Could apt # 419 be April 19th, 2009?????

First date sign yesterday.

So by now everyone knows about my crazy 'signs' I see every where. Well, I have be asking -- YOU KNOW WHO -- for signs on when. When will I be a mom. Well, I haven't got those answers yet but I keep asking and asking and asking. Then I think maybe the signs are there - I just keep missing them or maybe I keep dreaming about them but then I can't remember the dreams. So I keep asking, watching and wondering.

Well yesterday I needed to go weed and plant some new flowers I bought on the way to the grocery store. But, it was like 9 million degrees outside and 10,000% humidity. So I decided that I'd take a little nap on the couch until it cooled off to about 5 million degrees. During my quick 2 hour nap I had a dream. Yes, a dream. A weird dream but a dream I remembered.

So in the dream I was in some apt and knew I needed to get out....quick. I tricked the person that was making me stay there and ran to the door, unlocked both locks and got out. I didn't know which way to go -- then the elevator across the hall from where I was standing opened up. There was a women in the elevator -- she looked friendly -- so I got in. I told her what had just happened and told her I was in apt 419. She decided to go talk to the mean person in apt 419. And when the elevator door opened again all I could see was the door and the numbers -- 419 -- they really stood out. I think the women got out -- don't really remember that. I don't remember much else -- just that I was standing there looking at the 419. I do remember that the door next to the apt 419 door said 'Stairwell' on it -- but I didn't go running towards that door to get out of the weird situation I was in -- I just keep staring at the 419. Then Thunder barked because it was 30 minutes past his dinner time -- but the whole dream stuck with me -- I can still remember everything about it.

Then I got thinking --- maybe this was the sign I have been asking for. Maybe this has something to do with the adoption. So I think that if this was my sign -- then 04/19/09 will be our Gotcha Day. Since referrals usually come out at the beginning of the month. If this is true then our wait will be exactly 34 months. From LID to Gotcha Day.

So I did some calculations and if our Gotcha Day is 04/19/09 then here are the birthdays and ages our daughter might be then:

Born on 01/19/08 -- age on 04/19/09 -- 15 months
Born on 02/19/08 -- age on 04/19/09 -- 14 months
Born on 03/19/08 -- age on 04/19/09 -- 13 months
Born on 04/19/08 -- age on 04/19/09 -- 12 months
Born on 05/19/08 -- age on 04/19/09 -- 11 months
Born on 06/19/08 -- age on 04/19/09 -- 10 months
Born on 07/19/08 -- age on 04/19/09 -- 9 months
Born on 08/19/08 -- age on 04/19/09 -- 8 months
Born on 09/19/08 -- age on 04/19/09 -- 7 months
Born on 10/19/08 -- age on 04/19/09 -- 6 months

Very interesting.
I guess time will either prove my dream right or just that.......a dream.
But it's good to have dreams.

Happy Monday.

More signs & anniversary garden areas

Last year on our 1 year LID anniversary I decided to plant a tree for the girls. So we found a tiny little dwarf apple tree and planted it next to the shed behind the garage. Before planting it Sonny made a little area for it with landscape timbers and fresh dirt. We planted the tree and I added some Dragon's Blood ground cover around it. You know -- dragons....Chinese....good luck.... I was going for the whole Chinese theme there. Here's the tree today.











As we approached our 2 year LID anniversary -- I told Sonny that we had to plant something again for the girls. I got 'the look' -- the look that says 'you are a nut but you are my nut'. All he said was 'we better get our referral soon or we won't have any grass left'. So this time I decided we needed to do the other side of the shed because -- it looks -- well -- like crap -- on the other side. So I needed another Chinese theme -- hello -- the girls are from China so this made perfect sense to me in my little world I pretend to control.

So I decided on these plants -- Chinese Lanterns, Fritillain, Hardy Pansies, and branching tulips.
Do you see a theme on my new favorite colors?

This is where the new garden area is going:


We have until fall to get the area ready since that's when the plants will be shipped. We are going to do landscape timbers from the corner of the ramp in front of the shed to the fence post to the right of the shed. Making a little triangle garden area. I read that the Chinese Lateran plants are kind of invasive so this should keep them somewhat contained. And if they choose to grow behind the fence -- all the better. It's just weeds and mosquitoes now. (not our property -- our lot ends at the fence) And the Chinese Lanterns get orange in the fall and can be cut for dry flowers. I think vases of them for Halloween and Thanksgiving would be a nice touch.

Ok -- ok -- on to the 'signs'. I only saw these plants - Chinese Lanterns - for the first time in June online -- while checking out Chinese Poppies. I thought it was a 'sign' that I found them. So it just made sense to buy them. Right? So I ordered the plants for the new garden area on June 15th.

Last week I was checking out my flower box along the deck and what did I find? A Chinese Lantern plant!!!! So some background info is needed here -- I have planted so many things in there the last 3 years that I can't keep track of what's what now. The bunnies eat the flowers and I plant more. It's this game I play with the cute little furry buggers. Some also get pulled as weeds -- oops -- and some come back a couple of years after I plant them -- I think the bunnies leave some roots behind. So now unless I'm sure it's a weed I leave it until I can figure out what it really is -- or how pretty the flowers are.

But, I KNOW I did NOT ever plant a Chinese Lantern plant -- I would have remembered that.

So I'm sure some bird 'pooped' out a seed and it planted itself -- maybe GOD directed that bird to take a dump on my flowers -- who knows. All I know is it's a 'sign' in my book. So here is my 'sign' plant:


I say good things are going to happen soon with the adoption.....my plant proves it.

I trust GOD to keep me positive -- because I beg him everyday for signs -- so I'll continue to look for HIS signs about when I'll become a mommy.

Today just happens to be our 25th month anniversary.

Home Improvement projects

So we moved into this house 5 years
ago in September. We couldn't paint
for at least 18 months -- or so the builder said. So we lived with just primer on the walls. We got busy with lots of other things -- so the painting has been getting done little by little. My goal is to have the whole house finished (except painting all the insides of the closets -- only a couple -- well one -- is painted) before our 5 year mark. (we still have to do the stair way and hall upstairs) We bought the new vanity, counter/sinks, and medicine cabinets in January -- our old vanity had no drawers -- it was driving me nuts to have to put everything on the counter, in the old medicine cabinet or in baskets under the sink. Almost every time I opened the medicine cabinet my brushes would fall out.
Plus, we redid the floor with ceramic tile and put some tile around the tub and shower.
We finished our bedroom a few months ago -- pictures to come later -- but I couldn't decide what to do in our bathroom. It originally had a mauve colored counter -- which I no longer liked. I was going to have it match the bedroom with blues and browns but then decided that it was going to be too much of the same colors. So we waited.

When Susan came to visit a couple of
months ago we made a trip to Ikea. While there I fell in love with a painting/print -- the one over the tub -- and decided that would be the theme/colors for the bathroom. Problem solved. We finished it over July 4th weekend.

Now I just love it!!!!

What do you think?

Pictures were taken without the flash on -- with the flash on the purple looked blue-ish.

Happy Day -- part 2

A couple of weeks ago I posted this post:

http://springbabies.blogspot.com/2008/06/happy-day.html

So here's an update.

My bestest Canadian friend in all of Canada became a mother again -- for the third time -- this time to a daughter named Mia -- from China -- of course. Mia is from Henan and was born on April 7th, 2006.

Here's a little picture of Mia's adorable little nose and lips.

Isn't she adorable?!?!?!?!?!

Congratulations -- Drea!!!

Love you!!!!

The girls' room -- completed

Here it is -- it's finally all done!!!

Now I just have to keep dusting it until the babies come home. Thunder has decided he really likes the new bedroom and spends lots of time in there napping and looking out the window. He's so big and the windows are so low that he can lay down and just have his head up to see out. Plus, I put his favorite dog bed in there too. I'm hoping he'll keep doing that once our daughter comes home. He can be her little guard dog -- well I guess he'll be the big guard dog -- like Clifford was.

August 2007 -- May 2008

So where was I hiding during this time? Besides trying to climb out of the tornado circling the drain that I seemed to be in over the long a$$ wait to get my baby -- I did some traveling with the hubby and some without him. Here's a recap and some pictures -- when I remembered to take them of our travels.

September 2007: We went to Chicago for about 4 or 5 days for our anniversary. The deal was Sonny would go see Wicked with me if I went to the all you can horf down Brazilian BBQ place with him. Well, Wicked was FABULOUS -- the all you can eat place -- ok. In fact, Wicked was so FABULOUS that we ended up seeing it twice. Friday night - our last night there -- it was pouring sideways rain. After going and buying a second umbrella and trying to make the best of it we gave in and decided to go back to see Wicked again -- this time in the cheap seats -- the very last row -- but still really good seats since the theatre was so small. So worth seeing -- I would see it again if I ever had the change.

October 2007: Sonny was in Germany for work in July and had to go back in October. This time I went too. Hey, who can pass up a free ticket -- with frequent flier miles and a free hotel. However, I've learned the hard way that flying isn't all that glamorous -- having the hubby fly business class while you have to depart 5 hours before him, take three different flights, fly coach, and arrive 2 hours before him in a foreign country isn't really that great. However, I am becoming quite the world traveler -- along.

So I was in Cologne, Germany from the 1st to the 5th. I shopped all day while Sonny was at work and then at night we hung out together. The best thing to do in Cologne is drink Kolsch beer and eat fried greasy German food....yum. Kolsch is the best beer I've ever had. And there are like 5 or 6 different kinds made there. And it's only made in Cologne -- or as the they spell it in Germany - Koln. One night we had dinner outside at this Italian place and their Kolsch beer tastes like Frito's -- really. It was even a little orange in color. Like Frito's the corn chips -- I really liked it. We had soup and a calzone there along with a few beers and it was great. (It really wasn't a few beers like at home - their beer glasses are .2 liters each -- so each beer is only a couple of sips...really... would I lie?) It was also raining that night -- why we decided to stop and eat there -- it was cold and dark out and we where wet and hungry and needed another beer. So sometimes now when I'm hungry and it's raining out I can taste that yummy corn chip beer. Makes me want to go back. Maybe some day. Since I dropped and broke the cuckoo clock I bought there -- well it's not broke -- the bird just pops out at quarter to the hour instead of on the hour -- I need to go back and buy another one. I tried to fix it about 18 times and can't figure it out. Of course, I did lots more shopping there too -- I carried many, many bags over that bridge. The hotel doorman must have thought I was nuts with all the bags every day. Getting everything home on the plane was fun.

Pictures -- 1) the view from our hotels side of the Rhine River -- that's the Dome in the background, 2) the bridge I had to walk across to get to the 'city' - it's a foot and train bridge -- by the way I HATE bridges I can't look down -- I'm afraid -- this bridge moves and vibrates whenever a train goes by -- at least 2 times by the time I could get from one side to the other, 3) the Dome up close, 4) window from inside the Dome -- it's very Goth and dark inside.

On Wednesday that week everything was closed in Germany for some holiday -- Sonny also have the day off from work -- besides a conference call he had to attend back at home. The guy Sonny was working with picked up us at the hotel in the morning and drove us to Bruges, Belgium for the day. I have no idea how long it really took to get there since I was sick -- got a terrible cold my second day in Germany -- plus is was really damp there -- so I slept part of the way there and most of the way home. I think it was about a 2 hour drive there and back. We spend about 8 hours in Bruges. A very nice little town. It reminded my of a spy movie -- like one of the Jason Bourne movies -- I think it was mainly because of the roads and how close the cars really get to you when they go racing by and you have no where to go but flat up against a building and pray. All the roads were bricks or some kind of stone so they also made lots of noise when the cars raced by too. Also a killer on the feet for 8 hours in 4 inch clogs -- but they looked really good. And that's all that matters -- right? We walked around, bought french fries, lots of chocolate and lace. Took a horse and buggy city tour and then a boat ride on the canal. Both tours were really cool -- got to hear a lot about the history of the town from people that lived there their whole life. The houses on the canal are very cool and kind of weird -- they are actually sitting in the canal. Just weird. Everything in Belgium was very green -- and this little stream or maybe the beginning or end of the canal was like a lime green color. Maybe that's where that Nickelodeon slim comes from. It was that color green.

Pictures: 1) the weird lime green water, 2) one of the streets we walked down, 3) Sonny and I - sitting on a bridge, 4) Canal houses, 5) I think this was an old church.

So I was home for a few days and then was off for a girls weekend the 11th - 15th to New Jersey/New York City with some us my China sisters (some of the chicks in one of my adoption groups). Other than still being sick from Germany -- we all had a blast. We always have a great time together. Susan wrote up a great post about our trip here:

http://slowboat-to.blogspot.com/2007/10/junesbugs-in-new-york.html so I'm not going to try and out do her writing -- besides I'm lazy. Go read her post and then come back.

November 2007: On the 3rd we drive and met Susan & Roger for dinner -- about half way between our houses. (the same Susan from above). The restaurant was wonderful!!!! But the company was even better -- I finally got to meet Roger, even thou I felt that I already knew him. It was a great evening and the guys finally got to meet. We really need to go back there -- it was really yummy.

January 2008: I spend the weekend of the 18th - 20th at Susan's house. In the middle of a snow storm I drove to her house. Now, I have lived in Michigan my whole life and I never, ever leave the house in the winter without my mittens and a scarf -- because I'm a wuss when I get cold. So I packed my clothes and jumped in the car for my drive into the snow. The trip was pretty uneventful and I didn't get lost and there was a nice toasty fire waiting for me when I got there. Then I realized that I forgot my boots, my mittens, and my scarf at home. I have no idea how this happened when they are all sitting by the same back door I left from. I think it must have been the excitement of seeing Susan or the visions of mall dancing in my head. Susan made me these great purple beer drinks and homemade pizza -- both were yummy. The next morning there was another 4 inches of fresh snow on the ground and a had the same cute 4 inch heeled clogs to wear. But that didn't stop the shopping trip. It was a great, fun and relaxing trip. A much needed break and a chance to do some more bonding over baby clothes. After all -- I was there for our 19th month LID anniversary. So we had to buy the girls something.

May 2008 -- The 16th - 19th Susan drove here for the weekend. We ate, talked, shopped, drank, ate, talked, shopped and drank some more. It was a great weekend.

So that's the travels that I didn't post about. No travel plans for this summer -- just working on the house.

I'll post on that later.

Until next time.

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