I forgot

I'd forgotten how much paperwork is really involved in adoption! I guess I'd blocked it out... The agency director told us yesterday that she'd send over the "personal data forms" that go with our application so that we can fill them out this weekend. Those three words are an awfully innocuous description for what feels like the third degree on paper!

Sixteen pages of essay questions! I've already spent three hours writing today, and I'm only on page nine! I know.... I know... It's all worth it to have a baby, but I can't help but whine a bit that while I know it's important to thoroughly screen people before allowing them to adopt children, it's crazy how much information you have to give. I can't think of a single bio parent I know who had to recount all of their childhood traumas, every single family member who might have ever had an extra drink or a slight case of the crazies before they got pregnant.

I know. It's different. I don't really mind, but I'd certainly forgotten how intrusive this process can really be. No wonder we were so happy to have a break for a while when we finalized Sam's adoption!

I did take a break from the Inquisition to scrap a page from Sam's first field trip last week. I like how it turned out. I obsessed over scrapping what was such a big, yet little, day. I have no idea why I made it such a big project! I think Stand Up and Scrap stress is starting to rub off on all my scrapping! I might scrap a few more pics of the day once Lauren Reid re-releases Abby's Orchard. She didn't have it in her new ScrapArtist store, but I PMed her at My Scrapbook Art and begged just a little and she said she was going to touch it up a bit and sell it again. WooHoo!

Good news times two!

This has been a pretty good week at our house... Nothing too out of the ordinary, and -- thank goodness -- no new embarrassments with Sam to report. He did have his very first field trip this week. We went apple picking. Sam had a blast, and I said another little prayer of thanks for a job that allows me the flexibility to be there for those fun moments.

I have been keeping track of my temperatures for so long now that I'm starting to think the thermometer might just permanently attach itself to my head (we have the funky looking arterial artery type), but it's finally all over. I suppose I should still knock on wood or something, but I've been fever-free for eleven days now! I've checked in with mulitple doctors this week and the consensus seems to be that the antibiotic did the trick. We'll never know for sure what I had, but one doctor said he's fairly sure it was an infection in my heart lining, secondary to something else I must have had early in the year. My mom gave me some after-the-fact stress by explaining that this particular infection can lead to cardiomyopathy. THANK GOODNESS someone thought to give me drugs on a whim! To quote my favorite doctor, " Sometimes it's good to be all about the science. Sometimes it's good to just throw caution to the wind and do whatever it take to find a cure." You can say that again!

So... The Great Fever of 2007 stories should officially be a thing of the past. So long!

The other, much bigger news, is that Holt finally called today. We have our personal information forms to fill out this week and will be invoiced for our home study update on Monday. That certainly feels official. It feels right to be back at it again, but I was slightly disappointed to learn today that timelines have stretched to 21 months from application to homecoming.

I'm a silver-lining kind of girl and told Rob that at least we won't ever be facing payments for two kids in daycare at the same time. And I can certainly go ahead and make the car trade I've been thinking about... Those car payments will be half-over by the time we have another child to care for! It's not much, but it's a bit to early to really start to dwell again on how long this really will all take. I would like to say we won't obsess like we did waiting for Sam, but no one I know who's gone through it a second time has indicated that it gets any easier!

Embarrassment, preschool style

We had our first real taste of public humiliation at the hands of our son tonight. We ran to Target to pick up a few things and on the way out, Sam was doing his usual routine of talking to anyone who dared make eye contact with him. As we walked past a nice looking older lady sitting on a bench just past the registers, she smiled at Sam and said a very cheerful hello.

What does my child respond with? "Hi," perhaps, or, "Hello?!" Maybe a "look at the new stickers my mommy and daddy just gave me?"

Nope.

"Hey, Mommy! Where is that lady's tooth?! It's missing!"

I walked out of the store MUCH more quickly, just trying to shush him with a simple, "I don't know" response.

That didn't do the trick. He followed up, still within earshot with, "Did the tooth fairy leave her a present under her pillow, Mommy?!"

The embarrassment could have ended there, but that would not have been torture enough for Mommy. Instead, Daddy has to, while still in the store, ask me if the woman was, indeed, missing a tooth. His interpretation of what qualifies as a "safe distance" and mine are NOT the same.

I'm sure it's just the first of many times one of us will embarrass the other!

In other news, I think I *may* have actually gotten an answer to my phantom medical woes of the past few months. To recap, many doctors have poked and prodded to find the source of a long-term "fever of unknown origin." Last stop was my gynecologist to make sure my hormones weren't out of whack. They're not. Or at least no more so than they were through all of our years of regular doctors visits for ectopic pregnancies. That doctor suggested that since he was the "end of the line" as far as check-ups go, that perhaps we should try a course of broad spectrum antibiotics to see if it makes a difference.

Lo and behold, as much as I didn't think it would, it seems like it might be working. I've only have a fever three of the last ten days, which is quite a record for me. I relayed this new development to the infectious diseases specialist (also known as Fancy Pants doctor) and he said that he was in favor of another, longer course of that same antibiotic to "finish" killing whatever germ seems to be responding. It sounds like the last-ditch theory of a secondary infection that may be culture negative might just pan out.

I will be thrilled to be done with all of this, but perhaps just a wee bit peeved that it took months and months for a drug that even Sam has taken to do the trick!

I'll stop now, so as not to appear as though I am looking a gift horse in the mouth.

Week One

The first week back at daycare was, by far, the most successful we've had thus far. Sam adjusted like a champ. He might be a little bit more tired than usual, but not a single (major) meltdown was had for a whole week!

The closest we came to any sort of trauma related to school came on Day 2. Sam is not quite back in the get-up-early groove, and slept through Breakfast Room time. Well, the Breakfast Room is chock full of cool trucks AND his favorite teacher, Ms. Mary, calls that room home. The pull was just too great when we arrived and had to go straight to the Owls room. The poor thing flopped right down in the hallway and wailed that he wanted Ms. Mary and her trucks! More than one door opened, with a teacher peeking out to see what the commotion was! Ms. Krystyna came right to the rescue. She scooped Sam up and pulled down a bucket of Matchbox cars. The tears were gone in an instant. Crisis averted!

Ms. Krystyna seems like she'll be a fabulous pre-school teacher. She sent home an impressive letter about all the kiddies will learn in her class this year... And she's one of THOSE who gave homework on the first night! Sam spent Tuesday night searching the house for the perfect item that starts with the letter 'A' to take in for "Show and Share."

"Show and Share..." What about political correctness made us change the term "tell?" by the way? Is it too bossy and directive for the under-4 set? Has Barney convinced the world that everything about the world requires sharing?! I really don't mind, I just found it mildly amusing when I first heard it. Sam can use all the reminders he can get about sharing... Perhaps some wise teacher decided he wasn't the only one with a case of the gimme-that-back-it's-MINEs!

Tomorrow we're off to the Holt Family Picnic with Kim, Ted and Ethan. The boys may get more out of the car ride with Hard Hat Harry playing, but it will be nice to see some friends that we don't get to catch up with very often. There are a few new babies that I can't wait to hold! The reality that we're ready for #2 has been slowly sinking in this week.... We may have a new baby by next Christmas. I can hope!

Back to School

Being the wife of a teacher means that Labor Day weekend is always bittersweet. Sweet to spend a few relaxing days enjoying what's left of summer; bitter to know that the craziness of the school schedule is starting again. I still have to pinch myself sometimes, though, to think that I have a child of my own also tied to the big Back to School schedule.

Sam heads back to the daily grind of the Laurel Tree Academy tomorrow. It's cool when you're three to just see it as finally getting back to see your little friends and the routine of circle time, playground antics and group naps. I actually think he's ready. Mommy and Daddy are only so entertaining for so long when you're as social as our dear child is.

We were reminded just how social and in need of constant pre-schooler contact Sam is this past weekend when we hit Jellybean Jungle for Sam's friend Adam's birthday party. A few kids from his room at daycare were there, and their eyes all just lit up upon seeing one another. That little taste of the first day should make life easier tomorrow.

Tomorrow night may be another story. We've gradually been sleeping until about 7:30 each morning, and Sam's bedtime has slipped into the 9:30 - 10 p.m. range. With school comes Daddy up at 5:30, Sam up by 6:30 and back to bed by 8ish. That bedtime has always worked for me, personallly, so I selfishly don't mind. I tuck Sam in, then read for a while before enjoying my own kiddie bedtime!

In other scrap news, for anyone who cares, I committed to "Stand Up and Scrap" this weekend.
Basically, Stand Up and Scrap means I bought a kit I would have purchased anyway for a nice donation to the "green" cause and will try to hold my own over six weeks of scrap challenges. I'm intrigued by the fact that the contest is, in theory, totally anonymous. There is definitely a group of "famous" scrappers out there, and a few seem to dominate most of the buzz that's out there. I have no delusions that I'll get far, but the thought of a year's worth of products from my favorite shop makes it just silly not to play along.

Finally, for anyone who's read this far... the REAL news is that we're back "in process." We, ironically, spent Labor Day filling out the paperwork for our next baby! We completed all of the necessary forms and printed the pictures that have to go along with it. We go to the notary early this week, write the checks, and we're off!

We did the math tonight, and it's actually possible that we'll have a new baby nestled in our house by Christmas of next year! My mom is definitely thinking pink, but while we are not indicating a gender preference, we both seem to have an inkling that #2 will also be of the male persuasion. Maybe that's just because we have a name for that one!

My friend Ted is apparently tickled when his name is in my blog, so I'll close by publicly putting a teensy bit of pressure on him and Kim to consider applying, too, so we can enjoy the torture of the wait together. I figure we'll be sharing every gory detail anyway, so we might as well do it simultaneously. Easy for me to say! So... no pressure Ted. Kim and I can just pass the time before you apply by going digiscrap shopping. ;-)