A Long Day

Jason joined the wrestling team for the winter term. Not my favorite sport since the chance of injury is so high but he enjoys it. At the last meet he was in, he had his sternum bruised and was out for a week. He was in the tournament today and came in 3rd place for his weight division. No injuries today except for a sore nose; another child dislocated his kneecap and was taken out by ambulance.

Today my schedule was get up at 6 and get the kids in the car so we could pull out of the driveway by 6:30. Drove 1/2 hour to the tournament. Waited for the coach to get there and then Jess and I drove back home 1/2 hour. I laid down for an hour while she played on the computer and then we drove 1/2 hour again to the tournament. We watched Jason wrestle and left at 11. Drove 1/2 hour to my mom's nursing home to take her to tea which was 1/2 an hour away in Plymouth. Had a wonderful tea at All Things Tea and got a text from Jason that he was done (about 2 hours earlier than we'd thought he'd be). Drove 1/2 hour to tournament to get him, 1/2 hour to the nursing home to drop my mom off and then 1/2 hour home. All in all, I drove about 4 hours today. If it'd been highway, it'd have been shorter but it was mostly regular streets with a much lower speed limit. I'm ready for some mindless tv tonight - thankfully I have Desperate Housewives and Worst Cooks in America to watch.

More Prayers Needed

The brother-in-law of a friend is a doctor and landed in Haiti yesterday morning for a medical mission before the earthquake hit. He hasn't been heard from since 2 pm. Please pray that he is alive, well, busy helping those who are hurt and will be able to get to a working phone soon to let his family know he is alive.


Update- Prayers work - he is home now safe and sound!

Addition to Pray for the Child Post

Here's a link to the mom's blog that tells her story. Be prepared....I was in tears reading it.

http://allysjourney.blogspot.com/

Keep praying....it's working!!!!! The mom has heard from a very good immigration lawyer who thinks she may be able to help.

The purple army is fighting to bring you home, Alyssa!!!!

Pray for the child

A woman I met on a message board went to another country (not China) to adopt a baby. She met the child, loves the child, yet had to leave the child because the agency pulled something shady. Right now nothing more can be said about what agency (except that it was not the agency we used) because she is still hoping that a miracle will happen and that the baby will be back in her arms (no chance of the baby being with her birth family so she's back in the orphanage). Prayer is strong and can work miracles. Please....light a candle, pray that this child will be granted a forever family. And for those of you who think "That's what happens when you go outside the US to adopt.", it happens in this country too. Every child deserves a loving home where they are cherished regardless of where in the world they come from. I look at my little girl snuggled on my bed sound asleep and my heart just breaks for this woman and her child.

Jess and her carseat




I spend a lot (too much!) time on Rumor Queen (that won't mean anything to anyone who's never been involved in a China adoption). As on many forum boards, there are people from all over the world discussing and debating. One discussion started about the safety of winter coats in car seats and the fact that winter coats in car seats are NOT safe. One poster who says she is a child passenger safety technician (the people who do carseat checks and can show you how to properly install the seat) said that children should definitely not be wearing bulky winter coats. She said the trick to see if your kids coat is too bulky is to put her in the seat with the coat on and tighten the harness appropriately. Then, take the coat off and buckle the harness but don't tighten it. If you can get more than a finger between the strap and the child, it's too loose. If you're in an accident and your child is wearing her coat, it may compress and your child can be expelled from the carseat. After reading this, I went online and did some research. I didn't find much about Massachusetts, but I did see that Children's Hospital of Wisconsin and Texas Department of Transportation both agree with the recommendation that the poster on Rumor Queen made. So....I decided no more bulky winter coat in the carseat. My sitter thought I was nuts. She said that it was too difficult to get kids' coats off and on in the car. I like my sitter and didn't want to have to switch, so I went online and looked for fleeces that are warm. I found a heavyweight fleece at Lands End that was in Jess's favorite color and when it came, it passed the carseat trick. So, all's well.

Something funny going on

I checked my blog and noticed that some of the words in my posts are highlighted as links. I do not do links this way so I have no idea why this has happened. The only time I do a link is if I put in the whole url. Frustrating.



10 minutes later....okay I figured it out. I downloaded babelfish so I could read an email about Jinan that was in Swedish. When I downloaded this, some ad thing got downloaded as well. I uninstalled it and it seems to be okay now.

Aggravated and Venting

Just a quick post because I'm still thinking about something from work yesterday and I know that by writing it down, it's easier to move on. And, I figure, if I can't vent in my own blog, where can I vent? I don't know how the subject started because I was working on my plans at the time but somehow they got to joking if a prostitute claims rape, is it really rape or shoplifting. I've heard these jokes from guys before but really have we fallen so low that making jokes about a violent crime against women (usually) is really funny?? I was offended and wish I'd said something but I didn't. I just don't get how people think things like this are funny; in my book, they rate up there with racist jokes which many people I know enjoy telling and I find so offensive. This is a "humor" that I just don't find humorous.

Chocolate Fondue

I got an electric fondue pot for Christmas. It is so much easier and safer than lighting sterno. Jess liked it which is nice since Mike and Jason won't eat it and I can't really make a pot for myself (okay I could, but I really, really shouldn't). Watch out boys! My baby girl is going to be an expensive date with her penchant for baked brie, poached pear and now fondue. Of course, until she's 21 (make that 31....no 41), we'll be her only dates!

Elf Yourself

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Elf Yourself

I know Christmas is over but I just found this (actually I think I did it last year also but I forgot about it until I came across it on someone's blog tonight).

Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010

What a year! In February we celebrated Jess's 2nd anniversary of her Gotcha Day. I cannot believe she's been home almost 3 years now! Someone asked me last night if I had trouble teaching her English when she came home. Mmmm....no, her speech is quite good and sometimes advanced. When she came home at 17 months, all she understood was Mandarin of course, but children pick up languages very quickly; that is why we should be teaching new langauges way before high school or middle school. Jess knows a little ASL as does Jason which is what I used when we were transitioning from Mandarin to English as it's easier to learn. This summer I had the chance to visit with family I don't know well in CA as well as some I do. We toured San Francisco with my brother and then caught up with cousins from my father's side of the family. We also got to catch up with Sharon, Dan and Keira who were part of our adoption group. The last few months of 2009 have been difficult. My mom had surgery this summer for a twisted hiatel hernia and has gone downhill quickly since then. We don't know if it's the anesthesia from the surgery (read since then that that can accelerate dementia in the elderly), the brain bleed she has, or if this would have happened without either of those things. I'm grateful she still remembers her children and her grandchildren although the details fluctuate (she thought Jess was 6, she thinks I work where I did when I was 16) but it is painful to see how lost she is. A year ago she was living in an assisted living apartment, now she's in an alzheimers unit in a nursing home.

On a happier note, my neighbor had some people over last night and I was thrilled to go. I don't drive on New Years Eve. There are too many crazies out there. Jess took a late nap (got up at 7:30) and I took her over since Mike was working. She took a bit to warm up as usual but after half an hour, she was talking to all the adults and playing with Deb's cat. We left about 10:30 and Jess was not happy about that. She wanted to stay but Jason was at home so I wanted to get back. We saw the New Years in together with noisemakers, hats, and sparkling apple cider.

Here's to 2010!!

Simply Amazing

Last Christmas pictures for the year

Every year I get dress a red Santa type dress to wear. She picked this one out and then decided she didn't want to wear it. I found the hat for the doll and said they could look like each other and she went for it. I need to do a scrapbook page of her in her Santa dresses over the past 3 years.





Jess goofing for the camera. What a ham!!!!

Merry Christmas!!!!!

We were up at 5:30 with Mike this morning so he could watch the kids open Santa's presents. Afterward I went back to lie in bed (didn't really sleep) while Jess played with her Leapster and Jason played his Guitar Hero downstairs. At 8:30 I got up and made pancakes for breakfast. I love Christmas - I love shopping on Black Friday. I love wrapping the presents. I love going to the children's service on Christmas Eve. It's a time when I can indulge myself in buying for my kids. They certainly don't get everything they want but they do get a lot at Christmas, some of it practical, some of it luxuries. I love hearing the Christmas story. I love listening to Christmas carols (especially in my truck since we get country Christmas on the XM radio). I love the magic of Santa Claus. I don't understand people who celebrate Christmas but don't allow their kids to believe in Santa Claus. I do realize, of course, that Santa is not the reason for Christmas; that it is our Lord's birthday. But, there is magic in a child's belief in Santa and I want that magic to last as long as possible.

Waiting for the kids to get up

Santa came!!!

Ready to for the next snowfall

Jess's favorite song is Dominic the Donkey. She told Santa she wanted a donkey for Christmas and he looked a little surprised.

On Christmas Eve, we picked my mom up at the nursing home so that she could come to church with us. We went to the 5:00 children's service. It was really nice - lots of carols and Pastor's son read a story about the baby Jesus told by the animals. Jason was an alcolyte and Jess carried the baby Jesus to the manger. I would have loved to have gotten a picture of that but I didn't think having the flash go off would be appropriate at that moment. She looked adorable up at the altar gently placing the baby in the manger.











After church we went out to eat, dropped my mom off and then came home to open the family presents. Typically, we only open one but Mike had to work today so to save time this morning, we opened them all last night and the kids just opened Santa's presents today.








The kids on Christmas Eve.








Spreading reindeer food to lead the reindeer here.

Can't forget the milk and cookies.

December snowstorm - 12/20/09

We had a huge storm on the 19-20th. No school on Monday which was very, very nice. Usually I don't like snowdays because we have to make them up but I got so much done for Christmas; that extra time was really helpful. I was coming down with a sinus infection so I didn't go outside. Mike used the snowblower and the kids played in the snow.

Ready for the snow!

Sledding

Cuddling with Jack in front of the wood stove. We're getting a lot of use out of that stove this year.

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Our Trip to Newport, RI

I took the kids to Newport to see Santa at Marble House. While we were there we also went to The Elms Rooftop and Behind the Scenes Tour and we went to the Astor's Beechwood which is my favorite (too bad it just sold for 10.5M). We had a great weekend.


The key to a good car trip with 2 kids.


The Astor's Beechwood. It's amazing that this was considered a summer cottage and only used 2 months a year. They had dancing at the Beechwood after we toured the mansion. Jason was a good sport.

Santa and Jess discussing footwear at Marble House. She was thrown by the fact that he was wearing more of a St Nicholas outfit with the hood and brown suede boots than the hat and black boots.

Christmas Season Happenings

Tis the season to be busy. But it's a good kind of busy. I took the kids to see Santa again at Colony Place and got a good picture to put on our Christmas cards.

We had our annual church fair and I made cookies for the bake table. I saw them in a magazine and thought they looked really cute. Of course they ended up taking longer to make than I thought they would but they were worth the time.

Last year I made advent calendars for the kids. There are 25 little drawers and I covered each in scrapbook paper. I filled the drawers with m&m's, dove chocolates and pistachios.

When I was little my mom took me to Jordan Marsh to see the Enchanted Village. They stopped having it after several years and the scenes went into storage. It was erected in City Hall Plaza for a short time but that didn't last long. This year Jordan's Furniture bought it and did a great job with it. Right after work on a Friday, we drove to Avon and visited the furniture store. The Enchanted Village was awesome. I love seeing all the old fashioned scenes. After we were done with the village, we went to the laser show Jordan's had - Christmas carols with lasers - that was also great. I wasn't sure how Jess would like that but she loved it! It seems Jordan's also bought the recipe for Jordan Marsh's famous blueberry muffins. I bought one - I wished I bought more; it was very good.

Jess at the Clifford tree at Colony Place

Jess, Jason and the wild thing at Colony Place

Jess, Jason and St. Nick at Colony Place

Bittersweet Thanksgiving

My mom was able to come to our house for Thanksgiving afterall. It was good to have her there but bittersweet as well. Things went as well as could be expected. The food all came out very good and we had plenty of it. My mom talked about having to get back to her home to go to work; she was very vague about what she thinks her job is. She kept asking us what time her train would be leaving and we'd explain that we were taking her back to the nursing home and that she didn't need to take the train. Her nursing home is called Oak Hill and the train station near where she used to live is Oak Grove which is where the confusion may have been coming from. Jess hugged my mom a lot and said she was glad she was there. After dinner, we took her home and then Patricia, Michelle, Jason and I went to see A Christmas Carol. That was a very good movie and we had a great time. I got up early on Black Friday (3:15 am) and hit Kohls, Borders, Gymboree, Children's Place, JoAnns, Michaels and Bed Bath and Beyond. I stayed away from electronics places and found the shopping to be quite fun. Afterward, we made fattigmon. That's a Norwegian cookie that was made at Christmas. My grandmother made them and taught my mom how to; my mom in turn taught me. Now I'm teaching Jason. He doesn't like to eat them but he said it was a lot of fun to make them. I let him fry them which was a little nervewracking at first. I think I was in my late teens before I was allowed to fry them. Saturday we went to see Santa at Colony Place. It's funny to see how much Jess loves seeing him compared to how she was her first Christmas when she screamed just at the sight of him.

Is coveting your neighbor's vacation a sin?

I get you're not supposed to covet your neighbor's spouse or possessions but I admit I am very, very jealous of one of my coworkers vacation plans. I think my jealousy started hitting hard right around the time I started making Thanksgiving plans. I know living an hour or more from different relatives makes it difficult to get together on holidays. I planned on having Thanksgiving at my house because I had been hoping to have my mom there and with her health it'd have been too hard to bring her to someone else's house. That's not going to happen at all which makes it just hurt worse. DH's side has plans. Fine, I understand. My sister and niece were supposed to come. Niece wants to go to father's; sister doesn't want to make the drive by herself. So, Thanksgiving will be DH, me and the kids. I'm fine with that, really. Okay, not really but I don't have much choice. Growing up, my mom always insisted I be there for Thanksgiving; it was the family holiday. Since we flew on employee passes, we usually spent Christmas flying or at airports but Thanksgiving was dinner at home with turkey, baked apples, and whatever friends didn't have somewhere to go. My mom's physically still here but mentally she is slipping away faster and faster. This just seemed like a time when I really needed family around. I will still have my family of course, DH and the kids, but I wish there'd be more of us. The nursing home advised us strongly not to take my mom out for the holiday because of the frequent transitions she's had to have over the past 2 months, her paranoia, and her fantasies. So, that sets the stage for my jealous coveting.

A coworker is going on a cruise at Christmas with about 20 people in her family. I know some think I'm crazy but I think that would be the ideal trip - cruises have so much to do that people could do what they wanted and catch up throughout the trip (I'm not crazy enough to think that we should all be doing the same thing all the time). I treasure the memories I have of traveling with my family. I am so glad that my son has those memories of my mother; it hurts my heart that my daughter won't have those memories. I know it'll never happen but that doesn't stop me from wishing.