I've been tagged

Ok, so I've been tagged (yes, like a week ago-I've been busy!) by my Sweetpea pal Teresa http://horvethappenings.blogspot.com/. A Sweetpea you ask? Yes, all of us that where DTC Dossier To China were in a Yahoo group called the Sweetpeas and we still keep in contact via the yahoo group. We were actually DTC in July, but b/c Simone wasn't ready for us we had to wait for our referral with the August peeps, and the Sweetpeas generously allowed us to wait with them)
So, I've been tagged and I have to come up with 7 random things about me. Yikes this was harder than I thought it would be, but see post below - I had some time to think this morn...
So here goes...
1) I am not too keen on clowns. Now I'm not terrified, but they creep me out a bit. You can't tell if they are really smiling or frowning, or ready to eat your brains... They have a sad face painted on, but then they also have a flower that squirts water when you go to sniff it, so how can they possibly be sad when they have that clever device on their lapel?
2) I love, love, love roller coasters. My hubby's cousin Laura & I used to have the best time at Busch Gardens on the roller coasters and really anything that resembled a roller coaster. We'd run from one to the next and ride until we thought we would get sick.
3) I was born in Fl, grew up in New England, returned to FL for college and now live in Tenn. Around these here parts they call that a "half-back". Although I guess I'm really a half-back & a 1/2, or a forward back...
4) I am terrified of fish, you know, when they are in the water with you. You want to see me reach the shore faster than an Olympic swimmer, just add one slimy fish near where I'm swimming. I have heeby-jeebies just thinking about it!
5) When I was little I thought the word for finger was pronounced "thinger" I don't why and I don't think anyone corrected me until I was in college and I wrote thinger in an essay. What a revelation that was!

Almost there
6) I can roll my tongue. Not everyone can do that, try it.
AND
7) I opened a door on my face yesterday. Yes, that's right, I opened the basement door and my face was somehow in the way. How?? If I knew that I would have avoided the whole incident, and trust me, it hurt like a son of a gun!

So there are 7 tidbits about me. Now I am supposed to tag 7 of my blog buddies. Unfortunately I am really new to this so I only have two of my fellow JOH'ers I think would be OK with me tagging - so it's

Lisa - http://destination-taiwan.blogspot.com/
and
Michelle - http://www.teamcouey.blogspot.com/

Enjoy, it was fun! J

Co-sleeping...

So I've been really busy working my way through the adoption education DVDs and pamphlets our agency requires. There is one thing that is highly recommended by our agency, and that is co-sleeping with the new baby.
So Adam & I are thinking about this...Simone, as any of you who were there when we brought her home know, was (and really still is) an extremely easy baby. In China, well that was a different story-she grieved terribly- but once we got home, and I brought her to her room and showed her the crib, and her toys and clothes and stuffed animals, well she let out a big sigh and visibly relaxed. And after that she was soooo easy! She was happy and loving to us, ate whatever we fed her, gave up the bottle with no fuss, was potty trained before 2, she was just an easy baby! And as for sleeping, we put a futon in her nursery figuring one of us would be in there with her, but she wanted nothing to do with it. She went to the crib the first night & slept through till morning, and did the same every night after!

It was only when we moved to TN that she started to sleep with me when Adam was out of town, and now she has somehow wormed her way in on weekend nights too. But we (ok, really I) don't mind, its really kinda nice. I started thinking that yes, I could get used to co-sleeping, especially if it helps with the bonding & attachment.


That is until last night- or should I say, early this morning! Simone had a bad dream and was talking/crying in her sleep, so I went in to check on her and up she popped with a big "Mama!". I brought her back to our room and then tried to fit in bed with her, Daddy, Ollie & Emma. No room. Ollie would not move a muscle, and all 16 pounds of him was taking up at least 1/2 the bed, and Emma wasn't helping matters. So being the nice person I am I didn't make the family, dogs included, move, I went to the spare bedroom - the really cold and not so cozy spare bed, I'd like to add for the record. Well, my darling little one wanted to sleep with me, so I trudged back in for her, and then for the forgotten stuffed animal, and then for the spare blanket, and by the time I'd gotten in the bed I was wide awake. Go figure, me awake in the early morn...and to top it off, chatterbox next to me was obviously wide awake too. Then in come the dogs, you know the ones so cozy in my bed that I actually moved rooms so they could sleep! Then Emma's nose was too cold and wet on Simone's legs under the cover, so as I am contorting my body to allow every one to be comfy, I re-think this whole "co-sleeping" load of rubbish! I want my own bed and my own covers and to be able to sleep! (I get a tad cranky when I'm woken in the middle of the night) Finally Simone drifts off to sleep, the dogs (aka my portable heaters) get cozied up and I'm finally drifting myself, and I think again, as I hear my sweet baby breathing softly next to me,
Yes, I could get used to co-sleeping, especially if it helps with the bonding & attachment...
J

I cast my vote...

Well, I did it finally, or actually, I did it early. Here in our County, early voting is the way to go. I breezed into the old courthouse, after a thorough search by the armed security guard (I kept beeping, he said it was probably my magnetic personality, -oh, get out, really?-) I walked right up to the polling booth and cast away! What a relief, I no longer have to watch the ads on TV, or read the emails people send bashing or applauding each candidate or check the polling results each day online or debate pros & cons in my head. I can say, "Oh, I've already voted, thank you". Now I am not saying I took this endeavour lightly, not at all. It is a huge, and personal decision that needs to be thought out and I have put much thought into who I want for both the presidential and local candidates- mostly during some of my recent sleepless mornings. I just feel better knowing I used my right to vote, and that's one more thing on my list done. As Simone would say, "good job Mama, check!". (obviously nothing new with the adoption, except getting my fingertips ready for Saturday!) J

D.C. Weekend

Lots of fun with the family!

We Went to Virginia/D.C. for the weekend to spend time with Adam's family. We had a great time with all the cousins getting together, along with some second cousins, so much fun! The kids were ages 3 to10 and all of them got along so well. The adults had a pretty great time too! We got to see some sights in the city on Friday, went to an outdoor fair on Saturday and enjoyed a relaxing (well sort of relaxing, there were 7 children, thankfully well behaved!) evening with dinner at Adam's Aunt's house. We finished up with brunch at the brother 's and back to TN by nightfall. Exausting but so much fun! J

We're off to get fingerprinted!

WooHoo, road trip! With Simone of course, so lot's of Spiderwick and Princess movies and many games of GoFish... We're off to get our fingerprints done! We got our appointment for this Saturday in Nashville. This is the next step towards USCIS approval. Once we get that and our home study approved we should be ready to rock n'roll! Or at least get on the wait list for our newest family member. We also got word yesterday that our first draft of the home study has been reviewed and the corrections have been forwarded to our SW. We'll meet with her Monday to get the revisions done. So I feel better that there is some more progress. I like being able to check things off my list, no matter how small they might be!
Let's hope for a speedy processing of our prints now. J

Thoughts on adoption & tugboats

So I was up again thinking in the early hours of the morn. Emma, the dog, woke me up b/c she was having a doggy dream. Bad thoughts and uncertainties surely creep in at that time. I started thinking that maybe we will never get to bring home our next baby, everything is so out of our hands and it is really frustrating. I wonder if maybe we are OK as a happy little family of 3. Simone is so great & life is really happy for us. Going into this the second time I just thought it would be so much easier, emotionally, than it had been with Simone. Ya, wrong- very wrong- there, this seems just as bad! It's getting harder too, waiting just to go on the list to wait! So, I started thinking about how much we all go through to bring our little ones home when we adopt. I realized, not for the first time, that my parents went through the same thing for my brother and me. Wow! I always knew I was adopted, it was a very open & honest subject within our family. But how, well that was another story. I never thought of a birth mom/dad, I had a mommy & daddy already. I don't remember if my bro, Chris, or I even asked about birth parents(of course until we were older, and even then it was no biggie, just curiosity) I remember my parents would always tell us how much they wanted children, a family, and so they had chosen to adopt. So my little mind always pictured them just "choosing me". I pictured them walking up to a hospital nursery window and going, "well, that one over there is kinda cute, oh yes, the one with the big nose, we choose that one". That's just how I always pictured how I came to be...
although I do remember another version. Not sure if my Dad told it a lot or if it just stuck after one time but here is how it goes. My parents were at a friends house located on a canal for a cookout. They saw a small tugboat come chugging up the water with a big pink banner saying "It's a Girl" on it. They just knew it was their new daughter, as they had been waiting for me. My Dad scooped me out of the tugboat, said "Jenny's here", and the rest is history!
So my thoughts come back to our next baby, and I've concluded I'll take my chances, let my emotions go and wait for our little tugboat, too! J

Here's my princess/fairy! I thought she looked awfully cute..she was getting ready for a tea party we had, with jelly beans and lots of stuffed animals!

Yes, Pappa, we saved all the red jelly beans for you- well some anyway!

Great Baby News!!! (just not mine...)

My very dear friend, Tammi, and her hubby, Michael, had a baby girl on Friday. Her name is Ava (which is a name I just love, especially since that is my own darling niece's name!) and she weighed in at 6 lbs, 10 ounces. She is sooo adorable and I'm just thrilled for them both. At least someone has exciting baby news! My congratulations goes out to the new family. J

Pumpkin Patch

Saturday Simone & I went to the Pumpkin Patch with our local FCC Chapter. We got two pumpkins (a warty one to carve, a small one to paint), we went on a hay ride and though a corn maze, which was all lots of fun but very tiring! We had a great time, and Simone fell asleep before we pulled out of the farms driveway! We are so fortunate to have a great Families with Children from China chapter here.

I can't believe it is almost Halloween already. Any guesses on what the little one wants to be? Maybe a princess, or Tinkerbell again? Oh no, not my complicated little darling…We started out wanting to be Jasmine. Then she decided a pirate was absolutely what she wanted to be, with a parrot on her shoulder, an eye patch and all. Next she decided to be a clown (which is odd since she is terrified of clowns), then she thought a cowgirl would be cool b/c she can wear boots & a big hat! It changed yet again, to "I'll just be me for Halloween, isn't that a great idea". I was informed this morning that she wants to be a dog. What kind of dog you ask? Just a dog... She said I could be Super woman if I want, I kinda like that idea. J

Memory Lane

So I was awake at 5 or so this morning with my brain plugging away like it was noon & I just ate a snickers bar. Lately I wake up early and think, think think (you can sing that to the Blue's Clues tune...think, think thiiiink!) anyway, I am thinking alot lately, things like, photo pages-we need to get those done and the education videos-we still need to find time to watch those and how should we do the nursery and why am I thinking of the nursery when I'm sooo far from a referral, and so on... And I remembered something that happened last year around this time that made me chuckle. Now keep in mind, we live in a very diverse area, and nobody really looks at us oddly or ask questions when Simone is with us. We just are just accepted, unless we travel, then the element changes. But D.C. is one of those places that is also diverse, so when traveling there we feel we are in that same bubble. Well, we had gone to D.C. to visit with Adam's family and we all stayed at a hotel together. The kids (5 of em, between ages of 2 & 4 at that time) were getting VERY loud and a bit crazy in the guest room, which was a room with a TV and drinks and noshy stuff and lots of people. Simone had many warnings and I finally decided to take her in the hall and have a chat, calm her down. We get in the hall and she is screaming "No, I want my Daddy, get away, give me back to Daddy". A room door opens and a man peeks out, then comes out and watches the drama. After looking for a few seconds, and with Simone still screaming "where is my Daddy, get away", the man speaks to her. In Chinese. I tried to explain the situation, and between that and her now clinging to me in panic mode he walked away. As I turned to go I saw him and the hostess in the guest room look out, with her nodding, I assume insuring him she belonged to me. SO how about that! I had never had to defend my parental status before. I am really glad he was concerned and took it that far, but it still makes me chuckle when I think of the look on his face, like "how did that happen?" And that is my memory for the day... J

Some good news...

Ok, I have had nothing good to report lately so I haven't posted anything! But if you peek at the time line over to the side you will see that our Home Study has been sent to JOH for first review. This is exciting to me. We haven't heard anything from JOH... good, bad or indifferent yet, but maybe today or tomorrow. I'm just glad it is there, I was too nervous to call our SW last week to ask but I broke down & emailed her this morning!
Also, we got our receipt back yesterday from USCIS for the I-600 application & I was told that we should be getting our appointment for fingerprinting within 2 weeks. This also makes me happy, even if they are wee baby steps I feel like progress is being made and we are getting closer to a referral of our next bundle of joy!
We put the crib up in the "nursery"/spare bedroom to take a picture for our photo page for JOH and figured we'd just leave it up- it keeps me hopeful... Well, Simone has been enjoying climbing in & watching TV from her new perch. It's been funny, and it has brought back so many memories of her as a baby! What incredible amounts of joy she has brought us! It is amazing we've been home almost 4 years with her. Boy was she a cute little baby, too! This is the hotel in Nanchang, day2 (March of 2005!), I think the only moments all day she wasn't in tears!
Well, I hope to have more good news soon!
J

BFF's

OK, so Simone & I were chatting last night and she me told that her friend that had been out sick was back in school and she was soo happy because she had really missed her. I commented that they must be really great friends and she replied "yep, we are bsss's". Bsss's? So I asked what that meant, and she said (with hand on hip & rolled eyes) Best Friends Forever, Mom. So the conversation went like this...
Me: Bsss's? That's what that means, huh?
Simone: Yep
Me: Don't you mean BFF's?
Simone: Nope, Bsss's.
Me: Well, best friends forever is BFF, you know Best- B, Friends- F...
Simone: No Mom, we are Bsss's.
Well, I figured it was a good chance for some phonics fun so we spent the next 5 minutes going over the letters. I think she got it, so today they should be BFF's. It's so funny how she had no clue what she was saying but was positive she was correct. It's like when you get the actual lyrics to a song and realize you've been singing the absolute wrong words for 6 years! Simone has been singing "Hannah Montana" songs lately b/c her dear friend loves to sing them. We've finally gone from her version "it's just a vegetable word" to the correct (I think...) lyrics of " you get the best of both worlds". Now we're trying to change " you put the lemurs on the fly" to "you get the limo out front". It's pretty funny, especially since she's never even watched HM, we're still pretty into Max & Ruby, which is fine with me! I guess this is why we need #2- the entertainment just can't be beat with this little one, I can't imagine when she has a sidekick!
Well, obviously no news to report on that darn Home Study getting to JOH yet. As of Monday our SW was "getting ready to send the first draft", maybe we'll hear today. Once we get that approved I think we can go on the waiting list...fingers crossed it is soon. J