PLEASE HELP!

A few months ago we received word that a small orphanage in C's hometown had lost their government funding. Placing them at risk for being shut down- their children would then be transferred to a large facility. ("Large facility" in Russia is NOT a good thing....)
Long story short, it is VERY hard to get funding directly to them. BUT, God's angels are always available, a future adoptive mom was on her way to Pskov to meet her little girl for the first time. In less than a day we were sending Wal-Mart gift cards to "Agent 88" and she bought about $500 in clothing and medication to deliver on her first trip. Well, that about broke her back and her wallet. So THIS time there is an online auction. 100% of the funds will travel in Agent 88's wallet and be used to shop in country. Much better. Right?
So, you may be wondering how you can help. Well, start by bidding on SOME GREAT STUFF!!! Goes live on Sunday. So:
1- Go HERE and bid and bid often! There are some really cool things. And really folks, Christmas is only like 5 months away. And my birthday is only like 3 months away! Buy for yourself or buy gifts. Just buy! Ok?
2- Please re-post this and share this information.
3- Go to the link again HERE and share it on your social media of choice. Please help us get the word out.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Auction starts at 1:00 on Sunday, July 22nd and closes on Sunday, August 5th at 10pm.
Of course there are gift cards for everyone- Wal-Mart, Target, Game Stop...but there are also some beautifully unique items- jewelry, clothing, quilts, etc. Here are some of my favorites:

If I had a daughter of course...

Moleskin Journal with silver charm

Super cute!

Big Boy-isms

"Are you kidding me?" When I say it, it's more of a phrase of disgust, when I drop something and it shatters, when I can't find my keys after searching for them ALL.DAY.LONG. (That is a true story and I'm about to loose my mind....) C prefers it's in it's literal context.
C, it's bath time...
Are you kidding me, mom?

"I can't know" To which I respond, you mean you don't know? Yeah, mom, like I said "I can't know!"
C, what did you have for lunch today?
I can't know, mom.

He is frequently shorting words. I used to be "Mama", now I am "Mom". This works for a lot of words, except "Baba" (his grandma) Whom unfortunately, is now "Bob". 

Tonight, I am standing in the kitchen (looking for my keys...) and C is playing with J in the living room, rolling a ball back and forth. C comes in and says "What mom?" I told him I didn't call him. He says....guess....."Are you kidding me?" No, C. Not kidding you. I didn't say your name. He says "Oh, it must have been my tummy calling my name"

My tummy doesn't call my name, but it does say FEEEED MEEEEE CHOCOLATE!!!

A tale of 2 teeth....(tooths???)

Ok, more than 2..but the name just sounded catchy. Ahhh...teeth. I brush them, floss them, yet we are still having MAJOR issues.

Poor C. We went to the dentist on Wednesday. Major trouble. Back molars...done. Next molars, cavities. The dentist (who was ridiculously good looking by the way, I digress....) says we need 4 silver caps and 2 fillings.We tried x-rays and after several attempts verging on tears, we stopped. I guess when you don't get dental care for the first 3 years of your life you may be prone to issues and extreme fear of people poking around in your mouth, no matter how good looking they are...Dashing Dentist wants to have the work done all in one shot at a hospital, under anesthesia. . Estimate: $10,000!!! Say whhhaaatttt???

Saturday night: I look over at C and he looks like a chipmunk. His cheeks have ballooned up like the third round of chubby bunny. I ask him what happened- he says he hit his face on the wall. But it's not red, not bruised. We ice it down. No improvement. We give him Benadryl. No improvement. Fairly certain at this point its an abscessed tooth. In the front. Whaaattt???

A friend of our family's brother is a dentist. Sunday we get an antibiotic prescription called in and an appointment for a second opinion.

Now you may ask, what about the other tooth in this tale. Ahhh....J. He is breaking in the next round of teethers. The top two front ones. Oi. There has been three sleepless nights of wailing and gnashing of teeth (literally) in this household and I am about to scream. It's a horrible feeling not being able to help your babies. I hate seeing them in pain. Praying that it all goes away. Quickly....

It's HOT, but we're still having fun!

Hubby said it best last night. We moved from Florida to a "milder climate" and have since experienced ice storms, snow storms, an earthquake, monstrous hail storms, and triple digit heat for DAYS at a time. I guess it's the price we pay for trading in Florida's Hurricane season. After sweating my face off for days 20 days in a row I am starting to wonder if that was a fair trade....So, it's hot here. I mean like 102+, the worst being one particular 107 degree scorcher. Our fun has been limited to swimming in friends pools and playing after 7pm. But that doesn't mean we're not having fun :)
Hope you're enjoying your summer too!

Tell me a story...

During the summer C and I pretty much live at the Library. (J gets his own squishy book to chew on while we browse) We love the Library. Except for THIS trip to the Library you may recall. Anyway, we are pretty much obsessed with books. If you have ever seen C in action, you know he is in constant movement. Even in his sleep, he moves like the hands on a clock in his bed. But you crack open a book, two books, three books and the child is as still as a stone. He will literally sit for hours while you read. It doesn't matter the storyline. You could read him a how-to on land irrigation and as long as there are pictures....
When we go to the library we check out 8 books. I don't know why. It is my favorite number, but that's really not why. Seven is too few and 9 seems a little excessive. Within this "Magic 8" C picks 4 and I pick 4. Mainly because there is a lot of rubbish out there. I mean some real stinkers. I don't want to hurt his feelings when he chooses "Trains vs. Sharks" so I smile, look excited and tell him "That looks like a good one!" Then I choke through ridiculous plot lines and sad illustrations. All for the love of literature, the whole time thinking "Why can't I write a children's book???" So, four and four. I've compiled a summer reading list* for us and I NEED YOUR HELP. I feel like I am at a bit of a loss remembering some great books we read as children or you've read to your kids.  Here is a preliminary list. PLEASE comment me and add your favorites!
*Some titles are omitted because we own them and have read them OVER and OVER again!

The List

Barrett, Judi. Cloudy with a chance of meatballs. New York : Aladdin Books, 1982, c1978.
Base, Graeme. Animalia. New York : H.N. Abrams, 1993, c1986.
Base, Graeme. The eleventh hour : a curious mystery. New York : Harry N. Abrams, 1993, c1989.
Bridwell, Norman. Clifford, the big red dog. New York : Scholastic, 2002, c1963.
Cannon, Janell, 1957-. Stellaluna. San Diego : Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, c1993.
Cronin, Doreen. Click, clack, moo : cows that type. New York : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, c2000.
Day, Alexandra. Good dog, Carl. New York : Aladdin Paperbacks, 1997.
DePaola, Tomie, 1934-. Strega Nona : an old tale. New York : Simon & Schuster, [1988], c1975.
Degen, Bruce. Jamberry. New York, NY : HarperCollins, c1983.
Jenkins, Steve, 1952-. What do you do with a tail like this?. Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 2003.
Johnson, Crockett, 1906-1975. Harold and the purple crayon. [New York] : HarperCollins, c1983.
Kellogg, Steven. A rose for Pinkerton. New York : Dial Books for Young Readers, c1981.
Leaf, Munro, 1905-1976. The story of Ferdinand. New York : Puffin Books, 1977, c1964.
Lewis, Kevin. My truck is stuck. New York : Hyperion Books for Children, 2002.
Long, Melinda. How I became a pirate. San Diego : Harcourt, 2003.
Muth, Jon J. Stone soup. New York : Scholastic Press, c2003.
Numeroff, Laura Joffe. If you give a mouse a cookie. New York : Harper & Row, c1985.
Penn, Audrey, 1947-. The Kissing hand. Terre Haute, IN : Tanglewood Press, 2006.
Portis, Antoinette. Not a box. New York, NY : HarperCollins, c2006.
Rinker, Sherri Duskey. Goodnight, goodnight, construction site. San Francisco : Chronicle Books, c2011.
Rosen, Michael, 1946-. We're going on a bear hunt. New York : Little Simon, 1997, c1989.
Shaw, Nancy (Nancy E.). Sheep in a jeep. Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1986.
Silverstein, Shel. The giving tree. New York : HarperCollins, [2004], c1992.
Sobel, June. B is for bulldozer : a construction ABC. San Diego : Harcourt, 2003.
Stead, Philip Christian. A sick day for Amos McGee. New York : Roaring Brook, 2010.
Taback, Simms. Joseph had a little overcoat. New York : Viking, 1999.
Trivizas, Eugenios. The three little wolves and the big bad pig. New York : Margaret K. McElderry Books, 1993.
Tullet, Hervé. Press here. San Francisco : Chronicle Books, 2011.
Van Allsburg, Chris. Jumanji. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Co., 1981.
Viorst, Judith. Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. New York : Aladdin Books, 1987, c1972.
Waber, Bernard. Lyle, Lyle, crocodile. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993, c1965.
Wick, Walter, 1953-. I spy treasure hunt : a book of picture riddles. New York : Scholastic, 1999.
Wiesner, David. Flotsam. New York : Clarion Books, c2006.
Willems, Mo. Don't let the pigeon drive the bus. New York : Hyperion Books for Children, c2003.