The Adventures of Adoption and Parenthood

I love that there is a firetruck in my powder room. I love that there are purple princess dress up shoes in the master bathroom. I love that there is a red car and a blue car on the floor of the master bedroom. I love that there are Legos on the dining room table. I love that there is a stuffy bald eagle on my kitchen counter. I love that there is an orange bottle of bubbles in my daughters's bathroom. I love that two medals hang from the doorknob going out the garage. I love that there is an impossibly large container of animal crackers on top of the refrigerator. I love that there is a playpen in my room. I love that there is a sleeping bag and tent in my room. I love that my children's beds have never been slept in. I love that my bed has stuffed animals and children's blankets in it. I love that Little House in the Big Woods is on my night table. I love that there is a coloring book on the kitchen table. There are beloved children living in my house.

Well, we have had Segunda for 3 months tomorrow. I keep feeling like things are happening at a snail's pace. It took forever to get her Certificate of Citizenship. We still don't know a whole lot about Hypophosphatasia (HPP). We have made no progress on adjusting her feet and stretching her achilles. She isn't talking. We still don't have her birth certificate or social security card. And on and on. But when I stop and take stock, we have accomplished a ridiculous amount in 3 months: Segunda voluntarily gives hugs and kisses, especially to her mama. When she is stressed, she just holds on tight to me and won't let go (not that I want her to). She let's me cuddle and rock her before bed now. She is saying "ma" and "da" which seem to mean mom and dad. She also makes the "ba" sound for book and bird. She started school. Tomorrow will start her 3rd week in casts on her hands. Her final tooth came through (split in half, but it's...

I'm upset. People spend a lot of time complaining about the evils in the world, and I do too. When I started seeing videos on Facebook of people dumping buckets of ice water on their heads, I didn't get it. So I looked into it and realized that they were dumping ice water on their heads to raise awareness for ALS. I thought, wow, that's pretty great and people sure are having fun. Then my husband got tagged and he and Prima had so much fun preparing for and doing their ice bucket challenge video that I really got behind the awareness campaign. How wonderful is it that something as simple as dumping some water on your head has swept the nation and is raising an incredible amount of awareness, and money, at the same time. So why am I upset, because people keep bitching about it. It's wasting water Why don't people just donate People are grandstanding for attention Somebody even claimed people were drowning Give me a break, people. Most people are standi...

To make ends meet, most families have to have working parents. No question. Well, how do you juggle all the requirements of your child's school and extra-curricular activities when each one seems to think and expect that you have ample time to dedicate to their cause? Kindergarten hasn't even started and already we are expected at a 9:00 am event to "parent network" tomorrow morning; a 5:00 pm Back to School Night on Thursday (no kids allowed - so find a sitter on almost no notice - we did); a 1:00 pm assessment on Friday that takes 15 minutes; and $75 worth of school supplies. The kids have Friday and Monday off except for their individual 15 minute window for their assessment. Picture Day is next Tuesday. The Principal sent out an email and part of it talked about getting involved with the PTA. They meet at 3:00 in the afternoon once a week. How, pray tell, is a working parent supposed to get involved when the meetings are smack in the middle of the workday. Worki...