Bah Hum Bug.....................

I knew it................. my taxes are being audited & I need to provide proof of all my adoption expenses plus copies of every single document ever given to me when my adoption was finalized. The great news is I am only missing one receipt out of everything so for that I am truly grateful. I am hoping the orphanage can come through & provide a copy of that one missing receipt & then I will be a happy girl.

I thought the insane paper chase was over but I am finding it still continues. The worst part is that I haven't done the kids legal name change yet (just giving them middle names of my choosing) & I still have not applied for their Canadian Citizenship. I am so sick of paperwork. What a Catch 22 - I need my tax refund to do the name change & apply for citizenship but I can't get my tax refund without providing all this documentation that the government has already scruntized & approved from the very beginning. Then next year I will have to prove that these are the same kids no doubt after I give them middle names.

I find it hard to believe that I need to ask the government permission to adopt before I can even do my homestudy. Once I am granted that request I have to provide them with personal details of my life & finances, proof of my mental stability, letters of reference from multiple people & various medical tests & they hold all the power to allow you to adopt or not. The official proposal of the children gets sent to the government first, they go through all the details & if they approve those children, my government proposes those children to me to accept or not. Then at the end of the adoption process I need to get their permission once again to bring the children into the country as permanent residents & they print up the cards to allow them to go home.

As we entered Canada we went through the all the hoops to verify all permissions were granted for them to gain entry in Canada. So in my option the government has been in well aware of & semi-active participants in our adoption from the very beginning.

When I registered for the Child Tax Benefit - they had no idea who these kids were & all documents had to be provided again.

Now again they are totally oblivious to who these children are & I need to provide all the same documents once again. Does the government not have a computer system that is networked so all this information can be shared between computers? How is that possible?

Not a happy camper. Did I mention before that I hate tax time?

Relaxing the Curls

Christolla's hair before. Hard to see but it is very tight kinky curls.

Christolla's hair after relaxing it. Can you see how much looser the curls are?

A whole new look & it looks longer. I don't think she liked it to begin with - see her reflection in the photo above (I think she thought it would be straighter). I asked what she thought about her hair she said "it's a freakin' mess" & she isn't allowed to say that! LOL I can't imagine where she would have heard that before. :) Nelson said "you look like a princess to me Christolla". Aww

After blow drying & using the straightening iron. I just wanted to see if I could make it look straight, like the photos on the web site. She didn't look like the same kid when we were done.

I could have NEVER made her hair do this before. Takes too much time / work to make it feasible for a daily doo but it's ok for special look once in awhile.

Of course as soon as she slept on it her hair shrank & never looked this way again. :) A good one day - no afternoon nap style. If I am going to spend an hour or two doing hair I want it to last a week or two.

My two little ones have the tightest curls & it makes their hair difficult to work with. Trying to get a comb or even making a part through the curls takes a LOT of leave-in conditioner & determination. I am getting better with doing Christolla's hair but felt if I could relax the curls a bit I would have a much easier time managing it.

I searched the web & found this site http://www.freshlookhair.com/ for BodipHier Natural Hair Relaxing System. Following is the link to some the testimonials for this product http://www.freshlookhair.com/testimonials/. I decided to go for it. It arrived within five days, so I could hardly wait to try it. It was easy to put on (like coloring your hair) & didn't have a perm, chemical smell although I still found it mildly offensive and very importantly it didn't cause any skin irration or hair breakage (yet - six days post relaxer).

It did NOT straighten Christolla's hair at all but it relaxed her curls & her hair is so much softer & easier to manage. So instead of having a tight afro she has a softer, fluffier afro. :) Christolla likes her hair done in little braids & I will continue to do her hair like that but it is so much easier to wash, comb or braid now. Her hair feels soft & healthy. You do have to relax the new growth as the hair grows but the relaxer is supposed to be permanent. We will see...........

If we start noticing any hair loss or any adverse effects I will be sure to post it, but right now I am happy with the results & it did exactly what I was hoping / expecting it to do.

UN Names Bill Clinton Special Haiti Envoy

I sincerely hope this will help the Haitian people & their country & not end up taking advantage of them. The Haitian people need jobs to rebuild their economy & support their families. I am shocked & dismayed that we have allowed this cycle of poverty to exist & basically ignored the cries of a starving nation that is unable to help themselves. Dare we hope that real help could be on its way?

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May 19, 2009

UN Names Bill Clinton Special Haiti Envoy

http://www.canada.com/news/story.html?id=1610010

GENEVA — The head of the United Nations said Tuesday he had named former U.S. president Bill Clinton as his special envoy to Haiti, the Western Hemisphere's poorest country, which suffered four hurricanes and riots last year.

Clinton, who has galvanized efforts to help the impoverished Caribbean nation recover, accompanied Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Ban on a trip to Haiti in March.

"There will be no change in the United Nations' commitment to help Haiti through the United Nations stabilization forces in Haiti," Ban told a news conference. He said 9,000 UN troops were playing a crucial role in restoring stability.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said in a statement that Clinton would bring "unparalleled expertise and enthusiasm" to the role.
The United States is "firmly committed to a future of peace and prosperity for the people of Haiti," she said.

Rice said "much of Haiti's progress still remains fragile, especially after the terrible challenges of the past year from severe hurricanes to the global food crisis."

Diplomats have said Clinton's widely anticipated appointment could attract investment to Haiti and help stabilize the country where riots sparked by rocketing food prices caused the government's ouster last year.

The United Nations says low labour costs, proximity to the United States and Canada, and the duty-free access it will enjoy in the U.S. market for the next nine years could underpin Haiti's future economic growth.

This is getting expensive...............

Chrissy showing off her toothless grin.

New teeth already coming in on the bottom.

This stage just makes me laugh. They are so cute.

Top of Christolla's head

Back view.

Ok who came up with this tooth fairy idea anyway? Teeth are coming out fast & furious in our household. Christolla lost her first tooth last week (bottom front), her second tooth yesterday (bottom front) & her third tooth today top front. Christolla is so excited about her lottery windfall & grins the biggest toothless grin. She was very brave & pulled the first two teeth out on her own but I had to assist, much to my dismay with pulling out # 3 tonight as it was dangling at odd angles & Christolla was unable to pull it on her own. UGGGG - I hate stuff like that! There are times when I wished I had a man around the house & this was definitely one of them.

More Mother's Day Photos

Me, Taya & Dieunelson

Me & my girl

Resting with his dog after a long hard day & no nap.

Christolla & Brandon having a cuddle

Christolla took this photo of me & I thought it turned out pretty good.

Mother's Day

Jen & her boys

Good looking bunch of kids

The money photo of the day & I completely missed taking it of my kids in front of Thomas.

All the staff were fantastic with the kids.

Nelson mesmerized by Thomas

A little late - but better late than never.

Mother's Day this year was fun as we went to "A Day Out With Thomas" so Nelson was in his glory. We got to go for a 20 minute train ride on Thomas which amounted to three trips around Heritage Park but the kids had a blast anyway.

We spent the day with Jennifer & her boys & enjoyed their company as we always do.

My oldest daughter Ashley was in Tofino on a school trip (sea kyaking) so she was sadly missed, but she did call. :) Brandon refused to go to Thomas with us but he did bbq a wonderful meal when we got home.

All in all we had a great day & I am a lucky woman to be Mom to this motley crew.

First Baby Tooth Came Out

May 4, 2009

Christolla pulled her first tooth all by herself tonight! Poor girl has been struggling to eat lately as she has two wiggly teeth so she hasn't been able to bite stuff like normal. Tonight at the grocery store I noticed that her bottom tooth was very crooked so I took a look & could see the new tooth coming in behind the baby tooth. I gave her baby tooth a little wiggle & it was really loose. So when we got out to the van I gave her a kleenex & told her to grab it & pull it out. I expected her to play with it for awhile & pretty much instantly she told me that it was out. No fuss, no muss :) She looked a little concerned for a moment like she wanted to cry but we started congratulating her & told her how proud we were of her pulling it all by herself; so she didn't end up crying.

At bedtime we stuck her little tooth between a couple of lego pieces & stuck it under her pillow. She was a little nervous about the tooth fairy coming & wanted to know if she was nice & if she could fly. She is quite excited about the idea of getting money for her tooth. How much does the old tooth fairy pay these days? Oh I hope I don't forget to pay her a visit much later this evening.