Ordinary Time

I am both amused and baffled by something I noticed in my stats for this blog. A few times in the past month, I have written short (maybe that's the key) posts with what I consider to be very little content. In fact at least one of them had such little content I almost didn't publish it. Yet these same little nothing posts have received over 800 hits. You know what I think it is? I think we in the US are all suffering from too much stress and anxiety as a result of the upcoming election. It's everywhere we turn, and no matter which side we are reading or listening to, the article or post or news item is filled with the dire and horrible and outrageous consequences which will happen if the other side wins. The fear mongering is unbelievably extreme and almost impossible to ignore. To try to tune out (or engage thoughtfully) with the rhetoric is exhausting. None of us have any reserves for anything else, especially if there are personal concerns as well. If I had the abil...

The Hinman Academy A Private K-12 Preparatory School Established 1996 The Hinman Academy seeks to provide a quality education using the best of both traditional and modern educational methods. A low teacher to student ratio is maintained at all times and all faculty members hold a master's degree or higher. All graduates from The Hinman Academy have been accepted to and have attended colleges and universities.  In the primary grades, the emphasis is age-appropriate hands-on learning. A play based curriculum is the focus as children develop the necessary mental scaffolding for later academics. In this context world history, literature, and the natural world are introduced, with opportunities given to respond to these new ideas in creative ways. Numeracy and literacy are encouraged through both direct instruction and ample opportunities to work with a wide variety of manipulatives. Since physical movement and competency are keys to greater mental function, plenty of ...

For a month or so now, both G. and L. have had bizarre teeth-things going on. On both girls, the front four adult teeth grew in, but failed to completely dissolve the roots of the baby teeth. Instead, the adult teeth merely pushed the baby teeth forward so that they just stuck forward, especially the top ones. It looked very odd and as if the girls were perpetually wearing fake Halloween teeth. Last week A. was by and bribed both girls with candy if she could pull out one of the teeth. They adore A. and she can get away with things that no one else can... such as pulling out teeth. This left G. with three to go and L. with one. Now I need to tell you a seemingly unrelated story. Last week G. and L. accompanied me to the grocery store to pick-up some prescriptions. As you probably know the Cubs are doing quite well these days, so there is a plethora of Cubs related items for sale. When the girls and I walked into the grocery store a full end cap of Cubs items was the first thing to ...

I thought I would let you know the absolute favorite toy in the household at the moment. It is the set of magnetic play tiles that we gave to H. for her birthday. Ever since she opened them, they have been in heavy play with everyone. (Yes, H. is generous to share her new toy.) She had played with some a couple of years ago at someones house and I finally got around to getting a set for her. When I read the reviews, I was a little concerned because some people felt as though the magnets didn't hold tight enough and because everyone was talking about giving this particular item to their toddler. I hate spending money on something that is going to be a disappointment, but remembering how much H. liked playing with the set a while back, I took a chance. I'm glad I did. They work really well and everyone in the family has love them. They hold together well, but come apart if the structure built is not realistic. Even the bigger boys have enjoyed playing with them, so t...

Yesterday was H.'s 14th birthday. She wanted Chinese food for dinner and a store bought cake with flowers on it. So that is what is what we did. Waiting for cake TM with the flower-topped cake. This was definitely one of the easier birthdays to put together. And then presents... Opening the gift from G. and K. It was a giant wooden 'H'. G. and K. worked busily in the basement a few days ago pounding it together. And  cool coloring book from Grammy which made H. very happy as she has been eyeing mine since last Christmas. Stuffed animals from Y. and L. were then opened. H. with another of her gifts. Happy birthday my darling girl. You have come so far and we are blessed to be able to have front row seats to the transformation. I know you will continue to surprise and astound us with what you do. You have changed me and taught me many things, and I am always humbled by your perpetual good naturedness in the face of hard. I love yo...

Because when you teach them things, then everyone has an overwhelming desire to go see those things in person, and it can be frustrating when it's just not possible. Our latest item on the family Bucket list that we want to see? A starling murmuration in England . We were all amazed at them in the movie we just watched this morning and really want to go see one. (The movie, by the way, was Flight: The Genius of Birds . It was really well done and I recommend it. You can also rent it on Amazon.) Anyway, if you haven't seen a murmuration (cool word, huh?) you should do a search to see some videos. It is so cool. What else is on the list that everyone in the family would love to do or see? Well, there's Guedelon Castle in France, the pyramids, Venice, and hiking the Chilkoot Trail . Of course there are a lot of other places that would be fantastic to see, but this is our short list. Sigh. Someday. The other thing we did was to have an art lesson. I found a great book that...

I keep seeing posts from new adoptive parents frantically asking for support once they are home. This usually happens about the three week mark of being home. While a person can be told that life will feel hard at first, until you have actually experienced what that hard feels like, you can't really understand it. It also means that there is a high likelihood of underestimating how much a person will be affected by the process of finding a new normal. I think we as adoptive parents also need to be a little more honest about what coming home with a new, non-infant child really looks like. If we make things seem too easy-breezy, then when new parents find themselves struggling, they will think it is because there is something wrong with them. So, in an effort for full disclosure, here are some of the things we have experienced when bringing home a new child. 1. Normal always takes longer than you think it will. This is especially true if you think you will get over the jet lag an...