Munchkin bath, sock wash, and waiting

Not much new to report on the adoption front. Lindsay (my SW) told me that I will not be receiving any updates before I travel. That is a major bummer (that is supposed to be one of the advantages of the kids being moved into our agency's transition home) and I hope she is wrong. The Magers got their referral just a week before me and they have gotten more pix so I'm hoping for a little bit of something. I am very happy with the one picture I have gotten but I would like to know a little more developmental info. Still no word on court dates...augh!!


So what to do in the meantime? I'm slowly working on baby stuff. My nursery is pretty much ready as far as the big stuff goes. There are still lots of little things to work on...I haven't bought any bottles yet, clothes are still in a quandry (luckily everything I have bought so far will fit but I need a few smaller things I think!), I need more toys, etc. etc. etc. I did buy a carseat this past weekend. Since Amari will be 9-10 months before she comes home, I decided to skip the carrier seat since she wouldn't be in it long. Plus, since it is just me and only one car, I don't need to worry about switching back and forth between vehicles. This carseat is a convertible one--it is rear-facing/reclining up to 22 pounds, then front facing 22-40 pounds and then changes into a booster up to 100 pounds. So it should last.
Last night, I did some laundry. I decided I would wash everything once in Dreft and then probably just go back to Tide. I'm pretty sure Amari has not been having her clothes washed in Dreft and will probably handle the stronger detergent (I'll experiment first). It is hard enough for me to have a full load of laundry now, maybe with adding baby clothes in, I won't be wasting so much water and electricity. So I washed all the bed clothes (thanks Juli for the waterproof mattress pad), a couple receiving blankets, all the bibs and burp clothes I have, and the socks. Thank goodness for the woolite wash bag (I think Lesa told me about these)...the zipper broke on the first wash but it still held all the socks together without any runaways. I'll just have to fix the bag with velcro. So here are the socks (the top row of eight are going to be way too big for awhile!).Here is the crib with all it's bedding in place. It is the Dream Hug Love collection from Kimberly Grant. Very cute.I also did a munchkin bath. I bought this great set of Munchkin dinnerware right about the time I started on the adoption path. It may have been one of my first purchases, back when I initially was asking for a girl under 2. I finally busted it out of the plastic and washed it and put it in the cabinet I cleaned out for Amari's kitchen stuff. There are 10 bowls with lids, 10 cups with sippy tops, 10 spoons. I also threw in 2 of those divided formula cases where you pre-measure your amounts (will work great for cereal too!).I think that is all for now. I'll let you know if I hear anything else.

10 weeks....

Well Thursday marks another week gone...still waiting on a referral. The future is looking promising. Still no real time frame when my referral will come but the courts did re-open on Monday (yea!!!) and a couple more referrals have come in. One was for a 13-month-old girl (remember, I asked for under 12 months...oh, so close!) and the other was for a 2.5-month-old boy. The little boy was a referral for Paul and Deedra; they turned in their dossier near the beginning of the process so they have been waiting for around 4 months. So it is nice to see that referrals are coming in and that there are indeed wee little ones waiting on mommies!

Getting company this weekend...my BFF cousin Juli and her hubby Robert are coming to visit with their 3-year-old Brendan. It should be a lot of fun and a much needed distraction. I haven't seen them since January (they live in KY) and we always have fun together. Juli and I grew up together (she is 6 months older than me) and when we are together, I'm afraid we still act like 6-years-olds. But it is nice to have someone like that to have fun with.

I'll post pix of my dog soon...he got groomed today and looks fabulous. So cute and fluffy and snow white (that won't last!)! Fortunately, grooming day wears him out and he has been super tired tonight. I have a fever and sore throat and am just not in the mood to do the in-out-in-out-in-out routine we usually do in the evenings. Even the cats have picked up on my illness and have been hanging close keeping me warm.

Worked a little on packing this past weekend for Ethiopia. Yes, I know it is a little premature, but I wanted to see if my backpack I'm using as a carry-on would hold everything I want. I was surprised to see that I think it will! I also worked a little on the diaper bag, organizing it. This is something I'm a little worried about because I liked to be super-organized and since I'm new at this, I have a feeling that it will take a few re-packings in Ethiopia to get everything the way I need it. Luckily my job has prepared me to be pretty adaptable on the fly.

Not much else to tell. I'll keep everyone posted.

Waiting...

Nine weeks down and still waiting...

8 weeks down....

It's been 8 weeks since my dossier went to Ethiopia. Each day seems long and grueling but, looking back, it really hasn't seemed that long after all. It is hard to believe that September is winding down. It has finally cooled down (yea!) and is starting to feel like fall. I love this time of year--break out the hoodies! No idea when a referral will come. Two more came this week for a 3 year old and a 5 year old. Exciting that things are moving forward. Courts are due to open in a little over a week and the pediatrician that does all the medicals is back (apparently he had a little hiatus) so maybe things will work in my favor.

Over the weekend, my sister-in-law Lesa and I went baby clothes shopping at Old Navy and Kohl's. Bought several sleepers, nice fleecy ones. I also ordered some long-sleeve onesies from Old Navy (incredible sale) and some socks (I've heard their socks are the best!).

A couple weeks ago I found some cushions to fit the rocking chair in the nursery so now Mom doesn't have to try and make any...here they are with Ollie modeling their comfort. Yes, I posed him there but I did not make him go to sleep...he just conked out.

I also made my fleece blanket out of the same material as my wall-hanging and the quilt Mom made me. I made a similar one for my niece Madi...her's had a green backing.

I'll post again soon...

Bummed!

So this week has been kind of a bummer, emotionally speaking. Referrals are coming in for my agency which I should be really happy about--and I am (congratulations to those whose are getting matched up). But it is still hard to watch referrals being given out to others... My paperwork has been "in-country" for almost 7 weeks and still no news. The referrals coming in now are for kids that are already in the House of Hope and I knew that there were no babies in the House right now. Thus, I knew that my referral would take longer than those asking for older children. Still, it has been hard this week. I am excited that progress is being made but I still feel sad and slightly jealous (okay, REALLY jealous!). But that is what this roller-coaster is all about.

Thanks Jenni for all your words of encouragement and your emails, they have meant a lot. The BTDT crowd is so wonderful to have and hopefully I'll be joining that group soon.

Not much else to report. Working hard and trying to muddle through. I promise my next post will be happier!

Still Waiting!

Still waiting...nothing new going on. Nothing to report. Ugh! Tired of waiting, and waiting, and waiting.

Spent the weekend doing some cleaning and some outdoor work. Thanks to my brother Todd for coming over on the hottest day of the year (115!) to do some yard work with me. After weeding the nasty little piece of landscape at the front of my house, we laid down rock...but only after we had pulled the rock from Dad's house (he is changing his, so we transplanted some stone). Horribly hard work and Todd did 10 times more than I did. Thanks!

After that we power-washed the house...it was so gross before (all moldy and mildewy at the back of the house) that I'm embarrassed to post this but WHAT A DIFFERENCE!

Then we worked on the deck (which I finished myself Sunday). I was ready to just pull the whole thing out and put down a slab...but wow! Now I just need to seal it. Thanks Joey for letting Todd borrow the power-washer so he could bring it to my house!

Here is a cute picture of the kitties...they are strictly indoor cats but they were longing to go outside this weekend since I spent so much time out there. Sam is feeling better...he got a shot of steroids on Friday and the coughing is close to being gone. He is also on antibiotics--which he does not like the taste of. Do cats really like bright pink, fruit flavored medicine? I have found a great combination of mixing it with tuna juice strained straight from the can and he drinks that pretty readily. Why can't they just make cat antibiotics that are tuna-flavored?

Last, but not least...after reading several blogs of fellow Ethiopia adopters, I have realized the emphasis placed on HATS! Apparently hats are an important part of good parenting so I bought a few over the weekend to take with me!

I'll keep everyone updated if I hear anything new!

Nothing new to report!

Talked to Lindsay earlier this week and she said that everything is moving "sluggish" in Ethiopia. The courts are now closed and it is also their new millenium celebration so the focus is not really on my referral over there! Guess I have to let that one go! It is only every thousand years you get to celebrate a millenium so I'll let them have their fun without telling them to get back to work.


Here is a new picture of Madi, taken last night. My brothers, their wives, and I went to our friends' Joey and Angela's house (we missed you Angela!) and played with the babies. J & A's son is about to turn a year old and I was going to post a picture of him but thought I should ask first...then I realized (after uploading my camera) that I had a great one that epitomized the kid. Baby Will is always giggly and happy and "on the move." I managed to get his feet in the picture as he crawled away.


The vet finally called back today with Sam's test results. He has feline asthma (which is what I thought before we did all these tests) and I am happy with this diagnosis. We are going to try benadryl and new food because it is probably allergic in nature. I gave him a taste of children's benadryl, hoping he would like it and slurp it up (Ollie does!). This would have been nice since he is supposed to get a teaspoon and a half but NO! One tiny taste and he went nuts...scratched me (he has NEVER scratched anyone) went tearing off around the house foaming at the mouth. I swear...one tiny taste and probably half a cup of slimy foam. This picture is after he had calmed down--he is still drooling and it's ten minutes post-tasting. So tomorrow, we will try pills! That should be a blast!

I also got a diaper bag from LLBean today. I am so excited about it. It is very roomy and durable and comfortable to carry. It will be great for traveling (I think...I've never travelled with a diaper bag). My previous experience with LLBean bags has been wonderful...they are so sturdy and durable. I may order a matching carry-on bag that is almost identical (without the changing pad, of course!).

That is it for now...going to the Book Fair tomorrow! Can't wait. I'll let you know what I find. I found a great book the other day; a cloth book with a "handle." The handle is made out of teething material with a rattle. I'll have to take a picture and post it--what a great find--book, teether and toy all in one!

Feeling Better!

Feeling better these days...just getting anxious for a referral. I don't know why, because courts are closed and I'll have to wait anyway. But just to see a picture and know her....

Anyway...if you want to see some awesome pix of Micah (and some of friend Mamush--who comes home later this month) click on this site. Hopefully Kevin and Stacie don't mind me posting the link. They should be leaving Ethiopia shortly with baby Micah! It sounds like they are happily exhausted and ready to come home but not really ready to leave...makes total sense to me!

Not much been happening the last couple of days. Sam (my very overweight 2.5 year old orange tabby) has developed a cough which got really bad the other night. So I took him to the vet on Thursday and he had some abnormal findings on his chest x-ray...they are going to gas him on Monday and explore...it could be an infection, asthma, heartworms...who knows. He hasn't coughed since he came home from the vet's so maybe we scared it out of him. Hopefully it is nothing serious. Those that have known me for awhile know about my ordeal with a certain other 3 year-old orange tabby (we won't go there) that ended badly several years ago. I got Sam shortly after that and Sam is my absolute sweetheart...I hope everything is okay but I will not put him through the torture that Smuckers went through. So, I'm praying for feline asthma or an infection...we can handle those. It certainly hasn't interfered with his ability to eat!! I'll keep everyone posted.

Found someone that wants to house sit for me while I'm in Ethiopia...so I don't have to worry about the cats being alone for a week. Ollie-dog will still go to Mom's--he loves going to her house and I think he will need her in my absence. He gets a little pitiful when I leave! So him and Daniel-dog can play together for a week...that will be fun.

That's it for today...starting a long stretch of working days so I'll post when I can!

Emotions...

Tonight I pretty much broke down...I don't blog much about my feelings, kind of shy about that but thought I'd share. I think part of it is knowing that Stacie is over there now bonding with her son and making friends with Jenni's son. I've been following lots of blogs and watching people in their journeys but these are people I know! (Well...I've never met them, but we are sharing this process piece by piece, signature by signature). Also, just knowing that my agency CHI is off the ground in Ethiopia has really brought everything around to reality (does that make sense?). Read Jenni's posting on her blog about the email Stacie sent her...about their sons playing together on the other side of the world. I just keep wondering where my daughter is and what she is doing......

I have decided on a name...I have a couple of backups in case I get my referral picture and the name just doesn't work but I think I have it. Sorry...it's a secret!! I want to be able to announce it all at once. Now just waiting on a referral. Could be days, could be weeks, could even be months--I hope not that long! I shouldn't complain...those adopting from other countries wait years.

Feeling better from my shots. My arm is still bruised but looking much better. Some have questioned why I got the yellow fever since it is not required. It is required for some other countries in that region and there is always the possibility (although unlikely) of emergency landings or evacuations, etc. I am not risking having to get vaccinated in a foreign country because we had to make an emergency landing elsewhere for something. And it looks like my insurance company is going to cover about 80% of the costs...so why not?

Working on some packing lists--although won't really get serious on that until I get my travel guide (that comes after the referral). Did buy some vacuum bags...may or may not use them depending on how much room I have.

Well...off to bed!