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Worth every penny

I guess from that post title you may be thinking I'm about to talk about the cost of adoption. While that would be a fine header for that topic, that may be a different post!

I'm a minimalist and penny pincher so it's not often my husband hears me say "that was worth every penny." Especially when the purchase was his idea...I'm just being honest here :)

So, here's 2 things that I've changed my mind on for mommy-hood. I think these 2 items were worth every penny we spent and I'm so glad we had them before we all got home.

1. we bought this Peg Perego double stroller at a consignment sale so that did save us some $$. I was anti because I figured these kids have never ridden in strollers before, they've probably walked everywhere at 3 years old. While the wheels on our don't work great and we really haven't used it that much yet, it has been a lifesaver! To keep the 2 kids together riding or helping push instead of grabbing both of their arms dragging them everywhere and one is probably going to start kicking, screaming and trying to sit on the ground because he or she wants to walk (and not at my side) and his/her own pace.I would note that if I were to purchase again, I would probably go for a front to back double stroller, it moves through the isles in stores much better and through doorways. I think I started to realize this was a great purchase when we were at the Amsterdam airport for a 6 hour layover and the kids were amazing as long as they were pushing these little carts or sitting up top riding. I've never wanted to sing the Hallelujah chorus so loud. These were definitely a God-send and I think every airport should provide these now!! Not to mention it was just nice to not have to carry all of our carry-ons + 3 year olds! 2. Wes ordered this "Summer Infant Day & Night Handheld Color Video Monitor 1.8" Screen"
off of Amazon while we were still in Uganda.  We bought an extra video camera so we could put one on each of the kids beds and we can flip between the 2 cameras. Initially I was against buying it because again, it was just expensive and something that millions of parents around the world live without and we could to. When we were getting to know the kids and learning about their culture, we learned that the primary caretaker for kids will usually sleep in the same room for many years, even if they live in a home with multiple rooms. So, when the kids stayed in the care of a Social Worker, their primary care taker stayed in the same room. Once we started caring for the kids, we would stay in the room until they fell asleep and then if we needed to, we would go answer emails or do paper work etc. One day we put them down for a nap and we had A LOT of paperwork to get done so I didn't wait for them to fall asleep. After about 20 minutes, I went into our room to grab something and only saw 1 kid in the bed. Amiya was up in the bathroom going emptying bottles of hair product, pulling out all my hair bands/clips and pretty much anything she could get into! When we first brought them home, we put toys, books, shoes etc in their closet so they had very little distractions or "reasons" to get out of bed. These kids are really quiet when they're getting into things so with these little video cameras/monitor, I can keep checking on them until their asleep without opening a door causing a stir that could lead to the other waking back up! They seem to take turns or go through phases as to which will be the first to fall asleep. Malakai also likes to sleep sideways in his bed so it's also kind of fun to watch their little habits or when they try to cover up with their pillow instead of blanket etc. And the best part is, I can go sleep in my bed or sit in the living room if I want to! I don't have to be so still worrying about waking them. Posted by Danielle at 2:52 PM Labels: Adoption, resources

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