China Calling

Snow Dogs!

2010-12-03T13:06:00.001-03:30

Snow Dogs!
Originally uploaded by china-calling

Two of our dogs: almost 7 month-old Akola and 8 year old Suzy romping in the snow.

Our New Puppy

2010-09-21T10:19:00.004-02:30

Ever Endeavor Akola- she's a Eurasier- and ain't she sweet!?!

Possible Changes for China's Waiting Child Program

2010-08-18T15:17:00.003-02:30

I just saw this on http://www.rainbowkids.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=726.... I wonder if it will be open to Canadians as well? That decision will likely be up to each province.

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China Opens New Program!

Special Focus Children Program Begins September 1st

August 01,2010 / Martha Osborne

The following information is what is known at this time about China's new program. This article will be updated as further details are revealed.

On August 17th , the CCAA sent a special notice to all licensed adoption agencies concerning a new program that will begin on September 1st .

The CCAA is creating a new category of waiting children called "Special Focus" children. These are children who have been on the shared waiting child list for more than 2 months. It is unknown whether or not all children who have been on the list for over 2 months will be included, or if only a select number of these children will now be categorized as Special Focus.

What is known is this: Children who receive this special status will have three unique advantages.

First: they may now be assigned to specific agencies, which can then begin concentrated advocacy to find a family for particular children. Individual advocacy for older and special needs children by a single agency has remarkable advantages over the current system . As it is now, over 2,000 children wait on China's Shared List. Children who were listed months ago receive almost no advocacy or inquiries, as new children are added frequently and receive the most attention.

Second: Adoption agencies may take the time to focus on gathering information and background on specific children, to better match the child with a family who is a good fit. Older children and those with special needs have the best outcome in families that are well prepared to parent them.

Third: Families pursuing a Special Focus child will have 6 months (instead of 3 months) to get their dossier into CCAA. This may will enable families to take the appropriate time needed to learn more about a child's medical or other needs, and make a decision without undue pressure to submit documents.

For some experienced families who are thinking of adopting more than one child, the news only gets better. Families pursuing a Special Focus child will be allowed to adopt a second child, either at the same time or within a one year time frame. One of the children must be Special Focus, but the other can be either healthy, Special Focus or a regular special needs child. CCAA emphasized that families need to be well prepared for the adoption of two children or special needs children in general to avoid tragedies.

Marci Siegel-Kittrel of Associated Services for International Adoption, voiced her enthusiasm for the program, This is a great opportunity for children who have waited the longest on the Shared List, but added this caution, We must also focus on the best interest of each child. ASIA will allow families to pursue the adoption of two unrelated children on a case by case basis after the family fulfills some requirements to prepare for the additional challenges of adopting two unrelated children at once or in quick succession.

While several families have requested the opportunity to adopt 2 children at one time, China has officially been against the practice in the past. Over the last few years, the CCAA has unofficially loosened their stance on non-siblings being adopted simultaneously, granting experienced families with the financial ability and support systems in place to do so.

Kelly Rumbaugh, founder of Lady Bugs N Love, came home from China in February of this year with Samantha and Piper. Samantha was just days away from her 14 th birthday, when she would become ineligible for adoption. Piper, age 11 years, has some special needs. Our daughters did not know each other before adoption, Kelly told us, This caused me worry because Samantha did not have any special needs, and Piper did. The truth is, both girls have great attitudes. It hasn't been about adopting two older children at the same time. Honestly, it has been the most challenging because we adopted two children while having 3 toddlers as well.

Kelly's advice to other families considering adopting two at once? I would want to make sure that the family knew that saving money is NOT a reason to adopt two children at once. I would want to make sure that they realize how the dynamics of the family changes when you add a new sibling to the family, let alone two. Any regrets? It is harder than I thought, but no. Every hug, every smile, is worth it. I just think families need to understand that it challenging.

Update: Although part of the Notice sent to agencies indicates that there may be some leniency or relaxing of adoptive family qualifications (could this mean singles may be able to adopt in the future?), there are no clear indications of what this may entail. We wil update our readers as more information is release

Summer Cookin'

2010-07-11T16:18:00.002-02:30

With apologies to vegetarians, here is my organic-humanely-raised-local chicken (from Ellie's Chicken Coop) stuffed with lemons and mint from our organic vegetable co-op (the mint, not the lemons!).

And here is my child voted most likely to follow her mother's domestic inclinations:

She's making a picnic quilt- I'll be sure to post her pictures when she's done!

And a Little Hat to Match...

2010-06-29T17:39:00.002-02:30

2010-06-20T08:10:00.001-02:30

Baby Items...

2010-05-30T18:47:00.006-02:30

Knit for my cousin's little girl, due to arrive in about 6 weeks!

Feel the "Love Without Boundaries"

2010-05-15T09:03:00.005-02:30

This US-based charity has been one of my favourite charities for a few years now.

Like several other groups working in China on a fairly large scale, LWB has made such a big impact on the lives of children living in Chinese Social Welfare Institutes. They have developed excellent programming to address needs that simply were not being met, and so many kids have benefited as a result of their work.

Yet, the group is run mostly by parent volunteers, most with children adopted from China, and the scope of their work has not caused them to lose their "personal touch". Here's an example: Recently, Holly, one of the moms of a child adopted from our son's SWI, mounted a fund-raising campaign for the SWI through LWB. Now, this SWI is relatively small and relatively poor, and has not been involved with any of the international charities serving Chinese children. When Holly contacted LWB, she was immediately put in touch with the volunteer who coordinates the Orphanage Assistance Program. This woman was able to contact the SWI and ask the Director what they most needed for the children. It turns out that they needed diapers for the babies and clothing, especially for the older children. All of the funds donated from our families went directly for this- and within a few weeks of having made the donation on-line, we were e-mailed several photos of beautiful children posing in their new clothes, standing next to the hugest pile of diapers I have ever seen! On top of that, we received at least 2 e-mailed and 2 hand-written Thank You cards from different program coordinators at LWB (and, believe me, the donation was not all that large!).

One mom I know who recently returned to China on a homeland visit commented that she was amazed at how much China had changed in the 5 years since she had last been there. She also said that she thought charities like LWB and Half the Sky seem rather out-of-place in this new modern and ever-changing China.

I think she's right on one count, there are many cities and regions of China experiencing a growing wealth and, with that, more means to address basic needs- like life-saving surgeries- for children. But, the fact that these charities are still operating on the ground, providing significant services to children who otherwise would not be helped, tells me that the charitable work there is not finished. Not by a long shot.

Read LWB's May Newsletter on-line by clicking HERE.

Kindergarten Celebration

2010-05-14T18:31:00.004-02:30

Our little guy had his Kindergarten concert and celebration this morning! He's off to Grade One next year. How time flies...

This or That?

2010-05-08T09:22:00.005-02:30

I'm sure that most everyone finds themselves making decisions about how to spend time that isn't already allocated to something else - like a job, or doing course work, or bringing the kids to activities that you've spent half a fortune on! I mean, there are things that HAVE to be done, for sure: groceries have to be bought, meals cooked, dishwashers loaded and run, laundry done, cat litter pans cleaned... but then there are the "more optional" activities. In my house, this includes making beds, dusting, and regularly washing the floors- LOL!! Because, let's face it, there are only so many hours in the day (at least for those of us that need 8 hours sleep) and there are only so many things you can do without feeling spread thin enough to evaporate.

Even so, I struggle with guilt about spending time on my "hobbies" - which doesn't seem an adequate word, in fact. The things I love to do, like knitting, sewing/quilting, making scrapbook pages, are more than hobbies- they're outlets for creative energy and they're my "play-time" activities! Having a project (or 2 or 3) always on the back-burner gives me a sense of reassurance that I'll always have something interesting and productive to do. Not that washing the floor is unproductive, of course...

Anyways, it doesn't seem that I'll be acquiring a maid service in the near future, so I guess the internal struggle will continue- not that you'd ever guess by coming into my house.

Do I feel bad about unwashed floors?

Sure.

How bad do I have to feel to finally wash them?

I guess it depends on what projects I have in the works!

IA: Both Sides Now

2010-04-06T09:43:00.002-02:30

One of the best articles I have ever read about the complexity of international adoption.

Written by Natalie Alcoba and published in The National Post on Friday, April 2, 2010:

Saturday Interview: The cultural boundaries behind international adoption

Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2754872#ixzz0kK0JLODv

The big, complicated issues that surround the popular practice of adopting a child from one country and raising it in another were slapping Karen Dubinsky in the face as she cradled her new Guatemalan son in her arms.
It was the spring of 2000. Ms. Dubinsky, a history and global development professor at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., had travelled to the little Central American nation to pick up six-month-old Jordi.
She also happened to read a terrifying story in a newspaper about a Japanese tourist who had been stoned to death by villagers who thought, wrongly, that he was a kidnapper. This was not the only time anxiety over stolen babies led to bloodletting in Guatemala, once famously branded a "child supermarket" for foreigners.
Contrast that with the reaction once she returned home: "That baby is very lucky," Ms. Dubinsky would hear countless times upon starting her new family life.
The professor recalls the juxtaposition of these starkly different interpretations of international adoption -- kidnap versus rescue -- in her new book, Babies Without Borders, a study of adoption and migration across the Americas. She wants to complicate, not join, this emotional tug of war; to urge observers to consider the intrinsic complexities of the long-standing argument between adults about whether children ought to be put on planes and airlifted out of a difficult situation.
"There is a way in which adoption is easier to grasp if you look at it in miniature, the tiny little telescope of the individual case," Ms. Dubinsky said in a telephone interview from her Kingston home this week. "It's usually pretty easy to figure out, and impossible to argue that something good hasn't occurred to the child. If you broaden the lens a little bit and look at the circumstances of the birth mother, that makes it more complicated. And I'm not talking just about stories of babies ripped out of people's arms, I'm talking about the birth mother who makes the ‘voluntary' decision. We all know that is not an easy decision. Nobody gives their kids away if they don't have to."
Now, take in an even bigger picture, enough to see the racial issues, the national issues and the global political economy that contributes to conditions of wealth and scarcity behind adoption files, Ms. Dubinsky argues, and it becomes increasingly clear that the mobility of children across borders does not fit neatly into simple binaries.
"To me that doesn't mean, ‘OK, shut down adoption', because adoption didn't create the big picture," Ms. Dubinsky said. "But I am saying let's stop looking at [just] the child and celebrating the heroic rescue of the parents. Even if that is true in that circumstance, that is not the only thing that's going on."
Babies Without Borders explores the political and cultural boundaries that may be crossed when a child is not raised by a biological parent.
Using Operation Peter Pan, which saw more than 14,000 Cuban children sent to the United States in the early 1960s amid rumours Fidel Castro was planning on indoctrinating them in the Soviet Union, or worse (there are stories of people fearing children would return as tinned meat), Ms. Dubinsky illustrates the "National Baby" -- a child that bears the hopes of a nation on its shoulders, and also represents its fractured self.
The same issues resurfaced in the story of another National Baby, Elian Gonzalez, the Cuban boy who was discovered clinging to a dinghy in the waters off the coast of Florida after a perilous journey his mother did not survive. "When international or foreign policy conflicts are fought through and over the bodies of children," Ms. Dubinsky writes, "the enormous but often unacknowledged symbolic power of children ensures that such conflicts will have a very long life."
When it comes to adoption, a baby is often not just a baby. Americans who learned about Operation Peter Pan were encouraged to "fight communism" by caring for the children who fled it, even as some Cubans viewed it as the snatching of a precious resource. Similarly, the radical practice of placing black babies with white Montreal couples for the first time in the late 1950s was loaded with promises of racial reconciliation, even as the sometimes horrific experiences of aboriginal children assimilated into white homes became "monuments of colonialism."
That two mixed-race adoption ventures in Canada could produce wildly different legacies (although also here, there are shades of grey) "suggests that how one imagines children, race and racial hierarchies is more significant than where."
Creating a multi-racial adopted family domestically was a necessary precursor to adopting internationally, says Ms. Dubinsky, and set the stage for a "climate of rescue."
Events like the 1990 Romanian orphanage scandal caused applications to skyrocket, wrote Ms. Dubinksy, and fuelled the "transnational politics of pity." Then came low-interest adoption loans, airlines that featured special rates for adoption travel, "culture camps" that taught adopted children their heritage, and Hollywood mothers with foreign babes. And with adoption agencies bearing such names as Heart to Heart Adoption or Children's Hope, trading in "the vulnerability and cuteness of waiting children, always pictured isolated, alone, devoid of parents, communities and nations, and waiting for rescue," says Ms. Dubinsky, it is little wonder that many parents, and advocates, view international adoption as a humanitarian effort, citing poverty, malnutrition and poor child welfare systems in sending countries.
"The fantasy of the global cabbage patch", she calls it, filled with children who need help. She notes it is glaring that in the international adoption debate the voices that are seldom heard are those of the birth mother and the child. That is starting to change, as Korean adoptees from the 1950s and '60s share their experiences, and others eventually follow suit.
Ms. Dubinsky's own international adoption story is a happy one. She and her partner Susan Belyea were told by social workers that they might encounter difficulties adopting in Canada as a same-sex couple, so she applied to Guatemala and was paired with Jordi. Throughout her research, she dreaded the possibility of discovering that her agency or lawyer was implicated in shady practices. She never did. "I know that no lines of illegality were crossed," she says. She met her son's birth mother, Hilda. She has a photo of the two saying a tearful goodbye. "You'd cry too if you lost me," Jordi told his mom which, she says, accurately summarizes "the emotions and the politics of adoption."
nalcoba@nationalpost.com

Becoming the Mother of a Teenager

2010-03-21T11:15:00.007-02:30

Yes, its true. My oldest child is days away from official teenage-hood. She will be 13 in just a few days. Wow. This is bigger than was turning 40. The cogs in the wheel of time are cranking along, just as they always have- only I'm more aware of them these days.

What does a just-about-to-turn-13 year old girl want for her birthday?

This (which she got today from her sister and brother):

His name is Moo-Meister.

and this:

She learned to play guitar (using my acoustic) this year through her school's music program. The electric guitar has been on her wish list for several months. It came with an amp... and I hope I don't live to regret that fact! She's been playing piano for about 6 years, and she has an awesome ear, so at least we can expect the sounds coming out of the amp to be pretty good. Yikes.

What can I say? She's a pretty cool kid. She's musical, athletic, and will take on any challenge that interests her.

She also wants to make her own... get this... three-layer birthday cake for her party next Saturday! We've made a visit to Bulk Barn already to see what size pans we could rent, and she's decided to use both fondant and buttercream icing on the top. Here's the idea for the top layer:

SO, given that I am *not* anyway talented with cake decorating, this should be an interesting experience. My neighbour up the street is a professional cake decorator, so if we run into trouble, I can use the "call-a-friend" lifeline!

I'm really delighted and profoundly grateful that I have this child, becoming a young woman, who is so willing to take risks and just do things without hesitation.

The child teaches the parent, indeed.

Attention Scrapbookers! New Link

2010-03-15T11:54:00.004-02:30

Here is a neat little blog that was recently started:

Asian Paperlinks

Check it out- and learn how to enter to win a "goody bag"!

Recent Crafty Things...

2010-03-06T19:36:00.004-03:30

Now, for a more important video

2010-02-18T11:26:00.000-03:30

I made a YouTube video!

2010-01-30T09:39:00.008-03:30

OK- so its not rocket science, but its the first time I've tried to put anything on YouTube.

This is a video clip taken by one of my students, showing me and my long-time field buddy and friend doing something we love; seabird field work on a rocky island in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean.

We catch the murres as part of a long-term, on-going research program to investigate factors that influence their reproductive success. After capture, the birds are banded, they are weighed and measured, and then we take a blood sample from them for DNA and hormonal analyses. They're set free after that, and it usually takes only a few minutes before they show up at their nest site on the rocky ledges. I'm sure its not all that much fun for the individual birds while they're being handled, but no one seems worse-off because of it. We've been catching murres for over 10 years now, and have long-term data on murres that we've come to know well over the years- lucky for us, murres use the same nest site every year.

There is no sound, because we wanted a clip to show in presentations and talk over. If you'd like to hear Common Murres, and what it sounds like to work in a seabird colony, click HERE. You'll be able to download a podcast from Naturesound.org with recordings of murres from Tatoosh Island, off the coast of Washington state, USA.

Beyond Disturbing- Child Trafficking in China Article

2010-01-25T11:46:00.003-03:30

This article recently appeared in the LA Times:

A Family in China Made Babies Their Business

Read the related articles links, too.

Unbelievable. Not that I doubt the veracity of these stories... but unbelievable.

Republic of Doyle! Part 2

2010-01-09T19:48:00.002-03:30

So, did you see it? NO!?! That's OK- you can watch the first episode online here.

What do you think?

I thought this: very entertaining, St. John's looks fantastic (what day last summer did they take those panoramics!?!), Sean McGinley needs a little more work on the townie accent (otherwise he's awesome), the interaction between Jake and the lady constable was too predictable, who knew Sean Majumder can actually keep a straight face?, the sets were really great, and this show has a lot of potential. OK....I have to say that Allan Hawco as Jake Doyle is pretty hot in a way that most women hate to acknowledge ;)

I'd like to know what non-Newfoundlanders think about it. I haven't looked for any CFA reviews yet. But it seems to me that this is NOT the kind of Newfoundland show that caters mainly to the sensibilities of people who come from here, unlike some others have in recent years. SO, I'm hoping it has broad appeal across the country. Time will tell, I guess.

Good work, people! I, for one, will be rushing the kids to bed and tuning in next Wednesday.

Republic of Doyle!

2010-01-06T19:21:00.004-03:30

It starts tonight-the new CBC show called "Republic of Doyle". It's all filmed in St. John's, with a lot of Newfoundlanders as cast and crew. (In fact, my nephew will appear later in the season as an extra- he was cast as "hot guy in bar"- LOL!)

Check it out- 9:00 pm... 9:30 in Newfoundland.

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T09:47:00.002-03:30

So here it is, the last day of 2009!

I hope this year has been good for you all, and that the new year will hold blessings for everyone.

Some pictures of our holidays so far:

Making Gingerbread Houses on Christmas Eve

The Tree

Gift Opening @ 6 am Christmas Morning (yawn!)

Raiding the Stockings

Getting the "Dinkies" Opened
(little toy cars- what do you call them?)

Homemade Gifts

2009-12-23T09:30:00.004-03:30

This is the Irish Hiking Hat- made for my friend as a birthday gift, actually, not a Christmas gift. We got to go on a date with our husbands the other night- we saw a fantastic award-winning local band receiving critical acclaim across North America- Hey Rosetta! Check them out on myspace...

Here are some hand-made pillows by my friend Tracie Brown that I absolutely LOVE!! They are for my 2 nieces and nephew:

Tracie has a website, and can take orders: check her out here.

Waiting Child Video From LWB

2009-12-10T09:54:00.003-03:30

From one of my favourite charities, Love Without Boundaries:

First Snow Storm Dec 09

2009-12-06T14:13:00.004-03:30

Remember when shovelling used to be fun!?! (Especially with a new Lightning McQueen shovel!)

It's also great to help make this:

The Dad Hat

2009-12-06T11:18:00.002-03:30

CSimplehat1
Originally uploaded by china-calling

For my brother...

The Mom Hat

2009-12-06T11:07:00.005-03:30

AmandaHatFront
Originally uploaded by china-calling

For my Sister-in-law.

The "Little Girly" Hats are for her daughters.

Little Girly Hat #1

2009-12-06T11:06:00.004-03:30

DSCN9829
Originally uploaded by china-calling

Toddler Republic Hat
(while blocking)

Now, the finished version, being modelled by my son:

Little Girly Hat #2

2009-12-06T11:05:00.004-03:30

DSCN9838
Originally uploaded by china-calling

For the baby...

Christmas Is A-Comin'!

2009-11-28T12:28:00.003-03:30

I've been knitting up a storm lately. It is my new obsession. At some point this fall, I think I crossed the line from casual knitter to knitting fanatic! And, I'm getting much quicker- that's maybe why after 30 years or so (my grandmother taught me as a child) of knitting on-and-off (mostly off!), I've suddenly developed a passion for it. I guess we'll see where it goes.

Right now, I still need to finish DX's vest and a hat for my niece. That's all that I *have* to finish in the next few days or so. Shouldn't be too hard. I'm trying to do mostly hand-made gifts for Christmas- even if they're not ALL made by MY hands! SO, I might add to the knit-for-Christmas list yet. After all, its still November.

Here's the back of DX's vest:

What a Fall!

2009-11-01T09:47:00.006-03:30

It's been one hectic fall so far.

I've had a big project at work, my youngest child started half-day Kindergarten, we've all had the H1N1 flu (except dh), and my father-in-law passed away rather suddenly last weekend.

But, such is life, right?

I've still had some time to knit my sister a sweater for her 40th birthday, though. And the kids all had costumes to wear for trick-or-treating last night (NOT hand-made, mind you!).

I think I'll focus on the positive, and hope that as fall moves closer and closer into winter, we'll be wrapped in family warmth and love, able to brave the cold and snow as we wait for spring sunshine to come again.

One Week of School Down, Less Than 40 to Go!

2009-09-21T11:10:00.004-02:30

So, we've gotten through just over one week of school, including 3 different Curriculum Night sessions. I'm still trying to get totally into the pattern of Kindergarten half-days. In the mornings, while we're in morning sessions, I'm trying to work from home, to save an extra 40 mins/day of communting time. It's working mostly- except when the kids have a dentist appointment, or a doctor's appointment, like today. That throws me a bit off schedule. But its mostly working for me. I'll get really into the routine just in time to change to the afternoon sessions.

Here's first day of school (before the tears!). Is he a big kid now or what?

I also have to mention that one of our local Moms has started a fabulous little website, where she is offering embroidered fleece items for sale. Click HERE to get to her site. I've ordered some of her adorable shoe bags for my nieces- great for ballet slippers or anything at all. I'm also going to order some fleece pillows from her, but I'm trying to finalize what colours/designs go with what kids! She has Chinese-themed and non-Asian themed designs, designs for boys and girls- something for everyone. Check it out!

Relaxation Week... is over

2009-09-09T19:31:00.005-02:30

We had a full week to recover from our trip to Toronto before going back to work (yesterday) and school (today for the girls, tomorrow for my big Kindergarten boy!). It was a much needed week of relaxation. Here's some of what I did.

1) I read this:

You have to love the quaintness of Agatha Christie novels. So British. For the record, I also used to watch Angela Landsbury in "Murder, She Wrote", and I love the PBS Mystery shows (especially "Rosemary and Thyme", the English gardening and crime-fighting crones who make me look forward to being in my late 50s!).

2) I pinned together the layers for my daughter's quilt. I has been a wip (work in progress) for over a year now. All that is left is to machine quilt it, and put a binding on it. I expect it might be ready by Christmas 2010.

3) I resurrected this knitting project:

If you can't tell, it is a simple scarf, making use of short rows to change the orientation of the knitting in a consistent pattern. I made a scarf using this pattern last winter for a friend. I might keep this one. It's made from sock yarn, so is really soft and a bit stretchy. DH thinks its a bit 1970's psychadelic, but I don't think so.

4) We (DH & I, not the kids) also started watching Season 1 of this HBO series:

I'm pretty sure it is horribly inaccurate in a historical sense, but it is entertaining and I particularly enjoyed watching episode 7, directed by Tim Van Patten. (Remember the Van Pattens from te 1970s & 80s? Tim is Dick's half brother and Vincent's uncle).

And that is how I decompressed after the family vacation we'd rather forget. There were also a couple of nice and calm family outings, proving that, we can be a functional family unit- most of the time!

"Don't Call Me Mother"

2009-09-04T12:40:00.002-02:30

This is a book written by Ms. Dragonfly, aka Elizabeth Elias, whose adoption journey I, and many others, followed in her popular blog "DragonflyandLadybug". You can find the link to her blog over on the right.

Most of Elizabeth's adoption blogging ended soon after she brought home her beautiful daughter- much to the disappointment of many. The reason why is at least partially explained in her new book. She suffered from one of the issues not often raised in the adoption world: post-adoption depression.

I will admit right now that I haven't read E's book yet. However, in my compulsive drive to learn everything I can about adoption and adoptive families, I did read Karen Foli's and John Thompson's book "The Post-Adoption Blues: Overcoming the Unforeseen Challenges of Adoption" 2 or 3 years ago. The realization that adoptive parents can suffer from depression after the much-anticipated arrival of their child is not new. But it hasn't gotten a lot of air-time in what I'll call the mainstream adoption community, either, which leaves many sufferers feeling alone and bewildered.

"Don't Call Me Mother" is a memoir that I believe will reach out to other parents who find themselves in a dark place after their child's adoption. Thankfully, post-adoption depression has not been part of my life, but I want to walk a mile in the shoes of a woman who has experienced it and is able to tell the tale.

Elizabeth's book is available HERE.

This is Elizabeth's second book about adoption. Her first is a delightful children's tale called "Lovebug". I'm not sure if it is still available, but its worth checking out.

Family Vacation...

2009-09-01T18:43:00.003-02:30

We just returned from our worst family vacation ever. For the first 3 days, I fought off a migraine while the girls, now 10 and 12.5 years old, fought each other constantly in the way that only pre-teenagers do... nasty... Our 5 year old was more interested in asking "when are we going back to the hotel?" and "when are we going home?" than in the zoo, or the museum. Sigh.

There were a few bright spots. We met friends while there and did the CN Tower Tour with them. Those few hours with someone else seemed to distract the girls from quarrelling with each other. Then we had supper at the Marche Movenpick (now the Richtree Market) on Yonge. Did I mention we were in Toronto? Fabulous place to visit. We even used to live there- for 3 years prior to having kids. After spending a week on the 401 and 400- in traffic that wasn't even bad, by TO standards- I'm happy to be living much farther off the beaten track. Like I said, fabulous place to visit... and shop in.

Two other bright spots to mention- I dragged the whole family down Queen Street West into the "Fashion District" where there is a wool store called Romni Wool. Here it is:

So, I would have preferred to go myself, but that wasn't really in the cards. So, we all walk from Osgoode station (because we had to see the CityTV/Much Music building), all the way down Queen West until we get past Bathurst. Finally, there is the shop. I spent about 20 wonderful minutes staring at and feeling wool that I can never buy in person here (e.g., Berroco, Debbie Bliss, etc. etc...), until my little people (and my one big person) got too restless. So, I quickly bought 9 skeins of Berroco Ultra Alpaca in an orangey-burgandy and left. Oh, to spend an hour or two there. Someday, maybe. I'll have to check for upcoming conferences in Toronto so I can get there by myself. So, the wool is stashed for a few weeks until I finally decide on a sweater pattern.

The other bright spot was a concert. The Jonas Brothers concert, if you can believe it! Our oldest daughter is a fanatic. I mean completely fanatic about them- and has been for about 2 years. Every inch of her bedroom is plastered in Joe, Kevin, and Nick. Last year, we had tickets to see them in the Ampitheatre, but backed out of the trip a few weeks before, due to my work committments, mostly. Good things come to those who wait, it seems. The concert was in the Skydome/Rogers Centre this year and was a real piece of work.

Now, I am saying this as a disengaged observer- I am definitely not a Jonas Brothers or Jordan Sparkes fan. But the production... totally top-notch. Very impressive. Of course, they are of Disney pedigree, so its not too surprising, I guess. It was also the loudest concert I've ever attended- thanks to the high pitched screaming of at least 30, 000 pre-teen girls (most of the other 26, 000 had to be their parents, right?)! I have to admit, the boys are kind of hot. If I was 25 years younger, I'm sure they'd be my Rick Springfield, Scott Baio, and Eric Estrada ;) And I almost have my daughter convinced that Joe's offering to the parents in the audience of "Sweet Caroline" was really just for me ;) (LOL- how old does he think we are!?! I consider myself more of the Simon LeBon than the Neil Diamond era, thank-you very much.)

Anyways, here's a tip: if you haven't seen the romantic comedy "The Proposal" with Sandra Bullock, do yourself a favour and go. I watched it on the plane on the way home. In fact, now that I think of it, maybe that was the best part of the trip...

Naw. It was the wool shop.

Summer Snaps

2009-08-13T22:46:00.005-02:30

Mini-Quilting

2009-07-23T19:43:00.003-02:30

I imagine that in a previous life, I was a pioneer woman, working on the homestead, raising children and hens and making everything from scratch.

I just get so much satisfaction from creating physical objects- some useful, some not so much.

My most recent project started as a gift for my in-laws upcoming 50th Anniversary. I found a design in one of my favorite magazines (that I buy, fawn over for days, stack on my bedside table, and then sometimes find the time to make something from): Quilting Arts magazine. This was the Holiday 2008-2009 edition- and it is called "A Quilted Family Tree", designed by Virginia Cole.

Basically, it involves patching together a miniature quilt top from approx. 1 inch blocks, backing it with muslin and then quilting. Then, in the shape of a tree, you paste on words- cut from books or printed- that are relevant to your family. Here's mine:

Since the miniquilt was made bigger than I needed, there were some fairly big scraps left over. As it turns out, one of my best friend's mother was having her 80th birthday party on Sunday past, and I decided to make her something similar out of the scrap pieces. So, I cut out 4 pieces, sewed them together, quilted them onto a muslin backing, and then put a small binding on the whole thing. I found a "quilt quote", dug into some of my scrapbooking embellishments, and the whole thing came together:

Not bad for a few days of off-and-on creativity!

Happy Summer!

2009-07-05T09:37:00.014-02:30

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

2009-06-06T11:43:00.004-02:30

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

2009-05-31T10:10:00.004-02:30

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!

2009-05-10T10:03:00.007-02:30

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...

2009-05-03T09:31:00.005-02:30

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

2009-04-27T19:52:00.005-02:30

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

2009-04-07T09:23:00.003-02:30

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...

The Complexities of Adoption in China

2009-03-13T11:05:00.003-02:30

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123683410215005161.html?mod=googlenews_wsj (click on post title above for a hotlink to the article, complete with pictures)

By JANE LANHEE LEE NAVILLE
In a small coastal town in Guangdong province, a baby was found at a hospital identified only by a birth date -- April 22, 2005 -- written in ballpoint pen on her stomach. She was 3 months old.

Chinese Orphans Find Adoptive Parents Close to Home
3:12
China's one-child policy has contributed to a rise in adoptions, including some by single Chinese women. Jane Lanhee Lee Naville tells the story of 4-year-old Baosha and her adoptive mother.

Like most abandoned babies in China, she wasn't well: cherry angioma, benign skin tumors made up of blood vessels, were spreading on her groin. Her parents had most likely left her because they feared her medical bills would crush them, a common cause of financial ruin in China. And she was a girl.

By chance, a month later, Mui Koh, an unmarried Guangdong native who teaches English at a vocational school, started to volunteer her time at the orphanage where the baby had been sent.

"The baby was crying so hard and I felt so bad for her," says Ms. Koh, now 38 years old. "I was told she cried like this each time she urinated because it caused the (pain) to flare up."

Back home in the two-bedroom apartment she shares with her parents, Ms. Koh couldn't stop thinking about the baby. The next day she went back to the orphanage and took the baby to see a doctor at a public hospital nearby. For 300 yuan (about $44), he removed the tumors.

Every evening after that, Ms. Koh visited the orphanage after work to care for the baby. She called her Portia, after the heroine in Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice." In Chinese, she was Bao-sha -- bao for treasure and sha for the first character in Shakespeare's Chinese name.

Samantha Sin for The Wall Street Journal
Mui Koh and her adopted daughter Portia at home in Guangdong province

Two months went by and Ms. Koh's love for the baby grew. Then the orphanage warned her that unless she adopted Portia -- now perfectly healthy -- the baby would be adopted by someone else.

Ms. Koh was stumped: "I didn't even know the concept of adoption at the time," she says.

No wonder. While China is known overseas as a place many go to adopt babies, until recently adoption was uncommon among Chinese families themselves. That's partly because of limited financial resources, and partly because the country's Confucian culture emphasizes family and filial piety.

"In China, society operates on blood relationships," says Yu Hai, a sociology professor at Fudan University in Shanghai. "So if families can have their own children, they aren't going to adopt."

But change is afoot. Local adoptions are on the rise, thanks to economic progress and evolving social attitudes. Adoption also provides a way around China's family-planning policies, which aim to limit most urban couples to one child.

There aren't any official nationwide data on domestic adoptions. But according to Ji Gang, a director at the central government's Center of Adoption Affairs, they have been "clearly growing" since about 2003 in affluent cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. In provinces where the economy has grown quickly, says Mr. Ji, "domestic adoption has grown quickly, too."

In China, there are no limits on the number of orphans a person can adopt, he adds, provided the prospective parent can support them financially and passes certain age, health and education requirements. "Once people have the money, they can afford to raise a second or third child."

Samantha Sin for The Wall Street Journal
Ms. Koh plays with Portia, on the bicycle, as the grandparents look on.

The shift toward adoption is also partly due to developments of another kind: Couples are marrying later, and may not be able to conceive. And some women aren't marrying at all. Another factor: Older couples whose only child has died want another.

"Adoption demand created under (these) circumstances is actually quite large," says Zeng Fanlin, a psychologist and associate professor of special education at East China Normal University in Shanghai.

Foster parenting is taking off, too, says Prof. Zeng, also as a result of budding prosperity in bigger Chinese cities -- plus a growing sense of social responsibility. Nodding to the trend, the government implemented nationwide regulations on foster care in 2004.

"Some mothers in their 40s and 50s...they don't have to work and they have time. That's an important precondition," says Mr. Zeng. These financially stable women also want to give back: "People feel that they can help solve a small part of the problems in society," he adds.

Last June, Zhang Min, a 33-year-old Shanghainese, started a small foster home for disabled orphans -- really a three-bedroom apartment in the city's outskirts -- with nine other Shanghai mothers. Ms. Zhang, an administrative worker at a property developer, was moved to action by appeals she read on a Chinese-language Web site that told the stories of sick children. "I never realized that there were so many people in difficult situations. I wanted to find a way to help them," she says.

The mothers -- all middle-class Chinese who can't afford to adopt children, especially those with medical problems, but want to get involved -- take turns helping out at the foster home, called Baobei Zhi Jia, which has six full-time employees (four on hand at a time) and currently shelters eight babies.

Besides the added cost of raising an adopted child, Chinese families typically are expected to donate several thousand yuan (a fortune to most Chinese families) to the orphanage from which they are adopting.

Sharron Lovell for The Wall Street Journal
Zhang Min plays with an orphan at the foster-care center, Baobei Zhi Jia, that she and nine other mothers established in Shanghai.

Because the concept of domestic adoption is relatively new in China, it's still a sensitive topic. Some parents keep the adoptions secret for fear the child might be teased by other children, or treated differently by adults. Others worry that birth parents might locate them and cause trouble or try to take the child away.

For Bao Nan, a pediatric neurosurgeon at Shanghai Children's Medical Center, the sticking point was day care.

Dr. Bao, 41, operates on many orphans with spina bifida, a birth defect that involves the incomplete development of the spinal cord, often resulting in hydrocephalus, in which fluid collects in the brain. It's work he does on behalf of the Baobei Foundation, a Shanghai nonprofit organization (unrelated to Ms. Zhang's group) that helps Chinese orphans suffering from critical neurological or gastrointestinal disorders. With timely surgery, many of these children live normal healthy lives and are adopted internationally when they recover.

Over time, Dr. Bao had an "aha" moment. "I was so touched by the families caring for these orphans, I decided I would also like to adopt one of these babies."

But he and his wife, a cardiovascular surgeon, would have to rely on his mother-in-law to care for any child they adopted. Because the mother-in-law already baby-sits their 9-year-old son, she didn't want the extra responsibility of another child. "We don't have room for a live-in nanny and would need to move to a bigger apartment for that," says Dr. Bao, who hasn't given up on the idea.

For Ms. Koh, there was no choice: She couldn't let Portia go.

With a monthly income of 3,000 yuan (about $440), Ms. Koh had to borrow from one of her brothers to pay the required 5,000 yuan (about $730) "donation" to Portia's orphanage. (That money is used to support the mentally or otherwise handicapped babies left behind.) She didn't tell her brother what the money was for because she feared her family would try to talk her out of the adoption. In fact, she didn't even tell her parents until the day the adoption was finalized.

Ms. Koh made the announcement after dinner that night, as her mother watched TV and her father brewed a pot of tea. "They remained silent. And neither one of them said anything when I finished talking," says Ms. Koh. Their silence was a rebuke.

Two days later, in January 2006, Ms. Koh brought the baby home.

Today, no one in the neighborhood knows Portia is adopted, except the Kohs' next-door neighbors, who keep it a secret. Ms. Koh says if anyone asks, she'll tell them the truth. But nobody has. "I think in the beginning, (the other neighbors) just assumed she was my brother's daughter who came to live with us, or some just assumed I was the godmother."

Finding parents for special-needs children is difficult anywhere. But in China, as in many developing countries, disabled children often carry a social stigma. Plus, the potential of high medical bills make them hard to place outside orphanages.

After last May's massive Sichuan earthquake orphaned more than 600 children, tens of thousands of Chinese families clamored to adopt them. Most, however, were placed with family members; 88 were put up for adoption. But only 12 have been placed with new families so far, according to the Sichuan Civil Affairs Bureau. Many of the kids who haven't been adopted are disabled.

In 1997, the city of Shanghai started China's first official foster-care program after psychological studies showed kids in foster-care were better off than those in orphanages. Of the 2,000-plus orphans who are under the city's care, 60% to 70% are with foster families, according to Prof. Zeng, and many of those children have disabilities or other health problems.

A handful of the foster families in Shanghai are couples who would like to adopt, but can't afford to or aren't ready to. Take Yollanda, a 38-year-old mother in Shanghai who asked that only her English first name be used. In October 2007, on a regular volunteer visit to the pediatric ward of the Shanghai Children's Medical Center, she met Li Yun, a baby with a severe disability who had been sent for treatment from a Guangdong orphanage. The baby had been born with anal atresia, a birth defect in which the rectum is malformed, which requires surgery. She had undergone two unsuccessful operations already. A third one came too late and today she requires a daily enema.

"I saw this baby and she seemed so helpless, so alone," says Yollanda. "I felt I had to help her and take care of her."

With the full support of her husband, who manages the family assets -- Yollanda earns a little over 10,000 yuan (about $1,460) a month as a manager at a mobile-phone parts maker -- she signed a foster-care contract with the Guangdong orphanage and brought the baby home the same day.

These days, Yollanda's 4-year-old daughter and Li Yun, now almost 3, play like sisters -- sharing, and fighting over, toys. The family lives in a small, cramped apartment on the fringes of Shanghai with a cousin who cares for the kids while the couple works.

In Shanghai, foster-care agreements, which can last one month or up to a year, usually come with a monthly stipend of about 700 to 800 yuan (about $102 to $117) for each child to offset food and caretaker costs. Health-care bills are covered, too. The foster family has to apply at a local welfare center, then undergo some training.

In some cases, foster parents are asked to decide after several months whether they will adopt the child they're caring for -- otherwise the orphanage will begin the adoption process and place the baby in the waiting line.

Should she adopt? Yollanda struggled for months with the question as she grew more attached to the child. Her family and friends said no. They worried that Li Yun's health problems would make life difficult for everyone involved. Yollanda fretted about whether she could deal with the child's health issues not just financially but socially: People with disabilities in China aren't yet as well integrated as in other parts of the world.

"In the end, I thought it would be better for her to go to the U.S. because there are good medical programs to help children like her," says Yollanda, as she cradles Li Yun in her arms in her Shanghai apartment.

The orphanage started adoption proceedings for Li Yun and she will most likely be adopted overseas in the next six to 12 months. "But now I am worried that if the adoption process takes too long, it will be hard for Li Yun to adjust...I don't want her to suffer. I don't want her to think I've abandoned her."

As for Ms. Koh, she now teaches English to middle- and high-school students on weekends and most weeknights to make ends meet. Her parents, both 73, are too old to look after Portia full-time. So the talkative, jolly toddler has to live at a local nursery boarding school from Sunday evening to Saturday morning. The care center costs Ms. Koh 13,000 yuan (about $1,900) a year.

"It's not ideal. I hope when she's a little bit older and easier to take care of, she can live at home," says Ms. Koh, who is heartbroken every time she drops off her daughter.

Meanwhile, Ms. Koh's parents, who declined to be interviewed, have come around. They look after Portia on weekends when Ms. Koh has to work. "They give her more attention than they give to my brothers' children," says Ms. Koh.

Her father, a former physical education teacher and educator, initially worried that Ms. Koh would find it difficult to marry with a child. While Ms. Koh says she isn't ruling out marriage, she doesn't need to be married to be happy.

"Portia is part of my heart. She's part of me. Life is rich and meaningful with her," Ms. Koh says.

—Jane Lanhee Lee Naville is a writer based in Shanghai.

LWB Newsletter (click here)

2009-03-02T14:28:00.001-03:30

One of my favorite charities...

The Grammys

2009-02-08T22:35:00.004-03:30

I usually don't pay much attention to award shows, but my girls begged me to allow them to stay up to see The Jonas Brothers. So, here I sit, waiting for The Jonas Brothers to sing, so I can shoo them off to bed.

Actually, I'm kind of enjoying it... U2 rocked. As usual- I mean, is it even possible for them to sound bad? Unless the Edge is edgy for the wrong reasons.

Oh wait... The Jonas Bothers are on with.... STEVIE WONDER!?!?! what the...? Uh-oh, worlds are colliding, Jerry.... OK, one of Stevie's 20 kids must of put him up to this. Whoa. They got a standing ovation. (Let's pause for a moment: What does that say about the audience?)

Now, Justin Timberlake and the Reverend Al Green + Boyz2Men- that's another story! I was completely awed. And I just read on the LA Times live blog that this was an unrehearsed last-minute fill-in spot for the MIA Chris Brown who is being entertained by the LAPD. Maybe that's why it sounded so fanatstic- that it was basically unrehearsed, I mean. Yep, loved, loved, loved the Rev. Not sure about his politics, but the man sure can groove. And Justin has such a boyish impiness that I just want to pinch his cheeks.

(one minute passes as I search for Al Green images on Google)

Now, one kiddo has fallen asleep on the couch, the other is begging to see if the JosBros are going to win the best new artist. Which is on right now. Let's take a guess at who will win, shall we?

...

Well, my almost-12 year old has thrown herself prostrate on the floor because it was NOT the brothers, but, rather, someone I had not yet heard of... Adele. She reminds me of Alison Moyet. Oh come on, there have to be someone else out there who came to age in the 80s!

So, I guess I will pick my daughters up and drag them both off to their beds...

I hope anyone watching enjoys the rest of the show (and that Lil' Wayne keeps his pants up).

The latest on citizenship for IA kids...

2009-02-08T09:56:00.003-03:30

OK, so maybe Jason Kenny wasn't really listening.

The latest and most comprehensive overview of how the new citizenship bill will affect children who were born outside Canada was written by Doug Chalke, exective director of Sunrise Adoption agency in BC.

The quick take-home messages:

1) kids who came into Canada via sponsorship as a family-class member and who obtained permanent resident status prior to citizenship are not impacted at all

2) kids who came into Canada (or who are yet to come) under the "direct citizenship" process WILL be subject to the restrictions of the new bill (or their kids possibly will be, if that's the way you want to look at it)

3) after the bill goes into effect in April, the only way to ensure that a foreign-born child is NOT subject to the restrictions of the new bill is to sponsor the child through the PR process vs. going the direct citizenship route.

But, don't take my word for it- read the summary here: http://www.sunriseadoption.com/articles/citizenship2009

Maybe he is listening?

2009-01-28T19:12:00.003-03:30

How it works Jason Kenney. Calgary Herald. Calgary, Alta.: Jan 23, 2009. pg. A.21

Re: "Critics attack new citizenship rules," Jan. 16.

The law will simplify citizenship rules. It will also ensure future generations of Canadians have a real connection to this country and that citizenship is not passed down endlessly through generations living outside Canada.With few exceptions, the ability to acquire citizenship by descent will be limited to people born in the first generation outside Canada.

This limitation applies equally to Canadian children born outside Canada to a Canadian parent, and to children who are adopted abroad and become Canadian before they enter Canada. Children who are adopted abroad and who acquire citizenship after entering Canada will be treated the same as a child born here --any of their children born abroad would also be Canadian. But subsequent generations would not.

The article suggests the new rules could, in some rare cases, create stateless children if they don't obtain citizenship from either oftheir parents or from their country of birth. In such a case, the parent could sponsor the child for permanent residence and then immediately apply for the child's citizenship.The new law includes a statelessness provision that provides another option to gain Canadian citizenship. This provision fulfils Canada'sobligations under the UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

Jason Kenney,Ottawa

Jason Kenney is Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism

Credit: Jason Kenney; Calgary Herald

New Citizenship Rules Coming

2009-01-17T09:57:00.003-03:30

There has been an interesting development in Canadian citizenship law. After April 17th, children who are born abroad and obtain Canadian citizenship, either through a citizenship application process, or by virtue of being born abroad to Canadian citizens, will no longer have the right of Canadian citizenship for any of their born-abroad children. Make sense?

Glen McGregor has put in more clearly in an Ottawa Citizen article you can find blogged here.

On the surface, this seems to be a reasonable law. Its intent, of course, is to prevent generations of people living outside the county, who have no ties to Canada other than a Canadian great-grandma, from having automatic Canadian citizenship. Fair enough.

But for those of us with internationally-adopted children, it is troubling. To be clear, this regulation won't affect my son, or any child who already has citizenship. But here's what the future scenario could be:

A family has one child by birth and one child by adoption. The adopted child was born in China (or Russia, or Taiwan, or Ethiopia, etc...). The family decides, when the children are teenagers, to leave Canada- maybe Mom lands a big job with a Fortune 500 company in the US (we'll imagine improved economic times, ok!?!). The kids go to high school and college in the States, they both fall in love and have their own children. The children of the non-adopted child have dual citizenship- Canadian and US. The children of the adopted sibling have NO claim to Canadian citizenship. SO, half the grandkids get to call themselves Canadian, half don't.

Is this fair?

Obviously, foreign-born-internationally-adopted Canadian kids are a special subset of born-abroad Canadians, who were not meant to be targeted by this new law. They require an exemption that is unambiguous and automatic.

Jason Kenney, are you listening?

Snow Day... sort of...

2009-01-14T10:51:00.003-03:30

Well, the weather here is not so nice today. We're getting snow, with high winds and blizzard-like conditions expected before it all turns to rain. The schools were closed, so the kids are home. Campus wasn't closed, though. SO, I had a predicament: drag the kids out to my mother, go to class, try to get back home in the height of the bad weather OR make an executive decision and cancel class?

Since I'm blogging, you've probably figured out that I cancelled class.

First-time EVER. Unless the entire campus has been shut down, I have NEVER cancelled a class in 11 years. I have gone to class with mastitis and a fussy newborn being rocked in my office. I have taught class in the middle of a migraine (wow, that must have been fun for the students!). I've taught with laryngitis and stomach flu. I have driven to class and home again in the middle of more than one snowstorm.

But not today. And, amazingly, I feel no guilt at all.

A friend of mine said she started thinking differently about things the year she turned 40. Maybe that's what is going on here.

I LOVE 40!!!

Talking a little shop...

2009-01-09T12:00:00.002-03:30

In my (a-hem) "professional" life, one of my growing research interests has been dog behaviour and cognition. I've been a dog and, for that matter, all other manner of living creature, fanatic since childhood (fact: I could identify most AKC and CKC-recognized breeds by age 11). Seeing as I get paid to study animal behaviour, it occurred to me a few years ago that maybe I should start thinking about working with domestic dogs (my research has been mostly bird-focused). Anyways, one fantastic collaborator and two graduate students later, the scienctific study of dog behaviour is starting to become a larger part of my world.

A few years ago, I ran into a book written by Jean Donaldson called "Culture Clash". I haven't met Jean irl but she is an ex-pat Canadian, she is irreverent, hilarious, and I agree with an awful lot of what she writes about dogs. Her latest book is linked below. I've not finished it yet, but it is a great read for anyone who lives with (or works with) dogs. While you are on her website, check out her Chow Buffy's blog (just too funny...)

Oh Behave!
jeandonaldson.com - Friday, 09 January 2009

Welcoming 2009!

2009-01-01T10:22:00.001-03:30

Wishing everyone the best that the new year has to bring!

Happy Holidays!!

2008-12-26T10:15:00.003-03:30

We hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season with friends and family close at hand, or close in heart!

Quick Photo Update

2008-11-30T08:57:00.002-03:30

The Table Runner

2008-10-08T19:12:00.005-02:30

I was recently inspired by a Christmas table runner that first appeared on Kathy Mack's fabulous blog, Pink Chalk Studio, in this post. As you can read for yourself if you visit her, the runner appeared on the cover of the Christmas/Holiday edition of Quilting Arts magazine.

I knew as soon as I saw the runner that I would have to make it. So, I rummaged through my fabric stash for Christmas material. Not quite enough. Shopping trip in order. Eventually, I made it to one of our local fabric stores and was completely wooed by fat quarters in autumn hues of gold, burgandy, orange, and green!! OK, so there's lots of time before Christmas, right? I bought the autumn fabric instead and made this:

The binding strip is the first one I've done that's cut on the bias. That was fun- and not half as much trouble as I imagined. Although I must have calculated incorrectly, since I should have had enough material for a 2.5 inch wide strip, but ended up cutting it an inch narrower to ensure I had enough! Sewing the binding strip by hand on the back always takes me ages, and it took a couple of free hours last night to finish it off.

I experimented with "stippling" while I quilted, using a varigated thread. I also did a little of free-motion quilting with my darning foot, and it turned out OK, I think. My quilting skill is still a work in progress!

The autumn version of this runner must have been meant to be, as Kathy has teased her blog readers with a new Christmas table runner that I think I'll do instead. Or maybe I'll make both of them. But, first, I need to finish my sweater. I've started the second sleeve.... projecting to have it done by the end of the long weekend (hey, I can always dream!!).

Changing Seasons

2008-09-26T20:45:00.004-02:30

September has always been my favorite month. The excitement of starting a new school year, the changing fall colours, sparkling stars in the crisp evening air that come out earlier than you expect... things have always seemed to come together for me in September. Except for this year. This year, I'm struggling to cope with it all:

-three kids who go to three different schools each morning,

-three courses to teach, in addition to my research and committee work (OK- one grad course I'm only "helping" with)

-a new schedule for the kids "extra" activities (swimming, basketball, gymnastics, piano/music)

-and, most dreaded of all, an impending KITCHEN RENOVATION (gulp!)

I just can't seem to get into the swing of it all yet, and we're already near the end of the month. I'm sure things will smooth out eventually, and life won't feel so hectic. I might even have time for this blog again someday!

I realize that I'm so very lucky to have these kinds of complaints, and that there are probably many people who'd trade their problems for mine in an instant. So, I'll stop complaining now, and try to enjoy what promises to be a beautiful September weekend in this part of the world.

Hope your weekend is wonderful.

TA DA!! The Quilt is DONE!

2008-09-06T11:40:00.005-02:30

I have *finally* finished DX's One Hundred Good Wishes Quilt!! The last few inches of blind stitching the binding strip was the hardest. But *it* *is* *done*- just about one year after we got back home with him (hey, I never claimed to work quickly).

So... what do you think?

I'm so happy with it- the top is made from 103 different "patches" of material, all that came with a good wish, with another piece of material given to us used for the cream-coloured inside border. On the back, we have "Hairy Potter" (upside down in the photo below) from a t-shirt donated for the quilt by a good friend, Vi.

Thomas the Tank material makes up the rest of the backing, as well as the binding strip.

Phew!

I have another quilt top ready to go for one of my girls. So, maybe by Christmas... or Valentine's Day... or Easter... lol! First, I have to finish the sweater that I hemmed and hawwed about back in June (I decided on the funky, swingy pattern, and I now have a back and half a front!).

I'll keep you posted.

Beijing 2008

2008-08-10T08:51:00.003-02:30

Are you enjoying the Games? We are! I have always been a fan of the Olympics. The whole ideal of athletes competing in a spirit of fair play, respect and unity has always got to me. Some of the stories of the hardships overcome are so inspiring. I'm not particularly athletic, but I can appreciate the level of committment and dedication that these individuals have. And that shared look of absolute focus and determination that you see on their faces during competition- just incredible!

And how about our Canadian gymnast Kyle Shewfelt? Read CBC's story and backgrounder on him here, and the London Free Press's article here.

What a role model Kyle is. Our daughters were watching his interview with CBC's Ron MacLean last night- and I was so profoundly grateful that they could listen to a true Canadian hero who really gets what its all about. His attitude towards life is something we all could benefit from. Thanks, Kyle.

...experiencing delays

2008-07-15T18:57:00.003-02:30

It seems that my blog posts are experiencing ever-increasing delays. I think I may be blogged-out.

Things are good here. We are incredibly blessed. What's left to say?

(Except this: I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT SALES OF "GUITAR HERO" ARE GOING THROUGH THE ROOF! It must be due to excellent marketing, 'cause people can't think the product is actually decent. OR maybe I'm almost 40 :))

This blog may be coming to its natural end. I'm not quite sure. I still enjoy checking in on other blogs, but writing for this one- not so much.

So... I'll see how things evolve (or devolve). Not going anywhere yet, but I may be ready for a radical change.

Celebrate!

2008-07-02T23:17:00.010-02:30

It was Canada Day yesterday- DX's first one. He was decked out in red and white and had a ball at our local celebrations!

Of course, there was cake:

Yummy!

I wish all our American friends a wonderful Independence Day long weekend.

Oh, one last picture- I love this one! The kids were on the way to the park. Do you remember how it felt to be on your way to your favorite playground?

Ah, pure summer.

Latest LWB Newsletter

2008-07-01T09:42:00.002-02:30

Click on the title above for the Love Without Boundaries June 2008 newsletter.

Most of you know all about this wonderful charity, but in case you don't, here's how they describe their beginnings:

"Love Without Boundaries began in the year 2003, after a group of adoptive parents came together to help save the life of one tiny boy in China. Following his successful heart surgery, they realized that people with a pure love for helping children can truly make a difference. LWB incorporated as a 501(c)(3) charity in the state of Oklahoma, and our worldwide team of volunteers went to work. In just five short years, we have watched our foundation grow from providing a handful of surgeries and baby formula in 2003 to touching the lives of thousands of children today through foster care, medical, education, and nutrition programs. In 2007, we delivered over one million dollars of direct humanitarian aid to children, while maintaining an overhead of less than 3%."

Inspired?

Last Class, Must Sew

2008-06-21T11:03:00.005-02:30

Yesterday, I finished the marking for the "doubled up" 6 week lab course I just taught (these courses are brutal, consisting of a regular 12-week semester's work, compressed into half the time). Phew!

So, last night I celebrated while the kids played Wii and sewed this "pouch sling":

No, it's not for me- it is for a friend, now living in the US, who recently had a new baby. Here's my "baby model"!

People either love or hate slings. I loved the one I had when my girls were about 8-15 months old, but before they were that age I was not comfortable using it, and, after about 18 months, they were not interested in sitting in it. Plus, at 18 months they were getting heavy to lug around, and a stroller was the more attractive option!

I think if I had this "pouch" type of sling when my daughters were small infants, I would have been more comfortable with it. Thinking back 11 years, the sling I had was probably too big for me- I'm barely 5'2". Fit is important in slings.

Of course, with Daniel, I figured he was already too old to want to sit in a sling, as he was almost 3 when he was adopted. I did use a hip carrier with him, but, again, it's hard to lug around a 27 lb toddler on your hip for very long. Or maybe I'm just a weakling ;)

So... about slings... I'd definitely recommend to anyone either giving birth or adopting to try a few out. There are all sorts of different styles to choose, and some work better with different body types... check this site to see the varieties that exist: http://www.mammasmilk.com/pages/makeyourown.php

A word of warning- until you know what style works for you, don't plunk down a lot of $$ on a sling. They can be surprisingly pricey. BUT, since they are also relatively simple pieces of cloth, it doesn't take either a lot of sewing skill or time to make one. If you have a sewing machine, try it! If you like the result, you can make another, and another...

Happy slinging!

Happy Summer Solstice

2008-06-20T12:31:00.002-02:30

As the sun spirals its longest dance,
Cleanse us

As nature shows bounty and fertility
Bless us

Let all things live with loving intent
and to fulfill their truest destiny...

Wiccan blessing for Summer

The Price of Gas...

2008-06-07T09:26:00.003-02:30

Since my last post, we've decided that our vacation plans, which included driving about 5500 km, are not wise in these times of rising fuel costs. Oil hit $137 per barrel yesterday. Unbelievable. And I think I'm happy about it.

To be clear, I'm not happy that we had to change our vacation plans. But I wonder if the rising cost of oil is not just the "shock" that we all need to realize what our collective greed for petroleum is doing to this planet we call home.

When something that society's "fringe" (of which I've always aspired to be part of) has been yelling about for decades suddenly hits the mainstream in the pocketbook, things get serious. When there are new opportunities to make money from environmentally-friendly options like hybrid cars, or alternate energy sources, or organic food, these items become more readily available in the marketplace. And, I think, this is a good thing. For the most part, anyways.

I've always envisioned a lifestyle for myself and my family that involved trying to minimize our ecological footprint on the planet. I think, in recent years, we've been missing the mark by a lot. Our lives are rather typical of a three kid, suburban, middle-class, double-income professional existence, which, in general, does not tread lightly on this Earth. We take some efforts to make more environmental choices in our day-to-day lives, but I'm not sure that the collective impact is all that great. I believe that our lifestyle, like that of most families in Western society, is simply unsustainable.

How can I match my desire for a "lighter, kinder" lifestyle with the reality of our fast-paced lives? Open to suggestions here.

Just watching the river flow...

2008-05-23T18:48:00.003-02:30

Well, not really. My work life switched into super high gear mode a few weeks ago, and may continue that way indefinitely (well, OK, I'll get a reprieve when we take a 2 week vacation).

But it has meant blog-neglect, quilt-neglect, and no new knitting projects. However, the kids and the pets are still getting fed, so its all good!

So, I'm still here. Just not as much.

Oh... the photo... if you don't recognize them, they're The Jonas Brothers, Disney superstars and my 11 year old's latest obsession. Believe it or not, part of our vacation is planned around seeing them in concert. I can't believe I just wrote that.

2008-05-11T09:00:00.004-02:30

To all women who nurture life in their hearts, and with their whole beings... whether your children are near or far, known to you or not, have a wonderful day.

Special Day

2008-04-20T14:48:00.007-02:30

We celebrated DX's Baptism Day yesterday. The white silk outfit that we bought in Nanjing fit him perfectly. But, let me tell you, is it ever hard to find plain white shoes or sneakers for a boy around here. So, he wore his "Bob the Builder" boots for the occassion. Somehow, they seemed strangely appropriate!

Of course, no party is complete without CAKE. Here's what my husband ordered for the day:

So, maybe not what I would have picked out for a christening, but what are you going to do!?!

KACHOW!

Macro Photos 6 & 7

2008-04-20T10:22:00.006-02:30

This or That?

2008-04-12T21:03:00.006-02:30

I'm planning on starting a new knitting project soon. I know I want to knit a sweater- for myself. But I'm indecisive about what I want. I've seen a few very nice patterns lately and, well, I'm like a kid in a candy store, unable to pick anything because everything looks so good!

Here are a few of the sweaters that I've been considering:

First, from the Spring edition of Interweave's Knits Spring 2008 magazine-
It's the jacket on the cover, and I think its just the cutest thing, yet could be quite elegant. I'd probably do it in another colour, though.

Then, there is this cute little number, designed by Connie Chang Chinchio, to be knitted in silk:

I just love it- it's so fresh and youthful. And I love the colour.

I also saw another pattern recently on the Berroco website that I really like, called "Montparnasse":

I think it is very "European" in styling, and I love the asymmetry. But, when I showed it to DH he said something like "I think it would make you look middle-aged."

Phhhhtttt... there went the air out of that balloon.

Apart from the fact that I actually am just about middle-aged, it's not like I want to emphasize the fact. But, what does he know, right?

I have to say that I'm leaning towards the tangerine silk sweater, even though I'm a bit intimidated by the chart pattern.

So... any opinions? Which one should I go for? Oh, to have the time to knit all three!

Macro Photo #5

2008-04-12T11:51:00.004-02:30

...and #4

2008-04-12T08:52:00.004-02:30

Macro 3

2008-04-12T08:51:00.005-02:30

Macro Challenge #2

2008-04-12T08:50:00.004-02:30

Kid Update

2008-04-10T07:15:00.004-02:30

As it turns out, this blog seems to be moving away a bit from it's original intent- which was to chronicle our adoption journey to our son, DX. He has been home with us since August, and is doing fabulously! Since I've been mostly blogging about the little crafty things that I've been doing, I thought it might be high time to give an actual "kid" update.

DX had a Cleft Team visit last week and saw his surgeon. His mouth has healed very well- there are no fistulas (tiny holes), and the palate itself has a good "length"! For those of you not living in the world of cleft lip/cleft palate, these things are important for the quality of his speech. If too much air can escape from his mouth to his nose while he speaks, he would sound very "nasaly" (or, more correctly, 'hypernasal'), a problem that is not uncommon in cleft-affected kids and often requires further surgery. So, this is great news!!

We also saw his ENT, who was convinced that as a result of a vascular birth mark inside his ear (long story!), his hearing was seriously affected on one side. He sent us for a hearing test- DX was *so* cooperative!- and it turns out that hearing from one ear is normal, while the other ear has mild hearing loss only- not even serious enough to require a hearing aid! Given that the ENT had been talking about hearing implants in our son's future, this is also great news!!

He is continuing with speech therapy, which he will probably need for several years. Language and speech development are both areas of concern for us, since he's had a lot going on to "catch up" with his peers in language. He's had to learn English in the last 7 months, deal with new equipment (his palate after his surgery) for speech, undergo 2 surgeries, etc., etc... That's a lot for a 3 year-old! And, in general, cleft-affected children do experience language delays that are related to their delays in producing speech. Anyways, each time we go to speech therapy, the therapist sees an improvement in how he is putting words together. Yesterday, she played a game with him to informally test his knowledge of colours, shape, numbers, and letters, and following it, she said that he responded at the appropriate age level for all those concepts! Three months ago, that would not have been the case.

So, things are moving along so well with our boy! He's such a great kid. We're so blessed to have him.

30 Day Macro Challenge

2008-04-09T18:51:00.005-02:30

So, here is my first photo for the 30 Day Macro Challenge, started by Orange Flower. My plan is to take photos of things lying around the house and call the collection "Around Our Place". Inventive, huh!?!

Well, since DX arrived, we've got a whole new set of toys around our place, so I thought that "Percy" (oops- I stand corrected by a 3 year-old- that's "Henry") would be fun to start with.

What a great way to learn more about taking photos on your camera's macro setting. You should think about joining!

UFOs...

2008-03-31T08:14:00.005-02:30

...or UnFinished Objects, as they seem to call them in the craft bloggy world.

Here's the latest one, 2 years since I knit the first stitch, finally finished yesterday on a snowy Sunday afternoon:

Umm... it's not exactly how I imagined it would turn out. I attempted to merge a great Rowan pattern with one I found in a knitting magazine. The result is a little, let's say, unusual. I had DX model it (over much protestation on his part, I might add!), and he reminded me of a little furry-backed mammal. See for yourself:

I definitely should have stopped the fuzzy stripes earlier- at the third one from the bottom, I think, to line up with the sleeves.

I'm pleased with how the front turned out, though.

My 3 year-old niece who will be getting it in the mail soon is a pink fanatic, so I think she'll at least like looking at it. I'm not sure how much she'll enjoy wearing it (those fuzzy bits could tickle)! But I have the satisfaction of seeing it finally "done", and I've learned a little in the process. That's what it's all about, right?

This One's for Flo

2008-03-29T09:06:00.005-02:30

I wanted to write this post for my friend, Florence, who is moving to the North West Territories in a couple of days. I'm really going to miss her.

What can I tell you about Flo? She's smart, funny, real, grounded, savvy, committed, resourceful, kind, caring... I could go on and on, but you get the idea- I have a lot of admiration for this woman. She's a Mom, wife, daughter, business woman, organizer. She's generous with her time, talents, and blessings. Most of all, she's a true friend. A lot of people in this neck of the woods will miss her, and the rest of her family.

So, I made this scarf as a going-away gift for her. The fabric is mostly animal prints (including a small piece of dragon print from DX's OHGWQ, for luck and prosperity!), since animals are one of Florence's loves in life, and they were the reason that we even met at all, almost 5 years ago.

Follow her adventures on her blog, Life Lessons With Toast. I know I'll be checking in regularly!

Thanks, Flo, for everything you are to so many people.

LWB Cleft Home

2008-03-24T16:19:00.003-02:30

I just got an update from one of my favorite China charities, Love Without Boundaries. They have been setting up a special foster home for cleft-affected children, and, according to their new blog, the babies have arrived and are settling in nicely.

Check the link by clicking on the title of this post- the babies are beautiful!!

This project is so close to my heart. As most of you know, DX was born cleft-affected. To think that these babies in the LWB home are going to get the special attention that they need just makes my heart soar!

Springtime?

2008-03-20T21:50:00.007-02:30

What a week it has been.

Major snow storm on Monday, freezing rain and ice pellets on Tuesday, more rain on Wednesday, followed by, at long last, on this very first day of spring, a little bit of sunshine! So, I'm cautiously hoping that more spring-like weather will follow... soon...

This was the view from the upstairs window early on Wednesday morning:

Yuck.

Storm days have their value, though. On Monday evening, I finally finished the quilting of DX's One Hundred Good Wishes Quilt. Now, I just need to cut a binding and sew it on. That should take a couple of weeks to get at!

Doesn't DX look excited!?!

I think he was a little bored by the "cocooning" that the weather forced us to do.

Over the last couple of weeks, I also made some progress towards finishing a sweater I started to knit for my niece about 2 years ago. Of course, it won't fit the niece for whom it was intended- but luckily I have another one, and she is just about the right size to fit into the sweater!! Here it is, half-sewn together, looking something like a fuzzy pink animal.

I'm afraid I won't get much sewing or knitting done this week. I have a presentation to give at the end of the week, so that will keep me occupied. On the bright side, I'll be anxiously watching the mail this week for my fat quarters of black & white fabric to arrive. The mailing deadline was Saturday, so let the squares arrive. I just *love* swaps!!

Mega Storm A-Coming!

2008-03-17T16:37:00.004-02:30

Yep, our break in the battle that is this winter was brief! It snowed yesterday and we cleared out from that. Today, schools were closed two hours early due to that swirly thing in the satellite shot above.

It's a big one, and we started to feel its effects just before 3 pm- and it's nasty already. Up to 60 cm combined snowfall and ice pellets by tomorrow afternoon.

So, we're hunkering down again. I have a feeling our power is going to go. So, see you when it's all over!

As the years go by...

2008-03-15T09:12:00.005-02:30

Our oldest daughter will turn 11 at Easter. 11 years old! It is almost unbelievable how quickly those years have whizzed by.

We had a party for her last night, since some of her friends will be going on holiday over the Easter break. We took her and 8 friends to a pizza restaurant and then they came back to our house for games and cake. Here she is (in the orange hoody) with the cake that she decorated herself (she drew pigs with pink icing!).

A good time was had by all!

It was our first family birthday celebration since DX has been home with us. Other than his, that is. I'm not sure what he made of 9 "tweens" running around the house, screaming and laughing, but he had fun with those things called balloons.

This morning, it's much more peaceful in the house! And after a couple of days of horrid weather, the sun in shining in all her glory. The air is cold and crisp, and when I let the dogs out, I loved the way that the flashing on our chickadee nestbox was glinting in the sun, and how the shadows from the fence palings striped the unbroken snow. I took a photo... not sure if it does the scene justice...

Happy weekend, everyone.

A nice break...

2008-03-13T12:50:00.003-02:30

We're having another storm day. Expecting 20-50 cm snow, followed by 20 mm rain. I think we're getting freezing rain right now.

This time, I'm not facing the snow shovelling solo, so I'm happy that we all get to stay home together and have a nice break from the often crazy routine that is our life!

Already today, I've been able to do a little bit of the work that I get paid for this morning... so I'm pleased about that. It was some data analysis on the effects of bird egg lay order on chick development that I had prematurely written off as containing nothing interesting. After a closer look, it seems there are things in the data that are sort of cool. My student who has been working on this project is going to be very happy, I think.

And, as a bonus, I was able to do a small bit of sewing while dh and the girls slept in late. Once DX was set up with a Go Diego Go DVD, I made some small patchwork squares. I had help from our quilting cat, of course. She's so cute, except when I've lined up my material just right to cut with my rotary blade and swipe!, kitty wants to play with it all. I had the camera next to me, so I had to take this picture of her ( she is lying in my bag of scrap material).

DH is going outside to get the snowblower going. I might haul out the sewing machine again for a few minutes. Tracey, what a great idea about making different squares to use in an Easter quilt. I'll have to see if I can find some similar paper-piecing pattern (or maybe I can make one!!). It might be done by next Easter!

Paper-Piecing

2008-03-07T18:06:00.004-03:30

While I was off on parental leave this fall, I took a 5 week quilting course at our fabulous (and only!) local quilt shop. This was, of course, to make DX's One Hundred Good Wishes Quilt. I found that I enjoyed the sewing so much, that I bought a sewing machine from the shop- my sweet little "Bernette" (the lower end of the Bernina line).

Well, our machines came with a free sewing class once a month in the new year. I missed the first February class, but went this week to the March class. Here is what I learned to do:

It's a paper-pieced square- kind of cute, if I do say so myself. I learned to machine-applique the eggs also.

Last night, I added a border, so now it looks like this:

I cut the green border on the bias, since I only had a 8" square of it. It's the first time I've worked with a bias-cut, so it's not exactly perfect (but I also don't have it laying perfectly flat so it's actually not as distorted on the lower left as it appears in this picture).

I'm trying to decide what to do with it. Stop here with a backing and a binding? Add another border? Make another one and have a pair!?! Oh, the possibilities!

This Little Piggie...

2008-03-05T21:12:00.005-03:30

The rag quilt I started last month is done.

Here it is:

It's crib size, and turned out OK, I think. I'll donate it to the upcoming auction and we'll see if the preschool gets a few dollars for it. For anyone who likes the "shabby" look of rag quilts and wants to try their hand at quilting, I highly recommend starting with one of these. It was quick and painless- cutting the squares was the biggest chore, and even that didn't have to be too exact. It seems that rag quilts are very forgiving- and very cozy with that flannel backing! Google for some patterns, and you'll find plenty.

I'm going to package it for the auction with this guy (purchased, not handmade):

Ain't he cute? Now, if we can just keep our flu germs off it all!!

Quick Update

2008-03-02T12:47:00.003-03:30

We are still sick, sick, sick in this house. I had to stay home from work for a day again last week with an awful upper respiratory virus, and now our oldest daughter seems to have it. We have alternated our misery- at least one member of the family has been ill every day for the past month- gastro bug, flu, pink eye, various coughs and colds. Well, that's everyone except for the 2 youngest kids. They must have heartier immune systems (and are probably the ones bringing all these viruses home to the rest of us!). So, that's it- I'm officially sick of being sick. It has to end!!!

Because of our collective contagion, we didn't meet with the social worker last week for DX's post-placement report. That's going to happen this week. So, I need to vaccuum and wash some floors this afternoon. I loathe washing floors. My husband usually does it. But he's working today, so I guess if I want the sw to think that we always have clean floors, its up to me. Sigh. Mr. Clean, here I come.

Listen and Watch

2008-02-25T21:15:00.003-03:30

If you watched the Academy Awards last night, you'll know all about this song.

Here it is, unplugged, unmixed, outdoors, so honest, so rare...
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It's Snowing Again!

2008-02-23T16:02:00.004-03:30

It never fails. My husband travels for business and we get a snow storm. To be fair, we've had more than one storm while he's been home, but there have been at least 4 or 5 times this winter that I've been dealing with the snow alone. It makes me crazy.

Anyways, we made it to and back from basketball, gymnastics, and the supermarket, so we can all hunker down for the evening. Kids' baths are on the agenda, and after that I might either 1) start house-cleaning for the social worker visit we have on Tuesday afternoon (our first post-placement report for China) or 2) start the rag quilt I've been planning for an auction donation. Here's the material (upside down!):

The "little piggies" will be the top, the blue flannelnette the backing, and the cream flanellnette will be the filling. It will be a simple quilt, but I think it might fetch a few dollars for the playground equipment at preschool if it turns out halfway decent. Oh, heck, the housecleaning can always wait!!

Those are the dogs at the patio door a few minutes ago, after a very quick trip to the backyard. When they don't want to stay out, you know it's nasty!

Here's hoping there's better weather somewhere....

Lunar Eclipse

2008-02-20T22:35:00.003-03:30

What a beautiful night it is to watch the total eclipse of the moon.

The evening is cold and clear, the moon having risen here in the east in its full-bodied glory while the sky was still streaked with shades of pale pink and blue.

The eclipse began only a half-hour or so ago. Here is a blurry photograph of what I saw just a few minutes before I sat at the laptop. We're just a little over an hour away from the full eclipse.

I've always been so fascinated by astronomical events. Looking up into the vast expanse of the night sky puts so much into perspective for me.

Excuse me while I go gaze some more.

My New Scarf

2008-02-19T21:12:00.003-03:30

I just finished sewing this scarf tonight. It's made from fabrics that I had purchased for quilt square swapping and had left over from DX's 100 Good Wishes Quilt. The burgandy taffeta-like material I got as a fabric end for $4.00! I used it for the backing as well. Here's what the scarf looks like on:

I was inspired to make the scarf when I stumbled upon the wonderful blog by Pink Chalk Studio. One of the patterns for sale there is the "Rubblework Scarf". I didn't actually use the pattern, but looked at some of the pictures of different versions of the scarf, and then used Amy Butler's free pattern for a "Cozy Scarf" to guide me.

I'm pretty happy with the results. It's a little bit intense, maybe, mostly due to the 'black & bright' Laurel Burch fabric (the cats and dogs)- but I dearly love that fabric. I bought it when we were vacationing in Ottawa a couple of summers ago. I made a special quilt shop trip to get some fabric for OHGWQ swaps, and I was totally drawn to the Laurel Burch fabrics. Sadly, I've heard that Laurel Burch passed away several months ago.

Anyways, the scarf was a quick little mini-project and I might even make another one in a totally different palette. Blues and creams, maybe.

But the next sewing project on my agenda is a "rag quilt". DX's not-for-profit preschool is having an auction to raise money for playground equipment, so if it turns out OK, then I'll donate it for that. It will be a couple of weeks before I get at it, I think.... as long as no other mini-projects pop up in the meantime. I've got to stop reading art blogs!

Thrice Tagged!

2008-02-17T13:36:00.008-03:30

Oh my- I've been tagged for the "7 things you didn't know about me" meme twice. First by Deb and then by Sherri. SO, I guess there's no ignoring it! And, to my surprise, I was tagged ages ago by Tracey to do a different meme (sorry I missed that, Tracey).

Seven Things...Here's what I need to do: list 7 random things about me that many of you out in blogland may not know. The rules say I must link the person (or people) who sent this to me and leave a comment on their blog(s) so their readers can visit me. The rules have to be posted on my blog (that's why I'm writing this).

RULES: Share 7 facts about yourself. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, linking their blog. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

OK- in no particular order, here are 7 things about me that you might not know:

7) I'm a wannabe craftsperson. I've always loved arts & crafts, and my current obsession is learning to quilt. I also knit, embroider, & scrapbook. But- here's the thing- I can't cut a straight line!

6) I'm a wannabe goat herder! My retirement dream is to run a small hobby farm of mohair goats and/or alpaca, raised for their wool/fiber. I'd like to spin it, sell it, and create with it. Maybe I won't wait for retirement ;)

5) I'm an adventurous eater. I have not yet found a food that I won't try at least once.

4) I have always believed that I would have 4 children. We're in a holding pattern right now, with 3.

3) Part of my research program involves me living in seabird colonies for (brief) stretches of time. Apart from the fact it means I'm away from the kids, I absolutely LOVE it! No running water, toilet, central heating.... no traffic lights, appointments to make, or appearances to keep....it is THE LIFE!

2) My third name is Agnes.

1) From time to time, I hoard chocolate- just for myself. I'll sneak away while the kids are busy and eat it all before they find it. Today, I hid in my bedroom and ate a "Cherry Blossom" that I'd been carrying around in my purse for almost a week!

Now, who to tag?

How about: Kim, Tracey, Doreen, Krista, CA Momma, "M", Stephanie

Four Things
Here's Tracey's meme:

4 jobs I've had: 1) camp counsellor, 2) waitress, 3) Naval Reserve officer, 4)professor

4 movies I've watched over & over: 1) Cars, 2) A Fish Called Wanda, 3) all the Monty Python flicks, 4) Beaches

4 places I've lived: 1) Montreal, 2) Toronto, 3) Victoria, 4) St. John's

4 shows I watch (this is tough): 1) The Hour (George Stombolopolous), 2) The Border, 3) ... 4)... do The Backyardigans and The Suite Life with Zack & Cody count!?!

4 people who e-mail me regularly: 1) Libby, 2) Anne, 3) Doreen, 4) Debbie

4 favorite things to eat: 1) prime rib (with apologies to you vegetarians), 2) cheesecake, 3) chocolate, 4) turnip

4 places I'd rather be- nowhere, other than a short stint in Tuscany, I'm exactly where I want to be.

4 things I look forward to this year: 1) celebrating our son's first anniversary home with us, 2) the summer, 3) getting better at quilting, 4) taking the kids camping.

Now, I'm supposed to tag 4 others... but I won't since I just tagged 7 above. If any of the 7 of you want to do the "4 things meme", too, then go for it!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

2008-02-09T08:23:00.001-03:30

The Up Side of Being Down

2008-02-05T12:49:00.000-03:30

I'm down today- home with a sort of flu-like thing. I haven't felt well since Wednesday, when I had a migraine. Then, on Friday, I started feeling the effects of a mild but annoying gastro virus that kept me busy. It's the "perfect virus" in terms of getting itself replicated, since it doesn't actually make you sick enough to keep you at home. I've been careful to try not to spread it.... lots of hand washing, copious use of cleaning products in the bathrooms, etc. But, this morning, my daughter woke up with it. Sigh. She went on to the great repository of all microbes- elementary school.

Today, I woke up with achey bones, headache, raging sore throat, so I decided to stay home, my husband took the kids to where they needed to be, and I fell back to sleep. So... now I'm up, feeling a little better, and I am SHOCKED to find out that Drew Carey is the host of The Price is Right!!! He's doing a pretty good job, too. And if I wasn't home sick, I would have never known that. I've always liked Drew Carey- he reminds me of my husband (who is more like a Drew Carey on too much caffeine).

Well, now that I've belly-ached about my belly aches, I want to show you this:

It's the quilt that I made as a birthday gift for one of my best friends in the world, Libby. I've been dying to post the pics, but I had to wait until I knew the postman delivered it to her (since I have the sneaky suspicion that she drops by here every now and then!). BTW, how do you like my new slippers? They are *so* comfy.

As far as quilts go, it's pretty simple. It's made from strips of African-inspired fabrics. The filler is a polar fleece blanket. The backing is a "ducky" flannel fabric remnant that I got for a bargain.

I machine-quilted the outline of the strips, and then I did some hand-quilitng (or maybe embroidery?) on the borders. Overall, I'm so happy with it. It's my FIRST completely finished quilt- so it will always be special, even if its not perfect ;)!

Well, time for another quick nap, I think. Hope you all fend off any germs heading your way better than I have!

China Update from Half the Sky

2008-02-01T14:49:00.000-03:30

This is an e-mail from Jenny Bowen, Director of "Half the Sky". She has written a detailed message about how the severe weather in China is affecting the SWIs in various provinces. Read her news, and then think about whether you can help.

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Hello again,

Welfare institutions in south and central China are having the hardest time dealing with the weather disaster. This part of the country is simply not equipped to deal with extreme cold or heavy snow and ice. The most common critical problems are power outages, lack of safe drinking and cooking water, lack of fuel, diapers and public transportation. In many places where buses have stopped running, our Half the Sky nannies have been walking hours (in one case, 4 hours) along icy roads to get to the children. As conditions worsen, our nannies and teachers are remaining at the institutions day and night. They have given up the idea of going home to their own families for the holidays. They need quilts. They need warm clothing. They need coal, water, disposable diapers and food.

Here are the reports I have thus far, while in-flight. I will send more soon. Where you don’t see a report, either all is well or I don’t yet have information. I will tell you when we’ve heard from everyone. We’ve also given all the directors an emergency number to call when/if the situation changes.

Hunan Province –

Chenzhou has had no electricity or water for six days. They are relying on coal for heat and cooking. The supermarkets and banks are closed. Staff is using personal money for baby food, diapers, coal and water. Costs are rising due to shortages. They have a natural well which, thankfully, is not frozen. Even the older children are helping to fetch water. They have perhaps six days of food remaining. The local government is overwhelmed by the disaster and is unable to help much.

Shaoyang has seen heavy snow every day for 20 days. There is sufficient water and, for the moment, there is power, so the children are warm. However, 5 of 6 power poles have been downed by weather. Only one stands and the institution fears it will fall as well, leaving them without electricity. Much of the rest of the city is already dark. Children and caregivers continue to work and play together. High school students are cramming for exams and trying to ignore the cold. Everyone prays that the power pole will continue to stand.

Yueyang also has no electricity. The one functioning power generator is being used in the children’s dormitory. They are relying on coal heat but the price has tripled in recent days. They are running out of food and have applied to the local Bureau of Civil Affairs for funds to buy more. Our HTS nannies have been walking for hours to get to work, often slipping
on the ice, “even though they try to be cautious.”

Xiangtan has had snow for the past 10 days. The main water pipe is “broken again.” There is no water for cooking right now but they do have electricity, coal and blankets. They are still able to buy food but prices have gone way up. Not all of the HTS nannies can get to work every day. They are keeping the programs going as well as they can and make sure that at least five nurturing nannies are there with the babies every day, along with the institution’s caregivers.

Jiangsu Province –

Changzhou has seen some heavy snows but the director reports that the children are fine. The director says that he’s doing his best to ensure that the children do not suffer. Public transportation is crippled by the snow and HTS nannies and teachers are waiting for hours to catch a bus for home or even walking home in the snowy dark.

Nanjing reports no problems at all despite the heavy snows. I tried to fly into Nanjing yesterday but it was not possible.

Anhui Province -

Chuzhou has both water and power. Only public transportation has failed. HTS nannies and teachers are walking to work. They are leaving home extra early to be there for the children.

Guangxi Province –

Guilin has two broken HTS heater/air conditioners in the Infant Nurture rooms and they’ve asked us to replace. The rooms are very, very cold. They ask for more soft matting for the floors and also snow boots for our HTS nannies who’ve been slipping and falling in the ice and snow as they come to work. They are so ill-equipped to handle severe weather.

Jiangxi Province –

Fuzhou lost power for a few days but now it is back to normal. The snow stopped a couple of days ago but now is falling again. The directors and HTS staff have gathered all the children into one big room to keep them warm. They’ve bought New Years clothes for the children and will have a party no matter how bad the weather. This year, however, the foster parents will stay home to keep the children safe. The institution has enough food and water. They want us to focus on those in more serious trouble and ask us please not to worry.

Jiujiang says they’ve never faced such bitter weather. They desperately need disposable diapers. Washable diapers cannot be dried. They need warm clothes, shoes, gloves hats quilts and warm mats for the floors. They need medicine for infant coughs and colds.

Hubei Province –

Wuhan suffers heavy snows but they still have power. Heaters are working but there is no water for bathing. The local community has offered to take children in for the Chinese New Year and the institution feels this may be the best decision to keep them safe.

Huangshi reports that the freeze is so severe that all heater/air conditioners have stopped functioning. They need quilts and warm clothes for the children. They need disposable diapers. Several HTS nannies have fallen on the ice on their way to work and they need medicine to treat cuts and bruises.

Gathering these reports together makes me think about how careful we have always been at Half the Sky to maintain our focus on nurture and education programs. Ours is not a medical or relief organization. There are many wonderful groups who do that work. Probably the primary reason we’ve been able to accomplish so much and reach so many children is because we’ve maintained our focus on our core mission -- providing nurturing care for children who’ve lost their families..

But a moment like this really cannot be ignored. The tragedy of Hurricane Katrina in the US taught us that no matter how wealthy a country might be, its vulnerable citizens (old, poor, ill, and orphaned children) are the ones who suffer most when disaster strikes. Even as China seems to be entering the first world, a disaster like this is quite simply crippling. We know that orphaned children will be among those who suffer the damage most.

I say this because I think we should break one of Half the Sky’s rules and, if there are sufficient funds raised in the Little Mouse Emergency Fund, we should offer relief (water, food, diapers, quilts, clothing) to any orphanage where children need help. Let’s see how this goes. If people are as generous as I think they might be, we will work with the provincial Bureaus of Civil Affairs in every hard-hit community, and offer assistance to all welfare institutions where there is need.

Please lend a hand, however you can. You can donate to the Little Mouse Emergency Fund by calling us in the US at +1-510-525-3377 or in Asia at +852- 2520-5266 or by visiting us at www.halfthesky.org. Once there, you can click on “Donate Now”
http://give.halfthesky.org/prostores/servlet/Categories?category=Direct+Contributions
or go to http://www.halfthesky.org/help/docs/usdonation-orderform.pdf to download a form to mail or fax. Donations are tax-deductible in US, Canada and Hong Kong.

Please forward this message and tell your friends and family.

I will be back with an update very, very soon.

Thank you!

Jenny

Jenny Bowen
Executive Director
Half the Sky Foundation
www.halfthesky.org

Half the Sky was created in order to enrich the lives and enhance the prospects for orphaned children in China. We establish and operate infant nurture and preschool programs, provide personalized learning for older children and establish loving permanent family care and guidance for children with disabilities. It is our goal to ensure that every orphaned child has a caring adult in her life and a chance at a bright future.

Want to receive our free Half the Sky newsletter, full of stories and photos, via regular mail? Just go to our website www.halfthesky.org and click on "Join our Mailing List."

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Snow Days

2008-01-26T08:27:00.000-03:30

We had two storms in three days this past week. Two "snow days"- schools closed, events cancelled, and everything else that comes with lots of snow... like digging out!

Here's my husband who is still outside in -14 degrees, blowing the snow so we can get our oldest daughter to her basketball game in a couple of hours.

Here's the view from our family room (I'm not going out there unless I have to!) of our neighbour's driveway. That is a Honda CR-V parked there, and, yes, the snow on their lawn is higher than the top of it.

We have had significant snowfall since December. That's a bit early for us. The upshot of this has been that we've been digging out not only the front of the house, but also the backyard. Or, I should say, *I* have been shovelling the backyard, since my husband does the front.

"Why shovel the backyard?" you may be wondering. Well, we have 3 dogs, and our yard looks like this:

To the left of our shed, you'll see bits our fence. Yep, the snow is pretty much level with the top of most of the fence now, and the dogs can march right over it! As you can see, I've lost the battle with two storms this week so close together. Last year, I was able to hold out until mid-February when I finally had to admit defeat. So, the dogs have to resign themselves to getting tied on to the deck. And I will resign myself to spending 20 minutes letting one out at a time, several times a day. At least when its this cold, they don't want to be out there for long.

One last pic, from upstairs in the house:

Looks like the chain link fence across the back of the yard has finally collapsed once and for all on one end. I guess we'll be looking at putting up a new one this summer. Maybe something 10 feet high...

Shake it to the left...

2008-01-21T19:26:00.001-03:30

Baby got a new groove, and so does Mama... DX in preschool, and me back at work.

He LOVES it!! After a bit of a rough start, he has adjusted amazingly quickly- this is only the beginning of his second full week. Today, he look concerned as I left, but then went on in his room with his teacher, and waved bye. Unbelievable to me- the parent of a child (now 8) who cried every day at preschool... and kept on doing so until the middle of Kindergarten!

The preschool teachers think he's the cat's meow. He's just a friendly, happy little dude, and acts as if he's been there forever. (We are so lucky to have this kid in our lives!!)

Well, right now he's throwing blocks across the living room, so I better go. Hey, I never said he was perfect!

Newsweek Article

2008-01-13T09:49:00.001-03:30

Interesting read... "Faces of the Abandoned" by Noelle Chun.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/77710/page/1

"I'm sorry, there's nobody here by that name..."

2008-01-12T14:29:00.000-03:30

This has not been the best of weeks.

I started back to work, and once DX was over a case of the croup, he went to preschool. Not too happily, either, I might add.

I am also really feeling so sad for the irl friends and bloggy friends who have just had some major confirmation that they will be waiting for their little girl from China for another year, or two... or three. It's such a downer.

I kept DX awake a little bit later than usual last night, in the hopes that he'd sleep in an extra few minutes this morning. Well, that worked out well. Not.

So, I got up with him early and was generally in a cranky mood all morning. I finally decided I needed to snap myself out of it, so I told dh that I was going to take a shower. He had the con.

Five minutes of solitude was about all I managed. First, my 8 year-old had some burning questions to shout through the bathroom door. That tipped off 3 year-old DX to where I was. So, for the next 10 minutes I listened to a little fist pounding on the door, calling "Mom. Mom. Mom." No tears or stress or anything like that. Just the incessant "Mom".

"I'm sorry, there's nobody here by that name."

At one point his father clued in and tried to remove him. Unsuccessfully.

When I finally emerged, you'd think he hadn't seen me in days! "MOM!!" ... how can you really stay mad at that? You can't. He's too cute. But still, Mom needs a little space sometimes, too, buddy... (yes, transitions are hard for everyone...)

Did I mention his new favorite word? Next to "Mom", that is:

"NO!!!"

(sigh)

One more project done

2008-01-06T09:28:00.000-03:30

This is the Harry Potter 'Gryffindor' scarf that I started back in July, when all the hype about the 7th book was happening. (Yes, we pre-ordered our copy and I took the girls to Chapters at midnight to pick it up!) I sewed on the tassels this morning. My 10 year-old is wearing it around the house. Of course, it goes with no winter jacket or coat she owns, so how much she'll actually wear it is doubtful! But its kinda cute, don't you think?

Hmm... is 39 too old to wear a Harry Potter scarf? ;)

Now, all I have left to finish up is a pair of knitted socks and a sweater for my 3-year old neice. The socks were started for my other daughter about 2 years ago, and the sweater was begun with my now 7 year-old neice in mind. What can I say? I'm slow... but things eventually do get done. My knitting and sewing projects seem to have their own time scale... not quite 'geologic', but maybe close!

Another one down...

2008-01-04T16:26:00.000-03:30

We're just back in from the hospital. DX had a mastoidectomy on his left ear this morning, and the ear tube replaced in his other ear. While I knew that the mastoidectomy would involve an incision behind his ear, I wasn't prepared for the extent of it. It pretty much starts right under his earlobe and travels around to the top of his ear. Poor baby.

The good news is that what appeared to be a soft tissue growth in the CT scan seems to be "just" inflamed and old scarred tissue, likely caused by numerous untreated ear infections (babies with cleft issues are very prone to these). The finally pathology report will take a week or two to come in, but the ENT doesn't seem too concerned that it is anything more than that. He does believe, though, that DX's eustachian tube in that ear is probably permanently damaged from scarring, so he may need ear tubes on that side indefinitely.

DX was a little more upset this time when it was time to go to the OR. I suppose the memory of his palate surgery - only 6 weeks ago- is still fresh. He almost didn't get to go in at all! During the preliminary questions, I told the nurse that he went to his first day of preschool yesterday, and that there were 2 confirmed cases of chicken pox there. Well, they quarantined us immediately until I could get the preschool on the phone (at 7:45 am!) to get more details. Luckily, the 2 children who got them were NOT in his room, so they let us out of quarantine and into the waiting room! Understandable, but a tad frustrating.

Well, I hope this surgery puts an end to them for a good while. He's such a little trooper, but I'm sure he's had enough. So has Mom!

2008-01-01T00:03:00.000-03:30

Here' s to 2008!!

2008-01-01T00:00:00.000-03:30

The last day of 2007 has been great so far!

I got my grocery shopping done early, ran the necessary errands, cleaned out the hall closet, and put away the kid's laundry. We have everything we need to cook the family dinner tomorrow (for 6 adults and 6 kids), and the house is reasonably in order. I had a surprise visit from a friend who spent Christmas in sunny Florida and then a nice chat with my dear friend who lives in Nova Scotia. And, I even had some time this evening to quilt- whoo hoo! What a way to spend New Year's Eve! (We're getting bad weather, so our typical New Year's Eve tradition of taking the kids to the fireworks is not on the agenda this year).

2007 has been a remarkable year for our family. We finally have our son and brother! We had a fantastic trip to China. We made new friends with the families we travelled with. We really have been blessed beyond belief. And we know it, and are grateful.

I wish for all of you the best in 2008. May your blessings be abundant and your worries few!

Two minutes 'til midnight here... we're the first province in Canada to celebrate the New Year. Have a great one, everyone.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.... Happy New Year!!