Friday, February 27, 2009

"Chat to Text" has gone live on Facebook!

You can go to my sidebar and scroll down a bit and text directly to my cellphone anytime by just clicking on the icon and typing in the text box. I will respond to you via my cell phone...very cool indeed! You can even text me from my facebook page.
If you would like to do the same and make money in the process...then click here to find out how.
Happy chatting!

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Heading to a Blogger Bash in the Happiest Place on Earth!

Yes, that's right, the DD along with their loyal subjects (Mommy and Daddy) will be heading 3 hours due North to Walt Disney World next weekend to meet many of my fellow adoptive mommy bloggers. Donna from "Double Happiness" as well as Tamara and her mom Penny from "Notes from the Zookeeper" were nice enough to extend an invite my way. Donna has a list of several of the bloggers that will be there. I am also hoping to meet with a few local families that have become quite dear to me while I am up there as well.

If you will be in Orlando from 2/27 through 3/1 please give me a shout out in my comments and maybe we can meet up.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Them you kids?

If you can believe it, this was the question that was posed to us at the check out in Wal Mart last evening. Marc and I both stood there flabbergasted, with our mouths hanging open, at the ignorance of the statement. Quite honestly, it was the ignorance of the statement that prompted us both to say yes in unison and walk away while the woman actually scratched her head in confusion at the sight of GASP!...two Caucasian parents with two Asian children. This woman was obviously and unfortunately so ignorant that there was definitely no educating her and there was no need for me to make a stink about it with the end result being that she could possibly lose her job in such a unforgiving economy.

Oh, how I wanted to do what I usually do when I get the occasional less than intelligent question or response to a question. That would be to gracefully educate the person if possible or dryly put them in their place if not. In this case though, it was woefully apparent that there was no reason to try either option. If I cannot even quantify that you have an IQ then why even attempt it?

This amazing little bubble buster came at the end of a fun filled evening at a local carnival. I will blog about those sweet moments and return to regularly scheduled programming when I can stop the involuntary head shaking that continues to plague me.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

I can see it now....your dad does what?!?


Today as we were driving home from Katie's preschool, Marc called me. I was stopped at a light and handed the phone to Katie so that she could say hi to daddy. Here is the conversation that ensued. Keep in mind while reading it that Marc runs a mobile Disc Jockey business.

Katie: "Daddy, where are you?"

Marc: "I am in my office."

Katie: "In your office at home?"

Marc: "No, sweetie, I am working in my office that is not at home."

Katie: "Daddy, are you doing the Chicken Dance in your office?"

Marc and I were hysterical. You gotta love the mental picture that Katie must have of her daddy's work day. Hmmmmm.....Daddy not only entertains at parties...he must also be entertaining in the office as well. Now that must be one fun job!!

There was lots of explaining again about what daddy does when he arrived home. Of course, Katie thinks that the only reason that I go to work is to see her Papa(my business partner) and her Auntie Kira (my best friend who also works for me) She obviously thinks it is all fun and games in the work place ;-)

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Look who got her ears pierced today......

.....our Starr, yes Katie got her ears pierced today!!

When Katie Starr first came home from China, we decided against getting her ears pierced because Marc was against it and I respected his feelings on the subject. He felt that an earring could come loose and fall off and since she was a baby she could easily put an earring into her mouth and swallow it. He was also worried about her touching it and it getting infected. His thought was that it was unnecessary and that as she understood more that he would be OK if she wanted it. Since I am a big believer in the team method of parenting (we both agree or it is a no go!) I was fine with that decision.

As she has gotten older and in the past few months Katie has noticed earrings and asked about them. I have explained how it works and asked her if she would like to have her ears pierced and she has always said "No!" All of the sudden, a couple of days ago, she began asking us if she could get her ears pierced and we decided to see if the request persisted.....it did! Today, Marc asked her if she understood that when she got her ears pierced it would hurt (like a shot, just for a few seconds) and then it would be over and she would have earrings in her ears that she could not take out for a long time. She said that she understood. Then I took it a step further and told her that I would have to clean the ears twice a day and turn the earrings and it may bother her a bit and was that OK? She not only said yes but she was insistent that she wanted to go get it done immediately, so off we all went to the Mall to have the deed done. I told her that she could bring her treasured friend, Snotty Baby with her so that she could hold her tight while she was having it done. Snotty baby was the soft stuffed baby that we sent to China in her care package. Katie came to her forever day clutching Snotty baby and has slept with her every night since (except for one night when we forgot to bring her on an overnight trip...bad mommy and daddy!) Snotty Baby was named that because as Katie Starr transitioned into our family she cried and grieved for a very long time and she would always wipe the baby against her nose and face as the tears flowed and her nose ran :( It became our pet name for her baby and it stuck.

Once we got to the store, Katie happily picked the style that she likes (14K Rose colored stone in a flower shape) and we paid. There was a young woman having a cartilage piercing and Katie watched intently and when they pierced her ear, Katie got a scared look on her face. Now it was her turn and I brought her in. I told the ladies that ran the store that I wanted them to do both ears at the same time because I knew that if they did one they may not get the chance to do the other, unless under major duress.....I was not chancing it. When I was a teenager, I worked in the same store piercing ears, so I know from what I speak.

At this point, Katie told me that she was scared. I actually think that I was more nervous than she was, as I knew that it hurts a lot for the first 10 seconds. I told her that she had said that she really wanted to do it and that it is important to do things that you really want to do even if it means that you are scared. I told her that she would have a moment of pain for a lifetime of beauty...LOL. Here she is waiting for the piercing. Such a sad and thoughtful face.






She seemed better and then the wonderful women cleaned her ears, marked the spot that they would pierce, checked with me and as she clutched Snotty Baby and my hand, they double teamed her...



Here is the moment the ears were both pierced.






She howled in pain and then in about a minute with the help of a lollipop and a look in the mirror, to see how beautiful they looked she was just fine. Then she smiled coyly and talked about how much she loved them. Ethan then looked at her and asked her, "Katie, are you happy now?" When she said yes, he then asked if he could get his done.....uh no Ethan...that will have to be a decision made much much later, like when you are 18!....LOL Here is the lead person who pierced her ears. She and her partner were so enamored with Katie and were wonderful to her.


We left with a happy and glowing little girl who stopped to tell anyone and everyone that we came into contact with that she had gotten her ears pierced and that she just loved her new earrings. I think that deep down she was quite pleased that she did what she had set out to do......job well done Katie Starr!



Saturday, February 14, 2009

If it is the weekend then you will find us at a birthday party

We are smack dab in the middle of the birthday party circuit. It is nuts how many birthday parties we are invited to. The odds are great that on any given weekend we will be at one or maybe even two children's parties.

The reason that we are caught up in this whirlwind is that we are a part of three separate groups that have children that are our children's ages. There are the children from Katie Starr's class, the children from Ethan's class and the children in our FCC Chapter. Add to that, the occasional neighborhood child or child of one of our friends outside of those circles and there you have it...the birthday party perfect storm.

I have found that I must be very creative with our time and our budget to meet all of these preschool social obligations. We do make every effort to attend every one that we possibly can. We want to have our children take part in their friend's special days. We do whatever we need to make that happen. I can see the difference in our children's demeanor with each and every party. The become more and more socially adept and comfortable in new situations. For our part, I must be candid enough to say that it can get a bit much attending all of these parties. It's all good for me if it is the child of someone that I actually know and like but that is not always the case. The bottom line though, is that like most everything that we do for our children, you have to just suck it up and do what you gotta do.

Today, during a party I was talking to the birthday mom. She asked me what I was planning for Katie's 4th and I told her that I was not having a big shindig this year, rather an intimate family affair. As I mentioned in a previous post, Katie likes it that way and that is the way we will do it this year. I actually saw a small look of relieved happiness come over this woman's face as she mentally crossed one child off of her birthday social calendar for this year and is able to feel no guilt in doing so. I am more than happy to do that for her and the rest of the mom's on behalf of our Starr. On the other hand, I will be reciprocating with them and inviting them all to Ethan's party as our mischief man likes nothing better than to be partying like a rock star!

If it is going to make the birthday child happy and our children in the process then I will be there. I will come, children and present in hand, make small talk, follow the routine, sing happy birthday and call it another successful day on the preschool social calendar and in the life of our Dynamic Duo!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

It's hard to keep a straight face around here

Tonight, Ethan walked into the room and told me "Daddy is mad, daddy goes (and he makes the sound of a big heaving sigh)" I said "what do you mean?" He said, "Daddy mad at computer" and then he makes that sigh noise again!! I cannot tell you how this made me laugh as it is a running joke with the people that know Marc very well in the work place (Kira!) that computer problems frustrate Marc more than anything. There have been times that I have thought he was going to hit his head against his computer screen in exasperation, so sighing is just the beginning of the sounds that are being emitted in frustration from our home office tonight. At the tender age of three, Ethan already knows what that sigh means..(Smirk)

Earlier today, Katie was playing with her Barbie and Diego dolls. These two have been an item for a few days now and they really look like an odd couple as Barbie is 3 times as tall as Diego. I told Marc that we need to get a Ken but we have not done that yet ;-) Katie has Barbie and Diego hugging, kissing, talking, walking hand in hand and just plain ol' enjoying each others company. Today, I overheard the following discussion between them. Barbie: "Diego, I love you..will you speak Spanish to me?" Diego: "Uno, dos, tres, quatro, sinco, seis." etc...you get the picture....OMG, where does she get this stuff?!?

Monday, February 09, 2009

Sweetness and Light

Katie is one of the sweetest children that I have ever known and I find it so amazing that I get to live with this sweetness on a daily basis. I do not say this in the spirit of bragging. I am blogging about it so that I can capture the beauty that is this child's personality.

Katie Starr wakes up every morning in a wonderful mood and it is VERY rare to see her good mood turn sour. In fact, the only time you see a darker side to her personality is when she is ill. I always know if something is amiss with her health as she gets cranky and that is so not Katie. She never has temper tantrums and she is strangely reasonable for a three year old. Sometimes I think she is more reasonable than I am; actually I know she is!

Katie never likes others to be upset and is quite empathetic. She hates to see others in pain or ill. She is learning to share quite well and even shares her mommy and daddy's affection with her brother Ethan without any negativity. Sometimes, when we are loving on her little brother, I can see something flicker in her eyes ( a little bit of green eyed monster) but she really controls it and seems to really understand that we adore her and that there is enough love for all.

She is the type of child that approaches other children that she knows and takes her brother by the hand to introduce him to them. "Say hi to my brother, his name is Ethan." If by chance they do not answer in a nanosecond she turns to me and says "please tell them to say hi to my brother or he will be sad!" She also hugs and kisses him hello and goodbye every day and on her own without provocation.

She approaches children on the playground that she does not know in order to say hi and to tell them her name. Unfortunately, some do not respond in kind. You never see her look sadder than when a child does not return her attempts at friendship. She always asks me why they are not talking to her.

She adores her family and closest friends that are like family. She loves nothing more than to have her crew close by. When I asked her where she wanted to do for her 4th birthday party that is upcoming in a couple of months, she told me that she wanted it at home with a Princess cake, that was it. I asked her who she wanted to come and she named us, both of her brothers and Judy, her grandparents, Aunt Jane, Uncle Steve and Sam, Marc's Uncle Howard and both sets of godparents (The "P" Family and Kira with her hubby Dennis.) That is her happiness, those that she loves. She has many other friends but Katie likes things simple and does not like huge parties like her mama does ;0)

The reason that I thought to write this post today was because of the example of her sweetness that I will end the post with. This morning as we were getting ready for school we told Katie to choose something to bring in to school for "Show and Share." She chose to bring in a page of stickers that she had just received from us. She wanted to pass them out to all of her friends. Off, she and Marc went to school and when they walked in they found that there was a new little girl by the name of Sasha in her class today. Katie immediately said hi and asked her to play. When Marc went back to get her he was told that Katie had passed out her stickers during "Show and Share" and when she got to Sasha she gave the little girl two stickers and told her "Here is an extra sticker for "Gratulations" for your first day of school"

If there were more of that in the world it would sure be a wonderful place. I want to be just like Katie Starr when I grow up!

Friday, February 06, 2009

First Time Bowling and Our Silly Girl

Tonight, the Dynamic Duo were invited to their friend Luke's 4th birthday party at the local bowling alley. The DD really had a good time trying their hands at it. Then, out came dinner and cake. The children ended the evening playing video games. We don't have to feed those wonderful machines one red cent, as the kids have no idea what they do anyway....aaaaah....love the innocent years!

When we got home and after the kids had their bath, we sat around relaxing while Katie colored and Ethan played in the other room. I asked Katie whether she enjoyed the bowling. She said, "I loved it Mom but you know what I loved even more?" I asked her what that would be and she replied with, "eating the cake"....."Ummm, Katie, you did not eat any cake, what are you talking about?" "Mommy, you are so silly, I was thinking that you ate the cake and I was just so happy that you ate it!" I told her that she was the silly one because I never ate the cake. She then told me that she was just happy thinking that I was eating my cake. "That just makes me so happy you silly Mommy," Katie said.

I love that silly girl of mine and the things that go through that sweet little mind of hers.

Here are some pics and a cute video of the bowling...enjoy!







Thursday, February 05, 2009

What the heck was in the Pho??

Tonight was our FCC group's Mom's Night Out and it started in a Vietnamese Restaurant eating a dish called Pho (pronounced Fa). The five wonderful women that attended (Me, Minouche, Tammie, Shari and Brenda) ventured out into the cold Florida evening to gather together, sans husbands and children, to partake in food and frivolity. After consuming our Pho, we decided to head to Starbucks for nightcaps of coffee, tea and hot chocolate. The first Starbucks store that we drove to was closing...AT 9:30?!? We were appalled and went to the next one down the road which was only open for another 20 minutes after we placed our order. We quickly consumed our food and beverages before we were very politely kicked to the curb and ambled to our car in the 48 degree night (about 38 with the wind chill). That is way too cold for us Florida women and so we decided that if were going to continue conversing, which seemed to be the case, we better get into one of our cars to do so. Since none of our very generously endowed derrieres could fit into Katie's or Ethan's car seat's we decided to get into Shari's car. Her car seat is yet to be installed since they are still waiting for permission to go to Vietnam to pick up their sweet Chianna. We pile in and begin anew with our non stop chatter and of course out comes the blackberry's, I Phones, and blackjacks to do what else but Facebook pictures and posts. Of course that set off a new chain reaction of laughter and silliness. Finally, somehow we began singing songs from Fiddler on the Roof. How the heck did that happen? I have no idea but that leads me back to my original question which is.....

What the heck was in the Pho?

Whatever it was...I would like a little more ASAP.

Here are some photos of us girls, first in the restaurant, then in the car and finally a video from the car...it is a little dark but you will get the picture...the very silly and carefree picture!

Hey girls....tag...your it!!














Sunday, February 01, 2009

The Dynamic Duo have one cool Nana!

What else can you say about a woman who drives a convertible BMW, has spiky blond hair, listens to rap music and has a tattoo of a "pussy" cat on her leg? My mom is truly an individual. I think she started rebelling against anything age related when I made her a Grandmother when Justin was born at 46 years young. I am pretty sure she felt too young to have any little person calling her Nana. Who could blame her? I am a year older now than she was back then and I am waaay to young to be a Nana (you hear me Justin and Judy!!) All of the grandchildren love their Nana and my sis and I adore her, even with that rebellious streak of hers. I mean...c'mon, should a daughter have to tell her mom to calm down and behave herself...oy!

Where is Nana? I hope she gets here soon!

Yay, she's here..let the fun begin. Can we get in and on top of your car Nana? Of course, this is the same woman who parks at the far reaches of every parking lot so that there is absolutely no chance that her car gets a scratch....anything for her grandchildren!






Of course, you guys can do anything you want to!

Cool Nana, why does the top of your car do that?

Woweeee...the top closed...cool!