A true classic

Ahhh, yes - it's almost that time.




But who's counting ;)
It's been crazy around here - I'll post soon!

Hugs,

Beijing 2008

Like the Five Olympic Rings from which they draw their color and inspiration, Fuwa will serve as the Official Mascots of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, carrying a message of friendship and peace -- and good wishes from China -- to children all over the world.
Designed to express the playful qualities of five little children who form an intimate circle of friends, Fuwa also embody the natural characteristics of four of China's most popular animals -- the Fish, the Panda, the Tibetan Antelope, the Swallow -- and the Olympic Flame.
Each of Fuwa has a rhyming two-syllable name -- a traditional way of expressing affection for children in China. Beibei is the Fish, Jingjing is the Panda, Huanhuan is the Olympic Flame, Yingying is the Tibetan Antelope and Nini is the Swallow.
When you put their names together -- Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni -- they say "Welcome to Beijing," offering a warm invitation that reflects the mission of Fuwa as young ambassadors for the Olympic Games.
Fuwa also embody both the landscape and the dreams and aspirations of people from every part of the vast country of China. In their origins and their headpieces, you can see the five elements of nature -- the sea, forest, fire, earth and sky -- all stylistically rendered in ways that represent the deep traditional influences of Chinese folk art and ornamentation.

Ni Hao!

I remember the day that the Olympic Committee announced the mascots for the Beijing Olympics - I was on a flight from Beijing on our way to Jiangxi Province to adopt Abby! They had English copies of a Chinese newspaper and it was totally cool to read about the mascots - I still have the newspaper. We had seen the big countdown sign outside of Tienenmen Square when we were in Beijing - I didn't take a picture of it because we were walking so quickly that day to get to the Forbidden Palace; I wish we could have just slowed down a bit for that one!

So, tomorrow is the big day and we're really looking forward to the Olympics this year because they are in China. Of course I understand the problems surrounding the Olympics with human rights abuses and China's control of Tibet - we obviously do not support China on this. However, I am very excited that the world can get to know China on a more personal level - and that they will see what an amazing culture and land that China is. I have no doubt that the opening ceremony will be awesome. My wonderful friend Missy had a great idea to throw an Olympics party. We are going to spend the evening with other families that have adopted from China watching the opening ceremonies together. It's kind of a big deal for us and a way to celebrate our children's heritage with them. We are very proud of where our kids are from and are excited that the rest of the world can see the wonderful people of China.

Hope you like the pictures of the Olympic Garden in Beijing.

OMG, I forgot to mention that my sister got Travel Approval! She should be able to leave for Katie at the beginning of September!!! We cannot wait!!!! We love you Katie! You can check out my sister's website at www.katieliling.com

Hugs,

Calgon, Take Me Away

Did you ever just have a day where you felt like you were the worst mom in the world? That's the day I had today.

Overtired, overstressed trying to get everything done, the kids were fighting, not listening, laundry up the ying-yang, Abby would NOT go into her dance class for some strange reason after I showered and rushed everybody to get there, it was HOT, Abby sometimes whines like crazy, amongst a billion other reasons that I let get to me. I yelled, I took no time for my kids today and I was gross. They had no structure, I gave them hardly any attention. I hate days like this. I was a sucky mommy today. They were kinda sucky today too. Evan was watching TV tonight, and I bent over and apologized to him that I was so grumpy and yell-ey today. His response was "Mom, I can't see my show." Yeah, great.

Thank God they love me, and they'll forgive me and tomorrow is another day.

Pizza, the Missing Tooth and a Fairy

We recently pulled up the old rugs that were in our house so we could refinish the wood floors. The floor guys are coming this Friday, so we needed to finish painting our sun porch, where all the kids toys usually are, where the TV is kept, etc. They are also doing the floors in the dining room and re-doing the kitchen. We also need to empty the china cabinet and move it (u g h ) and pretty much condense everything we own to our living room (the floor in there was already done.) It was a crazy day, the kids were bonkers and Scott and I took turns getting disgusted at trying to get anything done with small kids to cracking up laughing because of the sheer obsurdity of it all. When my parents wanted to see if we wanted to go to Mike's Pizza we were all about it!

We love going to Mike's Pizza. It's kind of "our thing". It's not fancy at all - we sit in the back and eat in the dining room, which is a total kickback to the '70's. It's casual, we can go all icky after working in the yard all day, and we don't have to worry about the kids making a mess. The people that work there all know us and they are really sweet and good to us. We recently found out that Mike's is moving across the street (they have been in the same location since 1969). They are going to re-do everything, but it will still be casual. They want to make it like an old-time pizzeria you would have seen in Brooklyn back in the day. Still, we're gonna miss that funky old paneling and mural on the backwall with the glitter in it.


So, yes, we wanted to go to Mike's - we rushed around throwing clothes on the kids (it had rained all day and we just let them stay in their PJ's). Abby insisted on putting something "Cinderella-ish" on. We went through 3 changes of dress-up clothes before she decided on her butterfly tutu, wings and red flip-flops with the huge flowers on them that are about 5 sizes too big on her. And after all that, as you can see from the pictures, she left her wings at the side door and had the tutu and wings off before we hit the car. Geez LOUISE!

Anyway, finally at Mike's, Evan could barely eat because his tooth was so loose. This tooth had been loose - but not that loose. Apparently, Evan had been teasing his sister two days ago and put her blankie in his mouth. Well, she pulled on that blankie so hard that it really loosened up Evan's tooth. There was blood and crying until Evan realized that the tooth fairy would be back with m o n e y after it came out. Then, of course, all was well in the world.


So, while we were at Mike's it came out in between pizza and getting an Italian ice. He looks like a bigger boy every day. Two down!

When we got home, we got out the 'ole Tooth Pillow that my sister Jen and I used as kids (it was a gift from our Grandma Mary), and it's really cool that now our kids can use it. Abby also put a "tooth pillow" (a little pillow that's on her bed) under her pillow so the fairy could visit her too. Apparently the fairy did visit, because the kids both had dollars in their "tooth pillows" - the fairy must be pleased with the way Abby is brushing these days. ;) I remember that the dentist we went to as kids used to give us these little tiny treasure chests to put our teeth in as we lost them. Funny the things you remember. :)

Hugs,

It's a Wordle!

Something fun I found on somebody's blog - it's called a wordle. You can either type in random words yourself, or give your website address and it'll take a bunch of words from your blog and wordle itself for you.

Fancy, aren't we?

Ohhh la la!

How do you like the new look of my blog? I owe many, many thanks to Judi, from Doodlebug Designs, who worked very hard to make it beautiful. Judi is a blog designer who is volunteering her time through Blogovers with Love. Blogovers is a brilliant idea - get blog designers who are willing to volunteer their time to re-design people's blogs. The customers then give a donation, and Blogovers donates all the money to orphanages in China and Taiwan. So, for my donation, I got a beautiful blog and we all helped a wonderful foster home in China that helps medically fragile infants get lifesaving surgeries. Please check out http://www.blogoverswithlove.blogspot.com and http://www.chinesestarfish.org/ to read about the amazing work of The Starfish Foster home. Below is an excerpt from their website as to the reasoning behind the name of this very special place:

"This well known story sums up the entire reason we have dedicated our lives to the most fagile children in China: Medical special needs orphans.
An older man was walking along a beach when he saw a young boy. Along the shore were many starfish that had been washed up by the tide and were sure to die before the tide returned. The boy was walking slowly along the shore and occasionally reached down and tossed a beached starfish back into the ocean.
The older man, hoping to teach the boy a little lesson in common sense, walked up to the boy and said, "I have been watching what you are doing, son. You have a good heart, and I know you mean well, but do you realize how many beaches there are around here and how many starfish are dying on every beach every day? Surely, such an industrious and kindhearted boy such as yourself could find something better to do with your time. Do you really think that what you are doing is going to make a difference?"
The boy looked up at that man, and then he looked down at a starfish by his feet. He picked up the starfish, and as he gently tossed it back into the ocean, he said, "For this one, it makes a difference."

If we all did something small, imagine the great things we could accomplish!


Hugs,

Forever a Family!

"Somehow destiny comes into play. These children end up with you and you end up with them. It's something quite magical."
Nicole Kidman
Adoptive Parent

Today was Abby's adoption finalization at Family Court. Her adoption really was final in China when I brought her home 2 1/2 years ago, but now her name is legally changed and her adoption is considered final here in New York, and we have a papertrail with NY documents, instead of just the Chinese ones. I can now send away for a NYS Birth Certificate for her, instead of using the Chinese one which is translated. Now we need to apply for US citizenship for her - I've been very slow with all of this - the time got away from me so many times!

This was a cool thing to do with the whole family since we were not able to all be together for Abby's adoption in China. We had to be at the courthouse at 9 am. It is very neat to sit outside the courtroom with all these other adoptive families. We've had Abby home for quite a while, but for some of these families, today is THE day for them, when they officially become a family- I loved seeing all the families that were formed through adoption - it warms your heart!
We were finally called in and the judge was so, so friendly and kind and made us feel at ease. He asked us a few questions, including what we are doing this summer. He double checked the spelling of Abby's "new" official name, etc. Afterwards, he told us that we seemed like a great family and that we should go and have a wonderful life together. Everybody in the room clapped. He asked the kids to pick out teddy bears, and a woman gave them lollipops. The judge also said he would like to take pictures with us. I've heard that judges like to do adoptions on Fridays because it's the happiest thing that they do in Family Court, and they love leaving for the weekend on a such a nice note. I bet that's true too!

Afterwards, we took the kids to Friendly's and let them pig out on ice cream at 10:30 in the am. We'll be paying for the sugar all day LOL!
Hugs to all!