Elfa

In an effort to get organized and prepared for little kiddo #2, I have a list of projects that I would like to get done. One of them is getting some form of shelving in our hall closet. It is rather large (deep and tall) and could hold TONS of stuff if only there was more than one shelf in there.

Last night I went to The Container Store because I had heard they have great organization solutions for closets (aka: Elfa). In my pre-kiddo days, I was an organizing fool...and I also had a salary to go with it! Anyway, the sales lady at TCS created a really cool plan for my closet that took into account measurements, storage needs, etc.

Only problem....they wanted $797 for the shelving system.....without any additional clear containers to house the things to go on the $797 shelves.

HELP! Does anyone have any alternatives to Elfa shelving?

The Past Week In Pictures

Last Tuesday Garrett and I met some friends at a Berry Patch for blueberry picking! It was so much fun and the perfect weather. Garrett had a ball picking out the blue-est berries and filling up his bucket. Last time I checked, he didn't actually like to eat them, but on the way home in the down pour of rain, he ate more than his fair share!

Filling up the bucket....

Picking just the right shade of blue....

Garrett and his big buddy working so hard.....

After our blueberry adventure, Garrett and I headed down to Nacogdoches, TX where my mom's side of the family lives. We didn't get to see everyone in town BUT did enjoy swimming in Cami's pool and brief visits with my cousins & their kiddos and my grandmother.

Mimi (my mom), Garrett and one of his cousins, Mason, in the pool....

G-man found this round float which gave him courage to venture into "the deep blue sea" (as he calls it). Garrett had a blast kicking and "swimming" across the pool all by himself once in the float. We promptly bought a few floats to use back at home!

We headed back for home on Friday to be back in time to go to our minor league team's baseball game. Our church's worship and arts department had an outing there that night, and Kenny was asked to sing the National Anthem! I didn't get any clear pictures of him but it was so neat to see him out on the field and hear his voice booming through a stadium. I think I was more nervous than he was! He did an amazing job!

This was also the first real baseball game we've taken Garrett to - he loved it although he was mostly intrigued as to why the players wear big numbers on their shirts and had a grand old time getting snacks, playing at the park playground and bounce house. Oh, well! It was great time as a family!

Garrett & Mommy at the Game

It's Landed....

I am out of town this week with my little G-man visiting relatives and so many things to report (with pictures) when I get back home tomorrow, but I couldn't wait to share:

OUR DOSSIER LANDED IN AFRICA AT 9:20 A.M. TODAY!!!!

Let the wait begin!!!

Dossier Doozy

**Edited on Saturday: The sweet little package of papers landed at our agency on Friday morning and should be in the process of being copied, looked over and then shipped to Africa!

Really? Really? Our dossier still isn't complete. And oh, yeah. It was lost for two days. Uh-huh. Really.

We sent our dossier to our courier of choice two weeks ago & it was received within less than 24 hours. Typically, it would have been returned to our agency within 3-5 days. But there was a little issue with one document. After 24 hours of frantic worrying, we got it solved. And so we thought our dossier would have been back by LAST Friday or at least this Monday.

Since I wasn't able to track the return shipping on-line yesterday, I called our courier to check in and see what the status might be. I got a return phone call today (Wednesday) saying that everything is okay....NOW.

Apparently our courier took our documents in on Monday morning and left them with the Embassy to be picked up yesterday (Tuesday). When they went into DC to get them yesterday, they were told the dossier had already been picked up by someone else.

SOMEONE ELSE? There is NO ONE else.

So, for about 24 hours some other human being has had our dossier (and everything ever known or written about our lives). OUR courier was able to track this person down and get the dossier back. Whew!

Or so we thought.....

Apparently, when the wrong courier picked up the documents he didn't check them. The dossier wasn't stamped correctly and will need to be taken BACK to the Embassy to be re-done. Really? Really?

Our courier assures me he will take our dossier to the Embassy first thing in the morning, wait for them to be done CORRECTLY (given the Embassy doesn't close suddenly which they have been known to do) and ship them to our agency in the afternoon.

While I would like to breathe a sigh of relief, I'm holding my breath. I am frustrated. But, I am not throwing a hissy fit or crying. I merely shrugged my shoulders just now and thought to myself, "Oh well. It'll all get done. Sometime."

The timing all happens for a reason....

Accountable Kids - Love It!

This is the newest addition to our home (proudly decorated by the one and only G-man):





We call it the "Chore Chart" but it is really called the "Accountable Kids" program. I have been looking for a system for Garrett that would encompass a few daily responsibilities (get dressed, brush teeth, make bed - a list so to speak) as well as a positive reinforcement system that I could keep up with and some sort of calendar/daily activities (ie: music day, dr's appointment, church). While this system has SO much more to offer, we are only using a few bits and pieces that are age appropriate and let me just tell you, it is AWESOME!!


Garrett has three sets of chores (they are color coded for morning, mid-day, night) that are followed my earning a "ticket" to be used for a in-home reward (computer time, special toys, etc) and at the end of each day, if he has done all of his chores without losing all of his "obedience cards" (there are 3 per day) then he earns a star sticker....which will eventually earn him a special treat of his choice (pre-picked out .... last time it was a new bicycle basket, this time a water sprinkler toy).


Garrett TOTALLY digs this system and it has allowed for less stress and more consistency in behavior, daily productivity, etc on both his part AND mine. We are not strict about doing this - Garrett usually reminds US it's time to check the chart! We have tweaked the system and renamed several items but it really has worked for almost a month now. I highly recommend it to anyone! It is teaching Garrett so much and he is so very proud of his independence!

A few extras & Pictures Please....

1. The shirts have now been organized (thanks so much, Heather)and are ready for delivery over the next 3-4 days (or next week during playdates)! We have a few extra, so if you didn't get your order in, here is what we have available until we place the next one mid-June:

Be(love)d Red Shirt:

1 Kids's Size 6 (=4T)

1 Adult's Medium

Grey Africa with Script Shirt:


1 Adult Medium

2 Adult Large

Olive Green Fingerprint Shirt:

1 Adult Large


2. Please be sure to send us a picture of you or your cutie kids wearing their shirts! We want to include them in our adoption journey scrapbook AND/OR post them here!

THE SHIRTS ARE HERE!!!

Apparently I really need a new hobby because it just became obvious to me that mine is (soon to be was) being able to detect the sounds of mail/delivery trucks....just now I was in our dining room working at the table and heard what I thought to be the sounds of a delivery truck stopping. Now keep in mind, there were no loud squeals or anything, just the gentle hum and whir of a truck stopping. How pitiful I knew those sounds!

Anyway, just wanted to let everyone know, the sounds WERE the sounds of our friendly UPS man delivering the first batch of shirts! So, if you placed your order prior to May 24th, your shirt(s) are here! I will be sorting them tonight and e-mail you to let you know when/where I'll be making deliveries.

Crisis Averted

Last night before going to bed I checked my e-mails and found one from the courier handling our dossier in D.C.; she stated there were two glitches in our dossier and the only logical solution for fixing them would entail re-doing the paperwork (not so big of a deal) and then driving it all back down to Austin to be re-certified & shipped back to D.C. (big deal). I went to bed fuming and frustrated.

When I woke up this morning, I had a new, patient attitude (certainly not stemming from my own will or strength) and thought that I would do it all again with a smile on my face. After sharing chocolate cupcakes with my little man for breakfast (okay, we don't really EVER do this but I thought the situation deemed it necessary), we loaded up in the car to make the trek across DFW to get the documents and then head back down to Austin.

While in the car retrieving my other saving grace I thought I might just want to call the courier and verify that I completely understood everything she needed. While we were talking she had the brilliant idea for me to skip all the driving and just scan in the originals from our picture book (the document missing) as the country we are adopting from does NOT need it notarized or certified (our case worker was correct in her decision) - just present. And, while there are more details to the story, I will spare you!

In the end, it all ended up okay and I received a very gentle reminder that the adoption process is never what you expect. Just because you don't have a baby growing inside you doesn't mean that it won't be easy. You just have different issues to worry about or handle.

So, while this crisis has been averted, I know there WILL be another one along the way, and I will do my best not to panic right away next time!

Splashing Around & Soaking It Up

Today Garrett and I met our friends Sammy and his momma, Heather, at a somewhat local water-fountain splash park. It was so much fun! Garrett had a blast running, screaming, jumping and splashing all morning! And I enjoyed watching him and catching up with my friend.



As I watched the water fountain park area filling up with toddlers and preschoolers, it suddenly hit me that Garrett was one of the oldest kids there. Soon Garrett will be "school age" and we won't be in this oh-so-fun, leisurely stage of meeting friends at the water parks and bumming around. I realized how quickly time flies. It seems like just yesterday he was the youngest baby, unable to walk, at a park.


I wish I could freeze time, make it all stand still. But because I can't, I am going to soak up every moment to treasure in my heart.