You're How Old?...

Boy nothing like feeling you are an old bag lady. So I know at the Yahoos' old school "HSpit" I was not the oldest mom in the class. I was not the youngest by any means but I was certainly in the upper middle and clearly had others within my age range give our take a year.
When you have a late start on reproduction these things do not enter your mind when you leave the hospital with your bundle of joy (or two bundles as in my case).
But no one prepared me for the big rude awakening of how in a public school setting I would be closer in age to "grandma" than mom. Yowza! I sat yesterday in Kumon next to Noleys little friends' grandma who I learned is the same age as Mr T and who's daughter (who has three children) is 27! Yes, that is right Noleys little friends mom is the same age as Linjit. Linjit and KC she could be you. Three kids by 27 (7, 4, 2) Oh I'm not sure what I find more fearful...Linjit and KC with three kids? Noleys friends mom the same age as Linjit? or if it is the fact that had I had been a Hoochy Mama in highschool (which obviously I was not) I could be a grandmother.

Schlep'in the Schwepps...

Okay so I you know I am mentally ill--I confess to it. But now I have proof that Mr T is also mentally ill. It is no wonder why we make a such a compatible pair. WE ARE MENTALLY ILL TOGETHER.

So I spend the weekend cleaning the garage last week. I was in sheer heaven...me...alone...no kids...music...and in a mood to toss crap away. So I organized the wall of cabinets by taking everything out and then creating two piles. Pile one was the put back into the cabinets and pile two was the donation pile.

One of the cabinets is the beer-soda-mixer-drink cabinet (doesn't everyone have one of these in their garages?) This cabinets purpose is kinda of the staging/storage area before they move into the outside drink fridge (you do have one of those right?) Okay, so...I decided to reorganize it and here is what I came across.

We have been Schlepping the Schweppes since 1997...YES that is right 1997 which means BEFORE we were married. TWO houses ago. YES this bottle has sat in the fridges of three different homes. THAT IS SICK AND WRONG!

So when I point this out to Mr T what does he say? "looks like we need to start drinking more gin and tonics?" ahhhhh so is my life...

Ummm No You Are Mistaken...

So I enrolled MeiMei in the PreKindergarten Readiness Free Summer School Program today. Now the operative word here is Free. After all that is what caught my attention in the first place about this program. It is a five week program that runs the same time as Tobbers school program and Noleys Art camp. I was trying to figure out what to do with MeiMei and when I learned about the program I decided to sign up. What I soon learned was the the program was for targeted kids who may not be ready or have had limited exposure to what they need to know in Kindergarten. Since MeiMei has been identified with an IEP for speech she technically qualifies so I thought what the heck especially since one of the sites is near us. So I took MeiMei to registration and while I was completing the paperwork, she started to get antsy. The office person, was conducting the evaluation interview to see if she would qualify when MeiMei picks up the program brochure and starts reading it. Yep full on reading everyword on the page that she either knew or could sound out. I thought the woman was going to fall out of her chair. She asked me "is she reading that brochure?" "Uhhhhh No...she cannot read.. she is just pretending" (all the while biting my tongue because I really want her to get in the program and not rejected because she CAN read). Of course when we got the car I was not sure to beam with pride or be miffed about blowing our chance at the summer program. Guess time will tell.

When Mom's Away the Children will Play

This is what happens when I go away for the day...Yikes

Linjit!!!!! There is a wide space between helocopter parenting and freerange parenting...

Tummy Ache Mom...

Yes, that is what MeiMei has taken to calling her birth mom. She has taken a keen interest in talking about her other mom in China...you know the "Tummy Ache mom" I think with the discussions of traveling to China to go and get HooHaa she is starting to process how her life prior to Sacramento started. We are not the ones to ever hide or sweep under the rug any information we have on her start in life, but to be truthful as we tell her...there is not really anything we know.
She asked if when we travel to China can she go and get a new mom? I informed her that "sorry you are stuck with me" I did not take it too personal since she followed it with "I want to keep you...I just want to go and get another Mom too." "cause that's what Chinese kids do......when you go to China you get a new mom" Then she proceeded to ask me if we can go and find her Tummy Ache mom and where is she? I explained that we do not know who she is or where she is but that we are very very happy that she put her in a safe place to be found quickly so that we could come and get her. Then she proceeds to complain about "how come it took you a long long time?" "I wait a long long time" "you should not have made me wait a long long time" Okay so I am getting a precursor to what I will have to deal with when she hits her hormones....yikes! and to think she is only five. I expect this at ten not at five. Well at least I will know what to expect. It will be quite interesting to watch her as she begins to peice together the process of adoption. She has been talking a lot about it lately and reminds us that HooHaa will be very scared just like she was becuase he does not know us but that if we feed him good food, he will like us. And THAT is exactly how we won her over that first night.

Sorry for the delay in posting...but I've been in the looney bin...

Yes, I know you had your suspicions but now you've got it first from the source---I'm nuts. 100% certifiable. Lock me up and make it fast before I buy anything else crazy. Let me back up...

Ten years ago it was the five foot metal butler cat that I fell in love with that I did not buy and to this day still regret.

Five years ago it was a five foot metal rooster that I fell for that is now residing my front yard.

Two years ago it was the metal three foot hen that I just had to have (to go with the rooster) that is now happily frolicking in the middle of my wild poppies out front.

Last year there was the three foot metal Peacock that is now happily perched on top of the backyard office/guest house.

And today, yes today, I met my match... a five foot long metal marlin. It is the most hideous-hilarious-tacky-happy darn fish I think I have ever seen. So what did I do? Yep I bought it for the outside of guest house. I've been working on what the heck to do with that space for the past five years and two days ago inspiration struck. Mr T loves his tropical wear and libations and truly does live on island time so why not go with the tacky tropical tourist theme---after all if you cannot fight it ya might as well go with it --- right?

Now we still have to paint the office so you will not get a full tour of the space until it it complete. But I have temporarily placed the big guy in there so.... introducing Mr Marlin...

Dreaming of China... When??

Nope don't know much of anything. Just looking at photos from southern China. A couple we took last time we were there and a couple I took (as in off the internet) Where we will be traveling this time I expect to look much different topography speaking...I expect the traffic, bikes, smog and humidity to be the same.