Maddie Rae Gotcha Day

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Wallpaper



I'm not normally a fan of wallpaper. It sort of takes me back to the 80's and little ducks and geese running around in light blue and mauve. However, as I'm perusing my decorating blogs and mags, I'm seeing a resurgence of wallpaper and I'm finding myself attracted to it. I'm particularly in love with this Jonathan Adler print above. These photos are from Turquoise, and I love the silver foil (and the turquoise birdcage light fixture). How great would this look in my upstairs landing next to that vintage bathroom tile (much better than that hideous yellow for sure!!)?

And speaking of turquoise...I purchased some fabric in this color for one of my rattan chairs that I'm going to reupholster. I'm thinking a french door painted in this color might look really yummy at the bottom of the stairway with this fabulous wallpaper. Ah...4 more weeks.

Friday, May 23, 2008

Cheers, Mate!

Jonah had his "Pirate Day" at school yesterday. He was so excited and had so much fun hunting for buried treasure, making a treasure map, and dressing up.
We had a significant milestone today...Maddie Rae drank out of a sippy cup with a spill proof valve. Which means (drumroll, please)...she can suck!!! Before her surgery, she had to just chew on the bottle to make the liquid come out. Because of her cleft palate, she couldn't create a vacuum with her mouth in order to suck. Now she can. Yay!!!
Showing off her new cup.

Jon's buying a new camera lense tonight with our money we got from Dragonair for almost dying in a blaze of glory on our flight back from Beijing. Non-blurry pictures coming soon!

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Shopper's Paradise

Yesterday was a bittersweet day for me. Bitter because it was the last time that I will partake in my own little personal shopping paradise that is LoWu Commercial Center in Shenzhen, China. Sweet because of the DEALS I got.
These are our "trunks", as Carol and I lovingly refer to them. These little trollies carry everything we buy in the city. They are a must have for urban living.This is the front of the fabric market. You first go get your tailor, and then you go to the market to pick out all your fabric. As far as the eye can see there is every kind of silk, suede, cotton, corduroy, chiffon, linen, and more.
I'm very excited in this photo because here I am picking out all the fabric for all my "new" house. I came armed with all my measurements and vision, and I left with custom made curtains to my exact specifications, roman blinds, duvet covers, pillows, shams, and extra fabric to reupholster a couch and chair. I didn't pay over $3 USD per yard for any of the fabric, and the curtains cost about $10 each. My king size duvet cover was a splurge at about $7 per yard and $20 for the custom sewing. Unbelievable!!!!!! Jon asked if I had buyer's remorse, and I realized I had non buying remorse. I wish I could have/would have bought MORE!!!!
These are the tailors. They are measuring one of Carol's Talbot jackets that she brought with her. She had silk blouses and linen jackets tailor made and didn't pay over about $15 total for any of them!!!!!!!!! I will never be able to shop in the mall or Target without longing for LoWu ever again. Eliminate about 10 middle men, and you eliminate about 80% of the cost. LoWu...I will miss you!

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Tagged

My friend, Michelle, over at Day by Day tagged me. I have to tell you three things about myself. Hmmm....let's see....

1. I never drank coffee until our first year in Hong Kong. Now I can't live without it, and I can be seen every morning until about 10 am with my Rubbermaid Travel Mug (best travel mug ever) full of a nice cup o brew with CoffeeMate flavored creamer. Every summer I bring almost one suitcase back to HK of CoffeeMate, and I have exactly 4 bottles left for the next 6 weeks. Nice planning, eh?

2. I love to shop. I got the shopping gene from my Grandma because my mom hates to shop and will only buy something if she "needs" it. My latest purchases have been furniture to put on our container back to the US and hand painted porcelain lamps for our "new" house. I'm going to Shenzhen, China next week to have curtains and duvets made for the house. I can't wait to set foot in Target in 6 weeks.

3. I miss blue. The pollution is terrible here, and I miss blue skies. This is why I am going to paint nearly every room in my house blue when we move home. Speaking of painting, I also love to decorate and if I had my dream job, I think I would be an interior designer. I'm currently obsessing about how to decorate my blank slate of a house and I'm in love with chocolate brown and white and of course, blue.

Now the fun part...I get to tag back.
Carol and Mel, you're tagged!

Friday, May 9, 2008

Turning the Corner

Happy Birthday to me...Here's my new mouth! (The gumline will be repaired with a bone graft when she is about 10)

Maddie Rae finally gave in yesterday and ate a jar of baby food and some jello. She also drank a cup of PediaSure, and today she has even had a mango banana smoothie. Hopefully we're turning a corner on the eating. Her mouth is still really sore and she is nervous about the spoon. She is doing remarkably well: playing, happy, and sleeping well. Yesterday was her birthday, and although it was very anticlimactic all things considered, she did get a few new toys. I guess we could have pureed some cake, but something gets lost in that translation! Thanks for all your continued prayers for her recovery.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

The Torch

Shenzhen, China - Today - A block away from my office on Shennan Lu (street). Interesting - the sky was blue and air was crystal clear today..

On Strike

Maddie Rae is currently on a 48 hour eating strike. She ate yogurt and jello at the hospital, and ever since she has been home where "real" food exists, she has refused to eat her liquid diet. Thankfully, she is drinking apple juice so she's not getting dehydrated, but I am getting really worried about my little 20 pounder not eating. She is sleeping right now, and when she wakes up I'm going to try to give her some PediaSure to get some calories in her. Any suggestions or tips for getting her to eat from anyone out there?!?! I'm getting desperate!!

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Home



Maddie Rae's surgery to repair her cleft palate and put tubes in her ears was on Monday morning here in Hong Kong. The surgery went really well and the repair looks "great" according to Dr. Lam. She did amazingly well, and the difference in her from her last surgery (which was only one week after we were home with her) to this surgery was remarkable. She was much calmer, much less fearful, and she snuggled in and accepted comfort from both Jon and I. Nala, her favorite little lion, stayed with her the whole time (even through surgery!), and she was very careful to take care of Nala by rubbing her mouth, snuggling her, and giving her kisses. Monday she basically slept all day long. She perked up Monday evening a bit, and then she slept well that night. Tuesday morning she started drinking water and milk, and then at about 9 am she saw some yogurt and couldn't get it in her stomach fast enough. By Tuesday afternoon, she was walking around outside, acting silly, talking, and doing great. Dr. Lam came to see her Tuesday evening and said she could go home. We got home late last night, and aside from waking up once, she slept great until 11 am this morning. She did spike a fever last night right before we left the hospital, but Dr. Lam said that was probably due to the fact that she is aspirating some saliva when she swallows since all the muscles and tissues have been rearranged. The bad news is that she can only have liquids and can't have her bottle. She was NOT happy about not having her bottle last night at bedtime, and I have a feeling tonight will be ugly. She has also refused to eat today because she doesn't want to eat pureed bananas, chocolate pudding, chocolate milkshakes, yogurt, jello, sweet potato, or anything else I try to bribe her into eating. All she's had the entire day is apple juice. So we're praying that she will eat tomorrow.

A BIG HUGE thank you to my dear friend, Carol, who left her house yesterday morning at 7:30 am and didn't return until 11:00 pm. She stayed with us at the hospital all day long so that Jon could run into work and be home with the boys. We love you, Carol!!!

And on a final note....Both times I have been at the hospital in Hong Kong, there have been some special people there. Last time it was a woman from England; this time it was a woman from Tennessee. These women volunteer 5 weeks of their lives to come over to China and take babies who are in orphanages to Hong Kong for surgery and medical care. The doctors in Hong Kong volunteer all of their services, and these special women live in the hospital with the children and take care of them. Anyone who has ever been in a hospital knows how quickly the walls close in on you, you lose track of days, and you can't get an hour in a row of decent sleep. It's uncomfortable, boring, and hard work. These women absolutely amaze me at their selfless acts of love for these sweet babies who don't have a mama to stay with them.

Thank you everyone for all your prayers. I'm off to do the bottle-less bedtime and to pray that our little peanut gets hungry enough to think pureed food is yummy!





Sunday, May 4, 2008

Heading to the Hospital

We are heading over to Adventist Hospital early in the morning so that we can be checked in by 7 am. Maddie Rae's surgery to close her soft palate and insert tubes in her ears is scheduled for 10 am. We are praying for a successful surgery and recovery, and that the pain, trauma, and fear would be as minimal as possible for her. It's such an awful experience when I have to walk into that operating room with her and watch them put her under. It's equally as awful when they bring her out screaming her head off and totally traumatized as she comes out of the anesthesia. I have some special new toys and soft baby foods packed. As soon as she's eating and drinking on her own, she'll be able to come home. I'll update as soon as I can.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

Jon went on his big adventure yesterday which was a private helicopter ride! A guy who lives near us owns his own helicopter, and he offered to give a helicopter ride for free as a prize for a youth scavenger hunt that our church is doing. He said that we may want to "test run" the prize first, so Jon got to go with 3 others from our church on the test flight. He came home saying he wants a helicopter. After all, it only takes 80 hours to get your license. Oh yeah, and a couple million. But who's counting? You can see the adventure here under "hong kopter." Pretty awesome!