Snips Snails and Pigtails

Potty Train In Three Days


Hmmm. Sounds too good to be true? Usually, when it sounds too good to be true, it is! This book got great reviews though, so we shall see.

I received this book today from Paperback Swap and I've already read the entire thing. Front to back. Sure it's not a very large book, but it was good none the less. It made a lot of sense and I agreed with most everything it said. (Most, but not all) Regardless, we've decided to go for it full force. 'The Princess' is ready to potty train, she has every single sign of readiness listed in this book and others.

With the encouragement of the book, the two of us threw away her diapys this evening. (She calls them diapys) I got a large trash bag and she helped me throw them away. Technically, I'm really supposed to throw them away but I just can't bring myself to be so wasteful. I've recovered them from the Trash now that she's in bed and I will hold onto them for my little niece. (Or 'The Princess' should this plan fail miserably)

I've never in my life done such a thing before. I mean, we've gone cold turkey! What have I done?? By tomorrow afternoon when I am on my 2nd or 3rd load of laundry I'm really going to be questioning myself....

Oiy! Wish us luck in this potty training endeavor. We're going to need it for sure.

Little Nathan took his last breaths of life this morning. I am deeply saddened. There are no words. I'll never understand why.... Why does God allow innocent children to fall ill and die?

I almost feel guilty as I sit and watch my own 7 year old run about so healthy carefree. Why Nathan?

Oh, to lose a child... it is something I cannot even comprehend. The thought is the source of all parents nightmares.

Please give your thoughts and prayers to Susan and Luke during this time of grieving.

I'm not sure how I stumbled on Paperback Swap, but it was only about a week ago. I signed up and I am totally hooked now! It's so neat. Let me tell you how it works...

I listed some of our previously read books on the site (you have to list at least 9 books to get in the club) and I got 3 free book credits. So I could immediately order 3 books right away - They are mailed directly to me and you pay nothing! No strings attached. No gimmicks. No spam mail. Nothing!

When another member selects one of my books that I have listed, I mail it to them. Yes, I pay for the postage. But then I get a book credit and I can select another book that I want. So another Club Member returns the favor and mails me one of their books free of charge. For every book I mail out, I get another book in return - a true shared system!

Oh! And it's not just Paperback books, they allow hardcover and board books as well.

I've been eying some potty training books for 'The Princess' but I really didn't want to pay full price. Well, this was the perfect solution and I've got 2 already on the way! I've also swapped for some Sandra Boynton books,
.....they are her favorites and are very hard to find used!

Interested in joining? Trust me, there really are no strings attached. It's the next best thing to Freecycle. Check out PaperBackSwap.comto see for yourself:

"Please Lord, end this poor Child's pain and take him up to Heaven where there will be no more suffering...."

Sorry to be so dark today. I've followed this little guy from the very beginning and have always prayed for a miracle. What do you say to a parent that is losing their child?? No words can express your sympathy. No words can comfort those who are facing a horrific loss. To say nothing seems insensitive. Gah, here I am worrying about what to say and these parents are worrying about losing their son. See, I cannot even fathom being in their shoes.

Well, she came. The beloved Adoption Worker that we've been waiting on for over a year now. As you can tell by my lack of exclamation marks, I am not jumping for joy.

Seems the woman received our paperwork on her desk and was told to have it completed in 2 weeks what typically takes 3 months. So yeah, she's not too fond of us and I'm frankly not to fond of her. There was just something about her....whatever it was, it didn't make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

I should be overjoyed that she's supposed to do everything so quickly, but after waiting for SOOOO long now it just pisses me off. She came with a list of things we needed to submit. All things that have been submitted multiple times before, but now have to be done once again because it's been yet another year. Things like Medical examinations, Proof of Vaccinations, Copies of all types of Insurance, car tags etc etc etc. It just gets old. I know they have to cross their T's and dot their I's, but had they been doing their jobs we'd have been finalized soon after submitting all of this information LAST YEAR at this time.

I won't even go into the fact that this Adoption Worker tried to minimize things and twist our words around on us. She asked if 'The Princess' was receiving any Counseling. We informed her no, but we are on a waiting list to get some started. PCIT Therapy. She then pressed further questioning why 'The Princes' would need such a thing!? (Why ask if you don't want to hear our answer lady??) I explained to her our concerns. Mind you, concerns that are shared by her Pediatrician and Occupational Therapist. Wanna know the Adoption Worker's response?

She says...."I would be willing to bet, she is only doing these things for your attention"

Um, wow. This lady has no clue. 'The Princess requires nearly 100% of our attention to keep her safe.... To keep her from climbing up and jumping off the top of the counter tops. To keep her from swinging from the ceiling fan. To keep her from inadvertently hurtng one of our animals. Honestly, it's way more than typical 2 year old attention-seeking behavior. It's lack of cause and effect. It's lack of impulse control. It's lack of empathy. There is NO WAY she's attention deprived and for this lady to come in and suggest that's the case makes my blood boil.

So, we're scrambling to get all our documents together ONCE AGAIN so that we can get this Adoption finalized and on with our lives.

MYTH There are very
few babies being placed
for adoption.
REALITY 20,000 or more U.S.-
born infants are placed for adoption
each year—as many or more than
the number of international
adoptions yearly.

MYTH Adoption is outrageously
expensive, out of
reach for most families.
REALITY Adoption is often no
more expensive than giving birth.
Costs to adopt domestically average
$15,000, before the $10,000
Adoption Tax Credit and benefits
that many employers offer.

MYTH It takes years to complete
an adoption.
REALITY The average time span
of adoption is one to two years. The
majority of domestic and international
adopters who responded to a
recent poll by Adoptive Families
Magazine completed their adoptions
in less than a year.

MYTH Birthparents can
show up at any time to
reclaim their child.
REALITY Once an adoption is
finalized, the adoptive family is recognized
as the child’s family by law.
Despite the publicity surrounding a
few high-profile cases, post-adoption
revocations are extremely rare.

MYTH Birthparents are all
troubled teens.
REALITY Most birthparents
today are over 18,
but lack the resources to
care for a child. It is generally
with courage andlove for their child that they terminate
their parental rights.

MYTH Adopted children are
more likely to be troubled
than birth children.
REALITY Research shows that
adoptees are as well-adjusted as their
non-adopted peers. There is virtually
no difference in psychological functioning
between them.

MYTH Open adoption causes
problems for children.
REALITY Adoptees are not confused
by contact with their birthparents.
They benefit from the increased
understanding that their birthparents
gave them life but their forever families
take care of and nurture them.

MYTH Parents can’t love an
adopted child as much as
they would a biological child.
REALITY Love and attachment
are not the result of nor guaranteed
by biology. The intensity of bonding
and depth of emotion are the same,
regardless of how the child joined
the family.

Thanks to Adoptive Families Magazine for these wonderful facts!

Name Your Tune is a children's music compilation that is made-to-order and personalized for each child. The child hears their name more than 80 times throughout 14 songs. I received this CD for 'The Princess' recently and she absolutely LOVES it! It's so adorable to watch her bop her head to the music and then suddenly stop in amazement when she hears her very own name! The CD was featured in Parents Magazine and it was also the recipient of the iParenting Media Award, too. If you're looking for a unique gift for a birthday... or even Christmas (have YOU started shopping yet??) this is definitely a good one!!

I love shopping! I'm also what my husband refers to as a "Coupon Geek". If you're anything like me, you constantly look for coupons and other good deals. I often shop online at Gap, Gymboree and Old Navy but I NEVER complete a purchase without first running a search for online shopping coupons.

I don't understand why everyone doesn't do this? I've saved so much money over the years.

Right now we're in the market for a Wireless Pet Fence. We currently have the underground invisible pet fence, but we're having issues with the neighbor dog and children messing with the wire so we'd like to upgrade to the wireless system. You have to know, I am not one to go out and buy something without researching for the best price!

My search recently took me to Coupon Chief. Much to my surprise, Petco offers 10% off orders over $45. I'm so excited, call it a shopping high of sorts. We're talking a significant savings here because the wireless system runs around $300. Can you believe I'm about to save nearly $30!!

Finally, for those of you that aren't so 'Internet Savvy' and find it difficult to figure out how (and where) to use these coupon codes, Coupon Chief now offers detailed "how-to" screen casts for some of their top merchants. Sit back, relax and let them SHOW YOU how to save. It's all very cool!

We got a call from our new ADOPTION WORKER. I can't tell you how excited I am. There is light at the end of this long dark tunnel afterall!!!!!! We have an appointment set up to meet with her soon. Hopefully she can give us a time frame and actual updates to our progress. Yippie, yippie, yay. I'll let you know how it goes...

I know I haven't been around much, and really I have no excuses. No,we've not been out of town, no one is sick... nothing really. I couldn't figure out what my problem was, why I was avoiding my blog for some time now. Heck I haven't even been taking many pictures. I've skipped out on 'My Best Shot Monday' twice in a row now. I look through the weeks photos, to choose my favorite and none of them are any good. I've lost my eye for a good shot. I've lost my passion.

Well, today it finally dawned on me. I'm down over this darn Adoption. It came to me suddenly when I was in line at the Bank. I ran into our Realtor, whom I have not seen in about a year now. She asked how things were, fully expecting that our Daughter's adoption had long been finalized by now. I had to explain to her that as far as I know, we are ~no~ closer to an Adoption date today, than we were 1 year ago when we moved here. I nearly cried. It was then, that I realized the root of my avoidance of this blog. A blog that I started in part, to take you with us on our Journey to Adoption. Did I just say JOURNEY?? There is no journey! It's more of a fading thought that everyone seems to have forgotten about. I have no words. No reasons. No explanations. No more expectations...and wavering faith. I just, don't know WHAT to think let alone what to say.

Please bare with me.... I really love reading your comments and I don't want to lose any of you as readers. I know some of you have been in my shoes, whether through Foster/Adoptions or International Adoptions, there is always waiting, waiting and more waiting. I've just had my share of the waiting already!!!!!!!!!!

'The Princess' has decided that I am no longer Momma... I'm not Mommy either. I am now "MOM". It's so stinking cute and I hate it all at the same time! I'm sure she's taken to MOM over Mommy because she see's her brothers calling me MOM. I try and pursuede her to call me Mommy. I much prefer that over MOM, especially from my baby!! She is growing up far to quickly.

In the last few weeks she has gone from saying single words here and there to full sentences. Just like that. It's like one day she woke up and decided she wanted to talk- and so she did. On July 4th we stopped at Walmart to pick up some cookies. A store employee stopped as and was making a big fuss over our 3 boys and little girl. Our daughter exclaimed, "(her name removed) DADDY PRINCESS" Can you believe that!? It just blows my mind how far she's come in just these last few weeks. It's like she's another child alltogether. I keep asking her who she is what she did with my little baby girl.