Sunday

Awww man, you gotta love those Tigers!!! As they like to do, they came from behind last night and won in the last minute of the game so that all of us Tiger fans can go on in to see our Cardiologists in the morning!!! Lawdy be!! But it was a good game and i'm glad we won! They played against Auburn and it's the first time in 10 years that we've won in their territory! We have new quarterbacks, so nobody knows exactly what to think this year, but they did great and played a good game. Walter went to watch the game at a neighbor's house down the street. The guy, Tim, is the "party house" on the street and a crowd can always be found there on the weekends. I am not a huge sports fan and like to watch the game while i'm doing other things, so I stayed home and watched it while finishing New Moon.

And speaking of New Moon, it was a good book, but not nearly as captivating as Twilight. I'm not sure I would have kept reading if I hadn't known there are 2 more books in the series, but it was good and i'm glad I finished it. Stephenie Meyer is an incredible writer and really makes me feel like i'm there in the book and know and love all of the characters. I ordered Eclipse and Breaking Dawn this weekend and hope they will be in soon.

Walter and I are both going to continue with the Atkins diet this week and are finding it easy to stick to. I never really have trouble with it, but it's so much easier not to have to cook something separate for him when I cook all low-carb meals. I made a low carb meat loaf this weekend from a recipe I found online. I've made it before and it really is good. I can share the recipe if anyone is interested. We did decide to just enjoy dinner at the Mexican restaurant, chips and all, and then just pick back up with the diet today. My problem with that is that I usually don't pick it back up the next day!!! But we have and are both looking forward to losing some more weight this week. I still want to think about working out, but it's going to be a busy week for me after work. I have my social work supervision tomorrow until 6 and then I signed up for 2 trainings after work this week that will both last until 6.

My mom & step-dad are coming this afternoon to take Walter & I to lunch for his birthday, which is Thursday. We are going to go to Hilltop, (Walter's choice and my favorite restaurant in the world), and they have an awesome hamburger salad that is perfect for our diet. Cameron is invited, but his attitude was so ugly last night that I have informed him that he will either have to show me that it has improved or stay here. I wont be embarrassed by his rudeness. He chose to stay here, but he did tell me why he was being so ugly, which is due to our argument about the homework last week. I guess he's been stewing over it for a few days, which is fine, but he isn't going to treat me disrespectfully. He also didn't send an email "thank you" for 2 birthday gifts he received on Tuesday, so I let him know this morning that he has until noon to send them or I'm sending the gifts back. Both gifts were money/gift certificates, so it is not something he wants to lose, so I hope he does the right thing. I'm sure he's angrier with me now, but he will use his manners or lose the gifts. I talked to Walter about freezing Cameron when he was 10 years old and soooooooooo sweet. Now I wish we'd done it!!!!

I've been trying to call Elizabeth but haven't heard from her. I hope everything is ok since Ike rolled through. The house they just bought is near where 2 rivers meet and after Gustav, there was water almost in the house. I can't imagine that they could stand the extra water that came with Ike. I did invite them here and they didn't come, so I'm sure they are fine. I want Landen to come spend the night next weekend and maybe Mack too. I hate to not invite him, but he is such a hand full. Maybe if Elizabeth would come pick him up the next morning and Landen could stay longer if he wanted too.

Oh, and I almost forgot! Thank goodness, nobody showed up for the party yesterday, so I guess everyone got the "evite" email update and will come next month if they can make it! At my graduation party last year, a friend of mine showed up a week early by mistake and so that really had me worrying about yesterday!!! Whew!! And someone asked about the daiquiri machine - we rented one for my graduation party and it was about $150, which included the drink mix. We had the best time with it! We put it in the backyard where the party was going on and it stayed cold the entire time!!

Have a great Sunday!

Day 5

We are starting to get some "official" statements about when to expect our power to come back on. Cameron's school is one of the ones that wont have power "for awhile" and it looks like another 7 - 10 days for our power, although our town isn't specifically mentioned in the statement yet. A town to the left of us says 21 days (Cameron's school district) and a town to the right of us says 2 days, so I'm hoping we're more like the town to the right!!!

I finally talked to Elizabeth yesterday and they are having problems with flooding at their house. They live in an area where water overflows from 2 rivers and she has water in her yard that is coming close to going in her house. I think both of the rivers have crested now, so the water should start going down. She said they are having to use a small boat to get from the street to her house. I asked where she is staying, and of course, she says AT THE HOUSE!! That girl! I told her they can come out here, so maybe they will do that. Landen is with his dad, but she has Mack (1) and he is driving her crazy. No doubt with no electricity and nothing to do.

Someone asked me if our generator is running my laptop - yes. It is a generator that is wired into 8 circuits in our house, so it runs nearly everything but a few lights and the air conditioner. It really doesn't seem like we don't have power because pretty much everything works. All of our ceiling fans, microwave, window units we bought to use when the a/c doesn't work, tv, everything really. There are outlets in each room that don't work, so you just have to know which ones do. It is very convenient and I will say again that it's the best investment we've ever made. When this one needs to be replaced in several years, we have already decided to buy the whole house generator that will run the a/c too.

Several people pointed out that my post about being lucky yesterday isn't all to do with luck, but has to do with my hard work and determination, and I have to agree. I am sure some good luck has been with me along the way, but I definitely have made things happen through my determination and hard work and I appreciate those kind comments!

Good news! No sooner than I published my post venting about having to feed everyone elses kids yesterday, Bryce's mom called to say that she had bought extra drinks & canned goods for Bryce during the storm and that he should go down the street and get them for the boys here. It almost made me think she knows about my blog, but i'm sure it was just a coincedence, but i'm very glad she thought to help us out a little with the boys. And yes, I said we are ON THE WAY and went and picked up what she had.

My next door neighbor finally got a repairman out here to see about his backup generator and the guy said he will have to order a part to fix it! This generator is BRAND new and probably cost $5,000 and it has not worked at all during this storm! Walter has worked on it several times, so I knew it wasn't fixable the way it is. They are getting by with a gas generator and you have to refill it with gas every day and to get gas you have to find an open station and wait for HOURS!

Well, I'm off to catch up on some reading!

Sunday

Walter came home around 4pm from his "brothers weekend" in Mississippi. I sent my camera with him and like a good husband, he took some pictures!! They caught/cooked fish yesterday and checked their crab traps today and boiled crabs for lunch. Boiled crabs are one of my favorite things to eat and yes, you know he loves me, because he brought some home for me! Yay!! That will be my after dinner snack!



In the picture above, from left to right - Walter, Brien, Ed, Rickey, & Tommy.

I haven't done much today. I took Cameron & Bryce to Taco Bell for lunch today - their choice! It's amazing to me that they'll pass up some really good eating for Taco Bell! Tropical storm Fay is passing through our area for a visit. It's been raining since I got up this morning and I guess that is what I can expect for the whole day! I don't mind though. It is pretty relaxing to sit and listen to the rain, especially on the metal roof. I am cooking the cajun crawfish casserole AGAIN tonight, but using shrimp instead of crawfish. Walter will love this casserole and it came out SO good, so I decided to make it again and show off my great cooking skills, since he missed it Friday night!

After having so much fun with my post last night, I couldn't help but "yearbook" my sister and brother-in-law and email them the pictures! Did they think it was as funny as I did? Probably not, but I got a good chuckle out of it!!

Questions & Comments:

MBKimmy asked if JP was older than Elizabeth - no, I sometimes confuse people because I call JP my older son, but that is just to distinguish him from my younger son, Cameron. Elizabeth was born 2 years before JP. Also, she asked if Elizabeth has said she had a good life - yes. She is very different from her adoptive parents. They are very quiet, sort of non-social people and Elizabeth's personality is just like mine - outgoing, loud, center of attention kind of girl. They have been very good to her and she was raised in a happy, stable, loving home. I think meeting me and my family helped her to see "the other side" and it's a good fit for her. Here is a picture of both of our families during Christmas the year after we met.

From left to right: Elizabeth, me, my sister Donna, my mom, a family friend, Elizabeth's mom, & Landen.

That's all I've got for now! Have a good rest of your weekend!!

Friday night post

I'm so glad it's Friday!! It's been a long week and I need a little rest and relaxation time! I am so excited to have a weekend alone (well, Cameron is here, but he doesn't talk to me much, so i'm pretty much alone). Walter and his 4 brothers are having a weekend alone at his oldest brother's camp in Mississippi. And when I say camp, it's only because that's what they call it. It's bigger than my house, but anyway...this is the first time in the 10 years I've been with Walter that they've ever done this and i'm really glad that they are. They lost their dad last year (he was 89) and I think even though they are already very close, it made them think about their relationships and spending some quality time together. Walter is the 7th of 8 kids and there is a 20 year age difference between the older ones and the younger ones, so that means his oldest sister & brother are in or near their 70's. So anyway, i'm glad that they are bonding with their 4am fishing trips (and very glad i'm not!) and also glad for a weekend alone. I am usually the one off visiting JP in Houston or doing things with my friends, so i'm happy that Walter is doing some of that too. And for the record, his entire family is awesome. I couldn't be luckier or have better in-laws. And I think if we ever split up, they'd keep me instead of him. I'm just sayin!

And speaking of JP, I've been worried about him since the trial was rescheduled because I haven't heard from him much and feel like he may be getting depressed. I mentioned it to my sister, and she is going to go visit him tonight. I am glad she offered. I get a little upset sometimes because he is 20 minutes from her and in the 1 & 1/2 years he's been in jail, she's maybe been to visit him twice (other than when I go and she goes along with me), so I'm glad she said she'd go tonight.

I did not have a very productive day at work. Things got off to a slow start and I just couldn't seem to pull it together!!! A couple of us changed our schedules around to pick up some things from our main office, and once we got back to our office, just couldn't get motivated! I did finally get to my school at 11, just to leave to meet the same 2 co-workers for lunch at 11:30!! Afterwards, I had a meeting that lasted most of the afternoon. I have a Kindergartner who was totally out of control last year while in Pre-K, and I sat in a class with him for a little while this afternoon and he was SO great! He's gotten on some medicine over the summer and what a difference it made. He is one reason I begged to keep that school and i'm glad I can still work with him. Braces Boy is at that school too and was in ISSP (in school suspension) again this week. GRRRRR!!!!! I also have 2 kids at my west side school that are having big issues, so I will have to try to get over there Monday and see what I can do to help, if anything. I'm pretty sure one is headed to our alternate setting school.

I am so happy to be getting more comments now since the Blog Around the World started!!! I really love meeting new people and reading other blogs, so please, leave me a comment so I can visit your page!!

Ok, so you want to hear the story of my dad. I'll warn you now, it's not pretty, but I am an open book and you can feel free to comment or ask me anything you want. First, let me say, my dad & I were never close. My parents never really planned to have children and were sort of faced with having 3 children in 4 years. I wasn't the first child or the first boy - I was the middle child and we just never bonded. My sister & brother have different memories than I do, and different from each other, so this is just the story from my point of view. And I have made peace with my father. It's hard to forgive and forget, but I have tried to understand his position and moved on with my life. But, it is my life and my story, and I do have a right to tell it, so here it is.

My dad was a business man, mostly dealing in insurance, and his business ventures were more important than anything else, including family, stability, etc. We moved so much throughout my life that I never went to the same school more than 2 years. Wherever the money was, that is where we moved, and we definitely had the money. We were pretty spoiled growing up. We always had a big home, fancy cars, in-ground pools, etc. I'm not sure when my dad first got involved with Louisiana insurance and politics, but we lived in Baton Rouge from 1970 - 1973, moved away, then moved back in 1976. My dad was involved in some state insurance business with our former (and now imprisoned) Governor Edwin Edwards. There were apparently some inside deals going on between state insurance and the governor (who should have been indicted YEARS before he actually was), and something went really wrong. Governor Edwards had co-signed a half million dollar loan for my dad, and then something happened...money was being lost, a new governor was coming into office and questions were being asked...papers were being hidden to keep Governor Edward's name from being connected to state insurance/retirement policies that didn't really have any worth - something along those lines. So, suddenly people want to talk to my dad about these things...and he is suddenly KIDNAPPED!

Now, when this happened, in 1982, I was a 16 year old pregnant teenager. My parents had separated a year earlier, but my mom didn't work and he continued to pay all of our bills. I had been living with my boyfriend for several weeks, and things weren't working out when I was notified that my father had been kidnapped. I moved back home to help my mom deal with this situation. The story was that his apartment had been "turned upside down," and there were reports of threats made against him, and he was missing. My sister (18) was pretty much into her own world with her boyfriend, and my brother (15) wasn't able to deal with things, so at 16, I helped my mom, who had been a recovering alcoholic for several months, figure out what to do. My mom had pretty much shut down and was not able to deal with what was happening. We were being sued by every company imaginable in Louisiana for debts my father owed and our house was eventually put up for sheriff's sale, our cars were repossessed, newspaper reporters were in our yard daily (thank God it was before the days of media frenzy like it is now), and we were falling fast. My paternal grandmother, Essie, lived with us, and was an amputee who had her own handicapped apartment connected to our home. Essie was the kindest, sweetest woman I have ever known, and had been living with us for 6 or 7 years, since open heart surgery complications caused her to lose a leg. So, I helped my mom find us an apartment to rent, an AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) friend of hers gave her a car to use, I found someone to buy nearly all the furniture from our 6 bedroom house that wouldn't fit in a 2 bedroom apartment, etc. It was a total nightmare, the FBI were calling non-stop looking for information on him, and he became (and i'm quoting from a book) "the most famous missing person in Louisiana since 1968." An uncle of mine showed up from Georgia to rescue Essie, giving us the impression that she would be moving in with 2 sisters of hers, but then put her in a nursing home. If I wasn't already broken by that time, that broke me. I also had to make the decision to give my baby up for adoption because there was no way we could take care of a new baby when we weren't sure how we were going to take care of ourselves, but I knew this was best for the baby due to my age, so that wasn't as painful for me as what happened to Essie.

My dad had cheated on my mom for most of their marriage, and she pointed the FBI to the woman's house where he was likely living. After seeing the kidnapping story on the news, a man came forward who remembered selling a car to my dad, then the car was found at the airport. He had gone to live with a secretary/girlfriend, in Pennsylvania, leaving us to deal with his mess!! The FBI actually went to the woman's apartment to look for him and we were told later that he was hiding in the closet!! They never found him, well, until almost exactly a year after he disappeared. He was found dead of pancreatic cancer in a V.A. hospital in Pennsylvania! The girlfriend didn't even bother to call us and let us know that he was dying.

So, that is why he is in some Louisiana history books. He wasn't all that important, but what he knew about former (imprisoned) Edwin Edwards was very important to those who wanted the information. One book he is in is called "The Last Hayride." He is chapter 13. It was neat because I was able to give Elizabeth a copy of that book when we first reunited and it helped her to see what led up to my decisions about the adoption.

And there is a silver lining to every cloud, as they say! Or I think that is what they say, whoever THEY are! A local investigative reporter was doing a story about the whole Edwin Edwards fiasco and ended up dating my mom and eventually marrying her! They have been married for 20+ years now and he is way more of a father to us than my dad ever was. And yes, I have let him know that and thanked him.

Now, just when you think the story is over, there have always been rumors, some coming from my sister and brother, that my dad faked his own death and is still alive. And at the funeral, the man in the casket didn't look anything like my father, but dying so quickly from cancer can really change the way a person looks. My mother made the funeral home people show her scars that my father had to prove to her that it was him. And really, where would he have gotten a body to send to his funeral? My brother's friend told him way back when all of this was going on that his father was "in the know" on that sort of stuff and that my dad is in the witness protection program. And I have said repeatedly, if that is true, my father might want to be sure to call one of them if he's looking for us, cause I aint answering the call!! Personally, I don't buy into the rumors.

So, there you have it. Any questions or comments are welcome! I don't mind talking about any of it and it is therapeutic to talk about it sometimes.

Questions & Comments:

Kimi asked if I bought my purdy new shirt for work - yes! I like to wear my khaki or greenish khaki jeans that don't look like jeans and I love shirts that go with them! That shirt will match both pairs! And yes, my mom most certainly remembers the Girl Scout incident!!!! I don't know if she'll ever let me forget it!!

Monday

Landen has been wanting to spend the night with us one last time before school starts back, so I went and picked him up this afternoon. He is starting 1st grade this week and is feeling very grown up! I also got to visit with Mack, so that was fun. He's just too energetic for me to bring home over night, and they live too far away to just pick him up for a few hours and bring him home. Here are a couple of pictures I took of Mack (15 months old) & Elizabeth.

I am back on my low-carb diet today and picked up some good lunch ideas for when I start back to work this week. I am not doing the first phase of the Atkins diet, but am just trying to keep the carbs low. I found some South Beach wraps that will be great for lunch and don't have to be heated up, so that is very convenient for me. I like to eat in my office and don't want to fight the microwave lines, so this is a good option. I ate one today for lunch and it was pretty good.

Bryce spent the night with Cameron last night and they were glad to get to spend some time together. Bryce had lived with us some during the year last year while his mother was having trouble stablizing herself after a bad break-up, and even after she got things together, he still came here every day after school, even on the weeks that Cameron is with his dad, so I am really used to having him around. I made sure with Cameron's punishments not to make it where Bryce couldn't spend the night here. Cameron isn't going to spend the night anywhere for awhile, but I would never tell Bryce he can't come here. He just needs us sometimes, so anyway, it was nice to have him here. He has worked all summer at a local water park and i'm really hoping Cameron will want to work there next summer.

I always get a kick out of Landen. He told me today that he knows how many planets there are, so I asked him how many? He said 9. I said that was great and asked if he could name any of them. He said no, so I named them for him. He said, does Mr. Wizard (our name for Walter) work on one of them? I said, "no, people don't live on any planets that we know of other than Earth." He said, "oh, is that why they are building so many?" He's a funny boy. He's a true southern boy and he proved that when his Kindergarten teacher asked who could name all of the seasons. He raised his hand and said, "dove, turkey, rabbit, and deer." The teacher thought it was the funniest thing she'd heard! He had no idea about fall, summer, spring, or winter! Here is a picture of him in the pool this afternoon. He was determined that those huge goggles would fit him, but they weren't too good at keeping the water out of his eyes!
So, that's all we're up to tonight - entertaining Landen. Walter is supposed to be picking up some bait so they can fish. We really enjoy having Landen around, so it will be a fun night. I am planning to grill some steaks with some sauteed mushrooms! Yum!!

Cats and Dogs

I'll be honest. I really don't like dogs. There are a few that I like, all are small dogs, but I would prefer to be without them. I hate to have a dog lick or jump on me. Two years ago, I was cornered in our parking lot by a medium sized dog who would not back down or let me by (and when I found the owner to let her know, she told me I made it up...go figure), so that didn't really help. The "bad cat neighbors" have a poodle that they let run lose, chase cars, bark at me in MY yard, and that doesn't really help. And it's the most annoying bark I've ever heard. But the reason i'm bringing this up (i'm sure you knew there was a reason), is that a neighbor stopped by this evening with his dog. He's come here with the dog before, a beagle looking dog, and found it really funny to let it bark (as loud and long as it wanted) outside my window while telling it to chase the cats in the "bad cat neighbor's" yard (when they still had cats), and really rubbed me wrong. I did everything to protect those cats, and I wasn't amused. Well, anyway, he stopped by tonight with the dog and came walking through the screen porch on the BACK of the house (note to self: Hey self, LOCK the doors on the porch), while Walter & I are sitting peacefully, having dinner, and watching tv. We have been keeping the back door cracked so the cats can go in & out while we're down here and they LOVE it. So, I see him on the porch with the dog and JJ (my gigantic cat) is at the door. I very politely said, "don't let the dog in." So, he comes in, closes the dog out on the porch, and the dog starts scratching wildly ON MY BACK DOOR!! So, rather than walk back out and wait out there with the dog, he LET'S THE DOG IN! And brings it right to my cat, who is growling like crazy! I am VERY protective of my cats and I said "TAKE THE DOG OUT!!!" He said, "oh, I know the cat doesn't have front claws, it's ok!" I am SO not worried about his dog, i'm worried about MY CAT! I walked over, grabbed my freaking out cat, went upstairs, and sat in my room until he left. Jerk. Ahhhh, just had to vent about that. People, don't bring your dog in someone's house without permission, especially if they ask you not to. Some people DON'T LIKE DOGS!!!

I went to the training at work today and it was well worth my time. It turns out that it is a 2 days training, so I'm going back tomorrow. I signed up knowing it would be before I actually went back to work, but I wasn't worried about being paid or anything like that. I really just wanted to learn the information (writing Behavior Plans and Functional Behavior Assessments) because i'm on teams at my schools and need to know how to help with them, not to mention that I still get a paycheck all summer long even though I don't have to work). My supervisor told me today that I can get comp time for both days! Woohoo! I was excited to hear that, since I've been worried about using my personal days so early in the year. I haven't had fever tonight and put off calling my doctor since I can't go tomorrow anyway. If I have any fever tonight, I will call tomorrow. I also found out that my school assignments wont change much, so i'm glad to hear that. The bad news is that they provided lunch again today (well, I guess that's good, but bad for my diet), and it was sandwiches, chips, and cookies from Subway, so I ate it. I would have had to pull the meat off of 1/2 the sandwiches to get enough lunch for my low-carb diet and I didn't think that would go over too well!

I told Elizabeth to let me know if there is anything she wants for her birthday, or else I'll give her $100 when I see her, so she called today and had thought of something she wants. "Pleasure" perfume by Estee Lauder - maybe like a gift set with lotion too. She said that she'd asked her mom to get her some once, and her mom bought "Treasure" or some other random kind, so I told her i'd be sure to get "Pleasure." I love to buy her things and while I used to pout a little that she wasn't exaclty raised by "professionals" as I was told she would be, it's made me thankful that she isn't some spoiled doctor or attorney's child who might to be rich & busy to bother with me! Anyway, she was well cared for throughout her life, but has never had alot of extra things, so I enjoy making her happy. I went to Estee Lauder's website and they had a gift set with the Pleasure perfume and bath gel for $65, so I found a bottle of lotion for $40, and with free shipping and gift wrapping, it was exactly what I was looking to spend!! I had it shipped to her house and send her a text message to let her know I'd ordered some "Pasture" for her LOL! I sent another message after that and said, "oops, I meant Pleasure!" She's got my goofy sense of humor so she really got a kick out of that. I chuckled for awhile over it.

Well, that's all I've got for tonight. These mornings sure come early!! Have a good night!

Sunday

Mr. Wizard finished the pier/dock yesterday and it really came out great! He is going to stain the wood at some point, probably a grayish color, but he's still working on picking the right look for it. Here are some pictures of the completed job.




So, we went back to Home Depot today to decide about the really cool swing we saw there. It was on sale for $350 and we both really liked it. It was very comfortable, lays down into a bed (now why would I need a bed on the river?), and is made of very sturdy aluminum that shouldn't rust. We also saw some swings for $75 & $80 but they weren't nearly as nice or comfy, so we bit the bullet and got it. It is still in a box in the back of Walter's truck (hoping some nice neighbor will volunteer to help get it out!!!), but here is a picture from Home Depot's website.
There was a lot of commotion out on the river yesterday. Someone drowned about a mile down from us trying to save a friend, according to the news. There are usually some drinking related drownings that happen each summer, but I haven't heard yet if alcohol is suspected in the accident. Drinking is a hobby out here and it's for exactly that reason that I worry a lot about people and what they decide to do on boats and in the water.

I am running fever again and plan to call my doctor tomorrow and see what she thinks. I have to go to a training at work, so hopefully I can get an appointment after that. It's just such a pain to drive to Baton Rouge (40 minutes + traffic) just for her tell me to let it run its course, but then again, maybe there is something she can do.

With the month of July almost over, I am SO proud of my budgetting project! We stayed within our budget on nearly everything this month, especially eating out! We had been spending between $400 - $600 A MONTH eating out! How crazy is that? This month we've spent $200, and that is a huge change to me. We really enjoy eating out, but we need to plan better and look at what we're actually spending, and what we were spending was ridiculous.

Questions & Comments:

Chelle asked if I put Nadda (cat) on anxiety medicine. Yes, the vet suggested it when I brought him in for a checkup. I can tell a big difference on the days he takes it and on the days I forget to give it to him. When we moved to the new house, he got to where he never came out of the closet at all, for months, and the 1st day he took the medicine, that night, he just came walking downstairs and into the living room like it was nothing. He'll still do that now, but if anyone gets up or moves much at all, he takes off.

Tam commented on how much Elizabeth looks like me. I hear that from some people, but when I see us together, I really don't see it. I think our cheeks are the same, but it's hard for me to see the resemblence. Landen, however, is a carbon copy of me at his age.

Kim asked if I remember telling her daughter, Kayli, that I would have named Elizabeth "Jennifer" if I had decided to name her. I do remember that, and Jennifer was always my favorite name when I was little. A funny story about naming Elizabeth - I decided when she was born that I didn't want to name her. The adoptive parents would have a new birth certificate made and would rename her anyway, so I just didn't want to feel attached to her or give her a name, so I didn't. When you don't name a baby, the hospital will put "Baby Girl Smith" or "Baby Boy Smith" (depending on your own last name of course, and no, mine wasn't Smith - it's an example), so they put "Baby Girl Smith" as her name on her original birth certificate, and then that one is sealed away forever. Anyway, Elizabeth's boyfriend calls her "baby girl" sometimes and after hearing that a few times, it just really cracked me up and I told her the birth certificate story and how that is REALLY her name - Baby Girl! She thinks that is hilarious and loves to tell the story to people.

Happy Birthday to my Elizabeth!

Today is Elizabeth's birthday!! She is 26 years old today and I am always so very excited to be able to pick up the phone and call to tell her happy birthday!! Until I reunited with Elizabeth, my mom would send me a birthday card every year on Elizabeth's birthday, just to let me know that she'd never forget her and hope that we would be able to know her someday. I don't get the cards anymore, Elizabeth does, and I'm ok with that!!! She is such a big part of my life now and it still amazes me how things turned out and that's just one more thing that I know God has done for me. I called Elizabeth this morning & left her a message letting her know that I have some birthday money for her. She LOVES having money to spend, so unless she has something specific that she wants for her birthday, I usually give her $100 to do what she wants with.

It's kind of nice to have nothing planned for the weekend! I have put myself on the sofa for the entire day with my laptop and a book (still reading A Good Yarn), and hopefully my mystery fever will leave me forever! It's been going away during the day and then sneaking back in the evenings. I'm not feeling bad at all and I don't think I have the stomach virus, so here I am, just resting and hanging out.

Walter is working on the pier today and it looks like he is pretty much finished with it. He is so incredibly smart and talented and i'm glad I have Mr. Wizard (as we affectionately call him) as my very own. He wants to build a covered deck next that will come off of the back porch so that we can move the bbq grill out there and have some more room for entertaining.

I will be leaving on Friday (if i'm cured of the mystery fever) for a weekend in Atlanta for my niece, Daphne's, 1st birthday. I'm going to ride with my mom & step-dad, and Cameron is possibly coming too. That isn't my week with him, so he's supposed to be deciding what he wants to do. It's about an 8 hour drive from here, so it isn't too bad. We will be staying at my cousin's house on Lake Lanier, so i'm excited about that, as well as seeing my cute little niece! I have only seen her once when she was about a month old.

I do appreciate the kind comments about JP and his situation. It is an uncomfortable topic for many people to talk about, but it is my reality and it helps me to talk about it, so hearing positive comments is really helpful to me, so thank you to my commenters!

Questions & Comments:

Chelle asked if Nadda (cat) meows when he's up to his nightly antics. No. And to be honest, he lives his life in "stealth mode" and only comes out of his closet bed if I'm home alone. Lately, he is able to come downstairs when Walter is home and due to the nightly sharing of pudding, they have bonded a little, but otherwise Nadda will freak out and run (picture back claws skidding across the wood floors until he makes it through the house & up the stairs.) Have I mentioned that he is on anxiety medicine? Another interesting thing is that he has JUST started to meow at all in the last few months. Cats learn to meow when they are communicating with people, and he never learned to speak up because he was a feral (wild) cat for the first 5 months of his life. If you don't tame a kitten in the first 8 - 10 weeks of their lives, chances are that their "window is closed" for making friends with people, and in the case like Nadda, where they are still able to make friends, they typically only bond with one person. Recently, I let him go outside with me and now he's started meowing at the door to go back out. He has the FUNNIEST meow i've ever heard, and now that he has learned to do it, he is starting to meow a lot!

You KNOW what night it is!!!

It's STEAK NIGHT!!!! It's my most favorite night of the week!!!! Unfortunately, Cathy & Brent left for New York this morning, so Walter & I will be on our own, but we will enjoy ourselves anyway!!!! AND, when Cathy gets back, she will know if our Labor Day plans are on for New York where Brent's boss let's them borrow a beach house on Long Island!! All we would have to pay for is the airfare, so i'm crossing my fingers!!! My mom will sure be proud of me because she always says I need to get "out of my box" and this summer, I sure have done that!! The quote and picture above fits me to a tee!

Today is also the day that my housekeeper comes, so I do my best to make plans so that i'll be gone all morning. Today, I'm going to my mom's to visit and have lunch at our favorite restaurant in their town, Magnolia Cafe. My mom lives about 1 hour & 15 minutes from me, so it's a good little way out there, but it is SO nice that they are not still 9 hours away in Big Canoe, Georgia. They lived there for about 15 years and have been back in Louisiana for about 4. I've mentioned before that my mom was recently diagnosed with a small brain aneurysm and it scares me more than I can say, but she is being monitored closely by her neurologist and his team.

I lost another pound!!!! I am at 151!! That makes NINE pounds that I have lost in 13 days!! Yay! I only have 4 to go and i'm so excited!!!

WebMD had a good article yesterday comparing low fat diets, low carb diets, and Mediterranean diet. I don't know what a Mediterranean diet is, but if I can eat all my meals at Albasha, i'm in! Low carb dieters tended to lose more weight initially, but in the end, all the dieters lost weight and the issue is maintaining the weight loss. Over 24 months, low fat dieters lost an average of 6.5 lbs, Mediterranean dieters lost an average of 10 lbs. and low carb dieters lost an average of 10.3 lbs. Low carb diets help with HDL (good cholesterol), while the Mediterranean was helpful to those with diabetes, leaving them with better blood sugar and insulin measures. Anywho, I like to know the facts, so it was an interesting story to me. http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20080716/diet-debate-3-top-plans-go-toe-to-toe. And being who I am, of course I looked up the Mediterranean-style diet, which is basically a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and healthy oils, such as those found in fish, olives, and nuts.

I called a customer service person at AT&T about the IPhone 3G monthly service charges after a salesman at Walter's job told him his monthly service charge is $120!! Woah! But fortunately, to add it to my service since we already have the family plan and unlimited texting will only be $30 month. Yeah, I know, ONLY $30, but hey, i'm worth it!!

A few funny moments with my little friends yesterday:

Before they left home, Payton called and asked, "can we bring Lucy to your house?" Lucy is their teacup poodle and I said, "no." He called back 5 minutes later. "Do you want a cat?" I said, "no." He said, "well, can we bring our cat to your house??" I said, "NO, and if you need to spend more time with your dog or cat, then STAY HOME!!!" He said, "no, I don't care about them!"

They were all 4 in the pool and Camille was asking for someone to push her around the pool on a float, but everyone was playing by themselves and didn't want to push her. She shouted at Payton, "YOU ARE SO SELFISH!!!!!" We got to have a little talk about how SHE was the selfish one for expecting everyone to stop what they are doing for her!

Payton does not eat anything. Literally. Anything. He eats Whales crackers, waffles with no syrup, and cheese pizza. He doesn't eat ANYTHING from any fast food restaurant. He doesn't eat pudding, popcorn, macaroni & cheese, chicken nuggets, ANYTHING. This has been a life long issue with him and whenever they go to other people's houses, people always think they will change him and FORCE him to eat, but he will sit at the table until he goes to sleep. It is a control issue, in my opinion, but i'm not out to "fix" him in the short time I spend with him. When I told Walter that the kids wanted to come over, the first thing he said is "well, they can come but Payton is going to have to eat....." and I stopped him. Noooooo, this isn't my issue and I will gladly feed him cheese pizza. But the funny part is, upon request, Payton will LICK the bottom of his SHOE and not mind it at all, but he wouldn't put Coco Puff cereal in his mouth to save his life.

Camille & Ava came over wearing their bathing suits, so when it was time to get out of the pool and get dressed, between them they only brought 1 pair of panties!! Camille thought Ava would bring some extras, and Ava only brought 1 pair! Once Walter got home, I had to go out and buy panties!!

Questions & Comments:
Payton did wake up at 5:30, so I got up and took a bath so that I could get downstairs and fix him something to eat. I got out of the bathtub, came back downstairs and he was sleeping on the sofa and slept until 9:45! Nobody else got up until after 7am, but at least I managed to get a bath in before they were all up.

A question I was asked was about Elizabeth's awkward baby shower - what was my answer to the "who are you & how do you know Elizabeth" game. Keep in mind that her adoptive mother was there and I had very recently met them. As the people went around a circle answering the question, my friend, Lesley, and I whispered back & forth about what to say. Lesley was sitting before me, so she gets the question first. She answers that she is Lesley and knows Elizabeth through me! Good answer, but it didn't do anything for my anxiety! So, I said, "I'm Dawn and I'm a special friend of the family." I felt SO stupid!!!! Elizabeth just laughed and said "that's my biological mom!" After the shower, knowing there was ANOTHER shower coming up soon, Elizabeth & I talked and she said she would make a point to be sure NOBODY played that game again. And personally, nobody ever had before and hasn't again, at least in my experience!!!

And yes, Lesley! I do remember when we were at the hospital when Landen was first born!!! I was very honored that you not only went to the baby shower with me but also wanted to see my little grand baby!!! Here is a picture of that day and I don't remember seeing this in the 300 pictures I put on your cd!!

Also, Lesley wants to know what the 3G in the IPhone stands for? Hmmm, probably the 3 grand that it will cost me in fees to get it activated???? Nah, maybe since this is the 2nd IPhone, they know that once I blow my money on this one, they will make number 3 and say GOTCHA!!! Ha Ha! Well, a google search shows that it stands for "Third Generation" so I wasn't all that far off! I should probably hold out for the IPhone 200G, but I really want one now!

To HotTubLizzy - yes, certainly you can be replaced in all the pictures from yesterday so that you can be the one enjoying yourself. And yeah, maybe not the ones in Walter's lap cause people just might not understand!!!

And Tam, my husband built the mantle for the fireplace and we hired a cabinet maker to build the cabinets, but Walter designed them, hung them, and I painted them. Here a picture of the whole thing, but keep in mind that we have NOT decorated the shelves all the way out of lack of things to put on them, so they look sort of goofy in places. And posting this picture can really open me up to a whole different post about the things ON the bookcase. Walter is a bit eccentric and I'm just used to that. We have everything up there from a trombone, to an old camera and book collection, to a Hillary Clinton nutcracker!

Molly mentioned that she can't diet because she loses 2 lbs and then becomes invincible and gains 6 more. I am the same way, but I suggest trying Atkins if you haven't already. The results are so immediate that you end up wanting to stay on the diet!! It is the only diet I have ever lost more than a pound or two on.

I hope you all have a great day!!

Tuesday morning

Elizabeth called last night after realizing that Landen has vacation bible school all week, so he can't make it to our slumber party tonight. I really just didn't want him to find out that the kids were here and he wasn't invited because he gets very jealous of them being here, so atleast he will know he was included if "word gets out!" Not much gets past that boy!

Yesterday was JP's court date that got reset to December 1 and i've emailed the attorney to let her know that the court date wasn't changed on the jail's website, which to me means he would be brought to court yesterday to reset the trial date. I wanted to make sure the attorney would be there if JP was brought to court, but she didn't feel that he would be. Sure enough, JP called last night to say that he was called to court but had to wait all day without anything happening because his attorney wasn't there. I checked the website last night and now it shows today's date!! I emailed the attorney again to ask her to please check on this incase she is supposed to be there and she emailed me this morning to say she called the court and had them straighten it out on their docket. I'm sure JP was called to court again today anyway since they get them there VERY early (3 or 4 am is when they start the process) and it's just a long day for him. The jail's website is usually pretty accurate. I just wish people would listen!! It was nice to hear from JP though and he is supposed to call back tonight to let me know what finally ended up happening. His co-defendent's trial is set for next week, although JP's attorney says the judge is out of town, so I don't think it will go as planned, but if it does, I plan to be there to sit in. The attorney suggested I call the court on Friday and see if the trial is supposed to start on time or not.

I actually lost another pound on my diet - a total of 8! I was so excited when I weighed this morning!! I resisted the ice cream and sent it home with Cathy yesterday afternoon!! Then when she called later to see if I wanted to go work out, I didn't go!!! I'm not sure how that fits with the good diet news, but I just didn't want to go!!! I did some sit ups this morning, so maybe if I start doing a little bit of exercising around here, I will either tone up or get motivated to go to the health club. This morning I had a few pieces of bacon for breakfast and plan to have a Bubba burger for lunch. No telling what i'll do about dinner since I'm planning to get pizza for the kids. I may have another Bubba burger, which is fine with me! I love them!!!

I'm off to clean the house so that the kids can tear it up!!! Wish me luck! They've already called to ask if they can bring their dog (NO!!!) and again to ask if they can bring their cat (NO!!!!!). I finally told Payton if anyone wants to be with their dog and cat, they should STAY HOME and play with them there!! Amy was going to bring the kids to Blue Bayou Water Park this morning and bring them here afterwards, but as luck would have it, they'd rather come HERE than Blue Bayou! Seriously?? So anyway, they're on the way now. I wont likely be around for the next 24 hours, but I'll have some pictures tomorrow afternoon!!

Adoption story

A bonus post today for anyone who is interested in knowing the story of Elizabeth & I. I waited until Elizabeth turned 18 to join the different adoption websites (because you can't search until the child is 18), but never found any information or got any responses from my information that I put on the websites. I had told Walter about her and we were looking for ways to try to get information, when one day I noticed an ad on an adoption site that caught my eye for some reason (divine intervention, i'm sure). We had been searching on our own for a year and I had never contacted anyone for help and wasn't interested in sending money to someone who I knew would not having any information and rip me off, but this ad said "If you are looking for someone in these states (and Louisiana was one of them), I can probably help you." I emailed the lady and we exchanged some emails and then talked on the phone several times, then she told me that she had the information I needed. She said if I sent her $300 by Western Union, she would give me my daughter's name, address, etc. Now, I will admit to being impulsive, but I am SO not naive or gullible. I talked to Walter about it and we agreed that it would be a cheap lesson (some people spend thousands)if we got ripped off, but I had spoken with the woman enough times that I just felt it was ok. So, we sent the money. The next day, just as promised, the lady called me with my daughter's name, address, and had spent some time looking up her phone number while waiting for me to send the payment. She found my daughter, who's name I learned for the first time in 19 years - Elizabeth Gail! The lady wanted to call her for me, but I wasn't sure what to do. I talked to my step-dad who adopted 2 of my step-brothers years ago and he felt that I should contact Elizabeth's mother and not Elizabeth. The lady was telling me that she does this ALL the time and if I contact Elizabeth's mother, she will most likely threaten me with attorneys if I call there again. So, we made the decision to have the lady contact Elizabeth directly. In the meantime, knowing where Elizabeth lived and freaking out that it was SO close, I called my friend, Carol, who's daughter goes to school in Elizabeth's area and asked if her daughter knew her and she said YES! I couldn't tell her why because I didn't want Elizabeth to hear about me from someone else, so I just told her Walter's son was dating her and could she PLEASE scan and email Elizabeth's yearbook picture for me!! And she did!!

I was so surprised that she had hair the color of mine! Her biological father was Italian and had black hair & brown eyes, so I just assumed Elizabeth would have his dominant features. I found out later that she DOES have black hair and just randomly colors it the same color as mine!

So anyway, the lady contacts Elizabeth, who is just OVERJOYED to hear that I'm looking for her, gets my number to call me right away, but first calls her mom to let her know! Her mom is a teacher and was in the middle of a class (why she answered her phone, who knows) and when she heard the news, she went ballistic! But, it was too late because Elizabeth already had the number and called me anyway. I have to say, it was one of the best days of my life!! We talked and planned to meet for dinner that weekend, with her parents & brother who wanted to be there, and Walter, Sean, Cameron, & I.

Then I had A LOT of explaining to do! My family, including my older son, JP, knew about Elizabeth, but Cameron did not. Neither did any of Walter's family or any of our friends that didn't know me back when I was a pregnant teenager. It's one of those family secrets that just don't get talked about. And how do you bring that up in conversation??? So I sat down with Cameron and talked to him about it. JP was living with us at the time, so I asked him if he remembered me telling him about his sister when he was younger (probably 8 or 9) and he said yes. I said, "well, she's calling here today!" I knew he would be home to answer the phone and didn't want her to feel rejected by someone not knowing about her. I emailed everyone else and received nothing but support then and to this day!

The dinner was one of the most awkward moments of my life, but I got to meet her and her family. This picture is from that night:

I found out shortly afterwards that Elizabeth had just found out she was pregnant the week that found each other! And God gave her a little boy who was not black haired & brown eyed like Elizabeth & her boyfriend, but blonde haired and blue eyed like me! I think if we hadn't been reunited when Landen was born, seeing him would have prompted Elizabeth to look for me for some answers! She had already tried going on the internet to look at adoption websites but said she didn't know how to use them. Our second meeting was lunch with my sister and Elizabeth's childhood friend who they had always said if Elizabeth ever met me, the friend would get to come with her! I was really touched by that.

Here are pictures from Elizabeth's birth until now.

This is the day Elizabeth went home from the hospital. I had held her earlier that day and had always had that head full of black hair & sweet little face in my memory, so to see her again was incredible!!




This was taken at Elizabeth's baby shower shortly after we met when things were still really awkward. I begged my friend, Lesley, to go to the shower with me and she suffered through one of the most bizarre days of my life along side me! Elizabeth's boyfriend's family threw the shower, so they didn't know much about the whole story, other than his immediate family, and the shower host played a game where we went around the room and said who we are and how we know Elizabeth!!!! I am pretty sure I made it through the game, but it was the longest 5 minutes of my life waiting for my turn and whispering back & forth with Lesley trying to figure out what to say!



This is Elizabeth, Landen, & Cameron - one of my favorite pictures!




All 3 of my kids in one place!!! Never before done!


Mack's baby shower
It is incredible how many times our lives have crossed paths and we didn't know it and how we know so many of the same people! I thank God often for bringing Elizabeth and these boys into my life!!! Hope you enjoyed the story!