4 Months LID!!

Well today marks 4 months since the 'official' journey began!! We ARE 4 months closer...I just wish I knew 4 months closer OF WHAT!!

While it is true that we have done these 4 months and won't have to do them again, I do wonder how long the wait is going to get.

On a positive note it is an extra long weekend (we get Monday off too!) and we are going to be doing LOTS of family stuff and that is ALWAYS a good thing!!

Happy 4 months to Dolores & Shawn too they are our travel mates!!

Stuff...

Well today I was wondering what I should post about...it has been a while since I posted however, there didn't seem anything "postworthy" to post about...

Things can change quickly...I had some catching up to do. I am SO far behind on my blog reading. While whipping through Bloglines, I discover that it is Kathy's birthday!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATHY!!! Kathy is a friend and the wonderful person responsible for the blog make over!


Then I realized that I hadn't checked the mail. We received a wonderful Easter card and two little boxes of Smarties from Doris, Dan & Daisy. I am embarrassed to say that the Smarties are already gone! The card however remains and it proudly positioned in our living room. Thank you so much 3D for thinking of us!

Also in today's mail was more quilt squares. I have updated Pumpkin's Quilt site. Guess what? We are up to 50 squares!!! WHOO HOOO!!! We are half way there!

So for a day when I didn't think I had anything to blog about, I think we did o.k.!

Thank You Secret Buddy!!

Thank you Secret Buddy!! Once again you sent the perfect gift! It arrived on Friday afternoon.

This months theme was LIGHT UP THE NIGHT and our Secret Buddy sent us this WONDERFUL glow worm that, when you press his stomach, he plays one of 6 tunes. Pumpkin also received a great night light and a book with a matching CD. There was also a lovely card to accompany everything!

Thank you once again Secret Buddy!! You thoughtfulness is GREATLY appreciated!

TA-DA!!!!

Kathy is amazing!!! I am SO IMPRESSED with my new blog look!

Thank you SO MUCH Kathy for all your hard work and the beautiful results!

Anybody want some pretty coloured paper?

So let me set up the scene for you...

There is a group of us at work that are in a lottery pool. We give $10 or $20 to the Lottery Guy and he records how many weeks we have paid for and he buys the tickets for the group.

Today he says "Michelle, you owe me some money - do you have any on you?"

I say "Well actually I DO have money" (This is a RARE occasion - I usually use my Visa for everything and rarely have cash).

So I pull $10 out of my pocket that I had put there that morning cause it was on my dresser. As I pull it out I am feeling it...hmmm feels odd...

I tell Lottery Guy - my money 'feels odd'...I am going to investigate.

Being the super sleuth that I am, I deduce that this $10 note is a FAKE!!!

How do I know this? Well quite a few years ago I was preparing a deposit for work. I went on my merry way and forwarded the funds to Finance for deposit...well, it turns out the money was counterfeit...What a HUGE hullabaloo that was. How was I supposed to know how to recognize counterfeit money? Well after that I made it my mission to know the difference.

I took the magnifying glass to the fake note and was able to tell. THEN I put it in the counterfeit detector and discovered that I was CORRECT...a lot of good that did me, now I am out $10!

Unfortunately when I bought something earlier in the week - another strange time when I had actually cash, they gave me counterfeit money for change!

Mark is going to take the 'pretty coloured paper' to work tomorrow to show everyone...I am going to have to come up with another $10 to give Lottery Guy...

Assistance Please

While I am in agony over my back, it seems that the only chair that is comfortable is my computer chair!! Go figure. The couch is too soft and the other chair in the living room, my feet don't touch the ground. So here I am in front of the computer - poor me...heehee

So while I am sitting here and getting all caught up on my blog reading, I thought I might do some blog maintenance also. I see everyone with all these different headers and I don't know where they get them from. I have tried searching and I don't come up with ANYTHING exciting or nice at all.

If anyone would like to share their secrets with me, I would really appreciate it! Then I will ATTEMPT to change it on my own - that could be interesting!!

Is getting dressed hazardous to your health???

Is getting dressed hazardous to your health??? I am going to have to answer YES to that one!

I don't know what I did, but today when I was getting dressed, I just about collapsed with the SUDDEN pain in my back. HOLY CRAPOLA!! I have NEVER had issues with my back and then BAM today I am dying...

I just can't get comfortable. I have tried sitting, standing and walking and it doesn't seem to help. I don't want to lay down if I can help it... I am going to venture out to the grocery store and the fabric store and hopefully I will be able to get in and out of the car.

This really sucks - I have heard of peoples 'throwing their back out' and wondered what 'stupid' thing they did to 'throw it out' in the first place. I guess I could have gone out naked today, but it is still a little chilly for that!!!

Out of Curiosity...

I am just curious - and this is by no way scientific, but are there people out there who were/are unable to conceive that consume large amounts of aspartame.

I have created a mini poll on the side bar and I would really appreciate it if you participated. Even those people who read and don't comment can participate as it is anonymous.

This is my first poll and I am just kinda figuring things out as I go!

Thanks for helping out!

I don't have a clue...

I guess I am opening myself up to..."something" with a title post like that.

I wanted to update you on number 6000! I don't have a clue! I have no idea who it was. There are many people I can figure out who visit my blog, but there are so many more in which I haven't a clue of who they are...

Oh well, maybe next time when I hit a big number I will send Janet a potato peeler and an prize to Kathy for the most comments to one post!!

Thanks to everyone for the support and thanks for reading!

6000!!!

Holy cow - I am going to reach 6000 hits in the next day!!

Where has the time gone? I remember when I started this blog I wondered is ANYONE would read it!!

I will TRY and figure out who person 6000 is and let you all know!!

Thanks for reading!!

Catching Up...

Last Saturday we celebrated our niece Madison's birthday. She was 5!! Here Madison is modeling the dress up outfit that Mark and I bought for her. We all had a great time at the party and Madison received lots of gifts!

At one point during the party I was helping her put on her "Princess" necklace and she told me that she "was just getting so stylish"!!! I was cracking up! It was just so cute!!

Madison was most pleased to be blowing out her candles!

I am so late in posting this as I forget my camera at Jen's house and I won't get it back until this weekend and I have been waiting for a chance to get pictures from Tracey's camera.

As usual we had a great time and Madison was appropriately spoiled, as a 5 year old should be, by her aunts and uncles!!

I have also updated our quilt site. You can see our updated squares here.

We are up to 44 squares with 56 more to go!! Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far. You have no idea how special this quilt is going to be with all of the good wishes that we have received for Pumpkin!!

If I have promised you a square and have not sent it, please e-mail me.

Waiting Mommies Dinner #3

Last night we had our 3rd Waiting Mommies Dinner! As always, we had a great night. These women are so wonderful and I thoroughly enjoy spending time with all of them.

Last night we had (Back - l to r) Andrea (who says she is going to get a blog), me, Paula and Catherine.

Front row - Jill, Kathy and Laurie.

Once again we had 'D' who took the photos. Next time we get together, 'D' should have her referral - HOW EXCITING!!!

There were presents last night too!! But they have slowed down as we have all mostly exchanged with each other already. Thank you to 'D' for the great picture frame, 'pillow' and square. Thank you to Andrea for the receiving blanket, the socks and the head band. Thanks to Kathy, Jill and Catherine for the treats!!

I am so lucky to have found these wonderful ladies and had the opportunity to spend time with them and call them friends. Also "Pumpkin" will be lucky to have these ladies and their children in her life!

This is a LONG journey and wait is a hard one, but spending time with these wonderful people and meeting other great people has certainly made everything more bearable! Thank you!!

Question about Blogger Comments

Tonight my sister Tracey came over. We were talking about the Spring has Sprung post. I asked her if she had read it and she said yes and she said she left a comment.

I said - I didn't get that comment e-mailed to me. We then went to the e-mail to double check and nope there was no comment e-mail there.

We then went to the post itself, and low and behold, there were 4 comments that were on my post that were NOT e-mailed to me.

This concerns me as I don't generally look at my blog the way others do, I usually only see it from behind the scenes and the e-mailed comments.

Now I am concerned that there are many other comments on my blog that I have never read as they were not e-mailed to me.

Has anyone else had this problem? I am thinking I am going to have to do a lot of backtracking to make sure that I have read all the comments that people so wonderfully left for us.

Spring has Sprung!

Well it appears that, today anyway, spring has sprung!!

I DON'T know this by the extra hour of daylight in the evening that we are currently enjoying.

Nor do I know this by the wonderful BBQ dinner I cooked tonight.

Neither is it the snow that is ALMOST melted.

But what does tell me that Spring has Sprung is the PUNGENT smell of SKUNK that I am currently experiencing!!

Daylight Savings Time

Well today is the first day of daylight savings time. I am still unsure about the earlier change. I was really starting to get used to the sun coming up BEFORE I got to work...now I am going to have to wait a few more weeks for that to happen again. Mind you, I really do like the hour at the end of the day too! What I really need it for all year to have the hours of daylight that we have on June 21st!!

Funny thing about daylight savings is that you have to remember to change the clocks. Last night Mark and I were going to change the clocks, but it was only 9:00 and we were going to be up for some time yet, so we said we would do it before we went to bed...well we didn't think about it again...

The day seems to go REALLY quick when you get up and you are doing your thing and then all of a sudden it is an hour later then you thought it was! Oh well...

However, at this moment yesterday, it was only 9:20 and today at the same time is 10:20 and I am not ready to go to bed yet...I will be sorry about that in the morning when it is still dark...

More Blog Fun!

I saw this on someone else's blog...it was fun to do. Many of the countries that I have been to are so small and they hardly show up in the map!

Mind you, there is only one part of the world that I would like to be in right now...

Visual DNA

Well it seems that all the cool kids are doing this and I didn't want to miss out...

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

It is a fun thing to do!

3 MONTHS DOWN!

Well today marks month 3 in our "official" wait. It is month 15 since we started on this adoption journey and month 38 since we started the 'baby' journey! But month 3 is the only one that matters now.

I am trying to be more positive and these are 3 months that we won't have to wait again!!

Referrals came out yesterday and that is GREAT news - not as many as we would have liked, but each batch brings us a little bit closer!

Happy 3 month LID Anniversary to Dolores & Shawn too - our travel mates!!

Two Parter Post

This is a two parter post...

Part one – THE DREAM

Now I know that everyone has had some weird dreams that relate to the wait for their child. Mine is not so much about the wait as it is about the people.

Last nights dream was about Kathy & Joel and Doris.

Wow – it is really hard to put a dream into words...

In my dream there was a bunch of people in the backyard of the house that I grew up in. The only person I can pick out of the crowd is Doris. There is (and was) a pool in the yard. All of a sudden an air raid siren went off and everyone circle around the pool. The plane came and dropped a bunch of babies in the pool and everyone jumped in to pick a baby!! I know it is WEIRD... There are not enough babies for the number of people there. Doris gets a baby and I do not:( But Doris looks at her baby and decides that her baby is the spitting image of Mark and tells me that I should have this baby and she will wait for the next ‘dropping from the sky’!! Can you believe it? I know it is only a dream, but still...

Does ‘Thanks’ even cover something like that? Thanks Doris!!!

After that we were at my (current) house and there was no baby and no Doris, but Kathy & Joel were there with ‘John’ (I don’t know who this person was). They were in my computer room and it was messy and I kept thinking that I wish I had cleaned it up before they came so they wouldn’t see it like this. We decided we were hungry and I was going to go and make them breakfast but my right eye was stuck shut and I couldn’t get it opened. They then decided that they were going to leave in their ORANGE MINI!!! Kathy was driving and she waved as she drove away...

It was just ODD...


Part two – THE GUEST

On Thursday we ventured out in the snow storm to pick up John (NOT the John from the post above). John is Mark’s friend from Halifax. The guys did a list of errands for me on Friday during the day and went to the movies. We had some mutual friends over for dinner on Friday night.


On Saturday I was sitting upstairs and I could hear them LAUGHING!! I went downstairs and they were watching a movie. There were tears coming out of their eyes – it was fun to watch them having so much fun!!

In the afternoon they went downtown and tooled around there and then they even went to the Leafs game last night with GOLD SEATS!!

This afternoon we are popping my Mark’s parents so they can say hi to John and then John is heading home this evening and he will be missed!

Home Safe and Sound!

My commute to work is about 13km (8 miles). It generally takes me about 15 minutes TOPS to get home from work - I know I am pretty lucky with that!

Today I decided to leave early with all the snow that we were going to be getting...

I think everyone else had the same idea. It took me 1 1/2 hours to get home - it's only 13km!!!

The snow started about 1:30 and I left at 3:00 - These pictures are the 18" drift at our front door! Mark shoveled a path for me when I got home and you can't even see it anymore!

I just want to cuddle up with Mark and a blanket on the couch and eat popcorn for dinner!

Mark's friend is coming into town tonight and we were supposed to pick him up at the airport. His flight is already late and he hasn't even boarded the plane yet! We caught him before he left and asked him to call us when he landed and we would see what the weather was like then and HOPEFULLY we would already be at the airport, otherwise we asked him to take a cab. Even though we are close to the airport, with the current situation, it would take over 2 hours to get there to turn around and come back again.

Lucky us - we are expecting the snow to change to freezing rain in the next hour or two and it is supposed to last for 3 - 6 hours!! Oh Joy Oh Bliss!!

AAAGGGHHHH!!!!

I don't know what has happened in the last hour, but I can no longer see ANY 'visual verifications' on ANY blogs...I have tried 11 times on the same blog and then gave up and then tried about the same number of times on 5 other blogs...AAAGGGHHH!!!

So, Tracey, Crystal, Connie and Stacy - I read, I wanted to comment, but it is a no-go...I will try again later!

Thank You Secret Buddy!!

A BIG THANK YOU TO MY SECRET BUDDY!!!

What a wonderful package I had waiting for me when I got home from work today! February's theme was: Happy hands and heads and feet!! Secret Buddy - you got it right on!

There was a great CNY card in a red envelope, a red hat with matching mitts, red slippers, pink socks and a bunch of hair clips!!

Thanks again - Pumpkin is one lucky little girl and I can't wait until next month!!

A bit of this and a bit of that

First off I would like to thank Rhonda and Kathy for the wonderful CNY cards. I am a little behind the 8 ball on that one – sorry... What a lovely gesture and it was very much appreciated! Thank you!!

Secondly – Last night we were at Hortense’s and we celebrated Mark’s birthday! We had a GREAT time as usual!! I made cupcakes and we had them in a ‘tree’. Very cool actually!

Thirdly– I have FINALLY updated my 100 Good Wishes Quilt site – you can see it by clicking here. We are at 37 SQUARES!! Only 63 more needed!!

Fourthly - I would like to address Blog Etiquette – if there is such a thing. Should one seek permission to put a link on your own blog to someone else’s blog? When I first started blogging I was doing this, but then I saw that I was on other people’s blogs and they hadn’t asked me (which I am o.k. with) so then I thought I was doing it wrong so I then just added who I “read” to my blog roll. Should one seek permission?

Fifthly - I would like to address that sometimes there is nothing to comment on. What I mean by that is that someone has made a post (generally a wonderful one) and I generally comment, but there are times when I either, don’t agree with what they have posted about, or I can’t think of anything to say to comment on. I sit here and rack my brain to think of something and either someone has already said it, or I just CAN’T think of anything prolific to say. So it is o.k. to read and NOT comment sometimes – though everyone LOVES comments!

Sixthly – about commenting – if there are a bunch of posts, it is o.k. to just comment on the most recent and not comment on all the previous ones – especially if you have been away and there are 165 new posts on your Bloglines account. I know it is o.k. as I can comment where and when I want, but I was just thinking about it out loud.

Seventhly – how do you get that little icon beside your blog in the address line? Like Rhonda has a little maple leaf, Kathy has a heart and C.J. has her little “picture” symbol??

Eighthly – It is always the question of how much to reveal on your blog. I know MANY others have also grappled with this dilemma as many of them have had some negative experiences. There are many things about myself that I don’t reveal on the blog and perhaps never will. But for now, I am happy with the blogging world and it keeps me in touch with SO MANY wonderful women and that (at this point in time) out weighs any negativity with blogging.

Ninthly – If you are not on my blog roll and you would like to be, please let me know as I am going to be doing some blog housekeeping in the near future.

The Adventures of the Golden Pig!

As you may or may not know, Sunday was the Chinese New Year and this year is to be the year of the GOLDEN pig!

Well Golden Pig (Piggy for short) decided it was high time that he had an adventure.

So Piggy packed up his bags and stowed away with us on our trip to Ottawa! He is a good travel companion. He is generally pretty quiet and keeps his room neat. Since Piggy was already there, we let him tag along a couple of times when we went out.

Please enjoy the ADVENTURES OF THE GOLDEN PIG as shown through these pictures!


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Ottawa!

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Well Mark and I are back in town. We left first thing Saturday morning and flew to Ottawa to celebrate mark’s 40th birthday weekend. What a great weekend we had!! We were picked up at the airport by Mark’s cousin Elizabeth and niece Ashley and went back to their home. We had time to drop our bags, grab a quick bite and then we were off. We headed downtown to go skating on the Rideau Canal. This is something that mark and I have always wanted to do. There were 6 of us – Mark and I, Elizabeth, Ashley, Shannon and Hannah. What a great atmosphere it was down there. There were lots of people, ice sculptures, activities, Beaver Tails, Hot chocolate etc. The sun was shining and we really enjoyed ourselves. HOWEVER – we did discover that skating is NOT our forte!! We did sit down and enjoy a Beaver Tail and a hot chocolate. A visit to Ottawa is just not complete without a Beaver Tail. After skating we went to see the ice sculptures. They were really amazing. I do wonder HOW someone would discover that that was where their talent was.

After our afternoon adventures we made it back to the house. We had time to get ready and the 3 of us headed out to dinner. Elizabeth’s husband Jeff was on a business trip. We really missed him over the weekend – except perhaps when we were skating as he would have made fun of us!

Dinner was at the horse race/casino. We had a wonderful buffet dinner and made our way to the slot machines. Mark and I decided that we were playing with $20 each. I picked the best machine ‘cause in about 10 minutes, my $20 had morphed into $70!! I cashed out!

Sunday was another great day – it was Mark’s birthday party day! We were having a big celebration dinner. Elizabeth and I went out in the morning to pick up some supplies and the day was a realizing one – Just what we needed. We decorated the dining room fit for a 40 year old party dinner and Elizabeth made a FANTASTIC dinner! There was lots of gabbing and laughing! A great party!

Monday was some shopping and Scrabble playing with the girls when they got home from school. I didn’t win:( Ashley was the winner! Another great family dinner followed.

After dinner everyone disbursed. Krystal decided that she wanted to practice the piano. I proceed to the living room to listen. What an INCREDIBLY talented woman she is!! WOW is all I can say. She was playing a BEAUTIFUL song and when she was finished I told her how much I enjoyed it. She told me that she wrote it herself. She then played it again and sung the words that she wrote. I was transported away while listening. I was transported away while listening. It was stunning!

Tuesday morning was HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK day and it was great and relaxing – in the morning.... We had to leave the house at 11:30 to catch our flight. Before we left the house, we checked to see that the flight was on time. Everything SEEMED fine and Elizabeth dropped us off at the airport. But wait…Our flight was CANCELLED! We told the check in lady that we just checked and it was on time – she said it was cancelled 5 minutes ago.

For those of you who don’t know, Ottawa is about a 5 hour drive / 1 hour flight from the Toronto area and there are basically flights every hour back and forth. We were too late for the hour before flight so we got on the hour later flight that was set to depart at 2:00. The flight was PACKED and was late getting away from the gate. Then there was ‘de icing’ and a line up for that and then we FINALLY made it to the runway and HOUR after we pulled back from the gate! We should have already been home by the time we took off. Did I mention it was Mark’s birthday? Not the way he would have chosen to spend it! We made it back to Toronto right smack dab in the middle of rush hour! AAAGGGHHHH!!!

We made it home at 4:55 and were out the door 15 minutes later to be at Mark’s parents for dinner for his birthday...can you say RUSHED!!

PHEW!! We are home safe and sound and now are trying to get ourselves back in order!

Please stay tuned for the Adventures of the Golden Pig – coming soon...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST HUSBAND EVER!!!!

Mark and I have just arrived home from an extended weekend...don't have much time to write right now, but I wanted to share with everyone that it was Mark's 40th birthday today!!

Much more to come about the weekend - including the Adventures of the Golden Pig!!!

They're Home!

Welcome home Olivia and Samara!!

Today after work, Mark & I and Dolores & Shawn met at the airport to see the families coming back from China. This is the second time that Mark and I have done this. You can read about the first time here. We do it to kinda rejuvenate us and remind us that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

On the weekend at the Lunar Party, Dolores had mentioned that Shawn and her were interested in going to the airport to see the babies and since Mark and I were already going, we asked if they would like to join us.

So after a TWO hour delay and about 1 1/2 hours in customs and immigration, we had the opportunity to see Debbie, Kirk & Olivia and Karen, Mike & Samara. I had spoken to both Debbie and Karen before they left for China about seeing them at the airport. I didn't want to intrude on their homecomings. Both of them were so open to the idea of us welcoming them home at the airport, we decided to go.

I had a brief hello with Debbie and Karen - separately as when they came through the doors (at different times) they each went in a separate direction. I just had a quick hug with each of them, met their husbands, introduced Mark and of course saw the BEAUTIFUL babies!! What an honour to see them with their new families. The babies were so alert and looking around and did I mention how beautiful they were! I was getting teary...

Debbie, Kirk & Olivia and Karen, Mike & Samara - we wish you all the best with your newly expanded families and we are so happy for you!!

Happy Birthday Mom & Snowy Day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!! Enjoy your day in the WARM climate!! We wish we could be there with you!!

Well today we were greeted with about 15 cm of snow. It is still snowing and DRIFTING. This morning when I was trying to get in my car, the snow on the drivers side had drifted and was almost at my knees...my boots do NOT go to my knees...

I made it to work EARLY today. I got up early as I knew the snow was coming and made sure I left extra early as not to be late. There were not too many people around, but that is nice sometimes. They actually closed all the schools. I can't remember the last time they did that!! Since I started early, that means going home early too.

Today is one of the days that I am so happy to pay my condo fees – those fees cover shoveling / plowing and salting the snow all the way to my front door!!

When I got up this morning, Mark had already left for work and I went downstairs and there was a lovely card and a chocolate heart. It was very sweet! I am not a big Valentine's person – never have been. When growing up, February 14th was always Mom’s birthday and that was that.

I think Mark was kinda relieved when we met that it wasn’t something that was important to me. Sure a card is nice, but I don’t need all the fru-fru of the day.

As for this evening, I don’t know what is in store. I am thinking we might just order in dinner and watch the snow fall...

Sunday!

Today was a busy day – as are many days with Mark and I!

We were out of the house at 7:45am to drop by Kelly & Chip’s house to pick up some baby things that they are letting us borrow. They are finished with them and graciously asked us if we would like them. THANK YOU!

We were gone from their house by 8:45 and on our quest to find a place to wash the car. I just couldn’t take it anymore. All my pants, coats, gloves etc are COVERED with salt. Today was a sunny day, so everyone wants to wash their car when it is sunny so it wont (hopefully) freeze. We tried at 7:45 at THREE places and the line was too long. On the way to mom’s house from Kelly and Chip’s, we located one of those do it yourself places. Mark said – do you want me to do it? I said – No I am good thanks, you just stay in the car. Well by the time I had soaped up the car (NOT using the brush as it was frozen in it’s stand), my hands were just about to fall off from cold, my hair was frozen from the mist and my feet were soaked. Mark took over and rinsed while I tried to warm up! BUT we did get a clean car out of all of this. Then we were off to Mom and Phil’s place. They live in a bungalow and have an unfinished basement…with all that space I am sure that they won’t notice a bunch of baby things accumulating in one corner (unless of course they are reading this…).

From there we were at Dawn’s house by 9:30 and she made us a wonderful breakfast and we had a great visit – a little rushed as we had to get out and make it to our next stop.

We quickly stopped by home to change and get ready for our adoption agency’s Chinese New Year celebration party. We were already late. It started at noon and we didn’t get out of the house for the second time until noon.

We were they by 12:30.

We were meeting up with Dolores & Shawn, Rhonda & Josh, Nicole & Tim, Paula & Brett and Rebekah & John.

Paula and Rebekah were manning the registration table and Dolores and Shawn were in charge of the ‘pig mask’ craft table. The rest of us were just there for the festivities. However, since we were sitting at the craft table, we thought we should partake in the making of the masks - here are our creations! There were other craft tables too and Mark thought he would try his hand at Origami - here are the results...The reason there are three are because the first one he did to try. The second and third ones he did because kids sat down and asked him how to do them. The person who was in charge of that craft table (who was MIA) was not as dedicated as Dolores & Shawn were!!

While sitting at the craft table with Dolores to keep her company, a lady sat down with a plate of food, her coat on, NO name tag and a pile of books. We were looking at her curiously…we (Dolores, Rhonda and I) were thinking that she didn’t ‘belong’ there. Well when she asked “So what is this all about - is this a kid’s event?” our suspicions were confirmed. She focused in on Mark with these questions and being the gentleman that he is, he answered her array of questions. Since she was Russian, she kept inquiring whether she could adopt from Russia or not. Mark was trying to answer her questions on the Russian adoption process and then she just got up and left – an odd incident…

All in all, it was a nice celebration. While we were there, Mark recognized a man on the other side of the room. He went over to talk to him and low and behold, it was his former junior high school principal. Bill and his wife Julie, happened to be selling their wares there and they have a website - you can click here.

We left the party about 2:45 and headed to the Pacific Mall with Dolores and Shawn, Rhonda & Josh and Nicole & Tim. What an interesting experience that was. Just getting into the mall and finding a parking spot was an adventure. Mark and I had never been there before. We made a couple of purchases – 7 of them and only 4 were worth anything...wink wink!

From there the 8 of us left and headed to the restaurant for dinner. We were meeting up with Paula & Brett and Rebekah and John again for dinner. We were at the Mandarin and with 14 people, I really wish that they had round tables. You only seem to talk to the people beside you on either side and don’t really get a chance to converse with everyone together. Regardless, we still enjoyed it. We are just going to have to get together again with everyone in smaller groups to have a better conversation.

The Mandarin all but kicked us out as they had another group booked for the table. We all said our goodbyes and off we went.

Thank you to everyone for a wonderful day!

4000!! UPDATE!! AGAIN!!

4000 Visitors!

Well not quite yet - but some time this weekend I will hit that number - WOW!!!

I remember when I started blogging and seeing counters on other peoples site with high numbers (many much higher then my 4000) and thinking how did they ever get that high...

Now with the new Beta, I am ALWAYS logged on to Blogger so I can leave comments, it is much easier to make a post as I am already logged in.

Watch out readers - there will be posts coming out of the ying yang - o.k. maybe not!!

****UPDATE****- as of 11:56pm on Saturday night - I am at 3988...only 12 more visits!!

ANOTHER UPDATE!!!! It looks like KRISTA was the magic 4000!!!!

Thanks to everyone for reading and leaving comments! Next update on numbers when I think about it when I am close to a big one!

Blogger Got Me Too...

Blogger got me too when I tried to sign in today! I THINK the switch went o.k.

From what everyone has told me, I will have to be signed in to leave comments on other people's blog.

On another note, I FINALLY did some updating on Pumpkin's Quilt site...I have been lax...

On a good note, we are up to 23 squares!!

Congratulations Jenn!!

Congratulations to Jenn (Mark's Jenn) for getting a new job yesterday!!

Way to go!!

We are so proud of you!!

Good Luck - we have no doubt that you will do a FANTASTIC job!

2 Months Down...

Well today marks two months since our LID. I can’t really say that the time has gone fast as it has been 13 months since we started this journey. I know there are MANY more months to go – probably about 20. Accepting it is the hard part...

I know too that every month for a long time, I (along with everyone else) have been keeping my fingers crossed for a speed up. Every month I hope that, and every month, there is NO speed up. I am just going to have to resign myself to the fact that it is going to be another 2 years until our daughter is HERE. That is a very daunting thought.

However, in the mean time, we are CERTAINLY keeping busy. Sunday was Hortense’s birthday dinner. I forgot my camera so there are no pictures. We had a great time – as always – and Hortense got some nice gifts. We ordered in Swiss Chalet and I made a cake and a fruit tray.

Monday we had Dan over for dinner. He is Mark’s cousin’s son and we refer to him as our nephew. He is in College in Toronto. I popped by after work and picked him up and brought him back here for dinner. The weather was quite bad after work yesterday and it took us an hour to get home. This is a drive that would normally take about 20 minutes.

Regardless of the late start, we have a nice evening. Dan is very personable and good company. I didn’t crack out the camera. I didn’t even think of it until Mark was driving him home...Next time!

Tonight is AquaFit with Jenn (Mark’s Jenn). We have had no major ‘incidents’ since 'that time'. I now have a wonderful lock that works EVERYTIME I try it!!

Busy Weekend...

HOCKEY NIGHT IN WHITBY!!!
This is going to be another 3 event weekend here!! Not that this is an unusual occurrence here in our household!

Last night (Friday) we had the pleasure of watching our nephew play in one of his playoff games in hockey. He is AA level and he is 10...I don’t remember what that means...I know next year he will be peewee, but I can’t remember what he is this year. I couldn't get a great picture of him in action, but here are a couple of what I did get.
Since they are out in Oshawa, we met everyone at the rink before the game. Dawn and Melanie were also there along with Jennifer (my Jen) and Madison.

Unfortunately they lost the game in overtime – 2-3. But it was a great game all the same and Josh played well.

After the game we headed back to Jen’s house for the night. We were all staying overnight and had a great evening. Some much needed catching up that doesn’t seem to happen enough.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAUL!! This morning, we were on the road about 11:00 to head home for our next event. Mark’s family was coming over for Paul’s (BIL) birthday dinner. So there was lots of cooking, baking, table setting etc to be done. Paul requested Chicken Parmesan for dinner. I have NEVER made it before. I was a bit nervous but everything turned our great – if I do say so myself. MOST YUMMY!!
This is a photo of Paul in disguise!! We had a great night with everyone and lost of laughs. Mark’s mother Mercy is Maltese and I learned a new Maltese word tonight – PeshPesh – which means ‘peepee’. Jenn (Mark’s Jenn) was asking Saige if she had PeshPesh. I had never heard such a phrase before and asked what is meant. Well apparently I was the only one who didn’t know and everyone was laughing at me. Then I told Mercy that I was going to write about PeshPesh in the blog – so here it is.

Tomorrow we are heading to Hortense’s for her birthday dinner.

Happy Weekend!

Congratulations!!

Congratulations to all the families receiving their referrals today!! What an exciting day it is. You have waiting so long for today to come and it is here. I can't imagine the excitement that you must be feeling.

Congratulations also to the families who are out of the review room - this too is another step for you. Everyone up to March 22/06 has been reviewed and any questions asked and now they wait.

So what that means for us. Well this month, the "Agency" referred 16 days worth of files. The referrals are sent out monthly. SOOOO with 16 days a month being referred and many, many days still left until our date (418 days)- well I don't even want to do THAT math for our turn - but I did anyway and it is 26 months!! Wow that really SUCKS!!

HOWEVER - today is about the families that received their referrals AND got out of the review room!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!

For the 'Non Blogger'

This post is for the NON BLOGGER...I have spoken to some people who said they have missed some posts in the blog and then they couldn't find them.

On the left side of here is an ARCHIVES header. Under there is a link for each month. If you click on that month link, it will take you to the posts from that month.

The 'main' page here only lists the last 7 posts and sometimes more then 7 posts might have been written between your visits.

Also listed on the left under OUR LINKS is a link to e-mail us. We would love to hear from you either there or through a comment on a post.

To leave a comment, click on the 10 comments / 0 comments (however many there are) button and it will take you to another page. When on that page you can type in your comment and then click the OTHER or ANONYMOUS - but PLEASE type your name in the body of the comment so we know it was you!

So there you have a quick lesson on navigating our blog!!

Thanks for reading!

Thank You Secret Buddy!!

Today I received my January Secret Buddy gift!! Our theme this month was Tubby Time!

I received the cutest hooded towel with a bunny on the hood, Finding Nemo "Splashy Songs" book and a little duckie to tell you if the bath water is too hot and a very nice ladybug card!!

Thank you so much Secret Buddy - the gifts are great, I love them and I know Pumpkin will too!!

Saturday...

Saturday was another busy day for Mark and I. We were going to Kelly and Chip's house for breakfast/brunch. Roberta and Chris were joining us there. It has been a long time since all of had had the chance to get together and it was a great day.

Kelly, Roberta and I have known each other for about 16 1/2 years. We met each other at our first 'full time' jobs after we finished university and we became fast friends. No of us work at that same place any more but our friendship has endured. Things have changed so much from when we met to now. Kelly and Chip have 2 wonderful children. Aislinn is 6 and Rowan is 3. Aislinn is quite the artist and here you can see the pictures that she drew of Mark and I - Holy cow - can you believe that she is only 6??? I am thinking that she has some pretty strong artistic bones in her body!

Roberta and Chris have wonderful Clare. Clare is 20 months now and holy talker!! She speaks words like crazy. She can also recite most of the alphabet!! Can you believe it! Pumpkin received this wonderful book from Roberta, Chris and Clare. If you haven't seen this book, it is truly beautiful. The illustrations are out of this world. We also received a beautiful Paddington Bear Quilt square from Roberta, Chris and Clare. That can be seen here along with the other quilt squares we have recently received.

Thank you so much to Kelly and Chip for having us over and thank you so much to Roberta, Chris and Clare for the wonderful book and the beautiful quilt square for Pumpkin!

Well we left our breakfast/lunch and headed home for a bit and then we were off to our dinner engagement. We were headed to Shelley and Livio's for dinner. Bill and Julie were joining us there. I didn't bring the camera so I don't have any photos...sorry!

Shelley and Bill and I have been friends for about...9 years now - Holy cow - I didn't realize it was that long until just now! WOW!! Again, our lives have changed MORE then I would write here since we have met each other!! They have seen a different side of me that not many others have - and they are still my friends!!! LOL!!

What a great time we had last night catching up with everyone. It has been too long since we all had a chance to get together. We always say that we should do this more often, but 'life' just gets in the way!

Shelley and Livio have 2 great kids - Alana and Ethan. They are 4 and 2! Bill and Julies great kids are Danielle and Ashley and they are 12 and 6 (almost). The kids were all SO good last night!!

Book Tag!!

I have been tagged by Doris for this quick, fun one!!

Here is what you do:

Find a book nearest to you.
Go to page 123.
Type out lines 6 - 8 from that book.
Tag 3 people!!

Currently I am reading one of th 10 books I got for Christmas. This is by Stuart Woods. If you have never read any of his books, they are certainly worth taking a look at.

Page 123 is the beginning of a new chapter...

O.k. - here goes:

...floppy disk from its drive and inserted the next disk - a thin wheel of mylar plastic held rigid by a paper envelope.
It had taken weeks to be allowed to stay in the computer room after house, but finally enough accounting work had piled up...

Now reading that, it doesn't sound like an exciting book but it is. It is one in a series of books with the same character in it. Stuart Woods has quite a few different series' that focus in various characters.

So now for the tagging of other people - this is hard as so many people have already been tagged. I don't THINK the following people have been though... I tag Dolores, Kate andJill

Blah Weather...

I have always hated disliked winter - even when I was a little kid.

I don’t really know if it had anything to do with licking the pole at the park on a particularly cold day...hmmmm

As a kid, I did go outside and play in the snow for a bit, but never stayed out long. The nose dripping, the chapped lips and frozen fingers and toes just didn’t do it for me.

I thought I should try skiing. Skiers are ALWAYS looking forward to winter and snow so I thought – there must be something to this skiing thing...However, I have always had trouble with foot cramps and I soon discovered that being strapped in those ski boots is not a good combo with foot cramps!!!!

I have dry skin, like really dry skin, scratch and you bleed kind of dry skin. The winter is just so horrible for my skin. I can’t get enough lotion or humidity. We have a humidifier on the furnace and we have an additional one in our bedroom and still there is not enough humidity. I sometimes think I must have been a reptile in a former life with all the skin that I shed – I know, I know – you didn’t need to hear that!

Cleaning and scraping off the car and warming it up and sitting in the car shivering HOPING that the heat kicks in sooner rather then later. Driving in ice and snow is another story…I am not so fond of that either. Again I don’t know if it has anything to do with writing off my fathers 3 week old car during a snow storm when I was 16 (Roger wrote off his mother’s car on the same day – you never thought you would thankful that someone else had an accident - we can laugh about it now… we were both fine)

When it is very cold outside, I have trouble breathing. I go outside and take one breath and I feel like my lungs have shrunk to nothing and I can’t bet enough breath. I breathe through my scarf, my mitts or anything that I have that will filter the air and make it warmer.

As I have gotten older, my teeth have become more sensitive too. I take a breath in the cold air and almost pass out with the pain in my teeth. I do use sensitive toothpaste, but it can only do so much.

So as I sit here and the snow is falling profusely outside and with the temperature dipping to -13C (8.6F) tonight and a wind chill of -22C (-7.6F), I am not a happy camper and would much rather be on a beach in Mexico!

I am obviously not a very good Canadian girl!!

So ends my venting and complaining about the cold weather...for now...

Waiting Mommies Dinner!

Last night I had the pleasure of having dinner with 9 special ladies. Last night we had another Waiting Mommies Dinner!! What a great night we had. I was able to see friends again that I had already met, as well as meet new friends – including Debbie who is leaving for China in 8 sleeps!! From the back left to right is Jill, Catherine, Lea, Chris and Andrea. In the front row, left to right is me, Laurie, Debbie & Paula.

There was of course much talk of adoption, babies, traveling, our travel groups and agencies. And there was laughing – so much laughing!! I think I felt sorry for the people who were sitting around us. I am thinking they would have had trouble hearing their own conversations as ours would sometimes get quite loud and animated.

Speaking of the people sitting around us – click here to read Catherine’s story...

As a tradition has started with waiting mommies – the presents were flying!! There were 3 waiting mommies that were quite dumbfounded by the presents flying around everywhere – it was quite funny – in a good way of course! In the picture, there was a wonderful Chinese New Year card and decoration from Paula. A package of scrapbooking pages from Jill. A cute pink stuffed animal from Andrea. Chopsticks to practice with from Laurie. From Debbie we received a lanyard for Pumpkin's referral picture when we receive it. Ladies, thank you very much for the wonderful gifts. Again you can see a snippet of it on Catherine's blog.

We are INCREDIBLY lucky to be a part of this WONDERFUL adoption community. We entered this journey in the hopes of receiving a daughter, and already we have received so much more then we could have imagined! The people (the ladies from tonight, from other gatherings and my blogger friends that I have not met in person most specifically) have been amazing and I am lucky and proud to call them my friends!

AquaFit

Yesterday Jenn (Mark's Jenn) and I attended our first Aqua Fit class. What fun it was. I guess I didn't know what to expect as I have never attended such a class before.

Jenn and I got there VERY early as we didn't want to be late. Next week we will go about 20 minutes later!

Well at 7:00 the instructor came over and told us to all get in the water. I don't know why I was expecting the water to be freezing, but I did - It turned out to be o.k.

So we get started and do our class. Jenn and I were beside each other and we were having a nice conversation while we were doing our exercises. Then we got to the ABS section. Each of us got a 'pool noodle' and we were using these to hold us up while we were working our stomachs. There is a lot of kicking required etc for these exercises. Well I guess I was very enthusiastic at this point (go figure at the end of the workout I still had energy) and I was kicking away very engrossed in my abs and I ended up at the other side of the pool. Once I got 'back into reality' I looked over at Jenn and just started laughing as I was SO FAR away. We started out beside each other and by the time we were done the ABS, I was at the other end of the pool and there were 4 or 5 people between us!!

Anyway - after Aqua Fit we headed to the hot tub for a bit. It was very nice. About 1/2 of the class went there too, which was good so the change room wouldn't be too crowded at the same time.

So off we go to the change room after the hot tub. Jenn opens her locker and I TRY to open mine. I can't get it open. I try and try. Then Jenn tries to see if she can get it. We KNOW we have the right combo (NOT a DUDLEY) but is won't budge.

So I tell Jenn to get dressed as we are both standing there in our wet suit shivering. I go to search for someone to CUT OFF the lock. I find someone and we manage to get the lock off. Then she asks me for ID. I don't have any as Jenn picked me up and I didn't bring my purse. I told her this - she says 'That's o.k. - I am just supposed to ask for it.'...HUH - so I can go and ask her to cut off any lock. She didn't even ask me what was in the locker or anything before we opened it. C'est la vie...

SOOO I get home and I tell Mark that I had his lock cut off and he is going to have to figure something else out for when he goes to the gym in the morning. He says - "what do you mean they cut off the lock." I say - "It would NOT open. Jenn and I spent 15 minutes trying to get it open and it wouldn't open and we didn't know what else to do." He says - "oh yea, that sometimes happens. The combo just changes itself." I say - "WHAT!?!?!" He says - I" didn't think to tell you about it..."

National DeLurking Week...I am a little slow...

Hello Readers!

Last week was apparently National DeLurking week in the Blog world. Well I had other things going on and I didn’t get a chance to post about it last week, and since this is MY blog, I declare that is it “National DeLurking Entry” on my blog.

So, what that means is that those of you who regularly leave a comment are encouraged to contine to do so and those of you who read the blog and don’t leave a comment, THIS is the time to do so (leave a comment that is).

I would love to hear from you!!

Have a great day!!

I am LIVID!

When Canadians travel to China to get their child and they become a Forever Family, it seems that the Canadian government does not believe that the child should automatically become a Canadian Citizen.

When Americans adopt from China, their child is a citizen before they even leave China.

For Canadians, we must APPLY for our child to become a Canadian citizen and this can take upwards of a year for the paperwork to be finalized. On top of this, if the citizenship is denied (can you imagine) there is NO right of appeal through Immigration Canada - we must go through the courts.

NOW I have just read on the Star that second-generation Canadians born outside of Canada must re-register for their citizenship before their 28th birthday. I REALLY hope that I have misinterpreted this article – but even if I have, our children still have to apply for citizenship in the first place.

I am FURIOUS...our children – who will have reminders EVERYDAY that they were not born to us are going to have to re-register for their “permanent” citizenship – that doesn’t seem so permanent!!

I can tell you that I am sure there is going to be a Federal election before the end of the year and I will CERTAINLY be bringing my issues to our MP (Member of Parliament for those who don’t know). I am going to want to know what they are going to do for us and our family to be.

I seriously think that the Immigration law in this country needs to be reviewed!!!

If I have made any major mistakes in my reporting, please let me know. This is based on the research that Mark and I have done and I would don’t want to have an error in what we have reported here.

Advice...

Just wondering if there is anyone out there that has switched to Beta Blogger that wishes that they hadn't.

Every time I sign on, I am asked if I want to switch and each time I ignore the request.

I would like some feedback if anyone is willing to give it on the pros and cons of Beta...

The thing that scares me the most is that once you switch, you can't go back.

Your insight would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Alphabet Soup

Alphabet Soup

I've been tagged for the very first time by New Girl at Beginners at This... So here goes:

A - available or taken: Taken – by the BEST husband EVER!!

B- best friend: I would have to say that I am very lucky and don’t have just one. From different eras in your life you have different people – Always at the top are Hubby Mark and sister Tracey (not the same Tracey as listed below in the T section).

C- cake or pie: Probably cake – unless the pie if blueberry – YUM!

D-Drink of choice: I am big water drinker – usually a couple of litres a day – sometimes I will shake it up with a Coke if I am feeling wild!

E-essential item you use everyday: I guess I would say my contact lenses – I feel naked without them – speaking of naked – I guess I use clothes every day too!

F-favorite color: Blue.

G-gummy bears or worms: Neither – I am more of a ‘savory’ rather then a sweet.

H-hometown: Greater Toronto area.

I-indulgence: I LOVE getting a massage!! Luckily my plan at work is conducive to this!!

J-January or February: February as it is Mark’s birthday month.

K-kid's names: Yup we got ‘em – we’re just not sharing yet.

L-life incomplete without: Mark!

M-marriage date: January 20, 2004!!

N-number of siblings: There are SO many!!

O-oranges or apples: I would have to go with Red Delicious Apples – but not in the fridge – they hurt my teeth.

P- phobias or fears: I am thinking Earwigs – they are the most disgusting, creepy things.

Q-favorite quote: "Sing like there’s nobody listening" – if any of you have ever heard me sing, you will be cringing right now!!

R-reason to smile: Would it be too much if I said Mark again??

S-season: I like the summer when there is not too much humidity – it does a number on my hair!!

T-tag 4 people: There are so many that have already been tagged – let me check some sites...o.k. here they are: I tag Dolores, Kathy, Jill and Tracey.

U-unknown fact about me: I went backpacking around the world for year when I was in my 20’s.

V-veggie I don't like: I am only supposed to name one…are onions a vegetable?

W-worst habit: Again only one...Dropping my coat and bag at the front door chair when I come home.

X-rays: I bet I can beat anyone on the number I have had on my face/teeth.

Y-your favorite food: I am thinking French Fries…

Z-zodiac: Leo

Reaction from "The Show"

Well I am still of mixed emotions in regards to 'The Show' tonight (if you don't know which show - you can e-mail me).

There were some points made that were better then the Friday show, but in general I think they could have done a better job.

I am not going to get into all of it and there are SO many differing opinions.

There are 2 things I want to say about it:

1) Congratulations to all you adoptive parents out there who flooded the station with 'thousands' of e-mails. I would like to know exactly how many thousands are thousands. It is a great testement of how strong the adoption community is and what we can do when we all pull together.

2) The BEST part of the show was hearing that little girl on the swing laugh!! She melted my heart!