The (a little late) Versatile Blogger Award

Well, first I must apologize for the tardiness of this post. My adoptive mom (and blogger) friend Michelle gave me the Verstile Blogger Award at the beginning of October and I'm just NOW getting around to thanking her and passing it on. So Michelle my friend, "Thank you" and hopefully you know that I look forward to the day that our families get together to meet. You were a huge cheerleader for me in the months leading up to traveling to Seoul and it helped tremendously.



About the versatile blogger award:
- You thank and link back to the person who gave you the award.
- Share 7 things about yourself.
- Pass the award along to 7 other bloggers that you think are great!

7 Things About Me:
1. I've wanted to adopt since I was very young. Apparently I shared with my mom that "When I grow up, I wanted to have a family with a child from every country." Country #1 - China (paperwork has been there almost 3 1/2 years), country #2 - South Korea!

2. If I was a guy, I'd be in a band. Not just any band, a ROCK band. During our China wait, my husband suggested that I "get a hobby" to pass the time. I've always wanted to learn to play the guitar. That year for my birthday, he bought me an acoustic guitar. For the next 2 years I took lessons.

3. If money were no object, I'd love to buy some land and open a winery. Now, don't get me wrong, I know NOTHING about wine-making. But, the idea of talking to people (and pouring/tasting) about the wine all day in a beautiful setting is appealing to me. There are some wonderful wineries not far from where we live and I just think it would be/could be a blast (I'm sure it's a lot of hard work).

4. I have never (just knocked on my hardwood floors) broken a bone in my body. I've had plenty of sprains, strains, pulls, what-have-you, but no broken bones. Been on crutches, worn plenty of ace bandages, but no casts. . .

5. I LOVE lists. Now, this just doesn't mean "organizing" lists. Although, I do need them to get through a work day/week and now, I need them in my personal life. I'm also a big fan of "Top 100 Best Songs of XXXX" type lists. If you ever read/saw the movie "High Fidelity" - I'm all about it! Not THAT bad, but LOVE the lists.

6. Music is very important to me. I love all kinds of music from reggae to rock to jazz to rap and everything in between. I worked in radio for 9 years before going into the advertising agency world so I was blessed to be exposed to some interesting people and music. And, I love making custom mixes for people - many "special" people in my life have received a "Mix Master Mich" special. :)

7. The road that led us to our sweet Wesley hasn't been an easy one but it has been a journey, an experience with my loving, understanding, patient partner and I wouldn't change it for anything. . .

Now I get to pass AWESOME award on to seven other bloggers that have inspired me, supported me or ones that I'd simply like to recognize. Some of my recipients have already received this award, but that just shows how totally AWESOME they are and maybe you need to check them out!

1. Karen at Ladybug, Ladybug fly away home. Karen's blog was one of the first that I started reading when I began blogging. She was waiting for her daughter Aspen and her story was so compelling to me. She then became a big support to me and we found a common affinity for wine. :)

2. Jayme at You Fill Me With Joy. Jayme and I hit it off right away and she was a strong force for me while we had our delays while waiting for Wesley. Every photo that Jayme posts of her daughter Joye is cuter than the next - they're so expressive! Brian and I joke about how one day Wesley and Joye will meet and fall in love.

3. Christy #1 at Richardson Happenings. What I like about Christy's blog is that not only does she update on her daughters June and Ava, but she also posts fresh/raw recipes and information on CSA (community supported agriculture) which is a very hot topic in many areas (especially where I live). Go Christy!!!

4. Christy #2 at Three Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. Christy is patiently waiting for her referral and in doing so, I've been inspired by her cheerful support of other adoptive moms/blogger friends along the way. I remember when she was going out of town right before Brian and I were anticipating our TC and she posted on her blog a special note hoping that we get some "good news" while she's gone. Whenever I check into her blog, it always seems like she's wishing other families well and/or praying for friends. She's a good person.

5. Pixie at Cheese Curds and Kimchi. Pixie came along while we were in South Korea I believe. I was able to catch up with her blog once we got back home and somewhat settled. Talk about a versatile blog - this gal has it! And, let me just tell you - she and her husband, Brian and myself will have to talk one day about the mid-century modern furniture. . .

6. Kelly at Jon & Kelly + Max. I know, I know, you've gotten this award like 10 times - j/k! But, I have to recognize! You and Jon have been a big part of my Blog World and especially right before Brian and I traveled you two were a part of our Adoption World. Kelly, you have obviously touched a lot of people (myself included) and I know we've talked about meeting up one day and I don't doubt that. Thank you for everything :)

7. Last but not least it's another fabulous gal that's been recognized before, but she's new to me and I think she's super! It's Grace at Chois-R-Us. She's got a great sense of humor, her blog always has her personality integrated into her posts and then her fabulous craft projects (now turned into her own Etsy Shop!). Grace, I'm glad that we found one another and I can't wait until you meet your sweet Choi Boy!

That's it all - sorry if it was a bit long. Thanks for reading and hanging in there for these amazing women, moms and friends. They're so worth it!

Wordless Wednesday - Zittel Farms Pumpkin Patch 10/17

Wesley's 1st Haircut

Each day after I get Wesley dressed we go into his bathroom for the routine of brushing his hair and then brushing his teeth. He gets the biggest kick out of both and LOVES to look at himself in the mirror. He's a total ham - especially when I say to him, "Look at the handsome boy!" What Wesley wasn't realizing was the disaster going on in the back of his head meaning his hair.

To begin with, the poor kid doesn't have much hair and what he does have is very fine. Then, there's this big patch of bald. It's like what infants have the first say 6 months or so from being in carriers, swings, etc. Well, he's 16 months and still has one. We're pretty sure he rubs his head back and forth at night (one of the few self soothing things he's done since he came home). And, lastly - the pièce de résistance is the long hair at the base of his neck. It's basically a mullet. I've tried to control it and there's no way of polishing this mess. So, the only solution was a trim.

My hairstylist Marisa graciously offered to do it whenever we had time to stop by. So, this past Thursday we decided to take her up on her offer so that he could start daycare off looking snazzy. We started off with an introduction between Marisa (who is also a mom to an adorable little boy named Grayson) and Wesley. Then, I put on a smock to protect my clothes and put Wesley on my lap. I came prepared with one of Wesley's favorite board books, Dr. Seuss's "The Foot Book" to keep him distracted. We dove right into the book and Marisa started cutting. Wesley was a little aware of what she was doing, but more like annoyed - almost like there was a fly swarming around his head. He did really well and within a matter of minutes, we were done!

Here are a few photos of the afternoon -
The "before" shot. It's one hot mess.

He has no idea what he's in for. . .

Hey wait! What are you doing?

Thank goodness for Dr Seuss.

Almost done!

The "big boy" haircut.

Wesley is showing you the "side view."

A closeup in case you didn't get enough of me :)

Last Week Home :(

This is my last week home with Wesley before I go back to work full-time. I really didn't know how I would deal with it once the time came, but now that it's this close I'm really not o.k. I don't know if he's ready. Maybe I'm not ready. We just hit our 2 months home mark on the 4th, it just seems too soon. It doesn't help that Wesley's had a tough last two weeks. I know it sounds crazy, but it's as if he knows it's coming. It started out with him being very clinging then, the past few days nap time and bedtime (which have been going pretty smooth) have been really rough. It's like he's reverting back to how it was when we first arrived home. We've even seen some of the upsetting self-soothing/coping behaviors pop up which we haven't seen for some time. One thing that may have contributed to the difficulty with nap time/bed time is that we had back-to-back events Thursday and Friday. My brother got married and we had the rehearsal and wedding - both of which Wesley attended. It may have just been too much.

Back to daycare - I realize that being around other children will be good for him socially and developmentally, I'm just concerned about the attachment that we've all worked so hard on. I've been an avid reader of Patty Cogen's "Parenting Your Internationally Adopted Child" as many of my adoptive mom friends and although I take a lot of the adoption/parenting books with a grain of salt, this particular one has been extremely helpful. In terms of daycare, Patty's recommendation is to limit it to 4 hours or less and to not do it until the child has been home for 2 or more years. Well Patty, that's just not realistic for some of us. So, enter the guilt. Will our attachment be affected? Will things change when he comes home to us at the end of the day? According to Patty, Wesley will get to daycare and most likely end up reverting back to his coping skills and thus will be unable to move forward. THIS is what keeps me awake at night.

We're going to the daycare facility tomorrow (Tuesday) for a test drive to see how Wesley interacts with the other kids and the teachers. I will be there with him the entire time. All I can think of is how tough the last few days have been (my mom got a taste of it today when she was over to help out - sorry Mom). Then, if all goes well (fingers crossed) I come back a day or two later and drop him off for a few hours to let him be there without me - YIKES! So, we'll see how it goes. . .

I know that all moms for the most part have anxiety when bringing their child to daycare for the first time. But you throw in the loss suffered, the grieving, etc. experienced by a child that has been adopted internationally and it's a whole new ballgame. I just can't get over the fact that I'm somehow adding to the stress he's already suffered in his short lifetime. :(