Baby Stuff

I'm in the middle of stenciling Meimei's room (once we decide on a name, I wonder if I'll have a hard time remembering not to call her Meimei). It's a slow process but it's coming along. Here's what it looks like. It's not the best picture but it gives the idea. Mike painted the walls a creamy yellow. The stencil is one of Home Depot's Disney Princess line (of course*S*).

Ladybugs are supposed to be good luck. People in the Chinese adoption community say that when you see a ladybug it means referrals are coming. I think ladybugs are cute and am starting to accumulate a collection of items. In this picture, you can see one of the many dresses I've bought so far (ladybugs are on the collar and hem), a stuffed lady bug, a ladybug wooden clacker (sitting on the yellow blanket), and two of the blankets I've made so far. The red and pink blanket was the second one I made at the sewing class that I took (the first blanket I made was for Jason); the yellow blanket is a fleece blanket that I fringed and tied the edges together. I really like make blankets (new baby shower gift idea to give people*S*).

I've always loved stuffed animals. Growing up, my bed was a jumble of them. Jason takes after me in this. Meimei already has quite the collection going - some of them Jason's, some of them mine, some were Michelle's (my niece), and some bought just for her. The Minnie Mouse and large bear (Felicia from Filenes many years ago) were mine. Donald Duck was Jason's but he said it would go well in her Disney room. I'd bought Marie (the white cat from the Aristocats) for one of Chuck and Sandi's girls before I heard that they didn't want any more stuffed animals given to them so it joined this group. There is a Mother Goose and a bunny rabbit with babies from Michelle. The sheep, ladybug, Raggedy Ann, and Hungry Caterpillar were all part of my retail therapy. On the left wide you can also see another of the fleece blankets I made.

Stop in and Say Hi!

People keep telling me they've checked my blog but no one ever stops in and says hi. Letting me know you were here is really easy - just click on the comment button under the post. You can leave comments anonymously if you don't want to register for an account.

For some reason the clocks from the weather site seem to be off on my blog. I've got three - 1 for Plymouth, 1 for Guangzhou and 1 for Beijing. The other night the one for Plymouth was off by an hour. The ones for Guangzhou and Beijing should have the same time as there is only one time zone in China but they're different on this. I'm going to have to look into that when I have more time to fool around with it.

Referrals came in by surprise

According to the forums, no one expected referrals before next week. Surprise! They came in on Wednesday. Unfortunately they only went through 7/22/05 so my agency didn't receive any. I was very depressed when I first read it but picked myself up and I'm back to normal (with the help of some chocolate*S*).

I had some coupons for Michaels Arts and Crafts so I got some card making supplies and am going to start stamping thank you cards. I won't need them for a while but it gives me something to do that I probably wouldn't have time for later. If I get a chance after I make a sample tonight I'll post a pic. Last year I bought a stamp that had thank you written in Chinese characters so I'm going to use this. I need to finish stenciling the baby's room as well. Maybe I'll go do that now (rather than finish cleaning out my craft room which I am currently taking a break from).

I saw this on someone else's blog and thought it was cool since some people who stop by here don't really know me. On the other person's blog it was supposed to be 100 facts; I don't know that I can think of that many. I may add to the list as I think of things.

All About Me

1. I've lived in MA all of my life except for 11 months I spent in southern CA (and the 2 months I went to school in HI missing the Blizzard of '78).
2. I've been married for a little over 10 years.
3. We have an 8 year old son who is going into third grade. We just found out that he got the teacher I was hoping for!!
4. We had planned on going to Australia for our 10th anniversary; this was before deciding to adopt. Maybe when we hit 25.
5. Growing up, I lived in a Cape Cod style house and swore that I wouldn't live in one when I was old enough to buy a house; that I wanted a Victorian. By the time I was old enough to have a mortgage, reality set in and I knew a Victorian was out of our price range. We have a very nice Cape Cod style house*S*
6. I love, love, love to travel.
7. I love planning vacations and am usually researching the next place I want to go (after China, maybe New Orleanss? But not during Mardi Gras - see number 8)
8. I don't mind going to busy places but I can't stand obsenely huge crowds which is why Mardi Gras and Fan Fest (a week in June in Nashville) are out of the question for me.
9. I am not fond of vacations where we sit on the beach and do nothing. Definitely Type A when it comes to going away - plans, schedules and on the go!
10. Disney World is my favorite place in the world.
11. Nashville is my second favorite vacation place with Vegas pretty close behind.
12. I'd love to retire to Celebration, FL.
13. I am obsessed with anything Disney.
14. Our two cats are named after Disney characters (DH wanted to name them Whitey and Stripes; ended up with Jasmine and Ariel)
15. I rarely wear makeup or earrings.
16. I don't like the color orange.
17. I don't like wearing high heels.
18. My favorite shoes are my birkenstock sandals.
19. I cannot carry a tune although I do sing for my students.
20. I love scrapbooking.
21. I recently learned how to sew.
22. My first sewing project was a blanket for Jason.
23. I've been friends with one of my friends for 34 years. Wow! Kindergarten was such a long time ago!!
24. I don't do well with someone telling me I can't do something. Talk to me and let me know your feelings but don't ever think you can forbid me.
25. I have a brother in California and a sister in MA. My sister spent 10 years in CA before returning home.
26. I'm a cat person. Love me, love my cats (or in Mike's case, tolerate my cats).
27. It drives me crazy when people refer to women who stay at home as full-time moms. There is nothing about my working that makes me a part-time mom. How come no one calls fathers who work part-time dads?

It's Too Quiet!!!

Usually by now there are rumors floating all over the internet; this month - nothing!!! It's driving me crazy. I'm finding that I'm getting much more obsessive as time goes on since we're getting so close now. I bought a magazine yesterday and my horoscope in it said that a long-held dream would finally be realized in September. Since our LID is 8/30, I'm not expecting a referral this month but I would be thrilled/ecstatic/jumping up and down hysterically if we got one in September (hopefully it's not nap time at work when I get the call*S*). I had a dream we named our daughter Lucy. Lucy is a fine name but it's not one we'd been considering. I looked up its meaning and it means "Light" Perhaps the dream means that there really is a light at the end of the tunnel?

Exactly what do people find funny about racial or ethnic jokes? I don't get the humor in them and I'm sure I'm going to ruffle a few feathers with my letting people know this. I was on the Woman's Day forum and someone posted a thread entitled "Want to Learn Chinese?" I opened the thread and clicked on the enclosed link. It was a list of phrases in English and the supposedly humorous Chinese way of saying them. It was offensive and I told the woman who posted it that I didn't think it was funny. I know many people in my life who think ethnic jokes are particularly funny but I just fail to see the humor. I always lose some respect for people when I hear them tell jokes like this.

More Paperwork

On Wednesday, I dropped Jason off at Ruth & Chuck's and went to meet our new social worker (our third!). Our first one was laid off and the second one decided to move to Arizona. She was very nice and we talked for about half an hour about adoption, family, and work. It wasn't required but I thought it'd be nice to have a face to put with the voice that will be calling me to tell me we have a daughter. There were a few things that I knew that she didn't that I'd gotten from Rumor Queen like the increased time if you're adopting from Guangdong province. She said that WHFC is still predicting 15 months from LID to referral which would mean we would get a referral in November. I'm crossing my fingers that it'll be before that. Because our 797 will expire in November, we have to apply again for CIS approval to adopt. More forms to fill out, more documents to copy, more money to pay. It's almost $600 for this approval. There is a legislature to try to extend this approval but I'm too paranoid to wait to see if it passes. I'd rather have it and not need it then not have it and have any more delays in this process. After meeting with our SW, I went to the Cheesecake Factory (yum!!!) and then back to WHFC for the waiting families meeting. One couple is traveling the end of this month, one family is next to get a referral (there are more than one couple in each LID group of course, but not many come to the meetings). There were 2 women who'd been to Russia to get their referral and meet their new sons and they talked about that. The three couples who are adopting from Guatemala are all traveling to see their children soon. The family who adopted the the twins traveled in July and may be at the next meeting with their children; I can't wait to see them! It helps to see that there really is a light at the end of the tunnel.

IGive.com
Fundraising is a big topic on the adoption boards. People have different ideas about what fundraising is. Some consider having yard sales or selling things on Ebay as fundraising. Others consider fundraising sending out letters asking for donations. I've been selling stuff on Ebay for years but I never thought of it as fundraising. I had one yard sale many years ago and swore I'd never have another - too much work, too little $$. As for writing letters and asking for money, I don't think so; unless it's to help a charity like the Walk for Cancer or the Jane Doe Walk Against Domestic Violence, it seems too much like begging to me.

On one of the many adoption groups that I belong to, someone mentioned IGive.com. It's an online shopping mall that includes major stores such as Barnes & Noble, Target.com, and Apple ITunes. I buy a lot of stuff online especially as the Christmas season gets closer (no, I haven't bought anything for Christmas yet). By shopping at the participating stores through IGive, a percentage predetermined by the store is donated to the shopper's favorite group, whether it is a known charity, your child's marching band, or, as we are doing, to help with our fees. The percentage donated is not tacked onto your purchase price. Since I buy online anyway, I figured I might as well join and get some money to help with the expenses.

If you're interested in using IGive, just go to Igive.com and join; it's free to join. If you'd like contribute your percentage to our journey, join through www.igive.com/bringingmeimeihome. If you'd like to support a favorite charity, there is a huge list available when you are on the registration page or you can add your own.

Luggage
Even though we are nowhere near getting our referral, I had to go out and get some retail therapy today. I was so depressed over this morning's news that referrals only went to 7/13 and thought maybe doing something to get ready would help. This morning I finished the 2nd coat on the window in the nursery and the first coat on the baseboards. I'll put a 2nd coat on tonight and then hopefully start with the fun decorating. I'll post pictures once I get it done. Anyway, Jason and I went shopping for luggage. We have two pieces that should be okay but the others are too big considering the luggage restrictions that will be in place. I wanted another 22-24" piece. We went to Kohl's but I really didn't want to spend $200 on a suitcase right now. We went to Target and Jason found one he liked. It's a 4 piece which we didn't really need but the price was right. I'm thinking that we won't have as much trouble telling this one is ours on the luggage carousel as our others.

Referrals through July 13

I got up this morning to check Rumor Queen since I knew referrals were due to come out. There have been so many rumors lately - cutoff 7/13, cutofff 7/27, no referrals due to move, etc. The truth was better than no referrals but not as good as 7/27. They went from 6/29 to 7/13. Our agency's next LID is 7/25 so no one from WHFC will be getting a referral in this batch - disappointing. So, there is still one more group at my agency ahead of us. The chant has been "All July in July" and I think many of us were starting to believe that it might happen. Well, the roller coaster ride continues....

Who knew packing could be a pastime?

I had to look up the spelling of pastime because it looks strange but according to www.dictionary.com, it's correct. I've been searching blogs and adoption websites for months reading people's packing lists and incorporating them into my own. I just found a whole new stash of them on rumor queen's forum and am in the process of sorting through the 13 pages to see if there's anything new. I'd really like to know how anyone can pack for a two week trip to China using carry on only (coo). I'm not even going to bother as I know I'd just get frustrated. There's a suitcase in the baby's room that I've been putting stuff into as I get it. I just bought some TSA locks. I think I'll be picking up an international converter next. We're going to have to get some more luggage. We have 2 decent sized suitcases and 2 huge ones. The huge ones won't qualify for the in-country flights. Target was having a sale, buy 1 suitcase get 1 free but I am leary of spending the money right now. They have these sales periodically so once school is back in session and I'm pulling a paycheck again, I'll grab a couple at the next sale. I think I might get one of the stranger colors (pink, purple) so that our luggage will be easily recognizable. I have a packing list on my website which you can see at www.geocities.com/chinalovejourney but may be updating it again once I get through all the notes and tips I've gotten from the RQ site. Time to go watch Big Brother.

Grrr!

I have heard about ignorant comments that adoptive parents get on all the messageboards and forums that I go to but they're starting up in real life to me now. I'm sure one of Mike's friends and his wife thought they were being helpful when they told me about their friend who adopted from Russia and was able to get not one but two caucasian babies and that the country tried to push a third on them while they were there. First of all, we're adopting from China - obviously the child being caucasian is not a priority with us. Secondly, jokes about "Buy 2, get 1 free" are offensive. Use your brain people!! The majority of people involved in international adoption are not going to be amused by bigoted, racial and cultural jokes like these.

Of course, many myths about international adoption are perpetuated by stories such as the poor journalism that appeared in the LA Times. A writer wrote a supposedly satirical piece pointed at Angelina Jolie but it was written in poor taste and has the potential to harm adoptive families by angering the countries that were being mocked. I wrote a letter to the editor of that paper as did many other parents.

Horoscopes

Normally I'm not too superstitious but I'll choose to believe my horoscope today. I picked up a copy of Women's World to read at the gym (I've been very good about going !!) and checked out my horoscope. 7/6 would be way too early for us to get a referral considering they've only matched families with log in dates up to 6/28/05 and ours is 8/30/05. Still, maybe there could be some good news on the way. As for the out-of-town guests, thankfully I've gotten my house somewhat organized and am not suffering from CHAOS (can't have anyone over syndrome).

Ignorant Comment

I went to Chinese class last night and was talking to two people about our adoption. It was a nice conversation until one guy chimed in. A woman had asked whether we go alone or with a group. I told her we are going with a group and the guy said "Yeah, you don't want to be wandering around alone picking through the leftover babies. Hey, that one looks cute; lets ask the mother to sell her." I was shocked (which after reading through what others on the forums have gone through I probably shouldn't have been). After all, he's in a class to learn to speak Chinese and appears to be an adult; shouldn't he have known that would be offensive both to myself and to the teacher of the class who was sitting next to me and is from Beijing? I told him that was insulting and turned to talk to someone else. Earlier, when I said that we may stop in Hong Kong to go to Disneyland, he acted like that was horrible. He liked the Hong Kong part but not the Disney; oh well, can't please everyone.

On a better note, a girl saw me on the train reading my beginning Chinese book and started talking to me. She's from southern China and was really interested in my learning to speak. She helped me with the different tones and said once I have those, the rest will be easy. Not so sure about that!!

June 24, 2006 (at least for 15 more minutes)

Who knew what fun a blog could be!!

I should be going to bed since I'm going to Sturbridge tomorrow but I discovered Blogthings - all these little quizzes that tell things about you.

Like this:

Your Ideal Pet is a Cat

You're both aloof, introverted, and moody.And your friends secretly wish that you were declawed!

What's" Your Ideal Pet?

Although I have to admit I cheated on this one. The first time I took it, it told me I should have a big dog - I don't think so!

And this:

June 23, 2006

Step by step, day by day

We're one step closer today. The CCAA sent out referrals for everyone up through 6/28/05. I wished that they had gone through the whole month as it makes me nervous being an end of the monther myself (LID 8/30/05). I'm thinking maybe October for our referral (although I greatly wish it would be sooner). If we get a referral in October, we'd probably be traveling December-January. Maybe we'll see Christmas in China. I can't think of a better Christmas present than receiving our baby girl! I've prepared Jason that if we are in China on Christmas, Santa knows we're only allowed one suitcase each so he'll bring the presents to our house and they'll be waiting for him on our return (if this happens, we may need the help of some elves in setting up).


I'm out of work for the summer (yeah!!!!!). On the last day of school, I found the sweetest present on my desk. I love getting good surprises and this was so sweet. My boss left a little suitcase on my desk and inside was a check, a panda, blanket, spoons, book, and photo album. The picture doesn't do it justice. A couple at our adoption agency got a stuffed zebra to be their adoption mascot; maybe the Panda can be ours.

June 17, 2006

Ni hao!

I started Chinese (Mandarin) classes last Tuesday night. The teacher is from Beijing and a bit hard to understand but it's fun. Mama is mother, baba father, gege older brother. The latest rumor is that the CCAA may send out referrals for all of June by the end of the month. That would be awesome since it would mean we were that much closer. The people at WHFC who have June LIDs are 6/23 so I really hope it includes them if it doesn't go all the way to the end.

May 28,2006

Learning something new

I had a website but from what I've been told, it seems that blogging is easier, so I'm trying it out. I'm teaching myself HTML as I go along since I never took it in school. The earlier part of our journey is on the website. You can get to that by clicking on my link on the right of the blog.

Not much happening right now in the waiting game. Referrals have been received for dossiers logged in by June 15, 2005. Our log in date is 8/30/05 so we still have a while to wait. I bought a cute shirt for the baby. Jason didn't think it was quite so cute. I'm not sure why I can't get the picture to post right side up. It looked okay in the file.