Meeting More Family

Next week, Markos will have been home with us for 6 months!  In some ways, it seems like we just got home with him.  In other ways, it seems like he's always been here.  Most times though, I think I've reached a point where I take for granted the fact that he really hasn't been here *that* long.  There are still lots of signs of the relative shortness of his time with us thus far -- little tantrums about bizarre  things, unnecessary worry about his food and rather or not he's getting what everyone else is getting, a lack of security and trust and the need to ask 4 billion times about something that we've already assured him he is getting or doing later.  Occasionally, he'll ask what something is or he'll obviously have no clue what we're talking about, and it just makes me laugh because it snaps me back to reality and the realization that 'oh yeah, I guess he wouldn't know what that is'.

For example, on the 4th of July, we go watch the fireworks from a local cemetery.  (I know - it's a little morbid.  But trust me, we are NOT the only ones there!  It's packed!  As most people from Bethel Park know, it's the best view of the fireworks without the traffic nightmare of going over near the mall area.)  Anyway, when we drove by the cemetery a few days before, Markos just happened to notice it out the car window and pointed and asked, "what's that?!!".  And it hit me, "hmmm, yeah, I guess he wouldn't really know what a cemetery with big headstones and such is."  Lots of little things that he hasn't been exposed to yet.

In addition to random things, activities, foods, holidays and other experiences, Markos is still meeting our family and friends.  We don't all live super close together so there are still quite a few people that he has yet to meet.

This past weekend, we were excited that my sister and her husband and kids were able to come up for a few days to meet Markos and visit.  The kids had a great time together (as always) and Markos warmed up really quickly to everyone.  I was a bit surprised, because Markos usually warms up to the kids first and is a little slower and more shy around adults at first.  However, when Leslie and Darren and the girls arrived, Markos and Daniel ran out the front door and Markos ran to Darren and gave him a huge hug, as Darren swung him around.  I suspect that it was partly Daniel's influence because Daniel loves all the guys in the family and Markos wants to have and do EVERYTHING that Daniel does.  Of course, it could also be that Darren is a little like one of the kids.  ;-)  Who got the football stuck up on the roof?  oh yeah, that was Darren.  Who spilled stuff in the kitchen?  oh yeah, Darren again.  We joked that it was "three strikes and you're out of here".  I think Darren was on his 6th strike before they left.  Regardless, it was nice that Markos warmed up quickly.

Markos going for a horsey ride on Uncle D

 We laughed because despite Leslie's best efforts to try to get Markos to respond, "my new best friend", when we'd ask him who she was, he just wouldn't say it.  Instead, he initially kept referring to her as, "that other mommy", and then eventually "Aunt Leslie".  Granted, if she'd have let him play on her cell phone, he might have called her whatever she wanted.  :-)  Yes, my son is a bit of an electronics nut and was found rooting through their belongings to swipe borrow their electronics several times!  (Who can blame him though?  After all, they did have an i-Pad, a Droid, a DS with different games than he has, and an i-Pod touch with some very funny apps.)

Abby showing Markos their i-Pad

Too Funny!!

It was a beautiful weekend.  Sunny and warm during the day, but nice and cool in the evenings.  We played outside in the yard a good bit, went to the pool for the day on Saturday, and had ice cream at home in the evenings before the kids settled in to watch a movie each night.

Darren, Gracie, Markos, and Daniel playing soccer

Gracie and Daniel in the pool

Ready for bed, snuggled up for a movie first

The kids got along really well (as did the adults).  Markos was happy to meet everyone and they were happy to meet him.  And, of course, Gracie and Daniel, and Abby and Mackenzie all had a great time together.

Mackenzie & Abby taking Lily for a walk

The best of buds - Daniel and Gracie

Daniel and Gracie in the hammock

Even Lily had a nice weekend and was pretty well behaved (actually much better behaved than I thought she'd be).  I'm so glad that we chose a breed of dog that is fairly calm - even as a puppy!  Eric finally got her down-lead for her doggy trolley to be an acceptable length so she ran outside and "played soccer" with the kids and Darren a good bit.  She also went on several walks with various people over the course of the 2 days so she was pretty tired by the end of the weekend.

Lily - showing off her ridge

such a cutie pie!

Tired puppy!!

All in all, it was a nice warm-up for our annual family beach trip coming up in a few weeks when we all, along with Leslie's and my parents, rent a house together and spend a week at Sandbridge Beach.  It will be yet another time of new firsts for Markos.  And, I'm happy that we all get to see each other again so soon -- all except Lily, she'll be enjoying her time at Camp Bow Wow, romping with all the other dogs.

July Snapshots

The summer continues to go full speed ahead.  I have no time for sitting at the computer.  It's rather ironic that when we have a ton going on that I could blog about, I have no time for blogging!  Oh well, as a speedy substitute, here are a few quick snapshots (from my phone - forgive the cruddy pics) of July thus far.

As you know, I went to Hilton Head with some friends at the end of June.  Eric texted me while I was away.  His first few texts were in response to texts that I had sent him asking things like...."Did you remember to take Markos to blah blah blah?"....."Did Daniel eat ok?"....."How was Mackenzie's piano lesson?".  After a few of these 'control-freak out of control and going crazy' sort of texts from me, he sent the following message:

"The children are alive and well.  The chances of their survival is about 99%.  Just have fun."

However, the next day, the following texts arrived:

"OH NO!"

"The TV just totally died and won't turn back on!"

"No Wii.  No videos.  No TV."

"The chance of the children's survival has just decreased by 10%."

My friends and I laughed and one asked, "what is he going to do?".  Without a thought, I said, "oh, I can tell you what he's going to do.  I'm going to go home to find a new flat screen TV in our house."  Thankfully, Eric had just received a surprise influx of money from a stock sale from work, so unlike most large purchases he makes, I wasn't too mad at the thought.  Our dead TV was one of those very old, very huge, very heavy TVs that was about....well, 14 years old.  I know this because it was part of the prize package that Eric won when he was on Wheel of Fortune when Mackenzie was only a few months old.  (Yes, Eric was on Wheel of Fortune.  Yes, it was super fun.  Yes, I went with him.  It was the first time we ever left Mackenzie for a weekend...and I was breastfeeding.  Talk about required preparation for a trip!!)

Anyway, the only problematic part of this purchase was that the old TV sat in a big, old entertainment center that held a LOT of STUFF.  So, I also returned home to find 2 large rubbermaid bins and 2 cardboard boxes filled with DVDs, videotapes, video camera 8 mm tapes, old 35 mm cameras, etc, etc, etc.  We have company coming this weekend, so I have been racing around trying to find something to do with all.this.stuff!!  A quick trip (er, as quick of a trip as one can make) to IKEA and I found these handy, dandy little shelf things that hold DVDs and VCR tapes.  A few hours of sorting stuff and getting rid of old tapes and having Eric drill holes in the wall to hang them, and voila....

This required the loss of several of hours of sleep one night because this week also included:

Swim lessons for both boys every day:

And Vacation Bible School every evening:

We had lots of projects planned for the house for this summer.  However, we've been so busy that none of them have happened thus far.  

We went to the lake house for a long weekend over the 4th of July.  Our friends, the Wargo's, went with us.  We had a great time.

6 kids:

2 dogs:

14 Snakes (was that the count?  I lost track.):

  

Kayaking:

Playing at the beach:

Playing in the cabin:

And lots of time walking in the woods:

 

Upon returning from our trip, Chelle' gave us a thank you gift.  This gift did not help my chances of motivating Eric to get working on any of the house projects either!  

My sister and her family are arriving for a visit tomorrow so the house needs cleaned and I need to go grocery shopping.  We also go to the beach in a few weeks.  So, we needed to make arrangements for Miss Lily for while we're gone.  Chelle' graciously offered to watch Lily for us, but after seeing the way that Lily "played" with Thor at the lake (see above picture), I thought it best to make other arrangements.  (I'd feel really badly if my dog accidentally killed my friend's dog!) So, a few days ago, Lily spent the day at Camp Bow Wow for her "interview & assessment" to determine if she was allowed to visit the camp again.   She was on her best behavior and I'm pleased to report that she will be spending 10 days at Camp Bow Wow while we're at the beach.  

She played hard at her first day of camp.  When Kenzie and I picked her up, she fell asleep the second she got in the van.  Mackenzie tried to scratch under her chain and she actually fell asleep with her head in Mackenzie's hand.  Very cute.  Doggy daycare.  Hmmm....it *might* be worth the money occasionally!!  Like when you have company coming, VBS, swim lessons, piano lessons, tennis lessons, travel vaccinations, and puppy class all in the same week....

Heaven....Er, Hilton Head

I've been M.I.A. from the blog-o-sphere lately.  Partially due to school finally being out and therefore children being annoying home more, and partially because I had the wonderful opportunity to go to Hilton Head with 5 of my very dearest friends from high school.  Yes, I said high school.

The view off our balcony looking out at the pool/ocean

the beach in front of the villa

We all turned 40 this year (or will be turning 40 soon).  They teased me that having a January birthday isn't quite as great now as it was back in the day.  First to turn 16.  First to get a driver's license.  First to turn 21.  First to legally have a drink.  Now...first to turn 40...first to turn 50...first to need a hip replacement....  Some had the nerve to rub it in that they aren't 40 yet, but their day is coming.  Soon.  Very, very soon, Shelly, Catherine & Katie!!  :-)

Suzanne and I

Anyway, our friend Suzanne has a time share in Hilton Head and generously offered to let us all stay there for our first (annual) girl's beach trip!  It was incredible.  We laughed and laughed and laughed some more.  Some of us were more relaxed than we've been....since before we had kids.  The villa was beautiful.  The weather was almost too hot.  Thank goodness that Suzanne, in her infinite wisdom, rented a cabana for us at the pool for the days we were there or we'd have all certainly come home crispy.

Our Cabana BEFORE we laid stuff everywhere, and completely hogged all the lounge chairs within a 1/4 mile

Our cabana after we junked it up

We played games poolside.  Suzanne and I failed miserably at "Minute to Win it".  Although, I have to tell you that I was seriously given two nearly impossible tasks.  One involved chugging Diet Pepsi (EWW!  I'm a Diet Coke drinker!) and then needing to get the FOUR cans to stand up, tilted on that little flat edge around the bottom of the can...on a not-so-nice table...on a pool deck...right by the ocean...in the breeze.  Uh.  Yea.  Not happening!  After the girls who were running the game realized that this was possibly impossible, they gave me a different challenge -- take your shaking hands after just chugging Diet Pepsi with caffeine in front of a bunch of people, and stack these golf balls...on the same cruddy table...on the same pool deck...in the same ocean breeze.  Uh.  Yea.  Not happening.

the bar and salt water pool - ahhhh, can you say "refreshing"?!!

Shelly, on the other hand, completely dominated at "Name that Tune" the next day.  Sure, we cheated a little with our smart phones.  Sure, we were all working together.  But, what happens in the cabana stays in the cabana!  And, she won fair and square all by herself in a tie-breaker face-off against Cindy from Louisville.  Yea - we weren't making friends that day.  The West Side (Elementary) girls were getting a lot of dirty looks.  We might have been just a tad obnoxious with our cheering and laughing.  Maybe.  Just a little.
 

dinner at Frankie Bones

We went out to dinner every night.  Without kids.  Without worrying about food allergies.  Without schedules or bedtimes or babysitters.  Ahhhh.  Heaven.   We stayed up too late.  We talked about ridiculous things (thanks to the game, Zobmondo).  We acted like immature goofballs (thanks to Suzanne and her surprises).  We also cried together about losing pets and talked about the loss of parents and brothers and life as we once knew it. 

We joked before we went on this trip about how it was going to go.  Would we actually all still like each other enough to vacation together?  Would 5 days be way too long? Would we share rooms with the friend who snored?  Would WE snore?  Would anyone get arrested?  (KIDDING!!)

We all shared a lot of fun times and many years together back in elementary school, middle school, and high school.  Some of us spent some college years together, too.  However, in the years since then, we have all led very different lives.  We totally run the gamete -- single without children, single mom, divorced, remarried, married with 2 kids, married with 3 kids, triathletes, runners, vegetarian, cat-lovers, dog-lovers, grad students, career women, stay-at-home moms, liberal democrats and die-hard republicans.  Some of us talk frequently.  Some of us only once or twice a year.  Some of us are on Facebook; some of us are losers not.  We live all over the U.S. -- Pittsburgh, PA; Wilmington, NC; Albuquerque, NM; Bettendorf, Iowa; and Laurel, Maryland.  Yet, we all still get along.  (Although, we were NOT stupid enough to discuss politics while there!)  We care for each other and have since we were all little girls in small-town, Cumberland, MD.  Friendships really can last a lifetime, across many miles, and ours have!

dinner at the Boathouse

Love, love, loved hanging out with these "old" friends (YES!!  I KNOW I'm the oldest!!), talking about fun memories while making new ones.  Can't wait until we can do it again!  (Seriously.  Can't. Wait.  Like, is next month too soon?)

New School Luau

Busy day today.

Daniel had Olympic Day at his current school.  (Yes, my children are STILL in school due to the Bethel Park teacher's strike!)

Markos got his first haircut since joining our family. 
Much like every other aspect of caring for Markos' hair and skin, this required a little research first.  (If you haven't noticed, his hair is a *little* bit more curly and dry than ours.)  After checking with Google and watching a few YouTube videos, we were pretty sure that Eric could handle it, so he went ahead and broke out the Wahl.  Markos handled it very well and told us all about getting his hair cut in Ethiopia.

Then, this evening, we went to a Luau at the new school that Daniel is being redistricted to next year.  It was nice.  They had different stations with games and crafts and food, scattered throughout the school so we could see the new school and start to learn our way around.

Markos had a blast!  It was the first time that he has been in a fairly large group setting where he jumped right in and participated without acting shy.  He loved playing musical chairs.  He amazed me with how well he could string beads and make a beaded bracelet!  I would have never guessed his fine motor skills would have been that good.  He was fast about it, too.  Again, he told me that he had done it in Ethiopia before.   (Have I told you before how wonderful the care was that he received in the orphanage there?  There are so many things like this that he has obviously had experience with before.  When I ask him about it, his answer is always the same, "E-tee-opia.  Markos do this, E-tee-opia.")

He and Daniel did several games involving tossing various things into other things -- balls in pools, bean bags in pineapples, etc.  They "fished".  And, they hula-hooped.  This was, by far, the most fun to watch...for a short while....then I felt a little ill watching.  You must see it for yourself -- Markos' style of hula hooping!  *This* he had not done before.  Obviously.

No Fear!

It was HOT today!  Like, really, really, miserably hot.   Eric and I decided to take the boys to the pool after Daniel got home from school.  (Mackenzie was already at a friend's house swimming in their pool.)

It was pretty clear that Markos LOVED the pool.  It was also pretty clear that Markos doesn't have a single speck of fear of the water.

He continually attempted to walk to the deep end of the pool, despite Eric having already showed him that he could not touch the bottom without his head being under the water. 

He continually stuck his face under the water.  Sometimes he'd close his mouth and not breath the water in.  Sometimes he wouldn't.

He continually begged for us to let him go down the water slide....into the big pool...into the deep water....and couldn't seem to understand that he would have to SWIM to the side when he landed in the water.

Even when he'd slip under water, while jumping around acting like a fool, he still never seemed panicked to get himself up out of the water.  (I, on the other hand, was feeling panicked to grab him and yank him up out of the water!)

On the bright side, he will not be one of those children (like Daniel was) who freaks out every time another kid splashes water in his face, then immediately needs a towel to dry his face off.    He will also not be one of those children (like Daniel was) who completes a few sessions of swimming lessons before he will finally put his face underwater.

On the not-so-bright side, this does not look like it is going to be a summer where I can relax pool-side on my lounge chair with my book while occasionally looking up to watch the boys play in the pool.  (Darn it!)

And, yes, I've already enrolled him in swimming lessons.  Hopefully, they can help me to keep this kid from drowning this summer!

Wet n' Wild

No, not that cheap nail polish...

MY BOYS!  

Today, for the first time, we got out the new Slip n' Slide that I bought on clearance at Kohl's a few weeks ago.  Oh.My.Goodness!!  I thought for sure we were headed to the hospital at some point with broken bones (or worse!).

Initially, I thought that I'd set it up, take a few pictures then go in the house and enjoy the peace and quiet.  Then, once I watched them for a few minutes, it just didn't seem responsible not to be right there, with cell phone in hand, ready to call 911.

They had an absolute blast though.  Both suffered brush burns in various locations, but other than that, miraculously survived unscathed.  I think it might have been the nicest that they've ever played with each other, too.  No fighting.  No whining.  No bossing.  Just taking turns, laughing with each other, helping each other.  It was beautiful!  :-)

Poor Markos could NOT seem to stay on the slide.  No matter how hard he tried, he kept going off the side into the grass.  (Hence the brush burn on his entire belly from sliding on the grass most of the time!)  He was so funny.  He'd try to go slowly (thereby making it worse!), and use his foot to try to push himself back onto the slide.  A few times (when I had Daniel grab Markos' feet, straighten his body out, and push him really fast), he managed to stay on the slide all the way to the bottom.  Unfortunately, he wasn't used to actually making it to the end, and would then end up with either a mouth/nose full of water, or would somehow manage to do a face plant in the mud at the bottom.  He had grass all over his face, including tangled in his eye lashes, for a long time.  It was driving me nuts.  After about 20 minutes, I finally had to call him over and point it out and ask him if it bothered him that he had grass IN.HIS.EYE.  It didn't.  Go figure.

Daniel was a maniac.  He started out a little slow, but minute by minute grew more and more brave, until he was going down on his stomach head-first, on his stomach feet first, head-first-backwards, on his knees, etc. - all as fast as he could possibly go.  The slide is supposedly 18 feet long.  However, if you add in the muddy path that Daniel's body followed after he flew through the pool at the end and continued on down the hill, it was more like 25 feet long.  Wild child, that one.  (I continue to marvel at the fact that he has yet to break a bone.)

Lest you think I'm exaggerating, a short video of their shenanigans on the slip n' slide for your viewing pleasure!