Car seat installed/high chair – check!
Yup, the car seat is installed in the jalopy. It’s all set now, winter tires and all:
“moo”
It was definitely worth the $25 to get it professionally installed ($35 minus $10 coupon) and have one-on-one instructions (plus a DVD).
Did you know:
- 4 out of 5 children are not correctly buckled up
- car crashes are the number one cause of death in kids aged 1-9
- you can be ticketed for an incorrectly installed car seat
Those stats are from Alberta, but I’ll bet they are the same everywhere.
Did you also know that it’s better to install a front-facing car seat behind the driver’s seat - not the passenger’s seat? That’s because if you are in a collision, your instinct is to steer the vehicle so that YOU are furthest away from the crash – that means putting the passenger side between you and the collision.
Interesting eh? I didn’t know that fact either.
I also picked up Biset’s high chair today. Actually, Aunty Claire is buying it for her but she’s out-of-town. It’s in a pretty small box right now. I hope it’s easy to set up because I am SO OVER the DIY, build-it-yourself projects of late (yeah, I’m talking to you, Mr. Baby Gate).
What Family Day will mean to me
Canada has an official Family Day holiday in February. This statutory holiday began in Alberta, in fact. I’m going to create a new one in December.
The lovely lady over at Calico Sky wrote this great post. She just returned to Canada after living in England for a while. I love how she has written her perspective on being a stranger in a strange land (even when it’s her home and native land). It reminded me of coming to Canada from England when I was 10 years old. And it reminded me of how Biset may feel when I come get her. Of course, Biset is an infant and will not have the same questions an older child or an adult would have in the situation. But that won’t make it any easier for her. As I wrote on Calico Sky:
“When I think of my baby girl’s arrival, I know that it will be traumatic for her, even as an infant. Her world has been very narrow up to now so her senses will be in overdrive and her confusion extremely high. And being so young there is no way to help her comprehend what is going on. She’ll just know of strange faces, places, smells, and foods – and she’ll wonder why her devoted caregivers have suddenly gone away. It breaks my heart to think of her loss and inability to express her fears.
I also don’t like the ‘gotcha’ word. I feel it trivializes the day. Although obviously those families who use it do so with the best of intentions. For me, I prefer to think of the day I take custody of Biset as our Family Day.”
The first day I see Biset will be for just a few hours and then she will remain at the foster home over night. The next day is when I officially take custody of her and bring her back to the guest house with me and to our life together. It will be the day I join her birth family, the day she joins my extended family, and the day we become our own family. All three links will be permanent, lifelong connections, even if they are not all written as such on a piece of paper.
When I think about her birth family, I wonder if they think about where she is right now – if they wonder if she’s still in Ethiopia or not. I know they must be grieving for her and wishing the best for her every day. As I prepare for the happiest day of my life, I remember that I’m the only one in our adoption triad who will feel that way about it. It’s a very sobering thought.
@ 6 months waiting
This should be the last month milestone of my wait!!!
Much has happened since the five month-post referral milestone. Having passed court and the documentation being complete, all I have to wait for is the visa and the go ahead to travel. CAFAC will have more word on that by next week – currently they are saying the visa is under review so it looks like we’ll be leaving either the last couple of days of November or the first couple of days of December!
I’ve been on the horn with a couple of travel agents and now settled on one here in town. Not yet sure if the London visit will be a go yet, but I really hope so. ALK and I have some British culture to gorge ourselves silly on.
I have another shopping trip planned for this morning – off to Walmart and London Drugs again for the practical items I still need for the trip.
I’m almost done the nursery now - just need to hang a couple of items, dress the crib, and find a rug for the floor. I hope I can post pictures soon. I’ve borrowed some HUGE duffel bags from my friend, Brigitte. They are nice and light weight so will be great for my donations and for bringing back as much coffee as we can manage. I also want to bring back lots of special items for Biset, including outfits for her to wear as she grows up.
I’m feeling pretty on top of things right now. The kitchen table is a bit of a bomb site….actually there’s another bomb site in the nursery and the start of one in the spare bedroom. That one will only get worse as it’s going to become Packing Central.
OK, I’m off to shop.
My old family house
I feel sick to my stomach right now.
There was an accident today involving a school bus – it ran into a yard. That yard was at our old family home.
Children injured in Calgary school bus crash
There are only minor accidents for the children, thank God, but the drivers’ injuries are more serious.
There are (were) 2 HUGE spruce trees in front of the house . The second picture shows the fate of one of them. I remember when they were just small trees.
At the end of this video clip, the reporter says people are crediting “that big, ole tree” for cushioning the bus and saving the people and house.
At least 17 kids injured in Calgary bus crash
Someone please remind me again why there are no seat belts on school buses…
Daycare – check!
How you know you’ve found the right daycare:
a. It’s located about 1.5 blocks from your mother’s house and a 5-minute drive from your home
b. When you called yesterday, the director’s voice made you think of your godmother, Grace
c. She tells you no problem for the March 2010 waiting list
d. When you arrive for this morning’s tour, the sound of kids screaming with joy outside in the playground makes you smile big time
e. You are right, the director is a kind, black woman and there is much ethnic diversity throughout the large facility
f. The baby room manager is a kind woman, very into child care and welfare
g. All the babies look very happy and healthy and are very busy with activities and group play
h. The manager gets VERY excited when you tell her you have adopted your daughter and she is eager to do some research on internationally adopted kids and looks forward to charting your daughter’s progress next to other babies her age
i. The director also gets very excited and mentions another baby joining in March is adopted (from India)
j. The director feels so good that she decides to not wait and gives you the parent registration and information package right there and then, instead of waiting until February
k. You feel rather verklempt with joy from the whole experience and know that your daughter is going to love coming to this place
l. You feel confident because you are also on another waiting list in case this one falls through for whatever reason
Git er done!
I actually hate that saying, but whatev. It works. Also I love Larry the Cable Guy.
I’ve had a busy week of vacation. I’m happy with the amount of things I’ve been able to cross off my list of Things To Do so far, including:
- Hung blackout curtains in the nursery
- Refined packing list and figured out what I need to buy – purchases to be made tomorrow and this weekend.
- Contacted travel agencies for some preliminary info. If anyone has any anecdotes on how they got a flight during December/January, let me know. Many flights are already full.
- Raked leaves from front lawn today. It was SMOKING HOT and I wish I had worn shorts. However, I ran out of raking steam for the rear yard so too bad, so sad.
- Also cleaned out the garage today so that I can store basement crap in there for the future (as in 2010) reno project.
- Took gross Jeep in for a full spa treatment – now that sucker sparkles inside and out. The Purolator guy was admiring it (and my new tires) this afternoon as he came to deliver Steph’s care package. He was very friendly…might have had something to do with my sweating, heaving bazooms as I corralled my bags of leaves to the curb. I’m sure my neighbours got quite a show as I kept bending over to pick up leaves.
- Booked car seat clinic for November 17th at Toys R Us. The Jeep will be fully equipped from then on. FREAKY!!
- Took back SCADS of bottles to the bottle depot (almost had to do 2 loads). I swear I was just dropping bottles off not that long ago. I pocketed over 50 bones which was a nice windfall. Do I really drink that much? I blame my family and friends….
- Met up with friends for drinks on a couple of occasions. Many more of those to come over the next couple of weeks. I’m trying to get as many drinking opps in before I absolutely have to become a responsible adult. Also see previous bullet.
- Made healthy, homemade soup (Suzanne’s yummy Carrot Leek soup) because my diet was starting to go pear-shaped (following my waistline). Also reviewed recipes for stuff to freeze for future meals. Any suggestions?
- Caught up on some sleep. Weird dreams though (Scuba diving for a buried statue… Really?)
- etc. etc., plus more to do yet.
Since this must have been an extremely boring post for you to read, I will thrill you with another picture of Miss B in the following post. And here is a picture of her crib mates, keeping her spot warm.
EEK!!
Jeebus! No time for panic!
My agency just called me*:
Medicals – done
Birth Certficate – done
Passport – done
All the above docs have already been translated and received in the Nairobi office. I did not expect this to happen before mid-November!
All that is left is the travel visa. This will likely be done within 6-8 weeks. I’m starting to get really optimistic about spending Christmas with my daughter 
*it seems my most pitiful posts keep triggering these phone calls!
Yikes plus ACK!!
So much to do! So much to freak out about!
- Why is it that all my well-thought-out plans suddenly seem like a load of nonsense?
- What if my travel date is over Christmas? Will we have to skip the UK detour so I can spend the 25th with my daughter?
- Can I really afford to take 6 months off – money-wise and job stability-wise?
- Will I really be able to take Biset to England for a month next spring?
- Do I really have to compromise now in order to achieve my 3-year plan?
- Do I need to change my 3-yr plan to a 5-yr plan?
- Can I get the basement reno done before we leave?
- How the heck am I supposed to get all my niggling chores/tasks done before travel? I know damn well there will be none of that going on when Biset is home.
- How am I supposed to be well-rested before we travel when I can’t sleep more than 2 or 3 hours every night?
Thank God I am off next week so I can chill and start tackling stuff. I know I’ll feel much better when I can start making some real progress towards being prepared for travel.
Note: those were all rhetorical questions; no need to give me the answers unless you have them 
…preferably printed out and laminated on 3×5 flash cards
…in bullet-form
…and with graphics
…and with a side order of Valium
P.S. Thank you for the wonderful comments on the previous post. I can’t read them without crying every time.
