6.19.2008

This is the Life

I had made an appointment for a haircut waaaaay back in, oh, I don't know... BC (before children). Today was the day, my appointment was in Elgin. We decided to risk the trip and visit Grandmommy and Granddaddy. We also had to have HR at Lee's work copy the kids' birth certs to get them on insurance asap.

Done and done and done. No meltdowns, except by me, who wanted an hour of not thinking about the kids, but my hairdresser wanted to know about them, so it was as if they were still with me. I'll have to schedule something else for time off in my mind. Hey! I know... I'll got to bed now.

We sent Y & H disposable cameras in their care packages last month. I got the pics developed and they were thrilled. Well, H wasn't because he thought Y's pics were better than his... I just saw a lot of torsos and cut off heads for both. :) Through hand gestures and my guessing, Yordi wanted to send pics and letters to the people at the Transition Center. So we spent a pretty happy evening sorting pics and me writing letters for her. Lee did the same for Habti. A near breakdown occurred when I gave Y dog stickers and H sports stickers. When H realized that Y had gotten DOG stickers, and that she had used them ALL ... well, how the heck would YOU feel? He was heading for a meltdown, but I clapped sharply (don't ask me why I did it - I don't know), and he snapped out of it. Huh. We did the same thing awhile later when (gosh, I don't remember what happened... anything, everything, nothing) and it worked then too. Y crashed on the floor in the living room. H crashed on the couch. We carried them up and they went to bed without a fuss. I'm not going to worry about the lack of oral hygiene if they will (for the love of all that's holy), go to sleep.

And, check this out. I have stayed up 1/2 hour later than my children to write this. Ok, I'm crashing now, but I'll take the 1/2 hour and remember it fondly when they wake up at stupid o'clock. :)

Oh, oh, oh.... one funny story. I meant to write this in Bring Sexy Back, but I was too tired. When I got home from Walmart, Yordi had discovered my shoes, which are pretty lame, but exciting to a 6 YO. Anyhoo, she was digging in my closet and found the dress that I'd worn in Carrie's (Lee's sister) wedding. She recognized it from one of the pictures we sent for our dossier. When she had first seen the picture at the Transition Center, she had kissed it and said "Konjo" (beautiful). So, I'm in the kitchen cooking Doro Wat and she wants me to put this dress on. Well, people, I was not sure it would fit anymore, because, you know, that wedding was 3 years ago ... but I was game. It did fit, even without the painful undergarments. Yordi was thrilled and kept petting me and kissing me and wanting me to walk like I was a model. I had to stir the doro wat a couple of times while still wearing the dress and I thought, Well, this is the life... :)

11 comments:

Katherine said...

Good thinking, Chris! Sometimes things just come to you, and they work! Don't worry about the oral hygiene so much. I've put the kids to bed without a brushing before. Just make up for it in the morning. Who wants to wake a sleeping child just to run a brush around their mouth? Not me!

Nitro Krycerin said...

Amen, Sister!

Ann said...

What a glam life....fancy dress cooking in the kitchen---maybe we should all get dressed in old bridesmaids dresses and clean the floors or make food...might make it a whole lot more interesting...no worries on the brushing the teeth...a happy bedtime and time for your soooo worth it!!!

Ann said...

oops...hate typos...time for you
:-)

Anonymous said...

Chris,
Love your blogs! Thank you for being willing to share your story. It helps us to know what to pray for. Your haircut story brings back memories. Once you have kids, the parents sort of disappear. Everyone wants to hold the baby, kiss the children, or see photos and hear ALL the latest stories!! No one seems to care about the Mommy (or the Dad). HELLO PEOPLE . . all I wanted was one lousy hour of peace. HA! Hang in there, the peace will come (hopefully sooner, not later!). God is so clearly in the midst of all this. And there is such a strong support network of prayers for you, Lee, and H&Y. Lean into that support when you need to.
Sue Laude, Wesley UMC

ctadhankins said...

Ummmm, no photos of the glamourous cooking session? That screams for documentation!!!
And as for oral hygiene, Hah! I'll take happy kids any day of the week.
And I agree with Sue.. the kids are the show now, hope you enjoyed your former lives! The fun is trying to revisit that fun occasionally between times of providing for them and making them happy. Just think college... aside from the billions you'll likely spend to get them there, it will afford you all that time back with Lee! Too bad that's like, hmmm, 10-15 years out?
Sorry, it's Friday I should end on a more upbeat note! I may need to head to the car and play Shanty on the ol' iPod!

kim said...

Chris,

What great memories you are making with Y&H!!! And, I love the stories - very very funny and sweet! I can't wait for the next one - keep them coming.

Blessings,
Kim (YG)

Barley, Bean, and Boo said...

LO stinkin'L! That's just too great. And you thought you'd never have reason to wear it again. ;p

Nicola :)

Carpenters said...

When you bought the dress, I bet you never thought that you would be modeling it for your daughter while making dinner. What fun! They will cherish these memories for years to come.

With Love,
Penelope

Anonymous said...

I want to apologize for causing such strife within the Gardner household with the sticker sheets.

Hopefully, you can look past this transgression on our part & still consider us friends. :)

P.S. Did you find the Highlights subscription we sent???

ABG said...

hey chris, just catching up after some non-internet availability in the last few days--and I am CRACKING UP! Thanks for telling this story...