The rest of life

What's been going on *besides* adoption.  Sheesh, right?

Lael has learned how to ride her two wheeler.  I may have reported this a while back, but now she really, really can do it.  There were emotional hurdles to overcome, as she perviously had insisted we trot alongside her bike no more than 6 inches away.  If we weren't there, she didn't have the courage to continue.  the other weekend, we gave it a go again because the weather was lovely and girl scout cookies had arrived.  yes, we bribed our child.  One cookie per lap around the island in the middle of the cul-de-sac.  Our neighbor JJ thought this was hilarious and was determined to see Lael earn the entire box.  Our sweet girl had a crowd gathered in no time and soaked up all of the praise.  It was truly beautiful.  That night, she did about 20 laps.  Mean ol' parents that we are, we only gave her 4 Thin Mints that night and a few more in the days to follow (20 cookies is waaaaay too much for that tiny body!)

Grant read his first pleasure novel.  Every book before this, I insisted he read.  So, all 192 pages of Henry and Ribsy were consumed in the span of about a week and a half due to internal motivation.  Thank GOD for Beverly Cleary!!!  Seriously... this is a HUGE thing for an eight year old who doesn't like reading.  It all started with the read-aloud Henry Huggins (which I read to all three kids).  Grant liked it so much that he insisted we go to the library the day we finished to pick up a few of the author's continuing stories of Henry.  As a kid, I always liked the Ramona books but had never read the Henry books.  I am one proud mom and look forward to this book-reading spark to ignite into flame.

Dean is reading more and more, too.  Actually, he is excelling at school.  This is great news to me, because I can safely say that I haven't ruined him by homeschooling this year.  He's great with his letters, a whiz in math, and is really coming along in his art skills.  But back to the math- he always says "that's easy!" so I keep moving him along.  the other day, Grant taught him the concept of multiplication and HE GOT IT.  Eric said that he did practical division (of food portions, I think) the other day.  We're going to finish this K math curriculum early, I think, and then move on to 1st grade math as long as he's enjoying it. 

Me?  I've been struggling with my back flaring up.  I'm doing chiropractic, physical therapy, massage, and ice and rest at home.  I herniated my disk a year ago, and it is still not right.  My sister-in-law Angie stole Lael the other day (the nice kind of stealing) so I could rest and a friend brought me dinner.  I've been wearing this stupid back brace and moving like and eighty year old.  I'm rather frustrated and need healing.  I keep thinking about Dorothy and how I need to be in top shape to travel in a plane for 20 hours and to hold her a lot when we get her so we can bond.  The "test run" for travel will be when we go for my brother's wedding next month.  We fly to California (only 5 hours) and will be doing a good deal of walking at Disneyland for 2 days (for Christmas, we bought park hopper passes for all 5 of us).  Soooooo... that has been seriously on my mind.

There's more.  Like sewing curtains, doing a painting, having a Valentine's Party with the family, buying a different van (and selling the old one), and planning some adoption fundraisers.  But, there's really never enough time to highlight it all.

January second, I got an updated DTP shot as part of my physical.  Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis.  I was warned beforehand that it is a doozy of a shot- that your arm is SORE afterward.  The doctor said, "it's like when us guys get ridiculous in college and punch each other for fun.  It aches for a few days."  Um.. Okay.  I've never been a guy in college and I've never allowed myself to be a punching bag for fun, but I kind of get his point.

So, yes, my arm was very achy and sore for a few days.  I complained and babied that arm.  Then, it was better and wasn't a problem.

But, fast forward a few days after that and WOW.  I started having a numbness and zinging sensation going down my arm.  Very nerve-related.  In fact, I kind of assumed it was related to the pinched neck I have right now after Grant snuck around the corner and yelled "boo!" while I was blow-drying my hair (immediate and painful crinked neck!).  Well, about a day after the zinging feeling, it transformed into this near paralysis.  Doing my own little range of motion test, I CAN NOT lift or move my arm in certain directions.  It's as if my arm is asleep- only very painful.  At times, I've had to assist my left arm with the right one to get a job done.

After a brief search online, it looks like this is a sometimes side effect of the vaccination.  So, I've put in a call to the doctor to figure out what can be done or how long it takes to resolve such a reaction.  I also read some horror stories about patients who experienced temporary paralysis beyond the arm and necrosis.  Eeek.

Now I'm a bit nervous for the other immuniztions I need updated.  My bloodwork came back saying that my Hep B immunity is not there anymore.  I've only briefly looked into the recommended medicines/shots etc. for when we travel to get our little girl.  As we've got time, I'm not completely focused on those.

I just got back from finishing up my medical paperwork for the home study update at my doctor's office.  Last week, I did the physical and today I was meeting up with a traveling notary at the office to witness and vouch for the doctor's signature.

With my red file folder in hand, he spotted me quickly and introduced himself.  He was an older gentleman wearing a 3 piece suit, evident cologne, and had a briefcase in hand.

At the end when I wrote the check, he told me, "Thank you for what you're doing".  I was obviously puzzled, so he shared his story with me.  Currently almost 97, he was adopted, at the age of five to a lovely set of foster parents.  At thirteen, they passed away.  From that point on, he raised himself until the age of 19 when he joined the army.  He went to school by day, and worked in the cotton mill after class until 11pm, then started it all over again the next day.  At thirteen!  Obviously, this was before child labor laws.  He said all this with a charming smile on his face- the smile of a man who had overcome adversity, faulted no one, and knew he was blessed.  I told him that the Lord had surely watched over him, and he agreed.  It was a precious encounter and I wish I knew more.  I'd love for him to be interviewed.  Doesn't a life like that deserve an article, or TV journalism piece, or a book or a movie?!  Wow.

Even though our child is not home we have been blessed to meet others in this realm of adoption.  I will never be the same.

Where have I been?!

So much more than Christmas has been going on around here!  I haven't even downloaded the pictures from my camera.  It is likely that a Christmas post will come along in mid-January.

Of course, we had Lael's surgery and all the doctors appointments after that (because we'd hit the deductible and had a bit of a free-for-all on medical related expenses, "Free!  It's all free!").

Then, just before Christmas, we began working on updating our home study.  Physicals.  Police clearances.  Financial forms.  TB tests.  Blood work.  Requesting recommendation letters from friends.  Writing letters to request new fingerprinting appointments.  Notary services.  Busy.  Busy.  Busy.

Whatever gets our daughter home, though, right?!

May this be the year we get to meet her!

Happy 2009!

After

Lael had her surgery on Monday and has been a fabulous little trouper!  The 'Day Of' was tough on us, and on her, but you'd hardly know she had surgery right now.  She took one dose of pain medicine that day because we wanted it to get her through the first night.  But, when she awoke Tuesday (and ever since) she has had no complaints and has not taken another dosing.  Hooray!

She has been wrapped in a soft cast to prevent thumb sucking and to protect it.  That will come off on Dec. 31st at which point I think it may bother her a bit more- the wound will still be healing and the scar will be tender.  In the cast, she has no movement, and I wonder if bending it will cause discomfort.  But, for now, she is doing amazingly!

We did have one challenge- clothes!  Leaving the hospital, Eric went to put her long sleeved shirt back on, and it wouldn't fit!  Neither would her coat.  I ran to the Goodwill and bought a few warm things that I don't mind cutting the arm on.  That cute coat in the picture won't be worn after the cast comes off since I hacked off the left sleeve.  But, I think the ability to allow Lael outside in winter for these two weeks will have been well worth the $7.99.

Saying that, though, is a laugh.  Today, we're having a warm spell and no coats are necessary.  We went from snow last Friday to 65F today!

The bump

The "Before":

Lael is having surgery on Monday.  We've known about this for a few weeks now, but as it creeps closer it just makes me sad.  This bony growth (exostosis) is not stopping, and has begun to overtake her thumb.  While not life threatening, I know she'll want it off (it is tender sometimes, but mostly its just ugly).  So, with our high deductible nearly met for the year, and her young resilient age, we felt this was the proper time.  Please keep her in your prayers- and Mom and Dad, too!

With the deductible met, at least until January 1st, we are now running around having a few appointments.  So, I'm fitting in a few physical therapy and chiropractor appointments for my back, a dermatology appointment, and a check up or two.  And they won't cost us a dime!  Wooo Hoo!  This has been a super expensive medical year for us (though I know it could be worse and we are totally counting our blessings!) and I pray that 2009 holds less drama.

I, apparently, can not get sick... I'm a *mom*.

When you are a mom, and you get the stomach flu, and you can't keep down water, and your husband absolutely has to go to work because he has five meetings, and your boys are playing nicely together without fighting, and your three year old daughter seems content to color beautiful pictures... DO NOT BE FOOLED.  This is not the time to crash on the couch in a puddle of flesh.  Nope.  Not The Time at all.  Why?  Well, because that is exactly when your daughter will take scissors to her locks!

I was far too exhausted to do anything but call Eric and cry when I discovered .  I did not do the right thing (meaning, I did not take pictures).  I'm really wishing I had pictures right about now!  I am thankful she did not cut at the scalp line, but the resulting pile of hair was scary none the less (it was about a cup full of hair).

Saturday morning, Eric took Lael to the appointment I made at the nice salon downtown.  The salon that they don't really accept kids at.  Not wanting corrective work done by Supercuts, I asked super nicely if they would help her and they did!  Eric said the senior stylist that worked with her was great about making Lael calm.  He did the best to retain as much length as possible and to make it look "purposeful".  Under the circumstances, I'm pleased.  I wouldn't have wished for this look- it's a bit too "70s" for me- but retro is cool, right?

As this pictures will prove, Lael loves it.  She was also pretty enamored with the salon experience and talked about how she went to Mommy's salon.  How do I tell her we can't continue with the $45 cuts?!  Yeah, come trim time, we are back to Great Clips!

Eighteen months!

Liverpool's Dirk Kuyt raises a jersey with his name and number (18) written in Chinese as his teammate Arne Riise looks on during a fan session in Hong Kong Wednesday, July 25, 2007. England's Liverpool, Portsmouth and Fulham joined Hong Kong's South China in the Asia Trophy soccer tournament on July 24 and 27 (2007) in Hong Kong.

I have all sorts of lovely pictures from my trip to New York City this weekend with my childhood chums Jen, Kim, and Candie.  Today, however, I am trying to re-establish school routine with the kids AND I am still recovering from lack of sleep, travel, a cold, and a broken foot bone (I know!).

So, for now, enjoy the image of the number 18 in Chinese.  We reached the 18-months-on-the-wait-list mark on Saturday while I was gone.  There has been no news out of my agency, but, as far as I know, there have been no new girl referrals since I last spoke with them.  

A Little Experiment

I am going to go without our microwave for a week.  I've always held that it just can't be right- heating food up that way.  When I had Grant 8 years ago and was a new nursing mom and every piece of new-mommy literature cautioned against heating up breast milk in the microwave it really stuck with me.  The reasons were 1. that the uneven heating might create "hot spots" in the milk and burn baby and 2. that the microwave breaks down vital nutrients in the milk.  The same must be true of other foods, I reasoned.

But I don't cook in the microwave, and only re-heat things so I figured my exposure was minimal and never really did much about it.

So, this week, my sister-in-law moved into her rental and there is no microwave.  We talked about how bad they potentially are and she said that she hadn't been using hers for 6 months anyway in an effort to be healthier.  That was all I needed to give it a go- someone telling me I wasn't overreacting or being "crazy".

Yesterday was my first day.  I put a sign on the microwave that says simply "no." so that as I reach for it, I'll be aware and stop myself.  The times I reached for it were when my coffee had gone cold, and when I wanted to re-heat some of the black bean stew I made the night before for that day's lunch.  Easy Peasy on the stove top for both things.  Since I was re-heating little amounts, I found that I wanted my tiny saucepan a lot.  This is will be a vital kitchen tool, I can see.  Just so that is always clean and ready for use, I handwash it as soon as I'm done warming something up.  Again, easy peasy... this really isn't such a big deal.

What do you mostly use your microwave for?  I NEVER "cook" a meal for the first time in it.  I even prefer to do the jacket potatoes in the oven- they just taste better.  And, we use an air popper for popcorn.  I really only use the microwave for re-heating food/drink and melting butter.

I dare say I think this transition will be painless.