Randomness at the end of 2010

Thanks to all who have posted so far for the Lil' LJ onesie giveaway!  I'm going to extend the deadline for the giveaway for about another week to give more people an opportunity to enter the drawing.  See my previous post for more details.  To be included in the drawing, please post your comment under that blog entry.  Thank you!   
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Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!  We had such a special day with Grace.  Just like most babies her age, she loved the wrapping paper and boxes more than any of the actual gifts.  She just wanted to spend her time pushing an empty amazon.com box around the living room floor.  I'm sure she wondered what the brouhaha was all about.  She was a pure joy for us and the entire family.  

Grace's E.T. impersonation with the assistance of Elmo   

         

   She can't tolerate bright flash photography, but she will always flash a smile for the camera! 
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In case you didn't catch it, an older blog post of mine was published in Adoptive Families magazine this year.  This is how it appeared in the magazine.  I saw today that it was one of the "top ten most popular articles" of the magazine this year.  So....maybe there were only TEN original articles written for the magazine this year or maybe my article was included in the list because they needed a "filler".  Nevertheless, having it published was a personal thrill for me and I was happy and honored to share it with waiting parents-to-be.  I've been thinking about writing a follow-up post here because the happiness for us and support that we received when we finally brought Grace home surpassed anything we ever expected! 
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Happy New Year and thanks for reading!

Wishing a very special and happy 2011 to all of you who are still waiting for your dream come true.  I was where you were last year.  What a difference a year (or less) makes.    

I really am back and a giveaway

So, the U.S. House voted to extend tax cuts and unemployment benefits.  Good news for many, but would it be too much to ask for them to also add 6 more hours onto a day?  I mean....there really are not enough hours in the day.  This mom thing is WAY harder than I thought.  And before I had a child, I knew that it would be difficult.  I'm not really speaking of the child care, although that can be physically taxing and I'm getting used to running on 5-6 hours of sleep.  It's the juggling of EVERYTHING and feeling guilty if EVERYTHING doesn't get done or the way that I would like things to get done.  I wonder if I would feel this way if I were younger.  Probably so.  Bitch, moan, bitch, moan (not necessarily in that order and it's typically silently directed at my unknowing husband). 

Then, I see this and I think 2 things: 

1)  I'm so grateful.

 2)  It's all worth it. 

My adorable sister-in-law and her adorable family sent us an equally adorable onesie soon after we brought her home and it was oh-so-appropriate: 

Grace wore it for the picture on the adoption announcement we mailed out to friends and family.  My SIL purchased it from Lil' LJ and they have the cutest stuff, especially appropriate for a baby who is finally in your arms after any kind of wait.  They can personalize most (all?) of their products, but obviously for this giveaway it would be hard to do that.    

The giveaway is a short-sleeve onesie, size 6-12 months with the saying, "I'm a dream come true."  Click on the Lil' LJ link above to see it and to check out all of their other items.  I tell Grace all the time that she's my dream come true.   

Just post a comment and become a follower of my blog, if you're not already, and you'll be entered in the random drawing:)  Sorry, but because there are only 24 hours in a day, I have to be non-committal and say that the drawing will be after Christmas, I think, but probably before the new year.  The winner will likely be announced soon after.      

Long time, no blogging

I doubt that anyone is even checking this....but just in case, I thought I would try to get back in the swing of things with blogging.  I really do miss it and all of my bloggy friends out there.  I think about it almost every day, while juggling working full-time outside of the home, (and while I'm at it, working full-time in the home), figuring out which solid foods to add to an almost-10 month old's diet, and enjoying every moment I can with our little one.  Where did the time go?  Grace has been home with us for close to 8 months...and it's going too fast sometimes.  She's growing and changing every day.   I look at the picture on my blog header and realize how very different she looks now in such a short amount of time and how much more she is doing these days.  *sigh*   New motherhood has been fantastic.  And frustrating.  And overwhelming.  Did I also mention that it's wonderful? 

Giveaway coming soon....