Discrimination

I never thought I’d experience discrimination.  Sure, I’ve been teased, picked on, all that but discrimination?

Let me start from the beginning.  Many of you know that we are friends with some Chinese people who own a few restaurants here in town.  They are great people and and we enjoy their company.  Recently his brother sent his two kids over from China.  An 11 year boy and a 9 year old girl.  They are very sweet kids and are trying their best to get used to America.  Can you imagine being thrust into a school where you don’t even speak the language?  They started school a few days after they arrived.  How brave is that?? 

Anyway, Pan brought the boy over to my house on Friday and said that he hurt his elbow, had no strength in it.  The poor kid just looked at me and I could tell he was miserable.  Instead of taking them to the hospital I took them to my pediatrician.  When we went up to the receptionist she asked if we had an appointment and I said no and explained to her what happened.  

Here’s the conversation:

Snotty Receptionist (SR):  Have we seen him before?

Me:  No,  he will be a new patient.

SR:  We need his records from his other doctor.

Me:  We don’t have any of his records.  They are in China.

SR:  You mean you don’t have any records for him, even from where he was born?  Has he NEVER seen a doctor before?

Me:  Not here in the US.  He is from China and all of his records are there.

SR:  Well, I don’t think we will be able to see him without his records.

Me:  Why not?

SR:  Well…do they have insurance?

Me:  By “they” do you mean his dad?  No, he does not but he will pay cash today.

SR: They have no insurance?

Me:  No, but he will pay cash today.

SR:  Well…I can’t believe they don’t even keep records!

Me:  Yes, his parents have records but they are in China.

SR:  Can’t you call over there and have them faxed here?

Me:  No, sorry, its not that easy. 

Finally an angel in the back said it was okay that we don’t have his records and for us to have a seat and someone would be with us shortly.  The doctor was extremely nice as was his nurse.  Their receptionist needs to take some lessons on manners!  I was shocked at her attitude towards Pan and this sweet boy.  I can’t imagine how they would have felt if I wasn’t there.   When I told Big T about the incident he said that he was glad I was with him to help out.   By the way, after x-rays we were told that nothing was broke and we needed to get his shirt back on so they could put his arm in a sling.  When trying to manipulate his shirt Pan grabbed his arm and kind of pulled it back and we heard a “pop” and then a loud scream (heh…boy…can he scream!).  After that he was fine!  The doctor ran back him and we told him what happened and he said that obviously the elbow was out of joint and we popped it back in.  Jeez….  :) 

Later that evening I started thinking about the whole thing.  Is this something that Little T is going to experience or will she have it easier because she speaks English?  What if she never talks and has to use sign language?  Will she be looked down on like the SR did to Pan? Is this what he faces everyday because he is different?   How do I protect her from the ugliness that is abound in this world? 

That’s a hard question and I’m not sure I can protect her.  I can prepare her though.  I can teach her that everyone deserves respect no matter who they are or where they come from.  I can help her grow up to love herself for who she is. I can teach her about God and his love for her and then, I can pray that the lessons I’ve tried to teach her will help her handle the difficult times. 

Nap Time is No More!!

Well, I think Little T has decided she no longer wants to nap.  This is good and bad.  Bad in that she is home while I'm working in the afternoon so I'm going to have to come up with something to keep her busy for a few hours.  Any ideas?  And then good because she will go to bed at 8 which means I actually have some down time!!  Yeah!!!!! 

This morning while cruising around I saw a blog who "Elfed" themselves.  Then I remember doing that to the boys a few years back and thought what the heck, I"ll go do it to them again.  This time I added a few extra people!  Enjoy

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Halloween, Thanksgiving and some other stuff

We dressed Little T up her the costume she wore last year.  Since she really doesn’t remember last Halloween I could get away with this.  Next year?  Who knows!!
We let her clean out her pumpkin this year too.  She really didn’t know what to think of the stuff inside.  You can see L’s hand helping her.  Oh..and she’s wearing her gymnastics outfit!






For Thanksgiving we went to my BIL’s house.  It’s always nice to spend a holiday with your relatives.  They have accepted Little T into the family in such an easy way that its like she has been here since day 1!!










She made her first gingerbread house this year!!!  Not bad for her first time – she actually had candy left to put ON the house instead of IN her mouth!

And here’s a picture of what happens when you have a 3 1/2 year old and you leave her alone for a bit while you are working!!  Yes, she was “working” to and decided to tape up her work on the TV! 



I’m actually done shopping for everyone except for the stocking stuffers and the usual socks and undies.  We can’t wait for Christmas morning this year!  She will not be as overwhelmed as she was last year so it should be a hoot!  We got her a new Ittby Bitty Baby from American Girl, a Jeep Rubicon, a bike glider (heh…she’s riding that right now!  better put it away for Christmas) some puzzles, books, clothes, crayons, etc.  I can’t wait!!  I’d tell you what L got this year but he might actually decide to read the blog so I better not.  Today or tomorrow I plan to get the Christmas photo done of L and Little T so I can get the cards out by next week. 

On another note, this time of year is always bitter sweet for me.  Putting up decorations, hearing Christmas carols, decorating the tree…it all brings back the flood of memories that I have of my mom and dad.  I wish they were still here with us, enjoying their favorite time of year and enjoying their newest granddaughter and their great-granddaughter!  Yes, I know they are watching over us and are very happy in heaven but I’m a tad bit selfish and want them here! 

Its hard to believe that Little T has been with us for almost a year and 1/2!!  She’s changed and grown so much since those first few days in China.  Everyone comments about how tall she’s getting (yeah!) but she’s still so small compared to the other kids in her pre-school.  And her talking?  No, its not there yet though she is trying.  I’ve not been very happy with the results of the school’s ST so I’m looking into getting her back into some private ST.  We actually saw her old therapist and she said that she was disappointed because it seemed to her that she has not progressed very much.  Yeah…trust me…I know!  I think it has to do with the atmosphere of her therapy.  She’s in a room that other people go in and out of during it.  How can you teach and expect a 3 1/2 yr old to pay attention to you when people are constantly walking in and out of the room?  Yep, you can’t.  Plain and simple.  I’ve watched her therapy a few times and it felt rushed to me.  Like the therapist was just going through the motions with her – does that make sense?  I’ve also decided to learn American Sign Language.  I’m hoping that this will help her communicate better.  I talked to my oldest about it and he thinks that maybe this would encourage her NOT to speak but I’m not so sure.  What do you guys think?  What else can I do to help her?  I swear, if I hear one more person say “she’ll talk soon” or “she’s only been in here for 1 1/2 years so she doesn’t understand the language yet” I’m gonna scream!  She understands the language people!!!  She understands what you say to her, she can follow complex instructions (go put your coat in your bedroom on the back of the chair and then go wash your hands for dinner).  She just has expressive language issues. 

Ok – enough.  Sorry – went off on a tangent there.  If anyone can think of something else that I can do to help our sweet girl talk please let me know!!  And no…I do NOT allow her to point to what she wants.  I make her tell me mostly by her signing it but sometimes by her babble so please don’t say that we are “talking for her”.

What have I been up to?

Since momma has been busy with work and baseball and gymnastics and keeping everyone happy I decided that I would update everyone!  So, what have I been up to? Let’s see.  I’ve been posing for momma and giving her cheesy grins.

I’ve been going to Gege’s baseball games where I eat lollipops…

and at another baseball game I decided to wear my hat!

 

When I wasn’t at the baseball field I played in the dryer,

posed pretty for momma outside on the back deck,

 

and went to the park and played.

I also went to a pumpkin patch where I picked up a heavy pumpkin and jumped in corn!

 

Then I went to the State Fair where I jumped,

got kisses from Gege,

and fell down and bumped my mouth.

I also made a new friend

and I got into a car accident with Gege….boy, is he a crazy driver!!

Here I am checking out what could be momma’s new office….she’s laughing right now but I don’t know why!

I saw lots of animals at the fair and even watched J show her goat!

I guess waking up at 7:30 and taking no nap finally caught up with me because I fell asleep while sitting on Dada’s shoulders!!

While I was sleeping Momma and Dada decided that it was time to go.  On the way back to the van Momma saw this guy and decided to take one last picture.

 

Well, as you can see I have been one busy little girl!

Beaches and Baseballs

Big T and I decided to take Little T to the beach on Saturday.  It was so pretty out with the high in the 80’s and a wonderful breeze.  She didn’t like the water at first until I got her used to it by playing with her in the surf.  Once she realized that it was fun she was ready to go “woowooo” which is swimming in Little T speak.  We  only stayed for a few hours because Big T is very pale and burns quickly.  The big dummy didn’t put on any sunscreen even after I told him to at least 10 times!  He kept saying that he was fine until Sunday when he saw exactly how “fine” he was – yep, he got burnt. 

 

We decided to go back on Sunday and invited some friends but L got called to play in a baseball tournament so off the the field we go.  He only got to play for 3 innings the first game and one at bat for the second game but that was to be expected as he was called up to pitch.  For the next month or so we’ll be watching him play every weekend.  Little T enjoys watching her big brother though she enjoys running around much more!  I think we went to the bathroom 30 times or more! 

 

Here’s a conversation we had recently with Little T.  Let me preface this by saying that “popping a bubble” is passing gas – which in this family happens quite often.  We were playing in the living room and all of a sudden I get a whiff of something pretty nasty. 

me to Little T:  Little T, did you pop a bubble?

Little T:  No…dada!!!!

Yep, she was passing the buck to her dad! 

Here are some pictures of the beach and baseball.

We are Still Here!!

Yep, we are alive and kicking around these parts.  I can’t believe that it is already September!  The time sure does fly by.  

 

The wedding was beautiful.  T & T are such a great couple and I really think they compliment each other.  Baby H and Little T had the best time running around, dancing, and just being plain cute together.  I cried a little – that is my oldest baby!!  Big T, he just grinned the whole time.  We are so proud of these two and their accomplishments.  We can’t wait to see what the future holds for them!

 

 

We had our first ER visit with Little T a few weeks ago.  She got mad at me because I was still working and she was hungry so she threw a temper tantrum *gasp* and banged her head on my computer desk.  She ended up slashing her eyelid open so off to the pediatrician I went.  He sent me on to the ER because he was afraid of putting a needle that close to her eye.  Oh, get this, when we were checking in the receptionist asked me for her birth certificate!!!  I asked her why she needed it and she said it was hospital procedure.  Umm…I think not.  I asked her if she got the bc of every child that came into the ER and she said no.  Its a good thing she didn’t push the issue because I would have started to make some noise!!  Anyway, back to Little T’s eyelid.   The ER doc said he would try to glue the gash open but if they were unable to keep her still enough they would have to put her out to put some stitches in.  I told Little T to lie down and be still, the doc straddled her little head and the other doc glued it!  Yeah!  She’s going to have a scar but it will be small. 

 

Speaking of scars, Little T is a dare devil!  I swear that the boys did NOT do the things she does.  She loves to jump off of everything, she’ll vault over the back of the couch and then pop up laughing, she climbs up on the counter by using the shelves inside of the cupboard.  Check out what I caught her doing playing in the playground at a baseball game!  Yep, that’s my girl going down the slides backwards!!  I believe we’ll be visiting the ER quite often with her!

Here she is telling me what for about something.  She’s so funny!! 

 

L made a traveling baseball team so our weekends are filled with going to ballgames.  Ugh.  Yes, I’m glad he made the team but I was hoping to have some sort of break between ball seasons!  Oh well, he’s a Junior this year so I better enjoy him while I can.  Pretty soon he’ll be out of the house! 

 

 

My manager sent me down a cooler for employee appreciation.  Little T liked it so much she decided to crawl into it!! 

 

Little T

More NY Pictures

Here are some additonal pictures from NY.  While there we were able to visit her and her.  

Jonni laid out quite a spread for Big T, Little T and myself.  The food was great but the company was even better.  I don't think either one of us shut our mouths the whole time we were together.  Sofia and Little T played well together.  It amazes us how different these 2 girls are.  Little T is wide open, jumping, running, swinging.  Sofia is quiet and laid back.  When we put Little T in the swing she laughed and started jumping so Sofia did too.  They were so cute together. I can't wait for Sofia's sister, Samantha, to come home! Now, believe it or not, but I really didn't get any shots of the delish food or the girls together.  I know, I know, its hard to believe with two camera toting mamas but its true!  I did manage to get a few parting shots of the 2 girls but Jonni and I were messing around with my camera so they are terrible! I've processed a few so here you go.

 

 

On Saturday during the reunion I snuck out to go meet with Cheri.  She was just 10 minutes away so there was no way I wasn't going.  Lia is a doll and she is doing great thanks to a wonderful mommy and daddy.  She took my hand and lead me into her house, yes, my heart just melted.  Little T played with Lia and Cheri's other kids outside for a bit until I looked at her pants and realized she had an accident!  oops...yep, potty training is still going on.  She is really doing well but when she's busy I think she just forgets.  What is amazing about this family is that they are in the process of adopting another waiting child from China.  His name is Evan and he is so cute.  Check out her blog for a picture!

 

 

 

Yep, you are right, she is a very pretty girl!

 

More random pictures