Early Spring

April Fools Day "Sponge Cake"
Visiting Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma J
There is no snow outside!
She's so cute in her boots
Say, "Korea!"

On April Fools Day, I played a little joke on the kids. I got the idea from the magazine Family Fun. I cut some sponges into circles and then frosted them to look like a cake. I went out for the evening, so I left a note for Nate to give them their sponge cake before bed. I fooled Nate, he couldn't figure out why the cake wasn't cutting. Caleb thought the joke was funny. Caleb had fun fooling us too. He would say, "Mom, I just put my backpack away- April Fools!" You have to appreciate 6 year old humor. :)
Last night I had a girls night out! And this isn't just any group of women, they are all Moms who have adopted children from Korea. Some of the women drove long distances to come, very impressive! We got together to send a package to the Korean adoption agency, Holt, that cared for our kiddos. Holt was low on rice cereal and Desitin and this group of Moms came through! Of course, the main event of the evening was socializing. I really enjoy getting together with adoptive Moms. We swap stories about bringing our kids home, sleep strategies, attachment, how much we bring our child's history into everyday life, etc. We all have slightly different parenting styles, but there is alot of support and encouragement. And we love sharing pictures of our kids. :)

I'm trying to remember what we've been doing since my Denver trip. Last weekend I took the kids on an impromptu trip to see my grandparents in Chicago. My parents came with and that always makes the trip more enjoyable! My Grandpa has prostate cancer and is starting treatment. I'm glad we had a chance to see him before the side effects kick in and he feels really miserable. The house my grandparents built and used to live in is for sale and we walked thru it during an open house. Man, I have big dreams after seeing it. The owners did alot of redecorating are asking way more than we could afford. But, you never know. Maybe they would accept half of what they are asking, Nate would suddenly get a job in Chicago, and we would sell our house instantly- it could happen, right?! The main reason I love the house is because of the memories associated with it.

Earlier this week Nate and I went away for two nights. I found a deal for a Bed and Breakfast that was too good to pass up. The B&B is called Songbird Praire in Valparaiso, IN. It is a really nice B&B. Our only issue was the breakfast. They do a (classy) continental breakfast, which I should have noticed on the website. The first morning they gave us a poached pear with a glaze on it and scones. Nate asked me if this was the first course and I assured him it was. Well, that was the main course. It was very good, but not the decadent french toast I was hoping for or the bacon and eggs Nate was hoping for! Nate and I always feel slightly awkward in the B&B situation. We were the only guests the first night. For example, are we supposed to make conversation with the lady or will she think we're rude if we keep to ourselves? It didn't take her long to figure out we weren't exactly "high-class" people. She kept hinting we should go to the expensive restaurants in town. When I told her we went to Olive Garden she did a pretty good job of saying, "oh, that's nice." :) During our time away we also did some outlet and mall shopping. I still get excited whenever we're in a big town/suburb. There are so many stores and restaurants, not just my South Haven Super Wal-Mart! During our shopping I was struck by the absurdity of womens clothing sizes. I tried on clothes at The Limited and I was a size 4! I don't know if I was even a size 4 in junior high. It was still a nice ego boost though. :) My parents watched the kids for us and they had a great time. After they left, Isaac asked to go live in Hastings or have G&G live with us.

Caleb is now on spring break. We aren't going anywhere, we'll go to FL in a couple weeks to see Nate's parents. Having some time away from the kids recently has re-charged my battery. I've been re-reading The Connected Child to gain some ideas for my interactions with Julia. Really though the book has ideas that work for all of the kids. Of course, having all 3 kids home for the next week will test my newfound resolve!