I'm Tired Today

The heat just drains me.
I've been carpooling in the morning last week and this week to my girl's dance camp. They're really enjoying it. In our spare time, we've been going to the water park a lot. It's only about 5 minutes from our house and we have season passes. Only one summer concert left. But where did the summer go? Two more camping trips in August. My house is a complete disaster area. I'm sure I'd qualify for Clean House or Clean Sweep or one of those shows right now. I offered to pay my girls to help me clean. Anna took me up on the offer last night and cleaned the living room. She actually did a good job. Usually she just moves things from one pile to another, but she actually cleaned, even under the couch. I only gave her $1. It probably should have been more, but she was happy with it. Jessica got too involved in Age of Love to clean. She also had a new dance teacher who was "very hard" according to most of the girls, so I think she was really tired. At least we've been enjoying the summer, just wish it would last a little longer.

LID Reviews Updated!

At least something is moving. Another month has been reviewed - June, 2006 LID's have cleared the review room at CCAA. So, another 5 months maybe and my dossier will be reviewed. I'll sleep a little sounder once my dossier makes it out of the review room.

5 Years Ago - Anna joined my Family!

July 22, 2002:

I Have Her!!

We went to the Civil Affairs office here in Wuhan at10:30 this morning. There were 14 babies in all, 11 from Huanggang (all dressed in the same shorts outfit with splitpants) and 3 from WueXue(?). They gave us along speech and then brought the babies one by one so we could get pictures. They ended up going in alphabetical order by our last names. So this time around, I saw others getting their babies and got some good shots. Anna came to me crying. I can tell she's very bright and she is a lot like Jessica was. She's been grieving all day, likes bus rides and is very curious. She did, however, eat for me today - a lot! And she actually laughed at the end of supper. She's much longer and leaner than I expected. She didn't want me to take her clothes off, but the outfitI put on was a size 18 mo. and it fits well. I brought some smaller sizes that'll be given to others. Although she's been crying and grieving all day, she hasn't wanted me to put her down. She just clutches me. But luckily, she likes her stroller and she sat in the high chair after I got food. We're heading back to the Civil Affairs office tomorrow at 8:00 to file the adoption paperwork. Not sure what's up for the rest of the week. A little touring. Saw the Yangtze today. Very wide river. Gotta go. Anna's not happy. Talk to you all again soon!

July 23, 2002:

Paperwork Day!

Hi everyone! Today we spent 3.5 hours at the Civil Affairs office doing our paperwork to adopt the babies. She's officially mine now!!! A lot of questions and a lot more to it here. With Jessica, we met the babies, took a photo, went upstairs and filed the paperwork and gave them the orphanage donation and we left. No questions and end of paperwork. This time I had to answer questions from a couple of notaries or civil affairs people. There was also a lot of waiting around because there are 14 families in our group and just 2 guides to interpret. We've got the rest of the day free. Sounds like we'll go to a department store tomorrow and if it isn't raining, we'll tour some place. So far the weather hasn't been too bad. It was cloudy and windy in Beijing. It's been raining every day here in Wuhan. The clouds and rain keep the heat away. I think it was over 100 here last week and just a few minutes ago someone in one of the hotel shops tried to sell me along sleeved/long pants outfit because it was cold outside (not!). Anna is still grieving off and on. She woke up crying and she's very dramatic about it. On the other hand, she has every right to cry since her world has been turned upside down. I have gotten her to laugh. We were playing peek-a-boo this morning. She's also a smart cookie. She was seeing toys other girls had and offering to trade her bottle of water or empty bottle for their bright colored toy. Her eyes are very expressive and several people have told me she looks like me and/or has the same shaped face. Right now she's napping. She likes to eat - everything! I finally got some liquids in her. She appears not to know how to drink from a bottle. Someone else mentioned that too and suggested she's been breastfed. I brought a soft spout sippy cup and I managed to get her to drink some formula. She loves fruit also. Time to go. I'm glad Jessica is doing well. I'm still afraid if I call, I'll be the one to end up crying. I do miss her terribly but am so glad I had the sense to keep her home. This is not a pleasure trip by any means. Talk to you all again later. I'm finding more free time on this trip. Too bad it's raining. I don't dare walk around here. You should see the way they drive! The lines on the street are just there as a suggestion, but no one seems to drive in a straight line. And they just turn into oncoming traffic. Kind of scary! Ta Ta

8 Months Down, ?? to go.

Eight (八; accounting 捌; pinyin bā) is considered a lucky number in Chinese culture because it sounds like the word "prosper" or "wealth" (發; Pinyin: fā).

It actually doesn't seem like 8 months since my dossier was logged in. It's been almost a year since I started the paperchase. I guess I still feel lucky to have been able to even start the paperchase after having wanted to for so long. With Jessica, I waited 13.5 months from the first bit of paperwork until I had her in my arms. With Anna it was 16.5 months. I originally thought Amanda would come home around the time of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Now I know I probably won't even get her referral in 2008. Today, I'm okay with that. I'm enjoying the summer and enjoying spending time with my girls. I love their ages of 8 & 6. Of course that feeling may not last too long. At least it's 8 months less I have to wait.

TAGGED!

I figure I've read this on 2 blogs now where at the end I'm tagged. So here goes...

1. What time is it? 12:11 p.m.
2. What's your full name? Laura Jean …
3. What are you most afraid of? Snakes and Heights
4. What have you seen in a Theater? Movie or Musical? Last movie was Ratatouille. Last Musical/Play was Mulan, Jr.
5. Place of birth? Monticello
6. Favorite Food? Ice Cream
7. What's your natural hair color? Chestnut Brown
8. Ever been to Alaska? No
9. Ever been toilet paper rolling? Yes
10. Love someone so much it made you cry? Yes – my girls!
11. Been in a car accident? I think so, but I can’t recall it.
12. Croutons or bacon bits? Bacon Bits
13. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
14. Favorite restaurant? Benihana
15.Favorite Flower? Rose
16. Favorite sport to watch? Figure Skating – I’ve been to many Nationals, Worlds & Skate America
17. Favorite Drink? Root Beer
18. Favorite ice cream? Chocolate Peanut Butter
19. Disney or Warner Brothers? I’ve seen way too much Disney, so Warner Bros.
20. Ever been on a ship? Yes, a day trip in Greece.
21. What color is your bedroom carpet? I have hardwood floors, but the rug is beige.
22. How many times did you fail your driver's test? None
23. Before this one, from whom did you get your last email? Amazon.com
24. What do you do when you are bored? Unfortunately I eat or shop.
25. Bedtime? 10:00 p.m.
26. Who will respond to this meme the quickest? No idea
28. Who is the person that you are most curious to see their responses? Everyone
29. Favorite TV show? Right now America’s Got Talent, but normally ER
30. Last person you went to dinner with? My girls
31. Favorite time of year? Spring
32. What are your favorite colors? Pink & Purple
33. How many tattoos do you have? None
34. Pets? 2 dogs & 4 Fish
35. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Don’t know
36. What do you want to do before you die? Get out of debt! Also travel more.
37. Have you ever been to Hawaii? Yes, 6 times actually, always Thanksgiving week.
39. To how many people are you sending this? None, but if you’re reading this, you’re it!
40. Time this survey ended? 12:20 p.m.

Okay, I see I'm missing #27 & #38, but they were missing in the 2 blogs I saw this meme on.
If you'd like to play along, consider yourself tagged. Leave me a comment to let me know you're playing along! Have fun!

Our Weekend

Friday we went with some friends to the waterpark. It was a little chilly believe it or not because of wind gusts. But we still stayed there for about 5 hours.

Saturday was Anna's birthday and both girls pool party. I think there were 19 kids in all. We had the pool for the first hour and then the kitchen for the second hour. It was a lot of fun, but kind of rushed to get through the activity, cake, and present opening in just 2 hours.

Then yesterday I had my promised "date" with Jessica. She's been asking to do something just her and me for a while. She really wanted to go to the Twins game, so we took the train downtown and saw the Twins win over Oakland. It was a lot of fun. I think the couple next to us enjoyed Jessica's enthusiasim as much as I did. She didn't get bored at all. But she did want to eat everything under the sun. Don't know where she puts it all. But we had a really good time. I hope I can find a way to fit more one-on-one time with each of my girls. They really don't get enough of that.

Happy Birthday, Anna!!!

Today Anna is 6. How did that happen?!

Community Band:

Last night I had one of my 9 summer concerts. I play the clarinet in my local community band. Here are some pictures from previous concerts. I seem to always end up with the sun in my eyes and beating down on me. The downside of sitting on the end. Last night's concert started at 7:30 and by 8:15, I could finally see the director and take my sunglasses and visor off. Its fun though. I've been in the band for almost 22 years now.

Happy 8th Birthday to Jessica!!!



I took Jessica, Anna, and 2 friends of Jessica's to the local aquatic park so that Jess would do something special on her birthday. Her party is on the 14th, which is Anna's birthday, and they are having a combined party, so I wanted to do something today. The aquatic park has 2 4 story slides. One is a body slide, the other is for tubing. They have one, two, and three person tubes. I knew the girls would love it once they tried, so I went up with them and did the two person tube with Anna while Jessica and Serena did the body slides. I never saw Jessica and Serena again other than to wave at them at the top of the tower. Jessica's other friend was more scared, but did do the three person tube with Anna and I. The tube did slip out from under us once, but Anna remembers it as something fun. There were lots of things for all ages and abilities to do. We definitely want to go back and now that I've checked it out, we may buy season passes next year. It's very close to our house. It also helps that both my girls can swim now, so I don't have to hover over them, or have them velcroed to me. If we didn't have to get one friend home for another activity, we would have stayed much longer. We are planning to go back on Friday if the weather is nice with Serena and her family.



On the way home from delivering friends, we stopped at a fancy ice cream place which the girls loved. Jessica and I played Scrabble and Clue (the games I got her for her birthday) the rest of the weekend. She's loving board games now. And she seems to now understand the condition that we play the game, we put it and all pieces away. If they can't keep the game together, I said I'd never buy another board game again.



Now I need to start getting ready for another birthday and the party.

Our camping trip:

We went camping from June 29- July 4th. The girls had a great time. Over the weekend there were a lot of kids around. We were very close to the playground which is where the girls spent most of their time. We did swim a little bit, too, but the playground was the big draw!

On Monday, it rained a little, but we still managed to fit in a nature preserve park called Fawn-Doe-Rosa. We bought lots of food to feed the deer, bunnies, goats and other animals.

On Tuesday, it was really hot and muggy. We went to Interstate Park. The girls climbed the rocks and had a great time. I had to try to let my fear ofheights and them falling go to let them have fun. My camping buddy took lots of pictures, but she had to send those in for developing. On the way home, we could see that it was going to rain/storm, so we decided to go to a movie. We had already gotten a local paper and scoped out the theater and times the previous day when it was raining. Before we could get out of our camper though the storm hit. It felt like things were blowing and hitting the camper. I felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz when she was in the tornado. It was really windy and rainy. We got to the van and went to the movie and by the time we got there, the sirens were sounding. A severe thunderstorm warning. By the time we finished seeing Ratatouille, the storm had passed. We were glad to see the camper still standing. We did lose our brand new canopy as the structure bent with the wind. We ended up throwing out 3 garbage bags full of stuff that got wet or old stuff that was expired. We learned that we need to not keep our food outside and that we need to put our chairs under the camper. Normally we just leave everything out. This was our first real rain and real storm while camping. Scared Joyce and I, but the girls were fine because we already had decided to do the movie before the rain hit. We were still cleaning up and drying out Wednesday morning when we needed to pack up and go home.

It was a fun camping trip. It was a little wierd in that there was hardly anyone camping after Sunday. I found that odd considering it was 4th of July week. Either everyone else was at different campgrounds, or we totally missed the boat on which weekend to camp for 4th of July.

About Camping Later, May is through Review!

So at least some progress has been made. May, 2006 LID's have made it through the review room. Word has it that referrals have been mailed, but only for about another week of LID's. So it's looking like it really will take the rest of 2007 to refer the 2005 LID's.