Maggie Makes Four!

This journal started off documenting the adoption of our youngest daughter. It now follows the twist and turns of our lives as we raise these two amazing little creatures into the best women they can become.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Missed a few things...


I never wished the Magster a happy 6th birthday. Actually her birthday is the reason I didn't get anything written. We were too busy celebrating or catching up on homework because we spent too much time celebrating. The Magster was totally spoiled on her birthday. I brought her home a Noah's Coffee cake for breakfast, then her Dad and I took Jamba Juices into
her class to celebrate. We surprised her with a Happy Meal for lunch and then hit her favorite Mexican place for dinner. She said it was the best day ever!

I also want to mention that I celebrated my 5th year blogging this month. It's hard to believe that five years after all the pre-adoption, China and post adoption angst I'm still writing about my crazy life. It's also amazing how far we've come. From the days of two kids under 3 to school days, sometimes I need to reread my early posts to remind myself of how out of control those early days were.

While things used to be out of control, today things are more in the state of controlled chaos. Between dance, soccer and other commitments, it seems like there is never a dull moment, but you know, I'm really not one who likes dull moments. Of course, I could use a little quiet every now and then. But now that Maggie has her very own karoake machine, there will no quiet either.


Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Spin Control

I volunteered in the Magster's class for the first time last week and had this conversation with a little friend of Maggie's.

Friend: Are you Maggie's Mom?
Me: Yes
Friend: Is it true that you flew all the way to China just to pick up Maggie?
Me: Yes
Friend: Whoa, that's so cool. My Mom didn't have to go anywhere to get me.

After I stopped giggling, I had to give my daughter a big hug. The spin was all her. I've never made it sound like a big deal that we flew to China to pick her up. In fact, I'm not even sure how she figured out it's a big deal to fly to China. Regardless, with her ability to spin a story, I'm sure Obama will be looking for her soon.

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

The New Recruits

Parenthood is so different today than I remember it for my parents. First, there's the whole homework thing that I know my parents never had to deal with. But there's another big change for parents today: Mandatory Volunteer Requirements.

Just about every organization our kids participate in requires parents to donate time to support their efforts. Now I know my parents volunteered, my Dad was big in soccer and my Mom was a room mom more than once. But today it's different. It's every single thing and many organizations require parent attendance at various meetings.

A sampling of my commitments above and beyond work and family includes: Soccer Coach; Scholastic Book coordinator for two classrooms; this month I'm on the preparation team for the kids Faith Formation class plus I'll spend an hour in the Magster's class on Friday. The Dad also gets in on the volunteer act. He'll be in La Nina's class tomorrow and at soccer practice tomorrow.

On top of this, we must attend Faith Formation with the kids monthly, plus First Eucharist preparation classes for both girls (La Nina's in 2nd year, the Magster's in 1st year). So, that's another three hours a month that one of us must attend a meeting with a child. And each program mandates parents volunteer in some capacity, adding even more hours.

It's not that I don't want to help, I do. It's just there's a limit. And it's not like soccer season is just a "bad time." When this ends, dance starts and that lasts through March. Supporting one dancer is just as demanding as coaching an entire soccer team. Trust me on this.

I don't know what the answer is to this situation. You want your kids to know their efforts are supported, so I guess parents today just sleep less. It's just sometimes you have to wonder if all the volunteer time is really needed or if the folks running all these organizations have so many volunteer obligations, they need help!