Author: Stephanie Adams

  • Morning out with Nama and Papa

    This morning Nama and Papa took the boys, Abby, and me out on a little adventure. We went to see Santa at Bass Pro shop (but he wasn’t there, apparently he isn’t there all the time), but we did see lots of animals and fish. All three little ones had a lot of fun and all three adults were thoroughly worn out. We then went to Chik-fil-a for lunch, where all three refused to eat (who refuses to eat chik-fil-a?), and then Ezra fell off the play structure giving himself a bloody nose and fat lip. Here are some pics, the boys even got in a little volunteer time (someone even put money in the bucket while they were ringing the bell, then someone else put the candy that was in his mouth in the bucket, but I won’t name names).

  • Wordless Wednesday – 12.08.2010



  • A Library for Sebeta

    I first read about Ethiopia Reads in the beginning of our adoption journey. While I know it is very important to meet the basic needs of food and shelter, I also believe deeply in the power of education. When I originally heard about Ethiopia Reads I wanted to ensure a library was built in the area my children were from. I didn’t know where that would be, when I would know, or how I would accomplish it.

    Earlier this year I contacted Ethiopia Reads and learned they weren’t expanding at the time. Instead they were working on sustaining their current libraries and work towards some collaboration efforts in the future.

    A few weeks ago I was contacted by Jane Kurtz and she informed that Ethiopia Reads was expanding in 2011 through a collaborative effort with the Ministry of Education and USAID. They chose a school in each region to add a library and Sebeta was one the schools chosen! The program is developing textbooks in English for the primary grades (high school grades are already in English) and will also be providing them books in their native language. Ethiopia has several languages so each school will be provided books in the primary language of their region as I understand it.

    The cost to plant a children’s library is $10,000 (complete with books). The really good news is another family has already raised $5,000 for a library in Sebeta. That means they only need $5,000 more.

    If you are interested in helping the library in Sebeta get built please donate to Ethiopia Reads. To ensure it goes to the library in Sebeta please write “TLMP Sebeta Library” on your check or in the “In Honor of” box on the online donation form.  Thank you for whatever support you can give, Sebeta will forever hold a special place in my heart.

  • 400 boxes in 45 days

    Chances for Children is trying to gather 400 boxes of food for Haiti in 45 days.  I am sure you are aware that Haiti needs some love and hope right now and maybe you were wondering what you could do.  The box drive is something that is easy and tangible!  Even toddlers can join in and help out.

    The boys were very helpful and I just had to rearrange a little to get everything to fit. 😉

    The last day to ship is December 15, 2010 so you have plenty of time!

  • First Hike

    We took the boys on their first hike today, okay really a walk through the desert. They had a lot of fun and really enjoyed all the sand. Ezra saw his first jack rabbit, then chased after it. Don’t worry the rabbit was much faster than him. We packed a picnic lunch and the boys scarfed it down! For the most we were able to keep them on the trail, and they walked almost the whole way. We had to carry them for a bit when we were almost back to the car. Here are some pictures of our little adventure, just click on a picture to see it bigger.

  • Photo Friday – 11.19.2010

    Scored a hockey stick at a garage sale, Noah loves it.

    Nana bought them a singing Christmas tree, to say they love it would be an understatement.

    Cool Noah

    Carter found a new hiding place.

    Coloring.

    The reason they had stuff on their face in my blog about the COC. Matt thought I need to clarify.

    Really yummy stuff.

    Pumpkins make good step stools.

    One of those days.

    We taught Abby how to color on herself.

    Then we combed her hair.

    and then Nama’s hair.

  • Salmon Cakes

    I first read about these salmon cakes over at Musings of a Housewife last month and finally gave them a try last week a (and again last night). Matt and I love them! Noah and Ezra are the true test of any recipe though. Their opinions? On their plates absolutely would not try, but off of mommy’s plate some of the best food they have ever eaten. Ezra even ate the leftovers with me for lunch today.

    If you are like me and often just read the ingredients’ list to make sure you have everything and the instructions while you are prepping dinner, I’ll give you a heads up. You have to chill the cakes for 20 minutes before you cook them.

    Salmon Cakes

    Ingredients:
    1 (14.75-oz) can salmon
    1/4 red pepper, small diced
    1/4 onion, minced
    1 egg
    1/2 cup bread crumbs
    1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
    1/4 tsp pepper
    1/2 tsp salt
    1/4 cup shredded cheese (cheddar or other)
    2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (or 1 tsp dried)
    2 Tbsp flour
    1/4 cup butter
    3 Tbsp olive oil

    Instructions:
    1. Saute onion and red pepper in olive oil/butter.  Let it cool.
    2. Combine salmon, egg, bread crumbs, sauce, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper. Add onion and red pepper and mix well.
    3. Form into four patties.  Dust lightly with flour.  Chill for 20 minutes. (The chilling is important. Otherwise they fall apart.)
    4. Heat butter and olive oil in skillet on med-high heat and cook patties until browned on both sides, about 10 minutes.  Drain on paper towels and serve with veggie. (I’ve never drained them and haven’t found them to be overly oily when I cook them. I don’t think I used a 1/4 of butter and 3 tablespoons of olive oil though.)

  • Shutterfly Cards

    Matt and I have never done a photo card to mail out. We usually just do an email (yes we are cheap and procrastinate so email is easy for us), but we know people love receiving pictures of the two little cuties that live in our house (Noah and Ezra if you are confused, sorry Matt it’s not you). When I heard about Shutterfly’s Holiday Card promotion I got excited! 50 free cards! I am so excited to print some this year, choosing a photo will be so hard. We have a lot of great photos of them. Of course, there are lots of ways to utilize all those photos. Photo books are our gift of choice for grandparents, but I also think the desk calendars would make a good gift.

    We also love receiving pictures of all the little cuties in our life, so go here to receive your 50 free cards.

  • Certificate of Citizenship

    Thanks to the government for a deadline! Without it I would have put off applying for the COC forever. For those of you not in the know the filing fee for the COC is going up next week by $120 and since we had to file two that would have been an extra $240. I am so happy that our agency sent out an email notifying us because I would have had no clue. By all the discussions of FB this week I was happy to know that we were not the only procrastinating parents out there! I am pretty sure USCIS will be getting a flood of applications. 🙂

    I spent the better part of nap-time Monday filling out the applications and looking for the supportive documents, calling USCIS because they have Noah’s birthdate wrong on his green card (hooray another form to fill out!), and chatting with other mommies on FB doing the same. (I love our little community and that we all got to do this together.) The most fun those was taking the boys to get passport photos done for the certificate. I am fairly certain the lady taking them thought toddler boys should just stand still and get into the perfect position and that she didn’t have to do anything but push the button (very slowly I might add). It was a lot of fun, really.

    I tried to get a few cute photos of the boys with their applications to properly document this part of the process, they were not super cooperative. Apparently it isn’t a big deal to them.

    Ezra and his application.

    Noah and his application.

  • Happy 2nd Birthday!

    Happy 2nd Birthday to the two most adorable, fun, smart, amazing little boys! We love you very much and look forward to watching you grow more and more each year.


    Click here to see more photos from their 2nd birthday photo shoot by Third Book Photography.

  • 2nd Birthday Party

    Running around in circles while dancing and screaming

    We had the boys’ birthday party yesterday and it was a beautiful day. We had a lot of fun and the boys were WILD. I think they were super excited to have so many of their favorite people all together.

    My wild but happy Noah

    Ez was super wild the whole party

    Abby all tangled with the balloons

    Ez reading a card, he really loves cards.

    The boys received trikes from Nama and Papa (my parents) and it is one of those moments I wished we had the video camera rolling. They were beyond excited when they saw them.

    Ez on Noah’s trike

    Noah on Ez’s trike

    Ez driving Noah around

    Abby driving Noah around, yea I am noticing a theme here.

    Ez blew out all the candles this year, Noah just stared and occasionally tried to touch them.

    Mr. Potato Head Cakes

    Ez blowing out his candles

    Noah checking out the candles

    Ez came over and blew them out for Noah

    Silly String Time

    Noah shooting Ez

    Abby apparently thought we gave her spray deodorant

    Abby and Jason

    We were all exhausted by time nap-time! You can see more photos here.

  • Photo Friday – 11.12.2010

    When you don’t want to get your hammer just grab the kids’.

    Showing off their synchronistic abilities.

    and again…

    Climbing the cubes.

    Helping dad.

    awww diaper booties.

    My two crazy boys.

    Legos!

    Coloring.

    Playing in the garlic powder mess Ezra made.

    It was a lot of fun.

    Rubbing some on his face.

    They need to improve their mischief skills, they left evidence behind.

  • When mom is under the weather

    I honestly never wanted my toddlers to watch much tv and had succeeded fairly well in this area. Most of the success was due to the fact that the boys could have cared less! I have tried in the past when I was a little tired or not feeling the best to get them to watch something, anything, but they wouldn’t.

    How fast things change! They are suddenly addicted to the Wiggles (or Giggles as Noah calls them). Nana and Papa had purchased the video for our trip to Colorado and the boys watched it a few times there and never asked for it once we got home, so we put it away. Then one time they didn’t nap well and were cranky well before dinner time, so we put it in and it worked like a charm. They would ask for it every now and then after that, but not all the time. Well this past month I have caught three different bugs and have been sick more often than not and just plain tired. I have started to use the Wiggles to get little breaks throughout the day.

    I feel slightly guilty because they have watched so much of it lately. Yes it is in short spurts 10-15 minutes, occasionally longer, and I truly love getting to rest a little bit, but I feel guilty.

    I know this is just a temporary thing and soon I will be feeling better (I have to believe I am building up one heck of an immunity for the rest of the cold & flu season) and we will be back to reading lots of books, playing legos together, and spending most of our time outside. They beg for it several times a day now. 🙁 I don’t give in that often, but they do eventually wear me down. I think once I have my energy back will have to go through a Wiggles detox program.

    The boys are ridiculously cute when the beg for it (see above pictures) and really participate in the video.

    Rock-a-bye your bear from Stephanie Adams on Vimeo.

    wiggles from Stephanie Adams on Vimeo.

  • Photo Friday – 11.05.2010

    Yes he grabbed two lighters and shared with his brother, and yes we took a picture before taking them away. That’s what the child safety part is for right?

    Noah doing his hair.

    Sitting and playing. Okay Ez is almost sitting, but it’s hard when your brother is hogging the toy!

    Get ready.

    Ahhhhh!

    That just doesn’t look comfortable.

    Arm, arm, arm? Okay he says arm instead of hand.

    Puzzles!

    Abby’s just chillin’

    Just hanging out.

    Cousins having fun.

    Someone has been needing his blanket more.

    DSC_4261 Blankets in the swings.
    DSC_4270
    Happy to have is blanket.
    DSC_4266
    Don’t mess with his blanket.

    Lastly a short video of Noah reading to mommy. He loves reading to me. 😀

    Noah Reading from Stephanie Adams on Vimeo.