Life as it happens with our three beautiful and adopted children, Shayla, Yamira and Manuel: Is it just me or is it cold out?

I am sitting in my office frozen to death. I think it's because my desk is next to a window. That is a good and a bad thing. The window is great and there is no draft, but it's just colder I think because of the glass? All I know is that my hands are frozen!

I left off last Tuesday, so what have we done since then? Well Wednesday was a half a day for teacher conferences. So I dropped the girls off at school and then I went swimming. I picked Yamira up at 11:10 am and then proceeded to wait for nearly 40 minutes in the parking lot so that I could get Ping. She gets dismissed at 11:25 am on 1/2 days. I feel guilty for getting her out early just because it's more convenient, so I decided not to do that this time. Well I paid for it. It's not worth going home and going back, so I sat and sat and sat. I had Ping's teacher conference in the afternoon. Ping is doing very well. She is still having issues with rhyming. We try to help her with it, but she just keeps getting stuck on it. I was told that she is a very sweet girl and pays attention well. She is a little fidgety though I was told and that really shocked me. Not a big deal at all, but I just had no idea. So Ping sits on a special cushion during circle time. I don't see Ping being fidgety at home, so this all came as a surprise, but like I said, it is not a big deal. Overall, Ping is great per her teacher. While I was at the conference, Bill took the kids to gymnastics. I then went to a store to look at gas fireplaces. Having a hell of a time deciding on one!!!!

On Thursday, I dropped off the girls and headed out to meet my sweet friend Lisa. We met at Barnes and Noble and sat in the Starbucks area chatting for nearly two hours. I had a wonderful time. I then left to get the girls and we went home to get Daddy and Manny and headed back out to the fire place store that I went to the night before. I wanted to show Bill the two I really liked. After leaving there, we took the kids home. Bill went out to work for the fire department. When he got home, I headed out to Yamira's teacher conference. That went well. They are very good with Yamira. She is such a smart and beautiful girl, but she can be a challenge at time. She seems to be doing well in school. She can be testy at times, but they just roll with it. Once I got home, Bill headed back out to a dinner with the fire department. They were going to hear someone speak. Bill finally got home around 10:00 pm or so. I fed the kids and got them to bed at 7:00 pm and then caught up with some stuff at my desk while I waited on Bill.

On Friday, I dropped the girls off and headed off to my swimming class. After I showered, I picked up Yamira and I took her to therapy. The rest of the day was spent at home trying to get caught up with some stuff around here. Mostly cleaning.

Saturday was a great day. My dear friend Anita came over and we went out shopping. We went to get me some smaller pants and some smaller shirts. I have now lost 150 lbs and the pants I was wearing before surgery were no longer working for me! So we got a few cheap things to tide me over and then we went to try on Uggs. So warm. Then I got dragged to Lady Grace for a new bra. We had a really fun time laughing and arguing over what to get. Arguing with love though. We headed back to the house and got Bill and the kids and went to WPI where I used to work for Hot Pot. Hot Pot is something the Chinese do. They have veggies, beef and veggies and they put it all into a hot pot to cook it and then they take it out and eat it. There are noodles too and sometimes eggs. It's the oddest thing, but I like to go to experience the culture for Ping's sake. Anita ate tofu which makes me ill just to look at. I had 2 small pieces of beef that got immediately stuck in my throat. The kids had noodles and Bill tried a little of everything. We had a nice time. Once home, we put the kids to bed and the three adults sat around and chatted till late.

Today was a great day. We got up early and headed out for my friend's adoption party. She adopted her two girls on the 19th and today was their party. We went to Gardner to a gymnastics place. The kids had a ball running around. We then went to the VFW at 1:00 pm for food and dancing. The kids danced and did some crafts. We got home around 5:00 pm or so. I wanted to get the kids fed and bathed and in bed. I also wanted to do a little cleaning around here. Now I have been at my desk for hours. I needed to catch up with some stuff including this blog. I love to blog, but if I neglect it for long, it's hard to remember what I did over that period of time.

This is my least favorite week of the year. I lost my Dad 13 years ago on November 19th which was also my Mother's birthday. Today marks the 3rd year since my mom has been gone. They died way too young and were robbed of meeting my children. So not fair. However, it's often the best that die young. I was so lucky to have them in my life. I rather have had the most wonderful parents and lose them than to live with people who never cared about me and yet lived on. So I am truly blessed. However, I will always feel that I was cheated and they were as well. I love you two more than anything.

Well I will go post some photos now of the big renovation and other things we have done this week.

Mama Out!!!!!