They're back, safe and sound!

FOOD FIGHT!

Those of you that know me, know that I don't actually fight with children over food. I found that it is not necessary. They may not eat everything I'd like them to, but not one child under my care has ever attempted to starve themselves when offered food!

That being said, I thought I'd met the pickiest eater ever when Lizzie came into my life 16 years and 5 months ago. At 18, she eats far more variety than I ever would have predicted when she was 2 and her medley consisted of hot dogs, cheese toast, corn and peeled grapes-peeled, not because that was the only way she would eat them, but because that was the only way Paul would serve them, but that's a whole other post! And, I thought the strangest thing was Noah's love of tomatoes. I mean LOVE of tomatoes. That boy will eat an entire tomato, like an apple, and he'd do it everyday if we had enough tomatoes around here! He sneaks tomatoes like other kids sneak cookies....very weird!

But Claire has managed, in the last three months, to win the award for strangest and pickiest eater in our family! When we received her, we asked for a list of things she ate and favorite foods. The answer we got from her foster mother was that she ate steamed buns (dough filled with a meatball concoction and steam cooked), rice and dumplings as her main food everyday. That she liked eating fish and meat and got them with fresh vegetables everyday. Foster Mom listed her favorite foods as "green vegetables, eggplant, fresh kidney beans and meat but she never eats animal livers" (Yuck! Good thing!) "Her favorite fruit is bananas, apples, watermelon and so on" and for Breakfast, "milk, cookies, cakes, congee. She is not picky". Those were her exact words. "She is not picky"!

Okay, this seemed like it would be helpful! Right? Well, it was for a few days. The first few days she ate just about anything we put in her mouth...except meat. Oh yeah, and vegetables, fruit, milk. Okay, the only thing she ate was noodles, dumplings and steamed buns! At least the noodles had egg in them and the dumplings and buns had meat in them. Of course, she usually pulled the meat out first!

The most fun thing was to watch her eat chicken congee at Lucy's restaurant in China. Everyone got a kick out of it because she had a talent for taking a mouthful, chewing it up, swallowing all the rice and then spitting out all the chicken pieces! By-the-way, congee is just soupy, overcooked rice. Oh! And she smells her food before she eats it! Did I tell you that part? She only does it when she doesn't recognize the food now, but she did it every time when ate in China. Is it cultural? I didn't see the adults doing it.

Since getting her home we have been able to establish that she does not like meat or fish....except when Papa Stroud makes ribs and then that's all she eats! I don't get it. Or, when Meme Stroud makes crab cakes. Maybe she doesn't consider crab as meat? "Loves green veggies" yeah, right! We've tried beans, peas, broccoli, salad greens, spinach, asparagus....well, then I stir-fried some zucchini and that did it! So for, teriyaki stir-fried zucchini and raw cherry tomatoes are the ONLY veggies she will eat. We've been a little more successful with fruit. She has eaten strawberries, bananas, apple, grapes, blueberries (if Papa Shaw lets her pick them herself) and on ONE occasion, she ate watermelon. But, just because she eats something today, does NOT mean she will eat that same thing any other time in her life! Trust me! And, just because she won't eat it today doesn't mean she won't love it tomorrow! I can not figure this chick out!

Will she eat rice? Yes and no. Will she eat noodles? Yes and no. Dumplings? Your guess. Her staple seems to be Flax-n-Oats oatmeal, which she will eat every morning....if I make it right! Paul made it one morning and she wouldn't touch it. Ate a pop-tart instead! Loves boiled eggs...this week. She ate bagels and cream cheese for breakfast every morning while we were "on vacation" in St. Louis this summer but won't touch one here at the house. Give her a cheese stick and she's a happy girl, but yogurt has good and bad days around here. And, don't waste your time ordering CHINESE FOOD because she doesn't like that any better! Have you ever seen a child that wouldn't eat a chicken nugget? I just scratch my head! She's a mystery.

But she's happy and healthy and she knows how to use those chop-sticks when she does eat!

This just in...

Claire's New Feet!

Paul and Claire are in St. Louis right now. They flew out yesterday and will be back tonight. She needed another cast change and this one did not require a trip to the OR, which was good, because that meant Paul got to SEE her feet. This is the first time any of us has seen her feet since the tenotomy on July 18th that left them fully corrected. These are pictures he took with his cell phone this morning. The pictures aren't great but we get a sneak peak at what we will be looking at for good in just 3 weeks!

Now, just get home before the weather takes a turn!!!

Bring it on!

Well, I just got back from Costco. Yep, I stocked up on waters. In case you haven't heard, we are preparing for a barrage of storms headed our way! Hanna is expected to hit the coastline of South Carolina sometime late tomorrow or early Saturday and Ike is on her heels. I got phone calls yesterday from my parents and best friend wanting to know when I'm packing up and leaving!? Sorry guys, I don't leave for a tropical storm or even a category 1.....but if Ike doesn't calm down a little, you may be seeing me head in-land next week!

I remember my first few hurricane seasons after I moved here. I didn't prepare and brace for the storms, so much as I fortified the place as if we were going under enemy attack! I filled the bathtubs full of water, bought enough batteries to power a city block, some propane tanks for our camp stove and as many jugs of water as I could load in my Mazda Protege! I also got a handy-dandy flashlight/radio/siren thingy. I TAPED THE WINDOWS. I can not, for the life of me, figure out why I would put masking tape x's in all the windows of our house. That was our first house and it was small but it was old and it had about 26 windows, not counting the attic! It took months of weekend work to get all that tape off there and I never did it again! If the wind rips the window out or blows it in, exactly what is tape going to do??? I moved all the furniture away from the windows...... because obviously I was worried about all my new furniture. I took all the pictures off the walls and packed them under mattresses and couch cushions! I packed my wedding china our TV and other small "precious" belongings into the Mazda and left town in a hurry! Good grief!

Fast forward 14 years....I bought some drinking water today. I have batteries for the flashlights and one propane tank for the grill. I have plenty of canned food and bread and peanut butter, always do. We will "batten down the hatches", meaning Paul will bring the grill into the garage and the trash cans, and take the flag down. I recently got rid of our handy-dandy flashlight/radio/siren thingy. We never used it but my mother will say I jinxed myself and now we will need it! IF the storm hits, I will fill the tubs with water. But, I won't move the furniture (same furniture by-the-way). If the windows blow in...or out, as the case my be, it will just have to get wet. I won't take the pictures off the walls and if my china gets broken, so be it. IF the storm gets close enough and is strong enough, I will pack my precious children in the mini-van and leave in a hurry.

Isn't it funny how things can change?

Summer Ended....

with a splash!

Isabel's famous cannon-ball kind of splash!

We spent Labor Day with friends and started school this morning. It went............well, let's just say it's going to be interesting to juggle 4 children's schedules! I remember when Isabel was Claire's age and I never thought I would be able to get anything done with the boys because she demanded our attention. But, within a few weeks, she was able to get used to us spending so much time at the table and she either joined in or found something else to do. I suspect it will take Claire a little bit longer to adjust, but she will. Pretty soon she will busy doing her own thing! I spoke with Child Find today. Claire is scheduled to have an evaluation done by their panel of experts in early October. This will determine what services the state of South Carolina is going to provide for her as part of their early intervention program for children with disabilities. This is where we will get our physical and speech therapy. I thought that to participate Claire would have to go to the local public school but I found out today that that is not the case!


But for now, school is loud and a little hectic, as all 4 children vie for the attention of one teacher. Oh, wait! The ratio is 1 to 20+ in school....so I guess they are going to do just fine!

Students of the Evelyn Shaw School

Yes, that is the name of our school. When you homeschool, you are required to name your school for the purpose of school records. So, all my children go to the Evelyn Shaw School. Evelyn Shaw is my grandmother. She was an amazing woman and though she did not have a teaching certificate, teaching was one of the things she did best. It seemed fitting that I would name my school after her! At 95 years old, Grandma is still with us in body, but her mind slipped away years ago and unfortunately I don't think she ever understood that she has a school named after her.

Claire, doing her work like a good little student!

During our lunch break, the boys got on the roof with Paul. You guessed it! That thing is still leaking and Hurricane Hanna is headed our way! YIKES!

The boys on the roof....being VERY helpful, as you can see!