Birthday Celebration

I celebrated my birthday this past Sunday (please no tax jokes as I've heard them all). Having a birthday cake is majorly (is that a word?) important to me. I was born during Passover & most of my life have gone without a cake to celebrate. Can I tell you how that just sucks? Imagine being a child & not being able to have a birthday cake. Heck, if I remember correctly I didn't have one for my 13th, 21st, 30th - well just about all of them since my day usually falls out on Passover.

My brother-in-law & I share a birthday so Steven feels the same way. As soon as the Jewish calendars come out, I look at April to see when Passover falls. Then I call Steven & let him know if we're getting a cake that year. It's become a ritual in our family, & we actually have a good laugh over it.

This past Saturday night, Erin & I went over to my friends' Viv & Corey to celebrate my birthday. We had a wonderful sushi dinner followed by that marvelous looking cake you see here. "YUMMO!" isn't descriptive enough for this cake - chocolate cake, chocolate filling, fudge icing & topped with the most amazing strawberries. Because I don't normally get to have birthday cake, I had a rather nice slice & enjoyed each bite of it. It was pure sin!

After dinner, Viv & I spent a nice night scrapbooking. She's doing a great job scrapping her journey to her daughter. I'm so amazed by the sheer beauty of her book. I am just about done scrapping my "2006 Travels" book.

I Got My Gi!!

We enrolled Erin in Karate at her school the week before Spring Break. She was so excited to finally get her gi!

Pics From the New Camera

Here are just 2 pics I took with my new camera. I have to admit that I love snap away when Erin's around.

And to top it all off, Erin's new camera came in the mail today. I have to recommend that any parent with a child over 3 look into the Fisher Price Kid Tough Camera. Erin loves hers! We've been showing her how to take pictures correctly (getting peoples' faces & such), & she does a pretty good job at it. When I can print out some of her pics, I'm going to start her with her own little scrapbook.

Gotta love my man!!

Well, maybe you don't have to love him, but I sure do! David's favorite hobby is stargazing. He's been doing it for as long as I know him. We saved our pennies for this telescope for quite a while & he uses it as often as possible. Unfortunately, living in S FL the skies aren't all that great but he does it when he can.

This past Saturday night, as David was setting up for his evening, he asked me to join him & Erin outside. For those of you who know me, you know I don't do sunlight. (I might melt you know!) I took my book & sat down to read but decided to ask Erin to get my camera. I figured this would be a great opportunity to get some pics. When Erin brought me the camera, & I took it out, the display was - - - well, not there. The screen was white, & where it wasn't white, it looked like someone took a blue crayon & had fun. AAAHHHHH!!!!

I've gotten into scrapbooking over the last year so my camera has been almost attached to me. I was so upset that David offered to stop what he was doing so we could go buy a replacement camera. Needless to say, I told him to continue what he was doing. The camera was able to take pictures but not display them. In fact, this is one of the last pictures I took with the camera. Bye-bye Canon! :-(

On my way to Debbie's house to pick Erin up, I called David to check in & give him a time table. My man, my dear husband knew I was really upset about losing my camera. On the way home from work, he went out & replaced it for me!! He got me the updated version of my little Canon because I had loved it so much. Well, that & the fact that I had recently purchased 3 new batteries for it.

As soon as I got home, I checked out my camera. Oooohhh!! I'm going to have some fun.

Thanks David!

Duh!!! 4 Questions???

Forgive me for my last post. My friend Sandra http://www.jazzieandtahlia.typepad.com/ just asked me what the Four Questions were. Duh! Sometimes I forget about "diversity" & just ramble on.

The first 2 nights of Passover begin with a seder - a family meal (usually with tons of family & friends in attendance) is enjoyed with the retelling of the exodus from Egypt to Israel in a book called a "hagaddah." At one point in the seder, a child (usually the youngest male who can read Hebrew - although to be honest it was me until my 30th birthday) reads the Four Questions. These questions are asked & then the person leading the seder answers. These questions explain why we do what we do on Passover. Here goes:

Why is this night different from all others?

1. Any other night we can eat whatever kind of bread we choose. On this night, we can eat only unleavened bread (matzah).

2. Any other night, we can eat whatever herbs we want. On this night, we eat only bitter herbs.

3. Any other night, we do not dip even once. On this night, we dip twice.

4. Any other night, we eat & drink either sitting or reclining. On this night, we all recline.

And for inquiring minds, the answers:

1. We eat matzah as a reminder of the Hebrew slaves who had to leave Egypt in a hurry & didn't have time to make sure their bread rose.

2. We eat bitter herbs to remind us of the bitterness of slavery.

3. We dip twice to remind us of the tears of the Hebrew slaves.

4. We recline because now we are not slaves & have choices.

Some people may argue with my translations & answers, but these are the general explanations.

The 4 Questions

One of my yahoo groups is for Jewish Families with Children from China. A few families have been looking for the 4 Questions in Chinese. I had never thought of it before, but let's face it - people from many different countries recite these important questions. So. Why not China? Here they are in Mandarin Chinese.

The Four Questions

Wèishénme zhège wân shang gen bié de wân shang bù yï yang?
1. Bié de wân shang, wômen chi famiàn miànbao; jìntiän wân shang chï si miàn miànbao.
2. Bié de wân shang, wômen chi gè zhong gè yàng de shu cài; jìntiân wân shang wômen zhí chï ku cài.
3. Bié de wân shang, wômen bù yòng shu cài zhàn yán shui; jìntiän wân shang zhàn liang cì.
4. Bié de wân shang, wômen zuò zhe huò zhe xié tang zhe chï; jìntiän wân shang, wômen xié tang zhe chï.

Referral Anniversary!

This is one of 3 pictures that we received 4 years ago today. Yes, April 1st - you know, April Fools Day. After a 14 month wait from DTC (now known as LID) to referral day, I got the call on April Fools Day. I was so upset that someone would play such a horrible joke on me that I hung up the phone. Needless to say, my social worker from GWCA called back & in a rush said that this was really THE CALL. It was all I could do to ask the questions that I'd been carrying around everywhere. I had the agency send the photos via email to David since I had gotten the info.

Four years later & life is very different. David walks around smiling frequently. He loves being a father - something he was very worried about. Of course, I always knew that he'd be a great daddy. Our daughter is a happy, loving, polite, caring person. Erin usually has a smile on her face. She loves music - Hannah Montana, Wiggles, Jewish music, Toby Keith, Kenny Chesney, Rob Zombie, AC/DC, etc. She loves movies - Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Finding Nemo, etc. Last week she took her very first karate class & got her white belt. According to her instructor, he doesn't normally give the belt out at the first class, but she was so enthusiastic that he felt he had to.

And let's not forget that we are now part of a larger community. The adoption community is amazing!! We have lifelong friends that I can count on to understand when I need understanding & to laugh & cry with when that's what I need.

Four years has definitely brought about some changes. Thank G-d!

New Bedroom Set

Last Monday David & I took Erin to go buy her new bedroom set. She's been complaining that she wants a new bedroom set. It really was time so we decided to just go & do it. We have learned that Erin has a mind of her own & a good sense of what will work for her. If it isn't something that will drive us nuts & is safe, we usually will allow her to help in the decision process. Anyway, we had the choice narrowed down to 1 bedroom set in 2 places.

When we made the purchase, we were told that because we wanted delivery of everything once, it could take 2-3 weeks. This was not a problem for us since she did have a bed. Friday we got the call from the salesperson that everything was in. We scheduled delivery for Saturday between 7 & 1. BTW, that was in the a.m. I asked her if there was a better time frame & she told me that because of where we live, we would be among the last to get delivery. Cool! That gave us enough time to eat breakfast & pull her room apart.

The phone woke us up at 7:30 a.m.!! Yup. The furniture was here. We were all in bed & nothing was ready. The delivery guys were wonderful & helped us pull everything out of Erin's room. Then they didn't mind that I was taking pictures of her new set being put in.

Passover Show

Friday Erin's class participated in a show called "Haggadah in the Round." Alll 3 pre-K classes & the Kindergarten class participated. It was done really well, & you could see how excited the children were & how hard they had worked.

Erin was so happy to see me at the show. I just loved seeing her big smile! Of course, it didn't last long when she realized that she couldn't come over & sit on my lap. Either way, she was too cute. After the show, we went back to the childrens' classrooms to enjoy a Passover snack of matzah with cream cheese, jelly or chocolate spread.

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Ranting Again

Okay, so I'm tired & bitchy. Heck, it's Monday, & I got no rest this weekend. We had 2 birthday parties on Sunday, & when I say back to back, I mean back to back. Erin enjoyed both parties immensely.

After work today we went & bought Erin's big girl bedroom set. We've planning on doing this for quite a while but had hoped to hold out until her 5th birthday this summer. Unfortunately, she's been very vocal about her bedroom.

"I don't like yellow. I want a pink room!"

"Where are the butterflies?"

"I want a bed like mama & daddy." (BTW, I didn't get a king size bed till I got married. When do you think Erin's getting hers.)

Her bedroom set should be delivered within the next 2-3 weeks. It's going to be pure hell until then.

The whole experience was quite nice since we knew what we wanted when we went in to the store. Even the sales lady tried to be nice. A few of her comments:

Are Oriental children just exquisite? Their eyes & all. . .

When did you get her?

My friend who's Oriental married an American guy. I really hoped their baby would have Oriental features, but he came out all blond & blue-eyed.

I wanted to smack the woman but self control took over. -

I didn't tell her that people are Asian & "things" are Oriental.

I didn't get her. I got a new purse. She came home almost 4 years ago.

Thank G-d your friends' child is healthy & able to be with his birthparents.

Okay, so I wanted to stop the transaction & not buy the bedroom set. Then I looked at my beautiful Asian daughter who had been so sweet the entire time & used her manners. Then I took out my credit card & paid for her new bedroom set. She smiled & all was right with the world.

Muscle Sprouts!

Food is a problem in our family. David & I love it. Erin could care less on a good day. Today we went to Olive Garden for lunch. As usual we were joking around. Erin asked what I was eating today so I told her I was eating muscles which I love. My daughter being who she is, innocently says "Like Brussel Sprouts Mama?" So I told her that these were not Brussel Sprouts but muscles. Erin played Popeye, made a "muscle," & said "See Mama, I have Muscle Sprouts!" Needless to say, David & I fell apart laughing.

Things That Annoy Me!

My friend Sandra http://www.jazzieandtahlia.typepad.com wants to know what annoys me. I'm pretty sure that my list is long. I always say that patience is a virtue. However, I was born without that particular virtue. Needless to say, there's plenty that I find annoying.

• Red lights. If I wanted to sit still & do nothing, I'd stay home.
• My name is T-A-M-M-I-E. Have the courtesy to spell it correctly please. I don't know what possessed my mother to spell it that way (or my dad to allow it), but she did.
• Snobs. No one is better than anyone. We all came into this world the same way, & we're all leaving the same way. Just because you have more money does not make you better.
• People who feel the need to let me know that I have a lot of gray hair. Do they realize that I look in the mirror every day at least once. One of my many allergies is an ingredient in hair dye. BTW, my hubby thinks it looks sexy, & his is the only opinion that matters.
• Stupidity. I refuse to say more here.
• People who are nasty.
• Being yelled at. I will do almost anything for almost anyone. Just don't yell at me. I promise that if you do, I'm going to "turn you off."

Well, I think that is more than enough for now. Hopefully, you're not too annoyed with my post. ;-)

Sleep? Baths? Nah!

I have to admit that I hate being in a funk, but it seems that is exactly where I'm at lately. I've been trying to be "up" for people but don't really have the desire to do it now. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy when I can help others but feel like I need a break.

Erin has always given us trouble with her bedtime. No matter what we do, it's a fight. Each & every night she cries & complains that she doesn't want to go to bed. When we do finally get her in bed, she will call either momma or daddy at least 4 times. It's really wearing on me.

The last month or so she had started to sleep through the night, & David & I were thrilled thinking she'd finally made it past whatever was bothering her. Sunday night, we decided to try it her way. Erin's normal bedtime is 7:30 Sunday through Thursday with an extra half hour on Fridays & Saturdays. With the time change, I knew we were going to have an even harder time getting her to bed. By 8:30 we finally decided that she could stay up in her bed & quietly "read" to herself. The child was still going strong when I went in at 9:30. It was like she had so much extra energy. At 10:00 David very strongly told her to go to sleep. We were up by 12:30 with her crying. And we were up at 2:00 & at 4:00. By 5:00 am, I gave up & stayed up with her. Monday night we put her to bed at the normal 7:30 but got no sleep again. Tonight's not looking much better.

This nighttime behavior is making Tammie a not so nice person. Today at work I just wanted to smack a few people. It's a good thing I have an amazing amount of self control or I'd be out looking for a new job in the morning.

Bath time isn't much better for us either. Ever since Gotcha Day, bath time has been really hard. In the beginning, you would have thought we were drowning Erin she screamed so badly. It was horrible, & David & I cried all the time. Our friend Debbie finally took over bathing duty once she started watching Erin. In the last year, Erin has definitely gotten better. She doesn't scream anymore but getting her to take a bath is just so hard. The production she puts on is interesting now. She'll tell us that she's still clean, doesn't stink, wants to play - anything to avoid the water. We tried a shower once but our neighbor made mention of the screams she heard. Thankfully, this neighbor has known us forever & is aware of Erin's issues. Another person may have called the cops for suspected abuse.

Tonight, Erin tried to avoid going to bed by begging for a bath. I almost cried.

Keep Driving

So the other day I was driving my much loved child to school. I call David each morning to let him know how the day started & that we're leaving for school & work. Erin screams her good mornings to her daddy. After I pull out of our development, I call my friend Debbie so we can BS about "stuff." Usually Erin, Jonathan & Kaylee will try talking to us while we're chatting. This particular day, I finished my morning chats early & was just driving down the road quietly listening to nothing in particular. All of a sudden I hear Erin chatting away so I asked her what was going on. My daughter said to me "It's okay momma. I'm only talking to myself. Keep driving." HUH!?!?

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I saw this on my friend Sandra's blog & thought it was major cool!!

My friend Debbie

As I was driving home from work yesterday, I was chatting with my friend Debbie. She is a very special person in our lives. When my maternity leave was up, & I had to go back to work, Debbie offered to watch Erin for us. It was a hard decision because she was getting ready to deliver her own special package - our much loved Jonathan. David & I talked it over & decided that Debbie would be perfect as long as it was also okay with her husband Ed. Now here we are 3.5 years down the line, & there is a special bond between our families. Erin & Jonathan don't know of life without each other. Jonathan was born 3 days shy of Erin's 1st birthday, & she came to the hospital with me when I visited him for the first time. Her daughter Kaylee took to Erin the very 1st time she laid eyes on her. In fact, I have a feeling that there isn't much Kaylee wouldn't do for Erin. It must have been hard for Kaylee to all of a sudden have to share her mommy with not only her brand new brother but also Erin.

Anyway, as I was say, I was chatting with Debbie. All of a sudden, I realized that I am so totally in love with my daughter. When I mentioned this to Debbie, she wasn't shocked. Actually, her response was "Yea, and. . . " Debbie has watched me evolve into a mother since we started our adoption journey. I talk over lots of things with her - happy things & frustrating things.

Debbie & I come from very different backgrounds but have found a connection. We met when she worked for the same company that I'm still with. I'm so happy that our friendship continued outside of work.

Baking Hamantashcen at School!!

Tuesday Erin's class baked hamantaschen for Purim. These are yummy cookies baked in the shape of a triangle with fillings in the middle. I love the prune or poppy seed filling best. Erin is like her daddy & prefers the chocolate chips or jam filling. Being in the kitchen is a treat for Erin. She loves to cook with her daddy & bake with her mommy. I went in to volunteer with Erin's class. We had so much fun!

Butterfly World -- Again!!

Erin's school puts on an international show each February, & the children all work so hard to put it together. The show was this past Friday, & Erin really came through. Last year it was like she was in shock & couldn't do anything. This year she shined. BTW, that was what another mommy told me! Oh yeah! I was glowing with motherly pride.

Anyway, to celebrate Erin's hard work, we took her to Butterfly World this past Saturday. She just loves butterflies so it was a great day. We all had so much fun just walking around, looking at the beauty of the surroundings & snapping pics.

I even decided that I would have David take a picture of Erin with me. Normally, I'm the one snapping away. Many of my friends balk when I snap pictures of them with their children. I always tell them that I don't have enough pictures of my mother with me, & I regret that. Well, I'm going to be proactive & attempt to give Erin the pictures that I don't have. Needless to say, I don't believe that I photograph well but I'm going to work on it. Here's your proof!

I Got "G"!!!!

Great Wall China Adoptions
This is the adoption agency that David & I used to complete our family. Without them, Erin wouldn't be a part of our lives. Nor would we have the lifelong friends that we now have.






Grapes
I love grapes!! In fact, when I buy grapes, I buy bags of them - green, purple, red, black. It doesn't matter because I love them all!














Great Wall of China



When David & I traveled to China in 2003 to adopt Erin, sightseeing wasn't allowed due to SARS. We decided that we would love to go back & see the The Great Wall when Erin is older.









Glitter


I love to work with glitter when I do projects with my students. It's messy but everyone has so much fun with the stuff.

Visiting Susan & Her Family

Julianna & Erin - The Yangchun Cuties!

And just what do you say here???

The weekend of February 11th Erin & I visited our friends Susan & Art & their family. We try to visit them on their turf once a year since they come down to visit us so frequently. Our visit usually coincides with Chinese New Year. Susan & I usually have a great time just zoning & doing nothing other drinking our chai lattes from Starbucks. Yummy! We're so addicted that our girls know to let us be comfy when we're sipping away.

Our girls have a great time together which makes it especially nice for the adults. Susan's girls always make Erin feel like another sister when we're all together. They play outside (weather permitting) & just have a "grand ole time." I love to sit back, chat with Susan & hear the girls laughing.

Chinese New Year Celebration!

Erin & I went to Spring Hill the weekend of Feb 11th to celebrate Chinese New Year with our friends the Fremers & the rest of the FL Great Wall families. Wow! What a wonderful weekend we had.

Saturday we met Snow Wu (the president) & LeighAnne Baseflug of Great Wall China Adoption at the airport. Their plane came in right after ours. It was a pleasure to meet these very special ladies. They came in for the FL CNY celebration & were quite surprised by how large a gathering we had. LeighAnne read a book to the children during our party, & Snow took pictures with a number of the families.

This CNY party is an annual event & put together by Susan with help from many other people. In fact, some of my friends from S FL also came up for the party. Marc Weinstock was an AMAZING emcee! I'm not allowed to show the video of Susan doing the chicken dance. Snow mentioned that she had never seen the chicken dance or heard "YMCA" at a CNY celebration! The families all had a wonderful time, & best of all, we raised a substantial amount of money to be donated to Love Without Boundaries.

Then & Now

January 2007

August 2006

August 2005

April 1, 2003 David & I got a referral of the most beautiful child to come from China - Chun HuaXu now known as Erin Chelsie. We fell in love immediately!

Every once in a while my friend Sandra does a retrospect of her girls, & I always enjoy it. Today I thought I would finally do something to see how Erin has changed. I usually save all of the pictures from a year onto a cd & put the cd away for safekeeping. That made it hard find anything older than 2005. However, I can definitely see Erin changing just from August 2005 up till a month ago. I just love seeing how she has grown!

Erin has been home sick this week running really odd fevers. She's running anywhere from 99.8 - 100 during the day & will be pretty cool to the touch. Around 2:00a.m., she spikes all the way up to almost 102!

David stayed home with her Monday & Tuesday while I took over today & for tomorrow also. Erin loves going to school & knows that if she has to stay home, there is no going outside to ride her scooter or her bicycle. However, she knows that time with Daddy means watching "rubber monsters" on tv. Being such SciFi fans, David & I found a way to have Erin watch the shows & movies (within reason of course) that we both enjoy. She is totally transfixed when we put on Babylon 5 or Harry Potter or even any of the Lord of the Rings movies! Staying home with Mommy, on the other hand, means playing with play doh & coloring. And then there's the food. Since Erin's such a horrible eater, David & I tend to relax the rules when she's sick just to get her to eat. This week Erin has even been hungry enough to eat!

I'm hoping that tonight her fever doesn't spike too much if at all. The dr told us that this bout of funky fevers with no other symptoms is going around. Supposedly it ends in 72 hours. I'd like for that to happen. My poor girl is usually pretty happy & content to amuse herself. When she's sick, I can't even go potty without her crying for me. I hate seeing her so miserable.

Just - "Stuff"

Erin has been in a silly mood lately. There's a lot going on here & we really encourage her to show how she's feeling - as long as it's not a tantrum that is.

She is working very hard in school right now. Her grade level is one of 3 that will be putting on a show in school. Each grade level represents a different country, & they get to sing some songs from that country. Erin's grade is representing Italy. Just ask her how Italian people say good morning, & she will smile with a huge grin & say "Buon Giorno!" I love that her preschool does this although I have mentioned that I'd love to see them do China. Her teacher for next year, Miss Cindy, told me that she has done China in the past & would consider it for next year. I'm not holding my breath since she really can't accomodate just one parent. But it would be fun - especially if the show was around Chinese New Year again!

I went to a Spa Night this past week at the synagogue. It was a fund raiser for the ECC (Early Childhood Center). Talk about a nice mom's night out. I had a neck & back massage, a hand & foot massage & my polish changed! I love getting spoiled on the odd occasion. I even won tons of stuff! Erin got a really cute tye-die t-shirt with baby bugs & baby taz embroidered on it, a huge basket with one of the Barbie 12 Dancing Princesses & matching vanity. For myself I won a free sitting at a local photograpy studio that one of the moms works at. Okay, so I'm bad. I outbid my friend Viv. I couldn't help myself! We had Erin's 4 year portraits done, & they were horrible!!!

Of course we also had some wonderful news on the friend's adoption front. Our friends Candy & David finally received their referral after a 16 month wait!!!! Rachel is just beautiful. Now we just have to load Rachel up with some adorable outfits. I know her FCC family is just dying to shop for them.

Erin Loves Her FCC Time

Once a month we go out to dinner with a bunch of families who have adopted from a variety of Asian countries although most are from China. In addition, once a month on a Saturday, we attend a play date at a local park.

It's always nice to see Erin with a group of children where she doesn't stand out. Of course, it's also nice that I don't have to explain to anyone that, yes, my daughter looks Oriental & then have to explain that it's because she's from China. Thankfully, I don't get too many foolish questions once they hear Erin is Chinese.

These are people who have fast become a support group for me in many ways. I don't have to explain to anyone why I don't have bio children. They understand why I'm so nuts about Erin's sleep issues. They know why I've chosen a particular pediatrician - even if there are closer ones to my home. These same people understand that I cry at the drop of a pin looking at my daughter & their children too just because the day ends in "Y."

Maybe that's why I love my FCC time too.

Sweet Amanda is Here!

Yesterday we went down to Miami to visit my brother & his family. We have been blessed with an addition to our family. Amanda was born January 10th at 10:31 pm & weighed in at 7lbs 11oz. Erin was super excited to go visit her cousin Seany (as she insists upon calling him) & to meet her newest cousin Amanda.

Erin was 20 months when Sean was born. We went to visit them in the hospital & my brother & SIL were sweet enough to let David & me hold him. He was absolutely a sweet little angel & barely peeped. Erin was decidely not happy with either of us holding Sean in our arms.

Fast forward to 2007, & along comes Amanda. Unfortunately, Amanda has some jaundice issues as do many babies, & I wasn't comfortable holding her even though my brother & SIL wanted me to. Erin had no problems & couldn't wait to get her hands on Amanda. It was so funny when my brother pointed out how yellow Amanda is. Erin piped in "Just like me momma!"

I took what seemed like a gazillion pics yesterday & ordered them immediately. There's even a cute photo of my SIL with her 2 babies that I'm so in love with. I can't wait to get the pics & mail them out to my dad & stepmother. I know they're going to fall in love with Sweet Amanda.

What a day!!

What a day!! I don't even want a redo. I just want to go on to Sunday!!

Erin was just an absolute sweetheart this morning. Even though she was up early as always, she chose not to wake either David or myself up. She did get into our bed & play with her cards but was so quiet I didn't notice her until I turned over. She even let me go back to sleep until 8:00!! When I got out of bed, she was in her room playing nicely. Then she told me that I was proud of her for not waking us up.

We left the house around 9:45 to go for breakfast. Too bad I had to go with a migraine. After breakfast we went to buy Erin some new sneakers & sandals. Have you ever been shocked to find out you were totally wrong about the size you had your child wearing? Erin has been wearing size 8 - 8.5 shoes for a while now. It turns out that she is now a size 9. She never told us her feet were uncomfortable & was willing to put on the same size shoes. I'm so glad I remembered the shoe sizer in the store. Too bad we walked out with so few pairs - 2 pair of sneakers & a pair of sandals. Don't worry though! Imelda Jr will be back at Payless on Monday when they get their new shipment in. David is already thanking the stars above that he doesn't have to go shoe shopping.

When we got home, David went to pick up our lawn mower from Sears. I gave Erin her bath so we could go visit my brother & his new baby daughter. Amanda was born January 10th, & Erin is so excited that she actually got into a bath willingly. During bathtime, Erin & I kept hearing strange noises coming from all of the drains in the house. I opened the shower door to find water bubbling up. Too wierd for me so I told David to deal with it when he got home.

By 12:00 we had the City come out to verify there was no problem with the line in the streets. Nope. The problem is in our water line. (BTW, at this point my migraine is hammering away at me, & the meds weren't helping.) We called a local plumber to come out. He got to our house at 7:00 pm!! Yup. Tree roots are invading. He fixed the problem for us - $400 later.

Now it's 10:00 pm, the lines are drained & I still have that darn migraine. However, I am determined to go meet my new niece tomorrow! My brother sent pics, & she's really cute.

Back to WW & Hoping I Can Do It

Well, I'm committing to weight loss AGAIN. I went on WW back before we adopted Erin, & I lost about 30 pounds. Much of that weight came back as we tried to get Erin to eat real food. Now she's home 3 1/2 years, & I'm tired of being fat. I'm not expecting miracles - just an awful lot of hard work. I hate to exercise, have no metabolism to speak of & like food.

I went back on WW since I was pretty successful last time. This time David is trying to do it with me. It's the end of day 1, & I already want to hurt him. He gets 44 points a day. I get 29 points a day. He's trying to convince me he's not hungry, but I know my man. You can't be married 18 years to someone who is a nighttime nosher & believe that he's not dying to munch on his arm. I'm glad he's trying WW since his meds make weight loss so hard.

I'm also hoping that Erin will see us eating better & maybe be tempted to try a vegetable. That girl will eat nothing that is green! Not even grapes. Although my friend Debbie tells me that when she watches Erin at her house, her son Jonathon can get Erin to eat salad! I tried that logic last night when I offered her a veggie. She looked at me after I offered her some veggies & said "NO." ARGH!!!!

I've Been Tagged

Okay, so my dear friend Sandra decided to tag me. This is such a fun way to get to know your friends & other people. Here I go.

A - available or taken: Available

B- best friend: don't really have one

C- cake or pie: cake

D- drink of choice: coffee and coca cola

E-essential item you use everyday: planner

F-favorite color: purple

G-gummy bears or worms: as long as they're not red, I don't care

H-hometown: born Brooklyn, NY & currently living in Coral Springs, FL

I-indulgence: manicure & pedicure

J-January or February: February - the month we went DTC!

K-kid's names: Erin (4)

L-life incomplete without: my family & friends

M-marriage date: August 28, 1988

N-number of siblings: 1 brother

O-oranges or apples: I have to choose!?

P-phobias or fears: leaving Erin to grow up without a mother

Q-favorite quote:

R-reason to smile: Erin & David

S-season: I live in FL where we have only 1 season - hot. Ugh! Up North I just love autumn with the changing colors.

T-tag 3 people: Angel, Lori, . . .

U-unknown fact about me: I'm fairly shy.

V-veggie I don't like: carrots

W-worst habit: unnecessary guilt

X-xrays: Yup. Too many to count!

Y-your favorite food: Sushi & Thai

Z-zodiac: Aries

Happy 2007 from Erin!

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2006 Leaves Us

As 2006 leaves us, I'm sitting here thinking of the past year & wondering about the changes 2007 will bring.

In 2006 many of my FCC friends have been united with their own little blessings. I have been overjoyed to see new children come home & change the lives of their Forever Families. In 2007, I hope to see more families united. There is nothing quite as special as holding our children the first time & introducing them to family & friends.

In 2006, I picked up some new hobbies - blogging & scrapbooking. While I am by no means anywhere close to an expert in either hobby, I'm having a total blast. I don't get a chance to really scrap at home, but when I do, it's nice that Erin likes to sit with me & make her own creations. Her teachers warned me that Erin likes craft time at school, & it's the same at home.

David & I have decided to finally do something about our long-term love of trains. In 2007, we are building an N-scale train layout. As usual, David is doing the technical & manual labor. I'm going to have a blast picking out all of the buildings for the layout. Erin is even into this hobby with her own train setup.

I don't believe in making resolutions. As a teenager & young adult I always made resolutions for the following year. The adult in me finally realized that each time I made a resolution, I was disappointed when I didn't follow through on the commitment. Now I just think about the things I would like to accomplish but don't get crazy when things don't go the way I had planned.

So. Out with 2006 & in with 2007. Bring it on! I can handle it.

Wishing you all a very happy & healthy 2007!

Hantelech, Feeselech & Tuches

Yesterday I had to work late so David picked Erin up from our friend Debbie's house. When I called to tell him that I was on my way home, David couldn't wait to give me some important, earth shattering news. One of the hardest things to teach a young child who is learning Hebrew is the "ch" sound. It doesn't sound like the"ch" in Christmas or the "ch" in chunky. It's a gutteral sound that many people have trouble making.

When Erin was getting into David's truck, she showed him her hands & said "Daddy, these are my hantelech (little hands in Yiddish). David then taught her to say feeselech (little feet). She pronounced both words perfectly. Then she pointed & showed David her "tuches."

Go ahead & laugh, but these are the little things in life that we all smile with pride about. Besides, how could you not laugh? I did!

Chanukah Fun

Erin loves Chanukah!! Yes, as you can see, she has a blast getting presents. However, my darling daughter also looks forward to saying the blessings each night & saying "Happy Chanukah Momma & Daddy!" David & I are filled with such pride in Erin. This is the 1st year that Erin was able to chant each of the blessings right along with us.

Each year, on the first night of Chanukah, David makes latkes (potato pancakes) for dinner. Erin's 1st year home, she was eager to try them since she had recently started eating real food 100% of the time. Last year, she wanted nothing to do with them. This year, she couldn't get enough sour cream on them!

My friend Vivian & her daughter Kerri gave Erin 2 books for Chanukah this year. I can now officially recite "I Have a Little Dreidel" all on my own! It seems that Erin loves the song so I had to read the book at least 3 times each night. Not such a bad tradition at all.

I can't wait to see what next year brings us at Chanukah time!

Well, curiosity wins at the Museum of Discovery & Science also! Erin loves to see how things work. Since we're on vacation, we decided to play tourist at home! The weather outside was totally yucky (wind & rain) so this was the perfect place to visit for the day.

David & Erin love to do things together - plant, trains (okay I love that one too!), cook, models. I like to sit back & watch them enjoy themselves together. This was the perfect day for that.

Butterfly World

Wednesday was Butterfly World day. In the 18 years that the place has been here, we hadn't made the time to just go. We were always too busy. Isn't it funny what happens when you have a child? All of a sudden there's time to do plenty of things you wouldn't do before. We're loving every minute of it!

Erin was really excited to be going here because she loves butterflies. However, when we walked through the doorway to the exihibit, she froze. All of these butterflies just come flying over, & it really alarmed her. We've been working on teaching Erin to not be afraid of new experiences. It took a while, but the beauty of Butterfly World won.

Erin had a wonderful time just taking in all of the sights. Her favorite part of the day was going back & forth on the suspension bridge. The first time she went over it, it was as if her troubles were tossed into the pond below. She was smiles & sunshine the rest of the day.

5:30 am Appointment to Play!1

This is Erin's train table. She woke up early the next morning (5:30!) so she could play with her trains. Can we say obsessed???

Trains, Trains, Trains

Erin loves trains.

That's not really a surprise in my house. David & I are into trains also. In fact, I have my own train set - the Hogwarts Express from the Harry Potter movies. I've been trying to convince David that we don't need our dining room table anymore. No, I don't want to get rid of it. I'd like to turn it into my own train setup! I'm getting there. He's almost convinced.

My friend Lisa C found a train table for $20 at a garage sale a few weeks ago. Knowing how nuts we are, she picked it up for us & had her hubby bring it over for Erin. Tonight I surprised by taking it in & helping her set up her trains. She had so much fun playing tonight.