A family is COMPLETE...

OMG it's 9am monday for us here in the US and as I was taking the trash out of my kitchen barrel to take outside it occured to me that if it's 9am here, it's 10pm in china AND METCHA-DAY HAS ALREADY HAPPENED FOR SUSAN & WILL!!!!!!!!!! OMG AND UPON REALIZING THAT MY EYES FILLED WITH TEARS FOR THEM CUZ I AM JUST SOOOOOO HAPPY!!!!!!!! TODAY IS THE DAY THEY BECAME A FAMILY OF 3!!!!!!!!! HORRAYYYY FOR THE LAUKAT FAMILY!!!!!!!!! WE ARE ALL SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!!

=)

Crazy is as Crazy does...

... yep that's right, I'm crazy, CRAZY IN LOVE WITH MY BABIES & MY RUBY CATE!!!
Tonight is a SPECIAL night for sure because I have ALL THREE OF MY BABIES (Emma, Abi & Sam) over for a SLEEPOVER WITH THEIR NEWEST & BESTEST LITTLE FRIEND ,MISS RUBY CATE PEI MU! =)

Yep, four children all under the age of 5 in my little 2 bedroom apartment! I'M EITHER SERIOUSLY IN LOVE OR SERIOUSLY IN NEED OF SOME PROFESSIONAL HELP! hehehe

We danced the night away to some songs on Jack's Big Music Show...

Then we all headed downstairs to my parent's place for some PIZZA & YOGURT...
and then my three babies decided it was time for them to watch Nemo:

And Little Miss Ruby Cate was crashing hard so off to bed she went...

And shortly thereafter... my three little friends were off to dreamland themselves...

Abi in my bed... (notice how my William Bear's been stolen AGAIN! I seriously need to hide him from now on I think... LOL)

And Emma and Sam on the floor in Ruby's Room in true 'sleepover' fashion.

Tonight, I go to bed not just an exhausted woman, but an extreemly contented one... because the four children who I love most in this world, all happen to be under my roof tonight. AMEN!

*big teary smile*

Goodnight everyone.

That's right...

...I'm up AND I've swiped your bear again!
Whaddya think about THAT?
hehehehe

Shhh...

Dream on little one...
Momma will be here when you wake up.

Saturday Night Q&A *UPDATED W/PHOTO*

(UPDATE BELOW, SCROLL DOWN...)

Ok, so I know it's technically not Friday anymore, in fact it's nearly Sunday HOWEVER, I just checked my email as I do every night before heading to bed & I had a wonderful email from a woman in Japan with a question that I promptly answered but wanted to share it with all of you since I'm guessing if she's curious about this, maybe others of you are as well...

Q:

Hello,

First, let me tell you that I live on a military base in Japan and am waiting of travel approval to go get my first baby girl in China. Her name is Annalyn Ruobei and she was a waiting child(heart defect). She is all better now and waiting for us(Amy and Fabio...aka Mama and Daddy).

My question is about day care. Unfortunately for me, I will have to go back to work and Annalyn will be put in daycare. I have already signed us up and toured the place and feel comfortable with it. Since she is used to being with other children, I think she will adjust.

Do you have any suggestions for making the transition easier for her? (I will be a nervous wreck at work but I want her to be comfortable).

I really enjoy reading about you and Ruby. You sound like an awesome mom who thoroughly enjoys her daughter. I am a member of several yahoo groups which is probably how I stumbled across your blog. Thanks for all your stories about the amazing Ruby and her new family.

Amy , M.Ed.

Special Education Assessor

Literacy Support Specialist

A: Dear Amy,
First of all let me say a BIG CONGRATULATIONS on the upcoming adoption of your precious Annalyn Ruobei! I LOVE HEARING STORIES LIKE THAT! She's truly one blessed little girl & you are blessed as can be that your sweetheart is that much closer to making your family complete. =)

My first thought would be to find out for SURE if she truly is in an orphanage, as I was 'told' that Ruby was in an orphanage but as it turns out was not & was with a foster family so if I had had to put her in daycare I think she'd have freaked out as she was very used to one on one attention presumably, or at the very least, just a couple of kids as opposed to a whole orphanage full of them, so that's my first point, find that out first & it'll help you decide what your next corse of action should be.

Secondly, let's assume that yes, she has been in an orphanage this whole time, true she'll probably be ok around other kids but you have to look at it from her point of view, depending on her age (you didn't say how old she was...) by the time you and your husband give this little girl the gift of a forever family, she'll be so thrilled to pieces at the monumental shift that her life has just taken that she'll probably want to bask in that glow for a bit. Do you or are you taking time off initially to be with her one on one? I'm going to assume that you get the usual 3 months leave, one would hope.

During that time, your little girl will develop such a relationship/friendship with you that when it comes time to then take her to a daycare, she will probably be very hesitant at first & potentially a little freaked out... (perhaps she'll view it as 'got'cha' day all over again, with the combination of a big room full of other children, lots of faces that she doesn't recognize & then you ultimately leaving her (granted just for the day) but her little mind won't see it that way, she'll feel she's being left all over again.

WITH THAT SAID, it IS possible to AVOID THIS and it's fairly simple...
Let's say that yes, you do have the three months off, don't spend those three months just every moment you & her... get her involved in playgroups where other children are present. Now there doesn't have to be a shitload of them but a couple will do. Social interaction is KEY at this stage in the game.
Also, find out if you can visit at least twice a month to her new daycare & spend some time there with her without leaving so that she knows it's a kewl place... it has to be, because Mommy brought me here, right?
Try it a few times with you STAYING with her the whole time, and then try a few where you say ,leave just for ten to fifteen minutes to go grab a coffee or something & see how she does.
If after the 'coffee' run, she is still doing ok, then the next time you go & leave her, go do some shopping for an hour or go get your nails done or even just go for a long walk to take all this in because it won't just be HER going through alot emotionally, trust me, you'll be torn in so many different emotional directions you won't know what to do with yourself and a nice long relaxing walk with time to think about the shift that your life has just taken, is never a bad thing... TRUST ME!

Eventually, she'll see that ok, this isn't so bad, Mommy and I come together, she dissappears for a little while but she always comes back and while she's gone, I get to have fun & play & use the toys, not too shabby...

This won't happen over night but it WILL happen... just be patient & give it time and even if you end up having to pay her daycare for these transitional days regardless whether you're there or not, remember that any daycare that truly CARES about the welfare of their kids will be completely ok with you suggesting this and so in the end it's worth it to shell out some extra bucks just to know that your child's transition will be smoother than average when the time comes to actually put her there full time.

I hope this helps & if you have any other questions please feel free to email me anytime as it's what I'm here for. =)

Take care & let me know how things work out for you & your family! AND BY GOD WOMAN SEND ME A PICTURE OF THIS PRECIOUS LITTLE GIRL OF YOURS, I'M DYIN' TO SEE HER SWEET LITTLE FACE! =)

Sincerely,

-Amy


And with that, I wish you all a good night as I'm about to crawl into my bed before I drool all over myself & this keyboard because I'm just THAT EXHAUSTED tonight!

Sweet Dreams everyone.

ZZZzzzz..

**************************** UPDATE *********************************

(Here is the reply I received first thing this morning in my email from this woman complete with a beautiful picture of her precious daughter... ENJOY! )

Dear Amy,

Thank you for your quick reply. I am definitely going to try everything to make it easier for her when that time comes. I am sending you a picture and just ask that you continue leaving off our last name(thank you!)



This photo was taken in January 2006 at the orphanage. She is in the orphanage and has a single caretaker. There are other toddlers that she plays with but not a huge number.

Sorry if the file is large. I still don't know how to make it smaller. I am only able to use my computer at work and the software is different.

I used a service called china-babies.com that got updated photos and a ton of information. They only work in Jiangxi at this time but they were incredible! We know so much about our baby now. We just hope they hurry up and say, "Come on over and get your daughter!"

Thanks again for your advice and encouragement. We will be getting a site soon so that people can follow our journey. I will be sure to send you the link.

Amy

I then replied to her with the following:

Dear Amy,

You are very welcome for the quick reply, it was no problem at all. Now, on to the IMPORTANT THING, OMG COULD YOUR DAUGHTER BE ANY CUTER?@#%@#%^#$%& She's JUST A DAMN DOLL!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE HER!!!!!!!!! I bet you can't WAIT to go get her, it's just FANTASTIC!!

(check out her duds! why is it that KIDS ALWAYS HAVE BETTER CLOTHES THAN ADULTS??? WHAT'S UP WITH THAT!) hehehe

Keep us all posted on your journey & please, absolutely let us know once you've got a blog up & running as I'm sure we'd all follow your journey to becoming a family!

Sincerely,

-Amy

Showertime ramblings...

As I stood under the steaming hot water in the shower this morning my mind started to wander about certain things that started out random & then started to take shape...
First, how nice it is to be able to take this long hot shower as my daughter is fast asleep for her morning nap....
Next, how weird, I have a daughter, she's in the other room, alive & well & adorable as all hell & she's mine, and she's here to stay, and she's napping which is the only reason I actually have this time to laze around in the shower & think about this stuff...
Then there's the actually enjoying the shower without worrying if any 'water' is going to make it's way into my mouth like paranoia set in while in China those two weeks three months ago. I remember always keeping my head way back so that IF water started to trickle down, it would go back off my face & down my neck & back. Retarded? Probably, but I didn't get sick not ONCE the whole time there.
Because I don't have to worry about the water making it's way into my mouth I can truly just put my entire face & head under the stream & close my eyes & relax, even if it is only for 10 minutes or so...
I then start to remember China and where I was 3 months from today... it would've been Nov 18th, and I was exactly where Susan & Will are right now, in Beijing touring everything under the 'heavily polluted sky' (can't say sun, that would be false advertising...)
Then I think to myself, holy shit, it's nearly 3 months from gotcha day and I can't believe I've ONLY had Ruby for those 3 months, because it feels like a lifetime.
I can't really remember what it was like to be without her, I mean, I can remember being alone in this apartment waiting to see the face that was my daughters but it feels numb, almost like a dream & perhaps it was someone else's life & I was just looking in once in a while to see what was up.
It doesn't feel like it was my life, because THIS, this wonderful magical world of MOTHERHOOD, THIS IS MY LIFE and I just ADORE IT!
All of it, the ups the downs, the happy baby, the crying baby, the silly baby, the messy baby, the sick baby, you name it, I love it & continue to love it and I say BRING IT ON MOTHERHOOD, I'M MORE THAN READY, I'M ALIVE BECAUSE OF IT!
Sure I have my days I think to myself "man, this would be really nice with someone else to share it all with" but that thought is very rare & fleeting, because truth be told, I am very independant and I just CAN'T EXPLAIN HOW MUCH I LOVE MY CHILD TO THE MOON AND BACK & CHINA AND BACK... I could NOT imagine sharing her with anyone (selfish as that I'm sure is sounding right now...) I just love that she's mine and I'm hers and we're a family of two!
I mean, if I had a husband, then we'd have to work as a 'team' to meet in the middle on everything because you can't have one parent 'parent' one way and the other go a completely other way and have it be a smooth lifestyle, cuz it's not.
Once the child realizes that he/she can pit one parent against the other to get the desired result they're looking for, then you're gonna be up shits creek without a paddle my friend!
When Ruby eats her meals, it's just her and me in the kitchen, at our chairs, no toys, no distractions (except Bear, but he's family too) and when it's time to eat, it's just that, TIME TO EAT.
Not time to play & have a bite here & there, not TIME TO WATCH TV and have some food if I feel like it, Family Meals are and will CONTINUE TO BE a very BIG DEAL in this house because I think too many families have lost that simple pleasure of sitting down together to share not only a meal, but their thoughts & dreams, hopes & just the basic 'how their day' went, etc...
That means alot to me & I will be sure to instill that same sentiment to my Precious Girl.

Man, it's amazing how fast my hair can air dry when I'm sitting at the computer typing my thoughts out in my sweats. (that's right, I'm wearing sweats today, it's SATURDAY and it's COLD and Ruby and I have no place to go so we're gonna 'chill' and we're gonna do it COMFORTABLY!) *grin*

Well, I will probably have more to add to this later but for now I'm gonig to boogie because it's LUNCH TIME and I'm going to make my baby a Grilled Cheese and some Tomato Soup, she loves BOTH!

BON' APETIT!

Tea for Two & Music B4 Bed...

Nonno and I throw a heck of a tea party!!


Too bad the DOG'S NOT INVITED! Ebby, c'mon... you don't drink TEA! *sheesh*



If I've told him once I've told him a thousand times, 'No Dogs Allowed'!
(Sorry buddy but 'dog hair' in my tea is NOT my idea of a good time...)

And now for your viewing pleasure... I shall play a song on my Ukulele...

Just as soon as I can remember where I put it... (crap@@#%^$@!)

Ahhh, HERE WE ARE! Ok, and a'one, and a'two...

That's right, CHECK ME OUT, I'M GOOD!
(too bad the only one who can hear me is Bear)

Thank you very much!!
(I'll be here all week!)

Things that make you go, 'hmmmmm'... *UPDATE*

It has been brought to my attention that the homepage girl for APC looks amazingly similiar to my Ruby Cate. They do seem to have the same eyes & a very freakishly similar nose but I dunno... does anyone either A. belong to APC & can ask on my behalf or B. Know who this little girl is so that maybe I could find out more info on her to see if Ruby & her are from the same province etc...?
If anyone knows anything I really would appreciate being privy to any/all info, thanks!

Ok, this little cutie's name is Taylor...

Her mother & I have been in contact & if you click on her 'name' above you'll see for yourself why we are both just a little freaked out at the resemblance... they are VERY SIMILAR!

CSI: Beverly (eppisode 01: the kissing bear bandit)

Innocent? Perhaps, until proven:
GUILTY AS CHARGED!

The Scene: My Livingroom
The Crime: Momma's WILLIAM BEAR is STOLEN!
The Thief: One much loved, very cute, very short Asian girl
The Victim: One very old, very mushed up, very weathered looking William Bear.
The time: Immediately following a morning nap...

Here we see the victim being taken in broad daylight almost as if to say:
"Ya snooze ya loose Momma, William bear is MINE !!"

Flaunting her score, the short asian continually KISSES her victim REPEATEDLY much to his dismay!


Without a snowball's chance in hell of escaping, the victim has no other choice but to succumb to the advances of his captor... and man does she mean BUSINESS!


Kisses upon kisses are forcefully placed all over our victim as he is held tight in the
'Smooching Death Grip"


A sneaky move on her part!
Poor guy barely stands a CHANCE!


WAIT!! WHAT'S THIS?
IN A BRAVE MOVE BY OUR VICTIM, HE SEES AN OPPORTUNITY TO ESCAPE WHEN HE SEES THAT HIS CAPTOR IS LAUGHING AT SOMETHING SILLY ON THE TV, TRYING WITH ALL HIS MIGHT HE LEAPS TO HIS SAFETY !!
HE'S FREE!!!!!!!!!


Realizing that she's ultimately LOST at her attempt to steal her Momma's Beloved William Bear, the short asian returns to the love of her faithful but somewhat jaded friend, Bear.

It's gonna take alot of kisses on her part to win back his love & trust I'm guessing!

CASE CLOSED!
*grin*

OUT with the old & IN with the new!!!

This is Ruby's old chair, her 1st "princess chair" that I bought for her at TARGET!
*love that store*
This chair wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I bought it, HOWEVER...
it was a short kid's chair, soft enough to not be a danger to her & cute enough to be worthy
of being RUBY'S CHAIR! *grin*
It's pink & shiny & even had a little purple 'silk skirt' around the front, but it was the only chair in the kids section that day so it's not like I had alot of options... so I just went with it.

Ruby liked it but seemed frusterated at times that she 'slid out of it' so easily, as it was silky nylon type material that let her cute toosh just slip right off it at the slightest movement.
Not exactly the chair I had envisioned... but it'll do for now, right?

WRONG! Meet, THE NEW PRINCESS CHAIR! (Now, I call it the princess chair, not because I'm one of those' cheezy parents' who actually calls my daugher my 'princess' cuz I'm not, I typically call her my 'doodle bug' or my 'snickerdoodle' or my 'pal' and/or 'buddy'. I actually am calling the chair the 'princess chair' because believe it or not, it truly came from a line they're calling "the Princess collection", yeah yeah, I know... cheezy but cute.)
Ruby & I are a team, we're best friends... and although she's cute & feminine looking, she's one tough cookie, make no mistake! (if my father has his way she'll be playing center forward in soccer sooner, rather than later!)

So I was at Target again yesterday with my friend Steve and literally they had JUST ONE CHAIR, (again, what's with the 'only one chair' bit? do they think that there's only one kid in all of MA who needs a soft toasty chair to call their own?... C'MON TARGET, BE TEAM PLAYERS!) ANYWAY, so I see this chair & it's EXACTLY WHAT I HAD PICTURED INITIALLY BUT WAS UNABLE TO FIND!!!! I WAS IN HEAVEN!!!!!! THIS WAS THE CHAIR!!!!!!!!!!
It's SOFT!
It's FUZZY!!
It's STURDY!!!
It doesn't tip over if she sits in it too hard!!!!
It doesn't cause her to SLIP OFF CUZ OF THE SMOOTH FABRIC, NO WAY, THIS BAD BOY HUGS MY BABY'S CUTE BOTTOM WITH LOTS OF LOVE & CARE THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!!!!
IT'S PERFECT,
IT'S RUBY'S CHAIR!!!!!


So, I bought the NEW CHAIR & brought the OLD ONE back & returned it for a store credit & RUBY LOVES THIS NEW CHAIR SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT OLD STUPID ONE!
She loves to sit in it & read her books, or cuddle with Bear or watch Jacks Big Music Show in it, it's her thinking chair, her let's get silly chair, her kick back & relax chair, it's THE CHAIR!
And this Momma COULD NOT BE HAPPIER!
(also was great that I managed not to lose any money in this whole fiasco... Target is really great about 'no questions asked' type deal, they just issue you store credit if you're not happy, well THAT WORKED JUST FINE FOR ME!)
So, Out with the OLD & in with the NEW!
Ruby, Momma loves you so much and I'm SO HAPPY that you LOVE YOUR NEW CHAIR!
*BIG HUGS*

WOOOO HOOOO THEY MADE IT!!!!!

Susan & Will ARE IN BEIJING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just received this email from her:

Ni Hao from Beijing. Our flight got in this afternoon around 3:40 and we made it safe, as did our luggage. Nothing exciting today. We are both beat and ready for bed (It's 9:20 pm on Thursday nite. Tomorrow we'll try to post pictures we take and have a longer email.

love to all

Susan

IT'S SO EXCITING!!!!!!!!!!! THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR THEIR PRAYERS FOR A SAFE DAY OF TRAVEL, IT WORKED!!! =)
SO LOOKING FORWARD TO PICTURES OF THEIR PRECIOUS OLIVIA!!!

WHAT A DOLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One Word...

I received the following in an email tonight from my bestest friend, Jen. (aka; the 'hawt' librarian)

**Describe ME in ONE WORD...just one word! Send it to me only, then send

this message to your friends and see how many strange things people say

about you!

This could be fun! Just hit reply and send me my one word back. Then

forward this message on to your friends (including me) and see what they

say about you!



GAME ON!!**

I replied to her with my 'one word' that I felt best described her, and was happy with what I sent &

thought to myself...

" This is kinda neat, maybe I will send this out to some people to see what comes back?"

So I started the tedious task of remembering EVERYONE'S email (YEAH RIGHT, LIKE THAT'LL HAPPEN!)

My memory was never really all that good to begin with but what little of it I 'had', my MS has decided to promptly

steal from me so, I'm left with posting this publicly on my Blog, which I'm completely ok with, I mean- after all...

any of you who truly know me, know that I'm about as FAR from shy & reserved as they come, so I say BRING IT ON!

Comment away with your 'ONE WORD' for me RIGHT HERE on this post.

If you would like to then 'cut and paste' the actual email to others, feel free. =)

Anyone who leaves a 'one word' comment on my blog will get a return 'one word' from me,

assuming of course that I know you well enough to be able to return the favor!

Enjoy everyone & let the 'ONE WORD' games BEGIN! =)

The journey of a thousand miles...

... begins with a single FLIGHT!!!

OH HAPPY DAY!!!

The The Laukats ARE ON THEIR WAY TO CHINA AS I TYPE THIS!!!!!!!!!! C'mon & follow their journey to Olivia EVERY STEP OF THE WAY won't you?


Con'grats Susan & Will, YOU WILL ALL BE IN OUR THOUGHTS & PRAYERS THESE NEXT TWO WEEKS AS YOUR LIVES ARE ABOUT TO CHANGE FOREVER IN THE MOST MAGICAL OF WAYS!!!!!!!!!
CONGRATULATIONS!!!! It's a WILD RIDE with a VERY HAPPY ENDING!!!

*BIG CHEEZY HAPPY FOR YOU GRIN!*

Love,

Amy & Ruby Cate

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Ruby's 1st Valentine's Day!!!

What a FUN DAY I HAD TODAY!!

Nanna and Nonno gave me my first Valentine's Day Card from them & also some cute outfits and even a book with buttons to push & it plays MUSIC!
(I loved that cuz I LOVE MUSIC!!)


Then, Momma and I played silly games with Bear for a while, he has fun with us, cuz we're SILLY!

(Happy Valentine's Day Bear, I love ya buddy!)

Then my Uncle Steve, my Nanna "T" and Auntie Nayne came over!! (Auntie Nayne is the one who went with Momma to get me all the way over in China!!)

EVERYONE BROUGHT ME FUN PRESENTS!! IT WAS LIKE MAGIC!

Nanna "T" brought her shining smiles and lots of hugs & kisses and a big ole' loaf of BREAD! ( to go with the dinner Momma made for everyone...)

Uncle Steve brought me BONGOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I nearly fell out of my PINK PRINCESS CHAIR! I LOVE THEM SO MUCH & I AM ALREADY A GOOD BONGO PLAYER!!
(I've been practicing on a tin 'crayon' can Momma had for me!)




Then Auntie Nayne gave me a STAR BALLOON and some LADYBUG JEWLERY!
(Momma says that's for when I'm older but I did love the box it came in and I dig the balloon!)


Ebenezer didn't look all that impressed with everyone...

...so he finally just got fed up with everything & went to hide behind a couch pillow.

Poor Ebenezer, it's hard being the 'top dog' for ten years running only to have his spot now shared with a small cheeky asian gal, I didn't mean to cramp your style buddy but Momma says there's room enough in her heart & home for BOTH OF US!
(& Bear TOO!)

All in all, I 'd say it was a GREAT DAY!
I wonder what we're going to do TOMORROW?? =)



G'night everyone, Bear & I are WIPED OUT!

ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...