First day home

Candy and Angel - I am so ready to get together and see you both again. E-mail me and let me know the details. Gotta run. Ahren just smacked Levi upside the head with a toy gun. 

Playing with Daddy

Being silly

Shopping at Target

Scoring lots of loot

Mommy spoiling the boys (with help from Katie)

Getting ready for a haircut

Looking better

All done

Showing off their new haircuts

Riding in the car, learning to love the carseat

Levi got his hair cut too

Sideburns since he is a little man

Home Sweet Home

Pictures as promised, but in reverse order. I am too tired to re-arrange them tonight. You will figure it out. ;-)

Ahren meets Levi ( he just woke up)

They play on the bed while the rest of us just want to go to sleep
Katie entertains Ahren on the plane.
Ahren during take-off. Look at his cute little legs!
The savior, the DVD player and Barney.
On the way home form the airport.
Who said he doesn't know american food. He flips for chips!
The view from our 15th floor hotel room.
Mommy and Ahren. On the plane. For real. We are outta there!!!!
Katie trying to tame the locks. Good luck there!
Playing with cars in the hotel room.
Look at those curls. Everyone thinks he is a girl. I mean everyone!
The night after our embassy appointment we went to a steak house that was fantastic. They came and picked us up from our hotel and took us there. We were the only ones in the restaurant because it was in between their normal services. All of the staff, including the owner, doted on us. it was a meal to remember. The food was superb. the best steak I have had in YEARS!



As is usual for Guatemala, our flight was late. Is anything ever on time there? I bet even babies arrive late. Then our flight was re-directed around a storm. We had to wait in immigration a little over an hour and then it is about a 45 minute drive to our house. Poor Ahren had not napped and although at first he was NOT a happy camper in his carseat, he fell asleep in about 5 minutes. I carried him into the house asleep, but he started waking up almost immediately. As his eyes opened, he saw Levi and immediately held out his arms to him. I set him on the floor and he just fell into Levi's arms and stayed there. Levi just held him. After a minute, they let go and off they went exploring, giggling the whole time. Room to room they went, falling all over each other and laughing like lunatics. It took a couple of hours before we got them calmed down and into bed. 

Ahren did wonderfully on the flight. he didn't seem to even notice when we took off. Then we set up the DVD player and he watched that for the first 2 hours, then colored and played with us the last hour. He finally got cranky the last 10 minutes as we came down. I think his ears hurt. Other than that, he was a champ. An old pro. A ringer. 

We were going to have him sleep in the Pack-N-Play next to our bed at first, but it became apparent while in Guatemala that he is WAY too big for that. Instead he will be in the crib in the room attached to our bedroom. He will only be 10 feet away from us and he will have a lot more room to stretch out. We have one of those net canopies over the top to keep him from falling out. He is really too big for a crib, too, but I need him to be safe and secure, and it is better for him. He rolls all over the place in his sleep and the last thing we need is for him to be falling out of bed 5 times a night. 

Heading home today

Sorry, no pix today. I promise tons of them once we get home and our connection is not so slow.

Let me tell you some more about Ahren. He is learning english very fast. He say ball, shoes (he has a thing for shoes!) Hi, Bye, shopping, Kay-Kay, and Levi. He He feeds himself well with a fork or spoon. He has mad dancing skillz. He takes a 2 hour nap and sleeps 11 hours a night (so far) The rest of the time he is non-stop action and giggles. He loves to tease katie.

Yesterday afternoon was very busy and looooong. We met up with his foster family again and spent an hour at the hotel talking. He seemed glad to see them but not upset at all. They went with us to pick up his Visa and we all had a nice round of hugs and cheers. We grabbed a taxi and headed to PBJ's doctor's appt, where the taxi dropped us off and then took the foster family home. He said good-bye and again, no tears. Just bye, hugs and kisses and off we went. We spent an hour in the teeny cramped waiting room, missing Ahren's nap and trying to keep him occupied. He did really well, although Katie and I were hot and grumpy! PBJ and her foster family arrived and we met with her doctor. He told us some more of her medical info, but it wasn't terribly informative. Shots up to date, neurologically doing well, no more seizures, keepng an eye on her head growth, etc. He was very nice and I feel really confident she is in good hands. She is walking all over as long as she can hold one finger. She has the ability just not the confidence yet. She let Katie hold her, but not me. She did give me kisses though. I can tell that her adjustment will be much harder than Ahrens. We finally made it back to the hotel, realaxed for a bit and grabbed some dinner and then we put the sleepy, overly-tired boy to bed. He cried a little bit but was asleep in just a few minutes.

I am so glad to be heading home. We have had a grand adventure, cavorting all over the city, but t is time to be home. I have one funny story about Katie. We went out walking around the hotel area yesterday. We are right in the middle of downtown Guatemala City. The traffic is insane and the pollution is something we have never experienced before. My poor sweet girl just couldn't handle it and ended up tossing her cookies in the gutter. Makes a girl very thankful for our clean Texas air!!!!!

Embassy Day and PBJ

We headed out to the Embassy at 6:30 this morning, paperwork in hand, dressed well, and a diaper bag full of snacks and distractions. Let me tell you what it is like....the DMV. Sign in...wait.....go to a window......wait......stand in line.....wait....answer 4 questions....wait...pay your money....wait. Come back tomorrow with your receipt. I had tons of extra paperwork just in case and they didn't ask for one single thing. Here is what they did ask: When did you visit, are you going to change his name, will you re-adopt him, have you made an appointment with a pediatrician. Oh, and at one point they asked if my husband just doesn't like to fly, but that wasn't an official question.

Ahren decded to entertain everyone and proceeded to put on a show. He had everyone laughing making funny faces, doing dances and acting the clown. He enjoyed every minute of the attention.

We got back to the hotel around 11 am, met PBJ's foster family for lunch, hung ut with them for a while and played, then after they left we walked to the Galleria Mall and shopped. (Ahren can say 'shopping'. ) We decided not to keep PBJ with us overnight. She was easily upset and needed her FM nearby. She warmed up to us a little, especially Katie, but the thought of her being scared and unhappy just so we could see her more was not good. She has been through so much and that would have been greedy on our part and not the best for her. But, she looked fabulous. Talking, crawling, smiling, laughing, trying to walk.

The funniest thing though, was Ahren was really jealous of her. He did not like me or Katie holding her. I guess he really has laid claim to us. He said Mami all day today, whenever he wanted something and hugged and kissed us. When PBJ was leaving, he freaked out and was totally wrapped around katie. He must have thought he was going with them. When he realized he wasn't he wanted hugs and kisses. We are seeing PBJ again tomorrow at a doctors appt.

While we were at the mall we got Ahren's haircut. Actually, just a little trm to take the dry ends off and revive some of the curl. They also deep-conditioned it. It looks much better, so shiny and soft. He was laying back into the shampoo bowl and he must have liked it a lot because his eyes were half closed, he was totally relaxed and he had a half-smile on his face. He did really good through the whole thing.

I think we have a good start at attachment. A start. That means there is a lot more to go. I credit his foster family with showing him photos and videos of us and telling him who we are all through the process. Plus, he just has a very happy, easy going personality. That is a big contributor to how well he is doing right now. He is really a super little guy!!!

Sorry but blogger is not cooperating with pictures. I will try again later.

Enjoying him so much

This little guy has stolen my heart! Today we walked to the pharmacy across the street to get some snacks. Katie was carrying him and they made it across the street ahead of me while I waited for traffic. As they waited for me, he held out his little arms and yelled Mami, mami until I made it across to join them. He is talking up a storm, and gets very animated while telling us stories. He loves to make faces and make us laugh. Tonight, while I was going over paperwork with the attorney, Katie tried to get him into the bathtub. He came running to me, practically climbed up me and held on for dear life. Amazing! He wanted ME. I finally convinced him the bath wasn't so bad so now we have a sweet lavender smelling boy all ready for his big day tomorrow.

We have him!

It took a while, several phone calls and e-mails and a whole lot of patience to finally get Ahren today. The foster family came by themselves so we had to struggle with communication. Luckily Katie is a natural at languages and has been taking spanish, plus we used the translator on the computer to help. I was so afraid that he would have a total meltdown when they left, and he started to....but then Katie got his attention and presto, no tears. None! He has been laughing, eating, talking and a total love bug so far. He is definitely a little clown and loves to be the center of attention.

We had to take him to get visa photos taken (something your agency/attorneys should handle) so we jumped in a cab, hurtled across the city, found the place and got er done.

See our happy little boy. He is the receiver of a million kisses today!!!!

Pulling it all together

When we got the appointment letter form the US Embassy it came with a list of documents we are supposed to have at the appointment. Normally, your agency would answer all your questions and help with the paperwork, but as you know, we don't have an agency for this adoption anymore. Our other agency has been quite helpful, though. I am pulling everything together and then I will run it all by our attorney on Monday before we head to the airport. In addition to the set of documents i have filled out, I have blank sets just in case I have messed anything up. On Tuesday we will sit down with our attorney and finish the paperwork in preparation for our Wed. morning appointment. The actual appt takes a couple of hours, then we go back after 3:30pm the next day and pick up the finished visa, etc. Then we are free to fly home. Our return flight is scheduled for Friday afternoon. (Maybe Ahren will sleep????) 

While we are down there, we will see PBJ and talk to her doctors. I am also trying to get a meeting with her attorney so I can A) find out what is going on and B) put the pressure on him. I may or may not C) smack him upside the head for messing up the original paperwork and costing us months and months of anguish. 

Let me just say one thing, loud and clear. I hate government forms. Even when they have 10 pages of instructions attached to them they make absolutely NO sense. I have a raging headache right now after spending several hours printing, filling out, re-printing, re-filling out and trying to understand these things. Think of income taxes without TurboTax or an accountant. 

Now I am off in search of meds for my head and a few moments of peace and quiet. 

PINK!!!!!!!

AUGUST 20th, 7:15 am!!!!!

Can y'all hear me screaming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No news yet

It's now 3:45pm CT and no news yet. I think my head is about to pop off. Tomorrow is a holiday in Guat so if we don't hear today, it will be Monday before we can hear anything.
___________________________________________________________________

The package arrived at 3:37 pm at the Embassy yesterday.

Come on PINK!!!!

Now, for alittle diversion, here is a recent e-mail discussion between me and my dear hubby.

Hi,
We need you to go on a mission for us (me and my friend) We both want the Wii Fit system. You, oh Lord of the electronics, are the perfect choice for this mission. They are in short supply. Can you research these for us and let us know the details? How much, what we need, where to buy, how skinny we will get????
Love ya!!!
Wendy

His response:
Wendy:

According to my extensive, in-depth research, the latest and greatest fitness system is the wii-wii fit system. It involves drinking large amounts of the fluid of your choice, and then chasing after Richard Simmons pulling a mobile port-a-potty. Most people get arrested for assault after they catch him the first time, and the restricted diet in the corrective facility is an effective caloric reduction plan.

Chris

Yup, I married him. Good thing he is so darn adorable!

Updates

Our DNA results were on the truck for delivery at 3:06 this afternoon Guat time. Another family whose DNA arrived in Guat on Monday got pink for Aug. 19th. The Embassy only does Pink appointments certain days. We may have our appointment on the 20th, the 22nd or the 25th. Or, our renewing our fingerprints will delay everything and it will be September before we can go.

Tomorrow I am going to force Chris to wear pink, even if it is only his underwear!

PBJ's case is still a mess. The case is stuck in investigations again and the investigator originally assigned to the case left/got fired/went to work for the circus or something. No new investigator has been assigned yet. In the meantime, the new Central Authority in Guatemala, which was formed to oversee the adoptioon process under hague compliant rules, has thrown a monkey wrench into the works. Although all open cases as of Dec. 31st 2007 are supposed to be grandfathered and able to continue under the old system, the CNA has continually interfered with this and caused problems. First, they stopped all cases while they got their act together (even though they have nothing to do really with the old cases) Then they decided that all of the grandfathered cases had to be registered with them, but they changed the registration process no less than 10 times. If your case did not get registered under the final version, it was over. Then, they decided that no case could exit PGN (the gov't authority who processes adoptions) without an additional interview of the birthmother. These interviews ended up being very adversarial to the birth mothers and essentially terrorized them in an effort to end adoption cases. Now, the CNA has ruled that any case that does not have the birth mother interview completed by the end of August will 'be turned over to a competent judge'. Leading adoprtion specialists in Guat say this means the children will be awarded to the state, the current adoptions cancelled, and they will have to be submitted to the new system whenever it comes on line.

So I was freaking out. We can't get INTO PGN, how are we going to get the interview done and not get the case tossed out? I e-mailed our agency and in a not-so-friendly, fairly panicked way, I told them they had to do something. NOW! (I was not very polite, which is not like me and should have clued them in on how upset I was)

Here is what they came up with. they talked to investigations and got them to release our file for a day when they can schedule the birth mother interview. Then the case will go back, finish in investigations and go back to PGN to complete, meeting all of the new CNA demands.

So today we are dodging the bullet on the newest CNA crappola. Tomorrow may bring other demands. But today, we are good and our little Princess Bump is still ours!

I'm a Stalker!

Package left Florida and is on it's way to Guat....

There are NO hotel rooms available in the good hotels in Guat next week. Maybe a pink appt the beginning of the following week would be best.

A Fed Ex stalker. Our DNA results are on their way to Guatemala to the US Embassy. They should be there tomorrow and then we can go PINK. (The sheet with the Visa appointment is on pink paper) I plan on wearing pink every day this week, just to send the right vibes. I asked my sweet hubby if I bought him a pink shirt would he wear it tomorrow. He laughed and said, 'Um, no.' That man has no sense. He should know that real men wear pink, especially when their long-awaited son is going to be PINK.

Tick Tock Tick Tock

Time is creeping soooo slowly. We went and had our fingerprints re-re-done this weekend. Every 15 months, like clockwork. Just in case our fingerprints have changed and we have become serious criminals during that time, which would preclude us from adopting. Luckily we are not the criminal types or I probably would have done something seriously illegal to some adoption-related idiots over the past 3 years!

Katie got back from vacation with her Dad yesterday and I put her on a van to go to Mexico on a mission trip this morning. Levi had been missing her so much that he completely monopolized every minute with her for most of the day. He even made her sit by him while he took a bath last night and he cried when she wasn't sitting next to him at the dinner table (we re-arranged) Now he has to wait another week to see her.

PBJ saw a new neurologist and he is concerned. He wants to try a medication for her and I can only assume he means to reduce the fluid build-up in her head. He is concerend about her legs, too, and wants to have her in physical therapy 3 times per week at a clinic. (They had taken her before and she was given some exercises but not going regularly) Personally, I think she just needs to be HERE and getting medical attention.


Suitcases are packed for Ahren and PBJ. Paperwork is ready. I have a wad of Guatemalan money (it seems like a lot because it's 7.4 quetzals to the dollar) I have flights scoped out. I just need the word. OK everyone, Think Pink!!!!

Answer to the quiz: A I was out the day they handed out parts and the teacher forgot to save me one, so I ended up having to be the rock. Probably one of the reasons I turned out as twisted as I am!

Bumps in the Road

When I was in Kindergarten we performed a play called The Bump in the Road. As luck would have it, I got to play the *rock which sat in the road and caused everyone grief. The moral of the story was how to overcome these unexpected bumps in the road. Boy does that lesson come in handy in real life!!!

Yesterday I called our pediatricians office to schedule an appoinment for Ahren right after he gets home. I had paid money out of my pocket previously to take his records (what little I have) to our pedi for her to be familiar with them. She promised me she would see him right away when he came home. I know that he has had tapeworms and there is the possibility of other cantagious things he might have and I wanted to treat him ASAP. (I really do not want to spread anything to anyone else) Well, the Chica on the phone tells me the earliest they can get him in is the last week of September. Um, no, not going to work. I explain the situation and she says that is the best she can do. So I tell her our Dr. promised and that this is very important. She shuffles papers for a minute and says, Nope, can't do it. I tell her that the next time she hears from me will be to transfer the records of my 4 children to a new office, and I hang up. There might have been a little shouting on my part.

I consult our insurance directory and begin researching new doctors. I come across a new clinic nearby and like the info I see about the doctors. Speak spanish? Yes. Years of experience in different settings? Yes. Accepting new clients? Yes. I dial their number, tell them I need to schedule a physical with Dr. H and they say Sept. 9th. I begin telling my story about adopting, parasites, blah blah blah and she says they will get me in whenever I need to and they are so thrilled for me, and not to worry as soon as I know anything just to call and they will clear a spot for him. I swear, I heard angels sing and the heavens part. I about cried. They cared! They actually cared!!! Bump in the road successfully navigated.

I found out Ahren's DNA arrived at the lab late yesterday. They are working on it now. Results should be heading back to Guat by Wednesday, and I am guessing that our Visa appt will be the following Wed. Aug 20th, then home on the 22nd. That is my prediction. That is if no one drops dead, wolves don't attack and the gov't doesn't change all the rules.

And now, in keeping with the theme of bumps in the road, I bring you Princess Bump herself. Get a look at those eyelashes!!!

She is my sweet little pixie who is overcoming so much!

She is making major strides lately in physical development. Take a close look at this picture. This is something I have not seen before. She is standing by herself! She doesn't look happy about it, but she is doing it!

*Anyone want to hazard a guess why I was the lucky one who got to play a rock?

a) I was out the day parts were handed out

b) I was the only one who had gray clothes

c) It was the only way to keep me quiet and still for that long

Tagged!

Deb and Ellie both voted for this award for me. I am humbled and honored and frankly surprised that I have them so bamboozled! Brilliant? Me?? So as part of the deal, I need to answer questions from A to Z, nominate 7 other bloggers and pass on the award. 

A: Attached or single? Attached for the 2nd time to a 2nd man named Chris. No confusing names for me!

B: Best Friend? My sister Dana. 

C: Cake or pie? Pie all the way. 

D: Day of choice? Today. Every day is my favorite, especially if I wake up!

E: Essential item? My minivan. Never thought I would say that when I was tooling around in my RX7, but it is a definite kid essential. 

F:Favorite color? Yellow. Sun, daffodils, sunflowers.

G: Gummy bears or worms: Sour worms. Pucker up!

H: Hometown? Des Moines, Iowa

I: Indulgences? Baked Brie, toasted almonds and fresh french bread paired with a good wine. 

J: January or July? July, although it is not quite as nice here in southern texas....

K: Kids? Katie, Ashley, Levi, Ahren, Peri Brynn, 2 fur-babies and one large child named Chris (Only at times....like practical joke time)

L: Life isn't complete without? Family. Purpose. Giving.

M: Marriage Date? 1st 10-8-88, second (and last) 2-22-02.

N: Number of brothers and sisters? One each.

O: Oranges or apples? Apples. 

P: Phobias? No real phobias. I have a mild fear of heights but since I was able to skydive i don't count it as a phobia. 

Q: Quotes? "I felt sad because I had no shoes, until I saw a man who had no feet" 

R: Reasons to smile? Ahren will be in my arms soon.

S: Season of choice? Spring and fall. 

T: Tag seven peeps? Sorry, I hate to tag others and seriously i don't think I have the brain function left to even THINK of 7 people who have not already been tagged. If you read this, you are tagged!

U: Unknown fact about me? I almost never shave my legs but have very little leg hair so it's all good. (OK, maybe that isn't such a secret to those closest to me.) 

V: Vegetable? Love them all except Lima beans. 

W: Worst habit? Biting my nails.

X: X-ray or ultrasound? Ultrasound. That how I saw each of my bio babies for the first time!

Y: Your favorite food? Cheese. Yum!

Z: Zodiac sign? Libra, the scales. I like balance, hate conflict. 

It has been confirmed that Ahren's DNA was taken monday. Woot! One step closer!!!!!

Funny Tidbits

A co-worker received this e-mail from his wife one day last week. A nasty intestinal bug had hit their kids:

Rob,
Can you please stop by either a Sam's or store on your way home and get more toilet paper and wipes. I'm wiped out. I just threw away Naomi's underwear, because there was no point. That's the kind of day I'm having.
Staci
P.S. Don't be late or I'll be forced to kill you.
I love you.

He went home early and lived to tell.....

Yesterday Levi was playing with a toy disc-shooter we had picked up out of the bargain bin at the grocery store. I was putting the groceries away and didn't have time to get it working for him. He was trying to figure it out himself when I heard him mutter, 'How does this damn thing work?' Note to self: Watch language around sponge boy.

We have finally convinced Levi that being naked is not OK. He can run around the house in a pair of boxers but not naked. So yesterday morning he was playing and I heard him doing his Nakey Boy cry. I peeked around the corner and he still had his boxers on, but he was dancing around the living room smacking his bottom and yelling Nakey Boy and singing his super-hero song. (He gets it from his father;-)

On Friday Katie and I made our third trip to the DMV to try and correct her driver's permit. When she passed the test in Feb. as the woman was entering the info into the system, she said OOPS and then said, oh well, we just have to take your picture. Then, a few weeks later Katie received a real driver's license in the mail. We just put it away and followed the rules. Later, I looked at her permit and realized it said it expired on her birthday. So for the past 2 months we have been trying to get it sorted out. Her Dad took her once, but they said that since he wasn't the one teaching her driver's ed, he couldn't do anything. So I took her and they said we needed a form from the school. We got the form from the school and went back Friday. (Note: I have to take time off of work every time and Katie has to be here with me, not in Dallas with her Dad) It took us three times as long to get there because of a major accident on the freeway. Then we had to wait another hour just to be called to stand in line. When we finally got to the counter, we told the woman what the problem was, she then got a supervisor, and then we played several rounds of 'This can't happen', 'How did you get this', and 'This isn't possible'. Poor Katie, she was getting more and more upset and trying not to cry, thinking they were going to delay her license. At one point she had to show the woman the real license they had sent her. Unfortunately, the woman had one wandering eye, and poor Katie couldn't figure out which eye to hold the license in front of. If I hadn't been so upset for her, I probably would have busted out laughing (No, I have more sensitivity for people. I would only have laughed in my head at the absurdity of all of it) But the sight of Katie hesitating, trying to figure out which eye to hold the card in front of... Supposedly they called the head office and it is straightened out. We followed the rules even though they messed up. She is still supposed to get her license on time. As my boss said, no good deed goes unpunished.

PBJ's head grew a centimeter last month. I had them re-check because it would be easy to just mis-measure, but it came out the same. They are going to start measuring her head every two weeks. I have asked them to take her back to the neurologist, too. Her head shouldn't be growing at all right now. One centimeter is not much, but if it continues that will indicate fluid building up again and the need for some intervention. She also has a pretty severe case of plagiocephaly (mis-shapen head). It is flat as a pancake in the back and bulged out on the sides. I don't know if it is too late to reshape it with a helmet or not.

No word on whether DNA has been taken on Ahren. So close. Sigh. It has been such a loooooong journey, and yet this last little bit feels worse than all the months of not knowing.

Dancing for Isaac

I know of a brave little boy who is going through a really rough time right now. Not only did he recently come to America with his new (and WONDERFUL) mother, he also just endured two surgeries to correct a very seriously deformed spine. Before the surgery he loved to dance. The child has rhythm that some of us can only dream about! He is now facing many long weeks in the hospital working hard in physical therapy to first walk, and then to dance.

Until he can dance for himself, we are dancing for him! I will post video once I figure out how to, but until then, here are some shots of Ashley and Levi 'dancing' (which actually means making total goofballs out of themselves).

So Isaac, this is for you. Feel better soon!!!! Now everyone please go visit his blog and give the little man some love while he works hard to walk again. http://bringingisaachome.blogspot.com/


Sorry this is so blurry, but it tells the first part of this sequence. This is Ashley trying to 'dip' Levi.

Levi was squirming so hard that she dropped him!

And here is Levi getting back up off the floor while Ashley continues to laugh.... Don't worry, he wasn't hurt. That kid bounces!

More 'fantastic' dance moves. Please note that no children were harmed in the making of this montage.

Isaac, please dance soon and save us from these dancing fools!!!!!!

Good news!

I spent several sleepless hours last night between 1am and 4am contemplating how to fix this problem of the mis-spelled names. I came up with a plan of attack. This morning I pulled together electronic copies of all the documents related to the rectification of the birth certificate. I then dug up 2 e-mail addresses for the US Embassy in Guatemala and I sent them a letter outlining this entire situation and attached all the supporting documents. I didn't expect to hear anything back from them until probably next week, but I got an answer within a few hours and it said:

Thanks for the information. I doubt that there will be a problem but I'll have the information in case there is.

Not a problem? Music to my ears!!! Finally, someone shows some common sense. They are getting the DNA done, it will probably be sent to the lab tomorrow, processed next week and hopefully by the end of next week we will have our Visa appointment. I am guessing Aug 15th, but it might be earlier in the week. Or possibly the beginning of the following week.

I am not going to breathe until I have him on US soil. Mama Bear is tired of being blindsided. Time to bring that little guy home and spoil him rotten!!!

Just when I could breathe easy

Today we were notified that we were Orange (meaning we had Embassy permission to do the 2nd DNA test and submit it to get our Visa) I contacted the lab, sent all the info and was waiting to get the confirmation we were all set when the bottom dropped out of my world. 

Let's backtrack briefly here. When Ahren was born, the hospital had his name spelled one way on their records but it was spelled differently on his birth certificate. This caused us huge problems and resulted in 22 months of rectification to get a birth certificate that matched the birth records. Once we had the corrected birth certificate we then proceeded with all of the actual adoption steps.

Fast forward to today. I send the orange sheet from the embassy to the lab and they can't find the original DNA results to match the new ones to. I dig out the case number and they pull the results only to discover that the original results are under the mis-spelled names of the incorrect birth certificate. The stupid, moronic, embicilic, add any other nasty adjective, attorneys used the old, incorrect BC to get the original DNA done. 

Now we are being told that the documents will not match and will not be accepted by the Embassy. Even though all the DNA matches. Even though we have the rectification paperwork to show it's the same child. All we can hope for is that someone at the US Embassy has some common sense and sees this for what it is. 

Darian vs Darien -  a roadblock of epic proportions

I am back under my rock. This hurts worse than anything else. So close I could almost feel him....

The Struggle, Cont.

OK, here are a few more things I do to try and stay ahead of the chaos. 

I work full-time at a company about 12 miles from my house. I go in to work early and try and get off early so I have more time in the evenings with my family. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't. I also have computer access from home to work so that I can always catch up on things when the kids settle down for the night (or in the wee early hours when I can't sleep) It helps me balance things and yet not feel like I am short-changing anyone. I run errands on my lunch hour as much as possible. Or, I run an errand on my way home. 

I do all our banking on-line. I can move money around, pay bills, check charges, etc in an instant, any time night or day. Oh boy do I feel powerful!!! OK, I would feel a lot more powerful if there was more money in there, but at least I can pay all the bills and still have a bit of disposable income. Oh wait, school is about to start. Scratch the disposable income part. Ugh!

  I adore/love anything Swiffer. I want to marry them! I use the extended handle dusters and let Levi play Swiffer hockey on the tile. I walk around with a duster in my back pocket to swipe at things while I am cleaning. I use the wet jet to keep sticky spots on the tile under control. It's not what I consider deep cleaning but it sure keeps things under control with a minimum of effort. 

  For deep cleaning I use my Bissel steam cleaner on the tile every few months. It leaves the floors clean enough to eat off of and only takes 1-2 hours to do all the tile (a LOT) I also love my Dyson vacuum cleaner, although now that I know Angel has a Roomba I am thinking that I really NEED one. 

  I don't have a meal plan set ahead of time. I usually like to think about what I want for dinner each day, find out what Chris had for lunch and then choose. I do shop with menus in mind though. I just don't know what we are having on any given night. When I have the chance, I will spend an entire afternoon cooking and freezing meals for use later. I have several good frozen/re-heated recipes that we all like and I will stock away a couple of each for those nights where I absolutely cannot be persuaded to cook and yet a hungry crowd is milling about. 

  I have what I call 'staging' spots. These are points halfway between where I find items and where they need to be. Example: as I find things that belong upstairs, I place them into a basket at the bottom of the stairs. When the basket needs emptying, the upstairs inhabitants (teen-age girls) are responsible for taking all of the items and putting them away. Then again, if I went up and down the stairs a few more times I might actually get in shape. Hmmm.....Naw, not gonna  happen! 

And now, for some 'special' tips. If you let your little boy run around naked you will save so much time on laundry. Plus, if he is always naked it cuts down on extra-curricular activities and unexpected guests! A double-bonus!

Everyone needs a total junk-shoving spot. This is a closet, spare-room or other space where you can shove the things you just do not know what to do with. Don't worry, you can figure it out later. Or maybe just move and not worry about it. 

 In an emergency, such as guests are arriving in 5 minutes un-expectedly, shove dirty dishes in the oven, wipe down visible counters with baby-wipes (smell good) and light a strong good scented candle. Oh, and turn down the lights. Voila, the perfect home!

The struggle to stay organized

Angel at The Voice of Adventure has again challenged us to reveal how we handle trying to stay organized and keep up with multiple kiddos. Although I currently have 3 kids (ages 16, 13 and 5) and will be bringing home a toddler in a few weeks, we also have 2 more munchkins here Mon-Fri that our nanny watches and that also adds to the need to be organized. 

My biggest ally in the organizational battle is the design of our house. We had the luxury of designing every square inch of our house and having it built just for us and our needs. We designed it so that there is an entry off the driveway/garage area that has a large mud-room area, a bathroom and leads into the laundry room.  It's all tile so handles dirt well. The laundry room is big enough for shelves, extra storage, plus a small refrigerator and a small chest freezer.  

In the sunroom/dining area we have a large window seat that Chris built. Besides adding some nice seating area, it provides a lot of storage space for toys.
At the end of the day, you open the lids and scoop toys inside. We used to try and keep toys in kids rooms but that never worked. This is much easier. 
We also have a large walk-in pantry. On one of the low shelves we have a plastic snack tub full of Mommy-approved snackins. This promotes independence and frees me up from constantly having to hand out snacks. I also use these tubs, one for each of the kids who come to our house each day, for their mothers to put their own food. It helps Nanny feed kids easily and also to let their mothers know when they need to be re-stocked. 
We took our old computer, loaded it up with educational kids programs and placed it on a low table for little kid access. This solves 2 issues: 1) No more little kids messing with our good computer and 2) they can help themselves with minimal assistance.
In the mudroom I have placed a large plastic tub that muddy shoes go into. With acres of land and a pond, we see a lot of muddy shoes. There is a small bench next to it to sit on to remove shoes. There is also a small bench outside the door under the breezeway where our rubber mudboots all reside (for the really wet days). 
We have a waist high table for diapering, with all the supplies handy. The basket stores diapers and pullups for those requiring such things. Hand sanitizer, wipes, creams, powder and a toy or two are also handy. Plus, it's easy on the back of the diapering adult. No bending!
Other things I like to do are hang matching outfits together on a hanger, only buy white socks (no searching for the pair that matches) and place socks/underwear and pjs in low drawers where little ones can help themselves. 

For the older two, they either have to do their own wash or they have to present the wash to the laundry room, and then pick it up and put it away. Mom or nanny will do laundry but they are responsible for the rest. Katie mostly does her own.  The main computer in the house is located in a niche off of the living room, allowing parental monitoring at all times. (I'll never forget the day years ago when Katie accidentally clicked something and an ad for a porn site popped up. She started screaming with her hands over her eyes. Luckily it was just a large pair of naked ta-tas and not something worse. She cried she was so upset because she thought she was in trouble. Poor traumatized kid!)

I wish I had more secrets. It's still a constant battle, day in and day out. But we have a lot of fun around here and that's more important!

Mom, I'm Bored

It's summertime and I hear this phrase a lot. We try and plan lots of activities that keep their little bodies and minds occupied, but thereis a limit. Sometimes kids just have to entertain themsleves, especially when both parents work.

Late this morning I got the obligatory call with the whine 'Mom, I'm bored'. I rattled off my list of things they 'could' do, knowing full well that nothing I could conjure up would possibly sound like any fun. About 30 minutes later I get a call and I hear Katie on the phone, all breathless and talking so fast I swear dogs couldn't hear her. I finally understood that one of the the horses next door was out and running loose down the street. She had already sent Ashley to alert the neighbors but wanted to know what to do. I told her to grab some carrots and go out and call to it. They are all super friendly and love attention.

You would have thought I told the girl to go catch a wild tiger! OMG, what was I thinking, it might BITE her! Right, it might be a rogue quarter horse that is just cruising the neighborhood looking for a juicy victim to sink it's teeth into.

Ashley gets back and announces no one is home next door. I inform the girls that they need to catch the horse and get it back in the paddock before it wanders into a busy street. Explaining this takes about 10 times longer than it should have because I have to explain how to call a horse, how to loop a rope around it's neck and how to lead it home. Seriously. They have no clue. Ashley is the calm one (she loves horses) and is trying to help Katie wrap her brain around the concept. I finally hung up and am hoping for the best. They are supposed to call me back when they catch it and get it back into the paddock.

The cure for boredom? A good ole fashioned round-up a la city-girl fashion. Oh, and Levi has his cowboy boots on and is ready for action!

Afternoon update: They were not able to catch the horse....BUT.....it turns out it wasn't our next door neighbor's horse anyway. All three of theirs are still in the paddocks. Someone else's horse must have escaped and come visiting. It turns out it was a very good thing they didn't catch it and put it back. Think what the neighbor would have thought when they came tonight and found an extra horse. I am still laughing about it!!!

No Good News

Update:
Sorry I was so cryptic. Sometimes when things overwhelm me I just need to shut down. I slept the sleep of the dead last night, and then overslept this morning. It's how I react to the really bad things. So here is what we found out yesterday about PBJ's case that sent me into a tailspin:
The new investigator and in fact the whole dept/group he worked in are changing. The new-new investigator has re-opened charges of fraud against our attorney for PBJ's case. They cancelled the re-interview of the birth mom until the attorneys case is resolved. This puts us back to where we were months ago and again we are pins and needles waiting to see if we get a favorable outcome. This adds months to the process and brings back the possibility that the entire case will be denied.
__________________________________________________________________
PBJ's case took a turn for the worse.


No news on Ahren's case.


Me? I'm a basket case.

Sweet PBJ

This precious little one needs a break! PGN originally kicked her file out and sent it to investigation last September. They took their sweet time completing the investigation, complete with 2 birth mother interviews, but they did finally find everything to be fine and the judge signed off on it. It went back to PGN where it got kicked out immediately and they brought the attorney in for questioning about a document. That court found everything to be fine with the attorney, no fraudulent behavior, and the file again went back to PGN. Where it AGAIN was kicked out and sent to be re-investigated! A new investigator is now assigned the case and they want the birth mother to come in again to be interviewed. I am heading out in a minute to wire the funds to bring the birth mother in. The investigator said if they can bring her in right away, he could finish the investigation in about a month. And maybe, just maybe, PGN will finally accept her case.

Look how big she is getting! What a precious little thing she is.
She had been to a party and in both hands she is clutching candy. She knows what the good stuff is!
I love this picture. All sacked out dreaming sweet dreams (probably of candy...)
And look at our big girl making a mess with her food. How adorable is that!!!!

I really need to get this little pumpkin home. The hydrocephaly from the head injury seems to have stabilized and her head has not grown for quite a while, but the initial pressure and seizures have likely caused some damage. Her head is at 50 cm, which is quite large for her age (way off the charts) so the pressure must have been quite high at that point. (The pressure is what forces the boney plates of the head out so quickly) Luckily, the injury happened before her bones had all fused so they could expand. Otherwise she would be dead. She is almost 22 months now, but developmentally around the 10-12 month level. She understands a lot of words but isn't really speaking. She is growing well and is a happy, happy little peanut, so that is great! I can't wait to see her soon. My precious little angel.

Twiddling my thumbs

Aaack! I always hated the last few weeks of my pregnancies. They seemed to take longer than the whole pregnancy had up until that point. That's the same point I am at now, but a lot more physically comfortable! I can't stand this wait!!!! So close, just a few more days, almost here.....I just want to zip down there, grab him and come straight back. We should have news tomorrow on getting our documents turned in at the Embassy and scheduling the second DNA test. Then about 10 days and we will have our notification of our Embassy appointment. If all goes well I should be travelling in 2 weeks or so. Considering I am about 22 MONTHS overdue, I think I am holding up pretty well!

Conversation between my girls in the store yesterday:
A: That looks cheap.
K: Like you would know cuz you're a millionaire and all.
A: Well at least I am not going to be a stripper when I grow up.
K: At least I have the body to be one.
A: You think.

I quietly snuck around the corner and pretended I didn't know them. (They were laughing while saying these things. Obviously they think they are hysterical....)

Levi was watching a DVD the other day when he announced, "That guy's nemesis is playing the piano." Chris and I both looked at him, wondering if he had actually just used the word 'nemesis', so he explained to us that the nemesis was the bad guy in the movie and gave us the example of Batman and the Joker. Guess he really did use the word, and correctly too!

I took my three kids and a friend of theirs to the DMV and to the mall yesterday. Obviously I am certifiably insane if I did that willingly. I lasted a couple of hours and then forced them all back into the car when my pounding headache threatened to bring me to my knees. (Actually, they were pretty good but my head had been hurting all day already) We got Ashley several pairs of jeans and each of my kids a new pair of shoes, including Ahren. We were in the Van's store, which looks like a skate board park inside, and while we waited Levi put on a show for everyone. He had all of us and several other people cracking up. I think this kid is destined to be the class clown. Oh goody, another one. I just don't know where they get it....