It's Warming Up Around Here!

Notice the date, then notice the temperature. ;)

We call this little guy "Oscar". And usually, he is pretty accurate... except for today when the sun is rising and it is BEAMING off the siding of the house. Santa brought this awesome gadget for Michael, but really, we all use it. It helps Hayden know what he needs to wear outside at the bus stop. It helps us know just how humid it is in the house so we can STOP shocking each other and remember to adjust the humidifier. But overall, it gives us the temperature - at the table or anywhere for that matter as it can be hung - while we eat breakfast or read the newspaper.

This particular morning, I had just finished doing a mile walk on my treadmill and noticed "Oscar" doffed his winter attire. He threw on some stylish shades and some shorts and that was it. Well... in February, that's kinda bold I thought... but the weather man did say it was supposed to warm up... Right?

Yesterday I spent the afternoon driving to the north side of Chicago picking up paperwork, and then driving to Michael's school to get some paperwork for baby D notarized (thanks Jeanne!). On Monday, we will be heading downtown to State St. to get the paperwork apostilled. We are on fire! Things are moving at a pretty fast pace here - but that doesn't mean baby D will be home next week. After we Fed-Ex the paperwork to our agency and they mail it to Russia, we will be waiting for our travel dates to meet our beautiful girl. Once that happens, we can begin preparing our dossier.

If you are wondering about our "Loving Tree", this is the same tree I have used since Halloween. It's become quite the revolving centerpiece on our kitchen table. I simply spray-painted it silver (at winter time) and then cut out heart shapes out of cardstock with funky scissors. We then added sticky foam shapes and hung with a ribbon. This is just one of a dozen crafty and inexpensive Valentine projects I have assembled this year. Besides for being frugal, the stores have a limited amounts of cuteness. And I wasn't going to pay when I could make it myself. ;)

Happy Valentine's Day! 1 comments

Posted by Mel at 10:53 AM

Whistle While You Work

Ahhhh, this is a nice seat. Cold, but comfy! (Blizzard 2011)

As I type, I am currently uploading two groups of pictures, and awaiting a phone call. I am a busy gal... and I'm behind on our blog, again. So once this is published, or shortly after, you should find Hayden's "Honk Jr." play photos, and our fun filled day of playing in the snow during the "Blizzard 2011" on our Daily V's page.

What's new? The past few weeks we have been busy waiting for and filling out our registration papers for baby D. They are now complete, and have been sent to our agency for a quick review. Once we get the ok, we can then get them notarized and apostilled (yah - a trip to Chicago in the winter!!!)... and then mail them to our agency. Once they receive them, they will mail them to our coordinator in Russia who will give them to the adoption committee for processing. This may take anywhere around 3 weeks or so... we hope.
In addition, while going over our paperwork, we noticed our fingerprints expire in June. So if things don't move at a rapid pace from here on out, then we will need to get them redone. Yes, you heard me folks. We will need to be fingerprinted - Again. ;)

What's new with Hayden? He lost another tooth a few weeks ago - but that's not all exciting anymore. His report cards have been beaming with plus signs. He has been growing like a weed and surprising us more and more every day. Every week his teacher sends home a newsletter mentioning what the class works on. She reminds parents that the children may need help with writing in cursive, brushing up on their spelling or recently their math facts. More so, their subtraction facts - but flash cards are just so so so boring. I hit up a teachers store and bought some great little finds. We now toss around a cube like beach ball a couple nights a week that has subtraction facts on it, taking turns answering them, and we play a game called "Number Race". Number Race is set up like a candy land board, however, you make the path with the math facts - it makes math fun - and makes Hayden laugh. PLUS it's helping Mommy brush up on her skills!

Michael and I have been juggling the house - once January hit, I was in full organization mode. I knew baby D's room needed to be done, but I have been going crazy with all the clutter that is coats and boots. We just haven't figured out a system that works and have spent many a minutes looking into Rubbermaid shelving, etc. This huge organization project then branched into my office, junk drawers, the pantry.... whoops! ;)

Well... now that I've caught your attention, I should probably leave you starving for more.
Until next time! 0 comments

Posted by Mel at 1:55 PM