Update

I find weekends to be the most difficult posts to write since we're usually quite busy. So, for today we have an update in a list format.

Reading: Working my way through the Game of Thrones series.
Acting: Z and I are in a Christmas show together at our local theater.
Eating: Asian pears from our local CSA. (Trying to avoid the Halloween candy.)
Watching: American Horror Story, wishing Frances Conroy was featured more often.
Listening: The new Feist cd Metals and the soundtrack to The Book of Mormon.
Knitting: A sock yarn baby hat and a vest for me.
Drinking: Coffee from a French press. Mmmm.
Wearing: Sadly, my winter coat.

Naturally Real

For those of you who are adoptive parents, you may know this post's business just by its title.

I'm currently a stay-at-home mom and yes, sometimes I have the TV on to keep me company during the day. A couple of days ago, one of the women from The Talk was telling the story of a woman who stole money from her child's school to pay for IVF treatments because she wanted another child and couldn't afford it. So, the woman on the show continued with the story, incredulous that a woman who "had one natural child" had the nerve to steal money to try and have another one. Well. There it is. "Natural." That became the story for me.*

Z is Chinese-American and Mike and I are not. So, we rarely get asked the "is she your natural/real child" question. People already "know" their answer to this stupid question. My answer would be "yes, she is very natural and she is most certainly real and she is my child". What is the opposite of natural and real? Yeah, no children are unnatural or unreal. I promise you that her cries in the night, hugs during the day, or the way she loves watermelon is no figment of our imagination.

"You know what I mean" is the sentence most frequently heard when I have corrected people to say "biological child". Yes, I know what you mean, but it turns out that what you intended comes off as ignorant or hurtful. I know in this world of political correctness people sometimes feel like they are walking on eggshells, but language is very powerful and people should know they could be hurting someone by using it. If someone continues to use hurtful language, they should at least they know the possible damage it could cause.

Well, November is National Adoption Month and I think sometimes adoption comes off as second best and not natural. We all need to be aware that our words are powerful. Anyone whose life has been enriched with adoption should help spread the word about the good language of adoption. There are many ways to grow a family and as long as there is love and healthy relationships, then it is best and supernatural. Let's celebrate adoption!

*Sara Gilbert is also on the show and I was a bit surprised she didn't speak up about it since her older sister and brother are both adopted.

Happy National Adoption Month and NaBloPoMo!

I have no idea if there is anyone still reading my blog. My outlets tend to be social networking sites, but it's NaBloPoMo along with National Adoption Month, so I thought I'd try and get back on track.

Z just turned 7 and for the first time is in school for the whole day. There are things she loves about first grade, but she has asked me on many occasions to home school her because she misses me so much. No, I'm not really contemplating home schooling. However, I miss her too and wish she came home earlier. I look at her and sometimes can't believe I was lucky enough to become her mother.

You've heard this before from many people, but I'm truly astonished she's already 7 since I can remember so vividly holding her in my arms for the first time back in July of 2005. Memories come flooding back to me as I watch her do her homework, write thank you notes for her birthday gifts, and read to me. For the longest time, Z needed "pinky time" with our pinkies to sooth her and I don't remember when she stopped, but sometimes I now ask her to give me pinky time and she happily cooperates.

Sleep. Just something else I remember well. Well, when she was younger we didn't get much. We used to take turns going to bed with her in our room and then we finally made the switch to putting her in her own bed and then we were still constantly having to check on her to keep her calm. Once she was in her big bed, we found it helpful to have a small mattress with a sleeping bag in our room to help when she would get up in the middle of the night. It seems just having a place in our room made her feel better. We are now at the point where she pretty much sleeps through the night with very few night terrors. The only remnant is the night light we keep on until we go to bed, which we shut off when we check on her, so if she wakes up, she knows we've checked on her and we're in our room. Mike and I would often repeat the mantra "check-on-me, check-on-me, check-on-me" to get us through the tough nights.

Z is amazing. Mike and I had a rare date night recently and on the way back home we talked about how everything we went through to have a child led us to her. I never wanted to have two miscarriages, but I also can't imagine life without Z in it. Adoption may not have been the first way we pursued a family, but it has truly been a gift and I can't imagine our family another way. I am also thankful to Z's birth parents for all they have given to Z. We'll never know how much is nature/nurture, but she's a great person and we couldn't have had Z without them.

So, Happy National Adoption Month and Happy NaBloPoMo everyone. I hope to see you here everyday in November. We'll see.......

Thankful Thursday

Yes Nablablah seems to force me to bring out the themes, so I'm keeping up with last year's theme for Thursday. Today I'm thankful for friends. I was feeling really under the weather today and needed some soup (yes, needed) and when Marsha found out about this, she gave me some delicious homemade lentil soup to get me feeling better. Thank you Marsha.
I hope all of you have friends like I do.

NaBloPoMo

I've always signed up for NaBloPoMo, so I'll try it again this year. I find that while sometimes I'm really stretching it to find a post every day, I often find that it makes me be present and deliberate in my day. This being the month of Thanksgiving, I think I will post a good deal about what I'm thankful for and try to keep the craziness of December at bay.

Today, I'm thankful for spending time with my family. We raked leaves together yesterday. It was wonderful watching Buttons jump in the big pile of leaves Hubby had made while wearing a sweater I had made. This morning on our way to church we sang "Peace Like A River" and I watched Buttons hold her baby and sing to her like I did when she was a tiny peanut.

Hmmm...stopping to blog about the things I'm thankful for is a great reminder.
Thanks NaBloPoMo!

The Final Day

In honor of the last day of Nablopomo (hoorah!), I will answer Lou's question from a few days ago since today is also the last day of Secret Pal 11.
So, what's on my needles?

Christmas gifts. My very nice step-brother is getting to a very sweet woman next July and after that I will have 2 more nieces. Yeah! So, I'm making a hat for my niece and my nephew and both of my soon-to-be nieces. I'm doing solid colors for each of then with a coordinating stripe. My nephew will have a navy blue hat with a light brown stripe, my "new" niece will have a light brown hat with a navy blue stripe, and then a chocolate brown solid with a turquoise stripe and vice versa for my niece and my other "new" niece. I'm using Lamb's Pride Bulky for the first time and I LOVE it! The colors are great, the center pull is easy to find, it has a little halo of mohair, is fairly soft for solid wool, it's warm, and for a $7.50 skein, you can make a whole hat! I basically used the pattern from this book. In fact, if I only could have one pattern book, it would be "The Knitter's Book of Handy Patterns". I always know they'll have something in there for almost any gauge and it will work.


Next year, I'm starting my Christmas knitting in February, ok? Please hold me to it guys. I'm notorious for last minute craziness. My tree is up though!

Thanks Again Secret Pal!

It's NaBloPoMo and I want to post everyday in celebration, but I've felt a dry spell lately. Life's been a little busy lately and I need to slow down my mind a bit so I can write. I thought I was done for today and then I get a package at my doorstep. A lovely brown Am@zon.com package from my secret pal Lou. Whee! This is not just blog fodder, but good stuff!

Lou sent two of the things I was most excited about on my wishlist. I had a copy of Kirsty Macoll's Tropical Brainstorm cd but it went all wonky on me and I find I just can't live without it. Kristy Macoll had a wonderful sense of humor and wrote songs that make me smile and laugh out loud as I'm singing them and apparently Lou's a big fan of hers too. I guess listening to her also reminds me to live life to the fullest while you can since her own life was cut short when she died in a boating accident at age 41. I didn't realize until reading the wiki article that she was the songwriter for "They Don't Know" which Tracy Ullman made famous in the '80's and I love that song! I highly recommend this cd.

Lou was also kind enough to send along The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques by Nancie M. Wiseman. This was a book I had heard great things about, then checked it out of the library and decided that if I hadn't received this book as a gift, I would purchase it for myself. Thank you Lou! You picked great things for me.

By the way, I found out who my secret pal is and I actually think it's kinda fun that way! So, stop by and say hi to Lou at "Enchilada Sunrise" when you have a chance.
Thanks Lou.
You rock!