Vacation

Today is my last day of work for a week and then

I’M ON VAY CAY SHUN , I’M ON VAY CAY SHUN!  *insert happy dance here*

 

My whole family is off to the beach for a week of fun in the sun, swimming in the ocean and chilling out! I can’t wait!

 

 

Middle Name Meme

I was tagged by Shannon to do a meme about my middle name.  It was harder than I thought it would be. But here goes.

 

 

 

You have to post these rules before you give the facts.

1) Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.

2) When you are tagged you need to write your own blog post containing your own middle name game facts.

3) At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

 

 

K   Kick butt.   I have a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. HI YA!

 

A  Anxious… my current mental health. Anxious about the adoption, anxious about work, anxious about planning a wedding. I’m a mess these days. My plate is TOO full!!

 

T  Tony. My fiancé. He’s dreamy.

 

H  H is the first letter of my last name. I’m an H thru and thru.  I’m going to miss being a H when I get married. Maybe I can convince T to change HIS name?      ;-)

 

L Laughter.  I love to laugh, and I have a big loud laugh. Tony says I’m an easy laugh as well, because I’m always trying to find something funny.

 

E  Emily. My little girl from China I have yet to meet, but already adore.

 

E  Excited   about the adoption, and about getting married! (yes you can be anxious and excited at the same time!!)

 

N  Nap lover. Nothing I like more than a good nap on a Sunday afternoon. (yes, I know these days are ending soon)

 

 

I think the whole free world has been tagged by now to do this one, but I list Amy & Tracy and anyone else who wants to play!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rumors

I have been stalking the RQ for the last week, hoping for some rumors that would indicate SOMETHING for this next batch of referrals. I got a fat lot of nothing, and possibly the start of carpel tunnel by clicking the refresh button so often. *sigh*  It makes me insane how they never tell you squat. I don’t understand why it’s not on a routine. Like SWI, you must submit your paperwork babies by the 10^th of every month. Then they have the 20^th to make matches to families waiting. Then they are all signed and mailed by the 25^th and everyone gets them by month end. And then its’ the same EVERY MONTH. How has this concept not occurred to the Chinese government? Doesn’t the whole world work this way? I can’t think of a single business that doesn’t operate on a monthly or quarterly schedule. And as much as I don’t like it, getting babies into homes is a business. It is a little more complicated due to the fact that they are peoples lives involved, but the paperwork part shouldn’t be. It should be the same over and over again.

 

One day I will be in charge of the world. And then I’ll make everyone do things the right way. MY WAY!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crib Woes

I have been attempting to buy a crib for about the last 3 weeks.  I looked on line, but decided you can’t really tell about the color unless you see it in person. So I went to Babies R Us. And then I went back. And then last night I went back again with Tony. We finally decided on one, sat down to write up the order with the sales guy only to find out that they don’t deliver, and most importantly, they don’t assemble. 

 

I do not have a truck. There is no way I could fit a giant crib box in my little Honda. Even if I could fit in there, I’m assuming I would have to open the box on the first floor and carry all the pieces individually upstairs to assemble it, because I imagine it would be very very heavy.  And then of course is the whole thing that I don’t want to assemble a crib!  I could probably do it, but I wouldn’t trust my handy work.  I’ve put together simple things before (a bookcase) but a crib where a little baby is going to sleep (and bounce up and down repeatedly) ah No. I don’t want any part of that.

 

So here is the thing. My sister has used babies r us in a different town and they delivered and assembled the crib. (for a very low price too). But mine won’t do it.  Can any of you all speak to this? Does yours do this or not? Or, can you think of a baby type store that would? I hate to start all over and find a new crib somewhere else, but really I will.

 

Obviously I know I could rent a truck and then hire a handy man type person to put this together for me (and Tony is not willing to do this. He has the same fears I do) But, I don’t really want to spend another 100$ on a truck rental and handy man guy for an hour. Sheesh. I thought the hard part would be picking it out!!

 

 

Baby Carrier

It has been pointed out that I need a baby carrier.  One friend recommended the Playtex DeLux Hip hammock.  Any other suggestions, recommendations?  I think I’m going to wait and see how big Emily is before I buy one of these. I mean, if she’s 2 and 30 lbs (unlikely) then I’d probably want something different than if she is 8 months and 16lbs, right?

 

Also, I’m keeping in mind it will be freezing when we get there in January (or Dec if I’m lucky) so she might be more willing to be snuggly due to the coldness.

 

Thoughts?

Watch This!

I INSIST that you go watch this video: http://glumbert.com/media/waterbuffalo (sorry you have to cut and paste) It is wonderful way to remember that not finding a swimsuit in your size sure as hell isn't the worst thing that could happen to you.

The video is longish (about 7-8 mins) but it is totally worth it. Trust me. You will be glad you did.

Packing List

Below is a list of things that I’ve already picked up for my big trip to China.  Some of it was stuff I already had (like my ipod) and other stuff were things I bought specifically for this trip. 

rubber bands

small flashlight? I have one but unsure if I’ll bring it.

Black pens

ipod

ipod charger

Digital Camera(s)

dirty diaper disposable bags (w ties)

Sleep mask

Earplugs

Red envelopes & Thank you stickers

Baby bath wash

throw away cameras (2)

travel toilet paper  6 rolls

baby wash cloths (disposable)

1 gallon ziplock bags

travel kleenex

diapers size 3 & 4

lemonade To Go Packs

q-tips, travel size

Bottle brush

teething ointment

antibacterial wipes

Earplugs x 2

day/night 1 day pill box (for Tylenol/tums etc)

travel size soap

teething toy

disposable facial cloths

Cloth diapers for burp cloths

Thank you Cards

dosage spoon/syringe

Pacifiers

bottles

towels for Emily (or the hoody thingy)

hand santitizer

band aids/bandages

neosporin or similar

 

 

Now, here is a list of things I think I still need to get. A lot of them are medications (over the counter) and I was waiting to the last minute to get those, because I didn’t want them to expire before I had a chance to use them. (for instance, if I had bought them last year at this time, I would need to throw them out in a month or two)

money belt

Cera Lytes, oral rehydration packets,Magellen website

Stamps!! LOTS of stamps

Stuff for Lice

pedialyte packets

Infant Tylenol

Tongs (for swishing / cleaning nipples and bottles)

Infant cough syrup

infant benedryl

stuff for scabies PRESCRIPTION ONLY

infant suppositories

cough drops/nyquil pills

Pepto tablets and tums

sleeping pills (for grownups!)

Disposable changing pads

 

So. What am I missing?  These aren’t full on packing lists (yet). They are more like shopping guides.  Things I’d like to go ahead and get before hand. I think I will also need a really good back pack, but a friend offered to lend me hers if I wanted, so I’m not sure if I need to put that on the list exactly.

Thoughts? Suggestions, recommendations? 

 

Pics from Colin's 2nd Birthday

Now that I know the photos are posting (yay) here are a few more from Colin’s big day!   

 

 

Still Alive

I’m still here. Just taking a little break.  This week has been pretty stressful. I don’t really know why, I just know that I’ve been stressed out. Whatever. It’s Friday, and I’m happy for it!!

 

To catch up. It was my nephew’s 2^nd Birthday this past Monday. Happy Birthday Colin!!   I’m trying to get a picture to post here, but I’m not sure it’s working…

 

 

 

Also, tonight Tony, Dad and I are going to see the Panthers vs Patriots football game. OOOH AHHH.  I’m starting to understand football a bit, and this should be fun.

 

One last thing,  Valerie suggested that I put up a list of what I have as far as my packing list goes, and then you guys can fill in the blanks. I think that is a fabulous idea, so I’ll be working on that the next day or so (or maybe sooner, I love lists!!) 

 

That’s it. Still alive over here.

 

 

 

 

Calling All Moms

You guys gave me some really good suggestions on stuff to bring with me to China. Some were on my list already, but a lot of them weren’t, so keep the suggestions coming. I need all the help I can get!

 

I was over reading Shanny's blog this morning about socially responsible companies.  The top of the list? Seventh Generation.  Which is really odd, because I only heard of them for the first time 2 weeks ago! My friend Melissa who just had a baby had asked for environmentally friendly diapers. So I went to Earth Fare, our local organic/locally produced grocery store. It is a very cool place, but unfortunately it is about 20 mins from where I live, so not someplace I would shop at every week.  But they did indeed carry the 7^th Generation diapers and wipes, so I bought some for her as a shower gift. And I went ahead and bought a package for Emily to try out. (size 3)  It was the tax free weekend here, so I figured if I’m going to buy them, might as well get them at a discount. 

 

So here is my question. Has anyone out in blog land tried these diapers? Did they work? Were they leaky/messy?  I like the idea of buying disposable diapers that actually biodegrade in a short amount of time. And they are about the same price as other diapers. PLUS, if you go to the website, you can download pretty good coupons. Another bonus, since they don’t have any chemicals in them, they are supposed to be fabuloso for kids who are prone to diaper rashes, or skin allergies.   The company also makes toilet paper, paper towels, Kleenex, etc. Your basic paper products.   But do they work?  Any one whose tried these out, please share!

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks

Thanks for all your suggestions on Thermos’ purchases.  It is weird how some kids need a HOT bottle, and other kids are like, dude, whatever, just feed me. You know if I don’t bring one, my kid will be one of the ones that has to have a screaming hot bottle.  Anyways, my pal Susan read my blog and offered me her thermos, which she says they only used while they were in China. So that’s even better.  If for some reason I don’t like Susan’s, I’ll try out some of these other places you recommended.  We don’t have Long’s Drugstores in the South East. Well…at least not my part of the South East, and since I’ve never even heard of them, I’m going to go with they must be a West Coast Thang.   But again, I never thought of looking at a drug store. I hardly ever go to a CVS or Eckards. Heck, I hardly ever go to Walmart (mostly because I think they are one of the new axis of evil, but that is a different story).

 

So now on to other things. For all the parents out there that have been to China, are there are other things, besides the Thermos, that I have to have?  I’ve been working all year on getting some stuff together for my big trip. I have all the predictable things like toilet paper and hand sanitizer and cheerios.  Any thoughts on something I would never think of myself?

 

 

 

On to More Important Stuff

Yes, this is an extremely important, world changing type post.  I need a thermos!

  I’ve been advised by parents who have already been to China to pick up their child that I must, must, MUST bring a Thermos with me. This is important, so I can bring boiled water in my diaper bag, for making up fresh bottles (and it will stay hot which is key)   Well, I’m not having much luck finding a Thermos at Target, my favorite store.  They have them, don’t get me wrong, but they are covered in leather (? Do you really want to put hot beverages in something covered in leather? How do you wash it?)  and they are about 35$.  Now, if that was the only Thermos in the world, I would just get it. But doesn’t it seem like there would be more than one option?

 

So, I went online.  I found this which is very cute, but it only holds 12 oz.  So I’m concerned that is really only enough for 1 bottle, plus spills.  Then, I found THIS  but it holds like 40 oz…and I’m not exactly going to be hiking in the desert here.  Plus, I mean good grief, how much does 40oz of water WEIGH? I don’t want to be toting around an extra 6lbs of water! I’m already going to have to get used to toting Emily AND a diaper bag. I’m not the Hulk after all!    

 

So I need your help/advice peeps.  How big does this thermos really need to be? I’m only getting one kid so keep that in mind. Oooh, and I don’t want to spend a gajillion dollars on a thermos. I have plane tickets to buy still.  So any thoughts or recommendations are welcome. 

 

 

 

 

Strange Life

Life is very strange. I’m sure you all know this by now.  But this past week has really made how strange life really is perfectly apparent to me.

 

First off, my good friend Karla passed away very unexpectedly. Karla was only 35, and a mom to two beautiful girls, aged 4 and 10.  We had the same birthday (day not year) and I used to call her on our birthday and sing Happy Birthday to US!  She was a lot of fun and always around if I needed her.  Her older daughter was in my Brownie troop a few years ago. I knew her for about 7 years.   I am so upset about her passing. I talked to her a mere 2 days before she died.  It was so sudden and shocking.  It will be hard for us who miss her to forget her. My heart breaks for her babies that will never really know their mom. It’s so sad, it’s almost indescribable.  

 

The day of Karla’s funeral, my good friend Melissa went into labor.  She gave birth to a handsome, healthy baby boy, Nathaniel James.  He is so cute, and he furrows his brow like he is contemplating world politics from the bassinette. ;-)   She is doing really well, which is good news because the end of her pregnancy got a little scary (she had hypertension) I’m soo soo happy for her and her family and was so excited to meet little Nate. 

 

Life goes on, ya know? And you just never ever know what is going to happen next. Mom says that you should enjoy every day. She’s right, but it’s hard to do that sometimes.   I hope I can keep in mind how unexpected life is when I’m in the throes of some stupid work crisis, or I’m stuck in traffic or some idiot brings their 2 year old to a rated R movie and sits right behind me, ruining my movie going experience.  It just doesn’t seem worth it to get that upset over stuff like that anymore.

 

I hate being all introspective and junk. It makes me sad, and gives me a headache.  I hope all the people that I love know that I love them. I try to remember to tell them, but sometimes, you just get busy and you forget. You think, well, I’ll see them next week, or we’ll chat on the phone soon.  No biggie.   *sigh*  Life has a way of whacking you in the face sometimes, don’t it?

 

 

Predictions

Well I was bang on last month for predictions of how far referrals will get. This month, well, I’m not so sure.  This is what I’m thinking.

 

September batch  will be Nov 22 to 24-28.  It doesn’t really matter what the cut-off date is (for me) this month. Obviously, I would prefer that they get through Nov 28 but if they only do 3 days, I’m not going to be shocked.

 

Oct batch. No matter how many times I run the numbers, it doesn’t matter when the cutoff from Sept was. They won’t go farther than Dec 5 or 6.  And that’s true weather they end Sept’s group Nov 24 or Nov 28. 

 

Nov batch ME ME ME ME  I think realistically it will include Dec 7 onward..to about the 13^th or 14^th.  

 

I suppose I should prepare myself that CCAA could do something CRAZY like this

Sept Nov 22-24

Oct Nov 25-28

Nov  Nov 29-Dec 5

Dec Dec 6 onwards…

 

So I can’t really rule December out. But I think November is going to my month. FINALLY. It’s hard to imagine Nov, because it’s 102 degrees here today. November feels a long long way off, doesn’t it?

 

 

 

20 Months LID

Today makes

20 MONTHS

LID

Shouldn’t I get a plaque or something this month?  HA HA HA HA

 

 

Better Pictures

OK OK...I'm such a girl and a show off to boot. But Shanny took some much MUCH better photos of my engagement ring, and I had to share. The other one just sort of gave you an idea. This is the real deal.





I'm still all smiley every time I look at my hand. HA HA HA!

Adoption Comments

My weekend was jammed packed as usual. I sort of miss the days when I didn’t have much going on. Anyways, among going to a baby shower and a birthday game night for Shanny, I also managed to get in some quality shopping time. This is big, because this past weekend was Tax free in NC for items like clothes and more importantly diapers. OOOH AHHHH. So Tony and I hit BJ’s and picked up a giant case of diapers and another giant case of wipes. We noticed that like every cart in the store had diapers by the case load in their carts! When we checked out the girl was like, “hmmm, diapers, wipes, where’s the baby?”  Tony told her about the adoption and hopefully getting Emily by the end of the year. The girl was very nice. She just said, that’s so cool, and the people in line in front of you were ALSO adopting and buying diapers ahead of time.   So nice to hear positive words from a stranger!!! Rather than the normal, why? What’s wrong with you? crap I usually hear.  I told T on the way home that I wish everyone was as nice as this girl was to us. Some people just stink.

 

Speaking of which, I have to brag on T a bit. He told a client at work about me adopting not too long ago. He was explaining how it takes awhile, and I’ve been waiting for such a long time now. The client said “well why don’t you just have her switch to Korea? It doesn’t take nearly as long there!”  Tony’s brilliant response? “We’re not ordering take out here!”   Gotta love that boy!

 

 

 

 

Snap Back to Reality

Well, it’s official, the CCAA matched families with babies from Nov 15- 21, 2005.  That’s good. Another 7 days out of the way. We are now left with just 16 days in front of mine. WOO HOO!!!  Soooo close now!   Congrats to all the families that got to see pictures of their little ones for the first time this week!!

 

In other news, my friend Jody (who doesn’t have a blog) brought me my first ‘engagement’ gift last night. We went out to dinner and she showed up with a Modern Bride magazine. We had a great time poring through and making fun of all the horrible dresses and the weird hairdos they put on these poor models.  It was fun. I’m not ready to go try on dresses or anything, but it will be fun to look through the next month or so. (it’s a HUGE magazine) 

 

A lot of people asked right off if we had set a date yet. I think that’s kind of weird. I’ve only been engaged like a week. And people were asking the first day. Is that a normal thing to ask?  Anyways, we haven’t set a date yet. Or even decided where or anything. Not one single decision has been made.  Well, that’s not true. I decided I don’t really want to think about it until after Emily comes home. SHE is my priority right now. And Tony agrees. So we’ll get married sometime later next year. No rush and no worries. I can only obsess about one thing at a time anyways. HA HA HA

 

In other news, today is Shanny's birthday! So pop over there and say Happy Birthday Girl!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rumors Galore!

Well this week seems to be Rumor Week over on RQ.  It seems that referrals may be on their way to families as we speak and that they are going to cover Nov 15 -21^st.  (which is what I predicted thank you very much!)  There had been some talk earlier in the month that they were going to get through early December, but I was right to laugh that off. Still, I think part of me hopes every month that they will do a little bit more than they did the month before. I love and hate this week. I want to know what the cut –off date is, and I love to see all the new referral pics up on the web. But I always feel a little bit …disappointed. It’s taking so long. I feel really bad for people that are logged in a month or two after me. They definitely had no idea what was going on. Although I knew just as my dossier was flying to China that it was going to increase to 12 months, I certainly didn’t plan on 2 years. And I know the folks behind me probably weren’t stalking blogs and junk 2 months before they were DTC, so they probably didn’t know there was an increase in wait times.   And unfortunately, most adoption agencies kind of…lied to their clients about the wait.  I think some of them flat out lied, and I think a lot of them just didn’t tell the whole truth. They said, oh our families now only waited 9 months! Well that might have been true, but it wasn’t the whole story, ya know what I mean? I hear that there are agencies out there right now who have on their website that it is only a 15-18 month wait. Or worse a 12 month wait. Those folks should be shot. I’m not a huge fan of my agency, but at least they say things like the wait is currently 19 months and we only see it getting longer. That’s a MUCH better way to word it, don’t you think?  People who logged in last summer should have been aware that the wait would be at least 12 months, and more like 18 months. Not that it makes it much better (cause here I am going on a 20 month wait) but it sure is a different story when you know going into it it’s going to take at least X long. Me, and the people LID right after me were all told 6-8 months. I think that is the worse part of the wait.  Even after I get my referral (one day!) I still hope that CCAA speeds up for the people in line behind me.

 

I’m not sure how I got off on that agency telling the truth tangent. I’m meant to be talking about rumors. Which are everywhere. I’m hoping for some actual FACTS in the next day or two.  Then I can ooh and ahh over the babies, and do some more adoption math. Hee hee   It seems odd that I’m only 20 some LID days away, and I still have a 3 month window as to when I could get my referral. How jacked up is that?! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weekend Recap

My weekend was really busy!  Saturday, we went to visit my folks, and let them take us out to celebrate our engagement! It was fun. It was also an opportunity for me to pick up a bunch of stuff for Emily that my friend Karen (from Gwenblog) had given me last year.  She was super nice, and donated a bunch of stuff that her own Gwen had outgrown. It’s been taking up space in my parent’s garage for about the last year, so it was time to bring it all back to my place. We got a lot of fun toys, and a highchair! Woo hoo!   We also got a changing table that Mom had picked up, I think at a consignment store some time ago.  It’s starting to look like a baby may live at my house now!

 

Other than that, on Sunday, Tony and I ran a bunch of errands. We went to JCPenny, which was having a killer sale. I picked up some things for my nephew (and nephew to be) and a few things for myself.  We also went to Babies R Us and finally FINALLY picked out a pattern to do Emily’s nursery.  You can check it out here.  This is honestly the 3^rd pattern that I’ve picked out for Emily’s room. A woman shouldn’t get 2+ years to make a decision on something like this!  There are way too many chances to change your mind.  I had my heart set on getting this set from Kukusnest. But although the owner told me they were going to make it in toddler/crib sizes, they haven’t yet. (she told me in March they were aiming for May for that to be available.)  I feel like its time to get her room together, and I don’t want to take the chance that this pattern won’t be available. So, I had to move on to the SugarPlum butterflies. Which I like a lot too. In any case, I’ll keep tabs on the Kukusnest one, and maybe when Emily is 3 or 4 and ready for a big girl bed, we’ll get that for her then.   The other good news is that they are having a Family & Friends day at Sherwin Williams in a few weeks. My favorite brother in Law Kevin (hi Kevy) works there, so we are all about taking advantage and buying some new paint for Em’s room. OOOH AHHHH.  My friend Jody even volunteered to help me paint. Isn’t she a sweetie? And Tony volunteered to NOT help me paint, which is such a relief. I love the man, but he can’t work a paint brush to save his life!  He can bring us a beer or something while we paint. HA HA HA…

 

We also went to BJ’s Wholesale (love that place!) and then we went to see The Simpson's Movie with Tony’s sister Lisa and her two sons, Jake and Justin. The movie was hysterical. I highly recommend it to everyone, especially the Simpson’s fans out there. I think it will be something we buy on DVD too, when it comes out.  It was really funny, and had all of the characters from the show that you love. It was great!

 

So that was our big weekend. Now it’s back to reality for me. Then again, I get to glance at my fabulous ring all day long. It’s so great being engaged!