Craftastic!

...and here's what I've added to my repertoire - the all new, "any-gender-friendly" Africa messenger bag...so far the tan with camo has been the top seller.

Building Birdhouses

Here's what Geoff's been up to...building birdhouses for selling & gifting...

We're really enjoying our crafty side these days...too bad the house (including nursery renos) & gardens don't take care of themselves while we're working on our projects!

Off Topic: My Amazing Computer Savvy

Ah ha! I am a total computer genius. While browsing links on our adoption agency's website today I found the link to the adoption tickers I have seen on everyone else's adoption blogs (I was having some serious ticker envy but had not bothered to ask anyone where they came from). Well, I just have to brag that I followed the directions on www.lilypie.com, which included making a ticker by clicking my choices (very tough stuff...kidding) and then copying html code from that site...then I guessed correctly where to find the info I needed on the blog layout page, and TA DA! - a little pasting, and it worked!!! I will definitely be attracting some major computer programming contracts any time now.

AND, this post is actually not completely off topic - allow me to draw your attention to our lovely new adoption timeline ticking away at the top of the blog to help us all keep track...enjoy!

Jobs: Unfortunate but Necessary

Ok, I haven't totally given up on my belief that there really are great jobs out there that are a perfect fit for people...I'm just looking forward to the next phase for me, whenever it arrives in the form of two little siblings from Africa (I'm hoping that job will be the best fit yet...we'll see)!

Now, Geoff is one of those folks who has a job that fits like a glove! As I've posted before, the only issue is that in his current position, I would pretty much have to work a day or two in order to keep things afloat. We're really not wanting to get ahead of ourselves, but there's a chance things might shift in a positive direction in the near future, and that the goal of full-time parenting *might* be looking a bit more realistic...something to keep in your thoughts & prayers for sure.

Confession (& Warning): Growing Cloth Diaper Obsession

Uh, yeah, it's true. I'm finding cloth diapers fascinating. It will be such a shame to use them - they're so clean & lovely. So far, then, my faves (without having tried them out yet) are the Rumparooz (by far, I think - that lovely double gusset, stretchy elastic, and super-soft lining are fabulous, not to mention my super-cute outer prints & fabrics), the Whamies, and the Berryplush (only drawback with these is that there's no one-size option). I'm thinking that the Baby Kangas & Bum Genius could be near the top of my list as well. Eventually, I will be able to do the "action research" and let you know!

Meanwhile...I have managed to tie diapering in with decorating (I can pretty much link anything with decorating)...Once I got thinking about where on earth a person keeps 50 diapers (the idea of separate bedrooms made sense all of a sudden - I'm thinking attractive wicker laundry basket for the clean ones???), I also realized that the dirty ones have to go somewhere too...and that's where things got ugly. Literally. Diaper pails are ridiculously hideous contraptions it seems. I cannot fathom willingly placing one next to my lovely antique dresser. And then a little googling brought http://www.thegoodmama.com/ to the rescue - lovely, waterproof, zippered hanging diaper pail bags in beautiful prints. Relief.