I will kick that intruder's arse....

Just wait...here comes another edition of, "Beth is crazy!"

Today seemed like the longest Friday of all time.  Long, crazy day with lots of student drama and discipline going on.  Not to mention followed by a cheer practice where the girls were simply stir crazy and unfocused and the coaches (myself being one of them) were getting very frustrated.  My friend, Diane, watched Gus for us today while I was at practice and Joel was helping to run a charity event.  After practice, Diane, Gus and I ran some errands together.  We finished up just in time for me to get Gus home for bedtime.

After wrestling with my 1 1/2 year old alligator to get him out of the carseat and he tried to slither out of my arms as we walked up to the house, I was finally able to let him run free once we walked through that front door.  I casually took off my coat as Gus ran around like a mad man and I walked into the kitchen to hang up my coat and.....BOOM!!!  There is was!  The door leading from the kitchen into the garage was wide...I mean WIDE open.  Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap!!!!  (Okay....yes, I had some other choice words running through my head.)  I snatched Gus up, grabbed my cell phone and ran out to the neighbor's driveway as I called my husband.  (The neighbor is a police officer....I figured I could always have him come kick the intruder's arse if need be.) 

I frantically called Joel to ask if he by chance left that door open.  His response, much to my dismay, "ya know....I think I might have.  I left in such a rush."  ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?  How do I know for sure?  And why didn't I think to grab my coat?  I am freezing.  Should I go back in?  Maybe I should make Aaron go check it out first.  Should I call the cops?  Am I being ridiculous?  Am I overly paranoid?  Maybe I should be more concerned?  Many things went through my mind.  Oh!  And thank goodness I hadn't yet gotten Gus out of his coat.  He was warm and at this point playing in the snow at the neighbor's house.  After a lot of thought, we went back into the house.  I set Gus down and I grabbed the broom in the kitchen and went around the house with a broom in one hand and my phone in the other with it already dialed to 9-1-...just in case.  I kicked open every door, the shower curtain, looked under the bed and jumped in about in an effort to surprise the intruder and so that I could kick his/her arse with a broom.

Long story short....no intruder but my overactive imagination jumped into overdrive and I became a raving lunatic. But I still have my broom ready....just waiting for my husband, the door-leaver-opener, to arrive home.  He better start running.....

Adoption Roundtable

I decided to start taking part in Production, Not Reproduction's roundtable discussions about open adoption.  (Click on the link to go see what others have to say.)

Today's topic revisited the topic of January 2010.  Here is what was posted in then.

"Call them resolutions, commitments, changes, or choices--how will you be proactive in the area of open adoption in 2010?"  So again they asked the same question.

So what will I be doing? 

When Joel and I first decided to adopt we did it for one reason and one reason alone...to be parents to a child that we could love unconditionally.  Little did we know that we would have some great opportunities to really help educate others about adoption.  As high school teachers, we have been able to talk to our students about the options that they have when they find themselves in an unexpected situation.  Our agency asked us to speak on their behalf about our experience with adoption.  In addition, we have spoken to classes of social work students about what adoption is like for the adoptive family.  As far as our relationship with J (that is Gus' birth mom for those of you who are new to the blog), I have worked to make sure to foster that relationship as much as I can and to the point where she is also comfortable.

So what does this mean for 2011?  I want to focus my adoption conversations around openness and how important it is for everyone involved.  There are so many myths about what adoption is like and what openness means.  So pay attention in 2011.  We are going to be "opening" it up around here and learning more about what that means!  I also keep talking about how I want to write a children's book with adoption as a foundation.  I realize that it is very difficult to get published...so perhaps it will be a children's blog.  :) That would be easier.  Stay tuned in 2011.

Adora Lane

We are SO excited about what 2011 has in store for us.  At the beginning of December we started looking into trying to lease our current townhouse and be able to buy a new house.  I have been dreaming of the day when we would be able to move.  We are bursting at the seams here.  We need more space.  And Gus needs more space to run and play!  I have told people before that my requirements in a new home would be a backyard for my baby and a basement for my hubby.  Well, there is a basement for my hubby...but it will need to be finished off.  The nice part is that the basement has the extra tall ceilings.  Perfect for my extra tall hubby.  And the backyard....oh I am so excited!!  There is a beautiful backyard that backs up to a pond.  Not thrilled about the pond, but when we placed our offer we asked for the builder to include a fence for the backyard...that was one thing that I was not willing to go without if there was going to be a pond right there.  We found a company who will manage our townhouse rental property for us, we got our preapproval for a mortgage, our offer was accepted, we signed a purchase agreement...and now we wait to close!!  That and we start packing!  Our townhouse needs to be ready to be photographed for the leasing company in less than two weeks!!  Needless to say it will be a little crazy around here for a little while, but we are super excited!!  The home we will be moving into is the former model for the builder.  Below is a sneak peek of the house.  Some things have changed since they took the pictures.  For example, the parking lot has been replaced with a yard and driveway, some of the rooms have been repainted and all of the furniture/decor have been removed.  Can't wait to make this house our home!

The parking lot, flag pole, fence and doors are gone. It has been replaced with a lawn, driveway and a garage door. 

This is the "flex" room that will be a play area/office for Gus for now. (Maybe...that's why it's a "flex" room.  It's purpose is flexible.)  I'm super bummed that they already painted over the walls.  I would have loved that design on my walls.

The laundry room.  We are currently spoiled at the townhouse since our laundry is on the 2nd floor near the bedrooms...but the main floor is just as good.

The kitchen.  There are twice as many cupboards here than what we currently have! Now our stuff won't have to be jammed in there.

The dining "nook".  Our little dining table is going to look so little in here but we will actually be able to access all four sides of it at once instead of having it against the wall.

The great room.  The only thing not great about this room is the red paint on the bottom.  We currently have a plum colored couch...I guess a can of paint is cheaper than a new couch, right?

Bedroom #1- Which will now be referred to as the craft room.  Or as I am sure Joel will end up calling it, the "crap" room.  For the time being, I will be able to keep all of my scrapbooking stuff, gift wrap, Thirty-One stuff, coaching stuff, etc in here.  And it will stay pink for now.  No use painting it when it will just be for me.  :)

This is the loft area at the top of the stairs.  Oh the possibilities!

Gus' bathroom.  It is hard to see from the picture but the wallpaper is polka dots!  I love polka dots!! And there is a border around the bottom with dogs.  Gus loves dogs!!  It's cute.

Most boys might dream of a construction/Bob the Builder room.  Personally, this room gives me a headache.  It's got to change.  This will be Gus' room.  I am sure that we will be painting it exactly the way his current bedroom is because I love that room and I am not ready to let go of that yet. Plus I already have bedding for a toddler bed that matches his current room.  So goodbye Bob the Builder...we are going to be doing some construction of our own.

This will be the guest bedroom and will become Baby Stape #2's bedroom someday.  (Unless we have a girl and then I may be willing to give up the craft room.) 

The master bathroom has a big garden tub and a shower.  I just may find myself taking more baths now with such a luxurious tub!

Our Bedroom.  The wooden decor on the wall has been taken down and that wall has been repainted.  None of our current bedding will match, but that is okay.  (And when I say none of our bedding, I am serious.  I am obsessed with duvet covers and not a single one will look good in here.  Oh well!)

Hope you enjoyed your little tour of our soon-to-be home.  We can't wait for you to come and visit us at our home on Adora Lane.

My world

Wow!  It's been a while since I have been on here.  Life has been pretty hectic lately.  But today something happened at school that brought me to a complete halt.  Made me so thankful for "my world".  Made me always want to protect my world.  I have yet to find someone who says it is illegal for me to wrap my world in bubble wrap to protect it from harm.  Although there are moments where I am incredibly frustrated with my world, I wouldn't change it for the anything!!  My world is super crazy...but simply wonderful.  I can't wait to wake up tomorrow to my world again.

My World!!