I am, like so many folks, addicted to trash TV and magazines. I'm not proud of it, but it's a fact. There is nothing I want to see more than a good episode of the Real Housewives, or some other trashy Bravo network show.
My addiction to trash has taken a serious turn recently. I'm talking about the media frenzy that is Jon and Kate plus 8. I'm both saddened and sickened by what appears to be their marital problems. I keep thinking about those 8 precious children, and while I am sure that now they are very well insulated from the media hoopla that surrounds their parents, one day they will have access to this garbage. They will read about their father's alleged infidelity, their mother's controlling and domineering behavior. One day they'll know things about their parents that children simply shouldn't know.
It is too easy to blame their parents for this. Sure, Jon and Kate put their children on display for the world to see, and in doing so have left them all vulnerable to media scrutiny. I dare say that anyone I know wouldn't make the same choices that Jon and Kate have made. They have 8 mouths to feed. 8 college tuitions to prepare for. I would be hard pressed to turn down a paying gig that would help me feed my family. Who can blame them for answering the door when TLC came a'knockin'.
It's been interesting to watch the media coverage of this private (as if they will ever have a private life again) crisis. First, the allegations that Jon was having an affair with a younger woman. Then, the reports that it was Kate's controlling and demeaning treatment of Jon that made him step out. This one I love, blame the woman. If she'd been more understanding, more patient, and less controlling why this wouldn't have happened, if it did happen. It's ridiculous. Although I am guilty of thinking it myself. Why, if Kate was warmer and more loving to her husband, blah, blah, blah... Now, family members are crawling out of the woodwork with their individual stories of how the marriage was a sham for quite some time and essentially the couple have been estranged for months. I find this twist in the story especially interesting. No one on the outside of a marriage can accurately or fairly say what it's like.
The trash lover in me is titillated by all of this. Ooh.. who is at fault? Did he really have an affair? Did she? How could he stand to be treated the way she treats him? Ooh... enquiring minds, etc. But sadly, the show isn't called Jon and Kate. It's about a family and the all important +8, the folks who have the most to lose from all of this. My heart breaks for them and their parents. Marital strife is never easy. It's painful and devastating. I can only imagine how the media attention makes it all the more so.
Tonight when the season premieres I, like millions of others, will be watching to see if there's a crack in the facade. It's shameful, but I'll be doing it and all the while I'll be praying for those 8 gorgeous children, that their parents get their act together and do what's right for their family.
I'll be praying for them, all of them.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Furniture Shopping
One chest of drawers- check
one armoire- check
one convertible crib- check...sort of
We schlepped down to IKEA on Monday morning with our dear friends Kevin and Susie. I had my print-outs. I did my research. I was prepared. I even checked online to make sure that what I wanted was actually in stock. It was, according to the internet gods. Come time to check out I go to the correct aisle and bin number, which in itself is a feat as there are NOOO customer service representatives at IKEA who can actually help you, and guess what? No convertible crib. They are out of stock. It would seem that the internet gods are liars! As an aside IKEA is so inexpensive (cheap sounds, well, cheap) because they don't pay people to help customers. It's ingenious really! Anyway back to the crisis at hand. No crib. If you know how long I had to psyche myself into actually making this purchase you would know how difficult it was not to leave the damn store with a crib.
Susie has a few things she needs to go back and pick up so we're going back tomorrow morning. I figure I'll check on line and see if they have restocked the crib. Again, according the to the internet they have them in stock. I call the store just to verify. Guess what?! Nope. No cribs and they don't know when they can expect to get them in. I looked at buying the item on line and having it shipped to us. That would eliminate this constant back and forth to south side of Orlando. The crib itself is priced at 139.00. Not bad. Shipping cost? Are you ready for this? 140.00! Yes as much to ship as the dang thing costs. I'm no rocket scientist folks, but even I know that's ridiculous. So we did some shopping on the good old fashioned babiesrus. Paul and I found one we liked more than the IKEA model for just a few bucks more and better still? Shipping is only 30 bucks! We did what any other thinking couple would do, no we didn't postpone buying a crib until we were certain we were getting our baby, are you nuts!?, we ordered the convertible crib for 159 from babiesrus and can expect it delivered to our doorstep in the next 6-10 days. Duh!
I know that my niece will sleep soundly in her crib away from home with she comes to visit Aunt Seesha and Uncle Po, and that one day sooner than later, our own dear daughter will rest just as easily. No thanks to IKEA! :)
one armoire- check
one convertible crib- check...sort of
We schlepped down to IKEA on Monday morning with our dear friends Kevin and Susie. I had my print-outs. I did my research. I was prepared. I even checked online to make sure that what I wanted was actually in stock. It was, according to the internet gods. Come time to check out I go to the correct aisle and bin number, which in itself is a feat as there are NOOO customer service representatives at IKEA who can actually help you, and guess what? No convertible crib. They are out of stock. It would seem that the internet gods are liars! As an aside IKEA is so inexpensive (cheap sounds, well, cheap) because they don't pay people to help customers. It's ingenious really! Anyway back to the crisis at hand. No crib. If you know how long I had to psyche myself into actually making this purchase you would know how difficult it was not to leave the damn store with a crib.
Susie has a few things she needs to go back and pick up so we're going back tomorrow morning. I figure I'll check on line and see if they have restocked the crib. Again, according the to the internet they have them in stock. I call the store just to verify. Guess what?! Nope. No cribs and they don't know when they can expect to get them in. I looked at buying the item on line and having it shipped to us. That would eliminate this constant back and forth to south side of Orlando. The crib itself is priced at 139.00. Not bad. Shipping cost? Are you ready for this? 140.00! Yes as much to ship as the dang thing costs. I'm no rocket scientist folks, but even I know that's ridiculous. So we did some shopping on the good old fashioned babiesrus. Paul and I found one we liked more than the IKEA model for just a few bucks more and better still? Shipping is only 30 bucks! We did what any other thinking couple would do, no we didn't postpone buying a crib until we were certain we were getting our baby, are you nuts!?, we ordered the convertible crib for 159 from babiesrus and can expect it delivered to our doorstep in the next 6-10 days. Duh!
I know that my niece will sleep soundly in her crib away from home with she comes to visit Aunt Seesha and Uncle Po, and that one day sooner than later, our own dear daughter will rest just as easily. No thanks to IKEA! :)
Monday, March 30, 2009
What's new?
Wouldn't you know it- nothing much! Month 31 went by without so much as a hoorah. There's not much to report these days. Our niece turned two on the 23rd this month. It's hard to believe that she's 2 already and might I add a little terrible, too. She's so big and so smart but I'm a little biased. She's turned into quite the little clown. She'll do almost anything for a laugh...hmmm, where does she get that I wonder? Devon's growing so fast she'll probably be old enough to babysit her cousin when we finally get Emma!
Paul and I are planning on keeping Devon for a week in July so that my sister's other childcare (that would be Devon's other grandmother, who despite raising a complete imbecile, Devon's sperm donor, is doing a wonderful job with Devon) can take a vacation. I am looking forward to that. Keeping her in July means that I need to go ahead and get a crib. She's much too big to sleep in the pack-n-play anymore so a crib it is. I used to want a really super nice crib that I priced at Babys-r-us and have come to realize that a crib is a crib and as long as it's safe then it'll do. So over the spring break Paul and I are schlepping out to the IKEA to pick up a crib that converts to a toddler bed, a wardrobe/armoire and a chest of drawers for the second bedroom. The only trepidation I have is in buying a crib. I know we'll need it when Devon comes but I have horrible visions of having this stinkin' crib and some God awful thing happens and I don't need it. Can anyone say pessimist?
I'm still working on staying positive. It's not too hard to do as I suffer from Scarlet O'Hara syndrome and always have. That is to say that I firmly believe in thinking about difficult things tomorrow.
Paul and I are off to New York for a few days in the near future and while it will be a working vacation it will be a vacation. It's a good chance for our us to get away from everything here and just enjoy the ride. I know he needs that and so do I. Hopefully I'll get some new pictures posted when we return. Ooohhh.... the anticipation must be killing you!
Peace and blessings,
Lisa
Paul and I are planning on keeping Devon for a week in July so that my sister's other childcare (that would be Devon's other grandmother, who despite raising a complete imbecile, Devon's sperm donor, is doing a wonderful job with Devon) can take a vacation. I am looking forward to that. Keeping her in July means that I need to go ahead and get a crib. She's much too big to sleep in the pack-n-play anymore so a crib it is. I used to want a really super nice crib that I priced at Babys-r-us and have come to realize that a crib is a crib and as long as it's safe then it'll do. So over the spring break Paul and I are schlepping out to the IKEA to pick up a crib that converts to a toddler bed, a wardrobe/armoire and a chest of drawers for the second bedroom. The only trepidation I have is in buying a crib. I know we'll need it when Devon comes but I have horrible visions of having this stinkin' crib and some God awful thing happens and I don't need it. Can anyone say pessimist?
I'm still working on staying positive. It's not too hard to do as I suffer from Scarlet O'Hara syndrome and always have. That is to say that I firmly believe in thinking about difficult things tomorrow.
Paul and I are off to New York for a few days in the near future and while it will be a working vacation it will be a vacation. It's a good chance for our us to get away from everything here and just enjoy the ride. I know he needs that and so do I. Hopefully I'll get some new pictures posted when we return. Ooohhh.... the anticipation must be killing you!
Peace and blessings,
Lisa
Monday, February 16, 2009
30 Months
Today's the 30 month anniversary of our log-in date. In celebration of this momentous occasion we are going down to the USCIS offices on Saturday morning and waiting to have our fingerprints redone (third time) and our immigration paperwork updated. This little venture will allow us to keep current and would allow us to bring our daughter home with no hassles from the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration. Apparently, you don't ever want any hassles with the Dept. of Homeland Security, they might just Abu Ghraib your butt, or Gitmo you. :)
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Not to burst any bubbles
We heard from our family coordinator about this latest round of renewal paperwork. The news is a double-edged sword, folks. We were pretty much told not to expect a referral anytime in 2009. Remember my last post? About looking at the positive side? Well, I'm trying to do that with this bit of news also. There's something comforting in knowing that it won't be this year. I know that sounds crazy but the worst part of all of this is the disappointment and let down when we realize that yet again there's no referral for us. It alleviates the constant worry and waiting anxiety. This way we know. It's not this year. We won't be watching each month tick away and wonder could it be this month? In fact, this news really will allow us to reclaim our lives. We've sort of lived only half our lives. I know this doesn't make much sense but we've been living for an eventuality. Waiting for the next holiday because it will be better with Emma and we've not been taking the time to enjoy the here and now. I don't know how this happened to us, but it did. We're still 1Million % committed to growing our family but we're now also committed to enjoying our family as it is today. That's the news you can use from this end of the keyboard.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
In an effort to capitalize on the positive...
I don't generally make new year's resolutions, and this is not what this is... not really, but I've decided to take note of the positive things about our endless wait for word from China. So, to that end here are a few of the things i have enjoyed this year that i won't be able to enjoy once we have our daughter... 1) last night I sat my butt in my favorite chair and read Tori Spellings' trashy memoir cover to cover, uninterrupted no less. And it was Goooooood! 2) This past Saturday while Paul lay in a Nyquil induced coma I watched Bravo's marathon of The Real Housewives of New York, ALLLLL day! And it was gooooood! 3) Tonight, because I'm tired and he's tired and simply because we can, I'm going to our favorite Sushi restaurant for dinner. Spicy tuna roll here I come! 4) and sometime in February we're getting away for a few days just by ourselves. You've got to accentuate the positive.... you know the rest of the song! :)
Monday, December 15, 2008
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas friends and family! I am doing much better than last year in at least one area...Christmas cards are done and in the mail. Woohoo. I feel like that's a huge accomplishment since last year I couldn't even get motivated to do that. Still no tree and trimmings at our house. It just seems pointless. It's just Paul and I and we won't even be home very much over the holiday.
I was thinking about Mary and Joseph recently, go figure, and what those 9 months must have been like for them. Knowing that they were going to parent God's child surely tripled the anticipation of the arrival of their baby. I can only imagine. In a way, aren't all children God's children? Isn't it our greatest privilege to raise our children as though they are his? I dunno, sometimes I think I am thinking too much.
Just to update you as to where we stand in this marathon known as our adoption...
Our I-600A, immigration paper work for our hypothetical child, expires in February so that's another 850ish to Homeland Security. We've been informed by our agency that China has increased the orphanage donation fee from 3,500 to 5,500 due to the weak American dollar. And the rumor mill is rife with talk of the wait increasing to 5 years. 5 FREAKIN' YEARS! I suppose the good news is we're at the 28 month mark and how much longer could it be? Well it could be another FREAKIN' 28months that's how long! We know it's a marathon, not a sprint. It's about stamina and endurance and not instant gratification. Knowing all of that doesn't make it any easier just so you know. In fact, I cannot think of one pithy, cliche that could adequately express what this feels like at this point.
Nevertheless...Merry Christmas to you all and all our best wishes for a happy and healthy new year...love ya, mean it.
Lisa
I was thinking about Mary and Joseph recently, go figure, and what those 9 months must have been like for them. Knowing that they were going to parent God's child surely tripled the anticipation of the arrival of their baby. I can only imagine. In a way, aren't all children God's children? Isn't it our greatest privilege to raise our children as though they are his? I dunno, sometimes I think I am thinking too much.
Just to update you as to where we stand in this marathon known as our adoption...
Our I-600A, immigration paper work for our hypothetical child, expires in February so that's another 850ish to Homeland Security. We've been informed by our agency that China has increased the orphanage donation fee from 3,500 to 5,500 due to the weak American dollar. And the rumor mill is rife with talk of the wait increasing to 5 years. 5 FREAKIN' YEARS! I suppose the good news is we're at the 28 month mark and how much longer could it be? Well it could be another FREAKIN' 28months that's how long! We know it's a marathon, not a sprint. It's about stamina and endurance and not instant gratification. Knowing all of that doesn't make it any easier just so you know. In fact, I cannot think of one pithy, cliche that could adequately express what this feels like at this point.
Nevertheless...Merry Christmas to you all and all our best wishes for a happy and healthy new year...love ya, mean it.
Lisa
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)