Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY, Monday, September 14, 2009
Outside My Window..."And the rain, rain, rain came down, down, down in rushing, rising rivulets..."
I am thinking...that if I had as many prospective clients, as I have prospective employees, I would be all set for a successful daycare. I've heard from an awful lot of stay-at-home moms calling to see if I'm hiring yet. Um, no. Businesses generally need income before they can manage out-go. I usually ask these ladies if they have experience in childcare or teaching, to which they respond, "Well no....but I have kids," or "I've babysat alot." *sigh* Running a good early childhood classroom is a whole different ballgame from "baby sitting," and being a mom does not necessarily mean that you are cut out for childcare. Believe it or not, folks, managing a classroom and caring for large groups of small children takes skill and special gifts. It's not a job that "just anybody" can do--or at least, not do well. Listening to the radio this afternoon, I heard the statistics for the shortfall of registered nurses in this country and thought, "I should have made that my major instead of early childhood education." Not only would I be in demand and most likely have my choice of positions, no one would tell me, "I've been to a hospital, so I think I could work as a nurse," or "I've taken care of a sick person before. That's nursing, right?"
I am thankful for...my Chi iron. After four months of chi-lessness, I broke down and bought a replacement on Friday. My little sister had a shower this weekend in our hometown, and I just couldn't face a room full of old friends and relatives with THE POOF. It really is a shallow, vain thing to be thankful for, but I am. I can't help it.
From the kitchen...This rainy, cooler weather has put us in a soup mood. Large pots of potato soup and gumbo, should feed our crew for the better part of the week.
I am wearing...2009 VBS shirt and black capri pants.
I am creating...slings! I made a beautiful pouch style sling this weekend for my sister and nephew (I wish I had gotten a picture!), and I've had a request for a ring sling from a new friend.

I am going...except for Wednesday church, I have no travel plans this week.
I am reading...Parting the Waters by Jeanie Damoff (I read a little and ponder and pray. Read some more and ponder and pray. Not a story you can just plow through), Have A New Kid by Friday (I must not need new kids, because I'm not getting much out of this one), and The Mysterious Benedict Society (kid's bedtime book that has me hooked. It is excellent!)
I am hoping...for a good return on all the hard work and money that is going in to fixing up the daycare.
I am hearing...the master munching popcorn as he reads Princes of Ireland.
One of my favorite things...Have I mentioned my Chi iron?
Around the house...Cara is cruising, Randy's language is exploding, Marina is learning to keep a cleaner room, Ian is lovin' some guinea pigs, Abby continues to experiment with new hairdo's, and K has added songwriting to his list of accomplishments.
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...finish last online course to renew my childcare director's license, and fill out application for a private tutor (hey, options are a good thing.)
A picture thought I'm sharing:

Hmmm, what can I get into up here?

Enjoy more daybooks here.

Guinea Pig Party!

Yes, Ian had a guinea pig party, complete with guinea pig cake (made by mom), races, and carrot pinata (also homemade). He, he. My kids are nothing if not creative. He's been wanting a guinea pig for over a year, and we told him when he turned seven, he could get one. Of course, our luck is that Disney would release a movie starring the rodents only a few weeks before--making guinea pigs a hard-to-come-by commodity. In the end, we had to make over an hour drive to purchase his new best friends and store them at neighbor's house for the week. It was well worth seeing his expression when we wheeled them in though. He's in love.

Questions

Debbie did a post this week on [adoption] questions she gets when she is out with her daughter, Isabel. She asked for other adoptive parents to leave the questions they have received in comments. Rather than clog up her comments, I thought I'd address a few in a post of my own. Right after we brought Cara home, I did a similar entry here--of course, since no one knew we were adopting (we didn't know ourselves), it came as quite a surprise and folks peppered us with questions. We don't have to deal with many questions on a day-to-day basis, and I'm thankful for that.

1. How much did it cost? By far the most frequent. If it is someone who is asking because they are seriously considering adoption themselves, I will honor this question with a straightforward monetary amount. If not, I keep things pretty vague, "Our international adoption was rather expensive." or "Not very much." Depending on which adoption they are asking about. I really feel I need to come up with something better, especially since Marina is old enough to understand what is being talked about. I don't like people discussing her as though she were a cut of meat. I've thought, "Not as much as your Escalade." Or, "Just a few dollars more than your new swimming pool." But that was Ethyl talking, and so far, I've been able to keep her at bay.

2. Just this week someone at church asked us, "Does she [Marina] remember her life in the orphanage?" And we've been asked that before. This is a tough one. No. And Yes. No, Marina does not have specific memories of her first 13 months of life, i.e., "I remember when...." Judging from her verbal development, I would be shocked if Marina' s first true "memories" date before the age of four--three and a half at the earliest. Prior to that, her brain did not possess the linguistic capabilities required to store them for retrieval. But I believe in some part of her brain, expressed usually as primal emotions, those experiences do still affect her. Example: She immediately takes to grey haired older ladies, particularly if they are in lab coats/hospital scrubs. Once, when I was taking the older children to an eye doctor appointment, she ran to a nurse (probably in her mid-sixties) and hugged her, smiling, and looking in her eyes. For Marina, that's HUGE. For a moment, I thought my child had been body snatched, and then it hit me. The nurse reminded her of the orphanage doctor. Not that Marina could have told me that, or understood why she instantly liked and trusted this stranger, but I honestly believe it to be the case. When we were visiting the orphanage, the doctor was the only one Marina would smile for and follow with her eyes when she was in the room. She would even reach out for her, and the doctor always spoke sweetly to her in a sing-song voice. None of the other caregivers that came and went did that. I believe the doctor may have been her one source of adult/infant exchange from her first year and on some level Marina was attached to her.
She as other "buried" memories from orphanage life that are not so pleasant, but I won't go into that.

3. Concerning Cara: Is she mixed? or What is she mixed with? These type of questions regarding Cara's racial background peaked around 4-5 months of age and were always from AA women. I guess they are just more aware of color? And are not shy about asking? Haven't had one in a while, though at church the other day someone was remarking on her big brown eyes and asked if we knew What her parents looked like? I got the feeling it was a backward way of asking if she was white or not. Anyway, I told her yes, "We know exactly what her parents look like. Her father is a good looking bald man age 35 with a prosthetic leg and her mother is a 5 ft. 4 in. brunette who could stand to lose 15 pounds."
This summer when we took Cara down to the agency to show her off, the director kept commenting about "how light she was." She said that when Cara was a little baby, she had almost looked bi-racial African American (is this why she drew attention from the AA ladies at the grocery store?), but now she could "pass as white." The way she said it was as though she thought that we should be pleased about this. Now this lady is not a prejudiced person--they place children of all races and mixed races with parents of all races and mixed races--and she relates so well with the different groups. I've witnessed that myself. It makes me wonder if she thought we were relieved that her skin tone had lightened up? We didn't--and still don't--care. We hadn't even noticed. Should we have? Did she mean that Cara will have an easier time in life if she can, "pass for white?"--in the sense that she won't stand out from the rest of her family? I don't want her to have to "pass" for anything. Along those same lines, a relative recently made the comment that Cara's looks were changing, and then she said, "She doesn't even look Hispanic any more." I didn't know how to take that. Was she just making a statement of fact--as she saw it--or insinuating that "not looking Hispanic" was a good thing?

4. And just for grins, the question that makes me chuckle every time: Does she talk Russian? and Does she understand Spanish? Seriously people, THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK.

Injured

I was running late to aerobics on Monday, and when I arrived, they were finished with warm-up, and going strong with cardio. I grabbed my gear and jumped in the step routine. BIG MISTAKE. It wasn't three minutes later, a bomb went off in my right calf, and I went straight to the floor. Apparently, I "popped" a tendon. Popping a tendon HURTS. One time in high school I pulled a ham string at drill team practice, but other than that, I've never so much as strained a muscle. No broken bones, sprains, or spurs either. I'm unaccustomed to being incapacitated.
I've been laid up for two days. I don't have time for an injury. But the good news is that I'll have loads more sympathy for the master. Never again will I tell him, "Why don't you use your crutches?" or "How come you don't just hop?" when he has his prosthetic off in the evenings. Crutches are horrible awkward devices of torture, and hopping is exhausting and--in this house--dangerous.

I Wonder...

I wonder what the poor folk are doing?

Standing around, watching the popcorn pop?

Wordless Wednesday

First Day of School

Blissful, blissful day. The kids are back in school! And don't they look handsome and beautiful? And very, very grown-up?

This was Rina's first day of all-day school. She did well and came home chatting happily about all of her new friends. According to her, she is now best buddies with her entire class ;0)

Unlike last year, Ian came home with a good mark on his behaviour chart for the first day! We threatened him within an inch of his life if he didn't. In my life as a mom, I've had some embarrasing moments, but nothing beats my child coming home from his first day of kindergarten with a bad behaviour report! I taught kindergarten and every kid--absolutely everyone--gets a good mark on the first day. It's the law. Oh, but not my son....anyhow, better and brighter things for first grade.

Abby likes both of her teachers but isn't too sure about the gym teacher. "She yells all the time. Even when she is talking to other teachers!"

K said he had a good first day, but switching classes every hour is going to take some getting used to.

The home crew had an amazingly productive day without the older four. I breezed through the "children's summer chores" list in about an hour. Tackling in 60 minutes all the tasks it took four kids most of the morning to complete. With me riding them the whole time, and half the time having to go behind them and polish the job. Surprise. Surprise. Randy plays as happily on his own as he does with the group--which is a blessing. Cara seemed a little puzzled by the sudden reduction in adoring servants content to follow her around and see to her every comfort, but ultimately this may encourage her to get off her well padded Luvs hiney and do things for herself. Which is a good thing!