Who Is Tonight's Awesome Guest On MomTV's Adoption Angles?!

Er, me.

Wait wait wait.. before you roll your eyes and surf away... YES, I had a last minute reschedule and I am my own fill in..

BUT..



Tomorrow is the 12 year anniversary of my dear Mama's passing (of cancer). It's a time that can still be very rough on me so I thought hey, what a great night to dedicate a show in her memory. I'll talk about her (an adoptive Mommy--I found out way later) and my own adoption story.


CLICK HERE ~~~>

Let me tell ya, it's crazy easy to join the live text chat fun... just click on: "Click Here To Enter Chat" and either use your member log in OR type in a chat name and VIOLA.. you're in like FLYNN! I would loooove your questions and comments!

I'm on live tonight at 9PM EST (that's 6PM for all my west coast besties!!)... come join me.

Pretty please?

Chaos A-Brewin'.. Or Not...

In a few weeks JuneBug is going to have surgery. It's corrective, fairly common and we should be at the hospital for only a few days. That part I'm okay with. What gets me is all the other chaos that is starting to rumble. Her mom will be there, of course, but it will be our first meeting because she has waffled on the ice breaker. From what I can gleam, she has quite the knack for creating great tension. Lovely. The bio fam that will most likely be taking JuneBug is flying into town for a day to "tend to her" .. except she doesn't recognize their picture and I highly doubt will be clamoring for them.

Awkward.

We have a feeling we're going to be shoveled somewhere in the background with the general thought being if we're out of sight we'll be out of her mind. I beg to differ. What some parties involved haven't seemed to take into consideration is that we're more than mere babysitters. We feed, love, play, bathe, sing to, soothe, laugh, discipline.. and our home where she finds her strength and greatest peace. Our last worker saw it clear as day.. hopefully the others will come around.

Bottom line? My fear is she will be overwhelmed. And not in a good way.

So, we'll fade into the wallpaper until she needs us. I will be quiet and stand aside.. everyone deserves their time with her. The one thing all can agree on is we love her dearly. That being said, if she gets upset or stressed by anyone in anyway, I fully intend to make waves in her defense. I will undoubtedly tick people off and such actions will most likely end up biting me in the behind in the long run. I say this from experience, mind you. It's worth it because it's my job to protect her (and I love my job).

On the flipside, she might not even need us. Everything could be honky dory and my fears never brought to fruition. That would be totally rad. Oops, there I go dating myself again.

The good news in all this? I found out today the hospital has FREE WiFi. Saaawweeet!

Hershey's, The Children's Miracle Network & YOU!

Hershey’s has partnered with Children’s Miracle Network and this Easter Hershey’s will donate up to $5000 to CMN through the Better Basket Blog Hop campaign. It’s so easy to participate and will only take a few minutes of your time. Hershey’s will donate $10 per post up to 500 posts. When we are all done that will be $5000 raised for Children’s Miracle Network!

Here’s all you need to do:
HERSHEY’S BETTER BASKET BLOG HOP RULES:
* Create a blog post giving a virtual Easter Basket to another blogger – you can give as many Virtual Baskets as you want.
* Link back to person who gave you an Easter Basket.
* Let each person you are giving a Virtual Easter Basket know you have given them a Basket.
* Leave your link at BetterBasket.info/BlogHop comment section. You can also find the official rules of this #betterbasket blog hop, and more information about Better Basket with Hershey’s there.
* Hershey’s is donating $10 per each blog participating to the Better Basket Blog Hop to Children’s Miracle Network (up to total of $5,000 by blog posts written by April 4th, 2010).
* Please note that only one blog post by each blog url will count towards the donation.

I received my Easter Basket from my bestie, Lori of Weebles Wobblog, and I’m sending Easter Baskets along to:

*My Girl, G
*The Duckiest Friend, SW24/7
*A Muchas Snarky Mamacita
*The Multi-Taskin'-ist Mama Around
*Magnificent Marsha

And to YOU. So pass it on, peoples.

You can follow the giving on Twitter using hashtag #betterbasket.

Thank you to Hershey’s for making a difference and giving us the chance to participate!

Sleep.. It's a Beautiful Thing

Last night was the first time all week I got a solid nights sleep. After eight wonderful hours of desperately needed zzz's, Homeland Security has dropped my threat level from red to blue. Once on the verge of going mad, I am happy to report it is now safe to approach me.

What a brutal cold season.

In other news.. Thanks to budget deficits and massive cut backs, our county has lost tons of fantastic workers.. ours being one of them. We got word our new worker is one we had on a previous case and she is awesome. I honestly don't know how the remaining workers are going to handle the extra caseloads.. oy!

As I mentioned before, we have been in email contact with the bio fam that has stepped up for JuneBug. Their approval process has started and is supposed to take 60 days (they ramp it up for kin). The family doesn't actually live in state so it's a bit complicated. I recently asked for approval to Skype them and await a response. I'm sure there's some loop hole, privacy, bureaucratic blahblah rule that states we can't but I think it's worth a shot. I have no doubt it would mean a lot to them.

Stay tuned..

Maria's Awesome Adoption Journey ~ Replay!

Yep, last night was another great show! Thanks everyone for stopping by and chatting!

Missed it?


Maria, thank you so much for sharing your amazing journey with us! Like Fiona said, you are our role model!

MomTV's Own Maria Bailey On Adoption Angles Tonight!!

I am thrilled to announce Maria Bailey will be joining me tonight on Adoption Angles! You may know her as the founder of MomTV (and the host of her own MomTV show Maria Bailey Live!) or from one of her many other accomplishments..

(DEEP BREATH..)

She is an award-winning author, radio talk show host, nationally known speaker and the foremost authority on marketing to moms. Each month she speaks to over 11 million moms on TV, radio, print and online. She is the co-host on The Balancing Act on Lifetime TV and the WE-Women’s Entertainment Network for Women. On radio, Maria is host of Mom Talk Radio the first nationally syndicated radio show for moms and Co-host of Good Day with Doug Stephan, the #7 ranked morning talk show in America. Online Maria is the Founder of BlueSuitMom.com, the award-winning Website for executive working mothers and Co-Founder of Newbaby.com, the largest resource of online video for moms. Her Mom Talk Moments are carried on Nestle’s Verybestbaby.com and she serves as the Work/Life BalanceExpert on Johnson and Johnson’s Baby.com. Maria’s articles can be found in Orange County Family, Hybrid Mom among other magazines.

Oh, and that's only naming a few.. (EXHALE..)

Maria is going to share her own adoption journey with us tonight!!

CLICK HERE ~~~>

Let me tell ya, it's crazy easy to join the live text chat fun... just click on: "Click Here To Enter Chat" and either use your member log in OR type in a chat name and VIOLA.. you're in like FLYNN! We loooove questions and comments!

We're on live tonight at 9PM EST (that's 6PM for all my west coast besties!!)... come join us and BE INSPIRED!!!

Sick Kiddo + All-Nighter =

Numb Me.

Poor lil Bug.. she was getting better last week but has taken a turn once again. Last night every half hour or so she would awake crying and I would go into her room to either rock her or rub her back. By about midnight I decided to stay in the twin bed we have in her room (she has her own toddler bed) so I could get to her quicker.

She was groggy this morning but doesn't have a temperature. When I left for work, she was snuggling with Nantie on the couch. Hopefully a day of solid R&R will do her some good.

All I can say is I thank the Good Lord above for makeup .. and coffee!

The Haps...

Things here in our little village are rolling right along. We are all just about 100% except for JuneBug.. her nose started running again a couple days ago and she was up coughing last night. I swear, it's a never ending battle..

We have been in email contact with her bio family and I have to say, I already adore them. They are a beautiful, solid, Christian family and are anxious to have JuneBug join them. She deserves nothing but the best and they seem to fit the bill. I tried to assure them (to the best of my ability) that she is truly loved, safe and doing wonderfully. I believe my roll now (in addition to caring for her) is to provide comfort for them and make this as positive of an experience as I possibly can.

They have to go through everything we did for certification.. training, CPR, home study, background checks... the works. Obviously DNA doesn't give you an automatic green light for approval. Please keep them in your prayers for peace and strength during this tumultuous time.

And patience.. lots of patience..

And The Oscar Goes To...

The Divine Miss O!

A mysterious leg issue came up earlier in the week that sent Nantie's darling Dal to the vet. Unsure of what the x-rays were showing, a specialist was scheduled to look at them, as well. Bad infection? Cancer of the bone? Antibiotics were prescribed, her foot was wrapped and that dreaded cone put in place. Boy howdy, was our spotty dog miserable..



That is, of course, until we busted out the chicken... Hmmm..


I'm pleased to report she's getting better each day, it's not cancer but rather an infection from a possible mystery injury.

And Oreo ain't talking..

Maeve Rocked The Show Last Night!

Didja miss out on all the awesomeness that went down on MomTV's Adoption Angles Wednesday night?? Well, have at it.. here is Maeve Part 1:



The shows can only be recorded in one hour segments .. we actually went for an hour and a half (and barely scratched the surface!). Head on over ...

~~~~> CLICK HERE <~~~~

And watch Part 2 on replay!

Thank you again, Maeve, for coming on and inspiring us all! Can't wait to have you back on again!!

Who's The Amazing Guest Tonight On MomTV's Adoption Angles?!

Join me tonight on Adoption Angles with my very special guest, Maeve. She is a Mommy of six beautiful children via the foster system and boy howdy, does she have an awesome journey to share! In addition to adoption, she has also fostered several children and will share stories of new family connections, as well as connecting with birth families, mentoring foster moms, attachment issues, drug babies and failed prospective adoptions.

Oh and all her spare time (HA!) she also worked with DSHS doing prospective foster and adoptive parent trainings and served as a volunteer CASA for a brief time before they moved to another state.

Personally, I feel like a huge slacker..

CLICK HERE ~~~>

Let me tell ya, it's crazy easy to join the live text chat fun... just click on: "Click Here To Enter Chat" and either use your member log in OR type in a chat name and VIOLA.. you're in like FLYNN! We loooove questions and comments!

We're on live tonight at 9PM EST (that's 6PM for all my west coast besties!!)... come join us and BE INSPIRED!!!

A Dangerous Breed.. Really?

I wholeheartedly disagree.

Perfect Moment Monday

Spring is in the air.. time to head outside..

PERFECT!

I Capture
Perfect Moments.

She Says They Fit...

I'm thinking no ... but then again, who am I to judge?

Remember That Roller Coaster I Talked About?

Well, we've hit the loop de loop, my friends..

This past week we found out that JuneBug has family that has stepped up for her. It's a wee bit complicated (there's a shocker, right?) and it could take several months to get their approval (home check, background checks, etc) completed. The county is shooting for 60-90 days and is working diligently towards that goal. You never know what's going to happen but, from what we've been told, they sound like a stellar family.

That eases our hearts greatly. She deserves nothing but the very best.

So now we change gears. We're wrapping our minds around embracing them and doing what we can to make this go smoothly. Our worker asked how I would feel about phone contact with them.. I said no. In a previous case a family member (whom the county thought was stable but found out later, not so much) was given our number and totally abused it. Talk about violating our space, right?

Baby steps..

I told him I would be happy to start off with email correspondence and work from there. First and foremost I want them to know JuneBug is safe, beyond loved and wants for nothing. We foster parents have a bad wrap and I want to alleviate any anxiety they may have (to the best of my ability, anyway).

Yes, we were initially crushed but again, happy to hear how wonderful the family is. Shoe on the other foot.. if she was your niece or grand daughter, would you be falling all over yourself to get her back? Go above and beyond? Drop everything and focus on her?

We would, too.

Adoption Angles Replay With Ruth!

Missed last night's show, eh? Well here ya go..



We actually went longer than the hour .. to catch the last bit
CLICK HERE ~~~>

and then click "Replay", Menu, View Movies then "Ruth Part 2" to see the last bit. Heck, while you're there you can watch any of the past shows!

Thanks again, Ruth, for sharing your journey! It was a pleasure meeting you!!

Tonight On MomTV's Adoption Angles..

CLICK HERE ~~~>

Join me tonight on Adoption Angles with my very special guest, Ruth. She is a Mommy via fost/adopt and boy howdy, does she have an awesome journey to share!

Let me tell ya, it's crazy easy to join the live text chat fun... just click on: "Click Here To Enter Chat" and either use your member log in OR type in a chat name and VIOLA.. you're in like FLYNN! We loooove questions and comments!

We're on live tonight at 9PM EST (that's 6PM for all my west coast besties!!)... come join us and BE INSPIRED!!!

Being Human

Thank you for all your kind comments and emails from Sunday's post. Ya'll are just too sweet.

However, I do want to set the record straight.

As saintly as I may of come off, that's certainly not the case. We do our very best to be compassionate, understanding and "team players" but believe you me, I can get very upset. My blood pressure boils when idiotic drama occurs, social workers turn a blind eye and the politics of the system that manage to grind everything to a halt. Above all, what absolutely slays me is what our kiddos endured at the hands of the people that should always of been their greatest protectors.

THAT burns me right up.

Needless to say, I'm far from perfect.. like.. light years away. And then some. What keeps us plugging along is the tenacity, sweet innocence, strength, appreciation, sense of humor and moxie shown by the little angels we are blessed to know. They are my heroes and make me strive to be a better person.

Every.Single.Day.

Perfect Moment Monday

Not long after JuneBug's own time out I came upon these little ones (in her naughty spot, no less). They were being warned it is not nice to hit..

Apparently, they didn't listen..

Then, after the appropriate amount of time has passed, you have to get down on their level, explain why they were put in time out..


You get an apology, give hugs and loves (of course, some of it was in 2 1/2 year old babble but her message was loving and clear). Then you just get on with whatever you were doing. Drama over.

She gets it! Perfect.

I Capture
Perfect Moments.

Who Am I ...

... & Why Am I Here??

I've had many people ask lately exactly what our status is in the world o' foster. Enough that I thought I would address it, anyway. So, what's the deal? Are we solely foster parents? Fost/adopt? What's the scoop?

Here's the low down..

We are a certified fost/adopt family. When we started this journey, it was with the intent to adopt. From the get-go, the county was straight up that their goal is to reunify children with viable family or friends of family. They are not an adoption agency. Period.

We totally get that and agree.

But what happens when there is no viable family or friends? What if family is incarcerated or not willing to step up? That's when it ends up going to adoption. Relinquishment is not taken lightly and no stone is left unturned. We have come to realize that adoptions are few and far between (in our county, anyway).

We're asked how we can be so blasé .. why don't we freak out when things don't go "our way"? Bottom line: It's not about us.. not even in the slightest, remotest way. It's about what is best for the kids. Cases are like roller coasters and all the twists and turns can make you sick to your stomach. Thanks to our time with the twins we've learned to try to sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. Because the reality is she could be gone just like that.

Forever.

What never occurred to us when we had Jack and Jill is that once they left, we may never see them again. Although they now live across town, we'll most likely never cross paths. If we did, trust me, we would be a pool of tears and joy. That knowledge alone makes us really try to enjoy the moments we have with JuneBug and cherish them. To pour our love over her, keep her safe, healthy and happy.

That's our job.

Will we be devastated if and when she goes? Absolutely. Crushed beyond words? Without a doubt. However, it is not in our hands and we must trust in Him. Easy? Hardly. Necessary? Absolutely.

Because we love her.

News From The House of Pestilence...

Don't worry, I'm no longer contagious.. no need to back away from your monitor..

We're pretty much over the tummy issues but still fighting the bronchi crud. Personally, I'm okay with that. I would much rather go to work and be achy, stuffy and blow my throbbing nose all day than.. well, you know.

JuneBug continues to flourish. Every day she does something new and sweet.. totally out of her shell and blossoming into an amazing little chicklet. We're obviously in the dark about the case but (from what we can gleam) her visits with mom are getting better and things are going well on that front.

Court came and went but no one called to give us any info. With all the cutbacks, I believe the workers are under even more pressure and I try not to bug them unless it's absolutely necessary. Apparently nothing came up that would affect us one way or another.

Err, we think.

Once again, not knowing how much time we have, all we can do is just love on JuneBug and enjoy every moment we have. 2 1/2 is such a silly age (although the diva melt downs are a sight to behold). She never ceases to amaze and crack us up.

Bottom Line? JuneBug is a little gem and we love her dearly!

Lori & Crystal ROCKED on MomTV's Adoption Angles!

Missed Lori and Crystal's awesome show on Adoption Angles last night? No worries, I've got our O.A.D.D.'s (Open Adoption Dynamic Duo's) episode right here for you viewing pleasure..



A big THANK YOU to all our friends that were able to stop by!! CloudMaster, I'm glad you gave logging in another whirl and were able to join us this time! :)

And for the record no, I'm not in my pj's nor am I hopped up on NyQuil.. uh huh..

MomTV's Adoption Angles ~ De-Freakifying Open Adoption!

It's a BIG SHOW tonight, my friends!!!

CLICK ME ~~~~>

Lori from Weebles is back .. joined by Crystal (the first mom of Lori's daughter, Tessa). They met 9 years ago this month, when Crystal was 8 months pregnant and when Lori and her husband, Roger, had been waiting a whole week since turning in their adoption profile.

Crystal ended up delivering early, meaning that the three had known each other about a week when Tessa was born. The relationship between their two families, which has been close ever since, was recently featured in Adoptive Families magazine.

Lori and Crystal teach classes in Denver on how to have a successful open adoption. They also coach people over the phone if they have questions about building a healthy birth-family/adoptive-family relationship.

DO NOT MISS this opportunity to log in and chat with Lori, Crystal and me! 9PM EST TONIGHT!! Not only will they share their awesome journey and answer your questions.. you may even get to hear a few Grease ditties (or we might even shake things up and throw in some West Side Story-ya, we're wild like that)...

IT'S MUST SEE TV, YA'LL!! BE THERE!

I Fought The Crud..

.. And The Crud Won..

No lie.

In the weeee hours of Monday morning I was hurling my guts out. On top of the flu-like thing I had going on all weekend.. yep, I was a mess. The good news is I'm feeling better and back at work (infecting coworkers).

HA!

Okay, I'm no longer contagious.. ya'll can come back into the room now..

On a brighter note.. Princess JuneBug started PrePreschool today. We've got her signed up at the school we had Jack, Jill and Mannie in for a few hours a couple days a week. She needs to hang with kiddos her own age and it's a wonderful environment for her to be in. The county has yet to approve her attendance (due to cutbacks) so it very well could be out of pocket. We'll see..

Nantie dropped her off and was delighted to report she stomped in like she owned the place. Not a single tear. Yay JuneBug! When she went to pick her up she didn't want to leave. The kid loves school... Yay, again!

(P.S. In response to Sheri's comment... yes, I did lose 5lbs in 24 hrs.. LOL)