5 Days...

Why isn't my list getting any shorter?

• Get a haircut
• Marc a haircut
• Dig suitcase out of the basement
• Pack - We have our clothes and Macy's picked out. Need to pick out Felix' clothes still.
• Finish making tote bags for the nannies - 2 done!
• Make a list of doctor's numbers / locations for Grandma
• Get the kids on my health insurance
• Break out the Amharic cd & book
• 2nd HepB shot on Friday
• Make copies of passports
• Print out all the forms we need to bring with us
• Post office - send necklaces & cards
• Find a gift for our agency's liaison in Ethiopia

6 Days...

aka: "Panic Sets In"

I've wracked my brain trying to come up with some sort of gifts for the nannies at the transition house. Others have brought little gift sets with soap and lotion, or manicure sets and stuff like that. I don't think it needs to be anything over-the-top, but I did want it to at least be thoughtful. I did hear someone else mention the nannies coming and going carrying lots of stuff, so I settled on tote bags (and it helps that that's the one thing that I can sew pretty well). So here's the first one. Whaddaya think?




They fold up nice and flat too.

Still to do:

• Pay Fletcher's school for the next 2 weeks
• Get out of jury duty for next week
• Send itinerary to social worker
• Get a haircut
• Give Marc a haircut
• Get work stuff arranged for my fill-ins
• Dig suitcase out of the basement
• Pack
• Finish making tote bags for the nannies
• Drop a boat load of stuff off at Goodwill - MIL offered to do this for me!
• Make a list of doctor's numbers / locations for Grandma
• Get the kids on my health insurance
• Break out the Amharic cd & book
• 2nd HepB shot on Friday
• Make copies of passports
• Print out all the forms we need to bring with us

8 Days...

I did what I hope will be my last shopping trip today. Picked up all the last minute things - earplugs for the plane, bug spray...that kind of stuff.

Still to do:

• Get a haircut
• Get all of my work stuff arranged so that my fill-ins don't have to do a lot
• Pack (I don't have the suitcase out yet, but am piling everything up in one place)
• Find / make gifts for the nannies (Bought fabric to make tote bags for them)
• Drop a boat load of stuff off at Goodwill
• Make a list of doctor's numbers / locations for Grandma
• Get the kids on my health insurance
• Break out the Amharic cd & book

We spent this morning dying Easter eggs, then planting lots and lots of vegetable seeds. I ran some errands in the afternoon, then we went to the Colorado Rockies game with Marc's elementary school. We only made it through the 4th inning, but Fletch said it was "really awesome". I think he enjoyed the shuttle bus even more than the baseball game. It's been kind of odd (in a good way) the past few days thinking "This is the last time we'll do XYZ as a family of three."

Well, the babe is in bed and I'm off to do Easter Bunny duty. Hippity hoppity...

9 Days

It's a good thing we had to do a CPR certification course for this adoption because Marc just about needed mouth-to-mouth when booking our airline tickets. $5300. Ouch.

And the only thing hurting worse than my wallet right now is my left arm. Just got back from getting my shots:

1. Yellow Fever - Since we're planning to go to Awassa, a "danger zone".
2. Polio Booster - You don't really need to get this in the US since Polio is not an issue here anymore, but you do need it going into other affected areas since it has evolved a bit over the years.
3. Meningitis
4. HepB - In our past travels we've been told "Eh, unless you're planning on having sex with the locals or shooting up, you probably don't need it." What I've come to learn is that HepB is a very "hearty" virus that makes it easily transmittable. I think it's a good thing to have "in this day and age". (Did I just say that? I'm so old!)

I also got a perscription for Malaria meds which I don't think I'm going to fill. I really can't afford the extra $100, as all those shots cost a total of $425. We'll be sure to wear our bug spray instead. Did I mention I have to go back for the 2nd HepB shot next Friday and the 3rd one in 21 days? At least I will be imune for life. That kinda makes me feel like a superhero.

So...what to do:

• Go back to the travel clinic for more shots
• Get a haircut
• Get all of my work stuff arranged so that my fill-ins don't have to do a lot
• Pack
• Find / make gifts for the nannies
• Drop a boat load of stuff off at Goodwill
• Go grocery shopping
• Get the crib sold on Craigslist so that it's out of Macy's room It's been listed and have someone coming to look at it tomorrow.
• Make a list of doctor's numbers / locations for Grandma
• Get the kids on my health insurance
• Break out the Amharic cd & book - uh yeah, better late than never I guess

Nothing and Everything

Nothing is what I seem to be getting done. Everything is what I have left to do.

I found out that the kids (all 7 being adopted by 5 different BCS families) were moved from the orphanage in Awassa up to a transition house in Addis Ababa, where they will stay until we come to get them. A representative said that "all of the children are doing well".

I got my typhoid medicine last week. I chose to take the oral (4 pills) that lasts for 5 years. Marc is getting the shot, which lasts for 2 years. The pills have wiped me out - I've been so tired the past few days.

Marc is on Spring Break this week. He and Uncle Paul are finishing up the greenhouse they're building. Then hopefully I'll get Marc to finish the playroom and paint Macy's room. And I'll start packing our suitcases.

Somehow I feel like I have a million things to do, but I guess it's not all that much.

Making a list, checking it twice....

Despite my desire to pull my suitcase out, pack, and go sit at the airport for the next few weeks, I am trying to keep sane and in control. Not easy.

We still have a few things we need to get done here, which will hopefully keep me occupied.

1. Change Macy's room from a guest room into a little girl's room. It doesn't need much other than some paint, her new bedspread, and a few other items moved around.

2. Make room for Felix in the boys' room. Fletcher pretty much rules the closet and dresser, so we'll need to scale his stuff back a bit. I have no idea what size Felix will be, so we have boxes of Fletcher's old clothes sitting here waiting to be tried on.

3. Paint and organize the play room. That's actually a big task. It's currently used for the storage/exercise/catch-all room, so there's lots of rearranging to be done.

I guess that's enough to keep me busy. I'll try to get some photos up when the rooms are ready.

First Time Mom v. Second Time Mom

I have to laugh at myself. Well, I do that a lot, but this time it was at the difference in me as a first time mom v. me as a second (and third) time mom.

For my first child, I had everything. Cloth diapers and disposable diapers, little baby washcloths, lotions and soaps and diaper rash creams and ointments, medicines for everything under the sun. Clothes coming out of our ears, toys bursting from every closet. An exersaucer, a playmat, a bouncer, a swing, a jumparoo, a glider and more.

When my mom called on Friday to see what we still needed for the new kids I had to think. We are getting 2 carseats from local families off of Freecycle. Felix will have Fletcher's hand-me-down clothes, and we already bought a few clothes for Macy. "Well...." I said, "We have carseats, clothes and food. I guess that's all we need!"

Fletch has more than enough toys for himself and his sister. The baby can play with the toys we have in storage that belonged to Fletch when he was a baby. They both have beds. What more could we need? Sure, there are some odds and ends I need to pick up - hair care products specifically for African hair, toothbrushes, and things like that. But for the most part, I'm feeling much more relaxed about adding these two new children to our family that I felt bringing the first one into it.

Not much to report...

...waiting for an update, new pictures, any tidbit of information we can get.

...waiting for our court date.

...looking for beds for the boys' room and bedding for the girlie girl's room.

...selling all our leftover infant/baby stuff on Craigslist. (Wow, all this time I blamed the mounds of junk in our basement on Marc. Who knew it was really Fletcher's fault!? (haha) We've sold 5 trash bags full of baby clothes, an exersaucer, jumparoo, bouncer, pack & play, playmat and box of toys. AND, we still have more to go. It feels great to get rid of this stuff. I unpacked it all and oooh'd and aaah'd over how tiny and cute it was, and how I couldn't believe how much Fletcher has grown. But no tears were shed.

...trying to get our basement in order and turned into a playroom, so that the current playroom (aka extra bedroom) can be turned into girlie girl's room.

I guess that's about it. I'd love to fly off and scoop them up tomorrow, but we do have things to accomplish here first and, hopefully, that'll keep our minds occupied for awhile.