Blog Neglect

I am so guilty of blog neglect. Over this past year, in particular, I haven't blogged much, nor have I been reading other blogs regularly. But, for some reason, I'm not ready to clue up my blog. It still feels like an old friend who you can go without talking to for months, then drop in on and pick up exactly where you left off.

At the end of this summer, we will celebrate the two year anniversary of bringing home our son. He'll start Kindergarten this coming fall. There has been so much growth- both literally and figuratively- around here since he's been home that it is truly remarkable. We are incredibly lucky with all of our 3 kids.

And now, we are at a crossroads. Do we have room in our lives for one more child? Not so sure. The hectic pace of keeping up with the schedules of 3 children when both parents work full-time (with one of them travelling frequently) is sometimes wearing. But my fantasy family has always included 4 kids. I can't help but have this nagging feeling that we might not be totally done with our family. But, then the feeling passes as the reality of getting supper on the table or another lunch box ready smacks me between the eyes!

The other nagging feeling I have is that if there is another child to enter our lives, then maybe he (I don't think its a "she") won't come to us through international adoption. I almost can't believe I've written that! I am such a proponent of adoption through China's Waiting Child Program. Our experience has been so fantastic with the WCP. It would be my logical first choice to adopt again through this program- we'd request another son, 2-3 years old, probably cleft-affected. So, I can't reconcile why I feel that I am being drawn more towards other options... especially when the other options are so unclear to me... or maybe they don't even exist at all. Sigh.

I've been reading posts on some of my adoption-related yahoo groups concerning how you know when "you're done" with growing your family. I guess it is different for everyone. I'll keep you posted.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all you Moms and Moms-to-be out there!

See what my precious brood gave me for Mother's Day 2009.

First, from my 12 year-old daughter:

Then, from my 9 year-old (she was *so* excited to give it to me!):

Finally, from my sweet 4 year-old son (flowers made from coffee filters):

Am I a lucky Mom, or what?

And here's what I spent 2 glorious hours this morning making for the Nannys:

I am counting all my little blessings today. My thoughts are with those of you are who still waiting to share your first Mother's Day with your child.

Keeping up with the kids...

Our oldest child is now 12 years old. Can you imagine? Almost a teenager.

When she was born, I was a graduate student. Still a grad student when our second daughter was born. I have always been a studying and working mom and, because of the wonderful social support I have, balancing the needs of a young growing family and a relatively demanding career has been more than manageable. The addition of our third child did not make our lives any more hectic. In fact, after DX was adopted, I was actually able to take parental leave and still have an income (whoo-hoo!). Once my leave was over, and DX went to preschool, we pretty quickly adjusted to this new daily routine. Three kids- three different drop-offs in the morning. My husband took one child, I took two... no problem.

THEN, all of a sudden, life got CRAZY BUSY! Mostly, I think, due to our 12 year old's activities. She is in school band, school choir, on the school basketball team (which her Dad coaches), takes after-school piano lessons, and is in the school's spring musical production. While band and choir mostly happen during school hours, basketball, piano, and "the show" involve a LOT of after-hours time- and a lot of ferrying her around! Our younger daughter is involved in basketball, music, and gymnastics- but, so far, her schedule hasn't been quite so demanding. DX takes music during preschool and did swimming before Christmas. SO, the younger two kids' activities definitely contribute...

Now, this is all good. We want our kids to be involved in sports, music, and the community. But, I can't help but feeling we're entering a whole new era in our family balancing act- time together vs. activities. Down-time vs. van-time. Sane vs. strung-out? (that's me, of course).

I guess this *is* a new phase in our family's life, calling for us to pull out some new tools from our parental toolbox. Ai yi yi! Who'd have figured that parenting preteens would be more busy than parenting toddlers!?!

My mother, that's who.

But do I listen to my mother?