This and This and That

Basia went to camp last week.  She loves going to Sacramento Methodist Assembly each summer!  She actually chose her week of camp instead of competing in Nationals in taekwondo!  She came home with lots of stories and no money.  She mentioned that t-shirts there "cost $20 unless you only have $18."  I think her cuteness may have gotten her a deal.  Basia's big complaint about camp was that they try to feed you a meal every 5 minutes.  When she is hanging out with friends and having fun, she hates to stop to eat.  She felt all her fun kept getting interrupted by mealtime! 

The rest of us had a week of trying out various mommy's helpers.  We did manage to squeeze in a visit to our children's museum.  All of my kids really enjoy it there, and they were much less likely to scatter all different directions this time, which really helped.

Wee One is a balancing-crazed kid.  He climbs on anything that can be climbed and loves to try to balance on anything he can.  I have been taking pictures of him atop this and that, but I can't post them because, well, you know, he's still not mine.  The child is not yet 18 months old, so he should really be toddling around.  Instead he is running and and climbing and balancing like a big kid, which is pretty cute since he's pretty tiny.  Above you can see the kids balancing on the chairs we use only for circle time.  I'm pretty sure a major injury in my house will one day be caused by the tricks my kids try on these chairs.  

Other recent events:

1.  Our sweet mutt, Kordy, passed away.  It was so hard to tell Basia the news when she returned from camp. Kordy was our faithful companion since Brishen was the toddler of the family and had a whole life before we found her at the pound, including evidence that she was a mom many times over.  Basia is sure Kordy is now hanging out with her grandpa.

2.  We had a little respite guy for 10 days.  He was 13 months old and unbelievably sweet!  I have never had a more content baby--ever!  I was really worried that he had been so neglected that he didn't know how to fuss or cry.  I worked really hard to run to him in response to any sort of minor fuss so he would know that he had been heard.  By the end of the 10 days he did actually crawl after me and fuss a few times to be held.  That was major improvement!  I was hoping they would call and ask if he could just stay, but his foster mom came right on time and showered him with hugs and kisses, so I think he was loved there, too.

3.  We are learning to deal with the good and the bad of having non family members in our house on practically a daily basis.  I should be only grateful for the help, but, honestly, it is an adjustment never having your house to yourself and your family.  Technically, once the respite baby went home, we are not required to have extra help around, but I can only secure sitters by giving them regular hours.  That means they are here even though we don't know when we will actually need them.  We got a call about a 7-year-old and a 2-year-old last week, but they ended up going to a home that already has one of their siblings.  We got an email about a 4-month-old today who may be released from the hospital on Friday, but I would guess she will go elsewhere.  I wonder a lot about our next one(s).  Will they be young?  Older?  Quiet?  Full of pain and anger?  Siblings?  One at a time?  Basia wants someone her age really badly.  Brishen even wouldn't mind having someone who would play board games with him.  I'm not opposed to trying out a different age, but I know I could very well long for the simplicity of toddler problems pretty quickly.  Who knows what will happen.  Until something happens, I will enjoy extra help doing the things I have done on my own for a long time now.

4.  On the mommy's helper topic, we are loving the two we have hired.  They are very different from each other but each so great!  One is a science major and spent yesterday afternoon doing projects with Basia.  Basia was in heaven!  The went home and researched ways to teach Zade his colors since he seems to have a real mental block for learning them.  I still need to find one more back-up sitter, but I am quite pleased with our main ones!

5.  Mini-Moose left today.  The kids have done really well with her leaving.  It seems everyone is now used to the routine.  We were very honest with them from the start that she was only staying with us for a while, so I think they understood that she was a temporary member of the family.  Quite honestly, she was also involved in 90% of all the squabbles in the house, so things are easier in that respect.  I wasn't quite strong enough to strip her bed or open the drawers of her dresser, yet, though.  No matter how temporary we all knew this was, she still was my daughter for 3 months.  She was a living, breathing, loving little girl who has had too hard of a life and is now starting over again with people she does not know, and it breaks my heart to know that she can't come find me when she gets scared tonight.  I taught her that she could trust me and rely on me and come to me when she needed me, and now I, too, am gone from her life.  Poor, sweet, tough little baby.  I know she will heal again, but I hate that her life has to be like this.