Mah porch

Happy belated Canada Day, everyone! We spent this long weekend (July 1-2) with family (my parents & my brother & his family), which is how it should be, I think. On Canada Day itself we had a BBQ (burgers, hot dogs, roaster veggies, etc) and Evie showed off her mad walking skillz to us. She's really walking well, but when she wants to get somewhere in a hurry she crawls at the speed of light! And she's at that stage where she's into everything - a little annoying but it's really showing us what we need to babyproof.

On July 2 we got to installing the new aluminum porch railing. My dad took out the old wooden railing before we even got home on the Wednesday, so we were able to paint the pillars on July 1, so we were all ready to go on July 2. It took us the best part of the day to get all three sides of the railing installed, but it looks awesome!

Before



After




July 3 my parents went to visit my brother & then babysat Evie while her parents went out. Apparently she likes to bang on the bathroom door while you are in there, and shout at you. Not sure why - the mind of a 15 month old. Andrew & I stayed home & painted the front door (red - it looks great!) and moved some plants around.

July 4 we went out for brekkie, my parents went home, and we got more plants at the garden centre. And we found out that we have a matching set of mice - one for the back garden & one for the front (which we found out when Andrew spotted a pint lily flower sauntering through the garden by itself). Jerk mice. I hates them.

I feel the earth move under my feet

So, we just had an earthquake here! According to early reports, it measured 5.something on teh Richter scale, but it didn't feel all that strong. I was sitting in my chair at my desk & just felt a gentle rocking motion. Some of my co-workers are freaking out right now (they need to watch more Discovery channel) but I kinda feel like it's an adventure. The adrenalin is following a little bit, and I'm a teeny tiny bit worried about the kittehs & what they are feeling (Pippin is very sensitive about thunderstorms & such), but all in all - that was FUN! Hey, it could always be a lot worse. Apparently there's also a tornado/thunderstorm watch going on for this area, so perhaps we're all going to hell in a handbasket. I, for one, welcome our new giant ant overlords.....

Story of my life

So I didn't sleep all that well last night (tossed & turned for an undetermined reason), then I was rudely awakened by Pippin coughing up a hair/grass ball at 4.30am. I swear I'm going to put a stop to her going outside, but she just loves it so much it's hard to say no.

Speaking of outside, the garden is going well, with the exception of the peas, which were once again decimated by Mr Basil the Mouse. He is such a little mousy jerk, but he's so cute. We've blocked his mousy hole with rocks & covered the items he likes with generous amounts of black pepper so hopefully he'll go elsewhere. We also bought a green pepper plant (complete with some juvenile peppers) and a tomato plant (since our tomato seedlings didn't make it) so now we're all done & ready to harvest the goodness in a month or so. We also got some very nice bright pink celosias with burgundy leaves for the front garden - Andrew loves them (I think they look like flaky raw fish - blech).

Let's hope this evening brings better sleep, and no hair/grass balls. I could use a good sleep!

Hiding away from the world

I find myself wanting to stay at home & wallow in my own sadness more & more these days. While we've been really busy every weekend, everyone's always asking about the adoption and the lack of referrals lately is making it really hard to talk about it. There's only been 1 referral in the last month & a half, apparently because of increased paperwork requirements on the Ethiopian side. I completely agree with there being increased assurances that birth parents are giving up their children for the "right" reasons, and ensuring they are not being coerced to do so, and it really makes me feel like an awful person to wish that there would be more referrals, because that means more families in Ethiopia are irreparably broken, but I really wish there were more referrals, so we could get closer to being a family.

In other news, we attending the golf tournament this weekend, and it was very very well attended. It's a charity tournament held every year by the family & friends of the son of my mom's best friend, who was died after being burned in an explosion at his workplace. His mom has become very active in workplace safety since then, and the money raised by the golf tournament goes towards specialized sports equipment for physically handicapped children. We always have a great time - Andrew golfs & I sign in the golfers & take the money from the silent auction winners. Good times! Next weekend we're going to see Jon Stewart (Stew-beef!) at the casino. Can't wait!

Welcome to the club!

Born to my best friend (it would be silly to say that she completes me, but it's 100% true), a precious baby boy, Jack Thomas, at 12.05am local time on 5/26/2010. He weighed 8 lbs & was 52 cm long. Here's what I know - he took his own sweet time getting here (she was induced at 7pm on 5/24), Mum & baby are both doing fine & Dad is exhausted, and this is one of the most anticipated babies in the history of time. I can't wait to see a picture of his sweet, sweet face! Can't deny that I'm insanely jealous, and wondering if I'll ever experience the same wonderment of looking at my baby's face for the first time. But this isn't about me, it's about sweet Jack! Kinda funny that he came into the world as 2 of the best known Jack's of entertainment graced our screens for the last time - Jack Bauer of 24 & Jack Shephard of Lost. A coincidence, sure, but it sure is a funny one! I can't wait to talk to my friend & get all the details!!!

Gone gone gone been gone so long

I've been gone gone gone so long. Sorry about that! No reason in particular, I just wasn't feeling wordy. We had a great weekend last weekend, but busy! On Friday night & all day Saturday we took part in a pilot group of our local council's Transracial Parenting course for adoptive & foster parents. Andrew & I both felt that we really benefitted from attending. It was taught by someone who is transracial herself, so she could really relate to the subject material. Then Saturday evening we went over to our friends' place for dinner. We haven't seen them in almost 5 months, so it was so much fun to just go there & relax, hang out & partake in some very good food (a gourmet cheese plate - including a triple cream brie - and bison striploin steaks cooked Tuscan style.....yum!) and some stellar red wines. On Sunday we slept in a little, then went to see Iron Man 2 (loved it!!!) and had wings & appetizers for lunch. It was a great weekend. I'm hoping this weekend will be just as good. On Saturday I'm going to the Niagara region with a friend & her friends to celebrate her 35th birthday, then on Sunday we're going to a Welcome Summer party at our adoption friends' house. It's an afternoon party, so we're going to aim to be home in time to catch the Lost series finale. On holiday Monday we might go see Shrek Forever After. We're going to work on planting the veggie garden too. The best thing that's happening on May 24 is this - my friend is going to be induced, and she'll finally meet her child. Oh how I wish I could be there to witness that! Next weekend is the wedding & my dad's birthday. Lord knows what I'm going to get him for his birthday! He's so hard to buy for.

Well that's all for now! Have a great weekend everyone, and Vicki? Push him out push him out WAY OUT! Much love to you & Darren.

So far away

I am feeling so far away lately. Since yesterday (Mother's Day) I've been feeling far away from being a mother. I still feel that this adoption will be successful, but not knowing when is pretty upsetting sometimes. On a day when society celebrates mothers, I feel so invisible. And I'm feeling so far away from my best friend, who is in her last weeks of pregnancy with her first, long-awaited child. Her baby shower was just over a week ago, and seeing the pictures of the shower & the pictures of her so heavily pregnant is like a dagger in my heart (to be melodramatic). I can't help feeling that I should be there, with her, in the delivery room, holding her hand, trying to make her laugh (and probably failing). To see the beautiful face of her baby just moments after birth, to celebrate with her and her husband. Instead, all I can do is sit here & cry & feel sorry for myself. For the last 7 months or so, all I've been able to do is kick myself for moving back to Canada. I know, boo hoo. But I guess everyone deserves a little self-pity once in a while. Seems like, as an waiting adoptive parent, I indulge myself a little more with the self-pity than maybe I should.