The Bunny Fiasco

Well to continue from my last post where all I did was whine about the turn of events this weekend, Tigger woke up from her nap and did not have fever so I bathed her and dressed her up to go see the bunny at the mall.  Now last year, my mom and I were at the mall and saw the Easter Bunny and to my shock, my mother totally went bonkers and Tigger had to have a picture taken...why did this surprise me?  well when I was little, we really didn't celebrate the um how should I put it, the "secular part" of Easter having to do with bunnies and egg hunts, so to see my mother grabbing my daughter and doing the whole Easter bunny thing was quite amusing to me.  And this is how it came out.

This spring I've already received Tigger's spring pictures from school and they turned out fine

So naturally I thought the trip to the mall would be a piece of cake.  Yeah, best laid plans and all that jazz.....Tigger is absolutely acting like a diva because the girl loves wearing dresses and big hair pieces and then we get to the Easter Bunny section, that diva happy face went from happy and self-important to drop dead terror.  I mean terror.....the crying and shaking kind.  Oh my word!  I took her up there and made a fool of myself flirting with the bunny...no go, she wouldn't even because unpasted from my side!  My mom did the philosophical approach and we let another person go in front of us and she showed Tigger that it was just for a camera moment....Tigger then pretended to be brave and go up to the bunny but lost it and started wailing. 

So we walk around for a bit and I'm trying to think up of a way to get Tigger to take a dang picture with the stupid bunny....when my dad then takes the completely and utterly inappropriate masculine move.  He then tells my daughter that they are going back there to the bunny and that not to worry because Poppa will punch the bunny if he misbehaves.  Ok dad really?  come on.  So we go back and try again, I ask the lady photographer if my dad could stay in the general vicinity and she said 'sure'.  So I have my dang picture.  Tigger is NOT happy and my dad had to be trying to be there and avoid the camera as well.  So folks this one is a classic!!  One for the books....and oh yeah the shirt next to Tigger belongs to my dad!

Why do we do this to our kids again???????  Happy Easter to all bunny terrified kids everywhere!

TMJ, Fevers, and Updates? Oh My

Well it's been an interesting weekend.  I think I have temporary TMJ.....I can't open my mouth past a certain point.  It just hit me after breakfast yesterday and after church.  I'm just relaxing and hoping this goes away soon. 

Yesterday was also a day I was salivating about.  The first real hot day in Spring.  I had plans to take the Tigger out to a park with a lake and to run and play and eat.....and then the Tigger decided to come down with fever and general malaise.  Ugh...so much for anticipating a wonderful afternoon. 

I decided to try and do more updates and tweaks to the blog including the whole ad thing.  Not sure if I like it so much, but will keep it on for a bit and then re-evaluate if i really want all that on here. 

Today I got highlights in my hair.  They are darker highlights than the normal ones I usually have done so they are ok, I'm sure I'll get used to them.  Tigger is feeling better today and no fever, so my hope is that after her nap today, we get grandma and grandpa and try to see if the Easter bunny is around for pictures.  I really, really, really want to be outside today (where's that cheese with my whine)

If I were to star in my own comic strip

The plot would be about a clueless mother and a sassy child with super powers.  It would go something like this:

I'm totally awesome (yeah!)

Well I guess not...

I have a child who depends on me for her self esteem!

Well I guess the camera is really the one that does that

The only thing on my child's mind is hanging out with her mami!

Well....um....hmm...well...she still wants to hang out with me!

And this totally random blog post is just here to make you shake your head.  Have a wonderful weekend and be safe.  see you back here Sunday evening!

Unknowns that adoption brings at times

If you can't tell, when I'm not gushing and going on and on and on and on and on about my Tigger, I like to to talk about adoption.  It's no secret I think it's great!  It brought Tigger to me and made me a mom in light of no husband. 

However, there are some things that i think about....unknowns if you will that adoption will bring.  Sometimes it doesn't because a family is in an open adoption type relationship, but if the information one has is limited or almost non-existent like 70% of Tigger's information these are some things that I obsess over think about time and time again. 

1.  Medical information

Yes I have some....at least 50% of right now, but it's always nice to have more.  If you remember, almost two weeks ago I had minor surgery due to a couple of Dr.'s recommendation as prevention because of my family's history with cancer.  As I was driving down to the medical office/hospital with my mother, my mind wandered to Tigger's medical history.....does skin cancer run in her family? breast cancer? will it ever as sometimes relatives deal with medical issues later on in life?  Truth is I worry....not obsessively to the point I can't sleep, but I've already made up my mind that I need to remind Tigger that she may need to live life with a healthier state of mind about how she takes care of herself as a rule of thumb, however, I'm afraid that I'm sure she'll get that hammered into her head anytime she goes into a Dr. office or anytime one has to fill out those medical history surveys. 

2.  Height

I know the mother's height...don't know the father's.  It will be interesting to see how she grows...I measured her again tonight (I'm doing that cute wall marking height thing that parents do in their house...gives it a homey touch I think).  Girl has grown about 3/4 of an inch in the last month and a half or so....I thought the time from 12 months to 24 months was a stagnant year growth wise....child is almost 33 inches tall....as in 3 inches away from 3 feet tall already....I'm wondering if she will sprout up again before her 2nd birthday.  Poor child had pants that fit her length wise today, but were falling down as she has a lanky frame....kinda gangsta looking!  Who knew we were so hip ha!

3.  Temperament

Determined that she WILL put on her shoes without any help....led to frustration when it didn't happen the way she thought it would

What side of the family did she get it from?  While it's uncanny really that her personality is a mirror image of my mother's, which is why I think Tigger and I mesh well in the home. I still want to know where she got it from, even though the fit into our family is nothing short of a miracle. 

4.  Will I ever know what they look like?

At this moment I don't know.  I was hoping that the county had pictures somewhere of the mother at least.  There was none.  There was no visitation prior to the hearing for the termination of parental rights, there was no contact, I admit to trying to be a kick-butt detective see if there was an Internet footprint....Nada!  I wish I had at least that for Tigger.  It would be nice to see where she got all her beauty from....because let's face it, she is NOT ugly! (was that way too much of a mommy moment!)

Gorgeous even after drenched in water after grandpa decided it was a water play day

Adoption is what it is.  Very complicated with a variety of emotions felt by both the parents and the children.  There is love, there is loss, there is wondering, there is pain, there is hope.  Another example of what is at the moment and moving forward from there.  That is the best we can do! 

Tigger see, Tigger do!

Remember that old saying "Monkey see, Monkey do"?  yeah well it's come to a point that whatever I do, Tigger is on a mission that she must do likewise.  Which of course gets tricky because like all parents are endowed with, I need to be as good of an example to my daughter as I can.  Take for example










The trouble with utensils:

I've been trying to get Tigger to eat her food (dinner) with a fork and spoon...or at least a spoon.  It creeps me out to see her eating a meal like pasta, rice & beans, or potato with her hands...but she's been having a strong reaction to those toddler spoons and then it's one of those daily battles of tears, frustration, and throwing of the utensils.  I then noticed at the beginning of this week that Tigger wanted whatever I had.  If I was eating a cracker, she wanted one.  If I was eating a [meatless] chicken nugget, she wanted one too.  If I didn't have veggies on my plate, she didn't want to eat hers, so I decided on an experiment.  I gave her the smaller spoon of my silverware set

And like magic, Tigger started eating with a spoon.  I tried, she will NOT eat with a toddler/preschool spoon even if it has fun pictures or shapes or colors....she will however, eat with a regular adult spoon, just like mom. 

Food:
I've touch on this already, but I now am making sure we eat dinner together.  There is one prayer for the food, her chair is up to the table, and we each have the same food.  Tigger checks.  She cranes her neck like a turtle and makes sure she isn't missing anything that I may have, so I've really been eating my veggies

and my fruits

And in the process of making sure I'm not eating something different or junk foody like, I've lost 8 lbs.  I haven't exercised or done much...just changed up the way I eat to match Tigger's.  It's a good change really.  Remember...Tigger see, Tigger do. 

WWTiggerD:
Remember that old saying that was really hip in the late 90s? WWJD?  (What Would Jesus Do?) Well now ask a different question...What Would Tigger Do?  Basically she would watch me and do whatever I do, so I really think twice about how I present myself.  It's why I do my best not to swear on my blog or in life (although I get a minor fail every so often), it's why I'm trying to look presentable, and it's why the TV and Computer have diminished until late evening.  My daughter wants to spend time with me.  She now leads me by the hand to show me her latest book that she loves, a game she wants to do, if she wants to go outside, if she wants to rough and tumble, she comes and gets ME, that's ME her MOM.  What message is it sending if the TV is on or the computer is on and mom doesn't have time for her?  Tigger see, Tigger do...my guess is that soon enough she'll copy me and not have time for me either. 

We as parents to young children really are the hero's right now.  We really do say it loud with our actions right now.  It may be all well and good to talk to our kids when they are older, but I think the reason the saying "actions speak louder than words" is still a wise saying is because that's the foundation.  Tigger is looking at my actions as a young 20 month old before being able to process abstract values...it's time friends...time to lead by example and know that it matters. 

Tuesday Truisms: "Community" dedicated to a special family....Leah and Cameron

‎"Lord make me a rainbow. I’ll shine down on my mother. She'll know I’m safe with you when she stands under my colors."~~ a quote going around for Leah....knowing a pain a mother should never have to know!

Today a mother has had to say her goodbye's....many people are sending prayers of comfort and peace and I have never been more honored to belong to the adoption.com community!

"Without community, there is no one to celebrate the joys and there is no shoulder to cry on when the storms come"

"I would rather live in a humble house with the laughter of a child, then to have all the riches of the world and no one to share it with or be amazed with"

"Children take a hold of your heart and refuse to let go"

"The bonds of community makes everyone stronger"

"While every church has their view of what happens after we die, I think we all harbour thoughts that God allows children that pass on before their time, to be in their own heaven until everyone is reunited again, playing happily and forgetting about the world's troubles."

"I cry when I hear a song, I cry when I read a book, I cry when I watch programs with children in it, I believe children make the heart tender, and that is a good thing."

With prayers for L and C and the family,

Cheesy Sunday

Anyways tonight is going to be short and sweet....I'm tired!  My father landed in the hospital this weekend and may be there for a couple of days so don't really have the energy to post something long.  So I leave you with an old song....maybe 1970s or so that I love...and Tigger and I listen to it every night before bed...so yes, it's a cheesy night.  Until I have more energy....forgive the YouTube cheesy video....one of the only ones that had the embedded code on it. 

"you and me against the world"