Suddenly It's Spring

Springtime in Florida... and it's some nice weather for Passover! We went to Ruth's house for Pesach last night. It was wonderful as usual! Rach is still a little too young to get the full effects of the holiday, but she loved the gefilte fish & matzoh ball soup! She also had a little charoset, and of course, LOTS of Matzoh... so I guess I don't have to worry about changing her for the week! LOL... Sorry I didn't get any pictures from the Seder... forgot to charge the camera battery! DUH!
Tomorrow I get to have lots of fun... going back to the dentist! Whoopee!!! time to find out what we will be doing to fill in all the gaps from the teeth I had to have pulled... NOT looking forward to this. But this weekend will be unbelievably exciting. We are going to Miami on Saturday to see Paul McCartney in concert!!! WOOHOO... The only down side is, it will be the longest we've left the baby since we came home with her! But I know she will have fun with her Auntie Margie while we are gone...
These are just a couple of random cute pictures... I will try to get some other random cuteness shots to add later...

Talking Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues

Saturday my Dad's Bocce club had their picnic so we all headed to the Bocce courts. It was actually a lot of fun, and the food was really good... Sausage & Peppers, Steaks, Chicken, Salmon, Hot Dogs & Spaghetti with garlic & oil. It was a great day out for us all. Rach had an absolute blast... She danced to all the Italian music, and had a fantastic time playing on all the playground rides...
She especially ADORED going down the "Big Kid" slide! She went on the swings a few times too... both the kids AND the grown up swings! She preferred the kid sit in swing best, because she kept begging to go higher and higher!
After all the food and the playground, she FINALLY got to do what she wanted to do all day... she was DYING to play BOCCE like her Papa! She had a terrific time. And true to form, she wasn't in the car more than 3 minutes before she was out like a light. We kinda hoped she'd go down for a good nap when we got home, but no deal. She was awake and ready for more fun when we got home. But after dinner & her bath, she gave no argument at all when I told her to say goodnight to daddy and we headed to her room. She had a very full, fun day & was OH so ready to call it a night!

My Funny Friend and Me

It's been another fun filled week here in paradise. I've spent the better part of it feeling miserable with a toothache. Went to the dentist this morning and lucky me, I get to go back on Monday to have 2 teeth removed... I'm so NOT looking forward to this. So that's the bad part of the week... on to the GOOD parts!
Last night was fantastic, despite the pain. We went with Margie & Charlie to see Jeff Dunham! He is so freakin funny!!! First we all met my parents for dinner at the Chinese Buffet. When it was time to go, my parents took Rachel back to our house, and we headed to the Arena... and the bumper to bumper traffic. We got a great parking spot, headed inside and even enjoyed the little bit of the opener! He travels around with Jeff & also has bit parts in the regular act. He brought out all the regulars and even brought out Bubba, who apparently he hasn't used in his act lately. The show was absolutely FANTASTIC. We had a great time. And at the end of the performance, Jeff uses this... well, I guess it was like a giant air gun... and shoots t-shirts out to the audience... Now let me explain this... we are in a stadium arena... it's HUGE... we are almost at the opposite end of a football field from the stage. Anyway, he starts shooting this gun full of t-shirts. He's got them rolled & wrapped in tape. They really flew across the stadium! So naturally, he shoots the gun right towards my head! Seriously, it was coming right for my face... so I ducked... then the shirt hit Margie, bounced off of her and Charlie caught it! It was a really cool Achmed the Dead Terrorist shirt.
We got home relatively early, thank goodness. Between my tooth & my other issues, I was a hurtin camper, but I am still so glad we had a nice night out. It was just good to have a 'Grown up" night out. Don't get me wrong... we LOVE doing things with Rach... she is SO easy to take places... but that was absolutely NOT the kind of thing I would take her to...
Speaking of our little munchkin, this weekend, her daddy and her "uncle" Charlie are going to pick up a new(er) swing set! One of mom's friends is giving it to us, along with a little playhouse. It's gonna be SO much fun! She already loves the swing set we have, but this other one is bigger and stronger, and will last a lot longer, no doubt. We are going to put the other swing set on Freecycle, so some other child can enjoy it. I'm really looking forward to seeing Rachel's face when she sees the new goodies! I'll post pictures, for sure!

Rocky Raccoon

Another week come and gone... wow, it's amazing how time flies! I finally decided to take a little of Rachel's nap time to do a little blogging...
We really haven't done a lot this week, but since I promised to keep up with the blog at least weekly, well, here I am!
The most excitement we've had around here this week is the resident raccoon stopping by for a visit. Our dear neighbor Cheryl moved away on Thursday (VERY sad about this... she was an awesome neighbor, and we are ALL going to miss her a lot!!!). Anyway, before she left, she asked if we would put her trash out on garbage day so it wouldn't have to sit around HER house all week... well, we got it near our fence and then left it for Tommy to move to the other side of our house. In the meantime Rocky decided to help himself to a little snack! Naturally I called animal control, since I was very familiar with the "fact" that a raccoon out in the daytime is always Rabid... well, come to find out, that doesn't hold true here in the tropical south! Raccoons will come out whenever they have an opportunity to eat... day OR night... The people at CROW (wildlife rehab place) advised that we shouldn't worry unless he starts looking drunk... I thought that was pretty funny... (especially since he hasn't been, so I stopped worrying)

So other than that, Rachel is still just as amazingly cute as ever... She is picking up a few more words in Spanish & Chinese every day thanks to Dora & Kai-Lan... and of course, she is chatting in English constantly! She's just the cutest little munchkin... and she is becoming quite the little helper too! She is very quick to point out when something spills. And then she insists on wiping up the spill with a paper towel, and even throws the towel into the trash for me! I just wish she was that clean with everything else! LOL... her room is in a constant state of turmoil. When we ask her to put her toys away in her room, she is very good about it... she will carry the item as far as her bedroom door... then she just throws it in on the floor! So basically, its a war zone!
But if you ask her to do something specific... for example, this morning I handed her the multipack of toilet paper in the laundry room and asked her to put it into the master bathroom. She can follow those directions perfectly. But ask her to put her shoes back in her closet and you would think I spoke to her in Greek! Oh well... I'm sure she will catch on more over time. She also still LOVES music, and is constantly dancing. She sings too, making up words to her own songs. She's amazing and I am SO glad that I am getting the chance to stay home with her, even if it's just for a little while...
Speaking of... I am going to be trying to get an appointment with some Dr's up in Boston to see if they can figure out what to do next for me. I am not willing to let this be it as far as my leg & back etc... and there is no WAY I'll be letting the Dr's down here take another "Stab" at me...
Oh well, that's about it for now. More pictures will be posted as soon as possible!

County Fair

Sunday at the Fair... We had a great time at the Lee County Fair. Spent the day there with Margie, her kids, and her grandkids. Of course, I was a total dodo and forgot to bring my camera. The pictures here are from my cell phone and from Vanessa's digital camera... I'll scan in the real film photo's Nikki took after I get them! Oh, and THANKS girls, for taking pictures for me.
Rach had a terrific time going on all the rides with her Daddy. And of course, she LOVED all the yummy Fair Foods! She shared a Turkey leg with her daddy, had cotton candy with Margie's grandkids, and she totally LOVED seeing all the 4-H animals! She pet all the goats, and got a kick out of the different chickens, roosters, ducks geese, etc... AND she knew what each one was!
We also lucked out with the weather! It's been really cold for Florida, but it warmed up for the afternoon. Of course, it started getting chilly again when the sun went down, but we were ready with her blankie.
Last year when we were at the county fair, it was FREEZING out, but we still had fun... and it also prepared me for THIS year. I remembered to pack blankie in her diaper bag.
Oh... and while I'm on the diaper subject... I am writing an evil letter to the Huggies people... I was trying to change Rachel, and 2 out of the 3 diapers I brought with us RIPPED when I was barely pulling on the sticky tabs! Oh MAN was I pissed!

Thanks for Reading my Mind

I have been trying to be better about blogging, but stupid Facebook has me neglecting my blog... well, today I decided no more. I am going to get back to this journal more... at LEAST once a week.
Today, I had just the right inspiration. Because I want to be sure to preserve the more special memories.
I woke up and decided I needed to clean house. It's really been hard what with feeling so miserable and keeping up with Rachel. But since the cleaning fairy keeps missing her stop at MY house, it has to be done and I'm the only one who's gonna do it! So, I got started. One kitchen counter at a time should be easy, right? HA!
After a little while, Rachel comes up and takes my hand. She says "Come on Mommy" and she leads me over to the couch and makes me sit down. She's used to seeing me there, since my back & leg have been so bad, that's where I tend to spend most of my time. Anyway, she climbs up on my lap, stretches herself out across my arms, looks up at me with the sweetest little face and says "Rock me like a little baby, Mommy." I damn near melted in my seat. Sometimes, this little girl knows just when I need to be cheered up the most.
Ok, so that was "Awww" moment #1... then comes "Awww" moment #2... It's time for her nap. Before we put her down in her bed, we always read a few books. Her favorite choices are propped up against the wall between her bed & the rocker. She gets to pick what she wants to read (and it's usually the same 8 books she wants to choose from... )
Well lately, she's been picking the one book she knows will make her Mommy cry. She has a book called "Every year on your birthday" and about midway through, there's a part that says "I think about the 6 Chinese girls who shared a big room with you... " and no matter how many times I've read it, when I read the lines about these girls being like sisters, and how they heard her cry and laugh for the first time... well, I absolutely bawl... my eyes well up with tears and I give Rach an extra hug & kiss... well she knows EXACTLY what will happen when I get to that part of the book... so every time I read it, when I turn to that page, she turns her whole body to look at me and then she reaches up and takes my face in her hands, kisses me on the cheek and says "All better now Mommy?" I just can't stand it... she is beyond perceptive... I honestly think she is purposely choosing that book just because she knows what will happen, and she wants to make me "all better." Have I mentioned lately how much I love this kid??