We Have Babies!!!!

Baby birds that is.... Mama Dove made a nest on our back patio about a month ago. She actually disappeared for about a week after the nest was finished and then returned. She has not moved from that nest in weeks. (I would never make it as a Dove.) Oh, and Daddy Dove....sure he helped build the nest. I guess that is considered "man's work." However, once she started sitting on the nest I have not seen him once. Not even so much as bring her a grub to eat. Very disappointing.

We noticed there were two eggs in the nest the day before Easter. Then yesterday I noticed that she seemed to be sitting higher on the nest but couldn't see any movement in the nest. Well, this morning I spotted two little birds peeking their heads out from under Mama Dove. I don't know how she doesn't squash them - she sits right on top of them. They are tiny - about 3/4 the size of my thumb I am guessing.

I sat there for a while watching and guess who showed up? That's right "Mr. Nowhere to be seen Daddy Dove." Soon after he showed, Mama Dove left. He just kept looking at the nest and then finally he broke down and sat it. I am quite sure there was some Dove signals that went out this morning telling him to get his sorry self back to the nest to give her a well deserved break. I hope she is enjoying her day out.

I managed to snap this picture from inside while Mama Dove and Daddy Dove were changing shifts. It's not that great but I was standing on a chair, holding the mini blinds out of the way with one hand and trying to take the picture with the other. Oh, and I was on the phone with my sister during the entire operation. Unfortunately, it's the back of their heads and you can't tell how tiny they are here. I still couldn't resist.

Aggie Andree' In The House

About a week ago, I announced that we had received our first piece of LSU propaganda. At the end of the post, I put a note to my friend Andree' that we would save room on the bookshelf for an Aggie book. That note was more about trying to prod a comment out of my Dad than trying to get a free book out of Andree'. (Not that we have anything against gifts of any kind of course). My Dad and Andree' have had a rivalry going since Andree' and I were roommates years ago. A little history - Andree' and I went to work for the same corporate giant after graduating from college. We met in the two week brainwashing new employee orientation session and have been the best of friends ever since. We were roommates for quite some time until her husband came along and stole her from me. She now lives way too far away with said husband, her four beautiful kids and her tolerable dog Niblets.



Yesterday, this lovely book showed up on our doorstep. Did you know that Jack and Jill, Hickory Dickory Dock, Little Miss Muffet and all of their other nursery rhyme friends are actually Aggies???? Apparently the entire collection is Aggie Goose, not Mother Goose. Who knew? And it's not Yankee*Doodle but Aggie Doodle. I kid you not. I'll bet you didn't know that when Jack and Jill went up the hill, it was to get to the top of Mt. Aggie. (As defined in the back of this very educational book, Mt. Aggie is an artificial skiing surface where many Texas A&M students have learned to ski.)

My favorite part of this gift was actually the packing slip on the outside of this envelope. (Like a kid that plays with the box more than the toy.) The envelope was addressed to:
Karen (Mom) Lastname
So a great big shout out to Andree' for balancing out the college propaganda. We'll see if Dad has anything to say about this new development.

KATIE!!!!!!

Yeah!!! Monica and Paul (fellow Gladney adopters) received their referral today. Katie is amazing. Oh my gosh - the hair, those cheeks!!!!! They were LID 5/31 so barely missed referrals the last two months so it has been brutal. She just posted Katie's picture. GO. LOOK. NOW.
http://rileysgirl.blogspot.com/

Mandarin Monday - 6

In anticipation of the next Stork arrival, (hopefully this week) Mandarin Monday is back with some new words. I am going to try and stir up some good mojo for a large batch of referrals by having more of a baby theme this week. Two sweet phrases which could come in handy on "Meetcha Day".

I have listed the English, Pinyin and then a pronunciation HINT in parentheses. Remember it is just a HINT since the tones are very important.

Phrases For The Week:
I love you - Wo Ai Ni (Wo eye nee)
Don't be afraid - Bie Pa (Bee a pah)

Click here to hear the pronunciation. You have to click on the phrase and then select the play icon on the mp3 pop up page.

Also, since I am linking to this site, I will mention that if you aren't already aware, there is a CD with many useful phrases that you can purchase. Very reasonable and the proceeds go towards helping other families finance their adoption. I ordered it and have found it very helpful. (OK, so my mandarin stinks but it isn't the CD's fault.)

So go ahead - tell someone you love them...Mandarin Style

First LSU Propaganda

I knew it was coming. However, I thought the first bit of LSU propaganda would come from my Dad. But it seems that my picture taking, cocktail drinking, green behemoth driving brother in law was first with the propaganda. Now we can rest easy knowing that our daughter will learn the most important colors in the world - purple and gold of course. This lovely board book will also teach her to recognize the all important objects such as marching band, flag girls, memorial tower and football helmet. Oh and for bedtime stories and lullabies we have the complete lyrics to the Alma Mater and the LSU fight song.
Brian may have been first but it's inevitable that our daughter will have an LSU cheerleading outfit before she is 3 compliments of my Dad. I've come to terms with that fact. The LSU brainwashing begins early in my family. Hey, I'm not making this up. I have proof. Here is my niece Ivy which I present to you as "Exhibit A."

And here is "Exhibit B". Ivy and her LSU loving brother and sister.

P.S. to Aunt Andree' - Shhhh....don't tell Pappy but I am saving room on the bookshelf for an Aggies book!!!

LID BABY!!!!!!!!!!!! (UPDATED with Photo)

UPDATE: It bugged me yesterday that I didn't have a picture to post w/our LID announcement. Stole this pic this morning from my photo-taking, flickr loving brother-in-law. This is my sister receiving the LID news over IM. I had already left her a voicemail on her cell but tracked her down on IM.

Just when I was starting to make up other nasty, cynical, sarcastic meanings for the acronym LID we received ours today!!!! Our dossier was officially logged in on March 14. We were DTC on 2/23 so just shy of 3 weeks if anyone is counting. I suspected we were LID sometime in March but it feels good to know the actual date. Referrals are given based on your LID date which is the reason that date is so important. Therefore, according to our Agency and China, we have been waiting for 6 weeks now. Funny, it seems like 41.5 years to me. IF* referrals stay around the 12 month timeframe, we should see a picture of our daughter in about 10.5 months. That would put us traveling possibly* in May of 2007. I can remember when things initially started slowing down, I wrote about how I was having a hard time accepting that we may not travel until 2007. Well 2007 is a given at this point. It is what it is. Obviously the sooner the better but last time I checked, Mother's day and Jon's birthday are both in May. China wouldn't be a bad place to celebrate either one of those.

*Yes, Anything can happen but my glass is still half full (sure some people call it denial) and I am holding onto the hope that referrals don't go past 12 months.

Tagged For Weirdness

I've been tagged by Lisa to reveal 6 weird things about myself.

1. My footprint usually has four toes. There are actually five toes on each foot but my pinky toe sits on top of the toe next to it so it doesn't touch the ground. When I think about it (like right now) it drives my crazy and I have to try and pull the pinky toe away from the other toe.
2. I have been to at least 20 countries including 4 countries in Africa but have never been to Las Vegas.
3. I am a high maintenance sleeper. It has to be quiet, dark and exactly the right temperature. Yes, I realize that having a child will either fix this or completely destroy me.
4. The sound of someone whistling drives me crazy.
5. Sometimes I read the end of a book first.
6. Finding an ingrown hair on Jon that I can pull out makes my day.

Now I get to tag six people to share their 6 weird things.
Let's see... How about...
Monica (so close to referral, surely she has some weirdness going on)
Suzanne
Shannon - Bless Your Heart
Glo

Sandy

Julie

If you have already been tageed or you don't believe in this sort of thing, don't sweat it. Otherwise, give us the weird and then pick six people to do the same.

Home Sweet Home

After 18 months of living in their RV, my parents finally have a real house again. They planned on this "temporary" living situation for a few months between the time they sold their house and finished construction on a new house. Sure it's a nice RV but it is typically reserved for fun with the Grandkids, vacations and tailgating. They traveled around a bit in the beginning including a visit to see us - it was an adventure, a chapter, something to say you did. In the beginning, my Mom even put up with my lame Chris*Farley "living in a van down by the river" jokes.

Hurricane Katrina turned this temporary situation into an 18 month ordeal. Through it all, they handled it amazingly well. Considering many in the area still have no place to live, I guess it was tough to complain. I hope if Jon and I had to suddenly leave our home and live in a 38 ft trailer for a year and a half, we could survive it like they did. And it wasn't just any 18 months. Last summer, one of my Mom's best friends passed away, a couple of months later the hurricane wiped out their town and many homes of family and friends, my Mom's brother passed away in January and we had a scare with my Dad's heart in February. Last Thursday they were finally able to close on their new house. I am thrilled for them. They had some furniture delivered yesterday and the movers were coming today to move their stuff out of storage. It is still unknown how long they will stay in that area. It's not an easy place to live right now. Of course I have a not so secret plan which involves them moving to Texas but I don't want to say much yet - I don't want to jinx anything. So for now, it's Home Sweet Home.

How To Get Adults To Participate In An Easter Egg Hunt

We hosted Jon's family for Easter yesterday. It was a good day. Hopefully everyone enjoyed themselves as much as we did. Jon was determined to have an Easter Egg Hunt. Unfortunately, our nieces/nephews on Jon's side of the family are a little past the Easter Egg Hunt stage. The youngest is 14 and hunting easter eggs is not cool. The oldest is in his 20's (I'm afraid to ask Jon exactly how old he is since it will only serve to make me feel really old.) Jon's answer to our aging guest list - get plastic eggs and put dollar bills inside. There was also a "prize egg" that had a larger cash prize. It worked well. In case you were wondering adults will hunt for eggs if there is money inside of them. Unfortunately we didn't snap any pictures but it was pretty funny. In the end we came up one short so there is still a dollar hidden somewhere in our yard. Unless of course one of our guests came back last night to look for the last egg. Diane, was that you? Otherwise, that will be Jon's tip next time he cuts the grass.

I don't think I have mentioned this here but his niece is pregnant and due late summer which is very exciting. Yes, Jon and I are going to be a Great Uncle and Great Aunt before we become parents. That's cool with us - one more to practice on....right, Erin? Therefore in the next year or so we will have a couple of little ones to add to the mix and hopefully can cut out the cash bribes.

Spring Break

Thanks for stopping by. Mandarin Monday is on spring break. I'm not on spring break though - quite the opposite. Buried 10 feet under at work. As a matter of fact it is 11:20 pm and I am taking a break from work to write this. No time to write and even worse, no time to read my favorite blogs.

Besides, we need to give Jon another week to make sure he can order a beer while in China.

Chia Found Dead (UPDATED With Photos)

It was reported earlier today that Chia died a sudden slow and painful death in the kitchen window of his owner. Chia is survived by his enthusiastic (yet obviously neglectful) owner Jon and his wife, "hater of all things Chia", Karen. It is suspected that the death occurred several days ago but was only recently reported to the authorities. A full investigation will be conducted. In lieu of flowers, donations should be sent to your local chapter of WOCPO (Wives of Chia Pet Owners) Support Group.

During an initial search, authorities also found the original box of Chia. Authorities have reason to believe that the owner's spouse could try to "re-gift" this exact Chia. Apparently that type of childish behavior has occurred within her family. Therefore any friends or family that suspect they may be the victim of such a heinous act should immediately contact the authorities.

Autopsy photos were originally withheld to avoid protest within the Chia community. However, at Johnny's request.....

Mandarin Monday - 5

Yes, I know it's Tuesday. Better late than never?
I'm sticking with the "Glass half full" theme for one more post. This week I am going to learn how to order three key beverages.

Words For The Week:
"Water" - shui
"Coffee" - ka fei - (finally a word that sounds familair)
"Beer"- pi jiu

Click here to hear the pronunciation. Beer is first on the page, water and coffee are further down. There are lots of other beverages here also. Feel free to pick your favorite.

I remember when I had to learn all the state capitals. My Dad came up with all of these witty sayings to help me remember them. It worked like a champ. I cracked up when I heard the first part of "beer" is pronouced pee. That I can remember.

P.S. Yes I realize that I should also learn something like milk or formula. Don't worry, we have lots of Mondays to go. All in good time.

Speaking Of Glass Half Full....

I think I have mentioned before that I am artistically challenged. Apparently, when I posted a picture of Ivy's masterpieces, I had Jon's upsidedown. Thanks to Ivy's Dad for pointing that out. It seems my niece drew Jon a cocktail. Duh - It's perfectly clear now. Yes, Dear Sweet Ivy thought her Uncle Jon would enjoy a picture of a cocktail. For the record, she also drew one for her Dad. I guess this is why we did not have Ivy write a reference letter for our adoption (besides the fact that she was 3 at the time). "Dear Adoption Agency.... Yes, Uncle Jon is a great guy as long as he puts down the cocktail glass." Oh, lighten up people I'm joking. He's not always holding a cocktail...sometimes it's just a beer.

Glass Half Full

A few years ago a friend described me as a "glass half full" type of person. Then he said "but the problem with people like you is one day you are going to wake up and scream WHO DRANK ALL MY *BLEEPING* WATER!!!!!!! I think that is what happened last week. The fact that this last batch of referrals covered only a few days worth of dossiers really got to me. The impact that it had on me really took me by surprise. Yes, I was disappointed for those that were expecting to be included and weren't. However, it really felt personal.

While we were trying to conceive, I dealt with a monthly reminder that we weren't yet going to be parents. Once I started to meet people in the China Adoption Community, it was the opposite. Every month, a whole big batch of referrals came rolling in. It was wonderful. To me it was a monthly reminder that we were going to be parents. And we were going to become parents in an amazing way that I am so grateful to be able to experience. And then this month when only a few days worth of LIDs were covered, it all came back....the doubt that this is actually going to happen. That is when someone drank all my water. My glass was definitely half empty.

We have not even been assigned our LID yet so although the rumors are rampant, it is really too soon to tell the exact impact it will have on our wait. When we submitted all of our paperwork, I prepared myself for a 10-12 month wait. IF referrals continue at the current pace, it will be longer. But we didn't chose to build our family through adoption because we thought it was going to be quick and easy. (Please, we had to fill out an application just to get the real application. That doesn't exactly scream quick and easy. ) However, I believe that the China program continues to be one of the smoothest running programs. Just the fact that there is a defined process makes it more predictable than others. Right now that process is not moving as fast as we would like, but it is moving. I know people that have dealt with program shutdowns and birthmothers changing their mind - a slowdown is nothing in comparison. Although I am hoping it doesn't go longer than 12 months, I have to remind myself that 12+ months is not uncommon in adoption (domestic or otherwise). Just like everything else in life there are no guarantees. And so we shall wait.

So there is now water (OK, occasionally there is something besides water) in my glass and I am looking ahead. As hard as the wait may get, I know that it will be worth it. It took me 37 years to meet the man that I will spend the rest of my life with. I get "worth the wait".

Congratulations to those families that did receive referrals last week. I know some people also got their LIDs and travel approvals - congratulations to those families as well.

Saturday Morning Fun

Got this idea from Julie and R.I.H.O.T.
Wasn't thrilled about the results - probably because some of it is true. Come on - surely I am more fun than this says - man I sound like such a serious workaholic. I guess this test couldn't tell that I did this LATE Saturday morning still in my pajamas being completely LAZY. HA!! Click on the link below and give it a shot.

Your Birthdate: August 13

You're dominant and powerful. You always need to be in charge. While others respect your competence, you can be a bit of a dictator. Hard working and serious, you never let yourself down. You are exact and accurate - and you expect others to be the same way. Your strength: You always get the job done Your weakness: You're a perfectionist to a fault Your power color: Gray Your power symbol: Checkmark Your power month: April

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?