School Lunch has come a long way!

I was just checking out the websites for some local elementary schools and just for fun clicked on the lunch menu link. They offer 3, count 'em, 3 different main courses! 2 hot lunch options and 1 cold lunch option. We never had options when I was in school. In high school we could have hot lunch or make a sandwich, but never that much choice in elementary school. Wow. Maybe that's a "big city" thing that this small town girl didn't get to experience.

Renewed Bookworm

Somewhere between the end of college and then end of my pregnancy I pretty much stopped reading. Actually until about 6 weeks ago I had stopped reading, unless it was US Weekly or a parenting magazine (or a baby blues book because DAMN I love that strip). This is from the girl that used to go to the mall with her mom and have her mom leave her in the bookstore while said mom went shopping so that I could sit on the floor and read Babysitters Club books. For as long as I can remember I have loved reading and have been a super fast reader, but for some reason I drifted away from that during my pregnancy and Alyssa's first few months. Maybe because all my spare time was spent attempting to catch up on sleep? Anyway, in the past 6 weeks or so I have filed about a dozen new books under my reading belt and it feels sooooo good to be reading again.

Awhile back on my October moms' board the idea for a book swap came up, so I immediately signed up thinking it sounded like tons of fun. The idea was that the person in charge would give you the name of someone who seemed to have the same taste in books that you did and you would send/receive two books. I received two books that I never, ever, ever would have read (probably). I was very skeptical about reading them, but I put a lot of effort into picking the books that I sent to my person, so I wanted to give them a try. I'm not the type of person to start a book and not finish it ~ I stick with it to the end. I have to say I really enjoyed both books. They were unlike anything I have ever read before, but that was kind of a refreshing change. Both of them seemed very grown up compared to the chick lit/Harry Potter rut I had been in, so it really got my brain to thinking. (Its nice knowing that Alyssa has sucked all the brain cells out of me yet ~ she's got to leave a few for her future siblings to destroy, right?). I hope the person I sent my books to enjoyed/will enjoy the books I sent as much as I enjoyed the ones I received. Thank you to my book sender who helped open my eyes to two really great books that I most certainly would have overlooked.

I must be crazy

Since we went through the whole "moving drama" last week, I've been thinking more and more about what it would be like to move back to my hometown. All my life I can remember thinking that there was NO WAY I would ever want to end up back there, but as I was driving home on Saturday I started thinking about the charms that the little town has to offer. And we could get 3 times the house for what we paid for our current house. I had a dream last night that a house just down the street from my parents that used to be owned by some people that I babysat for frequently was up for sale. I always loved that house.

I wonder if Adam would ever consider moving there. I would if I would ever REALLY want to.

Unbelievably Close

The countdown is on . . .

Happy 11 Month Birthday Alyssa!

Dear Alyssa,

My sweet baby girl you are 11 months old today! I have no idea where the time has gone, but you bring more joy to us each and every day. You constantly make me laugh at how mischevious you are ~ I’m sure some day I’ll realize how many grey hairs you are giving me, but for now I’m loving every moment.

This past month some of your cutest new tricks have revolved around the dogs. You mastered using Lexi as a step stool to give you a boost so that you can climb on top of the living room furniture and if someone says “Alyssa, what does the puppy do?” and pant at you, you’ll stick out your tongue and pant back. Too funny! Your favorite toy seems to be the stairs; you are bound and determined to climb up and down as many times a day as you can. We were blocking off the steps going down to the garage with the ottoman, but you figured out how you could stand on the bottom step going up to the bedroom and climb up on top of the ottoman. So then I put the pack n’ play in front of the steps and the first thing you tried to do was squeeze underneath it. Then when I rearranged living room furniture there was about a 8 inch gap between the edge of the couch and the pack n’ play and somehow you squeezed your way through that and down the steps. I have got to hand it to you ~ you are one determined little girl! I hope you always keep your sense of determination and creativity when life hands you challenges.

Last month you took your first vacation to Colorado to visit Uncle Mark, cousin Brandy, Aunt Joni, Uncle Clay, and cousin Anna. You did really well on the car ride, but we had grandma and grandpa along to play games and entertain you, so that really helped. You had a great time playing with your cousins and everyone loved getting to spend extra time with you. You, Daddy, and Brandy had a great time jumping on the trampoline.

You finally got a top tooth just a few days ago and it looks like the 2nd one (your fourth total) should be coming through any minute. Teething makes you pretty cranky and clingy. As much as it frustrates me that I can’t seem to get away from you even for a few minutes to get some things done, there’s part of me that loves that you want your mommy. I hope you’ll always turn to me when you’re hurting!

One day last month I walked into your room to get you up from a nap to find you playing peek-a-boo with your stuffed animals. You would use your lovey to cover up your eyes and then look so pleased with yourself when you pulled it back down. You still amaze me when you play peek-a-boo with us . . . who would have thought that putting something up over your eyes and then waiting for someone to say “where’s Alyssa?!” would turn someone into a genius!

The biggest challenge facing us in your 11th month is getting you to sleep through the night. You’re up an awful lot and its really wearing on both of us. I need to stand strong and try to teach you how to put yourself back to sleep without stopping for a drink at the ‘ol Mommy saloon. It’s a lot easier to nurse you for a few minutes so that you’ll go back to sleep quickly than fight you to try to get you to go back to sleep, but I know it will be better for both of us if you’re sleeping longer stretches. Good luck to us!

Happy 11 month birthday, beautiful Alyssa Marie. I love you baby girl; to the moon and back.

Hugs and Kisses,Mommy

This day in history . . .

I feel the need this year to address the anniversary of September 11th. It brings back memories of a friendship that I held very dear to me for several years. My friend Jen was living with Adam and I on September 11th. She and I spoke several times that day about everything that was going on via phone as I headed Fremont to work in the theatre and for some reason every time I think about where I was that day, I instantly think of Jen. Our friendship has dwindled over the past couple years. We have been through so many big, life changing things together, I knew that I could count on her no matter what and I hate that we're nothing but a memory to each other anymore. I know that's largely my fault. I didn't make time for her the way I should have. I always allowed her to be the "started" of things in our friendship from the very start ~ I remember her calling me all the time just to chat after she had gotten home from work or just randomly throughout the day, but I don't remember doing that. She was always willing to ditch Odyssey for me just to go have lunch together. She was my crazy "do anything anywhere" friend. I treasure those memories. I can't imagine life without her, yet I've just let her slip away. True, she's 3 hours away now and not 3 feet in our guest room, but that's not a good excuse. Today has me wondering if its too late. I miss her. I think about her all the time. I wonder if she ever thinks of me.

Cheese and Rice ~ Answer your phones!

Why is it that Adam and I are on the brink of making the most important decision of our lives (okay, maybe that is a tad overdramatic, but hey ~ its me we're talking about!) and no one I try to call will answer their phones. Don't these people know that I need their knowledge and advice? What could be more important that ME on the brink of, did I mention, the biggest decision of my life?!

I wonder if I could find a fortune teller open . . . I wonder if she/he would answer her/his phone!

I bet we end up staying.

Holy Poo (no its not an Alyssa post)

What are the odds? Adam and I decide Tuesday night that we're staying put, not moving to the East coast.

Today he's pretty much offered a great job in Southern New Hampshire ~ his dream place to live.

Argh! Mama never told me life was going to be this hard/unfair/crazy! Where's my owners manual? I need some directions!

Pro/Con Moving thoughts (again)

So, Adam had an interview today with a company near Boston. He doesn't think it went very well, but he's awfully hard on himself sometimes, so I don't know whether to "believe" him or not. Last week I had started thinking that we were just meant to stay here and not move East ~ had even started looking at houses/builders/school districts around here and then this interview just kind of fell out of the sky and I'm very torn about the whole moving halfway across the country idea.

From a strictly selfish/me-focused standpoint I started thinking about how after my parents pass away I won't really have anyone. True, I have Joni and Mark, but this is one of those times when the true meaning of "half brother and half sister" rears its ugly head. Once Dad dies, they have each other, but I don't really have anything. So, why not move . . . its not like I have tons of family around here. But then I started thinking about my mom. She's lost both her parents, her sister, and her brother and basically I am her family. Can I really just take that away from her? It seems awfully selfish. I know she would want me to do whatever would make me happy and chase after my dream, but after everything that she's done for me, I feel like I would almost be slapping her in the face. And my dad's health isn't that great. I have a feeling that if his health continues to fail that I would never forgive myself for not being here for both of them and for taking his grandchild(ren) away from him. And I've always wanted a big family ~ extended family included. I love the thought of aunts, uncles, cousins celebrating together and here we have that. We have Adam's family, and my extended family all within an hour of us. Out East we have my cousin and his family in Boston, Adam's extended family (6 people) in PA, so its not nearly the same.

If we stay here I have a feeling we'll have a much more "materially satisfying" life. And since both of us are quite materialistic, that's a huge factor. If we stay here I have a feeling we'll be able to afford a better house, spend money on vacations, save for college/retirement, have a pool, not worry about eating out, ect. If we lived out East I think there would be a lot more pressure for me to have part time work or we would be living paycheck to paycheck with not much opportunity to put money into savings.

Adam has an amazing job right now. He works for one of the best companies in the US. Its steady with amazing benefits. He will never find another job like it. He doesn't seem to be having much like finding/qualifying for the jobs that he's looking for. If something ain't broke, don't fix it, right?

My midwives are here. Alyssa's pediatrician is here (although that may or maynot be an important thing as I was disappointed at her last appointment). Adam and my "crazy" doctors are here. not to mention friends . . . friends that I love the thought of raising our children to gether.

I feel like the logical and right decision is to stay here. I don't want to live 18 - 20 hours away from my family, my home, and everything that I've ever known.

Yet my heart reaches out for the East coast. For the ocean and the mountains and the history . . . it calls to me. But maybe its just destined to be a lifelong crush.

Bittersweet

My baby is growing up . . .

For the past few weeks I've been able to put Alyssa down for her naps wide awake. I make sure she has a binky in her mouth, one for each hand, turn on her aquarium, give her a kiss, and tell her to have a good nap, then walk out of the room and 9 times out of 10 she's fine. But it was a whole new ball game if I tried to do that at night. She would get hysterical. So, I was either nursing or rocking her to sleep every night. And sometimes I would complain about it, but the truth is I loved watching her all sleeping and puckered up in my arms or feeling her head cuddled into the side of my neck as I rocked her. Tonight she seemed wide awake and didn't want to nurse, so I figured I would give the "nap time routine" a shot. Worked like a charm. Not a peep out of her.

*sigh* My baby doesn't need me to go to sleep anymore. I'm so proud of her (and proud of me for getting her to go to sleep on her own without forcing her to cry it out), but it still makes me a little sad. Although this could be a one time deal and I could be getting all worked up over nothing. Goodness knows its happened before ~ motherhood is anything but predictable!

Katrina and God

I read this quote on one of my mom's boards today and it made me feel sick to my stomach (thus, time for blogging! :) )

"Although the loss of lives is deeply saddening, this act of God destroyed a wicked city," stated Repent America director Michael Marcavage. "From 'Girls Gone Wild' to 'Southern Decadence,' New Orleans was a city that had its doors wide open to the public celebration of sin. From the devastation may a city full of righteousness emerge," he continued. New Orleans is also known for its Mardi Gras parties where thousands of drunken men revel in the streets to exchange plastic jewelry for drunken women to expose their breasts. This annual event sparked the creation of the "Girls Gone Wild" video series. In addition, Louisiana had a total of ten abortion clinics with half of them making their home in New Orleans. At these five abortion clinics in the city, countless numbers of children were murdered at the hands of abortionists. "We must help and pray for those ravaged by this disaster, but let us not forget that the citizens of New Orleans tolerated and welcomed the wickedness in their city for so long," Marcavage said. "May this act of God cause us all to think about what we tolerate in our city limits, and bring us trembling before the throne of Almighty God," Marcavage concluded. "

This makes me start to question my faith. I consider myself a Christian, always have. I realize that what this Marcavage guy is saying is similar to the story of Noah, but while I don't really doubt/have a hard time accepting the story of Noah, I can't believe that the Katrina devastation would be "Noah of the 21st Century". It makes me sick to think of babies and elderly dying because of abortion clinics, people who like to drink, and women who like to show off their "goods". I realize that these things are considered sins, so from a Christian stand point maybe they should be punished, but what about the rainbow and the promise God would never again destroy? God seems like a person to me who wouldn't go back on his word.

Then it makes me really angry that there are these people out there who chose to take a horrible act of NATURE and turn it into a God issue. Most Christians (or at least this Christian) was saddened by all the devastation, prayed for those impacted by it and their families, and searched for understanding of why/how this could have happened. But never once until reading this article did I think that it was God's way of punishing an "evil" city. And what about all the other people that were killed and lost their homes? What did they do wrong? I've visited New Orleans, and true it has a lot of sex, drinking, homosexuals, and other horrible sinners (said sarcastically), but what city doesn't? I loved New Orleans. I thought it was on of the most beautiful cities that I had visited, full of culture and diversity and new experiences and it makes me really sad to think about it gone.

I have a close friend who shared with me that she has thoughts that maybe the world is coming to an end. She brought up that there is something in the bible of when there is peace in the Middle East it will be a sign that the world is ending. Well, we're over their trying to bring peace, there was the all tsunami, now Katrina . . . it scares me to think about her theory. I don't want to think about the world ending.

There goes a good 10 years off my life . . .

I knew that Alyssa would give me gray hairs, but who knew that she could so easily take years off my life. Nothing strikes fear in a mother's heart like watching her child head head first down the stairs. Of course, then when I realize that she's purposely pushing herself down the stairs head first I start to think that maybe she just a brave little genius. Most kids are chicken and back their way down the stairs. Not my little peanut . . . she meets challenges head on! Literally!

Home again, home again!

We are back from a relaxing and fun week in Colorado! We had a great time, but man oh man does it feel great to be home. I think even Alyssa is glad to be home and hanging out with her puppies again. She "performed" quite well for her aunt, uncles, and cousins while we were on vacation, but there's just a certain sparkle that has come out again since we got home. When I went to put her down in her crib about 10 minutes ago for the night she gave this contented little sigh like "ahhhh my bed!". Too cute!

Anywho . . . I would like to give a couple shout outs relating to the trip.

First of all to Eric and Angie for taking such great care of the house and the puppies. We appreciate you guys so much. You do an awesome job and you have no idea how great it is to know that we're leaving Lexi and Joey in such capable and loving hands. I think they miss you already!

Second of all to the person who came up with the FANTASTIC idea to put dvd players in vehicles. Not only does it entertain children, but it entertains adults and makes the trip go sooo much faster. Ahhh the joys of watching "Sex and the City" from the back of a van driving across possibly the most boring state in the US . . . priceless!

Third of all . . . to my Dad who HAD to have the van with all the bells and whistles. As dumb as I thought it was for my parents to have said DVD player in the back of their van . . . I don't know if I could ever imagine traveling without one.

Next I would like to give a "wazzup" to my parents. They were such a blessing taking care of Alyssa so that Adam and I could have "fun" time as well as just helping take care of and entertain her. They rock!

Next its time for "Things We Learned on our Trip to Colorado"

1. After emptying out an entire diaper bag, my dad FINALLY figured out what a sippy cup was and proudly relayed that information to anyone we came across during the week.
2. It is possible to enjoy a 10 hour drive with a 10 month old. But said 10 month old will scream bloody murder if you try to put her back in her carseat within 24 hours of reaching your destination.
3. Don't go shopping with my youngest niece within 6 months of her birthday or any other major holiday if you don't want to hear "you could by this for me for my birthday" every 5 seconds.
4. It is possible for a bathroom door to get shut and locked without anyone in the bathroom. And it only takes 4 men to break down the door.
5. If you want to see my sister move really fast say "John just got home next door" when said sister has to pee and said door from number 4 is still locked.
6. If you're ever near Denver go to the Coors brewery and do the tour. It might not be the most interesting thing in the world, but DUDE . . . its free BEER!

Okay, and finally for the run down on what we did on vacation . . .

the day after we got to my brother's all the girls (my mom, sister, nieces, Alyssa, and I) went to a quaint little mountain town to go shopping. I fell in love with this store where the owners do their own glass blowing. They had the most amazing little clear glass pool table with frosted pool cues and colored balls in a triangle ready to be broke, but I couldn't figure out anyone who was into pool enough to buy it for. I bought a lot of Christmas ornaments and little glass animals for Christmas presents. While shopping we did one of those "old time" photography pictures taken of my nieces and Alyssa for my dad for his birthday. I'm so glad we did it because it turned out absolutely adorable. I bet he'll love it ~ hopefully my mom can keep it hidden until November.

The next day a bunch of us drove to the top of Pikes Peak. Okay, my brother drove and the rest of us rode along and tried to hold down our lunches. :) It was an amazing view, but it was darn COLD up there!

Our first day in Denver Adam, Alyssa and I met up with Chris and Jen to go to the aquarium. It was really pretty cool ~ a lot like the Omaha aquarium at the zoo, but had more exhibits. It was cute seeing Alyssa "interact" and watch all the fish.

Monday was "date day" and I actually kept everything a surprise from Adam! This is a huge accomplishment as I am one of those people who can't keep a secret when it comes to surprises and presents. I had told Adam that my parents were going to watch Alyssa so that we could go out to dinner, but I didn't tell him that I also booked a hotel room for that night and that Alyssa was staying with my parents. That afternoon my mom, Jean, and I drove downtown so that I could check in. I put a bottle of wine in the ice bucket and spelled out "I love you" in chocolates on the bed. Corny, huh? Adam was totally surprised and we had so much fun. One of us, whom shall remain nameless, but let's just say the nursing mother took advantage of not having to nurse the baby Monday night, got MIGHTY DARN drunk! We had such a great time just hanging out with each other, without having to focus our attention on Alyssa or 1/2 listen for her to wake up in the back ground.

Our last day in Denver we visited the Coors Brewery (see free beer comment above!). It was really pretty interesting, but the best part was definitely the taste testing/sampling. Adam got our money's worth for us since Dad didn't drink at all and I just sipped. :)

And again, we had fun, but its sooo good to be home.

Just a homemaker?!

I know this has happed to a lot of SAHMs out there . . . you get the inevitable "JUST a homemaker/housewife/stay a home mom" comment. Like you don't have a REAL job, you JUST stay at home all day, eat chocolate, watch soaps, twiddle your thumbs, and suck your big, strong, paycheck-bring-home-man dry in the moola department because you're too lazy to bring in money yourself. Yep, that's me.

So today I'm at the bank to make changes to our savings account and the personal banker was making sure that they had all of our information current. He asked me if I still worked for the devil, I mean the company that had gainfully (or maybe not so much) employed me previous to becoming JUST a homemaker. I said that I was currently a stay at home mom, which followed him to ask "How long have you been JUST a homemaker?". Oh right Mr. Skinny-ass, got bad hair, sit behind a desk so I must be important Mr. Personal Banker I'm one of those horrible women who have completely worthless lives as a "homemaker".

Who would have thought this tiny comment would have gotten me so riled up?!

And besides . . . . homemaker?! Yes, that's right, I made this house with my own two hands! We had a home before I quit my job, but back then I was a performance analyst and I'm not currently making a home as far as I know, so "homemaker" doesn't really fit my job description, does it?

Although, then it can be argued like Wanda says in "Baby Blues" . . . if I'm a stay at home mom, why am I always in the car?!

Then I come home and look around at the trash and the toys and the mess and the dust and the doghair and think . . . I'm just a complete failure at this "homemaker" business. I don't think I'm too bad of a mom, but I should be fired from being a homemaker.

Dumb, Dumb, Dumb!

My mom stopped by yesterday because she was in town with a friend of hers for shopping and lunch and per usual she brought the good old "Trib" with her so that I could catch up on gossip via newspaper. One of the headlines was . . . "Aquatic Center lifeguards fired for doing 'jello shots' during working hours". Why oh why would you do jello shots when you worked at a swimming pool where there are constantly people around you? Why oh why would you do jello shots at work at all?! Why oh why are you consuming alcohol at work when you are between 16 and 18 years old! Now, I'm the first to admit that I drank when I was that age, but never in public, especially at WORK! I didn't know what jello shots were until I got to college, so the brainiacs probably thought they were doing something "so cool that no one will ever guess that its not just water in this jello!".

That's exactly what I want to hear about . . . drunk lifeguards. "Dude, the pool is spinning, wicked!" *rolls eyes*

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N . . .

in the summer time! I have to say, I think things are FINALLY coming together for our trip to Colorado next week. Nothing is really going as planned, but I think I've figured out how to fit everyone and everything thing into the 5 days we'll have out there. I need to give Lindz a call and see when she wants to meet up with us. I'm really starting to get excited ~ not so much about seeing my family (well, maybe my brother), but we'll get to see 3 of my closest friends from college. I'm especially excited about hanging out with Chris and Jen again, its been too long since we've hung out with them. 10 months almost exactly. Damn them for moving 8 hours away!

I'm looking forward to sharing some of my favorite places as a child with Adam. I have a lot of fond memories of staying with my mom's cousin and her family as a child (can I say me, Linda, mac & cheese, and a fork in the waterbed?! - that would be so much more funny if Linda read my blog!). Anyway, from the base of their driveway you can see one of my favorite views in the world and their backyard hosts the entrance to one of my favorite parks in the world. I spent tons of time biking and walking through the park, feeding the ducks, playing on the playground, and Melinda and I fully embarrassed ourselves attempting to playing tennis on the courts last time I was out there.

Procrastinating

I should be cleaning or planning a menu for tomorrow because we're having the inlaws over for lunch, but I don't WANNA! I'm such a loser . . . I started posting on a new parenting forum and I went from having 10 posts this morning to having 44 ~ and they are all "real" posts, not just "post to try to get your numbers up" posts. I feel like I'm the only person in the world who has nothing better to do on a Saturday afternoon than plop herself in front of the computer. I did do some work on the new business, so at least I did something.

Question of the day . . . how on EARTH (short of adding an extra floor/wing to your house) are you supposed to store all the toys that your infant has outgrown? I wish I could use the contraption that lets you vacuum seal 44 sweaters into something the size of a shoe box on all Alyssa's bulky things like the exersaucer and jumperoo.

Too hot for kids!

I was reading a blog of an online friend of mine where she was talking about how much she loved the movie Grease as a child, but one of her parents was "offended" when she was singing some of the lyrics to the song. Made me think about some things . . . (so thanks for the inspiration, Alex! :) )

I had never see the actual movie Grease (on the edited version on TV) until I was watching it while babysitting for our next door neighbor's kids a couple years ago. The oldest was 4, I think, and watching her singing along to some of those songs and quoting the movie made my jaw drop at times. Its kind of a naughty movie at times!

I had the soundtrack in high school and listened to it all the time. I made up a baton routine for one of my twirling students to audition with to "Grease Lightening" . . . if only at the time I would have known that I was sending her off to twirl in front of judges to a song that drops the sh-bomb! I don't think anyone noticed, but it would have been frowned upon and I feel really guilty about it to this day.

A couple years ago while I was nannying for the summer one of my girls got addicted to watching reruns of "Three's Company". Now, I grew up watching reruns of it, too, and I loved the show, but I had such a hard time letting her watch it now that I really "got" the show! I felt that it was horribly inappropriate at times for a 10 year old to be watching, but I know that the "suggestive" things went over her head. I was still uncomfortable. And I used to watch the show all the time at my grandparents house. I wonder if it bothered them to let me watch it or if it all went over their heads, too?

Parenting Screening

I was reading over a thread on one of my parenting boards that discussed whether being a parent should be considered a privilege or a right and it really got me thinking. I had a friend in college who those people who wanted to have children should have to pass tests to see if they were "qualified" to be a parent. One of the moms on the board said that she didn't think that it was a right that should be taken away from anyone, but it is certainly a privilege. Interesting. I wish there was some sort of screening or class that you had to take to become a parent because I think there are a lot of bad parents out there, but who would really be qualified to judge if someone would make a good parent. There are also a lot of people that before having children are the poster child for a "bad" parent because of their lifestyle, but then once they actually have that child in their arms their personality flips upside down and you couldn't imagine anyone being a better mother/father.

This afternoon I was talking with an "acquaintance" of mine from college who is in the process of adopting a child with her husband. She said that she was still finding it hard to believe that someone was going to give her a child/deem her qualified to raise this little person. But as I pointed out, she and her husband have to go through tons of testing, home visits, classes, etc to be qualified to adopt, so she should feel confident that she really can handle this. The sad thing is, I DON'T think she's going to make a good mother. I am frankly frightened for the child that gets placed with them. I don't think she has any idea the extra challenges they are going to have to face by adopting a child from a foreign country (as well as challenges handling the adoption situation). I honestly think that she is one of those people who feels like she will be able to pick and choose when she wants to be a mom. That if she's busy doing schoolwork or watching TV that she can plop a child in a playpen and come back a couple hours later. I know she and her husband really want children, but I think they want children because that's what they are "supposed" to do. That's what "normal" families are to them; a mother, father, and child(ren). There's so much more than that that makes up a family.

I have had several friends that were adopted, both privately and internationally, and its really sad some of tales I've heard of struggles that they had to deal with. From being the only Korean child in a completely close-minded Midwest Caucasian community to being told, "our real child would never act the way you're acting". I admire people who chose to adopt. I think they are very brave and have wonderful hearts . . . but I still worry.

Happy 10 month birthday Alyssa!

That's right, our baby girl is 10 months old today! I can't believe how fast the time has gone. You know, most people that I've talked to say that the "newborn" days are the best, but I enjoy being a mommy more and more every day. I love that she's gotten to the point where she can interact with me. Its kind of cool to have a constant companion. :) Last night I was dreading going to the grocery store, but having her sweet face to look at and talk to (she got mighty excited over the ice cream aisle . . . girl after our own heart!) made the trip not so bad!

I bought Alyssa's outfit for her one year pictures last weekend when we went shopping with Julai. Its got THE CUTEST hat in the world with it. I figure if she doesn't have any hair to do cute bows or pigtails with she might as well have a cute hat, right? Mom, Alyssa, and I went shopping yesterday and had fun looking at all the "I'm 1" hats, bibs, etc at Nobbies. I can't wait for her first birthday!!!