What A DAY!

Well that was fun. What a wonderful Christmas for our little girl. She got TONs of things. Bobby's Dad even made MADE I said her this huge Toy box. (He is posting a pic of it on his blog latter today, it's still in the car). Ms Sabrina made out like a bandit, easily receiving more gifts that anyone (Yeah, I know the receiving doesn't matter but it's so nice to see how much her Aunts and Uncles and cousins love HER so Much. We already KNEW how much her Grandparents loved her).

We have still been upset. My Older Brother who lives here in AZ about 65 or so miles from us in Buckeye has STILL never met her, nor my 3 nephews. So we are going over there tomorrow. My Bro had swine flu when I was off work with her so we refused to go over till he was diagnosed as 100%. That didn't happen till after I went back and he works Tues - Saturday. So it will be good to see them tomorrow. I am making them a Triple Chocolate Cheesecake called Deep Chocolate Cheesecake. I'm trying to think of a quick meal I can make also. Maybe prepare a Lasagna and half cook it. They can finish it tomorrow. I don't know. I'm tired. I have to make 2 cheesecakes for work next week but, I will not complain. We get a floater day off so I'm taking Thursday off so I can have another 4 day weekend. Maybe I'll take her to Grandma's Or over to my friends Chuck and Jim's over in Paradise Valley.

Bobby spent the morning putting most of her toys together we think she is suffering from toy overload. HA. She has no clue what to do with so much MORE stuff. It's funny to watch. Oh she's such a love. I think Sabrina made our families Christmas one of the best ever. My poor Mom, I don't think we could be possibly getting enough pictures to her. We try.

Hope Everyone Had a Very Merry Christmas.

Me and The Little One Go Shopping

Well Sabrina and I went and did some shopping today (not Christmas, we were all done with that) so I dressed her up in one of her new outfits Even with the shoes although you can't see the shoes in this pic on Bobby's blog you can kinda see them. She was so adorable. I love taking her shopping she's been going with me the last 3 weekends and she is always a blast. Poor thing could not stay up too late, she missed her last nap and was pooped. Bobby wanted to go on a walk to see the lights then to read Twas the Night Before Christmas. Well we didn't get that far, but that is ok. Next year she will be a year and a half at Christmas and a lot more aware. Merry Christmas My Sweet Lil Girl. Merry Christmas Daddy. Merry Christmas Ripley and Chase. You are all blessings in my life. Merry Christmas Everyone! G....

It's getting close, WAY to close

I'm lazy, what can I say. I've been letting Bobby do all our talking. That can't last much longer with lil one crawling and soon walking. We'll need 2 of us blogging just to kEEP up.

Merry Christmas just in case I get lazy again and Do Not blog then later....

Sabrina kicks some BUTT!!

Six Month Dr. Visit and going STRONG!

We had a really good Dr's visit. The cool thing is her Dr. has been trying to adopt and just adopted a 1 yr old. I can see the same happiness and completeness in her face that I think we had. She just seems so much happier now after waiting so long. I myself cannot wait till we start on the second kid. I am so happy with Sabrina and know the second process will not probably be as easy, and the second kid probably will not be as easy either, but I know in my heart that 2 is what works for me. (the Doctor was also telling me she can't wait for a second). So, on to the news. She is 18#'s 1.6oz and 26.5. so she is in the 90% for weight for her age group and 75% for height. She is totally on schedule or ahead with everything from sitting up on her own, rolling over, holding things (yes she even holds her own bottle now, she has been for a while actually). She is getting more solids. I introduced a apple and pear mix with a dash of fresh cinnamon, and broccoli and sweat potato. She liked both so this week we will go to something else new. I keep her on each for a week to see if she has any reactions, so far nothing. Luckily the book I get her recipes from tells you what foods you can freeze so on those I just make a HUGE patch and freeze for later days. I am going to try and make sure I keep with making her foods and not going to the store brands, not even the Organic are THAT great. A little patience and love goes a long way. This is my BIG wish for her. To always eat healthy. Now to just work on her Daddy. He needs some work, well it's not that he eats so unhealthy he snacks, A LOT at night LATE NIGHT. Not good for you. I've got some work I need to do also. I'm getting really lazy with the gym and making Sabrina my excuse. I've been going on Saturdays and Sundays but not much through the week. Gotta get over it and keep going. She's still out of daycare my 5pm if I go and it's usually only once or twice a week. Well on Fridays I can go before work, If I can get my butt out of bed by 5:15. I'll keep track on how I'm doing. Waiting for Bobby so I can go to the store. I joined a lunch group at work and we bring a lunch for everyone on a rotating schedule for Tues. and Thurs. and this Thursday is my first day. There are only 10 of us in this group but as I was told, I was asked to be in the group cause they knew it would be something GOOD. What pressure! I'm thinking Lasagna with this salad I make of spinach and cantaloupe, honey dew melon, watermelon, and a balsamic vinaigrette, but I add arugula also for a little BITE. it's really good.

Still Not Feeling Well

Well going into week TEN of being sick and I think I might better go to the doc soon. Or Sooner or Later. Sabrina was doing well and she is getting sick again it seems. Bobby sick still poor thing, plus he's been having these weird leg pains. Poor baby. I'd be happy enough to get rid of the constant headaches, the no sleeping and now, I've lost my appetite. I last ate lunch yesterday and am no longer hungry.

My Big Bro has swine flu, now my nephew Zachary has it and his sister is in the hospital sick with the flu. Oh the stress.

Tired Papa

Well we just had our last Social Worker visit for Sabrina. Now we just need to get to our court date in November and she's ours. We'll she is ours still but it will be official. We cannot wait, plus no more months of handing someone a huge check. Well not until we start the stuff for #2. We were so happy with our social worker, she was so gay friendly and today said she usually does not do anything in her paperwork but say yes or no this child is good in this home but for us she was writing up a recommendation on the fact that she thought Sabrina was doing so great and it seems we have done everything with her so well.
I cannot even believe to tell the barriers we had to get through, and to hear her say that was like "WHA!!" Bobby was so nervous in the beginning that I constantly got annoyed with him and took over duties with Sabrina that were his. He just always seemed like he thought he'd break her if he looked at her the wrong way, took me a while but i broke him of that, babies are far more flexible and resilient than most people think.
Well I hope we do a second, I'll be VERY happy if we do. If we do we will not start that process until around February of Next year, so might have a second my April or May 2011. I didn't really want to be 45 or 46 with a new born, but if I can do this I'll be fine. I have been up since 3:15am, I need sleep.

I Thought This Rather Hilarious

We were talking about the 19.2 # baby that was recently born and I made a joke you could eat that big plump baby and someone found this Sears add online. I thought it was A W E S O M E !

WOW! I fell off the blogging pole again

Ok, Many a night I come in here, open up this compose a new blog window, have TONS of things on my mind to say, but never get around to it. So, I'm just gonna make a short post right now, and I'll try to do another later today.

Today we are going to Tricia's for a piggy's and paws party ( http://www.piggiesandpaws.com ) This is a really cool concept, Lily has one of her foot and it's a mermaid, and Zachary has one of his foot that is a ship. Tricia wants to get one for Sabrina as a gift, I think since her room is mostly butterflies that would be a good choice.

I am going to head to the gym, do a quick chest workout ( I am trying very hard to get myself BACK into the groove of working out at the very least 3 days a week, but have been going 5 so far). I need to drops some l, b's. Get it lbs. HA. That's from a famous Bobby story. We have friends coming over tomorrow for lunch so we have a TON of cleaning to do today so to the party and back home.

Day Care started today

Well next week I start back to work and I've been wanting to put Sabrina in daycare for the past 2 weeks but something kept coming up. Everyone kept asking me did I want to put her in early to get her used to it, and I keep saying are you kidding, it's for me. I have spent most of my waking days with her since April 22nd and I just do not know how I am going to go to work, CONCENTRATE on work, and actually WORK. She was there for a long 5 hours which seemed like a long time, I went to the gym to get her off my mind, worked, till I left, then started worrying, so rushed home took a shower and we ran to get her. Man, for the first hour home she seemed like she did not know us or was mad at us, I felt so bad, but kept thinking sorry kid, get used to it. I wish it could be different but until we pay you off (HA) gotta work baby girl. BOO HOO. This is going to be a long long week. I am so worried about going back to work, I have missed so much and our dept procedures have changed a bit, I tried to keep up by going through emails, but then got lost and who knows what's going on, once again, oh well. I hope I can figure it out when I get back. I have this fear i'll get back then they will lay me off, since they have been laying people off these days.

Our girl is getting so big, but she is exhibiting the signs of teething and I'm not so happy at that. At 14 weeks, NOT fun.
She'll be walking early too no doubt at this rate. Geez. I need a drink, I wish, gotta watch my calorie intake. I have been sleeping horribly the past week. I have been having the most realistic dreams that just leave me tired when I wake up, I'm always helping to fight some evil, or save people from something bad and who knows what other kinda crap. When I first wake up I think what the hell! Then the whole dream just pops out of my head. I have been able to remember ALL of my dreams for most of my life, but these dreams lately, nope. Just interesting, I wish I could remember, I can't figure why they leave my so tired, but at night I STILL cannot fall asleep. We will see if starting back at the gym will make me tired, I was earlier, but I have been watching Unwrapped on foodnetwork and i'm just a bit too into it. I need to turn it off and try to hit the hay, which, I think I'll do.

Nite,
G....

Long Week

Well last week was my first week actually off work. It was nice to be able to spend some real time with Sabrina, but it was also annoying. She is at a stage where she does not nap as often as she used to. She has been sleeping pretty good throughout the night for the most part. She had a rough day or two and last night she would not fall asleep despite only sleeping about 5 hours the whole day. She is a lil busy body, I think she likes to see whats going on, also when she is tired she is fighting sleep and does not like it if you try and put her down for a nap. She either wants you to carry her or she'll scream non stop. That was the not so fun part. It was reeking havoc on my back and she does really great in her rocker with the baby einstein videos, but if she is cranky that will not work, you have to walk her and tire her out then put the video in still holding her and moving back and forth, letting her see it the whole time then she gets really into it and you can slip her into the chair. The bad part is if you take her out too early she wakes back up and stays up, so you have to let her stay in the rocker asleep for almost an hour and sometimes over. Then if you put her in her crib she'll sleep a good hour to 3 hours depending on her mood.

It has been SO great watching her develop. Her eyes moving back and forth, she is so aware like I said watching those baby Einstein videos is the BEST. She totally gets into them, she also loves to be read to or for you to tell her a story since her Daddy makes up stories. She is almost at a point where she can roll over, that is going to be scary. I am now thinking about making a series of stories just for her using her name and I guess her as the main character. Kind of like those personalized stories you can buy with your kids name. Maybe that will be another project to keep me out of trouble. We will see how that goes I don't finish much of anything.

I have to admit I cannot WAIT to get back to work. Besides the fact that we got a new boss I met him ONCE, not good, but I miss working. My brain is not cut out to do nothing. I noticed one of the things I hear from Mothers all the time is that they love the times when they can talk to another adult. I noticed even when I was working I only talked to work via IM so no real conversation. I don't really talk baby talk to Sabrina, I feel like it's belittling . Well I do say some cutey things.

Ripley

Ripley and Chase,

Life Partners.....

Happy Birthday Ripley

Well Today is Ripley's 3rd birthday (aka, Ripley Ann-Margaret). I wanted to take this opportunity to say some nice things about my boy. Ripley has been with us since he was 6 weeks old. He has always been a good boy (he had a bit of a bad spell, about a month or two) But like most Labs he is loyal and fun. He is very protective of Sabrina, if someone comes over and picks her up he will box them in until they can't move then sit on their foot. Or, He sits in front of her rocking chair shen she's in it and watches her. It's funny everyone was worried but we knew labs and had no concerns, we actully make sure they know she is the ALPHA Mama. The boys always want to be around her and watch her constantly.

Ripley was born on 6/6/2006, YES 666. I used to dream he turned into some devil dog and ate us at night. He's too good for that, he's such a Daddy's boy. Today Bobby took them to Cosmo dog park for some swimming and funnin. They love that. Later today we are going to go get him a cake for his Birthday, we already have Frosty Paws for the 2 of them. I was going to make a cake for him, but I have too much to do today for a family event tomorrow and can't squeeze it in.

Oh well, Doesn't mean I do not love you Rippers, You are a wonderful boy and we are so HAPPY you are ours.

Happy Birthday Ripley Ann-Margaret Garland.

How Do Parents Make These Choices...

The more I stay home with Sabrina the more I find it difficult to go back to work fulltime. I keep thinking about her at some "baby mill" and yes they might take good care of her and give her lots of attention, but I still think it's different. I would not mind so much if she was 2 or 3 or 6, HA. but now, when she is becoming more active and knowing us better and interacting with us more and more everyday. I just have a hard time thinking, We are going to drop her off somewhere at like 6am, then not see her again till 4 pm and of course she'll eat sleep and eat sleep so we will not see much of her except on the weekends. Me No LIKE! I love working, love my job and really do not want to quit, working from home is great, but I can tell they are starting to want me back, I get a message everyday, "hey, can you come in to work any day this week?" Umm NO we discussed this, unless you want me to bring my 6 week old daughter in. DUH. Well all the ladies would like it. She seems to be a Mother and Mother to be pleaser. Tough choices, we want that extra income so we can do things, get her college fund started, hopefully get her savings back in order, (yes she had a savings that pretty much ALL went towards her adoption, we'll get it back up within the year). I know Bobby has a hard time because I have mostly been with her and it's funny we go back and forth about who she likes most (like she really is at that stage yet, well I don't believe she is, I could be wrong.) I see him with her and she seems so calm and happy, and I sometimes think she's upset with me all the time. But I think as parents we see when they are upset, not happy, which she is pretty much a happy baby, she laughs SO MUCH now. It's so Awesome being a Parent. It's that dream I ALWAYS wanted and now, yes I want a second, LIKE NOW, not in a year, or months from now RIGHT NOW. I would be so happy if we had a second by this time next year. No later than October. We will see how it goes, Bobby is still Not 100 Percent on board with that plan and i want him to be happy. If there is a way to make this day care transition easier someone let me know, I don't think Prozac or Zoloft is the answer for me. G....

The Horrible family GUILT

Well I spent most of this morning so happy to have our house back to just our little family. My Mom and her husband left this morning for San Antonio. It was nice they spent a week here because usually they only stay 2 or 3 days at most and this way they could spend time with Sabrina. Well Low and behold I was surprised to find that they annoy me. A LOT. Even though my Mom and I had a discussion about giving unwanted advice 2 weeks before Sabrina was born, the first thing she did when she got here was give advice make faces at things we were doing and had the attitude you see a lot of "you're two guys, what do YOU know about taking care of a baby". I kinda think everyone was like that at first but Bobby's sisters were really nice saying they think we have done a great job so far. (well she is only 5 weeks old, we have LOTS of time to (f) up. It's nice when it's just us, the boys quiet house, no putting on a tolerant face when someone is driving you bonkers. I guess that is what we do for family, we tolerate the things about them that annoying us and would otherwise make us leave the presence of this person. We just put up with it cause they are family, and we love them. Unconditionally. Which I think is the hard part. Still we are lucky our families get along so well and do not have some hidden grudge. Lots of times the in-laws DO NOT jibe together well at all. Well back to work for me for a few days wed - fri. I can't wait to talk about how this goes. It's been 5 weeks since I've worked a full day in the office. Should be fun, I think I'll probably fall asleep.

Sabrina's First Party

Sabrina's first party went off without a hitch. We had almost 40 guest. Some no shows that I am really surprised about, you know good old friends. We had a wonderful time, the Grandparents were so happy. They GOT ALONG, which they always do. All of our friends got along with everyone, and the nieces and nephews were wild and crazy as usual, but good. It was just so nice to see everyone all at once, Especially Chuck and Jim, I just love those guys, they are so great. Chris came by with Kaitlyn (they adopted just before from CA. also. She got tons of attention with those BIG blue eyes of hers. I really REALLY do hope we decide to have 1 more. I know it's a long long process, and the infant stage is rough on you, but I could not be more happy. I can't wait till my Mom is gone and we start getting less visitors to see Sabrina and it's just US, just our Lil Family. We have so much fun when it's just US. My Mom and her husband leave tomorrow. I can't wait, IF I have to listen to ANY more Grandmother advice I am gonna kill myself! Between the 2 Grannies they are DRIVING US UP THE WALL. But they are both so in LOVE with Sabrina it makes it worth while to put up with it. It's nice how the WHOLE family both sides just fawn over her and she gets more gifts than any kid so far, she's stock piling I think. Number 2 hurry home. Gregg...

Almost ONE Month Old

I took Sabrina in for a Dr's appointment today. The Doctor was really nice, she and her husband are trying to adopt as well which was cool. (I bet know some friggin homos beat her to the punch did NOT make her happy. They have been trying for about a year. I'm sure she'll have one soon, she's a friggin Doc. I'd give Bobby to a Doctor family if someone wanted him.

Sabrina's visit went well, Here are her Stats Now: height 21.5 inches, weight 9"7.2 oz. She is doing very well and the Doc was very pleased. I cannot wait till her next visit (which isn't for 2 months).

G....

I can't believe She is ONLY 3 weeks old, Yes, tonight at 11:15 Sabrina will be officially 3 weeks old. It FEELs like she 2months. I feel like we've had her forever, it's weird to try and explain. It's nice because Bobby has to pretty much watch her all weekend since i'm here M - F watching her day and night, I got to go to the gym today, to read, to surf the internet, to do NOTHING but Stare at a WALL. I did not sleep in like I planned, 6:08 and I was up. Got her just as she was waking, played for a bit she got fussy (as she always does, when she is ready to eat) fed her gave some kisses put her back to bed. Went downstairs, set up Guitar Hero World Tour (yes, I won An Xbox elite Resident Evil edition , and Guitar Hero world Tour from work). So now I am going to sell my Xbox elite even though it has a larger hard drive, Mine has 160, this one has 120. Not like I pay it that friggin often. Once a week maybe. I think the Kid next door will be coming over more to play it than we do. Which is cool. We have had a fun week of people dropping by to see Sabrina, I can't wait till it just dies down and all that stops. We are having her coming home party on the 23rd since my Mom and her husband will be here then and that should do it. Everyone says "oh yeah they all want to see the new baby but after a month or so it just dies down or away. Good, be the away part. It's tiring. Plus, Ms Sabrina has been REALLY fussy the past 2 days. She prefers to be held about 90% of the day, and that is kinda hard to do, so Bobby experienced that today as I did yesterday and when I came home from the gym he had that I'm so exhausted look. I thought, thats my everyday lately. It's ALL so worth it too. G....

OH SO Tired

I am so darn tired. I wish I could blame it all on Sabrina, but, I can't. She's a good baby, last night she only woke once, I fed her then changed her and she stayed down till this morning. I don't know if it's trying to work, take care of her, the house, Bobby and also entertain when visitors come over, or what. Maybe I need to stop thinking I'm gonna be this super dad, (at my age). I know I have a problem of waking up and just starring at the baby monitor often during the night. I get worried, A LOT. I am trying so HARD not to be THAT parent, but as I type and look at the Monitor now to my left I don't know, I think I'm gonna be this way for a bit. By the way, these monitors these days ROCK! I remember when the audio ones came out and my nephew was born, they were ok. This thing has a great picture, and awesome sound. With the volume at a third of the way up I can hear dogs down the street bark, and her window is CLOSED. it is so cool. My Mom will be here the 18th - 26th. Oh what fun that will be. Generally they stay here ONE day, maybe 2. I think stayed 3.5 days on their last visit and it was SO Darn BORING. Her Husband did not want to do anything but sit around the house and pretty much scoff at our meager lifestyle ( I guess his daughter and her husband have a 7k sq ft house... ooohhh excuse us!) but he seems excited about Sabrina being born, I honestly thought he and my Mom would throw HOLY water on us when we told everyone about we were going to adopt. They are very Bible Belt religious. I know this will be interesting, I'm already staving off peoples advice, when they see us with her they go "oh WOW, you guys to GREAT with her". I really think it's the whole, You two are guys, you're not to bright and know NOTHING about babies, which you can tell people think that but just do not say it. OH well. Two of Bobby's sisters came over for lunch to see Sabrina for the first time this Past Tuesday. They were shoked because I made a pretty nice sized lunch, plus a special tea, dessert, house was clean, and I started of the morning working like I usually do. They were both so nice saying I was handling everything better than they had the first time around. That was good to hear. I hope we can keep up the good work.

I have not posted as much with enough info since Sabrina's birth but since I'm still the one that does the cooking, cleaning, shopping... It's a bit more difficult for me to always stop when something pops into my mind. Guess at this point I better get used to it and learn to prioritize better. Well, we JUST had our first scare. We have gotten pretty good at recognizing her cries, hungry, poop/pee in diaper, annoyed and wants to be held... but she was crying like hysterical crying about and hour after I had fed her. She was feeling warm and just screaming, we were both freaking out, nothing would calm her down. Bobby had her while I was eating so I took her so he could eat. I looked down and noticed the cord clamp was gone ran to the pack n play and it was in there. Well it was no shock it came off but they kept telling us 2 - 4 weeks so with the crying the Daddy freaking out insued. We called the hospital where she was born and talk to the pediatric nurse on staff, She told us not to worry some babies have theirs fall off early and to just not worry and check it for puss. Well while Bobby was talking to them I was preparing a bottle, I fed her and right when I put the bottle in her mouth she went to sleep. We looked at each other and felt a tad bit silly. She slept really well last night and only had one feeding, I tried to feed her once and she took about 1% of the bottle so I could not sleep all night thinking is she ok. Guess we need to get used to this. We just started reading this book Baby Wise by Gary Ezzo, M.A. and Robert Bucknam, M.D. and it has received a ton of praise from people that have read it. It teaches you to get your baby on a schedule and keep it on one. To the point that your baby sleeps through the night. WHAT, I've always been told to feed your baby even throughout the night. There are several theories people use, 1. the scheduling where they schedule each feeding and try to stay on that same schedule, 2. the "baby knows best" method where when the baby cries weather it's hungry or not you feed the baby, (I don't like that at all). There are a variety of these two that have been mixed and matched to make an aggressive and and passive version of the two in a sort of mix. But this book supposedly had a great solution and I think I'm going to like it. After seeing some other kids that have a rough time during infancy and then later on in the toddler years. I will post more on the book as I read it, and give an objective opinion on what I think and if it will help us and Sabrina. I am hoping it is a vital solution to a happy child. Gregg...

I can't wait to get our little Girl with us finally. I am SO tired and not even from her. Running around all day back and forth around Cali can tire a person out. I felt like we did nothing yesterday. We barely spent any time with her trying to get the the hotel room ready, with her pack and play, her rocker chair. This way when we bring her back today it's all about her not unpacking, or going to get supplies, nothing. Just taking care of our Sabrina. I am still so grateful and happy that everyone is so supportive and family is so happy.

Except for a few minor things this has been the best experience. I don't even care about the minor things at this point, I am happy she is healthy and well, she responds to us very well, she is a good sleeper and just so adorable.

Now just can't wait to actually get her HOME, to her room and our family will be complete when we get the boys home to meet their girl. And yes, We miss our boys so much right now too. I even miss our house and I am not that fond of it at this point.

I can't BELIEVE it, Sabrina is FINALLY born. We could not leave to go watch her be born because the Mother started going into labor and called us at 9:18 pm and we could not take the Boys (Ripley and Chase) to the pet hotel because they stop taking in pets at 9pm. We are so excited. It's kinda hard to concentrate, we have a long drive, a lot of work and tons of surprises I am sure. The mother sent us a message this morning saying she is just a Doll.

Here is part of the message from the Mother last night:
Your new daughter was born 4/18 at 11:15 pm last night. I have finally
been transfered down to my room after they had to monitor my blood
pressure for last few hours. Im in room 1045 and she is just a doll.
Hope you get here safely and see you soon.

I cannot WAIT to hold her, I can deal with the crying, the long nights and anything else as long as she's healthy and well and we bring her home. This is the BEST day (until #2 is born, HA then we will have TWO best days).

Again, this is SO exciting, so spectacular

Gregg....

Yes I've been neglectful of you my Blog, I'm Sorry

Ok, I've been spending the last couple of weeks on about.com taking these courses on writing that I singed up for almost 2 years ago but never went through, so now that I may get a little time off I want to start studying up so that maybe I can get some short stories written and published in journals. I'll try. But, more important NEWS. The mother is getting along fine right now. We did have some due date flip flop issues which just made the WHOLE wait game worse. Everyone says be patient, and for the most part I really believe we are, but when ALL you want is that little one in your arms, in your home, with you, for you to love, to protect to shower and spoil with all the things you possibly can (before they become teenagers and bankrupt you) it's HARD. Everyone gets upset because I have not gotten all excited and out of control yet but it is because until she's in our home, not there waiting to cross state lines, or driving, not till she is in HER home, will I be happy. I mean I know, I KNOW when I hold her my heart will just melt away, I'll succumb to being the Dad that spoils, I spoil the nieces and nephews, so why not. But yes, it's still difficult to sit and wait. Last couple of weeks we noticed we were doing a bunch of nervous cleaning and we read somewhere this weekend that a lot of expecting mothers do that, that was pretty funny. Now to get back to cleaning up, yes We are cleaning again, just in case she calls in the next couple of days before our usual weekend cleaning. I think Bobby is going to finally win a battle, he wanted to get a cleaning service after she was born and I thought what a waste, buuuuttttt maybe for a little while.

The Deal Has Be Done

Well we talked to a birth mother that called the agency yesterday and she is 8 months pregnant (due Next MONTH!). She is fully insured, wants nothing, she is 29, has 2 daughters (they are both very pretty) the father up and left her a few months back and she has been thinking about what to do, 3 family friends offered to adopt the baby and all 3 fell through. She kept saying to us she just wants to know it's going to a good safe home. She said when she called the agency told them her story, they asked her some questions and then sent her a packet with 50 birthmom letters in it. she said first she looked at the pictures of all 50 letters. then she read bits of most. she narrowed it down to 3 and we were one of those 3. She said she thought about it some more and she knew after reading our letter and seeing out website again that we were the ones. She told her whole family and said she was worried about them not approving the "gay" thing and wanted to know if she should choose one of the other couples but they all said NO, your first instinct was right, stick with that. Then she had her 7 yr old look at the pictures (she has explained the whole thing to her already) look at the pictures and asked her, do you think they will be good daddies for the baby, she said yes, then she said the 7 yr old read our whole letter and said YES they are perfect for the baby. We thought that was perfect, it sealed the whole thing.

We are so excited, we cannot believe this is happening. It is so wonderful. The mother is so worried that she does not want to change her mind she does not want to hold the baby afterwards, she wants it to go straight to us and if possible no contact afterwards. I kinda did not like that, I want her to KNOW her sisters, to see them and be part of their lives, so does Bobby, we also wanted more to send her pictures of the baby as it grows and so on, she says no. So we will wait and see.

I cannot wait to be a Father. Now we just have to get to number 2. We have not had a long wait, we went on the books with our agency just 3 weeks ago. they told us we were very popular and a lot of inquiries were asked about us. So we hope the second time around its the same. I am planning on when the baby is 8 months old starting this again.

we'll see.
G....

Adoption Update

Well we have one heck of A week. We went live on the books at our agency 2 weeks ago today. We didn't expect much and plus you have to wait till the end of the month reports go out to see if any of your flyers went out to Birth Mothers. Well I took Monday and Tuesday for my B-Day and early Monday morning we got a call from a BM wanting to adopt out her 1 yr old. I guess she had been struggling with what to do and finally decided adoption was the best. She was very calm and relaxed and did not seem to a single worry or fear (usually the BM is nervous, you two are nervous also and calm each other down somehow. This chick was sprouting out laws and plans and how she wanted to come here to AZ for the adoption, we kept saying no, we want to come there. If we do the adoption in CA then both of our names go on the birth certificate so then we do not have to worry about the whole someone has to apply for legal guardian status and keep that updated every 6 months. We decided not to get attached at all, it seemed to flaky. We both insisted she call our agency and she kept making excuses not to, then said oh I called them but no one was there (it was 7am her time), so she called some of the east coast offices just to speak with someone and she says no one was there either. Well seemed fishy so we let it go, I called our agency as we are suppose to if a BM contacts us and not the agency, the person at the agency agreed it sounded fishy and I think she did not want us to get involved with it but just did not come right out and say it. I emailed the BM the next night since we had not heard from anyone told her we were still interested if she is and to keep us posted. She wrote back thing were still a go she just needed to legally make sure the father could not do anything to intervene. Who knows what that Drama is all about, sounded like the father does not know he has a kid and she's not gonna tell him, just adopt the kid out. Another day goes by and she sends this very cryptic message pretty much saying if we stick with her we had better be ready for a bumpy ride, and how she was sick of the whole process and she should just go to Canada or France to adopt her son out. FREEAAKKK, so Bobby wrote her back saying we were probably not the best match for her, and that was that. boo hoo

Today the agency called and pretty much said they didn't want to talk about her she is a special situation and they do not know how they are gonna handle her situation, but, another mother was looking at us and 2 other couples. She is 8 months along, had a sonogram at 5 months and everything was fine healthy baby, no drugs no smoking no drinking, AWESOME all the things we want. The father had left her recently and she has a 9 month old with him and she has one other kid. So she was nervous to call so she talked to the agency first and is going to call us sometime. We cannot wait, Guess if this one works out Bobby will of been right, he said it was gonna be a girl.

He is very excited, i'm holding off until we actually match with her. Heck if I can restrain, I'm holding off until we are on our way home with her.

G....

How I Got Into Trouble

Well I did it again. I'm always up to some kind of shenanigans or another. I didn't think I was going to get anything good for Christmas so when I got my bonus on the December 20th I bought myself an Xbox 360. Well usually any big purchases unless they are gifts to the other person we discuss. I knew he'd say no, my bonus was more than I thought so I kinda thought, "hey, I deserve this'. I actually ALWAYS think that. Well I got it and then felt incredibly guilty so I kept it hidden, I would play it then hide. I kept asking people at work how I should bring it out. I just kept thinking no matter what I've done it, I had NO intention on taking it back and yes I really did feel the guilt, so what to do. Easy, get caught. That always works out so much better. I had planned to pull it out on my birthday anyway but missed by a couple of days. He was in the nursery and looking through these cubbies we have in the closet trying to figure stuff we could through away and low and behold what does he find, an Xbox. So I know he is not too happy with me right now. Guess I'll have to be nice to him for a week or so. Hmmm that would be very hard. I told him I will not do that ever again, the guilt was bad enough so I don't think I will. But, now we can play Xbox 360 or Wii or Xbox. We have got it MADE. Thats my reasoning kicking in I think, we always have something to do now!

Good Grief Gregg....

Oh and my punishment, I have been in so much pain these last two or three days and yesterday finishing the floor in the nursery just topped it off. I am DYING of pain today. I have taken a ton of meds and it's doing nothing.

G....

Ok, I thought I was gonna get back on the blogging path, but alas I am dying of tiredness. I could not fall asleep until after 1:30am last night and of course as usual got up at 4:40. I am dying. I am trying to work on some "work" stuff but I keep drifting off so I am not getting very far with it. So I am going to give up and just go to bed, seems to be the safer strategy. And of course Wii is down there playing his came and it's loud as all outdoors. UGH. But he deserves to enjoy, so i'll keep quiet. When I lay my head down i'm sure i'm going right UNDER in a few minutes. I rarely do that but I can feel it tonight.

Hope everyone had a great day and an Even BETTER day Tomorrow.

G....

Doing Floors

I cannot believe I did ALL that and said that and still forgot the darn PIC. HA.

Getting That Room Done

Well I have been working on the nursery ( and yes, not my blog... boohoo), I broke one box of the flooring by not lying the boxes correctly when they were delivered. One entire box of the panels were broken on one side, I was so ticked off. I could have finished the whole thing on Presidents Day, but, I jacked up. So, now I am waiting for the new box to arrive. I have been piddling around doing things, in there, I used bits of the broken pieces to finish the closet, I've been cutting the baseboards (yes I insisted on new baseboards in there). I am so excited we have gotten this far and soon, yeah I am saying soon, we'll be Dads.

Ok, I am drowning in this show on Tv RIGHT NOW, on the IFC channel call Indie Sex Extremes, IT IS SO FREAKY, but makes you think how WE as Americans view sex and sexuality and fetishism. NO, sorry I don't have any. It is freaky!

Bobby has had to go through SO much since his promotion and I know how "they" work (yes I, I got him his J-O-B-) there, and I think they are trying to burry him and get him fired. SO my plan, kick in the NUTS first (male or female) ask questions later. He is a good Manager and cares, he deserves to take the reignes and work with it. Yes, I guess I'm biast, but when we were both Managers, I learned a ton from him, his patience, and understanding and caring. I hope they see that. I hope.

OH, this WHOLE Blog was about me posting a pic of the floor in the nursery! HA.

On My Soap Box

Ok, Yes, I am very HAPPY that Barack Obama has just gone into office. Yes, I am hoping this "change" does come and is of some significant value. Yes, I do think his presidency (whether is sucks or not) is going to be very important for this country.

BUT, If I hear one, ONE MORE person go on about the first African American or Black president I am gonna start shooting up some @ssholes. What the heck is with people, does everyone have a ONE track MIND. Open your eyes, do the research, pay ATTENTION,

HE'S NOT BLACK! well technically. he is A person OF MIXED RACE, bi-racial. Now when we want that to be one thing it works? GIVE ME A BREAK. I mean I admit, I am of several, not 2 or 3 ethnic back grounds and it do put black/african american on forms cause it is easier than doing other and trying to explain, but if you ask me face to face, I will actually tell you all the things that make me a MUTT.

I do not know why it bugs me, but it does. People keep talking about this victory for the African American community! WHA! I didn't get my trophy, my check, or my new CAR. Why do I always miss out when the free stuff is being served up. CRAP.

Sorry, Now back to the celebration.....

The Cardinals actually Did It

Ok, I love Football. I was all prepped to watch the Cardinals vs Eagles game and usually I can call a game within the first 40 minutes of watching (now, not 40 mintues of game play, just watching for 40 minutes, which could be like 12 minutes of actual game play, HA!) But, I'm not a fan of either team but being in AZ I have been cheering on the cards, and after the first 20 mins I said THEY ARE GONNA WIN.

Then, this is where I failed my own faith. After the half I had a funny feeling and said to myself for some reason the Eagles are gonna kick put right now, and rightly enough they did. The game went from 24 - 6 to 25 - 24 Eagles. I could not believe it. The cards were getting big headed at the end of the 1st qtr and I could see it pucking up the whole game. Well it was getting to where it was just a game in the air and I was on the edge of my seat and they made it 32 - 25. I cannot believe they got THIS far even. It's shocking.

Now Cardinals vs Steelers. If they win that would be the SHOCK of the decade.

Boreed Papa

Ever been so bored you do not know what to do. I have stolen from my every day activity and now I'm bored at the deep dark night time.... BoooHOOO

I did not post this here but did on meetgaycouples.com and meant to put it over here too. This is a meatloaf recipe I made in my head and tonight I kinda some of the stuff (it usually make 1.5 - 2 loafs), here is the recipe and i'll mark my changes or additions:

1lb ground pork
1lb ground italian sausage (used sweet turkey sausage)
2lb ground bison or buffalo (something lean, really lean Ostrich would work also. and YES ostrich does taste great!.
1c panko bread crumbs (I use panko over the regular bread crumbs, you'll notice the taste difference)
sweet onion (also added 1/2 cup red and green bell pepper, 3 tbsp sun dried tomato,1/3 C bella mushrooms)
seasonings
I used to use what others like now I put in what I like
I used:
1tbsp tyme (omitted this time and used Italian Seasoning)
1/2 tbsp
salt pepper to taste (Used white pepper)
parsley about 1tbsp dry or half that fresh (Omitted)
2 tsp garlic minced
2 eggs beaten (used egg beaters about 1/3 c with 1tpsp both soy sauce and worchestershire sauce)

saute chopped onions bell peppers and mushrooms in skillet with 1tbsp olive oil till onions are just translucent, let cool.


mix this all together in a big bowl (for some change you could put a cheese like asiago, parmigiano-reggiano (one of my faves) and tomato paste.

put in a loaf pan or mold into a loaf.
bake at 375 for 35 minutes

whilst that is baking
in a saute pan bring 1 can (14oz - 16 oz) of diced tomatoes to a boil for 3 minutes on medium HI
1c red wine
add 1/4 cup brown sugar (changed to half cup packed)


reduce

If you have the patience, wait for the meatloaf to create some juices, put those juices in this mix. Brings the taste out MORE.

cook till reduced by half and is thick texture
after meat loaf cooks for 35 minutes put thickend tomato mixture over, cook another 25 minutes at 350. comes out moist and yummy and the topping rocks.

(I did put some thyme in the tomato mix also. plus seasoning with salt and pepper). [added dash of paprika]

NOTE: I constantly drain the residual liquid out, another great thing you can do for this is use those tin disposable loaf pans punch holes in the bottom and the after putting meat in set on wire rack inside a baking dish of your choosing, as long as it can retain the liquid and keep it out of the loaf pan.

I am Gonna Go INSANE

Ok, I am watching this Sooners Gators game and i'm going crazy. Come on SOONERS, stop sucking. I guess I may have to eat those words near the end but right now i'm going crazy with anticipation. Florida is an awesome team, But I KNOW my OU boys can pull this off, just clamp down, dig in, run, pass, block and if necessary knock someone out.

GO SOONERS!!

Thing R a rolling

Well with the letter now up for review (and I have to say I think Bobby did such and AWESOME job on it. I am not being biased in any way (thing of the paint job in the nursery). He put a TON of effort and many hours into it. I am so proud of him. He's so great to have, Now I just need to convince him to paint some type of scenery on the walls. He is afraid it will not come out good. I had an idea of a tree and on it put our family lines starting from grand parents (for now) and then going to the last born child which will probably be ours since everyone else has been fixed.... Well except Kathleen. She might pop one out in surprise who knows. But I thought it would be cute. Lil birds on the trees, the names on leaves or some type of fruit on the tree. I am still debating over the floor, I do not want to leave the carpet in there, still would prefer to do wood, laminate or the linoleum type of wood floor we found recently, then put a big rug across it. easier to clean. Take rug outside once a month and beat, sweep rest of floor daily. simple. Oh and vacuum rug when sweeping floor. HA.

Oh well we have a lil bit of time to figure it out. I do want to get that room all done and the furniture in there before the end of the month though. Better to be ready and prepared than having to rush at the last minute.

A New Year and New Fight

Well it's a new year and we have to beat off the FAT we gained from the Holidays. So starting tomorrow we are going back on the salad diet which we did in 07. The majority of our dinners will be some type of salad ( I hate salad for the most part so this is always loads of fun for me). I do other salads besides green, but we have to be calorie/fat and carb conscious. I have to make a HUGE push to make sure I am eating correctly. It is very rare I eat fast food, I do not really eat sweets, if we bake something I typically have once piece and that is it. But, yes the BIG proverbial b-u-t, I do not eat enough meals a day. A typical Saturday or Sunday or any day off of work I may on a good day have breakfast but usually not, and the only meal I eat is Dinner. This is EXTREMELY bad for you. I know it, I yell at myself about it but I just forget to eat. If Bobby goes out of town I will not eat sometimes for a day and a half or so. Alone in this house is a task in itself, feed the birds, feed the dogs (twice a day) chop up food for the tortoises and feed them, feed the fish, feed the Koi, take the dogs to play or they get antsy and restly. Take the dogs to poop every hour it seems like, keep up on your cleaning, or wash and all your other things you do in a typical day. Single parents---- YOU ROCK. Any person that thinks a stay at home parent is not a job is CRAZY. Just with our pets I get overwhelmed. Bobby has started going back to the gym and he's running more, he's been doing his pull ups and chin ups with his ironman gym he got for Xmas. So these are good starts. My back has not been as bad so I worked out yesterday and will today. I try and take it easy after working out. Old Bones. Bobby wants me to make him Chicken more often so i'll do that (no, I can't eat chicken, have a rare allergy to it), I'm going to go get more fruit today for the week and MAKE him eat more. Lately he has not been eating much fruit and it goes to waste. I have maybe a 2 bananas a week an apple or 2 and if we have grapes and ton of those. Oranges, too darn messy for work, I always have to get up and wash my hands after one. Pears I love. We'll keep track of pounds lost and gained and see where we are February 5th. Maybe I can lose 10 pounds by my birthday. That would be great, i'd be at the weight I was end of 07.

A Great New Years Day

A Great New Years Day

Posted: Jan. 2, 2009 - 0 comment(s) [ Comment ] - 0 trackback(s) [ Trackback ]

Well we had a wonderful New Years day with family. Every year we have a brunch here at our house, usually family sometimes a few friends (last year was 32 people). It was really small this year no one from my side could make it and I forgot to send out and invite/evite so didn't invite many friend (3 to be exact) because I figured many had probably made plans already so did not want anyone to feel any guilt. I cooked from tuesday - Thursday afternoon (I'll post my menu at the bottom). On Wednesday night I cooked from 5pm until 5:30 am. I was so darned tired. Yes there was a reason for that, if Bobby's Mom comes to our house she want to eat within an hour of getting there I guess so she can hurry and leave...LOL, but when we go to her house or any other family members house we have to wait 2 hours usually. So, I was trying to make sure I had as many dishes done as possibe so I could just heat them up the next day. That worked out great. We ate exactly 2 hours after everyone arrived, and yes after being there for 55minutes his Mom asked when are we eating UGH!

The kids all had a ton of fun and even played with the dogs (all the kids in Bobby's family are always afraid of our dogs. even when we had the shelties they were afraid of them too) But they took them on a hike with Bobby and his Dad and bro Dennis. They played and were so Loud I was laughing so hard.

Hope you all have a great New Year and all everyones wishes come true (mine of winning the lottery has to come true with 8 days...HA)

New Years Day Brunch

Main Dishes

Pork Roast in apple

Prime Rib Roast

Penne pasta and turkey sausage

Fudge Waffles

Blueberry Waffles

Texas French Toast

Double Cinnamon French Toast

Sides:

Mac N Cheese 5 cheeses

Mac n Cheese 10 cheeses

Sweet Potato Hash

Bacon

Sausage Links

Turkey sausage patties

Baked eggs and mushroom and ham crisp

Scrambled eggs n Cheese

Scrambled eggs mushroom/green onion/ cheese/

Gravlax

Appetizers:

Lil smokies n bacon

Baked Dates w/chorizo prosciutto

Mini Quiches

Bloody Mary Soup

Drinks:

Champagne

Mimosas

Bloody Mary’s

Orange juice

Apple Cider

Coffee Costa Rican & Mocha Java

Desserts:

pumpkin cheesecake