Are We There Yet?

Bonus!

Since I flaked out and didn't post last night, I'll make up for it tonight with a post about more than one thing.  Bonus! 

I had to run into the mall today, and of course Santa was there.  Since the mall was oddly vacant, I thought it would be a great opportunity to "practice" getting to know Santa.  LT and I observed him from afar for a while, and slowly got closer and closer.    LT finally walked up to speak to Santa, and he was really sweet.  He asked her about her dress and her barette, and she even gave him a high five.  He managed to get a big smile out of her, and said, "goodness, your smile is so pretty!  Where did you get that pretty smile?"

LT replied, "China!"

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I have a wicked cold.  Blech, I hate this season.  For many years this meant that I would also get a sinus infection.  It never failed - I would get a cold and then it would linger and turn in to a sinus infection.  Last year my doctor suggested using a neti pot.  I thought she was nuts.  No way was I sticking a pot of water in one nostril, and then it drip out the other side.  Weird.

It was my second sinus infection of that season though, so I gave it a try.  Anything to avoid more antibiotics and help fuel superbugs that are antibiotic resistant.  Oh my, this thing has changed my life.  It is so soothing, and has helped me to stay healthy.  It really clears out the sinus cavities and gets everything moving.  I can't say enough good things about this.  I have this one.

So, if you suffer from ongoing sinus or allergy problems - run out and get a "nose pot!" (as MT calls it)

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Lastly, I got my hair cut tonight.  I think I have finally found a good stylist.  For those of you with curly hair - you know what a Christmas miracle this is.

I'm off to look at myself in the mirror and shake my hair around a bit.

Movie Night

Per the recommendation of Mortimer's Mom, we rented this movie last night.  Wow.  Thanks MM for the recommendation!

Again, wow.  It was a really great movie.  Those boys/men are simply amazing.  They are working so hard to better themselves, and none of them forgot their families or "brothers" for a moment.  How easy it would have been to forget all of that, but they all felt responsible for helping out friends and family left behind in Africa.  Definitely a great movie to watch during the frenzy of the holiday shopping season. 

I also found the cultural assimilation to be fascinating.  I would have never imagined some of the things the boys needed to be told, such as not to throw trash out of the kitchen window, or how to use a toilet.  Even more telling though was the view of our culture through their eyes.  It made our holiday traditions seem so very materialistic, and our society so cold and unwelcoming.

On a related note, I'm looking for some movie recommendations.  I'm a huge fan of the documentary - it's my favorite type of movie.  Seen any good documentaries lately?  I also love a great feel-good movie or even a light drama or comedy.  Any thoughts?

Oh, and no movie is too old to recommend.  I haven't watched many movies in the past, um, two years.

My Ears My Ears

I'm up at the crack of dawn here out of pure exasperation.  Can you hear the snoring there?  MT has a cold and when he does have a cold, he snores so damn loud.  And he breathes really loud and heavy.It drives me mad.  I've been up almost every hour, I now have a headache, I'm tired, and too crabby to go back to sleep.  I think MT slept very soundly though.  Every time I kicked him and yelled "YOU'RE SNORING AGAIN," he barely moved.

To top it off, MT happened to mention that he saw a mouse yesterday when we got back from our trip.  If there is one creature that really gives me the willies - it's the mouse.  They're dirty and make a mess in your house, and they're just creepy.  So now I'm in our living room feeling uncomfortable because I'm wondering if the mice are awake as well.  After all, they are active at dusk and dawn.

Crap, just typing this is creeping me out.  Our house is really old and now every little creek I hear sounds like a mouse.  Against MT's wishes I signed up with a pest control company...I wonder if they come out on Sundays? 

Damn MT and his snoring.  Call me cold and callous, but tonight I will be making him a nice soft bed in the extra bedroom.  I need my beauty sleep.

On other notes, we made it home on our early morning flight without a hiccup.  Except that we were all sick and/or sleep-deprived.  I acquired some sort of stomache bug on Thanksgiving, and MT's cold/monster sinus infection was kicking in. LT was okay, except she was so tired that she refused to eat and then had a melt-down when her ears hurt on descent.  We were practically comatose by the time we made it home.  LT took a four-hour nap - a Thanksgiving miracle.

I have no witty ending to this post to bring this all together.  Nope, now I'm jsut sitting in my living room getting angrier at MT for keeping me awake, and really creeped out thinking about mice.  Have a nice day.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Eating turkey and wearing flip flops is really nice.  Unfortunately it's raining, so our plans to swim on Thanksgiving were foiled.  For a Midwestern girl, this was a big deal.  Imagine, swimming on Thanksgiving!  Oh well, we're enjoying time with Grandma anyway. 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Bathroom Encounter

In the bathroom of the restaurant tonight:

Old Lady: My friend's daughter adopted an Asian too.

Me: (helping LT wash her hands) (look up in surprise, give hairy eyeball, and then continue with hand washing)

Old Lady: And then she went on to have one of her own.

Me: Oh, I think they're BOTH her own children.  (dry off LT)

Old Lady: Oh sure they love both of those children now.  But you know, she finally just relaxed and it all worked out.

Me: Oh, I don't think relaxation has much to do with things when medical intervention is required. (hurry LT out of bathroom)

Age is not an excuse for racism and general stupidity.  I usually try to be more polite, and say everything with a smile, but this was just ridiculous. 

The weather sure is nice, but I'm ready to come home now.

A Link I Enjoyed

FreeRice.com

Maybe the vocabulary lesson will help mw think of something else to blog about during NaBloPoMo.  Enjoy!

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

I traveled solo on a 2.5 hour flight with LT today.  It was such a piece of cake!  Is my kid the greatest, or what?  She listened (mostly), she behaved (almost the entire trip), and she kicked the seat in front of her but stopped when I asked.  Damn, she IS amazing.

I'd also like to send out props tonight to this carrier.  I carried LT on my back through the airports and garages, and it worked like a charm.  I had my hands free to pull the car seat on a wheelie cart, and I tossed our carry-on in the car seat.  It would have been too crazy to wrangle a stroller, car seat, carry-on and toddler by myself, and I was adamant about having her sit in the car seat on the plane.  So my set-up was fabulous - I had free hands, I had LT close by and accounted for at all times, and I had her car seat. 

Turns out the car seat thing was the right choice.  LT sat snugly in her car seat the entire flight as if it was a car trip. 

Since LT is so close to my head while she's on my back, I was able to listen to her talking and singing while we were waiting to board the plane.  You know, the kind of random sing-song talking that some kids do when no one is really listening.  I knew she talked a lot, but she truly only stops talking to sleep. 

Now I must sleep so that I am ready to sun myself tomorrow, while wearing SPF  of course.

Last Minute T

Why is it that no matter how far in advance I start to pack, that I am always packing stuff at the last minute?

I'm off to a sunnier place with LT.  I'm traveling solo...wish me luck!

Books and Suitcases

Damn NaBloPoMo.  I almost forgot to post tonight.  And now I'm too tired to form a complete thought.  And honestly all I can really think about is getting into my bed under my electric blanket.

We spent the evening at our library tonight.  I take LT to storytime there once a week, and she LOVES it.  She loves the idea of taking back books and getting more books, she loves to color pictures, play in the castle playhouse, and sit and read with me.  She also loves Miss Susan, the storyteller/librarian extaordinaire. 

Anyway, tonight they had a special storytime at 7pm.  It was a "pajama" storytime, and the kids were invited to come in their pjs, and bring a special animal or lovey.  MT came along, and it was so much fun!  I was surprised at the low attendance though.  I mean, you can't beat the price (FREE!).  And our library is an amazing place - the Children's section is the entire sunny first floor and is filled with books, computers, soft chairs, crayons, games, puzzles and even a playroom!!  Why don't more people take advantage of this stuff??  I hope the low attendance doesn't impact future programs, because we will definitely attend again.

Now to completely change direction, I must go and start packing now for our Thanksgiving trip.  I'm having a hard time deciding what to pack though. It's freezing here, and will be sunny and in the 70s where we are going.  What does that feel like?  Cropped pants?  Skirts?  Jeans?  I hate packing.

Damn you NaBloPoMo, the crap I am posting....

Two Years

Today is our two-year family anniversary.  Two years ago today we were in China, meeting our daughter for the first time.  It was a wonderful, scary, awful, fabulous, nerve-wracking day.  And probably a pretty bad day for LT.

Recently an acquaintance asked me (in a group setting) to tell the story of LT's adoption.  She leaned forward when she asked the question, with an expectant smile on her face.  I think she was expecting me to relay the sort of romantic story you see on TV. 

I was speechless.  It was actually one of the most difficult questions anyone has ever asked me.  Because you see, it wasn't romantic.  It was real.  I was so nervous that I kept crying.  LT was so sad and confused that she cried a lot too, and then she shut down.  She was also sick with some sort of rashy virus thing, and she would not take a bottle.  In fact, she didn't eat anything that first day, and she refused ALL bottles from us.*  MT and I were snapping at each other because we were scared and inexperienced first-time parents.  We felt scared and clueless.  Oh, and of course over the moon happy that this baby was now our daughter.  How is is possible to be so scared and upset, yet so happy?

And then I think about the day from LT's perspective.  Now that I know her, I realize that she was scared and uncomfortable. It was not the happiest day of her life.  It was the day that her world was turned upside down.

So here we are two years later, and the memories of the sadness and confusion of the day we met are fading.  In its place are the happy memories - remembering when she took a nap on the bus back to the hotel, when she smiled at us, when she fell asleep that night in my arms.  We remember breakfast buffets, embroidery factories and temples.  We remember squeaky shoes and a scared baby who started to blossom during that time in China.  I think that is what time does to all memories; we tend to remember the good and let the difficulties fade into the background.

What I'd like to remember about this day is the good and the bad.  We have chosen to celebrate this day quietly as a family, for it is the day we became a family.  It is the day our dream came true.  I think we can still celebrate and acknowledge LT's personal history and losses.  So we looked at pictures from China today, talked about her adoption and we went out to dinner.  I'd like LT to see this as a day to celebrate our family, and also talk about her other family in China.  I'm sure moving forward we will follow her cues, but for now we are going to celebrate.

So at dinner tonight we toasted with our drinks "to family!" I couldn't be happier.  I love my girl with all my heart, and I am so proud of her.  I can't believe my good luck.

*Yes, I have never given LT a bottle.  She refused all manners of bottles, nipples, formula, juices etc.  We fed her formula by the spoon-full for months after she arrived home.