Fall Fun

And AGAIN, it's been two months since I wrote something here. Absolutely pathetic. I REALLY need to make it a point to do this at least once a month. I always have something to say, of course. It's just sitting down and finding the time to do it!

We've been having a great fall so far. The kids are doing awesome. We're soooo busy though, before I know it, it'll be Thanksgiving (which we may host this year) and then the kids' first Christmas! So excited for that! Aaaahhh, can't get ahead of myself.

So, what we've been up to consists of this:
Monday morning, T has pre-school. She is still doing awesome, from what her teachers are saying. They love her.
Tuesday morning, T has dance. She loves it and smiles from ear to ear the whole time she's in the studio. It's so freaking cute.
Wednesday morning, T has school and C has library story time. I like going to the library, but the part he likes the best is the music stuff and the playing after. I have to remember, HE IS TWO. (Although now, closer to THREE!)
Thursday, our free day of the week.
Friday, T has school and C has gymnastics, which he has taken to like a duck to water. His teacher says the things he can do already are NOT typical of a child his age, i.e., he has excellent motor skills and coordination.
Most Saturdays, I go to yoga class (thank god) and Brian takes the kids into town to go to Great Harvest Bread Company to buy our yummy loaf for the week. Double Cinnamon Chip makes PHENOMENAL French toast on Sunday mornings.

So, we are a pretty busy bunch. Almost every weekend from mid-September through October was/is too busy for my yoga (bummer) and then B has all his hunting stuff in November. Grrrrr...... Also, B still does travel, quite a bit at times, so sometimes I'm totally solo. That's why all of Cola's activities are at times when Tania's at school. I have to participate with him in these things because of his age, and there's no place for her, you know? If he has to come to her dance class, its fine, because I have to wait outside with the other moms and look through the glass windows anyway. So, he could play or run up and down the hallway (it's in an enclosed strip mall type place) for the 45 minutes.

Have a great fall y'all! (Cheesy, I know).

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!

Just the Three of Us...

So, Brian is gone this entire week. He won't be home until Friday morning. This is the longest he's left the kids and I in the nearly four months we've been home. I'm both anxious and calm about it. Anxious because it's a long time for him to be gone and me to be alone with the kiddos all on my own, but also calm because I know everything'll be okay. I just know that when ge gets home, I'll immediately want to turn them over to him! Ha ha. But, we have a fairly busy week. Tomorrow, my aunt Margaret is coming to visit. She hasn't seen us since she stayed when Tania was sickly the first time he left us. They are so different, WE are so different. I think she's going to be shocked! Tuesday is Cola's playgroup, and Wednesday our social worker is coming for our first official post placement visit. I think she's gojng to be very pleased with what she sees!

As you can tell, things are a TON better around here. I think we're through most of our transition. It was short but traumatic! At one month in, I felt like a crazy person, at two months, I was starting to see the light at the tunnel, and three months in, I let out a huge sigh of relief and thought, "Wow, this is gotten pretty good!". And now, we're four months in, and I love these little monsters so much! Cola is the sweetest little boy and Tania is such a beautiful, smart little girl it's scary! I'm so excited for her to start pre-school in a week. I think she's going to thrive. She seems excited and she can start in some catch up learning.

Time to sign off and watch some "Game of Thrones" since the kids are sleeping!

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!

Fun Stuff!

We've been home a little over two months now and I realize all my blog posts have been "Oh woe is me, this is so hard, etc, etc." So, I figure I should make a post about the fun stuff we've been doing/learning to show it's not all doom and gloom in the Nault house!

Our guest room has officially become Tania's room, which wasn't what we intended, but I guess, what's the big deal right? I hung a decorative plaque in there with her name and birthday on it that says "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, do you know how loved you are?" It's pink and was a gift from our friends Steve and Nancy Moriarty from Indy. Cola has one too that's blue that I want to get up! Brian and I also hung light blocking curtains in both of their rooms, hers are bright pink and his are navy blue, which work perfectly color-wise with what they like, bedding, etc. I am still sleeping in there with her, which is okay. She's been doing GREAT lately with sleeping, consistently better all the time. For example, two nights ago I got up to check on Brian and Cola and left her and she woke up. She didn't scream for once, she just called out to me twice! It was great! Then, she and I went to Brian and Cola's room and she kissed Brian on the head and we went back to bed. It took her awhile to fall back asleep, but that's normal. I sang to her. We do that every night, singing, that is. It used to be "Twinkle Twinkle," now its "Hush Little Baby" with a line about a pizza pie in it, so she calls it "Pizza Pizza." It's funny. Cola's crib has been turned into his full sized bed and he and Brian are in there, so at least they're out of our bedroom! That's honestly really nice to be able to go in my bedroom after they're sleeping and put my PJ's on, brush my teeth, shower if I want, etc. Cola is still sleeping crappy, but such is life. It's gonna take awhile. He just can't express what's going on in his little head and it keeps him up, I think.

The kids love their new playroom (which used to be our formal living room). We've gated it off from our dining room, which is my sanctuary/office. I think its going to work well for a long time. We play with the ball hut (gift from the Fontanas!), play with blocks, do puzzles (which Tania appears to be getting good at), do tickling and horsey rides. It's just nice to get the toys out of our family room, so when Brian and I sit down to watch TV at night, we don't have to look at that crap!

I seriously wish the weather would get warmer consistently. It was SO NICE for those two days, we were outside half the day and they had a blast running around and playing on the neighbors playscape. They slept so well on those nights! We also have had a blast visiting friends and going to the mall and BounceU to play. I am going to start taking them to story time at the Library and Borders, but this morning just didn't feel right. We got a late start and it would have been rushed. Maybe next time on Friday.

So that's what up here after two months! We can't believe its been that long!

THREE WEEKS!!

I cannot believe that in THREE WEEKS the kids will be home! We leave a week from Saturday and will be home January 26! It is so nutty around here trying to get everything together. Brian's been installing baby gates, I'm getting paperwork together, and I need him to help me organize their room and put a bunch of toys downstairs. Everyone has been so generous with clothes and toys that some of the toys need to be put away and taken out slowly. These kids are NOT used to having an abundance of things and it can really overstimulate them. That's also why we did not decorate the room very much. Decoration can come with time! Also, thanks to Holly and Jill, I have full drawers for Nicholas and TWO sacks of too big clothes in the closet for when he grows! We also have plenty of clothes for her right now, thanks to my lovely aunts Holli and Margaret, and it'll be cheaper and easier buying for one kid on down the line than both of them!

I am SO NERVOUS, but obviously excited too. Hopefully, now that this blog is linked to Facebook, I'll be motivated to post more in the new year. The kids themselves will provide motivation too--everyone wants to see pictures! I can't wait until I can oblige all of your numerous photo requests!!

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!

My Current Obsessions

Instead of crying, whining, and generally being upset about the current state of our adoption proceedings (on hold according to some Russian officials, not on hold according to others--WTF?), I decided to take a page from Miss A, and do a positive/happy blog post! So, I'm going to let you all in on what's going on in this crazy head of mine, and tell you about my current obsessions.

1) The Sookie Stackhouse Novels/True Blood.
So, most of you probably know I'm a huge fan of HBO's "True Blood." I think it is the best Gothic soap opera to come out in a while, with hot, hot men in it to boot. As you probably know, its based on the "Southern Vampire Mysteries" by Charlaine Harris, aka the Sookie Stackhouse novels. Without getting into the plot (Read the books! Watch the show!), I have to say the books are as enjoyable as the show, despite differences between the two. I wasn't going to read the books, because I enjoy the show so much on it's own, but Brian got me the first 8 in a set for Christmas (yes, you read that correctly). I sat down and proceeded to read all eight of them straight through. And then, about 2 weeks ago, the 9th book came out on paperback and I immediately bought that and read it in 48 hours. I know, pathetic. But they are SO MUCH FUN! I've actually already read a couple of them, the ones that are my favorites, over again. I think I may need to get a life! But, when I think about getting a life, I remember book #10 is coming out in May in hardcover, and I think I may need a Sookie/Bill/Eric/Sam fix by then!

2) Lady Gaga. My Lady Gaga obsession actually ties into my True Blood obsession if you can believe it. Alexander Skarsgard, who plays smokin' hot vampire Eric on TB, plays Gaga's boyfriend in the "Paparazzi" video, and when they are talking to each other in Swedish and kissing in bed, I really want to BE HER. (Sorry honey, its just a fantasy). I also just want to be her in general, actually, but just for a short period of time, like a week. As you know, I'm a pretty plain, non-showy kind of gal, and she is the EXACT OPPOSITE. And I admire that. She dresses how she wants, sings what she wants, does what she wants and expressed herself. I actually feel like there's a side of my personality that's like that, but I've never had the confidence or proper scenario to show that. I wish for one day, I could wear outrageous false eyelashes, 6" platform boots and a bubble dress. Or, meet the Queen of England in red pleather. Like I said, I would just want to be Gaga for a short time and then go back to my nice quiet life. But I think that week or so would be a hell of a lot of fun!

3) Last, but not least, my Mom got Travis this super cute duckling for Easter and now I want one too. We were up there on Saturday and I was holding it, and petting it, and its possibly THE CUTEST THING EVER. It's about the size of a kitten right now, and fuzzy yellow, and it doesn't know how to quack yet, so it just goes, "Beep beep beep." It kept nibbling me and chewing my hair and generally acted about 110% on the cuteness scale. I know I can't have one, because I couldn't let it wander my yard like my folks can, we have too many critters that would eat it, but it makes me wish for the days when we have kids and they want bunny rabbits and stuff like I had as a kid!

Umm, I Seem to Have Missed March....

Well, after my last post that detailed how bored I was, the month of March was anything BUT boring. I was working, working, working, and when I'm busy and on my computer all day, I really don't want to come home and blog about being on the computer all day. It really is feast or famine with me. Now, I'm currently on break for Easter, which is nice. So, I'm spending my days catching up on things and hanging out. This week, I'm going to see both April (we need to talk to plan our day!) and Candace (who's currently in KY visiting the fam).

Like I said, work has been super busy again, which is nice for my pocketbook, but sucky for my social life. We've been deciding a bit more on furniture, which I hope to order soon, considering it can take 3 months to come in. I think we've decided on Natart, but we need to be sure on what style we want, and get our hands on some Buy Buy Baby coupons and go order it. I'll take 20% off for the stuff we're looking at. So, that's our next order of business.

Nothing major is going on here, other than I think we may go to Toronto for a weekend in May. I don't have my work schedule yet in May, so I hope its not crazy. We want to go see "Rock of Ages," which is a new musical set to 80's hair band music, and it tells the story of the small town girl, and the boy born in raised in South Detroit in Journey's "Don't Stop Believing." We may also hit a Blue Jays game and Niagra Falls, too. Brian and I can't really plan any big trips now, because we never know when we're going to get a phone call, but we're trying to get in some weekend trips this summer and really continue to enjoy our time together alone while we can.

The only other thing going on is that I've been having really bizarre dreams lately. Last week, I dreamed that I had just given birth to twins, a boy and a girl, and Brian and I were getting ready to go to my check up appointment. I'd first like to say that I haven't had a dream where I'd given birth in AGES, so I don't know what's up with that. Second, it was weird, because we were going for my 6 week check up, but these babies looked 3-4 months old. Another weird thing is that, in the dream, since giving birth, I literally felt like my insides were going to fall out of my crotch onto the floor. Maybe that is what it feels like after, I don't know! Brian and I weren't living in our house here in Brighton, we were living in a duplex owned by Sam Merlotte (Sookie Stackhouse's boss in TrueBlood) and also, the house had a toilet in the kitchen instead of a sink. THEN, to top it all off, Angelina Jolie came in and was going to kill me, until I convinced her not to, because I had boy/girl twins like she does. And then I woke up. SO BIZARRE. Brian laughed his head off when I told him that one.

Hopefully I won't wait another month to blog! I'll try!

Musings on a Snow Day

Aahh, snow day. As a kid, it's always everyone's favorite day of the year. As an adult, it's STILL my favorite day, even though my work is so sporadic that having a day off is pretty much like most other days! But as early as Monday, I was asking my work if I was REALLY going to have work today, which they probably found extremely irritating. Anyway, yesterday I had to go to Clinton Township of all places, and we were lucky that our deposition got called for the day at a little after one because our Plaintiff was in so much pain (he has mesothelioma, unfortunately, and pops Vicodin probably 6 times a day). So I made it home yesterday by about 3 pm and waited for the snow to increase in intensity, which it did. And my work today in Saginaw DID get canceled, obviously, or I couldn't be working on this blog at 9 am.

So I'm sitting here on my snow day, thinking about stuff. At work yesterday, people were having a fit at the prospect of work being canceled and deps being rescheduled, etc. I remember saying to one of my attorney friends that "asbestos deps are not worth me risking my life" and his response was a very cheerful, yet serious, "Yes, they are!" And all I could think was, WTF? NO, THEY'RE NOT!

It's that response by my friend that got me pondering this: When did everyone start to think their lives are so big and important that a snow day will simply ruin everything? When did we become a society of people always moving, moving, moving, but never really seeming to get anything that really matters done? We're all walking around like chickens with our heads cut off. And honestly, people, IT'S NOT THAT IMPORTANT. Very few things things in life truly cannot wait--a medical emergency, a birth, the response times of the Police Department when you call 911. But other than that, seriously, it can wait. Today's asbestos deps can wait until next week. That lunch date with a friend, it can wait. That trip to the grocery store because I MUST GO TODAY (probably so little Billy doesn't run out of his favorite junk food that he doesn't need anyway)--well, it too, can wait.

When it's snowing like this, seriously, just stay home. That's what people used to do, back when people had common sense and no over blown sense of self importance. I wish more non-vital businesses would shut down or delay opening on days like this, so people could stay home with their kids, and not be forced to drive in this muck, etc. I remember my mom taking me to work with her when I was little and we had days off school (she was a housekeeper, so this was allowed). I actually remember us putting our car into the ditch one day trying to get to her work (hmmm, do you think that means we probably should have just stayed home? Again, cleaning the person's house could wait!). I think we, as a society, need to take a deep breath and think about what is truly vital in our lives and what isn't.

Candace and I have been watching "Anne of Green Gables" and the sequel, and the other day I said to her, "I could live like that," which brought up the idea of going without certain modern conveniences. I certainly don't want to live without blue jeans, antibiotics and tampons, and said this, but I certainly could live a life where the most pressing issue is when the cows get milked and what's for dinner, and where you ride your bike into town every day to get the mail and maybe something at the store. I think its a better lifestyle than most of us have today.

Funny the kind of musings a snow day can bring.

Enjoy it, everyone.

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!

"A Long December..."

"And there's reason to believe, maybe this year will be, better than the last..."

Sorry, I had to quote the Counting Crows, because this month is seeming to drag a bit here at the end, and also, because I heard that song the other day and it always makes me feel contemplative. Although, I must say, the words don't exactly fit my life, as, overall, 2009 wasn't a bad year, much better than 2008, in fact. New Year's Eve is here tomorrow, and I think 2010 is probably going to rock.

Here's the Christmas recap. We went to Bill and Dena's Christmas Eve and spent the night. Brian made his traditional Christmas Eve dinner of homemade pizza, which always goes over well. It was quiet this year, as Erin and her brood and Ryan, Jen and Kelsey were not there for dinner. Not that I'm complaining. Quiet was nice. We got up Christmas morning and Brian made omeletes for everyone, along with toast and potatoes. I was the toast girl this year, as Brian's normal helper, Ryan, was with Jen's family that morning. (They arrived later for breakfast.) We then did gifts, and the kids really seemed to enjoy what we got them. Then, Erin's brood and Ryan and Jen left again, and we had Christmas dinner cooked by Bill. Then, we went to my folks, and hung out with them for the night, which is always fun.

The next day, we had Tompkins family Christmas at my Grandpa and Grandma's. Grandpa is still doing well, which is nice to see. Grandma has lost a little weight, which is good for her sugar and also nice to see. The 17 of us demolished a turkey and a ham, and had WAY too much dessert. Then, we did gifts, which was fun, especially to watch Emma and Nolan open their stuff and go nuts. It's weird that they're the only kids present anymore! Then, the night dissolved into a raucous games of "Apples to Apples," which I didn't play because I'm not very good at it, honestly. :)

We came home that night, and since then, we've been hanging out. John and Erica came over one night, and we're heading to their house in Chi-town on New Year's Day for the weekend. Yay! Tomorrow night, we're going to our friends the Barlow's, who invited us over months ago. The Meese-doggies are also going, should be a good night. Also, since Brian's and my Bose DVD player took a crapper about 6 months ago, we went and bought a Blu-Ray player that is awesome and live streams our Netflix. I t hen sweet talked Bose into giving us a deal to trade in the old player for new equipment, but this time we're just going with the media center, and not the whole media center with DVD. Honestly, their audio systems are awesome, but their video isn't great, and they refuse to upgrade it to Blu-Ray. So, we'll have the surround sound still, but a separate Blu-Ray, which is fine. The new media center has so many component spots to plug into, we'll be able to play Wii in surround if we want! This excites me, as Brian and I are spoiled and we do like our electronic equipment and gadgets. I mean, its a luxury and I could easily live without it if I have to, but I DON'T have to, so I might as well enjoy. :)

Happy 2010!!!

Our Dossier is on it's Way!

We have reached a very important milestone with the adoption! Our dossier is finally out of our hands and will be going to Russia in a few short days! This morning I emailed our consultant about our papers, and she apologized and said she'd emailed me on Friday and said they were good! We have no idea why I didn't get that email, but the upshot is that I went to Lansing late this morning and got everything apostilled (29 documents, 29 bucks, took about 29 minutes). Before they could apostille them, I had to run and make copies at a nearby copy shop. I wasn't aware that the apostille is a piece of paper and gold sticker seal they permanently affix to each document. You can't copy your document after. So, I should have make those copies at home before I left, but you live and learn! In the grand scheme of everything, $5 is not a lot of extra money!

After I got everything apostilled, I came home and ate my lunch and went to Fed Ex and sent all the papers overnight to our consultant in Grand Rapids. So, in the next few days, our file should go to Russia!!! It takes about 3-4 weeks for everything to get translated and certified, especially at this time of year. Russia celebrates New Years just like we do, but their Christmas is Orthodox Christmas, which is later, and is on January 7. Literally, everything is closed, all offices, etc, from December 31-January 10 for holiday. So, that may take longer than usual, but at least it's out of our hands. Depending on what the agency's Russia office thinks is best, we may register in a particular region, but we may not, as not all regions require registration. If they don't register us in a region, we go in the master pile, I guess, with all the other families who are also not registered in one particular region.

So now basically, the wait is on. They are telling us we may wait a year for a referral because we are wanting two very young children, but that's okay. We'll see how it goes. I have to think that perhaps not as many people are adopting right now because of the economy, so maybe that'll shorten our wait. (Hoping!) And there are tons of other things to do while we wait, some more paperwork, gather orphanage donations, learns some Russian phrases, find a special doctor to help us evaluate the children's health when the time comes, and others. So, we'll still be really busy! But its nothing that will hold up our timetable! We are so excited to be at this point, and plan on taking a break from this stuff until after the New Year! We've been, and will continue to be, so wrapped up in all this, a break for the holidays will be great.

Thank you everyone!

Just Waiting!

So, I just wanted to do a quick update about adoption stuff. We have our home study in hand, and, on Friday, got all our documents signed and notarized! We came home and I immediately faxed one copy of everything to our consultant in Grand Rapids for her review. I am literally just waiting to get an email back from her saying the papers all look good. Once I get that, I can head to Lansing and have them apostilled, which is a state certification of the notary (as in, the state saying this person who notarized the documents is truly a notary). Once they are apostilled, I can Fed Ex all the papers and a big fat check off to our consultant and then, THEY GET SENT TO RUSSIA!!! So, we are almost to a big milestone!!

Thanks for reading and caring!

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!

More Adoption Fun!

Hi All! Sorry that I haven't been blogging much lately, and when I have it's been all adoption, all the time. But, between that and work, that's pretty much all we've been doing lately! Brian's travel has been all over the place, and now its hunting for him later this week, so I'll be flying solo again for a while!

I wanted to write and update what's been going on with the adoption, since everyone has been so kind, and so interested. A lot's been going on with it, and its all been going pretty well!

1) Today we had our home visit. That's when the home study social worker, (Kris in our case), comes to the house and checks it out. (Probably to make sure you're not lying about where you live!) We also went over a few last things. She loved the house and thought it was great, and will be a great place for kids. We told her that's pretty much why we had bought it! She stayed for about an hour and a half, and we had a nice visit. She is SUPER nice, and I would honestly recommend her and Adoption Associates in general for anyone who is interested. The process has been overall smooth so far, with a minor bump here and there, but that's to be expected.

2) We had our psychological evaluation last a week and a half ago, and actually got the reports (one for me and one for Brian) in the mail today. I was so nerve wracked about it, but the reports are good! We were "Recommended!" Yay!

3) We have one last thing to do for our required education, and that'll be done tomorrow. We're attending a seminar in Lansing on Attachment Disorder. It's sort of presenting a worse case scenario with an adoption, which I think is good. We need to be prepared for the worst, and hope for the best. Once that is done, we're done with classes, and then the home study can be complete!

4) Once the home study is complete, I can send that along with some other additional paperwork they asked for to USCIS (United Stated Citizenship and Immigration Service), ie, the Department of Homeland Security. Gotta despise federal bureaucracy, but they hold the power to award us visas to allow our children to come home with us when the time comes. Also, when the home study is done, we can complete the dossier paperwork (99% done already), get it notarized (I'll need to make an appointment at the bank, because it's about 3 copies of 8 different docs and will take a while), and then apostilled (which is the state seal, so I'll have to drive to Lansing). After that, OUR DOSSIER GOES TO RUSSIA! We had planned to have this paperwork done by the end of the year, and I think, barring major emergency, that we definitely will! Once everything is sent, we can start doing other things, like contacting an MD who's an adoption specialist (more on that in a later post), learning some Russian, getting rooms ready, gathering orphanage gifts, and working on yet more paperwork. It will be CONSTANT stuff to do until we're done, but we're almost over the first hurdle!

5) On a final note, our neighbors 3 doors down, Dawn and Rob, are in Russia RIGHT NOW meeting their daughter for the first time. And they just LOVE her and wish they could bring her home immediately, but obviously they have to wait just like we will. But, seeing her blog and how happy they are, for me, completely validates everything we are doing even more! I can't wait until that's us, but we have to be patient, because we could wait awhile!

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!