Edisto Beach 2008

Last week, I had the tremendous joy of spending a week at the beach with my best girls. My bestie A, my sister-in-law Jo, SoulSisterM and I spent the week in a sweet little cottage on Edisto Beach, SC. The cottage was RIGHT on the ocean, just 7 steps down to the sand. It had a large porch overlooking the ocean.

Edisto Beach was perfect for this getaway. It's a natural setting, no hotels, no chain restaurants, no crowds, just lots of sand and grass and wildlife. The most people we saw on the beach at once, as far as the eye could see, was 7.

During the week, we

-got to see about 6 dolphins playing in the ocean. We were about 20 yards from them and could see them jumping and flipping, it was amazing. We got to see them up close for about 20 minutes before they swam to deeper water.

-watched the entire North and South miniseries, Sense and Sensibility (BBC edition) and The Office.

-rented bikes and rode around the island.

-went for a kayak tour to a beach covered with shells. SoulSisterM found a molted horseshoe crab to take home to her boys.

-took a nap almost every day.

-ate all of the junk food we don't let our kids see us eat! We classed up the Cheetos and Nutty Bars with a glass of wine though.

-went to lots of thrift stores and yard sales. Yes, even on vacation, we go junkin'!

-laughed and laughed and laughed.

-went in to Charleston to walk around and to go to a Donna the Buffalo concert. These old ladies boogied til 2 am!

-talked and talked and talked.

-stayed in our jammies all day on Tuesday and on Friday. We even went for walks on the beach in our jammies.

-went to a super little cafe for lunch, Main's Cafe, and had tomato pie.

-bought local produce from George and Pinks, the tomatoes and corn were fantastic.

-ate shrimp for lunch that had been caught that morning, dipped in butter, yum.

-kept thanking God for our blessings and His creation.

-kept thanking our husbands for being such great fellas. Every time one of us talked to our kids, the kids would say how much fun they were having with their Daddies!

We had an amazing trip, the cottage, the beach, the weather, and best of all, my favorite girls.

I've Been Tagged!

This post is not finished as I can't figure links out! Tomorrow, I'll get someone to help and finish the post correctly.
My sweet adoption buddy, KAREY, tagged me; so here goes:
1. I ate my pet cat Louie. I grew up in Ghana, Africa, and Mr. M, my mother's househelper, was asked to get rid of the cat because he meowed constantly. Mom didn't think about Mr. M's tribe being "cat eaters", and he innocently prepared the cat for dinner. We didn't know it was the cat until a little later, calm down.
2. I played Bible Bowl all through my high school years. It's basically a quick quiz game based on Bible knowledge. Our team did ok in competition, but we had sooooo much fun we didn't care.
3. All through college, I worked as a lifeguard. Piece of cake job as the supervisor let me pick my own hours. So, lazy bones that I am, picked the morning shifts so the pool was empty most of the time and I got paid to study.
4. I got married at Park West Hospital. SuperDaddy's dad was a patient there when we decided to "elope", so we met our minister there one afternoon and got hitched. My parents were there too, but we couldn't track down his mom. Oooops, she said we were forgiven when she got a grandchild. She didn't know she would be waiting 8 years for our little B to come!
5. I worked for 3 years as a Personal Organizer. You'd never know it now that the kids have sucked out my brain cells!
6. I love to listen to the radio shows on NPR on Saturday morning. I don't always get to, (due to the aforementioned brain cell suckers) but love to listen and laugh too loudly.
7. I love, love, love to travel. Even overnight business trips to a nearby city with husband thrill me. So a week in Ethiopia was heaven, not to mention getting our amazing girl. :) When we retire, we want to travel the world, the dream travel list is getting long.

Quick Funny and Update

SJ's latest cute saying:
When I went on my recent trip to Louisville, I brought back injera (Ethiopian bread from a restaurant there) and cooked up some lentil stew for dinner when I got home. Yesterday, Daddy went on a business trip, we told SJ he was going. Her response, "Yay! Daddy bring Opia food for SJ!" Apparantly anyone travelling must return with injera, you've been warned.
Must brag:
SJ, who did not speak a word of English 5 months ago, can now recognize some written letters and can sound out most letters. Her highly verbal brother has come in handy!
Update on whining about motherhood:
We have gotten our little guy back within decent limits of behavior. I've taken steps to be more firm, not allow negotiation and to spend lots more 1 on 1 time with B. He will always be a challenge to me, but it's definitely more fun being his mom when we're not fighting all day! B also started karate classes. In just 2 classes, I can already see an improvement in listening and maturity.

Reunion with MD

Thanks to the wonder that is Facebook, my dearest friend from college found me after an 11 year hiatus. MD and I lived together for almost 4 years and were inseperable, she's a huge part of my story. MD & I agreed to meet about halfway between our towns this past weekend. We had so much fun catching up, laughing, and sharing how we've changed and struggled over the years.

We did a little thrift store shopping, lots of good eating (including Ethiopian food, German food and Black Forest cake), relaxed in the hot tub, caught up on sleep, enjoyed ice wines, and talked for hours. MD's little brother (who's not little anymore, he's a handsome fella sporting gorgeous hair) also visited on Saturday evening. It was terrific to catch up with SD too, what a super guy he is.

The kids did well during my absence, they stayed with Mamaw and Papaw one night so SuperDaddy could work late, then SuperDaddy had them the remaining time. The kids were excited to see me, so sweet. I'm very thankful that SuperDaddy encouraged me to go and did such a great job with the kids.

I am so thankful that my friend is back, in several ways.

Motherhood...

is hard.

It's been an especially tough week, I've lost my temper several times and have needed lots of support to get back to the joy of mothering.
B is a talkative fella, extremely smart and his motor is constantly running. Couple his high activity level with too much backtalking and disobedience, and I was at my end. My dear friend, SoulSisterM, listened to me cry and helped me gain perspective and enthusiasm for keeping on. Later in the evening, SuperDaddy took over parenting duties as soon as he got home from work. I was emotionally spent and physically worn out. I called my Dad (who is also a SuperDaddy) asking for help from him and my mom the following afternoon.
With the support of friends and family who were kind enough to listen to me whine and make great suggestions, SuperDaddy and I made some adjustments to our rules and procedures to get our little guy back on track. I'm also making a more concerted effort to spend quality one-on-one time with B. With a 3 yr old in the house and B in school, it's a little tricky!


I am reminded
-how much I rely on friends and family in the tough times. And how reliable they are, amazing.
-that I'm a better mom when I take care of myself and take little breaks from mothering.
-that I am still learning how to mother 2 kids.
-that these children are so special, even in the hard times.
-that SuperDaddy and I make a pretty good team.

-that this is my highest calling, to be B and SJ's mom. God entrusted them to ME, He has a plan for us.

Music Lover

I'm a huge fan of Donna the Buffalo and am thrilled that my daughter loves them too! She asks often to play "Matt Music" and dances and dances. It's so touching that we can dance and bond to our favorite music. "Matt Music" is because she first noticed DTB while on the party boat when Mr Matt was driving.

Check out Ethiopian Batgirl dancin'!

"I never expected to be loved by you." -Donna the Buffalo

"It all comes together in a family picture and every wall's got room for that." -Donna the Buffalo

http://donnathebuffalo.com/

Bonus: My girlfriends and I are taking a beach trip in October. DTB is playing at a club in Charleston while we're there! We're so excited!

East TN Ethiopian Families Enktatush Party

This past weekend, we attended an Ethiopian New Year party with our East TN Ethiopian families. We had 14 families and 58 people attend! Families drove in from the TriCities and Nashville, and many local yokels too. L brought injera and 3 of us made Ethiopian stews to serve, the food was FABULOUS! And it brought me such joy to see Rusie and SJ eating happily the food of their home country. Thanks so much to the Casa de Chaos for hosting us!

Some of these families are already home with their children, some are waiting for referral, some are paperchasing, and some are in the beginning stages. It is amazing how much this group has grown! And what a blessing it is to share the journey with other families, to support each other in the hard times, to share the joy of adoption, and to marvel at the gift of these children.