Court Date...At Last!!!

Yesterday I finally got a court date!!!! I am every excited and also very stressed, because I will be travelling very soon--most likely leaving on May 9th!!! There is ALOT to do before then. I have to decide if I am going to take the girls, arrange pet sitting, gather documents that the judge has requested, pack, get my financial stuff in order, etc. etc.....

A Busy Saturday!!

Yesterday was a busy day. First, I took my car to the Goodyear to get them to tell me why it has been making a terrible roaring sound in lower gears for the last two weeks-- I was worried that it was my transmission, but they said that my rear engine mount is actually broken! They said that this is most likely a result of my wreck back in January, and the shop that fixed the car missed it. So now I have to call my insurance company to try to get them to cover the repair. That means I will have to drop off my car at the Progressive service center and get a rental car for a few days. At least they didn't try to rip me off by replacing my transmission or something. I did get my oil changed while I was there.

Then we went to Big A's soccer game. She was really tired yesterday--she's been staying up late because Nana was visiting. She stayed in for the entire game, but I think she didn't enjoy the game very much. She didn't score any goals this time around. Poor Nana was keeping track of Little A and some of the other toddlers on the sidelines--I'm not sure she got to watch much of the game.

My cousin Brian and his Mom drove down from Charlotte for the day yesterday as well. It was really nice to see them. Although, I didn't feel like I got to talk to them too much--I spent a lot of time chasing around my girls. My cousin Mike (who lives here in Atlanta) came over briefly to visit, and to bring his sick dog for me to look at. Then we all went out to eat Mexican. Little A spent most of her time at the restaurant running around the table and generally misbehaving... She was very excited about having company. We decided to try to get a family reunion set up for July 12. Brian volunteered his home in Charlotte to hold the event. All I can say is--He is brave! Hopefully we can get the majority of the cousins together that weekend. We haven't had a big family get together in several years--maybe it has been 5 or 6 years! There are SO many young cousins--it is a shame that they don't all know each other. I hope it all works out. It would be great to get all of the family to get together again. I am excited.. I hope it works out.

Nana left yesterday evening. The girls were very sad. Hopefully she will come again soon.


Below are some photos of the girls with the vine crowns that Nana made:

My Little Cherub!

Little A's Crown

Big A After The Game--Very Tired!

One Bloody Ear + One Hysterical Girl = One Exhausted Mom!

Our adventure for tonight was not a pleasant one... I am still trying to relax. I was simply trying to clean Big A's infected ear lobes with some alcohol and a cotton ball, when her ear just started gushing blood--I'm not talking about a trickle either. So I tried to hold a cotton ball to stop the bleeding--unfortunately Big A saw the blood and went just hysterical. She was screaming and flailing and basically having a panic attack. Screaming things like "You made me bleed!!! You are killing me!!" at the top of her lungs. I'm surprised the neighbors didn't call the Cops. I was trying to hold onto her flailing body to stop the bleeding and blood was getting everywhere. Little A sat calmly on her bed removing the clothes from her doll during all of this chaos. Fortunately, my Mom finally came in and helped try to calm her down--that didn't seem to work very well, so she just held onto her while I tried to clean the blood up. What a fiasco! The back of Big A's earlobe has a big open wound where the abscess ruptured, but I just can't figure out why it bled so profusely. I guess she'll be making a trip to the doctor tomorrow. My Mom's take on the whole situation was just to chuckle and say "Payback is Hell" She claims that I acted just as hysterical as Big A, when I was a child.... I don't know what she's talking about! ;) That little give is going to give me a heart attack before I'm forty--I'm sure of it.

Decorating Dilemma...

Although my faith in completing this adoption is, yet again, waining, I have been trying to get things ready for "D"'s arrival. I have gotten some clothes-- not a lot, because I am not sure what size he will be when he gets here. I have also been decorating his room. I am almost done.

I am now trying to decide on a quilt. I have really had a hard time deciding on one for some reason. Because his room walls are completely covered in a farm mural, I really just want a quilt with primary colors. I have narrowed it down to two choices. They are pictured below. I really think that I am going to go with the bottom quilt, because I like the colors better. Big A disagrees with me one this one. She says that the red and white checks of the first quilt perfectly match the curtains (also red/white checks), but I think that the plaid (madras?) on the second quilt will go just fine. Of course, since I am the one buying the quilt, I will win this debate.... :)

Pottery Barn Stripes

Company Kids Plaid

I am so hesitant to order the quilt until I get a court date. Of course, I got another email last night saying that the Judge has not yet reviewed my documents--big surprise. My Mom asked me if I could email "D". I said --No I have no communication with him. She said that that was so sad, because maybe he thinks that I am not coming to get him after all. I'm sure that is exactly what he thinks. This wait is so hard for me , but I can imagine it is even worse for him. He probably has already forgotten about me anyway. I haven't forgotten about him. Neither has Little A--she still blames him for every mess or broken toy that happens around our house. I say "Who made that mes?", and Little A immediately responds ""D" did it!" Poor boy-- he has no idea what he is in for....

Adventures With Nana...

Nana is here!!! My Mom drove down yesterday afternoon, and picked the girls up from school. They were very excited!!! On the way home they stopped at a small farmer's market to look at the flowers. My sweet little girls talked Nana into buying me some plants for an early Mother's Day present. They also talked her into buying some grapes, plums, and cantaloupes for themselves! :) Nana brought them a book and three little teddy bears- pink for Little A, blue for Big A, and a farmer bear for "D". The whole evening Big A talked nonstop, a mile -a -minute to Nana. Little A showed off the entire evening and carefully inspected all of Nana's jewelry. "I like that bracelet, Nana." she kept saying. I let the girls stay up pretty late last night... that I payed for this morning.

I am at work today, so Nana will pick up the girls early from school again--who knows what adventures they will have today. I suspect ice cream will be involved though...

No News As Usual !!!

Well there is no new news to report about the adoption.. Typical. The agency just says--"we hope to hear something by the end of the week..." The usual BS. These "weeks" keep just going by... And my time is running out. My CIS document expires in June. The clock is ticking...

Today is "D"'s Birthday--so you can imagine how bitter I am right now... There he sits in an Orphanage, on his 5th Birthday-with no family. Yes, I am pissed.

The thing that cracks me up about my "agency" is that they sent me an evaluation form the other day. "tell us how we are doing"-- you suck. Of course, I crumpled it up and threw it in the garbage immediately. That is how much faith I have that my evaluation will do any good. I am just SO TIRED. I have just about reached my limit. I wish this whole thing was just over. I am so ready to not be "waiting" I am also so ready to not ever have to deal with the agency again... I guess if this adoption really happens, I will have to deal with them to an extent for 2-3 more years--doing post placement reports.. But at least I won't have to be in constant contact with them. I won't have to depend on their time lines. I will simply do my post placements and send them on their way--in a timely manner. The way things are supposed to be done.

Yes, I am a control freak-- but at least I get things done...

Saturday Fun...

Here are some photos from our weekend. Big A's soccer team won. She did really great! She got at least three goals! One of the Dads called her the Michael Jordan of the soccer team...

After the game, Big A had a birthday party to go to. Of course, Little A got to tag along too. The girls had a very fun day on Saturday.

Posing...

Trying To Get The Ball

Going For A Goal!!!

Red faced And Hot

Tumbling Down...

Rush, Rush....

Today has been rush, rush, rush... I woke up extremely late this morning and had to rush to wake the girls and get them dressed for school. Today is picture day for Little A. I dressed her in a cute little sun dress. She insisted on wearing a hot pink head band in her hair today! It doesn't exactly go with her dress... The dress does have pink, just not the same shade of pink. We'll see how noticable it is in the photo... Oh well, at least she let me put something in her hair--usually she just rips her hairbows out and runs around all day with hair in her eyes. I have got to get her hair cut!!! It looks like Little A will have to wear bangs--she is just too much of a tomboy... Big A's school pictures will be tomorrow. She tells me they will be wearing "caps and gowns" for Pre-K graduation. She is very excited about it!

It has been non stop at work today, and I hear more clients walking in the door, so I must go....

Hello Seattle...

Hello to Seattle---Yes, I hid the post about the orphanage, as you not so subtly instructed. You can stop inspecting my blog now... ;) I'm sure you'll get the alert if I post any other rude comments... Of course, if you enjoy reading about our adventures--- feel free...

Now I must get back to my last minute taxes.... I'll post more a
adventures another time. Goodnight.

And They Say Don't Look For Zebras...

I, for one, plan to have a great weekend!! This week has been a very long one!! Thank goodness it is over! We are supposed to get thunderstorms tonight -- hopefully without the tornadoes this time! :) One good thing did come from the Atlanta tornadoes, however... the residents of all of the affected counties get an extra month to do their taxes!! Fortunately, I live in one of those counties. Seriously, though I really plan to finish up my dreaded taxes sometime this weekend, if it kills me---and it just may.

Last night, on my way home from work, I heard a snippet on the traffic report about a baby zebra blocking traffic on 75 S. I meant to stay up to watch the news last night to see what it was all about, but I fell asleep early. This morning when I got to work, the hospital owner's husband told me that they had, indeed, found a baby zebra ( that had been hit by a car) eating grass by the highway just one exit down from the hospital. The zebra was badly injured and had to be referred to Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine for surgery. So far the little guy is alive and doing okay. The really obnoxious thing is that the rescuers first called the University of Georgia's Vet School for help--they were turned away... That was not the smartest move--treating a stray zebra would have been great publicity for the school. Here is a link to the article: http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/henry/stories/2008/04/10/zebra_0411.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13
I hope the little guy makes it. Very cute.

Little A's Eyes...

I was looking back at an old photo that my cousin emailed to me (can you tell it's slow at work?), and I cannot believe how much Little A resembles my brother Gabe in the photo. She gets the same devious little look on her face all the time. Little A has eyes like my Brother and his boys--she could easily blend into his pack of boys. I think her need to irritate her Big Sister is also similar to my Brother's need to irritate me when he was small! He was always doing little things to get on my nerves, and just like Big A, I would become hysterical and cry-- the difference was, I would beat up my Brother! Big A does not beat up her Sister-- that I am thankful for. Instead Big A tends to get beaten up my her Little Sister--that I am not thankful for.

Me And My Brother --1980

Pollen-- yellow? or Green?

It is such a pretty day outside--perfect to work in the yard. Too bad I'm sitting in a hospital, working. The pollen count here is extremely high-- I think I heard that it was 2700 yesterday! Apparently, anything over 100 is considered high. No wonder my sinuses feel as if they are about to explode! Everything outside is covered in yellow dust. It is funny, I noticed that some people around here call the pine pollen green.. to me it always looks yellow. But most people comment on how everything is "covered in green today". I asked Big A what color she thought the pollen was this morning--she said it is yellow. Chip off the old block, I guess.

Little A seemed to be feeling fine this morning when she got up. I'm not sure what the deal was with her last night-- guess she just had a "tummy ache." This morning we got off to a late start-- I overslept because I stayed up entirely too late last night... It was nice not having to rush to get Big A to school by 8am! Big A is on Spring Break this week, so I can take her to daycare at any time I want. The only downside is that I have to pay extra for her daycare this week.

Well, I think I have a client--better go...

A Nicer Post...

Well--I just took a look at a post I wrote earlier today--boy was I in a bad mood. It seemed entirely too mean, so I deleted it. I am determined to find a happy place now. So, instead of complaining and feeling sorry for myself , I will post a picture of my beautiful girls and breath deeply...

Silly Smiles!!!

Unfortunately, I haven't been taking too many photos this week, so an older one will have to do. This evening Big A suggested that we weed the flower beds and plant some flowers this Saturday-- maybe I'll get some photos then.

I have really got to get myself in a better mood. I just get so frustrated with all of the waiting and waiting with this adoption... Oh well, I guess it will all happen--eventually.

Little A came home this evening complaining of a stomach ache. She wouldn't eat and she just wanted me to hold her on the couch. I think she may be constipated. I hope that is all it is... I hope she is not getting sick. She ended up falling asleep on the couch... poor girl. I may have to keep her out of daycare tomorrow if she's not feeling better...

While her sister, slept on the couch, Big A took the opportunity to make some paper dolls-- lately, she has been drawing paper dolls cutting them out and pasting them on poster board so they will stand. She even makes the little foot stands for them. She has quite the collection now. Tonight, however, she decided she wanted to cut pictures of children out of catalogues and make a "paper doll baby school" I gave her some Pottery Barn Kids catalogues to cut up. Pretty soon she had a "whole class of babies". She also cut out several room scenes for the back drops. She wanted to paste them all to poster board tonight, but it was bedtime so I told her we could do it tomorrow. She actually didn't put up a fuss. I think she enjoyed having some quiet time to herself tonight. Usually Little A is trying to steal the scissors, draw on the paper, or find some other way to generally annoy her big sister.

Well, it is getting late. I need to get to bed. I feel better tonight than I did earrlier today. I definately think I'm PMSing! :)

Miscellanous Bitching...

I have been terrible about writing lately. I have just been in a bad mood all week--hormonal , I guess. Also tax season makes me depressed. I always seem to owe! I guess part of my mood has been weather related-- it has just been cloudy for days. Big A's practice and game were rained out last week, and her soccer pictures were cancelled at the last minute--I found out after I got her all dressed and took her to the YMCA on Sunday! They didn't even bother to call the coaches so they could give us a heads up. This Y is pretty slack. I won't be signing her up for any more sports at this location. I did go down to the Recreation Center on Saturday, and sign Big A up for T-ball in the summer. Then we took a trip to the library to check out some books. Big A memorized an entire story book (word for word) after only hearing it once! Sometimes she amazes me with her memory! I really should get her into acting--she would have absolutely no trouble memorizing her lines--and, of course, she is always dramatic. ;)

Another reason for my bad mood is that I have not gotten a court date yet for the adoption. In fact, I don't even think that my paperwork has been given to the Judge yet! This whole adoption process is ridiculous! The agency blames it on the region, but I really think that they are the slow ones. My documents have been in Russia for well over 2 weeks now-- how the Hell long can it take to translate and notarize them?!? I am SOOO ready to get this all over with and bring "D" home! I really need to get him here so I can get him the medical attention he needs and try to get him evaluated by the school system. He will be Kindergarten age next fall, but I really doubt that he will be ready for that. Maybe I can get him ready to go into Pre-K, we'll have to see. I would really hate for him to have to be 2 years behind Big A in school-- after all, they are only 3 months apart in age... There are so many unknowns, that is very frustrating.

I really am feeling the need to organize my life more and do some serious Spring Cleaning! Unfortunately, there just doesn't seem to be any time lately! I really have got to reorganize my office. I do not have much storage space in my house, and the office is getting ridiculous!!! Maybe that will be my project for this weekend--along with cleaning the house, doing laundry, mowing the lawn, weeding the flower beds, etc., and so on!!! Or maybe I'll just let the girls play out in the backyard, while I sit on the deck and have a margarita!!! :)