Could it be???

From RQ's latest post:

And one more thing. Several families are having to update their information with the CCAA due to changes that have happened since their original dossier went over (moving to another state, adding another child to the family, major changes in income, etc). Agencies are supposed to have this updated information to the CCAA before the files are matched. I have multiple families with multiple agencies letting me know that their agency has let them know when they need to have this information to them, and they are basing this on the fact that the CCAA is working on January matches. A few of these cases are word of mouth (i.e. someone in my travel group), so they are not all first person. But there are enough cases to give further credibility to the idea that the CCAA has matched farther than they have mailed.

If this is true, we may be about to be matched with Nora, or maybe even already matched! Wouldn't that be incredible?! As for why the CCAA wouldn't mail matches instead of holding them, well that's a mystery to all of us. Annual quota maybe?

The baby care packing challenge!

Well, it's the end of the month and time to post this month's Packing List Challenge. This is a cross-post of my entry over there. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know!!

This was a really hard challenge for me - I didn't know anything about most of this stuff. Please let me know what I've missed or if you have any other comments about the list - Thanks!!

Feeding:
- antibacterial dish soap
- sink stopper
- Rubbermaid container for wash bin
- nipple brush
- tongs for swishing nipples in hot water
- bibs (2 - 1 in backpack)
- disposable bibs
- 2 8-oz Playtex drop in nursers
- 6-8 Playtex fast flow silicone nipples
- 120-150 Playtex drop in liners
- snack bowls w/lids
- spoons and forks
- teething feeder (I got the Sassy one because it had a cover)
- extra mesh bags for teething feeder
- formula bags -or- twist ties for drop in liners -or- powdered formula dispenser
- thermos (in backpack)
- cheerios *buy later*
- rice cereal *buy later*
- goldfish *buy later*
- biscuits *buy later*
- powdered electrolyte *buy later*
- formula (n/a - agency provides first bag, we'll buy more in China and transition to US formula at home)
- Rubbermaid canister for formula (I've heard that Chinese formula comes in bags and gets all over the place unless you transfer to another container)
- scoop for formula do I need this?
- funnel for formula do I need this?
- plastic measuring cup *still need*
- pacifiers (4 - 2 in backpack)
- sippy cup do I need this? won't she be taking a bottle?
- 3 burp cloths
Bathing/Diapering:
- Huggies size 3 diapers - enough for a few days, buy more in China does this seem like the right size? may buy some size 2 when we know her size
- Huggies Natural Care wipes (5 - 40 ct soft packs)
- swim diapers
- diaper disposal bags
- Aveeno diaper rash cream
- California Baby baby wash
- California Baby baby lotion
- Burt's Bees Baby Bee apricot massage oil
- changing pad (in backpack)
- disposable changing pads
- disposable wash cloths
- baby comb and hairbrush
- baby nail clippers
- baby nail scissors
- baby toothbrush
Nora's Clothing:
- hat (in backpack)
- 1 pair shoes (probably white tennies - to keep baby safe from the clothing police until we can go shopping)
- swimsuit
- 5 sleepers *still need*
- 5 outfits
- 1 sweater
- 1 hooded jacket
- 5-10 pair socks *still need*
Toys:
- stacking cups
- Baby Einstein Mirror Me board book
- Snuggle Puppy board book
- soft photo album w/family photos
- lovey (in backpack)
- inflatable safari roller
- Taggies bucket buddies
- Haba rattle
- plastic keys
- beach ball
Misc:
- anti-bacterial wipes
- table cloth for floor play *still need*
- outlet covers
- night light

It was probably smart to do this before the luggage challenge -- I've learned something about the size of bags I'll be needing! If anyone has any suggestions for how I can pare back, please let me know!!

Rainy day fun

It is raining here today, so Rob and I decided to go to Borders (not that an excuse is ever needed to go to Borders). I remember when we first started Nora's adoption and I'd thought that I'd buy a book a week until she was home. I haven't kept up with that, but in my defense this is taking many more weeks than we'd originally thought! Before you feel too sorry for poor book-less Nora, though, take a look at her library.

Anyway, today while browsing through the children's section, I found a new book by the esteemed author of Llama Llama Red Pajama. This one is even better - Llama Llama Mad at Mama is about Llama Llama's tantrum while shopping with Mama Llama at the Shop-o-rama. It is hilarious.

I love the po'd look on little Llama's face. Reminds me of Rob when I make him go to the mall.

Chinese music concert

Rob received this at work today. It looks very good and tickets are only $15. We're going to try to go, I think. It will be a busy day for us - we're also hoping to take an infant CPR class earlier in the day.

Minhua Chorus will proudly perform a concert titled "Western Impression of China" at the O'Shaughnessy Auditorium at the St. Catherine. St. Paul, MN. Nov. 10th 2007.

China is a multi-ethnic nation composed of 56 ethnic groups. The vast variety of cultures from these ethnic groups has brought amazing richness and vigor to Chinese music which is strongly rooted in ethnic music. This concert will feature some of the most significant and popular classical Chinese folk songs, music, dances, and costumes from ethnic groups in western China. The concert with its poetic western Chinese theme will promise the audience lively visual and audio enjoyment.

If interested, please visit the website or call the phone number listed below for ticket info.

Western Impression

7:30pm, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2007

O'Shaughnessy Auditorium

St. Catherine College

2004 Randolph Avenue

St. Paul, MN 55105

Ticket & Info:

651-736-9853, 651-246-5735

http://www.minhuachorus.org/

Jan SP - Thank you Michelle!!!

Today we received the September gift and "reveal" from our incredible secret pal, Michelle M. ILLINI Wear for Rob, me and Nora - Oskee wow wow! PLUS a miniature globe for Nora's room and a "Mother's Love" cd. Michelle has also been super-thoughtful in sending gifts for Abby and Maddie every month as well - treats, toys, all kinds of cool stuff!

Thank you so much, Michelle. You have made the past 6 months a lot more fun! I hope that we can meet in person someday!

BTW ... You know that the wait has been long when you have had 6 different secret pals and decide to go ahead and sign up for #7.

And now we return to our regularly scheduled program

We've been "Up North" for the past 9 days and had a fabulous time - even the four days of rain! The above photo is of Rob and Maddie at Burntside Lake in Ely near sunset. Maddie only jumped in off the dock once and that was an accident. Most of the time she ran back to shallower water or all the way back to shore, then swam out from there.

Next vacation will hopefully include Nora!

Today we returned to 86-degree weather, a heap of laundry and bad news from work. Vacation sure comes to a quick end, doesn't it?

20 months today

Time is the longest distance between two places.

~Tennessee Williams~

Get in the game, get a coach!

"Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”

- John Wooden

No, not that kind of coach... although John Wooden is pretty cool (click on the link above to learn more about him). Thanks to J we found Dr. Poonam Sharma, The China Adoption Coach.

Last night she hosted a teleconference, "Preparing for the Adoption Trip". It was really less about travel, though, and more about bonding, attachment and transitions. I've done a lot of reading about adoption and I still thought this was an hour well-spent. Even better, I put the call on speaker phone so Rob could listen in. I even caught him taking some notes!

Dr. Sharma will be having a repeat session on Oct 1. If you're interested, you can register here http://www.telephonebridgeservices.com/event_details.html?eventid=9959. The call is one hour long and it's FREE (except for phone charges). She also has an e-newsletter that I just signed up for and the site has some very helpful links as well.

BTW, Dr. Sharma is mother to one daughter from China and is LID March (?) 2006 for her second. So, she's both a licensed therapist and an a-parent.

A fun, productive afternoon

Rob and I went to check out Peapods, the natural baby store this afternoon. I wanted to look at the g diapers and Ergo baby carriers in person and I knew they had both. The jury is still out on the diapers, but I did get an Ergo! Ours is the black with camel lining. Ergo doesn't make carriers in a ton of colors or patterns like Mei Tais, but I've talked to a few people who have them and read the reviews on TheBabyWearer.com and they seem to be the most universally liked of all carriers. Hopefully it works for us.

On our way home, we stopped at JoAnn Etc. so I could pick up some fabric swatches for the cushion I'm making for Nora's toy box. Honestly I expected to find a few possibilities, bring home swatches, reject them all and repeat the process about four more times. Instead I found fabric and it was on clearance for $2/yard! The pink will be the cushion and the green and pink stripe will be used for piping. I love the funky, bright retro print. It gets better every time I look at it. It's even got butterflies (the green things).

buy any good diapers lately?

This month's packing list challenge is baby "stuff" to take to China. Diapers are one of the things on my list, so I've been looking. Are any of you familiar with g diapers? I found them this evening as I was searching for diapers that didn't have cartoon characters all over them. The idea is appealing to me. I don't like the idea of filling up the landfills with disposable diapers, but I don't think that I'm up for cloth either. These seem like a happy medium - a reusable cloth outer pant with biodegradable liners. I'm wondering how well they work... if you know, please share!! Thanks!!

Referral update

Well, it's not quite as bad as the three days I'd heard earlier ... it's four days. At least it's not one. There's a sad state of affairs for you; anything more than one day matched and I declare it a good month.

For a smile, head over to the RQ. She's got links to the new referral pictures here. Congratulations to all the families receiving their referrals this week!

My new project

This is my toy box - my brother built it for me when he was about 14 years old (Pretty good for a middle school shop project, huh? I couldn't build that now!). After I went away to college, it went to my nephew, P, and has been in my my brother's basement since P outgrew it. Two weeks ago it came home with us for Nora.

I'm going to paint the outside a vanilla white to match Nora's crib and the inside will be bright lime green. Tonight I need to find some new hardware online - new hinges and an easy close mechanism to keep fingers from getting smashed. I also ordered some foam to make a pad for the top (fabric tbd). Nora's room isn't graced with a window seat, so I thought this would be a nice proxy for that - a little place where she can sit with a book.