...etc. Kris has been extra excited about the fact that he doesn't have to get up from the dinner table to wipe Nicky's arse! (somehow the morning poo ritual has now been shifted to the dinner hour...no matter the time dinner occurs!)

Kris is leaving today for EP to collect the Russky and I'm heading to San Antonio to see my family - my brother, niece and nephew are in town to boot, so it should be fun. Kris will fly with Nicky to SA and hopefully, Nicky will be spending next week with Nana and Pop, his uncle and cousins! Not that I don't miss him, but we still have some stuff get done around the house (since we've been lazy all this week) and a baseball game to attend and more movies to see!

We're so thankful that our parents are wanting and willing to spend time with the little dude, and we hope this is a summer tradition in the making. It's hard not having family closer to us and we think it's important that he have the special time with his grandparents that I was afforded as a child.

Thanks Granny and Poppa for taking such good care of our baby this past week!!!

Look at you...you have a baby...in a bar!

2010-07-29T12:21:00.001-05:00

We have found that being parents has it's pros and cons.

Pros: the pure joy you feel when you see your child blossom; hugs and kisses from said child at random; and being reminded of the pure innocence of being young again.

Cons: there's no more going potty by yourself; your wants and needs are a thing of the past; and it's hard to find a hip place to hang out when toting around a little fella!

So, we figured who cares? Let's throw caution to the wind and go ahead and take the little Russky with us to an otherwise adult-friendly hang-out. A pub called the Londoner recently opened up in our neck of the woods (we had visited the Dallas location in our "sans child" phase of our marriage) and a few weekends ago we decided we should check it out. I figure, if they have a section of kid's meals on their menu, they asked for it, right?! We apparently weren't the only parents with that idea either - there were several other families there as well...whew! It had been a long week at work, and a few pints were definitely in order.

The food was pretty tasty; there was plenty of good ol' fashioned people watching for the hubby and I...

(seriously? you're wearing practically identical shirts...shouldn't you sit on opposite sides of the table?!)

(hmm...at first glance, one would think he's merely holding the purse for his chick...however...the comfort and grace with which he threw it over his shoulder - and stood there like that for SEVERAL minutes - sends the message that he's permanently lost his man card!)

...and best of all, the place was loud enough to drown out any nonsense that Nicky tried to throw our way! We've also come to realize that not only are our iPhones fun for us to play with, but Nicky's a big fan as well!

(he's "playing" solitaire...who needs a babysitter?!)

We all had a fun night and we learned that it's apparently ok to bring your kid to a bar (good thing they're all non-smoking now). Look out North Texas...the Johnson's have a lot of new bar/restaurants to check out!

Hot Child in the City

2010-07-29T11:33:00.000-05:00

Two weekends ago, we decided to head out to McKinney for the Third Monday Trade Days. It's basically a flea market with all kinds of fun junk to peruse. We have had pretty good luck with finding some interesting treasures (aka other people's junk) in the past, and this time was no different. I was ecstatic when I spotted an old 6-panel door just the right shade of blue/gray, which was the exact item which brought us out there to begin with. We have all our meters and hook-em-up stuff for the cable, etc on the wall of our backyard patio...just not the eye candy I'm going for out there...view before the door...

...view after the door...

Much better, no?

We also purchased a cool old green window from an Army base in Arkansas that is being shut down; a few old blue Mason jars; some new house numbers; and an old screen that used to cover a transom window. I don't know why, but I have an addiction to old windows. I think they make a funky display on the wall and bring interesting dimension to an otherwise dull space.

Nicky was rewarded for being such a champ and walking the entire flea market with a "train" ride...Momma and Daddy rode too...kinda fun!

Anyway...it was about 100 and hell degrees outside...no exaggeration...that's what the temp on the car told us. We were all sweating profusely by the time we got back to the vehicle to load up our riches that we barely had enough power to get everything in, much less ourselves. Kris started the car to attempt to cool it off some while we maneuvered the the door inside - of course, this was futile seeing as though the door was way too long and had to hang out the back window, thus causing all the air conditioning to be sucked out as we drove down the road. Somehow as we were loading everything into the car we managed to lock the keys in the car with it running. Luckily the back window was open, but this meant that one of us would have to unload all our new finds, climb in and unlock the doors. Of course, we turned to the shortest one in our group, the Russky, and immediately squeezed his little person inside. The little guy must have sensed our stress because he freaked out and didn't want any part of the situation. I'm sure passers-by were having a good laugh at the sweaty parents screaming at their kid inside the car. "Unlock the door Nicky! Pull the handle! It's on the door Nicky! No...not the back of the seat! THE DOOR!!!" Nicky frantically searched the inside of the car for the lock/door handle. I know he knows where they are...and you would think most kids would think this quite the adventure. Not ours. Panic and terror were apparent all over his sweaty little face as he hysterically tried to rescue us. "i don't want to! noooo! you do it daddy! i scared!" "You HAVE to! We can't go home if you don't do it!"

Our little hero finally pulled through and we were saved from melting on the hot pavement. We re-loaded all our purchases, wearily climbed in the vehicle, and set off in search of lunch. As we sailed down the road, a woman in an SUV pulled up along side us and motioned for me to roll down my window. Afraid of the worst (like we had a flat or something) I obliged, only to be informed that Benson, the latest addition to Nicky's menagerie, was hanging onto our back bumper for dear life! As you can imagine after looking death in the face, Benson hasn't left Nicky's side!

After re-fueling our bellies, we decided it was WAY to hot to do anything but head over to Gina's house for a dip in the pool. Even that didn't cool us off! The water was so warm, I turned her outside shower on and sprayed us all off with the nice cold water. Kris had the great idea to put ice in the pool, so see how long it would take to melt...

...turns out, ice melts pretty darn fast when put into 92 degree water! The best idea of all came from Gina turning on the water which fills the pool (thus turning the pool into an infinity pool it got so full!) - it was nice and cool...if you stood right in front of it...

Oh well...what we lacked in being cooled off, we made up for in good company and pure laziness!

Mesquite Ta-Maters

2010-07-22T12:33:00.001-05:00

The husband and all the guys from the clubhouse (aka firestation) are competing in the annual Texas firefighter olympics this week. Seeing as though he's a tall dude, he is of course playing the role of "baller", as opposed to being part of the poker team (poke 'er? barely know 'er!). The team usually wears random t-shirts and shorts, but this year their Chief sprung for the fancy uniforms since they're the defending champions. And when I say fancy, I mean FANCY (see pic above...I apologize for the shoddy lighting...shoulda used the real camera instead of the iPhone that was handy). They are bright toe-may-toe red with gray on the sides, and are made from the super-shiniest material EVER! They kinda remind me of them slick satin sheets or a tafetta prom dress...only without the pouffy 80's sleeves. Due to these facts, they've earned the awesome team nickname "Mesquite Maters" - doesn't matter if I'm the only one that calls them that - I find it humerous, and that's all that matters!

Anyhoo...I suppose the uni's are working for the boys, cuz they've won their first 2 out of 3 games and have a shot at another championship! So...cheer with me folks...

L.E.T.S. G.O. Let's go! Let's go! L.E.T.S. G.O. LET's GO!!! Whoo hoo! Go Mesquite Maters!

~ update...looks like my cheering didn't help as much as I had intended. although they didn't do too badly...they won the silver! ~

Why Do I Torture Myself?

2010-07-21T15:37:00.000-05:00

This weekend I somehow managed to get both of my Tiffany & Co necklaces all knotted up. Major bummer because I typically swap between the two depending on my mood. I don't really have all that much bling, but these pieces are my go-to pendants when I don't want to have to think about how I'm going to accessorize an outfit. I mean seriously - Tiffany pulls everything together, so I really can't go wrong with either choice.

Well, this afternoon I broke down and took Mr Starfish...

...and Ms. A to the Tiffany store to be de-knotted.

I only hesitated because I figured they would stick me with some obscene charge for the minor infractions. The fixer-upper dude told me it would be about 10-15 minutes, so I said "Perfect! That will give me some time to look around!". Upon further investigation, he said "Actually this should only take about 5 minutes", to which I replied "My husband will thank you for that...I won't have much time to do any damage!"

I should've known better than to peruse the beauties on display, but I just couldn't help myself! Sitting still in the little waiting area is just torture when I know all the fabulousness that is just steps away. So now I'm left aching for this little piece of magnificence...

She is only $200. And I need her because I'm not a fan of even numbers, and having her to make pendant number 3 would round out my collection nicely. Don't you think the hubby would go for that kind of rationization?

After trying on a few rings and bracelets, my necklaces were back to their original glory...meaning much shinier than when I originally brought them in. I was going to ask them to clean them, but that is $15 a necklace, so I figured with the cost of having them repaired would be enough for the day. Who knew they would go ahead and throw that service in? Well, to my surprise, the wonderfully awesome sales lady gave them to me, helped me put them on, and then told me I was good to go! Huh? You mean there's no charge?! I got the knots out and they are nice and shiny?! I just might have to accidentally get knots in them more often!

I Got A New Drug

2010-07-16T15:46:00.000-05:00

Somebody get this chick one of them there old lady weekly pill box thing-a-ma-jigs before she gets arthritis from opening all those pill bottles every day!

Seriously...here is the handfull I take in the morning...

...and here is the handfull I take in the evening...

I'm sure there are people out there that take way more than that...but they're probably 30 years older than me too! I usually take out the morning pills when I'm getting my evening pills together to take, and there have been a few times when I've slipped and taken one pill too many. I definitely don't want to take some of the morning ones at night, or I'll be up cleaning the house like a crazy women due to all the energy that would be coursing through my veins!

As with the other migraine preventative pills (both anti-convulsants and beta blockers), the most recent one (the super-awesome make me gain weight and lose my hair heinous Depakote) has been fired. Kicked to the curb. Good riddance. I couldn't deal with the side effects any longer, especially since I was still having way too many days of headaches. So, I now introduce you to Keppra. Yet another anti-convulsant, Keppra is so far so good. The side effects are: lethargy (awesome thing to have when living with a 4 year old) and reduction in serotonin, which could cause moodiness, depression and/or moments of pure rage (also great things to have when hanging out with a 4 year old). Let me put it this way - I've always had a tad bit of the ol' road rage - but now it's kinda bumped up a notch lately. To the point that I even freaked myself out mid-freak-out about some car cutting me off the other day. Enter vitamin B12. Oh...and his friends B2 and B6. They are all "essential" to your metabolism and apparently B6 is good for the nervous system and is used in some of the herbal migraine remedies. Why all the B? Well, they have the effect of elevating the depleted levels of serotonin and give you more energy and are supposed to help you feel more balanced and less crazy woman. Just what the ~~guy at GNC~~ doctor ordered!

It's only been a few weeks, so the jury's still out on whether or not the Keppra is keeping the migraines completely at bay. However, I am happy to announce is that my hair is no longer falling out in massive clumps!!! Yay me! I have a million baby hairs in the spots where I had lost so much, but I'll take fly-aways over baldness any day. And, I've managed to lose some poundage. Yes, I realize that I'm not obese by any means, but still. When you're used to being a certain weight and then you have to go out and buy a new wardrobe because all of a sudden nothing fits anymore, it's kinda disconcerting!

Fingers crossed (as I say with each new miracle drug) that this one works...

Captain Obvious

2010-07-14T19:23:00.000-05:00

"momma. bwitzers eating his dinner."

"momma. bwitzers drinking his water. don't drink it all bwitzer. save some for breakfast."

"momma. bwitzers sitting by me."

"momma. bwitzers playing with a toy."

"momma. bwitzers looking at me."

"momma. i'm putting my bwanket on."

"momma. bwitzers laying on da fwoor."

"momma. i'm pettin bwitzer."

"momma. i give bwitzer a kiss."

"momma. i watchin tv."

"momma. i got my tiger."

"momma. bwitzer is walking away."

thanks. thanks, son. thank you for the play-by-play since apparently my eyes are broken.

ps...i'm changing my name.

Random Nicky

2010-07-14T15:03:00.000-05:00

after much debate, we finally decided that we would spend our beach vacation over labor day in the usvi (st thomas) with uncle brent. we found tickets for a decent price and after verifying uncle brent would actually be there, we decided to book 'em. nicky was watching tv next to me on the couch after we had been running errands all morning (it was now 3-ish pm and i had decided that we would be foregoing the nap for the day) as i was on the laptop finalizing the details. he was asking me a million questions and i wanted to make sure that i was paying attention to what i was doing so that i didn't accidentally book us on a flight to timbuktu, so i told him that i needed him to be quiet for a few minutes while i finished what i was doing. it went a little something like this...

nicky: what you doing momma?

momma: i'm buying airplane tickets to go see uncle brent at the beach in a few months, then we are gonna go to target when this show is over (giving him the head's up).

nicky: oh! we go beach?! we go affer nap?

momma: no...not after nap. it will be kind of a long time before we go.

nicky: ok. morrow?

momma: nooo..not tomorrow...a lot longer than that.

nicky: oh - wensday? (i think that's the only day of the week he actually knows, because everything is "wednesday" now).

momma: actually, yes, it will be on a wednesday. but not for a long time.

nicky: ohhhh! okaaay!

momma: (after finishing the purchase and closing the computer) ok nicky, let's get ready to go.

nicky: where we goin? da beach?!

momma: (muttering to herself) oy vey!!!

could someone please tell me how to explain the concept of time to a 4 year old?!

To Slice or Not to Slice...That Is the Question

2010-07-14T14:22:00.000-05:00

After cleaning the entire house with reckless abandon - top to bottom; not a single speck of dog hair (thanks, Blitzer for sharing with us, but could you please not?!); baseboards spick and span; cabinets scrubbed; doors wiped; every inch dusted and vacuumed; floors scoured while on hands and knees; sheets changed; bathroom rugs washed; toilets spotless - I wearily climbed the stairs to awaken the whiney mess that was my son prior to him laying down to nap. I tore back his sheets, laid down with him for a few seconds before coming to the realization that he was burning up. He immediately told me that he had a headache, and by the feel of him, realized that this must be why he spent the entire morning crying over trivial things. Duh! He was getting sick! You'd think that, being the observant person I consider myself, that I would know the signs by now. Of course, in my defense, he's been very whiney and tantrum-ey (good thing for him he's so cute...) lately, so it's kinda hard to tell the difference.

Anyways...I got him downstairs and we took his temp - 102.7. Awesome. All my hard work cleaning, which was initiated by the fact that we were having company (the Dutton's) that night, was all in vain...although, at least it's done and the house is sparkling and no longer a hair-ball pit of despair! We had to call and cancel, while Nicky cried "but i want trevor come over!" Since Kris had already prepped our dinner for the night (corn on the cob, baked potatoes and to-be-grilled chicken), we went ahead and prepared the feast (and by "we", I mean that my super-awesome hubby was a grilling machine while I soaked my weary muscles in a hot tub as Nick watched Shrek for the millionth time). Goodness, I love that man!

The next morning Kris worked at the fire station and I needed to go into the office for a few hours (yuk! I thought I was done working on the weekends when I stopped waiting tables!). I woke Nicky (shoulda been my first clue - it was after 8:30am and he was still sound asleep) and the first thing he told me was his throat hurt. Sweet. We went downstairs and I told him I was going to look at his throat when he said "ok momma. i sit on counter. you get fwashyite." (flashlight in Nicky-speak...the "l" still gives him some trouble)(can you tell he's been through this scenario a few times before?!). Just as I suspected, big white spots all over his tonsils, and he had a 101.4 fever. Greatness. So, on our way to the office (after packing up a ton of toys, movies, the portable dvd player - best gift EVER...thank you Uncle Brent! - and a cooler with snacks, lunch and lots of fluids) we stopped at the after-hours pediatrics office for what turned out to be a negative rapid Strep test, however, a positive ID as far as the Dr's inspection was concerned. So, with prescription in hand, we went to the pharmacy then to my office where Nicky lounged around watching movies and demanding cold water ("no! wiff ice in it momma!") and juice (aka - Capri Sun Waters - a compromise for us all...still tastes like juice, but less sugar).

In case you're keeping count, this is his 5th diagnosed case of the Strep in 8 months, making him a candidate for having his tonsils removed. Which brings up the question - do we really think it's necessary to do so? Two doctors have told us that yes, we could have his removed, however, it doesn't mean that he won't continue to contract throat infections, they should just be less likely and less severe if they were removed. A work colleague’s daughter is a few days older than Nick and she just had hers removed (along with her adenoids) and to hear her tell it, it was an awful experience. She was up all night in pain; wouldn't take the medicines; wouldn't eat. Do we really want to put him through all that considering there's a chance it could all be for no reason? After researching the interwebnets, I've decided we'll wait it out a bit and see how the rest of the year goes. Until we actually see a Dr that says "yank the suckers", I don't think it's worth it. What are your thoughts out there?

Does this make me too anal?

2010-07-13T15:08:00.001-05:00

Ok, so to know me is to love my quirky obsession with organization. I like things in their place. When random mail and junk sits out and about it makes me feel completely out of whack. The more it sits out, the deeper my funk will become and the less I want to do.

That said, I couldn't deal with the fact that our kitchen lacks a pantry any longer and our random food placement was starting to stress me out. So...I devised a system which I think is genius! Before, all the boxes of food ran into each other and stacked on top of each other and there was no way to see everything. I have to have things lined up and facing in the same direction and putting a box of pasta in front of another is definitely NOT an option in my book. And before you look at the picture below and note that the words on the labels are facing opposite directions, I'll clarify - because being anal and all, I have to do so. Things on the left side of our cabinet have to have their front labels facing forward, as do things on the right side. In order to do so, the left has to face the right and vice versa. The freezer is set up the same way. I think I need to seek counseling!!!

Anyway - now that I have my fun boxes all set up, things appear less messy and I don't get stressed when searching for a snack for Nicky, etc. And - if something isn't facing the "correct" way (yes, Kris...I know you turned that cereal box the "wrong" way just to get my goat!), then I don't have to see it glaring in my face at all times! But, I will admit, I do go back and re-arrange items inside the boxes themselves to make sure they are facing the "correct" way.

Like I said. I'm anal. I like things the way I like them. My world is more sane when my boxes all face the same way and my cans are lined up perfectly. Don't judge me - I know you're all jealous of my mad organizing skills!

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-13T15:03:00.000-05:00

Last night we met up with our friends the Dutton's to celebrate the 4th of July. The day itself (July 3) was the 2 year anniversary of us meeting Nicky in St Petersburg, Russia! The holiday has taken upon a new meaning for us - not so much a celebration of independence, as our lives changed from being able to do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted - but it's now more of a celebration of us becoming a family.

We attended our second FC Dallas soccer game, and I guess we bring them luck, because they won again! I think Nicky is more interested in spending time with his BFF Trevor...

and his girlfriend Blair...

...than the actual game itself, but that's ok with us...as long as he's entertained! He and Trevor were pretty hyped up and all over the place, which made for a tired little Russky that slept in until 10am today...yay for Momma!

We had great seats for viewing the Frisco fireworks, which were quite spectacular - we were a little worried that they would be cancelled due to the rain that didn't want to clear up - but the show went on. This was the first actual fireworks show for the Nickster, and after a few minutes, he decided that he wasn't the biggest fan. The colors were all good, but I think the loudness kinda scared him, so he scrambled up on my lap and had his back to them for the most part. We saw some on our way home later that were further off in the distance and they didn't seem to bother him as much, so I guess with everything else, baby steps are the best measure when venturing into new territories with him!

After the game, we went and grabbed a quick bite while we waited for the traffic to clear out. Trevor had a little accident and needed to remove his shirt, and not wanting to be left out, Nicky joined him. And to think, 2 years ago we couldn't get him to sit without a shirt in the privacy of our own house!

Today we are going to be lazy...we did a little shopping, then grilled with our neighbors. Nicky and Jade did a little swimming together...

Nicky's about two years older than her, but whatever Nicky did, she wanted to do! They were so cute together...girlfriend Blair might have some competition!

Anyway...we hope you all had a nice Independence Day weekend!

Playdate with Sophie

2010-07-13T14:14:00.001-05:00

After swimming all night at Trevor's house, Momma and Nicky had a playdate with Sophie, one of Nicky's buddies from preschool. Nicky began going to his current preschool one year ago this month, and his first day there became an instant favorite of Sophie's. One of the teachers even had to go so far as to ask her to stop staring at Nicky or she would make him feel uncomfortable and give him a complex. Sophie's response: "but i loooove him!" A year later, and these two are typically joined at the hip. Sure there's the random day(s) that Nicky will come home from school and say "sophie say she not my friend no more" (which ya gotta wonder what he did to deserve it) - but in the end they are still besties.

We swam with Sophie, her sister Lily and her parents for a few hours and had a yummy lunch. They played for a bit, then we made our exit. Nicky didn't want to leave, and Sophie stood on the lawn waving good-bye with a glum look on her face. The rest of the day (and the next morning as well) Nicky kept saying "i wanna go sophie house an swim", so I guess as far as playdates go, it was a success.

***like a dummy, I brought my camera, but didn't take a single picture of the two silly kiddos together! I guess I'll have to take twice as many during our next playdate!

T-Ball Team Swim-Fest

2010-07-13T14:01:00.001-05:00

To commerate the end of a long t-ball season, us parents thought it would be fun to get together for a little BBQ over at the Dutton's abode. To be fair, the season really wasn't that long, but as the weather got warmer, it sure was harder to force ourselves to go to the games. There's just something about a game at 3pm in 100 degree heat that really made us wonder...do we really want Nicky to be an athlete? What he lacked in skills, he made up in cuteness and friendship making! He also became less shy about performing in front of a crowd, so maybe his social anxiety is waning?

Anyhoo...back to the shin-dig! We had a lot of fun. Two other families came besides us, so it was small, but just the right size. The boys had a lot of fun swimming and splashing about, while the parents chatted and had a few cocktails.

Here are a few pictures of the crazy boys jumping into the pool...I guess they did a lot more of that than actual swimming, but at that age, isn't that the point of being in/around a pool? Jumping, splashing and having a rowdy time?!

All was fun and games until this guy crashed the party...

...and of all people, Momma was the one to actually pick him up! For some reason they don't really gross me out that much - snakes and other reptiles, yes. Frogs - not so much! Needless to say the boys were interested in the bumpy critter, but wanted nothing to do with him. Nicky kept knocking him into the pool while I played the role of the life guard rescue patrolwoman!

After the boys got out of their wet suits, Trevor, Nicky and Brennan paraded down the stairs as their alter-egos...

...pretty funny stuff! All in all, everyone had a great time...and Nicky was so tuckered out it took him about 5 seconds to end up like this on the way home...

Although we don't miss hanging out in the heat for an hour each weekend while Momma has to control the banshees that the little t-ballers turn into whilst in the dugout, we do miss hanging out with our new-found friends!