This and That...

(This is a pic of the boy and how he spent most of the trip, luckily he straightened out mostly when we got home)

The kid's therapist said there could be a possible backlash after the adoption with the kids. She said sometimes kids act out before the adoption, sometimes after and sometimes not at all. It looks like we are getting the after. Right now I have two kids at home. Strawberry Shortcake just felt like she didn't have any rules anymore. So did Poufy.

This morning I made the decision to keep them home. Actually, It was just going to be Poufy because she's been all kinds of bad for months now. I felt that we needed some one on one time and I think I was right seeing that she's behaving herself and I can see how desperately she wants to please me now that no one is really around and she can drop her tough image.

Strawberry Shortcake on the other hand is just testing the waters to see what she can get away with. She's been pushing it with tantrums,whining and all out disrespect which is not in her character at all. She was a last minute hold back this morning because she chose to tantrum instead of go off to school.

I just hope the school understands that I have some serious issues going on at home and this isn't a case of ...well, I don't know what. School is very important and these kids will have no shortage of school work today as I have plenty of workbooks and worksheets that they work on for fun but are really based on their grade level curriculum or higher. It feels weird that I have to worry about such things and it's a stressor.

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It's a sad thing but it must be done at last. lol

I felt that Easter was just well sort of overlooked this year. It just seemed to me that Easter was rushed and I didn't want it to be so I extended our celebrations by keeping our decorations up longer. I couldn't figure out how much longer and with the adoption and all they stayed up even longer. But today is the day they all come down.

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Lastly, for this post, Hubs and I have been researching swing sets. Currently we have nothing in the backyard for the kids but wide open space for them to ride their bikes. But since I have to replace all their tires with those self healing tires, well...bike riding on flats isn't fun. Who knew? I bought them cute little license plates for our state that has their names on them, that has to count for something.

I have all the tires, I just need to put them on, but how is the mystery. lol

We wanted to get a wooden one but I read so many bad reviews about warped wood, missing pieces, and broken pieces and I didn't want to go over $1500 because even that is stretching the budget. But it had to be one that the oldest could use and could accomodate a ton of kids at once. I found a metal one that seems to fit the bill, it accomodates 12 kids and only costs $249.

I don't know when we will go check it out but I really do hope it works out. These kids need an outlet for all their pent up energy.

Easter 2008

I know it's a week later; but dang Spring Break is kicking my booty. Well, actually having them all home and having one particular child go psycho is kicking my butt. But another story for another time. Oh and yes, said child is missing from Easter pictures. Sadly, she couldn't control herself from extreme outbursts to participate in Easter. Sucks.

Here are the kiddos ready for Easter Vigil Mass. We went to Easter Vigil Mass last year for the baptismals and liked it so much we decided to go back again this year. I don't know if we will go again next year because the mass doesn't get out until after midnight and the kids were a wreck.

Fast forward to Easter Sunday Morning, Easter Baskets. Luckily I was ready as soon as these things hit the stands. I know it's the lazy way out but my kids still haven't learned to take care of their things properly and they have bad teeth. So the cheap toys and one strip of 4 or 5 candies is perfect. Although the Oldest gets a homemade basket because she is older. Except there was a miscommunication with the Easter Bunny this year. He forgot to put any candy in this particular basket. Oops. Better luck next year EB! Next, Easter Egg Painting! I make some real eggs for painting and hide the fake eggs.
Here's CDQ modeling after her egg. She's almost an entirely different kid now. It's amazing.
Here's Strawberry Shortcake painting her fingers and her eggs. I think she got more dye on herself then she did on her eggs. The Boy enjoyed dyeing the eggs somewhat , now that we know that he has the mentality of a newly three year old, it makes it easier to cope with him and the things that he does. I think he'll be able to catch up to his real age in no time though.
Unfortunately for all the prettiness of the eggs, I made a mistake and didn't cook them thoroughly so...darn! I have never had that happen before. At least we had 150 of these for the egg hunt. I don't have pictures of the hunt because I recorded it with the camcorder.
Lastly at Easter Dinner, I pulled these out. They are called Resurrection Eggs. They tell the story of Jesus from birth to death. Each egg is opened individually and inside is something tangible that reflects a period of Jesus story.

The donkey for his birth, the coin for Judas' sell out. Etc... The kids passed them around as I read from the booklet. Having those items to touch and think about, I believe gave a deeper meaning to the kids. Seeing and holding the items somehow made it a little different. I could tell.

I think these eggs will become a new tradition, along with our talking Easter bunny who gives a short rendition of the real meaning of Easter.

All and all it was a good one. I hope your Easter was too!