Our week

Boy it's been a tough week! I sure do have stuff to blog about but not much time or energy to blog anymore!

This week I've decided I love the idea of homeschooling. John has the boys writing sentences this weekend....a whole bunch of them....in hopes of engaging their cooperation next week. Sigh.

I love having a big family but I wish there wasn't so much 'stuff' that goes along with having nine people living under the same roof. Stray socks, bad attitudes, empty toilet paper rolls, pencil shavings, snack wrappers, backpacks, forms, dustbunnies, batteries, laundry, dishes. You know that kind of stuff kind of drives me nuts.

This week I left Joseph contained in the hall while I tried to get some housework done. One of the other kids apparently used the hall bathroom and left the door open. Child proof doorknobs only work if the door is shut in case you ever wondered. Anyway, Joseph managed to shut himself in there and turn the bath nozzle on and, using the big cup for rinsing hair, he emptied gallons and gallons of water onto the bathroom floor before I heard anything. Then I saw the water in the hall which led me to the bathroom which had flooded the two adjoining bedrooms, which had soaked into the throw rugs and clothes and toys that were on the floor. In one of the bedrooms my big kids were watching a movie while the water was surrounding them and they didn't even notice to come tell me!! Arrggghhhh! The throw rugs are now hanging out to dry. I am so thankful we didn't just install new carpet like we originally planned before our trip to Ukraine!

I don't know how to blog about this without just coming out and saying it. Joseph likes to take his diaper off and is not fully potty trained yet. Yesterday I had a friend over and in order to have a decent conversation (he kept pulling things out of her purse and looking through backpacks and homeschool bins and I couldn't talk and keep up with him), I gated him in his room where he could play "safely". Soon we all started wondering where the foul odor was coming from and of course immediately went to check on Joseph.

It was a sight I will not soon forget. He was sitting, diaper-less, on a riding toy, and the evidence was overwhelming. On beds, pillows, sheets, fingers, feet, floor. And he looked up and grinned at me ever so sweetly. I started yelling for the big kids to come help me. Someone came to the rescue with a box of wet wipes and a trash can. And while my big kids stood there gasping and grossing out, little Zoya ran over, pulled out several wet wipes, and began helping me wipe Joseph's hands and his feet. By this point I was crying and Zoya grabbed a new clean wipe and started wiping my tears away and kissing me on my cheeks. I went from one moment wondering what in the world we had done, to the next moment thanking the Lord for the beautiful gift of adoption. Oh how we needed Zoya!

With several of us working together the mess got cleaned up quickly. It was certainly a moment that will not be forgotten soon. I am indebted to whichever clever person invented the washing machine.

We had doctor's appointments and dentist appointments this week. Zoya has 3 cavities that will need some attention and Joseph wasn't as cooperative as he could have been, but it appears that he may not have any at all!

Today was Hope's birthday. We had quite a time finding a ballerina music/jewelry box, as those are mostly only available at Christmas time. We did manage to find one at Toys R Us finally, for $12.99. She told me this morning that she wanted sushi for dinner and a ballerina birthday cake. Darn it, I was hoping for pizza and cupcakes. Ballerina birthday cakes are hard to find last minute, so we ordered sushi, and Liesel and I made and decorated a ballerina cake ourselves....(while the boys wrote sentences).

Birthday pictures to follow. When I can find the picture upload cord thingie.

By the way, we are duct taping diapers now.