Just when you think you have a plan....

The plan was for me have almost everything boxed up by Saturday morning. So that when the movers arrived on Saturday everything would be ready. But you know what they say about the best laid plans....

The plan worked until Tuesday morning when we discovered that Mia has the flu.... Then tuesday at noon I got the flu....Then Tuesday afternoon Trent got the flu....then Wednesday afternoon Kaylee got the flu.... We're dropping like flies over here. The bright side to all of this (if there is one) is that when Mom came over to help out, she took Mia to the doctor for me, because I myself was sitting in a doctor's office, Mia's doctor gave everyone in the house a perscription for TamiFlu. Which is not suppose to cure the flu or prevent you from getting it but if you do indeed contract it then the symptoms are much shorter and easier to handle. So, with one co-pay we are all taking it. Thank goodness I didn't have to pay for that many office visits when we found out each prescription is $60. But well worth it I believe.

It's beginning to look a lot like moving....

The boxing up has officialy begun. And as I sort through 7 years of clutter from this house I have learned a few things.
1. 12 loaf pans is entirley two many for one family to own. Granted some are metal, some are glass and then their are size differences. But TWELVE, I think they may have multiplied in there.

2. This house must be a paper magnet. With all the paperwork that comes through here we could save a tree a month but stopping it all. I went to the recycle bin at the kids school and dropped all of it off.(Maybe we can call ourselves green after this)

3. For some unknown reason I have enough black pepper to last until the year 3000. I found four huge cans hidden in the spices. And the ironic part is we never pepper our food after cooking it.

An intresting tidbit I learned about spices is that McCormick quit making spices in metal cans 15 years ago.(except for pepper) I'm certain I'm the only one with a 16 year old can of Nutmeg in my pantry. (well, not any more I threw it out today)

The packing is going well and the house is finishing up with all the little things. David's office is nearing completion. It is now painted and the tile will be laid tomorrow. The dumpster is gone, and it is starting to look a lot more like a home than a construction site.

This is the front door and step. Some might call it a porch but from a Southern perspective I call it a little more than a big step. To me porches are huge and can have a swing on them.

None the less here is the new front step. Complete with new pieces of hand picked slate. David and I sorted through several packs to pick just the right ones. It will look much better once the chocolate brown walls have been painted

Trent has always had the knack of being able to sleep anywhere.

All hope is gone

Well, if you happen to be standing in a check out line this week you may have noticed that Matthew McCounghey is going to be a father. Apparently his girlfriend is three months pregnant. (or at least that's what People magazine says)
So in my despair and unbelief I phoned Gayla to see if she had heard the news. While affirming that this is truth(she read the People magazine too), she helped me through the grief. Gayla assured me that surely if by chance we ever did actually meet and get married that I could in fact love his child as my own. I did point out that the 25 year old supermodel from Brazil may in fact get in the way of this(not to mention my own husband and 4 children) But again Gayla always sees the bigger picture, she said yes, But you can cook! Do you think any 25 year old supermodel can cook?
HA! Anyway, we have a lot of fun, and our dear friend Amy assures us that we probably wouldn't like him if we really knew him. Because in fact our friend Amy lived in the same small town as him and rode the bus with him for four years. Yes, he rode the bus to school. And apparently he knew he was all that and a bag of chips, which totally ruins any movie he's in for Amy. Conceit is a hard thing to get over.
And apparently I am very tired! Good night! Serious posts will resume tomorrow

Monkeys in a cage!

This is the beginning of what will become David's office in the garage. It will have two doors. One to the outside and one into the garage. This will make it so much easier on him when he sends and receives packages. Our neighbor the other day commented that they have renamed the UPS truck. At their house they call it David's truck. He is excited to have his own space that doesn't share a door to the kitchen inside the house. I'm excited that I don't have to look at all the boxes all the time.

Care package

The "wonderful" lady that was able to work her magic and get us updated photos of Ty, also sends care packages. She can call your child's orphange and see if they will accept a small gift for your child. So after we placed our order she went shopping and got all these things and mailed them to Ty from within China. It's cheaper and more reliable than sending it from the US.
So here's what Ty was sent:
A cute teddy bear
A photo album(winnie the pooh) with 10 photos of us in it. With translations underneath each picture.
A letter to the foster family - written by us- translated to Chinese.
And not one but TWO disposable cameras. Yes, I know it says he doesn't like the camera but I'm hoping he won't mind a yellow cardboard box. I'm hoping for as many photos as possible.
And last but not least this Winnie the Pooh car. I thought I was ordering a little hot wheel type car but this funny thing was what she bought. The lady told me it sings, makes noises and goes on it's on. She said, "it's very funny"

Mom and I have a joke about noisy toys. I always say those kinds of toys have to stay at Nana's house. So, when Nana saw this she said "that kind of toy might have to stay in China."

We'll have to see how really loud it is.

This is the American Girl doll that Nana&Paw Paw bought for Mia for Christmas. Her name is Ivy(in the catalog) but Mia named her Lilly.
And this is the new blue outfit that Mamie(Amy) bought for Lilly. I was trying to get a good picture of Lilly. So, I said, "Mia move her around to the front"

Mia said "Not right now Mom, she's a little shy"

A trip to the yard

David and I went in search of Granite for the kitchen countertops. Our contractor sent us to 3 different granite yards. The first was fancy with a nice showroom so we figured it would be pricey . Then the second, I think the train from Mexico off-loaded near where we parked our car. David was sure we were going to get a "deal" here. But as it turned out the price was higher than the first place. So, we just called the 3rd and then went back to the first place. These pictures are of the 1st place (is this beginning to sound like a who's on first conversation)

Anyway, here it is. 2 slabs of Gallo Ventiano, It's kind of neat to see the granite in the huge slab and then know that's what's going in your kitchen.

The Blue writing on the slab says "God Created" which is the name of the installer.

Here's your sign

A sign you've been living in construction to long.....
Mia - "Mommy, I'm hungry"
Me - "Yes, it's getting time to eat lunch"
Mia - "My tummy's really Grouting"

LSU

Way to Go Tigers!!! What a big win LSU had on Monday night. We were quite proud of our Louisiana team.

We all wore our purple and gold during the day. I received several words of encouragement as I went about my errands. It began to feel like I actually had something to do with the outcome of the game. Yes, that's David's data projector behind my head. Zane had to stay scrunched over for most of the game because of the contraption below.

Apparently this is the way Texans watch a football game. A 10 feet x 7 feet tarp stretched across an entire wall of your living room. It doesn't get much better than this people! (I'm not allowed to tell you what I really called this giant screen)

Sitting?

How come after a long day of driving, when you get home all you want to do is sit some more?

I drove our dossier(aka adoption paperwork) to Austin to the Secretary of State's office today. This is a crucial last step in the process. Then after 30 minutes in the building I drove right back. Only about 6 hours of continuous driving with a short Target stop in between. Which by the way, I found a few Christmas 90% clearance items still lingering around. A pair of flannel PJ's for Trent for 1.49. A Christmas T-for Kaylee .50 and some scrapbooking thingies for .39. I found the make your own scrapbook'd coasters for 1.29 but Amy advised against them. She says the adhesive doesn't stick right on the back. It was H A R D to pass up a $12.99 item for only 1.29. (But my new year's resolution is to only stock up on stuff if I know when and how it will be used.)

Anyway, the papers are done and will be photocopied in triplicate tomorrow and mailed away to the Adoption Agency which will translate and send them on to China. Then we (you know) WAIT some more.

IT CAME!!!!

We received our last piece of paper today from the INS. We now have to get most of our papers to the Secretary of State's office in Austin to have them state certified. Then we can ship the package off to our agency in Oregon and they will have it approved by the Chinese Consulate. Then finally the papers will go to China. And then we can start waiting again. (We still think we will probably travel sometime this summer)
We are just rejoicing today that the last paper arrived! The ball is now back in our court for a week or so.

The Horror of it All

It was time to visit the Estee Lauder counter and fork over the big bucks for another tube of "pure as silk" foundation. So, yesterday David and I went to Dillard's and when I asked for it the salesclerk looked at me like I didn't know what I was talking about. After several descriptions she finally dug up about 3 bottles. Of course they were all the wrong shade. So, I quickly made my way down to Macy's to try to purchase this sent from heaven make up. And I almost fainted when she confirmed my suspicions that indeed this item has been DISCONTINUED!!!!

The ironic thing is just the night before I saw "P.S. I LOVE YOU" and there is a scene where Lisa Kudrow's nail poilsh falls out of the boat and she screams "NO, that was my last bottle, Just when you find a color you like they take it away"

So, the Estee Lauder lady at Macy's felt a bit sorry for me and sent me home with several samples of their other foundations. But, I know in my heart it will never be the same as the Ideal Matte, Mousse foundation.

I told the lady if other people knew my secret for prolonging the life of the make up, then more people would buy it. (Because for goodness sakes it is $32.50 ( for one ounce)a tube.) So, I'll share my secret here because it may apply to other products you currently own. It's called the cut and rake. First you use as much as you can the normal sophisticated way. Then when you think it's time to throw the tube away. You cut the top off, very gingerly so as to leave a little bit still hanging on. Then you rake out all that's left in tube. I, (having done this several times in the last 3 years) can tell you that you will be shocked at how much is still in there. Now the reason you leave a little attached is so that you can close it up somewhat. One friend(who shall remain nameless) laughs hysterically at this secret, while other friends (who shall not remain nameless because they encourage rather than belittle) Darla S. told me I should try storing it in a ziploc bag. And so the secret was perfected.

So, I will try my samples, but I will always reminisce over the soft, mousse-like feel of my one true Ideal Matte.