I had an mri today. My first one ever. And hopefully, it will come back to show that my brain is beautiful and perfect.

The back story: I've had vertigo for over a year now and no one can figure out why. Although I've improved to the point to living my life with some limitations and frustrations, it has gotten much better than the bedridden for days, vomiting me that I was last year. Allergy testing, sinus surgery have all had their go at curing me, but to no lasting improvement. The mri was the next diagnostic step.

Yesterday, I was... more

Last evening, I was very emotionally angry at my team of choice for losing a rival game. Most of the family was hiding out, trying to stay away from me until I calmed down. Every year I tell Chris that this rival game is one that I should watch alone, but he never listens and then I feel bad because I banish myself to the small television in the bedroom so the kids don't hear my mouth. Most of the time though I don't catch myself in time, realize what filth is coming out of my mouth and then get away from the family too late.

Still stewing after the final score, I was standing in the kitchen drinking apple juice out of the bottle and there was a knock on the door. I thought that... more

Over on Adrienne's blog, she reviews a book called The Family Book by Todd Parr. Although I haven't read it, it caught my eye, because it looks a lot like one of our family favorite books here at home, called, It's Okay to Be Different also by Todd Parr.

This book is one of my favorites because Chris picked it up and bought it for the kids before there even were kid(s). He was at Costco one day and saw it and brought it home. It sounds like our family philosophy but when I saw one of the pages that reads "It's okay to be adopted" my heart soared. Typically male, yes, I know this is sexist of me to say, Chris was... more

Adoption Day Brings New Families Together

By JESSICA WAMBACH

State adoption worker Cheri Holden gets a hug from Teresa Garza, center, as her brother, Dominic Garza, looks on at the Yakima County Courthouse on Friday. Dominic, whose sister was adopted earlier this year, now officially joins her as a member of the Garza family. It's been almost five years since domestic violence tore apart Dominic Garza's birth family.

On Friday, standing before Yakima County Superior Court Commissioner Lani-Kai Swanhart and fidgeting with his tie, the 15-year-old officially became part of another one.

"You will be responsible to raise, train... more

Continuing on my copycatting of other blogs, here is a type of post that I picked up from www.antiracistparent.com The Gratuitous Cute Kid Pic!

This is Becken on Halloween, displaying only one of a few smiles wearing his frog costume. He couldn't stand the thing. It was actually our back up costume, as our first pick didn't fit and we had to save it for next year. I was then on the mission to find something for him to wear.

The plan on the frog outfit was that he would be the frog prince and Miss Ivy would be... more

I have been noticing that a lot of my fellow bloggers have been doing "Love Thursday" posts. I really enjoy reading them, but didn't actually feel compelled to write them. On my blogger account, they are doing a thing called "Thursday Thirteen" that is really fun. I decided to join, last week and have been anxiously awaiting today to do my first post. Now and again, I will also be posting my lists here. Here is my initial, welcome to Thursday Thirteen post:

1…. I am 5 feet tall, and I've never wished that I was taller 2. I... more

Pasco Benton/Franklin Counties Adoption Celebration Franklin County Courthouse 1016 N 4th Ave. November 17 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Contact: Dennis Yule - Benton/Franklin Counties Superior Court (Washingto 509 736-3070 dennis.yule@co.benton.wa.us Event Details: This event, featuring Miss Tri-Cities Charlotte Smith, will recognize and celebrate all those involved in adoption and will include adoption finalization hearings, adoption information tables, refreshments, special children's activities and gifts. Additional details to follow.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------... more

In a little email sent from our editor, I was reminded that National Adoption Day is coming up this weekend. To educate myself, I wanted to find out a little bit more about the history of this day.From Bella Online

This day originated in 2000 to celebrate adoption, provide positive adoption education, and find homes for waiting children. Many of this year's events are designed specifically for families finalizing in November. Many are public events. Others are private. While most events will take place on November 18, others will take place at other times throughout the month. This article will address events... more

As luck would have it, my best friend was a stroller designer during my pregnancy and while Ivy was a tiny baby. We have so many strollers that it is crazy. I believe that we had 3 types of "jogging" strollers, 2 umbrella strollers, a general folding stroller and my absolute favorite stroller, our InSTEP stroller/backpack.

While researching for this post, this link had the best price.

The pluses for me for this stroller is that it is so tiny and lightweight that I bring it everywhere.... more

One of my best girlfriends bought me a subscription to Child magazine for Christmas. My subscription started last month and even before I was through with the first issue, I was so excited about the magazine. Mostly because of the beautiful photography, but also because of the ideas that I got for this blog.

In the first issue, this advertisement caught my eye. It is from ConfirmClearly and it is a refillable pregnancy test. From their website:

The only test with money-saving refills! Be sure to save your reader for future... more