We've Moved

A couple months back we looked into moving to a new home and are quite happy at our new address. If you would still like to read about our adventures please email 2 more to love at gmail dot com!

I have left the highlights up on the left so that you can still check out our adoption travel and such. We traveled in December 2006. January ahs some decent posts about finding a "new normal" in your home and impressions from the trip as well.

Blah...edited

New sight issues, I really hope to get it staightened out soon. Hang in there, tomorrow is my next free time window for adding people in. It's been a busy weekend so far and should slow down tomorrow.

***Thanks to E. for the help, I've now figured out how to add people into my blog. Emails going out today and tonight. If it reaches supper time tomorrow (tuesday) and you have not heard from me, please email me again at 2moretolove @ gmail dot com
I also want to add that I am humbled at the fact that I'm going to have to pay for this crazy blog seeing as there are way more of you than the free service allows. It isn't much a year though and perhaps it will keep me even more dedicated to journaling.

news flash for twin mommies

Want to keep them busy for an entire morning?

Simply bring in the car seats to wash the covers. With or without covers, the car seats are just their hight to climb up on and sit down, lots of straps and buckles to inspect. We played with ours for a good hour last night and working on two hours this morning. I've gotten so much done!

New sight is ready, I'll start sending invites out to those that emailes me later tonight and into tomorrow.

Jenn

still working

I am working on the new home and have received many requests. I already have some pictures in reserve for posting on there as well other updates. I'll post on here when the new sight is up and going. That way if I managed to miss your request you'll know to request again as I am sure I will manage to exclude someone I do not mean to.

In other news, Twin 1 is walking and twin 2 is trying her hardest to keep up, but just doesn't quite have the balance yet. Twin 1 is now perfecting the middle of the room stand. Very fun. That and a tooth has most deffinately made an appearance, temporary as it has since disappeared but it was there and I have witnesses!

wierd people out there

I hate to say it but in the next day or so this blog is splitting in two. Non-personal info and generalities will be posted here. Photos and anything that might be personal will be located at a different sight. Please email me for access at 2moretolove@gmail.com If I do not immediately recognize who you are, I may ask you questions...no offense.

Thankfully, I was able to transfer my archives. I plan on leaving what I can of our adoption process on here for PAP's to follow (that is, Prospective Adoptive Parents) as I learned so much from others through their blogs. It'll be more work separating it out, but so it goes...safety first.

All past posts that are left on this sight will be modified to use nicknames and will eventually have most if not all photos removed. I know I am can not simply go anonymous overnight, especially if I want to keep all my travel and adoption process information available, but there will be quite a few changes around here with the majority going into place tonight.

Thanks for being understanding on this and please, email if you feel you should be included on my personal sight.

photos to go with recipe and some

MMMmmmm, yummy cookies with a nice balance of not-too-chocolateyness to them!

Yes, that is Twin A taking a step!

The twins helped me unpack their size 12 month items today, not that they fit (note cute pink skirt that hangs way too far below the knees) These are the infant hat/mitten sets they wore last winter...what can I say but that these two are petite!

Yummy Chocolate Cookie Recipe

I'm still not feeling well. Here's the recipe, photos are going to have to wait. I hope to have some great video with the husband's new Flip-thingy too. (Yes, I am not very up on technology either...your learning all sorts of things about me this week!) This is an abbreviate recipe, in other words not pretty but at least you get it today like I said:

Yummy Cookies from Diane Mott Davidson's Book The Main Corpse

Preheat oven to 350 degree

Combine 2 cups of rolled oats and 12 ounces of semi sweet chocolate chips in a large bowl, set aside.
In your mixer cream 2 sticks of butter, 1 cup of packed dark brown sugar, and 1/2 white sugar until creamy.
Sift together 1 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa, add to butter mixture and combine thoroughly (you should end up with a stiff dough.)
While mixing, lightly beat two eggs, add 1 Tbs of milk and 1 1/2 tsp of vanilla; add this to the mix
Add chips and oats and stir until well mixed. Drop with a scooper (about 2 Tbsp each) onto parchment paper about 2 inches apart and cook for 9-12 minutes. Let cool on pan 1 minute, then cool completely on rack.
While cooling melt 9 oz of white chocolate and 1 1/2 Tbsp of shortening in a double boiler, dip the top part of the cookie into chocolate, drizzle, do whatever floats your boat. I'll show you a picture of mine tomorrow. Enjoy! (Hint, very good when slightly cool (out of fridge) with a cup of tea of coffee or warm milk)

where we are at

Here's where the twins are at right now:

No teeth, still. Yes, they are 13 months old. I've given up looking in their mouths and will likely be cutting food into little bitty pieces for years to come out of habit. So it goes.

Almost walking, so close it is amazing. Sometimes they do the "learning forward and feet going fast enough that I don't fall flat on my face walk" other times it's "one step then I'll timber the rest of the way into mom's arms" However, the deliberate, one foot at a time kind of walking has happened, up to 8 steps and with big huge grins on their faces. Truly any day now they will both be taking off, for once they are pretty equal on a developmental skill.

Food, they eat food. They eat any food. At times they shake their adorable little heads "no" to something, but often because they see something else they like better. The other night we had spaghetti squash with a cream and garlic sauce over it that was almost too garlic for my tastes, they will be doing the leftovers for supper tonight, they loved it that much. They even eatthings like saurkraut, Bleu cheese, and salsa! (No, I don't regularly feed them these things, but they have had them on more than one occasion...we usually stick to what we are eating for supper, but mashed and cut as we have no teeth.)

Sleep, it's a fleeting thing. Twin B was going through a really bad spell of not sleeping for long stretches. She slept all night two nights this week. I can't make heads or tails of it, the other night it was Twin A. Who knows?

Talking, they are really starting to imitate sounds and noises. The other day I'm driving down the road with the twins both barking at me. They make kissy sounds, today Twin A "meowed" for me. They are just starting to try to say words that we say at our prompting. I look for language to take off from here.

The older two: are doing great. They are liking school, being a big help to me, and growing more responsible as time goes by. They are finding they have individual likes and dislikes and that it is okay to play alone. This has been a long time coming and will provide a bit of balance to their relationship I think.

The husband and myself: we are surviving, chuckling at our princesses constantly, frustrated at times, tired often, but so blessed and happy. (right now with packing for vacation blessed and happpy are low falling a bit lower on the list...have you ever packed for twins, a five year old, a six year old, two adults, and a dog (she's going to a friends.), it is awful!)

The dog: she is finally being restored to the role of "baby" of the house so all is well in her world.

another good one

Before I forget, I want to tell you I plan on doing an update on how the twins are doing here in the next day or two...you know: what they eat, how they sleep, walking or not, etc.

I did have to pop in here really quick and let you all know that I have found a new comfort food:

Homemade Applesauce (why do I buy the stuff at the store!!!)

32-36 apples of varying sizes and variety (Granny Smith, Braeburn, and Tree-Out-Back)
1 and 1/2 cup honey
2 and 1/2 cup water
some cinnamon

Peel, core, and cut apples into pieces (I used an old peeler, corer slice of my dads and then chopped them up a bit from there...Pampered Chef sells them and don't worry if you get a little peel in there.) On a side note the older two thought it was great to see who could eat the longest apple peel. Place chopped apples in a big pan with water, honey, and a few good shakes of cinnamon depending on how much you like in your applesauce. Cook on medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, let cool slightly and mash with a potato masher. It won't be smooth and runny like store bought, but thick and so tasty. I imagine it is good cold, but right now the steaming little bowl I have of it couldn't taste any better! Yum!!! A side benefit would be that your house smells amazing too.

virtual school

Here is a little bit more on our homeschool method. They call it virtual school, not because it's pretending to do school or anything like that, but because most of our lessons are based online. In the evening I will log on for the following day's lessons, will look to see if there is anything I need to have ready in advance, and will pull the proper books and materials. The teacher's directions are spelled out in black and white for me, there are anywhere from 4-8 steps to teach the lesson (they suggest you utilize a couple of these activities, not just one, but you certainly do not have to do all 8 steps to the lesson.) We usually end up doing anywhere from 2-5 steps. All materials are provided for me, they are labeled according to subject...it's all free to me.

How is it that I get all our books, materials, online lessons, etc. free? We are part of an online academy, virtual school, charter school...many names but one idea. Our school is a public school. It is registered as such with the state, and receives funding from the state. I have to admit that free is nice, especially with the cost of adoption, cost of raising a family of 6, etc. I like our curriculum, let me re-phrase that, I LOVE our curriculum. If I were to hand pick one it would be very similar to the k12 curriculum. For first grade we will be doing the following classes: Language Arts, Phonics, Handwriting, History, Science, Art, Music, Math, and Physical Education. Through the Language Arts and History there is a good emphasis on learning through literature (I am a firm believer that if you learn to read and can assimilate what you are reading you have the foundation for learning nearly anything.) It approaches reading through a couple years of phonics before switching over to a more typical English/grammar teaching. We do our PhysEd through our local homeschool group at the YMCA. Art and Music are really half appreciation and half experience at this stage. Handwriting Without Tears is what is provided and it is what I would have ordered were I taking a more traditional route. Math is good as it provides lots of practice and builds nicely on previous skills. I haven't looked at our Science yet (first year teaching it), but I can say the girls are quite impressed with the scale, seeds, thermometer, magnifying glass, and all the other odds and ends that came with the kit.
If I had the money, I do believe I would be likely to order directly from K12 and go from there.

The downfalls of the virtual academy. You have to work with a school. It's not so bad really, but I feel like often times we are doing things simply because it's required, not because it's beneficial. For instance, we have to do four face to face meetings every year. Not that bad if you think about it...just have to meet up with a teacher (not necessarily our teacher) four times a school year. As it turns out though, there is NOTHING withing a 30 mile radius of our home. The ones we went to last year were all at least a 45 min drive. That takes 2 hours out of our school day plus whatever time it takes for meeting with said teacher, potty breaks, lunch etc. Another thing is that I prefer not to teach in a very traditional manner. As in, we do not generally do an hour of math, followed by a half hour of music, etc. It took until about the middle of last year until I found that all of us operate better on a block schedule. We tend to do a large chunk (4-6) lessons of one subject at a time, or will work a couple weeks on something that we are really going good at and excited about before moving on to something else. This makes it hard when portfolio time comes around as we simply might not be there yet, or we are well beyond it and have to go back and re-do the lesson it is based on. It also makes our progress look really funny when out teacher contacts us weekly via email and monthly via phone. I really like how homeschooling allows you to work with your child's interests and enthusiasms, but understand that there are things they never are going to be excited about doing...I'm trying to find that middle balance and an actual school does not make that easy. The other thing that I have a bit of a hard time with is that my girls are 12 mo apart in age and I would like to teach them the same subjects...not easy with the public school setting of a virtual school. We are first sorted according to age, then ability. For instance, we received all Kindergarten stuff for Little Bits, but I will likely be sending back the Math, History, and Handwriting as she did all of that last year. Then I will have to wait for the grade 1 stuff...meanwhile I will work on Art, Science, and Music to keep working and then will have to re-order all of those next year as they are not part of the grade K. It will take me two years or so, but I am hoping by then we will be receiving the same curriculum without all this business of sending stuff back and forth. I really am hoping they will allow her to "skip" a grade and then I know for sure we will be on the same page. I say two years as I know that their reading levels are not the same and I fully expect it to take that long to get on the same level for reading.

Sorry this post is so scattered. I really wanted to get it written and posted though. If anyone has any questions I'm more than happy to write more, but for risk of rambling on and on like I have habit of I'll end it here....that and it's getting close to nap time and we are going through a phase where we won't go to sleep without mommy in the room. Not a bad deal all around as I am finally getting around to reading the Harry Potter books. I am just starting book 5 and am amazed at how much more there is to the books compared to the movies. Is it just me or is Percy completely non-existent in the movies?

Next post is our CSA goodies ( it is squash season, finally!) and hopefully some photo's of the twins' dedication at church.

Back to school

It's that time of year, already. Time flies with two little ones!

My office has been over-run (more than usual) with boxes of books, art supplies, cd's, computer software, writing materials, maps, phonics kits...ten boxes worth of school curriculum arrived today. Yikes! I received notice yesterday that they had shipped and so last night we started cleaning out a cupboard. Why, until yesterday, it didn't occur to me that two kids in school meant twice the stuff is beyond me. You would have thought the girl's were opening their Christmas gifts the way they jumped and giggled at all their goodies. Especially exciting this year were the art and music boxes as they are not provided for kindergarten. Also, a new set of reading books was worthy of a good look and many smiles. I am so thankful my girls love to read!

Nicki has a good post on homeschooling, worth a visit to. We are not what you would call a traditional homeschooling family. I don't pour over the catalogs, debating what to get, which company to order what from. I think I would like it better that way...it is how we started out teaching the oldest to read. However, that costs money and we simply do not have any extra funds right now. We are with an online academy called Ohio Virtual Academy and we are very pleased with them. Technically you could say we are public school at home as OHVA is a public school registered with the state, gets funding from the state like any other school, and has teachers too. We have a teacher with whom we have weekly contact, send portfolio's to, and ask questions of. However, I teach the girls at home using their curriculum. We are able to work when the girls are at their best and I am able to teach them according to how they learn. It works quite well for us (though I do look forward to perhaps going back to traditional homeschool at some point, when adoption loan is paid off perhaps.)

We started homeschooling as our girls both just miss the cut-off for starting school. The oldest was nearly reading and wouldn't be allowed to go to kindergarten until the following year. So, we started at home teaching reading, basic math, and skills such as coloring, cutting, and other kindergarten skills. It has worked well for us. We take it a year at a time, so don't ask if we are going to homeschool all the way through 12th grade, I'll let you know about mid-way through 11th grade. As long as it is working (the girls are cooperating and are mastering their studies) we will keep going. Life has a way of changing on you and I prefer to set myself up for schooling a year at a time. Helps keep a bit of the pressure off. Yes, there is a bit of pressure with homeschooling...meeting the state hour requirements/peoples expectations, but most importantly is seeing to it that my girls learning and succeeding!

I am not anti-public school. I know many who go through the public (or private) school system successfully. I also worked with our public schools for over a year and know what teachers are up against. It isn't pretty and I can only imagine what it is like now as that was before I had children. The things that were happening in elementary school were things I am not ready to expose my child to. Do I shelter my kids? ABSOLUTELY and I make no apologies about it. Do I keep my kids from a healthy social life, not at all. Once school gets started, we will begin meeting with other homeschooling families once a week for gym class as well as classical dance. We also are involved with our church and see family and friends at least weekly. My kids are great with other kids, they enjoy being in the company of adults, and aren't exposed to the negative side of a public school social life. Do I look down on those who do not homeschool, not at all! Every family makes the decisions they know are best for their family. Just because it works for us, does not mean with will work for you and I do not presume to know the needs and workings of other's lives.

Any other homeschoolers out there getting geared up and ready to go? We are planning on starting Monday. We will be taking a couple weeks of vacation this year and I want to be sure to not fall behind. No adoption trips this year so that will surely help,though, the twins and balancing two in school might be more of a challenge than missing a month of school-time! How do you mom's with little one's at home do it, any tips for a mom with 1 yr old twins?