Ukraine Christmas Shopping!

I thought with Alex's new found love of talking and remembering Ukraine, I would get him something with Ukraine on it. So I went shopping.  Online.

I considered this shirt - but Alex will tell me it's not true.

This one I would never buy but it does reflect the typical Ukrainian male attitude that we witnessed there. It says,  The Reason I Get Up Every Afternoon and there's a big bottle of beer.

This one would work if it were just the opposite:

(And cute. I think it's sort of ugly.)

This one would work as I do think his brother loves him - but Alex wouldn't wear it. 

I had to share this one for my friends with imported daughters. 

(You can find all of these on Amazon)

This next three Alex wouldn't adamantly disagree with:

I bet he'd wear a shirt like this if he thought it would help get him any hugs/kisses from cute girls. But  there's no way I'm helping that cause.....

This one made me laugh. Like, if you had a mail ordered bride? Would you want to advertise that?  But maybe you just have a Ukrainian wife that you didn't pay for? I guess I would wear one that said, "My son is imported from Ukraine." but I did pay for him so I guess I shouldn't laugh about the mail order bride thing?

I like this one. So appropriate for our area where we have so many Ukrainians. 

Read this one carefully.

Apparently the shirt is about Ukraine but the English skills are from China?

(Or a boy with 2.5 years of English learning?) 

Another one Alex would not agree with:

I wasn't familiar with this Sinfield episode and at first I was like, "What the heck?" then I read the back story. I KNOW Alex would like and wear this but I think I'll pass....

The Ukraine is weak. It's feeble. I think it's time we put the hurt on the Ukraine. 

This is also a typical reflection of the male population over there:

(I'm not saying that we are better than you. I'm saying we are the best.)

And another:

(The Best Things In Life and there's beer and women in the graphic.)

Forget the beer....let's just talk about s*x:

Uhh....can you say YUCK? As in Yuckcraine?

I should have bought this while I was completing our adoption paper work:

This one is so true!

UKRAINE no place for the weak 

Oh yeah. He would wear this if it said THE MEN and not ALL as he has told me repeatedly that he is not marrying a girl from Ukraine. (???)

We are all hot in Ukraine

 Oh, if only he were little.

"Ukrainian Baby" 

 This is my favorite. Simple. Manly. Nothing about Ukraine being the best and/or beer, women, sex, kissing, hugging, and being hot!

Ding! Ding! Ding! I think we have a winner!

Alex and his new suits!

I hit a great suit sale today with Alex and got him not only ONE but two suits - one for Christmas and one to put away for Easter.

He was pretty excited about it and as we drove in the driveway he waxed poetic, "I guess I was just suppose to be apart of this family. I just went to the wrong mom first."

Wow.

Maybe we should have gone suit shopping earlier?

Over Due Alexim's

I am learning so much working training FULL TIME.

I am learning: 

• Why families eat fast food for dinner.
• That the laundry is NEVER done. Ever.
• That skipping the gym FOUR DAYS straight isn't a problem
• That I MUST have a caffeinated beverage and chocolate mid afternoon to stay awake.
• Which because of the two above listed life lessons, I am learning that sitting all day behind a computer in tight jeans is very uncomfortable.
• That washing my hair twice a week instead of every other day is totally acceptable.
• That there's a reason no one comments on my blog. They work! And don't have time!
• That you just focus on the next 24 hours and worry about whatever else is coming when it gets closer!

I'm sure I've learned even more but I need to be preparing a Sunday school lesson and studying my training manual  - not so I can pass the dreaded assessments (I already passed all of 'em! Woot!) But so I can actually help my JB customers when they call me on Monday. Oh yes. I'll be solo on the phones.
Hoping and praying I don't get a "I'd like to change my international flight to another date and I'm flying with an infant - I want to pay with my husbands Travel Bank and make sure I get my True Blue Points! Oh, and can you tell me if I can bring _________(insert some odd thing here that I have no idea about!) and can you tell me what the on time average is for the flight I'll be taking from _____ to ____? (Insert two cities that I have no idea what the airport codes are). "
Such fun.
Four more days of full time training and then it's my late night, weekend shifts at the call center for a week before coming home to work out of my house. 
But today between running Dev places, helping Alex with his English studies, trying to finish the laundry, clean the house, show houses, key box a new listing -thirty minutes from here - negotiate repairs on a contract and balancing our checking account, I wanted to document a few Alexisms:

Today at lunch I just cleaned out the fridge and freezer, warming up left overs, cooking some tator -tots, and pot-stickers. Just a hodge-podge of this and that.
Alex: Mom, I'll have some sticks."
Me: Sticks? Alex, I am not serving sticks, you'll have to go out in the yard for those.
Alex: No, these. Sticks.
Me: You mean pot-stickers?

Kambree and Rylee were putting together a puzzle Thanksgiving weekend. I joined in and then convinced Alex to come help.(He's not really into anything that is not electronic)  Rylee was giving me ideas for her Christmas list and asked for some Van's (shoes). Alex misheard her and in a disgusted, authoritative voice informed us all that "We are not getting ants. They will eat my food and bite me!" We burst out laughing. Ants? She said Vans!

Last week Alex came home with a bad brushing report from the orthodontist. Boo. We talked once again about the importance of brushing his teeth. Then I said exasperated "Alex, if I could I'd put you in diapers, back in a crib and just start over - I would!" To which he excitedly replied "Oh, mom. That would be great! Then you could teach me everything right!"  
If only that wouldn't be the weirdest thing ever. A 13 and 1/2 year old in diapers with a bottle and a binky!
I told him that people would probably find that crazy and take him away from me so, we will just have to work with what we've got.
He agreed.


He is talking a lot about Ukraine these days.
Telling me about the fruit that grew on the tree next to the red building at the orphanage. According to Alex, it was black berries? Do they grow on trees?
He talks about stealing and how many items he stole. He told us (while we were feeding the missionaries dinner - never the less) that he stole a ladies purse but she caught him and hit him in the head with it.
He is getting a little defiant about studying and writing in his journal. He wrote a whole entry about how he hates writing in his journal and talking about his feelings. How it's enoying (annoying) and makes him strest (stressed). He "would do anything to stop writting (writing)  in his journal exceped (except)  thes (these)  things laundry, toilet (as in cleaning toilets),  masoch (give people massages)  and vacum (vacuuming).
What a funny list.
(And no, we don't make him give anyone massages. Weird.)
He did admit that: "When I growup (grow up) I will rite (write) about me doting (dating) girls and I will remember them. 

He is really into girls. Scary.
Later that night as I tucked him into bed, I asked him what was worse, writing in his journal or living in an orphanage?
An orphanage.
Well, his journal writing is how we work on his grammar and sentence structure and it also helps him with his communication and until he's on grade level he'll need to keep writing in his journal,  Besides, I want to understand him and I want him to be able to express himself and feel confidant in his English both in speech and writing.
He seemed okay with that and since then (last Thursday)  he wrote a great entry about the difference between Christmas here and in Ukraine. The saddest part:
In Ukraine if you have a family you get to have a big party and open presents and eat food till 12:00 o'clock. In the orphaneg (orphanage) we didn't realy (really) celabrate (celebrate) Christmas the only thing we did is (was) eat oranges and watch a very scary movie. 


Not sure if I blogged this but I was reminded of the time we watched "Oliver" with Alex a couple of months ago. The show opens in an ugly gray orphanage where they sing "Food Glorious Food". Alex kept looking at me funny. Then when little Oliver goes up and says "More please?" and holds out his bowl, Alex looked at me with huge saucer eyes, "Mom, did you think my orphanage was like this?" I told him I wasn't sure what it was like but I was worried that it would be like this. He matter of factually announces,  "It was nothing like this." then turned back to the show and continued watching without a care in the world. Well, he did have one care, at one point he asked. "Why do they have to keep singing?" Uh...that would be because it's a musical?
Boys.
He sounds just like Austin.

Anyway, my lesson and training manual are calling.

November Wrap Up

Just random stuff on my camera and my iPhone.

My Dad had surgery after Thanksgiving. On his back!

Just hours later he is up and walking!

Decorating The Tree!

With Kambree in college we decorate the tree on Thanksgiving weekend while she's home. This year we had so much going on that we had to resort to Sunday morning - so everyone is in PJ's and has bed heads. But at least we were all together!

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

Oh my goodness.

I don't know how mom's work full time.

Really. I don't.

I am half way through with my JB training. 

Two weeks from tomorrow I graduate only to work the next two weeks of shifts at the call center and then home just in time to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. 

Nice. 

I wish I could say I love it. 

I don't.

I actually tried to quit - thinking I was jumping the gun. I have so much going on, my real estate work has taken off, my kids are all over the board and I am just too dang old to learn all these acronyms and  airport codes! 

It dawned on me last week, that I should have waited six years to work here - not that that would improve my aging issue - just that Rylee would be a senior in high school - and James and I could actually TRAVEL! (The whole point of taking this job in the first place.) 

I was discouraged because we were told it was virtually impossible to get out of Salt Lake during summer, Christmas break or spring break. The only time my family can travel. 

What the heck? 

Why am I doing this.

(It ain't the money....I'm telling you!)

Then upon learning that we couldn't trade shifts or volunteer for time off for the first two weeks - making me miss Ry's dance recital, all of Christmas Eve (3:30 to midnight) and the same lovely shift on Christmas Day - I was done. Finished. 

However, I wanted to leave on good terms so I could revisit working here later?

Well, apparently if you quit (or flunk out - my plan B) during training, you can never be rehired. FOR LIFE!
Good grief.

So, I decided to tough out training and then give my two weeks?

I talked with friends that work for JB and they assured me that I CAN travel during the above mentioned times, it just involves being savvy and not that I want to toot my horn, but I like savvy. I like plans A, B & C with an alternate  D.

Then Ry's recital was changed to afternoon instead of night and now I can at least catch her dance - even though I'll need to slip out early.  Then yesterday, a new friend in my class offered to pick up my Christmas Eve shift at 7 pm and perhaps my Christmas Day shift at the same time. (Seriously. What a sweetheart!)  and now I'm like the little train that could, "I think I can." 

We'll see.

Meanwhile, life goes on.

Devree played her first basketball game. She did awesome. I love watching my kids play sports. (Especially when they excel. I'll be the first to admit it was painful to watch Alex play basketball that first year. The year he wasn't sure if he could grab the ball with his hands based on only playing soccer in Ukraine up until that point? It was also painful to watch Austin play soccer when he was five or six as he was more interested in looking for 4 leaf clovers in the grass or tying his hoodie into a little hole that only his nose could poke out of.)

Alex is trying so hard to figure where he fits. He's had a hard time with me being gone so much. I had to laugh when he complained about all the things he misses about me not getting him off to school in the morning. Even that no one ells him to comb his hair in the morning. Yet, he always acted so put out when I would remind him? Good grief.

Austin is never home and if he is home he's "hanging" with his friends.

Rylee is doing well but I will be glad to get through this 6th grade drama. Everything is such a roller coaster. I honestly think junior high is easier than 5th and 6th grade. Maybe it's the rotating through 7 classes each day and not being cooped up with the same 25 children all day? I don't know, all I know is I get detailed reports about who said what, what boy likes what girl, what girl is mad at what other girl, and how mad the teacher got at the class. 

James is home. Thank goodness. He's been my real estate assistant/stay at home dad for the past week. Wish he was home for the rest of this training. 

Kambree is home for Thanksgiving. She is in the process of applying  for schools to continue her nursing degree.

It's so nice to have everyone home. Myself included. I have the next four days off and I plan on doing very little. (Besides hosting Thanksgiving tomorrow.) 

I am so grateful for so many things. My family and friends being at the very top of my list. And despite my grumbling about training and busyness, I wouldn't change my life and/or lot for anything.

Happy T-day blogging world!

Hope your turkey is moist, your pie crusts are flaky and we all take a minute to love those who love us and thank the Lord for all we have.

~Wendy