Our Weekend

Our weekend was super quiet. And it was long overdue. We needed it. Especially Ava. On Saturday she took a two hour nap and then turned around and slept 11 hours. Little girl was exhausted. I never took the camera off the shelf so I was happy John snapped this 

We had a nice time playing with Gavin, my Origami Owl party on Saturday which is why these cuties were over, laundry, cleaning my closet, and lots of snuggles. We have warmer weather on the forecast this week and even a double digit number that starts with a 6!! I know for a fact, this family will enjoy it! 

The New Playroom

Ava's bedroom was overloaded with toys. Overloaded. We knew we needed to do something with everything before we can even think of bringing Addy Grace home. We decided to transition the spare bedroom into a play room and have the girls share a bedroom. I told John we were going to do this right. We started early last Saturday and dug in. I dumped two bags of garbage/broken toys and a big garbage bag of clothes. I also reorganized the dressers and closet to make room for Addy's wardrobe (which is coming along nicely). I waited too long to take pictures and there was already a mess in the playroom. So please disregard. Ha!

These are prints that Ava's class had made for scholarship time. The 4 framed prints are from when she was in Two's and the middle picture is from this year in Five's. 

And then we were able to clean some things out of Ava's room and make tons more space. I need to start transitioning all of the Ava's into A's. Ha! Addy girl needs some things too!

The mess on her bed? Don't mind it, it's my China pile. 

And the closet...

It's getting there!

Kindergarten Screening

The time has come. It had to happen. No matter when it happened, I'm pretty sure I would never have or will be prepared. My little Ava is going to kindergarten. Genoa held screening for the future kiddies this past week. Our appointment was on Wednesday. This kid was READY! She was so excited and could hardly contain herself. I made her stop for a picture before we went in and she was so mad!

We walked in the building and Ava was whisked away. The parents were ushered into the library to start the mountain of paperwork to get the kids all registered. I felt like we were starting the adoption process again. Ha! The principal started the meeting with "Your Children are the Class of 2027" and I absolutely lost it. And weeped pretty much throughout the rest of it. But she is all registered and signed up for the school bus. She is so adamant about riding the bus. What happened to my baby??

She did pretty well on the screening process. She scored above average on motor skills and average throughout everything else. She is still struggling with her letters and the sounds they make. We need to really work on that. But they did share something funny. These were concept questions. Not sure if they are exact but along the same lines. But the last one....this kid...

Teacher: What do you do when you are thirsty?
Ava: Get a drink of water
Teacher: What do you do when you are cold?
Ava: Get a blanket
Teacher: What do you do when you walk in a dark room?
Ava: Get my mom and dad!

Love it! After we were done with everything we were able to walk around the school and see the kindergarten rooms. We are really hoping that our good friend, Lisa will be her teacher this year. Fingers crossed! But I had to snap a picture of them anyhow!

School should start middle August. And I'm sure there will be a long emotional post following that day.

Confessional Friday

Kick off those shoes and have some fun! It's Friday, Yo!!!

1. I confess I have eaten like today is the last day I will ever eat in my life. Two teams brought in food and I have been going back and forth all day! Mini cheesecakes, nacho's, caramel corn, hummus, my junk food addiction is very happy right now!

2. I confess that I have been super excited for 10am this morning. Because Rihanna/Eminem tickets went on sale. And then I got called into a meeting. And didn't get out until 10:35 and now I can't find two tickets together. May have to scour eBay.

3. I confess that I got bit and it drew blood. Who bit me? Myself. Frickin' cortisone shots are the worst! Holy moly! I will do whatever the Dr. tells me to do with this foot because I REFUSE to ever have another shot.

4. I confess I was really excited that we received our first letter from the US Government about Addy and called the adoption agency while I was still in my car in front of the mailbox. Only to find out it was a receipt they received our paperwork. Nothing to brag about. Ha!

That's all I got, friends! Hope you have a fantabulous weekend! And I promise to get the kindergarten screening post up this weekend. It's going to be good!

Addy's Care Package

I ordered a care package through Red Thread China for Addy. Today we received pictures of the package and a note stating she should have it in two days! So cute! Here are the pictures!

Lots of Dates and Shrek!

Before I go into the weekend, I have to send a HUGE shout out to my Uncle Carl! Congratulations on the amazing award of "Employee of the Year"! I know how hard you work and you are so dedicated. We are so proud of you and love you!!!

The Friday fun started early for Ava and Daddy. We met for lunch and I went back to work while Ava and John headed to the movies. The first 3D experience for Ava! They saw Mr. Peabody and Sherman. John said it was ok but Ava liked it.

Later in the evening after some snuggle time, Ava went to Nana's and John and I went out to dinner with Shawn and Charlotte. John works with Shawn at BP. We went to Bravo and had a great time!

Whew...Saturday. It was a whirlwind. We got up early and headed to Ava's basketball game. All was well until the third quarter. And she conked heads with another kid. They both fell back. I ran out to the court and Ava was laying there blinking. My heart stopped for that moment. I asked her questions, name, how old she was, where she was. And she knew the answers. I took her back with me and she laid on my lap with an ice pack. About 3 minutes later she asked if she could still have snack and I knew she was ok. Haha! Doesn't she look so pitiful???

After we got home John and I went into work mode. We converted our spare bedroom to a playroom. Getting ready for little Addy Grace. I literally touched every piece of everything in Ava's room. Purging was my game! And boy, did I dig in! I dumped two garbage bags of junk (half of one had to be broken crayons) and two bags of clothes. We worked for about 5.5 hours. It looks awesome! I'll post pictures later this week.

Kelly had called earlier in the day to see if she could take Ava to see Shrek, The Musical at the high school. Holly was in the play and they had an extra ticket. This worked out well as we had tickets to The Million Dollar Quartet at The Stranahan. Since Holly was in the play, she took Ava back stage and she got to meet the cast! How exciting for her! I had instructed Kelly to take lots of pictures and she brought Ava home last night and handed me her memory card from her camera. And this is what I found!

It looks like she had a great time! She now said that she would like John to be Shrek for Halloween and  I need to be Princess Frona. Haha! She cannot retain the name Fiona to save her life. As I said before John and I had tickets to Million Dollar Quartet. Um, yea, not my thing. I had not even heard of Carl Perkins and I knew 3 songs one only because it was in Top Gun. John swore I was going to love it and we bet a backrub on it. Ahh, that was 10 minutes of amazement!

 Today was another crazy day! We got up and went to church and headed to Babies R Us and did some major Addy Grace shopping. I think I have everything we need for China. No, we still do not have an official date. But if you know me at all, this will not surprise you. We made a few other pit stops and John got to enhance his wardrobe a bit. I couldn't say No, he hardly ever buys clothes. :) I hit the wall about 6pm, even passing on Mel O Creme. What a great, fun, and busy weekend!!

Confessional Friday

Happy Spring! (even though it's snowing, but we won't talk about that)

Happy Friday!

Let's confess!

First and foremost! It's World Down Syndrome Day! Today we celebrate Aunt Emily who rocks that extra chromosome!

1. Insomia. It has hit me hard this week. Three nights in a row. Today was the first time in a long time that I contemplated calling off work. But responsibilities call...

2. I bought a 6 pack of Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs at the store on Wednesday. Last night I went to get one and there were only 2 left!! And JHo tries to blame Ava....nice try. You owe me 4 eggs. :)

3. I confess I moved out. Of our bathroom. :) We have really low shower pressure in our master bathroom. I didn't realize how bad it was until last week when I took a shower in Ava's bathroom (she asked me to). And WOW! That was the best shower I have had in a long time. So I moved all of my shower stuff to Ava's bathroom. We do have someone coming out today to check the pressure. It's going to have to be a good fix to get me back.

4. I confess that I never send friend requests on FB to those that are suggested for me. Even if I know them. I'm convinced they see me as a suggested friend and don't send one. Therefore, they must not want to be my friend. Isn't that silly?

That's all I have for today, friends!! Enjoy your weekend! We are tackling the task of converting the spare bedroom to a play room. And getting Ava's room Addy Grace ready. I started last night because I want to do a big purge on this project. Wish us luck!!

Randonmess

First -- Hope everyone had a Happy St. Patrick's Day! This is the extent of our celebrating. The festive shirt.

Although we did have a big surprise in our mailbox! We received our immigration approval like super quick! I may slipped a bad word because I was in shock! And since I had all of the other paperwork ready, I was able to ship off the I-800 to NBC first thing on Tuesday. Just one step closer to sweet Addy Grace. Pray for quick turnaround on the paperwork. And for our sweet girl!

I picked up Ava from school and headed to K-Mart. Two reasons. 1. I didn't pre-order Frozen. 2. K-Mart is the store hardly anyone goes to so I was sure they would have it in stock. And sure enough we were watching Frozen along with almost every other family in the Continental US Tuesday night.

Hope you are having a great week!

Ringworm, Piper, Sam, and Eyelashes

Are you reading this title and gagging? Yep, it's true. Miss Thing has ring worm. Blech. I got the call about 9:30 Friday morning and spent the rest of the day working on getting her into the Dr. Hence, the no Confessional Friday. I promise this week. Anyhow, it's in the very early stages and is no longer contagious. But she needs the creamed applied twice a day for 4 weeks! Isn't that crazy?? Dr. Tracy said as soon as the medicine is stopped, it will come right back. Did I mention, Blech??

Saturday we were running errands and met my mom, Tracy, and our friend, Melissa for lunch. Which means we got to hang out with this super cute little Piper girl! She is so frickin' cute! She said Hi to every person who walked past our table. Ha!

Saturday night John had a poker party at our house so Ava and I were going to chill. And then I got the call to watch Sam! Yes, please!!!

He seriously has the best laugh!!! We had a great time playing, getting him to laugh, and he really enjoyed watching Sofia The First! Bahaha! Ava had lots of practice of giving him his bottle.

And then our entertainment for the evening came over. Kelly and Holly decided they were going to experiment with fake lashes. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time! It was great! While they look super pretty when done, my lashes are just fine and I'm ok with them!

Just stuff...

It's been a quiet week. Today was another work from home day as Northwest Ohio received another 10 inches of snow. Yes, we did. We have now received over 80" of snow this season. And moving on...

Lately we have working hard on letters, address, and phone numbers with Ava. She has been doing really good! Anyhow, last night she said "Mom, you start with M. And so does mmm, good!" Haha!!! I cracked up!

We also went to Aunt Emily's dartball tournament. She is so cute! She takes it so seriously!

And the best news?? Her team won! Go Aunt Emily!

Happy Birthday, Uncle George!

Last night we headed to Medina for Uncle George's surprise party. He turned 60 earlier in the week. We were on the fence with going because of John's works schedule. And were so happy we went! Aunt Liz and Quinn came down to ride along with us. I love those rides! We get so much time to catch up!

Quinn is going to make a great mom. She gave Ava some carrots and blue cheese. Ava wasn't a fan of the blue cheese so she spit it out in Quinn's hand! 

Lots of fun times with family and lots of Leilani time!!

And I almost forgot to mention, Ava and I made our first trip to Mel O Creme Friday after work. It was just as amazing as I thought! Spring is in the air. Now, snow....GO AWAY!