The Best Dates of My Life

February 1st and November 8th.  Two of my favorite days of the year, but the day those dates became important were the most amazing days of my life.  For those were the days I became a mother. 

My husband and I were so very fortunate, as we never faced any issues having children. Our girls are "first tries."  I am sure they will love to hear that some day! LOL  Being pregnant wasn't awful for me. I enjoyed it for the most part and didn't have any issues in my pregnancies. Ok, well maybe one if you count our first daughter arriving on the scene 6 wks early with no explanation why.

With my sweet Sophie, I'd just wrapped a lovely baby shower with friends the weekend before and my sweet friends at work had a shower planned for me on February 1st.  Plenty early for a baby set to arrive in mid-March. For a few days leading up to February 1st, I thought I was just getting BIG and progressing normally, as my back was hurting off and on and I just felt exhausted. Keep in mind, first kid here and I can honestly say I was a chill mama.  I always thought all was well and there was not a thing to worry about, and if there was I didn't have energy for anything but good stuff.  I went home early from work on that Thursday, the last day of January, because I just was SO tired. I put my feet up.  I even called my dr. who said it was likely all normal stuff and to come in within 24hrs. if things didn't improve. Well...I was up most of that night, my back was just killing me and I was SO thirsty.  I paced between my bed and the fridge for water until about 4:30a.m. when I went to lay back down and felt a "pop." Oops, my water had broke.  My husband didn't believe me at first.  I think he was in shock. We went on to the hospital, I called my best friend at work and let her know to have the baby shower without me as I wouldn't be making it to work, and we had our preemie baby late that day (I labored all day with her).  I wish I had pics of Sophie from the second she arrived but I only saw her sweet face for a millisecond as they ran her straight to the NICU. Her story, and ours as first time parents, is a long, rocky one.  That's for another post though and it did have a happy ending! I relish that day I welcomed my first sweetheart!

Here's my PSA...Preterm labor symptoms, it's a thing!
Cleveland Clinic Premature Labor Symptoms I direct your attention to bullet 2, at least in my case.

Our second baby girl, the firecracker we call Sabrina, came into the world more "on time" at exactly 39 wks. I'd actually asked to be induced on the 9th and my doctor, who was awesome by the way, was agreeable.   I mean, the last go round I'd only gone to 34 wks so this felt like an eternity and I was ready.  My husband was still in football season, I had a 20 month old on my hands alone as a football widow, and he was heading into his first week of playoffs.  My doctor said "Go have a nice steak dinner with your husband and come in the evening of the 8th. We'll have that baby sometime early on the 9th.  Eviction notice coming!"  So I had everything planned and packed. Sophie was scheduled to go to our friend's house and stay with them.  I thought "I'll just sweep and mop the kitchen and go to bed." I did just that.  Then at about 3am, I woke up. I knew this feeling now and it was on!  Contractions and this baby was on her way.  So much for that steak dinner!  It was a gloomy, wet November day and we were the only people having a baby at what then was the "new" hospital. It was amazing! My husband and I enjoyed a relaxing, special day, just the two of us, as we welcomed our 2nd sweet baby girl around 2:00p.m.  Sunday, my husband's only half day off of the week, and it's like our baby girl knew it was good timing.

December 11th. 
Another day I became a mother again. That was the day we said yes to a baby boy all of 10 wks old, our first foster placement.  It wasn't the first time we'd said "yes," but it was the 1st time we were 1st in line and the state agreed the child would come to us. We're a foster-to-adopt licensed home, so we have always been up front and open that our ultimate goal is to grow our family and change long-term outcomes for kids.  We'd barely entertained the idea of a baby, so honestly we were not really prepared for a baby, but it was a call I could not say no to.

I can honestly say, I felt that same overwhelming feeling of joy that I felt those days I met my daughters for the first time.   Excitement, expectations, hopes & dreams for a child I didn't even know and had never met.  Part of the story is that I actually was on the road to Houston when I took this call and said yes.  I'd pulled over somewhere on the side of the road and was on a 3-way call that included CPS, my agency, and myself.  These placement decisions are made fast, in case you don't already know that.  Even faster when it's an emergency removal of a child, which was our little man's case.

Then, I had to track down my husband (no easy task for a coach at large high school who rarely carries his cell phone and when he does, it sometimes doesn't get service in the building) and get him home to receive this baby from CPS. I wouldn't be home for 24 hrs., but in my husband's awesome way, he was "GAME ON!"  Have I mentioned he is an AMAZING father?  Well, he is and I will write all about that in other posts too.

My husband cared for that sweet baby on his own, under the direct supervision of two instant mother hens, until I got home to meet him 24 hrs. later.  All was well in the world.

Schmidt Liebe Born Anew!

I'm resurrecting my old blog, having deleted all my old posts and starting with a clean slate and a new purpose.  Truth: It's being re-birthed out of sheer heartbreak.

If no one but me reads this, cool.  If someone does read it, cool.

I have thought about starting this up again over the past few months, but have had my hands very full for the last 5 weeks.  Amazingly full!  More about that later though.

First things first, I share this publicly because I want the words I speak to spread and the messages I share to help others (and especially to ignite more conversation around children who deserve better).  It sounds cliche, but where the lives of children are concerned, I can assure you it is not. I am sick of the status quo of "that's just how it is" and the bureaucracy that hurts kids and squashes their futures.

I base this blog on my own experiences, education, and knowledge and if some folks don't agree with what I have to say, no problem.  Move along.  Nothing to see here.  This is not the first time in my life I've gone against the grain, and it won't be the last.  I hope much will be positive, but I also plan to keep it real and real life is not always positive (even if social media postings would like to program you to believe otherwise).

I am a mom, a coach's wife, a daughter, a granddaughter, a big sister, a best friend, a colleague, an educator, a tech geek, a Texas girl, and an enthusiast for making the most out of every moment I spend on this earth.  Anything worth doing is worth over-doing.  One of my dearest friends who passed away used to say that and it describes me in a nutshell (I know she would agree).  This includes life itself!

So what's the real story here?  Before my husband and I had our first child, we'd discussed the possibility of adoption.  It was just something we discussed that might be a part of our life at some point.  Let me be clear, we never looked at it as an alternative if, for some reason, we couldn't have children.  I know that is the journey for some & I absolutely love that, but for us personally, it wasn't.  We simply love children (duh, we're both educators), love our family unit, and wanted to do some good in the world.  That's it.  Simple stuff...or so we thought.

And thus, our journey to our current state of being began...