Time to Privatize

Hi Fellow Bloggers, family and friends! I know we have not blogged in a while, but I wanted to let you know that we have not fallen off the face of the Earth and I have been keeping up on all of my fellow bloggers in the adoption world:)

This past month and half has been very trying and full of surprises for me and Jamie. Due to personal reasons, Jamie and I have decided to take our blog private. If you would like an invitation, please leave your email address in the comments section, or email me personally.

I hope all is well with everyone in the adoption blogging world:) And a special shout out to Matt and Suzanne who are in Ust right now bonding with their children - I am thinking about you everyday and pray that all continues to go well:)

Trials, Tribulations, and a Nursery

So, I know I have been out of the blogging sphere for a little while now...but I am back:) Let's just say this last month has been a bit hectic on the personal front and a bit disheartening on the adoption front. Just when you think you are making progress with the adoption process...bam! You get derailed.

We were about to start redoing our dossier paperwork again when I heard the news that the DC Embassy (who experienced a staff change) might not accept new dossiers until the new staff was trained. I immediately sent an email to our great caseworker and she suggested we not sign or notarize any of our paperwork until at least March. I was waiting to hear from her to see if we can start prepping paperwork this week or if we should still wait when we got another piece of news.

A fellow PAP (she is awesome!!) who is about a week behind us in the process called CIS here in IL to see about the I 171-H status and she was told that they are only on dossiers submitted the second week of January. We submitted to CIS the first week of February. As of Friday it looks like we are looking at another 3-5 weeks before CIS approval comes in. If that is the case, then we are holding off on paperwork until mid-March. Of course this means that dossier submission likely won't take place until April, and then it will be about 6 months from that point. Looks like we might not be hitting Kaz until Sept/Oct. A bit frustrating to say the least. Now I know this process is full of ups and downs, but between our experience with our first agency and then feeling like we were making progress, and now being at a standstill again, I am just frustrated. I know though in the end everything will work out the way it is supposed to, but I reserve the right to be angry at the moment anyway:)

On a better note, we have made significant progress with Vaughn's room, and we are really excited! It is a bit tough since we will not have our little guy for a while, but it gives us some time to finish the nursery. The pictures above the crib are vintage baseball posters that Jamie has had since he was a kid (his mom got them for him and they were a limited edition). We are pretty excited about how it is all coming together and are looking forward to finishing it. Here are a few in progress pictures:

Even with all the ups and downs of the past month, I have had a great month personally. We went to IA to see our very good friends and their daughter, then we put Vaughn's room together with my parents, I went to Bon Jovi with our really good friend Ted, I got to hang with my two beautiful nieces this week, and this weekend I had a girls' weekend with one of my oldest friends, and I went for coffee today with a friend who I have not seen in about 3 months. So all in all - a great month even with setbacks:) Here is an adorable picture of my day with my nieces while we were at "The Bean" in Chicago:

Here is hoping for some good news in early March from our good friends CIS!!! Like they say, you never know....

Calling All Rock Stars!

So, anyone who knows Jamie and I really well, knows that we love classic rock. Led Zeppelin is our favorite band and we had been trying to figure out how to incorporate our favorite rock bands into our little guy's life. Recognizing that many of the bands do not have lyrics that are appropriate for little ones, this was a challenge. Until recently. I was at Pottery Barn Kids and saw a CD that changed everything!

It was the songs of Coldplay made into instrumental lullabies for babies:) How cool is that? So, of course I bought it and, let me tell you, it is awesome! Great for the little guy to fall alseep to or just listen to in the car. I went on their website yesterday, and they have some really great bands that they have converted to lullabies. For those of you who love rock, or are looking for something different, this site is for you:

http://www.rockabyebabymusic.com/web/page.asp

We wound up buying Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Tool, and No Doubt (one of my favs) for the little guy! We can't wait for the CDs to get here so we can listen to them! We have an ongoing list of others that we would like to buy, and they are coming out with some new ones, so check back often.

My very good friend Jill sent me the link to this website after I forwarded her the Rockabye one (we have very similar tastes in music and all things baby!). It is way cool, and we are definitely going to buy this as well for our budding rocker musician (my fervent hope is that Vaughn plays guitar or drums)! I'm just happy that someone has thought to create a cd and dvd like this. Check it out:

http://www.thatbabydvd.com/

Last but not least, another cool website for rock lovers like us, or those who have an appreciation for vintage inspired clothing, is for a store here in Chicago called Stinky Pants. Great rock T-shirts and cool onesies for babies and older. A bit on the expensive side, but I think some of them are worth it for sure (like "My Aunt is a Hottie". Vaughn will have 3 Aunts who are hotties so this is appropriate)!! This is also thanks to Jill who bought a very cool Guns 'N Roses T-shirt for our good friend's little boy:

http://www.stinky-pants.com/

That is all for my web knowledge today:) I just wanted to share a cool few sites with everyone. I hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Best wishes for those who are in country, about to travel (Amy!!!), waiting, and paperchasing! As they say, good things come to those who wait! I am happy that the wait is over for many of my fellow bloggers:) Happy travels soon to many of you - we can't wait to join you in the ranks!

PS - I bought Vaughn his first offcial outfit from Mom & Dad:) We can only hope that the size (6-12 months) will fit him! Here it is:

Double WOOT!!

Great news on the adoption front! Yesterday we learned that we made it through approval #1!! DCFS in IL approved our home study so it is now on its way to USCIS!! That means (hopefully) in 4-6 weeks, we will have our 171H!!! And shortly after that our dossier will be on its way to Kaz!!

Joyous news indeed:) I love progress!!!

WOOT!!!!

HOLY COW!!! MY BOYS JUST WON THE SUPERBOWL!!!!

CONGRATS TO MY G-MEN!!! GREAT GAME AND GREAT WIN!!!!!

I love the sound of it - NY Giants, Superbowl Champs:)

SBP and Odds & Ends

I just have to say (again) that my SBP rocks!!! My SBP sent me and Jamie some very yummy cookies and brownies from the Dancing Deer Company:) Just what we needed for the end of the week! We are so grateful for everything that our SBP has given us!! We can't wait to being Vaughn his gifts from SBP:)

This weekend was absolutely fantastic. We made some progress on the last bit of dossier docs, which makes me happy. Then, on Saturday night we got to meet two of the coolest couples who have adopted from Kaz and their kids: Muriel, Jerry & Sophie and Debbie, Jay & Sean. Sophie and Sean are two of the most adorable kids ever! They just followed each other around and Sean kept giving Sophie kiss after kiss (which Miss Sophie did not seem to mind). Too cute:) We had a great time, laughed a ton, and got great info on adopting from Kaz! Jamie and I hope we get to see them all again soon!! They are awesome!!!

This morning we met two of our really good friends for brunch at one of our favorite places, M Henry's and had a great time! So, all in all, a great weekend:) Next weekend is going to be a great one as well because we are going to IA to see our friends Jess & Bry and their daughter (who is our Goddaughter). We haven't gotten to see them in a while, so we are definitely looking forward to it!! And the weekend after that, we pick up the baby's furniture and we get to put that together, which we are looking forward to:) Lots of good stuff coming up!!!

We are hoping this week is going to bring some good news from DCFS, but we shall see:) IL is not known for getting anything done quickly!! If we get approval from DCFS this week, then that means it is off to CIS to get the big kahuna, our I-171H, which means the US Gov't. approves us for our adoption:) And then from there it is all forward to Kaz...

I guess that is enough jabbering for tonight;) Plus I have to go watch my NY Giants play some football!!! And hopefully win:) GO G-MEN!!!!! I have to put my jersey on - I hope it doesn't jinx them!!! Uh Oh. Looks like the Pats are about to score...not good...

I've Been Tagged!!!

Alright, I'm it! I have been tagged by Susan (FL), Kelly, Amanda and Jennifer M. Sorry girls for the late reply to the tag - I have been a bit behind on my blogging!!

So, here are the the rules:

• link the person who sent this to you and leave a comment on their blog so their readers can visit yours.
• Post the rules on your blog
• Share 7 strange/weird facts about yourself

Here goes:

1. I have a pretty decent sized tattoo on my lower back (yes, a tramp stamp) that I got this past summer. Better late than never:) And I plan to get another one for Vaughn when we get home.

2. Two of my favorite odd things (not at the same time) to eat are Peanut Butter & Fluff, and Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa Mix right out of the envelope (easy low calorie way to get my chocolate fix in a pinch!!)

3. I have sensory issues - teeth scraping on a fork is like nails on a chalkboard to me (oddly enough nails on a chalkboard doesn't bother me - it's a metal thing)

4. I am OCD when it comes to Lotion. I put in on every morning and every night (all over), and if I do not have any in my purse - it's a crisis!!!

5. I studied for 6 months in France my junior year of college and let me tell you, there was not much studying going on but somehow I managed great grades! Word of advice, never drink French beer, it gives you a killer hangover!!

6. I am deathly afraid of sharks to the point where I will not go on a cruise because I have this insane fear of the boat sinking and being surround by sharks (I saw Jaws way,way too young!!).

7. I have long legs and my pants have to touch the ground whether I am wearing heels, or flats.

8. I eat M&Ms in twos or fours, and greens are always the last ones eaten...

There you go - 8 weird and strange facts about yours truly. And now I am off to tag some people and I promise not to tag you if you have already been tagged!!

PS - We bought a great book for Little Vaughn called "Borya and the Burps" and I love it. It is about Eastern European adoptions, but it translates to all adoptions. It is from a kid's perspective which I thought was fantastic. I highly recommend it:)

Hope everyone is doing well!!