May, 2008

Here's what we've been working on this weekend... the birthday present, and we're not done yet.  Boy am I sore!  I'll keep you all posted on how it goes.

Evan has been having a rough transition to being two and to his Daddy (who hung the moon and stars in his mind) getting a new job.  It's been a rough two weeks as a result.  But I learned something new... Evan, who never much liked the sling, is a different little boy after just ten minutes of being strapped to Mommy in the Mei tai.  I think that says how far he has come attachment wise!  Being close to me centers him and calms him... that was once, even a few months ago, not true.  Since we're taking about slings, let me tell you how I came to have one. ;)

One of the harder things about living where we do is that as far as I have been able to tell, we are the only family with an Ethiopian born child in the immediate area. We have to drive hour and a half to get to the nearest group. Which, as I talked about here, we have started doing. The wonderful thing is that I know of two other families in process who live much closer... and even BETTER, last night we were able to have supper with a third family who is seriously considering Ethiopian adoption.

Miriam is finally officially a US citizen!!  Well, she has been one technically since Dec 2005 when we re-adopted her here in the US, but the US Government requires that you fill all kinds of crazy paperwork and pay them hundreds of dollars in order to be able to prove that!  I sent off all the paperwork last May...  It just took them all of a year, but today we finally got her Certificate of Citizenship!!  Yea!  All the paperwork for Miriam is FINALLY done.

After the whole insensitive mess with Teleflora and NBC, I can not give Pearle Vision enough credit for this WONDERFUL commercial. Check it out!

I have seen

Well the voices of a few thousand moms were heard. Teleflora and the America's Favorite Mom sent the following apology.

I was so proud of Miriam today.  I've helped her sit on the "big girl" swing a half dozen times or so, but would only swing her a few feet very slowly... not really swing at all.  Today Daddy put her on the swing and started pushing more and more.  By the end of the afternoon, he was pushing her high, not over his head or anything crazy, but MUCH higher then before.  She even started leaning and pumping.  She looked so big. *tear*  My baby is growing up so much!

Well, today we had the awesome opportunity to attend the FIRST ever meeting of the East Tennessee Ethiopian Adoption group. We had six families in attendance with a total of 5 children home from Ethiopia. It was so fun to see so many little Ethiopian-Americans together at once. Hopefully the next time we meet even more people will be able to attend.

I'm angry. I'm hurt. I'm outraged. I'm not sure there is a word out there to describe how it feels to be told that I (and all mothers who adopted their children) am not, in fact, a mother. No, I'm a "Non-Mom" mom according to NBC The Today Show. They are running a contest called America's Favorite Mom. How nice. The problem? They have five categories; The Working Mom, The Single Mom, The CEO "Chairman Of Everything" Mom, The Military Mom, and last (and apparently least) The Non-mom Mom.

Let me count the ways! As some have been forced to hear before, potty training is hands down the WORST thing about parenting so far. I hate it. I HATE it. I hate IT! Unfortunately I also am tired of changing diapers... and washing them... and folding them... and changing them... and washing them... etc. I truly am at a loss to understand how a child as intelligent as my almost three year old can be so at lost as to what to do on a potty. La sigh.