Reasons why I will not be shopping at CVS again

Well, I have put CVS on my list of companies to be avoided. You are all probably wondering why- please say you are just so I can finish this post!!!

Reason 1: On Dec 23rd, I bought a one time use digital video camcorder at CVS to use on Christmas eve and Christmas day. I have used them before, only once had an issue. I sent one to Little Bug's first family in Guatemala and they did not have problems. So I am thinking, no worries. I open it up Christmas eve and it does not work. Of course CVS is now closed for the evening and I am certainly not getting up on Christmas morning and taking it back before opening presents. So I have NO video of Little Bug to send to his first family.

Reason 2: I took a disposable camera to CVS to be developed (Mam and I forgot to take our cameras with us today- thus no pictures tonight). I wanted 2 sets of pictures and a CD of them so I could load them on the computer and share them with you all. Well, apparently CVS does not put pictures on CD. Now I find this interesting since they put the video from the one time use cameras on CD.

So since they negatively impacted my Christmas picture taking and they refuse to get with the digital age, I think they deserve a time out.

So no more CVS for this year and next year.

That's my post for today- tomorrow when I get the photo CD back from Walgreen's I will share our pictures of the Conservatory and the Christmas display.

Love to you,
Deb AKA Momma Bug

FFF- Mr. Fix-it man (toddler style)

It's Friday and that must mean I need to choose another favorite foto. I can't pick between these, so I will leave you with Mr. Fix-it man (toddler style)


Helping Uncle Dave fix the chair
Oh the table needs adjusting (yes, this is the table and chairs I rescued from the trash 2 days ago). Do you see anything wrong with them?
Momma- I have to fix the garage!!!
Now my car needs a tune up- it needs more speed so Tony will win the Sprint Title this year- GO HOME DEPOT!!!!
Yes, I am the cutest fix-it man you have ever seen- just ask my momma, she trusts all my work!!!!

Little Bug + trains = a good day

Today we headed downtown to see the train display. The gas and electric company has been sponsoring this display for 62 years- since 1946. WOW!!









I vaguely remembering seeing the trains when we moved back to the city when I was 12- I am sure my grandparents brought be down to see them as did my biological father- but I really don't remember them. I do remember bring one of the girls whom I worked with in Big Brothers/Big Sisters. The trains are cool, the display is awesome. I hope Little Bug gets to see the trains for years to come and he gets to bring his children down to see them too.





The display from outside.

One of the scenes in the display- a Victorian village. There are also stack yards, downtown city scapes, country scenes. So much to see and take in. They start setting up October 1st of each year.
Above the trains are other displays- this is a caroling scene.
Little Bug, preparing to enter the display area.

He looks so thrilled
Checking out the trains. I like the way they have it set up. the kids walk up a ramp that is separate from the rest of the walkway, that way the adults are always behind the kids and the kids get to see the display up close and personal without adults, strollers, etc blocking their view. Still looking at all the trains.
Yes, momma, I liked this!!!!!

I also took the paperwork for Little Bug's readoption/recognition of foreign adoption to the court house today, 30 minutes later, $145.00 poorer, we have a court date next Friday!!!! I never imagined that we would get a court date so fast. Next Friday, Little Bug will have an OH BC and his name will be changed officially. He will still be my Little Bug and our Nene. I can not belive that I almost burst into tears when the magistrate gave us the date. We got to meet the magistrate today who will be officiating at the court hearing- he said the most amazing thing to me after sitting with us for 5 minutes.

he said "there are many programs for children with learning disabilities, but very few for gifted children, you need to start looking for programs for your son, he is a gifted child". WOW!!!!

I know that Little Bug is intelligent and he is a fast learner, but I was not expected gifted to be seen so quickly. I guess I need to Little Bug tested and start to figure out how I can foster Little Bug's talents (while still allowing him to be child). So much to think about.

Love to you,

Deb AKA Momma Bug

hang out- a good day part 2

We had another busy (apparently another new momma mistake- but I am learning) today. Pictures are in a sort of order, so bear with me.

Tonight we took Mam to the zoo to see the lights- apparently every other family in the city had the same idea. Note to self- see the lights before the holiday, there will be less people. Little Bug was not to pleased to be out and he was not having any part of Mam. More on that later. Saw the tree with the train again
Finally got a semi-decent picture of Little Bug with Mam
Saw the huge penguin (not a hit) and the walrus was even a worse thing in Little Bug's eyes
In the middle of the day- I hit the mother load. Who knew that such treasure was lurking in my neighbors houses. Let's go back. I am driving home after taking Little Bug to the park and I see on the side of the road in the trash- a child size table with 2 chairs. Nothing is apparently wrong with the items, they are just in the trash. So sucking up my pride, in braid daylight, I went back and got the table and chairs from the trash. Remember for Little Bug's birthday I was considering getting him a table and chairs. Well, he got them today- I could not wait another 8 months. This is on top of the find from our morning walk (see below)

I took Bug out for a walk this morning- really me pushing him in the stroller- but it was outside in the sunshine and he was enjoying it. On the way, I spied this table- yes it needs a little work, but there is nothing wrong with it that a coat of paint can't fix. So I pulled it home and pushed the stroller at the same time. I am sure my neighbors are wondering about me. I had to take it then as another neighbor stopped by in his car to look at it. For some reason he drove off. I think I scored big time today. I have a table and 2 chairs for Little Bug- I will probably paint them another color. The table is perfect for my office- it will hold my phones and my files. Once it is painted cream it will be a wonderful addition. I will share pictures once I am done painting them.
I also stopped by the consignment shop today to see what their policy was for bring in items that Little Bug has outgrown (clothes) or ages out of (toys). While there, I found this rocking chair for Little Bug. He loves it. When i told him we were going to the zoo with Mam, he said he wanted to stay home 'our house, rock). So tomorrow he can have the entire morning and afternoon to rock before we go to see the trains 9he wants to see them)
And I found this sandbox!!!! Now I just need the weather to change and to get some bags of sand for it and Little Bug is set. Our backyard is going to be rocking this year.
This morning, Little Bug got up and wanted to play with his trains. He insisted that I play with him, but he refused to give me a train to play with- so I took pictures.

He was having a great time playing.
Since the weather was nicer- in the 40s, we headed out to the park. Little Bug was happy swinging and playing. We got to walk and see things, pick up sticks, see the doggies and learn where all the mud was.
we also went to the squirrel races
And the elephant races!!!

I did learn that Christmas is stressful for kids and over scheduling is bad. Little Bug's naps are all off and bed time is a disaster. His nap today consistent of 1 hour of crying over various things and then 1 hour of sleeping on my shoulder. bedtime last night was 1 hour of crying over various things and then finally sleeping through the night. Tonight was better- 10 minutes of crying over various things and then he fell asleep. Hopefully his sleep will improve over the next few days before I have to go back to work.

Love to you,

Deb AKA Momma Bug

It was a good day

How do I put into the words the emotions of these last few days. It was a joy and blessing to be celebrating Christmas with Little Bug, to be a family, to realize that my dream came true. I can't explain it all and I am too tired to try and figure out which emotions are the overriding ones right now- the joy and happiness or the exhaustion, so I will leave you pictures of our days and nights.

First- Pap gave Little Bug a shirt with his family nickname on it. The front says "dreams come true" and the back speaks for itself. This is the name that Little Bug calls himself and is the name that most of us use on a regular basis with him.
On Christmas eve, Little Bug and I made the breakfast casserole for Christmas morning. I cooled the sausage, cut the bread, cut the veggies, mixed the eggs and Little Bug layered the pan with the bread and cheese. He was such a good helper- although when he picked up the serrated knife, he was kicked out of the kitchen and when he did later a second time, he was put down for a nap. Scared me half out of my mind.

Asking me if it was "OK?" His apron was a prize in a raffle on Holly and Julie's (Mckenzie Crew's) blogs. He loves to help in the kitchen and wear his apron.
After his nap- he was a dancing machine - quite entertaining.
We are now at Christmas Morning, although a little out of order. These are the BIG trucks he got from Mam and Pap
Toddler sized seats apparently. He thought these were cool, but......

heck, you have to wait for it. This is Christmas eve at my mom's family. I tried to get video, but the video camera did not work- CVS is certainly going to hear from me- now I have no video for Little Bug's first family- I guess I need to save up for a real video camera.

Having a TU with momma . Little Bug was up way past his bed time and he was very overwhelmed. So many people and so much going on. But he held up the entire night in spite of my attempts to get him to a quiet area of the house and get him to sleep before we left. He fell asleep in the car on the way home.
Momma and Uncle Dave put out the presents and set up the train (a gift from us both), then we went to bed at 11:20 pm- a long day and night.
Christmas morning came at 8 am- right on schedule. The plan was to have Little Bug sleep as long as possible. he slept until 7:45 and Mam and Pap showed up at 8 am just as I was thinking about getting Little Bug up from the rocking chair where we were sitting.

The train was the hit- he was so happy to play with it, he really was not too much into any other gift. The nice thing about this train set is that we can add on to it and all the cars, buses, etc also ride on the same tracks as the train. So Little Bug got the police car too- which he loves.
Yep- this was the gift. I think I could have stopped here and Little Bug would never have known the difference.

Pap got a gift that Little Bug was interested in- a M&M dispenser that is shaped like a firetruck. Little Bug was all for getting the M&Ms out of the truck and into his mouth!!!!!

Pap- they come out here!!!!
Having some juice- with cousins Tink and Pink (Jason) in the background. yes, Jason's hair is still pink and thankfully Mam prints out my blog for Pap to read so Pap was well prepared for the shock of the hair.
Toys, Toys and more toys. Little Bug got 5 more puzzles from me- he does like them. He also got backyardigans bath toys- a pirate ship and other toys. He got a dress up Mickey Mouse- teaches him how to button, zip, buckle, etc. For those of us at a certain age- much like a Dressy Bessy or a dapper Dan doll.

I think Little Bug like Christmas and tonight I think he was worried all the presents would disappear since the appeared under the tree this morning. At least I think that is what was going on his mind tonight- it might explain the tantrum at bedtime and the resistance to sleeping in his room.

For dinner, we headed over to Mam and Pap's. Lots of good food and family. Little Bug is the sticker KING. He loves his stickers. He was putting them all over Pap and Pap was not too happy.

See- stickers on multiple fingers!!!
This Christmas was so much more than I ever imagined. I understand now why people say that seeing Christmas through the eyes of child is so special. My presents, while lovely and wonderful, are nothing compared to watching my son play with his toys and enjoying his family. Like the story says- Christmas is not the presents, the wrapping, the food- but sharing with each other in celebrating LOVE.

And our wonderful day ended with a call to Guatemala to speak with Popi Carlos, Momi Mireya and Susy. There is nothing better than a perfect ending to a perfect day-- We love you and send all of our love to you and your family. Feliz Navidad y Feliz Nuevo Ano!!!!!!!

I hope and pray that you had someone to share the LOVE with this holiday.

Love to you all,

Deb AKA Momma Bug

last post before the holiday

Little Bug and I are going to take a break from blogging over the next few days. I am very weepy and I just want to enjoy my first Christmas with Little Bug. I am taking video to send to Guatemala- it will come with a friend who hopes to be traveling in January to pick up her son.

I expect that I will posting many pictures on the 26th of our first Christmas together- I hope you enjoy them



So, let's go back one year. I had booked a trip to see Little Bug right after Christmas. it was important for me to see him at this time, but at the same time, allow his wonderful first family the opportunity to enjoy and celebrate Christmas with him. So I arrived on Dec 27th for 4 days with my Little Bug. It was bittersweet- I had thought we would be together in the US by that point, but as I watched his loving first family- I realized how important this time with him was for them.

On 30Dec2006, we were waiting for our driver to take us to Antigua and some friends took this picture. It was the last time I held him on the trip. Once he saw his first family- he was done with me. I knew it would be like that, but experiencing it was difficult. What kept me going, was knowing that one day I would hold him forever and knowing that Carlos, Mireya, Susy, Karla and Andrea loved him more than I could ever understand.

The day before, another family shared Santa with us. To have a picture with Little Bug from this year is wonderful. I can not thank them enough for sharing this gift with me. Little did I know that Little Bug's first family had taken him to see Santa and I would be getting a picture of all of them with Santa (it still sits on my shelf and Little Bug loves to look at it).
This year- Little Bug and I have seen Santa so many times- here I thought I would have one picture from the mall and one picture from my families Christmas eve party- but nope- we seem to run into Santa everywhere. We went out to dinner with my parents tonight and the restaurant had a Santa circling the dinning room. Little Bug was not to happy with this Santa and told me 'nene scared". So I sat with him and he was fine.

This is Little Bug getting a candy cane from Santa- the candy cane was not peppermint- but was cloves. Little Bug did not like it, but I did. And this is Little Bug this morning. He slept until 8 am- which is unusual for him- normally he is up by 7 and I am trying to get him to sleep for another hour. I guess our late nights this week wore him out. And yes, for those of you who know what I have posted on other boards- he is sleeping in a blanket sleeper, 1 fleece blanket and one cotton blanket. He seems to be alright with all these layers- I think the cold is really getting to him and he likes being warm at night. I learned to put a tee shirt on under the sleeper so when I change his diaper at night, he does not get too cool.

Here are our plans for the next few days:

Sunday- hang out with Mam and Pap and watch our local football team lose (I have no confidence in them).

Monday- we have a quiet day together, then in the afternoon, dinner with Mam, Pap, Uncle Dave. The evening we have Christmas with my mom's side of the family- 12 brothers and sisters, spouses, an average of 3 kids each (my generation), my cousins kids- Little Bug is one of the youngest and then yet another level- tons of folks, tons, tons. We are supposed to get there at 6, Santa comes at 7 and I expect that we will not get home until 10 pm.

Tuesday (Christmas)- Mam and Pap are arriving at 8 am for presents with us, then we are having breakfast, then my sister and her family arrive, then we will eat lunch. Little Bug will nap and we head over to Mam and Pap's for Christmas dinner and movie watching.

I am off work for the rest of the week- I am hoping to get Little Bug potty trained during the day while I am off. Stay tuned for details on this .

Little Bug and I wish you all a wonderful, Merry Christmas and happy New Year.

Feliz Navidad, Feliz Nuevo Ano.

te amonos (we love you).

Deb AKA Momma Bug and Little Bug

Christmas party and a present from Santa

The pictures are all out of order and I am too tired to reorder them tonight- so I will caption them for you.

This is the last task of the night- eating dessert- Churros (I hope I got that right). These are donut sticks coated with sugar- a Mexican Dessert.


Yes-Momma these are good and I will fight you for them!!!!
The Christmas party!!! 160 people, all touched by adoptions from Guatemala- kids who came home, siblings, parents, friends and grandparents. It is amazing and inspiring to be part of this group.
One happy momma and one overwhelmed Little Bug. One year ago at this party, I was blue- so sad that Little Bug was not there to experience it. I was almost in tears all night. This year, on the drive to the party, I was explaining to Little Bug that Santa was going to call his name and then he would go sit on Santa's lap to get his present. Little Bug asked if I was getting a present. When I told him No, he was upset and kept saying "momma present" over and over. So I took the time to tell him that I got my present early- that he was the best present ever and I do not need any more presents because nothing compares to him. I don't Little Bug understood, but I was crying as I told him this- because he is the best gift ever and I am so blessed to be his momma.
Little Bug actually sat on Santa's lap and was not upset. He just kept looking at him.
And the present.
opening the present. it took 5 minutes for him to get it open. I think Christmas morning is going to be much slower than the last few years- Little Bug will be taking his sweet time opening his presents.
I finally had to show him the tape on the side so he could get the present open.
This was early in the party- before 90% of the families arrived. Little Bug was much more comfortable.

Dinner- burritos, chips and guacamole, fruit. Little Bug was enjoying this meal. I like the cater.
Santa Little Bug- he is all about the attitude!!!
The hat is eating the Burrito!!! This was so funny watching. Little Bug decided not to hold his burrito, so he leaned in to eat and it looked like the hat was doing the eating.
Mr. Attitude strikes again
The open Christmas gift- Crayons in special holders that are toddler sized. First thing he did was throw it to the ground to get the crayon out- yes that worked. So not what I was hoping for, but consistent with how Little Bug works- he needs to find out how to take things apart- it is just who he is.
Drawing with his new crayons. He made a new friend while coloring. I swear his friend could be his brother, they looked so much alike. Even the other boy's father commented on it. The resemblance and the comment brought up some things from our process that I thought I was over.
That's it for tonight. I am tired and going to bed. The suggestion has been made that we take Mam to the zoo tomorrow night- that will depend on how much sleep I get tonight and how Little Bug is doing in the morning. I am not sure he and I can handle 3 nights in a row of bedtime close to 9 pm or later- although, I don't go back to work until the 31st - so we have plenty of rest time coming in the next week.

love to you all,

Deb AKA Momma Bug