again!

i'm sorry. i am such a bad blogger i can't believe you haven't fired me.
here's how it went.
tuesday i begged and pleaded for an unpaid week of vacation only for m'lady to be a complete and total jerk about it. i have had 1 sick day so far this year, 2 vacation days when the girls came, and 1 day of vacation for foster training. all in all, i think i have a pretty good track record. then went to a foster support group that night.
wednesday i woke up, did my little work out, took a shower, got out and started balling. i think it was a little of everything hitting me at once. the infertility. the job. the lack of vacation. the feeling that i'm spinning my tires. so i called in sick. but lucky for me, i talked to the one sane person i work with and he reminded me that m'lady was out all day. so i went in. during my boredom, trust me, i have work to do, i just don't feel like doing it sometimes, i chatted paul and asked if i could tell rosie we are ready again. he said sure. so here's how it went:
me: hi rosie! it's cheri'
rosie: hi! how are you doing?
me: well...we're ready.
rosie: GREAT! what age?
me:0-7, we can't do 11 again. definately younger.
rosie: now are you guys foster or fost-adopt?
me: well, we're really fost-adopt.
rosie: how young again?
me: oh, anything 0-7.
rosie: liiiike 13 months?
me: ya sure.
then she asks me a few more direct detailed questions.
me: (clueing in at this point) do you have somebody?
rosie: yes. we have a little person in the hospital that is going to come home this weekend and we need someone willing to work with her.
me: ok!
rosie: shouldn't you call paul first?
me: oh ya!

i called paul and told him the situation and he said he was fine with it if i was. that was wednesday.
thursday we got clearance to go down and see her. she's adorable. she's a peanut. she is all giggles and smiles. she is a mover AND a shaker. and she melts the hearts of everyone she comes in contact with. she is a special special girl. then we realized exactly how much baby proofing we really had to do. at midnight, we finally were at the point that we could let the rest wait until today. then i made a walmart run for the essentials. JUST the essentials. do you KNOW how many essentials a baby needs? a LOT.
today she was released and got to come home. i picked her up and after wrangling for a half an hour with the social worker trying to get the baby seat fastened into the car, we got home. paul had taken tatum to the hardware store for some screws we need for the upstairs baby gate so i had a chance to let sweet pea (that's her nickname) get acclimated. tatum came tearing in the house, first sniffed the social worker, then me, then turned around and just wiggled from nose to nub at our new little marvel sitting on the floor. she stuck her hand straight out at tatum and tatum licked and made friends. sort of. we have had to work with sweet pea being gentle and tatum giving space. she tends to like to lick. a lot. aaaand then there was the part where we turned around and saw tatum standing stick still with her beard in sweet peas fist. and when they finally seperated some of tatum's beard stayed in sweet peas fist. we've been coaching with the open handed pat moreso than the fist grab of fur. later tonight i was petting one side of tatum and sweet pea was petting the other side with the open hand. she's SUCH a quick learner and we think she said doggie tonight. *ah* we're in love. and we're in trouble.
here's a quick succession of the teddy bear we gave sweet pea the first night we saw her and tatum getting used to NOT playing with the teddy bear:




literally she stood there this long trying to leave the bear alone. and theeeeeen: