On Thursday - while the turkey was in the oven and before the potatoes needed to be peeled - I played / watched Guitar Hero with Emmsie.
Emma, despite all appearances to the contrary, enjoys spending time with me. Although most times it is only on her terms. 'Cause you know, heaven forbid she appear to be the least bit uncool doing anything I want to do.
I told her I would only watch her play Guitar Hero if she let me pick the songs and we had a deal.
First I picked Crazy On You by Heart. She did really well on that one and in doing so she got to write her name on the bathroom wall. Yeah, if you play a song really well then you get to graffiti your name next to a urinal. And to think I only got to play Super Mario Bros. when I was a kid. How did I ever manage ?
Then we moved onto Sweet Child O' Mine - which I proceeded to sing in a really exaggerated, high pitched voice.
Then I wanted Emmsie to play Paradise City, but unfortunately that was not an option. Emma had no knowledge of Paradise City by GNR. Then she said " Ok Erica, you're like, old, ok. And I really don't know these old songs. So can we like, pick something else ? "
I shouldn't be too surprised, Emmsie's brother Nate likes to remind me constantly that " it's not 1995 anymore and you're just not at cool as you think you are..."
Moving on....I picked Message in a bottle by The Police. She again played really well and again got to write her name on the bathroom wall.
You go Emma !
The turkey was awesome, and I got many, many compliments on my pecan pie. And I even managed to squeeze in a nap.
All in all a very good day.
And you guys ?
XO
Bunny
25 November 2007
22 November 2007
21 November 2007
Ocho.
Today marks eight whole months of Logged-in-ness. ( btw, this is Baby Bear. I guess he is relatively new as
I do not recall him from my Sesame St. watching days.)
Seeing as today is the night before Thanksgiving, I am going to list what I've have
been thankful for lately - in no particular order.
* My wonderful, sweet, uber-patient husband, without him
I would be lost.
* A job that I truly love, it is certainly never boring.
* My heated mattress pad, I cannot live without it
in the winter.
* Good friends ( you know who you are )
* Vitamin Water and Dunkin Donuts hash browns ( long story )
* Having a wonderful Primary Care Office that will
see me at a moments notice.
I'm sure there is a lot more that I just cannot think of
right now. It's late, I'm tired and I still have a sink full of
dishes to wash and a pecan pie to bake.
With that, I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
XXOO
Bunny
20 November 2007
We Can All Rest Easy Now.
Mike Lowell re-signed ( 3 years , 37mil.)with the Red Sox.
I was getting a little worried. I was afraid that he'd end up on some
west coast team.
I'm glad that's over....aren't you ?
You the man Mike !
I'm feeling a bit better since my last post. I was in total despair last week. Let me tell you, there are days when International Adoption can just kick your ass. It's certainly not for the faint of heart. So, I guess I'm back in the saddle.
It hasn't helped that I've not been well lately. So I think my mystery illness coupled with IA uncertainly just pushed me over the edge.
I have to tell all of you....I had the best soup for lunch today. It was so good. I mean, gooood.
I stopped off at this little mom & pop middle eastern cafe that I get lunch from frequently and they had a new soup of the day. They usually have a lemon chicken rice soup, which is mighty tasty. Today they had lemon chicken orzo. I got a bowl to go and took it back to my office and when I opened the container at my desk I thought there was cream or milk in it...so I was mildly annoyed for a minute that I would not be able to eat my soup and I was really hungry.
I called them to ask if there was milk or cream in the soup and they said no..the creamy appearance was from whipped egg whites. I'm going to try and find a recipe for this online, if I do I'll pass it along.
With that, I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
XO
Bunny
17 November 2007
So What Have You Been Up To Since 2005 ?
Since 2005 I have,
* Undergone gyn surgery with Dr. HotShot in an effort to make my ute a more hospitable place for a fetus.
* Nagged my gyn when after several months I was still not pregnant.
* Use OPKs and still not pregnant.
* Switched gyns after getting royally pissed with Dr. HotShot.
* Gyn # 2 ran tests on me only to find that I do not ovulate ( major foreshadowing here..)
* Gyn #2 recommends Clomid.
* Surprise ! Bunny gets pregnant with twins w/o clomid.
* Bunny miscarries twins ( for the third time)
* Bunny gets referred to Dr. FancyPants in Boston
* Bunny gets poked, prodded and tested for everything in the book.
* Bunny sees a hematologist
* Bunny gets enough blood drawn to save a trauma victim.
* Bunny sees the inside of her ute with a camera. ( have you seen yours ? )
* Dr. FancyPants runs more tests and recommends more surgery ( surprise ! Dr. Hotshot does a crappy job with surgery #1 )
* Dr. FancyPants recommends one more test.
* Dr. FancyPants finds out that Bunny has almost no eggs left and the ones I do have are total shit.
* The Mister and I decided to adopt
* The Mister and I go to an adoption open house.
* The Mister and I decided to adopt from China.
* The Mister and I are home studied, background checked, medical examined, hep A and B vaccinated, TB tested, finger printed and pre-adoptive parent counseled.
* The Mister and I get a dossier ready, have it checked at the MA Sec of state office, then have it checked again ( in person )at the Chinese Consulate in NYC
* Finally we have a dossier mailed to China.
So - how have y'all been ?
As you may or may not know, things have not been going super great on the adoption front. Don't misunderstand me, nothing has gone wrong - but not a whole lot is going great. If that makes any sense.
China is at a virtual standstill and we realize that we, given our late log in date, may not see a referral for perhaps three to four more years.
We spoke with our social worker last week about what our other options are, as I do not wish to be 40 with a kindergartener.. Turns out we have almost no other options.
* For reasons I won't summarize Korea and Kazakhstan are not an options for us.
*We can't afford the $40K price tag for a domestic adoption. And with regard to domestic adoption we also realize that we would never in this lifetime get chosen by birth parents.
*We are also able to consider a waiting child ( minor / moderate medical needs ), however if you express interest in a WC your application will go to a committee for evaluation. According to our SW, the committee usually give preference to the folks waiting longer. Again, given our late log in date this is not in our favor and will most likely not be a scenario for us.
Vietnam is really our only other choice. They just reopened for International Adoptions last year. However the agreement the the U.S. and Vietnam forged is only good through March of 2008. Both governments will revisit the issue of remaining open for International adoptions soon. There have been considerable issues with Vietnam, including accusations of baby selling and / or trafficking and the Vietnamese government failing to produce a concrete fee schedule as promised during in the agreement. Discussions on the adoption boards are very heated regarding Vietnam and I don't like what I am hearing.
I have spoken with other agencies regarding adopting from Vietnam ( our agency does not have a VN program.) and what they've had to say has been very encouraging. One agency told me that they could have our dossier to VN in a month. And there is only a 4 to 6 month wait for a boy. Great !
What happens if VN closes their IA program ? No one really knows. As with any adoption, there are no guarantees.
We are also exploring adopting from the foster care system. We could potentially get an infant.
However most infants in the foster care system come with a certain amount of legal risk.
Get a baby and have it taken away...mmmmm...no thanks.
I have also out the word out to family and friends that we are seeking a baby. I've asked them if they know of anyone who is expecting and is unable or unwilling to parent their child to please keep us in mind. I sent this out in a mass email and in hindsight I realize that it probably made me seem a little nuts. But as our SW said - If we want to catch a fish, we have to put another line in the water.
I have come to the sad realization that we may never have a family. I know this is harsh, but it is a reality. Just because you put your dossier in at another country does not guarantee you a baby. Nothing does.
This opinion is not necessarily shared by the management. The Mister seems to be holding out hope that our kid is out there somewhere and will get here eventually. He keeps telling me that we need to be " level headed and make good measured steps toward what we want. "
I am having a very hard time sharing this sentiment. After everything we've gone through I'm not sure how much more I can take. You'd think that starting a family would be the easiest, most natural thing to do. But we are living, breathing proof that it is not.
It blows my mind that people just get it on and 9 months later a baby results. Blows. My. Mind.
Right now I have very little hope that we will ever have a family and have been trying to make peace with this.
I was on one of my adoption boards the other day when another PAP ( perspective adoptive parent ) wrote in very discouraged about IA. I proceed to be cheerleader and told her not to give up, blah blah blah. So now I feel like a hypocrite- I can't follow my own freakin' advice !
I'd like to say that at least I have my health, but apparently I do not have that either.
I seem to have some sort of mystery medical issue that requires a specialist. I've been ill for quite some time, however the wait for this particular specialist is six weeks. I have less than two to go before my appointment.
So, in summation - I do not feel like I have much more get-back-in-the-saddle left in me. In fact, I feel like the damn horse has kicked me square in the chest and I'm lying face down in a pile of horse crap.
This is how I feel today.
Tomorrow may be a different story.
:::::::sigh:::::::
Bunny
* Undergone gyn surgery with Dr. HotShot in an effort to make my ute a more hospitable place for a fetus.
* Nagged my gyn when after several months I was still not pregnant.
* Use OPKs and still not pregnant.
* Switched gyns after getting royally pissed with Dr. HotShot.
* Gyn # 2 ran tests on me only to find that I do not ovulate ( major foreshadowing here..)
* Gyn #2 recommends Clomid.
* Surprise ! Bunny gets pregnant with twins w/o clomid.
* Bunny miscarries twins ( for the third time)
* Bunny gets referred to Dr. FancyPants in Boston
* Bunny gets poked, prodded and tested for everything in the book.
* Bunny sees a hematologist
* Bunny gets enough blood drawn to save a trauma victim.
* Bunny sees the inside of her ute with a camera. ( have you seen yours ? )
* Dr. FancyPants runs more tests and recommends more surgery ( surprise ! Dr. Hotshot does a crappy job with surgery #1 )
* Dr. FancyPants recommends one more test.
* Dr. FancyPants finds out that Bunny has almost no eggs left and the ones I do have are total shit.
* The Mister and I decided to adopt
* The Mister and I go to an adoption open house.
* The Mister and I decided to adopt from China.
* The Mister and I are home studied, background checked, medical examined, hep A and B vaccinated, TB tested, finger printed and pre-adoptive parent counseled.
* The Mister and I get a dossier ready, have it checked at the MA Sec of state office, then have it checked again ( in person )at the Chinese Consulate in NYC
* Finally we have a dossier mailed to China.
So - how have y'all been ?
As you may or may not know, things have not been going super great on the adoption front. Don't misunderstand me, nothing has gone wrong - but not a whole lot is going great. If that makes any sense.
China is at a virtual standstill and we realize that we, given our late log in date, may not see a referral for perhaps three to four more years.
We spoke with our social worker last week about what our other options are, as I do not wish to be 40 with a kindergartener.. Turns out we have almost no other options.
* For reasons I won't summarize Korea and Kazakhstan are not an options for us.
*We can't afford the $40K price tag for a domestic adoption. And with regard to domestic adoption we also realize that we would never in this lifetime get chosen by birth parents.
*We are also able to consider a waiting child ( minor / moderate medical needs ), however if you express interest in a WC your application will go to a committee for evaluation. According to our SW, the committee usually give preference to the folks waiting longer. Again, given our late log in date this is not in our favor and will most likely not be a scenario for us.
Vietnam is really our only other choice. They just reopened for International Adoptions last year. However the agreement the the U.S. and Vietnam forged is only good through March of 2008. Both governments will revisit the issue of remaining open for International adoptions soon. There have been considerable issues with Vietnam, including accusations of baby selling and / or trafficking and the Vietnamese government failing to produce a concrete fee schedule as promised during in the agreement. Discussions on the adoption boards are very heated regarding Vietnam and I don't like what I am hearing.
I have spoken with other agencies regarding adopting from Vietnam ( our agency does not have a VN program.) and what they've had to say has been very encouraging. One agency told me that they could have our dossier to VN in a month. And there is only a 4 to 6 month wait for a boy. Great !
What happens if VN closes their IA program ? No one really knows. As with any adoption, there are no guarantees.
We are also exploring adopting from the foster care system. We could potentially get an infant.
However most infants in the foster care system come with a certain amount of legal risk.
Get a baby and have it taken away...mmmmm...no thanks.
I have also out the word out to family and friends that we are seeking a baby. I've asked them if they know of anyone who is expecting and is unable or unwilling to parent their child to please keep us in mind. I sent this out in a mass email and in hindsight I realize that it probably made me seem a little nuts. But as our SW said - If we want to catch a fish, we have to put another line in the water.
I have come to the sad realization that we may never have a family. I know this is harsh, but it is a reality. Just because you put your dossier in at another country does not guarantee you a baby. Nothing does.
This opinion is not necessarily shared by the management. The Mister seems to be holding out hope that our kid is out there somewhere and will get here eventually. He keeps telling me that we need to be " level headed and make good measured steps toward what we want. "
I am having a very hard time sharing this sentiment. After everything we've gone through I'm not sure how much more I can take. You'd think that starting a family would be the easiest, most natural thing to do. But we are living, breathing proof that it is not.
It blows my mind that people just get it on and 9 months later a baby results. Blows. My. Mind.
Right now I have very little hope that we will ever have a family and have been trying to make peace with this.
I was on one of my adoption boards the other day when another PAP ( perspective adoptive parent ) wrote in very discouraged about IA. I proceed to be cheerleader and told her not to give up, blah blah blah. So now I feel like a hypocrite- I can't follow my own freakin' advice !
I'd like to say that at least I have my health, but apparently I do not have that either.
I seem to have some sort of mystery medical issue that requires a specialist. I've been ill for quite some time, however the wait for this particular specialist is six weeks. I have less than two to go before my appointment.
So, in summation - I do not feel like I have much more get-back-in-the-saddle left in me. In fact, I feel like the damn horse has kicked me square in the chest and I'm lying face down in a pile of horse crap.
This is how I feel today.
Tomorrow may be a different story.
:::::::sigh:::::::
Bunny
16 November 2007
Not Too Much Going On This Week.
I realize that it has been a while since I've posted anything. By and large it has been very boring around here. Thanksgiving is next week and I, as usual, will be making my kick a$$ stuffing and the obligatory pecan pie for my dad.
Today Brock, Molly, Molly's nephew Thomas and I attempted to go to the new L.L. Bean store in Mansfield. About three stoplights away from the turn we quickly realized that it was very, very unlikely we'd be getting to L.L. Bean. The traffic was NUTS ! Everyone and their mother decided to go the grand opening today. We turned around and decided to go out to breakfast instead. I volunteered to hold Thomas so Molly could eat. He was having none of the high chair.
Thomas is very squirmy and decided that no matter how I held him he was going to squirm into another position. He also smacked me repeatedly in the face. Poached eggs with a side of abuse anyone ?
Then we went to the Reebok concept store, located at the Reebok world headquarters. I must say, the Reebok world headquarters is quite an impressive place. It is HUGE !
Now before you go thinking that you can just go strolling on up to Reebok and expect to get in, I did have a special invitation. Reebok was honoring people who work for non-profits with 50% off coupons for their concept store.
BTW, the " concept " store is the store that they test out all of the new stuff before they market it. I did not get anything, but Brock got some new running clothes.
Oh yeah, and Brock has a new workout buddy.
This is Thomas, perfecting his push up on Brock's new push up
Today Brock, Molly, Molly's nephew Thomas and I attempted to go to the new L.L. Bean store in Mansfield. About three stoplights away from the turn we quickly realized that it was very, very unlikely we'd be getting to L.L. Bean. The traffic was NUTS ! Everyone and their mother decided to go the grand opening today. We turned around and decided to go out to breakfast instead. I volunteered to hold Thomas so Molly could eat. He was having none of the high chair.
Thomas is very squirmy and decided that no matter how I held him he was going to squirm into another position. He also smacked me repeatedly in the face. Poached eggs with a side of abuse anyone ?
Then we went to the Reebok concept store, located at the Reebok world headquarters. I must say, the Reebok world headquarters is quite an impressive place. It is HUGE !
Now before you go thinking that you can just go strolling on up to Reebok and expect to get in, I did have a special invitation. Reebok was honoring people who work for non-profits with 50% off coupons for their concept store.
BTW, the " concept " store is the store that they test out all of the new stuff before they market it. I did not get anything, but Brock got some new running clothes.
Oh yeah, and Brock has a new workout buddy.
This is Thomas, perfecting his push up on Brock's new push upthingamabobs. Always important to have a spotter, no ?
XXOO
Bunny
11 November 2007
I Wonder If Berlitz Offers This Class ?
The scene: Today at one of my client's apartment in an assisted living facility.
The participants: Me and my client.
Our favorite activity : Watching the food channel ( that has been airing Thanksgiving commercials with the theme of " Let's talk turkey " )
Me: sitting quietly watching the " talk turkey " commercial.
My Client : " Do you talk turkey ? "
Me: turn to look at my client with slight bemusement
My Client : " Well do ya ? "
Me: trying not to giggle
My Client: very accusingly " You do talk turkey, don't you ?! "
Me: starting to laugh
My Client: " Well I can't help it - I don't speak turkey ! "
Priceless. Absolutely priceless.
XO
Bunny
The participants: Me and my client.
Our favorite activity : Watching the food channel ( that has been airing Thanksgiving commercials with the theme of " Let's talk turkey " )
Me: sitting quietly watching the " talk turkey " commercial.
My Client : " Do you talk turkey ? "
Me: turn to look at my client with slight bemusement
My Client : " Well do ya ? "
Me: trying not to giggle
My Client: very accusingly " You do talk turkey, don't you ?! "
Me: starting to laugh
My Client: " Well I can't help it - I don't speak turkey ! "
Priceless. Absolutely priceless.
XO
Bunny
09 November 2007
More Bullets Than South Central L.A.
* Brock and I have a niece. Meaghan Marie was born on 11/02/07. She's really quite cute, and dare I say.... she looks a little like Brock. Pics here.
* We joined an organic farm co-op. We picked up our first box today. Can anyone tell me what to do with Swiss Chard ? And I also have satsuma tangerines..mmmmm.
* Someone needs to stop Britney. She needs a court appointed monitor for herself- never mind her kids !
* So you know that The Mister and I do a mean rendition of Folsom Prison Blues. Turns out we also do a kick a$$ version of Wanted Dead or Alive. We've even turned it into a duet if you can imagine that.
* We joined an organic farm co-op. We picked up our first box today. Can anyone tell me what to do with Swiss Chard ? And I also have satsuma tangerines..mmmmm.
* Someone needs to stop Britney. She needs a court appointed monitor for herself- never mind her kids !
* So you know that The Mister and I do a mean rendition of Folsom Prison Blues. Turns out we also do a kick a$$ version of Wanted Dead or Alive. We've even turned it into a duet if you can imagine that.
* OK, how hot is George Clooney ? Seriously. If he gets any better looking he may burst into flames. Mee-oow.
* And because Brock gave me a hard time about that last George Clooney bullet - please click here to see Brock's dream woman.
* We've come to a bend in the road in the adoption process. Don't get excited - no referral yet, or anytime soon. There might be some interesting news around the corner. Stay tuned.
XO
Bunny
07 November 2007
One Less Contestant For American Idol.
I was in my car with one of my clients today. We were listening to the radio when
Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffet came on.
Now, this particular client loves to sing along with the oldies. She really has quite a remarkable memory when it comes to singing songs. She can hear a song once and remember most of the words.
So here we are driving back from lunch, listening to Margaritaville, when she began to sing.
" All them tourists covered in drool."
??????
It was really hard to not bust out laughing.
Really. Hard.
XO
Bunny
Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffet came on.
Now, this particular client loves to sing along with the oldies. She really has quite a remarkable memory when it comes to singing songs. She can hear a song once and remember most of the words.
So here we are driving back from lunch, listening to Margaritaville, when she began to sing.
" All them tourists covered in drool."
??????
It was really hard to not bust out laughing.
Really. Hard.
XO
Bunny
05 November 2007
03 November 2007
It's A Girl.
Born November 2, 2007
7lbs, 6ozs
Lots of dark hair
and
a squished up nose.
I might have pictures later on...stay tuned.
XO
Aunt Bunny
P.S.
I love this article. =)
7lbs, 6ozs
Lots of dark hair
and
a squished up nose.
I might have pictures later on...stay tuned.
XO
Aunt Bunny
P.S.
I love this article. =)
02 November 2007
Aunt Bunny And Uncle The Mister.
My BIL and SIL are getting on a plane to Iowa as we speak. The Birth Mother they were matched with is currently in labor....right now......as I am typing this.
Stay tuned - I'll be interrupting your regularly scheduled blog with updates as they become available.
As for a Halloween...it was a pretty good night around here. We had a bunch of pirates, various super heroes, an elephant, a Hannah Montana and a Paris Hilton - complete with little dog in purse.
The best costume of the night award went to a little boy, about 3 or so, and his parents.
The little boy was a hot dog and mom and dad were a bottles of ketsup and mustard. Too cute !
We had about 60 or so kids and a TON of candy left over. I brought all of the left over candy to work.
I got the stink eye from some, but most of the candy was gone by the end of the day.
Not too much else going on here today. I'm going to try to get a jump on the laundry as they are predicting power outages with the remnants of hurricane Noel tomorrow.
XO
Bunny
Stay tuned - I'll be interrupting your regularly scheduled blog with updates as they become available.
As for a Halloween...it was a pretty good night around here. We had a bunch of pirates, various super heroes, an elephant, a Hannah Montana and a Paris Hilton - complete with little dog in purse.
The best costume of the night award went to a little boy, about 3 or so, and his parents.
The little boy was a hot dog and mom and dad were a bottles of ketsup and mustard. Too cute !
We had about 60 or so kids and a TON of candy left over. I brought all of the left over candy to work.
I got the stink eye from some, but most of the candy was gone by the end of the day.
Not too much else going on here today. I'm going to try to get a jump on the laundry as they are predicting power outages with the remnants of hurricane Noel tomorrow.
XO
Bunny
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