Happy Easter!

So, what does a waiting-mama-to-be and two waiting grandparents do to celebrate Easter? Why, have an egg hunt for the dogs, of course! It's actually been a tradition for a few years now, but blaming it on the waiting makes us sound far less crazy. :) 

If you need a good laugh this Easter, do this with your dogs! The fun and laughs far outweigh the crazy! We just put soft treats inside plastic eggs then scatter them around the house. The dogs stand at the door eagerly watching. Once we let them in, it's a free for all. Jack and Kadee are the best at finding the eggs. Baylee's strategy is to follow them around, wait for them to open the egg, then swoop in and grab the treat. Annie likes the excitement, but still doesn't quite get it. We always do two rounds because we all have so much fun. :) 

For some reason, all the dogs think they have to take the eggs back to the big area rug in the living room to open them. Makes clean up and photo ops easier. :) Jack is MIA in the photo above cause he was just too wired to sit still--just like a kid. :) 

Speaking of kids---ought to be interesting the first year we have a baby doing an egg hunt! Don't know how we'll handle the eggs that year! :)

She's turning into an old man

I had a nice chat with Kadee's specialist today. (She has an autoimmune disorder called ITP which almost killed her in December) Called them because she's losing her hair. As you can see from the picture, she doesn't have much to spare. If you look really closely, you can see the small white patch of bare skin on her left ear. I told them she's losing the hair on her ears, head and thighs but seems to be gaining some on her chest. I just wanted to make sure it's nothing too serious. Turns out, it's a side effect of one of her medicines. Good to know....but since she's on this dose till May, I'm just hoping she's not completely naked by then. And we're both pretty thankful for the warmer weather. :)

End of week ramblings

I know it's only Thursday, but I officially started my Spring Break 4 hours ago so it's the end of MY week.

* At my school, we test all incoming kinders. Gives us a baseline of where everyone is at developmentally and gives us a chance to talk to the parents of those who didn't do so well and could use another year of pre-k. It's ultimately the parents' call though---which is sometimes frustrating. More about that later. Anyway, I do the language and reading readiness part of the test. I have to ask them some pretty standard questions like name and age.(I also have to ask whether they are a boy or girl. With the story of the transgender first grader all over the news, I was pretty nervous every time I asked THAT question, I'll tell ya. ) There's also a section dealing with letter sounds. The kiddos have a little picture to look at. I give them a sound and they are supposed to find something in the picture that starts with that sound. One little girl was looking and looking for something that started with /sh/.  Finally, she said, "shtoch tape". Yeah....I counted it. :) One little guy didn't even pause when I asked him to find something that started with /sh/---he instantly answered **it! He wasn't being sassy or funny....just answering the question. Yeah.....I counted that one, too. (And, no, there's no poo in the picture. They are allowed to provide their own word.)

* While we were busy testing incoming kinders, the other Kinder teacher and I had subs in our rooms. One day, when we got back, the aide told us one of the little boys mooned everyone during class. Can I tell you how overwhelmingly grateful I was to find out he wasn't one of mine? Cause I have had it happen this year. One of my GIRLS mooned everyone while they were practicing for the Christmas concert. In church. On the altar.

* Last week I had to have a rather unpleasant conference with one of my little guy's parents. At screening last year we recommended they wait another year. They opted not to, but said they'd be ok with him doing kinder twice if it became necessary. Well, I've been telling them since October that he's struggling. Not just a it-takes-him-a-little-longer-to-catch-on kind of way but it's-mid March-and-he-still-doesn't-know-all-his-letters. He's just little. Anyway, we have a bit of a mouse problem in our school. And guess who made appearances during this conference? TWICE?! Three times if you count the one the first grade teacher saw which caused her to run screaming like a banshee into the hallway.

*Driving home after the conference, I'm on the highway when I see movement out of the corner of my eye. Honest to God, my first thought was MOUSE!

*So our maintenance guy, in cahoots with the Orkin guy, decide the best plan of attack is to set out sticky traps. These traps don't kill the mice....they just get stuck in the glue and stay there screaming and trying to free themselves. I know because we caught one last Friday. Cooking spray and a plastic spoon will free them, by the way. (You need the spoon because it's just too hard to convince the little guy you are only trying to help and they bite) There are no more sticky traps in my room. I think they are cruel. I bought a live trap to use instead.

*Orkin guy comes back today and tries to put down more sticky traps. I tell him I don't want any. After he leaves, I realize my trap is not where it should be. I hunt Orkin guy down and ask him about it. He says he just pushed it further under my desk and says he doesn't believe in them. I really, really had to bite my tongue to keep from saying, "Yeah? Well I don't believe in torturing small defenseless animals."

And lastly....

* I stopped at the store to fill a prescription on the way home. When I went to pick it up, instead of the just one month supply they normally fill, for some reason, they gave me three months worth. At first I was a little annoyed since it was more money than I planned to spend. Then, I decided, maybe it's a sign. Maybe I'm being told I won't want to/be able to go to the store next month. :) Yeah.....definitely a sign.

Surprises

On Monday, I found a package in my mailbox. It's not my birthday or Christmas or any real gift giving occasion, so the package itself was a fun surprise. Especially on a Monday! Inside were gifts for the baby. Even better! (I have found since starting this journey that I enjoy getting baby stuff way more than I enjoy getting stuff for me.) My dear friend K went to New York recently for her niece's baptism. While there, she got my baby the Sophie Giraffe teether at the real FAO Schwartz and the adorable giraffe finger puppet at the Museum. How cute are they and how sweet is K?

Then today, at school, my good friend R catches me and says to stop by her room later. When I did, she gave me these CUTE little Rockies shoes! She said she just has a feeling I'll need to be ready for baseball season. :)

Finally, this was the fortune from my cookie at lunch today. My agency works with agencies and expectant moms in Florida, among other states. Florida is east of here, right? :) I'm gonna go ahead and see this as a sign....:)

Thanks R and K for the unexpected and fun gifts and especially for your support! Love and hugs to you! And, thanks to the universe for sending me a sign just when I needed it!

Does eBay count as shopping?

Look what the baby just won! I've been watching for a giraffe bank (never too early to start that college fund). Found one I really liked but, apparently, it's a collector's item because the cheapest I found it was $50. Yeah...ummm..no. Tonight I took a stroll through ebay and found this one for $3.99. Cute..and a bargain! Two of my main requirements! And, the bid was closing in a little over an hour. Now, just because we (you know, me and the baby) were the only bid does not mean we didn't win. We did. Just not against any competition. Which is fine by me. We still get a cute bank for the nursery.

Now....wonder what else we still need?

Wishing and hoping

So, the question for today is.....how do you keep from wishing your days away when all you're doing is waiting for the best thing to ever happen to you? Today marks 8 months since I officially started my adoption journey and 5 months officially waiting. I remember, when I was just starting out, reading posts, blogs, etc of people this far in talking about how hard the wait was. I remember thinking, "That's not even the length of a typical pregnancy. It shouldn't be that hard to wait." Yeah....I was wrong. The biggest difference? Pregnancy gives you a finish line. You know when you're almost there. Adoption is like a marathon...with no mile markers...and twisty roads...and no way to know how close the finish line is until you're crashing through it. Endurance definitely needed.

Guess I'll go drink some Gatorade. And maybe shop. 

Random thoughts

It's Monday, so it seems appropriate to post some random thoughts and happenings:

*I really think we need to have the rule that you cannot call a mama-in-waiting at unexpected times without texting first. Just a "heads up, I'm going to call you in 2 minutes" type thing. Cause, trust me, when that phone rings and I'm not expecting a call....you can guess where my mind instantly goes. Right up till I check caller id. Now, it's not that I don't want to talk to my amazing friends. I do. I really do. And I don't want any little bit of disappointment to color my voice when I answer (cause as wonderful as you all are, a baby call would still be better)---so, just forwarn me. :) (Although, I did just change the ring tone for the agency so that should give me a heads up, too)

*At school today, my little friend V (who is possibly having a harder time waiting than me) asked me VERY loudly, " Does K know about your babies?". Mind you, K was standing right there. My first thought was, "BabieS? As in plural?? Does she know something I don't?" My second thought was, "We'll, if she didn't remember that you told her 6 months ago, I'm sure she knows now." I just kept walking. Sometimes silence and fake deafness are my best defenses.

*I hit the wall HARD about 2 o'clock today. Like, lay down in a room full of kindergarteners and take a nap anyway kind of tired. Last week my friend assured me this tired-ness, blah-ness, lack of energy-ness was due to Mercury being in retrograde. Not too sure what that means, but it was nice to blame it on external forces, at least. She also said the Mercury thing would end, or whatever it's called, on the 17th. Well, today's the 18th. I'm driving home, a little bitter at Mercury for not righting my world, channel surfing on the radio. I kid you not, the first THREE songs I heard all talked about planets! As I'm giggling over that, the VERY next song I surf into? Wilson Philip's "Hold On For One More Day". Ok, universe....message received.

Just as fun

I found these for a friend's little girl at the same sale. The shoes are brand new! Aren't those pants adorable?! She also got 3skirts, 2 dresses and a Christmas outfit.  I actually found stuff for me and 3 of my adoption support buddies. I had my arms full! As much fun as I had finding stuff for my baby, it was even more fun finding stuff for friends. It was a little like shopping for Christmas. :) 

Retail therapy

When the waiting gets tough....the tough go shopping! And I shop for the baby so much at this point, I may be in need of an intervention or something. It's bordering on a sickness. :) Although, in my defense, I do stick to consignment stores and clearance racks. And, I truly only shop like this for the baby. Buying for the baby makes him/her seem more real. More tangible. 

So anyway, a consignment store by my house was having a sidewalk sale today. I got all the stuff pictured above for about $20! 

I saw this shirt and could not resist! Made me think of my dad. Funny thing is, I was going to Mom and Dad's after shopping to do my taxes. When I got there, my dad was wearing an almost identical shirt!

These were just too cute to pass up. And, no, I do not know whether I'm getting a boy or a girl. For $1 I was willing to take my chances!

Feeling grateful

So, tonight I just wanted to share how grateful I'm feeling. I'm grateful for my parents, who reminded me that I am NOT going through this alone. Waiting sucks. It sucks when you're the mama-to-be. But, it also sucks when you are waiting to be grandparents. We're all in limbo. We're all wanting something so badly that we have no way of making happen any faster. I thank God for letting me win the parent lottery.

I'm thankful for friends that I've met on this journey. People who have been on all sides of adoption. I've gotten to know a birth mother (who is now parenting 5 children) who is so excited and supportive of my decision, she has been pumping and freezing breast milk for me. How, exactly, do you ever begin to thank someone for a gift like that? I've gotten to know a woman whose daughter placed her first child (my friend's first grandchild) in an open adoption. Not only is she supportive of my decision, she is always open to answering questions and sharing her story. I've been privileged to join a support group for waiting adoptive parents. Once a month I get to spend an evening in the company of other folks who really get it. Thanks to Facebook, I also get to just chat with them whenever the mood strikes. I'm honored to share the ups and downs of this journey with such a great group of people. I'm blessed to be able to call them friends.

I'm also so very grateful for the friends I've only met online. The amazing and mysterious world of the web has enabled me to connect with ladies who fall into my been-there-done-that category. I am so, so grateful for their support, their advice, their answers to my many, many questions and, especially, for their assurances that my baby WILL come. They are friends in a different sense of the word, but I consider them friends nonetheless. I only hope I can return the kindness and friendship some day.

Finally, I am grateful for those who choose to read this blog. It doesn't appear to be many of you, but it's nice to know there are a few people following along. Please, feel free to leave comments or questions!