Monday Mishmash

- Olivia has started throwing ginormous tantrums. The other day I put a piece of chicken in her mouth (horror) and she threw a behemothic fit. I said, "Liv, you are being ridiculous."

- Hannah said, "Baby, stop being ridiculous."

- Hannah also throws gargantuan tantrums. I know this is normal. I'm fine with getting through it. But I have a new plan....

- I don't need or want to go into details into how we discipline. What I will tell you is when my children cry I say, "Feel free to cry, here is the cry chair, you can get up when you are done."

- They cry a lot, when they don't get their way, when I say no to Toy Story for the millionth time, when I take something dangerous like a plug out of Livi's hands. I'm pretty unreasonable like that.

- However, they have both taken their crying to a whole new level. The cry chair is fine for crying, but they are starting to scream amidst the crying, which in my book is unacceptable.

- Apple cider vinegar has huge health benefits and it can boost immunity. I like the taste of it. Hannah and Liv don't. I bought a tiny little spray bottle and when their normal cries escalate into the "unacceptable" screams. I just spray a bit in there. The bottle is tiny enough to put in my pocket for the grocery store. It's like spraying a bit of immunity into their mouths. Genius.

- Hannah called Matt "Mr. B" the other day. That's what his students call him.

- Hannah is on breathing treatments again!!

- Hannah moved into a twin bed sometime last week. We don't have any official bedding for her just yet. Just one of our old down comforters with a cover on it. She loves it. It's good for lots of snuggling.

- Remember when I painted my toes? Hannah shouted at them, "Pretty toes mom!!"

- We have a little bathtub toy that is a beaver. Both girls are very very scared of it. Hannah calls it a beaber, so we now refer to it as Justin Bieber. She calls it a "silly Justin Bieber."

- A pet peeve of mine. I typically don't like reading about others pet peeves, but I think mine might be somewhat educational. Millions of people ask me if the girls are sisters. I know they are asking if their DNA is related. It's a good question. I think the same question when I see other families with multiple obviously adopted kids. I wouldn't mind the question if you asked me out of earshot of the girls. But I just don't like the question when the girls can hear it. Yes they are sisters. They do not have the same DNA. That is usually how I answer. But as they grow older, I may just end with "Yes, they are sisters." Can you see why it makes me uncomfortable? What if you had two kids that looked drastically different (either from each other or from you) and people kept asking you that?

- People assume I am rich. Don't get me wrong, I am rich (according to this website I am in the top .95% richest people in the world). I am the 57,087,865th richest person in the world. (That is an interesting website, who knows if it's accurate). However, in America, I am not rich (oh, the various meanings of the word rich are really bothering me here). I mean straight up money in the bank/assets vs liabilities/cars I own/how big my house is. Now that we've cleared that up. I get comments that I must be rich because I have adopted. A patient at work mentioned to a co-worker (when I wasn't there) that I must be super rich to afford adoption. My materialistic side definitely likes it that people think I'm wealthy. Although one glance at my clothes would tell you otherwise. Anywho, I'm sad about that. I wish adoption weren't so expensive and I wish more people would make the financial sacrifices it takes to adopt.

- My one piece of advice to parents of children very close in age. Get the littlest one on table food as soon as possible. Olivia is finally (!) eating oatmeal for breakfast with the rest of us. The rest of the meals get a little dicey when I feed her crazy foods like chicken. Ok, I have another piece of advice, be a nap nazi.

- It still surprises me that Hannah and I have a day full of meaningful conversations and we understand each other. It's wonderful!

- For breakfast and lunch Hannah gets to pick her food (within reason). For dinner she gets what the family eats. Today I asked her what she wanted to breakfast and she thought for a minute and said, "chicken, cheeseburger, frosting."

- I was debating back and forth amidst driving in the ice storm today if I should stop at McDonald's for lunch. As I was getting near it Hannah said, "Mom? There please." Decision made.

- Peel and slice some carrots. Chop up some bacon. Add some garlic, salt and pepper, the zest of an orange and a pat of butter. Put it all into an aluminum foil bag and bake at 400 for 50 minutes. Your family will love you. Bacon makes everything better in our house. That is actually our official family motto.

- Long post, good for my memories.