Summer Fun!

HOLY CRAP I DIDN'T REALIZE ITS BEEN OVER 2 MONTHS SINCE I WROTE.

I am a pathetic blogger. I have friends who have kids smaller than mine who post every week! I feel like a LOSER. :) But honestly, as you fellow Moms know, its hard to get much done during the day that involves 5 minutes to yourself, and at night, I generally either just want to watch TV with Brian or go to bed.

Also, its been a super busy summer, which for us is a good thing. I know summers are normally chaotic, but we've had a structured one, with quite a few activities. Tania has been in school 2 days a week all summer, Tuesday and Friday morning, and she's doing AWESOME. She loves it and they are really great with her. After Labor Day, I'm going to start her in 3 mornings a week, which is a fairly typical 4 year old schedule. I really hope she'll be ready for kindergarten in a year.

Cola has had his LESA playgroup for most of the summer and also a few field trips to different places, like petting zoos and things. On Tuesday, he took his first horse back ride and loved it! He also chased around a potbellied pig named Boris (how ironic!). He and I WERE going to story time once a week at Borders, but alas, that's no more. I think I'm going to check out the Community Ed and look for a class to register him for (like tumbling or something, the boy has boundless energy for jumping and thumping) and maybe dance for her. I think those would be fun. Next Spring/Summer, I definitely want them in swim class, since Cola fell in my mom's pool a while back and was bobbing up and down like a buoy. Luckily, their Uncle Grant literally vaulted in there and grabbed him right away. But they both still love the pool!

Tania did great since her dental work and eye surgeries. She is SO beautiful. I mean, she was always beautiful to us, but now, wow, she's a knockout. And he is the cutest little poop ever to live, everybody says so. He's still so tiny though, but we're starting to think that's just him! So, we're just updating all their shots and I'm trying not to fret about it anymore.

Okay, since Brian's gone camping, I really just want to get some rest, because of course they'll have me up at 6 am tomorrow or something. I really will try to post more for my loyal followers! Ha!

Happy Mother's Day to Me!!!

Happy Mother's Day to all you Moms out there! I myself had a great day. We had breakfast out at IHOP and the kids did great, then I cleaned my upstairs (I know, cleaning on Mom's Day? Well, it makes me happy), and then grocery shopping BY MYSELF. Then, played outside with the kids and Brian and had a delicious barbecue dinner. A good day!

Lots of stuff has been going on here, and it's pretty much all good! The kids sleeping is doing GREAT. Cola is sleeping through the night every night an average of 9.5-10.5 hours with a good nap in the afternoon, and Tania is sleeping through the vast majority of nights about 10-11 hours, so Brian and I finally feel rested again, and like a couple again, as we have some time to spend by ourselves. Also, Cola's been doing a playgroup through the county for 2 year olds, and I think its great. He's also getting speech once a month, and the therapist thinks he'll catch up wonderfully! Tania is starting preschool after Memorial Day, and I'm super excited about that--I think she'll thrive. At that point, she'll be evaluated for speech and other services through the school district. We think they're both doing awesome with it! They never shut up. We don't catch everything that they say, but they are vocalizing like crazy, whether it's English, Russian or gibberish and that's half the battle.

The few bad/anxious things going on are that Tania is having her major dental work done Tuesday. I am VERY nervous about it, both how she's going to do and having to leave Cola. He's going to stay with our neighbor for the morning, and he knows her and her two daughters well now, but it's the first time we're leaving either one of them with anyone. So, it's going to be an anxious morning for me. The other thing is that we found out recently that Cola is EXTREMELY iron deficient/anemic. He had some of the worst numbers the pediatrician had ever seen. So, he's on a very high dose of iron now, which makes his diapers pretty interesting. I'll stop right there. :)

I have more to say, but I'll save it for another post!

I'm Not Trying to Count My Chickens....

BUT, it feels like we've hit a MAJOR turning point here with the sleep issue!!!

So those of you who are on Facebook with me know that Cola has magically started taking naps in his own bed. It actually wasn't magical--it was me reading a book on sleep, and figuring out his cues and that he has a fairly strong internal body clock. He's ready for a nap right around 7 hours after waking, maybe sooner if we have an active morning. I've learned not to miss the nap window so he doesn't get too wound up and then not want to fall asleep. Also, I feel that this HAS to mean he's feeling more comfortable too, in his big bed, that he can fall asleep there. Unless you've dealt with a child who doesn't go down easily, you can't understand how much it means that I don't have to drive him around every day, especially with gas hitting possibly $5 a gallon. You have to lay with him to get him to go down, but since we figured it out, it's not taken more than 15 minutes! When we were first home, it would take an hour of screaming to get him to go down for less than an hour nap. So, I'll take 15 minutes for an hour and a half or more nap! Yay!!! The next step would be to get him to sleep independently at night, but that may take time. He's still so little and he can't communicate much yet (but more all the time!), that sometimes he just wakes up and cries.

NEXT--TANIA SLEPT IN HER OWN BED LAST NIGHT WITHOUT ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've been preparing her for this, that this is what big girls do, and that Mama is always close by and will come if she calls, etc. Last night, I was feeling really patient, honestly, and for some reason, it just felt like "the night." So, I told her it was time for that. She didn't protest, but wasn't thrilled, either. I explained that if she woke up, her drink was on her bedside table, she could call for me, or could come and get me in my room, etc. It took her almost 2 hours to fall asleep, she was so nervous. Finally, at 9:45 pm, with several false starts, she was out. I hardly slept a wink, I was so nervous myself about how this was going to go. I expected HUGE screams. She woke up at 2 am and called to me, and I went immediately. She wasn't hysterical, which is GREAT. She had her drink and went right back to sleep. (I wish I could have!) She then woke up at 5:30, and was slightly more agitated, but not bad. I took her to the bathroom and then showed her where I'd been sleeping in "Mama and Papa bed" and then we went back to her room. I tried to leave after she dozed off, but she immediately woke up. So, I decided it wasn't worth leaving and laid down with her until 7. I am running on empty today, but it feels great. Now that I know she CAN do this, life seems good. I am excited for tonight, as she seems pretty proud of herself today and we've had a great day so far!

So, that's the big news I promised this morning. To many of you, this may not seem like a big deal, but trust me, when you've dealt with this sort of issue, you'll understand!

More than One Month Home!

So, I meant to do an update when we hit one month home, which was February 26, but things have been nutty. So, now it's more like, 5 and a half weeks home! Things are slowly adjusting, but it's still hard, honestly. But, it is getting better. I'm starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel, but it's very dim and far away!

The past week was challenging, as Brian had to travel for 3 nights for his first trip away. He had to go to Copenhagen, Denmark, of all places and it ended up being a total disaster here. The kids had their first round of shots the day he left (a DTAP, Hib, and Pneumococcal), plus a TB test. Tania had a very bad reaction and had a high fever. I was up all night with her, and Cola was up part of the night too, because she was crying so much. I felt so bad, there was nothing I could do. The Motrin didn't touch the fever for quite a while. She kept crying in Russian that she was hot, had boo boos, and hurt. It was awful. I had to call in reinforcements--my awesome aunt Margaret came down and stayed with me quite a bit to act as back up. It helped tremendously. Now, Brian is telling me he has to be gone one night this week again, and I am irritated. I thought he wasn't going to travel much for a long time! Lies. At least the kids' TB test came out negative, but that gives us another reason not to trust the immunization records we were given. You see, in Europe and other countries like Russia, there is a shot they give kids that is sort of like a TB vaccination. And if you've had this shot, your TB should come out positive because you'll have antibodies. We were told the kids had this shot. Well, clearly they haven't if their TB came out negative. So, we are starting the vaccines totally over from scratch, but with Tania, we'll have to take it slowly to avoid another night like Monday.

Sleeping is still our biggest issue here. They just give us a hard time going down, we have to be with them until they fall asleep, which can take a long time, and its not until 8:30-9pm. Then, they don't sleep very long, maybe 10 hours is the consistent average, which for kids their age is not enough. The only way to get them to nap is riding in the car, so I'm going to be spending the summer of high gas prices driving my kids around aimlessly and throwing money out the window. Tania is doing better with the sleeping--she's getting a lot more peaceful, hardly restless anymore, which is wonderful. Cola is bothered by something and we can't figure out what. He just wakes up quite a bit. Right now, she still sleeps with me in the guest room bed, and now Cola seems to want to sleep in our room with Brian. So, instead of ME in bed with my husband, there's a tiny little boy there. And we bought and were gifted all this nice, expensive furniture for them, and guess what? NOBODY'S SLEEPING IN IT.

So, that's what's going on here. Keep us in your thoughts as we continue to adjust to life with them, and they adjust to us!

Doctor's Appointment

On Tuesday, we made the long journey downtown to Children's Hospital at the DMC to have the kids fully evaluated medically. The appointment was at 9am and we had to leave this house at 7:20 to make it there on time. Which sucked, because we had to wake the kids up early, and they were having their best night of sleep yet. Also, on the way down, Tatiana completely upchucked all over herself in the car, so that was pleasant to deal with. Half digested yogurt and bananas, yuck. :(

We made it to Children's and got in with the doc about 9:20, I think. The front desk seriously didn't know how to run our private, excellent health insurance, because I'd be willing to bet all they deal with is freaking Medicaid (the Adoption Clinic is run out of one of the general pediatric clinics there, and the clientele seemed, let's say, ghetto fabulous).

The appointment lasted 2 hours. The doctor was very thorough, as she should be. She asked us every question under the sun, measured them a ton, and gave them full physicals. She was generally pleased with the state of their health, and with the things we've been doing with them. She also has twin sons adopted from Kazakhstan, so she totally understands what we're going through. Cola is in good shape overall, he's just tiny. He's not even on the growth chart. He is 2 now, and is the size of an average 12 month old here. Little lady Tania is good sized, but has issues like decayed teeth, a lazy eye, and something called funnel chest/pectalis, which means her chest, right in between where her breasts will be, is concave. This will most likely resolve itself, but it may not. They are most likely also developmentally delayed, and I have the school district working on coming out to evaluate them. They are certainly emotionally stunted. We're working on that.

Also, they had a ton of blood work ton. She took it like a rock star, but he screamed like a banshee. It was awful. It was 1:45 by the time we got out of Children's. We also have to do a urinalysis and a fecal test (3 times for the poop) to check for parasites. Fun for Heather and Brian. But these guys need to be checked for every little thing.

So, that's what happened with the doctor's appointment. Things are rolling. I honestly think taking them to medical appointments and getting out of this house may help our mood!

Things I Learned in Russia

I know everyone wants to hear about the trip, and there are some things we can discuss and other things that we really can't. I hope you all understand that. So, in light of that, I decided to do a quick rundown of lessons learned from the trip, both silly and serious!

1) I need to invest in whatever stores or companies sell women's knee high black boots in Russia! Seriously, they are the footwear of choice of every freaking woman there between the ages of 10-40, and even people younger and older! I seriously saw a 5 year old wearing them. If you go to Russia and want to fit in, wear your "hooker boots" and a short black skirt, and you're good to go.

2) I learned I can pee in a hole in the ground if I need to! Seriously. The toilet at the airport going to Kotlas (the town where the kids are) was a sink basin sunk into the ground. I ended up stripping from the waist down and then squatting. I stripped because I had a huge fear of peeing all over my pants, and then I would be screwed. I figured if it went down my leg, I could clean that up! Sorry if this is gross, but its true. Brian warned me, so I was somewhat prepared at least. :)

3) Sanitation standards in Russia are not what they are here. Sometimes there's soap, sometimes not. Sometimes the toilet flushes well, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes there's paper, other times, no. And the paper they did have--well, it hurts your bum and they don't flush the paper. I guess the pipes can't handle it. So, there's a trash can next to every toilet and there goes the paper. It's gross. Sorry, I can't wrap my brain around that one.

4) I can fly in crazy small planes and not get sick or scared. The last plane we took was a 21 seater double propeller Soviet era thing, where your luggage just goes in the back of the plane, and the cockpit is wide open. No lie. It was INTERESTING, to say the least.

Now, onto more serious things....

5) The orphanage was a lot nicer than we thought it would be, and the workers, the doctors, nurses and caregivers, really care about the children. They absolutely want the best for them. It was reassuring. And everything we'd been told about the kids 100% seemed to be true, everything seems completely above board.

6) Regarding their surroundings, they kids are definitely not kept in cribs all day and ignored like some of the stories you've heard. It's just not true. They have music and art and exercise and playtime. They also get a decent diet, not as much fruit and dairy as we'd like, but it's nutritious and there's enough of it. So that's also reassuring.

7) Can't say too much about the kids, but I learned it is completely possible to get super attached to kids you only met 3 times. It was sad, so much sadder than we thought, to leave them. Now I'm frantically trying to get paperwork done to speed the process as much as possible. But, just so you know, we won't be going back until January or February. Unfortunately.

8) So this is really fun to announce to everyone, not really something I learned, just an announcement. Our daughter is going to be Tatiana Louise and our son will be Nicholas Brian! The first names are Americanized versions of their Russian names and the middle names are for my mom (she's Marie Louise) and for Brian, of course. :)

9) The last thing I learned was this--we have a CRAP TON of baby proofing to do! OMG--we are bringing two small Tasmanian devil like creatures into our house in the near future. :) Let's hope the house survives it! Oh, and us too. :)

So Much To Do, Even With No Work

Wow, so much stuff is going on these days! Despite being off work for probably the months of July and August, I have been going, going, going! While Brian's at softball tonight (I skipped due to my dislike of being rained on), I thought I'd let you all know what's been going on!

We did get the furniture for the kids and it's all in the room and set up. If I had bedding, tiny little Russian babies could sleep in it tonight. On one wall, there's the crib and nightstand we bought, along with a toddler bed donated from our friends the Hills (tons of thanks to them!). On the other wall is the tall 5 drawer dresser and a tall 3 shelf bookcase. SO EXCITING. I literally go in there 5 times a day and look at it, pull out the drawers, and walk to the crib and imagine taking a small person out of it. Sappy I know, but I think these are the things that pregnant moms do, and I am pregnant in the only way I'll ever really experience it. So, I'm indulging myself in all those things and NOT FEELING BADLY ABOUT IT. :) My next project is to buy some bedding for the beds and start decorating. My wonderful friend, frequent reader A, has graciously volunteered to make me some sort of quilt for the children (I'M SUPER EXCITED), and I'll be going to see her soon to pick out fabric. I actually need to talk to her about this, because I don't know exactly what she has in mind, and I need to know before I buy bedding. So, A, if you're reading this--CALL ME. (When the stuff regarding Grandma is settled, of course. Hope you're doing well.)

Fourth of July weekend was pretty quiet, which is fine for me, but I think Brian was bored. He felt left out of other parties, etc. He truly feels that certain folks are not inviting us places anymore because we don't have kids. I feel other factors are in play, and it doesn't bother me as much as it does him. But he hates being bored, so he was a bit crabby that weekend. Plus, his parents were ill and canceled on having dinner with us on Saturday, so he was upset at that too (they don't come down often and he was excited). Poor guy. He's having a bit of a hard time lately. It was very nice to have the Meese's over for dinner though. We truly enjoy having company, so please come visit us people! I also baby sat Oliver Meese this morning while Candace went to the doctor and he is my favorite (and only) godson, as always! Then Candace and I had a very nice lunch at Applebee's, in which Ollie squealed his favorite word "Eeewww!" the whole time and flirted with waitresses. Typical man. :)

Finally, the other stuff I have going on is that a week from today I'm leaving to visit Ruth in California! It's going to be so much fun! I've only been to visit her out there once and only get to see her probably once every couple years, so this is great. I can't wait to see Nathan again and meet Hannah, who's a year old. I'm going Thursday through Sunday and then the Sunday after that, Brian and I leave for our week of vacation in the UP again! We're camping with my fam again Grand Marais Sunday through Wednesday, then two nights on Drummond Island, finished with two nights on Mackinac with the Meeses! We plan to ride our bikes as much as possible and just relax! I think my husband needs it, and I hope we get some more awesome pictures!

June Fun-ness!

So, here I am blog, back visiting you after a pretty long period of ignoring you. Let's see if I can keep the visits at a more regular pace from now on, but there are no guarantees! I'm here to tell you about the fun I've been having throughout the month of June!

1) Brian and I were in Mayville a lot for a few weeks--Grant graduated June 6 and then his Open House was June 12. Both events went off without a hitch, but it was weird to me on many levels. It was weird to be in the gym at Mayville High School again, weird to be in that buildings. I DO NOT miss it. Weird to see people I went to high school with that have 10 year old children, etc. Grant's class was only 73 kids, as opposed to mine, which was 95. People are just bolting that town, nobody's left around that has any sort of decent job. Then, the next weekend was his Open House,which was like a big family reunion. All sorts of people I haven't seen in years where approaching me, saying things like, "Oh I hear you're a lawyer, oh I hear you're married!" Yeah, as in, I moved on with my life, folks. Mr. Fox, our 7th grade bio teacher was there (he's married to my mom's cousin), and he's been retired about 5 years now, and was very interested to hear what's up with people that I could tell him about, like frequent reader A, Kat, Michele, Holly, Mary, Kathy, etc. So that was fun.

2) MY BIRTHDAY WAS JUNE 13!!! It's the most wonderful day of the year! And this year, it was extra special because Season 3 of True Blood premiered that night too, so it was great! We had a few people over to barbecue and have DQ ice cream cake. Everything was delicious and I'm loving True Blood being back on for the summer! By Tuesday, I'm already hoping it was Sunday so I could watch another episode!

3) Jimmy Buffett's yearly concert at Pine Knob was Tuesday. We had a blast, other than dealing with a decided lack of bathrooms and Pine Knob parking Nazi's. Jimmy is always great fun and I love hearing those songs, dancing with Brian in the aisles (or on the lawn), and just enjoying the party. I was totally tired at work yesterday, but a good night's sleep puts a better shine on things today.

4) Finally, our kid furniture is getting delivered today between 1 and 4! I wish I could be there to see it right away, but I have to wait until late tonight, because Holly is having a Pampered Chef party right after I'm done with work. Oh, I want to see it so bad! It finally feels like small people should be in the house! Yay!

Time Flies...

when you're having fun. Or so the saying goes. Not that I haven't been having fun, just have had a lot of things going on. I know I say that all the time, but now it actually seems true! So, here's a brief rundown of what's been happening of late.

1) After my tooth fiasco and car fiasco, I was ready not to have anything like that happen again any time soon. Well, its not AS serious, but I chipped my right front tooth last week! ERG, what is up with my teeth?! Anyway, its not serious, I'll wait to have it fixed until I go to the regular dentist for my check up in April, unless I have a compelling reason not to.

2) Last weekend, we had a very nice dinner with Jeff and Candace at Andiamo Novi in honor of Jeff's birthday! Delicious food, and great company, so it was a good evening all around! Yesterday, Candace and I watched "Anne of Green Gables" on DVD, that I got for Christmas. I love that story! I also got "Anne of Avonlea," and we're going to watch that too, but that'll have to be split into two days. It's almost 4 hours long!

3) On Tuesday, we had a conference call with our adoption agency. The call was for all the waiting families in the Russia program. It was a good call, and the upshot it that wait times for a referral are dropping because there are only half the families in the agency's system as usual because of the economy, and fewer Russian families adopting, so things are going fast right now. So, we were being told 6-12 months, but now we're hoping it goes faster! In light of that, I do not want to dawdle with getting things together. We need to get a room ready, learn the Russian, and get in contact with the various medical professionals we need to work with on this. It's a lot to do, but very exciting, and its starting to feel more real!

4) I'm going to Saugatuck with Kate this weekend to go to the spa!! So exciting!! I am having a message, a facial, and a chocolate body wrap. Yes, you read that correctly--a chocolate body wrap. I am very excited to do this stuff. Brian is having 20-30 boys over here that night to play poker, drink beer and play Rock Band, and I am soooo glad I'll be with Kate and not here! Although, if I weren't with Kate, I'm sure I'd be spending the night with Candace watching the aforementioned "Anne of Avonlea!"

5) And finally, work is finally picking up a bit. I have 2 days of work each week for the next 3 weeks. That's actually a fine amount, not too busy, but enough to start to rebuild my freaking bank account. I am broke! (Brian and I aren't broke, obviously, just me in my personal account!)

Later!

Happy New Year, About Two Weeks Late

Holy crap, if 2010 gets any more interesting, I just might fall over. Sorry for taking so long to write my first post of 2010, but as many of you know, we've been pretty darn busy in the Nault house.

For New Year's weekend, we went to Chicago to visit our friends the Fontanas. First, we drove through a blizzard around Kalamazoo New Year's Day on the way there, which was not fun. On Saturday, Brian, John, and a bunch of other guys went to the Northwestern vs. Michigan State basketball game and had a great time. (John and Erica live right next to Northwestern's campus.) Then, they came back and we all watched the bowl game that the MSU basketball team was playing in. Sounds like a fun weekend, right? Well, it was, other than the fact that Friday night one of my wisdom teeth starting aching, and by Sunday, I could barely open my mouth. By Monday, I called the dentist, who referred me to the oral surgeon, and on Tuesday morning, with Candace and Ollie waiting for me, I had my upper wisdom teeth out. I'm recovering well and am glad I'm never going to have that problem again. For about a year, my dentist has been telling me I needed to start thinking about having that done, and I should have listened!

Then, on Tuesday night, Grant came down to spend the night so I could take him to the airport Wednesday morning early to catch a flight to Steamboat, Colorado to go snowboarding with our Aunt Margaret and our cousins Nolan and Emma. It was his first time flying and he's a minor still, so I made sure we got there plenty early. This turned out to be a good thing, as his flights were screwed up, and they were able to get him on an earlier flight so he'd make his connection in Chicago and get to Colorado on schedule. So that worked out well. But, on the way home, my low tire pressure monitor went off in my car just as I was pulling off the highway by my house. I managed to drive to the dealership where we get our service work done, and watched my tire lose pressure as I was driving 4 miles up Grand River (my car has electronic pressure monitoring). When I pulled in, my tire had 12 pounds of pressure. When I'd left the house, it had 28.

I was supposed to go to work that afternoon, but that didn't end up happening. When they pulled the tire off the car and did the soap and water test around the rims (this enables them to see where the leak is), 6 inches of my rim was totally destroyed and leaking like a sieve. My car was not driveable AT ALL. I took the shuttle home, and they managed to get me a new rim and fix my car that day so I wasn't stranded. I had Grant's little truck here, but it's a stick and I can't drive a stick! And Brian was gone in DC! So, there went another $400 down the drain for vehicle repair. Lovely.

And finally, this morning, we had to go WAY down in the ghetto part of Detroit to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration office to get our biometrics taken (i.e., fingerprints) for our childrens' immigrant visa. You have to do this in advance, or you'll be stuck in Russia forever while stuff gets processed. So, we drive over an hour one way, walk in, and it takes FIVE whole minutes to do what needs to be done. Then, we leave. URG. But, it has to be done, right? At least the roads weren't bad this morning, traffic was okay, and we made it fine. The folks working were really nice, asking us where we're adopting from, etc. And the digital fingerprint system they have is pretty freaking sweet. I almost expected them to do a retinal scan or something too, but they didn't.

So, obviously, we've been very busy the last few weeks. I'm hoping next week is quiet, with no car breakdowns or health issues. It seems Brian only has a one day trip next week, which is nice. He's going to be gone a ton the next few months.

I'll write again soon, I hope!

Turkey Day Post-Mortem

So, Thanksgiving ended up going fine, although hosting duties did stress me out a bit, as usual! We ended up with 16 adults and 4 little girls, counting us. Luckily between the kitchen, dining room and in front of the TV (for the football junkies), the house could handle it all. We had a nearly 19 pound turkey, and didn't have that many leftovers! Brian normally likes having a LOT of leftovers (the man can hoover turkey sandwiches), but we ended up being busy for a lot of the weekend, and then he left for work out of town on Monday. So, not many leftovers for him this year.

The day started off well, with Brian making his stuffing and getting the turkey in at 10 am. Dinner was supposed to be at 2. He put the turkey on to roast at 325 degrees. I told him about halfway through (or maybe even earlier) to crank it up to 350, but he didn't. Oh no, he waited until it was 1:30 and the timer hadn't popped yet! Too late!!! The other funny thing is that my cousins Cory and Kayla were coming from Lake Orion, and got totally lost. I think they ended up half way to South Lyon. Kayla didn't write down the directions properly, and they ended up going in the wrong direction. They finally turned back towards town and make it at about 1:30, when they should have been here about 12:30 or 1 probably. Silly college kids!

So, it's 2 o'clock and everyone is waiting around to eat. The timer on that damn turkey FINALLY popped at like 2:15, so we didn't eat until 2:30 and everyone was STARVING!! But it was worth it, as Brian makes delicious turkey. We also had mashed potatoes, corn, stuffing, green bean casserole, squash, cranberry jelly, and rolls. For dessert, we had pumpkin pie, my mother's famous pumpkin cheesecake, and pumpkin roll (which was delicious). My cousin Kayla is currently a vegetarian (for the last couple years, actually) and the only thing she and Brian can agree on is my Mom's pumpkin cheesecake! They both said it was the best one she ever made!

Cory and Kayla ended up staying until about 9:30 that night, just hanging out. We made Kayla watch the original Star Trek: The Motion Picture (ha ha!) and she fell asleep in the chair! Then, the Wrath of Khan came on, so we just kept watching! It was funny. I'm glad they had a good time. All in all, we had a good time with the holiday too, even though it was a bit crazy!

Thanksgiving (aka Thanks-bitching)

Brian and I are hosting Thanksgiving (aka Thanks-bitching, Brian's word!) this year, our first major holiday hosting since Easter 2008. (My birthday party this year, while huge, doesn't count as a major holiday, unfortunately.) We're expecting at least 14 adults and 1 child, possibly a few more, as one of Brian's sisters has yet to tell us if her brood is coming. Rude. :(

Anyway, hosting major events stresses me out. Well, the preparation stresses me out, the actual hosting part is fun. Once all the food is done and eaten, I really enjoy myself. As for the preparation, we're right in the middle of it. I did the shopping today, and gosh, I do not miss working at Meijer on days like those, because pretty much everybody else was shopping at Meijer, too. I had to buy potatoes, squash, stuffing supplies, etc. I already have a green bean casserole from GFS (they have all sorts of pre-made sides, check it out!), frozen corn from the Schwan's Man, and I'm picking up our fresh 16-18 pound turkey from Middletown Market (the same place Brian gets his deer processed) on Tuesday. Other folks are kindly bringing cranberries, rolls, and delicious desserts. It should end up being fan-tastic. Thank god Brian does the turkey and stuffing, and does it well, and I can concentrate on the sides.

I expect the day to go well, as our families generally get along well. Dinner is at 2 pm, so it'll be all about getting up in the morning and getting the turkey going and peeling potatoes (not fun for me at all!). It's on days like these having a big ass dining room table rocks, because when it has the leaf in it, it seats 10 people, then 4-6 more can go around the kitchen table and some will probably just want to sit in front of the TV anyway. Thank god we have enough space!

So, now that you all know exactly what WE'LL be eating on T-day, I'm off to thinking about starting dinner for tonight! I hope you all have a great Thanks-bitching!

Late October...Feels like November Still!

I haven't written in a while, and that's because not much has been going on, or rather, the same old, same old has been happening. Obviously, we're still plugging away with the adoption. We still hope to have the paperwork out by the end of year, but I think it'll be sooner. I think that's good--if you're going to have to wait in line a long time, you'd rather be at the front of the line than at the back, right?

Regarding the adoption, we've finished our educational classes except for a seminar we're going to attend, and Brian has a book to read called, "Parenting with Love and Logic." I guess its a pretty famous book that lots of people have read. And its a book not just for adoptive parents, but for all parents. I think a lot of that stuff is pure hooey, but I honestly really liked that one. It's not all touchy-feeling, befriend your children crap. It actually says that you're NOT supposed to be their friends, you're supposed to be their parents. Also, it really focuses on letting kids learn from their own mistakes, and not fixing their problems for them. Sounds about right to me. The seminar we're attending is on Attachment and Bonding and what sorts of attachment problems adoptive children can have. I'm sure it'll be scary, but enlightening. Of course, they're telling you the worst case scenarios, we must remember that.

Also, Brian is thrilled that he got his first deer with a bow. Yay Brian, good job honey! It was a small doe, and normally I think he would have let her go, but he really just wanted to get over that hurdle. We still have some meat left from last year (almost gone), so he gave the whole deer to his sister, Erin, who could really use the meat and will happily eat every last bit of it. So, its not going to waste, thankfully. He's also been looking into how to donate deer to food programs, but I don't know if he's figured it out yet.

Brian has also been very good about keeping up with his physical therapy at home work for his shoulders. His actual therapy is done, and now he has exercises to do at home that he'll probably have to do forever. He's being very compliant, I think. His strength is increasing like crazy and he's getting some guns on him from the weight work! Another gold star babe!

Other than that, I've just been working a lot again, which is good. Considering we have to pay $350 this Friday for a psych evaluation that will probably take 2 hours, I'll take every penny. That's another thing that kills me about this process--you'd think we were wanting to do espionage or something with as much stuff as the government is making us do. And, just to be clear, its not just us, its everybody that goes through this process. Seriously, Immigration people--go round up some illegals or terrorists or something and leave all us adoptive parents who just want to give kids good homes alone! :)

More later!

Early October...it feels like November

Oh my gosh, it went from summer to late fall, it seems. I hate this weather! It is so cold and rainy and crappy! I would love to have an Indian summer, since we had our first hard frost the other night, but since we never had a REAL summer to begin with, an Indian one is probably more than I can realistically expect. :)

Just an update on what's happening around here, after the great MSU victory over U of M. Brian's mother had her whole ankle reconstructed about 10 days ago--she's basically been walking around on a broken ankle for THIRTY years. Literally. She fell and broke it when my sister in law Jaimie was about a month or two old, and its never been taken care of properly. So, we've been trying to keep up with what's going on there, and being available if they need anything. I think she's already starting to feel a bit better, as she's been on her email quite a bit.

My work starts up again in earnest on Tuesday. I'll be working probably 4 days a week or so through Thanksgiving. With what an adoption costs, money is good, but I will be smoking busy! So, on days off and on weekends, we will be really busy with paperwork and educational classes. I'm actually sort of looking forward to the classes, most of you who know me well know that I've always loved school. So that'll be fun, I think. It's basically on line stuff, and one seminar on attachment that Brian wants to attend. We have 7 different units, for a minimum of 12 hours of classwork we have to do to meet the requirements. It shouldn't be a problem, its just a matter of sitting down and doing it! Hmmmm, maybe EVERYBODY that's wanting a baby or that is pregnant should have to take some damn parenting classes...

I also just want to say how lucky I feel that we have family and friends that are being so supportive of our decision to adopt. We truly have come to feel as though this is the route we're supposed to take to become parents. We will be saving two little lives in the process. To get back to the wonderful support we're getting, I'll sign off this blog entry with something Candace sent me recently. I hope its okay with her I'm posting it here. She sent me this picture with the caption of:

"Hi Miss Heather & Mr. Brian! I'm ready for my Russian friends to join me in my new ride!"

August Update

So, I appear to do a lot of update posts lately. Maybe I'm having trouble with longer posts, or maybe its just a lot of little things are happening, as opposed to big things. that are good for writing long posts. Either way, I guess a short post is better than no post!

1) The weekend we got back from the UP, B-Nutt went on his annual camping sojourn with his buddies. I'm always glad when that's done for the year, because its such a hassle on our end. It shouldn't stress me out, because I have nothing to do with it, but it totally does. Brian cooks every year, and so there's always tons of food and drink laying around, we make numerous trips shopping, etc. Aack! The only reason I tolerate it is because he enjoys doing it so much.

2) The weekend after camping, we and the Meese's went to Chicago to visit the Fontana's. We went for the Air Show (which the girls ended up not going to anyway!), but mainly to attend Erica's "retirement" party. Haha! That made me laugh (Erica "retired" to being a stay at home mom). But it was really good to see John, Erica and the kids, and they are doing tons of great things to their house. And Dominic and Lia are about some of the cutest kids ever. Always a good time and loved the road trip with the Meese's. I think Candace was amazed at how funny Brian is in the car for long periods of time!

3) My work is in full swing again and so is Brian's. So, he's traveling a lot the last few weeks and coming up in the future. I've been in Saginaw a ton, so putting a ton of miles on my car (thank god for mileage reimbursement). But it looks like Thursday Candace and I will be hanging out and having fun, so that's good!

4) Finally, Brian and I are still figuring out what route we want to take, adoption wise. We have a pretty good idea what we'll be doing, but I'm not ready to make any official announcement yet. When I am, I will. :)

Later!

UP Trip Part Two

As the rain falls in buckets outside my window this morning, and before I go to yoga class, I decided to write up Part Two of the UP trip. Here goes!

On Saturday, as the rain was falling in Grand Marais, Brian and I took off to drive to the Keweenaw Peninsula. Drive time was about 4 and a half hours plus time to stop. We drove across US 41, through the edge of Munising, Marquette (looks pretty), Ishpeming and Nagaunee (both nice little towns on the water). We stopped in Ishpeming and had lunch at their brewery there and Brian bought a growler to bring home (of course). We got to our inn in Laurium/Calumet at about 2:30. We stayed at the Laurium Manor Inn, which is this huge old mansion built in 1908 by a copper baron. All the rooms are different, and you learn about the history of your room when you're there. We stayed in the Hecla room, which was the bedroom of the family's oldest son, Calvin. I picked this room out because of the mural of deer and elk on the walls. If you're interested, check it out.

http://www.laurium.info/

I would highly recommend if it you stay up in that area! It was so gorgeous and a full buffet breakfast was included every morning! They also have a B&B across the street, and two weekly rental cottages for groups that do not include breakfast. Totally awesome!

Saturday night, we drove back to Hancock and went to Mary and Ted's house. Brian got to meet them, as he never had before. And he also got to meet their little girl Elaine, who is still cute as a button. We hung out at their house for a while, chatting, and then went to dinner at a place in Houghton (just across the portage from Hancock) called the Library Pub. Again, a brew pub (does it sound like my husband likes beer?). We left Mary and Ted's and went back to the inn and collapsed. It was so nice sleeping in a real bed after sleeping in a tent for 3 days!

Sunday we decided to go to Copper Harbor and Eagle Harbor. We drove up US 41, a twisty, turny road in that area, and made it to Ft. Wilkins at Copper Harbor. Ft. Wilkins is a state park, an old army post from the 1840s that's all redone to be authentic with displays and things. They also have kids from Northern dress up and act the parts of servicemen, etc. It was really neat! After Ft. Wilkins, we headed into Copper Harbor itself and found the infamous Harbor House, which is a German restaurant right on the water where the ladies dress up in outfits and go dance on the dock if the boat from Isle Royale comes in. (We did not see this!) We took pictures of the lighthouse, but didn't actually go to it, because it was an expensive boat ride to get over there.

Next, we headed to Eagle Harbor, but went the long way around. We drove to the top of Brockway Mountain and took awesome pictures of Copper Harbor from up there. On the mountain, we ran into Mary and Ted, a big coincidence and planned again to meet for dinner! Brian kept saying at the top of the mountain that it didn't seem to him we were in Michigan, and that this was as pretty as anything he'd seen in Europe. I agree.

We then went to Eagle Harbor, which has a lighthouse and a little museum, but all in all, we think it wasn't what it was cracked up to be. Then, we went to the old Quincy Copper Mine and did the full tour, including underground. The Keweenaw used to be big mining country, and there are tons of old mines that you can tour. It was really neat, but a little unnerving to be 374 feet underground, especially when the tour kid turned off the lights and showed us how the miners worked by candlelight. Yikes!

That night, we had dinner with Mary, Ted, and Elaine at the Hut Inn, a local landmark. A nice time was had by all, I think. Monday morning, we got up, had breakfast, and headed out at about 8:45. We got home at about 6:30 and stopped for only 45 minutes--a total of 9 hours of driving time! What a long day! But it was a great trip!

Here are some more pictures. This one is of the snow stick on the way to Copper Harbor. Yes, that does read a record snowfall of over 30 feet the year I was born. If you can read it, the average is about 20 feet! We get about an average of 4 feet and complain about it!

Next, we have a view of the Copper Harbor lighthouse. We took this from a scenic overlook that's part of the State Park. Maybe next time we'll take the boat ride over.

Finally, we have a pic of Brian on the top of Brockway Mountain. It is gorgeous up there, and you can see all the old growth forest below.

Fourth of July Weirdness

So, I know I posted this a little on FB, but I must elaborate on the the weirdness at my parents' house on the Fourth of July.

First off, its really true that Brian and I were REALLY out of place. We were completely surrounded by 17 year olds and 70 year olds. Grant had a ton of people there, probably 20 teenage kids, some who seemed nice and some who were annoying, as many teenagers are! I can't get over how old these teenage girls look now--is 15 the new 25? Good lord, those girls are more made up and put together than I am now at 30. What happened to braces and pimply faces? For those of you who read this who knew me in high school, we DID NOT look like that 12 or so years ago.

As for the 70 year olds, my parents friends seem to be aging at a rapid rate of acceleration--a few short years ago, it seems their friends were their age. Now, it seems that they have about 2 friends their own age, and the rest are all literally senior citizens, which my parents are not. So, Brian ended up hanging out with my cousin Cory all night (age 21, and he even felt old next to the kids) and I talked to my mom and grandma, and hung out with Brian and Cory. And Holly and Denny later when they came over! Holly did not bring the kids, which was probably for the best, and so Emily got to stay at home with her Grandpa Jim (Holly's dad), who she proudly informed her mother is her "BFF." Where the heck does a 3 and a half year old learn BFF???

Finally, we get to the part I know many of you are wondering about....the 75 year old marrying the 19 year old. Here is the story. This guy Ron has been a friend of my parents for a long time. He's also done a ton of carpentry/building work for them, which is his forte and he's very good at it. I guess a few years ago he bought a house in the UP up by the Soo and began spending summers up there, working and enjoying himself (For a 75 year old, this guy looks like a healthy 60 year old and could outwork any of his reading or writing this blog!). Across the street lived this family of a single dad with 3 kids, mom took off to Ohio. I guess they are kind of wacky religious, and the kids, especially the 2 girls, are not allowed to talk to anybody not approved by the dad. They've been homeschooled, haven't had jobs, etc. These people are also really poor, and Ron would frequently raid my mother's garden for all sorts of stuff to take up to them so they'd have food. Well, this girl starting hanging around Ron, and dad let it go, probably thinking he was harmless. When he came back down to Mayville for the winter, she kept calling him and calling him. He would pick and talk to her, partially to not be rude but I'm also sure he enjoyed the attention. He claims that he told her repeatedly to go get a boyfriend her own age, to no avail. Well, the absent mom comes in the picture and tells Ron to quit talking to her daughter, etc, and his response is "She's been calling ME, all I do is pick up the phone." Fast forward to this summer, and they are apparently getting married this week, and might be already as I write this blog. When I saw them at the party, I seriously thought it was his cute little granddaughter, until Jim tells us all otherwise, and my Mom confirmed the story. We totally thought he was pulling our leg, but no. Obviously, this girl sees this as her way out, and I'm sure Ron enjoys having a cute young girl on his arm. If everyone is going into it with eyes open, not my business.....but I was grossed out a second time when Jim wondered out loud if the girl might be pregnant.....

Where the hell did June go?

Um, so 2 weeks have passed since I last blogged. I have no idea where the hell the month went since my party. I've just been very very busy! Not much to report on this last day of June. I'm happy Candace and Oliver are coming back tonight, as I'm now off on break from work for 2 weeks and desperately want to hang out! I think we may go to the Zoo, hang out at the pool, etc. I'm excited. I'm also very excited that Brian and I are going up north for a few days at the end of July, beginning of August. We're camping in Grand Marais with my aunt, uncle and cousins, and then heading to Houghton/Hancock for a few days to see my friend Mary and drive up to Copper Harbor! Fun! This coming weekend is the Fourth of July, with my mother's yearly party that Brian and I have never actually attended together. We've always had other plans! So this year, that's it. I feel like so many things are going on, before I know it, fall will be here and I'll have missed the summer totally. We have the Kid Rock show to go to in a few weeks, and Jimmy Buffett in August, after Brian goes camping. We're so busy, its crazy! I hope to talk to everyone soon!

They Say It's My Birthday!

So, sorry it took me so long to do a recap of my par-tay. Sunday was spent cleaning up and sleeping, and I've worked a ton Monday, yesterday, and today. So, for those of you who weren't there, or who haven't heard the whole BB gun story, here goes!

Brian and our friend Paul did sooooo much prep on Friday night. Brian had said it would be a couple hours, and it ended up being 7 hours. I was so stressed out. Paul was at our house until almost 1 am. I felt really bad that we kept him away from Marcy and Merina for that long. And he was back at the house at 11 am Saturday morning. It was crazy. Also, my kitchen was COMPLETELY trashed and Brian kept assuring me that he would clean it up before everyone got there, which I knew was completely impossible, which stressed me out even more. So, Grant and I ended up cleaning when Tim and Brian went to go the get the keg and go to GFS. I was going totally nuts. The weather also had me nuts, as it rained the whole morning before the party started, and despite the fact we had a tent, I did NOT want people to have to sit out in the rain. That totally sucks.

So, the party started on time, and guests started arriving, which is always the fun part. The preparation leading up to the party is always the worst for me--the party itself is fun, because I enjoy seeing everyone. It was very good to see family, as always, and I particularly appreciate friends that came from far out of town, like Kate and Paul, April and JB, and Tom and Mer. (Another shout out Miss A!) I was in the kitchen when Kate and Paul arrived, and suddenly I turned around and there was Paul, and I screamed like a teenage girl. I asked where Kate was, and Paul said she was coming in. Well, I sprinted for the door, flung it open, and there she was. I again screamed like a little girl, and then tackled her so hard her beer went flying onto my laundry room floor. Hell, that's why it's tiled right? I was also thrilled when April and JB arrived with Miss Olivia, and later on when Tom and Mer came. I'm also obviously always happy to see Holly and the kids and Candace and Ollie! I was also happy to meet Kelly and Shawn's new baby, Aiden.

The party went well, the pig was great. My mom was nice enough to carve it up for Brian, and a few of the kids found it very fascinating that the pig had a face. Some of the adults were simultaneously grossed out by that fact. The food that Brian and Paul made was great, and there were ample drinks. We actually ended up having TONS of the side dishes left over, so much so that my mom and Holly each took several trays home, and we have 3 or 4 in the freezer. Later on in the day, the family took off and it was all of us and our friends, which was fun. We FINALLY cut Marcy's awesome birthday cake, which was round and looked like a beach, with an umbrella, beach shoes, towels, etc, all that were edible. It was awesome and people loved it!

Okay, so here's the deal with the BB guns. Earlier in the day, my neighbor had come around and warned us that kids were riding around the sub in a golf cart shooting BB guns. Not cool. So, we had some warning of what was going on. About 9 pm, Brian and a bunch of our friends were in the garage hanging out, and I was inside, when all of a sudden, BB's starting being fired into our garage. Grady and Laura got hit, but they are okay. Brian and a bunch of our friends took off through the woods and across the fields to the kids' house, which is a farm house behind our sub. They found the kids with their parents, and a few friends that they had over. The exchanges were heated at first, until Brian calmed people down and the guys presented evidence that it had, in fact, been those boys who did the shooting. The dad proceeded to smash the BB guns and the mom freaked out when she found out there had been roughly 30 little kids running around all day. Brian and the guys came back to the house, and a bit later, we ended up calling the cops to report it. The State boys came out and talked to us, and went to the boys house, and they got stern talking to. Sunday night, they came to our door with their dad and apologized again, and we all had a discussion. I think the cops scared the crap out of those kids, and I think they've hopefully learned the lesson. I don't think we'll be seeing them around the sub again.

So that's what went down! To all of you that attended, thanks for coming, and for those who couldn't come, I wish you'd been able to!

Weekend at the Pocono's (Not Bernie's)

Again, it's been a while since I blogged. Once the document review project ended, I went right back into deps. And last weekend, we went to the Poconos Mountains in Pennsylvania for my Aunt Marcia's 50th Birthday party. All she wanted was her family and friends at the cabin for a party, and that's what she got! My grandparents were there at their cabin, my cousin Kim (Aunt Marcia's daughter) and her husband and baby were there, my uncle Marty, aunt Margaret and cousins Emma and Nolan came, and Aunt Holli and Cory and Kayla came. Uncle Mark couldn't go for work reasons. My parents are the only ones who didn't go from our side of the family, and people were pretty disappointed with them as they really didn't have a good excuse. (I can say that without starting stuff in the family because they don't read this.)

We flew out on Friday, and ended up getting delayed out of Detroit for 2 hours. We finally left at 2:30 and landed in Newark, New Jersey, right during rush hour. Of course, just our luck. A 2 hour drive turned into 3. We finally made it to the mountains at 7 o'clock. She and my uncle, and my grandparents own cabins in a small mountain development in Greentown, Pennsylvania. Well, my grandparents place is a trailer, as are many of the places in this development. My aunt and uncle's place is a real cabin, and my uncle has done a ton of work on it. It's pretty sweet.

I must say, we were lucky this weekend that we flew. Because of that, we were unable to bring pillows and air mattresses like many other people did, so we scored a real bed at Grandpa and Grandmas. However, that bed is the WORST bed I've ever slept on (not to sound ungrateful). But it is super hard and super uncomfortable. Not that Brian was in the bed with me that much! Friday, he was up with my cousin's husband and other dudes until about 2 am, and we were up at 7. Saturday was the day of the party, and it was rocking. This side of my family are my "drinking" relatives, and my cousin Kayla was in awe at the amount of alcohol. The party itself was in the pole barn of friends of my aunt and uncle, and it worked out really well, except for there being no bathroom. You had to hike up and down a big old hill to get to the nearest bathroom! Let's just say the guys didn't bother with the hike! The party was great and went on and on, and I gave it up at about 10 because I was tired from not getting a ton of sleep the night before, but Brian didn't come to bed until 3 am.

We were both utterly exhausted the next day going home, and felt like crap. We ended up stopping at a Wendy's in New Jersey about 45 minutes out of Newark, and it was a great idea. We felt SO much better afterward, and made it home without incident, thank god. And then Brian left Monday, came home Tuesday, and left again Wednesday! And he's gone for a week, even over the weekend. And that's what going on with us the last few weeks!