Friday, September 30, 2005

Today was picture day at Jaden's school. Miss Moll said that Jaden did really well. I hope the pictures turn out good. I'm very excited about his first school pictures!

Something else exciting happened today. We got a video of Noah in the mail! We weren't expecting it at all, so it was really exciting. I saw the package in the mail and I thought "That looks like it's about the size of a videotape." I was trying not to get my hopes up, but I basically tore the package open and then immediately called Scott. He wanted to see it right away so he came home for lunch. It was so sweet to see him crawling around (he doesn't really use his legs yet, but he pulls himself along with his arms). He was really adorable. I can't wait to go visit him! And Jaden was really cute, watching him. He kept saying things like, "Baby Noah is being silly. Baby Noah is playing with the Winnie the Pooh toy." He was really sweet.

That was pretty much the best thing about today. Nothing else exciting.

Thursday, September 29, 2005

Today was Jaden's very first field trip! Scott's mom came over, so I was able to chaperone. We went to the Marriott Lincolnshire to see Pinocchio and Jaden was enthralled the entire time. He absolutely loved it! It was so cute to watch him sit on the edge of his seat, mesmerized by the action. He even danced in his seat when there was music. I swear, he didn't make a peep the entire show and he never lost interest. I loved it!

Since today was my mom's real birthday, we sang Happy Birthday to her on the phone. Danielle now loves to talk on the phone, so she held the phone for a lot of the conversation. Of course, she tends to occasionally crawl around with it, so it's hard to actually hold a conversation. But, she is so cute when she babbles on the phone. She does NOT want to put the phone down.

In the evening, I had a meeting with Se-Kure. It went well - they seemed really happy with what we have done so far. Unfortunately, I had to drive 2 1/2 hours for a 1 hour meeting. Sigh.

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Scott and I were supposed to have our psychiatrist appointment tonight, but apparently the doctor is sick. :-( So, we had to reschedule it for next week. Sometimes it feels like we'll never get done with our dossier. I wish that I was better organized - I could have gotten things done quicker, I'm sure.

My mom came over tonight. I didn't call to tell her that our appointment was cancelled because I had been planning on making her a cake and a card for her birthday. We aren't going to be able to see her tomorrow because I have a meeting in the evening, so I wanted her to come today. I'm glad that she did. Jaden loved singing happy birthday to her and helping her blow out her candles.

My mom and I just spent the evening watching TV - as usual. But, it was a nice night.

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Tonight was our first sign language class at the Center on Deafness in Northbrook. We're really glad that we ended up taking it. It's a lot different from Harper, but it's good to get a different perspective. Harper goes at it from a much more academic standpoint. This class is much more laid back and geared toward real life use of sign language, it seems. In some ways, I think that it's probably not as good for pure ASL, but it's good to have this other perspective. We are thinking that it would be nice in the future if we could take both this class and the Harper class.

We also talked to several people about early intervention and about services that are available for Noah once we get home. They told us to call when we get Noah home and they will help connect us with the proper people. One of the women used to interpret for the school in Vernon Hills and she told us a lot about it. The only thing that I'm not crazy about is the fact that they use something very close to signed exact English. She said that when the kids are young, they even use signs for "ing" and "ed", etc. I don't really think I like that. Scott said that after talking to her, he felt more reassured about it (she explained that mainstreaming is their main goal and that they use the special signs so that the kids will really understand English grammar), but I still don't feel very good about it. I just don't see how throwing English letters at the end words in a visual language makes much sense. I would really like to see some actual data on how Deaf kids learn best. All I've heard is anectdotal stuff. Of course, both sides insist that their way is better.

Monday, September 26, 2005

This morning, Scott and I went and got our vaccinations for our trip to Haiti. We had to get a Hepatitis A shot and a Typhoid shot. Scott also got a Tetanus shot, since he didn't get one when he had his physical. We had to bring the kids with us, but it didn't go too badly. They were actually very good, considering.

After the doctors' appointment, Mary and Dana came over for playgroup. They were the only ones who were able to make it, but that was okay. Unfortunately, I was feeling really exhausted (as usual lately - I think it must be my allergies). I think that she could tell that I was just really tired. Oh well. Jaden had fun playing with Dana anyway.

Other than that, there was nothing exciting about today.

Sunday, September 25, 2005

Today's service at church was about romance. It was a good service, but it didn't feel very important to me because we don't really have issues in our marriage right now. But, Jaden seemed to have lots of fun at Promiseland and we got to see Martha and Michael again.

After church, we just hung out at home. Scott and I knew that we should get some things done, but we didn't end up working on anything. Oh well. In the evening, we did start going through the workbook that we got from the homestudy agency. It seems like a good study. It's already brought up some things that we hadn't really thought about before. For instance, it hadn't occurred to me before that Noah may have NEVER been alone before. He sleeps in a room with many other babies - there are always caretakers and other children around. I doubt that he has ever just been left in a room by himself. It might be very difficult for him to sleep in a room by himself when he gets home.

Saturday, September 24, 2005

Well, we ended up making another $85.50 by the end of the day. It was funny - the grill went at the very last minute. It had started to rain and we had pretty much given up on the garage sale when some landscaping guys came by with a big truck. They took the grill for $20, which we were happy about at that point. We just didn't want to have to have it sit in the back yard any longer. I also sold the baby swing for $25 - I was hoping to get $30 for it, but, again, I was just happy not to have to put it back in the basement. Another funny item that I sold was the Atari. I hadn't even brought it next door, but some guy asked if we had any video games. I told him that I had the Atari in our garage still. Scott and I had decided not to sell the main Atari, but I was willing to sell the one without any joysticks. The guy would only give me $15 for it and he picked out one game (for all I know, it was a rare game), but it was still good to get rid of it and get some money for it. It doesn't seem like we would be able to get all that much for it on Ebay right now.

One of the only things that we didn't sell at the garage sale next door was the Christmas tree. We were disappointed that it didn't go, since we had marked it all the way down to $10 (it started out at $20 during the last garage sale). No one showed any interest in it. That turned out to be a good thing, though, because the woman who had said that she was going to come back for it a couple of weeks ago showed up at our door this evening! She bought the tree for $15 (which was just between the price that I had written down on her paper and the price that I had been trying to get for it yesterday) and then she bought some of the clothes that my grandmother knit for $5. I also gave her a decorative gift bag for free and I gave her daughter the stuffed duck basket that she seemed to like so much. I was really happy because, before the woman left, she said "This is going to be a great Christmas." I was so glad to get the tree to someone who needed it. At that point, I almost wished that I had charged her even less. I hope that it works out well for her. She had two cute kids who deserve a nice Christmas.

Scott and I went grocery shopping today and bought TONS of food. We spent almost $300! We bought a lot of things to make actual meals with, though. Scott made us a pre-marinated beef tenderloin that was really good. He also made mashed potatoes and had a broccoli salad. It was a real meal!

In the morning, before we went next door for the garage sale, we went to get our fingerprints done for the adoption. It took much longer than I was hoping it would - they had to keep re-doing fingers that didn't have a "good" print (since both Scott and I have scars on our fingers, it was especially hard). But, we got it done and hopefully they won't have any problems with them!

Friday, September 23, 2005

Today, Carol (next door) had her garage sale. I went over while Danielle was sleeping and brought over some things that we had left over from our garage sale. I ended up staying over there a good portion of the day, just talking to her. I really enjoyed getting to know her better and we had a lot of fun agonizing over how sloooow the garage sale was going. Almost no one came and the people who did come didn't buy much. I guess it was the weather - it was a bit chilly today. I did make $5 more and got rid of one more thing that would have ended up in the basement. I guess that was good. Hopefully tomorrow we'll sell a bit more.

Other than that, there's not much to say about today. I really did spend almost the entire day next door. I actually felt a little bad that I didn't spend more time with the kids (I brought Danielle with me at one point, while Jaden was watching a TV show, but they both spent longer than usual in bed, napping).

Tonight, Scott and I started going through the "Eyes Wide Open" adoption workbook. It's been interesting to talk over the issues that it brings up. Then, we watched the first episode of a new show called "Invasion". It was really interesting - I hope it stays that way.

Thursday, September 22, 2005

This evening, Scott invited a woman (Alisha) from work home for dinner. She is here from the New Jersey office and is staying in a hotel. Apparently, the night before she had just gone back to the hotel and sat there by herself, so Scott thought it would be nice to invite her over. It was nice to meet her - she was a really fun and interesting person.

I had to clean the house up before she came (which was quite a job!). But, first I booked our tickets to Haiti!! We finally figured out all the details and Scott got approval to take the days off from work. I was so excited to actually book the tickets. We are going from October 9th through the 13th. I can't wait to see Noah! Now I just have to figure out everything we need to do before we go. I did get us an appointment for immunizations on Monday morning. So many things to think about!

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Honey came home last night at 1 AM. Poor Honey. It was nice to have him home, though. I spent a lot of today trying to figure out whether or not it will be possible for us to go to Haiti in October. We were thinking of going from the 13th to the 17th, but I hadn't looked at the flight schedule correctly. There are no flights out to Cap Haitien on Thursdays.

I spoke to Robin on the phone for almost 40 minutes today. I found out that there are some days that would be better for them because they already have to drive to the airport. Apparently, the airport is only 7 miles away from the orphanage, but it takes them 45 minutes to drive there because the terrain is so rough. She said that there are potholes the size of a car. She also said that there are no real roads, no road signs to speak of and no traffic or street lights. Apparently, people basically just use their horns constantly to let others know what they're doing. Robin also said that Cap Haitien is much different from Port au Prince. She said that the violence that the media talks about in Haiti is pretty much just in PaP. She also said that the media really blows things out of proportion and that it is not as violent as they make it sound. So, it's an option to go after the elections if we can't make the week that we want to go in October work out.

Robin told me a lot about the orphanage. Apparently, Robin's mother (and she) started the orphanage 6 years ago. They went out there and basically started taking in babies when all they had was a shack to stay in. They had no electricity and didn't even know where they should go to buy food, etc. They had five babies and it was just Robin and her mother taking care of them. Eventually, they found a building that they were able to rent. Then, they moved out to the country and were able to stay in some buildings that had been used by some missionaries. After a few years, they built their own building and the missionaries moved back into the old buildings. They now have a generator (and therefore electricity). Robin said that many people have commented on the fact thta COTP seems like a much nicer place than other orphanages they have been to in Haiti. She said that they really try to take care of the kids like they are their own. She said that they know each child's cry and whether the cry is a pain cry or a "someone's taken my toy" cry. They really love these kids. I really feel like we are blessed to have Noah living in this orphanage.

Robin also warned me that Cap Haitien is a lot poorer than PaP. She said that people are always shocked when they get there. They are not prepared for the level of poverty and the number of people in the streets, and the amount of garbage in the streets. It's hard to imagine how it will be and how we will feel when we get there.

So, I ended up calling Lynx airline to find out what flights they have seats on. It looks like we can fly out on the 9th and come back on the 13th. In some ways, it's not as ideal (Scott will have to take one extra day of work off, we'll have to miss a sign language class), but it will most likely work. We're trying to work out the rest of the details so that we can actually schedule it!

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Michael called tonight to tell us that he and Martha decided that they would like to be the kids' guardians. I was so relieved - I really think that they are the best people for the job. I was also relieved that I didn't have to call them and give them some sort of ultimatum - "Last chance - yes or no." We needed to get the info back to Nichole at Glenkirk and she is going to be leaving to pick up her own little one in Guatemala soon. So, I really wanted to get it all settled.

So, that was the biggest thing about today. But, to rewind...
Just hung out at home during the day today. In the evening, my mom came over to babysit while I went to the Mundelein neighborhood group for Willow. It was good to get together with everyone again. I was glad that I was able to go, since I won't be able to for the next couple of months (because of our sign language class).

Jaden was cute tonight. He asked when Daddy was going to be home. My mom told him he was going to be home in time to take him to school on Wednesday. Jaden said, "Is he going to fly on an airplane?" My mom told him yes and he said, "Is he going to bring baby Noah home." So cute. He is often asking if we're bringing Noah home - after the first homestudy meeting, several times since then. I'm so glad that he's excited about his baby brother.

Monday, September 19, 2005

Scott had to go to California for work today. He won't be home until late tomorrow night (in the middle of the night). :-( We'll miss him.

Today, we went to playgroup at Mary's house. Martha was there too. It was fun. Jaden was being really sweet and cute with Anna. On the way home, we stopped at Taco Bell, but neither of the kids seemed too keen on eating it. I don't think I'll do Taco Bell again for awhile. I really should try to stop going to fast food places so often anyway - it's just so convenient when we're out - especially when we're far away.

Tonight my mom came over and we watched several shows. We saw a new show called Surface, another new show called How I Met Your Mother, and Prison Break (which started a few weeks ago). I also tried to record a new show called Kitchen Confidential, but forgot to turn off the VCR. Oops! Guess I already watched enough.

Sunday, September 18, 2005

Today at church, the service was about relationships and how we need to take into account differences in personality when we have conflicts. We need to try to see things from someone else's point of view (even if we don't agree with them). Gene talked about how some people are extroverts, some introverts, some organized, some unorganized, some thinkers, some feelers, etc. I thought it was a good service, even though there's no one that I specifically have any issues with right now.

When we left church, we went to IHOP with the Stocks. It was nice to hang out together - but funny when I realized that I had to request a table for eight! We talked to Michael and Martha about the possibility of them becoming guardians for our kids. We had asked them if they would be willing to be their guardians on Friday evening. They're still thinking about it - it's a pretty big commitment. It's strange to ask someone outside of the family to do this, but we really feel like it's better this way. Linda and Chris are still separated and I don't think that it would be right to thrust three more kids into their situation. And Sharon and Joel don't really even seem to believe in God - and certainly don't believe in Christianity. We wouldn't feel right about having them raise our kids, knowing that the kids wouldn't be able to see a relationship with Jesus modeled. Even if they agreed to take the kids to church, the kids would know that they didn't believe and would surely be swayed by this. So, we think that it would be better if Martha and Michael took them. I would definitely trust them to love our kids and to raise them like their own.

This evening, I was supposed to go see the play that my dad directed, but I completely forgot. We went to the park and then were fixing dinner when my mom called. I was so upset with myself! It really bothers me that I forget things - she had just reminded me earlier in the day. I don't understand why I can't remember things like that - especially things that are important to other people. My parents would never just forget to come to a play that I was in. How could I forget a show that my dad directed? I don't understand this about myself. I honestly feel like it's because I'm self-centered and not empathetic enough. I don't think that I think enough about other people. I cried when my mom called and I realized I had forgotten the play - it makes me want to cry right now, just thinking about it. I hate that I disappoint people. I honestly wish that I could somehow make myself change, but I haven't managed it up to this point. I guess it's something that I need to just keep praying about.

Saturday, September 17, 2005

Today was the Promiseland drama team kick-off. It was fun - it was great to have Michael there. I'm really excited that he's joined the team. Scott and the kids went to Great America with my mom, his parents, Linda and the girls. He didn't have much fun, though. I guess it was pretty busy. Plus, he had just had a bad morning. Jaden peed his pants twice in the morning. Poor Honey!

I got home a bit before 2:00 and ended up doing about an hour and a half on Encapsolution work. It was good to get something done for a change!

We put the kids to bed a bit early, since they hadn't had a nap (well, Danielle had a morning nap, but not an afternoon one). Then, Scott, my mom and I watched "Guess Who" which was I thought was a really good comedy. It was interesting because it dealt with race issues (the story is about a young black woman and young white man who get engaged - she doesn't tell her parents that he's white before they meet him, though), but it doesn't get too preachy and it doesn't gloss over the issues either. I liked it.

Friday, September 16, 2005

Today was a good day. Jaden seemed to do well at school again. Miss Moll even commented on how polite Jaden is - he always says please and thank you.

After the kids' nap, we went across the street and hung out with our neighbors for awhile. We met them when we had our garage sale and found out that they have a son just a little bit younger than Jaden. They are a Middle Eastern family - obviously relatively strict Muslim since the women all wear scarves on their heads (not sure what the official name for that is). They are very nice and seemed to be very happy to get to know us. Their youngest daughter, Fatima, seemed extremely taken with Danielle. The little boy, Yusef, wasn't too keen on having to share things with Jaden, but that's just the way it is with 2 year olds. I think it would be great if they could play together sometimes. Plus, the middle daughter might be able to babysit for us sometimes. It would be great to have another option for a babysitter - especially someone who is so close by. I'm not sure exactly how old she is, but I think she is probably 13 or 14. So, it turned out to be a nice afternoon. Of course, then Jaden peed in his pants and I had to rush him home and give him and Danielle a bath. But, it wasn't all that bad - it didn't take away too much from getting to know our neighbors.

Thursday, September 15, 2005

Miss Moll said that Jaden had another good day at school today. I was definitely happy to hear that. Apparently, the muffins were also a big hit, which made me happy. I brought a gate to school today for them to use in the classroom. Miss Moll had sent out an email asking if anyone had an extra one and we had one sitting in the basement (we don't need two in this house like we did in the other house).

Not much else to say about today. I did some Encapsolution work in the evening. I read my Toddler Adoption book some during the day (I got it yesterday on the Bookmobile). A generally good day with nothing exciting.

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Jaden did better with his potty training today - no accidents. I was really worried that he was going to have an accident at school, but he did fine. Even more importantly, he had generally better behavior today. Scott talked to Miss Moll this morning and said that we might like to meet with her to talk about how we can work on Jaden's behavior at school. When I came to pick Jaden up, we talked about it briefly and she said that he is really not misbehaving a lot more than the other kids. She said that she basically spends a lot of her day trying to round the kids up and that they are all learning, since this is the first time most of the kids have been in a pre-school environment. I was SO happy to hear that. It made me feel TONS better - I had been worrying that Jaden was having real behavior problems. So, I basically said that we would meet later if it still seemed necessary and that she should feel free to talk to us if he wasn't progressing at the same rate as the other kids. She said that he had done very well that day. It was such a relief!

I tried making the appointment with the psychiatrist again today, but still no luck. I guess maybe I should try another office.

Other than that, nothing too exciting about today. I made muffins for Jaden to take to school tomorrow, since it's his day to bring the snack. Then, while we were at the Bookmobile, Sota ate four of them! I was so mad! I was going to have to make more anyway, since the mix only made 12 and there are 14 kids in Jaden's class, but it was still pretty infuriating. So, I went grocery shopping tonight and didn't get back until after 9. Then, I had to make the other batch of muffins. Oh well - I think it was worth it.

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

I had to rush around and clean the house this morning because Marie Shepherd came over at 1 PM to talk to me about leading a small group. The meeting went really well - it was great to talk to her. I also did my membership re-affirmation with her. So, Scott and I just need to talk about what day we want to do the study - seems like it's going to happen.

Nothing else too exciting about today. I did some bills and stuff in the evening and Scott and I watched the new show "Bones" and "House." Both were pretty good.

Monday, September 12, 2005

We went to playgroup today. We had a great time, but Jaden peed his pants while we were there and never mentioned it. Then, my mom said that he peed in his pants TWICE more in the evening! This is not good. It's frustrating because I don't know why he's suddenly doing this.

In the evening, Scott and I went to Ponderosa for a Secret Shop. We enjoyed the dinner, although the entrees still weren't great. But, it was great to have a free dinner!

Sunday, September 11, 2005

Well, I slept better last night than I have in the past several days. I actually fell asleep shortly after 10 PM and didn't wake up again until Jaden woke up at about 6:30. It was VERY nice to finally get some rest.

This morning, the garage sale was VERY slow. Absolutely no one came during the first two hours and then a few people trickled in. By 11 AM, we had only made $10 (the sale started at 8 AM again). But, at least I had a nice relaxing morning to catch up on my Yahoo Group reading and my journaling. :-)

The rest of the day was equally slow, but we did end up making $67.70, so it was worth it. It was funny - we actually made $10 after we had already packed everything up and were loading it back into the garage. I was wheeling the old TV stand (which we had books on during the sale) back into the garage and someone pulled into the driveway with a truck. They asked how much we wanted for the stand. Since we hadn't really had it in the sale, I asked Scott what we should sell it for. He shrugged, "$10?" We figured they'd try to talk us down from there, but they didn't. So, we made $10 after the sale was already way over.

Overall, we ended up making $571.3o! I was definitely happy with that number. Hopefully we'll make even more in a couple of weeks at Carol and Mike's sale. Carol has been super nice the past few times I've spoken to her - a bit of a change from the somewhat chilly response that we got from her when we first move in. It's not that she was ever rude - she just didn't seem to respond much when we tried to connect to her. I kind of wonder if the change in her has anything to do with the fact that she saw the sign about us adopting Noah. I don't know for sure, but she has definitely been suddenly friendlier.

I went to mom's night out tonight with my friends from playgroup. It was good to see everybody, since it's been awhile since we've been to playgroup.

Saturday, September 10, 2005

Today's sales were even better than yesterday! I was a bit worried for part of the time because we weren't as busy overall as we were yesterday. We had some loooong lulls. But, we sold some of the bigger items like the lawnmower and the TV. So, overall, we ended up making $260 for a grand total of $505 so far. Yay!!!!

My mom came over to help us out with the sale today, which was nice. That way, we didn't have to worry too much about the kids.

By the evening, I had a bad headache. We watched a program that had been on PBS about Haiti and then headed to bed. Scott went to bed at 8:30! I ended up going in to Jaden's room for a little while and laying on his floor next to his bed. He was still awake and he wanted me to be with him. It was actually very nice. He was so sweet - I put my hand up on his bed and he held it and then was "petting" it. I actually think that it made my headache go away. Up until I went in his room, my head was still pounding, but by the time I left it felt almost completely better. I went downstairs to sleep on the couch because we have been having such a hard time sleeping lately. It seems to be a bit better if we sleep in separate beds.

Friday, September 09, 2005

We were up until 2 AM last night working on garage sale signs and had to get up early this morning to start the garage sale at 8 AM. So, we're pretty tired. But, I was also very excited about the sale and didn't mind being tired much.

The sale went very well. We ended up making $245 today. I was very happy with that and am hoping that we can make about $500 for the whole sale. It was really encouraging to have such a great start. We really sold quite a few things. Scott's mom came over to help out, which was great because otherwise I don't know how I would have picked Jaden up from school. It was also nice to have her here while I fed the kids, etc. She stayed until I put them down for their naps. The one drawback of today was that I couldn't end the sale until after Scott got home from work because I couldn't bring all the tables in myself. It turned out that Scott had to work late and couldn't get home until 6:30! By then, I was exhausted and the kids were hard to deal with (since I couldn't really do much with them).

But, overall, a very good day. I even met several neighbors (a couple of whom I ended up talking to for a long time). Hopefully tomorrow will go just as well.

The only bad thing about today was picking Jaden up from school. I got there a little bit early today and the kids were still lined up waiting to go on the playground. So, I pull up and I see the entire class standing nicely, waiting EXCEPT Jaden. He is running around in circles wildly while Miss Moss is attempting to get him to calm down. She keeps going over to him and saying, "Jaden, you need to listen. If you don't stop running, you won't get to play on the playground." Meanwhile, he is yelling, "No! Leave me alone!" I was absolutely mortified. I got out of the van and said, "Jaden Scott Hewitt!" But, Miss Moss ignored me and I felt like she wanted to take care of it herself. Unfortunately, he never really did listen. He was not able to go on the playground. I asked her if he was like this a lot and she said, "Well, we're working on listening. A lot of time when he's supposed to be doing something he'll say 'No' and run around. And he touches things that he's not supposed to be touching." I was so sad to hear that he is giving them problems. I was really hoping that he would be good at school - Now I feel like he's the problem child. It was really embarrassing. And then, I had him say that he was sorry and she told him he was forgiven. He started arguing with her that, no, he wasn't forgiven. I swear, he just LOVES to argue. I pretty much just slinked away at that point, miserable.

Thursday, September 08, 2005

During the day today, I picked up some donated items for our garage sale. A woman at our church donated a bunch of stuff. It was really nice of her. Then, we went to Target and bought stuff to make signs with.

We went to Martha and Michael's for dinner tonight. It was so great to hang out with them again. We have really missed them. We talked a lot about the adoption and just generally had a nice time talking together. It worked out pretty well with the kids, although not perfectly. Danielle cried on the way there and on the way back and she also cried a lot when we put her down in the pack and play. On the other hand, Jaden LOVED being able to sleep in Martha and Michael's bed.

After we left Martha and Michael's house, we stopped at the Pucillo's because they had some games and toys that they wanted to donate to the garage sale. When we got home, we still had to make signs (which took awhile). I made one big red garage sale sign for the corner, and then a sign for our yard that had a picture of Noah and said that the proceeds from the sale would go toward his adoption costs.

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Jaden was so cute tonight. A bit after 9:00, he was still awake and calling for us. Scott went in to see what he wanted and Jaden started talking about a fire drill that they had had at school that day. After a few minutes, Scott called me up and I was talking to him too. He was so cute. He kept going on and on about the fire drill - "My school has a fire bell. It was loud. I had to cover my ears. And then, we had to stand on the yellow line. We went outside." I swear, it's the most he's ever told us about school. He talked for a good half hour!

My mom came over this evening to help out with getting the garage sale ready. I think that we're pretty prepared. I'm excited and hope we can make some good money.

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

I was supposed to go to a meeting at Se-Kure tonight, but ended up not going. Scott wasn't going to be able to get home from work in time for me to get there on time. And then Jaden threw up at lunch. I think it was just because he was coughing so much, but I still just didn't feel like leaving him. Plus, I really needed to get some more sorting done for the garage sale. I ended up being glad that I didn't go. I asked them to call me and put me on conference for the meeting, but they just called me afterward. Turns out, they want to get video hooked into the system and so there really wasn't much in the way of user requirements that they talked about.

Anyway, I worked in the garage while Scott took the kids to the park - it worked out well.

Monday, September 05, 2005

Today, Scott's parents came over and hung out with us. We made taco lacos for dinner. Yum! In the evening, the guys came and took the carpet that we've been storing for Scott's parents. It's nice to have the extra space back in the garage.

We continued to get stuff ready for the garage sale today too. I've been going through all of Danielle's clothes so that we can sell what she's grown out of. I'm really trying to sell as much as I possibly can so that we can make some money to help us bring baby Noah home!

Sunday, September 04, 2005

Had a pretty good day today. The service at church was about the Bible and understanding the key message of the Bible. Gene says that the Bible is all about "How God tries, throughout history, to restore relationship with people like us." It was a good message that reminded me that I need to pick up my Bible more often!

After church, we all went to brunch at a local pancake place. It was very busy, so it took awhile to get our food. But, I had some very good cherry crepes.

After we ate, we all took naps. The whole family! I knew it probably wasn't a good idea, since I haven't been sleeping well, but I was so tired! Of course, now I'm not tired at all. :-(

Scott set up some tables for me in the garage and I started sorting through things for the garage sale while he took the kids to the park. Unfortunately, that ended badly. Jaden threw sand at Danielle (twice) and then threw an absolute fit when Scott put him in the wagon to go home. Scott had pretty much had all he could take of Jaden by the time he got home. Luckily, bed time wasn't that far off. I fed the kids dinner and then we put them to bed shortly after.

Tonight, Scott and I watched the premiere of a new show called "Prison Break". Seems to be right up our alley - people are comparing it a lot to 24. We really enjoyed it.

Saturday, September 03, 2005

Today, Scott and I started getting things ready for our garage sale, which we are planning for next weekend. My mom came over, so we were able to get a decent amount done (plus, my mom helped me).

My mom brought over steaks, potatoes and salad for us. She said she wanted to make us dinner since she's been eating over at our house so often. She and Scott made the food while I did some Encapsolution work. We ended up having the food for lunch, since we decided to go to Great America in the evening. It was great to have a real meal!

Scott and I left for Great America at about 5 PM. It was a great time to go - I guess since it's so late in the season. All of the rides had really short lines. We went on four rollercoasters - including the three brand-new rides. We could have gone on even more in the time that we had, but that was all that Scott could handle. He did really enjoy the rides, though, so that made me happy. I thought that he might get sick after the first one and not really want to go on more. Luckily, that didn't happen. We even waited to get on the first car of Deja Vu - We are so glad we did! That ride was really awesome! You are hanging under the track. You go (backwards) straight up, 90 degrees into the air and then shoot back down, you then go through a loop and a twist and then back up another straight track. Then you rush down again and do the whole thing again, backwards. Wow!! Talk about a rush!

Friday, September 02, 2005

I had a doctor's appointment today, so Scott came home at lunchtime and watched the kids for me. Not sure how I feel about Dr. Perlis - she was SUPER nice, but she didn't really say much of anything about my actual exam. She didn't even give me a breast exam - I've never been to a gyne appointment where I didn't have a breast exam done. Scott was really upset when he heard that - he wanted me to go back, but I convinced him it would be okay.

I watched a movie today while the kids were napping. It was called "The Upside of Anger" and was very interesting. It was about a woman who turned into this really bitter alchoholic after her husband left her for his secretary. After three years, she found out that her husband had not left her after all - he had fallen down a well in their yard and had died! She had just assumed that he had left her because his secretary happened to go back to Sweden the same day that he disappeared. So, she spent three years of her life being bitter and angry about something that hadn't even happened.

I took pictures of Jaden and did videos of both Jaden and Danielle today. I was upset to see that the last date on Danielle's tape was JUNE 14th, not July 14th. I'm baffled - I hope that I didn't actually miss a month somehow. It's bad enough that I was so late this month. Urgh!

Tonight, we all went to Denny's for dinner. We had a really nice dinner - the kids were very good.

Thursday, September 01, 2005

Lunch today was cute. Jaden didn't want to eat his lunch, but I finally got him to by quoting the Green Eggs and Ham book. I would say, "Would you eat them in a box?" And he would say, "No." And I would say, "Would you eat them with a fox." "No." Eventually, I would say, "You don't like them, so you say, but try them, try them and you may." He would eat a bite and say "I DO like green eggs and ham. Thank you! Thank you! Sam I am!" It was VERY cute. He ate his whole lunch that way.

Scott and I watched a lot of TV footage about Hurricane Katrina tonight. I cannot believe how horrible it is there. People are starting to get angry that the government has not responded more quickly. So many people have been stranded without food or water in 100 degree heat for 4 days!! People are really wondering why we didn't get help there sooner. The crazy thing is, people have actually been shooting at the people who are there to help! There are snipers who have been shooting at rescue helicopters and boats. They are shooting at hospitals as rescuers are trying to get patients out. It is so insane to me - I really can't wrap my head around why people would do this. I cannot understand why some people would kill just because they think they can get away with it. They military has been arriving tonight, so hopefully they can help this situation. They have said that it is going to take months to drain the city of New Orleans. I can't imagine how they will ever get it back to normal.