Instead of touring a park today in the misty rain we decided to take on last trip back to the Island to complete some shopping for people who asked us to pick up things for them. I need one more suitcase almost for the extras but it was fun searching for the items on their list. With the ongoing rehab of the place its noisy, full of construction scaffolds, trucks, workers and dirt. Yet, its no worse than the chaos where we are staying in the midst of REAL busy day China.
The taxi ride is never simple, its more like a twisted ride at Kings Island with all the close calls, cars swerving at you, glimpses of parts of the car so close out of the corner of your eye you just try not to flinch. The taxi driver mumbles something when you enter and show him the name of the place written in several small lines and off you go. The meter clicks at times, some are listening to the TV channel or even have a screen to watch while driving. The seat belts rarely work and sometime you have to reach outside to let yourself out at the end. Tonight I had Chase almost asleep in the carrier with Braelyn asleep on my arm so I'm exiting at the hotel with two on my lap, trying to stand up when a tipsy group of young people are trying to pile in at the same time! The poor doorman did all he could to make way for this older woman and her entourage. By the time Aus could let himself out after paying I already had the stroller out of the trunk with the packages loaded ready to get clear of the hubbub!
Brianna spent several hours with another family who had their 6 yr old daughter along with her two older brothers for the adoption of their new 5 yr old sister. Last night on the bus together they were all having the grandest time telling jokes and laughing so hard she started snorting which set Chase off in hysterics too. I guess laughing runs in our family though, Brittany used to laugh each night at the dinner table so often the boys made it a game to see who could get her to hit the floor first. They'd say something and she'd start, then try not to let her drink out where its not polite then off the bench she'd go...so they'd each say "she's goin down now!" and we all knew. I felt sorry for our visitors who didn't understand her handicap. (two silly brothers or a mom who likes dry jokes). And, don't eat dinner with us unless you are ready for the unexpected. If you get up to the bathroom you are likely to come back to an empty table. I invite everyone to go hide then the unsuspecting guest has to realize to come look for us. Some never realize they must come search so we slowly sneak out of our spots so its safe for the next event. Aus likes to scare the poor person when he's found by yelling "BOO!" loudly. At our last house I hid in the same spot for ten years and the kids NEVER found me! Just wait until Chase gets in the mix...The kids who visit now get called to see something in our fish tank as a ploy only to get showered with 250 soft balls from up on the balcony. We make a game of it to scoup them back in the bin with us older parents using the snow shovel assigned to toy pick up.
We packed the suitcases and weighed them to see if we are at the 40# limit for China. Once we are in the States we can have 50# in each. Our tickets do have a an issue on the 12 hour leg...they have us in two different rows again. I finally got an answer back from our travel agent who said we have no choice. Other people have requested window or aisle seats! I'm NOT happy. If they will refund us the baby's seat I'll gladly ask for 4 seats together which they said they could do. All we can do is ask at the airport. I so worry about Chase letting us buckle him when he's not used to it. At breakfast its all I can do to get him to sit in the high chair even with me right there. I hoped by working with him a bit each day he's get used to it and I did try. He seems anxious that someone is going to take him away I guess. Eating breakfast isn't as relaxing now with the waitresses looking to come tease him. The language barrier keeps me from making them understand its NOT good to take his plate and pretend to take his food from him just to tease him, I think its mean! Or encourage him to smack at them even in fun. Then he wants to smack at Braelyn who's so used to her kind and gentle sister that it sets her off into an outburst of tears. She will have to get used to it but its not something I will tolerate. The lady this morning would just not let up. He'd crane his neck to see where she was then hide if she came close enough knowing she was going to tease him. Maybe its a culture difference but I intend to have a kind and gentle son, inspite of him being a boy! My recipe for the first two wasn't that bad so why change?
This evening we ran out to Justco to get one larger carry on to put Chase's things in or rather, the things for our daughter's friends who sent lists. Taking a cab was the same roller coaster ride mixed with King's Island's Scooby-Do where you get jolted around corners with lots of close calls. He dropped us on the opposite side of the street so we crossed at the light with about 100 people going over the 6 lanes with a couple medians. Braelyn soon fell asleep in the stroller and I held Chase's cup of milk under my chin so Aus could look at the cases. People were like bees swarming all through the place. We found what we wanted but you have to take the paper they write up to a cashier, then back to get the item, then they put stickers on it so people know you paid for it. Then we wanted to get a Chinese looking doll for the girls. Bad plan. We found three we liked to put away for future presents but as soon as I put them on the stroller to find something for Chase to play with on the plane this sales lady was trying to take them all away from Aus. He kept trying to say we were not finished shopping. She kept pointing to the cashier. It wasn't pretty. Finally he just went and checked out, came back then we checked out again so she would leave us alone!
So now the kids are bathed, the suitcases packed and weighed and we get up at 5am for our long journey home. Hearing about the snow and freezing rain in parts of the country where we have to change planes isn't encouraging but that's a day away....so we will see how it all works out. I'm proud of our son for holding things down at home, his friend Stina for housesitting the pets so our son could stay on campus since he's an RA, our daughter who had to help out with a lot of last minute glitches when our wired money was lost and soon, they all get to meet the new little guy who's their SIBLING!
Then, another big thanks to all of you who've read our blog, the good the bad and the ugly. I do hope we did not offend anyone. Writing so late at night when we are in a hurry we know we might say things that do not come out right. I did want to clarify one thing that didn't come out well. Thanks Val, you are right. When I mentioned adopting children who were not the "cute ones" what I meant was not about wanting a good looking child at all. So many people here keep telling us what beautiful children we have and it sort of bothers me since not all children are blessed the same. We wanted a child, our child. No matter what they looked like or their special need, we just wanted to be parents to the child we felt was ours. For us its not about looks but what is in the heart, then the joy does shine through!
Thanks for all the prayers, kind words and if you live close enough, do come visit!
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