With Arms Wide Open

Friday, August 31, 2007

A few questions for the more knowledgable :)

I have all these questions floating around in my head. I think that is why my insomnia is still lingering... I go to bed thinking about all the things I don't know or cannot predict... etc. I know you all know what i'm talking about.

Anyhow, I am wondering:
1) What immunization/vaccines are we supposed to get and are recommended to get before traveling to VN? Is it all in one shot or several. How soon before travel should we start this process? And for my Canadian bloggers - is there a cost or is it all covered by OHIP? I need to start preparing my son in the event that we decide for sure the kids are coming (we are still wavering back and forth on that topic)... he is VERY afraid of needles and told me he thinks he'll skip VN just b/c of this. :)

2) Traveling out of country once your child is home from VN? How does this work or is it not a possibility - and for how long? If, we happen to have a referral by Spring we would likely rent our fav beach house in Florida for late August ... but then I got thinking that I don't know if we can travel internationally before a certain date after she comes home. May seem like a silly question - but i don't know the answer so I thought I'd ask.

3) We have started shopping for strollers. I would like a stroller that an infant seat fits into (incase we get a young referral) but also has the seat/stand position behind it for when my 4 yr old daughter is shopping with us... she can be a 'handfull' at the Mall. :) Any recommends?

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Shopping in Minnesota (Mall of America)

I'm headed to Minnesota next week for the MOA Scrapfest. I'm working the show and love that we shop every night in this fantastic mall. I am wondering if there are readers out there from this area and if there is a place in the mall where they'd sell Paper lanterns. I really want to get them bought and 'finish' the room in the next few weeks. I hate half-finished projects (although they are the story of my life). I also plan on hitting the Oilily store (I missed it last time) and Hanna Andersson... I only wish I knew a ball park size so I could start buying cute little baby clothes. That will have to wait though... so I'll hopefully find some fun stuff for their room.

Give me a shout if you know of anywhere in that area or that mall ...
thanks!

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Good news for some fellow Canadian bloggers

Referrals (I'm not sure how many) came in for some long-awaiting families with the other agency here in Ontario. I am beyond thrilled for them, it has been a long and uncertain road and they deserve such happiness. I must admit, reading of their referrals makes my heart beat a bit faster. Our day will come and this is just another reminder of that. I will continue to wait 'patiently' and celebrate for these new families in the making!
Congrats (you know who you are!)

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Home decorating...

My background is Interior Design. I haven't practiced as a designer in MANY years but you would think I could be more 'with it' when it comes to decorating a simple little bedroom. I have put so much thought and internet research into Chloe's (and baby girl Lightfoots) new bedroom that I will be glad when it is just all finished.
My mom (my lifesaver) watched the kids friday night and all day saturday for us. We took advantage of it and got up early Saturday to head to Toronto (a 2+ hr drive) for some shopping - and to make a final decision on bunk bed quilts, etc.
The decision was made for us (it saved me having to decide) when we got to Yorkdale and Pottery Barn Kids was CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONS. Lol! That is just our luck. We actually had stopped at IKEA on the way to Yorkdale and had pretty much decided on this bedding: http://www.kukunest.com/browse_lantern.php ...mentioned in a previous post and shown above. Chloe loves it and after reading more about Vietnamese lantern festivals, I thought it would be a perfect blend of Asian culture and Chloe funky :) I ordered the sets today and can't wait for them to come.
Chloe's room is almost finished now and we are waiting for the bedding now to come so we can see if the yellow walls will have to be repainted to match better. I'm secretly hoping it all looks great without painting the walls. So is Shaune ;)
At Ikea we got the cutest pink storage boxes for under the bunk beds and some funky pink flower lights for the walls, as well as duvets for her new bedding. I finished painting the bunk beds (whew!) & my dad came down today and put together her other furniture that matches the white beds (a beautiful armoire with mirror that Lynn & Larry gave us). When the room is totally finished I will take some photos. I think I'm going to like the new bright colours.

Excited that we are almost finished it. I also saw a nice white cot/crib at IKEA for only $119 if we end up with a referral for a young baby - I gave our crib away earlier this year to my cousin :)

Things keeping me busy like this are good. Helps the time go by... sorta faster.

PS: If anyone in Canada knows of a site (or a store) that has colorful paper lanterns (globes) I want to buy 3 to hang from the ceiling (i'm thinking pink, red & orange) but don't know where to find them. All my internet searches take me to the USA and buying in bulk.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Ministry Approval - CHECK :)

I got word from our agency that we received our Ontario Ministry approval (to adopt) on August 7th. Our dossier was sent to Vietnam several weeks ago to begin translation. Our agency says now that we have Ministry approval we are "officially awaiting child proposal/match".

One step closer. I am smiling this morning.

On other news, I am knee deep in white paint. Chloe now has bunk beds (given generously to us by our friends Kerri & Matt) in her room. She is very excited that she will be someday sharing these beds with her sister. They were wood so I am painting them white to go with all her other furniture in her room. They are looking good and now I am even more anxious to get her bedding ordered (I'm still not 100% decided and may take a drive up to Pottery Barn Kids tomorrow just to be sure I want the kukunest bedding). I love the Kukunest bedding and Chloe loves it too (she picked the top link - see below post - the red lantern set with the 2 girls on the pillowcase). The only thing is... with both sets - they do not match what is in her room already - including very expensive Pottery Barn drapery & sheers, pillows, etc. Also, her room is butter yellow and that is not going to match the bright reds/pinks/teals. So, if I get her the Kukunest bedding, I am no doubt going to have to paint her room (nightmare - did i mention i hate painting?) a soft teal colour, and find a home for her lovely Pottery Barn butterfly stuff. So, this is why we are still undecided. Shaune is game for whatever I decide I think ;)

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

These two...

...think about their sister every day. Talk about "baby sister" to each other and to other friends and family. These 2 little people want a sister so badly to love. I know they will be wonderful with her & it makes me (all of us) anxious. We tell them it is going to be a bit of a wait and they say "that is okay" --- and then they go on asking me questions about her country and about babies in general.

This little guy is going to be an awesome big brother. He was only 2.5 when his sister Chloe came along. He was very excited, then very unhappy and confused and then back to excited and happy again. For the most part he is wonderful (and patient) with his sister. I think he is ready for her to finally get out of his room and into her own bunkbed! He told me the other day he'd even help with the 'pee-pee diapers'.

This little girl talks about being a big sister constantly. Instead of saying she is growing to be a big girl she says: "I'm growing into a big sister"... it is so cute. She is beyond excited. She likes to go to Toys R Us and look at highchairs and strollers ... planning for the day we will need to finally purchase these things. She is full of 'advice' on these matters. Whenever she grows out of a dress or jeans she tells me "Now its for baby sister". Some days she calls her Maya and some days she calls her Isabel... she is as undecided as we are on names.

I hope the wait isn't any longer than they've told us because these 2 little people are anxiously awaiting news. (They aren't the only ones).

{ Photos taken today of Keaton and Chloe - ages 6 & 4 }

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Looking for bedding

So, Chloe now has bunk beds in her room. We are painting them white and I'm buying the mattresses tomorrow for them. She is excited and keeps talking about her baby sister who will some day reside in the bottom bunk. I need to buy bedding and so I've been scouring the internet looking for something that screams YES to me. So far I've found two options and they are both so adorable. Of course her wall colour doesn't match either so I'd have to repaint her room and I won't tell you just how much I hate to paint.

So far, its between these two bedding sets and I will have to buy 2 of everything for the bunk beds.

http://www.kukunest.com/browse_lantern.php
and
http://www.kukunest.com/browse_aroundworld.php

if anyone has other suggestions of cute little girl quilts/duvets/comforter sets I'd love suggestions. I'd like to buy them in the coming week or so. Chloe needs to get back in her own bed :)

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Books

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Homestudy complete, Paperwork collected

We've reached a special spot in this journey. On Friday evening we finished our homestudy. Yahoo. On Monday our social worker will forward our homestudy with his recommends to our agency, who will in turn send it to the Ministry. Then we wait for Ministry approval before forwarding our dossier on to Vietnam.

On Thursday I mailed our paperwork for our dossier to our agency. So... now all the waiting begins. It seems weird that we accomplished so much so quickly. We made our final decision on adopting from Vietnam in April and completed all 4 homestudy appointments from May - beginning of July. The dossier was pretty easy to compile and hopefully everything will continue to roll along.

I find I'm thinking of our daughter in Vietnam more and more now, it is consuming my thoughts at times. Is she already born? So many things to think about. I'm suffering from a bad case of insomnia lately and I think alot of it is due to all these things racing through my mind in the quiet times of night.

Our family has lots to keep us busy while we wait including family reunions, holidays, a trip to DisneyWorld and a Disney cruise, etc. I think it is best to keep as busy as possible. And we are very good at keeping busy around here.

The photo above is a snapshot of our Vietnam applications, etc before I put them in our envelope to mail off on Thursday. :)

Friday, July 6, 2007

Some Thoughts

I've kept our blog fairly positive up 'til this point but lets face it, at times during this process we have been faced with opinions and stereotyped views that have been very disheartening.

I'm at a loss with how to deal with these things but realize that this is only the beginning of what we will face as we become a family that is 'transracial' and 'different'.

The excitement, love and support we've received has been wonderful. I thank all those that have been there for us and continue to be positive and understand our decisions. You know who you are and we appreciate it more than you'll ever know.

For those who feel concerned that we are not sure what we are 'getting into' by adopting a child from another country...

Yes, we are sure. We would not be doing this if we were not.

Yes, we know it won't be easy at times. We also know it will be wonderful. It will be rewarding, challenging, and a joyful experience - just as parenting both our other children has been and continues to be.

Yes, we want to do this.

Yes, we have thought this through (for over 10 years to be exact including research, long conversations, our homestudy, meetings with social workers and a whole lot of soul searching)

Yes, we are doing this and we are very excited about it. This is our journey to our 3rd child, like a long pregnancy and every bit as important, anticipated and thought out as our other 2 children we've been blessed with. Those that share our excitement - we appreciate you and your thoughts.

To those that do not - if you have any concerns as to whether we are sure what we are doing, call us or talk to us. Understand that we are we and that you are you. This is OUR decision. This is our choice. When we hear negative and questioning comments about the plans we have to expand our loving family, it not only hurts... it makes us feel that you do not recognize that this child will be OURS and she deserves the same love and excited anticipation that any biological child would recieve.

There is no room in this for negativeness.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Some important translations

Run your mouse over each word and you will see its meaning below (ie: grandmotherinvn - grandmother in vietnamese)

...............................................................................................................................

Ba - grandmother/nana

Ong - grandfather/poppa

dep - beautiful

chi - sister

anh - brother

me - mommy

Bo - daddy

Be - baby :)

...............................................................................................

I have about a year (hopefully less!) to start figuring out some basic Vietnamese words and language. I have never been good with learning other languages so I need to get started soon. When we travel to VN I would like to have a decent grasp on some basic phrases and words to get us through. Perhaps as time goes on we can learn more, we will see.

I found this site at CafePress that has Vietnamese words on clothing. Here are some words that are going to be important to learn :)

Monday, July 2, 2007

My first BABY purchase

Well, Shaune and I finally had to make the decision as to age and gender as we move forward in our adoption and prepare our dossier for Vietnam. I will say it was a very very very hard decision but we've decided we will be welcoming another little girl into our family. I really wish we could welcome a little boy too. I guess never say never. Who knows what our future holds. When she finally comes home, she will share a room with her sister Chloe. Keaton (the adorable brother) is happy that he will have another little sister to play with too.

Now that we have finally made the decision, we begin our wait. Luckily I will not know her age for some time still or it would be really difficult not to start hitting those baby clothing racks I miss buying from. I gave away all of Chloe's clothes (and all of our baby stuff for that matter) as she grew out of them and so we will be starting fresh and needing everything over again.

This pretty Amy Butler fabric diaper bag is my first purchase. I work for this site http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/shop.asp?derMars=1103F92CFB8 , on their design team and although this is a scrapbook tote... some of my friends that have bought it use theirs as a diaper bag instead. It is quite big and has lots of compartments for everything from my cell phone to diapers and bottles, etc. I feel kind of gitty about buying this and cannot wait to get it in the mail and start buying some things to put in it. If I'm going to carry diapers in a bag again, it is going to be a pretty one this time. I will probably buy a secondary one too... for days when I don't feel like being pink and flashy ;)

It comes in these 2 patterns - I went with the solid pink.