Bad blogger.....still

So I had hoped that having the laptop back in action would mean I would blog more again but such is not the case apparently :(

Here is what is going on in no particular order.

1) We refinanced our house. Pretty painless but super happy with our new low interest 15 year mortgage.

2) We got our fingerprint appointment for the Department of homeland security. It is July 22nd....3 days after cast day.....could be interesting trying to get time off work that week.

3) Kiya's cast cut off date is in less than 2 weeks. Yeah for summer fun for a week.

4) Cast number 4 goes on July 19th. Pink is said to be the color but she said that last time and we left with blue. I am more than ready to see this cast go. It is GROSS.

5) Kiya is doing GREAT in her preschool class. Drop offs are getting better and she is having a blast. She can tell some of the days of the week and is getting really good at using scissors. Water days have been no issue and she is starting to make progress in the potty training department again. Amazing what spending her days with kids her age and older can do. She is even going poop on the potty again.

6) The pugs are well lazy. Sebastian loves to be outside in the mornings when it is cool and Badger has taken up digging in the front yard again.

7) We are rapidly approaching our 12 year wedding anniversary

8) We are getting closer to realizing our second child. It has been almost 2 months and by my estimation we are #2 or #3 on the wait list for a son. OMG.....crazy that my phone is about to ring with amazing news.

So that about sums it up.

Where to begin....

Tomorrow--stay tuned for a we met Kiya 5 months ago and she has now known us as long as she had known Ethiopia.

But today I need to VENT. I am angry, hurt, frustrated, mystified, saddened, freaking out and more.

Yesterday I was SHOCKED to find out that CHSFS, our agency, has decided to unexpectedly close their forum. I am at a loss. I 'met' and met some amazing people through this forum. It was my life line while we were waiting for Kiya. I honestly am not sure I could have survived the process without the amazing support I found there.

For all of you blog readers, I started this blog because of the people I met on the forum. I found their blogs inspiring and informative and wanted to connect with more adoptive families. You all are amazing. I feel honored to be in your company. I truly thank you all for your words of wisdom, virtual hugs and support. You are an amazing group of people that I am proud to call my friends.

We are in the process of trying to pick up the pieces and find a way to continue. We are emailing everyone we know to get them moved over to a new place. We are writing anyone and everyone in our agency pleading with them to change this. There is a WEALTH of info on that forum from adoption ethics, hair care, travel tips, packing lists, medical questions, tax questions, parenting tips, the unofficial list that I so faithfully counted down when we were waiting for Kiya.

As we are gearing up for adoption #2, we have a lot of thinking to do. I was looking forward to the forum and members of it is as we started our wait again. I am having a hard time imagining how adoption number 2 will be without that support system. It was one of the more appealing qualities of CHSFS. We have some soul searching to do. I check that forum daily and have posted more questions than I care to say.

I will deeply miss the community, the love, the honesty, the support, the hugs, the joy, the tears, the sense of family. The worst part is we as members of this forum are not getting ANY answers as to why they are doing this...it just doesn't make sense to close this off.

I would have been lost without all of you. I found everyone one of my blogging buddies either directly or indirectly through that forum.

Blog Union, New Friends and Lots of Kiya first's

We spent the weekend in Chicago with a bunch of other blogging families with children from Ethiopia. It was so great. I got to meet a few bloggers that I have followed for awhile and I met a whole bunch of other really cool bloggers. You will see that my Blog List on the right has gotten a tad longer. :)

Kiya did pretty well over the course of the weekend. She had some trouble with dinner out in loud restaurants, crowds, etc. Thank goodness for the Ergo.

We got to experience lots of Kiya firsts this weekend that are documented in these adorable photos.

Kiya LOVES to lick thinks so this is me trying to prevent Kiya from licking the table at The Cheesecake Factory. Good times...

Kiya made her first trip to the American Girl store :)

Here she is all dressed up for dinner at her first Ethiopian restaurant in a dress we bought her in Ethiopia.

Here she is playing with her Uncle Andy.

Hanging out at 5 Guys Burgers :)

Looking cute after I put her head scarf on :)
Playing with her new best friend a full length mirror

Hanging at the hotel pool with Mom. She LOVED the pool and the big beach balls that were in it. We are looking to sign her up for a Mommy and Me swim class very soon.

Feeding herself crackers at a restaurant in Navy Pier

Spending time with Daddy at the hotel bar...long story but our private room for our welcome reception never happened so we (all the families) hung out at the bar at the W hotel with our kids. A little awkward....

We had a great weekend. Met some new friends, hung out with some old ones and even fit some family time in there. And now it is back to reality and work. I forsee a going back to work blog post in my future...

Nothing....

Well I still don't have plane tickets and I don't have a confirmed travel date. I am not happy about this and don't have a lot of positive things to say.

As a result of my funky mood, I am taking a break from blogging. I will be back once I can buy plane tickets. Until then I will try to enjoy endless hours of Guitar Hero, hugging my pugs and some Fat Elvis ice cream.

Next time I post, I promise it will be good news. So until then enjoy the sunny days...

Blog Union and T-3 weeks

I was asked to post about Blog Union 2009 today so here it goes. If you have a blog, are adopting/have adopted from Ethiopia and want to hang out with other cool bloggers who are doing the same thing then click here: http://www.meetup.com...

Blog Union '09 will be in the Windy City. You have to be approved to see the info and there are a few stipulations that must be met before getting approved. They are:

1. The family must have a blog

2. The family must be officially waiting (aka – had background checks, fingerprints etc.)

3. The family applying must be adopting from ET and/or have adopted from ET – this is an Ethiopian adoption specific group.

4. Once signed up we ask that you all have pictures on your meet-up profiles so I can keep track of who is who.

So if you haven't already sign up and join us. It is sure to be a good time. I can't wait!

As for the other part of my post--we are T minus 3 weeks until our court date. To say I am rich with anticipation is an understatement. I just pray we hear on that day. It is a Friday and I am dreading the thought of going through the weekend not knowing if a nice judge in Ethiopia signed off and made us officially Peanut's parents.

Not much we can do until then. We, as of today, will have all of Peanut's clothes washed and ready to be packed. We are starting to think about what we will pack ourselves and just how many suitcases are we going to bring. We are at 1 for each of us, 1 for the gloves I am donating to AHOPE and maybe another small one. Then for carry on's, I have my big diaper bag and this really cool bag I just got in the mail made by another Mom adopting from Ethiopia and Dave will have a backpack for the laptop and then another small bag as well. Wow that is a lot of luggage but with weight limits being what they are (50lbs for checked bags and 15lbs for carry ons), we don't really have a choice.

21 days...and counting. If you are the praying type please pray that the nice judges in Ethiopia sign off on our case and all the rest of the families with court dates coming up. If you aren't the praying type could you keep your fingers crossed or think happy thoughts for all of us waiting to get one step closer to our children?

Great read!

I am blogging from work as we have no Internet at our house right now. Yesterday one of my blogging buddies had a guest blogger Rebecca Haile author of the book "Held at a Distance."

Here is the link to her blog: http://theeyesofmyeyesareopened.blogspot.com/

It is definitely worth reading and reflecting upon. I have yet to read her book but it is on my short list for sure. I am still thinking about that post and my role in raising my daughter to understand Ethiopia.

In Peanut news: We got a developmental check list for Peanut. We know just a little bit more about our sweet baby girl. We know that she squeals, is calmed by touch, can kick her legs while laying on her back, can bring her hands to her mouth, can track objects with her eyes, and a special someone told me she sucks her thumb. How cute! I hate that I can't see her doing all of these things but I have comfort in knowing that the nannies are amazing and that all of her needs are being met.

So very blessed

I feel really blessed. Not only do I have a beautiful baby girl waiting for me in Ethiopia but I have the wonderful support of friends and family as well. To top that off I have met some truly amazing people that have touched my lives along this journey to peanut. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would not only gain a family member but some amazing friends.

I was fortunate enough to have coffee with this person this morning. It is great to have a local Mom to chat with about ethics, adoption, babies and yes sometimes our husbands. It was a great way to start the day. I look forward to many more such occasions in the future.

I also received a special email from this person today. She is in Ethiopia right now and her email touched my heart. I am so grateful to her and can't wait to hear all about her trip and her little girl.

This weekend I will be meeting in person my Secret Pal. We are getting together for coffee and to chat.

Then there is this person. She has been my wait list buddy. We received our referrals days apart and accepted them on the same day. We both have an April 3rd court date and are hoping to be travel buddies. I have been so blessed to have her to complain to, freak out with and celebrate with. We haven't met in person yet but hopefully we will soon.

And to the rest of my blogging buddies listed to the right, THANKS! You all have been so supportive and insightful. I couldn't imagine going through this alone and it is nice to share this journey with people that get it. If you are ever in my neck of the words, I would love to have coffee with you as well. Notice a theme here....I think I have a problem. I love me some good coffee :) and some good company.

UPDATE: We just got baby girl's new measurements. She now weighs 7.2 lbs and is 20.6 inches long. She has gained over a pound and grown over an inch since last month. :)

Happy Friday! and some special prayers

I am preempting my post today to say CONGRATULATIONS to two of my blogging buddies.

This family received their referral for their sweet baby boy this week. They are with a different agency so their little guy won't be staying at the same place as peanut but I am sure he is being very well taken care of until his Mom and Dad can come pick him up. She wrote a very cute referral day story. Almost missed the exciting news :)

And this family received their referral for their sweet baby girl. She is quite possibly in the same room as peanut. I am SO excited for Leah and her family. She got their referral just in time. They leave for Ethiopia on Sunday. She gets to hug her little girl in just a few days. (She is traveling on a different visa so she has to go over before her court date) I can't wait to hear about her trip. She is definitely one cool lady with a really big heart.

And while I am at it let's give some good cheers to this family as they are working their way up the list. They are so close to their son. I can't wait to hear their good news.

Then there is this family that made a tough decision to switch agencies and do what is best for their family. I am so happy they they have found peace and will hopefully be on the wait list VERY soon.

Lastly, please pray for this family and this family. I won't talk about why they need the prayers but just if you remember please pray for them. They each have their own stuff going on and I hope they find peace, answers, and joy along their paths.

Blog post #200!!!

I just realized when I logged on today that this is post #200. I guess I am chatty :) I have thoroughly enjoyed writing this blog and reading the blogs of my fellow adoptive moms. This has been an awesome release for me. I have posted on things here that I haven't talked about so it has helped me to clear my head and get focused.

Today I have no adoption news to report, unfortunately. I am still nesting away. Today I cleaned out the closet in the master bedroom. It is unbelievable how much stuff I have and don't need. There is definitely a trip to Goodwill in my very near future.

I also managed to wrangle the dogs in to the bath tub. Not a fun task but one that was needed. I feel bad that I had to bathe them on a cold and snowy day but the goal is to keep busy so bathe I did. Now they are wet dogs since they hate blow dryers and it's cold out :(

The best part of the day so far has been making brownies. Yum! I figured after all the closet cleaning I could use a little treat. The house smells oddly like wet dog and brownie. Not the best of combinations but oh well.

So for all you readers out there, thanks! I have enjoyed the blogging world so far and look forward to the next 200 posts :)