Long Overdue Introduction

Back in January, right around the time Jenna and I did the Passport to Purity weekend, my van started to die.  We took it to a mechanic and discovered the fix for my 10 year old van with nearly 200K miles would be about $2000.  The van wasn’t even worth that. 

And the van wasn’t actually functional because it wouldn’t hold gas.  We were having to fill up with a gas can.  This happened the beginning of the week that Jenna and I were to leave for Chattanooga to do P2P that Friday.  NOT convenient.  So, we rented a car to drive there knowing the following Monday was a holiday and we could use the day off to car shop.

Monday started early and we dropped Kylie off with my friend Jill.  Because we drive our vehicles until the wheels fall off (or the gas tank falls out, as it were), it’s been a long time since we’ve been car shopping.  And since we weren’t expecting to have to buy a new car, we didn’t really know what we wanted.  So, it was truly an all day affair.

But in the end, we purchased a 2012 Toyota Camry.  The only “luxury” I wanted in a vehicle was a sunroof.  And I was pretty picky about color.  I do not want to drive a white, cream, silver or gold car.  I like the darker colors.  No offense to you all who drive those color cars.  I just personally don’t to drive them!

As luck would have it, they had just what I was looking for.  This is not the greatest photo but it’s the only one I have.

 

I have really loved the car and I haven’t missed the van too much at all.  I think the trunk of the car actually has more room than the back of the van did.  It’s not as roomy so I’m not sure what we are going to do on vacation when we have to drive for several hours with both girls AND Katie.

It’s been very good for our gas consumption because it gets so many more miles to the gallon with my long daily commute. And it’s got a bunch of bells and whistles that are standard now that weren’t 10 years ago when I bought the van.

I don’t name my cars, but if I did, I’d call her JP in honor of my friend Jill who kept Kylie ALL DAY LONG.  I can’t imagine this process with a toddler in tow.

And you might not be able to tell, but yes…yes it DOES have a sunroof! 

Mom and Jenna Day

The Friday after school was out for the summer, I took Jenna out for a mommy daughter day.  She really loves these days and we are trying hard to make sure she isn't overlooked now that Kylie is here.  I decided to take her to downtown Franklin for the day.  We have been down there before, but have never spent any amount of time looking through the stores and stuff.

We did make an early stop for a frozen drink at our favorite coffee shop...

It was a great day and we saw some neat stuff in the antique shops and ate a yummy meal at Mellow Mushroom which is one of our favorite restaurants.

It was a good day and we had fun.  In fact, we had so much fun, we ended up back there later that evening.  But there's more to come on that!

The Best Deal Yet

This past weekend, I scored the best deal for Kylie that I think I ever have.  There is a little kid's consignment store here in our city and both Jenna and I love to shop there.  It seems busy a lot, so I think they'll be around for a while. 

Anyway, I stop in there periodically and buy Kylie and outfit or Jenna something.  I bought a few pair of shoes for Kylie this weekend.  I also bought her a bunch of big lego-ish building blocks.

But this...

...was the best deal.  This is a TMX Tickle Me Elmo.  I had never seen such a thing until I saw one in our nursery area at church.  This thing is hilarious and amazing!  It falls over laughing and rolls over, sits back up etc.  I looked at them when I first saw them in the nursery and I remember seeing they were way too expensive for my budget.

When I came across this one at the consignment shop, I couldn't remember exactly how much it was, but I knew the price on it was a good deal.

If you click here, you can see the price on Amazon.   That's right...$129.  Of course, it's new on Amazon and the one I bought is used.  But you wanna know what I paid for it?

$8.50.

I'm not kidding.  I don't think they knew what they had on their hands, but I sure did!  I put new batteries in Elmo and he's as good as new! 

I figure if Kylie doesn't like him, then I'll take him because I sure do!

Shopping Fun!

Remember I posted a few days ago about the gift card tree my friends from DLES gave me?  Well, last weekend I took the opportunity to go out and have some guilt-free shopping fun!  We had quite a bit of stuff we still needed to pick up for Kylie and this gave us the perfect opportunity!  Steve was busy all day so Jenna and I started about 8:30 on our errands.

Our first stop was to fill up with gas and then on to the Donut Palace for breakfast!  Then I stopped at the bank to order our new bills for China (you have to take new bills for the exchange) and talk to them about wiring money internationally.  Then it was on to the really fun stuff!  Check out the stash!

Let's see...what do we have there?  American Express, WalMart, BabiesRUs, Target, Children's Place, TJ Maxx and even an Applebees gift card!  And I spent EVERY.  SINGLE.  ONE.

Check out what we got...

I had 3 Target gift cards and a 10% off coupon for anything left on the registry.  Here we have some diapers, body wash, toothbrush and paste, puzzle, a pair of jeans for me (I LOVE TJMAXX FOR JEANS!!!!), some more long sleeved onesies, some bath toys and some disposable changing pads.  Not ALL of this came from Target, but lots of it did.

We were running pretty low on baby toys and people don't tend to pick those up...they do more cutesie stuff.  So I got a few things.  I think she will really love these!

With the TJ Maxx gift card, I got Kylie's first Easter dress!!  I was so excited and it was so cheap!

The blue dress is Jenna's Easter dress also from TJ Maxx.  And those jeans up above?  I hate jean buying.  My favorite jeans right now are some off brand skinny jeans that I happened upon at TJ Maxx about a year ago.  I love them SO much they are literally worn out in places.  After finding the two Easter dresses, I randomly passed by the rack of women's jeans and there I found another pair of off brand (different from the first) skinny jeans that fit me perfectly.  If you know how hard it is for me to find jeans that fit, you'd understand the miracle it was for me to find these.  I already packed them for China!  And I hope to visit at least one other TJMaxx to see if I can find more.  And they are 1/2 the price of the jeans I recently bought at Kohls that didn't REALLY fit all that great.  I love TJMaxx.  In fact, I forgot how much I loved it.  But, I digress...

I got two of these....which does basically finish off the items I absolutely need before bringing Kylie home.  I'm glad to have this taken care of!

The last trip of the day was all the way in Murfreesboro, TN to a scrapbooking store to use a Groupon that was about to expire.  Jenna and I both found China scrapbook paper and stickers.  We are both excited.  Now we just need to find the time to sit down and do it!

It was a good, but long day!  And yes, I spent more than all those gift cards, but we have just about everything we need.  I have some long sleeved layering shirts for me coming in the mail hopefully very soon.  Then we also have some other fun things looking to arrive. 

Stay tuned!

Making Progress...

Today I did a little bit of shopping for the trip to China.  I got the men's gifts that I have to take bought.  I have gotten just about all the women's stuff done....just need a few more bags and some tissue paper and that should take care of the gifts.

Kylie's bag is almost packed completely.  I have a few things left to pack in her suitcase and then we are done until it's time to pack our clothes.

I get the question all the time if I am excited.  And of course I am.  But not as excited as most people would be at this point.  I think I have been burned so many times thinking things were moving along just to find out they weren't, that I'm fearful of getting my hopes up.  Tuesday our Article 5 should be picked up and then we'll be waiting on our Travel Approval. 

If you want something to pray about, pray that TA comes in 2-3 weeks.  We REALLY need it to come then if we plan to leave and be gone over spring break.

More to come....

Nothing New Under the Sun

Sorry for the late post today.  I usually blog about stuff the night before and future date the post to post the next morning.

Unfortunately, I'm somewhat out of things to say.  It's been an interesting week at work.  Quiet for me without Katelyn around, but it's good.  I have found some sort of crazy motivation and knocked out just about everything on my to-do list.  I guess that's what knowing you could be traveling in a month does for you.

I have seen on Target.com there is a baby sale going on.  So I think I'm going to go tomorrow at lunch and use the rest of my Target gift cards.  The other car seat we need is on sale as is the baby monitor we picked out. 

There's been no movement on the adoption this week.  Our Article 5 should be picked up on Tuesday and then we'll be waiting on Travel Approval!  People keep asking me if I'm excited and yes, of course, I am but it is still far enough away and enough of it is still up in the air that I really can't get too excited yet.

I guess that's it for tonight.  Sorry there's nothing more exciting going on...hoping to get some birthday pics of Kylie soon...keeping you posted...

BTW-I just learned how to use the spellcheck on blogger.  Dang.  I wonder how many of my prior posts have had spelling errors in them?  I hate this laptop keyboard....

Baby Be Blessed!

Oh my word.  Have you guys seen these?  When I first saw them, I was intrigued.  But I saw they were taking pre-orders in December and I jumped on it.  Early last week, she came...and I am IN LOVE.

This is the Hope doll inspired by Show Hope.  These dolls can have whatever you want written on their bellies below their sweet dress.  Steve and I thought and thought about what scripture we would want on her tummy for Kylie.  Finally, we found what we thought would be perfect...

In case you can't quite see it... "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made! Your works are wonderful and I know this full well" Psalm 139:14.  August 3, 2011 The day we fell in love with you.

I figure for a girl with a visible facial scar, she might need to be reminded that God made her perfectly and wonderfully. 

I love this doll.  She'll be traveling to China with us in a few weeks. (OMG, did I just type WEEKS?!)

Agape Love Boutique!

Oh ya'll...I have been waiting FOREVER to get this little gem in the mail so I could blog about it!  About a month ago, I was over at a blog I frequent daily called "My Overthinking" and the author, Kelly, was doing giveaways.  There were several things I would have loved to have, but there was one that I really had my eye on.

Imagine my surprise and excitement when I read that I had WON the very giveaway that I wanted!  123 entries and I won!  It took some time to figure out what I wanted.  But I finally figured it out and just look...

Maria-Isabel at Agape Love Boutique designs and makes these necklaces (and others) for mom's to recognize not only the children you are currently parenting but also the ones that a mom might have lost to miscarriage, death or placed for adoption.

The nest represents your own nest and you choose your "eggs" for the nest.  For those lost, she places an "egg" outside the nest but still on the chain in order to always remember.  Then hanging off the nest is the wing of the ever present Mama bird.  There are a number of different colors you can choose for your eggs.

I chose purple for Jenna and pink for Kylie.  While I am no longer actively parenting Micah and Chase (because they are grown), I did not feel like they belonged outside my nest.  So, the teal color is for Chase and the cream for Micah.  I am fortunate there are no eggs outside my nest.

I loved wearing my necklace and carrying ALL my children close to my heart.  If you are interested in purchasing this necklace or any of the other very cool jewelry that Maria-Isabel offers, just click here and tell her you found her through my blog!

Ahem. More Hair Things.

In my defense...

There is an awesome group on Facebook that my friend Jill turned me on to.  It's a group just for our little town to buy, sell, or trade.  It's very much like an online yard sale or city specific Craigslist!  As soon as I was accepted to join this group, I found these headbands for even CHEAPER!  Only $.50 each!  I got one for each color she had available!

Other Fun Things

I was turned on to Baby Steals a few months ago when I was on the search for an Ergo for less than the $100+ it typically goes for.  Unfortunately, I never found an Ergo on Baby Steals, but I have found a number of other items!  One thing I recently found was a diaper bag back pack.

It's a Moby and it's really no frills.  But the draw for me is my concern about how me, Jenna and Deanne are going to carry everything in China.  Once we have Kylie, I'll most likely carry her around in my Ergo carrier (ended up finding it on Ebay thanks to my friend Jennifer!) and then of course, I will have my camera bag which will double as my "purse" and then her diaper bag.  I know we can split it up and each carry something, but the thought of carrying all that was definitely giving me pause.  When I saw this, I thought it would be perfect!

It's no nonsense, but roomy and super lightweight.  The outside feels a bit water resistant as well (though it might not be).  I thought it would be perfect.  It lays flat, so I can pack it going over and then we'll have it loaded up coming back but it will double perfectly as a carry on!

I was very pleased with the purchase which was just a little over $20.

More Hair Goodies!

I might have mentioned that I went a little overboard with the hair accessories when we realized Kylie was sporting a Mohawk.  I got the last of my orders this past Friday and I am so excited to show these to you!

These are from Polka Dot Posies and the little clips are sold separately and are interchangeable!  Not just that, but they can be put on other things like these cute little headbands to dress them up!

I have no idea whether Kylie will go for the headbands, but I can't wait to find out!  And the best part?  These items are like $1-$3 each so they are super economical and if one goes missing...well, no big deal!

I just love these sweet things and I hope to get many, many more!!

Hats, Headbands and Bows Oh My!!!

I received some other hair goodies late last week for Kylie to help make her mohawk a bit less obvious!  I did have a thought though...I can't remember if I blogged about this (and yes, I'm too lazy to look), but when we got the most recent pictures of Kylie, she looked so different, I didn't even recognize her at first.  It was pretty devastating to realize I hadn't recognized my own child, but I've gotten over it.  I see her all in the pictures now.  But you know how much babies change and the question crossed my mind as to whether I will recognize her when they bring her to me on Gotcha Day?  I sure hope so!!! 

Anyway, I've started accumulating some cute hair accessories that I hope she will wear.

These are from the Girly Girl Boutique and oh my word!  They have the cutest adoption bows!  If you are adopting, check them out.  I saw Ethiopia bows there too, so it's more than just China!  And the cool thing is proceeds from the adoption line goes to support New Day Foster Home.  These bows are very affordable, so let me give you a closer look...

It's kind of hard to tell, but this is a light pink bow with a darker pink embroidered heart and letter "K" on it. 

"Worth the Wait", dark purple on light purple.  Right?  So cute!  I can't wait to put these bows in her hair!

This is probably my favorite and is definitely going to China with me!  It's dark pink with neon green embroidery.  That is the Chinese character for Love and it's super cute.  I need to learn about how to create better lighting for these shots, but just haven't had time.

This little bow was a sweet "extra".  And it too is definitely going with me to China!  I just can't wait to put these bows on her sweet head!  They are alligator clips with some anti-slip stuff on them (which I had no idea even existed!)

There's more to come, so stay tuned...

The First of Many...

So I might have gotten carried away and ordered a few hair accessories for Kylie after seeing the crazy mohawk she is now sporting.

The first of those accessories showed up Tuesday night.  Check these out...they look SO tiny.  I hope they are big enough for head...they look so small!

They were SO economical!  Because if they hadn't been, I would never have bought them.  I didn't have the slightest idea where to look for something like this because they weren't around when Jenna was born.  So I went out to my favorite online site where all my adoptive friends are, Rumor Queen, and asked the question.  I got tons of responses and this site came up as a favorite.

I think everyone but me have heard of briar claire except for me.  But in case you haven't and you want to get some of these ultra cute hair accessories, you can find her here.  I can't wait to get all the others in.  They should be arriving soon, so stay tuned!

Black Friday

I have always wanted to go out on Black Friday to see what it was like.  But then I never do because I know myself and know better than to do something crazy like that.  So Friday morning I woke up about 7:30am and came downstairs and shopped online instead!  I finished Steve's shopping.  And I finished Jenna's shopping.  I found my nephew something and even bought Kylie a book!

I even uploaded a bunch of pictures I needed developed and got a calendar as a gift for a family member.  I ended up with 333 photos to be developed, which I got 15% off of.  I had a code for free shipping which saved me $20.  Then I had a code which allowed me to get the calendar free!  I spent about $38 for $100 worth of stuff.  Good times.

Friday night, we left the house to get some dinner since we'd had enough of our Thanksgiving leftovers!  We headed into downtown Franklin for some Mellow Mushroom.  Then we went to Kohls to pick up some remaining gifts.  I got $30 in Kohls cash which Steve can use for my Christmas presents!  I also got $20 in coupons for signing up two different emails.  And then I got 15% off the entire order.  Look what I got Kylie...her first two NEW outfits!

Sorry for the bad quality, but I took these with my iPhone.  Finally, I bought a Groupon from Old Navy $20 for $10.  I'll take that out later to pick up some last minute gifts...

So all in all, the day was productive.  And I barely left my couch!

Blessings from Thirty-One

As many of you know, I have made many new friends via online venues who are going through, or have already gone through, adoption.

Recently I met a friend named Anne Little.  When Anne was fundraising in order to bring home her sweet daughter from China, a friend of hers had a Thirty-One party as a fundraiser and it was one of the most successful things she did.

When Anne came home, she wanted to find some way to help adoptive families fundraise.  Quickly enough, she decided selling Thirty One was the way to go.  After meeting Anne online, she offered to throw me a Thirty-One fundraiser party in which she would donate 100% of her profits to me.  She does this for any adoptive family who is interested!  I am stoked that what once was a complete stranger would offer to give up her profits to help us bring Kylie home!

This is absolutely no pressure.  But just a reminder, Christmas is coming VERY soon and there are some SUPER CUTE things that would make great gifts for family members (especially those hard-to-buy-for mother in laws!).

My show starts TODAY.  And it ends on December 9th.  What this means is if you order now, you'll have it in time for Christmas.  Just take a look at this:

I would LOVE to have these to put Jenna's and Kylie's toys in!  Are these not the cutest?  And look at what else I have my eye on...

Oh yes!  I could totally see this in a cutesy pattern in Kylie's room!  They have a bag which can be used as a diaper bag as well.

So, if you are in love with this stuff like I am, then take a look at the PDF of the catalog which you can find here.  For the locals, I have catalogs that I can bring you if you like to flip through catalogs like I do.  When you are ready to order, click here and click on "My Events" where you'll see my party.  When you click on "shop now", you can go and add whatever you want to  your cart.  You can pay online with your credit card.  If you are local and want to save $4 shipping, you can select the option to have your order shipped to me - the hostess - and I'll deliver it to you.  If you prefer not to use your credit card online, you can send me your order (via email or phone) and a check (made payable to me) and I'll place the order for you.

Oh, and before you order, check out these specials:

Yes, that's right...if ou buy $31 in products (shipping and tax excluded), then you can get one of these items for JUST $5:  All In One Organizer, Soft Wallet, Cinch Sac, Zip Up Pencil Pouch or the Flat Iron Case.

$5!

If you buy $62 worth of products, guess what you get?  TWO of the above for $5 each!  So, buy something as a gift, then get yourself a little something!

This is the perfect way for you to avoid the rush on Black Friday, get a super cute gift for someone (maybe yourself) and you help bring Kylie home.

If you have questions, please ask!  Now, go shop!!!









My Amazing Shrinking World

A few weeks ago, I blogged about how adoption has shrunk my world.  In that post, I mentioned Jiayin Designs who sold these cool pendants....

Well, I emailed the lady that runs this website inquiring about ordering one.  They actually customize the pendant with your child's original Chinese name.  After exchanging a few emails, I realized this woman actually writes a blog that I already read!!!  Talk about a small world!

She works with another woman who lives in China and helps on that side of the business.  They also make these super cute dolls...

I haven't ordered one of these beauties yet, but it's on my wish list.  Here's the coolest thing...the profits from these sweet dolls goes to support a woman and her family in Beijing to do the work they've been called to do.  Also, the Jiayin sales employ artisans some of whom have no other sources of income.  What a great way to support those that are trying to make their own way.

Back when I ordered the pendant, I sent my new friend Kylie's Chinese name (Ying Bei) and the Chinese characters.  They also ask you include the meaning if you know it so they are sure to make the right pendant.

As you know, in her referral paperwork, it said Ying means "welcome" and Bei means "baby" and we weren't overly in love with that, so we made her Kylie Liann (Liann taken from her surname of Lian).  Well, the message came back that her name actually means "welcoming the precious one" which I love so much more.  Now, I kind of wish we had worked that in.  We could call her Kylie Liann Yingbei Taylor.  Many families give their children an American and Chinese middle name.  I'm still working on Steve on that idea!!!

But anyway, I finally received the pendant in the mail and oh my...if you are an adoptive parent, you MUST order one of these.  Words do not describe...

I wish I'd gotten a better picture of it.  But I just wanted to get something up.  I have worn it at least 3-5 days a week since I got it.  And someone suggested I give it to Kylie when she turns 16 (or some significant age).  I really think it will be great! 

So, if nothing else, run over there and take a look at their stuff.  It's beautiful stuff!  And if you order, tell them I sent you.  I don't get anything from a sale...just want them to know I like their stuff and want my readers to support them!

Kylie's Room-Almost Done!

Well, Kylie's room is almost complete!  I can't think of anything else we really need to do except maybe get the extra junk out of there.

The room became complete when we acquired a glider.  We knew we wanted a glider and looked into several online, but they were $100 and up.  Then Rachel got a glider donated to her for her yardsale.  I was very interested in it, but it was definitely going to take some recovering of the cushions because they just didn't match the room at all.  I hated to buy it from her without giving her the chance to sell it in the yard sale first.

Much to my disappointment, Jenna called about 1/2 way through the sale to tell me the chair had sold.  That night, I thought about checking Craigslist just to see if I could find anything.

You won't believe it, but I found a chair actually IN our city!  When we saw it, we knew we had to have it because it matched PERFECTLY.

And the best part?  The cost.  $20.  That's good stuff right there!  Rachel got 3x or more for hers at her adoption yard sale which gets her one step closer to bringing her girl home and I am out $20.  Good times.

Chinese Jewelry

On the Saturday of Mother's Day weekend, I got together for lunch at a local tea room with a bunch of other adoptive moms to celebrate our weekend.

I met the sweetest gal there who is waiting to travel to get her sweet son in China.  She had the most lovely necklace on that I totally coveted.  She was kind enough to share with me where she ordered it.

I took it upon myself to totally copy her and ordered myself one!  And I ordered Jenna one too!

The one on the left says "Love".  The one on the right says "Sister".  I also bought Jenna's chain and if you look closely, you can see it's made of little tiny hearts!  I'm totally in love!  If you would like to check these out, you can find them right here.

Build A Bear

Recently, Jenna wanted to make a trip to her all-time favorite place...Build A Bear Workshop.  I made Jenna's first bear for her when she was a tiny infant.  My niece and I took our kids there while we were still on maternity leave.  Since then, I realized Jenna has inherited my childhood affinity for stuffed animals. 

As a child, I had hundred of stuffed animals and if given the choice would choose a stuffed animal over any other kind of toy.  Maybe it's an only child thing?

At any rate, it had been a while since we'd been to BABW and Jenna had really done some things to earn the trip.  So off we went.  When we got there, she wanted to know whether she could get something for Kylie?  How could I refuse!

And you'll never guess what she chose?  The panda bear!  Matching ones for them both!  Hers is a boy named Bamboo.  Kylie's is a girl named Lily Rose.  Here she is getting Kylie's stuffed (soft).

And yes, she's telling the girl that worked there all about our adoption and Kylie.  It was very sweet.  I told Jenna we'd take Lily Rose with us to China.  Lily Rose told me she was really looking forward to it!  :)

New Shoes

Something else that we did this past weekend...

If you'll remember, a few years ago I completed a 1/2 marathon.  Part of the after-effects of that marathon was I lost part of both my big toenails.  They didn't come completely off...just died and then grew out.  I thought that was the end of it until a few months ago, I finally took all my nail polish off myself (after many months of pedicures) and noticed part of my big toenails was dead again.  I did a 5k in December and thought maybe that was when it happened, but I wasn't sure why it kept happening.

So I decided to go to a local Athletics shop (Fleet Feet) and be measured to be sure I was in the right size shoe etc.  I have always gotten a horrible back ache when I am on my feet too long.  Anyway, the folks at Fleet Feet will actually watch you walk and fit you with the right size shoe etc.

Tracey helped me when I went in and told me to take my socks and shoes off and roll my pants up so she could watch me walk.  She told me something I wasn't too surprised to hear.  My arch collapses when I walk.  What she did tell me that surprised the heck out of me was that I need a full size and 1/2 BIGGER than what I was in.  For the longest, I wore a 6 1/2 shoe.  After Jenna, I grew into a size 7.  On rare occasions, I wears a 7 1/2.  She put me in an 8 1/2.  And she said I was a AA which is extremely narrow.  When I was a kid, I was always hard to fit because of my narrow feet, but I thought I'd gotten more average.  I ended up paying more than I've ever paid for a shoe, but they should last me a good long time.

You might be wondering why all of a sudden the interest in new running/walking shoes.  Well, at Jenna's school, they are training for the kids marathon for the Country Music Marathon.  While Jenna isn't doing the actual marathon, she is training 2x a week with her friends from school.  So, in an effort to participate in something with her as well as trying to get healthier myself, I thought the first step would be new shoes.  I'd like to do the Couch to 5k program using the app.  We'll see though.

After I got fitted and bought new shoes, I thought it might be good to have Jenna fitted if she was going to be running this kids marathon.  Nothing surprising came from her fitting though.  She doesn't have the collapsing arches like me.  She does have one foot about 1/2 size bigger than the other, but I've known that since she was little and apparently, it's fairly common.  They did size her up by 1 size, but by that time, I was expecting it.

Here are our somewhat matching shoes.

We were outside playing frisbee, but let's hope that's just the beginning of where these shoes will take us!