Our Little Russian Peanut

Some agencies were accredited on 11/22 (congrats to those in that batch!). Was ours one? Ummm... nope! I'm tired, mad, sad, frustrated, irritated, confused and annoyed (just to name a mere few of the emotions I'm going through right now). There were supposed to be 12 US agencies and there were 4. Who knows what will happen with the other 8. If I hear "2 more weeks" in regards to another batch of accreditation I think I might go postal. I hate "2 more weeks". It's kind of like the 2 week wait when you're trying to get pregnant. Nothing good comes from "2 more weeks" - at least not when it comes to me and having a child.

I was so down and out after seeing the list and have promised myself I will not get excited about each bit of rumored good news. I need to be guarded. No more big ups until when/if/ever this accreditation mess gets resolved.

So then I come home to a big box. What is it, you ask? It's the freaking truck bedding for the little Peanut. So what happened, you ask? I started to get excited again.

A girl just can't win for losing sometimes.

*** edited to add:
The reaccredited agencies on the 22nd of November are:
315. Alliance for children (USA)
316. Wide Horizons for Children (USA)
317. VZW Adoptiedinst HORIZON (Belgium)
318. Nuova genitori insieme di associazione per l'adozione (Italy)
319. Atid Haieladim (Israel)
320. Life Adoption Services (USA)
321. Tzivos Hashem (Canada)
322. Adoption Horizons Inc. (Canada)
323. Happy Families International Center (USA)

A big THANK YOU to Susan for giving me the Blogger Flame of Fortitude Award! What is this prestigious award you ask? Well.... here is the description:

You are receiving this honor because you have embodied perseverance in the face of difficulty and shared the journey of your experiences with others proving that a single voice can both be a light of support and a source or humor for those in the midst of their struggle. You are acknowledged here today for allowing others to share in your personal story and providing camaraderie through the power of your words.

I am so honored and I really do hope that I have helped at least one person out there in blogland somehow, someway! I can honestly say that blogging my thoughts, feelings, the chaos in my life and every day happenings is what keeps me going through this adoption process. I have made so many great friends and have followed some many blogs - laughing, crying and, in the end, being so darn excited for those that have made it through this daunting process. It helps to know you're not the only one going through this!

While there are so many special people in the adoption world, there are two people that gave me the courage to begin our adoption and the strength to keep going with it. They have been given the greatest gift of all - two precious little boys. So, without further ado, I'm awarding Melissa and Adrienne the Blogger Flame of Fortitude Award. Thank you both for your support, for sharing your stories, for keeping us going and for allowing us to see that this long dark tunnel is worth it in the end! I think I speak for many people when I say that you both have been an inspiration for so many of us and we appreciate you (especially all of those cute pictures and video you keep posting!)!

Pray for good accreditation news this week! Wouldn't that be the BESTEST Thanksgiving ever??

Yep, they like trucks. Big trucks, little trucks, restoring trucks, going to truck shows, washing trucks, driving trucks and dreaming about trucks. Sounds a bit extreme, but they really do love trucks! At any given time Alex has a picture of some "cool" truck he found as his cellphone background. Keith's screen saver is all of the pictures he took at the last F-100 truck show. He owns more trucks then I have earrings and I'm totally not kidding! He owns 4 F-100's waiting to be restored, a 1974 Bronco that he's restoring, a 1991 Bronco that he drives from time to time and a 2002 Ford F150 Lightening. (And no, these are not all stored at my house!)

I must admit... the truck thing can drive me crazy (especially when I find a new one in my driveway or one that goes into the shop for a day and comes back with something different done to it), but it's a family addiction that cannot be denied. That being said, I think it's pretty safe to assume that the Peanut will be a truck lover. He'll come by it naturally. I've hemmed and hawed over what kind of bedding to get for his crib and tonight I bit the bullet and ordered it online. 3 guesses as to what the theme is? And the first 2 don't count.... TRUCKS!

Here is a sample view of what the whole ensemble looks like. I only purchased the quilt, sheets, bumper, dust ruffle and window valances (from JcPenney - it was on sale AND I got free shipping!)

Here is a close-up (although the colors look a bit off - it's brighter like the picture above) of the quilt.

The room is currently an olive green on two walls and a brownish/greenish on the other two. I didn't really want to repaint so I thought this would be a good way to add some color, but also keep it kind of subdued and calming. I plan on accenting the rest of the room with the bright orange and, as of right now, I'm pretty sure the furniture will be that dark espresso color. That's still up in the air though.

So, it's my first BIG Peanut purchase! :-)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Becky

I’m having such a hard time concentrating at work today! First and foremost, I’m exhausted… we went to the Trans Siberian Orchestra concert last night and didn’t get home until midnight-ish. I’m too old for that! :-) It was a very good concert, but I do have to say that my favorite part was the light show. Wow, wow, wow! It was like nothing I had ever seen before. Absolutely amazing! Alex loves them so we took him and went with our neighbors. Of course, once we got home, Alex had to do homework so it was after 1am before we went to bed!

The second reason I’m having a hard time concentrating is because I’m letting myself get EXCITED about these accreditation rumors! Oh my goodness, oh my goodness! Rumor has it 12 agencies are being issued accreditation and they can expect their certificates in the next 2 weeks. Our agency hasn’t said that exactly… but…. I’m doing my best to read between the lines!

It has been about 3 months since I’ve been able to get excited about this adoption! I'm back!!! For the first time in those 3 months I’ve started thinking of my lists again – things to pack, things to buy, things to do. This weekend, I think I might actually DO some of those things. Now, now… I need to reel myself in. This accreditation could or could not happen. That fabulous saying “Anything can happen” is the motto of my life. I keep trying to tell myself to chill out, but can’t a girl get a little excited about something she’s been waiting a long time for?? Why yes, yes she can… as long as there is someone to pick up the pieces if things turn sour. :-)

Today we had our childcare center information session (they are building a childcare center next to our building). I filled out my pre-enrollment registration, wrote a nice letter explaining the unknowns of our situation and took it downstairs (with my check, of course). I wound up having a great conversation with the 2 directors. I explained my fabulous story of not knowing my child’s name, date of birth, age, when he’s coming home, etc… As much as I think they may have been thinking “ut oh”, they made it seem like it was not a problem at all, which left me feeling very good.

I told them that we may accept a slightly older child and could potentially have to work on the transition from Russian to English. I mentioned that, if so, I’d most likely want to have someone come in and work with my little boy on speech/language, development, etc… Their enthusiasm surprised me! Not only were they more than willing to have any specialist I needed come in, they also asked that the specialist(s) work with them for a short while so that can understand key words, signs, emotions, etc… It was very comforting to know that they’ll give my child special attention, if need be, but then also ensure he won’t be treated differently because he’s adopted. It’s a fine line.

Well, this weekend should be a bit tamer then the past few. I sometimes wonder to myself how I’m going to be able to juggle a toddler with everything else going on. Honestly, I have no answer, but will hopefully figure that out. I am learning that I need to say “no” more often when it comes to things that over extend me. What’s that saying? Knowing the problem is half the battle? We have a football game tonight (last regular season game which determines our playoff spot) and then nothing big planned! For that, I am very thankful!

It’s 1:50 and I’ve been at work since 9. Do you think it’s time for me to do some work now? Hmmm… I’ll just check blogs and FRUA first. I’m sure a lot has changed since I last checked it. 10 minutes ago. THEN, I’ll get to work. I promise.

... if you get here and it's all funky, please just ignore. I'm playing with the template a bit.

... now back to green. I couldn't handle all of that purple so I've decided to compromise. Yes, I compromised. Shocker! Don't tell Keith - I wouldn't want my uncompromising reputation to be ruined. He'd think I am becoming flexible in my old age. :-)

The text is purple. The header has purple in it. See, I do still support National Adoption Awareness Month! FRUA is still a-buzz with accreditation rumors and being the pessimist that I am, I'm slightly optimistic. Scary, very scary. I knock on wood each time I become hopeful and throw up a little prayer. Come on people! This has to happen!!!

It's almost FRIDAY!!! We have another football game tomorrow night and a busy weekend ahead! Have a great weekend, everyone!

Beck