Fair Entries Turn-In Day

This morning, we got up bright and early. We wanted to be at the County Fair office within the first hour to turn in Keree's entires. We also let our Daisy Scouts enter a few items, so we also had all there stuff to be tagged also. Keree had a total of 75 premiums to enter, which sort of amazed us also when we started counting. Once all the paperwork was done at the Fair office, it was then time to start the tagging. Tagging amazingly only took us about 2 hrs.  Here is Keree with a few of her premiums after we were finished tagging. 

As we do every year, we took Keree's picture by the Fair Entries sign. I swear she hadn't grown at all since last year.

 On our drive home, we stopped and picked up some lunch because we were starving. When we got home, we were walking up our sidewalk and spotted this DREADED CREATURE!! Thankfully it seems we caught this Tobacco Hornworm early on and it hadn't done too much damage to our tomato plant. It's amazing to think that in all my years growing tomatoes, it isn't until I move here that I discover this damaging creature. So, I used two pieces of paper and scooped him off our tomato plant and threw him in the road. I just can't bring myself to killing them, so the road seemed like the best place....far away from my tomato plant and he may just get run over by a car or a bird will eat him.

 I spent my afternoon and evening working on some crafty stuff, my Mom spent her's sewing and Keree spent her's building. She was so proud of her tower that she just had to take a picture of it.

Irises

Here it is still April and our Irises are blooming. Usually they don't bloom till Mother's day. What a weird spring we are having.

Baby Birds

Before Easter, I had discovered that our Mama Robin bird had laid 4 eggs this year. I had actually forgotten about it, until she dive bombed us this morning on the way to school. So when Keree got home from school, we had to check on the baby birds. 

Emotionally Resting

Today we took the day easy because of how emotional it was yesterday. Keree is standing next to a concrete basket that my Brother and I gave to my Grandma, one Mother's day a long time ago. It was one of the few things that my Uncle let me have. My Mom was thrilled because it matches the one that my Brother and I gave her on that Mother's day, way back when. 

BUMP

I had such a hard time getting up this morning and even though Keree was bouncing on my head, wide awake at 4am, I still didn't want to budge. I honestly thought about keeping her home from school since today was our first official teaching session with the Homeschool Coordinator but I finally decided there was no way I could keep up with her energy. In retrospect of what occurred today at pre-school, maybe I should have followed some weird gut feeling I had and kept her home. When I picked Keree up from pre-school, the summary said that they prepared apple chips and put them in the dehydrator to eat tomorrow, read another book on apples and painted with sliced apples. When Keree came out the door, she was hot, sweaty and looked like she was about to bust into tears. It just wasn't normal Keree. She ran to my Mom and begged to be picked up. Saying supposedly that her foot hurt. As we were walking out, I kept asking her what was wrong because I knew something was up. I know several other Mom's heard me basically begging Keree to tell me what was wrong but her saying it was nothing. As I was putting her in her car seat, I suddenly looked at her face, that when I noticed that it was swelling over her eye, then it made me exam her closer and she had a bump on her forehead. I asked Keree how did she get a bump on her head, she burst into tears and then she wouldn't say. I asked her a few more times and she said that she got hit in the head with a toy. Needless to say I was steaming mad, I stormed back into the school and the Main Teacher just happened to be opening the door, so I go "How did Keree get the bump on her forehead?" She looked at me dumbfounded and I repeated again "How did Keree get the bump on her forehead?" Then she had a look of panic and tells me she doesn't know. She then asked the other Teacher and she didn't know either. The School Secretary had heard me and asked the other Teacher and she didn't know either. Then they tired to blame it on Keree saying, well I guess she fell somehow. Yeah, let's blame it on the kid. They could tell I was pissed but I was trying to stay cool, so I say "well all I know is that she's says she got hit in the head with a toy, she won't tell me who did it, but she has a bump on her head and it's swelling." The Main Teacher still stood there dumbfounded but the School Secretary offered a ice pack, so as soon as she heard the Secretary offer, she jumped into action and got an ice pack for me. The Main Teacher told me to keep asking Keree what happened so they could handle it. My thought to a point was it's too late, there was 3 teachers in the classroom and no one saw anything. When I came out, I put the ice pack on Keree's forehead and I'm so thankful that it's only slightly swelled as of tonight and actually almost not noticeable. I'm mad at myself that I didn't grab my camera as soon as I noticed it and documented it better. Instead all my pictures came after the swelling had pretty much went down. While I had been inside trying to get to the bottom of it, my Mom was talking with Keree. It seems sometime between them coming in from outside and being released to us (which couldn't have been very long because Keree was still hot and sweaty) a boy in class hit her in the head with a toy. It seems that this same boy had had an accident today (shortly before her getting hit) and the Main Teacher per Keree was furious and said "How dare you". I have seen this same child in action, I've watched him now on two occasions get very violent and hit the Main Teacher and just go crazy (once on our field trip). So I'm not sure if Keree was scared of the Main Teacher and her "How dare you" threat to him, so that's why she didn't say anything. Or if this child is being mean to her and the other children and that's why she didn't want to say anything. Trying to decide now what I'm going to do tomorrow because Keree really isn't thrilled with the thought of going to school tomorrow. So after all that drama, we then had our meeting with the Homeschool Coordinator, I was excited because I thought we would be getting down to business. As much as I really like the Coordinator, she has no sense of time. She was suppose to be there by 11a, then between 11a-1115a and she actually didn't show up until almost 1150a. Instead, it was more testing for Keree and I even got to take a test. Of course, I was super proud because Keree scored in the 93% of all 4.6 yr olds. She only missed 4 things, she didn't know what her jaw was called. She also wouldn't say chest and that's totally my fault. Because of course I am a women and I don't want her running around telling everyone I have tata's, I just say it's part of my body. So of course when they asked her what her chest was, she said part of my body. The other two things she missed was identifying pictures, she called a nail, a screw (also my fault because the way our walls are made we only use screws) and she called a tractor, an atv. Seriously, I even asked the coordinator what it was suppose to be because it looked like a jeep or dunebuggy...it looked nothing like a tractor. So after all the testing, it was time for the Coordinator to go, they are having a group get together tomorrow but I told her we wouldn't be able to make it. Otherwise she will be back next week. At this point, Keree was exhausted. I got her to eat a little bit of lunch, she played and then wanted to take nap. Since I was in the middle of handling business, my Mom laid Keree down. Of course, Keree somehow got her way and my Mom turned on cartoons for her to watch, which is a big no, no because she won't sleep. So when I went in to check on her, knowing that she was past exhaustion, she was still wide awake watching cartoons. Of course, I was the bad guy when I flipped the cartoons off. Then a short time later began the meltdown. I knew it was from the exhaustion, so I picked her up and started rocking her. Of course that's always met with resistance but she suddenly grabbed her pink cover, calmed down and within a few minutes fell fast asleep. I waited awhile before I put her down to make sure she was really asleep. She slept almost 2 hrs and when she woke up, she was still grumpy. So she stayed in the bedroom, had a snack and watched NatGeo. When she was ready to come out she did. This evening, we spent outside. Since it's suppose to rain tomorrow, we got the mowing, weeding, etc done. Keree had a fun time playing on the trampoline, while we worked. I also found a frog and so we spent some time examining him. Keree wanted to take him to school tomorrow but I told her the Teacher's wouldn't like that. Instead we found a new Tobacco Hornworm on our tomato plants and so he is getting to go with her to school tomorrow. After we were done with our chores, we spent some time just relaxing. Keree had fun playing with her stuffed Kitty Cat. The most hilarious thing she did was she started running and was holding Kitty Cat by one arm. She kept saying "you can't catch me, you can't catch me." So finally my Mom asks her, who can't catch you. Of course, Keree looks at us with a Duh look and says Kitty Cat is chasing me, he's the one who can't catch me. All we could do was sit back, laugh and enjoy her imagination. I tried to get a good picture of the chase but she was just to fast and I couldn't get the picture in focus, but I still had to post it because it was just too cute. After a quick shower, Keree ended up heading to bed early (before 9a). I on the other hand can't sleep and I'm tormenting myself over school tomorrow, the cheerleading mess and general life stress.

Lesson 32

Well the best laid plans of doing two lessons a day didn't happen today. When we covered Lesson 32 today, Keree seemed to struggle with a few of the "w" words. So after we finished Lesson 32, we went back and reviewed Lesson 31 and then re-did Lesson 32. By the time we were done, she was finished with school for the day but luckily she had a firm grasp on "w" words. In the late morning, we headed outside for a short time. It seems that the two Hornworms either ingested some of the tomato poison or they fought each other, but both of them seemed dead. So we decided just in case they weren't dead, we still emptied the bug house far away from our house. When afternoon rolled around, Keree laid down for a short nap, it was basically a power nap but while she was asleep, I was able to get two tutu's done. When Keree got up, we walked by Dorothy and she was laying on the bottom of the bowl (just 1/2 hr before she was happily swimming around). Both my Mom and I looked at each other when Keree asked what was wrong with Dorothy. We told her we thought maybe she was just resting. Keree looked a little longer and goes "no, your wrong she's not breathing, she's dead." My heart broke for her, she kept asking us why did Dorothy have to die. We told her again that goldfish don't live very long but she didn't see satisfied with that answer. It seemed this evening rolled around all too fast. We headed to cheerleading practice. The rules state you are suppose to arrive 15 minutes early, well that time came and went, then 6pm came and went. We were about to leave when a few other girls and their Mom's showed up. All of us was standing in the parking lot talking trying to figure out what was going on, when another women approached us. It turns out that our Coach couldn't make it, so she was filling in. *Grumble, Grumble, Grumble* I have to say that this Coach who filled in was really on top of it, even though she was just winging it with the cheers to a point. They learned there first Half time dance tonight and I can't wait to see it set to music. They also learned 5 other cheers. We ended up taping them performing so Keree can practice at home. While they practiced J's Mom and I got to catch up a little bit. It was nice getting to talk to another Mom. As you know earlier in the summer, I was a little concerned having the two of them together on the same team but after stressing to Keree that this was not playtime with her friend, she took the practice very serious. Keree is very excited about practice and can't wait till the next one, which is on Friday. Tonight, Keree headed to bed early. Tomorrow is her 1st day back to Pre-school. Actually, this will be technically her Third 1st day of Pre-School and she's very excited to see some of her friends tomorrow. I on the other hand is feeling a little emotional, this is the last year before my daughter goes to Kindergarten. I guess also I'm little emotional because Sunday is our 4th Forever Family day and I can't believe how quickly the years have passed by. Well off to bed, so I can make sure I'm up in time for school.

Attack of the Hornworms & Lesson 31

I can't believe how late we slept this morning, even Keree slept in till after 830am. Since we are having a break in the miserable hot weather, we were happy that we could play outside for a bit. After Keree picked the few veggies that were ripe, she rode her scooter up and down the sidewalk, while my Mom and I discussed what was destroying our tomato plants. In just days, they went from beautiful, healthy, lush plants to just sticks that were starting to die. We kept think maybe it was a bunny, deer or raccoon that was eating on them. So we sprinkled them with what was called on the bottle tomato poison. We have tried to keep our garden organic but it's sort of do or die for our poor plants. While we were sprinkling them, my Mom noticed this gigantic caterpillar on one of the stalks. This caterpillar was as round as a hot dog and almost as long as a hot dog. My Mom picked the stalk off with the caterpillar. We have never seen a caterpillar like this, so we really spent some time examining it. We finally convinced Keree to hold the stalk and soon as she did, he started climbing up it. She freaked and dropped him to the ground. We finally convinced her to come back and just watch him crawl around instead. Neither my Mom or I wanted to squish it because it was so large. So since we had to run errands, we took him with us in the car and threw him out into a grassy area far from away from our house. After our errands and when we got home, we spent plenty of time researching the strange caterpillar that we found. We found out that it was called a Hornworm and we found out that there are two types distinguished by the Horn on their rear. The Tobacco Hornworm has a distinctive red horn on it and usually found in the South, while the Tomato Hornworm has a distinctive black/brown horn on it and usually found in the North. We are Middle America, so I guess we could have either Tobacco or Tomato Hornworms. But ours was 100% for sure a Tobacco Hornworm. After Keree took her nap, we finally headed back outside. We had read also that the Hornworms hid underneath plants and we guessed because of the damage of the plants that were being ate on, more than likely there was more caterpillars feasting. Keree and I searched, searched and searched some more. We also tried to shake our tomato plants because we were told they would make a clicking sound. No matter how hard we tried to listen, we never heard anything. Finally underneath the Patio garden structure on one of the tomato plants, was a Hornworm. We had also read that if you capture them and feed them, they will eventually turn into a Hawk Moth. So we put the one we found into Keree's bug house. We then went back to searching, by this time my Mom was searching with us and right as we were about to give up, there was a Hornworm. So we put him in with the other Hornworm in Keree's bug house. We had lots of fun sitting outside watching the Hornworms through the magnifying door on the bug house. We couldn't believe how quickly they could eat a leaf and no wonder our plants looked like they did. So it seems now that everyday towards dusk we will spend some time trying to make sure there is no other Hornworms eating our plants. We finally ended up heading inside when the mosquitoes started biting. We watched Keree's favorite show Wipeout, it's so funny hearing her crack up laughing and then in the same second, telling the tv that they were trying to do their best. Once the show was finished, we worked on Lesson 31. I can't believe the summer is almost over and we are not finished yet. I blame myself for not being as dedicated as I had planned on being. So I'm hoping for the next 10 days to cover two lessons a day, which we would then be at Lesson 50. Which then in reality, we could be finished totally by the end of September. It's going to be interesting to see how well I do, considering she is going to pre-school for 2 1/2 hrs every morning, 2 - 1 hr PT sessions a week, 2 -2 hr Cheerleading practices a week, 1 - 1 hr visit from the homeschool teacher a week, 1 - 1hr socialization with the homeschool coop a week, we have a few big shows booked and of course anything else that comes up. I'm ready for the challenge!

Errands, Veggies & Bugs

When we got up this morning, it was another day of errands. Our first stop was Wallymart, to take back some shirts that didn't fit, pick up a few groceries (there generic is so much cheaper than the grocery stores) and to send off the house payment. We were excited because they had the How to Train your Dragon sticker book, so Keree got that. My Brother has been buying her the sticker packs and he just kept hoping eventually we would come across one. I love the books because they make me so nostalgic because I had similar ones when I was little. And anytime I was good at the grocery store, I would get a pack of stickers as a treat. Our next stop was to pick up Keree's cheerleading uniform. Hmm, let me just say, they didn't let it out the 1 inch on each side we told them, so it was still tight. I was not happy and honestly my frustration with this place was boiling over. Arguing with them and trying to get it corrected wasn't going to happen, even with talking with the owners they could care less. So instead, I guess we will make the corrections. Our next stop was the local Sports store, where we had to pick up Keree's cheer bloomers and socks. We got there about 15 minutes before the store opened at 11a. So Keree and Mom walked up and down Main street. Keree was so funny peeking into all the store windows. Well the Store Owner showed up about 15 minutes after 11a. I was a little on the frustrated side but he is very helpful. Turns out the Bloomers, Keree needed for her Uniform only come in a size 7-8 and the socks only come in a size 12-4 1/2. Needless to say both items are beyond huge on her but a little sewing and trimming, we will get them to fit. When we got home, Keree got to play outside and blow bubbles. Once we headed in, she laid down right away and ended up sleeping close to 3 hours. In the evening, we headed outside. We decided since we were weeding, that we would just pick our vegetables a day early. Our pick was a little beyond sad, just a handful of Cherry tomatoes, 17 to be exact. We found a cicada shell, so Keree and I examined it. We looked at it's legs, where it's eyes would have been and Keree even got brave enough to touch it. She was surprised that the shell felt so hard but his nose area was really soft and hairy. We also got to watch a grasshopper who sat there forever on our cucumber plant. It was amazing and both Keree and I swear that he was looking right at us at times. We were amazed to see how he would move his head and tilt it just a little bit. When the mosquitoes started biting, we headed inside and actually headed to be early.

Bee Rash, Bee Rash, Go Away

Keree wasn't happy last night when Uncle said he was going to visit his girlfriend in Texas today. Like I've said before these two are super close and their good-byes are usually tear filled. Because of this Keree had a super rough night last night. She didn't want to go to bed. When she was finally asleep, she woke back up at 130a totally freakin out. She wanted to sleep with me and I knew if I said no, I wouldn't get any sleep. Once she was asleep next to me, she tossed and turned. The alarm went off at 330a and my Mom was nice enough to drive my Brother to the train, because she knew if I moved, Keree would wake up and most likely flip out. When she woke up at 426a, she asked me where Uncle was. I told him he had left to catch the train to the airport, she just started sobbing. I finally got her calmed back down, she fell back asleep but then she was up almost every hour on the hour until 7a. I convinced her to stay in bed till 8a, which I had really hoped she would fall back asleep but no luck. Once we got dressed and going, she was still in a funk. I had planned on doing some lessons but she was in no mood. I finally pulled out a Word workbook and since it was more like a game, she really got into it. We actually almost finished the whole book and I was surprised at how well she did on this book. We had worked on it a few months ago and she totally struggled. Now all I had to do was read the opening statement and she did the work on her own then. After we finished up, we decided to play a game. At the beginning of yard sale season, I scored a whole bunch of games for 50 cents and $1. So most of the games we are playing are new to us. We decided to play Milton Bradley's Wheels on the Bus, this is a great starter game and we did have fun playing it. But for Keree it was no challenge and for us adults it was sort of boreing. Again, I know this is for the average 3-6 yrs old and I know it would be perfect to play with some of Keree's cousins and friends but otherwise it doesn't score in my top 5 to play. Overall though Keree did enjoy the Wheels on the Bus song playing between bus stops. By then it was time for lunch, so I fixed Cucumber salad. I can't tell you how refreshing and good it tasted. It was then time for nap. I knew Keree was overly-tired by then but after 20 minutes and not falling asleep, she went into total meltdown mode. I went and sat on the bed with her, one minute she would calm herself down and the next she's screaming that she can't calm down. I held her close for awhile and sang to her, then she wanted down. Finally she settled enough, she told me she missed Uncle. Then, she had to have both her legs on me, me rubbing her legs and I had to sing Farmer in the Dell but she went to sleep. Of course, I couldn't move because she needed to feel that body contact. I know this isn't a normal kid reaction. I know that her grieving stems from something much deeper in her past. But I also know what she needs to get through this type of day. Once she woke up, she was a different kid. She still missed Uncle but she knew he was coming back on Sunday and then he was going back home. I still find it strange she's ok with him being at home, with us or doing something with work but he can't take a vacation to somewhere else.
So after she woke up, we headed to Wallymart. Remember the bee sting I got on July 1st, well I ended up getting what is called a Bee Rash. It's a reaction that occurs within the next day or so after your stung. I have tried everything to stop the itching, to get rid of it and just get some relief. I finally saw an article that says you need a cream with antihistamine in it. Well after going to several pharmacy's, no such cream exists (with & without prescription). And all the Pharmacists recommendations are everything I've all ready tried. I am so beyond miserable and threw with this intense itching/pain on my foot. So since I was out of Anthistamine pills, I bought some more. We weren't even in Wallymart for 10 minutes and when we went to go to the car, the rain was pounding down. I ran out to the car to unlock it and even though we were in a handicap space, I was soaked (heck my hair is still wet at 1130p tonight). We made one of the plastic bags into a coat for Keree and she stayed pretty dry. We drove home in blinding rain and flood waters creeping onto the roads. Of course when we got home, my sidewalk had a good foot of water and it was closer to the house than normal. Thank goodness my front door is a few inches above ground level, otherwise we would be flooded. We spoke with my Grandparents tonight, I was hoping she would have some old time natural remedy in one of her vintage books, no such luck. Otherwise, Keree sang to my them God Bless America, Over the Rainbow and You are my Sunshine over the phone. Keree at the last moment has changed her mind and has decided to sing a different song at the pageant on Sunday. I hope she does well but she keeps changing her mind on everything, so that worries me.

4 years, VBS & Lesson 16

Even though we were up in plenty of time, I got hung up doing a few projects around the house and we were 10 minutes late to VBS. Not that it mattered because I think half the class was just as late. This morning, I overhead them say that there is 1729 children in VBS this week. That number just totally blew my mind. After dropping Keree off, I headed home because I had some important phone calls to make and take care of. Once I was finished, I asked my Mom if she wanted to ride along to pick Keree up and run to Wallymart. We got to VBS about an hour early, so that way I got to watch some of the activities they were doing. My plan was also to be able to sneak a few pictures. We arrived right after they were being told a bible story and then they made stick horses from a wooden dowel rod, cotton candy (that's what Keree called the stuffing) and a white sock. I then got to watch the video they showed about Buvuma. This time the video tried to teach them a few Buvuma words. Of course again they talked about the conditions of Buvuma and of course Keree focused in on they drink potty water that is really dirty. But I have to say seeing her sit next to another little boy, both of them with their arms linked together, both having their hands in prayer and heads bowed praying for the people of Buvuma. It was oh, so precious and I guess this little boy has taken a real liking to Keree because as I watched that is who she played with and sat by.
After we picked Keree up, we headed to Wallymart, of course it was a total bust other than sending the money gram I needed to send. When we got home, it was past 1pm. So after a quick lunch, I sat with Keree on the bed hoping she would fall asleep. Before I knew it, I was asleep, I think I was asleep for about 1 1/2 hrs. Luckily Keree was still asleep when I woke up. Once we got up, my Mom decided that I needed a new top for my Uncle's wedding on Friday. UGH! Seriously, she's right, she knows my wardrobe and I did need something nicer or at least not stained. But I absolutely hate clothes shopping for myself. I hate having to try on shirts, I hate picking out what I'm going to try on and so on and so on. So I picked out 4 shirts, vowed to my Mom that this was all I would try on and if none of them worked, I would find something in my current wardrobe. Luckily the last shirt I tried on was perfect and I actually liked it. Once we got home, we spent almost the whole evening outside. Keree had fun playing on her swing set. This morning we ended up changing up the swings on it, so she was excited that she has a bucket swing on it now. I swear she flipped herself around in so many positions it was plain crazy. By the time we headed inside, it was after 830p. We immediately sat down for school. I practiced most of last night and today on compound sounds, so that way I could properly teach Keree the sounds. Luckily, the lesson went super easily, probably because she heard me practicing all day. We were going to start Lesson 17 and got half way through it before Keree declared she was all done.
Now on to 4 years. I spent most of the day debating if I was going to write anything about today's anniversary. But then decided I needed to document today even if I decide not to continue. So 4 years ago today, in the midst of the Hell that was Keree's adoption, my paperwork was Logged in, in China. For 4 years, my paperwork has sat on some shelf collecting dust and as those years have passed, so has everyday life. So much has changed, yet I still dream about my Daughter. But after 4 years, I'm not sure she's in China anymore. I know Keree will someday have a Sister but I don't know when, I don't know where from and I don't know how I will add her to my family. She could quite possibly be from China (honestly I pray she is) and that is why I leave my paperwork still Logged In, instead of withdrawing. But honestly if my referral came in the next 6 months, I don't think I would have the funds to finish my adoption from China. Keree's medical bills wiped out any and all of my adoption savings and even though business is going well, it's not to the point I have extra money to save yet. I was disillusioned to think that if my Dad had left me money in his will, I was going to be able to use it to complete the adoption. Well we all know I found out last week that was not happening. So instead I sit here, dreaming of my Daughter who is yet to be and praying for a financial miracle.