Welcome 2013 (a yr w/o drama, hopefully)

Hello, hope you all had a great Christmas! We certainly did here. :) I'll give you a recap of our Christmas festivities. During the day on Christmas Eve, G, the kids and I opened our presents to each other. It was so great to see Kiwi get so excited about the gifts we got her and to see Bubba attempt to unwrap his gifts, while crawling all over the place. LOL. Later that evening, we met up with my parents, brother (who flew in from London for the Holidays and is staying until after my sister's wedding,) and my cousin to see some amazing Christmas lights and we went out to dinner. (Oh, and had some delicious cupcakes too.) Christmas morning was all about Santa!!! Kiwi got the baby doll nursery care center she asked for a Bubba got his cozy coupe car! His little face when he saw it was so priceless!!!! He crawled to it immediately and wanted to test drive it take it for a spin. After Santa gifts, we headed over to my parents for lunch and to open presents with them and my brother (missed my sister and my brother in laws!!) Then we let the kids play while we waited for my Dad's side of the family to arrive for our annual Christmas dinner and Bunco! For the first year, I was NOT the biggest loser!!!! Not that I did well, in fact I was only 2 wins away from losing. It was actually a 3 way tie for biggest loser this year....and G was one of the losers! LOL. The day after Christmas was the day we had my Mom's side of the family over at our home. It was so much fun, we ate dinner and opened presents, then we went and walked a local cul-da-sac that does a large light display. So, for the most part we had a lovely Christmas!! Now.......for the drama that ALWAYS happens with G's side of the family..... Last year we decided that we were no longer going to do family holidays with G's family. I think the decision was mostly based on the fact that, as a couple (both G and I), we decided last year (after the whole incident that happened with MIL and visiting me at the hospital when I had Bubba) that MIL was no longer going to be an active part of our lives. (Even G doesn't speck to her, unless there is an emergency or something, the abuse was just way too much for us to keep turning a blind eye to.) We don't think it would be fair to ask his siblings to do a holiday get together with us, and not invite MIL. So, we just decided that we were done with large family gatherings with G's family. {However, we do still invite his siblings to our children's birthday parties....not that any of them came...and only 1 of his siblings even sent a gift for Bubba's birthday (no one else in his entire family sent a gift, nor even a card!!!!)} So, since we weren't doing Christmas with them, I mailed out one large package to BIL's home (since that is where they were doing Christmas) with gifts to both our nieces, BIL (and his wife), SIL and G's Grandma. Here is where the drama starts....... On the 26th, I sent G to the grocery store to buy some things we needed for the gathering at our home that day. He took Kiwi with him, as I had chores I needed to do to get the house ready for company. Only Kiwi came back inside we they got home....weird. I kept on working away, and finally decided to tell G to come in, thinking that he must be outside talking to the neighbors. Well, I was shocked when I opened the door and heard him YELLING and CUSSING!! He was on the phone with his Grandma. He had called (while with Kiwi) to see how their Christmas was and to make sure that they got their gift. She gave him hell!!!! From the bits and pieces that I heard from his end of the convo (I went outside many times during the hour long phone call yelling match, to ask him to please just hang up and come in and help. There was too much that needed to be done and time was passing while he was being yelled at, cussed out and verbally abused! he doesn't need that shit!!) I was so disgusted and outraged at her, his entire family, and the utter bat shit crazy, completely insane they all are!!! This is what she was saying the him (VENT to follow) 1) that I am a freeloader bc I am a SAHM!!! WTF!! That I haven't worked since we've been married?!?! I worked full-time (first in real estate and then as a nanny) until I was 6 months pregnant with Kiwi....then I work every fucking day and night as a SAHM!! 2) that I want G dead so I can get insurance money????? First, I do not want G dead. I love him very much, and even during our bad days, I have never wished him dead!! Second.....what insurance money? We don't have any insurance policy like that!!! (only home and car insurance!) 3) that I am evil, mean. Bitch!! No one likes me! That I am just like (and should be compared to) G's bio dad who was physically abusive and a deadbeat!! WTF!! I am not abusive in any way to my children nor my husband! If I was soooo evil, and mean than why did I take my precious time to write out Christmas card, wrap their gifts and package it all up....take it to a busy post office with a double stroller in tow... and mail those insane people their gifts (paying extra to make sure it got their on time!!!) Well, I can assure you that my time will not be used in the future to do anything nice for any of them! 4) that she (his Gma) is so stressed out of me that is she commits suicide bc of me, then his entire family is going to sue me!!!!!! WTF!! Does she think that that is something that is appropriate to say to your grandchild!! Is she insane!! SUE me?! 5) the thing that topped it off for me is when G was told to leave me, in order to make his family happy!!!!!!!!! OMGoodness!!! All I could do after the attack (despite wiping tears from my eyes bc of the awful things that were said, yet again, about me and bc of the pain that was inflicted on G....and despite having steam coming out of my ears!!) was ask G why he didn't just hang up on the bitch?? He said bc "they would've won" (huh? what does that mean?) He told me that he had things that needed to be said so that he had to stay on the phone to make sure he was able to say what "needed to be said." He can say those things until he's blue in the face, but they won't ever listen!!! For 6 and a half years, I have been patient while his entire family abused him, the kids and myself. I forgave and let all of them back into our lives many times. It wasn't until last December that I finally put my foot down and said that MIL was no longer going to be in my life or our children's lives bc of the abuse she had caused. (Until she can apologize to ME and vow to never do it again!! So, the ball is and has been in her court , so to say, waiting for her to grow up and actually do the right thing. Technically she is the one choosing not to be in our lives.) G (all on his own) decided that he was done with her abuse and stopped having her be an active part of his life to. I'm over their crazy, insane abuse!! No more!! If you are wondering how a simply phone call could turn so nasty (perhaps you haven't read my blog in the past...these people are INSANE) it was all bc we didn't send a gift to G's mom!!! Seriously!!!! She is not a part of our lives! But, the icing on the cake is.........MIL didn't even send a gift, not a card, not even a text/call/email to G to even wish him a Merry Christmas!!! He got abused, and his own mother didn't even send him anything!!! I hope the crazy old bitch G's Gma abused MIL just the same as she did him! Supposedly MIL was so upset about not getting a gift (even though she didn't send G anything) that Gma felt inclined to give her gift to MIL!!!!! INSANE!!!!!! .................................... ok, breathe in, breathe out! LOL. Well, onto 2013!! This year I'm hoping will be drama free (at least when it comes to his family) bc at this point neither G nor I want anything to do with any of them! On another, more cheerful note, may this new year bring blessings to everyone!!!! Happy 2013 all!

12 months old!!!!!!!!!!

It is so hard for me to believe that my little man, Bubba, is 12 months...1 year... old!! Time has flown. Sorry for the missed 11 month update. Life gets soooooo busy in October, with Halloween, then what seems like an eye blink later it's Thanksgiving and my birthday (Nov. 30th.) I barely have time to catch my breathe before Bubba's birthday (a mere 15 days after mine.) This year we decided to celebrate his birthday a week early. Kiwi took dance for the first time (and LOVED it!!!) She had her very first dance recital on the 8th. She was adorable and did such a great job!!! Made Mommy (Grandma and Great Grandma) tear up!! So, bc we had family coming from the next counties over for the recital, I decided to do Bubba's party that day too! (OMGoodness.....so much stress! Trying to get 3x a week rehearsals done, party planning and shopping, way too much cake made (double layer 14 inch round cake with two smaller cakes stacked on top and a separate smash cake).....not to mention the day of events (curling hair and getting Kiwi to the theater on time....watching the amazing show, quick lunch, massive stressed rush to do all the finishing touches minutes before the guests arrive!!!)It was a sports themed party and it was a blast!!! We even had a bounce house with slide, pinata and we played two party games! I think all the guests had a good time, thankfully. Bubba is doing well!! He can now stand without support and "talks" alot more than in the past. (Although he doesn't say coherent words. So opposite of Kiwi, who was singing songs and speaking in 3+ word sentences at 12 months.) My Mom taught him how to say "thank you" and he says that sometimes when prompted. He is just such a joy and happy boy! Kiwi is doing well too. She has decided that she has no interest in going to her preschool anymore. This past week she threw tantrums and I had to pick her up apx an hour and a half after dropping her off on Tues., then Thurs she refused to even go inside. She is now no longer attending that preschool. I go to two preschools on Tues to interview and tour those (one of which my bff has her daughter in, who is Kiwi's bff.) These 2 preschools are more academic based and are actual preschools opposed to the "school" she was at, which is more of a day care. Kiwi is looking forward to Christmas....having her Uncle B fly out form London next Weds., and possible Disney trip with him.....and then Aunt K's Vegas wedding in January!! I love the holiday season!! :) I can't wait to see my brother and then my sister. We bought Elf on the shelf for Kiwi and she has LOVED finding "Elvin, the Christmas Elf" (she named him) each morning! Today he was hanging on the Christmas tree. :) Here are some pics. Bubba's 11 and 12 month pics and a pic of the amazing birthday cake (I baked and my amazing Dad decorated!!) Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year!! (On a sad note my prayers go out to all the families torn apart by the sickening shooting at Sandy Hook. God bless them all!!!!!)

UPDATES!! Bbba is 10 months! EA updaye!

Time for an update!!! It is so hard to imagine, but Bubba will be 1 yr old in apx 6 weeks!!!! He is now 10 1/2 months old! He is clapping and blowing kisses. He can say "hello" and "ORAH!" (which G taught him, it's a Marine Corps thing. LOL.) He is crawling all over the place and pulling up on everything. He stands very well while holding on (with one hand) to my index finger. He eats like a boy pig. (LOL.) Many months ago he managed to figure out how to fall climb out of his stationary exersaucer...well, this month he figured out how to get out of his other toy (the toy part stays still and there is a seat that rotates around it.) I now have to either have him in his high chair all the time to get anything done, or bribe him with food (snacks) in his toy to get him to actually stay in it. LOL. He is just doing so well. Yesterday was Halloween, which marked my 2nd Anniversary for this blog!! I can't believe it's been two years. Kiwi was Pooh bear and Bubba was Tigger this year. The kids had fun tick or treating and we had special treat, both Grandpa and Grammie walked around with us this yr bc my sister and her fiance came out from OR and stayed with G to pass out candy! It was sooooo great to see my sister! Now, for an EA update!!!! Our embryos shipped perfectly to the Adoptive Families clinic. On the 22nd of Oct, the AM (adoptive Mom) had her FET. This past Tues I received a picture text with a positive hpt!!! We were so excited!! Today was her beta bw....and we received some bad news!! Her beta was only 10!!! She does labs and more bw on Saturday! So, I'm asking for prayers. Please pray that the beta doubles....or if it is simply not God's will, that there will be peace and healing in the adoptive families hearts. Thank you. It is a very sad and tough day today....especially after such a big high on Tues.

Bubba is 9 months old and an amazing EA update!!

First off, it is so hard for me to believe, but Bubba is 9 months old now! He is weighing in at 17 lbs 8 oz (10th%) and is 29 1/2 in. long (90th%). He is apx 8 lbs lighter than Kiwi, and 6 1/2 in shorter than her! He is crawling all over and pulling up on everything! He screams all the time now (mostly in mimic of Kiwi.) I hate that!! LOL. I have a constant headache. LOL. EA update: Well, this whole EA thing is moving along really quickly! :) WE matched, then very quickly got the contracts drafted, then signed and notarized. So, our embryos are now legally the adoptive couples!!! At this time, the adoptive mother will be going to her clinic for an u/s and mock transfer on CD1 (the day AF comes.) Which should be Oct. 1st.....yikes, so soon!!! (yikes in a good way! LOL. Although, I am nervous....and excited! LOL.) She will then get her meds (her clinic does not do injections. Just oral meds, suppositories and a patch of some sort.) Then, she'll have a lining check done sometime between CD1 and ovulation day, and if all looks good..... FET will be done MID OCTOBER!!!!!!! Crazy fast! I am so hopeful that this cycle works for them! Please pray for a smooth FET, and a positive pregnancy!! (Pray for a smooth pregnancy and delivery of a healthy baby/ies too, but one step at a time. LOL.)

8 months old.....crawling!! (and amazing EA update)

Hello all, Bubba is now 8 months old (actually 8.5, sorry it takes me so long to post.) As you can see, he is ot sitting in the rocking (glider) this month...I didn't want to risk it, as he is all over the place now. Also, he didn't wish to pose with Winter bear, instead he wanted to chew on him. LOL. Bubba is all over, like I mentioned. He pulls himself up to standing in his crib, he doesn't want to sit but instead wants to stand holding onto me. (He'll climb up my lap to stand if I sit down next to him while he's sitting.) Yesterday he crawled for the first time!!!! He went forward two knees! He's getting way too big too fast. He can also say "ada" for Dada and he has said "Mama" before. He still likes to wave, but now he'll also raise his arm up and down when I say "hip hip hooray ". Onto other news! After having to yet again go back to MW to in search of embryo adoptive parents...why you may be asking?? Well, bc the wonderful Mommy we choice is now naturally pregnant!!!!! Amazing news! I'm so happy for her. We originally picked them prior to Bubba's ivf, then a few months into the pregnancy, she got "THE call"that a baby boy was born. So, we found another match, and then they too got "The call." LOL. So, we put EA on hold and gave birth to and enjoyed Bubba for some time. Then, I contacted the first women again to see if she would be interested in adopting our embryos to grow her family. We were unofficially matched again, just waiting for the end of summer (when she wanted to start the process.) Low and behold...she naturally got pregnant! So, we went back to MW website and found 2 amazing couples. It was sooooooooo incredibly hard (and heartbreaking) to choice one, then tell the other couple we didn't pick them. Well, we have found a match!!! Right now their lawyer is looking over the EA contract. We're hoping to get the contracts signed w/in the next week or so....transferring the embryos to them legally! She still has many steps to go on her end before any FET, But, I'll keep you all posted!! :)

Kiwi is 3 years old !! Bubba is 7 months old!!

My goodness does time fly!! I can't believe that Kiwi is now 3 years old!! She had a great Pinkalicious party, followed by Disneyland on her actual birthday (an over night at my parents bc of the late hour we left Disneyland too,) followed by two days in a row at prechool (which she LOVRES,) and then ending that week with a day at the fair!! What a spoiled little princess I have. LOL. I love her so much and am so blessed to have her and blessed that I am able to do such fun things with. In other news, Bubba is now 7 months old! He can wave (started out with a very enthustastic whole arm pumping up and down wave. However now he sticks his arm up and waves with his four fingers.) He waves all the time now, literally. He'll just be sitting around waving to no one, the wall, etc. So adorable!! He even makes a "HHHH" sound when he does it...saying "hi" is my guess.

6 months old!!

Well, Bubba is 6 months old (June 15th.) I can't believe it!! Time flies. I also can't believe that Kiwi will be 3 years old in a few weeks!!! At his 6 month check up, he weighed in at 15 lbs and 13oz., which is the 10th percentile. (He was in the 50th percentile for weight at 2 months. No one is worried about his weight, especially bc he eats like a horse. He is now in stage 2 baby foods and eats at least one container at each feeding, if he doesn't have baby cereal. I'm not concerned, bc Kiwi was 16 lbs at age 1. LOL. I can't believe that at 6 months, Bubba, is what Kiwi weighed at 1.) He is also 28in long, a mere 8 inches shorter that his big sister! Wow! he's going to be a tall boy. (His height is in the upper 90th percentile.) Just after Bubba turned 6 months, I noticed that he had TWO teeth coming in on the bottom! TWO!!!! So, he has his first tooth teeth. He looks adorable! When we did Kiwi's 6 month pictures, she was just beginning to sit tripod style. Bubba hadn't even sat (tripod or any style) for more than 5 seconds w/o tumbling over. So, I worked with him a little bit as his picture appt approached. But, alas, no use, he would continue to fall w/in seconds. Well, low and behold, the appt arrives. I proceed to tell the photographer that he can't sit or even tripod, but we want to at least attempt a "sitting" pic, so, she had better be ready to click away quickly. So, I sat him on his booty, and what do you know, he sat....straight up....forever!! :) (You can see his 6 month picture from the photo shoot on the side bar. Below is the pic I took with his bear, Winter, on the day he actually turned 6 months.)I was so proud! But, I now realize that he is more like G than I ever knew, he likes to prove Mommy wrong. LOL. Nothing new happening here. G has began working 5 days at 10 hours a day. Oh how I miss his old 4 days a week at 10 hours schedule. (He had a 4 day weekend every other week.) We are getting everything ready for Kiwi's Pinkalicious 3rd b-day party. We are holding her party at a local indoor jump house place, followed by pizza. I am (as usual) planning to go way over board with PINK!!! I plan on making at least 3 dz cupcakes (chocolate with strawberry frosting, white pink cake with either pink frosting or Dun.can Hi.nes new frosting with the bubble gum mix ins, and then possibly strawberry cake with pink frosting.) I am also making pink rice crispy treats, pink popcorn, and pink cupcake cake pops! (Of course we'll have pink lemonade to drink and my parents already got 2 different colors of pink m&ms.) I can't wait for her party! I know she'll love it, so I'm so excited!!!