Dreaded Adoption update, the dog house turns to Kid house, and New England Fall time

It's been an adventurous and busy couple of weeks:

Adoption update:
As you know we changed our request from siblings- 1 child under 12 months and one under 2 to siblings 1 under 2 and 1 under 4 or twins under 4. After spending some time there and getting to interact with the children more we felt more comfortable with the developmental stages children who were slightly older were at- and perhaps we'd like to hurry our referral a bit more. Quite frankly- It's taking way to "fraken long" I'm tired of waiting waiting waiting and waiting.. oh and did I say waiting. Laugh. I still feel shallow saying it- but I want a referral- like yesterday.

We talked with our agency and they told us to expect a referral by spring. I was crushed (can you hear the sound of the bricks falling???)

On the homefront-

Denis keeps joking that the longer the referral takes the more "square footage" of our home is being dedicated to them. Our home which is currently one giant dog house for our beloved Geneva is turning into a playhouse for our "imaginary" children. You know how creepy we must look to the people that don't know we are adopting that visit our home?? We are two childless people with a playroom that has an active lego table on it, trains going around the ceiling of it and on another floor with a smaller play room that is decorated and contains a costume rack and a playset in the back yard with swings, the rock wall and a slide? My god... It's beginning to become a bit "embarrasing" could you say. Although we had the greatest compliment the other day when our friends walked into the playroom and said to us- geesh guys this looks like a daycare-laugh!!!!

A little more on the new costume closet with magnetic walls and soon a small book shelf. We have a costume closet now under the stairs of the family room and it's full of costumes- (you see my brother in law loves Marshalls so when he's visiting we go to many- this time being that halloween is right around the corner- I couldn't help myself and I bought costumes at each of them). There's a giraffe, lion, frog, turtle dragon, elephant.. to name a few ... I find myself wishing they were in Adult sizes - Denis would have had a blast in the Chicken outfit-and I've been tempted several times to put on the horse outfit. The kids that visited last week liked the turtle and the horse (clip clop clip clop -neeehhhh).

Our neighbor just finished helping us build a Lego table for the play room - (did you know Lego was a Connecticut company)? I purchased a table from the mill stores and he cut a square out of the middle of the table and drilled a hole in the removed piece. We affixed a canvas bag to space where the hole is and then added polyurethane to the table. It looks awesome! Denis and I have enjoyed plenty of hours of imaginary play over the past couple of weeks.

TV (SPOILER ALERT):
We just finished watching the last few episodes of Battlestar Galactica and Lost so we are finally caught up and can read the websites. OMG-I can't believe how BG ended!!! I can't wait to find out who that last Silon is... Starbuck, Apollo, or the obvious.. Baltar (ugh). And now they are one big happy family Silon and Humans??? What's up with the XO.. wow...weee...

And with Lost- they are so busy killing each other that it's not surprising only 6 escape. I have to say though- I enjoyed season 4 almost as much as season 1 and I'm glad I stuck with it. Sayid- "Naveen Andrews" is sooo HOT. It's no wonder People magazine rated him "one of the worlds most beautiful people". Somebody has finally trumped "Dylan McDermott" on my number one spot of "people to be stranded along on an Island with". "That's a little running conversation that my buddy I run with and I have started up"...

this year I've discovered what a commitment TV can really be- now that shows are available online I'm thrilled- it's exhausting to try to keep up with this stuff. Denis has started watching the Hero season and I'm going to start watching Prison Break (PB is HUGE in Ethiopia and everyone was talking about it while I was there so I have to watch it-laugh).

Travels:
When my brother in law left last week from his couple long week visit with us - we met our new social worker -she's awesome (as our old one recently quit) and then I went to Maine to visit with my mom.

My mom lives in South central western Maine (Jay to be specific). This is the area I grew up in- now when I visit the area seems so depressed. It doesn't seem like the vibrant town where people were always busy and homes were being built and school and community activities were hopping (I grew up in Turner). The area seems sad to me- my childhood memories seem so far away. The factories are closing along with the few mom and pop stores that were there, the mall in Auburn is empty of stores, the Big Walmart's have moved in along with the commercial oil companies and chain convenience stores and the people seem to be getting heavier and heavier. The farms are turning to modular home lots (although smaller than I've been seeing elsewhere) and the old barns are colapsing from the past couple of bad winters. For sale signs are EVERYWHERE... What happen to the somewhat green Maine with farms and active people??? I grew up recycling, riding my bike, getting veggies from my uncle's farm for dinner and taking care of the horses.

It's amazing actually-because what I see now is the "adult perspective" as a kid- the ski lodges are still active, the schools still have their sports and drama, you can still swim in the lakes and go ice skating in the winter and heck- they now can have food delivered to their doors, all of the roads are tar, and they have their own private phone lines- did anyone else grow up with a party line-it was great for calling your neighbors (and listening into their lives-ha ha) ???

Delivery for pizza- now that was an awesome discovery when we moved away from Turner. Food directly to your door!!!WOW!! It's amazing how when you are not close to home you remember your home location as dreamy but as you get older and more distant from it- those memories create a kind of space time experience in your head that doesn't allow the place to change...laugh.

Well- off to Maine again this weekend. Even though Jay has changed the State itself is still my "home". And childhood memories still dance in my head in the fall. The trees are starting to change and it's GORGEOUS. I can't wait to hear the crunching of leaves under my feet with the dog running along in the woods off her leash. It's time to climb up an apple tree and pick off those last few macs, start thinking about baking and buying the foods from the farm stands to do so during the week after work, and of course-one must fling rocks into the lakes for people to stub their toes on in the summer to come-failing to skip them across the water that is still foggy in the morning and now too cold to swim in. The absence of the birds in the forest as the loons and birds are flying to their winter resorts. (ohh and let's not forget to put on those bright yellow coats that you never see the handsome dad's wearing in the LLBean catalogs so the hunters won't shoot you and your dog!). It's really the best time of year- with the colors surrounding you, last years sweaters freshly out of the closet and the smell of wood fires in the evenings... There's no place like New England in October.. and I can't wait.

County Fairs:
Went to the Big E this weekend. It's a must do once, if you love fairs -but my list for favorite fall fairs remains unchanged:
Blue Ribbon to Blue Hill Fair, Red Ribbon to Fryeburg fair and Yellow Ribbon to Topsfield Fair. But topsfield comes with it's warning label- you must go early in the morning toward the beginning or middle of the fair. It's way too crowded otherwise. The Topsfield lacks animals but makes up for it in Horticulture. The Big E.. well it just kind of Lacks-but if you're into the rides-they have a huge Midway and it's really a very very big fair. If you're pushing a stroller it's probably pretty good because it's all tar too.


Completely Selfish plug.

My Birthday is This Thursday so of course- the beginning of October is truly perfect time- it's also an awesome time for one to officially "age". Although to most our friends and family - I'm thrilled that I'll always be the young and springy chicken!! He He (the benefits of surrounding yourself with those older than you).

OOOOHH.. Dear Wonderful Hubby got me a ticket to see Madonna with one of my Neighbors on the 16th. I CAN'T WAIT!!!.... oh gooody gooody gooooody!!!!

Have a great week and I'll post again then. Perhaps I'll even post some new pictures-laugh.