Our open adoption...

Sometimes when I am up late at night feeding my babe I think of what we have to eat in the kitchen really relevant things to post about but I always forget by morning. Since people are always wondering I can give an update on Nori's birth family.

Tasha is doing very wonderfully...she had not a meltdown or anything of the sort although she knows "it" could still happen. She is back at one of her jobs and will start the other very soon so she will be very busy again. Her daughter has started speech therapy and has learned to say her "f's" so you can imagine what creative language she could come up with at any moment. They just sent us some professional portraits they had done at Sears and they look so cute! She is a wonderful woman and we love having her in our lives. Tasha and her daughter, sister, mother and niece will all be coming for Norelle's baptism at the end of March. Because of our unique situation and because it is their very first visit, we are keeping the baptism guest list very short, only inviting our immediate family to the service. We hope our parents can meet Tasha & her family and explore the richness of open adoption.

Paul, the birth father, seems okay but appears to be having more grief that anyone anticipated. He was not very proactive in the process and has not done any grief work through LSS, unlike Tasha. He himself was adopted at the age of 8 (long story) and did not have a good experience. Paul is definitely supportive of the adoption plan and of us, however he has some sadness about the way his life has turned out. We hope those feelings will lessen in time. Paul will be coming to visit in May while in town for the Rush concert.

6 weeks old!

Not so sensible of shoe

I have been being bad and walking around the house sans shoes. I can do this a little bit but lately I am jumping up to make bottles, quiet my crying baby or changing diapers barefoot which is a major no-no for me. Needless to say, my right foot is killing. For those who don't know, I am celebrating 5 years with a wicked combination of plantar fasciitis, metatarsalgia and CRPS/RSD due to "high rigid arches" and an ill thought-out marathon attempt with a sadistic training coach. Ron Byland, you & your revealing running tights are on my bad side. Anyway, my miracle shoes, the MBT help tremendously but curiously ONLY if they are actually on my feet. So, I am canceling my workouts and planting my butt firmly on couch until this flare-up passes.

In other family health news, my Grandma Audrey has learned that her pancreatic cancer has metastasized throughout her body into her lungs and liver and she is choosing to stop her chemo, at least for now. We are all very sad but respect her decision. We do not know what this means but it is likely not very promising. Please pray for her. And my cousin Abby continues to have serious abdominal pain even after the removal of her gallbladder so she will be going into the U of M hospital fora full-workup to get her back on her feet like she should be.

Nori rolls

The noun not the the verb. Hot date: wasabi.

Last night Jake & I had our first alone date since coming home with our daughter. We went to Fuji-ya in downtown Saint Paul and had some delicious sushi, minus any nori rolls. It was fun to get away alone but of course we talked about her much of the time as well as planning for our unexpected vacation. Afterwards we stopped by a Starbucks coffeeshop for some hot chocolate and Jake grilled the employees about the big meeting that was in the news. Apparently they talked a lot about their espresso drink. Zzzz

Hol & Case were home with baby Nori. Casey comes over every Wednesday after work and Hol is here all this week, thankfully because baby likes to wake up at 5:00 a.m. and that is the Grandma Shift in my book. I have no idea how my mom managed as a single mom, no wonder we ate Taco Johns for every meal.

The subject of sleep

My newborn is a good sleeper and I am not sleep deprived yet. I go to bed early, take a nap and do just fine, most days. Jake however is chronically sleep deprived even before the baby. He wakes up at 5:30 a.m. and usually doesn't get to bed before 12:00 a.m. He has too much to do at night...tennis, dinner, hanging out with us and tons of reading for work. Now he hears me when I get up with the baby so that's even less sleep. I think I need to start a campaign to get him to sleep...any ideas on how to do that? I am reading this book recommend by my ped call Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. Do you think they make one for tired husbands?

Telephone

Someone, who shall remain nameless (Melissa Rochelle Nelson Ho), commented in my last post that the telephone is a preferable way to communicate vs. Facebook. I do agree. But since it is not realistic to call all your friends & family, I must advocate that these social utiltity sites are a great way to stay in touch without all the effort. Anyway, this reminded of the year 1990 when all I did was talk on the phone. For my 13th birthday my gift was a phone jack in my room and call waiting. Ahhh. No more busy signals or (gasp!) missed calls from other 13-year-olds thanks to call waiting. I recall vividly the moment I got my first beep. I was unaware that the call waiting was hooked up but I recognized the telltale beep and it was wonderful. It also happens that it was the same day I first heard the power ballad More Than Words by Extreme...remember that song? "More than woooords, is all you have to do to make it reeeealll..."

What's it called, social utility?

So why are so many people my age and older afraid of having myspace or facebook accounts? I guess I understand why teachers need to be extra cautious but c'mom friends. My own 54-year-old mother wants to make one, although she calls them "blogs" ("Listen" I told her "you have to figure it out yourself or I will be stuck updating it just like how I have to download all your digital pictures now").

Are you shy? Embarrassed to put yourself out there? Or just too professional? If you are reading this right now you must realize that it at least somewhat amusing to read what other people are up to, hence my 3 blog readers (love to Sabrina, Ellen Dodds and Aunt Jill!). Why not challenge yourself to make an account, spread the love and be my friend in the virtual world? Express yourself, share some photos or at least look into it, would you? Don't get old on me!