dinovember*

it's hilarious and funny and so so creative. 

the animals was hungry and went for some oats. crocodile dived in head first

and dog even rolled in the oats... 

his dino friends had to help him.... the animals are playing

with some xmas decorations and even broke one snow globe! gasp!!! 

i started last night. 
kellen saw it this morning. 
our conversation went something like this: 
him:  'awww mom, i know you did it'
me:  'no kellen, why would i do it? i cleaned up last night and went to bed'. 
him: 'mom, you did it. (giggling). you have that funny voice. i can hear it in your voice'. 
me: (trying not to burst out laughing) 'kellen! i will never do something like this. look at the mess and now i have to clean it up?'! 
him:  giggling and smiling... 'ok mom, you did not do this but i know you did it'. 

today he came to me and said:
him: 'mom, can you do the animal thing again tonight?' 
me: 'what animal thing?" 
him: 'you know... with the oats. oops, you didn't do it. can you please tell the animals to come out again tonight?'
me: 'where must i find the animals? i don't know what to do? why don't you tell them?' 
him: (giggling) 'ok mom, i know it wasn't you, but just tell them to come out again'. 

i'm joining in the creativity of Refe Tuma and their Dinovember.

“Can we still have that cereal for breakfast, Daddy?”

Why do we do this? Because in the age of iPads and Netflix, we don’t want our kids to lose their sense of wonder and imagination. In a time when the answers to all the world’s questions are a web-search away, we want our kids to experience a little mystery. All it takes is some time and energy, creativity, and a few plastic dinosaurs.

Childhood is fleeting, so let’s make sure it’s fun while it lasts.

call the dinosaurs and let the magic happen!!! 

keep the 'wonder' alive! :-) xx

silliness & nap time*

every afternoon, monday to friday, i pick her up from her play school. we usually have fresh watermelon on the floor in the kitchen, talking about her morning.  then we go up to our bedroom for nap time.

for the first 2 years of her little life of 29 and a half months, she preferred to sleep in her cot, without anybody touching her or sitting with her.  at the beginning of this year, we decided to start putting her in our bed for story time, cuddles and some giggles before going to sleep.  (we've been doing this with kellen since he came to live with us).

this little video above is a perfect example of....

pure joy!
full hearts!
happiness!
silliness!

what love can do.  persistence and keep on trying. routines staying the same to accommodate our children. keep on touching and cuddling and kissing them. hug them tightly even if they don't like it. when they pull back or roll away, stretch your leg out and touch their feet, put your arm out, and stroke their back.. even if they push away again, don't get up. stay there.  it hurst, but keep on trying.

(in the adoption circles the professionals talk about reactive attachment disorder (RAD)... you can read more about that here.  )

today, this last 2 weeks, she has been asking 'mama arm lie'. which in our books are huge steps for her.  she falls asleep with her head on my arm, sometimes my shoulder and it is the most amazing feeling. her wanting to be close to me. her wanting to touch her mama before she falls asleep. pure m a g i c .

i told some new friends yesterday that if we stay in the moment, right here, right now, and concentrate on what is really important now, we will be happy.  happiness will come out in the form of giggles and joy and full hearts and little girls who is trying everything not to sleep, entertaining their mama's.

a joy*

“When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.” 

― Rumi