Where is my TA?

Warning - I am simply logging in to post tonight so I can whine.

I want my TA!!!!!!

It's not fair!!!

Other people have their TAs!!!

I want to go now!!!

Ok - I feel better.

Not really, but I'll pretend.

I took 10 pounds out of my checked bag tonight and have it down to 43 pounds. But now I have a nice little pile of stuff, some of which needs to find a home in one of my 2 carry ons. For those of you still waiting, you get 44 pounds for your checked bag in China. In the US you get more but I can't remember that number. You also get to take a personal item (backpack, briefcase, purse) and a carry on bag. So I have my 43 pound checked bag and my 52 pound backpack (haha!). Seriously, I wouldn't be a big surprised if it was in the 20 pound range, I have most of my clothes and all my electronics in it.

Ok one more time and I am going to bed.

I want my TA!!!!!!

It's not fair!!!

Other people have their TAs!!!

I want to go now!!!

Night night!

Whew!

It seems like things are really starting to pile up!

• I cleaned out more of my kitchen and ended up with 5.5 bags of plastic type stuff that will be sorted, sold or donated next spring. It was crazy the amount of space it cleared up!

• I fixed my washer! My Dad had knee surgery so he guided me through the process. My front load washer is so easy to fix. It is a motor, a pump, two hoses and four legs that bounce with the drum. That's it! I took the pump off the big hose and there was a finishing nail in the blade (from the crown molding in the nursery). Four screws off the pump and the nail just fell out. I was able to get it all back together (with help from Dad on the hoses, I couldn't get those suckers back on) and now it works! I have to buy new screws to put the front back on because they were rusted but besides that - tada!

• Our TAs are sitting with DHL because my agency isn't open on Friday. So on Monday we'll have a tentative travel date we think. It seems the consulate is returning appointments in just a couple of days. YAY!

• I have been buying even more stuff to take to China. I know on some things I'm taking too much (like fancy trail mix from Target) but I know that if I do get sick, this is what I'll want to eat. I also don't want to compromise my cleanliness while there. Nothing grosses me out more than to read families in China wearing the same clothes over and over without washing them. I have soap. A lot of soap. Paper soap, liquid soap. Soap for clothes, soap for hands, soap for body, hair and special soap for the baby.
  

• I ordered my jeans from Walmart of all places. They have $10 jeans that are perfect for China. If they get screwed up in the wash it doesn't matter. I'll yardsale them when I get back. Basically I got 3 pair for less than one pair of my normal brand!

• I also found my new tennis shoes for the trip. New Balance, $27 after coupon today from Shoe Carnival! How cool is that?

• I think I am going to buy this...

or maybe cranberry straps with this inside



It is a BabyHawk carrier - $80 eeck! But I really like them and I am just going to have to break down and get it!

• Hmm so let me think. I am organizing the nursery, buying shelving. I stuff the pillow shams and I'll be hanging the quilt tomorrow along with the curtain rods. I've put all her stuffed animals in a big cloth bag to store them until she's ready for them (I know there are too many).

• I also bought this digital camera today. I am not sure if I am going to keep it or not, it takes rechargable batteries. My other Easyshare charged on a base and lasted all day long. I guess a bonus with having batteries is you can have 2 or 3 sets charged for really busy days. My old camera paused a bit in Vegas when I was taking pictures. I am afraid I'll miss something because the camera is pausing, putting the last image on the disk.

Old Camera

New Camera


The zoom is about double. And the lens is huge (and I am not sure why lol). The buttons and setting are the same and the new one is a 7.1 compared to a 6.1. Internal and external memory is the same. Both take 80 minutes of video on the internal card and I have 6 GB of external memory cards. I need a camera person to help me decide!

Ok I think that is it for now. The rambling of this post is much like my life now. I am flittering around, doing a little here and a little there. I need to focus!

Nesting!

Ok, really it's more like cleaning, but we'll call it nesting instead :)

How much Tupperware do you own? You know the commercial that goes "Do your cabinets look like this?" and stuff is falling out? Ok, so that is my Tupperware (generic term for anything small and plastic like) cabinet. It's quite large, it is above the oven and is the size of an oven. So if I have pieces falling out of that cabinet I've got issues.

Nothing matches, I can't find lids. Classic Tupperware issue. So I decide enough is enough. I go to Wal-Mart and buy the 24 piece Rubbermaid (BTW, Rubbermaid is generic for a container larger than my foot) Take Away set with the lid holder for a whole $10. They are the perfect size for my lunches and if I melt them in the microwave it's ok, they are cheap. Score!

So I set out to rid myself of my mismatched Tupperware. Now, I can't throw it away because some of it is real cool retro yellow Tupperware so I put it in trash bags so I can spread it out at a later date, match everything up and yardsale what I don't need. So one trash bag comes out. Hmm, ok a second bag comes out. I have two FULL trashbags full of this stuff. I take it down to the basement and start to laugh at myself. On the workbench there are two more bags. I own 4 TRASH bags full of Tupperware pieces that are all mis matched. I am a doofus.

Next, I am moving to the cabinets under my stove top. It is 48" 24" of pure STUFF. Any I don't use any of it or I'd know what was in there. Wish me luck.

I am 75% packed

No really, I am. Stop laughing.

One big suitcase, one smaller roller bag. One backpack. One trip to the mall on Sat and it's done. I am going to zip it up (wrinkles sminkles) and not open it again until China.

I have a secret hope, that our TAs will roll in the Monday after Thanksgiving. And when they call for appointments, the consulate says, well we can squeeze you in right after Christmas. So I'll get to spend Christmas with the baby in China and leave for China like on Dec 10th.

Now how do I convince my agency to let me take the train from Beijing to Nanchang? It's a 7 hour trip that leaves at noon. Think of all the stuff I'd get to see!

Busy Busy!

Do you know how time consuming it is to show every stranger in TN pictures of my baby? lol

I have been working on her care package. So far I have two Carters sleep and play pink lady bug outfits, 2 disposable cameras, a brush and comb set, a blanket sack sleeper and toys. I still have to get pictures in her Sassy photo book, find teeny baby hairbows and make her taggie blanket. We bought the prettiest rich turquoise satin yesterday and I am going to buy the popcorn chenille but in polyester) today for the other side. I'd like to have bright yellow or pink but I'm not having a lot of luck finding it. So I might just do white, I'll have 4 total so I can do the swaperoo and wash them.

We found out the post office has a nice sized box that you can cram full and send to China for $37. After I get done putting all her loot in, I am going to finish it off with more clothes so the foster family can use them for their next babies. The only things I want back are the cameras!

I got my stroller and it's so ugly lol. I don't know why I thought it was two shades of gray. The gray version is at Target but it's full price, $140. Mine is light tan with navy blue plaid trim - yick. I am going to grab some pretty purple fleece and do a one layer cover over the main portion of the seat to cover the navy and I am going to recover the toy bar that is on the front with the same purple. I wasn't planning on using the hood (I want to see her!) so there isn't a lot to cover up. So soon it will be light tan and purple, a little better hopefully closer to what I imagined :)

Off I go to the nursery now, I have a ton of stuff and there is just one baby coming - you'd think they had referred me a soccer team lol With the stroller and it's huge box in the way you can't walk through it yet lol

More about Natalie :)

Scroll down for her other 2 referral pictures :)

Natalie was born Feb 1, 2007 and was left at the door Qian Shan Xian Welfare Institute on Feb 4, 2007. Her Chinese name is Ling, Qian Ge. She was left with formula, a bottle and a jacket (I so hope they give me that little jacket). She went straight to foster care. This is in her story "She was a lovely baby with a healthy skin color and a round shaped face". (I think she's rather lovely myself!)

Her progression over her first 5 months included verbalizing simple sounds, playing with toys and kicking off blankets :)

Her medical report is all clear :)

I keep her picture on me at all times, I can't seem to go 5 minutes without looking at her :)

Natalie :)

Born 2-1-07
In July she was 13 pounds and 24 inches long :)

I can't wait to go get her. I need to buy hairbows!

UPDATE! I have hairbows! I forgot I was making 35 of these for a fundraiser then I lost the pack of alligator clips to finish them up and I never sold them. Look at all the little bows yippeee!


Ok even more - my counter is going to go up by several thousand tonight just because I can't stand going 5 minutes without looking at her goofy third picture. I think someone is talking to her or tickling her..I hope she's a giggler!

I can't get over all that hair, I am really excited lol

Mommy brain has already kicked in, I can't remember the real reason I logged back into this post to update it. hehe

Hehe

New Loot

I've had a stroller for about 4 years. It is a big bulky (but lightweight) plastic gray stroller with denim seat and hood. It is an Osh Kosh and there isn't a thing wrong with it except I no longer like it! That is the problem with adopting taking so long, you change your mind too much!

I paid $20 for it (it looks brand new) and I think I can get my $20 back. It would be a fantastic stroller for someone who has the trunk space for it. I can barley get it in mine.

I just ordered this:
It is a Britax stroller, marked down to $65 from $140 ($5 shipping). When you take the hood and bar off and stick a baby in it...looks like a Mclaren huh? They had a pink one I really liked but I was worried about dirt. Plus with this one I have 3 stroller bar toys that velcro around a bar that she can play with as we stroll through the mall.

www.albeebaby.com is the place to buy your baby loot. They have the pink Britax car seat marked down to $202.49 - run run! lol