Lessons Learned

Well, first, I know better than to 'rage and blog'.

I'm over my initial shock and infuriation over the delay in our adoption. Brandon and I were super upset the first couple days, but what can we do? I know that the best people in the world are working this out for us AS WE SPEAK right now in Haiti. I definitely take back my remark that I should just 'go down there and do it myself'. That's just stupid and ridiculous on my part.

Our director just got back from Haiti and she said that they were working really hard to get things sorted out for us and the other families involved. Also, she posted on our website that the Haitian and US gov'ts are shut down 12/19-1/6 for the holidays, so that is also better than we imagined. At least we still have the better part of the next month to hope that things start to happen!

In the meantime, we are getting ready to host THANKSGIVING this year, poker playing included. Woo hoo! Hopefully this time I won't mess up the turkey. Last time it was just a teensy-weensy bit underdone. Lesson- give that bird some more heat and time!

Another lesson learned today.... buying shoes is not my strongest talent. I wear (gulp) size 11 shoes and I must have spent an hour looking for sneakers at Kohl's today. I always do the same stupid thing... I look for sneakers I like, then my size, which they rarely have. I need to just look for the size 11 boxes first, then figure out if I can stand to wear the shoes in public. I would save myself so much time and grief this way.

Perhaps the most important lesson learned this weekend.... I should not allow the store music affect my shopping experience. I found myself in the underwear section cursing the droning "Let it Snow" version by Mariah Carey (ugh) that I'm convinced was playing since I left the shoe department. I left the store with only my semi-ugly sneakers just as a result of the most annoying holiday music of all time.

A three day week.... joy! A four day weekend to look forward to... more joy!

We got an email from Vivian this morning regarding Rory's file. The news/update was not what we had hoped. Apparently, there is a piece of paperwork missing from Rory's file. In order to get the paper, our adoption agency has to send someone to the town where Rory was born to get the paper from the town hall. Now, keep in mind that Rory's town is at the very tip end of the southern peninsula in Haiti. Because of all the hurricanes, I guess the roads are downright washed out so getting their by car is out of the question. So someone is going to have to go by plane or - get this - by DONKEY to get the paper. That's not all! THEN, they have to bring back the paper and an official with them to put it into the national archives in the capital at Port-au-Prince. Only then can we hope to get his paperwork finished and get him home!

I don't even know what to write. I'm so frustrated and upset I could throw something. I guess there are three other families in the same position, so our director is in Haiti trying to get stuff done for us. I do feel good about that, but this, to me, sounds like it could take some time.

In short, it is safe to say that Rory won't be here for Christmas. I know that this is what we signed up for, but we are dependent on donkeys now.... are you kidding me? I'm half tempted to just go and do it myself. I mean, really.

This sucks. On top of all this, I have the worst cold ever and have a headache.
I thought I was getting a sore throat, but I think it was just the constant lump that's been building up for two years.

It's a 2 for 1 day!

Two posts in one day... how crazy is that!

A few nights ago I was thinking about my favorite movies... so here are a few... in no particular order.


1. Contact - starring Jodie Foster, great concept, and I love everything science so why not have a time machine that sends her into space? Sure. Even more that the science theme is the theme of validation. I love that her hard work pays off for her one billion-fold.

2. The Red Violin- starring Samuel Jackson, great movie concept, unlike anything I've ever seen, but I can't NOT watch it when it is on. In reminds us that inanimate objects are animate and that things aren't just things, but they are the story they carry. I have to give credit to my sister-in-law Krissy, who recommended it to me.

3. Life is Beautiful- starring some italian guy- another movie recommended by Krissy. By far the happiest holocaust movie- is that even possible, you ask... yes, it is.

4. Schindler's List- starring Liam Neeson- another holocaust movie, but this one is epic, and non-forgiving in it's bigness. It is the only movie that I've been to when the entire audience sat through all the credits until the lights came back up in the theatre. It is so cliche that 'One person can change the world' but this movie is the quintessential definition of that idea. Brandon has never seen it, and it breaks my heart that he hasn't.

5. Signs - starring Mel Gibson- so scarry good. The first time I saw it, I literally left the theatre with sore shoulders from being so tense.

6. The Wizard of Oz- seriously? Munchkins AND a green horse? I am so in.

7. The Bridges of Madison County- starring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood- the only movie that is just as good IF NOT better than the book. I boo hoo everytime at the end. That whole seen at the end where she is in the truck with her husband... I don't think I breathed the entire time. So good and so mortal.

8. The Usual Suspects- starring Kevin Spacey. Awesome. Rent it when you can watch it UNINTERUPTED.

I'll add more as necessary....

First and foremost, there is no news. As we approach the holidays, and we continue to hear NOTHING, we are more and more concerned that Rory won't be here for Christmas. I've never doubted that he would be, but I am beginning to think we might be in some trouble here. Actually, it's the holidays THEMSELVES that cause the big dilemma. We know that the US Embassy will be shut down for Thanksgiving (I don't know how long) and the Embassy will be closed again for what we are hearing is (brace yourselves) most of December. So even if we DO get out of MOI tomorrow... I can see that this embassy thing is going to be AT BEST, bumpy. More ugh.

You know that saying that goes something like "Life is what happens while you're busy making plans"? Well, I'd like to take that person and punch them right in their PIEHOLE! We've been waiting to start the rest of our lives and at this point, it's just getting stupid. With the cold weather, I'm afraid that depression has set in at the Vaughn household.

Anyway, gotta be more postitive! So, I have so much to talk about besides stupid adoption stuff.

OBAMA WINS! That's awesome. I actually COULD NOT keep my eyes open for the initial projections on Voting night. So I had to wake up to the news that OBAMA won- I kind of knew that from what I could tell, but what made me SO, INCREDIBELY, UNBELIEVABLY proud was that Indiana went BLUE. Indiana, from this point forward, will not ever again be considered a shoe in red state... our votes will and did actually count! What an amazing thing to see a black man take the highest office in the land. I am so excited that when Rory comes home, that he will have the most powerful person in the world to look up to.

Also, we had our annual Bradford Woods overnight field trip with the fifth graders on the 6th and 7th. It was an awesome time. We hiked, fished, sang, played games, etc... and -the best part- all supervised by the awesome staff at Bradford Woods. Which means I just sat back and enjoyed the reactions of the kids and the beautiful scenery. It was great weather... the very last two warmish days of the year, because after that it got cold in a hurry!

Then, I came home, repacked and set back out for Girls' Weekend on Friday night. I love girls weekend with my girlfriends because you don't have to dress up, wear make up, or care about anything you don't want to. There was tons of fun... it always it. But, at the same time, we are all getting older, and you can kind of tell. Especially on Saturday night. Not so much on Friday. We can get a little roudy!

I'm off to Mom's for dinner and Survivor. BTW, if you watch the BIGGEST LOSER... how great that Brady was voted off... If I ran into his sneaky, lying, meddling wife on the street, I think it would be borderline theraputic to kick her butt! Next week should be great!

More pictures... but no news:(

I'm so grateful that I'm in the company of other mom's throught the Chances 4 Children forum. Not only do we get to offer each other support and advice, but we also share pictures from our trips! According to the parents returning from the creche, things are going really well. The finally got to deliver the supplies from the summer box drive which were stranded in Miami during the hurricanes! Anyway, here are pictures from other parents and some great pictures of Rory. Hopefully more to come this week!

Our Evil Cats

We have two cats.. Chilly Willy (Gigi or Gigs) and Kiki. They are horrible. Awful. Downright irritating to NO END.

Kiki, shown here, is actually the better behaved of the two. She is socially defunct and hates all people, including us a lot of the time. She hates the vaccuum, sheds like there is no tomorrow, and is getting on in her years... she'll be 10 in February. She reminds us of the old grumpy man that can be found at any American Legion on any given day. Set in her ways and pretty much crappy all of the time. She loves wet food and actually KNOWS what the words "wet food" mean. She hisses and barks when she's really ticked off. She's been plotting her escape for some time now, trying to get out the garage, front door, or back door whenever possible. She's actually tried it more than a lot... especially since the arrival of Gigs about 5 years ago.

Gigs actually came to us as a stray that Brandon found abandoned in one of the homes he was building. I refused to keep her, but by the time he returned from work a few hours later, I was totally attached to her.

We are thoroughly conviced that Gigs has the feline version of ADD, mixed in with some Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and maybe some bipolar thing going on. Our assessment is that she is either a genius or the stupidest, most draining cat of all time. She drives us nuts on a regular basis. Some of her most annoying habits are (in no particular order):

• Chewing paper
• Chewing through electrical cords
• Knocking over anything that is liguid
• Chasing kiki
• Trying to perform WWF moves on Kiki
• Depositing socks from the hamper in her water bowl
• Stands on us in the middle of the night
• Knocks stuff off the mantle/dresser/nightstand/counter
• Steals straws from my drinks
• Hogs the bed
• Only drinks water out of the kitchen sink (right, Paul?)
• Hisses at every person, but won't run away from them... just keeps hissing
• Bites- usually just us
• Tries to lick chicken that is thawing
• Occasionaly sneaks into the dryer
• Chews through screen on doors/window SUCCESSFULLY

Brandon is convinced that she is a form of the devil.

But, they are our cats and they do have their good points. Kiki likes to snuggle and rolls on the floor and purrs a lot. Gigs is just entertaining and she can fetch! Like a dog! We love our cats, even though they are psycho.

Yea! It's fall!

So, I now completely realized that my last post was over the top. Please ignore....
Hope you enjoy our newest picture of Rory. He looks a lot older, but healthy and happy :)

Anyway, still no news. We are sending our VISA packet next week so that it is ready to go when the US Consolate needs it. What does that mean? Nothing really.. just trying to stay one step ahead of everyone down there. We are just hoping that we get some news soon. We talked to Vivian yesterday, and she said that the last time she checked in she asked if they need anything else for us (documentation-wise) and they said 'no', so I guess that's a good thing.

Maybe we'll have something to report later. I've been sick for the last two days and have missed work. Brandon is awesome. He takes such good care of me. He drove me to work this morning at 5:00 so I could set up my sub plans. Anyway, feeling a little better right now. Hopefully that's the worst of it.

I have parent conferences and fall break next week. Fall break should be fun. We are going to Eagle Point and hopefully golfing if it's not too cold. It should be nice - and pretty!