Friday, November 30, 2007

Toughen Up!!!

I am officially ready for spring! It is nasty cold, and it won't be getting any better. We are on schedule for a nasty winter storm, including rain, sleet and snow. Lovely. I am glad we did our grocery shopping tonight! Another interesting note--I had to replace my zipper on my winter coat, so I won't get it back till Monday. :-)

Adoption update: Not much to update. Our scheduled Thursday meeting got cancelled due to the flu--not with us, with the social worker in charge of domestic adoptions. She actually called from home, to tell us the flu had hit her house. I could hear her kids in the background. So, Monday we will reschedule, hopefully for sometime next week.

This nasty winter storm is yet another reason I strive to be done shopping by December 1st. I am officially done, by the way. I just am waiting for some last minute online orders to come, then I will do the rest of the wrapping. What a relief. :-)

Bug did a weird thing today. She is a huge Elmo/Sesame Street fan. This afternoon, well after Sesame Street was over, we were playing with her little Elmo doll, and I started singing the Elmo's World song. Do you know what she did?!?! Out came the bottom lip, and she got tears in her eyes!! She was trying not to cry, you know how kids do. She then proceeded to go to the top of the stairs and "look" for Elmo (our TV is downstairs). It was sort of cute, but then I felt bad, because she was genuinely sad (I am assuming because she couldn't see the "real" Elmo). Daddy would say..."Toughen up!!"

Monday, November 26, 2007

A perfect example of decreasing brain cells....

Well, we made it through two family visits, three turkey/mashed potatoes/rolls/cassaroles/fruit salads/yummy pie meals, and nasty traffic during our four hour ride home. Bug was actually squealing with joy, when she got to play for a couple of hours after we got home last night.

We enjoyed visiting both families. We missed Uncle Matt and Aunt Kim, as they were visiting Grandma and Grandpa in Florida. We missed Uncle Michael, and cousin Erin, as they were sick with the flu, and we didn't want to risk getting 103 degree fevers, and raging headaches. No Thanks! We got to see Uncle John and Aunt MJ, who we haven't seen for awhile. We also got to see Uncle Mike and his new puppy. We also stayed at my best friend's house, although we didn't get to see them at all, as they were visiting their family.

My DH has a new addiction--Family History. He has recently found out he is distantly related to Alec Baldwin and the Wright Brothers. There is nothing wrong with being related to the Wright Brothers, however, I wouldn't let too many people know about the link to the Baldwin brothers. I can think of many other famous people that I would rather be related to, than the Baldwin brothers!!

Today, I am starting to put up Christmas decorations. I know...it's still November, but I am excited for this Christmas. It will be so much more fun with Bug this year! She gets so excited when she sees Christmas trees, lights or decorations. We can't wait! I am also working on laundry today from our long weekend. Last night, I threw a load of jeans in and got them in the dryer before I went to bed. This morning, I was separating the rest of the laundry, and unloaded the dryer (load of jeans from last night). I promptly started the washer, dumped the detergent, and grabbed the closest basket of "dirty" laundry...yes, you guessed it--the jeans load I had just pulled out of the dryer!! I didn't realize this was the same load of jeans until it was too late. I wonder just how many brain cells I have?? Ughhhhhh.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

A blessed Thanksgiving to you....

Well, we are heading out for Thanksgiving to our families' houses. We are looking forward to some time to catch up with family, and of course EAT!! I will try not to gain 10 pounds between two Thanksgiving meals.

Adoption Update: We have another meeting with Bethany (Christian Services) in a week to discuss more details, and hopefully go ahead with the formal application. Getting the home study started will be the next step.

Gratitude consists of being more aware of what you have, than what you don’t. What are you thankful for?

Monday, November 19, 2007

Butter, Oleo, and Margarine...

Yesterday, we bundled up and went to the Christmas Parade (yes, believe it or not is was actually called the "Christmas" parade). It lasted almost two hours!! Bug loved it!! She just stared at all the floats with the Christmas lights. Just to see the amazement in her eyes, and seeing her get excited was enough to make me cry. The best part was when Bug saw "Elmo" walking in the parade. She started yelling, and got sooo excited. It was so fun (and cold, too!!).

I am currently finishing up wrapping Christmas gifts (and birthday gifts for Daddy's side--Seems like everyone has a birthday in December or January!!). Please don't hate me, I just like to be organized, and absolutely despise going out in a blizzard to find that last minute gift, because I waited too long, and it is December 23rd. I refuse to be that person. I don't deal well with crazy shoppers either. I don't have patience for these people who run the shopping isles to grab the latest "I can wet my pants" Elmo (or is it "I can go potty" Elmo--I don't know). Hey, at least I admit my faults!! Enough of that...

DH spent Saturday afternoon installing a water softener at our house (it was the original one that came with the house, we just hadn't ever used it). I have to say, I grew up on hard water (although not as hard as it is here at home), and generally don't like soft water (because it makes you feel "slimy"), but it is pretty nice. I actually like it. No water stains on the dishes, and you save detergent!! Sometimes I surprise myself.

How come when your child is in pain, 30 seconds feels like 10 minutes??? I put Bug down for a nap, and she just started to cry (the "I'm in pain" cry--you other mothers out there, you know what I mean). I went up, just knowing that something was wrong. I peeked in, and she had her leg stuck in between the bars of her crib. Her leg wasn't' "just stuck", it was stuck almost up to her hip joint! I seriously thought I was going to have to call 911 and have them cut her out. I managed to get her out (without butter, oleo, or margarine!), although for that 2 minutes it took, I was starting to freak. I am sure this is minor compared to what we have to look forward to....

Friday, November 16, 2007

Da-Ba Deeeeee

Here is a picture of Bug playing with some "dough". It is so much different from play-doh. This stuff is homemade, non-toxic (of course), scented, tastes bitter (so the kids don't eat it), "crumble-free" and is sooooo fun!! This was a good buy I got at a craft fair about a month ago. It is actually called Double D Dough...(Can you believe that Grammy?)

Adoption update: We had an informational meeting on Wednesday, with a local agency, Bethany Christian Services. They are a nationwide agency, they just happen to have a local office. We are 98% sure we will be using them as our agency. We will be meeting one-on-one with a social worker at the agency probably sometime in the next week or so. The total cost is more expensive than the other agency we were looking at, but Bethany includes the legal fees, and cost of training and classes that we have to go through to become "paper ready" for placement. The majority of birthmother matches Bethany makes are all in-state too, so that aleviates cost for travel. So, that is where we are at now. More updates to follow, as we get them.

Daddy is going to clean up a highway tomorrow with some fellow employees, for a couple of hours. Not us, we will be warm and cozy in our nice warm house. Daddy hates being cold, so I was surprised to find out he VOLUNTEERED to do this, but whatever.

Bug has been starting to say quite a few words recently. She has said "cracker", "computer" and "da-ba deeeeee". We have no idea what this means, nor will we probably ever know. You just smile and nod....

Monday, November 12, 2007

Cry-free twelve hour car ride!!!

Well, our long road trip to PA went off without a hitch. Bug was the best little traveller I know. On the way out, she cried a total of about 10 minutes, and on the way home about 15 minutes total. Not bad for a very active 16 month old!! The only time Daddy was crabby is when Mommy whipped out the laptop, and we watched a DVD called "Elmo goes Potty". It was about 45 minutes too long! I thought it was better than listening to Bug cry, while we were stuck in traffic. Daddy said "for the love of God, can we please listen to her cry???" Adoption update: We have one last meeting with a local agency on Wednesday night. After that, we will make our decision, and get the home study going. We are so excited to get going so our birth mother can find us! I don't have much to blog about, because when we visit PA, we tend to not do much except visit with family, eat, and eat. Great-Grandma loved to see all of us, and we had such a good time. We had a four-generation picture taken, and it turned out very nice. The only thing I did was find some excellent deals on Halloween costumes at the Disney Store at the local mall. They were only $8. Dumbo for next year, and Lady (Lady and the Tramp) for 09'. Can't beat that. Both come with foot and hand covers. They are very cute...

Friday, November 2, 2007

A giraffe riding a horse?!?!?

Well, Bug had her first official Halloween. She was a giraffe, and she loved it!!! (she hated putting the costume on, but once it was on she was ready to go!)While waiting for the Trick or Treating hours to start, she proceeded to pull out every single tootsie pop sucker out of the bowl, and lick the stick of each sucker. Lovely. (it was keeping her happy while I made dinner, so I didn't care! Kids don't care--they just want candy!) We took her to visit two neighbors and she had a blast. I took her to one, and as soon as she got out on the sidewalk and saw what looked like hundreds of kids, she started running and screaming (happy screams!). It was the funniest thing ever!! Daddy took her to the other neighbor, then she played in the leaves in the front yard for a few minutes (still in her costume!). Her one piece of candy got lost in the leaves (and was found today when I went out to get the mail). When we got home from visiting the neighbors, she ran in the house and took a ride on Charlie (her horsey--get it? Charlie Horse?? That nickname was courtesy of Daddy!), thus the picture.

Adoption update: We had our consultation with an adoption lawyer. We are happy to say, we feel much more educated in this entire process. We also have determined we will be using this lawyer, and are extremely happy to check that off our list! It is amazing how much more relaxed we feel just knowing we have the lawyer part taken care of. Now, the next thing we are going to do is have a meeting with another local agency. Our lawyer works closely with this agency, and right now they have a shortage of adoptive parents. She strongly suggested at least looking into this agency. Ironically, I had just scheduled an informational meeting with this agency yesterday. We have that appointment set up for November 14th. We are going to hold off with signing with the other agency until we talk to this local one. Our lawyer said it will save a decent amount of money, time, stress, etc, if you could find a birth mother in the same state in which you live. You wouldn't have to deal with another lawyer, another states' laws, and the travelling (the list could go on). So, for now, we are going to take a breather from reading constantly about adoption, and relax.

Other than that, not much else is going on here. We are heading out on a road trip, so there may not be an update for awhile. There's nothing like being in a car for 11+ hours with a toddler that doesn't like to sit for long. I am going to get some new toys (and possibly some tranquilizers) to make this trip more tolerable!!! :-) Just kidding of course about the tranquilizers...it will be quite interesting, though.