How Much Time???????????

Not really sure how long we will wait for our LOA.

This vexes me for a few reasons.

1. I do not like to wait.
2. I am a planner and I like for things to be taken care of
WAAAAYYYYY ahead of time.
3. I do not like to wait.



Asking the agency for any kind of time -line is like shaking one
of those "8 Balls" from the 80's.
" ALL SIGNS POINT TO YES" or " ASK AGAIN LATER".

The CCAA is so unpredictable(as of late) that no-one and I mean NO-ONE
wants to go out on a limb and even give a GUESS-TIMATE.

What I did get was "people who weren't LID are looking at about 3 31/2 months".

But we ARE LID....so what does that make US?!?!?!?!?

Who Knows?


So I have decided to be PRO-Active and start making my
Checklists.




I have 5 children that I will be leaving at home and I would
really LOVE for them to be able to get into college (at some point)
so there is my 1st List - SCHOOL

Who does what, Who knows what, Who will try to bam-boozle you
into believing that they DO NOT know what, and what I expect
them to have done when I get back.

I also leave a notebook filled with lots of in depth info on each of the children.

Which ones will try to make you believe that you "really CAN have
apple juice in the bed-time juice cups" OR "Mama lets us watch
ALL the DISNEY CHANNEL we want"OR "Sometimes Mama lets me
SKIP Math"( Just to be fair...You do get to skip Math IF you are
vomiting OR have a fever over 102.5) OR " Mama let's us play the
Wii whenever we want to" OR my favorite"eating Ice Cream is the
SAME thing as drinking milk".



AHHH Milk....
That leads me to the 2nd List- MENU.

When we left for China to adopt our 5th child, we left a freezer full
of frozen meals.
It was great for the kids, because they had a ready supply of
"Mama's cookin" and our "Stand In's & Other Mothers" did not have to worry
about what to cook for a house full of kids.

It made everything easier for them and less stressful for me.
I knew that Ben had Mac & Cheese and would eat that when he
wouldn't eat anything else.

So if we are gone for 14 days and I freeze enough for 2 meals a day
(breakfast doesn't need to be frozen) that is 28 meals that I need
to have prepared, labeled,frozen,and inventoried(so that they can check
off what they use and know what is left in the freezer) BEFORE the LOA.





LOA ......
That brings me to the 3rd List-PACKING

Stacy and I made the last trip with one HUGE checked bag, 2 pull-ons
& 2 carry-ons.

WAAAAAYYYYY too much stuff.
Most of the stuff we left in Guangzhou with a note to the hotel staff.
Stuff that was NEVER opened...most of it was never even TOUCHED.

We have decided that we will make this trip as part of the
"Carry-On Only" Club.

We are going to leave Guangzhou , go and spend a few days in Shantou,
then come BACK to Guangzhou and and REALLY do not want to have
take all of that luggage with us.

We'll see how it works out.

We do plan to purchase a few of biggest suitcases"Sherry's" has to check
on the flight back.
The plan is to pack our souvenirs in the carry-ons,
pack the carry-on's in the checked bags, and use our clothing for padding.

We made the mistake of checking our carry-ons on the trip back(last time)
...they were trashed and missing wheels by the time we were back in the U.S.

I have had to REALLY stop myself from buying clothes for our son.
I know if I buy it ..I will want to pack it..Good thing,too.
Today we got an update....He is 18 months old and weighs 17 pounds.
Tiny Little Monkey.





Next List

TRAVEL-

My husband tells me that we have an INTERNATIONAL COMPANION
TRAVEL PLAN with one of our cards.
This is a buy (1)- get (1) AND you get a free upgrade in the hotel
when you use the plan.

Basically what this means for us is that we will both fly 1st class-Round Trip-
for what (1) Round Trip 1st Class ticket will cost.

Wonderful...except for one thing..... In order to cash in on this little deal...
American Express has to make ALL of your travel arrangements.

So instead of using our travel agent(an adoptive father whom we LOVED)
we have to depend AM EX to take care of our flights IN and take
care of our flights OUT AND take care of our transportation from
Hong Kong to Guangzhou.........

This has disaster written ALL over it.....but I have still have to send them a list.
Airlines, Airports, Number of Passegers, Names of Passengers, Dates IN,
& Dates OUT.






Our agency is taking care of our in-country stuff..which is cool.

They take care of the hotel in Guangzhou and the train to Shantou.






They are even going to help us with our hotel in Shantou and
help us find someone to help us do a little shopping for the kiddos
at the SWI......which reminds me...I need to make a list for that,too.

So that is what I will be doing for the next 8-10 weeks.

De-Cluttering my house so that the "Other Mothers" can find stuff,
making out lists, schedules, menus, cooking, freezing, reading about post-op
TOF, getting riding lessons lined out, making arrangements for the horses
in the event of an emergency, finding someone to take over my Sunday
School Class, educate my children, stock pantry & re-fill First-aid kits ,
replenish meds & Vitamens, have a family portrait made SANS new baby,
paint my bathroom, set up a mini-nursery in our bedroom AND brush
up on my Mandarin.................

Although, Xiang Xiang probably only understands Cantonese...so alot of good that will do.
Maybe I should be brushing up on my American Sign Language.........Hmmm..........

Never a Dull Moment.


PEACE.