weekend tidbits

What an interesting weekend.
We haven't done much except spend some much needed time together...
But it has been eye opening to say the least.
First of all...we have done absolutely NOTHING on the adoption front.
Oh, wait! That's not quite true. I did buy an all-in-one international adapter plug with surge protector from Wa!-Mart.
That's adoption related.

I have to have a safe way to plug in my laptop when we travel.

So there you have it.

One adoption-related task out of the way...about 5,000 to go!

And nope...we still don't have tickets.

For some reason, Meshack and I are complete chickens when it comes to buying airline tickets and would much rather have someone else purchase them for us. (We'd even let them pay for it! :)

This week is the week though.

We can't put it off any longer. I just want to make sure I talk with our agency one last time before we push the 'purchase' button!

In other news...

I took the day off on Friday and went with JacJac on his first 'real' field trip.

I promised him once he got into kindergarten I would start going with him on his field trips.

He's been counting down the days since the first day of school!

And I have to admit...it was fun.

We went to a petting zoo/museum. It was pretty cool and the kids had a great time.

And then...

Q-ball got hurt this weekend.

Oh...don't worry, it's nothing serious. Just a few scrapes and bruises...but it was his reaction to the scrapes and bruises that made me all reflective this weekend.

Well, that and the handfuls of !buprofen I'm taking to combat PMS.

Q-ball was riding his bike on Saturday when he somehow took a tumble. He picked himself up and walked his bike home with his knee and elbow bleeding.

When he got home, he came in the house crying and wanting some extra hugs.

Not so unusual, I know, but eight years ago I wondered if he would ever react normally to pain.

Q-ball came from a situation so terrible that at 18 months of age he had no reaction to pain at all.

I remember one time when he literally ran into the corner of our kitchen table, bounced off (with a divet in his forehead), picked himself up and kept running.

Sigh.

That was tough to watch.

It took about six months of comforting even the tiniest of boo-boos before he would genuinely react to getting hurt and come looking for one of us to help him.

Even now, he has a higher pain threshhold than most kids.

Most people think he's just a tough cookie...

What they don't see is all of the babyhouse baggage he's brought with him.

While he's been able to get rid of most of it, there are some little things that keep popping up unexpectedly to remind us of where he's been and how far he has come.

I don't know what made me think of all of that this weekend.

I imagine it's because we're so close to traveling and a lot of those old feelings and memories are starting to come back.

I need to start sorting through all of those feelings...

The insecurities...

..fear...

...and joy.

When I get it all sorted out, I'll let you know.

step by step

Thank you for all of your well-wishes!
We are thrilled beyond imagination.
The closest thing I can compare it to is what I imagine it feels like to find out your pregnant. Yes, we've known for a long time that this was what we wanted to do...but actually getting the call to invite us over there to meet with a child is the closest I've ever come to getting a positive test result.
And, as my kids would say...it ROCKS!
To know that in less than two and a half months we will meet our youngest child just blows our minds! :)
She (he?) is out there...waiting.
Wow.
Everyone has been asking me...okay, so now what?
The truth is...I don't really know.
Explaining this process is so hard.
But I'll try my best to define a process that defies explanation.
But first a few house rules...

• Rule #1 - The rules are bound to change. This is the one and only true international adoption rule that will stick through this entire process.


• Rule #2 - Nothing will happen quickly. Our timetable is not their timetable. Unfortunately we can't hurry things along or make them understand how important it is for things to move at a more rapid pace. Thankfully, their timetable isn't their timetable either...it's God's. That's a big comfort! :)


• Rule 3# - Respect, respect, respect - This is another country...another culture. They have their own traditions, their own methods to their madness and we have to accept it. And we have to respect it. We may not always agree with them, but we're going to be in their country, adopting their children. We must be honor the differences and do things their way whether we agree with it or not.

With that behind us, here is (to the best of my knowledge) what happens next...

• - We leave for Ukraine sometime in early December for our appointment with the SDA on Dec. 5th.


• - At that appointment we will be shown files of some children who fit our request criteria. (Healthy/mild correctable conditions, preferably female but open to male, three years and younger). We will take a look at these files, pray and then make a decision as to which child we want to meet. I personally hope that God just puts a big red check mark on the one he wants to be our daughter (son?). Otherwise, I don't have any idea of how we'll make a decision.


• - Once we decide to go ahead and meet a child we'll have to wait a day or so for some paperwork giving us permission to meet that child and then we head to their region. We'll take off either by car or train to go to the region. Ukraine is about the same size as Texas (or so I've heard).


• - We'll meet the child and if we decide to pursue the adoption then some more paperwork will be sent back to Kyiv and we'll schedule a court date. While we wait for the court date we'll be able to continue to meet with our child, bond and get to know her (his?) hometown. Court usually takes at least two weeks to schedule, so we'll be waiting awhile.


• - Once court is done, Meshack will come home. I may join him depending on a few things which I'll get into in a minute


• - It will take 10 days for the court's decision to go into effect. It gives the biological family time to appeal the decision...then we'll have custody of her. Then we apply for a passport, go back to Kyiv to the U.S. embassy to fill out some paperwork to get her a visa and then we can come home! :)


• - How long this last part takes will decide whether I come home with Meshack or not. If it takes too long to get the passport, I may come home and then go back after the wait is over and the passport has been issued..that way I'll only have to be in the country for another week. Otherwise I could be in Ukraine for 4 to 6 weeks!

Sigh.
That's a LONG time.
(Note to self: Remember rule #2, remember rule #2, remember rule #2...)
I'm leaning toward coming home.
So there you have it...a very complicated process, broken down into small, manageable, but still highly complicated parts.
All of it has to come together perfectly for this adoption to be completed.
Honestly, though, when you take it a step at a time it's not so bad.
And the first step is to get those airline tickets! ;)

WE HAVE A DATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Woohooooooo!

We have a date!!!

Dec. 5!

Mark and Courtney, we're coming with ya!!!!!

And Oleg and Nataliya we're right behind ya!!!

mid-day update

I just got off the phone with Meshack (who has Tuesday's off, darn him! :)

We got an email from the agency which said they'll call us this afternoon (after 2 p.m.) to let us know one way or the other.
Some news is better than no news.
In other news...
Just in case you're wondering, "Where are my expo pictures," I want to you know I haven't forgotten about you.
I just can't find the pics!
I don't know what happened, but the shortcut disappeared from my desktop.

I'm sure they're around here somewhere...

I'm just not sure where.

And the photographer was on vacation all last week and again on Monday.

I'll try tracking her down today for another link.

Unless of course I get the call first...and then you can forget about seeing those pictures anytime soon!

goin' green

See what I resort to when I'm sick and tired of waiting?!
I'm left with figuring out what color green I am!
I saw this on Kate's blog and had to give it a try.
Thanks, Kate for the diversion.
And nope...no news yet.
I'm considering calling.
BTW - I am working with another olive green gal, an apple green and teal for a boss.
Hmmmmmmm....

You Are Olive Green

You are the most real of all the green shades. You're always true to yourself. For you, authenticity and honesty are very important... both in others and yourself. You are grounded and secure. It takes a lot to shake you. People see you as dependable, probably the most dependable person they know.

What Color Green Are You?

i had a dream

I don't usually dream...

Or at least if I do I can't remember it.

I'm not sure if it's because I'm so exhausted by the time I get to bed that I can't work up the energy to entertain myself at night...

Or if my life is so exciting that my subconscious knows my dreams would just pale in comparison so it doesn't bother.

Either way, my sleeping hours are spent doing just that...sleeping.

However last night was a little different.

I had the weirdest dream.

I dreamt Meshack and I were waiting to hear about our travel date and the call finally came...

But instead of getting a date to travel halfway around the world...

We found out we first had to complete a fashion review by Nov 5.

We had to find a place to have the fashion show.

Find models...

Design our own clothes...

And do the hairdos ourselves.

But the most troubling part was that I couldn't figure out if we had to do this all before Nov 5 so that we could travel on that date...or if the fashion show had to be held on Nov. 5th.

AND NO ONE COULD TELL ME!!!

I think the stress from the expo is combining with the stress from the wait and it's starting to turn my subconscious into a big pile of mush.

It's 10:16 a.m....and still no word.

Sigh.

m.i.a.

I may be M.I.A. for the next few days...
My brother, his wife and their four kids are here for the weekend.
So be good while I'm gone...
No snatching the car keys and taking off in the Miatta...
Stay away from the next door neighbors...they're a little strange.
And absolutely NO PARTIES!!!
See ya Monday!

day 27

Nothing.

Zip.

Zilch.

Nada.

ничего (neecheevo).

UGH.

Sigh.

I'm trying to be big about this, really I am but inside I'm really wanting to WHINE!

I know of two other couples who submitted on the same day as we did, who heard this week about their appointment date.

I'm happy for them...really I AM!

It's just that I want to have my date toooooooo.

(Boy, I'm good at whining.)

The thing is, I really can't complain. Both of these couples don't have any children yet...

I have three to keep me busy.

So, I really shouldn't be complaining.

These couples have been waiting a LONG time.

It's taken us less than seven months to get to this point.

I can't complain.

Chances are, our letter will be there next week.

So I have no reason to complain.

But, have I told you lately how much I hate waiting.

That I'm really bad at it.

And now that the expo is out of the way, I'm obsessing about this adoption?

HAVE I?!

I'm trying to trust...really I am.

I'm trying to think about other things...but it's not working.

I'm trying to keep busy, but I DON'T WANT TO DO HOUSEWORK!!!!

I want to go to Ukraine.

Sigh.

I feel better now...thank you.

steppin' up

I know you all are dying to hear about the expo...and I promise I'll update you this week.
It's just that I couldn't pass up the latest JacJac'ism...
Last Sunday, while I was blissfully unconscious asleep at home, Meshack bravely took the children to church by himself.
As an usher at church, during the early service he is often called upon to do offering duty at the end of the service.

This was one of those weeks.
Meshack got up to help with offering and gave each kid a VERY stern warning:
'Sit. Still.'
Would have put the fear of God in me. (teehee)

Not the kids!

He had made one fatal mistake.

He didn't them how long to sit still.
JacJac seized on the opportunity.
Meshack helped collect the offering, prayed over it and then everyone was dismissed. He started to walk back to his seat when the local judge cornered him to ask a question about his dog's case of dermititis.
As Meshack was dicussing the finer points of skin allergies, he suddenly heard over the sound system...

'You'd better watch out...
You'd better not cryyyyy...
You'd better not pout...
I'm telling you whyyyyy...
Santa Clause is coming to towwwwn."

day 25

It sounds like things are starting to move...

We received two emails from our agency yesterday.

Yep...TWO!

The first let us know we still don't have an appointment date...but our facilitator will continue to check on it.

Email number two was an agency-wide email to let all parents know where things stood in the process.

Sounds like the SDA has addressed log-in dates up to August 6th...that's the Monday before us.

So we should be next!!!!

Whew.

18 years ago yesterday...

...I married the man of my dreams.
Meshack is my confidant...
my rock....

my best friend.

Little did I realize on that gorgeous September day in 1989, just how much life would throw at us...and how thankful I would be to have him at my side.

Meshack has stuck by me through thick and thin.

We've weathered living below the poverty level...

Working three jobs a piece...

Seven years of working weekends...

Eight years of off and on infertility treatments...

Ten years of college...

Sixteen years of living away from our family...

Eighteen years of snoring...

And over 23 years of PMS!

He agonized with me through the battle with infertility...

and then flew around the world with me three times to find our children, despite a fear of flying and a propensity for air sickness.

He held my hand as we watched the orphanage staff bring our oldest son down the stairs to us...and then four short years later handed me a Kleenex as Q-ball walked into his kindergarten room.

He held the barf bag for me as I came out from anesthesia after knee surgery...worked with me to rehab the knee and still scolds me into taking better care of it.

He's driven me to the emergency room at three in the morning as I battled a stomach ulcer...stopping every five minutes so I could upchuck on the side of the road.

He's endured buying female supplies...

And survived the embarrassment of the price check.

He laughs at my bad jokes...
Thinks I can sing alright...

and calls me a great writer.

He is the most amazing father a child could ask for...

He always finds the time to play, read or just snuggle up to watch a movie.

He's not afraid to show and tell his kids just how much he loves them.

He is quick to love, slow to anger...

He is a man of integrity...

A man of conviction...

A man of God.

Meshack may be gray around the edges...
A little older...
And a lot wiser...
But he'll always be the boy I fell in love with 23 years ago.

all done

It's over!
I'm too exhausted to post much...
I'm taking three ibupro!en, downing a glass of skim milk and going to bed!
If I find the energy, I'll try to put up a post tomorrow (Sunday), but no promises! ;)
I'll see you after I sleep.
-------------------
P.S. - Oops...this proves I was tired! I forgot to push the 'Publish Post' button last night! ;)

t minus 24 hours

Today's the day...

Well, actually, the day before the day.

I'm going to try something new today.

I've got my cell phone at the ready and I'm going to try and post pics from my phone throughout the day to give you an idea of what we're up to.

Let me know what you think!

PLEASE pray for me! I think I'm going to need it! :)

details, details, details...

The expo is right around the corner...literally.

Actually, it's down the block...about five of them.

And only two days away!

The months of meetings, phone calls, mailings, arguments and thoughtful planning will come to an end in less than 48 hours...and the real mayhem will begin.
Picture 3,000 (or more) women, 3,000 orange Josephine bags, 500 chairs, 300 vendors, 160 pounds of chocolate, 100 booths, 100 Josephine totes, 175 t-shirts, 40 volunteers, 18 models, 13 "Hunks in Trunks", six sponsors, six demonstration presenters, five bands, two fashion shows, two newspaper owners, a magazine editor, my boss, my boss's boss and one very tired expo coordinator all jammed into an area about half the size of a city block.

It's going to be crazy...and lots of fun!
I finished sending out and delivering the vendor packets, sponsor packets and demonstrator packets late last week.

This week I've been answering the phone non-stop, paying bills and putting out small fires.

Tomorrow it all breaks loose!
It's all about the set-up.

And that's where I'll see how well I've planned.

We have VERY large banners to hang up...

I have to check the layout to make sure it's all correct...

I have to double check to make sure the people who ordered electricity...have electricity...

I need to call the internet company to make sure they know how many people have ordered wireless internet (at this point I'm typing up a to do list for myself to check when I get back to work!:)

I need to pick up banners and stuffables from our sponsors to go in the bags, run by Paper Warehouse to pick up 25 orange, pink and red, round tablecloths and I have to find a couple more vendors so our floor looks full!
I know there's something I'm missing...

Hopefully I'll figure it out before 10 a.m. Saturday.

---------------------------------
P.S. - If you want to see what I've been up to, check out the expo's website at www.josephinelive.com

day 20

Twenty days have come and gone since we submitted our dossier to the Ukranian government.
Twenty working days...
Four weeks...
672 hours...
Not that long in the broad scheme of things...but when you're waiting it seems like forever.
Today was the first day we have a chance of hearing something.
I wasn't really expecting to hear any news. It's just the fact that we COULD have heard something that is kind of exciting.
I put a call into the agency this morning to find out what our timeline is looking like. They sent me back this email...
"The SDA, by law, has 20 days to review a dossier…however, they are taking approx. 6 weeks. I just got confirmation that the family that got their dossier in two weeks before you just received their appointment today! That info gives us a good gauge. We should have news in the next couple of weeks!"
That's exciting!
In two more weeks we should have some real news.
Wow!
It's getting real.

bat-be-gone

Good news!
Meshack says he's going to take care of the bat situation...
He's calling 'Bug Man!'
This is the exterminator we call in once a year, about this time, to spray the house for us BEFORE spiders decide to move in for the winter.
He's hoping 'Bug Man' will have some answers.
Let's hope so.
Otherwise...we're MOVING!

holy night terror, batman! part two

The first time I thought it was a fluke...

Just a random event that would 'hopefully' never happen again.

But it DID!!!!

The bat came back!!!

(Insert girly scream here!)

Tonight as I was sitting at this very computer, reading blogs, I saw something fly past me through the doorway and into the living room.

It took a second for it to compute.

I figured it out when Q-ball started running around the living room, yelling for me.

I (not so calmly) told him to run upstairs.

We barged through the bedroom door where Meshack, Punky and JacJac were listening to the K-State football game (we won by the way - Go Cats!) and both of us started in at once...

Me - 'There's a bat.'

Q - 'Dad, it's HUGE!'

Me - 'You've got to get it out of here.'

Q - 'It looks like a bird.'

Me - 'I don't care what it takes, it has to be gone NOW!'

Q - 'He had a really tiny head.'

Q-ball you're missing the point!

Meshack mumbled something about that's what you get for buying an old house and headed down the stairs to wage battle.

Q-ball, Punky and JacJac gathered around the floor vent to watch the scene below.

As the bat few around the living room (that gives me the creeps just writing it) he passed by the floor vent every so often.

Each time the kids would jump back, let out a yelp, then a giggle and lay back down on the floor.

It would have been cute if the bat wouldn't have been freaking me out.

Finally, Meshack managed to get it out...I'm not exactly sure how...and we were let out of our self-imposed prison.

The kids went to bed.

Meshack went back to listening to his game.

And I came back down here to the computer.

Tomorrow Meshack says he'll try to find where these things are coming from.

Sigh.

size 150W

How cool is this?!
It's a HUGE shoe! (It's a little dark...I hope you can make it out.)
Our theme for this year's expo is...
'If the shoe fits'
Quite appropriate then, that we should have a big red stiletto up on stage don't ya think?!
This thing is so big I can almost walk underneath the heel!
Our magazine's art director has been busy working on the monstrosity for the last two months and is just putting on the finishing touches.
Some red spray paint, high gloss enamel and a big liner with the name of the magazine on it is all that's left and then this beauty is done...
And a week early to boot! (pun intendended...I crack myself up! ;)
Pretty cool huh?
Yea, I thought so too...Jackie is one talented lady.
Seven more days...
Aaaaaack!

confessions of a mom-to-be

I have a confession to make...

I used the 'Expectant Mommy' parking place today.

There you have it...

I'm a pregnant mommy parking place stealer.

In my defense, it wasn't my idea...it was my co-workers...and she was driving, so I 'technically' didn't steal it.

But she said I was entitled...I am 'expecting' after all.

And we weren't in the store long...

We got in and out in less than five minutes.

But honestly it was kind of liberating!

I guess there's still a part of me that yearns to be treated like any other expectant mother.

I want the recognition...

I want the extra attention...

I want the PERKS!

I'd really like for my employer's disability insurance to kick in after my vacation pay runs out...just like a woman to gives birth. As the adoptive mother of a child brought in from another country, I'm going to be sleep deprived, probably physically a mess and I know from experience the battle of "Post-Adoption Depression.' Why am I not entitled to the same benefits as a birth mother?

I'd really like to have access to my long-term sick leave without having the H.R. department checking to see if they're legally obligated to give it to me. (They did give it to me...but the idea that they had to check really irritated me.)

And I'd really like to have my time off from work qualified as 'maternity leave' instead of a long vacation. (This is the one time,as a staunch conservative, I'm thankful for government interference, and the FMLA requirement.)

So I guess in a way, using that parking space this afternoon was my way of sticking it to the man!

Honestly though, I felt so guilty about it...there's no chance I'll do it again.

But just that one time...it sure felt good! :)

life as usual

Boy, has it been boring around here or what?!

I haven't had a whole lot to tell you all lately, sorry about that.

Really...there's not that much to tell.

The kids are back in school and doing well.

Q-ball has had a little bit of a struggle adjusting to the difference between third and fourth grade.

I really never gave it much thought before, but it really is quite a jump. When you're in third grade you're still considered a little kid...when you hit fourth, all of a sudden you're expected to start doing more academically.

He's up the challenge...it's just taking a bit of an adjustment. He has two teachers now, instead of just one to get used to. They switch classrooms...which I don't really understand the need for. (I guess it's to get them used to the idea of when they move on to middle school). And there hasn't been as much review this year as there has been in years past. So when you factor in the residue of what we call the 'leftovers' from his days in the babyhouse, you can understand why things are a little tough right now.

Thankfully, it looks like he might be starting to pull through. He has traditionally been an A and B student...and he brought home his first A of the year on a Social Studies test. Yeah, Q-ball! He also did much better on his math homework - which has been giving him a lot of fits this year.

Punky is sailing through first grade (where's some wood?!).

She loves it.

She loves her teacher.

She loves her friends.

She loves her desk.

She loves her classroom.

She loves her music teacher.

She loves the lunch menu.

She loves the homework.

She loves....well, you get the idea.

She's doing great.

And JacJac is doing awesome! We are so incredibly proud of our little man. If you don't remember JacJac's struggles, check out this post on my other blog and you'll get an idea of how proud we are of the fact that he hasn't lost any of his 'coins' yet this year.

Coins are what the kindergartners use for reward/discipline.

JacJac has coins.

Punky has moon rocks.

And Q-ball has traffic tickets.

Hmmmmm...somehow it sounds much nicer than what I had in elementary school...

Mr. Yardstick!

a party for 3,000 of my closest friends

I've never been much of a party goer.
Oh, I like to host get-togethers - plan a nice Christmas party, have the girls over for Bible study or host a direct sales party for a few close friends. But I don't really get into going to big bashes or big organized events.
So imagine my surprise two years ago last April when I was tapped by the big-wigs at work to organize, plan and coordinate the biggest shin-dig women in our area had ever seen. They gave me a budget, a committee, a quick speech about just making sure we broke even and then left me to the planning.
I was scared.
I was a writer...not an event coordinator.
What were they thinking?
Five months later we had our magazine's first women's expo. It was a huge success. We had over 3,000 women there, most of whom read my articles every month and made sure to stop by the booth to say hi! We had over 100 vendors who did their best to get me to promise them specific space, griped when they had to fork over the money, but were thrilled with the turnout.
And we had managers who said they were happy with the whole thing but were reluctant to let us do it again.
They finally gave us permission to have it again...and we doubled the size! We had twice as many booths, took up twice as much space and it required twice as much planning.
I thought I had it all together the first year and was convinced it would be that much easier the second time around.
I was wrong.
Now I'm in the middle of planning the biggest show women in this area have seen.
For the third straight year...
I feel more unorganized than ever...and even less prepared.
I worry daily about how many booths we've sold and whether we're going to make budget.
I have less than two weeks to pull this thing off and we still have empty booth spaces.
It feels like there are a ton of details that aren't planned and already businesses are complaining about their booth placement - and they don't even know where they're located yet!
And I love it.
It's a lot like the adrenalin rush I got when I covered big news events in T.V. Fast paced, a lot of pressure and a certain amount of recognition that puffs my ego a bit too much.
I enjoy telling people to trust me when I say their spot will be a good one. I like telling a vendor, "I'm sorry but there's no one else to talk to, I'm the one in charge."
And I love it when someone tells me about how much fun they had and that this year they're bringing a bunch of their girlfriends with them.
I'm looking forward to seeing the long line waiting at the gate an hour before the expo opens. I can't wait to see the ladies enjoying the fashion show, watching the cooking demonstrations or browsing around in our merchandise mart.
And I'm really looking forward to seeing the expressions on the big-wigs faces when they see the turnout we're expecting.
Of course then the planning for the next year will begin. I just hope there is a next year and maybe this time, planning a party for 3,000 of my closest friends will go a little more smoothly.
Yea...right.

bawk, bawk, bawk

Alright...I chickened out.
Or maybe it was just that I missed 'my' little girl too much.
Either way, I've gone back to the original layout...although, darn it, I lost a lot of my neat little widgets.

i'm playing

Sorry if the blog is a mess...but I'm playing.
I've been known to get tired of the same old, same old, pretty quickly.
I'm surprised I lasted as long as I did.
I like the last background...it fit the 'theme' pretty well...but I was tired of the black, white and gray...
So I'm playing.
If anyone knows of a really great place to find some free backgrounds, please let me know.
I'm too cheap to pay someone to make me a fancy 'skin'...(we've got an adoption to save for! ;)

milestones

In the quietness that was my birthday yesterday...I hit 10,000 on the counter!

Wow! When I started this blog a few months ago, it never crossed my mind to ever think I'd hit the 10K mark! I started the blog to keep in touch with friends and family (none of whom read this thing anyway! :) And it turned into a wonderful way to keep in touch with the adoption community at-large.

I have 'met' so many wonderful people in the blogging world.

Thank you to all of you for your wonderful birthday wishes...

Although I have to tell you...

I'M NOT 40 YET!!!!! ;)

You guys are trying to age me too quickly... ;)

Or maybe it was my poor writing skills.

Either way, I'm now 37 years young...

Ugh!

When you have to start adding 'young' to the end of your age, it means you're NOT young anymore.

Sigh.

It was a good birthday. I spent the whole day, at home, alone...

No, really...it was GREAT!

It was quiet. (The kids were all in school)

I didn't have to do any work.

I curled up on the couch with a blanket and a really good book....

I played on the computer...

Watched a movie...

Took a catnap...

Aaaaaah...

Then last night Meshack and the kids gave me my present (besides the day to myself)...the one I asked for last weekend when we went camping.

A brand new bike.

Yep...I'm going to try my hand at riding a bike. I'm hoping it will help me drop a few pounds and give me something active to do with the kids.

After they watched me wobble around the back padio, we headed to Cheddar's for dinner...then home for a cookie cake and ice cream.

The perfect end to the perfect, quiet, day.

It's not so bad...being 37.