Rock To Wind A String Around

Those would be the wise words of Astrid Meklit, not me.  Still, she hits the nail on the head.  Summer has been screeching forward–my dad’s death, Elliott’s decision to go to school, Enkutatash, Dead of Winter, art parties, DC trips, baby showers–a lot to do around these parts.  Instead of exhaustive detail about any of these items (each worthy of several posts, I’m sure) you get…a laundry list.  Woo to the Hoo, lazy me!

My dad’s death:  We followed the month in Florida with a month of my mom here, and initially, I planned another trip to Florida sometime in August, but that isn’t going to happen.  Daily loving phone calls from me also aren’t happening, despite my best intentions.  We’re all muddling forward though–still sad, still missing my dad, but there are lots of happy afternoons too.  We’re trying to entice my mom to stay longer next time by offering her a real bed to sleep in rather than a D-lux air mattress–we’ll see how successful we are.

Elliott’s school decision:  The school decision is not mine, and wasn’t mine to make.  While I think Elliott will be happy with his choice, I’m struggling with it.  Homeschooling, specifically unschooling, makes the most sense to me.  I’ve identified as a homeschooling mother for so long, it feels weird not to be one any longer.  Complicating things are the logistics of this school affair.  It’s been assumed (for about a year now) that Albert would begin working in town for about a year starting in June…then no, wait, it will be August.  Um, no–maybe November. Did we say 2010?  Maybe for a few months in 2011.  It’s all still up in the air, but I really thought Albert would be home for the first year of traditional school, making it less tempting to sneak away for a week in DC from time to time.  I had hoped that his in town schedule would help shape our routine (and I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that I planned for Albert to do some of the driving–the round trip to school will be a little more than an hour, 2 x a day).  Elliott’s school day doesn’t start until 9, which will make getting AM to preschool on time a challenge as well (really, an impossible dream–she’ll be late unless I can drop Elliott early).  Fencing days will pose an additional challenge–I don’t know how we’ll fit in schoolwork or dinner on Tuesday and Thursday and still achieve a reasonable bedtime.  All kvetching on my part–by mid October, I’m sure I’ll have figured all of this out, and maybe there will be a carpool of some sort to ease the pain.  In the meantime, we’re all enjoying back-to-school shopping for the first time ever.  All of Elliott’s new items are being stored in my closet and Elliott stops by daily to visit his new things, especially his shoes.

Enkutatash:  Scheduled for September 18, the team has a lot left to do.  We’re hoping to host more than 500 people, and there’s still a fair bit of planning to do.  The meeting schedule bumps up from monthly to every other week in August, weekly meetings in September, so we’ll get it all done.  Still, the ‘to-do’ list is a bit daunting…

Dead of Winter gala:  Only 7 months away!  Gathering donations (and additional team members)* for the event at this point.  Once Enkutatash is over, planning will begin in earnest.

art party:  I’ve mentioned it before, I know.  The art party was loads of fun, but EOR is in need of more art.   If you are the parent of a smaller Ethiopian person, please, please, please pop a piece of their art with a mini bio (name, age, a few fun facts) in the mail to EOR’s main address:  2030 SW Christy Ave. Beaverton OR 97005 by FRIDAY.  Sales from art cards generate funds for EOR’s various programs.  We need you (or more specifically, your little person’s masterpieces).

DC trips:  Super hot during this last trip–103 on the very last day!  We managed to have a blast though–4 free concerts, lots of art museums, and more trains than we could count.  We also had dinner with a high school friend of mine, and met some of Albert’s colleagues for dinner and also museum time.  We had such a good time, we’re attempting to squeeze one last trip into the month of August.  A challenge, but we’re up for it!

baby showers:  I’m co-hosting 2 showers in August–one this Saturday, and one on the 21st.  Both mamas, very dear friends,  have waited so long to meet their Ethiopian cuties, it is an honor to plan for these fabulous events, but my time has been so crunched, I’m afraid I won’t do them justice.  These families are among the first 2-trip families.  They were both in Ethiopia last week to see their sweet little ones,  and will return within the next several weeks to bring their guys home.  The showers will be a welcome distraction (the thank you notes–maybe not so much).  Pictures to follow!

That’s it in a nutshell.  Busy-busy,  a little grouchy, but mostly happy.  I wish you all the same!

*If you would like to join the Dead of Winter planning committee, or you’d like to donate an item or items for the event, please let me know. We need You!

Hey kittens!  Go share some love with Ali and posse. Their sweet family of three became a sweeter family of four today.

It’s time for another shower, I think!

30 03 2009

A migraine yesterday prevented me from saying anything the least bit intelligent about gotcha days or fabulous girls who make every day a miracle.  I’m reprinting last year’s ‘Gotcha Day” post for the three people who haven’t seen it before.

Next time you’re in the mood to purchase an all natural skin or hair care item, consider purchasing one from:

Give all for Love is an all natural beauty product  line developed by adoptive mama, and friend to our former board member, Dawn Finley.  Jill has pledged to make a 50% donation to one of three Ethiopian charities of your choice and  Ethiopian Orphan Relief, Inc. is lucky to be among them.

Be beautiful.  Give back.  Be Love.

Thanks Dawn, for the heads up, and thanks Jill, for supporting EOR.   I can’t wait to purchase some new hair products for my own habesha girl!

If you are very very smart, you will strut (like my sweet girl, Astrid Meklit) over to Staci’s blog to read her incredible tale of WOW!

There aren’t words to describe my joy for everyone involved…

3 years ago today, I was winging my way to Ethiopia–the 9 weeks between referral and flight were a blur of frenetic activity–we had a weekend getaway, celebrated a boy’s 8th birthday, made an offer on a house in Cowtown,  rescinded the offer, flew to SF for a week to find a house, packed, packed, packed,  engaged movers, lived in a hotel,  moved into our east bay house, unpacked, unpacked, unpacked, and then 7 days later, began the  process of packing, packing, packing for Ethiopia.  As excited as I was to meet my sweet baby, I barely had time to consider her existence–until I got on the plane.   The 20 or so in air hours were spent crafting the life we’d spend together.  I planned cosleeping and birthday parties, and Halloween costumes, and bubbles, and reading and library trips and fireworks and a thousand other special moments until I was so overwhelmed by joy that I burst into tears the minute the plane touched the ground.

And, I have to say that I got it wrong.  Every idea I had of the delight that would follow was a mere shadow of my reality.  The glory of raising Astrid Meklit  surpasses my every fantasy–every day is filled with hair clips, and sidewalk angels (the lesser-known cousin of the ever-popular snow angel), and the AM version of Boom Boom POW!,  reading, and library trips, and Enkutatash planning, and parades, and a commitment to EOR, and Halloween costumes, and dog underpants, and squirrel feeding, and popsicles, and a million other incredible pieces that make up our life together.

This isn’t to paint a rosier picture than reality presents–AM wears her emotions on her sleeve, so as quick as she is to love, she’s moved to tears equally quickly, she swallows batteries, takes off her car seat, has so many food allergies that make her difficult to feed,  was incredibly clingy with me, only me for the longest time, and oh yeah, she won’t nap in the car.

But I mention all of this to remind everyone waiting just what you’re waiting for, because as amazing as I thought my life with my daughter would be, it’s just that much more. More than I ever imagined, more than I ever hoped for.  LIfe with my girl is my dream multiplied by 47–everything I asked for, and more.

Thank you, darling daughter, for sharing your joie de vivre.

Lots to love about the last few days.  Our friends, Dan & Alex met their beautiful daughter last week and I was lucky enough to meet her tonight.  She is a vision, with the loveliest little ears–perfect little flower petals.    Lots of other friends have similar good news–referrals, court dates, embassy appointments (and labor soon, I hope, for Jill).  It really is raining babies (and 3 year old boys) around here.

We attended the 1st men’s gymnastics meet of the season.   We’ve gone for years, are stalwart fans, and are even more enamored now that Elliott has caught a tshirt!  This may well be the pinnacle of his year and he is even more committed to attending the rest of the meets.   This  is in spite of the fact that he is now a gluten free diner and can no longer enjoy any of the snacks at the gymnastics meet.  You can’t imagine how that particular fact pains him.  Still a gf Elliott is likely a good thing.  To help ease the pain of wheat withdrawal, I minimize his considerable debt to me by a dollar each day if he is a cooperative GF eater.  I don’t usually pay my children to eat, but I knew this would cut down on his grumbling  and  he’d have a hope of receiving allowance sometime in the year 2010.  Just remember kids, retainers and hotel rooms DON’T mix!

My dining room redo is almost complete–the golden walls are gorgeous and I’m almost finished with the various accent pieces (lots of painting and  fabric changes).  Pictures will follow, um, maybe.

And finally, my greatest love might be my new Cuisinart smart stick.  Smoothies are smooth, herbs get chopped, and all of the implements are submersible.  I’m almost glad I let the last one  fall to the floor.  This, this is the road to smoothie heaven!

Good news abounds here on the internets.  Go share some joy and love with some of our California pals.

Hooray–such good news!

Our besties drove down from Chicago to spend the long weekend with us.  When they left this afternoon, AM cried and cried–she loves Aunt BeeBee and Uncle Erik (and baby Jacob, who out weighs her by a  good 5 lbs or so) as much as the rest of us do.  We cuddled in the car after they left our lunch spot, and I soothed her by saying how much we all love them, that in fact, I’ve loved Aunt Brandy for longer than I’ve loved daddy which both puzzled and distracted her.  ‘Tis true though–Brandy and I have been friends for almost 20 years.

After years of living in one another’s pocket both in Tallahassee and in Chicago, it’s nice to know that our friendship endures, even after lengthy separations.  Neither one of us is a phone person, so we don’t call, and we rarely email, but when a get together happens?  It’s like we met for lunch last week–old jokes are remembered, new ones are made, and in the meantime, we play a million games (now currently dealing with Carcassone and Settlers of Catan withdrawal) adore each other’s children, and eat a lot of icecream.

We were spoiled when Albert worked in Chicago in 2008–after years apart, we were treated to weeks together, giving us lots of time to properly meet the newest members of the tribe (Jacob was adopted by B & E in February of 2008, and AM had come home the year before, so there was a lot of hand shaking to be done) .   This visit was the first in 15 months, but another is promised later this winter–we can’t wait!

3 crashing boars (and their riders) at the Cowtown zoo.

Wow, I think that’s the longest I’ve gone without posting in months and months. What can I say? Despite being thrilled about an emptier than usual December calendar, (what with the EOR annual campaign in the mail last month, and the lack of travel/moving slated for later in the month) the month is bursting at the seams. Fencing has started in earnest–both classes and private lessons, there’s a full complement of doctor/dentist appointments to attend to, and after a follow up trip to the sports medicine doctor, I find myself sailing across town 3 x a week for physical therapy. Add in the delights of the season, and well, it’s been busy around here.

Last Saturday, I signed on to wrap gifts at Barnes & Noble. All of the tips received go to Ethiopian Orphan Relief, so it’s a nice way to make some easy money. I asked for volunteers in our ethiohio group, and was surprised to keep company with 4 good friends throughout the 4 hour session. We didn’t wrap a lot (that comes on Christmas Eve when I go with Albert and maybe Elliott) but we had a great time–lots of laughing, and much oohing and ahhing as we finally saw pictures of Jen’s referral.

Tonight we’ll get together again with a few other ethiohio mamas for our monthly night out, conveniently held here, where babysitters are hard to come by.  Things are tidy, decorated, and there are sweet treats in the oven.  Sopes go in the oven this afternoon following my ever-delightful physical therapy session (I can’t tell you how painful and embarrassing it is–I fall a lot while going through the exercises).  I’m excited to host tonight–it definitely helped me to finish decorating.  If not, the house would still be ringed with a variety of rubbermaid tubs spilling all manner of holiday cheer–festive, it’s always festive.

So tonight we’ll nosh, make merry, and celebrate with a Yankee Trade.  I didn’t want the gift-giving to cause undo stress (one of the attendees is leaving to meet her little one on December 23, and the rest of us are busy) so I specified that the wrapped gift you bring must be something you already own.  I can’t wait to see what pops up.

Pictures to follow (perhaps in less than 6 days time).