Chanukah, Oh Chanukah

So we have been on our whirlwind tour for the holidays... We left last Saturday around noon (at least 3 hours later than we intended, of course).

First stop was somewhere in South Carolina around 3am. We finally had enough of the road. Rachel was wonderful the whole way... until we stopped the car. She decided 3am was the perfect time to wake up and be playful. So, Tommy and I had roughly 3 hours of sleep, and then we hit the road again.
Sunday afternoon, our first REAL stop... a visit with my cousins Billy & Macy in Maryland. That was great. We got to visit with them and their kids for a while.
Next stop on our journey was PA... we arrived at my friend Jodi's house sometime around 9pm or so... Jodi's family was absolutely wonderful. I'm crazy about her kids!
We stayed with Jodi & her family until Tuesday morning. Then we were off to NJ to visit my friend Beth. We actually got an earlier start for a change, and we got up into Beth's neck of the woods sooner than we thought we would so we stopped for a little snack... WHITE CASTLE!!! Yippee!!!
Our friend Zulema came to Beth's Tuesday night and we all had dinner together. It was great. Wednesday was Xmas Eve... so we left Beth's house late in the afternoon and headed to NY to my cousins Bill & Barbara. What a great time... Rachel got to meet Santa Claus! My cousin Renny dressed the part and was great. Rachel also got LOTS of wonderful presents! I think her favorite was Elmo Live from my cousin Gina (ok, so maybe it's MY favorite!!) Elmo is just too cool for words... most of all, it was SO great to see the family. I miss the big family Xmas Eve celebrations we always used to have.
So we went back to Beth's house to sleep Wednesday night, and woke up xmas morning to start packing for our next adventure.
We stopped in Manalapan NJ to visit our friends Jack & Cherry... it's been about 4 years since we saw them. The biggest shock was seeing their granddaughter Ashley, who has grown into a beautiful young lady. What a nice (but very short) visit.
We left Manalapan and headed to Keyport, NJ to spend xmas day with Tommy's family. What a terrific time we had with them! Everyone was taken with Rachel. She was the star of the show for sure... Even Tommy's Uncle Chuck asked if she was ALWAYS so well behaved or was she just being special for family! LOL... it was so nice to see them all. And great the Tommy's mom was finally able to meet her granddaughter! Rachel's Uncle Danny was also thrilled to play with his new niece. Oh... and we got to play with Mary's Wii !!! That was so much fun even Tommy wants it!
We left NJ Friday afternoon & headed to Cape Cod. Got to Marla's a little later than we wanted to, but we finally got here. I'm especially glad since I am FINALLY able to get online!!! This is the first time I was able to take some time and also the first time I was able to get a WiFi hook up...
Tonite we went to our favorite restaurant up here. Shanghai Tokyo in Natick. Oh man, I am stuffed to the gills... and Rachel had a great time! She had Miso soup, Dumplings, a little seaweed salad, some Pad Thai, and Mango ice cream! and she had all the waitresses playing with her (thank goodness, because I was dying to eat my yummy sushi!!!!)
We are staying here a few more days... then its back to NJ! I guess I will update more then. We can usually get a connection at our friends house, so I will do my best to keep updates coming. Especially pictures. Speaking of which...

Rachel gets a kiss from her

cousin Noah.

Santa Claus was a big hit. Good thing he is such a STRONG Santa Claus! Renny is perfect for the part

Uncle Chuck even gave her

his stamp of approval!

He wanted to know if she was always

so well behaved! I had to tell him

the truth.. YES

Rachel finally gets to meet her Grandma Shaw.

It was a great day for everyone!

The Best Way to Travel

Well, I'm finally starting to feel like myself again. My leg is still numb, but at least there is no more burning pain down my leg.

We are getting ready for our big trip up north. The house is a mess and all the luggage is half packed and sprawled out across the floor of the family room. Since we are leaving in 2 days, we really have to get on the ball!

I'm also making lots of Pizzelle's so that has been taking lots of time. Since I can only make 2 cookies at a time, it takes forever.

Yesterday was picture day. I decided it was the only time I was going to get to take some decent shots of Rachel before we leave, so I dressed her in her red silks and took her to her grandparents since their house is decorated nice for the holidays... so here are a few of the shots...

I Fall to Pieces

The holidays are coming a little too quickly for me. Especially since my back has been so bad, making me move in slow motion. Tonight was the real kicker... I am currently laying on the couch waiting patiently for Tommy to get home from work so I can drag myself over to the ER and get an exray on my ankle. I was getting Rachel out of the car. She was sound asleep (thank goodness) when I stepped back away from the door and somehow managed to fall flat on my back with the baby still in my arms! Luckily, I had my napsack on my back so it cushioned the fall a bit, and thru it all, Rachel stayed asleep!!! in the meantime, I heard a "crack" sound in my ankle, so there is a really good chance something broke in there. Not sure if its a good thing or a bad thing, but because my back has been as bad as it has, I have been numb on my left side... so I'm thinking if my back wasn't out, my ankle would be hurting a heck of a lot more than it is! At the moment, I don't really feel anything. but when I try to move the ankle, I definitely feel pain... so we'll see...
Other than all the medical drama around here, everything else is pretty good. Rachel is gorgeous, and still keeping us laughing every day... tonight she was having an absolute giggle fit at my mom's house. This, naturally got me and my parents all laughing too... it was pretty funny. If I didn't know better, I would think the kid was on a sugar high! But as son as we got home (and I got myself off the front lawn) I put her into her crib and she was asleep almost before she hit the matress... she is just too cute.

Lean on Me

Today was cookie day... Every year I make batch after batch of Pizzelle's - a favorite recipe passed to me by my Aunt Gloria. They are a HUGE hit with everyone, so I always have to make LOADS of them. Well, with my back being as bad as it is, it was not going to be an easy task. But my girlfriend Rita offered to come play with Rachel so that I could concentrate on cookies. It was great. She couldn't stay long, and the baby was napping when she arrived, but we had fun working on the cookies for a while and when Rachel woke up, Rita changed her and fed her lunch before leaving.
She ended up coming back later in the evening with her grandson Nick. He was absolutly WONDERFUL with Rachel! He kept making her laugh, and dance, and he really seemed to enjoy playing with her! Then Auntie Rita and Nicholas gave Rachel a MUCH needed bath (being laid up like this, that is something I have not been able to do)
After bathtime, they both played with her and Rita helped me finish the last batch of cookies for the night. (at least 4 more batches needed to be done tomorrow)
All in all, the day was pretty terrific (despite all the pain). I told Nicholas he was welcome here any time he wants... because besides playing with Rachel and keeping her giggling, he also played with Penny and knocked her out for the night too!!! He's a pretty awesome kid! So thanks, Nichols... you are as terrific as your grandma!!

Needle and the Damage Done

So I finally broke down and went to the Dr for my back. Started out at the chiropractor. He was great as usual. He worked on me a little bit, but than said the condition is more than he can hande alone, so he sent me to the urgen care Dr that he knows. There, I got a shot (painkiller) and 5 prescriptions - 2 for pain, 1 muscle relaxer, 1cortisone med pack and another for my stomach which will probably be irritated from the others... anyway, at least now I am functional! I have to go back to the chiropractor. He wants to keep working on me in the hopes that I want need surgery down the line. I have at least 2 bulging discs.. what joy, what fun...
anyway, this is short since the drugs are starting to kick in and things are getting fuzzy...

and below is waht I think is my new favorite picture. Margie took it usinng her cell phone on Thanksgiving day...

Little Child

Once again, I am amazed at how lucky we are that we got such a perfect child. Today was a really bad day as far as my back pain. It got so bad I actually took 1-1/2 pain pills as soon as Rachel went down for her nap ( so I could try to lay down too ). The pain was so bad the pills did nothing for me... I was so afraid that once Rachel woke up, I'd be hurting too much to play with her... well, apparently she can tell when Mama is hurting. She sat with me on the couch, played most of the time gently with me, watched tv with me (I put in Rudolph the red nosed reindeer and frosty the snowman for her) and was just the most awesome baby all day until daddy came home from his holiday shopping trip. It was incredible...
After he came home, we went to the Chinese buffet with my folks and Margie & Charlie. Tommy carried the baby and really took care of her until we got to the restaurant... then my mom took over and it was great. She fed Rachel for me and the waitresses spent the entire time at our table playing with her and keeping her laughing between every spoonful!
She is just so wonderful... we couldn't be happier...

With a Little Help from my Friends

Well, I really did a number on my back yesterday. Had to wake Tommy to have him lift Rachel out of the crib and change her! But it's easing up just a bit now. He just left to go back and help Margie & Charlie get their daughters stuff out of the house and move it to her new place. I opted to stay home and heal. I just added some pictures to the birthday post for those who are keeping score... They are from her actual birthday.
Mom & I will be hitting Khol's again later... I have $65 in Koh'l cash I have to use up by today or I lose it, so I guess I have to make the big sacrafice and shop some more! LOL...
I'm glad I'm almost done... I really just have to buy for 6 kids now and I'll be totally finished! WOOHOO!

Movin Out

So I spent all day today and last night helping my friends move out of their house... It was nuts... and I am definitely paying the price now... my back hurts clear down to my ankles. But they are the most terrific people we know down here and I would do it again in a heartbeat...
My folks were MORE than happy to babysit, so that made it so much easier. Tomorrow Tommy will go over there to see if they need any more help. Our friends were moving into a new apartment down by the beach, and their daughter and her family were moving to a new house in the total opposite direction. Needless to say, it was not a lot of fun.
I already asked Tommy if he would rub my back tonite with icy-hot... boy, do I feel OLD.

Oh.. Rachel has a new little "trick". She has learned to whistle like Mommy! It started with her just puckering her lips and saying "OH" but then she kept watching me while I was whistling songs to her and this morning when she woke up, she puckered and puckered and finally started to blow and a whistle came out! She looked almost as surprised as I was!

She is also still having fun winking at people. Whenever she looks at her Grandpa, she winks at him over and over. It is hilarious...
Nothing much else happening here. Tomorrow I hope to have an easier day. Of course, I really have to get this house cleaned up so I will probably just take the morning "off" and start after the little dumpling wakes from her nap... the fun just keeps on coming.. :-)

Happy Birthday

Today is Rachel's first birthday... Happy Birthday to my precious little baby girl...
We are waiting for her Nana & Grandpa to get here so she can open her birthday presents!!! and have more cake, of course!!
Pictures later... I don't think we will have any more fun "smash cake" shots this time... Daddy isn't here to hose down the highchair! :-)

All Tomorrow's Parties

Today we had a little birthday party for Rachel. Her Nana was there, and her Aunt Margie & Uncle Charlie too. Her Grandpa had to work so he couldn't be there... but she had a good time anyway...

I was going to dress her in something fancy, and then I remembered what we were planning... you'll see what I mean soon!

First she feasted on some dumplings and egg rolls. She really liked them! and she is sure getting to be an expert at biting into things with those teeth of hers!

She wasn't thrilled with the birthday hat, but she let us keep it on her for a little while before she told us in no uncertain terms that she had had enough!

After getting a good fill up of her snack foods, it was time to move on to the main event!
Her birthday cake! We couldn't get a regular "smash cake" so her daddy got her a carrot cake instead. You can see by the pictures that she REALLY loved her cake! Hooray for 1st birthdays!!!

Of course, after munching on all that yummy carrot cake, it was time for the clean up crew to move in! Daddy hosed off the highchair in the yard after Penny helped with the initial cleaning of the seat! In the meantime, Mommy brought the birthday girl into the kitchen for a proper hosing down!

After getting hosed down in the kitchen sink, it was time to get into jammies and have a little snuggle time with Mommy before getting her bottle and going to bed... Oh.. and if you can see her cute little feet, she is wearing some leather "Got Milk" cow booties that her Aunt Margie & Uncle Charlie gave her for her birthday!

The best part of it all is, she gets to do it all again on her birthday on Tuesday!! Then her Grandpa will be there but her daddy won't. So she get's 2 birthday parties

We LIKE birthday parties! even little ones!

I've Got Plenty To Be Thankful For

Well, we made it. Thanksgiving 2008 is now behind us... This was such a special Thanksgiving, because more than ever, we have SO much to be thankful for. To finally have our little Rachel here with us was, naturally, the biggest thing to be thankful for!

And already, it's time to start concentrating on our little Butterball's birthday!

Rachel will turn one on Tuesday, so today my parents are coming over, and our friends Margie & Charlie... We are getting her a little "smash cake" for her and her alone... and then another seperate cake for the grown ups to munch on... I think I'm also going to make some dumplings and egg rolls as a little appetizer/snack. We opted to just do a little birthday party here at the house this year. Mostly because I wanted this to be a special family day... Next year, I'm sure she will have lots of friends and we will have a party that includes other kids and friends, but I just wanted to be a little selfish this year. My parents are going to come over again on Tuesday for her actual birthday (of COURSE). But we are doing the party today since Tuesday Daddy will be working and he wants to be here to celebrate his little daughter's birthday too!

So here are more pics from Thanksgiving... Birthday pics to follow... probably tomorrow!

and I finally have a few pictures of just me with Rachel!!!! Next time we will TRY to take some full family shots... including all the animals!

Alice's Restaurant

Well, it's almost my favorite day of the year... Thanksgiving... and that means turning on Alice's Restaurant while we cook... we've already started thawing the bird... I made my pumpkin soup and the string bean casserole... tomorrow, Tommy will make his pumpkin pie and custard pie. He already made homemade cranberry sauce. I still have to do the sweet potato casserole and the rest of the side dishes. Oh, and I already boiled up the chestnuts for the stuffing... we'll need a lot of that to stuff into that 28 lb bird we got! We are expecting anywhere from 11 to 13 adults on Thursday. And if Tommy had his way, there would be enough side dishes for each person to have their own!!! I had to talk him out of having me pick up carrots. As it is now, we have at least 6 sides already... ENOUGH!!! :-)

I am still without a laptop, so I'm going slightly nuts. I also just realized I do not have the printer running on the desktop yet, and I'm not even sure I'm signed on with the high speed connection! For all I know, I could be on dial up right now!

So other than LOTS of cooking, there isn't a lot to share just yet... but here are a few of the most recent photos! (always need an excuse for that, right?)

Welcome to my Nightmare

So this was NOT a fun week... it all started when I walked into the family room to find a spilled cup of iced tea surrounding my laptop. Long story short, I am now in the market for a new laptop! I was very lucky in that I was actually able to save all my stuff to an external hard drive before the thing completely fried.
I also had a tech come to check the desktop too... it had been running miserabley for a couple of years now... well, he said it was nothing to do with the hardware... all software issues... so he told me he would do a full recovery of the system (brings it back to factory settings... like I just took it out of the box) so that's what I did. Well, at least now I have ONE working computer in the house... and it really is working much better... still a little buggy, but nothing I can't deal with. At least the hard drive is not refreshing every 7 seconds like it was before...
Other than my computers... let's see... Penny ate my favorite sandals *( something we thought she had outgrown since she hasn't eaten a shoe in almost a year!!!)
Tommy got a speeding ticket AND a summons for Jury Duty on the same day...
Oh... and I still have the CMV, just not enough to qualify for the donor program anymore... so I still get to be a little sick, but without the benefit of getting paid for it... just when that extra money could have come in handy to buy a new laptop!!! figures...
On a positive note, Rachel couldn't get any cuter if she tried... every day she does something new to make me laugh like a little girl! Her latest thing is she is trying to wink... so instead she does her "squishy face" but squishes it more on one side! LOL... she is just killin me!
I'll post some pics when I have full acess to all computer stuff...

Down and Out in Paradise

Today was an awesome day. Nothing fun, just that today is the day we applied for Rachel's Social Security card! Another step closer to the readoption! (Since we want her to have a US birth certificate, we need to do some paperwork and technically re-adopt her).
Mom & I also went out for lunch for a little sushi, which we hadn't had in a long time...
Funny how just being out a few hours and going out earlier than usual, but mom and I were both totally exhausted by the time lunch was over... came home and had to crash. Even the baby was wiped out!
Yesterday I finally got to donate plasma after trying for 3 weeks. My iron levels were finally high enough to donate. Because it took so long to qualify, the research company had me go to get tested again today to be sure I still have CMV before letting me donate again... Hopefully the results will be back in time for me to donate on Friday... also hope my iron stays up!

God Bless the USA

So this afternoon I started to panic. I spoke to my girlfriend Sophie over the weekend, and she mentioned that she had already gotten Zia's COC (Certificate of Citizenship). As a matter of fact, she got it over 2 weeks ago. Well, we hadn't gotten Rachel's COC yet... so I decided to email the rest of the families in our travel group... the answers started coming in one by one. Everybody that responded had the same answer. They got their COC 2 or 3 weeks ago. So that's when they panic kicked in full force. I contacted our post adoption counselor from Great Wall. She said to contact the USCIS office. I called the USCIS office, and they said they don't have anything to do with certifications. Ok, so now I'm REALLY freaking out because I don't even know who to call and scream at!
Well, like I always say, timing is everything... I had gone out shopping with mom at Sam's club and decided before going to her house to work on her computer, I should stop at my house to put the refridgedables away. I also thought I should check the mail... and guess what was in the box! Yes, it is now totally official. Rachel MeiLi is a CERTIFIED American Citizen!!! Hooray!!!!
Next step, I have to apply for her social security card. I'll be doing that either tomorrow or the next day, unless we have to have an appointment, in which case it won't be up to me!

(Lime in the) Coconut

Tonite we went to the Cape Coral Coconut Festival. It's like a small scale state fair with all the typical fair things! Rachel had her first taste of Philly Cheese Steak (wish we had seen the BBQ stand and the Gyro stand before we got the cheese steaks!) and she also had her very first try of Funnel Cake... now THAT was a HIT!
We met up with our friends Lorie & John and their girls Kaylie & Amelia... unfortunately, we got there a little late, so they were pretty much done eating before we started so we split up right after they ate so they could start going on rides with the girls. Rachel was too little to go on anything just yet (unless I went with her, and I wasn't willing to spend that kind of money to get us each tickets... they don't do lap tickets for babies!)
We also went with Margie & Charlie and their granddaughter Arora. She had a blast.
My girlfriend Meri came with her whole crew, including her parents! (I love her dad... he is so sweet). I think Rachel was VERY happy to finally meet Gavin! and he sure was a cutie! They always have a "name" band. Tonite it was Survivor. We didn't really hear too much of them... I actually thought they were done playing but they came back out right after the fireworks ended. and that's where Rachel ended too. She LOVED watching the fireworks, even though she was really tired. Almost immediately after they ended, she was out cold.
I will post the couple of pics I took later. Just her sleeping, but I also took a pic of Charlie winning a black panther doll for Arora, just so we could show we were at a Fair!

The Times, They Are a-Changing

The elections are finally over. It was an amazing race, to say the least. History was certainly made today. Obama won the election by quite a substantial margin. I really hope this is the answer we've been looking for. I know Tommy was not thrilled, but like I keep telling him, he doesn't earn enough to be a Republican...
All I know is, I sure am glad we won't have to deal with all those stupid ads anymore!

Under African Skies

Today was terrific. Rachel & I drove up to Sarasota to visit a dear old friend, Osumba. She and I used to work together at the University before I got married. She retired and now travels back & forth to Africa where she has started an orphanage in the village she grew up in. When I get more info, I will be posting it here, as well as on the various message boards. I am SO proud of her. She is really an amazing woman.

Happy Birthday...

Happy Birthday to my Dad & Zulema....

Tonight we are going to PF Changs for dinner to celebrate Dad's birthday. That was his choice for the evening... Unfortunately, the reservations are pretty late, but we are going to try going early and hopefully we'll be able to be seated before 8pm... I don't like keeping Rachel out that late because it messes with her sleep schedule, but just a little, and seeing as how this is a special occasion, it won't be TOO bad. I put her down for a late nap to try to compensate... Besides... Babies R Us is in the same mall (which is more like a little CITY) so we will have plenty to do while we wait for our table!!

These pictures are actually from yesterday, but since they weren't Halloween related, I thought I'd just put them in today!!!

Everyday is Halloween

The hardest part of trick or treating was trying to decide how early to leave the house! We finally opted for 6:30, and that was probably later than we should have... but since we were just going around the block, it worked out just fine.

Since we have been calling Rachel our little Bat Baby since the day we got her, it was only fitting that she wore a Bat Girl outfit... Not Batgirl like from the movies.. but more like a little Bat princess! She had a great time... and brought daddy a nice little bag of goodies!

and it worked out fine that her little bat ears wouldn't stay on... the Mickey ears were a great help! :-)

Cold on The Shoulder

Today was supposed to be my first day donating plasma. Unfortunately, after being at the donor center for 3 hours, they informed me my iron levels were too low to donate. So I will go back on Friday and hopefully, things will be better.

Today was also the first "chilly" day of the season... It was beautiful. It's actually in the 50's right now. Tomorrow is supposed to be a record breaker... not forever, just for the day, but it was nice to feel the cool brisk air for a change. You could tell it is autum! Oh, and naturally, since it is almost Halloween, it was also time to carve a pumpkin! Here is Tommy, hard at work on his Halloween Masterpiece! (Complete with candle inside!)

It also meant it was the first time I could put Rachel in one of her cute little fleecy type outfits!

Here are a few cute pics of her with Penny & her bottle...

Best Friend

So today should have been a really great day. Victoria arrived on Friday evening. I was SO excited to see her. I was feeling a little yicky, but not totally miserable, and her visit would surely make me feel better. As soon as she saw Rachel for the first time, she cried. She agrees with me that she is the most beautiful little girl on the planet... LOL...
So jump to Saturday. We get up in the morning, and my stomach was feeling less than happy... great... another one of THOSE days... Then Tori realizes she's not feeling so wonderful either... but maybe it's just allergies. It's a little rainy out, so no pool time just yet.
We pack up the baby and go out for a little lunch. Well, I barely make it thru our appetizer (which was delicious... ) when I feel like I could die... it was awful...
So we head for home. We were supposed to meet a bunch of other local adoptive families for dinner and a Halloween train ride, but I was feeling too yucky to go anywhere...
So we decided Tommy would pick up a pizza after work and we could do that for dinner... Margie & Charlie came over too... As the night wore on, Tori started feeling worse and worse. She was actually so chilled she needed a jacket (remember.... we are in Florida... HOT weather).
Our friends left relatively early, and we all decided it was a good idea to go to bed early... Tori & I both felt like poop.
Around 2am, Tori comes to our door.... she is really sick... can hardly breathe, her chest hurts, the works. She has decided she needs to go home so she can recoup before having to go back to work, and so that she doesn't get the rest of us sick with whatever she has....
We are both SO sad... but I understood... We just kept saying we'd see her again in January when we go to Chicago for Chinese New Year...
So this morning, we got up, had some tea, and took Tori to the airport to head back to Chicago... It's a really sad day... I miss her tons already.... But we did take a few pics while she was here! And since it was finally a little "Chilly" this morning, Rachel got to wear her little long sleep top! :-)

Windy

My girlfriend Meri took these pics at the shower last week... too cute...

So today we finally managed to put away most of Rachel's presents from her both of her showers. I think I forgot to mention... yesterday was the baby shower at the Cape Bridge that her Grandpa's co-workers made for him at his job! How adorable is THAT! My dad works with some amazing people. They had terrific food and MORE presents!!! This little girl sure is gonna get spoiled!!!

She got SO many beautiful outfits! Her closet is actually organized by size now... Hopefully, she will get to wear all the beautiful things before she outgrows them! LOL... she is growing like a little weed.

She was terrific today. She did lots of playing by herself in her playpen while Daddy & I worked on straightening the house. We want to get things at least a LITTLE organized, especially because we are getting our next round of visitors next week. Rachel's "Auntie V" is coming on Friday for the weekend. We are SOOOO excited... and right after Tori leaves, our friends Vicki & Woody arrive for a couple of days... They were our neighbors, but moved out of the country last year... can't wait to see them too! So we thought it would be a good idea to get the house looking a little less like Hurricane Hannah blew thru... LOL...

I'm still feeling a bit out of it. Guess I'll find out for sure what I picked up tomorrow when I call the Dr's office for the final lab results... whatever it is, my Dr is convinced its viral and there is nothing to do but let it run its course... what fun... NOT

Good Night

We got some AWESOME news today. Rachel's ultrasound came back negative. So drinking the tainted formula for all those months did NOT do any damage to her kidneys... YIPPEE!!!! I was SO worried. Now I'm just waiting for the results of MY ultrasound. The tech couldn't tell me anything, but she said she did not see anything in the Gallbladder, so it may not be gallstones after all. She DID mention that "Maybe it has something to do with your Spleen". but that was as much info as she would share. My Dr. appointment is tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully we will FINALLY find out what the heck is making me so miserable. I really want to feel better so I can just enjoy my daughter! Not that I'm NOT enjoying her now, but it will be much more fun when I don't feel so yucky and we can go out for something FUN instead of just running from Dr visit to Dr visit!
I also want to start feeling better so I have the energy to put away all her beautiful presents from the shower! There is SO MUCH STUFF!!!!
I will get pictures posted very soon... promise..

Happiness is a Warm Gun

Today was an amazing day. The baby shower was awesome. I was thrilled to see all the people who came! and boy, did Rachel make out like a bandit! I'm gonna have the most stylin kid in town! She got some absolutely GORGEOUS outfits.... mind you, I love absolutely everything she got, but naturally I had one favorite... My friend Nicole got me a Beatles onesie!!! How cool is THAT!
Margie did an unbelievable job putting it all together... I am so lucky to have such good friends... and of course, Mom & Marla were amazing too... wow... what a day.
Rachel had a great time too... she had lots of food, and especially enjoyed the ice cream... smart kid.
Well, tomorrow will be another long day. Vana leaves at the crack of dawn, then I have a Dr. appointment (still trying to figure out why I keep running a fever) and then Bethany leaves at 5pm.. sad.. wish they could have stayed longer...