Nana!!!!!!!

Nana's here--yay!!!!
We are all very excited by this...especially the kids. They are now taking turns sleeping in the afternoon with her. Very exciting stuff.
Jason and I are happy to have someone cooking meals, and Mum is happy to have people to cook for! So...everyone is happy, but one person in particular is VERY tired already...I can't understand why!!

Vincent update

Well...Vinny WAS head down, ready to go, but over the past month he has shifted into a breech position and the doctor told me today there is a 4% chance he'll move now that I'm in week 37.
His head is kind of up to the right and he's lopsided in there, but other than that, he's fine. She said I could still schedule an early delivery, but it will be a c-section and not an induction. Crap. Not looking forward to this now...Mum's panicking because she's going to have to HOLD THE BABY!!!!!!!!!
If you have a c-section story--please DO NOT SHARE IT!!

Kidisms 4...

Last night at the Olive Garden, George started to say (thankfully, right before we were leaving and not arriving), "Hi, Christmas!" over and over, and not so softly. It turns out, there was a man a few tables away wearing a red shirt and he had a long white beard with long white hair...even the table next to us caught sight of it and laughed. We left to George calling out, "Bye, Christmas!"

Apology...

For Carly and Samantha who I know read the blog:
Yes, the friends moving are the Ingrams...
Yes, I lied to you...
Yes, it was wrong, but it wasn't my place to give you the news...
No, I will not lose sleep over it...!

Happy Ethiopian Easter!

"Fasika" (Easter in ET) is this Sunday (April 27, 2008).
What a great excuse to go somewhere this weekend for some fabulous Ethiopian cuisine...
I finally have a reason to put Natan in his traditional ET clothing. He hasn't worn it since the new year celebration last September, and he looks ever so cute!!!

Hmmm...

The Montagues are very sad. Their dearest friends are moving away and it sucks. One of the very few folks who you can drop in on or have over on a moment's notice and not worry what anybody looks like, or if the house is clean, or even if we all smell bad. Our kids love each other and actually play well together, and this just sucks.
I have a pit on my stomach and I've cried more in the past three days than in my entire pregnancy.
This sucks.
DON'T GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A lighter note...

Mimi and George had their first official swimming lesson today. They proudly walked in to the gym with their "Gold's Gym" membership necklace on and proceeded to have a blast! I waited in the car with Natan, but got the full story!
They kept repeating the rest of the day: "No bathroom in pool." Meaning, of course, that you never, ever wee-wee in the swimming pool. I think that was the main point of the lesson!
They are supposed to practice humming with their face in the water this week in the bathtub.
Homework!!!!!!

Small Dilemma

Something Jason and I are "struggling" with...acquaintances of ours provide their teenager with alcohol--they allow this person to drink in front of them and others, including other children. We are of the mind that it is just wrong to set that kind of example for your children. It is a parent's job to teach and provide consequences for breaking rules or laws.
I'm sure some of you think we're prudes--we're not. But a law is a law. The drinking age in this country, whether we agree or not, is 21. For a parent or any adult to give alcohol to a minor is very simply breaking the law. How do you then teach your child what is right and wrong?
If they rape someone, is that ok? If they drink and drive, is that ok? If they shoplift, is that ok?Those are all against the law as well, but I am almost positive those actions would not be condoned by these same parents. By allowing them to knowingly break the law, they are blurring the line between right and wrong. How then can you expect them to follow other, more serious laws?
My hope is that when, out of control in a drunken state, this teenager kills only himself and nobody who actually adds value to the world.

Captain, my captain!

Mimi and George have a new friend...his name is "Captain" and I think he's a pirate. They came to the kitchen yesterday, holding hands, and stated (rather boldly), that "We need eye patches and a ship."
OK. Let me get right on that. NANA!!!! We need you here NOW!!!!!!!!!!! I think ships and eye patches fall into Nana territory!
Captain rides in the back of the car with them and they fake feed him real food. Hmmm...
Sometimes Captain is sick and has to stay in bed. Sometimes he is naughty and they put him in the corner. Oh my.

Two Words:

Universal Healthcare.
I know it's very un-American, and I know doctors hate it, since it caps off their bloated salaries. But, it is the best solution to a country where people actually go bankrupt due to healthcare issues.
Take us...we are middle class, no doubt. We have a medically challenged child who needs frequent MRIs, heart catheters, etc. In Japan, George's MRI would cost 98USD. Here, it costs around 1200USD. In Japan, the doctor ordering/reviewing it does not drive a BMW and live in a mansion. Not the case here. Do you see my point?
Yes, I know doctors have many years of education. Yes, they save lives. My cousin is a firefighter. He literally saves lives, and in doing so, is constantly risking his own life. Does he drive a fancy car? No.
Of the following countries: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Sweden, and the UK, the United States has the lowest life expectancy and the highest infant mortality rate, and yet all those other countries have universal/national healthcare. Hmmm...
I guess I am a Socialist after all. But you know, it makes sense since I do believe that every human has the right to an education and the right to healthcare. I guess, after all, I am for the government having its hand in it.
We receive bills constantly regarding our doctor's visits. They all say "NON-NEGOTIABLE."
They (Blue Cross Blue Shield), refused payments of my OB-GYN visits, stating that it was a pre-existing condition. What?????
They refused care for Natan months ago because they said we were wrong about his birth date. What?????
The list goes on, and Jason is always on the phone with Human Resources, battling it out.
Out of Jason's salary each month comes $1100 for this wonderful care which sucks. Tomorrow, we will be paying $1000 for George and Natan to have doctor-ordered MRI scans. That's $100 less than what he pays each month. What?????
I'm not whining, just stating facts. Amercian, for-profit healthcare is crap.
Two words: Universal Healthcare.

Snake warning!!!

One of our neighbors, Cliff who is kind of a street guardian, sent us an email. It let us know that another neighbor's dog had been bitten by a 3-foot long COPPERHEAD snake! Also that two years ago, another neighbor's dog was bitten.

Great. I have learned (almost) to live with:


Fire ants
Cockroaches
Honeysuckle
Water moccasins (from my Milledgeville days)
Red clay
And now...I have to live with snakes!!!!!!!!!!


Jason says, "Well...a bite won't kill you, but it would just really hurt." Thanks.


Cliff said the kids are ok because they won't be aggressive with a snake like a dog would be. Remind me to post the video of them massacring a beetle--they have NO FEAR!!! Snake?? Look, Mommy--whassat??????

One more thing

At the doctor's office today, I saw a girl who looked to be between 14 and 16, pregnant, accompanied by her boyfriend and mother. I thought about all the times people have said to me(and believe me, it's more than you would think!):
"Oh--you're just like Angelina Jolie!"
Would it be alright if I said to that girl:
"Oh--you're just like Jamie-Lynn Spears..."
I didn't think so.

Venting...it's been awhile!

I know it shouldn't bother me, but it does. Tonight we ate at a local restaurant (and I mean LOCAL). This is how the conversation went:
Waitress: "Now, you can't tell me ALL these kids are yours!" (in front of Mimi and Natan)
Me: (I think I looked adequately stunned): "Yep. All three of them."
Waitress: "No! They aren't all YOURS!"
Me: "Yep. We adopted two and had one. They're all mine."
Waitress: "Well, that's what I thought--I wondered if you'd had them at different times, like with different daddies."
(Oh. My. God. You are heinous and should have your tongue removed.)
Me: "Nope...same husband. Three kids. They're all mine."
Waitress: "And what are you expecting?"
Me: "A boy."
Waitress: "You have the same curse as me...I got three boys."

So...she ruined my meal and I will NOT be going back there. I find it very difficult to digest a meal when I'm that pissed. And, just for the record, I do NOT think I am cursed with boys. I love our boys and our girl the same--mainly for their uniqueness.

And--for all you who THINK you know why Jason and I adopted--here's the real reason so you can get it right:

We met. We discussed kids. We discovered that we were both very pro-adoption. We waited seven years (on purpose). We decided that by the end of 2004, we would have a child (if you know me at all, I am very determined once I have a goal in sight!). We started having unsafe sex. We filed for adoption. We let the chips fall, as they say...we got pregnant four months later, at the same time as were working on our adoption home study. We never considered for one moment of postponing the adoption.
We did NOT adopt because we were an infertile couple. We did NOT adopt because we tried for more than a year to get pregnant. We adopted because--and I can't believe people still do not get this--there are children in the world who do not have homes. They do not have moms and dads. They are starving. They have AIDS. They are dying. They often turn to prostitution and/or drugs when they are too old to live in an orphanage.
What are we as humans if we cannot see past our own selfishness and realize that a child is yours no matter how it comes into your life. It doesn't have to look like you, or act like you, or share any genetic traits with you. It is yours. Trust me on this.

There are those right now who are celebrating the upcoming birth of Vincent, yet they barely gave Natan a passing glance when he came home. I can only assume these people value biological children over adopted ones. We do not. They are equal. So...yes, we are excited about Vincent, but we are already thinking ahead to our fifth and final kid--one who will be adopted. You see, we have actually planned out our family and know how we want it to be. There are no accidents. Ellen, George, Natan, and Vincent are our kids because they are who we chose.
So, when you see us out in public and something stupid comes to your mind...please keep it to yourself.

Today's pet peeve

People who, when I am out with the kids (this mostly happens at church, where the kids feel very secure and comfortable and don't always listen to mom and dad!), who say, "What on earth are you going to do with FOUR??"
Seriously? Do you think we haven't thought this through? Babies don't happen "by accident"--even though there are some who beg to differ...we actually want a large family. Yes, there are many hectic days, but I look at those living the "quiet life" and wonder, "how do you stand it?!" I just don't verbalize it to them!
With four kids, we'll just spend more time at home, and less time around people who don't get it!
Oh, and if we had unlimited funds, we'd go for a dozen--so there!!

TMI

I just received a weekly pregnancy email update which informed that "my baby's testicles are most likely descending from his abdomen to his scrotum."
Hmmm...I don't think I'll call my mother with that latest tidbit!!!!!