Friday, October 23, 2009

Congrats Ramona and Linc

Ramona and Linc got word they had a court date and passed - they are now officially P & M's parents and a family of 6!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They have a private blog but I wanted to give them my congrats because Ramona has been a great friend during this crazy ride :)

And we all need great friends to help us get thru this.

CONGRATULATIONS FAMILY OF 6!

4:42 A.M...

...is the time it was when I woke up this morning.

Wondering.... worrying...running thru the different scenarios in my head...

When will this end?

What if this happens?

Or that happens?

When we will hear anything ?

Willing myself to stay positive...

I am tired.

I need some sleep.

I would like to get that sleep now because I know it might be lacking a bit once he comes home.

Doesn't seem like it's going to happen....

4:42 A.M.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Congratulations to Steph and Hazel!

Congratulations seem to be the order of the day...big news on the referral and court front this week.

The ever-so-lovely Steph and her family have a new addition - a beautiful 4 year old daughter...go wish them well.

My dear, sweet friend Hazel also got the best news today too....

She is officially Biset's mommy!!!! Yahooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! She passed court!Ya better give her soome love too!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!

I love good news :)

Congratulations Lyndsey and Kevin!

Who got a referral yesterday....after waiting a really, really, really, really long time!

Go HERE now and say CONGRATULATIONS!

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Canadian Police Chase in Winter

O.k. so this is a commercial for Midas - for those of you who read my blog and don't know what a real Canadian winter is like - this is a funny representation!

And yes, we do change our tires out from summer tires to winter tires up here!

We also have to plug our cars in when it gets really cold to be sure the engine etc. doesn't freeze!

and for those of you who live in Canada and get it - well -it will make you giggle!

Ha, ha ha...wait - why do I live here again?

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Fall Blues

Fall has descended or rather, I should say, left the building altogether.

It tried but winter was in a hurry and decided to come early. Early enough that we didn't even get to enjoy the beauty of fall as the leaves turn from green to golden hues and warm, red tones.

I love fall! It is my favourite time of year - going for long walks in the neighbourhood with Yvan and the dogs. Watching the darkness creep up and the light from the homes on our street glowing as the day gives way to the night.

We haven't been able to take our dogs for walks in the evening because it is too cold for their little Chihuahua feet and really, it is too cold for me too even though this is just the beginning of winter.

I was talking to a friend today and we were commiserating with one another about how long this winter will be if we are already into the cold, snowy weather and it is only the middle of October. This is only made worse by the fact we had probably one of the coldest and rainiest summers on record.

At least even in the summer you can get out, see friends, barbecue and keep busy.

Here where we live, once winter hits it is much harder to get out, socialize, and just plain keep yourself busy.

Winter gives you the luxury (take note of the sarcasm here please) of staying inside and cuddling under a blanket watching people bundled up against the cold as they rush past our house to some unknown destination.

Where are they going anyways when they could just stay inside?

It is the time of year when people are done with summer holidays and back to work and life as they know it. You see people less because honestly, here where we live, you just don't want to go outside if you don't have to.

Because of the sudden onslaught from winter and the missed opportunity to enjoy fall, I find myself feeling particularly sad.

I was hoping winter would come later so I could keep my mind off the wait for a court date but Mother Nature is not cooperating very well and let's be honest - neither are the courts in Ethiopia which just opened Monday instead of a week earlier.

I foolishly believed this part of the wait would be easy. I thought the wait to referral was so emotionally draining it really couldn't get much worse.

I was wrong, it is worse.

But in an entirely different way. We have seen the beautiful, brown eyes of our son and heard him laugh, coo and even burp thanks to some wonderful people who brought us back video of our wee boy. We can't even put into words how much we appreciate them for doing this for us.

We are missing so much with him - I want to hold him, hug and kiss him. Be the one to feed, change and cuddle him to sleep.

An intense longing has set in and it feels as though a part of me is missing. We haven't yet met him, but we know he is ours and meant to be part of our family.

We are starting to get ready to get the nursery ready - just starting with other things in order to be able to get the room done but we won't be sharing photos of the nursery until after court so you will have to be patient. But it just seems as if it will be a long time before he is home sleeping in his room.

I have some good friends who have been waiting 5 and 6 months since referral for a court date and they are so inspiring to me. They are kind and gracious and listen to me ramble about how hard I am finding this torturous wait even though they have been waiting longer. I know they are feeling it even more intensely than I am.

I wanted fall and winter to go by quickly so we could bring baby home but that didn't mean I wanted winter to come so early. Because all winter coming early will do is make the wait seem even longer.

Waiting for our son to come home, to be snuggled up in our house with us, is hard.

The hardest thing I have ever done.

So if you live where I live and you feel the same and need some company to help pass the time, give me a call I could use a hug and a visit over a cup of Chai tea!

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

AAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!

That is how I am feeling today!

Did courts open? Or are they closed for another week?

If they are open has anyone gotten court dates yet?

AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Um, ya referral high has definitely crash landed into anxiety about getting our wee boy home!

NOW!!!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

This is it....Celebrity Sighting!!!!

Ha! Hilarious! I was wondering how you would all take me postponing the "celebrity sighting"!

Had to make you squirm a little :)

No Rhonda, it wasn't Jerry Springer - I wouldn't even post if I had seen him...I would have run the other way!

Sarah was right!

After having spent the day walking over the Brooklyn bridge and back and then thru Chinatown and Little Italy we wandered into Soho.

Now you should know that these areas are all fairly close together - Manhattan is smaller than you think geographically because it is built upwards. Skyscrapers are abundant and this is where everyone lives - up in the sky or in brownstones.

We had just stopped for a coffee/tea break and then headed out to roam some more. We stopped at the APPLE store (Travellers Tip - if you are in a city that has an APPLE store this is a good place to stop, if it is convenient, to check email, blogs, message boards or whatever for free. All their computers have Internet access)

But I digress - we had just left the store and were wandering around thinking about where we would eat for supper when we came across a plethora (that's right a plethora) of black suburbany type vehicles and trailers as well as a large crowd of people.

Well, being the curious types we are we decided to see what was up and being the shy person I am, I walked right up to someone and said "What's going on? Why is everyone standing around?"

They said "Sarah Jessica Parker is in the trailer. They are filming Sex and the City 2 and we are all waiting for her to come back out."

"Reeeeeaaaaaally!!!!!" I say and whip my camera out faster than you can say "Boo". I love Sex and the City, and my sis-in-law loves it even more so I knew I had to get some photos if I could.

We stood there for about 15 minutes and were just about to leave when a commotion happens down the block and…...

Cynthia Nixon a.k.a Miranda Hobbes walks by

She wasn't very smiley or pleased to see the fans it seems.


We wait a little longer and are kept amused by the waiting crowd. Every so often someone comes out of the trailer and the crowd goes "oooooooooooooh" and when it isn't Sarah they all would go "aaaaaaawwwwwwwww!"

Too funny!

Then she did come out - and she was lovely taking the time to say "Hi" and wave to everyone and pose for a couple of photos. Then she left to go to set and the crowd swarmed after her so we followed the crowd because they amused us.

Sarah Jessica Parker a.k.a Carrie Bradshaw

Right around the corner is where they are filming a scene for the new movie. So we hung for a bit with the rest of the folks...and....

Kristin Davis a.k.a Charlotte York strolls by with her bodyguard.



Next up Kim Catrall a.k.a Samantha Jones arrives.

Let me tell you...the women in the crowd ( and it was mostly women) squealed with excitement when she came by...actually squealed!




The Paparazzi snapping the celebs! Don't they seem pleased with themselves.

We thought we might stay for a while to watch a scene being filmed but they shooed us away like little flies! Oh and we happened to talk to a fellow who lived in the area and he asked us what was going on. When we told him he said "oh $%^@, I am so annoyed by those girls...I mean they bring good business to the city but how would you like it if your street was constantly being shut down for shooting and you had tourists and paparazzi hanging outside of your apartment all day!"

Point taken! We did make sure to tell him we had just stumbled across this and it wasn't the reason we had come to New York...seemed to make him happier and he wished a pleasant time in NY.

New Yorkers, you gotta love 'em. They are definitely honest!

P.S. If you click on the pictures they as Cinn says "Embiggen"