Beach Trip

Leila and I went to the beach last week.
We went to Atlantic Beach, NC.
It was a 'girls' week' - us, my mom, 2 aunts, and a cousin.
Our place was fantastic.
It rained here every day, but not there. The 1st 2 days were a little cool, but no rain at all. After that, it even warmed up for us.
The potential was there to have a really good time.
I didn't. Leila was terrible.
She hasn't acted like that since she had her surgery last year.
After a lot of thought, I think it was due to a combination of a couple of different things.
Leila is a VERY routine little person.
She's also a little afraid of new things. She has to be somewhere or around something for a bit before she's comfortable with it.
She was in a new, different place - with people that she knew, but she's not used to being with 24/7.
She's also someone that NEEDS A LOT of sleep. She normally sleeps about 12 hrs at night and then still takes about a 2 hr nap.
She was only getting about 8-9 hrs a day. When she doesn't get her sleep - she's wicked (she may be just a little like her mother on that one).
On the way down on Sun, I couldn't have asked for her to be any better.
The trouble started on Mon. It continued on Tues.
I won't even go into meal-times. Those were an absolute nightmare the entire week.
And although she liked the water, she hated the sand. That does tend to make it a little hard to enjoy the whole 'beach experience'.
On Tues, I was in tears. I didn't feel like I could deal with her anymore.
I was ready to pack up and leave. (I was also sure the others were ready for us to go too.)
I was however, with the best, most understanding, kindest, and sweetest group of women I could have been with though.
On Wed, she got a 2 hr nap. That made a big difference. She was at least tolerable then.
On Thur, she got a 3.5 hr nap. That was wonderful. Thurs night, she was good.
She was more like the child I know - the one our guys at home were all missing.
I really wish the girls could have spent all week with that child, instead of just a few hours on Thurs night.

I would like to make the 'girls' week' an annual thing. I do think Leila will get better with it, the older she gets. And I think it's good for us all to do something like that. The guys have their 'hunting week' - we need something like that too.
Maybe a year will dim their memory and by then, they'll all be willing to go with us again!

Leila's 'Box'

When we were in China, we tried to buy things for Leila for the future.
We wanted things from her homeland to give her little by little as she grew up - things that would maybe in some way represent her heritage a little bit.
(On her 1st 'Gotcha Day' last Sept, we gave her a small jade heart pendant that we'd gotten in Guangzhou.)
Between running out of money, running out of packing space with all the weight restrictions on suitcases, and quite simply, not knowing what to get - it was hard to get a lot.
As she gets older, and more and more of her personality emerges - it's easier to buy things she likes.
As a result, I've taken to supplementing her 'future box' in other ways.

If you don't know what 'Love Without Boundaries' is - please check it out on the web.
In short, it's a wonderful organization that does amazing things for Chinese orphans.
They provide formula for orphanages (Leila's), they provide life-saving surgeries (heart, cleft, etc), give needed supplies for the babies, and lots and lots more.
Every April, they do a 'Born in My Heart' auction on Ebay. Items are donated, and all money goes to LWB.
Last year, enough money was raised to provide needed surgeries for 4 babies!
I've bought a few items from this the last 2 years - a panda purse, a tea set, a carved comb, etc.
No, I didn't actually cart these things home personally, but all the items I've gotten are still Chinese things, from China.
Yes, I probably paid a little more than I would have normally for those same items - but all the money is going to a cause I deeply believe in.
I think that makes it okay on all counts.

Leila and I are leaving on Sunday morning for a 'girls' trip'.
We're going to Atlantic Beach, NC.
There are 6 of us going - my mom, a couple of aunts, a cousin, Leila and me.
We've never done this before.
I'm just hoping Leila does good - on the trip down and back, in her travel bed, on the beach in the sand, and, and...
I'll try to post a few pictures next week...