Two down, Three to go.....

Within our FCC group, we have been a part of a smaller "clique" of 4 other couples that we adore. Wendy and Ed came back from China with Sammi late last summer. Our friends Kim and Todd left yesterday to get Brea. On Friday Ana, Wendy , Andi and myself went to Kim's to help her pack and take some notes. You can only take over a 44 pound suitcase each for the three week trip- and you have to bring gifts to everyone in the orphanage. Needless to say one needs to be very creative with the packing process! We had alot of fun helping her pack and can't wait to be some of the first to greet Brea into the country at the airport when they get back!

This picture is of the other gals late Friday evening. All packed and ready for Brea!

Mafia connection

David and I helped some friends with their new business venture at the Palm Beach Boat Show this weekend. David was coming out of the sales center and another friend took a picture.

I think it looks just like he could be Tony "the Butcher" Larosso and the FBI took survallience of him after he just made someone "sleep with the fishes".

What a riot!

Meanwhile, I just ran downstairs to check out something that smelled like it was burning. I put a kettle on for some tea a half hour ago and forgot about it. I had the tea bag in there and because it burned through all the water, I got there just in time to see the tea bag go up in flames. Think I am a little sleep deprived? Ha!

Mean people suck-part 2

Ok, like wasn't bad enough that this dumb girl made the rude "Chinese kids aren't even cute" comments to me last week. I ran into her again when I had to go in my friends store to pick something up.

Setting: Friend's business

Cast: Me, husband, dumb girl (FoaF-friend of a friend-now to be called Idiot FoaF or IFoaF), and other Friend of same friend but she is smart and sweet (hmmm, I will give her the acronym SaSFoaF)

So.......

Me (entering business): Hey girls, is A in?

SaSFoaF: No, sorry. You guys look nice.

Husband: Thanks!

IFoaF: Hey, what do you guys do for work anyhow?

Me: We own our own mortage and financial services business

IFoaF: Oh, fun, I need to make some more money. Could I do that?

Husband: Sure, we could always use help, we could talk about it.

Me: (silently kick him)

IFoaF: So, are you planning on working next year when the baby comes home?

Me: Very part time, we'll see.

IFoaF: I was thinking of starting a tee-shirt business. I could make you one with a Chinese Takeout Box and a Chinese kid coming out of it-it can read Chinese Take Out.

SaSFoaF: (rolls her eyes) Um, I don't think that would be very PC

Me: (blood pressure going up) She is right, I don't think the other adoptive parents, nor do I, think that is funny. Besides missy (nervous laugh), you are already on thin ice with me after your comments last week.

David: Honey, we have to go, we are running late.

IFoaF: I just don't know why you guys don't get a white baby? Why get an Oriental? (I swear she really did go there, again)

David: I , um, have to make a call, um, outside. Bye ( SaSFoaF)

SaSFoaF: (Looked as though she wanted to crawl under the desk)

Me: Oriental is for rugs, not people. I just, wow, you are misinformed. Bye, (SaSFoaF). Let A know we stopped in.


WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE?

And one more makes 11.....

Saturday will be 11 months of waiting since LID. Since I won't be home except for sleeping hours the next 4 days, I thought I would mark this in the blog now.

So-11 months now. In some ways it has passed extraordinarily fast, in other ways it seems like an eternity. I have been coping well the last few months, and you can probably tell by my posts. I wonder how we feel at the one year mark? Time will tell.

Everyone wants to know-- how much longer? When we were paperchasing we were told A would be home for Christmas 2006. After we were LID last April we were told it was probably going to be spring 2007 . In the summer of 2006 we were told around Christmas 2007. Now we are being told she will probably not be home before spring 2008. So, although I would like to believe we are half way through the wait, realistically no one really knows. I am now telling people July of 2008. It can't be longer than that, it just can't be!

Dunce Award

So, here's a good one to make you laugh. Today I went to go get spray tanned and as a part of the process, they make you wear a shower cap. The girl put the fan on me and left the room. I got dressed after a few minutes and went to the front desk to check out. The people behind the counter said good bye and have a nice day. A few minutes later I was driving down the road singing to Lucinda Williams with the car window down. I looked in the mirror to see my new tan and Voila----still had the stupid shower cap on. Nice.

Twins update

Just a quick update on the girls, they are doing dog-gone great! Ok, that was lame. Annie has gained 50% of her weight since we got her 6 weeks ago-from 22 pounds to 32 pounds. Fergie has stayed the same-also 32 pounds. Annie is the star or her obedience class. She was the only one out of 10 pups to repeatedly do the "come from 20 feet and sit" trick. I am so proud!

I love this picture-a bit blurry, but it shows their funny side!

Annie is still not quite over the carsickness, but we are working on it....

People are strange

and mean. Here is an exerpt from a conversation I had Friday night. I am still a little upset about it, even though D is telling me to get over it. I handled it quite well and just took the higher road and walked away, but still!

Setting: St Patties Gathering Friday evening

Friend of a Friend (FOAF): Oh my gosh, hi how are you?

Me: Great, how are you?

FOAF: Good, how is the adoption going?

Me: Ok, thanks for asking. It's taking a really long time, we probably have one more year.

FOAF: Why don't you adopt through the US? There are so many babies here.

Me: Actually, the children in China need homes just as bad, and their chances for a good productive adulthood are much slimmer than for orphans in the US because of the programs the US has. Also, the chances of the child from China being drug of alcohol addicted are much lower.

FOAF: Yeah, I don't get the whole China adoption craze, I mean, they aren't even cute.

Me: Um. (Backed away stunned and walked away).

Green Day(s)

Being of a wee bit of Irish Heritage I celebrated St Patties Day in a big big way. Friday we went to a little (and I mean tiny) Irish Pub right by our house. We had about twenty of our little ol' gang in the tiny tiny corner of this itty bitty bar. The band that plays is full of 60-80 year old men and they are a riot. We sang many a sing along songs such as the Unicorn song, Danny Boy and And She Was, and of course Alice.

The next day we crawled out of bed, drug ourselves to dog training class (I am commited) and then off to Atlantic Ave to see the parade and play all day. No pictures yet, my camera died mid Bahama trip, but someone will send me some.

I really hope Miss A is here with us for next St Patties day. I will put her in a 100% Irish shirt and shamrock antennas. Of course it will be a much shorter day on the Ave, but that's ok!

Brea's shower

Yesterday Ana and I went to one of our fellow waiting mom Kim's baby shower. Kimand Todd will be traveling in the next few weeks and we are so happy for them! Brea will be such a little princess with her gorgeous outfits. Hopefully those will all make it to Amelie's closet, us waiting folks have no problem with the hand-me-downs! Kim, I hope you feel better before your trip-you aren't suppossed to get sick until you get back! : )

Fellow April LID'ers

I decided to catch up on my fellow April LID'ers group and there is much talk about this long wait. There are many waiting parents out there who are just not coping well at all. A few are seriously considering pulling out. This saddens me so much. As much as I get all worked up about the wait, I know that we are halfway there. I can't imagine not going to China, even if it takes another 2 or 3 or more years. Most of us in this group have tried for years to start a family and to turn back now is just unimaginable to me. I think alot of the people who are on the fence already have a few children, but I really hope they all stick with it. Some greater force led them there and I hope they stick with it. If any of you guys are reading this-Keep the Faith and cyber hugs to you all. This will be the LAST year without our little ones-and this year is a quarter of the way done-you can do it!

Adoption Update

In the past month and a half, the CCAA has referred out 11 days of LIDs. 11 whole days. Wow, guess we are getting our referral in Two Thousand and Never. ChinaAdoptionForecast.com just estimated a Feb 2008 referral for us. It just keeeeeeps geeeeeting slooooooooweeeerrrrrr.

Aaaaand we are still not out of the review room, they got through another 9 days in the review room in the last 4 weeks. Big woop. I know it was just Chinese New Year over there, but can someone light a firecracker under their butts please? We are still 24 LID days away from review. That could take another 2 months. I feel like time is standing still. So glad I knew nothing of these latest figures while in the Bahamas, I would not have relaxed like I did!

The neighbors must think we are nuts...

So I have been doing alot of research this past week on a very specific issue that I have been encountering. And then my poor neighbor dealt with it this weekend as well. Annie, my onrey little goldendoodle gets carsick. EVERYTIME. While we were away, my neighbor took her to obedience class for me (how nice was that?), and Annie puked all over her front seat as soon as they rounded the corner. That's special, isn't it? At least she is housetrained finally.

After much research I found that dogs who get carsick are dealing with an emotional stressor. Poor things thinks everytime we get in the car she is going back to the pound. So, to remedy this we sit in the car each night in the driveway with Annie in the back and go nowhere. Next I have to back out of the driveway, then the next day go around the block until we make progress. Oh the things we do for love!

I can't believe it's been a month and a day since I brought them home. Fergie hasn't gained a pound, she has probably stopped growing now that she is 9 months. Annie gained 7 pounds this month, but she doesn't look too much bigger to me.

Here are pictures of them when I like them the most (nappy time)! I highly recommend a little puppy love in everyone's lives!

A few more pictures from Paradise

Gotta love the "Protect Ya Ting" Aids sign! And don't you love the lighthouse right next to our weekend house?

What Adoption Wait?

Nothing like a few sun and rum soaked days in the Bahamas to make one forget about the long wait. We had an amazing time over there, the house we stayed at was right across from Anna Nicole's, so that made things interesting. The weather could not have been better, we were right on the ocean, the weekend was just perfect! We went to Paradise Island, the Straw Market and had a lovely dinner at Luciano's. Thanks again and Happy Birthday Dan the Man!!!

Bahama Mama

Off to the Bahamas tomorrow! Yippee! Maybe we will get to go to Anna Nicole's funeral bash too. Yeah, ok. Well, off to pack, will post some pics when we get back!

Another thought

Well, one good thing about being just 10 months "paper" pregnant is that I won't look like this in the Bahamas next weekend........

Today's episode is brought to you by the number 10 and the letter F

Ten months today. Ten loooong months since our log in date. Whoever said time will go by fast is a big fat liar. Well, at least we finally hit the double digits. It's been painfully slow. Which brings us to the letter F. Use your imagination. I am blaming my crankiness on the cough medicine. That and I am going a little stir crazy having not left the house for the last 5 days.

Hoping to go see Kool in the Gang tonight with the rest of our little FCC group, going to take a nap and see how I feel when I wake up. We are both still fighting this "thing" in our system. It must be a mighty contagious thing, I bet 3 out of 4 people I know have it or had it within the last two weeks. And it knocks everyone off their A's for at least two weeks.

Night night.

Tis the Season

Happy Flu Season. It seems everyone was sick, is sick, or is feeling it coming on. I moved from the latter catagory to the middle one this morning. Poor hubbins has no voice and has been coughing for days on end. It was only a matter of time until mine came on full force, no matter how many vitamin C tabs I downed.

I used to get sick a few times a year when I worked in "The Office" environment. Luckily now that I work from home, it's down to just once a year. I think I will spend the day watching the Style Network and drinking hot tea. I am trying to study for an exam I have to take for our business, but my head is too full of cold medication to focus.

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

How wonderful that we now have two New Years celebrations each year, plus a Harvest Moon festival! Tonight we celebrated with the other FCC families at our favoirte spot-Pei Wei. We may need to find a new place soon since we are getting a bit too big for our britches! I love that our group is getting so big, and we really are one big happy (but not disfunctional as most are) family. Hopefully we will all have our adorable babes home for next year's big day!

Here is a little history on the Chinese New Year:

Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the new year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade.

The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements. The lunar cycle is about 29.5 days. In order to "catch up" with the solar calendar the Chinese insert an extra month once every few years (seven years out of a 19-yearcycle). This is the same as adding an extra day on leap year. This is why, according to the solar calendar, the Chinese New Year falls on a different date each year.

New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. The celebration was traditionally highlighted with a religious ceremony given in honor of Heaven and Earth, the gods of the household and the family ancestors.

The sacrifice to the ancestors, the most vital of all the rituals, united the living members with those who had passed away. Departed relatives are remembered with great respect because they were responsible for laying the foundations for the fortune and glory of the family.

The presence of the ancestors is acknowledged on New Year's Eve with a dinner arranged for them at the family banquet table. The spirits of the ancestors, together with the living, celebrate the onset of the New Year as one great community. The communal feast called "surrounding the stove" or weilu. It symbolizes family unity and honors the past and present generations.

For the Chinese this is the Year of the Pig. The Chinese zodiac follows a twelve year cycle following twelve animals - snake, rat, pig, dog, goat, bull, and another six animals. The zodiac is ranked in order of the animals, who came to pay their respects to Buddha when he was sitting under the tree.

Every twelve year, cycle also starts with the animal current in that year. This year is a new, 12 year cycle beginning with Porky. So this year is- called the Year of the Golden Pig. Which is supposed to bring lots of prosperity and money.

As in Britain, people in other parts of Europe create their own nativity scenes for Christmas. This also happens in the US where stores and hotels will have a small scene of Mary, baby Jesus, a couple of angels, a cow and lambs etc. Similarly the Chinese in Singapore make their own 'nativity' display to celebrate their festivities of the New Year, but with a difference! This year they have Walt Disney type plastic and rubber pig mannequins wearing proper clothes and shoes and standing on two feet offering prayers or welcoming guests. One wonders how they are going to handle the year of the snake or dog?

Despite these animal capers, the Chinese are very good at the almanac - their lunar and solar calendars are very accurate. The Chinese New Year started on Monday 30th. January 1995 because that is when the new moon was 'born'. In quite a ridicules contrast the Muslim scholars go out to sight the moon for Ramadan. If they don't 'see' the moon then the Ramadan is not cancelled but the moon is as assumed to be there anyway!

Whew!

Seems like Fergs is going to be just fine. The doc thinks she probably just ate some bad stuff over the weekend when she was running around our friend's backyard-licked a frog, ate some snails, sipped some chlorine water. Who knows. I am just grateful that she is better. Thanks for all of the doggie wishes!

Now if I could just get them to stop barking in their crates. I have read up on how to stop it, but nothing is working yet. I taught them quiet, and they will stay quiet for a few minutes at a time if I have a treat in my hand. But I need quiet for hours and hours. The funny thing is that Wheatens rarely bark, so Miss Annie is teaching Fergs how to carry on. It's hard to get angry at Fergs though, because unlike the high-pitch, nails on a chalkboard yelp that Annie owns, Fergie sounds like she is really just trying to carry on a conversation. Her little voice is very low and goes up and down in tone. As cute as it is, it has to stop, especially when they decide they want out at 6 am, and mom and dad aren't ready to start their day until 8. Any suggestions?