Hey y'all. I'm Tonggu Momma. If you're visiting Our Little Tongginator for the first time, thanks so much for stopping by. I'll bet I know why you are here... y'all are wondering "who is this cool person?" ... ha! let's get real... y'all are really wondering "what the HECK is a Tongginator?"

I wish I could answer that question with just a word or two, but I can't. Because the Tongginator is complex. And vocal. And quite larger than life. And she isn't a what, but a who.

So who IS the Tongginator?



Meet my eldest daughter, a seven-year-old firebrand who stole our hearts AND earned her Tongginator nickname six years ago, a half a world away in a nation called China. The Tongginator is many, many things, including a Miss America wannabe, The Butterfly and a girly girl enginerd. I spend my days chasing after her while trying to remain as invisible as possible, all the while wondering "how THE HECK did my tomboy life become this Princess-y?" and, at the same time, "why did God bless us so very, very much?"

(But if you ARE the one out of a hundred wondering "who is this cool person?," you are my new best friend feel free to check out my 100 Things Post and my Ask Tonggu Momma series.)

(And if you have no interest in my blog and are just trying to connect with other parents who've adopted children from the Tonggu orphanage in Jiangxi Province, China, head on over to the Tonggu Families Yahoo! group.  That's where we hang out.)

I'm actually a totally disorganized person.  I used to have a brain, but it disappeared several years ago.  Which is why I have yet to change the name of my blog even though our kid count totals more than just the Tongginator.  Although I never thought I'd actually say "just" in reference to the Tongginator.  Because she is my larger-than-life girl.  The Husband and I also recently adopted a second child from China, after an exactly-five-years-to-the-day wait.

We've recently dubbed our youngest daughter Squirt, because she is such a Squirt, almost as much as the Tongginator is a Tongginator.  Squirt is still very new to the family, so we continue to learn about one another, but after just a couple of months I know for sure that Squirt will forever be chasing after the big kids, trying to keep up.  She doesn't let anything stop her from going... going... until all of a sudden she's gone and I frantically run around, trying to find her to prevent all manner of madness.  You know, like toilet fishing.  Or cord eating.  The usual when it comes to a go-go-go toddler.

People usually stick around Our Little Tongginator for one of five reasons:

1. My pathetic parenting and tremendous ability to embarrass myself makes them feel better about
    their own lives.
2. The Tongginator makes them laugh. A lot.
3. Their lives have been touched by adoption in some way.
4. They want to move into the house that's for sale just down the street. Because they know our 
    neighbors are the coolest people in the world. Truly.
5. They adore China. And Chinese culture. And love to imagine me speaking Mandarin with a 
    southern accent.

If you think - as I do - that your life will be better for knowing my daughters the Tongginator and Squirt, then pull up a keyboard, grab a cup of coffee and stay awhile. I'm glad you're here.