Sunday, September 30, 2007

Dancing with the Moon?

I told Bella the other night, "Let's go watch Dancing with the Stars". She said, "Let's watch Dancing with the Moon!"

She loves to dance and here she is in her pj's dancing with the... moon?

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Would you be a good eye witness?

So, today I had the disturbing experience of shopping at Target and having a dirty, old man look me up and down and then make a perverted comment to me. After he said it, I was so mad that I turned around and yelled at him, "You are disgusting! How old are you anyway?" Then he dodged into the men's clothing area and I went and found my sister who was shopping with Bella in her cart. We had split up so that I could look at birthday presents for Bella. Anyway, my sister encouraged me to go tell the store's management (since they happened to not have visible security on at that time). So, I did and when asked questions such as, "What was he wearing" I realized that I didn't really have a clue. Just non-descript "darker" clothing was all I could come up with. I knew he was "old" because when I saw the sprinkling of white in his hair, that is what prompted me to try to shame him by asking how old he is. I walked around the store with the manager a few times and didn't see him again, although I saw one man that I thought could be him, but I didn't think so. It made me realize how difficult it is to be an eye witness. With the emotions of the experience raging, it seems to cloud the memory a bit. Although I have a feeling that I could pick him out of a line up. I bet that seeing him again would prompt my memory. Anyway, the adrenaline was certainly pumping a little faster for the rest of my shopping experience and I started to think of how much I wanted to slap him or hurt him in some way. Really, I'm not a violent person but it just made me think about all of the sickos in the world, and especially those that harm children. So, sorry about the "downer" post today. Just wanted to vent and bring up the idea that it isn't so easy to be an eye witness to something that happens so quickly. Have any of you ever had to be a witness to a crime or an accident?

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Freezer Meal Exchange Day



Six friends just trying to make life a little simpler...or at least dinner time. So, once a month all 6 of us make 6 meals each and then we meet once a month and exchange meals so that we all walk away with 6 different homemade frozen meals. It has been so fun to try different people's recipes and it has been GREAT on days when we know we are too crazy for cooking to just pull a meal out of the freezer in the morning, let it thaw all day and then cook it for dinner. Some meals we've exchanged have been chicken noodle soup, chicken pot pie, chimichangas, burritos, hawaiian pork and chicken, meatloaf, cheesy chicken rice bake, etc. Do you have any recipes that freeze well? If so, I'd love to have it. I am constantly thinking of what I am going to cook next month for the exchange.

Friday, September 14, 2007

Birthmom meeting

Well, I know many of you are wondering how it went...And, from our perspective it went very well, albeit a bit akward. She is a very cute, petite (seriously, I look more pregnant than she does), wonderful young lady (do I sound like an old woman or what)? She was pretty reserved and private, which I don't blame her for at all. What an akward meeting in the first place! She seemed very confident in her decision and she seemed like a very bright and independent girl. She told us that she chose us out of 16 profiles!!! Can you believe it? We were pretty amazed to find that out. Sometimes you doubt your ability to be chosen when you go through the agonizing waiting period in adoption so to find out that she chose us out of so many profiles was a real boost to our collective ego. She also told us that as soon as the baby is born he is "ours" and that we can be as involved in the hospital as possible. This was a real relief to us since he will be having a post-birth surgery and we wanted to be around to learn how it goes and to see him and hold him for the first time as soon as possible. Of course, we plan on "sharing" him with her as much as she needs and wants. We left the meeting really feeling like, "This is for real. This is really our child." I can't say enough about the gratitude we feel for such an amazing and selfless person. Adoption is an interesting thing and many people might argue that it is a "second best" choice but not Blaine and I. We know that children are a gift from God and we honestly feel privileged to know that our children come not only from Him but through incredible women such as these birthmoms.

O.K. And just because I am such a dork, I'll put up some pictures of us that we took after the meeting. I cut her out of them for confidentiality purposes. Isn't my new yellow shirt cute? Unfortunately, the unintended side effect of the shirt is that it made me look so much more prego than our 7 month pregnant birthmom. What was I thinking? I should have stuck with the white shirt like my friends in California told me to wear after my birthmom-meeting-shopping-spree/fashion-show.




Doesn't my man look cute in some "preppy" clothes? Seriously, it was so fun shopping for Blaine in California because he wasn't there to grumble about any purchases and I got to buy him a bunch of "preppy", "professional" clothes for his Nurse Practitioner's clinicals that he just started. I'm sure he would've been much happier in one of his ten year old surf tees and some shorts but he cleans up pretty well, huh?

Thursday, September 13, 2007

The bottle dilemma

So, we were on a family bike ride this morning when I noticed some bottle nipples on the trail. Strange thing to have dropped on a trail but it got me thinking...what are we going to do about bottles? We used Avent Bottles with Bella but we REALLY did not like them. They constantly leaked from the seal and we swore to never use those bottles on the next baby. Do any of you have strong opinions about bottles? What about the kind with the bags? What is the advantage to that? Please take my poll and vote on a bottle that you like and leave comments if you have anything that would be helpful for us to consider. Also, are there any super cool new "must have" baby items that have come out in the past 3 years? Some things I have noticed are those snug grocery cart and restaraunt high chair covers. Are those worth it? What about a hot sling? Thanks for your opinions!

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Nesting

Well, it must not be biology that triggers an expectant mother's instinct to "nest". I have definitely begun to feel a lot of extra energy focused on getting ready. I've been cleaning closets, cupboards, the fridge and I've been going through boxes in the basement, all of which are jobs that I despise. Blaine is wondering what virus I caught and I'm sure he wishes I could get "sick" like this more often. We probably have about 7 weeks or so until our baby is born. His birthmom will have a c-section around the end of October but we don't have an official date yet.

We were supposed to meet her yesterday but the meeting was delayed until next Friday. We were disappointed because we can't wait to meet her but we look forward to this coming Friday. To say that we are nervous about this meeting is an understatement. I've been shopping for "the right" outfit (hey, a gal can always use a good excuse to shop). I've been looking for something that says that I am "hip yet motherly". It is like going on a blind date except a REALLY important one. I know she has already "chosen" us but she can always change her mind. Maybe since we are coming off of a recent failed placement, my anxiety is a little heightened right now. But, I'm sure it will all work out.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

California Trip

We had a blast in CA. We stayed with our good friends the Bryces, who are like my other family. It was so fun. Bella had fun playing with all of Alana's grandkids and she kept asking them, "Are you my cousin?" and I told her, "practically!" But, after a week of fun in the sun (and believe me, CA was going through a heat wave so there was ALOT of sun) we were ready to come home and see Blaine. Poor guy was working and going to school so he couldn't go.


Bella on the airplane.


At the beach. Colorado would be perfect if we could just have one of these! Is that too much to ask for?


Labor day party at my good friend Heather's house. Bella in the spa with cousins Tally, Chloe, Darien and "should be a cousin" Sarah.


Grandma, Bella, and brand new baby cousin Thayne.


It's not a trip to CA with out a stop at Corrales Mexican food. (And In N Out Burger but I just didn't take a picture).


My converts to Corrales Mexican food. Mom even asked if we could go back again. And, of course I brought a burrito home to Blaine.