Pathetic

I take it personal if I find myself in an airport or hotel that doesn't have a wi-fi connection. Recently, my wireless card is having trouble at home and I haven't figured out the problem just yet. In the meantime, do I just stay tethered to the office? Oh, heck no!! All I need is a loooooong ethernet cable and I am good to go. Here is the new look leading from the office to the bedroom (or anywhere else in the house.)

And thanks to the layout and modest square footage of the Jon and Karen Abode, I can actually cover the entire house with this if necessary. Sure we aren't going to pass any baby proof inspections but I'm sure we Jon will have the wireless issue figured out before our homestudy update.

I remember years ago when Jon first suggested getting a wireless router. Don't quote me but I think my response was something like "how pathetic would I be if I couldn't just stay in one place when I'm online"? I think I just answered that question.

Camp Jon and Karen Postponed

For the past few summers, my sister's three kids have visited sans parents for a few days. Oh you would not believe the craziness. We stay up late, skip baths, eat ice cream, go to movies, go to the zoo. We've even been known to go as far as breaking out a T for Teen XBox game. (OK, we had my sister's approval on the XBox game.) Basically they stay with us for a few days and then we send them home completely off schedule, all hopped up on sugar and spoiled rotten. Hmmm remind me to think twice before sending "LuLu" to anything called "Camp Brian and Hope."

We have a large closet under the stairs in our house which we've always called "The Harry Potter Room." One year, I let them each take a wall and paint it how they wanted. Ivy was only 2 at the time. I can't tell you how many times I said "Ivy, you can not do this at your house." I'll have to post some pictures of "The Harry Potter Room". Can't find any and too tired to take any right now. It's pretty cool.

Anyway, camp Jon and Karen 2006 was scheduled to begin Saturday and end next Thursday. Since I've been under the weather this week, we have decided to wait until the end of July. Very disappointing - we were all looking forward to it (especially my sis). However, I need to be 100% so I can pull out all the stops while they are here. Now I have more time to think of something extra special to do while they are here.

Be Careful What You Wish For....

Early last week Jon came down with a nasty cough, sore throat, congestion, fever, the works. Jon never misses work and he stayed home for three days. He was sick. Miserable. I wanted no part of it so I started popping the Airborne as soon as his symptoms appeared. I am a big fan of the Airborne and I do believe it has helped in the past. I had to fly to Kansas City on Tuesday and did not want to get sick while out of town. Also, there are few things that compare to the fun of congestion at 30,000 feet. I kept thinking "please just let me get back from Kansas City before getting sick." What the heck was I thinking, why didn't I ask for more than that??? So, I loaded Jon up with Chicken soup, gatorade, herbal tea, every OTC severe cold remedy ever made and headed to Kansas City.

Got back Thursday night and woke up last Friday morning after apparently being invaded by the snot squad. Resigned myself for a weekend sick in bed. Unfortunately, yesterday (Monday) I was getting worse instead of better so I went to the Doctor. I'm not really all that picky but I need to be able to either breath through my nose or my mouth, either one is good with me. Attempting to fill my lungs with air resulted in a lovely display of caughing and gagging and my nose wasn't much help either. Had to sit through a short lecture about how I am not treating my allergies and therefore I am jeopardizing my immune system and getting sick more often. Blah Blah Blah. Can I please just have the prescriptions??? I know it doesn't make any sense. I continue to ignore my allergy meds which could have prevented this from becoming bronchitis but I am now begging for the magic pill(s) to make me feel better. OK, I promise to rethink that strategy. I will take better care of myself. As soon as I emerge from the snot.

A New Book For "Lu Lu"

Jon's Mom (MIL) came over last Sunday (why are all of my posts a week late?) and brought this adorable book. It is a collection of poems all about bathtime. Carl Sandburg is represented along with some lesser known poets. Remember "Miss Susie Had a Baby, She named him Tiny Tim?"
Yep, that is in there as well. As cute as the poems are, it's actually the pictures that I love and is exactly what attracted MIL to the book. There are tons of beautiful pictures of children scattered throughout the book. They don't all look like me and they don't all look like "you". Yet, they look like all of us. Children of many races will identify with at least one of the pictures in this book. It's subtle yet very effective.
Thanks MIL - very thoughtful!!!!

Katie Watch

Monica and Paul are hours away from meeting Katie. What a great Father's Day. They have been updating their blog since arriving in Beijing earlier this week. Hopefully there will be some some news on Katie soon. Wonder if she still has all of that hair?

Three Months Down...

As of yesterday, we have been logged in for 3 months. At one point that would have meant that in three months we would be seeing a picture of our daughter. Today it means that we have been logged in for 3 months. Nothing more, nothing less.

Not sure if this is a good thing or not, but it seems that I am coming to terms with the longer wait. It seems, I've lost my sense of urgency to get things done. I guess that is why Madarin Monday is turning into Monthly Mandarin. And you know what, it's been nice. I realized I'd lost my sense of urgency when talking to my Mom last night and she was asking when I planned on starting the nursery since she wants to help. I couldn't believe when the words "probably in January" came out of my mouth!!!!! When we started this process last year, I would have thought that the nursery would be totally done by now; not to mention the guest bath which is also on the list. Last time I passed by the guest bath, the nausea inducing maroon and white striped wall paper and nasty carpet were still there. Guess it isn't going to magically transform itself. (Note to self: get Mom to help with guest bath remodel.)

That's not to say that I won't have anything done with the nursery by January. I am sure that bedding will be bought, paint will be selected, decorating ideas will be decided, and I will have a detailed plan of attack delegating all the tough or boring tasks to Mom and Jon. But unless referrals start tripling their current rate, I really don't picture assembling it all together until the first of next year. Is that bad?

Of course, even though I have not formally started the nursery, "Lu Lu's" closet currently looks like this. Yeah, she has a couple of dresses.



I also just remembered that she has a raincoat. I don't remember the last time it rained here.

We have Jon's childhood dresser that I am going to attempt to transform and my Mom has a rocking chair for us. Also, thanks to my sister we already have a crib. I tell you the best thing about becoming a Mom after your sister and most of your friends is all the free stuff you get. Free stuff works well with the adoption budget. My sister has loaded us up. And the timing is perfect - they are contemplating a move in the next few months. You know how people start getting rid of stuff instead of moving it all? Oh yes, we are cashing in on the opportunity. One morning when my brother-in-law was staying with us on a business trip, I came downstairs and it was like Christmas morning in our living room!!! Clothes, a crib, a carseat,plastic crap toys, books. (I'm not being ungrateful, the term "plastic crap" is a running joke with my sister. And she asked before she sent the plastic crap toys our way. ) Since we don't turn down anything free these days, we said yes. Not to mention that "Ivy's Magic Faucet" was included. That will have to be a whole different post....somehow I started out talking about being LID for 3 months and now I am talking about "Ivy's Magic Faucet." Time to stop rambling.

Sometimes Mother Nature Is Ugly

When I returned from Chicago last Wednesday night, I couldn't believe how much the latest baby doves grew in four days. Then by Friday, they were standing and starting to flap their wings so I knew it was a matter of time before they flew away.
Saturday morning they were in the nest when I went downstairs to make coffee. By the time, I came back to get some coffee, they were both gone. I have no idea why, but I decided to peek into the nest. I didn't like what I saw. In the nest was a broken egg and a baby bird that had clearly just hatched. "She" was about the size of my thumb, had no feathers and the eyes weren't yet open.

First of all, where did this egg come from? Minutes ago, there were two birds leaving this same nest. I've been watching doves for a couple of years now and I know that the mama bird sits on the eggs for at least a couple of weeks. It didn't seem like there was time for any type of "emergency delivery". Was this an unexpected late third egg from the same Mom? If so, did it hatch or was it broken by one of the other birds. Don't know. I do know that you usually don't see the babies when they first hatch because the mama dove sits on top of them for quite some time. I didn't like the looks of this.

I obsessively watched the nest Saturday. There was a dove that came and took away the broken egg pieces but that was it - never came back again. There was another dove that looked as if she was busy moving in next door to the existing nest - she was no help. I didn't want to intervene too early because if the mama bird was coming back, I certainly didn't want to discourage her. It was excruciating to watch. Finally by late Saturday, I couldn't take it anymore. This bird was abandoned, left behind, alone. Yes I know it's a bird and you can color me dramatic but the metaphor was not lost on me. (Great big shout-out to Mom who totally "got it" without me having to point it out when I told her the story on Sunday. I love you.)

I did some googling to figure out what I could do. Luckily doves are vegetarians so I wouldn't have to mush up any worms. All the pet stores were already closed so I made a "homemade formula" that I found online. I thought if I could get her through the night, I would look for more expert help on Sunday. I used a straw and got her to eat a little. In my extensive 15 minutes of online research, I learned that baby Doves actually stick their beak inside the mama bird's beak to eat - not the other way around. Therefore, the usual syringe trick doesn't work so well with doves. Not like I had a syringe around the house anyway. So I used a straw that she could get her beak into (trying to simulate the mama bird's beak) and I was able to get her to eat a little. A couple of hours later I got her to eat again. I also learned that without their feathers, they need to stay very warm. Luckily it was about 100 degrees during the day. I didn't want to remove her from her nest so I covered her up for the evening.

I checked on her about 6am Sunday morning and she ate quite a bit. She seemed pretty active - and her eyes were still closed. An hour later, when I came downstairs Jon told me that she was in her nest but she was no longer alive. Yeah, I felt awful. I knew this was a possibility from the beginning but she was so active when I fed her earlier I was hopeful. I had already named her "Squirt".

So we left her in the nest and buried her in our garden and also added a bird bath to the garden in her honor. OK, actually Jon bought the bird bath on Saturday but we set it up on Sunday after we buried her. She was the fifth bird hatched in that nest this year. There was already another bird waiting next to this nest - I guess she thought she was next. I swear there is a sign-up sheet somewhere. The new mama bird built another nest next to the original spot and she is now on our patio and hasn't moved since Sunday. I guess we will have another couple of baby birds before long.



P.S. Please do not leave me any comments telling me that I "could have done this", or I "should have done that." I don't watch Animal*Planet, it was Saturday night, I did the best I could and I already feel awful. If you do have some assvice, wait a week and email me.

Naming Babies With Ivy

Since the day my niece Ivy found out about the adoption, she has been asking what we are going to name our daughter. The answer "we haven't decided yet" doesn't sit well with Ivy. It never has. I have had more than one phone conversation with Ivy that went something like this:
Ivy: So, have you decided what you are going to name your baby
Me: No, not yet
Ivy: Hmmmm (said in a very disappointed tone)

Occasionally, she will tell me about someone who just had a baby and suggest the name that they used. Our inadequacy to decide on a name is really getting to Ivy.

When I was home for Mother's Day, I was sitting next to Ivy on the way home from church. Apparently the baby name topic was on her mind. She turns to me and suggests that when we get to her house, we get out all of her babies. She would tell me each of their names and maybe one of those names would work. I told her that sounded like a good idea. Now I have to tell you that Ivy has LOTS of babies. In fact, we just discovered recently that she actually runs a daycare out of her bedroom called "Lots of Babies Daycare". Who knew?

So, as soon as we got to her house she went to her room and with the help of my mom, she separated all the girl babies from the boy babies. This is when we discovered that her baby "Candy" is actually a boy. Again, who knew? (For the record, we've had a boy name picked out forever. It's the girl name that we are stuck on.)

Then she brings me in her room and one by one she points to them and tells me each of their names. She also suggested that I get a piece of paper so I can write them down.

(Tried posting a picture of the list here but blogger isn't letting me post pictures. Is it just me?)

Here are the names:
Shoo Shoo
Gi Gi
Fay Fay
Butterfly
Sick Baby (as soon as Ivy tells me the name, the looks at me and says "But I don't think you want to name your baby that.") "Probably not" I tell her.
Sleepy
Big Baby
Lu Lu
Santa (yes, Candy is a boy and Santa is a girl)
Berry
Carseat Baby (which had to be scratched from the list because all of a sudden Ivy remembered that carseat baby is a boy.)

I gently told Ivy that I wasn't sure any of these names were going to work but I told her that until we decide on her "real" name, we will call her Lu Lu. So for now, it's Lu Lu. And Ivy's satisfied....at least for now.

What Happened To Last Week?

Last week came and went as a blur.
However, a few things happened last week that I want to capture. They could each be a post of their own but I’m already behind and attempting to catch up.

Tuesday May 30- I was moving slow as a result of our biking weekend but I flew to Orange County, CA. for the day. Left for the airport around 6:00am and returned home around 11:30 pm. I described the term "day trip" in this post. However, 6 hours of combined flying time is total exploitation of the term day-trip.

It wasn’t a total waste however. I did have a ladybug sighting. My co-worker Rick and I had just settled into our fancy Ford rental car. He says “Oh, there’s a bug on you” and he swats it off of my knee onto the floorboard of the car as if he is doing me a favor. I look down and it was a Ladybug. I started screaming “Dude, what are you doing???” "Are you nuts!!!" “You can’t go around hurting Ladybugs!!!!” Yes, me the self-proclaimed Ladybug cynic was instinctively looking out for Miss Ladybug. I gently picked her up and set her free – out of harm’s way from Mr. Ladybug swatter. I’ve worked with Rick for about six years now, he doesn’t even ask anymore.

Also on Tuesday, my Mom helped out her community by getting an uninsured, under the influence, driver off of the street. Unfortunately it wasn’t by choice and was with the rear end of her vehicle. OK, how completely out of your mind do you have to be to rear-end a white SUV that is traveling around 40mph????? Yes, he rear-ended her while she was moving about 40mph. Which ironically is probably what saved her. He was going much faster than she was and he never slowed down. Mom is perfectly fine - she wasn't even sore which is amazing yet not surprising since she is one of the strongest people that I know. I had been complaining for days about my aches and pains from my bicycle when I found out about the accident. Yeah, I felt like a schmuck.

Thursday June 1 – Discovered that we have two new baby birds in the nest on the back patio.


Friday June 2– I haven’t mentioned this here but a very good friend was diagnosed recently with breast cancer. She had surgery on Friday. The final report isn't in but the doctor's feel that they caught it early. She will have a series of radiation treatments but the doctor's are hopeful. This is a direct quote from her "Get your mammograms!!!"

Also on Friday some good friends left for Russia to meet the little girl that will hopefully become their new daughter. The adoption won't be finalized on this trip but hopefully their second trip will come soon and they can get her home.

Besides the above happenings I estimate that I checked the Rumor Queen's blog approximately 2 million times for some big announcement that never came. If you are adopting or considering adopting from China and you do not yet know about the RQ site, I must warn you. It will be the best and worst thing that you have ever found. You will get addicted and as of now there is no cure for the addiction. I take no responsibility for the addiction that will consume your life.

Day 2. Trails 2. Injuries 1(if you only count flesh wounds). Flat Tires 1

After our 150 degrees noon start on Saturday, we decided to get an early start on Sunday. That really wasn't too hard since we were asleep by 9pm Saturday night thanks to Trail #1. We received a little local advice on some trails from our waiter while enjoying our well deserved dinner and Margaritas Saturday night. It is a good thing we got this advice since Sunday morning, we realized that we lost our Mountain Biking book - I swear I did not throw it over a cliff.

Our plan was to do a longer but nice, easy and partially paved trail. Sweet. Our waiter did however, warn us that this trail connects with a much more intense trail so be sure to stay on the main path. Right. First few miles was great. The trail was crowded which was fine with me because that actually slows Jon down to a much more manageable pace. Then all of a sudden, I notice there aren't many people on the trail. Next thing I know, we are headed down a hill of boulders measuring half my size. Much to my surprise Jon was the first to get a flesh wound on trail #2. Of course, his injury was attributed more to his poor shoe choice than his skills but at least I wasn't the only one injured. Misery does love company.

(Imagine a picture of Jon's bleeding ankle here. Blogger is not letting me upload pictures.)

Trail #2 however, did leave me with several lovely bruises. We stuck with the scary trail for a couple of miles and then headed back to the nice trail. I will say that Jon did a great job of announcing the trail obstacles. "Slight uphill coming up." "Tight squeeze ahead" "Low tree limb" "Loose rock" "Steep downhill cliff of huge boulders". Unfortunately, he was usually so far ahead of me that I couldn't hear him or I was dealing with something he did not feel was worthy of an announcement.

Jon: "Steep hill coming up"
Me: "OK, as soon as I free myself from between this boulder and my bike, I'll be sure to watch out for it. Thanks."
Jon: "You ok back there"
Me: "Oh yeah, doing great"

We rode for 2.5 hours but that did include a much deserved swim break.

Later that afternoon, we headed back to another part of the nice trail. No falls, no injuries to report. After a few miles, Jon however got a flat tire so we decided to call it a day. I would be lying if I said I wasn't somewhat relieved about that decision.

Day 1.Trail 1. Injury 1

Finally getting around to a recap of our Mountain Biking excursion over the Memorial Day weekend.

Being the Mountain Bike novice that I am , Jon let me choose the first trail that we would "conquer". Over a very leisurely breakfast Saturday morning, I started flipping through the pages of our Texas Mountain Biking book. As soon as I found a trail within close proximity and was listed as a level one, I was done. I didn't need to look any further. Let's face it, 98% of my cycling experience has been on some type of smooth, paved surface. And the other 2% was me struggling to get to the nearest smooth, paved surface. The fact that this trail was listed as "family friendly" was an added bonus.

As soon as we finished up our leisurely breakfast, loaded up on water and found our way to the trail it was around noon and about 150 degrees. Glad we got an early start.

I knew I would be struggling to keep up with Jon but I was feeling pretty confident considering this trail was listed as "family friendly". OH MY GOSH. Who's family are they talking about?????? Maybe Mr. Lance Tour de France Armstrong's family - but not this family!!!!!!

I swear, 15 feet from the start of the trail I observed in front of me what can only be described as "The Winding Staircase Of Death." Mother nature has intricately carved several narrow, steep, curving steps out of exposed tree roots and rocks. At 16 feet from the start of the trail - this was my left elbow. Sure it doesn't look that bad in the picture, that's not the point. I was only 20 feet from the start of the trail!!!!!!

Of course Jon gracefully navigated "The Winding Staircase Of Death" with ease so he was oblivious that I was down. Out of pride stubbornness, I tried my hardest to keep it that way. The blood seeping from my elbow pretty much gave it away. It was "just a flesh wound" so we kept on riding.

Luckily, that was the worst part of that particular trail. The rest wasn't easy by any means but wasn't as evil as the first 15 feet... and quite fun I have to admit. Usually when I cycle, my mind is on how many pitiful miles my little odometer is recording. One good thing about mountain biking is that I was so focused on trying to stay alive, I didn't worry about the stupid odometer.

Back Home

We made it back home safely late this afternoon from our mountain biking/sight seeing weekend. "Safely" is a relative term since I am scraped and bruised. We had a great time but I think the trails won. More on that later. I need to leave for the airport in 7 hours for a quick trip to Orange County, CA. and really need to get in a few winks.

Happy Birthday Jon!!!!

Yep, today was Jon's birthday!!! Trouble is I can't say a thing about his age because I will always be 5 years older than him. We are using the long weekend to celebrate his birthday and get out of town. Loaded up the bikes and drove a few hours south for a change of scenery. More to come on our weekend adventures!!

Before Or After?

Since my trip to New Orleans recently, I've gotten questions regarding how the area is doing. It's been 9 months since Katrina. It's also less than a week before the start of another hurricane season. Are things better? The playground at my nephew's school is no longer full of teachers living in tents. I suppose you can put that in the "things are better" column. However, everywhere you look there are images that would make more sense if it was 9 weeks since Katrina hit as opposed to 9 months. These pictures were taken by my brother-in-law just a month ago.

I tell you I admire all the people that drive past these sights every day and still manage to put one foot in front of the other. It would get to anyone.
The drive between the airport and my parent's house takes you past areas that were some of the worst hit. Much of it was under several feet of water for several days. Those areas are still very much a ghost town. It's all hard to take in but there are specific sights that still give me a pit in my stomach.

1. You see blue tarp roofs everywhere. I actually prefer to see the ones that cover most or all of the roof. The small ones tell me that someone had to try and escape or was hopefully rescued from the small hole under that blue tarp.
2. I still can not check luggage when I fly to New Orleans. The scenes of the baggage claim area at the airport being used as a temporary morgue are burned in my memory.
3. I still choke back tears when I see the spray paint on the houses that tell how many people were found dead or alive by rescuers.

On my first visit after Katrina, I noticed that every event was described as "Before Katrina" or "After Katrina". When people talk about events such as this person moved, that person got another job, this person passed away, so and so had a baby, it's all labeled as "Before Katrina" or "After Katrina". Katrina was not just a hurricane but a point in time from which events are measured.

On this visit, I realized that it's been shortened to just "Before" or "After". The "Katrina" is just understood. I heard two people talking in the airport:
"I've been living in D.C."
"Was that before or after"?

My nephew was telling me about a friend that used to live in his neighborhood. Then he added "but that was before".

No Vacancy

I am sure everyone has been on the edge of their seats and have not slept waiting for another update on the baby birds. They actually left the nest about a week ago. A couple of days before they flew away, they were quite active so I knew it was a matter of time. Here is the last picture that I took of the two of them.

Then one morning, one of them flew away and within an hour the other was gone.

However, we are not suffering from empty nest syndrome. The same day that these cuties flew the nest, another Mama Dove moved right in. Just like last time, Daddy Dove (I assume) helped "build the nest". Of course he got off easy since he chose a pre-built rather than new construction. They did make a few modifications and upgrades which Jon was quite happy about since he questioned the quality of the first nest from the beginning. Within a day the new dove was there to stay. And just like last time, no sign of Daddy Dove since the nest modifications were complete. Couldn't he visit once in a while, bring her a worm, something!!!! As far as I can tell, she has barely moved in almost a week.

I'm going to have to consider catching and tagging these birds. The same day the previous occupants flew the nest, someone else moves in??? How does that happen? Were they out scouting for a place to build a nest and just happened upon a vacancy? Is there a 1 800 reservation number for my back patio nest that I don't know about?

Mojitos with Paul

My younger brother is doing some work a couple of hours from here. He had a little break late yesterday and this morning so he headed this way and spent the night with us last night. Paul is 11 years younger than I am so he was only 7 when I left for college. Since I never moved back home full-time, he was 7 years old to me for quite a while.
Although I just saw him last weekend when I was home for Mother's Day, there was there was so much activity we really didn't get to. As adults, there have been a couple of times that we have spent time together without the rest of "the gang" and despite the age difference and geographical difference, we are close. In 1999, when I lived in Sydney, he visited for a couple of weeks and we had a blast. We went whale watching and I'm pretty sure we were the only two people on the boat that weren't sea sick and hurling over the railing of the boat. We also went hiking and got leeches (yes leeches) on us. Nasty. Then a few years ago, he flew into town and we went to the U2 concert together. This visit was short and did not include leeches or Bono but it was good to share a few hours and a couple of Mojitos with him!!

My Mother's Day

(Been really busy so this post is over a week late.)

Now let’s talk about my Mother’s Day. Yep that’s right, thanks to my very sweet husband (don’t worry Jon, you are also sexy) I received my first Mother’s Day present this year. He gave it to me before I flew to New Orleans to see my Mom.
Not only did he think to get me something but he got me the perfect something. This necklace from Red Envelope. I LOVE it. Here's the description from the website:

These twin pendants celebrate one of the most cherished bonds of all—that of a mother and daughter. The top pendant is mother-of-pearl and hand-carved with the Chinese characters for mother and daughter. Underneath, the English translation is etched in sterling silver
Very, very thoughtful and I have worn it everyday since he gave it to me. I love it. Thanks, Jon

The day after he gave it to me, I went for my eyebrow wax appointment. The woman that waxes my eyebrows is from Korea but she also knows quite a bit of Mandarin. As soon as I positioned myself on the torture device, aka spa table, she said something which I did not even remotely understand.

"Excuse Me?" I replied. (Hopefully I managed an “Excuse me” but it could have easily been "Huh?"....Yeah, those Mandarin Mondays are really paying off for me.)

You’re necklace, she said “Mother and Daughter”. "Oh, yes I said." Then I asked her to repeat it about fifty zillion times so I could get the pronunciation remotely close. She also showed me how to write the characters. She wrote the characters and her pronunciation on a Kleenex. I gently folded the kleenex and put it in the side compartment of my purse. There is no way that she can know how priceless that simple Kleenex is to me.

Good News

A friend of mine (that I 've known since first grade) and her husband are adopting a little girl from Russia. Their amazing and adorable son was adopted from Russia as an infant and has been asking for a baby sister for quite some time. I ran into her at church when I was home visiting my Mom this past weekend and we were sharing adoption updates. She was thinking it would be several more months before a referral. Well I received an email today and they got THE CALL!!!! I am sooooo excited for them. They will be making the first of two trips to Russia at the beginning of June. YEAH!!!!!

Mother's Day 2006 - Part 2

After making this box with our wedding photos, I decided to make one for Mom also. Her version had pictures of all of us through the years including a picture of Mom holding me as an infant. To represent her future Grandchild, I put a picture of "I Love You Like Crazy Cakes" (which she had read numerous times to my niece), a picture of a ladybug, the picture of me crying last Christmas when I saw the dress my Mom made for our daughter and a picture of our paperwork. I can't wait to glue a copy of our referral picture somewhere on that box .

Spending Mother's Day with Mom was great. As I get older I realize more and more what an amazing woman she is. I swear when I was 16 she wasn't as brilliant or cool as she is now. Honestly, there are so many things about both of my parents that I took for granted. It seems like a good time to capture a few things that I appreciate about Mom more and more with each passing day.

1. I love that she can laugh until tears run down her face.
2. She has been with my Dad for over 46 years but understands the importance of girlfriends. She has an amazing group of friends. For as many years as I can remember, if you have lunch at a particular restaurant on a Tuesday, you will see a large table of women. One of them may be laughing so hard that she is crying.
3. I appreciate that she never expected my life to be her life. I moved away immediately after graduating from college. (And talked about it long before that.) She has never for a single second made me feel guilty for moving away. Even when I announced one day that I was packing up and moving to Australia, I am pretty sure her response was something like "Great, we will come and visit." And they did. Sure we have both shed tears while saying goodbye at the airport. However, she taught me that remaining close isn't dependent on physical proximity. Just as living close to someone doesn't guarantee a close relationship. There's more to it than that.
4. I am constantly amazed at her energy. I swear there is a super-secret energy source that she has not shared with the rest of the world. Some people look at kids and wish they could "bottle all of that energy." You could say the same thing about my Mom.
5. Growing up there were four of us kids with 13 years difference between the oldest and youngest. For many years, my Dad traveled for work 50% of the time. So she was dealing with potty training, a rebellious teenager and everything in between all at the same time. Although for two weeks out of most months my Dad was out of town, I honestly don't remember her complaining.
6. She is always willing to try something new. She started Yoga in her fifties long before it became "mainstream". (At least in her small town in south Louisiana.)
   
   While home, I also went ahead and gave Dad his Father's Day present which included a great hat purchased from M3's cafepress shop. (Pictures coming) Of course, even though I told Dad it was his Father's Day present, he is always ready with the last word. As he dropped me off at the airport, he said "See you for Father's Day."

Mother's Day 2006 - Part 1

I decided to fly to New Orleans for Mother’s Day this year. I haven’t spent Mother's Day with Mom for at least 15 years. Sure, I always call her and usually manage to send something. And I do travel “home” for many holidays, Mother’s Day just has not been one of them. I decided over a month ago that this year I wanted to spend Mother’s Day with Mom in person. I also wanted to surprise her. Unfortunately, with her social calendar, the element of surprise became impossible and last week I had to go ahead and tell her I was coming. Still a surprise, just a couple of days early.

I also (half-jokingly) told her that I wanted to spend the day with her because "let’s face it, next Mother’s Day is going to be ALL ABOUT ME. "(She didn't take offense, in fact she laughed. Lucky for me, Mom has a sense of humor and is eager for another Grandchild. She also knows that I will always celebrate her no matter what. ) As I see it, here are the possible scenarios for Mother’s Day 2007:

1. We will be home from China. (Hey, a girl can dream can’t she!)
2. We will be in China
3. We will have our referral and will be waiting to travel
4. I will be curled up in the corner with a bottle of tequila. And a lime because, let’s face it, tequila without the lime….well, that’s just tacky.

So, regardless of how you slice it, I will be needing a little extra attention next year.

It was a great weekend. I got to see my parent's new house for the first time. It was really good to see them not living in their MOTORCOACH anymore. (My Dad corrected me when I referred to it as a trailer in this post.) Apparently there is a big difference.

Saturday we went to the local seafood joint and bought some boiled shrimp and crawfish and picked up some Abita Beer. In south Louisiana, nothing says Mother’s Day like boiled crawfish and Abita Beer. And we ate the shrimp and crawfish the way they are supposed to be eaten. In the backyard, on a picnic table covered with newspaper.




















To be continued....

My Favorite Poet

is my nephew Jackson. He received an award in the Young Author's Contest for their parish (county). He won in the category for second grade poetry. I am soooooo proud of him. He went to the awards ceremony last night and read his poem in front of a large audience. I spoke with him when he was on his way to the award's ceremony. It went something like this.

Me: I am so proud of you, Jackson!!!
Jackson: Yeah
Me: Are you going to read your poem tonight?
Jackson: Yeah, in front of hundreds of people
Me: Wow, that's great
Jackson: And it's going to be in the newspaper and on tv
Me: Well, I want an autographed copy of your poem
Jackson: (slight chuckle)
Jackson: When are you going to China?
Me: In about a year
Jackson: A YEAR?!?!?!?!?!?!
Me: Afraid so
Jackson: Well have you picked out your baby yet?
Me: Lame attempt to explain the process without using four letter words
Jackson: Well, when you go will you get me a picture of a panda?
Me: Absolutely

And We Had To Have A Homestudy......

not to mention clearances from every level of law enforcement, reference letters, etc. Then you read that Britney*$pears is pregnant with number two. I know, I know, the skull fracture on her seven month old was the nanny's fault and she had her infant behind the wheel to "protect" him. Please. And don't get me started on her love them and leave them (when several months pregnant) husband of hers. Going to get more coffee.....

Mandarin Monday - 7

I'm sticking with the baby theme this time. No, I'm not going to learn how to say "baby birds". I'm obsessed with them, but it's not quite that bad.

Some of you may already be aware of this site that does daily podcasts in Mandarin. They have done two great podcasts here specifically for adoptive parents. I recommend listening to the second one on the page first (the one fromMarch 6th). Warning: It made me cry, but I'm a known crier. And then listen to Baby Talk #2. I thought they were pretty cool and very well done.

Whew - They Aren't Squashed!!!!

I was really worried that these little birdies would be flat as a pancake after seeing how Mama Dove sits on them. But I guess she knows what she's doing. Finally, I got the picture. I got home late last night and I was happy to see Mama Dove was still sitting on the nest. Being the bird expert that I am, I don't know how long before these babies leave the nest.

I stumbled downstairs this morning for some coffee and was greeted with this lovely sight. So I got up on my chair and was able to snap this picture.

Baby Bird Update

(Updated with correct link to M3's hideous bird thing. Somehow I managed to totally mess up the original. Thanks M3 for the heads-up. Seriously, if you haven't seen this thing it is worth the click.)

I've been in Atlanta since Sunday night. I was home for a few hours today to say hello to Jon, re-pack the suitcase and get a flight to Kansas City. This is where my "wise beyond her years" niece would say with a slightly sarcastic tone "And......how are you going to have a kid". Unfortunately my sister and I both know exactly where she gets her sarcasm. Her Dad. HA!!
Yes, I know that my job will need to either disappear or drastically change. I'm working on it.

While home, I also made time to check on the babies (don't worry, I know they are birds...I haven't completely lost my mind.) I swear Mama Dove sits right on top of the two babies. I admit I'm not an expert on birds of any kind. In fact, my bird knowledge is limited to what I have witnessed outside of my kitchen window. However, I will never understand how she doesn't smother them. I noticed that she flew away while I was downstairs so I ran to get the camera so I could get a picture of the babies. They are quite a bit bigger than just days ago. I guess you could say they are cute. Let's just hope they grow into those eyes and beaks. They are definitely cuter than this hideous creature. Sorry M3.

Anyway, by the time I got back with the camera, this is what I saw. I am not sure if you can tell in the picture but the layer between Mama Dove and the nest....well that is her two baby birds.

I asked Jon to try and get a better picture of them before I get home Friday night. Yes, I am obsessed with getting a picture of them before they fly away.

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?

Mail Call

More fun mail today. My niece Ivy sent us these two masterpieces. Getting mail from Ivy is one of my most favorite things in the whole world. There were two envelopes - one addressed to Jon and one addressed to me. Not sure if you can tell in the picture but there was a little something extra on the back of the envelopes. Mine is on the left and had a small picture - Jon's is on the right and she wrote her name. I have a box of treasures that I have received from my nieces and nephew. I was going through some pictures recently and came across this one - probably my favorite picture of Ivy.

Nothing Like some Pink Presents to Cheer A Girl Up

Sorry, no pictures because our camera is not cooperating.

Tuesday evening we met up with Jon's work peeps for a send-off to his new job. I had been there for a few minutes when a couple showed up. Jon indirectly works with the guy - I met this couple once at a wedding a couple of months ago. They hand Jon a box which is obviously some type of going away present. I am half paying attention and half carrying on a conversation with someone else (typical). All of a sudden out of the corner of my eye I see pink, wait a minute.....I see little pink shoes!!!! Next thing I knew the box was in my lap. Now I don't think Jon handed it to me and I don't think it jumped into my lap so obviously I snatched it out of his hands. Hey - it was little pink shoes- I couldn't help myself!!!! Not only was it pink shoes but also a matching outfit. I was so touched - like I said, I've met this couple once. The woman is originally from China although she has been living here for quite some time - not sure how long. She is so genuinely excited and supportive about our adoption. It was such an unexpected gesture and it really meant a lot to both of us. She also let me practice my pathetic 5 words of Mandarin with her.

Then yesterday I check the mail and I got an adoption bracelet from my friend Andree' and her friend Michelle. I've never met Michelle but she knows about me through Andree' (hopefully she doesn't believe everything Andree' tells her.) Anyway, Michelle saw the bracelet, got it for me and Andree' sent it to me. It's pink and has a little charm on it that says:
Adopting a child
Shaping a life
Building a home
Creating a world
Again, a very nice gesture from someone that I really do not even personally know.

Andree' also sent me some other pink goodies for sponsoring her in the Breast Cancer 3 day. She is walking 60 miles in three days. She has been training really hard and I am so proud of her for doing this.

A New Chapter For Jon

Today is Jon's last day at his current job. He is taking the rest of the week off and then he starts a new job on Monday. He is very excited about the new opportunity but I think feeling somewhat nostalgic as well. He's been with this company for about 6 years and has lots of friends there that he will miss. However, it's just time to move on. He has been itching to make a move for months now. While we were in the middle of the paperchase, he let that itch go unscratched so that we would not have to re-do any of our paperwork. Ok, there was some scratching but he stuck it out until we were a month past our DTC date. (Of course, at this point, with the current time lines lots of things will likely expire and will need to be re-done.) A bridge to be crossed when we get there.

This job is also where Jon and I met. No, we didn't work together. He was/is actually a client of mine. Hey, you got to meet them somehow. I was a vendor trying to sell him some software. He bought. I remember my second meeting with him. I was a mess. I had been in Napa for a few days with some friends. I missed my flight home and ended up on the red-eye. Didn't sleep a wink on the plane (never do). I landed around 6am - got home, showered and re-packed since I had a flight to Denver that afternoon. Made it to his office by 9am for our meeting. It was pouring down rain - I never have an umbrella when I need one so I got soaking wet getting into his building. I was sleep deprived, my brain was mush and now a drowned rat. I can't imagine that I wowed him with my intelligence or looks that day.

The gang is taking him to the company's favorite watering hole for a send off. I am on my way now to meet up with him and probably take him to dinner to celebrate. Congratulations Jon!!!! I love you!!!!

Mandarin Monday - 4

First of all I have something to confess. Last week, I practiced the tones very little not at all.
I am not feeling very ambitious at the moment so it is going to be one short phrase this week and we already know one of the words (please) from a couple of weeks ago.

Words For The Week:
"Excuse me please" - qing rang yi xia (This is the phrase that would be used when someone is blocking your way and you are trying to get through - maybe a crowded elevator or something.)

Click here to hear the pronunciation. It's number one on the page.

P.S. I also seriously considered the following phrases:
1. "Please check your calendar,there are actually 31 days in May”.
2. "What the heck happened to June?"
3. "I will explode if I have to wait 18 months"
However, I am struggling to stay positive and that type of sarcasm has gotten me into trouble in the past.

Friday Night In The Big City

Friday afternoon I was quite bummed due to the news on the referral front. (It appears that my little ladybug was a poser.) I knew I had to step away from the computer. Jon had a work function to attend and I really didn't think I would be good company for anyone. I remembered how therapeutic my collaging date with Vicki proved to be. Somehow glueing pictures on something seemed to silence the voices inside my head. That combined with inspiration from Shannon's way cool IKEA mirrors gave me an idea. I have all these wedding photos in a box that are just sitting there. We purchased the digital images of our wedding photos so we could do "anything" we wanted with them and not have to worry about using a $300 5X7. Of course "anything" ended up being nothing.

I went to my local craft store in search of glue and something to glue on. I was on a mission. I'm not a regular at the craft store. I've been once with my niece and maybe once with my Mom and that is about it. I wandered around aimlessly for a while. I even ended up in the scrapbooking section. OH. MY. GOSH. I felt like a young girl that had not yet reached puberty that found herself in the bra section at the department store. I was fascinated by the enormous selection but totally not ready for that yet. Made a u-turn out of scrapbooking and found myself some glue and a wooden box. That would do.

Came home and started glueing (and poured myself a glass of wine just in case the glueing wasn't therapeutic enough.) Around 8:30 I called Vicki - I thought she would want to know about my "glue fest".

Me: Hey, well I hope you are happy.
Vicki: Why, what's up?
Me: It's 8:30 on a Friday night and I am glueing pictures on a "bleeping" wooden box.
Vicki: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Me: Well what are you doing?
Vicki: Eating a box of chocolate malted milk balls

I worked on my masterpiece off and on throughout the weekend and I must say that I am quite pleased at the way it turned out. It's far from perfect but I've not bad for my first try. I'm not sure if I used any of the correct materials so it may fall apart tomorrow. Better get a glimpse now:

Trying To Find My Happy Place

Ladybug For A Friend

I have to admit that I haven't really bought into the whole ladybug thing as of yet. In case you haven't memorized the China Adoption Handbook, Ladybugs are considered a good luck symbol for families adopting from China. Supposedly if you see one, that means that you are going to get some good news about your adoption soon. Don't get me wrong, I've always liked ladybugs. I just can't say that I felt any different about them after we started pursuing our adoption and I learned about the ladybug connection. Maybe I'm a bit cynical, maybe I don't like cliches', maybe a little bit of both. I love that other people want to smother themselves in all things ladybugs,I just haven't felt the need. However, today was a little different.

I went out to check the mail and something caught my eye as I was walking back towards the front door. Yep, a ladybug. Now, I am not the most observant person in the world and was busy enjoying my nice stack of junk mail so I can't believe that I even saw her. Also, it was quite chilly today - cooler than it has been in a long time. But there she was. Now tomorrow will be one month since our DTC so maybe we are going to hear something about our LID soon. However, I am going to dedicate this ladybug to a friend with an LID of 5/31. She's knows who she is. The last batch of referrals went through May 25 which quite frankly stunk. She held her head high and knew that she would be in the next group. Now there is the chance that this next batch will only cover up to 5/30. Everyone was of course hoping that part of June would be covered but to leave out a day in May....please don't let that be the case. Anyway, this ladybug is hers. I have no idea what her ladybug was doing in Texas but some things just can't be explained.

Mandarin Monday 3

There actually won't be any new words this week. I've decided that I need to pay more attention to the 4 tones of Mandarin. I briefly mentioned the tones the first week but that was about it.

This is typical for me - I tend to skip steps 1 and 2 then jump in head first around step 3. Somewhere around step 4 or 5 I realize that steps 1 and 2 actually were there for a reason. Jon is the opposite. He is definitely a steps 1 and 2 kind of guy. Sometimes we balance each other out. Sometimes we drive each other a little crazy. That's a different post.

Anyway, back to the Mandarin. Like I said, I've decided to practice the tones a little more before moving forward. Not just to say them correctly but to also recognize the differences when I hear them. (Remember the tone is what prevents you from referring to your Mother as a Horse.) Here is a link explaining the four tones and giving some decent examples. I found this site helpful as well. More new words next week!!

Weekend In Review

Well I finally got around to doing our taxes on Saturday. Unlike some over achievers (Julie) who had their taxes done by some insane date such as Jan. 2, I have been procrastinating. I knew we were going to be on the giving end instead of the receiving end so I let it go. It's done but I will not be filing before Monday, April 17th. So on Sunday, what did we do to celebrate our big tax bill? We went shopping of course. I finally went to the Ikea that opened several months ago just miles up the road. We need some bookshelves for the office so I thought that would be a good place to start. I even got Jon to go with me. Oh but it cost me dearly. Before Ikea, we had to make a stop at Jon's favorite electronic/computer store. OK, this place makes your typical Comp*USA look like Disney Land. This is not where you go to buy computers but where you go to buy the 50 million little pieces if you want to make your own computer. Hard core. They know Jon by name. They speak another language. They are not of this world. I will usually do anything to keep from going to this place. But it was standing between me and new bookshelves so I made the sacrifice. We got home with the bookshelves but only had 2/3 of what we need so we will be going back. Shannon, let me know if you need anything.

P.S. to Andree' - We had lunch at The Great Outdoors and yes I had a #21 with the works!!!!

Mama Dove Is Back

For the third spring in a row, we have a Dove that has made a nest on our back patio. There is a potters bench on the patio and the nest is built on the top shelf. In the exact same spot. It's right by our back kitchen window and right next to the back door. The first year, we had baby doves that hatched. Last year, she stayed forever but no eggs. I really wasn't that disappointed because it meant that I wasn't the only infertile one around here. Twisted but true. This year I am hoping for baby birds!!!! I have heard/read that it is either the same dove that returns or the babies that were hatched there. Personally I haven't caught and tagged any of these birds so I can't confirm. We just noticed her yesterday and the nest is under construction. She stays there and another bird (Daddy Dove I assume) keeps returning with building materials. I've been sitting here drinking coffee and watching them. When he shows up with something, she will move to the side, get the new addition situated, get back to her spot and off he goes. I would try to snap a picture but don't want to scare her away.

Baby Dreams

I've heard that pregnant women (paper pregnant and tummy pregnant) can start having baby dreams. I know some have blogged about their dreams while waiting for their referral. I had my first baby dream last night - well, sort of. It wasn't actually my baby, I was only babysitting. Apparently my subconscious hasn't completely wrapped itself around the fact that I may indeed someday be a Mother....only that I am worthy of watching someone else's child for a few hours. I have also been reading about signing as a way to communicate with babies. My friend Andree' did this with great success and Karen from Gwenblog has also made me a believer.

Anyway, this baby that I was babysitting was adorable. However, she could sign EVERYTHING and FAST. I had no idea what was going on. Her little fingers just kept moving faster and faster and she kept looking at me like I was an idiot. I was feverishly turning the pages of my one signing book and was googling like mad to try and figure out what she needed. Apparently she needed a diaper change. So I started changing the diaper and COULD NOT DO IT. (Yes, I have changed diapers before with no problem. Well, maybe a couple went on backwards but no major problems.) However, not this one. And this baby just kept looking at me like I was a complete moron. After 45 minutes (in my dream I kept looking at the clock) this little girl just pushed my hands aside and changed it herself!!!!!

I'm sure dream interpreters can have a field day with this.

Mandarin Monday II

Ok boys and girls, it's that time again. Hopefully everyone practiced their hellos and goodbyes last week. We should call this one Mandarin Monday Manners since that is the focus this week. Just a few words to help us be polite American visitors.

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. I have a link below to hear two of the three this week.

Words For The Week:
Please - Qing (Ching)
Thank You - Xie Xie (Sh-eh Sh-eh)
You are welcome - Bu ke qi (boo kua che)

Click here to hear the pronunciation for "Thank You" and "You are Welcome" - look for number two on the page. I didn't have a chance to find an example of Qing but according to my CD's that I have been listening to, I think you will be ok if you pronounce it "Ching" (without any American accent of course). I'm using a different site than I used last week for the pronunciation since I am trying to find free sites for the examples.

Extra credit:
1. Notice the X is pronounced "sh" as in sheep.
2. Notice the Q is pronounced "ch" as in chore.
Yes, there are exceptions but we have to start somewhere.
It is helpful to learn these pronunciations because if you take a Chinese phrasebook with Pinyin representation with you to China, it isn't going to help much unless you know how to pronounce the sounds.

Remember to use these words at least once each day. Also, don't forget last weeks words. You know what will happen if you don't use them. As my Mom so nicely pointed out last week, I don't remember "jack" from high school/college French. How much do you remember from high-school language classes? Exactly.

Random Observations From My Trip

Here's some advice for the person that is designing the next major airport of the world. Look at your plans and count the number of electrical outlets. Multiply that by 100 and that is how many you need. Business travelers have been fighting for the few coveted electrical outlets in airports for years. I am guilty of once unplugging a vending machine in an airport to use my laptop. Don't worry, I plugged it in for anyone needing a Snickers. Now we have to also compete with every laptop carrying, Ipod toting civilian. If I had a couple of power strips with me at O'Hare I could have made some serious scratch.

Got into New York very late. Hotel was quite full so they upgraded me to a suite (which also had an amazing view.) This suite was larger than many apartments I have rented. I actually felt guilty. It was only me and I was not even going to be there for 7 hours, 5 of which I was asleep. If it had not been midnight, I would have gone looking for a family in a regular room and switched rooms with them.

The flight home was the longest 4 hours of my life. I have had several 15 hour flights that were shorter than this one. I guess I was just tired and cranky.

Here's some things I would like to say to my fellow passengers:

1. To the lady sitting two rows in front of me. Quit complaining about the fact that the overhead bin above your seat was full. It’s first come, first serve. You boarded in Group 6. Get over it.

2. To the teenager sitting across from me. I love my Ipod as much as the next person but you are singing very loud…..and horribly.

3. To Mr. Man sitting in front of me. See how little leg room you have? It’s the same for me back here. Your seat is already as far back as it will go. Quit using all of your body weight to try and recline some more. I am only 5’4” and you have busted both of my kneecaps.

4. To the lady sitting behind me. When you need to get out of your seat, please use your armrests if you need help getting into the standing position. The back of my seat is not for this purpose.

5. To the lady with the crying baby. It’s ok, babies cry. Ignore the man who is sitting next to you and rolling his eyes. I would cry right now if I could get away with it.

6. To the person that attempts to finish the crossword puzzle that I started in the airline magazine. . Yes, I am complete moron and obviously have the vocabulary of a 5 year old.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Ni Hao from Chicago. I flew in tonight and then tomorrow night I’ll be flying to New York and then back home Friday night. I love the cities of Chicago and New York but won’t really see anything since I’ll be in each of them for barely 24 hours. I’ll be seeing two customers along the way and hopefully performing some magic for both of them. Friday should’t be more than the old “rabbit out of a hat" trick. I’m afraid Thursday may be more like sawing a lady in half. Oh, and trying to put her back together of course. There is always a catch. I do pre-sales and post-sales for a software company. What does that mean? I basically make lots of software presentations and convince people that the software is going to make their lives a million times better with all it’s fancy features. That is the pre-sales part. Then sometimes I get to go back and make it do all the things we promised. I’m not sure if it keeps me honest or I am developing a split personality.

I’ve only seen The Amazing Race a couple of times. However, from what I can tell, a group of software consultants could kick some serious butt on that show. It’s what we do every day. You find out at the last minute that you need to get to some random city. Maybe it’s Tulsa, Oklahoma and then again maybe it’s Mumbai, India. You figure out how to get there. You may have a vague idea of why you are going but that probably came from a sales guy (love ya Rick!) so you are pretty clueless until you get there. You arrive, try to figure out the best way to get to your assignment….train, taxi, rental car, rickshaw, donkey. Get to your assignment and then you are instructed to perform the impossible. Oh and there is a deadline because you have to be in another city by tomorrow. Things never go as planned so we always have a plan B in our back pocket. I have been stuck in traffic on the way to the airport and knew I was going to miss my flight. I ditched my Rental Car at a hotel, got on a train and still made my flight. Piece of cake.
You would not mind being on national TV screaming your fool head off at your teammates either. They are only co-workers, not your family. I’m telling you a group of software consultants could not be beat on that show. Of course the withdrawal symptoms of being without their Crackberrys could slow some of them down. There is always a catch.

Mandarin Monday

Welcome to the first edition of what I am calling Mandarin Monday. Jon and I want to learn some Mandarin before our trip. Our daughter will be placed with people that she doesn't know and who will sound completely different from what she has been exposed to. While we will not be fluent and will have an obvious accent, we are hoping that it will help with the transition during the first few days. Can't hurt, right? Of course there is the chance that she has been hearing Cantonese but we had to pick one.
Also, one of my biggest pet peeves is when someone travels to another country and doesn't even bother to learn a few words of the local language. Come on, everyone should at least be able to say Hello and Goodbye(which is what we will be learning this week). I have found that regardless of how bad you mispronounce something, making the effort is usually well received.

(This is probably a good time to disclose the fact that on a trip to Venice with two of my girlfriends we ended up spending $300.00 on lunch by pretending we knew what we were doing. Yes, $100.00 EACH on LUNCH!!! Oh, and there was the time I got kicked off a bus in Singapore. Obviously I am not an expert.)

To properly learn Mandarin, I am sure we should enroll in a structured class so that we can ensure that we are learning all of the nuances of the language. We are also checking out the online courses. However, right now our lives are not working like that so we are going to start with the DIY approach. I am going to learn a couple of words or phrases each week. If we do enroll in a class we will either be ahead of the game or the instructor will be horrified at what we have learned on our own. Either way, I'm jumping in.

I'm sure most of you adoptive parents may be way ahead of me on this but if you want to play along at home, I am starting out easy this week. The assignment is to use the words everyday - not just read them here.

I will present the English word, the pinyin spelling and attempt to show the pronunciation in parentheses. This will be the difficult part since Mandarin is a tonal language. There are four basic tones in modern Mandarin Chinese, and every syllable in the language is pronounced with one of those four tones (or with a neutral tone). In Mandarin, the tones are extremely important. In fact, the tones are as much a part of the syllable or word as the consonant and vowel sounds are. Chinese words that might appear identical when written in English letters, such as the word “ma,” in fact are very different depending on the tone used. “Ma” can mean “mother,” “horse,” or “scold,” depending on which tone is used. Sounds dangerous. Mom, I apologize in advance if I call you a horse.

Words For The Week
Hello - Ni Hao (Nee how)
Goodbye - Zia Jian (Tseye geean)

You can try this link to hear the pronunciation. (Depending on what you have on your computer, I can't guarantee that these links will not require you to install an application to play the file or a language pack.) It's the first and third word on the page that will come up. Click on the red rectangle.

Extra credit
1. Notice the combination of "ao" makes the "ow" sound as in the english words now or how.
2. The vowel "i" makes the long "e" sound as in the english word see. However, from what I have read this is only the case when the i comes after consanants other than z, c, s, zh, ch, sh, r.

Zia Jian for now!!

P.S. to Dad - You always have a clever way of answering the phone. I don't have to tell you what I expect to hear this week!!!

Our Favorite Season

Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall? Nope - we're talking crawfish season, baby!!! (Yes, it's crawfish and not crayfish. I don't care what the spellcheck says. Please don't say crayfish.) I realize that not everyone appreciates this fine delicacy but in South Louisiana where I come from, crawfish are actually their own food group. And cooking them is nothing less than an art form. Needless to say, there is only one restaurant in our city that I trust with boiled crawfish. Lucky for me, I married a man that appreciates them as much as anyone (even if he is a Texan). We just got home from gorging ourselves. Mmmmm Mmmmm.

P.S. to Andree' - Don't worry I ate enough for you and me both!!!