Lunch & Fountains

Today we went to lunch at Big Bear. Nothing was going our way today so we decided to have lunch at one of our fave places. Today rather than have her usual chicken tenders & fries, Erin decided to have their pizza. I knew it wouldn't be right for her since she really enjoys a New York style pizza, & Big Bear's is thin to say the least. She ended up with a bowl of fruit from their brunch menu. Our server was very accomodating & Erin thanked her so sweetly! It would have been nice if Erin ate all the fruit, but since she's not eating without arguing lately, I was happy just to see her enjoy the watermelon, grapes & strawberries.

After lunch Erin asked if we could hang out by the fountain that is in front of the restaurant. She has always loved fountains, & it really is such a simple request that we always say yes - unless it's raining. I have to wonder what goes through her mind as she stands there just watching the water.

You too can help the children of Sichuan.

Erin's First Day of School

Ready to go to 1st grade!

In her new classroom.



Erin with me in her classroom.

Ready for some serious learning!

Erin started school last Wednesday after Tropical Dud Fay finally left the area. She is in the same class as 3 of her friends from her last school so things have been easier on all of us. Her teachers all seem to be pretty nice.

The 2nd day of school we had one of our usual morning chats. It really was sweet.

Erin: I don't like 1st grade Mama.

Me: Why not Erin?

Erin: I miss my friends.

Me: Erin, aren't the twins & Alyssa in your class?

Erin: Yes, but I miss everyone else.

Me: Erin this is a great opportunity for you to meet new people & make new friends. Besides, don't you see your old friends in aftercare?

Erin: Yes I do. But I wanna play with them.

Me: Then we'll make playdates.

Erin: Really? Okay, then I'll go to 1st grade Mama.

What goes through a child's mind always amazes me. Each conversation should go this easily!

Feeling Better & Ready to Craft!

Erin is feeling better finally. The antibiotics that were prescribed must be really strong because she's just about back to herself.


So what do you do when you're on the mend? Why, you do crafts! Erin always has tons of crafts to do. She got so much for her birthday last year & this year, that we don't have to buy her anything. Today she decided to make slap bracelets. After showing her what needed to be done, I got to sit back & relax.

2 down & 5 more to go!

She really had a good time with this.

Not too messy. Thankfully!

Some of the finished pieces of art.

What did you do on the first day of school?

Ah yes. The first day of school. It was cancelled for today & has now been cancelled for tomorrow. The only reason I'm not terribly upset is that Erin has to remain home until the 20th.

I called Erin's pediatrician this morning as early as possible to get an appointment. David & I are not happy with her lack of progress from the medication for her allergies. So this morning I drove, in the pouring rain with almost no visibility, to Dr. Liang. I couldn't believe how long it took to get to her office because of the weather - almost a half hour for a normal 15-20 minute drive. So after waiting an hour for the infamous Dr. Liang, she finally came in & apologized for taking so long. After a few questions & a quick glance at Erin's throat & nose, the diagnosis came in. Erin has a heck of a sinus infection. Oh goody.

Off we went to the pharmacy to drop off the prescription & then to Publix for a quick shop. When Erin is sick, she refuses to eat so my instructions are to let her eat anything she wants & keep her drinking juice. This way she won't loose any weight. At 39 pounds, Erin is considered very petite. So on with the pop tarts, waffles, pudding & juice. For a kid that doesn't sound like a bad diet, but for a mom who tries to keep the sugar down, it's not good. In fact, normally Erin will eat chicken nuggets, cheese, pasta, but for now she won't even look at that stuff. Veggies? Don't bother. She won't eat them on a good day.

So we came home, played some games, took a nap after Daddy came home. And she took her new meds. According to her, they're gross.

I guess things are normal. And hopefully school will start Wednesday with Erin sitting in her new class.

Why not start school in July!?

After all, it seems that the officials don't mind our children being in school during the height of hurricane season. I have to wonder if these same officials have children who are still school aged.

Tomorrow is supposed to be the first day of school. And it's been cancelled in 3 counties - Monroe, Miami-Dade & Broward. Why? Because of Hurricane Faye? Yup. The same hurricane that probably won't be a hurricane. It will work out because Erin is still sick & with no school in session, I can't ask anyone to watch her. I did call my boss & explain the situation to him. Thankfully, Bob's a family guy & understands that kids get sick. Now I have to hope that the other bosses understand. After all, I did call out sick on Friday, & yes, Erin did go to the dr, but calling out on both a Friday & a Monday isn't what you want in the banking industry. Those are the busiest days.

But what are you supposed to do when there is no school, the day care places follow the school calendar, & your kid is sick? I'm guessing I could take her in & have her sit in the lunchroom, but for how long before it becomes a bad thing?

So Here We Sit Waiting

This is the last free weekend before school starts. And life is not happening the way it was supposed to. Shocking! Not.

Friday was the day to meet the teachers, find out about the aftercare program, the lunch program & get the supply lists for Erin & the other children entering her school. After the meet & greet, David & I took Erin shopping for the supplies. The school, like many others around the country, has its own requirements for each grade. Can someone please tell me why they are requesting yellow folders that have holes so they can fit into 3-ring binders? Yellow is the only color that none of the stores have ordered. I can find red, orange, black, pink, purple, blue, green BUT NOT YELLOW!! So now I have 9 folders in yellow without holes & 9 folders in pink with holes. And let's not forget that we need to send in a 6-pack of Elmer's glue sticks with NO color. Ha! No one can find them anywhere!

In the middle of 2 shopping trips, we decided to take Erin to see her dr. She's an allergic kind of kid but for the last week, the allergies have been out of control. She's got this really wet cough. Unfortunately, we couldn't get in to see The Amazing Dr. Liang, but her partner Dr Cheresnick had a free spot. The neat part about Dr Cheresnick is that it was his son Justin who told me about Dr Liang back when David & I were paperchasing.

Anyway, it turns out that Erin is in one of her allergy loops so she's on albuterol for a week till it's done with. So now we have a kid who is attached to boxes of tissues, coughing her brains up & hyper to the Nth degree. She missed one birthday party today & will probably miss the one tomorrow. Thankfully, Erin understands that while she isn't running a fever, she really can't be out & about.

So here we sit. Waiting. For Erin to get back to normal.

Do you know this woman?

This past Tuesday after the movie, a bunch of us went to Ruby Tuesday for coffee & dessert. During the course of our conversations, we got to talking about blogs.

Blogs are a great way to deal with the adoption hoopla. The wait alone is frustrating enough. Then you start to realize how much you don't know. And of course everything else that comes along with it. Back when David & I were adopting, blogs were an unknown. I'm sure they existed but not as a popular way to get info or meet people. We all used yahoo groups which in & of themselves are a lifesaver.

Anyway, one of the women mentioned that there is this blog that is so amazing. The writer adopted 2 children & has a wonderful way with a camera & words. Then I mentioned my friend Sandra who is an amazing woman. I told them how met during our daughters' adoptions, & the red thread that continues because her 2nd daughter is from Erin's orphanage.

Start laughing. Grace & I were talking about the same woman. Sandra, you are more popular than you can ever imagine! And as I have been saying for years now, people listen to what you have to say. Please keep writing!

If you haven't taken a peek at Sandra's blog, you really should go on over.

Moms Just Wanna Have Fun!

Some of the FCC moms decided to go out & have a movie night. No hubbies. No children. Just good ole fashion fun, song & laughter. Mamma Mia was the perfect movie for it too! Clueless me, I had no idea that it was a musical. After all it had Meryl Streep & Pierce Brosnan in it, & they are definitely not known for their musical abilities! Didn't matter though. The music was fantastic. Trust me. I think everyone in the theater was singing. I know that my friend Lori & I were singing every song - & we both knew all the words. My friend Brenda lost control at one point in the movie & grabbed me. Of course I grabbed her too. After all these years, I still love the music of ABBA.

After the movie, we went out for dessert to Ruby Tuesday. Their desserts are sinfully rich & extremely decadent. We had a great time chitchatting the evening away. Two of the moms brought along guests. Grace brought her mother while Lisa brought her mother-in-law. It's always so nice when the grandparents want to be involved with the adoption process & want to meet the people their children are hanging out with. Candy & Minouche came along for the fun & I'm sure chatted about how their beautiful girls will be starting school together this coming week. Shari organized the evening, & I can't thank her enough!

We ended the evening standing out in the parking lot with more chitchat & finally left at 12:30 AM! I do have one question though. What the heck was with that young boy riding around in the parking lot in his jammies!? At 12:30 in the morning!? Where were his parents?

Halloween in August

Shari

Myke

Erin as Dorothy

Katie Starr makes a beautiful Minnie Mouse

Ethan is the cutest Mickey Mouse

Marc & Lori vamping it up!

Saturday was a busy day for Erin & me. Our friends Shari & Myke own a local business that sells Halloween costumes. They are getting ready for their very busy season right now. All this while they're in the midst of adopting from Vietnam! I don't know how they're still standing.

Shari & Myke invited a few of our FCC children to participate in this year's video. The children got to dress up & play games for a few hours. In the end, they'll have a video to show off all of their amazing costumes. Erin has already planned her Halloween costume for this year!

Wow! What an amazing weekend we had!

Friday night, I took Erin over to my friends Lori & Marc to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. They had invited some of the families from our local FCC group for a quiet (ha!) evening. One couple is in the process of adopting from Vietnam while the rest of us have adopted from China. We enjoyed a dinner of Chinese food. What else would you expect from us!? Our children got to stay up super late & play the night away. Erin enjoyed the fireworks but really couldn't have cared less about the rest.

As the children of China marched onto the field, I started to choke up & cry. All I could think of was how much China has given up by adopting out their children. In fact, for one moment, I was bitter that China could even consider giving up just one child. And then I thanked G-d that China does adopt out their children. After all, if China didn't, then Erin wouldn't be in my life. Neither would these families who have come to mean so much to me.

At one point in the evening, Lori & Marc set up their computer so we could skype our friends The Choi Clan. It was my first experience with skype, & I must say that I'll be trying it soon with my Canadian pals & my family. Kim & her children came across a 10 foot screen & said hello to all of our town. I'm sure my cousins who live around the corner heard Kim invite the town to watch the Olympics. Erin thought it was cool to see Aimee, Hansen & Cadence on the screen.

It was a lovely evening! When Erin & I got home, we fell into bed. I think I was asleep before she was!

Family Pic

How often do you find a picture of yourself that you like? Me? Almost never!

This past Sunday, my friend Lori & her husband Marc invited us to their son Ethan's naming ceremony. It was a beautiful ceremony, & I can't thank them enough for thinking to include us.

Ethan's godmother Shannon has a really cool mom who also loves to take pictures. Patti almost always has a camera in her hand. I'm so glad that she had her camera on hand because she took what I consider to be a wonderful picture of us.

Thanks for sharing the pic Lori!

Waiting & Waiting - Not So Patiently

Tomorrow is the BIG day. My dear friend Vivian & her daughter Kerri have their interview with the Canadian Dept of Immigration.

What are they looking for in the end? Why their official notice that they are now legal residents of Canada! Once they have their residency in place, Viv & Kerri will be able to work, go to school & most important of all they'll be able to travel outside of Canada. We're waiting (very impatiently mind you) for a visit! Viv & I try to talk on the phone at least once a week. Thankfully our hubbies not only understand this but also encourage it. Kerri & Erin are in dire need of a face-to-face visit. These girls just absolutely love each other. It's a great bond.

And now I wait for a phone call that better be good news!

UPDATE!!!!

Yay! Canada has decided to give Vivian & Kerri their residency. And now they have to wait to receive their actual cards. Without the cards, Vivian & Kerri can't get back into Canada should they leave. Tomorrow she'll be contacting Canadian Immigration to ask for a rush so they can come visit her parents. Hopefully, Canadian Immigration works faster than the US Immigration!

Gee, You Really Don't Post Often

My friend Lori's mother told me this today. Ha! Too funny. This from the woman who refuses to comment but lurks there in the background.

Okay Linda, I've posted. Now what?

What can I say? I told her I'd post more frequently!

Finally! The Birthday Pics!

I know you thought I forgot about the birthday pics. There really are way too many of them. It was hard to choose!