Back Home Again

Yes, it has taken me a full week to begin to get my bearings. Only for the grace of my parents who helped with the trip and then after, once we were home am I seeing straight. The trip home was delightfully uneventful considering we were traveling with a four year old and a 9 month old. My only dance to brink was about 6 hours into the flight from Beijing to Newark when I suddenly realized that I had packed 6 cds which contained about 600 trip photos into the large suitcase which was at the time being carelessly jostled in hot cargo in the underbelly of the 777. How many suitcases were dropped on top of ours? Would it crack the cds? Would our travel mates share their 600 photos with us should our cds get broken? All I could think of was Olivia telling this story over and over at Thanksgiving dinners well into her 40's about how her lame ass mother broke ALL of her China adoption photos leaving her with nothing. An orphan with nothing...can you even imagine the guilt?

When we arrived at Newark I sprinted to the baggage carosel shouting at the Muffin Man to pick a kid and dropping the other off with my dad who stood dazed and confused. "Photos, oh in the luggage?" I got the big green suitcase and while seeing my husband's dirty underwear fall to the floor I drove for those photo cds...I silently traded a difficult flight on our last leg home for those cds to be in perfect condition with the heavens. Silly Godly trading will work I rationalized in my 25th hour of no sleep. Then there they were, perfectly stacked up without a scratch or dent. I breathed a sign of adoption trip relief. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Poor Olivia became a US citizen standing behind a man in a panama hat from somewhere foreign who left our olfactory senses reeling. Twenty minutes later the tough talking security guard with the thick New York accent was no match for me as I quoted my 4oz. right to non-prescription Benedryl for my babies from the 60 airport security signs I'd read along the way. She called a supervisor to make the call and Olivia blew out a nice green booger than earned us our meds back pronto. (The kid poops on command too, more on that later.)

Olivia was a dream the whole way, Ava colored quietly and napped without incident. I continue to swoon with my unbelievable fortune with these amazing kids. To top it all off I had 600 photos of our China experience to give to Olivia for her to share at Thanksgivings to come.

Now for some photos....I bet you are expecting something along the lines of matching pink sundresses aren't you? Well, shame on you. You need to read an archive or two to see how lame I truly am. It has been one week home and this is all I got. I promise to do better tomorrow and next week. Hmmm....Blogger is not allowing photos right now, what a surprise. I will upload them next time. Apologies.