Haiku for Naming a Baby

Hooray!  BIG news… our home study is complete. One step closer to starting our search. Now, we wait for our printed profile books and a few papers to be mailed. After that, the real waiting begins.

To fill our time, Husband and I are pondering names. It’s crazy to think about giving someone a name.  I know that whatever name we pick, the Little One will grow into their own personality.  But, it’s hard not to dream about who this person will become and what their name will stand for in the world.

To deal with this, I must haiku….
(a.k.a. filling time before my next meeting)

Naming a person.
A rose is a rose is a rose.
“Red” might be perfect?

A label. A moniker.
Organized letters like sand
Building castles and dreams.

Waiting for baby.
Labeling for big promise.
Heralding a new life.

Announcing a baby
Like birds chirping at dawn.
A name is announced.

How’s that for random poetry?

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Learning and Leaving a Legacy

I come from a long line of very strong women. Smart women who raised families in tough circumstances; hard-working women who put family first; beautiful women with character and dedication.

This necklace was given to my grandmother by one of her boyfriends – back when they were called “suitors” and they didn’t know what second base was.  It is of little monetary value, but it is a reminder of how beautiful she was and all she went through in her life.  She married my grandfather (not the suitor) and raised seven children. Grandpa was gone a lot on business, so she was left to maestro the family into working order every day.

There is a lot I don’t know about her, but these little facts, her laugh, and her sweetness are a wonderful memory.  The future is a little unclear for us.  Husband and I don’t know when or exactly how our family will grow. But, I hope I can pass along this inner strength and character to a little one… assuming I have even a fraction of this powerful legacy.

In Family Frontier News… It appears that our home study is nearly complete. Could it be that we start the search next week?  Not going to lie – I’m 50% excited and 50% nervous.  That’s normal, right?

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Food: Sinbad’s in Tucson (AZ)

On a business trip, I unknowingly booked a hotel right near the University of Arizona’s campus.  Good thing – because I was in the mood for some fun food and good people watching. (Man!  There is NO WAY I was that young when I went to college.. these kids are babies!)

After walking around University Blvd, I chose to check out Sinbad’s Restaurant. I picked a seat outside and enjoyed a wonderful Arizona April evening – light winds, sunny skies, perfect temperature.

And the meal was wonderful too!  The hummus was very good (though, I like it a bit more tangy) and lamb cooked well – not too tough or too raw. The waiters were attentive and even offered to open an new bottle of wine when the one he had was opened yesterday (In my new-found wine snobishness, I can tell when the bottle has been opened for a while.  Sooo nice to have a restaurant offer to open a new bottle!)  It was a really nice evening.  Thanks, Sinbad’s!

And after dinner, I may – or may not – have stopped by Campus Candy. So many sweet options, so little time.

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Food: Where to Eat in Willcox, AZ

If you find yourself in Willcox, Arizona – do yourself a favor.  Take a few minutes to stretch your legs and walk around the historic down town. It is beautiful, and the park by the railroad is a nice tribute to Rex Allen. Then, go have a bite to eat at Big Tex BBQ. It’s the type of barbecue place that leaves the smell of smoke on your clothes when you leave – and I don’t mean the yucky (e.g. cigarette) kind of smoke.  The food was pretty good and the prices were great.

Or, if BBQ is not your thing, check out Salsa Fiesta.  Besides the fact that they also serve Chinese food (weird combo, eh?), the food was well prepared, lots of fresh salsa available at the salsa bar, and a heavy hand with the ice tea pitcher.  We floated out of there well -fed and with a smile on our face.

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The Home Stretch?

After a few phone calls and clarifications today, it looks like we are ALMOST THERE on getting our paperwork completed for the home study and license – what the state needs to approve us to be adoptive parents.

Is it possible?  Could it be?  Are we almost ready to start the search for bambino?

Soooo exciting!

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Sticky Situations

Today’s demonstration: Option #1 for sticking stuff to paper.

There are lots of ways to adhere things to cards – and there are several effects this can have. Today, we are looking at Stampin’ Up’s Dimensionals. These are cool because they stick things to the card, but create space between it so it looks three-dimensional. Like this…

Here’s how it works:

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CPR Training – CHECK!

Last night, Husband and I took “CPR for Family and Friends,” a three-hour course designed by the American Heart Association.  It was very good! The video and hands-on practice were interesting and kept our attention, which is a first step, eh?  We each had our own mannequin to practice. The instructors answered all of our random questions, and we went home with some helpful reference information.  Good stuff!

Here’s what I remember on the process:

1. Make sure the scene is clear.
2. Check to see if the person is responsive
   (“Manny, Manny…are you ok?”)
3. Assign someone to call for help – point at them and call by name or some other distinguishing feature.
   (“Hey, you there with the big nose, call 9-1-1!”)
4. Tilt the head back and point the chin up.
5. See if the person is breathing. If they are, you’ve lost your chance to be a hero. Dang.
6. Give 2 breaths on the mouth – even if they just ate onions – pinching the nose closed with your fingers.
7. Give 30 compressions – Just below halfway between the notch on the throat and the bottom of the rib cage/sternum.
8. Do that rotation (30 compressions, 2 breaths) until help arrives.  Trade off with someone if you get tired.
9. If they throw up, it does not mean they’re breathing.   Roll them over, clear the way, and keep going. (Ewww!)

For children, you wait and call for help until after you do the rotation five times.  That’s because the reason most children are not breathing is a respiratory problem, not necessarily a heart problem. Heart problems require medicine and/or electricity to address, which is why you call in the cavalry.

Interesting…

We also learned how to help someone who is choking. For babies, you flip them over and give them five good whacks on the back, then turn them face-up, and do the compressions five times on the chest. Do that until the obstruction is gone or they lose consciousness… in which case, you do infant CPR.

Man, I hope I never have to use this information!

[Not-necessarily-needed disclaimer? These notes are not at all meant to replace formal training. If you are interested in CPR, don’t wimp out and just read these notes.  Take a class!]

So, we have now completed 6.5 hours of our 10-hour required training.  We have enough to get our license, which is still on track for May 1st.  The rest we can take later.

We keep on moving ahead!

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Food: Elevation Burger

Ventured into an Elevation Burger over the weekend.  It appears to be a new, burgers-are-hand-made, fries-are-cut-onsite, fast food chain.  Well, it is new to ME at least.

The good stuff: They serve ice cream, malts and shakes.. which is awesome.  Not many places do that.  It’s a Coke joint – always a plus.  I tried the iced tea, which was cinnamon and orange flavored. Thought it’d be gross, but it was unusually refreshing.  You place your order, choose your burger toppings, sit down and wait for them to hand deliver your custom-made burger.  The service was fast – especially considering we had five people.

The other stuff: The burger was just ok. Not really all that flavorful, to be honest. The fries were good – the thin, shoestring kind. But, I’m a little bit picky about ketchup. Heinz all the way, bay-bee.

Bottom line:It’s not Five Guys.

 

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