Happy 3rd Gotcha Day Anniversary!!

I cannot believe 3 years has passed since Jessica was placed in my arms by her ayi. The little one who cried so heartbreakingly and clung to me has grown into an independent little girl (although she knows she'll always be mommy's baby). Three years ago, Daddy could only hold her when she was sleeping or she'd scream. Now she's Daddy's Pumpkin and runs to him for hugs. It's amazing how much she has grown.

Minutes after being placed in my arms

Tonight at New Tokyo

Fun Times

Jason and I get many of our travel ideas from watching Samantha Brown; she gets to do the coolest stuff. On one of her shows, she went indoor skydiving in a vertical wind tunnel in Vegas. I thought that was so cool but figured it'll be a while before we get back to Vegas (although I'd love to go back; it was so much fun and there are many child friendly things to do). At a scrapbooking event I was at I met a woman who was scrapping pictures of her family doing indoor skydiving but it was in NH. Jason's grandparents bought him a gift card for his birthday last summer and during our break last week we finally got up there. Mike and I decided to do it as well. While Jess is technically old enough, we didn't think she'd enjoy it so she came with us but didn't do it. The instructor had me go first so that after I'd done my 2 times, they could shut the wind down for a minute and I could switch out with Mike. I was a little freaked at going first but it was wicked cool. Jess was a little freaked out watching the instructor at first and started crying that she didn't want daddy to go in there. She calmed down afterward and enjoyed watching it.

Jason suited up and ready to go

I'm floating

Up up and away with Jason

Catching Up

I keep thinking I'll be better at keeping my blog up to date but life just keeps getting in the way. For a while I couldn't open it because of the radioplayer I had on. My computer had had a virus and when we got it back, blogs with radioplayer on them shut it down. I took it off mine so I can finally get back on.

Jason's expanding his repertoire of cooking. I know a lot of people think it's not right that I don't make him eat what Mike or I are cooking if he doesn't like it but having grown up being made to eat things I hated, I just can't do that. However, I have no intention of running a restaurant so the rule is if you don't like what's for dinner, you need to make something yourself. Jason started off pouring cereal, putting tortillas and cheese together and making pb&j sandwiches when he was really little. He graduated to the microwave for pancakes, waffles and chicken nuggets. He makes frozen pizza and is now making tacos. I don't let him make the tacos or anything requiring the stove when no one else is home. One person told me that not making him eat the hot meal we cook shows him we don't really care about him. Mmmm....I don't think so.


A rare moment - playing nicely, no teasing or fighting.

Happy Valentine's Day. Jason went to a wrestling meet while Jess, Tricia and I took my mom out for tea. My mom loves the tea place in Plymouth. I tried the cornish pasty which is new there and it was really good! I think I may be going back sooner than usual to get it again. Plus I need some more sweet cranberry tea.

Jess at the tea room. She got cream cheese and strawberry jam sandwiches, grapes, strawberries, and cookies. After she ate everything, she helped me eat my dessert plate, especially the chocolate covered strawberry! When I'd originally called to make the reservations, the owner asked how many people and I said 3 adults and a child. He asked how old the child was and I said 4. There was silence and then I said that she'd been there frequently. Then he knew who I was and said he was happy we were coming in. Jess is always extremely well behaved there and the owners always give her a little something extra - more grapes, an extra sandwich, etc. This time Jess was helping me eat my chocolate strawberry and one of the owners (husband and wife couple) told me she had a chocolate strawberry on the counter that she couldn't serve because it didn't look perfect but would Jess like it. Jess was thrilled.

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.