LID Baby!

We just recieved the news that our LID is 1/14/09. It took a little longer than I hoped for (22 days) but I'm not complaining. Beggars can't be choosers, right? I fiqured it out and our new LID puts us on day 49 of our wait for LOA!

Miracles Happen

Miracles do happen. Today it snowed in Alabama! Snow that actually sticks to the ground is quite a phenomenon around here. I guess we only see it once or twice a decade. It's kind of like a solar eclipse. When it finally happens, it's all people can talk about. North Korea dropped a nuclear bomb on Los Angeles today? So what, it's snowing! Of course, I took a zillion pictures so ten years from now (when the kids can't remember what snow actually looks like) we can remember all the fun we had. I hope this little montage of our day doesn't bore you too much...

We started out the day with a round of snowball fights.

Then we decided to build a snowman -

complete with flower pot hat,
walnut eyes, and a strawberry nose.

Kai didn't love the snow but he loves his sister and his motorcycle.

We were given a sled by our awesome next door neighbors.

We may not have snow in Alabama, but we do have hills!

Even Kai decided to join in the fun.

Victorious Dad (who was actually in town for the big event!)

As I write this tonight, our grass is green again and the snow has gone for another few years. Good bye winter wonderland and please come back soon!

Kooks

I had no intention of blogging tonight. I've passed my weekly quota of posts and every time I blog at night, I end up staying up way too late. But today I met someone that I just have to tell you about.

I went to the hairdresser today (Wow, is "hairdresser" the right word? It sounds so antiquated. Should I say I went to the beauty shop? The salon? Whatever, you get the idea.) While I was there getting my nasty gray hair covered a trim, an older lady walked in. She overheard me talking to Dean (my hairdresser) about Kai and how difficult it was to find the right doctor to diagnose and fix his problems.

The lady piped right up and said, "I know what you're talking about. About 5 years ago I was really, really sick. The doctors couldn't find anything wrong with me but I felt terrible and I knew something was wrong. Then one day I just up and died. That's right. The doctors finally diagnosed me with "sudden death." They even wrote "sudden death" on my chart." Right about the time I was about to tell this nice lady that she looked pretty darn good for being dead, she said that the doctors brought her back to life. Well, we all know that I'm no doctor, but her story sounded a little questionable to me.

About thirty minutes later (it takes Dean a long time to color trim hair), the lady walked back up to me and asked, "Hey, do you need to lose weight?" Honestly, we all know that I could shed a few pounds, but it was a tad rude of her to pick me out of the crowd (I do live in the south. You're supposed to be syrupy sweet around these parts.) Before I could answer that I was okay right now, she said, "I go to this place in Homewood. They give you injections of horse urine every day for 28 days. The pounds just fly right off!" Umm, did I just here you say horse urine? You have got to be kidding. Whatever happened to counting calories?

Do you ever wonder how many kooks are in this world?

Poop Story - Read at Your Own Peril

Kai is now tall enough and coordinated enough to hoist himself onto a "big potty" all by himself. At first, I thought this was an exciting feat that would save me a lot of nasty work (ie. cleaning out the toddler potty 25 times a day.) In a perfect case of Murphy's Law, I could not have been more wrong. Instead of periodically cleaning out a toddler potty that I know is smelly, I now find nasty toilets all around the house. Although we by no means live in a mansion, our humble abode does have 5 adult-size toilets. At any point of the day, I am likely to find poop smeared on the seat of any one of those toilets. Yes ladies, it is gross. Beyond gross.

Today takes the cake on yucky potty stories (please let me know if you have a better one.) It all started when Kai decided to potty in the toilet in my master bathroom. I was, of course, not in the room and completely unaware of Kai's location. Then throughout the house I heard Kai yelling for me. "Momma, I need you!" I find him beside the potty, flushing it over and over again (I would guess that he pushed the lever close to 100 times.) "It don't work, Momma!" Yes, my boy has flushed the potty so many times, and with such force, that he's broken the friggin' thing. The potty is full of poop, Dave is out-of-town (yet again) and I have no idea what to do. After mumbling some choice words (that Kai did not hear), I decided to take the top off of the tank. I've seen David do this and it seemed like the smart thing to do. The problem is that I have never watched what David did from that point on. I think I have always taken dismantling the potty as a sign to leave the room. After several minutes of staring into the tank, I actually put my hand into the water. Why? I don't know. I guess I thought the Toilet God would come down and guide my hand to fix the problem. Guess what? Didn't happen. So now I've got a contaminated hand, a gross potty, and no husband for another 24 hours. Like I said, Murphy's Law at it's best.

P.S. I have now discovered that the toilet is irreparably broken. The good news, however, is that the poop has been flushed. Thank God for small favors.

Lesson Learned

I took the kids to our favorite (all-you-can-eat) Chinese restaurant for dinner tonight. This is the unedited conversation that ensued:

Kai (pointing to a large mural of the Forbidden Palace on the wall): Momma, I was born dere.

Me: That's right sweetheart, you were born in China.

Kai: I no wanna live dere again.

Me: Oh no, we don't live in China. We live here in the United States. But we may visit China soon to get your brother Ash/Cooper (yes, this is still how we refer to the poor boy.) We'll have so much fun in China.

Kai: Momma, please no leave me in China.

Me (attempting to hold back tears): I will never leave you. Never, ever. We are a family now and families are together forever. Mommy and Kai are together forever! I love you so much, Kai.

Kai: I wuv you too, Momma.

(silence while I am trying to pull myself together)

Kai: Momma?

Me: Yes.

Kai: Can I have some ice cream?

Just a glimpse into the depths of my 3 year old's mind. He understands so much more than I give him credit for. I am far from being a perfect mother, but I vow tonight that he will never again have to wonder if I will ever leave him. Lesson learned today - Monday, February 23, 2009.

Sisterhood Award

My good friend Denise did it again (and on Oscar night of course!) She has bestowed me with the Sisterhood Award. Denise grabbed an old dress out of her closet at the last minute for the show and she looks absolutely stunning (see There's Always Room for One More.) Not to be outdone, I just called my neighbor and she sewed this nice little gown for me. The picture above is me getting ready to meet Denise for the big event. Notice how serious I look? These award shows are getting so blase'. Regardless, I love Denise and I would follow her to the ends of the Earth (or at least follow her blog to the ends of the Earth.) So, thanks again Denise. I probably don't deserve it, but I'll take it anyway.

And I guess while I'm at it, I should thank my director, the screenwriters, the crew and our producers my husband and kids. I wouldn't be ME without them!

Doctor or Wizard?

My little MD

My wizard standing on his Sit n'Spin
(no comments on the safety of this pose
or the state of the playroom, please)

I must admit that the thought of my wild child one day becoming a doctor makes me beam with pride. And don't laugh, it might just happen. You see, Kai got a doctor's kit for Christmas and one of his favorite activities is "healing" his family members. This usually involves Kai checking our heart and lungs with his stethoscope, having our blood pressure checked, and in the end, receiving several shots (which is always the cure for our illnesses.) Today Kai switched things up and decided to become a wizard. At first, I was a little disappointed. I mean honestly, wouldn't we all rather have McDreamy as our son instead of Merlin? But then I began to think about it (what better way is there to spend my day other than contemplating the magical future of my 3 year old?) A wizard in the family might not be so bad. Need help paying the bills? Poof - money o'plenty! Can't fit into that darn dress? Poof - now you can! Need to be at 2 soccer fields (or dance recitals) at the same time? Poof - just have your sweet son clone you for the day! Tonight I'm going to sleep well. I have peace knowing that it'll be okay no matter what my little one chooses to be.