Oh Yeah!! I Have a Blog!! :)

I'm soooo sorry I haven't posted in a long time! Life's been crazy lately, as we look for a house to move too very soon.

Our apartments are raising their rent AGAIN...they just raised it six months ago when we signed another lease. We are not signing another one, so we're looking for a house with at least 3 bedrooms and a fenced backyard for the girls to play. What they are raising rent to, we feel is just not worth it for this place. They don't do repairs like they should...there's really nowhere for the girls to play outside...and on top of all that, with the last "newsletter" we were informed that we are not allowed to grill!! How unAmerican is that?!? It's so much crap.

I hate moving...especially in the summertime! The house hunting is really starting to get me down too. So far every house we've tried for, someone else gets. :( It would help, I'm sure, if we had the rent and deposit they were asking on the day we apply, but realistically that's not happening. Gas and groceries are killing us, and until we've for sure found a place to move to, the apartment sucks up money that we could use for moving. :( UGH!
ANYWAY...other than that, we're all doing just fine. The girls are good...had to take them in for shots a week or so ago, yeah, that was fun. I chopped off Destiny's long hair, and now it's chin-length. She loves it, and it looks really cute!

Meghan graduated to Pull-ups instead of diapers yesterday, so we've begun the potty-training thing. Can you believe it's that time already??? I can't! I'm a little sad, because it means she's not a baby anymore. :( She is so full of attitude lately, saying "No" to just about anything we are telling her to do, and bedtime has become a battle. She is constantly getting out of her crib and throwing a big hissy fit. She's also to that stage where she wants to do everything all by herself. That's great, until you're in a big hurry to go somewhere and she's taking 20 minutes just to put on a shirt! LOL

Life Goes On

Things are more or less back to normal around our house since back to back funerals. I'm sorry for the little break in blogging...I just didn't have much to say for a bit that wasn't depressing. I'm okay. I miss my Granddad very much, but I know he's in a better place, and he's not hurting anymore. MrKB is okay too...though I think it's been much harder on him, losing his Dad. He went back to work to help keep himself busy...he still has moments where I know he wants to shed more tears, but being a guy, he doesn't like to cry much. It's going to be hard on him for awhile, but I'll be there for him when he needs me.

SO...how's the weather been for y'all lately? Oklahoma has been seeing a lot of rain, and even some flooding in places. We've had a couple of awesome thunderstorms, which I love, and we've had a few tornadoes this past week...a couple of which were not too far from where I'm at, but we're all just fine at our house. This is the kind of weather that we normally seem to get in April, but I think our seasons are all running behind a bit. The rain was needed, but I think we're set for awhile now! LOL The sky right now is gray and overcast...might have more rain sometime today or tonight.

Before all this rain, we had a really beautiful sunny weekend...temps in the upper 70s and lower 80s, so we took the girls out to the park. :) I took the camera along and got a few good pictures, and a couple of short videos, and I'm gonna share them with you now. The girls are both getting so big! Especially Meghan! Hope you enjoy...

Look at This! :)

I've been nominated for an award! I'm so honored, and flattered that anyone likes reading this stuff enough to nominate me. :) Seriously, this makes my day! Please go vote for me!




*edited to add* WOW! Vote here too! :)

This has been such a rough month...

Remember when I first posted about the adoption finalization, when I said I had bad news too but that I'd get to that later?

Well, my bad news was that my Granddad had passed away the Monday before the finalization. The funeral was just the day before we went to court for the biggest day of our lives. I've been quietly dealing with my sadness on my own for the most part...of course with hubby's support.

Today it's going to be my turn to be HIS support.

Just about half an hour ago I got a call from my sister-in-law. Then I had to call him on his work phone and tell him that he needed to come home. He made me tell him why...I just had to tell my husband that his Dad had died!!!

Dammit...Other than the adoption and Meghan's birthday, this month is SO totally sucking!

I'm going to go try not to have a nervous breakdown now...

Help Me Win $1000!!! *Sticky Post*

*SCROLL DOWN FOR CURRENT POSTS!*

I entered a "Cutest Kid" photo contest at Shutterfly. The Grand Prize is $1000, and goodness knows I could use it! I need y'all to help me out and please stop by real quick and give my picture a vote! Pretty please?? You can go cast your vote HERE. I really, really appreciate it! :) This should give me something to focus on while I get through the next week!

This is the picture:

Happy Birthday Meghan!!!

Dear sweet Meghan,

My baby girl...you are 2 years old today! I can't believe it, it just doesn't seem possible you are already 2! You were just 3 weeks old when Daddy and I brought you home from the hospital, and so tiny! Seems like just yesterday, yet so long ago.

We've been on quite a journey together the last 2 years, as Daddy and I worked hard to adopt you and big sister Destiny and give you both a forever home. Our dream finally came true just a week ago today when your adoption was finalized. You've been "mine" in my heart from the first moment I held you in my arms...now you are truly MINE forever, and I love you SO much!

You've changed so much since your last birthday. You have teeth now! Your first ones didn't come in until you were 11 months old, and you have almost all of them now. Unfortunately, you tend to bite your sister now and then...we're working hard to teach you that it hurts her when you do that, and I'm glad it's not an all the time thing. Destiny uses that against you too...one day she actually bit HERSELF and tried to come tell us that you did it! We knew better, though, because you don't have all your teeth yet and it backfired on her. She got herself into trouble instead. Normal sister stuff! I know it won't be long until you turn the tables on her, and do things to try and get HER into trouble! Oh yeah, I'm really looking forward to that! (NOT!)

You talk all the time now, though it's still in mostly your own little language. "Mama" is your most used word! That both thrills me and bums me out...since you call almost everyone "Mama" or "Mommy". LOL You've got a much bigger vocabulary than you let on...I know, 'cuz I've heard it! I'm not worried though...you'll catch on soon. I love how you'll say "Aw, man!" when you are disappointed. I love how you tilt your head to the side every time you say "Please", looking so cute and you know it! I really love hearing you say "Daddy" because I can see the joy in your Daddy's eyes when you do.

Most of all, I love YOU! You mean the world to me, and I can't imagine my life without you in it. I look forward to watching you grow up, learn, and change. Happy Birthday baby girl! I love you!
Love,
Mommy

Our Big Day

Friday, April 6, 2007 at around 9:30am we stood in front of the Judge with our girls in our arms and watched as he signed the papers declaring us their parents and completing the adoption we'd been working towards for almost two years!!!

The whole thing took less than five minutes...I dunno, I always thought it'd be a bit longer than that. At any rate, just by signing his name to the adoption papers, this wonderful Judge made a 14 year long dream come true, and made me a Mama.

No more monthly caseworker visits...no more rules and regulations...no more red tape...no more being put under the microscope! We are DONE and these two precious girls are now our DAUGHTERS. You guys have NO idea how this makes me feel!

Anyway, as promised...here are some pictures of our big day!

Destiny waiting to leave for court:


Both girls before we left the apartment:


Our newly official family and the Judge who made it so:



One of us, the Judge, and the fosters who adopted the girls' brother the same day:

We're a FAMILY!

IT'S OFFICIAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just a really quick post...I've been offline since last Thursday due to internet being cutoff. Lots of stuff happened, some bad...but I'll get into that later. :(

The point of this particular post is just to say:

THEY'RE ADOPTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Details to come...with pics! Right now I'm late for a celebration lunch with Mom and Sis! :)

Adoption Update!!

Just got another call from the lawyer. We went down to his office yesterday to sign some paperwork, and were told again that the finalization would be Friday by his assistant.

Well, you can scratch March 30th off your calendars...turns out it won't be THIS Friday, but next Friday, April 6th! That's exactly one week before Meghan turns 2!

One more week to wait...I'm kinda bummed, but I know it's not that long after how long this whole thing has taken. I'm just SO ready to be done and be their forever Mommy!

FINALIZATION DATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG!! I thought I'd never get to post this!

Lawyer's office called MrKB on his cell phone. He's on his way home now to pick me up so we can go down to sign final paperwork.

Then...we go to court THIS FRIDAY for FINALIZATION!!!!!!!!!! March 30th...mark your calendars!!!!!

I'm Boycotting "American Girl" After Reading This!

I came across a link to this post while browsing the forums of OLS, a sweepstakes community.

A 6 year old girl took her beloved doll, that she'd purchased with her OWN money from Target, to the American Girl Place to have the doll's hair styled. The stylist treated this little girl like shit, and refused to style the doll's hair, saying the doll was "not a real doll". WTF???

Read the post by this little girl's Mom on the subject HERE. I'm just appalled at how this child was treated, and my girls will NEVER be getting anything from American Girl!

They Finally Got Me...

Yep, I've finally been "forced" over to the new Blogger. Guess time will tell how I like it or not.

Anyway...so what's new around here? I am STILL getting over whatever has had me sick. I even lost my voice completely for a few days, and though I can talk now, I still sound hoarse. MrKB has strep throat, he thinks...and both the girls have had colds. Fun stuff, huh?

We got our taxes done and bought a few things we'd been wanting. Got a new entertainment center for the living room, and I got a new monitor for my computer! It's a 19" LCD flat-screen, and I love it! :) We also got a couple of new games for the PS2, along with a wireless controller...that's awesome in itself, 'cuz now the kids and I don't have to worry about tripping on the controller cord when MrKB's playing his games. We also paid ahead on our rent, so now we don't have to stress every month about the DHS check not coming in time to get it paid before they start eviction proceedings. That is a huge load of our minds!

Speaking of MrKB, his birthday was on the 11th. I had planned to do a special post for him, but as sick as I was, I just didn't have the energy. The PS2 games and controller were mostly for him, for birthday presents.

Our adoption caseworker came by again last week with more paperwork for us to sign. Our adoption subsidy was approved, which means we'll still get a check every month towards the care of the kids. She said that the adoption SHOULD be finalized this month, it depends on how soon the lawyer can get a date scheduled in front of the judge. At the very latest, we should be finished by the time Meghan turns 2 on April 13th. :)

That's about it...all the news I can think of at the moment. God, I'm boring! Now I leave you with a short video that someone put together about the Africam I'm so addicted to these days. Really...check it out! It's only about a minute and a half long, and SO worth it!

It's a Party and You're ALL Invited!! *Sticky Post*

Y'all may have noticed this button over in my sidebar the last few weeks, and wondered about it. Well, it's PARTY TIME!

The idea of it is to be a way to "meet" new people, and discover new blogs to read. If you want to be a participant, by all means, please do! This is the brainchild of Janice and Susan, over at "5 Minutes for Mom" and it should be loads of fun. No, you don't necessarily have to be a "Mom" to join in, it's open to everyone. There's even gonna be prizes given out on March 8th...to find out more about the Ultimate Blog Party, just click on the button up there.

SO...Welcome to my little corner of the party! Come on in, make yourselves comfortable...There's lots of snacks around. I've got all kinds of chips and dips, veggie trays, cookies, ice cream...and my personal favorite...Cherry Cheesecake! Yum!

If you'd like a drink, just step up to the open bar, where you'll be served by either the drop-dead gorgeous Armando, or for you men out there, you can be waited on by the lovely Michelle. The bar is well stocked, so order whatever you like! Of course, there's plenty of tequila and Jello shots as well.

You can kick back on the ultra comfy couches and chairs in the Movie Room, and watch whatever you want on the giant flat-screen TV with the best possible sound system. If you can't decide between a favorite movie, or whatever sports game, not to worry! Just turn on the picture-in-picture option!

Feel like gettin' your grove on? Dancing the night away? Head on over to the best dance floor you ever set foot on! There's music for everybody, just request whatever suits your desire from our 5-star DJ! (But please...to preserve the hostesses' sanity, let's keep the rap and the heavy metal to a minimum, alrighty? Thanks!)

What are ya waiting for?? C'mon!! Let's get this party started! :) This will be going on from now through March 9th. Chat away in the comments for this party post, and let's get to know each other! (Regular posts will continue under this one, so don't forget to check them too!)

Stuff in My Head

First, I haven't been able to get around yet to many of the blogs participating in the blogger party. I've been sick all this week and whatever it is, is seriously kicking my ass. I was actually in bed last night by 10pm!! I haven't done that in ages. Woke up at 5am, then went back to bed at 6am and slept until 10:30am. It's now just before 1pm and already I just want to go back to sleep some more. Unfortunately, the little ones don't stop just 'cuz Mama has zero energy!

So we went and saw our lawyer yesterday. He is waiting on some paperwork he needs from our caseworker, and he got all the necessary information from us that he needed, like the girls' new names and such. He'll be sending us some stuff in the mail to get signed and notarized, and said we will be getting this done ASAP! :)

I got some bad news from my Mom this last weekend, and have been coming to grips with it in my head ever since. Her Dad, my Granddad, has been sick with emphysema. In the last month or so, he's really gone downhill fast, and according to my Mom, is just a shell of the man he used to be. She says he is just skin and bones now and is in a lot of pain anymore. His hospice nurse thinks that in maybe a week or two he will slip into a coma, and then it won't be long after that that he leaves us.

I'm struggling with this because though I want to go and see him, I don't want to see him like he is now. Also, I'm really worried about my Grandmother. They've been married for over 50 years, and I know she's going to be so lost without him.

Sigh....don't want to get into it too much right now or I'm just going to end up a blubbering mess. Life is kinda sucking at the moment...hope y'all are doing better!

Checkin' In!

Not a whole lot going on around here, really. Last night around 2:30am I ended up taking Meghan to the ER. She has a very bad case of pinkeye. UGH! I wasn't going to make the ER trip, but it started out as some yucky gook coming from her eye in the late afternoon/early evening and just worsened from there. I was planning on getting her in to see the regular doctor so I could get meds to treat it with, but she went to sleep for maybe an hour and woke up just screaming and crying, and the eye was badly swollen...looked like she'd been punched or something! So, off to the ER we went. She was not cooperative there at all. I've had to take her in before, but she's always been great. This time she didn't want anything to do with ANYBODY there. Poor guy working triage had a hell of a time getting an oxygen level reading! She screamed and cried the whole time we were there just about...I bet people could hear her throughout the floor!

I have an antibiotic cream for her now that I'm supposed to put in her eye every 3 hours. Fun, huh?? Yeah, I know!

We have an appointment on Wednesday morning to meet with our adoption lawyer. This will really get the ball rolling in the right direction!! Wish us luck that it all goes well!

I'm sorry I haven't been doing so well posting regularly. I have a new addiction! I discovered a VERY cool site, where you can watch a 24/7 LIVE feed of an African watering hole in South Africa. I have the camera open on my computer constantly when I'm awake, so I don't miss anything. I've been watching since around Valentine's Day, and so far I've seen Waterbuck, White-Tailed Mongoose, Elephant, Saddle Billed Stork, Southern Ground Hornbill, Wildebeest, Impala, Giraffe, White Rhino, Spotted Hyena, Black-backed Jackal, Zebra, Hippo, Vervet Monkey, and Baboon...not to mention many other birds!

I'm still waiting to see many more animals, especially any big cats! Apparently, back on Christmas Day '06, a group of lions made a kill right by the watering hole (they got a Cape Buffalo) and spent the next 3 days hanging around! Wish I'd known about the site then. Anyway, it's been quite an experience to be able to see these animals live in Africa while I sit in Oklahoma at my computer! (As I type this I can hear the Hyena calling!) The camera is run by the Nkorho Lodge, which shares a fenceless border with the Kruger National Park in South Africa. If you want to check it out for yourself, go here, and to view the cam I watch all the time, click on "Nkorho Stream". There are also several other cameras set up in various places, but they run on still shots updated every minute or so.

I also spend time on the forums, discussing with other cammers what we see and hear. I shouldn't be hard to find if you go looking! :) Hope to see you there!

OK! OK!! An Update!!

I'm sorry for not posting sooner since the caseworker visit this last Wednesday! Every time I wanted to sit down and post, I'd either end up busy doing something else, or I'd get distracted by things.

The visit went very well! This caseworker that came by this time was one that had we'd never met before. She is the adoption worker, and we found out that she will be the ONLY caseworker from here on out. YAY! She's a very nice, pleasant, older lady, and she explained things to us very well as far as what is going to happen.

We received all of the "disclosure information" that DHS has had on file pertaining to each of the girls. The file on Destiny is at least 2 inches thick, and Meghan's is about half of that. Made for quite a bit of reading...but a lot of it we already knew. According to my MIL, when the adoption becomes final we will get even MORE files from DHS. Can't wait to see everything, including whatever was said about us!

Then we had to sign a bunch of new paperwork...mostly stuff we've done before, just updated. One of the papers pertained to what the girls' new names will be once they are adopted. :) Meghan's name will be changed completely...I don't care for the name she legally has now, and she'll never know until she's older that it was ever anything besides Meghan. For Destiny, we are changing the spelling of her first name (legally it is Destanie) and giving her a new middle name. Their last names are already the same as ours. Also, there will be entirely new birth certificates issued, with their new names, and OUR names listed as the Mother and Father. I know I am just going to cry the first time I see that!!

As for a finalization date, there isn't one yet. The caseworker said that at the very latest, this should all be done by March! She said around 30-45 days at the most. The lawyer will be the one to set the date, and one of the things we need to do now is get in touch with him and tell him that she's been here and it's time to get things rolling. He will get the necessary information and then file the petition for adoption. MIL had the same lawyer, and she told me that she thinks that after they'd got to this point and the lawyer was involved, that it was maybe two weeks later and they were in the courtroom for the finalization. :)

Oh, speaking of court...remember the judge that we'd had? The one that was so biased regarding the smoking thing? Well, we found out that she is no longer on the case...she now works downtown or something...I don't really care! I'm very glad we don't have to deal with her again! There's a new judge, and the caseworker said he/she (I can't remember which) is very good and fair.

SO...the gist of it is, that this really will all be over soon!! I thrilled, excited, anxious and nervous all in one! It will be such a relief to finally be free of all the red tape, and the fear that my girls might be taken away from me! Yes, it's been a very long, difficult road...but it's SO worth it. I'm kinda glad my brother-in-law and his girlfriend are such screw-ups. If they weren't...I wouldn't have had this chance to be a Mom. You have NO idea just how much this means to me.

'Nuff Said...

Adoption Update!!

We heard from our adoption caseworker yesterday. She will be coming out to our house on Wednesday with some FINAL paperwork for us to sign, and for a visit with the girls. We will hopefully also get a finalization date for the adoption!!

WAHOOOOOOO!!! Keep your fingers crossed that this lonnnnng process is almost OVER!

On This Day 12 Years Ago...

I married my best friend!

We met when I was 19 and he was 21. We knew each other, but didn't really KNOW each other, since we were both always in other relationships, and were too shy to really talk.

Years later, when my boyfriend at the time had gone into the Navy, he was my shoulder to cry on when I felt alone. We got to know each other a lot more, and the more time I spent with him, the more I knew that the guy I was with was not the right man for me.

We ended up falling in love, and on February 14, 1995, after dating less than a year, we got married. I was 23, and he was 25. I have never been happier!

The past year has brought us even more challenges than the last. We've been struggling to complete the adoption of our daughters...both his Mom and Dad have been so sick, Dad with cancer and diabetes, and Mom with brain tumors...Together, we can face anything that might be thrown our way!

To my husband:
Baby, I love you more today than the day I married you. I am truly in love with my best friend!

You are my light, my love, my reason for living...my very best friend. I know we'll have many more happy years together, they should be even happier now that we have a family of our own. We tried so hard for so long to have children, and even though it didn't happen as we expected it to, we now have two beautiful little girls to call ours.

Happy Anniversary Darlin'! I LOVE YOU!!

Alison Krauss- "When You Say Nothing at All" (See the video right below this post!...it's "our" song.)

It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart
Without saying a word you can light up the dark
Try as I may I could never explain
What I hear when you don't say a thing

The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes sayin' you'll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me if ever I fall
You say it best when you say nothing at all

All day long I can hear people talking out loud
But when you hold me near, you drown out the crowd
Old Mr. Webster could never define
What's being said between your heart and mine

The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes sayin' you'll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me if ever I fall
You say it best when you say nothing at all

The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes sayin' you'll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me if ever I fall
You say it best when you say nothing at all

Alison Krauss - When You Say Nothing At All

This is "our" song. :)

Fun With Laundry Baskets

Meghan is 22 months old today! In just a couple of months she will be *gasp!* 2 years old! It just doesn't seem possible. Should be a very interesting year. :)

My Mom-in-law stopped by a couple nights ago to pick up some laundry that I was doing for her, and Meghan discovered the fun of playing with a laundry basket:

WHY??

Why, why, WHY do I continually let myself be taken advantage of?? Why do I try to give a person even a little of my trust, only to have them do things to disrespect me and hurt me again and again??

WHEN will I reach a breaking point, just completely do something out of the ordinary for me and just finally lose my cool?? When is enough, enough???

Ugh. I hate this.

Out of the Mouth of Meghan

Meghan will be 22 months old on the 13th. She is saying more and more words all the time, and probably a whole bunch that I just haven't been able to translate from her "toddler-speak" yet. I thought I'd make a little record of things she does say on a regular basis nowadays. Of course, some are of the obvious persuasion, but I was curious as to just how big her vocabulary is so far.

Mama
Mommy
Dada
Daddy
See...usually said quite loudly and excitedly.
No...but comes out more like "Ooooh"
Huh-uh
All gone...comes out like "Ah gah"
Shhhh
Sissy
Hi
Bye...she actually said this one for the first time last night! Before that, "Hi" stood for both hi and bye.
Nana
Papa (well, kinda!)
Yay...sounds more like "Aaaaaa" and usually claps her hands at the same time.
"Shew shew"...said while wrinkling her nose and waving her hand in front of her face. She gets that from me, since I would say it a lot and make the motion when changing a stinky diaper.
Please....sounds like "peas"...she's got looking cute down with this one! She'll cock her head to the side when she says it. LOL
Thank you...sounds like "Ain goo"
Ow
Owie

Hmmmm...unfortunately that's all I can come up with right now. 20 words? At 22 months? Really?? I have no idea if that's average or not. I'll have to look that up. But man...she is ALWAYS talking it seems. I'm sure she's got lots more words that I'm just not understanding yet.

She still communicates a lot with, I guess you could say, "grunts" and gestures. She does use intonation on some words, particularly "Mama". If she's a little aggravated or disappointed about something it will sound like "Maaaa Ma!" Of course if she really wants my attention, she says it very loudly!

What else? Oh, whenever I am listening to music, she "sings" along, though in her own words. So cute! She will also try to count...she mimics the sounds of the numbers, and sometimes even knows what comes next! She's very, very bright. She's followed complex directions for many months now, like "Get your diaper and put it in the trash." or "Get your binky and put it in your bed". Destiny, at 4 years old, STILL has problems with complex instructions sometimes. Not always, but sometimes. But this post isn't about that.

It's just been an amazing 21 or so months for me. (Remember she was already 3 weeks old when I got her.) I have loved (almost!) every minute of it...watching her grow and change, and accomplish new things all the time. I'm SO thankful that I've had the chance to be a Mommy to the baby I tried so long and hard to have myself that never happened. She has helped so much with filling that emptiness that's been in my heart and arms for over a decade. Oh, I still hope and dream of someday getting pregnant and having a child of my own...but I'm 35 now. In my head I know that my chances are growing ever slimmer, and I try not to dwell on it too much. The longing, the void, is still there...it's just not as immense as it was before.

Happy Hour Playdates??

Mary from over at "It's Not All Mary Poppins" had a post on this subject a couple days ago, and I've been thinking about it every since. I've been surfing around for different posts on the subject, and there are MANY...it kept me occupied with reading for quite awhile.

The "Today Show" apparently had a segment on TV (which I missed) about some Moms in a playgroup who would have a drink or two of wine as they hung out together and conversed while their kiddos were playing. The show was apparently biased, and made these Moms out to be a bunch of alcoholics who were bad mothers for drinking AT ALL in the presence of their children.

SO...now there's been a big to-do over this question: "Is it okay for Moms to get together and consume alcohol while responsible for the care of their children?" I am shocked this is even an issue! The Today Show made it seem like this is some new trend, when in actuality it's not. Mothers have been having drinks around their children for decades.

Anyone who reads my blog knows that I'm a big fan of Jose Cuervo. Yes, I drink. Yes, my kids have been present while I'm drinking. No, I don't get drunk while they are awake...I save that for after they've long gone to bed, and I'm not the only person here in case an emergency was to come up. I also don't drink every day...definitely not an alcoholic who HAS to have alcohol to handle my children.

I don't see anything at all with a group of Moms having a drink or two while on a playdate with their children. If I attended playdates, I might even suggest having margaritas together or something while the kids played. It's not like these Moms are there getting completely shit-faced drunk and letting the kids play in traffic. They are having a drink or two and enjoying the company of other ADULTS while the little ones enjoy other kids their size being around to play with. As a SAHM, I understand completely the need to be with other adults occasionally...and if there's a little alcohol involved in the get-together, then so be it.

Of course, the time of day that the playdates are being held makes a difference too. Now, if they are occurring at 9 or 10am, then I don't think it's that appropriate...but in general I think it's in bad taste for ANYONE to be drinking that early in the day, and usually those that do ARE alcoholics. If the playdate is being held at like 4 or 5 o'clock in the evening, then it's a bit different. It makes more sense to me, because it's towards the ending of the busy day when a person may have a drink or two to unwind.

A point that was brought up often in comments on this subject was what makes these Moms having a drink and socializing while the kids are around any different from a family BBQ, where drinks are being served? Also, why wasn't the subject of Dads being in charge of the kids while at a ballgame and having some beers discussed on the show? It seems like it's perfectly okay if the Dads drink alcohol while caring for the children...but Moms?? OH NO! The world will end!! Children will be scarred for life!!

Give me a freakin' break.

One of the questions asked by the interviewer on the show (which happened to be Meredith Veira, formally from "The View".) was, "Would you want your babysitter to be drinking while in charge of your children?" She implied that the babysitter drinking while watching the kids was no different than the Moms watching their own children.

Now, this question has different answers possible. But first...I am NOT a babysitter. Being a Mom and being a babysitter are NOT the same thing. A "caregiver", like in the setting of a daycare, is NOT the same thing either. I was a preschool teacher for 3 years in a daycare setting, and it's just not the same.

As for the question...you have to take in consideration WHO is doing the babysitting. If it's the kids' grandparents or my sister, or somebody I completely trust is not going to let anything happen to my children while in their care, then I don't have a problem with them having a couple of drinks. Not at all. I also know that I'm not going to show up to get my girls and find the grandparents or whoever completely sloshed and the kids playing with the kitchen knives or something. On the other hand, if the babysitter is someone that is being paid to watch my kids for a few hours that I might not know all that well yet, then yeah, I would prefer that they didn't drink during that time. Especially if they're underage anyway. Maybe after the person has watched my kids on several occasions and I'm more comfortable with them, then I might not mind if they had a drink during the evening, but I would probably still prefer that they wait until the kids were in bed.

SO...c'mon...let's discuss this! Go and read the article on the subject on the "Today Show" here. There will also be a place where you can watch the video clip from the segment. Then come back here and let's talk about it in the comments!

Now, if you'll excuse me...I suddenly have the urge to have a margarita. ;)

More Cuteness from Meghan :)

Wow! Two posts in one day?? I know! I know! Now pick yourselves up off the floor where you just fell down in shock. LOL

I wanted to get this posted before I ended up offline for a bit, but I didn't get around to it. This is another short video of Meghan. She'd been having teething pains when I took this, even though we couldn't see any teeth breaking through. So we gave her an unwrapped popsicle to chew on...worked like a charm! Of course, since she does have SOME teeth already, we had to keep an eye out for potential leaks...by some miracle she never pierced the wrapping, and just went to town on the popsicle until it was liquid again. Anyway...enjoy! The lighting on this one is a LITTLE better.

Ummm...Hello?? Is This Thing On??

Well, HI! Yeah, I know...y'all have just been sitting on the edge of your seats waiting for another post from me, huh? Sorry about the short absence...First I don't have a whole lot to post about these days, and THEN those dictators down at the cable place CUT OFF MY INTERNET!! The nerve, I tell ya!

ANYWAY...let's see...hmmmm....Yeah, see how boring I am?!? Sheesh.

Well, a week or two ago, we did have some drama with our friends. It's a long story that I just don't have the energy to get into right now, but I'll just say that to help them out, we were letting them stay with us here at our place for a couple of weeks until they found a place of their own. The first few days were alright, I guess...other than the normal losing your privacy thing that happens in situations like that. THEN...they get into this HUGE fight with each other over something that was really stupid, and ended up OUTSIDE our apartment at 4am SCREAMING at each other! Is it just me, or was that just really disrespectful?? They promised it wouldn't happen again, but just a couple days later the same thing happened, except it wasn't 4am this time. When it happened the second time, the manager of our apartments called me and laid into me about them and told me they had to go immediately or else WE would be getting evicted within 24 hours. Yeah...like THAT is some stress I need! Needless to say, they were out of here!

Not much news on the adoption front right now. We had the adoption caseworker call last week to ask MrKB about the restriction on his driver's license. He has a letter from the state of Oklahoma that he has to carry in his wallet at all times. He has this letter because of someone he considered a very close friend stealing his identity a few years back. The friend had a driver's license done up with his picture and all of MrKB's info. Not only that, but ended up giving MrKB a rap sheet several pages long with various crimes. It was all a BIG hassle when we found out about it by chance when MrKB was pulled over for an expired tag. He had to go down and be fingerprinted to prove that he was NOT the person that had done all the stuff on his record, and the restriction on his license states that he has to have this letter they provided to show to any law enforcement officers on demand. The letter basically says that he is who he says he is, and blah blah blah.

Apparently...the adoption process has reached the State level, and the State had some concerns about it, I guess since it's not something they come across that often. Long story short, they wanted a copy of the letter in question, so we've done that, and now are again in the "hurry up and wait" stage. Bleh. Hopefully, this was the LAST piece of paper they need and any day now we'll get the call to let us know an adoption finalization date. Man, I hope so.

In other news, Meghan is FINALLY getting more teeth in! Well, a TOOTH so far. I was starting to wonder if she'd get any more. Remember, she didn't get her first teeth until she was 11 months old, then didn't get any more until 15 months. None since then until now...and she is 21 1/2 months old!! Good grief. It's made for some fun nights for Mama, let me tell ya!

Meghan is also VERY ornery lately. She is quite defiant and really pushing her limits. Frustrating, to say the least...but I know it's a stage she's going through. Doesn't mean I have to like it though! She is also picking up more words all the time, and just a couple days ago started saying "Mommy" instead of "Mama". :) THAT I like.

Destiny is pretty much the same as she has been. I am still aggravated with her daily over stuff she does, and her speech is not much better yet. I wish I could get inside her head for just one day so I could find out just HOW she processes things in there! I don't know how to explain how she is exactly...just that I unfortunately lose patience with her A LOT. I can't help it, and if you knew the things she does, you'd lose patience too, believe me. Anyway, we're working on it! Despite it all, she is still a very happy little girl and has a beautiful smile and is loved very much!

Gotta end this here...I have to run to the store and get some laundry soap. Des is going to spend the night over at my sister's, and we've got a sitter for Meghan. I gotta get them some clean clothes! MrKB and I are going out tonight for awhile, and I can't wait! :)

Oh, by the way....Happy Anniversary to my awesome Mom and Dad!!! Today is their 34th wedding anniversary! I hope we make it that far, and beyond. We must be doing something right so far...our 12th anniversary is coming up on Valentine's Day. :)

Amused

This video amuses me...this is only the second time Meghan's ever fell asleep while in her high chair, and I grabbed the camera and taped her for a minute or so. Towards the end of the video, her eyes blink themselves open for a moment. This is the part where I was saying, "Meghan! Meghan, wake up!" (Unfortunately the digital camera I use to take short video shots doesn't have sound capabilities.) She looks at me very sleepily and goes right back to sleeping. Then you'll see the shadow of my arm...that's me snapping my fingers over her head trying to get a response. LOL

Sorry the lighting is bad in the video...it plays back a lot lighter than that on the camera. Anyway, enjoy!

I Hate Winter

First...what is up with Blogrolling?? Most times it hardly shows anybody being updated, then today it showed EVERYONE as updated! Go figure.

I'm sure y'all have heard about Oklahoma being one big sheet of ice by now. Yeah...ice storms came through on both Friday and Saturday, and some of Sunday. It looks like we have 5-6 inches of snow outside, but it's all ICE. Schools have been closed all week, and I haven't been out of the house since Friday. I'm gonna have to get out sometime tomorrow and get some groceries.

You know what's funny? On Thursday we had beautiful weather...temps got up to 63 or 68...I don't remember which. Since Friday we haven't had temps above freezing. Currently my weather thingie in my browser says 31 degrees. That's the warmest it's been since this mess came through. I'm SO ready for Spring and warm weather!

We've been staying nice and warm here. Fortunately we haven't been one of the thousands without power. Had my friend and her boyfriend here for the weekend. They brought all sorts of drama with them and I was kinda glad to see them leave. They're going through a rough time with life in general, and there's not much I can do to help them. I hate that.

Not much else going on around here really. I shot a short video of Meghan the other night falling asleep in her high chair. When I get it uploaded I'll try to post it. It cracked me up, and I'm sure y'all will get a kick out of it too.

In Memory

The blogworld has had a shining light extinquished, never to be heard from again. Fellow blogger and HNT'er "Betchacan'tguesswho" was killed in a car accident on Thursday, January 4th.

I didn't know Betcha personally, but I'm certain that when I was an avid participant in HNT that she left me a comment or two. I certainly knew her from around the blogworld, and her screen name always made me smile for whatever reason.

My heartfelt condolences go out to her family and friends during this time! For more about Betcha, stop over at Osbasso's place and read his post. He gives all the information on the situation that he knows at this point.

Is This Not the Cutest Picture EVER??

If you don't smile after seeing this, you're either dead or living under a rock! :)

Heyyyyyyy!

The first few days of the New Year were a bit disappointing, but nothing else major has happened, thank goodness...other than going into our monthly battle with the management over when the rent will be paid! I'm so tired of doing this every month, but we're stuck here until the summer when the lease runs out. By then we should be free to move anywhere we want without having to have DHS approve.

Speaking of...MrKB and I were finally able to get our physicals done, and the forms sent off in the mail to DHS. This was the LAST thing that we had to do, so now the adoption stuff will be sent to the State for final approval. It's already been approved by the lower levels, we are in the "waiting" stage now. Waiting to hear about an adoption date, when we (and our friends and family) will go to the court for finalization! Getting close!! I can't wait, can you??

I'm loving this new computer! It's SO much faster than my old one, and I actually DID watch a movie on it a few days ago. That was really weird for me, since I've never been able to do that before. It was pretty cool, actually. My stepdaughter and I sat here and watched "The Wild", a cute animated movie. I still need to go on the web and try to dl a few programs that I lost...just haven't got around to it yet.

Saturday we spent the majority of the day in the van. We had to take my stepdaughter back home to Texas...she lives almost 5 hours from here, about an hour east of Dallas. Of course, when you've got two little ones traveling with you it takes longer 'cuz there's more potty breaks and stuff. My girls do really well on long car trips, even Meghan. I always make sure they have toys and books to play with, and I bring along snacks. Meghan will usually sleep for awhile at some point, but Destiny mostly stays awake...she doesn't want to miss anything. :)

Not much else going on with me...back to the same old, same old. Well, I've been seriously considering college classes online. Get somewhere at least with going back to school. I've got a couple of friends who've been doing the online course thing, and my sister has too, along with her regular classes. I figure it'd be a great place to start for me. I want to get a degree in Elementary Education and teach Kindergarten, 1st, or 2nd grade someday. I also will minor in Psychology. I loved Psych in high school...it was the only class that didn't bore me to death and I had good grades.

One more thing...Meghan is saying more and more words all the time now. Yesterday I was getting her a drink and I told her "Say please" and she did! I totally wasn't expecting it at all since she never had before. She did it again later that day for Daddy. It comes out more like "Pwee" but it's SO cute! She never ceases to amaze me. Of course, she is also really, really, into a defiant stage lately, and that tries my patience. Still, it's been an amazing experience for me to watch her grow and change from the little 3-week-old baby I brought home from the hospital, into the rambunctious toddler she has become. I find it hard to believe that she will be 2 in April!!

Hope things are going well for y'all! Did you make any resolutions for the New Year? I never really make them, since they just get broke anyway...but I am trying to be better with Destiny, and not be so hard on her for some things. Remember a long time ago how I said that there just wasn't the bond there with Destiny, like I have with Meghan? It still holds true today, even though I do love her with all of my heart! I don't know how to explain it so that anyone can understand...not even to MrKB. But I'm working on it...

Well....Hell....

Only 3 days into 2007, and already have had things go wrong! The hard drive on my computer completely crapped out, resulting in the loss of all the Christmas pictures I had taken, except for the few that I'd happened to post on here. Glad I did at least that much! And fortunately, since my Dad had given me a cd burner the last time my computer had problems (that time it was the motherboard, which was recently) I had burned all the other pics to disk...couldn't have been more than a month or so ago! 2 GB worth of pictures!! I also lost some programs that I had, but that's more a pain-in-the-ass kinda thing, getting them reinstalled...not that big a deal. Good thing too, that I changed my template when I did or I wouldn't have the saved copies of my old templates to get my links from! Damn...that reminds me...I lost my Tigger template to my Myspace. Dangit!! Sigh...

BUT...instead of sending my computer to my Dad to fix again, I decided "Fuck it! I want a new (or at least new-to-me) bigger, better, faster computer!" We checked a couple of pawn shops to see what kinda deals could be had, but eh... Wal-Mart? All I needed was the tower part, really...everything else works fine. They had I think just one desktop set and it was around $450. Went to see if they had just the tower part for sale, and yeah they did...over $600 freakin' bucks for JUST the tower!! WTF? And it wasn't any big name brand or anything, and seemed to be very very basic tower. So anyway, we decided to check at this rent-to-own place, just to see what they had to offer. (I can make payments there in cash since I don't have a credit card). I am now the proud owner (well, kinda...but I have it anyway) of a shiny new Compaq Presario desktop with a 3200+ AMD Sempron Processor, 512 mb memory, 80 GB hard drive, CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive! WHEEEEEE! Supposed to take 12 months to pay it off if we just pay the payment...but I'm gonna try to get it paid off by paying MORE each month, thinking it'll be about 5 months. Sooner I pay it off the less it's gonna cost me overall.

I haven't tried yet, but I take it that a DVD-ROM means I can actually watch a movie on my computer if I want to, right?? This is new for me! I've only had two computers since joining the internet world when I was 28 (just turned 35) and both of them were built for me by my Dad, and were not particularly fast. The one I just replaced had only 150mb memory and only a 20 GB hard drive with a slow processor. Yeah...big difference now performance-wise, and I actually feel like I have high speed internet now! LOL...I have for awhile, but it didn't seem all that high speed on the other computer. It's much better now and I'm loving it!

Still kinda bummed I lost the Christmas pics, though.

The other bad start to the New Year is I am sick...AGAIN...with a nasty cold! What was it? About a week or two before Christmas when I had that other one?? Can't believe I've already caught another freakin' cold already! It sucks and I feel like shit, and Mommies don't get sick days!! Oh, and Meghan, it seems, is finally starting to get more teeth in we think. She's has been THE crankiest baby the last few days. Bleh.

I'm going back to bed to try and get some sleep. Hope y'all have had a better start to 2007 than I have!