We Have a Baby!

Made you look! No not a referral just a new stuffed baby. I have been thinking about the things that I should start to buy and put aside for when I do get a referral. I know that some of the things that others have packed are small blankets that they have slept with for a week or two. Other things have been a small doll or stuffed animal.

This past week I found a Dalmatian beanie baby and thought that was a great idea to bring to Russia with me for the little guy. So I purchased the baby and put the bag in the baby's room. Some how she just knows when there is a stuffed animal in the house. She gets so excited wagging her tail and nosing through the bags.

I thought I had put the stuffed baby up off the floor but I guess it was not up high enough. I keep trying to hide it but she keeps finding it. Look really close and under her face and you will see the new baby. I guess I must employ a different parenting technique!

Summer Time=Ice Cream!

What could be better then eating ice cream when it is hot outside? Okay I actually do not eat ice cream. I know I am very crazy. I just do not like it. I hate the way milk smells. I would rather have chocolate cake. Sounds very crazy I know. Even funnier is that Gerard is an ice cream hound. He counts the days until the local ice cream stores open. I get a phone call immediately when one is open.

This is even crazier I usually go to the ice cream shop and bring it home for him. I am sure these people are thinking she is back again?? How she eats a lot of ice cream! I am telling you he frequent at least 4 ice cream shops per week. Not including the ice cream sandwiches that are in the freezer. The worst thing is that he is only about 175 lbs. Stinker!

Gerard is hoping that the little guy is going to love ice cream too. He has big plans for eating ice cream with the little guy.

Before Dottie got her new diet she NEVER got table food. I was told very early when I got her that she is only to have dog food and treats. One nice thing is she never begged at the table. Well that has been thrown out the window. So I figured ice cream and cottage cheese is made with the same stuff (almost). So here she is with her first ice cream. I think she likes it.

I'm Back! No Not From Russia

I know it has been a bit since my last post. I am happy to report that Dottie is doing very well on her diet of cottage cheese and pasta (yuk). She seems to be back to her regular self. I have a great picture of her eating some ice cream that I will post later. It makes me laugh every time I see it.

I guess I have been a bit off this past week. I guess I am just worrying about the things that I can not change. I think up until last week I have been okay with the wait but I got an email last week that felt like a verbal spanking. The email came from my agency and honestly I believe that the intension of the email was to ease every one's concerns and worries about not getting a quick referral. The letter was just a general notice and not addressed to any one person. I know that my feelings were me over reacting. The email basically states that the wait has increased for a child under 18 months of age that is relatively healthy. The time frame was unspecified but it went over how only a certain number of Dossiers can be registered at one time and so forth.

My way of handling news like this is to wait and re-read the message again. Well that is what I did but I made a fundamental mistake. I did not wait long enough so when I re-read it I got even more upset. So my plan is to make a call this week to just check in with my coordinator. I know that there is no news but I want to talk to her about the email and make sure that I am not blowing it out of proportion (As I am sure I am doing just that).

I do have some happier news. I spent the weekend with my 2 youngest nephews. We took the littlest one (Sloan 5 months) to the beach for the first time. I got some great pictures of them with my sister and my Mother. We took the kids to a kiddy amusement park that is around the corner from me. What a difference a year can make. Last year Aristotle (5) was not tall enough to ride the small go-karts by himself. Well this year he was able to ride it by himself. His reaction was priceless. "Yes I get the red one!!" I would love for you all to see a picture of them because they are very cute but I keep forgetting to ask my sister if it is okay to post their pictures.

So there you have it. No good news and no bad news, just no news!

Life is Full of Changes

I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers for Dottie. She is back to her sparkly self. Which is what I love about her.

Well today marks 10 months of the adoption process. Honestly I have put worrying aside because first of all I pretty much know that I will not receive my referral until September 2008. The funny thing about me is that if I now their is a target date I am okay until that date comes. So I have just been plugging along. I have not had much anxiety over the whole adoption lately.

I think part of the reason why I have been so calm is because I know the things that are a constant or at least I thought I did like:

• Name of my agency


• Name of my coordinator


• Memorized the agency's address and my coordinator's telephone number


• That the Dossier is in Russia


• I have done all the paperwork that I can do (At least for now)


• I have the PTO time that I need to travel

I also know the things that are not constant or that are up in the air such as:

• Travel date


• Boy or girl


• Age of the child


• And so many other things that I can not even think of right now

So what has me a touch freaked well it is a little of email that I opened last night. Honestly in the grand scheme of things it is not a big deal. I would rate this on the trauma scale of 0-5 (five being the worst) as a -1. So what is the change my coordinator is being changed. I am feeling a touch abandoned because this is the second time that a coordinator has left me but I am going to pull on my big girl underpants and deal with it.

If you remember back a couple of weeks ago my coordinator's father died. Because I know what feelings go along with that type of news I have been worried about her even though I barely know her. I know that when my father died I needed to take off at least 3 weeks because I was so sad. The year that followed his death was equally challenging. So any time I hear of someone who has lost a parent my heart just goes out to them because I know how important the relationship between a parent and a child is no matter how old you are.

I am sure that those of you who have completed your families can really relate to what I am saying. Those of you who are waiting to either meet your baby or to pick him or her up really want that bond that you may have with your own parents.

So I totally understand that she needs to scale back to care for herself and her family because in the grand scheme of things your family is what is most important in this life not the other silly things. I would like to ask everyone to send up a prayer for Lisa that she is able to deal with all the emotions that she is feeling right now.

As for me I am still plugging along. I think I may even decide to rent that beach cottage that I wanted to rent this year in North Carolina. I love this cottage because it is one that allows dogs to come. The cottage has a fenced in yard and the price is right.

Dottie's Ultrasound is Scheduled

Well the doctor's office called today and Dottie's Ultrasound is scheduled for tomorrow at 2 pm. She has to be NPO or nothing by mouth until after the scan. I should have the results about 24 hours later.

Now on to why I think I may be crazy. Yesterday and today she is back to her old self. I can only hope and pray that this is not my imagination.

I spent the day cleaning the garage WOW did I have a ton of stuff. Well Gerard put up new cabinets so that we can get all the chemicals up and out of reach of little hands. Some days I just feel like I get so much done then there are other days well that I get nothing done.

I handed in my last assignment for this class. I have decided to take a break for the next 3 weeks so that I can get some of the things that I wanted to get done actually done. I think the break will due me good. I will only have 2 more classes then I am done.

Dottie had to pee in a cup

Okay today Dottie went to the see her doctor today. The poor thing is always a nervous wreck to go to see the doctor even though they are truly wonderful. Gerard had a puppy dog for about 15 years old named Bobo. He was an adorable little beagle. Gerard got Bobo when he was 9 years old. One of the funniest things that Gerard's Mother remembers is Gerard and his sister asking her if they could take Bobo to the priest for his baptism. The priest baptised him on the spot. Sorry I know I am off the subject back to Dottie.

See this Vet is the same Vet that Bobo went to see for all his 15 years. We completely trust this Vet and so when he said she needs to pee in a cup I told her what she had to do. One short walk and one small urine sample collected. In addition to the urine sample the doctor ordered some blood work too actually a full panel of tests: CBC, Chemistry profile and Thyroid panel. I will not know the results for a least a day or so.

The doctor does not think that she has a urinary track infection but he wants to make sure. The doctor thinks that maybe she just has an old bladder that is causing the leakage. So he ordered a prescription to help with the leaking urine and will call me in a day or two if she needs an antibiotic.

I felt sorry for Dottie after the doctor visit so I decided to take her to the beach. Well she ran around like there was nothing wrong. We spent about an hour at the beach while she invested gated everything. She has done nothing but sleep all evening. I guess the run did her some good.