Tuesday, February 9, 2010
and its your turn to guess!
While Chase naps...
All morning he kept calling upstairs for Brianna not realizing she was in school so I took him to the bus stop to see where Braelyn went. He loved seeing the bus drive up and the driver just beamed at him! She was so happy to tell us how she heard about the little guy. As a trial we took him to dance class but had to wake him early from his nap. He had trouble moving in his winter coat, hat and mittens. My dear friend Susan gave me a winter coat, I’m blessed to have things from Rachel, Tonya, Sheri and Kathy! I gave most all of my kid clothes to friends over the years only to find I needed to start over and what a blessing to share things like this! Its like having sisters to pass things around with! I loved passing down stacks of little girl dresses to friends years ago then Lisa gave back a stack as did Terri…so we’ve made things go a long way!
We are making progress layer by layer here at home but I so wanted to mention all the kindness from friends who brought meals for the freezer! The C family left a bag with of treats, crayons and coloring book for each little one, the F and B family brought food as well and there is a huge box of juicy oranges and apples that make it so easy for me to just grab and share with the kids. At 4am yesterday I sat in bed snacking on an apple with two little mouths waiting for their bite at the apple…
And, all of you who have followed our journey, making comments and offering support have been what have kept us going! If we knew what we were going to face even just coming home, we really would have freaked! We haven’t had the time to explain the 32 hour ordeal. Believe me, it was not something anyone would look forward to if you knew just what you would have to do, in the amount of time, in the weary condition of your not so young body, with the amount of luggage you were hauling…and the mood of your travel companions. Poor Aus almost had a hissy fit when our first suitcase was 2.5 over the weight limit. Our friends got to average their 5 cases for 100 kg, but OUR airline had to be the one that wanted EACH case to weigh 20 kg. Here I am trying to calm my DH while unlocking and repacking our private belongings, dirty laundry and foreign treasures all in front of the line of other travelers waiting their turn. Thankfully our guide’s husband came along to assist our process and bridge the communication gap with the airline employee.
At least this time Aus didn’t say he wanted to get home…in the worst possible way! It was not nearly as challenging as last time!
Commercial break…time to dress the girls to go out in the snow…turn up the radio, grab a warm drink, check on the washer…
Well, Chase woke up but he’s letting Ba’ba hold him! And here comes the girls already…
Sunday, February 7, 2010
home and back to school tomorrow!
Home!!
Friday, February 5, 2010
We're on the way!
Time to head home!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
A day in 'real China'
A day in real China
With all the glamour of this ritzy hotel its easy to forget the people of this country who's children we are blessed to now call ours. After our 12 course breakfast and a quick change into romping clothes we met in the lobby at a very early 9am. For most people that isn't real early but to GET that far with three little ones you first have to get them to BED on time! RIGHT! I've gotten them spoiled rotten at bathtime. We fill the soaking tub with really warm water then turn on the rain shower head in the middle of the room to get it really steamy. Since they bring us a bottle of bath gel plus shampoo plus lotion plus one of condition and lastly, blue bath salts…we can't let them all go to waste! And with our suitcase only being allowed to weigh 44# there is a limit to what can be toted home. So this ever frugal mama lets them dump a whole bottle of bathgel in the tub while letting Chase dump the bathsalts all over the shower floor to keep him busy until the water is ready. It keeps him quite intrigued at the color and texture then all the bubbles catch his eye. He loves to pour from one container to the other so I kept the last three water bottles for him to use plus the dipping cup we use to rinse their hair. Of course I didn't stop there. With all three of them in the tub we made water bombs. Chase can now count to three then I drop a filled bottle of water at arms length between them to splash as high as it can. Aus could hear the giggles in the next room. I love how all three have such funny belly laughs. I guess I shouldn't be teaching my kids "bad things"!
So, it was late, real late by the time I got them ready for bed and to sleep. The girls crash quite well but Chase is still being a bit hypervigilant. He bounces around on the bed and I do my best not to tickle him or get him wound up but its just so darn hard. With the light down he will lay next to me if I ask him but he's back to wiggling around again. He is a real snuggle bug when he takes his bottle and I plan to keep him on one just a couple times a day for the special snuggle time but when he's using his cup we'll let him decide if he wants a snuggle or not. Braelyn was still wanting to snuggle when she took juice or milk right up until our trip but on the road she hasn't insisted. I've still offered and tried to hold her by herself then with Chase at times so she still gets her special time.
Getting up at 7am was ugly. None of the kids wanted to be up at that hour. Brianna is usually cheerful when she gets up but for her to want to go back to bed…we know we wore them out. We made the 9am meeting time to head to the Old Village tour and went in spite of it being the first rainy day. It was only a light drizzle, we took the umbrella from our closet and ponchos for insurance. Today we used the Greyhound type bus with a step up to the seats but some of the little ones miss that step. Its ugly let alone noisy when that happens. About 15 minutes of stop, start, swerve, don't look now but some van is coming our way in our lane against traffic then turning left on red across three lanes of traffic and we are there. No seatbelts, no car seats and no way to contain this very precious child you just traveled across the World to adopt. We got there just fine. Its not as depressing as the trip we took in Beijing two years ago to the WhuTong but close. The people were friendly and you can view the pictures but they do lead a simple life. Several locals would be walking along carrying a bag with fresh vegetables protruding and no where did we see anyone consuming junk food. I did hand out several pieces of wrapped candies to the children we came across and they dove for any that dropped to the floor which I hated to see.
A few of the doorways off the alley's we walked were decorated for being newly married or for the NEW YEAR with mean looking men in costume to scare away any bad spirits. One house was built of sea shells. Most did not mind their picture taken but one woman was hiding behind a book or something across the moat as the cameras were clicking. In a chair near the tiny grocery was a lady announcing she was over 100 years old!
With a trip back to the hotel to rest we went to the American Consulate for our swearing in Ceremony and were given a paper that will allow our guide to pick up our Visa for Chase tomorrow. Several of us hoped to get a bit more formula so we all took a stop at the near by Justco store. Most items are written in Chinese so it's a wonderful help to have our guides able to help us with our choice of purchases.
Eating pizza in our room for a simple dinner we bathed with bubbles and crashed with hopes of sleeping well. Tomorrow we pack, head over to Shaiman Island for the items friends have requested just hoping we are not over in weight. We should have sent something large for him but there is still time to get one more case if we need. I hear Aus's razor humming and Chase's breathing getting more regular so I'd better sign off before my fingers fall off.
Marie Ausdenmoore
http://ausfamily.blogspot.com
http://chasecomeshome.blogspot.com
Hi Everybody!
Picture post 11
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Picture post 10
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
With each passing day I've tried hard to make a post but only after giving each of the children some of their special time. The last couple days have taken a toll with the pace continuing quite rapid. I'm amazed at how busy they plan our schedule knowing we just added a new family member! When is the child going to get into a "routine" or even get an uninterrupted nap? He's done quite well in spite but yesterday was his first fussy day as if it's been too much. I'm surprised I've managed to haul his almost 30#'s around EVERYDAY in the sling. He finally rode in the stroller for less than half an hour at the Zoo only. Then I wear about 20# in the backpack full of water bottles, juice cups, clothing and diapers…but it seems to keep the load more balanced so this pack mule can walked upright. You should see the looks! Yesterday we ventured out after the Zoo trip hoping just to find plain paper for Brianna to draw on after using up the first 50 sheets we found in Korea, then all the hotel stationary!
Chase fell asleep in the sling drinking his bottle I held with my chin so I could hold a hand or push a stroller. It gets a little annoying when even kids point us out to parents. Its not like we have 3 Asian children who look nothing like us when they only have one dear child. I can't help but feel a bit guilty even though we CHOSE children with special needs and not the cute ones on the list! It took so very long to locate the market yesterday we almost gave up. Our guide said it was behind the Friendship Market past the Starbuck's coffee shop. Okay. We didn't know where the coffee shop was since there is one out to the left of the hotel. To cross the six lanes of traffic in this super busy metro China location you have to be OUT of your mind! Even crossing ONE lane makes your skin crawl dragging the children in front of fast moving traffic that does not slow or swerve out of your space. I hate to think how many close calls we've had. This location was picked because the Island is under construction and the curbs cut up but we are finding it the very same here. You try to cross the street but have to lift the stroller across a foot of chewed up pavers right up against traffic where you must be even more cautious.
This morning we had to wait for the call about our CA and it just came so we are free to venture out for more formula! These kids get a bit stir crazy and the few toys I brought have been helpful but only last so long…more later...
Picture post 9
Monday, February 1, 2010
Hi Friends and family.doc
Hi Friends and family! This is Brianna. I miss you guys. I wish you could have come with us and I'm REALLY missing you REALLY much! We got to go to the sea in Qingdao, and I also got to touch a real oyster and starfish! We got to see a botanical garden (it's like a zoo for plants), we got to go to Shamain Island – which was VERY fun! We got to go shopping at both Shamain Island, and at the Liwan market – which is the biggest market in the world I think.
The hotels are great and the food is great too – even the octopus we ate for dinner. Guess what floor I'm on? I'm on the 12th floor here. At the other hotel we were on 19. In Seoul we were on the 2nd floor.
I liked my home country. I brought some stuff back to show you. I can't wait to see you again.
Love - Brianna
