Monday, August 21, 2006

Out of Touch

Boy, internet service was down on Friday, and we were busy all weekend so I feel like I have been so out of touch with all of you! I have to really get caught up on all my commenting.

Saturday was a day of running around doing errands. Saturday night we hung out with our neighbors which is something we don't do often enough. One couple has a baby who must be around 9 or 10 months old. She was excited to hear about the adoption because now her son will have someone to play with. Most of the kids around are older. She had the coolest monitor. It was like the size of a cordless phone and had a small video screen on it. So we were sitting in another neighbors yard and she was able to keep tabs on the baby sleeping next door. Very cool. Gots to get me one of those thingies.

Yesterday we went to the last of our required education sessions. It seems that two other couples have their documents down in Colombia also. Not sure what this means in terms of us getting a referral. Same status as before I assume...could come in a few months, or may have to wait until next year. Surprisingly I am okay with whatever it is. We've waited this long, a few more months certainly won't kill me.

The session was held at the house of a woman who adopted two beautiful children from Colombia several years ago. She showed us the video of the presentation of her son. Holy cow I couldn't even watch it...it was so emotional. I think I was the only person who reacted that way, everyone must have thought I was nuts. I'm getting choked up just thinking about it!

Of course I am the only crazy person who doesn't have a nursery ready either. I don't know what it is, but I just can't do it. I think maybe next weekend we are going to register (I guess at Breeders R Us, UGH) for some of the major necessities. We'll also pick out some boy and girl things so that once we find out we don't have to scramble around. I wonder if I can do two separate registries, boy and girl and then just ask them to delete one once we know. Anyone ever do that? I know I am totally obsessing over girl vs. boy, but being a crafty type, I am very particular about color and theme. I can't even concede to painting the room a neutral color. Or knitting anything for the baby! How crazy is that?? Yes, every day that goes by a few more brain cells jump ship.

That's it for today...nothing exciting...mostly just letting you all know I am still alive. See you in the comments...

14 comments:

Elle said...

Don't know if you can register twice. But they do have the option of checking adoption and it is expected arrival date instead of Due date. Which is nice.

chanceofbooks said...

I'm glad we won't be the only people not to have a nursery at homestudy. I am the same way--I have started several cute baby things but I have to give them away or put them aside because I just can't earmark them right yet. I want to do an afgan which will take forever, but again, I just can't do it. We have a guest room, with some stuffed animals and a few books. That's as far as I can make my brain go right now. I would wait and register when you get the referral--it doesn't take THAT long and you'll be all keyed up and WANT to shop then.

Melissa said...

Breeders R Us, I like that. I am not motivated enough to take the time to do all that registering, let alone, do twice the amount. Find out what the brand of monitor it is. It does sound cool.

Jenny said...

I think not knowing which gender would be hard. there is no way I couldn't do a theme type room. Even if my theme is just PINK.

What about buy buy baby? that is up there. And they have nicer stuff than bru and well....I found a cooler selection. And yes, you can set up 2 registries and then just delete one. I would start online and then bring what you need into the store with you and have 2 seperate. I could be totally wrong but why the hell not!

have a nice week-J

Anonymous said...

obsessive knitter here: your baby is going to look beautiful in red (dark hair and eyes). And red is easier to keep nice-looking than pastels.

so you could start a gorgeous red blanket without knowing the gender, and pour nervous energy and good thoughts into it.

Chelsi said...

I understand about the reluctance to do a nursery - I've started one to (1) partly convince myself that this adoption will eventually happen and (2) keep me busy during the wait for the call. What about a gender neutral theme? We've picked Hawaaiin, with lots of primary colors ( red, blue and yellow). Just a thought. When I registered I picked gender neutral clothes, like greens and yellows. You could always pick both sexes and alter it online later!

I say go with your gut, it will tell you when you are ready to start preparing :)

LadyLinoleum said...

This is all so exciting!

I believe that your ability to get a nursery ready and knit for your future child will come when you are ready for the task(s). Be gentle with yourself and revel in your moments of joy regarding the whole situation.

I'm so happy for you guys!

Deb said...

You can probably jsut delete a registry but that would be a lot of work to do two. I believe you can edit your list online. That way you can add or delete whatever you want from the comfort of your own house. Just an idea.

The more we do in the nursery the more I start to think we will receive a referral for a girl. But we are totally fine with that. I already know what I would do for a girl.

Maggie said...

I totally would have gotten verklemped at that video, too. Take me with you next time and we can be sisters in tears.

I'm re-decorating Peanut's room a bit now so it isn't so much of HIM. It's fun but it's also a little hard when you don't know your child.

Amy Lane said...

Target and Goores actually have good baby stuff--it doesn't all have to be Breeders 'R' Us. I actually did this really bright yellow and green for Kewyn b-4 I knew he was a boy...once I found out, I put these darker colored kid's prints (and, yes, a framed basketball jersey) on the yellow wall--it looked surprisingly good... sometimes bright happy neutrals can be changed with accessories for either or. (I'm really rooting for you, Stephanie... Breeders get verklempt too...)

Jenni said...

Have you looked into Pottery Barn Kids? They were the only store we could find wiht an "Adoption Registry." That was way cool for us since we were adopting older kids, not a baby. They can be a bit pricey, but they do have some nice "unisex" nursery decor.

It's hard to decorate the nursery before you get your referral. We had ours all set up for an infant and a toddler, with crib and everything. Then along comes the referral for two preschoolers! Needless to say, we had a bit of a scramble there at the end...

John said...

I suggest that you start to push yourself a little on the nursery. It was so hard for us to push ourselves as well after so many years of trying to start or family, but you have to remind yourself that this IS going to happen for you. Once we pushed ourselves to start the nursery, everything seemed more real and the excitment that we had just multiplied.

My wife and I are in the final waiting stages of adopting our first baby from Colombia and we hope to receive our referral in the coming weeks. Our blog has a photo of our nursery: http://hodsonsblog.blogspot.com/

Good luck!
John

mama k said...

I'm a gender neutral type person myself. I registered for all the Ocean Wonders stuff since we are beachy people. I also had the thought that I'd be reusing the stuff later for another kid so I did all neutral stuff. At least half of the stuff you would register is non-gender specific (stroller, car seat, bath tub etc) so you could at least get started on that stuff and leave the decor for later. As another post said, you can edit the registry on-line as you desire.
I am not a big fan of Target since they are a royal pain for returns. If you have no gift receipt you are basically screwed. I had my wedding registry there and I regreted it. BRU will give you store credit w/ no problem or cash back w/ a receipt.
My parents bought me a video monitor and it is pretty cool. I wonder if it is the same kind...
Ok I am writing a book here. So excited for you!!!

Thalia said...

DOn't know nothing about registering, sorry, but wanted to say how exciting it is to see your document winging its way to bogota, and to hear your excitement.