We saw Santa at the Bass Pro Store.

Yes, I realize that sounds totally hillbilly, and I don't care, CUZ we had a great time.

If you haven't been to the Bass Pro Store in Stapleton, YOU are missing out. It pales in comparison to the one in my home state of Missouri-- Springfield's store is actually the largest in the country-- but it is nonetheless quite spectacular with the Islamorada Fish Company restaurant, Fourbucks coffee, ginormous fish tanks, plethora of stuffed animals (I mean the taxidermy kind-- is there another way to describe those?) and the shooting gallery...it is a blast!

The Santa's Wonderland at the Bass Pro Store is an idyllic scene out of A Christmas Story, complete with an electric train set, fake snow, wooden tables for coloring pages and writing letters to Santa, an area where kids can drive remote control ATV's and not just one but TWO shooting galleries-- one where they can shoot foam dart guns and one where they can play a target shooting video game with "rifles" (and where I was reminded that I am a sharp shooter). And because it is the 25th anniversary of A Christmas Story (does that make you feel old or what?!), they have Red Ryder BB guns for sale! They are also hawking pink Daisy's (I WANT ONE SANTA!) They have Frosty the Snowman and other children's classics in rotation on the DVD player in the coloring area, and a A Christmas Story in the grown up area where the BB guns are for sale. Oh! They also have roasted nuts for sale. The only thing missing is an ice skating rink! It is the perfect place to take your child(ren) to see Santa and the photo is FREE. You even get a coupon for a free kids meal for each child at the Islamorada, which is a very fun place to eat with kids.

I KNOW, I KNOW, it is all a mass marketing campaign to get you to spend lots of money on cheap plastic stuff at BPS, but if you can resist the lure of mindless consumerism (we did) and get your free coloring pages and photo, it's worth it. Our kids didn't get away so easily, they used their allowance to buy yet another wilderness play set. Liam bought a set that comes with a fishing boat, a kayak, two fishermen, two fish, and some fishing gear; Seamus bought a wooden whirly gig thingy, I think it's called an Air Top. But the BPS sets all fit together so one day they will have the complete outdoors, only indoors and made of plastic. Ba dum bum.

And before I forget to blog about the kids seeing Santa...of course the kids were adorable. Mara played her role as a fifteen month old very well and was nearly terrified of the big guy, and the boys weren't as big of hams as they appear in the photo. They were surprised to see that Mrs. Claus was there, and said she looked like Nana (I wished I had taken my camera but we may return for a second photo of just Mara for her bio mom).

I had coached them to wish Santa a Merry Christmas FIRST (which they did!) and to only tell Santa ONE big thing that they wanted ("You know, if you could only get one thing, what would it be?") Liam told Santa he wanted a violin. Seamus was very shy, and could not even speak to Santa, but just smiled sweetly, hence the reason why they have that area for kids to write letters to Santa. Mara didn't say, but I saw her eying a pink camouflage Hummer.

Even I coveted a couple of things at BPS. I love the McCall's jar candles, all the country kitchen stuff, and even some of the furniture which reminds me of Nana & Papa's place. The windchimes are impressive-- though too many of them are for looks only and do not sound good at all. The Bass Pro Store is no longer just a place to go for boats and fishing and hunting gear-- they are now marketing to the entire family, and almost half the store is geared toward Ma and Granny, so go check it out!

I've been in the Christmas Spirit since going. I'm even singing Christmas carols: "We wish you a Merry Christmas...We wish you a Merry Christmas...We wish you a Merry Christmas...and a Bass Pro New Year." Heh heh heh.

Apparently, there is a bitter pill lodged in my throat.

I have to get off the laptop and start bathing all three children so we can get their photo taken with Santa at the Bass Pro Store tonight after Mara's visit...

Seriously, there is an AMAZING Christmas Village at the Bass Pro in Stapleton complete with an old-fashioned electric train set, fake snow everywhere with little wooden tables for doing crafts and writing letters to Santa-- right around the corner from the visit-- and the photo is FREE...

But there is something I really need to get off my chest, that I woke up thinking about...

At the second to last visit, the Case Aide told me, "Mom wants to know if you have some recent pictures." OF COURSE I DO! But why is it my responsibility to provide photos to the woman who cannot bring herself to delve into the reasons why her baby had twenty-four broken bones at only five weeks of age? Why can't she think ahead and bring a disposable camera to the visits (as I have done for her in the past) so that she can take her own pictures with "her" baby?

So here is my evil genius idea: I want to get prints made for her of all the photos of Mara in her body cast and harness, the ones of her crying, and of her legs when they still looked deformed, and of what I know now were deep bruises even though she also has Mongolian spots.

My second more rational idea is to only give her pics of Mara WITH US (her FAMILY).

Would both be wrong? Or would they send a clear message?

I know a few of you read this, so tell me what you think.
Please be honest, I CAN TAKE IT.
Feel free to reply off the blog.

More evidence of our growing addiction to girls' clothing.

Exhibit A is a Skipping Hippos Poncho which is named "Apple" (in celery green) which was purchased at 53% off by one doting foster father on babysteals.com. It has pom poms all around the edge of it and BRIC A BRAC plus a little tassel on the hood, too! The only victim was our bank account. Daddy may someday be tried by a jury of his peers and will most likely be found guilty of being wrapped around Princess Tomorrow's little finger.

Now my blog has a soundtrack!

I was inspired by my friend Heather to add a music player to my blog (and she has great taste in music!). It was really easy, all I had to do was add the HTML/Java script gadget and copy the code from the play list I created at playlist.com. I now have play lists for all three of my blogs! Yes, I have three blogs...this one, a political one, and a new weight loss blog. I think if you look in my full profile you can get links to the other blogs. (If you voted for Obama, you won't like my Mother Liberpublican blog, so just do us both a favor and don't read it.)

I also changed how many posts are displayed to one hundred for those of you who want to enjoy getting caught up on our foster-adoption story while enjoying a cup of cocoa and listening to the new musical selections. My apologies in advance if this causes some of you to experience longer loading times.

If anyone knows who the song "Baby Don't You Cry" is by, please let me know!

IF YOU DON'T WANT TO LISTEN TO THE MUSIC, JUST SCROLL DOWN TO THE BOTTOM AND CLICK ON PAUSE.

Day 7 of severe sore throat

I have strep throat. It's really, really, really, really painful and I feel generally awful but I started a "Z-pack" which is a five-day regimen of azythromycin (antibiotics) today. Antibiotics are an absolute must with strep or I would use a remedy from the book Herbal Antibiotics. I haven't had to take antibiotics since just after I had Liam-- so for almost six years. Using a Neti pot cured my "chronic sinusitis" and helps with allergies, too.

It may seem strange that I didn't go to the doctor until today, but it was my first really good opportunity. We left for Missouri last Tuesday, which is when my sore throat started. We took two days to get to Conway, and arrived at about 4 p.m. on the day before Thanksgiving. I thought about going to the ER on Black Friday, but felt a bit better that day so I decided not to go. Then it was on the road again on Saturday and Sunday. It's been a pretty miserable week. You don't realize how often you swallow until you have strep throat.

I just hope:
1. That the kids don't get it,
2. That I didn't give it to anyone in Conway, and
3. That I start to feel better, as the doctor said I might, in 24-48 hours.

That's all for now, and I will post some Thanksgiving pix ASAP.