Wingnut Journey

Jackson is 3

2010-02-20T08:14:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we celebrated Jackson's THIRD Birthday! I can hardly figure out where the past 3 years has gone. :)

A Moment

2009-09-21T22:10:00.002-04:00

Do you ever have a moment? One of those times when you can't believe how blessed you are? I do. They always come when I least expect them. I had one of these overwhelming moments on Friday morning...we were on vacation in Williamsburg and we took to boys to have breakfast with Elmo and the other Sesame Street characters at Busch Gardens. It was so much fun. We all got our pictures with the characters, we ate, sang, danced....the finale of the event was a congo line with all the characters around the room. I was congo'ing with the boys and had both of their hands as we bee-bopped around the room. All of a sudden we were going up the stairs, laughing, singing, dancing and it hit me....WHAMMO! I am so blessed to have these two amazing boys as my sons! It was all I could do to keep from bawling tears of joy into Big Bird's tailfeather.

I am a lucky, lucky mom!

This is where I would post some adorable pics of all of us with the Sesame Street gang, but I'm too tired to get the camera and download pics. Next time...

$100

2009-08-21T21:26:00.001-04:00

It's likely a good thing that Carlton doesn't understand much about money just yet. I am getting so desperate for the kid to poop in the potty that tonight I offered him $100 if he would just go in the potty. He didn't take it. Then I offered shopping for any toy or treat he wanted. I thought I almost had him and then he declared "nope, I poopy in a pullup". Argh!!! C'mon kiddo....you are starting pre-k on Monday!!!

Carlton's Referral Anniversary

2009-08-05T16:37:00.002-04:00

4 years ago today we were hopeful that we would soon find out we were going to become parents. That was our lucky day. I was getting my hair cut, Jeff was at work and a message was left on our answering machine. I raced home to check my email and saw this adorable little boy on my screen. It was the first time we set our eyes on Carlton. What an amazing moment. The miracle of adoption has completed our family!

He was and still is just precious....

Weight Loss Blog

2009-08-02T22:11:00.002-04:00

Hi Blog Friends!

I wanted to share my new blog with you. I have mentioned over the past year that I've been focused on my health and weight loss. Yesterday was the one year anniversary of my journey and I've decided to share more about it. You can find the new blog HERE.

This blog will continue with the focus on my kiddos.

Baby Piggys and Farting Cars

2009-07-29T22:20:00.001-04:00

Maybe it's something about turning 4, I don't know, but Carlton is saying the funniest things these days.

We went to the fair on Saturday and Carlton saw the cutest little baby pig that a young girl was holding in her arms like a baby. Of course he declared that he wanted a baby piggy. Jeff casually said, "Maybe for Christmas". This morning when Carlton woke up the first thing he told me was, "Mommy, I'm getting a baby piggy for Christmas." Uh...Ok. I told him the dogs might not approve.

Tonight on the way home from daycare we were sitting at the red light in the turn lane to our neighborhood. I looked down and didn't see the light turn green. The car behind me gave the horn a polite little toot...you know, didn't lay on it, just gave a little "toot, toot" to get my attention. Carlton started laughing and said, "Mommy, cars don't fart!".

FOUR!

2009-07-27T21:27:00.002-04:00

Happy Fourth Birthday to Carlton!

It's hard to believe that 4 years ago today this amazing boy came into this world. On that day we were not aware that our son had arrived. I can't get through this day without thinking about his birthmother who made such a difficult decision to make an adoption plan for him. I pray that she is at peace with her decision and knows that this precious child is loved by so many.

We pretty much celebrated Carlton's Birthday for the past 4 days. Two of our dear friends arrived last Wednesday and stayed with us until today. We had such a good time hanging out and I loved my late night chats with KT. On Sat/Sun we had additional friends join us for the DE state fair and basically a big slumber party at our house. On Sunday we spent the early part of the day at the Adventure Aquarium and then had a cookout/party here. All our friends have now returned to their homes and tonight we had a family celebration at Chuck-E-Cheese. It was a wonderful Bday celebration.

Still here....

2009-07-06T22:33:00.003-04:00

Hello Blog World! Yep...I'm still here...not sure if any of you are anymore. ;) Life is crazy, wonderful, busy....all of that leaves very little time for blogging. What few minutes of free time I have I can usually be found on Facebook. I know a lot of you are there as well.

I have so much I'd like to write about and I do think I may revitalize the blog a little or maybe start a new one to discuss some different topics...mainly exercise and nutrition. For now you'll get a nutshell version of life and maybe a few pics.

Let's start with Carlton. My spirited, temperamental, loving, sweet boy. In a mere 3 weeks he will be FOUR years old. Seriously? Where has the time gone? He is completely obsessed with anything train. Riding on them, playing with them, wearing them, watching them...you get the idea. We continue to struggle a bit with potty training. Mostly the poopies. You mommies likely know what I mean. All of a sudden he also refuses to sleep in his room. Sigh...one day he'll decide it's not cool to crawl in bed with mom and dad every night.

Jackson is 2.5 years old. He is sweet as can be, is talking up a storm, sings along with his favorite CD in the car, loves all things Cars and his favorite book is Brown Bear. He's still a wonderful little sleeper and one of these days we'll start thinking about potty training....hopefully he'll be easier when big bro gets it all figured out.

When the two of them get together the result is lots of wrestling, fighting over toys, hugs, kisses, tears....typical little boys! I wouldn't have it any other way....well, I could do without some of the fighting and tantrum throwing. Just comes with the territory.

Enough chat, let's check out the boys....

On the train with Daddy last weekend...

Carlton w/ Charlee, the chihuahua....the most tolerable dog around!

Tonight I asked the boys to hug for a picture...this is how it ended...

Sweet Jackson just before going on a train ride with Carlton and Daddy last Sunday...

As for me...the past year has been focused on becoming the healthiest mom, wife, person I can be! I've mentioned this in passing over the past year and just haven't found a way to really talk about it publically on the blog. If you've ever struggled with your weight you likely understand how difficult it can be to discuss opening, publically and honestly. I've had a challenge with my weight since I was in elementary school. I'm now 39 years old and I'm FINALLY getting it figured out. It's not easy, I will face this challenge the rest of my life, but I am learning how to change my lifestyle to cope with it. I am very proud to share with you that I have LOST 110 POUNDS since August 1st. Just under a year. This time last year I never would have imagined it was possible. I've been stuck for the past couple months, but that's not going to deter me from accomplishing my goals! I'm asked on pretty much a daily basis how I've done this...the simple answer is "exercise and eating right". We'll talk more about that soon....

It's late, I must sleep....

TWO!

2009-03-01T20:55:00.001-05:00

I'm posting this a tad late....Jackson turned TWO on Feb 19th. Time is flying!

Sucker!

2009-01-28T22:15:00.002-05:00

Oy, we are having sleep issues with a certain little 3.5 year old boy. I've always been so proud of him being a great little sleeper....well that has come back to bite me in the butt. About a month ago he decided sleep was not necessary and we haven't yet figured out why. The best conclusion is that he's going through a phase....please let this come to an end. We've tried locking him in the room, letting him scream, rocking, bribing, negotiating, taking away movies/tv that might be scaring him...the next thing is total room darkening blinds because he does have some light that comes in from the street. We'll figure it all out eventually...hopefully soon...Momma needs her sleep.

Anyway, lately he's insistent that I don't lock the door and that I leave the gate open. We've cooperated thus far because those are the nights he's actually been staying in his bed. Tonight I thought I had him asleep and I headed to the basement to do a few things and get all my work stuff organized for tomorrow. Pretty soon I heard the pitter patter of troublemaking feet. I let it go on for a few minutes thinking he was up to no good, but deciding to see what happened. What was I thinking?? I went upstairs to find a tired little boy who could barely keep his eyes opened, yet he'd climbed on the kitchen counter and eaten 1/2 of a banana I had laying next to my lunch bag and then got into the cabinet to find the container of bribe material -- DumDums aka as SUCKERS in our house. Guess I was the big sucker tonight. He had taken the plastic tub of them (about 10 or so) to the couch, unwrapped everyone of them and was sharing them with the dogs! When I busted him in the act he actually shoved one up the leg of his pajamas and ran upstairs to his bed. When questioned "Do you have a sucker in your pants" he attempted to innocently say, "No sucker mommy". I fished it out of the pants and told him to go to sleep.

That was about 20 minutes ago and he's been out of bed approximately 10 times since then. I'm sitting on my bed with the door open watching him on the video monitor. Each time he gets out of bed I yell out to him and he runs back to bed. I THINK I may have finally won...he's under the covers laying very still.

Well...I won until he crawls into bed about 1am. Which reminds me of another little sleep ditty....a few nights ago I woke up to find that he was not in his bed, not in our bed and nowhere to be found. He couldn't go far....only has access to his room, his brothers and ours at night (when the gate at the top of the stairs is closed). I searched everyone before waking Jeff up in a panic. He sat up on the edge of the bed, looked down and discovered Carlton sound asleep in a pile of pillows and dirty laundry (cause for some reason men thing laundry belongs on the floor by the bed) next to Jeff's side of the bed. He was sleeping so peacefully I put a blanket on him and he stayed there all night.

It's a good thing I have a hair appointment on Friday because this kid is causing the gray hairs to multiply!

He appears to be asleep...SCORE for the mommy!

Three Years ago...

2009-01-16T21:26:00.004-05:00

...today our sweet Carlton was placed in our arms forever. Wow! Where has the time gone?

Carlton is now 3.5 years old, full of energy and temper tantrums, talking up a storm, etc. I couldn't ask to have been blessed with a more perfect son! I'm so lucky to be his mommy. Now, the tantrums and sleeping issues could certainly improve, but a mom can dream, right?

Here were my thoughts on that day.

This is the first time I held my son. Not a flattering picture, but a super special moment:

And here we are a few weeks ago. I wanted to get a picture today but we had a busy, busy day.

Thank you for sharing our journey!

Merry...

2008-12-27T21:29:00.004-05:00

It was a great holiday around our house this year! We were lucky enough to have a good friend staying with us (Hi Todd!) to help celebrate! There was no fuss, no traveling, no craziness...just hanging out, playing, relaxing, having a good time. I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday...no matter how you celebrated! We are looking forward to a fantastic 2009 and are optomistic that Carlton might get over these temper tantrums he's becoming infamous for right now. Please! A mom can hope, right?

The Sweetest Words...

2008-12-08T23:10:00.003-05:00

I am always telling my little boys how much I love them. Carlton usually says it back to me, but tonight was a different, sweeter than ever, tears in the eyes moment....

We were snuggling in my bed before his bedtime. He put his little hands on my cheeks, looked me in the eyes and said, "I love you mommy".

Awwwwwwwww.......

Weekend Wrapup...

2008-10-26T21:19:00.005-04:00

Another weekend has come and gone. Time surely does fly when you are having fun...well, mostly fun.

On Friday afternoon Jackson had his first trip to the emergency room. I usually work from home on Fridays but I had to go into the office for a meeting. I dropped the boys at daycare and Jackson seemed fine. Well, that didn't last long. The poor kid started having major poopy (uh - diarrhea) issues pretty much every 15 minutes for several hours. I feel so bad for his poor, sweet teachers as well. He stopped eating and drinking and was completely lethargic. Jeff bolted from work and called the pediatrician on the way. They instructed him to take him to the ER for fear of dehydration. I was over an hour away and a total wreck. Just hearing your child's name and ER in the same sentence is enough to freak any mom out. I left work and by the time I got the ER Jackson had perked up a bit. He was in a lot of pain from a horrible diaper rash. They examined him, tested for roto-virus and observed him for a while. Luckily, other than an icky stomach bug, he seemed fine. They sent us on our way after a few hours. He started eating and drinking again and has improved a great deal over the weekend. Daddy is not faring so well right now...he seems to have caught the bug.

As I do on most Saturday mornings I had a training session at the gym with one of my personal trainers. I love getting my weekend started with a good workout. It was a good one too! I love feeling stronger and better about myself! It rained all day and since the boys were all feeling icky we stayed home and had a lazy day....full of laundry and little household stuff. Carlton thinks he's above naps these days so we snuggled on the couch at naptime and he fell asleep on me. Not much sweeter than your son snuggled up sleeping on you. We tried to stay up and root on the Phillies and Buckeyes but sleep got the best of me. Bummer for the Buckeye loss, but YAY PHILLIES!!!

Today was not anymore exciting than yesterday. I ran errands, hit the gym for a cardio workout, cooked dinner (with Carlton's help), played with the boys....

Here are a few pics to sum up the day....

Carlton, our future chef, helping me cook sweet potatoes and squash:

Wrestlemania hit our house today. Carlton would lay on the couch and beg Jackson to come jump on him. It was rather amusing. They both had so much fun...and no one got hurt. Bonus!

I figured out why I got this Rocket costume on dirt cheap clearance....kids are freaked out by it!!! Neither one of mine will wear it. Now I need to come up with an alternative for Halloween.

Until next time...

Choo-Choo

2008-10-20T22:15:00.006-04:00

Hi Blog Friends - I've become a lousy blogger these days. Life is wonderful...just busy, busy, busy.

The boys are fabulous...certainly keeping us on our toes. This weekend we headed to Lancaster, PA to ride the Choo-Choo! I wish I could have captured Carlton's excitement when we told him we were going to ride the train. We couldn't get him there fast enough. It was a great time enjoying the beautiful fall weather on the open air train car. Here are a few pics of the boys from Saturday....

Carlton showing off his orange choo-choo. He picked this out in the gift shop before we took our train ride. We also had to get sweat shirts because super-mom forgot to take jackets. Funny thing is we took them to the train about 6 months ago and Carlton picked out the exact same train that day too.

Watching them move the engine from the front to the back for the return trip.

Who? Me?

Jackson...cute as can be.

Jackson is now 20 months and doing fabulous. He's starting to say a handful of words. Tonight my heart melted when I walked in the door and heard him call for "MAMA"! His eating issues have improved greatly and he's pretty much eating everything. We are still thickening all his liquids until he has another barium swallow next month to make sure nothing is going into his windpipe. Like most little boys he loves watching Cars!

Carlton is my challenge lately. He's such a little love bug but has a HUGE temper to go along with it. He wants absolutely nothing to do with potty training and also hates to have his diaper changed. Can't win in that situation. He is typically pretty good with Jackson but has moments of being a little too rough and mean with his little bro. Jackson is starting to stand up to him a little more these days. Carlton's speech is improving every day and he's starting to respond to more questions and initiate more conversation.

They are both amazing!!!

In other news....you may recall this post I made a couple months ago...I'm happy to report that I am doing great, getting healthy and taking care of me!!! I've lost about 45 pounds, am fitting into clothes I haven't worn in years, donating clothes that are too big and feeling better than I have felt in years!!! I'm at the gym pretty much 7 days a week and working out with my absolutely amazing personal trainer 3x a week! I'm re-learning how to eat healthy and figuring out what my body needs. It's been an emotional time dealing with so much of what's gone on in my life in recent years, but I wouldn't change a thing! I'll share more of my journey with you soon....stay tuned.

That's about all the randomness I have for now...I'm off to dreamland. Sweet Dreams to all!

One Year with Jackson!

2008-09-24T21:28:00.003-04:00

One year ago today my sweet, sweet Jackson was placed in my arms for the first time. This past year has been a whirlwind and I can't believe how fast it has gone. I will never forget the moment his foster mom placed him in my arms. He was so teeny and so weak. Now he is strong, vibrant and running all over the place. Here are a few pictures of then and now....

I love you sweet boy!

Family Portrait

2008-09-08T20:50:00.003-04:00

Carlton brought home his first family drawing....

Daddy wasn't too happy about being left out. Apparently we all wear too much blue. :)

Here are the cutie-pies snuggled up watching a little tv before bed. This was just before Carlton's 1,567,454th tantrum today. Yikes....he's certainly pushing our buttons these days.

Playing

2008-08-19T22:01:00.004-04:00

I thought I'd share a few recent pictures of the boys playing happily. There is a lot of unhappy play around here these days. Carlton has entered the tantrum filled threes. He's typically taking toys from Jackson or trying to force him to play with things he's not interested in. I'll share the happy moments....

Carlton pushing Jackson on Rocket...

Then it was Jackson's turn to push Carlton...

Jackson was left behind...

Jackson's sweet smile...

Jackson and the new trike...

In other news. I'm going strong at the gym. I absolutely love working out with my trainer and feel awesome afterwards. He's just what I need! I'm down about 8-9 pounds so far.

Sweet Dreams....

I feel good...

2008-08-11T20:53:00.002-04:00

nah nah nah nah nah...so good...so good....sing it with me!!!

For the first time in about 5 years I am taking care of....ME!

Thinking back to 2003 I had no kids, we lived a relaxing lifestyle. I going to the gym, eating right and had lost 50 pounds. Then it all started. During the next 5 years there were many, many, many ups and downs in my life....

Infertility Treatments in 2004 & 2005 for both Jeff & me...surgeries, 4 IVF, no embryos, nothing, nada, not gonna get pregnant (years later I am thankful for this, but then...not so much).

My mom passing away suddenly in 2/05.

My dad passing away suddently in 8/06.

Two adoptions.

Etc.

Somewhere in all of that I forgot about me. I couldn't be any happier with my two little boys, my hubby and my wonderful life...but it finally hit me (hard) that I was not happy with ME. Time for changes.

A week and a half ago a new 24 hour gym opened up less than 2 miles from my house. I was there working out on opening day and have been there nearly every day since then. Today I had my first training session with my new personal trainer! I feel better physically and mentally than I have in a long, long time.

This isn't going to be easy. I have a long road in front of me to get healthy, lose a lot of weight and get back to loving life even more than I already do. Thankfully I have supportive friends and a great trainer to kick my butt.

I won't lie...my body hurts tonight....yet I feel awesome!

3 Years Ago...

2008-08-05T09:59:00.004-04:00

Three years ago today we received the phone call that would change our lives. We had a son!

The first picture we saw of our sweet boy, Carlton...

And now...

Birthday Weekend!

2008-07-30T21:57:00.007-04:00

We had a great time celebrating Carlton's 3rd Birthday. We didn't have a party, instead we did lots of family activities and had a good friend of ours in town for the weekend. Here is the birthday in pictures...

Friday night we went to the DE state fair. The boys had a blast checking out all the animals and running around. Carlton went on the carousel and the BIG ferris wheel with daddy (mommy was chicken).

On Saturday we spent the afternoon/evening in Atlantic City. Our buddy, Todd, had never been there. The traffic was an absolute nightmare, but once we got there we had lunch, played on the Steel pier where Carlton rode a bunch of rides and then had a great time just running/walking on the boardwalk.

Sunday was Carlton's actual Birthday and we did the same thing we've done the past 2 years....went to the Adventure Aquarium in NJ. It's so much fun to see how much he changes each year. This year we enjoyed the 3-D Sponge Bob movie, watched the sharks and had fun chasing the birds outside.

Finally we ended the weekend with gifts and cake at home. Then we all slept really well! :)

Choo-Choo!

1-2-3

2008-07-27T22:26:00.001-04:00

I love comparing year to year! We had a fantastic time today celebrating Carlton's third birthday! For now...I must sleep.

THREE!

2008-07-27T09:09:00.003-04:00

My baby is THREE today. I can't believe it! More later....after I recover from a fun, exhausting weekend. :)

Yes. I know....

2008-07-19T14:14:00.003-04:00

...I've been a horrible blogger lately. I've wanted to catch up and a few people actually noticed that I hadn't been blogging so I assure you, more is coming soon.

In the meantime, a brief summary:

We were in FL on vacation the week of the 23rd. It was a vacation full of chaos, but we still had a fantastic time. Jackson got sick the night before we left and he puked and pooped his way to FL. Uh...I will not be flying with him again anytime soon. W/in the first hour in FL Jeff got a $213 speeding ticket...mere minutes after asking me how the cops were in that area. Duh. Both the boys ended up at urgent care and on antibiotics that week. Everyone (yes. everyone) in my family got a horrible stomach bug and ended up puking and pooping most of the week. Those of us staying in the condo didn't get the pukey part...but got the other. I got locked out of the van once with both boys in 150 degree (well, it felt like it) weather. And, we lost a key to the condo. Hmmm...that was some of the chaos.

On the flip side, it was wonderful to see family and good friends. Our friend, Jon, and his son stayed with us and we attended our 20th HS reunion. We stayed up late at night playing games and catching up. One of my dearest friends in the world, Lisa, visited for a few days. We went to the zoo, played in the pool, hung out at my brothers, relaxed when the boys let us.... It was truly a great vacation despite all the illnesses and we can't wait to do it again. Don't ask me about the flight home. :)

Let's see, what else...

We spent the 4th of July with a good friend who lives nearby and caught up while several adorable little boys played together.

Last weekend we had the pleasure of celebrating Dylan's 3rd birthday with his wonderful family and friends. Some of you may remember that Dylan and Carlton were foster brothers in Guatemala.

Carlton is going to be THREE in one week + one day. I can't believe it! We are going to have a low key celebration with just us and our good buddy, Todd, who is spending the weekend with us. We plan on hitting the DE state fair and the aquarium.

Jackson is literally running everywhere. He's has gotten quick! It's so much fun to watch the boys chase each other around and laugh hysterically. He's starting to say a few words that we understand: Go, Uh-Oh, Dog, Touchdown (sort of). He's waving hello/goodbye and blowing kisses. He is 17 months old today.

We spent the morning at IKEA getting a new storage shelf for the basement. I can't wait to get it put together and organize lots of toys. Then we had a yummy lunch at Famous Dave's. OMG...I splurged on dessert and the bread pudding was the best I've ever had.

Now I am going to take advantage of everyone sleeping to go kick up my feet.

More to follow soon! Have a safe and wonderful weekend! If' it's as hot where you are as it is here....stay inside!

Pizza

2008-07-07T09:47:00.002-04:00

I crack up everytime Carlton eats a piece of pizza. How does he do this?

"It go bonk"

2008-06-20T22:02:00.002-04:00

Tonight was my night to get a new hairdo. As I was paying for my new color & short hair cut (much shorter for those that know me in RL) and thinking about stopping for a water ice I got a call from home. It was the hubby. I didn't want to be rude as I was still paying, so I quickly said, "can I call you back". His response..."NO!". Of course my mind went a million directions at once..."What's wrong?". He asked how to unlock Carlton's door knob. ACK. No one was hurt, 911 was not needed, but my poor baby accidentially locked himself in his room as daddy was trying to put the boys to bed and he was stuck, screaming his little head off. Daddy tried to get him to unlock it to no avail, the darn little "key" (metal stick) they give you with knobs don't appear to work. I told Jeff to get a screwdriver and remove the knob. Meanwhile I tossed money at the salon reciptionist and high-tailed it home. Of course getting stuck behind every slow driver and red light.

I ran up the stairs, Jeff had managed to get the knob off, but still couldn't get the locking part to unlatch. I took over, gave it a good talking to and was able to get it open. PHEW! 5 more minutes and I think the fire department would have been called to our house. Poor little Carlton was standing there in a poopy diaper, hands in mouth, tears streaming down his face...and the first thing he said to me was "It go BONK". Apparently when Jeff popped the knob off on Carlton's side of the door it clocked him in the head.

Tomorrow well be replacing the boys door knobs with ones that don't lock! Or turning them around so the lock is on the outside...but I can see that leading to trouble when they are a little older and start locking each other in their rooms.

Happy Daddy Day!

2008-06-15T21:36:00.004-04:00

Happy Day to all the Dads, Daddies, Papas, Fathers....

We spent the day eating out, running errands and waiting around for haircuts. Here are a few pictures of our two cuties today! I couldn't resist the shirts. I had one that said "I love my husband" and the boys gave Jeff one that said "Super Daddy". We got quite a few laughs while we were out and about today.

It's so difficult to capture Carlton's smiles theses days. He's too fast.

This one is a little blurry because the boys were on the move, but I love it because you can see how much fun they were having. They were a bundle of energy running aroung Supercuts.

Love this one too. Carlton was laughing hysterically at Jackson.

Here they are after their cuts.

Sweet little Jackson before we left for breakfast. He's pretty much a full-time walker now! You can see that he is not sitting still in one of these pictures.

Happy Birthday....

2008-06-10T00:00:00.001-04:00

TO ME!

Today I turn 38!

Just for fun, here are a few pictures of me as a youngster...

I think this was taken just before my first birthday:

I'm 2.5 years old in this one:

And here I am waiting for the candles to be lit on my 7th birthday. I think. It might have been 8. It looks to me like there are 7 candles...with one to grow on. We always used to add the extra for the next year...I guess. I don't really remember why we did that.

14 Years!

2008-06-04T09:30:00.000-04:00

Happy Anniversary Sweetie!

First Steps!

2008-06-02T22:41:00.002-04:00

Please excuse the high pitched, very annoying voice!

A Cage & A Carnival

2008-05-28T10:43:00.005-04:00

Yesterday Jackson picked a new favorite play place. One of our 3 dogs is a little chihuahua. He took all of the stuff out of her cage and hung out in there. You can see how happy he is with himself...

We took the boys to a local church carnival last night. We thought that Carlton would want to ride some of the little kid rides. Nope. He wanted nothing to do with them. Jeff attempted to take him on the Merry-Go-Round and Carlton refused to sit on a horse so they got kicked off. He talked about the horseys all night, but didn't want to sit on one. We let him pick a duck for a prize. He won a little duck which was lost somewhere along the way.

We passed the balloon/dart game and it was all over from there. Carlton wanted an orange balloon. No toys, no rides, no food...just an ORANGE BALLOON. The kid is fascinated by balloons and orange is his favorite.

Lost Duck: $2.00

Unused ride tickets: $10.00

Darts to throw at balloons: $5.00

A happy boy with an orange balloon: Priceless

Troublemakers!

2008-05-10T22:10:00.002-04:00

Uh Oh. Looks like we are going to be in trouble with these two.....

We turned out backs for a couple seconds and found them up there. Of course we removed them quickly...but not before snapping a picture.

We had a wonderful morning at a the park with many other families in our area that have also adopted from Guatemala. Here are a couple more the boys playing.

Weekend Fun!

2008-05-07T21:21:00.008-04:00

This was my first weekend away from Jeff and the kids. I was so excited but anxious about leaving....a few weeks ago my best friend, Jon called and asked what I was doing on May 2nd. Nothing was planned. Jon lives in Minnesota and has a cousin living in Chicago that he was going to visit. He said, "Meet me there". After a quick consulation with my awesome hubby we decided "what the heck". I haven't been away for more than a few hours since we've had the boys and Jeff could surely survive the weekend with them. So, Friday night arrived. My flight was scheduled to leave at 11pm and get me to Chicago at 12:21am....this is where it got rocky.

(This is long, go grab a snack)

Cliff note version of the rough start to the weekend....

-Flight cancelled due to plane being diverted.

-No other flights.

-Rescheduled on a crappy ass flight that wouldn't get me there until the next afternoon.

-Offered a discount room.

-Turned it down - I only live 20 min from the airport.

-Hubby calls while I'm having a tantrum in the airport over my ruined weekend.

-Convinces me to stick it out and stay in a hotel.

-I find a nice US Airways lady because I don't want to walk back to the customer service line from hell.

-Good news! She gets me on a better flight that will arrive in Chicago at 8:30 AM. WEEKEND SAVED!

-Shuttle to a hotel 10 min from my house and don't sleep. Ugh.

-Up at 4am to get back to airport.

-Go to United counter since US Air booked me on a United flight.

-No record of it. Crap!

-US ~~pain in the asses~~ Air won't pick up the phone.

- 15 min walk to their terminal.

- 4 agents at the counter, no customers. Why the hell can't you pick up the phone?

- Flight fixed....

- Walk back to United.

- Fly to Chicago. Yay! I made it....

- My 1 little checked bag did not! No clothes!

- United scans bags so they could confirm it was not on their flights.

- Walk to US pita. They don't scan bags. No idea where it is.

- ....have to file a claim with United since I flew them, even though US Air had my bag.

- Walk back to United.

- FEET HURTING!

- Wash, rinse, repeat 2x. No bag.

Somewhere in in all this Jon finds me searching for my bags and regardless of the rocky start the fun begins! Jon and I have been friends since high school and is one of those people you just can't imagine life without. We talk daily. He's great friends with my hubby. We just get each other. So, it was Jon, me and 2 younger cousins for the weekend. We proceed to drive into the city and we are all starved. We park and walk around a cute little area with lots of restaurants, bookstores, etc. I don't remember which area (Did I mention that my feet are on fire by now?!). We find a Thai restaurant that looks promising. I've never had Thai. It was yummy and we shared lots of laughs while sharing good food.

After lunch I convince them to drop me off that the hotel. I am not one of those people that like to crash in strangers apartments and share bathrooms so I used Hotwire and stayed in a gorgeous Hyatt. Of course due to the flight mess I paid 2 nights and stayed one. Oh well. As soon as they dropped me off I went to the concierge to help me find a nearby woman's store...plus size, which makes it even more of a challenge. I rest for about 2 seconds in my room and head out to the address she gave me for Lane Bryant. Ummmm....the cabbie dropped me off in an obvious shopping area, but the address was a building under construction. Argh. I wander and wander and someone was watching over me because I happened to find the store a block over. I managed to throw together a couple outfits, pick up a little purse, umbrella, curling iron, brush...all the necessities that were checked. Thankfully I had my makeup and other stuff. I took my goods back to the hotel just in time for Jon to say they'd pick me up in an hour. What a whirlwind so far and it just kept going, but got soooooo much better.

We really, really, really wanted to see Wicked, but we didn't have tickets. The Border's next to the theater does a ticket draw 2 hours before the show. About 100 people come out and put their names in a hat. They draw 10 names for a total of 20 tickets. We were all putting our positive vibes out into the universe. It worked!! Three of our names were pulled! We ended up with four FRONT ROW, CENTER tickets for $25 each! It was amazing. I could reach out and touch the orchestra conductor! I highly recommend this show. You will have a fantastic time and you will watch the Wizard of Oz with a new perspective.

In between the ticket drawing and the beginning of the show we enjoyed good old Chicago deep dish at Giordano's along with a couple beers. Life it good.

After the show it was time to drink too much, stay up too late and have a blast. We ended up at Howl at the Moon, a dueling piano bar, drinking party bucket of Long Islands and doing shots. That went on until about 2:30 am when I waved the white flag. They dropped me off and proceeded to go eat polish sausages in the wee hours. I crashed....hard!

The next morning we had a late breakfast on the patio of a cute little place and shared lots of food. After that we walked down the block to a bar that Jon's cousin used to work at. The manager was a friend of his and hooked us up with bloody mary's, fruit drinks and shots....all very, very strong. What were we thinking...we are not in college anymore...but it was sooooo much fun! :) Don't peg me for a huge lush. I rarely ever drink at home and we never got drunk over the weekend...just a good, fun buzz.

After that Jon and I were off to the theater again. This time for Jersey Boys. We purchased tickets for this one. It was good. Not great, not as good as Wicked, but I enjoyed it. That's just my opinion. Others have raved about it. If you haven't seen it and like Frankie Valli music...go.

Once the show was over it was time to say goodbye to Jon and hop in a cab. I wish we would have been able to spend more time together, but we made the best out of every moment. It was just a preview of our planned vacation at the end of June. Jeff and I, along with the boys are meeting Jon and his son in Florida for a week! We have a condo on the beach and will be attending our 20 year reunion (yikes)!

Here we are at Giordano's, just before seeing Wicked.

Oh...my bag showed up on Sunday morning as I was getting ready. I was never so happy to see my comfy walking shoes!!!!!!

If you've actually read all of this, thanks for reading about my weekend fun!

Oh (again)...Jeff and the boys all survived. The house was a little icky, but no worries. With 2 boys (well, 3) I have to get used to ickyness.

Buzzzzzz

2008-05-06T21:44:00.003-04:00

I spent this past weekend in Chicago with my best friend! Had a fantastic time and will post more about it tomorrow. In the meantime I have to share a picture of my Buzz Boys. Daddy took them for haircuts while I was away. We've been buzzing Carlton's hair for a while because it just sticks up when it grows. I wanted to keep a "little boy" cut on Jackson but he was too darn squirmy for the scissors.

Here are my cuties last night just before bed. We were curled up on my bed watching a little TV. Daddy is out of town now so more snuggles for mommy.

Jackson's expression cracks me up. It was dinner time and I think I caught him with a mouthful of food.

He doesn't look like the same kid I left home on Friday. Here was the shaggy hair...

Catching Up

2008-04-27T20:44:00.005-04:00

Wow. Time certainly does fly when you are having fun...and when you are chasing 2 toddlers all over the place. I thought I'd take advantage of a few quiet moments to update my blog friends.

Jackson is now 14 months old and doing wonderfully. We encountered some feeding and milk issues, but things are improving. We seen several docs and run tests, but it appears to be mostly developmental and possibly a little of a reflux issue. When we initially tried to transition to more table food he rejected anything with texture. After a few weeks on reflux med and just practicing, he's eating more and more. Milk caused several weeks of poopy issues so we are doing a few months of Lactaid before trying it again. All in all things are going well right now. He's not quite walking yet....but close. He's cruising everything and will walk a little holding your hand, he's just started standing without holding on for a few seconds. I'm guessing in a few more weeks he'll be toddling around. Jackson is starting to defend himself against his sometimes rough big brother. Rumor has it he pegged him with a ball today. Go Jackson, Go! :)

Carlton is a wild, crazy, lovable, adventurous 2.75 year old! Today was a rough day with him so I have to look beyond it. It was just one of those days where nothing made him happy. We all have them now and then so we just pushed through it and now he's sound asleep. Now that the weather is finally warming up he loves going outside. In the evenings we'll venture out into the neighborhood with him driving his little "tot-rod" and me pushing Jackson in the stroller. He loves it - he hasn't figured out how to steer yet so we spend a lot of time crashing into things. We've made a few new friends in the neighborhood (finally) and have been enjoying visiting with them.

Enough talk....let's get onto what you really want to see...picture time!

Carlton being a loving big brother and making sure Jackson gets a snack...

Saturday morning chaos at our place....

Checking out the drawers...

Work time...

Shopping...

Cutie-Pie....

Told you feeding is getting better...fun with spaghetti...

Yummm....

Who, me? I can't get a smiling picture of this munchkin these days...

I hope you enjoyed an updated glimpse of the boys. It's crazy around here but we are loving every moment of it.

Next weekend I'm getting my first major solo mommy break! I'm flying to Chicago on Friday night to meet up with a dear friend for the weekend. Daddy is on his own with the boys for 48 hours. I'm going to miss my boys terribly, but I'm looking forward to the fun.

Prayers for a wonderful family...

2008-04-02T20:33:00.002-04:00

Most of you in blogland probably know about Tricia, Nate & Gwyneth. You can follow there story on Nate's Blog. As I type this Tricia is in the operating room preparing to undergo a double lung transplant.

Please take a moment to send an extra prayer or thought to this amazing family!

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T21:04:00.006-04:00

Hi Blog Friends. I hope everyone had a Happy Easter or Happy Spring Day...whatever you were celebrating or enjoying. We had a fun family day!

After naptime today we colored eggs. Carlton was too funny....he didn't get the concept at first so when we handed him the first egg he tried to use it to color and when it didn't work he cracked it on the table. It didn't take long for him to catch on...

This was his expression when he realized we were dunking the eggs into cups of colored water...

Here he is getting into the fun...

Jackson showing off the finished product....

Carlton hunting eggs in the yard. He was so happy to find them filled with candy and some Cars.

Jackson took the laid back approach to egg hunting. Next year I'm sure he'll join in the fun...

Vacation Pics

2008-03-21T20:57:00.003-04:00

I'm finally taking a few minutes to share pictures of our Blizzard Vacation in Ohio. Here's a glimpse at our week....

Driving into the unexpected blizzard. It was a scary, scary drive for 6 of the 12 hours (normally takes 8):
Bumper to Bumper. Icy, snow, sleet...Messy!

Stuck in the hotel. Carlton watching the SNOW!

The roads a couple hours after the snow stopped. We were so stir crazy we had to get out. We didn't go far, but it was nice to be outside.

During the storm we entertained ourselves any way we could. Here are the boys running/crawling up and down the hallway after balls and cars.

Jackson happy as can be in the car! Believe it or not this was after about 7 hours.

Naptime for Carlton. This was how he got his naps in during the trip. Now that I look at it there is no snow so I think it was when we were nearly back home.

We spent a couple days visiting old friends in the area where Jeff grew up. This is the downtown of the itty, bitty town where he grew up. There is no stop light in town and I think only 2 stop signs. It's a place where everyone knows your name.

Driving out in the country the day after the storm.

Jackson wrestling Carlton with a little help from Daddy.

That's it for now. I'm going to catch up on shows I have DVR'd.

Happy St. Pat's!

2008-03-17T19:42:00.004-04:00

Carlton and his cheesy grin would like to wish you all a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

It's next to impossible to get a picture of this kid smiling these days. He's too fast and when I take out the camera he usually says "No Cheese!". In this picture he was actually saying "Cheese", but with a fake smile.

We survived the Blizzard and had a great time on vacation. We are all worn out. No one slept well and the boys had some difficulty getting back home and into the routine again. When I find some energy and time I'll post pictures.

Blizzard!

2008-03-08T09:49:00.002-05:00

Has anyone noticed the weather for central Ohio? The Blizzard of 2008 is in process...first one since 1978. We are stuck in it!!!

The drive yesterday went great for the first 6 hours of what should have been an 8 hour drive. Well, those last 2 hours took us another 6. It was a long, long day but we arrived safe and sound. The boys were awesome...aside from deciding to wake at 5am today.

We are stuck in the hotel and can't even get out the door today. Thankfully we have a 2 room suite and internet access. Oh and lots of movies, snacks and toys! It's going to be a long day. Hopefully tomorrow we will be able to at least get out to see Jeff's dad.

Pics and more to come soon...

Referral Anniversary

2008-03-06T21:24:00.002-05:00

One year ago tonight we were experiencing a roller coaster of emotions. On 3/6/07 I woke up thinking we were adopting a little girl, Baby Georgia. DNA had been completed and we were waiting on PA from the US Embassy. I was crushed when the agency called to tell me we would not be adopting her. I was heart broken, but also happy for her and her birthmother. Baby Georgia's mom decided that with the support of her family she would raise her daughter. I think of them often and pray they are safe and happy.

This was the 2nd referral we lost. We were numb and didn't understand what was happening. Later that day we understood it all. Our case worker (who is absolutely wonderful)told me there was a little boy that needed a home. I didn't immediately let her send me the information because we needed to process everything and decide if this was the right path for us. It didn't take long for us to realize that somehow this was all meant to be. We took one look as his cute little face and knew it.

Tonight as I sit here reflecting on everything that happened one year ago today I know that it was all meant to be. This amazing little boy is fast asleep upstairs in his crib.

What a difference a year makes....

Bright and early tomorrow morning we are taking our first family of four vacation. The van is packed and we are driving to Ohio to visit the boy's Grandpa (Jeff's Dad) and some old friends. We are apparently driving right into a snowstorm. Wish us luck.

Haircuts!

2008-03-02T13:42:00.004-05:00

It was time...as has been pointed out by a friend (yes, D...talking about you), Jackson was in desparate need of a haircut. I just couldn't do it until he turned one. Yesterday all the boys, Daddy included, got their hair cut. Carlton was a superstar - he sat up in the chair by himself and looked at the animals on his cape. Jackson was not as happy about the adventure. He sat, well squirmed, on my lap for his cut. It's a little uneven in places, but I give HUGE kudos to the girl that managed to keep her patience and give him a pretty good cut. Now that all that hair is gone I'm so glad we did it!

Here are my cuties yesterday. Whoops, no pics of the cutie hubby.

Jackson...before...

Carlton being such a big kid....

The after shot. Jackson clearly did not enjoy this adventure...

Bathtime. I couldn't resist posting this one. Notice anything? I didn't until I downloaded the picture. Haha....

Happy Birthday Jackson!

2008-02-19T21:39:00.005-05:00

One? Really? Already? Wow, time flies.

We celebrated Jackson's first birthday today. We decided to take the day off work and play. Our day started out at the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia. Getting there proved a little interesting because neither of us drives much around the city and the navigation system kept wanting us to turn where we couldn't, then finding parking was a thrill. Anyway, we finally got there and loved the place. Carlton had such a ball playing in the water, with trains, light switches, drums, etc. Jackson was such a big boy, playing right along side his big brother. If you live in the area, have small kids and haven't been to the Please Touch Museum...GO! We'll definately go back.

After that we stopped for cheesesteaks and attempted to keep the boys awake until we got home. A tired mommy and daddy were hoping for an afternoon break. We managed to keep Carlton awake with loud singing and tickling. Jackson was having no part of it and fell asleep about 15 minutes from home. Of course, once we got home Carlton was more than ready to sleep and Jackson was wide awake. So J and I ran a few errands.

Dinner was celebrated at Moe's where J tasted all kinds of stuff - chips, beans, rice, olives. This from a kid that has refused everything up until now. I guess he decided that since he's one it's time to be a big boy. :)

After dinner it was back home for cake. The cake was a pretty big hit. He was a little timid with it at first and then decided to dig into the icing.

Gifts were planned after cake, but the boys were both pretty much done with the day so we'll open gifts tomorrow night.

Then is was bath and bedtime.

Here are a few pictures of our special day.....

$1.00

2008-02-15T21:53:00.002-05:00

I never imagined that $1.00 could bring me to tears. Turns out it can....

Tonight Jeff and Carlton went to a local dinner for dinner. Jackson and I were stuck in traffic but decided to show up and surprise them. There we were...happy mom and dad enjoying dinner with their adorable little boys. They were both a little fussy and going into minor meltdown, but not too bad and it's a very friendly, casual place. All of a sudden a sweet, elderly woman appears next to me and is obviously admiring the boys. She asked if they were ours. I proudly said, "Yep, all ours!". I knew it was apparent to her they were adopted. She said how precious they were and asked if they were related. I simply told her they are not biologically related, but they were both born in Guatemala. Jackson started fussing and she tried to soothe him and mentioned her granddaughter. It was such a tender moment. Then she said, "I don't have much, but take this". I tried to refuse but she wouldn't let me. She placed a folded up one dollar bill in my hand. I asked her name and she said, "Susan, just Susan". Then just as quickly as she appeared, she was gone. Tonight I will say a little prayer for sweet Susan and hope that she is blessed with much love and joy from her family.

I'll never spend that dollar. It's tucked away in my wallet and maybe one day the boys can give it to someone who really needs it.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-14T20:24:00.003-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day from the Wingnuts....

I still can't get a decent picture of the boys together...which is why the Valentine's Card that I made has them separate. Here are some attempts at getting a shot of the two of them sitting in a chair....hopeless....

It's a little easier when they are asleep.

Tonight was precious. I had Jackson on the way home from work and Jeff picked up Carlton. We decided to meet at a burger place by the house. Jackson and I got there first and we were sitting at our table when Jeff and C arrived. Carlton was holding a single rose for me walking through the restaurant calling for "Mommy". He ran up to me and babbled some form of "Happy Valentine's Day" and gave me the rose. It was darling and I tried to hide my tears of joy watching my adorable son.

It doesn't get much sweeter.

Wishing you all much love and happiness!

Recent Cuteness

2008-02-11T22:27:00.001-05:00

Carlton and Charlee with their cheesy grins, cuddling in the big chair and enjoying a little TV before bed.
Look who is standing and helping with the dishes.

Extreme Home Makeover

2008-02-09T21:36:00.000-05:00

They are not far from us this week. We attempted to drive by and peek today but many blocks around the house were blocked off. We could see all the blue shirts from the distance and a buzz of activity all over the place. We also saw them working on a nearby park and I've heard they are helping several other neighbors in the area. I don't know the details of when the show will air, but it's in Wilmington, DE.

Here are the couple pics I got from the distance. I'm off work Monday to take Jackson to a Dr. appt. If the weather is nice I may try to park and walk by the area. They are doing the reveal on Tuesday. I would have loved to volunteer, but it wasn't possible with the boys and my schedule right now.

Tagged!

2008-02-09T21:23:00.000-05:00

I got tagged by Bama. All the blogs I read were doing this and no one tagged me. I was beginning to feel left out. Not that I really have anything interesting to tell you. :) Here's the deal....once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you. Post the rules on your blog. Post 7 random or weird facts about yourself on your blog. Tag 7 people and link to them. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.

1. I have a small scar by my eyebrow from jumping over a bush into a fence when I was three. It was one of my earliest memories. My brother, who was 11 at the time, came to my rescue, scooped me up and took me to mommy.

2. My other memorable scar is on my right shoulder blade. Mom and Dad were making home made donuts when I was about 6 and a bit of grease popped out on me.

3. I played varisity softball all 4 years of high school. So...I was sort of a jock. Started when I was 8 and played until I was about 23 and got married...and out of shape.

4. I was also a geek...played in the high school band for 3 years. I only joined because some of my good friends were in it. My parents wouldn't buy me an instrument because I gave up clarinet in middle school, so I had to play something the school would provide. I played tuba. Ha.

5. I was born on the Azores Islands in Portugal and would love to visit one day. My dad was in the Air Force and we were stationed there for a couple years.

6. I hate seafood. I won't eat anything that comes from the water.... and I grew up on the beaches of Florida.

7. I once tried to chase a black bear for a picture. It was on our honeymoon in Gatlinburg, TN. DH was not too happy about his new wife trying to get a picture of a big old bear.

Ok...that's it. Not sure if any of it qualifies as weird or interesting, but there it is.

I'm not tagging anyone specific because this has been going around for a bit. If you are reading this and you have not shared your 7 things yet, consider yourself TAGGED!

2.5 and other stuff

2008-01-27T21:29:00.000-05:00

Today was Carlton's 1/2 Birthday! Not that we actually celebrate 1/2 birthdays. It just sort of jumped out at me when I was playing with a birthday ticker for a forum that I participate on. So, in honor of a 2.5 B-day, the fact that it was Sunday and we had no plans, we decided to venture into every parent's potential nightmare...known as Chuck E. Cheese. Oy, that place it nuts. We didn't think it would be too crowded at 4pm on a Sunday. Wow...we were wrong. I think there were kids hanging from the rafters. It was crazy, but Carlton loved every moment of it. He was dancing to the music, playing games, chowing on pizza. Fun times. It was too busy to even get a prize with our tickets so we just got him a balloon and he was thrilled. We've made a pact to only go back on weekdays or when the doors open in the morning. Here are a couple cute pics from the outing.

Carlton loved the little ferris wheel and Jackson even took a spin on it and got encouragement from his big bro.

Looks like Jackson wanted a crack at the baseball game Carlton was playing. Maybe next time.

In other news....

I absolutely had to share this picture. Talk about bed head. I honestly did not help his hair out at all. This is what Jackson often looks like in the mornings. It's about time for the first trim.

The past week or so has been a little rough with Jackson. Last Saturday he started throwing up after every bottle we gave him. He's done this before, but only when he was sick. This time he showed no signs of illness. We've tried a couple different formulas, been to the doctor and he's doing much better. We think he may have some reflux issues, he has a test scheduled for next week. We also think he may have caught a bit of a stomach bug. Thankfully he's been happy and hasn't gotten sick since Friday morning. Hopefully this week he'll do ok in daycare and I can get some work done.

Tomorrow is a very dear friend's birthday...HAPPY BIRTHDAY D! We love you!

I think I'm gonna call it a night 5:30 am arrives awfully fast! Ugh.

FFF

2008-01-25T20:51:00.000-05:00

A few favorite pics from today. I can decide which one of Jackson I like more. It's nearly impossible to get Carlton to look at a camera and smile these day. All the pics I have of him are his side, back, or screaming. Long Week. Tired. More Later.
Peace.

Wow! 2 Years Ago...

2008-01-16T21:51:00.000-05:00

Two years ago today Carlton was placed in our arms forever. I will never forget the joy of becoming a mom...finally! It was a long road, but worth every heartache, tear, injection, treatment...Thank goodness none of that infertility crap worked for us...because now this amazing boy is our son! I can't imagine life without him or Jackson. The last two years have been absolutely incredible and it will only get better.

Here is a picture of Carlton 2 years ago today.

And, here he is this morning. It was about 7:00am and we were getting ready for work/daycare. Ugh. He was happy as can be, playing with his favorite thing..Lighting. :)

Life is great!

Happy 2008!

2008-01-01T10:08:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year Blog Friends, Family, RL Friends, whoever is reading this....

What a difference a year makes.

Beginning of 2007, Carlton - 17 Months:

End of 2007, Carlton - 29 Months AND Jackson - 10 Months:

I could get all sappy and emotional about the past year, but I'm not. I'll just say it's been an amazing adventure and I am so blessed to have these 2 little boys in my life. I am also blessed to have a wonderful husband by my side through this journey.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2008!

Peace.

Christmas Collage

2007-12-29T16:56:00.000-05:00

Santa

2007-12-24T22:53:00.000-05:00

We almost didn't get the annual picture of the boys with Santa. We waited too long and nearly missed him before his busy night. After much coaxing and nagging (me to Jeff) we braved the Christmas Eve crowds and visited Mr. & Mrs. Claus this afternoon. Carlton was excited up until it was time to actually sit on someone's lap. Jackson seemed to enjoy the little adventure. Here are my cuties....

Santa just finished delivering gifts to our house. He went a little overboard this year.

And just for fun....here is Carlton's picture from last year:

Merry & Happy!

2007-12-24T13:50:00.000-05:00

You may have seen the attempted Christmas Card photos...for those not on my card list, here were the best we were able to get of the lil guys.

In other news, both boys went to the Doc this morning. Carlton's finger is healing and the antibiotics should knock out any infection that may have been there. We are waiting on the culture results. Jackson continues to improve but still needs the nebs 2x per day. We are also adding another med to help with his breathing in general - he's very wheezy and spits up a lot. We are going to schedule a pulmonary consult.

Last night Santa's elves started putting together toys and wrapping. Yes, we went a lil overboard with gifts, but we couldn't help ourselves! Tonight we have the big kitchen/grill to put together. Tonight will also find us making home made pizza which is sort of a tradition...when we got married Jeff's family used to order pizza on Christmas eve and open gifts. I transitioned this into making home made pizza, which I think is a fun family activity and no gifts...well, maybe just one.

Tomorrow we'll make breakfast, open stockings, play with all our new toys and count our blessings!!!

Whatever you are doing I hope the season finds you happy and healthy!

Out Anniversary!

2007-12-23T13:34:00.000-05:00

Two years ago today...it was the Friday before Christmas. Our house was in dissary from repairs due to the "Toilet Flood of '05". Carpet was being laid. We had a tiny, ceramic Christmas tree as our only decoration and next to that tree was our first family ornament. We were waiting for news about when Carlton would be ours. He was 5 months old and our first child waiting for us in Guatemala.

At noon that day my cell phone rang and our fabulous case worker declared, "Congratulations, you are a mommy!" We were out! What an amazing Christmas gift. As I sit here and watch this amazing little boy, now 28 months old, playing on the floor with his little brother, my heart swells with joy and my eyes fill with tears of happiness.

Then:

Now:

What next?

2007-12-22T21:29:00.000-05:00

Oy...what a week!

Monday - I attempted to go into the office to join in my team's holiday party and Jackson went to the on-site family center. As I was sitting on the charter bus ready to pull out for lunch I got the call...fever and refusing to eat. I jumped off the bus and went to my boy. He was miserable.

Tuesday AM - Jackson to the docter. Horrible cough & low grade fever. Started a nebulizer to help with the cough and breathing.

Tuesday PM - It became apparent that my annual round of bronchitis has settled in. As soon as daddy arrived home to take care of the boys I went to the Doc and ended up with anti-biotics, an inhaler and serious cough meds.

Wednesday - Jackson was miserable, fever started spiking.

Thursday AM - Back to the doctor with Jackson. Lovely, double ear infections. Started antibiotics.

Thursday PM - We had a sitter lined up so Jeff and I snuck out for a quick movie while she took care of the little guys. It was a much needed break and they did fine.

Friday - Things looking up...knock on wood.

Saturday AM - UhOh. Carlton woke up with a strange blister on his finger. Nothing was there last night. It mysteriously appeared. Daddy and Carlton went shopping while Jackson and I went out to have a fun lunch with a friend.

Saturday PM - Oh no...the weird blister is looking horrible and infected. Off to urgent care. Got is lanced, drained, cultured. Now 3 of 4 people in our house are on antibiotics. Ugh, Ugh, Ugh.

All I want for Christmas is a healthy family!

The good news is...we are all on the mend (I think) and I have the two most precious boys sleeping peacefully upstairs right now.

Friday Fotos

2007-12-14T22:34:00.001-05:00

Absolute Cuteness....

Carlton squeezing into Jackson't bumbo seat. He's so proud of himself.

The sun finally came out for a few minutes today. We are so tired of the rain and fog. Jackson got all bundled up and we went outside to swing for a bit. He loved it.

Pee? Poop? Spitup? Calgon?

2007-12-13T18:57:00.000-05:00

I'll take Calgon. Please. I need it to take me away...and clean me. Here's the past 30 min...

Daddy is working late...bummer, but we are managing.

Cleaning up from dinner. Boys are happy. Just about to take J out of the high chair and C says he has to poopy. I grab J, plop him on the floor outside the bathroom and C comes in to sit on the potty.

I look down at my shirt and wonder how I smeared something on it? What is it? Smell test...ACK. POOPY!!! I forgot about J's grunting at dinner and failed to notice the blowout. Ugh.

Leave C sitting on little potty, grab J to clean him up (after a quick diaper wipe clean up of myself).

I've got J on the changing table cleaning up his blowout.

C wanders out of the bathroom, looks down at his crotch and proceeds to pee-pee on the floor.

Apparently he's been watching mommy (not pee on the floor, the next part) because he grabbed a kleenex wiped himself and went to flush it.

J is now clean, for the moment.

C is still saying "poopy" and running around naked and flushing 1/2 box of kleenex in the big potty.

Give him the option of potty or diaper, he chooses diaper.

I think we are done.

I resume cleaning up for dinner and discover the pile of J poop in the highchair.

J starts crying because C is apparently standing on him (nice). Go pick him up and wonder what the hell the white stuff is on me. Oh nice.....J spit up on me. Round 2 cleaning J.

What's next?

Bedtime....I hope and pray!

Daddy is on the way home....YAY!

Picture Fun

2007-12-08T11:49:00.000-05:00

Today we attempted to get THE picture for holiday cards. Attempted being the key word. I thought it was difficult last year with one little guy. I was incorrect. This was nearly impossible. Both boys appeared to be in good spirits. As soon as the cute jammies went on and the camera came out Carlton refused to even look at me and Jackson wouldn't smile. Poor little guy is cutting a top tooth right now and is miserable. After about 150 pics (thank goodness for digital cameras) we got a few that will work. Here are some of the fun and discarded ones....

Elves

2007-12-06T09:29:00.000-05:00

It was too cute not to do and share....

The Wing Elves

YES!

2007-12-01T12:58:00.000-05:00

Yes, we successfully had date night! :) Our wonderful new babysitter arrived right on time...I was still in my sweats but had my hair and makeup done and clothes ready to toss on. We went through the routine and off we went. The boys didn't make any fuss when we left. They were apparently perfect little children for her....she didn't have to put them to bed. Ha...she tries that next weekend.

Dinner was wonderful. Two hours of quiet time. It was an adult's dream Time Out!

We were back home by 8pm and then the fun began. Carlton refused to go to bed. He felt horrible so I couldn't really blame him. We snuggled up on my bed and watched Elmo. Jackson hung out with us until he fell asleep about 9pm and then I was able to transfer a sleeping Carlton to his crib about 10pm. I went to bed shortly after...good thing because Jackson was back up at midnight and Carlton was back up at 5:30 am. I'm worn out today but still hoping to get some Christmas decorating done and get in the holiday spirit.

Enjoy your weekend.

Date Night

2007-11-30T16:02:00.000-05:00

Dear Hubby and I have not been out on a date in FOREVER. I do mean forever. Since Carlton has been home (nearly 2 years) I can count on one hand the number of times we have left him with a sitter. Even then it was only for work events or a wedding. Oh, there was last year's Trans-Siberean Orchestra Concert (TSO). Well, tonight, for the first time in a long, long, time we are scheduled to have a nice, quiet, kid-free, grown up dinner at Sullivan's. We are testing out a new babysitter who I am sure is going to be wonderful. She's going to be watching the boys next Saturday for the TSO concert. It was great...going again this year with a couple friends.

When DH and I woke up this morning we both said...Yay, date night! Of course at 11:30 I get a call from daycare...Carlton had a 102.8 temperature. Ugh. I bring him home for rest, TLC and meds. He is playing contently and the fever is down. Verizo*n is supposed to be here between 1-5 to repair our DSL line. It's 4:06 and no sign of them. The babysitter is arriving at 5:30 and our dinner reservation is for 6:00. He better show up soon. Their customer service royally sux and I don't want to have to call again, but if his butt is not here and gone by 5:30 I'm kicking him out. At some point I'd like to freshen my hair and makeup and actually get out of my sweats and tee shirt.

Will date night really happen? Stay tuned.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-22T21:35:00.000-05:00

I feel completely blessed on this special day. I am so thankful for these two amazing boys and my fabulous husband and family. I only wish I could have been with my family today...they are in my thoughts.

Here are the boys enjoying Thanksgiving dinner and Carlton playing peek-a-boo with Jackson before bed.

I hope all of you had a wonderful day...whatever you did.

Lame

2007-11-18T21:20:00.000-05:00

I know, I've been totally lame about posting lately. There just are not enough hours in the day to get everything done. The boys are doing great! We've all had colds this weekend. Thankfully nothing too major...just runny noses, coughs, sneezes. Carlton has a pretty painful diaper rash but he's on the mend (I hope)! Yesterday we stayed in our jammies all day and played. Today we actually got dressed but stayed home again. It was the first weekend in forever that we had no commitments.

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is this week? I can't. Time is going to quickly. We are spending a quiet holiday at home with the boys and a good friend who will be visiting for the holiday/weekend.

Since my posting has been little to none lately I'll at least leave you with some pictures:

Jackson showing off his two bottom teeth...

Carlton sitting in the baby swing that he is clearly too big for. Jackson can hardly use it because he flops out of it...

I love this picture. This was shortly before bed tonight and you can tell they are both sporting colds and Carlton didn't want to wear pants because of his sore tushy. The looks on both their faces makes me laugh out loud...

Carlton in a calm, gentle moment playing with Jackson. I don't recall, but I'm guessing a few moments later he was making his lil brother cry...

Timeout! We've begun using short timeouts when Carlton refuses to listen. Of course I had to capture it in pictures...

Trick-or-Treat

2007-10-31T21:38:00.000-04:00

Carlton had a grand time Trick-or-Treating tonight. We went to a handful of neighbors houses. At each house he wanted to push the "button" (doorbell) and every lit pumpkin, light, etc. was "hot". The best part was that each time someone would give him a piece of candy he would try to give them back the one he got at the prior house. He always held onto the most recent piece. It was too darn cute. Jackson rode along in the stroller sucking on a wrapped Kit-Kat that someone gave him. It entertained him.

We both wanted to take the boys out tonight so I left candy on the porch with a "Happy Halloween" note asking the kids to be nice and take a couple pieces. Of course later in the evening some horribly rude kids, I'm guessing "big" kids, took everything! Bowl and all. Grrrrr. Later after all the lights were off and I was getting the kids to bed two young boys and their dad returned my bowl that they found thrown in the grass. Hopefully the mean kids feel some guilt and I hope my boys never act like that.

Here are the little trick-or-treaters! :) I hope everyone had a wonderful evening, whatever you did.

My Pumpkins

2007-10-31T13:16:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween! I couldn't let today pass without sharing my little pumpkins. We are going to attempt Trick-or-Treating tonight. Carlton is dressing up as a Lightning McQueen pit crew guy.

Thanks to everyone who has been de-lurking to say hi. It's nice to know that even if there aren't a lot of comments you guys are interested in keeping up with us.

Jen (from the Western Philly burbs) - Are you a part of the Philly area Guat group? If not and you are interested in finding out more please let me know.

Betsy - J's arm was broken at 3 months old when he was in foster care. The foster mom slipped and fell with him. Original post here. When we brought him home we noticed that he held the arm a lil differently and didn't seem to use it quite the same. He does not appear to be in any pain! We had him evaluated at the children's hospital and they recommended we see a specialist just to catch any problems while he's young. The arm healed with a slight curve which the doc says is fine and will straighten as he grows. Once he starts crawling and doing more things that require the use of both arms the doc feels everything will work itself out. If not he may need a little physical therapy. That's the scoop - shouldn't be a problem at all. whew.

Day of Doctors & Who are You?

2007-10-29T20:56:00.000-04:00

Whew...what a day! It started at the Children's hospital seeing an orthopaedic specialist to have Jackson's arm evaluated. It was a huge sigh of relief to hear the Doc say he should be perfectly fine! The arm healed nicely but with a little curve in the bone. This should straighten out as he grows. Also as he continues to use his arm more to sit up (just started doing this well on his own) and crawl (eventually) he should begin to use it just like his right arm. We are going to see him again in 6 weeks and if there is no improvement we will do some physical therapy but he felt good that he will be just fine!

From there we went to our regular pediatrician because Jackson has been running a fever for several days and spitting up frequently caused by a cough. As suspected it's a virus and needs to run it's course. The fever has broken and he had a pretty good appetite tonight and kept most of his dinner down. Hopefully we are on the road to recovery once again around here.

I also spent quite a while on the phone with early intervention today. We are going to have Carlton's speech evaluated. I don't feel like there is anything to be majorly concerned with, but we want to have him checked out just incase.

My question of the day....Who are you? According to my stat tracker I have about 25 visitors a day to my blog and there have been 172 hits this week. Yet, I only have a couple of people commenting. Speak up, say hi. I'm curious to know who is visiting.

One Month!

2007-10-27T22:35:00.000-04:00

One month ago today we arrived home with Jackson. It's been a wonderful, crazy, challenging, fun-filled month. I spent the first two weeks horribly sick and the past week Carlton and Jackson were sick. Hopefully we are all on the mend and we can start having more fun!

Jackson had begun to sit up fairly steadily. His first tooth is coming in. He's beginning to eat more and more baby food. He's finally starting to figure out the coordination with the tongue and spoon. He's generally happy and smiling. He's a laid back, fairly easy little guy. The past couple days he's been running a fever and had some chest congestion which is causing vomitting. It's been "great". Monday we see a specialist about his arm. You may all remember he had a broken arm at 3 months old. It healed, but it healed at a lil bit of an angle and he's not using it the same as his right. We are going to have him evaluated incase he needs further treatment.

Carlton is starting to show much more interest in his new little brother. He now looks for him and asks for him. He's still a little rough at times but we will continue working on that.

Here are a few pictures I snapped tonight before bed. Carlton decided to tackle Jackson and knew he was being a little rough, but look at that smile!

Fav Fri Fotos

2007-10-19T21:50:00.000-04:00

I'm jumping on board with the rest of blogland and posting a few Favorite Friday Fotos. These were taken this week...

A smile that can melt any heart....

My Big Boy...gosh, they grow too fast!

OH...those eyes....

I told the dogs to get in their cage. Carlton beat them to it...

Jackson's first time swinging with his brother....

Pics

2007-10-11T19:23:00.000-04:00

Hey Blogland Friends!

Feeling a wee bit better here...finally. Still not eating a whole lot (not entirely a bad thing) and still a few tummy issues (not fun)...but a million times better than last week.

I tried to post a video but I can't see it...can you?

Here are a couple cute pics.

Carlton has been somewhat loving to Jackson. However the loving is sometimes a little rough and involves hands in the face. Other times it's very sweet.

I can't believe how much Jackson has changed in the past 2 weeks. Look at him sitting up in the high chair! He had just finished an entire container of sweet potatoes.

Surviving

2007-10-04T14:33:00.000-04:00

Wow...Guat Tummy at it's finest. I went to the Doc on Monday and got a big old dose of antibiotics along with lots of Imodium, Gatorade and Saltines. I am just now starting to feel a little (emphasis on little) back to normal. I actually took a few bites of food today for the first time in almost a week. The twisted bit of good news is that I've lost 20 pounds in the past week. Not a healthy way to do it, but maybe a jumpstart to losing more.

Jackson is doing very well...although refusing to nap today. Grrr. Carlton is happy to be back at daycare with his friends and is also warming up to his little bro. They haven't spent a lot of time together this week. Since I've been feeling so rotten we've been taking turns - each with one. Usually Jackson laying in bed watching TV with me and Carlton playing in the basement with daddy.

Daddy and Jackson are now "Crash Buddies". Everyone is FINE...but they were involved in a car accident on Monday afternoon. They were out for a drive on the way to get Carlton and they were rear ended. Then the jerk had the nerve to take off. Luckily Jeff was fast and got the plate number. Now our insurance company is helping us figure it all out. Jackson was checked out by the paramedics and went to the Doc the next morning - he's A-OK! Jeff is fine as well!

That's about it for now....I hope the rest of you in blogland are doing well.

Sick, Sick, Sick

2007-09-30T11:57:00.000-04:00

Just when I thought we'd made it through the trip healthy I got slammed with a stomach bug. I haven't touched food or gotten more than 10 feet from the bathroom since Friday night. I'm so tired and worn out. Thankfully Jackson has been a doll. Yesterday he spent the day laying in bed and playing with me. Carlton and daddy got lots of quality time. Today I've actually made is downstairs and Carlton is playing on my desk while Jackson is sleeping next to us.

As if that hasn't been bad enough, two of the three dogs came home from the kennel sick so I've been cleaning carpet in between my illness.

More pictures and fun kiddo stuff to resume after our time out for sickness.

HOME!

2007-09-28T21:50:00.000-04:00

It's so good to be HOME! Yesterday was a long, long day. We left the hotel at 10am and pulled into the garage about midnight. The boys did well considering the situation. Mommy and Daddy were grumpy, but we survived. Today we did our best to settle in and get organized. Carlton and Daddy had lots of special time together since he's having a rough time with the adjustment. I also had quality time with him. :) He's warming up to his lil brother and was thrilled to go with Daddy to bring the doggies home from the kennel. That made his day. Here are a few of my fav pics from today....

Carlton all of a sudden had a great interest in the baby items coming back out. He ended up taking over the lil gym and Jackson had to move. I figure Carlton will get bored of the baby stuff with time. He also insisted on trying Jackson't cereal and baby bananas today and realized he likes grown up food better.

Look at those lashes!!!

This was hysterical. Jackson was in the lil blue chair and the car seat was across the kitchen. Carlton wanted to sit like Jackson so he dragged the carseat over and squished himself into it and declared "I sit".

The boys are asleep, daddy is happily playing computer games and mommy feels horrible. I don't know what's hit me, but I hope sleep helps!

Going Home

2007-09-26T22:53:00.001-04:00

We are headed home tomorrow morning. Our flight doesn't leave GC until 1:00pm so we won't have to rush out of here before the sun is up which is nice. On the flip side though it does mean we'll get home pretty late. I'm looking forward to being in my own house and bed.....oh, but I do love the bed here at the Westin. I guess it won't fit in my carryon.

I'm doing my best to strategically pack since I know security and customs will be a pain with a double stroller, 2 itty bitty boys and loads of luggage.

Today was nice. We had the breakfast buffet, which we've done everyday. Although, I'm not really hungry down here and I've been getting some light-headness. I read it could be the altitude. I wish I'd lose my appetite at home....maybe I will with these two. I keep saying they may be the best diet I've ever gone on. When I holding a bottle with one hand and helping another eat with my other hand there is no time for me to put food in my mouth. LOL ...We then played in the pool for quite a while. I had to drag Carlton out kicking and screaming. He was so tired but was having fun. I got a pretty good burn...of course I put sunblock on Carlton and not myself. Jackson even went for a quick dip with us. For anyone thinking of staying at the Westin, they have the best pool!

Anyway, then we had naps, did some shopping, got Jackson's visa, walked to the Delta office to buy his lap ticket, dinner, lil more shopping and bed. I'm headed there now....

Embassy Day

2007-09-25T20:58:00.000-04:00

It's official. He's ours!

This morning Carlton woke up, saw that Jackson was still here and proceeded to have a major melt down for most of the morning. As long as I held him he was sort of "ok". The embassy was hot, long and sweaty. I changed 3 diapers in the first 15 minutes we were there. Yes, Jackson decided to have back to back poopies. We enjoyed talking with many people we've met on the internet and meeting their gorgeous children. I guess all-in-all it wasn't too terribly horrible.

Carlton was off and on all day. He'd either have a meltdown, ignore Jackson or poke him in the eye. The eye poking incident occured while they were in the stroller and Jackson was sleeping. I guess Carlton wanted to make sure he was ok. There were definately a few cute moments with them. I know it will only get better!

Speaking of poopie...well, isn't that what moms do? We had a mushy poopie dance moment for C today. Yes, we left diarrhea blow-out land and celebrated mushy poopie land! I love my life. LOL

Jackson was a lil fussy this afternoon and had a low grade fever. He appears to be teething like crazy. No teeth yet, but boy can that kiddo shove both hands in his mouth like a pro.

We attempted to go swimming today....got our suits on, gathered all our stuff...got outside to discover it was pouring rain. Bummer. Tomorrow we'll go earlier. It is the rainy season here and the raid seems to arrive in the afternoon.

I can't believe tomorrow is our last day here. We didn't have a chance to get any shopping done so I am going to hit the stores in the hotel tomorrow. Prices are higher than at the markets, but I want to buy some things.

No pictures today...I haven't downloaded them. Both the boys are asleep so I am going to get some rest too.

The New Kid on the Block!

2007-09-24T23:05:00.001-04:00

Introducing Jackson....

Big Bro, Carlton was not too thrilled at first with this new lil person. He was sort of close, yet throwing a fit in this picture.

When Jackson was napping he decided to go check him out.

After naptime we had some playtime on the bed. Carlton started to warm up a little. Here are the brothers checking each other out.

A kiss for Jackson. Awwwww.

Ok, maybe this little dude is cool!

It was a wonderful day. We are the lucky parents of two amazing little boys. We had a great time getting to know each other today. The transition has been smooth thus far. Jackson is eating, sleeping, laughing, snuggling...all the wonderful baby things!

We have to be up early for our US Embassy appointment. I'll update as I can.

Monday Morning...

2007-09-24T10:38:00.000-04:00

Hola. We are all feeling well rested after a challenging two days. We had a great night's sleep. Carlton didn't make a peep for 11 hours. We were up bright and early and enjoyed a yummy breakfast in the hotel. We are hanging out in the room anticipating a phone call from our attorney in another couple hours. We'll keep you posted....

Here are a few pictures from the trip thus far....

Adventures in Guatemala

2007-09-23T18:07:00.000-04:00

Hi Friends -
We've had a busy, busy 28 hours in Guatemala so far. The flights down were fairly painless. Carlton slept for a good portion and was entertained with the DVD player and watching people the rest of the time. He's not feeling well which is making things a lil rough. His teeth seem to be bothering him and he's having major diarrhea blowouts! UGH! He had one yesterday...thankfully in the Atlanta airport...had one today at a not good time. I don't think I packed enough clothes.

Anyway...yesterday we arrived at the hotel about 1pm. We got settled in and about noon an old friend of mine arrived. Wait...I'm not sure I've shared that story....time out for a recap.

Flashback to freshman year of highschool, 1985. My first boyfriend was a junior named Paul. We dated for a while and like most hs relationships we moved on. We occassionally saw each other because we lived in a small town and had some common friends. I recall just after getting married receiving an e-mail from him saying congrats. That was 13+ years ago. Well, recently old HS friends have started reconnecting because our 20th reunion is coming up next year. Someone mentioned his name so I checked out classmates and found him. He had a great profile talking about what he'd been doing for the past years. He was working all over the world on Mercy Ships. A part of this work brought him to Guatemala time and time again and he fell in love with the place and people. Last spring he moved to Guatemala and is managing a Christian radio station while starting a ministry. He's doing amazing work. Well, I dropped him an e-mail and filled him in on our connection with Guatemala. We've been keeping in touch and he drove into the city last night from Puerto Barrios, where he lives (and Carlton was born) with a Guatemalan friend, Ellio....back to yesterday....

Jeff, Carlton and I were walking in the lobby of the hotel and I hear my name being called. There was Paul. We hadn't seen each other in 20ish years. His young friend, Ellio, traveled with him. Ellio speaks no English, we speak no Spanish and Paul speaks fair Spanish. It was fun and interesting to communicate. I've learned more Spanish in the past day than I ever learned in High School. Of we went to Hiper Paiz (not sure I spelled it right) which is basically Wal-mart. We shopped for diapers, wipes, snacks, etc. Everywhere you turn here you find cultural differences and this was no exception. I went to grab a pack of diapers off the shelf and was told no. I didn't know what I had done wrong. Turns out they have people working there that are solely there to help you and in certain parts of the store they are offended if you take the items off the shelf yourself. They will hand them to you. After our shopping we headed out to the truck and Paul realized the lights were left on. Dead battery. It was raining. Ugh.

Gotta run....back after dinner to finish......

Ok...I'm back. So....Jeff, Carlton and I sat in a hot truck while Paul and Ellio attempted to find jumper cables and get someone to help. It took about an hour and 2 different people but we finally got the car started. Poor guys were soaked. I suggested we go back to the hotel for dinner and to dry off but they wanted to go to the mall, Mira Flores. We probably had 5 miles to go from one place to another and it took us nearly 2 HOURS!!! The traffic in Guat City is worse than I have seen anywhere...and I've sat through NYC traffic jams. We finally got into the parking garage and into the mall. I wasn't sure what to expect from a mall in Guat City...I was so surprised. This place was gorgeous. Nicer than any mall I've seen in the states. It was so clean and beatiful. We had dinner at the food court. With our very, very limited Spanish ordering meals is always fun. Jeff somehow ended up with 4 orders of fries and he was trying to get a kids meal. LOL. Carlton was starting to lose it at dinner...I was too to be honest. It was 8pm Guat time which is 10pm to us. We FINALLY got back to the hotel after a couple stops in the mall. Carlton pretty much passed out..so did we. He woke up a couple times and cried for a few minutes. I think he was just confused about where he was.

This morning we were up and showered about 8am and ready for a trek to Antigua. We stopped a Pollo Campero for breakfast. This place is big time down here. For those that don't know it's a chicken place. Sort of like KFC, but you sit down and order. Service is a big deal here, much more than at home. If you drop something they pick it up before you can, tables are cleared for you, they don't expect tips....it's just different. Anyway, we had breakfast and then hit the road for Antigua. On the way I was commenting about how crazy motor cycle drivers are here and how much it scares me....not 5 minutes later we got stuck in traffic for an accident. When we pass the accident guess what it is? Yep...a motorcycle. It was bad...I don't know how to say it so I just will....I saw a show laying on the road then I looked over and the driver was dead covered in a blue tarp. It was a horrible, horrible sight. We then made our way to Antigua. Gee Whiz...talk about your bumpy roads. Everything is cobblestone. We didn't take a stroller because they are so difficult to navigate there. We counted on Carlton walking...try again! He was so whiney and fussy. We pretty much carried him all day...sweaty, hot and grumpy. We walked to the central park and visited the cathedral. We then wanted to visit the market and first went the wrong way...more walking. By the time we got there Carlton was a mess, I was a grump, Jeff was a grump...you get the idea. We stopped to buy some wooden letters for the boys room. Ellio negotiated a great price, Carlton threw a tantrum and we decided it was time for lunch. We again went to Pollo Campero, this time for chicken. Carlton was starved and the food helped, but then WHAM major diarrhea blow out! We are talking up the back, down the legs, shorts, shirt, onsie. NO changing table. Change of clothes in the car....blocks away. Yep...I was in a great mood by then. I stripped him down and washed him the best I could in the bathroom, threw away the onsie, rinsed his short and shorts the best I could and tried to dry them a lil with the hand dryer. And of course he had to be held after this. Ugh. I told Paul/Ellio that we couldn't take anymore. They went to get the car while we waited and finally got back in, changed Carlton into dry clothes and headed back to the city. Carlton was asleep about 2 seconds after we changed him and slept through cobblestone and all.

Back at the hotel we bid adios to Paul and Ellio and went to the room to pass out. We relaxed a bit, played, had dinner and the visited with some people in the play room that the hotel provides. Carlton and Jeff are sound asleep and I will be joining them shortly.

Tomorrow we will meet our new son, Jackson, for the first time. I haven't heard from our attorney yet but I anticipate getting the call around 10am. We will be staying close to the hotel the rest of the week and just taking it as easy as possible...it's a lil difficult to take it easy with an active 2 year old, but we'll do our best.

Afterthoughts...

You would not believe the motor cycles in Antigua. We actually saw a family of FIVE (yes, 5) on one motorcycle. Mom, Dad and 3 children. There are no car seats used here. You will often see a baby sitting on the lap of a driver. It's absolutely a different culture here. It makes me greatly appreciate my home and life. It's also a beautiful country with some of the nicest, kindest people. Everyone has treated Carlton like a little prince (well, he is).

Ok, that's all I can think of right now. I have so much swirling around in my mind, but I need to sleep. I'm going to bed the mommy of one and tomorrow I will be the mommy of two amazing little boys!

G'night. :)

(Please forgive the poor writing...I'm tired, but wanted to get it all written before I forget anything.)

ACK!

2007-09-20T21:46:00.000-04:00

OH MY GOSH....in 32.5 hours we will be on an airplane to Guatemala!!! Actually to Altanta first but you know what I mean! Why am I sitting here typing instead of getting packed and organized???? I have NO idea! Tomorrow is going to be a busy, busy day and then we have to leave the house at 4am Saturday morning.

Stay tuned for the next post....from Guatemala!

PINK!

2007-09-13T21:14:00.000-04:00

For those of you not familiar with the adoption lingo, PINK is a glorious word. It's the color of paper the embassy uses to issue your visa appointment!

I couldn't hold out any longer. I just knew we had pink, but the agency hadn't heard yet. (We work with a Jewish agency and you surely know today is the Jewish New Year.) I knew because our DNA results were in a packet with others who had already found out their appointments. Today I called the US Embassy in Guat directly and a very helpful woman looked up our case and told me that we are scheduled for our visa appointment on Tuesday, September 25th!

On the 24th we will have Jackson in our arms!!!

Never Forget

2007-09-11T19:48:00.001-04:00

Jackson's Room

2007-09-10T20:46:00.000-04:00

It's pretty much done....here is Baby Go-Go's new room! :) I left a lot of wall space empty for now because I want to buy some things on our trip. We also splurged for a comfy rocker/recliner. After long nights of rocking with Carlton in a not so comfy chair we opted for the Lazy-Boy this time.

The Faces of a Cutie-Pie

2007-09-09T20:48:00.000-04:00

I thought I'd share some cuteness in the form of Carlton. :) These were taken today at a late lunch/early dinner at a local burger place. These days when the camera comes out he goes from his "HUH" look, "CHEESE", "DON'T YOU TAKE MY PIC" face and then occassionally a cute smile. This lil guy is amazing.

Enjoy...have a good night.

Finally getting somewhere!

2007-09-07T11:11:00.000-04:00

It's been a long week+ waiting for the 2nd DNA sample to make it from Guatemala City to LabCorp in NC. Apparently the shipping company temporarily lost them. Ugh. The good news is that the sample arrived last night and is currently being tested. That means sometime next week (hopefully) the results should be sent back to the US Embassy and once they receive them our Pink slip/Visa Appt will be issued. I'm betting that we'll have our appointment on the 24th or 25th. If the results get back there in record time maybe the week of the 17th.

We are in the homestretch....

So dang cute!

2007-09-04T19:23:00.001-04:00

As of this morning the 2nd DNA sample had not yet arrived at LabCorp. Maybe it got there today. I'm going to attempt to be patient and not contact them again until the end of the week. Hopefully by the end of next week we have our travel date. In the meantime we got this wonderful picture today...I can't wait to get my hands on this cutie-pie.

Getting Closer....

2007-08-27T21:10:00.000-04:00

We are one step closer! Today our attorney submitted us to the US Embassy. She received authorization to have the 2nd DNA test taken. I will be faxing the payment form to the lab in the morning and hopefully the test will happen in the next day or two. They the lab has to compare the results to the first DNA test and send them to the embassy. Then we get PINK. We are potentially 3 weeks away from being united with OUR SON forever!!! Here's a tiny snippet of his passport! He's OURS!

I can't believe how much hair he has compared to last month and how dark it's gotten.

Soon he'll be in our arms forever and ever!

Randomness

2007-08-26T21:44:00.000-04:00

Not much to report...just some randomness. ..

Yesterday we spent the day in Atlantic City. It was fun. We headed over in time for lunch at Harrah's then we went to the Steel Pier and let Carlton ride a few things. After that we let him dip his toes in the ocean. Well, it started as wet toes and ended up with a soaking wet, sand caked kid. Once he got over his initial fear he loved it. Then it was home in time for bath and bed. It was a fun day.

Today was quiet and we mostly just hung out at home. I was a bum and only got out of jammies to go out for a late lunch/early dinner. We watched movies, played outside and just had fun at home.

Carlton loves the movie "Cars". Mack is his favorite and he loves when Lighting jumps all the cars with his tongue out. It cracks me up to watch him. He's also starting saying "Oh Man" which always makes me laugh. He's such a sweetie pie. He's got a bit of a summer cold going on, but other than that all is well.

No news on Jackson yet. We've been out of PGN for 2 weeks so we are hoping to find out this week that our paperwork is ready for submission to the US Embassy. When that happens a 2nd DNA test is done and when the embassy gets our results we get a travel date. We are still guessing that will be the 3rd/4th week of Sept.

On Wed new carpet goes in Jackson's room and the furniture arrives on Friday. Next weekend I plan on organizing clothes and getting his bag packed. Then I'll start getting our stuff prepared so it's not a frantic rush before we leave.

Watching the Eagles...thinking about bed...

Night Friends.

Sad

2007-08-21T21:17:00.000-04:00

I'm sad today. One year ago today I lost my dad. It was so sudden and so very heartbreaking. I'm so thankful that Dad was able to meet Carlton before becoming his guardian angel. We spent a wonderful week in FL in 3/06, not long after Carlton came home. I have wonderful memories of late night talks with dad, we talked about everything and especially talked about our precious boy and more children. Dad and I exchanged lots of e-mails because it was difficult for him to talk on the phone due to a larengectomy that removed throat cancer in 1985. I will never forget our last exchange of e-mails....I told him he was going to have another grandbaby! The day he passed was also the day we mailed our application for our 2nd adoption to the agency. I remember being in the office and thinking I'd just do it the next day...but for some reason I wanted to really get it in the mail that day and tied up a lot of loose ends at work. Little did I know (or maybe I did deep down) that I would not return to the office for nearly a month after that day. I had just picked up Carlton and arrived home when I got the call from my brother. He's now in heaven with Mom watching over us and keeping us all safe. I know they are going to guide Jackson safely home to us.

Speaking of the new little one....no news on Pink yet. Friday will be 2 weeks out and I'm hoping to find out we at least have his Birth Certifcate by now and hopefully next week will be ready to be submitted to the Embassy for the 2nd DNA test. We will see. In the meantime I'm starting to get his things organized. New carpet goes in next week and the furniture will be delivered shortly thereafter. Then I'll go through all the clothes and start packing his bag. It's a scary time right now in Guatemala with the elections, rumor of protests on the streets and lockdowns at hotels....I'm doing my best not to freak out and just wait to see what tomorrow brings.

I'll leave you with the one picture I have of Carlton and his Grandpa. I will treasure this picture always. I love you and miss you Dad!

OUT OF PGN!!!

2007-08-11T10:55:00.000-04:00

Baby Go-Go is OUT of PGN!!!

Thursday evening on my way home our agency called and said that they received an e-mail from our attorney stating that we'd be out on Friday. I'm not sure if this meant were already out and she was just picking up the file or if someone told her to come back on Friday for it. Well, yesterday was hubby's 40th Bday and we were having a party so I decided to keep the secret and find a way to tell him at the party. Just before the party started I received a phone call confirming that our file had been picked up and we were indeed OUT!

I printed out this picture and tied it up like a lil scroll with an Eagles rattle. After we sang Happy Birthday and Jeff blew out his candles I had him open it. Needless to say he was a bit surprised! It was a wonderful moment. Our friends just stood there wanting to know what "OUT" meant and after a moment of emotion we were able to tell them our son is coming home soon!!!

2:26am

2007-08-10T02:35:00.000-04:00

Yawn...here I sit, at the desk in the kitchen at 2:36am. Why you might ask? Well, Carlton has decided he's not sleeping tonight. Argh! He is usually wonderful with bedtime. Tonight about 8:15 we rocked a bit and then I put him in his crib....

8:30 I returned because he was screaming....then a little sleep.

9:00 I returned to screaming gave him some crackers and water, rocked a bit...he slept.

12:15 am....just as I reached that point of almost asleep yet still sort of aware he starts screaming...again.

Nothing was wrong that I could find. No fever, no injuries, nothing. Only conclusion is he wants to be with me. We do have a houseguest for the next few nights. Not sure if that is throwing him off. It's a friend that stays with us every couple months so he is familiar with him.

I rock him until 12:49 am. He was sound asleep in my arms. The second I moved him to the crib....you guessed it....screaming. I gave him 10 minutes to calm down...no luck.

I went back in. Changed the diaper. Rocked...he fell asleep immediately on my shoulder. I held him until 1:49 am (not sure what is was with the :49, but I looked at the clock when I thought I was returning to bed each time. I gave him another 10 minutes. No calming down.

This time I scooped him up and we headed downstairs. As we were coming down our houseguest was coming up. He didn't phase Carlton so I don't know if that's part of the issue. I put him in his highchair with some water and Cheerios and he's watching his favorite sign language video. He's talking back to the TV and appears wide awake...unlike mommy.

At some point he has to sleep...right?

Today (it's well after midnight) is Jeff's 40th B-day. I have a day full of work and errands to get ready for a party tonight. I must add nap to my agenda.

It's 2:45am....off to surf the web until Carlton starts to show signs of sleep.

Night'Night'.

Seven Weeks

2007-08-08T12:29:00.000-04:00

Baby Go-Go has been in PGN for 7 weeks today. We are hoping we only have another week or so to wait for our OUT! In the past couple days I've seen a few 8 week outs on the Adoption.com forums so I'm hoping ours is not far behind. We've gotten this far without a kick out so hopefully we bypass that and go straight to OUT! However, those of you with experience in Guatemalan adoptions know that nothing is predictable.

Keep those fingers crossed, prayers coming, good thoughts to the universe (love ya D), etc!

Thanks for sharing this journey with me.

Edited to add: Once we get OUT we will still have a 6 weekish (give or take) wait for the new BC, passport, 2nd DNA, embassy appt..... That wait will be a little more tolerable. ;)

Two Years Ago...

2007-08-05T21:13:00.000-04:00

Two years ago today we got THE CALL that there was a little boy in Guatemala that would be our son! Carlton was 6 days old and instantly stole our hearts. I was getting my hair done and Jeff came home to a message on the answering machine that the agency was sending info over to us. He kept calling my cell phone but I was sitting in the hairdresser chair and I didn't want to be rude and answer my phone (I normally turn it off but that night I left it on for some reason). After he called 3 or so times I finally decided to answer. I just remember him saying, "If you are going to be a mommy you have to answer your phone". I was in shock and then started crying. I couldn't wait to get out of there. I raced home and listened to the message then ran upstairs to my computer where we saw this amazing little guy....

I can't imagine my life without him. Here's Carlton yesterday after busting his lip throwing a temper tantrum on the hardwood floor. I couldn't help but grab the camera after he calmed down and we got him cleaned up. He's such a cutie-pie...tantrums, bloods, hugs, kisses...no matter what he's doing. I never knew it was possible to feel such love.

Wow! Life has changed in amazing ways these past 2 years!

Looking Good at 5 months!

2007-08-04T17:39:00.000-04:00

This month's update really boosted my spirits! It's so hard to see our little guy growing up without us, but it's such a relief to see him looking happy and healthy. Last month's update made me sad but this months really thrilled us! He's gained 2 pounds in the last month and as you can see is looking good!

You may also notice we've now shared his name.... He is going to be Jackson Powell Gomez Wing.

Jackson is in honor of my father who suddenly passed away one year ago this month. His name was John and his dad was Jack. We thought Jackson worked perfectly.

Powell was my mother's maiden name. She passed away a little over 2 years ago...also very suddenly.

I know they are watching over us and keeping our boys safe.

Last, but not least...Gomez is a part of his birthname.

Update on the boys...and whiny mom...

2007-08-03T15:43:00.000-04:00

Word on the street is we will receive Baby Go-Go's monthly update tomorrow morning. I can't wait to see his little face. I hope it's a good picture. It's so hard to get one little itty bitty picture per month.

Carlton had his 2 year check up today. The Doc gave him a clean bill of health. He is finally moving up the growth chart...he's now in the 25th percentile. He was barely on the chart his first year and spent the 2nd year around 10-15%. He's 26 pounds and 33 inches tall.

I'm sick with a head cold that makes it hard to breath and I'm whiny and tired. Mommies aren't allowed to get sick.

Happy Friday to all.

Six Weeks

2007-08-01T10:55:00.000-04:00

Today marks 6 weeks that our file has been sitting somewhere in PGN for final approval. Recently our agency has gotten several OUTS at 8 weeks. There have been several quick outs recently...of course I've been hoping for one of those little miracles, but I'll be happy and thrilled with an out at 8 weeks....after that..well...I can't really speak for my state of mind after 8 weeks.

We should be getting a new picture and medical in the next few days. That will help, but I just want to hold my baby in my arms.

It looks like another step is going to be added to the process. The US Embassy is going to require a 2nd DNA test on the baby that will occur after the embassy appt is scheduled, but before it happens. This will likely add another week or so onto an already long and mind-numbing process. I think it's a good step to add, it's just hard to face another step.

On a very happy note, friends of ours got news of their OUT today (or maybe yesterday)!!! They were one of the lucky ones with a super-speedy process!!! CONGRATS Lauri & Sam!!! I can't wait to meet your new daughter!

TWO!

2007-07-27T21:20:00.000-04:00

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY TO CARLTON!!!

I can't believe my baby is TWO today. I guess he's not technically a baby anymore, but he'll always be my baby! :)

We had an exhausting, fun-filled day....
For starters Carlton slept until nearly 9am (giving me some extra Harry Potter reading time). Of course, he was up until 10:30 last night (no idea why). Once we all got up and out we had breakfast and then headed to the Adventure Aquarium in NJ. We went their last year for his 1st B-day and it was so much fun to see how he has changed in the past year. The place was mobbed and we didn't time it the best for a nap, but we still had fun!! After that we headed home for naps (all of us). Carlton had other plans and didn't want to lay down so I rocked him for a while and then when I wanted to throw my own tantrum Jeff took over and we all got a lil sleep. Once we were feeling refreshed we headed off to Chuck-e-Cheese for dinner and playing. Carlton just wanted to ride the Bob the Builder thing over and over and over again. We were apalled by the staff and behavior of the other parents (I won't blame it on the kids because the parents didn't care) but that's another story. After we had our fill of pizza and rides it was back home for gifts and cake!!! I was very proud of the homemade Elmo cake that Carlton promptly stuck his hand in while we were attempting to get pics. Finally it was bath and bedtime. My big boy is fast asleep and we are relaxing a bit before going off to dreamland.

I can't even begin to express how much I love this little guy. He's changed my life in ways I never imaged. I love you Carlton!!!

Here are a few pictures from today and a couple similar ones from last year. I love to see the then-now pics.

Our Morning & PGN Blues

2007-07-20T11:48:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday everyone. I haven't been very chatty or active on forums, blogs, etc. this week. I think I have the PGN blues. Wednesday was 4 weeks for us. Hopefully 1/2way there. We were excited to get Go-Go's picture last Saturday, but I'm so worried about him and just want him in my arms! It was a cute picture, but I wanted to see his arm moving or holding something just to reassure us that he's healed up. We were also worried by the little marks on his forehead. They could be bruises, bites, dry skin...most likely nothing to worry about, but it's so dang hard to have a child in another country and not be able to hold him. Our July update came very late due to the Olympic meeting in Guat so at least we only have another week or so to wait for our August update. Anyway, enough of the blues...onto fun.

Carlton is going to be TWO in one week. I can't believe it!

I bought myself a new digital camera. An itty-bitty one that will be easy for travel and to throw in my purse (once I find an itty-bitty case). Anyway, I documented our morning with my new camera and thought you might enjoy....

I should mention that Carlton has quite a love for shoes these days! He doesn't necessarily care what shoes he has on, but he must have shoes on his feet. The last thing he says at bedtime is "shoe"...but mommy refuses to let him sleep in them (he has on occassion) because I think his feet need a little time to air out and relax...the first think he says when he wakes up is "shoe".

Here we go...this morning I walked in his room, he was awake but laying down, when he heard the door open he popped up and said...well, you know...SHOE. One of these days I'm hoping for "Good Morning Mommy"....

Once the shoes were on his feet we headed downstairs...normally he wants me to carry him, today he decided to do it himself...

After dropped off C at daycare and returned home for my work day I captured 2 of the doggies cuddled up together.

Have a great weekend!

Pictures...

2007-07-16T20:59:00.003-04:00

Updated pictures of my darling boys...

Three Weeks

2007-07-11T15:41:00.000-04:00

Today marks 3 weeks we've been in PGN. Our agency had a family get out yesterday after 8 weeks. It's way too early to expect to hear anything, but one can always hope for a lil PGN miracle. I've been keeping myself busy painting Baby Go-Go's room. I'm happy with how it's turning out, but it's a pain in the butt. I'll post pictures soon.

We are still waiting for our July update on the baby. Should have it anyday. Our attorney said updates would be late due to the Olympic convention that was in Guatemala City last week. It's over now and I want to see my baby!