Forever And Always

What a special day!  We completed Lan Lan's US adoption. 

She now has her official American name and will be issued an American birth certificate with our names as her parents.  I love the judge who officiates.  She does a mock trial with all the kids and explains history regarding the courts and legal system. 

The best part was when the judge asked Lan Lan if she understood how long she would be in our family.  Lan Lan said, "For one year.  And until I get old and die."

And the judge said, "And even longer than that--forever and always."

Sweet words.

Some people think it is too late for older children to be adopted.  Especially kids who have always been waiting.  And waiting.  Some think kids who have experienced a harsh life will never overcome the effects.



referral picture in 2010



Those people don't know Lan Lan.  She is one of the sweetest, most loving children in the whole world!  She is determined and loves to try new things.  She is musical, artistic, athletic, opinionated, kind, optimistic, sassy, stylish, thoughtful . . . and did I mention beautiful? 

Forever and always.

I love those words. 

How blessed we are.

What I did on summer vacation

Hello!! Well, it’s official – I’m the Mama of a kindergartener. :) It went off without a hitch and I surprisingly haven’t (really) cried yet. Tears have welled up a few times, but I’m holding it together and keeping myself busy.

I always feel like a slug during the summer, and I did especially so this summer. I was just so focused on soaking up the last days with my boy home all day every day, I didn't want it to pass me by. So I know things have been lighter around here lately and that’s why. But I am super excited about the fall and projects and posts, so stay tuned!!

I haven't done a month in review all summer, so I’m catching up all at once today. I have to say, looking back I don’t feel nearly as sloth-like as I felt. ;)

I’m linking to a few of my favorites under the collages – take a look and check them out if you missed any:

From left to right, top to bottom (sorry I had to add “here” for the link on each one – Live Writer hates me today):

1. Simple summer touches (here)
2. How to DIY built ins (here)
3. Trying out Annie Sloan paint (here)
4. DIY ORB light fixture (here)
5. How to stain butcher block (here)
6. Vintage rolling (storage) crate (here)
7. A (round) laundry chute (here)

1. Plan for the red, white and blue powder room (here)
2. New laundry room tile (here)
3. A pretty summer tablescape (here)
4. New paint color! (And it’s not pink, WHOO!) (here)
5. Back to school ideas (here)
6. DIY painted canvas art (here)
7. DIY wall treatment above the fireplace (here)

I almost forgot one of my favorite projects! My DIY sunburst mirrors made for just $10 each.

Oh, and the basement was finally finished (mostly) and we had a bit of drama (water issues) just a week after the carpet was installed. Water issues THREE times. But I’m not bitter or anything. ;) All is well now, (it was due to plumbing we had never used down there and getting it working right) and I can honestly say I’m still thrilled about having carpet down there – carpet can be pulled up and dried out super fast. Now I know. :)

I did some DIY this summer, but I mostly slept as much as possible, enjoyed having my hubby and son home and played, a LOT:

It was probably the best summer yet. They are growing on me. ;)

Now that school is underway I am so excited about this extra time I’ll have to dedicate to blogging and the house! I’ve already been on the computer for three straight hours today – longest stretch practically ever.

I am hoping to post more often now, and will have some recurring themed posts that will pop up here and there. I’ll tell you more about those soon. And the biggest change I think most of you will notice – after four years of publishing my posts late at night, I’m going to try to start getting them done during the day. It’s a BIG change for me but I’m looking forward to it. I want to focus on business stuff during the day and have my evenings free for my son and my husband. First time for that in a loooong time!

So this is my first. I’m hoping to get them written earlier in the morning than this one, but this is new for me, bear with me. :)

And now I can officially say it…BRING ON FALL!!!! Whooooooooooo! (First football game this weekend!!)

Skater Boy

I am happy to report that our skatepark adventure was a mondo success.  We were able to hit eleven skateparks in ten states. 

Favorites:  El Paso and Rapid City

Least Favorites:  Southern Cal because they don't allow scooters

Paul is quite entertaining.  How I love this kid!

For the love of labels

Hello! How was your weekend? Ours was just great – it was our last “free” weekend before school starts for my hubby and the kiddo so we took advantage of it and had a blast. :)

Have your kiddo’s started school yet? Thanks for hanging in there while I blubber on about my boy starting kindergarten this year – your comments and emails about this post made me smile. :)

I mentioned last week that I planned on purging and organizing a bit this weekend and I did get a lot done. I have a few more spots I want to tackle tomorrow and then I’ll feel really good about the start of the school year.

Today I had to label a few of the Bub’s school supplies and it got me thinking…thinking about how much I LOVE TO LABEL. It’s such a lovely feeling to stick a good label on something, anything. (I try not to get ridiculous about it. But it’s so so hard.)

I was more than happy to pull out my dear friend, Dymo the label maker:

I couldn’t find the Sharpie marker and I figured this would be the next best thing. (Dymo carries both plastic and paper labels – sometimes I find the plastic sticks better, sometimes the paper depending on what you’re sticking it to.)

This little machine is a little bit of an investment initially (around $25), but I’ve had mine for years and years and it’s the gift that keeps on giving.

Labels. To me. :)

I’ve used this one in the kitchen to label the spices:

I just print out the expiration date for each one and place it on the back.

I also use them to label storage bins in our linen closets:

But I love making labels too – a cute one pretty much sends me over the edge. ;)

I made some for the binders in my office with a couple paint chips:

You can find out more about those here.

I used some craft paper I had around the house and my craft puncher to create a few for our old laundry room:

Did I mention all of these were FREE?

Sometimes I use vinyl to point out the obvious:

I also used black vinyl (cut out with craft scissors) to make cute labels for our cereal:

And by the way, that’s not chalkboard vinyl, just regular black vinyl. No need to spend extra money on the chalkboard version -- with a chalk pen it works just as well. ;)

I used a cheapy, unfinished chalkboard from the craft store to label some of the books in the book nook:

I just drilled holes into sides and secured it to the box with twine. Totally cute for a couple bucks!

And sometimes I don’t use words at all:

That little bin in the Bub’s room holds…well. Airplanes. (Smarty I am.)

That’s just a sampling of my labeling love. I’m sure I’ve got more examples around this place but I’ll spare you the rest for now. Do you label or do you live on the wild side and love not knowing what you’re grabbing for in the linen closet? ;) Do tell!

Vacationing With Newly Adopted Children

There were times during our trip that I questioned my sanity.  You may be thinking I was second-guessing driving 7,108 miles, through 18 states, with 6 children (plus Lizzy the first 9 days).

Nope.  That part was AMAZING.  Except for the sick kid part--I will share ALL the gory details with you later. 

Unless of course you DON'T want to hear about the diarrhea episode at Mt. Rushmore. 

Oops.  Did I just share some of the gory details?  Okay then, considered that part covered.

I loved, loved, loved our trip!  It was one of the greatest blessings of my life.  I REALLY wish my hubby could have joined us for part of the trip, but for some strange reason he keeps using up his vacation days traveling to China.

And that was the part I began questioning myself about.  How could I take two newly adopted children away from home for over three weeks?  Especially Mei Mei.  Really?  That's crazy! 

It breaks all my "post-adoption rules." And I am very into my "post-adoption rules," such as staying home as much as possible.  And yet for us, somehow breaking the rules worked!

I knew I would never get another summer like this where my kids are young and I am not working.  I've thought a lot about why and how it worked so well.  Some thoughts:

• Older children can understand time.  Our girls understood the concept of 23 days and both speak English very well.  I would never take a newly adopted young child on a vacation.  Being older is KEY to being able to vacation early in the adoption process--particularly a vacation where we stayed at so many different places. 
• Each night at bedtime I showed them a calendar of our trip and we would cross off the day, count how many more days until we returned home, talk about our future stops (looking at the map) and the people we would be visiting.  This repetition proved reassuring.
• We called Hubby every day and talked a lot about things we would do together after our return.
• Lan Lan and Mei Mei are both emotionally stable.  Neither child has rages, meltdowns, or acting out behaviors.  Having BTDT with previous kids, I never would have considered the trip if we were still in that space of attachment and adjustment. 
• Mei Mei has been our easiest child to transition into our family.  She is very much a go-with-the-flow personality. 
• Both girls are very attached to their daddy--I wouldn't have considered the trip if they weren't.  On a positive note, being solo with Mei Mei for three weeks really helped strengthen her attachment to me. 
• We were extremely busy during our trip so the time went by quickly. 
• We were with precious family and friends--all our children loved being loved on. 
• I knew that I would cut our trip short if things changed and we needed to go home. 
• We had tons of people praying--we were coveted by blessings and love.

Having said all that, both girls are thrilled to be home--all the kids are.  I sense their need to have some structure to their days.  Some quiet.  They love to just play and play.

And yesterday, Mei Mei came down with a high fever and cough which turned out to be pneumonia!  I can't help but think that the stress of our trip contributed to her sickness.  True, she has a laid-back personality, but I also know that on the inside she is still raging cortisol through her tiny body--I simply cannot wrap my brain around all the changes she has experienced in the last few months. 

So, yes, there is a dose of mommy-guilt, but if I had it to do over again, I would.

And honestly, I think there is a confidence that builds in the newly adopted older child when we go on a trip and return home with them once again.  A sense of belonging.  A true sense of family.  Love.

The Box

Once upon a time…in my house, lived a box. And this is the story of this box. And how I kicked it out. ;)

I’ve told you before how I deal with some of the clutter in our home here. Some of it just…sits. Some of it goes into bags and piles and…just sits. ;) The bag is my favorite method of avoidance, the pile is a close second.

But this, this is a new one for me.

The Box.

Our friend The Box started out as just an fun surprise from the UPS man weeks ago. Then, one day, someone put STUFF in it. And it grew. And grew. And sat on the island for, um…weeks?:

It did.

And then, one day people were coming over and like any good, respectable woman, I grabbed Box and threw him in the closet:

For weeks. :)

I think he wept. He was so lonely, with just the toy vacuum and random jackets on the floor to keep him company. Whatever dude.

Finally today, I brought him out into the light again to deal with him once and for all. About a month into seeing he and his crap every time I opened the door, I had finally had it.

I told myself I was dealing with everything then and there, right away. No stuff going into new piles. NO new bags (or boxes) – everything needed to be put away.

So I took five minutes and sorted it:

Yes, Nya has figured out how to get on the island. We’re working on that -- I’ve forgotten how hard it is to train a cat (compared to a dog!).

Anyway, I figured out the easiest, quickest categories I could – Bub stuff, paper, stuff to the car, things I knew exactly where to put away and the I-have-no-clue-what-to-do-with-you pile.

And can I say that after one month of not knowing what was in that box or needing any of it, I was SO tempted just to throw it all in the Goodwill pile or the trash bin? I mean, one month and I didn’t think about any of this stuff one time. Did I NEED it? No. But I sorted instead of tossing.

Then I set the timer and gave myself ten minutes to get it all put away:

Sorry it’s blurry, I was in a hurry. ;)

I put (most) everything away, and let me tell you, I was sweating. Ten minutes was cutting it close people. I came down the stairs from my last trip to five seconds left on the clock.

I did have one small pile left – the annoying I have no place for you stuff:

I took five more minutes to sort all of it and guess what?? I actually DID find a place for this stuff! Who would’ve thunk it?

While I was in the process I cleaned up some more of the little piles that had accumulated in the kitchen as well, and when I was done everything was clutter free again:

And by “everything” I mean the island and that section of the counter. You can’t see the one to the right of the photo. ;)

But it’s a start right?? Mr. Box is now just a regular old box sitting in the recycle pile in the garage. Yessssss. 

And now that I’m done with the box, I can move on to The Bags:

Yes, I still have a problem. These have been full since June. :)

This weekend there will be a LOT of decrapifying around here – I want to start out the school year lighter and with less stuff around. Cleaning out car is also on my list. (Send help if you don’t hear from me by Monday.)

I KNOW a bunch of you are baggers and pilers, but how about boxers? (Huh?) I gotta tell you I’m not usually one who throws stuff in the closet, but it was kind of freeing. It may start a trend. ;)