No I haven’t lost my mind. In fact cleaning doesn’t do much for my disposition at all!
When I picked Trey up from his visit with TurdTurd today I heard about how helpful he was with dusting and swiffering the floors. This didn’t surprise me since he pretty much does all the vacuuming at home. When I arrived he was sitting with TurdTurd feeling her belly … well, feeling the baby kick.

Have I mentioned the baby yet? Justin and Astrid are having a baby! Three more months to go. TurdTurd is growing a nice little bump of a baby and they are all feeling fine.

Back to Trey… the cleaning machine. I was simply trying to get him to tell me about the baby kicking because I thought it was pretty cool that he was spending time with TurdTurd and baby like that. “Trey tell me what you were feeling in the living room.” I thought that would be a good leading question for a 4 year old. “I was feeling happy in the living room. Cleaning makes me happy.”
Wow, I wasn’t asking for emotions or a touchy feely talk! “It was good Neenee, I feel good.” He continued. Does a swiffer give the boy an adrenalin rush? How adorable can a kid be? I’m keeping him. Oh, wait, that’s been established already.
Is it wrong to look at your kids and say out loud that we’re doing a great job? The moments of mayhem are minimal and the moments of amazement continue to multiply. They are both fabulous kids. I know they are only 3 &4 and there are those double digit numbers that lie ahead… I’m not afraid.

This evening we played our Candyland game and then while I cleaned up the kitchen Papa played a matching card game. The kids ask every night if it’s a story night or a game night. They love this time sitting around the table. I like that they are staying in one place for a while. The conversation is usually pretty funny and the two of them come out with phrases that they have learned from us and it always makes us smile. These moments are an investment in the future… when they no longer want to play Candyland but they will still enjoy being together and hanging out with us old farts. We’ll still have fun but the games will change. We will still allow them to clean the house too!

Life gets interesting as the kids learn more of our lovely language. They are such sponges and are enjoying the learning process. Dija is a little parrot and has an amazing memory. Trey loves to thrill us with new things. So day after day we continue to be amazed with the things they say and do.
Anyone in the Maritime Provinces knows how unseasonably warm it has been lately but a tad on the damp side. We often turn on the weather channel to decide how we should dress for the day… is it going to be 20 degrees again or back down to 10… and how high should our rubber boots be today? Well the phrase of the day yesterday was, in reference to the south shore, “Copious amounts of rain.” Within seconds we had two preschoolers repeating this phrase. I thought it would be a great time to explain what copious means. So I did and the kids thought that had a new toy. I let Dija call Nana to tell her that we have copious amounts of rain. The funny part is that she can say copious better than she can say rain! So it actually sounds more like “copious amounts of wain.”
I love that the kids can now tell us stories and fill us in on the events of the day. Like Trey having a scissor fight in school. He had a Band-Aid on his finger and could explain the entire storey to me in great detail and his motive for getting involved. His account was more detailed that the teacher report!
Play time in our house can be a little noisy because there is nowhere for the kids to go play and with the recent weather they are pretty much underfoot when they are inside. When they play there is constant chatter or singing…. mostly singing. Dija seems to prefer this mode of communication. This morning it was a song about being on an adventure and being all alone and they needed Nana to save them. The song (endless song) went something like, “I know Neenee is home but we are all alone. We don’t have Justin or Turd Turd or Papa … all alone… we need Nana to save us.” Apparently Neenee was not part of the adventure and since they were waiting for Nana to pick them up it was built into the adventure story. So Nana arrives at the front door and two kids greet her saying, “It’s Nana, she saved us.”
It’s difficult to imagine what they will learn next. Nana has already given the introduction to the birth story so they’re ready for baby cousin to get out of Turd Turd’s belly… and it’s not coming out of her mouth. I’m just waiting for Trey to teach his class those new words… oh, dear. Thanks Nana!

“Neenee lots of people came to see us for our OFFICIAL Party. People talked to me and said Gladulations!” He understands that our friends who gathered here yesterday are all “glad” that things are official now. So “gladulations” it shall be… and that word makes more sense anyway.
We invited people to join us to celebrate the final adoption of Dija and Trey yesterday afternoon. We had roughly 40 people come to greet the kids and have some cake. Others who couldn’t make it sent greetings on Facebook or email and some Skyped into our party to say “gladulations” and some even sent cards the old fashioned way. We had visitors skype in from Kentville NS, Rhode Island and Wichita, Kansas.
The big secret we had to share yesterday was the official change of names. Trey has a new middle name that is from both sides of the family. Papa’s dad and Nana’s daddy and Neenee’s brother all share the name James and that makes it pretty special so Trey will now share that name with them.
Dija has a longer name to grasp. We decided that she should likely share her name with the woman who has most impacted her life… well actually she saved her life, but that’s for another blog another day. Her new middle name is Lorraine after Nana. This had been discussed with Dija prior to the event but we kept it a secret from Nana. Uncle Jeff took great joy in springing that news and making Nana cry. Dija is thrilled to share Nana’s name.
There you have it – it’s Official! Trey James and Dija Lorraine.
There was a slide show loop playing throughout the day on the television while people came and went… I caught myself watching now and then for two reasons:
1. They really are beautiful children and
2. I can’t believe how much they have grown in just 23 months… not just physically but their personalities have developed and they are so incredibly happy. I’m reminded of this almost daily with the giggles and silly moments they provide and the visible love we see all the time both between them and towards us.
Oops I got sidetracked there… Last night was Halloween so we dressed up and went out. I actually had a costume that I forgot until this evening while I was making supper so I’ll have to find another occasion to wear it! Trey was spiderman because in real life he believes he IS spiderman. Dija was a princess because in real life she IS a princess. She wore a dress that my sister wore for a nursery school concert back in 1970 or so (yes my sister is that old!) Taking the kids out trick or treating was a great excuse for adult children to tag along. Justin, Astrid, Jared, Daniel and Christina all had fun dressing up and following the kids around. They didn’t even steal the kid’s candy!
Trey has a little issue with candy. He wants it all the time. He often wakes up and asks for something totally inappropriate before breakfast even though he never gets it. Yet this morning when the house is filled with the goods his first comments were not about the candy. He woke up talking about the party and all the people who came over for the “It’s Official” party. Not only do we appreciate the love and support of family and friends throughout this experience but the children notice that many people care about them and love them.
For all of you who have been with us through this process, praying for us, cheering us on, encouraging us, loving us… a huge huge thank you!