It's crunch time... so I literally have to write this in under 5 mins.
My hubby has been slaving at work to get things done. The other night he worked until 2am, then back up at 6am. That leaves me to manage every.thing. else. I think I may be over my head here. I am honestly not sure if I will get everything done on time. One way or another it will get done though, even if it's not done the way I want.
So with things in overdrive, our lives are in complete disarray...
The proof? Oh let me count the ways...
I used 3 ziploc bags in each of the kids' lunches today, and didn't care.
I have thrown paper and cardboard in the garbage because it was closer than the recycling bin. Add to that tin cans and plastic bags.
I am encouraging the use of plastic cups, cutlery and plates.
I have used cleaners that I uncovered from the bosom of our sink cabinet - full of who knows what toxins. That includes a magic eraser that just about took my skin off - note* - wear gloves!
I have purchased fabric softener and used it to leave our towels and bedding soft and smelling lovely. I also purchased Downy Unstoppables which I am in love with and don't even want to think of all the chemicals in them. I will live in ignorant bliss for another 10 loads or so... (I also use them as room fresheners as well).
I have missed breakfast and lunch on most days. (But increased the coffee intake.)
That coffee now consists of instant coffee as I have packed the kitchen away.
I let my son eat pumpkin pie for super last night. (It's squash at least right?)
Tonight's dinner was Sunny Boy porridge and toast.
I'm considering a 7 day fast or shake cleanse to save time not having to worry, but then realize that I still have to feed our children - so I consider frozen food, and if I had one - I would surely consider the microwaveable variety! (Do you hear me Tracy?! You know it's bad when!....)
Sorry earth... and my dear children who may be skipping a couple food groups these days. I promise to resume my responsibilities to you once I can find my way out of this maze of boxes and into the arms of Kenya! 11 days until we board that plane!
Showing posts with label The Move. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Move. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Friday, October 5, 2012
Counting our blessings..
Every child is a blessing. But with this particular referral we have so much to be thankful for. Wanna know more details about Z?
She is 27 lbs. According to this growth chart, she is in the 50th percentile. This means she's completely average... which is an amazing thing for a little girl in an orphanage in Africa! This eases our mind to know that our little girl has been well cared for... giving her such a great start.
She has spent 96% of her life in this one home. It's a relief to know that she didn't spend too much time in a hospital or at other homes, being moved place to place.
Her social history is a best case scenario. While abandonment is never an easy pill to swallow, I have dreaded the thought of having to explain a worse case scenario to my daughter. Infants left in latrines. So sad, and I am so relieved that I don't have to explain that one. While we will never know why she was abandoned, we do have reason to believe that she was loved... and we do have some pieces of information that may bring her comfort later on. An abandonment with ill intention, abuse or perhaps simply having no information at all... were my worst fears.
Her name. I'll be honest with you... I am not a big fan of 'older' Americanized names, or many common biblical names (most likely because they are 'old'... lol) - which is the majority of names of children in Kenyan Orphanages. I'm not going to start listing names that I wished she didn't have, as I'm likely to stick my foot in mouth... so I will tell you that I had always said that I hope her name is 'Faith', 'Hope', 'Imani' or something else, that I can't say without giving away her name (obviously!). So when I heard her name... I had tingles run up and down my body. What are the chances?
Her big beautiful eyes. We have originally requested 2 children because we wanted them to have someone in the family they could identify with. This went out the window when we were only approved for 1 child. Knowing there is so much about her that will be different from us, Muffin and I wished that she could at least share our big eyes, so we had a physical feature that all of us girls shared.
It is Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada... and wow, do I have a lot to be thankful for!
We have a travel date now, flying out on the 21st and landing in Kenya on the 23rd. We will be leaving our home on the 19th to get to Calgary. A lot of miles to cover in those few days, and a lot of things to do before now and then.
I will leave you all with a perfect little smile. (Look at those little chiclet teeth!!)
She is 27 lbs. According to this growth chart, she is in the 50th percentile. This means she's completely average... which is an amazing thing for a little girl in an orphanage in Africa! This eases our mind to know that our little girl has been well cared for... giving her such a great start.
She has spent 96% of her life in this one home. It's a relief to know that she didn't spend too much time in a hospital or at other homes, being moved place to place.
Her social history is a best case scenario. While abandonment is never an easy pill to swallow, I have dreaded the thought of having to explain a worse case scenario to my daughter. Infants left in latrines. So sad, and I am so relieved that I don't have to explain that one. While we will never know why she was abandoned, we do have reason to believe that she was loved... and we do have some pieces of information that may bring her comfort later on. An abandonment with ill intention, abuse or perhaps simply having no information at all... were my worst fears.
Her name. I'll be honest with you... I am not a big fan of 'older' Americanized names, or many common biblical names (most likely because they are 'old'... lol) - which is the majority of names of children in Kenyan Orphanages. I'm not going to start listing names that I wished she didn't have, as I'm likely to stick my foot in mouth... so I will tell you that I had always said that I hope her name is 'Faith', 'Hope', 'Imani' or something else, that I can't say without giving away her name (obviously!). So when I heard her name... I had tingles run up and down my body. What are the chances?
Her big beautiful eyes. We have originally requested 2 children because we wanted them to have someone in the family they could identify with. This went out the window when we were only approved for 1 child. Knowing there is so much about her that will be different from us, Muffin and I wished that she could at least share our big eyes, so we had a physical feature that all of us girls shared.
It is Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada... and wow, do I have a lot to be thankful for!
We have a travel date now, flying out on the 21st and landing in Kenya on the 23rd. We will be leaving our home on the 19th to get to Calgary. A lot of miles to cover in those few days, and a lot of things to do before now and then.
I will leave you all with a perfect little smile. (Look at those little chiclet teeth!!)
Friday, September 21, 2012
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Update
The van died before it had a chance to get stolen. :(
It won't change gears out of park. Unfortunately, we have no choice but to pay to get it fixed now, we need to get to work and school... and Calgary to leave for Kenya! $$$
May's little problem in the back end miraculously fixed itself. When we got back from Kenya, she was back to normal! What a relief! Must have been that honey! ;) She still has not laid an egg since, so we are hoping that the problem does not reappear when she does lay again.
And... we still have no referral. I must get asked 5 times a day about it. I have nothing - no information. at. all. We were told 3 weeks ago that they were expecting it in 2 weeks. I emailed our agency last week and still have not heard back from her. Ugh.
Canadian adopting friends of ours in Kenya found secure, affordable housing in a new development. 2 bdrm apartment for 400,000 KSW. Fourways Junction Phase 1. Check it out! The grocery store is 2km away, so walking distance at least. ;) It's not furnished, but to completely furnish it will cost approximately $2K, which you can recoup when you leave by selling it. We like this area and many of our friends live around there - so I think this may be a good option for us.
I'm still waiting on the kids' updated passports, then I will be able to confirm flights and apply for visas.
NAC meeting has not been confirmed yet, but they are hoping it will be on the 11th - if not, the 19th. ;)
It won't change gears out of park. Unfortunately, we have no choice but to pay to get it fixed now, we need to get to work and school... and Calgary to leave for Kenya! $$$
May's little problem in the back end miraculously fixed itself. When we got back from Kenya, she was back to normal! What a relief! Must have been that honey! ;) She still has not laid an egg since, so we are hoping that the problem does not reappear when she does lay again.
And... we still have no referral. I must get asked 5 times a day about it. I have nothing - no information. at. all. We were told 3 weeks ago that they were expecting it in 2 weeks. I emailed our agency last week and still have not heard back from her. Ugh.
Canadian adopting friends of ours in Kenya found secure, affordable housing in a new development. 2 bdrm apartment for 400,000 KSW. Fourways Junction Phase 1. Check it out! The grocery store is 2km away, so walking distance at least. ;) It's not furnished, but to completely furnish it will cost approximately $2K, which you can recoup when you leave by selling it. We like this area and many of our friends live around there - so I think this may be a good option for us.
I'm still waiting on the kids' updated passports, then I will be able to confirm flights and apply for visas.
NAC meeting has not been confirmed yet, but they are hoping it will be on the 11th - if not, the 19th. ;)
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Decompression & Anxiety
Adoption is a challenge, but many people say that all the real work begins when you bring baby home.
This process has been so consuming of our lives for the last 18 months. A battle that we fought every day... and now it has come to an end. Granted, we still have court and visa to contend with, but the process to our daughter is 99% complete.
So after a big deep sigh of relief, you are left saying, "Now what?".
Now enter anxiety.
For 18 months all I had to worry about was getting one step closer to our daughter. One more hurdle, one more piece of paper. Now, I am faced with the reality that this actually going to happen.
We are moving to Kenya.
We are leaving our business here.
We are going to add a new member to our family. A new member who has come from a 'hard place' and requires a lot of work.
Anxiety looks like:
Complete heartbreak at the thought of having to leave our dog who is so attached to me. My shadow. Whom we have not found an absolute 'ideal' foster home for.
Money... trying to scrape up the funds for our next large set of fees, airfare and living expenses.
9 trips to the dentist in a month. Cleanings, fillings.
1 trip to the Orthodontist.
4 trips to the eye Doctor.
2 trips to the family Doctor.
3 trips to the travel clinic. $1000 worth of vaccines.
Trying to start the process of packing, and not really knowing what to bring for Zahra as we don't know her age.
Pulling out closet contents etc. to sort through and pack away... and then having to shove it all back in closets, under beds etc... to show the house to potential renters.
Passport renewals, to which I have left too late and now have to drive 4 hours there and 4 hours back to get 10 day service, so I have enough time to purchase Kenyan visas.
Homeschooling - I have to research and find a program that works for us.
Business... I have to complete this years taxes etc... finalize everything, make sure everyone is paid up etc.
Cancel all of our utilities etc, MSP, insurance, phones etc.
Find a home for our bird and chickens.
Pack up the house and clean it. This is HUGE.
Research and purchase travel insurance.
Book flights - just found out that Sept/Oct is super busy for humanitarian fares which means $$$.
Find a house to rent in Kenya, and not knowing if it will be furnished or not. Do I pack the bed sheets?
Worry about having my hubby gone for weeks at a time to come back for work. Tracy can I come stay with you?? Being alone in a house without at least a dog in the house scares the jeepers out of me.
I need to cleanse, detox and lose some extra pounds.
.. and a million other things that I simply haven't thought about yet - All in 5 weeks.
Soo.
A lump in my throat and and tightened chest, I think this is what anxiety feels like. No worries - I do have a Dr's appointment just to make sure that I am not suffering from high blood pressure, or heart failure. Sheesh...
I am wishing now that I had done many more preparations before - but after 2.5 yrs, I really didn't trust that this would ever happen.
Crunch time.
I feel a bit lost some of the times, not knowing what to do next. Don't be surprised if you don't see a lot of me in the upcoming month.
I will however keep you updated with any news... so keep checking in!. :)
This process has been so consuming of our lives for the last 18 months. A battle that we fought every day... and now it has come to an end. Granted, we still have court and visa to contend with, but the process to our daughter is 99% complete.
So after a big deep sigh of relief, you are left saying, "Now what?".
Now enter anxiety.
For 18 months all I had to worry about was getting one step closer to our daughter. One more hurdle, one more piece of paper. Now, I am faced with the reality that this actually going to happen.
We are moving to Kenya.
We are leaving our business here.
We are going to add a new member to our family. A new member who has come from a 'hard place' and requires a lot of work.
Anxiety looks like:
Complete heartbreak at the thought of having to leave our dog who is so attached to me. My shadow. Whom we have not found an absolute 'ideal' foster home for.
Money... trying to scrape up the funds for our next large set of fees, airfare and living expenses.
9 trips to the dentist in a month. Cleanings, fillings.
1 trip to the Orthodontist.
4 trips to the eye Doctor.
2 trips to the family Doctor.
3 trips to the travel clinic. $1000 worth of vaccines.
Trying to start the process of packing, and not really knowing what to bring for Zahra as we don't know her age.
Pulling out closet contents etc. to sort through and pack away... and then having to shove it all back in closets, under beds etc... to show the house to potential renters.
Passport renewals, to which I have left too late and now have to drive 4 hours there and 4 hours back to get 10 day service, so I have enough time to purchase Kenyan visas.
Homeschooling - I have to research and find a program that works for us.
Business... I have to complete this years taxes etc... finalize everything, make sure everyone is paid up etc.
Cancel all of our utilities etc, MSP, insurance, phones etc.
Find a home for our bird and chickens.
Pack up the house and clean it. This is HUGE.
Research and purchase travel insurance.
Book flights - just found out that Sept/Oct is super busy for humanitarian fares which means $$$.
Find a house to rent in Kenya, and not knowing if it will be furnished or not. Do I pack the bed sheets?
Worry about having my hubby gone for weeks at a time to come back for work. Tracy can I come stay with you?? Being alone in a house without at least a dog in the house scares the jeepers out of me.
I need to cleanse, detox and lose some extra pounds.
.. and a million other things that I simply haven't thought about yet - All in 5 weeks.
Soo.
A lump in my throat and and tightened chest, I think this is what anxiety feels like. No worries - I do have a Dr's appointment just to make sure that I am not suffering from high blood pressure, or heart failure. Sheesh...
I am wishing now that I had done many more preparations before - but after 2.5 yrs, I really didn't trust that this would ever happen.
Crunch time.
I feel a bit lost some of the times, not knowing what to do next. Don't be surprised if you don't see a lot of me in the upcoming month.
I will however keep you updated with any news... so keep checking in!. :)
Keep Calm & Carry On.
Monday, March 12, 2012
A start on the donations
One thing that we are really looking forward to is spending a lot of time volunteering at a couple of orphanages. We would like to help out at a baby orphanage and a children's home.
The kids wanted to get involved and start a collection. I gave them a challenge to come up with one thing each to hand out at the orphanage. They would have to be relatively small, light, and we would have to be able to have at least a hundred so we can ensure that they all get one, or it would have something that they could share.
They came up with silly bands. They have a ton, and their cousins are going to donate theirs as well. This fits the bill pretty well!! Mister also really wants to take mini sticks. He has a small collection now of 6 sticks. They are fairly light, and I think it would be something durable enough and the children would enjoy playing with them. Although, I'm envisioning some hockey stick fights and knocks over the heads. Hopefully, they are not turned into weapons! yikes! We are hoping to collect at least 20 sticks...
So now we have a start on the packing. A wee little start. I am so far behind everyone else in this regard. (Everyone who is currently at the same stage of this process that I am.) I'm the only one without flights booked, accommodations, and I certainly haven't started packing. I just can't bring myself to do any of this. I don't trust this adoption process enough to know that my toothpaste won't expire before I get there! Seriously!... and now I have lost faith in our gender and age request... so what the heck can I pack? I am waiting on a list of needed items from an orphanage I would like to donate to... just so I can start doing something.
No news on the dossier front - as far as I am aware, it still sits on a desk in Victoria. I am quite concerned about this as it was supposed to be sent to Kenya right away...
The kids wanted to get involved and start a collection. I gave them a challenge to come up with one thing each to hand out at the orphanage. They would have to be relatively small, light, and we would have to be able to have at least a hundred so we can ensure that they all get one, or it would have something that they could share.
They came up with silly bands. They have a ton, and their cousins are going to donate theirs as well. This fits the bill pretty well!! Mister also really wants to take mini sticks. He has a small collection now of 6 sticks. They are fairly light, and I think it would be something durable enough and the children would enjoy playing with them. Although, I'm envisioning some hockey stick fights and knocks over the heads. Hopefully, they are not turned into weapons! yikes! We are hoping to collect at least 20 sticks...
So now we have a start on the packing. A wee little start. I am so far behind everyone else in this regard. (Everyone who is currently at the same stage of this process that I am.) I'm the only one without flights booked, accommodations, and I certainly haven't started packing. I just can't bring myself to do any of this. I don't trust this adoption process enough to know that my toothpaste won't expire before I get there! Seriously!... and now I have lost faith in our gender and age request... so what the heck can I pack? I am waiting on a list of needed items from an orphanage I would like to donate to... just so I can start doing something.
No news on the dossier front - as far as I am aware, it still sits on a desk in Victoria. I am quite concerned about this as it was supposed to be sent to Kenya right away...
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