Monthly Archives: June 2011

A blank slate for Vivian’s new room

Posted in Adoption, Kids by

Yesterday, I finished cleaning out the spare room.  Viv and I took apart the king size bed and put it out in the hall.  I also attached her fireplace mantel back to the wall.  We also swept it out, cleaned the baseboards and sealed her floor with some kind of special wood wax sealer.  It is a blank slate…ready for Viv to move in!  We have talked about adopting a little girl if all goes well with this adoption.  So, Vivian is always taking about future “sister”.  She wants bunk beds for her and sister to share.  I had a nice surprise yesterday, I posted on FB if anyone was selling a twin bed that I would be interested in it for Alex’s room.  One of my friends, Melendie, posted she had one and brought it to me yesterday.  When I got it home and Steven helped me assemble it, it was a bunk bed!  Hahaha…so…guess what?!  Vivian gets her wish.  We will put the bunk bed in her room and buy a twin bed for Alex’s room.  I have a toddler bed, but we are putting that in our room for him to sleep near us as he will most likely experience separation issues and we want to be close at hand.

I am going to paint Vivian’s bunk bed white, and on each end, there is this neat chain link type material on the bed.  Steven came up with the idea of attaching a chalkboard or memoboard to each end for each of the girls…what a fantastic idea!!!   I had a couple lying around, so immediately grabbed them and measured…they will fit perfect!  Can’t wait to get this baby painted and into Vivian’s room! I also need to paint white a chest of drawers I am going to put in her room. 

I just need to go shopping for Alex…a bed and a chest of drawers to match.  I already have his comforter and pillow set.  I am thinking about doing his room in transportation.  Since I just moved Viv out yesterday, I will have to touch up paint his room and redo his floor to look like Vivian’s.  Then I will be able to move in his furniture and decorate….so exciting!!!!!

Andrea

 

 

Privacy Matters In Adoption (Reposted from RainbowKids)

Posted in Adoption by

Ok, after talking in an earlier post about people asking personal questions and my trying to balance what to say without being rude, I found this article on RainbowKids and feel like it has been a huge eyeopener.  I love how one of the adoptive moms, when asked personal questions about her son’s adoption, replied “That is not something we discuss outside of our family.”  WOW!  Love that response.  As the article says, most people do not realize that they are asking highly personal questions because they see an adopted child, they know he/she is different and they are curious.  Here is the article.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Privacy Matters In Adoption – Rainbowkids

Here is an excerpt:

People sometimes ask adoptive parents questions of a far more intimate nature than they’d ask a biological parent. From an adoptive parents’ point of view, “What do you know about the birthmother?” is a question just as presumptuous as asking a biological parent, “What did you use to get pregnant?” People who were adopted do not forgo their right to the same level of privacy as others. An adoptive child has no less of a right to privacy about his personal information than any grown-up or non-adoptive child.

That said, there is valid confusion about what is private adoption information and what is okay to ask about. The not-very-satisfying answer is that boundaries around privacy are likely different for every family and will differ from person to person.

Adoptive parents struggle with the public/private nature of adoption all the time. They are challenged to balance their family’s sometimes obvious public status as an adoptive family with the privacy of the family’s individuals. Most adoptive families are proud of their families and want to present a positive attitude about adoption to others, particularly their children. The precarious task for adoptive parents is to be open enough about adoption that their children don’t see adoption as a secret or as something to be ashamed of, while at the same time taking care not to compromise the right to privacy of everyone involved. So, even as they’re trying to protect their children’s privacy, adoptive parents are also trying to normalize adoption for their children and for others around them.

The Bee Saga

Posted in Front Porch, old house by

If its not one thing its another….how many times have I said that opening a new post?  I was touch up painting Vivian’s room yesterday around 5:00 or so and I heard what I thought was a fly buzzing around the room.  I absently thought to myself that summer has finally arrived when a fly gets in the house and that I needed to go find the fly swatter.  I didn’t pay it much attention and kept painting.  Then, all of a sudden, it got louder and I thought I was hearing things or my ears were ringing until I looked right outside Vivian’s window.  I wish I had a picture!  It was a huge cloud of angry bees!  All I could do stare and call for Steven.  I stood there fixed when he arrived in the room and I pointed at the huge swarm outside the window.  Steven immediately went and found the phone book while I still stood and stared at the very strange phenomenon.  I am glad he was thinking!  I was transfixed watching the bees buzz.  Then they all landed on one of my new fascia boards in a big droopy group like a hive.  Steven could not find someone to come out and exterminate them, so he came back in the room and explained what happened.  He said they either lost their queen and are looking for a new place, or the queen moved and took up residence on our fascia board.

Since we couldn’t get anyone out last night, we went on to church.  Coming home, we looked up to see if they were still there, an lo and behold, this big cluster of bees were still sitting on the fascia board.  This morning, I woke up to clanging and a clatter.  The exterminator had arrived and Steven was out there watching.  When all the bees were cleared, a hole was discovered.  They had already created a hole in my NEW fascia board where the flashing met.  ARGH!  Why couldn’t they go chew on one of the rotted boards so we could replace it??  NO….they had to go and make a hole in my NEW fascia board where we had a sill replaced, along with the siding, fascia and flashing.

So, I have yet to go survey the damage.  I am too disgusted to even think about it.  Steven will have to cover it up with some ugly piece of wood for now so no other pests will get in it.  I might be able to talk him into painting it white before he puts it up so at least it will match until we replace the fascia board again….sigh….

I am so glad that it happened this week than when we were on vacation.  If it happened while we were on vacation, we would have come back to honey dripping through the roof…oh yuck…it would have been awful and the damage extensive.  I am so thankful that we noticed it!  I am so glad that I was standing there and saw them swarm. Otherwise, we may not have noticed for a while as we don’t usually go out to that side of the house.  So, there is a silver lining in everything. 

I am going to go pour another cup of coffee and go survey the damage.

Andrea

***The exterminator came out and POOF they were gone…what was I worried about anyway?