Superhero

You all remember the The Tale of 3 Fishies don't ya?  

If not, you may wish to refresh your memories.

Who knew beta fish lived so darn long!  These 3 girls are now the only pets in our household.  We have a "sick of 'em, but can't bear to flush 'em" relationship. You know, they're not necessarily a pain to take care of, but they really don't bring anything to the relationship if you know what I mean.

So just now, I walked downstairs for a lunch break.  Stopped dead in my tracks when I see poor Phoebe, lifeless on the floor in the middle of the kitchen.  The MIDDLE of the kitchen! It's common knowledge that Betas can jump...but usually only an inch or so which is about how low I keep the water from the top. Poor sweet Phoebe must have jumped from the bowl and flopped her way around until she fell all the way to the floor.  I grabbed a paper towel so that I could throw her out, er...I mean have a beautiful ceremony for her.  As the paper towel touched her there was slight movement.  I immediately go into action.  

We have MOVEMENT people!  

Quick! Let's get this chick back into the water!  She's drowning in all this AIR! (very strange thought)

I briskly grabbed Ms. Phoebe by the tail fin and threw her back into the bowl.

Immediate sink.

And stillness.

Fail. 

I lean in and look very closely at the side of the tank where Phoebe's body is still and kinda lopsided.  Could I see any signs of breathing?  

Nope.  

Nothing.  Nada.  Zilch.  

Until....

BAM!  Phoebe starts to move.  And suddenly she bolts up to the top of the tank, grabs a gulp of air (Huh?  Why air?  Weird...) and begins swimming about as if nothing had ever happened.  

*Be HEALED my child!*  

That's right folks.  The super-powers are never ending.  I have now brought someone(thing) back from the dead.  I'm designing my cape as we speak and Marvel has already contacted me for a movie deal.  

All is well.

Reunited and it feels so good!

The New TV Family

The New Normal.

Modern Family.

Guys With Kids.

Just a sampling of some of the television shows you can tune into this season.  The shows will make you laugh and they'll make you cry but most importantly, they will help to  change the way our society views family.

Obviously, The New Normal is a show that many surrogates and intended parents were excited about watching.  The feedback on the show is mixed.  Some love it and some hate it.  Some feel it "represents" and others argue that it's not realistic. Personally, I'm enjoying the show.  Sure, there are plenty of things that aren't an accurate representation, but in my mind there is a more important shift taking place.

Shows like these are creating characters that we fall in love with as viewers.  Character development is crucial for any TV show that's going to experience success on prime time.  Not only are the characters in these shows well developed, these shows are portraying a non-traditional family.  We have a single mom and surrogate mother.  We've got stay-at-home dads.  We've got gay couples who are creating families via adoption and surrogacy.

The more our society sees a variety of families, the more likely it is that it becomes accepted as the norm, and if we could just be honest with ourselves, the non-traditional family IS the norm!  It's our reality and we should embrace that.  These shows are helping to reinforce the fact that although families may LOOK different, if you peel away what the family "looks" like, you're simply left with....a family.  Not a gay family.  Not a divorced family.  Not a "non-traditional" family.  Just a family.

And as an incredibly lovable surrogate once said:

A Day In The Life

~How I Am Adjusting to Life as a Working Mom ~

I wake between 6:45 and 7:15 every day.  Most days, no alarm is necessary. The first order of business is to check my phone for any work that needs my immediate attention.  You see, although it's still early here in Denver, the work day has already begun and is in full swing in Boston.  Boston.  Where you will find most of my co-workers working in the office.  

I get myself ready for the day while responding to emails here and there, and making sure Skyler and Savannah are all set and ready for their school day. Once they are school bound, I plop down at my desk and I get busy.  For the next 6-7 hours you'll find me:

Answering phone calls

Screening applicants

Chatting with potential surrogates about the journey and how rewarding it is

Realizing I haven't blogged in nearly a week

Gathering medical records

Sending welcome emails

Contacting former carriers

Making welcome calls

Realizing I MUST make the time to blog...I have readers for goodness sake

Attending meetings via phone

Making to-do lists

Following up with Physicians and Hospitals regarding medical records

Sending and responding to emails 

Forwarding paperwork to the office

Realizing I only have 10 minutes until I need to pick up the girls from school and I still haven't composed a new blog post.

On the way to pick up the girls from school, I'm making a mental list of all the things I didn't get a chance to do during the day.

Pick up my happy girls from school who always greet me with a smile. Love.

We tackle homework and get snacks, water bottles and lunches ready for the next day.  We attend our after school activities like dance, drama and tutoring for the elementary school's homework club.  Once we're home for the evening, we have some dinner and I spend a little more time working on the things I didn't get done during the day.  We usually try to catch up on some of our TV shows together.  

Around 10 PM, the house is relatively quiet and at least one of the kids is in bed. Skyler's a night owl, just like her mama, so sometimes she keeps me company. Late night is a good time for me to finish up work for the day.  Usually by 1 AM, the eyelids are getting pretty droopy and sleep is beckoning.  As I lay down and attempt to relax my mind, the thoughts that are swirling around in my head are:

I love my job.

I love that I get to work in this field.

I love that I communicate with surrogates every day of the week.

I love that I'm busy.

I love that I'm successful.

I love being a working mom.

Fun Factoids

I recently received one of those emails that I believe I was supposed to forward within the next 6.3 minutes or I would be struck down.  Usually, I delete that type of email before opening, but this particular email was carefully disguised.  I opened it. I did not forward it.  I lived to tell the story...and share it's contents with all of you.  I've added my two cents to each of the facts because...well, because I can. 

13 FUN FACTS 

1)  If you are right handed, you will tend to chew your food on the right side of your mouth.
This is absolutely, 100% NOT true for me.

2) To make half a kilo of honey, bees must collect nectar from over 2 million individual flowers.
This particular factoid was educational x 2 for me because I had to google how much a kilo was.   1 kilo = 2.2 pounds.  You knew that?  Oh...ok.  That means this fact was only educational x 1 for you then.  See!  I don't COMPLETELY suck at math.  



3) Tourists visiting Iceland should know that tipping at a restaurant is considered an insult.  
Fascinating! Not to mention cost effective.

4) People in nudist colonies play volleyball more than any other sport.
Volleyball.  Whole lotta jumping.  Eww.





5) Astronauts can't belch - there is no gravity to separate the liquid from the gas in their stomachs.
What a shame.  Hours of entertainment lost while in space.

6) The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows.  In the Renaissance era, it was fashion to shave them off.
Let's bring back the trend!  Who's with me?





7) Google is actually the common name for a number with a million zeros.  
I knew this.  Learned it from a wicked smart 2nd grader I taught back in 2001. No kidding.

8) Kites were used in the American Civil War to deliver letters and newspapers.
I'm not buying it.  Imagine the kite flying skills required for this task.  Not to mention the length of string that would require.  And don't even get me started on wind direction.



9) The roar that we hear when we place a seashell next to our ear is not the ocean, but rather the sound of blood surging through the veins in the ear.
WHAT?!?!  Childhood.  Memory.  Shattered.

10) Nine out of every 10 living things live in the ocean.
How can we even be sure there IS an ocean if we can't hear it in a seashell?



11) In ancient Greece, tossing an apple to a girl was a traditional proposal of marriage.  Catching it meant she accepted.
And the uncoordinated women adopt cats.

12) Earth gets 100 tons heavier every day due to falling space dust.
Due to a strange gravitational pull, the Denhof house appears to collect more of this space dust than other homes.  



13) Everything weighs one percent less at the equator.
That settles it.  I'm moving.
          

10 Months Old

Double digits, my friends! Wow!  We are quickly approaching one year and that simply boggles my mind.  I'll keep my words short because I know what you all REALLY want to see....

My goodness.  Life is so wonderful.  

September 1, 2012

It is September and this makes me very, very happy.  Why you ask?  Well.......

This super cool chick

The one and only...Jesse

is coming to Denver to visit me!

I'm just a teensy, tiny bit excited.  I have SO many fun things planned for us - I just wish she was going to be here longer. Sadly, I pretty much have to wait the whole month for her arrival, but still, it's within the month!  The countdown has begun.  27 days until Jesse and Jeni reunite for a crazy fun girls weekend!  Eek!