The Lamz Family

I’m pretty sure I managed to snag the “Mommy Of The Year”  award single handed ALL in one yesterday.  It started with a complete disaster at our -suppose to be fun afternoon-eating and playing at McDonald’s.  That was followed by a series of just “naughty” events, one right after another throughout the whole day, including numerous time-outs and lost privileges.  It ended with the biggest, guilty feeling mommy moment, of the whole day.  One in which I will constantly be reminded about everyday when I see my beautiful little girl smile for the next 6-7 years.  One in which I will be reminded of every time I look back at old pictures.  One in which I will be reminded by her when these are the only photos I have of her younger years in her wedding video.  We always thought she was perfectly beautiful in every way, but now we will think she is perfectly beautiful in every not so perfect way!  Now that is true beauty, right?!

See for yourself……

Unfortunately that paper does NOT say BOTTOM tooth, it is indeed her very top middle tooth.  It popped right out, root and all.

So how did this happen?  If you know my little EmB, she is such a crazy girl and will go to any extent to get laughs and giggles out of you.  Nothing makes her happier than to get you to smile and laugh.  We were just playing a silly little game in the kitchen.  I would say, “come give momma big hug,” and put my arms wide open.  She would waddle on over to me  laughing and get real close like she was going to give me a hug and then turn around real fast and laugh.  Kinda like cat chase mouse game.  She gets a kick outta teasing you.  We did this a dozen times and then the last time she was crawling over to do it  and she turn back so fast, lost her balance and face planted on the ground.  She was laughing so her mouth was open and had to hit the tooth just right.  She was on all fours, meaning she didn’t even take that hard of a hit.  Believe you me, she has taken harder falls than that before!  Initially, she screamed for about 2 minutes, was really good about me cleaning up the blood, and then was off doing her thing within 5 minutes.  Happy go lucky silly crazy girl, as if nothing even happened.  I thought either she swallowed the tooth or it got jammed so far up into her gum that I couldn’t find it.  I searched the floor and I found it half way across the kitchen.  It must have just popped right out, so fast that she didn’t have much time to feel pain.

Now what????  We hoped they would be able to put it back in some how, but the percentage of it staying in was so low they don’t even try.  Even more so, since she is a finger sucker, it would loosen it right out.  Had she been a pacifier girl, we maybe could have a chance, because you can just take that away. Its impossible to get a 13 month old to stop sucking her fingers.  The pediatric dentist said it was the best tooth injury that could have happened, since it popped out so clear.  She will just be toothless until her permanent tooth comes in 6-8 years from now.

We are now on a really soft diet until it heals to the point where it won’t break open and bleed when she bites into things.  I guess we are back to the puree baby food for now!

AND that my friends, is how you win the “Mommy Of The Year Award” all in one yesterday!

Thank GOD that everyday is a new day to start over and start fresh!

(PS: I didn’t post a pic of her new smile, because you will see it in all her pictures for many years to come, so really, there was no point in that.)

We received Emmarie’s Social Security number and card in the mail yesterday.  Owen and I sat in the offices for a few hours last Friday to get this last piece of needed documents.  I was presently surprised that in less than 1 week it arrived!  We can now file taxes and get that much needed tax refund.  There is no telling how long it will take to get our taxes back due to the adoption tax refund we will get this year.  Most likely we will be audited once,  if not twice, maybe even three times.  BUT.. here’s to hoping we slide through the cracks this year!

This is also the VERY LAST piece of paper work we need to complete on our end for the entire adoption process.  It is such a relief when you’ve been doing paperwork and dealing with governments for the past 2 years.

So, we got home from tumbling class this afternoon and I said, “I’ll be right back.  I am going to put your sister down for a nap quick.”  Not two minutes later, I come back downstairs to find the two little rascals doing this!  First of all, who said they could go outside without my permission?  Second of all, they know better than to play in the mud without their boots on – at the very least!  Third of all, it is 50 degrees outside on Feb. 1, but it is still winter, and where is Asher’s hat?  GRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!

Yes, I initially got angry at the fact they were completely in the mud and I was going to have to clean it all up.  Then I realized that there was no use in getting upset at this point, they’ve already done it.  Plus they were having so much fun!  Finally it dawned on me, I might as well get the camera out and capture this “crazy mom of two crazy boys” moment.

Sweet young hands that will grow into hands of a man sooner than I would like.

A serious soaking wet mess of mud from head to toe.

I love this shot of Owen showing me his completely filthy dirty hands.

Don’t get me wrong, I do let my kids play in the mud, get messy, make messes, and be just kids.   I at least like to try to keep the messes to a minimum if I can, like wearing boots and old clothes in this case.  So this is why people have those laundry rooms with a utility sink in it!  I’d rather wash the mud, sand, and filth off in that sink than the sink I do my cooking and dishes in.

Also, another reason why renting a house right now is perfect for our family!  It’s not my yard they are digging up looking for mud.  It’s not my house with nice wood floors they are tracking in gobs of mud onto.  And – not related- but it’s not my house that they are constantly missing the toilet with bad aim and getting all over the floor:)  Oh the joys of mommy-hood with two boys!  And….. ya know what…..Emmarie (even though she is a girl) will be following right behind them soon enough, making the mess not double, but tripled!  WONDERFUL!

This weekend, Grandma and Grandpa Lamz visited us on their way down to sunny Florida.  When they are here, I always seem to get so much done!  I love that.  We applied for Emmarie’s Social Security card, attended Owen’s field trip at the theatre, did a little grocery shopping, house hunted, got a manicure, ate and ate and ate some more, and just hung out!  We were suppose to have Owen’s Birthday party with some friends from school at our place, but unfortunately we only got 2 RSVP’s in which only one child and parent was going to come.  Since nobody even replied we decided to cancel it.  Good thing we didn’t really talk much about the party with Owen, in case this would happen.  I had already ordered the cake so we had a mini Bat Man celebration for Owen and Grandma Lamz’s birthdays for the month of January.  It was a hit!

We, of course, had to include Asher in the singing and blowing out of candles.  Happy Birthday to Sharon and Owen!

AND …… a HUGE thank you to Grandma and Grandpa Lamz for helping me out so much so I could get so much done!! Safe travels down to Florida!

Yesterday Owen turned 5 years old.  We let him plan (most) of the day. First things first, right away in the morning, he marked his calendar.  He is a nut about calendars, knowing the date and constantly having a countdown to something marked on it.  Now that his birthday has come and gone, the next big countdown is his school field trip on Friday.  He will make sure you are completely aware of how many days till the next big event!

Super excited that he is now a big 5 year old!  He is fully aware of what big things as big 5 year old must do. The major one being he has to wipe his own booty and wash his hands by himself.  The second being he has to learn how to tie his own shoes before he turns 6.

Asher gladly took the honors of giving Owen his 5 birthday spankings that ended up being more like 10 spankings all said and done!

After we got ready in the morning, we headed straight to one of Owen’s most favorite places in the world, Dunkin Donuts.  He ate his whole donut in 2.2 seconds and then proceeded to eat three-quarters of mine in another 2.2 secs.  Between he and Emmarie, I think I got one bite! Caleb played games all afternoon with the boys.  Owen chose hot dogs and sweet potato fries for his birthday dinner.  Then we did brownie cake!!!

Blowing out the candles.

Of course he wanted the piece that had the 5 on it!

Asher also enjoyed the cake.

Lastly, PRESENTS!!!!!  It is awesome having a late January birthday because the toys are all on clearance.  I got some amazing steals on these items!  First up, a BIG reversible floor map to use with their TAG readers!

Lastly, the Dragon Fortress!!!  They have been wanting this for 2 years now.  It is finally considered an “old and outdated” toy so I ended up getting it for a price that is almost illegal!

Sweet fun Emmarie had a blast with the left over wrapping paper!

Happy 5th Birthday Owen Caleb!!!!!  Where does the time go?????

This weekend we finally got a little snow.  Not tons, a few inches.  It was plenty enough to go sledding though!  We headed up north on Saturday to check out a few houses we were interested in.  Then we stopped by our friends house for lunch, playing, and sledding!!!  SO MUCH FUN!!

I absolutely LOVE this shot!

This is also a favorite of mine!  Priceless!!!

I just realized I never really posted about our New Year.  We were so busy with EmB’s 1st GOLDEN Birthday, driving all the way home from our holiday adventures, unpacking the sleigh, and catching up on some sleep before reality sinks back in!  So, maybe you are wondering what the New Year of 2012 brought for us, so far, or maybe you just want to see some pics of what our crazy family has been up to?!?!?!?  Here is a brief of both. Scroll down if you JUST want a few pics.

Jan 2012 (so far):

Caleb started a new job – which now includes a monster of a commute – so that puts me home with the kids all week long playing single parent sun up to (almost) sun down.  I CHERISH the weekends having Caleb home and my new Saturday morning adventures I’ve been granted – solo! With that, we are now looking for a place to call home!  It is so much fun, but so frustrating at the same time.

We have been cleaning, organizing, big time purging, and re-packing boxes, basically getting ready to move, IF and WHEN the right house comes along. This takes so much more time than it seems, because I don’t do this half way, I go all out!  Seriously, this is the 4th time in 1 year I have done this and I don’t think many people would consider us to have a lot of stuff. I am not a collector, have 2 boxes of nic-nacs from my curio cabinet (that we haven’t even unpacked since moving here) and that is it, just a few holiday bins, and STILL I find boxes and boxes to get rid of.

Shopping!!!!!  I have found a new love for online shopping!  It is addicting.  BUT, I have been putting off many purchases that I consider justifiable for a year now, for when we buy our next house.  I’ve been scouring all the after Christmas deals like crazy and am finally crossing off many needed items off on my list!  It is a high that I JUST LOVE!

I also inherited a new job as of the first of the year!  I am now an official “landlord” who is in charge of tracking the money and any issues that may arise with the house.  So far, I made a spreadsheet!!!  (We rented out our house in Wisconsin – long term – because this really awesome housing economy didn’t do us well in trying to sell it for the past year.)  I’ve also started my own online store – selling TONS of things on Craig’s List that we just don’t and will not need anymore, that I want out of the house before we move, and Good Will won’t take.  Hoping to cover the costs of my new addiction! (if you know me, I’m as frugal as they come, so I’m really just hyping it up some!)

The boys highlight lately was probably when we spent 2 days off school going to Jump City – a hot air jumping place.  Being by myself, chasing three kids around the facility, I wasn’t able to take any pics.  It was a blast!

Owen finally went back to school last week, putting us back on a normal schedule.

The pics are not very exciting, but it is all I had on my SD Card.  This is the type of picture you put in your child’s wedding slideshow someday!  Love my husky Asher in tight PJ’s and a cowboy hat!  He and his cowboy hat are inseparable these days!

My little Packer backer!  Yes, we sadly watched our favorite team in the whole wide world totally suck it up and bite the dust last Sunday.  We still love our Packers, but that was so disappointing and depressing.  They didn’t deserve to win, no team does, with a showing like they had.  Enough said about that.  Emmarie had on her game face all day!

I love this face she is giving Caleb!

She is just pure joy every day!! Now that she is a walking machine – seriously – she tires herself out walking around the house so much!  She is so much happier and less clingy now that she is up and cruising like a mad woman!

We also made a new Sodor Steam Works from a diaper box.  Our real one broke and we had to purge it into the garbage.  I cut it and the boys painted it.

We were painting it at 7 AM the other morning! We were all up sending Caleb off on his commute to work and EmB was sleeping.  We finished it long before she woke up.

So that has been us in a nutshell since 2012 has started!  I’m sure that if you read the whole long (maybe boring) post, you might think we are so crazy, and you’re right, we are!  But, I think we thrive on crazy, we don’t even go looking for it, it shows up on our doorstep!

Finally, after a lot of hard work, we are ready to publish our adoption video. Hopefully it will give you a glimpse of our daughter’s birth country and our journey to bring her home. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!!!!

Our journey to Ethiopia and back for our Emmarie Birtukan!

If you have a fast connection, be sure to watch it in full HD!