La-Mama-Loca

Books for a Good Cause

2012-01-31T17:31:00.001-04:00

Okay I just discovered this website thanks to a Facebook friend...but I'm loving it!

We Give Books at http://www.wegivebooks.org is an organization that donates books around the world. They have several different projects going with a particular number goal. All YOU have to do is sign up, pick a cause, and read a book from their website. These are great, popular, well known children's books...just in e-format.

Hope you sign up, read books, and give books!

Missing

2012-01-29T00:15:00.001-04:00

Really really missing our 'Sometimes Kids'. It has been eleven months since we've seen them which is hard to get used to after seeing them at least one weekend a month, usually more.

I asked for prayers regarding them awhile back. There is little to update because their mother has been very hard to track down. She randomly replies to emails, but NEVER mentions the kids at all. She and her boyfriend (their father) broke up in May, although she didn't tell us till August or so. I gather from some of her messages that they were attempting to get back together, but last message from her, seems it was a no go.

So here we sit, thousands of miles away, praying for their safety, praying for hers, and waiting to hear.

Given her lack of good decision making when under stress, we do have concerns. Ironically the three kids she has, are roughly the same age as Smarty Pants, Sweet Thing, and Drama Mama when they were removed. Life situation eerily similar.....

So we keep praying....and waiting.

I may not have any legal standing as their mother, but in my heart, they are my children nonetheless. I can't help but want to keep them safe and out of harm's way.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Hoarding

2012-01-28T14:54:00.002-04:00

I may have created some monsters......haha we are definitely keeping/recycling/reusing some of our household products!

Papa doesn't 'get' it, but I told him, hey, would you rather I use what we have or go buy it!?!

So he allows it :D

Now to put all that good stuff to use! Thank you Pinterest!

Interesting day at the beach

2012-01-25T21:33:00.000-04:00

Papa and La Loquita went to buy dog food last night......and came home with SNORKELS! They were on sale. Best money ever spent!

We had already planned to go to the beach today, but the added thrill of the snorkels had the kids crazy excited.

We packed a lunch, a ton of towels, change of clothes, and lots of sunscreen!

I didn't get any pics of the kids in their masks.....and for sure none were taken of me. It was a blast though! There were about three different types of fish that we saw near the reef/rocks. I have no idea the names of them, but it was pretty cool. The kids thought it was "freaking awesome".

While we took a break for lunch, there were two couples to the left os us. They didn't speak English...or Spanish. Kinda sounded French, but wasn't quite close enough to hear much. However...not far enough to keep from seeing their nekkid booties.

Yes...booties!

They were changing out of their swimsuits back into their clothes....they 'sorta' held up a towel but it didn't cover much.....and they were literally a few feet away. We of course tried to hide our eyes, but it was hard to avoid.

Never know what you'll find at the beach!

Back! Loaded down with pics!

2012-01-24T23:13:00.000-04:00

We had such a great visit with my parents last week. My grandpa joined us for the last part of the week.

My parents arrived on Saturday evening...which poor them, what a crazy day! Their first flight left at 12ish, so they tried to eat a quick lunch before boarding, but apparently both ended up with crappy food. On the airplane they got pretzels. They had a 45 mins stop in Tampa, but really weren't supposed to get off the plane...so by the time they got to PR at 7:30, they were starved. Papa and the kids dropped me off at the airport to meet them outside baggage claim. That all went smooth...until we went to to the bus pick up line for the rental car....an hour later, the bus finally came. Every other company had numerous busses passing through...not ours. I won't name names, but let's say they weren't very good at "picking us up". Once we got there, we met Papa and the kids there. Everyone was so excited to see each other! Papa and Grandpa waited in line to get the 15 passenger van we'd reserved. It took another hour to get the van......to the lot. They hadn't brought it over, it was not ready. After they got it to the lot, they had to inspect it, wash it, and then finally turn it over. So by 10:00, we were FINALLY on the road to home....everyone starving!

Thankfully the rest of the trip went much smoother!

On Sunday, we went to Old San Juan. We took the tren into San Juan where we caught the boat to Old San Juan. It took awhile to get there but it was easier than trying to drive there. Things were more crowded than normal as the Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastian was going on. Sunday was the last day. I really wasn't sure what to expect, but it was pretty cool. All along the street were tons of local artisans and venders. Unique art, handmade items, etc. We sat and watched some live music on stage while the kids danced in the open area. We then headed over to the huge area full of arts/crafts/food tents. It was overwhelming!! We bought some traditional PR food..........which cost a few arms and legs!

After that, we decided to head up to El Morro, as it was free that weekend! We hiked quite a bit all around there, which was fun. It was a beautiful sunny day......which caused me to get a little sun burn. Nothing horrible, but geez, I should know better!

Monday, we headed West. We stopped in Rincon, Cabo Rojo, and Ponce. We headed back up from Ponce by late evening. It was another beautiful day! We had hoped to go to the beach in Cabo Rojo, but it got to be too late, so we had to postpone it. We did see two beautiful lighthouses and enjoyed the ocean views.

Tuesday, we finally made it to the beach. The water was a bit rough and the waves high, but the kids and grandparents enjoyed it nonetheless.

Wednesday, we went East to El Yunque rainforest. We'd hoped to do some light hiking, but it was a dreary rainy day. So we did the driving...stop for a few pics....and back to driving tour. On the way home, we stopped by the airport and picked up my Grandpa, who'd been in Florida for 2 weeks with my aunt/uncle.

Thursday, we had a low key day. Got some laundry done, got some groceries, then headed to Papa's parents' house for an early lunch. It was a great time to fellowship with both families together.

Friday, we did a trolley tour of Old San Juan and then headed to the beach again. This time we didn't play in the water, only the sand, much to the kids disappointment!

On Friday, we got info that the mid-west was experiencing some nasty weather....I even got an email from AirTran informing us that if we wanted to change their return trip home, they could do so w/ no penalty fees.

My mom would have stayed another 3 days at least! However, my dad, a country boy through and through, was ready go home! He was not so impressed with the hustle and bustle of city life. Added to that, he developed a head cold. He was more than ready to get home. It was wait and see until Sat morning. When they left, all flights were "On Time". However, by the time they were almost to Orlando, their flight back to Indianapolis had been delayed. While they were supposed to get to Indy at 8:30, turned out to be more like midnight! It was 2:30 am before they finally made it to their house! It was a very long day for my grandpa, but he did it without complaining!

Hard to believe that while they were heading back to snow and ice, we were enjoying a quick stop to the beach!

It was a great visit and we were so glad they were able to come. We are hoping we can plan a trip sometime next year to go visit them. It was hard to go 8 months w/o seeing them, so to consider it will likely be over a year before we get to go see them again, is kind of hard. Thank God for Skype though!!

Now we are back in the swing of real life......well, for the most part!

We are still alive

2012-01-19T13:42:00.001-04:00

We have been enjoying a great visit with my parents all week! It's been such a fun week!! I'm a little sad to know it will be over in just under 2 days!

I'll post pictures soon!

Warning!

2012-01-12T10:38:00.000-04:00

I have a current hold on the laundry beast....woohoo! Hopefully I can keep it under control. We haven't had any rainy days lately, so that helps the drying aspect!

However, if my sweet older 3 children keep putting clothes in the dirty clothes pile b/c they don't want to put their stuff away...Mama may come unglued!

Just a warning!

Getting a handle on things

2012-01-10T23:13:00.000-04:00

The house is getting cleaned! I mean deep clean, like it was when we first moved in 7 mos ago!! It feels so good!

We still have a few little messes here and there, but the daily life with 7 people in a house 24/7 kind, not a big cluttery mess.

Excited for the parents' visit soon!! We have the basic itinerary planned, a semi basic budget planned, and van rental lined up. Now all we need is for them to get here!!

Remember to check out Casita De Mami for our Spanish adventures!

Besos!
Mama

Prayers

2012-01-09T15:25:00.001-04:00

If all of you who pray would say some special prayers for my 'Sometimes Kids', I would greatly appreciate it. My heart is heavy with worry for them, although I know the Lord is in control. I'm trying to take comfort in the fact that they are foremost in His hands.

Will update when I know more. Nothing that puts them in immediate danger (that we know of), just a series of issues strung together which is probably making their life pretty blah.

Thanks bloggy friends!

Mama

The countdown is on!

2012-01-07T13:04:00.001-04:00

A week from today, my parents will be flying in to Puerto Rico! We are all super excited! We haven't seen them since late June. We didn't see them every day before, but at least once a month or so. Thank goodness we have Skype! We talk to them on the phone several times during the week, and Skype w/ the video cam about every other week.

While it does make being so far away a bit easier, it can't replace the hugs and kisses that can only come from being together.

We have made a tentative schedule made up for what activities we are going to do. We are trying to budget wisely due to having to rent a 12 passenger van for the week. Yikes, expensive! We'd looked into actually buying a cheaper passenger van, but we've not been able to find anything that will work for us. Papa was sick all last week, so that took him out of the loop for looking at vehicles. So now we are back to trying to afford a rental for the week.

My parents will be here from the 14th to 21st. My grandpa left today to spend a week or so at my aunt/uncle's 'vacation home' in Florida. He's going to fly down to PR on the evening of the 18th and leave with my parents on the 21st. We are trying to get as much of the "big" stuff done before he gets here. We has a wheel chair on hand to use when he gets here, because too much walking is hard on him.

This all leads me to where we are at today....in a house that needs a LOT of work!

We have been trying to deep clean every room, one a time. The living room is pretty organized, just a few Christmas decorations still hanging around. The kids rooms are okay....will work on those closer to the end of the week. Smarty Pant's room is nearly spotless, as always. He has been on a cleaning streak lately and what kind of mom would I be to stop him?

The plan for the week:

Saturday/Sunday-Deep cleaning mine and Papa's room...it is probably the worst disaster, as it is the dumping ground for everything no one wants to put away. I'm guessing this job might run into Monday as well.

Monday-Papa's office area/Patio (aka play room)

Tuesday-Dining room/school area for the little 2

Wednesday-Family room/school area for the big 3

Thursday-Kitchen

Friday-whatever else needs to be done.

Saturday-hopefully relaxing until their plane lands!!

It all sounds good in theory, but it is currently 1:40 on Saturday afternoon and I've yet to tackle anything in my room (hence the suspicion, it will take me till Monday to finish given we have church and lunch plans for tomorrow!)

At least I can rest easy knowing that despite our disaster here, in reality, it is minor compared to our old house! I never want to get that cluttered/unorganized/unhealthy again!!

Happy Birthday Loquita!

2012-01-05T09:48:00.003-04:00

I cannot believe that my baby girl is 4 years old today!!

She is quite the Diva Princess Ballerina girl these days! She cracks me up constantly. She is crazy smart and I sometimes shake my head, knowing what she must have gone through in utero, but has managed to defy the odds. God has big plans for her!

We have a resident Princess expert now in our home. We thought it was Drama Mama, but Loquita is far more knowledgable about all the things princesses do...or do not do. Seems that whatever LL doesn't want to do, well it is only because that's not what princesses do...amazing how that works! If she wants something to eat/wear/do, it's only so she can be the best princess.

Love her rotten self!! Happy Birthday Big Girl!

Goals for 2012

2012-01-03T23:17:00.000-04:00

I've decided to join ranks with Mean Mama and create a goals list for 2012. Here we go!

1. Develop our Spanish so we are fluent by 2013.

2. Go to bed before midnight every night. (such a hard one)

3. Be more relevant in life....finding that missing piece to what God is calling us to do here in Puerto Rico

4. Be more patient with the kids. (I've found I've been too grouchy lately, not a good quality to have).

5. Work harder at being/staying organized in all things home/school related.

6. Lose 50 lbs this year, start developing a healthier lifestyle.

7. Be a crafty mama, while still staying on a shoestring budget!

8. Find something to be able to earn money while still being at home with my kids.

9. Keep my room clean (it is always the dumping grounds wherever we live).

10. Get involved in a ministry/outreach program.

11. Join Papa at being more responsible with our money, sharing more, spending less.

12. Continue praying about how/when to add to our familia.

13. Keep up with two blogs, Facebook, and Pinterest!

Adding to the crazy!

2012-01-03T23:02:00.001-04:00

I decided to create a new blog, focusing on our attempts to develop both English and Spanish reading/writing with the kids.

Papa Loco and I are determined that by this time next year, the kids will be speaking Spanish fluently! We can do it!

Check it out at http://casitademami.blogspot.com

Happy New Year's!

2011-12-31T19:39:00.000-04:00

I pray that despite any hardships and challenges that you faced in 2011, you remember the blessings and joy.

I pray that 2012 is another year in which we can grow and mature, coming closer to Christ!

Whatever life holds in store for us this coming year, remember we do all things for His glory!

Happy New Year's from Mama, Papa, Smarty Pants, Sweet Thing, Drama Mama, Goofy Girl, and La Loquita!

Foam Sticker Fun

2011-12-30T17:04:00.000-04:00

Well, thanks to Pinterest, I've got a lot of new ideas for 'school' for the little two girls. One idea I saw and enjoyed was making stamps out of foam stickers and bottle caps. We had plenty of bottle caps from the water bottles we drink, so we've been saving them up.

I thought I'd do the same with my alphabet foam stickers...only I knew I'd have to glue them on backwards for them to be correct as stamps. However...after doing one, I realized that the sticky part was now "up" and would be too sticky. Plus, short of superglue, I couldn't get them to stick well to the bottle cap.

So I happened to have some blank index cards that hadn't been put away yet from another craft sitting right next to me on the table. I decided to put them on there and make alphabet rubbing cards!

They were a huge hit! Even I had to make one! These are going to be one of the first things to go in the new writing center!

Prayers for 2012

2011-12-28T14:04:00.000-04:00

We are looking forward to the changes that will come in 2012. We definitely know that moving to Puerto Rico was a total God thing and have been blessed to be here.

However, we have still struggled to find some real purpose in life. There is still something missing. My heart has been heavy the last few weeks as we really evaluate our family, our teachings, our life.

Papa's been reading a book by Randy Alcorn Money, Possessions, and Eternity and has been challenging us both to think. I can't wait for him to finish it so I can read it!

I feel like we are sitting right on the edge of doing something great for God. We haven't jumped in, we've just been looking at the view, talking about jumping, praying about jumping, but not quite ready to go for it. I pray that 2012 is the start of something beautiful for our family!

Please be in prayer with us. That we can use the gifts God has blessed us with to be a family who pours out God's love on others.

I've come to realize that adoption may not be in our plans again...at least not for awhile. Yet that doesn't mean we can't go out and do work for those children who are still in need.

Praying greatly for direction as we close out this year and begin a new one!

Saw this quote and it is where my heart is right now.

"Sometimes I want to ask God why He allows poverty, famine, and injustice in the world when He could do something about it, but I'm afraid He might ask ME the same question."
Anonymous

Facebook...the window into our hearts

2011-12-28T11:32:00.002-04:00

Well we are now 3 days 'post Christmas'. I've had tons of Christmas photo albums pop up across my Facebook wall. I must admit, I'm a bit shocked, and some what appalled.

Perhaps we are the exception to holiday spending. We got the older 3 kids a bike, (Goofy Girl had her's from her bday in Aug), and Loquita a scooter. This was a big spend, but we had yet to buy any once we moved (and we were waiting till they were on sale!). They each got a set of water paints, crayons, and coloring books. They each got a package of socks and underwear. They each got some candy in their stockings. The older girls got a few beads for jewelry making and some fashion design plates for creating outfits. The little two girls got some Barbie stuff, and Smarty Pants got some Legos. They got a few 'sharing' games. All in all, I'm guessing including the gifts from the grandparents, less than $400 was spent on their Christmas gifts (combined). That to me still feels like a lot.

Yet as I scroll through the pictures, I'm finding so many of my friends and family look like they spent $400-500 on EACH kid! More presents under the tree for one child than our whole family together. I see race tracks, nerf guns, Dora dolls, Barbies galore, Coach purses (yes for kids!), computers, and more. Clothes and toys to fill a room. Many of these kids I know already have tons and tons of stuff!

I'm just a bit disheartened. What is wrong with our society that people feel the need to buy every toy their child may have ever looked at and expressed an interest in? I'm not saying my friends/family are bad people. I just wonder if they really step back and look at their lives. Do they look at how much money they spent on one day with toys that are not needed, usually never played with for long, and wonder why.

My kids were beyond thrilled with all their loot. And it was so tiny compared to so much of what I've seen out there.

It comes back to this. What is necessity?

I want our hearts to be toward helping the hungry, the poor, the orphaned. Papa and I have been talking about how we need to be better at our money uses. We have been blessed in our times of need and we are wanting to reach out and help others.

Money has become such a driving force in families today. The sports, school, childcare, name brand clothes, new toys, new houses, new furniture, new this-that-the other....it consumes people. They have to keep working their jobs more and more to be able to keep up with their lifestyle. Meanwhile, they are losing touch with the people in their family.

I'm glad my kids enjoyed their Christmas gifts. I'm glad they jumped up and down with excitement over new crayons. I'm glad that they are sheltered enough from the world that they don't know what everyone else thinks Christmas is about.

Because we could

2011-12-27T23:37:00.000-04:00

We opened gifts on Christmas Eve and had some very excited kids! On Sunday morning, we got up for church. I was expecting a low to non-existant 'crowd' but surprisingly the porch was filled! We had a good service. After church and lunch, we took a short drive to the beach. We didn't swim, but had fun playing in the sand.

We celebrated Smarty Pant's 11th birthday on Monday! Again, I cannot even believe he is 11 already! He's quite happy to inform us that he is now a 'tween.

Smarty Pants is a huge Lego fanatic. He loves them! It helps his creative mind..well create! He got 2 Lego games, a table for his Legos (only), some large plates to attach to the table, 10 figures (already has a large collection), and just some plain regular random Lego pieces.

Here are some of SP's birthday creations for Papa Loco and I! Again, he is beyond creative!

Once Años!

2011-12-26T23:39:00.000-04:00

My Smarty Pants turned 11 today!! I cannot believe it! He says he is officially a 'tween' now....oh joy! The little boy who came to us at (just turned) 5 is growing up faster than I'm ready for! The past 6 years have been full of ups and downs, but so glad to be your Mami!

I'll post pictures of Christmas and Birthday celebrations tomorrow. I must say though, Christmas in the Caribbean, while different, was very nice (and warm)!!

Diva In The Making

2011-12-20T23:13:00.000-04:00

La Loquita might be due for a name change...she's becoming quite the Diva these days!

She has become very picky about picking out her own clothes. For sure about doing it ALL by herself. She wants to shower herself, dress herself, brush her hair herself, etc.

Today she wanted to change her outfit about 10 times. She tried. She'd disappear and come back out with a new outfit on. I'd make her go back and change into the dress she was wearing. She wasn't too happy to have to hang every thing back up..that part she didn't want to do herself.

She wants to be a princess ballerina. And princesses are beautiful. And she loves loves loves to be beautiful.

Please Lord help me! One Drama Mama Diva is enough!!

Busy week

2011-12-20T22:44:00.001-04:00

We've had a busy week, but things seem to be slowing down a little bit! We've spent a lot of time at Abuelo and Abuela's house. The lady who helped out there was ill...and then apparently quit. Very sad for all because we loved M! Another lady came fill in for the week...but she didn't do anything. In fact, her "I don't do..." list was much longer than her "do" list.

Abuelo had strained his back and so I went over to help with some of the heavy lifting. The kids got to play outside a lot and run off some energy. I'd planned to continue with school through this week, but we gave up and called it last Wednesday.

Thankfully Abuelo is feeling better and a new lady starts tomorrow. She was supposed to start today, but the agency failed to give her the address. Papa met her this evening and she apparently seems very nice. So much unlike the last lady. (Who by the way was a foster parent....guessing the 'not good' kind.)

This week has been pretty quiet so far. We have started our deep cleaning because Grandma and Grandpa are flying down in just 3 weeks!! Everyone is super excited!

I cannot believe Christmas is only a mere 4 days away!! Packages mailed, gifts bought, and thats about it. Still need to wrap, still need to buy food for Christmas day.

Hope all is well in bloggy world!

La Mama Loca

A nice surprise

2011-12-13T12:25:00.000-04:00

Last night while we were finishing dinner, we heard some very loud Christmas music. Papa Loca said that it was the Mayor's parade and to hurry outside. So we all rushed outside in time to see Santa going by. Next came a truck with the Mayor (and a few other people, I'm clueless as to who). They were throwing out bags of candy and stuffed animals. The kids were very excited!

Our loot! Each kid got their own little stuffed animal. We got candy and a Christmas CD.

The Life

2011-12-09T22:55:00.001-04:00

This is the life......would only be better with a nice hammock!

Sugar and Spice

2011-12-08T13:35:00.001-04:00

I'm a few days late in my announcement, but here it is!

My newest niece was born on Friday morning, bright and early!

She is welcomed home by "big" brother A! They are exactly 15 months apart! My sister definitely has her hands full as 'A' is all boy boy boy! Into everything, loves to throw things, take things apart, etc.

Baby S seems to be pretty calm and quiet (so far)!

These are the times I really miss being close to home. My mom is not so great at uploading the pictures, so I've only gotten 3 pictures since the day she was born! I'm trying to patiently wait for more pictures so I can finish the Christmas gifts I had planned!

10 Things

2011-12-04T00:37:00.001-04:00

I meant to get this posted in November for National Adoption Awareness Month, but it didn't happen. So better late than never!

A guest post from Mean Mama an adoptee and adoptive mom, and one of my dearest friends (despite disagreeing on nearly everything!) :-)

10 Things Your Adoptive Child Might Want You To Know

#1 – Don't lie -- don't feed their fantasies, don't create answers for your child that you don't have. Be honest...to the extent that it is age appropriate. It will strengthen your relationship with them.

#2 – A child that has already loved and lost wants to know it won't happen again. They want to feel secure. Don't make promises you can't keep but let them know that they have a community and family that will always be there for them.

#3 – They will not "get over it." It will be revisited. Over and over. As they travel through the different developmental stages and new stages of life. Let them express their new position with their old grief and knowledge about their adoption. Get comfortable with it -- you will experience it a lot in their lives.

#4 – A child who was adopted will not always be sad. They are kids. They want to smile and laugh and play. They want to be normal. Let them experience normalcy when they want it.

#5 – A child will always miss their first parent. It is not the "I miss my best friend" type of thing. It is a question. It is the unknown. It is wondering what might have been and trying to understand what might be different if given different circumstances. It can not be resolved. They may not be willing to trade what they have to get what they lost but they will still miss.

#6 – Let them talk. Let them have mementos. Let them have photos. They want to remember... maybe not everyday, but they don't want to forget forever.

#7 – Don't assume that all children who are adopted will follow the same path. This looks different for each person. Let them experience their emotions as they come, do not attempt to compartmentalize them.

#8 – A child who is adopted will have many emotions, including ones that may not make sense to you. They don't want you to "understand." That trivializes their feelings. They want you hold their hand and walk through the emotion with them and know they are loved.

#9 – Recognize behaviors for what they are, a cry for help, attention, acknowledgement. Sometimes they will act out. Sometimes they will hurt you. Know that their behaviors may not define how they are feeling.

#10 – When you don't know what is going on with a child who was adopted, ask. Be there. Be present. Listen. You will learn from them and they will feel more secure with you.

Mean Mama