We took "Labor" Day seriously...

this year and we got to work on a couple of projects around the house that we have been putting off. On Saturday morning we dropped Lucy off for grooming and got to work on our master bedroom closet.

Here's Lucy before and after our groomer got a hold of her...


Our bedroom closet is gigantic...we joke that if we lived in Manhattan, our apartment would be the size of our closet. The bigger the closet, the bigger the mess! It was a total disaster, but after a full morning of work it looks like this...



I don't even want to mention how many goodwill bags we loaded up after the big clean-out. I'll just say we have a very substantial donation. ;)

Yesterday afternoon I took on a major sewing project for our master bath. We have a glass block window that gets way too much sun and heats up the entire room. So, I got the bright idea a few months ago to whip up a roman shade. Well, let me tell you, this was NO small task. I've made lots of window treatments in the past, but this one raised the degree of difficultly quite a bit.

We started it about 4pm and were hanging it up at around 11pm! Our only break was for dinner. I did all the sewing and Joe cut all the dowels and the piece of wood at the top for mounting. He also helped me with measuring and manuvering the fabric while I sewed. It's a large shade (45" x 60") and I used the black out liner for the sun, which is pretty darn stiff and not very easy to work with.

For my first (and probably last) roman shade, I think it turned out pretty well. There are gaps on the sides, which would normally drive me crazy, but I'm hanging drapes up later which will cover the sides.

The shade is made from a drapery panel that matches our drapes in the bedroom...


Here's how is looks drawn up...


After all this work, we are taking a full day off to relax today. We're heading over to a friend's house to lounge by the pool. Joe is smoking some pork ribs for dinner...YUM!

Its been two years...

It was two years ago this month that Joe and I submitted our application to adopt. The other day I was looking back at when I started this blog and had to chuckle when I read my 2nd post. Here it is, but shortened up...

Friday, September 09, 2005
Our progress so far...

For those of you who don't know about the adoption process, I'll sum it up in one word....LONG! There are multiple documents... Actually, the paperwork is all very easy, it's just the waiting while the government agencies do their thing that is the hard part.

We submitted our application on August 8th. It's been a month since we applied and we already have most of our documents completed...

If all goes well, we are hoping to be DTC by January 1st. After we are DTC, then our dossier is translated into Chinese and we are LID. At that point, it's about a 7 month wait until we receive our referral, then about 8 weeks or so until we make the long journey to get baby Lauren. It's going to be a long road ahead, but we have an amazing reward waiting for us in China!

Of course, we would have NEVER guessed at the time what kind of wait we were actually in for. The funny part is that we still don't know now, two years later!

My best, realistic guess is that we may see our referral this time next year. I know, it's hard to image this scenario, but this WILL be the case if the CCAA stays at their current pace. If they pick up the pace, we'll see our referral sooner...it's that simple.

It's hard to believe that there is only three months between the current referred through date of 11/21/05 and our LID of 2/17/06, but it could actually take 12 months to get to ours!

High bidder for Joe's bag too...

I came in high bidder on Ebay for Joe's favorite Diaper Dude bag. Now he can have his own bag for his daddy daughter outings with Lauren. I didn't want him to have to sport some girlie bag!


We really did well on Ebay this weekend. I could easily get addicted to this, so I think I'd better stay off there for a while.

I'm the winning bidder....

on a new Reese Li leaf diaper bag! Thanks to Diana for giving me the heads up on the Ebay auction.

They retail for $150 and I got it for $107. Considering I was planning on buying it full price, I saved $43. This is my first purchase on Ebay. I've sold a few things and bid a few times, but this is the first bid I won.


I can't wait to see the bag. I sure hope it's in new condition as stated. I'll find out soon enough. Now, I'm going to bid on a Diaper Dude bag for Joe.

It shouldn't be this hard...

to get our new I-171H! For those of you not in the know on adoption forms, this is the king kahuna form that allows you to travel to China to adopt an orphan. Believe it or not, even with this LONG wait, this form expires 18 months from issuance. I know, this makes LOTS of sense.

Months before our first one expired, Joe and I got re-fingerprinted (although, last time I checked, I had the same exact fingers and prints) and submitted our new I-600A (which is the application for the I-171H) with a nice fat fee of $545.00. Yup, that's right, that much just to get a new form with a fresh expiration date. We also contacted our home study agency to arrange for an update so we could get a new court certification (a requirement to get a new I-171H). Cha-ching...another $600 for that.

Months later after getting everything done, still no I-171H in the mail. After contacting our local USCIS office (US immigration) by e-mail I find out that they never got the court certified home study. I'm thinking, okay this will be easy...I'll just call my home study agency and make sure they sent it. Well, come to find out that's not part of their service and they refer me to my placement agency. Guess what? No luck there either.

So, okay, I decide to take my afternoon off to head over to the USCIS office in downtown Phoenix. Just to get in the door, I need to navigate through major light rail construction, traffic jams everywhere, an over zealous security guard out front who makes me dump the contents of my purse on the table, then I need to strip every piece of jewelry and my belt off to make the damn metal detector stop beeping. I finally get into the building, locate the right window and stand in line. ALL this to find out that they won't accept the homestudy and my cover letter in person. They tell me I need to mail it in. With that, she gives me a little slip of paper with the address of the VERY building I'm standing in and tells me "you'll have to mail it in, we don't accept them here." I'm thinking, what the hell are you talking about...you won't accept them here, but I should mail it here??? Talk about the ultimate red tape! I said, "you're kidding, right?" and she just shook her head no. Is it me, or is this just a little crazy? To top it all off, on the way out they charged me for parking...one last jab!

Diaper bag...

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE bags and that I'm a bit of a purse snob. I tend to be brand loyal and don't buy super trendy "disposal" purses that are worn out by the time the trend is over. My favorite brands are Coach and Fossil and my collection pretty much consists of these two brands, plus a couple of Brighton bags thrown into the mix.

With this being said, I've been web surfing off and on for a while now looking for just the right diaper bag for me. This evening I came across Reese Li Baby and I love the Lexington Bag. The exterior of the bag is made of laminated canvas so it's wipeable and waterproof...a big plus for me. It also has a really nice strapping system that goes from shoulder to stroller handle in a pinch.

Now to decide which print I like better...

Leaf
Earth StripeEarth FloraHmmmm, which one do you like best?

Here's how it hooks onto the stroller...

Thoughts on China Ghosts...

This past week I read China Ghosts - My Daughter's Journey to America, My Passage to Fatherhood.

I loved this book. For one thing, it's written from the father's perspective which is pretty unique for an adoption book. The author is a reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and has a very interesting writing style that really held my attention. I had a hard time putting this book down.

The book starts with him and his wife on the bus ride to their daughter's province of Hunan. The author does a great job of expressing his feelings and all the details along their journey. The book covers their time in China, their transition to parenthood, and how they go about raising their daughter (who was 2 years old when they got her).

The focus of the book is how the author deals with Jin Yu's "China Ghosts", his term for all that his daughter left behind...her caregivers, the other children at the orphanage, her birth family, and everything that is familiar to her.

This book REALLY made me think about how Joe and I will come to terms with Lauren's past. I've spent the majority of this wait thinking about the much anticipated "gotcha" moment and how to help her to grieve and move onto her new life. I haven't really prepared myself for how often I might think about Lauren's birth mother and how I might feel about her. I wonder how we will be affected by not knowing the details of her abandonment and her life at the orphanage. All the blank spots that we may never have answers to.

The author is driven to seek details, not only for himself but for Jin Yu. He is at times almost haunted by her China Ghosts and goes through periods of being very grateful to the birth mother and birth country then dealing with anger as well. The book has really given me a new perspective, which I think will help me prepare for our trip and be a better momma to Lauren.

It's a great read, and I highly recommend it. I'm going to loan it to my mother and sister-in-law next. Anyone who will be really close to Lauren would benefit by reading this book.

Black thumb has been confirmed...

Well, I guess it's definitely confirmed that I DO NOT have a green thumb. I had posted previously about my little cactus pots that I was sure I couldn't kill, but I shouldn't have been so sure of myself.

After watering them every other week and lovingly placing them near the window every morning, I came home the other day to a surprising sight...


Check out how the one on the right totally deflated! I didn't know a cactus could do this. The one on the left has black spots on the top and bottom and the middle one decided it couldn't even stand up anymore.

Note to CCAA: I know this looks really bad, but I promise that this ONLY happens with plants. ;)

18 month LIDversary...

We all know the expression "a slow boat to China."

Need I say more?

This and that...

This past Saturday I saw Sweet Charity with a few friends from our local FCC group (Kim, Laura and Ann). The show is staring Paige Davis, the former host of Trading Spaces. She was fantastic and I was surprised how well she can sing and dance. If you get a chance to see it on tour, don't miss it.

On Sunday I meet a few friends for lunch and than headed over to a scrapbook show. They weren't as many vendors as we expected, but I managed to find something to add to my collection of stuff. I have been doing my pages digitally, but I've been missing playing with the paper, stamps, ribbons, stickers, etc. I think I'll still be creating some digital pages, but I'm going to go back to doing traditional scrapbooking too.

Yesterday I joined Curves. I went for a trial period last week and I think I can actually do this. If you've never been into a Curves, it's a 30 minute workout consisting of about 15 machines set up in a circle with a resting spot between each one. The idea is to work out on each machine for 30 seconds, then rest (or jog in place) for 30 seconds, then machine, then rest and on and on until you complete the circle twice. There's workout music playing with a voice over that tells you when to move to the next position. The circle of machines looks really innocent, until you try to work on them and keep up with movement around the circle. By the 2nd time around, I'm sweating like a maniac! After you complete the circle twice, you switch over to the stretching area and complete a series of stretches. My goal is to go after work two or three times a week. I'm hoping that after a couple of months, my fibromyalgia pain will start to decrease and maybe I can actually loose some body fat. God knows I can use that! Does anyone have any Curves success stories?

Nursery update...

We're finally getting Lauren's closet organized. Click here to check out the new closet system we installed.

While I was shopping for closet organizers at Target, the 50% off and clearance signs were calling my name from the baby clothes section. "Come check this cute stuff out...you have more room in your closet now." ;).

I've seen this t-shirt on other blogs and I love it...


These two shirts were $2.48 each, so it was impossible to leave them there...


This cute polka dot shirt was $6 and the shirt was $7...


and this floral shirt and matching skirt were only $4.48 each. Gotta LOVE Target!

Overdue commercial...

I've been seeing commercials lately for FibroHope, a new web-site on fibromyalgia, and decided to check it out.

I was diagnosed back in 1998. It's not easy dealing with a chronic pain condition that affects daily life, especially when most people don't know or understand what it is. It's nice to see that there is more public attention focused on it lately, which may help people who are suffering from it and haven't been diagnosed yet. I went through two full years of testing for everything under the sun before I discovered what was wrong.

I hope that friends and family will take a few minutes to look at the web-site and check out the link for "Understanding Fibromyalgia."

August referrals...

Well, it's official that the CCAA got through 7 days again this month.

This means that since April's batch, which came out on April 6th, we have seen 28 days worth of LID's processed. Simply put, this is 28 days worth of files processed in a period of 5 months.

I'm not going to whine about it right now...I'm fresh out of tears and just a little numb. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the idea that we won't see Lauren's face until mid to late 2008.

That just seems SOOOO long away!

Starbucks strikes again...

Those evil marketing geniuses over at Starbucks have sucked me and several co-workers into these totally adorable little ceramic ice cream bowls.

I swear, the Starbucks people work in cahoots with the Bath & Body Works people to figure out ways to package things so people like me can't live without it! Check out this clever packaging...

Come on, you HAVE to admit that this is pretty darn cute.

The package even contains a gift certificate for a free Starbuck's ice cream at the grocery store. Resistance is futile! ;)

Scrapbook paper follow-up...

A few people asked where they could get the Far East paper stack I posted yesterday. I found it all over the internet....just search "Far East Stack".

I did find that Scrapbook.com Superstore has the paper stack plus other coordinating items. You can find them at the links below:

12" x 12" cardstock paper stack

Cardstock embellishments

Self-adhesive ribbon

Chipboard sticker stack

If anyone gets the paper and makes up some pages, I'd love to see them!

Scrapbook paper...

My friend, Jennifer, gave me the prettiest, Asian themed cardstock paper stack for my birthday!

It's the Far East Stack by DCWV and it has 48 sheets of 12" x 12" heavy weight paper.

Here are some of my favorite designs from the stack...







This paper will be perfect for my China travel scrapbook! Thanks, Jennifer!

Random weekend thoughts...

Thank you all for the great organizational tips for my nursery closet. My friend, Stephe, the Queen of Organization, posted some great advice on her blog. You can check that out here.

I also loved this tip from Emily on plastic clothes sizers you can order for the closet rod. You can find them at One Step Ahead, along with a bunch of other cool stuff.


Joe and I stopped into Lowe's today and looked at this ClosetMaid system of shelves and hanging rods. It looks super easy to do and they sell kits that have all the pieces to do multiple configurations. We are going to check out Home Depot and see what they have, but we really liked this system...


So many of you suggested tackle boxes or craft storage boxes for hair clips. We were in IKEA today, so I picked up this plastic storage container that I think will work just fine for the hair clips. Thanks for the idea!


We decided that we would get the closet all organized first, then we would move onto painting the nursery.

We had a great weekend...we started on Saturday at my brother's place for brunch to celebrate my birthday (7/28) and my mom's birthday (which was 7/24). Jim and his family and my mother just got back from a week long trip to Maui and they picked up banana macadamia nut pancake mix and coconut syrup. My sister-in-law, Stephanie, made a wonderful brunch and my nieces made a cake from stratch...their first cake and frosting made all by themselves from a recipe. They did a great job!



My mom brought back a couple of things for Lauren. Check out this cute little shirt and Lauren's name drawn by a Hawaiin artist...very nice. Thanks, mom!



Last night Joe and I had a nice birthday dinner and today we did some IKEA shopping, went to the movies and saw The Simpson Movie (mini-review...save your money and wait for video). Luckily, we had gift certificates that covered both the movie and snacks.

As I was walking through the IKEA garden area among all the beautiful plants, I was feeling bad about my black thumb (I kill all live plants). Then I saw this cute set of three mini cacti and this even cuter little pot set. Finally, maybe it's something I can't kill! Look how nice they look potted. I'll have to do an update in a couple of months so you can see if they are still alive...maybe this will give me an incentive to water once in a awhile.

Lost in a sea of baby clothes...

I decided it's time to get Lauren's clothes organized since I have them stuffed into one side of the closet and thrown into the dresser drawers. If I don't get them organized soon, I'll start buying duplicates of things that I don't realize I already have!

I just picked up these drawer organizers from IKEA. I figured I could use them to keep socks, hair clips, onesies, t-shirts, and pants in folded stacks.


I started to go through everything and realized I'm clueless on how to get it all organized so I can quickly find coordinating pieces. I have a few questions for those who aren't as organizationally challenged as me:

1. Is it best to hang only dresses and fold everything else up in drawers?
2. Do they make kiddie hangers to hang matching tops and pants on one hanger?
3. Is there a good way to store hair clips and hats?
4. What about those headbands that match a specific outfit? Loop them over the hanger with the outfit?

I would appreciate any advice I can get!

What city do you belong in?

I thought it was pretty cool that after answering the survey questions, they say I belong in New York City...my home town. Click the link below and find out what city you belong in.

You Belong in New York City

You're the energetic, ambitious type. And only NYC is fast enough for you. Maybe you'll set yourself up with a killer career Or simply take in all the city has to offer.

What City Do You Belong In?

I know it's not practical...

but I just love this Rosanna tea set for Lauren. I saw it initially on my California trip in a cute little shop and I haven't stopped thinking about how adorable it would look on a little table in the nursery. The colors are so soft and pretty and I love how all the tea cups are a different shape with a different handle like an old fashioned mis-matched set.





So, for those of you with little ones at home, just how impractical is this tea set? Should I look for one that's plastic instead? OK, you can stop laughing at me now! ;)

Waiting, waiting and more waiting...

Today marks 17 months of waiting for Lauren.

I've had this general feeling of yuckiness over the past couple of days, then I realized the date on the calendar and figured it's that darn adoption roller coaster again. It seems when we first got on this ride, it was kind of like a kiddie coaster with only a couple of small ups and downs. As the months go by, the coaster seems to get bigger and bigger with stomach churning hills and upside down loops. Each month I feel like we climb to the top of a big hill and then referrals come out with a measly amount of days matched and then we pass another LIDversary...leaving us at the bottom of the hill starting the monthly climb back to the top for the next plunge.

This afternoon at the office, someone asked why I seemed a little down and not myself and I answered with "this wait is just getting to me lately". They responding with "what wait?" At that point it really hit me how all encompassing this adoption waiting is and how it's become the center of my universe. I can't wait until we are able to just look back on this time and have it feel like just a blip on the radar screen.

Sorry for the whine session, but just had to get it out there. I know my fellow waiting mommas understand.

Joe was busy...

assembling a new piece of furniture for the nursery yesterday. Click here to check it out.

Crowd for dim sum...

Yesterday our local FCC Waiting Families group got together for dim sum. I made up little bags with those yummy peanut butter treats from our local Chinese market.

I love this poem about waiting...


These little treats were especially for the babies...



I love the adorable little smile on Ava's face in this shot...

We had a great turn out which included 11 families (22 adults and 8 kids).