Flora

Alive and Kicking...still

2010-07-29T19:22:00.002+08:00

We are all still here. I know it has been awhile since I have posted. We are doing well, enjoying the summer. Em is now 15, Cl is 13 and Flora is still 2 (going on 12). I couldn't be a luckier mama. Em and Cl are truly the best big sisters out there.
Flora A-D-O-R-E-S them. Flora frequently sports painted toes and more recently painted fingernails. We have a rather large group of teenage girls who also serve Flora. Yesterday, someone asked me if Flora has play dates. I said yes! Whenever Em or Cl have friends over Flora thinks they are here to visit HER! Flora will stand at the gate in our back room (still in place to corral the animals not Flora) and call for Em or Cl to come and get her. And they always do!
We spent 10 days on a sailboat in the BVI a month ago. It was Flora's first sailing experience. She was tremendous! It was a fantastic trip. Flora was jumping off of the stern of the boat (wearing her wings) into 20 feet of ocean water with turtles, barracudas, and other small fish. She, in typical Flora fashion, was easy and fun. She loved the entire trip...the car, the plane, the tram, the ferry, the sailboat and the taxis!
Flora is doing her "nastics" weekly. She tells us how she rolls and jumps and hops. She is enamored with "nastics." Generally speaking, she is mesmerized by sports. She enjoys football, basketball, and baseball games. As I have "tasted the kool-aid" at Karate/Jiu~Jitsu setting the example for Flora, she now walks around the house punching and kicking in the air. She is excited about the pee-wee class she will likely start when she turns three. She also picks up any stick like object and ball and plays "field hockey" around the house. I guess for a house full of girls, we are sports people. Flora's excitement is evidence of that.
She is easily on target with every milestone. Her language is unbelievable. She often says 4-5 word sentences. She even corrects herself. The other day I was brushing her hair. I had in my hand her bag of hair do dads. She looked at me and said, "I get it." Then she looked at me shook her head and said, "No, I PICK it." The no was not for my benefit, but shaking off her use of get searching for a better word, pick. WOW!
Seriously, I could not be prouder of all of my girls. They are the most exciting edition to my life. Thanks Joe!

Happy Birthday Wee One!

2010-04-08T19:41:00.002+08:00

Today Flora is two. She will tell you that today is her birthday and she is two. She will also tell you that on your birthday you eat cake AND open presents! Ah, it's good to have older girls to corrupt the brain of the wee one. :)

I have been meaning to update what she has been up to lately. I know everyone really wants to see photos, and I think I have posted more than usual lately. Flora is potty trained! Yippee!! It was a fairly easy road, 6 weeks. She just moved to a regular bed (last night). She was a little worried, but she rally enjoyed being able to get out on her own.
She is talking up a storm. For a while now, everything is WHY? She used to call Claire, yaga. ??? Now it sounds more like
Lee-AHHH. Emily is no longer Em, but Emily.
While I have always enjoyed the two's, not so terrible in my book, we have had two huge temper-tantrums. They have lasted for nearly 30-45 minutes. I am hoping that will be it!
She goes to gymnastics, "nastics", every week. She LOVES it. She loves to "rolling", as she calls it, over the barrel. Next year she will start school, officially. Luckily, I was able to snag a spot at the most prestigious, best Montessori school in town. ;) She is most definitely ready for school. I just can't believe how much she has grown and changed in the last year.
I was telling Joe just yesterday that I feel there is NO difference between bio children and adopted children. I look at her, and she is obviously Chinese, but that doesn't make any difference. I still feel like I gave birth to her. Joe says there is a mental illness in there somewhere. :) But then, on the flip side, today especially, I think of her birth mom. I would love to share with her that Flora is a wonderfully radiant, wonderfully adjusted little girl. She brings so much happiness, excitement and joy to our family. Happy Birthday, wee one. We love you!

Happy Easter

2010-04-05T01:17:00.003+08:00

After Joe's amazing Easter Pizza, we colored eggs. Flora really enjoyed it. She would ever so carefully throw each egg into the dye. Then she would insist upon using the wire holder to transfer the wet, dye soaked egg into the egg carton. It really was fun.

This morning she was very excited about the baskets of candy sitting on the counter. We waited for C to "hide the eggs". She had a great time searching for them. Flora would squeal with delight every time she spotted an egg. Then once again, using the same technique of tossing the eggs into the dye, she would lob the eggs into her basket. Ah, what fun!!!

The Day Before Easter

2010-04-04T06:34:00.004+08:00

'Twas the night before Easter. Joe has decided to make Easter Pizza. Photos here.

Easter Pizza is goooood!

Yes LNB....

2010-04-02T09:14:00.002+08:00

I am a cheater! I sat here as I put Miss Flora to bed and updated my blog. So there! :-P

The Old One....

2010-03-28T09:04:00.000+08:00

Holy Moly! My oldest, a freshman in high school mind you, was asked to the junior prom. She has never been on an official date before. So how can it be that her first date is prom???? Isn't that the ultimate date in high school? Well her date was a very nice young man. I approve of him, which basically sealed his fate that my daughter was not interested in him. They are just friends.

Welcome, Tiger!

2010-02-14T08:32:00.003+08:00

Surprise! I am not Chinese, but my youngest daughter is. So... how do I balance her heritage and culture when I know some about it but haven't "lived" it. Chinese New Year is the Mac Daddy of them all. I decided to celebrate CNY like Thanksgiving. We had family over and celebrated CNY on February 14th. I cooked all day. Some things were from scratch and some were assembled. All in all it was a fun time and good food. Here are some photos of our evening.

The Trio of Snows

2010-01-30T06:28:00.000+08:00

This winter we had three Saturdays in a row where it snowed. We outfitted Flora in her snow suit and sandwich bags on her feet to play in the snow.

A warm day at the zoo

2010-01-24T06:20:00.000+08:00

We love going to our local zoo. It is a reasonable 1 1/2 - 2 hour venture, so doable.
Here are a few pics of our lovely day.

Welcome 2010!

2010-01-02T00:30:00.000+08:00

The New Year was celebrated in Corolla with some friends! We toured the lighthouse on a V-E-R-Y windy day.

Christmas '09

2009-12-25T11:30:00.000+08:00

oh yeah!
Christmas for me had become such a big deal for us. every Christmas I would announce that by next Christmas Flora will certainly be here. That happened 3 times! So last Christmas I said it with great authority that '08 would be the last Christmas without Flora. I was so certain only because we had booked our flight and were China bound on January 1, 2009.
Here are photos of Flora's first Christmas.

Syrup Anyone?

2009-12-10T22:57:00.004+08:00

Flora loves sugar, and she loves carbs! So what, in here mind, would be a better breakfast than marrying the two?
Waffles with Syrup.....finger er plate licking good!

*side note~I think the one photo could be an ad for Pottery Barn's Great White dinner ware!

The First Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T22:41:00.000+08:00

I love Thanksgiving. In fact, I believe it may be one of my favorite two holidays. I enjoy the company of friends and/or family. Flora's first Thanksgiving was magical!
Happy Thanksgiving Ya'll!

First Time....

2009-11-05T22:23:00.000+08:00

.....ever I saw your face
First Referral Anniversary

The First of Many Firsts

2009-10-31T22:43:00.000+08:00

Halloween! Although I usually love Halloween, handing out all that candy to our 400+ trick or treaters, this year was a bit different. Football has altered our fall. We had a football game on Halloween night. So we were black for the night and did not hand out candy. Nonetheless, Flora donned her first Halloween costume at the football game.

This is the first posts of many firsts as we embark upon the first holiday season with sweet Flora!

ISO the Perfect Pumpkin

2009-10-28T08:51:00.004+08:00

Flora was in search of the perfect pumpkin. Sorry Folks.....she found it! The perfect pumpkin now resides at our house. Here she is similar to Goldilocks in search of that perfect pumpkin. This one is too big. This one is too small. This one is just right!

Dada no more

2009-10-18T22:41:00.002+08:00

Flora's language is moving along swiftly. Last night we went from Mama and Dada to Mommy and Daddy. Although I am excited, I am sad too.

The Plague at our house

2009-10-13T22:36:00.000+08:00

After a wonderful weekend at the homestead we came back with the stomach bug. Yuck. Joe started on the trip. Claire started 90 minutes from home. I started at 11:30 pm and Emily at 3:00 am. It was quick but awful! Flora escaped totally unscathed! I am very thankful for small favors and strong immune systems. One of the worst things ever is a vomiting baby/toddler! Especially for 6 plus hours!
Don't worry no photos documenting those 48 hours........

Homestead

2009-10-12T22:14:00.001+08:00

We spent the weekend in beautiful Hot Springs, VA at the Homestead. Truly one of my favorite places to visit. I always have a great relaxing time coupled with wonderful memories over the years with my family members who are no longer here. I like making new memories with Flora too!

Our Carriage Ride

Tex, the Harris Hawk, flying between the girls. Falconry is ultra cool!

The Hayride at Sunset.

MMMMMMMmmmmmmm.....Smores!

Just say no.......

2009-10-07T03:53:00.003+08:00

......to Swine Flu. I took the old one who was complaining of flu symptoms to the doc today. Not that I am on the Swine Flu bandwagon, but honestly if you get them there fast enough the doc will script Tamaflu. Em was a hot mess! She was so delusional she even wanted to go to school to take TWO tests.....crazy girl! Nope! I said. Good news: no Swine, Bad news: either MONO or Adno Virus. I have my fingers crossed for Adno!
we will know more in a few days.
On another better note, I took Miss FJ to the dentist for the first time today. I have been made aware of many children adopted from China who have significant teeth issues, so to be on the cautious side I took Miss FJ 6 months early. The appointment itself was rough, for her. She did not like people poking in her mouth. Nor did she enjoy being held down. However, the result was great information! She has fantastic teeth. FJ does insist that I brush them 1-2X per day. She loves having her teeth brushed. The hygienist was very complimentary, saying that she has no plaque on her teeth. Hooray for us! Now they want me to start flossing her teeth. I think we will give it a whirl!
Pictures will be coming. I have lost my cable to download photos. I have many pics on my camera. Stay tuned!

New Milestones

2009-09-29T00:36:00.002+08:00

I can not believe how amazing my daughter is. Actually, it is not that surprising as all three of my girls blow me away almost daily. But Miss Flora met, head on, a huge milestone today. Today was a no school for us due to Yom Kippur! So I decided to have a slow morning and not hit the gym at 5 am as usual. I decided to wait until 9 when the daycare opened. (In the essence of full disclosure my good friend, Miss Deb, started working at the daycare.) I have not left Flora with anyone other than Joe, Emily or Claire since we arrived home. I thought that today would be a good day to try. She cried for a short time, under 10 minutes, and then she was fine. She did suck her thumb for a while. That is always a sign to me that she is tired, which she wasn't, or stressed. But when i returned nearly 2 hours later she was happily walking around with her paper. The smile when she saw was amazing! True pleasure and happiness. I am glad I tried it. It is something that will not be happening daily or even weekly, because my schedule doesn't allow for late morning gym time, but I am proud of her!

Back to School

2009-08-24T13:45:00.000+08:00

Today marks the day that we return to school. It is time although I have thoroughly enjoyed my summer with my girls! I have done a ton of nothing. I have been super busy trying to relax, decompress and regenerate. I am almost there. I am excited to see Flora back to school with a better schedule.

Speaking of signing.....

2009-08-22T11:08:00.000+08:00

Flora still signs. I am a firm believer of teaching signing to children. She has been signing since becoming a family in January. Now she is starting to add some speaking to her signs. She'll sign and say the word simultaneously. I have not taught her enough signs honestly. She is becoming more and more frustrated as her brain is way ahead of her speaking skills/ability. So she has started a screaming and grunting thing. It is driving us all nuts. We can't wait for her to be able to communicate her needs and wants to us more clearly. She is definitely a girl who knows what she wants and what she absolutely wants no part of! I still can't believe that she is here. Our lives are wonderfully complete!

Still Sigining

2009-08-16T09:08:00.000+08:00

After the last post it is important to relay that Flora's favorite new sign is......ICE CREAM! We have the refrigerator on the bottom. Flora now walks over to it and signs ice cream. Hmmmm, I think she truly enjoyed the ice cream experience.

First Ice Cream!

2009-08-10T22:58:00.000+08:00

Following the tradition we started, the first ice cream cone must be:
~In a cone
~In a high chair, sitting outside
~Wearing only a diaper
~With a camera

Happy Birthday, young one!

2009-07-14T21:46:00.002+08:00

Happy 12th Birthday, Bear!

Happy Birthday, old one!

2009-07-10T14:00:00.001+08:00

It is time once again to wish that old one of mine Happy Birthday. She is 14. The day before her birthday I registered her at the local high school. I am proud to say that she was admitted into a special program that is medicine based, heavy in math and science! She is a typical teenager, oy vey! I love her to pieces and without her being so wonderful I would have never wanted more children. So, E, it is all your fault!! =)

No need to call the authorities.....

2009-07-08T07:46:00.003+08:00

we are all okay. Things have been a bit busy around these parts. Nothing like a little family drama. The old one graduated. I am so proud of her. She applied to and was accepted to the medical program that is offered in our high schools. Unbelievable! She is going to take Algebra 2, Chemistry, Honors English, World History, Spanish 3, and some elective to balance the schedule! What a ridiculously hard schedule! Kudos to here for being prepared to take such courses!
Did I mention that school's out for summer????
Flora is doing amazing well. We had a little jaunt up north to visit some family. We were able to hook up with some travel friends that we made in China. Their daughter, Emily, is doing very well. Traveling to China was an amazing experience, through and through. We meet some equally amazing people. But your experience in China is like no other. It is a flash of time when things are all so new, unusual, different, and fantastic. Never again will you see these people walking the halls trying to get their new daughters to sleep. We saw folks with bed head in their pj's. We scrambled to help anyone with anything. You need diapers? I have extras. You need prunes? Well, I have 2. But it is equally wonderful to see these babies (who were in shock, initially) comfortable in their own homes. I loved visiting our friends.
And now it is time for a few photos. We have a family photo that was taken for the benefit of our home study and then who doesn't love a smiling baby?

Time for a visit!

2009-05-28T00:15:00.004+08:00

I can not believe that it has been 6 months. Okay it really hasn't been that long. But it is time for our home study person to visit today. House is clean, correction picked-up. No, we don't live in a hovel, however, sometimes it is messy.....
In the meantime, here are some photos of FJ.

Updates!

2009-05-07T22:43:00.005+08:00

We have been very busy chasing after our WALKER!
~Flora started walking on Sunday April 26, 2009. She took her first steps and has since graduated to walking 80% of the time and crawling a mere 20%. She is proud of herself.
~She has been using a spoon lately to feed herself. Luckily we have dogs!
~She is going to eat us out of house and home. My girl can chow down. She is tipping the scales at 20.75 pounds. I turned her car seat around. She seems to be far happier with the view.
~She has continued to flourish. Joe has left town for 10 days. I was a bit concerned how things would pan out. It has been easy. Em and Cl have stepped up to the plate. Truly, I couldn't prouder of them.
~Flora was having some difficulty sleeping, getting to sleep and sleeping through the night. Joe and I read The Sleep Lady and we have had some success. As for sleeping through the night, all it takes is a light sleeper (Joe) to leave and a sound sleeper (Me) left in charge. Problem solved!!!!

The ape walk! She is not doing this hands over her head walk as much anymore.

I love this crinkled face. She makes snorting sounds while making that face!

Flora was given this chalkboard by one of my students. He carefully washed for her, because it was his. She loves drawing on the chalkboard.

Phavorite Photo

2009-04-12T08:11:00.003+08:00

I love, love, love this pic of my girl. I took it myself a week ago. My husband, who is the avid photographer says it is great. I concur!

The post birthday haze

2009-04-11T01:50:00.003+08:00

Flora is affected by sugar! Too much sugar wires my little darling to no end. It was a fun day (her birthday), but we spent all of yesterday dealing with withdrawals. Seriously, she was so wound up on her birthday that she did not take an afternoon nap. She stayed up way past her bedtime. She fell asleep in the car on the way home (the last 5 minutes that is). When it came time for the transfer from the car seat to her bed she woke up. Needless to say she did not fall asleep until 10:00 and she woke several times during the night. I am so happy birthdays only come once a year, only 363 days to go!
I forgot to post these photos on her birthday. She brought in a special snack and sat at group to eat it with her friends.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

2009-04-09T00:26:00.006+08:00

Today is Flora's first birthday! She started the day like this at 8:30.

Everyone was anxious to see her, because she brought this to "school" aka my work.

More later on Flora's first birthday adventures!!

We had a great dinner at a Chinese Restaurant. Miss Flora had congee!!! Something that she has not had since she left China. It was a special night!
The cake, FYI, was banana rama with chocolate buttercream icing. YUM, YUM, YUM!

The Beach

2009-04-07T05:55:00.003+08:00

We have a bit of a tradition in our family of photographing the first moment our daughter feels sand. Flora was honored with the same tradition. These photographs document that moment. Albeit these were taken in March, but I still love them. Flora went from not being too thrilled with sand to eating it! ARGH!

Em and Flo

2009-03-19T00:31:00.003+08:00

Okay I have NO intentions of calling Flora...Flo. How ever there was a ring to Em and Flo (a la ebb and flow). These photos were taken yesterday on photo booth. Seriously cute sisters! I am so proud of my family!!!

Who's this girl?

2009-03-12T01:28:00.002+08:00

While in China, the orphanage director gave us a disc of 50 something photos of Flora. All of the photos were of her with her foster mom and dad, or the orphanage nannies, or by herself......except for this one photo. I would love to find Flora's friend from YuLin. There are not many ties to China, but this is a big one (for me). Please if you know who this beautiful girl is let me know.

Two Months

2009-03-06T17:36:00.003+08:00

We have been a family for 2 months now I can't remember what life was like without her. Flora's health is good. She visited the doctor for a "well baby" check up. It seems so wasn't so well. Flora had a double ear infection. She was pulling at her ears, really I thought it was teething. She was acting normally. After a week of one ant biotic that wasn't working we moved on to another. Things are right in our household once again.

Receiving Hate Emails...

2009-02-19T22:26:00.003+08:00

I opened my email the other day and there was this horrid email. It said that I am the worst blogger EVER! Now, generally I am the type of person who rarely admits fault. However, in this case she was correct. I have been awful. I used to get annoyed with those people whose blog I would follow during their China trip. Once they were home, entries would drop-off. Now (my head hanging low), I am one of those people.

Thanks, Fins Up

2009-02-05T05:16:00.000+08:00

A Shout Out!

2009-01-30T22:23:00.002+08:00

Let me give (another) shout out to Miss Tiffany, June's mom, who updated the blog for me! Thanks Tiff! I am digging the new look. Secondly, I need to give a shout out to my bloggy buds, who I have neglected terribly lately. I will find time to visit and check-in this weekend. (Perhaps during the Super Bowl...not a football fan.)
Flora is doing quite well. She is teething a bit. We all experienced interupted sllep last night. WE have decided that she really does sleep better in her own space (i.e. crib or pack-n-play). She is a thrasher!
We has our first Ped appt last week. She is 16 lbs and 11 oz, naked! When we were in Guangzhou, they weighed her at 17.6 lbs. That included her coat and shoes!
Our Ped so proudly pulled out a height and weight chart for Asian girls. He then looked at Flora. She was on the Asian chart at the 75th to 80th percentile for weight. He then threw away the unnecessary smaller growth chart. She is on the Big American Girl chart! At the 50th percentile for weight I might add! She is at the 40th percentile for height!
I truly believe that my Budda bellied Princess has gained 1.5 pounds since gotcha day! She eats everything and a lot of everything.
With the goings on around my house, I feel that my plate is full. It is by no means overwhleming, but it is full. So I promise that as our routine continues to settle I will be better about communication, on all fronts!
One more thing, FJ started crawling, finally, on Wednesday!!!

More, more, more

2009-01-22T10:56:00.003+08:00

Here are a few more pics!

My three daughters! I love the three of them together. FYI, this was taken at the White Swan. I was shocked to see that the WS is much smaller than I expected. This is a "platform" of sorts that over looks the waterfall.

Flora LOVES to ride on her dad's shoulders. Every time we put her up there she laughs and laughs!

The hat...well she was sportin' that look when she was hanging with her foster mom (who, for the record, is amazing in my book!) It looks like the Fresh Prince was about to drop by for a visit!

Well, Flora has adjusted amazingly well. We have all been on east coast time since Saturday. She is sleeping through the night with two naps (morning and afternoon). She is eating very well. She has yet to refuse a meal! I can't wait to see what our Ped says tomorrow when we go.
We are glad to be home, but I do sincerely miss China. There is so much more I wanted to do. I guess we should start saving for a return trip.

more pics!

2009-01-20T09:39:00.005+08:00

pics!

2009-01-20T09:23:00.003+08:00

The trip home

2009-01-19T02:58:00.003+08:00

Our trip home had an issue at every airport! First of all, I booked the tickets through travelocity. I did a multi-city ticket. I was not able to put Flora in a as lap baby. So I called Air China to let them know about Flora (lap baby), order a basinet, and order infant meals. No problem Until....Michael, the guide for the other group traveling with us, took us to the airport. First, we were in the wrong line. We were with our travelmates in the domestic line. We should have been in the international line (b/c I booked the tickets through to ORF). We switched lines. We waited there for a very long time, then the agent informed us that we did not have a ticket for Flora. Michael worked magic, and we threw down some cash to purchase a ticket for Flora to Beijing. And we were off...almost. Apparently, when they pulled our tickets to add Flora as a lap baby They gave away (resold) my ticket, Emily's ticket, and Claire's ticket. Uh oh! We really didn't "get it." We ran through the short security line. Michael guided us that way. We were seated in different rows. Side note here...we passed some of our travelmates in the security line (sorry guys). We get on the plane, barely. I look for row 13 and low and behold...I am in FIRST CLASS!! More accurately, Emily, Claire, Flora, and I are in first class. Joe, on the other hand, was at the back of the bus! He didn't realize it because we were in such a rush. But once he did, he was not impressed.
The ticket counter in Guangzhou did not book Flora's ticket all the way through, because they said that they were unable to do it. We found out in Beijing that information was incorrect. When we landed in Beijing we had to rush because our flight to NYC was due to leave in 1 1/2 hours (boarding in an hour). We went to the Air China counter. He told us that we needed to buy a lap seat ,and we had to hurry. My brilliant plan was to let Joe go to the ticket counter with nothing but Flora's passport, his passport, his boarding pass, and a credit card. I would keep all the girls with me and we would meet at the gate. Because we were in the secure section, not having Flora's boarding pass did not appear to be an issue. Surprise! It was! Two lovely, young Chinese women stopped me within minutes to see our boarding passes. I proudly provided them with everything I had. It wasn't enough. I broke out into tears, semi acting, playing the damsel in distress role and semi emotionally exhausted. Don't bother trying it.....it doesn't work in China. So I get on the elevator to find Joe, having no other option. The elevator was broken. So I have to walk back by Mr. Helpful at the Air China counter (we begged for assistance to move along in order to make the flight and he shrugged his shoulders absolving himself of any responsibility to us). Where upon he told me that we should have never separated. Thanks! Damn, I should have thought of that, especially since now we are in a serious pickle.
Basically, Joe and I connected after 35 minutes of us wandering the airport, where suddenly no one spoke English. Wait there was the nicest Chinese women (janitor). She started speaking Chinese. Although my Chinese was still limited to hello and thank you. With only 15 minutes until take off, one of the men at the Air China counter escorted us through the airport. When I say escorted, I mean he ran and we followed at the fastest speed possible. We left a bottle at the security check line. You know the whole liquid thing! He flagged down a cart to get us there even faster. Side note, we passed our travelmates up once again as they were leisurely walking through the airport as we were looking like crazy loons once again! We made the flight. Emily, Claire, Flora, and I were once again seated together (however, not in first class this time) and Joe was several rows back. The flight itself was uneventful. Flora did amazingly well. She had a short period of crying out of frustration of being restrained. She, quite frankly, was over it! Honestly, we all were. We landed in NYC at 1:30. Plane congestion prevented us from disembarking until nearly 2:00. The lines through the non-resident customs lines were horrendous. There were two agents checking people in. We waited for nearly an hour. With a 4:30 flight we started to get very nervous. Someone spotted our US passports in the line and moved us to the front. We met a very nice but ill informed agent. He went on and on about Flora's green card. How it should arrive within the year. How we could travel for the next year on her Chinese passport. Blah, Blah, Blah. He was very pleasant, but honestly I simply wanted him to stamp our paperwork and move us on through. He did. We checked our flight info and our plane home was delayed 2 hours (take off at 6:40). Argh! We stopped to have a little something to eat at the airport restaurant, just to kill time. During our dinner, we heard about the "Miracle on the Hudson." At the end of our meal (4:45ish) Flora went wu-wu (what her foster mother referred to as pooping). I happily picked her up and headed to the bathroom. While waiting for the woman ahead of me to finish up, I hear an announcement. "Last boarding call for flight #6227 to Norfolk. At this time everyone should be on the flight." I went tearing out of the bathroom. (Too bad, Flora, no clean nappy for you!) I went RUNNING into the restaurant screaming, "Joe, Joe, JOE! They just called our flight. Last call for our flight. We need to go NOW!" We through $$ at Rodney, the waiter. We abandoned the desserts that were just ordered. Someone sitting next to us asked what flight I was talking about. Apparently, it was their flight as well. Money flew from their wallets as well. Belongings were packed up at warp speed. We headed to gate #23. We were then redirected to gate #25. We run down the ramp. As we board the plane, I turn to Joe and say, "you realize we are going to be sitting on the plane for a while." This comment thereby sealed our fate. We sat on the tarmac for 1.5 hours. Finally, we were airborne and headed for home.
We arrived at 8:45ish. We were exhausted. But we were happily met by Fin and Finsup and Grandma and Duane. We were so glad to be done with the flying.
Our return trip was met with lots of airport drama, but we made every flight. Yippee!!

I can't believe she lives here!

2009-01-17T11:04:00.002+08:00

First of all, a shout out to all of my travel friends....we miss you already. Thanks for making a special time even better! Now, flights were long, and we had trouble at every airport. We almost missed all three planes, but we didn't thanks to extremely helpful people and Flora's fake wu-wu!!! More later. We are settling in to our home. Things are great, but I still can't believe that she now lives in this house!!!!!! All the thoughts and images I had of her toddling around pre travel, and they are now a reality! Life is good!

Appointments, Oaths, and Planes

2009-01-15T04:59:00.002+08:00

My apologies for not posting sooner. Things have been hairy with all the things we are tying up to get home. We had our paperwork interview the other day. All systems were a go. We celebrated the birthday of Megan. She was one! Yesterday we visited the American Consulate to take the oath that all of our paperwork was true to the best of our knowledge. We had a great dinner out for Cantonese. This morning we leave, headed for home. We are excited to come home, but I am sad to leave China. There are so many things we wanted to do, but did not get the opportunity. We must come back for a tourist visit with Flora. We should arrive Thursday at 6:25 from JFK via Delta. We look forward to seeing everyone when we get home. We will be dead dog tired, but if you would like glimpse of the newest addition to our family, feel free to be at the airport. See everyone soon.

Medical Exam, Couch, and Pearls

2009-01-12T20:28:00.005+08:00

This morning Flora had her medical exam. She is 17.6 pounds and 28 inches. She is healthy and there are no problems.

On the walk back we finally stopped at Starbucks. I had my first coffee in nearly two weeks. I also made my souvenir purchases. I hope I got it right (T and R). FYI, the Starbucks which was located at the Forbidden City is not longer there. Apparently, while gearing up for the Olympics, it closed where the Chinese government opted for a more traditional caffeine stop, a tea house.

We then returned to the hotel where Flora napped. We had to wake her to dress her in her traditional Chinese attire for the obligatory red couch photo. Unfortunately, not all children were represented. With 13 babies (including 1 toddler) it is very hard to coordinate the photo. Michael, the other group's guide, instructed us to count to 3, put the babies on the couch and RUN! We did it. Flora never cried. She did look for me behind her so most pictures were of her looking behind the couch. She also took a nose dive onto another baby only a few ounces bigger than her.

Several other parents talked the guides into taking us to a real pearl market. It was great! I was shocked at the prices! I was also shocked that they string the pearls for you right there!!!! I bought a few things, most specifically for Flora when she is older!
Dinner was at a local Cantonese restaurant. We enjoyed it tremendously as it was the first time we have eaten Chinese food in several days.

Guangzhou

2009-01-12T05:11:00.005+08:00

We are enjoying Guangzhou. We arrived Saturday morning. We have a beautiful suite on the 27th floor at the White Swan. Where the Wharton tried to be a nice hotel the White Swan is a nice hotel. Flora had a phenomenal first flight. She was awake then right at take off she crashed. I am starting to think that if she "gets overwhelmed" she shuts down. Who wouldn't with all the changes she has experienced. I have noticed that she will become shy in large groups. However, I don't think that is an alarming behavior. We see more of her personality everyday. Anytime Joe or the girls take her picture, she does a cheesy smile for the camera. It is hysterical! Our days seem to be busier here. We started with lunch at Lucy's(typical Western food). We then had dinner with the group at the Cow and Bridge (Thai). We purchased some coin necklaces and silk blankets on day one. Yesterday, we strated with breakfast at he White Swan (it is all that and a bag of chips!). Then, we went jade and pearl shopping. The store was nice. We visited a Buddhist temple, where there was a ceremony blessing the babies. It was very nice, however the smell of the incense was strong. We then visited the Chen Academy. It was a sprawling museum. But the most striking thing about this place was the roof on each building. I have never seen anything like it. For lunch we had "sandwiches" from the deli outside the White Swan. Dinner was with new friends at La Dolce Vita. The food was very good. We enjoyed a bottle of wine. Flora and the other two girls did an amazing job sitting through a longer meal. The juice at LDV was FRESH!! They used a juicer. It was incredible! Joe and I are feeling a bit stuffy, as if a cold is coming on. We are trying to ward off any illnesses!
Flora:
~ she is almost crawling, knees get tucked up under body and then she falls back down.
~ she can slurp noodles (all of the girls can)
~ she leans in to you to give you a kiss, and now she makes a sound (Emily was the first to receive a kiss)
~ she has yet to turn away any morsel of food offered to her!
~ she loves everyone, but is starting to prefer me (just a bit)
~ she is a bit of a ham
~ she had a foster brother and a foster sister
~ she had the dirtiest belly button I have ever seen, but the rest of her was extremely clean and trimmed
~ she has already brought us so much joy. We are all totally in love with her and we look forward to having her in our family forever!!!
Now for some pics......

Shoeless Joe

2009-01-11T14:53:00.002+08:00

We are in Guangzhou. But the trip here was funny. Because we are traveling with a large group and with our agency, they ask that our luggage be placed outside our door the night before. So at 9:30 Friday night our luggage was placed outside our door and someone came around to collect it. Joe had noticed that night that his bag was a bit larger than he had expected, but he didn't give it much thought. We went to bed. The next morning we were up bright and early. We had to meet everyone in the lobby at 6 am. When Joe was getting dressed, all of a sudden I hear, "Explicative!!! I packed both pairs of my shoes!!!" With that I started laughing hysterically. There was no sympathy on my part whatsoever!! So I, thinking I am being helpful, toss him a pair of the hotel slippers. Then I respectfully continued my hyena style laughing. I know I am oh so sensitive! The slippers were a bit small for Joe, but luckily there is an opening where your big toe is to allow for extra room. Then my oh so bright husband (Joe, you know I love you!) puts his "shoes" on. He then walks over to me to "show" me how the toe gap doesn't really give you the extra room he needed. Of course, his toe gap was for his pinky toes. Joe had put his slippers on the wrong feet!!!! He had a blond moment. I then proceeded to upgrade my hyena laughing to the ugly pig snort, as I rolled on the floor! He realized that he had made a gross error and it was going to cost him dearly, as I would be blogging about it and laughing at him for years to come.
We headed for the lobby. Joe was styling in his white terry cloth, Wharton Hotel slippers. Unfortunately, this story has a happy ending. Joe was reunited with his bag in the lobby and the remainder of the trip in his real shoes. For those fans of "The Amazing Race"-Claire started calling him a "Frat Boy!"
Truly it was comic relief. I hope it transpires in this post. More later on Guangzhou!
PS As I was editing this post, I read it aloud to Joe. We both started laughing again so hysterically that I could not read the post through my tears and Joe spilled his tea.

Great Last Day in Nanning

2009-01-09T18:57:00.001+08:00

Today we spent our last day in Nanning. Although this is not Flora's birth city, it is where we first met her. It will forever be special for us. Flora was off of her schedule this morning. She was up earlier than usual. She took two morning naps and one very short, poor quality afternoon nap. We started the morning with US paperwork. Tomorrow we leave for Guangzhou to complete the US end of the adoption process. So this morning our great guide, Michelle, filled out what she could and then held our hands through the remaining paperwork. We have Flora's passport, which is a Chinese passport. We had the remainder of the day to kill. I did a wee bit of research online and found a botanical garden and trail to visit, Qingxiu Mountain. I told everyone in our travel group about it and suggested that if they were interested we could meet at 2:30 for the outing. Nineteen people, including our babies, showed up. We had a great time. First of all, the park was far bigger than we expected and far more beautiful than I expected. We encountered a covered bamboo walkway. Once we reached the end of the walkway, which was 525m long, there was a nice water stand. We stopped and bought some water. Joanne located a map, which much to our surprise, said that we had not even walked one quarter of the way to the top of the mountain and pagoda. With that arrived a nice yellow tram with 9 seats. We had 17 people. Our thinking...sure we can fit 17 people in here! So we did. We rode the tram until he stopped it. Remember, there is a language barrier...... When we got off the tram we were at this beautiful huge green space with great flowers. In the distance we spotted a lake and a tall tower. As we started walking in that direction, we saw zip lines. As we neared the lake we saw the gigantic clear spheres that you stand in and then float on the water! For 15 yuan, Emily and Claire rode the zip line over the man-mad lake. I was interested in trying it, but wasn't propelled enough until another mom, Kathy, double dog dared me to try it with her. That was it! I was in! It was documented via photographs. We had a fantastic time at the Mountain. The evening was filled with room service and packing. At 6 am tomorrow we head to the airport. We are all excited to visit Guangzhou. I hear there is much more to do there.......we can't wait!

Did I forget to post?

2009-01-09T06:13:00.003+08:00

My apologies, folks!
Wednesday's outing consisted of a trip to Wal-Mart. It was three story building. The 5 of us started at the top floor, which was not really Wal-mart, but more of a home furnishing department store. There were various mini stores of housewares, furniture, art, dishes, and home decorations. We really enjoyed walking around. We found a beautiful picture for Flora's room. It was a day cat sleeping on a branch and a mirror image of a night cat sleeping on a branch. We tried to buy it, but unfortunately, the shop keeper was not around and the other shop keeper spoke only Chinese, and we couldn't understand them, nor they us. The beautiful picture will remain in China, too bad.
We then ventured downstairs to ?shop? at Wal-Mart. We bought a few necessities, not because we truly needed them, just because they were there. The Wal-Mart meat department was a bit different. There were caracases of suckling pigs that were dried and flattened, and hanging. A huge fish tank that was self serve. Women would catch a fish, throw it on the floor watch it flip around (apparently searching for the "stronger" fish), and club it. This I missed. But as I leisurely strolled through the toy aisle I was shocked to see white, blond haired barbies and baby dolls. There were no Asian dolls. Also all the packaging for the most part had photos of white people. I really figured that in China you would see more appropriate packaging. I was truly surprised.
We topped our day of white trash shopping by eating a KFC. Yes, in China there are KFC's. I was not overly excited by the meal except you can drink the sodas with ice. That was huge.
We headed back for the bus and returned to the hotel. FJ settled in for a nice nap. We hung out. Our laundry returned. I wonder if I can also take home someone to do my laundry. The laundry came back so nicely folded and clean. I really liked that service TREMENDOUSLY!!
Dinner was another meal at the hotel restaurant, which is very good. Honestly, I am a bit tired of it, simply because we eat there once a day. Joe and I spoke to our guide requesting another restaurant. We told him we were adventurous, but he said everything is far away. THe Wharton is a nice hotel, but it is a newer hotel in a newer section of Nanning. Thus, there are not at many eateries around. Truth be told were are feeling a bit room bound. I wish that GW had scheduled some outing everyday, even small ones.
Which brings me to yesterday, Thursday. We left the hotel at 9:30 am to visit the Guangxi Museum. It was a rather inconspicuous building, except for the enormous green medallion and pot at the entrance. I was excited to visit it as I want to know more about Nanning. The museum had no heat and each gallery had a woman standing in it, acting as a security guard. The museum was full of artifacts dating back to the 1500's. Everything was written in Chinese, except dates. After a brief walk through each gallery, we walked the grounds. The grounds were beautiful. The were several minority groups represented in traditional garb for the 50th anniversary celebration of autonomy. I have lots of photos. We returned back to the hotel for lunch at the hotel restaurant.
Last night we had a great time hanging out with most of the other families and the babies for Pizza Hut in the 14th floor lobby by the elevators. It was great getting out of the room and just relaxing with other people. I feel like I have connected with so many people here. We shared wine, beer, pizza, candy, and birthday cake. One new dad celebrated his birthday with cake. We all liked the Chinese birthday cake. Flora especially enjoyed the icing!!!

Mother of the year...

2009-01-07T13:59:00.002+08:00

I am NOT! Yesterday, as you may remember we returned to the Civil Affairs office to complete the adoption. We loaded everything up and headed on out. What was supposed to be an hour or so appointment turned out to be close to three hours long. Luckily, I had my trusty diaper bag full of a day's necessities...or did I? As I thought to myself, Flora is probably in need of a diaper change not due to a bomb but due to a "comfort" issue.....I should change her diaper. As I looked in ye old diaper bag, I had put everything in, but that damn diaper! Okay, we return back to the hotel. She is fine, a pound or two heavier, but not sending away masses of people due to a smell. Check! Lesson learned. Next time I will be better prepared and have all the necessities on hand in ye old diaper bag. I even returned back to the hotel to put in several diapers and "organize" said bag.
Today, as you might recall was the big Wal-mart outing. I strapped on ye old diaper bag, the new kid and I was ready for the outing. As we are tooling around Wal-mart, I think to myself.....Flora is probably getting hungry. I should prepare a bottle. Good for me as I am schlepping around a metal thermos full of boiling hot water, a bottle of spring water, room temperature, to offset the hot. This will lighten my load! I like it! Crap! Who was in charge of putting that bottle with liner into ye old diaper bag??? Oh, yes, it twas me and like the diaper from yesterday it was left behind. Needless to say, Wal-mart sells everything. I can buy a bottle, albeit not the same one, but an emergency bottle nonetheless. Wash it? Sterilize it? Ah, she's number three. Germs will only increase her immune system! Mother of the year I am not......but hey I have yet to "forget" one of my kids, for any significant length of time that is.......Shhhhhhh don't tell DSS!

Her first great laughs...

2009-01-07T13:41:00.002+08:00

We took this video a few hours after gotcha. I love to hear those laughs, and we are still hearing them!

Harmonious Period-successful!!

2009-01-06T19:53:00.004+08:00

In China when you adoption, you receive your baby on day one. She or he stays with the family for the night, a sleep over if you will. This time allows you, as the potential parents. to decided whether or not you want to complete the adoption. This period is called the harmonious period. Our harmonious period was extremely successful, so successful that we adopted her today! In the eyes of the Chinese government, we are now Lin Zi Fan's parents. Her name is now Flora Josephine ZiFan Bondi. We were interviewed twice. We signed multiple pages of multiple documents, sealing each one with our red thumb print. We were then presented with the official Chinese adoption decree. The orphanage director came to see ZiFan once more. He touched her head, kissed her hand, and looked longingly at her. Through my tears, all I could do was tell him thank you and promise him that we will love her forever. It was such a sweet moment that I will never forget. He then gave each one of his former wards a gift bag. In the bag was a red folder expressing thanks for the monetary gift donation we made to the nannies, a beautiful silver bracelet, engraved with many Chinese characters, including her name, and a CD of 59 digital photos of Flora while she was in the orphanage and in her foster home. It was truly a gracious and appreciated gift.
Saturday we head to Guangzhou, where the US Consulate is located, to complete the US end of the adoption.
But first, tomorrow we head to Wal-mart to do some shopping for baby, aka drop some coin in this province.
Flora's firsts today:
1. She ate watermelon and enjoyed it!
2. She spent 2 hours in her baby hawk carrier and was completely content.
3. She attempted to hold her bottle.
4. She waved to her grandmother over ichat.
5. She enjoyed a walk in the park with her dad and her sisters.
6. She ate meat congee and loved it (she had eaten it before with us, but seemed less than enthusiastic about it).
7. She started looking for me, if I left a room, but not to the point she was crying. (She was more bitching than crying about my leaving.)
8. She ate rice cereal and bananas. She LOVES bananas!
9. She continues to smile and seems to be happy.
10. First bath with us~not quiet the happy experience!
11. First Bowel movement! That is a HUGE hurdle, she's comfortable and her plumbing is working!

We ALL continue to fall in love with her daily. She has most definately captured our hearts. Emily and Claire are engaging her, caring for her, and generally just loving her! They are so great, and I am so thankful that they traveled here for this most amazing trip and experience.

Here are some photos Joe took shortly after her bath!

More photos!

2009-01-05T18:16:00.003+08:00

I messed up loading the photos scroll down first and then scroll up!

Our hearts have grown bigger today!

2009-01-05T17:24:00.005+08:00

She has finally arrived!!!! I'll give you the details after many photographs!

First, let me say that she is adorable, amazing, and beautiful and absolutely perfect!
We left for the Civil Affairs building (shared with a hotel) at 2:35. We were due there at 3:00. We arrived at 2:50, got off the bus and headed to an empty room with a stage, podium, and various flags. Across the hall were the babies. I spotted them and saw some of their beautiful faces and started to cry. It was 10 minutes (aka an eternity) before the CCAA officials started a quick speech and introduced the orphanage directors. There were three orphanages represented. They then started bringing babies in one by one and announcing the parent's first names. The first girl to be brought in was 3 years old. I must say it was heart wrenching to hear her cries. One of the guides was talking to her, but she screamed bloody murder. The officials brought out each of the thirteen babies one at a time. Flora was the second to the last. I did not see her in the room across the hall while we were waiting. Several girls were trying to escape their room to our room. I watched as Kim, Ruby's mama, went all paparazzi on a family when they received their daughter. It was a highly emotional moment. I was glad to be there with all of those families.
Flora was held by the orphanage director, while they verified Joe's and my identity. Once we were cleared she was placed in my arms. I handed her off to Joe, who then handed her off to Emily, who then handed her off to Claire. She was stoned faced, not crying, not sure, but okay. Then she started to cry after 5 minutes. We walked her, we switched off. But what satisfied her was the huge red ball in the room across the hall, where she had waited for us.
We learned a lot about Flora in the first few hours:
1. She sucks her left thumb and cups her right hand around her thumb.
2. She quiets quickly and gets upset quickly.
3. She laughs out loud a hearty laugh (I had her laughing within the first 45 minutes).
4. She will eat the formula we brought for her. We offered her a bottle exactly at 4:00 on the nose, 4 o,z and she drank it all.
5. She is entertained, to say the least, by her sisters. They had her howling!
6. Her dad got her to fall asleep first, in a football hold in the hallway hanging out with Clare and Ruby.
7. She seems to be a fairly sound sleeper as she is asleep next to us and we are talking with soft voices.
8. She loves her cheerios, especially when we feed them to her.
9. We love her more than we ever thought we could!
10. Her toes are goods, she stretches them out in a funky way when she is excited or her foot is stroked.
11. We found that walking her around soothes her.
12. The orphanage director cares about her because he patted her on the head and said good-bye to her.
13. She has two bottom teeth and two teeth emerging on the top.
14. She pead her first pea as soon as we opened her diaper, and it went on the bed spread. Oops!
We left the Civil Affairs office at 4:30 to head back to the hotel. We are awaiting to finish our paperwork for the night and eat pizza!
Holy crap! Our family is finally complete!!

Sorry to disappoint you....

2009-01-05T13:04:00.002+08:00

that this post is not of Flora. But truth be told this has been a long day, and it is only 1:00. We are anxiously waiting for 2:00 as that is when the ball starts rolling. But I do have to share what happened today, and if I don't do it now, then it will never happen. We had breakfast and video chatted with a few people this morning. We then had a quick meeting regarding paperwork. We walked to the people's park where some of our families were playing football. We and some other families decided to head back to the market Joe hit yesterday. It is quite a far distance, and the weather is beautiful but warm, so we took a cab. We needed two cabs due to all the people. Our cab arrived before theirs so we agreed on a meeting place, the McDonald's. Claire was SO excited! She ate two (yes, tiny Claire ate two) cheeseburgers. Joe, Emily, and I enjoyed cokes with ICE! We waited and waited for the others to arrive, but they never did. Apparently there are two McDonald's near the market. We started walking to the market and encountered an older Chinese gentleman with his granddaughter (14 months). He started to ask questions in Chinese like how old our daughters are. I was able to sign their ages. He then asked for a pen, reached in his bag and pulled out a scrap piece of paper and started to write. This was perplexing, since we can't speak Chinese then how were we able to read it? But he kept talking to us. Many people walked by and stared at us, finally a young man stopped. He spoke English and started to translate for us. The old man asked the girls ages. He asked where we were from. What I did for a living. What Joe did for a living. Why we were in China. Why weren't Emily and Claire in school. Do we know Yao Ming? (Basketball is HUGELY popular here!) They asked if we were here for the Olympics. Did we know "One world, one dream." Then the older man reached in his bag and handed Claire 5 clementines. We summized that he had just come from the store we were heading to. His granddaughter was absolutely stunning. She was entertained by all four of us waving at her and the special treat she had in her hand. The young man said, "I have something to do. Thank you. Good-bye." We then bid ado to the older gentleman and his granddaughter. But before we parted, he reached in that bag once again and broke off a piece of that sweet sesame pastry and handed it to Claire. It was an amazing encounter. I have found, as many people have, said the Chinese people are genuinely kind and interested in us. I have had only one or two encounters where that wasn't quite the case, but they were far from rude, just not as truly pleasant as the majority of the people.
Okay, I promise next post F-L-O-R-A!!!

T minus 11 and counting

2009-01-05T04:33:00.003+08:00

Now it is 4:33 am (not that I am paying attention), and I am W-I-D-E awake! Joe is too for that matter!
I can't figure out am I awake because:
1.) I am still adjusting to time change?
2.) I am back on my typical "gym" schedule, like at home?
3.) Flora's arriving in 11 hours and 25 minutes........naw that COULDN"T be it!!!!!

I will probably get dressed soon. Breakfast starts at 7:30. Then we are heading to the people's park, next to our hotel! The retired people practice their tai chi every morning. Next, we are heading to the "supermarket" that Joe hit yesterday. He says "Wal-Mart" is small compared to this multi level "super market" that has everything. We will kill and hour or so there, return to the hotel have lunch and start pacing.........
At 2:00, we meet up with Michelle our guide. We have to give her some paperwork. Then we leave for the Civil Affairs office at 2:30, where the babies are due to arrive at 3:00!
Next post.....Flora and her forever family!
YAY!!!!!!

Oh, I had a request for a photo of a squatty potty. This is not THE squatty potty, but A squatty potty!

I forgot to mention! and today!

2009-01-04T18:41:00.002+08:00

Additions to yesterday:
Joe reminded me to mention some of the amenities at our hotel in Beijing. In our bathroom, there was a lovely assortment of personal items, including vibrating condoms and special private parts lotion and special private parts cleansing towels. Boy, did I have some explaining to do to E and C.
We did do a little shopping. First at the hotel, "Sweet" waited on us at the hotel gift shop. Her name was aptly chosen. She was kind and attempted English at every turn. It was my first time spending Chinese money. The jade pieces were 100 yuan each. I was concerned about the amount we were spending. I bought 3 pieces, one for each of my girls, to return to the room to discover that I had spent a hopping $45! Next, at the Friendship store I continued the shopping spree. I did buy 4 pieces of cloisonne, all christmas ornaments. I purchased a scarf, and many calligraphy cards for the girls friends' names. At the friendship store we ate lunch. It was amazing how much food was placed on our lazy susan. Claire was happy to partake in lunch, just to get and opportunity to spin the wheel! Lunch was great. Joe and I tried absolutely everything. Only one thing "put-off" some people, the sweet and sour fish. It was basically a whole fish sectioned into pieces and fried. It was served standing up on a plate. We really enjoyed it, and only one other person tried it. We are feeling no residual effects from the Great Wall. What I didn't get in the previous blogs was how steep the steps are! So far it was my favorite moment of the trip (quickly to be replaced tomorrow). Last night we converted our American dollars to yuan for the upcoming adoption fees. We discovered that the largest denomination of yuan is 100. We are now toting around a five inch stack of bills. I feel like some kind of drug dealer!

Current:
Good evening from Nanning. We left Beijing at "0" dark hundred for the airport. The hotel was nice enough to send us off with a box breakfast (hard boiled egg, turkey and cheese sandwich (no crust), cookies, salad, and a banana). It was nice for them to do it, even if it was more like lunch. Our flight out of Beijing was easy. The guides are great, and we really do not have to worry about much, thankfully! Interesting as the airport scanner personnel are a bit more bold than American airport scanners. Joe and I were both "felt-up" by the same woman. Also they seem to not worry so much about men scanning men and women scanning women. We had a bit of a laugh. After a three hour flight, we arrived in Nanning. the Nanning airport brought on my first encounter with squatty potties. Needless to say it wasn't as bad as I suspected, but I wasn't too thrilled about the unusually "wet" floor. Our bus was 20 minutes late (translate to about an hour). I did notice a difference in the pollution here versus Beijing. Surprisingly, it is worse here. Apparently, today was the 90th Anniversary of Nanning's autonomy, and the there was horrendous traffic due to the celebration. The wait was no big deal really. I enjoyed talking to all of our families. We have really great people in our group (13 families, in all). We headed to the hotel We came into our hotel room, all of the families are on the same floor.....imagine that, the hotel doesn't want to disturb other guests with crying babies!!!!! Our hotel room hadn't been clean yet, so we left to give housekeeping the opportunity to finish. We wandered downstairs to xerox our visas at the business center, I some how missed that on the millions of checklists! It was about 2:00 and the girls were hungry. We searched for a quick restaurant nearby. We asked the front desk and they recommended the restaurant downstairs. It was a nice little place with 200 pictures on the wall with the prices. We were all brave and pointed and ordered our food. Claire had fried rice, Emily and I had rice noodles with meat, and Joe had some spicy beef, dumplings, and steamed buns. We were one of two tables in there. The wait staff was so very kind, as they all have been so far. We all liked our food and Joe was so impressed by the final price 89 yuan! That is about $13.84. He kept saying it must be wrong! Those numbers could not have been prices, perhaps they were order numbers. Joe could just not fathom the total bill. Of course, he was further impressed by massage prices of 45 yuan for 45 minutes. (about $7). He is proclaiming that he should get a massage everyday! Joe headed to the supermarket to buy water while I unpacked. He said that he feels like a giant among all the people. He is just so much bigger than the people here (wide and tall).
So the word is tomorrow at 2:00 we leave for the Civil Affairs office which in located inside a hotel. The babies should be arriving around 3:00. Flora has her last night in the orphanage tonight, and about a 2.5 hour train ride from the Yulin orphanage tomorrow. I am guessing that she left her foster home a week or so ago to return to the orphanage.
Dinner is still up for grabs tonight. We are still feeling the effects of the time change. We drag around 5:00pm.
Everything is unpacked, the clothes are laid out, and the crib is in our room. We have less than 20 hours! Not that we are counting or even paying attention!
Here are a few photos of our trip. I will post more later!!!

Beijing Highlights in 30 seconds or less....

2009-01-03T18:20:00.002+08:00

First stop this am was Tiannamen Square. We then headed underground (via a tunnel) to the Forbidden City. It was amazing, the grandiosity of the property. We walked in very cold temperatures for what seemed like forever, but in actuality was about 1-2 hours. I was sad to see how dilapidated the structures were. One building, the Emperor's office had been restored, and it was stunning. We got back on the tour bus and headed to the friendship store where we learned how cloisonné is made. I had no idea how intricate the process is. Then we ate in the back of the restaurant. I was surprised that 1.) the food was so good, and 2.) the meal was included in our travel package. We then were off to the Great Wall. I was so impressed by the magnitude of this amazing landmark. We went to the Bodaling section- it was far from packed. Out of four towers, I walked to tower two. I received my "Hero" card. In fact, we all did. As many of you know I am not so fond of heights, so the down part worried me. I really wanted to go to the third tower, but fear grounded me.
On the bus ride back, I was reminded of our real purpose.....Flora! (As a side note: When I have followed the blogs for the last few years, I have always wondered how in the world the parents made it through the "sightseeing days" when the reality is you simply want to hold your child. I found out that really, it is not a big deal at all. I have truly enjoyed seeing the sights and meeting the people of China). So, our guide, Michelle, gave us the run down on the next few days, but she focused on gotcha day and the babies, and we received some more paperwork.
We did drive by the Birdsnest and the water cube. The Birdsnest was truly one of the coolest buildings I have ever seen. The cube was difficult to see. I think it may have more pizazz at night or at least on a sunnier day!
We leave Beijing tomorrow at 7:40 am! We have to be ready to depart at 5:00 am! Our bags must be packed and sitting outside our door by 9:30 pm. Whew another crazy day ahead......
I'll check in tomorrow!

It is 3 am!

2009-01-03T03:12:00.002+08:00

Update: the sleep on the plane was great, but it is 3:00 am and three out of four of us are awake. Shortly, we will probably start getting dressed to go down to breakfast. We have a fantastic, yet long day ahead. Truth be told....I don't think it is a bad thing because tomorrow we have to leave the hotel at 5:00, so we will need to be getting up around this time anyway. We don't want to get too comfortable!

Greetings from Beijing

2009-01-02T21:02:00.002+08:00

Our travel was seamless. Norfolk to New York-no problems. However, in New York we had to leave our terminal and go through security again. I was a bit stressed, just due the cash and the fact it is New York. But, it went well. We boarded our flight and luckily we all sat together. The flight was very long, but, the No-Jet-Lag and melatonin made for a somewhat comfortable and long sleep. All in all, the girls and I probably slept 10 out of 13 hours. Joe probably spent the most time awake.
Arriving in Beijing at night was disappointing only because we could not see much of the city. however, the airport, new for the olympics was beautiful!
Tomorrow is a day chalk full of activities; Great Wall, Tiannamen, Forbidden City, exchanging cash, lunch, all in the 30 degree weather and before 5 pm. Breakfast starts at 6:30 and we leave at 9.
So that is it so far. It is 9:15 pm. No one is tired yet. Probably a good thing, but we shall see tomorrow!
Just FYI for those of you preparing to travel here. I can access blogger directly (at least in Beijing).
More tomorrow with photos!

Last Day

2008-12-31T19:38:00.003+08:00

Well, this is it, our last day here in our house without sweet Flora. Things are quiet! Things are calm! That is all about to change. Seriously folks, if you think that my house is quiet and clam with a 13 year old, GIRL, and an 11 year old, GIRL, you are very wrong. As wonderful as my daughters are, they do yell and scream at each other. My life is far from quiet and calm. So seriously what is one more daughter in the mix.
I am preparing my speech now. I have a 13 year old, an 11 year old, and a 9 month old. Yes, she was adopted. Yes, she was born in China. Yes, they are sisters. Why would I adopt at this stage in my life? Because E and C have brought me so much joy, why wouldn't I want to adopt? Did you look at Flora's face?
Alrighty then! Speech prepared. Check! Packed! Check! Boarding passes in hand! Give me a few more hours to make that 24 hour mark! We are all ready to go (except for my seriously delirious husband who has yet to pack and who is sadly mistaken if he thinks I am going to do it)! He CAN be left behind!
Next post most likely from the airport!
Stay tuned the best is yet to come!

Woo Hoo!!

2008-12-29T20:39:00.003+08:00

First, let me give a shout out to those end of February families who, rumor has it, will be getting the call before January 1. I am so excited for you all! And that folks concludes the February LID's! Savor the place where you are! It is utterly amazing!

Second, a welcome home to Shannon, who beamed in every single photo with her new daughter Ellie!

Third, okay I am going to give it to you all awaiting referral to travel people. This wait, for me has been far easier than waiting for our referral. I have a date, which is nearing quickly. It makes the wait so much easier and less emotional. The mounds of paperwork people tell you about, really not so overwhelming. It may have been my agency that "doled out" the paperwork throughout the last two months that made it so manageable. What I have experienced is the reoccurring thoughts of what so we need? What can we leave home? What can I buy there? What can't I buy there? Is my bag too big? too heavy? Argh! I have had packing lists for years and still I am stressing!!!

Three days and counting......ready or not here we come!

The reality of it all...

2008-12-28T02:59:00.002+08:00

is most definitely sinking in. I have created shopping lists, and purchased many necessities. I have then created packing lists and sorted all of said necessities. And now has come the time to actually pack all of the those necessities!! The reality has most definitely hit me. Boy, for a family of minimalists (not including clothing) we sure do have a lot of necessities.
We leave in 5 days!!!

Two Weeks and counting!

2008-12-18T20:16:00.003+08:00

Two weeks from to today we are China bound!!! I am officially on Winter break as of today! I have packed all of Flora's stuff. Unfortunately for my family and my travel mates there is no room for any clothes etc for me! I will be sporting the same outfit for two weeks,,,,,not really. Luckily I have four suitcases to distribute all of her things among. We are getting closer. Almost there.

I was tagged....Crazy Eights!

2008-12-12T08:42:00.005+08:00

Favorite TV Shows (8):
Survivor
The Amazing Race
Seinfeld
Friends
The Biggest Loser
The People’s Court
Judge Judy
My Name is Earl

Favorite Restaurants (8):
Bistro
Stove
The Vintage Kitchen
Crackers
AW Shucks
Koi
Kytobuki
Doumars’s

8 Things I Look Forward To:
Gotcha Day!!
Our sailing trip to the BVI
Working out at the gym
Knitting
Playing Backgammon
Cooking dinner
Hanging out with friends
Basketball games, especially when my daughter plays

8 Things on my Wish List:
Annually visiting the BVI
M-B GL 500, loaded
Remodeling our kitchen
Remodeling our bedroom
Free college education for all my daughters
Live-in housekeeper
Own personal trainer (3x’s a week)
Owning a brand new 34 foot sailboat
What? It did say WISH LIST.......

8 Things I did yesterday:
I worked
I ate one of my favorite meals, bread and cheese
I watched a school play, Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock
I took my daughters to the dentist
I worked out at 5 am
I went to bed at 8:30 pm
I watched Jaws 3-D (don’t ask....)
I did some laundry (I am always behind on laundry)

6 Friends who are tagged!
FinsUp
Meilin
June
Ruby
Syri
Elena

Ready?

2008-12-11T00:31:00.002+08:00

I am grateful that my agency has a precise process for handling travel. I think we are almost done with our checklist, but because they dipense the paperwork slowly, I am not so sure that we are done.

I do know this; I know I am ready to go:
Visas (in hand)- check
Paperwork notarized and organized- check
Tickets booked- check
Peditician appointment- check
Insurance called- Husband's job
Money collected- check
Flora's script- ordered
Travel plans- almost finalized
Packed- almost

Change and Plans

2008-12-07T00:31:00.002+08:00

Yes, I have been a bit grumbly about our delayed travel. But there has been a change! Yesterday we received via email, our definite plans/itinerary. Here they are.

Depart for China: January 1st
Arrive in Beijing: January 2nd
Tour Beijing: January 3rd
Fly to Nanning: January 4th
Gotcha Day: January 5th!!!
Finalize Adoption in Province: January 6th
Fly to Guangzhou: January 10th or January 11th
Consulate Appointment: January 13th at 9:30am
Take oath and receive visa: the afternoon of January 14th
Fly back to the US: January 15th

Yes, I knew all that before, but this time I read it, it was a bit different. Did you notice the fifth line? It says gotcha day......January 5th!!! Holy cow! We have our referral and now we have gotcha day!! So my bad attitude has changed (it took 2 days R, instead of 1 day)!!!
One month and counting.
Here's hoping that the next batch of referrals arrives soon, like Monday!

Tentative Travel Dates

2008-12-04T21:59:00.002+08:00

It is one of those good news/ bad news scenarios. Good news...we are going to China to get Flora!! Bad news.....we don't leave until January 1, 2009. I am not happy about that date. I begged, pleaded but no one cared! [Imagine that...it wasn't all about me (dripping with sarcasm)]. I, as a teacher/administrator, have 3 weeks off for the holidays, and I leave the absolute last day of the break. Same goes for the girls. They are off from school and now they must miss 2.5 weeks plus their exams. Oh, and Joe who is one class away from graduation will not get to do that onetime either. Okay. okay enough complaining.....we are going to China. Watch out Flora here we come!
And another photo!

Waiting on our TA..

2008-12-02T23:15:00.003+08:00

Well, it has been nearly one month since we received our referral. We have sent off our visas. We are awaiting our TA, which should arrive any day now. We have told our older girls that they are joining us in China. They are so excited!! We have some more photos of Flora to share. I just can't wait to get there.
I have two special thanks you's to post. First Ann at Red Thread China. She is a dream. She offers a service where we sent Flora a care package. In return we received new photos and updated information on Flora. Second Brian Stuy at research-China.org. He also provides a service of putting his hands on her finding ad. That is a piece of Flora's history we will always have to share with her. These two amazing people provide various other services that are crucial to adoptive (waiting) parents. All I can say is call them.....you never know what may come from those contacts.
UPDATE:Our TA came today....and we have tentative travel dates. However, I am not willing to post them yet, as I don't much care for them, and I am looking for a new travel date! I will keep you posted!
Now, for your viewing pleasure.....my girl.....Flora

Look at the previous post to see updated photos of Flora!

2008-11-24T00:36:00.003+08:00

Now for my recent thoughts on the matching process. I think that the job of matcher may be one of the most spectacular jobs EVER! I am interested to hear from my fellow adoption folks what you think it was about your dossier/biography that the "matcher" saw to choose your child for you.
I know that in my heart it was Flora's name, "little sail." We are sailors of the sea. We love the water. In fact, Joe was gone last week sailing a motor sailer down the intercoastal waterway. I also think that her referral pictures look a bit like Joe. One more thing our next sailboat will be named ZiFan....
So why do you think your child was matched with you???

I am speechless....

2008-11-22T22:40:00.004+08:00

Look what I received in my "inbox" this morning...

card carrying club member

2008-11-20T08:32:00.002+08:00

Let me just say that this adoption community rocks! I have encountered some truly wonderful people along this journey. I have now had the pleasure of meeting even more people since our referral. People really are amazing. I have been contacted by many people. From my yahoo group (I am keeping them anon to protect them only because I didn't ask for permission), a parent told me that a certain great organization, who sponsors babies to put them into foster care, potentially had a photo of Flora in their website. I do believe that it is Flora in the photo. Picture #4! Score! Then I received an email from a gentleman who recently (extremely recently) adopted a daughter from the same orphanage as Flora. He had a photo of his daughter with another child (possibly Flora). The angle was weird, a complete profile. Wow! How fantastic that a stranger would contact you and give you a precious gift like that! Only in special communities, like the adoption world!! Now I have heard from Brian Stuy regarding Flora's finding ad. And last but not least I emailed Anne at Red Thread China to send my sweet baby a care package. I am so excited about all these contacts and potential deeper connections to my daughter!
I am a proud member of the China Adoption Club! This community R-O-C-K-S!!!

How.....

2008-11-11T08:07:00.006+08:00

....can you love someone so much and never have even met them? This beautiful little girl will have her entire world totally altered in the near future and she has no idea. We can't even prepare her! Oh, but I will do whatever I can to make her life the best I possibly can.

Where in the world is Flora??

2008-11-10T09:56:00.003+08:00

So we/you know that she is in China. And some of you know that she is from Guangxi province. Guangxi is the gray province in Southern China. Nanning is the capitol? Or at least where we will be going to "get" Flora. Not that we have any hard and steadfast plans, but we start in Northern China, Beijing, for a few days. Then we fly to Nanning for 5(ish) days to have gotcha day and finalize the adoption in the eyes of the Chinese government. Finally we are off to Guangzhou, a city due east of Guangxi, where the US consulate is to finalize the adoption for the US government (again 5ish days). We are hoping to travel right before the holidays!

Her Name..

2008-11-08T19:18:00.006+08:00

Lin Zi Fan soon to be Flora Josephine ZiFan.
We finally saw the characters for her name and translated them.
Lin (her last name)-means forrest, it is most likely the last name of the director at the orphanage
Zi (her first name)-means child of
Fan (her middle name)- means sail
It is absolutely amazing that she was chosen to be our daughter. We love to sail. We have owned several boats through the years. I wonder who gave her her first name and why they choose that name. I think it is kismet!

I forgot to post that today my girl is 7 months old.

I have 3 daughters!!!

2008-11-07T08:54:00.004+08:00

I realized today that I am a mom to three beautiful daughters! Two days ago, I was a mom to two beautiful daughters, and we were in the process of adopting from China (sometimes I would disclose this information and sometimes I would keep it private). But now I have THREE DAUGHTERS!!! I have a face with her name. Emily, Claire, and Flora....the absolute loves of my life (and Joe, too). I can not wait to hold Flora. Is it time to travel yet???? I want to tickle those toes! I want to kiss those tiny little lips. I want to see her intense look for myself. And I want to make her smile. I can't wait!

And voila ....here she is...

2008-11-06T06:52:00.007+08:00

Apparently in all my excitement I wrote viola instead of voila! I cringe when I misspell words (which happens more frequently than I care to admit to). Thank you, made in China!! :)

We have a daughter...

2008-11-06T04:10:00.002+08:00

We have a wee one.
Name: Lin Zi Fan (last, first, middle)
DOB: 8 April 2008
Where: Guangxi, Yulin SWI
Length: 23 inches (as of 9/1/2008)
Weight: 13 lbs (as of 9/1/2008)
She is normal and healthy.
She laughs out loud (thank goodness in this family)!!
She is a deep sleeper (again, great for our family)
She sucks her fingers.
I will post photos when I receive them!

The stork has landed!!

2008-11-06T03:05:00.002+08:00

We are now sitting by the phone that is not ringing. Waiting to hear about Flora...Update to follow!!!

Good Morning!

2008-11-05T17:42:00.002+08:00

Today is referral day!! Yay!! After 3.5 years, 4 "missed" special needs attempts.........It is our day! It is our turn!!
I have been awake since 3:15, but made myself "sleep" until 4:15. I am now drinking my first cup of coffee, I have decided to forgo the gym this am, opting for a chemical buzz!! I will keep you posted! No news yet.......

See that....

2008-11-04T23:54:00.002+08:00

little rectangle at the top of my blog? Right now it says LID 2/17/06. Tomorrow it will have a photograph of Flora. Can you believe it after years and years of waiting we will know who she is and where she is from and how big she is and what her birthday is. Now, how in the world will I be able to wait the 8 weeks to go and get her?
My agency has issued a stork sighting with an ETA of tommorrow!
Through this whole journey I have lamented, "if I only knew when." Guess what! I know when!!!! Tomorrow is when!!!
Is it tomorrow already? Who won the election?
BTW: excercise your right to vote. We are lucky to have this right!

Another one bites the dust!

2008-11-04T06:47:00.002+08:00

Another day has passed and no referral. I really and truly thought a month ago that we would have our referral the last week of October with a worst case scenario the first week November. By Election Day for sure referral in hand. I feel like the sand is running out. One day left to meet my prediction. Fly, Stork. Fly! Better yet, hitch a ride on that jet to make sure you are here by tomorrow!!

Nihao!

2008-11-02T19:21:00.002+08:00

I am an early riser. Seriously, I am up most days around 4:30-5:00. I am a bit of a gym rat at those hours. But this daylight savings time has also messed with my internal clock. So here I am blogging at a ridiculous hour (I have been up for the last two hours). Not to mention that I was excited to see Kavanna and Malia as today is their "Gotcha", "Metcha", "Family Day" (or whatever term you would like to use). Oh and I guess I should mention this should be our week! In case you haven't read every previous post I have written.....sometime this week should be our referral day! Fingers crossed that we will hear something on Monday!!!

Update:

2008-11-01T01:57:00.002+08:00

No news is.....well it just stinks! I did hear from my agency today. I thought it was nice that they contacted us (all Feb 17th ers) to say that matching is still going on and they will contact us Monday once they have heard from their Beijing office. One more weekend...to survive!

The trick's on me!

2008-10-31T20:51:00.003+08:00

Happy Halloween........
No referral yesterday. I would love to see one today, but I am feeling very doubtful that they will arrive. Guaranteeing that next week will bring our referral!!! Okay, maybe not guaranteeing....how about strongly hopeful???

I can predict that.....

2008-10-30T18:47:00.002+08:00

....referrals will be arriving today because my dear, sweet husband will be sailing all day. That means the perfect plan of him coming to my office and picking up our beautiful girls on the way so when can all be together when we first see Flora's face are not gonna happen! Translation referrals will arrive today.

Thoughts as we near referral

2008-10-27T00:36:00.002+08:00

As I was taking a little R&R at the gym this am, it hit me like a ton of bricks. Flora has a birth mother. I know that over the last few years (during the wait) I have thought about the reality of China, abandonment, and adoption. But it was different this time.

She has a Mom. She has a Mom who will never know her. This woman has given my family the most amazing gift EVER, and she will never know. She has no idea what has happened or will happen to her daughter. I, in the next few weeks, will know everything about Flora. Without even meeting Flora, I will know more about her life than her birth mother ever will. How sad is that?

Did her Mom wiling give her up, or was it difficult? I have had both points of view. The first, in China, especially rural China, girls are not as valued as boys. So are they truly disposable? Does the birth Mom attach to her child while she is pregnant? Or does she disassociate from the pregnancy knowing that there is a 50/50 chance she will not be keeping her baby? Or is the scenario more like the paternal grandmother taking the daughter away from the birth Mom and putting her in the finding spot?

I may never know the answers to those questions. But there is a woman out there, who I want to hug and share in the joy that her daughter is about to bring to our family. I want to tell her that we will love her daughter forever. We will hold her daughter tight. We will protect her daughter. We will watch her soul grow. We will be the best parents to her that we possibly can be. I want to tell her that her daughter will have older sisters, who have been dying to have her daughter join our family. There are so many more things I want to tell her.

We love Flora already and we haven't even met her. And you, birth mom, may love her and will never know her. Wow. Thank you and I am sorry for your pain. One day I would love to tell you all these things, perhaps I will get my opportunity. Until then, thank you, I love you, too.

Matching has Begun!!!

2008-10-23T07:07:00.001+08:00

That means that someone in China is about to or just has matched an unsuspecting Flora with a family who is already in love with her.
I want that JOB!!!!

Dreams and Thoughts

2008-10-22T21:11:00.002+08:00

I have not had any of those "dreams" that waiting parents often have. I have not seen Flora's face in my dreams. I have seen her face in every child that has come before her. When I think of her, I see the basics: dark eyes, short dark hair,and about 12-15 months old. I predict that she is in Jiangxi. Beyond that I am clueless.
A friend of mine, who also has a daughter born in China, told me yesterday that she had a dream and saw Flora. She said that Flora was beautiful and had short dark, wiry hair, and I was carrying Flora in a front carrier. Sounds good to me!

What a difference a day makes!

2008-10-20T00:13:00.002+08:00

Six days ago was my surgery. I have to say I feel SO MUCH better today. I am 90%. I am so flipping thrilled. I just never thought I would be normal again! Thank you for your many well wishes. Pity the person who has to have this surgery, even if just for a week. 8;-)

So this morning I have been pouring over my lists once again. I feel like the song, A Girl of 100 Lists, by the go-go's. Anyone remember that song? I just dated myself! Back to my lists.....
-I have lists of peeps we will travel with (some are part of the yahoo group I started. I wish I could find them all).
-I have lists of things to bring and things to leave at home. -I have lists of restaurants, sightseeing, and shopping.
-I have lists of various provinces and things to do there. I guess I can delete all but the important one in a week or so.
-I have lists of menus of restaurants in China
-I have lists of questions to ask the caregivers
-I have BTDT things to do and things not to do
-I have lists of tidbits of info (like where exactly the Starbucks is in the Forbidden City, so I can replace Miss Tiff's cup/mug.)
-I have lists of FAQ's
My, My, I have a lot of lists. Lucky for me, because when I see that amazing little face......I am going to loose my freaking mind!
Until then, I have my lists!

How embarrassing...

2008-10-17T21:23:00.002+08:00

Okay, so my surgery was a hemorrhoidectomy. There I said it. Could it possibly be any more embarrassing??? But I feel that I will lead the charge on making it less embarrassing and removing the stigma!
Okay, so according to my doctor, MD that is, most people have this issue. However, the embarrassment/denial factor deters people from seeking medical help. Well, I try to be pretty forthright, but still this has given me pause. I knew I suffered from them pre pregnancy.....thanks Dad. I believe I was lucky enough to acquire them from my father (he had them, too). Then pregnancy exacerbated them. I decided to have those babies removed before Flora arrived or put it off another 10 years.
I went to the surgeon to discuss having him remove both the rhoids and two cysts. One cyst I have had on my forearm since I was 20 and the other was on my rib cage. The surgeon said that the first cyst was on a tendon and he wouldn't touch it. The second cyst was on my rib cage and a scar there would give me more trouble than the cyst ever would. So there went my cover surgery out the window! So I had to fess up!
I have to say that I was most concerned about the recovery portion of this surgery. When I saw a few of the 16th referred and I thought I might possibly be in that batch, I was about to cancel my surgery. But as things panned out and a few lucky peeps received a surprise referral, I hung in for the long haul.
This recovery is awful. Although I am feeling better overall everyday, there are periods when I think I have slipped back to day 1. I had planned to take Monday off for surgery and Tuesday off for recovery. Wednesday was up in the air. On Wednesday at 11:00 I decided there was no way I would make it back to work this week. I am now concerned that I may not make it back by Monday or Tuesday. I keep thinking that it is a practice run for China.....
To end, I am still not at a place where I could recommend this surgery. Everyday is sheer pain. The secret is keeping your plumbing in order and warm sitz baths. I will let you know in a while if it was worth it. I am just not at that place now.
Couldn't I have found something else to occupy my time at the home stretch???????

R and R......doctor style

2008-10-14T18:38:00.002+08:00

Okay, so I had a bit of minor surgery yesterday. It was quick and almost painless, thus far. I have been computer bound since the doctor sent me to bed for lots of rest and some relaxation.

Man, let me just say how pleasant a surgical experience can be. I was sent to the ambulatory surgical center. They gave me a tracking number for Joe to track me. Everyone was so nice and pleasant, really. The funniest thing is the nurse had (and I kid you not) the hand held laser-ringer-upper-thing. You know when you go to any store and they use the price gun. That is what she had. She rang me up, bar code on my bracelet. I guess that would update my tracker number on the big screen tv for hubby to watch. She rang up my meds, IV, bandages, etc. I made some snarky comment (so typical for me) about throwing in a little something for herself.

In the end, my surgery was a success, and I should be 100% by travel time. I did freak for a few moments as some of the 16th was referred, thinking that we may have been included. I would have had to postpone the surgery until AFTER travel.

Now you are probably wondering what type of surgery I had. It is one of those surgeries that is a bit embarrassing. In the end, I have met MANY people that need it, but don't want to admit it and are too embarrassed to go to a doc about it. I am paper pregnant.......I apparently have taken that too seriously!

So I have given many clues throughout this post regarding what type of surgery I had. Suffice it to say, that I do not want to be the butt of anyone's jokes! Ah, who am I kidding, I love a good joke, even with me as the butt!

Feel free to make you guesses in the comments section!

Check out Ellie...

2008-10-11T20:59:00.002+08:00

Shannon received her referral for Ellie. Click here to see cute Ellie. I am hoping one day for Flora and Ellie to have a playdate. Congrats Shannon!

And so it shifts....

2008-10-08T18:44:00.002+08:00

When we started this journey many, many moons ago the question was what month would we receive our referral. And now the question is when this month will we receive our referral. Will it be the end of this month or the beginning of next month? I believe that we will see referrals arrive the week of October 27th.
I spoke with my agency yesterday. And our referral gal firmly believes that
1. We will see referrals the first week of November.
2. We will travel over Christmas.
Although I do like my agency, I am not in agreement with either of these two statements. As I said earlier, I believe that referrals will arrive a week earlier than she believes. I also think that we may travel before the holiday or return right on Christmas Day.
I suppose that I am still optimistic through this entire process, and as someone in her position, I would certainly err on the side of caution. It is better to have clients pleasantly surprised than totally devastated!
Did someone say those of us on the verge of referrals are super emotional right now????? Well, that person would be correct!

Our USCIS R-O-C-K-S!!!!

2008-10-05T09:12:00.002+08:00

I am doing back flips right now! We received our I 171H today! TODAY!! I mailed our third and final request out last Saturday. I ran to the post office at 4:00 last Saturday to get it in the mail, in case we received our referral on Monday. I can not believe that a week went by and I already have it in hand.....amazing! Yipeeee!!!! USCIS ROCKS!

Dog, Pig, or Rat?

2008-10-05T03:20:00.002+08:00

Will Flora be a dog, pig, or rat??? I am a dog. E is a pig. J is a sheep. C is an ox. I wonder many things about Flora. What month was she born? What provence is she from? What is she doing now? Is she comfortable? Is she fed? Is she loved? What are you doing, Flora?
R says my posts are more frequent. I agree. She also says the tone has changed. Well, I certainly hope so! This wait has been long, cruel, tiring, and emotional.

Homestretch here we come........ What do you think? Dog (born in 2006).....Pig (born in 2007)..... or Rat (born in 2008)

What a day!

2008-10-01T22:02:00.002+08:00

After finding out on Monday that we weren't in....I rebounded a little stunned and confused. Then came yesterday. It was the best day I have had in a long time. For starters, I had the day off from school, Rosh Hashannah! Then, I checked my email bright and early. I received an email from R and T notifying me of my new blog makeover! Doesn't it look amazing? I love the green "paper." Do you know what that rectangle at the top of the page is for? It currently reads "coming soon!" It is for my referral picture. My sweet little Flora will be making her appearance soon. So after that lovely surprise, I trotted off to the gym for a 3 hour workout! It was fantastic. I am still feeling it this morning. Then I came home caught up on emails/RQ/ forum business while watching Martian Boy. I missed the beginning, but I enjoyed the movie. Moving on, I started my nesting. I have decided to make some serious changes to my bedroom prior to Flora's arrival, including painting and redecorating! Boy do I have big plans! But I got underway yesterday. I also cooked for my family. I love to do that. Tuesday is usually rush night where someone yells, "welcome to Moe's." But with the day off dinner was served at 5:45! Wha Hoo......I love being productive! What a fabulous day!!!

Drat!

2008-09-30T09:24:00.001+08:00

Although I am not thrilled about pushing this referral back a month, I am excited about October. I love the month of October. i love the weather! I love Halloween! I love that we start ramping up for the holidays. I love the weather here. I also notoriously nest in October. I already have a plan to keep me occupied on the weekends. Hubby isn't quite on board. He'll come around and see it my way....he always does. He is such a great guy! Here's to a fantastic October!