This little outfit is from the Jackie, Jamie and Howard and it's one of her favorite sleepers. It's part of the Taggies collection.
[frame source - Natali Design]
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Still a little sniffly...
We tried taking pictures of Kensington the past couple of days, but she still has her little cold and is groggy and doesn't want the paparazzi tailing her (may have something to do with the saline that gets sprayed up her nose every half hour and then sucked out). The doctor said she should be 'in good spirits' by Wednesday.
This little outfit is from the Jackie, Jamie and Howard and it's one of her favorite sleepers. It's part of the Taggies collection.
This little outfit is from the Jackie, Jamie and Howard and it's one of her favorite sleepers. It's part of the Taggies collection.
What a Kawinkydink, Moment 1
A couple weeks ago, after Chris and I picked out Kensington Grace's name, we went online to look for items for her nursery. The major theme of her room is "How To Hug A Porcupine", which is a wonderful children's book written and illustrated by the very talented Carmen Carnevali (I'm not just saying that because of the gorgeous Tiffany's Atlas® platter that he and his husband gave us last month, or all of the baby items for Kensi - the cute little panda bear, the hilarious bibs, or the Baby Bjorn. By the way... thanks guys!)Anyway... the major theme of the room is "How To Hug A Porcupine", with the backdrop of mulberry items... a shade of purple that goes along with the color of Prickles, the lovable charater in the book. (I would have tried to make her bedding in the How To Hug A Porcupine theme, but my $9.99 Sewing Genie from AC Moore just can't do that type of project. Curtains, yes. Baby Bumpers, no!)
While looking online for mulberry items to accent the room, we came across two items that we wanted to share with everyone, but at the time we couldn't. We didn't tell anyone the name we selected (though a little birdie told me that the other Mr. Irwin-Dudek may have slipped it to someone... again, it could have been because of that Atlas® platter).
Chris and I heard of children being call MacKensi, or McKenzi (or various spellings of both), but in all of the baby books we looked through (and there were many), neither on of us saw a Kensi/Kenzi anywhere... so imagine our surprise when we found a Mulberry clock that could be customized... and the example they used was Kenzi (different spelling, but you get the point). And to add to the coincidence, we found block lettering in the same style, from a different online store, and the example they used was Grace. Out of all of the items we looked at, only two of them were customizable and they used "Kenzie" and "Grace".
We had several of these Kawinkydink moments throughout the process, and will be sharing these throughout the next couple of days when not trying to catch up on sleep.Friend In Adoption Annual Picnic
Chris and I just found out the date to our adoption agency's annual picnic and put a countdown on the blog. One of the things we really liked about Friends In Adoption when we were evaluating agencies is that they host two large events each year that bring both the adoptive families and birth families together. We look forward to seeing Kensington's bio parents again, as well as their extended family and friends. Let the countdown begin.
Friday, January 9, 2009
129 and counting...
Yes... this is the number of diapers Chris and I have changed since we took Kensington out of the hospital on December 27th. I don't think I went to the bathroom more than 200 times during the 2008 year. At this rate, we will change 4,015 diapers before her first birthday - and this doesn't include the times we get pooped or peed on DURING the change itself.
Today, I got the best birthday present ever... Chris and Kensi let me sleep in until almost noon. I KNOW - noon!!!
Chris got up at 1am and fed her and I did the same around 4:30. She then needed one more feeding, but wouldn't take it at 6:30... instead she was ready for it at 7:30am.
Chris brought me coffee (at 9:50... remember, it has to be before 10), and I didn't even budge. At 11:50 she made a noise and I jumped... realized that it was noon, and only want to sleep for another couple of hours. But... I couldn't. I now have parental responsibilities (who said that? Who ever you are, go away).
I tried the, "It's my Birthday, so I don't have to change any diapers." That went over like a lead balloon.
Kensi was in her Baby Papasan chair and the next thing you know not only was she out sleeping, but Duncan (the protector) was sleeping with his head on her lap.
Guess what, today I had the opportunity to give her a bath and if is do say so myself, it wasn't so bad.
There is so much more to blog about... but even with sleeping in, I can't seem to put a complete thought together. Hopefully tomorrow :)
Today, I got the best birthday present ever... Chris and Kensi let me sleep in until almost noon. I KNOW - noon!!!Chris got up at 1am and fed her and I did the same around 4:30. She then needed one more feeding, but wouldn't take it at 6:30... instead she was ready for it at 7:30am.
Chris brought me coffee (at 9:50... remember, it has to be before 10), and I didn't even budge. At 11:50 she made a noise and I jumped... realized that it was noon, and only want to sleep for another couple of hours. But... I couldn't. I now have parental responsibilities (who said that? Who ever you are, go away).
I tried the, "It's my Birthday, so I don't have to change any diapers." That went over like a lead balloon.
Kensi was in her Baby Papasan chair and the next thing you know not only was she out sleeping, but Duncan (the protector) was sleeping with his head on her lap.
Guess what, today I had the opportunity to give her a bath and if is do say so myself, it wasn't so bad.
There is so much more to blog about... but even with sleeping in, I can't seem to put a complete thought together. Hopefully tomorrow :)
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Celebrating over 3000 hits...
Chris and I have been amazed at the amount of support we have received... not only over the past 14 days since Kensington was born, but from the onset of announcing that we were starting our adoption journey last January.
We initiated the blog to share our story with friends and keep our familis that were out of state up-to-date on what was going on. The amount of encouragement from them, as well as so many individuals around the globe has been extremely overwhelming. In the week pre-k (pre-Kensington), we were receiving about about 40-50 hits a day, and now it's over 120, and growing... and this morning, we went over 3000 hits.
Days before she was born, I was updating the blog and deleted our original counter by accident. Not being able to find the same cute teddy bear counter, I installed a 'generic' one just to get one up and found out that it tells us what country/state the person is from. Again... overwhelming.
We have 4 regular viewers from the UK and 3 from Germany; 2 from Argentina, Singapore, Canada and Spain, 3 individuals from US Armed Forces bases (one I know is from Guam), and at least one person (or couple - smile) in Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Brazil, Czech Republic, Croatia/Hrvatska and the Netherlands. And here in the US, lets just say I think we covered all 50 states, including one person stranded on that bridge to nowhere in Alaska that is picking up free Wi-Fi from Russia... because they're that close.
For all of you who have viewed our site, left comments, kept us in your prayers, and shared our story with others. We can not thank you all enough. Kensington not only has 3 daddies and a mommy that love her very much and want the best thing for her, but now "family" around the world that is keeping a close eye on her.
With that being said... watch out. We may be calling you soon to babysit (or at least for a visit when we're in your neck of the woods).
We initiated the blog to share our story with friends and keep our familis that were out of state up-to-date on what was going on. The amount of encouragement from them, as well as so many individuals around the globe has been extremely overwhelming. In the week pre-k (pre-Kensington), we were receiving about about 40-50 hits a day, and now it's over 120, and growing... and this morning, we went over 3000 hits.
Days before she was born, I was updating the blog and deleted our original counter by accident. Not being able to find the same cute teddy bear counter, I installed a 'generic' one just to get one up and found out that it tells us what country/state the person is from. Again... overwhelming.
We have 4 regular viewers from the UK and 3 from Germany; 2 from Argentina, Singapore, Canada and Spain, 3 individuals from US Armed Forces bases (one I know is from Guam), and at least one person (or couple - smile) in Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Brazil, Czech Republic, Croatia/Hrvatska and the Netherlands. And here in the US, lets just say I think we covered all 50 states, including one person stranded on that bridge to nowhere in Alaska that is picking up free Wi-Fi from Russia... because they're that close.
For all of you who have viewed our site, left comments, kept us in your prayers, and shared our story with others. We can not thank you all enough. Kensington not only has 3 daddies and a mommy that love her very much and want the best thing for her, but now "family" around the world that is keeping a close eye on her.
With that being said... watch out. We may be calling you soon to babysit (or at least for a visit when we're in your neck of the woods).
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Missing Pictures :(
Hey guys... Blogspot is having some issues. Can't upload pictures at the momement and many pictures have gone missing on the post below. It's a widespread problem and they're working on it. As soon as it's fixed, I'll upload more pictures.
Home Sweet Home
Well, we're certainly glad to be back!
We just want to thank everyone for the wonderful emails, phone messages, text messages, etc., welcoming us back home. You all are the best!
We got home last night and the kiddo's were extremely excited that we were back... and confused about this little chickpea we had in the car seat. Duncan immediately came and sniffed around her. With a, "gentle" command from us, he went and kissed Kensi. It was so adorable. Now... if he'd only acknowledge Gossip every once in awhile, we'll be fine. Gossip sat in the corner and watched us bring everything in. We set up the pack and play in the living room and Gossip walked around it a couple times, sniffing, trying to figure everything out. Duncan is about eye-level to the top of the pack and play, so every time Kensington made a noise, he'd go to see how she was doing [just wait, it gets cuter].
Who knew the comforts of home, and a real bedroom, was what Kensington needed. Two nights ago, the batteries in her sleepy chair died. So it didn't vibrate or play music. Top that off with a cold you have a recipe one unhappy baby. In the car ride home, she was a complete angel, but once we got her home she was still cranky. We felt so bad for her.
We started to get a little worried about her and called Momma Peckens (yes, we have her on speed dial). Well, wouldn't you know it, just the fact that we put her in her bed (with the vibrating mattress) and turned on the iPod with a lullaby playlist, she went right to sleep. Crankiness gone... and wouldn't you know it, Eureka, the little stinker had a stinker!
Oh, to be able to use a baby monitor (thanks Eric!!!). Last night we were able to sleep in our own comfy bed, allowing Kensi to sleep in her own crib, and yet hear and see everything she did. And... to be able to use a glider, instead of an office chair on wheels worked SO MUCH better. Being home is what we all needed.
We had the normal feedings (9pm, 11pm, 1: 30am, 3:30am -and added 4:30am - 5:30am and 7:30am). I had to clear her little nose out because she kept on getting congested. At around 3:30 when I did it, she let out a blood-curdling scream. Duncan bust through the door - he's a smarty, he can open doors by jumping up on the knob and pressing hard with his nose - and rushed in for her rescue. He nudged me because he thought I was hurting her and wanted her to stop crying. It was the most precious thing. The cat on the other hand decided to jump up on his bed and get comfy on his spot which just frustrates him to no end.
Oh, by the way, we've now become a pros at filling and assembling a Dr. Browns bottle with formula and steaming it with using only one hand. Not bad for being a dads for only 12 days.
Around 6:30 I heard the neighbor shoveling his icy driveway. We had about an inch of ice, and it's something that a snow blower just won't break up. He was at it for an hour. And his driveway is less than half the size of ours. Chris went out and threw three 20lb bags of salt on the driveway, I pulled the covers over my head and dreaded having to do that to ours. If it wasn't for our doctors appointment, I'd just hibernate indoors today.
The 20 minute drive to the doctors office took almost 45 minutes. So much for getting there early to fill out all of the paper work. When I walked in they made an announcement, "We have a New Baby!!" in the bubbliest of voices. They then handed me a stack of paperwork and, in the same bubbly voice, instructed me how to fill it out. This is the same voice that they use on the phone, and as I found out, used in the examination room. It's cute at first. After 20 minutes, not so much. Seriously. No, seriously. :)
Kensington got weighed and she's back to her birth weight of 6lbs, 6oz. I was concerned that this was low, since she was discharged at 6lbs, 5oz, but found out that she lost more weight than that and getting back to the birth weight at two weeks is ideal. So she passed that test.
She's now 20 inches - she grew a whole half inch.
Doc's report: she's in the 50 percentile of weight, 50 percentile on the circumference of her head, and at the 40 percentile of her height. He says, "she perfect". Well, duh!.
He wants us to use a saline spray several times a day to help clean out her congested nose, and gave us some eye drops to help clear up the cold-related gunk in her eyes. Also, he's suggested that we not take her out until she's about 2 months and her little immune system needs to build itself up [I think this is my doctors note to get out of the board meeting this Saturday. Sorry Pete, doctors orders]
After about 2 hours at the doc's office, it is time to visit the local CVS to fill her prescriptions.
We are greater at the drop-off counter by Bunny (who has checked us out countless times) and she looks at Kensington and puts a death grip on my arm, "Oh my... she is so precious! I want to eat her up!... oh, I'm so sorry about your arm. I hope I didn't hurt you. But come on... look at her. She's adorable. P A U L A... come here, look at the baby".
After the admirations I hand over my prescriptions and inform her that the company insurance just changed so she'll need the new card to update the system. She looks at the prescription form. "What's her last name?", "Irwin-Dudek". Shes write Irwin on the top left side of the paper and Dudek on the top right side of the paper. Then she scratches it out.
"What is it again?"
"It's hyphenated."
"Oh...", she says to Kensington with a cute little smirk, "you have to love mommies who hyphenate their last names."
"Kensington doesn't have that issue... she has two daddies that got married and now have a hyphenated last name."
Bunny does a double take and I laugh. Pause. She looks at the form. Pause. Pause. "are you Chris's..."
"Husband? Yes I am." She throws herself over the counter and gives me a hug. Again, I've been there with Chris on multiple occasions. "Everyone... this is Chris Irwin's little one." They all come back to stare again.
Ummm... hello. Look at me. I'm cute too. :)
We're now home and she's sleeping. Oh... this is the life.
We just want to thank everyone for the wonderful emails, phone messages, text messages, etc., welcoming us back home. You all are the best!
We got home last night and the kiddo's were extremely excited that we were back... and confused about this little chickpea we had in the car seat. Duncan immediately came and sniffed around her. With a, "gentle" command from us, he went and kissed Kensi. It was so adorable. Now... if he'd only acknowledge Gossip every once in awhile, we'll be fine. Gossip sat in the corner and watched us bring everything in. We set up the pack and play in the living room and Gossip walked around it a couple times, sniffing, trying to figure everything out. Duncan is about eye-level to the top of the pack and play, so every time Kensington made a noise, he'd go to see how she was doing [just wait, it gets cuter].
Who knew the comforts of home, and a real bedroom, was what Kensington needed. Two nights ago, the batteries in her sleepy chair died. So it didn't vibrate or play music. Top that off with a cold you have a recipe one unhappy baby. In the car ride home, she was a complete angel, but once we got her home she was still cranky. We felt so bad for her.
We started to get a little worried about her and called Momma Peckens (yes, we have her on speed dial). Well, wouldn't you know it, just the fact that we put her in her bed (with the vibrating mattress) and turned on the iPod with a lullaby playlist, she went right to sleep. Crankiness gone... and wouldn't you know it, Eureka, the little stinker had a stinker!
Oh, to be able to use a baby monitor (thanks Eric!!!). Last night we were able to sleep in our own comfy bed, allowing Kensi to sleep in her own crib, and yet hear and see everything she did. And... to be able to use a glider, instead of an office chair on wheels worked SO MUCH better. Being home is what we all needed.
We had the normal feedings (9pm, 11pm, 1: 30am, 3:30am -and added 4:30am - 5:30am and 7:30am). I had to clear her little nose out because she kept on getting congested. At around 3:30 when I did it, she let out a blood-curdling scream. Duncan bust through the door - he's a smarty, he can open doors by jumping up on the knob and pressing hard with his nose - and rushed in for her rescue. He nudged me because he thought I was hurting her and wanted her to stop crying. It was the most precious thing. The cat on the other hand decided to jump up on his bed and get comfy on his spot which just frustrates him to no end.
Oh, by the way, we've now become a pros at filling and assembling a Dr. Browns bottle with formula and steaming it with using only one hand. Not bad for being a dads for only 12 days.
Around 6:30 I heard the neighbor shoveling his icy driveway. We had about an inch of ice, and it's something that a snow blower just won't break up. He was at it for an hour. And his driveway is less than half the size of ours. Chris went out and threw three 20lb bags of salt on the driveway, I pulled the covers over my head and dreaded having to do that to ours. If it wasn't for our doctors appointment, I'd just hibernate indoors today.
The 20 minute drive to the doctors office took almost 45 minutes. So much for getting there early to fill out all of the paper work. When I walked in they made an announcement, "We have a New Baby!!" in the bubbliest of voices. They then handed me a stack of paperwork and, in the same bubbly voice, instructed me how to fill it out. This is the same voice that they use on the phone, and as I found out, used in the examination room. It's cute at first. After 20 minutes, not so much. Seriously. No, seriously. :)
Kensington got weighed and she's back to her birth weight of 6lbs, 6oz. I was concerned that this was low, since she was discharged at 6lbs, 5oz, but found out that she lost more weight than that and getting back to the birth weight at two weeks is ideal. So she passed that test.
She's now 20 inches - she grew a whole half inch.
Doc's report: she's in the 50 percentile of weight, 50 percentile on the circumference of her head, and at the 40 percentile of her height. He says, "she perfect". Well, duh!.
He wants us to use a saline spray several times a day to help clean out her congested nose, and gave us some eye drops to help clear up the cold-related gunk in her eyes. Also, he's suggested that we not take her out until she's about 2 months and her little immune system needs to build itself up [I think this is my doctors note to get out of the board meeting this Saturday. Sorry Pete, doctors orders]
After about 2 hours at the doc's office, it is time to visit the local CVS to fill her prescriptions.
We are greater at the drop-off counter by Bunny (who has checked us out countless times) and she looks at Kensington and puts a death grip on my arm, "Oh my... she is so precious! I want to eat her up!... oh, I'm so sorry about your arm. I hope I didn't hurt you. But come on... look at her. She's adorable. P A U L A... come here, look at the baby".
After the admirations I hand over my prescriptions and inform her that the company insurance just changed so she'll need the new card to update the system. She looks at the prescription form. "What's her last name?", "Irwin-Dudek". Shes write Irwin on the top left side of the paper and Dudek on the top right side of the paper. Then she scratches it out.
"What is it again?"
"It's hyphenated."
"Oh...", she says to Kensington with a cute little smirk, "you have to love mommies who hyphenate their last names."
"Kensington doesn't have that issue... she has two daddies that got married and now have a hyphenated last name."
Bunny does a double take and I laugh. Pause. She looks at the form. Pause. Pause. "are you Chris's..."
"Husband? Yes I am." She throws herself over the counter and gives me a hug. Again, I've been there with Chris on multiple occasions. "Everyone... this is Chris Irwin's little one." They all come back to stare again.
Ummm... hello. Look at me. I'm cute too. :)
We're now home and she's sleeping. Oh... this is the life.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Chris Daughtry couldn't have said it better...
I'm going Home to the place where I belong... well, let me put it this way:We just got a message on the blackberry from our PA home study agency letting us know that we have clearance! In just a couple hours we'll be in our own space and able to put Kensington in her bassinet and roll it up to the bed. Oh... my Eddie Bauer Classic Goose Feathers & Down Pillow has never sounded so good.
So we got the call from Interstate
Their CogentID system went down and they can't access our records. It just keeps getting funnier and funnier by the moment. Hopefully this will be cleared up soon...
Monday, January 5, 2009
If they ever film a remake of "My Left Foot"
we found your leading lady!
Our little chickpea, for the life of her, can not keep her left sock or shoe on. I'm looking on eBay for pink duct tape, because I think that is the only thing that's going to work :)
Seriously... Chris and I put her left sock on a minimum of 20 times a day. When she's eating, she kicks it off. When she's sleeping she kicks it off. When she's getting changed, she kicks it off. The only time she's not kicking it off is when it's already off :o)
This is like a bad Seinfeld episode...
wait... they were ALL bad!
Let the saga continue. We heard back from Interstate today. I'm cleared (Yippee). Chris is not (what the...?). On the application for clearance, his name was misspelled. I don't understand why is social security number wouldn't suffice... or why they couldn't run both "Christoper" and "Christopher". So... are you holding on tight? Chris has to travel back into PA to get rescanned, and we have to wait another 24 hours. Even though I'm cleared, they won't let me in the state with Kensington until Chris is cleared as well.
Let the saga continue. We heard back from Interstate today. I'm cleared (Yippee). Chris is not (what the...?). On the application for clearance, his name was misspelled. I don't understand why is social security number wouldn't suffice... or why they couldn't run both "Christoper" and "Christopher". So... are you holding on tight? Chris has to travel back into PA to get rescanned, and we have to wait another 24 hours. Even though I'm cleared, they won't let me in the state with Kensington until Chris is cleared as well.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Sweet Moment...
This evening, I've been catching up on emails and downloading my digital scrap booking freebies and decided to use this time to work on one of my favorite pictures of Kensington (so far...), yesterdays bath time with Christopher. I did this one for Kensi's Grandmazsia, who keeps hitting refresh on her computer every 10 minutes to see if new photos are posted.I used the Artemia kit, available from After Five Designs. Their collaboration freebies are expired, but the entire kit has hundreds of items and I love the design and theme. Highly recommended :)
I swear...
this picture is not staged. Little Kensington is just relaxing in her Pack-n-Play.Last night, Kensington slept very well. After her 9pm feeding, I made sure I woke her up at 11, 1, 4 and 7 for feedings. She slept through most of the night, with only about an hour (between 1:30 and 2:30) where she was up. Not crying. She learned how to vibrate her lips and she was making funny noises that would then in turn make her grin :o)
Today has been a low-key day. Kensi has been getting some 'tummy-time' in, and we've just been watching her sleep, as well as the normal feedings and diaper changes.
Just waiting around to get the news on Monday [hopefully] that our ICPC (Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children) has been granted.
Chris and I got a little worried that she was constipated... no poppy diapers in 12 hours, and with as much as this little chickpea has been eating, it didn't seem right. But before I could call Momma Peckens, she struck again. In the middle of changing a wet diaper, I was surprised by her. 
Thank God I had plenty of Johnson & Johnson's baby skincare wipes on hand. [Cathy, how about that for product placement]
Thank God I had plenty of Johnson & Johnson's baby skincare wipes on hand. [Cathy, how about that for product placement]Friday, January 2, 2009
America runs on Dunkin DUNCAN!
Today we were able to see our 'little man', Duncan, and 'baby girl', Gossip. It's been a week since we've seen the kiddo's and we missed them terribly.
The day started off perfect (oh... and ended that way as well). Kensington slept throughout the night - well, Chris woke her up three times to feed her, but he got her before she cried for food. After her feedings and diaper changes, she quickly fell back asleep. He claims to have "figured this out".
This was the first day I'd been out of the hotel (and now beach house) before 10am. I have this weird thing about coffee. On my 1hr 45min trip into the office each day, I normally stop at Dunkin Donuts twice for an extra-large light & sweet coffee. If I have anything cold to drink in the morning before coffee, I can't drink coffee. If I don't have coffee before 10am, I can't drink coffee at all - but, if coffee is the first thing in my system in the day, I can drink it all day. It's the small OCD in me. Anyway. Today I had coffee from DD for the first time in a week. And they did it just right - Hallelujah!
We got up at the crack of dawn and drove to the truck stop at the NJ/PA border (yes... to those future adoptive parents reading this blog... Walmart, Chinese Buffets and Truck Stops will be a part of your story as well) where we met Dee. She watched Kensington while we traveled into PA to get our FBI screenings and a quick drive-by the house to see the kiddos.
When we got to "The Packaging Place" with the huge UPS symbol on the door, we went in and handed the guy behind the counter our registration paperwork and told him that we were there to get our screening. "we don't do that here."
I gasped! "The UPS website list you as a screening location and we called on Wednesday and were told to come in today."
"Sorry. We don't do that. You can check the UPS store in Mt. Pocono if you want." (which happens to not only be 20 miles west, but one of the places that said they were booked until Monday).
Chris and I were devastated! We traveled all this way to get the screening done and this isn't the place. I pulled up the UPS site on my Blackberry. "Chris... it says it right here. Eagle Valley Mall. Wait. The mall only says 'Eagle Vally Printing', nothing here says Eagle Valley Mall"
We traveled across the street into the other shopping center, and around the corner, in the back, we saw the REAL UPS store, and not just an authorized UPS shipper.
It ended up taking less then 2 minutes a person to get scanned. We told the UPS employee what happened across the street at she informed us that they have had constant issues with the owner of The Packaging Place. She told him that while she understood not wanting to send people to UPS if they are just shipping/faxing/copying items... but if people come in for FBI background checks, to please send them across the street. He refuses. All I have to say is - Karma!
After getting scanned, we called Interstate with our transaction numbers, along with Steven from Rep. Siptroths office with the same information and then headed to our home to check the mail and pick up a couple items.
We opened the garage door entrance into the house and we greeted by a very excited Duncan! After giving him a stuffed goose that we bought, we walked up the stairs into the house and was hit with a horrible smell. It's not the littler box. We walked around the house and it was something in the kitchen, but couldn't tell what it was. There was chicken in the trash that gave off a small odor, but there was something else. Something that smelled like death. And so it was...
Not visible to the us at eye level, but if you looked in the aquarium, at a certain angle, you you see two dead Tinfoil Barb fish (that were on the verge of dying before we left because the school of Blood Parrot Fish refused to let them eat) floating on the top of the water. It was the sickest thing ever! After spraying a can of Fabreeze, we rock/paper/scissored to find out who was going to fish (pun intended) out the dead creatures. I lost. Actually, with the smell in the house, we both lost.
We grabbed a couple more of the smaller outfits for Kensington, checked the answering machine, and were out the door.
As we were headed back to NJ, we got a message from Interstate letting us know that they have the scans and that it would take approx 24 hours to process through all of the systems (so they say), and we should be cleared by Monday afternoon. So... just a couple more days until we can bring Kensington home.
We got a lot of calls, emails and texts messages from people concerned about us. Thank you all... Know that we are fine. Know that Kensington is fine. Not being cleared by PA in time was a PA agency over site and an inconvenience, but not an issue in the adoption itself. I'm just happy that we'll be in PA within the two week period of her birth to see our pediatrician. We're looking at this in the best of light - it's just an extended vacation at a beach house (yes... with snow on the ground - and have you seen us. We're so white that people know we don't do beaches).
Kensington got her second bath today, and learned how to say "Daddy". Okay. I made that part up - she didn't have a bath today :)
The day started off perfect (oh... and ended that way as well). Kensington slept throughout the night - well, Chris woke her up three times to feed her, but he got her before she cried for food. After her feedings and diaper changes, she quickly fell back asleep. He claims to have "figured this out".
This was the first day I'd been out of the hotel (and now beach house) before 10am. I have this weird thing about coffee. On my 1hr 45min trip into the office each day, I normally stop at Dunkin Donuts twice for an extra-large light & sweet coffee. If I have anything cold to drink in the morning before coffee, I can't drink coffee. If I don't have coffee before 10am, I can't drink coffee at all - but, if coffee is the first thing in my system in the day, I can drink it all day. It's the small OCD in me. Anyway. Today I had coffee from DD for the first time in a week. And they did it just right - Hallelujah!
We got up at the crack of dawn and drove to the truck stop at the NJ/PA border (yes... to those future adoptive parents reading this blog... Walmart, Chinese Buffets and Truck Stops will be a part of your story as well) where we met Dee. She watched Kensington while we traveled into PA to get our FBI screenings and a quick drive-by the house to see the kiddos.
When we got to "The Packaging Place" with the huge UPS symbol on the door, we went in and handed the guy behind the counter our registration paperwork and told him that we were there to get our screening. "we don't do that here."
I gasped! "The UPS website list you as a screening location and we called on Wednesday and were told to come in today."
"Sorry. We don't do that. You can check the UPS store in Mt. Pocono if you want." (which happens to not only be 20 miles west, but one of the places that said they were booked until Monday).
Chris and I were devastated! We traveled all this way to get the screening done and this isn't the place. I pulled up the UPS site on my Blackberry. "Chris... it says it right here. Eagle Valley Mall. Wait. The mall only says 'Eagle Vally Printing', nothing here says Eagle Valley Mall"
We traveled across the street into the other shopping center, and around the corner, in the back, we saw the REAL UPS store, and not just an authorized UPS shipper.
It ended up taking less then 2 minutes a person to get scanned. We told the UPS employee what happened across the street at she informed us that they have had constant issues with the owner of The Packaging Place. She told him that while she understood not wanting to send people to UPS if they are just shipping/faxing/copying items... but if people come in for FBI background checks, to please send them across the street. He refuses. All I have to say is - Karma!
After getting scanned, we called Interstate with our transaction numbers, along with Steven from Rep. Siptroths office with the same information and then headed to our home to check the mail and pick up a couple items.
We opened the garage door entrance into the house and we greeted by a very excited Duncan! After giving him a stuffed goose that we bought, we walked up the stairs into the house and was hit with a horrible smell. It's not the littler box. We walked around the house and it was something in the kitchen, but couldn't tell what it was. There was chicken in the trash that gave off a small odor, but there was something else. Something that smelled like death. And so it was...
Not visible to the us at eye level, but if you looked in the aquarium, at a certain angle, you you see two dead Tinfoil Barb fish (that were on the verge of dying before we left because the school of Blood Parrot Fish refused to let them eat) floating on the top of the water. It was the sickest thing ever! After spraying a can of Fabreeze, we rock/paper/scissored to find out who was going to fish (pun intended) out the dead creatures. I lost. Actually, with the smell in the house, we both lost.
We grabbed a couple more of the smaller outfits for Kensington, checked the answering machine, and were out the door.
As we were headed back to NJ, we got a message from Interstate letting us know that they have the scans and that it would take approx 24 hours to process through all of the systems (so they say), and we should be cleared by Monday afternoon. So... just a couple more days until we can bring Kensington home.
We got a lot of calls, emails and texts messages from people concerned about us. Thank you all... Know that we are fine. Know that Kensington is fine. Not being cleared by PA in time was a PA agency over site and an inconvenience, but not an issue in the adoption itself. I'm just happy that we'll be in PA within the two week period of her birth to see our pediatrician. We're looking at this in the best of light - it's just an extended vacation at a beach house (yes... with snow on the ground - and have you seen us. We're so white that people know we don't do beaches).
Kensington got her second bath today, and learned how to say "Daddy". Okay. I made that part up - she didn't have a bath today :)
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Hugh HIGHS, followed by some LOWS...
Sorry folks for not posting a blog entry yesterday... Chris and I were hit with a small hiccup in the adoption process. The adoption itself is fine... it's the 'interstate' that we have an issue with.
In Tuesday's posting, I stated that the paperwork that was sent to PA was a courtesy filing and we didn't need to hear back from them before we can enter the state... well, that was incorrect. Tuesday evening Barb heard back from New York stating that we could leave the state. That same morning she heard from Pennsylvania saying that we were not allowed to enter.
The agency that we went with to do our homestudy [NOT Friends In Adoption... they're not licensed in PA so we used our a different agency for the homestudy process] didn't realize that on January 1, 2008, PA passed a law stating that we needed an additional FBI background check. Prior to this date, you needed to get state clearance from any state you lived in within 5 years - so we did all of the background work for for both Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
The person from PA Interstate rejected our application. Once we heard the news, it was non-stop phone work to get things worked out. The director from our homestudy agency informed us that they were not aware of the law change because a majority of their clients live and adopt within PA. Barb tried working it from her end... the director of the homestudy agency tried working it on her end, and Chris made some calls himself to get this situated.
Chris called the single representative for PA's Interstate and informed her that this was an agency oversight and asked what could be done. Getting the Cogent ID screening was a must. The only thing is, it takes 2-3 weeks to process it. Chris explained to the representative that this would cost us an additional $3,300 in hotel cost alone, not withstanding Kensington would miss her appointment with her pediatrician and she needed to see him within 2 weeks after the birth. "The child's feet can not touch PA soil without getting your Cogent ID screening approved."
Well... the funny thing is, we have to drive past our house to get to a Cogentid site (which is located in a UPS store?!?)
Chris called up several UPS stores (around 1pm), all which closed at 3pm on Wednesday, and asked what the possibilities were of getting screened. None of them cared about the situation we were in... and said we could come in at the next available screening time, which was Monday afternoon, which would now increase our hotel bill to approx $4,000. We did find one store saying that they didn't accept reservations, and the first opening was Friday morning.
Needless to say, things got a little emotional. The hotel was amazing, and said that we could stay as long as we needed to. We looked into downgrading hotel room (into a single room versus the suite we were in). They called us back and informed us that we could stay in our room and they'd lower the cost of the room - now the total bill would only cost us an additional $2,000.
Chris then called John Siptroth's (our State Representative) Office, and spoke with his Chief of Staff, Steven Washington, who he has a working relationship with. Steven informed us that his office has a relationship with Senator Casey and the congressional delegation that could help work this. We'd have to get scanned, and then called his office with the identification number so his people could call their people and than they can process it.
Then I was hit with an epiphany - if NY and PA didn't border each other, would we have to get clearances for any states we traveled through? So Chris called Barb and found out that we could travel to any state - even Hawaii - with Kensington. Once hearing this, we made some calls to our NJ friends and family and explained our situation. The one thing we've said over and over again, is that we have the most amazing friends ever. We were offered guest rooms, basements, etc. And we would have taken you all up on it. And then last night hit (see posting below). After Hurricane Kensington, I wouldn't dare bring her to our friends' houses (for a stretch of three weeks).
Another epiphany... we have friends who have a beach house that they rent out during the summer. Is it available? And it was.
So tomorrow morning we will meet one of our friends at the NJ side of the NJ/PA border to watch Kensington while we travel to the Cogent ID site and get scanned... then we'll call Steven and then the waiting game begins.
The good news is, my Primary Care Physician is an Internist and a Pediatrician, and he's already seen the prenatal medical records of Kensington and has them on file. While it's not the pediatrician she'll be going to, I know him and trust him and have a co-worker who has used him for years for her son.
So... it's just one small (or I'd say medium) hiccup in the process.
In Tuesday's posting, I stated that the paperwork that was sent to PA was a courtesy filing and we didn't need to hear back from them before we can enter the state... well, that was incorrect. Tuesday evening Barb heard back from New York stating that we could leave the state. That same morning she heard from Pennsylvania saying that we were not allowed to enter.
The agency that we went with to do our homestudy [NOT Friends In Adoption... they're not licensed in PA so we used our a different agency for the homestudy process] didn't realize that on January 1, 2008, PA passed a law stating that we needed an additional FBI background check. Prior to this date, you needed to get state clearance from any state you lived in within 5 years - so we did all of the background work for for both Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
The person from PA Interstate rejected our application. Once we heard the news, it was non-stop phone work to get things worked out. The director from our homestudy agency informed us that they were not aware of the law change because a majority of their clients live and adopt within PA. Barb tried working it from her end... the director of the homestudy agency tried working it on her end, and Chris made some calls himself to get this situated.
Chris called the single representative for PA's Interstate and informed her that this was an agency oversight and asked what could be done. Getting the Cogent ID screening was a must. The only thing is, it takes 2-3 weeks to process it. Chris explained to the representative that this would cost us an additional $3,300 in hotel cost alone, not withstanding Kensington would miss her appointment with her pediatrician and she needed to see him within 2 weeks after the birth. "The child's feet can not touch PA soil without getting your Cogent ID screening approved."
Well... the funny thing is, we have to drive past our house to get to a Cogentid site (which is located in a UPS store?!?)
Chris called up several UPS stores (around 1pm), all which closed at 3pm on Wednesday, and asked what the possibilities were of getting screened. None of them cared about the situation we were in... and said we could come in at the next available screening time, which was Monday afternoon, which would now increase our hotel bill to approx $4,000. We did find one store saying that they didn't accept reservations, and the first opening was Friday morning.
Needless to say, things got a little emotional. The hotel was amazing, and said that we could stay as long as we needed to. We looked into downgrading hotel room (into a single room versus the suite we were in). They called us back and informed us that we could stay in our room and they'd lower the cost of the room - now the total bill would only cost us an additional $2,000.
Chris then called John Siptroth's (our State Representative) Office, and spoke with his Chief of Staff, Steven Washington, who he has a working relationship with. Steven informed us that his office has a relationship with Senator Casey and the congressional delegation that could help work this. We'd have to get scanned, and then called his office with the identification number so his people could call their people and than they can process it.
Then I was hit with an epiphany - if NY and PA didn't border each other, would we have to get clearances for any states we traveled through? So Chris called Barb and found out that we could travel to any state - even Hawaii - with Kensington. Once hearing this, we made some calls to our NJ friends and family and explained our situation. The one thing we've said over and over again, is that we have the most amazing friends ever. We were offered guest rooms, basements, etc. And we would have taken you all up on it. And then last night hit (see posting below). After Hurricane Kensington, I wouldn't dare bring her to our friends' houses (for a stretch of three weeks).
Another epiphany... we have friends who have a beach house that they rent out during the summer. Is it available? And it was.
So tomorrow morning we will meet one of our friends at the NJ side of the NJ/PA border to watch Kensington while we travel to the Cogent ID site and get scanned... then we'll call Steven and then the waiting game begins.
The good news is, my Primary Care Physician is an Internist and a Pediatrician, and he's already seen the prenatal medical records of Kensington and has them on file. While it's not the pediatrician she'll be going to, I know him and trust him and have a co-worker who has used him for years for her son.
So... it's just one small (or I'd say medium) hiccup in the process.
Captain's Log...
Stardate 2009.01.01
While playing with our warp engines after three days of test driving the "ItsDaddies.Plural." Fleet, Kensington has warped us into yet another uncharted region of our galaxy - the black abyss of sleepless nights.
Okay guys. You all warned us... and we laughed in your faces. I will admit, you were right. Yes. I said it. YOU WERE RIGHT. Babies cause sleep deprivation. And quickly. :)
Kensi is on this "sleep all day / up all night" routine... No big deal - we're super parents. We can tag them this baby. Well... not when your partner has a cold and a sore throat. Though Chris was trying to be the trooper, I quarentined him to the upstairs loft bedroom to sleep so he wouldn't be near her. We started with a quiet New Years Eve evening: a To-Go dinner from the Texas Steak House that was situated down the road from the Residence Inn, and two tabs of orange flavored Alka Seltzer in tap water. Yummy!
We fed and changed her at 7pm and I ended up going to bed around 8:30pm... hoping to catch a couple hours of rest since we was up the entire night before with her.
(for the interest in saving time from typing, please fill in gaps between time frames with crying and sobbing... from Kensington. And yes, Kevin/Carmen/Kevin/Nathan/Jeff, we're logging her diaper changes and feeding because the pediatrician has asked us to)
9:04pm, Hurricane Kensington hit. She took 3oz of formula and had her poopy diaper changed.
9:21pm, Changed a wet one. Kensi wasn't done when I saw the blue line on the diaper and she peed while changing her (yes... so far, Kensi still has the highest score in this game).
9:43pm, Chris comes to help. I banish him back upstairs.
9:58pm, Kensi wants another ounce. What Kensi wants, Kensi gets.
10:20pm, Another poopy.
10:25pm, Another poopy. Should have waited until she was done. Darn blue lines. You see them and you just want to change the sucker!
10:30pm, Chris comes down again, and right back upstairs he goes.
11:45pm. She wants more food. I start with an ounce... she takes two.
12:12am. Happy New Year. A poopy and a wet diaper (well, just for clarification... the poopy and pee could be listed as 'wet', but I'll just use that phrase for "#1").
2:30am, another 2oz.
2:42am, wet diaper.
5:00am, another ounce.
7:00am, Chris comes down. I give in. Let's hope the Alka Seltzer worked.
While playing with our warp engines after three days of test driving the "ItsDaddies.Plural." Fleet, Kensington has warped us into yet another uncharted region of our galaxy - the black abyss of sleepless nights.
Okay guys. You all warned us... and we laughed in your faces. I will admit, you were right. Yes. I said it. YOU WERE RIGHT. Babies cause sleep deprivation. And quickly. :)
Kensi is on this "sleep all day / up all night" routine... No big deal - we're super parents. We can tag them this baby. Well... not when your partner has a cold and a sore throat. Though Chris was trying to be the trooper, I quarentined him to the upstairs loft bedroom to sleep so he wouldn't be near her. We started with a quiet New Years Eve evening: a To-Go dinner from the Texas Steak House that was situated down the road from the Residence Inn, and two tabs of orange flavored Alka Seltzer in tap water. Yummy!
We fed and changed her at 7pm and I ended up going to bed around 8:30pm... hoping to catch a couple hours of rest since we was up the entire night before with her.
(for the interest in saving time from typing, please fill in gaps between time frames with crying and sobbing... from Kensington. And yes, Kevin/Carmen/Kevin/Nathan/Jeff, we're logging her diaper changes and feeding because the pediatrician has asked us to)
9:04pm, Hurricane Kensington hit. She took 3oz of formula and had her poopy diaper changed.
9:21pm, Changed a wet one. Kensi wasn't done when I saw the blue line on the diaper and she peed while changing her (yes... so far, Kensi still has the highest score in this game).
9:43pm, Chris comes to help. I banish him back upstairs.
9:58pm, Kensi wants another ounce. What Kensi wants, Kensi gets.
10:20pm, Another poopy.
10:25pm, Another poopy. Should have waited until she was done. Darn blue lines. You see them and you just want to change the sucker!
10:30pm, Chris comes down again, and right back upstairs he goes.
11:45pm. She wants more food. I start with an ounce... she takes two.
12:12am. Happy New Year. A poopy and a wet diaper (well, just for clarification... the poopy and pee could be listed as 'wet', but I'll just use that phrase for "#1").
2:30am, another 2oz.
2:42am, wet diaper.
5:00am, another ounce.
7:00am, Chris comes down. I give in. Let's hope the Alka Seltzer worked.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
We'd rather be playing Shoots and Ladders...
instead we're playing Poops and Laughter's ;0)
Out of Kensington's 10 diaper changes yesterday, she managed to poop/pee 6 times during the actual changing process... and laughed about it.
Kensington - 6; Daddies Plural - 4. She's winning the game... and wanted to play again this morning. We know that parents should let their kids win when playing games together, but the line has to be drawn somewhere! We have pictures of this, but have decided to save these until she brings home a date that we don't care for.
Around 4 o'clock yesterday, Kensington laid on my chest and ended up falling asleep... for hours. It was the most precious thing ever. Unfortunately, last night when she was in between her 3am and 5:30am feeding, she wouldn't sleep in her vibrating chair or her bassinet, so Chris put her on his chest and it worked. Unfortunately, when she's sleeping on you, you shouldn't be sleeping as well (Thank goodness it wasn't me who had that feeding scheduled) so he's been up for some time, poor thing.
We've already gone through our first pack of diapers, and the second pack that we opened was the Pampers Stage 1 Swaddlers - LOVE THESE! They actually have a blue-line indicator that tells us when she's gone potty. These are soooo much better than the smell/feel indicator that parents have had to use for centuries.
Out of Kensington's 10 diaper changes yesterday, she managed to poop/pee 6 times during the actual changing process... and laughed about it.Kensington - 6; Daddies Plural - 4. She's winning the game... and wanted to play again this morning. We know that parents should let their kids win when playing games together, but the line has to be drawn somewhere! We have pictures of this, but have decided to save these until she brings home a date that we don't care for.
Around 4 o'clock yesterday, Kensington laid on my chest and ended up falling asleep... for hours. It was the most precious thing ever. Unfortunately, last night when she was in between her 3am and 5:30am feeding, she wouldn't sleep in her vibrating chair or her bassinet, so Chris put her on his chest and it worked. Unfortunately, when she's sleeping on you, you shouldn't be sleeping as well (Thank goodness it wasn't me who had that feeding scheduled) so he's been up for some time, poor thing. 
We've already gone through our first pack of diapers, and the second pack that we opened was the Pampers Stage 1 Swaddlers - LOVE THESE! They actually have a blue-line indicator that tells us when she's gone potty. These are soooo much better than the smell/feel indicator that parents have had to use for centuries.We got great news yesterday from Barb at Friends in Adoption... she faxed over the paperwork to both NY and PA as a 'head's up" and sent the originals via FedEx. We found out that the paperwork sent to PA is a courtesy filing and we don't need to hear back from them before we can enter the state... we just need to hear back from NY before we can actually leave it. One less step in the process!
Monday, December 29, 2008
Today...
Kensington learned how to write her name in cursive. Her penmanship is BEAUTIFUL.
Okay... she's not that advanced, yet, but she's getting there :o)
While she didn't learn to write her name... she did learn to cry when she wants food. Yippee for us. Last night Kensi' appetite grew... instead of her normal (can it really be classified as normal if she's only been doing it for 4 days???) 2 ounces a feeding, she increased to 3 ounces. She work up again at 2:30am and took her 2 ounces and after her burping and changing, she wanted an additional ounce. This routine happened again around 5am. At 8am and 10:30am she took her regular 2 ounces. She's been sleeping and we've decided to forgo the pediatricians "2 ounces every 2 hours" to a feed-on-demand routine. It works better for all of us here in the hotel. By the way mom, thanks for the advice... she burps easier when you rub her back versus patting it.
Back on January 31, 2008, I blogged about the amazing support we had receive within the first 24 hours of starting our adoption journey. We had received the cutest little shirt (that's not so little on Kensington) from Marilyn in the ACS HR department and I couldn't wait to put it on her. The design is a freebie Quick Page from Biebel Scraps.
Here she is this morning getting ready for another changing:
She already has her adoptive daddy, Chris, wrapped around her finger:
Pictures from the hospital. Look how tiny she is. She looks like a cross between Boris Yeltsin and an Oompa_Loompa in the hat. We decided not to keep the hat on her her hospital picture - less is more (lol)
Okay... she's not that advanced, yet, but she's getting there :o)
While she didn't learn to write her name... she did learn to cry when she wants food. Yippee for us. Last night Kensi' appetite grew... instead of her normal (can it really be classified as normal if she's only been doing it for 4 days???) 2 ounces a feeding, she increased to 3 ounces. She work up again at 2:30am and took her 2 ounces and after her burping and changing, she wanted an additional ounce. This routine happened again around 5am. At 8am and 10:30am she took her regular 2 ounces. She's been sleeping and we've decided to forgo the pediatricians "2 ounces every 2 hours" to a feed-on-demand routine. It works better for all of us here in the hotel. By the way mom, thanks for the advice... she burps easier when you rub her back versus patting it.
Back on January 31, 2008, I blogged about the amazing support we had receive within the first 24 hours of starting our adoption journey. We had received the cutest little shirt (that's not so little on Kensington) from Marilyn in the ACS HR department and I couldn't wait to put it on her. The design is a freebie Quick Page from Biebel Scraps.Here she is this morning getting ready for another changing:
She already has her adoptive daddy, Chris, wrapped around her finger:
Pictures from the hospital. Look how tiny she is. She looks like a cross between Boris Yeltsin and an Oompa_Loompa in the hat. We decided not to keep the hat on her her hospital picture - less is more (lol)
Sunday, December 28, 2008
I should sell advertising space...
on my forehead.
Last night Chris and I slept with the pack-n-play butted up to the end of the bed and we both slept with our heads next to it. Kensington did great. She had a bottle around 8:45 pm and then one at 11:45 pm. Chris and I jumped at every move she'd make. I found a little nook in the bassinet area that I'd store my glasses, and we constantly checked to see if she was breathing when things got quite. She kicked herself out of her swaddle twice and, we don't know how she kept doing it, her left sock kept flying off of her.
Last night Chris and I slept with the pack-n-play butted up to the end of the bed and we both slept with our heads next to it. Kensington did great. She had a bottle around 8:45 pm and then one at 11:45 pm. Chris and I jumped at every move she'd make. I found a little nook in the bassinet area that I'd store my glasses, and we constantly checked to see if she was breathing when things got quite. She kicked herself out of her swaddle twice and, we don't know how she kept doing it, her left sock kept flying off of her.She woke up at 3:00am (just seconds before my blackberry alarm clock went off). Chris got up and did an amazing job of feeding her and changing her diaper - but she wouldn't go back to sleep. She never cried... so just didn't want to sleep. Around 5am, she wanted another ounce of formula.
After Chris did another changing, he placed her back in the bassinet and I rested my forehead on the pack-n-play and placed my arm around her so I could rub her chin. I feel asleep in that position around 6:30am. When I work up at 8:15am (thanks Cathy Peckens for the call... did you notice I let it roll over to voicemail) I had the GRACO emblem embedded backwards on my forehead. I think I just found a new way for companies to advertise their products (lol).
Kensington slept in until 10am.
Oh, what a night. Some how I feel like tonight will be more of the same. This time, I'll make sure to place a diaper cloth over the emblem :)
A name suitable for a princess... Kensington Grace
We love all of the comments, text messages and MySpace/Facebook comments. One of the questions we've been getting is, "How did you come up with her name?"We wanted a name with meaning, as well as one that was unique (and strong). [Kenginston Grace rules the world, And now presenting... Kensington Grace, And the winner is... Kensington Grace, Madame Secretary - Kensington Grace]
Many of you know, Chris & I love to travel... and Kensington Palace is one of our all time favorite places to visit when we're in the London area. We've been to the working palace about six times, and have taken Rhonda (Chris's sister), Frank and Irene, Fred, and Lowell & Renee to The Orangery, and 18th century restaurant connected to the palace, for afternoon tea and scones.
Also, the day that Chris and I were moving up north, Diana, Princess of Wales, passed away. We actually postponed our trip a day to watch the news to get the latest updates. Diana lived at Apartment 8 Kensington Palace from the time of her wedding on July 29, 1981 until her death on August 31, 1997. Diana was one of the first public figures (and the first member of the royal family) to publicly state that she was for equal rights for non-traditional families. [Chris wouldn't let me name her "Princess of Wales", so I settled for Kensington]
Grace, in Latin, means "favor from God", and that she is... one delivered on Christmas morning.
Yes, I'm officially one of those...
the driver in the right lane that is going 10 miles under the speed limit - for 120 miles.
And yes , I see you. The way you're looking at me as you pass. And yes, I can read lips and sign language as well. Just know that when I smile at you, and point towards the back of the SUV and mouth the word, "baby", I'm thinking of something else I'd like to tell you :)
Today Chris and I headed to the hospital around 11:00 am, to spend time with Kensington before she could be released. When we got to the nursing station, we saw a little one getting a bath, so Chris asked the nurse if it was her. She said it wasn't, but asked if we wanted a "bath-time" demo. After watching that horrific video from the hospital last night, I was a little a little hesitant, but Christopher said that he'd love to.
And yes , I see you. The way you're looking at me as you pass. And yes, I can read lips and sign language as well. Just know that when I smile at you, and point towards the back of the SUV and mouth the word, "baby", I'm thinking of something else I'd like to tell you :)
Today Chris and I headed to the hospital around 11:00 am, to spend time with Kensington before she could be released. When we got to the nursing station, we saw a little one getting a bath, so Chris asked the nurse if it was her. She said it wasn't, but asked if we wanted a "bath-time" demo. After watching that horrific video from the hospital last night, I was a little a little hesitant, but Christopher said that he'd love to.The nurse wheeled her in and ran through the steps verbally. Funny... you're telling us that same order as everything we've read - which contradicts the video we just saw, but we rolled with it. Glad to know she was the one teaching us.
After the verbal instructions, she says, "Okay. Get to it."
"What? I thought you were going to give us a demo." Chris questions.
"Oh no... I have four kids of my own. I'm not bathing yours. I told you how to do it, now get to it." And so he does. And he did a wonderful job at giving Kensington her first bath. She did ok to.
We then dressed her for her hospital photos. Being that she's so tiny, her newborn outfits are huge on her. None of her socks fit, and the gloves are twice the size of her little hands. The hats that we brought for her hang down to her nose :) So for now, we'll be keeping the small crochet hood to keep her heat in.
Barb, came in around 2:45 and signed the paperwork needed in order for the hosiptal to discharge her and then Kensington came back from picture time. We packed up her little belongings, and headed down to the main entrance. I pulled the truck up and both Barb and Linda, our nurse, nodded and gave their approval that the care seat was installed. We locked her in place, and gave hugs all around.
Kensington slept the entire time in the truck... all three hours.
Chris's brother Mark, along with our sister-in-law Aggie and our 2 1/2 month nephew, Mason, came up from Jersey (they were so excited to come see the baby!).
Lets hope she sleeps as well tonight as she did in the car (keeping our fingers crossed).
Friday, December 26, 2008
We're already offered to buy her a pony!
Last night was a rough one... not only because of the high emotions that we were riding, but because of the guest staying next door to us in the hotel. Around 11:30pm it sounded like the kids were jumping on the bed and seeing just how far they could land in their suites hallway... and around 12:15am it was pillow fight time. We're guessing that the parents were in one suite and the children were across the hall (next to us). Security came by once... which seemed to halt their activities - for about 20 minutes.
I tossed and turned until 6:15, just about the time Chris woke up. He wanted to get out of the room and head into the closest town to go to the stores - not so much for the shopping or the potential sales, but just to buy time until our 3:30 meeting at the hospital. He ended up coming back to the room around 9:30, just as I was waking up.
He walked in the door with tears in his eyes. Today was the day... so exciting yet also sad. To be honest, trying to wrap our arms around the multitude of emotions has hit us like a brick wall. We are so amazed at the courage that Kensington's bio's have had. We wanted to wrap our arms around Kensington and them.
So we spent the next couple of hours, literally, calling hotels to check availability for anywhere between 3-10 days. Once we take custody of Kensington, we have to stay in upstate New York until both NY and PA recognize that we have custody. We were told that because of the holidays, we're at the mercy of one gentlemen in NY and one lady in PA... each wanting to take time off during the holidays. We were able to get into the Residents Inn, but having to change rooms - we'll spend one day in a Studio Suite, then we'll move to a King Suite, which will allow for (or the plan is anyway), one of us to stay in the bedroom and get some rest, while the other will be in the general living area with her in her Pak-n-Play bassinet.
Once we made our reservations, we ended up heading off to town... picked up a couple more cute outfits (smile) and had lunch at Panera.
Barb told us that she, along with the lawyers, would be at the hospital around 2:00pm to discharge our Bio-mom and dad, as well as to sign over custody to the agency. This would take between 60-90 minutes and she would call us when it's complete so we could go and sign our part.
3:00 - we're in the parking lot 1 1/2 blocks away from the hospital waiting on the call.
3:30 - no call.
3:45 - still no call and I start getting antsy.
4:00 - now I start getting worried. What could be taking so long.
Chris is now in the back seat going through everything we packed as a means of getting his mind off things. He ask if I care to join him and I quickly respond no.
4:15 - beads of sweat start forming on my forehead. I'm turning up the music one second and then off the next. Turning the heater up one second, and then rolling down the window to let the cold air rush in... this goes on for 30 minutes.
4:47 - Barb calls. The Bio-parents are leaving the hospital. All went well, but she wants us to travel down the street to Wal-mart, away from the hospital.
We travel down the road and wait in the parking lot. Are we going inside to sign the paperwork? Wait... this CAN NOT BE. I don't want a "rolling back the prices" baby, unless they're going to roll back the price of our agency fees :).
Barb shows up and we suggest the Chinese restaurant across the way to go and sign everything - one small piece of "Yum-Yum" for the scrapbook.
Barb told us that the reason that it took so long was that the hospital's social worker was new, and approached this as a closed adoption, not an agency placement. The difference in the state of NY is, an open or semi-open adoption, the birth mother and dad can sign over custody of the child to the agency, and leave once the doctor okays the discharge. A closed adoption means that the mother has to leave the hospital with the baby, then the agency takes custody of the child, most times in the parking lot (thanks Mama Peckens for the clarification). The lawyers had to call and get a hospital supervisor involved, and they were taking their time to get up to the pediatric center.
We caught up on the days events, and signed our paperwork surrounded by boxes of fortune cookies and a sad, sad looking buffet table. The irony is Chris hates Asian food and they served Pepsi not Coke. Those who know us well, know that in any other situation, we'd walked out to find a place that served Coke products (hahahaha).
So, we then traveled back to the hospital, rushed up to the the third floor and went to the nurses station, "We're Kensington's adoptive parents and we were told we needed to watch some videos" (The agency told them we'd be on our way, so they were expecting us).
One nurse brings us to a private room, rolling in a small TV and VCR player along with two tapes. One tape had three segments, SID's, Brain Injuries and Shaken Baby Syndrome. The information was good, but shot in the 80's with piano music playing in the background that made all who's ever watched this zone out in a sleep daze. 30 minutes later we popped in the second tape. Only two segments on this one: bathing and breast feeding. It's state law that we watch both tapes, but the nurses said we could forgo the second half. I'm game if you are.
The bathing
video had us cracking up, sitting on the back of our chairs, and biting our nails. It was locally shot (as in, the hospital did it themselves). Apparently the nurse who was giving instructions never watched the first tape on SID's, Brain Injuries and Shaken Baby Syndrome. She's slinging this poor baby around, saying things such as, "they tell you not to do it this way, but it works for me." At one point she picked the poor child up and almost hits his head on the edge of the bath. We were thinking, what parent in their right mind would have allowed this to happen. While we were watching this tape in pure terror - if was VERY reassuring... if that baby could survive all of that, there is nothing we could ever do to harm her.
As the tape started rolling into the breastfeeding piece, the nurse rolls Kensington in and asks us if we want to feed her and change her.
Day 2 was much better for her, as she finally got an appetite. We gave her about an once of formula and then tried to burp her.
Nothing. So we fed her about a half an ounce more and then tried again. This time for about 15 minutes. Nothing. At one point, I had her on my shoulder and she lifted up her body, turned her head, and looked at me like, "would you please stop". It was the most precious thing ever. Chris was cracking up and then he tried burping her - nothing. I even offered to buy her a pony if she'd just give me one little gassy burp. So I decided to change her (won't go into details there), and then laid on the bed with her on my chest. Burp. All better, but because she didn't read the fine print of my original offer, she'd needed to burp before I changed her.
We rolled her back to the nursery, said our good nights, and off to the hotel we went.
Tomorrow morning we'll head back to the hospital to get her pictures done and then they'll release her around 3:00ish. We'll sign one more set of papers and then we're on our way.
Now, let the next part of the journey begin...
I tossed and turned until 6:15, just about the time Chris woke up. He wanted to get out of the room and head into the closest town to go to the stores - not so much for the shopping or the potential sales, but just to buy time until our 3:30 meeting at the hospital. He ended up coming back to the room around 9:30, just as I was waking up.
He walked in the door with tears in his eyes. Today was the day... so exciting yet also sad. To be honest, trying to wrap our arms around the multitude of emotions has hit us like a brick wall. We are so amazed at the courage that Kensington's bio's have had. We wanted to wrap our arms around Kensington and them.
So we spent the next couple of hours, literally, calling hotels to check availability for anywhere between 3-10 days. Once we take custody of Kensington, we have to stay in upstate New York until both NY and PA recognize that we have custody. We were told that because of the holidays, we're at the mercy of one gentlemen in NY and one lady in PA... each wanting to take time off during the holidays. We were able to get into the Residents Inn, but having to change rooms - we'll spend one day in a Studio Suite, then we'll move to a King Suite, which will allow for (or the plan is anyway), one of us to stay in the bedroom and get some rest, while the other will be in the general living area with her in her Pak-n-Play bassinet.
Once we made our reservations, we ended up heading off to town... picked up a couple more cute outfits (smile) and had lunch at Panera.
Barb told us that she, along with the lawyers, would be at the hospital around 2:00pm to discharge our Bio-mom and dad, as well as to sign over custody to the agency. This would take between 60-90 minutes and she would call us when it's complete so we could go and sign our part.
3:00 - we're in the parking lot 1 1/2 blocks away from the hospital waiting on the call.
3:30 - no call.
3:45 - still no call and I start getting antsy.
4:00 - now I start getting worried. What could be taking so long.
Chris is now in the back seat going through everything we packed as a means of getting his mind off things. He ask if I care to join him and I quickly respond no.
4:15 - beads of sweat start forming on my forehead. I'm turning up the music one second and then off the next. Turning the heater up one second, and then rolling down the window to let the cold air rush in... this goes on for 30 minutes.
4:47 - Barb calls. The Bio-parents are leaving the hospital. All went well, but she wants us to travel down the street to Wal-mart, away from the hospital.
We travel down the road and wait in the parking lot. Are we going inside to sign the paperwork? Wait... this CAN NOT BE. I don't want a "rolling back the prices" baby, unless they're going to roll back the price of our agency fees :).
Barb shows up and we suggest the Chinese restaurant across the way to go and sign everything - one small piece of "Yum-Yum" for the scrapbook.Barb told us that the reason that it took so long was that the hospital's social worker was new, and approached this as a closed adoption, not an agency placement. The difference in the state of NY is, an open or semi-open adoption, the birth mother and dad can sign over custody of the child to the agency, and leave once the doctor okays the discharge. A closed adoption means that the mother has to leave the hospital with the baby, then the agency takes custody of the child, most times in the parking lot (thanks Mama Peckens for the clarification). The lawyers had to call and get a hospital supervisor involved, and they were taking their time to get up to the pediatric center.
We caught up on the days events, and signed our paperwork surrounded by boxes of fortune cookies and a sad, sad looking buffet table. The irony is Chris hates Asian food and they served Pepsi not Coke. Those who know us well, know that in any other situation, we'd walked out to find a place that served Coke products (hahahaha).So, we then traveled back to the hospital, rushed up to the the third floor and went to the nurses station, "We're Kensington's adoptive parents and we were told we needed to watch some videos" (The agency told them we'd be on our way, so they were expecting us).
One nurse brings us to a private room, rolling in a small TV and VCR player along with two tapes. One tape had three segments, SID's, Brain Injuries and Shaken Baby Syndrome. The information was good, but shot in the 80's with piano music playing in the background that made all who's ever watched this zone out in a sleep daze. 30 minutes later we popped in the second tape. Only two segments on this one: bathing and breast feeding. It's state law that we watch both tapes, but the nurses said we could forgo the second half. I'm game if you are.The bathing
video had us cracking up, sitting on the back of our chairs, and biting our nails. It was locally shot (as in, the hospital did it themselves). Apparently the nurse who was giving instructions never watched the first tape on SID's, Brain Injuries and Shaken Baby Syndrome. She's slinging this poor baby around, saying things such as, "they tell you not to do it this way, but it works for me." At one point she picked the poor child up and almost hits his head on the edge of the bath. We were thinking, what parent in their right mind would have allowed this to happen. While we were watching this tape in pure terror - if was VERY reassuring... if that baby could survive all of that, there is nothing we could ever do to harm her.As the tape started rolling into the breastfeeding piece, the nurse rolls Kensington in and asks us if we want to feed her and change her.
Day 2 was much better for her, as she finally got an appetite. We gave her about an once of formula and then tried to burp her.
Nothing. So we fed her about a half an ounce more and then tried again. This time for about 15 minutes. Nothing. At one point, I had her on my shoulder and she lifted up her body, turned her head, and looked at me like, "would you please stop". It was the most precious thing ever. Chris was cracking up and then he tried burping her - nothing. I even offered to buy her a pony if she'd just give me one little gassy burp. So I decided to change her (won't go into details there), and then laid on the bed with her on my chest. Burp. All better, but because she didn't read the fine print of my original offer, she'd needed to burp before I changed her.We rolled her back to the nursery, said our good nights, and off to the hotel we went.
Tomorrow morning we'll head back to the hospital to get her pictures done and then they'll release her around 3:00ish. We'll sign one more set of papers and then we're on our way.
Now, let the next part of the journey begin...
Thursday, December 25, 2008
There goes our Christmas Taco’s
We know that this is a lot of detail.. so forgive us if we ramble. Our belief is, “the more information, the better.” I know that we’ve talked to a handful of you and have been giving you the status update as we’ve received them, during our 5 hour trip up north. Lets start from the very beginning… a very good place to start (okay, okay… I know. Sound Of Music references are not needed).
Doe, a deer, a female deer. (sorry, couldn’t help it)
A couple days ago, we learned that our birthmother wanted to move the date they scheduled to induce – from the 24th to the 26th. She didn’t want her, or the baby, to spend Christmas in the hospital, which we fully understood and agreed with. With that being said, Chris and I realized that our holiday plans would change. We originally thought we’d spend it in a hotel up north waiting on the call to pick her up. So we decided to spend it low-key, getting some of the final details of the nursery set up.
We spent Christmas Eve picking up the dresser/changer, having lunch with Mark and our nephew Mason, and we did a bit of grocery shopping – we decided we were going to have “Christmas Tacos” and were quite excited to do so. We bought all the fix’ns including Spanish rice and refried beans. After arriving back at our house we quickly unpacked the vehicle and then we were off to have Christmas Eve dinner with our close friend Fred.
We got home about 9pm and Chris wanted to bring the 200 pound dresser upstairs. I begged and whined not to, “we can get this tomorrow. We have the ENTIRE day to do this.” Chris won that battle and we lugged that sucker upstairs and got it situated in her room. All in all, it took about an hour but I was actually glad we got it done. Her room looks amazing.
So… about 30 minutes later, our birth mother realized she was having some contractions and headed to the hospital. (We didn’t even know.)
At 5:30am she had Kensington. At 5:47am we received the text message “Merry Christmas. She's here. She's beautiful and healthy."
Here is the crazy part… Chris and I slept in this morning since we didn’t have any plans. Duncan and Gossip, Chris and I, all snuggled in our places on the bed. Throughout the morning, you could hear the phones vibrating from text messages. Our thoughts were, we’re getting holiday greetings and can answer them when we get up. No rush.
When it was time to let Duncan out, Chris looked at his phone and scrolled through the messages. He came across our bio-mom’s message. He showed it to me. “Awe… that’s cute. Who’s it from?”, I say to him… (come one people.. no coffee yet. You have to understand). Two seconds later, I realize. “Oh Crap – get in the shower now!” Chris sent out a text message to let the birth parents know that we were excited and that we hope they are doing well. We got a message back, “6lbs, 6oz”.
Even though we were completely packed, it took over an hour to get things ready. We called Barb, our wonderful social worker who, not only congratulated us, but invited us to her home for Christmas dinner since we’d be up in the area.
We were on the road by noon. Thank God I saw a sign on Dunkin Donuts drive thru window this week saying that they were open today. Coffee was DEFINITELY needed!
While we were there, we ran into the Stagg’s (two of the most amazing people we know) getting their morning cup of Joe, as well, and were able to share the news with them. Karen finally got the name out of us J. Then we were officially off to upstate NY.
Our plans were to get up to the area to beat any bad weather that would be coming this way. The birth parents’ plans were set that once they were being discharged from the hospital, they’d call Barb and Barb would call us. Oh, how things change (and we were told that 80% of the birth plans do change). We got a call from our birth mom around 2:30 letting us know that things were going well and asked us if we wanted to come to the hospital. Do we want to come to the hospital?!?!?! You bet we do!
Flowers? Balloons? Chocolates? We have to bring her something, but EVERYTHING is closed on Christmas and I will not be stopping at a truck stop to get our baby’s momma a gift. No problem… we’re staying at a casino. They have to have a gift shop open and they did. We bought her a beautiful arrangement of tulips and lilies and got Barb some truffles (and I got a pistachio muffin as well). We called them at the hospital and were told that around 6 o’clock would be great. We ate at one of the many food venues in the casino and then headed to the hospital.
Once there, we spent about an hour talking with the bio parents… both looked exhausted, but in good spirits. Then one of her prenatal nurses came in on her day off because she heard that she went into labor and wanted to say congratulations. She came in and knew exactly who we were and told us all congratulations. She then went on to tell the bio-mom how proud she is of her, and how mature she is for giving us the best gift ever. She explained that in her line of work, she sees the same situation that our birth parents were in and that it is uplifting to see such a match being made. At this time, our birth mom and dad presented us with two gifts.
1) a pewter coin that her aunt gave the baby, on one side it’s a cross with a heart in the middle, on the other, “You are loved because he first loved you – John 4:19”
2) a beautiful baby ring. Our bio mom’s sister is getting married and had their grandmother’s wedding ring reset into an engagement and wedding set. They took one of the stones from that ring and had a ring made for Kensington.
The exchange of the gifts brought tears to everyone’s eyes. As we were wiping them away, a nurse came in with Kensington, who was asleep. We were told that we needed to wake her in the next 20 minutes to give her a bottle, and that her hearing test was spot on so they wouldn’t have to do another one tomorrow. It took us about an hour to get her up. She was perfectly asleep. She’d lift one eye, look around, and go back to sleep. The nurse told us to undress her (babies don’t like to be naked) and to rub her back (they hate that). And so we did. Kensi likes to be semi-naked and loves her back being rubbed. She started to smile and would stretch-out as we did it. We couldn’t stop laughing so the nurses came in and tried to wake her up. It worked (for a moment) and we were able to get about an ounce in her. Another nurse came in and explained that when quick deliveries happen, the baby’s don’t often eat that much in the first 24 hours.
We got her dressed and bundled up, and could see that our bio-parents were tired so we wished them well, thanked them for EVERYTHING, and told them that we’d be in contact shortly. Our bio-mom’s original plan was to stay in the hospital as long as possible (48-72 hours). She’s now planning on leaving tomorrow so she can rest in her own space. The agency will come in and do the paperwork with them, then when they are discharged, we’ll come in after and sign our part. The baby will stay in the hospital until Saturday (48 hours) and we’ll go back and sign the baby’s discharge papers with the agency. We also have to watch a couple of videos, mandated by the state, about SIDs, Shaken baby syndrome, etc.
Very exciting day, if I do say so myself! :) Love you guys and forgive us if we ramble on with typos etc. We just wanted to get something up for everyone.
We have a Christmas Baby!
Chris and I decided to sleep in today and around 10:30 Chris reached for his iPhone to find a message from our birth mom. "Merry Christmas. She's here. She's beautiful and healthy." We jumped out of bed to learn that our little "Kensington Grace" is 6lbs, 6oz... and now we're running out the door! I'll update this later tonight once we get to the hotel.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Times Up!
Well... today has come and gone, and "baby girl" has decided that it's not her time to come out, just yet. Our birth mother has asked her doctor not to induce until Friday so she won't have to spend the holidays in the hospital - and we totally understand!!!Looking forward to updating you all on the news as soon as we hear. Thanks for hanging in there with us.
~ Paul & Chris
Friday, December 19, 2008
Lord, it's like a hard candy christmas...
Today wasn't the way I wanted to end my last 'official' day of work and start my paternity leave. As I pulled out of my road, I couldn't turn right onto the main street because our maintenance department had shut off the road because they were laying new culvert pipes (you got to give them credit... it was 7 a.m. and their day had already started). I was diverted to go around to the other side of the mountain to leave the community. No biggie. Only a 5-7 minute detour (just wait... the story gets better). Once I got out of the community, I came upon a wreck. A maroon mini-van had slammed into a silver Chrysler. I was driving slow as I saw the mother of the mini-van extract her stroller out of the back seat to bring it to her mothers (I'm guessing here) car. The police officer who was standing in the road - wearing bright orange - gets me to detour again. This took me about 10 minutes out of the way. Then, as I turned on Route 209, the township was working on a bridge and had shut down one of the lanes. Yep... you guessed it. Another 15 minute delay.
To recap this part of my day: an additional 35 minutes in PA.
Once in NJ, I hit my emergency flashers as me (and all the cars around me) came around the corner at exit 16 to see an 18 wheeler that over-turned. One lane open and 30 minutes to go the 1 mile past the accident. No sooner am I at the accident do I see a puff of black smoke up ahead of me... The fire department, EMS and police leave scene 1 to head to scene 2. A white van hit another car and the van caught on fire.
To recap this part of my day: an additional 65 minutes in NJ. 3hrs 40min to get to work. Ugh.
[work was work... except I just found out that my nutty co-workers swiped my camera when I wasn't looking and took photos of the storage room, offices, conference rooms, parking lot, name plates, etc so I wouldn't forget them over the next couple of weeks - I'm just saying, if they have this much time on their hands, they BETTER make goal]
On my way home, I was planning on stopping at Babies R Us to pick up a glider chair. Traffic is horrible so I call my co-workers to tell them to avoid Route 80. 45 minutes later I'm at my destination. There was another car fire in the parking lot in front of Lowe's in the shopping center (please tell me these are not signs of the Apocalypse). Once I got into the store, finding an associate to help me was going to become more difficult than getting into work this morning. Four guys were in the corner of the store throwing around a ball. They then saw me in the furniture department and decided to take their little game into the stockroom (umm... hello. I need help here). So I waited a few minutes and none of them came out. Nothing. Nadda. So I got to the front of the store and ask them to page someone.
Finally Collin comes out. I show him the glider chair I want and get a "It's out of stock, but I can order one for you". I go to option number 2 and get, "It's out of stock, but I can order one for you". Okay... lets try door number 3 - "It's out of stock, but I can order one for you". Now I'm looking around for the candid camera that HAS to be focusing in on me. "Can you tell me what chairs you do have in stock?" "Well, we don't have anything in. These are our displays but we can get one here in 7-10 days if you'd like" As I tell him no thanks, he informs me that he can check in the system of the other stores and see what they have. He tells me they have the one I want in East Hanover. Great. "Can you just call them and ask them to hold it for me, please." I'm glad I asked this because the system showed an error. East Hanover was also out of the glider, as was was Totowa and Whitehall stores, but after 40 minutes of calling the stores and being put on hold while they checked their storage rooms, he found one at Bridgewater. Out of that store and on to Route 206 I go.
To recap this part of my day: 45 minute delay to get to the store and 1 hour in Babies R Us and I walk out with nothing - and heading 30 miles in the opposite direction of home.
I get to Bridgewater 50 minutes later and at the exit I need, another wreck. OMG!
I finally get onto the store and finding help in this location is going to be just as bad as in the other store. The store manager comes by and I tell him (as I'm standing in front of the glider model), "I have this chair on hold. Your Flanders store called in about an hour ago." 10 minutes later, Dan comes out of the stockroom with a box. "here you go sir". "I just want to confirm that it's the espresso wood chair with the cream fabric." "Yes sir it is." I go to the front to check out and am told that the coupon that I have isn't valid until tomorrow. Thank God Dan is still there and sees that I'm about to lose it and gives me the discount. (Thanks, Dan)
Glider is in the car and I make 2 quick stops: Home Depot for a curtain rod and a light dimmer and to Macy's for a humidifier. No humidifiers at Macy's and I only pick of the light dimmer at Home Depot. Okay... I'll stop at Wal-Mart of the way home to get a rod.
It's now 9:30 pm and I'm finally headed home. I'll be home by 11 :(
I'm listening to Derek and Romaine on SiruisXM and I'm tired and cranky. Then, something amazing happens. My friends end their show with a sing-a-long. A huge smile begins to form on my face when I think, all around America there are tens of thousand of us in the LGBT world in our cars or at home singing MY FAVORITE Christmas song. Come and sing along with me:
Hey, maybe I'll dye my hair. Maybe I'll move somewhere. Maybe I'll get a car. Maybe I'll drive so far. They'll all lose track (but) Me, I'll be just...
Fine and Dandy. Lord it's like a hard candy christmas. I'm barely getting through tomorrow. But still I won't let, Sorrow bring me way down.
[Btw, I get home and find out that they gave me the wrong glider... but you know what? I'll be just "Fine and Dandy"!]
To recap this part of my day: an additional 35 minutes in PA.
Once in NJ, I hit my emergency flashers as me (and all the cars around me) came around the corner at exit 16 to see an 18 wheeler that over-turned. One lane open and 30 minutes to go the 1 mile past the accident. No sooner am I at the accident do I see a puff of black smoke up ahead of me... The fire department, EMS and police leave scene 1 to head to scene 2. A white van hit another car and the van caught on fire.
To recap this part of my day: an additional 65 minutes in NJ. 3hrs 40min to get to work. Ugh.
[work was work... except I just found out that my nutty co-workers swiped my camera when I wasn't looking and took photos of the storage room, offices, conference rooms, parking lot, name plates, etc so I wouldn't forget them over the next couple of weeks - I'm just saying, if they have this much time on their hands, they BETTER make goal]
On my way home, I was planning on stopping at Babies R Us to pick up a glider chair. Traffic is horrible so I call my co-workers to tell them to avoid Route 80. 45 minutes later I'm at my destination. There was another car fire in the parking lot in front of Lowe's in the shopping center (please tell me these are not signs of the Apocalypse). Once I got into the store, finding an associate to help me was going to become more difficult than getting into work this morning. Four guys were in the corner of the store throwing around a ball. They then saw me in the furniture department and decided to take their little game into the stockroom (umm... hello. I need help here). So I waited a few minutes and none of them came out. Nothing. Nadda. So I got to the front of the store and ask them to page someone.
Finally Collin comes out. I show him the glider chair I want and get a "It's out of stock, but I can order one for you". I go to option number 2 and get, "It's out of stock, but I can order one for you". Okay... lets try door number 3 - "It's out of stock, but I can order one for you". Now I'm looking around for the candid camera that HAS to be focusing in on me. "Can you tell me what chairs you do have in stock?" "Well, we don't have anything in. These are our displays but we can get one here in 7-10 days if you'd like" As I tell him no thanks, he informs me that he can check in the system of the other stores and see what they have. He tells me they have the one I want in East Hanover. Great. "Can you just call them and ask them to hold it for me, please." I'm glad I asked this because the system showed an error. East Hanover was also out of the glider, as was was Totowa and Whitehall stores, but after 40 minutes of calling the stores and being put on hold while they checked their storage rooms, he found one at Bridgewater. Out of that store and on to Route 206 I go.
To recap this part of my day: 45 minute delay to get to the store and 1 hour in Babies R Us and I walk out with nothing - and heading 30 miles in the opposite direction of home.
I get to Bridgewater 50 minutes later and at the exit I need, another wreck. OMG!
I finally get onto the store and finding help in this location is going to be just as bad as in the other store. The store manager comes by and I tell him (as I'm standing in front of the glider model), "I have this chair on hold. Your Flanders store called in about an hour ago." 10 minutes later, Dan comes out of the stockroom with a box. "here you go sir". "I just want to confirm that it's the espresso wood chair with the cream fabric." "Yes sir it is." I go to the front to check out and am told that the coupon that I have isn't valid until tomorrow. Thank God Dan is still there and sees that I'm about to lose it and gives me the discount. (Thanks, Dan)
Glider is in the car and I make 2 quick stops: Home Depot for a curtain rod and a light dimmer and to Macy's for a humidifier. No humidifiers at Macy's and I only pick of the light dimmer at Home Depot. Okay... I'll stop at Wal-Mart of the way home to get a rod.
It's now 9:30 pm and I'm finally headed home. I'll be home by 11 :(
I'm listening to Derek and Romaine on SiruisXM and I'm tired and cranky. Then, something amazing happens. My friends end their show with a sing-a-long. A huge smile begins to form on my face when I think, all around America there are tens of thousand of us in the LGBT world in our cars or at home singing MY FAVORITE Christmas song. Come and sing along with me:
Hey, maybe I'll dye my hair. Maybe I'll move somewhere. Maybe I'll get a car. Maybe I'll drive so far. They'll all lose track (but) Me, I'll be just...
Fine and Dandy. Lord it's like a hard candy christmas. I'm barely getting through tomorrow. But still I won't let, Sorrow bring me way down.
[Btw, I get home and find out that they gave me the wrong glider... but you know what? I'll be just "Fine and Dandy"!]
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
On again, Off again...
Chris and I came across the cutest little website - www.wrybaby.com.
We can use these to avoid late-night misunderstandings. hahahaha
Calling All Dads...
Chris and I wanted to let you know about a wonderful book giveaway at bookdads.comThey are offering an opportunity to win a copy of A Day With My Dad At The Beach by Lance Waite. The book is about a little girl who gets to spend time at the beach with her father. It's a delightful rhyming book about enjoying togetherness between fathers and children. Please check it out and put in a submission for their contest. The contest ends on Wednesday, December 31st and they will announce the winner the following Day. Good Luck!
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