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Swampy, the good witch, is hosting a baby shower for Karmyn. I love a good party and with Swampy as the hostess with the mostess, I knew this would be great!!! So, I invited myself to the party and then I started shopping, and boy did I have a great time!!!
Karmyn in honor of your newest addition to your family I am giving you the following....and I hope you will find them useful!!!
First off we have a cake, but this is just not any cake....it is a cake made out of diapers.....just so you know, these are new diapers, and they are cloth. I am not sure which way you are going - disposable or cloth - but they make good burp rags also!!
Since I am sure your baby will be the coolest baby in your town, he will have to have this shirt....just don't let him spit up on it....it kind of takes away from the hipness!!
Speaking of spit up....I am sure that you will need a few of these. The labels are for your sleep deprived mind to know just what area of the baby you are wiping.
And while you are changing and wiping the baby....be sure to cover his jewels with these nifty little pee-pee tee-pees so you don't get a shower....of course some days you really may not get a regular shower so these are always optional!!
And last, but definitely not least...I am giving you my all time favorite book for Moms with boys. Every time I read this book, I cry. I used to sing it to my son all the time.....Enjoy!!!
Enjoy your new little one...savor every sleep deprived, special moment...they are only babies for a short while before they start talking back!!!
this journey begins here
Our first night with Michael was wonderful. It felt so great to hold him and love him and care for him. He took to the breastfeeding like a champ, unfortunately the supplemental feeding device was not as user friendly as I had hoped....but we persevered, and were very glad we had bottles also!!
Wednesday morning we awoke and called Laura. I was worried about her and her mother. I imagined their night was not as magical as ours was. We decided to go to their house for a visit.
When we had left the hospital the previous night, we did not make plans to see each other again until right before we left for home. Funny how you make plans you think are right, and what actually happens is the complete opposite, but is so right!
We spent Wednesday and every day until we left at Laura's house. Those days were wonderful for everyone. All of us cared for Michael, feeding him, burping him, changing his diapers...we all did it, and it was the best thing for us. It was magical to see the smile on Laura's face when she held Michael. To see Laura's mom talking to him like only a grandmother could was breath taking. Time stood still those days while we basked in the love of a new life.
We were also in constant contact with our attorney and social worker. Apparently the birthfather decided to contest the adoption. The was a major bump in our journey and this bump was keeping us in South Carolina while we longed to be home in California. Day after day went by....waiting for the okay to leave.
Our days were spent at Laura's house, our nights were spent in our hotel room with our son. Our hearts were torn between our new son and our daughter we missed horribly. Each time we snuggled our newborn son and kissed his sweet smelling head was a reprieve from the terrible ache in our hearts missing our daughter's sweet hugs and cuddles.
Tuesday.....Wednesday......Thursday....waiting....always the interminable waiting.
Thursday we speak to our attorney and our social worker. The consensus everyone has is that the birthfather is only contesting the adoption because he thinks Laura has been compensated monetarily for the adoption and he wants his share of the profits. He has no desire to parent Michael. We get the okay to leave the state. If the birthfather is serious about contesting the adoption he will have to fight it in California. We can finally go home!!
Thursday night we go out to dinner with Laura and her mom. It is a goodbye dinner. We are all lost in a fog of fatigue and emotions. Our plans are set to drive to Atlanta on Friday and fly home on Saturday. Our time with Laura has come to a close. She has given us a most precious gift, how can we ever thank her for it.....the reality is we can't. Over dinner Laura and her mom offer to take Michael home for the night so we can get a good night's sleep before we go home. It is a generous offer and very tempting....we are very tired. As much as I wanted to say yes, I couldn't. A part of me felt very selfish...I had his whole life, why couldn't I give her one night? I couldn't though, I just couldn't. They were very understanding, if they were disappointed, it didn't show. Their level of generosity was unimaginable.
Friday morning arrived and we were ready to leave. We stopped at Laura's house to say our final goodbyes. Her mom and her grandmother were there. It was the hardest thing I have ever done, saying goodbye to the three women who I came to love, who I admired greatly, who had a place in my heart. The three women who gave us a gift of life.
We received a phone call while we were there from our social worker. She told us we could not leave yet. We did not understand...we were told we could....we were packed....don't you understand, we have to get home...our daughter...our son.
We called our attorney. He said we could go. He would take care of it. Everything would be okay. Don't worry.
What do we do?
We leave as planned. We say goodbye to Laura, we say goodbye to her mom, we say goodbye to her grandmother. Her grandmother holds Laura as she sobs, as we leave. I cry as we get in the car. Adoption....such joy amidst such pain....a paradox.
Atlanta is a 2 hour car ride and I promptly fall asleep from exhaustion. I wake up and ask Dave, "Are we in Georgia yet?"
"Yes", he replies.
My heart is at ease. We have crossed the state line with our son. The son we may have to fight for when we get home. The son we have known for only 5 days, but we have known for a lifetime. The son we would give our life for. We are taking him home to meet his sister. The daughter we would give our life for. Our family is complete. Our journey is coming to a close. Another journey awaits us....the journey of parenthood....the journey that never ends.
This is the conclusion to this series. I will post an epilogue shortly and a journey in pictures of Michael's life. Some wonderful questions have been asked in the comments and I would like to answer any questions you might have when I write the epilogue. Please feel free to ask your questions in your comments. Thank you for embarking on this journey with me.
The majestic Pacific Ocean...one of my favorite sights, smells and sounds. It is peaceful place for me and one of the favorite places for our family to visit. Last Saturday night Dave and I had a getaway night....just the two of us. We were able to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary at one of our favorite places. It was pure heaven....a total indulgence.
We arrived in Bodega Bay (remember the movie The Birds??) in the early afternoon and took a long walk on the beach. I love walking the beach barefoot. It was a sunny, but chilly day. The sand was so warm on my bare feet that I did not feel the chill in the wind. The sun was shining, the air smelled fresh and clean and the waves were crashing. It was so peaceful.....just the two of us.
Driving to our hotel we were fortunate to spot some wildlife. In all honesty, I have never seen a live skunk. Usually I smell them or see them as roadkill....this was very exciting. Of course, because it was daylight the poor little guy was probably not in the best of health...but I thought he was kind of cute!!
We had the good fortune to stay at the Bodega Bay Lodge and Spa. I highly recommend it. It is very luxurious. All the rooms have a view of the bay and a fireplace. The restaurant is 5 star dining, and the room service menu is the same as the restaurant menu. We chose to order dinner in and we ate in front of the fireplace with candlelight illuminating the room....very romantic, much better than a noisy restaurant.
After a leisurely breakfast and coffee on the patio, we strolled down to the spa for our treatments. Dave had a hot stone massage and I had a facial and massage. Pure heavenly bliss...words cannot describe the level of peace and contentment we felt upon leaving the spa.
We were only gone from home for 24 hours, but it felt like much longer. We came home fully refreshed and rested. Twenty years of marriage has never felt better!!
Kitten is our wonderful hostess this week.....thanks so much for volunteering Kitten!!! Here assignment is the following:
Tell me about the Super Hero in your life. Not from TV, but anyone that has been or is in your life that you have really looked up to or has made a impact on your life. It can one or many. You can share pictures if you like. Just have fun with it.
I have thought and thought about this all week and one person's name keeps popping up in my mind.....My friend Kim. Kim passed away last month after battling cancer for years. She was an incredible woman and taught me so much. She made friends everywhere she went. Her outlook on life was always positive, even at the end of her life. She hated gossip and stayed clear of it. She gave everyone the benefit of the doubt and was very slow to judge. I tend to be the opposite, but she taught me to see the world in a different way. Whenever I start to criticize or judge people, I hear Kim's voice in my head....my perspective changes. She influenced me in her life and is continuing to influence me after her death.
Cyndy, the incredible sweetheart that she is, gave me this gorgeous award last week. Thank you so much Cyndy, you make me day also with all your sweet comments.Rose tagged me with this wonderful Meme:
Have a great weekend everyone!!
A woman went to a pet shop and immediately spotted a large, beautiful parrot. There was a sign on the cage that said $50.00.
'Why so little?' she asked the pet store owner.
The owner looked at her and said, 'Look, I should tell you first that this bird used to live in a house of prostitution, and sometimes it says some pretty vulgar stuff.'
The woman thought about this, but decided she had to have the bird anyway.
She took it home and hung the bird's cage up in her living room and waited for it to say something.
The bird looked around the room, then at her, and said,
'New house, new Madam.'
The woman was a bit shocked at the implication, but then thought that's really not so bad.
When her two teenage daughters returned from school, the bird saw them and said,
'New house, new Madam, new Girls.'
The girls and the woman were a bit offended but then began to laugh about the situation considering how and where the parrot had been raised.
Moments later, the woman's husband Keith came home from work.
The bird looked at him and said,
“Hi Keith!”
Have a wonderful Friday.
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