Inch by Inch.... Daniel's progress

As Dan Dan comes to the end of PreK and hits age six, it was time to see the Plastic Surgeon for a check-up.   He last saw him a year and a half ago after his two surgeries.    We are grateful that his lip needs no revisions and his palate has no fistula's.    We will be going for a full speech evaluation to make sure his palate is working properly and hope he will not need surgery over the summer.    He was also tested at school today and he is no longer classified as an ESOL student.   Not a big surprise!     His speech has taken off since Christmas and we hear more new words and phrases every day!    The cutest is when he tells his siblings off with an "I'm telling Mommy!!"  but he has yet to figure out that he needs to actually come and tell me :-)

It has been a busy week - yesterday he attended Elementary school where he took an Art class, visited the media center and library and got to go through the lunch line!   The morning ended with a school pencil and a new t-shirt just for him.   Today he took his graduation picture in a little cap and gown.    Our "baby" is growing up!

We're home!!!

We arrived "home" to NY on Saturday and "home home" yesterday.   I was unable to post to the blog while we were in China but I plan on doing so if only for myself and Daniel's memory book :o)
Dan Dan is a love.   We found out he was called Lan Cheng (pronounced Lan Shen) by his foster family and this is the name the orphanage used.   So we alternate between that and Dan Dan since Dan and Lan sound similar.

He is so tiny!!!   He where's size 18 month pants (the 2T's fall off him.)   But he is as bright as a button and a smiley happy child.   He learned to sign "more" and say it, also knows the sign and phrase "all done" and says "uh" for up --  all while we were in China.    He loved meeting his sister and brother, and has been happy playing today while I try to get things done.  Unfortunately when I went to take the kids to school this morning the transmission on the minivan seemed to have gone.    I have learned to be flexible and go with the flow however, and I am determined not to let the challenges of daily life get to me.   So look for posts and pictures from China soon!!   We had a great time :O)

Happy Birthday, little boy!!

No, not Daniel :o).    Sunday my "D-bird" turned seven.   What a lovely child.   Always happy.  Friendly... as a matter of fact he gets in trouble in school because of his gabbing :o).  Always there with a hug and a kiss.   How did you get so big, so fast?   

Help for Haiti

Help is needed due to the utter devastation in Haiti. If you or someone you know thinks you can help, please call or pass this information on to someone who might be able to help. There are orphans in Haiti too!!

****Red Cross needs Creole and French speaking volunteers for a 24-hour bank. Call 305-776-6900 ASAP. American Airlines is taking doctors and nurses to Haiti for free. Please call 212-697-9767.****

Really shouldn't complain

It is 39 degrees here in "balmy Florida". We have been freezing our butts off for a week. In the summer my bedroom is the hottest room in the house as the French doors face south west and get full afternoon sun. Conversely in the winter, our room is the coldest in the house because it has three exterior walls. It is now 11 am in Datong City China. The temperature is a sweltering ~~7~~ degrees (Zero windchill.) OK I'll stop complaining now!!! Hope our Daniel is warm and cozy and enjoying the sunshine through the windows.

Baby is growing up

My son is 6 3/4 years old.   He just lost his very first tooth!!  My kids definitely walk to a different beat. What happens when a tooth falls out?  The tooth fairy comes, right?   Oh boy, oh boy... money money money, yes, yes, yes!!   NO NO NO!!   My son is "saving" his very first tooth.   The tooth fairy has visited my nine year old just once!!  Still haven't figured out where she is hiding them all (tho she hasn't lost a ton of teeth either.)

Hello 2010 !!!!!!

Merry Christmas!!

Black Friday at the mall? No way!!

We had a quiet and relaxing Thanksgiving with my father-in-law and I discovered the benefits of using my Quisinart to make the mashed potatoes!! Yum!! (Rachel Ray I am not.) Friday we got up and drove to a Safari zoo in our area where the animals were up and active due to the cool weather.

I'll take this over the mall any day!!

No news

According to my agency they have had no LID updates from CCAA since August!!   Said maybe they are "very busy".   Guess this is the "price" we pay for being with a large agency.   The saving grace is we will have that much less time to wait hopefully when we find out what the actual date is.

In the meantime, we had a wonderful relaxing weekend at the beach in celebration of DH's birthday.  Don't know how much he enjoyed it (I'm the beach bum, not him,) LOL but the kids and I sure did :o)

School days

My dd got thru the 1st quarter of 4th grade with flying colors.   She just hates those darned AR tests (LOL).   I talked to her teacher and she said that she has a very nice group of girls in the class.   And D has actually taken the leadership role on occasion.    It was reassuring to know that her peer problems don't extend to all areas of her social life.   She made honor roll with A's&B's so I see a treat in her future.
Still have to meet with ds teacher.   He seems to be doing okay though.    I am glad they have both had good /nice teachers in elementary ~ such an important time!!

Trouble in Paradise

My dd has always been a bit quiet and introverted. In 4th grade, I am starting to see her struggle to relate to and interact with her peers. I have seen girls that she knows walk away from her again and again as she tries to interact. It is such a helpless feeling and I don't know how/why these things happen. I know, "kids are mean". But it is so hard to see my own little one being hurt. I have no idea how to help her. I can only begin to imagine what we will go through when Daniel gets home and into school. But in a way I think (and I may be totally off base) it might be easier, because boys tend to just pick up and play with little verbal interaction at least in the younger years. The "don't ask, just jump in" mentality. Oh how I wish I could wave a magic wand and make the hurt go away...

school projects

When I was in fourth grade, our project was to "make a musical instrument". I spray painted a jewelry box and filled it with dried noodles!! Not, said the music teacher!! So I ended up with my Dad in the basement helping him (okay, watching him) build a "musical instrument" with some bits of wood, nails and rubber bands.

THIS is my daughters 4th grade project .... the Volcano.... Here's the thing; I can understand the importance of science and seeing things with your own eyes. What I don't understand is what educational value is achieved by Mom and daughter (kind of) spending ....hours..... on a volcano "project" for a science experiment that will last 20 seconds (ie the eruption?)

So.... presenting our "Mount Kilauea". (Okay, use your imagination.)

Here's a thought..... do the Volcano in ART class to be used in science.

Let afternoons be for what they are supposed to be for: play time. And we wonder why there is an obesity problem starting in elementary schools?

quack quack

Now I am not a duck person. And maybe a "duck person" would say "Duh!!" but I saw what I consider to be some very smart ducks today!!! We have millions of Muscovy ducks (which are of Asian origin) in our town and wherever there is a canal you are sure to find a few.

Today as I drove home from work I watched two ducks try to cross the road (4 lanes) from the Denny's restaurant (smart ducks!!) to their canal. These birds crossed over to the middle of the road inbetween the stopped cars. They then turned their heads and LOOKED AT THE COLOR OF THE TRAFFIC LIGHT!!!! As they looked it turned green and those smarty ducks turned around and high tailed it back to the curb from whenst (is that a word?) they came!!

Maybe it's just me but I was just amazed !! Nature is awesome!!

:o)

Lady Luck, please shine down on us!!

I spoke with our dossier specialist today. If they receive our last couple of documents by 10 am on Thursday they will be able to ship our dossier to China this Friday!! Our last document is being processed in Washington for authentication as we speak and should be ready on Tuesday. I should receive it back by noon Wednesday to turn around and Fedex to the agency. Please, Mr. Postman/woman, please don't lose my package this time. I will be holding my breath until I get that email from the agency on Friday afternoon!!!!!!!!

My children are not destined to be interior decorators~!! I don't know where I went wrong.... They went to Mommy & Me. They learned the "clean-up, clean-up" song.... but they still do not know how (or maybe don't want to...) clean up when they are done playing with something and before moving on to the next thing. So, when they told me they "made a play room for our new brother" in my Living Room, I went in ready for war.

First, I found this:

Another view, closer:

Then, I saw this:

I LOVE MY KIDS !!!!!!!!

(The lizard is "A Chinese Dragon")

My house is a paper magnet!!

What is the one thing that most overwhelms me in this world? Paper!!! My weakness, and also my husbands (although he would never admit it!) is the accumulation of things paper... Bills, old receipts, old magazines, expired coupons, children's art work, children's school work, paper paper paper. Seeing stacks of paper and having to go through them gives me waves of anxiety like nothing else!!! Worse than spiders and stray dogs!!!!

Life's little ups and downs

Our Honda CRV has been a fabulous car. It is like the energizer bunny. Keeps going and going and going. We have had it for 12 years and we have had few if any problems. I was thrilled then we we bought our Odyssey when our daughter was an infant. Other than needing a new battery every two years it has been a great minivan. Fast forward eight years and the wear and tear is beginning to show. I know, some people lease or get a new car every couple of years. But I grew up with parents that squeezed every mile they could out of their cars. Maybe it's just that the cost of repairs has gone up astronomically. Last year the van needed about $900 in repairs for a throttle malfunction. Today as I left to pick up the kids from school in the drizzle, the automatic window motor went. (IE. the thing that makes the window go UP when you press the button on your door. Window....down...) Not a big deal unless you live in the subtropics in wet season. Down to the dealership we flew. Estimate $250-300. If only!! We walked out with a $700 plus bill. Also found, a leak in one of the motor mounts. It reminds me of a comment made by a coworker long ago when she received a repair estimate... '$xxxxx.xx for a piece of tin!!!' This is just a part of life but it's really hard when you take one step forward to then take two steps back. We're going to have to proffer a lot more chocolate!!!

Slowly inching forward/school days

The paper chase is almost done. We have one document in Washington that should be back any day now. We have one document in NY that should be back in a week or so. The rest of our dossier is now with the Dossier specialist at our agency. We have an appointment to see a USCIS officer on Monday to plead our case. If they are kind and let us do our fingerprinting there might still be a chance of getting our dossier to China on time. From what I can tell, it doesn't take long after the fingerprinting to get your I797C back. Then we will rely on couriers to get it certified and authenticated. Then the real wait begins. I'm sure I will find ways to keep busy though. We haven't started setting up our extra room yet. That will be a fun project! I know my other son is going to be jealous when we put the car bed together!!

The kids just finished their first week of school. My first grader already has had a sick day. He picked up the sinus infection that his sister had. At least they don't do much in the first week of first grade!! He is now learning what "homework" really is :0) For my fourth grader, they are a lot stricter about homework and especially reading. She has been having performance anxiety. I know she will do fine, but it's going to be an intense year, I do believe!! Have to make sure they stay on a good bed time schedule over the weekend. It's going to be hard to get up early Saturday for this night owl Mom!!