The EI petition - one free and easy thing you can do for prospective parents, and shots

The deadline has been removed from the EI petition blog and it now has no end date.  I had been quietly hoping for 1,500.  It jumped a lot in the last day so somebody has a lot of friends and family that has got wind of this.  If you haven't signed this please do so.  I sent it to my agency and to a woman at AFABC who has been most helpful in my journey so far.   Children joining families through adoption are every bit in need of time with their new parents and families.  Please pass this on to anybody you know who you think might sign it.  I am going to send it to my local Status of Women committee and hope they will take it up and ask members to sign it.  It seems such a human rights issue and something that they might be interested in supporting. If you have already signed the petition, thank you.

Still no news on my fingerprints!!!!!!   I can't do anything else until I get them back.  My advice to other families, although these are time sensitive, start them early.  Don't be in the position that I'm in where they are holding you up!

Oh, I forgot to post that I started my shots last Thursday night.  I went to the travel clinic and got my first Hep A & Hep B as well as an MMR booster.  I go back in a month for my second Hep A & Hep B as well as Typhoid.  I also need rabies and yellow fever but will post more later.  I need to go through the book again and see what else I need.  Some of the shots can't be given at the same time as they are considered live vaccines.

Catherine's version of a Canadian dragon cake! Much cheaper and still as effective.

I didn't make that beautiful dragon cake I posted about last week for my students.  It was going to be way too expensive and I didn't think I'd be allowed to claim $50-$60 if not more of candy.  Last night Catherine, from Catherine's Chatter posted the dragon cake that was made for the children that her daughter celebrated Chinese New Year with!  Now, why didn't I think of that!   As Chinese New Year almost always falls around Valentines Day the candy hearts are readily available.  Next year maybe my students will get lucky!  Not much news to report except I made a phone call to the attorney general's office in Victoria yesterday and spoke with an extremely kind and helpful lady.  I am posting from school and wonder whether my crim check is waiting for me at home ? ? ?  I doubt it, but one can hope.  Off to a waiting parents information meeting tonight about adopting from the Ministry.  Tomorrow is travel clinic day and the first round of shots!

Tired, Frustrated and Fed-Up.

Three people this week have told me I sound more positive, relaxed and up-beat.  Only one of them spoke to me tonight!!!!!  Thanks C for letting me vent.

To buy or not to buy, that is the question  (My keyboard has gone into European mode and I  can`t get a question mark) Yesterday I was rather stupid because I went to Kidsbooks and spent a nice sum of money on books for the child I don't have yet.  The bookstore had a 20% off sale but I lost all benefit of that when I returned to the car and found I had a parking ticket!  There are many books written for children, primarily little girls, about adoption from China.  I refuse to buy these as although the message is appropriate the illustrations aren't.  I bought a couple of Todd Parr books, a photo book on adoption, a book on families and a game.  I also got a non-fiction book called, "Happpy Birthday" but couldn't find it on the Kidsbooks website so the link is to Amazon.  It is a book that explains the different components of birthdays in a really clear and simple way.  For a child that maybe hasn't celebrated many birthdays it explains a lot of things.

We had a lovely staff social after school and should do this more often. It was very easy to plan, a team effort and a fun way to relax and visit with colleagues.  I was doing okay until I checked my email before leaving school.  Needless to say I came home, curled up in my chair and read for two hours before making a run to London Drugs.  My feet have been really bad today and standing has been very painful.  I don`t think the tennis ball exercise my physio has given me is helping.

Some how I didn't publish this from my laptop at 1:00 in the morning.  Here it is from my desktop!

Follow-up to the dragon cake and an two after-school friends

See the previous post for the Chinese New Year dragon cake.  One candy store in Vancouver sells M&M's by colour.  They are $3 for 100g or $65 for a 5 lb bag.  I am reconsidering the cake!!!!!!  Any ideas for substitutions for coloured M&M's would be greatly appreciated.  I am not talented enough to pipe icing or else that would work.

I had a very pleasant surprise after school.  A former parent and friend stopped by to see how things were going and she brought her adorable cocker-spaniel with her.  I haven't seen him for a long time so it was lovely to spoil him with a couple treats.  Murphy is getting on in age but certainly remembered me.  He loves to be loved!  You couldn't find a gentler more loving dog anywhere.  He remembered the "shake a paw" trick and raised his paw for a shake without even asking!   I love you Murphy.  Thanks J for coming by.  I truly appreciate your support and hope you one day you will be able to meet my little one.



Murphy on the playground after school



Have a good evening and keep warm!!!!

Chinese New Year Dragon Cake

Chinese New Year is a big deal to Vancouver.  We have so many students and families at my school that celebrate that when I read how to make this dragon cake on another blog I thought I might try!   "Catherine's Chatter" had a link to the blog which happened to open on the dragon cake post.  Click on dragon cake to see how!  The directions are very straightforward and their are photos of each step.  All I need to find are the bags of yellow, orange and red M&M's and then I'm set.