The Great Room Move Round 1

As I mentioned, we are moving some bedrooms around in order to separate the girls into their own rooms.

So the first part of the Great Room Move is complete

The before shots

(and keep in mind this was the junk room so it is decorated in the ever popular "what paint do I have enough of to cover these walls" motif)

The after shots of A's new space inspired room

(plus lots of opportunities for Santa to get his accessories for Christmas)

Watch for the Great Room Move Round 2- Coming Soon

(although not soon enough for D)

Wordless Wednesday

Good Hair? It's All Good Hair

Hair is often a complicated issue for transracial adoptive parents. Learning how to care for and style K hair (which bears little similarity to mine beyond that fact our hair grows on our heads) has been a steep learning curve and I am still learning because as she grows her hair is changing as well. I know as she grows the issue of whether or not her hair is "good hair" will be one that we will have deal with. But I was thrilled to find this video from Sesame Street (still one of the best shows ever for children) Not only does it positively feature a Black child (okay, puppet) but pays tribute to the wonderfulness of African hair. A wonderful message for children who will unfortunately grow up often measuring themselves against a White standard of beauty.

Competing Again

The boys participated in the first Kung Fu Tournament that our studio has ever hosted. It was a small but nice event. There were kids (and adults) from two other studios competing as well. A competed in two events- empty hand (which is the actual Kung Fu forms) and weapons. For this tournament he competed using his Bo Staff.

Unfortunately for A, he had not been practicing his Bo Staff with his Gi (uniform) on and a couple of times the Bo staff got hung up on his uniform or belt, which cost him some points. But he looked great and since he is continuing to compete against kids that out rank him and who have been studying Kung Fu much longer- he has done very well.

X fought in a smaller division with (for the most part) kids of equal rank and skill (most of whom he knows and takes class with).

He is not old enough to compete in the weapons event so he competed in empty hand and sparring.

He earned second place medals in both empty hand and in sparring.

Weekend Wisdom

"Compassion for the poor is the hallmark of a true civilization."

-Michael Eric Dyson

She Survived the Dentist

Apparently we hadn't made it clear enough to D that the dentist was going to fix her teeth not at his office but at Really Good Children's Hospital. We pulled up out front and she took one look out the window and said.....

"This NOT the dentist. I no going!!!!"

Fortunately, she did finally decide to get out of the car and go willingly (and by willingly I mean being carried and crying at the top of her lungs)

We got there at 7 and by 7:46 she was under anesthesia. Much faster than normal surgery (also they allowed us to stay with her while they started- which is another big improvement over the main surgery unit at the hospital)

It took about 3 hours to get all the work done and the dentist wants to work with her to desensitize her to dental procedures (since he suspects a big problem with her toothbrushing issues are a result of trauma related to multiple cleft procedures)

But for now her teeth are all healthy and after a meal of Tim Horton's strawberry Timbits (yeah I know dentist, Timbits, marvel at the irony) she is pretty much back to normal- whatever that means.

Wordless Wednesday