Snow, snow, snow!

We woke up to the first snowfall of the season today!  I took Molly straight to the windows today to show her the snow on the ground - she looked and talked and pointed for quite a while.  It was the first time she has ever seen snow!  Then we rushed through breakfast, because Nhan and Uncle Nathan were coming over to play outside with us.

Nathan and I walked the kids to our local park, and played in the snow for a while.  But the kids just weren't as excited about a field of snow as we thought they might be.  So we took them over to the playground instead.  They swung on the swings, went down the BIG tunnel slide, and had a much better time than in the field.  When they turned into popsicles, we took them back home.

After eating lunch on Nathan's lap, we put them both down for naps.  Nhan actually fell asleep in Molly's room!  So they ended up staying all day. 

We visited while Molly and Nhan played together, then took the kids out for dinner at a local restaurant before they said goodbye.  It was a great day!

Welcome to Usborne Books

I have recently been introduced to the wonderful world of Usborne Books.  It is a book publisher from the UK that exclusively publishes books for children of all ages.  I am very impressed with the books for kids as young as Molly.  There are counting books that go from one to five, instead of 10, a book of a baby's first toys, showing pictures of toys that Molly can relate to.  The books are really well illustrated, and very well thought out.  They have a formal reading program that is widely used in schools.  Some of their books have interactive features, and some have sound.  There are sticker books, art books, puzzle books, classics and seasonal books!  Something for everyone.

The books are sold by home party, so I held one in my home, and signed up as a consultant.  I can now sell the books myself for a commission.  I cannot do home parties as a single mother, but I will attempt to sell books through my blog in lieu of home parties.  The commissions I earn will go towards the "Get Molly a Baby Brother Fund".

So, for my first try, I will hold a blog party.  If any of you out there are interested in purchasing books for your children or for Christmas gifts, please look at the catalog online:

http://www.usbornebooksathome.ca/usborne_books/browse.asp?cat=1&css=1

The French version of the catalog is:

http://www.usbornebooksathome.ca/usborne_books/browse.asp?cat=2&css=1

Send me an email or comment with your choices or any questions you may have, and I'll have your books delivered in about 3 weeks (or less!)

Please be aware that the online catalog is frequently updated, but the occasional book may have run out of stock or had a recent price adjustment.  Also, shipping will be charged on your order and appropriate taxes.

Molly and I thank you in advance for supporting our next adoption!

Follow-up to the Hair Clip Incident

The evil hair clip is mocking me.  I flushed it after identifying it in Molly's poop, but it is hovering at the bottom of my toilet bowl!  I saw it again after we got back from our weekend on Quadra Island.  And I've seen it a couple of times since.  I think I'll have to get some rubber gloves and chopsticks in order to get rid of it for good...

When I told my parents about the 'incident', my Mom wrote back this email:  "You may not remember but you had an accident with a hair clip too . You were about two or so and was standing on the front steps taking out the clips and rollers from my hair. I couldn't see you but you had put a clip in your mouth when you slipped off the step and fell head first down. The clip jammed up into the roof of your mouth.You began to cry and I immediatly pulled it out. Well of course it bled like crazy and I rush to the Doc. with you ...only a few blocks away. By then it stopped bleeding and you were OK. Do you remember this?"

No, Mom, thankfully I was too young to remember!

I bought the package of hair clips at a store in our neighborhood, and have beaten myself up for not realizing they were small enough for Molly to choke on.  However, at Molly's music class this week, I noticed TWO other little girls with the same clips in their hair.  So I told them our story.

Family Camp Weekend

Molly and I travelled up to Quadra Island this past weekend to take part in a family camp weekend for adoptive families.  We had a wonderful time!  There were 14 families and 50 kids there.  What I was most amazed about is the first few people I got to know had 14 kids, or 20 kids, "but we only brought 11 here".  So there were some very large families, and some very small families.  Molly was the youngest at the camp, but we were not the only single-mom family there.  I met some wonderful people, whom I'm sure will become good friends.

Molly received a lot of attention.  She got MOBBED by a group of 6 year olds, all who wanted to hold her at the same time.  It was really cute, but too overwhelming for Molly most of the time.  I had to wade in and save her quite often, and try to set some boundaries for Molly with the girls.  However, whenever I picked Molly up and the girls wandered away, Molly wanted to follow them.  She loved her posse!

We stayed at a beautiful resort which provided great accomodations and lots of activities for the kids.  Molly rode a horse!  I think I was more thrilled with that than she was.

She also got her face painted, and did some coloring with markers.  Two of her friends drew pictures for Molly, of her favorite things - flowers, hearts and bees.   They slid a couple of pieces of art under our door, so we displayed them in the room, and have brought them home as a keepsake.

The weekend was over too quickly.   We exchanged emails with other families, and hope to keep in touch until next year. 

Poop Report

Success!  Molly passed the hair clip in her poop this evening, with no apparent distress or discomfort.  I, of course, sat down and had a little cry after I got her to bed.  I feel so much better now!

Molly's First Trip to the Emergency Room

We were out and driving home this afternoon when Molly coughed and choked in her car seat behind me.  I looked back to see what was going on - she didn't have any food.  She really choked - gasped for breath, then it cleared.  It was very brief, but intense.  It took me just a few seconds to figure it out - her hair clip wasn't in her hair anymore!

I pulled over to make sure she was all right, then jumped back into my seat and sped off to the hospital.  Thankfully, we were just a few blocks from Children's Hospital, and I had been there with a friend's child a year or so ago, so I knew where to go.

The Emergency Nurse first made sure that Molly's air sounds were OK, to rule out the clip being in her lungs.  Then we waited about an hour to see a doctor.  An x-ray showed the clip in her stomach, which was a relief.  Any place else might have needed surgery to remove.  I have to watch for vomiting and stomach cramps, but they sent us home to wait for Molly to poop it out.

I guess I'll cut her bangs now.