Wrappin' it up

Well, I can usually tell how chaotic my life is by the state of my car. Currently it is full of all kinds of messiness: papers, trash, work bags, jackets, and the list goes on. I had to valet my car last night and was mortified!! I actually apologized.
Anyway, life is crazy, hectic and generally out of control right now! Jeff and I are both working 7 days a week and our hours don't even coincide. I just finished my last full week at DePelchin and will have my last day on Wednesday (3 more days). I'm also working at the psych. hospital from 9 am to 3 PM on Saturdays and Sundays. This week the full time social worker will be out, so I will work Thursday and Friday 8 am to 5 PM in addition to my weekend shifts. Jeff is supposed to finish year end on Monday, but he doesn't see how that is possible with how behind they are currently. In the meantime he is working until 11 or 12 on the weekdays and 10 am to 10 PM on Saturdays and Sundays. Needless to say we are both sleep deprived. Well, I guess there's an end in sight.
Last night my wonderful DePelchin supervisor, Gabrielle threw me a going away happy hour at a Mexican Restaurant called Molina's. They have a great covered patio area where we all sat and visited. They are actually going to have a lunch next week in addition because quite a few people couldn't come after work. I enjoy the intimacy of a small group though so it was great with me! My co-workers are definitely what I will miss most about DePelchin! They are wonderful people and I hope to stay in touch with as many people as possible! Gabrielle got me a set of bubble bath from Sephora, which was much appreciated!
I also got this beauty from one of my sweet foster to adopt families this week. I LOVE it and am looking for the perfect place for it in our house! Maybe one day I'll have an office to hang it in. All in all, life is busy, but it is nice to feel loved and appreciated in the midst of it all!

Baby Love

Well today was a very eventful day! I had my first day leading groups with adult patients at an inpatient psychiatric hospital in Bellaire. I will be working there on the weekends until they have enough patients to hire me full time. I also interviewed this week for a full time job at United Cerebral Palsy in Bellaire doing Early Childhood Intervention and play therapy. If the ECI job is offered to me I will probably accept that one. However I really enjoyed my groups today!! I was nervous because I've never worked in this type of setting and it has been a while since I've lead groups with adults. I truly believe in the process of group therapy and I felt that today was evidence that it works! Anyway, I worked a half day and then rushed home to host my first ever baby shower for my long time friend, Jenny! I only had a hour and a half between when I got off work and when the shower began so it got a little hectic, but Jeff, my mom, and my dad helped me pull it off.
Jeff helped me make this onesie banner. Here is a photo of it with the table set up. I think it turned out REALLY cute! I got the idea from my friend, Jenny M's blog (different Jenny then the shower honoree). My mom fashioned the bow to top my very first attempt at diaper cake creating. It was really fun to make and not as hard as I expected. My dad was the final detail man and food display engineer. All the help was much appreciated and the shower was a success! Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, which is the most important part! Here are three of my favorite girls posing Paris Hilton style! Jenny, her mom, and baby Ariana (three generations) My BFF and I, please excuse my work apparel. I didn't have time to change clothes. Jenny, her sister Christina, and her niece Maggie. I remember holding Maggie when she was a new born and now she's such a big girl!

Love is in the Air

Check out the second bunch of roses I got this week, three dozen total! I'm one lucky girl!
Jeff and I celebrated Valentines last night by going to dinner at Texas Land & Cattle. Yum!! Plus, there was no wait for a table. I made Jeff a calendar on scrapblog and gave him beef jerky and peachies I bought for him at Woody's on the way home from Dallas last weekend.

Crafts....my anti-boredum

Though this first creation, isn't a craft I thought I'd share it because I laughed out loud at myself for coming up with it. Our second date which was the day after Valentines, I brought home made snicker doodles as a Valentines gift. I bought this cute plate with "cookies" written on it to give them to him on. After purchasing the plate and right before I was going to put the cookies on it, I read the label on the back, "contains lead". Now, why you would make a plate that says "cookies" and then expect that people would not serve food on it, I'll never know! So, I decided to wrap the plate in Saran wrap to protect the cookies, and Jeff from lead poisoning. So, last night to commemorate our dating anniversary, I made Jeff snicker doodles and served them on the famous plate covered with Saran wrap! Now to the crafts. My dear friend, Jenny is having her first baby in April and I'm throwing her a baby shower. She's never had a shower before and I want to make it super special. So, I made some homemade invitations. The closed card is in the foreground and then behind it is an example of what it looks like open to reveal the party details inside. I think they turned out pretty cute and I'm excited to see what she thinks about them. In addition to these I have been creating another craft while Jeff is working all his over time. My friend Sarah saw beaded head bands at a craft sale and decided to recreate them herself. I saw hers and decided to try them myself. I am experimenting with different colors and sizes of beads and am making one for each girl on my case load. Every girl needs some bling!

3 years ago today...

I met the man of my dreams!! I remember it like it was yesterday...the excitement of the first date and going shopping with my girlfriends for the perfect outfit. I wore a black velour jumpsuit and a pink shirt.
We has talked on the phone often but I remember being very cautious and being grateful that Jeff was so sweet to suggest a public place like a dog park to meet. I was also grateful because I knew Harvey would let me know if Jeff was shady. He's a great judge of character as most dogs are! It was very cold and windy that day, very different from the 75 degree weather we're having today. When Jeff walked up t me,I was picking up Harvey's puppy business with one of the dogie bags at the park. How romantic is that?! Harvey showed his approval by not barking at Jeff. Jeff and I had a wonderful time talking at the park before going to Starbucks to sit outside with Harvey, drink coffee, and get to know each other better. We sat there until it was no longer humanly possible to sit in the cold! Jeff walked me to the car and gave me a Valentine before saying goodbye. I remember wondering if the Valentine was a good sign, but knew it was when Jeff asked me out for our second date and first formal date to the Grotto on 2/15/06.
I've been very sentimental leading up to today and was so excited when Jeff brought home a dozen roses and a sweet card last night!! How thoughtful especially because it was 11 PM before he made it home from work and he was exhausted!! Today we celebrated by having lunch together at California Pizza Kitcheen since Jeff won't be home for dinner. I am so blessed to be married to such a wonderful guy and to share this journey called life with him! I love you, Jeffie!!

Party like it's 1989!

I made a solo trip to Dallas this past weekend to see my nephews and celebrate my bro-in-law, Wade's 30th birthday. They threw a totally rad 80's themed party!!








After a long week, it was great to spend some alone time in the car processing and then relax with my sister and her fam! I was missing the boys SO much and they are growing up way too fast!! While I was there, I got to go to Clayton's 2nd ever soccer game. He's quite the little jock and got 4 goals! He was super cute in his uniform too! Each kid even got a sweat band with their names on it to help the coaches remember their names. This photo is the hilarious result of the following conversation:
Me: Clayton, let me take a picture of you and your daddy.
Clayton: says no and hides his face.
Sarah: He doesn't want his picture taken, Becca. Just take a picture of his daddy.
(snap)Before I left on Sunday to spend a few precious non-work hours with my hubby, I got one last photo with my precious nephews! I miss them already! Check out the entry below to see an update on our lives and the process of starting our own little family.

We're still here

Well, once again we've been on a blogging hiatus. Sorry to drop the adoption bomb and then leave you wondering what was going on. On the adoption front, there are no changes, except that I have begun furniture shopping for the lil' guy's room. Any suggestions for affordable, good quality furniture? I want it to be something that can grow with him. I don't think we will need a toddler bed, so it will need to be "big boy" furniture from the beginning. Jeff has been working a million hours as it is year end time so we won't finish the training until next month. I have been trying to gather all the information required for our application. Right now I am trying to draw a floor plan of our home. This would be easier if we built the home, but we didn't so now I am trying to play architect.

Mixed in with all this craziness, I quit my job at DePelchin last week. I was freaking out after "one of those days" and I said enough is enough. The next day I put in my notice. I have to give a whole month notice so in the mean time I am interviewing for a new job. I expect an offer this week from a psych hospital in Bellaire. Now if that's not a total shift, I don't know what is! I'll be working with adults with dual diagnosis. We will see. I've also applied to train to get my alternative teaching certification. I'm trying to keep my options open. Anyway, I would love to forget it all and be a stay at home mommy, but that's not an option right now. In the meantime I'm going to try to take this opportunity to grow professionally. It has been sad telling my families, especially the kids, but they are a resilient bunch, so I'm sure they'll be fine!