Happy Halloween!

Not much actual work happened at the office today...we decided to have some fun instead. Here's yours truly as the tinman and my partners in crime. ;)


Hope everyone is having a good Halloween night! I'm hoping that next year at this time we'll be out trick or treating with Lauren and her cousins. I know I said this last year, but I feel that 2008 is OUR year!

Rumors and baking...

Well, the latest rumors show referrals through December 8th. I may still be heading to Home Depot to buy the nursery paint. Anything over seven days and we are painting! Come on CCAA, we know you can do it...you've done it before!

I spent the afternoon making treats for our pumpkin decorating party at the office tomorrow. Fall cupcakes...

and pumpkin bars...


I wasn't near Starbucks today, so I thought I'd try one of these...

It's hazelnut iced coffee. I guess I was expecting more of a "coffee drink" taste...maybe thicker and creamier to compete with Starbucks drinks. Nope, it's just like the sign says...iced coffee with a hazelnut flavored creamer in it. It's as thin as water and kinda artificial tasting. Probably wouldn't get it again. The only thing it has going for it is the low price. I drank about half and threw the rest out.

Another week begins...

It's not like me to go a whole week without a post, but I just haven't been feeling too well lately. I haven't been on Blogville much either, except to check Rumor Queen each morning. I tend to check it daily as referral time gets close each month.

The big question right now....will they actually kick out a batch larger than seven days?? Rumors are indicating they might be getting to December 12th or 13th, but not to the 15th. Heck, I'll take anything past December 7th at this point, so they break this seven day curse!

Joe and I have been saying that when they get past seven days, we are painting the nursery. Hmmmm....I wonder if it's time to get the paint??!! What do you all think?

Back home...

God, it's hard to go away for the weekend and then get up at 5am to go to work! I don't really recommend it...not the going away, but the getting up part.

We had a really good time up in the pines. It was cool and windy and oh so nice. Saturday morning we went boutique shopping and out to lunch at a cute place called Mama Bears.

Let me tell you, this was no diet weekend. Here's our Saturday night dinner while hanging out at the cabin...


margaritas and chili con queso dip. Yes, it was a good night. ;)

Heading up north...

for the weekend. I'm getting off work early tomorrow and I'm heading up to Heber, AZ with a few friends. We'll be up there all day Saturday and heading back home on Sunday.

I'm looking forward to the cool weather...it's in the low 70's for the high up there right now and that sounds wonderful! Some down time hanging out with friends may be just what the doctor ordered.

We're bringing crafts, chick flicks and the all important frozen margarita stuff. Yup, we'll have a good time. ;)

Joe will be home taking care of the "girls", but don't feel bad for him because he's heading to Rocky Point, Mexico for a boys weekend next week.

20 month LIDversary

Today is the 20 month mark for us.

Wow, it's hard to believe it's been that long. It's even harder to believe it will be another 6-8 months. At least we have reached the top of the peak and it's all downhill from here!

Come on, CCAA...let's see some major progress next month!

Waiting...

It seems the closer we get, the more I feel that our lives are on hold.

With referrals finally getting through November 2005, there are only two and a half months worth of files in China until they get to ours. Back when we started this process that would have seemed like a lifetime, but with the amount of time we have already waited that seems like no time at all.

The only problem is this doesn't mean we'll have our referral in two and half months. It could actually be anywhere from 3 months to 10 months or beyond, depending on how fast or slow the CCAA decides to go.

Not knowing how much longer we have to wait to finally be parents is really getting to me lately. I feel like I can't plan anything beyond a couple of months from now, because I know that once we get really close (like going to be in the next batch) I won't be able to focus on anything but the adoption.

If we only knew WHEN, life would be SO much easier...at home and at work! What a difference that would make to my stress level.

Disney warehouse store goodies...

While skimming the newspaper yesterday morning, Joe found an ad for one of those close-out companies that buy lots of merchandise and clear it out. Well, they opened a temporary store full of Disney stuff near us. We cut out the 10% off coupon and headed over there today.

We didn't get anything for ourselves, but picked up a few cute things for Lauren. I couldn't resist this darling seersucker dress with ladybugs and flowers along the hem...


or this cute Winnie the Pooh sleeveless dress...


I also thought this cute little Tinkerbell cereal bowl and matching cup were kind of cute...


For any Phx area locals, the store is off of Power Road in a strip mall east of the Superstition Springs Mall next to the Sports Authority. It's opened until November 25th. Happy shopping!

Fun purchase...

Click here to check out my latest little purchase for Lauren's room.

They FINALLY did it!

The CCAA is finally done with November 2005 dossiers!! They have issued referrals for LID's through November 30th.

This batch is only 5 days worth of LID's, but I think instead of complaining about the small batch we should celebrate finally getting through November! They have been stuck there for 5 VERY long months (almost half a YEAR)...wow, can you believe it??!!

Now if only next month's batch was more than 7 days, I think we would all have a renewed hope that maybe the slow down is behind us.

Come on CCAA, let's see the next batch go through at least December 9th. Wouldn't that be GREAT??

Saturday with the kids

We had a great day yesterday with our nieces and nephew.

We started off with some baking and made rocky road bars. Everyone pitched in including Josh, who was happy just to dump the cups of flour into the bowl. The bars were VERY sticky with all the marshmallows, but pretty good with a cold glass of milk.

After that, we were off to a brand new Brunswick bowling alley near our house. They were having what they called "cosmic bowling" with the house lights down and all kinds of multi-color spot lights flashing and DJ music. Once you check in, they have you head over to your lane were you are greeting by an "attendant" who delivers your bowling shoes and takes your order for food and drinks. Instead of hard plastic chairs to sit on, they have sofas with a coffee table.



Josh was SO cute...every time he threw the ball he would stand there with his hands behind his back waiting to see how many pins he knocked down. The girls and I got a kick out of that.

After bowling and video games, we relaxed for a little while then headed out to dinner. We ended the day watching Curious George, which I must say is pretty darn cute. I'm going to pick that up for Lauren's video collection.

I love spending a full day with the kids and I'm so looking forward to the day that Lauren is along with us.

Someone asked a good question...

in the comments of my last post. I'll paraphrase below:

"...I have one question. What happens if you get a boy? I mean, you have already chosen a name for a girl and bought clothes for a girl and so on. I´m asking because a dear friend of mine got a baby boy from China even though she had asked for a girl. But there was nothing she could to. China said "take this boy or no child at all".

Back in 2005 when we first started checking into China adoption and had spoken to our agency, it was apparent that orphanages in China were filled with baby girls and that's what we would get. We wanted a girl, so it was a great fit for us. We submitted our adoption application and went through our home study with no mention of getting anything other than a girl, so the thought of a boy never really entered our minds. Back then the wait was still 6-8 months, so as soon as we were LID we selected a name and started shopping...just as if we were pregnant and the ultrasound revealed a girl.

Last year we discovered the reality that some families who expect girls are actually referred boys. Since our agency hasn't received a "surprise" boy referral yet and I believe the odds to be low, we decided to just assume we'll be referred a girl for now as many families are doing.

What will happen if we receive a boy referral? I guess we'll have to cross that bridge when we get to it. What I do know right now is that Joe and I have a LOT of love to give a child and we can't wait to be parents. At this point, I would feel blessed to simply receive a referral.