MerrinDonahue.com

To be enjoying peanut butter, jelly, and banana sammiches. I never ate these as a kid, but I seem pretty stuck on them now.

I have three mothers. My Mom, of course. And then there’s my step-mom. The third one is Vicki, my mom’s best friend. At one point today, they were all there together, and I stopped for a minute and looked around. I realized just exactly how lucky I am to have these three women watching over me. They’re all very different, but they have each, in their own way, given me a part of their strength, their wisdom, their joy, and their love. It’s not often that the three of them are all together, and today was certainly not the best of circumstances, but it hit me like a ton of bricks that there are an awful lot of girls out there who will never be as blessed as I am, and I thought I’d take a minute to give thanks for that.
Kevin may not be thrilled at the prospect of three mothers-in-law, but he’s learned to adapt, and luckily, they all love him. 😉

It’s never good news when the phone rings this early in the morning. Our thoughts and prayers are with their family, and ours, today.

The sun is out in full force for the first time in 8 days. It’s in the mid-50’s, and the ground is starting to dry out. I don’t even mind that I have lots of chores to do today, since I can finally look out the window and see the sun.

I am a major dork. That is all.

Can anyone give me a good reason why I spent 5 hours trying to get past ONE stinkin’ level of Twilight Princess today? Anyone? Bueller?

It is so cold outside that my THO shows through my padded bra.
That is all. You may now resume with your regularly scheduled lives.

“You ask: When’s it gonna rain?”
“I say: When’s it gonna stop?”

That’s pretty much the story around here. We went from total drought to absolute saturation in 7 days. I’m beginning to feel like nothing will dry out ever again. As an added bonus, in addition to today’s snow, we can expect more snow, sleet, and freezing rain right on through the weekend. Thankfully, the roads clear up every day around noon, so if I time it right, I can actually leave the house without the fear of sliding all the way to where I’m going.
“
And major props to those who know the movie to which I’m referring WITHOUT the use of Google. No, Kevin, you can’t play.

All I have left to do in the nursery is touch up the green paint. I hung the border today, and it. Looks. AWESOME. We’ll get the new floors put in soon, and then we can start buying furniture to store all of the stuff we already have!
Picture here.

It’s cold out. It’s really cold out. There is ice in the trees. Ice is starting to accumulate on the streets. I have never seen the grocery store as busy as it was today. People were totally panicking about the potential loss of power from the ice storm.

Yep. That’s pretty much all I’ve got. Since we’re house-bound for the next couple of days, be a peach and post something good on your blogs, mmmk? I’m going to get reeeeeaaaaallllly bored.

Here we go again with the crazy Texas weather. It’s 70 degrees right now, and snow and ice are expected in the next 24 hours. Right now, the windows are open and there is a balmy breeze blowing through the house. This time tomorrow, we’ll be bundled up in parkas. You gotta love Texas.
Side note to Kevin: This means no stock show this weekend. Sorry.

She just can’t leave well enough alone. Paula Zahn is once again using her show to villify the “new” regulations surrounding China adoption. It sure seems like CNN really likes controversy, and I would assume that the ratings were so high from their last show that they have decided to continue the onslaught of bad information to the American public.

I know I’ve latched onto this like a pit bull, but I just can’t get past it. There are such good resources out there (even on TV—Adoption Stories on Discovery Health is a good example), and it makes me so angry that CNN would abuse its status as a “news” organization in order to perpetuate negative stereotypes. I am so frustrated that someone who knows nothing about such a sensitive issue would choose to boost ratings—AGAIN—by raking adoptive parents (both in the program and prospective applicants) over the coals.
It’s hard enough going through the emotional upheaval of the adoption process. It’s both scary and wonderful, but the last thing parents in the China program need is the false ringing of imaginary alarm bells. The bottom line is that China has the right—and the responsibility—to impose any regulations they see fit for the futures of their children. The domestic adoption process in the US is not nearly as stable and predictable as China’s; this is why we personally chose the program. Paula Zahn has no idea what it’s like to go through a homestudy, apply for an I-600, fill out a G4, or navigate the social issues surrounding foreign adoption. She certainly could not tell you anything about attachment, bonding, the grieving process, or the sensory processing disorders that are so common in adopted infants.

So…..Even though it’s a complete train wreck, I’ll watch it tonight. I want plenty of ammunition for my NEXT letter to CNN, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last week, it’s that the ignorant, intolerant Paula Zahn will be sure to supply it. To all of the other a-parents out there in the China program: I feel your pain and your frustration, but if we keep sticking together, maybe, just maybe, we can make a difference.

Yep. I admit it. I’m totally watching “Armed and Famous”. It’s absolutely awful and wonderful. Hey—I just need some mindlessness after the whole CNN debacle.

Paula Zahn on Chinese Adoption

Watch if you want, but know it’s offensive. The good news? She’s actually assembled people from the adoption community to revisit the topic. I’m guessing CNN got flooded with emails from justifiably upset adoptive parents.

I spent all day doing laundry. I hate laundry. I have run the dishwasher….twice. I made Kevin everything he wanted for dinner, and I went to the grocery store. I baked a cake. I am now officially done for the day.