Does Anyone Know What Time It Is?

So, I've been wanting to post about this since I was going through it.. The concert on Friday was *amazing*! We went to see Earth, Wind & Fire along with Chicago.

Brian surprised me with tickets for the concert for my birthday. And the bigger part of the surprise came when we went to our seats. We were in the middle of the 3rd row! I am pretty sure that's the closest that I've ever been other than standing room only shows. And near the end of the show we stood up and were close enough to touch the stage.

They opened the show with both bands playing together...

Then Earth, Wind & Fire played their set. Hearing the horns live and seeing all the energy is just so much fun.

We also had a great time people watching. There was a single woman in front of us who just rocked out the whole night. She looked to be around 60 & asked Brian how much a beer was. When he told her ($8) she responded, "Boy, you must be thirsty." Ha! She had a very cute twang to it all as well. There were also a few couples who looked like they were wearing the same outfits that they wore to watch Earth, Wind & Fire some twenty odd years later.

Then Chicago took over for their set. I knew every.single.word by heart.

Then, they played together again. It was a two hour long show that went by in an instant. And we were both beat from singing and dancing the night away afterwards.

Here's a little silent video.. we didn't have the right camera for sound...

I know it's not right to brag, but I need to just a bit. After the concert, Brian surprised me with a night at the Arizona Biltmore. The room was beautiful and the bed was so comfy. Then we slept in! And after all of that we had a couples massage. How did I get so lucky? I'd say that it was a great way to start this next year of my life. I feel like I've started my 30's going strong!

Happy Birthday Team DuBose

We are two!

It was two years ago today that Brian and I became parents, well in the eyes of the law anyhow. It's odd. It doesn't feel like two years have past, but it feels like they've been my boys forever. And I guess somehow they really have been. When I think of the chances and timing and luck that were involved in us becoming the family for those two boys, it blows my mind. And now, with our little guy... how can I imagine life without him?

I do need to put a huge thank you out there. I'm thankfully for our friends, family, and neighbors who welcomed these two little guys so willingly. I'm thankful for whomever it was who called CPS and let someone know that these children needed help (never an easy call to make, I'm sure). I'm thankful for their birth mother. I'm thankful for the judges and caseworkers who all work to do the right thing for our kids. Most of all, I'm thankful to Brian, for being willing to go along on this crazy journey with me and for being the best daddy possible to these boys.

It wasn't long after the adoption that Daniel started school. I remember being so happy that I was able to change his name before school started. And he was so proud to be adopted! They made a book of why they are special and his page says, "I'm special because I'm adopted". There are so many things that make him special, but the adoption part makes him ours!

On this date..

31 years ago I was born (thanks Mom).
24 years ago I rode on part of RAGBRAI for the first time.
16 years ago I was in London and my friend gave me a Snicker's bar with matches for candles in lieu of a cake.
15 years ago I got my first driver's license.
13 years ago I was on a road trip with no parents and I bought my first beer.
10 years ago I bought my first *legal* beer.
7 years ago the love of my life asked if I would be his bride (thanks Brian).
5 years ago Brian and I decided that we wanted to grow our family.
4 years ago we were waiting to hear if we'd been approved as foster parents.
1 year ago I was helping a friend get ready to start her married life.

Today, that same friend gave birth to a beautiful baby girl! And I get to spend my day with the love of my life.

Just a little look back. These were taken 2 years and 3 days ago. How quickly time flies!

You came to learn something?

Gosh, I really hope not!

I was just reading about a whole blog convention. Turns out I'm supposed to be making a change or influencing people or selling stuff. Eh, I'd rather not.

I really just hope that every now and then my family hops on to see what's going on in our little world.

And this gives me a chance to get out all of the stuff that's going on here, not only in my life, but in my mind.

Besides, it's like a world wide brag book. I love my little cuties and I get to share them with everyone.

Today we went to the movies. It's been our Tuesday tradition this summer. I'd like to say we're getting good at it, but my little ones still can't sit still. We had two potty breaks during Hotel for Dogs this morning. The movie was o.k. It was a bummer that they portrayed the foster parents as cold and heartless and only in it for the money. But, I know that there are some junky foster parents that are like that. I will admit to the two of you who will read this, I cried at the end. I guess I should say this is a spoiler, but really--are you going to go watch this flick? Anyhow, at the end the kids are adopted. I leaned over and told Vinny that they were being adopted, just like we are going to adopt him. I am so ready for that day to come!

I'm stealing this from someone else who stole it...

The Things You Didn't Know Before TTC

1 That unprotected sex doesn't necessarily lead to pregnancy.
2 That your sex life would start to resemble a science experiment.
3 That the longer you TTC, the more PG women spring up around you.
4 That deep down inside, I can be a very jealous person.
5 That I would know more about the female reproductive system and menstrual cycle than most of the doctors I go to.
6 That living your life in 2 week increments would be the norm
7 That you never knew how much you wanted to see those 2 pink lines......until only one shows up every month
8 That simply relaxing will NOT get you pregnant.
9 That you have no control over some of the goals you set...
10 That wishing really hard for something doesn't make it happen, and staring at your chart doesn't make it change!
11 That a pregnancy doesn't always equal a baby.
12 That miscarriage is so common.
13 That my friends' pregnancies would start to make me sad instead of happy.
14 That I wasted A LOT of money on Birth control pills!!
15 That my DH is the most wonderful and caring man!
16 That it is insensitive to ask people when they are having a baby!
17 That I would be happy to see abundant cervical fluid and tell my DH about it.
18 That had I bought stock in Clearblue Easy I'd have my mansion on St. Pete's Beach in FL by now.
19 That docs should prescribe Zoloft with Clomid.
20 That having AF show up makes you cry, no matter who's bathroom you are in.
21 That it does not get easier, each cycle is harder than the last.
22 That I wouldn't want to hold or see someone's baby because it just hurts way too much.
23 That talking about sex with fellow TTCers would be so easy
24 That one day all of this will make us stronger.
25 That no one I know would have any understanding as to how I feel.
26 That my temper and patience are much shorter than I ever thought.
27 That I would find it extremely difficult to be happy for other people's pregnancies and I would burst into tears upon hearing their news.
28 That I would make so many new, wonderful friends who totally get how I feel because we are all going through the same thing.
29 That I would know about other peoples' BD, CP, CM but not know their real name, their DH's name, or their occupation.
30 That I would become NUMB to the wonderful world around me that I already have (DH, family, friends, dogs, fun, etc)!
31 That I would become addicted to POAS and not sleep at night because I couldn't wait to POAS in the morning!
32 That I would learn to speak in code Like I checked CM which was EWCM but when I will POAS who knows, DH won't let me for fear of BFN
33 That you HAVE to have sex even though you don't feel like it, but because your FM says high or peak.
34 That I would dream about taking my temperature and be disappointed if I woke up at 3am and it wasn't time yet.
35 That I would buy herbs and otc creams like vitex and progest, use them for two days, and then chicken out.
36 That the two little words of "just relax" uttered by everyone I know would infuriate me beyond belief.
37 That it puts this much strain on a marriage
38 That I would have to listen to people complain about their children as if they were burdens while a child is the one thing in the world I want the most. Also, they sound as if they are trying to talk me out of having kids, like it is the absolute worst thing that could ever happen to me.
39 That you would tell everyone you're not ready for a child when they ask what your waiting for.
40 That answering questions (and usually lying) about pregnancy or family plans would hurt so bad.

I'm sure that some of the lingo will be new to a few of you who don't frequent message boards. But, the general message will still come through. I love, *love*, love my children. And I would love to have one biological child.

Preschool funnies..

The other morning we were laying with Beth before the little guy woke up. She's on her tummy between Brian and I. She reaches up and puts an arm around each of us and hugs us and tells us, "I really like you guys."

My little guy's funny is ongoing. His new thing to say is, "Let me tell you one more question." And this statement is inevitably followed by another statement, no questions involved.

Just another day in paradise..

More fun in the sun today!

At the beginning of the summer, the kids all took swim lessons. Daniel & David did great and are ready to move onto the next level. They can now safely swim without me worrying much about even knowing where they are :)

Our little guy, however, was a totally different story. Through the whole 2 week class, he cried every *single* day. He would bawl throughout the whole class. Even at the end of the class, he was still crying for the whole 45 min.

And our little princess took a Mom & Tot lesson with me. She would scream if we tried to get her to do anything she didn't want to (shocker). She did well wall walking and practicing kicking, but she wouldn't put her face in the water at all.

Now we're nearly a month later and it's like I have new kids!

Daddy & I took them to the pool this afternoon and I finally got the chance to get photographic proof of the huge progress they've made. However, it's really hard to get a photo of them in motion. And, they make quite the splash.. so the best photos are blurry.. Oh, well. Hope you enjoy anyhow!

Wow!!!

I should complain on here more often.

Court was today. And they severed our little guy's Mom's rights! Woohoo! This makes us another step closer to adoption. And this was *exactly* what we were hoping would happen at court.

Stalling...? What do you mean stalling?

Limbo go lower now...

That's where we are, limbo. And I feel like the system is stalling.

Actually I don't know that they're stalling. I do know, however, that with the economy being the huge issue it is & our state going broke. We'd love to save Arizona some money and go ahead and adopt our little boy, rather than have him in foster care any longer.

Yesterday was supposed to be a hearing for him. Brian showed up only to be told that the hearing was vacated. Now we wait. Sigh.

This month marks two years that he has been a foster child. The federal law requires that after 15 months the courts do some permanency plans. Ideally, children should not be in foster care longer than 18 months. Scratch that. Children shouldn't be in foster care. But, if they are, they shouldn't just stay there.

This month also marks two years since we adopted Daniel and David. It was only a week before their adoption that we got the call telling us that our little guy was in foster care.

Brian has always "known" that we'd adopt our little guy. I have always worried. We've been told that he was leaving the state as soon as possible. We've been told that they were going to start moving him home. We've been told about everything.

It's hard, but I need to change my perspective back to what it was when he came. It took us three months to have him moved to our home. And my goal was just to take as many pictures as possible and enjoy him for the short while that they were predicting. I just wanted to give Daniel and David the gift of knowing their biological brother.

Now, he's not only their brother through genes. He's their brother through vacations and illnesses, teasing and laughing, being naughty and being sweet. He is ours. No matter what the courts do or say, or however long they take to do it or say it.

With that, I'm off to cuddle that little guy before nap time.

In the car the other night..

Bean: I'm not going to spank my butt because it's beautiful.
Me: It's beautiful?
Bean: My butt is a Princess butt.


Ahhh.. isn't that modesty refreshing??

On a completely unrelated topic, I had lost my cell phone last week. I finally have a new one, but now I have no contact information. So, if you're someone who wants to hear from me, please send me your number. Thanks!

Home is an Everlast bag...

Another piece of wisdom that I've gleamed from Daniel's behavior coach.

Daniel will sometimes come home and just release all of the feelings he has had throughout the day. I will sometimes take this personally. But, Coach David pointed out that home is where Daniel is safe. He knows that whatever he pours out and no matter how hard he beats on us, we will still be there. We can take the punches.

So often, I do the same. I know that Brian will always love me so I can be upset with him. I can vent to him. He gets the worst of my feelings sometimes. Thankfully, he's my home... my Everlast bag. He will stand strong through all of the ups and downs. I hope he feels the same about me.

This just struck me as I was thinking about the beginning of school. All of the changes that our family will go through in such a short period of time. Thankfully, we all have home. We have a family that can roll with the punches.

Let Freedom Ring

Today my thoughts are with my brothers. I heard from Andrew that he will be coming home soon! He'll be back in the states in the beginning of August. I haven't heard from Ben in a long time. Hopefully, he's hanging in there, too.

We will not being doing anything special today. Just enjoying our family and our freedom :)

Here is something that Daniel made in celebration of Martin King Luther Jr. Day. I think that it applies year round. And it makes me so happy that our family lives in a place where we can be a little different.

I confess, this really is my favorite question to ask my kids....

Me: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Bean: Ummm... Ironman.