Time to take control...

and kick it into high gear. I've started a new wellness blog and am hoping there are others on the same boat who would like to join me. Read on here.

Need a little cheese with my whine...

Ok, I've tried really hard to stay positive, but I'm bummed out today.

First of all...it's looking like instead of the rumored large referral batch this month, they may only get through Nov. 7th (that would be 6 days worth of LIDs). According to RQ, some people with a Nov. 8th LID are being told by their agencies that they didn't make the cut. For us to see a referral this year, they would need to make it through the end of November by next month, cover all of December in July & August and all of January in Sept & October. That would be the only way (besides them all of a sudden doing 30 days each month) that we could have our referral in December.

On top of that, the USCIS just decided to allow one free renewal of the I-600A effective July 30, 2007. I'm happy for my friends who WILL benefit from this, but it's about four months too late for us! We mailed in our new I-600A with a hefty check just last month.

Like I've said before, this is a roller coaster ride and some days are up and some days are down...this one is down.

Opinions needed...

on the paint samples we put up today. Click here to check them out.

I've been a bad girl...

on my day off today. Instead of taking care of the many things I have to do around the house, I headed off to the mall. First stop was Coach for the new ergo leather tote that I've been drooling over (note to self: unsubscribe to the Coach e-mail newsletter)...


Then to Macy's where I got sucked right into the cosmetic/fragrance area by an over zealous sales clerk. I really think when they spot someone with a Coach shopping bag in tow, they figure they have a sucker who has no problem spending money. Well, she was right...I picked up Vera Wang's Princess spray and body lotion packaged up in a cute little shopping bag with extra samples and purse size lotion. I deserve it, right? Plus I've got to smell good while sporting my new bag.


Last stop was the women's department where I got a few summer shirts...finally something I actually needed. ;)

Good things come in little packages...

like the sample size paint cans we bought to try out colors for the nursery. Check them out here.

Another month down...

and still counting!

Hopefully this month's referrals will be out soon and we can do our monthly guesstimate on when we'll get our first glimpse of Lauren. I find myself thinking more and more about what she will look like, how old she'll be and where she is.

As we get closer to referral, I feel like I'm riding a roller coaster...the same one we were on years ago when we were trying to get pregnant. I thought that ride was over when we decided to adopt, but I learned pretty quickly that we're right back on. As the months go by, it feels like the drops are steeper and the ride gets more out of control.

Run, do not walk...

to Starbucks to get this TOTALLY adorable travel friendly tic-tac-toe set. The ladybug and turtle pieces tuck away inside the bag and it folds up like a purse.


When unfolded, it makes the cutest game board with soft material that the velcro game pieces stick to. Pretty cute, huh?


By the way, how do you like my bloggy makeover? I felt it was time for a change. Miyoung, is this look easier on your eyes? ;)

The cookie knows...

that I need some major motivation to get moving on the nursery. Maybe the rumored larger than expected referral batch this month would be just what the doctor ordered.


Wouldn't it be awesome if the CCAA actually mananged to get into mid November this month?

Happy Mother's Day!

A great BIG Happy Mother's Day to all my friends celebrating their VERY FIRST Mother's Day as a new mommy (Michele, Nancy, Kim, Julie, Jacquie, Kim, Gen, Tiffany, Christi, Mary Mia, and Lisa). It's been such a pleasure to get to know all of you over the past couple of years (wow, it's been that long?) and watch you all become mommas!

Joe and I had a busy weekend. Yesterday we prepared a Chinese food dinner (kung pao beef, cashew shrimp, and egg flower soup) and brought it over to my in-laws' house to celebrate Mother's Day. Joe's mom is pretty much house-bound at this point, so we decided to bring the meal to her. It was a nice dinner and I think everyone enjoyed it.

Today, we took my mom to Macaroni Grill for an early lunch. We had great service and the food was delicious. Of course, we had to top off lunch with their wonderful chocolate cake...it's to die for!

My mom surprised me with a "mommy-to-be" card and the cutest t-shirt for Lauren (she just couldn't resist this one)!
















Here's the framed, photo collage I put together for my mom. I even left a spot for Lauren's referral photo.


When we got home, there was a rose bush planted in a hand-painted pot with a card. It turned out to be from my nieces and nephew. I love how my nephew writes his name on the card...



My brother called to tell me later that the petals of the painted flowers on the pot are actually the kids' fingerprints. Isn't this an adorable idea?? I LOVE it!



My furbabies got me something for Mother's Day too...

As much as I enjoyed this weekend, I am SO looking forward to celebrating my first Mother's Day with Lauren. Hopefully that will be this time next year!

Referrals are in...

The CCAA hasn't updated their web-site yet, but it seems they got through dossiers logged in before November 1, 2005. They left off at October 26th last month, so that's six days. This is better than the two days they did last month, but not the two-weeks we were hoping for.

If they could manage to get back to referring two weeks every month, we may see a referral this December or January '08. Here's how it would look:

May referrals through 11/11/05
June referrals through 11/25/05
July referrals through 12/9/05
August referrals through 12/23/05
Sept referrals through 1/6/06
Oct referrals through 1/20/06
Nov referrals through 2/3/06
Dec referrals through 2/17/06 (us)
Jan referrals through 3/3/06

According to the polls on RQ, November is a BIG month and it may take the CCAA three months to get through all the dossiers. If this is the case, we can add on another month or two.

This would put us at a 22-24 month wait from our LID of 2/17/06. Doesn't the CCAA realize that we're NOT getting any younger?? I would have NEVER imagined in my wildest dreams that it would take this long to get our referral...this is so frustrating!

Nursery update...

Pop on over to my nursery page and let me know what you think of my latest find and paint chip colors.

Help, I'm suffering from CHAWMS...

That's China Adoption Waiting Momma Syndrome (CHAWMS). Here's the symptoms:

• Constant, nagging feeling of being preoccupied
• Unable to concentrate on any one thing for any length of time
• Unable to focus on projects at home or at work
• Thoughts constantly drifting towards adoption related things
• Feeling like a scatter-brained fool at times
• Chronic forgetfulness
• Unable to go one day without reading blogs or checking on Yahoo groups
• Unable to go half a day without checking RQ
• Unable to go one minute without thinking about your future daughter

Does anyone else suffer any or all of these symptoms? Lately, I've found myself saying "sorry, this waiting is frying my brain" much more than I should be. It seems the closer you get, the more intense these symptoms become. Also, no matter how often non-waiting friends say they understand, they just can't. They feel bad that we have to endure the wait, but just can't really relate to the all encompassing, life on hold, don't know when it's going to end feeling of this wait. CHAWMS can only be truly understood by waiting mommas.

I've seen bloggy friends take a "break" and try to re-group, but how the heck can you just chill and forget about the adoption for a while. I just don't think I can do it. If anyone has taken "the break" and was successful at substantially reducing the CHAWMS symptoms, please let me in on your secret!