You can find them in any major town...

...a children's museum. I will proudly admit I did very little planning on this trip, as in book the room and that is all. Steph found all the kid-friendly activities to do and the first was a children's museum in the heart of the city. Thanks to our vast memberships to NC museums, zoo's, etc. we all got in free. And thanks to color-coding our kids, we didn't leave any behind.

I'm sorry Dave couldn't join us in the Spit Pit- his all-time favorite!

JBird would have preferred to spend the day holding Shane. She LOVES being the big sister to ALL the boys. She said she 'wished Shane were ours.'

All together now

We're in WV for the weekend visiting my sister & her 4 boys. It's sure to be a restful, quiet vacation.

SIX kids and counting...

Paging Doctor Cameron

Cameron came downstairs with his 'doctor' kit. He told Dee she was sick and he needed to fix her.

6 is the new 3

How Cameron counts to launch his rockets: 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... blast off!
OR: uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis...blast off! (with much less diction)

Chapter 14: Another Step Closer

The paperwork in today's mail was much less cryptic: travel info for Korea! We expect to travel in ~ 6 WEEKS! YES, SIX WEEKS!

Interesting details:
ALL our paperwork is done before we travel. We take guardianship of Sooryeo on our LAST day in Korea. Our trip can be as short or long as we want, so Mom & I are doing a 24hr turn-around. JK. Six months after Sooryeo's been living with us in the States, we OFFICIALLY adopt her.

This swine flu is scaring the hell out of me b/c S. Korea is putting travel restrictions on US travelers. Keep your fingers crossed and say your prayers!

Chapter 13: One Step Closer

We got some paperwork in the mail today from the NC Dept of Health & Human Services pertaining to the adoption. I'm not exactly sure what it all means, but my friend also adopting through the same agencies assured me it means we're One Step Closer.

This is what I THINK the paperwork is: ICPC approval which is needed for interstate placement, since Barker Foundation isn't in NC. Barker sends that request at the same time as they send the I-600 to USCIS (formerly INS). Which means our legal papers already came from Korea and apparently they forgot to notify us. So once the I-600 is approved, it then goes to the National Visa Center in NH. Once the Nat'l Visa Center approves whatever it needs to approve that hasn't already been approved, then they send it to the US Embassy in Korea to issue the Visa. At this point, it's usually 2 weeks to travel. There's so many redundant steps that I can't even follow. So when people ask have we heard anything, just say sort of.

Jack & Jackie

One of JBird’s classmates, Jack, moved in to our community. Jack came over for a playdate last week and is now everyone’s new best friend. We’re all hoping to see a lot more of Jack this summer!

As you can see from the pictures, I got my camera back from Nikon and it seems to be working just fine.

The Art of Negotiation

I can't tell you how many classes I've taken & books I've (had to) read on 'The art of negotiation.' When I think I truly suck at it, I remember that Dave has also taken many courses on the topic, which explains a lot. So I was impressed when Jackie & Hunter finally compromized on the name of their new-found catepillar friend. Meet Fuzzy Wuzzy Alexander Bob.


The two decided to keep Fuzzy Wuzzy Alexander Bob in Hunter's pocket so he wouldn't fall on the ground and get hurt.

Day & Night

Much to our dismay, the time has come where Hunter goes to all boys b-day parties and Jackie goes to all girls b-day parties. Like this weekend, when Hunter went to a Superheroes party and came home with capes & weapons. Jackie had a Fairy sleepover party and came home with the motherload. It was a party so fabulous, I almost took Annabel’s spot in her absence! I think a Pump It Up party is enough work for me.

L-R: Dahlia, Ann-Kristin, Nina, Kiki & JBird
There were 6 girls total, and 3 had dietary restrictions. So the desserts included ice cream cake, rice krispie treats (for J) and cookies to accommodate the allergy-challenged kids. Same with the pizza and breakfast, which we never made it too.

Besides the homemade Fairy House in their backyard, the coolest was the homemade piñata filled with stickers and minimal candies, again cognizant of the allergic kids and those with no sugar regulators.

The girls all arrived in dresses. J was the hippie with the flower skirt, peace shirt & face paint. They quickly transformed into princesses and other characters clad in flowing, sparkly dresses.

Rebecca and Bruce must have split a bottle of wine just before the girls arrived b/c I can’t imagine the logistics of getting 6 girls’ teeth brushed, jammies on & in bed on the same mattress, let alone the whining. Oh the whining....

....as I made my way up the stairs of Nina’s house to retrieve JBird, I could hear her snoring. I just followed the rhythmic snoring and was able to pick her out of a line up of sleeping 5-yr-olds in the pitch black.

Grandma & Me

Deane took Jackie to the Butterfly Bash at the museum today and it was the BOMB! She got her face painted, walked in the parade, did butterfly craft projects and got a real (dead) butterfly in a petri dish. THEN, she went to an all-girl sleepover b-day party. Unfortunately, that ended at 9:30pm and she's sound asleep in her own bed. (pics from Dee.)

Sweetness

Last night, as I was laying in bed with the kids, Jackie was FAST asleep and Cameron & I were talking. He was twirling my ponytail and said "Mommy, Cameron likes your ponytail." Then out of the blue "Mommy, I love you." Me: "I love you too, buddy." Then he stuck his finger up my nose. He wiggled it and laughed like crazy.

How I know it's time to potty-train Cameron:

...he puts a pillow or blanket under his head during diaper changes.



On another note, Jackie was upset at something I did tonight and told me I was the meanest mommy in the whole world.
Me: Yeah, I know I'm the worst.
J: Actually, you're not. You're a good mommy.

Boo Hoo

We were sad to see Grandma and Grandpa leave today. The kids obviously enjoyed themselves during their visit, and by kids I mean everyone. The next time we see Grandma it will be on our way to Korea!

Yes, these pictures are from Marbles. It is our back-up plan when we can't figure out where else to go.

Easter Egg Hunt

Let it go on the record: This is the last Colvard Farms kids party I am going to plan. But I learned a few lessons along the way- the most important being (1) ask for help (2) import grandparents. Actually, it was a super fun party and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

Unfortunately, for the allergy challenged children, it was very difficult to egg hunt with only 1 working eye. Seriously, I don't know who is suffering more- Hunter or Dave.

The sugar fest began yesterday and continued today!

The little kids didn't even realize there were treats in the eggs. They were just so happy to hunt for them & show off their loot.

Tanner & Leigh at the budding artists table.

Amanda did the decorations, games & crafts which turned out beautifully.

At Last

Grandma has waited 2 ½ long years for Cameron to warm up to her. Of his own volition, he hugs & kisses her and asks her to do puzzles or play cars with him. That’s 3 out of 6 grandkids grandma! Keep up the efforts!

On another note, we went to Duke Gardens for the first time ever today. Unfortunately, JBird was not her normal songbird self, but rather a supreme grouch. I thought it would be an amazing place for photo opps, but she had other plans. One day...

You know they're family when...

Leigh calls me her 'other mommy'. She says Deane is 'My Dee' and Spanky is 'My doggie." We could totally go for communal living...wait, we do that already.

In other news, Julie and I have noticed different playmates: the Boys Club (Hunter's words) and the Girls Club. While Jackie and Leigh would draw rainbows and put flower stickers on their faces all day long, the boys are another story. If they're not whacking the hell out of each other, then they are making a huge mess or tormenting the girls.

Jackie made this 'bed' for Leo. Yes, Spanky is part of the Girls Club, b/c he thinks he's a girl.

The boys' Rock & Roll Band also has a mini mosh pit.

We're Going to the zoo, zoo, zoo. How about you, you you...

Despite the rain once again, we headed out to the Asheboro zoo with our good friends Ellie, little brother CJ and her mom, Katherine. It only poured briefly, which meant we were one of a few loonies traversing the park. We made it as far as Africa. Everyone’s favorite were the giraffes. Yes, there are people in the giraffe exhibit. They were introducing 2 new giraffes and the staff wanted to make sure it was a smooth transition. We weren’t sure what the people were going to do if it didn’t work out.

We also saw a super scary 4D movie about poachers hunting animals in the African Serengeti, which the ticket lady told me it WOULDN’T be about and how it WOULD be appropriate for 2-year-olds. I shared with her our painful 10min show with all 4 kids screaming and shaking and how I now have to explain why guns were pointed at the audience and why people would shoot elephants. The ticket lady admitted she had never seen the movie and gladly handed our money back. We grow ‘em smart here in NC!

In order to beat the second installment of rain, we used our GPS system, as seen below, to guide us back to the parking lot.

Unfortunately, Africa is pretty tricky and we got lost, at which point we had to use the ADVANCED GPS system, pictured below.

As you can see, they were excellent at showing us where we had been but not where we needed to go.

This was my favorite picture of the day. Check out the girls’ expressions! As we parted ways, CJ kept yelling “Come back, Cameron!” It was so sweet.

It's about time

It finally stopped raining and we've been outdoors for the last 2 days. The kids got busy washing their coupe car and relaxing in the hammock. (My pictures are crappy b/c my good camera is still at Nikon.)

What every mom needs...

48 hours alone in her home. You'll be amazed at the transformation of your house and The Mom!

Overheard

Hunter: Jackie, what do you want to be when you grow up?
Jackie: A taxi driver. What do you want to be?
Hunter: A Jedi. And a guy who draws maps.
Jackie: Mommy, what do you want to be when you grow up?
Me: I'm grown up, and I'm a mommy and a wife and...
Jackie: No, Mommy! You're a person who goes to hospitals and sells stuff to doctors and surgeons to help people breathe better.
Hunter: My mommy is a writer. And my daddy is a dear hunter.

Grab your goggles

I learned today that our community is draining the pool for a major overhaul. One of the changes include a filtration system that can’t suck the guts out of kids, which is nice. The other is a SALT WATER POOL!!!! Maybe there’s hope for our kids' skin afterall! (And it's much better for the environment, swim suits...)

...In other news, the North Korean rocket launching is very unnerving considering our upcoming trip. Pray that it doesn't turn into a mess and endanger our travels to South Korea!