Bye Bye, July!!

Another 'summer month' is leaving us today.

That means that the fall weather is quickly approaching.

Maybe we'll luck out, and some of the summer weather we should have been dealing with in June will get bumped into September?!?!

Wouldn't that be nice? Of course, what will probably happen is that we'll have a weeks worth of fall weather and then it will start snowing. :-)

It's Friday, I don't feel like working and yet, I'm sitting at work.

Whatever...I'll keep myself busy in hopes that it will make the day go by quickly.

Tomorrow is the yard sale!!!!

I'm very excited, but a little anxious about the whole thing. I'm hoping that Jim and I are able to get things all set up in an orderly fashion (which is important to me...I like order) without being bombarded by the 'early birds' trying to get a jump on things.....

You can bet that there will be a full report on how it all went down.

On Sunday evening, Jim and I are heading to Waterford, Connecticut to go see the cast of [title of show] perform at the Eugene O'Neill center. They're being featured as one of the 'cabaret' acts and are supposedly debuting some new material from their next project. I have first hand knowledge that as of a couple of weeks ago, they had no idea what they were going to be actually doing, but I have complete faith in them that whatever they do will be BRILLIANT.

Besides...I'm just looking forward to seeing them all again and in an 'intimate setting' no less. They make me laugh and are chock-full of talent, so it's bound to be fun.

I have Monday off from work, so you may or may not hear from me.

It all depends on my mood.... ;-)

Have a great day and a fantabulous weekend!!!!!

xoxo

Fandango??? Hobocamp???? Hobocamp.

A crazy story, with a 'happy' ending...of sorts.

I usually don't post news stories on here, but this one was so shocking, weird and bizarre, that I had to share it.

Basically, a mother of three in in Worcester (MA) was killed and her unborn, 8 month old fetus was taken from her body. As it turns out, the baby was found alive in NH and the suspect arrested. Apparently the suspect was an 'acquaintance' of the victim.
She was caught because she suddenly was in possession of a newborn and none of her friends recalled her being pregnant. Did she think that she'd get away with that???
Once the story his the news, the suspect's friends called the police and let them know about their friends 'mysterious' pregnancy. As a result, she was arrested and the baby was found (in what seems to be good health).
You can read more about it here.

There certainly are some sick, sick, people in this world.

Maybe this is weird of me to bring up, but to be honest, it's the first thing that I thought of when I heard this story.
This is a PERFECT example of how people going through the DCF adoption process end up with a newborn baby. The victim was estranged from her mother, and her maternal grandmother already had legal custody of her two oldest children(5 and 3 years old). Her youngest child (18 months) was in her custody at the time of the murder, but at this point is in the custody of DCF. I would imagine that the newborn will follow that same route and will also be put in DCF's custody.

I was happy to hear that the baby was found alive (and presumably well) and that the family didn't have to suffer through that loss as well. I hope that the 18 month old and the newborn end up with families that can give them a new lease on life after having such a rough start.
Maybe the grandmother would be able to take all 4 children into her custody? That may be impossible, especially if she's raising them on her own....but at the very least, I hope all 4 siblings are kept together in some way and have a 'future' together.

Wishful thinking....

Howdy!

Happy Wednesday my friends!

I don't have a heck of a lot to say today, but I thought it would be rude of me to let another day go by 'post-less'. :-)

Although the softball season is officially over, my softball 'duties' have yet to be completed. I had an advisory committee meeting last night that was very stressful. Stressful, yet productive. So much so that people were yelling and not necessarily on their best behavior (putting it mildly).
I don't do well in those situations. I tend to just sit back, keep my mouth shut and observe from a safe distance. It was pretty intense, let me say that much. Yikes.
After all was said and done (three hours later) I left there completely exhausted, but with a sense of accomplishment....which is always nice.
The good news is, I don't have anything going on tonight. I have a team meeting on Thursday night (which will be fun) and yet another softball meeting NEXT Tuesday...which may not be all that much fun.
Yeesh.
I'm seeing these people more now than I did during the season!!

Jim and I have some friends coming into town for a visit on Friday night, which is exciting. They're in the area for a wedding on Saturday, but we'll get to hang with them on Friday...that should be fun.

We're also having a yard sale on Saturday morning...and that scares me a little.
I've never had a yard sale before and I'm afraid to see all my cherished items being sold.
And by cherished items I mean all my Disney movies on VHS and Original Broadway Cast Recordings on cassette. :-)
It'll be tough to see them go, but it's certainly better than throwing them out. At least this way we could potentially make some money and possibly add to some future show queen's musical collection.
I know that if I had shown up at a yard sale when I was a kid and saw the Original Cast Recording of The Apple Tree on cassette I would have screamed with joy (hell, I'd probably scream if I saw it at a yard sale today) - so maybe I can do the same for some unsuspecting passer-by. We also have some electronic stuff that we're selling, like my old stereo (receiver, double cassette deck and CD player) and I really have to see if it's working before I ask someone to pay money for it. I'll probably end up dealing with that tonight. It'll be hard to see it all go, but ultimately it'll be nice to get rid of it all.

That's all I have to say for today.

If any of you are experienced in the wonderful world of yard sales....feel free to offer any comments or advice!!!

xoxo

'Tis the end of July.

I can’t believe we’re entering the last week of July!!!
How crazy is that?!?!?

We had a fantastic, yet sleep-deprived weekend.
Thankfully the weather cooperated and we had a couple of really great days.

On Saturday, we had my softball team and a few other softball league friends over for a BBQ/Pool Party.
The weather was great and everyone seemed to have a really fun time.
For once, my teammates were able to actually swim in the pool! Every other party we’ve hosted has been either too late in the year and/or the weather wasn’t all that ideal for swimming. This year however, was absolutely perfect for swimming and several folks took advantage.
We had lots of yummy food and we didn’t end up with too much left over, which is always a challenge. Usually we end up throwing out so much food, but this time we got it right. We had plenty of food, and not a lot of leftovers…..hooray for planning ahead!!!!

On Sunday morning, we skipped church. Ooops. (cb, you were totally right!!)
Instead we woke up and lounged around for a while. It didn’t help matters that it was SO humid that if you even thought about moving, you broke in to a sweat.
We eventually got up and showered, then headed to the grocery store….which was a pleasant (AIR CONDITIONED) experience.
After shopping, we headed home, ate lunch and went swimming…..phew. Thank you Jesus for that pool!
After swimming for a little while, we headed out to a cookout with a bunch of gay parents and all their kids.
We were invited because our friends (K and B) belong to a group for gay parents (they get together weekly for playgroups) and it just so happens that the organizer of the group is someone that Jim grew up with. It was a total coincidence that K and B joined the group and that Jim knew the organizer…small world.
ANYWAY – since they knew that we had begun the process, they thought it would be a good idea for us to meet some of the gay parents in the area and see what it was all about. Well, it was a lot of fun. Truly, it was no different than any other cookout I’ve been to with a million children in attendance, but it was great to chat with the parents. Many of them live in the same area as Jim and I, so it will be nice to ‘join the group’ once all is said and done…assuming it all works out.
They all shared their experiences with adopting and it was nice to hear from people who have been through it already……and survived.

Here are a couple of pictures from yesterday. I’m not even going to comment on the fact that I’m stealing them from Barrie….you probably already guessed that.
I WILL say that this picture of me isn’t very flattering….I look like a big fat, fatty…but Karen looks great in the picture (love her new hair cut) so I’m posting it.

KIDS!!!

CUTE!!!!

Happy Monday!

Big News!!

I’ve been keeping a big, fat secret from all my readers for a while now – and it’s time to come clean!!!
Those of you who happened to check out my facebook status yesterday can skip this entry, since it’s not going to be news to you – but for the rest of you, read on.

Jim and I have begun the adoption process!

We’re in the very beginning stages, so it’s not like we’re going to have a baby running around our house next week.
Not that babies can even run, but you know what I mean. ;-)

Anyway – we’re going through the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (formerly known as DSS) and so far things are going well.
Our initial application has been approved and we’re currently waiting to be placed in the next round of MAPP (Massachusetts Approach to Partnerships in Parenting) classes that are required of all adoptive/foster parents in the state. Once we’ve completed that 8 week course (a total of 24 hours of class time) we'll have a complete home study done and assuming that all goes smoothly, we then sit and wait for a child to be ‘matched’ to us.

Given the fact that we’re not going to be starting classes until September at the earliest, and a home study usually takes at the very least a month to complete, plus considering all the paperwork, interviews, and any other hurdles we may have to encounter – we’re really not thinking that we’ll even begin the real waiting until after the first of the year.

Of course, this is all based on what our friends have said, and what we’ve learned so far from all the informational meetings we’ve attended. So for the time being, we’re sticking with that time frame.
Naturally, I’ll be posting from time to time and keeping my faithful readers updated on the situation.

It’s very exciting, but also a bit scary. Jim and I have always discussed the idea of having children, but it was never the ‘right’ time for us, or we didn’t have the money, or we were too young….etc..etc…
We’ve come to a time in our lives where it just feel right and I think we’re both more than ready to ‘get the ball rolling’ and start a family.
Of course, we haven’t told Scooter yet….but we’re working on it. :-)

That’s my big news for today….stay tuned for updates as they happen!!

Have a GREAT weekend!!!!

xoxo

Thirteen Years Ago

Thirteen years ago, Jim and I went on our first date and we've been together ever since.

Although we really don't celebrate our 'dating' anniversary anymore, I couldn't let it go by without acknowledging it.

Happy 'Anniversary' Jim - I love you!!!!

Scooter made a friend....

See what I miss when I'm at work all day and Jim has a day off?

Barrie stopped by with Ben and met Scooter for the first time.

When Scooter meets someone for the first time, he gets very excited and stands on his hind legs to say hello. This isn't usually an issue because most of the people he meets are adults, and he comes up to about their knees.

Since Ben is NOT and adult....the results were a bit different. Scooter was pretty much resting on Ben's shoulders and saying 'Hello!' that way.

After a short time, Scooter calmed down and the two of them had a great time playing.

According to Jim, when B and {b} left, Scooter sat at the window and cried. :-)

Here are a few pictures...thanks B!!!

"Getting to know you......"

Playing 'chase' with Scooter....one of his FAVORITE games

Neighborhood watch...

Lifeguard on duty....