Tiny Fish For Japan

So we had an amazing night out tonight with the whole crew!  Everyone came in for a visit and we all went to a Japanese Steak house for dinner!  It was Kate's first time too, so she & Rach sat next to each other, both staring in awe at the "artist" working our table!  It was really fun, especially just being all together!  Rachel LOVED her egg drop soup (of course!) and even had some of mommy's Sushi! (I created a monster... she now loves the spider roll!)

We had a mix of hibachi & sushi & a good time was had by all! 
We took video, and I've tried 3 times to upload it here, but it wont work, so I give up!  LOL... I'll post it on YouTube instead... lol...

Gotta Travel On

Well, we made it to MA but certainly not without a hitch or three!  Let's see... here's how we started out.  Got to the airport late because of construction traffic and me being slow poke.  Got there and immediately got a wheelchair (requested in advance) and the young man at the counter says "Your late!".  Uh Oh... not a good sign. Then he says there is something coming up that wont let him check us in (I'd done online check in as well as online baggage check).  Well, he comes back and says its all ok, he got us checked in and we can be on our way. So the nice young man wheels me, Rach, the backpack & 2 carry ons to the security checkpoint.  And here is where the fun begins...
For some reason, security decided I posed some sort of risk... they proceeded to completely unpack and scrutinize every inch of all my carry-on luggage. Naturally, they choose to do this when I am ALREADY LATE!  I then hear my name go across the loud speaker... first time THAT'S ever happened.  I ask the security people what to do and basically they say nothing. They are not the least big sympathetic to the fact that my flight is almost ready to take off.  As a matter of fact, I truly think they took even longer than necessary.  It took almost a half an hour to get through security. Naturally, we got to the gate 5 minutes too late!  They had already closed the doors and there was no convincing them to reopen just for us.
They were actually very nice, even if I was falling apart.  They got on the phone & the computer and found us a new flight on US Air instead, and it would get in just 2 hours later than our original flight.  YAY... so, my new best friend the skycap, gets all our junk together and pushes us away from the Continental gate & "drives" us to US Air.  Now the fun REALLY begins!
Let me first say here and now that I will never EVER EVER fly U.S. Air EVER EVER again!!!!  I have never been treated so miserably on any airline!  It started with the gate attendant telling me that I could not take my carry on because nobody would want to help me put it in the overhead so I had to check it. I advised that I could probably do it myself, but they just grabbed the bag & checked it there.  Ok, fine... next comes the creep that was going to push me down to the plane.  He grabs the chair and starts taking off toward the door, while I'm YELLING at him to STOP because Rachel was busy playing with a little boy we met in the waiting area.  I'm telling him he can't go anywhere without my daughter and this MORON tells ME that he doesn't have TIME to wait!!!  EXCUSE ME?????  So I jump up from the chair (obviously) and this half wit finally let's me put my kid on my lap before he's shoving me down the gangplank.  I get onto the plane and realize they didn't give me back the boarding pass so I have no clue where are seats are. Well this certainly made a wonderful impression on the stewardess, who was now glaring at me like I was her worst nightmare. She then proceeds to SCOLD me like a CHILD for having packed FAR too much, considering I knew I'd be relying on "the courtesy" they provided in assisting me with the wheelchair!   Now my head is spinning.  This is the first time I've ever asked for wheelchair assistance at the airport. This is also the first time I was traveling alone with a toddler.  What would possess these people to treat someone so terribly! They have no idea what my "disability" is. But to tell me that I had no right to bring the amount of luggage that I brought?  The nice young man from Continental had absolutely no problem with it.  He never once told me how naughty I was.  He did NOT try to make me feel guilty for bringing even less than the allowable amount of baggage!  We checked one bag, and I had 1 carry on for each paid ticket and one "personal item" which was my backpack (this was used as both my computer bag & my diaper bag rolled into one). That's why HE got a tip. The others? They were nasty, mean, and down right obnoxious!  (Yes, I fully intend on writing a scathing letter to US Airways).

But I'm putting all that behind me. It's time to enjoy. We have been having a wonderful time here. Rachel is LOVING it, playing "Itchy Mints" (instruments) with her Uncle Daniel. She waits for him to come home from work so they can go make music. It is just adorable!  And since we are here, we have TOTALLY changed our schedule!  I am in bed before midnight... and Rach has been asleep around 8:30 every night too!  And since we are sharing a room, we are BOTH up around 7 ish.

Today, EVERYONE came over. Vana brought the girls over in late morning.  They played with horsies, ran around the yard, watched the incredible amazing hummingbirds enjoying a small feast,  went swimming, and just had fun. Then Bethany arrived and we all went outside to say hi and to see the snake that has taken up residence in the window well for a basement window.  Then Jesse & Kate arrived!  It was AWESOME seeing everyone together!  We all went outside and watched all the "kids" play whiffle ball and just have a random free-for-all in the yard... then everyone came in after playing in the rain a while, and it was time to go downstairs to play all the Itchy Mints again!!!  Way too cute for words folks, believe me!  After all the fun of the day, Rach came up to me with a book in hand, asked for a blanket, and less than 6 pages, she was out like a light... poor little thing was exhausted by 8pm!  Not looking forward to what time she will be waking up in the morning! LOL...

Daddy's Home

It was a very Happy Father's Day!  We had daddy's present's waiting for him when he came home this afternoon.  He liked his new wallet, and the "Dad ROCKS" t-shirt, but I think he liked the "Diners Drive-ins and Dives" book the best! LOL...
After Daddy and Rachel had their naps, it was time to get ready to go to PF Chang's for dinner!  We went once before and we were actually impressed, so that's where the Daddy's decided they wanted to go!  Picked up my folks and we headed out!  Luckily, I did call ahead seating, so we only had to wait about 20 minutes once we got there, instead of over an hour like everyone else! And the waiting time gave us a chance to get some good picture taking done! So, without further hesitation... TADA....

 There was a very nice intoxicated lady that stumbled into our group and offered to take a couple of pictures for us.  Well, this was really the only one that we could use! I was surprised that it came out as well as it did, especially since I was SURE the haze from her cigarette smoke was lingering right in front of the lens!

I should have remembered to put some makeup on!  I so dread having my picture taken under ANY circumstances, but it's especially miserable right now. First of all, I have gained a LOT of weight... between quitting smoking, taking whatever meds they have me on, and being so sedentary because everything hurts so bad, this is all such a terrible combination! But hoping ( and hoping, and hoping) that I'll be in MUCH better shape by NEXT father's day!

Rachel found the walkway lights on the sidewalk at PF Chang's...  She spent most of our waiting time jumping over this one!  She had a great time playing with her daddy and her Papa today.  What a wonderful Father's Day it was

Flower in the Sun

Today was just a nice day for hanging around, playing, checking out the local critters, etc.  Here is Rach, showing me her new little friend - a cute little lizard that was hanging on the window screen!  She got SO excited!   The funniest was after the lizard showed off his little dewlap (the neck the bulges when the lizard is either upset, startled, or showing off), Rach started making faces thinking that was the lizard's tongue!  I couldn't stop laughing! 

After our lizard lesson, it was time to go outside to play!  She SO loves to play on her playground!

I was thrilled when the first thing she did was bring me a little flower... ok, so it was a weed, but it was the sweetest thing ever!  She was SO happy to bring it to me!

So we spent some time playing outside (as much as we could stand, since it was SO FREAKIN HOT OUTSIDE!!!)

It was then time to start prepping dinner!  My favorite little helper was right there to lend a hand!  We were making stuffed artichokes and she was so excited to help!

She mixed the breadcrumbs and then it was time for her favorite part!  Stuffing the Artichoke!!

She even enjoyed eating it once I scraped the leaves for her. Good thing I steamed them before we stuffed them!  Anyway, she enjoyed it, but I think next time we will use artichoke hearts instead... a LOT less work eating! LOL...

The Pirate Song

So the other day, our little princess made a special request for lunch... she wanted SUSHI!!!  Yes, she IS her mommy's daughter!  Anyway, I remembered seeing great pictures on our friend Sophie's blog of her beautiful Zia eating with chopsticks, and I remembered that I still had these chopsticks that the sweet girls from our favorite Chinese restaurant had made up for her... the cheaters chopsticks with the rubber band and folded napkin in the top half to make it easy for the kids to use them!  So, we sat down and had a yummy sushi lunch together!She had no problem with the kids chopsticks at all!  She DID inform me in no uncertain terms, that pickled ginger was no longer to be served on HER plate!  Well, it is an acquired taste after all...

So besides her sushi, she was also very thrilled to have a nice bowl of watermelon too... one of her favorite fruity snacks!  After lunch & nap, it was time to play once again.

She's been watching her shows on Nick Jr, and they have been showing some "Pirate" episodes lately... so this is her Pirate face... she squishes her one eye closed and says "ARGH"  "I am a pirate, Mommy!"

Then she just makes herself giggle! She can be SO silly sometimes!  Oh, and did ya notice how quickly she lost the hair clip?  Sure hope she eventually changes her mind about letting me do her hair for longer!

Sweet Child O'mine

Where does the time go?  As of today, our little princess is officially 2 1/2 years old!  It's really unbelievable that 30 months ago, this beautiful little angel was found on a cold December day.  Not a day goes by that I don't think about how blessed we are that someone cared enough to leave her someplace safe.  She is our whole world and we are all so thankful to have her in our lives. 

Even when she is testing our very last nerve! LOL....
She is still our perfect little girl, but as she get's older, boy oh boy, she sure likes to keep us on our toes!  Whether it's trying to play with her play dough on the couch, or pulling apart the Silly Putty so it ends up in hair-like strands all over the floor, or chasing the poor dog around trying to force a toy into Penny's mouth!  It's a daily adventure around here to see what will happen next!

Our latest challenge is meal time.  Suddenly she has decided she wants nothing but yogurt or peanut butter.  Oh, and of course a cookie or marshmallow whenever we permit it!  So there she sat with her bowl of cereal in front of her.  I asked her to take a spoonful.  Her response, in PERFECT "Sarah Bernhardt" fashion, was to put her hand up to her forehead, palm out, and she says "No, mommy I'm too sick!"  No, of COURSE she wasn't sick... because she then asked if she could get down from the table, she asked for a cookie and said it was time to play with her Play Dough!  Sick my Aunt FANNIE!  Needless to say, I foresee several interesting adventures over the next twenty-plus years!  
In the meantime, we are going to pick our battles, and enjoy every waking moment with this precious gift from G-d.