Send Spring...STAT!

Sigh. What a week. Although I like the change of seasons, I've had enough of winter.

Couple that with all the sadness going on around here, and I think a big ol' dose of spring would do us all some good.

As I posted about earlier, our dog passed away about 2 weeks ago. Also recently, we've had a couple of friends experience the loss of a loved one and some personal tragedies.

And now, just last week, one of my grandmothers passed away. (At the age of thirty-something-something, I was lucky enough to have both of my awesome grannies around until just last Wednesday.) Anyway, Granny S was a fabulous person and I'm not sure I did her justice in the remarks I prepared for her funeral. But we loved her so much and she will be greatly missed.

Since my hubby lost his oldest brother this past fall, we've had our share of discussions with Q about death and dying. He asks a lot of questions and he's trying to make sense of it the best he can. And I'm trying to help - not hinder this - the best that I can. This weekend, we had the added element of a graveside service after the funeral. He hadn't been to a cemetery before, so there was some more explaining we had to do. He thought it looked like a big rock garden. Which is more or less the case.

Before we went to the cemetery, when he saw the hearse and the pallbearers, he asked: How will they know how to get grandma to Heaven?

I got all teary at this. It sounded so sweet. So innocent. And I could hardly speak.

Thankfully, one of my sisters was nearby and she told him that God would take over. That seemed enough for him.

So, with all the hub-bub going on, I haven't downloaded any new pix of the kiddos. In the meantime, if you are really desparate for a new photo, go here and then click on the Conner Prairie album. There are 22 photos in all and you'll have to go all the way to #21 to find Miss K. And, it isn't even a great photo. So don't say you weren't warned.

The photo was taken by an Indymoms.com photographer at Conner Prairie a few Fridays ago. We had a little cabin fever so I took the kids out for a bit of play at CP's Discovery Station. The photog apparently couldn't resist Keira's charms. But here's what I liked most of all. When she asked for her name (we are using first names only, she said), I said, "Keira". She replied: Do you spell that K-E-I-R-A? I nearly hugged her. She may be, so far, the only person who got that right the first time. Yippee!! (Hey - it's been a bleak month - I take joy where I can find it!)

Hope you all are faring better. And soon, more bright and shining faces here!

Tag! I'm It!

I've been tagged. And for a change, it's not by Quinn during a chase scene in our basement.

I've been tagged by cc at This Good... to join in this book meme.

This is my first official blog-tagging of any sort. As you can imagine, my readership is limited, I think, primarily to my friends and family who don't post comments (ahem, ahem) and aren't bloggers. But, I do have a few blogging friends, so I'm not a complete blog-o-sphere loser. Anyway, here goes.....

These are the rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book of at least 123 pages.

2. Open the book to page 123.

3. Find the 5th sentence.

4. Post the next 3 sentences.

5. Tag 5 more people.

Well, I'm sitting in the family room and the nearest reading material doesn't qualify - Sunday and Monday's Indianapolis Star, this week's TV Guide, and 3 children's books on Chinese New Year.

But wait - here is a qualifier....Walt Disney World with Kids 2008. I have this book on loan from a kind friend, who also recommended the book The Pillars of the Earth [way before Oprah did], which is upstairs, bedside, with way, way, way more than 123 pages...explaining why it has been bedside for months now!

Anyway, here are sentences 6, 7, and 8 from page 123 of WDW with Kids:

...(The exact time at which you can get another Fastpass is printed on your
current Fastpass ticket.) Periodically, there's buzz that Disney may change the
system and let people get multiple Fastpasses, but at present, it's still one to
a customer.
Fastpass is so popular that Disney is always looking for
ways to expand the system, and you never know when they'll be offering some new
perk....

Hmmmm...this is all Greek to me at this point. I think I'd better get cracking on this Disney stuff between now and June!

OK, so who to tag....

How about Liene, Jenni, Cybil, Sarah, and Mary? Let's see what reading material is sitting around out there. Can it possibly be more thought-provoking than WDW Fastpasses???

Playdate Flunkie

For the first 3+ years of Quinn's life, I was a working-outside-the-home mom. Which meant that he was a daycare kid. So, when I wasn't at work (evenings, weekends) I was trying to cram in some quality time in a variety of ways - none of which involved scheduled playdates. He was already happily playing with his buddies for 8-10 hours a day. Who could ask for anything more?

Then, one day in the summer of '06, I took leave of my corporate job (in the pharmaceutical industry...go ahead, hate me now, but at least it wasn't the health insurance or tobacco industries!). I became a stay-at-home mom. I did my best to entertain and educate. But Q kept asking when he could play with so-so and so-so again.

I shall schedule a playdate, I thought! Of course! I felt all so SAHMommy like.

I contacted mothers of 2 of Q's friends from daycare, only to discover SAHM Playdate Lesson #1: Hard to schedule playdates with son's friends from daycare because their moms still work! Duh! I took leave from my job, and apparently leave from my brain, too. Anyway, luckily the moms seemed to have Fridays off, twice a month, so we worked something out.

And then, Lesson #2. Prior to that first playdate, one mom asks what she can bring - bagels for the moms? Snacks for the kids? Yikes - I have to feed people??!! I think. Guess this just isn't 3 boys playing in our basement for a couple of hours, eh? I politely declined helplful mom's offer (to appear that I knew what I was doing) and made a note to buy some pastries and sort-of healthy kiddo snacks.

The playdate ultimately went off pretty well, and we got invited to a few in return, so all was not lost.

Fast forward to the arrival of Miss K. Quinn was fully entrenched in preschool and our playdates with his buddies consisted primarily of meeting at parks or museums and the like.

But now I feel the need to be sure Keira is being properly socialized.

Luckily, we've met all sorts of wonderful people through the miracle of adoption and K has a handy-dandy playgroup of her own now. Although I usually feel like a thorn among roses, the girl with 2 left feet in a roomfull of ballerinas, a SAHM flunkie in a room of PhDs.

Why, you wonder? I seem so competent online, you think? (I'm trying to keep a straight face here.)

Here's why....Super SAHM #1: serves fabulous, freshly brewed coffee (and has tea for those who prefer). It's like Starbucks in there. Me? When I host a playdate I ask - Diet Coke? Or ice water?

Awesome SAHM #2 actually does the cool crafts I read about but think, yeah right - who really does those? Me? I get out paper and stickers. The Crayola Color Wonder paints if I'm really feeling in the groove.

Cool SAHM #3 brings Rice Krispie treats for all the other playgroup kids. Heart shaped. With sprinkles. That her girls helped make. Me? I hand out prepacked Teddy Grahams.

I could go on. But you get the idea here.

Mysteriously, luckily, graciously, we are continued to allow to associate with all those who are in the know. Perhaps the SAHM PhDs feel sorry for me. Maybe they were once in my shoes. Maybe they hope to turn me from Eliza Doolittle (Mommy Do-little?) into My Fair Lady? Maybe they take pity on my kids, the hapless victims of my ineptitude.

Or maybe they are just that nice. Which is probably the case.

Anyway, we are so thankful to have found such friends. And I hope a little bit of their great mommy prowess rubs off on me... probably just about the time I decide to head back to work.... Where, when asked to please get my PowerPoint presentation ready for such-and-such committee review, I'll say PowerPoint? What 's that? Can I turn in my Crayola Color Wonder graphics instead?

My Funny Valentines

Here they are, the sweetest Valentines I could ever hope for.

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I find myself wondering, daily, how did I get so lucky?

We Will Miss You, Doggone-it!

All Dogs Go To Heaven.

It's a movie I've never seen, but I believe in the concept.

And today, dog-heaven had its population increase by one. By one very fine canine.

Our dog, Odie, passed away this morning. He lived nearly 15 years. He was a Humane Society Hound. We adopted him in 1993 when we lived in southern Indiana. He was part black Lab, part Chow, but 100% lovable.

We didn't know many of our neighbors at the time. But once Odie became ours, we knew the whole block. He was a real kid-magnet in his day. We were one of 2 kid-less couples on the block, but we had the only dog. So believe it or not, our house was often kid-central. Our neighbor girls made him the Grand Marshall of their 4th of July Parade one year. They even had a birthday party for him once or twice. They gave him dog treats and homemade dog toys. And he always had a front-row seat for their frequent talent shows.

When we moved a few years later, and a few years after that, we were still one of the only kid-less couples on the block, but the ones with a dog. Again, Odie helped us get acquainted with our new neighbors. Obviously his social skills were superior to ours.

Odie endured the addition of a cat to the family, and then eventually a baby, and lastly a toddler. He was a good, faithful friend.

In his prime, he loved a good game of frisbee or chase (or chase the cat) and looked forward to long walks. Recently though, he had a hard time getting around and he developed canine cognitive dysfunction - aka Alzheimer's in dogs.

I never really knew such a thing existed until, after several frustrating months/years, we discussed his behavior with our vet.

I also never knew having a dog would be so great.

And I never knew I'd miss one so much either.

Worth 9000 Words? You Decide!

It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. If that's the case, here are about 9000 words for your perusal. I couldn't come up with any better words on my own today, so you are specially treated to these visual ones. Hope you enjoy a look at how we managed to get through that eternal month known as January.

Oh, Rats!

Xin Nian Kuai Le!
Happy Chinese New Year!
Welcome to the Year of the Rat.

And in our case, we are calling it the Year of the Mouse. As in Mickey and Minnie. Thanks to grandma and grandpa, we are heading south in a few months to the Big Mouse House. It should be a fun way to kick off the summer.


In the meantime, we are hoping to survive the rest of the crazy Indiana winter.....although with wild weather from China to the southern US, and everywhere in between, what's going on here doesn't seem so bad.

Nonetheless, we are counting down the days until spring.

And the days until our Week of the Mouse.

And the days until I no longer have to answer questions about exactly when we are going to see the Mouse. (This is the part where hubby says I told you we shouldn't have told them about it yet....!)

Blessings and peace to you and yours this New Year!

An Idea You Can Warm Up To

If you haven't heard about the snow storms crippling China, just google "snow storms China" and you'll find plenty to read. On the NBC Nightly News this evening, Brian Williams referred to it as China's Katrina. Even southern provinces, like Guangxi - where Keira is from - have been hit hard. When we were there last December we only ever needed a light jacket in the evening. So I think it would be an understatement to say that they aren't used to this type of weather. Many, many, many are without electricity and have been for days. There are stories of people using their life savings to buy coal to keep warm. There are stories of people trying to get home in time to celebrate the New Year (Chinese New Year begins this Thursday).

And then there the orphans. I don't hear their plight mentioned on the news. But as you might imagine, the orphanages in the affected regions are struggling mightily as well.

If you feel a little pull on your heartstrings, please consider donating to Half The Sky and their Emergency Mouse Fund. Half the Sky is an organization that was formed in 1998 by a couple who had recently adopted a daughter from China. HTS is committed to helping orphans in China and has some very wonderful programs on-going. They have a specific fund set up now to help the orphanages in this time of crisis.

Please consider giving. It would mean a lot to those who are so little.