Family Fueding

I think this video sums it all up, but, if you have nosy, busybody families, you can relate.

Foster Care Update

After much silence, here is our disappointing update on foster care adoption. This will likely be our last update unless we either move to a new area and decide to put ourselves through the ringer again.

Foster Care Nothing

I'm highly annoyed. Has anyone else dealt with CPS to share their own stories on how this nightmare works? I would love some honesty at this point. :P

My Long Overdue Post on Disneyland

Back in June I had the opportunity to go to Disneyland with my husband and kids, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I am an animation nut, so I have always been in love with Disney's work, and I was really amazed with all of theJune I had the opportunity to go to Disneyland with my husband and kids, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I am an animation nut, so I have always been in love with Disney's work, and I was really amazed with all of the activities the park had to offer. I've been joking with everyone that the staff there was so nice and overly friendly that I can't be happy anywhere else that I go.

The only complaint I have are the crowds. From 11am - 9pm the parks are very packed, and it gets to be a pain to get in line for anything. Keep in mind though, this was June, I'm sure in the off season it's much easier to go through the lines.

Here is a little photo journey through the parks ~ my camera died as soon as we got there, so most of these are kind of blurry from my camera phone.





These cookies were amazing and only $3.50, which is pretty good for Disney prices!




I love that they have Rapunzel's tower complete with hair wrapping around the park!


ASIMO was a cool little robot - I can't wait to have a robotic helper in my home, lol!


Minnie Mouse was the ONLY character that my daughter cared about seeing, but her reaction is priceless!








Jim Henson was such an amazing creative mind, I have been looking forward to seeing this show for decades! :)


Woody in the It's a Small World ride.




You know your husband rocks if he'll wear your hearts and fruit styled 31 bag around! haha. And I love the Tron stuff they had (you can see it in the background).


Beautiful new restaurant in California Adventure. Too bad they couldn't seat us, I was really hoping for some sit down dining.


I couldn't believe how big this ferris wheel was - and some of the carts swung while it moved! We got on it, but I was so terrified the entire time that I had tears coming out.




Radiator Springs section coming in June 2012!


For the record, and as per usual, I am NOT being paid, endorsed, or otherwise compensated by the Disney people. Maybe someday when I finished my animation degree, but not at this time. activities the park had to offer. I've been joking with everyone that the staff there was so nice and overly friendly that I can't be happy anywhere else that I go.

BUT, I will say that the staff was extremely amazing. We bought tickets on Orbitz for $188 per person, but then when we went to the desk to turn our computer print out into tickets, the manager walked by and said there was a military discount going on. So, we got a gift card for $300+ dollars back as a refund for not getting the discount on Orbitz! I don't know many other places that would go out of their way to do something like that, and it covered all of our expenses in the park, and made it so that we could afford some souvenirs. We will definitely be back, hopefully next year after the Cars park opens! <3

Foster Care Adoption - Rejection

It has been just shy of a month since we got to speak to the girl we were wanting to get matched with on the phone. I know for a fact that we were the only home she spoke to, and that she was very excited about us, but we've never heard back and are at a point where we assume that we are no longer being considered. Rejection hurts, and not knowing for sure is very difficult to process and makes it even more difficult to move forward with our search for a match.

I suppose it is a painful reality that rejection works both ways. Even though we started out by setting up ground rules for what children we would and wouldn't consider, I never thought I would be picky in the adoption process. However, the now that we're at this stage, it seems like we go over every child with a fine tooth comb to decide if we're right for them, and if they're right for us. I get filled with these horrified thoughts of my kids being hurt or molested by a child that we chose to bring into the home, and that has brought a great sense of gravity to every profile we look at. Where do you decide that you don't want to chance certain things instead of jumping in and hoping for the best?

While we have no expectations of finding a "perfect" child, we do want to find a match with someone that my husband and I are both really confident about. Unfortunately, we've recently rejected a profile that could have been a potential match, because we felt that the special needs were too severe for what we could handle. It makes me feel terrible to look at someone wanting a family so badly and say "no," but I feel like it's more important for us to be realistic about what we can and cannot handle rather than bring a child into our home only to confirm that it won't work and uproot them again. All the same, I do find some comfort in knowing that the child has had no idea that we looked at his information and passed, and I hope he finds the right home for him.

You can't force things or make them fit, it has to be right or you can very easily set yourself up for major problems.

Going Greek

I know there are a lot of negative stereotypes out there about Sororities and Fraternities, but a lot of those are just myths and things blown way out of proportion. Perhaps, long, long ago, a lot of hazing did exist within some groups, but that is really far from the truth in sororities as they exist today. The world changed and most of the Greek lettered organizations adapted. Hazing is illegal and wrong, period, and the Greek world of today is a plethora of positive experiences and life long connections that you shouldn't miss out on. The goal these days are to build people up to be strong leaders that know how to work and manage a team.

I am such a proud sorority girl, and my sisters have done a lot for me, so I hope this might help one or two people seriously considering going Greek in college.

If you are outside of your college years, there are still options available to you! The alumnae end of things is a lot larger than the collegiate, and it can be a perfect group to become involved in. I'll do another vlog on that topic later on, but you can check out this website in the mean time! :) http://alumnaeinitiate.110mb.com/

"From the outside you can't understand it, from the inside you can't explain it" - unknown

Adoption Update - Hearing Back

I have an adoption update! I am not looking my best today but I wanted to share the feeling I had for getting to another stage in the process.

Make Your Own Curly Bow/Ribbon

Thank you all so much for tuning in for my first ribbon making video, it's been my most popular by a landslide! Here is another guide on how to make curly ribbons. It's not hard at all, but you do need Fabric Stiffener which has to sit overnight, so be prepared for that!