I'm Back..............

At the zoo last weekend.

She looks sweet & innocent - but don't be fooled!

One year home party & Nelson's cheesy grin.

One year home.

Wow having no computer at home since mid-December has freed up a *hit load of time. Quite honestly I haven't missed it much; since I am on a computer all day at work & it was a nice reprieve for the eyes not to sit in front of the computer every night once the kids were in bed. I did sadly miss some home comings of several children; who's parents journey I had followed for a couple of years. So if I haven't commented on your blog about it or congratulated you on your childs homecoming - let me say it now - Congratulations! Every childs home coming represents one less child in an orphanage, and we all know that is a good thing. I have lost all my favorite blogs & will need to try to find everyone all over again.

Life is crazy busy. At work we go full tilt every day & then I have a couple of hours with the kids in the evening & I am ready to crash out shortly after they go to bed. Our days just seem to blend together as the weeks & months roll by.

I am so sick of winter weather here I could scream. I blame being a miserable, nasty, short-tempered *itch on the length of our winters. We have had a couple of nice weekends in a row & the kids & I spent our days outside playing or at the zoo all day & my spirits were noticeably unlifted. It put a smile on my face, a bounce in my step & other spring urges for days afterwards. But then again today snow fell from the sky in a nasty spring storm causing my mood to turn more sombre.

I hate shopping & have never taken the kids to the mall; so today I needed to go buy some new under garments; possibly spurned by the above noted spring urges, & thought I would take advantage of the nasty weather & spend it inside getting my shopping done. Note to self: leave small children in someone elses capable hands at home when shopping. Dieunelson went crazy in LaSenza & oohed & awwed at all the different panties & bras. He would scream out "this is a pretty Mama or do you like polka dots"? Over & over no matter how much I asked him to quiet down. The change room was no better as I fielded comments from the peanut gallery as I tried on various ensembles. The kids had a good time - me not so much. :) They are definetely staying home when I go swim suit shopping.

Christolla has really changed since December. I was very concerned about her ability to learn - the last assessment she fell below normal on everything except for gross motor skills. She could not copy her name, write out or recognize any letters or even copy shapes that we drew. I thought she would probably always have difficulty learning. I am not sure what or how it happened but all of a sudden it seemed as if the connections in her brain were made; that makes her capable of learning. She can now write her name on her own, knows her alphabet & can draw anything asked of her. The changes are profound & now she is probably much closer to her peers in what she can do. I am very proud of her as it hasn't been easy for her to get to this point. Now that things are clicking for her she is eager to soak up more & I can see her confidence growing. We will take the training wheels off her bike this summer & see how she does with that. Christolla has two wiggly teeth - top front & bottom front (opposite each other) so she should be pumkin girl in no time. She turns six in July & she is turning into a big kid & leaving the small child phase in her wake. It makes me sad I missed so much of her childhood & wasn't there to influeance the forming of her personality or her brain development (maybe that is a good thing - depending on who you ask).

Dieunelson hasn't experienced the same difficulty learning but I believe it was because he came home younger & has had more stimulation. He is a typical little boy & loves talking non-stop about bums, penises, vaginas, boobs, poop, farts and burps; all of which he finds incredibly funny & manages to insert in just about every sentence. So for his age I think he is right where he should be - it's weird they never really progess past this stage. He has not lost his fascination with bums & can be caught checking out womens bootys all the time. We walked past a very large women at the grocery store one day & he looked at me with his mouth hanging open & his eyes wide with awe & said "Mama, did you see her bum?", he was soooo impressed - big or small he loves them all. He can ride the big trike this year by peddling with one foot as both feet can't reach the peddles at the same time but he can really go quick even with one foot.

I managed to procastinate doing my taxes for yet another weekend - even though it was yucky outside & a perfect time to get them done. Well I still have four days so I guess there is no panic yet. YIKES, I say this every year - but I HATE tax time. I also always say I won't leave filing my taxes till last minute - last year it was the night before the due date, but it seems I won't be doing any better this year. I can say I didn't have a computer to do my taxes on until now - but this weekend kinda blows that excuse too. Did I mention how much I hate tax time & deadlines - next year I will file earlier, for sure. I could be / should be doing them at this moment in fact, but instead I put it off, as updating the blog took priority. What can I say?

And now it is bedtime............... Good night.