Mmm....chocolate

The following item from 'blogthings' is appropriate to sum up the past few days....I have needed chocolate in a big way! I've been feeling kind of melancoly the past week or so...not really depressed or sad, just kind of out of sorts. I guess the fact that I am now official chauffeur two my two 'big kids'...40 minutes each way to school and back...morning and afternoon, trying to fit in laundry, house cleaning, make a descent meal for dinner, bath, clothe and put my wee ones to bed each day...kinda wearing me down....hence, the need for chocolate. Tomorrow, I'm taking a few hours off to get a pedicure and my hair done...gotta share that my toes have never looked worse and the roots are VERY bad right about now.
Looking forward to Saturday evening...meeting some of the families from our first China travel group (Dec 2004) for dinner in Toronto. We get together several times each year....this time just so happens to co-incide with Autumn Moon Festival (a wee bit early, I know). Always wonderful to see the girls as they grow and talk 'parent' with the Moms and Dads. All the girls just started JK this month...there should be some great stories and pics to share :)
For now... I'm off to watch Survivor China (starts tonight) and eat some white chocolate covered cookies...even though I REALLY am a milk chocolate girl at heart.

You are Milk Chocolate

A total dreamer, you spend most of your time with your head in the clouds.You often think of the future, and you are always working toward your ideal life.Also nostalgic, you rarely forget a meaningful moment... even those from long ago.

=">What'>http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofchocolateareyouquiz/">What Kind of Chocolate Are You?

Bits and pieces...

I'm still mulling over whether or not to remain anonymous...I think most people reading this actually know who I am or have figured it out (JAJ!)....so, basically, I'm not sure I'm anonymous anyway. I appreciate the fact that others have been very selective about which family members and friends to share the blog with. I haven't shared the blog with anyone in my 'real life' except for my husband....and I plan on keeping it that way. I already feel like we live in a bit of a fishbowl in our smallish-sized town since my husband is a family doctor here. Seems like if people don't already know our business, they just fill in the blanks as they please!

I think I will start to include pictures, but will keep the 'code names' for the kids. I have some really cute pics from last Tuesday (first day of school) of the kiddos...just need to figure out how to get them here from my crackberry and I'm set. I'm fairly new to RIM's wonderful invention...and I'm a bit of a techno-tard ;) We'll see how long it takes for me to get the pics on the blog.

We (meaning I'm trying to get husband to agree) are looking into hiring a live-in nanny....again. We actually had a nanny for two weeks last year...didn't work out...kinda strange situation...long, arduous story....anyhoo....
I think its strange to have someone live in the house, but I think I can can get used to the idea if it means my house is clean, the laundry is done, meals are ready at a normal time, things get baked in the oven and I can actually spend time with my children where I'm not combining play with all of the above tasks. I guess we would, in essence, be hiring more of a live-in housekeeper rather than a nanny, since she would spend far more time with household tasks than actual childcare. But she would be able to provide me with some back-up when husband is on-call...those days (especially weekend ones) can get pretty harried around here. She could also watch LM3 at home while I drive the 40 minutes I need to twice daily to chauffeur LM1 and LM2 to their school....beats having LM3 bored stiff in the car....not exactly 'quality time' for him.
I'm hoping to find someone who is not Canadian (maybe speaks Mandarin), but has lived/worked in Canada for a year or two. Part of the difficulty with the first nanny was the culture shock for her... The non-Canadian thing is b/c I find that most Canadians would rather not live-in and lack a certain work ethic that I'd be looking for (wondering if these comments are going to be offensive to some? Hope not).
I've been looking online at candidates...already have found a few promising leads....
Gotta go put the mice to sleep....they are just exhausted after school these days and LM3 is too b/c rather than let him sleep in, I wake him early now to get him ready to go.

To remain anony'mouse' or not?

I've been thinking a lot lately about how to proceed with this blog...whether or not to remain anonymous - meaning no 'real' names, no pictures of the family I love so much. As of now, I'm still undecided. I read several blogs on a regualr basis....some more anonymous than others. I'd love to hear some feedback...what made you decide to do your blog the way you do?

My original reason for being anonymous (although I've revealed my true identity to a few readers) was to protect my kids and my husband...so that I could talk about personal issues without causing them any undue harm or embarrassment. Our family already appears to be 'different' to most people we encounter on a daily basis...only one of our children 'look like' us....meaning two are Asian and one is Caucasian. Not many people where we live are familiar with adoption, let alone international adoption. I don't want to make a spectacle of our family, yet I doubt very highly than anyone outside the IA community (and more specifically, China IA community) even reads this blog...or any adoption blogs, for that matter. So, I ask myself - am I being too cautious? Would readers benefit from seeing who we are? From getting the occasional photographic glimpse of our lives? Would I feel more inspired and less cautious in my writing? On the other hand, by losing my anonymity, do I also give up my opportunity to gripe about certain subjects without the risk of any repurcusions?
I tell ya, its making my head spin. I'd love to hear from anyone with an opinion.

School is cool!

Dorky title, I know...but it kinda sums up that last two days. Both LM1 and LM2 started 'big school' yesterday. They are in a Montessori/JK program at a private school....fulltime (did I mention how happy I am about it being fulltime?) They were both duded up in their formal uniforms for the first day (since it was an 'assembly day'). Today and for the rest of the month, save one more 'assembly day', they can wear their regular uniforms, which consist of pants or shorts (skorts for girls) and golf-type shirts with the school emblem on them...very, very cute!
There are only 10 kids in their class...gotta love the small numbers. We've been getting some flack from certain people about why we've chosen to send our kids to a private school (especially since I used to teach in the public system)...not sure where the difficulty lies in this decision for those that KEEP asking us. Isn't each family/parent allowed to choose what they consider best for their own children? The school (and Montessori/JK program) offer something different that we know our children will benefit from...they are both very sensitive and I think would be lost in a class of 20 or so children. They are in the same class, which has its advantages for our LM's as well....they are only 11 months apart in age and have developed a very strong bond...they complement each other well and encourage each other to grow and learn. I guess I have 'virtual twins'...
I guess I'll take this opportunity to catch up a bit on my blog topics....
I had mentioned previously a few topics before my hiatus...hopefully, I can use this time to elaborate.
LM3 had his first visit to Sick Kids (Toronto) in August to evaluate his cleft lip/cleft palate. Unbeknowst to us at the time, he actually had his initial lip repair in April (while in China). We found this out when we first met him in China. His palate has not been repaired, but luckily it will not require surgery for a few more years. Since it is a very small alveolar cleft (gumline), and it is not affecting his hearing or speech development (or even the growth of new teeth), the surgeon has decided to wait until our little man grows a bit more and will schedule a bone graft (from his hip) and palate repair when LM3 is 4 or 5. Such a relief to think that our little man will not have to have surgery in the near future....he can just concentrate on his new life and enjoying this curious world that he now lives in. I am also grateful that he'll be at an age where his comprehension level and language knowledge will be at the point where we can effectively communicate what's happening to him. We also found out that he will not require tubes in his ears and that his hearing is normal. He has been growing like a weed...from a size 12 months when we met him in July to a size 2T now....he loves his 'num nums'!
As for the possible move to the Carribean that I mentioned in a previous post, this is something we are moving forward with - at least to the point where we are planning a spring break trip to the island that we would love to call 'home'...planning on renting a villa or a suite so that we can enjoy the local cuisine in a variety of locations, rather than an all-inclusive deal where we would be tempted to stay on the resort. We also need to look at teh schooling situation on the island and we hope to do a bit of real estate touring to see what types of homes are available. No actual tentative date for this big adventure...hopefully the right work opportunities will be available as early as next year at this time.
I'm going to save the "outlaw in-laws" topic for another post....kinda complicated at the moment...as these things tend to be....but I WILL spill the beans, I promise.
I need to go back to that old post to see if I've missed any topics.....I have a really good memory...but its short ;)
For now, I'm off to read some of your blogs....toodles :)