Time to Head Home

Sun. 7/12/09

We’ve had a great week. We’re all a little sad to leave, but it’s time to go home. We enjoyed our time at the beach, golfing, eating meals in the dining room, playing with Jenna and Sarah, and talking to friends and family.

Our most memorable Ruttger's moments of 2009:

Sarah - giving “high fives”, learning to “fist bump”, hugging all the kids, falling asleep 4 times in the dining room during supper, playing in the water and sand at the beach, learning to putt, eating a chocolate ice cream cone without a bib right before supper (thanks Aunt Cheri), sharing a king size bed with Jenna for several nights and then getting it all to herself!

Jenna - splashing with her friends at the beach, going down the BIG slide at the beach, looking for shells and rocks at the beach, writing notes to boys, getting kissed on the cheek by William (he’s 7), getting her own food at the breakfast and supper buffets, going to Kid's Kamp every day, making a tie dye shirt, and learning to use a hula hoop, sharing a king size bed with Sarah for a couple of nights and then deciding to sleep in the roll away bed instead.

Margaret - hanging out at the beach with our family and friends, having time to read a book, watching Jenna and Sarah have fun at the beach interacting with all the kids, playing golf, taking the annual photos in front of the fireplace and on the swing, watching the hummingbirds, hearing the loons, playing bingo, shopping at the resort stores, sleeping on the pull out couch.

Tim - playing with the kids, talking to friends, going to the beach, playing 5 rounds of golf, going to Auntie M’s to get a mocha, going to the Elvis show - NOT!, and feeling sick the last morning.

Last Day at Ruttgers!

Sat. 7/11/09

It’s our last full day at Ruttgers. The kids are going to spend the afternoon at the beach with their Aunt Cheri and Aunt Tami. Tim and I are going to play golf with Grandma Linda on Alec’s 9.

Sarah fell asleep during supper again! The beach wears her out every time. Tim and Jenna love eating ice cream sundaes for dessert.

Tonight is the “Woodstock Festival” with music and dancing. It should be fun.

“Mad Science” & Golfing

Fri. 7/10/09

It's Jenna's last day at Kid's Kamp. Mr. Dude, the “mad scientist”, will be showing the kids science tricks. After lunch, they’ll go swimming at the indoor pool.

Cheri is coming over with a friend and her kids to see the mad scientist, too. We’ll bring Sarah and meet up with her for the performance. Cheri is taking Sarah to the beach this afternoon so Tim and I can go golfing while Jenna is at Kid's Kamp.

Tim and I had fun golfing. The golf course wasn’t crowded at all. I hadn’t picked up a golf club since last year at Ruttgers. I actually got a par on the 2nd hole!! We lost lots of balls and found lots of balls. I think we came out ahead!!

We picked Jenna up at Kid's Kamp and took a couple of photos in front of the building. They got rice krispie bars for a snack today.

We headed back to the beach for the rest of the afternoon.

I played bingo tonight. Didn’t win any money. I picked out two unlucky cards. Couldn’t even win loser’s bingo.

“Tie Dye” Day

Thurs. 7/9/09

It’s “tie dye” day at Kid’s Kamp today. Jenna wore the tie dye shirt she made last year. She’s pretty proud of it. It’s the first time she’s worn it because it’s still kind of big. Jenna is excited to make a new tie dye shirt this year. After lunch, Kid’s Kamp is going swimming at the indoor pool. Jenna loves the water and is very excited to go!

Today, the weather is cloudy, cool and windy. Not a good day for the beach. Tim, Sarah, and I hung out at our cottage. Sarah played with the toys in her backpack and snacked while Tim and I did a little reading and relaxing.

We went to the putting green after we picked Jenna up at Kid's Kamp. It's cool and windy. Jenna had fun putting, but her sister kept getting in her way. Sarah had fun waving her putter around her head and chasing golf balls around the green.

Jenna Goes to the Island & Carnival Day

Wed. 7/8/09

Tim went golfing with the guys on “The Lakes” 18 hole course. They started at 7 a.m.

Sarah and I dropped Jenna off at Kid’s Kamp. They’re going on the pontoon boat to the Island this morning. We’ll pick her up at noon. It’s carnival day from 1:00-3:00 p.m. Sarah and I went to the kid’s playground. She had fun swinging, going down the slide, and playing in the sand.

Jenna wore her Dr. Seuss hat. She made it at Kid's Kamp.

Sarah and Jenna had fun playing games at the carnival. They won lots of candy.

Dad Goes Golfing

Tues. 7/7/09

Tim went golfing early this morning with a couple of other guys. They went out on Alec's 9 and were back in time for breakfast.


We dropped Jenna off at Kid’s Kamp and then went to the playground. Sarah had fun playing in the sand, climbing, swinging, and going down the slide. This kid loves to be in constant motion!!


After lunch, we headed to the beach. Sarah couldn’t wait to get in the water. She played for awhile and then needed a snack break.

Kid's Kamp had a sand castle contest at the beach. Here's Jenna
and her friends with their entry.

I played bingo tonight. Didn’t win anything. Had a good time talking with friends.

Day at the Beach

Mon. 7/6/09

We dropped Jenna off at Kid’s Kamp at 9:00 a.m. She knows a couple of kids from last year so she was O.K. with us leaving her. We’ll pick her up at 3:00 p.m.

Tim and I spent the day at the beach with Sarah. She was afraid to put her toes in the water at first. Sarah’s probably never seen a lake before in her life. It didn’t take her long to overcome her initial hesitation. She loved splashing in the water and playing in the sand. The day was warm and the sun was shining.

After we picked Jenna up from Kid’s Kamp, we all went back to the beach. It's a beautiful day! Spent the rest of the afternoon watching the kids play in the water and talking to friends.

We’re Headed “Up North”!

Sun. 7/5/09

Jenna and Sarah opened their last “Countdown to Ruttgers” gifts from Aunt Cheri after breakfast. They got cute stuffed animals. Sarah got a moose and Jenna got a kitty. The new additions will be traveling to Ruttgers with us.

Tim and I are both frantically trying to pack suitcases and all the other “stuff” needed for a vacation “Up North”. Why did we leave the packing until the last day? We’ll never learn!!

We were hoping to leave at 1:00 p.m. and finally left a little before 2:00 p.m. The traffic wasn’t bad. We arrived at Ruttgers around 4:00 p.m. We’re in Cottage #744 this year. It has a bigger bedroom with a king size bed, a much larger living room with 2 pull out couches, 2 bathrooms, and a large deck. We love it!

We unpacked the car and moved into the cottage. It took us awhile to get everything put away. Jenna is excited to explore. Sarah is just looking around and taking it all in. We wonder what she's thinking. We've only been home for 3 weeks and we're off again on vacation. Sarah has adjusted really well to all the changes that have been thrown at her in the last month.

We head over to the dining room for supper at the main lodge. Our dinner reservation is for 5:30 p.m. We love the breakfast and supper buffets. We have a window table again this year. We enjoy looking at the lake while we eat. This year there are hummingbird feeders hanging outside the windows.

1 Day to Ruttgers - Happy 4th of July!

Sat. 7/4/09

We still haven’t packed a thing for vacation! I’ve got a packing list 4 pages long and keep adding to it. The kids are “off the wall” today. It's hard to think about packing while trying to keep Jenna and Sarah occupied.

We were invited to a neighborhood Fourth of July celebration. We'd love to go, but it doesn't start until after supper. We decided it was better to keep the regular bedtime routine the night before leaving on vacation. Hopefully, we'll be invited next year.

The countdown to Ruttgers gifts are an Atlas for Jenna and a MN sticker book for Sarah.

2 Days to Ruttgers!

Fri. 7/3/09

Tim has the day off from work since the holiday falls on Saturday. We have lots to accomplish today. First stop is Target to stock up on supplies for our vacation. We also need to work in the yard. The weeds are taking over!

We haven’t packed a thing yet, but I’ve been busy making lists. Hopefully, I’ve remembered everything we need.

The kids opened their gifts from Aunt Cheri. They got crayons and cute little notebooks.

3 Days To Ruttgers!

Thurs. 7/2/09

We’re leaving for vacation on Sunday. Jenna has been counting down the days until we go to Ruttgers Resort on Bay Lake. I think we’re all excited to go. I’m looking forward to eating the breakfast and supper buffets in the main lodge. No meal prep or meal clean up. We only have to worry about making lunches.
It’ll be nice to see the same families that we’ve gotten acquainted with over the last couple of years. Jenna can’t wait to go to the beach, play with Grandma, go fishing with Aunt Lynne, go to the beach, play with her friends, go to the beach, go swimming with Aunt Cheri, go to the beach, go to Kid’s Kamp, and go to the beach!!

Tim is hoping to relax and play a lot of golf. Last year, he played with a couple of the other dads and had a great time. I’m hoping to relax, hang out at the beach, play a little golf, and look in the shops. We want to take the kids on the putting green. Jenna has her own clubs and we brought along a plastic putter for Sarah. Tonight the kids get Ruttgers t-shirts from Aunt Cheri.

4 days to Ruttgers!

Wed. 7/1/09

It’s a little warmer today, but still no sun. The kids played in the back yard. Jenna likes having someone to play with even though Sarah is 3 years younger. She likes showing off and doing things that Sarah can’t do – like sitting on the top of the climber. Sarah is a daredevil. She tries to do whatever Jenna does even though she doesn’t have the coordination to do it. Sarah has more bumps and bruises than we can count.

Whenever Sarah gets in trouble, she points to one of her many “boo boos” and makes a sad face. She lets us know in so many words, “Look, how can you get mad at me when I have so many bumps and bruises!” We wonder where she learned how to do that? Just one of the many mysteries we’ll never know about.

Tim took the kids to the playground when he got home from work. Jenna swung from the monkey bars the whole way for the FIRST TIME EVER! She was so proud of herself!!

It's 4 days to Ruttgers! The girls opened gifts from Aunt Cheri tonight. It's a puzzle for Sarah and "Go Fish" for Jenna.

The Countdown Begins - 5 Days to Ruttgers

Tues. 6/30/09

This morning, we had a play date at the park with five families from our church. The temperature was barely 60 degrees with a stiff wind blowing. Luckily, we were dressed in long pants, long sleeves, and jackets. I was still cold!! It’s the end of June! What happened to our warm weather? The kids didn’t care about the cold. They played well together for over 2 hours. We took a short time out for lunch and then the kids played some more.

Sarah fell asleep on the way home from the park. I carried her into the house and put her on the sofa. She slept for an hour and a half. Jenna fell asleep, too. It’s so nice to have quiet time in the middle of the afternoon!

The vacation countdown begins - 5 days to Ruttgers! Aunt Cheri sent Jenna and Sarah gifts to help them countdown to Ruttgers. Today they received candy and "magic growing" socks.

Finally Bought Flowers

Mon. 6/29/09

Jenna, Sarah, and I went to Dundee Nursery to buy flowers today. I bought red geraniums, white alyssum, and some purple flowers (the name is escaping me). I’m only filling one planter, a hanging basket, and the whiskey barrel this summer. I never seem to find the time to spend outside with the flowers. The tomatoes have already been neglected. They’ve been crying for Miracle Gro since we got back from China.

My patience with the kids was shot about an hour after lunch. Sarah needed attention about every 5 minutes. Jenna was in a “naughty” mood. She didn’t want to listen to anything I had to say.

I got the flowers planted this afternoon. Thankfully, Tim came home to help with the kids. They keep us constantly on the go.

We’ve been working on Sarah’s table manners. Every meal is a constant repetition: small bites, chew with your side teeth, chew with your mouth closed, use your spoon and fork. We have to keep reminding ourselves that Sarah is only 2 ½ and it takes time for her to learn new skills and change old habits.

Finally Worked in the Yard

Sun. 6/28/09

Sarah had a mini tantrum getting dressed for church today. She didn’t like the outfit I picked out for her to wear. I got it in Guangzhou, China. It’s really cute – red and white gingham checked top with matching pantaloons. It has ladybug buttons and pockets. I don’t think Sarah liked the pantaloons. During her tantrum, she ripped off two ladybug buttons, so she had to wear a different outfit.

Tim and I finally got a chance to work in the yard. The kids enjoyed playing outside. Tim dug up some barberry bushes that weren't doing well. We were glad to get rid of them because of the thorns. We hope to transplant potentilla bushes that need more sun. I started pulling weeds without my gloves. Got a hold of a stinging nettle plant and got tiny blisters on my fingers. Ouch!

Jenna and Sarah quarrel every day. We can’t wait until they can get along better. The big question is HOW LONG will it take??

Jenna seems to be acclimating to her big sister role a little better the last couple of days. She’s been helping Sarah tie her shoes (when Sarah will let her), wash her hands (when Sarah will let her), and hold her hand going down the stairs (when Sarah will let her!). It sure takes time to change behaviors!

Ice Cream Social

Sat. 6/27/09

We went to the Burwell House Festival in Minnetonka with Uncle Bill, Aunt Tami, Aunt Cheri, and Grandma Linda. Jenna had fun blowing bubbles and making a spin art picture. Sarah enjoyed looking at the bubbles, but had trouble blowing her own. The best part was eating ice cream. Jenna got a chocolate cone, Tim got a vanilla cone, and Margaret got a dish of strawberry. Sarah got a dish of vanilla, but enjoyed sampling all three flavors. Everyone enjoyed listening to band music while we ate our ice cream.

After the festival, we drove to Uncle Bill and Aunt Tami’s house. Sarah was very excited to meet their 2 cats. She followed them all over the house and kept saying, “Meow, Meow”. Needless to say, Lily and Phoebe were not as excited to meet Sarah. We feasted on grilled chicken, pasta salad, corn on the cob, and angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream. YUM! After supper, Jenna and Sarah amused us. We sang some kid’s songs. Sarah was very quick to catch on to the main lyrics. She enjoys being goofy and making people laugh.

A Beautiful Day

Fri. 6/26/09

It’s another beautiful day today. We go outside to play. The girls ride their bikes and I pull weeds. My flower gardens are a total disaster. I haven’t spent any time outside and it shows. Yikes!

After lunch, we need to head to the clinic to get Sarah’s mantoux test “read”. At the clinic, the nurse tells us that Sarah’s arm is fine. We visit Jeannie, one of our favorite nurses, so she can meet Sarah. Sarah and Jenna give her some high fives.

By the time we get home, Tim’s home early from work. The girls get their swimming suits on and waste no time getting in the pool. Tim and I sit in the shade and actually get to talk and relax. It’s a beautiful day. Sarah is still tentative in the pool. She mostly stands in one spot and plays. She doesn’t like to stray too far from the edge of the pool. Tim takes her hand and walks her around in the pool. After awhile, she gets a little braver and ventures around the pool on her own for a little bit.

Tim’s Birthday

Thurs. 6/25/09

I finally slept well last night. The alarm clock woke me up. Sarah doesn’t get up until 7:30 a.m. What a surprise! Jenna gets up at 7:45 a.m. They’re both sleepy heads today.

After an early lunch, we head out to the grocery store. This is my first time grocery shopping with both of them by myself. Things go pretty smoothly. The girls get to sample a cheese stuffed pasta noodle. They both love it and want more.

After the groceries are put away. it’s time to go outside to play. The girls ride their bikes around the cul-de-sac. After playing for awhile, they want a snack. We go inside to cool off. I wrap Tim’s birthday presents. Jenna makes a card for her dad. She signs her name and Sarah’s name to the card I bought. We’re all ready for Tim to get home.

Tim comes home from work with 2 cakes! Good thing we didn’t make him one. He opens his cards and presents. We go out for supper at Culvers. For dessert, Tim and the girls get vanilla custard with hot fudge sauce. YUMMY!!

Lunch with Daddy at UHG

Wed. 6/24/09

After breakfast, Jenna wants to help me make brownies. She puts on her apron and finds her favorite whisk. She asks if she can crack the eggs. This will be her first experience. She does a great job and only gets a tiny bit of shell mixed in with the eggs. She fishes it out with a spoon. She’s very proud of herself.

Today, we’re going to UHG to eat lunch with Tim. We’ll bring the brownies as an early birthday surprise for Tim. Jenna wants to dress up for her lunch with dad. She puts on her new dress from China, a necklace, a bracelet and a barrette in her hair. I find a cute dress for Sarah to wear. She also wants a necklace, bracelet, and barrette in her hair. I put a lunch together for the three of us and we’re off to UHG.

Tim greets us. The girls are excited to see him. They run and skip down the wide hallway to the cafeteria. We meet Karis in the lunchroom. She adopted a little girl from China last November. Her daughter is 7 weeks older than Sarah. We surprise Tim with the brownies. They’re delicious! After lunch, we go upstairs to Tim’s work area. Sarah is very curious and runs into offices and cubicles. She doesn’t have any fear of the people or surroundings. Tim introduces Sarah to his co-workers. We visit with people until Jenna and Sarah get too wound up. It’s time to go home. Tim needs to get back to work. Sarah falls asleep on the way home.

Sarah Goes to the Pediatrician

Tues. 6/23/09

Sarah has her first pediatrician visit today. Hope it goes smoothly. I brought along a couple packages of rice crackers in case they’re needed as bribes. Snacks usually come in handy during times of stress. Jenna has a play date with Andy during Sarah’s doctor appointment. She’s excited to go to his house to play with him and Willow, the family dog.

The first hurdle during Sarah’s exam was getting her to take off her shirt, shorts, and shoes so she could get weighed. She wasn’t keen about it at all. Out came the rice crackers as a bribe. We walk down the hall and Sarah gets weighed on the baby scale. Back to the exam room to get measured for height. Sarah balks at stretching out on the table. Back down the hall to the height measuring station. Mommy shows her how to stand with her feet up against the wall. Sarah decides it’s O.K. to get measured. Back to the exam room again. Sarah balks at getting her head measured with a tape measure, so daddy gets his head measured first. Sarah decides it’s O.K. to put the tape measure around her head. Sarah gets her rice crackers and munches contentedly while we wait for Dr. Green.

Dr. Green greets Sarah with a smile. Sarah is a little wary. She’s wondering what’s going to happen next. Sarah doesn’t like getting examined. She wants to put her clothes back on, especially her shoes. Everything checks out O.K. While Dr. Green talks with us, Sarah dresses herself and then explores the room. She wants anther cup of water (she’s already had 2) and has fun scrunching up the cup.

The nurse comes in to give Sarah a mantoux (PPD) test. Remember those “shots”? It’s not really a shot, but the needle goes in just under the skin. Sarah doesn’t like it one bit and cries. She gets a band-aid to cover the puncture mark. I’ll need to bring Sarah back into the doctor’s office on Friday, so it can be “read”. The last stop is the lab. This is the hard part. They need to get samples of her blood – lots of it. The phlebotomist has trouble getting the needle in her vein. Sarah doesn’t like this strange lady poking her arm. She screams long and hard as 5 vials of blood are filled. It seems to take forever. I’ve got Sarah on my lap and have to hold her arms, legs, and shoulders still. It’s not easy. Sarah is a strong kid. Finally, it’s all over. Sarah gets another band-aid and 3 stickers. I hand Sarah another packet of rice crackers to eat.

Are We Back In Guangzhou, China?

Mon. 6/22/09

The weather today reminds me of Guangzhou, China – very hot and steamy! Made the mistake of telling the kids I'd take them to Greenwood Elementary School playground this morning before I realized how hot is was outside. Feels like we're in a sauna. It was hard work pulling both kids in the little green wagon. We were all sweating by the time we got to the playground. Found a little shade tree to park the wagon under so the kids could have a snack of goldfish crackers and water. They don't look super excited in the photo, do they? Kind of looks like they're thinking, "Our crazy mom dragged us to the playground in this miserable heat. We wanted to stay in the house where it's cool." We stayed at the playground long enough to swing, go on the teeter totter, and take a couple of photos. The slides were too hot to slide down. Took the neighborhood path back to our house because there’s more shade. Jenna walked most of the way home, so I didn’t have to work as hard just pulling Sarah. We spent the rest of the day inside the house . . . . . ahhh, gotta love air conditioning. Jenna put in a Winnie the Pooh video after lunch and Sarah fell asleep in about 2 minutes.

Tim pumped up the new green swimming pool and filled it with water. The outside air temperature should be hot enough to warm the water up by Tuesday afternoon. The girls were very excited to see the pool getting filled up. Jenna can’t wait to splash around. Don’t know if Sarah has ever been in a pool. Guess we’ll see how she likes it tomorrow.

I’m tired. Seems to be a constant theme. Wish I could sleep more than a couple of hours at a stretch. I’ve been getting up around 5:00 a.m. every morning. Sarah is also an early riser. She’s usually up between 5:30 – 6:00 a.m. Makes for a very long day.

St. Barnabas Church Welcomes Sarah / Happy Father’s Day!

Sun. 6/21/09

This morning, Jenna and Sarah posed for pictures in the front yard before we left for church. At church, everyone welcomed us back with great enthusiasm. We’re very blessed to have such a warm and caring church community. Sarah wasn’t fazed one bit by all the people and new surroundings. She took it all in stride. She greeted people with “Ni Hao” and both kids did some “hi fives” with David Helgen. The snack after the service was more of a meal today. The kids were in heaven munching on fresh fruit, cookies, and sandwiches. Sarah had 3 bowls of fruit! Hope she doesn’t think we eat like that every Sunday!

Sarah rebelled against a nap today. She cried and refused to settle down after lunch. Tim and I should have given up after 30 minutes, but we persevered until all three of us were worn out and upset.

Happy Father’s Day! We celebrated “dad” with homemade and store bought cards and presents. I traced Sarah’s handprints on a colored piece of paper and folded it into a card. Jenna created a “book” for her dad. She drew pictures of all the things they enjoy doing together. She spent a couple of hours putting it together. Jenna is getting to be quite a good artist.

Running Errands

Sat. 6/20/09

We ran a couple of errands this morning. Took back a couple of things I bought for our trip that I didn’t use – ear planes and motion sickness wristbands. I’ve been unfortunate to suffer from motion sickness my entire life. It’s mostly triggered from riding in the car, but I wanted to have something for the plane just in case . . . .

Our neighbors, who are Chinese, told us about a Chinese grocery store in St. Louis Park. We were hoping to find some of the snacks that Sarah and Jenna liked while we were in China. We found the store after a couple of wrong turns. We stocked up on rice crackers and cookies. Should last us for a couple of weeks.

Took the kids to Greenwood School playground after supper. Jenna and Sarah had fun swinging and playing on the slides and teeter totter. It’s a great place for them to burn off some energy. Makes them sleep better, too.

Musical Beds!

Fri. 6/19/09

You guessed it . . . none of us got a good night's sleep last night. Sarah woke up at 1:30 in the morning. She woke up Jenna, too, since they’re sleeping in the same bed. Tim and I decided to put Sarah in her OWN BED for the first time. She initially resisted, but we took turns rocking her until she fell back asleep. She slept the rest of the “night” in her bed. Tim slept on the floor in her room in case she woke up. I slept with Jenna in her bed.

The four of us went back to the rummage sale at Holy Name Church on Thurs. evening. I had to twist Tim’s arm a little bit to get him to go. We were lucky enough to buy a Little Tikes big slide. We happened to be walking in just as a family was dropping the slide off as a donation. We also got a kid's bike (don’t know the proper name for it) that attaches onto the back of an adult’s bike. Tim can attach the extension to his bike to carry Jenna. I can pull Sarah in the burley with my bike. Tim pulled both kids in the burley on Wed. and said they’re VERY heavy. A couple of days ago, Jenna weighed 36 lbs. and Sarah weighed 27 lbs. Wouldn’t doubt that Sarah weighs more now since she eats more than I do at every meal!

Sarah loves to sing. We’ve been singing songs to her and she’ll sing back part of the song. We’re amazed that she can pick up the tune so fast. Sarah also likes to play the little kid’s keyboard.

Sarah Goes To Her First Garage Sale / Nap Time Fiasco

Thurs. 6/18/09

After breakfast, the girls and I drive to the rummage sale at Holy Name Church. It starts to sprinkle on the way there. It’s raining pretty hard as I get the stroller out of the car. I’m having second thoughts now, but we’ve gotten this far, so might as well get a little wet.

Once inside the church, we head for the toys and kid’s clothes. Jenna finds a large stuffed giraffe. I find a couple of dolls for Sarah to look at. She picks a baby doll with the pacifier in its mouth. She won’t let go of it so I can put it in our bag. Have I mentioned she can be very stubborn and strong willed? I let her carry the doll around the room and hope she doesn’t set it down. A couple minutes later, the baby doll is missing its pacifier. I locate it under one of the tables. Sarah still doesn’t want to give it to me to hold. Both girls find a pair of sunglasses that they want to get. I trade the baby doll for the sunglasses.

I look through the kid’s clothes and find a couple of cute things to buy. We head over to the book room next, even though we have enough books to start our own library. I can’t resist . . . the books call to me. I want to expose the kids to as many books as possible. My wish is that the girls grow up to love books as much as I do.

We head for home. It’s getting hot outside. It’s almost time for lunch. Lunch goes smoothly. I feel like I'm running around the kitchen trying to keep up with food demands. It's a good weight loss method because it's hard to eat while standing up.

The day was going fairly smoothly until nap time. It pays to NEVER MAKE ASSUMPTIONS when things are going well! Since I want to establish a daily routine, I was very firm about both of them taking a nap. If you’re a parent, you understand how tough it is to be consistent in the face of adversity - namely 2 small children :)

Neither Jenna nor Sarah wanted to settle down for a nap. Sarah had a major meltdown. Have I mentioned that she’s a champion at throwing tantrums? She goes into the classis tantrum mode of screaming, crying, kicking her legs, waving her arms, and throwing her head back. Jenna went into the other bedroom to get away from all the noise. After screaming for over an hour, Sarah finally started to get tired. It was kind of comical to watch her eyes slowly drift shut as she’s screaming her head off. She starts to fall asleep and lists sideways, but then jerks herself awake. She’s very determined not to fall asleep. The next thing I know, Sarah and I are both waking up from a short nap. I feel exhausted. Wonder how Sarah feels?

I’m so glad to see Tim when he gets home from work. He’s tired, too. It’s hard work establishing a new routine. For supper, Tim grills hotdogs. It’s quick and easy. We eat chicken noodle salad with grapes and mandarin oranges courtesy of a neighbor - Thanks Wendy!

The kids are in bed by 9:00 p.m. They should be tired. We’ve got our fingers crossed that they’ll sleep through the night. Heaven knows, Tim and I are tired and we need to get a good night’s sleep.

Friday: A good night’s sleep was not in the cards!

Tim Goes Back to Work – HELP!

Wed. 6/17/09

Today is Tim’s first day back at work in 3 weeks. Got up early to have coffee with him. Girls got up by 6 a.m. Tim left for work at 6:45 am. It’s going to be a busy day with the girls all by myself.

The day goes by in a blur of activity: Jenna watches a video . . Sarah plays with the kitchen dishes . . . we eat breakfast . . . Jenna draws and colors pictures . . . Sarah plays with the Aquadoodle . . . we eat lunch . . . the girls nap . . . I work on the blog . . . the girls get up from their nap . . . we play outside.

I’M TIRED! Wasn’t smart enough to rest while the girls were sleeping. Feeling pretty grubby, too. I forgot to shower while Tim was still at home this morning. Don’t want to leave Sarah alone with Jenna while I’m in the shower. No telling what could happen.

It’s 4:15 p.m. and Tim is home! I’m excited there’s another adult to help amuse and supervise the kids. He takes them for a ride in the burley. We eat supper. It's chicken noodle soup, buttered noodles, salad, bread, orange slices and monster cupcakes. Thanks, Mary! The girls love the oranges! After supper, Tim sits down in a chair and falls fast asleep. I take the girls to Greenwood Elementary School playground in the burley. If I felt grubby this morning, now I’m way beyond grubby – YUK! When we get home from the playground, Tim is just waking up.

It’s been a long day. It’s tough adjusting to a new routine. Tomorrow will hopefully be easier.

I’ve been remiss in thanking two of our neighbors who were invaluable to our family while we were in China. A SUPER BIG THANKS to Don for kitty sitting. He came over twice a day for two weeks to feed Lucy and Abby and keep them company. Another BIG THANKS to Bing for mowing our grass and watering the plants. It’s great to know we can leave the country and not worry about our kitties or the house and yard.

Thursday morning, I want to take the girls to the Holy Name Church Rummage Sale.

No Car Seat Tantrums Today!

Tues. 6/16/09

We went for a car ride this morning. There were no tantrums with the car seat! Sarah did have a mini meltdown when daddy took the goldfish crackers away from her as we were getting ready to leave. Her mouth was full of crackers and she started to howl. She wanted to finish them off!

Drove to Kohls to return some shirts and shorts that I got for Sarah. Guessed wrong on the sizes - too small! Also wanted to look at a couple of things for Father’s Day and Tim’s birthday. Both kids were good in the store to start, but got antsy the longer we were there. Jenna started to run in circles and Sarah was quick to imitate her. Got a couple of smiles from other people shopping when they saw the 2 girls.

Abandoned the idea of going to another store. Had initially thought about going to Walmart, too, but decided not to push our luck with the kids. Got home in time to prepare an early lunch.

Put the kids down for an early nap. They had other ideas. Napping wasn’t one of them. Took about an hour for them to wind down and fall asleep. Once asleep, they didn’t want to wake up. Tim woke them after 2 hours. Sarah kept falling back asleep and wasn’t happy that her dad kept waking her up.

Tim gave them both a bath. First time they were in the tub together. They had a blast playing with all of the tub toys! Thought we’d save time and just put them in their pajamas even though it was only 5:00 p.m. Jenna decided she wanted to blow dry her hair for the first time. She’s getting to be an independent girl (sometimes).

Ate leftovers tonight. Several families from our church have been generous about preparing us meals for supper. We’re very grateful for everyone’s help as we slowly transition back to “normal”.

Everyone is tired tonight. It’s a combination of jet lag and the weather. We’re hoping to get a good night’s sleep without an early morning wake up call from the kids.

When Will We Sleep Through the Night? / First Play Date for Sarah

Mon. 6/15/09

Sarah woke up in the wee hours of the morning today (1:15 a.m.), which meant mommy got up, too. We went downstairs for a little milk and banana bread. Sarah wasn’t planning to go back to bed, but I persuaded her to head back upstairs. After much tossing and turning, she fell asleep again an hour later. Since I wasn’t sleepy, I worked on the blog. Both kids were wide awake at 4:00 a.m. I lay down with them to curtail all the giggling, tickling, and goofing around. After much pantomiming to “go to sleep”, they both nodded off around 4:30 a.m. I fell asleep with them. We woke up 2 hours later.

Trying to adjust our body clocks backwards 13 hours to Minnesota time has been hard. Our bodies tell us to sleep in the afternoon and stay awake during the night. The kids nap after lunch for an hour or two. They’d sleep much longer if we’d let them. It’s hard to wake them up from a deep sleep. Sarah kept dozing off again. Same thing happened after supper. Tim had to keep waking her up. Both kids went to bed at 9:00 p.m. without much protest or goofing around. We’ll see what time they wake up tonight/tomorrow.

A friend came over with her 2 kids for a play date this morning. Her boys are the same ages as Jenna and Sarah. They brought a cake to celebrate Sarah’s arrival. The play date was a success. Everyone had fun running around in the back yard and playing in the sand box. Not sure if Sarah ever played with sand before. She liked getting the sand washed off her feet when she was done playing.


We enjoyed Sarah’s cake after lunch - Thanks Wendy! Sarah couldn’t keep her fingers out of the frosting while I was taking photos. She’d stick her fingers in her mouth to lick it off and go back for more. Sarah likes to keep her hands and face clean while she’s eating. She uses her napkin a lot at every meal. Must be something she’s been taught by her foster family.

It’s hard to believe we’ve only been home for 3 days. It seems much longer. Sarah is more animated every day. She chatters and sings constantly in Chinese. She likes to play with the doctor kit, draw on paper and the Magna Doodle, play the kid’s piano, dance, reorganize the refrigerator magnets, and play with the kid’s food and dishes. We really need to watch her when she’s got a pencil or pen in her hand. She likes to draw on things she shouldn’t be drawing on - like books, arms, and legs. She’s curious about how things work. She isn’t interested in watching videos or T.V.

Tuesday, we plan to take Sarah in the car seat again. Can’t wait to see what she does. Any guesses?

Learning Experiences: Sharing and Adjusting to the Car Seat!

Sun. 6/14/09

Remember yesterday’s blog where we were hoping the kids would sleep later? Well, it didn’t happen. They were up at 3:30 a.m. Tim got up with them while I slept longer.

We thought of going to church today, but quickly abandoned that idea. Didn’t think it would be a good idea. We're still sleep deprived and Sarah hasn’t been in the car seat since her ride home from the airport. She didn’t like it then and we figured she wouldn’t like it now. Maybe next week would be better for church . . . .

After breakfast, I took Jenna and Sarah in the back yard while Tim slept. I managed to wash the patio table and pull some weeds while the girls played. I spent most of my time “helping” the girls learn how to take turns using the slide. Of course, that was the only toy (in a yard full of toys) they both wanted to play with.

I’m amazed at how quickly Sarah is picking up English. She seems to understand most of the things we say to her now. I’ve been pantomiming to help her understand my words. She talks a lot in Chinese and is now speaking some English. These are the English words she speaks: more, please, thank you, Jenna, mommy, daddy, meow, bye bye.

To help Sarah adjust to being restrained in the dreaded car seat, our goal is to take her for a ride every day. So, after a short one hour nap, we decide to go to the grocery store. As we’re carrying Sarah to the car, she begins to struggle and cry. It took both of us to get her strapped in. I felt like we were abusing her. She can squirm and arch her back like a pro. We quickly abandoned the idea of going to the grocery store and decided to drive around our neighborhood. She wailed and kicked for 15 minutes (seemed like an hour). In that space of time, she managed to put a couple of good scratches on her face and legs. As she’s screaming and crying, she announces that she needs to go potty. Since Baker Park was close by, we pulled in and used their facilities. We took the kids to the play area. Sarah slowly calmed down with the help of goldfish crackers and water. She was very interested in watching all of the kids play. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the park. Jenna learned how to use the zip line and had a blast. Poor Tim was running with her every time she “zipped”, since she isn’t tall enough to get off the bar herself. Sarah was very cooperative getting back into the car seat and fell asleep on the ride home.

In three weeks, we’re going up north on vacation. The car ride is 2 ½ hrs. We’re hoping Sarah will be adjusted to the car seat by then. We don’t relish the idea of a screaming child the entire ride. Hopefully, today “cured” her of her car seat phobia.

The kids were tired when we got home from Baker Park. Jenna and Tim fell asleep before supper. Sarah almost fell asleep at the dinner table. By 7:45 p.m., both kids were fast asleep. We’ve got our fingers crossed that they sleep until 7:00 a.m. Tim and I want to get to sleep “early” to catch up on our beauty sleep.

I’m trying not to fall asleep while I’m writing this blog entry. Time for bed. It’s almost 9:15 p.m.

Margaret

Our First Two Days at Home

Fri. 6/12/09 & Sat. 6/13/09

Forgot to mention Sarah’s reaction to our cats on Thurs. night. Shortly after we got home, Abby & Lucy came to greet us. Sarah took one look at them and started to slowly back up. Not sure if she’d ever seen a cat before. She’s fascinated by them and follows them around the house pointing and calling out “meow, meow”.

One of Sarah’s favorite activities is playing with the kid’s dishes and play food. The first thing she played with was the tea cups and saucers. Sarah likes to put the food on plates or into the play refrigerator. She talks and sings to herself in Chinese as she plays. Tim recorded her as she was talking and singing. We want to get it down on video in case she forgets her Chinese language.

We’ve taken the kids on a couple of walks around our neighborhood in the burley. They both love it. It’s been fun to take an evening stroll and introduce Sarah to our neighbors.

On Saturday, we spent the afternoon outside so the kids could play in the back yard. We have lots of big plastic toys – a climber with a slide, a small slide, 2 teeter totters, and 2 kid’s play houses. Sarah loves going down the slide and climbing back up it. She’s a very active kid, just like Jenna.

We made pancakes tonight for supper. Jenna loves them. Judging from the photos, Sarah seemed to enjoy them, too. We’ve been working on her table manners. She’s used to stuffing her mouth so full of food that she can’t even chew it. She ends up spitting it back out. Same thing when she’s drinking beverages. She likes to gulp down the whole glass in one big swallow. It’s been a battle to get her to slow down and eat one bite at a time or take a small sip of liquid. She’s getting better at it every day.

It was bath night at our house. Sarah is still adjusting to sitting in a tub full of water. She fusses getting her hair washed. We know she’s used to giving herself a sponge bath with a wash cloth. After the bath, the kids had a dish of ice cream. Don’t know if Sarah has had much ice cream. Dairy products aren’t a big part of the Chinese diet.

For our bedtime routine, we’ve been reading 2 books downstairs and then going upstairs to bed. We sing a song and then give hugs and kisses all around. Tonight, Jenna decided to take her shoes upstairs. Of course, Sarah had to do likewise and then decided she wanted to wear her shoes to bed. We told her “no” and she had a major tantrum. Tim tried his best to soothe her, but she worked herself up into quite a state. After crying for 15 minutes, she threw up ice cream on herself, Tim, and the bed sheets. There was a silver lining to it though, because the two of us were able to bond a lot more. Sarah let me clean her up and rock her while Tim put clean sheets on the bed. The rocking seemed to soothe her and she fell asleep in my arms. I tried twice to transfer her to bed with no success. She woke up both times, took my hand, and pulled me back to the rocker for more rocking. The third time was the charm. Hopefully, she’s down for the night. It’s now 12:30 am.

Tim and I haven’t been getting enough sleep. I think we’ve been averaging about 2-3 hours each night. We put the kids to bed and stay up to get things done around the house and have some quiet time to ourselves. The kids are still waking up around 2:00-3:00 am every morning. Tomorrow, we’re planning to let them nap for an hour in the early afternoon so they sleep longer at night.

A BIG THANKS to everyone that’s provided meals or will provide meals for us. It’s so great to have supper without the meal preparation as we’re adjusting to our new family dynamics and trying to get settled into a daily routine.

I also want to give a super big “THANKS” to my brother for updating our blog and posting photos while we were in China. There would have been no trip entries without his help. We were able to send him our blog info and photos via e-mail. We were so bummed out that we couldn’t access our own blog during the trip. While we were in Beijing, Tim talked to someone from the U.S. about our blog. He was told that China’s government had curtailed access to all blog sites.

Margaret

P.S. We’re hoping to put additional photos on our blog. Check back to the earlier entries in a couple of days for new photos.