Portia's Kids Party

Another great time had by all. The kids absolutely enjoyed themselves. The funny thing is since most of Portia's toys are packed away until the renovations are over, I decided to play Martha Stewart and organize all these arts and crafts. Don't get me wrong, the kids did sit down and enjoy them, but hands down, the highlight for them were the balloons. There were balloons EVERYWHERE!! They all kept wanting to take turns with the balloon inflater to either blow up another balloon or to just let it fly around the room as it deflated. Their great, big, contagious, belly laughs warmed my heart. They were all sooo cute! The nice thing is that we've put a stop to just having the mom's and the kids come over, so now the dad's join us too. Of course, Alex's Pasta sauce was a great, big, hit again. This year, Portia and I made a cake shaped into a flower, with a caterpillar and 2 butterflies. I must admit, it looked alot better than last year. Who knows, maybe next year the adults will be able to figure out what it actually is supposed to look like.

Anniversary Party

We threw a wonderful 20th year surprise party for my brother/sister in-law and it went down perfectly. My husband was convinced his brother knew, so I kept trying to call his bluff, so I allowed him to go to the party with jogging pants and T-shirt (thinking he had a bag with a change of clothes). Well, he didn't. Too funny! We also set up a mini slide-show with pictures of them through the years. And the cake...it was beautiful. My other SIL, Franca, ordered it from this lady that is big on details. It was heart-shaped with silver beads all around and a picture from their wedding day crafted right into the cake. For $50 it was huge and excellent. We had food galore so tomorrow is pajama day with plans to veg, watch movies and munch on left overs. Yes, we will be using paperplates and cups since I have NO intention of washing dishes tomorrow. I've got another busy week planned. Monday I have tons of errands to run. Portia has an appt. with a professional photographer on Tuesday. We only ordered minimum school pictures. I don't know who their photographer is, but I don't think this is his calling. I had two choices, with one being Portia with her eyes semi- closed, so I had to choose the one with her looking like she had a pumpkin head with teeny, tiny shoulders. We bought it cause it's so funny looking. Anyways, we went out Friday and came across the most beautiful dress for her. She'll wear it for her pictures, plus she will get to wear it at 2 upcoming weddings, so it will be worth every dime. This week I took some time to review our status of innoculations. Portia's results came back and it appears that China innoculated her for Hep B, but not Hep A. Our doctor said he' wouldn't worry, as long as we stay away from the water. His daughter got Hep A one year in Dominican and fully recovered. I'm still teeter tottering. Anyways, I also have to get Portia's passport renewed. I took her for passport pictures and she came out looking like she just finished doing time in the slammer. Thank goodness she wasn't wearing any horizontal stripes!

Adoption Update

I called our agency and so here is where we are at. Our Dossier was sent to Vietnam April 15, 2008 (as we know). It has been processed and translated by the Office in Vietnam. It is likely in the DIA's office as we speak but unfortunately, the person who would be able to answer the status more accurately was not in the office today. As it stands now, and at the speed and average the proposals are coming in, which is approximately 3 boys per month, we would have to wait another year before travelling to receive a healthy baby boy. They are currently working to sign up with more orphanages however these things take time. Hopefully if all goes well, our agency will start receiving more proposals, but until then we have to ride it out and wait. The good news is that our agency is starting to process more special needs children. It's on a case-by-case basis however what they tend to come across is cleft lip and/or palate, clubbed feet and Hep C. Apparently we are not far down the list of parents open to special needs children. Our agency is currently aware of a little 3 year old boy however his medicals have not been completed as of yet, and as well there is a family ahead of us that would have first choice. And the roller coaster ride continues... In the meantime we wait. The other positive thing we heard is that last time Vietnam closed their program to Canada, they still honored and processed all the dossiers that were registered in Vietnam, so incase Vietnam were to close their doors once again (and not that there is any talk of that), it is hopeful that they would do the same as they did last time.

Life

So what's new?? An 80 year old woman drove into our van. The good thing is that she was able to walk away from the accident and is doing great...on the other hand, there was $13K worth of damages so it has taken over 1 month to get our vehicle back. Apparently all the neighbours thought that I was too nice about the accident and felt she was a menace to society since she almost ran over one of the neighbour's husband twice while he was working ON his lawn. Her innocent little face...I couldn't get mad and besides no one got hurt. We could have been in the vehicle so there is alot to be grateful about. We are also planning another trip once again to our favorite spot. We are going with 2 other families to Saint Sauveur and can't wait. One of the families we are going with has 2 little boys. One of their boys is 3 years old and started reading at the age of 2. He's in JK and they finally got to complete his testing in reading and he has exceeded a grade 6 level. Incredible! He's also a mathematical whiz so they feel he isn't stimulated enough at school. Last week we went to the Hershey's Chocolate Factory and I swear I've gained 10 pounds since then. Why do they have to sell their Bulk Oh Henry Bars for so cheap!!!??? Anyways, apparently they are supposed to to go in the freezer (out of sight, out of mind) which can only mean that I'll probably end up breaking a tooth soon while trying to chew on frozen chocolate.

Adoption Update

Our agency currently has 130 families on their primary list. What this means is that all these families have submitted all their paperwork and it is in the hands of Vietnam. Simply put, they are waiting for a referral, just like us. As to how far down we are on the list is still unknown. Although we were given an estimate of April 2009 to receive a referral, this can change at any time. From my understanding, we can receive a referral and then our file will be reviewed, which can mean that we can get turned down after we see a picture of a child that may become part of our family forever. Personally, I think that leaves us in a highly vulnerable position, once again. I have many regrets as I look back on some of the decisions that we made in our life, like waiting so long to start our family. I'm starting to feel too old for this. Adoption...it's not for the weak of heart.

Show and Tell

We took time to go on a hike through the Gatineau Park with some family and friends. It was just beautiful and always takes my breath away. Fall is definitely my favorite season hands down. It's not too hot, not too cold and with all the different color of leaves around you, it's just so upbuilding and makes you feel so alive. I know I'm obsessed but I could live in this season 365 days a year.

Last night Portia mentioned that some children were bringing things to school and showing the class, then she proceeded to ask me if she could bring her snot sucker (you know that little gadget that looks like a teeny weeny turkey baster that you gently put into a child's nostril and suck out and clean their nose.) Yes, that would have been an interesting show and tell. Likely it would have come with a demonstration of how it works. Portia is such an interesting child and she never seizes to amaze me.

New York

We had a great time in New York Long Island with our friends. We attended a wedding where the food was out of this world! And did I mention the shopping? It was unbelievable. I came back with eight pairs of shoes! Eight!! We extended our holiday by one day just to go tubing at the beach. It was a true blast! Can't wait to go back. They are all hoping to come and visit us in February so we are excited and looking forward to that visit.

Adoption Update...Nothing new however we are now 5 months DTV, so that brings us one month closer to the estimated proposal date, therefore 7 months to go. Lately I'm having many moments where I feel that this adoption will never happen, that something will go wrong, or more than likely, we will just flat out not be accepted by Vietnam. As I've said before, only time will tell.

In the meantime, we are keeping busy. We are still trying to sell our home. It's been on the market for about 3 weeks and we haven't received one offer. It's a buyer's market, which doesn't help. We have one family that is really interested but they would have to sell their home first. If we don't hear anything by the end of this week, we are going to drop our price to the price that was suggested to us by a real estate agent.

Portia has started french immersion Senior Kindergarten. She's starting to pick up some basic french words. It's so cute how she says it with a french accent. I can't get over how time flies. She'll be 5 years old next month and has grown a whole inch over the summer, yet I still see her as my baby. She's really starting to venture out. She's riding her bike with training wheels, but I don't think that will be for long. She's starting to catch her balance. She's also getting the hang of a scooter. The way her leg kicks out is so adorable. What else? She started Preschool C swimming lessons on Monday. Portia seems to have lost some of her confidence in the water. I'm hoping the regular classes will help. Aside from that she's doing great. Of course, she's picked up a cough at school, so we had to pull out all the tricks of the trade (Vaporizer, puffers, Vicks Vaporub....). Oddly enough, she seems to really enjoy the "snot sucker." I must say, if it was an Olympic sport, she would probably win the gold medal!