Post #100

I have managed to be a blogger for 100 posts. Wow, I talk a lot. My dad would call me Chatty Cathy or Motormouth when I was little, hence the name of the blog.

Well, since I did my adoption waiting rant yesterday, I have nothing to say today. I know how boring for my 100th post. So to compensate for my lack of anything relevant to say I have opted to post pics of my two favorite dogs.

Aren't they adorable?? I was trying to fold some laundry when Sebastian decided to take up his post and well Badger was snoring but he is such a ham that he woke up to smile for the camera.

Thanks for reading along and for those who have posted comments, thanks for being so kind and supportive. I know I will meet some of you someday and I am glad that I decided to put myself out there in the blogging world. I have really found it to be a huge release for me and I never would have thought that I would get to encounter some truly amazing women and I did so what an awesome bonus. Let's all do coffee or something real soon so we can all chat in person :)

6 months down and how many more to go??

Nobody knows! Oh, well we are hanging in there. It has been a pretty quick 6 months so far. I have a feeling though since we were given an estimate of 6-9months to wait for a referral that it is going to get a little harder when I hit 7 months and then maybe 8 months with no referral.

We have heard from some people that referrals may not be seen for another couple of weeks so that was kind of a bummer. I feel for the people with October 2007 dossier dates. They are at the top of the list and have gone over the 9 month mark. I really really hope that they get their referrals in August. We don't have much more info than that. The specialists are pretty guarded so as to not get anyone's hopes up. I am not at the stage that I check my caller ID when the phone rings hoping it says CHSFS. Talk to me about that in about a month or so.

I know we are waiting for a very specific baby that will be the perfect fit for our family so I know that once I know who this little one is all of this waiting will be worth it.

Well that is it for today. I hit an adoption milestone today and tomorrow a blogging milestone. I will try and come up with something great for post 100.

Just another Monday....

Mondays are just that Mondays. Not really my favorite day of the week. I wish we had an extra day in the weekend but I just have to keep on trucking.

In adoption news, we hit 6 months tomorrow and are starting to think we may hit month 9 of waiting. There are a few families that have hit the 9+ month mark and more that have hit 8+ month mark so we are expecting that we may too. Kind of a bummer but October will be here before we know it and that will be month 9 for us. We should still get a referral before the end of the year which was what I was hoping for. I have really tried to not get myself too excited for a September referral. I mean, it could happen, but with so many families still waiting ahead of us it is unlikely I think. I could be wrong but I don't want to get my hopes up. I have been down that path before and it leads to disaster.

We haven't seen any referrals in 6 weeks so we will see what happens when things get going again. Everything in International Adoption is so unpredictable. So as I write this saying we may hit the 9 month mark that could all change next week or in a couple of weeks and hopefully it will :)

I think we are all ready to see the Referral word on the message boards. We need to see the referral word on the message boards. Well, it is what it is and we will find a way to cope. We always do.

I am looking for decorations for the nursery to help occupy my time so that is fun. One of my blogging/forum friends posted a link for do it yourself wall murals and I LOVE to paint so I may get one of those to keep me occupied. (Thanks Abby!) Some of them are 6 to 8 feet tall/wide so it would cover most of one wall. I really want animals in nursery and we have an awesome watercolor of Noah's Ark that we got in CA at and Art and Wine Festival that will be framed and hung in there as well. It is all gender neutral so we think it would work and would be really cute.

Relay for Life

This post is for 3 very special women in my life. The Relay for Life in my hometown is this weekend so the first woman I would like to honor with this post is my Mother in Law. She is participating in the event and she is lighting candles for the other 2 women that will be mentioned in this post. I think it is amazing that she will give her time for such a worthy cause. We donated $ in honor of one of the woman on this list and we are wishing her the best during this event and hope it doesn't rain.

So the first woman that will be honored with a candle at this event is my Mom. If you have read my blog you already know how much my Mom means to me. She is a two time breast cancer survivor and one of the strongest women I know. She will be honored by my Mother in Law at the Relay for Life as a survivor.

The second woman that will be honored and that we donated money in remembrance of is my Aunt. My Aunt was my God-mother, Confirmation sponsor and was one of the funniest women I have ever met. She was an amazing woman who loved her family and could always have a good time. I remember staying at her house when we were little and she would let us eat Fruit Loops for breakfast even though my Mom wouldn't. I didn't get to see her often but she was my favorite Aunt for sure. I am lucky to have had her present at some very special times in my life. She was at my wedding and I will forever have her signature on my wedding photo and in my guest book. I see her name every time I walk up the stairs in my house and past the photo. We lost her to uterine cancer well before her time. I know she is greatly missed by her family but I also know that she has left her mark with all of us that still grace this planet.

Sorry I have been MIA...

This week has been long and tiring. It has been tougher than expected to get back on track after vacation. The song of the week will return next week. Today and for now here are some random updates in our crazy busy lives.

We went to our church festival last weekend and entered into a raffle and we won. Actually we won twice. I won a Dine Out basket that had a bunch of gift cards to local restaurants and coffee shops. My DH won a nifty teeth whitening package from a local dentist. I think he is giving that one to me though. :)

I received the onesie I won on the forum in the mail. It is even cuter in person. I can't wait to put it on my baby.

I have seen lots of forum friends get Birth Certificates and travel dates so that is awesome. I feel for them though as flight availability and price is a little nuts. We thought we had saved enough for plane fare but if prices stay at what they are we are a little short. I hope everyone gets the flights they need at a somewhat reasonable price and don't have to make 4 connections on the way home.

In Secret Pal news, I got word that my Secret Pal made a donation in my name for a local triathlete who is trying to raise a bunch of money to help Doctor's Without Borders get more PlumyNut. PlumyNut is a super food based on peanuts, chock full of vitamins and minerals that they use to feed children in developing country. It can help "cure" malnutrition. In return, I made a donation in honor of my Secret Pal.

Also, in Secret Pal news, I still don't know who is sending me these amazing gifts but the person I send gifts to knows who I am. She has volunteered to help coordinate the Secret Pals endeavor so she saw the list. We have been in touch and all is well. I will still continue to send her gifts each month. She lives far away so unless we were to travel at the same time or she happened to be at a CHSFS event we probably won't meet in person.

Other than that, all is well. We are going to my parents house this weekend which will be nice since I feel like I haven't seen them in forever. Summer is going by quickly which is good and bad. Good because it brings us that much closer to our referral and bad because we are that much closer to yucky weather.

MLB All-Star game!

If you knew me growing up I wasn't really a baseball fan. I will admit that I grew up a football fan, namely a San Francisco 49er fan (I know kinda sad but back then there was Steve Young and Joe Montana and Jerry Rice). I was also a huge basketball fan. I started with college basketball and the Final Four. I remember the Fab Five of Michigan and DUKE!!! I am still to this day a HUGE Duke fan. Why I can't really tell you other then that was the team I have rooted for ever since I was like 11 so over 20 years. I also liked the NBA and the Chicago Bulls. People in CA tend not to root for the Golden State Warriors (they are pretty awful) and I didn't live in SoCal so the Bulls it was.

Fast forward to present day and I really like baseball, football and college basketball. I have dropped the NBA as I feel it is kind of a joke now with a bunch of young kids who aren't even all that good. Since we live in WI, I am convinced that if you aren't a Packer fan then you have to move. I never hated the Packers growing up and I have become a fan. I sort of pay attention to the 49ers but they are pretty awful and we don't get to see a lot of their games here in WI. So Go Pack Go. I even now play at least 2 if not 3 teams in fantasy football. My husband jokes that I might have a problem...

I still love college basketball and March Madness. I was fortunate enough to go to college with Steve Nash at Santa Clara University. He graduated 2 years before me but made for some great basketball for a small private school. I still love Duke. I get a ton of crap for that from my hubby but I can't help it. I will always root for Duke. I don't always pick them to win the tourney when I do my brackets but since I do multiple brackets each year at least one of mine will have Duke winning it all.

Baseball is a sport that I am fairly new too. I always liked going to a SF Giants game especially at the new ball park affectionately referred to as the Phone Booth. I went to a Brewers game in the old County Stadium and that was fun but I LOVE Miller Park. We get a 9 game pack and sit in the first level just off the third base line in left field. I get to see very well some of my favorite players like JJ Hardy and Ryan Braun. I am learning how to explain the in field fly rule and I know what a balk is and from our seats we can usually see (if someone isn't standing) the pitches cross the plate. I have a good grasp for the game thanks to my hubby. I actually pay attention where as a few years ago I would read a magazine or chat with a friend. It really is a lot of fun. I don't always like to watch baseball on TV as it just isn't the same as being there. And for the first time this year I am in a Home Run Derby league with some friends and I am only .5 games out of first place.

Well, tonight while my hubby is off playing a concert, I am watching the MLB baseball All-Star game. I am so excited as there are 2 Brewers starting in the game and one on the bench. Not too shabby for a small market team. I can't wait to see Ben Sheets throw the first pitch of the game. He is awesome and so deserves to start the game. I hope Ryan Braun and Corey Hart step up and play well and just maybe someone on ESPN's Baseball Tonight will start respecting the Brewers.

This time next year...

As we approach the 6 months of waiting mark, I have been thinking a lot about this time next year. This time next year I will be a Mom and I can't wait!

Even while we were on vacation, I kept thinking about what our vacation next year will be like with our little one. We were at our church festival this weekend and I was thinking how great it would be to bring our baby to that next year.

I didn't always want to be a Mom. When I was around 18 or so I thought I really didn't want kids. Well, not that long after I thought that I met my husband and that all changed. I wanted nothing more than to have a family. Not right away since we were so young when we got married but eventually. Well, come the year 2003, we decided it was time to realize our dream. I am in no way going to rehash that crazy path that led us to where we are now but I finally feel like I have entered my third trimester in my own way.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. I know I still have a few months before I get a referral and then 8-12 weeks after that to travel but we are getting so close. Today is a good day. I feel like I can manage this wait. After all we started this in 2003, over 5 years ago so having a few months left feels like nothing. I know that could all change next week and I could be struggling with the wait but right now I am allowing myself to get excited.

I keep dreaming about being a Mom and sometimes I see myself with a little girl since that is all I have known but other times I have seen myself with a little boy. In my heart when I first decided I wanted to be a Mom, I thought for sure that I wanted a little boy and then we were blessed with the twin girls last summer and my heart just melted and I really really wanted a little girl. I still do want a little girl at some point but I know that if i am meant to be the Mom to a little boy too then I will be and I will be just as happy.

So this was our last couples vacation for awhile. We will be a family next year and having thoughts of trips to Disneyworld, the Dells and CA and IL to see our friends.