Twists, Turnstiles, and Tomahawks

It’s been an eventful couple of weeks at the Tomahawk Homestead. 

Within a week I started and stopped the Grace and Strength diet.  I was just not able to sustain myself on 500 calories a day.  Plus the HcG spray caused me to develop a horrible case of hives.  I don’t fault anyone who is able to succeed on the diet.  I mean I’ve seen the before and after pictures and a lot of people do have some fabulous results; however, it’s just not right for me. 

Wednesday night was Foster-to-Adopt parenting class # 3.  We couldn’t be anymore excited then we are.  The PRIDE topic was attachment.  We watched a video on ways in which children are abused/neglected and what attachment issues these the children may experience given these experiences and it broke our hearts.  Just to think there are people out there who knowingly and willingly abuse/neglect children just makes me so angry.  I just cannot comprehend it. 

I have purchased almost everything we need to set up bedrooms for the children.   Tomorrow we will be putting a room together for our future daughter.  Of course we won't know if we'll have a daughter to adopt or just foster, but I will have a nice, pretty room set up for her.  I'll post pictures on Monday after I get everything looking perfect!

Next weekend it's the boys' room.  I have bought two of the headboards in the picture:

I was going to get the whole bed; however, it was just too expensive.  To have gotten two complete twin beds (headboard, footboard, rails, mattress, and box spring would have been $1,249 so I got the headboard, metal frames, mattress and box springs and paid $940.00). 

I also bought two of these chest of draws for the boys.

I hope they match as well as they appear to in the comparison of pictures!!

I've had friends ask me about hosting a foster-to-adopt New Parent Shower.  One friend who lives in Nebraska wants to have me an "online" shower for my non-local friends, one of my local friends has offered me a place to have one should anyone locally want to throw us a local shower.

I know it may not seem common place; however, we are about to be brand new parents and there's a great deal of expense that comes with it just like with parents who are about to have a baby. We will receive children who won't have clothes, books, toys, school supplies, shoes, or anything else that most people take for granted.  And, well, being an infertile woman who is adopting in a non-conventional means, having a shower will be the one last piece of "normality" to becoming a mom that I can think of.  Nothing else my husband and I will be going through to become parents will be "normal" and I would love to have that experience for myself.  A day where my husband and I are celebrated and supported through friends and family as we embark on becoming parents.  The only thing I can think to tell anyone to get us is gift cards so we can take the children clothes shopping, get them new games/toys/books/etc.  anything to help them feel more at home and comfortable.  I know it probably sounds selfish but am I not allowed to be selfish a little bit?

Yesterday we got our final set of fingerprints taken. We still need to get trained in CPR and First Aid.  That's proving to be our most challenging part.  I keep trying to get a date from our local ambulance company but they haven't set anything up yet.

Well, I've blathered on enough.  Time to get ready to get home from work and get the weekend started. I have bedrooms to decorate!!!