Today it rained here!

Found out another little tidbit that others don't share with you before becoming a mom! When it rains, you have to put the tyke in first or look like an ass. So I got soaked today over and over while doing errands. I felt like a wet rag. There are few things as unpleasant as running with your child and stuff to the car. Her legs are not fast either. Next adoption is going to be a 25 year old Swedish boy:) Heck China is a tad slow, why don't we all adopt a Swedish boy?

So we headed to Target today. I had a few returns. I wouldn't have had returns if my husband did them on Saturday like he was supposed to, but I am going off on a tangent. I just have to say, if you have something to return and you can't find it, why not call before leaving the house? Why would you call as you are pulling in the parking lot to tell me that you don't know what basket I am referring to? What the heck, everyone in blogsville knows about the BASKET! Plus you are the one that hid it until I could find a new one. You want to know WHERE it is? Um, hmmm, I see an issue here. Great, my husband is brilliant and my child only understands Chinese for the most part. Thank god for the cats!

So I had to return the BASKET today. Yeah, the basket in the RAIN. No problem. I am supermom.

I picked up some more cold medicine for Miss Sniffleufagus and got a pair of shoes or two for my beloved creature. Okay, I admit it, I bought like 7 or so pairs of shoes. Hubby says that I am Imelda Jr. Well due to my Lymphadema, I can't wear shoes. So I am living out my shoe fantasy through my child. I am living out my high credit card debt through her as well:))) Life is short, buy shoes in every color!!!!!

After being soaked at the store, we came home. Ping was passed out for 5 or so minutes before getting home. Sadly the kid wakes up immediately and won't go back to sleep. It's a true bummer!!!!! I told Bill yesterday that you can usually watch batteries charge. Like on the cell phone, I can see the bars going up, up and up until the bars are full. Well, with Pingmeister, she goes through the bar window and across the many lands. She needs 2 minutes to recharge her batteries. Why can't she just be sleepy when we get home????? Why can't she take a 15 minute nap?

So we get in, I check email. She proceeds to find my nail polish remover, remove some finish off of my coffee table and then she goes on to feeding the cats a power snack again. I told Bill we need to move the stuff to higher ground. As for the remover, I hid it up high. Is this kid 10 or almost 3????? Anyway, Bill comes home and there is a turkey in our driveway. We don't often get turkeys of the fluffy variety. I asked him if it was one of his relatives. HA. Anyway, my girl sees him pull in and the twinkle in her eyes is immeasurable. Give me a break. Why is he so great?????? So Bill comes in, we do a fashion show with two new outfits and many shoes. Shortly after that Ping had a power poop. Bill yells "come here, I need help?" He needs help because she pooped? PUHLEEEEEZE. It was nothing. He said it was all over her. Yeah, it's amazing that it was all over her hiney!!!!!! I would have traded him for the poop all over the shoes, clothes, body, kitchen and bathroom from the other day. MEN!

So she went in the tub which has been freaking her out lately. Not sure why. She then ran around like a nut after I lubed her up good with lotion. She was a wild lady tonight. Even Bill, golden boy dad, was getting frustrated with her. He actually said something like "you are now pissing me off." It's about time. Welcome to my LONG day sweetpea!

So she is in bed and we are going to have dinner in our respective rooms with our respective tv's soon. YAY!

Sleep Ping, sleep:)

xo

Sweet and Bitter!!!!!

I keep forgetting to mention this little story. I go to the foot doctor pretty regularly to have some ultrasound for my heel pain that stems from Plantar Fasciitis. Anyway, Ping from the get go has loved to go with me. Like there was a choice? So anyway, we go in and while we are waiting for the tech/administrative person/nursing assistant, Ping throws out the paper towel that I am supposed to put my foot on for cleanliness, gets into the bottom cabinet and gets a "fresh" one. She unfolds it and puts it under my foot. She then gets two latex gloves. She then picks up the plastic door holder that is not being used, she gets up on this high stool and sits in front of me. She literally pretends that the plastic door holder is the ultrasound machine. She uses the bottom of the holder and rubs it all over my heel. It's hilarious. She is such a hoot. I am amazed at how smart she is, I really am. She also points to the stool and says "AYI" because she knows that is where they sit!! It's really cute. She always puts the gloves back too! Funny thing is that they don't use the gloves. She is more sterile than them!!!!!

That was the sweet. Now for the bitter. I took Ping for a play date today. We went to Audra's in Sutton to play with her sweeties Ava and Elise. Ping was so mean to me today. She spit at me constantly, ignored me, wouldn't let me help her, wouldn't tell me when she had to go to the bathroom, pushed Elise down, took toys away from Elise. I was so not happy. After we left, she was still not being nice at all to me. We went to the mall. She had just passed out. She was very tired. Anyway, we went into the TJ MAXX store to return the little sweatshirt she threw in my bag yesterday. I told my husband on the phone that when I got to the mall, I was going to not lock the doors and put down all the windows. I was ready to put a "For Sale" sign around her neck. I had to hatch these plans in my head, just to get through the time I had left with her alone. We then met Baba for dinner. She wasn't great there either. However, she tried to be a little sweeter. After all, she wanted me to look like a liar to BABA!!!!! Her behavior today was like it was when we were in China!!!!

Anyway, we are home now and she needs a bath. Second shift will be working on that. This Mama is done for the day.

Man, there are some days that you have to physically tell yourself that beating them would not be cool. I never said there was anything wrong with mentally beating them though:))))

I do love her, but she is a patience tester. I don't tolerate spitting. I also don't tolerating pushing down others. I know she didn't mean to push her, she was just trying to get her to hurry up. Every time I tried to tell her to not do something, she spit at me. If that isn't enough to throw you over the edge, I don't know what would.

Did I mention that if I could adopt another one this instant, I would? Someone should really look at my sanity level. Personally, I am a little worried about it, but I refuse to tell a soul, so shhhh!

Mama out!

Early Intervention Specialists

We had 3 EIS women come to the house today. They thought Shayla was very bright. She was behind in language (big surprise) and cognitive skills due to the language issue, but they believe she will catch right up. How can she not with me at the helm? LOL.

We headed out for some Mama Juice and then to the cleaners shortly after they left. I decided to run by the malll to return a few things. After I made the returns, I decided to hunt for a basket to hold her toys. I am getting rid of the one I bought because it is not holding up well. So I wanted a different weave. Well I found one. Score. Then I decided to go over to girls clothing. WHY? Before I knew it, there were 7 or so outfits in the basket. Who the heck did that? Shhhh. Did I ever tell you that Ping loves to shop? She is out of control. I personally don't like shopping. Odd, I know. So there I am throwing in some outfits, and she has picked out about 10 of her own and has put them in the cart. SNEAKY BEAST. Well I pull her away from the clothes and quickly dump her choices. I know, very mean. However, she was not being very selective in her choices or sizes to say the least. So we blow up to the register and pay. I am paying attention to Ping, while the woman is ringing stuff. She proceeds to tell me that I can't take the cart from the store. I was in a TJ Maxx/HomeGoods. I can't? Really? Are you sure you old biddy? For the love of Ping, NO SHIT. I wasn't going to. I know you don't take carts from the store. Do I look like I am stupid? Have you been reading my motherhood tales? I hope not. If so, the comment would have made sense I suppose. Well I digress. The woman puts all of the clothes in this big heavy basket and squeezes it into one of the thinest plastic bags I have ever seen. I kid you not, I was 2 steps away (trying to ditch the cart) and the thing totally split open. Here is the problem. I don't have the stroller yet. I will be getting it at the shower per my friend. So I have to manually put my hand in my child's paw to walk. How does one do that with a basket and clothes? I turn around and tell the lady that I need another plastic bag and let's put it on the other way. Another customer in line even said that the bag would never hold the stuff. So see, it's not just me (contrary to what my hubster believes). So I ditch the cart and hobble away with the kid and the basket. I head to the next store. This is truly a hardship. I wish I could do the whole balancing of the basket on my head thing, but it is not happening. So I am walking and spinning while saying "Ping, Ping, this way, no don't go in that store baby, no keep going straight honey, blah, blah, blah." She walks into a hair accessory place. It has more than just hair stuff. It's called "Claires." Anyhoo, Miss Ping like a hair scrunchie. She pulls it off to look as fat mama is sweating and still trying to hold the basket. What does the little tyke do? She takes the hair thingie off AND the little pole it was hanging from. DILEMNA. I can't touch her because my hands are full. So she tries to walk off with it. Yo kid, that is called stealing!!!!! So I guide her back with my talking to her. I finally grab the damn thing and throw it on top of the stand. What is a sweaty basket holding mama to do????? Off we go. We go to CVS and also Old Navy for a return. What am I thinking? I can not shop with all this stuff and a small child. I need to adjust my life. When will I learn???? So we are in CVS and I get so frustrated looking for stuff, that I throw that basket down. Meanwhile she has grabbed a big ball. DAMN IT ALL. I need to get this stuff, the bag is wearing thin and I have to carry more stuff and ditch a ball. This is nearly impossible. So what do I think I should do? Crumple to the floor, call my husband and tell him to come find my ass in the aisle of CVS. He needs to carry the basket and I need to stop sweating and ditch the ball. Maybe I could watch Ping too. Small thought:) However, I am a MOM now. I can handle it all!!!!! Pingmeister goes down to the end of the aisle and literally pulls the plastic bag so it comes closer to me. Is that not beautiful? What a helpful girl I have. So I say "forget this, let's hit the open road." I pick up my stuff and walk towards the balls. I get her to drop it and leave it, which is pretty amazing. I guide her to Old Navy. As I am standing in line waiting to see about this return, my sweet girl is looking out the window at the people walking past the store. All of a sudden, she reaches down her pants and Pull Up and comes up with a few fingers and decides to smell them? At the same time, she is literally waving to some elderly people outside. I was beside myself. Where did THAT come from? She is waving and laughing and I am sweating and dumbfounded. So I reach the kid at the counter and he tells me I will get a credit in the mail. Well at that point, I just told him to forget it. I grabbed the pants and headed out the door with Ping in tow.

At this point, Ping is losing her mind looking at everything. The DAMN BAG breaks. OMG, my child is wandering, my stuff is all over the dirty floor and I am trying to manage both. So I start saying "Ping, PIng, PINg, PING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, get over here." Luckily she came. She so lovingly tries to help me get the stuff in the bag, but the bag is busted. I am so pissed off at the TJ Maxx lady that I end up snapping outloud. I say "Ping, I don't give a shit about the damn bag, can you help mama carry this." I am losing my mind in the middle of the mall, I am swearing and people are looking. UGH. How many mother points can one lose in a day? I wasn't at all mad at Pingster. She doesn't even recognize that I am frustrated, so I am glad for that. I teach her how to help mama carry the basket. She takes one handle and me the other. She thinks this is great fun. She is smiling and laughing and then boom. It's boring. She drops the basket and everything falls out AGAIN. It's okay, the white turtle towel, the cute wooden sign for your room and the cute white clothes I got you love it hitting the floor. So I put it all in the basket and Ping starts to wander again. SHOOT ME. I throw the pocketbook in the basket, pick it up and off we go. I throw the two plastic bags at TJ Maxx as we walk by. We then go outside. I had to literally hold the stuff, it's raining out and I had to get Ping and I across a busy street. Well we did pretty good. She started to wander, but I stuck the basket in front 0f her and was able to divert her. We get to the truck, I put her in her car seat, I put the stuff in the trunk and realize my pocketbook is in the basket still. I get out, get the pocketbook and then head back to the driver seat.

She sits in the back seat giggling away and I feel like I have been to Mommy Bootcamp! We get home, Bill comes home minutes later and they have dinner. We then do a fashion show. Everything fits. YAY. One thing got into the bag that was wrong. A small yellow size 12 month sweatshirt. I will not rat on the small being that threw this in. Can't throw the child to the wolves, right? I see a return in my nearest future. This time I will go armed with BIG ASS PLASTIC BAGS, in case they are needed. Look out old biddy, I am coming to get a cart!!!!!!

Time to hit the hay.

Mama out!

More Pics! Click them to see bigger:)

This was after most of the blank plates were put away. Wish I had a shot of that!
Fuzzy picture, but must show my great response at mama's dismay!
This is great fun, isn't it?
Kid, take a hike, me hungry and want to start chowing.
What do you need? I have flashlights and a wrench or two. Perhaps a screwdriver? I could be a flasher if this gadget selling doesn't work for me! I bopped the large person behind me on the head. Do you need a mama bopper? Let me check my pockets!

Did you see my facial? Am I glowing? Check it out. I can get you scheduled for one. It's called A LA SCRATCH and it's free. The facialist is a bit burly, but it's worth it just to have the radiance.

Proof Is In the Pictures!!!!!!

Me likey some bubbles!
Isn't this a blast?
I hold it too close to my mouth and so the bubbles backfire. However, daddy has it down pat and is blowing them for me!
That is me yesterday. Yeah, I was sooo tired. I had to go get black socks upstairs, put my sneaks on the wrong way, throw a blanket on my chest and get really close to mama's table. I can't tip the ice tea unless I am really close to the table!!!!!

I Love My Little One! HOWEVER,

This day was ordered up from HELL.

First of all, I wouldn't trade my sweetie in for all the tea in China. Maybe ice tea from Dunkins...hmmmm.

Today was a very difficult day. We had a 10:15 appt. at the bank. I get up to someone telling me in Chinese to HURRY. We have a poopy diaper. I am just shocked! LOL. She knows the drill now. If we are upstairs in my bathroom, I put her up on the tub surround. There are two steps. She is on the first one. She turns around and sticks her butt out at me while walking right and left. She puts her arms on the step above and just goes back and forth while humming a tune in her language (I hope). So I carefully take off her Pull Up, wipe her down and then head for her room to get dressed. This is becoming a routine! So she gets dressed and takes off. I take a shower, get dressed and make my bed and then hers. I pick up anything hanging around and put it away. I always grab the daily laundry and bring it down the stairs. Well today I had a lot to carry, so I threw her sneakers down the stairs and then the laundry. The laundry covered up my husbands two pair of sneakers. So I head down the stairs. About 5 stairs up from the bottom, I slip. It wasn't pretty. I hurt my left knee. Mind you this could hurt a small human, never mind a large human who is flailing around trying to grab onto something. So I get up all mad and hurt and put my sneakers on. Well girlfriend has already taken off her socks. She has also added three jackets to her ensemble. WTH? Grrrrr. So I put her sneaks on without the socks. I rip the jackets off to her dismay and we quickly brush our teeth, have our fluoride pill and our vitamin and head for the the door. Mind you the kid has a terrible cold and with that a snotty nose. GROSS! I feel extra bad for not having socks on her. I am now feeling like someone that doesn't have it all put together. I am pretty sure I will be staring on "Motherhood Gone Way Bad" soon. I am now looking like the typical run down mom that doesn't have her crap together. I am ready to trade in the house for a 6th floor walk up apartment, so I can fit the part more.

Anyhoo, we come back from the bank and I get a phone call. I am only on for a few minutes. I get off and decide to go look for Pingmeister. She is too quiet. Well all of a sudden I hear a piercing scream. I go to the family room and there is Ping and Neesha in a stand off. Neesha won. My poor baby. I felt awful. She must have terrorized Neesha and so Neesha struck back. She struck badly. She must have put a paw on each side of her face as there were 3 to 4 scratches on each cheek. One under her eye too. They were all bleeding. Broke my heart. I don't blame Neesha. Ping probably ran up to her while she was sleeping. So I put cold water on both cheeks. One is really bad. I actually put a band aid on that one.

First the chick has a rash, then a cold and now this. Her poor face has been through hell. I brought home this adorable cherub and now she has many battle scars. It will all get better though.

After this catastrophe, I decide that I am hell bent on getting some stuff accomplished. I am going to overcome my drained feeling, I am going to make Ping behave and be quiet and I am going to feel good by the end of the day. I can do this. WRONG. We are not home more then 10 minutes when Miss I Want To Drink Out Of A Cup And Daddy Let Me Last Night grabs her remaining PURPLE juice out of the fridge. Did I mention it's a cup and NOT a SIPPY CUP??? Well she manages just fine till she hits the dining room floor and tries to put her PURPLE juice up on the table. SPLASH. It goes everywhere. All over the dining room, up the walls, on the trim and even into the inlaw. What can I do but shake my head and figure out how to up the Cyanide dose for my husband who let her drink out of a cup cause she wanted to.

I get up, get 100 paper towels and proceed to clean up the juice while I tell the sister not to move. I could see her walking through it and then the house. She stays! Good! I run out of paper towels. I go into mom's side and grab more paper towels. I lean over to get the rest of the juice and literally I go down into a split. I $%^& you not. I literally am suspended in air with one leg going one way and the other going the other. I debate how to get out of this predicament. I can't help but contemplate about how I am going to do in my family members if I survive this. Who does splits anymore? If you are not an Olympic gymnast, you do NOT do splits. They are for trained thin folks. So I figured out to flop onto my side. Mind you, Ping is staring at me in amazement. Probably wondering if she can out run me once I am done with this split thing. So I literally sit there, catch my breath, evaluate my injuries and look at her. I pulled a muscle in my back. No problem as my knee now has company. I proceed to clean the juice with the assistance of Ping. That was sweet. She figured she had to do something to save her little life!!!!

Can I just say that at 3:15, we both laid down. She needed a nap because she has the cold and I needed 10 minutes of peace. She got up a short time later and then daddy came home. I love watching his car pull in. I proudly yell "BABA IS HOME." I got NOTHING done today. I am so bummed out about that. Ping is now running around chasing Neesha. Why doesn't she learn that she is not going to be making friends if she keeps doing that?

There are a few cute things I must share. The phone rang an hour ago. I got the phone in the hallway that is not cordless. Ping comes around the corner and hands me the cordless phone. What a sweet baby. Yesterday when Ping hit my ice tea and a little time passed, she went in my office and grabbed my other ice tea that was in a bottle. She came over to hand it to me but then made a turn. She went to the kitchen and got the blue insulator and put the bottle of ice tea in it. It was so cute. I use the insulator on my large ice teas from Dunkins. It keeps them cool. Right now as I am typing, she is on her little car and going back and forth. She is kissing daddy's butt when she backs up. She then goes forward and then backs up and kisses it again. Adorable. She is twisted I tell you. TWISTED.

I was very worried about my mental health today. I swore I was going to break down and cry. Now of course it's funny. However, I try to evaluate how I can do this better. I have yet to find the darn secret. I am tired and worn out and haven't felt like myself in awhile. My head always feels a little fuzzy, like I am catching something. Maybe I just caught MOTHERHOOD and I don't know it? I try to imagine people looking in my windows. All I can imagine is people seeing a fat woman chasing after a screaming kid from room to room and trying to dodge the obstacles. I am hoping that by the time Shayla goes to college, I look a little more put together. The alternative clearly is me living in a big white room, dressed in a white hospital gown and a drool bib while my smart child is off saving the damn world!

This mama is signing off!

XO

Second Shift Just Arrived!!!!! YAY!!!!

Poor Miss Ping has a cold. Her nose is running like a faucet and her cough is just awful. She was up at 2am and then at 5am and so on and so on.....

So we got up and headed out for a 10:15 appt. We went to Dunkin Donuts on the way home for a nice tall ice tea for mama. We then came home. While home, I got two calls. I could hear Ping playing. I thought that she was entertaining herself. I was thrilled. Well, she certainly was entertaining herself!!!!! She came over to me and asked me to kiss the kitty cat on the 1/2 opened pouch of stinky cat food. It was right then and there, I realized we may indeed have a problem. I walked around the corner to find at least 25 paper plates all over the floor where the cats eat. At least 10 plates had various types of cat food on them. It was like a buffet. So there were blank plates, plates with different foods and one plate with 3 or 4 different kinds on it. No wonder why she smelled like cat food. UGH!!!!! It was funny, but NOT. There sat the boxes of food next to everything. She thought this was hysterical. One of our girls kept peeking around the corner waiting for Ping to vacate. After all, she had a FEAST in her future. LOL.

I just looked at Ping and she immediately picked up every single blank plate and put them back into the package. Then she took all the pouches and put them in their box and then she put all the plastic containers in their box.

I swear, I am NOT on the couch eating BON BONS! I totally keep track of her, but I like her to have a few minutes to herself without me hovering too.

Well I cleaned her hands and face and we headed out to lunch with a Ayi Karen. Karen decided to get her some Clam Chowder now that she is in New England. She loved it. Karen also got her a salad with grapes and pineapple and chicken salad and croutons, etc. She wasn't so thrilled. Oh well! After lunch, we headed to a candy store that just opened. It's penny candy. Ayi Karen handed her a bowl and she went to town!!!! She picked up a little of this and a little of that. Then Karen went to pay for it and all hell broke loose. It was like taking candy from a baby. LOL. Oh my! We tried to explain the whole pay for it thing and then you get it back, but she was not having any of it. She had a cow. Well Karen took her outside and let her have some Twizzlers. She would break off a tiny piece and hand it to Ping. Karen and I then said our goodbyes and we all headed home. As we are driving home, Ping who has managed to open her own Twizzler stick is breaking off small pieces with her teeth and spitting them out the window!!!! She can reach the window button!!!!! So I get home and there are tiny red pieces all over her, the inside of the car, in the window area, the buttons and on the outside of the truck. Mind you, we were maybe 2 miles from home! Little stinker. Needless to say, I had to clean the truck. Normally I would never allow her to have candy in the backseat, but she was overtired, not feeling great and we were so close to home that I thought she would just hold onto the bag like she had been!!!!!!

So we get home and shortly after I lie down on the couch so I can encourage her to. She gets me a blanket. Sweet baby. She plays for awhile and then gets a blanket and gets on the love seat. She must be exhausted because she is doing this willingly. Bill comes home for a quick cup of coffee before he heads off to school. He is only home for 10 minutes or so when I witness the Pingmeister change positions. She rolled to her side, but in doing so, she literally started to roll off the couch. Now it is not a far drop, so I wasn't worried. I was busy focusing on the fact that she grabbed a little freestanding table as she started to tip. Now how does a sleeping person do that if they have their eyes closed? It was so bizarre. Well guess what was on that little table? My brandy new, 1 sip taken ice tea that I got earlier in the day. I was so disappointed. Well it splashed on the couch and all over the floor. It was a large one. My one exciting big ice tea:(

So my loving husband comes in and comforts the little pumpkin who got all shook up. At the same time, he has 3 towels to clean up the spill. He asks me if I am going to get off my butt and help him? EXCUSE ME? Get off my butt? I have been doing child duty for HOURS now and don't feel the greatest. I just want 10 minutes to rest while he is home. When questioned, he proceeds to tell me that I took it the wrong way. I love that about people. People always take it the wrong way. It is never SAID the wrong way. Right? Well I hope he does not take the Cyanide in his coffee "the wrong way!!!" Sleep tight honey bunny!!!!!!

So 2 minutes after the floor and couch are cleaned, Ping comes over and starts saying "mama juice" with a pout. KID, you think you have to pout??? Look at mama's pout!!!!! It was a new tall ice tea that she was looking to savor. Would you believe it if I told you that as she was turning around to find her sweet baba, she hit the 1/4 of the amount left in the cup? SPLASH. For the LOVE OF GOD!!!!!! So Bill came and cleaned that up too. Then he said he had to go to school and the monsoon of tears began. I told Bill to stop coming home. Heck, it's better than having to deal with the aftermath. LOL.

So off to school he went and Miss Ping and I just hung out together. Did I mention the snotty nose got worse with the tears. ICKY!!!!! Bill came home around 8:30 and all was right with the world again.

She is in bed. He is asleep on the couch clearly not affected by the Cyanide and I am heading to bed. In a few short hours and I mean short, we get to do this all again.

I said pray for me in my last post. Somehow I get the feeling that nobody is doing it!!!!!!!!

It's only 11am!!

This day has sucked royally.

Yesterday was a decent day. We went to my friend Donna's house for Easter. Ping is in love with my Godchild Nicole, who is almost 14 and her best friend Alli! When we had to leave, we had a major meltdown followed promptly by passing out. When we got home, my dear friend Anita was here. She and Ping got to hang out for awhile. Bill started to go on a call, but came back within minutes. So Anita got to witness meltdown number two. It was a good day. Shayla was exhausted.

This morning I had an appt. for 8:15. I literally had to wake the little one. It was bad enough that she didn't want to get out of bed, but the worst part was that she was bathed in chocolate. Sweet hubby let her take her basket to bed with her. It had a little bit of chocolate in it. Bill thought he removed it when she passed out. He didn't. I did. However, I had no clue she had chocolate in the bed with her. So she rolled around in chocolate eggs. She was covered as were her pajamas and the bedding! I was NOT happy. She did NOT want to get up. So I had to dress an uncooperative toddler and wash her down.

So we pile into the truck and take off. When we get home for a 9:30 appt., the phone is ringing, I am trying to clean the truck, a woman is at the door and Ping is running around. I let the woman in, the phone call was Ping's doctor calling with results of all the testing. She needs a vitamin, I can deal:)

So I get off the phone and talk with the Early Intervention Specialist. Meanwhile, Ping goes into the bathroom while I am talking with the woman. She took a gigantic poop in her Pull Up. It was up and down her legs, all over her clothes, all over her shoes, in the kitchen and the bathroom. I am trying to clean her, not gag and talk from a distance. After the woman left, I had to wash the floor over and over as it CRUSTED! I was beside myself!

A short time ago, Ping tipped over the wet cat food. I am so ready to go back to bed. This day does NOT rock! Can I open the door and see if she will wander outside? I just want to tie her to a tree so she can stay out of trouble!!!!!!! I hear it's illegal to do that.

I know everyone warned me about this. I must have downplayed it in my mind. I must have. Maybe I should invent a big POO kit, so everyone who wants a child can try it out first. For cheap money, I will come over and spread poo on EVERYTHING. I am really here to help out those people who insist of having children. Can you imagine the thank you notes pouring in after? "YOU SAVED MY LIFE, THANK YOU!!!!!"

My best friend was just on the phone laughing. She has been there. Ha, Ha, Ha! I DON'T CARE. I AM THERE NOW! Come help me clean. That is what best friends do!!! NOPE!

Pray for me.

What is this BIG WHITE THING????????

"Thanks so much for plucking me from China dear mama and baba. So far you have made me get big scary needles and now you are forcing me to sit with this big furry white wabbit. "
"Baba, you are kinda close. Wabbit is touching me!!!!!!!!!!!"
"I have never seen baba go on a fire call. I didn't recognize baba in his odd clothes. I sure was glad that they called off the call. I didn't want to cry, but I didn't get the dash to the clothes and then the dash to the truck. Baba made me wear this helmet which was too big for me. I did not like it at all."
"Life is good with chocolate gold. Me no share! I will toast to "ME" with you. I love to clink glasses with mama and baba. I forgot where I learned that trick!"
"Go ahead, tell me I am cute. It's impossible not to mention. Really, go ahead, tell me!!!!!!!"

We Play Hard!!!

"Honey, are you watching Ping in the family room????????? Honey??????? Hey Neesha, are you watching Ping in the family room?????? Hello, can anyone hear me in there?????
"Great job Neesha, I can see that you are making sure she doesn't poke anyone in the eye or throw her toys all over the room so mama does not have to pick them up later!!!!!"
Baba of the Year Awards will be given out when everyone wakes up!!! Does anyone do anything around here other than play????

Cameras, Chocolate and Children Oh My!!!!!

Yesterday I took Miss Ping to Jennifer's house. Jenn is a lovely person who I met through Meri. She has two adorable children that Ping likes to hang with!!!! So we went over because Jenn takes beautiful photos! We had a great time. Ping is not easy to photograph because she moves so quickly. Jenn got some great shots though. Then Ping melted, so we gave her some M&M's! Well she perked up okay, but most of the cute photos have gross chocolate teeth in them. So we are on the hunt for white M&M's for the next round. Jenn also gave Ping two adorable dresses. I can't wait to see her in them.

We then ran a few errands and came home. So we had a quiet evening. Good thing because Bill was tired. As was Ping. So I got a shot of them falling asleep on the hardwood floor. Even Neesha was passed out upside down!!!!

Today we had a crazy day. We went to the Fire Department for Bunny Day. We were not exceptionally helpful because we were there more as a family than as workers. Most of you know that Bill is on the dept. I am on the Ladies Aux. so we are often there helping/participating. Ping had a great time posing with the Bunny!!!! She wasn't deathly afraid, which I was pleasantly suprised about. She got to meet everyone. There was a fantastic turn out. We then went to the Dumpling Group at WPI. That is where some Chinese children who have been adopted, gather for a few hours to learn about their country from Chinese students. It's great for everyone and Ping's first time! We then ran a few errands and had a very late lunch/early dinner at Wild Willy's. We are now home. Bill just put Ping's trike together. She got this adorable trike from her Auntie's on the EZ Board. There is Christine, Kristen, Keilah, Stacey, Kate, Claudia, Merritt, Becky, Leah and Stephanie. A great group of ladies that formed a weight watching type board years ago. They sent an awesome gift certificate for us to use also. We can not wait.

We stopped at Babies R Us to return something today and the woman that helped us register was there. She wanted to see the "baby." So she came out to the truck to see a sleeping Pingster!!!! She is such a nice person. She helped give advice on some items while we were registering.

I have pictures. I need to upload them and play the Easter Bunny Basket Maker. I am too tired to do any of it, but I will do it! I have to say that Ping did two adorable things today. Bill pumped up the trikes tires. Ping then walked around to Bill and me and pumped us up. She came to me in the computer room and put the end piece under my shirt and tried to pump me up. Like I need the added PUMP??? LOL

Ayi Karen got a big goodbye twice today. At the station, Ping pitched a fit until she could go back inside the door and give Karen a hug. It was sooooo cute. Then tonight Karen stopped by to give us some pictures that she took of Ping and the Easter Bunny. Ping took Karen's keys and put them in her pocket. She took her hand, opened the front door and took Karen out onto the porch while pointing to her car. Ping gave her a hug, kept pointing and kept waving and saying "Bye, Bye." Talk about shoving her off to Buffalo! It was really cute though. She then said "mama" and took my hand, and dragged me back into the house. Did I detect a little love? Shhhh, don't tell Ping I may be onto her!

Have a great Easter my friends.

I thought I made it through the day.....

I woke up around 5am to find a small being in my bed! When did that happen????

We got up early and headed to Target for some Easter stuff. We had a good time. We went with friends who needed stuff too. Better to shop with others than alone! Anyhoo, after we left there, we went to the cleaners and then Friendlys for lunch. We had lunch with Meri and Lucas! While we were waiting for Meri and Lucas, I took Ping to the bathroom. As we passed a woman, a young girl and a boy, I felt like the little girl might be from China. However, I wasn't sure as her hair was really light.

So we went to the bathroom and then sat down. As the woman walked by to leave a little while later, she leaned over and said "Where is she from?" I said "China." She said "Where in China?" I said "Shanxi." She told me her little girl was from China too!!!!!!!! We immediately started talking. Her son is handsome. He is her biological child. So we traded numbers and email addresses and have decided to meet up some time in the future. I am very much looking forward to having a new friend for me and new friends for Shayla!!! Amazing how people bond over adoption.

So Meri and Lucas came and we ate. I got a small ice cream for the Miss since it came with her meal. Do you think she shared? Actually, when I tried to get a spoonful, she had a major meltdown. What a nice child I have, no? I probably have never mentioned this, but if I try to take her dinner at home, she will literally stab my hand with a fork. Run for your life. It's hilarious.

When we got home, she played and I caught up on emails. Then my sweet daughter completely shut off the computer! UGH. Now I wouldn't care, but I had to look for the key that she stole the other day, so I could open the box and turn it back on. Every day there is a new issue. Well we got past the computer problem. Then she went upstairs for something and I went to the bathroom. She started to cry. I told her where I was. When she finally found me, she started to pull down her pants. I said "hold on, mom will get off the toilet right now." You guessed it, it was too late. She pooped in her Pull Up. It was all over her. I put her on the toilet and stripped her and washed her up. So she is now off the pot, but naked. I was going to take her upstairs to change, but Baba drove in the driveway. Well he disappeared. I stepped outside to tell him to look at Miss Nakedness inside the house. He had gone to get the trash barrels. Well can you guess what happened next? PING, the darling child shut the door on me. So there I am, waiting on Baba to come down the driveway and I am freezing while I am standing on the porch. She thought it was hysterical. Thank god he was home so we could get in. When I tried the door and she realized that I could not get in, she got a little nervous. Meanwhile, Bill comes back to the house, looks inside and says, "we have a naked child, why???" So I shared the lovely poo story! Well he went through the garage and as he came in the house, the phone rang. So he is getting the phone, letting me in and trying to get Ping to get upstairs to get dressed!

The adventures here never ends. She has now locked me out of my office, locked me out of my house, shut off my computer, stolen the ball out of the mouse so that I can't use the computer and has had more issues with poop than I care to think about.

I am becoming a locksmith in my next life!!!!!

I Lied!

I woke up this morning to a large amount of poo on my bathroom floor this morning. Someone didn't make it to the toilet. GOOD MORNING MAMA! Nothing like wiping that up in the am!!! The adventures had just begun for the day. I got up late, so I dressed baby girl, skipped the hair, dressed myself but skipped a shower. Anyone that knows me knows I do not go out without a shower. No way, no how. However, we had a 9am appt. and it was getting late.

After going to the appt. and the bank, we came home. Ping locked my office door on me, so I had to call hubby to come home and find the key to let me in. I tried a bunch of keys, but none worked. He was leaving work early today for a dentist appt. anyway! I tried all keys, Ping then tried all keys and when that did not work, she started kicking the door. After all, some toys were on the other side of the dang door.

While waiting for daddy, she changed a million cds around, so no cd and cover match. So I will go to put in one cd and it will be another.

I finally threw my hands in the air and laid on the couch. I still have yet to shower. Bill is at the dentist and the tornado continues. Motherhood is divine. I am dirty, her bed is unmade, toys are everywhere and I can not find the energy to get one more tissue for the ultimate boogie that is stuck in her right nostril.

In China, we had to sign a Harmonious Agreement for 24 hours. Why isn't a 6 month Harmonious Agreement?

JUST KIDDING. For those that know me, you know I would not trade the cute little bugger for all the tea in China. Hmmm, I do like tea though!

The Last Day of POO!

It's been a busy day. I told Bill I needed a very small nap around 6pm, since I had a ton of stuff to do tonight. So I close my eyes while telling him that if Ping has to go to the bathroom, he needs to put the thing in the toilet to catch the poo!

Well within 30 minutes, she went. He called out and told me that I had to do the poo sample. Um, thanks. Well I didn't have any more sticks to use from the doctors office. So what does Bill get me???? A piece of wood trim! A large piece. That is how I scooped it into the little vials. I am so done with this whole poo problem!

I heard from Phong tonight. I spoke to him and his wife. They just got home from China as they have family there, so they decided to stay an extra week. It was soooooo good to talk to them. I miss seeing them and their beautiful little girl. I was so happy to hear how they were doing.

I miss China. There, I said it!

A few more!

Miss Karen, I love my new dress. I am so glad I was able to model it for you when you came over to bring me my hat and flip flops and tea set and quilted backpack. Next time I put it on, I will try to lose the pink non-matching outfit underneath, okay?
Someone who should remain nameless (PING) stole Mama's heart shaped feather wreath and decided to DIVA POSE. Nice hairdo!
Auntie Shannon, I love my outfit, but I don't look like I do because they were getting reading to stick me with needles!!!!!
I love to feed my new friend Elise while her big sister Ava looks on. These are my awesome new buddies. They brought me gifts, so I figured I would help feed the little bugger. Now I have a nice new pink dress, new jeans, new socks and a new cool shirt to wear.
Auntie Tara, my new outfit is glorious. Do you seeeeee my strawberries?

Poop out, Pictures in!

Thanks Anita for providing me with an awesome place to nap. I am soooo tired.
Sasha, you are so sweet to sleep with Ping. If she was awake, you would not be there, would you?
Anita, you are so darn creative. This was such fun to see when we opened up her room after being away.
Being nearly 3 is tough. So much to do, so little time. Sometimes you need a cat nap!
Sarah, this cake is too cute!!!! Thanks for leaving it in our freezer for our return home from China!

The Beat Goes On!!!!!!!!!

My wonderful neighbor wanted to come over today with her son to see Ping. I was thrilled because I have been wanting to thank her for babysitting the cats since we have been home, but have not had the time. She and her son did a terrific job. Well the phone rings and it's a friend and I am looking down the driveway for my neighbor. I get off the phone, but it rings again. It's someone that needs to make an appointment. Just as I am finishing the conversation, Ping scratches me and tells me she has to go to the bathroom. I get off the phone and jump up from my chair immediately, but it's too late. My sweet baby girl rips her pants down to her ankles, whips down the Pull Ups, now Pull DOWNS and squats. She proceeds to poooooooo all over the dining room floor! In 2 places. If there was a National Poo Contest, she would win hands down. Pre-Ping, poo was just poo. Now it's a National event! When did life become about POO?

So she tries to pick up her pants. I pick her up at a great speed because I don't want her covered in this mess. I rush her to the bathroom and sit her on the toilet. Amazingly there was nothing left to dole out. So I run around and try to clean up the stuff because my neighbor is due in 10 seconds. Nothing like having a house smell like crap before the neighbors come!!!!!!

Sure enough, they show up and I apologize for the smell. They bring the cutest baby doll for Miss Ping. What do I do? As I am talking, I am taking the paper towel with the crap in it and scraping it with a wooden stick so that I can bring another stool sample to the Pediatrician. I am gagging and trying to say "don't look and Ping, say thank you" at the same time. It was awful. What a comedy show. How do you talk with your neighbors and scrap poo into vials at the same time? You just do!!!!

If that wasn't bad enough, the toilet wasn't working because it was jammed. Why? Oh mommy decided if she pretended to nap, Ping would too. Instead Ping tucked mommy in with her Barbies. Do you know what it is like to open your eyes and have Barbie boobs staring at you? God forbid she have clothes on!!!!!! So I close my eyes for the most part, but keep one partially cracked so I can see what the Pingmeister is doing. My sweet baby goes into my office, shuts the door, chats on the phone which means no one can call and proceeds to bang on the computer. Well the pretending wore off and I passed out for 10 minutes. Wow, 10 minute hurricanes were sited in the area. In 10 minutes, Ping drank 2 yogurt drinks, one was partially on the floor, she swiped my comb from my bathroom and she jammed the toilet with all of her wash cloths that get sudsy when wet. I knew she smelled very fragrant. For a second, I thought she got into the laundry detergent. I swear I was allergic to her. She was so smelly from the cloths it was incredible. Well truth be told, it was my fault for falling asleep. What did I expect? It wasn't intentional. I had a headache and all my teeth were aching!

So when Bill got home after making a special trip to the store for DUMPLINGS for the child, he had to fix the toilet. Mind you, I had to confess I fell asleep. I am working on MOM OF THE YEAR and I don't think I am getting his vote.

I reserve the right to get better at this!

PITA!!!!!

Interpret the title any way you want. There are pita pockets and there are princesses in the area. Then there is my interpretation.

Went to the bank and then pulled into Dunkin Donuts this morning. Before I even got to the speaker, Miss Ping said "mama juice, mama juice." It was so cute. Then we came home and fed the cats. Ping took a small amount and walked towards Neesha with it. She was trying to feed her. It was adorable and endearing. Then Ping's twin showed up. Yeah, that one. Not liking this chick much!!!!!

She didn't get a lot of sleep, so maybe that is why she is being so beastly. She is giving me major attitude today. I even told her that mama was not a happy camper with her today. She is swinging at me and whining. Can I put her to bed now? I mean it's 1:30, clearly she has been up long enough!!!!!!!!!!

My wonderful hubby just called to check on his girls. He reminded me she was nearly 3. So easy to say when you are not in the house. Grrrrr! LOL.

If I hear "Tonka fire department on the scene" one more time, I am going to stick this fire truck that she was so sweetly given yesterday, on the curb.

Brandy is illegal. Beatings are as well. What is a parent to do???? JUST KIDDING!!!!!!!

I wanted to be a parent. I still do. It's really not that bad. Got to run, the Tonka fire dept. is on the scene and I want to assure them everything is fine:)

Do you promise to love this child?

Yes. Do you promise to take care of her and never abandon her? Yes. Do you promise to take a poop sample and stick it into three vials to test for parasites? SCREEEEEEEECH! Hmmm, no agency, social worker or the CCAA themselves EVER mentioned this part. Everyone does such a nice job at trying to prepare you for adopting. Funny how not everything is mentioned, huh? Good thing you got me here to tell you the truth:)

Welcome to the USA Ping. Here we do fun things like have a TB test done on your arm. If you are really lucky, two days later your mom will take you back to have it read. Then she will add 4 shots, 2 chest x-rays and 12 vials or so of blood drawn from your arm. Now who would want to go to the zoo when there is all this fun to be had? The best part is there will be two more days of collecting your poop and sticking into 3 vials. I can barely wait till this weekend is over.

Poor baby! Last night and today was really fun though. Karen our friend through the fire department came over and brought a backpack, 2 pairs of flip flops with little beads on them, a nice summery dress, a cute hat and a porcelain tea set with ladybugs on it and hair accesories. So generous and sweet. We love Auntie Karen! Pure joy on Ping's face.

Today was another great adventure. Our friend Audra came over with her two gorgeous girls for Ping to play with. Ava and Ping hit it off. No language issues there. It was the language of fun! They are nearly the same age. Miss Elise is only a year, so she didn't get in on as much fun! The three little ladies brought Ping a beautiful pink dress and some jeans and a colorful shirt and a beautiful sweater. Ping is going to be a fashion diva!!! Everything was adorable and much appreciated.

Now Ping and Paw are playing upstairs. I would like to return the side rails today or tonight as my sweetie does not seem to need them!

Our sweet Ping and one of our nearest and dearest friends, Auntie Anita are in the picture below.

So you want to know about our trip?

Let's see.....it was the longest 2 weeks of our lives. I swear hours passed and it was only 10 minutes. Would I go again to adopt? In a heartbeat.

First off all, as a heavy woman, I was scared to death. I figured I would be shoved into a plane, bus, chair, etc. that was too small for me over and over again causing the greatest of embarrassment. Well it never happened. Phew!!!! It was fine.

The Chinese people are kind and rude. Depends on the person. Sorta like the good US of A. Some of them were so sweet and loving. Some couldn't stop staring. I kept thinking someone was going to flip their bicycle over just staring at me. That would have been funny. Call me mean, whatever!!!!!! Staring at a Westerner is very common. It is unnerving. You just have to remind yourself why you are there. You are there to form your family. The first two days were hard. It then got easier, then got annoying! LOL. There were groups of women and men and they would all give each other an elbow to the ribcage, so you would have groups of people looking. Sometimes I waved. To the rude ones, I stared back, even looked over my shoulder. To the really rude ones, I grumbled at them like "look at yourself!" Why did the ones with the yellow teeth or no teeth stare? How about the ones with their faces covered in pimples or stains of some sort. Shouldn't they be the kindest? Oh well.

The weather was crappy and great! Ping's province is Shanxi. It was snowing when we arrived. It is dirty as heck too. The coal mining in the town covers everything in black. Walking a block would kill our lungs. It was tough. We stayed in the hotel room for most of the day every day. Who wants to go to China and stay inside? After a week there we went to Guanghzou. Well, that was like Disney World. The weather was gorgeous. It was green everywhere. There were shops galore and there were other adoptive families. My kind of place. We enjoyed being there. We shopped, ate with the other families, shopped some more. If I had to just stay there, well, I could have!!!! Some people never get to experience province life. Every province is different. Some are great and have lots to do. Some aren't great and have zero to do.

Our daughter came to us late due to snow. We were supposed to receive her at 10:30. We didn't get her till 5pm. It was only us in the Civil Affairs office which was kind of nice as we got to have some time with her without all the craziness. Bill immediately got on the floor and played. She immediately fell in love. I was odd duck out. I gave her some Goldfish and that warmed her to me, but not by much. She was a butterball!!!!! She had 5 layers of clothes on and she is tall as all heck!!!!! She looks 4 or 5, not nearing 3! When the women left that dropped her off, I cried like crazy. You could tell it was hard for them to let her go. We never met her foster parents:( We would have like to thank them for never teaching her the word no. LOL. Nah, we just wanted to thank them for being such wonderful loving parents to our baby!

We were asked to bath her as she had an accident on the way. I wasn't going to as it has been recommended in the past to not strip and bath them. It's too scary for them. Well, I decided to do as they asked. So while Bill went for juice, I took off the first layer. OMG. Screaming and crying. I felt awful. As I mentioned before, she tried to get away from me by squatting and pulling her arm. Well needless to say, she was getting away from me AND going to the bathroom. So there I am with a scared little girl who is filthy from the coal, huge from layers and stinky. I have a floor patch that I have to avoid and a husband out getting juice. HELP!!! So I did what anyone would do. I put her in the bathroom and just looked at her while I figured out what I had to do. Well the calvary showed up. Thank goodness. "Hi honey, know what? She just #$% and it's all over the carpet." He moved me out of the way and took over. He put her on the toilet and she has been going ever since. YAY!

Did I mention that she came with a terrible cold. Oh yeah. Drippy nose, drooling mouth and a terrible cough from the bottom of her lungs. She was really nice about it and shared it with daddy and then they shared it with me!!! Sweet family! Sign me up! So I got a terrible sore throat. Then stuffyness, then they stuffyness but nose dripping like a faucet, then I lost my hearing which was awful and it was finished off with losing my voice. YAY! Must be where she gets it. I knew I was going to get sick. I always do when I get on a plane. It's gross and people rarely believe in using their damn hands to cover their mouth. I covered my mouth when I could and Germ Xed myself to death, but it didn't matter. Now I still have a sore throat on one side occasionally, but I am definitely better. I am exhausted though. I was so tired today that I told Bill to take Ping to daycare. LOL. I am DAYCARE!!!!! Who signed me up for that????

Traveling was pretty smooth. Our guides really transitioned us from one area to the other area well. There was always a bus or van waiting on us. They took us to the airport and got us all checked in. We never felt alone in that respect.

The paperwork was smooth. The guides told you what they needed and when they needed it. That was so helpful. I am glad that part is done. You don't dare leave the paperwork in your room, so you carry it everywhere.

It's hard living out of a suitcase for 2 weeks. Downright awful. We never did the laundry as I was nervous about some of my stuff shrinking. Can you imagine the shirt issue I could have had. I would have been walking around in a bra. The stares were already there, so I should have embraced the idea. LOL. I was also afraid that my special Lympadema stockings might get ruined and at $90.00 a pair, I wasn't willing to risk it. So Bill decided to do the laundry. It was just going to be underwear. He ended up doing it all. The tub was BLACK! The clothes never dried either. Oh well. We smelled delightful. I kept joking that we were on Survivor China and no one warned us! Anyone can suck it up for 2 weeks!!!

Food. UGH. UGH and UGH. Food in Beijing first night was fine. I was afraid and willing only to have white rice. However, another couple that was there adopting felt comfortable eating as the wife was Chinese. They were so helpful. They are Siany and Phong. They are an adorable couple and they adopted a baby that is 11 months old by the name of Megan. She is so delicious! Anyway, I was discussing the food. Siany and Phong encouraged me to eat more than just rice. Well it ended up being great. The next night we ate at a buffet. We did okay there. Not worth the price, but was worth the company. Then we headed off to Ping's province. The first day our guide Michelle brought us to a place for lunch. We had noodles. They were great. Let me warn you that if you have a salt problem as I do, there is MSG in everything. My feet were so swollen from the salt and my Lymphadema, I was very uncomfortable. After that lunch, we really didn't eat again. Michelle went with Bill to pick out some food across the street but we didn't go that night. I think we were just too tired. We did go there another day and tried to eat, but we had Ping at that point and she was out of control. Nothing like having the Chinese watch you struggling. So we ordered and left. Well we got some gross dish and threw it out. We tried this place again with a wonderful couple, Tammy and Chris and their beautiful children Tiana and Connor. Well we ordered some stuff that was good and some that was wrong. Even with pictures, it's hard to communicate what you want. I ordered sesame chicken and got sesame walnuts!!!!! The company was good anyway. It was nice to talk to others that understood our language!

So for the most part we lived on granola bars and goldfish!

When we got to Guanghzou we ate at Lucy's. It was okay. Nothing great. We were more happy to be with our other families. We had the best small group. There was James and Michelle and their baby Caleigh who is such a love bug. There was Jane and Jim with Hope. She is just a living doll. So soulful. Then there was Siany and Phong with Megan, the delicate swan! I love these girls!!!!! We went to the Cow and Bridge and that was wonderful. We went to a Chinese restaurant another night. It wasn't great, but again, we were glad to be with others. The last night we were there we sat on the water and watched the neon lights on the boats and the buildings. The food was so so, but the place to sit was devine!

Breakfast was always good. We did find ice cream one day before leaving. I had mango and Bill had coconut as did Ping. She loves ice cream.

The shopping was decent. There is a lot of stuff to see, but a lot of it is the same stuff over and over. We had to get a lot of gifts for the wonderful friends we have at home that took care of our four furbabies and took care of the snow in the driveway and also the heating issue we had. We can not say enough or thank them enough for the way they came together and checked on our house daily! We are so blessed.

Some of the stores were fantastic, while others were not. Jennifer's is the place you leave medicines. However, when we were there, the place was filthy as were the medicines. Some medicines looked like they were from the 70s, so I was a tad nervous. I also found their merchandise to be dirty. I kept trying to buy a Christmas stocking and it was a mess. Things that were folded were faded when I opened them. So in my opinion, the place is worth passing. We went to Jordans and not only is he great, but his stuff is neat and you can see it all. We went to Lily's inside of the Craft building. They were great as was the Little Bit of Love place and the Beijing Olympic store. One store that I really would stay away from is the one in the Crafts building. This place had two stores. On that was on the sides and back and one store was in the middle. The middle one was awful. They would not leave you alone. I felt like they were scammers. So stay away. Even my husband was annoyed and told me we would never go back there!!!!

Shopping was only good in Guanghzou. We did go to a market in her province. It resembles a flee market. It was odd. It was crowded and the staring was unbelievable!

We did go to the Square and also the Great Wall. Personally it's great to see, but not only was it freezing, but it's a very busy day and hard to do before picking up your child. Personally I wouldn't have minded skipping it. Although it's nice to see the landmarks of my daughter's country!!!! My feet hurt for two days after. I was afraid I did something seriously wrong, but they got better.

I will say that while we were in Shanxi, I got a Thai Massage. Holy wow! I held my breath for 45 minutes as it was so painful. LOL. I did feel good after though. A few days later I was in pain and bruised!!! I don't regret doing it. How can you not do it for $24.00! It was odd though. I called, they didn't speak English, I attempted to say what I wanted, they didn't get it, I hung up. 1 hour later someone arrived at my door asking if I wanted the massage! I guess they got it! She kept motioning me to get on the floor. Well NO WAY. It was filthy. So I left with her following and she brought me to a room. I think she sleeps there. There were a bunch of people in two dark rooms with the tv going. She motioned for me to lay down after she got a fresh sheet. At first I thought for sure she had no idea what she was doing. She got better though. They massage a lot with their elbow and then they jump up on you and use their feet to massage your legs. It was odd.

I can't think of anything to add right now. If you have any questions, please contact me!

For now, I need to get into a routine with my Ping Ping!!!! It's amazing how much she has changed! She likes me, she really likes me!

Good Morning or something like it.....

Dudette, it's 6:30, why are you up?????

I thought children were about Easter dresses and Halloween costumes. I thought they were adorable little creatures. Well let me tell you, they are a lot more than that. Did you know that they went to the bathroom? Often too. Inconvenient times mostly! Great stench too! I didn't know that was possible. Did you know that they helped you type on the computer and pulled paper out of the printer and jammed it on you???? Did you know that they get up very early in the am? They wake you by jumping on you. So don't bother with the alarm clock. Is is no longer needed.

See I am here to let you know the real truth about children. Send vacation coupons in the mail as a thank you any time:)

I guess to be fair to the wee one I have, I must tell you all the other stuff!!!!! After something prints she hands it to me with a "yay." She brings me my "juice." She says "mama juice, mama juice." She picks up my pocketbook and struggles and says "arghhhh" cause it is heavy. She also kisses the heart shaped picture frame that hangs off the purse while saying "Ping Ping." She gets out the Germ X and demands it to be put on her hands and then smells the cleanliness of it. She is a neat freak, an organizer, a trash thrower. She speaks Chinese and yet understands English. She is downright smarter than I could ever hope for.

Did I mention that she really is starting to like me too???? So cute, smart and loving. Damn we did good:)

Loving my baby girl more and more. Now if we could just get past the Baba leaving the house breakdowns!

We are home!!!!

We got home on Thursday evening the 6th. Our friends came to greet us at the airport. We needed someone to drive the truck with the car seat and our friend Joe was the only one comfortable to do so. It's a long truck. So Meri and Joe met at Cracker Barrel an hour away from where they live to pick up my besty bud Donna and my godchild Nicole. They didn't want to drive to the airport alone. Meri and Joe offered to take them. So Joe drove the truck and Meri drove her car with Lucas in the car seat, Donna and Nicole. Donna jumped out to see us at the airport. We were outside of baggage claim. Meri came out, Joe and then Nicole. It was so good to see them. We stayed in the cold for a few so they could meet Ping Ping and give her some great gifts. Donna gave her the softest monkey and a pink duck that tells if the bathwater is too hot. She gave an adorable outfit too. A salmon colored shirt and a denim dress. Meri gave her a pink Care Bear Etch a Sketch and a cute little rabbit. She also made a cute little welcome home sign! However, we got in before they were at the airport. LOL.

A State police officer came over and asked where Ping was from. I said China. He said "No kidding." LOL. He wanted to know which Province she was from. I told him Shanxi. He said he brought his daughter home 7 years ago from China. So he wasn't annoyed that we were parked where we shouldn't be. I thought for sure we were in trouble.

Okay, I owe you photos and more info, but I have never been so jet lagged in my life and I need to go lay down. I will add more soon.