Staycation

Last week was Spring Break, so we partied all the time, partied all the time, parrrr-tied all the time! Actually, we took a "staycation" to save money since I'm still job hunting. It was really fun! :)

Monday: The Zoo

Everyone and their grandmother was there since it was the first day of break, but it was the best weather day, so we went for it. The temperature was perfect! The elephants were on vacation (who knew?), so we didn't get to see them. I guess they deserve it since they work holidays. When we were walking around, Kai asked how the zoo "replicates the animal's habitat." What are they teaching these kids in kindergarten???

Here are some shots of Cassi watching Kai and Dan on the carousel.

Eating Cheerios, a toddler's best friend

Saying "Uh-Oh" after spilling them all on the ground. Bird's also consider Cheerios to be their best friends.

Kai and Dan, living the dream!

Kai said he "was smiling."

"Mom, I don't want to take a pictures in front of the flamingos!!!"

Kai always scrunches up his shoulders and stomps around when he is mad--lol!

At least no one is mad in this one. Well, the tiger doesn't look so happy.

Tuesday: Pizza and the Park

We went to the pizza lunch buffet at Mazzio's. It's pretty cheap and quick! Kai looked like he'd rolled around in the pizza by the time we were done, so we had to run home to change his clothes.

She looks soooo tiny!!!

Kai is getting soooo big!


Wednesday: We rested and so did the paparazzi

Thursday: The Library and Donuts (Just because it's a "staycation" doesn't mean it has to be healthy and good for the waistline! Why are donuts so cheap and healthy food is so much more expensive? We got a half dozen donuts for about $3.49!)

Kai and Cassi playing with the keyboards and mice.

"Just let me spell check this e-mail and then I will be with you."

Friday: Kai and I went to McYucky's for lunch while Dan and Cassi chilled at home. We used up some free game cards he had at Andy Alligators indoor game center --- forgot camera at home. :( He got enough tickets for a plastic centipede.

Zoo: $20

Pizza: $9

Park: Free

Library: Free

Donuts: $3.49

McYucky's: $6.00

Game Center: Free

Total Cost of Staycation: Priceless

All in all it was good, cheap fun this week. Kids don't really care if they go some place fancy, just as long as you are there with them! :)

Growin' Like A Weed! :)

(Michelle C., you have mail!)

Well, I'm very pleased to post Cassi's stats! I noticed that the pants she was wearing a couple or 3 weeks ago were pretty short, so I measured her tonight. Great news! She's up from 20% (October) for height to 75%!!! WOW! She's 31.25 inches tall! And, her weight is leveling out--could it be all of the constant running and climbing??? LOL! She was 50% when we met her in Oct. and she's maintained 75% for the past month or so. She weighs 24.5, only gaining .5 pounds this month. And, her head is now 18 inches, up from 17 when we met her in Oct. That's up from 25% to almost 50%! You grow, girl!!! :) Her feet are still teeny-tiny. She would wear about a 2 1/2, if they made that size!

We had a "staycation" this past week for Spring Break to cut back on expenses. It was fun! :) I will post those pictures in the next few days.

Paper Ready and Wanting Sibling Groups?

The agency we adopted from, Lighthouse, has several younger sibling groups available immediately for paper ready families. Comment if you would like me to point you in their direction or call Lorien at Lighthouse Adoptions, Ann Arbor! :)

Photo Friday

A-OK

The baby's blood work came back great! She's had all of the shots that we were told she'd had and everything else was negative. Ahhh...no more shots until this summer!

Bloodwork, The Cerum Continues

YAY! Finally we were able to get Cassi's blood drawn successfully! There was still a lot of crying, etc., but it's done. This time, she was way more hydrated than when we did it with her only being home 2 weeks. And, I applied the rx numbing cream (thanks, Nichole for the idea!) to her arms. Lastly, chocolate cookies helped, but even those couldn't distract her. Sooooo glad to have that behind us!

Losing it!

Kai came home from school today very excited! He lost his first tooth! It was securely tied around his neck in a tooth necklace. A much better way than the put-it-in-a-Kleenex-in-your-pocket method that was heavily relied upon in the '70's.

Valentine's Day

My dad and step mom came to watch the kids so that Dan and I could go out for lunch. Awesome! :) Here are pictures from Kai's kindergarten Valentine's party the day before and of Valentine's day.

Hello, can you hear me now? How 'bout now?

Cassi is really walking up a storm! She's walking about 75% of the time as of the last few days and is on the verge of running already. She loves to walk with the remote as her phone. She has several play phones, but prefers communicating through the remote instead. Some day the tv remote will be the phone, camera, gps and microwave oven all rolled into one.

Also, as of late, there is a basketball game of some sort on in this house 24/7. She really seemed to be watching the game the other night--nooooo! I've got to turn her against this evil while she's still young! LOL!

Ohhhh, did you see that shot???

Stay tuned for tomorrow's episode: Kindergarten Valentine's Party-O-Rama 2009

Climbing, Loose Teeth and Laid Off

Well, as a complete shocker this past Tuesday, I was laid off from my job. This is awful timing with all of the adoption expenses. Dan is a stay-at-home dad, so that was our only income. We are regrouping now, but man!

Kai is thrilled to finally be a member of the loose tooth club at school. He has two lower teeth that are loose and they are consuming his every thought and conversation.

Cassi is a climber! She loves to climb on the living room window sill. She is very good about lowering herself down, but we do keep an eye on her so that she doesn't try to stand up. If she were taller, she'd be on the coffee table doing a pirouette by now! I can't wait to enroll her in gymnastics for toddlers this summer.

Her other favorite past time---playing with the cable box! Since this picture was taken, we've put a covering over it so she can't change the settings.

Disposable Camera Photos

Finally, I have scanned in the photos from the disposable camera that we left between Trip 1 and Trip 2 (mid-Oct./mid-Nov.). For those of you just tuning it, it's customary to leave a disposable camera for the orphanage workers to take pictures between Trip 1 and Trip 2 because you never really know how long it will take to get the court date. In our case, it was only about 3 weeks, but some have to wait months and months. It felt like months and months though!

So, I asked the orphanage worker, via the interpreter, to take some shots, knowing that they also had to feed, bath, dress and diaper the 10 or so babies that were in Cassi's groupa. I didn't have these put on a disc because I didn't know if they took pictures or if maybe one of the babies decided to make their Annie Leibovitz debut. We got lucky and they got some cute shots! Cassi does look traumatized, though, like she'd never been on these toys before and probably hadn't! LOL! It's amazing how happy she is now. She immediate smiles ear to ear when we get the camera out.

Ice Stormarama, Day 3

Can you say "cabin fever" boys and girls? Okay, we have now been in the house since Sunday. Well, Kai had school Monday and Dan went out on Monday to take and pick up Kai from school and today to get mandatory things like milk and pop. I hope I remember how to drive and interact with other people, face to face--LOLOL! And, there's no school tomorrow either!!! I am going to try to venture out to see some accounts, but I'm already scared.

Here is a video of Cassi standing up and taking a few steps. This time we planted her in better lighting before taking the video. After this video, she took 4-5 steps, so she's getting there! It's funny because she can stand up from the middle of the floor, bounce up and down ("hip hop baby") and wave, etc., but she thinks she can't take a step. Her stance is more like a batter's stance--lol!

Ice Pellet Man and Clothes Shower

Going on day 2 of Ice Storm 2009 (said with an echoing weatherman voice). I have not left the house since Sunday, so I've been doing work from home instead. School was cancelled today and is already cancelled for tomorrow.

So, Kai was all excited this morning to see the blanket of white on the lawn. I tried to tell him it was sleet and ice and not good for making a snowman. He got a snowman making kit for Christmas, minus the snow (has plastic carrot nose, scarf, hat, etc.) and has been dying to use it. Here he is out in the 18 degrees for a few minutes exploring the back yard and Candy Lou Lou racing around like a wild banshee. He tried making a snowball, but it was just ice pellets, so he settled for catching the sleet on his tongue.

And, here's Cassi in her pile of new clothes that her Nina and Grand Dad sent her from Florida. She particularly loved the mini skirt, so look out! Oh, we don't usually have a table in front of the dining chairs--some impromptu baby proofing.

A Skate of Emergency and I've Been "Book Tagged"

Apparently we are under a "skate" of emergency from this ice storm. School has already been cancelled for tomorrow, which we all know, they don't usually do until 7:59 a.m. the day of, so it must be bad to cancel it a full 18 hours in advance!



Also, my buddy Tamara "book tagged" me. I think it's hilarious, kind of like, tell me the last time you got to have a complete thought or got to speak a sentence, uninterrupted by crucial details about a pivotal Sponge Bob episode.

I'm supposed to grab the first book nearest me, not one I'm actually ready. So, let's see, that would be the printer manual or my address book, which probably doesn't even have 56 pages.

The rules:
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open to page 56.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 2 to 5 sentences, along with these rules.
5. Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual book. Pick the CLOSEST!!
6. Tag five (or more) other people to do the same!
Okay, here goes: Page 56 is actually blank, so here's 57.

You can start a scan from your computer or from your HP All-in-One. This section explains how to scan from the control panel of the HP All-in-One only.

For information about how to scan from the computer, and how to adjust, resize, rotate, crop, and sharpen your scans, see the onscreen HP Image Zone Help that came with your software.

SNOOORE!!!! Only during an ice storm would that seem remotely interesting!!! Ironically, I had to scan some receipts for work today and was trying to do it the most efficient way with the lowest resolution and, what do you know, I didn't read this book and managed to figure it out after a few tries. If I had, there might have been a death due to scanning reported on the new coverage of Ice Storm, 2009.

Tag, you're it:
1) Nichole
2) Amy (I know you've been doing some actual reading, so this should be good!)
3) Barbara
4) Tracy
5) Tanya

Happy readin'!

Orange Update

Okay, so I looked it up and it's apparently pretty harmless to turn orange from too much beta carotene. Here's a list of foods, for fellow orange babies, that are rich in beta carotene that you may want to reduce, unless you like that orange "tan:"

Betacarotene is found in many orange foods, including sweet potatoes, carrots, cantaloupe, squash, apricots, pumpkin, and mangos. Some green leafy vegetables including collard greens, spinach, and kale are also rich in beta-carotene.

It apparently takes a while for the orangeocity to go away. Some women pay big bucks to be orange in the winter months, so maybe we are on to something here.

And, Amy, yes, thank you, thank you, I will be here all week! lol!