Sunday,
December 28, 2008
Lauren is still not feeling well and has continued with the
horrible diarrhea. We ended up taking her to the clinic tonight
and after her quick exam and a peek at her latest diaper
results, the doctor confirmed that she has a nasty virus that is
going around. He ordered up some medications, which she is to
take 3 x’s a day. One is a powder that she gets before meals
with 10 ml of water; the other is an emulsified pill that gets
added to some weird smelly liquid. We have to stop her formula
for now because we don’t know if it’s making matters worse or
not. So we shall see if this works, it would really rot to be on
the plan for 15 hours coming home with diarrhea. The poor kid
would be miserable, as would we. So cross your fingers for us!
XiXi assured us it will all work out; that the medications are
an “ancient Chinese secret”, LOL. We are so lucky to have such a
great facilitator, she’s here for all of us 24/7 and has already
come thru for each family multiple times with all sorts of
problems.
Earlier in the day, we went shopping with Pat/Ellie & Tess. We
didn’t get anything major, most of the stores cater to tourist
so it’s like the Ocean City, NJ boardwalk, the same tee shirts
and “do-dads’ in each store, but we did get a couple items for
Lauren here and there. I was able to get some really cute shoes
for her, which was good b/c I only had blue sneakers, and her
shoes that came from the orphanage which are none too
attractive. We also bought her a “chop” which is a stone stamp
hand carved with her Chinese name and English name. It’s another
one of those “traditional” gifts to get, so she can use it when
she’s older if she likes. If not, it’s just cool to look at. We
chose one with a pig on top as she was born during the year of
the Fire Pig. We also went to the local Starbucks – yes they
have one here in Guangzhou – and enjoyed a taste of home,
sitting out on their big porch in the super comfy chairs. Ahhh
the good life! We took the scenic route on our walk back to the
hotel down by the river. Even though it’s quite polluted it is
very peaceful and we saw all kinds of folks just hanging out
enjoying themselves. We passed several men dressed in business
attire with their shoes off all huddled up on the park benches
taking a little nap. Again, I have to note how much the Chinese
people just love to be out in nature! During our stroll we even
passed a colorful playground that had equipment for both
children AND adults! Fun fun! We saw a couple cute little dogs
today and of course that made me miss Barkley & Mufasa all that
much more. Interesting fact, in most large cities of China,
people are not allowed to own a dog larger than 15” tall and
households are not allowed more than one dog – it has something
to do with a increase in the rate of rabies being transmitted
here. Though those who live in the country can have more than
one and there is not restriction on size, primarily because they
are guarding livestock, etc…
Ok, that’s enough of your China lesson for today…
Later we picked up our laundry and then went out with most of
the group for an Italian dinner. It was pretty good; I had some
very delicate ravioli with eggplant & ricotta filing with
tomatoes. Yay that does sound good to you huh? Mike and Lauren
split some spaghetti in tomato sauce & both were content.
I mentioned Mahli in one of the earlier posts. She was adopted
from China too and is on this trip to bring home her baby
sister, Maya….well, she’s an absolute doll and she has a “thing”
for soft fuzzy textures (don’t we all!). Anyway she loves Mike’s
and my fleece jackets. She loves to pet us and now she’s calling
us “Mr. and Mrs. Softy” – how cute! Watching this happy little
girl & seeing how well adjusted and sweet she is just warms our
hearts and Mike & I can’t help but think of what Lauren will be
like at her age. I’m glad she’s on this trip with all of us.
Afterward dinner we discovered another “explosion” so we cut our
night short and came back here for a bath before XiXi took us to
the clinic. Lauren got her first dose of the meds & then the
three of us just hung out.
Tomorrow morning we’ll be out early to get the physicals
required before the children can leave the country. From what
we’ve been told, it’s pretty quick & not too detailed. Length,
weight, head circumference and done! So I’m heading off to bed
since we’ll need an early start. Adios or shall I say…Zai Jain. |
The two princess's and their faithful servants
Lauren & Tess -
orphanage sisters & girlfriends for life...
But they still steal each others toys!
Mahli is getting some snuggly-
softness from Mr. Softy
Mike goofing around (imagine that!)
Smiling girl, awww so sweet to see!
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