Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Our Trip Home
We left at 8:00 PM to the airport. Our taxi driver seemed to be racing (for some reason), so it did not take as long as it did before. We were very relieved to be leaving, but at the same time miss the city. It was a great and fun place to be.
The first plane ride was very easy. She slept the whole way. When we landed in Tokyo, they managed to lose the stroller they had promised to have ready for us. Really great service. After getting through the 45-minute long wait in line, we got to the Japan Air service line, where they insisted we go back to baggage claim and repeat the line. No. After much... persuasion, one of their people went to get it for us. After this, we went to the nonexistent American Airlines line. That was another pretty long wait, until two people came. Two people, for an accumulating line of 20-some agitated passengers. That line was about as long as our wait for the people to come, except that we had to stand up. Not my favorite airport.
Remember when I said that she graciously slept from Hanoi. We didn't get that pleasure this time. And this is a twelve-hour ride. We hadn't taken our air mediciney-thingies, so Mom got a bit of a headache, while I got major motion sickness and threw up all over the lavatory.
When we got to Dallas/Fort Worth, we found out the true definition of a crazy airport. Even with Dad's warning, it was one of the craziest airports I have ever been in. We got stopped by the Fish & Wildlife commission guy who, looking at the turtle tag on our duffel, said
"Ma'am. Are you smuggling any fish or wildlife? Except for this sea turtle, of course." Finally, someone working at an airport with a sense of humor.
The short trip from Dallas to Hartford was not that hard. We met a lady who recommended a DVD that gives techniques to calm babies. Mae fussed a little bit at the beginning, but was fine for most of the flight, so long as we bent over backwards and catered to her every whim. She is Queen Medb, after all. Most of my air sickness went away, so the flight was OK for me as well, though there were times when I though, simply, Get me the heck off this infernal machine.
Well, we're back. Mom and I are going to take some time off to hang with her, and to recover from some major jet lag. She has met most of her grandparents, and has taken to them quite well. Initially, she was afraid of the dogs, but after realizing she was in control she was much better.
Pictures to come soon after this post.
The first plane ride was very easy. She slept the whole way. When we landed in Tokyo, they managed to lose the stroller they had promised to have ready for us. Really great service. After getting through the 45-minute long wait in line, we got to the Japan Air service line, where they insisted we go back to baggage claim and repeat the line. No. After much... persuasion, one of their people went to get it for us. After this, we went to the nonexistent American Airlines line. That was another pretty long wait, until two people came. Two people, for an accumulating line of 20-some agitated passengers. That line was about as long as our wait for the people to come, except that we had to stand up. Not my favorite airport.
Remember when I said that she graciously slept from Hanoi. We didn't get that pleasure this time. And this is a twelve-hour ride. We hadn't taken our air mediciney-thingies, so Mom got a bit of a headache, while I got major motion sickness and threw up all over the lavatory.
When we got to Dallas/Fort Worth, we found out the true definition of a crazy airport. Even with Dad's warning, it was one of the craziest airports I have ever been in. We got stopped by the Fish & Wildlife commission guy who, looking at the turtle tag on our duffel, said
"Ma'am. Are you smuggling any fish or wildlife? Except for this sea turtle, of course." Finally, someone working at an airport with a sense of humor.
The short trip from Dallas to Hartford was not that hard. We met a lady who recommended a DVD that gives techniques to calm babies. Mae fussed a little bit at the beginning, but was fine for most of the flight, so long as we bent over backwards and catered to her every whim. She is Queen Medb, after all. Most of my air sickness went away, so the flight was OK for me as well, though there were times when I though, simply, Get me the heck off this infernal machine.
Well, we're back. Mom and I are going to take some time off to hang with her, and to recover from some major jet lag. She has met most of her grandparents, and has taken to them quite well. Initially, she was afraid of the dogs, but after realizing she was in control she was much better.
Pictures to come soon after this post.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Maeve in the Mountains
Maeve 11
Yesterday was a lazy day. Mom went out with Mae and went around the lake. I just slept and hung around. My throat is still feeling HORRIBLE- I have to see a doctor when we get back, it's so bad. We went out to a place close to the hotel for dinner,and I had some soup and things that would be easy on my throat.
Today, we went to Ba Vi Park, where we hiked for a while and got some great pictures. It's on the top of a mountain, with many water buffaloes and cows. When we got home we went to the Mediterranean for dinner. It was delicious, and I got to try their pizza, which was okay.
New families have arrived, I met a 10-year-old named Noah, who also lives in Connecticut. What a small world!
Today, we went to Ba Vi Park, where we hiked for a while and got some great pictures. It's on the top of a mountain, with many water buffaloes and cows. When we got home we went to the Mediterranean for dinner. It was delicious, and I got to try their pizza, which was okay.
New families have arrived, I met a 10-year-old named Noah, who also lives in Connecticut. What a small world!
Friday, April 20, 2007
Maeve 10
Yesterday, after I was feeling a bit better, we went out to a pizza place (I am making a point to visit them all). The pizza was amazing, the best I've had. It was't a very eventful day, although my fever did come back much later. Maeve is very fussy before sleeping, but when she finally passes out she is a perfect angel. It is incredibly hard living in this small room with a baby, especially one with her sleep habits, but it is all worth it in the end.
When we woke up this morning, I was feeling fine, as were Mom and Maeve. However, my throat does still hurt. A lot. We went to the Bookworm, the "only english bookshop in Hanoi". Yay!!! We got a few books, which I plan to read soon. We then went to dinner at La Salsa, a spanish place with lots and lots of Tapas. We also met a baby(not adopted) that was 12 months and at least a little bigger than Maeve. Whoa.
We got back and are now trying to get Maeve to sleep. It seems to be working.
When we woke up this morning, I was feeling fine, as were Mom and Maeve. However, my throat does still hurt. A lot. We went to the Bookworm, the "only english bookshop in Hanoi". Yay!!! We got a few books, which I plan to read soon. We then went to dinner at La Salsa, a spanish place with lots and lots of Tapas. We also met a baby(not adopted) that was 12 months and at least a little bigger than Maeve. Whoa.
We got back and are now trying to get Maeve to sleep. It seems to be working.
Ha Long Bay
We went to Ha Long Bay on Tuesday
It was beautiful
Tourism boats are everywhere
The fog was cool and it cleared up later in the day
Our group rented our own boatWednesday, April 18, 2007
Picture Updates-NOT
Okay I've tried but failed a few times you will have to wait for Abram to update pictures it appears to be beyond my technical expertise and Maeve's "help" doesn't make it easier. So pictures coming soon to a blog near you (or not so near)
SIck Boy
Hi
It's Kelly
Abram wasn't feeling well yesterday and ended up with a fever. He kicked it for a while and started to perk up last night but then hit a wall and is still warm and feeling "yucky" today. There appears to be a virus being shared with some of us at the hotel. It has hit my friend's 12 year old daughter and her 20 year old niece as well. A 24/48 hour thing. So we'll just let Abram have another restful day and set him to task when he feels better.
Maeve is lovely and slept for 6+ hours last night which is a habit I will encourage. She has been having fewer bad dreams and is very happy to be with us throughout the day. She vehemently dislikes napping or going to bed. Reminds me of another child of mine.
A perfect match for the family.
Our paperwork is moving along faster than expected and we hope to travel home sooner than expected but airline tickets are hard to come by as are hotel rooms. Hanoi and Vietnam in general are experiencing an amazing tourist boom and there are adoptive parents everywhere.
We met a lovely couple from Italy who are adopting a little girl named Thi Hoa, which is also Maeve's Vietnamese name. They are keeping the name s as they explained,' it is very pretty and sounds almost Italian'. Pretty Neat.
We love it here. I do however wish it wasn't so far away.
It's Kelly
Abram wasn't feeling well yesterday and ended up with a fever. He kicked it for a while and started to perk up last night but then hit a wall and is still warm and feeling "yucky" today. There appears to be a virus being shared with some of us at the hotel. It has hit my friend's 12 year old daughter and her 20 year old niece as well. A 24/48 hour thing. So we'll just let Abram have another restful day and set him to task when he feels better.
Maeve is lovely and slept for 6+ hours last night which is a habit I will encourage. She has been having fewer bad dreams and is very happy to be with us throughout the day. She vehemently dislikes napping or going to bed. Reminds me of another child of mine.
A perfect match for the family.
Our paperwork is moving along faster than expected and we hope to travel home sooner than expected but airline tickets are hard to come by as are hotel rooms. Hanoi and Vietnam in general are experiencing an amazing tourist boom and there are adoptive parents everywhere.
We met a lovely couple from Italy who are adopting a little girl named Thi Hoa, which is also Maeve's Vietnamese name. They are keeping the name s as they explained,' it is very pretty and sounds almost Italian'. Pretty Neat.
We love it here. I do however wish it wasn't so far away.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Maeve 9
We had an awesome day. We went to Ha Long Bay, an amazing beach area, and got a boat to take us out and around the islands and such. We even stopped on one of the islands, where there was a small port and village. At much urging from the captain, a few of us went into some hollowed out caverns in the middle of a mountain. That. Was. Awesome!!!!!!! There were multicolored lights and things decorating the place, it looked-using an un-guy word here-pretty. After this we just sailed around the bay for a while. Some of the people on the ship had a shop of sorts, where I made incredible deals, and got items worth $100's for less than half of that. I love this place.
The bus rides were very long, but as Mom says-It was worth every minute. We got back a few minutes ago.
We also have a great day ahead of us. Our second interview is tomorrow. Yay!!!!
P.S.
Pictures from the trip arent uploaded yet. We have a lot to do, so this may take awhile.
The bus rides were very long, but as Mom says-It was worth every minute. We got back a few minutes ago.
We also have a great day ahead of us. Our second interview is tomorrow. Yay!!!!
P.S.
Pictures from the trip arent uploaded yet. We have a lot to do, so this may take awhile.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Maeve 8
We had a great day today. We went to the silk village with all of the families and Katie L (a volunteer and all-around nice person)and her husband Tom. While there we went with the Myers to the family shop we went to last time, where we got some great items. We also went to some other shops, where I got Mom a purse (covertly). It is a perfect baby bag, as it is smaller than the huge one and bigger than the small one. After this we went to Al Fresco's, an amazing restaurant. I had the pizza, which was delicious, and Mom had the fish, which was also amazing.
When we got back I went with the Cravens stroller shopping near the Lucky Star, as I knew where all of the shops were. After that we went to the Somerset hotel and went swimming. It was very refreshing to be back in the water. I hadn't swam since winter and I loved it. I couldn't convince Mom to let me put Maeve in. All she let me do was get her feet wet. We got back and Mae puked all over the floor. However, she is doing better now, if a little fussy (but that's to be expected-the only nap she got was an hour on bus).
When we got back I went with the Cravens stroller shopping near the Lucky Star, as I knew where all of the shops were. After that we went to the Somerset hotel and went swimming. It was very refreshing to be back in the water. I hadn't swam since winter and I loved it. I couldn't convince Mom to let me put Maeve in. All she let me do was get her feet wet. We got back and Mae puked all over the floor. However, she is doing better now, if a little fussy (but that's to be expected-the only nap she got was an hour on bus).
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Maeve 7
We did not have a very eventful morning today. After making sure Mae was okay, we went to the Intermix to stock up. A few hours later we met a new family, one that the Myers knew from a previous adoption group in Taiwan. We went out to dinner at the Pane a Vino, where We had a great dinner and I found a business card for the only english bookshop in Vietnam. Mom and I are planning to go there soon. We also met an Italian couple who had a Thi Hoa(like Maeve). Maeve had passed out in the restaurant, but whenwe got home she was up again and crying. We finally got her to sleep a little while ago.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Maeve 6
This morning, Maeve got up at about 3:00 and started bawling uncontrollaby. After around 20 minutes, I got fed up with it and started yelling at everyone. I then proceeded to take my earplugs and sleep mask and roll over to face the opposite wall. I had no recollection of this after I woke up, though Mae continued to yell. I got some room service, as Mom and Dad had already gone down to eat.
Dad and I went out and got some major deals for some... gifts. An hour or so later, we went out to lunch with the other Ba Vi Buddhas at the Somerset Hotel, and got loads of pictures, which I posted earlier. For lunch, they messed up my order for kids pizza, and gave me a whole pizza instead. Not that I'm not okay with that... We then got some medicince for Maeve, as she had a fever.
A few hours after that, Michaela, the Myers daughter, and I went for more gift shopping. We combined the gifts and got a great bargain. Then, Dad and I went stroller shopping. We didn't get any good deals, as the people couldn't be persuaded, but it is a nice stroller that we can bring home. Maeve had another bath, which she enjoyed a lot. She is feeling much better.
Dad and I went out and got some major deals for some... gifts. An hour or so later, we went out to lunch with the other Ba Vi Buddhas at the Somerset Hotel, and got loads of pictures, which I posted earlier. For lunch, they messed up my order for kids pizza, and gave me a whole pizza instead. Not that I'm not okay with that... We then got some medicince for Maeve, as she had a fever.
A few hours after that, Michaela, the Myers daughter, and I went for more gift shopping. We combined the gifts and got a great bargain. Then, Dad and I went stroller shopping. We didn't get any good deals, as the people couldn't be persuaded, but it is a nice stroller that we can bring home. Maeve had another bath, which she enjoyed a lot. She is feeling much better.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
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