YOWZA!!!!!!!!

Our consulate appointment has been confirmed!!!!!!!

We'll leave Atlanta on 11-1, GOTCHA is 11-6 and Consulate date is 11-14 at 9:oo am.

WOOHOOOOOOOOOOO

OH NO! Where the flip is my to-do list????? I'm Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay behind!

B

So many things to say....

I really wanted to post about Peanut butter. I have had a serious revelation involving peanut butter.

I really wanted to talk about the fears a mother has knowing her child is going on his first school field trip. Riding a bus. Away from me. Without me.

I really wanted to talk about the great time we had last weekend meeting up with Lisa and Eammon at the Classic Gourmet Chinese restaurant.

I also really wanted to talk about my horrific experience with the most incompetent lawyer I have ever met. (Suffice to say we can NOT check "Revise Wills" off our adoption list quite yet...)

However, as much as I want to talk about those things (and likely I will soon enough) I want to talk about the fortune I received with my Spicy Orange Beef lunch today.

It says:

The seeds of an idea you planted long ago are about to blossom.

How apropos.

Here's the story I'm going to tell. Why? Because it's time. The other stories will just have to wait.

[scene] Bonnie, Clyde and Bubba Jr. playing games at the kitchen table. It's Wednesday. Game night. No TV. No reading (until time for bed) No going anywhere. It's dusk outside. Through the kitchen window I can see the sun setting into the North Georgia mountains. It's 7:45. I'm happy as a clam because I've won Wig Out! 3 times in a row. This after Bubba Jr. had informed me that he was going to "kick my butt tonight."

Then... the phone rings.

It's 7:49. Clyde goes to answer the phone. "Hello?" he says. "May I ask who's speaking?" (I'm thinking for the love of pete I hope it's not Earthlink. They call 8000 times a week.)

"This is he" Clyde goes on to say. Whew, thinks I. I am off the hook. He can deal with the telemarketer whilst I finish off the moonpie (aka Bubba Jr.).

"Well that's good news. That's REALLY good news." Comes Clyde's voice from the living room.

NO.FRE@KING.WAY.

My heart is racing. I jump up from the kitchen table to see the clock. What time is it in Utah????? If it's 7:55 here, it's 5:55 there. Could the agency still be in the office? Could it be the agency? NO there's no way! We're only at day 70 and the last group waited 90+ days.

With hope in my heart, and my hands already shaking I race to the living room and one look at Clyde's faces tells me everything I need to know.

OUR TRAVEL APPROVAL HAS ARRIVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My hands are shaking and I'm grabbing for the phone. It makes no difference that Clyde is talking on it.

"We're hoping for a consulate date of Nov 14." I hear the agency angel telling us. No, no NO this has to be a dream! It's not my turn! I'm not ready, well I'm ready but I'm scared. Are you sure???

All those plans we've been making since April 15 2004 are coming together. You might say our labors have blossomed, and to the best of my calculations, will bear our precious fruit on November 6, 2005.

B

I'm pretty sure if the CCAA reads this post, I'm toast.

BAD MOM.

That's me. It started innocently enough. I thought I was being a good mom. But as the story unfolds you will see the truth.

*Scene* Beautiful Sunday afternoon in the North Georgia Mountains. We've been to church and prayed for the victims, survivors and heros from both 9-11 and Katrina, and we've put Charleigh in His care until the CCAA coughs up a travel approval. We've been to Moes , mostly because I still have a bunch of freebie coupons, oh and I'm in love with Fat Sam. So our hearts are full, bellies full, and we've headed home to enjoy the afternoon. That's where the trouble begins....

Bubba, "MOM! Can I play on the slip and slide???? PLEASE????? please please
please?????"
Me, "Sure. Ok."

Bubba slips and slides for nearly 2 hours. All the while I'm detailing my car, chatting with my dad, watching all the "WATCH THIS MOM!!!!!!!" 's that Bubba is hollering my way. Finally, I think it's time to be done with the slip and slide and call Bubba over. He runs over, happy as can be and that's when I notice... His entire upper body and thighs are covered with hives. He looks like

Well. He's hideous. Only in the illustration above one little section is inflamed. Bubba is covered. I freak. In this one moment I clearly remember the allergy test that was done about 2 months ago. Bubba is allergic to cats and

GRASS

HELLO??????

Is there anything between my ears or what? So I race inside knowing I have a prescription (not filled) for some kids allergy medicine, which when I received I tossed it to the side muttering, "Grass?? He's never had any problem with grass before. Heh!" Miracle upon miracles I find the prescription and race to that gigantic store that has everything from underwear to motor oil, pine nuts to MP3 players. We are literally running in the store. It's Sunday evening and if I can't get this dang prescription filled we're in trouble... We make it to the pharmacy with I'mnotkiddingyou like 3 minutes to spare. They weren't going to fill the prescription but the pharmacist took one look and him and visibly recoiled. Asked me what had happened and when I told her she filled the script. Lucky us!!! So of course I tear the package open and make him take the pill right there in the store.

We make our way home again and once there I feel Bubba should take a bath to cleanse his skin. By now the medicine is making him a little drowsy... so we do a quick sponge down and then Mr. Idon'tneedyourhelp attempts to get out of the tub. Slippery drowsy child + wet bathroom floor = disaster #2. His poor little body, which has already been through enough, goes spinning wildly out of control until his shoulder makes direct contact with the rim of the toilet. All systems are officially down.

So now he's bruised, hurt, hivey, wet and cold sobbing his little heart out in my lap on the wet bathroom floor. If there was a crying icon it would go here --->

Eventually we checked everything out and when we made sure his nose picking finger was ok we headed off to find pj's and put a stopper in this cruddy day. Three books later and one half awake goodnight kiss my sweet baby was finally getting some rest. I, on the other hand, went to check him every 30 minutes or so for a l-o-n-g time to make sure the hives were going down.

I'm happy to report that this morning the hives were gone. He was, however, the proud owner of one very ugly bruise on his shoulder blade.

Bonnie-boohoo-please don't turn me in for inadequate mom-ness : (

Just when I thought I was holding down my excitement...

Well I thought I was doing pretty good holding down my excitement... However, with a LID of 7/20 and a posting yesterday on the Waiting Children China yahoo group for a TA for someone with a LID of 7/11.... I'm starting to do the happy dance. If not in body, most certainly in spirit.

So 7/11... rock on! Ok. Now I'm excited!! And I know, I know... I shouldn't be. There are folks just like me who have waiting 12+ weeks for their TA. Yesterday we passed the 7 week mark. So we could get our TA anytime from next week to over a month from now! But actually seeing a TA for 7/11 has got my blood racing and my nesting instincts flared. Last night I sat down and watched the Becky Nee video and made a three page list of all the things she recommended bringing. I totally wiped out my medicine cabinet and have officially packed everything in the diaper bag. I told Clyde that if he needed pepto bismal, immodium, tums, tylenol, neosporin, benedryl, bandaids, motrin, hydrocortisone cream, the thermometer, cough syrup, cold medicine, or chloroseptic strips that he will just have to tough it out until we leave.

I also pack hair bows, pony tail holders and hair clips. Now that the essentials are packed I can rest a little easier.

I am trying to be organized. I have a list of 90 things to do (one a day for the last 3 months of the wait. Got it courtesy of WCC also). Unfortunately, I think we're somewhere around 54 days to go and I found the list yesterday. I have a lot of things to catch up on! It's a great list though, here are some examples:

Day 65: Get wills made or updated. (Not that I'm being critical or anything, but we've been working on this one for a month. Anyone know where you can get a will done in one day?)

Day 63: Arrange to get new $100 bills. (IMHO you should really start this on day 90 and follow up with your bank every 24 hours or so.)

Day 58: Work on preparing child's room. (Ok, come on. Has anyone out there really waited until you had less than 2 months to go to start your child's room??)

Day 54 (today): Childproof house. (I've done 1/2 of this... Clyde is supposed to be putting the latches on the kitchen cabinets. Only he started the project, promptly broke the front off our silver-wear drawer, cursed in disgust and abandoned the project. Likely (eventually) I will glue or duct tape it back on. eventually. Maybe today since it's childproofing day? Hey, I've got a great idea. Bubba will love this. I'll just ask Bubba to wreak havoc in the house and then I can get a first hand look at where our childproofing "opportunities" are!)

Day 23: Get Visa. Can't WAIT for this one!!

Day 13: Check out this site with tons of great information for American's in Guangzhou. Here's some of the information I hope I don't have to use!

Emergency Number
To report emergencies involving American citizens, such as serious medical problems, deaths, or arrests, please contact the American Citizen Services unit.
Phone:
011-86-20-3884 4410
(8:30 AM 5:30 PM China time)
011-86-20-8121-6077
(after hours duty officer)
E-mail:
GuangzhouACS@state.gov

(monitored during normal business hours, for emergencies such as serious medical problems, deaths, or arrests only)

Day 10: Send all travel info to a friend or relative. Make sure they have all your contact information in each city.

Day 0: BYE BYE!

I have a crap load of things to mark off my list before we go Bye bye... Although, I am pleased to say that I learned to count to 10 in Mandarin and say "please" and "thank you" (Day 90). Bubba doesn't care so much for that since now if he's in trouble instead of hearing, "That's One. That's Two!" He gets, "That's Yi. That's Er!" He rarely makes it to three (san) thanks to this little magical wonderful book on discipline.

Well, I've abandoned my work long enough.

So if I've told you yi time, I've told you a qian times, qing come back now, ya hear?
TRANSLATED
So if I've told you one time, I've told you a thousand times, please come back now, ya hear?

Xie xie, Thank you,

Bonnie Me!