Mortimer's Mom

Presenting Sprout and Family

Do I really need to add anything to this?

She won't stop eating, she ate more at lunch than Dumpling can eat in an entire day. And she won't stop. I have to stop her, or she'll explode. She cried for 20 minutes, plus if I walk out of her eyesight, but she likes Daddy a lot and walks with him in the lobby. She's weary of Dumpling, but mostely because Dumpling is a tad over affectionate at this point.

Also, she's already stylish, sporting several layers of split pants and some cupcake Robeez, obviously donated by someone who came before us!

T-1 hour

it's 8:20 am, our appointment is at 9:30. we are meeting in the lobby at 8:45.  Holy Crap!!!!!!

Dumpling is still jet lagged, waking up at 2 am. Mortimer's Dad did the night shift so I could sleep a little, not much.

KLBs: pics are up on my dad's site and as soon as we get back from picking up Sprout, he promises to let you see the first glimpse before I get to posting myself later today. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, sorry, but membership ahs it's priviledges!

mortimer's dad speaks

this must be quite the adventure, because Mortimer's Dad has been compelled to blog, after months on inactivity. for those who know his blog, check it out.

We had our first full day of adventure. Dumpling and Pebbles are quite the sight. They insist on traveling while holding had, strollers side by side. Mrs. Flintstone and I dragged the entire travel group to Carrefour, a big multilevel store about 30 min walk away from the hotel. But the walk was quite a sight, for the residents of Hefei. Last time in Nanning, I did notice people looking at us with the kids, but nothing like this. I know far fewer people adopt form Anhui provinc and today, we noticed it. We were gawed at, and the sound of giggles and laughter coming from our 2 older daughters were stopping people dead in their tracks.

Dumpling has landed

wow, that was quite the trip!

Let me just say a big public THANK YOU to my husband for the first class tickets, because that was a LONG trip with a 3 3/4 y.o.!!! She was actually an angel: no tantrum, no complaining, no tears, but man, you gotta be on your toes to keep her entertained the ENTIRE time.

We left our house at 5 am on Friday and headed for the airport. We got to our Hotel in Hefei 27 hours later, at 9 pm on Sat local time. During that time, she slept one hour just before lunch, and 2 hours at her body time of 7:30 pm when she would have normally gone to sleep, and finally one hour on the last plane, which was like midnight for her. The rest of the time: iPod, coloring, magnetic paper dolls, and a lot of saying hello to every Chinese person on the plane.

By the time we got to the hotel and got our pajamas out, I was completely shattered. We got about 4 hours of sleep before she woke up again, ready to go for the day. Thankfully, the iPod provided another 90 minutes of sleep for mommy before she DEMANDED that we play with her.

Luckily for all of us, The Flintstones were experiencing much the same in their room next door, so we took over the buffet downstairs and watched our 2 dynamos run around and make complete and total fool of themselves, to the dismay of the few business travelers trying to enjoy their bowl of morning congee!!!

The plan for today is grocery shopping and maybe even a stop at the Carrefour Store to check out the kids clothes. Babies are at 9:30 on Monday morning, still no word on orphanage visit.

Not really many pictures yet, i promise something alter today or tomorrow!

PS: thanks for all the good wishes and prayers. Must have worked, because though he is stil coughing more than ususal, hubs is feeling much, much better and there seems to be nothing to worry about.

over and out

almost 11 pm. Everything is done. Dumpling is sleeping.

Husband has a cold and there was brief discussion tonight of whether or not he should come..... He doesn't want to miss this again, so he is coming, but if this turns into something serious for him, we have agreed he would come back before the end of the trip. Not something we want to think about or consider, but I wanted it out in the open before we boarded the plane.  (for the benefit of new readers, we are not overly cautious people, my husband has cytic fibrosis and colds lead to lung infections, which lead to IV treatments, not fun, and most probably not readily available in China)

But it's probably just nerves, stress and fatigue, so he is sleeping and we will keep all appandages crossed. I don't think I'll actually manage to sleep, but I'm going to try. Wake up call is 4 am.

See you in a few days, once we have settled into our hotel, Sunday in China.

Behold: the bags!

the Before: (well, sort of the inbetween, after the first trial, before the final pack)

the After:

and the inbetween:

Quick! Name a book!

I want to bring a book to China, because I am crazy and I think I will some time to read. Mostely at 3 am. I need suggestions. Here are the criteria:

1. not a hard cover
2. nothingserious or brain involving
3. chick lit or light novel is fine
4. interesting mystery ok as well
5. plot not too thick, since I will be sleep deprived

Here are some book I *WOULD* bring, if I hadn't already read them, to give you ideas: Devil Wears Prada, In Her Shoes, any of the Patricia Cornwell mysteries, The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night.....

Now GO! Make suggestions! I must purchase this book tomorrow morning.

Edited to add: I have already read both Kathy Reichs and Jennifer Weiner's books, as well as all the Shopaholics & Ben Elton.

stomach churning

OK, so it's 8:45 am and I've already been to the bathroom 4 times this morning.... I guess it's official: I'm nervous and excited!

We leave in 3 days, though really, it's 2 days, because we leave first thing Friday morning. Later today, I will be zipping up the suitcases (I will attempt to take pictures of the ridiculousness that is my ziplock bag obsession) and then.... what I am supposed to do after that? Tomorrow, I have booked a hair appointment. That's right, I'm so high maintenance, I will have my hair done the morning before leaving! My thought process is that my bangs need a major trim, and when you get a good blow-dry, it can last a few days, so I should look half decent until I get off the plane. Afterward, I will look like a sleep-deprived, hairbrush-deprived mom for quite a while!

Also tomorrow, we will be having a family/group dinner with the Flintstones and my brother and MIL at our favorite steak house. We ate there last time before leaving, so we are making it sort of a tradition. and since tomorrow is Thursday, rather than running around the house going crazy, the gals from the store are coming over for one last Grey's Anatomy viewing party before I go.

48 hours!!!!!

PS: the Today show just did a segment on the resurgence of sewing and sewing circles.... The KLB's are SO ahead of their time!!!

no overload this time

Seems some of you have been having a good time ribbing me about my lack of projects right now, both in the comments and via email. For the record, I am not opening a new store or moving. I am leaving in 4 days (3 really, since we leave at the crack of dawn) and other than signing a few checks, charging a few batteries and making some luggage tags, I have nothing on my plate.

Well, that's not entirely true. After a bit of encouragement and cajoling on my part, the contractor will be finishing our basement tomorrow (he still has a bit of work to do in the garage), so we need to have our furniture delivered from storage and put back our entertainment center (and hook up all those wires) before we go. In all honesty, it could wait til we get back, but the thought of sinking into that massive couch and watching all the bad shows I Tivod while recovering from jet lag is too appealing to leave it til our return.

so there you have it! I do have a project, so stop bugging me about it!

What will we lose?

With only 5 (yikes, 5!!!) nights to go before we leave, and the packing more or less taken care of, I have started small panic attacks.... Let me explain.  My husband, bless his heart, is a darling who is.... loss-prone and forgetful. I love him dearly, but over the last 8 years, I have tried desperately to get him to carry 3 things at all times: his wallet, his keys and his cell phone. Most often, it's the phone that's missing, or he's got it but it's dead or not on. But sometimes, it's his keys, or worst, his wallet.

Famous incidents include the time, pre-marriage, when he and a friend went on a road trip of the Minor League Baseball Parks of the North East (Herb, I know you're jealous!) and he left his wallet at this friend's apartment. But the crossed to border into the US anyways. Without a credit card or a single piece of ID! (obviously, this is pre-911,... The funniest part of this story is that he had a banana, and the border guard went, well, bananas! No ID, no problem, but a banana, no way!)  My personal favorite is the morning we left to go on a cruise and somehow, between the cab at the airport curb and the check-in counter, his wallet went missing. Whether he dropped it, forgot it in the cab or was pick-pocketed (his personal opinion), it was 6 am and it was quite a feat to manage to lose his wallet in the 250 feet between the curb and the counter! We still went on the trip, with a newly issued credit card shipped to our hotel in Miami (thank goodness we were spending a few days in town before leaving), some cash lent to us by a snowbird relative and his passport, which I had kept in MY hands..... Needless to say, he hasn't been allowed to carry either our passports or tickets ever since.

So I am pretty sure that at some point on this trip, something will go missing. My biggest worry, besides paperwork and ID, is Dumpling's beloved blanky. That thing is already being mended regularly, as it is being loved beyond its intended capacity. And we have often forgotten it, usually at grandma's house, or most recently at the Flintstones after our celebratory dinner. We always recover it, on the same day, as it is 100% required for sleep. But I am terrified it will go astray in China. My mom has made a bungee for it, with clips on both ends, and my parents pledge to double check every restaurant before we leave to insure we don't forget it, but still, I worry....

Pretty much all other things we bring are replaceable. Cameras will be uploaded to the laptop every night as backup, extra copies of paperwork will be placed in separate bags, but still, I worry.... h0w do you say "where is the lost and found" in Mandarin?