Last day!

It's my last day of work. As I type this I am eating my lunch at my desk and looking at my to do list, which thankfully has EVERYTHING crossed of it!! Yahooooooooo!

My brother arrives tomorrow morning at 11:00a.m. and we'll spend tomorrow finishing up our packing and running a couple of errands.

My mom is meeting us at my house bright and early Wednesday morning and we are leaving for the airport at 5:30a.m!

wow. so. very. exciting.

A few people have asked me if I'm sleeping. To be honest, the answer is yes. However, each and every day for the past week I have been waking up at 4:45-5:00a.m....as in wide awake, with my mind on China.

2 more sleeps and I leave

5 more sleeps till little Miya meets her mom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Miya's bathroom

If the little lady feels like freshening up after we get home....

Miya's room!

Here are a few pictures of Miya's room. It's almost done, I just need to hang her wall words and her wood name letters...which will now be happening AFTER I get home...

Updated Itinerary!

July 2nd/3rd Fly to Beijing

July 4th Tour Beijing - Forbidden City, Tongerntang Pharmacy Store, and Tienanmen Square

July 5th Tour Beijing - Great Wall of China and Ming Dynasty Tombs and then fly to Xi'an!!

July 6th Gotcha - Miya Day!!!!!!

July 7th Civil Affairs appointment

July 8-10th Hang out in Xi'an with Miya and see the sights...

July 11th Fly to Guangzhou July 12th Miya's Medical Exam

July 14th Consulate Appointment

July 15th Swearing in ceremony

July 16th Fly home with my baby!!

Travel prep!

This is what my room looked like last weekend.

Ramblings...

I feel like I am neglecting the blog, but I don't really have anything to report except the fact that I am trying to get my to do list done before I leave in 7 DAYS!!!

Good grief I can't believe I just wrote 7 days.

Well, let's see...here's the happenings in my life random/bullet style.

• It is hard to describe my feelings right now. I am wound up, excited, happy, emotional, not really scared, but as I write this I realize scared wouldn't be the right word, it's my nerves. My nerves are kicking in. I'm nervous. Nervous about the fact that I am flying around the world in 7 days and becoming a mom to a little girl who has no idea that her world will be rocked in just 11 short days. Yep, that's it. I'm very nervous, probably nervous of the unknown, but nervous nonetheless. Everyone keeps telling me to relax, it will all be fine. I'm sure it will, but it still doesn't take away these feelings. I mean, anyone who is about to become a mother for the first time has got to be nervous. Right? I've also noticed that my patience is running very thin. My temper is short. I'm a bit...shall we say...snappy? Again, probably just nerves...anyway...just get me on the plane and I will be a happy happy girl.

• My to do list is down to 1 page and it's mostly crap that needs to get done around the house. like....clean the garage, pay the bills, one last cos*tco run, one last Tar*get run, send email with travel blog link, etc. etc. The last item on my list is....re-check travel list/paperwork/packing inventory ONE LAST TIME.

• I am signed up for the free car seat safety check tomorrow at my local hospital.

• Miya's room is all done except for hanging her wood name letters and a wall word crafty thing my sister gave me. I've decided that this can get done AFTER we get home. I have yet to download the pictures of her room, but I will get to it...I promise! It's on the to do list. :-)

• My FMLA paperwork has been submitted, Miya is added to my health insurance, and her Dr.'s appointment is scheduled for the 22nd. I look forward to this appointment, yet dread it. Isn't the first appointment where they draw blood? uggggh, not looking forward to that one.

• I am finishing up my to do list at work and to be honest I am really looking forward to my leave.

• I recently found out that my employer does not offer the same benefits to adoptive parents that they offer parents who give birth. This was a major surprise and it makes me feel very sad and quite frankly discriminated against. I have been officially denied the same benefits one would receive if they were to give birth. I do not plan on letting this one go quite yet and will deal with it when I return. If not for me, for those who choose to adopt after me. I really feel strongly that adoptive parents should be treated as equals to those parents who choose to create families by giving birth.

• I also found out that after two years on the wait list, Miya does not have a spot at the children's center (located at my work). In addition, my alternate daycare choice has raised their fees and it is now out of reach for me budget wise. Great. Just great. Again, I'll deal with it when I get home. I'm sure it will all come together some how, some way. I am just very bummed about the fact that I do not have a spot after waiting so LONG. It sucks.

• Sheesh, this is really turning into a bummer post isn't it? Don't get me wrong, there is so much joy and excitement in my life right now. I just seem to be hitting a few bumps in the road, but what can you do? It's just life.

• My China comfy shoes are really awesome. I'm wearing them today and they feel like heaven on my feet.

• I have been cruising in my Dad's car this week. Why?? Because he offered to take my jeep and have a little maintenance done on it! He washed it, shampooed the carpets, scheduled a tune-up, changed the oil, and fixed a broken speaker. Thank you dad!

• My suitcase weighs 11 pounds empty. Thankfully, my mom and brother are packing very light and are willing to give me much needed space in their suitcases. It is very apparent that I am taking everything but the kitchen sink with me...just kidding...but seriously, holy cow! I have no idea how people do this carry on only.

• My hair is trimmed and my eyebrows are waxed to perfection. On the flip side, my legs are looking awfully pale...note to self: Add self-tanner to list.

• My mom has a cold/virus...yucky. She went to the Dr. today and he assures her that she will be over it by the time we leave. Get well mom!

Ok, that's it for now. I guess I did have something to report after all!

Only 7 more days to go....

wonder how I'm doing??

Let me show you:

























9 days and counting. holy shit.

Am I going to get everything done before I go?

Going with the flow....

My agency just called to tell me that I need to change my itinerary and plan to arrive in Xi'an Saturday night (July 5th) because I am now meeting Miya on July 6th!!!!!!!!!

Workin' on a Saturday

Oh, the joys of trying to get everything done before I leave!

Yesterday I hit the road for a short drive (30 miles) and visited the "big" mall in the valley. There were a few items I needed to pick up for the China trip. I picked up what I needed at the big department store and the next thing I knew I was standing in Chi*ldren's Place just about head over heals with excitement because it was the first time I had been there and I finally know her size (or at least a pretty darn good guess I think...). Anyhoo, long story short. Miya's China wardrobe has changed. :-)

So much fun!

My nephew Jackson is spending the night with me tonight. I told him I wanted to have a last special night with just the two of us before the baby comes.

Pictures of Miya's room coming soon! Have a good weekend!

13 days until I leave for China!

Gulp.

Baby Carrier

I bit the bullet and ordered the mother of all baby carriers. In addition, I ordered the hip hammock a few weeks ago....which unfortunately, is currently LOST IN THE MAIL. Lovely.

Hopefully the hip hammock will arrive this week and with any luck one of the two will work fabulously for Miya and I.

The Ergo looks like this....

The Hip Hammock...

p.s. My books say wearing your baby helps promote attachment and bonding and y'all know I'm all about attachment and bonding... ;-)

Comments

There seems to be some confusion amoung friends and family as to why their comments are not displayed.

Let me explain....until this morning I had the comment moderation feature turned on due to some freak leaving me nasty comments awhile back. I turned on the comment moderation feature so that I could preview the comments prior to publishing them.

I have now turned the comment moderation feature off...so you should be able to see your comments right away. If everyone plays nice, I'll leave it this way.

Be nice and don't leave mean or nasty comments on my blog please.

Thanks!

The management

Getting there...

So far here's what my itinerary looks like:

July 2-3 Fly to China, arrive in Beijing
July 4th Forbidden City, Tienanmen Square, and Temple of Heaven Tour
July 5th Great Wall of China/Ming Dynasty Tour
July 6th Fly to Xi’an
July 7th Gotcha!! Meet Miya
July 11th Fly to Guangzhou
July 12th Medical Exam
July 14th Consulate Appointment
July 15th Swearing in ceremony
July 16th Fly home!!

one more thing....

One of Miya's orphanage sister's met her forever family today. The family has requested a visit to the orphanage and is going to try and take some photos of Miya!! Keep your fingers crossed....wouldn't that be cool!!!!!!!!!

Dates set so far....

Leave for China! July 2nd - early early a.m.
Tour Beijing - July 3rd - 6th
Fly to Xi'an - July 6th
Miya Day/Gotcha!! July 7th
Fly home - July 16th

Happy Father's Day!!

Happy Father's Day Dad! Thanks for all you do for me! You are going to be a great Grandpa!

Thoughts....

I leave for China in 19 days. days. days. days. I can't believing I am saying days.

I will meet Miya in 24 days. That's less than a month away!! Oh crap, I just started crying.

This time next month I will have been a mom for 1 week.

This time next month I will have been to the Great Wall of China.

This time next month my long journey to Miya will end and WE will begin a new journey together as a family.

Consulate Appointment!!

I arrived at work this morning to an email confirming my consulate appointment has been set!!
I am so giddy with excitement right now I can hardly stand it!! Below is the best email I have ever received!!

Sara,

Your consulate appointment is July 14th! You need to be in Xian by July 6th. Go ahead and book your travel. Congratulations! I will talk to you soon. Have a great weekend.

This means I will meet Miya on July 6th or the 7th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are booking tickets this weekend!!!!!!!!!!!

TA has landed!!!

Yahooooooooooooooooooo!!

My agency just emailed me! My TA has arrived at their main office in TN!! They are scheduling consulate appointments and hope to have confirmation for me tomorrow or Monday at the latest!!

HOLY CRAP, I'M GOING TO CHINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't take it....

I am dying here. Staring at the phone wishing it to ring, sad I know. There are TA's popping up all over the adoption boards and my agency hasn't called me yet. I finally broke down and sent an email. Nothing yet.

argggghhh!!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Miya's Grandpa is a year older today!! :-)

TA update

I received an email from my agency today. The good news is that TA's have been sent and are scheduled to arrive tomorrow or Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yahooooooooooooo!! Very exciting.

The not so good news is that the earliest available consulate appointments as of today are July 14th or the 16th, which means the earliest we will travel now is July 2nd ish....

oh well, what can I do? Not much except for pray that my agency is able to schedule my consulate appointment on the 14th or 16th.

I am officially sick of the hurry up and wait mode. I want off this roller coaster and I want my baby. NOW.

Fly faster DHL fly faster!

Happy Birthday Miya Mei Xiao!!!

Happy Birthday baby girl!!

I love you!!

No TA's

Came into work this morning to find an email from my agency stating that TA's had not left China on Friday and yesterday (Monday) was a national Chinese holiday. Sooooo, we may see them sometime later this week.

She also mentioned that the entire month of June is booked at the consulate, so when my TA arrives they will be scheduling consulate appointments in July.

What does this mean?? This means, I will probably travel towards the end of June/early July. I think June 22nd is out of the question at this point. Bummer, but I can handle it.

And yes, to answer your comments!! It's a holy mother of all frenzy going on at my house. :-)

And one more thing - - how in the hell am I supposed to get everything into one suitcase (44 pd. max) and one carry-on (11 pd. max)? I am not pleased with the recent implementation of new flight restrictions.

Ready to go!

The boards are indicating that TA's are on the way and should arrive Monday or Tuesday! My agency called last week and indicated that my TA would be here soon and to plan on meeting Miya June 22nd ish...pending consulate appointment confirmation of course. :-)

It's been a full week here, my brother visited for 10 days and I can now say I am electronically ready for China. We downloaded and tested Skype, he taught my mom how to use the video camera, we updated the Ipod, and tested the email function of blogger.

annnnndddddd,

It's been a week/weekend full of baby showers!

Thursday afternoon, my favorite committee from my school, held a committee mtg/luncheon/baby shower for me. It was loads of fun and there was a whole lotta champagne flowing... Yesterday my mom and sister hosted my baby shower. It was perfectly lovely. Pictures to come later as I looked at my camera this morning and I only took one pic. I guess I should have known I wouldn't have time to take pics. duh Sara. I was too busy chatting and opening presents! Anyway, I'll get pics from my mom later.

A at work is throwing a "work" shower for me on Tuesday, Miss Miya's birthday, and then the church ladies will be hosting a get together after we get back home and settled. I feel spoiled and loved. There are soooo many people who love little Miya already, I just can't wait to go get her!

Visa

My passport w/ visa was delivered this morning!

Now, come on travel approval....I am ready to go!

ummmmm

There is chatter on the boards pointing to the possibility of travel approvals arriving for my LOA group THIS WEEK.

I'm not going to freak out.

I'm not going to freak out.

I'm not going to freak out.

I'm not going to freak out.

I'm not going to freak out.

I'm not going to freak out.

I'm not going to freak out.

inhale, exhale, why isn't the visa courier responding to my calls and email??

I'm not going to freak out.

ooooooh, I just love chatter on the boards. This is so exciting!

No news

Not much news on the adoption front. I'm still waiting for my travel approval, but I don't expect to hear anything this week. Maybe next week...

Until then, I'll just keep plugging away at "getting ready for travel and bringing baby home". My brother has been in town staying with me, Ryan is here now too...it's been busy, but fun.