The I-797C Again.

We got some news from our adoption agency today...our I-797C re-file has been approved. One more thing knocked down out of the way. I am happy. For those of you re-filing with the Boston USCIS, we refiled on on February 12th, and our adoption agency received our approval today. Not too shabby at all.

It's unseasonably warm here today, and I was out in the back yard with the mutts for a bit. I use the term "backyard" loosely. We have a very tiny back yard, and no grass. The previous owner of our house had some kind of zen thing going...the entire back yard is tiny stones. We do have a lot of trees though, and I was picking up random broken branches, thinking about how much spring backyard clean-up Tim and I will have to do. And oh yeah, our friend Carla too. Because God knows that almost nothing gets done on the house without the slave driver. I was thinking about the firepit table and patio chairs we bought late last summer, and how nice it will be to actually use those this summer. And then it hit me...this summer, there will be a little girl back there. Maybe late in the summer, and maybe she won't be running around the yard right away, but there'll be a little girl. And she'll be ours.

And that my friends, was wonderful to think about.

For your dining pleasure.

I recently finally got around to typing up a recipe for a friend. So, I figured, why not include it here? This is one of the few vegetarian meals SchnauzerKing will tolerate (he of the motto "Bacon makes everything better"). Oh, how he covets Kikalee's sausage dish.

This recipe is from an old issue of Cooking Light magazine, which I think rocks. We stopped subscribing because at this point we've got lots of cook books and lots of old issues. I think 95% of the stuff we've made from Cooking Light recipes has been good. And this soup is VERY easy to make. And so, I present:

VEGETARIAN WEST AFRICAN SOUP

2/3 cup roasted peanuts

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

2 cups chopped onion

6 cups (1 inch) cubed peeled sweet potato
Personal note: I don’t bother actually cubing the sweet potato. Cutting it into small irregularly shaped pieces allows for some bits to break off and thicken the soup. This also works well for regular potatoes in traditional New England clam chowder.

1 tablespoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon black pepper
Personal note: I use a whole teaspoon. We like things a bit spicier.

¼ teaspoon salt

2 (15.5 ounce) cans chick peas (garbanzo beans), drained
Personal note: I rinse these before draining.

2 (14.5 ounce) cans vegetable broth
Personal note: I use the low-sodium stuff without any problem.

1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

Flat-leaf parsley sprigs (optional)

1. Place peanuts in a food processor, process until smooth (about 2 minutes), scraping the sides of the bowl once.

2. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add onion, sauté 7 minutes or until lightly browned.
Personal note: I use a plain old stockpot with a cover. Although if anyone wants to buy me a Le Creuset Dutch Oven, feel free.

3. Add peanut butter, sweet potato, and next 6 ingredients (potato through tomatoes), bring to a boil.

4. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes or until sweet potato is tender. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size of 1.5 cups)
Calories per serving: 477 (18% from fat)

And now, I must watch AI. Those boys better have undergone some kind of major transformation.

Keeping roots strong

Click here for an article in today's NYT about adoptive families trying to keep their Chinese children's heritage alive.

For you AI Fans.

Click here for Redheaded Chick's reviews.

Do you have a male or female brain?

I got sucked into a Sex I.D. of the brain test on BBC, which I found on one of my favorite blogs, Grrl Travels. My brain is apparently a 25 (female) on a scale that looks like this:

Female-100 50 0 50 100-Male

The average score for women that take the test is 50 (female). So am I less of a woman than the average woman? And is that a good or bad thing?

If you are going to take the test, do so now. I'm about to tell you a little more about my scores.
************************************************************************************
There are six parts to the test, some timed.

Part 1: Angles, "a spatial task". I score a 16 out of 20, where the average score for men is 15.1/20 and the average score for women is a 13.3/20. This puts me in this range: "You found this test neither hard nor easy. This suggests your brain has male and female traits when it comes to spatial ability".

Part 1: Spot the Difference, which "tests your ability to identify which objects changed position". I scored a 79%, where the average score for men is 39% and the average score for women is 46%. This puts me in this range: "Those with a female-brain type generally score in this range. Your ability to remember where objects are may serve as an advantage to you when you're trying to find your way around places. You're more capable of recalling landmarks to get from one place to another".

All I can say is that SchnauzerKing damn well better score lower than me on this, since I've seen lots of evidence that his spatial ability is lacking, e.g. our trash can that does not fit where it's supposed to.

Part 2: Hands. My left thumb is on top when I clasp my hands together. This is supposed to indicate right brain dominance, and "as a right brain dominant person, you may excel in visual, spatial and intuitive processes". Yeah. Whatever.

Part 3: Emotions and Systems, which looked at whether I prefer to empathize or systemise. I scored a 10 out of 20 for empathy (average score for men is 7.9/20, average score for women is 10.6/20), and a 9 out of 20 for systemizing (average score for men is 12.5/20, average score for women is 8/20). Apparently, I prefer to do neither. Either that or I have a dual personality.

Part 3: Eyes, which "tests your ability to judge people's emotions". I nailed this, scoring 10 out of 10. The average score for men is 6.6/10, the average score for women is 6.6/10.
So, to quote a friend of mine "Don't piss on my head and tell me it's raining". I'll be on to you.

Part 4: Fingers, which measures the ratio your index finger to your ring finger. Both of my hands had a ratio of 1.01. The average for men is 0.982, and the average for women is 0.991.
However, I am not entirely convinced that either I, or the others that took this test, are accurate measurement takers.

Part 5: Faces, which looks at "how you rate the attractiveness of a series of faces". I chose males as my preference in sexual partners, and so the images were "digitally altered to create slight differences in masculinity". My choices suggest I prefer more masculine faces among men. This makes sense to me...never been into pretty boys. Give me Liam Neeson over Brad Pitt any day.


Part 6: 3D Shapes, which tested my "ability to mentally rotate 3D shapes". I scored a 12/12 on this, with an average score for men of 8.2/12 and an average score for women of 7.1/12. Less than 10% of women get a perfect score, so apparently I am a freak among women. The score out me in this range: "Are you an engineer or do you have a science background? People with these skills tend to score high in this range. Past studies have concluded that people in this range have a more male brain". Hmmm. I am an economist. But a medical doctor wanna-be and not just because of McDreamy and Burke.

Part 6: Words, which looks at "verbal fluency". I score 12 words that are associated with "grey" and 9 words that mean "happy". The average score for mean is 11.4 words total and the average score for women is 12.4 words total. The test does assume that the words you entered are correct. Hmmm. I do read a lot, and have a decent vocabulary, although I often resort to phrases such as "Oh, man" and "You F***er". Road rage is rampant in these parts. I am working on eliminating the latter phrase from my vocabulary in light of impendeding parenthood.

Part 6 Ultimatum, a task which looked at how you would divide money. I went for an equitable split. Apparently, that makes me less greedy than average, since mean demanded 51.6% of the pot, while women demanded 51% of the pot on average. Hey, I've never had a lot of money, why start now?

And yes honey, I believe in an equitable spilt of household and future child-rearing labor.

And another month goes by.

Yesterday was our 15th month LID anniversary. Over dinner, we talked about how we've been at this for two years now (our initial intake interview with CAWLI was in February 2005).
I just keep telling myself our day is coming.

Yep.

Lifelines.

Once in a while it occurs to me what an idiot I really am. Seriously. Knowledge of useless trivia: high. Knowledge of pop and rock lyrics: high. Knowledge of statistics, economics: high. Practical, useful knowledge: non-existent.

First, there's the matter of the house. SchnauzerKing and I know NOTHING. I am serious. Contractors frequently look at us like we are from Mars. And we might as well be, for all we know about maintaining a home here on Planet Earth.

Then there's the matter of this baby business. I have to admit it...now that there are only 26 days worth of LIDs sitting between us and a referral, I am obsessed. Weirdly, I am not obsessed with checking the CCAA or Rumor Queen sites because I know we aren't getting a referral before April, at the absolute earliest. What I am obsessed about is preparing for motherhood. The nursery furniture will be delivered on the 24th. And I am obsessed with making that nursery look wonderful...a warm, safe, welcoming, calming place for this baby girl we've longed for for what seems like forever. I've been stocking up on books. Also, I've begun registering. I toyed with the idea of using myregistry.com, which allows you to register for stuff from lots of different stores. However, I recently used that for a friend. It wasn't too bad in terms of the confusion factor, but I could definitely see it making the less 'net savvy folks among us want to kill me. However, when I started registering, I discovered the stuff I wanted was all over the place. For instance, this really cool letters and numbers playmat, I could only find at One Step Ahead. And then, BabyUniverse.com had some more pieces from the bedding set I finally decided on ("Sweet As a Daisy" by Lambs and Ivy), which happened after I decided that the bedding set I ALREADY have wasn't feminine enough for the crib we ended up buying. That bedding set is now on reserve as a back up in case of baby poop or vomit explosions, or for a second child. I also registered at Babies 'R Us and Target, figuring that not everyone has a BRU close by. Oh, and Target was the only one that had the highchair and pack 'n play pattern I loved, Family Tree. Lots of animals, and we are big on the animals in our house.

Speaking of high chairs, don't get me started on that. I decided early on that I wanted the Stokke KinderZeat. Yes, it's pricey, and I know we will probably buy it ourselves, which I am totally OK with. It gets excellent reviews and is made of solid wood. Bella will be able to use this for a long time, and it can pull right up to our dining room table. I consulted with Tim on this, and he was convinced that we'd still need a regular high chair first. So I registered for the Graco Family Tree one, which is supposed to be easy to clean. But I still find myself wondering if we really need it.

Then there are all these baby gadgets that I wondered about. Like the wipes warmer. Is it really necessary? The Boppy pillow. Mothers swear by them, but aren't most of our girls too old by Forever Family Day to really get much use out of them? Egad.

And then I freak out at the prices of some of this stuff, not wanting to put people off. We really don't expect people to buy us some of the more expensive items we registered for. Part of the registry's function is for us to keep track of what we want. There are some areas where I don't mind spending the money, because there are items that will be used almost everyday and where safety and comfort are especially important. For me this is stuff like the car seats, the high chair, and the stroller.

My one saving grace is that I have friends that know stuff. In particular, LaSalette (mom to two year old sweetheart Emma) and Cheryl (mom to one year old cutie Mya) have been helping me out A LOT. They've been there, done that. Emma came home from China in November 2005 and Mya came home in December 2006. So they're in the know. Even more importantly, they are kind and patient with me. And it's wild watching these girls grow. I had no intentions of getting a jumperoo until I saw Mya rocking out on hers. Hysterical. I do think she needs a Hair Band wig, though. And a good dose of MTV Headbanger's Ball. LaSalette assured me that while a wipes warmer isn't really necessary, it sure helps nighttime diaper changes along. Neither one felt a need for the Boppy pillow. Also, Cheryl tells me that a total change of bedding typically isn't necessary, but reminded me to register for lots of extra crib seats. LaSalette and Cheryl have consistently cheered us on, even as they are now smack dab in the midst of motherhood. They haven't forgotten what it's like to be waiting, and I love them for that.

Then I benefit from being the last person in my MIW/RLM posse that will make the transition from Mother In Waiting to Real Life Mom. Luca is already home with Lea, and Kikalee and Sparky will soon be departing for China for their little ones. By the time I get my referral, they will all be home. And I plan to pump them for info, believe you me.

SchnauzerKing is one of the few men I know that takes pride in his utter absence of handy-man ability. Since the furniture company won't assemble a crib, he came up with this idea of the "Build a Crib" party. This is where we invite men that actually know stuff (like Cheryl's husband Bruce) to come to our house and assemble Bella's crib. Remarkably, Bruce has already agreed to this, and we have a few other candidates in mind (friends of ours with skills, beware). SchnauzerKing has agreed to wear a hard hat, supervise and cook some gourmet pizzas. What a man, what a man, what a mighty big man.

Thank God for those lifelines.

That Lovin' Feeling

It's been a nice Valentine's Day here in Chez Murphy, even if the weather outside is awful. We've justified skipping a gym workout tonight since we've both been shoveling the frickin' heavy snow/hail/rain combo we've got going on here.

Time for a vote for most creative Valentine's message:

SchnauzerKing to Redheaded Chick, along with three dozen red roses: "Happy Valentine's Day! You put the ahhhhwo ooooo in the SchnauzerKing's life!"

Reheaded Chick to SchnauzerKing, along with a cactus dish garden: "You make me feel all prickly inside".

Cast your vote by COMMENTING.

The Westminster Results

Ok, so if you aren't into dogs, this post isn't for you. If you are, and you watched the Westminster Show, what did you think? We like comments, people.

We always start off the show rooting for the Bichon Frise and the Miniature Schnauzer to win their groups, the Non-Sporting and Terrier groups, respectively, but it was not to be. Buca did show a real interest in the dog show this year though, and actually seemed to be watching for a while before he became "Buca Ball", curled up, sleeping in Daddy's lap.

The seven Best of Group dogs were an Akita (Working Group), a Dandie Dinmont terrier (Terrier Group), a Standard Poodle (Non-Sporting Group), a Toy Poodle (Toy Group), a Petits Basset Griffons Vendeen (Hound Group), and English Springer Spaniel (Sporting Group), and a Bouviers des Flandres (Herding Group).

Now, Tim and I like most dogs. However, as the Best in Show competition started warming up, the phrase "F***ing Poodles" kept coming out of the SchnauzerKing's mouth. In fact, he started to fantasize about the Akita winning Best in Show and then attacking and eating the standard and toy poodles in celebration. It's not so much that we hate poodles, as we hate how they are made to look for these shows.

Exhibit A...The Standard Poodle for Best in Group


Need I say more? That doesn't even look like a dog.

I was rooting for three dogs, and I really couldn't decide on my favorite for Best in Show. One of the dogs, the Bouviers des Flandres, was named INDIE. How amazing is that? I've never met another dog that shared my sweet girl's name. Here is the Bouviers des Flandres:



Kinda looks like a terrier, which in my book is a good thing. However, I have always loved the Dandie Dinmont breed, something Tim has teased me about for years. This year, a Dandie Dinmont made it to the best in show competition. Here's Harry:



How can you not love that cutie?

At the same time, another one of my favorite breeds is the PBGV, which SchnauzerKing refers to as the "HeeBeeGeeBee". Here's the PBGV:


This dog had a lot of style. She was workin' it.

I really thought the PBGV would win. But it was not to be. The judge chose the English Springer Spaniel, James.


Certainly a nice looking dog, but no Indie namesake, Dandie Dinmont, or PBGV.

And thus ends another year of Westminster. I can't wait to indoctrinate Isabella into the madness.

Going to the dogs.

It's that time again...time for the Westminster Kennel Club Show. C'mon. You know you want to watch.

My husband's "sense of humor".

Note that I am using the term "sense of humor" loosely.

Yesterday was a total laze about day. Once again, I am sick. Of course, with me, we are never entirely sure whether it's allergies or a cold. But, I digress. We sit down to watch The Illusionist(a very good movie, btw), which is directed by Neil Burger.

As the opening credits roll by:
Tim: I wonder if he is any relation to Ham?

I so wish I was kidding.

CAWLI referrals

I just received the email update from our adoption agency. CAWLI received 16 referrals this month, all girls, ranging in age from 7 months to 24 months. The girls were from Guangdong and Anhui provinces.

There is a CAWLI group in China now, which my fellow MIW/RLM Luca is in. We are really looking forward to meeting Lea, after she and her parents have a chance to settle in at home.
Luca is the first Real Life Mom from our little group.

Sparky and Bob leave on March 1st to bring home their daughter Grace. Kikalee will probably be in China to bring home her sweet daughter around that time as well. It is an exciting time...baby madness in the MIW/RLM group!

Tim is predicting a June referral. I am not liking him very much right now. I so want my daughter home on my 35th birthday, so I am clinging to a May referral.

Referral Update

The latest batch of referrals go up to dossiers with a Log In Date of 10/13/2005. This means that since Tim and I have an LID of 11/18/2005, there are 26 Log In Dates and God knows how many dossiers to go. I am guessing an April or May referral, with May being more likely.

Deep breath...