Hey ya'll -

I've seen a chink in the armor that is surrounding my reluctant spouse. The cause? Very cute photos of his neice that were sent yesterday.

I've seen this before. At the restaurant the other night with Little Miss H. At our house this summer when my neice, Little Miss A. came to visit. At a restaurant a month ago when a little girl was eating with her grandparents (or maybe her older adoptive parents, who really knows these days?)

So, I've come up with a plan for completely breaking down this armor. First step: inundate him with pictures... more

Last night we went out to dinner to say good-bye to one of our close friends who is going to Mozambique for the next 6 weeks. It was very fun to see everyone, but especially since my friend's daughter, Little Miss H., allowed me to pick her up and carry her around.

Oh! It was special.

She's about 18 months old and just a doll. She is starting to talk a little and she has such a personality! She has a big sense of humor and laughs at her own "jokes." She is very independent yet also a cuddle bunny.

At one point my older son kept her from... more

This weekend my lovely husband and I went on a little trip all by ourselves. He had a photo show in the mountains and for the past three years I've gone with him for his October show. My parents watch the kids. Since we didn't get a chance to get away for our anniversary this was the first time all year we'd been away together.

Two strange things happened. The first was that I really missed my kids! Most of you will not find that strange at all, but the fact is that since Little J came into our lives with all his intensity and ADHD behaviors there... more

Boo hoo. We did not win Powerball as we had hoped. I guess our next step will be to look for buried treasure next time we go to the beach, as Sandra suggested (our International Adoption blogger...and she would suggest it as she is surrounded by beaches...)

But I still hope to adopt, despite this lack of money and a still-reluctant spouse. And also despite the ever-increasing pace of work(I'm really pushing myself this fall to complete writing... more

I'm starting a new category in this blog: The Reluctant Spouse.

I have one, that's why.

I've posted about it before. Here, and here.

He has nothing against adopting another child, he says. Except for the money factor. And we're not talking the cost of adoption, either. Thanks to some lovely folks who participated in my unscientific... more

So folks, I've been informed by my lovely husband that we will not be adopting again any time soon unless things change significantly in the financial department. Children are expensive, people, and depending on how we decide to adopt, adopting can be quite expensive, too.

I completely understand where he's coming from. We do not have an extravagent lifestyle, but we do like our comfort. We aren't keeping-up-with-the-Jones's type people at all (if you saw the cars we drive you'd have proof of that) but we do like to eat well and to go to an occasional movie... more

My husband, that is, and the idea is adopting baby #3. A girl this time, so I won't be so outnumbered by stinky socks and baseball bats (unless, of course, she wants to wear stinky socks and play baseball, which is a-ok with me).

Now, whenever I mention the idea he simply sighs. He used to vigorously shake his head back and forth and rolling his eyes while mouthing "No." A sigh is a sign that I'm wearing him down. I knew I could do it! He is a pushover when it comes to us girls...which is another reason why I think he needs a... more

Well folks, I thought I'd squelched that baby-longing that gets me in trouble every time, but then my husband went and bought a certain brand of pull-ups for Little J's night-time potty issues and it all came flooding back.

Pampers have a very disctinctive smell. They smell like a baby to me...

It's kind of strange since I never used Pampers. With Big J I used cloth diapers (oh, the horror!) for about 8 months and then we switched to Luvs or Huggies or something like that. Pampers are more expensive. I have less diaper experience with Little J as he wasn't with... more

The other day I wrote a post that pretty much summed up my husband's reasons for not wanting to adopt again. Readers, I don't think I have much of a chance of changing his mind. I guess if we suddenly became wealthy I might be able to get that little girl I want (he wouldn't have to work and the pressure he feels would be off...I think that would engender an entrely different frame of mind) but that's not going to happen any time soon (unless I suddenly become a best-selling author. Hint, hint...buy... more

If you can get past the silly 90s slang, this is what my husband told me to write about: all the reasons why it would be a bad reason for us to adopt again. These are his reasons, not mine.

1. Two is enough. We probably don't give the two we have enough attention.

I totally disagree with this. I don't know where he gets 'we don't give them enough attention.' First, I don't think it's the parents job to entertain their children. They're there to parent their children. Second, my children have never been in daycare full-time and during the school year... more