Not According To Plan...

Well, we didn't make it to Kieren's speech therapy. I only got 2.5 hours of sleep, but that wasn't an issue. Andy got up and helped out by getting Kieren dressed and a sippy of milk. She woke up in a great mood, considering the early hour. We got started a little late and then had to stop to get air in my suddenly flat tire. Not a big deal. There was no line at McD's which was a major miracle. They even got our small order right for once! Kieren was happily munching on her hashbrowns as I drove. Then the traffic reports started coming in on the radio. There were accidents everywhere due to black ice. I wish people in this state would learn how to drive!!! I didn't have any problems and only saw one highway ramp closed.

Things were zipping along on the highway when Kieren suddenly started fussing. I figured she was just cranky and bored so I told her it wouldn't be much longer (we were already 45 minutes into the 1.25 hour drive). About two minutes later, all hell broke loose in the back seat! I heard the first gag and turned my head just in time to see Kieren's breakfast revisit us. EWWWWW!!!

But it didn't end there! She continued her Linda Blair act for two exits! We couldn't get off at the first exit due to being in the wrong lane at the wrong time. By the time we got off at the next exit, I was doing a lot of mouth breathing and praying! For a small child who only had about 5 ounces of milk an hour before and 1/3 of a hashbrown, she was covered from her mouth to her toes and shoulder to shoulder, including her carseat!!! Her gorgeous pink winter coat with "fur" trim was drenched. Her blanket, lovey, and LiLi bear were smothered. The puke had even saturated the belts of her carseat and gone down into the void under it. O...M...G...!!!

Then it hit me...Nanny had taken the spare outfit out of the diaper bag yesterday. Oh crap! I quickly weighed my options. I knew there was a Wal-mart at the exit (Cullen had once puked on himself near this exit and we had to replace his clothing too). So I slid sideways down the ramp (hmmm...the roads were slick south of Enon) and careened into the parking lot. Thank you Wal-mart for being open 24-7!!! I jumped out of the car and almost landed on my assets! I forgot it was slick! Hanging on to the car, I worked my way to Kieren. Opening the door released a whole new version of stink!!! And joy of joys, I got my first real look at the carnage. Using my butt and the door for support, I managed to haul Kieren out of her carseat without dumping the rest of the grossness into her seat.

Why is it someone ALWAYS comes by just as you have to deal with something like this?! As I was shaking the puke off of Kieren and onto the parking lot, some woman walks by, smiles at Kieren, and then cringes as she sees what I'm doing. She sure did avert her eyes quick enough and practically ran for the door! Awww, was it something I said?!

So I knocked off what nastiness I could and managed to keep both of us upright. I've managed to remain unscathed up to this point. Of course Kieren is cold and doesn't feel good. She insists I carry her! Have you ever tried to pick up a puke-covered toddler and not get smeared by it as they cling to you like a little velcro monkey?! Yeah... So I carefully carried Kieren across the icy lot (I'm so glad I grabbed my tennis shoes this morning!) and into the store.

The greeter gave me a huge smile and welcome until he got a look at Kieren (or maybe it was the smell that tipped him off). The man gave us a wide berth, but kindly asked if we needed help. I quickly explained Kieren became ill in the car and we needed new clothing to make it home. He did something I've never experienced from a Wal-mart employee before, he showed us kindness and sympathy, then directed us to the baby department. WEIRD! Kieren and I made a quick side trip on the way to clothing and grabbed a can of air freshener for the car!!!

With new sweat pants and heavy sweat shirt in hand (her coat actually dripped puke!!!!), we ran for the check out. The clerk took a look at our order then Kieren. She made such a fuss over "the poor little thing" and stuffed a bunch of extra bags into our bag ("for putting her dirty clothes in"). She was very sweet. As I payed, I had to make sure I really was in Wal-mart! We did the quick-change in the bathroom. I was totally grossed out by the fact you could wring out her tights! As we were leaving the greeter stopped us and asked if we needed help with the car. He could give us some cleaning supplies. O.M.G. I've never been treated so well in a Wal-mart in my whole life!!!

I ice-skated my way back to my car with Kieren in my arms again. At least she was clean now!!! I opened the car doors and sprayed the hell out of it with the air freshener. After the ozone-depleting cloud dissipated, I plopped Kieren into the front seat and went to work cleaning her seat enough to get us home. I won't give you details. It was nasty!!!

We finally headed for home and Kieren fell asleep. I guess we weren't meant to have that final session with Sandra! BTW, Kieren seems fine now. She is being the center of attention tonight at Cullen's sleep-over. She just LOVES the boys and they love her!!! Not sure what happened, but we are keeping an eye on her. Hope your New Years Eve is puke-free!!!

2am Ramble

Busy weekend. Looking forward to Andy going back to work on Wednesday and Cullen back to school on Thursday. Yeah, I'm that mean! It's so hard to keep Kieren on a set schedule when the men-folk are under foot!!! I love them, but...

I should be in bed right now, but insomnia has it's own ideas. I am taking Kieren to her last speech therapy session in the morning. It is a make-up session because Kieren was sick (and still is). I can't believe the only thing available was at 8am!!! That means we have to leave before 7am. UGH!!!

I'm not sure how I feel about this session. Yes, Kieren is slowly making some progress. I'm worried she will regress without the therapy, but it's not like she had any major breakthroughs during her therapy sessions. We will miss Sandra. She is really sweet and has the best sense of humor! She has been so patient with Kieren. God I hope I don't screw my daughter up any worse than she is!!!

I hope and pray that Kieren will qualify for the preschool through our school system. I don't know what I'll do if she doesn't! So I get to worry about it until Kieren's testing on February 29th and then the week following that as I wait to hear the verdict. Please let her freeze up in front of the strangers!!! I know, I'm awful!

I guess I better stop babbling and go to bed. My alarm is set for 6am. ACK!!! Cullen is having three friends from school spend the night for New Years. THIS WAS NOT MY IDEA!!! ANDY WILL PAY FOR THIS ONE!!! I have threatened to take Kieren and stay with my folks for the night, but that means there wouldn't be a responsible adult in the house. Being responsible sucks! Once Andy straps on his CPAP machine at night, he is totally dead to the world. The boys would run amok and no one would know it. Not happening!!! Think of me and say a prayer. The twerps are arriving in the afternoon.

Okay, I have to clean up my sewing mess and get to bed! I have a bunch of new Tabbies to post, but it will have to wait. BTW, Andy is working on something really cool for the Ladybug Limbo (Tabbies) site!!! Hopefully he gets it done soon so you can check it out (*hint* *hint*). I'll let you know when it's ready! More later...

Our Week in Review

Or Happy Ass, Jolly Balls, Pink Eye, & Toy Overload!

TGIF!!!! We have survived Christmas week! WoooHooo!!!!

I want to start off this post by bragging and rejoicing! I have the best parents in the whole world!!! I am now the proud and estatic owner of a huge 19" wide flat-screen monitor!!!! After suffering LOUDLY for the last 6 months or so with an itty-bitty, old, grainy "emergency" monitor, my folks got me a new one for Christmas!!!! YIPPEEEEE!!!! I can see again! All of my programs work again!!! I'm a happy girl! Thank you, Mother & Daddy!!!!!

Now that is out of the way, I guess I should explain my alternative title, huh? Happy Ass is now my favorite phrase when dealing with my hubby. After FINALLY kicking out She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named on Christmas Eve (Ummm...What part of "It's 9:17 and the kids need to get ready for bed" leaves her to believe that she can sit her Happy Ass on the couch until she darn well pleases?), Andy and I had to get the kids ready and off to bed, clean up from Christmas Eve, clean the kitchen and family room, AND wrap all the gifts. Thus the phrase "happy ass" was born. As in "get your happy ass in gear"! It works so well when children are not within earshot! It sounds pleasant, but gets the point across that you mean business. BTW, "She" didn't leave until 10pm! Andy did respond around 1:30 in the morning that he wasn't Happy Ass anymore, so then I christened him Jolly Balls! How festive, right?! For some reason he didn't think so... I have now resorted to referring to him in front of the kids as H.A. (Happy Ass). Oh the fun we have in our house!

Kieren gave us an unwanted gift on Christmas morning. She woke up with her eye sealed shut with goo. It only went downhill from there! Kieren has pink eye. By the end of Christmas Day, both of her eyes were badly swollen, gross, and red! Y...U...C...K...!!! There is NOTHING like trying to clean out the gunk from an Asian eye!!! I swear that child can suck her eye lashes into her eye and invert everything, clamping down so hard it take two adults to pry them open! I have never seen anything like it! Everyone else is fine, although I have the Paranoid Pink Eye. My eyes itch because I know I can't touch them. God is such a comedian! I'm fine, but it doesn't make me not want to rub them!!! I called the doctor on Boxing Day (day after Christmas for the uninformed) and left a message. Dr. Tammy called in a prescription the next day and Kieren is doing much better now.

This was a rough Christmas for us. Money was non-existent for the most part so the kids didn't get much from us. That doesn't mean they didn't get much! Between my folks, Uncle Matt, Aunt Heather, & Uncle Sean, the kids now own a very well stocked toy store!!! Cullen's favorites include a new MP3 player, BlueMan Group Keyboard, GameboyDS, and two (that's right, 2) X-Box systems. Kieren's favorites include her Snap & Style Dolls (these things are awesome!!!), Tinkerbell tent, V. Smile TV Game System, and her pink laptop. We are still trying to find places to put things! We would be lost without our family and feel so blessed to have them!

Today was our last Christmas event. Our traditional lunch at Olive Garden with Uncle Jeff and Grandpa Carl! (Hi, guys!!! Quit lurking and say hello to the nice people!) We love this tradition! After lunch, the guys join us for cherry pie and ice cream at the house. Everyone exchanges gifts and we get to enjoy each other. This year Cullen talked Carl into playing a new game we got him call The Annoying Thing. It was a riot!!! I truly recommend you buy this game! I bought ours from http://www.ltdcommodities.com . It is so funny and the kids are better at it than the adults. Kieren loves the Big LiLi she got from Uncle Jeff and the Paz Laptop she got from Grandpa Carl!!! Cullen had a Derek Jeeter Christmas!!! I promise to post photos soon.

So tomorrow we begin preparing for New Years, but that's another story...

Uncle Sean & The Kids

My brother, Sean, claims not to like kids. Yeah, right... You decided!

Our Christmas Card

Cullen - Christmas 2007

Kieren - Christmas 2007

Misc. Pre-Christmas Photos

Cullen making an Advent wreath.

Kieren making an Advent wreath.

Kieren in her beautiful new outfit from Nanny.

Kieren took her special doll to the community church service on Saturday night. This doll is from the Charity Shop in Guangzhou. It is completely knit. Kieren loves her! Half-way through the service Kieren decided she would rather play with her friends in the nursery. She is such a creature of habit!

Presents!!! Uncle Matt and Grandma Carol came over on Christmas Eve. My parents also joined us for our traditional appetiser buffet. My family has done this since I could remember!

Cullen was a happy camper! Then Uncle Matt sent him over the top by giving him TWO X-Box systems!!! Uncle Matt took one with him to Iraq but it has issues. It seems Matt bought himself a new system so Cullen inherited the old ones!

The three kids playing Gamecube and X-Box. As you can see, Kieren loves her Uncle Matt!

Enjoying our time together.

Merry Christmas

May the blessings of this day be many. May you remember the real reason for celebration. May God bless you and keep you. Merry Christmas from our family to yours.

Sam, Andy, Cullen, Kieren, Abercrombie, Harry & Pumpkin

HELP...ME...

God help me!!! She-who-must-not-be-named has been here 20 minutes. Kieren is crying uncontrollably from her yelling at her. If you don't want a two-year-old to get into your bag then don't leave it on the floor under the tree! I've heard "what is THAT" directed at everything I've cooked. She waits until she has a huge mouthful of food BEFORE she talks. AAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!! Prayers and bail money are needed...

Silly Sunday

Wound Up!

Kieren had just a bit too much energy the other night! She was a good girl during the 90 minute concert at Cullen's school. Yes, she climbed me like the little monkey she is, but I'm used to that! When we got home from the concert, Kieren ran laps around the Family Room. She cracks me up!!!

Hope

I know many of you are still waiting for your child. With the waits getting longer and longer, it seems like you will never see your child or hold her (or him) in your arms. I'm so sorry. My heart aches for you, especially at this time of year. It seems impossible that the CCAA hasn't completed LIDs for the year 2005, while I was LID Feb. 2005 and have been home with Kieren for 2 years. The whole adoption community waits with you. You are not alone during this wait. I hope we can give you hope...

Hope
Video sent by drewnsam

Thank You!

Thank you to everyone who participated in my little photo project!!! It's done!!!! I couldn't have done it without your help. Now I just have to decide when to show you! Maybe today??? Maybe tomorrow??? Maybe next week??? Hmmm...

Two Years Ago Today...

Our Red Couch moment. Kieren is in the front row, second from the left.

Then & Now

I was looking at the Christmas photos of the kids today. I have them sitting next to each other on the curio cabinet in the living room. Why am I always so shocked and amazed at the changes from year to year?! It's not just the changes in Kieren either. Cullen's face has really changed! It makes me smile and feeling like crying at the same time. Where have my babies gone??? BTW, the photo on the left was taken at the White Swan in Guangzhou exactly two years ago today!!!

Kieren's Boots!!!

Kieren has a "thing" for shoes. Boots rank right up there with the shoes! Right before our first big snow (couple of weeks ago), Kieren and I ran into Once Upon A Child (second-time-around kids clothing store). I found two pairs of boots in her size. Both pairs looked like they had NEVER been worn!!! (I also got a brand-new-with-the-tags-on pair of black shoes for $3.50!!!) This is the pair Kieren chose. Heaven forbid she should have the sedate black and purple ones!!! The Empress chose this pair! They are shiny white and perriwinkle blue. The lining is rainbow "fur"! There are shiny purple stars on the fasteners!! They are so Kieren.

Kieren loves these boots so much she wears them around the house!

So, do you think she likes them just a little???

Showing off her boots (not her bootie!!)! Sorry about the "unusual" outfit. Kieren was getting ready to go outside to play in the snow and just couldn't wait to put those boots on! Wish I looked so cute in nothing but tights, a turtle-neck, and boots!!!

Photo Shoot - Cullen

Photo Shoot - Cullen & Kieren

Christmas Angels

Morning Photo Shoot - Kieren

Kieren isn't feeling too well this morning, but I decided to take my chances and do a photo shoot anyway. (Let's just say there were bribes involved.) Poor kid has an awful barking cough! Kieren LOVES LOVES LOVES her Christmas dress!!! It was easy to get her to put it on, but every time I take it off her she finds it and puts it back on! She's still wearing it 2 hours later!!! So here are some of the shots from this morning. This evening will be the photo shoot for both kidlets. That's always an adventure!!!

"I'm only doing this for Santa!"

"Momma, I really don't want to do this."

Dance of The Seven Veils!

"Maybe if I smile nice, Momma will let me go play! Why are you laughing?!"

So elegant for a pipsqueak!

Interesting camera malfunction.

"Mmmmm...candy cane!"

"I sit still for Pez."

Being coy!

So sweet!

My beautiful little Empress!