The Shaw Family Adoption Journal

Magical Mystery Tour

2011-12-06T23:45:00.001-05:00

So now that my little girl is a BIG girl, we are doing all kinds of grown up things... Last night, I went by myself to see a dear old friend, Chris, performing in Naples with his group "Classical Mystery Tour". They perform the music of the Beatles, backed up by the local Philharmonic Orchestra! It's a fantastic show & Chris & his band mates do a wonderful job! We had a nice time catching up after the show, and Chris offered me 2 more tickets for the next night! Since Rachel LOVES the Beatles so much (yeah, she is definitely MY kid! LOL) I decided to take her to her first concert! She had a TERRIFIC time and was SUCH a good girl! People sitting around us stopped me to say how much they enjoyed watching her having such fun. She sang along with the songs she knew, she danced in her seat, and of course got REALLY excited when "Uncle Chris" sang Yellow Submarine! (Which has now become our "Lullabye" before bed every SINGLE NIGHT since the show!)
Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take any pictures during the show, but I DID get some good shots of her in the lobby

The first couple of pictures are from the lobby of the Naples Philharmonic.

These are from the Naples Hilton, where Uncle Chris & the rest of the band were staying... They had a Christmas Village around the tree and one of the bellmen came over and turned on the train for Rachel. She loved it since trains are her latest obsession.

Then I asked her if I could take a picture of her without her making a funny face.. this is what I got! LOL...

And here was our little Princess with her Uncle Chris. She LOVES the fact that he plays drums! And what a good Uncle! Despite how obviously ExHAUSTed he was, he still played "TAG" with her (just for a little while) and laughed at her knock-knock joke!
All in all, her first grown up concert was a complete success! Thank you Uncle Chris & the Classical Mystery Tour gang! Can't wait till you come back down for another show!

2011-12-02T22:51:00.000-05:00

Happy 4th Birthday to my beautiful Hunan Princess!

This year, we decided to just keep the birthday really simple. She wanted to make cupcakes to bring into school, so on Thursday evening, that's what we did! We made enough for the whole class (with a few left over for daddy, of course!)

Friday morning, she brought in all the cupcakes & they celebrated her birthday in her classroom! She had a great time.
After school, I picked her up and we headed out to the theater to see her very first "big girl" movie! We went to see the new Muppets movie, and she was terrific in the theater! She was a little scared of all the loud previews (I now know NOT to stay in the seats for so long before the show begins.. next time, we can hang out by the games)

After the movie was over, I asked her what her favorite part was.... her answer?

THE POPCORN!!!

I shoulda known! LOL. All in all, her birthday was a success!

The day AFTER her birthday wasn't too shabby either!!! We went out for dinner with Nana & Papa, and Aunt Margie & Uncle Charlie... she got some really cool presents, (Can't believe Margie found her a Sit & Spin!!! how COOL).

Then when we got home from dinner, there was yet ANOTHER present waiting outside the door! She got a package from cousins Mary & Sue, with something she has been asking for for the longest time! A Thomas the Train set, including a fire truck & water tank!!! She was SO excited!

She also got an adorable Dora nightgown with slippers that she insisted on putting on IMMEDIATELY!

My Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T23:49:00.002-05:00

Another year, another wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner! As always, Tommy cooked up a scrumptious bird. We shared the day with friends & family, and it was wonderful as ever.

It was also a good day for Rachel to become addicted to another of the video games on Mamma's computer! Poor thing does have a major disadvantage. My mouse is set for a right handed person, and she is a lefty! Oh well!

Even Penny wanted in on the act!

Uncle Dick & Penny looking on as Rachel plays "The Frog Game" - aka ZUMA!

The table is set for a night of yumminess!

Just about everyone sitting around the table! It's time for Pumpkin Soup!

Nana did her hair in her hi pony tails, but they didn't want to stay up that well. I stuck her flower in her hair to try and hold it up!

Happy Thanksgiving 2011 Everyone!

Endless Vacation

2011-10-23T23:03:00.001-04:00

Ok, this will be the first of several posts about our trip... After all the insanity of trying to get ready, making repairs to things we didn't expect to repair so soon, & just the typical panic of going on a vacation, we finally headed out for what would later be known as the RV trip from Hell

trying to get our two "kids" to buckle into the club chair... eventually, Penny pushed Rach right out of the seat. So they both ended up on the couch instead! Glad the rules of the road are different in an RV...

Rachel finally got what she has been asking for forever... She got to sleep with Penny. Of course now, I don't think she'll ask again. Penny has a habit of squishing her when they share the bed!

Penny wasn't terribly thrilled with the RV. Thank goodness Zulema gave us some really good advice. We found that if we give Penny a couple of Benydryl, she is MUCH happier about riding on the "Big Bus". We didn't give her enough to knock her out or anything like that, but just enough to settle her down. But once we stopped & got out of the RV, Penny would immediately claim her rightful post... Mounted on the dashboard, waiting for us to return!

It was great spending some time with Brian and Debbie... and of course, ROSCOE! This time, of course, we had Penny with us to share the fun with Roscoe.
Looking forward to watching Brian's band rehearse over the weekend!

2011-09-30T15:15:00.000-04:00

Another fun filled day at school for the munchkin!

She loves it SO much... just wish she wouldn't look like a drowned rat after playground time! LOL... this kid sweats more than anyone I have ever met!

Oh, and her favorite classmate is Brandon, the little boy sitting next to her... her first crush??

2011-09-26T22:54:00.000-04:00

Ok, so this is really how they took their naps today... Tommy fell asleep with his glasses on! I didn't want to, but had to wake them or I could just picture those specs getting squished!

Thought this was one of the cutest... This is basically what our bed looks like in the morning! Rach loves to climb into bed with us when she wakes up, and Penny likes to perch on top of Daddy's head! Apparently our sleep number bed is rough for Penny too... she can never find a comfy spot, so she meanders all over the place. On top of Tommy's head is a popular spot, probably because she won't get kicked!

Went out for a yummy dinner with the folks to Olive Garden. Yeah, we really do like this place! I know it's a chain, but I'm absolutely hooked on that Chicken & Gnochi soup!

Good Morning Little Schoolgirl

2011-09-13T19:27:00.001-04:00

I can't believe it. Seems like just yesterday I was holding this little girl for the first time. But now, here we are 3 years later and she has actually started going to SCHOOL! We checked a few places, but had the best feeling about one of the local Temple preschools. Best part was my mom actually knows the Preschool director! Turns out her mom & my mom were friends for years, until her mom passed away. I knew her mom too. Lovely woman. And her daughter (Morah Joanne) is just as sweet!

Her other teachers are Morah Jonla, Morah Allison & Morah Cheyenne.

Telling Penny that she is going to school today


She's all ready for her 1st day of school!

1st day hugs for Daddy

1st day snuggle for Momma

Here's her class! Some of the kids had already gone home for the day

These beauties have their nest just above the Preschool Building! Yes, they ARE Bald Eagles!

After she came home from her first day of school, I asked her how she liked it... Her words? It was "Awesome and Great". Then she told her Nana & Papa that it was "Cool & Fun". Not sure, but I THINK she liked it! LOL

2011-08-07T22:01:00.000-04:00

It was another dinner out with Nana & Papa... tonight, we went to Applebee's (gotta love BOGO coupons!).
It was almost comical, but our waiter was practically flirting with Rachel all night long... ok, so it was comical and creepy at the same time..

We all enjoyed our dinners. I always like going out to eat (not just for the obvious reason of not having to clean up the kitchen) because I get to enjoy my meal at LEAST 2 days! And they wonder why American's suffer from obesity! the portion sizes are nowhere NEAR the standard they should be, but I can't complain... I can never finish my meal (even sharing it with Rachel) so I get to enjoy the leftovers!

The good thing about creepy waiter guy paying so much attention to our table was, he was more than happy to take a family picture for us! Thanks, creepy waiter guy!

Flames of Paradise

2011-08-05T20:51:00.000-04:00

One of the most incredible things about living down here are the amazing sunsets. The sky seems to burn as all the different colors converge to make a beautiful canvas... I love to see what each moment brings as it changes...

I always wished I could paint... I would love to recreate some of the beauty I see... preserve it forever...

At least I can take a picture of the things I find most beautiful!

Cat's Squirrel

2011-07-31T23:40:00.000-04:00

Today Aunt Margie & Uncle Charlie had a yard sale... and Rach made out like a little bandit! Her favorite find of the day were these 2 fun friends! Rocky & Bullwinkle!!!
"Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of this hat..." She immediately remembered watching one of "daddy's shows" with him... (he has a collection of old cartoons, and of COURSE Bullwinkle is one of them!!!)

Later on, it was off to a yummy Italian dinner in town with Nana & Papa.. Rachel made an especially good impression on the waiter, who rewarded her with a VERY BIG goblet of ice cream! Now THAT is a Happy face!!

Happy Family

2011-07-24T23:07:00.001-04:00

Happy Parent's Day!
Funny how I never heard of this "holiday" until I became a Happy Parent! HaHa... But, not to let an excuse to celebrate go by unnoticed, we decided it was a good excuse to head out to PF Chang's for dinner! We usually stick closer to home when we eat out, but I had a coupon for a free Lettuce Wrap (which I really enjoy) & it got me in the mood. I actually think that for the most part, they are overrated, but the lettuce wraps remind me of when I was in Paris (I know, strange isn't it?), The Chinese restaurants there serve lettuce wraps instead of egg rolls & that was when I first tried them. Yummy!

Anyway, I had gotten these adorable bows for Rachel, and she was willing to pose all over the place while wearing the beautiful pink flower bow, so I took advantage of the moment!

Daddy's little girl (s) :-)
They both love to snuggle with Daddy... He looks pretty happy about it too, doesn't he?

Papa was ready to eat some yummy Chinese food!

My beautiful baby girl & I. wish I'd thought to move the straw out of her way!

Nana, Rachel, Papa & Daddy...

Our Happy Family...

This last one is one of my favorites. She's such a beautiful little lady....

Best of Friends

2011-07-20T13:04:00.000-04:00

Side by Side, Best Friends Forever...

Whenever she can, Rach likes to cuddle up with Penny. They are SO good together... we couldn't be more thrilled with our 2 best girls...

Kiss The Future

2011-07-10T12:22:00.000-04:00

Is this a glimpse into our future???? OY VEY!!! I really don't know what is going thru this little girl's head sometimes, but I walked into the kitchen to find her checking out her "boobies"! She had 2 of Penny's doggie balls under her PJ's, & she was parading around the room! I only wish mine stood up that well! LOL...

And here is our furry four-legged child, just chillin... Penny sure looks comfy, doesn't she?

Three Years Ago Today...

2011-07-07T12:43:00.000-04:00

This time three years ago I was bouncing off the walls, waiting for an e-mail or a phone call from our agency. We knew it was going to happen SOME time that day... we were going to finally find out about the beautiful baby we were waiting for all this time.
It had been 3 years since we started the process to adopt a little girl from China. When our journey began, we were told it would take roughly 6 months from the time we submitted our paperwork, until the finalization of an adoption. Well, it took quite a bit longer than we were told, but looking back, it was something that had to happen!

As anxious as we were, we now know that had it taken only 6 months, we would not have the perfectly special beautiful girl that we have now! Everything happens for a reason, right?

Catch Me Daddy

2011-06-26T23:14:00.000-04:00

Father's Day Part 2 - Definitely more enjoyable!

So talk about a night & day experience! Last weekend, we went to Pete's Steakhouse for Father's Day. Tommy wasn't there, so it was Rach & I, my parents & some of their friends. The company was amazing, the food was so-so & the service was absolutely appalling.
Well, THIS time, Tommy is home and we are going to Olive Garden. Much smaller crowd this time, since it is just us & my parents, but oh, what a difference!
First of all, we walk in & my parents are already there... how do I know this? Because a family sitting on the bench inside the door waiting to be seated stops us and says "Are you looking for a lady in a hat? Oh, well then your parents are waiting for you inside!" Um... ok...
Then we go inside, and the host says "Well, THIS must be Rachel!!! Well, your Nana & Papa are waiting inside for you!"... yeah... totally embarrassed!

So we head over to the table... and we wait... about 20 minutes goes by, when a waitress appears & says "Has anyone been here to see you yet?" and we tell her No... She immediately apologizes, and takes our order. She says she is not our server, but she will locate them & put our order in in the meantime. A few minutes later, Sierra comes over & tells us that she will now be our server. She was not originally the one who was supposed to work the table, but the guy that SHOULD have been our server apparently vanished without telling anyone we were waiting!
Sierra was awesome... After verifying the order that the other waitress passed on to her, she ran to get our food started. When she arrived with our soups & salads, she informed us that because we had to wait, our entire meal was on the house... EVERYTHING... then the manager came over & also apologized, and reiterated that our meal was free... he even insisted that we order dessert, even if we took it home!!! Talk about customer service??? We were all SO terribly impressed!!!! and on top of everything else, we LOVE the food there! (For me, I think I could LIVE on the Chicken Gnocchi soup!). Anyway, we were so floored by the whole experience that I wrote to the corporate office to advise them what a pleasant time we had & how I was going to tell everyone about it... they were just amazed someone took the time to say something NICE instead of writing to complain!
All in all, this was a wonderful Father's Day for both Tommy & my Dad!

Daddy's Home

2011-06-23T03:41:00.000-04:00

Because of some very sad circumstances, we have to do Father's Day as a 2 parter. Tommy's Uncle Chuck passed away so he had to fly up north to go to the funeral & won't be home until VERY late tonight... SO.... our FIRST Father's Day celebration was with my parents & some of their friends. We went to a local restaurant called Pete's Steakhouse. My folks had been there before & said the food was really good.

Well, after what we went thru, that was the first and LAST time we will ever go THERE!!! I understand it was a holiday, but the place was NOT jammed. We had a 5:30 reservation and were seated quickly. That was the first & last quick thing about this night!

We started getting very restless after waiting OVER AN HOUR just to get our ORDERS taken! It was ANOTHER hour before we even got a SALAD! We complained, & were pretty much blown off... We had to get up and ask someone for refills on drinks, & when the food DID arrive, it wasn't at all what we expected. And after all that, they didn't so much as offer us a free dessert! Towards the end, the waitress made a lame apology, but I was SURE it was only to try to salvage any hope of a tip.
I don't even think they bothered to ask if we wanted coffee! Good thing we had already planned on going back to mom & dad's for dessert!

We had coffee & cake at my parents house, and I decided to hang around there until it was time to go to the airport to get Tommy. His plane was due in at midnight.
Well, as our luck always seems to run, his flight ended up delayed. Rachel insisted on coming with me to the airport, so I put her down for a nap at my parents. When we finally got to the airport, we found out they lost Tommy's carry on bag (which they said he had to check at the gate because they ran out of room in the overheads). By the time he did all the paperwork, etc., it was after 2am before he got in the car... OY... NOT the best Father's day, but surely not the worst! Next week, Father's Day part 2... when we go to Olive Garden :-) Hope it turns out less stressed!

My Secret Garden

2011-06-10T03:26:00.000-04:00

The garden is finally starting to share! We are really doing well with the Banana Peppers. This is just today's batch... I've been roasting them with a little oil & a tiny bit of fresh ground sea salt... they are SO yummy! and we are also getting a fair amount of cherry tomatoes! Rach thinks they are "sooo cute!"

We also have about 8 eggplants but they aren't big enough yet... also the 3 regular size tomato plants are LOADED... just waiting for them to turn red & hoping we get to them before the birds or bugs do!

We have 1 melon too, but I'm not sure it will survive. Nothing on the cucumbers, and our beans are... well, not worth it since we are only getting one at a time! kinda hard to incorporate 1 bean into a meal!
Hopefully, we will get the full bounty of the garden relatively soon. Next up will be broccoli & cabbage... but not till it starts to cool down... a LOT!

Oh by the way... Every now and then I like to explain a bit about this journal... for instance, not sure if you all have noticed, but every post title is a song title. Some are obvious, but some are REALLY obscure... I like to mix it up a bit.
I try to keep things interesting, or at least share some good pictures, but bare with me if sometimes I let things get a little personal. After all, this journal is really for Rach for when she grows up. I'm trying to find a way to save the whole thing in a book or something, but until then, This is it!

June Afternoon

2011-06-04T15:49:00.001-04:00

I just feel like it's been so long since I've updated this blog! I know, I've said that same thing so many times. Not sure why time just seems to get away from me.
Basically, this entry is just some random shots of Rachel in various poses of her choosing... I just said I wanted to take her picture, and she decided to ham it up a bit... I'm glad. She's a cute ham!

It's her "I'm a little angel" look... could you ever say no to a face like this?

She SO wants to take ballet lessons! So much that she's started learning some of the poses on her own! I wish we lived somewhere more culturally aware... maybe then we'd have lots of choices where we could take her for lessons!

Our little beauty...

True Colors

2011-06-01T21:50:00.000-04:00

Rachel decided today was a good day to get creative. First order of business was painting. She likes working with her water colors (pretty sure it's mostly because she likes to change the colors of the water! LOL

While Rachel was busy painting, Abbey decided to come off her perch & climb up on my lap to pay me a visit on the couch! She was in the mood for some good old snuggle time with Momma... and since she wasn't trying to add a new orifice to my body, I was more than happy to oblige!

After painting, we turned on some of her favorite music, and our little butterfly girl was dancing & flitting around the room. She REALLY wants to take dance lessons... Hopefully, we can find something within our budget and get her started while she is still so enthusiastic!

A Veteran's Song

2011-05-30T23:02:00.000-04:00

It's another Memorial Day... which means it's time for our 9th Annual Memorial Day Shrimp Boil! I can't get over how fast time flies! Luckily, Tommy took off a little extra time to prep for this year's event. It was so much harder for me than I expected it to be. I had to keep taking breaks to let the swelling go down in my leg, my back did NOT want to cooperate while I tried to clean the house, and I just couldn't get myself as happily motivated as usual. I was getting nervous that we wouldn't be able to get things together in time, but my hubby went above & beyond to make sure everything went well. I love that guy... I think I'll keep him (hee hee).

Rachel also wanted to help! She is growing up so fast, it's scary! But she helped clean up her toys, and is now our resident dishwasher emptier... at least as far as the plastics & silverware are concerned (AFTER I remove all the knives... oy)

Anyway, the party was a success as always, despite the weather being a little uncooperative for the very first time! It rained on and off throughout the day, but EVENTUALLY (after dinner!) it was dry enough to let the kids play in the pool for a while!
We are just so glad everyone seemed to have a good time... and as usual, we had old friends and some new ones to share the day... I just can't believe someone actually stole one of the American flags off the front lawn! I just hope they did it so they could remember our Service Men & Women... not just to be rude... Because even though we spend the day enjoying the company of our friends & the fantastic food (thanks to my honey), the TRUE reason for the day is to honor those who have kept us free... So for that reason, I personally want to share my heartfelt gratitude... Thank you to all the Military families of the USA. The soldiers fighting for the right to be free, and the families of those soldiers who are keeping vigil at home... And to those who made the ULTIMATE sacrifice, BLESS YOU!

The buffet table... shrimp boil was still being prepared but you get the idea... lol

Some of the family & friends... It worked out pretty well! Most everyone stayed out poolside, but the rest were either in the family room or in the bar (where Rachel learned the fine art of winning on our slot machine! Thank you Uncle Bill!! LOL

Meri & Lexi, who shocked the *@#^% out of me... I almost fell over when I saw just how TALL that kid has gotten! such a beauty!

some steamers for snacking... Most of the rest we did raw... poor Tommy was shucking forEVER... lol...

Rachel was having the time of her life with her "Boyfriend" Nick. (Yes, I know she looks too serious here, but that's because she got mad that I insisted she let me take her picture!)
These 2 were INSEPARABLE all day!!! Nick was absolutely WONDERFUL with her! He kept her laughing & happy the whole time he was there!

Kissie, kissie, kissie!

The cat that ate the canary?

2 of my girls from the M.O.M. group (Meeting of the Minds). wish the rest of the group could have made it... ONE of these years! LOL

We decided to have Mom dish out her INFAMOUS salad! That way we knew everyone would get a little of everything! She is the best salad maker on the planet, as far as I'm concerned! Thanks Mom!!!

Spiders And Snakes

2011-05-23T22:13:00.003-04:00

Tommy was checking the veggie garden, when he realized there were a load of bees swarming around the water plates (they look like tiny . It's where the water company does the meter reading). So I called the water company to tell them they need to get someone to clean it out, before their folks try to check our meter again... So here's the weird part... they tell me WE have to take care of it... My first thought was that I sure hope their employees aren't allergic to bees!
Lucky for them, they had the name of a bee keeper... I called, and he agreed to come out immediately (since he was going on vacation).

Turns out he also owns a store locally, where he sells the honey he collects from all the bees he retrieves! So he does not charge a fee for collecting the bees. Good thing, huh?
He was also willing to give us the honeycomb, but as it turns out, this was a fairly new hive, so there was no honey in it yet. It was, however, HUGE! He was scooping bees out by the handful to put into his "beebox".
He left the box there for a couple of days, to be sure all the worker bees found their way in... he was quite certain he had scooped up the queen & gotten her into his box. He was smoking them to calm them down, and just scooping up massive amounts of bees & dumping them in... it was kinda neat to watch! Really glad to be rid of them though... I was nervous since they were so close to the garden & Rach likes to help out in there!

We also had another little visitor to our lanai, but we couldn't get anyone to get rid of THIS pest for free, so we had to do it ourselves... TWICE! (guess he really likes the lounge chairs! LOL)
Here is the one I was TERRIFIED of...

As you can well imagine, I was NOT a happy camper when I found this guy hanging out so close to the pool! We've never had one on the lanai before.. at least not that WE had ever seen!

Oh, and before anyone thinks I got suddenly brave, I was using the zoom BIG TIME on these shots... wouldn't catch me within 10 FEET of a snake... YUCK!!!!!!!

Mother

2011-05-09T22:52:00.001-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's reading this :-)

My Mother's Day started out with a yummy box of Shari's Berries! They are delicious chocolate covered strawberries... yes, I know I don't like chocolate, but they have WHITE chocolate ones that I eat, Milk chocolate for Rach & Dark chocolate for Tommy! LOL...

Next up after a nice relaxing afternoon, was dinner... A few years ago, Mom & I decided to start a new tradition... Lobster for Mother's Day! For a while, we were really lucky because there was a pretty terrific place in town that had live Maine lobsters at a relatively reasonable rate. (Reasonable as compared to the price at Publix). They were also some of the best, sweetest lobsters we had ever had!
This year, was a little bit of a let-down. Our favorite place closed a couple of months ago, so we were forced to find someplace else to go...

We went to another local seafood market, and bought enough lobsters for all of us to have a nice dinner... even Rachel got her own (much smaller) one.
I was a little upset that they do not steam them for us. I really hate cooking these guys myself, but oh well...

So I cooked them up, & we packed them all up along with a big batch of asparagus, and headed over to mom's.

Here is almost 10 pounds of cooked lobster!
Once we got to mom's, I roasted up the asparagus and mom had made spaghetti with white clam sauce.
Dinner was delicious, although we were actually a bit disappointed in the lobsters.. they seemed to be a bit salty... (turns out the next day when we reheated the lobster leftovers, they tasted much better...)

Easter Morning

2011-04-25T20:28:00.000-04:00

Easter at the Brown house! Margie went all out as usual, and had lots of fun planned for the kids!

Easter baskets, loaded with lots of goodies!

And of course, the annual Easter Egg hunt was LOTS of fun! This year, Rach had some help! Charlie's grandsons were both helping her find some of the hidden eggs!

Someone sure looks happy about her basket full of goodies!

Ma Nishtanah

2011-04-25T01:04:00.006-04:00

This year, Passover started on a Monday night, so since we love to celebrate the holidays at home, we decided to do a little Passover Seder at the end of the holiday so that Tommy could be home with us. I made a brisket for the first time, and was VERY pleasantly surprised by the outcome. It was really delicious!
We had my parents over, as well as Margie & Charlie. The meal turned out really well, and we had a very nice evening!

I hope by next year, maybe Rachel will be able to read the 4 questions!
I can't wait until she really understands what the holiday is all about.

Hatikva

2011-04-19T23:31:00.000-04:00

Passover is once again upon us! Since it falls during the week, I decided to make a Seder on one of the last nights instead of the first nights! So we will do our little family Seder on Saturday night!
On Tuesday we went to "Auntie Ruth & Uncle Dick's" for 2nd night Seder. Rach had a very good time. She ate Gefilte Fish, Chopped Liver, Hard Boiled Egg & LOTS of Matzo Ball soup!

She sat like such a big girl at the table. She's growing up so fast!

In the Garden

2011-04-15T21:25:00.001-04:00

With all the medical garbage I had to deal with the past year, the veggie garden was pretty much the last thing on my mind. Well, I finally got fed up & made a little trip to home depot to check out the available plants. Picked up a few things that looked good & Tommy cleared my little garden out for me to get ready for the haul!
Naturally, as soon as we started talking about planting, Rachel insisted on getting dressed and helping her daddy in the garden!

When all was said and done, Rachel & Tommy planted Banana Peppers, Cantaloupe, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Green Beans, Tomatoes & Watermelon. I sure wish I was able to get down & dirty with them, but at least I got some cute pictures! LOL...
Oh, and no sooner were they back in the house for a cool drink when Rachel wanted to know if she could go pick the vegetables! Took a little bit of time to convince her she will have to wait till they GROW!

Sleeping With The Dog

2011-04-06T23:45:00.000-04:00

Our latest fun is that Rach desperately wants Penny to sleep with her. Whether it's nap time or bed time, she pleads with me "Can Penny sleep here with me?" I have to keep explaining to her that Penny will cuddle with her for a little while, but that I'll leave the door open in case she decides to come in or out during the night... the result is poor Penny getting put into a sleeper hold every day! LOL...

Hot Hot Hot

2011-04-04T20:45:00.000-04:00

Stuck my head outside & realized just how hot it was out. Well, guess it's time to start jumping in the pool again! Margie & Ness came by with Baby James to take Rach out for a bike ride. We decided after they went around the block on bikes and then had lunch, it was a good time to swim. Ok, so I forgot the fact that the air may have been sweltering hot but the pool water was... well... NOT... it was FREAKIN COLD!!!! Glad Ness had more guts than me & was willing to get all the way into the water! It always amazes me how the kids don't seem to notice the cold AT ALL!!!

It was the first swim of 2011. Too cold for me, but our little fish was more than happy to put up with the chilly waters... She is an expert as long as she's wearing her floaties! LOL... she actually swims the whole pool really well! Good thing, since we had to throw all the pool toys into the garbage after they died from being in the hot Florida sun!!

Oh, and just take a look at the goofy grin on this kid when she is happily swimming!

Time to wrap up & dry off... I think she was so tired she would have fallen asleep like this!

And of course, after a good hard swim, there is the mandatory "Baby Cheese" snack!

Scene from an Italian Restaurant

2011-04-03T22:23:00.000-04:00

So it started out that Mom asked if we wanted to go to Olive Garden to use the gift card they gave us over the holidays... Next thing I know, we are getting a table for 12 !!! Well, it turned out to be a really nice evening! The kids were both great, and the food was as yummy as ever. I am hopelessly hooked on their Chicken & Gnocci soup!

Most of our crew. Mom & Dad, Margie & Charlie, Baby James, Linda & Tony & Tom & Rita! We scared the staff when we walked in, I think!

We had 2 people waiting on our group... BUT... one was beastly & we actually complained to the other one and he ended up taking over the whole table... perfect!

Mom was already testing out her cruising hat! (They are leaving for their vacation in the morning!)

Play the Game

2011-04-02T23:47:00.000-04:00

Today was Dad's Bocci Picnic. Rach had a blast playing on the slide & swings with "Luna Linda" (we still can't figure out how she came up with that nickname for Linda!) & her Papa too!!!

Believe it or not, it was PAPA'S idea for the two of them to put their heads in the holes!!! I even have proof on video of him telling us of his plan!

After the picnic, we went home for a little bit of a nap! Then it was time for an evening bike ride with her best bud Baby James!

These 2 are just way too adorable together. They give each other the cutest hugs & kisses! But Rach tends to boss James around just a bit!

After just a couple of evening rides, she is now a real little expert!
She even knows to move onto the grass to wait for passing cars!

Saturday in The Park

2011-03-26T20:05:00.000-04:00

So Rachel just came up to me this morning & said she wanted to do more "Work" at getting her picture taken (For those who don't know, she had one modeling job a month or so ago for a boutique, and was not terribly cooperative when it came to taking those pictures!)
Well, she only wanted to pose for me and take a few fun pictures, so, we did!!

She had fun & was ready for more... it was time to pack up & join Aunt Margie, Nessy & Baby James for a picnic at Four Freedoms Park! It was a great way to spend the afternoon! The kids had a blast playing on the playground, and of course, they LOVED their peanut butter & jelly sandwiches! So did the local wildlife!

Give Ireland Back To The Irish

2011-03-21T02:01:00.000-04:00

Since Thursday was St Patrick's Day, we decided to have our big Boiled Dinner on Sunday (so we could all enjoy it together, instead of leftover!). Margie & Charlie came with their grandson James, and Mom & Dad came too!
Dinner turned out totally yummy, if I must say so myself! Tommy also made a delicious "Kitchenette Cake" from one of his antique cookbooks.

Rachel was SO glad to have Baby James over to play with! She was so happy, she even let James drive her car, and thanks to Aunt Margie they figured out how to turn the car into a 2 seater!

Our happy little couple had their own special table, and enjoyed eating together. Rachel was too funny, playing the little mother, telling James to eat his dinner. I should have James over more often! We didn't have to fight with her to eat half as much as we usually do for dinner! After all, she had to set a good example, right? Haha

You Need a Hug

2011-03-16T23:42:00.000-04:00

Today we spent some time with Aunt Margie & her Grandkids, Baby J & Christopher! Rachel had a blast, playing under the hose and running around with the boys. She also did the cutest thing and thank goodness I got in on video! Baby J was getting a little rough with his little brother, and made him cry. Well, Rachel does NOT like to see anyone crying... so she went to Christopher to console him... watch the video & you will see the cute moment!

The kids had a ball while Margie squirted them with the hose. The boys were climbing in & out of that bucket... Rach didn't want to get THAT wet... LOL...

Ok, time to teach my daughter about the rules of being a GIRLIE girl... This AIN'T IT!

Rachel's first car date? I don't THINK so! LOL...

Ok, so maybe she was having just a TEENY bit of fun, huh?

Besides playing on the lanai, the kids were running around in the yard, playing with as many toys as they could, and playing hose with Aunt Margie! Rachel refused to take off her sneakers & socks (she actually listened to me for a change!! ) so her little feet were a bit pruney by the time we got home, but she had way too much fun to care!

(oh yes it's) Ladies Night

2011-03-15T16:15:00.000-04:00

Every month, I get together with an awesome group of ladies, and we have our "Meeting of the Minds". We generally do something special around Christmas time, but this year because of all the garbage with me going up north & just the timing in general, we decided to have a special ladies night at the Melting Pot restaurant. They have a Ladies night every month, so we decided to splurge just this once... we had a BLAST. I arrived a wee bit late, since I had to drop the munchkin off at her Nana & Papa's house, but I arrived in plenty of time to enjoy the first course of standard cheese fondue!

Nancy even won a door prize of a bottle of wine! WOOHOO! (She tried to get them to exchange it for her favorite White Zin, but they couldn't... oh well)

Kim & Rita enjoying their Dark Chocolate Dessert fondue. Nancy shared with them, while Donna & I went to town on the WHITE chocolate... YUMMMMMMMM.... we both agreed the fresh jumbo Strawberries were the best!

2011-03-11T00:48:00.001-05:00

Just a few random shots... Spread over a couple of days... yes, it's cheating, but I keep forgetting to update the blog, so this is an easy way to share a few of the latest details!

Here is our little ball player... she has recently decided she wants to be more like daddy, so she wants to wear a hat all the time! just too cute!

This one makes me think she's practicing Karate!

Gonna Buy Me a Dog

2011-02-25T23:28:00.006-05:00

I am always posting pictures of Rach & her best friend, our cute pup Penny... well, this time I thought I'd post a video of Penny & her favorite past time... playing HOSE!

If it were up to her, this would be done every single day... but if it were, I think that mud pit would be ten times bigger!!

I'm also posting some pictures of Rachel & Penny cuddling. They are truly the best of friends!

Penny gets her revenge... usually Rachel is laying on top of her... this time, the roles are reversed! It seems Rachel makes a nice comfy pillow!

Silly Girl

2011-02-08T20:19:00.000-05:00

Today was just a day for being totally silly.

Rachel wanted to play goofy little games today, hanging upside like a monkey...


Doing anything she could do to just be funny, crazy, & FUN!

Wearing Dora Stickers

Just the perfect day for silly, happy, funny kids to be their silliest...

New Year's Day

2011-02-06T21:57:00.002-05:00

Xin Nian Kuai Le (Happy New Year)

It's Chinese New Year, so tonight we all got dressed in our Chinese clothing to go out for dinner to a new restaurant we found. Very disappointed to realize that there were no CNY celebrations going on anywhere locally. We had thought at least one of the Chinese restaurants in town would have done something special, but we made our own good time...

Traditionally served on CNY, we had Peking Duck. We also all shared a Pu Pu Platter (so we could sample a variety of things from this new prospective eating establishment!) and we had Moo Shu Pork. The staff was VERY nice & so interested in our little Rachel. Before we left, the manager handed her a red envelope with a $2 bill in it. She was VERY excited, of course!

She also couldn't wait till we were outside so she could get her picture taken! (Her daddy took one of she & I together, but my head got chopped off! LOL)

I couldn't get over just how grown up my little princess looked!

She's growing up to be a beautiful young lady. TOO SOON!!!!

Baby What a Big Surprise

2011-01-23T23:34:00.000-05:00


Mom's First Ever Birthday Party!

It was a really special evening tonight! Mom's friend Ruth organized a surprise party for her birthday. She remembered Mom telling her that she had never had a birthday party, so she wanted to make it special! It was a small gathering of friends, and it was so nice.

Mom was, without a doubt, surprised! Ruth is such a wonderful friend!

Rachel was busting at the seams, waiting not very patiently to give Nana her present! We gave her a framed portrait of Rachel, of course!

Rachel got to spend a lot of time on Nana's lap. That is one of her favorite places to be!

Happy Birthday, Nana!!

Best of Friends

2011-01-12T22:21:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I looked at this picture and wondered who switched my toddler with this young lady!!!
She was enjoying her salmon & asparagus so much she insisted on eating with BOTH hands! lol

Oh, and in case you were wondering, no, she is NOT enjoying her own martini! LOL

Her new favorite position. She keeps climbing up on the chair with Penny, snuggling into her, and then asking me to take their picture!

I get the feeling these 2 are friends for life... Especially since Penny tolerates SO much from
Rach... her daily routine now includes climbing onto Penny's back while we are all laying in bed... she has fallen asleep on top of her several times now!

What an incredible pair... these two are inseparable! We are beyond lucky with both of our girls!!! Adoption is by far, the best way to make the perfect family! :-)

Bicycle Race

2011-01-03T20:54:00.001-05:00

So now that the holidays are over, it's time to really get into playing with all those presents! Naturally, Rachel's first choice is her brand new bicycle.
She's having a great time with it, even if she is having a bit of a hard time with peddling. And Daddy is actually having fun teaching her how to ride!

Don't worry... it only took me till her 2nd lesson to go out and get her a helmet! Oh, and it came with a cool bell too! So now she has a great addition to her handlebars!

Wonderful Christmastime

2010-12-25T16:55:00.000-05:00

Once again, the holidays are upon us. This year was a little tough, considering my back surgery and not being able to do what I normally would have wanted to, but we still managed to make it a special time for our little munchkin!

Our family portrait for 2010... Too bad we couldn't use THIS shot for our holiday cards this year! Would have been SO nice! Thanks, as usual to our favorite photographer Margie!

Margie & Charlie spent Christmas Eve with us at my parents party. It is always so nice sharing the holidays with friends & family you love!

Even with all the stuff they've had to deal with this year, Mom & Dad went above and beyond as always. The house is beautifully decorated, and the food was outstanding as usual!

Mom's chemo has taken it's toll, but she looked terrific in her cute reindeer sweatshirt!

Dad was wearing the very appropriate "Bah Humbug" sweatshirt... lol...

Santa was VERY good to a certain little girl! He left a wonderful new bicycle at Nana & Papa's house just for her! She sure must have been good this year!

So despite the fact that things were a little tight for us all, obviously Rachel did not notice a difference! Here she is demonstrating her ability to be a game show hostess! LOL

And the gifts just keep on coming! She had so many neat packages to open!

Even Penny got to open a package from Nana & Papa!! With a little help from Daddy, of course!

You can even see the smile on her face! Now we have to make sure she doesn't eat any of Rachel's fake food!

Rachel loved all of her gifts, but there were some obvious favorites... Naturally, her bicycle, her dancing Frosty the Snowman, the box of food to go with the kitchen we got her, and this really cool play tent!

Since Hanukkah fell so early this year, we were actually up north to celebrate that one. We brought our own little Menorah with us on the trip, so we lit our candles by ourselves when we had to, but we also lit them with friends when we were able to!
All in all, this holiday season was full of good memories and we are so glad we were able to share them with so many people.

Happy Holidays to all our friends and family from all of us!!

New York New York

2010-12-04T22:12:00.000-05:00

We had an awesome day today. Woke up early, got ourselves up and moving, and headed out for a day of sightseeing! Margie's first trip to NYC was going to be a memorable one if I had something to say about it!

Our first stop was Liberty Island, to see the lady with the lamp... She sure is a grand sight to see! I didn't get great pics of her, but I think Margie did, so I will add one of her pics here later... we saw some beautiful sights from the park, including the historic train station and the amazing view of Manhattan!

This is the train station where all the immigrants would head off to their respective parts of the country. The signs are still up pointing the way to the various stations!

Next stop, Carnegie Deli!!! The sandwiches there are MASSIVE and we had LOTS of leftovers! Rachel loved the Matzo Ball Soup, and she also enjoyed the Corned Beef.

Margie may have been a bit overwhelmed by the size of her sandwich... ok, so she was more taken in by the size of TOMMY'S sandwich!!! It was big enough to feed all of us TWICE... at least I would have thought so...

Here is MY sandwich. I got Corned Beef & Pastrami on Rye. 4 days worth of meat packed in there... but it was OH so yummy!!!

We all stared in amazement at this sight. Tommy actually FINISHED his whole sandwich!! OMG, we couldn't believe it! I never would have thought it possible!!! Even the people at the next table were floored! LOL...

Macy's Window - "Yes, Virginia, there IS a Santa Claus"

Rachel's favorite part of the day... the tree and the skating rink at Rockefeller Center!
I think next time we are here in the winter, we will have to rent her some skates and let her have at it! She really had a blast watching, but I know she would like it SO much more to skate herself!

The store was closing, so they weren't letting anyone else in, but Margie got the "guard" to take a picture with her in front of FAO Schwartz! Too bad Rach was asleep in the car already! Actually, probably a GOOD thing... she would have wanted to go in the store for sure!

Every year, whenever we come up to NY, I feel compelled to go to Central Park & visit Strawberry Fields. It's still so hard to believe it's been 30 years already. R.I.P. John Lennon... forever in our hearts!

(You Say it's Your) Birthday

2010-12-02T23:22:00.000-05:00

My little princess is THREE YEARS OLD TODAY!!! Time sure is flying by! I felt really bad because we are on the road for her birthday this year, so she's not really getting a birthday party. But then I realized, she's actually having SEVERAL birthday celebrations!
Today is her actual birthday, and we are at our friends Brian & Debbie's house. Rach LOVES it here, especially because she gets to play with their dog, Roscoe!

The fireplace added such a lovely feel to the evening. I miss that too... we used to have a beautiful fireplace at my parents house in NJ

And Rach was happy to be wearing her Reindeer PJ's!

Here is the first of many of Rachel's 3rd Birthday cakes! It was a very yummy little cake! Especially after having yummy Lasagna for dinner!!

Our wonderful friends, Brian & Debbie. They never fail to open their home to us whenever we come to NJ. They are SO sweet!

Popeye eating cake? LOL... she loved it, and especially enjoyed reading her Dora book while she munched away on sweet cake!

Don't these two look like they are trying to talk their way out of trouble? Haha.... That's her buddy Roscoe, looking all sorts of cute! They sure got along great!
We had a fantastic (but short) visit with Brian, Debbie & Roscoe.
It was a really nice way to spend Rachel's 3rd birthday. That was her first 3rd birthday... on to the 2nd third birthday next!

Cold Turkey

2010-11-25T23:54:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving Day 2010

What a long, fun-filled day it was! We started bright and early in the morning, heading to Margie & Charlie's house for their annual Thanksgiving day breakfast!

They had a full house with all the kids & grandkids, plus assorted friends & family!

Then it was our turn to play host to our regular crowd for our annual Thanksgiving Dinner! I made my always-popular Pumpkin Soup & a few other side dishes on Wednesday so I could leave the kitchen free for Tommy. He does the bird, stuffing, potatoes, mashed Rutabaga, & creamed onions!
Of course my mom also made her famous Salad!

Rachel kept herself occupied throughout the day... Here she is practicing spelling her name with her magnetic letters!

Next it was time for our newest tradition... Margie took some awesome family shots for us. Look for them soon! I will try to get them done & in the mail before the holidays are over!

Dinner went off without a hitch! Everyone enjoyed the meal AND the entertainment! Rachel is ALWAYS a source of giggles for the crowds! She is SO funny!

We love having our friends & family with us for Thanksgiving every year. I am so glad we started this tradition since we moved into the house 8 years ago!

Besides celebrating Thanksgiving, Rach also got her first birthday presents a little early! Since we will be up north for her 3rd birthday this year (which also happens to be the 2nd night of Hanukkah!), her Nana & Papa decided to give her a couple of her presents now! She was SO happy to get her very own suitcase with Dora & Boots on it! And she got some cool new PJ's too!

And here is the best little thing we are all so Thankful for... She is our very favorite little present!!!

Birthday Boy

2010-11-20T21:57:00.027-05:00

Today we spent the afternoon at little Christopher's 1st birthday party! Rach had an absolute blast, playing with the kids, swimming in the little pool, and of course, eating CAKE!

The birthday boy! Looking just as cute as could be! We just LOVE those blue eyes! He's gonna be a real wolf, right?

My little princess having fun swimming with all the boys! LOL

She was very fixated on the opening of presents. So proud of her because she didn't try to swipe any of the gifts! LOL...

Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon

2010-11-14T23:15:00.001-05:00

What a special time we had! It was Juliette's Bat Mitzvah, and it was absolutely wonderful! Rachel & I were both SO honored to be asked to participate in the Havdalah service after the ceremony. I held the Havdalah candle, and Rachel carried the spice box to all the guests in the first row, and then held it HIGH above her head when Cantor Ann told her to! She did an AMAZING job! Unfortunately, we have no pictures from the ceremony itself, but naturally we took plenty of shots during the party after!

Steven & Alain couldn't make it in from France, but through the miracle of modern technology, (aka SKYPE) they were able to attend via computer!

Rachel with the Bat Mizvah girl! My beautiful Juliette (apparently her new BFF)

Our Happy Family shot!

Papa was a Rolling Stone

2010-11-01T23:18:00.017-04:00

Tonight was my dad's birthday, so we went out for an impromptu dinner at what is now his favorite Chinese Buffet (since our REAL favorite Chinese buffet closed for good over the summer... ). 78 years young and still partying! Rach had a great time but was very upset that when the waitresses & manager came to sing Happy Birthday, her mouth was full and she couldn't sing along! LOL...

The restaurant also took a video, so I've included that too... It was kinda funny! We also discovered Rachel's new favorite is Green Tea Ice Cream! not sure if its the flavor or the color that she really likes best!

(everyday Is) Halloween

2010-10-31T23:07:00.001-04:00

Rach had a great time going trick or treating with her daddy! I stayed home to open the door for all the little trick-or-treaters from OUR neighborhood... Because we have the witch living a few doors away, and decorates her place to the hilt, we usually get a big crowd... this year was no exception... I bought 700 pieces of candy and gave out all but around 100 pieces! so we had quite the group! I was very disappointed that I didn't see even one Twilight related costume!

My way too cute bunny... and yes, I realize now that the ears were WAY too big for her tiny little head, but they looked a lot smaller on the cardboard LOL...
As for the "outfit", well, I just told her she was a bunny hiding in the flower garden! lol...

My G-d daughters & their kids!

Tommy carved this freehand... not a bad job, right?

2010-10-15T20:58:00.018-04:00

Rach spent a good part of the day today hanging out with her best friend. She followed her everywhere, hugged her over and over, gave her HUGE kisses, and just couldn't get close enough to her, snuggling whenever she could...

Belfast to Boston

2010-10-14T01:16:00.000-04:00

What an insane day... Woke up at 4:30a.m., out the door by 5:30 a.m., drove to the airport and caught a flight to Boston to go to meet with the surgeon that is going to be operating on my spine. Got thru the appointment, got back on a plane and came home... INSANE? absolutely! The hardest part was not seeing my baby all day! I left before she woke and got home after she was asleep!!!
BUT....

It really was a good thing I did this now. It was a crazy day, rushed, painful, slightly scary (still amazed I found my way taking Boston mass transit to & from the airport!) but really informative, and I'm closer to seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with this whole back thing.

I arrived at the hospital a little early for my appointment, so I went to Whole Foods to grab some lunch. Walking back, I stopped a guy dressed in Dr garb to ask for directions, since I was a bit turned around. He asks me what Dr I was going to see and I told him Dr Coumans... his reaction was VERY reassuring... he said "Wow, you went straight for the best, huh?" VERY glad to hear that!
Anyway, brought all my old MRI disks with me, thank goodness... met with Dr Coumans, and discussed the problems with my Thoracic spine as well as the other problems. Basically, he said that I am not a candidate for the surgery on the Thoracic spine right now. It's too risky and he doesn't think that the bulk of my symptoms stem from that ruptured disk. He is convinced there are still issues with my cervical spine that are causing a lot of the pain & problems. So he ordered a new MRI of my cervical spine. Once he sees those results, we will schedule the surgery he DOES think I need right now... definitely the Lumbar spine needs help. He even thinks that once the surgery is over and I recover, I may even be able to feel my leg again!!! WOOHOO!!! No guarantees, since the nerves have been compressed for so long it may be permanent, but he said it really was possible!

And then, I come home to find that my dear, sweet friend Margie not only took GREAT care of my little munchkin while I was gone, but she also cleaned all the knick-knacks in my entertainment unit, washed my windows (! ! ! ! ! ! ! !) AND straightened the family room! Holy COW! What an AWESOME friend!

2010-10-10T17:49:00.011-04:00

Had a really nice afternoon meeting mom's cousin Arlene & her hubby Mark at Olive Garden for lunch. Rach had a great time playing with her crayons on the coasters... more fun than the coloring book! She also had lots of fun posing for all the pictures that Mark & Arlene were taking! I can't wait to see them!

Her favorite though, was the RAVIOLI! She finally decided she likes ravi's like her mom!!! YAY! Of course she didn't eat very many of them because she was so busy chowing down on the unlimited breadsticks! my carb junkie!

Lollipop

2010-10-09T20:05:00.023-04:00

It was a banner day! Rachel FINALLY went poop on the potty!!! We are trying a new technique (which is not really working well yet) but if she tells us she has to go and then actually GOES, we are giving her a little treat. Well, for pooping, she gets a lollipop (the first time it was a tootsie pop... all subsequent rewards will be those little tiny DumDum pops!)
I know that she will surely be out of diapers before she goes to high school, but in the meantime, we had agreed not to force anything on her... She HAS been showing an interest, and actually tells us when she has to go at night before bed or before bath time... the problem we have is she does NOT tell us when she needs to poop, no matter what time of day, and hardly ever tells us about having to pee during the day. So when she actually did everything she was supposed to this time, I was ready to have a party!

She came close to having to share her lollipop with her best friend!

Despite the obvious grin on Penny's face, she never did actually get a taste of the lollipop!

Islands of Adventure

2010-09-18T23:21:00.033-04:00

Last week I won tickets to either Universal Studios or Islands of Adventure from a local radio station. We decided to go this weekend and we had SUCH an amazing time! With all the problems with my back & legs, we thought the best way to go was to rent a wheelchair for me. Tommy was great about pushing me & Rach around...
We all went on many of the rides with her (lucky she is too little for the rough & tumble kind of rides!) But of all the things she went on, her absolute favorite thing was meeting The Cat in the Hat!!!

We were only in the park for a few hours, which really was more than enough! We had a great time, and it gave us a little insight into how she will LOVE whenever we are able to take her to Disney!!
After all the fun of the park, it was time to grab some dinner. We wandered around the City Walk area, and finally decided to treat Rach to her all-time favorite food...

SHRIMP!

Bed of Roses

2010-09-17T21:47:00.000-04:00

Today was another big day for our little munchkin... we finally took the front rail off her crib and turned it into a daybed! WOOHOO!!! She's growing up so fast! Next step is to turn it into a regular full size bed, but since we will have to buy her a new mattress for that, it will be a while... we are still trying to buy a new mattress for OUR bed! Her first time in the Big-Girl bed went pretty well... she did end up falling out of the bed, but only after she was mostly awake... she took the blanket with her and just laid on the floor for a bit before she started calling out for me... I don't think she realized she could actually get up and walk out of the room without help!
After her nap, we had Margie & Charlie over for dinner & pool time. Margie made a big fuss over the Big-Girl bed too... so that sure helped! So, this week she has been telling us at night when she has to go potty, AND she got a Big-Girl Bed! How cool!

You Know My Name

2010-09-14T16:25:00.000-04:00

Today was an incredible day for our family. We finally had Rachel's naming ceremony at the Temple. What a great day! We all filed into the main office of Temple Beth-El to wait for the Rabbi. Mom made the arrangements last week, so it was relatively short notice. Still, we managed to have a nice little group there... Tommy & I of course, my parents, our dear friend Margie, and family friends Ruth & Dick. Not a huge crowd, but just enough and just the right ones!
Our first "hold your breath" moment came when the Rabbi came out looking rather confused. Turns out they were not expecting us to actually DO the naming today... they thought we were coming to PLAN the naming! Luckily, he was VERY nice and said that since we were all there already, he would just go ahead and do the ceremony now! Thank goodness! He did a beautiful job, especially considering the short notice!

Just before the ceremony, we presented Rachel with a beautiful gift from her Nana & Papa and Nana's dear old friend Ida. Ida sent Rach a gorgeous Star of David. It was hers as a little girl and we were SO honored to have it. Nana & Papa added the chain, and Rachel wore the beautiful set for the ceremony!

We also talked to the Rabbi about eventually joining the Temple. Since they have a pre-school, it looks like we will become members. Especially seeing how NICE they all were to us!

Rachel really seemed to like Rabbi Barras too! She shook his hand and said "Thank you, Rabbi" before we left. She was SO cute!

After the ceremony, we all headed to Perkins for a little bite to eat. All in all, it was a really wonderful day!

Happy Family

2010-09-10T15:22:00.000-04:00

It's so hard to believe it, but it's true... it was 2 years ago today that we stood in that sticky hot room at the Civil Affairs office in Changsha China... my arms aching to hold the beautiful baby girl that was now and forever to be my daughter...

When we arrived, this was what it looked like as we walked in... all the nannies holding all those beautiful babies by the window... and all us over-anxious parents, trying to figure out which one belonged to whom!

It was our turn to receive our beautiful little Rachel. She actually held her arms out to me right away and I never cried & laughed so much at the same time in my life... She was perfect!

She looked so different from the pictures we had received 2 months earlier!

Today, she is still gorgeous... growing beyond belief, and so bright it's frightening! LOL... we could not be happier to have this brilliant shining light in our lives...

Her Nana & Papa can't get enough of her either!!!

Cut My Hair

2010-09-07T20:46:00.000-04:00

I know, I know... been forever since I posted... I'm actually going to go back and fill in some of the missing bits later, but today was a pretty big day...
Today Rachel had her first PROFESSIONAL haircut! I'd been trimming her bangs forever (ALWAYS crooked) but we had never EVER cut any of the length... it was a big day, and of course I video taped the whole event. I've got some editing to do on that and I'll send it out eventually.. lol... but here are some still shots in the meantime!

Doesnt she look THRILLED?

She didn't cry, she didn't scream, but she was a little
on the pouty side... She cracked a little grin after I gave her a toy or 2 to hold...

Gonna Buy Me a Dog

2010-08-31T21:00:00.000-04:00

Time to play with paints! It's been a long time coming, but I finally broke out the watercolors! She had a great time and it kept her busy for a good part of the day!

So one of my better "investments" was a roll of plastic "table cover" that they use in restaurants... it was perfect for covering up her little play table. She didn't actually need it, because (altho she does NOT paint within the lines) she kept the paints only on the paper!

After playing arts & crafts for a while, it was time for a much needed break... time to play with Penny!

She loves to spend time cuddling with her puppy... they are SO attached to each other

Clam Caravan

2010-08-01T21:57:00.000-04:00

What a fantastic Sunday... first, we had an amazing yummy breakfast of bacon and blueberry pancakes! Marla made them with the blueberries we all helped pick! How cool... and according to Rachel, it was "DEEEE-licious!"

After we finished breakfast, it was off to the beach to try our hand at clamming! So here is the funny part... Daniel couldn't find the clamming license (yes, you actually need to get a license to collect clams from the beach). He insisted it was no problem because nobody ever stops him. Marla kept telling him to stop saying that or he'd jinx himself... well, sure as could be, we weren't there 15 minutes when the "Clam Police" came over to ask for our license! LOL... Here is Uncle Daniel talking to the officer!

We only stayed for about an hour... in that time, Marla found a few clams, Daniel found LOTS of clams, and Rachel and I? Well, we had a fun time digging in the sand!
It wasn't the white powdery sand we have down in Florida, but it was fun to dig in!

We had some of the smaller clams for dinner, and the rest are destined for chowder...

It was a nice day at the beach

Blueberry Hill

2010-07-29T10:04:00.000-04:00

We found our thrills, on Blueberry Hills... it was like being in the middle of an ocean of blue... SO awesome! We drove up to Maine especially for berry picking! First we stopped to pick up Bethany, and then we headed further north to Palermo, Maine. We tried to find some place to buy berries, but weren't having much luck. Then we spotted the field and saw just how blue it was... PERFECT! So we stopped on the side of the road, and all got out to pick wild blueberries!
First let me say... Tye Dye is the BEST choice for blueberry picking! Especially when Rach decided to sneak up on me and tried to hop on my back while I was trying to keep my balance! Needless to say, I wish my SHORTS were tye dyed!! LOL...
It was really a wonderful day. I think Rachel's favorite part was seeing Bethany... she loves her for sure!
So here are just a few more pictures from the day...

Maine is just beautiful... and those were the best blueberries I've ever eaten...

Independence Day

2010-07-04T23:31:00.012-04:00

It's America's Birthday, so we are going to celebrate in style! There is a terrific parade scheduled, and it goes right in front of Beth's house! VERY convenient! And then of course, there is the mandatory

BBQ to follow!

What a nice day... VERY hot out, but the chairs were in the shade. I felt bad for some of the marchers in the parade because they were in full uniforms! UGH... But it was really great fun to see all the neat antique cars and the bagpipers, etc...

I'm pretty sure Rachel's favorite part was when the people in the cars were throwing candy out to all the kids watching the festivities! She was very good about it and didn't run EVERY time, but she ended up with a nice little handful of Tootsie Rolls & Lollipops. She was a happy camper!
And of course, she was THRILLED to see all the fire trucks from the various townships! After her firehouse trip last week, this was an added bonus!

After watching all the fun, it was time for a quick refreshing drink, and then off to play with Deb, the clown! Oh BOY did she have fun with her!!! Especially when she brought out her friend, the Sheepdog puppy puppet! (I have to admit, I can't remember the puppet puppy's name... bad me... )

The best part for me was getting to see some great friends that I hadn't seen in a very long time... "Aunt ZeeZee" came with her parents, and Kathleen & Rich brought the girls! That was a REAL eye opener! Kathy's middle child was my FLOWER GIRL! But she's practically all grown up now! And the are BOTH gorgeous! Well, Rach had a fun filled day, and when it was all said and done, it was time for a nice relaxing nap on the hammock... Thanks to Uncle Rich, who was MORE than happy to accomodate!

Tiny Fish For Japan

2010-06-27T22:03:00.001-04:00

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

2010-06-27T00:18:00.001-04:00

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

2010-06-20T23:48:00.002-04:00

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

2010-06-12T22:57:00.000-04:00

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

2010-06-10T21:55:00.000-04:00

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

2010-06-02T23:21:00.000-04:00

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.

The Unknown Soldier (Memorial Day 2010)

2010-05-31T01:09:00.000-04:00

Memorial Day 2010 - Time for our Annual Memorial Day Shrimp Boil! Margie & Charlie arrived early as they always do, to help with the decorating! Last year I picked up a bunch of new decorations and couldn't wait to see what Margie would do with them! She has such a good eye for that stuff. Charlie also put up the flag pole & flag I bought Tommy for Christmas!
We had a smaller crowd this year, but it was still a wonderful day full of family & friends, and of course FOOD! Tommy outdid himself, as usual! He started out by shucking raw clams by the dozen! Then it was time for the steamers, followed by his now "infamous" Shrimp Boil... loaded with shrimp, clams, kielbasa, potatoes, onions, and corn on the cob... YUMMY!!!

We also had some great contributions to the menu from our friends, too! And of course, there was mom's incredible salad! I couldn't have a party that didn't include mom's salad!

Everyone seemed to have a great time, eating, talking, and swimming! Naturally Rachel only wanted to eat shrimp and swim... her 2 favorites! She had a great time, and her "Aunt Margie" even taught her how to FLOAT! She was so excited to show me her toes! She is swimming like a little fish (not without her swimmies, of course!)

Behind the Wall of Sleep

2010-05-29T01:08:00.001-04:00

It's been a hectic week around here. This weekend is our annual Memorial Day Shrimp Boil. Every year since we have been living in our house, we have hosted a party on the Sunday of Memorial weekend. Tommy makes this fantabulous meal, and we have as many of our friends & family here as possible! The shrimp boil consists of Shrimp, Clams, Potatoes, Corn on the Cob, Kielbasa and Onions, all cooked together in a huge lobster pot... It is beyond yummy. So before the cooking begins, I make my husband absolutely nuts trying to get the house ready for all the company. This is the same every single year, so I don't know why it should come as a shock to him, but it always does! Of course this year, it was a lot harder than in the past, since I am just not physically capable of doing what I used to, so we actually had to hire someone to help with the cleaning. I really REALLY hope the Dr's up in Boston can fix this mess... I know Fibromyalgia is miserable, but it's really getting old already. (If everyone reading can keep fingers & toes crossed, I'd sure appreciate it!)

As for our little princess, she is just as amazing as ever. This week she has been spending most of her "free time" working her favorite Melissa & Doug wooden puzzle. She has also been helping a lot with picking up around the house. And of course, not a day goes by that she doesn't ask to go in the pool. She really loves being in the water, and it still amazes me how well she has been swimming! My folks also have stopped by a few times this week too. Any time they are out and about (usually running from one doctor to another) they come by here to see their precious baby girl... This is the end result of a little visit with my folks and Rach being chased around the family room by her Papa! After my folks left, I was ready to get into my PJ's and Rach followed me to my room. While I was changing, she climbed up on my bed and this is where I found her, all snuggled into my pile of pillows.... and she had her favorite body guard on duty as well... and if I'm not mistaken, my dad was probably in the same exact position not too long after he got home! LOL... She really can knock ya out!

One of the favorite things about weekends lately is that Rachel's favorite friend Arora gets to come play with us! Margie brings her here every evening while she takes her "insane" 2 mile walk! We LOVE that Margie goes for a nice long walk because it means Arora & Rachel get some quality play time in. They have SUCH a good time playing together!

Today, the girls made playdough spaghetti & meatballs, played on Rachel's playground, and just ran around giggling up a storm. Margie came back and shared some BEAUTIFUL pictures she took of the local Poincienna trees in full bloom... here are a couple of the wonderful pictures she took of our neighbor's tree. It is so amazing, because this is actually from a piece of another tree on the same lot that had been damaged during Hurricane Charlie. It was like a little tiny cutting. In the meantime, I have a Jacaranda (same family, but instead of blood orange flowers, it has lavender flowers) that has only had flowers on it once in the past 8 years!!! My neighbor has a true green thumb. Yes, I AM jealous!

Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon

2010-05-16T23:21:00.000-04:00

So it was a rainy, stormy Sunday, and it was a perfect day for relaxing. My back & leg were really bothering me a lot, so I needed to take it a little easy for the day. We started by making Matzo Brie for breakfast. I was very glad to have my favorite little kitchen helper! She had a great time beating the eggs. She also helped me mix in the Matzo, but I didn't get a picture of that! LOL...

After breakfast, it was time to rest on the couch and read the Sunday paper... I had no idea I was going to have so much company! After some serious cuddle time with my two favorite girls, it was time for a little nap before we had to get ready to go out for dinner. We were going down to the beach to Anthony's on the Gulf to celebrate Linda & Tony's 29th Anniversary!
Considering how my back felt, I was sure glad the elevator was working. It's this teeny tiny little elevator that was just about big enough for mom, Rachel & I. So anyway, there was a torrential rain while we were in the restaurant. It only lasted a few minutes, but when we stepped out of the elevator to head to the car, the water was almost ankle deep! What a mess! Tommy had to come carry the baby while mom & I walked through the flood zone! Unbelievable that this is the handicapped parking area! But dinner was awesome as usual, and we had a very nice evening to celebrate the Anniversary!

Mother Love

2010-05-09T22:46:00.003-04:00

Mother's Day... a day that used to bring me down, but not anymore! My life is so much more fulfilled now that I am the mother to this amazing little girl.
My Mother's Day started with my beautiful little girl & her fantastic daddy coming into the bedroom with all kinds of goodies! First, I got the most gorgeous roses... This picture just doesn't do them justice!
I also got a nice squishy pair of slippers (which is what I asked for) and a beautiful card. Tommy left for his regular routine, so Rach & I had some breakfast, and then decided it was a perfect day for a swim!
Rachel was all for it. She couldn't WAIT to get into the water, but she was really good and waited for her mommy to get organized first!

Since it had been quite a while since we had been in the pool (it was just a wee bit too chilly until recently) I wasn't sure if she would remember the things she had started learning back in the early fall... well, she sure shocked ME! She is swimming!! REALLY swimming!!! This pic will give you an idea! She was halfway into the deep end of the pool and was swimming all by herself! Too cool...
We continued swimming until Daddy came home, and then had a little lunch and a much needed nap before we were supposed to head out and meet Nana & Papa for dinner!

My main request for Mother's Day was that I really wanted a lobster dinner. We headed out to a fantastic restaurant here in town. Ariel's usually does something special for holidays, and this was no exception. Mom, Tommy & I all ordered the 2 pound lobster.
My dad thinks lobsters are too much work... LOL...

We really had a great dinner. I was really glad mom was well enough to come out. With all she went through the past couple of weeks, I was really worried she wasn't going to be up for it... but I should have known better... after all, she was going to eat lobster AND she was going to see her precious grandbaby!! Of COURSE she would be going! We all enjoyed our dinners, and even had room for a little dessert! That is a rare treat for me! I am usually SO stuffed after dinner I couldn't consider it! But this time, we just got a tiny dessert and we shared it.
Then it was time to head for home and relax... I couldn't WAIT to get my feet into my new slippers!

Sick & Tired

2010-05-03T12:07:00.003-04:00

This week has been a bit crazy, with my mom going back into the hospital for yet another surgery. That alone, has me just furious. Long story short, my mom trusted this doctor who was a complete & total JERK. On TWO different occasions, the moron did a colonoscopy on her and declared her clean & cancer free. and BOTH times, he was TOTALLY WRONG. Luckily this time was not as long away from the test as last time. This time, her oncologist insisted that she see another gastroenterologist and have another colonoscopy. Thank goodness... because they found such a bad blockage that they needed to go back in and remove it. They also said there is no way she could have had a colonoscopy just a week earlier, because they couldn't get thru with the wire & camera! Now I am curious what the other guy was doing while he was apparently pretending to do her colonoscopy! So anyway, this whole week, she's been in the hospital. She did great the day following the surgery, but then started having a lot of pain and feeling so miserable, she didn't even want me to bring Rachel up to see her. That's when you KNOW she's not herself... But on the bright side, she is finally starting to feel a little better, and she is due to come home tomorrow barring any unforseen issues. I brought Rach over to see her a few times during this week. I couldn't go every day, but whenever we could, we were there.

Mostly, we've been hanging here at home. Rachel is loving playing on her "Playground" as often as possible. It's great but we have to keep a close watch on the wasps... they keep building nests either under the swings or the ladder that leads to the slide.

She's growing by the minute these days too. She is getting to be quite the little emotional doll too. As soon as anyone says they have a "boo boo", she responds with "Don't worry, I kiss it so it's all better"... She makes me melt every time!

Counting Every Minute

2010-04-26T00:59:00.001-04:00

Rachel & I were just goofing around tonight, and I was about to upload some of the pictures I had taken lately when she asked me to take her picture. Well, my camera can also do video, so I decided to try that instead of regular pics... Wow, was I really glad I did! This is just a little snip from the video. I actually haven't had the time to check the whole thing & edit any more, but this was my first attempt! I also have it posted on YouTube! So here is that link in case you can't get this one to work!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR4_V1UbziY

I Don't Want to Spoil The Party

2010-04-25T17:29:00.004-04:00

One thing Rachel loves is a good party... especially, if they are held at a PARK! She just LOVES going down the slide! Well today, we had a great time celebrating little Abigail's 1st birthday at a fabulous park down in Naples. Not only did they have a few really fun slides, they also had these cool little rocking... uh... things! (No head, so I have no idea what animal it was supposed to be!). She was also absolutely thrilled to find some really cool super balls in the beach bucket she got as a goody "bag"...

After the party, we headed a little further south and Daddy & Uncle Charlie met us down there... we were FINALLY getting a couch! I'd been looking on Craig's list for the longest time and finally something worthwhile turned up!

As you can see from THIS picture, Penny gave her seal of approval! It is made of microfiber, and has 2 recliners on one side and a queen size sleeper sofa in the other section... So that's one more place for guests to sleep... IF we ever GET any guests!!! HINT HINT HINT!

So it was a very busy weekend for us. Tomorrow, mom has to go back into the hospital for another surgery. They are removing a mass from her colon and they are also fixing her hernia while they are in the neighborhood. Keep prayers & good wishes coming this way please!

Daisy Jane

2010-04-18T16:33:00.002-04:00

Today, I FINALLY put this gorgeous dress on Rach to take some pictures. This was a gift from one of her China sisters, and I've been REALLY bad because I waited far too long to let her try it on! So first, a HUGE Thank you Aunt Shazia for this beautiful Daisy dress! (I was a total slacker, though, and completely forgot to put the matching necklace on her!) Oh, and thank you also to Aunt Sophie... for teaching Mommy how to put in pig tails! I know... everyone can stop laughing... I grew up surrounded by hairdressers, spent half my life in a salon, and I couldn't figure out how to do this without step by step instructions!

But in my own defense, I never had to deal with such silky, super fine hair before now!

And before anyone asks, they lasted about 45 minutes before she insisted I take them out of her hair. She made me take out the pretty clips as well as the little rubber bands! I'm SO glad I got to take a bunch of pictures of her BEFORE she got her way! As for the dress, I hung it back up quickly before she had a chance to get it dirty. Then it was time to play, so I put her back into her play clothes... which ended up covered in cookie in no time flat! She really wanted to go out to the BIG swing & slide, but it was pouring out all day long. That's why I'm really glad I haven't gotten rid of the Little Tikes "castle" that we've had forever... at least it gives her something to play with during these rainy days...

Dixie Chicken

2010-04-11T18:13:00.001-04:00

Today, Tom's church had their annual "picnic". The past couple of years, they had it at Lakes Park, which was perfect! Unfortunately, the weather chose not to cooperate, so the picnic was moved indoors to the church! It was still nice, and the food was yummy. They also had live music, with a Dixie Land Band (4 little old men... very cute), so Rachel had a great time collecting beads and dancing to the music! She ran all around the place, singing & dancing, and just having a really good time. Although she did spend a little too much time around that pole...

She knocked herself out and fell asleep in the car within minutes of leaving the party! Naturally!

Baby Let's Swing

2010-04-10T03:26:00.000-04:00

So it's Spring Break here in Florida... ok, so it really doesn't matter since Rach isn't in school yet, but the good part of spring break is that Margie has had her granddaughter Arora staying with her for the week. So every afternoon, Margie goes for her walk around the block and Arora comes here to play with Rachel! It's been terrific. Rach REALLY likes playing with Arora, and they get along fantastically! They usually spend a bit of time outside on the swing set, then they run around the yard a while, and by the time Margie is through with her laps, we all go inside for a "water break" (which is more for Margie than everyone else, but it's the perfect excuse to get the girls back in the house!)

Then the kids play a while more while Margie & I get to play catch up on the days events, and when it comes time for them to go home, Rach is ready to have dinner and call it a day! It's been so wonderful all week... I'm sure she's going to miss having her friend come over every day! But we will be looking forward to more play time with the girls this summer, since Arora will probably be spending a lot of time at her Grandma's house again! Yay!

Easter Parade

2010-04-04T19:33:00.005-04:00

I was going to add the Easter posting to the earlier, but decided the pictures were just way WAY too cute! These are from the Easter egg hunt at Margie & Charlie's this afternoon.. we had a BLAST... Rachel had so much fun that she actually asked to be taken home and go down for a NAP! She wore the cute dress that Tommy's cousins Mary & Sue sent her... (I added a pair of shorts just because I knew she'd be roughing it up with all the other kids :-)
So no more talk... enjoy the pictures!

After all the fun we had at Margie & Charlie's place, Tommy made an outstanding Easter Dinner for all of us! We had a beautiful spiral ham, mashed potatoes, baked apples and creamed cabbage. Everything was fantastic! Nana & Papa brought Rachel her very own little Easter cakes! One shaped like a little chicken and the other was an easter egg. Rachel just LOVED them!
So all in all, this was an outstanding weekend!

A Day In The Life

2010-04-04T10:19:00.004-04:00

So the first thing I have to say is, we have some absolute amazing, extraordinary , wonderful friends. Last night we went to see Sir Paul McCartney in concert over in Miami. This would not have been possible AT ALL if not for my incredible girlfriend Margie. She took care of Rachel all day, while we went to the show. I felt so guilty about it because she is having a HUGE crowd today for an Easter Egg Hunt, yet she unselfishly offered to babysit. So when Rach woke up from her nap, she got to play with Margie's granddaughter and she had a blast... so here is a TREMENDOUS thank you to My Girl MARGIE!!
So... Speaking of having a blast... Oh MAN, did we have a fantastic night! We drove for about 2 1/2 hours over to Miami for this fantastic concert. Our seats were all the way up in nosebleed section, but I didn't really care. Macca was AWESOME... it's hard to believe he's just a a few years younger then MY MOTHER! He sounded terrific and we had a blast. And since I am saving this blog as a permanent memory of life, here is the set list from the show: Venus and Mars * Rock Show *Jet* All My Loving * Letting Go * Got To Get You Into My Life *
Highway * Let Me Roll It * Foxy Lady (Jimi Hendrix Cover) * The Long and Winding Road *
Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five * Let ‘Em In * My Love * I’m Looking Through You * Two Of Us * Blackbird * Here Today * Dance Tonight * Mrs. Vanderbilt * Eleanor Rigby * Something (George Harrison tribute) * Sing The Changes * Band On The Run * Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da * Back In The U.S.S.R. * I’ve Got A Feeling * Paperback Writer * A Day In The Life * Give Peace A Chance (John Lennon tribute) * Let It Be * Live and Let Die * Hey Jude
Encore 1: Daytripper * Lady Madonna * Get Back
Encore 2: Yesterday * Helter Skelter * Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) * The End * Later, when I've had time to figure out how, I'm going to post some of the videos I took at the show too!
So needless to say, we had an amazing time. Now we are going to get ready to go to Margie's for the big Easter Egg Hunt. I will be posting more about that later, including some cute pics of the little Princess in her adorable Easter dress she got from Tommy's cousins Mary & Sue! Thanks so much you guys... It is a beautiful dress!

Suddenly It's Spring

2010-03-30T12:02:00.004-04:00

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

2010-03-28T03:49:00.003-04:00

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 A DORED 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

2010-03-19T19:33:00.004-04:00

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

2010-03-13T16:24:00.005-05:00

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

2010-03-08T01:46:00.007-05:00

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

2010-03-02T16:35:00.005-05:00

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??

Nothing from Nothing

2010-02-23T02:58:00.008-05:00

Just some random cuteness... nothing out of the ordinary happening, but she let me put a hat on her for at least long enough to take these pictures... so I had to post them!!!
She is just growing up so fast... I don't want to miss a moment!
Her latest routine is she has started telling me to "Go AWAY" when I want her to do something she doesn't want to do! oh REALLY??? We will be putting THAT one to rest VERY soon!

My Kind of Town...

2010-02-20T00:40:00.017-05:00

So I just realized that I never actually published this post. It's a little late but I've been sick, so I have a good excuse... right? Well, here is the post as it was originally written days ago!

What an amazing, incredible weekend we had! Just as we had planned since before we brought our little munchkin home, we spent Chinese New Year in Chinatown in Chicago! It was fantastic! First of all, we were staying with our dear friends, so no matter what, it was going to be a great weekend!
We left Florida on Friday, and from the moment we arrived, we were having fun. As usual, it became another eating holiday! That's the way it ALWAYS winds up when we go to Chicago!
As soon as we got into Tori's car, Rachel started her weekend-long chant of "SNOW" "SNOW" "SNOW"... it was SO funny! But she LOVED all the white stuff on the ground!
Friday night, we hit Giordano's for some fantastic stuffed pizza. Oh YUMMY!!! Saturday V and I went shopping to try to get snow pants for Rach... we had a winter fun day planned, and there was no way my little Florida girl was going to be able to take all that cold! We found exactly what we needed and headed back. Time to pack up the car and the kids! We took the kids sledding! We ALL had a great time going down the hill but I think only Rachel enjoyed going back up... her daddy pulled her on the sled, so she wouldnt have to try to walk up the hill!
Even I got to go down the hill with her once! I was nervous about it, with the neck and all, but one run down the hill was fine. Then I headed for the car for a little warm up. Rachel apparently is just like her daddy. She couldn't get enough of the snow and cold! When it was time to go home, she had the same reaction as she did for horse riding day. Complete & total meltdown!
Saturday night, we finally got to see our friend Joan & her daughter. They joined us for dinner at a fabulous place called "The Yard House" and boy was it good!
Sunday was our big day. Not only was it Valentines Day, but it was also Chinese New Year! We headed to Chinatown for the big parade and a fantabulous Dim Sum lunch at Phoenix Restaurant. We were TOTALLY surprised when in the middle of lunch, we started hearing drums & bells again... it was another Dragon Parade! Coming right into the restaurant! What a treat... for a little while. Then the dragon came up to Rachel... and this little girl who had been asking to see a dragon for weeks started to panic. She did NOT want that dragon to be in her face like that... lol... but as soon as the dragon walked away, she was her typical happy self, and started saying "Bye Bye Dragon". Needless to say, we all had a TERRIFIC time and we were stuffed beyond our imaginations! After pigging out in Chinatown, it was time to head back to the house. We knew we were NOT going to be eating dinner... not after all the yummy dim sum! But somehow, we got on the subject of food again, and White Castle was mentioned... oh great... but no way. We were going to go visit Mom & Dad Pichla. Naturally, Mr P had to put out a spread of snackies... so despite being full, we all had a little nosh! Shrimp Cocktail, cheese & crackers, Taquito's... ENOUGH!!! LOL... It was really great to spend some time with Victoria's folks. They are both SO adorable! They were supposed to come with us to Chinatown, but Mom P wasn't feeling up to it. Next year... for sure!
So we finished our visit and headed back to the house again. We put the kids to bed and it was time to relax after a VERY busy day. About 10:30, Paul suddenly says it's time for White Castle!! Tom thought he was kidding! He wasn't! He ran out in his PJ's, and picked up a sack! I was really glad for the first time this trip that Tommy was sleeping in the basement while I was sleeping on an air mattress next to the baby!
Monday we were all still really tired from the events on Sunday... so we relaxed for a while before it was time for us to go have a big reunion lunch with a dear old friend Scott (aka Furhead!)
We went to an incredible Irish Pub and had some yummy food yet again. After enjoying some reminiscing, it was time to head back for a final packing run and head to the airport. It had started to snow, and we were almost hoping we'd get enough to cancel our flight, but no such luck. We made it in more than enough time to sit at the airport waiting for our flight. I think this was the first time I sat in a plane as the sprayed de-icer all over it. Rach kept saying it was raining out! It was so cute.
We made it home safe and sound and thanks to Margie, had a nice easy ride home from the airport. Unfortunately, I woke up Tuesday morning with what seems to be bronchitis... we'll see how it goes. But no matter what, it won't take away from the fun we had in Chicago! Thanks Luz family for making it a FANTASTIC weekend! We LOVE you guys!

Birthday

2010-01-30T13:58:00.007-05:00

Once again, I'm scolding myself for waiting so long between posts. It's not as if I haven't got the time, since I've been home on disability... I guess it's just that the days get away from me... Right... no excuse... I'm sorry... Ok, I can chalk it up to old age. After all, I DID just have another birthday this week!

We had lots going on around here since I last posted. First, Margie & Charlie FINALLY closed on their new home, and spent all week moving in. I felt so incredibly guilty because I really wanted to help, but with my back the way it is, I knew better... it actually hit me that the last time they moved was the start of my most recent back problems! Tommy helped a little, but unfortunately, their big moving days were the same days we were celebrating mom's birthday and mine.

Last Saturday was mom's birthday. She decided she wanted to go on the gambling boat, so Margie volunteered to babysit! My folks gave me a little cash for my birthday and believe it or not, I only gambled $10 in the slots and came home with the rest! For the first time, I really was not in the mood to gamble. I didnt feel lucky and wasn't willing to lose! Tommy isn't a big gambler either, so all in all, it wasn't a bad night! Although everyone agreed the food on a Saturday night is not half as good as any other night of the week!

Sunday Linda & Tony invited us all to their house for dinner. Linda is a fantastic cook, and made a yummy dinner including the pork bones my mom & I both love so much. Dad also brought a birthday cake for mom and Rachel was MORE than happy to help blow out the candles!

On Tuesday, it was my turn. My folks actually gave up their regular Tuesday night movie night, and took me out to the Chinese buffet for dinner... yum! Rach had a great time too, and decided to create her own soup concoction. Her favorite dish is Egg Drop Soup with Wontons & peel & eat shrimp! Of course, the shrimp must be carefully ripped into bite size pieces! LOL...

Then on Wednesday, my girlfriends took me to lunch... it was so nice to sit and chat with them! Wednesday was also Charlie's birthday, and we had a great night! Margie & Charlie took Rachel & I to Outback Steakhouse for dinner... I absolutely adore their "Walk-about" Creamy Onion Soup - and now, so does Rachel! She also loved my shrimp scampi! A splendid time was had by all!

Today, we are having a play date with Rachel & Margie's granddaughter Arora! The girls had a great time playing on the swings and on the slide until the rain started. Now they are inside playing so well together with the chalk board and the farm... Tommy's putting in some overtime, so maybe we will have a little spending money for our trip to Chicago! Oh yeah... we are going to spend Chinese New Year in Chicago with Victoria & Paul & the kids! I am SO SO SO excited! So we will have TONS of pictures and updates then, but that is 2 whole weeks away! I will try to be much better about posting before then! :-)

Time in a Bottle

2010-01-17T21:39:00.006-05:00

Wow... has it really been this long since I updated this blog? Boy, that's bad! A lot has happened in the past couple of weeks...

First, I have to say congrats to our friends Margie & Charlie... they are now officially homeowners... and the best part of all is, they bought a house 3 doors down from ours!!! WOOHOO... they will get electricity tomorrow, so I guess the big move will be happening this week!

Sadly, another friend of mine lost her dad on Friday to cancer. It's times like this that makes it hard being here in Florida. I would have wanted to be up north with her...

Strange thing is, I will probably be heading up north for an extended visit. Not all for fun, unfortunately. As most of you know, I've been having some really bad issues with my neck and back, oh forever it seems... so back in August I had the first of a probable two surgeries. The Dr removed 4 discs from my neck, replaced them with plastic "cages" and then fused them all together. Unfortunately, I was recently declared a "surgical failure" (surgeons words). So right now I'm out of work on disability (no pay but hopefully my insurance will kick in soon) and the surgeon basically said he has no need to see me until I am ready to let him operate on my LOWER back... uh... yeah... right... as IF!!!! So anyway... my regular Dr wanted me to go to another neurosurgeon for a 2nd opinion... well, that guy refuses to see me. So now he says I should go outside the area for the 2nd opinion so no chance of anyone covering for anyone else..

So that being said, it looks like I might be heading up to Boston to get my 2nd opinion! That way I can stay with my family up there. If I do this, I'll take Rachel with me so Tommy doesn't have to worry about finding a babysitter. Marla volunteered to babysit for us both! LOL...

As for our little Rachie.. all I can say is wow... what a ride! This kid is more amazing every single day. She now has a pretty extensive vocabulary, and is saying several complete sentences to get her point across! Life sure is SO much easier now that we don't have to GUESS what she wants all the time!

She watches too much TV, for sure... BUT... she is really learning SO much from the shows we let her watch. Naturally, she watches Sesame Street. So, she now can count to 20, and she knows her ABC's.

She watches NiHao KaiLan, so she also knows at least 20 different Chinese words, as well as a few sentences. I have to admit, I've had to really pay closer attention to the show, because she comes out with a few Chinese words that I wouldn't have recognized otherwise! It's pretty funny, but I'm actually learning from my 2 year old! Some of her other favorites are "Max & Ruby" (which I don't really like... Ruby is just so darn bossy! LOL) and of course, she STILL loves M*A*S*H*.

We haven't really pushed the potty training issue with her. She will sometimes tell us when she has to go and other times she'll tell us when she already went. I just know that when the time is right, we will ALL know it.

Lately, she has also taken a real interest in gymnastic moves. She does sumersaults, and is ALWAYS trying to stand on her head! She is also really into climbing, and the more "Daredevil" the better! She is climbing on the furniture, but purposely going the hard way up instead of taking the normal route. She also LOVES to climb up onto my bed BY HERSELF! So, I guess I'm gonna have to find some kind of gymnastics or tumbling class or something! Sure hope they are cheap enough!

Oh, this outfit she is wearing in today's pictures is one I bought for her while we were in China. I had to let her wear it at least once before she outgrew it! LOL... trust me, it was a really close call! I was thinking of waiting until Chinese New Year, but didn't want to risk it!

Same Auld Lang Syne

2010-01-02T02:07:00.013-05:00

On Monday, we had Margie, Charlie & all the kids over for our gift exchange. I made an extra tray of lasagna when I was cooking for mom's xmas eve party, and we actually finished just about all of it! Rachel got some really nice gifts, and so did we! It was a great evening!
Of course, the main topic of conversation had to be the fact that in just a little while, Margie & Charlie will be moving in down the block! They bought a houes 4 doors down from us! Yay!!! They should start moving in just after the New Year!

Before we went to China, my folks had started buying presents for the baby for Chanukkah. Last year, I gave her one of those presents - a cool little electric keyboard - but I never put the whole thing together... till yesterday. I finally got around to putting the stand and the seat together. There was also a microphone that came with it... Well, after putting all that together, it was as if she had a brand new toy! She LOVED the microphone! She actually would do a music countdown - grabbing the mic and saying one - two - three and then started singing into it! We have a budding rock star on our hands!

We welcomed in 2010 with our dear friends Margie & Charlie. Nothing spectacular, but comfortable. We made some finger foods, watched the ball drop, and relaxed. The boys actually had lots of work to do earlier in the afternoon, trying to install a new door in the garage. The old one had rotted away, so they were installing the new one for the past 2 days. It's looking pretty good, and Rach really enjoyed having "Unca Cha-lee" around! But poor Penny did NOT appreciate all the fireworks being shot off all over the neighborhood. She's such a whimp for a big dog!
New Years Day was a "do nothing" day... we lounged around the house, watched the Twilight Zone Marathon, and just relaxed. Heck, I never even got out of my PJ's! It was terrific. The whole family enjoyed relaxing... even
Penny! But they didn't leave any room for me!
And so, we start 2010...
I wish for all my family & friends a New Year full of peace, good health, love & prosperity...

Magical Mystery Tour

2009-12-21T13:51:00.007-05:00

Rachel got up yesterday and decided she wanted to help decorate the big tree with Mommy. She searched through the ornament box till she found the ones she liked, and she then found the perfect place to put them!
We still have TONS of ornaments left to put up, but we're getting there!
After working on the tree for a while, it was time to head over to Centennial Park to celebrate Baby J & Arora's birthdays! We had lots of fun playing on the playground at the park! Rachel sure does LOVE to slide!

Oh, and it's not that she was going so fast, but by the time she reached the bottom of the slide, the static electricity built up so much that all her hair was standing up on her head! It was SO funny!

We had lots of fun on the playground until a bunch of "big kids" came and that was our cue to leave! Oh, and by the way... it was the first time we ever went to a toddler's birthday party and had the cops called on us! Oh yeah, it was a priceless moment! Apparently, another group had reserved the pavillion and rather than come talk to ANY of us, they opted to call FMPD to "handle" us. As it turns out, we were using 3 tables, they were only using 2, and there were still like 5 or 6 more tables that were empty! So once the police spoke to them, they decided "they were ok with us being there" as long as we didn't have any more guests show up! TOO FUNNY!!!

After we came home from the birthday party, we had a light dinner and then it was time for playing some more! (We sure love Sunday's when Daddy is home and we get to be a family all day!) So Rachel wanted to play on her little slide & swing set that we keep on the Lanai, but it was really starting to get chilly out... so I asked if she wanted to wear her hat! She LOVES it and even wanted to try on the mittens too! She never really got to use these last year when I bought them, but since they stretch out far enough to fit ME, well, I knew it would work out well!
Anyway, she liked them so much that today at nap time, she actually asked to wear them again, only this time to BED!!

I snapped this picture after about an hour... I guess she had to take off the mitten in order to suck her thumb!

Tonight, she will be spending some time with Mimi, while I take Aunt Margie to hear my friend Chris perform at the Naples Philharmonic! The show is called "Classical Mystery Tour" and it's a fabulous event. I am really excited to get to see this show again. Chris and the rest of the group are great, and what could be better than the Beatles music performed with an Orchestra!

A Horse with No Name

2009-12-19T19:54:00.007-05:00

What an awesome day we had today. Thanks to Aunt Margie who told us about going to a local horse stable to spend the day riding & playing games, Rachel had her first ever experience riding a horse (ok, it was a pony, but hey, at her size, what's the difference, right?). They even had Santa ride up on horseback! (According to Arora, Margie's granddaughter, it was even the REAL Santa because he knew she liked Cats!). Santa gave each of the kids a gift bag to take home.

Oh MAN... she LOVED LOVED LOVED it. So much, that when her turn was over, she had a total meltdown because she had to get off the horse! Lucky for her, there was a really short line for the little pony, so she got to ride 4 times! I see riding lessons in this little peanut's future! Just like her Momma... she LOVES riding horseback! I am SO glad. We had so much fun, especially with Aunt Margie & Arora too! Arora really loved riding horses too! She actually rode all 3 horses! She was GREAT!

Oh, and besides all the horses, they also had a dog there by the name of Zeus... this dog was about that same size as the PONY Rachel was riding! I stood up next to him and felt like a midget! (ok, stop laughing... I know, I know... I AM a midget... but this was a freakin DOG for goodness sake! I SHOULD be taller than a DOG!!!)

After we were done riding, we all had lunch, and then it was time for the games. Rachel wasn't terribly interested in the games. She wanted to feed & pet all the horses that were wandering around the farm. She DID have fun running into the middle of the corral while the bigger kids were running the races. So she turned it into a bit of an obstacle course!

Another good thing about today was the temperature FINALLY went down! When we first arrived at the stables, it was about 66° according to the thermometer in the car. Naturally, it warmed up considerably before we left for home, but it was just a perfect day, weather and all!

By the time we got back to my house, Arora & Rachel were happy to play quietly with Rachel's art set. Good thing, since Margie & I were ready for a NAP!

Chanukah Song Pt 1

2009-12-11T19:23:00.005-05:00

Today was a good day... Margie came over early, and helped me out. We had a big project for today. We spent today making cookies. Lots of cookies... but we still have lots more to make! This was my first time ever making cookies with cookie cutters... ok, stop laughing! First I had to make my traditional Pizzelle's. I make these every year and give them as gifts to special friends! :-)

So while Rachel was napping, Margie and I made Pizzelle's together. This is a project I didn't want to let Rach help with, since the cookies have to be made with a hot iron. NOT the kind of thing I think she is ready for just yet!

After cookie baking was over, it was time for Rachel & I to light our candles for the first night of Chanukah. Before she was even born, Margie bought this Menorah for her from Disney. She has her very own Mickey & Minnie Menorah! WooHOO!

I wanted to make Latkes with her, but after a day of cookies and flour all over my kitchen & dining area, I decided Latkes could wait! Maybe Sunday... that's when our little princess will be getting a really cool Chanukkah present... a swing set! Ok, so I posted on freecycle that I was looking for one. For the first time (I've posted this request a half dozen times over the past year) I finally got a response! Someone relatively close by actually replied that we could have the set that is in his yard! We are SO excited about this. Its not a huge set, and it's not the prettiest or anything... it needs some painting & cleaning up... but for now, this will make an AWESOME gift for her... especially after we saw just how much she loved playing on the set up at the park! I have a feeling she is going to be a very happy little girl!

All in all, I think we had an awesome day. I am SO glad she is now in bed. Because there is not a square inch of my entire body that doesn't hurt right now! LOL... I'm thinking it's going to be a relatively early night.

Eight Days a Week

2009-12-10T13:43:00.008-05:00

Ok, so I have been a total slacker here... I didn't even post about Rachel's birthday party! At least I got the first round of pictures up.. There just never seems to be enough time to get it all done! ok, I feel better now. LOL..

So these are some random things for the week...

Let's start with our biggest milestone for the week... Today, Rachel started drinking out of a "Big Girl" cup instead of her sippy cup! Woohoo!!! FINALLY... she'd been "practicing" with the cup I give her to play with in the tub... (yeah, I know... YUCK... drinking bath water?.. but she never actually DRANK it.. )

I've been working with her on this for a little while, because she kept trying to drink from the BACK of the cup! Well, needless to say, we are very happy at the prospect of losing the sippy cup!

Last night, we went shopping with Aunt Margie. We had a terrific time but we were ALL in agony when it was over... well at least Margie & I were. Rachel, on the other hand, was ready to start playing just as soon as we got home!

She got some really awesome new toys for her birthday. You can see here how she LOVES her new Dora couch! and it folds out to a little bed too! She likes it better as a couch and she lounges (kinda looks like her Mama! LOL)

One of her other favorites is the car her daddy & I bought her... She is constantly climbing in and just sitting there to watch tv! So I joke that she's turned our living room into a drive in theatre! Looks like we scored good for our choice of presents!

Now the real fun is going to begin...

First of all, today we are going to make cookies.... at least we are going to START to make cookies. Every year I make Pizzelle's to give out as gifts (Thank you Aunt Gloria for sharing the awesome recipe!). This year is no exception... BUT... we are also going to have our first attempt at making cookies with cookie cutters! I ordered some interesting ones from Amazon and they finally arrived. So we are going to have Chanukkah shaped cookies, and then we may even make an attempt at Gingerbread Men! WOOHOO... yes, that will be an entirely different post, since I hope to get LOTS of pictures of us covered in flour!

(You Say it's Your) Birthday

2009-12-03T01:35:00.011-05:00

Wednesday was our little angel's 2nd birthday! WOW... I still can't believe it! She's really 2 years old? ALREADY???

We are having a Big birthday party for her on Sunday, so we just did a little something at home for her birthday. My parents came over and later Margie came too... Daddy had to work but we made sure to take lots of pictures so he could share in the fun too!
I decided to just bake some cupcakes, which she REALLY enjoyed! And believe it or not, this was the first time I have made cupcakes! I think I am in for a lot of firsts now that we have this little princess around! As soon as I put the cupcakes down, she was ready to blow out the candles... but they weren't even LIT! and she sure has a good set of lungs on her because she DID blow them out... from across the table! WOOHOO!!!

She will be getting her BIG present from Mommy & Daddy on Sunday, but for today, I gave her something she's always asking for... Backpack from "Dora theExplorer"... I think the pictures say it perfectly!"Backpack". She ended up asking me to put it on her, so she walked around with it on for the rest of the night!
We gave her a couple of other little things tonight too, like the book "Where is Baby's Birthday Cake" by Karen Katz... she really loves her books, with the lift up flaps. (We are SO glad she is so into books!)

She will be getting a terrific present from her Auntie Marla too! We will go pick out her new table & chairs with the gift her Auntie sent... WOOHOO!!! She will finally have a place of her own to sit and read or draw!

She also got some beautiful clothes from her Nana & Papa, and a terrific package from Daddy's cousins, her Aunt Mary & Aunt Sue! They sent her an Abby Cadabby purse set, a dress, and an ADORABLE PJ's set Thank you Aunt Mary & Aunt Sue!

What a cool birthday! And we are looking forward to the BIG party on Sunday!

Alice's Restaurant

2009-11-26T01:50:00.008-05:00

Ok, I know... I always title each post with a song title that relates to it. Well, for me, no song signifies Thanksgiving more than Alice's Restaurant by Arlo Guthrie. There is no way that I can get through a single Thanksgiving Day without hearing that song AT LEAST one complete time! So... that being said...

It is now 2am... I've been awake for about 40 hours... ouch! Right now, I'm waiting for my pumpkin soup to cook a little longer, then I'll let it cool down, and then it will be time for BED! Earlier tonite, I had some help from my favorite munchkin. Rachel "helped" Mommy by being my best taste tester! I made my sweet potato casserole and she insisted on licking the spoon! Fine by me! I needed someone to tell me if it was good and she responded with a resounding "YAY Mommy!" Woohoo!! I scored with my kid!

In a few hours, I will have a house full. My parents, our good friends Margie & Charlie & their grandson Baby J, a some family friends. Not a huge crowd... 11 adults, 2 toddlers... but it is always a high stress high fun day. Tommy thinks I'm nuts with all my paranoia. I want the house clean despite the fact that our kitchen will be in full gear until the last guest arrives. I want the family room clean despite the fact that we will have a couple of toddlers running around trying to keep out of trouble. Oh, and then there is the fact that we have to keep the dog & the kids from wiping out the Xmas Village that Tommy took a week to put up! So we will have a lot happening here... and we couldn't be happier about it.

I will post pictures after everyone goes home... but more than anything else, I wanted to be sure to post this today...

Thanksgiving 2009... Today I am thankful... I am thankful for my parents still being here and able to share this wonderful day... I am thankful for our friends, who we love being around... I am thankful for my hubby... who puts up with my hysteria & insanity whenever we are having company... And I guess more than anything else in the world, today I am thankful for my beautiful, sweet, happy, huggable, lovable, precious little girl... Rachel MeiLi, you made your mommy's life complete and I will be thankful forever that you are a part of my heart...

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Thanksgiving Day Continued....

Thanksgiving Day was great! Everyone loved the food, the dog was exceptionally well behaved, we only had one broken champagne flute (and that was actually before the guests arrived) and the kids had a great time... well, for the most part! LOL...

Not going to ramble on now... it's almost 4am, and I'm just too tired... I guess it was a lousy idea to make a pot of coffee at 9pm to go with our desserts... hmmm...

Anyway, here are the photo highlights of the day!