Comfort, Comfort We Adore Thee!!

Everyone likes to be comfortable, right??? Last year we bought a new bed. It's awesome. It's super comfortable and, when the occasion arises, we all fit--all 5 of us, including the dogs!

Aidan loves our bed and can be found there watching TV most mornings while I get ready for work. We try to discourage night time sharing of the bed, but invaribly it happens that he can be found between us about once a week--Mommy doesn't sleep much on those nights. . . the wiggles and toes in my stomach do nothing to induce sleep!!!

We like comfort in other areas of our life, too. . .and, because we do, we're going to check out a different church today.

It's no secret that I have been unhappy with my church for a long time. I was one of those over-involved people for many years. You name it, I had either done it or was doing it. Then I had a falling out with our priest. He got mad at me about something--it's been 6 years and I still don't know what it was--which effectively ended most, and ultimately, all of my minitries. I completed everything, but the joy had gone out of what I was doing.

Eventually we talked and things seemed to get better, but I couldn't get my feet and hands moving again. I didn't feel particularly welcome in the things I tried and I couldn't get involved in the things I really desired to do. Ultimately, I became the Parish Historian. . .doing something I love (I have a degree in hitory) but not really doing anything.

Fast forward a couple of years and the drama continues with a "no" answer on having Aidan baptized on a particular Sunday--my in-laws are the only ones who live near us and I wanted my sisters and my mom here. Since they were waiting to come a month after we got home from Russia--my attachment rule--I really only had one Sunday available. I was trying to coordinate that while completing all of our travel arrangements and the putting of our lives on hold for a month. But, our Bishop was coming that day. So, the decision was to not have any infant baptisms. . .really. . .that effectively ended any hope of Pat even considering this our church home--even though we've been going there for 17 years! He's been maybe three times since then.

I doggedly continued trying, but it was always the same. Couldn't get into what I really wanted to do and stuck in an obscure corner with the historian stuff.

Then, it was revealed how badly irresponsibile the powers that be had been, fiscally speaking. Stunning is the best word to describe it. I mean really stunning. I mean really really stunning. . .

But, I continued, thinking again, it's all about God. . .and then my friend was diagnosed with brain cancer. . .and I tried to get her and her husband on the prayer list--we need a reason why (me, no you don't!) and we need to know how long to have them on the list (me, really?). I spent two days going back and forth with the Parish Administrator and I still don't know if they are on the list! It is all about God, right???

That was back at the beginning of Advent and I haven't been to church since. . .I almost considered going to the Catholic church--Protestant gasp!! But will check out a couple of the local Episcopal churches first. A little church comfort is necessary, I think, even when you know you need to be challenged spiritually!

Four Wheelin', Arm Update, Naps, Lessons, and a Big Milestone Coming. . .

I took some really cute video of my little Dudely riding around the yard and pipestem on his Fourwheeler. . .Can't seem to get it to upload though!! As soon as I do, you all will see it. . .But, for now, I'm sure you can see what a dare devil I have on my hands!!

My arm is getting better every day. Not many moments of pain at all anymore. Today I got back on the treadmill and did a half hour of fast walking. . .it will be a while until I can do a run again--I don't want to jar my arm!! But, at least I'm moving again. Next Monday I go back and the cast will be taken off so the pins can be checked. I'll get a new cast then. I'll likely have the cast about 8 weeks post surgery. A bummer, but at least it's not summer!!

We've started the process of weaning the nap. We're trying for an eight o'clock bed time as opposed to the nine thirty or ten o'clock that has been happening! Mommy and Daddy can't handle that. . .so far, Aidan is handling it really well. I mean really, really well. Surprisingly so! What a good boy he is! I've got a "Quiet Time" bag he takes to school and he does stuff from that for a while, postponing his fall asleep time. We can keep him busy during weekends.

Swimming lessons and ice skating lessons continue. Aidan is doing phenominally well in both. I'll be signing him up for Spring soccer tomorrow. Never thought I would do that! He'll likely do that along with ice skating and then do nothing over the summer.

I finally found a good webste for travel with Dual Citizen children. . .www.travel.state.gov. It's pretty clear we can travel anywhere on the US passport alone except Russia. That one we will need the Russian passport and an affidavit saying he is a permanent citizen of the US. We also don't want to go to Russia between his ages of 18 to 27!! Forced Conscription. . .

I realized the other day that March 8th, the date of our next Post Placement is also the date that Aidan will have been with us as long as he had been in the orphanage. . .we will have reached that magical half-way mark. Thereafter he will forever have been with us longer. . .I know that may sound goofy, but it matters to me!

Quiet Week???

It's been a very quiet week. . .thanks be to God!

I stayed home on Monday in order to rest and keep my arm elevated and iced. It did wonders!! I was able to go back to work on Tuesday and each day I have felt better and stronger. I go back to the doctor today and am hoping to be able to at least walk and possibly do some low impact floor exercises--gotta stop the spread! : )

Aidan had a cold, which I had checked out by the pediatrician--a little paranoid after last year!! It was as suspected, a cold. No sinus infection or ear infection. Yea! Still glad I had it checked!!

Pat put up the drapes in the Office and the new desk arrived last Saturday. It's reaaly starting to look nice in there! I love it! I'm hoping to get the materials for the book shelves this weekend so I can get the books--albeit one handed!--out of the Living Room. When the shelves are up, I'll post Before and After pictures. You won't believe the difference!

Today is Pat's birthday. After my doctors appointment, we'll all meet up at Grandma and Grandpa's for a nice dinner followed by cupcakes--Aidan's choice! Aidan and I are giving him a weekend fishing trip off the coast of Virginia Beach with a friend. He's more than earned it with all of these projects he's done around here!!

Aidan has been having a difficult time going to bed at night. I'm sure it's because he doesn't really need the nap anymore. He is closing in on four! But, they are still doing them at school so we suffer during the week. We have, though, begun weaning them out on the weekends.

We have our Two Year Post Placement Visit set. It will be Monday, March 8th. I can't believe we'll only have one more after that! Time sure flies when you're having fun!

We're expecting a mixed bag of snow, sleet and freezing rain today and tomorrow. . .no small trepidation here!! I never USED to be afraid of that!

Come to think of it, maybe it hasn't been such a quiet week! : )

Sincerely,
the one handed typist
--Stacy--

Surgery, Four Day Weekends, Crazy Kiddo, And An IA Request

My surgery was successful--thanks for the prayers. . .I had a left closed reduction of the distal radius and two pins put in. My cast is a short one and freed up my elbow, fingers and thumb, all of which were immobilized up till then. I'm so excited about having more mobility!! The out-patient surgery folks at Landsdowne
were fantastic!



A clear canvas upon which I will have Aidan put his name and draw pictures of dinosaurs!

Yeasterday was Lee-Jackson day here in Virginia. Yes, I know, they were Confederates. . .but, they were Virginians and remain today Virginia's favorite sons! I remember having the Monday off from school for Lee-Jackson Day. After I graduated, Reagan signed into law that we should commemorate Martin Luther King on his birthday. In their infinte wisdom, Virginia began celebrating Lee-Jackson-King day. Yes, a bit ironic, eh? I remember not starting the Spring semester in college until after Lee-Jackson-King day. Thus it stayed from 1983 until, in 2000, someone finally wised up to the incongruity of Lee-Jackson-King day. . .And so, most local governments, courts and municiple buildings are closed on Friday for Lee-Jackson day and on Monday for Martin Luther King day. Nice four day weekend Virginians! : )

Aidan got a cute Cars flashlight in his stocking. . .he turns it on allllll the time. The other night, we were leaving his room after getting his Jamas on. The lights were off and he had his flashlight. . .he came out and, turning the flashlight on, shined it down the hall into our bedroom and said in a low newsman sort of voice, " There it is, Mommy and Daddy's bedroom." He then bounded down the stairs while I wiped the tears of laughter off my face!! What a crazy kid!




Finally, Okay all you IA people, what do we do to travel with our dual citizen (Russia-American) child with two passports?? We want to possibly go to Mexico this summer and I want to do it legally, but the State Department website isn't very helpful. Any tips out there??

Good and Bad Stuff

Well, I will be having surgery on my arm on Friday. . .The radius has multiple fractures and is just shy of being considered shattered. I will either get some pins, or a plate. Fun! But, then I'll be on the road to healing. . .

This has been good. . .and bad. . .for Aidan. Good in that he has been super helpful to Mommy lately and has been learning to dress himself a lot more. Bad in that Mommy can't pick him up and hold him these days. I can have him get in my lap, but I can't pick him up. : ( I'm hoping once I have the surgey and am on the road to recovery, I'll be able to move about more.

I did talk my houskeeper into coming an extra time this week so that is one less thing!

A little something about Aidan's school: they have started a new program where the children "earn" stickers for good behavior. When told about this, I had to ask, "How many children are in this class now? Because this is a symptom of a lot of chidrren. . " The answer 24! How many until it is considered full? 24 (3 teachers-8 per teacher). I'm not sure how I feel about ths since I'm no longer getting status reports for Aidan. Actually, I think I'm troubled by this. . .I'll see what happens. . .if Aidan doesn't get a prize at the end of the week, I'll have to talk to the Director about this because I would like to know Aidan is actually learning in this class. . .that they aren't spending all of their time on behavior.

Meanwhile, we are on week two of swimming lessons and have completed our first ice skating class for this session. Both of these are without Mommy or Daddy, and he is doing great!!

WARNING, KID!! Two hands necessary!!

Well, Mommy really DOES need two hands!

Yesterday morning we got up to find we had gotten about an inch and a half of snow. Nothing bad, but not enough to plow. Such was the case at my office. However, when we left for the day, that snow had turned into a sheet of ice about an inch thick. Yikes!!

I couldn't get to my car without crossing this frozen tundra. . .So I ventured forth, one inch at a time. . .about 3 inches into my foray, my feet flew up over my head and SPLAT!! I went down, landing VERY hard on my left arm.

I felt pain, but it wasn't until I was half way home when I realized there was something terribly wrong with my arm.

A mere 40 minutes after I fell, we were checked into the ER and two hours after I was splinted and waiting for my pain meds prescription to be filled. . .

Diagnosis: fractured radious and ulnar bones near the wrist. . .only slight displacement so manipulation not necessary. . .(Thanks be to God!). . .cast to be applied on Monday morning. . .

But two arms are so much nicer for hugs and holding!!!

Wearin' my Hat and Shoes with my Jama's...

A week ago, we went out for 1/2 price burger night at Shenanigans. . .this was our thing to do on Monday evenings until I implemented our better and more healthful consumption effective on New Years. . .Anyway, while there, a young woman came in dressed in her PJ's but wearing a coat, hat, and shoes. This hit Aidan's funny bone and he immediately yelled out, "Mama!! That girl is wearin' her JAMA'S!!" It was really funny, his reaction.

Fast forward to this past weekend. . .

Aidan got up on Sunday and ran down the stairs and put on his hat, shoes and gloves and said, "Look!! I'm wearing my hat and shoes with my JAMA'S!!! Just like that girl at Brookes!! (that's what he calls Shenanigan's)". I caught this picture of it after he came back upstairs to his room:

Back To The Routine. . .

And so, we're back to the routine tomorrow. . . I've only worked 3 days in the past two weeks. . .with the holiday and weather closings, I've really gotten used to being home! It has been nice, but we really need to get back to our routine and tomorrow is it!

Aidan hasn't been napping very well nor has he been going to bed very well. I know it's because we have gotten so out of our habits over the past couple of weeks. Tomorrow morning I'll be waking him early and off to school he'll go. Then, we start swimming lessons in the evening. I can't wait to see how he does with that! It will be his first time in the pool without mommy or daddy. . .

Our weather has been strangely very wintery lately. Yes, I know, it IS winter. But, truthfully, over the last few years, our winters have been pretty mild. A few bad days here and there, but nothing like this. The wind picked up yesterday afternoon and has been howling ever since. With temperatures hovering just below 20 degrees, it felt distinctly Siberian this morning when I let the dogs out. VERY COLD!!

Today, after working on it for an entire week, we finally removed the last item from our Office. We're in the process of redoing the entire room: newpaint, new floors, new baseboards, and new curtains. . .and new bookshelves and a new desk. I took before pictures and am taking during pictures and will take after pictures. What a lot of stuff accumulated!! Crazy!! I started shredding the other day and have been at it since. Today I came up and said to Pat that it might be easier to fire up the fireplace and start feeding old papers in there. . .he mentioned something about the outside Chiminea--dark look--me and the VERY COLD ouside are not meeting on this day!

Aidan is bored out of his mind so now we are taking a break for the remainder of the evening ( we're out of caulk, white paint for the ceiling and trim, and rollers so not much to do on the project) and so we're getting the family together for games in the basement.

See ya later!!