I was so worried about Lorena that I couldn't focus on anything at home. It was too stressful. The washing machine broke, so I had to fix it as quickly as possible. We couldn't afford to have constant visits from the repairman.
I gardened a bit in hopes of getting my mind off Lorena and school. Eventually, I forgot long enough to get many chores around the house done. It was major relief.
Thankfully, time rolled away quickly, and Lorena was home. Her first day of school went great. She met a few new friends as had a little bit of homework. I told her to get to that and then we'd play later on.
Of course, Chris came home late that night, and I had to fix the plumbing again. I should really consider a job in plumbing or pipe-work. I wasn't being funny either. That was bitterness if you couldn't tell.
I made Lorena a sandwich and helped her with her homework while I started writing thank you cards for all of our gifts. It was really kind of them to give us such gifts.
All night, Alcide slept peacefully in his crib. I went in and changed his diaper and fed him before I got myself something to eat. I hopped in bed that night, excited to take care of Alcide for the day.
The next morning, I got up extra early to make pancakes. It was a much needed break from cereal-mania!
It was family-time that morning. Lorena was excited to go back to school. I smiled to myself, knowing that by the end of the week, she'd hate the place.
I took care of Alcide all day. I did a little gardening too, but mostly my time was well-spent raising my son. He kinda learned to talk and walk, but mostly he just got potty-trained. He was so smart! It was a shame that his birthday was today.
Lorena wanted to make an announcement to everyone at the dinner table. She formally informed us that she, Lorena Jennings, got an A on her homework. She was such a little diva, haha.
Alcide's birthday soon followed, so we threw a quiet party for just us. We were so proud of him!
Woooooah. Look at that mean face, haha! He was adorable.
Apparently he didn't trust his sister. Look at that super mean face!
And Lorena wasn't too fond of him either. Family rivalry at its best, lol.
He's just mean-mugging EVERYONE! How funny! :)
Since his hair wasn't going to cut it, I gave him a new hairstyle and some new clothes. He was gonna look super-savvy.
To follow the family tradition, we bought him some cow PJs to sleep in. He was in love with them.
The next day, Lorena spent her time playing with the air. No, it wasn't her imaginary friend, because she didn't even get one in the mail from Uncle Riley. Alcide was the one to get it.
Speaking of Alcide, he started cleaning up his room. He couldn't sleep in a room that reeked of "baby-poo" as he called it. I decided that we needed a major break from the normality of everything, so we took a family trip to the park!
Chris broke his leg on the swing, but didn't seem to notice or care.
Lorena was so proud of the butterflies she caught by the swing set.
When we got home, our house was pimped. I forgot to mention that we'd hired a contractor to fix it up while we were out. Lorena and Alcide were so happy about their new bedroom that they went in and played for a few hours.
Chris and I tested our new camera out on the kids, and it worked wonderfully.
The kids were off to bed early that night, in preparation for school the next morning.
Breakfast was hectic that following morning. Chris ate cereal, the kids ate leftover birthday cake and I ate pancakes. Too many dishes were used, I'll tell you that!
As I fell on the floor trying to put the laundry away, I realized why I was kind of silent the past few days. I didn't have that part of me that I needed, and only one thing could fill the gap.
I called up someone for a very special visit.
I watched the kids as they played outside while I waited for my arrival. Thankfully, he arrived a few hours later.
We welcomed Tara Jennings to the family. She will always be my daughter, regardless of the adoption.
For some reason, the social worker wrapped her in his invisibility cloak, so we had to change her outfit quickly!
While I did so, I kept hearing this loud noise outside, so I went for a peek. Turns out Lorena was yelling at the top of her lungs, like a dinosaur would.
Look how precious she is. She IS one of us, no matter what. Lorena and Alcide took a special liking to her too! It was sweet, :)
Dinner was cray-cray, so I didn't spend much time eating. Instead, I fed everyone else, and while Chris got them put in bed, I ate.
It's a family-thing, those pajamas...
He crawled into bed twenty minutes later, and rolled over to sleep. This was about to get really crazy.
Whatever happened, I was ready for it.
