Birthday Party

The birthday party was quite a success! It rained, so BBQ was out, but the food was still good - at least, there was none left over... so it must have been good.

Although the guests got a lovely chocolate cake with custard filling, the cuddler got plain old pound cake. I did make it look like his own bathtub duckie, which was recieved with a smile. It turned out pretty good looking if I do say so myself. Maybe I should try to become a cake carver?

I wish I could post the "after" photos, because someone was covered with yellow frosting.

The big present... a fire truckwith a small motor. If the cuddler ever figures out how to actually push the button to drive it, I may have a heart attack. I'm thinking that when the battery runs down, I might just leave it run down. This, however, will mean that I have to push the darned thing around the yard.

Homestudy Meeting #1

Was finally done! I'm amazed!

It was much more in depth than my homestudy for China and a bit more personal... I was a little unprepared for that, but it's done.

Hopefully, number 2 will be done before the end of the month.

Homestudy

I was going to post this evening all about my first homestudy meeting - the one I've been waiting and waiting for - and, of course, something came up and it was canceled. Of course it was.

I'm working very hard not to become jaded about this... and to be honest, I just had to shake my head and laugh this morning when the appointment was canceled. Because it was just too good to be true.

Maybe I'm being tested for some upcoming challenge that will drive a normal person crazy?

Summertime and we're so full of energy!

Well, at least one of us is...

The last few weeks of school, I was knocked out by some kind of weird illness. I had to give up coffee, anything with sugar or aspartame and eat every 3 hours to stave off waves of nausea. Every one kept asking me if I was pregnant. I told them that sperm does not live that long and I had no visits from angels.

I also started getting these hiddeously painful headaches. Actually it was one headache that seemed to last for almost three weeks. Through process of elimination, I've decided that my neck is somehow causing the problem. I couldn't get an appointment for the chiropractor until the coming week, so I've been spending a lot of time laying on the floor to help with the pressue.

Of course, none of this has affected the cuddler at all. He's practicing his walking all over the place and luckily getting much better so no large bruises. He's also spending quite a bit of time outside - he still doesn't like grass, but sitting on a blanket is quite entertaining for him. His mother seems to be getting it together, so I'm trying to prepare myself for him to going home soon. It seems like I'm stuck going no where with this whole adoption thing and I'm really starting to consider just giving up. I can't make it happen and every where I turn it just another road-block and delay.

Summer Time

Last night someone had his first taste of strawberry ice cream! Apparently, it was a hit because there was a lot of lip smacking and whining when it was all gone. I'll have to remember that because a first birthday party is coming up soon!

 

Sadly, that's something I never got to experience with Lala. All thin liquids (including popsicles and ice cream) were strictly forbidden because the aspiration issues. As far as I know, she still hasn't outgrown it. She did like chocolate cake though... :)

Food

I just wanted to update you that the "baby lasagna" was and is a hit. It freezes beautifully and reheats better than the original. Seriously, it is a great idea.  Also, the chicken nuggets were a hit as well. I knew they would be, given than the Cuddler loves chicken, but apparently fried is even better.

 

He had his monthly visit with the CW last week and I'm starting to plan for him to go home just before Christmas. The hints she was dropping gave me the idea that this was likely. I trying to put all the doom and gloom out of my mind and remain positive. Of course, I do have this "non-specific anxiety issue"... which means whenver anything goes wrong I immediately think it's the end of the world. As long as I don't think too far into the future or ponder the fact that apparently, I'm meant to live in uncertainty, it's ok.

 

 

The Zoo!

Today the Cuddler and I went to the Zoo. He's a little too young, but the weather is gorgeous and it's a holiday weekend... so why not. Most of the animals weren't all that exciting to the Cuddler, but he did really like the underwater viewing of the beluga whale. It kept swimming in circles that included a rub of the window we stood at. And someone got over his dislike of grass enough to play on the big lawn for a while.

The area we live in is fairly rural. The zoo is a bit of drive away, but really not that bad. Heck, I commuted longer when I lived in NY. Sadly, most of my students have never left this area. They've never been a mall full of stores - our local "mall" (and I use that term loosely) is nearly empty. They've never been to a zoo, museum or seen a ballet. Although he's only 10 months old, the Cuddler has visited the zoo. We've been to the mall (he wasn't impressed). I think, however, we'll wait another month or so before hitting a museum. A few more years before the ballet.