Snow Day

I love living in the South, yesterday it was 60 degrees. Today the kids woke up with an excitement that put Christmas morning to shame. It doesn't matter that we probably received less than 2 inches of snow, the sleds still worked.
And the smiles were beaming.
I do feel for you Mommies in the north, snow days are a lot of work. Once a year is enough for me.

The laundry that follows is just a bit insane.

Hi, My name is Finn... my Mommy thinks I am ridiculously adorable.
I am full on two years old. I can go from this....
to this...in seconds flat... it is a talent.

Spinach and Cheeeeeeese Quiche

I love this recipe, super cheesy spinach quiche. This recipe makes 2 quiches, even if you will not eat 2 quiches at once... Make 2...they freeze incredibly well so there is no excuse not to do all the work once and enjoy it twice. I personally like to use real eggs, but egg beat@rs or the like will work well too.

INGREDIENTS: ready made Pie crust x 2, 1 cup light mayo, 1 cup milk, 10 eggs (or 2 1/2 cups egg white product), 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, 1/2 pound sliced provolone, 20 oz frozen chopped spinach, 1/2 onion chopped, pinch of salt.Saute the chopped onion for a few minutes and then add frozen spinach. The spinach doesn't have to cook but you want it all heated through. (you could possibly skip this step but I like to make sure my onions are nice and cooked) Drain well, removing all excess water. Make the egg mixture: stir milk and mayo together, then add eggs and pinch of salt. whisk together. Now get your pie crust ready.
Layer 1/4 spinach in each pie shell, then 3/4 cup of cheddar in each quiche, then the rest of the spinach mixture.
Top with provoloneCover with egg mixture. (make sure some gets in the middle too, not just around the edges)

Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 45 min, remove foil and bake 15 more minutes.
Tip: spray the foil with cooking spray so it doesn't stick to all the yummy cheese.
Breakfast, lunch or dinner, yumm-o

Treasures

While we were in China we were lucky enough to visit Finn's finding spot. While we were there I gathered some of the earth and put it into a plastic baggie. I know it is just dirt but for me it symbolizes the possibility that someone from her birth family stood, however briefly, on the same land that we did. A full circle moment. The only piece we will ever have to her past. I can't begin to describe the weight of standing in that spot. I found this cool little bottle at one of my favorite little stores and love seeing it on this shelf next to a tea set we bought while in Guangzhou.

My Darling Daughters,

Please do as I say not as I do.

All my love,

Mommy

decisions

I know I have been MIA lately,,, and I wish I had an exciting excuse like we had been on a Caribbean cruise or something of the sort, but we are just trying to get our whits about us over here. We have some big decisions to make and big decisions cripple my normal routine, I'm not so great at making big decisions... I pray, ask God for signs and then I pray to ask him to clarify his signs. (and no, the decisions have nothing to do with adoption, that would be much easier as there are SOOO many adorable kiddos waiting right now. If we had the space, finances and most importantly the sanity, that would be a no brainer). We are also getting ready to have Collin depart for Beijing and our trip to DC before hand, so we are all just a little frazzled. I have not been in the mood to pull out my camera and take photos of the funny , adorable and the crazy happenings that go on around here on a daily basis and I am sure that is the only reason anyone happens by this blog... I hope to be back in full mental capacity very soon.

I've been reading a lot lately about adult adoptees. I find it really interesting as I too was adopted. I would say hands down the thing I have learned most from having a family tree that looks more like this....

There is something to be said for the Nature vs. Nurture principle.... Our little family is a psychoanalyst dream when it comes to nature vs. nurture. I truly believe that we are born with a keen sense of who we are...our likes and dislikes, our strengths and weaknesses. I grew up in a household where our skin color was the same but I couldn't have felt more different. Then I grew up and had my own biological children

there is something amazing about sharing space with people who look like you and act like you. Watching my children develop the same mannerisms, the same strengths, the same weaknesses blows my mind. I watch my 7 year old, who inherited my shy reserved demeanor and love of yoga pants, she hates "performing" in any sense of the word... for goodness sake she won't even play charades with me. But I get her, it doesn't frustrate me, I completely understand why she is who she is. While this is not a profound example it is as simple as it gets. Now on the flip side, I watch the way Mina works, she is so unlike me, so unlike her older siblings. She is intense, ultra focused, TALKATIVE, loves being the center of attention, can size a person up in seconds flat. To say I have to parent her a little differently than Kobi is an understatement. Parenting my bio kids seemed a bit easier, as I feel like I have this little window into what makes them tick. What I have to embrace being an adoptive

parent is that I need raise my children as individuals, it has been a great insight for me, I think I will be a better parent to all of my children because of it. Mina may grow to be nothing like me, she may have completely different interest, different style, different passions and different values, but I love her with all of my heart so I need to let go of any preconceived notions of MY dreams for my kids now. As their mother I need to set boundaries and instill morals, but apart from that I need to let them be who they are, not who I want them to be. It is harder than it sounds, but this I know for sure. Everyone wants to feel understood and if I continue to raise my children to meet all of MY dreams for them... I will miss out on knowing all that they could be, and in turn they will feel unloved and unworthy. I am so excited for their future, I hope they all surprise me, I hope I can resist putting them in little boxes of expectation, they deserve so much better.

I bought this book for Collin for Christmas

As I page through it I can believe that he will be LIVING in this city in a few weeks. In a few months, if I go to Beijing, my baby could show me around like it is his own home town. You know how helpless that makes this (somewhat controlling) Mama feel? He went to China with us about a year and a half ago when we went to adopt Mina and he has been in love with the culture ever since. (I can't believe how much he has changed in the last 18 months, he looks sooo much younger in these photos. )

I wonder if it has anything to do with his rock star like status while he was there?

A few minutes ago we finished all his visa application documents, and that is pretty much the last loose end before he leaves. I will be going to D.C. with him the week before he flies to China. He will finish up his first semester next week and then he gets to hang out at home until he leaves.

I'm am secretly hoping that he pulls out every annoying teenager trick in the book...

maybe that would make the fact that he will be gone for months a little less heart wrenching?

Get ready for the Mama pleads for prayers and words of wisdom, he leaves in 35 days and the reality is quickly setting in. Last week I begged him not to go, I know it was futile but I had to try. He will do fantastic living and learning in Beijing, I am so proud of his enthusiasm and bravery, but even with 4 little kids still underfoot, the house will feel empty without his energy pulsing through it.

Our littlest scholar

Mina started preschool this week. We hadn't really planned on it but there is a wonderful little church school down the street that had an opening, and I was sure it wouldn't be there in the fall

besides Mina is thrilled to be going to preschool.

She loves to say, "I go to preschool, but Finn does NOT!"

She had a smile ear to ear when I dropped her off

I had strict instructions how to do her hair and I obliged, seeing that she was full of first day jitters (yeah, right).

She is a little social butterfly, she can work a crowd with ease...it will serve her well... but as her Mama, I will admit I'm a little scared. This kid has my heart in a big way.

Super Easy Panini

I promised y'all this easy recipe a while back, and then the holidays sucked my brain straight outta my head. but here it is, 4 ingredient easiness. Well 5-6 ingredients if you are REALLY counting, but olive oil doesn't really count, right?

Bread, mozzarella, pesto and/or basil, tomato, olive oil. Go ahead and slice 'em all up. I used two different kinds of bread just so I could show you it doesn't really matter. I personally like the individually sliced sandwiches better, but classic panini's are on the big cibatta bread.
You can use pesto or you can use fresh basil, I've used either, I've used both... It's all good.

Layer on the mozzarella, the fresher the better.
next tomatoes.
If you are going to do the fresh basil, now would be a good time.
Drizzle or brush with olive oil.
I use a Ge*rge F*rman, but I have also used the grill, a pan, and the oven on a low setting. It's like pizza in its basic form...don't over think it.
Once all the cheese starts to get melty, they are done. You just can't go wrong. Another thing I love about these little sandwiches, is that you can make them before hand, cover with plastic wrap and heat them up later for dinner or a luncheon.
On that note I would love to hear what you don't cook... yeah, what you DON'T cook. What do you make on those nights when you don't want to cook anything???? For that I am at a loss, I dislike feeding the kiddos fried food (chicken nuggets) for dinner, and we RARELY eat out. I hear lots of people saying they don't really cook,,,, but what don't you cook... I would love to know that, I need a few weeknight - soccer practice night -no cook dinner nights. Let me know if you like the recipes and I will keep them coming.

boo boo baby

I know there has to be something quintessentially wrong with thinking that my daughter looks ridiculously adorable with her new black eye..

I know it's wrong but I can't help it, it just somehow suits her personality perfectly. She is anything but graceful and she always has to have her nose in everybody elses bi---ness. This was day one, her eye has since turned a darker shade of purple, then yellow, and now has mostly faded and I am only left with the adorable photos for memories, but I still have these dimples... oh the dimples... somehow I have a feeling it won't be her last black eye?

Home Sweet Home

We are finally back home from our long trip to Florida, we are already missing our family, friends and the warm weather.... I know it's not a good thing but my mood usually perfectly coincides with the weather,,, I think it is called Seasonal Affective Disorder or something like that... I have personally diagnosed myself.

While we were there one of my best friends daughters had the most beautiful beachfront wedding....

Kobi was the chosen child of the evening to go with us... Which was fabulous because it was her best buddies big sister who was getting married.

The girls had a blast running around the beach in their beautiful dresses.

She even took photos of her goofy parents....

What I don't miss about being on vacation... car trips...especially car trips with a teen...give me a car full of toddlers any day... but of all the wonderful things I can say about Collin...when he is in the car with the other kids I nearly want to run the car off the road in frustration... he finds great joy and teasing and picking on them..

as evidence from this photo taken from my rearview mirror.

We all drove to Florida, but Collin flew round trip.. his benefit for bad behavior...it was a blessing to all of us. (disclaimer, I wasn't the driver when I snapped the photo)