OK, I just had to see

This food quiz was on Johnny's blog and of course, I had to check it out. Funny, we had tacos for dinner and Mexican is my favorite food. The description is pretty accurate too.

You Are Mexican Food

Spicy yet dependable. You pull punches, but people still love you.

What Kind of Food Are You?

My break is over....sigh...

Well, I've really enjoyed this Winter break from school. It's been great not having to study and read, read, read. The kids have enjoyed me having more free time too - they especially enjoyed to relaxed pace of the house. I've been fairly productive, but of course, didn't finish everything on my list. We did manage to get the master bathroom painted, which is such a big improvement from the bajillion paint swatches painted on the walls for the last three years.

As much as I enjoyed this break, some things must come to an end (or pause, as I like to think) and school starts back tomorrow. I'm taking 13 credits this semester and I have anxiety just thinking about it. To ease some of my anxiety I have tried to really get organized. I've even cooked and frozen about twenty meals for those heavy study weeks. (I bought this great book with ideas, tips and recipes for freezer cooking. How cool is that?! I feel so Amish.)

There will be a blog freeze for me until May, unless I have free time and something blog worthy to say. However, I will try peek in on my favorites blogs, especially since some folks are expecting referrals soon.

Take care all - see you on the other side (that's May for me).

Offensive journalism

Did you happen to catch Paula Zahn's program last night (1/5) on CNN? She spoke about American's "infatuation" with Chinese girls. That we, adoptive parents, go to China to adopt "smart" children and that we "don't realize" that they aren't "born smart". We choose China for the intelligence and want our children to become doctors, which is why we don't adopt a black or Hispanic child from the US. They just wouldn't be smart enough.

If you're interested in reading the ridiculous transcripts, here's a link?
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/pzn.html

Although I'm not thin-skinned, I felt compelled to send an email to CNN and to Paula. I was/am pretty offended. We didn't adopt our daughter to play the violin, help us with math, cook us stir-fry or to "become a doctor." That's just racist crap. Seriously, could our foster/adoption system here in the US be any more flawed? Hmmmm, guess that couldn't have anything to do with why many people don't choose to go this route to adopt. Personally speaking, we didn't want to put ourselves through the the emotional turmoil that an unpredictable adoption system would bring.

Do I think American children in foster care deserve homes? Helllllooo, yes. All children do. I love that those who address this issue are never those who have chosen to adopt, from this country or elsewhere. Don't they care about American orphans? For some strange reason, parents who choose to adopt internationally are to blame for all of the children waiting for families in the US. Never are people who choose to give birth asked how come they don't adopt children, who are already born and need families, instead of bringing more children into this world. By no means do I feel that people shouldn't give birth, I'm just trying to prove my point about how parents who have adopted internationally aren't to blame for all of the waiting children in the US.

*thud* that's me jumping off of my soap box.

A sad conversation with my 7 yr old

Last night as we were doing our bedtime rituals with my son he started to cry, I mean, really cry. Hard sobbing cry. After a few minutes of me holding him, I was asking him what was making him so sad. At first he didn't want to tell me, but he then started to talk. "I don't want you to ever go and live with God" he told me, as the tears were pouring down his face. Holy crapola, I didn't see that coming.

Sometimes (OK, often) I am really unarmed and unprepared for what pops up as a parent. Brent has always been a deep thinker, and has asked tough questions, but this one really caught me by surprise. Usually, I can feel his curiosity stirring and I have a little time to think about how to handle the situation, but not this time. What a terribly sad and heavy thought for a little guy. I am so glad that I coaxed it out of him - I would hate the thought of that weighing so heavily on his mind.

So, I rocked and held him tight for a long time and then told him that I don't plan to go and live with God until I'm very old "like 100," to a 7 yr old 25 is ancient, and that I drive as safely as possible, wear my seatbelt, don't smoke and try to take good care of myself. I also let him know that people worry about their loved ones and that I worry about him too - I worry that he looks both ways before he crosses the street, that he doesn't talk to strangers and so forth. I tried to assure him that I intend to be around to pester him until he is a grandpa. This seemed to help a little, but I wish I could think of something to say that will bring him comfort. Any suggestions?