Ultimate Blog Party 2009 is here!!

My friend Viv invited me to take part in "Ultimate Blog Party 2009." I must tell you all that I'm not as computer savvy as I would like to be so please bear with me. This party is being run by the ladies over at 5MinutesforMom. Lots of prizes & tons of fun! Go on over & take a peek 'cause they have some neat stuff!

If you haven't stopped by here before this, let me introduce myself. My name is Tamme, & I am one happy mommy to a super 6 year old named Erin. My husband & I adopted Erin at 10 months old from China. It was a heck of a journey that truly has ony just begun.

We're a pretty busy bunch over. Erin is enjoying 1st grade & loves her school. She is a purple belt in karate & well on her way to wowing the instructors of her martial arts school. This is one focused child. We call her "The Powerhouse."

I'm pretty active myself between 2 jobs, raising my daughter, 2 cats, 1 dog, 1 fish & a husband. In my spare time, I'm an active member of our local chapter of Families with Children from China. I enjoy reading, scrapbooking & playing on my very own Nintendo DS. (That thing is pretty darn addictive!) Blogging has become central to our family. I have found it to be a great way to keep in touch with family & friends across the States. I'm also addicted FaceBook - much to my husband's chagrin. (Not that he's any better mind you!)

If chosen for a prize, my top 3 choices would be:

1. #47 - Choice of pink or green Fuzzy Monkey Headphones (in pink)
2. INTL 23 - Blog Makeover BLOGGER platform only
3. #58 - Kitchen Aid Artisan Stand Mixer

We did it for the first time

Yup. We did it. Our first time ever.

Huh? What? You did what?

We went out last night for the first time. Without Erin. (She's been home since she was 10 months old & is now 6 1/2.) And boy was I scared.

Now, mind you, we don't leave Erin with "just anyone." Originally we were going to have our friend Debbie keep Erin while we went out. Unfortunately, Debbie is sick. Not "ugh I have a cold" sick, but losing her stomach sick. This flu is going around, & it is no fun. At least that's what Debbie has been telling us. And I have no intentions of finding out either.

When I told Lisa that we were going to cancel going to David's reunion because Debbie was so sick, she just about busted a gut. She insisted that we drop Erin off at her house for the evening. Lisa has been offering to watch Erin so we could have a night out forever. David was so happy to be able to leave Erin with someone we trust as implicitly as we trust Lisa.

We dropped Erin off around 6:45, & Lisa barely let me in to say good-bye. That was it. Erin was hers for the night. And the spoiling began! Apparently Erin's in a growth spurt. She gobbled down the chicken nuggets Lisa had bought for dinner. Then she had a special desert - strawberries with whipped cream. Later on it was pound cake - something she's never had before but is now asking me to buy.

We got to Lisa's house really late - about 11:30. Erin was so sleepy but couldn't wait to tell us all about her special play date with Dante & Olivia. And she was so happy to inform us that she ate all of her chicken nuggets. All 4 of them.

Lisa, thanks for taking such good care of our princess! She had a blast at your house & never complained once that she didn't get to come with us to her daddy's party. On top of that, no sleep issues.

Great Wall FL Celebrates Chinese New Year! (Sunday, January 18th)

Here it is. The whole reason we went up to Orlando. The Great Wall China Adoption FL Families celebration of Chinese New Year! And boy did we all welcome in the Year of the Ox!!

Susan works very hard to put together a great party for everyone. Of course, I'll admit it, she gets people to work with her, & they all work hard. In the end though, everyone always has a blast.

Erin is ready to party!

Jolene put bows into Erin's hair & she kept them in!

Erin & Uncle Art (our annual pic of these 2)

Erin with Ethan & Katie Starr (a/k/a The Dynamic Duo) & their amazing mom Lori

The virtual tripliets - Erin with Julianna & Isabella

Candy, Rachel & David

Hannah, Olivia, Erin, Julianna & Isabella (another annual pic)

Jolene selling her fabulous clothing & bows

Marc - hard at work entertaining everyone

This man knows how to party!

Erin modeling her Fu outfit - one of Jolene's creations

Sea World Saturday & Dinner with Susan & Her Crew

This was Erin's first time going to Sea World. She hasn't been interested in anything that might have a character, but David & I finally convinced her that it would be a great place to go. For weeks before our trip, Erin was asking "When are we going to Sea World?"

I reminded Erin of some basic rules before we entered the park. We took Erin's stroller in just in case she got tired (never mind the fact that I needed it for balance with my wobbly hip). Jolene & I were talking while Erin watched everything in fascination. Then the screams began. While we were trying to decide which direction to take, Erin literally flew out of her stroller into Jolene's arms. Shamu had walked out of the employee area & was going to the photo spot. Poor Jolene! She didn't realize that when I said Erin is TERRIFIED of characters, I meant it. We got Erin calmed down & promised there were no more characters walking around (all the while I was praying I wasn't fibbing to her.) Off we went to discover what Sea World was all about.

Erin really enjoyed seeing the dolphins, the penguins & puffins & the stingrays. She had a great time choosing an oyster to get her very own pearl. She even enjoyed shopping & spending her Chanukah money on a stuffed Shamu. But the part she like the best & was totally enchanted with was the Blue Horizons show. She couldn't see so she sat on Jolene's lap & barely breathed the entire time.

When we got back to the hotel, we sat down for a while to rest & then got the call. Susan & Art & their girls were finally there. And their room still wasn't ready! We had them come up to visit with us until they could go to their room. Jolene hadn't met Susan yet even though she was selling her gorgeous stuff at our party so this was perfect.

After they got settled in their own room, we all went out to dinner. Jolene tried to weasel her way out saying that she didn't want to intrude on our visit. Ha! Susan told her she expected Jolene to join us. Jolene tried to back out again, but I explained that when Susan talks, we all jump! We went over to Chevy's for some wonderful Mexican food. I've never been there before & was amazed by how yummy it all was. Everyone had a great time eating & chatting the night away.

When we got back to the hotel, I zonked right out. It was a great day!

Driving With Miss Jolene (January 16, 2009)

Have I ever mentioned that I have some wonderful friends?

Anyone who knows me, knows that I hate to drive on a good day. Night driving? I hate it. Well, Lori read my blog & knew how nervous I was about driving to Orlando. She was chatting with our friend Jolene who was also going up there as a vendor. I can't see 2 inches in front of my face so the night driving was scary to me. Jolene doesn't mind the drive but didn't want to do it alone. These 2 ladies conspired to help me out. Lori had me call Jolene to see if we could work something out that would be to both our benefit. Thanks gals!

It was perfect. Jolene would do the driving & have the company. I wouldn't have to drive & panic. Since Jolene hadn't made hotel arrangements yet, I assured her she could stay in the suite that I had reserved. A true girls' weekend!

Friday afternoon, David packed up my car, & off I went into the unknown with Erin. Being the lunatic I am, I called Jolene for very specific directions to her house. Mapquest & Google weren't enough for me. I had to have verbal confirmation that the directions were right. Jolene stayed on the phone with me for most of my drive so I wouldn't get lost. I owe her hubby Freeman a huge hug for letting me take up her last hour before leaving for the weekend!

Erin & I got to Jolene's house & everything was transferred from my car to Jolene's car. Erin was under the threat of pain of death to avoid discussing the trip with Jolene's girls. Apparently Jade & Emma LOVE Sea World & would have been very upset to find out that mom was going there without them.

For about 3 hours, Erin sat in the back watching a DVD that Jolene brought along. And Jolene & I spent the entire time gabbing about anything & everything. We've been friendly for a few years, but this was a nice way to get really get to know each other on a whole different level.

The directions to the hotel were a hoot. Half of the directions were perfect. The other half? Well, we traveled for an extra half hour. Chit chatting away the whole time.

When we finally did make it to our hotel, we were exhausted & hungry. And as hungry as we all were, there was only one thing that mattered to us. Wherever we ordered from had to sell Coca Cola since the hotel is a Pepsi place. (Can you say "Ugh!" to the max?) The food was good. The soda was better.

And the weekend began.

Halloween Fun!

A huge thank you to my friends Shari & Myke for Erin's costume. She had such a great time getting dressed up as her all time favorite secret pop star Hannah Montana! If you are ever in need of a costume (for any event), just high tail it over to their business - Exteme Halloween. They have it all! And their customer service? Great!

I had to catch a hug with the secret pop star!

Happy to be out trick or treating this year.

And yes, we do know how to decorate for Halloween! We Floridians have our own style you know! Warning! These are not pics of my home. For the first time in years, I didn't decorate our house. Too lazy this year. What can I say?

The Pumpkin Patch (Octber 19th & 25th)

We went to a local pumpkin patch twice this year. We've never gone before because Erin hasn't really been into the whole thing even though I love it. I'm so happy that she finally changed her mind!

The first time we went, on the 19th, we went with our friends from our FCC group. It was a great idea because we took pictures of all the children in the pumpkin patch. My friend Candy had her hubby snapping his usual fabulous pics. David knows how to capture these children at their best. The man has never taken a bad picture that I know of!

(Of course my camera's lens was filthy but I did take pics anyway.)

Then on the 25th, Erin & I went to the pumpkin patch again. This time we went with our friends from school. Zhanna with Sam, Shari with Alyssa, & Erin & I went to a local bookstore for some Halloween activities and then we moved on to the patch. We went to the same patch because it really was a great place with face painting, pumpkin painting, a 3-in-1 bounce, snacks, places for photo ops & of course buying pumpkins. Sam, Erin & Alyssa have been going to the same school since they were all 3 years old. They had a great time in preschool & are loving going to school during the week & Hebrew school all together. In fact, we meet every morning Monday through Friday by 8:00 so the kids can play & chat while we moms chat about - well, nothing much really.

Fall Festival (October 18th)

Wow, I have a lot of catching up to do here! I didn't realize it but I have been a bad blogger. I'm keeping this blog for Erin, & yet I have done an amazingly poor job of recording what has been going on this month. Here's my chance for a fresh start.

Erin goes to a wonderful charter school that is really close to our house. In fact, I found out Friday night that many of the people we know from her school live in our community! On Saturday, October 18th, her school had their Fall Festival. Local businesses set up tables so the people attending could stop by & get to know the business or buy stuff. I was there representing the bank I work for along 4 of my co-workers. There were so many things to do that I was really surprised.

Hmmm . . .

• Discover Toys
• Cookie Lee Jewelry
• Magnetic Jewelry
• Mary Kay
• The Breakfast Joint
• Wachovia Bank (Do you like my shameless plug!?)
• Bounce Houses
• Pony Rides
• A Cakewalk (You should have seen all the yummy goodies people brought in!)
• Tupperware
• Food galore - roasted corn, carmel apples, hot dogs, beverages, etc

I got there at 8:30 to help set up & had a blast. Of course, while my home looks like a bomb went off in it, I love to organize so I was a happy camper! My friends showed up later to man their own stations since Shari had volunteered all of us to work. Hey Shari! How'd you get out of working The Festival? Did you tell them you were on schedule at your office? (Don't worry. We'll get you back.)

The fundraiser was a total success. The PTO raised almost $4,000 at this one event. No one expected that kind of success.

The best part? It was a great day!

Feeling Better & Ready to Craft!

Erin is feeling better finally. The antibiotics that were prescribed must be really strong because she's just about back to herself.


So what do you do when you're on the mend? Why, you do crafts! Erin always has tons of crafts to do. She got so much for her birthday last year & this year, that we don't have to buy her anything. Today she decided to make slap bracelets. After showing her what needed to be done, I got to sit back & relax.

2 down & 5 more to go!

She really had a good time with this.

Not too messy. Thankfully!

Some of the finished pieces of art.

Moms Just Wanna Have Fun!

Some of the FCC moms decided to go out & have a movie night. No hubbies. No children. Just good ole fashion fun, song & laughter. Mamma Mia was the perfect movie for it too! Clueless me, I had no idea that it was a musical. After all it had Meryl Streep & Pierce Brosnan in it, & they are definitely not known for their musical abilities! Didn't matter though. The music was fantastic. Trust me. I think everyone in the theater was singing. I know that my friend Lori & I were singing every song - & we both knew all the words. My friend Brenda lost control at one point in the movie & grabbed me. Of course I grabbed her too. After all these years, I still love the music of ABBA.

After the movie, we went out for dessert to Ruby Tuesday. Their desserts are sinfully rich & extremely decadent. We had a great time chitchatting the evening away. Two of the moms brought along guests. Grace brought her mother while Lisa brought her mother-in-law. It's always so nice when the grandparents want to be involved with the adoption process & want to meet the people their children are hanging out with. Candy & Minouche came along for the fun & I'm sure chatted about how their beautiful girls will be starting school together this coming week. Shari organized the evening, & I can't thank her enough!

We ended the evening standing out in the parking lot with more chitchat & finally left at 12:30 AM! I do have one question though. What the heck was with that young boy riding around in the parking lot in his jammies!? At 12:30 in the morning!? Where were his parents?

Halloween in August

Shari

Myke

Erin as Dorothy

Katie Starr makes a beautiful Minnie Mouse

Ethan is the cutest Mickey Mouse

Marc & Lori vamping it up!

Saturday was a busy day for Erin & me. Our friends Shari & Myke own a local business that sells Halloween costumes. They are getting ready for their very busy season right now. All this while they're in the midst of adopting from Vietnam! I don't know how they're still standing.

Shari & Myke invited a few of our FCC children to participate in this year's video. The children got to dress up & play games for a few hours. In the end, they'll have a video to show off all of their amazing costumes. Erin has already planned her Halloween costume for this year!

Wow! What an amazing weekend we had!

Friday night, I took Erin over to my friends Lori & Marc to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. They had invited some of the families from our local FCC group for a quiet (ha!) evening. One couple is in the process of adopting from Vietnam while the rest of us have adopted from China. We enjoyed a dinner of Chinese food. What else would you expect from us!? Our children got to stay up super late & play the night away. Erin enjoyed the fireworks but really couldn't have cared less about the rest.

As the children of China marched onto the field, I started to choke up & cry. All I could think of was how much China has given up by adopting out their children. In fact, for one moment, I was bitter that China could even consider giving up just one child. And then I thanked G-d that China does adopt out their children. After all, if China didn't, then Erin wouldn't be in my life. Neither would these families who have come to mean so much to me.

At one point in the evening, Lori & Marc set up their computer so we could skype our friends The Choi Clan. It was my first experience with skype, & I must say that I'll be trying it soon with my Canadian pals & my family. Kim & her children came across a 10 foot screen & said hello to all of our town. I'm sure my cousins who live around the corner heard Kim invite the town to watch the Olympics. Erin thought it was cool to see Aimee, Hansen & Cadence on the screen.

It was a lovely evening! When Erin & I got home, we fell into bed. I think I was asleep before she was!

Finally! The Birthday Pics!

I know you thought I forgot about the birthday pics. There really are way too many of them. It was hard to choose!

Celebrating 6

Gee. I just realized that it's been a while since I posted! Bad me! Anyway, life is crazy as always. I've been reading everyone's blogs but haven't wanted to post without pictures. I decided to post minus the pics. They'll be coming. Soon.

This past Sunday was Erin's 6th birthday party. We held it at American Twisters & including Erin there were 32 children in attendance. Not too bad, right? Ha! Then you have all the parents that attend. That means a total of almost 80 people.

Erin had a total blast! We couldn't have wished her to have a better time. She picked out the theme Tinkerbell & the cake - Tinkerbell white cake with custard filling. She wore her Tinkerbell t-shirt & hat. Are we sensing a common theme here? The funny thing is that she wasn't into Tinkerbell until the end of the school year.

Now I happen to love organizing parties. I'm pretty good at it, & can usually get it all finished 2 weeks before the actual party. This time I wasn't totally finished till the day before. Then there were the RSVPs. Those who said "yes" but couldn't make it at the last minute. And, of course, those who showed up without ever calling to say anything. This year I had personalized keepsake boxes so I really stressed out when a mother showed up with her twins but never called me. And let's not forget the family who told someone else that they'd see her at Erin's party but, again, didn't call me. I can't really fault them. They've only been in the US for 3 years, & aren't comfortable with English. They really are a lovely family. ARGH!!!

Either way, it was a totally great day for Erin. She came home to open her presents & had just as much fun with that part of the day. She even helped clean up!

The night before the party, Erin had an online birthday party with her friend Kerri. Kerri & her family live in Canda so we knew she wouldn't be there. Her parents & I wanted the girls to have fun & celebrate. We all went & got cupcakes so they could have cake together & Erin could open her presents from Canada. Such fun!

Yesterday was the big day! Erin turned 6. She woke up in a great mood & couldn't get into our bed fast enough for morning snuggles. During camp they went to a place called Jumpers & had black & white cookies as a special treat. For dinner Erin decided that she wanted her sushi so we ordered in & got her a shrimp tempura roll. Then she passed out & fell asleep. Yay for us!

And so my girl is now 6. I can't believe how blessed we've been. Thank you G-d above for this miracle child!

Ta Da! (Part 2)

These are a few of the pics from the California part of our trip!

We visited the California State Railroad Museum for the day.