Happy Summer!

So, I missed the opportunity to wish everyone a Happy Canada Day (July 1st) and a Happy Independence Day (July 4th)- but better late than never!

We had subdued Canada Day celebrations this year- the weather was cold, the holiday was on a Wednesday, I was recovering from a migraine... but we took the kids to our community celebration as a way to mark the day. I'm not a typical flag-flyer, but I am very grateful to live in this country and proud to be Canadian, so its important to us to remember that, at least once a year.

It has been a busy summer for me at work. We have a lot of projects on the go with graduate students, but that's a good thing. In spite of this, I've managed to squeeze in a few leisure activities- like planting my "red, white and blue" flower box. I call it my "Obama Garden"- in honour of the first African-American President of the United States of America! Take a look:




My 10-year-old has been bent on having me make her a recycled "Kool-Aid" bag. We don't even really drink Kool-Aid at our house, but we bought a couple of boxes of the and her cousins donated some of their leftover pouches. This is the result:


So, it took me the better part of Thursday evening to do that, but it was kind of fun. I also broke off a needle in my sewing machine (which I just had serviced) and ended up shifting the bobbin casing, requiring that I take the bottom plate apart and fiddle a bit, but it all ended up OK. LOL- I can't believe I'm making Kool-Aid bags! Oh my.

I hope anyone reading this is having a great summer. I imagine my blog posts will be quite few. BTW, if any of you want to hear the story of a wonderful adoption from China's Waiting Child Program, go to the blog links on your right and click on "The Seventh Diamond". You'll find a link in Kimberly's blog to her travel blog, kept for her family's journey to Sophia Jane. Beautiful Miss Sophia is such a treasure! Seeing her with her brothers is so heart-warming. Welcome home, sweetie!

June in Adopt-a-Shelter-Cat Month

OK- so let me be clear from the start: adopting a pet is NOT the same thing as adopting a child.

IMO, using the word "adoption" to describe the process of getting a pet and bringing it into your family in no way diminishes the term as it is used to describe the process of bringing a child into your life. The processes are vastly different, but they both mean that you are making a long-term commitment to another living being. The commitment made to a cat or dog and the commitment made to a child are obviously not in the same league at all! So, as an adoptive mom and as someone who has also "adopted" pets, I will use the word in both ways, without apology. (But I am sorry if I sound touchy!)

Now that's out of the way, June is adopt-a-cat month in Canada and the US. So, spread the word... there are thousands of cats and kittens in shelters all across North America just waiting for someone to find them and bring them home.

Check out the story of my cats here:

http://ruffspots.wordpress.com/2009/06/06/june-is-adopt-a-shelter-cat-month/

While you're there, submit a photo of your favorite feline! And if you don't have a cat in your life, you might want to consider the possibility...

As someone who lives with and loves both cats and dogs, I have to say that dogs are wonderful and rewarding, but they involve considerable work. (Actually, I always say that raising a puppy is more intense than raising a baby!)

Cats, on the other hand, are purr-fect pure pleasure.

Blog Neglect

I am so guilty of blog neglect. Over this past year, in particular, I haven't blogged much, nor have I been reading other blogs regularly. But, for some reason, I'm not ready to clue up my blog. It still feels like an old friend who you can go without talking to for months, then drop in on and pick up exactly where you left off.

At the end of this summer, we will celebrate the two year anniversary of bringing home our son. He'll start Kindergarten this coming fall. There has been so much growth- both literally and figuratively- around here since he's been home that it is truly remarkable. We are incredibly lucky with all of our 3 kids.

And now, we are at a crossroads. Do we have room in our lives for one more child? Not so sure. The hectic pace of keeping up with the schedules of 3 children when both parents work full-time (with one of them travelling frequently) is sometimes wearing. But my fantasy family has always included 4 kids. I can't help but have this nagging feeling that we might not be totally done with our family. But, then the feeling passes as the reality of getting supper on the table or another lunch box ready smacks me between the eyes!

The other nagging feeling I have is that if there is another child to enter our lives, then maybe he (I don't think its a "she") won't come to us through international adoption. I almost can't believe I've written that! I am such a proponent of adoption through China's Waiting Child Program. Our experience has been so fantastic with the WCP. It would be my logical first choice to adopt again through this program- we'd request another son, 2-3 years old, probably cleft-affected. So, I can't reconcile why I feel that I am being drawn more towards other options... especially when the other options are so unclear to me... or maybe they don't even exist at all. Sigh.

I've been reading posts on some of my adoption-related yahoo groups concerning how you know when "you're done" with growing your family. I guess it is different for everyone. I'll keep you posted.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all you Moms and Moms-to-be out there!

See what my precious brood gave me for Mother's Day 2009.

First, from my 12 year-old daughter:

Then, from my 9 year-old (she was *so* excited to give it to me!):

Finally, from my sweet 4 year-old son (flowers made from coffee filters):

Am I a lucky Mom, or what?

And here's what I spent 2 glorious hours this morning making for the Nannys:

I am counting all my little blessings today. My thoughts are with those of you are who still waiting to share your first Mother's Day with your child.

Keeping up with the kids...

Our oldest child is now 12 years old. Can you imagine? Almost a teenager.

When she was born, I was a graduate student. Still a grad student when our second daughter was born. I have always been a studying and working mom and, because of the wonderful social support I have, balancing the needs of a young growing family and a relatively demanding career has been more than manageable. The addition of our third child did not make our lives any more hectic. In fact, after DX was adopted, I was actually able to take parental leave and still have an income (whoo-hoo!). Once my leave was over, and DX went to preschool, we pretty quickly adjusted to this new daily routine. Three kids- three different drop-offs in the morning. My husband took one child, I took two... no problem.

THEN, all of a sudden, life got CRAZY BUSY! Mostly, I think, due to our 12 year old's activities. She is in school band, school choir, on the school basketball team (which her Dad coaches), takes after-school piano lessons, and is in the school's spring musical production. While band and choir mostly happen during school hours, basketball, piano, and "the show" involve a LOT of after-hours time- and a lot of ferrying her around! Our younger daughter is involved in basketball, music, and gymnastics- but, so far, her schedule hasn't been quite so demanding. DX takes music during preschool and did swimming before Christmas. SO, the younger two kids' activities definitely contribute...

Now, this is all good. We want our kids to be involved in sports, music, and the community. But, I can't help but feeling we're entering a whole new era in our family balancing act- time together vs. activities. Down-time vs. van-time. Sane vs. strung-out? (that's me, of course).

I guess this *is* a new phase in our family's life, calling for us to pull out some new tools from our parental toolbox. Ai yi yi! Who'd have figured that parenting preteens would be more busy than parenting toddlers!?!

My mother, that's who.

But do I listen to my mother?

Some Disney Snapshots

We had a fabulous week in Orlando in February. We escaped from home in the middle of a snowstorm, and were very, very appreciative of the wonderfully warm weather (even though the Disney park attendants were wearing their winter clothes!). It was our first Florida trip... and we can't wait to go back!

Here are a few pics:

World Health Day 2009

This year's theme: keeping hospitals safe in emergencies. Click on the post title for more from the World Health Organization.

Of interest to those of us who love China: Jet Li has been appointed the Goodwill Ambassador for WHO...