I decided to do some short reviews on some of our favorite things around here. I love to hear what everyone elses kids love and thought I might tell everyone about the things my kids love and feel are must haves. I will be providing a link to the products at Amazon and if you purchase through this link on my recommendation Amazon will pay me a SMALL referral fee. I am a SAHM and I am trying to raise extra funds, during these hard times, to fund a Volunteer trip for me and my 14 yr old Daughter to Vietnam or Africa. We want to help out in the orphanages for 1 to 2 weeks and love on some children who DESPERATELY need it. It would be greatly appreciated by me, my Daughter and a couple hundred orphans.
My first review is "How are you peeling?". My kids LOVE this book. It is a favorite read daily around here. It is so cute. The author uses fruits and vegetables faces to convey different feelings. Meliah and Khai love to point out how the are feeling and giggle through the whole book. It is also a favorite of my 7 yr old. I would suggest the more durable hardcover because ours gets A LOT of use. I put both links to hard and soft. Enjoy!
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Out of the mouth of a three year old.
A commercial for Diego International Rescue League came on and Khai came running to me saying "Mommy look he Azian (Asian) like Khai Khai!". I said "That's right. Who else is Asian like you?". Khai said "Daddy not Azian, Mommy not Azian but Lay Lay (Meliah) is Azian just like me!". He then said "Gary is Azian but he from China and I from Neitnam (Vietnam)!". WOW, Just when you think they don't listen to anything. (From Facebook)
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Surprise Tooth Fairy Visit for 3 Year Old
Took the twins to the oral surgeon today. Another one of those things as an adoptive parent you read about, prepare yourself for and expect you MIGHT have to do but really HOPE you won't have to encounter.
We have been struggling with dental issues with Khai since almost the moment we met him. The kid just has terrible teeth. I have read about the effects of malnutrition (and lack of vitamins) on a babies teeth while they are forming in their birth mothers womb and during those first crucial years of life. It all makes sense and right fully so explains why a lot of orphans have severe dental issues. We have spent thousands of dollars trying to save 4 of Khais front upper baby teeth. We were given the option at about 13 months to either extract all of them or try and save them. We decided to do whatever we could to try and save them. I thought at that young an age it might really effect his speech and eating habits to have no upper front teeth at such a crucial time in his development. We knew extracting would be a couple hundred dollars and repair would be thousands (remember we are talking about BABY TEETH that they are going to loose anyway).
The first repair took over 6 visits on a toddler. Mark had to take him because they suggested NOT medicating him because they said the needles would hurt more then the actual procedure. Even though it did not hurt he was a little baby and very scared. I went to the first visit and could hear him screaming and crying all the way out in the waiting room. I stood there for about 15 minutes with my stomach in knots and then couldn't stand it any longer. I found his room and burst in with the intention of grabbing him and running out of that office. The Dr ended just as I came in and said they were done for the day. Khai was laying on Marks lap and stopped screaming right away. I knew at that point I was doing him a disservice by being there and should delegate the repair to his Daddy. Since then the child has been to more dentist visits then any child should have to endure. He actually LOVES going to the dentist now and is so good for them (the prize and sticker at the end don't hurt).
I knew before our last visit his teeth seemed to be getting visibly worse. He had fallen a couple times and broke off parts of the teeth. Their didn't appear to be much tooth structure left on most of the teeth and what is left looks severely decayed. I had mentally prepared myself, before this last visit, that we had taken the repair as far as we could, had earned him an extra 2 years to get through a lot of those crucial periods, but it was time to extract them. There was no doubt in my mind that we would be leaving that day with the Dentists suggestion to extract all 4 teeth. I had talked to both Khai and Meliah prior to the appointment to prepare them. It helped that Saige had just lost another baby tooth and he had been walking around for a week asking to loose his teeth like Saige. I got Khai all pumped up about the tooth fairy coming. I then had a long conversation with Meliah about WHY she would not be loosing her teeth yet. Finally she looks at me and says "Oh I know, Khai has UGLY teeth so he has to loose them but Meliah and Mommy have PRETTY teeth so we not". Well okay that's one way of putting it.
Per our suggestion the Dentist came over to examine Khais teeth and just visibly looking at them said "Oh yeah, I see what you mean. They look really bad. Do you want to try and repair again or just extract them". Before he was even done his sentence I said "Just take them out. I'm DONE !!!". He was like "Okay Mama just wants them out" and then he proceeded to physically examine them. Once he was done he laid a shocker on me. He said he had thought the same thing as me when he first saw them but upon further examination they were not rotten as appeared but solid. The fluoride had actually hardened them and it was purely cosmetic discoloration at this point. He said at this point he would not suggest removing these teeth because there was no rot, no infection and had actually structurally improved. They looked like crap but that was purely cosmetic in his opinion. I agreed, that after hearing that, we couldn't take out his teeth for purely cosmetic reasons and agreed we would reevaluate in 3 months.
Then he went over to look at Meliahs BEAUTIFUL looking teeth because she has a LITTLE cavity between the front 2 upper teeth. He sits down and within 2 seconds tells me Meliah has to have her front 2 upper teeth extracted IMMEDIATELY(not even ANY talk of repair). I almost fell off my chair. Never had it even occurred to me that she would need to have her perfect little teeth removed. He showed me a little pimple on her gums and said it was infection and what they had expected to see in Khai but did not find.
Then I had to explain to 2 three year olds the turn of events. Meliah was okay with going to sleep and getting her pretty teeth out but of course Khai was upset the tooth fairy would not be coming like Mommy had told him. Meliah immediately looked at Khai and said "I have TWO teeth. I share my teeth with you Khai Khai" so they could both have a visit from the tooth fairy. This was one of the cutest, most generous things I have ever seen. I am so proud of her.
So one week from today, My beautiful, generous little girl with her beautiful little smile will be minus two front teeth and waiting for the tooth fairy to visit her and her brother.
We have been struggling with dental issues with Khai since almost the moment we met him. The kid just has terrible teeth. I have read about the effects of malnutrition (and lack of vitamins) on a babies teeth while they are forming in their birth mothers womb and during those first crucial years of life. It all makes sense and right fully so explains why a lot of orphans have severe dental issues. We have spent thousands of dollars trying to save 4 of Khais front upper baby teeth. We were given the option at about 13 months to either extract all of them or try and save them. We decided to do whatever we could to try and save them. I thought at that young an age it might really effect his speech and eating habits to have no upper front teeth at such a crucial time in his development. We knew extracting would be a couple hundred dollars and repair would be thousands (remember we are talking about BABY TEETH that they are going to loose anyway).
The first repair took over 6 visits on a toddler. Mark had to take him because they suggested NOT medicating him because they said the needles would hurt more then the actual procedure. Even though it did not hurt he was a little baby and very scared. I went to the first visit and could hear him screaming and crying all the way out in the waiting room. I stood there for about 15 minutes with my stomach in knots and then couldn't stand it any longer. I found his room and burst in with the intention of grabbing him and running out of that office. The Dr ended just as I came in and said they were done for the day. Khai was laying on Marks lap and stopped screaming right away. I knew at that point I was doing him a disservice by being there and should delegate the repair to his Daddy. Since then the child has been to more dentist visits then any child should have to endure. He actually LOVES going to the dentist now and is so good for them (the prize and sticker at the end don't hurt).
I knew before our last visit his teeth seemed to be getting visibly worse. He had fallen a couple times and broke off parts of the teeth. Their didn't appear to be much tooth structure left on most of the teeth and what is left looks severely decayed. I had mentally prepared myself, before this last visit, that we had taken the repair as far as we could, had earned him an extra 2 years to get through a lot of those crucial periods, but it was time to extract them. There was no doubt in my mind that we would be leaving that day with the Dentists suggestion to extract all 4 teeth. I had talked to both Khai and Meliah prior to the appointment to prepare them. It helped that Saige had just lost another baby tooth and he had been walking around for a week asking to loose his teeth like Saige. I got Khai all pumped up about the tooth fairy coming. I then had a long conversation with Meliah about WHY she would not be loosing her teeth yet. Finally she looks at me and says "Oh I know, Khai has UGLY teeth so he has to loose them but Meliah and Mommy have PRETTY teeth so we not". Well okay that's one way of putting it.
Per our suggestion the Dentist came over to examine Khais teeth and just visibly looking at them said "Oh yeah, I see what you mean. They look really bad. Do you want to try and repair again or just extract them". Before he was even done his sentence I said "Just take them out. I'm DONE !!!". He was like "Okay Mama just wants them out" and then he proceeded to physically examine them. Once he was done he laid a shocker on me. He said he had thought the same thing as me when he first saw them but upon further examination they were not rotten as appeared but solid. The fluoride had actually hardened them and it was purely cosmetic discoloration at this point. He said at this point he would not suggest removing these teeth because there was no rot, no infection and had actually structurally improved. They looked like crap but that was purely cosmetic in his opinion. I agreed, that after hearing that, we couldn't take out his teeth for purely cosmetic reasons and agreed we would reevaluate in 3 months.
Then he went over to look at Meliahs BEAUTIFUL looking teeth because she has a LITTLE cavity between the front 2 upper teeth. He sits down and within 2 seconds tells me Meliah has to have her front 2 upper teeth extracted IMMEDIATELY(not even ANY talk of repair). I almost fell off my chair. Never had it even occurred to me that she would need to have her perfect little teeth removed. He showed me a little pimple on her gums and said it was infection and what they had expected to see in Khai but did not find.
Then I had to explain to 2 three year olds the turn of events. Meliah was okay with going to sleep and getting her pretty teeth out but of course Khai was upset the tooth fairy would not be coming like Mommy had told him. Meliah immediately looked at Khai and said "I have TWO teeth. I share my teeth with you Khai Khai" so they could both have a visit from the tooth fairy. This was one of the cutest, most generous things I have ever seen. I am so proud of her.
So one week from today, My beautiful, generous little girl with her beautiful little smile will be minus two front teeth and waiting for the tooth fairy to visit her and her brother.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
Happy 19th Birthday
I cant believe it has been 19 years since I had my first baby. Where does the time go? I realize now, I was just a baby myself. My first baby is almost the same age as when I had him (19 and a half); that's the thing that really blows my mind. I sure didn't feel like a teenager since I had pretty much been on my own since I was 14. He was a huge surprise and something I never even realized I wanted. I did not find out I was pregnant until I was in my second trimester and I remember weighing the options was so HARD (funny now but no one ever presented adoption as one of my options). I had always said I would NEVER have kids and didn't particularly like most kids. I know now that I was SCARED I would be a parent like my Mother, because that's all I ever knew a Mother to be, and I NEVER wanted to subject an innocent defenseless child to what I had endured. I was afraid the minute I became a Mother I would turn into her (the dragon). Thank god I had the will to resist all the urges and found a way to parent in kindness.
I still remember the day he was born. I had gone a month over due and had waited the whole pregnancy to find out what he was. I was sure I was having a girl. I had to get my first ultrasound done when I was 3 weeks overdue and DID NOT want to know the sex but told her I was SURE it was a girl. She flat out came out and told me it was a boy. I remember crying for days. Not because I didn't want a boy but because I was a single Mother who didn't know what her future held but had convinced herself she could raise a fairly decent girl on her own if she had to. Talk about bubbles being burst. Mark had joined the Marines before we knew I was pregnant and had to go to basic right before Christmas about 4-6 weeks after we found out about the baby. Now remember this was 1990-1991 and he had enlisted DURING the first Persian gulf war. Who knew what was going to happen and I was so scared to raise a son without his Father. Little did I know I would spend most of the pregnancy, the birth and first twelves months of our sons life raising him alone while Mark served our country. Boy was that hard. I was still technically a teenager, working full time and raising by myself one of the most difficult babies ever. I know I didn't sleep for a year and knew if I got through that without the dragon coming out then things would be okay and they were.
Back to his birth, I remember holding him hours after he was born, feeling true happiness and pure joy for the first time in my life. I had just witnessed first hand the miracle of birth for the first time and life had new meaning and purpose from that point on. I also remember looking down at him and feeling this overwhelming weight of the world on my shoulders because here is this tiny, defenseless miracle that is totally dependent on ME. TOTALLY!! I remember thinking who and what this little child is and what he becomes is totally dependent on what I do as a parent from this point on. Talk about pressure before your even 20. That day my children became my life.
Happy 19th Birthday my Son. You are everything a Mother can be proud of and if I had only known how truly AMAZING you would turn out to be I would never have spent one second worrying. I am proud to have been a part of who and what you have become and look forward to watching the world become a better place because your in it. I hope you find true joy and happiness in this life as I found the day you were born. Who would of ever thought the surprise I never knew I wanted would change my life and become my everything. You have no idea how hard it has been this past year letting you go but I knew I had to do it so I could see you soar on your own. I hope you are even half as proud to have me as a parent as I am to have you as my Son. I love you with all my heart.
I still remember the day he was born. I had gone a month over due and had waited the whole pregnancy to find out what he was. I was sure I was having a girl. I had to get my first ultrasound done when I was 3 weeks overdue and DID NOT want to know the sex but told her I was SURE it was a girl. She flat out came out and told me it was a boy. I remember crying for days. Not because I didn't want a boy but because I was a single Mother who didn't know what her future held but had convinced herself she could raise a fairly decent girl on her own if she had to. Talk about bubbles being burst. Mark had joined the Marines before we knew I was pregnant and had to go to basic right before Christmas about 4-6 weeks after we found out about the baby. Now remember this was 1990-1991 and he had enlisted DURING the first Persian gulf war. Who knew what was going to happen and I was so scared to raise a son without his Father. Little did I know I would spend most of the pregnancy, the birth and first twelves months of our sons life raising him alone while Mark served our country. Boy was that hard. I was still technically a teenager, working full time and raising by myself one of the most difficult babies ever. I know I didn't sleep for a year and knew if I got through that without the dragon coming out then things would be okay and they were.
Back to his birth, I remember holding him hours after he was born, feeling true happiness and pure joy for the first time in my life. I had just witnessed first hand the miracle of birth for the first time and life had new meaning and purpose from that point on. I also remember looking down at him and feeling this overwhelming weight of the world on my shoulders because here is this tiny, defenseless miracle that is totally dependent on ME. TOTALLY!! I remember thinking who and what this little child is and what he becomes is totally dependent on what I do as a parent from this point on. Talk about pressure before your even 20. That day my children became my life.
Happy 19th Birthday my Son. You are everything a Mother can be proud of and if I had only known how truly AMAZING you would turn out to be I would never have spent one second worrying. I am proud to have been a part of who and what you have become and look forward to watching the world become a better place because your in it. I hope you find true joy and happiness in this life as I found the day you were born. Who would of ever thought the surprise I never knew I wanted would change my life and become my everything. You have no idea how hard it has been this past year letting you go but I knew I had to do it so I could see you soar on your own. I hope you are even half as proud to have me as a parent as I am to have you as my Son. I love you with all my heart.
New Blog
I decided to start a new blog. My other blog was started as a way to chronicle my journey of our first adoption. I am so glad I did that and will have it printed and bound someday for Meliah and Khai (and Mommy :) I think we have outgrown that blog and it is time to start a more general blog that deals with our everyday life as we are living it.
I am not sure if anyone is even following my old blog anymore since it has been so long since i updated. My Husband got me one of those crackberries and it is just so much easier with my busy life with the kids to just facebook on that but I really loved my blog and miss it (hopefully blackberry has a free blogger app). I especially love going back to the beginning and reading all the old posts and pictures. Life with children just seems to fly by and it is such a great way to slow it down and document everyday. Remember most the time I will be typing with my only 1 free hand and half my brain (because littles will be occupying the rest) so please don't expect perfection.
I am not sure if anyone is even following my old blog anymore since it has been so long since i updated. My Husband got me one of those crackberries and it is just so much easier with my busy life with the kids to just facebook on that but I really loved my blog and miss it (hopefully blackberry has a free blogger app). I especially love going back to the beginning and reading all the old posts and pictures. Life with children just seems to fly by and it is such a great way to slow it down and document everyday. Remember most the time I will be typing with my only 1 free hand and half my brain (because littles will be occupying the rest) so please don't expect perfection.
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