Small Miracles and Bizarre Changes

Small Miracles - last night I had 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep. That hasn't happened since last spring. Wow. Although, I did say to Husband, 6:30 on a Saturday morning is really an ungodly hour to have to get up. He responded with, She was raised Buddhist.

Bizarre Changes - Before we went to China, I couldn't eat breakfast. All I could handle was my 3 cups of coffee. Lunch was usually a bowl of cereal around 11:00 am, and then supper. While in China, I had breakfast everyday because one never knew what lunch would be. Especially on the days it was MacDonald's - I don't like MacD's here in the Great White North, so I was pretty sure I wasn't going to like it in China. Now after coming home? I'm starving when I first get up, lunch is usually around 2:00 in the afternoon, and I'm not hungry for supper. So I haven't been eating supper. My stomach is still on China time.

Thumbelina has been practicing her crawling skills. She has quite the technique as she pulls with one elbow and pushes with one knee, but it gets here where she wants to be:

Please ignore the shnozzy nose and carrots all over her sleeve. I'm blaming that on Husband.

One Week Home

Our first week home together with Thumbelina has flown by. I guess when you're in a constant state of exhaustion, it's easy to forget what day it really is.

On Monday I had to work; and I was resentful for it. And as a result, Thumbelina slept way too long and was up all night. When you have a family business, you don't have a choice but to work and things needed to be done.

On Tuesday, I had personal space issues. I decided not to work and to spend my day with Thumbelina, playing with her and doing all the stuff I've been dreaming about for the last two years. Except my assistant had other ideas and followed me from room to room asking me questions. Our office is attached to our house which really sucks sometimes. I think she got the hint when she said to me, "You don't mind me following you around, bugging you, do you?" and I didn't answer; I just smiled. I need my personal space, people. Don't enter my personal space.

Or maybe that happened on Wednesday. I really don't know. But yesterday she was mad at me and wouldn't look me in the eye or talk to me. Whatever.

Oh, I remember Wednesday. Wednesday my brother's house caught fire and I looked after my 2 nieces and 2 nephews for the day. Their neighbour saw smoke coming from their garage and banged on the windows, waking them up. Their garage, mudroom and back bedroom were destroyed and they won't be able to go back into the house until the water and smoke damage is cleaned from everything. I'm really thankful nobody was injured.

So today is Friday. I've been having a hard time staying awake past 6:00 pm, but last night I was able to stay up until 8:30 pm. Party on! Thumbelina slept okay in Beijing, but has since regressed. I knew it would happen, but I secretly hoped that we would be part of the chosen few who would come home with a baby that would continue to sleep. Last night she slept in my arms - she had to have her cheek touching my bare arm continuously, and she awoke a few times screaming. The screaming is new.

She adores her brothers and now hollers at them. It is the funniest thing. She just looks at one of them a yells at the top of her lungs. Not because she's angry, just to get their attention. Tigger is feeling a little left out, so I'm trying to give him extra hugs.

Sorry, no pictures this post, the Little Miss is starting to crab and needs some lunch.

We're Still Alive!

We're home! Had a great trip! Are experiencing jet-lag! Thumbelina is awesome! Will write more once I'm coherent!

I just love this picture - it was taken about 30 minutes after Thumbelina met her brothers:


I wasn't going to buy an excersaucer, seeing as how she'll probably be walking soon, but Husband talked me into it. It was only 60 bucks. At least half the cost of when Zoomer was a baby. Who knew. Anyhoo, as you can tell, she loves it:

This Is It!

This is it! It's really happening! This will be my last post until we're home with Thumbelina - March 24th. You can follow along on our journey at The Story of You with our personal page being Kallie. Wish me luck that I don't mess anything up in sending e-mails and pictures to Tina...

So. I'm trying not to be sad about something because I've got better things to do with my time than worry about someone who obviously doesn't like me, but when everybody and their uncle says, Have a great trip! even people I've never met but whom I talk with on the phone because of the business - one girl I've that I've talked to a total of 3 times in my life, including yesterday, is super-excited for us - yet still one of the boys' teachers hasn't even acknowledged our referral or trip. She walked right on by me yesterday as we're both calling our kids at the school snow-hill. Just very hurtful. But that's her problem 'cuz I'M GETTIN MY BABY!!!

Our itinerary, in case some of yous are wondering, we leave the city tomorrow at 7:00 am and arrive in Vancouver at 12:15 pm (9:15 local time). Then we read some books, snack on some snacks and leave Vancouver at 12:35 local time (3:35 home time), arriving in Beijing on March 10 at 4:00 pm local time, which I think is 3:00 am home time.

Sunday, March 11: Fly to Hunan (1:45 - 4:10 pm)

Monday, March 12: Thumbelina Day (Yippeeee!!!)

Saturday, March 17: Fly to Beijing (1:50 - 4:05 pm)

Saturday, March 24: Fly Home, leaving Beijing at 2:40 pm and arriving back to the city at 4:10 the same day. I can handle a 1 1/2 hour flight. Bwahahahahaha.

And now I'm off to pack. Really.

Husband is Funny

He keeps me sane. His saneness cancels out my craziness. We are a good combination.

This morning Zoomer was quite upset with me because I didn't do laundry last night. I told him he didn't ask me to do laundry. Apparently all of his clothes, and I checked each and every drawer in his room, are in the washing machine washed, and he just presumed I was going to put them in the dryer for him last night. I would have if he had asked, but since I didn't know this was his plan, I didn't. He can be frustrating at times, that one. He's stuck wearing church pants to school today.

So Husband informed me this morning that he wants to leave the house tomorrow morning by 9:30 (TO CHINA - OH YAH!) And that's after dropping the dogs off at the vets.

And I told him that I needed to do all the paycheques tomorrow before we go.

And he said I could stay up all night tonight and do them.

Me: But what are we going to do all day if we're only spending the night in the city? (Our flight is Friday morning)

Husband: Shop.

Me: And where are we going to put all our purchases?

Husband: In the Tran.

Me: And where are we going to put all of our luggage and souveniers that we bring home from China?

Husband: Oh, we won't have Zoomer with us. He'll be staying at the orphanage.

Me Laughing: Good one!

We tease Zoomer that we're making an even trade - he's staying at the orphanage and Thumbelina is coming home with us. We're so bad. And this morning was one of those mornings when we're tempted to go through with our idle threat.

Busted!

Can you guess what this is:

1 Browser pay per use @ $30.72/MB x 3.4804 MB, totalling $106.92
161 Text Messages Sent
60 Text Messages Received
1 Download of a Screen Saver

Anybody? Anybody?

Give up?

This is what happens when your 12-year-old sneaks an extra company phone and uses for 2 weeks before getting caught. 2 WEEKS. 2. Totalling $202.96. TWO HUNDRED BUCKS. Yah, he'll be paying that from his own money. It was kind of funny though, as Husband and I were going over the details of the bill with him, I could see Zoomer gulping every now and then. Kids.

Oh, and I'm still at a big fat zippo for R-R-Roll Up The Rim.

Spring is in the Air

Not everywhere I look around, just at Tim Horton's. It is officially R-R-Roll up the Rim time again! I must admit, since having the flu a few weeks ago, my coffee consumption has gone down, but I still do average 1 a day from Tim's (instead of 3), and that's not including my morning coffee. So Husband has already won a free coffee - with his first rim even. AND he was the first customer to get a R-R-Roll up the Rim cup because he stopped in just after midnight on the day it started. Me? Zippity-doo. This is giving me a feeling of de-ja-vu. Last year I think I won a donut. For the entire contest.

So yesterday was a snow day and the boys enjoyed being lazy. Tigger wanted me to draw him a spider-man, and while I'm no artist, anything I draw is wonderful in the eyes of my 7-year-old. He drew Doc Oc, I drew a web, he drew a spider and he cut everything out. I cut the spider out for him because it was tricky around all those legs. He spent hours playing with his paper super-hero and villian. Hours. It was way cute.

I did some more painting in Thumbelina's room. I love the colour I chose, but I just wasn't happy with how it looked. It was boring. And I needed more paint anyway for touch-ups, so I bought some a shade darker, and some glaze. My idea was to just kind of rub the paint on the wall for interest. But I didn't like it. So before I finished, I decided to sponge over top of it. When I did the last wall of the rubbing, I used a lot more water than I had been using, and when it dried I loved it. Except I had already started the sponging...which was looking hideous. So I re-did the rubbing over top of the sponging, using extra water. I think I like it. I haven't actually looked at it today but my arm feels like it is literally going to fall off so I'm leaving it. I'm also going to paint a vine with leaves and small pink daisies around the edges where the paint technique meets up with the flat paint on the ceiling. I hope it turns out.

But today I need to shop and clean but I think Muther and Sylvie (my SIL) are coming on Monday to help me paint.

Teetering on the Edge

I'm teetering on the edge of meltdowns. Not quite insanity. Maybe, though. You know it's bad when you have to fight back tears in the bank. The Bank, people.

One of the requirements for our adoption is to give the orphanage a donation. We are glad to do this. They've taken great care of Thumbelina for all these months, it's the least we can do. The donation has to be in brand new US 100 dollar bills. Brand-spanking new. A year and a half ago, I asked our bank for the required monies. The girl at the bank, when she gave me the money, gave it to me in 50's and 20's - some of it was new, most of it was not. Her statement when she gave me the money was We do this for a lot of people, it doesn't have to be in 100's. Um, excuse me, but yes it does. So we just held onto it and decided we would exchange it for the new 100's when it got closer for us to go to China.

Which brings us to yesterday. We are now with a new bank, I have very bad feelings towards our old bank, very bad, our new bank treats us wonderfully. Except for yesterday. Our account manager is awesome and gets things done for us. We requested the brand new 100's and he said Mr. Branch Manager will have them tomorrow. Husband talked to the Mr. Branch Manager the next day and Mr. Branch Manager said Why don't I hold on to this for you and you can come in to get it when it gets closer to your trip. Awesome.

So yesterday I walked in to the bank and said Is Mr. Bank Manager here? He has some money for me.

Crabby Bank Lady: No, he doesn't. Mr. Bank Manager doesn't have any money.

Me: Yes, he does. He had brand new US 100's for me. I was told to come in and see him about it.

Crabby Bank Lady: Well he doesn't. I'll have to order it in for you. You can pick it up tomorrow.

Me (Trying not to cry): But what if it's a snow day?

Perky Lady at the Help Desk sitting beside Crabby Lady: Oh, well we'll still be open!

Me (Thinking to myself): You don't have kids, do you.

Perky Lady: Where are you going?

Me: China

Perky Lady: Oh how exciting! You know, my husband goes to China every so often, and he's taken US money, but it's never had to be brand new before.

Me: This is for an adoption.

Perky Lady: Congratulations! That's wonderful! Girl or boy?

Me: Girl.

Crabby Lady (getting a little less crabby): My cousin adopted two girls from China. They're sweet.

So the bank people said they could hold my money for two days, since I wasn't sure I could make it in today to pick it up. And today is a snow day. We had freezing rain last night.

When I got home, I told Husband my tail of woe. He said The money is at the bank. They just don't know what they're talking about. So he talked to Mr. Bank Manager this morning, who is cancelling my second order for brand new US 100's because he already has my money. Which he's not really supposed to do (hold money like that), but for us, he did it.

So a warning to you - don't push me because I will break.

I e-mailed my agency yesterday because I just need clarification and reassurance on some paperwork, and I have yet to hear back from them. Which is not helping my state of mind. I think I've figured out the answer to my questions on my own, but still. And honestly, if we do another adoption (which Husband said isn't going to happen), I will pick a different agency. Because there have been a few things now that haven't sat well with me.

In other news, Lola, our friend Trix, and I went to Buffalo and picked up Fil from the airport. And we had such a normal trip. Completely normal. Boring, almost. So different from our last trip to Buffalo.

I picked up some more clothes for Thumbelina, a princess chair, and doll-shaped bookshelf. I'm so so so excited. Lola and Trix both think I'm spoiling her. I just stuck my tongue out at them and said I've waited a long time for this.

Don't push me. I will break.

Speaking of Hillbillies

My Hillbilly Name:

Your Hillbilly Name Is...

Sandra Dee Hogg

Hillbilly Name Generator

So what's yours?

And as always, for some reason when I do these silly blog-quizzes and copy the html code, it never works out for me. It used to before super-blogger took over, but now not so much. So here it is: http://www.blogthings.com/hillbillynamegenerator/

I Am Raising Hill-Billies

It's true. My children are Hill-Billies. Husband said they're beyond being Hill-Billies.

On Saturday, Fil called from Florida to talk to the boys. Shaggy decided to put him on speaker phone in the kitchen, Husband and I were in the office doing work. Yes, on Saturday. It's never-ending. So since Fil was on speaker phone we could hear most of the conversation. And then I heard Tigger say, Just a minute Grampa, I have to go to the washroom. And then silence because Shaggy had wandered off to watch TV by this time. And I looked at Husband and incredulously asked, Did Tigger just leave your Dad on speaker phone to go to the washroom?? That's disgusting! We could hear noises, so we knew Tigger had left the bathroom door open. He left the bathroom door open while he was talking on speaker phone. And it's so embarrassing I don't even know why I'm telling you all. I just looked at Husband and said, Oh my Gosh. We are raising Hill-Billies.

Yesterday morning after church, a little kid was eating a tart, but got crumbs everywhere on the floor. So Tigger squatted down and started eating crumbs. Off of the floor. Crumbs.

Hill-Billy.

Shaggy is now all of a sudden, somewhat aware of his appearance. As of yesterday, he's started parting his hair down the middle. Looks really cute, too. And he doesn't like it when I set out his clothes for him in the morning. If he doesn't have a clean shirt in his closet, he goes down to the laundry room in search of one. And puts on a dirty shirt that Zoomer wore the day before. A dirty shirt. That his brother has already worn.

Hill-Billy.

Better Today

I forgot to post a picture of the sweater and sockies that Alfred's Mom sent to Thumbelina. Don't you just love them? She's going to look so cute in that sweater:
And I bought this in Banff:

Thanks for indulging me yesterday in my pity party. Nothing like a little retail therapy to lift a girl's spirits.

So we went to the Chinese Consulate yesterday to apply for our visas, forgetting until we were ready to go that we needed passport-sized photos to include with the application. We were told that photo-booth photos were fine, but where in our small town are there any photo booths? No where, that's where. So we decided to throw caution to the wind and just hope for the best and stop at a mall along the way. And it paid off. So 8 bucks later, we ended up with 8 hideous pictures of ourselves that really don't even resemble us...

Side note - if you decide to take a school picture with you of your son - passport size - because he's in school and you have no other pictures of him with which to bring, the consulate will not accept it. They will be kind enough, however, to accept the application if you promise to bring in an actual passport picture (or photo booth somewhat likeness) when you come back to pick up the visas. Didn't know that, did you.

So the retail therapy. We stopped at a mall on the way home because we had to buy more luggage, and I wanted to get something for Thumbelina to wear for her first Sunday to church. I went into a few stores and wandered around; Husband asked me if I knew what I was looking for and I said, I'll know it when I see it. And then in the next store I saw it:

Isn't it just darling? It's a onesie with a sweater and skirt:

Don't you just love the skirt?
And lookey the tulle and fabric underneath:
And since my To Do list is quite long, I best get a move on it and start something.

A Little Miffed

Ever wake up 1/2 hour late, only to have a headache and be in a bad mood, and then to find your kids in a bad mood as well? Me too.

We leave in two weeks. Thumbelina's room is not anywhere near ready for her to habitate. And I'm angry at myself for letting it slide for this long. There is still old bedroom furniture that needs to be moved out, and physically, I can't carry it down the stairs by myself. And it's all probably too heavy for me to help with anyway. So it sits. One of my childs opened the lid on the paint can...the paint that I am slowly doing the touch-ups with...and now it's dried hard as a rock. We could probably make some sort of art from it but now I have to go buy another can of paint. The carpet. Makes me angry. It has been sitting in Shaggy & Tigger's room since December 24, 2005. Yes, 2005. Because our carpet guy didn't have time to lay it that day. Which was fine, he said he'd come back in September and do it. Which was fine as well because we obviously didn't need it done before then. But now? Now he doesn't lay carpet anymore because his knees can't take it. And I don't begrudge him that - why didn't he squeeze us in when his knees could take it? But he wants to take care of us, so leave it with him. I'VE GOT A BABY COMING IN TWO WEEKS, BUDDY. I CAN'T JUST LEAVE IT WITH YOU! And I've been bugging Husband and telling him that I'm just going to call somebody locally to lay it. But he wants to talk to our guy first. SO TALK TO HIM ALREADY!

I'm a wee bit stressed this morning.

And I want to re-paint the crib - a very soft, soft pink.

Sylvie, my sister-in-law, is coming next week for a sewing party and we're going to finish up the curtains for Thumbelina's room.

I did have a bit of a pity party this morning. Oh, you thought this was the pity party? Silly. You're so wrong - this is the aftermath. You get stuck listening to me gripe about all of this. The pity party involved tears and children suddenly behaving and being helpful...most of the children, not quite all of them.

So today, if the Chinese Consulate is open, we're heading off to the city to apply for our VISAS.

You know how stupid I am? I told you I bought the highchair and carseat the other day, right? I was looking at so many carseats and I thought for sure the box I picked up said it was rear facing and front facing. It isn't. It's only front facing. Thumbelina has to be 20 lbs and a year old before she can be in a front facing carseat. Right now, if her reports are correct, she's 17 lbs and 9 months old, 10 months when we get her. And I'm not in the mood to exchange it, and I'm not buying a rear-facing-only-carseat for 2 measly months. So Sylvie is going to check - she thinks Pudge's carseat is both (his little one is already lent out to another relative) and we'll trade carseats until Thumbelina is big enough for her new one.

Anyway.

Aren't you glad you're not working with me today?

The Acorn Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree

This morning, Shaggy told me he made up a Valentine's Poem:

If you were a booger,

I'd pick you first!

Happy Valentine's Day

It told him he was disgusting. And then I broke out in laughter. Why oh why oh why did I end up with the grossest child? Seriously. He does keep us on our toes.

So the House of Flu is no more. Mostly. Although I still can't quite drink coffee yet. Shocked, aren't you. And the smell of food makes me leave the room. I can't handle it. I can drink coke, and that's about it. My teeth aren't really liking all the syropy sweetness left behind on them, but at this point, I don't have any other choice. And thank you all for your get-well wishes, except for AB. I think that was uncalled for. You know what I mean. The rest of the Funny Farm seems to be on the mend as well.

Did you realize that we leave for China in 15 days??? Fifteen. FIFTEEN. There is currently an explosion of pink in my dining room. I'm getting sleepers and onesies ready to wash. And clothes ready to be packed. I have a lot of denim for Thumbelina.

I bought the highchair and carseat yesterday. I was holding out for cutesie-cutesie-girlie, but couldn't find anything in my stupidly small town, so I just went with generic ones from Zellers. This way I can use my Zellers points to buy a kitchen playset for Thumbelina for Christmas...I'm thinking she'll be too little to enjoy it for her first birthday in May.

And because I haven't posted her picture in ages, I thought I'd leave you with the sight that melts my heart every day:

The House of Flu

Enter At Your Own Risk.

That's what should be posted on our front door.

We are sick. Some of us are better, some of us not so much. Me, I'm on the mend. Yesterday was horrible and I wanted to die, but hey, I've lost 5 lbs. Zoomer has it now, and Husband is just getting it. Shaggy and Tigger had it over the weekend. Although Shaggy never had anything other than a stomach-ache and a fever...although he didn't eat anything for two days...

Anyway.

That's what's happening here.

Happy Chinese New Year!

It's the year of the pig, in case you were wondering. Husband thought that was pretty fitting, since we have pigs coming out of our ears. Not literally, don't be a silly. But the pigs are popping piglets like pez dispensers. I'm giggling. I humor myself.

So today, instead of celebrating CNY by going to my favourite Chinese restaurant, I'm doing laundry. And lots of it. Tigger is sick, and Shaggy has a fever and a headache. Shaggy didn't eat anything yesterday except for a banana, so you know the poor boy is ill. Tigger has emptied all the contents of his tummy - thank God for tile floors - and he's gone through 5 pajama bottoms since 5 am - it's currently just after 9 am. So, fun times happening here on The Funny Farm. Fun times.

I went to a PartyLite Candle party last night and spent a small fortune.

Husband called Star*Choice about our DVR not working. They're sending us a brand-spanking new one. All we have to do is send the old one back and pay like 13 bucks for shipping. So obviously there is something malfunctioning in their DVR's...and we've been without TV for a month now. I told Husband we're too easy-going and we should start complaining more. I know, I know, you're thinking - that's all you do on this blog is complain - but this is my place to let it all out. So thank you for listening to me while I vent.

And now, there's a washing machine with my name on it.

Before and After

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

This is what 13" looks like:

Please excuse the messy before pictures - I had just walked through a windstorm.

Tigger says my new do is soft. Shaggy hates it and wants my old hair back. Zoomer said I look like Lola. Husband said Holy Cow!

Fooey

I had a post all written up and blogger disconnected itself and lost it on me. So the jist of my first attempt was to say that I had to apologized to Husband for our Anniversary turning into a Crapaversary. Because I was sick. Boo hoo me. We had Chinese take-out for supper, I bought a heart-shaped black forest cake for dessert (can you feel the love) and then I went to bed at 8:00. Before my children. And then Tigger was up the next morning at 5:00 bowing down to the porcelain throne, but he's better today and back to school. Me, not so much. Coffee is burning my stomach. Not good not good not good. It's almost noon and I don't feel awake yet. But I did get my roses. 15 of them. One for each year we've been married. They are beautiful, but I don't have the energy to take a picture of them yet.

So today is the day. Friday. The 16th. Of February. I'm getting my hair cut. Oooooo. I'm all excited and nervous at the same time. I'm donating my hair to Locks of Love and I've been growing it out for over 3 years just for this reason. It's time. But I'm all nervous and excited. Did I mention that? I'll be sure to take before and after pictures so that you can all laugh at me.

That's about it.

Did you hear about the Michael Waltrip Scandal??? I'm so disappointed I can't even talk about it right now. I was going to give him one more year of loyalty, but now? I just don't know.

Anyway, back to work you two.

Happy Valentine's Day

So many great things are happening today. It's Valentine's Day. What better day is there? Even if you don't have a significant other to share it with, you can gorge yourself on chocolate and not feel guilty!!!

It's a snow day. Didn't I tell you it'd be snow day today? Yay! I got to sleep in until 7:30!!! Woohoo! I didn't have to make lunches!!! Woohoo! Check back in here at 10:00, I'm sure by then my Woohoos! will be Woos. Zoomer is working in the barn today with Husband, Shaggy is outside playing, and Tigger just got up and is watching cartoons and eating breakfast. Life is good. AND, I'm having vanilla cream in my coffee this morning. We're out of regular cream. But vanilla is special and it's a special day. So Woohoo!

But you know what else? Today is my anniversary. 15 years ago we were married. I look back at our pictures and think My Gosh we were just children. Children! What were our parents thinking, letting us get married so young! At the time we were like What's the big deal? But now? Now we have a child who is only 8 years away from the age his Father was when he got married. I shiver just thinking about it and it makes me nausious.



So I will leave you with some wedding pictures. I loved my dress.




Not ever thinking I'd have a daughter, I didn't keep my dress. I donated it to a company in Toronto that sells them and/or re-uses the material; all the proceeds go to help send children with cancer to summer camp.

It's all good.

Breaking News

Not so much Breaking News...more of just an update of news here at The Funny Farm.

• Tigger has new glasses. He looks moocho cuto in them. And they have a shade clip, which he is thrilled about.


• The pigs have started having their babies. Known as Farrowing in the industry. I took Shaggy to the barn after supper last night to see them and there were a few in labour who had farrowed overnight. He so wanted to see the little critters pop out. Our Pal had me smell one. I was skeptical, but they did smell sweet. He said they only smell sweet for the first day or two, and after that they smell like pigs. The smell of money he said. He's comical. Everybody knows there's no money in farming. We just do it to keep from getting bored.


• Our tickets to China arrived yesterday. Panic is starting to set in because there is still so much to do to prepare. I have a corner in my dining room of bags full of supplies that I've bought that need to be sorted through and arranged and organized and stuffed into suitcases.


• Muther was over yesterday and I gave her all my unfinished Thumbelina Projects to finish for me. The blanket for her crib is finished - I seriously have no recollection of finishing it - but it has a million pieces of yarn that need to be woven throughout the back and hidden. It is a very pretty pattern, but it's a plaid, so multiples balls of yarn were used. There is also a sweater that needs buttons and a matching hat made to go with it, and another sweater that needs to be sewn together and the front ribbing done on it. Both of these sweaters are coming to China with us.


• I tripped over my iron last night as I was ironing and it fell off of the ironing board and put two gouges in my wood floor. And now my iron is not working.


• Husband and I are both sick. We feel really lousy in the mornings until we get up and get moving, and then after that, just lousy throughout the day.


• We are supposed to be getting a snowstorm today and today, so tomorrow might be a snowday! Woohoo.

Feelin' the Sting

Oh.My.Arm. I have never really felt anything quite like that before in all my life. And no, I'm not talking about getting a tattoo, I'm talking about immunizations. Needles. Shots. The aftermath.

Husband and I went to the travel clinic in London on Wednesday; I knew we both needed our tetanus updated and we wanted to talk with them about what else we should get. I really just wanted them to tell me over the phone and save us a trip, but they wouldn't do that. So we ended up getting the typhoid shot as well. Husband said he would rather get typhoid fever than the needle we got. Holy Moly. The nurse who administered it said the tetanus would hurt worse and said we should get it in the opposite arm that we use most, which we did. She was so wrong. So very very wrong. And I'm not trying to sound like a wimp or anything, but Ouch. Seriously, Ouch. Obviously I couldn't cook supper Wednesday night, and I couldn't really clean up the kitchen from our take-out. Zoomer did it for me. It was hard putting the boys to bed, and I almost slept with my clothes on. Almost.

We were also given malaria drugs, which incidently are the same drugs I took when my arthritis was at its worst 10 years ago. Long story, I'll tell you about it someday if you're interested. So I'm actually kind of excited about taking them again, even if it is just for 8 weeks, because I'm hoping my hip will give me no trouble on our trip. We also have an emergency 3 day supply (1 pill/day) of tummy medicine for severe tummy troubles, in case immodium or something over the counter does not work. Oy. Sounds lovely, doesn't it? My friend in our travel group who is a doctor told me not to bother taking Dukoral, which is a preventative medicine, and the travel clinic told me the same thing. Dukoral is for one specific type of bug only. So if you take it, and you don't end up getting that bug, great, but there are a lot more bugs out there that will give you the same sorts of trouble. I say squash all the bugs. Down with the bugs! Oh, I crack myself up sometimes.

So Zoomer had his meningitis shot at school; the travel clinic said he will be up-to-date on his tetanus but recommended he get his typhoid and the malaria pills and something more suited for kids for the tummy stuff. Except he starts his Twin-Rix regimine on Monday and I really don't want him to have to have the typhoid if he doesn't need it. I know other people who have gone over to China without having the typhoid shots...

I have a question for you all. This is about school. I am trying my best to get along with Shaggy's teacher, I really really am. And no, I wasn't being sarcastic. Shaggy, if you will remember, missed 4 days of school last week. School policy is that the kids get however many days they missed plus one to make up their school work. So Shaggy would get 5 days to make up his work. But his teacher is saying that all his work is due today. Which is day 5, so he really only got 4 days to make it up. In my mind, he still has today to make up his work and it would be due on the next school day, which is Monday. We have all his work done (I hope) but I wrote a note asking for clarification. Husband thinks the work would be due today as well. And he wasn't happy with me that I wrote a note about it. But I promise you, it wasn't snotty in any way. And I even wrote, "Have a good day". And I meant it. So reading what I just wrote, is your interpretation of the policy on missed days that his school work is due today, or am I really just out of my mind like I'm beginning to wonder thinking that it's due on Monday.

Why? why? Why?

Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are getting dead?

Why do banks charge a fee on "insufficient funds" when they know there is not enough money?

Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?

Why do they use sterilized needles for death by lethal injection?

Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?

Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?

Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

Whose idea was it to put an "S" in the word "lisp"?

If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes?

Why is it that no matter what colour bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?

Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?

Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?

Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?

Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try?

How do those dead bugs get into those enclosed light fixtures?

When we are in the supermarket and someone rams our ankle with a shopping cart then apologizes for doing so, why do we say, "It's all right?" Well, it isn't all right, so why don't we say, "That hurts, you stupid idiot?"

Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's falling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?

In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?

How come you never hear father-in-law jokes?

The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four persons is suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends -- if they're okay, then it's you.

Frigid

It's cold out. Extremely cold. Frostbite cold. Quite cold. I'm not a fan of the cold.

I've got nothing to blog about today.

Really.

I can't think of anything.

Other than the cold.

We leave for China in 4 1/2 weeks. That's exciting. I need to organize what I've already bought and start crossing things off of my lists. The lists. Goodness the lists. I had no idea how many lists were actually out there. Pages and pages and pages of necessities needed to spend two weeks in China. It makes my head spin.

Time for more coffee.

So I guess I had something to blog about after all besides the cold.

Updates All Around

• Our agency called yesterday with an update on Thumbelina! As of February 1st, she had gained 3 pounds and has 3 teeth. How exciting is that! I can't wait to see her with teeth! Heck, I can't wait to see her!
• My baby is back and I'm loving it. I had to drive home last night from a church banquet in an almost blizzard and I was feeling quite secure with my heated seats and four-wheel drive. Cozy, even.
• We happened upon Shaggy's teacher and her family Friday night at a restaurant. They were leaving as we were coming. His teacher didn't even make eye contact with us, let alone say hi. Not even to Shaggy. Not even after he missed a whole week of school because of sickness. No Hello. No How are you feeling. No nuthin. So I'm trying sooooo hard not to be petty. It's something I really have to work on. Last night my feelings were If you can't even make eye contact, why should I bother to try to be nice to you. Today my feelings are that I should smother her with kindness. Go out of my way to be friendly. Just to make her uncomfortable. But then, there's that pettiness again. Obviously, I'm not thinking like a rational adult would - so thoughts? How would you all handle this?
• Tigger has yellow goo oozing forth from his nose, so I've stayed home from church with him today.

I think that's about it for updates at the moment. Shaggy has a pile of homework to catch up on, so that's how we'll be spending our afternoon.

I Feel Out of Touch

I miss blogging every day. But until I can figure out how to make everything work, I'm afraid it will be hit and miss. My assistant is doing well. I've started teaching her the accounting program. My office is clean and organized. The file room is clean and organized. My desk is messy. I'm going to try harder to have a clean desk to match the rest of the office.

I feel bad about blogging during the day while my assistant is working. Actually not so much the feeling bad part as the keeping my blog a secret part. I don't even read anybody else's blogs during the day because I just don't want to start the whole blog conversation. So instead I sit and pine away and wonder what everybody is up to.

Okay, enough blathering.

Husband's ring has been found! Yay!!! Apparently it was 'found' on the floor by one of the shower doors, leaning up against the baseboard. Which means after it 'fell' off of the fridge, it had to roll around two corners, up two steps, and across 40 feet of open floor. That is one impressive ring! And since I bought an 18 carat ring, it is soft and isn't a circle any more - more of an egg shaped (I should have stuck with 10 carat gold). Wanna guess who found it? The newest guy of whom everybody is suspicious. I almost ended that sentence in a preposition. That wouldn't have been very good. We're pretty sure somebody took it and then felt guilty and brought it back. Who knows if it was the newest guy or not. I'm still sad that it was taken, but I'm really, really glad that it's back!

Shaggy is still sick. I took him to the doctors yesterday thinking he had bronchitis, but he has an infection of his pharynx. It was bright, bright red. Poor guy. I feel bad that he's missed so much school, and I've been busy working during the day instead of making him do homework...he seems to be perky for part of the morning and then after lunch, he's wiped out and exhausted and lays on the couch for the rest of the day. I may have been a tad too hasty in my perceptions of his teacher because she called him yesterday at lunch time to see how he was feeling. I'm just confused by it all, really. At one time I thought we were friends but her actions these last few weeks have told me otherwise.

So. On with something new.

My Tran is ready!!! And I can't pick it up until this afternoon!!! The anticipation...the excitement...the joy! It's a good thing.

A Bunch of Stuff

• My Tran is still not ready. Yesterday when I called, Mike was hoping the part would be in today. Today, Mike called and the part is in transit from the US and should be here by Friday. Plus, while we were presuming it would be under warranty (Husband bought a 2 year warranty along with my Tran), it's not. The warranty only covers structural things. But since I've only had my Tran for a month, they will split the cost with me. Only $498 plus taxes. Sheesh.
• Shaggy is sick. Poor guy. He hasn't been to school all week (Monday was a PD day). And I can't see him going tomorrow either. I think he has bronchitis. We have a doctors appointment for tomorrow afternoon. I saw his teacher today in the hallway at school (you'll read about why in the next bullet) and I smiled and said hi to her - she said hi and then looked at the floor quickly and made a beeline for the coffee break room. Not even a queary as to how the sicky is doing. And my first thought was You really are a snot. And I know that's not very nice to think that, but I'm taking Roses advice and I will be the adult. No more snotty-toned notes from me mister. And yet the whole situation is still bothersome to me.
• Tigger had his eyes examined by a new doctor in town today. He's usually seen by the specialist in London who did his ROP surgery but we are behind in appointments and it's getting harder to find time to go to London. So I'm going to ask to be referred to the specialist here in town. And we are doing this now because Tigger's glasses are somewhere at church, presumably under the snow and ice. He lost them the day before the ice storm walking to Grampa's truck. Which was 2 weeks ago. It just gives me a headache to think too much about it. His new glasses should be ready next week. So when I dropped Tigger off at school today, that's when I saw Shaggy's teacher in the hallway.
• Today was a bit stressful for me. Husband gave me a list of things that needed to be done pronto and it took me 4 hours to do the first thing. Because my assistant interrupts me with questions. Which she needs to do in order to learn her job, but it just makes my jobs longer to do. And when I have deadlines, I get stressed. But I think I still came across as patient today even though on the inside I wasn't feeling it.
• Zoomer's passport has been applied for. It should be here in two weeks. Best case scenario. Worst case scenario it will be here in 3 1/2 weeks. We leave for China in 5 1/2 weeks and we still need to apply for our VISAS. But we can't without passports. Our tickets were bought yesterday...before we checked about airmiles (our agency took care of it all)...so we're thinking of getting a large screen TV with our airmiles and just finding the money for the plane tickets somewhere else. We know where our priorities lie.
• I received the cutest little red fleece sweater and sockies for Thumbelina from Alfred's Mom in the mail yesterday. What a nice surprise! Thank you so much Alfred's Mom!!! I will try to post pictures soon. I'm sorting out in my mind what clothing to bring to China for Miss T. So far, I have a few sleepers, one denim overall outfit, and the red sweater. I really need to organize and shop!
• We are going to a travel clinic next week to probably get more shots. I was hoping they could just give me a list over the phone of what they recommend and we could get them from our family doctor, but that isn't how they do it. The doctor there wants to know what part of China we will be visiting, how we will be travelling, our medical history, blah blah blah. We have to go to London for that, so I'm hoping we don't have to rush home and we'll be able to go shopping and maybe buy a highchair and carseat.
• After the ice storm we discovered that our DVR wasn't working anymore. Which means nobody can watch TV. So we've been watching movies for the last two weeks instead. I haven't missed the TV too much, so I'm not sure why we really need a large screen TV but that's beside the point. Anyway, the only time I miss it is on Thursday nights when Husband and I have our date night and we watch CSI...and I watch The Office. Instead, we've been watching the second season of 24. I expect we'll start the 3rd season tomorrow. I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I'm really tempted to started buying the seasons of The Office. Gak! Did I really just type that?

It's 3:38 pm and I'm hungry, so I'm off to search for some snacky morsels.

Hey!

It's Monday and still no word on my beloved. Yes, I'm talking about my Tran. My beloved little Tran. Sigh. Husband said to me last night that when he bought it for me, he was just hoping that I'd like it - he had no idea the level of infatuation it would effect.

So we went out Friday night with our Pal and his family. Our Pal and I both got squirted with horse radish and it landed in our hair. A waitress at a table behind us stepped on something or dropped something, but squirted we got. I tell you, having horse radish in your bangs sure does clear out the sinus passages. We should have complained more and tried to get a discount on our meal. We had a great time with our Pal and his family. Nice, nice people.

On Saturday we went to our travel group meeting and met most of the rest of the people in our group. One girl lives in our nations capital and was not able to make the meeting. Traffic was heavy. So we all went out to lunch afterwards; 2 1/2 hours later, Husband gently reminded me that we needed to get going. I was kind of glad to be leaving the restaurant - not the company - because our table was half booth and half chairs...the booth half, where I happened to be sitting, made you sink very low so that the table was chest high. A wee bit awkward for eating. But hey, at least we no longer have a coffee dilemma. As you will recall, I need a cup of joe to get my eyes fully open and my body horizontal. And I've been a tad worried about what to do in China with no coffee maker in our room, but we, as a group, decided to buy a cheapo coffee maker in China and make coffee in the hotel hall for all of us addicts. So we decided we could even buy one in Chensha, leave it there, and buy another one in Beijing for our second week. I'll need to make sure to bring a tin or two of Tim's, some whiteners and some Splenda. I'm so relieved. You have no idea. Mostly I'm relieved because the other travellers don't think my coffee addiction is out of the norm...they even think it's Husband with the addiction! Score one for me!

Saturday night our church hosted a sing-spiration-type-singy-thing. Different churches were invited to come along and have their musical people do specials. It was a really fun evening. I had told Mrs. Choir Director that there was a slight possibility that I'd be late (I was scheduled to sing one solo and my ladies' trio was doing 2 songs), so she scheduled what I was in for the last part of the program. I got home in time to brush my hair and teeth, and I made it back to church just as everybody started singing the opening hymn. Cutting it a little close. I don't really enjoy that amount of stress, plus I hadn't practiced all week because I usually practice in the daytime, but with my assistant around now, I don't feel right about, and I can't practice at night because I bother the boys with my loudness as they're trying to sleep. But it all worked out, even without warming up or practicing.

So today, Tigger has been sick all weekend and now Shaggy is not feeling well. The poor boy had a bag of frozen carrots on his head and then came and asked me if he had a fever. Um, son, your head feels extremely cold.

Husband and Zoomer are on their way home from applying for Zoomer's passport. I took his picture and paperwork to church last night to get Pastor to guarantee it, and Zoomer was showing his picture to his friends. They all said he looked like a terrorist. I thought he looked normal.

I'm going to end this post now because I rubbed my eyes and apparently I must have some onion juice on my fingers, because now I can't see for the stinging and the tears. So please ignore anything that's spelled incorrectly...

Incoherently Yours,

Jaj

My Tran

My poor Tran is in the shop. You know, my Tran - part truck, part van - that I got for Christmas from Husband. The Chevy Envoy. It's been in the shop since Wednesday and will be there until Monday. At least. It's sick, my poor little vehicle.

Friday night when we got home from the airport, I said to Husband, I smell gas, as I was walking to the house. Gasoline, people, jeesh. He didn't smell anything, but his sniffer isn't as good as mine. So on Saturday, when I was in town doing errands, I smelled gasoline again every time I got out of the Tran. And the poor girl was not wanting to start. I came home and told Husband I thought there was a gas leak. He didn't believe me because he said the gas gauge would be moving. Which is wasn't. On Sunday the same thing was happening, but I didn't press the issue, other than to tell him it was still happening, because he really didn't believe me. On Sunday there was a half tank of gas. On Monday afternoon, when I went to pick the boys up from school, there was a quarter tank of gas, and I had stayed home all day. When we got home from school, it was below an eighth of a tank. So I told him there was definitely a leak. This time he believed me and booked the Tran to get fixed. Turns out something was corroded off of the tank and couldn't be fixed - it needed to be replaced - resulting in my Tran needing a new gas tank. A NEW GAS TANK. And I've only had the poor little thing for a month.

I can't believe how much I miss it. Seriously. I seriously, truly miss it. I asked Husband if it would be weird of me to go visit it yesterday and just sit in it for awhile. He assured me it would be quite weird. But I still miss it.

So I've been driving Fil's truck since he's joined Millie in Florida. But it's still not my Tran. I am so very sad. Not really, I'm just after the dramatic here. I'm just a little bit sad. Not despondent sad. Just regular sad.

Four Things, Maybe Five

1. Missing Gum
2. Missing Wedding Ring
3. Travel Plans
4. Cats

1. Missing Gum. There is one brand of gum that I absolutely love. Dentyne Frostbites, orange flavour. When we went to Florida in October, I ran out of gum and couldn't find any there. Lots of different brands that we don't have in the Great White North, but not my orange flavoured frostbites. It was very sad. When we got home, I was quite alarmed because the grocery store that I shop at didn't have any. So then I was all worried that because we were gone for almost a week, and I didn't buy any during that time, they thought people didn't like them and as a result stopped stocking them. About a week later, I noticed my frostbites were back on the shelf, so now, everytime I go to the grocery store, I always buy two packs of my oranged flavoured frostbites. In case I run out again. I keep them in my nightstand, which probably isn't the smartest place to keep them, because Shaggy has found them. And has eaten a few packs. Okay, he's had 5 packs. Yes, Five! I thought I had more than what was there. Anyhoo, yesterday morning, I found 2 empties under his pillow. That afternoon, Tigger found 3 more empties under his pillow. Needless to say, he has committed an apocolyptic sin. It's my frostbites, after all! Still thinking of a good punishment for him.

2. Missing Wedding Ring. Husband's wedding ring is missing. As in stolen (we think) missing. At the pig barn, everybody has to shower in because we have healthy pigs and we are trying to keep pig diseases at bay. So every once in a while, Husband will forget to put his ring back on after his shower and will leave it in the shower. He did that last week. Jay-man at the barn found it and gave it to our Pal, who told Husband about it as we were enroute to Banff. Our Pal put it on top of the fridge in the lunchroom. Only when Husband went to get it on Monday after we got home, it wasn't there. Nor was it on the floor. Our Pal even pulled the fridge out and looked behind it and underneath it. There are a few new employees and people seem to be pointing fingers at the newest guy. The newest guy also said he thought someone had gone through his clothes but nothing was missing... so did this really happen or is he the guilty party trying to throw suspician away from himself...I hate to think that someone actually stole a wedding ring. I started to cry when Husband told me, not for the monetary value of it, but because it is a symbol of our love.

3. Travel Plans. We got an e-mail from our agency this afternoon and our tickets are booked! We leave Friday, March 9th at 7:00 am, have a layover in Vancouver for a few hours because the direct flights were booked, and arrive in Beijing on March 10th at 6:00 pm. We leave Beijing on March 24th at like 2:40 pm and arrive home (direct flight) that same day at 4:00 pm. Wild, isn't it. We're still going to try to get our tickets through airmiles, so these plans aren't set in stone until next Tuesday when payment is due.

4. Cats. We seem to have a cat. I think she moved in to Buddy's dog house when he was vacationing at the vets last week, because she ran out of there last Saturday and has been hanging around ever since. Shaggy was in tears because she ran up the tree. I told him that if she could climb up it, she could get down. She did eventually jump down to the boys and seems to be friendly and purry. And is trying to get in the house. Buddy is a He-Dog Cat Hater. You remmeber the Little Rascals? He-Man Woman Haters? Same sort of thing. Anyway, I bought some food for the poor thing and we've been feeding her outside. This afternoon she was meowing to me at the back door, so I let her in whilst my assistant got the food for her. She's just a kitten. I'm tempted to take her to get fixed because the last thing we need around here is kittens running around the yard. Shaggy has told me that her name is Princess Puffy Jr. the 2nd.

One more thing, if your kid's teacher writes a snotty note in the homework book, is it wrong to write a snotty note back? Not really snotty, but there is a definite tone.

Exams

Zoomer is starting semester exams today. He's a pretty good student but this is his first year having exams and he's having a hard time realizing that he actually needs to study. For semester exams, school is finished at 2:30 instead of 3:20 for all students, elementary included, and for the Jr. High and up, if you don't have an exam, your parents can write a note saying you're allowed to leave school property. Which Husband and I are refusing to do for Zoomer and as a result, he's furious with us. Mostly me. He wants to go to somebody's house, 20 minutes away, to study with a bunch of other 7th and 8th graders... :cough: :choke: :sputter: ...I'm no dummy - there's going to be no time left to study by the time they get there, get a snack, goof off, get another snack, open a book, goof off some more, get another snack...it's be time to go back to school. Silly, silly boys. He's also grounded from an activity night for his little temper tantrum this morning.

I wrote the above paragraph this morning before my assistant came; I don't feel right about blogging when she's around, mostly because she doesn't know I have a blog. So far so good with my assistant. I'm giving her all the filing and stuff I hate doing...bwahahahaha...

So back to Zoomer. He had a tantrum this morning for nothing - not one of his friends left the school. Not even the kid to whose house they all wanted to go. I'm rolling my eyes and shaking my head, and no, I'm not surprised.

And so far, nobody has gotten sick yet. I have a smidge of a sore ear, but I'll keep taking my vitamins and another dose of airborne. As long as we don't get the upchucking thing happening, I'm good to go.

And on that happy thought, I need to start supper.

Just a Quickie

Post silly - get your mind out of the gutter!

So my new office assistant is starting today. Wish us both luck! I'm very nervous because of my personal space issues...

We received an e-mail from our business associate that we traveled with to Banff - he was in the hospital yesterday morning with the flu. The nasty flu that takes 3 weeks to get over. So I've been making sure we've been taking all our vitamins, and I've been drinking airborne - I'm almost out, so since I haven't been able to find it here in the Great White North, it's time to make another trip south of the border.

That's about it today. I feel a tension headache coming on.

Back to the Land of the Blogging

We're back! Again. From Banff! Again. Had a great time, wish you were there. Well, maybe not all of you...heh.

So last Monday, school was cancelled because of an ice storm. And then our power went out. But it came back on 4 hours later. But then it went out again. But came back on 2 1/2 hours later. But then it went out again. And didn't come back on until almost 21 hours later. So it was a chilly day. And school was closed on Tuesday as well because of the power thing.

But it was really pretty to look at:



We had to postpone our trip to Banff because we couldn't leave with all the barns hooked up to generators, so Husband was able to get us a flight out on Wednesday morning. We had to leave the house at 5:30 am. I don't do 5:30 am. We were almost late for our flight. You know it's not a good thing when the girl at the ticket counter knows your name before you walk up to it...

This was the welcoming committee at the hotel we stayed at:


The view the next morning from our window...it was a very small window:


I would never tire of seeing this every day:

So we arrived home last night tired. We were almost late again for our return trip home. Oh, we got to the airport in plenty of time and thought it would be a good idea to get something to eat before we left; airplane cookies just don't cut it. We had a business associate with us and even though we all thought it was a good idea to eat, I said I'd feel better if we ate on the other side of the security check-point. But what do I know. I was out-voted because they didn't have Kelsey's on the other side. So we ate and were on schedule until the security check-point...the line was very long...we waited 15 minutes for our turn and heard over the loudspeaker, If you are on flight whatever it was to London, and you are not on the plane, you are not where you belong. Oy! Luckily we weren't picked out of the line to have our carry-ons searched, so as we were scooting our way to the check-in counter we heard our names being paged. Oy again. Husband and I had left our associate in the restaurant (to finish chewing - I told him to chew faster) and he was way behind us in line at the security check point, but he must have budded because he made it to the plane. He even accused me of letting the plane leave without him. As if I have control over things like that. Anyhoo. We're home. The dogs are home. The boys are home. It's good to be home. Nine more weeks and Thumbelina will be home too.

Just Some Things

I ordered a girly-girl diaper bag from Perrin at Pink Evita, and I just received it in the mail on Friday. It is sooooooo girly-girl and I love it so much. Perrin even made a matching one for Thumbelina! Her first purse! How sweet is that. Unfortunately, blogger isn't letting me upload the pictures, but you can see them here. And I even had one of Tigger modeling Thumbelina's purse too. That picture is priceless. So this particular diaper bag will be for going to church and other fun places. I have purchased a backpack style diaper bag for our trip to China, which isn't as pretty, but I'm sure I can cram more baby stuff in it and it will be easier to lug around.

And Tina at the Story of You has Thumbelina's picture up on our home page, and we have officially moved from the Waiting for Referrals section to the Ready to Go section. So exciting! Go check it out! It makes me cry! I'm such a wuss! I can't stop using exclamation points! Yay!

We Have a Name!

Finally we have a name. Poor little peanut has been referred to as The Baby Girl or Thumbelina for so long, Tigger actually thought that's what her name was! I printed off copies of her picture for the boys to take to school with them, and Tigger's teacher asked him what her name was - he said, We're thinking of calling her Thumbelina. I don't know what his teacher thinks of us now...probably not much different than she thought of us before...

So things are falling into place. Our doctor checked out her file and was very pleased and we had our visit with our social worker this morning. I need to Xpress Post all our signed documents back to the agency today, because did I tell you - we're going to Banff next week! Yay! I'm so excited. Husband hadn't decided if he should go this year again or not, and when I asked around for baby sitters it all worked out, so that pretty much decided that he was going when I said I could go too. It's for pig meetings, and I'm just going along for the ride.

Oh, did I forget to mention Thumbelina's name to you? Bwahahahahaha. Okay, I'll stop playing mean. Her name is Kallie Hope Qi Liang. Kallie means Beautiful as does Qi Liang...I'm pretty sure. She was given that name by the orphange in the hope that she would grow to be bright and beautiful. Did I tell you all this before? Forgive me if I'm repeating myself. So Kallie. I think she looks like a Kallie. She certainly is beautiful. And just so you know, this will be the only post that she's referred to as Kallie; after this it will be back to Thumbelina again.

I'm very happy.

Pictures!!!

Finally some pictures of Qi Liang!!! Isn't she just the sweetest little thing you've ever laid eyes on??? I can't wait to hold her!!!




So our report says she is a deep sleeper (Yay), she can crawl, she likes toys that make noise, and she likes to watch the other babies play. At 5 months, when these pictures were taken, she weighed 13 pounds, a bit of a light-weight, but pretty big compared to Tigger. I know you're not supposed to compare your children, but Tigger didn't weigh 13 pounds until he was a year old.

We (mostly me) can't stop looking at her picture and I promise she will have a name by the weekend.

Good News & Bad News

Good News: My computer doesn't have a virus nor spyware; it was just a glitch with the Windows program.

Bad News: It's still at the computer store getting the hard drive re-computed or something like that, so I'm unable to scan any pictures to post on my blog. Hopefully I'll have it back tomorrow.

Good News: WE HAVE PICTURES!!! (of Thumbelina, silly)

Bad News: We can't scan them (see Bad News above) so you'll just have to take my word for it that she is the sweetest, most precious, most beautiful baby girl there is.

Good News: We're getting closer to picking out a name.

Bad News: We haven't actually decided on one yet.

Good News: I feel relaxed enough that I think I can sleep tonight. I actually feel exhausted.

Bad News: I'm too excited to sleep. I guess that really isn't bad news unless you're one of my offspring who catches me overtired in the wee hours or the morning. I'm not a morning person.

Good News: We should meet Thumbelina on March 12!!!

Bad News: Her room isn't ready for her yet.

So there you have it. It's been quite a day. Tomorrow I have a doctor's appointment to go over her medical information; and then on Saturday we'll meet with our social worker. And then early next week our agency should be able to send everything off to the Province for approval and then our acceptance of our referral will be sent China. YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!

Happy Dreams, Everybody!

Viral

I'm viral. Not so much me as my computer. How did this happen? I'm so careful! I feel like I've gotten a communicable disease and everybody I talk to will get it. Oooo, I'm diseased. On Sunday my computer wouldn't boot up. Took forever. Husband thought it was the power supply, so he took it in to have the IT Guy at the computer store look at it. Except that was yesterday and he still has it. The IT Guy thinks it's a virus of some sort, and he's a bit worried since it had to go through their system and then our system before it even reached my computer. So far, I'm the only one on our network that's affected, and what's really bothering IT Guy is that he can't find a virus. He thinks it might be a new one that's somehow snuck by all the fancy-do software. So I'm forced to use Husband's laptop - I feel so out of touch! Husband said I'm an addict and need help. I told him I just need my computer back.

Thumbelina. I sent our agency director an e-mail on Saturday asking her if she could send us Thumbelina's picture after she's had a chance to review all the files and she wrote back and said, "my policy is to send the pictures with the files." So I guess that's a big fat no. I thought maybe since she had been on holidays she'd be able to bend the rules for us. So Husband and I will be going to Toronto tomorrow afternoon to get her file and pictures FINALLY. Husband has to pick up his dad from the airport so it works out. Fil and Millie have officially flown the coop and are snow-birding it up in the sunny south. I hear that the temperature yesterday was 'dropping to 80 degrees' or something stupid like that. Anyway, Fil still has meetings and work to do, he just wanted to drive Millie down there and get her settled and then he'll be flying back there at some point. And Lola is hoping we can take him to the airport again and do some major shopping. I'm not enjoying this laptop thing, so you'll just have to take my word for it that we had quite the adventure the last time we took Fil back to the airport. If you want to read about it, it was last March sometime; if you look hard enough I'm sure you'll find it.

So I think right now I'll go wash the kitchen floor since it's not very convenient to read everybody's blogs at the moment. I miss you all!!!

8 Months Old

Dear Baby Girl,

Today is your 8 month birthday. There won't be too many more that you'll have to celebrate apart from your Forever Family. If I could come today to take you home with me I would. I miss you with a fierceness that brings me to tears, and I don't even know what you look like. My arms ache to hold you. I think about you constantly and wonder what you're doing; who you're playing with; if you are feeling a void like we are. Soon, my sweet little one, soon we will meet. There are no words to describe how much I love you. So until we do meet face to face, just know that we pray for you every day and we cannot wait to get to know you and bring you home.

xoxo

Yikes!

I was down stairs doing laundry and I could hear Shaggy yelling, Mom, Mom!

What is the emergency!

He finally found me (I wasn't hiding this time) and said, I'm making cookies!

I just looked at him with one eyebrow raised and he said, Don't worry, I washed my hands! Is two half a cups one cup?

Don't worry indeed.

Blogger isn't letting me post pictures, so you'll just have to use your imagination about what my kitchen looks like at the present time. And we're out of eggs, so these cookies are 'egg-free'. Yummy.

I think this is a lesson to all of us not to do laundry.

24 Hours Later

Thanks everyone, for your well wishes! It really means a lot to me.

I'm still walking on a cloud. My notes that I took the other night I carry with me everywhere I go. My notes are sitting on top of my stack of paperwork...which is probably why I'm not getting anything accomplished. I'm dying to see her picture. Literally dying. Literally. Dying. I'm having a hard time concentrating on anything else. My thoughts are all jumbled.

I picked out a name 2 years ago even though Husband still refuses to talk names, and now I'm having second thoughts about that name. Is it any wonder he won't talk names with me? We had this conversation last night:

Me: Think about names tonight when you're sleeping, so when we see her picture we can pick out a name right away.

Husband: We'll pick out a name when we see her.

Me: Picture.

Husband: Her.

Me: Picture!

Husband: I don't think you're listening to me.

Me: I don't think you're listening to me.

I get so irritated with this conversation, which we seem to have every day, and yet I can't stop having it. He loves to bug me and I fall for it every time.

So did you all see The Office last night? Dwight is such an idiot. I thought that scene with him and Pam was the funniest of the night. Idiot. But I couldn't stop laughing. Idiot.

It's Friday. One day closer to Thumbelina and her picture! Yay! Yay Yay Yay Yay Yay!

It's a GIRL!!!

We got The Call - WE GOT THE CALL!!! - last night at 10:00 - LAST NIGHT AT 10:00!!! - Sorry, I'll stop yelling now.

So the scoop is our agency is director is on holidays and won't be back into the office until Tuesday, so the VP was calling the families just to let them know that our referrals have arrived. We have to wait until the director is back before we get more detailed information OR PICTURES which is killing me - KILLING ME - but what I do know is this:

Chen Qi Liang was born May 6, 2006 and is at the Chenzhou Children's Welfare Institue in Hunan Province. And she is just absolutely stunning with a full head of thick black hair.

My first thought was, I don't have any barrettes for her! I have to go buy barrettes! I've been holding off with the hair accessories until I saw her picture in case she was bald and we didn't need anything.

So we will be travelling mid-March, which is what we expected.

So Alfred's Mom was the closest in guessing her age - AM guessed 9 months and Thumbelina will be 8 months on Saturday. Julie & Janet both guessed Hunan Province, so congratulations on your guesswork everybody! I was wrong all around. Although Jiangxi and Hunan are neighbouring provinces...

Anyway. I'm sure today will be a productive day. You all know that was sarcasm, right?

YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY!

I'm just giddy.

Waiting...Patiently Waiting

TODAY might be THE DAY we get THE CALL!!! And I jump everytime the phone rings. I've got lots to do today to keep myself busy, but still! I couldn't sleep last night just thinking about Thumbelina. A friend asked me yesterday if I had any guesses as to how old she is and what province she's from, and honestly, it has never really crossed my mind as to the specifics. So to keep ourselves occupied today, let's all make guesses about Thumbelina. I'll go first:

Province: Jiangxi
Age at Referral: 12 months
Weight: 17 lbs

So there's my best guess. And if you happen to be the winner of our little guessing game, you will get...well nothing...other than the satisfaction of being right. So good luck!

Today I have to sing at a funeral. I don't at all like singing at funerals. I don't know this family or the person who died, she was a friend of a friend, and the friend is kind of organizing it all. It's actually more of a memorial service. So the friend asked me to sing, and told me to pick out a song, but she's said no to the first 3 songs I picked out. This 4th one, she doesn't know. Neither do I. So I've been doing a lot of practicing these last few days. But I woke up this morning with the tune in my head, so that's a good thing. But I'm nervous anyway. And my hands are shaking. But is that due to the funeral or our impending referral?

Honestly, I hope we get the call this afternoon, after we're home from the funeral. I just don't see myself being solemn after receiving news about Thumbelina. So. There's my day. I hope yours is exciting as well.

The Stork is in the Air!

That's right, folks! Rumor has it that the Stork is beginning to drop off little bundles of referrals in Europe. So the Great White North could start receiving referrals tomorrow! I told the boys last night at supper that I thought we'd get our referral this Thursday and her actual packet of documents next Monday. Apparently, our little agency only gives out the babies name, birthdate and province/orphanage she is living in and then you get her picture with the rest of the documentation after it's been translated into English, but I'm going to beg our agency to e-mail me her picture before hand. I've seen Thumbelina so many times in my dreams, and the only time I've seen her face was when she was sleeping (in my dreams). We were all talking about names the other day - Husband needs to see her picture before we can pick out her name - and there was one name we all kind of liked. Is it bad if you used to have a puppy with the same name?

So it's the New Year. Still feels like the old year. Was it me, or did Christmas just not feel like Christmas this year? I almost feel kind of grinch-ish for feeling that way. And I'm anxious to claim back my house and put the decorations back in storage. Maybe it was the lack of snow. The temperatures here feel like the end of October.

This week I need to interview somebody to come work for me in the office. It's a necessary evil that I'm not looking forward to. Husband said she needs to have computer skills, but really, all my computer skills were taught to me by Husband. I did take some courses at our local community college, but that was years ago and it was all in DOS. I didn't enjoy DOS. I don't remember anything about DOS. My then employer paid for my course, and even though it was the beginning of the beginner course of computers, he expected me to be a wizard in all things computer by the end of it. I was able to flub my way through it enough to make him think I knew what I was doing. It's easy to impress somebody who doesn't know any better.

So today I need to find my desk and get back to the grind. But first, more coffee.