Back Online!

My laptop died around Thanksgiving - thereby depriving me of all my holiday Ebay earnings!- and it's taken some time to resolve issues and get back online. Here's a brief update on things you missed over the past 3+ weeks.
Kim and Corey had successful performances in the Slippers and Mask dance recitals and the Holiday Choir (Corey) and we are now free of rehearsals! I opted out of the expensive photos and DVDs of the performances so I don't have any pictures to post- sorry. Frankly I didn't really get the dance recital anyway and am glad that BASKETBALL is starting again. That's more my speed. Kim is on the Ventura Youth Basketball Association team the Magic and Corey is on the Nuggets. Practice has begun and the first game is January 9th. The season is January-March.
In April Kim is off to D.C. (assuming we can raise the $) with her middle school group and in May it's back to basketball with the Wildcats clinic.
Parent teacher conferences were held over the past few weeks and Kim (top 5 of her class) and Corey are both doing well. Alia and Eli continue to struggle a bit and really need more academic support.

The kids are looking forward to Christmas (and I am enjoying NOT having a white Christmas).

More Teeth Falling Than Leaves Around Here

Last week while heading down to Santa Monica to visit my brother, both Alia and Kim (after a certain amount of competitive wiggling) lost a tooth. Yesterday both Alia and Corey lost a tooth. Since Alia had lost a tooth about 3 weeks ago as well we have as may lost teeth as falling leaves around here!
Alia was having fun singing "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth" - after confiding to me that she really wants a nintendo ds. Eli is conflicted about whether to feel left out as the only person who hasn't lost a tooth, or to be happy about it after seeing the bloody teeth his sisters bagged for the tooth fairy.

Family Visit

Yesterday, Halloween, we went down to Santa Monica and met up with my brother and his girlfriend who is attending law school at UCLA and explored the Pier. It's a fun place- just celebrating a life of 100 years- and a mix of the old (carousel) and the new, the pure entertainment (arcade and rides) and the educational (aquarium). The kids enjoyed having two fun adults who were happy to indulge them in games of air hockey and other games. Couldn't afford the rides (and no adult really wanted to get on a roller coaster anyway) so maybe we'll return some day and try out a few more things. The kids liked the arcade (Kim played basketball games and guitar hero, Eli sat on all the car and motorcycle games even though his feet couldn't reach any pedals, Corey challenged uncle Mike to games and Alia watched everyone else) and we all enjoyed the aquarium and each other's company. Here's thew view from the Pier- it was a beautiful sunny day. Those tents are the Cirque de Soleil tents.

My Artist

My kids are artistic. They come by it completely naturally of course as it runs in the family ;-). My mom was artistic and creative in so many ways, both of my brothers are artists- one in metal, the other in ink and my sister is a well-known artist whose paintings have won many competitions. In fact I was the only kid who didn't inherit any artistic talent! Maybe I was really adopted. Just kidding. Anyway- Kim has become quite the artist and I want to take a minute to showcase a few of her recent drawings. As you can see she's influenced by the Japanese Animee /Manga tradition.

School Pix

Here are the 2009 School Photos- not the best but good portraits are hard I find. Corey just turned 9 and is in 4th grade, Eli is 6 and in kindergarten.Alia is 6 and is in 1st grade and Kim will be 12 in a week (!) and is in 7th grade! She looks younger in her photo this year- perhaps because her hair isn't pulled back the way she usually wears it.

Orphan Sunday

I hope some of you will check this out;

http://www.orphansunday.org/

Maybe there's an event near you. There's one near us and we intend to go.

Flu

We have all succumbed to the flu. I don't know which version- all the CDC website says is the symptoms are pretty much the same and if you get one or the other you should just stay home and keep from infecting other people. So we've been staying home for the past 4 days! I wish I could say we're on the mend but it's an odd thing- you feel a bit better and the fever goes down and then, Wham! You spike a 103 temp and start coughing up a lung. Needless to say it's not fun nursing 4 sick kids when you are sick as well!

We got our first rainstorm of the season these past two days- making it easier to convince kids to hunker down and stay cozy. Nice to not have to be out and about in it!

Eli

Eli is back in kindergarten this year. We switched from the Open Classroom to the traditional public school (on the same campus) for both Eli and Alia as it seemed both would benefit from a little more structure in their classroom. In addition to class, Eli has speech therapy and, recently, a one-hour post school intervention class to work on letter recognition. On Thursday his teacher phoned me, and after assuring me (in response to my query) that nothing was wrong, she told me that she was calling to brag about how well Eli was doing! In a week he had gone from being able to recognize and write 3 letters (yep, that would be E, L and I) to knowing 19- lower and uppercase!

I wonder if he would have done as well if he'd been in the traditional program last year or if he just needed that extra year to socialize and grow a bit more. Everyone who knows him now is convinced that he is a smart kid!

Back to School

Yesterday was the first day of school and Kim and Corey returned to the open classroom in grades 7 and 4 and Alia and Eli started in the traditional side of the school in grades 1 and K (Eli is repeating). I think the little kids will do better in their classes this year- they both need some routine and structure to do their best learning. All the kids got new teachers this year because we lost some of the Open Classroom teachers to budget cuts so it's a transition for all! Still we are all happy that school has started and the "I'm bored" litany will stop! I think an 8 week summer would be long enough!

No first day of school pix because my digital camera died and I haven't replaced it yet but they were all their mis-matched, happy selves.

Champions

Kim's team, the Pumas, won the Wildcat League Championships last Saturday! Here's a team picture taken earlier in the year- Kim is 3rd from the right. The last game was a real nail biter during the first half but our team took control during the 2nd and we won 37-22! It's been a fantastic experience for Kim and all of our family. We lucked out and had the best coach in the league - he has a wonderful way of working with the girls- very positive. He even gave Corey some tips and she will be starting playing basketball at the Y this fall while Kim goes on to the play in the Ventura Youth Basketball Association.

School starts next week- not a minute too soon for both me and the the kids! Eli will repeat kindergarten in the traditional side of our school and Alia will move to that side for 1st grade. Kim and Corey continue at the Open Classroom- both with new teachers (OC lost 3 teachers this year- 2 new ones to layoffs and one to a transfer) so we'll have new teachers all around.

Summer

Summer has been camping, basketball, swimming, playgrounds and the library reading program! Just under 4 weeks left. With the new school year we will be looking at a few other changes- all good I'm sure! Stay tuned for updates!

Kim's basketball team, the Pumas, is in 2nd place as the regular summer season ends and the championship series begins! Three weeks from Saturday is the last championship game which will be televised locally. Kim has gotten a lot of playing time the past few games and we are hoping the Pumas will go all the way to that final game!

Camping Pix

Here are a few photos from our camping trip- we had a nice campsite at Lake Casitas- easy access to the lake (no swimming since it is a drinking water reservoir - why are bodies worse than fish and boats?) and a playground. It was hot so we enjoyed the waterpark and even rented a tandem bicycle (last time for me- who knew how much work that would be!). And of course cooked in the great outdoors and roasted marshmallows!

Camping!

It's summer so what better thing to do than go camping? We are off to a local lake - Lake Casitas for a week starting the Monday after the 4th. In addition to the regular camping facilities they have a waterpark, fishing, bicycle rentals and ranger talks. Now I'm more of a bed and breakfast sort of vacationer but when you have 4 kids you sometimes have to economize a bit. So it's tents and cooking over the open flame for a week. I think Eli and Corey will enjoy themselves- Eli because he's such a little heathen and Corey because she's adventurous.

In other news Kim's basketball team has won another game making them 3-1 and in 2nd place in the standings! Looks like we'll make it to the playoffs in August.

New Window

We have a new window in the van! A very nice friend from church generously fixed it for us tonight and we are now secure again. Although having had a window smashed in I'm not as convinced that cars are all that secure! Regardless I'm thrilled to have the window and very grateful to know someone talented enough to fix it for us!

Summer Fun

We were at Big Lots the other day picking up some bargains on snacks and came across a hair highlighting kit for dark brown / black hair. So now we all have highlights! Even Eli. Just some fun for the summer. It came out best on Alia.

School's Out!

So we headed to Golf N Stuff with the passes Jean sent us for Christmas and a friend of Kim's. Of course the go cart /race cars HAD to be the first stop! There was no way Eli was going to wander around a golf course when there were race cars right there! No pictures from that because I was driving and those things do not have power steering! Here are some photos of the other events.

Moving!

The time has come to move (again - sigh). Our house in Colorado sold - with the bank's help- but after paying the bank, realtor, and closing costs we were left with a small debt rather than any profit. We won't be purchasing the house we are leasing and the owners would like to be able to sell it so we are packing up.

We are still looking at options for our next abode and hoping to raise some money for the move through yard sales and my Ebay listings. I'm making a big push there- lots of electic things to be listed! We are drastically reducing our belongings (again). This no longer bothers me because I know how easy it is to acquire more and more stuff regardless of one's resolution to simplify!

Stay tuned for the next chapter in our roller coaster life!

Movie

Clip from Kim's latest Wildcat Basketball game. Appologies for the quality- I need a better camera! Kim is #4 in the blue uniform.

More Bball

Kim finished the YMCA spring basketball league last night. Now we'll just concentrate on Wildcat ball! Here's her YMCA photo.

Families

Clearly I'm not in the position to provide a home for any more kids (unless I win the lottery). But maybe some of you reading this are in that position! I suspect the current economic situation may lead to more broken families and kids who need a family. At Kim's recent basketball game I met one of her team mate's parents- and found out that they had adopted 3 kids - all domestically. If you are interested in learning more about domestic adoption check out Wednesday's Child Website -
http://adopt.org/servlet/page?_pageid=289&_dad=portal30&_schema=PORTAL30
there are lots of kids who will thank you!

Air Conditioning

Went out to take the kids to school this morning and discovered we no longer need to worry about the non-functioning AC in the car! Someone has ensured that we'll have plenty of fresh air!

They pried open a back window spraying glass everywhere (even on top of the car) and ransacked the car, stealing my GPS unit and gas money ($20 I keep in the glove compartment for emergencies). They popped open the part of the dash with the radio and ripped it out but only took the faceplate and left the body behind! They didn't get the DVD player- not sure if they didn't see it or couldn't get it out (it's below the temp controls in this photo).

It's the smallest of straws some times that just flatten you.

Gotta Brag!

Kim played her first game with the Wildcats today - her team won! And won handily! Here's the report from the Wildcats website:

Pumas: 32 points in just two quarters . . .

PumasSSSSizzle 44-26 May 30, 2009

The Dole Foods Lions have been at the top of the Wildcat League for years and they were ready for their season opener against the East Ventura Optimists Pumas. With three experienced Fusion Blue travel ball players, the Lions posted a 12-2 run in the first quarter. Aubri Smith eight of those points.

Then, Kim Cagle ignited the Pumas when she struck from just inside the free throw line and the Pumas blazed the court for 17 consecutive points and an 11 point halftime lead. Fifth-grader Clarissa Magallon had 10 points in that run.

The Pumas followed that with a 12-0 run in the third before the Lions once again found their range and staged a courageous comeback but could not close the margin to single digits.
Natalie Smith of the Pumas led all scorers with 18 points, including four three-pointers. Magallon added 12 and Jennifer Orozco eight, all of them in the second half.

The Lions were led by crafty Aubri Smith who had 16 acrobatic points and six steals. Jasmine Watkins and Alliea Jordan each had five points. All three are also Fusion Blue travel ball players.

The Pumas were whistled for 20 fouls; the Lions just five.
The Pumas tallied 32 points in just the second and third quarters.

And mom says ...Oh Yeah, Oh Yeah, Oh Yeah!!

Oh- and the local newspaper photographer was there as well - gotta check tomorrow's edition :-)

Eli

Today I took Eli to the doctor. We went because the school felt he was behind on his vaccinations. And so he was and poor baby, he got 3 shots! But the doctor also heard what may be a mitral valve heart murmur so we have a referral to a pediatric cardiologist. And the lung issue might be pulmonary hypertension so after the heart tests we'll be heading to some lung specialist. First we have to get all his old records transferred so the specialists know what we are up against.

Here's the good news - he's gained 6 pounds and grown almost 3 inches since we arrived in California after staying at 28 lbs for the entire time we were in Colorado!

The Real Mom

Today Eli came into my room and told me emphatically, "You're the Real Mom." Naturally as a real but also adoptive mom, I immediately assumed someone at school had made a remark about the legitimacy of our relationship. I prepared myself for one of those delicate talks and asked, "How do you know that Eli?" He replied, "Because you wear the Mom shoes!" I laughed and said "I just can't fool you can I?" "Nope," he said, "You da real mom!"

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

What's New?

I can't believe that school is almost over! And I haven't yet figured out what to do with the kids for the summer! Summer camp for 4 kids runs between $4,500 and $6,000 around here. Being under employed makes it harder in some ways since the camps tend to be all-day and I need care in the mornings but not afternoon. Well, we'll worry about that next month!

Next year Kim and Corey will return to the Open Classroom in grades 7 and 4 respectively. Alia and Eli will move to the traditional classrooms at Blanche Reynolds- Alia will move on to 1st grade and Eli will repeat Kindergarten. I think both of them will do better in that more structured environment. Eli because he needs the discipline and Alia because she's more comfortable with a set routine.

Kim has gotten a spot in the Wildcats basketball league- she's on the Pumas team. This is much more serious than the YMCA spring league with twice weekly practices and weekly games. Check out the Wildcats at: http://www.venturawildcats.com/taxonomy_menu/5 - they have a great website and as the season progresses you'll be able to see Kim's progress as well.

I've started taking some classes at night when I can fit them in around Kim's practices- trying to retool for another career, or rather an additional job at least.

We will likely be moving in the next month or so and I'm spending some of my extra time sorting through things and getting ready for a yard sale or two. The first one will be this weekend.

We will also likely be leaving our church- something I'm very sad about. Our beloved pastor has been transferred and we are no longer comfortable with the church leadership, their methods and agenda. It doesn't surprise me but it saddens me that even church is so political. Where we end up might be tied to where we end up living.

I am liking

being a mom of a 'tween'. I think this age 10, 11, 12, is so great. Kim is just blossoming! Yes, she has the odd teen attitude and she wants to sleep forever in the morning but it's a neat time in a girl's life. She's so smart and capable and kind and compassionate right now. She's excited about basketball, good at her schoolwork, interested in boys but not to the exclusion of other interests, helpful around the house, trying out her own style, ... just a neat young woman. If you can call an 11 year old a woman! I'd love to have more time to spend with her alone- maybe a mom and me holiday/spa day. That's tough though with all the other kids. And of course they all need time alone with me as well. And they all have their neat aspects as well- Corey is so enthusiastic, meeting life's challenges head on with panache. And Eli is so inquisitive and friendly, Alia smart and beautiful but so insecure and reserved. They all need so much.

Oh My!

Very dramatic times around here! Santa Barbara- about 28 miles to the north of us and my home for over 25 years- is threatened, nay attacked, by a large out of control wildfire that started a few days ago. It looked like it would be contained but then as the firefighters said "all hell broke loose!" and now over 75 homes have been destroyed. We are safely to the south- the impact to us is a minor degradation of air quality and concern over friends who live in SB. Google Jesusita fire for pictures and current info.

We had our share of much more contained excitement today when a 4.2 earthquake struck not far from us. No damage- just a strong jolt that got every one's attention!

Other than that the weather is nice and warm and sunny and we have a weekend ahead of us!

The First Athlete

in our family! Kim is proving to be quite the basketball player. She's taking part in the Y's Spring Basketball League where she's the only girl on the team. She had started playing basketball during recess at school this year and a few months ago took a class at the Y. She's really developing her skill quickly. I can't wait to see her playing in high school!

A Camping We Will Go

Between school and church we have several campouts scheduled in the next month. We used to have a nice big 3 room tent but we lent it to the same friend who recommended the renter for our Fort Collins house and after asking several times for its return we consider it a lost cause. So today I was at the flea market/warehouse sale where I pick up things for Ebay and I scored this nice tent for $15. Now we have two of these smaller tents which should be able to house us decently on camping trips. The kids are going to try it out tonight in the yard.

I also scored a lot of nice kids' books so if you need to add to your library check out my Ebay listings!

Quirks

Corey, whose spelling is atrocious, also has a quirk about words. Her latest- refering to the parent luncheon tomorrow is to call it a parent lunch-out! I guess she hears lunch-in and twists it around!

More Pix

The spring photos came back from school last week. At $40 per package and 4 kids, I just returned them. Today the school secretary handed me a package- all the photos! They gave them to us without charge (a 'scholarship'). How nice was that? Especially since Eli did not get a school photo in fall (still not sure how that happened as he was there that day).

Family Portrait

We had our photos taken for our church directory. In addition to the 'free' (plus $15 shipping and handling fee) 8x10, we got a 2nd 8x10. It's been some time since we had a family portrait done and I hope the kids will cherish it some day. Naturally getting 4 kids and one tired mom to smile together is tough - so this is what we ended up with! The one for the church directory has Eli looking mischievous and Kim looking a bit more Madonna like. I guess that's representative of both of them.

Spring Cleaning

As part of our downsizing and spring cleaning I've had the kids go through both their closets and their bookshelves (toy boxes are next) to weed out things they no longer want. I'm listing both books and clothes (some) on Ebay and we have a big box of things to donate. I was surprised at how many duplicate children's books we had - some adoption/Chinese related as we might already own one and then be given one as a gift, but also other books. I think it's a result of me buying bulk collections on Ebay!

As for me, I'm tackling paper which is a much more laborious task than clothing. I cannot believe how much paper I've dragged around with me through multiple moves. Back in the days before internet I used to clip magazine articles on things that interested me so I had file after file titled things like alternative medicine, herbs, politics, headaches, animals, people (mostly stuff about Harrison Ford, but I had coverage of Princess Diana's wedding too- oh my that was long ago and the person that collected those things isn't the same anymore). In the interest of time I just chucked it all into the recycling bin without leafing through each folder. I need to buy a new shredder (mine mysteriously disappeared from our house) and clean out all the old files with financial/personal information in them as well.

Moving, if done right, really is a good curb on packrat tendencies! If you don't sort and toss during packing, you do upon unpacking. Better the former though otherwise you'll regret the time and money spent packing and moving what is essentially rubbish!

Insanity

We are going to host a sleep over tomorrow. Three girls- ages 6, 9 and 12. So tomorrow night there will be 7 children in this house with me. Saturday morning I'm sure I will be checking into the closest padded cell! Eli might want the cell next to mine- or maybe not.

Artists

I have a number of artists in my family. My mom, both brothers and my sister (check out the link to Sleepy Cat Studio) are all artists. Like music this is a talent that skipped me, but I'm happy to say seems to have been passed on to my daughter Kim! She's obviously influenced by the anime/manga art that is everywhere these days (at least I hope that's the influence and it wasn't those awful Bratz dolls with the big heads).

This one is a self-portrait.

Back to Square 1

So, turns out our 'renter' caused more damage than we thought- stove no longer works, sprinklers weren't winterized and there is water pipe damage, there's a leak the basement... and our buyer cancelled. We will lower the price and add these things into the disclosure and probably the bank and realtors will get their money but none will come to us. That's providing we get another buyer before the house goes to the bank.

More Ebay

I'll be listing more things on Ebay- trying to pare down the stuff and bump up the bank account! Please check them out and pass the word on. I'll be including some China stuff.

Lots more added recently- quite an eclectic mix of things. Please check them out and let friends know. Thanks!

the latest

Here is Kim in the play put on by the middle school students. It was written by the drama coach and her husband and was a play within a play- showing an acting group trying to put on Macbeth with a fussy artistic Hollywood director and a penny pinching producer who made her wealth producing cheap furniture (played by Kim). The jokes were a bit over the little kids heads but the whole production was very nicely done. Kim shone in her role.

After the play the actors answered the kids' questions about putting on a play. We weren't able to attend the evening show but friends went to support Kim (and bring her home). I'm happy she has creative outlets and friends at school.

Offer on the House

We've had an offer (well, 2 actually) on the house and countered the best and it was accepted. We are now under contract. In 3 to 4 weeks the bank will get its money, the Realtors will get theirs, I'll have some left to pay other debts and tithe to our church and life will go on. What a long road this has been.

Kim

My oldest, Kim, is a really cool kid. She's moving out in ways I didn't expect- like BASKETBALL! She's really taken to the game and is an aggressive player. Who knew? I was a big basketball fan as a kid- my dad used to take me to Indiana University games when Bobbie Knight was coach (I still have signed programs among my souvenirs). I never played- we didn't have girl's basketball when I was in school and I flunked cheerleading by incurring injuries before try-outs (a broken arm in 5th grade and a split knee that needed stitches in Jr. high- after that I became a yearbook photographer and still got to go to the games). She plays at school and has been taking a class at the YMCA - one of our luxuries. She'll be in the Spring league at the Y starting in April. And we have a great friend who is happy to come get Kim and shoot baskets with her.

And she's in a play at school- Macbeth with a Twist. Her director is really proud of the way she's come out of her shell and just owns the part. They have been doing rehearsals for weeks and the big show is next week. They have a few day shows for the school kids and one evening show- they've been doing make up, sets and costumes- it's quite the production. I volunteer at school on Wednesday so will get the preview when they do the show for the little kids. We're inviting friends for the evening show.

Court

Today was the hearing for damages owed me by the squatter who inhabited my house and drove it into foreclosure. The judgment was in my favor. The defendant, when asked by my attorney where he lived at the moment tried to take the 5th amendment! Then he claimed he didn't know his address. He 'works for himself but doesn't have any work at the moment.' What do you think the chances are that I'll ever get any of the money he owes?

Refrigerator Magnets

I believe, if you can separate the gold from the dross, our refrigerator magnets say something about us. I came across a ziplock bag full of magnets when I was unpacking the things from our old house and one of the things they say about me is that I don't easily part with things. I believe some of these -OK, I KNOW- some of these date from my grad school days! And that would be in the umpph days. Sorry, frog in my throat. Of course you have to weed out the magnets that belong to the kids to get the true picture- the dog mouthed lower case abc letters are not mine, nor are the Cinderella dress up magnet or the Cars movie magnets. No, mine say things like "A CLEAN HOUSE IS A SIGN OF A WASTED LIFE" or "Oh, oh, a full moon and worse yet a giant Mr Potato Head!" Yeah that last one is from grad school. Others from that era include retro cartoon women saying things like "If they can put one man on the moon, why not all of them?" and "Oh no, I can't believe I forgot to have kids!"

Then I have the big square Chinese characters for happiness and strength, the Marvin the Martian saying "Oh, you have made me very angry, very angry indeed!" and in the same vein a rectangular black magnet with white letters that says "DON'T MAKE ME COME DOWN THERE - GOD". All of those post date having kids as does the one that says "BE NICE OR LEAVE, THANK YOU." Funny how I went from whimsical to worried about manners.

What's on your refrigerator?

Loads of Kid's books!

Check out my Ebay listings if you want to enlarge your kids library! We are parting with much of our library- which had close to 1000 kids books at one time. All part of the downsizing. The kids aren't the only ones giving things up- I'm finally letting go off all my books collected during graduate school (those are a bit more specialized- British history and archaeology).

Introductions Pt. 2 - No breaks!

We are a California family. We've recently returned to California from a brief and unsuccessful sojourn in Colorado where we'd hoped to find a better (less expensive/more space) quality of life. We left California at the height of the real estate boom and returned in the midst of the downturn. Prior to our unhappy wild west adventure we lived here in Ventura, California and when things didn't work out in Colorado we came home.

If you've followed us from my earlier blog you'll know we are undergoing some difficulties due to our Colorado house being rented to someone who wouldn't pay rent or move out. Legal action and a sheriff's deputy finally got him out last month and we have a hearing for damages this week. Unfortunately it is too late and the bank is foreclosing on the house. So it's a race against time to sell it before the bank takes possession. As well we are victims of the downturn in the economy so the oft heard theme of 'times are tough/money is tight' has a personal ring for us. My Ebay side business brings in a little extra and we are cutting back on optional expenses like cable tv. We've long since given up on eating out, movies, and other costly entertainments. Some expenses still arise, unplanned and unavoidable. Today it was the brakes on the mini-van which have been groaning at every stop for some time and are at the point of just failing to stop. The auto shop says we need rear and front brakes at a cost of $800. Time to see what else I can put on Ebay!

Gadgets

When I started blogging Google didn't have all the little neat gadgets that they do now- check out the one at the bottom of the page. I'll change it every so often so check back. Frankly the hangman game I've got there now is stumping me!

Domestic Adoption - In China

Interesting article:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123683410215005161.html

Introductions

You probably already know us- if you've followed us from our old blog- but if you've stumbled on us lately here's a little background. I'm a (er, older) single mom with four children, all from China. I was very lucky, though I didn't know it at the time, to go into China adoption at the right time. I submitted my first paperwork in 1997 with CCAI and adopted my oldest (Kim) in 1998. We were a great little unit of mom and daughter and then I started to feel that Kim would benefit from a sister- someone from the same background. One mom and one daughter was a small family- especially when my 3 siblings didn't have children so there were no cousins to play with. So I submitted new paperwork in 2000- the same year my mother was tragically killed while conducting census data collection for Census 2000. In our last conversation she said she was glad I was getting Kim a sister. Sadly Kim was the only one of my children she met. I brought Corey home in January 2002 at 15 months of age.

Her arrival did not go as smoothly as I'd hoped. Although a non-special needs adoption she was very sick in China and (we found out much later) had a 40% hearing loss in both ears that hindered her language development. She hated me and Kim on sight and, the opposite of Kim, was a strong willed and loud child. Still, eventually we got her medical issues dealt with (I think she had at least 4 surgeries to deal with the hearing loss) and spent 2 years in speech therapy and she grew hair and emerged a smart, beautiful, outgoing and talkative child.

And life was going along smoothly with two beautiful girls and then I got a nice raise and thought- hmm, what can I do with this extra $10,000? And having totally forgot what chaos Corey had thrown our household into, I decided to take a look at yet another adoption.

I found Alia on a special needs list with IAAP (I totally recommend this agency by the way). She had a heart defect. She was an exquisitely beautiful girl and I felt blessed to be chosen as her mom. I traveled alone (no companions) to Xian to pick her up in December 2004. Luckily Alia was in a very good orphanage, run by a western Christian charity, and she had lots of opportunities compared to my first two. I got a photo album of her time in the orphanage that included visits to parks, Christmas activities, and even eating fries at Kentucky Fried Chicken! So then we were a family of 4.

And all was well. Then about 6 months after I brought Alia home a friend asked me to help her find a special needs baby on the adoption lists and I went looking. I did find one for her. And I also found this entirely cute little 2 year old boy with a repaired heart defect who was smiling in every photo.I couldn't believe he hadn't been adopted. What a charmer. I kept going back and looking at his information, convinced each time that there would be a "reserved" tag on his photo. But weeks went by and all the other kids on the list were being taken and he was still waiting. And I was convinced that there was NO WAY the adoption agency would even consider a single mom with 3 kids a good candidate for his family...so, being quite sure I'd get the royal brush-off I placed an inquiry. The response? OF COURSE THEY'D LOVE IT IF I ADOPTED HIM! Ooops!

So... In February 2006, Kim, Corey, my sister and I all headed back to China and on Valentine's day I got my little sweetheart. And as I tell people I found out my limit was 3 by adopting my 4th!

Now- I won't say I regret any of these adoptions. How could I when I've been blessed with such smart, beautiful, capable children and when I think where they (and I) might have been. But even with all the adoption preparation courses you take, the books you read, the lists you belong to for advice and information, the earlier kids you parent... I don't know that you can be adequately prepared to be a single mom of 4 kids! Hence the 'Adventures' of our family!

Welcome!

This blog- Adventures of Zenmomma Plus 4, part 2- is taking over as the public part of my old blog- Adventures of Zenmomma Plus 4 which has gone private for a variety of reasons. This blog will allow followers of the old blog to continue to keep up with our family in a general sort of way. Most posts will focus on how the kids - Kim, Corey, Alia and Eli, all adopted from China over the past 10 years- are doing and what they are up to.

To begin I want to share one of my last posts from the old blog: These concoctions are my son Eli's creations. He's 6 years old, the size of a 3 year old and a special needs (heart) adoption from China. When I brought him home he was assessed as mildly mentally retarded. But recent re-evaluations have shown that isn't the case at all. What we don't know is just how smart he is! Note the symmetry in these free choice projects:

He loves to build!