Mom2my4

Calendar Girls

CCAI is the wonderful agency that we used for our first adoption. They sell a calendar every year as a fund raiser. We always get the calendar. There are many children in the calendar... some we know from on line. Anyway, it is always a big deal. "The list" comes out with the children who were selected. They try to use many different children, but CCAI is a big agency. They can't use them all. This year we decided to submit a photo of the girls. (Yes, Rachel can be in the photo even though she wasn't adopted through CCAI.) We just found out that the girls will be included in the 2009 calendar! We don't know what size or what month. I am attaching the photo to the bottom of this post. At least, I THINK it is the one I submitted. :-)

Click here to order your own copy of the calendar. They are only $10.95. :-)

Here are some other friends whose children will be in the calendar. April, Ralph, and Heather. There are others that we know, but they don't have blogs or their blog is private.

Silent Tears

Ok... you know I love my Kindle. But I must say there is a book that I cannot wait to read. It will be available in a Kindle format, but not soon enough. The books is a very moving account of a volunteer who spent years helping in an orphanage.

Book Review: Silent Tears (on orphanage life)

Imagine for a moment… You volunteer in an orphanage and find yourself surrounded by conditions that you never before knew existed… Cleft lip babies die from lack of nutrition because no one has the time to painstakingly feed them. Children who’ve just been abandoned lie sobbing for their lost mothers yet are ignored so that they adjust more quickly to their new environment. Babies fear bath time where in freezing temperatures they are rinsed under cold water and then left bare in cribs until they can be dressed, assembly-line style. Toys and other forms of stimulation are absent because they create sharing problems in large groups of deprived children. You routinely see bottles, still half-full, snatched away from infants who are still desperately hungry. Babies regularly disappear…and you know, all too often, that their deaths could easily have been prevented with adequate care. While you’d like to step in when the orphanage workers get too aggressive with children, you know that speaking out may mean foreigners are disallowed…and make it so that the children suffer even more when your back is turned. You reach out to a few children, taking them home with you for short respites from the orphanage, but realize that with every trip back they feel the pain of abandonment yet again. What would you do? .... read the rest of this review HERE. Kay Bratt's Web Site (author)   Kay Bratt's Original Blog

Whoopi

Whoopi Goldberg raved about her Kindle on The View today. Click here to see a clip. :-)

Just and FYI.. in 1989 I was in an airport in Atlanta. We saw a woman sitting across from us that looked like Whoopi. We sat there for about 15 minutes and didn't say a thing... being polite. The next thing we knew people came running and they whisked her onto a plane.

Funny Rachel!

We had crab legs for dinner! Chuck brought them home as a surprise. His sister's flight was delayed and canceled, so she was still here. We all enjoyed them except Rachel. She thought they were spiders!! She kept saying, "No, spiders! I don't like them!" She had hot dogs.

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By the way, I am getting ready to try my hand at E-Commerce. (For my family... that means a business online.) I am just getting started. I am using a site to set up links for different themes. Of course, my first theme is ... ADOPTION! LOL!

I am trying to make it easier for people to find things in one place. There is also an Amazon link on the side, so even if you don't want to buy anything having to do with adoption, you can search the Amazon box on the right side of the site. It takes you right to the Amazon site, but gives me credit for the sale! I am working to add more to this site and start another kid site!

Go to www.rainbowsandredthreads.com   Thanks, so much!!!

(Hey... I designed the header on the site with graphics from Lisa's Country Clip Art. I am quite proud of myself! )

 

PS The Amazon box on the Rainbows & Red Threads page looks like this....

Books, Books, I love books!

Everyone knows that I LOVE to go to Barnes and Noble. It is almost like therapy. As soon as I walk in the doors, this feeling of peace comes over me! .... really!!

Need some books? Click on one of these links....

Found in China

  I looked through my previous entries on this web site. I thought I posted about this super DVD that we ordered and watched. Hmm.... I must have imagined it or perhaps emailed some friends about it because I really do remember writing about it. Anyway...

   The DVD is a documentary about girls who were adopted from China. They returned for a homeland tour with their families as pre-teens. It was so interesting and emotional for me to see how they reacted to China, how the Chinese perceive them, and how they are perceived in the US. The story is told by the girls (ages 9-13) themselves. They speak from the heart about how it feels to be a daughter adopted from China. I highly recommend this DVD! (... and Kim, Almarie, and anyone else who lives close to me, you can borrow my copy.)

This other link is a classic that many adoptive parents buy or rent when they are waiting for their referral. Lisa Ling narrates China's Lost Girls as she travels to China with a group of families as they pick up their little girl. It was filmed awhile ago. I have watched it many times, but I kind of hope they do an update film too.

Mandy's Moon

   I love all of the cute, creative and personalized products that they have on line at Mandy's Moon. They have something for everyone! ....personalized address labels.... signs.... stationary... ornaments.... tote bags.... baby stuff.... adoption stuff.... lots of stuff! The best thing about it is that it can be customized. If your family is made up of people with different skin tones, hair colors, or cultures, you can have them create items that reflect your family. It is sooo neat. We even bought things before Kelsey came home. We got an ornament that said, "Waiting for Kelsey 2005." Click on one of these links below to see all of their products.

Smart Sticks and a Funny Little Girl

I bought Kelsey and Rachel each a Smart Stick. It is a little toy that looks like a phone. They are really cute and of course, I couldn't wait until Christmas to give them to them. :) I went to Toys R Us to look/ preview certain toys before I decide what I am going to chase down on Black Friday!

   I stumbled across these really great learning tools. The Smart Stick say ages 2 and up. They are a little hard for Rachel because her language skills are still developing. However, she LOVES music, so it is still good for her. Rachel's is blue and has her colors and shapes on it. There are 5 game modes. She can play with two of the modes-- the one that sings a song about the shapes or colors and the one that identifies whatever button she pushes.

   Kelsey's is purple and has the ABCs on it. Her "phone" ... as both the girls call it... also has 5 modes. She uses 2 modes right now- the one that sings the ABC song and the one that identifies the letter she pushes.

   I like these because we can take them in the car and the stroller without them being bulky. They were $14.95 each. With the 5 game modes, they will probably be playing with these until they are 5.

   So... here is the funny part.... the girls took their "phones" to the sitters today. On the way home, Kelsey was playing hers in the car.

Phone: Press a letter.

Kelsey: Ok

.... later...

Phone: Press a letter.

Kelsey: No.

Phone: Press a letter.

Kelsey: NO!

Phone: Press a letter.

Kelsey: NO! No push a letter!

LOL! I thought I would die trying to hide my grin. She really thought that phone was not listening to her. :)

... later...

Phone: Want to Sing Again?

Kelsey: Ok

It really was funny and cute at the same time. Kelsey really thought this phone was talking to her and not just prompting her. Way to CUTE!!!

Amazon.Com

   Amazon links…. I always love to follow people’s blogs. Sometimes when a person tells you about a particular product they like or their kids like, they put a direct link from their site to Amazon. Wow! That’s very nice of them I often think. They are going through all of this trouble to make a link, so people who read their sites can order it too. Wow! What great friendly people there are out there in cyperspace!.

  I decided I would try this too. After all, I can tell you about things my children love, show pictures, keep you updated, and be helpful with links too. I can do this!

    Imagine my surprise…. If you put a link on your blog/website and someone clicks on it to buy something, you can get money or Amazon credit for your own holiday shopping! Cool, huh!

   So here I go, I am going to try this out. If you like the Baby Songs tapes below and click on the link to buy it, I will make money. If  you don’t want to order it or want to order by mail, click on the link anyway. You can read all about it, you don’t have to buy it.

  Thanks for looking!

Want something from Amazon that I don’t have an icon for…. Search for it in this box!

Chinese Baby Songs

                                                       LOL!  No, there is not really a Chinese Baby Songs tape. (see post below this one) I have heard wonderful things about this tape from other people with children adopted from China.  I never bought it for Kelsey. I figured that she was too young. However, when we were getting ready to bring Rachel home, I knew she would be older. I thought some familiar music and words would help her. So.... although it is pricey...I bought it. It turns out both girls love it! They call in Chinese Baby Songs. We can all pretty much sing the words. :) yes, even in Chinese.

    I purchased this tape to make Rachel feel better during the transition time. -- not because I was trying to teach her Chinese-- which is something she will choose for herself when she gets older. Dance and Learn with Mei Mei has quickly become a favorite in our house! I highly recommend it if you are adopting a baby ages 1 and up from China.

  Funny story... Rachel and Kelsey were singing a little song at the sitters. Debbie told me and said, "Maybe they sang little songs with her at the orphanage after all." Bummer... no such luck! We know that Rachel especially had a tough begining. The only Chinese songs she knows come from this tape- not from love and attention from her early days.

(This is a a photo of Rachel watching Mei Mei within days of returning from China. You can tell by looking at how short her hair was.)