Dr. Suess Silly Supper

It's Dr. Suess' birthday.  The very fact demands today be a silly supper day.  There are SOOO many ideas out there for this, so don't be surprised if I do a Dr. Suess birthday partyfor Chloe this summer, as well.

When a mama can have loads of fun, 

why, oh why, would she stop at just one?

note- there are a few extra children in the photos;)  We are watching our friend's kiddos this weekend.

 The kidos colored Dr. Suess placemats

I am sure you are shocked to learn we ate Green Eggs and Ham;)  The apple and cheese stick are the Truffalo Trees from The Lorax

 Blue Jello, with red candy fish "swimming" in it (Red Fish, Blue Fish)

 We read books Dr. Suess books throughout dinner...

 This is our godson, Jet, I was concerned he'd think the meal was babyish, but he had a good time with it and asked if he could read one of the books .  He chose to do our "pre-dessert" selection, Oh the Things You Can Think.

Dessert- "Schlopp with a Cherry on Top"....we had a sundae bar with three choices of ice cream and more toppings than anyone would care to read.  Phin is the only child that used all the toppings and surprisingly he ate it.  Apparently, blueberry syrup, hotfudge, and caramel blend well together...:P

We watched Horton Hears a Who after dinner (I planned on Hop on Popcorn during the show- but tummies were full, who knew they would actually eat green eggs...I was sure they'd be half horrified, but they loved them;)

This will be an annual thing, I think.  The kids loved it;)

Too precious not to share

Ava is our artist.  She is always creating things.  At first it was just coloring pictures, but soon we had sculptures coming out of our eyeballs.  Recently, she has starting crafting things out of cardboard.  Our recycling doesn't stay put for long, she scavenges for "supplies" and creates castles with drawbriges and moats or boats or planes.

This morning I got up and she was in the kitchen making something out of a La Croix box.  I asked her what she was making today.  She answered in the sweetest nonchalant fashion, "Oh, I am just making the orphanage that our baby lives in."

She can explain it all... the little yellow peices of paper in side open up- they are sleeping bags;)  There is a garden on the roof, with a tent for shade cuz it's very hot there;)....and my VERY VERY favorite thing? 

It has all our names in a heart (Phin's name is underneath the tent), with an extra big purple heart because we don't know his name yet;)  and then it says, "i love you"...

PRECIOUS! Yet, I also wonder how she'll process the 2-3 year wait?  I didn't plan on her knowing yet, but she is an eavesdropper and heard our conversations;)

The Journey Officially Begins

Today we completed our preliminary application for the adoption process.   We have had an amazing week processing through stuff with God.  We've felt him almost silent since the fall and have been waiting for the "go", processing through fears, questions, etc.  Last week, my friend Emily posted to my surprise that they had just started the process to adopt their fourth child.  We had already decided on our country, Haiti, but have had some difficulty with what agency to work withfor the process.  Having three biological children is more than some agencies want to deal with, as it requires permission from the Haitian president.  Emily and her husband have adopted their first three domestically so imagine my utter surprise to read they are adopting a 4th internationally...through Haiti.  I was able to dialogue with her over email and explore the agency she is using.  It was like a door flung wide open and God said, "now, go...this is it!"  Tonight, we are filled with unspeakable excitement.

Our journey to parenthood with each of our first three children started with a + on a stick; this journey is starting with an application placed in an envelope.  The anticipation and excitement are the same.  Who is the little one God is preparing for our family?  What will he/she/they look like?  What will their gifts and talents be?  We know this journey is going to be a few bits longer than 9 months, but our hearts have already started to beat in deep, loving anticipation for the next member of our crazy clan.

Lebanese Dinner;)

The Lebanese Dinner went amazingly well.  I had a WONDERFUL time cooking.  It wasn't stressful (amazing what you can get done when there aren't kids underfoot;).  We enjoyed the company immensly and one of the couples that attended happens to live down the street from us (the adorable couple in the middle;) and was kind enough to send me a couple photos.

I'm 8 shades of crazy

Every fall Ava's school has an auction fundraiser.  It is a fun night and exciting to be apart of supporting the school.  This year I tried to think about what we could donate.  We don't own any vacation property, we aren't especially skilled and I didn't think anyone would bid on "take my kids for a day";)  I remembered last year, a chinese dinner going for a heck of a lot of money and realized cooking might just be my key to contributing.  Sheboygan has a small restaurant scene- a cool feature in a small town, but we lack diversity in cuisine and are limited ethnically.  I happen to be married to a hot Lebanese dude and I learned to make food to suit his fancy shortly after we were married.  The Lebanese do this cool thing called Mezze which is sort of like Tapas except 20-30 dishes are served.  Some people do it simutaneously, some divide it up from lightest to heaviest dishes, but the ambiance is the same.  Sit back and nibble a ton of different items, hot and cold, while chattin' with you friends or family.  So....I donated a Lebanese Mezze.

This weekend the family who bought it is cashin' in.  We just got back from vacation and are recovered from a stomach bug earlier in the week, so I have been trying to catch up and I don't want this to be a stressful thing.  I want to do it with joy because a)I like to cook and b)it was a choice to do it.  Still, I had to sit and get really organized on how I'll get all the cooking done (making so many dishes is an all day affair to say the least).  I also have to make a little jaunt down to chicago for the baked goods and some supplies I can't get here...this easily could lead to Ms. Control Freak feelin' stressed and out of control.  I am headed to Chicago tomorrow, have my kids spending the day with friends and am looking forward to the quiet car rides to continue to pray through some stuff God is doing in me this week.  The only glitch I kept coming across (because we have plans tomorrow night here) is when I'd get to the grocery store to get the items NOT at the Lebanese Market (Marc is out tonight and I had plans this morning, my kids nap in afternoon).  I was considering getting up at 5am and going when I thought, "Man, I wish we had Peapod in Sheboygan."  SO here is the crazy move that is making me delightfully happy- I ordered Peapod to deliver groceries to my sister's house in Chicago.  When I stop to drop off some stuff at her place in the morning, my groceries will have just been delivered.  Sure, I paid a $7 delivery fee, but boy did it make my life easier AND I have ordered Lamb from them before and I know it's good.  I was planning on a separate trip to the butcher here on Saturday morning and wondering what I'd do if they didn't have Lamb shoulder....cha ching.

Sure, I am crazy as heck to be ordering groceries to a place two 1/2 hours from my home, but also sort of brilliant, right?  I'm doing a happy dance;)