I say Potayto, You say Potahto

This is my new short little version of this song...

I say "Potayto", you say "Potahto"
I say "Tomayto", you say "Tomahto"
I say "Holy Cow", you say "Kocky Cow"*
I say "Holy Moly", you say "Tony Monies"*

*Thanks Luke for giving us some great 'new' versions of these phrases! ;)

To be young again...

There are so many things as adults that we have to worry about, that sometimes it seems like it might be better to be a carefree, young child again.

For instance, playing outside is so much better when you're not concerned about...

*the fact that the dirt you are getting ready to play in is actually full of dog or cat poop
*remembering to protect yourself from harmful UV rays
*that the friendly "spider" you're about to touch is actually your friendly neighborhood stinging wasp/bee/hornet
*the cars that go flying by on that "road" you're trying soooo hard to get to
*trying new outdoor cuisine aka rocks/grass/dirt/bugs/pet hair

Never mind, I think I'll keep all of those things I need to worry about if it means I also get to keep the wisdom that comes along with age ;)

Progress Report

How have things been going?

Well, fine & actually really well considering how our summer got started & which is going to end much differently than we had hoped it would just 2 short months ago.

Is there a "bright spot" (we hope!) on the horizon? Yes, but it isn't quite the right time for us to discuss it here just yet. Don't worry~ I will update when it seems fitting, but just not yet...

Adoption loss is an odd circumstance to deal with...

On one hand, we knew about the baby for almost 1/2 the pregnancy & along with his birthmom, we grew to love him even though we knew that losing him was a very real possiblity. I was able to watch him being born. We cared for him in the hospital, in our home & were able to spend 3 (1 in the hospital & 2 at home) wonderful nights with him. We loved him.

On the other hand, there are lots of people who have no idea it even happened or maybe they just choose to act like they no nothing about it. Either way, it leads to some very awkward feelings & conversations at times. Some may even think that he was never really ever our child anyway or wasn't our child 'yet' so it wasn't a big deal. In fact, it's not like the child died so it can't be that bad, right?

Wrong.

Oh don't get me wrong, I'm not sitting around crying all of the time or drowning in my own sorrows. Nope, I have picked myself up & have moved on, but sometimes my mind just likes to drag its feet behind :)

Yes, we do have a 'bright spot' that could bring lots of sunshine with it, but with it also comes all of those lingering thoughts...

Baby E was my son & in lots of ways he still is in my heart. I am still thinking about him & his welfare. I am hoping that his mom is getting along well & is receiving any help that she might need to give him the best life. In fact, I heard something the other day on the radio about GED classes & she was the first thing that popped into my head. I wondered if she had heard it, if she would want to know about it, if it would be weird if I made a call to her to let her know...

After Baby E was born, Scott & I were very concerned about making sure that she would still feel included in his life...pictures, phone calls, visits if she so chose, etc, but once the pendulum swung back the other way-the thought of us being kept updated is not really considered an option...I mean it's not like we're biologically connected or anything.

But, emotionally, I am & I'm not really sure what to do about it...any scenario I can come up with just seems odd.

It is as if a friendship you have worked so hard for & to build up, was all of a sudden ripped out from under you with the friend never looking back & all you're left with is a few pictures & your memories...

And many times I am left wondering...

if he will ever even know anything about us & how we loved him.

Husbands Say the Darndest Things! :)

Oh, my poor dear husband & the things he says sometimes! (& sometimes it is just how my brain interprets it :)

I went to a baby shower today for a friend of mine & when I arrived home,

Scott said: "How about we go on that B-I-C-K ride now?"

Me: (smiling & laughing a bit) "A what?"

Scott: "Oh, I mean a B-I-K-E ride."

Me: "That sounds much better than a 'bick ride' to me!" :) (poor guy has such grammar & spelling issues~I really shouldn't give him such a hard time!)

Then, later, when we were all out on the porch & he was grilling supper, he says...

"Sassy is licking up the pea juice." (Did you say it out loud & hear what it sounds like?)

Me: "She's doing what?"

Scott: (this time he was laughing) "She's licking up the pea juice, the peas boiled over."

Me: "Oh! I was wondering what in the world was going on over there & that is definitely NOT what I was picturing! ;)

"You Light Up My Life" Sunday 7/26/09 edition

This person is a good friend.
This person LOVES to talk & is easy to talk to.
She is a good wife & mother.
She is creative.
If I ever needed anything done "just so" right down to the little details, she'd probably be one of the first people I'd call :)
She has given me 3 super little people to be an aunt to, one of which is my awesome & only godson!
This person can make yummy cookies & loves to bake all kinds of goodies.
If I ever need a picture from any family gatherings, I can pretty much guarantee that she will have taken one at some point that I can borrow! ;)
This person loves to read too & is always willing to give me a suggestion for 'what to read next'!
She is a great aunt to the only nephew she has ;)

So, here's to my sis-in-law, Jenny~I love ya!

Fun Friday: "I know what I'm doing is gross, but..."

Enjoy & yes, I do use this rule a lot :) My line is always "It will help build up your immunity!"

The line in the title of this post, which is from the video pretty well sums it all up though ;)

"Yesterday"

On Monday, Luke & I decided to have a 'fun day' with my sister & two of my nieces aka "Aunt Beth"/Melissa & Megan. It was a great afternoon & my niece, Melissa, enjoyed telling us about all kinds of things she had done 'yesterday'. As her mom (my sister Emily) says, "Everything happens 'yesterday'." Here is a little bit of what we heard...

"Anita, yesterday my mom did a cartwheel in the yard."

"Yesterday, I won a green necklace." (this is only one of the few statements that actually did happen the day before :)

"Did you know that I was really sick yesterday, but I am better now?" (hmmm...she seemed perfectly healthy when I saw her the day before)

"We came here before, my mom brought us here yesterday!" (talking about the park we took the girls to)

"Yesterday, my mom bought us candy in town."

Somehow, I just don't really see my sister having indulged her children with all of these things 'yesterday' ;) Maybe at some point in the last several months or year, but definitely not all in ONE day. I guess I'll give the child a break being she is only 3!

It's ICLW week again!

It's that time again & I want to welcome any new readers & all of my returning readers~thanks for reading my stuff :)

I've never done this for ICLW week, but I have seen things like it on others' blogs so here is a little history for all of you. New readers, I hope you like what you see & will maybe decide to become a regular reader and to all of my "regulars" (even the blogstalkers out there ;) I hope you don't mind this little stroll down memory lane, just in case you missed something the first time around! ;)

The beginning of Faith, Hope & Poop?

Some of my favorite things

The first post with a comment! (Trust me I was very excited when this happened :)

Almost 2 years ago now...

Almost 2 months ago now & then this happened so I shared this & there will be an update this week in regards to "how I am doing?"

How the Sunday thing got started.

One of my favorite adoption 'educatin' posts

And now for some fun stuff ;)

I pulled this "Luke post" out of the archives

Yep, this & this are me

My mom could not have been prouder when I exposed this to the world :)

And I'll end this lovely post with a question & its answer!

Hope you enjoyed your visit & come back again soon :)

I'm a Maniac!

A baking maniac that is!

With our church picnic tomorrow~I am now baking up a storm & hoping to get my house cleaned up a little better. 3 cakes baking & getting ready to start on 3 pies-then maybe clean floors just in case we have any visitors stop in tomorrow :)

One of my cakes is for any guests who may stop by (that's one thing my grandma has instilled into my head-always have food on hand for guests!) I made one just like it for the picnic too, but sshhhh let's just say it fell apart a little bit, but it will still look very nice once I am done with it ;) I apologize in advance if any of you happen to win it-that means you mom! My mom can win a cake anywhere she goes-I'm not really sure how dad hasn't won the lottery yet with her luck at winning cakes & raffle prizes :)

Well, I better be off...I think one of my timers is going off so it's back to the baking grindstone-poor me :) just kidding!

Enjoy this little diddy in honor of all of us preparing for our picnic this weekend...

"Running Record" Thursday

Books # 22, 23 & 25 all by Laura Ingalls Wilder Little Town On the Prairie, These Happy Golden Years & The First Four Years

Yes, that means that I finally finished this series, after attempting it several different times during my life up to this point & always giving up somewhere in the middle of Farmer Boy~I finally did it! :) I enjoyed these books & reading about Laura's life & felt that they got a little bit more interesting with each book as she became a little bit older. I was also pleased to see the reappearance of Nellie Olsen because I was beginning to wonder if their paths had only crossed for one short time in their lives, but yet they plucked her character from that experience to turn her into the Laura's 'nemesis' for the TV show. It was good to know that in "real life" Laura knew her fairly well even if they didn't get along all that well.

Book # 24 The Invisible Wall: A Love Story That Broke Barriers by Harry Bernstein

I found this book to be an intriguing read. On one side of the street lived Christians & on the other side of the street were Jews. Neither side ever really mixed with the other that the author could recall, except for several times when news was received of a death or in times of rejoicing during WWI. Once, when it was found out that one of the Jewish girls was seeing one of the Christian boys-her family sent her to Australia to live with relatives so that she could avoid the "death" that would occur if it had continued. As the author remembers, this is the attitude that was held on this street, in Europe, in those days surrounding World War I. His book is the story of his sister & her Christian boyfriend who later became her husband & how his family, the neighborhood & he himself as a young boy reacted to their relationship AND how it ended up helping to bring them all together again too, if only for a little while.
I thought this book was great & enjoyed the fact that the author was in his 90's when this book finally got published & saw some success. He did a wonderful job of telling his family's story & I hope to be able to read his follow-up book sometime soon. This book does make me think though that it is silly the "things" we use to keep each other apart & divided~aren't we all HUMAN beings after all. Why don't we start treating each other that way then?

Water...what's the difference?

I bet you thought this post was going to be about the bottled water vs tap water debate that was in the news earlier this week, WRONG, guess again! :)

Fill his sippy cup with water & you get the response..."Water." "No, thing else?" aka 'something else?'

Fill up a "big person" cup with water & he can't hold himself back from drinking it AND he'll ask for more!

Okay, well that makes a little sense, since maybe he is wanting to do what we're doing, but you just never can predict what moment he will decide to dump the whole thing on the floor either!

AND...

What about not being able to get enough of trying to suck the water out of any wash cloth we use to wipe his face after meals & trying to drink his bathwater all of the time?

Personally, I find it a little gross & say "Hey kid, just drink the water out of the sippy cup already & we'll both be happier!" (Well at least your mother will be :)

Lazy Day!

Sorry I just don't feel like typing today so here's a video, Enjoy! :) (I love this guy!)

"You Light Up My Life" Sunday 7/12/09 edition

That's right~it's back, finally! Enjoy :)


This person is fun to be around.
This person is a super friend & she likes to use the word "super" about as much as I do :)
She is the only reason I have ever felt the need to actually have to 'get out quick' from a bar.
This person can always make me smile no matter how I am feeling.
This person is a great listener.
Sometimes I think God made us friends because we both love to gossip so much~oh, wait-he doesn't like that, never mind ;)
I love that we can tell each other anything & never have to worry about the other one being offended.
She is a great mother to her kids & wife to her husband.
I like that she lives close & is always up for a walk when the need arises.
I am thankful everyday that somehow we became roommates because I would hate to think what a wonderful friendship I would have missed out on if we would not have been!

So, here's to you, Lora~I love ya & thanks for being such a super friend! :)

What did they just say?

Last night I enjoyed an evening out with my sisters & a few of our cousins (& yes, without any kids along!) Have I mentioned that Luke & I have been getting loads of quality time lately, not that I don't enjoy it mind you, but it does get a little wearing having only (an almost) 2 year old to talk to all day long :)
Anyway, it was neat to think that I had known each one of these people their entire lives, well except for one of them-I wonder what she was like for the whole DAY she was around before I arrived into this world ;) It was a fun time with lots of great conversation-at least from our perspective, others around us may have wondered "what did they just say?"

Here are a few snippets from our lovely conversations last night & I'll just leave the rest to your imaginations :)

*"If they're so intent on it, just let them eat the poop."

*"Cat food is nutritious, right?"

*"He on my B-list right now!"

*"Never honk your horn at a moose!"

*"Eating walrus fat & no banks = living in Alaska"

*"It's better to keep them stupid for as long as possible!"

Good times, good times! :)

It ain't easy being green...

with a toddler in the house!

1. Saving Electricity by turning off the lights (only if that means he can turn them back on again really quick over & over & over.) Also, does doing the same thing with the dimmer switches for the lights & ceiling fans count too?

2. Reducing paper waste-this does mean that it is okay to just randomly tear off unused pieces of toilet paper & throw them in the potty, right?

3. Reduce water usage-but it is okay to let the water run the whole time during a bath & to randomly play with different water faucets after washing hands, on mom & dad's tub while they're getting ready or while brushing his teeth.

4. Lower energy usage-standing with the doors wide open (while the air-conditioning is running) yelling "Here Kitty, Here Kitty" & pushing random buttons on the TV, VCR, DVD player, remote controls, etc should do the job-one can almost hear the pennies being saved & falling into the piggy bank every time you feel the rush of hot air come into the house & when you hear those things clicking on/off, on/off...

Maybe the whole "green" thing isn't going so well here after all, but we'll keep on trying :)

Randomness in July

I apologize for the lack of posts recently-it was partially due to internet wackiness here & partially just me giving other things around here first priority-so I apologize my dear readers :)

1st bit of random:

Scott's new job has been going well, but the hours are super crazy. Last night, he actually got home early enough to spend about 45 minutes with Luke before Luke's bedtime. Most days, thus far anyway, he has really only gotten to see Luke for about 20 minutes in the morning before he has to leave for work so lots of Mommy & Luke bonding time lately.
It has been a big adjustment going from a husband who is here ALL the time to a husband who is here almost NONE of the time, but after about the first week or so-I think we have all adjusted. Although it is hard to remember to tell him important stuff when I only see him maybe an hour a day & then all he wants to do is talk about what he did at work-ugh, gotta love him :) Most importantly, he likes what he is doing thus far & he does still have whole weekends off. This 'crazy' schedule is only supposed to occur during the summer months each year so maybe soon we'll see more of him around these here parts again :)

2nd bit of random:

Yep, I'm that person! I'm one of those people who watched the MJ memorial on TV even though I have only discovered how much of his music I actually knew & liked because he died. Growing up my parents were strictly 'country' people & the rest was just labeled as 'noise' :) When I was at the age where I started branching out & listening to different kinds of music, you can probably guess what happened, he was in the middle of his first scandal. I knew the songs, but never really knew who sang them-I am still that way with lots of songs that I like unless they are country. I probably would have been bawling my eyes out several different times while watching the memorial, if only I wasn't waiting on internet people to show up-could you imagine what they would think when I opened the door if I had been? :) All in all, I thought it was very touching & that this took a great amount of strength on the part of his brother. I was also a bit perturbed by the "fan" that the reporter caught on the way out afterwards who kept saying "it was a great show". Ummm...it was a funeral, not a show-show some respect please!

3rd bit of random:

My little man is making me one proud Catholic mama! :) He can now say the Sign of the Cross & do the motions! Yay! I can honestly say that he is better than me...I put his snack on the table yesterday & he said "Father" (with his hand on his forehead). I said "Oh, you want to pray...okay...let's pray" (all the while thinking 'if only I would pray before every 'snack' I ate during the day too-I might make better choices :) Anyway, it sounds like this "Fadder, Sun, Oly, [mumbles that we can only assume are for 'spirit', A mon"

And that seems as good of a place to stop as any ;)

"Fun" Friday: Wachawdano

"Running Record" Thursday

Book #20 Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

Lexi Smart awakes one day in the hospital and finds out that she has lost 3 years of her memory. In those 3 years, she has become a totally different person-she has gone from drab to fab, she has a gorgeous husband, lots of money & a whole new set of friends. The only problem, she still feels like the "old" Lexi inside & has no idea how she could have changed so much in such a short amount of time. This book is about Lexi trying to piece together her life, who she was & who she wants to be & is done with a good deal of humor thrown in along the way.

I think I may have found a new favorite author in Sophie Kinsella & can't wait to read another one of her books. This was the 2nd book of hers that I have read & I really enjoyed her humor & the characters she has created. I loved trying to imagine walking through my life right now, but looking at it as I would have 3 years ago...it would be a very strange feeling. I also love the fact that these books are set in Britain, in some way, the phrases they use make everything sound so much more sophisticated. British curse words sound so much nicer than our American words :)

Book #21 The Pact: A Love Story by Jodi Picoult

This book is about the Golds and their neighbors, the Hartes, who have been inseparable since becoming neighbors. Eventually, their teenage children, Chris and Emily, begin dating, however, tragedy strikes when seventeen-year-old Emily is shot to death by Chris as part of an apparent suicide pact & the parents realize that maybe they didn't know their children as well as they thought they did.

Although, the subject matter was a bit difficult to read about, I found this book to be a good read. It does make one stop & think "how well do I really know [fill in the blank with your own loved one's name]". These parents felt that they knew their children inside & out, but they really only knew what they wanted to see. It definitely made me think about how I view people & how as a parent I want to know my child's "true" self not just the person I hope he will be. The Jodi Picoult books I have read have all seemed to deal with 'tough' issues, but the way she writes has really drawn me in too to the point that I can never seem to put these books down! :) They also always seem to be done long before I am actually ready to part with the characters & what is going on in their fictional worlds. *sigh* That must be the sign of a good writer-always leaving you ready for more...

Wordless Wednesday: Welcome Bert & Sassy!

More Wordless Wednesday here