Recently there has been some excitement about products that can be purchased through CafePress.com. This is a website that I think is a fundraiser website, where people can create products for themselves or their organization, send the links out to their friends & family, and can get a part of the proceeds when items are purchased. There are things like t-shirts (all sizes), tote & messenger bags, coffee cups, coasters, greeting cards, posters, and more. Our facilitator has had some of these items posted or linked on their website for a long time, but there are more items than just those. There are t-shirts that read “Yes, I am his/her REAL mommy/daddy”, “Expecting from Haiti”, or “Don’t tell my mommy/daddy, but I don’t look a thing like her/him”. These items brought up some interesting issues that I thought I’d share for those of you that are not as familiar with adoption.
The t-shirts that say, “Yes, I am his/hear REAL mommy/daddy” really brought up a strong point that is mentioned in several adoption language articles. I’m sure I’ve probably even said this in the past not thinking about it, but it’s not very politically correct to say that an adoptive parent is not a real or natural parent. The more appropriate word to use is biological parent. Also, another common language that I know I’ve used even recently is “gave up a child for adoption”, where the more appropriate language is “chose adoption for a child”. I’m sure there are probably others, but they’re not as common, and I can’t think of any more right now. Just things you don’t think about too much that I thought I’d share. Interesting though – it’s a different world!
The other issue is the wait times, and I’m hoping to get some advice from some other adoptive moms or dad’s out there. How did you approach the subject of how long it would be until your children would be home. I’ve just been explaining that our orphanage and facilitator are still saying it’s taking 8-15 months, which would put us somewhere between February and September of 2008. With a huge caveat that with international adoption you just don’t know. It’s a third-world country, the government is unstable, so things could change or even stall out at any point throughout the process. Then I usually say that we’re hoping for next summer, but again that we just don’t know.
And, while I’m talking about talking about the adoption process, another question we get asked a lot is if we’ve been “approved”, and if it’s “for sure” yet that we’ll be able to adopt Elijah & Josephine. Boy – that’s another can of worms, isn’t it? We have been approved by our home study, and have initial approval as adoptive parents from USCIS (immigration), and have been approved by the facilitator/orphanage, and have First Legalization in Haiti. Next, we’ll be going through Haitian Social Services, then a slew of Haitian Courts, then Haitian Passports, then USCIS again for the children’s approval, and then they’ll need a visa before they can come home. So, here again, there’s not really a clear answer. Most people just smile and nod when I try to explain this to them. They’ll legally be our children when the adoption decree is issued by the post-IBESR courts. Is it for sure then? Well, although it looks like it's clearing up a bit now, lots of people have been stuck for several months waiting for their children’s Haitian passports, so would it be more accurate to say that it’s not really for sure until we’ve landed and have them on the ground here in the US?
We just got our First Legalization, and we’re not in IBESR yet, so does anyone have any other ideas? Anyone who’s further along than us have any advice? Anyone who’s in the same step as us trying to figure out how to explain this to people?
I’m not really sure I’m ready to start wearing one of those “Expecting from Haiti” t-shirts quite yet. Maybe when we’re further along in the process, and things are becoming more clear. But when will that be?! It’s anyone’s guess at this point.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Transracial Training
Since we are maintaining our state license as foster/adoptive parents, we also have benefits through the state’s Foster and Adoptive Parents Association. One of the benefits is that they provide courses that can count towards the training requirements for annual license renewal. Their September through January schedule just came out, and I’m very interested in two of them, as they will relate to the children we’re adopting from Haiti. The first class is called “Advance Topics in Transracial Adoption and Foster Care”. The second is “People of Color: Skin and Hair Care with a Familiar Twist”.
The first class “explores the hard hitting realities, both positive and challenging, of being a transracial, multicultural family living in a race conscious society. We will discuss how to address the hard questions, how to prepare families, how to be a prepared family and what a successful transracial adoption looks like. Suggestions for creating healthy road maps for children and families will be presented.” Sounds like it will be very helpful for our children and us.
The second class is “a fun and lively opportunity to learn the care of hair and skin for children of color, along with health issues that are of importance to specific cultures. This class will provide a hands-on learning opportunity, including demonstrations. Internet resources are provided to learn more about specific cultural practices. (The trainer) will have skin care and hair care products on-hand.” This one sounds like lots of fun. Do you think I can get Jock to join me? He probably wouldn’t want or need to do much with the hair, but he needs to learn the skin care, right?!
We’ve already met our training requirements for CY2007, so I think I’m going to sign us up for one of these for January, and hope they offer the other one on their February through June schedule. They’re both 6 credit hours, so if we took both of them, we’d have double the requirements for license renewal. However, there’s been some speculation that they’re going to increase the training requirements to 12 hours per year next year, so we’d still be covered. Hopefully we’d be able to get them both scheduled before Elijah & Josephine are home, so we’ll not be totally clueless! :)
The first class “explores the hard hitting realities, both positive and challenging, of being a transracial, multicultural family living in a race conscious society. We will discuss how to address the hard questions, how to prepare families, how to be a prepared family and what a successful transracial adoption looks like. Suggestions for creating healthy road maps for children and families will be presented.” Sounds like it will be very helpful for our children and us.
The second class is “a fun and lively opportunity to learn the care of hair and skin for children of color, along with health issues that are of importance to specific cultures. This class will provide a hands-on learning opportunity, including demonstrations. Internet resources are provided to learn more about specific cultural practices. (The trainer) will have skin care and hair care products on-hand.” This one sounds like lots of fun. Do you think I can get Jock to join me? He probably wouldn’t want or need to do much with the hair, but he needs to learn the skin care, right?!
We’ve already met our training requirements for CY2007, so I think I’m going to sign us up for one of these for January, and hope they offer the other one on their February through June schedule. They’re both 6 credit hours, so if we took both of them, we’d have double the requirements for license renewal. However, there’s been some speculation that they’re going to increase the training requirements to 12 hours per year next year, so we’d still be covered. Hopefully we’d be able to get them both scheduled before Elijah & Josephine are home, so we’ll not be totally clueless! :)
This Past Week's Fun
Thought I’d share a bit about our past week, since I haven’t posted. I took Wednesday through Friday off work. Jock worked Wednesday, and Kaylen went to daycare, so I had some time to relax and get some things done around the house before going out of town. Wednesday evening we went to a parade Jock had to work at, before heading to my dad’s for a few days.
My brother and his family were back visiting for the week (they live about a 16 hour drive away). Jock and I hadn’t seen them for about two years, and Kaylen had never met her aunt and uncle and two cousins. We all had a great time, and now Kaylen knows who we’re talking about when I talk about my brother or her cousins Kelsey and Kallie. Boy was that confusing a few times though – we had Kelsey, Kallie, Kaylen, Caden, and Kenny! It was great to have all of my family together again for a brief time. My older sister lives next-door to my dad, and my younger sister came up for the weekend as well.
We drove back home Sunday morning, as we wanted to make it to church to get signed up for fall programming. Then we went to the state fair. What a hot and miserable day that was! They were even announcing over the loud speakers that with the heat, the importance of staying hydrated, and taking breaks in the shade and/or air conditioning! We didn’t stay too long, but we got to check out the free concert while enjoying ice cream sandwiches (both provided by Jock’s work), then we walked around and got some of the usual foods we enjoy at the fair: chocolate chip cookies, turkey drumstick, taffy, fried cheese curds, a hot dog for Kaylen. We also stopped at the Optimist Club’s booth and chatted with a couple ladies in another club (Jock and I are in our local one), and stopped and chatted with a friend of ours we got to know a few years ago when Jock worked another booth at the fair that was next to theirs.
There were some other things we might have liked to see, but they’re usually the same or at least very similar every year (the animals, butter sculptures, arts & craft exhibits, etc). It was just too hot! We weren’t alone. The crowds were looking pretty lethargic, and the sidewalks didn’t seem as crowded as usual. With several days of this heat (90-95) & humidity (60-95%) these last several days, I wonder what the attendance numbers will look like this year. Although, it looks like the temps should be going down about 10 degrees (and hopefully the humidity too), starting on Thursday, so that’s good news!
Jock and I went back to work yesterday, and Kaylen went back to daycare. Last night I fixed supper, but was so exhausted that I couldn't/didn't do much else! I think I’m back on track today now though!
My brother and his family were back visiting for the week (they live about a 16 hour drive away). Jock and I hadn’t seen them for about two years, and Kaylen had never met her aunt and uncle and two cousins. We all had a great time, and now Kaylen knows who we’re talking about when I talk about my brother or her cousins Kelsey and Kallie. Boy was that confusing a few times though – we had Kelsey, Kallie, Kaylen, Caden, and Kenny! It was great to have all of my family together again for a brief time. My older sister lives next-door to my dad, and my younger sister came up for the weekend as well.
We drove back home Sunday morning, as we wanted to make it to church to get signed up for fall programming. Then we went to the state fair. What a hot and miserable day that was! They were even announcing over the loud speakers that with the heat, the importance of staying hydrated, and taking breaks in the shade and/or air conditioning! We didn’t stay too long, but we got to check out the free concert while enjoying ice cream sandwiches (both provided by Jock’s work), then we walked around and got some of the usual foods we enjoy at the fair: chocolate chip cookies, turkey drumstick, taffy, fried cheese curds, a hot dog for Kaylen. We also stopped at the Optimist Club’s booth and chatted with a couple ladies in another club (Jock and I are in our local one), and stopped and chatted with a friend of ours we got to know a few years ago when Jock worked another booth at the fair that was next to theirs.
There were some other things we might have liked to see, but they’re usually the same or at least very similar every year (the animals, butter sculptures, arts & craft exhibits, etc). It was just too hot! We weren’t alone. The crowds were looking pretty lethargic, and the sidewalks didn’t seem as crowded as usual. With several days of this heat (90-95) & humidity (60-95%) these last several days, I wonder what the attendance numbers will look like this year. Although, it looks like the temps should be going down about 10 degrees (and hopefully the humidity too), starting on Thursday, so that’s good news!
Jock and I went back to work yesterday, and Kaylen went back to daycare. Last night I fixed supper, but was so exhausted that I couldn't/didn't do much else! I think I’m back on track today now though!
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Names again...
Another adoptive mom (Thanks Natalie!) helped me out with how the naming works with adopting children from Haiti. Here's how I understand it - please anyone correct me if I still have this confused. When we are through the post-IBESR courts, they will legally be our children. They will have our last name, but will retain their current first and last names as their first and middle names.
If they come into the US on an IR-3 visa (which we are anticipating), they will be US citizens when they get off the plane in the US. We wouldn't need to do anything else, but on the advice of our home study worker and many others, we will re-adopt them, so that we can give them the names we've chosen for them. This will also provide them with US birth certificates, and life will be much easier for them if they need to get extra certified copies of their birth certificates later on in life. Jock and I had to get extra copies of each of ours just to go through this process to adopt them, and I can't imagine what that would have been like if we'd had to order them from a third-world country. Who knows how long that would have taken, if it had even been possible!
Anyway, after we re-adopt them, they will have the names Elijah Ralph, and Josephine Celena. We decided we want to keep their first names as their middle names, to have a name that their birth parents gave them. Kaylen got to keep her first name, because she was already used to it and knew how to spell and even write it before we thought about naming her. We have started calling them Elijah and Josephine, although sometimes we will probably use them a bit interchangeably, because we got a little used to using Ralph and Celena before we decided for sure on the names. Like Amy said, we're getting old and forgetful! :)
Another friend of mine asked me if the people at the orphanage would start calling them Elijah & Josephine so they'd get used to their names. It's something I hadn't really thought about before, and a good question. I'll have to find out. Although, I know I've seen pictures of the baby rooms, and they post the children's names on their cribs, so I can imagine it might get pretty confusing for the nannies to have to keep track of so many children and all their names. We do know that being so young, they'll pick up English very quickly when immersed in it, and will probably also start answering to their new names fairly quickly as well.
If they come into the US on an IR-3 visa (which we are anticipating), they will be US citizens when they get off the plane in the US. We wouldn't need to do anything else, but on the advice of our home study worker and many others, we will re-adopt them, so that we can give them the names we've chosen for them. This will also provide them with US birth certificates, and life will be much easier for them if they need to get extra certified copies of their birth certificates later on in life. Jock and I had to get extra copies of each of ours just to go through this process to adopt them, and I can't imagine what that would have been like if we'd had to order them from a third-world country. Who knows how long that would have taken, if it had even been possible!
Anyway, after we re-adopt them, they will have the names Elijah Ralph, and Josephine Celena. We decided we want to keep their first names as their middle names, to have a name that their birth parents gave them. Kaylen got to keep her first name, because she was already used to it and knew how to spell and even write it before we thought about naming her. We have started calling them Elijah and Josephine, although sometimes we will probably use them a bit interchangeably, because we got a little used to using Ralph and Celena before we decided for sure on the names. Like Amy said, we're getting old and forgetful! :)
Another friend of mine asked me if the people at the orphanage would start calling them Elijah & Josephine so they'd get used to their names. It's something I hadn't really thought about before, and a good question. I'll have to find out. Although, I know I've seen pictures of the baby rooms, and they post the children's names on their cribs, so I can imagine it might get pretty confusing for the nannies to have to keep track of so many children and all their names. We do know that being so young, they'll pick up English very quickly when immersed in it, and will probably also start answering to their new names fairly quickly as well.
Monday, August 6, 2007
First Legalization!
We received word Saturday that our dossier has received First Legalization from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Haiti. I understand this is similar to the notarization, state authentication, and legalization by the Haitian Consulate here in the US (Chicago) that we had to do before sending our dossier to Haiti. It’s just one more step to them wanting to be sure that our dossier is legal.
The orphanage staff in Haiti have already begun to gather Elijah & Josephine’s paperwork to be combined with our dossier. This includes birth certificates (with no date or spelling errors) – apparently vital records like this are often not correct because most children are not born in hospitals. They also will have a social worker write up a social history for the children (as we had to do in our home study), get psych evaluations and medical certificates for the children, and get official photo IDs for the birth parents, which could apparently take some time if they do not already have one.
Somewhere in there our dossier also has to get first and second consentment in the courts, but I’m not sure when exactly. And, once all this information is gathered in a combined dossier, it gets submitted to IBESR (Haitian Social Services) for four signatures of approval.
The orphanage staff in Haiti have already begun to gather Elijah & Josephine’s paperwork to be combined with our dossier. This includes birth certificates (with no date or spelling errors) – apparently vital records like this are often not correct because most children are not born in hospitals. They also will have a social worker write up a social history for the children (as we had to do in our home study), get psych evaluations and medical certificates for the children, and get official photo IDs for the birth parents, which could apparently take some time if they do not already have one.
Somewhere in there our dossier also has to get first and second consentment in the courts, but I’m not sure when exactly. And, once all this information is gathered in a combined dossier, it gets submitted to IBESR (Haitian Social Services) for four signatures of approval.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
All in HIS Perfect Timing
I say this phrase a lot - I think for my own benefit mostly. It's to remind myself that I need to seek God's will, not necessarily my own, and that I know that God knows what's best for me and my family, whether I can see it at the time or not. I just need to trust in him. After closing out my post last night with this phrase, I did a search in the Bible. By they way, I added a link at right, for BibleGateway.com. It's just awesome when I don't have my Bible handy. You can look up verses using a keyword or by the book chapter and verse numbers, etc. Then when you find a verse you can also click one of the icons at the top to expand out to the whole chapter to see the context. It's very handy!
Anyway, I did a search on the work "wait" last night, and a lot of them weren't really relevant, but then I found Psalm 27:
Isn't that great? No matter what comes towards me, I can have strength in Him, knowing he will see me through.
Anyway, I did a search on the work "wait" last night, and a lot of them weren't really relevant, but then I found Psalm 27:
1 The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
2 When evil men advance against me
to devour my flesh, [a]
when my enemies and my foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.
3 Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then will I be confident.
4 One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.
6 Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the LORD.
7 Hear my voice when I call, O LORD;
be merciful to me and answer me.
8 My heart says of you, "Seek his [b] face!"
Your face, LORD, I will seek.
9 Do not hide your face from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
O God my Savior.
10 Though my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will receive me.
11 Teach me your way, O LORD;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors.
12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
breathing out violence.
13 I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.
Isn't that great? No matter what comes towards me, I can have strength in Him, knowing he will see me through.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Happy Birthday Elijah! (part 2)
Well, it was a great day for us. We enjoyed spending time celebrating in honor of Elijah. This morning, we got up and had a treat for breakfast - donuts & starbucks/juice/yogurt smoothie at the local grocery. While there we also picked out a cake and frosting that we thought a one-year-old boy might like - chocolate with chocolate fudge frosting with red/blue/yellow/green sprinkles. Of course Kaylen gravitated towards the pink frosting (the same as she picked out for her birthday cake), so we had to remind her that it was for her brother's birthday, not hers, and she did pretty well after that.
Then we went shopping, and got some fabric to make Elijah a birthday gift - a fleece blanket and pillow cover to match. Kaylen gravitated towards the fuzzy purple fabric and the princess fabrics, but she knew we were looking for "something her brother would like, 'cause he's a boy". We all decided on blue fleece with a truck pattern. I'll have fun making that, and then we'll keep it here for him to cuddle when he comes home.
This evening, we had plans to meet some friends for grilling out and a game night at their house, so we brought the dessert. They were all awesome about celebrating the birthday of someone they'd never met - and not all of them had seen his picture or even heard the latest about our adoption process. We got some pictures of his cake, and our friends took a picture of us holding it out for him. We'll save these for him as well. I've said it before, but will say it again - we're so fortunate that we have friends and family that are excited for us with our adoption plans, and praying for us and our children and the process we are going through. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!
But, most importantly, we prayed for Elijah, that he had a great day today, that he's healthy and happy, and that this will be the only birthday he'll have away from us and his home. However, may God's will be done, all in His perfect timing.
Then we went shopping, and got some fabric to make Elijah a birthday gift - a fleece blanket and pillow cover to match. Kaylen gravitated towards the fuzzy purple fabric and the princess fabrics, but she knew we were looking for "something her brother would like, 'cause he's a boy". We all decided on blue fleece with a truck pattern. I'll have fun making that, and then we'll keep it here for him to cuddle when he comes home.
This evening, we had plans to meet some friends for grilling out and a game night at their house, so we brought the dessert. They were all awesome about celebrating the birthday of someone they'd never met - and not all of them had seen his picture or even heard the latest about our adoption process. We got some pictures of his cake, and our friends took a picture of us holding it out for him. We'll save these for him as well. I've said it before, but will say it again - we're so fortunate that we have friends and family that are excited for us with our adoption plans, and praying for us and our children and the process we are going through. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!
But, most importantly, we prayed for Elijah, that he had a great day today, that he's healthy and happy, and that this will be the only birthday he'll have away from us and his home. However, may God's will be done, all in His perfect timing.
Happy Birthday, Elijah!
Today is Elijah's first birthday. I'm sad that he won't be able to have those pictures to cherish of him sitting in a high chair eating a piece of his cake, and then the subsequent picture of him with frosting everwhere! We're praying for him and this adoption process, and that hopefully this will be the only birthday he'll have to spend away from home, and we can spoil him next year.
In his honor, we're going to have birthday cake, and will take pictures to save for him. We'll also hoping to go shopping for some fabric that I can make a blanket and pillow for him and keep it here for him until he comes home. Thanks to the other adoptive moms for the ideas for how to honor Elijah's first birthday even though he's not home with us for us to celebrate with him directly!
This picture was taken when he was just over 11 months old. I think it's hilarious! It looks like he's having so much fun!
Keeping you in our prayers, Elijah. We love you!
In his honor, we're going to have birthday cake, and will take pictures to save for him. We'll also hoping to go shopping for some fabric that I can make a blanket and pillow for him and keep it here for him until he comes home. Thanks to the other adoptive moms for the ideas for how to honor Elijah's first birthday even though he's not home with us for us to celebrate with him directly!
This picture was taken when he was just over 11 months old. I think it's hilarious! It looks like he's having so much fun!Keeping you in our prayers, Elijah. We love you!
Friday, August 3, 2007
The pictures above...
I'm still customizing my blog, so check back often. Here's the info on the pictures above that I added yesterday:
The first is of Jock and me on Easter Sunday this spring. My sisters were helping us do family pictures, and this was towards the end - Jock was being goofy, but I love the picture - it's just us.
The middle one, taken in May, is Kaylen and me on my 30th birthday. My co-workers had gotten me an awesome cake, and the left-over pieces had tons of frosting-balloons. The piece Kaylen ate had a blue balloon, and it's kind of hard to see, but her mouth turned blue. Also notice she's in her PJs - it's never much a good idea to give her that much sugar - especially so close to bedtime, but we survived.
The third picture, taken in January, is Jock and Kaylen the day before her 4th birthday, at the wedding dance of my step-mom's niece. Does that make her my step-cousin? It was very nice to meet lots of Terry's family that day!
The first is of Jock and me on Easter Sunday this spring. My sisters were helping us do family pictures, and this was towards the end - Jock was being goofy, but I love the picture - it's just us.
The middle one, taken in May, is Kaylen and me on my 30th birthday. My co-workers had gotten me an awesome cake, and the left-over pieces had tons of frosting-balloons. The piece Kaylen ate had a blue balloon, and it's kind of hard to see, but her mouth turned blue. Also notice she's in her PJs - it's never much a good idea to give her that much sugar - especially so close to bedtime, but we survived.
The third picture, taken in January, is Jock and Kaylen the day before her 4th birthday, at the wedding dance of my step-mom's niece. Does that make her my step-cousin? It was very nice to meet lots of Terry's family that day!
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Hair, Beautiful Hair!
Well, I've been trying to learn a little bit about hair and skin care for when our children come home. It's apparently quite a different story from the ease with which we take care of ourselves. Think of your skin, and how dry and flakey it might get during the coldest of winter. Even worse than that might be something that we'd expect Elijah & Josephine to experience, possibly even in the summer. And instead of flakey, theirs will look more like ash. We'll really have to keep on top of things.
Also, there has been some discussion recently on hair care, even for boys. We will probably try to keep Elijah's hair very short to not cause problems - at least until he's older. But Josephine's will be an altoghter different story. Even washing it seems to be quite the technique, not to mention removing the prior styling, and re-styling. One adoptive mom has started writing a monthly column called "Hair Matters" on RainbowKids.com, and I'm going to read those articles closely and save the articles for future use. They're very helpful, including the items you'll need, step-by-step instructions, and pictures to go with. (By the way, she also has an awesome article from a while back, titled "More than Just Hair", that you can search for on RainbowKids.com.)
Another adoptive mom whose blog I follow has talked this summer about the days she re-does her girls' hair - she has three girls she adopted from Haiti, ages 3, 4, and 5. She says she re-does their hair-do's about every 4 weeks, or more often in the summer when they camp and swim a lot. She usually refers to these days with, "It's hair day tomorrow, so we'll be busy!"
I certainly hope I can live up to the challenge - no more showering and then straight to bed like we often do with Kaylen! Karen, you're learning this stuff so you can help me out a bit, right?! :)
Also, there has been some discussion recently on hair care, even for boys. We will probably try to keep Elijah's hair very short to not cause problems - at least until he's older. But Josephine's will be an altoghter different story. Even washing it seems to be quite the technique, not to mention removing the prior styling, and re-styling. One adoptive mom has started writing a monthly column called "Hair Matters" on RainbowKids.com, and I'm going to read those articles closely and save the articles for future use. They're very helpful, including the items you'll need, step-by-step instructions, and pictures to go with. (By the way, she also has an awesome article from a while back, titled "More than Just Hair", that you can search for on RainbowKids.com.)
Another adoptive mom whose blog I follow has talked this summer about the days she re-does her girls' hair - she has three girls she adopted from Haiti, ages 3, 4, and 5. She says she re-does their hair-do's about every 4 weeks, or more often in the summer when they camp and swim a lot. She usually refers to these days with, "It's hair day tomorrow, so we'll be busy!"
I certainly hope I can live up to the challenge - no more showering and then straight to bed like we often do with Kaylen! Karen, you're learning this stuff so you can help me out a bit, right?! :)
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