10:56 a.m. - November 07, 2005
Another Tricky Day
Another Tricky Day - Sunday, indeed, was an interesting day. Fresh off a visit on Saturday with my brother (and having the whole clan over for pizza and salad Saturday night), with all of us fighting colds and the Hoosier Crud, we had to journey over to Carmel, Indiana for a party that our adoption attorney�s were throwing.
Normally, it is a picnic, but last year it was cancelled for some reason, and this year they held it at the Ritz Charles, a nice banquet hall off of the main drag in Carmel.
Behind Blue Eyes - My family were all raving about Kristin�s eyes. She�s almost five months old and they are still blue. I think they may stay that color � it will be quite a contrast to Katie�s deep brown eyes.
Summertime Blues - Except for Kristin, the rest of us were awakened by a thunderstorm that rolled through about 2 in the morning. Katie is scared of thunder, and she ran into our room when she heard the booms. We patiently told her that there was nothing to worry about, and trundled her back into her room.
It�s odd to have thunderstorms in November, even for Indiana. Aren�t the darn weather fronts supposed to understand that it�s fall, and while it�s cold and clammy and rainy on occasion, there are no thunderstorms now. (Like they listen!)
So Sad About Us - We all were feeling punky. Poor Kristin woke up in the middle of the night. She had turned 90 degrees in her bed and for some reason that caused her to wake up. I had to hold and rock her for a while at three in the morning to get her back to sleep.
Sleep was a premium � I needed it and wasn�t getting it. Sigh.
I woke up with a headache and a sore throat. Katie has been coughing a bit, and Liz was feeling nauseous and run down. So we decided to skip church and relax, a bit.
I could tell I was feeling a bit sick because I was crankier and impatient than normal.
Run, Run, Run - Of course, with nothing to do in the morning, we still wound up leaving for the party 20 minutes later than we had planned. For some reason, it was just impossible to get everyone motivated to get going.
I was ready to go 10 minutes before we left, as usual.
Is there some sort of gene in the DNA or chromosomes that cause this chronic lateness? Katie�s already exhibiting those tendencies, as she must have her hair done the right way, the right clothes on and the exact pair of shoes.
I guess I�ll never understand. Of course, I have my Dad�s gene in that you�re on time if you�re 10 minutes early.
My Wife - On the way over (it�s about a 45 minute drive) Liz started to feel a bit nauseous. Now, I sometimes have a lead foot, and at times the way I drive makes Liz a bit queasy, but I had the cruise control on for the most part as I was driving through BFE land.
I knew she was feeling bad when she put the death grip on her door handle. Hopefully, she would be able to enjoy the party.
The Seeker - We arrived at the event, safely. I parked the car and we walked it.
The place was a madhouse.
There had to be at least 250 to 300 families there � all with adoptive kids for the most part between 1 and 6 years old. There were stations for face painting, balloon animals, caricatures, several buffet lines and a stage where they�d have a singer and a magician.
They also had a �receiving line� to talk to our adoption attorneys. That sounds odd, but with so many people there who wanted to shake their hands, hug them and take pictures of them with the kids that they helped place, it was the only way to keep things orderly.
We were a bit late, and we looked and looked and looked for a place to sit, and we never found one.
A Quick One� - We then decided that our visit here would be pretty short. The lines were long for each of the stations, so I got a couple of plates of food (chicken strips, so they were easy to carry) and we waited in line for the balloon animals. After Katie got her balloon cat, we then stood in line to talk to the attorneys, and then went over to get Nemo painted on Katie�s face before we left.
Substitute - In line for our Nemo, we saw one of Katie�s old chums from when we lived in Zionsville. This was another Katie, who was just about the same age as our Katie. They were basically inseparable at day care. But after about 10 months, it was as if they were strangers. Katie, of course, has moved on to her �boyfriend� and all that at Montessori here in Crawfordsville. I do think our Katie recognized the other Katie, but it�s been ages, especially in the life of an almost 4-year old.
A Legal Matter - As we were leaving the party, we ran into our social worker. The first thing she said to us was �that she FINALLY got the paperwork done.� Well, no fooling, since court is Wednesday, but thanks for playing. She said that they�ve been short staffed and she was apologetic for the delay.
Still, I think, it�s no excuse that it took that long to get her act together.
Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere - About a minute after we loaded up the car Kristin started to cry. She was a hungry little girl. So we decided to stop at a McDonalds (ick!) to feed her and let Katie run around the Playland.
Katie was a bit intimidated at first, because the Playland had this high bridge that was perfectly safe but was a bit intimidating. It was a webbing of material that could definitely hold her weight, and there was no way she could fall through. But it took her a while to get the courage to go over it.
When she did it, the next step in the Playland was a big slide. Of course, Katie is a slide connoisseur, so once she found that�s how you get to the slide, there were several trips up and over.
Let�s See Action - We finally got home. Katie decided to change clothes immediately. Liz took some Alka-Seltzer and took a nap. Kristin and I decided to watch football.
My fantasy team was on its way to a win, thanks to LaDanain Tomlinson. My football picks were perfect.
Then, the New Orleans Saints started playing like the Saints of old.
Why did I put so many points on them? Why???
I will only miss one game this week, and because I put 11 points on New Orleans, I�ll be out of the money. Not fair, I tells ya, not fair!
Join Together - After everyone woke up from nap and had dinner, we all had one big group hug. �All four hug�. That�s nice.
Bargain - Even though the day was a bit mad cap, and we were all sick and a bit harried at the end of it � we all had a good day. One of the best we ever had.
5:15 - But of course, it was not all sunshine and roses at the end, or is it the beginning of today? Kristin woke up about three, because she rotated herself again and got all the crud drained into her chest. Liz changed her and fed her, and she was asleep for another half hour. Then I decided to see what I could do. It took about an hour to get her asleep again (her big blue eyes were just wide away and looking everywhere). And since I fell asleep on the couch during the Redskins / Eagles game, my sleep was broken up into three parts.
But Who�s complaining?
