Merry Christmas to you!

pics are money and Rolex watches brought back from Iraq by friend of family who worked over there. Doll is a ceramic doll I was given years ago by an aunt who made them. All will be going on ebay shortly...well as soon as I can find a minute, I don't know how shortly that will be.
Does your list look like mine? It is Dec 19th and ...

• Christmas Cards.... 1 done, about 20 more to go
• Presents ....mostly bought, 1/4th still to go
• cookies....none baked
• bills... mostly mailed, couple left to do
• cleaning.....1/2 done, other half- ugh do I have to?
• packing.....very little done, much more to do
• things to finish on house .... few done, much more to finish
• large ambitious projects....none done, 3 or 4 to do
• sanity...mostly gone, tiny bit left

Merry Christmas, Ho Ho Ho Ho!
Thanks for all the support and well wishes, guys and back at ya! The kids will be coming over for a long visit- few weeks probably, so I won't be on here for a few weeks starting at Christmas. My classes will be over Jan 10th and if my lic comes by end of Jan (FX) the kids will be the best Christmas present ever! I am having a hard time not thinking of them as mine already, but I am trying to hold back in case it still falls through. If I don't get my license, or they pic a diff fam for them, I will be lost. My automatic reaction is to say yes when ppl ask if they are mine, or say 2 when asked how many kids I have. I have to give weird vague answers ...like "Well I hope they will be someday, but they don't know that yet so please don't mention it in front of the kids, they think I am just their babysitter who really likes them to come over a lot and I don't want them to be jerked around if something should go wrong- so sort of." blah. IMGosh, I hope it will be less than 8 weeks and I will have some for sure news. I can't believe how long the TWW used to feel, and now I have a 12-18 week wait and it seems like a yyyyeeeaaarrrrrr. AAHHH! Thank goodness it is about half over, cuz I am going crazy and my stomach can't hold out much longer.

Have a Happy and safe Holidays everyone! (((((Holiday Hugs!))))) Tara

Free meds from Santa and starting a new life w/a new name

I took the kids driving to see Christmas lights the other night. They are too funny. G is big sis and talked non stop during whole drive mostly asking questions. B is the one yr old and mostly babbles, but has a few words that we can understand (Izzzzyyyy!= kitty, & Day You = Thank you, which he says whenever you hand him anything!). While out, we saw Santa handing out candy canes on the sidewalk. When we pulled over and he leaned in window to say hello, a very clear "Santa!" was squealed from the back seat. LOL So at least he can say one clear word, although how helpful that word will be for the rest of the year, I'm not sure about. Maybe we could change big sis's name to Santa? ;)
BTW How old is too old to change first names? She is 5, but I am changing little bro's so don't want her to later wonder why I didn't change hers too. I could make a short list and let her pick, but mom thinks I'm crazy. This would also help keep bio mom from tracking them down, sort of a safety issue since there are probs there.
I don't know if it is true, but I have heard online that you can use expired fertility meds for 6 mos past date. I don't know how comfortable I am with it, but I will be doing more research on it to see if it is true. I do think they make the dates early enough so that some use can safely be done shortly past date, for legal reasons they don't want to be close to mistakes. I have some injectibles that I had stored and planned to use before the adoption stuff started and I had to postpone using them. I have more than I myself would be able to use actually. I am going to save one or two boxes, and hope to use them soon in one last chance effort, but I still have three more boxes that I will never need. The sell by date was Oct 31, 2007. Would anyone want to use them very soon, or should I just pitch them?
( For legal purposes I will declare that I am not suggesting anyone use unsafe meds and that all meds should be by prescription from your Dr to you, stored correctly and used as directed by date stated, then properly destroyed.)
Love T

just to clarify my ramblings!

Sorry if I didn't explain very well, LOL. No I do not have the munchkins yet, but foster mom has started using me as a babysitter so I can get quality time early. Isn't that nice?! :) They
stayed for about 4 days and will stay the night again next week. :) T

adopting older ADD/drug affected children

For people who have adopted older children, if you have any advice- please share, as you will understand my problem here. For those of you raising babies from birth, try to imagine the differences!
This pic of basket full of kittens who are escaping before I could snap the pic, gives a small idea of what it is like to try and change a diaper of a very fast, strong, mobile toddler with ADD issues and wearing (painful) hard braces on his feet. I didn't get to practice while he was small and non-mobile, but am jumping in at this late date while trying to not get poop all over the floor, our clothes or get kicked with a foot brace. So you can imagine how unappreciative I am of the laughter flowing from my near hysterical mom and sister as they roll on the floor. They find it funnier the more problems I have like when the wiggle worm is pushing his feet so he scoots himself away from me taking open poopy diaper with him and I have to keep pulling him back, while trying to make a face that shows I do not think this is a new fun game to play, and his big sis comes in to ask me questions and try to get attention. Behind her comes little niece who only having female cousins has never seen little boy privates before and wants to know if that is his "flower". ( Her Great Gma told her that name and it stuck) I finally get my mom and sister to help me by frowning at them and using a stern voice while telling them, that yes, I need to practice, but throwing me in the deep end with all three sharks the very first time, is probably not the nicest way for me to get experience. They finally helped by distracting baby and sending the girls off to play for a while til we finished with the poop monster. hahaha they think they are sooo funny.
This pic is my sister walking & holding her daughter and step daughter- she works out. She also has a step son and has had lots of practice with 3 kids at once. My mom also has 3 kids. I am trying to adopt 2 kids who both have ADD and the older one has attachment problems. I am worried about RAD ( Reactive Attachment Disorder) being an issue with her. To add to the fun is the younger ones SI issues so I need to keep an eye out for things he might try to eat, like crayons. He also has food allergies and they both have a long list of doctors and specialists. They were exposed to a wide variety of drugs in utero ( meth, crack, booze, heroin, pot, ...) and are at risk for a variety of health issues. I just found out that they will have caseworkers from DHS, but also from at least one other agency, maybe more, that also assigns them caseworkers, so that they will have 2-6 caseworkers at any given time. I did not get 9 months to prepare for birth and find out about problems, I did not get time with one before the other was born, I did not rack up all the doctors one at a time,.... no I am walking into a maze of caseworkers, and specialists, and problems, and health issues, and emotional issues and reg children's needs -all at once and am a little shell shocked. I don't like coming in late to a test and feeling unprepared so I am playing catch up and soaking up advice while I wait for the dust settles- even from the two experienced laughing hyenas. Whom I had to explain all this to, while asking for help. They think they're so funny, ....I know Mom, I know, bring the plastic bag and distracting toys with me before I start changing him. Where are the wipes?
Did I mention he enjoys throwing dinner on the floor to tell me he is full? He also pulls those suction cup plates off the table, although it does slow him down. - so much for that idea! AND- who made sippy cups that leak when you turn them upside down? What kind of mean joke is that?
I can't wait til they get to visit again! :)

How long after the experiation date can you still use injectible meds? I heard 6 months, is that true?

Fun, fire and feet

For our Halloween family get together, we all went to my aunt and uncles farm where we had dinner, a campfire and played on the fourwheeler and go cart! Too fun! This first pic is my view from back of four wheeler with my mom and neice riding ahead of me. second pic is of the campfire where some ppl ate marshmellows- Yuck! ( vegetarian soapbox alert*** Did you know they have bone/hooves in them? yes that is what makes gelatin, a common ingredient in food, pills etc. {{{shudder}}}) Anyhoo, I had my first home visit for foster care certification to have the adoption. I am also on week 4 next week, of
the 10 classes. Can you beleive they cancelled for Thanksgiving? Jeez, I guess they have their own lives, ok, ok. So classes are over Jan 10th, yippee! This is a pic of the babies foot while he is wearing his braces. They are called Sure Step Dynamic Stabilizing System. ( www.surestep.net) They are for young children and help give proper position, support and balance. He has them because of his Sensory Integration Disorder (SI) did not let him feel his feet properly. Apparently he didn't have a good sense of where his feet were or what they were doing. With the braces providing compression, there is more sensory information sent to his brain so he can tell where they are and use them. After getting his braces, he was able to finally walk. (And now runs around like a reg fast toddler!) They are used to treat a variety of conditions like walking on ankles, ect. They are cut so toes and ball of foot can still be used and feel the floor allowing for better pushing, jumping, walking and so on.
People with neuropathy from diabetes or whatever, can explain about loss of sensory info telling you where your feet are at and what they are doing. That is why they might watch their feet while going down stairs or take shoes off to drive, because if you can't feel the gas/brake pedals or don't know where the next step is, accidents can happen! Imagine stepping on both gas and brake at the same time by accident or sliding from one to the other without realizing it- not good. I have mild nueropathy and can empathize with the little one in that way. I don't have any fancy foot braces though, LOL.

I hope everyone is doing well! My CNA classes are finally over so I hope to have a bit more time to check back in with everyone now. :) Talk to you soon!

Camel kisses and the memory of sleep

Whhheeewwww! So sorry it has been so long since I have posted or lurked on the boards or checked any one's blog! I hope everyone is doing well and hope to check all your updates very soon. You probably think I fell of the edge of the world, and while I feel like I am running to catch up with real life, I do hope to start gaining on it soon. So here is the quick and dirty update:
I am starting my adoption classes Nov 1st! I did not get in to the Oct class, and did not want to make the kids wait until the Jan class, so I said I would drive an hour and 20 minutes to a class that starts Nov 1 - Jan 3rd. The class is 3 hours each Thurs eve, and I'll be adding an extra 3 hrs driving time each time, but what could I do?
I am half way through my CNA classes and hope to get a better paying job soon. I take the state test mid Nov, and will then be a registered CNA. That should open up a variety of job openings for me. Jobs that actually have room to advance would be nice! I would like to end up doing something I enjoy, like Ultrasound tech/EKG tech, or work at a med office, whatever. I am trying to be smarter about trainings now since I am really starting to rack up the useless credential points. I have an Associates Degree, but it is a general Assoc of Science, then I have a Women's Studies Certificate, again no job avenues branching from that. I had a job where they mistakenly told me that my Assoc degree wasn't enough, so I did get a Child Care Certificate before I found out the lady I talked to was mistaken. arg. So there are 3 useless degrees/certificates already. On the side, I also took classes to become a Master Naturalist, but that is a volunteer position and again not something that can help me get a career. Unless they are just super impressed with my environmental commitment. So if anyone knows of a career for a college educated, artist, tree hugging, feminist, who works well with children, and is a Certified Nursing Assistant- please let me know. I know, I am such a Gemini, huh?
Pics are a camel we were petting on a family vaca this month, and of homemade raspberry ice cream bought on the same vaca. yum.
A realtor just came by to look at the house since I need to sell it and buy something bigger across state lines ( for the adoption) but it wasn't good news. She said the market sucks now (duh) and we wouldn't be getting crap outta this place. I also over paid when I bought it (double duh). There are some projects we need to do here to improve things and then we can try to list it but, don't hold my breath basically. ouch. The longer it takes to unload this place, the longer I have to live with my parents, which while not the worst thing in the world, does get old since we are all adults w/our own ways of living & running a household. I think they are great and are being very nice in trying to help me with the adoption, but it would just be nice to have more room and our own space for me and the kids. I didn't want them to have to move in with my parents and then move again later, but it will have to do for now. It would just be easier for them to move directly into their own forever place. Ah well. Close enough. ; ) It will be nice to have Gma and Grndpa right there to help!
Meanwhile I have been selling away on ebay. I kept getting socked when it came to shipping costs and paypal charges, but I am getting better. I hate that most things end up selling for $0.99 with the first bid. arg- I get charged almost that much from paypal for the sale, plus I pay ebay more that that to list the item, so I mostly have lost money. blah. I have to list more things there too, all my listings are over right now. I haven't had a chance to get on computer recently.
I do plan on making scrapbook pages/books and have gotten some supplies and am ready to go so I hope to work on them soon! I need to scrap! Feeling twitchy!
Hope everything is well, Love, T