Lost Battle

I seem to be losing the battle to keep Bishop from hanging out behind the couch. When we first got Bishop he refused to put himself in a confined space, but 8’ish years later and all he wants to do is hang out behind the couch. He can barely fit between the couch and the wall, and in fact this morning got stuck. I actually considered leaving him there, but then decided getting back there to clean up after him would not be fun.

My latest tactic was to pile up the two blankets that Mark and I snuggle with behind the couch. I thought the wall of blankets would stop him, but no it didn’t. Instead he made a nice little bed for himself back there.

I think I’m waving the white flag on this one. The only solution would be to push the couch all the way against the wall, but it is a reclining couch and I do love popping my feet up and relaxing while watching a movie. So for now, Bishop you win. I give up and will therefore give up the frustration I feel every time you wiggle your way back there.

Dodgeball was fun last night. My arm is a bit sore today, but not too bad. I found out that “for a girl” I have a good throwing technique and keep the ball low so it’s harder to catch. I’m excited to practice with the actual dodgeballs in the next few weeks to see how that goes.

Today – I’m really glad it’s Friday. I’m leaving work early because it is slow. That will give me time to run some errands and get ready for Mark’s party tomorrow! I also get to start a new book today. I hope to find an hour or so this afternoon to settle into it. I am most thankful that it is a Friday that the housecleaner comes. Mark was thoughtful enough to arrange for a cleaner when I was Co-Chairing Relay last year as I was so busy the house was showing signs of my neglect! So, Mark to the rescue. Janet she does such a great job we have kept the service even though I have much more time now. I think this makes me a little spoiled, but I’m going with it because once the baby is here no one is going to care about spoiling me…it will all be about the baby...as it should be.

Adoption – Mark and I are learning about how difficult it can be to add Sky to our insurance once she is born. Some plans won’t cover her until the adoption is final which could be 6 to 9 months. Other plans won’t cover her until the birth mother signs away her rights, which can be 2 to 4 days depending on the state. Bottom line is we won’t know how much we are looking at in out of pocket medical expenses until we know what state she is coming from. Mark’s plan through the city may allow us to backdate the coverage, but chances are we are still looking at some out of pocket hospital expense related to the delivery and hospital stay.

Dodge Ball

Mark and I have our 2nd dodge ball practice tonight. I know…really we need to practice dodge ball, how hard can it be?!. Someone throws a ball at you and you move out of the way so you don’t get hit. Well I assure you it was much easier in grade school (which was the last time I played) when the balls are coming at you much slower and you are not as afraid of getting hurt.
Somehow as adults the balls seem harder, they come at you faster, and my body does not jump out of the way as easily as it did when I was a kid. Plus I am really sore the next day. I don’t remember being sore back in grade school!

Despite the injury potential we decided to join a dodge ball league with some of our friends. It’s a great opportunity to spend time with friends sans kids, and well act like kids ourselves. Tonight we are working on strategy and throwing and dodging drills. Can you believe there is an actual dodge ball association and 10 pages of rules! We have a lot to brush up on tonight!

Today – I am thankful that Mark fixed the toilet in my bathroom. Since it is also the guest bathroom, and we are having his Birthday Party Saturday night, I am thankful that our friends will not have to reach into the tank to flush it!

I am also thankful that I have much more personal time than I have had the last 4 years. I finished another book this morning, and it reminded me that when I was on the Leadership Team for Relay and Chairing the event that it would take a month or longer to read a book. Now I’m back to two or three books a month. It’s not just the reading either. It is being home with Mark in the evenings, and cooking dinner almost every night, going to the gym regularly, getting enough sleep, not missing out on plans with friends and family because of meetings. While I would never trade my Relay experience, and my intent was not to completely walk away from being part of the Leadership Team, I am thankful that it has worked out that way.

Adoption – I read an article that talked about the importance of keeping some aspects of the adoption private. The adoption and the circumstances surrounding why someone makes the decision not to parent are part of Sky’s personal history and as she gets older she may not be comfortable with everyone knowing why her birthparents chose adoption. This article was a good reminder that even if Mark and I are the perfect parents (we know we won’t be), and everything is easy and smooth, Sky may (ok will) have some issues to work through regarding being adopted, and it won’t help her if everyone around her knows every little detail of her personal history.

There are things in my life that I choose not to share and Sky has that same right.

So, please don’t be offended if Mark and I choose not to share every detail about her birth parents and the situation surrounding why they chose adoption. Some things will have to be left up to her to tell those she is close to when and if she is ready to do so.

Side note on Sky – it is just a nickname. Her name will be Shannon (Mark’s middle name) Kailey (a name Mark really likes) Yeatman. Her initials are going to be SKY, so we have been calling her Sky ever since we started the adoption process.

NaBloPoMo

I learned from someone else’s blog (thank you Shelley) that this is National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo) and as such the goal is to post a blog every day. Perfect timing because I want to be better about regular posts.

I’m not sure that Mark and I are exciting enough to need to post every day, but I am going to give it a try. I’m already 4 days late as I just learned about this today. Nothing exciting has happened the last 4 days, so it starts today.

I’m sure my family will appreciate new posts rather than seeing the same old post for months at a time. I’m making a list of things to post about to try and keep it interesting. Each post will include two features: 1. Today = Something I am excited about or thankful for that day and 2. Adoption = an update and/or useful information and tips for families going through adoption or who have an adopted child. It’s not just Mark and I that have to make this work. Everyone in the family can do things to help make this a smooth transition and welcome our new little one into the family.

Today:
I am looking forward to wine and dinner with a good friend tonight. Tiffany is visiting from NY for almost the whole month, and we can’t wait to relax in the Proctor District with good food and even better wine. A girls evening is just what I need.

Adoption:
Not much to update. We are in wait mode. Waiting for the agency to call and say there is a Birth Mother for us. We did settle on carpet for the nursery, now we just need to order and install. Photos will follow once the carpet is in.

Adoption Update

Mark and I have finally completed the last step to help in the marketing to match us with a birth mother. Check out this link to view our photo book. http://www.mypublisher.com/?e=OHm3Q8zJl3SDA2BfEWO9QmISPfz7lRQ5&s=fb

This book will be sent to birth mothers that think they may be interested in us and hopefully it will assist them in deciding that we are the perfect fit for their baby.

Now it is a wait and see game. Every time my phone rings I race to see who is calling and hoping it is the agency every time.

While we wait we continue to work on the house. We finally got Mark moved into his new office which cleared the way to pull up the carpet in the old office/new nursery and paint it. Yellow is not my favorite color, but I managed to pick the most beautiful and perfect shade of yellow to go with the Winnie the Pooh nursery.

Now all we need to do is settle on carpet and then we can set up the crib and other nursery furniture that Dad was kind enough to get for us. I can't wait to see baby thing in the room ready for our new addition.

I had no idea it was possible to love someone that I have not even met so much. I can't wait until we get to bring our baby home.

Whistler Adventure

Mark and I just got back from a week in Whistler and boy did we have a great time. We started out mountain biking, then moved on to bungee jumping, hiking, and exploring some off-road trails.

Day 1

No photos of biking...did not want photos of my injury. After that we Bungee Jumped

Mark jumped first...

...then me. It was the scariest yet most exciting thing I have ever done!



Day 2
We spent day two exploring some of the logging roads and off-road trails.
We came across this honor system produce stand run by three kids. There was a welcome message from them, a radio playing and plenty of produce, pop, and a few snacks to choose from. They had a lock box for us to put money in.

This was a windy lake we found.

This was on the edge of a look-out on one of the logging roads. Someone had built a little rock statue similar to the Olympic statue on the Whistler Summit.

I think this was actually day 3 or 4, but was a cool wooden bridge over the river that we found.

This was a great playground we found on the shore of a lake in one of the many really nice parks Whistler has to offer. Can't wait until we go back next year with friends and their kids! The kids will love it!

Day 3

We spent day 3 on the peak hiking as much as we could given my bum leg from biking.

I can't figure out how to get this right side up, so just tilt your head! This is the new Peak 2 Peak gondola that goes from Whistler to Blackcomb. It is a huge gondola that you can walk around in and is a 11 minute ride with great views!

We hiked from the Peak to this alpine lake. Mark jumped in and based on how cold he said it was and the fact that he could hardly even breath in the water I decided to stay nice and dry on land.

Day 4 was spent driving around and exploring more.

Day 5

We had no idea there was a Down Hill race time trial taking place, so Mark spent a lot of time taking photos while I shopped a bit. Then I came back to watch some of the time trials and we both finished up the day with last minute shopping.

Red Bull Exodus is the first mass start down hill race that has ever been done at Whistler and from what they said that has ever been done with world class riders period. There were riders from all over the world trying to qualify for the race and out of 400 riders only 150 would make it to the actual race the next day. During the race they would start at the Peak, take around 30 minutes to get down the mountain and hit speeds over 50 miles per hour. They were hitting that same speed in the time trials and had some pretty good jumps at the bottom of the course.

Day 6

We decided to come home a day early so we could avoid traffic at the boarder and have time to relax before joining friends for a B-Day party the next day.

There are more photos and Mark has a video of his bungee jump on our photos site: http://markyeatman.smugmug.com/

Summer Update

I have been really bad about updating the blog this summer, so here is a quick run down of what we have been up to...

Scavenger Hunt 2009

This was a fundraiser for Relay For Life and TCC

Me, Gina, Mark and Reggie completing one of the photos.

I think we were supposed to fit as many people as possible into the shopping cart.



We Celebrated 25 Years of Relay at the Relay For Life of Tacoma. This was my last year as the event Co-Chair.

Fight Back Ceremony with Jeff Ross.

Bob and I with the Leadership Team.

Camping trip with the family to sprinkle my Grandparent's ashes.

Saying a few words before sprinkling them off the bridge into the river.

Me with my Sister and her three kids. Adorable and a lot of fun!

Me and Mark with my niece Sophie.

Mark's sister got married and Mark was the photographer.

Amy and Ivan.

Amy and I.

It's quick, but now I am up to date!