This is post #99

So I just noticed that with this post, I am just one post away from blogging 100 times this year. That's a completely arbitrary and meaningless milestone, but it makes me think that this blog is a two-year resolution that I actually managed to keep.

My resolutions for 2008, at least those discussed so far, are financial. Rob and I have been talking a lot about what we need to do to keep working toward our next adoption. That conversation has also sparked others about general "stuff" that we really should get taken care of. (I will also try not to blog with dangling participles next year, but that's a post for another time.)

Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Write down everything we spend for a month, then devise an actual and strict budget. It's not that we don't budget now, but we could stand to be stricter with ourselves. I have a feeling this will entail cash "allowances." A daunting thought, but a wise move, I'm sure.

2. Move Sam's savings into a real 529 and implement direct deposit from both paychecks.

3. Make annual increase in our 403b accounts.

4. (Most likely) Refinance our mortgage to a 15-year note.

5. Formalize our wills and living wills.

These make us sound very grown up, but the truth is that we probably should have done most of this stuff before now. There's nothing like the notion of a huge loan in your future to make you reassess, though!

I don't care what we have to do to make it work. Unless we were to get a rare "sibling call" at some point, I'm sure this is our last adoption. We'll do what we have to do, and then work to make up the time and money for college! That, too, is a post for another day.

Top 7 of 2007

I've seen a few blogs that posted the author's top seven photos of 2007... All of my favorite photos are ones I've turned into layouts that I've loved even more, so I'm posting those instead.

Christmas

I'm still a bit to surprised when I stop to think that this is our third Christmas with Sam. I can recall a couple of Christmases, in particular, when I just wasn't sure that we'd ever have a child to prepare for Santa's visit and watch as he or she ripped into gifts on Christmas morning.

Sam TOTALLY *got* Christmas this year. We faithfully opened the right day on the Advent calendar every day, talking about the fact that Jesus' birthday was coming. We sent a letter (and got an actual reply from "elves" in Santa Claus, Indiana!) to the Big Guy. We baked cookies. We decorated the house...even a tree in Sam's room. We counted "sleeps" until Santa left gifts to open. We talked about what gifts we'd give others we love. It was awesome.

The very best moment had to have been as David, Noel and the kids left on Christmas Eve... Wait. That sounded bad. Them leaving was not the fun part. The fact that we stood outside to wave goodbye when Sam spotted Santa's sleigh in the sky was the prize-winning moment. He yelled "I SEE SANTA!!! I SEE SANTA!! THERE HE IS!!!" so loudly that I'm sure any neighbor who was actually at home heard the commotion. I'm fairly sure you get just one of those totally magical moments when the anticipation is almost palpable.

Rob and I left for church just after the "sighting," talking the whole way about how amazing it was to witness Sam's joy. He stayed home with Nonni and Beth and baked special cookies for Santa before going to bed. For us, while it wasn't planned, it turned out to be nice to experience the candlelight service by ourselves. We missed having our moms with us, but it was sweet to just have some quiet time together.

Sam's been a bundle of energy since coming home from school on Friday night, so we spent today in our jammies and playing with our new toys. Sam is actually looking forward to going to see his friends tomorrow, so Rob and I will have a "date day," running after Christmas errands and doing some of the returning that is best done sans preschooler.

In other news... we had our first homestudy visit for our next adoption this week. We loved our new social worker. She was great about giving us all the new information on the process. I'm used to the agency giving us the longest timeline possible, so as not to set false expectations. Allison told us that there is a possibility we might have another child home next Christmas. I don't think it's likely, but the fact that it's even remotely possible is exciting. That left us to talk baby names again today. I think we're back to agreeing on a boy's name, but not so convinced about a girl's name. I am sure we still have time to ponder some more.

Big {BOY} Pants

Apparently there's something to be said for cold turkey. Sam's been ready to use the "big boy potty" for a long time now, but just tells us that he's "too busy" when it comes time to go. He's using the restroom like a champ at school, but just has zero interest at home.

Well, I decided that any kid who could tell me in these exact words -- Mommy, please leave the room so I can poop alone -- that he was feeling the urge was ready to ditch the diapers. So, that's what we did.

He used that line on me Saturday morning and I replied that I would, indeed, leave the room, but that I was going upstairs to get underwear. I told him that last was his last pair of poopy pants and so it was.

It's been relatively smooth sailing so far. We had one accident yesterday that I won't go into detail about, but I think the fact that the house was full of people gave him some stage fright. The mess was traumatic enough that I think it left an impression. Our only issue is that when we go to put a pull-up on at night, he wails, assuming he's failed at his mission and will not receive the coveted Crash N Go Speed Raceway that we've promised as a reward.

I'm anxious to hear how school went today. I'll be kicking myself for a while if the only step needed to seal the deal was me just decreeing that we were moving on to underwear. Now, actually finding underwear to fit a bottom that has stalled out at a 12-month size is a feat of it's own. I bought the teeniest skivvies I could find, but I'm thinking I'm going to have to see what kind of hot-water tricks I can do in order to keep the things on him!

In other, less personal and possibly yucky news, I finished the LO you see above in honor of Lauren Reid's feature on Dishin' The Digi Coast 2 Coast. The show talks up cool digital products for scrappers like me. I'm new to Lauren's team and was actually surprised that her "Wonky Templates" hadn't been on the show before. They're such fun to play with and stand out from so many of the other shapes elements that I've collected. For all those people I've taken to enabling lately, you can find these and many other fun things at her Oscraps store.

I'm officially on vacation for the rest of the year as of this afternoon! Nice that I've managed to pick up another bug. I hope it's just one of the colds that I've managed to fend off a couple of other times this year, or else I think I'll wind up spending the time I should be finishing up with Christmas plans laying on the couch trying to breathe. What a vacation that will be.

Challenge!

Lauren Reid posted a fun little challenge on her creative team blog a couple of days ago, and I had fun playing along today.

It's kind of a yucky day here... I like snow, but I prefer the cold, wet weather when I don't have to be anywhere. I woke up to snow, left for church in freezing drizzle and came home from church (only to have to return for a meeting an hour later) in sleet. My day got much better when I came home, changed into fleecy pants and scrapped by the fire!

In other news, we saw Ellie's vet at church today. We're not at all sure what to do, but she has a young dog she's trying to place that we are considering. He's only nine months to a year old and was found roaming Fairmount Park, scrounging for food in the trash. She's nursed him back to health and he's being fostered by a family who just doesn't have room for one more dog. They think he might be part Ibizan. He's reportedly great with kids and a really sweet little guy. Part of me thinks Frankie might be less mopey with a companion, but we're also not sure that a new dog when we're waiting for a new child is a good idea.

We'll keep thinking about it. I'll try to make the decision with my head and not my heart!