Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Day one in Chicago

The girls went right to sleep the night before and did very well in the hotel room, this being their first time in one since China.   We were ready to start the day and have some adventures!  Chicago in one of those places that is easy to explore on your own and generally feels very safe in the main downtown area.   I had little to no reservations about taking the girls out on a walk with me to meet up with my sister.
Much to our surprise, there was a lot of construction going on and we had just finished talking about construction and construction equipment the week before!  Aunt Mere took us on a nice tour of the river walk which included some great views of diggers and dumpers!


They were in awe of all of the sounds and sights!   Maybe a little overwhelming for these quiet country girls, but they didn't show it!


The worker that operated the digger stopped his serious digging to send a friendly wave and toot the digger's horn!   So far, Chicago likes Charlotte and Flora Lin!
  Again, the girls were so awestruck that I had to remind them to wave back! ; ). They would have watched for hours if I had let them!


After being on a bus the whole day before, C and FL had a great time running, jumping and hopping around different spots on the river walk.   They stopped their playing long enough for us to get a good picture together, though!


Once Sam had a break from meetings, he found us and we enjoyed visiting all together.


After lunch and a good nap, we met up with my sweet cousin and her equally sweet husband for dinner.  The girls were a little wild, but did well all things considered. : ) I was very happy to show them off, regardless of their energy level!  C even sang the Star-Spangled Banner for them once or twice or was it three or four times?!   It really was great to see members of my family that live so far away.  Seeing construction was nice and everything, but family was the highlight of my day!


Our first day was fantastic and we can't wait for tomorrow!

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Chicago or Bust! A Big Day of Travel

Our night ended late at about midnight and our day began early, around 4 AM!  We woke the girls at 4:45, the last thing before we drove away to get on the big bus.  They were upbeat, but nervous, C chatting nonstop and FL being very quiet.  We kept them in pajamas for the first hour or so, hoping (but not expecting) that they would sleep again.  Thoughtful Sam called ahead about getting a bus with seatbelts for the girls' car seats, so, since that is a new thing, we got a brand new bus!  That was fantastic, but having a seat that fit the girls and kept them safe (and contained!) was even better!  Let me tell you, that bus is very well broken in, now!


A few eyebrows were raised as people boarded the bus and saw our young children (I mean, who in their right mind takes two three year olds on a thirteen hour bus trip?!  I can't tell you how many times I almost backed out the week before!).   I was worried, but hopeful.  They are human, but they are also very well behaved, sweet little people most of the time.


Remembering the great excitement of my own travels as a small child, I tried my best to make the planning and the journey full of fun!  I still have the red TWA bag that my mom helped me pack for a plane ride when I was about the girls' age.  It was filled with a new coloring book, stickers, markers, gum and a very special sucker (I can still remember how it tasted!).  I couldn't wait to use it all once the trip began!  I decided to do something similar for my girls.  I bought them a few inexpensive toys, activities, packed a TON of snacks and had a surprise friend that they would find waiting for them in their seat on the bus.  They saw everything before, except the surprise friend.  C got a pig that she named "Dots" and FL had a dog she named "Flower".  They were very inexpensive, but made them very happy and helped to distract them from their anxiety. 


One of their favorite things was a little notebook (that cost me .50) that they scribbled in with a "real" pen and crayons.  They also peeled and applied about 1,000 stickers in them as well!  It kep them busy for over an hour several different times!


Of course, there was snack time, lunch time, 1,000 trips to the bus potty and rest stops to help break up the travel time as well. (Y'all, I HATE public potties, bus potties, porta potties, gas station potties - you name it.  I have been to these more times in the last nine months than I have my ENTIRE life combined... Tell me this stage will be over soon! ; )
There were also many interesting sites to see out of the window.  FL was my buddy for most of the trip and she was so interested in these wind turbines!


Actually, everyone on the bus was!


Finally, we reached our much anticipated destination!


The views from is hotel are just fantastic.  I spent several hours last year just watching the activity of this big, busy city from our window.  The girls thought it was fun to watch, too.  They especially liked the watching the tour boats turn around and counting the swimming pools!


We had a few very small sad moments on our trip, but they were short and all in all the girls were GREAT!   I would also like to say thank you to the Y employees/interns and the team from MA that helped us out while Sam took care of his work responsibilities.  I was prepared to do everything for the girls on my own, but they wouldn't let me do that and put our needs ahead of their own many, many times.  Thank you!


We are looking forward to a fantastic time in the Windy City!!!

Monday, July 27, 2015

Chicago Daydreams

This time last year I was on a bus to Chicago.  I could think of little else but two little people on the other side of the world and frustrating paperwork delays.

Now the memory of paperwork madness has faded.

And those two little people sleep beside me on a bus, 


trusting in their new family as we journey together...


...through grand adventures and the simple adventure of everyday life.

Thank you, God.

Friday, July 24, 2015

Construction Week

This week we decided to get back into our life experience activities.  They help me get excited about doing things with the girls and they learn/ enjoy the experiences so much!  This week was Construction  Week.  My girls are fascinated by big trucks and heavy machinery, so I knew this would be a hit!

Activity #1: Build tall towers, etc. with blocks and big trucks.  Pretend to run a construction site.  My girls do so well with open ended toys like blocks.  They are still building and using big trucks to make all sorts of things!
Activity #2: Read books about big trucks and construction.  We love books!


Activity #3: Visit a construction site.  Sam took the girls out one day.  They visited this site and watched them put up a big sign.  It was SO HOT that day, so they stayed in the truck and watched.


Activity #4: Go to a home improvement store.  Sam did this as part of his day with them.


He said he'd never had so much fun in a home improvement store before!  They played with all different kinds of pipes...


Tested out the drills ( I am not recommending that anyone do this, though everyone here is alive!)...


Examined the materials used in construction...


Experimented with more pipes and fittings...


Even used the pipes as a horn!


With all of that hard work those construction workers-in-training worked up an appetite!  Where do construction workers eat?!   The Golden Corral, of course!


The girls would have given it two thumbs up, but they were too busy eating!


What a fun day!  Thanks, Sam!

Activity #5: Paint with big trucks.  
We covered the little table with paper, donned our smocks/construction uniforms, splattered some paint and had fun running those trucks all over!


A construction site never looked so beautiful!


C and FL had a great time (me too!) making all sorts of sound effects and getting the paint in as many places as possible!


It looked so fun and colorful at the end of it that I've left the paper on the table for a while.  The girls keep adding to it!


Activity #6:  Cloud Dough Construction Site.
I spread out an old plastic banner, pulled out our cloud dough bins (just search the internet for a recipie.  We used the vegetable oil one so that no harm would come to those who might eat it.) and added some trucks.  Voila!  An instant construction site!  Cloud dough is a mess no matter what you do, but it holds their attention for a very long time!  I also added lavendar oil to ours, so it smells wonderful, too!




Activity #7:  Big Tools!
This, perhaps, was the pinnacle of the week!  My parents set up some activities for the girls to use construction tools and make some blocks.  What three year old doesn't want to use big, noisy, grown up tools?
We put on our safety gear...


Watched how the pros do it...


And made some blocks! Woo hoo!


Next we hammered some nails into a block...


Then we put in some screws using a philips head screwdriver.  


Construction is hard work!


Now it was time for the big guns!  Electric drill!  She looks pretty happy, doesn't she?!


Go, Charlotte, go!


FL wasn't so sure, until she saw C's success.  They were proud of their work!


Now to put on the finishing touches...


And add some artistic flair at home - we are not just any construction workers, you know.  We are construction princesses!  We even added glitter once the paint dried! ; )


We thought that was the end of our week, but we took a trip to Chicago, and what did we find?!
Construction!  In all of its loud, messy, bright orange glory!


We even got to see a digger dig, dig, dig and dump!


He even waved and tooted the digger's horn at us!  The girls were mesmerized!


We've never enjoyed construction more!  It was a fantastic week!

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Ophthalmology Appointment

Our pediatrician and the doctors at the IAC wanted us to have the girls' eyes checked, so we waited a looooong time for an appointment and finally got them both in.  I wasn't too concerned, as they seem to see the littlest things here and there, but you never know.   I haven't had my eyes checked since I was in high school (and they were better than normal at that time), so I really don't know much about the whole process.   I didn't prepare the girls well, as I didn't know what to expect, and it showed.


Both C and FL were nervous, cranky and somewhat defiant in the waiting room.  Plus, Sam was coming in with the paperwork we needed to have for the appointment and the staff wasn't happy that we didn't have it with us.  So, I wasn't as attentive as I should have been because I was busy refilling out paperwork and couldn't focus on my two little people swirling around the room. Ok, and I was grumpy, too.
For the actual appointment, the girls each took turns sitting in my lap, covering one eye with a spoon and telling us what pictures they saw on the screen.  The pictures had to have been from the 40's or 50's.  One of them was a rotary telephone-the girls kept saying it was a dog (FL) or a cow (C)!  They were not great pictures!


C buckled under the pressure of believing that she had to get it right and cried for most of her picture test.  FL would only mumble something unintelligible and flat out REFUSED to sign.  No matter what I said or did or said I would do.  Once the technician (who was very nice) left the room, she happily signed what all of the pictures were.  She is doing her best to sharpen my parenting skills!
The girls did fine for the ophthalmologist's exam.  No tears and perfect obedience.
During the whole process, everyone kept asking me over and over why the girls were there for a visit and if there were any problems at all.  They each asked me this a couple of times.  I should have clued in to it, and almost mentioned CP and some eye rubbing, but thought I might be reading too much into it all.  Well, pay attention if you go through this and FIND SOME REASON medically for your children to need to see the ophthalmologist.  It would have cost me about 30.00 per child had I had a medical reason, but instead it cost me 160.00 per child.  
Yep. 
 And they have no vision problems (thankfully).  The receptionist that took our payment told us to make up something next time.  And, no, they wouldn't let me go back and tell them the things I had originally considered speaking up about.  

So all and all, I learned a few lessons:
* always have a medical concern when going into an appointment 
* take time to prep your children, no matter how small the appointment may seem
* if you take the time to meet your needs first! you can help your children with their needs more effectively
* it never hurts to get the medical reports filled out way, way ahead of time
* your children will reflect your emotions and attitude.  Act accordingly.

Can I have a do-over?!!  Please?!!!

Monday, July 20, 2015

Cutest Cows!

If you live in the south, you most likely enjoy Chic fil A and you really, really like Cow Appreciation Day!  There's no shame in dressing up like a cow for free food!  I've participated with the B family for 3 or 4 years now in attending, as Sam is almost always gone.  It has been fantastic free fun, but this year I had something even better to add to it.  My own little calves!


During naptime, I pulled out my baggie of cow spots and tails, made a few extra, made ears, cow bells and threw together something for my littles!


Luckily, FL already had cow pajamas.  And the perfect finishing touch was cowgirl boots!


When the girls woke up, I asked them what any three year old would consider a valid and logical question, "Would you like to dress up like a cow with mama and go eat dinner?"
They thought I'd never ask!  It was just what they had been thinking about!  ; )


So, we cowgirled up and I rounded up the herd and we stampeded to town for feeding time!  We even got to meet up with the entire B family herd!  Meanwhile, back at the ranch, well, never mind!  ; )

 
It was a great memory!  My lonely summers at the farm are forever over! : ). And forever cute!  The cows have come home!