Life as it happens with our three beautiful and adopted children, Shayla, Yamira and Manuel: Thursday again!

I am in the throes of working on the adoption party. I have a gazillion things to still do, but decided to take a break to check in quickly here. I don't want to get any further behind. So let me grab my date book and see what we have been doing.

Last Friday was a busy day. Bill took Manny to his swim lesson because I had to wait for Jordans Furniture to come to fix Manny's new mirror. There were some scratches on it. Also, Ping's bookcase got a few scratches too. I paid for a warranty, so I figured I would use it. I wanted to be here as I am very specific about what needed to be done. It was easier for Bill to take Manny. That and he should because that way Manny will be comfortable with both of us in the water. I think he is taking him tomorrow too. He just doesn't know it. Shhh. Bill said that Manny did great at swimming. After picking up Yamira, they headed home. The Jordans man left and I took Yamira to therapy. Bill was on call from 6 pm-10 pm that night. I asked my neighbor Heidi to come over in the event that Bill called because I had to go to Attleboro to take pictures of my Godchild for her prom. I picked up Ping from school, we did a quick errand and we headed to the park where the pics were being taken. Very stressful. There were detours and I didn't know where to go. I figured it out in perfect time. I got there when they got there. I then spent some time chatting and taking pics and then dashed home so that I could relieve Heidi. Bill did get a call, but not when Heidi was on "call" for that 45 minutes. I hate to ask anyone to help me like that, but I had to get pictures and taking all three would have been really difficult. So I got home and 20 or so minutes later, Bill headed out the door for a call.

On Saturday, we stayed home. The kids were less than thrilled that we didn't have a drop dead busy day with rushing here and there. However, our new pantry was available to work on, so we both worked on that. We moved around a bunch of stuff. The project was never ending. We could not agree on what should go where as we feel differently about how things should be placed together. Needless to say, when he wasn't around, I changed things around a bit. You move one thing from here to there and then you are cleaning out what was left behind and sticking stuff in that cabinet. We just went round and round. Bill was also on call from 6 pm-10 pm. We never finished because it was an overwhelming project.My friend Ashly and Rebecca came over to hang out because Bill was on call. There was only one call for the night. Us ladies sat and chatted and tied bows on the favors for the party. We had a great time chatting till 3:30 am!

On Sunday, Bill had to work from 6:00 am - 12:00 pm. He was supposed to work the entire day, but after Bill claimed the entire shift, someone felt so inclined to go ahead and throw their name down on the shift. All I can say is that is wrong, wrong and wrong. Never mind rude. Bill took the day. Nobody has a right to come in after and put their name down. My husband would never do that. He is also too kind to tell the person that they had no right to do it. However, I worked it out with the other guy and got Bill to work the morning shift and the other one to do the afternoon shift so that Bill could take Ping alone to her Daisies gymnastics outing. She didn't want her brother and sister to go, so I stayed home with them and Daddy went with Ping. The other reason is that he is an EMT and it's nice to have one with such a big troop. They require someone with first aid. Otherwise I would have taken Ping. I put the kids in for a nap and got a ton of things done at home. Needless to say, the kids got up too early and the others were home too soon. Silence was golden for such a short time. The rest of the day was spent asking the three to be a little quieter so that the neighbors wouldn't complain about us!!!!! Bill was also on from 10:00 pm till 6:00 am. The rest of the night was fine. I settled in to watch my favorite Army Wives after accomplishing plenty around the house. Including the pantry that I worked more on again today!

On Monday, I picked up Miss Ashly and we took off with Manny and Teresa for errands. We went to Kohls and Walmart and a few other places. Ashly was kind enough to ask her boyfriend to pick up Yamira at school so that we could stay out and finish our errands. Bill was at the station from 6:00 am-6:00 pm, so I couldn't have him get Yamira. I dropped Ashly off and headed home for a short time and then back out to get Ping. We all headed over to the girls swim lessons and then Ping was going to go to Daisies, but it was cancelled. Just as well as I was exhausted. So we came home and I fed them dinner and then Daddy was home. Uneventful evening. Just the typical bedtime routine.

Tuesday morning brought another day where Miss Ashly offered to go with me to do a little more shopping. We didn't have a lot of time. Bill was home with Manny and Teresa was home with Bobby. We ran to a few stores, but had to come home to get the girls from school. After we got the girls, we headed back to the store to see if we could try on a few more items. I am happy to say that I now have my outfit for Saturday. Thanks so much to Ashly for all of her help and patience. I rushed to her house to drop her off and then I headed home for a 1:00 pm appointment. I was a little late. Felt awful. We had a two hour meeting and then just as I was walking out the door, my contractor stopped by. I only had moments to chat. I had to get Ping from school and get her to her skating lesson. She had a scheduled 20 minute lesson. Her coach was late. Not only late, but then Ping didn't get even 20 minutes which is upsetting as I paid for a 20 minute lesson. I tried to say something to the coach, but she said she stayed late to work with Shayla. I didn't know what to make of that since she absolutely and positively did not. Let's see how this continues to go. Afterwards we ran to Lady Grace to get a new bra for me. Unfortunately, I hadn't eaten all day, so I grabbed a 100 calorie snack pack and ate it on the way to get Ping from school. It ended up harassing me with the worst bubbles. It got worse and worse. By the time I got to Lady Grace, I couldn't move. I asked to use their rest room, but the woman said no. I understood, but I was trying not to throw up. For some reason, the manager came in and said "Honey, are you okay?" I told her I wasn't sick, so don't be afraid as she wasn't going to catch anything. The problem was that I ate something and due to having surgery, it wasn't working for me. She immediately rushed me to the bathroom. Thank god for her. I didn't end up vomiting. I nearly did three times, but I was able to hold back. I felt a little better and was able to get a bra 10 minutes before they closed. In just a short month, I have drastically changed sizes. There were amazed. I was too! They thought I looked great and didn't have a lot of sagging skin. Too funny. I totally did, but they said they thought I looked really great and had a really nice smooth back. I will take the compliment. Anyway, I was going to go to Walmart, but at that point, I started getting really sick again. Then we got stuck in bumper to bumper traffic so I decided to go straight home. Bill was on call anyway at 6:00 pm, so it was good that I got home when I did. I laid right down on my chair to try to get the feeling to pass. I ended up sleeping for 20 minutes or so. I felt better, but not great. I got the kids to bed and their outfits picked out for the next day and then was able to get some stuff done around the house.

I woke up on Wednesday and felt pretty good. I did sleep in a little. Bill took the girls to school. I got up and ran to Walmart and the bank and a few other things. I ran into several people at Walmart. I think I was there forever for like 10 things! After Walmart, I grabbed Ping and drove home so that Daddy could take the two girls to gymnastics. He left and Manny and I hung here. I had a million business calls to make. While Manny played, I made calls. Before I could blink, the troops were home and ready for dinner. I started a list of stuff to pack up for the party. I am a little overwhelmed to say the least! I dashed out with Meri later in the evening to hit the Solomon Pond Mall. Wanted to get some new make up. It's only been 8 years since the last time I got make up! We had a nice time, but the night went too quickly.

Today wasn't a bad day. I still don't feel great though. I felt good yesterday morning, but some time in the afternoon I started to feel lousy again. By the time I went to bed, I was really uncomfortable with something. Feels like a trapped gas bubble. I was really uncomfortable. I am shocked I eventually fell asleep. I woke up with it though. Needless to say, I was hoping it would disappear. Bill took the girls to school and I got Manny ready and showered myself and we headed out to Lowes and Staples. We then stopped by Meri's to give her something, headed to the bank and picked up Yamira. Bill stayed home with the kids and I ran out to get a new hair style. I got my hair colored and cute. I have bangs now. What a huge difference. When I got home, I had a few calls to make. I tried to eat a salad, but ended up running to the bathroom because I thought I was going to throw up. I didn't. Not sure why I didn't. I was so close. I literally had five minutes to pull myself together because I had to pick up Ping and take her for a hair cut. Since being home, I have done a ton of things including catching up here. I also feel pretty miserable at this point. I took some Mylanta. Nothing seems to be working. I am not sure what is going on, but it has to pass quickly. Please?

A very boring update, but at least I am now current.

Hope you had a good week. We in Massachusetts have suffered 4 or so rainy days in a row. Nobody is really happy right now about that. I know everyone says we need the rain, but I need some sunshine and I need it now!

Mama Out!!!!!!!