shop-a-holics beware

Just found this cool new website (sent to me by one of the baby Gigi's - aka grandmas) called Hautelook.com where they have major discounts on cool clothes, not just for kids, and decora. Apparently they have online sales that you get invited to where you can buy stuff for 75% or more off retail. I'm intrigued! The kid clothes are cute and unique which I love. I'll keep you posted on how it works out but buying designer stuff at Wal-mart prices sounds good to me!

oh dear

Teen Mom: I don’t know what my fascination is with this show. It’s like a car wreck. I can’t not watch. So the episode I’m watching (thanks DVR!) is the one where Amber beats the crap out of her baby daddy (and today, I just found out on Twitter, she’s going to jail for it and her daughter will someday have to watch YouTube videos of this whole debacle…tragic), Farrah is doing a DNA test so she can afford to care for her kid, Maci is trying to juggle the rights of Bentley’s dad with her life and a new boyfriend, and Catelynn and Tyler are just trying to graduate from high school. 

Holy shit, girls! Life is hard. Having kids is hard! Affording anything is hard – and if you have a little shoe fetish like me? Sayonara, sweetheart. I think about our baby mamas who did this amazing thing. It might seem selfish to them but that’s the one way you should be selfish when you’re a teenager! Every single thing you want, you should have! Boys, degrees, clothes, freedom, travel, career, experiences. It’s called life. There’s plenty of time for responsibility and stuff later. You don’t appreciate it till you’ve done all that other fun, irresponsible, adventurous stuff.

I LOVE that we get see Tagg and Sloane’s baby parents doing what they should be doing. Playing varsity ball, going to college, having fun. Why on earth do kids want to grow up so early?! I’m so glad I got to travel and have a career and date lots of people with no strings attached (it’s not as slutty as it sounds, trust me) and be completely, 100% selfish for years and years.

Even after we were married, we got to know each other and figure things out. Fighting over what kind of spaghetti sauce you buy is nothing like fighting over who gets the kid when. Figuring out how to handle your finances is still virtually a guaranteed fight-starter even when you actually have money. Scott and I got to lounge on the couch on Sundays and watch football and nap in the middle of the day, or work out together, or head to Lake Powell on a Friday afternoon with just a bikini and a suit and some beer not a whole freaking SUV full of Gracos, and formula and baby gates and life jackets and baby monitors. So now all I want is for my kids, and their baby parents, to have all the same opportunities and experiences.

Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE our life. Now. And I’m so glad that I have absolutely no regrets about missing anything. I’ve done everything I wanted to and now I get to be a parent…and this is the most beautiful thing ever. EVER! I wish that more of the girls they feature were at least considering adoption as an option, and an opportunity. Not just for them but for families like us.

When Sloane’s adoption was finalized, we got her birth parents’ background info. It was interesting to read what she wanted for her daughter - opportunity, acceptance, stability, adventure…and to be a part of the baby’s life. I admire her so much for realizing that she could give her baby more by gifting her to us, and for understanding that, with respect and a whole lotta trust on both sides, we could make a life for this little girl where we all get to love her.

So, Catelynn and Tyler, you guys are amazing. I hope that you make the most of the opportunities you’ve created for yourselves. And the rest of you...prayers are with you. You may need them.

the first 5

So I did my first run in just over a week this morning - 5 miles. I've had so many lovely excuses the last week or so not to go - shopping, wrapping, parties, cramming in some work before the break, cooking, bad weather, kids slept in so I'm sleeping in (my favorite!). But today it was time to get back into the training program. Huntington half is just 5 weeks away! So out I went. It was 34 degrees, there was snow and ice on the ground, wind in my face and the first half was all uphill. My ass was frozen by about minute 7 and my nose ran the whole time but my first run in jacked-up winter weather (I'm usually on the treadmill anywhere below 45 degrees) was actually fun! It was a different experience and definitely more invigorating than running in the heat!

A friend of mine wrote a great blog post about a book I gave her called Bird By Bird and related it to running, and today I had that in my head as I pounded out 5 miles. Every hard task in life can be handled if you take it bird-by-bird, and every hard run is just the same...take the next step and the next one and you'll end up right where you need to be. I love this book and it seems like, as I head into the new year, it might be a good time to read it again. I could use some instructions on writing...and life.

perfect christmas

christmas - part one (the harmers' house on Christmas Eve)

Sloane's big gift to us is
learning to crawl. She's
mastered laying to sitting and
is just minutes away from the
full crawl. Watch out people!

Santa Baby...hurry down the chimney tonight! Sloane had two cute Santa outfits for Christmas. I bought one (obviously) but so did Scott! So this is the one she wore to Christmas Eve festivities at his parents' house. Tagg and his cousin Ashley dove into a few presents on Christmas Eve after the traditional ham and potatoes dinner, then they put reindeer food out (oatmeal with sparkles) and lured Rudolph into the back yard. Tagg totally knows all the words to Rudolph the Red-nose Reindeer, his favorite Christmas carol, but he wouldn't sing louder than a whisper so we don't have any good video...bummer!

Tagg got a bunch of Lightning McQueen stuff including a car that he got to race with Ashley. He gave Ashley a princess outfit and a Purplicious book (her favorite color) and he and Sloane gave photo books to Auntie Leese and Grama and Bompa.

christmas - part two (our house, Christmas Day)

Tagg woke up late on Christmas...8:30 and we had to wake him up! Scott and I went to bed at 1 and woke up at 7:30 mind you. I suspect that will change as he gets older! Nana and Papa and Aunt Tiff came over at 8, packing cameras and mimosa fixin's. He was a little grumpy at first but then realized that Santa had come and ran downstairs. I wish I had a real picture of the awe on his face, but I'll keep the mental picture forever.

The basketball hoop was a huge hit. He was working on dunks and long shots from the get go, with a little help from Papa. Not bad for a kid wearing Lightning McQueen jammies that were about 4 inches too long! Tagg's baby family sent so many darling things for Tagg - clothes, a Cars Etch-a-Sketch that he adores and a new WVU jersey. They also sent Sloane a cute outfit. How awesome is that? I'm always so amazed by the love and generosity that these families share with us.

Sloane seems to have acquired my penchant for clothes and shoes...with a little help from her birth mom! She sent a cute pair of Ugg boots that Sloane may be able to wear in a few months and a gift certificate for Tagg. Again...how adorable! Even her grandma sent some artsy stuffed animals. It's a great reminder of how incredible these relationships are. We hope the kids cherish it as much as we do.

christmas - part three (the harmers' house)

We headed off to the Harmer homestead around 11 for Bompa's famous breakfast - monkey bread, french toast, bacon, eggs, sausage and veggie sausage which he accidentally bought because he didn't have his glasses on. Not bad tasting but the texture was...ick. It's kind of funny but Bompa's breakfast tastes a little different at a real table with real silverware. I'm not gonna lie, it was awesome but I think I like it better at Lake Powell!

The Girls.
Kayla (5 mo), Ashley (4 yrs), Sloane (7 mo).
All smiling in one photo!

I am trying to keep the "let's wear Xmas jammies all day" tradition alive and cooking but I am meeting with some resistance. Apparently I need to buy Scott some less gay pajamas and not go anywhere public all day to make this work. Come on! I think it's cute...and comfortable! Of course, neither baby was interested in performing for the camera at all but at least it's captured in pictures - squirming, screaming, the works! And, for the record, Scott cut about 4 inches off the bottom of his pajamas when we got to his mom's...no worry about how jagged or crooked or wrecked they were. That should probably tell me something!

The Girls. All smiling again...and Tagg.
Refusing to be part of the moment.

The kids all got treated royally (again!) at Grama and Bompa's Christmas. My favorite gift? The calendar Sandy made of the whole family - complete with all the birthdays and a Lake Powell trip countdown! Very cool! Tagg's favorite gift? Cars Band-aids. Sloane's favorite gift? Wrapping paper, and anything Tagg had.


christmas - part...ah, who's counting (the comptons' house)

We got to Mom, Dad and Tiff's about 2pm with 2 snoozing kids in the back of the car. Of course, our kids don't "transfer" at all so they promptly woke up and it was off to the Christmas races! The house smelled like turkey (mmmm!) and there was a Wii tournament in progress.

Sloane and Harper were dressed in identical outfits. It was so funny - totally unplanned, swear! But they looked so cute in their little twinner outfits! They even puked on them the same! At one point, Sloane was officially Christmas and pictured out. Done! So done!

Marc, Dad and Scott entertained the kids with Jingle Bears while we finished up a lovely dinner. We had a fabulous time opening presents - more stuff than those kids will ever appreciate! Mom and Dad got the kids a very, very generous donation to their college savings accounts in addition to some fun things and Marc & Becky went overboard as usual. Some day, I aspire to be that good at gift giving. The skull Xmas pj's for Scott? The Blindside replacement DVD for me? The princess scooter toy for Sloane? All perfect and awesome.

In the spirit of our family tradition, we got ornaments for the kids - one for every year - but mom and dad got them, and so did we. I like the eclectic Christmas tree where every ornament has a story. Makes me feel like I'm home!

So Christmas...it's a lot of work, and a lot of money, and a lot of stress but it's more than made up for by the the joy and the memories and the sharing of love between family and friends. It's so worth every little bit of everything. As you can tell by the length of this blog post...too many great moments to leave out a single one! I'm a little sorry it's over but still basking in the glow!

11th annual christmas eve-eve party

Our 11th annual Xmas Eve-Eve Party was a great success! Not as many donations for the Road Home as usual but we still ended up with a full truck-load of gifts for the shelter. Plus we had a good turn-out, tons of fabulous food and Lori brought some Price is Right-inspired drinking game called Drink-O (I did not play but hear it was hysterical!).

Thanks to Amy for the morning-after quiche, and thanks to all for the great company (even though I feel like I missed everything!) and generous gifts, thanks to the kids for wrecking the joint without breaking any windows with pool balls or crashing the TV or Christmas tree, and thanks to whoever left that bottle of vodka. We are so fortunate to have such wonderful friends...who have put up with all of our craziness and loved us through all the stages of life for 11+ years, and such an amazing family. You are all the best gifts. And you don't require wrapping!

The girls with the babies of 2010.
Big year of little ones!

all i want for christmas...

Old teeth...that left top cap has been
super-glued on since 2001. Zoiks! Or
maybe super glue is the way to go dentally.

Is my six front teeth. Yep, you heard me. SIX front teeth. In the list of dumb, over-ambitious things I've done over the holidays, I decided to get my veneers (front caps) redone before the end of the year. I had some FSA dollars riding on it and a broken tooth that was getting precariously close to, well, falling off. Had I totally realized that the process would screw my entire holiday season and that temporary crowns that last 12 hours (if that) are not really temporary, I might have done it differently. I was actually cementing my own caps back on a couple of times with a chopstick and then finally gave up and went with the Snaggletooth look. Hopefully they'll be gorgeous when they're done but for now, if you see me looking somber in any holiday photos, I'm just really trying to shield you from the sad reality of my teeth.

tis the season!

The first big snowstorm of the season and we were so outside! Tagg loved it! Stomping in the snow in his new snow boots while Daddy shovels the driveway? Uh, yeah!

Sloane was not happy about being
left out of the snow activities!

We built a snowman - Frosty - who had two eyes made out of decorative black rock (apparently you need something with more texture to really stick), a nice hat, a carrot nose and an onion smile. Yep, that's a red onion carved into that snowman smirk!

So today, a few days after the Frosty-building experience and six "let's-fix-Frosty" events because the rain and the warm weather broke that beautiful snowman down, Tagg was standing in the front window looking at the sad remains of his first snow creation, looks at us and says, "Frosty's not looking too good, daddy." Awwwww...

We started cramming in the holiday fun, early. Made a gingerbread house with Nana and Papa and the family (Papa watched Sloane while Mommy photographed and tried to keep Tagg from eating all the candy decora and glue-like frosting). We jacked up construction on the roof and ended up with a sunroof...with some stale M&Ms cemented on for kicks.  That will probably be a bigger hit in a year or so but it was still kind of fun. Especially for Tagg (candy is always a hit).

Do not tell the kids, but this is kind of what Santa's
workshop looks like at our house on Christmas
Eve. It's all the family presents, really. ;-)

So I pulled a few all-nighters getting ready for Christmas - photobooks, Xmas cards, and present wrapping. Whew! Apparently I got bags under my eyes for the Christmas! And we didn't even have a lot of put-it-together stuff. I am so amazed by all the wonderful people I know who always have their gifts done early, wrapped perfectly and are just jack-wagons for making the rest of us feel inferior.

bad santa

I can't help it. Every time (okay, so that's both times) I wait in line for the kids to see Santa, I think about that movie and hope that our Santa isn't a complete obnoxious, horrible lush with a soft spot for a kid named Thurman Murman.

Luckily, the Santa we went to see at Thanksgiving Point was, well, amazing! Like real Santa. Real beard. Of course, to get this kind of experience for 2 bucks, you have to wait in a Disney-style superline for oh, an hour or so. Yes, an hour or so with three boys under 4 and a baby in a hot sweaty room with mean grandpa elves who won't let the kids touch anything and want you to squish "really close together" for some unknown reason.

Panoramic shot of the Disney-like line to see Santa. I wish
there was sound so you could hear the screams.

There are kids everywhere (it is Utah county, you know) which equates to about one meltdown per minute from various quadrants. And apparently people use this as their opportunity to take family Christmas card photos (can you take one more? one more? Lady! You have 6 kids! They are not all going to smile at the same time! Give it up!).

The adorable Hawkins family...
Amy, Dustin, Greyson and Henry.

It was fun to go with Amy and Dusty. We definitely don't get to see enough of them and the boys. Next year, hopefully, we'll be able to join them for the hayride after but this year, we were just pretty happy to make it home with a marginal digital photo, a funny story and our sense of humor intact!

Amy with Sloane & Hen.

Actual tiny reindeer. They were
about as real as the Santa...
he was awesome!

Neither Tagg or Sloane were scared of Santa. Whew!
Tagg's Christmas wish? Cars, of course.

the purple christmas tree

It was nap time...hence
the crabby face. Tagg perked up
when Santa coughed up the candy cane.

We went to help my mom and dad get their Christmas Tree on Saturday. Scott had seen this local tree farmer advertising on Channel 2 the other day. They had reindeer, a Santa, a hot tub and they flocked the morning stunt boy like a Christmas tree so we figured that would be a good place to try out. It was, as billed, AND the big giant tree my parents got was only 55 bucks! I call that a screaming deal for a real tree!

While we were there, we found...a purple Christmas tree. I don't know why, but it spoke to me and we ended up bringing home this flamboyant purple-flocked Charlie Brown tree. It's all of about 4 and a half feet high. I think it's cool! It totally fits with all the vintage ornaments I have from my childhood...these shiny, jewel-tone balls with santas and reindeers. And vintage ornaments seem to be all the rage this year. I found a bunch to match for 70% off...woot-woot! I never bargain shop for Christmas stuff! See, that's why I love the Purple Christmas Tree!

pay it forward...

I work with this amazing man named Bryan. I've never been lucky enough to meet his wife or his 5-year-old adopted son in person but I feel like I know them from how much he talks about them and share photos and stories and his love for them. It's pretty special and in my gut I know that these people need to have another baby in their circle of love.

I know my guy is an amazing hubby and he gushes over our kids in ways that are darling and wonderful but borderline unnatural, but this guy ADORES his child in ways you don't always expect from a dad. It's very cool. So, in the land of share-the-word-these-people-should-have-another-child, pass it on. They are amazing, they should have more children to nurture and love, and they caught the best web address ever! dreamhopebelieve.com

It's a little strange to see how this midWestern family has to navigate the adoption process. Utah is a whole different world. We never had to have our own URL (of course, that was all of 7 months ago!). I realize that we were incredibly lucky to find our kids, but I always hope that everyone has the same good fortune, especially you guys.

finger painting to face painting

...in 30 quick seconds. Tagg and I were working on some works of art on Saturday morning. I was totally out of the washable paints so we were using acrylics - risky but worth it. Or so I thought. Sloane started crying so I went to pick her up, turned back around and bam! Tagg had finger painted his face. Pretty impressive.

Even more impressive? The acrylics washed off really easily! We've been "naked painting" (him, not me) to preserve his clothes and luckily these paints came right off with a little soap and water. Of course, after we cleaned up, we went straight to the store and bought more of the washables. Just in case...

And the picture turned out lovely, too!

cutest gifts ever

I was up until 2am last night making Christmas books for both of the kids. It's not that hard to make the books, it just takes time to pick out which photos you want to use, upload them - and starting at 10:30 didn't help any!

I loved this design even though it's a Taylor Swift.
Seriously...how much money does this teenager make?

I checked out a few photobook sites and Photoworks has, by far, the best designs and the easiest program to use. (use this Photoworks coupon code to get the best deal...the others are just for shipping and the 20% seems to be a better deal - thanku).

I love this photo of Tagg...his Cars, all perfectly lined up,
the devilish grin, and the bandaid on the knee.
The whole book is adorable. It's so "2".

I think photobooks are amazing. Every time I make one - which I've done since we created our first adoption profile book - I am stunned at how easy it is, and how gorgeous the final product is. Can you imagine these children growing up and reading through the books of their life, chapter by chapter, with them as the star? Very cool. I wish I had that! Tagg already reads his birth book and we have photos of his birth family in there...photos I love because there will be a picture of me and Scott holding this itty-bitty adorable newborn boy, tears in our eyes, shock on our faces, utter and absolute joy in the moment, and there in the background are Tagg's birth parents and grandparents smiling. He'll always know that that day, no matter how difficult it was for everyone, was fueled by love and joy. Pretty cool.

We make photobooks for the kids and send them to their birth parents on big occasions like birthdays and Christmas. It's a lovely way to include them in the kids' worlds and to make sure that they have a tangible connection.

I remember Tagg's baby grandma saying that she had read our profile book hundreds of times before she met us, like it was an introduction to these strangers who would be raising their baby and who would soon, hopefully, become family of a sort. I always hope that they read these books over and over, like Tagg does, so they "know" these amazing little children. And, let's face it, I also hope and pray that they think they made the right choice because the can see that we are giving the kids everything they had hoped for and that we're raising good, loving, responsible people.

The Christmas Card: In case you don't get one because I can't
find an address or a stamp...here you go!

I'm not gonna lie. It's a lot of work managing relationships with four separate birth parents and their families. It's incredibly rewarding but it's also tough. How much is too much? How little is enough? You have to do everything times four. You worry about appearances, or at least I do! What is right, what's wrong, and why isn't there some kind of Adoption for Dummies that I can cheat from?! The best thing is that being accountable to birth parents keeps you honest. I HAVE to do the blogs. I HAVE to make the books. I HAVE to make sure that Sloane has as many pictures and videos and attention as the first-born. And that's awesome. (I'm sure every second child would agree!) And it ends up being awesome for all of us

So I'm not really sure how it's all "supposed to be." All I know is that Tagg and Sloane deserve to know their birth families and understand the love that brought them into our family and the love that embraces them from all different hearts. Their baby-parents and families deserve to know that our kids are super-fabulous and that their sacrifice was worth it, more so if they fulfill all of their dreams. A couple of all-nighters to get all that good stuff? No problem.

supermom...kinda

The faces of Christmas...hopefully,
it gets better.

 Last night, I went into SuperMom mode. You know what it is...leave work, pick up alterations, buy birthday gifts, drop favorite boots at the shoe repair shop, get gas, go home, hug and kiss and play with babies, make Pumpkin Crack and appies for holiday work potluck with 2-year-old while making tacos for dinner and cranberry-pecan muffins because for some reason I didn't already have enough to do, put up Christmas tree, calm screaming baby, clean up after 2-year-old who has launched two glass ball ornaments onto the tile floor while you were calming screaming baby, calm screaming 2-year-old who is mad he can no longer throw said glass balls, feed screaming baby...give up on "beautiful trimming the Christmas Tree with the family" vision and put both kids to bed before the adults lose it too, pour glass of much-needed wine and trim the tree in peace with husband while watching Modern Family, go to bed at midnight. Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-laaaa...

i know, you know

I don't know much about Elizabeth Edwards. She was a political wife, but also a lawyer and career woman in her own right. She was a mother who lost a child. A wife whose husband betrayed her. A sick woman who battled not only her own terminal cancer but also fought a battle to provide health care for those who aren't privileged enough to have that security. I never read her books, but I caught a couple of interviews with her and read a few articles she wrote. She seemed like a strong, gracious woman.

When she lost her battle with cancer today, I didn't know quite how to feel. I think when you're a survivor, you always fear having to go through it again and not being as lucky the second time around. I remember sitting in the chemo room after our honeymoon waiting to get my chemo fanny pack and pic line restocked with cancer-killing poison. There were a lot of older women there, all of them looking at me a little askance like, "What are you doing in here, girl, with your tan and your hair? Either you're waiting for someone so get out of our space, or you're one of us and we feel pity for you because you are too young to deal with all that we have." Most of them were dealing with round two of breast cancer and it was a bitch. Like, I beat it ten years ago and now it's back in my brain or I beat it 20 years ago and now it's back in my bones. Breast cancer is nasty. That's a scary reality when you're 30, and scary 10 years later. It's just scary.

I admire Elizabeth and her strength to fight the battle with such grace and fortitude. I found this quote in the news article today and I thought...yep, girl, you did it right.

"Either you push forward with the things that you were doing yesterday or you start dying," she said. "If I had given up everything that my life was about ... I'd let cancer win before it needed to."

Her Facebook farewell brought tears to my eyes, too:

"The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that. And, yes, there are certainly times when we aren't able to muster as much strength and patience as we would like. It's called being human," she wrote. "But I have found that in the simple act of living with hope, and in the daily effort to have a positive impact in the world, the days I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious. And for that I am grateful. It isn't possible to put into words the love and gratitude I feel to everyone who has and continues to support and inspire me every day. To you I simply say: you know."

I know, you know.

top chef is back...woo-hoo!

Top Chef is my guilty pleasure. All Stars...oh, mmmmmmm-yea-aaahhh! The only way it could be better is if I could actually taste the food during the quickfires and elimination challenges, and get recipes emailed to me after every show. Well, actually, the only thing better than that would be to be a judge. Then you get to taste all the food, get a fabulous free meal, have the recipes at your disposal (not like you'd ever have to/get to cook), AND get paid oodles of money. Now I just have to decide who to root for: Richard, Fabio, Jen, Antonia, Carla, Jamie or Mike. That's a few too many choices for a Pisces! Especially without a taste test!!

time to do Christmas

I started Christmas shopping today. (Yes, I know lots of people are done already, thanks for rubbing it in. I'm actually pretty proud of myself - to start shopping while December is still in single digits may be some kind of record.) My inspiration was the Angel Tree that they're doing at my work...you pick a child's name off the tree and get them the gifts they've asked for. I picked a 2-year-old boy named Luis, same sizes as Tagg and same interests (well, actually the card said he wanted "dolls" which I was cool with but after some investigation, he had actually requested "balls." That could have gone way, way wrong.)

The original Cars book set. He reads them 10 times
a day, sleeps with them, has not lost (permanently) 
one of them...loves them. See the duct tape?
That is true love, toddler style.

I feel like Tagg has so much, the least I can do is make sure that this little boy has a great Christmas too. I almost felt guilty picking out things for Luis. I mean, what we got for him is just a drop in the bucket compared to all of the toys, clothes, books and shoes that Tagg already has. It really puts things in perspective. How much do most kids (or any of us) really need? We could do so much more.

Should have gone with the flames.

Anyway, we got Luis a nice winter coat, a cute little outfit complete with black Converse sneakers (very cool...I almost got the ones with the flames but chickened out and got him the same ones Tagg has), a set of the Cars books in a box that Tagg loves so much he actually sleeps with them, and a Whacky Ball set from B. Toys that he loves to play with when he's at Nana's house.


I love B. Toys. Of all the toys he has, he probably finds these the most consistently entertaining (after cars and his books of course). Not only are they environmentally friendly, donate proceeds to Free the Children, and have a killer website and brand design, but they actually seem to care about making toys that kids will like. Here's a snippet of their philosophy, something we should all take to heart:

...it’s okay to be curious, to be pensive, to be loud, to be happy and sad all at the same time, to be generous, to be afraid, to be quiet, to be wild, to be fun, to be open, to be scientific, to be poetic, to be giddy, to be serious, to be smart, to be free, to be you. 

Of course, while I was at the store I had to do a little shopping of my own. After I got over my charitable guilt shopping spree, I still managed to find a few things for the kids. (no spoiler alerts here, please move on) I got lost in the book store as usual. We love Jamie Lee Curtis' book "Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born" which is a lovely tale about adoption. (Her books always make me want to write childrens' books instead of trashy romance novels.) I wish they would make a customizable "photobook" type thing where you could write in your own story and have it end up looking like this book, but with your kid's story. Maybe one day, I'll get all artsy and try to make one for each of my kids. The book I ended up buying as a Christmas gift - My Mommy Hung the Moon - just seemed like a necessary add to the collection! It's not going to come close to the tent fort, but hey! that's what you get when mommy does the shopping. It's not always fair.

thanksgiving wishes

Email from Tagg’s birth family after Thanksgiving…

“Thought about you all throughout the day also. Thanks for the pic
you sent on my phone that was so special. (it was of all of us on Sloane’s adoption day)

We definitely have lots to be thankful for. Tagg having a lovely, stable family to grow up with and love him is truly a blessing for all of us here. Peace of mind is worth a million, and along with everything else, you and Scott have given us that.

Tagg painted this frame. It's my favorite
and the photo of them is priceless.
He made frames for his birth parents and grandparents too.

Congrats on the adoption becoming final. I have to admit it made me a little nervous, kept thinking about everything and hoped and prayed everything worked out for all of you, and thank heavens it did.” Thank heavens, indeed. For everything.

abstract family

Tagg's art project for the day...our family as represented in the PlayDough medium. Excellent use of color and dimension. Very expressive. I think he's ready for his first exhibit.

The artist.

That's Sloane on the left, mommy, daddy, and Tagg is the green one. Sloane is a little flat because Tagg stepped on her, and my eyeballs and mouth kept falling off. It might be time for some new PlayDough.

i put on my underwear

The potty training is in full swing. We're not all hardcore about it but Tagg has been interested since his 2nd birthday and has been kind of on and off ever since. For instance, in Mexico we were talking to my parents about the fact that he refuses to poop in the potty, or give us any "I'm pooping" signs, or even admit that he's poopy - even when the smell is undeniable! About 3 minutes after that conversation, he says, "Mommy, I need to go poopy in the potty." And he did. Every day for about 3 days while we were there and then...boom, back to nothing. So now that we know he's fully capable, we are bribing him with Lightning McQueen underwear, Toy Story (aka "cowboy") pull-ups and M&Ms. Nothing high-pressure, but more focus on what he can do.

So this morning we open his door and he's sitting on the floor with his Lightning McQueen jammies on and both feet in the right leg-hole of his Lightning McQueen unders (I should have stock in Disney Pixar). He looks up with his little bed-head and says, "I put on underwear!" So proud. A few minutes later, Scott pops his head in the bathroom and says, "You gotta see this. Tagg's showing Sloane how he can put on his underwear." Sure enough, the kid's on the floor by Sloane, both feet in the right leg-hole of said Lightning McQueen underwear, showing off. Once we got them on, he sat and read her all of his favorite books. One of those "aaawww" moments. And where was my camera!


When Tiff came over tonight, he made a point of showing her his underwear skills and then ran laps around the house and did a nice little yoga "down dog" pose for her. Classic. Potty training is pretty fun so far!