Too much?

From this.....

...to this. I couldn't zoom in...but they are giraffe drawer pulls! You know I had to have them once I saw them! :) What am I going to do if my future child does not like giraffes?? ( My mom is fond of reminding me that my nursery was decorated in clowns and I can't stand clowns! In my defense....the clown thing is directly linked to a horror movie I saw when I was 9 or 10 so I guess as long as they don't make any scary movies starring giraffes I should be ok)

And, since my new year resolution (teachers make them in the fall since that's how our calendars run :)  ) is to put shopping money into adoption savings, these drawer pulls may be our last "big" purchase for a while. I will be trying really hard to only window shop from now on. 

Yeah....right. :)

Swaddling 101

My good friend A and I went to a baby care class the other night. I had read the book that goes along with the class and found it very informative. A is part of my core and is also in the waiting phase of adoption. My mom and A's husband were not particularly interested in going, and it was the same price for one or two people, so we went together and had a blast. The main take away from the class was learning an "escape proof" swaddle. It was kind of tricky.....and that was with babies who couldn't move! (They were anatomically correct though----that's me with my girl and A with her boy) A says she's been practicing with a doll at home. I'm pretty confident in my doll wrapping skills and feel I should try with something a little more mobile. I wonder if Kadee would let me practice on her? If she can't get out, I'll know for sure it's escape proof!

Sent from my Galaxy S®III

Goodbye Angel Bunny

My opinionated yet sweet, fuzz ball girl passed away yesterday. She was about 2 months shy of her 12th birthday. While I am so very, very glad that she went in her own time, in her own peaceful way, I do feel very guilty that I was not there. I said goodbye to her, and cuddled her, and kissed her nose before I left on this trip.....but I still feel badly that I was not there. My mom cuddled and pet her a lot yesterday morning before it happened, so I know she knew she was not alone. If I had been home though, odds are good I would have woken up to her being gone....and still would have felt guilty. 

It will be weird to go home without her. She was the last of the original four who moved into our first home. May her Rainbow Bridge be somewhere with warmth and sunshine and cilantro and kale and apples, dried apricots and Craisins. And someone to rub her nose every once in a while till I get there.

Fun on the Fourth

Meet my core (minus a few)! I had SOO much fun with them on the fourth! My city was one of the only ones doing a fireworks show due to statewide fire bans. I offered my home as a hang out place. We had 13 adults, 3 babies, 2 dogs and a cat who was not interested in partying in my house before we went to go see fireworks. There was chatting and laughing and eating and the babies helped break in some of our stuff. The jumperoo got an enthusiastic two thumbs up from Baby T Rex!  And I just realized I haven't emptied the diaper pail yet, so the Diaper Genie passes with flying colors, too. We were having so much fun we actually didn't start out for the fireworks in time---we realized our mistake when we started hearing them! Not too big of a problem since we just had to walk up the street about a block to our viewing area. The show continued for quite a while and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Well, except for Baby N---he slept through his first fireworks show. :) 

All in all, the best Fourth I've had in a while!

Sent from my Galaxy S®III

Kadee's New Best Friend

Yes, that's a piece of sand paper she's carrying around.

Same piece, being diligently guarded from attack or thievery. 

I decided to restain the footstool in the baby's room. It's the only thing in there that's light wood; everything else is dark. Yes, I am that anal. It just bugs me. Anyway.....so I get all the supplies out to start sanding the shiny finish off the footstool. There's 2 or 3 sanding sponge thingys, a package of sandpaper and then this loose piece. Kadee went nuts when she saw it. Licking it, guarding it, trying to keep Baylee away from it. When I actually started using the piece...oh my gosh, I wish I would have gotten a picture of her face! You'd have thought I was killing her best friend! I have no idea why she is so attached to this one particular piece of sandpaper, but I've decided it's just not worth the fight. She can have it.

This is totally how parents end up letting their kids carry weird things like scrub brushes and night shirts around, isn't it?? 

I'm doomed.

Surprise signs

Sometimes God and the universe know what I need even before I ask....

This morning I was skipping through Sirius stations. The first three songs I hear: 

     *Somebody's Baby

     *Thinking About You

     *Don't Stop Believing

So, just have to say thanks. :)