Why yes it's seriously been 3 yrs!

Holy crap I can't believe I haven't blogged in 3 yrs!
What's our fam been up to? A whole lot of chaos!
Landen is now 6 yrs old and homeschooled! He plays Tball and loves every second of it. Still doing PT, OT, Speech, and "play/talk therapy". Still the happiest kid you'll ever meet!
Brigit.... Well she's the one that brings all the chaos to the home front nowadays!  😉
Dx is chromosome 3 partial depletion, non verbal, SPD, mood disorder, mentally handicap, and 99% same characteristics of Autism but no one will formally dx  her because of all her other diagnosis!
Why all the chaos? Well that's a loaded question and I could go on for days. Some days I mentally feel like I can't go on... Some days I wonder why I don't drink..... And some days I just have to laugh at myself and be grateful my kids made it through the the day alive!
I love my kids with all my heart but let's face it... 2 adopted special needs kids ages 6 and 4, 1 teenager boy that is almost 17 and slowly digging my shallow grave already, and a almost 21 yr old beautiful daughter in College... All living at home- let's assume I'm losing my mind!! I won't even mention the fact that my husband and I have been tossing around the idea of fostering children!

Once  upon a time I used to be cool! I used to be fun and spontaneous. Once upon a time I used to be a size 4! Then motherhood hit me! Don't get me wrong I LOVE being a mom, I LOVE taking care of my monsters, I LOVE watching them grow and learn new things, I can't imagine my life without them HOWEVER I now realize I am not cool anymore and parenting has made me crazy!
I know I'm not alone! Here are a few signs and let me know if you can relate..

1.  When you are shopping or just out in public and you hear the word "Moooooooooom" and you STILL look up even when your kids aren't with you!

2. You swear you can hear a baby crying every time you're in the shower.

3. You search for your phone for 10 min before you realize YOU'RE on it!

4.  You repeat yourself

5. You repeat yourself!!!

6. You sing Disney Jr songs while cleaning the house

7. I was going to say something else but I forgot! 😜🙂

3 yrs has passed since my last blog but not much has changed other than more chaos, more therapies, and lots more love to give!

Ever feel like this?

Ever feel like you've just had it and you're just too tired to do just about anything?

That's how I feel today, yesterday, the day before, the day before that, etc etc etc.  These kids of mine take every ounce of energy out of me! =)  Like I've said before, we LIVE in the van. Between PT, OT, Speech, Feeding therapy, Cardiologist, Gentetics,Opthamologist, Shriner's, GI, Neuro, Uro, Peds, Sleep specialist....need I go on...I'm tired and the very last thing I want to do is come home and cook dinner after being gone ALL day.




Ever feel like your family should be on "America's Funniest Videos or Springer"?

That's how I feel when all 4 kids are in the house, yelling, wrestling, giving wedgies, making faces at each other, scaring others when they walk out of the bathroom, etc etc etc...

Ever feel like YOU are the only one that EVER does anything around the house?
You know, like when you have to make up your 14 yr olds bed because he just SLINGS the comforter on the bed and calls it good! Or when the last bit of toilet paper is gone and too lazy to put another roll on? Or when they put a dish in the sink and claims it needs "soaking" because they don't want to strain their arm by reaching and opening the dishwasher?

Ever feel like when you get to go to the bathroom it's like a vacation? I don't! These little suckers are everywhere!!!




Ever feel like you can't have a decent conversation on the phone with a girlfriend without the little ones in the background?


Ever feel like as a mom you are just over loaded with too many daily chores? Some days I think I'm going crazy. I can't remember things that I did yesterday, I can't remember which Dr I talked to the day before. Some days I feel like i'm delusional. =)

Some days I feel like I am just going to go crazy without a "mommy break".  Some days I feel like I'd rather crawl in a hole somewhere just to get a good night's rest. Some days I feel like I need to go to the Dr and get a prescription for anxiety meds. Some days I want to just cancel ALL the appts I have for the day and just be a home body for the day....

EVERYDAY, I look at my beautiful kids and thank God that I have the opportunity to be able to stay home with them and I am blessed to be nagged by them all day, I am blessed to be almost pushed over the edge on a daily basis! =)  I love being a stay at home mom and I LOVE my busy, no mommy moments here at the Black's house, kinda life! I wouldn't change it for the world (except I WOULD LOVE to get some sleep...hint hint Brigit)

Here are my 2 little energy suckers! I love them soooooo much!

Meet Brigit Black

It's been way to long since my last post. Last time I posted, we were chosen as the adoptive family for a little girl in Oregon. Since our last post, we have traveled to Oregon and spent time with the beautiful family that has raised her since our little girl was 5 weeks old, spent a little bit of time with the birth mom, and spent a VERY long day flying home with 2 kiddos, 1 which cannot walk, lots of excess baggage, and missing 1 of our connecting flights! All in all....it's been an amazing journey bringing her home and getting settled in to our new life.

WELCOME BRIGIT BLACK TO GOOD OLE' SC!

Things have been going well! Landen absolutely A.D.O.R.E.S his new little sissy!
Life is definitely more hectic, therapy has tripled, and my lack of sleep is about the same. =) 
She is the princess in the home and can sucker us in to pretty much anything.

"You are chosen"

Thursday, June 6th, we were traveling to Myrtle Beach SC for Zach's travel baseball team. He had tournaments scheduled all weekend and we wanted to get a jump on a mini vacation before the games begun. We were about 30 minutes out from where we were staying. My phone rang (I was driving b/c I don't like my husband driving my van :) )  Quickly looked at the number and answered. "Hello?" "Hi Tosh, this is Eileen (Social worker from boys and girls aid) You are chosen!!!!"  Me: "They said yes?"  Eileen: "They said yes...congratualtions you are the parents of 18 mos old Brigit."  Imagine the excitement we all felt hearing those words. We were so excited both Ron and I were on our phones calling our parents, texting our friends (not while driving I assure you). What a way to start a mini vacation.

A little bit about our 2nd adoption:  Well technically we haven't adopted Brigit yet but we will very very soon (not quickly enough though...we want to do it TODAY) =)
After we adopted our son, Landen, we knew that we wanted 1 more child. When we looked at our family photos or when we are piling in the mini van to go somewhere, it was like 1 head was missing. So, almost 2 yrs after Landen's adoption, we decided that we simply couldn't afford another private adoption but knew there were several children in the DSS system that needed loving families. We had plenty of love to give a child!! We then started the adoption process through our local DSS, paper work, background checks, finger prints, sled check, dr's appts, financials, 16-20 hr trainings, etc etc.We submitted for several kids, and when I mean several... I mean like 50+. We did receive a few calls on some of the children that we were potentially matched with but after getting all their information, decided they would not be right for our growing family. I got a call on Brigit (18 mos old beautiful girl), talked to the foster mom, decided she would be perfect for our family. Oregon chose 3 families that were a good match and we were one of them. We had a 2.5 hr interview on the phone with the social worker from boys and girls aid, submitted a family book, and sent a few other items to sweet Brigit. They then held an adoption committee and we were represented by boys and girls aid since we don't just live a hop and skip away. The other 2 families were represented by their social worker, In the end....WE WERE CHOSEN!!!! =)   Happy Happy Happy!!!!

Now we are just waiting to find out when we can get our travel plans ready and go get our sweet girl from Oregon.
She has Chromosome #3 depletion, SPD (sensory processing disorder), and Tracheomalacia. What a special girl she is! We simply can't wait for our family to be together!

Take a look at our sweet girl...ADORABLE I know! =)


Landen is going to be an AWESOME big brother!

Curious Landen's party!

This weekend we had Landen's 3rd birthday party at the YMCA. We originally had it planned at our house but mother nature had other plans~  Everyone still had a blast. The older kids played basketball or volleyball and the younger kids played in the jumpy house. The adults....we just ate food, talked, and watched the kids! =)

Landen's theme this year was "Curious George" or aka "Curious Landen"
Can't believe he is 3 already! =(

Hi, I'm Curious Landen =)
 

This is my beautiful Sissy, Lexi!

I've got some money to go shopping now!!! =)

Slacker

I can't believe I haven't updated Landens blog since January! I don't have an excuse either! I've just been slack.

Not too many updates to talk about either. Landen is as happy as always. We had a wonderful Easter...We had a wonderful Spring Break at the beach... We are STILL trying to adopt through DSS which is the worst and hardest process EVER!!! Landen got some new kicks from Peach's Neet Feet...If you haven't looked her up on on facebook, it's a MUST! She's a wonderful young girl doing wonderful work for those living with disabilities and mostly cancer patients! =(   She's AMAZING! Check her out and check out Landen's new kicks too! My wonderful friend, Melissa Mitchell sponsored Landen's shoes and he LOVES them!!

Landen's birthday is coming up and we (I) have decided to do a Curious George themed party. Landen LOVES curious George but he loves baseball/hockey/soccer/basketball even more. He wanted a hockey party but what do you do for a hockey party??? It looks like this will be the last year I get to pick his theme. =( I'm sure from now on it will be a "Ball" party. =)

I'll try to go easy on all the pictures I have to share.... =)

THESE ARE THE WONDERFUL SHOES THAT PEACH'S NEET FEET PAINTED FOR LANDEN! HOW AWESOME ARE THESE. EVERYTHING LANDEN ENJOYS...CURIOUS GEORGE, BASEBALL, BASKETBALL, SPINA BIFIDA RIBBON...

JUST BEING THE HANDSOME GUY HE IS!

FIRST FISHING EXPERIENCE AND HE LOOOOOOVVVVVEEED IT!!!! NO CATCH OF THE DAY THOUGH. =(

PLAYING IN HIS SAND BOX...HIS FAVORITE THING TO DO!

HOW CUTE IS THIS KID?

HE'S NOT VERY FOND OF LIVE ANIMALS...THIS IS ACTUALLY A TERRIFIED GET THIS THING OFF ME BEFORE I CHOKE IT OR HAVE A HEART ATTACK KIND OF SMILE!

TOES IN THE SAND!

WAITING ON THE NEXT BIG WAVE!