Enough, already!

It's high time I got back to some serious blogging! October has been a ridiculously busy month for my family... Dave's work schedule has been all over the board, which makes our day-to-day a little more complicated. Luckily, Aunt Sica is flexible and always willing to squeeze her boys into her busy day... and when she can't, this Mama has great friends who genuinely love to help out, who genuinely love my sons. I couldn't ask for more...

A couple of weeks back Rubin landed a nasty cold. In the beginning, he ran a bit of a temperature. Nothing too high, but enough to make him sad and uncomfortable. His cute little head was very clearly stuffed up, and his eyes and nose were all runny.

(Sad, sick little face.)

To make matters worse, he's cut FOUR TEETH in the past two weeks. During this time, he has wanted nothing and no one but his mama. Which, all at the same time, feels wonderful and wearisome...

It seems that everything always works out as it's supposed to... because just as their little brother has needed Mama the most, Theo and Emmett (in particular) have reached a new level of independence. I caught the tail end of this scene about a week ago. Any guesses what my guys were pretending to be??

Emmett is changing so much every single day. I love his little language and his volume and his speed. He is rough and tough and soft and sweet and silly and sassy all day long.

He is,

altogether and at the same time,

wonderful and wearisome, too...

We did, with a little help from our friends, survive a long weekend with out Papa. Friday evening we hung out with Tim, Katie, and their girls.

Dinner, dress-up, and "grasshoppers on the rocks." Heaven.

Saturday morning we attended a play date with our fellow Families through Korean Adoption. I'm not sure that I say it enough... I adore this community of friends. The more time we get to spend with them, the more appreciative I am of the fact that this group not only exists but thrives in our town. What I love most is that we are able to "come as we are" each and every time we see FTKA... and they seem to like us, despite us.

The boys had just as much fun as Mama. Playing. And snacking. And playing some more.

Rubin and Emmett were both wild for our hosts' little dog. Theo rediscovered and enjoyed his friend Max.

And Emmett spent some time getting to know little O.

They were such a pair! I could have watched them interact all. day.

Bliss.

My second FTKA related outing came on Monday evening, after Dave returned home from his fishing trip. Some of the "newer" families~ families who are either in process or home within the last year~ met at a local Korean restaurant for (exceptional) food and mutual support. It was great to see Yvonne and Dena & Brad and Stefan, and Amy, Laurie, and Dave. To look forward and remember back. I am excited for each of these families.

Saturday afternoon I tucked Rubin and Emmett in for their naps, left Theo to play with their babysitters, and headed our for my long run (10 miles) with my sister. My marathon training is going well... I was worried in the beginning as the result of some nagging aches and pains. But things have settled down, and I'm feeling strong and faster than I did when I trained for my half marathons in the past.

And, as an extra running bonus, I had my dear friend Becca all to myself for 14 hours early this week. It was so great to bundle up with her and just run.

I can always just be, with my B.

And, I was happy to have someone finally diagnose my Ni*ke + disorder...

Oh, girl. What would I do without you?!

Wordless Wednesday

Let the truth be told, on Tuesday.

My vacuum cleaner sat like this for nearly a week... In. This. Same. Spot. I didn't even get around to using it, and I didn't want to put it away, because I knew that it still needed to be done. I stubbed my toe on it and cursed at it at least a (baker's) dozen times...

This pile of laundry moved from the dryer to the bed to the floor back to the bed to the floor and to the bed again before it was folded. Once it was folded, it sat in the laundry basket for at least 2 and a half days before it made it to it's rightful owner's closet.

Brief.

Dave has been gone on his annual fishing trip since Thursday night.

(I had fun reminiscing about last year's trip, here.)

Thankfully, I have incredible friends and family members who go above and beyond when it comes to taking care of me and my boys when Papa is out of town.

If it weren't for Katie and Tim getting us out of the house and feeding us dinner on Friday night, all three of my children might not have made it to see the light of day on Saturday morning...

Aunt 'Sica and Uncle Dan were my extra eyes and ears and hands last night, making sure that none of us had to miss our first school Halloween party as a St. D School family...

And my mom has been here for the past 24 hours. God bless her. I had to work a bit today, and when I called her this morning to check in she said, "Well, I'd be lying if I told you that it was easy..." (This, coming from a mother of SEVEN!!)

We've had easier months. But we're pushin' on through. And hopefully someday soon I'll have a bit more time to write all about it...

Wordless Wednesday

Let the truth be told, on Tuesday.

I am not a perfect wife or mother.

Today, quite frankly, I did a pretty shitty job at being both.

I've been having a difficult time blogging lately, as I've been feeling like I always have to offer up our best. (That's exhausting!)

I visit blog after blog after blog, and more often than not I see faces of smiling, happy, beautiful babies. And at my house, I see this:

I beg you, my blogging friends... show me a photo of a less-than-perfect (downright awful, even) moment at your house. I need to see that I'm not alone...

Just another Friday night at family swim...

Wordless Wednesday

Odds and ends.

I have been keeping a few notes here and there

of things Theo has been saying...

Some of them too good not to share...

"Mama, watch my summersault! (pause...) Oh, wait, it isn't summer anymore... (longer pause...) Watch my fallsault, Mom!!"

"Mommy, I don't really like this yogurt. It makes me feel cold and sweaty."

"Are there bugs in poop? What's in my poop?" (I have no idea where this inquiry came from. I was summonsed to the bathroom and asked...)

"Rubin is brown and I'm kinda light." (Said while carefully considering his brother's hands...)

(Urgent yelling from behind the closed bathroom door...) "Mama, I need to tell you something! I almost fell into the toilet!!!"

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I know that some of you have been following my friend Dave's adventures in Korea. For those of you who are interested, Dave is an adult Korean adoptee who recently moved back to Seoul... Anyway, he hasn't been the greatest about blogging (you didn't even post once in September, D.B.!!), but he's updated TWICE in the past two weeks. I'm very proud of him, and I love reading what he's up to. Check it out.

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Lastly, sharing.

We're making some real progress when it comes to sharing here.

If you know our family, you know that Emmett has been slow to really warm up to his younger brother. He melted my heart this weekend when he did this...

Slowly, but surely, we're getting there.

Weekend attempts at staying warm

It feels like cold winter weather struck us more suddenly than ever before this past week... we went from wonderful weather in the low 70s less than 2 weeks ago to freezing and flurries(!!) on Saturday. I found myself scraping frost from my windshield on Saturday morning before I could drive to the Arboretum for my long weekend run with Krista (we are up to 7 miles, for those of you interested in my marathon training progress!)

The bitter cold called for homemade chicken noodle soup

and lots of indoor art projects!

Of course, you can't hold us down (or, inside), so despite the 41 degree whether on Saturday afternoon, we bundled up and headed to the pumpkin patch with the M-M family. I was a little hesitant at first, as Dave had to work and I'd be responsible for all three (with limited mobility thanks to multiple layers) on my own... but in the end, I was oh-so-glad that we went.

Our crew, getting ready for the hay ride. Thank goodness for Katie, always willing and able to hold Rubin. Or Emmett. Or even Theo, if he needs to be held.

Somehow, these never get old...

We ended up with 5 pumpkins. A round/fat one, a tall/skinny one, a tiny/bright orange one, a green one and a white one! Theo definitely had an opinion this year as to what we brought home.

It isn't August anymore. Keep moving, Emmett, or you'll freeze!

All in a day's *work*

I am wishing that every day could be Wednesday this week, because I have quite a few new photos of my boys that speak (quite loudly) for themselves.

For example:

And:

You thought that my anxiety about picture day at school was unfounded?

Think again!

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This afternoon we took advantage of the warm-ish temps and walked to our park, keeping in mind all along that our time there is limited with winter weather pending. I had been meaning, all summer, to take my camera with me to the park and was thankful that I remembered today and captured this:

It's a wonder how we've made it this far with only one set of stitches (Theo) and no broken limbs.

I also loved this, a little blurry but good, for so many reasons:

(Weighing his options. Thinking about it, thinking about it, and...

(...dismounting.)

I have to point out Rubin's adorable little hat, which belonged to my own father when he was just a baby boy. I've enjoyed it now on Theo, Emmett, and Rubin, not to mention on their baby boy cousins, who surround them in age. Really, in so far as headgear, I don't think it gets any cuter than this old cap.

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Finally, after all of our outdoor fun, a bath before bedtime was absolutely in order. I really do manage to squeeze all three of my men in our tub, but the fun doesn't usually get started until after Mama or Papa pulls Rubin to safety. That's when Theo and Emmett like to spread out and get comfy, like this:

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Now, who is up for a night time snack?

It's been a busy couple of days...

Last night, I was able to be in Hong Kong (virtually speaking) for the baptism of my beautiful God-daughter, Cally Jane. Joe and Norbyah asked Dave and I to sponsor Cally just after she was born in February. I didn't think, at that time, that we'd be able to be a part of Cally's baptism. I figured that Norbyah would ask some friends to stand in for Dave and I as her sister and brother-in-law did for Ella's Godparents when she was baptized in Hong Kong a few years ago...

The original idea was for Cally to be baptized on the beach in Stanley. But plans changed, and Joey thought of having the baptism at their new home, so that we and his parents in Illinois could attend, over Skype!

It was a fantastic idea and, although our connection was a bit choppy, it worked wonderfully. The baptism would have been perfect if: 1.) I would have been able to hold Cally with my own two arms and 2.) I would have been able to hug my dear friend, her mama. I'll have to wait for next summer to do both...

(Connecting with Joey and getting ready for the baptism,

with a 13 hour time difference.)

(I love this photo, because Norbyah is looking at her computer, and therefore me, sitting on her coffee table. We were both a little teary at this point...)

(Janet's singing bowl served it's purpose beautifully!)

(I love this family!)

Clearly, a fantastic start to our Chuseok weekend!

This morning, the five of us ventured out to the Korean Presbyterian Church to celebrate the Korean holiday with our fellow Families through Korean Adoption and the church community.

There was an incredible turnout for a morning full of Korean Folk Games followed by a traditional Chuseok meal, and Korean drumming. Lunch was incredible, complete with japchae, bulgogi, bibimbap, kimchi, and kimbap. I hate to admit that this was Dave's first Korean meal (I haven't tried my hand at making our own, yet...) and he was in heaven... or, nearly. He thought a flat screen broadcasting the Badgers vs. Gophers game might have pushed him over the edge.

The bigger boys had a blast with all of the Folk Games. Emmett was actually quite lucky, especially while playing yut-nori. Dave considered whisking him off to Vegas to see if we could hit the jackpot...

(Yut-nori)

(Tuho)

(Mugungwha kkochi pi-osmnida, which was my favorite of the games.)

(Jaekee chagee. Think hacky sack.)

(And calligraphy! Rubin's name, written in Hangul, on his page!)

Rubin was interested in all of the games, but he wanted to play them his way. Unfortunately, we never made it to the Knee bumping activity. I think that one might have been a favorite for our entire family! I noticed tonight that my friend Yvonne took in some of the activities what we weren't able to see, and blogged about them beautifully. Check out her account of the festivities here and the rest of my photos on my flickr page.

I loved seeing everyone from our FTKA group again. I know how incredibly fortunate we are, to have this community of friends. I love how they've welcomed and continue to support us. All of us. Sadly, we've been in some situations with other families through adoption that have been less than inclusive for Theo and Emmett. Simply stated, our FTKA rocks.

Chuseok Highlights: Seeing Miya and company for the first time since David left for Korea, meeting Yvonne and Paul's newest addition Daniel, discovering that Dena and Brad live here (it seems I was the last to know!!), and the food!!!!

Lowlights: Running quickly while admiring a balloon too close to the top of a staircase meant that our morning ended poorly for Emmett.

Ouch.