My Latest Predictions

Hi Everyone -

Well, since I read my January DTC group today, I am feeling more strongly that January 12 is the cutoff date. As I'm sitting here feeling sorry for myself, I went ahead and re-calculated my predictions. I base my predictions on an average of the number of poll families (about 100 per Rumor Queen's latest poll) and the average number of days that the CCAA has referred in the past 12 months. Here goes:

June Referrals - Through January 16, 2006

July Referrals - Through January 23, 2006

August - NO REFERRALS DUE TO 2008 OLYMPICS (this is not written in stone, but rumors are flying that this is a definite possibility, just preparing my heart)

September Referrals - Through February 1, 2006

October Referrals - Through February 11, 2006

November Referrals - Through February 16, 2006

December Referrals - Through February 22, 2006

I really think it will be close to the end of the year when see Kaelie's face for the first time. With thousands of dignitaries, athletes, families, and fans pouring into Beijing in August, I just don't see how the CCAA will be able to operate normally. I think it's best to assume that, in a best case scenerio, things will be slow and quiet at the CCAA during August. The CCAA is a government department, and their energies could be used elsewhere during this international event.

The other thing that throws off these predictions is that RQ's current poll closed 4 months ago and only goes through February 12, 2006. How many families have dropped out, changed to special needs, or found RQ in the last few months? It puts a big kink into things and I hope that another poll will be posted soon.

So, to guard my heart, I'm now hoping for a December referral with travel in mid-January, 2009 before Chinese New Year. This will put us a few month's shy of four years of processing this adoption (we applied to our agency May 30, 2005).

Here's a little ladybug to all of my other waiting China mamas! Maybe she will bring us a little luck!

Referral Update

Hi Everyone!

It's been reported on RQ that matching has begun. It's rumored that January 12th is in, but it's not sure if January 12th is the cutoff.

According to RQ's polls, January 12th is a heavy day in terms of how many families are logged in. But, when there was a teeny batch back in December, and the next month they came out with a really big batch. So, there's always hope! I'm predicting the CCAA to get through January 14th.

In other news, some agencies are reporting that there will be no travel approvals for August 8-24, 2008 (during the Olympics). I think we won't know until the Olympics get here what is going to happen to referrals and travel in August. It could delay us by a month, which might put us traveling in early 2009! Ugh! I just want my baby already!

I have some internet buddies that are LID 1/10/06 and I am so happy for them. You can see the links to the right to see some family's blogs who are expecting the stork to arrive this month!

My Guys!

I haven't posted any pictures of my guys in a while, so here are a couple of cute ones...



Shelby and Jeremy are goofing off at Mellow Mushroom. I checked them out early from school for their yearly physicals, and we needed something to do while we waited for our pizza!

Here are Shelby, David, and Jeremy. The boys just adore their dad, and I can't wait to see David with his little girl in his arms!

Nursery Photos, Part 2!

Here a couple more pictures of Kaelie's nursery...




This storage bench came from Lowe's. It was very easy to put together and cost $60. I plan on buying some Pottery Barn baskets (if I can find some the right size) to put in the empty spaces.

Here is the dresser! Though not a "perfect" job, I think it came out nicely. The drawer pulls came yesterday, and I'll add them this weekend. I was a fun project.

Now, here is what I'm planning on doing to the walls:

1. Good wishes quilt: I'm going to display it on a quilt rack above the storage bench.

2. Ladybug art: I am going to order a ladybug print from www. art.com and have it mounted on canvas. I'm going to hang it on the left side of the window behind the crib. Thinking about safety...there is a space between the wall and the crib.

3. I want to custom order the "Red Thread Proverb" from www.wallwords.com and mount it on the storage bench wall above the quilt.

4. A mirror will be hung above the left side of the dresser, and I will get a few little prints or maybe add some gallery frames above the changing pad.

SOOOOO, the main things are done and I can simply add to the nursery as we continue to wait and wait for Kaelie's referral.

Kaelie's Room!

Here are a few pictures of Kaelie's nursery! Yeah! It is finally starting to come together. I have a lot left to do, but I'm glad that the furniture is in place and set up for the most part.





Wall lettering: I purchased these on the internet. They are so cute and very easy to put up.

Crib on north wall. Looks terrific with everything that was in there out of there!

Window on east wall.

Corner hutch. This came from Pottery Barn Kids. It was packed very well and was so easy to put together. I was very impressed. This should be a piece that will last for years. I still have to install the anti-tip kit. Kaelie will have her own small TV which will go on this piece.

To be continued....

Nursery Progress

Hi Everyone -

I hope you all are doing well out there in blog-land!

I have been working on Kaelie's nursery - it is going to be so beautiful when it is finished! The dresser is coming along nicely...all the demolition work is finished, the new shelves are in, the insides of the drawers are primed. The only construction work that needs to be done is to turn the dresser upside down and add some supports under the new shelves (to prevent the middle part from sagging) and to add some molding to the front. Then the fun part: PAINTING! I think it's going to look really nice when it's finished.

See the corner hutch? It's on sale at Pottery Barn Kids for $449 (including delivery surcharge) instead of the original...hummm, I think I found one for $899 that I liked. So, I bought it (the $449 one!). This and the crib will be the centerpieces of the room. I also bought a storage bench at Lowe's for $60 that will go between the hutch and dresser. I'm going to purchase some baskets from Pottery Barn Kids for storage on the bench. I'm really excited that it's all finally coming together. We've had the crib for over a year and it's been so lonely! I have so many of Kaelie's things displayed in the crib, and now I'm looking forward to putting them away in her dresser.

I had Directv come out on Saturday and install two new receivers, so the boys will no longer be watching TV in Kaelie's room. I'm planning on getting a small TV for Kaelie's room, but she won't be watching it much. Developmentally, it's just not appropriate for children under the age of 2. As the boys have gotten older, they've been able to watch more and more TV, but Shelby and Jeremy both are very interested in playing outside, building things, etc. It's just not good for kids to spend their days sitting in front of a box!

On another note, I contacted my homestudy agency and we are now getting started on our homestudy update and new USCIS approval. I hope to have everything done by the end of May, have our visit the first part of June, and get our I600A in, be fingerprinted and have our new 171H in-hand by the end of July before I go back to school. This approval will be good through the first part of 2010 and I hope we'll be back way before then. I really want to get this done so that I don't have to worry about it when we get Kaelie's referral. I sure hope this process goes smoothly!

This just in....

from China Adoption Forecast:

-*"China has 39 days of dossiers to be processed before they get to your dossier. China currently processes about 5-7 days of dossiers each month.

If China did all future referrals at the exact same speed as they did this month: 2008-12-18

Our best guess - a weighted average of recent CCAA velocities, guessing that CCAA will perform about as well in the future as they are performing now, but might return to previous trends: 2008-08-12

That's our best guess for when you might receive your referral. Just at a guess, we can suppose that the CCAA either speeds up or slows down significantly, and show you those dates. If they speed up: 2008-06-09. And if they slow down: 2008-12-20.

Since China generally sends out referrals in a batch about once per month, your referral date could easily vary +/- one month depending on whether you just get included or just get missed in a particular batch."

My Latest Predictions

Hey Ya'll!

Well, my prediction for this month was off by one day. UGH! I'm still really hoping for a September referral. Here are my latest predictions based on an average between the number of days referred in the past twelve months (6.25 days) and number of poll families (about 100).

Credit: Rumor Queen

May Referrals - through January 14, 2006
June Referrals - through January 22, 2006
July Referrals - through January 27, 2006
August Referrals - through February 10, 2006 (the large gap accounts for Chinese New Year, 2006)
September Referrals - through February 17, 2006

I am hoping that RQ puts up a new daily poll this month which will help with making my predictions through the end of the year.

If we end up getting a September referral, I will travel in mid-November to complete the adoption. Which wouldn't be a bad thing necessarily....I could take three weeks of maternity leave before Christmas break, and three weeks after Christmas break, and return to work at the end of January, 2009.

To Buy or Not to Buy?

Hey ya'll!

I need some opinions, and fast! I found this dresser on Craigslist and need to decide whether I should buy it or not.

It has three drawers on each side and shelves behind the doors. I'm thinking about how easy it would be to take the doors off and put baskets on the shelves. (think Pottery Barn here!). I would be sanding off the finish and painting it white with a high-gloss paint. So what do you think?

April Referrals

Well, what can I say? The CCAA referred through January 9, 2006. Progress, yes, but how much? Considering that 2 of the days referred were a Saturday and Sunday, not very much.

I think a couple of things happened this month: first, April is traditionally a small month for referrals - it was this time last year that the CCAA issued out the infamous 2-day batch. Secondly, I think the powerful snow and ice storms affected how the SWI's were able to send out referrals.

I'm still thinking September/October for Kaelie's referral and November for travel.

Sigh.....

Reconfiguring the Closet

One of the things I've wanted to do for a long time to the house is to reconfigure my closet. Our house is a 70's ranch style, and the closets are pretty small. I had two bars, one on each side, and a shelf. There was A LOT of extra space in the top of the closet and I just had stuff stacked on top of stuff! Anyway, with Kaelie's referral drawing near, I took the plunge and decided to go for it.

First, I took everything out of the closet! Then, I demolished the bars and shelves and started off with a blank slate. Now I have two bars on the left (one for David's clothes, the other for my shirts and sweaters), an armoire in the middle - giving me two more dresser drawers) and one bar on the right for dresses.

I'll also have two shelves on the right. I'll add pretty baskets and label for all of the "stuff" I decide to save. I've got to go through David's clothes and decide what to Ebay/Goodwill. I will a patch up a few holes where I demolished the old shelving and paint.

Hope you enjoy the pictures of my handyman apprentice Jeremy testing the strength of the bars and helping screw the bars in place. He is was a terrific helper!