What a stupid day

I was woken up by a phone call this morning. I was very glad to hear from my friend, but I was in a coma. After talking for quite some time, I laid down and closed my eyes for a few minutes. Stupid me slept on and off till 2:00 pm. I had to force myself to get up. I was in a terrible fog. I can't sleep like that, especially when I don't have my CPAP on. It's not real rest!

It is not 12:35 am and I could tackle the world. I hate when I am in a fog for hours and then clear up late at night. It's my own fault though. Again today I was going to get two big items done that I wanted to do on a weekend in the event that I needed some assistance from Bill. I didn't get them done. However, I did copy and paste over 1000 photos into a folder and placed an order. That took hours. Not a fun project, but one that had to be done. I watched an excellent movie on Lifetime tonight "Lying to be Perfect."

I got a few cute photos of Ping today who was supposed to be helping Daddy. She likes to fold clothes. Daddy is one lucky man!

Mama Out!!!!!

Daddy's clothes.

Oops, she dropped her drawers.

Shaking her butt.

Trying to get the clothes back up.

Our silly goose.

It's Saturday night....oh, it's Saturday night

Don't ask me why I am singing that. I guess it's because I thought it was Saturday night. It's so not. It's Sunday morning. It's 1:30 am!

I feel like it's been a long day and yet at the same time, I feel like it flew by. I got up earlier than I wanted too. We had two gentlemen hear fixing a board in our family room. Shortly after they left, I popped our wedding video into the DVD because Ping has never seen it and wanted to. First she said it was short, then she said it was long and then short again. I actually found myself in tears watching the video. My mom is no longer here and so that reality was painful, but it wasn't just that. Over half the people at the wedding are either no longer alive or they are no longer in our lives for one reason or another. None of my family is in our lives anymore. None of my Dad's. Most of the friends and coworkers are no longer in our lives either. I never felt like our wedding day was the best day of my life. It has nothing to do with Bill. I had a lot of difficult emotions that day and they crowded out a lot of the good ones. That and it was hot out and the day just flew by.

I would very much like to renew our wedding vows. Maybe for our 10th, I am not sure. It may just be the three of us on a cliff in Hawaii. That would be delightful. Mind you we want more children, so we hope it won't just be the three of us. I would like to register again, can I do that? Okay, I am kidding. I have a few years to think about it at least.

After the video, Bill and Ping went shopping and I passed out in the chair I was sitting. I heard them pull into the garage and I jumped up. I felt guilty for napping. Minutes after Bill brought all the food in, the fire department toned out a fire call and off Bill went. So lucky me got to put away all of the groceries. That took forever. We just do not have enough storage in this house. In order to put things away, I have to constantly neaten the cabinets. Not a bad thing, just wish we had more room so it didn't get so messy again so quickly.

Before I knew it, it was time for Ping to go to bed. We read her a story on adoption and then the two of them passed out. I came back downstairs. I watched the movie "Passengers" and "Milk." It is now time for me to head off to bed.

I really hope that I get the rest of my mom's walk in closet cleaned. I meant to do it today and never got to it. I want to clean out the cabinets in the family room as well. It never ends does it?

Hope you are keeping warm this weekend.

Mama Out!!!!!!

Where has the day gone?

I dropped Ping off at school and proceeded to come home to make a few phone calls and to answer a few emails. Before I knew it, I had to go back to pick up Ping. Then we had the standard errands to do. CVS, bank, gas station, McDonalds for a child size chocolate shake and the jewelry store to get something cleaned. Ping wasn't happy about the errands of course, but once I said I would take her for a shake, she thought errands were just dandy!!!!! After we went on the sleigh ride last week, we got her a child size strawberry mild shake. She had never had one before. Hooked! So she has been begging for one ever since. I told her that I would take her today after ballet. However, I had some time to kill before going back to CVS, so I drove to the McDonalds down the street and got her a chocolate shake. She has decided that she wants to do a pattern with her shakes. Strawberry and then chocolate and then strawberry. You get the point!

We were not home long before the cable man came. We have been complaining for months and months that there is a line issue. However, Charter never wants to hear it. We know we are not having a computer issue. Finally, after an enormous amount of hours on the phone and techs being dispatched over the last few months, we have found someone who knows what he is doing. He agreed it was a line issue. Supposedly, it will be fixed within a week or so. We shall see! I appreciated his assistance, but he left my floors a dirty and soaking wet mess from his boots! The house was just cleaned, so I was a little disappointed. Oh well, it's not a big deal.

By the time he left, I had to feed Ping. Shortly after we left for her Creative Movement class. Since we have been home, I have been at the computer. That is a good three hours. I have answered all of my emails and have worked on some CASA stuff. I have also booked a car to and from the airport for when we go to Texas. Now I am here getting caught up.

Ping was so cute yesterday. She is cute everyday, but yesterday she said to me "You and Daddy said vows and then you danced at the ball and you were merried?" That is how she says married. I said "Sort of like that honey." I told her that we got married at the church that she goes to Sunday School at. She knows this, but I was reiterating it. She then said "Was the Ball there?" I told her that it was somewhere else and that some day I would take her over there. I need to show her our wedding video. She has never seen it and I know she would love it. The last thing Ping said was "Will you and Daddy say your wedding vows again so I can hear them?" I told her that I had forgotten what they were, but it was something like we loved each other and always will. I just thought it was so sweet that she wanted us to say them so that she could be there and witness them. I guess we will have to go to Hawaii, stand on a cliff and recite them again for an anniversary. Gosh darn it, that is just horrible. What can I say, the child wants to hear them?

Stay warm!

Mama Out!!!!!!

The monkey foot cook.

Why are you looking at me?

I love this bean bag when Ping is not around. I am baking bread with my paws.

My crazy chick

Well I have not had access to the internet all morning. I am just able to get on now. I hope this does not cut me off or I will be one unhappy woman! We have been having intermittent issues with Charter. I have tried to address them for months, as has my neighbor. They don't seem to want to get to the bottom of the problem. I don't want to have to go with a dish, but I am wondering if I am going to have to do just that.

Ping had school yesterday, but for the rest of the day we stayed home. I have a few things I am working on right now. So I needed access to the computer and the phone. Ping has a little cold and just wanted to hang out and watch her favorite PBS shows. We did have dinner plans though. We met with the woman and her soon to be son who is under my care as a CASA worker. It was great to see them. The little boy is the same age as Ping and they have met a few times. Normally I would not bring Ping with me to any of my CASA cases, but the foster mom is fabulous and safe and the little one is great. It's nice because I am able to talk with the little boy without putting him on the spot. It works really well. He and Ping were goofy all night. He said to Ping "I love you." It was so sweet. He also said that he would like to be her brother if she was a good girl. Adorable. Ping asked if we could bring him home so that he could be her brother. I told her that his foster mom would miss him. So she told his foster mom that she could come and live with us too. She would make sure there was an extra chair for her. In the parking lot, they were hugging and kissing and telling each other that they loved one another.

On the way home, Ping says "Mama, I want M to come live with us." I said "Sweetie, he has a mom." She said 'He could be my brother and my friend Brooke could be my sister." So I said "Well honey, Brooke has a Mommy." So Ping in a hopeless and frustrated tone says "Mama, it's so annoying. Everyone has a Mommy. I want a friend that I can keep. Can we look for a friend that doesn't have a Mommy?" All I could say was that I was working very hard to do just that. I have. I research daily. That isn't an exaggeration at all. I constantly check on children on Waiting Children's List in other countries. I follow up on them all the time. Some are already spoken for and sometimes, we just don't fit the requirements of that country. I can't work faster than I am. Ping knows this because I share it with her. She is just as frustrated as me. She is not giving up either. Yesterday when I dropped her off at school she turned to me and said "Why is it taking so long to find me a sister Mama." She understands, but she doesn't. In a lot of ways, I don't get it either.

A lot of people have been telling me to adopt from Haiti. Like I can just call up and say "Hey, sent me an orphan." Adopting from Haiti was a long process before the earthquake. It's going to be much harder now. They have to distinguish the true orphans from the children who have family members, but just have not connected with them yet. Even if their parents passed away, they still have to look into all kinship. So to adopt from Haiti is going to be harder than ever.

People hear all the time that we have X amount of orphans in the US or X amount in various countries. While that may be true, it's not as easy as calling up and saying you are willing to parent these children. A lot of them have significant needs, are older or younger than a person may want, they may not be legally free, their country may insist that you make X amount of dollars or that you be of a certain weight. There is so much that goes into adoption. It's a true roller coaster ride. I say all the time, get on and strap yourself in. It's not easy. It's frustrating and you are always waiting and rules are always changing. So for those of you who have found this blog and would like to adopt, please educate yourself to the best of your ability. Don't assume it's easy. I will tell you that it is the best gift in the world though. It is so worth it in the end. I can't wait to do it again somehow from somewhere.

Mama Out!!!!!

I got my letter!!!!!

Yesterday I got so much done! I want that energy daily. I don't know where it comes from. I was able to clean and organize our bathroom cabinet on the first floor and then clean my mom's bathroom closet from top to bottom. After picking up Ping, I did a bunch of other things. It was a busy day. When I went to bed, I thought for sure I would pass out in minutes. I proceeded to watch the clock for hours and I do mean hours. What was that all about? Whatever got the juices flowing didn't stop when I went to bed at 1:30 am!

Today I didn't get nearly enough done. I did drop Ping off at school and went to the store. Ping and I woke up with colds. She is sneezing and coughing. My sinuses are bugging me. I am taking my Mucinex D and hoping it doesn't turn into another sinus infection!!!!

This afternoon I took Ping to ice skating. She glided a little bit today.

I got an important letter that I have been waiting on. I have shared with some of you that I was looking for a letter of support and I got it today. So excited.

Well nothing really interesting to mention today. I swear I write the blog so that I can remember my life a little. I forget things constantly and it's upsetting!

So ready for spring and summer. Even Ping said she wanted to build sand castles with her Daddy at the beach this summer. Not sure where that came from, but that is what she told me on the way to school this morning.

Mama Out!!!!!!

Great weekend

Friday was a day off for Ping due to a teacher development day. So I got to sleep in a little. Ping did keep sticking her face in mine while saying "Are you getting up Mama?" I didn't sleep in long as I knew she would be anxious to get on with the day. I did take her to get a shot. She asked if we were going to the "shot" doctor. I told her we were going to her primary care. Try explaining that to a child. She has a primary care, plus an ear doctor, a doctor that looks in her mouth and then she sees a speech person. So she doesn't really get that she has a primary doctor with the exception of thinking that she is just the shot doctor! It was a quick appointment. She cried before the shot once she knew what was up. I gave her a big hug and it was over!

In the afternoon I took her to her Creative Movement class. She does seem to really enjoy it. She calls it her ballet class and she wants to know if she can do big ballet when she is big. She is trying to rush growing up. Don't we all at that age? Then we get to the ages we are now and we would like to go back for the most part. We just want to omit the bad parts. Unfortunately, we can't.

Saturday was busy. We went to the Oasis house at WPI for something called "Hot Pot." Some of the Chinese students that run the Dumpling program was putting on a dinner for us. We have never been and even though I knew it wasn't going to be for me, I knew Bill and Ping would be into it. There were only three families from the Dumplings, so it was a really small group. There were maybe 10 or so students. They had two pots on the table. One was spicy and one was not. There were a whole bunch of things to put into the hot pot. There was meat, vegetables, squid, fish cakes, fish balls, tofu, lettuce, eggs and a few other things. In the hot pot is a mixture of broth and ginger. I put a piece of meat in. A very small piece and a piece of vegetable. Everyone puts what they want in and then takes it back out once it has cooked. It doesn't take long. I didn't want to eat because I don't like my food mixed like that, especially when it comes to fish stuff! It was tasty though. Ping loved the eggs. She had a good 6 or so of these small eggs. She loves eggs at home, but I wasn't sure how she would feel about these. They were really small. I asked the students if in China they did hot pot cooking year round or just winter? They get a group of 12 or so people and sit around the pot and eat like this. Interesting. We enjoyed the experience.

We spent the rest of the evening at home. Ping wanted to put out the Valentine's Day decorations. Then it was time for bed.

Today Ping went to Sunday School. Bill went to pick her up and decided to stay for church because Ping was playing the triangle during the service for a song the children were going to sing. When he got home, we headed out to go on a sleigh ride. I have wanted to do this for awhile. Today was a perfect day for it. We had a lot of fun. We then headed straight to church for the children's Valentine's Day party. Ping had a blast. I love watching her having fun with all the other kids! Once home, I cleaned the floor of the kitchen which has been gnawing at me all weekend. Nice relaxing night for the most part.

Well off to post some photos!

Mama Out!!!!!!

Hot Pot.

Ping smelling a fish ball.

Two hot pots.

Ping eating her eggs.

Ping and Roma playing with one of the Chinese students and an older girl. Can't remember her name.

Ping and Roma as cats.

Here we go.

Scenery.

My awesome family.

Smile baby.

All of us.

Ping and Mariah.

One horse open sleigh.

Blindfolded for game.

Balloon running.

Ping and Julia.

Snowballs.

Migraine from hell

I think I am getting a sinus infection. It's been a good couple of months since the last one, so why not? I need to find an ENT one of these days. Hopefully I will feel better in the morning. If not, then I will know for sure that I am probably getting a cold or the sinus infection. I have tried everything today and nothing is dulling it. I did a lot of cleaning over the weekend and since I am allergic to dust, I knew this was a possibility.

I can't believe it's already Friday. Ping doesn't have school because it's teacher development day. Ping does however have her second H1N1 flu shot at 11:00 am. She doesn't know this. I don't need her to needlessly worry about it, so I haven't told her. I will tell her that we are going to the doctor on the way there. She will whine and complain and ask why. I am not looking forward to this. Thankfully it will be a quick appointment. In the afternoon I will take her to her Creative Dance class. So we really don't have an open day to play as we have obligations. I am planning on sleeping in a little. Not too much though because Ping still has a wonderful way of getting into the wrong stuff and making a mess.

So we have had a short week. Monday we had the day off. Tuesday Ping had school and then ice skating in the afternoon. We didn't do much around the house. I was following up on a particular file that I was helping another person with. That made for a long day tethered to the computer.

On Wednesday, we had no plans with the exception of going to school. When I picked up Ping, she asked where we were going. The minute I pick her up from school, she always asks this. I told her we were going home. She says "No errands Mama?" I told her that I had done them while she was in school. So Ping says "Mama, thank you for doing your errands without me." So sweet and funny. I told her that I try to do them without her, but sometimes I have to take her. It just depends on what needs to be done. We were home for the day. I took a short nap in the afternoon while watching TV with her. I was just zonked from the day before. Sitting at a computer and emailing like crazy just got to me. Not strenuous by any stretch of the imagination, but my eyes were tired. When Bill got home from work, he made chocolate chip cookies for Ping. As they were coming out of the oven, I said to Ping "Don't touch them, they are Mama's." So Daddy pipes in and says "No they are not, they are mine." Meanwhile Ping is telling us that they are hers. So as Bill and I kiddingly banter back and forth, Ping steps between us, puts her hands out to separate us and says "Guys, guys, guys, wait a minute, you can share the cookies." Of course we all just cracked up. She brings laughter into our lives daily.

Today I dropped her off at school and came home. I immediately popped some heavy duty Tylenol to take the edge off of my headache. It did. Not a lot, but it helped a little. At 9:00 am, I got a call that Ping was absent from school. This is an automated phone call. I called back and left a message that she was 100% there. I wasn't worried because I handed her off to the preschool teacher she had last year and they walked in hand and hand. However, when I picked up Ping, I did say that I wasn't sure what happened, but it should be checked into. If Ping was in high school, I would have been in my car driving around and getting ready to pounce!

We spent the rest of the day at home. I booked three airline tickets to visit friends. Can't wait to go. I then took a nap with an ice pack on my head. It didn't help. Hopefully it will be better tomorrow, that is all I can do.

Hope you had a wonderful week my friends.

Mama Out!!!!!

Ping loving her oranges. Not a fan of food pictures, but this was too cute with her hat.

Pretty morning yesterday with the sun shining through.

Misty.

So pretty.

Not flattering for Bill. Sorry honey. The picture was just too cute. If you don't come to bed, we will come to you!

My little bug.

Sweet little lady.

I just hit a wall today on my projects

I did so much over the last two days that today I couldn't touch a thing. I did clean and do a few things, but nothing really big. I felt bad for wasting the day, but I was just tired of the dust and not knowing where to put things.

Bill went shopping after he used the snow blower for the entire driveway.

Somewhere around 4:30 pm, I sat down with Ping. She was off the walls today. She woke up at 6:00 am and that is very unusual for her. So I think she was really tired this afternoon. When she gets tired, she runs around like a crazy person instead of just sitting and chilling.

I forgot to mention yesterday that Ping was quite creative. She has recently been making a lot of drawings for people and then she wraps them up in a paper towel and tapes them. It's her idea of an envelope. Yesterday she showed me one of the envelopes and I asked her why there were a few wet spots? She said it was glue. She is allowed to use a glue stick, so I didn't think much of it. Around 15 or so minutes later, I hear Bill say to Ping "What are you doing?????" Then I heard him say "Sometimes Ping, you just need to ask yourself if what you are doing is going to make Mommy and Daddy angry?" I had to laugh at this. It was a good way of talking with her, but I just didn't expect it from Bill. So you know what she was doing? Are you ready? She was using hand soap from the bathroom as "glue" to close her paper towel envelopes. Very ingenious of her. I have to give her kudos because she truly is a creative thinker. Needless to say, we had to clean up the mess and throw away the "envelopes." Where does she come up with this stuff?

This morning she wanted to go outside with Daddy when he decided to head out to snow blow. You should have seen the drama. Ping was screaming and yelling and telling us that it wasn't a good idea to go outside without her. It's so hard to keep a straight face with some of the stuff she says. However, if we laugh, she will just get more angry. Bill tried to explain that it was not safe to be outside with him while he is operating the equipment, but she didn't really respect his opinion. She never did go outside. She didn't show any interest later on. I was ready to suit her up and send her out, but it never happened.

I wish I could remember everything that this child says that is funny. I always think I will, but then I get to the blog and can barely remember a thing! So frustrating. Ping has said a lot of funny things over the last few days. One of her biggest things to say is "I don't think so." The other one is "Whatever you say ma'am." She kept saying this to me at the store the other day. Looks like I have trained her to do this, but I haven't. That same day she stuck her butt out and shook it. The elderly man that was watching her just cracked up laughing. I just laughed. It was pretty funny. This child is such a happy girl. I am so glad she is happy and I do hope she is happy because of us and how much we love her.

Mama Out!!!!!!

Silly girl.

Another boring but very busy day

I decided to tackle Ping's toy closet. That wasn't too bad. I rearranged and neatened some stuff. Then I decided to take on Mom's walk in closet. That was not fun at all. It was organized, but I am trying to get it to a place where it's even better. I am trying to get rid of a lot of stuff. I can't stand the excess. The hardest things is that some stuff I have to keep, but don't want to store it. Then I feel like I haven't cleaned out at all, because it's still there!

I have another day off today, so I will try to make some additional headway. I would rather sit and watch a good movie!!!!

Mama Out!!!!

Thursday through Saturday

Thursday after school, we had a play date here with Mindy and Ciara. Unfortunately, Ciara developed a stomach ache and had to go home early. We were so disappointed, but totally understood. She felt better that night per Mindy.

Ping and I spent the rest of the afternoon watching TV and napping a little. So tired from a busy week. Daddy came home and the two of them watched Bill's new Madagascar DVDs. They love them. It's hard to drag them away from the TV!

Friday was fine. We stayed home after school until we went to Ping's dancing class. She seems to still be enjoying it. We spent the rest of the night at home. A fairly low key day. I have been so busy and tired this week, so it was good to be home for the night. Bill and Ping again watched another Madagascar movie and I passed out in the middle of it.

Today was a really busy day. I purposely have made no plans for this weekend. This weekend is about cleaning, organizing, throwing things away and moving stuff around. We just have too much stuff and not enough storage. Today I cleaned two refridgerators, 4 drawers and three cabinets. Not a lot, but it took all day regardless. I am hoping that today (now Sunday) will bring more energy so that I may tackle a few other places. I want to clean out Ping's toy closet. I clean it regularly. It is a mess again though!!!!

Well nothing exciting here. Off to bed so that I can get up and get stuff done tomorrow!

Mama Out!!!!!!

What a busy week it's been so far

Ping went to school on Tuesday and I ran a million errands. What else is new? I don't know why I always have so many errands. I nearly blew my top at the UPS store. I walk in and get in line. A woman who walked in after me, went to the right side of me, got the clerks attention and said "Can I have my mail?" The gall of her. How rude! She looked at me and I literally glared at her. After she got her mail I said to the gentleman "I am just going to leave this here, it's paid for!" Before I finished my sentence, the woman says "Do I have any packages?" Really lady? Tell me why I shouldn't beat you now???? I was incensed. I just walked out, but it angered me for a good 10 minutes.

Ping and I spent the afternoon at home. I had a few things I really wanted to do here. We did go to her ice skating lesson at 4:30 pm. There is a little girl there that is about seven? She really likes Ping. She always comes over and says hello to her. So the little girl and her friend comes over to Shayla to say hello. Then the friend says to me "Why are you so fat?" UGH. Just because I am heavy does not give you the right to ask why. I am so sick of little kids being so damn rude. I am also sick of people saying "They are just kids!!!!" So I said to her, "I really can't answer that question for you." I was stunned. Then the little girl that likes Ping says "That was a really mean thing to ask." I turned to her and say "Thank you sweetie." Clearly she was raised correctly! They are the same age or nearly the same age. I was going to mention something to her mom about how sweet she was, but I didn't get a chance to do that. Hopefully I can next week. Anyway, I did say to the little girl that my feelings are the same size as my daughters and the same size as hers despite what size we are on the outside and that the question is hurtful. She says "Well I didn't mean it like that?" How did she mean it? So as I am sitting there and Ping is sitting on my lap, a woman comes over to me and says "I didn't hear that entire conversation, but I just wanted to say that I got the gist of it and you handled yourself beautifully. That was a wonderful response. She said she was a school teacher and was going to keep that in mind in the event that she needed to teach it to her students. While I am talking with her, another woman took Ping off my lap and put her on the ice. It was really sweet. She is Chinese as is her daughter Jasmine. So it was cute that she let me finish my conversation and moved Ping to the ice which was only a few steps away. All the students were filing on and it was a messy crowd, so I was just waiting a minute to get her to the gate. It was a nice gesture and the compliment from the woman was nice. I did handle it well. Considering what I wanted to do!

Bill had to go to the fire department, so Bill took Ping home for a bath and I ran to get more K cups for the Kuerig and to return something at Staples. It was a quiet night.

Yesterday was crazy busy! Ping had to go to her bi-annual appointment at the Cranialfacial clinic. It was a long time before we were out of there. We were there over three hours! She saw the first doctor to check her ears. He cleaned the wax out of her ears. She bawled during the entire thing, but recovered fast. Dr. Kamil took out her left ear tube. She still has the right one in. Her hearing is good. We then went to see her next doctor which is for her Cleft. Her teeth seem a little misplaced. He just wants to watch it. It may require surgery or orthodontic work in the future. We just don't know how things will go. If the teeth keep pushing back, we will have to fix it. It has to do with the way she bites down. After seeing him, we saw the speech therapist. By then, Ping was literally bouncing off the chair and onto the hospital examination table. She was being silly. I just wanted out of there. You sit in a big room between each and every appointment and the kids are all coughing and sneezing. I felt like I needed a shower after being there for so many hours! They share a very large office with different departments, not just Cleft affected children.

We left the hospital and came home. Ping wanted to watch TV. I was trying to do something at my desk, but the phone wouldn't stop ringing. Every time I hung up, there was another call. It was pretty frustrating.

Bill came home around 5:30 and we jumped in the car and went to Ayi Meri's and Uncle Joe's house because they were watching Ping for us while we went to a meeting. Ping had a great time with them. She got to play on their Wii. She loves it. We went to our meeting which was for Waiting Parents with the state. We headed back to grab Ping and then we came home to get her into bed around 8:30 pm. I was zonked for the rest of the night, so I just watched a little TV.

Well off to get some things done. Later alligator!

Mama Out!!!!!!

Dragons and Pagoda set that we forgot to give Ping for Christmas.

Having fun.

So sweet.

Almost done.

Done with her first project.

Need to get off the hamster wheel

It's been a busy weekend and Monday.

We got up early on Saturday and drove to Rhode Island for an 11:00 am Christmas party. The agency we used for Ping's home study puts on a party every year. We had a nice time. They had people there running a popcorn machine and a cotton candy machine. Ping had cotton candy for the first time. She loved it. Shocker! They had someone wear a Spongebob costume and they had Santa and Mrs. Claus come. It was a nice time.

We stopped for lunch on the way home. We were all pretty hungry. There was food at the event, but it's pot luck. To be honest, there were not a lot of main dishes. So I had a piece of pizza and called it a day.

Once home, we did a little cleaning and then enjoyed the rest of the evening watching TV in separate rooms. We never watch TV together.

On Sunday, Ping went to Sunday school and then I took her to my friend Audra's house so that Ping could play with Ava and Elise. The girls had a great time. After I left there, I tried to find a gift shop that I have been to in Sutton before. I didn't know the way, but I did eventually find it! The place was closed, so that was disappointing. Ping was thrilled. She didn't have any desire to do this errand with me. I actually asked her to get over it. I took her to play for a few hours and now she is declaring she will not do this errand with me? Hello darling, you are four!!!!!! Ping was a motor mouth too. I love talking with her, but sometimes it's exhausting. She wants to know how many errands we are doing, what they are and how we are getting there. Ping breaks the route down by the type of road. Highways are fast roads and she doesn't like them and says they are bad. Medium roads are those smaller routes, like 146. Slow roads are roads through town. So when I say we have an errand to do, she first complains about the errand, she then asks where it is and then she asks how we are going to get there. Then she gives you her feedback. Usually it is "I hate errands, I will not go in with you, I will not say hello and I don't want to go on the fast road because I don't like fast roads, fast roads are bad!" This is a daily conversation. On the way to the gift shop, she made me tell her every holiday and birthday till next Christmas. She does this often. It drives me sort of batty. However, I indulge her as does Daddy. The other day I had to pause so that I could think of the road to turn down and so that I could think of the next holiday. She started barking at me from the back seat. I was like "Ping, give me a minute. I need to think!!!!!" She is relentless. She will repeat something to me over and over until I answer. It's fine for the most part, but some days, like on day 7 (Sunday) of doing the stay at home mom, I get a little irritated.

Anyway, we went home after going to the closed gift shop. We did a few things at home and then headed out for two errands. This time I told her to direct her questions to Daddy as she asked the same thing. "Where we going? How are we getting there? Why are we going there? I thought we were going to see Ayi Meri and Uncle Joe, they live this way, not that way!" As you can see, it can be a bit draining!!!!!! We did have dinner plans with Meri, Joe, Lucas and Ryan. We were invited to their house for steak and potatoes. Yum!!!!! We opened our Christmas presents since they were away during Christmas and Ping and Lucas played with the Wii. We had a great time. We got home very late though. It would have been okay, but then the tones went off. Bill is on call this week. So just as she is getting into bed and getting ready for a story, Daddy has to go. She is way overtired, so she is devastated Daddy has to leave. I take over and she calms down. Bill got home much earlier than usual because he didn't have to go on the call. So just as she is almost asleep, he comes in. Then she needs lotion for her itchy skin. Get the picture? The girl went to bed after 11:30 pm and that is not at all the normal for her.

Some time during the night, the tones went off again, but it was a fire call. Bill didn't have to go, but that doesn't mean that I am not blown out of bed when the tones go off. Then who can sleep when they are communicating with the station for a few hours? Not me! When the alarm went off this morning, I got up and tried to get Ping going. She wasn't budging. I tried and tried. She kept falling down on the pillow and snoring. So I came downstairs to get the number for school and I cancelled an appointment so that we could sleep. By the time I got back upstairs, Ping was wide awake in bed and asking about school. Are you serious?????? I already said she wasn't going to school and I didn't have enough time to get ready. I could have gotten her ready, but then she would have been late. So I crawled back into bed and encouraged her to get some additional rest. Needless to say, she said she wasn't at all tired. So she got out of bed and went downstairs to play. When I woke up and asked her to get ready with me for a 12:00 pm appointment, I found that she had my good address labels stuck to her nightgown and yogurt all over her face. Oh boy! She didn't do too much damage. I was worried about that. I always regret it when I keep her home. I just couldn't move her. She was zonked out.

The two of us headed to the dealership for an oil change and a few other things. We ended up being there for four hours! What a long day. She was so very good though. I was so proud of her. I did bring her a snack, but no lunch. I felt bad, but didn't know we would be there so long. I also brought a coloring book and crayons for her. They had a large screen TV and the man cleaning gave me the remote and told me to find cartoons for her. So that is what kept her happy for so long. I was grateful. We headed straight home afterwards. Bill came home a few hours later. He had to stop and get his crushed cell phone at Meri's house. It fell off last night and he didn't see it due to the black case. He ended up running over it. While we waited on him, I did a lot of cleaning around the house. Looked like a tornado hit it. Once Bill was home, the two of them watched Penguins of Madagascar. This was a present to Bill from the Stands. I couldn't drag the two away. Ping did get into bed for 8:00 pm though. Yay. She didn't get the bath I had intended her to have, but she did get into bed on time. Too bad it took her forever to fall asleep!

Ping reminds me every day of why I love her so. It's the little things that are funny or loving or cute. Tonight she was looking at one of her favorite books and she is identifying all of these animals and I love it when she knows what a Tucan is. It's a bird, but she knows it's a Tucan because of the book. I am so proud of her when I see her get things like that correct. The other day we were driving and chatting. She was telling me that the sun is in China when West Boylston has the moon and the moon is in China when West Boylston has the sun. She said it was a "pattern." She was having trouble with patterns, so I was so proud of her. She went on to tell me that orange and black for Halloween is a pattern, that green and red for Christmas is a pattern and going to ice skating lessons on one day and ballet another day is a pattern because they keep coming one after the other. I am so proud of her when she figures things out. I know all parents are. It just amazes me that less than two years ago, she didn't know English!

One more thing that I will share with you before I go to bed is proof that she is always one step ahead of us. The other day she asked to watch a movie. I told her it was too long. So she picked up the DVD case and asked me to tell her how long it was. I asked Bill tonight after she did this to me again, if he had taught her that. He hadn't. Where did she get that from? So now I have to tell her how long a movie is and then we have to figure out if there is enough time to watch it or not. We are so in for it as she gets older!!!!!

That is all I can think of for now. She just came downstairs looking for us, so I need to get up there before she awakes again.

Hope you are well.

Mama Out!!!!!!

Ready to head to the party.

First taste of cotton candy.

Yum, where have you been hiding this stuff?

She looked like an elderly China man here with a beard.

Spongebob and Ping.

No Santa, I didn't get what I asked for. WHAT? Um, she did!!!! Santa kept saying "I am so sorry, the postal service isn't what it used to be." I was like "Santa, this SANTA knows what she is doing!!!"

Opening gift from Santa.

Ping's friend Duncan putting a balloon on her head. This is cotton candy number 2. I didn't give it to her!

Can't get anything past this child!

I picked up Ping from school and took a left out of the parking lot. Ping immediately started to whine and said "Mama, where are we going? I though we were going home? What are you doing with these shoes." I proceeded to tell her that we were doing a quick errand. The UPS store in Holden is collecting shoes. They are trying to collect 100,000 by mid February. I think that is the date. Anyway, I had a lot of my shoes to donate and Bill had some as well. I tried to explain to Miss Ping that there are people less fortunate than us. This was a fairly long discussion. She told me that her shoes or slippers best not be in one of the two bags!!!! She is not sharing her shoes or slippers. I think it's going to take many years for her to understand why we donate items.

We get to the UPS store and the man helps me put all of the shoes into a big plastic bag. Ping proceeds to say that she is not going to share. She doesn't have to share her toys or her shoes or her slippers or clothes and so on and so forth. She went on and on to the point of embarrassing me. I have told her over and over that it's important that we help people who are less fortunate than us. I know she will get it in time. Hopefully when she is older, she will spear head her own campaign to donate whatever is needed to those that need it the most. However, right now she is being four and she is not sharing, DAMN IT! I wasn't pleased that she carried on like that in front of the gentleman that was trying to help. You could tell he seemed a little bugged by her going on and on. I said to him that she was only four, she was an only child and she will be forced to share whether it be with an additional family member or friends. She has had to share already with school mates and friends. She can be really, really good and generous. She even said the other day that she would share some stuff with a sister if we ever received another family member. Today she was just stuck on not sharing. Oh well.

We spent the afternoon at home until I had to take her to dancing. For the first time, I spoke with another woman there who was really nice. I didn't pay the least bit of attention to how Ping was doing. There is a little screen that we can watch. Sure enough her teacher said that she did wonderful and listened really well. I felt bad for not paying attention. I have paid attention to the entire hour long class for months!!!!! It was really nice to have an adult to talk to while waiting though. I often sit there bored stiff. It's nearly impossible to even read because there are some women that talk really loud in this small place so I can't even concentrate. I hate to say it, but these women annoy the heck out of me. Every single week they have to talk about giving birth to their children. I just want to tell them to find something else to discuss. They are boring me to tears!!!! I am not even being a spoil sport just because I adopted and didn't give birth. I am just sick and tired of hearing the same thing every single week. I just want to scream!!!!!

Well I really should hop up to bed. Ping and Bill went up at 8:00 pm. I guess they will be well rested tomorrow!

Mama Out!!!!!!

Finally, a little energy!

After I dropped Ping off at school, I headed to the gas station and then to Walmart. I went home to pick up some coats and then ran them to Burlington Coat Factory. They are accepting donated coats till the 15th of this month. I then dropped off a ton of clothes to Savers in Worcester. They are a place that you can donate items too. I also collected some shoes to go to the UPS store in Holden. They are trying to collect 100,000 shoes before the middle of February. They are donating all the shoes to other countries where people may not have a good pair of shoes to help them get around. So I was pleased that I did all of that running around. Sadly, I hit a wall by mid-afternoon. Ping was watching TV and I decided to sit with her for awhile.

I did clean some tonight, but I am still pretty low on the energy and it's frustrating me. I have so much to do and I really don't see why I can't keep plugging at it daily. I have highs and lows. I just wish I had the highs all the time.

I was able to buy Miss Ping a new pair of pants to replace the ones that she got artistic with yesterday. I also bought her two summer things. I couldn't help myself. I am so over winter. I can't wait to plan a get away this summer. Not sure where, but I want to go somewhere!!!!

Mama Out!!!!

My little cook. We made cookies over the weekend. A mix was given to us for Christmas. Ping immediately ran and got her hat and apron. Any chance to wear it, she will.

Putting in the marshmallows.

Neesha and Sophie sleeping together near all the clothes that needed to be donated. They love to sleep around or on clothes.

Crazy child of ours

Today Ping and I were home all day long. I have had zero energy this week. Not sure what the deal is, but I can't seem to get anything done. So frustrating. I didn't sleep well last week, so that may have something to do with my low energy.

I had a man here this morning to fix the dryer. That was not cheap. We have spent $500 this week on things that need to be fixed and it's only Wednesday! At least the dryer is working now.

We had an annual visit/standards evaluation done this afternoon with our social worker. It's done once a year to make sure your home is safe in the event of a child placement. The woman no sooner comes in, puts her purse down on the kitchen table and is saying hello to me when Ping jumps up and down in front of her and says "Did you bring me a sister today?" I thought I was going to die. You would think this was rehearsed!!! All the social worker could do was say "I am working on it honey." Then Ping sort of whined and walked away. All I could say was "I told you she is eager for a sibling and begs me daily." The face on the social worker was priceless.

Ping decided she wanted to play with her scissors and cut up some of her art work. I told her it was fine and that I was going to trust her to cut the paper and not her hair. At one point tonight when I was checking emails, Ping jumped on my lap and started kissing me and telling me how much she loved me. Now while I appreciate all of this affection, it usually means something is up. Sure enough, she confesses that she cut her pants. These pants are practically brand new. I applaud her honesty, I really do, but come on now. Enough is enough! I wish she would stop cutting everything in her path. She said she was really sorry. Needless to say, I think we will be burning all scissors in the backyard this weekend!!!!!

Tonight we got Ping into bed for 7:30 pm. She goes to bed at 8:00 pm usually, but because the last two weeks her bedtime was such a mess with the holidays, she can't fall asleep when we put her to bed at 8:00 pm. So she was in bed early, we read to her and then watched her bounce off the walls for another hour. We have got to get her back on a routine. She is overtired and that makes for a very unpleasant day for her Mama.

Well that is the latest and greatest in Ping's world. Keep warm.

Mama Out!!!!!

My little one amazes me daily

Yesterday was a very busy day. First day back to school for Ping. I had a few people in the house doing a few things and so I was busy trying to watch the doors so that the cats were safe. I do try to lock them up if I can, but sometimes it's hard. We did have a heating issue, so we did have a repairman here replacing the motor on a damper. By the time I picked up Ping, I felt like it should be early evening!!! We stayed home for the rest of the day. Bill and I had an appointment at home at 6:00 pm. Ping went to bed later than I wanted her too. She is one overtired kitten!

Today was an equally busy day. I was supposed to have my car picked up at 10:30 am to have a few things done with it. I have been trying to get a few things done since August. The appointment has been scheduled and cancelled over 10 times. That is not a typo. I am so angry with the salesman that keeps giving me these lavish promises and never delivers. He was suppose to come yesterday, but cancelled. Then it was today. He never showed up. I called him, but he said he would call me back in 10 minutes. Needless to say, that call never came. I couldn't be bothered to call him or he would have heard a little too much out of my mouth!!!!

Ping and I had a lunch date with a friend of mine. We had a great time. Ping was bouncing off the walls though. She is just so overtired right now. After lunch, we came home and did a few things and then I took her to skating. Skating was crazy. It was the first of the eight weeks and it was overcrowded and there was no ice for her class. It was a mess if you want to know the truth.

Anyway, this is where Ping cracks me up and amazes me. As I have said before, Ping begs me daily for a sister or a sister and a brother. I have to explain nearly daily that it's not easy to adopt. I told her we had a social worker coming to our house on Wednesday and that she is coming to update some information. I have explained to Ping that the social worker is working very hard to find us a new little member for our family. Ping just doesn't understand. It's hard at four years old to really get it. I don't blame her. Breaks my heart though. She said that if our social worker will find us a "new daughter" as Ping calls it, she will share her pepperoni, chicken fingers and let her meet her Daddy. So sweet. Why adopting is so difficult is beyond comprehension for me. Ping really wants a sister that looks like her. We all do. However, that is very, very unlikely to ever happen. We would be very happy to have another child, no matter what and how that child comes to us.

Well off for now. I hope you are staying warm. It's pretty chilly here!!!!

Mama Out!!!!!

Large videos?

Not sure why the videos are taking over the entire page, but I am going to post this to see if I can't make it so that you can shut off the music player.

Videos from our trip

Happy 2010!!!!

Last week I barely had any internet service, so I was unable to catch up here.

Monday I was supposed to have some work done on my car. It wasn't done. The guy cancelled again. Shocker! It's only been 7 or so times he has cancelled on me. Unacceptable.

On Tuesday, the car was supposed to be done, but the appointment was cancelled again. Do you see a trend here? Ping and I did errands on Monday and then turned around on this day and did some of the same errands. Unbelievable, no? In the afternoon, I took Ping to skating. On the way to skating, Ping asked me what color our trip was. I told her I wasn't sure what she was asking. She kept asking what color our trip was since we were leaving for New Hampshire on Tuesday. I was getting really frustrated because she was getting frustrated with me not answering her. I told her that I really didn't know what she meant by what color our trip was. So my sweetie says to me "Mama, you are not listening to me!!!!" This was said in a very annoyed tone. It was funny, but at the same time I was annoyed. I was listening, I just didn't know what she meant. I asked her what color our last trip was? I thought that would give me a clue. She said she didn't know!!! She then said "Is it brick?" So I said that I thought it was white. I think she wanted to know what color the building was that we were staying in. Since I have never been there, I didn't know. It was technically tan!

Skating went well. She finished her second session. She has to repeat the Tots 2 class. Everyone in class has to repeat it. There is a lot to learn before she can move on. When I got home, I got an email from a friend of ours telling us that they were going to surprise us and join us on our trip, but decided to tell us they were going so we could meet up. I was beyond excited. I truly was so thrilled.

On Wednesday, we had a crazy day. Bill went to work and I cleaned up the house so we could leave it in a good state before heading out for our trip. At 8:45 am, I got a call from my neighbor complaining about Charter and asking if our internet had not been working. So we both complained about that and I told her I had a 9:00 am appt. or so with them. A woman tech from Charter came. She was here for about two hours. Nothing was wrong with our equipment, however, she replaced all the connections anyway. She thinks it's an intermittent line issue. We have to call and tell Charter to come out when it happens next time. Oh sure, they will just jump for us!!!!!!! Anyway, Bill came home and we rushed around doing as much as we could and then jumped on the road for noon. The place was only an hour away, so it was a quick drive.

We got to the Inn at East Hill for 1:00 pm or so. We went in and got a tour. They told us to go into the dining room and have lunch, so we did. Then our friends came in. We decided to walk around and feed the goats and also try to get an egg from the chickens. They have a good size coop and you are allowed to get yourself two eggs a day. You can keep them in the fridge in your room and bring them home or you can have them cooked for breakfast. Needless to say, we never got an egg while we were there. It was too cold and there were very few. Alexa got one though. After we toured the place, we went to our rooms to check them out. We then decided to walk around a little more. We then took the girls swimming at the indoor pool and had dinner. After dinner, there was a DJ for the kids. Ping, Alexa and Stephani did a little dancing and then we all went back to our rooms. The kids were tired from swimming. There was no TV as promised and zero cell phone reception. Needless to say, I got into bed for 10:00 pm. I never go to bed that early. I ended up staring at the ceiling!

On Thursday morning, we met Stephani, Mike and Alexa for breakfast. We then went and fed the goats again. We were going to go sledding, but there wasn't enough snow. Our friends had to leave as it was snowing in CT, where they live. After we said goodbye, we headed inside to do a craft and then we had lunch. After lunch we hung around a little and then went to our room. At 5:00 pm, Bill walked Ping up to her party. There was a party for the kids from 5-9. We hired a babysitter to watch her at this party for the four hours. You have to do that if they are little. When Bill and I walked up for dinner at 6:00 pm, there was Ping and her sitter outside walking around. Ping didn't have a coat because Bill decided to carry it for her so she wouldn't have to worry about it. So I asked them what they were doing? Ping said they were walking down to where we were staying to see if there was anything to play with. I was so confused. I said, "Why aren't you downstiars playing and doing arts and crafts with the other kids?" The babysitter said nobody was down there. I was totally and utterly confused. So Bill took the two of them downstairs and then we sat down for dinner. Dinner was good. We sat at a long table with people all around us. The people were nice, but not that chatty. I guess it just depends who you sit with! Bill checked on Ping a few times since she was just downstairs. At 9:00 pm, we picked up Ping and told the babysitter we would return. I didn't bring my money to pay her, it was in the room. As we walked down the hill to our room, Ping started to complain she was hungry and that she didn't have dinner. I told her that she did have dinner and asked what she had. She kept insisting she hadn't had dinner. I thought for sure she just didn't know how to communicate that she did have dinner, but was hungry again. So I said to her "Did you have a hot dog?" She said "Sure" and began to bawl her eyes out. I put her on my lap and hugged her and told her that she didn't have to say "Sure" if she didn't have a hot dog. So I turned to Bill and said that we were all going back up to talk to the babysitter. Could Ping really not have had dinner????? So when we got up to the Inn, I asked her babysitter what Ping ate? She said she had some Goldfish. So I said "What did she have for dinner?" She said "You fed her." WHAT???????? It all became clear pretty fast. I asked her if she had ever babysat at this place before. She was about 14 or so years old. She said she worked in house keeping usually. I asked her if anyone told her what the program was for tonight. She said that nobody told her. Remember I said that they were downstairs and didn't see any kids and it didn't make any sense? That is because she picked up Ping in the dining room and took her downstairs. The kids were eating upstairs and then went downstairs. The poor girl didn't know! So Ping wasn't fed. So I told her that I wasn't mad at her and not to worry about it. I was livid though. We got Ping a big orange, some lemonade and hot chocolate. Since it was late, that did the trick. We then brought Ping back to the room to go to bed. Getting her to settle down was hard. Bill and she fell asleep and I stared at the clock. I wanted to see the ball drop, but again, there was no TV in our room like we had been promised!!!!! So I stared at the clock. I closed my eyes after 12:00 am. Happy New Year to me! Lol.

We got up on Friday morning and headed to breakfast. I then went to pay the bill and check out. I spoke to one of the owners about the various things that had been promised and not delivered. She took a good portion of the bill off. I was thrilled. We deserved it. The babysitter wasn't what was promised. I asked for an experienced babysitter, preferably one that was confortable with young children and might have had a babysitting course. The one Ping got was fine. She was sweet. However, I was mad that she wasn't given the skinny on the activities, that is just wrong. I was told there was a phone and a TV in the room and there wasn't. I was told we could do a sleigh ride and a trail ride and we couldn't. There were a few other things that went wrong. Kind of funny because everyone that we talked to was on their 10th or 14th or 20th trip. People love it there. We may try it again. It was a cute place to go to, but rustic. You have to expect that. It's not a top notch vacation, but it's a nice quick getaway place. We left after feeding the animals again and checking for eggs. We loved seeing the animals the most!

We got home a little after 1:00 pm on Friday. We did some laundry and cleaning. Nothing great, just stuff that needed to be done.

On Saturday, we did a lot of cleaning. Bill and I went through all of his jackets and now I have a huge pile going to a coat drive. We also have a pile of his shirts that I am going to donate. I have some shoes I am going to donate. We did a lot of work around the house.

In the evening, our friend Anita came to visit. It was so great being able to catch up with her. We sat and chatted for hours and then we watched "Four Christmases." Really funny and cute.

Now it's Sunday. Bill and Ping went to the free breakfast at church and then Ping had Sunday School. The rest of the day has been about doing the little things that need to be done around here. Catching up on laundry. We made cookies from a mix that was given to us, but they came out really bad. Not our fault. Ping went for a walk with Heidi our neighbor. Ping is now coloring and cutting. I told her I was watching her use her scissors and she best be keeping them on the paper and not her hair. I am catching up here and checking on places to donate things too. We have hung a photo, put away some additional Christmas things, cleaned the dining room, kitchen and living room. Just all the little things that we don't have time to do are getting done. Yay!!!!!

Well I must get off this blog and get some things done. First I will post some pictures. I hope you have a wonderful 2010!!!!!!!!

Mama Out!!!!!!!

Stephani and Alexa dancing.

Alexa with her DS.

Coloring.

Ping's dancing moves.

Eating her yogurt.

Alexa.

Feeding the goats.

How is your neck buddy?

Not hungry at all. Stephani on the right.

Lola.

Ping holding a cute bunny.

Milking the goat.

Hanging around.

Alexa holding a cute bunny.

Bill refusing to give up his little bunny.

Alexa visiting with the donkeys.

Main Inn where dining room and activities are.

Mount Monadnock.

Snow and playing horses.

Skating time.

Pretty view.

Pretty view.

Our cottage. We are on the right.

Our porch overlooking the water and mountain.

Our room.

Our room.

Our room.

Our room.

Got eggs?

Chickens.

They smell her bread.

Come on, keep feeding me please.

So sweet.

Feed me, I am starving.

Making sure we fed every single one every single time. I love her generous and loving spirit.

Love this photo of Ping, bunny and goat.

Bill trying to get a bunny home. I was not having it.