Sitting on the sofa

Watching HGTV, watching my girl laugh and talk and roll over and just amaze me over and over again. That's it. Just heaven.

Peekaboo!

You all deserve to see a little D picture. i adore this! (As some of you know, since i've been AW'ing it up).i'm pretty sure this is a peace symbol, although her daddy does love him some "Pulp Fiction".

My Tie (mei tai)

Aha! i've done it! i made a Mei Tai carrier for D. Yay! i already really like it. Took her for a walk in the hood, and while it was still really really hot out, it was much cooler than it would have been in the Moby. She conked right out and slept pretty much the whole way, so that's good. i can't wait until she's a bit taller and can see out really well (i had to keep her down in the picture since i can't show her pics, but she's still pretty low.

So the orange bit in the middle is a removable panel that velcros in. i also got some other fabrics for the middle, which will let me be as moody as i want lol.

It's been a week

It's been a week since i updated this blog. Sorry, not much to report. D started getting sick last Sunday, then Alan and i started feeling bad. i stayed home from work with her Monday and Tuesday, and Alan worked 1/2 day Wednesday and Thursday so she wouldn't have to go to daycare. She went back on Friday with just a dry cough. We saw the doc on Tuesday who said it was just a virus and we were doing the right things (humidifier with a drop of menthol, taking her in the shower, using the aspirator and saline drops often, etc etc) and there isn't much left to be done but wait it out.

As far as the grown-ups, i felt crappy Monday and Tuesday, a bit congested, but not really SICK. If it hadn't been for D i would have gone to work. But starting Friday i started feeling awful, and D seems in worse shape, too. i hate that it seems like we're getting back-to-back viruses (virii, i suppose, for my biologist friend). Ugh! Poor baby!

And now allow me to tell you why i am completely LIVID! i'm not sure if i mentioned this here when it happened the first time, but last spring, i went to JoAnn's fabric and crafts on a sale weekend (NOT worth it!), and i waited in a long line to get fabric cut. When it was my turn, i discovered that because i had gone in the line and hadn't taken a number, i had to start over. SO NOT FAIR! But more importantly, the woman there treated me like crap, and that really made me mad. She said, "You always have to take a number", so ever since then, i *always* take a number, even if there is no line whatsoever.

Yesterday we went back. Not a sale weekend. Not even a line really. One woman was getting her fabric cut and it was taking a LONG time. There was also a little girl standing at the counter (her mom was still shopping, which is unfair but whatever). So i grab a number, making a point to catch the eye of the woman cutting the fabric, take a couple of steps backwards, and watch the debacle unfold. The little girl's mother came up with a TON of crap (and the first woman was taking FOREVER because apparently the woman cutting fabric cannot count). An old woman came up and stood next to the little girl and family, and someone came next to her. So now a line has formed, and guess what? i'm not in it. But hey, i've got my number!

Well, because cutter #1 (who, i'm pretty sure, was the same witchy woman as last spring) is so slow, she called for help. The next person to come up took the little girl's family. And then ANOTHER cutter came up and took the old lady. i stepped up and said, "i'm next." Then cutter #1 says, no, the line is back there. Excuse me? No, i have my number! She says, "We're not using the numbers today." So i tell her she's the one who told me to ALWAYS get a number. i already mentioned i was sick, and when i'm sick, i have a short-ass temper.

So i storm out, and ask to see a manager on my way out. i tell him, "You have a very serious problem in the fabric cutting department. This is the second time this has happened to me. And it's not about making mistakes because everyone does (although being consistent with the number thing, especially when you start to get busy, would help!), it's about how you treat the customer after YOU make a mistake. In this economy, people are cutting back on the amount of money they spend on things like crafts, and i don't have to spend my money here. And i won't do it again."

Grrrrrrrrrr! So JoAnn's is officially on my boycott list. My boycott goes like this:
1) Exxon (yes, i do hold grudges for like 20 years)
2) JoAnn's

i'm sure i'll go back *eventually*, but not right away. And i think i'm going to write a letter to corporate headquarters as well. i will say the manager was very nice and acted like he was concerned, but you know how those things go. Did i mention Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!?

:( My baby is sick

So are Alan and me :(. i'm lying here in the bed in the nursery listening to the poor baby, asleep in her swing because it's more inclined and might help with the congestion, sniff sniff sniff in her sleep. i want to wake her up and suction out her nose so badly, but that would be BAD in so many other ways. Oh, it just breaks my heart.

It all really started yesterday (though that may have been why she was so noisy on Friday and Saturday, too). i got up Sunday morning planning to go to church, but D was acting fussier than usual. She would be a totally happy baby, then all of a sudden she'd just start crying. Like zero to screaming in 0.2 seconds. So i decided to skip church as i don't think she's ready (or maybe i'm not) for the church nursery, and i don't want to disturb people around me, and i'm always looking for a good excuse to skip church ;). Normally she does really really well just being held during the service, but i knew that wouldn't be the case yesterday. i was also kind of grumpy yesterday, too, for some reason. i just remember sighing more than usual lol.

We were also planning to go see my horse Sunny yesterday afternoon, and we were getting ready to leave. Alan put her in her carseat and she just started screaming. No particular reason other than being unhappy. So i was like, "i don't think she has a fever", felt her head, and said, "Or maybe she does..." Checked her temp (which, for all you not-yet moms out there, isn't as bad as it sounds), and it was 99.7. The doctor said at her one-month appointment to bring her in if it was over 100.4, so thankfully we weren't in freakout mode, but normally she's around 98.4ish, so i would consider this a low-grade fever. She also sneezed more on Saturday than usual and definitely more on Sunday. Around this time, i realize that *i* wasn't feeling too good either. Sigh.

It's one of those things that isn't too bad, but gets worse as the day wears on. i fell asleep around 6:00 or 6:30, and didn't wake up until 2:30 am, when i normally get up for my "shift". Came upstairs and fell asleep in the nursery bed until 5:00. Seriously. It's been a loooong time since i've gotten more than 10 hours' sleep in a day! i can't find the adult thermometer (and i've no interest in using the rectal one!!!!), but i must have had a lowish fever yesterday because when i woke up, i was all sweaty, so my fever must have broken. Ick! i don't have the kind of congestion my poor kiddo has, that's for sure, but i have been sneezing a lot and a bit of a runny nose.

As for Alan, well, i hope he's doing better than us, considering i left him to do all the work yesterday by falling asleep. He said D fell asleep around 8 and woke around 1 from congestion when i saw him at 2:30. i hope he can sleep a lot today.

i guess i'll be working from home today, at least a bit. There's some stuff i do that can only be done on Mondays. i hope my boss understands. Technically i think the daycare rules are only around a fever over 100, but i don't see any reason to risk infecting other children when i'm really too sick to go to work either.

A little bit evil

i feel a little bit naughty. i made up a onesie yesterday for D, and then i decided to make some to sell in my Etsy shop. ::Makes evil laugh sound and twirls imaginary handlebar mustache::

Seriously, people, i am so sick of everyone from parents, in-laws, coworkers, "friends", and even total strangers offering advice. My dad once told me THREE times in one visit that i was going to "kill" that baby. No, dad, really, you're *supposed* to firmly but gently pat the baby's back when burping her. Rubbing alone does *not* do it for all babies. And, really, it's okay to let her work out her neck muscles in a controlled and safe manner. Sheesh!

Another court update

Yay! Court went exactly as we hoped!

First, they were running behind... well, okay, that part isn't one we planned, but i digress... It was in the same courtroom, same magistrate as the last hearing, so that was pleasant since we really liked him. The birthparents didn't come this time, either (which is both a smiley face and a frowney face if you know what i mean), but i guess that was expected.

First came the trial for the neglect charges. It was just like a "real" trial (well, obviously, it was a real one), but they had a witness stand, cross-examination, the works. Very neat to witness. The sad revelation is that they didn't name D until right before she was released from the hospital (darn, couldn't they have just not named her, and maybe we could have?), so all her medical paperwork says B. G. Lastname (Baby Girl). The birthmom apparently never saw D except right before they checked out either. Originally the birthmom asked for outpatient rehab, but then she had "things to do" and declined. We learned the name of either the oldest half-sister or her family member, so we can maybe do a search later, so that was good. We also learned the name of D's father's brother, whom the birthdad asked to get custody but he has charges, so they couldn't place with him. That's all the news i can think of right now.

Then came the hearing for the permanency plan. As expected, they are going with a sole goal of Adoption. Which means the original perm plan has been magic markered over in great degree lol.

We spent the majority of the time trying to hear what was going on over D. She's a very noisy breather. She sounds congested (yes, we use the blue thingie), wheezy, etc. i think it's because she has reflux. Anyway, we kept trying to find her a position where she could breathe without making so much noise, to no avail. It was so bad the DCS workers in front of us kept turning around and looking (and laughing lol). D's poor attorney (Guardian Ad Litem or GAL) was next to us and at one point, when the judge asked if he agreed with the permanency goal, he said, "i'm sorry, Your Honor, i didn't hear some of that. Did they say _______ [legalese for adoption]? If so, i support that goal." And then, at the very end, the judge asked us if there were any health concerns with the child, and i said, "She has reflux, Your Honor." He said, "NO!" Everyone in the court room cracked up.

In the end, the perm goal of adoption was approved, and DCS has until October 15th to file the petition for Termination of Parental Rights. Once that's filed, there are a few steps before the actual TPR trial, including to publish in the newspaper for a month. So we're probably looking at a trial date at the earliest of late November, more likely sometime in December. After that, assuming the trial happens and TPR is granted, the birthparents will have 30 days to appeal. If they don't appeal, the order of TPR is entered into court record, and we will then be able to file the petition to adopt her. Then we have to get a court date (and i've already been advised NOT to try to finalize in Nashville because they only do so many adoptions a month whereas the neighboring counties do them every weekday), so we're probably looking at sometime between February and April to actually finalize the adoption. Which is actually lightning-fast for a DCS case.

And, last but certainly not least, D is 2 months old today! Yay!!!!!!!!! Maybe someday i'll be able to share pictures lol. Alan took some awesome ones yesterday.