Life Lately

UGH! I just wrote a really long post and it got lost in cyberspace!

Anyway, this weekend my modem wasn't finding a signal, so I couldn't post any pictures. The phone was also fuzzy, so perhaps it was my phone line. I'll have to check that out further and see if things are working again.

Last Thursday was the Imagination and Inventor's Fair for the girls' school. Anna made a volcano and was very proud of it. I brought 2.5 gallons of vinegar and 2 packages of baking soda and we still ran out of "juice". Jessica (and I) made a snail "robot" that followed a wiggly black line. It was a huge hit! Her teacher asked that she bring it to class some day. I helped set up and for once everyone acknowledged me, knew I'd been at most PTAO meetings and knew I was always the first to arrive for volunteer duty for the Fair. It felt really good to be noticed as I'm usually invisible.

The girls have a dance recital on May 17th. For once Anna is the one in more than one dance and she has extra rehearsals on Friday night and Mother's Day morning.

Sunday the girls had a Badge Workshop. Anna earned 2 try-it patches and Jessica worked on Jr Girl Scout badges because she'll be bridging from Brownies to Jr. Girl Scouts at the end of May. Then we ended up having a private dog obedience lesson for Lucy since we were the only ones who were there. Heather worked with the girls to make sure they understood how important it was for them to also help. Lucy was great and so were Jessica and Anna.

Tonight we have swimming lessons again. They run through the first Monday of June. I forgot to pack my knitting, so I'll have to find something else to do. Wednesday we have our last religion class, but it's really just a potluck supper. I have to bring a salad or main dish, so I'll have to think of something fast and easy. Then Sunday, we have to help serve for the First Communion reception. The 1st grade parents always help.

I really want to do a garage sale this spring, but I can't seem to get motivated. Perhaps its this weather. It was 77 degrees here Wednesday and by Saturday morning, there was a layer of snow on the ground. It's only 37 right now.

I'm also wondering what to do about the bus next school year. Jessica will go to a different school as they have K-3 and 4-6 schools in our district. The 4-6 school's start time is much later, for bussing purposes than the K-3. The girls currently get on the bus at 8:07 and next year Jess won't get on the bus until 9:00. Right now she's not ready to get herself on the bus. I was thinking maybe I could get Anna on the bus, drive to work, then call Jess and tell her to go wait for the bus. She wants to take the bus from our house (rather than daycare), but doesn't want to wait alone. I've asked her who else is on her bus, so that maybe we can see if the parents are okay with her waiting with a friend. I know I'd be fine if anyone asked us, but it would be every day, so I don't know what someone else might think. I've also thought about getting the girls up early (good luck!) and bringing them to daycare to take the bus from there. Then I could leave work early, pick Anna up at daycare, and be home by the time Jessica would since a late start time = a late release time. Good thing I've got the whole summer to think about it. Jessica, too.

I can't believe the school year is winding down. May is always so busy and I always have such high hopes for getting things done over the summer. I guess we'll see. And now my children don't like it when I talk about them, so I have to be careful relating anything not wonderful about them. Let's just say one of my kids was a real pill last night due to being tired. And both were pretty much at each other's throats most of yesterday. Good thing we had the badge workshop and "Lucy's school". I hope today goes better.

CCAA Page Finally Updated!

The CCAA page has finally been updated to show both November and December, 2006 are out of review! Congratulations to all the November's and December's who hadn't previously heard from their agency! It's a great feeling, isn't it?! Took 'em long enough though.

17 Month LID-iversary

17 Months since my dossier was logged in with the China Center for Adoption Affairs. Who knows how much longer? I guess I'm hopeful for late 2009 or early 2010 at this point. And I am hopeful. I know many have lost hope with this long wait. I'm in it for the long haul as I have no other options. My heart is in China. Congratulations to all my fellow November LID's who are also marking month 17 in April.

I Think I'm Paying for the Wrong "Kid" to be Trained!

Jessica opened the door this morning as the dogs were hunched by the door ready to bolt if given the chance. And she opens the door!!!!!!! Lucy is a runner. It's spring, it's nice outside, and she wants to explore. It always seems to be Jessica that opens the door, after I tell her not to. It's always as we're headed out to something: school, dance, band. I just don't get it. Lucy had her nose in the corner ready to sprint as I'm telling Jessica to wait until the dogs back up. She opens the door about 6 inches, enough for Lucy to get out. What part of "she could get hit by a car and die" doesn't she understand? This is the responsible kid. The one who CAN hear. The one who should know better. Honestly, Anna has never let the dogs out. It's always Jessica. I don't know. We're doing dog training. Do I need to buy some sort of gate to block off the front door?



Anyway, I got my run in this morning. Got the heart racing as well. I found Lucy 2 streets over. After a construction guy couldn't get her and I stopped twice, I drove 1/3 of the block ahead of her and waited to see if she'd come to me after her potty break. Luckily she did come right to me. Maybe because I wasn't chasing her, just waiting. But, she knew she was in trouble and didn't want to go back in the house. I reprimanded her all the way home. Once I got to work, I sent an email to Jessica's teacher to let her know I found Lucy. Perhaps I should have let her worry all day, but I didn't. I treated myself to a stress relieving bagel for breakfast.

FAMILY DAY!

Eight years ago today, on April 17, 2000, I became a mom! At the Civil Affairs building in Chongqing, China, I was handed a scrawny 14 pound, 9 month old little peanut who was very curious about the world around her. Today she's a beautiful, confident 3rd grader and I can't imagine my life without her. Happy Family Day, Jessica!

Update

I keep meaning to take pictures of hairbows, secret buddy gifts, knitting projects, etc., but haven't gotten around to it.

Saturday we did 2 shifts for Kids Against Hunger. We did one shift with friends and some Brownies from Anna's troop, and another shift with Jessica's Brownie troop. I think the total was 128,000 packages to be sent to a church in Tanzania to distribute. The girls love doing this. I think we need to figure out how to make it a regular project. We also had dance which the girls loved, and then we actually made it this month to the SMC (Single Mothers By Choice) meeting. The girls wanted to go and had a fun time. It usually conflicts with something, but ran into the evening this time.

Sunday I finished my taxes and luckily I am getting some money back although I have to pay in to state. I also filled up my van - $75 in gas!!! And we missed Lucy's obedience class because we lost track of time. Oh, well, we haven't been practicing what we're supposed to.

Last night the girls had swimming lessons. They both love to swim. I stayed and chatted with another mom. I probably should have gone for a walk, but it was nice to stay and chat with someone.

I still haven't heard anything regarding renewing my fingerprints. I think my I-171H expired over the weekend, so I hope getting my request in before it expired was good enough. My homestudy agency sat on my homestudy update for several weeks and never contacted me. I was remembering last night that 8 years ago, I was on a plane bound for Beijing. On my way to get Jessica.

I'm behind on mailing out projects again. I need to send something to my secret buddy, secret pal, pay-it-foward recipient, and 2 spring swaps/cybershowers. I think that's it for this month.

Jessica is taking her MCA (Minnesota Comprehension Assessment?) test starting today. I think reading is today and tomorrow and math is next Tuesday and Wednesday. I hope they let the parents know the scores. Jessica was nervous. I know she'll do fine and I think she does, too, but she was still nervous. I made sure she had a good night's sleep, good breakfast, and she was wearing something comfortable. Oh, and we didn't have to rush this morning for once.

Next week the girls have their Imagination and Inventors Fair for their school, so I suspect we'll be working on projects over the weekend. Anna wants to do a volcano, like Jessica did last year. So at least we know how to do one now. Jessica wants to do something robotic. I ordered a couple of beginner kits which should be arriving in the mail this week. I'm anxious to see how it works. We thought about bringing Sophie, but if the weather's nice, my kids will stay at their table long enough to do their interview and then they'll be running off with friends, so I need something I can handle or something they don't need to be there for. A frisky puppy and an erupting volcano is too much for me to handle at the same time.

Adoption Related Items

Referrals are arriving for those logged in from January 5, 2006 - January 9, 2006. I'm happy for those families finally receiving their referrals, but geez, only 5 days?!! No referrals again this month for my agency. I doubt they'll double up next time.

Friday my homestudy agency sent my request for the free one time extension of my I171-H to the BCIS (formerly known as the INS). So, it's been 18 months as of the end of this week or beginning of next, I foget the exact date, since I got my original approval. Since this approval is only good for 18 months, I'm assuming I'll have to get it approved again, only next time it'll cost me. I think finger prints are only valid for 15 months, so I know I'll have to do that again. Right now, I'm waiting for my letter telling me when I can go in and get them done again.

Long Weekend

I took Thursday and Friday off to do something fun with my kids since they were on spring break. Each day we stayed in our pajamas until about noon. Thursday we went to eat at the Panda Buffet, then we shopped at the Unique Thrift Shop for some spring clothes for the girls. We decided on Tacos for supper and then relaxed the rest of the evening.

Friday, we went to Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America. We ran into a friend and her daughter which was nice. We don't see them all that often and us mom's got a little bit of time to chat while the girls did some rides. We spent most of the afternoon there, took a break, then went back for the evening. I knew they needed to do at least 6 rides to pay for the armbands and I think they ended up closer to 15 rides. Yesterday they pulled the map and were talking about which rides they might be brave enough to do next time. Jessica is thinking about the rollercoaster that turns while going forward. Anna is thinking about the one with the verticle climb and verticle drop before going into various corkscrews. They had a great time and didn't have a meltdown until we were safe at home. I sent them directly to bed as they were tired from so much stimulation.

Saturday and Sunday we were pretty much back to our regular routine. Saturday was dance and Sunday we had Lucy's obedience training (that's right, Lucy decided to take a little run now that the snow has melted and it was SPRING!), and then I had a concert last night.

Today is back to school, Brownies, and the start of swimming lessons. It's also the start of our Medica 360 degree challenge. I stopped and bought fruit and vegetables on my way to work. It's Eat 5 servings of fruits and veggies, Sleep 7 hours/night, Take 10 minutes to relax, Move 30 minutes a day, and take time 4 me. We've got 30 people here at work doing it. Today they're serving some veggies in the kitchen and the rest of the week we have 10 minute walks scheduled at 1:30 each day. I think we're having speakers once a week and presentations set up each week. A diversion, and maybe it'll kick-start my weight loss efforts for the spring.