Well greetings from Ho Chi Minh... seems the locals have mostly upgraded from cycles to motor bikes and have no issue driving right in front of a van taking life into their own hands.
A little like Thailand but less developed, and a little like China in some ways.
Girls had a ball playing with cousins and we go to tour the Opera House open day and have great pics.
Today we will walk near the main market area and a few other things to see, just grounding ourselves. 4 hours time difference meant we were awake early but we flew 2 flights to get here from cousins so time all over the place.
Lotus looking tired at 8am in morning here.. left baby carrier at home unfortunately and can't trust her with motor cycles zipping everywhere.
Found some nice bakeries selling very yummy looking cakes and got some pics.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Hoping for a referral, for a friend
Maybe I have followed older cleft children for long enough, to help a friend find her child? I hope so...
A lady who has tried just about every option you could ever imagine, might just win a battle to get our department to approve her to adopt an older child... it has been a long, long, long, long road.. we met years before I adopted Charlotte.
This poor lady just wants to become a mother,,, and an older cleft child from the shared list would be a perfect match... if only it could be the boy from Holt, that looks like a biological brother to Charlotte almost... (we can only hope...), but there are many needy older children.
Our visas came super fast and Charlotte is quite excited... Lotus just does not seem to remember going on planes etc and is defiant at this point.. but that is OK.. We went to an aboriginal ceremony today re grief and it was a good session. Lotus had a ball of fun with one of the presenters when we sat around a pretend possum skin rug on sand. Both girls can be so sweet they melt my heart in so many ways.
A lady who has tried just about every option you could ever imagine, might just win a battle to get our department to approve her to adopt an older child... it has been a long, long, long, long road.. we met years before I adopted Charlotte.
This poor lady just wants to become a mother,,, and an older cleft child from the shared list would be a perfect match... if only it could be the boy from Holt, that looks like a biological brother to Charlotte almost... (we can only hope...), but there are many needy older children.
Our visas came super fast and Charlotte is quite excited... Lotus just does not seem to remember going on planes etc and is defiant at this point.. but that is OK.. We went to an aboriginal ceremony today re grief and it was a good session. Lotus had a ball of fun with one of the presenters when we sat around a pretend possum skin rug on sand. Both girls can be so sweet they melt my heart in so many ways.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Getting excited to be going soon!!
We are almost ready to start thinking about what to pack, and have sent off for our visas... this is exciting. Charlotte wishes we were going to Bali first as I told her they won't ask if she was born there as she certainly does not look Indonesian at all...
A mum with a daughter from Charlotte's SWI was in town in the past week and we had a ball.. Charlotte was so so excited to meet them and Lotus got a real kick out of the mum playing up to her antics... her mum said that Lotus reminds her of Danny Devito.. mmm we will have the class clown I am sure...
We are in full swing at work so arrangements are being made to cover when I am away, but it should be the quiet before the storm period anyway for what I do.
We got a new kitty called Snowbelle, name partly in memory of Ellie, and she is pure white... she had been advertised a number of times over and over and turns out has not really been housetrained and not attached well (hence why people didn't want to keep her) so we have our work cut out... lucky for her we dealt with Ellie in bad shape for some time. She came from interestate on a long long truck ride (the prior owner had a trucking business and was happy to send her interstate if she got a good home). The poor driver had been smoking heavy all the way and not really stopped because his wife told him not to open the cab or she would run away... she did have a cage though, but he let her out most of the time.
Anyway Rainbow and Snowbelle seem to be good mates at chasing one another but we will have some behaviour management happening for a while... Lotus keeps saying Snowbelle is her friend, and not my friend, but she will get over that.
Lotus's language has expanded a lot although the visiting friend said she could not understand it all and picked on her mispronounciation a bit - we just take it all in our stride and are thankful for the medical help she has had given none of this would have happened in China.
Someone just returned from Lotus's SWI saying it was overloaded with SN children - sigh!! And there is a boy listed with an agency with a Cl/CP that could pass as a biological brother to Charlotte..... if only that were an option here... and with singles...
Burma looks like another good place to visit and Air Asia now offers flights through Kuala Lumpur or KL so we might go that at some stage, perhaps on the way to visit the girls SWIs next year,,, but time will tell... we need cheap flights and good dates to do it in, and not the middle of winter for northern China...
A mum with a daughter from Charlotte's SWI was in town in the past week and we had a ball.. Charlotte was so so excited to meet them and Lotus got a real kick out of the mum playing up to her antics... her mum said that Lotus reminds her of Danny Devito.. mmm we will have the class clown I am sure...
We are in full swing at work so arrangements are being made to cover when I am away, but it should be the quiet before the storm period anyway for what I do.
We got a new kitty called Snowbelle, name partly in memory of Ellie, and she is pure white... she had been advertised a number of times over and over and turns out has not really been housetrained and not attached well (hence why people didn't want to keep her) so we have our work cut out... lucky for her we dealt with Ellie in bad shape for some time. She came from interestate on a long long truck ride (the prior owner had a trucking business and was happy to send her interstate if she got a good home). The poor driver had been smoking heavy all the way and not really stopped because his wife told him not to open the cab or she would run away... she did have a cage though, but he let her out most of the time.
Anyway Rainbow and Snowbelle seem to be good mates at chasing one another but we will have some behaviour management happening for a while... Lotus keeps saying Snowbelle is her friend, and not my friend, but she will get over that.
Lotus's language has expanded a lot although the visiting friend said she could not understand it all and picked on her mispronounciation a bit - we just take it all in our stride and are thankful for the medical help she has had given none of this would have happened in China.
Someone just returned from Lotus's SWI saying it was overloaded with SN children - sigh!! And there is a boy listed with an agency with a Cl/CP that could pass as a biological brother to Charlotte..... if only that were an option here... and with singles...
Burma looks like another good place to visit and Air Asia now offers flights through Kuala Lumpur or KL so we might go that at some stage, perhaps on the way to visit the girls SWIs next year,,, but time will tell... we need cheap flights and good dates to do it in, and not the middle of winter for northern China...
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
What is it about grey hoodies?
Ok I might be a stick in the mud and out of date on things, but while waiting for Charlotte to come out of the movies with a friend and family, it was evident that the current 'in' fashion trend for kids is grey hoodies... To me many of the teenagers/children wearing them look washed out, and if they are really cheaply made, just don't look good. Maybe I am just not in the groove?
A friend who lost her house in the big bush fires a few years ago is having all sorts of issues with her now teenage son. After listening to her it makes you realise how well we are going...
A friend who lost her house in the big bush fires a few years ago is having all sorts of issues with her now teenage son. After listening to her it makes you realise how well we are going...
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Girls just get closer
When I grew up I had 2 brothers and therefore I got cricket, billy cart rides etc and a more distant relationship with them.
These 2 girls are growing so so close to one another it is amazing to watch it develop. If Charlotte has a friend over then Lotus is in the middle of their play and HATES being left out at all...
And today Charlotte did an art session and got to draw the most important things in her life and painted her sister looking up at the moon and stars, which she does if we are out at nighttime.
Many times you are just left amazed watching them bond so close.
These 2 girls are growing so so close to one another it is amazing to watch it develop. If Charlotte has a friend over then Lotus is in the middle of their play and HATES being left out at all...
And today Charlotte did an art session and got to draw the most important things in her life and painted her sister looking up at the moon and stars, which she does if we are out at nighttime.
Many times you are just left amazed watching them bond so close.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Foster care and role of dads
http://www.abc.net.au/iview/?series=3005796#/series/3005796
The above movie was aired on TV the other night asking how can the abuse of children be prevented. Warning the movie is VERY heavy going. And the increased amount that our domestic children are at risk like this, and the increased level of SN children being available to adopt internationally means our government is no longer supporting IA any more.
After years of frustrating battles to adopt SNs it has now been leaked that the government is minisiming the adoption of SN children due to the cost on our taxation system and also the domestic issues here. If only a child from a situation like this could be adopted rather than fostered. Very few adoptions happen here and in most cases they push for permanent care or fostering to try to maintain links with the family.
Perhaps in years to come we could look at taking a child from abuse, but at this stage I don't think it would currently suit until Charlotte is a little older and foster children are meant to have a room of their own, which we could not offer. The girls sure do love goofing around a lot more lately (which would have to help an abused child enjoy life more)- and Charlotte has no hope of playing with her friends at home without Lotus wanting to join in too.
Another show was about the role of dads and how they spend most of their time with their children playing hard and arousing them a lot. A mother is more calm and talks more and keeps things on a level playing field. This tells me I need to be rough and ready with the girls more often and to scare them with scary things - this all apparently helps them to normalise from a scary situation better.
The above movie was aired on TV the other night asking how can the abuse of children be prevented. Warning the movie is VERY heavy going. And the increased amount that our domestic children are at risk like this, and the increased level of SN children being available to adopt internationally means our government is no longer supporting IA any more.
After years of frustrating battles to adopt SNs it has now been leaked that the government is minisiming the adoption of SN children due to the cost on our taxation system and also the domestic issues here. If only a child from a situation like this could be adopted rather than fostered. Very few adoptions happen here and in most cases they push for permanent care or fostering to try to maintain links with the family.
Perhaps in years to come we could look at taking a child from abuse, but at this stage I don't think it would currently suit until Charlotte is a little older and foster children are meant to have a room of their own, which we could not offer. The girls sure do love goofing around a lot more lately (which would have to help an abused child enjoy life more)- and Charlotte has no hope of playing with her friends at home without Lotus wanting to join in too.
Another show was about the role of dads and how they spend most of their time with their children playing hard and arousing them a lot. A mother is more calm and talks more and keeps things on a level playing field. This tells me I need to be rough and ready with the girls more often and to scare them with scary things - this all apparently helps them to normalise from a scary situation better.
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