art work

And if mom won't pop for the cutsey little window decals,

























draw some yourself.

When you can't find your dishtowels

Look for sleeping "babies".

I'm done now

Six years ago, minus two days, I got a call as I was getting ready to go to church.


"This is xxxx from the Emergency Shelter" she said.


My heart leapt out of my throat. We had been licensed as foster parents just 2 days earlier and had already had one call which didn't pan out because the mother was cleared to take her injured child home.


This one was a newborn, being removed from her parents due to a positive drug test. The baby is healthy and did not test positive which was a really good thing. Probably about a 6 week placement, we were told.


Of course we'll go pick her up. When? 1/2 hour? REALLY? Would it be ok if I got there in an hour or so, after church, so I can let the family know? (Think of the surprise!) Besides - I have nearly NOTHING for a baby yet. A car seat and a portacrib - that's pretty much it.


A quick trip to the attic yielded some baby sleepers and other cute baby girl clothes from DDD's early days. Most of them went straight into the washing machine, but a little pink dress with hearts in the smocking (it WAS the day after Valentine's Day, after all) was very well wrapped and went with us to the hospital.


We got a little information about the baby, dressed her up in the little pink dress for leaving the hospital. We begged for a few diapers and some formula from the obliging hospital staff, bless them. Then we bundled her up and went home.


That was 6 years ago. Many of you visited my adoption entry 3 years ago. Another eternity has passed in the blink of an eye.


Happy Birthday, sweet little 6 year old of mine.

I'm not done yet!

Three for Three

BK submitted just 5 college applications, as opposed to the 15 or so his over-achieving gf submitted. They are all out of state. We have done something wrong. We have apparently raised a child in one location for nearly all his life so now he feels it's imperative to get the hell out of California! Seeing as how he is the only child we have not uprooted farther than 4 miles across town, this is new to us. and expensive.

He has heard from 3 of the 5 colleges. And ALL THREE SAID YES!!! I think we'll have to wait until March for the other two and hence, a decision, but here we go with location #1 (not necessarily in order of preference, because to my knowledge we don't have much of an order of preference just yet.)

University of Oregon

Benefits in that he has relatives about an hour away. His cousins went there and my niece's (Big Niece to those of you with ties to the other blog) husband, a.k.a Big Nephew, has season tickets to the Duck's games, making tailgate parties immediately accessible to him.

That's a pretty strong pull. But then there is the rain. So it's not one of the top two right now.

Indiana University in Bloomington

Looks pretty enough. But then, are you really going to take pictures when the place is all grey and ugly?

BK is taking a trip there March 10. I'm hoping there will still be enough snow and muck that he'll get a pretty good picture of a winter. California boys don't exactly know how to deal with that stuff when it stays around all the time.

Arizona State Universiaty

Last for now, and probably least overall, ASU Sun Devils would like him to join their student body. This was his "fall back" school, but again, there are relatives fairly nearby for a home cooked supper now and then and maybe a load of laundry. He's worried about the heat, but if he's not doing summer classes, I don't think he'll mind it much at all.

So there's the College Roundup as of February 2008. Two more answers to come, hopefully they will be acceptances and then a decision. So much to look forward to this year!

more misc

First, let me tell you guys who blog regularly that you are my heroes and I strive to walk in your shoes. OK, I'll walk in my own, I'd flop all over the place trying to fill those shoes... but still, thank you for doing what I cannot seem to accomplish.


Making up for some lost time while I'm on a roll...

After Christmas, we traveled up to Washington to visit big sis who was still holding Poppee, our father, hostage in the cold rainy weather while he waited for us to arrive. L'il sis (Luna) and family beat a hasty path out of there the day after we arrived, so we didn't get to see them.



One day it snowed and everything was white. So pretty! BK and LK went out and built a snowman. It was very fun.














It was also very small.

miscellaneous blog catch up

Is there a cuter thing than a children's choir at Christmas?
I don't think so...
(LK is front, right with the "beautiful cape"!)






For us, Birthday season follows Holiday season in close pursuit.




DDD loves her some ribs. You should not get in the middle of DDD and her ribs until AFTER she has filled her plate. Especially on her birthday.











We have a tradition of sorts where we decorate the bedroom doorway on "special" birthdays, specifically 5, 10 (double digits), 13 (teenager), 16 (sweet and all...), 18 (adult! well, sort of) and 21 (obvious, isn't it?).

Well, this year, we had some interior construction and remodeling going on and I could not find the crepe paper streamers.

ANYWHERE!

So we papered BK's doorway with really cute young lady wrapping paper (which I totally intended to reuse, until he cut it to shreds so he wouldn't be so inconvenienced by the full sheet) proclaiming the manliness of this birthday.

And when you have back to back birthdays, you can celebrate them at a really nice restaurant (Ruth's Chris Steak House this year) together. (BK's GF is the additional kid there)



Can I just say I love my kids?

That Darn Lunasea

Lunasea is my sister. And I love her like, well, a sister. Maybe even better than a sister, but I don't know what you'd call that. Not a wife, though I could use one. But I wouldn't pick Lunasea. I need the 1940s wife. The one who cleans and organizes and keeps the children happy and quiet and brings me the paper and a martini when I get home from work. Yeah. That one. That sounds nice. No wonder men weren't too happy with women's lib. I think I get it now.

But I digress. again. I do that alot.

A day or two ago, she has this little post about the "You Make My Day" award. It's very sweet and I love it that I make her day when I post (long pausing emphasis on the "when", maybe even including a heavy sigh...). I even take it in stride when she says I introduced her to the boogeyman.

note: I do NOT remember doing that! But I do, with a touch of shame, remember jumping off the couch once leaving her on it when a cricket which must have been at least a foot long showed up on top of the couch while I was babysitting... To my credit, I did manage to snatch her from the evil grasp of that cricket before it devoured her. Thank God for my ultimate courage.

So it was a nice thing, and like many other chain letters, it is wonderful in sentiment and all that.

But.

and you knew I had a "but".

I don't do chain letters. I'm a pretty nice person, so people tend to think I'm a good one to include in their heartwarming fuzzy chains because I won't break them. They're wrong. Mostly I'm adept at simply clicking the little X at the top. Sometimes, if the chain is something I know or suspect and confirm as an urban legend, and they sent it to their entire list of contacts, I'll respond and tell them they sent out a hoax. Yes, I am that person. I do not, however, reply ALL to tell everyone they got bamboozled or spammed. I leave it to the sender to care or not.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to hell, or will never get another wish granted, or will never see that fabulous crazy thing that happens in 3 minutes after I send the message to 7 people. Yep, I will miss that special episode of my life.

So, I'm supposed to pay this forward. Award this to 5 other blogs which make my day. Actually, when this whole thing started, according to a few of the sites when I googled it, it was 10, so I suppose I should be happy we've gotten it down to 5.

The truth is - you ALL make my day. I can't believe how crazy happy I am to get a comment! (Thanks, mostly Lunasea and Sarah and sometimes Mama Lee!) I use my computer time to wind down, and it's really wonderful to read all of your posts - the funny, thoughtful, crazy, silly, witty and touching. Doesn't matter - they all warm my heart or my funny bone and they all make my day. Now that I've learned how to make a "link" over at the right, you can see some of the blogs that I really enjoy. (the list will grow - I promise. ... someday. it's kind of a "when" thing.) Even if I don't find the time to actually compose and type out a post, I seem to always find at least 3-4 days a week to read the bloggers I enjoy.

I'm not going to continue the chain. officially. I accept the title of chain letter poop. And I absolve each and every one of my handful of readers from having to pass it on. But if you want to, consider yourself "YMMD" awarded and run with it! I get a lot of the blogs I read from the links in yours and I thank you. You really do Make My Day.

So thank you, little sis, for the thought. And right back atcha.

But I did NOT tell you about the boogeyman...

From that same trip

Miss Confidence on her own, and then just HOW COOl is it to have a big brother and sister who dote on you?
(A: it is SUPER cool.)


This picture was taken shortly before a certain mother checked her 5 year old into the boards and split her lip open.


But that didn't get the same reaction as the father who was told these were the best sticks in the world and then absent mindedly threw them waaaaaaaay down the hillside.

Good thing we took happy pictures. We might be able to use them to convince her she really DID have a good time.

maybe.

snow butts

I thought I was immune. I was so smug. I was so in control. Then the Temptations came on the sound system and all it took was a handful of very groovy scoops and I was toast.



Damn, humility hurts.

Overwhelmed

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This o·ver·whelm (ō'vər-hwělm', -wělm') Pronunciation Key tr.v. o·ver·whelmed, o·ver·whelm·ing, o·ver·whelms
1. To surge over and submerge; engulf: waves overwhelming the rocky shoreline.
2a. To defeat completely and decisively: Our team overwhelmed the visitors by 40 points.
2b. To affect deeply in mind or emotion: Despair overwhelmed me.
3. To present with an excessive amount: They overwhelmed us with expensive gifts.
4. To turn over; upset: The small craft was overwhelmed by the enormous waves.

(Download Now or Buy the Book) The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth EditionCopyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

#3.

Definitely. #3. (not the gifts part. That might be nice, though with my house under construction, I'd have nowhere to put anything. The work part. bah.)
I have some pictures from the holidays that I want to blog someday. Maybe next year.

Deep breath. Breathe. Happily, I have people reminding me to do just that.