Peace

Things have been remarkably peaceful eventhough we are just as busy as can be. Soccer has just ended for the year but her challenge soccer tryouts are soon. Tennis lessons just started for a few weeks and we switched to a new stable for riding that is more involved. Swim team has started practice and we have a mock meet in about 9 days. She has been so kind to the other younger kids she knows who are in their first year of swim team.

The End of Grade tests were earlier this week and we got word today that she passed the reading part on or above grade level, which is really great news. We still are going to let her repeat this year but she is ok with that too. It really is for the best.

She’s learning how saying ‘thank you’ and ‘I’m sorry’ in normal tones works so much better than snarling it. It has taken us so long to get that through to her. She is content being silly more. She still gets in trouble and melts down but far more often she just apologizes and makes it right. Such a nice change!

Some of the spring clothes I got her are coming up short on her now. So I’m getting some size 10s too and now size 1.5 for her shoes for tennis. I’ve got to get her started on cigarettes and coffee soon. This growth thing doesn’t seem to be stopping on its own!

Oh yeah, I had my stylist highlight some of my hair blonde AND…bright pink! It looks awesome and I really am tickled by it. Hayley wants her hair short with some pink too now.

It is quiet here now. Jeff took her to the club for tennis and then she is going home with her friends from there. They’ll bring her home late night and we might just get to watch a R movie until then. Then we have swim team in the morning, a kids party at the pool, a fishing derby at the pond next to the pool after and a BBQ that night - I think by then we’ll just some home and cook out. Sunday we are going over to our friend’s Mark and Andrea’s house for a cookout for Memorial Day and because Mark defended his Phd thesis on yesterday in some brilliant part of chemistry. I’m happy for him but it also means they’ll probably be moving soon.

Hope everyone has a good Memorial Day weekend!

Rock on

I love music. Finding a piece that either reflects my mood or cranks it up is essential to my day. It can be anything from Vivaldi to Dave Brubeck to my beloved 70s rock music. And concerts are just too much fun to me. Jeff doesn’t really like them much but he did drive to NJ for me to see Joni Mitchell live, which was one of the biggest musical events of my life.

I got off to a good start with concerts:

My first concert - the Police on the Synchronicity Tour.
My second - Prince on the Purple Rain Tour.

Two awesome legendary tours. So when it comes to Hayley, I’ve tried to impart my love of tunage to her. She already loves to sing and dance. She took drum lessons for awhile but mostly enjoys just banging on them for fun. So of course, I’m going to drag her with me to shows. I love sitting out on the grass, chilling listening to tunes.

In other words, I’m the bad mom to lets their kid go to rock concerts with her. Her first was Steely Day and Michael McDonald - low key. I”m a Dan fanatic, that was my fourth show. But I took a BIG risk last night and took her to Gwen Stefani with Akon and Lady Sovereign - gulp, on a school night even!! {bad mother, bad mother}

We had a blast! We sat in a great section with families and jammed out to all the tunes. ‘Bananas’ was what Hayley was dying to hear and she was on her feet screaming the entire time it was on. We yodeled with her, sung, swayed our arms and just had so much fun laughing and snuggling on the grass.

I don’t really care that we got home last and she missed a few hours of sleep if we can make awesomely fun memories like that!

Starting nine off with a bang!

It is 12:33 and Hayley is now nine!

We had a small ice cream cake at home since we had Uncle Jay here this weekend and Uncle Jay is the ice cream eating champ. It has been an ongoing birthday party since we went to the theatre to see HS Musical Thursday. Her big party is Saturday with gulp - 28 kids!

Ornery little sprite

Braided pigtails and red face from soccer - when did she grow up?

A note to her birth family members - please feel free to call tonight. She’ll be home after soccer practice about 7:30.

breakdown

On Thursday, the big TV downstairs (a lovely Sony Wega) died.

Then Hayley’s birthday party needed to be rescheduled, then completely redone at a new location.

Laundry is through the roof.

Oh and Hayley forgot she had a project due tomorrow.

save me now. Jeff won’t be home until 10.

Our wonderful day - the gift of a daughter

Today August 24th, we received word that we have been selected to adopt a wonderful six year little girl.

So today might be the best day of my life.

As most of you now, we have been trying to adopt a child/children for the past year from foster care - not to mention trying to have child for many years before. Today we were picked for a child that we wanted very badly.

She is six and just amazing - smart, funny and adorable - an angelic ball of energy.

We interviewed for her a few weeks ago and got word today that will be ours.

She will be our first and only child.

We have been so blessed.

UNC Class of 2016 here we come! [ ok, maybe class of VT 2016 to placate Jeff but that will be out of state tuition ]