one check mark!

Phew! The nursery is finished! It's not at all what I had planned on, much simpler, but I just got too overwhelmed with the original grand scheme and am honestly quite content now. It's painted a pretty shade of pink and there are soft pink touches around the room and in the crib. I love it! It is very peaceful in there! A MAJOR thing to check off my long list of essential to-dos. Hooray!

Tonight was Halloween. Ted did a good job...we just went to people's houses we knew in the neighborhood. A good deal of walking for about 8 houses. He got to eat 3 pieces tonight (because I'm three my old, he says in Ted-speak) and he gave Sam 2, since he's 2. I think we can repeat that tomorrow and we'll be about out! That's good news for me...then I won't eat it!

My new phone came today too. It was fun to just plug in my old SIM card and have it know just who I am and everyone in my phonebook just appeared. Only the images didn't transfer. My old phone was locking up on me and rather than replace it they just issued me the next model up.

Tomorrow, I drop off the 85 (!!!!) quilt squares to the quilt lady! Thank you to everyone who's contributed....it is going to be so special and important to us all!

daylight savings time...why oh why

Now, I know that it's for the farmers, yadda yadda. But seriously, how many parents of young children does it take to change an archaic law? How many farmers are out there harvesting NOW? That's right...they've finished that! Now, perhaps there is truly value in DST for all the other things they have to get done...and I do honestly respect and value the whole farmer thing....but this is KILLING me! Both boys were up at 4:45 yesterday AND today. It's 8am and I am pooped.

He did it!

Well, it's official. Sam is potty trained. Well, day-trained, I suppose would be the official term. It's been a week yesterday. Although, it's been underwear (as opposed to a PullUp) since Thursday. He will have the occasional accident, but happily that's only happened at home, and once a day is the most it's happened. The funny part is that he expects no reward..he's so proud of himself and we make a big deal and high-5 him etc, and it's enough for him! When I think of the CRAP Ted ate for about 6 months....ugh! I am so glad this happened so quickly, before it occured to me to treat him! WTG, big boy!

oy oy oy

On our Yahoo! board, we have some April LIDs who joined our board 'just in case.' Here is a post from this morning.

We April LIDers were told that we might not get a referral next month either. We were told it could be late Dec or early Jan for us April folks past mid month. Also, since CNY will be an issue we won't travel any earlier than mid February. This is awful news but at least I am preparing myself.

OK, this puts us into March travel. Could this be more depressing? I guess it could. Friends of ours had a 2 year wait for their daughter during the SARS episode. Sure puts a damper on things.

groan...

Traditional Child Referral Updates
10/27/05
Upon further verification with the CCAA we have learned that they are busy completing the remainder of March LID familes. All of our March LID families were matched earlier this month. CCAA may or may not match any April 2005 LID families at this time. We will update this site as soon as more information becomes available.

This is the message all of us May LIDs woke up to today. Supposedly, the April LIDs were to be matched next week. Now it's possible they will have to wait another month which pushes us back another month. It's too depressing.

In other news, Sam threw a Level 4 temper tantrum today when I tried to put him in a pull up before going to music class. So, I put his Thomas underpants back on, packed 3 changes of clothes, and braved the world! He did great. I'm sure I overdid it, but I made sure he peed when we got somewhere and when we left. We had music with Madyln and then off to Big Daddy's Bagels for lunch (Sam is 26 months old and I JUST figured out that he will eat an egg and cheese bagel....duh! I've always avoided bagel stores because he doesn't like cream cheese. Well, he ate 3/4ths of the bagel and I got the leftovers!) Then to Nick & Willy's to order and pick up their Take 'N Bake pizza for tomorrow night's dinner with the Velicks. All in all, a busy morning with lots of stops. I'm so proud of him. I can't take any credit for it; it's all his doing and his determination, but wow! Sure makes him look grown up!!!

cul-chah

I'm not sure if there is anything more fun for parents than to expose their child to something they love. Ted and I went to CU's production of Humperdinck's "Hansel and Gretel" on Sunday afternoon. This opera is 2.5hours long and there are at least 3 scenes that bore me and could be cut, just to move the story along. Ted kept up a running commentary through the whole thing, mostly worried about when the witch was going to show up. But he really liked it and was 100% into it, sitting at the very front of his seat. This was his 2nd real opera, in an opera house, and "Amahl", at 45 minutes long, is certainly easier to sit through. I was so proud of him and I'm so happy that he genuinely enjoys cultural events. My mother thinks I was 4 when I saw my first "Nutcracker" and most little girls are very into ballet (at least all of Ted's girlfriends are) but I just may take him. We shall see.

fall

What a nice day. Today was still cool but the sun came out and it was beautiful. We got to Sunflower right when it opened at 10am and didn't leave til about 1:15. Besides enjoying all the standard activities at Sunflower (trampoline, sand box, tree house, many swings, animals to feed and pet, bikes to ride etc.) we also went on a hayride, listened to live music and played in the hay. We didn't pick a pumpkin (they were a bit too small for our carving extravaganzas) so we'll do that on Monday at the preschool field trip. When we got home BOTH boys took a 3+ hour nap! Gotta love fresh air and exercise. We woke them up at 5ish and joined the Krams' at Red Robin. It's such an interesting switch: the big kids are so good at restaurants now and the 'babies' are "all done" before the food comes! Sam had another great potty day, although he seems to be resisting pooping, so I'll give it another day before resorting to "medical procedures"...c'mon Sam!

makin' a list

Well, after days of putting it off, I finally did it. I made THE LIST. In the list are all of the things that need to get done before our referral, which should be here in LESS THAN SIX WEEKS. Holy cow. Much of it is finishing up the nursery, packing up the care package/translations, and some last minute paperwork since Paul won't be traveling. This whole week has been so busy...the only time I have to even think about the adoption is at the end of the day, and then I'm too tired to do everything. So, my new goal is to do at least one thing on my list every day, hopefully 2. It is a LONG list. First on the list is to get the Power of Attorney form notarized. Next Friday while teaching in Denver I can drop it off to be certified and have it mailed back to me. Then once it arrives here I can send it on to Mom to authenticate (thank you!!!) That is really the most important thing to do, that and gathering the last 3 years of tax returns. Erin also needs some passport photos, a xerox of her passport, more immunizations, and a doctor's note-all to be sent to CCAI before the referral. Now that the time is really ticking down I feel quite overwhelmed at all that needs to be done. One step at a time!!!

Sam has been rocking on the potty lately. I put him in a pull up when we're out and about, but he's in undies at home and isn't having accidents anymore at all. Hooray! Today our sitter took him to PALs and he peed twice and even pooped in the potty while there. I wonder when I'll be brave enough to put him in undies in public. With Ted, once he showed an interest I went whole-hog, but he was about 4 months older and seemed to get it more than Sam does. Sam's success seems almost accidental- I know, could I give the poor kid LESS credit?! Geesh! Anyway, he's doing great.

Ted has been a different kid since returning from Iowa. Less violent and angry and more cooperative and sweet. Maybe he just needed a break from preschool or something. He was pretty exhausted tonight at violin group. While I truly believe we're doing the right thing starting him early like this, tonight did have me doubting. He was so tired, and he's a good 2 years younger than the other kids, and doesn't really get some of what is going on. He did do 'a solo' tonight though. (All that means is they do something alone...My name is Ted. I will be .....) Ted did a bow, which believe it or not, has many steps. His little friend Bennet sang Mississippi Stop Stop to the Twinke tune, which was really cute. You can tell he has been listening to his big brother practice. Anyway, I hope he can keep enjoying it. He does like his group teacher alot.

Tomorrow, if it's not pouring and cold, we're planning to go to Sunflower Farm for OctoberFest, ie, picking pumpkins and enjoying the farm. It's been so cold and rainy though...I hope the sun comes out tomorrow. Then on Sunday Ted and I are going to see Erin Coats as Hansel in "Hansel & Gretel" at CU. This will be Ted's 3rd opera and 4th 'event' ("Amahl," Mostly Mozart (a Central City show) and "Peter and the Wolf.")

Stay warm, everyone!

frat boy of the future

Paul pointed out that Ted looked like a real frat boy after the wedding. With his shirt out and tie loosened, he had 'the look.' It cracks me up. Ah, the small glimpses into their emerging personalities. For those of you I haven't told, Sam had a run-in with the sidewalk. Luckily, Aunt Jean is also an MD and attended to him in the church bathroom. All he had done was to skin the INSIDE of his nose, hence the blood, and the emerging goose egg on his forehead was impressive and quite bloody too. Of course, being Sam, the next day the bump was barely noticable and the scrapes had faded. 5 days later, you'd never know. So, what does this mean? Ted will be the trendy frat boy and Sam the tough looking guy you're scared of, til you meet him? Paul assures me that they will both be geeks like him, so we'll have to see!

In other news, my mom broke the news to me today that she has decided not to be my travel companion to China. There are many reasons for her decision, and I understand them all, but it's still sad. The good news is that my good friend Erin (or, 'other Erin' as Ted calls her) is my back-up and re-affirmed her committment today when I called to talk to her. It will be a different trip now. More shopping will be done (sorry Paul!) and I can pack even more lightly, knowing I can send Erin out to find diapers in a strange city a bit more freely than I could have were she my mother! Yet the "grandmother-mother-daughter" trio will have to be delayed, and that is sad. Still, when we come home Mom (& Dad) will be here to greet us, to ooh and aah over Mae while I hug the boys to death (how will I EVER leave them for 2 weeks?!). They will also be VERY helpful in attending to the boys and helping them remember how loved they are too. I'm sorry you can't come, Mom, but it doesn't change the fact that you have a granddaughter now (or will soon, anyway!!) and that will be, hands down, the main thing you will think about, after you've met her. Huge hugs to you!!!

hello world

Happy Sukkot! We had a great sukkah-building party tonight. I'll post pics soon. This is my favorite holiday of all. I love fall, the sukkah, the decorations, and the food!

We also received our "Pre-Placement Packet" today from our agency. There are lots and lots of details in this packet, mostly about travel issues. MOST exciting was the Parent Contact Information Sheet. In this sheet you list, in order, the top 4 phone numbers they will call you with on MATCH DAY. I couldn't fill out the form fast enough. It is amazing to think that we are counting WEEKS now...the next batch of referrals is due in 2 weeks....ours in about 6. Aaaaaaaaaaaah!

on the way home

Tonight, Sunday night, we are at our hotel in Lincoln, NE, halfway home. We left last Wednesday for Iowa. On the way, we always pass an OLE'S sign, so I tried to get a pic of it...not bad but it's a bit blurry.
The trip was very easy, with the boys behaving well in the car. We had some meltdowns once there, mostly when neither boy would nap, eat or go to bed...all in the same day. But all in all, everything went well. The wedding was very nice and it was so wonderful to see all the family again. We'll all get together over the 4th for Brian & Nancy's 50th bday party (although Nancy will only be 49 and a HALF at the time!). A canoe trip is planned, so I think Paul will take Ted and Sam, Mae and I will spend some time with my folks then. Our summer vacation will be a week shorter this year, since Paul will be taking 2 full weeks when I'm in China. Well worth it! I'll sign off now...g'nite from Nebraska!

power of attorney!

Today was exciting. I got a call from CCAI saying that since we were 2 months from referral, we should get our Power of Attorney forms notarized, certified and authenticated and get started gathering the extra paperwork I have to bring to China, since Paul won't be traveling with me. It was so exciting to hear..."you're 2 months from referral." Ahhhhh!!!

In other news I helped serve pizza for the preschool today which was fun. It was cute to see Ted at school. At one point I was dropping something off and he was sobbing. I quietly ducked back out and when I came in a few minutes later he was fine. Turns out he had his feelings hurt about something. It was a very sensative day today! Sam had a blast in Ted's classroom while I worked in the kitchen. I hope this week trip doesn't send him over the edge!

glass shards & rock burn

Today was quite a physical day for the boys and our poor sitter, Abbi. Somehow Ted managed to break the lightbulb in the lamp in our room during his rest time. He called for Abbi and when she went in there were tiny shards of glass everywhere...on the floor, on the bed, on the OTHER side of the bed on the floor...yikes! Amazingly, Ted didn't have a single scratch on him. Later, she took the boys to the park and Sam went down a slide that's he's done for MONTHS now...and face-planted into the gravel, sliding a bit. The right side of his face is all "dotted" with tiny cuts from the gravel. So sad! Poor Abbi-this day was a little more than she bargained for, I think!
I, in the meantime, somehow threw my back out on Wednesday and only today, Friday, am I able to walk, sit and do stairs normally. Geesh!
We have a fun weekend planned. A hike tomorrow morning with the Adventure Rabbi, then Ted and I will go to Seussical, a musical about Dr. Seuss. Then Sunday we'll go to the circus with the Krams family and end the day with a Paint 'N Paper Party in the nursery!
Until later, happy weekend!

L'Shana Tova!

Happy New Year! We went to Rosh HaShanah services today (9:30-1:30...ahhh!) and the boys loved day care. Then we hosted a brunch for our chavurah as well as 2 other new families from HHS. It was a long day but lots of fun. Neither boy got a nap in and happily crashed at 7pm tonight!

The pic is of Sam....he knew just what to do once Ted was out of the house!

Hanging' around the house

Yes, we caved. I wanted Ted to be Batman and Sam Robin, but Ted really wanted to be Darth Vader. I think Sam will be Yoda if I can find a small enough costume! We had a mellow day today. I don't like the paint color-too much blue in the pink...but hopefully it will look better without all the white on the walls influencing it. The Hackels and Bestemor (Grandmother) came for dinner and Erin had a great idea! Why not have a 'decorate the nursery' party? Provide yummy food and drinks and get the tiny room done in a night! So I may try to do that next weekend. Henry was very entertained tonight and enjoyed his first taste of Mac 'N Cheese! (organic, of course!) A fun, relaxing day just getting things done. As you can see, even Ted napped today!

Famous again

My famous son! Again Ted made it into the Daily Camera. Tara called me last Friday to ask permission for Ted to be in the paper, and of course I said yes. He's dressed up, she warned. I had visions of a pink poofey look, but this morning's paper revealed a very masculine knight...with cape! Ha! His buddies Jacob & Jack are next to him.

Today we had our chavurah up in the mountains...soooo beautiful and peaceful. They even have chickens! Cracks me up! Anyway, we made tie-dye shirts and now I understand how they got their names. We even made one for Mae. That was a blast, and easy! Ted's favorite was off-roading it in a pink motorized jeep.

All in all, today was a great, outside-y, relaxing day. Tomorrow I will be painting the nursery...although first I'll paint on the sample and make sure it's not sickening in its pinkness. So exciting!!!!! The wallpaper should be in next week...serious work on that with the cutting it and all. Painting will be fun!