Wordless-ish Wednesday {Mean Teeth}

Sometimes you wake up late at night and your little mouth just hurts. The only cure is to snuggle with your puppy, your baby doll, your blankie, and your mama and watch Madagascar 2.

Say What?

My darling girl has started speech therapy. I know lots of people think it's unnecessary this young. For her it's not.

At our 18 month well check, our pediatrician suggested we get Pie evaluated. She doesn't have many words and a handful of the words she did have are now gone. Luckily Middle Sister has a friend whose a speech therapist, and an amazing one at that.

We had Pie checked out and she has a pretty significant expressive delay. Her receptive language* is advanced and is somewhere around that of a 2 year old, but her expressive language** is similar to that of a one year old. Because there is such a disparity she is getting therapy. She's already made some advances thanks to the wonderful therapist, and can now tell you what a kitty cat says. It is the single cutest thing you've ever heard. I'll do my best to get it on tape.

So while we wait for her language skills to catch up to what's going on in her little head, I guess we'll just have to make do with facial expressions...

* Receptive language is the comprehension of language - listening and understanding what is communicated. Another way to view it is as the receiving aspect of language. {source}

** Expressive language is the ability to produce language in any of a number of different modalities such as speech, sign or writing. {source}

Choppin' Broccoli

Lately we've had a bunch of stuff come up with Pie that I worry about (like her patch), but at least I never have to worry about her eating...

What? Do I have something on my face?

Flashback Friday {It would be hard to flashback much farther}

I was looking for a good pic to use for Flashback Friday. I was thinking about something entertainingly horrible from my teen years. Instead I found this...

That, my friends, is chunky, baby me. And the gorgeous lady on the right is my mama. This is one of my favorite pictures of my mom and me. Every time I look at it I can feel the joy. The absolute love between us.

I really want to recreate this pic with my little Pie...but sadly, she's lost almost all of her chunk. I on the other hand, still have plenty of my chunk, so my mom and I could probably recreate it pretty closely. Of course some sort of harness would probably have to be involved...

Hope you all have a great weekend. I have my fingers crossed that during homework breaks I can get caught up with every body's latest.

xoxox

Heartbreak

So this Masters that I started...it is probably (maybe, possibly) the best thing for our family in the long run, but right now? It sucks.

The program is a dual Master of Early Childhood Education and certification. So at the end I'll have the degree and will also be certified to teach Pre K-5 in Georgia. It'll be a big old pay cut, but the trade off is that I'll have great insurance for our family and will be on the same schedule as Pie when she starts school. In the meantime, I get to work full time, go to school full time and try to be a good mom.

Monday's class was the first time in her entire life that I haven't been there to put Pie to bed. I cried at school. She cried at home and called for me. Both our hearts broke. Not to mention poor Husband's heart who was stuck between to very unhappy girls trying to make them both feel better.

Tonight will be the same. Every Monday and Wednesday for the next year and a half I won't be there. Every Monday and Wednesday for the next year and a half I will miss even more of Pie's life than I already do being at work. Every Monday and Wednesday for the next year and a half she will look for me at bedtime, and call for me to hold her and give her kisses. Every Monday and Wednesday that is, until she doesn't look or call for me anymore because she knows I won't be there. And that will take my poor broken heart and smash it into a million even smaller pieces.

I know that I don't want to be away from her, I know it's not selfishness, I know that I feel as if I have no other choice...but she doesn't. All she knows is that mama isn't there. So every Monday and Wednesday for the next year and a half I will cry at school, I will miss my little girl, I will want to be with my family, and I will remind myself that it's for the best. I will remind myself that as hard as things are now, there will be a day when Pie won't remember my absence. There will be a day when she is simply proud of her mama for working so hard to make her family better.

Right?

Happy happy to my love

Today is Husband's birthday. He's another year older and all he got was this stinkin' post. Heh...

Husband,

Happy to you! We love you all the way to the moon and back.

xoxox
Your girls

34 for 34 {Progress}

We're a little over 2 months since my birthday and I'm actually making progress. It's crazy, but this list is actually kicking my butt into gear. I've already completed 8 things and failed at 1. Not bad if I do say so myself. Check it...

1. Update my blogroll
2. Read at least 5 books that have neither pictures, nor rhyming verses
3. Start getting to work earlier so I can leave earlier
4. Exercise more
5. Decide which Masters to start DONE
6. Start Masters program DONE
7. Sign Pie up for a dance class
8. Be more social with neighbors so Pie has kids to play with close by DONE
9. Organize work/store area at home
10. Re-launch HMH
11. Start participating in The Red Dress Club prompts again DONE
12. Get published in some non-internet publication
13. Finish some of the crafts that are sitting half done on my desk
14. Try bangs...eeekkkk
15. See a movie in the theater DONE
16. Take my camera off auto
17. Have a proper date night with Husband
18. Organize Pie's closet
19. Finish guest room
20. Organize my Pinterest boards DONE
21. Finish Pie's baby book
22. Make book for Pie's Bios
23. Help Husband organize his world domination plan
24. Become more active in the adoption community
25. Figure out the right way to take care of Pie's hair
26. Ride a bike again
27. Actually complete a craft/tutorial I have on my boards at Pinterest DONE
28. Clean out the linen closet. I'm thinking space bags will be involved DONE
29. Buy new, matching, towels
30. Ride the skywheel when we go to Myrtle Beach FAIL
31. Finish Pie's coloring table and find a good place to put it
32. Rearrange furniture in bedroom
33. Plant bushes on cul-de-sac side of the house
34. Send friends/family more snail mail. Who doesn't like getting that?

I'm working on some update posts...but that whole Masters thing? Yeah, that started and after a full day of work I get to go to class from 6:00 to 11:30. I thought I was tired just working full-time and chasing Pie...I had no idea.

Ahoy Matey

My darling girl is having some issues with her eyes and as a result she has to have her eyes patched a couple of hours a day for the next two months. On odd days it's her left eye and on even her right. Fingers crossed this will be enough to help her. Wanna guess how much she likes having the patch on...

Rough Pumpkins

Lots going on...not all of it good. May be in and out a bit for the next few days.

xoxo

Stop it!

Seriously kid. Stop growing up so fast. And stop showing mama up...it not nice to rub it in that you can walk better in those wedges than I can!

TRDC {Hot and Steamy}

Assingment:
Let's get all steamy up in here and write about sex.


But you know us. There's a twist.

You can't write about the act. I don't want to read about any heaving bosoms or girded manhood (please tell me someone else giggled besides me).

There are so many other possibilities. And I hope you have fun finding them.

Limit is 600 words. It can be fiction or non-fiction. Come back here and link up Friday!!

Result:
Coming back into the room was like walking in to a sauna. It almost took his breath away; the heaviness in the air was palpable. He paused to clear his head a bit, and then his eyes landed on her. She was tangled in his sheets, a tantalizing bit of skin peeking out here and there. He could hear her deep, even breaths and see her mouth parted so slightly in the smudge of light brushed across her face.



He didn’t know how long he’d stood there watching her, but eventually he was pulled back into the bed’s gravity. He climbed into the tousled sheets beside her and offered the water he’d brought as she began to wake. She drank greedily from the bottle as if she’d never be sated. He could not take his eyes off of her. She was riveting, ravishing, and really here with him.


He was starting to wonder though, if he would have been better off leaving her asleep. Now that she was awake the heaviness in the air had been replaced by awkwardness. For two people who had spent the better part of the evening…and some of the morning…knowing each other really well, it was now as if they didn’t know each other at all.

*******

Well this was the start anyway. Then I got sucked into the So You Think You Can Dance finale...bendy, jumpy fools...I just can't look away :) Hopefully I'll get a chance to finish it up this weekend. Hope you all have a great one!

An excellent surprise

When we went to the beach last month we took an old point and shoot camera with us. That way we could take it down to the beach and really didn't have to worry about it getting ruined. The pictures from it aren't great, but I didn't want to risk my good camera and the point and shoot was good enough to capture the memories.

Imagine my surprise when we got home and I downloaded the pictures. There, hiding on the camera, was Vintage Pie! Look at what a chunky little monkey she was!

PYHO {Adoption makes families...it breaks them too}

Yup. Another adoption related Pour Your Heart Out with Shell at Things I Can't Say.

Last week I talked about how tricky adoption can be...how complicated it can get when your child is also someone else's child. This week I've been thinking about how adoption creates or adds to one family while separating another.

Adoption is the greatest thing that's ever happened to me. I am a mom because of adoption. I have a family that I thought would be nothing more than an all-consuming dream because of adoption. But of course, that's not the whole story. As elated as I am, there are others who are equally as heartbroken. Others who don't have the family that was possible because of adoption.

I tend to forget the other side of my shiny, pretty coin. The side that maybe doesn't shine as brightly. I tend to forget the people who grieve while I celebrate. And it's not just the bios. There are so many other people who were affected. For every sibling, parent, niece or nephew I have who loves my daughter and thinks her being a part of our family is the coolest, there is an equal and opposite reaction within the bio's families.

Without getting into too much of the detail, the bio families (on both sides) were against the adoption. Several people involved felt that if the bios were not parenting, then they should...that the baby should stay with the family. So in addition to losing a grandchild, or niece, or cousin there are people who also lost the possibility of raising my daughter. And they grieve for that loss.

Despite the fact that my daughter's biological parents were not ready for a child, and despite the fact that they are very happy with their decision...there is still hurt. No matter the reason people choose not to parent, no matter the events that lead to an adoption there is always going to be one family in utter bliss and one dealing with loss. Both sides of the coin will always be present.

Transformation

Husband, in addition to be adorable, is one handy dude. He came across this 4-wheeler at Goodwill and thought Pie needed to have it. Because what 18 month old girl doesn't need a Spiderman 4-wheeler? I wasn't sure where he was headed with it, but for $12.21 it didn't matter much...

I had no idea he would be able to do this...

What's that? Shiny black paint? Real, working headlights? A crystal skull and crossbones? Why yes it is...

And that? A hot pink seat? Drilled out foot rests? Yup.

Pink hubcap centers? Metal studs on the wheels? You bet.

Matching hot pink buttons and a real speedometer? Those too.

It turned out fantastic, no? I'm so impressed and Pie is ready to show the boys in our neighborhood how it's done!

Pie's First Movie

This weekend we took Pie to her first movie. We met Grammy and Poppy, Aunt K and cousin E at the theater to see...

We saw about 15-20 minutes of it and then Pie needed to move. Thankfully we found an empty theater right down the hall where we could listen to music and dance...

...run down the aisle... 

...check out the seats... 

 ...then we had to go back to Grammy and Poppy's for a cookie and some jumping on the ottoman...

What we saw of the movie was adorable, I can't wait to see the rest. And I'm sure you noticed the skirt in our super cute first movie outfit...yet another awesome hand-me-down from Icie and Emily. Love it!