Today Might Just Be the Day...

What happens in the daily life of the family.. the drama of foster care, the adventures of parenting, & pictures to share with everyone!

Leaping without Looking

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Wow.

I feel like there’s so much going on right this very second in our home & family.

Today we had another Halloween party to attend…. this one was at the Senior Center. It was very cute. My little ones went trick-or-treating from table to table. I love the fact that my kids went right up to everyone and gave high fives and hugs and even sat on a couple laps. Oh, and I’ve already been able to raid their candy.

Wednesday was the first Halloween celebration at our elementary school. And the highlight of that evening was the principal kissing a pig. If any other parents are looking for a fund raiser that the kids will get behind, you’ve found it! The principal set a goal of $300 and the kids raised $500! It was all for charity, but I’m sure it could be used to fund something needed at a school as well.

Oh, I totally forgot. Last weekend the kids went to Boo at the Zoo.

So, this whole holiday thing has been going for days and while the end *is* in sight, we still have a few more days.

But, that’s just one stinking holiday.

B is also gearing up for a huge event for his station. They host an annual show that brings together financial professionals and locals.. and they will be broadcasting live from the event.

So,  I plan on seeing very little of him next week.

Add to that the fact that I’m back to “work” again. Yesterday was my third class of this cycle. And while I only work a few hours each week, it definitely makes a difference being away from home even one night.

OK, once we survive B’s event, then we will be mere days away from my first show!!!

Lately every spare minute I have I’m either thinking about the business or crafts or creating or fixing things. My goal is to finish one item a day, but yesterday I didn’t meet that, so that means that today I need to get the lead out.

I’m sure it will be a huge success.. (I really, really, really, really hope it is!).

The weekend after that (11/20ish for those of you counting), we thankfully only have a couple events…

Then there’s Turkey Day.

I will be making pizza. You are all invited over. Just bring a side dish!

And the next day is one of my favorite days of the year–black Friday. I think I’ll do a whole post on that soon.

Then comes RAD Crafts second show!

And here’s the heavy one. That next week we may be closing on a new house.

Egads.

It’s still up in the air. We are more than a couple steps away from it being a done deal, but it’s there.

As if that weren’t enough, we will also be taking our little Bean that weekend to go see Yo! Gabba Gabba! for her 4th birthday…

Maybe this is my “look”. I at least have an outline. None of it seems impossible. And, really, it’s just one big event per week. We can do that. Right?

Now for the Words

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So, yesterday I posted a photo of the wall hanging that I made on Shutterfly. Isn’t it cute?!?

I actually made two and now I have to decide if I’ll keep one, if they’ll both be gifts or if I’ll keep both… Sorry Mom or Grandma, I might have just given away your Christmas gift a little early!

I have all of these wonderful photos from the adoption party. And I think that the next project with them will be our Christmas cards. (It *should* be the thank you notes that I’ve been neglecting to send out still..). So, there are a couple really cool designs that I’ve been looking at I like With Love Blue, and Merry Rainbow, but I will have to play around with my pictures before I can decide. Have I mentioned that I love shopping? I’ll, of course, need to buy new address labels, too. (Kidding, Brian!… sort of…)

OK, enough slacking.. I think I just might go work on those very overdue Thank Yous…

If I’ve talked you into shopping for your holiday cards, I should let you know that there’s an extra 20% off! Oh, and they are also offering free shipping if you spend $30 or more with the code SHIP30.

What a Lovely Weekend

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So, I tried to blog from my phone yesterday. Not a good idea.

I’m sure it *could* be done, but I’m also pretty sure I’m not going to be doing it anytime soon.

I’m sure you’re wondering why I’d feel compelled to do that. After all, I do have a netbook and my husband has a laptop… But, I was on the road. And the mobile hotspot that I was trying out worked on the road, but not while driving down the road, make sense?

The next question that should pop in your mind is, why on earth would you be on the road with that litter of children that you have…?

And the answer is, we were not! We left them at home 🙂

Brian and I are very spoiled  fortunate to have a wonderful sitter who was able to stay with the kids so we could have a little adventure. We went to L.A…. left on Saturday and came back on Sunday.

Why the journey for such a short stay?

The answer is the Fab Faux. If you’re a Beatles fan of any sort, you should check them out.

And, if you’re too lazy to do so otherwise, I’ll include a clip so you can just click your mouse a couple times and experience them…

This isn’t the best video, but it is my favorite song that they sing.

Hope you enjoy! And we’re already planning next year’s trip. Who wants to join us next October 22nd?

Wooohooo!

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I think this is amazing news for children in foster care in Florida.

Florida has been very slow in allowing same sex couples to adopt and now they’ve finally lifted the ban (read more here).

Right now there are at least 560 kids in foster care in Florida waiting for a forever family. Hopefully this change will end that wait for some of them.

Really?

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I need to vent. Again.

I know that not a lot of people understand adoption. And I realize that I’m extra sensitive since I’ve adopted and come from a family with adopted children. But, here’s the conversation I had with the cashier at the grocery store.

Her: Where did your daughter get her nose, from you or your husband?

Me: Well, she’s adopted. So, I don’t know. But, I like to think that she looks like me.

Her: It is a cute little nose. Is your son yours?

Me: Yes, he’s mine, but adopted, too.

Her: Oh, well they look just like brother and sister.

Me: They are brother and sister, just not biologically…

I smiled and remained calm, but come on lady! Ugh! She needed to stop.

I was so proud of myself for telling her right away that they are brother and sister. Typically when people say stupid and rude stuff like this I’m too dumbfounded to come up with a proper response. And I really hope that she wanted to stick her foot in her mouth.

I know that she meant no harm. But, I also know that if I don’t vent, if I don’t let people know the correct vocabulary, my kids will have to deal with this forever (they probably will anyhow, but maybe I can change one or two people for them).

Adopted children are still *my* children. And they’re still real. If you want to distinguish between adopted, foster, or biological. Those are the words you use.

For example…

“Do you have any biological children?” Totally cool!

“Do you have any of your own kids?” Totally rude.

“Are they brother and sister?” Rude if you’re implying that genetics make a family.

“They look alike, are they biological siblings?” The right way to say it…

I know it seems petty and odd, but it’s important to me. So, if you care about someone who loves a child who’s not biologically theirs, then maybe it’s a good lesson. Unless we talk about it and confront the way that society approaches alternative family building, it won’t get any better.

These are changes that have happened in other realms. We used to say handicapped, now we’ve learned to say developmentally delayed. And it make sense.

I’m just asking you to be a little more P.C. for me 🙂

More Goodies to Show

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So, it turns out that just making something doesn’t really mean you give it to someone… You have to find something to ship it in, address the thing, and then actually get to the post office. It’s these last couple of steps that trip me up every time!

However, I did succeed last week.

And, as I heard via text, at least one item actually made it to the recipient!

It’s way more fun to make stuff than to actually get it sent out.

But, I wanted to show off what I sent out…

For the newest member of my family, my cousin’s son…

 

And for my youngest nephew…

 

I also started making my first reusable sandwich baggies this weekend. Daniel has even asked to learn how to sew, so he helped me with these. Photos will have to follow.

And yesterday I made a few more lovies. My craft room is starting to get very crowded, as is Brian’s garage (sorry, baby-baby).

Only a couple more weeks until our first show! This weekend Brian and I will be going to see a concert, then there’s Halloween, then Financial Fest… then the show. So, pretty much I’m down to no weekends left to prep, only weekdays.

Another Rite of Passage

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To be a parent, there are a few things that have to happen. Sure, having a kid is a good start…

But, until you’ve cleaned poo out of the tub or been thrown up on, are you *really* a parent?? If you haven’t stayed up all night with a sick kid, or toilet trained a stubborn two year old (aren’t all 2 year olds stubborn?!?), if you haven’t reached out to catch the puke to save your clean carpet…. are you really a parent?

Since we do comando parenting and have had lots of kiddos in a short period of time, we’ve gotten to go through all of these trials and tribulations at record speed.

But, there was one thing that I hadn’t done yet. Even though we’ve gone to the ER on four occasions and to Urgent Care too many times to count, I’ve never had a child with a broken bone.

I haven’t blogged at all this week.. And this was part of the issue.

Monday we went to the park with one of V’s new friends from t-ball. And it was only a couple minutes into playing when he fell off the top of the play structure.

Being the mean mom that I am, I didn’t think anything was wrong, so I calmed V down and told him to rest for a few minutes before he went back to playing. Well, after he calmed down, I encouraged him to go play again. That wasn’t happening. He started screaming bloody murder.

So, playdate was ended and we took off for Urgent Care.

Thankfully, our wonderful sitter was already headed in our direction, so she was able to pick up the other kiddos. Brian came and met us down at the UC. It took both of us holding V to ge the x-rays taken. And they didn’t see anything.

So, home we went with a very grouchy and sore kiddo.

Tuesday I called his pediatrican to see what we should do to follow up. V’s arm was swollen and he wasn’t using it anymore than he absolutely had to.

The pediatrican told us that they wouldn’t take a second x-ray for another week.

Then, Wednesday V woke up with a horrible sounding cough. It was almost like a seal’s bark.. poor little dude! So, off to the ped we went. Oh, and somehwere between when I called the ped. that morning and when our appointment was, David’s ear started leaking gunk.. so we knew we had an ear infection on our hands, too.

Anyhow, being the thrifty mom that I am, I got a two-fer and asked the ped. to look at V’s arm while we were there.

At that point, it was very swollen and V still wasn’t using his arm for much of anything.

So, the ped referred us to an orthopedic. I had no clue how hard it would be to get an appointment with an orthopedic. I think I called about 10 different offices and the fastest I could get him in was this morning (Friday). Wow.

Anyhow, we swung by the UC to pick up the x-rays this morning and headed to the other side of Phoenix this morning for our appointment.

Turns out that V’s left arm is broken right above the elbow.

He’s not a happy camper.

But, his poor arm is now safely healing inside a bright orange cast.

So, am I a real mom yet?

Ha! Ha!

Dora, Dora, Dora the Explorer

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We got to see Dora!

I think I might have been more excited than the Bean. We went to the zoo for a special event (every year Fisher Price brings out their toys for the kids to try out) and Dora was there.

And because I have cute kids, here are a couple other shots…

 

 

Don’t Be Offended (Or do…)

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So, I have a vent.

And I’m worried that it could offend some.

But, I kind of don’t care. Because if it does offend, maybe it’ll also teach.

As you know, we just adopted our V. And we had a massive party (photos have  been proofed, now just waiting for our disc so we can share!). A bunch of people came and tons brought gifts (thanks!) others asked and were told not to buy anything (Thanks to you, too! You listened to me and were still here to enjoy our special day & that’s what we needed.).

This post isn’t directed at any of you.

This is for those of you who know we adopted, were sent an announcement and didn’t do anything. Not a card. Not a call. No gift. Nada.

I think that stinks.

None of our kids came to our family the “traditional” way. We never had a shower. We didn’t get to plan for months and months for them. And, when they came, we didn’t know if they’d stay or go. We didn’t expect gifts for each of them (and thank you to those who helped us during those difficult transitions).

We get that it’s different than having a biological child.

But, an adoption is still a birth. You might not know that in just a few days I’ll be able to request a new birth certificate for V. On that b.c., we’ll be listed as his mother and father. We are. As Brian’s uncle joked, he was born at 10:34.

I guess my vent is just to those who don’t “get it”. These are my babies, their births just happened a few years later than  “normal”. But, they still deserved to be showered with kindness and cards and even a gift or two.

I wondered if I was alone in having these feelings. So, I asked a few other adoptive parents… and their experiences were similar. Family not aknowleging the huge change in their lives… children being ignored.And it’s not fair! (Insert bratty stomp!)

What’s hardest for me is the expectation that goes the other way. I’m expected to attend the baby showers and buy the gifts for each new baby (planned or not). So, I’m going to raise the bar right now. From now on you are *expected* to celebrate each adoption in a huge way. It’s a birth with a pregnancy that goes on for year. It’s a pile of paperwork and a roller-coaster of emotions. And they’re oh so beautiful. I expect you to call on the day of the adoption and ask the details. I expect you to be excited and tell all of our friends about the new addition to your family. I expect you to change yourself (and hope that it spreads…). I expect you to ensure that I’m one of the last adoptive mamas that will feel sadness around such a special day .

Thanks.

(And like I said, if you’ve already made this change… kindly disregard)