Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Six Months ago...

Six months ago today, our lives changed dramatically when Layden moved in to our home. I can hardly believe that it's been 6 months. I still remember the day that we got the call that we were chosen to take placement of Layden. It was one of the happiest days of my life so far... Up there with the day we got married and the day our daughter, Audra, was born.
And on the evening of April 2, 2007, Layden was delivered!!!
No, he wasn't swaddled and put in a nursery, or under warmer, he was grabbed up, hugged and given a room of his own with a CARS theme!
No, he wasn't waking up every 2 hours at night crying because he wanted to eat, but he was waking up in the morning saying "I Eat!".
No, he wasn't a tiny baby, but his little fingers and toes still take my breath away.
No, I didn't get to see his first step, or his first haircut or hear his first word, but I got to see his first smile for me and I got to hear him call me mommy for the first time.
No, he wasn't just learning to roll over or to crawl, but he was running to chase the cat and dog for the first time.
No, my whole family wasn't in a waiting room waiting anxiously, but my family all got pictures via email as soon as I could get them uploaded.
All in all, as I look back at Layden's first 6 months, I can see so many changes in him.
I can see his twinkling eyes and his sneaky little smirk of a smile while he decides what to get into next.
I can hear his sweet little "l luf u mommy" and I can hear his cars being run over the carpet, the tile, the bed, the table, the cat, the dog, and my leg.
I can see his eyes over the back of the rocker, where I used to only be able to see the top of his head.
And I can hear the sound of laughter when he and Sissy are hiding under his bed.
No, I didn't give birth to this adorable, rambunctious, defiant little boy, but I'm his mommy none-the-less.
And in just a month and a half from now, I get to hear a Judge say that too!
Do I regret our decision to take this little boy? NO! With all the frustrations and defiance of the past 6 months, I don't regret our decision at all. Yes, there are days when it wears me out, and days when I struggle, but what parent doesn't have those days. There's so much potential in this little dynamo and I know he's destined for great things. God had provided us with this adorable little boy to be the little brother of a great big sister, to be the son of a gentle father and to be the sweetheart of a proud mother. What more could we ask for here on earth?

Friday, September 28, 2007

Sidetracked again

So, I got sidetracked again... I was going to do better about blogging here and can't seem to remember to do that. So, I'll try AGAIN to come and blog more often.

It's been an interesting month. Layden is doing alright, though he's pretty angry about things today for some reason. This morning was a challenge for sure. I think my hubby would say that was an understatement. But in spite of ourselves, we all made it out the door and off to school and work.

Can you believe it's only 49 days til National Adoption Day? Why is that date important? Because that is the day that we'll get to finalize Layden's adoption. Yay! So, the count is on... It's November 17th. I think it will be a big party!

Monday, August 13, 2007

Well, I've done it

I just got to work after dropping my mom and my little girl off at the airport. My baby is going to spend a week and a half with my mom. I've never been away from her that long. I'm sad. I know that she's growing up so fast. And now, there's this hole to prove it. I know that she'll do just fine and have a great time. Me, I don't know. Fortunately, DH won't be going on a business trip this week as we had originally thought. So, we'll have each other and our little boy this week. I'm not sure if I'm more teary-eyed because I hate goodbyes or because I know that she's growing up. I knew this time was coming. It's just hard to let her go. I know that I have to. But, I'm selfish and I don't want her to go. I sit here and watch the flight updates to see if their plane has left. It's not due to leave for another 40 minutes, but that will be what I do for the next 40 minutes. And after the 40 minutes, I'll be counting down the days and hours until she returns. How do other moms do this and not lose their sanity in the process? I want her to grow up, but I want her to still need me too. I know that we'll talk practically every day. I know that she's in good hands, no great hands. Even though I know that, I'm still selfish. I tried to be positive about this whole thing, but this morning, it just got to me. My little baby girl is growing up and she's big enough to go on a trip without me. And she's big enough to enjoy herself and know that it's okay. After all, isn't that what we're raising her to be? Independent, self-confident, active, determined and eager? God, help me get through this week without my baby being around.

Monday, August 6, 2007

Wow, I'm a slacker!

Okay, so I'll admit it, I haven't even thought of coming here and posting since I posted the last time. Life has been crazy busy and I just let it slide.

What's happened in the past month? You're guess is as good as mine, but I'll try to remember...

We had two caseworker visits
We went to Florida for my SIL's surprize BDay party
I went to Texas Scrapfest

and I'm sure there have been so many other things... Why else would I have neglected my duties to post?

I'd like to hope that things will slow down now, but they won't. Audra is doing a Cookie Diva thing this weekend and thus has rehearsals all week. Mom will be here on Thursday and will take Audra home with her on Sunday. Audra will be gone for a week and a half. She'll be back the week before School starts up again!!! YIKES, is it already that time again??? where did our summer go.

Well, I'm off to get back to work, but just wanted to post so I could get back in the habit.

Later,
Laura

Monday, July 9, 2007

I have to brag on Layden a little. He's been trying so hard to not go potty in his pullup because he wants to wear big boy underwear (spiderman undies). Yesterday, he stayed dry ALL day!!! And so as a reward, he got to wear a pair of big boy underwear today... I had CARS ones for him today. He stayed dry ALL day today too!!! Tomorrow, it's Spiderman! He's finally getting the hang of it. And it's also been 4 nights now since he's been going to bed without his sippy cup of water. He still asks, but doesn't cry when told no. Strike one more bad habit!!!

Audra is doing great too. She's being very aware of what she's eating and she's trying to be more active. I guess I could take a lesson from her. Who knew that at 9 years old, she would be so good at keeping an eye on those things? I'm so proud of her!!!

Yep, there's my proud momma post!!! My kids are wonderful!

More later...

Monday, June 18, 2007

I actually did something

I pulled out three photo boxes of pictures this weekend and sat and made sure they were in chronological order. It's not much, because they were pretty much there, but it's something. So, I took the dive and made myself do something scrapbooking related. Now if I can just keep on this roll!!!

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Random Scrapbooking Thoughts

So, I remember a time when I used to scrapbook all the time. I used to make it a point to work on my scrapbooks at least once a week. That has all fallen by the wayside in the past year or so. So, how do I get back to scrapbooking on a regular basis? I have several albums that are in progress and I'd like to be able to say they are done... Disney, Seattle Trip to pick up a new plane, SWA Birthday Parties, and others. What's even more sad is that I have yet to do our Wedding scrapbook. We've been married for 13-1/2 years and I still haven't done any pages for our book. I think a lot of it is that I want it to be perfect and I just haven't come up with any specific ideas for those pages.

So, how do I get back? How do I figure a way to make time to scrapbook?

Here are some random ideas I have in mind...

- Make up some page kits and keep a few at my desk here at work along with a small subset of my tools, etc. Then, when I get a chance at lunch and such, I can work on some.

- Get my scrapbook space set up soon! I think that's the biggest hinderance to my scrapbooking... I don't have a dedicated space.

- Sign up for a crop somewhere with my friends (that would force me to set aside some time to prepare and time to go)

- Just do it! Pull out a stack of pictures and just sit and do it!

So, even with ideas, I have excuses already set aside too... LOL

- My scrapbooking stuff is scattered amongst boxes and bags in several rooms of the house

- Again, no scrapbook space set up

- Too busy... I get home and it's all I can do to get the kids fed and cleaned up and off to bed.

I guess my best option is to just pick an hour or less at some point to start sorting/organizing/gathering my scrapbook supplies. Or to just pick a few minutes here and there to make up page kits. Then, just do them!!!

Who knows... maybe sometime before I retire, I'll figure out how to get back to scrappin'

Friday, June 8, 2007

It's FRIDAY!!!!

So, it's finally Friday!!! I'm so glad. It's been kind of a long week with all that has gone on.

Tonight, DD and I are headed to the Texas Motor Speedway for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Race. Tomorrow, I get to go to the Great American Scrapbook Convention!!! yay!

Well, that about wraps this week up.

Thursday, June 7, 2007

Sick again...

Well, last night, the sick feelings hit me like a ton of bricks!!! It was the same feeling as all day the day afterward last time. So, I guess it has to do with the IV treatments. I called the IV nurse today to ask what the possible side effects from this would be. She questioned why I needed to know... I told her that I keep getting sick afterward and she said that was kind of strange. I've been doing this for so long, I shouldn't be experiencing any side effects at this point. Well, I am... I was sick as a dog for about an hour and a half last night before I finally went off to bed feeling a bit better... Then, WHAM! Around 11:30pm, it hit me again... Blah... I couldn't get comfortable, the pain was pretty intense. I finally felt a little better after about an hour and so I crawled my butt back in bed... Struggled to get comfortable and finally passed back out. Feel okay today, other than I'm worn out. I can still feel a little twinge now and then of the pains and feeling of nausea, but nothing like last night or the day after the last time. My joints are achy today too... But at least I just found out that the party thing I was supposed to go to tonight (even though I didn't want to) was cancelled... So, there is that.

So, now, I'm just sitting here at work trying to be busy and look busy in the process. I'm counting hours til I can leave.

Tomorrow night, I guess I'll be taking DD to the NASCAR Truck Race by myself. We can't get a babysitter and so DH is keeping DS at home while us girls go Racing!

Saturday is the Great American Scrapbook Convention in Arlington and I plan to spend all day there. I'm taking two classes too... Should be lots of fun!

Well, back to finding little things to finish up here at work.

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

So it's another day

It's been kind of a rough week. And it's only Wednesday. At least we are over the hump of the week. My boss is on vacation, which is a good thing because on Monday, he was very angry and chewed me out about something that our team basically has no control over. I chalked it up to him getting pressure from someone else and hence the crap rolls downhill.

So, today I go in for my every-other-week iv treatment. These are getting a little old. Two weeks ago, on the day after my iv, I was sick as a dog! I still went on my daughter's school field trip because I didn't think I could skip it, but we didn't do all the other stuff in the afternoon I had hoped before my husband and son arrived home. Anyway, so I'm hoping that tomorrow, after my iv today, I'll be okay. If I'm not, then I guess it's time to think of something else to deal with this anemia. I've been anemic pretty much all my life... Just that it's gotten worse over the past several years and my doctor is more uncomfortable with me being anemic than he ever has been before.

I was so quick to run out of the house today, I neglected to pick up even a book to read while sitting there for an hour. Guess it will be nappy time...

Well, gotta run, finishing up stuff before I leave work.

Later!

Friday, May 11, 2007

You Belong in 1981
Wild, over the top, and just a little bit cheesy. You're colorful at night - and successful during the day.


So, I thought it would be fun to take this quiz... Yes, I'm stuck in the 80's... Who knew?

Not much new to report this week...
Tonight, I'm spending the night with my Girl Scouts at a Stadium here. Pray for no more rain, k? Then, first thing, about sunrise, tomorrow, we're leaving the stadium and heading to Oklahoma! Family reunion time... Should present a lot of kodak moments and probably lots to scrapbook!

Well, there ya have it... short and sweet!

Laura

Friday, May 4, 2007

So, I know I've started blogs before, but this is one I hope to keep up!

It's been just over a month since our little one was placed with us. He told me this morning he was a "big guy" not a "lil guy". He's 3 and so I guess he knows everything! He's just the cutest thing (well, next to SweetPea at that age) . He does have a temper though. Lord knows we see it about once a day, at least, without fail.

Being a mom of two kids after being a mom of one for so long, it's a definite switch. First off, the ability to say that I have kidS is a huge thing. And having to go different directions with both in the morning is another. I know, I know, people do it all the time. At least most of those people probably get the opportunity to grow into going two directions slowly from the BIRTH of their kids. Us, not so much. Oh, I'm not complaining. I love it. I just never thought it would be so complicated. My hat's off to moms of more than one kid!!! How you manage two or more schedules is amazing!

We purchased a new truck almost 2 weekends ago... It's a beauty. 2007 Dark Blue Metallic Avalanche. DH has always told me he wanted a Suburban, but I think this may have fulfilled his wishes completely for a new truck/SUV. It's fun to drive and it makes us realize just how loud and creaky our old truck was. We'll see if this one loosens up as we drive it for several years. I susepect it might have it's own set of rattles that are much different from the old "Flying Purple People Eater".