Juice?!

Anything in liquid form is called Juice. Whether it's water, milk, or pop. When I get out of the shower and put a diaper on Adele, she gets very angry and yells at the "Juice!" that drips from my hair onto her tummy. When we went to the splash park she was amazed at the sight of all the pools and slides and exclaimed "JUICE!" very happily. Rain is also very interesting to her. Lot's of Juice from trees. She has learned how to say Appy Juice though.

I can do it all by myself!

My day started out at 5 am with shrieks of terror. Adele crawls into our bed and demands "da Daddys" (everything is in plural form lately). She must have had a nightmare. What toddlers possibly have nightmares about is beyond me. No Spongebob? Bath time cut short? All the poppies have melted!? (popsicles) So after claiming my 3 inches on our King size mattress and a corner of a blanket I attempt to doze off before the hubby goes to work. When Amadon left for work and I brought the teenager to school, I figured (silly Mommy) that I might be able to get more bed. I wasn't foolish enough to think she would go back in her crib but another 3 inches of mattress was all I was asking. So after contorting like an acrobat and giving up my King size blankets (oh I miss the warm fuzziness I could sink into during my pre-baby days)I managed to drift into sleep.

My toddler being, that warm, wonderful little girl she is, decided to let mommy sleep. Why today and not any other day ever in history is beyond me. Now to give you a little background, we've been attempting potty training but after falling off the small potty and becoming terrified of the big potty we've decided to go back to diapers and try again after the holiday season). Well, not only did she decide to let Mommy sleep but she also decided to show Mommy how she could potty ALL BY HERSELF. No, no. I don't think you quite understood that last sentence. Let me repeat this. A L L B Y H E R S E L F. I open one eye and see a whimpering toddler frantically pointing to her feet and the direction of the potty. I stumble out of bed (nope, not a morning person or coordinated this early) and see a sight to behold. Now if I would have been smart, I would have picked up my toddler (and with a grin) whisked her off to the bathroom and told her how proud I was of her newfound skills and Good Job! or something noble along those lines. Nope, out of my mouth was "OHMYGOD!!! WHAT DID YOU DO!ARGH!" as I stared at poop on my toddler, down her leg, on her feet, on the floor leading to the potty and smeared all over our potty like a new coat of paint.

After undoing any progress of independence and her ever being unafraid of the big potty again by my reaction, I bring her to the tub to hose her off. It's times like this in which you wish you owned a fire hose or pressure washer. And this wasn't regular poop. This was half cement, half super glue type of poop. So after getting soap and water and wiping off said poop the best I could (yeah, that sensation on my hand woke me up)Adele decided it would be a great idea to take a bath. So fast forward to after taking a bath and me dumping half a container of corn starch on her head. Why cornstarch you ask? Because it was the only thing I googled that seemed like it might half way work to get rid of a half jar of vaseline out of her head. Where did this vaseline come from? Oh well, I forgot to mention that part. Before bed the night before, Adele found half a jar of Vaseline hidden behind our bed, on the floor somewhere we decided to put it a couple months ago to prevent this situation from happening. We originally had it because we ran out of chapstick from the baby eating that and I had chap lips....the point is we were idiots that forgot about it and now I'm trying to get this stuff out of her hair which takes forever. Cornstarch does help. It doesn't take it all out but it works way better than shampoo.

If you remember the box of cornstarch from the upper paragraph you will know that it's open. An open box of cornstarch in the bathroom and (silly) mommy decided to attempt to go the bathroom and still had the box of cornstarch by the bath tub. Adele, ran in, grabbed the corn starch and by the time I had my pants half pulled up, had managed to dump it all over the kitchen, dining room, and living room. What a toddler can do in 5 seconds is amazing. Then my teenager came home from school and accidentally sat on a cushion that got smushed into a plate of pizza. So we start to clean. I am literally showering chairs in the bathtub, scrubbing down cushions and couches, mopping floors numerous times, etc to get the house looking like we kinda picked up a bit, two hours later. Phew!

I decided to just order delivery and watch Spongebob with the munchkin.

On a good note, Adele tried using her little potty today as well.

the call

Well, Amadon got "the call" today. He's going to Iraq for a year and a half in January. I don't think I've been able to completely process the information. His mom cried. Janessa cried. It's hard but at the same time we have to look at the positives of it. We get base housing allowance, hazard pay, overseas pay, separation pay, and he will get promoted. But it's still war. I don't think anything can really prepare you for that or make you worry any less. I haven't been away from him for more than a night so it's going to be a big adjustment. I have so much going on, too! He's so sad that Adele will be 4 by the time he gets back and he's missing out on that little kid stage with her. I've also had a dream for the last few nights that he was going to get called overseas and die. So yeah, not good timing to have dreams like that.

What else can I really say? We've had a lot of friends go overseas and come back and some have been fine, some have really struggled with PTSD or injuries, and a couple died. I guess all you can really do is pray and hope things will be ok and have faith that it will be. There are so many military wives that go through this and I envy their strength. I'm terrified of having to take care of the kids myself, do foster care myself, figure out how to graduate and do homework myself, cook, clean, take care of house repairs, fix computer bugs, and make big decisions by myself. I know single moms do it all the time. I don't know how they do it. Sleeping in a bed alone, having one less at the dinner table, celebrating birthdays and holidays by myself, it all seems so overwhelming and hard. He won't be here for our wedding anniversary, our daughter's graduation, both birthdays, etc. I know I'm whining and that people suck it up everyday and go through it. I'm hoping somewhere, I can find that same attitude. But it's hard. And all I want to do is be selfish and look at how this affects me, our family, and how worried I am. I want to be sad and cry and think about how unfair it's going to be to go through all this stuff alone and how much I'm going to miss my husband. I haven't yet. I've kinda just sat like a stone with no emotions trying to comprehend it all. But it will hit. I'm waiting for it. I still haven't fully let my dad's death hit me and he died last November. It feels like it was yesterday.

Ozzy and Zombie

We went to see Ozzy and Rob Zombie on Monday and it was awesome!! First, we went out and ate with Doug at this pizza/bar place. The food was so good. We checked out his new pad and he even had his tie from our wedding hanging on his door handle.

I got to see Living Dead Girl, on stage. I was expecting a bit more from Zombie but the show was great, and I don't think he wanted to take away from Ozzy. That was crazy to see. I got to see the same guy on stage that my Dad listened to for years. I'm a fan of his new stuff and old stuff and he played both. We were on the main floor and I thought it was pretty lame how most of the people in the bleachers just sat down. Yup, sat down, during a rock concert. Come on! Get into it! That was my only gripe. Well, along with $5 beer but I'm sure everyone has that one.We ran into a bunch of people we knew there and one of our relatives was even dressed like a devil and a skeleton.

We left right before Ozzy was done, beat traffic, and made it home with our ears ringing and our throats scratchy.

It was a great way to kick of Halloween.

Adeleism

#11 Adeleisms, pushed chair under spice rack, climbed up quietly, grabbed food coloring and squeezed all over furniture and floor

a day in the life of a toddler

Adeleisms

1. Potty training has become ...interesting. She is finally wearing pants (diapers, underpants, pullups, little swimmers, bloomers, etc depends on her mood) but will take them off when she is about to go or right after she went. Oh the joys of a poopy diaper smeared down the legs as she pulls off her dirty pants. And she won't go in her potty. She's gone a couple of times but fell one time so I wonder if she has a fear of the potty now...however she is quite content and learned the art of pooping on my floor. Pants off, squat in corner, and voila show MaMa our latest surprise. Once was on my couch which took 2 hours to clean, or she'll pee on top of the potty or beside it but not in it. So, I started putting her back in diapers thinking that maybe we should wait a few weeks to try again but nope. Diapers come off with everything else and she refuses to use them anymore. Well, maybe things will change in a few weeks. My sanity and floors depend on it. Oh, and she'll grab a papertowel to put on top of her um surprise as her version of cleaning. Once we didn't see it right away and it got stepped on....

2. She has learned how to say chair, get, and choc choc or chocy for chocolate

3. She puts everything in rows that are perfectly straight and gets very angry if you disrupt them. Especially stickers.

4. She gets very angry if anyone sweeps under her carpet in the play area.

5. She is incredibly jealous over our cats. If one sits on my lap she is on patrol to push it off and shriek "GET!"

6. Adele likes to help Mommy with taking her shower by opening the door, going in the shower herself, getting mad if she's not being held or getting water in her eyes but not wanting to be out of the shower....so much for that 10 min break

7. She stepped into a mop bucket that had a little water left and proceeded to do a version of river dancing and was quite pleased with herself.

8. She likes to help Mommy do laundry by putting in dirty clothes in the dryer and I pull out the cleans ones and they get all mixed together.

9.She has learned that standing up in a shopping cart and daring to jump makes Mommy scream, and it's funny so we do it over and over again or play hide in seek in the clothes and act very silent so no one can hear

10. Last but not least, I'm waiting for a nudist toddler colony to open up. She hates wearing clothes and prefers to try to go outside in froggy rainboots with nothing else or greet our guests or people that come to the door. She'll also turn around, smack her butt, and gleefully yell "butt!"

Please give your thoughts and prayers

Rainy's father died today. He seemed like he was going to make a full recovery. We had talked to her a little bit ago. We will update, when we find out funeral arrangements. Our prayers are out to her family and I hope we can all do everything we can to help her out at a time like this. Losing your father is one of the worst things to go through. I feel so sad that Adele and Case don't get to have Grandparents. These kinds of things make me really angry at Tobacco Companies.

Happy Birthday!

Adele is 2 today. I am busy making a 3-D bear cake for her. This is my practice one for tomorrow. We are having a little family party for her tonight and then one in DL and a bigger one with little kids on Monday or Tuesday. Yup, 3 parties but there was no way around that one. She knows what's going on though. She has attempted to unwrap gifts and has been clapping about cake all day. It's rather cute.

I was able to get my IEP of an elementary student for my homework thanks to my case worker. Hopefully I can get started on the rest of it for tomorrow. Other than that, just busy packing and such for this weekend. I'm not sure how the potty thing will go on the road or at a hotel or my grandparents but we'll have to try.

working out

So the work out routine has been getting better. I ran/walked 3 miles yesterday which was an increase from my 2.I'm also trying to workout for about 15-20 min in the am along with my evening one and to try and sneak in a walk with Adele during the afternoon. It's been hard to lift weights though. I haven't been putting in the number of sets I should but I guess I should concentrate on just getting a good, daily routine right now. Once that becomes like second nature than start changing things up. It's hard to be patient though. I want my pre-baby body NOW, lol. Yup, I'm working out mostly for the sake of vanity. I'd love to say it's so I don't have problems with heart disease down the road or something noble like that but honestly it's mostly just to get into a pair of tight jeans and realize I look good. And energy. I really want a ton of energy and I tend to get a little down in the dumps in winter so I'm hoping this will help that a lot, too. And Amadon and Janessa have been starting to work out too which is awesome. Amadon has a PT test coming up and he really wants to get in good shape for the army. He also has terrible circulation in his feet and it's been helping with that.

Adele's birthday is tomorrow and we're celebrating it this Sat. I think I'm still going to make her a little cake though, tomorrow.

Potty TIme!

Adele pottied for the first time today, about 10 min ago! She pooped in the potty and was all embarrassed until we assured her that it was ok. YEAH! She was so proud of herself and couldn't wait to show Da Da when he got home.

busy weekend

I had our first girl's night out! I know I've been talking about scheduling one for a while but haven't gotten around to it. We went to Applebee's and had some food and drinks. It was a blast. It's been so long since I've hung out with a group of girl pals like that. Before it was even over I was getting asked to schedule another one.

Our weekend has been BUSY. I got asked to do respite/daycare for a girl. No one else was available so I decided to give it a shot. So then it was Adele, Janessa, and my other girl which would be ok. Janessa and the other girl were right around the same age so I was hoping that would run smoothly. Then Case's mom called and asked if we wanted him this weekend. So we added him. And then we also had a couple of other people over to visit for a couple of hours. All went well though. We took the little ones to the Community Center where they could run around through the tunnels (and burn off enough energy to make a trip out to the grocery store on base less tantrum filled), had a guitar hero tournament, family bike ride, and we were going to go out to the pumpkin patch but it was too cold and icky out. I even found time to organize and clean our laundry room which was nice. There were random clothes around, dusty machines, and all kinds of little things that just didn't belong. Amadon and Janessa helped so it went pretty fast. And our house is mostly picked up from the weekend which is a surprise with how many people were here.

Well, time to run! Will update everyone later.

well, I wanted Halloween decor but not so literally

So I was washing dishes and a knife slipped and stabbed me right in the wrist. Blood squirted all over the kitchen. I mean I was at the sink and there were drops of blood by the fridge and over by the dining room....yeah if that doesn't freak yourself out. But after applying lots of pressure the bleeding went down and I was able to bandage myself up. Ugh, it has that sickening pain to it though. So I am on strike for dishes the next two days. :)

Rob Zombie

For those of you that don't know, Rob Zombie and Ozzy are coming to play at the Fargo dome. I was so excited when I found out. Zombie has killer shows and I can not wait to go. We already bought tickets and have a sitter lined up. I'm just speechless. I love Zombie and Ozzy. SWEEET!!!!!!!!!!!!

Target Practice Anyone?

Well, today I had a high school student hit my vehicle as I was picking Janessa up from school. I think our van is going to be totaled which sucks. The cop laughed at me as he put a sticker on my window because I already had another one on there from the construction vehicle that rammed into me a few weeks ago. Maybe, I should follow his advice and get a different car. We're debating on that though. Maybe it won't be totaled but I highly doubt it. I guess we could just take the money and deal with the damage. Luckily, it's mostly cosmetic. We could get a different vehicle but this one runs fine. But what are the odds?! Seriously?! I felt bad for the girl though. It was her boyfriend's car, first accident she ever had, and was just scared.

Comedy Night

Our date was the best night ever! It was great! I love stand up comedy at Dreamer's. The comedians had me almost peeing myself. (I know, hot visual right?)We have decided to make it a weekly event. So if anyone wants to hang out with us Wednesday nights, you know where to meet us!

bring on the gore

We're going to carve pumpkins soon! I still can't decide on my face. I was thinking about making fake blood as well. I'm one of those horror Halloween fans. I can't stand cutesy Halloween. It irritates me to see smiling pumpkins and happy go lucky witches on broom sticks. It's HALLOWEEN, damn it! Show me the blood, gore, skeletons, and gravestones. I want to go to a convention one year. It looks like so much fun. Our basement is perfect for the creepy halloween feel. Bricks, concrete, sepaok,rate rooms, hooks hanging from the ceiling (yeah, that one even creeped me out when we first moved in). You'll have to come trick or treating and see me!

oh, and we have a Tim Burton movie night scheduled. I'm a HUGE fan of his and it wouldn't be the Halloween season without it.

Cold December

Adele had started potty training last week and it's been interesting. She saw Ally potty and refused to wear diapers and has tried to potty but so far we haven't been able to actually "go" in to potty yet. So I'm trying to be more relaxed about it. I have panties, pull ups, diapers, a sticker chart, and of course she loves the idea of running around half naked. I don't want to just put her back in diapers if she shows signs of wanting to use the potty.

She calls Janessa sis now and has learned how to say tricky from Run DMC's hit. She even says it how they do in the song and it's the funniest thing ever. The one thing I'm surprised at, is how good she is at copying hand gestures. I'm been thinking about teaching her sign language. I know it's suppose to be the perfect age (if not even earlier)but I'll be honest, it seems like a lot of work as I don't know sign language much myself. I want to get her the Muzzy series. I'm learning German again myself and I think it would be good to teach it to her. I think the hardest part, is actually talking and immersing yourself in that other language when another, primary one is being used.

A member of my group uses cloth diapers. As soon as Adele was born, I just swore them off. The idea of washing dirty diapers didn't appeal to me and I just couldn't see how they could work as good as disposable ones. Then she showed me hers. They have changed so much from how I envisioned in my mind. They're cute, functional, and seem to be way more comfortable for baby. The clean up for them seems pretty easy, too. I might just have to try that with baby number 2.

We are thinking about coming up to DL for the weekend to visit and gather more garage sale items to sell. Our last one went so well, and having that extra money was nice. So is having more space cleared. What amazed me is what people buy and what they don't. I had people buy half bottles of lotion for a quarter but turn down a huge microwave for $3. I had a really nice watch on sale for $5 and later marked it down to $2. It even had a small diamond in it, and later I was told that I was selling it too cheap so people wondered what was wrong with it.

I have lot's of homework to start on today. I have a few days to turn it in, but I want to get it done and over with. I also have to take an exam but am waiting for my proctor papers to clear. Lol, I would give anything to live on campus by myself and just focus on school. It would be so much easier than trying to juggle everything else. And to think when I graduated, a friend of mine and I were just dead set on getting an apartment together and living on campus was the last thing on our minds. Two words. Young and Stupid. And if you move back home during the summer you will get free food and free if not super cheap rent as well, you don't have to worry about parking, and it's a lot easier to get your butt to class, not to mention all the people you get to meet and hang out with in the dorms.

So I got a lot done on the estate. Yeah, for me. I am working on it bit by bit everyday. Eventually, it should be over and done with. I missed my dad so much yesterday. I'm really dreading winter. There's something about the leaves turning and falling off the tree that just depresses me. But I'm trying to remind myself of hot cocoa and Christmas decorations (yup, I'm one of those super annoying holiday fanatics that has presents, decor, lights that probably use enough energy for a small country, and cookies to feed an army). I would say Halloween and Christmas are my favorite holidays. I HATE November and Thanksgiving. Both my mother and father died right around Thanksgiving and it's still hard. I wish I could say it gets easier and in some ways it does but you will always remember and miss your parents. And it's also a little weird to spend the holidays with your grandparents, Adele's great grandparents, but not your parents or her grandparents. But I must also say I am sooo thankful for the wonderful family the hubby and I both have and of course our own.

Well, time to embark on the day and get more things done than posting, watching Dora, and eating cereal bars.

It's raining Juice!

I have decided to start scheduling daily guitar practices with everyone. I'm more of a piano person myself. It's hard to learn a new instrument but I'm game as we have a ton of them in the basement and I really would like to learn on the one my dad gave me for obvious reasons. We are thinking about getting a band going, there's a few people interested but I want to get into a good schedule with it first. Adele loves to try and play as well and Janessa can sing which is great considering Amadon and I are both tone death. Our basement is absolutely creepy. It looks like one out of a horror film and thus has become the favorite hang out for jamming. I want to hang up our 6 guitars but it might be tough with the concrete. I have been after him to actually finish a song, lol. He's learning how to read music as well. My piano background had a little bit of influence and he's teaching me tabs and such.

We are having a date night once a week. We still haven't quite decided what we're going to do. We're thinking comedy night with drinks on Wednesday's. I'm a HUGE stand up comedy fan. We finally found a really good, reliable sitter who's affordable which was tough to find with having no initial friends or family here.

My meet up group is getting to be a lot of fun. We have 30 members now and a group of us are getting past that initial,awkward, "Hi, how are you phase?" and into the sitting and laughing, being able to BS stage and have fun.

Adele stared at the rain today and proudly exclaimed, "JUICE!!!". I thought it was the cutest thing ever.

School is going ok. It's still hard to really get into the homework mindset but so far so good. I'm not looking forward to my student loans, this semester I paid out of pocket but I can't do that every semester, but hey at least it has a low interest rate, and education is more important than the money it takes to get it.

It was fun to hang out with Sam, last weekend in DL. I gave her, her birthday present and anny gift. She thought it was pretty neat and we spent the day together. We are planning a girl's only vacation to go on when the kid's are a bit bigger. Part of me still hopes that maybe Amadon will get a job out at camp, so Sam and I can live by each other or maybe they will move here but I don't really think that's going to happen. We still see each other a lot though.

We had our garage sale. We're planning on a second one, that's a little more planned out but we still made some mad cash in a day.

Jibberish

Wow, the weeks have been flying by. It's almost scary how fast the seasons go. Sometimes I think I should just go to some relaxed tropical island and live that slow, lazy pace of life. Everyone went to the zoo the other weekend in Fargo. It was a lot of fun. I went on a carnival ride for the first time with Adele and she thought it was the greatest thing ever. She has been talking like crazy. I want to kick myself for not writing down all her little milestones cuz I know I'll want to know what they were later. But her biggest words right now are CHEESE and COOKIE for every food group. JUICE for any form of liquid. SHe has learned how to perfect the art of the whiny, high pitched, MA MA! And last week, she starting singing and dancing to the music in the car. It's just jibberish, but she has the same pace and tone as the singer.

We are having a Halloween Party and Adele's birthday party. We need to start cleaning out our basement tonight. Hopefully, we'll have a garage sale this weekend. I bought a bunch of bins to put everything we own into it, label it, and call it organized.

My schedule is just crazy per day with all the activities to go to, meetings, and meet ups. I love my meet up group. We got a few more members and it's fun. It's hard to find meetups for lot's of kids though when it gets cool. But I think it will be neat to see were we are at in a year or two.

I"m going to school.And so far my GPA is pretty good. It has been so hard for everyone to get use to me doing homework though. All I hear is "MA MA!" from Adele, "MOM!!!!" from Janessa, and "HUNNY!" from the hubby. It's like the universe will somehow collapse, if mom is not readily available for a couple of hours. :)

Will update soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adele, Case, and our neighbor boy Anthony

Adele found the entertainment center at our motel in Fargo.

Adele-in-the-box

All the cousins together! Jemma, Wendy- Sue, Adele, and Sophia

The days before school....both Adele and Janessa are asleep, Amadon is at work and I have a little free time this am so I'm going to try and post some pics. Let's see how this goes...

Welcome to your new home!

Well, Amadon and I spent last night decorating our kitchen with balloons and streamers and more streamers since Adele thought it was quite fun to tear them down. I made a big cake and we got a sappy card and a present that we put in a purse shaped bag. We got her Sim's 2 with the nightlife expansion. I will be picking Janessa up at 11 to move all her stuff here and I'm hoping she will really like her surprise.

So, everyone welcome Janessa!

It's official!

Janessa will be living with us, starting tomorrow morning. Today I have to go to a meeting to sign different papers and such. I'm actually a bit nervous. I'm going to maker a big cake and host a welcome to the family party, probably next weekend. My family is really excited to meet her and so is Samantha. We will be going to Katelyn's Birthday Party on Sunday. She will be the big 1. :)

I'm getting my hair cut and colored on Saturday. It's been a while since I've gotten around to doing it and I can't wait. However, I have a new stylist so I'm hoping it goes well.

Other than that I haven't been up to a whole lot. A girl from my meet up group had a baby and we are going to do girls' nights out. Comedy night, a passion party, and possible bowling with a few drinks will be on the schedule. We also have to think of a good boys night out as well. Well, not tooo good.

I miss you dad

I am having a hell of a time with the estate. My dad had a lot of investments and he sold a lot of stock but the problem is everything was sold after his date of death. They did a trace on the paperwork which was also sent after the date of death, however it did have his signature. They have never encountered a problem like this before and trying to sift through the legalities have been tough to say the least. We're pretty much going back to square one. I just miss him so much. I wish I didn't have to do any of this. I wish he was here. I would give anything to see him again. I hate dealing with the estate, and creditors, and it seems no matter how much of it I get done or sift through there comes along some problem that makes is so you have to redo everything all over again. And frankly, it is not fun to deal with your parent's finances. And I know a little about investing and retirement accounts but only basic, standard knowledge and my dad was great at it and did everything himself. There was no broker, so it makes it even harder to try and track everything down and get it taken care of. And there's something so hard about just dealing with his estate itself. It makes me miss him so much and it really hits home that he's gone.

update

We have had a few visits with Janessa and are doing an overnight this weekend. I'm really excited. She really likes us and wants to be a part of our family. Everything has been going really well. Our certificate just came in the mail. Everything is official so that was a nice feelings. 4 months of hard work! We had to announce to everyone that she will be the new addition to our family. That has been a little difficult. Not everyone agrees with us doing foster parenting but I guess you need to just do what's right for you.

My friend Shawn, is in town from NY and we are going to schedule a lunch date. It will be fun to see each other again. It's been a few years and we both have families now.

little update

I love Sofa Mart from furniture row. It has quality sofas and they are affordable. Some of them were 1/2 the price I found at Conlins and Slumberland. We ended up getting a big sectional that is leather with microfiber cushions. We also got an ottomon to match and a big cushy chair that is also a glider rocker for the new baby. We figured it was time to actually invest in some nice furniture. We got the 5 year fabric plan that covers any stains, and if they can't get it out they will send us a new couch. I also got free cleaner for life. We figured with a bunch of little ones, there will be stains.

I finished my first night of recertification for CPR last night. 3 more hours tonight and then that is over with. Tomorrow is the dinner date.

My group is meeting today at 3 and we have another new member that just joined so it will be fun to meet her. I had a really good talk with a professor from England. He's working at UND right now. And the other lady's hubby is running Furniture Row so they came all the way from CO. It's fun to meet all these new people. I don't think I would have crossed paths with everyone on my own.

car accident

I got hit by a construction vehicle yesterday, in a construction zone. He was paying attention to something else and didn't see me. He was able to lower the scoop a bit before he crashed into me though, so my windows didn't break. The air bags also didn't go off which I was thankful for because if that happened the vehicle would be totaled. But there is a nice amount of damage. The car door needs to be replaced and the interior metal work also needs to get fixed. Luckily, it's cosmetic. It's sliced right through.

Munchkin Mischief

Did I mention Case unplugged our freezer for no reason and ruined about $300 worth of groceries? And that Adele learned how to turn on the faucet and flooded our upstairs. Good times.

Can't wait to meet her!

We get to meet our possible placement Thursday night.We met with our social worker and got to know all her info. She seems like she would really fit in with our family. She will be finishing high school and wants to go to college. She's really dedicated to school and has a lot of similar interests that we do. We know where she works at and were going to swing buy to try and get a peek of who she is.

We have a lot to do this weekend. We're buying a new couch. A really big, cushy sectional. I like our couch now, it looks pretty but isn't very comfy. And we need more seating area. We're also getting a gun cabinet that Amadon is excited about. A new mattress for the bed frame downstairs and then we should be pretty set to go. Oh, and groceries. And a bread machine.

Amadon brought me out to Paradiso last night. That was the last place I wanted to go. I was sick, looking grungy, and so was Adele but it was fun to get out of the house. And I LOVE the fried ice cream. Which reminds me, I have a recipe for that and am going to see how that tastes.

Time to get everyone ready for the day.

close call

My uncle was on the bridge just a few minutes before it collapsed on his route from work. Scary stuff. He's lucky. I saw a picture of a woman with a baby barely a month old sobbing as the father had died. It just broke your heart. So far everyone I know in MN has been alright but I can't imagine what all those people must be going through, just waiting, to see if their family is ok.

Tomorrow's lunch menu

Crispy Pancett, Burrata, and Tomato Sanwiches

4 3 oz packages thinly sliced pancetta (Italian bacon)

6 3-4 inch diameter, 3/4 inch thick slices ripe Costoluto Genovese tomatoes

1/2 cup coarsely torn fresh basil leaves

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoon fleur de sel (kosher salt)

freshly ground black pepper

12 slices egg bread or brioche

18 oz burrata cheese

4 cups of baby arugula

Cook pancetta in heavy large skillet over med heat until brown and crisp, about 6 min per batch. Place tomato slices in shallow baking dish. Add basil, olive oil, oregano, and fleur de sel. Sprinkle with ground black pepper and turn to coat. Let stand at lest 30 min, up to 1 hour.

Place 6 toasted bread slices on work surface. Divide burrata among bread slices and spread to edges. Top each with 1 tomato slice, then pancetta slices, dividing equally. Top with arugula. Cover with remaining 6 toasted bread slices, and press each slightly to adhere. Cut in half and serve.

Home cooking!

We need to pick up some groceries in the next couple of days and well I'm sick of everything at the grocery store. I'm not a big fan of tv dinners or even quick frozen food meals...or hamburger helper...grilling just burgers, steaks, and hot dogs is getting old. And I mostly stick to a pretty standard home cooking menu. The kids don't like to stray from Mac N Cheese and Pizza (either does the hubby), we don't really plan anything ahead of time, we eat what strikes our mood or what we have around. So I started looking at my cookbooks and Bon Appetite magazine. However, I'm not sure if I'm quite ready for the gourmet dishes. I never even heard of some of the ingredients and am not sure who would sell them here. A good quick example is udon noodles with zucchini, grilled Kale, and peanut sauce. I have never eaten it and am hesitant to try it. Or chopped tomatoes, avocado, and seafood layered in a martini glass and topped with a gazpacho-style sauce. However, I am going to try some new dishes and post the recipes and reactions from everyone. Lol, for all those that are quite good at cooking, you should get a kick out of my attempts to make these dishes. I'm already a little nervous. I brought the kids to a nice bakery and picked up some fresh bread to make sandwiches. I'm a little bit of a cheese and cold cut snob. I don't even like the deli cut turkey. Just doesn't taste right. I prefer Provolone to standard American slices and fresh bread to prepackaged. Well, my family doesn't agree with me. And they hated the fresh bread. It had a crispy crust and soft center (yum) but it's what my husband would call hard bread that is shaped funny. Hmm. I've tried to convert him a few times but to no avail. So we compromise and do both. However, the baby likes it. So maybe I'll have one convert.

If anyone has any good recipes, pass them along.

Drill Weekend

We had a fun weekend in DL. Amadon had drill, we got a motel room for a couple of days, and a big family picnic out at camp. They had games, gave away toys, and it was fun to catch up with everybody. Case spent the weekend with his mom and it was nice to give Adele some one on one time. His step dad got called to go overseas so hopefully everything goes well. I went swimming and visited a sick Samantha. I made her lunch, picked up some medicine and flowers, and we watched a couple movies together. Her place looks really nice.(they've been doing renovations) I love the hardwood. My grandma is redoing her entire house. Hardwood floors, new carpets, appliances, etc. It looks nice. I don't think there was anything wrong with what she had but it's fun to update things.

Well, we are going to be having a change in insurance soon which I'm not looking forward to. If they consider some things a preexisting condition then we could be looking at medical bills that are insane. They will probably cost more than everything we own put together. But I guess that's how it works and if you need treatment well there's not much you can do.

I've been registering for fall classes and getting my education plan together. And my first major course will be yoga. Yup, yoga. It has nothing to do with my plan but I failed it 3 years ago because I didn't do the drop procedure correctly and it will up my GPA if I pass it. I'm also a very confusing case for colleges to figure out placement and GPA. I already passed college algebra and comp but I never took my ACT. I'm considered a nontraditional student because I'm married and have kids but then I'm under 25. I'm starting school again but I already have a bunch of classes finished. Yeah, that's a nightmare to get through.

I have TONS of pictures I need to post. I have had trouble resizing them though as our program doesn't work.

Alissa had her baby a few weeks ago and she is ADORABLE. She sent me some family pics in the mail that I got the other day. We try and catch up as much as we can.

We got pictures of Alyana from Brazil. She just turned 2 and is a little cutie.

Time to get the baby down for a nap, work out, and maybe play a little WOW with the hubby tonight.

Puppy Love

So my 5 year old has got the hots for this other little 5 year old that lives down the road. It is really cute. Her name is Catherine and he talks about her all day long. This is his first crush. He's been showing her how to ride a bike and they give each other toys. The only annoying part is that he wants to be with her ALL day long. He'll even argue with me during meal times claiming he's not hungry so he can go over there and see her. The parent's have 1 year old twins and if I was them I wouldn't want to watch the neighbor boy all day long. I even offered to let the 5 year old come over here and play so they can get a bit of break. And he even sneaked out! Yup, cupids' arrow hit HARD. He will literally sneak out of the house to go over and see her even if we tell him he can't go over there right now. And when we ask him why he snuck out his response is "I just wanted to see her and you won't let me right now." I playfully asked him if she was his girlfriend and his face got bright as a tomato, he smiled, and shrugged and then shook his head yes. Ah, puppy love.

More members!

My group now has 28 members! We are thinking about starting girls nights out soon too.

ready to be a critique?

Well it's past 1 am and I have been spending my time listening to music and.... surprise surprise sketching. I just picked up a pen and a piece of paper and just went to work and you know what it didn't turn out half bad. I was actually pretty impressed.
It's hard to explain why I gave it up for a while. Art was always a huge part of me and there came a point where I just kinda lost myself and I couldn't bear to paint or draw again. I know it sounds crazy but that's the best way I can explain it. But I think it's finally time again. And yes, I will post some work soon.

early bird gets a six pack

So I got up about 2 and a half hours earlier this am. I had a restless night of sleep and knew I should put on my running shoes. There are so many little but important things to get done (different paperwork, estate things, past landlord stuff, etc) and I'm just one of those people were these little things just nag and nag at you and make you so stressed out. I know it's not healthy. And no yoga, deep breaths, and writing in a journal don't make them go away for me. The only thing that makes them go away is when they're done. And it's not every little thing, just more financial matters.

I did work out. I didn't feel great doing it and I'll admit I cut the running short and lifted only half the time I should have but it probably did me more good than sleeping. Getting back into a workout routine is tough. Ice cream tastes good. So does good home cooking. And it's nice to feel your butt on the couch or crawl under the covers. But I know it's what keeps you healthy and if you like to indulge a bit, then you should really step up the cardio. But doesn't make it any easier to get up at the crack of dawn. WHy don't I workout in the pm like normal people that have the option to sleep in a bit? Because the kids have so many things going on and demands, or they throw a toy on the treadmill, or one needs to go potty when we go on a walk (even if we went right before we left) and I let myself get caught up in it and then suddenly don't have time to work out. I'm exhausted by the time they go to bed. But time to let go of the excuses cuz really no one is too busy to work out. And if you are so jam packed you can't sqeeze in a 20 min walk and you only sleep 3-4 hours, then it's time to scale back the agenda if just for your sanity.

I'm also not a morning person. Never have been. I'll get up if I have to but it's not pretty. I'm cranky and foggy and want to kill anyone else that falls into any of the following adjectives
peppy
cheery
early bird catches the worm
fantastic
bright and sunny

But it is nice to have a little time to myself and by the time my morning grogginess wears off, I'm already half way done with my workout.

venting and observation

One of our vehicles broke down- bad alternator. So, Amadon's been driving the other one and it's been driving me nuts because I can't go anywhere or get errands run. He's had CPR certification at night. Well, we should get our placement soon. I'm getting excited and nervous at the same time. I knew foster care was controversial but I had no idea of the type of comments I would get doing it. I will give you a few examples. I won't give names but these people are in good standing with the community,educated, some we know very well, and others not so much and no none of these are from Samantha (she's in full support of me) or any other people that are reading this blog. I just wanted to point that out before rumors started.

them- "How can you be so irresponsible and horrible to your own children to bring in one of....those, they're hellions, they'll wreck your lives, shame on you."

us- "what do you they do?"

them- "well one of....those....would be fine in school and then come home and pee himself. And spanking him didn't help. How dare he!"

us- "well, we learned in school that a lot of times if they pee themselves it's a defense mechanism from being molested or abused and it will stop when they feel safe."

them- just kinda huffed off and muttered to themselves

what I'm thinking- well, no shit spanking a child that was molested and abused for peeing when he's not intentionally doing it would cause the cycle to continue. And no, he's not a BAD, horrible child. He just needs to feel safe. Sigh. Would you spank your own kids if they had an accident or is it just because they are a foster child, so they're already bad.

next example

someone else talking about how we're crazy and bad people for doing this and how you should never bring such problems in your own home, a little in the conversation we posed this question

us- "well what about a 5 year old girl that gets molested everyday by her father, doesn't she deserve a safe home to go to?"

them- "no, why would you bring a damaged problematic child like that in your home. What would everyone think?!"

what I'm thinking- this one made me angry. So if you did nothing wrong and got raped, molested, or sexually abused you are not allowed love? Where should these children go? You just want to let it go on and not talk about it so it doesn't ruin your white picket fence ideal?! Not to mention, I'm sure almost anyone can count themselves or a friend who's had something like this happen, and I bet they're pretty nice stable people who don't turn everything upside down and deserve to be hated...Grrr

another conversation

them- "oh my GOD! You're actually going to do that. What the hell are you thinking. You have no idea how horrible these children are. I have an example for you."

us- "ok, what was your experience"

them- "well, my friend was doing foster care and her kid would just eat and eat and eat at dinner and even threw up because he ate so much and so fast! Why the hell, would you ever let a child like that in your house. Imagine what you're doing to your own kids."

us-" ?...pause....was the child neglected and not fed?"

them-" yeah, so, not like that's our problem:

us- "that's probably why he ate so much, he's not use to having food so when he gets it, he will eat as much as possible, cuz he's not sure when his next meal will come, I would probably do the same thing"

them- gives us dirty look and talks about how you shouldn't have to put up with that in the first place

what I'm thinking- I bet if I let you starve for a few weeks and put food in front of you, you scarf it down and it's not like this is something that won't fix itself when it's been proven there's food available. And what a selfish idiot. They're children for God's sake.

So, yeah. I mean I understand that sometimes people can get really difficult placements were the child might even steal or be violent. But there are sooo many kids in foster care for so many reasons and I don't think it's fair to lump them all together in the category that they're awful, horrible, don't deserve love or a future. These were just a few examples. Another one, was a lady that was babysitting a foster child and she spanked the child for putting cigarette butts in a dart gun, after the darts ran out that he saw lying around, and got the wall dirty. He went to the kitchen and grabbed a spatula, told her to hit him with this because it would hurt more. And that was it. And this was her example of just a horrible, awful, child who doesn't deserve a home. To me, he seems like a bored kid who found something to entertain himself (and if you were watching him, why were the cig butts around by him, and wouldn't you see him try to load one?). He didn't think he was doing anything wrong and when you got mad he found you something to hit him harder with. And where in the world did you get the idea that it's ok, to spank a child that you're babysitting for something like that. For some reason spanking an abused child just doesnt' seem like a good idea, thus the spatula incidence. Yeah, it's hard to think about the idea that someone else was beating him with kitchen utensils but that doesn't mean this kid doesn't deserve a home. Couldn't you have made him clean the walls and taken away tv time? It just doesnt' seem fair to me. It really doesn't.

I don't always believe in how the social worker and foster care system works. I think it has flaws. I do think there are some kids that shouldn't be placed with just anybody because of their behavior and maybe they need an institution setting. But I don't believe these kids don't deserve homes, love, or parents, just because they weren't taught the same skills that we're use to. Maybe they never learned how to shower correctly because no one taught them. Maybe they have bad manners at the dinner time cuz they never got food. Maybe, if they were molested in a bathroom everyday, they have problems going by themselves, or without a lock, or having a light on and making sure no one is in there to hurt them. And you know what. That doesn't bother me. And this behavior will change in time. And even if it doesn't change perfectly, and we have to compromise a bit, it's not enough for me to kick these kids out of my home. And sometimes I don't think they act up because they're awful, foster kids but because they're kids. Yup, kids. And kids aren't perfect. They make mistakes. I never really knew how people looked down on foster care until I started thinking about doing it. I have the time, the space and the heart to do it. No, it's not for everybody. No, you're not a bad person if you don't do it. That's not what I'm saying at all. And yeah, it might be unconventional to love kids and give them a home that aren't biologically yours. But I don't think that makes me a bad person. I don't think I'm crazy and hurting my kids. I think it will be good for them. You get to know a lot about the placement (at least in the agency I'm doing, there are so many different types of foster care that you can't really group that together either), you get a trial period to see if it will work, you can give them back at any hour if something happens or even if you just decide it's not for you. You might have kids for weeks, months, years, or even adopt them. Each kid has a different story and circumstance. For myself, I'm doing long term foster care and open to possible adoption. I don't have a specific age or gender I want. I just want whatever child would best fit into my family. And they look at that and help you decide. They don't allow placements that could have the potential to hurt your kids in anyway. Kids with anger and aggression issues will not be placed with a baby. they will be placed with people that have the training and home for a situation like that. I don't. And yeah, maybe I'll get a kid that looks great on paper but doesn't work for our home. Maybe there are some problems that can't be solved. Will, I think all foster kids are horrible? No. I'll just think that one placement didn't work. Maybe, I'll decide that foster care takes too much work or I don't have enough time. I haven't done it so I don't know. But I do think, no matter what happens that these kids deserve to have people give them a chance, and that they should be judged just like any other kid for what they do, and not have this preceding reputation of a bad kid even if they didn't do anything wrong. I think they deserve a chance at a future and finding people that love them. I don't think a family is defined by being biological. I think it's defined by love. And I hope to teach my kids those values. So maybe when they're in school and they see that kid wear the same clothes all week long it isn't because they're stinky and bad. It's because they don't have parents that take care of them and they won't jump in with the teasing that every other child will give them.

And there is NO such thing as a damaged child. People aren't toys that don't work anymore when they have something bad happen to them. You are not any less of a human being if you were sexually, emotionally, of physcially abused. And yes, I do believe that with all my heart. And maybe I am crazy for thinking that. Maybe, it isn't mainstream. But that's ok. Sometimes you need to just go for what you believe in even if no one else feels the same way.

More members!

My meet up group I started, Parent's Playdate, has just added it's 24th member!! So that's exciting.

Family Day

Well, the start of our weekend has been pretty eventful. We went out on base and checked out the fitness center. It's free for us and is really nice but cost of gas to go out there and back adds up quick (especially at 3.25 a gallon, ouch). They have a HUGE rock climbing station that I have to try out sometime. It looks really fun. The thing I really loved that I haven't seen any other fitness centers do, is that they have an area full of exercise equipment right next to a fully gated in children's play area, so you can workout and supervise your kids at the same time. I tried that out, and after getting sweaty we went to the pool. The shallow end slopes down to a deeper part with a water slide. There's a second part that's really deep for adults but we didn't check that part out. Case was terrified of the water but by the end we had him going down the water slide without a life jacket. The baby likes to splash around and went on a second smaller slide into 4 feet of water and we would catch her. After, we went swimming, we went into town and ate at Perkins. We were so hungry and everything tasted great. Then we went home to have the kids nap and off to the carnival when they woke up. Since it was dark,everything was lit up. Case even got about 3 free rides. No one asked for tickets. I wasn't going to complain. Adele went on one ride but got nervous with other people picking her up. Case had a blast though. We got some pics and videos. Case won a sword at a duck pond and we called it a night at 11 pm. Then we bought a bag of cotton candy that the kids took full advantage of on the drive home. We had a really fun day. I think Amadon and I are more tired then the kids.

Happy 4th!

Well, 4th of July plans didn't quite go as planned but it was still fun. We decided not to go for the motel. Amadon had to work late and by the time we would get to DL it just wasn't worth it. So we went and saw Ratatoiue (and I know I totally butchered that word) with the kids and I have to say I was very impressed. Probably one of the best kid shows I have ever seen. The computer graphics were nice, I couldn't get over the texture they were able to show on a couch, and a very unique story that appeals to both kids and adults. It was the first movie Adele and Case went to and it went well. They loved it. I was worried they'd get bored the first 10 min of the show.

On the 4th we drove up to DL and visited a lot of out of town family on my side, celebrated a few birthdays, visited Amadon's aunt/mom/family, and shot off some fireworks. Case loved smoke bombs and sparklers. Adele didn't like the idea that she couldn't play with fireworks but watched them for the most part. We drove back in a nasty thunder storm that made us hydroplane a bit but all in all it was a good day. And no we didn't get crab night. We were too busy, but one day we will get there.

Warning- Uber nerd talk ahead
So, I've become a bit of a WOW fan again. An old friend of mine, Shawn, who lives in NY just started playing and it sparked my interest. We email a lot and stay in touch and now we're grouping together. I also grouped with Bryce from my guild and we got a ton done in Stranglethorn . Yup, I'm a lowly level 41 Mage on Archimonde and no it is not an Alt character so I am mostly a loner on the server as everyone else seems to be a level 70 already but I'm still having fun. And I play a horde character on Exodar. So if anyone plays WOW and wants to group let me know.

Well, we are grilling and the kids are wanting to play in the pool and sandbox so I will chat later.

Hope everyone had a good 4th!

learning new skills to drive Mommy insane

Adele has learned the fine art of dumping, everything she can get her hands on. So far I've cleaned up an entire box of cereal, a full glass of chocolate milk, pop corn, and crackers. The terrible two's are lurking....

I learned our Schwan man knows Amadon and Darla really well. He saw Amadon's name on the check and well there aren't too many of those and I know his younger brother. Small world. Now can we utilize this knowledge for a possible discount....:)

40 min before boarding....

Well, I just got done talking to one of my friends, Jason, who's going overseas. I talked to him right before he had to go to Kuwait. He told me he'd try not to get killed and I told him that I would whoop his ass, personally, if he got killed. But seriously I am worried like crazy about him but I know what a great opportunity this is for him at the same time. And I'm so glad Doug came home ok, even though some people in his unit weren't so lucky. Oh, it's tough on your nerves when people you care about could be in danger which I'm sure everyone can relate to in one way or another. But I'm sure it has to be even tougher for them.

June update

Hi, everybody.We have been so busy lately, but I have a little free time this am. Tonight we have motel reservations at Spirit Lake Casino so that should be fun. I've never stayed there and a friend of mine told me they liked it. It has a big pool and we have a whirlpool in our room along with two rooms. One for the munchkin, and one for us . I have so much family coming for the 4th that instead of attempting to sleep on the pull out sofa with the kids, we just decided to make the holiday a bit of a relaxing treat. And then Wednesday is........drum roll please......CRAB NIGHT! Or so we are both hoping, but it's been a long time since we've been there so who knows if it's changed or not.

We got Case for the summer a while ago and that's been going well. I think Adele will be very sad when he has to go to his other house and how do you explain that to a one year old? They play together and cause mischief together all day. In his words, she's his little "sweat pea". However, the newest addition to our family will be arriving shortly, within a couple of weeks, so that should help. But you can never predict how kids will get along. I'm hoping it will go well.

I haven't had a chance to get my art studio going downstairs. When things settle down, I should be able to. I'm so excited. I haven't picked up a paintbrush for years but I finally feel it's the right time to draw/paint again. Now, if I have any artistic ability left is another question but eventually I should get good at it again.That and my glass work. I'm also going to attempt a little abstract work.

The hubby has been all over ND doing the radio work for all the firetrucks and really busy. But so far, so good. Hopefully, we'll be able to take a vacation in the fall to see his dad in Washington but that all depends on when this big project is finished and how I can arrange my classes around it.

I will have to upload some pics soon. If you've never checked out Sherlock Park, it's awesome. It even has a fenced in toddler area. The only downside is the bathroom facilities. Two porta-potties that weren't in the best shape. And the pool, is within walking distance.

We haven't had our open house yet. I know I know....it's just we still have a bunch of stuff to unpack that is sitting in our basement and we're planning on some new furniture. But you can come over and see the place whenever.

Case got his bike stolen yesterday. He left it by the bushes in our yard and after the 15 min it took to go to the bank and back, it was gone. Lesson learned.

New beginings

Hi, everyone. Well, I am taking a little break from blogging. We are almost finished getting licensed and I'm really excited about that. It's hard work though! It takes a few months and tons of classes to get prepared for this. They give you background checks, fingerprint you, you have to have references that fill out a few pages of questions about you, they give you mental health quizzes, interviews, everything has to be up to code, (ex you have to have a fire extinguisher on every level, and we have 6 smoke detectors) and it's actually a lot more difficult to become a foster parent then one would think.

You might have noticed I changed my blog settings. Someone was harassing me and one of the comments left was a threat to my children and I obviously want to protect them from anything like that so this is why my blog is only open to those who I let look at it. Both Amadon and I thought that would be best. I don't know everyone's email address so please don't take it personally if I don't add you right away.

Well, we are living in our new home. We still have a ton of stuff to move that we will hopefully finish this week.

We were planning on coming up to DL this weekend but Therapeutic Foster Care Training is scheduled in Fargo so we have to go to that.

We have decided for sure to have a baby. So hopefully by the end of this month I will get pregnant! (yes, I know the odds and how difficult it can be to conceive but maybe we'll be lucky and it will happen right away)

Adele is upset so I will post more later.

more outside pics

outside pic

Home Sweet Home!

We got the house! Yeah!!! It's so cute and I'm so excited. This will be our first house. It was a nerve wracking process waiting for everything to go through. We get to see it again tonight so I will hopefully be able to take pictures of the inside. I have pictures of the outside we took last night. We get to move in, in 10 days! Then I'm going to throw a house warming party and you are all invited.

Dustin called us and he is going overseas which was sad but we talked about ways to stay in touch. I'm sure this must be tough on his little girls and wife. He gets to stay at a very nice place though and has internet access.

I thought about doing a garage sale today but am thinking I will do a later one after we move.

Some tough things to decide

We will condense this post a bit. I have some hard decisions to make soon regarding my current medical condition. I can choose surgery but there is a side effect of a higher miscarriage rate and possible infertility, I can watch and wait but if I progress too far that means harsher treatment choices or I might get better, and getting pregnant which can help the condition and will guarantee us another child but everyone responds differently and if it doesn't work that also means harsher treatment choices after the baby is born. I've talked to, two doctors and there really is no right or wrong choice.

hello

After countless houses we found the perfect one. The PERFECT one. Nothing fancy. It's just a really nice family house with hardwood floors throughout, a decent back yard, and we want it. The only catch? We aren't the only ones and I had to wait all day to see if the people who originally wanted it were taking it or not. Talk about nerve wracking. I also found two other homes, back up homes, that wanted us as well so it was hard to decide how long to wait and what I should pick as competition is fierce. I got a message while I was out. WE GOT THE HOUSE!!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!! It's not quite over yet. We still have to do all the paperwork so it's not official but we have first dibs and that counts for something.

Now on to the bad news. I have some hard choices to make about surgery. I got a call today about doing surgery. If I wait too long, things might progress and I will have a worse option or they could get better. Or if I do the surgery, there are possible side effects like increases in miscarriage and even becoming infertile. So it's tough.

potential milestones

Well, we might have some exciting news in the next few days. We have a meeting today to discuss being potential foster parents. We've been thinking about it for a while and I think we are ready in our hearts and home to bring in another. It hasn't been an easy decision and going to this meeting today will give us more information to decide on. There are so many questions you have to ask yourself from how this will affect your family, can you handle the out burts and baggage,are you completely ready in every aspect (well, as much as you can be), will you be able to handle giving the child back in a few months, etc etc. Many questions have been running through my head for a couple of weeks now. I really learned about foster parenting at the children's fair. I noticed I was eligible for it and then it got me to start really thinking. I also just have this really good gut feeling about it. I could be wrong, but I think your gut feeling is something to take into account too. When i brought this up to Amadon he was really interested too. THis is a decision that we have to both be completely ready to take on.

This leads me to our next potential milestone. Our lease is up June 1st so we are looking at a bigger place. The first house we looked at was so-so and we have a few more that we can hopefully see today.

I thought about doing at home daycare as well, especially if our new place is spacious enough but that's a little down the road. I don't want to take on too much.

Auf Weidersehn!

update

Well, things have been taking off with my meet up group. I have 16 members and I haven't even advertised the last few weeks.It'll be interesting to see what this group is like a year from now. I have some company coming this weekend. Doug is coming!!! along with Fields and Julie. Anthony might show up. So I'm going to bake some goodies and make sure the house is company ready.

The last couple of months have been pretty tough. I feel overwhelmed with everything but I figure to take everything one step at a time. I will hopefully be enrolled in school this summer and I pray the estate is done by them. Yup, it's still a drawn out affair which my pricey lawyer is now involved in. I'm tempted to buy some space in the paper and complain about this bank but going down to their level is probably not worth it. Bad Karma.

As for the medical news, I had two abnormal tests, saw a specialist, got a procedure done that was incredibly painful ( Yup, I cried the entire time it was done) and am waiting to hear back from these results. I'm hoping this is the last thing I have to do. But as my doctor pointed out, on the bright side anything done from here on out I won't be awake for.

We are slowly decorating our place. We have some stuff and a toys r us theme in every room :) but I'm redoing the window treatments, getting nice towels, new shower curtain, etc. I have given up on keeping vases in the living room. Vases+toddler= mommy headache.

I bought a new bike and got a warranty on it that the sales guy told me covered stolen bikes. Long story short. Bike got stolen and the warranty does not cover stolen bikes. Salesmen just said that so I would buy it not thinking about the fact that this scenerio could possibly happen. It's not the end of the world. We can buy a new bike. It just ticks me off that I got lied to.

Well, I will hopefully post more frequently soon. I'm just been super busy with everything.

Welcome back Doug!!

There's been so much going on and sometime I'll have to do a little catch up post. But guess who called me? DOUG!!!!! I was so excited to hear from him. He's been overseas for a year in Iraq. We're going to have a get together and show each all all our pictures of the past year. It's odd how much changes in a year. He's never gotten a chance to see Adele so he's excited about that and he wants some wedding pictures. He was one of our groomsmen. But all I can say is YAY!!! DOUG IS HOME!!!!!!!!!!!

Brenton Pace

http://www.kxmb.com/getArticle.asp?ArticleId=105114

I just can't believe it. I am in shock. Brenton used to be a good friend of mine and when he moved we lost touched but the last I heard about him, he was doing great. I can not believe he did this. He's had such horrible stuff happen to him when he was younger and I can't believe he turned into what he always hated.

at least she likes to brush

Adele LOVES toothbrushes. I recently made a purchase of a Pulsar. It has vibrating bristles and she took it right away, tried it out, and now refuses to use anything else. It looks like we have upgraded from our toddler toothbrush and Mommy is no longer allowed to have her toothbrush back. And after brushing our teeth, and the sink, and trying to brush the kitty, etc etc I don't really want it back. :)

Yeah, Method!!!

I am completely addicted to Method cleaners. I bought some at Target and I'm never going back to anything else. They are natural, never tested on animals, biodegradable, and have no harsh chemicals. Toxic free. And they smell incredible. I will admit, I never thought "green" cleaning products would work. How would a little citrus compare to my chemically superior antibacterial wonders I have under my sink? Great. And for the first time I don't have to feel like I'm going to suffocate in the aroma of chemicals with my eyes burning. (soap scum remover anyone?) Not to mention, frantically re-rinse the tub over and over because I wanted to give Adele a bath and didn't want her to swim with the tub cleaner. I also read a study on how antibacterial cleaners don't keep you from getting sick anymore than any other cleaner. So, I finally weened myself from that ad campaign. My bathroom has a light minty smell and they even have a pomegranite spray for a surface cleaner that I highly recommend. I can also clean with Adele right beside me, watching what I'm doing and know that if she manages to get her hands in it, it's not a big deal.

Family Pics, continued.

Family Pics, continued.

Family Pics, continued.

Family Pics, continued.

Famly Pics, continued