I'm thinking it'll be a while before we make it back to China for B.S. #3, as I call her. I know BS isn't the nicest name in the world, but it works for me for now. I know "she" may really be a "he," but in Chinese they don't even have pronouns, so I'm not going to worry about that, either.
I'm sitting here in the library, taking a very short break in between writing out practice essay exams (each essay takes an hour to complete, more or less). And I have been contemplating lately how lazy I feel this summer. Not because I haven't been mentally busy-- oh my, I have. My brain is so full, I'm seriously surprised I remember my own name. But I've been feeling antsy for exercise lately.
When Marcie first came home, I had a lot of time with her, and she and I walked at least 3 days a week, around 45 minutes up and around the hills of our area each time. I'm sure it wasn't as cardiovascularly challenging as all the running I'd been doing prior to meeting Marcie in person, but it was exercise-- and that, for me, is the key to keeping the stress low and the weight off. So when I went back to work and stopped exercising with Marcie, I just completely stopped exercising. Not good. Not good at all. I'm not back in my "fat clothes" or anything, but I'm not in my fun clothes for the time being either.
So I'm getting back on the exercise horse. It's hard with kids. Marcie weighs around 30 pounds and pushing her in a stroller is work on a flat surface, forget the hills in my neighborhood! Add Casey's 37 pounds to the double stroller and the 13 pounds of the stroller itself and I'm pushing almost 80% of my own total weight. This is just too difficult. So I'm going to have to be creative. But darnit if I can't fit into my "fun" clothes when I return to work in August after the bar.
Anyway, to help me on my goal of exercise-- which I believe is good for the body and for the mind-- I'm going to hoof it to China. Seriously.
I looked it up. From San Diego to Guangzhou is 7,348 miles (direct). I don't know where we'll find BS in China, but I know we'll eventually land in Guangzhou for the visa, so I figure that's a safe place to aim for as a goal. And even though 7,348 miles is pretty far, I've probably got at least 3 years in which to do it. That distance over three years works out roughly to 204 miles each month. Hmm. That's 51 miles a week. Maybe I need to re-think this. . . that's probably not a particularly realistic goal. (Good thing we'll actually be flying there and not walking!) But maybe you can help. Maybe if I can get some people to walk with me (figuratively, mind you), we can collectively make it to China-- heck, maybe we can make it to China and BACK. And let's say we won't just count distance we walk or run-- but let's throw in biking and stairmastering and crosstraining, too. Think we can do it?
Anyone up for the challenge?
Friday, June 29, 2007
(Re)adoption
When we adopted Casey, we fost-adopted him. That is, we had custody of him until the right legal paperwork was completed clearing us for finalization. He was born January 15th. His adoption was finalized September 19th.
With Marcie, her adoption was technically final in China. But we've opted to re-adopt her so we she can have a California birth certificate.
So yesterday I went by the courthouse to drop off the paperwork. But I left her Chinese certificate of abandonment, birth certificate, and adoption registration stuff at home. So today I returned with proper documentation.
We are scheduled to finalize our adoption under California law on Thursday, July 19th.
That's exactly 3 1/2 years after Casey's adoption was finalized. Which is a little weird because Casey was also 3 1/2 years old when we brought Marcie home. Maybe that's not weird. I don't know. . .
With Marcie, her adoption was technically final in China. But we've opted to re-adopt her so we she can have a California birth certificate.
So yesterday I went by the courthouse to drop off the paperwork. But I left her Chinese certificate of abandonment, birth certificate, and adoption registration stuff at home. So today I returned with proper documentation.
We are scheduled to finalize our adoption under California law on Thursday, July 19th.
That's exactly 3 1/2 years after Casey's adoption was finalized. Which is a little weird because Casey was also 3 1/2 years old when we brought Marcie home. Maybe that's not weird. I don't know. . .
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
My, What a Difference a Year Makes, Part II
One year ago today, I saw Marcie's face for the first time. It was in an e-mail from our agency, CCAI. It was her "mug shot." And I fell in love. Well, I fell in love before I saw the picture. But the photo sure didn't hurt.
I still remember what I was wearing when I got the call-- gray pants, a purple sweater and black heels. I was settling in to my office, trying to figure out where I'd set up the video camera when my cell phone rang. It wasn't even 8:30am yet, and our agency was calling to tell us all about Yang Fu Ji.
I remember the Recruitment Coordinator Chali kindly printing color copies of Marcie's picture on photo paper for me so I could put up her photo next to Casey's in my office.
I remember racing through the firm, stopping in each office doorway to share the picture of my new daughter. (In retrospect, I must have seemed a little crazed to these people who hadn't even known me for a month yet.)
Marcie didn't have an American name yet. And we didn't name her June 27th, either. We narrowed it down to two choices a year ago today. (Obviously Marcie was one of them.)
A year ago today, I worried about how much air fare would cost. If we would get to see the Great Wall. How much Marcie would weigh by the time we met her.
Yeah. I remember what a big deal June 27, 2006 was to me. But in some ways I feel like I remember it from outside myself. Like I was watching it all happen to me . . . because I barely remember what life was like before Marcie joined our family.
And, my, look what a difference a year has made to her. Below left is Marcie's referral photo. Below right was taken almost exactly a year later. Yeah. A year makes a BIG difference . . .
I still remember what I was wearing when I got the call-- gray pants, a purple sweater and black heels. I was settling in to my office, trying to figure out where I'd set up the video camera when my cell phone rang. It wasn't even 8:30am yet, and our agency was calling to tell us all about Yang Fu Ji.
I remember the Recruitment Coordinator Chali kindly printing color copies of Marcie's picture on photo paper for me so I could put up her photo next to Casey's in my office.
I remember racing through the firm, stopping in each office doorway to share the picture of my new daughter. (In retrospect, I must have seemed a little crazed to these people who hadn't even known me for a month yet.)
Marcie didn't have an American name yet. And we didn't name her June 27th, either. We narrowed it down to two choices a year ago today. (Obviously Marcie was one of them.)
A year ago today, I worried about how much air fare would cost. If we would get to see the Great Wall. How much Marcie would weigh by the time we met her.
Yeah. I remember what a big deal June 27, 2006 was to me. But in some ways I feel like I remember it from outside myself. Like I was watching it all happen to me . . . because I barely remember what life was like before Marcie joined our family.
And, my, look what a difference a year has made to her. Below left is Marcie's referral photo. Below right was taken almost exactly a year later. Yeah. A year makes a BIG difference . . .
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
B.S. #3 The Paperchase & FAQs
So we have decided to pursue an adoption from China again. For B.S. #3 (That's Baby S. #3, although really Casey and Marcie aren't so much babies anymore). I was obsessing about it a while back, in May. And then I got sidetracked studying. Well, not really. Adoption's been on my mind-- I just haven't had much time to write about it. But now is the time I answer your burning questions:
1. Why China?
We kicked it around quite a bit back in May, as you know if you read regularly. I really struggled with it. I felt kind of strongly that I wanted to return to Asia because I want to be able to maintain some sort of connection to my children's roots. We already have two continents covered, and adding a third seemed a bit daunting to me (though truth be told, if things don't work out with China for us, we'll be making a bee-line to Ethiopia!).
Here's what it came down to for us. I did a boatload of research on Taiwan adoptions. They are private adoptions. We'd hire a US agency to coordinate with a nursery in Taiwan. We did select an agency-- the one agency we received so much positive feedback about, I felt very comfortable with them. I received a lot of unsolicited recommendations, and that's always a good sign. Their Taiwan program coordinator was amazingly patient, personable, and responsive. If you're contemplating Taiwan, you might look into FCA. They work with Cathwel in Taiwan. The thing is that the wait was going to be 18 months (average) until match-- and stretching. Plus another 6 months or so while the paperwork moved through the courts. And that's in addition to the homestudy. So basically we're looking at about 2 years from time of turning in paperwork. I was okay with the wait (there are several other agencies that have shorter waits, but many are new or I got very mixed reviews or they were terrible at follow-up). But then I started thinking-- if we're going to wait 2 years anyway, why not go back to China? With an agency I love, love, love? Plus, Taiwan was looking like it was going to cost substantially more (I estimated in the $10,000 range more), and with that extra money, we could bring the kids with us to China-- which might be nice (depending on their ages and temperaments at the time we travel). Given the risks involved in the Taiwan adoptions, the length of the wait, the additional costs, and the unknowns, we opted for China again.
2. What about the new restrictions? Do you qualify?
Yeah. We qualify. If something weird happens when we're in the review room, we'll have a valid international homestudy, we'll eat the agency cost, and we'll head for Ethiopia. Seriously.
3. Who are you using for the adoption?
We've returned to CCAI as our agency and Adoption Options as our homestudy agency. One of the reasons I was leaning against a California-based Taiwan agency is because they didn't work with Adoption Options, and I have had such a positive experience with them that I just didn't want to start a whole new homestudy process. Returning to agencies that have worked with us means they have a lot of our information and paperwork on file already, which makes our lives a lot easier.
4. Why now? Don't you think you should wait until after the Bar Exam?
Actually, making a decision is a huge relief. And perhaps we should wait until after July to start the paperwork, but with estimates placing the wait for a child from China estimated to stretch to 3 years, we know that getting paperwork done sooner rather than later makes sense. So we're taking it slowly, step by step, piece by piece. And when all the paperwork is together, we'll mail it in.
5. When do you think you'll be finished with "the paperchase"? What is the "paperchase" anyway?
Paperchasing is adoption lingo for gathering all the paperwork you need in your dossier. The dossier is the document that gets translated and sent to the China Center for Adoption Affairs, where they comb through your information and approve you as a prospective adoptive family. It includes birth certificates, marriage certificate, criminal clearance letters, proof of employment, proof of medical insurance, medial reports, a homestudy (which has a whole additional host of documents), a financial statement, and an adoption petition-- that's the brunt of it. To complete the dossier, though, not only do we have to collect all the right forms, but the forms have to go through a series of notarizations, certifications, and authentications to prove we haven't forged them or obtained them fraudulently. In addition to these documents, the homestudy is sent to USCIS (US Center for Immigration Services? I have no idea what it stands for; I'm totally making it up)-- anyway, they review the homestudy to approve us to bring home an orphan from a foreign country and they essentially pre-approve a visa for the child. This form/permission is the coveted 1-171H. And once that's in your hands, you can send everything off for certifications and authentications.
We are hoping to have our homestudy finished in August. We are hoping to have our paperwork all completed in September for shipment to our agency in October. Some of that will depend on whether we do all the notarizing, certifying, and authenticating ourselves, or if we have our agency do it for us. This process involves getting each document notarized. Then having our County Clerk certify the notary signature. Then having the Secretary of State in the local office certify the County Clerk signature (which is certifying the notary signature). Then we send all of that to the appropriate Chinese Consulate, which authenticates the Secretary of State signature (which is certifying the county clerk signature, which is certifying the notary signature). As you might imagine, that's rather time consuming.
6. Do you want a boy or a girl?
Yes. We want a boy or a girl. Or maybe we'll be brave and even request twins (which we'd never get, seeing as how we already have two kiddos). We go back and forth on this. We may request a boy. But even if we do, we'll make it clear we would be happy with a girl, too. We did not request a gender last time; we just requested a child "as young as possible." In the end, gender just isn't that important to us. On the one hand, I'd love to have another boy. On the other hand, I'd love to have another girl. Especially because Marcie is the only girl out of 7 grandkids. (Anyone else in the H. or S. families want to work on that for us? You know, ensure Marcie have a female playmate. . . we'd be cool with that!)
7. How old will the baby be?
We don't know. We qualify for a child ages 0-12 months old. And so that's what we will request.
8. Will the baby be from the same orphanage as Marcie?
Again, we don't know. We will be requesting a child from Yunyang Chengxiang Social Welfare Institute, which is where Marcie is from. We will be requesting a child from Chongqing Municipality, also where Marcie is from. We don't mind getting a child from anywhere in China, though. Going somewhere new would be a nice adventure. Returning to Chongqing would be nice, too-- we'd know what to expect, and it makes "returning to roots" much easier. But we're not that picky. We'll request these things, but I'm confident we'll end up with the child who is meant to be ours, no matter what part of China the child is from.
9. When will you meet the baby?
As I explained before, we're expecting the wait to stretch to two or three years. That puts us in China some time in 2010 or 2011. That's still awfully far away, which is why we're starting the process now. Marcie will be at least 5 by then. Casey will be 8. That's a bigger age spread than I'd ever planned. On the other hand, Jason will be home full time by then, and it's just more time to pay off debts and put away money. With five of us in our home, we'll be considering a home addition by the time 2011 rolls around, I think. If we can afford it. (Ah, to dream!)
10. Will this be "it"?
I don't know. We always planned to have at least three children. I can't say we'll close our hearts to additional family members after that. I can't say we'll seek another adoption actively, either. Let's see how things go with BS #3 and we can move forward from there.
11. What's your timeline so far?
I am keeping track of a timeline, which I'll be adding to the right margin eventually. Like I said, we're on schedule for now!
Have a question I didn't answer? E-mail me and I'll give you a response!
1. Why China?
We kicked it around quite a bit back in May, as you know if you read regularly. I really struggled with it. I felt kind of strongly that I wanted to return to Asia because I want to be able to maintain some sort of connection to my children's roots. We already have two continents covered, and adding a third seemed a bit daunting to me (though truth be told, if things don't work out with China for us, we'll be making a bee-line to Ethiopia!).
Here's what it came down to for us. I did a boatload of research on Taiwan adoptions. They are private adoptions. We'd hire a US agency to coordinate with a nursery in Taiwan. We did select an agency-- the one agency we received so much positive feedback about, I felt very comfortable with them. I received a lot of unsolicited recommendations, and that's always a good sign. Their Taiwan program coordinator was amazingly patient, personable, and responsive. If you're contemplating Taiwan, you might look into FCA. They work with Cathwel in Taiwan. The thing is that the wait was going to be 18 months (average) until match-- and stretching. Plus another 6 months or so while the paperwork moved through the courts. And that's in addition to the homestudy. So basically we're looking at about 2 years from time of turning in paperwork. I was okay with the wait (there are several other agencies that have shorter waits, but many are new or I got very mixed reviews or they were terrible at follow-up). But then I started thinking-- if we're going to wait 2 years anyway, why not go back to China? With an agency I love, love, love? Plus, Taiwan was looking like it was going to cost substantially more (I estimated in the $10,000 range more), and with that extra money, we could bring the kids with us to China-- which might be nice (depending on their ages and temperaments at the time we travel). Given the risks involved in the Taiwan adoptions, the length of the wait, the additional costs, and the unknowns, we opted for China again.
2. What about the new restrictions? Do you qualify?
Yeah. We qualify. If something weird happens when we're in the review room, we'll have a valid international homestudy, we'll eat the agency cost, and we'll head for Ethiopia. Seriously.
3. Who are you using for the adoption?
We've returned to CCAI as our agency and Adoption Options as our homestudy agency. One of the reasons I was leaning against a California-based Taiwan agency is because they didn't work with Adoption Options, and I have had such a positive experience with them that I just didn't want to start a whole new homestudy process. Returning to agencies that have worked with us means they have a lot of our information and paperwork on file already, which makes our lives a lot easier.
4. Why now? Don't you think you should wait until after the Bar Exam?
Actually, making a decision is a huge relief. And perhaps we should wait until after July to start the paperwork, but with estimates placing the wait for a child from China estimated to stretch to 3 years, we know that getting paperwork done sooner rather than later makes sense. So we're taking it slowly, step by step, piece by piece. And when all the paperwork is together, we'll mail it in.
5. When do you think you'll be finished with "the paperchase"? What is the "paperchase" anyway?
Paperchasing is adoption lingo for gathering all the paperwork you need in your dossier. The dossier is the document that gets translated and sent to the China Center for Adoption Affairs, where they comb through your information and approve you as a prospective adoptive family. It includes birth certificates, marriage certificate, criminal clearance letters, proof of employment, proof of medical insurance, medial reports, a homestudy (which has a whole additional host of documents), a financial statement, and an adoption petition-- that's the brunt of it. To complete the dossier, though, not only do we have to collect all the right forms, but the forms have to go through a series of notarizations, certifications, and authentications to prove we haven't forged them or obtained them fraudulently. In addition to these documents, the homestudy is sent to USCIS (US Center for Immigration Services? I have no idea what it stands for; I'm totally making it up)-- anyway, they review the homestudy to approve us to bring home an orphan from a foreign country and they essentially pre-approve a visa for the child. This form/permission is the coveted 1-171H. And once that's in your hands, you can send everything off for certifications and authentications.
We are hoping to have our homestudy finished in August. We are hoping to have our paperwork all completed in September for shipment to our agency in October. Some of that will depend on whether we do all the notarizing, certifying, and authenticating ourselves, or if we have our agency do it for us. This process involves getting each document notarized. Then having our County Clerk certify the notary signature. Then having the Secretary of State in the local office certify the County Clerk signature (which is certifying the notary signature). Then we send all of that to the appropriate Chinese Consulate, which authenticates the Secretary of State signature (which is certifying the county clerk signature, which is certifying the notary signature). As you might imagine, that's rather time consuming.
6. Do you want a boy or a girl?
Yes. We want a boy or a girl. Or maybe we'll be brave and even request twins (which we'd never get, seeing as how we already have two kiddos). We go back and forth on this. We may request a boy. But even if we do, we'll make it clear we would be happy with a girl, too. We did not request a gender last time; we just requested a child "as young as possible." In the end, gender just isn't that important to us. On the one hand, I'd love to have another boy. On the other hand, I'd love to have another girl. Especially because Marcie is the only girl out of 7 grandkids. (Anyone else in the H. or S. families want to work on that for us? You know, ensure Marcie have a female playmate. . . we'd be cool with that!)
7. How old will the baby be?
We don't know. We qualify for a child ages 0-12 months old. And so that's what we will request.
8. Will the baby be from the same orphanage as Marcie?
Again, we don't know. We will be requesting a child from Yunyang Chengxiang Social Welfare Institute, which is where Marcie is from. We will be requesting a child from Chongqing Municipality, also where Marcie is from. We don't mind getting a child from anywhere in China, though. Going somewhere new would be a nice adventure. Returning to Chongqing would be nice, too-- we'd know what to expect, and it makes "returning to roots" much easier. But we're not that picky. We'll request these things, but I'm confident we'll end up with the child who is meant to be ours, no matter what part of China the child is from.
9. When will you meet the baby?
As I explained before, we're expecting the wait to stretch to two or three years. That puts us in China some time in 2010 or 2011. That's still awfully far away, which is why we're starting the process now. Marcie will be at least 5 by then. Casey will be 8. That's a bigger age spread than I'd ever planned. On the other hand, Jason will be home full time by then, and it's just more time to pay off debts and put away money. With five of us in our home, we'll be considering a home addition by the time 2011 rolls around, I think. If we can afford it. (Ah, to dream!)
10. Will this be "it"?
I don't know. We always planned to have at least three children. I can't say we'll close our hearts to additional family members after that. I can't say we'll seek another adoption actively, either. Let's see how things go with BS #3 and we can move forward from there.
11. What's your timeline so far?
I am keeping track of a timeline, which I'll be adding to the right margin eventually. Like I said, we're on schedule for now!
Have a question I didn't answer? E-mail me and I'll give you a response!
My, What a Difference a Year Makes, Part I
A year ago today we learned that the information about our soon-to-be daughter was being feverishly translated by our agency in Colorado. We learned that we would be getting all the details the following day.
A year ago today I was running between 14 and 18 miles a week. I was in the midst of training for the America's Finest City Half Marathon (which I didn't end up running).
A year ago today I was spending my days researching interesting legal issues, learning about "big firm life," and commuting to a high rise in downtown San Diego.
A year ago today my dog died. I can't believe it's been a whole year. Casey still asks about him-- seeks confirmation that Chuffy really died. He did.
A year ago today I still had another year of law school left to complete.
Today, I will spend between 6 and 8 hours in the law school library, cramming as much information about California law as I can in preparation for the bar exam.
Today I ate lunch with my sister, who is getting married in a year. I haven't seen her since Christmas time when she got engaged.
Today I woke up at 3am and again at 6:09am. The first time I was in my own bed. The second time I was in Marcie's bed. Marcie didn't even have a bed in our house a year ago.
Today Casey told me he didn't want to put on socks because he was playing Thomas and that if he couldn't watch TV this morning, he wanted his big brother and big sister and Uncle Jason and Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Tram (who is really Aunt Tram) and Uncle Bryan and Other Grandma. . . anyone but Mommy. He also told me he was mad at me, and later that he wasn't mad at me anymore. He couldn't say any of those things a year ago.
Today Marcie picked out what shoes she wanted to wear, told me what she wanted for breakfast, blew Jason kisses bye-bye, and gave Grandma a great big hug when we got to her house. A year ago, there were no sweet kisses and no warm hugs. Just a photo of Marcie sitting in a pile of papers with her Chinese name attached.
A year ago today I was running between 14 and 18 miles a week. I was in the midst of training for the America's Finest City Half Marathon (which I didn't end up running).
A year ago today I was spending my days researching interesting legal issues, learning about "big firm life," and commuting to a high rise in downtown San Diego.
A year ago today my dog died. I can't believe it's been a whole year. Casey still asks about him-- seeks confirmation that Chuffy really died. He did.
A year ago today I still had another year of law school left to complete.
My, what a difference a year makes. . .
Today, I will spend between 6 and 8 hours in the law school library, cramming as much information about California law as I can in preparation for the bar exam.
Today I ate lunch with my sister, who is getting married in a year. I haven't seen her since Christmas time when she got engaged.
Today I woke up at 3am and again at 6:09am. The first time I was in my own bed. The second time I was in Marcie's bed. Marcie didn't even have a bed in our house a year ago.
Today Casey told me he didn't want to put on socks because he was playing Thomas and that if he couldn't watch TV this morning, he wanted his big brother and big sister and Uncle Jason and Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Tram (who is really Aunt Tram) and Uncle Bryan and Other Grandma. . . anyone but Mommy. He also told me he was mad at me, and later that he wasn't mad at me anymore. He couldn't say any of those things a year ago.
Today Marcie picked out what shoes she wanted to wear, told me what she wanted for breakfast, blew Jason kisses bye-bye, and gave Grandma a great big hug when we got to her house. A year ago, there were no sweet kisses and no warm hugs. Just a photo of Marcie sitting in a pile of papers with her Chinese name attached.
My, what a difference a year makes . . .
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Soccer
Casey played in his first soccer game yesterday. Fortunately no one keeps score. At least not publicly. Casey loved it. He didn't lay down on the field. He didn't push the other kids around (nor did they push him). He even scored a goal. We're not sure how much he understands yet, because he volunteered to be goalie right at the start of the game. We know he had no idea what he was volunteering for, and it took him a while to figure out that he was supposed to stop the ball before it went in the net. In the end, he played the field-- and had a great time doing it. Check him out!
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Shoes -- now with pictures
I. love. shoes. Just ask my dad. Or my husband. I love them. I love shopping for them. I love having them. And they last me forever. Seriously, I think I may even have a couple of pairs of shoes from high school still. I know I have some from college. And I graduated 12 years ago.
And I should confess that I don't have a lot of fancy, trendy, cool shoes. I have lots and lots of practical casual and work shoes. Truly. I have three pairs of black heels. One pair of black flats. Two pairs of black slides. Two pairs of black sling-backs (one is totally impractical and purchased on a whim two summers ago). And four pairs of black sandals. Oh. plus a pair of black mary janes and two pairs of black oxford-style lace-ups. That's just the black shoes. Not the tennis shoes, the red shoes (I actually have three pairs of red shoes), or the brown shoes. And that doesn't include flip flops.
I actually have really flat feet. And bunions. So I can't wear high heels without pain for any extended period of time, which means for longer than about an hour (which is too bad because I'm only five feet tall). But I still love shoes. I love them because no matter how tall you are (or how short), no matter how fat you are (or how thin), no matter what color your skin is-- shoes look good on everyone. They are fantastic to shop for. You rarely have to get all angry and depressed because "nothing fits." You can always find something to fit!
Well, all my shoe-wearing has really rubbed off on the kids. I've written before about how much Casey loves shoes. He has quite a shoe collection. And not be sexist, but I think it surprises me because he's a boy. He has two pairs of Lightning McQueen shoes, some Spiderman shoes, some Buzz Lightyear shoes, some Thomas shoes, and Spiderman sandals. He loves shopping for shoes. And wearing mine around the house.
Lately, I've been finding shoes all over the place. And not because of Casey, actually. Marcie has taken a shine to shoe-modeling, too. This morning I found a black flat under her highchair. I haven't worn it since April. She dug it out of my closet and clomped around the house with it, then discarded it when she got distracted by some other toy. The other day, I couldn't go to the gym because I couldn't find one of my running shoes. It was in her bedroom, next to her bed.
I can't say I'm displeased about this. I'm not. A little irritated maybe, but not unhappy. But this weekend, there has been a new interest in my flip flops. They are very comfortable flip flops-- I'm kind of picky about the piece that goes between the two toes, and this one is very soft. Marcie's been wearing them around my bedroom without putting her toes in them for a while. But Casey's interest is kind of new. Last night, Casey insisted on wearing them during story time. And this morning, Marcie and Casey got in a big fight over who could wear them. Which was really a shame because I wanted to wear them, much to their dismay.
So I took Casey to the store to see if we could find him some flip flops in his own size. And we did! I was surprised to discover three styles in his size. He picked some out, slid them on, and out the door we went. He's a little stiff walking in them still, but very excited about them. I'll post a picture of them a little later on . . .
Oh, and don't worry-- Marcie got some new shoes, too. I certainly wouldn't want to walk away empty-handed for her. She's wearing her new sandals (black with pink) as I type . . .
And I should confess that I don't have a lot of fancy, trendy, cool shoes. I have lots and lots of practical casual and work shoes. Truly. I have three pairs of black heels. One pair of black flats. Two pairs of black slides. Two pairs of black sling-backs (one is totally impractical and purchased on a whim two summers ago). And four pairs of black sandals. Oh. plus a pair of black mary janes and two pairs of black oxford-style lace-ups. That's just the black shoes. Not the tennis shoes, the red shoes (I actually have three pairs of red shoes), or the brown shoes. And that doesn't include flip flops.
I actually have really flat feet. And bunions. So I can't wear high heels without pain for any extended period of time, which means for longer than about an hour (which is too bad because I'm only five feet tall). But I still love shoes. I love them because no matter how tall you are (or how short), no matter how fat you are (or how thin), no matter what color your skin is-- shoes look good on everyone. They are fantastic to shop for. You rarely have to get all angry and depressed because "nothing fits." You can always find something to fit!
Well, all my shoe-wearing has really rubbed off on the kids. I've written before about how much Casey loves shoes. He has quite a shoe collection. And not be sexist, but I think it surprises me because he's a boy. He has two pairs of Lightning McQueen shoes, some Spiderman shoes, some Buzz Lightyear shoes, some Thomas shoes, and Spiderman sandals. He loves shopping for shoes. And wearing mine around the house.
Lately, I've been finding shoes all over the place. And not because of Casey, actually. Marcie has taken a shine to shoe-modeling, too. This morning I found a black flat under her highchair. I haven't worn it since April. She dug it out of my closet and clomped around the house with it, then discarded it when she got distracted by some other toy. The other day, I couldn't go to the gym because I couldn't find one of my running shoes. It was in her bedroom, next to her bed.
I can't say I'm displeased about this. I'm not. A little irritated maybe, but not unhappy. But this weekend, there has been a new interest in my flip flops. They are very comfortable flip flops-- I'm kind of picky about the piece that goes between the two toes, and this one is very soft. Marcie's been wearing them around my bedroom without putting her toes in them for a while. But Casey's interest is kind of new. Last night, Casey insisted on wearing them during story time. And this morning, Marcie and Casey got in a big fight over who could wear them. Which was really a shame because I wanted to wear them, much to their dismay.
So I took Casey to the store to see if we could find him some flip flops in his own size. And we did! I was surprised to discover three styles in his size. He picked some out, slid them on, and out the door we went. He's a little stiff walking in them still, but very excited about them. I'll post a picture of them a little later on . . .
Oh, and don't worry-- Marcie got some new shoes, too. I certainly wouldn't want to walk away empty-handed for her. She's wearing her new sandals (black with pink) as I type . . .
Friday, June 22, 2007
Jumping, Soccer, and other Fun
Sorry it's been a while. Is anyone even still reading this thing? Who would have guessed that studying for the bar would take so much out of me? Honestly, what's really kept me from blogging is lack of Internet access during the daytime. I'm too tired to get online when I get home, and I don't have Internet access during class. Which is probably better for my studying and focus. . .
So the big news this week is that Marcie has learned to jump. She is a riot with it. After the Little Gym class last week, she decided to try on her own. During class, she always bends her knees and lets me lift her, but this past weekend she decided to jump on her own. And, my, she is very proud of herself. And so darn cute doing it. She has also begun to run. Not speed walk (I am always so surprised and impressed at how quickly toddlers move!), but run. This morning, she ran from the car to her grandmother's front door. She paused before the stoop step and stepped up it carefully, then stretched up on her tippy toes to ring the doorbell. All. By. her. self. It's crazy how fast she's growing up.
As pleased as I am with her motor development (and her language skills, which never cease to impress me-- this morning she said thank you unprompted!), I am really displeased with her sleep habits. I vaguely remember Casey going through this phase of waking in the middle of the night and wanting a milk cup/bottle-- or was it chicken? There was also a phase during which he'd wake up at 1am and ask for chicken to eat. And I remember talking to someone (my mom? Jason? friends?) about how it was bad for his teeth and I needed to break him of it. But I was so tired, that it was just so hard not to just give him the drink and let him put himself back to sleep. For the life of me, I cannot remember what we did to resolve the issue. Or if it cleared on its own. I think it might have gone away on its own, and we chalked it up to a growth spurt. Oh, but if only it were so easy with Marcie. After going to bed last night, she got up twice-- once around midnight and the other time around 5am. I guess that's 5 hours of sleep in a row. But the night before-- goodness almighty-- I was up with her four times. Each time she asked me for milk, and each time I said no. Until 4am. When I finally gave in and gave her some water. I probably just totally ruined things doing that, huh? I probably almost had her trained to believe I wouldn't get her middle-of-the-night beverages and blew it when she asked the fourth time. Anyway, it's getting old.
And I can't help but wonder my eternal question-- are Marcie's sleep issues just regular kid issues or adoption issues? Is she just not used to sleeping alone? She's been home with us in her own bed now since November, so around 7 1/2 months. Is it that she is frightened by the dark? (We leave a hall light on now.) Is it that she wants to make sure I'm still around? Or am I just making too much of it all? It's so hard to know-- and as I have explained to all those people around me who roll their eyes at me when I talk about it-- I don't want to be one of those people who blames everything on adoption. But I also don't want to ignore the fact that Marcie may have issues that we need to give more time to than we would if she were with us from birth. And for me, sleeping is just one of those things. I go back and forth on it. Sometimes I think, "Enough is enough already!" But then the next day I think, "Geez, Karen, give it some time, already!"
Anyway, in other news, Casey plays in his first real soccer game this Saturday! Hopefully we'll get some photos or video of that. More importantly, hopefully he won't just lay down on the field and ignore the ball. And the real big news of last week was the arrival of my nephew, Ethan Xavier H. He is the seventh grandchild to my parents, the sixth boy. (Poor Marcie!)He was 7 pounds, 4 ounces and 20 inches. He had a full head of hair (almost as much as Marcie!!!), and eyebrows already. I'd post a picture of me and Jason with him, but I stupidly forgot my camera when we went to visit him in the hospital, and I've been staying away ever since (because I developed a viral throat infection on Sunday-- good times, but at least I can breathe, so I'm grateful for that!).
I DO have more to tell- I think I left everyone hanging with our adoption decision. And we did make one. And we are paper-chasing for BS #3. But I'll have to save that for another post, when I have a bit more time to write.
Oh. And for those of you still reading this blog. Thank you.
So the big news this week is that Marcie has learned to jump. She is a riot with it. After the Little Gym class last week, she decided to try on her own. During class, she always bends her knees and lets me lift her, but this past weekend she decided to jump on her own. And, my, she is very proud of herself. And so darn cute doing it. She has also begun to run. Not speed walk (I am always so surprised and impressed at how quickly toddlers move!), but run. This morning, she ran from the car to her grandmother's front door. She paused before the stoop step and stepped up it carefully, then stretched up on her tippy toes to ring the doorbell. All. By. her. self. It's crazy how fast she's growing up.
As pleased as I am with her motor development (and her language skills, which never cease to impress me-- this morning she said thank you unprompted!), I am really displeased with her sleep habits. I vaguely remember Casey going through this phase of waking in the middle of the night and wanting a milk cup/bottle-- or was it chicken? There was also a phase during which he'd wake up at 1am and ask for chicken to eat. And I remember talking to someone (my mom? Jason? friends?) about how it was bad for his teeth and I needed to break him of it. But I was so tired, that it was just so hard not to just give him the drink and let him put himself back to sleep. For the life of me, I cannot remember what we did to resolve the issue. Or if it cleared on its own. I think it might have gone away on its own, and we chalked it up to a growth spurt. Oh, but if only it were so easy with Marcie. After going to bed last night, she got up twice-- once around midnight and the other time around 5am. I guess that's 5 hours of sleep in a row. But the night before-- goodness almighty-- I was up with her four times. Each time she asked me for milk, and each time I said no. Until 4am. When I finally gave in and gave her some water. I probably just totally ruined things doing that, huh? I probably almost had her trained to believe I wouldn't get her middle-of-the-night beverages and blew it when she asked the fourth time. Anyway, it's getting old.
And I can't help but wonder my eternal question-- are Marcie's sleep issues just regular kid issues or adoption issues? Is she just not used to sleeping alone? She's been home with us in her own bed now since November, so around 7 1/2 months. Is it that she is frightened by the dark? (We leave a hall light on now.) Is it that she wants to make sure I'm still around? Or am I just making too much of it all? It's so hard to know-- and as I have explained to all those people around me who roll their eyes at me when I talk about it-- I don't want to be one of those people who blames everything on adoption. But I also don't want to ignore the fact that Marcie may have issues that we need to give more time to than we would if she were with us from birth. And for me, sleeping is just one of those things. I go back and forth on it. Sometimes I think, "Enough is enough already!" But then the next day I think, "Geez, Karen, give it some time, already!"
Anyway, in other news, Casey plays in his first real soccer game this Saturday! Hopefully we'll get some photos or video of that. More importantly, hopefully he won't just lay down on the field and ignore the ball. And the real big news of last week was the arrival of my nephew, Ethan Xavier H. He is the seventh grandchild to my parents, the sixth boy. (Poor Marcie!)He was 7 pounds, 4 ounces and 20 inches. He had a full head of hair (almost as much as Marcie!!!), and eyebrows already. I'd post a picture of me and Jason with him, but I stupidly forgot my camera when we went to visit him in the hospital, and I've been staying away ever since (because I developed a viral throat infection on Sunday-- good times, but at least I can breathe, so I'm grateful for that!).
I DO have more to tell- I think I left everyone hanging with our adoption decision. And we did make one. And we are paper-chasing for BS #3. But I'll have to save that for another post, when I have a bit more time to write.
Oh. And for those of you still reading this blog. Thank you.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Little Gym Show Week
So this was the last week of Marcie's Little Gym class. We've missed the past three weeks-- two because I was in bar review class and one for graduation. But we made it back in time for Marcie to accept her award. She cried during each "skill" activity. I think that was in small part because I let her head roll off the balance beam when she was doing her forward roll on it. It' s not as awful as it sounds-- Miss Ashley was right there and gave Marcie's head support-- but I think it freaked her out. And it was the first skill we did, so then she was timid with me the rest of the time (I can't imagine why!). She did manage the pull over on the bar-- but, again she cried during it. She nailed the forward rolls on the air track and the floor. And she kicked ball after ball and dropped them in the basketball hoop. She (finally) notice the bubbles during bubble time and ran through them in wonderment. And during the "awards" part of class, she ran right up to Miss Ashley to get her ribbon, which she wore on her wrist for the closing song and stamp.
I was kicking myself for forgetting the camera. But I just now remembered that I actually did have it with me in my bag. I'm feeling even more stupid for having it and not using it than I felt when I just thought I didn't have it. Such is life. Her new class starts next weekend-- so I'll just have to be sure to get some photos of her then.
I was kicking myself for forgetting the camera. But I just now remembered that I actually did have it with me in my bag. I'm feeling even more stupid for having it and not using it than I felt when I just thought I didn't have it. Such is life. Her new class starts next weekend-- so I'll just have to be sure to get some photos of her then.
Prelude to Father's Day
Casey came home from school with a gift for Jason that had me laughing so hard, I was crying. I just have to share:
I must admit, I thought the restaurant and food shopping were the funniest-- because those are what Casey likes. But the height and weight had me in stitches, too. And corn? Has Jason ever even cooked corn? Jason's actually a great cook, and he cooks for the kids all the time-- but never corn! Though Casey was right about one thing-- Jason DOES have 7 candles on his birthday cake each year. Of course, he has a few more in addition to that, too! Hee hee. I love it!
What I know about Dad
My Dad's name is Daddy.
He weighs 123 pounds.
He is 12 feet tall.
His hair is black.
He buys a size 1 pants.
He likes to wear shirts.
On his birthday he has 7 candles on his cake.
Dad's favorite color is red.
His favorite sport is baseball and soccer.
He watches baseball on TV.
His favorite restaurant is Red Robin.
He loves to cook corn.
When he shops he loves to buy Food-- peanut butter and jelly.
My dad is special because I love Daddy.
On Father's Day, I want to buy my dad a firefighter.
I must admit, I thought the restaurant and food shopping were the funniest-- because those are what Casey likes. But the height and weight had me in stitches, too. And corn? Has Jason ever even cooked corn? Jason's actually a great cook, and he cooks for the kids all the time-- but never corn! Though Casey was right about one thing-- Jason DOES have 7 candles on his birthday cake each year. Of course, he has a few more in addition to that, too! Hee hee. I love it!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Raising a Lefty
I am a total idiot with my left hand. Sure, I can do some things-- like type. I can swing a bat about equally well with my left and right hands. And I swing a golf club about equally well with my left and right hands. (That should tell you something about the quality of my batting and swinging.) So trying to teach Casey how to do things with his left hand-- particularly the fine motor things (like cutting and drawing)-- well, let's just say I'm not the greatest role model.
Now truth is that kids don't actually set on a handedness until around age 6, and you're not supposed to push them into one hand or the other because they may prefer to do some things with one and some with the other. But me? I don't think I could every do anything with my left hand. I sure can't feed myself or cook with it. But Casey on the other hand, he's pretty darn good with both hands. Yeah, he prefers his left for fine motor things-- but there's no discernible difference in the quality of cutting or drawing between samples done with his right hand as compared to those with his left (and that you should tell you something about the quality of his work!).
But when it comes to sports, this ambidexterity is, for the most part, pretty neat to watch. Casey has recently taken a major liking to baseball. He wants to play baseball every minute of sunlight. He's always had great aim and a strong arm (both with his right and left arms). And now he's taking a shine to batting. Sure, he hits of a tee. But if you over-hand throw a ball to him he. can. hit. it. I can't even do that half the time. Even when people are trying to throw me balls to hit. Then again, I think I've already established we probably shouldn't use my ball skills as a measuring stick.
Anyway, yesterday he started talking about wanting to wear a glove. He didn't know what it was called at first, but Jason tells me he actually found a brown paper bag somewhere in the house and fashioned himself a glove! So today we decided to buy Casey his first baseball glove.
Now this is tricky because Casey is a lefty. He definitely prefers batting right-handed. But he wants to throw the ball with his left hand. And the selection of left-handed gloves for preschoolers is, well, non-existent. They had sponge bob and princess 8.5" gloves. They had 8.5" and 9" right-handed gloves. But I guess there isn't much of a market for the little guys who throw with their left hands. So Casey got a 10" glove (because it was the smallest we could find). And he carried it with him everywhere today.
And I mean everywhere. Check him out as he laid down for his nap:
Snack
Marcie has mastered the word snack. She mastered it a while ago. But she's gotten pretty good at expressing her dietary desires by using it. It's the first thing she says after "guh guh" (Big Brother in Mandarin) and milk in the mornings. She even says it after breakfast. And this morning she screamed at Jason (literally) and threw herself down on the ground when he wouldn't give her more food (she'd already had a bowl of cereal with milk, two cups of milk, and half a banana).
Marcie is a child of opinion and determination. Something of a spitfire. She'll grab me by the hand and drag me all over the place, demanding my presence where she wants to be. I actually kind of like it. I like that she has opinions. I'll go out on a limb and guess that I'll like it less when she's a teenager and back-talks me (as all teenagers do). But for now, I like it. I think it's evidence of her confidence.
Anyway, in fitting with this opinionated and determined attitude, last week she followed me to the fridge while I was making lunches. I took out the lunch meat, and the mayo-- the pickles and the jelly. And when I went to close the door, Marcie squawked at me. So I let her root around for about 30 seconds, and then I told her it was time to close the door so we wouldn't waste any electricity. As I shut the door, she looked up at me and said, "Bit."
"You want bit?" I asked.
"Yup," she replied.
"Marcie, Mommy doesn't know what bit is. Can you show me?" Marcie dragged me over to the cutting board, where I was making the sandwiches and stretch her pudgy little arm up, feeling around. "Bread?" I asked, "You want bread?"
"Yup," she replied.
"Okay." I pulled out a slice of bread. "Do you want peanut butter on it?" She nodded her head yes. "Can you say peanut butter?"
"Peas," she repeated.
"Good enough," I smiled. And handed her the bread with peanut butter on it. She's getting better at saying peanut butter, though I doubt anyone but me would understand that bit and peas is bread with peanut butter. Still, she sure did enjoy her snack:
Night Night
Even though I don't have much awake time with the kids, I do manage to kiss them good night every night. Here's how they look to me:
Stealing Moments
I never imagined I could feel busier than I did while working, helping raise two children, and attending law school at night. But I do. I spent hours upon hours listening to lectures, then in the library. Then I come home to a quiet house and try to study some more. I find myself looking forward (!) to being startled out of a deep sleep somewhere between 5:45am and 6:15am because it's my special (and most days of late) only time with them.
I was really looking forward to this morning because it's been a full week since I've had more than 2 hours in a row to play with them. . .
This morning, while we were outside adjusting the bubble machine, I noticed a lizard on the back fence. "Casey," I whispered loudly. "Look at that lizard." I pointed to it just as the lizard rose up on what I imagine to be its tippy toes, and scurried a bit.
"Come on, Mommy," he whispered loudly back. But I didn't have my shoes on, and I feared if I went inside to find some (wherever Marcie had hidden them), I wouldn't make it back in time to get an up-close view of our lizard friend.
"No, Casey. You go. Before it runs away."
He hesitated. Then looked back and forth between me and the lizard, and finally he grabbed Marcie's hand and whispered loudly to her, "Come on, Marcie. Let's go see the wizard." She held his hand tightly as they slowly stepped across the dead patches of what used to be grass in our backyard. And they came to a stop about a foot and a half from the fence. I could still hear Casey, though, as he whispered to Marcie, "We have to be very quiet and very slow so we don't scare the wizard." (yeah, sometimes his Ls are a lot like his Ws)
I actually got choked up. I'm sure that has nothing to do with being over-tired. But seriously, how cute is that! To see my 4 year old taking such good care of my 18-month-old. To see him behave in such a gentle way. To see him teach her something he'd learned.
I am so grateful I got to steal that moment with the kids. . .
I was really looking forward to this morning because it's been a full week since I've had more than 2 hours in a row to play with them. . .
This morning, while we were outside adjusting the bubble machine, I noticed a lizard on the back fence. "Casey," I whispered loudly. "Look at that lizard." I pointed to it just as the lizard rose up on what I imagine to be its tippy toes, and scurried a bit.
"Come on, Mommy," he whispered loudly back. But I didn't have my shoes on, and I feared if I went inside to find some (wherever Marcie had hidden them), I wouldn't make it back in time to get an up-close view of our lizard friend.
"No, Casey. You go. Before it runs away."
He hesitated. Then looked back and forth between me and the lizard, and finally he grabbed Marcie's hand and whispered loudly to her, "Come on, Marcie. Let's go see the wizard." She held his hand tightly as they slowly stepped across the dead patches of what used to be grass in our backyard. And they came to a stop about a foot and a half from the fence. I could still hear Casey, though, as he whispered to Marcie, "We have to be very quiet and very slow so we don't scare the wizard." (yeah, sometimes his Ls are a lot like his Ws)
I actually got choked up. I'm sure that has nothing to do with being over-tired. But seriously, how cute is that! To see my 4 year old taking such good care of my 18-month-old. To see him behave in such a gentle way. To see him teach her something he'd learned.
I am so grateful I got to steal that moment with the kids. . .
Monday, June 04, 2007
Coming Apart at the Seams
I've been staring at books and computers too long. I actually changed the spelling of seams in the title of this post three times before I settled on using an a in it instead of an e. Yes, I realize they have completely different (and unrelated) meanings. That should tell you something about the fog my brain is currently covered in.
It's me. I'm the one coming apart at the seams. My week-long wait between posts has not been because I have nothing to say (that's a rarity few people have experienced!). I've just been swamped. This studying for the bar stuff--- let's just say I feel like I fell into the deep end of the pool, and although I know how to tread water and I used to know how to swim, I still don't have the confidence to just start swimming. . . I still leave my house between 7:15am and 7:30am, and I still roll home some time around 10pm most nights. But now I spend all those intervening hours cramming 12-15 legal subjects (depending on how you divide it up) into my tiny brain. It's exhausting.
But that's not what's done me in. What's done me in is . . .
Ta Da!
STREP THROAT. AGAIN.
So in the month of May, I had the joy of strep throat, a few days of health, followed by a bad head cold, and then another bout of strep throat. Good times. I must say, I am seriously wonder if Casey and Marcie are carriers who just keep giving it back to me. I mean, I have to be contracting it from somewhere. And strep throat, untreated, can lead to rheumatic fever. Which can damage your heart. So if the kids do have it and are demonstrating absolutely no symptoms (as is the case here), what is a parent to do? Yes, I called the pediatrician. They told us not to bother if there are not symptoms. Despite the fact that a month ago when they had no symptoms, they both had strep throat.
Anyway, I'm feeling better today-- I started antibiotics on Friday. Spent the weekend in the library (shocking). And I'm in the library now. Taking a very short break in between completing practice essay outlines on Evidence and starting to compile my Criminal Law outline.
Noteworthy, I think, is the new vocabulary that has crept into our home:
CASEY now says things like, "Mommy go to library to study?" And understands (at least seems to) that I have "big test" coming up. He's also figured out that "Mommy goes to school" even when "school is closed." I like to think I'm just setting him up for a future life of academia-- right? I mean, if Mommy always studies, that must be what people do. . . Yep. I'm role-modeling.
He's also taken up baseball, and darned if he isn't actually good at it! He loves swinging the bat (right-handed-- even though he's mainly a lefty). And he is pretty on-target with hitting the ball off the tee, too. Turns out you have to be 5 to play Little League around here-- so I hope his interest lasts!
MARCIE doesn't understand that I'm studying. She has developed quite an affinity for Jason in the mornings, though. This morning, she crept into our bedroom while I was putting on shoes, put her pointer finger over her mouth and said, "SHHH!" while she pointed to Jason, asleep. She has also added the word "train" and "Thomas" and even "Peep! Peep!" to her list of words and phrases.
That's all that's really been going on. Thanks for all your congratulatory thoughts-- especially Ruth if you're reading this. I was shocked that, with all you have going on, you popped in to see my little old blog. Shocked isn't the right word. Touched is. And if you don't know about Ruth, and you're interested, you can check out her blog. She's a fighter!
It's me. I'm the one coming apart at the seams. My week-long wait between posts has not been because I have nothing to say (that's a rarity few people have experienced!). I've just been swamped. This studying for the bar stuff--- let's just say I feel like I fell into the deep end of the pool, and although I know how to tread water and I used to know how to swim, I still don't have the confidence to just start swimming. . . I still leave my house between 7:15am and 7:30am, and I still roll home some time around 10pm most nights. But now I spend all those intervening hours cramming 12-15 legal subjects (depending on how you divide it up) into my tiny brain. It's exhausting.
But that's not what's done me in. What's done me in is . . .
Ta Da!
STREP THROAT. AGAIN.
So in the month of May, I had the joy of strep throat, a few days of health, followed by a bad head cold, and then another bout of strep throat. Good times. I must say, I am seriously wonder if Casey and Marcie are carriers who just keep giving it back to me. I mean, I have to be contracting it from somewhere. And strep throat, untreated, can lead to rheumatic fever. Which can damage your heart. So if the kids do have it and are demonstrating absolutely no symptoms (as is the case here), what is a parent to do? Yes, I called the pediatrician. They told us not to bother if there are not symptoms. Despite the fact that a month ago when they had no symptoms, they both had strep throat.
Anyway, I'm feeling better today-- I started antibiotics on Friday. Spent the weekend in the library (shocking). And I'm in the library now. Taking a very short break in between completing practice essay outlines on Evidence and starting to compile my Criminal Law outline.
Noteworthy, I think, is the new vocabulary that has crept into our home:
CASEY now says things like, "Mommy go to library to study?" And understands (at least seems to) that I have "big test" coming up. He's also figured out that "Mommy goes to school" even when "school is closed." I like to think I'm just setting him up for a future life of academia-- right? I mean, if Mommy always studies, that must be what people do. . . Yep. I'm role-modeling.
He's also taken up baseball, and darned if he isn't actually good at it! He loves swinging the bat (right-handed-- even though he's mainly a lefty). And he is pretty on-target with hitting the ball off the tee, too. Turns out you have to be 5 to play Little League around here-- so I hope his interest lasts!
MARCIE doesn't understand that I'm studying. She has developed quite an affinity for Jason in the mornings, though. This morning, she crept into our bedroom while I was putting on shoes, put her pointer finger over her mouth and said, "SHHH!" while she pointed to Jason, asleep. She has also added the word "train" and "Thomas" and even "Peep! Peep!" to her list of words and phrases.
That's all that's really been going on. Thanks for all your congratulatory thoughts-- especially Ruth if you're reading this. I was shocked that, with all you have going on, you popped in to see my little old blog. Shocked isn't the right word. Touched is. And if you don't know about Ruth, and you're interested, you can check out her blog. She's a fighter!
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
True Feminism
I don't actually think of myself as a feminist or a non-feminist. I think women should have equal opportunities to men. I think men should have similar opportunities to women. This is evidenced, at least in small part, by our family goal to have Jason become a full-time-stay-at-home-dad, while I go off to be our family wage-earner. Fortunately for me, this is one place where Jason and I see eye to eye. And I know you're thinking it-- but I do recognize that complete equality is neither physically possible, nor is it likely desirable. I'm thinking a bunch of pregnant men running around would give me (and many other women) a gigantic headache!
Like many strong-willed, independently-minded women, I hope to raise my daughter to be equally independent. I hope to teacher her self-reliance. I hope she becomes confident and trusts herself above all others. And along with that comes my complete (well, almost complete) lack of concern over gender-specific attire and such. Don't get me wrong, I like dressing her in pink now and again. I want her to grow her hair out. I am not anti-femininity by any stretch of the imagination. But if Marcie wants to wear her brother's hand-me-down Car clothes-- even his (gasp!) underwear (seeing as how they don't make it in girl version), I'm not gonna get in her way.
And when she picks up the Thomas trains, or she climbs in the giant dump truck, or she points out trucks and buses on the road, I feel no concern that she is not appropriately girly. I just don't think it should-- or does-- matter.
But I think the true measure of feminism has nothing to do with how a mother raises her daughter. I think for true signs of equality, we need look no further than a mother-- or father's-- attitude toward their son's attire. Choice of toys. And such. And last week I got an ever-so-brief lesson in what that really means when we were at a local park. Casey saw a scooter laying on the ground, and he decided he wanted to test it out. So he did. Mind you, he was completely unconcerned by its appearance. Here he is riding it at the park:
Like many strong-willed, independently-minded women, I hope to raise my daughter to be equally independent. I hope to teacher her self-reliance. I hope she becomes confident and trusts herself above all others. And along with that comes my complete (well, almost complete) lack of concern over gender-specific attire and such. Don't get me wrong, I like dressing her in pink now and again. I want her to grow her hair out. I am not anti-femininity by any stretch of the imagination. But if Marcie wants to wear her brother's hand-me-down Car clothes-- even his (gasp!) underwear (seeing as how they don't make it in girl version), I'm not gonna get in her way.
And when she picks up the Thomas trains, or she climbs in the giant dump truck, or she points out trucks and buses on the road, I feel no concern that she is not appropriately girly. I just don't think it should-- or does-- matter.
But I think the true measure of feminism has nothing to do with how a mother raises her daughter. I think for true signs of equality, we need look no further than a mother-- or father's-- attitude toward their son's attire. Choice of toys. And such. And last week I got an ever-so-brief lesson in what that really means when we were at a local park. Casey saw a scooter laying on the ground, and he decided he wanted to test it out. So he did. Mind you, he was completely unconcerned by its appearance. Here he is riding it at the park:
Now, I have no concerns that because Casey selected the pink princess scooter it's an indication of his sexuality. He's four, for crying out loud. And I wouldn't even really mind if it were. He is who he is. But something inside me screamed out in alarm-- I mean, if he picked this out for himself, would I purchase it? Or would I direct him toward a "more appropriate" Spiderman version? And if Marcie were his older sister instead of his younger one and she had a scooter like this, would I be content with Casey riding it as a hand-me-down toy? Or would I feel compelled to purchase him a more "masculine" scooter? I'd like to think the notion of my son riding around on a pink, frilly scooter evokes no reaction in me at all-- just as it clearly evoked no reaction in him. Maybe I should be taking a lesson from Casey in what it really means to be a feminist!
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Drumroll please . . .
So I've been away from blogging for an entire week. And, very uncharacteristically, I've also been away from reading other blogs for most of the week. I'm starting to go through withdrawal!
When I left off, I was anxiously awaiting the results of my final exams to see where I'd pan out in class rank at the end of it all. I was also coming down with a pretty nasty cold. As for the cold, I'm doing much better -- no thanks to my bar review schedule, though. Monday I studied for about 4 hours after our Barbri class, and I landed in bed completely dizzy and wiped out. I felt better Tuesday, but after 5 hours of a Barbri torts lecture and another 3 hours of studying, I went to another three hour lecture.
Wednesday I took it easy because my parents were in town, and we celebrated my mom's 33rd birthday. Obviously, it isn't really my mom's 33rd birthday-- and my mom's not the kind of lady who's hung up on age at all. It's just that I forgot to buy candles, and since Jason and I both celebrated our 33rd birthdays this past November, we had two #3 candles lying around, which we used. We had delicious carrot bundt cake and cheesecake, too.
Thursday was grueling. The Barbri lecture (by one of my all-time favorite legal scholars-- Erwin Chemerinsky!) was from 9-5. I immediately went to another torts lecture following that-- finishing my day around 10pm. Then Friday I took it easy. After Barbri, Jason and I ran some errands and headed out with my parents to the law school awards ceremony.
There's no way I'll be able to keep this pace and survive all the way until the end of July-- but this is graduation week, so I've sucked it up for now, and I'm hoping to settle in to a normal routine this coming week.
Here's the basic run-down on the graduation stuff.
Friday night was the awards ceremony. I think it was pretty close, but in the end, I did end up getting the Legal Scholar Award. This was given to me because I earned the highest GPA in the evening division of law school. There aren't a lot of us in the evening division-- which basically just means among those who attended school part-time over 4 years instead of full-time for 3 years. But I worked hard to keep this standing, and I really wanted this award. It came with a very generous cash gift. We went to Spaghetti Factory for dinner because that's what I really wanted. We never go there (even though it's a great price) because the kids don't eat pasta. So it was a treat for me.
Then, this morning, at graduation, they asked me to put a doily on my mortar board. Being a traditionalist and not wanting anything on my cap, initially I refused. "No thanks," I said. "I'm kind of a traditionalist."
"It's for Order of the Coif," they explained. Order of the Coif is a national honor society-- not every school is able to initiate members into this society. And the students admitted must be in the top 10 % of their graduating class. My school inducted 33 members. I was one of them. They did a special induction during the awards ceremony during which we were recognized. It was cool.
During the graduation ceremony, there were two main speakers. A prestigious keynote-- one of the Supreme Court of Minnesota justices (whose name escapes me at the moment). He spoke about legal ethics and the importance of being ethical in practice. I missed most of the speech because I was reviewing intentional torts and defamation elements in my mind (still trying to memorize). The other speaker was our class valedictorian-- who gave an entertaining and engaging speech dispelling three myths of law school graduation. She also touched a bit on ethics-- she explained that a friend of hers received a reference request for her moral character application. The request read: Does this applicant hold herself up to the standard you expect of an attorney in the legal profession? He wanted to to know if it was a joke-- would it be more helpful to answer that question in the positive or the negative, given the reputation of the legal profession today . . .
Anyway, when they read names, they also indicated the honors the individual received. So students learned as they were walking across stage whether they were in the top 5% or the top 15% (or if they were in either). I knew I was in the top 10% from receiving Order of the Coif, but I was delighted to learn I graduated magna cum laude, which means I was in the top 5% of the graduating class!
So there you go. Law school is officially over. I am officially a graduate. I worked my butt off. My husband worked his tail off holding the family together. My in-laws were our safety net, watching the kids whenever we needed their help, always encouraging me. My siblings and siblings-in-law stepped up time and again when I needed someone to watch the kids or help me out with something. My parents listened to me gripe about the test or grades or whatever. My friends reminded me that I need to strive for balance in my life-- that life is not just about law school. And my kids . . . . well, they're a major part of the reason I went to school in the first place. I loved teaching, but being an attorney means they get a stay-at-home parent (hopefully in the next two years). So while everyone congratulated me and celebrated me today because I was the one who read the books and outlined the material and wrote the exams-- I know this accomplishment isn't just about me. It's about all those people who pushed me along the way.
And I'll just mention one other thing. I didn't get into law school. I was rejected from every school to which I applied, and only wait-listed at the University of San Diego School of Law. I'm not sure why-- I actually had the numbers for any of the schools. I guess I didn't show well on paper. Regardless, a mere three days before the start of orientation, USD offered me a spot off the wait-list, and I accepted it-- with a lot of prodding from my parents and Jason. I find great satisfaction in being the kid who didn't even get accepted-- but still earned the highest GPA in my unit and graduated among the top 16 people in the school. It just goes to show you that you can't always judge a person by what they look like on paper.
Photo credits: My mom and Casey at her birthday party, me and Marcie before I left for graduation (Casey refused to take a photo with me, while I shouted after him, "You'll regret that decision in 10 years when you want to know where your picture with me is!"- he didn't seem to care), Jason and me, Jim and me and Yee (me with my in-laws) , me with my parents, my study group (Paul & Delinda)-- who are going to help me prepare for and pass the California bar!
When I left off, I was anxiously awaiting the results of my final exams to see where I'd pan out in class rank at the end of it all. I was also coming down with a pretty nasty cold. As for the cold, I'm doing much better -- no thanks to my bar review schedule, though. Monday I studied for about 4 hours after our Barbri class, and I landed in bed completely dizzy and wiped out. I felt better Tuesday, but after 5 hours of a Barbri torts lecture and another 3 hours of studying, I went to another three hour lecture.
Wednesday I took it easy because my parents were in town, and we celebrated my mom's 33rd birthday. Obviously, it isn't really my mom's 33rd birthday-- and my mom's not the kind of lady who's hung up on age at all. It's just that I forgot to buy candles, and since Jason and I both celebrated our 33rd birthdays this past November, we had two #3 candles lying around, which we used. We had delicious carrot bundt cake and cheesecake, too.Thursday was grueling. The Barbri lecture (by one of my all-time favorite legal scholars-- Erwin Chemerinsky!) was from 9-5. I immediately went to another torts lecture following that-- finishing my day around 10pm. Then Friday I took it easy. After Barbri, Jason and I ran some errands and headed out with my parents to the law school awards ceremony.
There's no way I'll be able to keep this pace and survive all the way until the end of July-- but this is graduation week, so I've sucked it up for now, and I'm hoping to settle in to a normal routine this coming week.
Here's the basic run-down on the graduation stuff.
Friday night was the awards ceremony. I think it was pretty close, but in the end, I did end up getting the Legal Scholar Award. This was given to me because I earned the highest GPA in the evening division of law school. There aren't a lot of us in the evening division-- which basically just means among those who attended school part-time over 4 years instead of full-time for 3 years. But I worked hard to keep this standing, and I really wanted this award. It came with a very generous cash gift. We went to Spaghetti Factory for dinner because that's what I really wanted. We never go there (even though it's a great price) because the kids don't eat pasta. So it was a treat for me.
Then, this morning, at graduation, they asked me to put a doily on my mortar board. Being a traditionalist and not wanting anything on my cap, initially I refused. "No thanks," I said. "I'm kind of a traditionalist.""It's for Order of the Coif," they explained. Order of the Coif is a national honor society-- not every school is able to initiate members into this society. And the students admitted must be in the top 10 % of their graduating class. My school inducted 33 members. I was one of them. They did a special induction during the awards ceremony during which we were recognized. It was cool.
During the graduation ceremony, there were two main speakers. A prestigious keynote-- one of the Supreme Court of Minnesota justices (whose name escapes me at the moment). He spoke about legal ethics and the importance of being ethical in practice. I missed most of the speech because I was reviewing intentional torts and defamation elements in my mind (still trying to memorize). The other speaker was our class valedictorian-- who gave an entertaining and engaging speech dispelling three myths of law school graduation. She also touched a bit on ethics-- she explained that a friend of hers received a reference request for her moral character application. The request read: Does this applicant hold herself up to the standard you expect of an attorney in the legal profession? He wanted to to know if it was a joke-- would it be more helpful to answer that question in the positive or the negative, given the reputation of the legal profession today . . .
Anyway, when they read names, they also indicated the honors the individual received. So students learned as they were walking across stage whether they were in the top 5% or the top 15% (or if they were in either). I knew I was in the top 10% from receiving Order of the Coif, but I was delighted to learn I graduated magna cum laude, which means I was in the top 5% of the graduating class!
So there you go. Law school is officially over. I am officially a graduate. I worked my butt off. My husband worked his tail off holding the family together. My in-laws were our safety net, watching the kids whenever we needed their help, always encouraging me. My siblings and siblings-in-law stepped up time and again when I needed someone to watch the kids or help me out with something. My parents listened to me gripe about the test or grades or whatever. My friends reminded me that I need to strive for balance in my life-- that life is not just about law school. And my kids . . . . well, they're a major part of the reason I went to school in the first place. I loved teaching, but being an attorney means they get a stay-at-home parent (hopefully in the next two years). So while everyone congratulated me and celebrated me today because I was the one who read the books and outlined the material and wrote the exams-- I know this accomplishment isn't just about me. It's about all those people who pushed me along the way.
And I'll just mention one other thing. I didn't get into law school. I was rejected from every school to which I applied, and only wait-listed at the University of San Diego School of Law. I'm not sure why-- I actually had the numbers for any of the schools. I guess I didn't show well on paper. Regardless, a mere three days before the start of orientation, USD offered me a spot off the wait-list, and I accepted it-- with a lot of prodding from my parents and Jason. I find great satisfaction in being the kid who didn't even get accepted-- but still earned the highest GPA in my unit and graduated among the top 16 people in the school. It just goes to show you that you can't always judge a person by what they look like on paper.Photo credits: My mom and Casey at her birthday party, me and Marcie before I left for graduation (Casey refused to take a photo with me, while I shouted after him, "You'll regret that decision in 10 years when you want to know where your picture with me is!"- he didn't seem to care), Jason and me, Jim and me and Yee (me with my in-laws) , me with my parents, my study group (Paul & Delinda)-- who are going to help me prepare for and pass the California bar!
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Catching Air
I have a feeling Marcie is going to like rollercoasters (just like her Mama). Check her out:
Friday, May 18, 2007
Bows and the Bathtub
No time to write at the moment. But enjoy!
I'm so impressed Grandma was able to tie actual ribbon bows in her hair!
I'm so impressed Grandma was able to tie actual ribbon bows in her hair!
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