halloween

well lets say it was a hit with everyone, except those with whom it wasnt. how is that for vague? the kids came home from school all excited about their day. when I told them about the trick or treating in town today they were wild. Jaeger clearly expected that I already had a costume for him and should just hand it over for him. I dont work that way. in my house I do not make costumes. I do not buy costumes. if a child wants a costume he comes up with a plan and implements it with things around the house. Occasionally I will chip in with a stuffed sock for a tail or something of that sort. so thats where things started going down hill. the girls of course(being girls) planned ahead and knew precisely what they would wear. they were quick to put it on. so Jaeger is all worried and saying Jaeger costume Mama! over and over again. Andre I said could be a baby, as I knew we had sleeper pajamas that fit him. I gave him a blankie too. then something set him off and he screamed and cried and had fits until I wasnt sure I even wanted to take him. Finally MOST of them were ready. I sent Chrysta out to take pictures. Natasha posed adorably as a black cat. Maia the flower child was her happy go Maia self. The big boys settled on vampire teeth and Ethan put on a nice shirt(why? no idea but it was his plan so thats what he did). then Diana started with the whine. She didnt like the crown I offered her to wear, and she didnt like that I said she could use the same bag everyone else was using, the ones from school. she didnt like that Natasha who is older and up a grade had received a bag larger than hers. so there are no photos of Ms Sulkeypants. so off we went. things went fairly well while we were out. when we got home Jaeger was outside scootering with a sucker in his mouth and a bag of candy on the handlebars. When I told him to give me the bag(I put all the candy together and we all share) he lost it. finally I sent him to time out. I let everyone have ONE piece of candy. then he cried over that, surely Natasha had TWO!

LOVELY afternoon. Thank goodness the girls are fairly easy. Natasha has her moments but usually doesnt pull any crap with me. she gives it to the others but not me. Maybe she is still honeymooning. or maybe she is just an absolute love. Diana has MORE moments but is too a real love most the time. Maia is my dreamy dancerella who dances through life. the boys on the other hand are much more involved and demanding of my energy. it is very amazing the differences between raising boys and raising girls. Jaeger and Mama (and Papa) are trying to find our happy medium. I KNOW he is capable. I also know he has school buffaloed into believing he doesnt understand or is helpless thus they do not make him work. so for awhile there may be more negative news to report until we get to a point where we are comfortable and feeling safe with one another.

a thief. or rather, a new thief

one of my boys rifled my drawars and helped himself to anything within that he liked. apparently he has gone through other people's rooms too as he had a pocket knife. good thing he got caught with that. he would have been expelled from school if he brought it to school. I am disappointed and hurt and angry that my space has been violated. While one child has a history of this, I now have another child who steals from me. he seemed shameful. hope he learns SOMETHING from it. I want to keep the bedroom locked but their dad doesnt agree. well I guess when they steal HIS stuff maybe he will care. In orphanage settings is everything communal? or are there any things that belong just to this person or that person? Does he not know the difference? he knows now. he has been told. and I am quite certain he knows he did wrong. we found all sorts of things in his bed that dont belong to him. I guess I will pack up my stuff and take it to my moms before its lost forever. I have jewelry from my grandmother I keep in my bathroom. I have things from my childhood, many memories attached to them. I dont think there is a lot of monitary value but I would be very upset for some of it to be lost.

what do you see when you look at the photo on this blog header? do you see happy children who know love? children who live in a family and not a "facility" for children? happy healthy loving children? did you know that many of the kids in that picture once lived in a "facility"? They did not know love of a family. they were not all healthy happy and loving. they are all now part of a loving family who will support them in their endevours. You could help another child without a family. you cant adopt you say? thats ok. you can donate to causes that help other people adopt. Adoption is very expensive. and difficult. if you donated a few dollars, the price of a cup of coffee, to reeces rainbow older kids grant fund you could make the difference in whether or not a family can afford to take one of the many kids around the world into their home and give them love and a future outside of institutions. Did you know there are 147 MILLION ORPHANS? can you even fathom that number? we wake up and worry about when we will get our fancy coffee. 147 MILLION ORPHANS wake every day wondering when someone will love them. some of them wake wondering when they will eat again. can you turn your head on 147 MILLION CHILDREN? If you, like me, are moved by the plight of the orphan, please go to my blog withoutamama.blogspot.com and donate via the chipin on that page. all monies go directly to reecesrainbow.org.

disclosure: I am not raising money for ME. I will never see any of this money, nor do I want it. it goes directly to reeces rainbow, a group that helps find homes for special needs orphans in many countries. I adopted 7 children, what have you done to help? what can you do? remember that if 100 people donate 1 dollar (which barely hurts your pocket at all) that would mean a child was that much closer to a family of their own.

considering

changing the name of my blog from a dozen good eggs to "a brawling brood". There was much nashing of teetht oday and much storm and drang. even a bloody nose because one boy popped another. Jaeg is having difficulty with taking things that dont belong to him. he thinks if he tucks them in his bed they are his and his alone, even though he took them from someone else! today he filled his pockets with random stuff. scissors, tape, my mini cam, a deck of cards, just all kinds of stuff. It is amazing his pants stayed up they were so full of crap. he has been downright defiant of late and today he got into it with Eric. Eric does NOT put up with that stuff. he was nicer after that. He continues to think he is in charge and when we say do something he can say NO and choose not to do it. umm not doesnt work that way here. if Mama tells you to do something NO is never the answer. we have been counting like crazy with him as he also likes to ignore us when we tell him NOT to do something. he likes to use affection as a way of getting his way. well I will bat my eyes and smile and kiss and cuddle and keep on doing what you just told me not to. again, no, not happening. mama or papa said no then that means NO not kiss up until we let you.
Jaeger is quickly becoming difficult. stomps his feet and WHINES and cries still about everything. I thought the whining would let up but still plenty of that. the others seem to be adjusting easier than he. he still struggles to understand English, I do not think he is as proficient as the others in that area. school he is SMART but lazy. sometimes his spelling test is empty and not because he didnt know the letters to write but because he didnt want to. I cleaned out his bed today and found all sorts of things that he shouldnt have much less have in his bed. anyways life with him is a real struggle, although for the last two days Ethan was dealable so I guess as long as its only ONE wild child I can deal but if they both gang up on me I might jump a cliff!

Diana is having a hard time as she is very constipated and has a belly ache. poor thing. she laid on my bed all through dinner. didnt even come out once. Natasha is such a love. everyone adores her. We all love Diana too but she just doesnt steal the show like Natasha can. Andre is adorable and sweet but he can NOT BE IN THE KITCHEN when cooking! he is like an octopus on the counter. into everything opening the oven. etc. we kick him out and he comes right back. he is kind of like a bull in a china shop. but golly when he smiles at me...now if we could just get Jaeger and Ethan on the right path all would be easy!

crazy baby

This is how Sophie usually sits on the toilet.




I wait in the bedroom while she does her business. Seemed like it was taking a long time.
Sophie? are you done?
yeah.
you didnt call me, I was waiting right here.
yeah I was just relaxing mom!
indeed she was....

A day I never thought I would see

I just drove a 15 passenger van!! and it was FUN! I was nervous! but I loved it.

please consider

going to read the blog I set up for those children left behind. perhaps you can find it in your heart and your pocket to donate a dollar or two. These children stand NO chance. Special needs older kids are rarely chosen for adoption and go to horrible places where they live our their days until their death which often comes way tooo soon. please go to withoutamama.blogspot.com and donate one dollar. if you can donate more it is appreciated but even ONE dollar helps. all money goes STRAIGHT to Reece's Rainbow in support of the adoption of those left behind. There are so many beautiful kids just waiting for a mama all their own. your one dollar could make the difference in whether or not they are chosen for adoption.

WHAT A FIASCO!

4 envelopes arrived from citizenship. 4 envelopes addressed to Natasha Diana Jaeger Andre. Inside Jaeger's was Jaeger's COC. Inside Natasha's was Diana's COC. Inside Diana and Andre's envelopes were two other children from various parts of the country. We have recieved word that Natasha's was sent to wrong family. they are sending it on. Their child's is missing still. We have no idea where Andre's is. I was able to contact the family of one of the kids whose COC we got. they were very happy to know I had it. The other family I was unable to contact but will send it on to them. now where is Andre's COC? and I wonder if the family of the child whose COC we have got another child's COC. this is a huge error. not only one person had their papers screwed up but no less than 5. 6 if you count Diana's but at least it arrived at the wrong house even if under the wrong name. you have to wonder how many others are sent to wrong places. we jumped all the hoops. we paid all the fees, and we expect our reward to be that for which we paid for. instead we get a runaround. You cant actually speak to anyone at USCIS. only listen to a million different messages. so we have one little guy with no COC, no lead on his COC. one COC en route from wrong family. two COC's enroute from our family to correct family. another family with one little guy with no COC. and two COC's arrived in order to correct family, albeit under wrong name. so 2 out of 7 is not a good ratio of success. Sorry Homeland Security you guys are not doing such a hot job.

so we are in Philadelphia again. flights were fine. kids were fine. When we got here my new friends picked us up at the airport and delivered us to RMH at Erie and Front.(thanks friends, had a great time visiting) This is supposed to be bigger nicer etc. than the one in Camden. I am not convinced. but I am here. so I guess I will stay. but next time I think Camden. Maybe we just got a dull room but it is not at all the haven that we found at Camden. Our room at Camden was so cute and painted soothing tones. This room is similar to a hotel room, painted eggshell. headboards attached to the wall like hotels. has table and chairs and dresser. the nice big bathroom is nice and handicap accessible but we cant really use the shower with the kids in casts. There is the added bonus of tv in our room but how much time can you spend watching tv? but oh well its a roof and a meal and it serves the purpose. But I think next time I will go to Camden. anyways I am hoping NEXT time someone else will be here too. Wonder how many more times we will have to do this. and how much plane tickets are going to cost since the company that has flown us here thus far is outsourcing and the new company isnt responding to my calls.

well since we have the whole day before us with nothing to do I am going to have to go find something for us to do. the sun is shining it looks gorgeous out, the window is open a bit letting in some breeze. surely there is SOMETHING in this GIANT city to entertain us for the day.

here in Philly. THANKS BECKY! my new friend Becky gave us a ride from the airport. and now to bed!

Becky! we are coming to Philly Saturday. Are you around?

update