Inhale..

Jack and Jill have been here for over 2 1/2 months now and one thing is for certain .. no two nights are ever the same. Although typically on their best behaviour and little darlings there are things that set them off. Total triggers (yes, they're being documented). Last week, for example, we had one humongous melt down (Jack, not me). It was bad. It was a rage that we likend to a purging but (thanks to our fantastic training by the county and follow up support) I recognized it for what it was and remained calm.

A feat in and of itself.

I was also very aware I was living a Super Nanny episode. No joke. For the record I would much rather sit and watch the show than lug a kicking and screeching 35 pounder onto a naughty chair for over an hour. Oh yeah, I wasn't too fond of all the toys and folded laundry thrown at me, either. Two things I learned that night: 1) Jo Jo's methods are spot on and 2) I am so out of shape it's not even funny.

Remember that big meeting I was dreading a couple weeks back? The one I hoped and prayed would get cancelled and it did due to a blizzard? It got rescheduled.. to tomorrow. DH cannot make it and I'm on my own. Prayers please!!

Did I mention my dad had a pacemaker implanted earlier this week (he's in a nursing home out of state)? I got a call tonight as we were wrapping up our soiree with three social workers that came a-callin' (a planned meeting) that he has been moving his arm around (just like he wasn't supposed to) and pulled a wire. He goes back in for surgery tomorrow.

Oy.

It has been an exhausting week (and we're only half way through). The good news is we're keeping our noses above water level (thanks to Nantie!) and hey, I guess we can't complain about is being bored, right?

Exhale..

Friday Night At Last

Auntie MooMoo (Missy) came over to spend some time with the twins this afternoon. When I got home the kids were already in jammies and homemade chicken noodle soup was bubbling on the stove.

One word: HEAVEN!

The kids had already eaten and were soon off to sleep. AN EARLY NIGHT! It's 8:30, I'm already showered and in bed with DVR'd Supernanny. Could it get any better?

Nope.

Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be rainy/snowy/cold/icky. Perfect to stay snuggled in with the kiddos, hunkered down watching movies and hopefully recover from this stupid cold. DH is off snowmobiling for the day and Nantie and I will hold down the fort. In sweats, no doubt.

For now, it's a shooter of NyQuil & JoJo... Nighty night.

The Ties That Bind.. A Bloggy Shout Out

Most of you already know Kadi Prescott as a blogger extraordinaire, loving wife and super mom to SEVEN beautiful kiddos. You might even recognize her and her brood from their Super Nanny episode last season or from an aisle at a SuperTarget.

At first glance you may only notice her physical beauty. She's simply stunning and has killer sense of style (have you seen her shoes?!). Give the girl a minute of your time and you'll find there's way more to her than what's on the outside. What lies beneath is a wicked sense of humor, intellect, beauty ... and a huge, giving heart.

I can say that because I know from personal experience.

With their platters already overflowing and lives thoroughly jam packed, Kadi and her husband came by my side to help me with a situation involving my father. Being out of state my hands were tied and they were my eyes and ears. I will forever be grateful to them for what they did and what they tried to help us accomplish.

Most of you are her readers that are kind enough to come visit my blog. I have no problem with pity and LOVE that you surf on over!! The other (what, 2?) of you that haven't yet had the pleasure, please head on over and give my little cousin a big ole howdy do! She's my bloggy inspiration and I hope I'm half the Mommy she is. You can visit her at A Womb At The Inn(Sane) and also at the Super Nanny Web Site. A word of warning.. she tells it like it is.. there is no fluff.

Pictured is part of my wonderful family at Christmas.. some of my dearest memories revolve around these amazing people. That adorable baby girl is Miss Kadi and the dork in the Mom Made Vest would be yours truly. That's gotta be some form of abuse..

A Helping Hand In A Tragic Time

For any fans of Super Nanny, you may remember Scott Terrill and his boys from this past season. He was the single father (a big, teddy bear of a guy) raising two sons as a single dad. This past 4th of July he committed suicide. The following is an excerpt of an email from cousin Kadi regarding some fund raising she, Christy Schrage (another SN Mom) and Jo Frost are working on to benefit the boys he left behind. If you are in Southern CA and wish to attend her wine tasting event, please check her blog for updates:
http://www.kadiprescott.blogspot.com/

I've also placed a donation button on the sidebar, Kadi will be collecting and passing them on to Ms. Frost who will be sending all donations to the boys. **THE HIGHEST DONATION WILL RECEIVE A ONE HOUR PHONE CONSULTATION WITH JO FROST**. How cool is that??

ALSO, calling all fellow bloggers.. If you would like to help with the cause, please visit Michelle at Mommy Confessions. On her sidebar you will see a link to create your own donation button to add to your blog and get the word out to your readers.

If anything, please keep the boys and their family in your prayers.


~~~~~~~~~~
I do not know how many of you have heard, but a fellow Supernanny family has suffered a horrible tragedy. On July 4th, Scott Terrill, single father of two sons, committed suicide. You can read the whole story on my blogs. I have felt God impress upon my heart, the task of helping his two surviving sons, who are still very young. I am doing two things. First, I am sending this Paypal link to all of you. If you feel it in your heart to donate to the boy's fund, I have set up for them, please use this link to do so. Jo Frost will be sending all donations to the boys. I am just collecting them for her, since she is busy filming in the UK. She, I and Christy Schrage (another SN mom) have dedicated out time to doing this for the boys. Your generosity is much appreciated.The second thing I am doing, is arranging a charity wine tasting event on August 16th, to benefit Scott's sons. Jo will be auctioning off an item for this cause and we are currently trying to involve many other celebs. Tickets will be reasonable and will help give Scott's sons a brighter future. More information on the event will follow, but I promise it will be HUGE. You will not want to miss it. Thanks, in advance, for your support in doing this! Hugs to all of you! ~Kadi
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donations&business=kadirprescott%40hotmail%2ecom&no_shipping=1&cn=Kind%20Words%20For%20The%20Boys&tax=0&currency_code=USD&lc=US&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF&charset=UTF%2d8

A "Quickie" Introduction

My dear cousin Kadi, Blogger Extraordinaire - Womb At The Inn(Sane), Supernanny, (just to name a couple) made a passing comment to me once about creating my own blog, writing about us and our adoption experience as it unfolds. I didn't give it much thought.. she is so dang funny and creative (I am not) and the thought of putting our lives "out there" really kind of makes me shiver. Who really wants to read about us anyway, right? Time passed and the idea obviously stuck because here I am. Like so many others, I love to write and it's darn good (and affordable) therapy. It occurred to me this is something that our future daughter will have to read as a piece of her own little puzzle, as well.. so hang on and here we go.. (Thank you, Kadi).

My name is Melissa, I am 39 years young and am married to a wonderful man, I'll call DH-Darling Husband- (he's 45). I was raised by "older parents" (I came along when they were in their early 40's-that story to follow) and I vowed I would never be that ancient when I started my family. Ah ha. DH and I met in 2001 and were married in 2005. My clock has been ticking since oh, 2002, so as soon as that ring hit my finger I was all about basal thermometers, Ovulex and Clearblue Easy Digital EVERYTHING. In a million years I never thought I would be "that girl".. obsessed with doing everything right, trying to get pregnant.

The deal was we would give ourselves a year to get pregnant.. we're not spring chickens, you know. I didn't want to wake up 5 years down the road sans kids and just throw in the towel. If in that year we did not conceive we were on to Plan B.. adoption. I was not interested in doing the whole fertility thing.. I have friends that had great success (and multiple kiddos) by in vitro and I'm thrilled for them. However, it's just not for me. As crazy as this sounds and as much as I would love to bring a little one into this world with his/her Daddy's beautiful eyes mixed with Mommy's kooky personality, I am okay with not getting pregnant and it not happening won't ruin our world. The plan He has for us is different and you just have to learn to roll with it. Don't get me wrong, every month when I found out I was definitely not pregnant the tears would come and that whole feeling like a failure thing would set in. It's just something that you have to get through but not get bogged down in.. what really helped me was to look at the bigger picture and to count all the blessings we already had.

A year passed with no conception and Plan B was set into motion. I had done the homework and checked into Private Adoption, International Adoption and Fost/Adopt County Programs. I knew people that had done all 3 and quizzed them. The one that spoke to my heart was working with the county (of course, the most trying and heart wrenching one of all, in my book). There are 800 children in the county alone in the foster care system. Their ages range from birth to teenagers and they are right in our backyard. I was sold.

Last December the county held an informational dinner that DH and I attended (along with my in laws.. it's a family affair, for sure). They likened it to "speed dating" and had that same type of format. Our table had about 12 people (including our crew) and a person would come and sit, tell their story and answer questions. Every 15 mintues, the speaker would change tables. People from foster only families, fost/adopt families, county workers, people that adopted special needs children, people that adopted teens and a family that adopted children of another race all spoke to us. Can I just say, it was awesome. We got all kinds of perspectives and so many questions were answered. Fostering to adopt is no small task and not for the faint of heart. I held my breath that whole evening as I was unsure if DH was on board or not. He was, bless his heart and that is when our little adventure truly began..