Tricia's Diary Entries Diary Navigation: Choose A Diary Entry -------------------- Latest Entry: 2/15/03 -------------------- 2/8/03 2/7/03 1/28/03 1/12/03 12/29/02 12/15/02 12/4/02 11/25/02 11/9/02 11/1/02 10/18/02 10/4/02 9/13/02 9/6/02 9/1/02 8/23/02 8/15/02 8/6/02 7/30/02 7/24/02 7/12/02 7/10/02 7/6/02 7/1/02 6/8/02 5/29/02 5/22/02 5/11/02 5/6/02 4/28/02 4/21/02 4/13/02 4/3/02 3/28/02 3/21/02 3/13/02 3/7/02 3/2/02 -------------------- Tricia's Introduction

Introduction

Hello....

So hard to believe that Sarah will be a year old in less than a month. Unbelievable.I keep thinking back to this time last year when she was still in my belly and I was a mom of two....our life is so different now. For the better of course. Harder, yes, but not in a bad way....I guess I should even use the word busier instead of harder exactly. Fuller, richer!

My little 17 pound dark haired beauty is actually going to be a toddler in a few weeks. I'm shocked. :-) I guess that also means I will officially be an "extended nurser" (breastfeeding past 1 year of age). Sarah is still nursing with the zealous of an infant and I see no end in sight....which is fine, by me. I always thought one year old was the magic number, but, I foresee no major events that will cause us to wean magically or suddenly, so, I am fine with it. She is so dependent on it still and I can't imagine not nursing her. I am getting tons of questions about when I will wean her and lovely comments such as "You're STILL breastfeeding?" "Oh, look at those teeth, no more nursing for you Sarah!" I just smile and say "Yes" with a big smile, "We are still nursing, and nope, no biting!" Another famous line that just kills me..." When they are old enough to ask for it, they're too old". Well, Sarah "asks" for it all the time. First by crying, rooting, next came gesturing, grabbing, and lately she will say "Numnumnumnum". (very cute!) She also says quite a few words, so "milk" will probably soon be one of them. Star Jones self rightously quoted that exact line a month or so ago on "The Veiw" and I promptly typed off an email to her through their website stating my disgust. They happened to be discussing the infamous case of the eight year old boy that was still nursing. While I don't particularly see myself nursing Sarah at that age, it's comments like that which makes people look crosseyed at anyone nursing a baby past infanthood. I didn't get a response, of course, but it did make me feel better!



We had a nice holiday here, but it was a sick one. Sarah started it off with a stomach bug. I was shocked that she came down with it first, and I don't think I have ever even heard of a baby of her age with vomiting and diarhhea like that. Luckily, she had a very mild case of it, and was better in a few hours (must have been the breastmilk *grin*) The next day, poor Lyssie got sick in class and while Chuck was picking her up, I started getting sick...by the time they walked in the door, Chuck had it as well. I'm telling you, this illness was comparable to my kidney stones, it was pure hell. Chuck, Lyssie and I battled over our one bathroom all day, and poor Sarah was crawling around crying for me all day as poor Charles (who was not sick at this point) tried to take care of her. By midnight, Lyssie and I were in the ER for dehydration.....we were home by 4am, pumped up on IV fluids and feeling better, just in time for me to take care of Charles who started at 6am. Ugh, it was horrid! Once we were feeling better, the 3 kids started with a horrible cold. Sore throats, fevers, hacking coughs, so much congestion. I have had each of them to the ped for checks, but think I may take Charles back, his cough is the worst of all and going on 1 week now....my little nephew who lives upstairs from us has pneumonia, poor thing, is that catchy?

So our holiday was fun, but quiet. I kept my vow to play it lowkey, which I did, and to go easy on the gifts, which I did. I could have even gone smaller than I did for the kids, for they only paid attention to one or two things. I bought Sarah a Little Tikes push and ride buggy and she just loves it! Alyssa puts her on it and gives her a ride through the house and Sarah just sits there with a quiet smile on her cute little face!

One of my favorite gifts that Sarah received was a purple pajama set, complete with matching slippers and a robe. I put them on her after her bath last night and I don't think there is anything in the world cuter than the site of her in them! She received them from our foster sister.....I will tell you a quick little heartwarming story about her........

When Chuck was 6 years old, his mom decided to start taking care of foster babies. The state placed a little infant girl with his family immediately. A cute blond girl with big bright blue eyes that Chuck's mom named Angel. The whole family fell in love with her and the baby instantly became part of the family. When Angel was 10 months old (Chucks family had her since birth), the state called to take her....someone wanted to adopt her. They wouldn't let Chucks parents adopt her because they were able to bear their own children. The month that led up to her being taken away and adopted was a crazy one, as MIL has told me many times. They tried to contact the birth mother to offer her money, they were going to move out of the country so they could take Angel with them, these thoughts all came after the state and lawyers told them there was no way they would be able to keep her. I still cry when I think of the story of the day the state came to take Angel from my husbands family, I can't imagine...that baby was like their own, and Sarahs age, I can't even fathom it. The state would not tell her where she was placed, nor would they ever give them another foster child to care for...they said Chucks family was too "emotional".

I, of course, was not even born when all this was going on, but I have always known about Angel, and there are still many pictures of her up in Chucks house, along with the rest of their baby pictures. MIL has talked COUNTLESS times of her and how much she missed her, how much it broke her heart and how she was even going to call Oprah to find her.

Last summer, I walked into MIL's kitchen and found her at her table, bawling. She looked up at me and choked out "Guess who just called me?" It only took me about 10 seconds to excitedly exclaim..."Angel?????????!!!!!!!!!!!!" MIL called Chuck down and also his 3 sisters and they all sat in the kitchen bawling as well. "Carin" aka "Angel" has lived in our town since she was adopted 30 years ago. She has always known she was adopted and received her birth records that week, which told the story of her stay with Chucks family. "Angel" looked them up in the phone book and couldn't believe her eyes when they were still listed as the same address!

Chucks whole family gathered to greet her when she came over the next day. It was an amazing day, I will never forget it. Everyone was talking and hugging and crying and poring over baby pictures and sharing stories. The bizarre part is that Angel works at the vet that I have always taken my pets too. I recognized her right away. She totally resembles her baby pictures, but who would have thought??????????????

So...to make a long story short, Carin (whom we call Angel) is part of the family now as though she has never left it! I want to add too, that she did have a great life with the parents that adopted her. I am crying now, as I do everytime I share the story. Just amazing.

Have a great week.

Love, Tricia + Sarah