She doesn't speak for me either

Menu Plan Monday

Monday - Sandwiches and Chips.

Tuesday - Beef Stir-Fry and Steamed White Rice.

Wednesday - Chicken Tenders, Corn and Green Salad.

Thursday - Roasted Lemon Chicken with Green Beans and Potatoes (From Chris over at Ordering Disorder).

Friday - Salmon Patties, Peas and Baked Potatoes.

Saturday - Pot Roast, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy.

Sunday - BBQ Chicken Sandwiches and Fries.

For more delicious Menu ideas visit Laura.

Takes ME to know ONE!!

Lately I've been dealing with the Oldest thinking she can bully all "the little ones" around. She keeps calling them stupid, retarded, dumb, etc...

This is unacceptable and I've threatened her with a grounding just minutes before I started this post. Enough is enough right?

At any rate, yesterday for the gazillionth time I heard that so and so did such and such this time at the dinner table where we trying to enjoy our dinner.

SS said that the Oldest called her stupid and I told her "You know what? It takes one to know one." and I nodded towards her with a sly smile. She nodded back as a wide smile spread across her face and she proclaimed "YEAH, IT TAKES ME TO KNOW ONE! HMPH!"

I was so glad I hadn't taken the bite I was about to because I went into near hysterics over that one. I don't know it was just soooo funny. It was great to have a good belly laugh with tears streaming down my face.

Sometimes I wish I could capture these moments on film but I guess writing them here will just have to do.

Nine is Fine

SS wanted cupcakes for her birthday celebration at home and these are enormous ones from Costco. They were like individual mini cakes. I heart Costco soooo much!

Being 9 is so exciting. Can't you see the excitement on her face? Presents! Presents! Presents!

And presents there were. You might remember that post about the Dora Vanity? Well, I didn't want it to go to waste so I decided to give it to this child. I see I did something right. lol
Can you see the sheer joy of receiving a Strawberry Shortcake styling head (or some such thing)? And we can't forget the beautiful Tutu that she received from TKW over at The Decorated Duckling can we? She felt like such a princess. (Those beautiful Tutus will be a separate post, because CDQ got one too and they are so beautiful!)
I am so amazed by this kid, I was so afraid that we might have lost her when she was first placed here. She never showed emotion, she hardly spoke. We had no idea who she was and if she was even really still there. She seemed like such a shell of a child. She had been through and seen so much.

I remember meeting her when she was about 2 years old. She would run into my room while I worked on the computer and she would stand there with her hand upturned and say "why?" when I would respond "why what?" she would ask a question and I would answer her and she would say "why?" again. It seemed like she wasn't even interested in the answer. She just wanted to say "why?". lol

Her progress over the last three months has been amazing. She's a sassy and silly girl with a big heart. Her smile lights up her face and shows her true beauty inside and out. She is such a hard worker and she cares so deeply about so many things.

Her naivety cracks us all up on a daily basis. I worry about it but I figure as long as she feels comfortable in front of us to make her mistakes maybe we can work on bringing her up to speed.

Happy Ninth Birthday!

Tackle It Tuesday

I haven't been home all day so mine is going to be a "Tackle It Tuesday Night". I have several completed projects that I must get sent out in tomorrow's mail. Let's just say it's been over a month or so since I've been "sending them".

In addition to getting those mailed, I have some things that need to be sent to another friend for her daughters and some stuff for my nephews. Yep...I've got about 5 boxes at least that gotta go.

I'm aiming for Thursday at the latest being that tomorrow is SS's birthday, Girl Scouts and Catechism. I'm thinking they may not be going to Girl Scouts. I don't know yet. But that is my tackle.

Oh and I keep forgetting I need to make two dozen cupcakes for SS tomorrow for her birthday celebration and school. Who knew homemade cupcakes were better than store bought?

Wish me luck! lol

For other great tackles visit 5 Minutes For Mom!

Menu Plan Monday

It's Monday Tuesday already? The weekend sure flew by fast!

This week's Menu...

Monday: Cashew Chicken and Steamed White Rice.
Tuesday: Corn Dogs and Chips for the Kids.
Wednesday: Beef Chili and Beans *Strawberry Shortcake's 9th Birthday*
Thursday: Lasagna , Salad and Dinner Rolls
Friday: Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Saturday: BBQ Chicken Wings and Mozzarella Sticks with Marinara Sauce
Sunday: Beef Tacos and Spanish Rice

I will be soooo glad when this week is over. It will be the end of the three week back to back birthday madness that has been going on here. Phew!

For great menu ideas and recipes, please visit Laura.

LEAP!

Friday was CDQ's 8th Birthday. I have two 8 year olds until Wednesday!


CDQ is the child that I worry about the most. They just started her on meds two weeks ago but I'm almost positive we will be getting a bipolar diagnosis on her. My little sister is bipolar and what she was describing to me is CDQ exactly.


For her birthday, I tried to get her something that would be useful that she couldn't break. Originally, I bought her this Dora vanity but she is not mature enough for it despite what the age says on it, she will destroy it.

Oh and remember how I said to stay tuned for the third installment of She Can See Clearly Now? Well...she could see clearly for about 8 hours.

I've since had them fixed but will her destructive side ever end? At any rate, I came up with getting her a library card for her birthday. At our library kid's are allowed to have their own card at the age of 8. She's an advanced reader and she can never get enough books. This would be the gift that would keep on giving for years to come. So off we went...

At first, she was confused. But when we told her what she was getting she went crazy. I have to admit, I was relieved, I really didn't know how it was going to go over. I allowed her to check out three books, chapter books, she read them all overnight.

We had to keep her from school for the morning because the library would be closed by the time school was out. But in her mind that was even better. Why? I had baked her 4 dozen lemon cupcakes with sprinkles to take to school and all eyes were going to be on her when she came through the door.

She loved every minute of it. Because she is ALLLLL about attention. When she got home, she had to boast that EVERYONE loved the cupcakes and was asking where she got them from and she relished telling them they couldn't get them because I had made them for her.


For dinner, we had pizza and then we were off to Build-a-Bear where she built herself the cutest Koala. (more on that later)

Then we stopped at the Disney Store where I bought all the kid's (except for the oldest) their adoption outfits. (Hoping to post pics later).


She wanted a strawberry cake and she got it.


This post is very disjointed and much different from her older sister's birthday post.

It's not a case of favoritism, I can't stand love them all very much. It is a very hard one to write. Every time I look at this child, I see her mother's issues. It's so unfair that this innocent child carries such burdens. I begin to feel sorry for her but then those issues manifest and I see her manipulations, lies and coldness.

She has pushed us away and I have given her the space that she seemed to need. Slowly she is coming around and we are starting to learn about who she truly is under all the armor.

I'm very proud of her and I know that she tries. But when I see her like she is pictured below. It breaks my heart to see her sadness, her depression, her brokenness and not be able to take it all away for her.

I wonder what it is she wishes for?

Happy Birthday CDQ!