I make the rockin' world go 'round!!

Oh, yes...oh yes I do. Never doubt that. :-)

So, I've been a bit in the dumps recently. I know many good things going on--tenure, smart baby etc. But still I'm sick again. This is about my 5th sinus infection of the year and with it comes the antibiotics and with that...well ladies, you know what usually comes with antibiotics and it ain't no fun. Sooo as I said, I've been in the dumps here recently. But today I saw the light at the end of the tunnel in the form of Queen.

I was driving home from the grocery store with a huge bag of yogurt when suddenly I heard the opening strums of Fat Bottomed Girls (Also known as the love story of Lissa and Russell--he was after all a skinny underaged lad when I first got my thick mature hands on him! ;-)) And I realized...Lydia is not in the car!!

So I blasted it!! I haven't blasted my music in almost a year. I blasted it and began to scream at the top of my lungs "Get on your bikes and ride!!"

It was fun, it was freeing, it was theraputic.

So to all you new mommas out there feeling a bit in the dumps! GET ON YOUR BIKES AND RIDE!!!

I did and it was great!

Red Barn Gifts

A local favourite Red Barn Gifts is a fun place to visit while in town. Lydia ran around and the family shopped. I, of course, took pictures. :-)


The entrance to Red Barn Gifts



Russell follows behind Lydia as she sets off exploring the farm.




Grandpa hold Lydia inside Red Barn Gifts.



Laura and Lydia pose beneath the archway leading to the Red Barn Farm.

Coming out of her shell

As the visit progressed Lydia opened up more and more. Here she is napping on her Auntie Laura.




My Brother David, My Dad, My Aunt, My Uncle, My Sister Laura, me and My Mom in front

Warming up slowly

Here's me encouraging Lydia not tobe scared of her Grandpa(my daddy). Liddy would eventually warm up to everyone...but she stuck pretty close to me the first couple of days.




This is my sister Laura with Lydia. Laura is really excited to be meeting Liddy for the first time. Liddy's just not as sure yet as you can tell by the expression on her face.

Failing her first test

I'm gonna sorta combine some info here as they happened relatively about the same time and effect one another...so please be patient with this post. :-)

We recently had Lydia evaluated by a therapist for possible inclusion into the First Steps program. This is a program for children who are developmentally behind for whatever reason. It catches the children up and gets them back on track so they aren't delayed in their growth progress.

We were concerned. Lydia doesn't talk much. Mostly grunting and pointing go on at our house, with a good dose of hand gestures thrown in so mommmy knows which specific song Lydia wants her to sing. (Right now we are on a "Hot Potato" kick...please don't make me sing it for you...trust me, I sing it a lot and I know all the required hand movements to boot!)

Anyway, I digress. So, we had her evaluated. The evaluation took place in our home and consisted of questions for us, questions for her, observation and skills tests. As we watched, and participated we were so sure she was behind. So many of the things Jen did with Lydia, she just couldn't do. But then Jen reassured us, with a "Don't worry, what I've been doing is advanced for her age." And that confused us mightily. But what we would ultimately discover was remarkable and a little bit scary.

First let me cut the suspense, she failed the entrance exam. Let me tell you, as a parent, you're never so glad for your child to fail a test as this one!!

Second, not only did she fail, she failed big time. It seems our girl is advanced. She is ahead in most areas. She basically possesses the skills and cognative abilities of a 2 year old--so about 4-5 months ahead of the game. Not only that, she apparently has the memory of an elephant. There is no way to know for sure how far back she can remember...but Jen said to me she may actually remember China. (That would be over double what she should be able to recall at this age!)

Lastly, our girl is behind in one area...socially/emotionally. She basically is about 3-4 months behind here. While Jen didn't use this term, what that basically means is an attachment disorder. She is overly attached. Afraid of abandonment, she has extreme stranger anxiety. She doesn't reach out much to others beyond me and Russell. Hence the lack of speech. We "get" the grunts and the pointing, so she has no need to speak. So, basically Jen told us to act dumb and make her talk. And now, just a week and a half later, we much dumber parents have heard about 2 times the number of words. She's gone from about 8, to about 18 not including babysigns. Double, in just over a week. It's amazing what playing dumb can get ya! :-)

So...if that wasn't enough to make it a big week, Lydia also met my family for the first time. Day one was hard. Lydia clung to me big-time and just cried. Day two was a little easier, and each day she came out of her shell some more. By the end of their visit Lydia was letting my sister hold her for short periods and would approach and even kiss her grandparents. So even in the social/emotional area we got to see some progress this week.

P.S. I've tried 3 times to add pictures to this post..Blogger won't let me right now, so pictures will (hopefully) be forthcoming.

It's official

I have tenure!

Handmedowns

When I was a little girl I had a rocking chair. It was my chair my parents bought for me and I loved it. I would sit on it, stand on it, rock my dolls in it, etc.

Well my folks were here this week (more posts to soon follow) and when they came to meet their grand-daughter for the first time, they brought the rocker. It needs a little wood glue and you can still see the teething marks from it's previous owner (me), but otherwise it's in good shape.

Lydia loves it. She likes to sit on it, stand on it and rock her dolls in it. Some things never change huh?

Sharper than a razor. Brighter than the sun.

Lydia did something remarkable today!

Usually we give her a bath before bedtime, but occassionally our schedule varies and so Lydia gets a morning "dip" instead. Completely disrobed, diaper and all, Lydia waited while we drew her bath. But nature called! So what did Lydia do? She went to her room, picked up a diaper, spread it on the floor crouched over it and relieved herself. Some spilled over onto the tiled hallway...but the point is...she knew. She knew she had to go, she knew she should go in the diaper and she thought about it enough to do something about it.

No one can ever call my baby a dummy, that's for sure!

Perpetual Bliss

You can kiss me in the moonlight
On the rooftop under the sky
You can kiss me with the windows open
While the rain comes pouring inside
Kiss me in sweet slow motion
Let’s let every thing slide
You got me floating, you got me flying

It’s the way you love me
It’s a feeling like this
It’s centrifugal motion
It’s perpetual bliss

Ways in which parents will humiliate themselves in order to get baby to smile for a picture!

Joke's on him, she never did smile!
:-) <--Here's a smile for you daddy.

Parktime=Funtime

Lumps of Clay

Take a lump of clay,
wet it, pat it.
Make a statue of you.
Make a statue of me.
Then shatter them,
clatter them.
Add some water,
and break them and mold them
into a statue of you
and into a statue of me.
Then in mine, are bits of you,
and in you, there are bits of me
Nothing shall ever keep us apart.
--Kuan Tao Sheng
(Sung Dynasty)

Mothers Day with "Little Bird"

Biggest Wanter Ever Born

I want, I ache, I aspire, I covet, I crave, I desiderate, I fancy, I hanker, I hunger, I incline toward, I itch for, I lech over, I long, I lust, I pine, I thirst, I wish, I yearn, I yen.

I like THINGS.

My dad told me many times I was born with an enlarged want gland. For awhile in my youth, I thought there really was a want gland, sorta like a sweat gland, but not as stinky. I grew to learn he was pulling my leg...but it still didn't make me want things any less.

That being said, this Mother's Day when hubby asked me what I wanted I had no answer for him. I have everything I want. (Well, besides the 87 million dollars...but I think even that's a bit much for me to ask for this year anyway.)So I told him I didn't really want anything.

Now hubby isn't a good shopper. He hates it. I am the shopper. So casting him adrift in a sea of merchandise with the task of getting me a mother's day present was kinda cruel...cause while I like things...I also don't like just anything.

But hubby did a great job this year. He met the challenge and conquered it. And I love my gifts.

My Gifts

Here are the flowers he got me. White lilies (my favourite) with purple and pink flowers. (Purple is my favourite colour.)

-and-


These twin pendants celebrate one of the most cherished bonds of all—that of a mother and daughter. The top pendant is mother-of-pearl and hand-carved with the Chinese characters for mother and daughter. Underneath, the English translation is etched in sterling silver.

From Mommy-Near to Mommy-Far

Today is Mother's Day and sofar it's been just great. I've talked to my Mom and Russ has called his and I have received presents and enormous amounts love.

While I am happily being spoiled by those I love, I felt it was wrong to go through the day without remembering Lydia's Faraway Mommy. This woman, who I will likely never know, is a huge part of our lives and I felt it was appropriate and necessary to share with her a portion of this day. So here we are, balloons in hand with a picture of Lydia and a note from me attached. I know she will never get them...but one day, maybe Lydia will find her and get to meet her and hopefully Lydia will share with her the stories of going out every mother's day with Mommy-Near in order to honor Mommy-Far.

My Mother's Curse

I'm worried.

You see, my mother pronounced a curse on me and my sister some 24-25 years ago when my sister was pregnant with my nephew Lewis. I wanted Laura to have a girl. Not because I didn't want her to have a boy, but honestly because I liked the name Teresa more than I liked the name Lewis. And my mom (who ALWAYS gets baby genders right...it's spooky) said that it was destined that Laura would have a rough and tumble boy and I would have a sweet well behaved girl.
We both laughed...we were young and naive...but lo and behold Laura gave birth to Lewis and he was rough and he tumbled.
I took to him immediately. I have never met another soul on this planet more like me. He was my male counterpart and I "got" him. Laura...God Bless Her...is a great mom to Lew.

Now I have Lydia. She is the sweet well behaved girl mom told me I would have. And wow...is she well behaved. You say no and she stops. And you know what? I rarely have to say no. So my question...is this gonna be who she is forever? Part of me hopes so. She is sooooo easy. But this other part of me is like, comeon...FIGHT ME!!

Is that weird or what?

I'm worried...but not so much about Lydia. Mostly about my own good judgement. :-)

..and now a word from our sponsor

Okay, there isn't really a sponsor...but I am endorsing something here. I do not work for this company and I am receiving nothing for doing this...only the satisfation about helping other busy moms who haven't tried this yet.

I LOVE NETFLIX!!

I just joined recetnly and they are great. Russell and I used to go to the movies all the time and now with baby...well let's just say in almost 7 months I've been once and he hasn't been at all. Going to the video store sounds like an obvious solution because all those movies we wanted to see months ago are now out, right?

Wrong!

Why?

Because Lydia has her own ideas about our suppossed free time. We get all hunkered down with popcorn and milkduds and suddenly Lydia is crying.

The number of times one of us said to the other, "Just pause it until I come back." and then never returned is difficult to estimate because I never learned to count that high.

With Netflix. No late fees. We can pause and start again 2 days later. Same flat fee no matter how much or how litte we watch. And ultimately when you factor in late fees...we pay a lot less and see a lot more.

NETFLIX! Tell 'em Lissa sent ya! ;-)

Cause it's been awhile since you've seen her!

When Bunnies Go BAD

I haven't blogged a lot here lately. Not because I've lost interest in my "hobby" but because I've been spending a lot of time at the hospital. Lydia has been sick this week. High fever forced us into a midnight emergency room visit Monday morning where, even though she had a fever of almost 104, we were poo-pooed and told we were over-reacting. Without looking at her throat or doing any blood work, they administed our girl a heavy dose of Motrin and sent us home. After a weekend of high fever (seemingly due to her shots having been administed on Friday) we were glad that by Monday night we had a fever free child.

Unfortunately though, this was NOT the end.

Now, my girl isn't perfect. She's not always happy and she can throw a fit when the occassion calls, but overall she's a pretty upbeat kid. She likes to smile and laugh and it takes a lot to to ruffle her feathers. But this week she was cranky. Fever over, I decided it was because her daddy's schedule had changed for the week. Working second shift to cover for an employee who was taking exams neither one of us saw much of Russell. She wanted to be held constantly and sleep? Well lets just say, she got "some" and I got none.

I finally decided even though I was poo-pooed we needed to go back to the doctor. She wasn't "right". I didn't know this child anymore and her mood swings were extreme and always unexpected. She could be laughing one second and then the next be crying for an hour insisting to be held...while hitting me repeatedly to "get away".

So I made an appointment with Lydia's regular Doctor, Dr. Tara.

I LOVE DR. TARA!!!!

She is sweet and kind and loving with the babies. She looks for "bad bunnies" in Lydia's ears, throat and tummy and listens to what is going on. She never makes you feel stupid and she is understanding about overprotective new moms. She has gone from knowing almost nothing about the needs of internationally adopted children (before we brought Lydia home) to being well versed about Chinese growth charts and health concerns facing Asians. She heard about our emergency room experience and shook her head. She discovered Lydia has croup, a viral disease that effects the esophogas and larynx causing extreme discomfort. Again, there isn't much we can do for our girl but make her more comfortable...but I am thankful for Dr. Tara. She loves her patients and honestly this patient's mommy loves her back!

Children of Guangxi

Hollywood star Brandon Fraser announces he will do a movie called Children of Guangxi in China, with director Roger Spottiswoode.

He made the announcement at a promotion event Saturday in Shanghai.

Set in Shanghai in 1937, the film is about a journalist who ignores the Japanese invasion but later has a change of heart after witnessing the Nanjing Massacre. Afterwards, he travels south to Guangxi Province, leading war orphans to safety.

The film may also cast Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh. The script is written by Paul Haggis (Million Dollar Baby).

Brandon Fraser also mentioned a script for the third Mummy exists but that he was not allowed to announce it officially. He said he was expecting part for the movie, which will be shot in China.