2 Years Ago

Two years ago this week we were trying very hard not to fall madly in love with Rosie. It was very hard to do because we knew the second we saw that face that she was our daughter but we didn't know how complex her medical needs were and we didn't know if we were the family for her in the eyes of the CCAA or in the eyes of our agency. To be very honest our agency suggested that we go this route so we were not concerned about them but bureaucracy is bureaucracy Our hearts kept saying yes, yes, yes, but it takes more than that when you have to answer to the CCAA .

It really is insane that you have to jump through so many hoops to adopt a child. If you choose to have a biological child no matter what your circumstance you have the green light. Rarely does anybody intervene before the child is born. Sometimes afterwards, when somethings goes atrociously wrong, someone intervenes. I don't think anybody should just be allowed to adopt as this would open up the adoption world to some really sick individuals and children need to be protected but the kind of scrutiny that we endure is insane.

Everything that there is to know about my husband and I is documented and sitting in a file on a shelf somewhere in China. Not only did we have to have local police clearances but also State and Federal clearances. Our bodies were probed for medical exams, our banks accounts were probed for financial clearances, our educations were examined, our homes were inspected, questions were asked about family members and as if this wasn't enough we had to fill out more papers and then re-do them because they all expired time and time again, and get them notarised and get birth certificates and marriage certificates and fingerprinted and get fingerprinted and get fingerprinted because apparently during the adoption process your fingerprints magically change! After you do all these things and you feel as if your life has been raped you are then at the mercy of other people to decide if you are good enough to become parents.

We had already jumped through all these hoops once with Lily and then again for baby number 2 who we thought was going to be a healthy child. Little did we know that baby number 2, Rosie as she came to be, was on a Special Needs list so we couldn't just say we wanted her we had to change our home study to have it approved for an SN child, and have our agency approve us for an SN child and then after seeking medical advice all over town, for this gorgeous little girl with her medical condition who had stolen our hearts, we then had to be re approved by the CCAA as a couple wanting to adopt an SN child.

So this time 2 years ago we were pacing, hoping, making never ending phone calls to our agency for just a tiny bit on information letting us know that she was ours and that we were in. Hadn't we been in for 2 years already at this point? Could they really change their minds now and say no? This was the most awful 2 weeks. I lost so much weight and couldn't sleep. I felt nauseous all the time. This was our daughter and she was hanging in the balance but someone else controlled her future and it wasn't us. Imagine if someone else got to make a life altering decision for you child just how it would feel.

Adoption isn't for the feint of heart. There are no accidental adoption stories. It is hard work, really really hard work but it is so worth it. Would we do it again...you better believe it, in a heartbeat. A special needs heartbeat at that!

It's very odd how the feeling's don't go away. The wait vanishes once you hold your children but the panic and the fear of the wait and the excitement of referral day, they stay with you for a very long time. Lily's referral day was July 3 2003 and I can still remember every detail of that day.

I Can't See You.

Rosie is permanently attached to a balloon. She wears them like most sane people wear necklaces or bracelets. She just doesn't understand that they are not accessories. Maybe she does understand but she just doesn't care, who knows?

She has recently discovered the joys of Hide and Seek. She will stand in a corner or sit on the couch and cover her eyes and count to 13 (that isn't some arbitrary number, that's as high as she goes without messing up) while you go and hide. She's really good and unlike her big sister, she doesn't peek.

When it is her turn she expects the same treatment from you. Sadly she isn't very quiet when she goes and hides and she is only 2 but she tries so very hard. Sometimes things just don't go quite as well as planned for her though.

When I saw this I laughed out loud and couldn't stop. She came out of the bathroom to see what I was laughing at and got so mad and immediately slammed the door again only to have the same thing happen again. and again. and again.

It's A Dog's Life

I think most children love animals. I think I did but my love for them for them was cut short following the incident with the neighbours dog. I have never really been very brave around any animal and so it surprises me to see Lily so interested in any four legged furry thing or 2 legged scaly thing but it is what it is and I try to embrace it.

Rosie is starting to show an interest in them but they have to be mellow and slow moving otherwise she gets nervous and just wants to be picked up. I can understand it, when you yourself are not much taller than the pile on the rug most things are going to intimidate the heck out of you.

When my long lost friend Pammie rang me a couple of months back she followed it up with a couple of emails. One included a photo of 2 puppies and and an invitation to go take the girls to meet them. I showed Lily the photos of the little fur balls and she was smitten but I just wasn't sure if Pammie knew what she was getting herself into cos 2 little girls are not quiet and they certainly aren't sedentary and she isn't feeling her best still. Alas she kept asking to see them and Pam kept insisting so yesterday I threw caution to the wind and we went over.

Dear Lawd Lily was in fur ball heaven. She played and played with them and when her Aunt Pam suggested she ask Santa for a puppy for Christmas she thought it was a great idea but her Mother did not and shot Pammie a snotty glare! Even I, who do not throw compliments of the canine kind very freely, have to admit that Coco and Rascal were pretty darned cute. Rascal took one look at both girls and made a hasty retreat for cover but Coco was up for some rambunctious fun and delighted Lily for over an hour with her antics. Rosie decided she was not about to get anywhere near them and as Rascal retreated to one end of the couch Rosie retreated to the other. After a little coaxing and a few treats from Pam for both of the scaredy cats we managed a little headway but frankly is was nothing short of pathetic on both of their parts! I had to laugh when Pam pointed out that Rosie will sit on a horse but she is scared of a dog who barely weighs 3lbs.

As we were leaving I had the shock of my life as Pam and Armando's son arrived home from work. I used to change this kids diapers and rock him in my arms and now he stands about 6ft 4", he's freaking huge. Well not so huge cos just like his mother he is a bean pole but what the hell happened? I wish I had a photo of him because it made my brain itch and just as he has always done he went straight to Lily and gave her a big hug. He hugged me to but I was to much in shock to notice. Dear god he grew up so fast. He's a good kid too, not so much of a kid any more but you know what I mean.

Would somebody please make things slow down just a little bit because if things continue at this warped rate my girls will be big to soon and that is unfathomable.

Lily with both doggies after a lot of coaxing.

Why wasn't Rosie in these photos? It's simple, (a) she was to chicken to get close and (b) she took them!



Pam's pictures. You can see here that the black dog is trying to leave the scene cos Pammie has moved away to take the photo. Rosie and Rascal = velcro children!

It's The Mundane Stuff.

Late yesterday afternoon as I was standing at the sink washing grapes, of all things, Lily was doing her homework and Rosie was waiting for the aforementioned grapes, I was hit by a wave of contentment. This is what I was put on this planet to do. I love it. Being a Mummy just rocks my being to the very core.

When we were waiting for Lily's referral these were the moments I dreamt of. I would be driving in my car and I would look into the rear view mirror and think, one day, not long from now there will be a little black haired girl in the back seat, right there, all buckled safely into her car seat or I would dream of the day when I would be able to put on a tiny little pair of shoes and help her with her ABC's. Now it happens all the time and I love it.

Rosie is right smack in the middle of the. I love you Mummy/Daddy/Lily phase and it is the greatest thing in the world to hear. She says it so many times a day and she even says, "You make my heart happy". Who wouldn't be dancing on a cloud?

The milestones in Motherhood are really wonderful but for me it is the little things that make me do the happy dance. It really is the mundane stuff that makes it all so worthwhile.

Holding a sleepy girl at the end of the day, and it doesn't matter which one it is, and listening to her tell me about her highlights and favourite moments that is when I melt and think I couldn't have made it this far, my heart would have never made it. I think I was always missing a little piece of my heart until my girls came along but now it is complete.

There are days when I sit down on the couch when they have gone to bed and sip gin straight from the bottle, (kidding) and thank my lucky stars that the day is over but that is usually when we have been rushing around and overly scheduled but due to the fact that my mantra for life is KEEP IT SIMPLE, those days are few and far between.

Girlies, Your sparkle and zest for life brings me such joy and happiness and I want you both to know how much Daddy and I truly love you.

xoxoxoxoxoxo

Dad in Charge, not!

(Jacob writing.)

Rose wanted to nap in our bed but I said no, Rose was upset, as you can see in the video. Well I was about ready to give in when the phone downstairs rang. So by the time I got back upstairs to Rose she had done it herself, thrown the pillows on the floor and snuggled between the sheets. And there she stayed for her noon nap.







(Mummy here. Since I had to upload the video for Jacob I just to have to add that Rosie NEVER acts this way with me and I always accuse Jacob of being a pushover with her, hence the video of him being firm. He was showing me that he does stand his ground. HAH, she showed him. I laughed so hard when I found her asleep in our bed and all the pillows on the floor and that was before he showed me the video and told me the story. I was really surprised that he was so stern....not that she fell for any of it. That little girl has him wrapped around her finger.) Funny that this post should be the follow up to yesterday. Snort.

Don't tell Jakey but it killed me to see her that upset.

Sleep On It.

Lily had always been a great sleeper and had always slept in her bed. Somewhere around the age of 3 we started inviting her into our bed once a week for a family night. That of course back fired on us and we ended up having a permanent resident in our bed...oopsie. Frankly we don't mind this one bit and have become quite loud advocates of the family bed.

Rosie is very aware that in the mornings when she wakes up "her big Lily" as she calls her, that she is never in her own bed but is instead in our bed. Rosie is a swift little smarty pants and now she know longer wants to sleep in her bed either. This is also fine with us and the reason that we have a king size bed and also the reason why we wish it was just a bit bigger. LOL

Until recently we had managed to keep her in her crib but as you know she just got her big girl bed. The rules for going to sleep are very simple. Both girls go to bed in their respective beds in their own rooms and then if and when they wake up they come in to us. However, sometimes before I go to bed I pick Rosie up on my way and that saves all of us from being woken up by a howling banshee. Nap time is never a problem she goes straight into her crib and never thinks twice about it. Never that is unless Daddy is in charge. If Daddy is in charge she pretty much acts up with every thing. In fact I have no idea who Rosie is when Daddy is in charge.

When we ousted her from her crib Lily and I just decided one Sunday morning to take it apart and take the trundle bed from her room and put in Rosie's room. She loved it. Then we went bed shopping with Rosie a couple of weeks later. I had no intention of buying her a toddler bed at all and since we had already got rid of her crib it was out of the question. We went to Ik.ea and Rose fell in love with this rinky dinky little bed. I kept moving her on but she kept running back to it. I kept on and on dragging her to the full size beds and she kept heading back to this miniature thing. I then realised that bringing her along was a bad idea. Lily and I kept giggling at this tiny little bed. It was as wide as a twin but as short as a toddler it reminded me of a postage stamp. My efforts to dissuade her were futile. A sales lady came over and commented on how great this bed was but I was about to listen cos it wasn't great it was really silly. She was saying something about it growing. Say what? Turns out this bed grows. It has 3 sizes and finally turns into a full size bed. How cool is that? So guess what? Rosie got her rinky dink bed after all. Not that she sleeps in it that much but neither one of them will want to sleep with us forever and on Fridays and Saturdays they sleep in Lily's room together, well they start off that way and sometimes they even stay that way! The only downside. all her beautiful linens are still waiting in her closet cos they drown this little bed. Her crib comforter still fits and ordinary sheets fit width ways but are very long at this size.


Here is a glimpse of the cheeky little monkey waking up from her nap in her little rinky dinky bed.

Big Shoes.

I took these 2 photos this weekend when we were all outside doing some tidying up. Both the girls were helping their Daddy and Rosie was wearing Jacob's shoes! I love seeing her in Jacob's shoes because it reminds me of when I was little and how I used to love to wear my fathers shoes and also how he has some really big shoes to fill.

Is it just me or does there seem to big a huge change in Lily lately? Isn't she getting big? Her face also seems to have changed. I have always thought she was pretty but now something different is happening to her and she is even more gorgeous. Please don't tell me she is growing up cos she is only 7 and I am not ready for "growing up". I first noticed it about 3 weeks ago in a couple of pictures but then it became really obvious in the photo from halloween. She looks so very serene.

The Adventurer.

Lily is a thrill seeker. She doesn't shy away from anything. I thought after the accident this summer that she was going to have a healthy respect for adventure and she did for all of about five minutes! The weather has been glorious for the past few days and it is all being caused by a hurricane that is bouncing around in the Atlantic but thankfully not offering to come anywhere close to this part of Florida. The winds have been crazy, which I love and the temperatures, much lower than normal so we spent the whole weekend outside just making the most of it.

We went to a fundraiser/clothing drive for the homeless at the riding stables yesterday and Lily wasted no time scaling this beautiful Banyan tree.

Look Mummy there are steps on this side that I could have used, who knew?


Lily is such a funny girl because she hates to wear trousers. She is such a girly girl. Even wearing shorts is a chore for her and when she does they have to be very feminine. Dresses and skirts are her trademark yet she is such a Tomboy in many ways. I'm glad she is just the way she is and I wouldn't change an ounce of her well maybe an ounce...the ounce that makes her try the things that scare the hell out of me.

A Lesson In Being Flexible.

Kind of makes your head spin doesn't it! That or you want to lose your lunch.

These are not her best poses for sure but just a couple I managed to get her to do for me but the best ones are when she doesn't realise she is doing it. Lily has always been pretty flexible and I will often find her reading a book with her foot behind her head or sleeping with her toes somehow poking up behind her ears. I stretch her now and massage her to help her keep this level of flexibility.

Both Of Them? Oh No.

When Rose started accompanying Lily to her riding lessons she was scared of the horses. Actually she was scared of anything bigger than a caterpillar but now it seems that she is starting to really love being around the horses and all the animals on the farm but the horses are her favourite. She wants to take them carrots and frequently asks me if she can ride them. If Hema hears her ask me if she can ride she just sweeps her up in her arms and plops her on the back of one of them. She has her own "homework" folder now which of course is orange and after Lily's lesson she gets to go into the office and get stickers and stamps on it if she has done a good job?! When Lily rides we walk around from stable to stable and talk to the horses and if we find one that is a little bit scared or one that puts it's ears back she tells it not to be scared and gently coaxes it for a few minutes until it comes to her. It really amuses me cos I still quiver in my shoes around them. After we have done this for a few minutes we sit down and watch Lily ride and she parrots what Hema is telling Lily which reduces Hema to fits of giggles. Having a 2 yr old yelling, "YiYi, sit up stwaight, start small ovals. Good job Yiyi" is really amusing! When she does this I take her for a walk because it distracts everyone.

Rosie took this picture of Lily riding out. She was very proud of it and the kids thought it was hysterical.


I always drive ahead and wait for them to catch up and Rosie gets to wait in the back of my car. She found a feather in Hema's garden when we went back there to visit with the zebra again. We left hastily because of a very BIG dog.



Rosie sitting on Lily's horse after the ride.

When we got back to the farm the blacksmith was there. Rosie absolutely loves to watch the horses getting new shoes and this man loves for her to watch him work. I swear she could watch this for hours. This horse was a huge stallion and he didn't even flinch.







I had no idea she had taken an actual photo!

I'm doing well on this post a day national blog post month thing! phew!

Bubblicous

Yesterday when Lily came home from school I noticed that she was a little sniffly. Nothing major but I decided whatever it was that was trying to "get her" had to chased far from her little body. I pumped her with fluids and gave her lots of vitties as we call them to boost her immune system. I decided that dinner was going to be soup and following that she was heading for a nice long bath. Lily has always loved taking a "feel good' bath so that is what she got.

And this is what I found.

Relaxing!


Total bubble Diva!


Look Mum, I've got eyebrows.


I think this is her Confucius face!


In the meantime the other one was washing the "win-nows". he he he.


This morning Lily woke up and said she felt much better but just to play it safe we are going to have a repeat performance of yesterday, today.

The Adoption Track

Our life has changed a lot in the past 6 years. We were on one track and then without warning we detoured off of that track and on to the one we were supposed to be on. It is so much nicer here, the scenery is better, the air smells sweeter and the people we surround ourselves with now are on this track too, well for the most part they are. Sometimes we still see some of the people from the old track, the ones who stayed on that course and never detoured but it is rare.

Something happens when you adopt. It is subtle at first and creeps into your life without you really being aware that it is happening but as time passes you become aware that some people "get" what you are going through and others don't. There is a prejudice towards adoption, some people still talk about it in hushed tones, similar to the way I am sure Queen Victoria probably talked about sex. If you have biological children and choose to adopt then you are considered a saint because you are saving the life of a child and if you don't have biological children and you choose to adopt then you are considered one of those poor souls who, couldn't have any of their own. Phooey to this. We all adopt for different reason. All of our reasons are personal and not really open for discussion but the general public has formed it's opinion and they know best. The adoption community "get's it" we don't have to defend ourselves when we are together. If anyone asks a question it is merely to compare adoption notes and never because they are being nosey. Our defenses never have to be up when we are together. The need to protect my children never crosses my mind because I know when I am in the company of another adoptive parent they would throw themselves in front of the bus if a question was asked just as quickly as I would for them. So you find yourself surrounded by other adoptive families. It happens, it isn't something you plan but your friends change.

Each year when Lily enters a new school year I ask her if she wants her teacher to know her story and how much of it she wants her to know. I let her guide me as I write the letter to her teacher telling her about Lily's past. I do this so that the teacher will be better equipped to handle some of the questions that may arise from some of Lily's classmates and just so she knows a little bit more about Lily and our family. This year she wanted her to know that it was OK for the kids to ask questions about why she looks different from us, she wanted her to know that we are a forever family but that she has a birth family in China. She basically told her teacher what terms and phrases were acceptable to her. I was really very proud of her. Her teachers have always been very appreciative of the extra information and as far as I know the information has been dormant.

Today as I was waiting to pick Lily up I was talking to parents that I always talk to and have done so everyday since Lily started school and one of them asked a question about Lily's adoption. I blindsided me a little as it was rather personal and I was also holding Rosie who just happens to be a human rather than an alien child even though she is adopted. I managed to fend off the question but it was all that was needed apparently to open the season for nosey questions regarding the girls start in life. The parents quipped and joked about things as if they were being cool cos they were being open about adoption and talking to a real life adopted kid and her mother. I just shook my head. Both of these parents are intelligent people and for the life of me I cannot imagine what they were thinking. I answered a few questions and then made it perfectly clear that enough was enough. I would talk with them if they had a legitimate reason for their questions but not if all they wanted to do was squirrel out as much information as possible just so that they knew it. I wondered how many other people outside the gate sit and talk about us and our family and what they tell their kids about us?

I know I cannot protect Lily and Rose forever from these type of questions and from these odd remarks but sometimes I get really tired of being a high profile family because that is not how we see ourselves. To us we are just another family, just like yours and yours. A mum and dad with a couple of kids trying to live their lives and doing what makes us happy.

We are just the average family. So we don't look like the conventional family that you learned about in school but that doesn't mean that we are not one. Adoption is quite simply just another way to build a family. The key word in that sentence is family.

I like the new track better and definitely prefer the people on it. I don't have to protect my heart when I'm around them and lets face it who really likes keeping their heart in body armour, not me and that's a fact. I think I will take out a bank loan and start a village for adoptive families, other people can come and live there too but not until there lives have been thoroughly scrutinized by the board members of the new track!

She Just Needs Accessories.

You might remember this photo from a few weeks back where Rosie was wearing swimming goggles in the car
well apparently that was just the start to a whole new phase of her accessorizing.


Now the goggles are a regular occurrence. She wears them most of the time but now they are usually up on her head.


Her other absolute favourite accessories are balloons. Oh, you didn't know balloons are accessories? Well that's cos you don't do them right!



She is truly wonderful this kid. Full of vigor and zest for life. Can't tell her anything cos she knows it all. I think she might just be my Mothers revenge! What did we do with out her. I thought Lily had life figured out but I think Rosie is one step ahead of her. Little devil she is and we wouldn't change an ounce of her.

(for the next little while the couple of you that leave comments will have to endure that nasty little word verification. I am really sorry but I have been hammered in the last 24 hours with spam and the only way to stop it is by doing this. I will take it off in a couple of weeks, I promise)

National Blog Posting Month.

Well lookie who's a day late and a dollar short on this one. I am supposed to blog every single day this month which wouldn't be a bad idea and considering it is also National Adoption Awareness Month I should have plenty to blog about. Oh how I wish I had saved all those blog posts from a couple of weeks ago until now.

As you may know I am trying to convince Rosie that it is time to give up her diapers and start wearing knickers. It really is a hard battle and one that I am not doing well with. On Sunday I showed her the drawer where I keep here diapers and showed her that it was empty and the only thing in it were her brand new, never worn, Elmo knickers. She looked at it and very wide eyed and I explained that we had no more diapers. She spun around and ran to her closet and pulled out the diapers that she wears at night. I put her in bigger diapers at night. I went on to explain they were her night-night diapers and she couldn't wear those in the day time.

She looked at me and said, "Dat's okay Mummy I wear my knick-ers and just pee-pee in dem". Cocky little devil!

Fast forward to this morning after school. I changed her diaper and reminded her that when this box of diapers is gone there WILL NOT be any more. She again just looked and me only this time she said, "if I don't have diaper I do pee-pee on da floor Mummy".

Everybody tells me that kids never go to college in diapers and to this I say...there is a first time for everything!

Halloween.

My beautiful and not scary witch.


My pretty Kitty


My trick or treaters


Lily was quite sure about what she wanted to do this year for Halloween so I followed her lead. First we went to visit some friends and then we went Trick or Treating in the neighbourhood tot he houses we know. Once we were done with this the plan was to set up a table and chairs in the driveway and give out candy to the kids that came by. Everything was going swimmingly until we set up camp outside our house with our pumpkins and flashlights etc. Some of the people that walked passed scared the pants off of them. Heck they even scared me. Why do boys have to wear such frightening attire. I understand that it's Halloween but seriously this stuff was the stuff of "R" rated horror movies. Even some of the parents were dressed in really frightening costumes and they were trying to scare the kids....asshats! We left our treats outside and took refuge in the safety of our bed!
Jacob was really mad when I told him about it...nobody messes with his girlies. One guy tried to touch both girls and was wearing the most awful costume with a mask and gloves. I am surprised either one of them slept a wink last night.

Oh well, next year we will rethink our Halloween. The girls had fun just not with the "scary man" as Rosie called him.

I Don't Want This Day To End

Those were the words Lily said to me this evening as I was putting her to bed. I on the other hand am exhausted but in many ways don't really want this day to end either because we have had so much fun.

One of my clients wanted to take the girls out on a "business" lunch. Since there was no school today and her store is in Downtown Miami I thought it would be a little more fun if we took the Metro Rail instead of driving there. Not necessarily fun for me cos I think you take your life into your own hands riding that skanky thing but I knew the girls would find it thrilling. So we left the house this morning at around 10.am armed with enough Purell to kill an army of germs and we hopped aboard the train. They were as giddy as 2 little girls can get.

Making them sit still whilst I took this photo nearly killed them.


Enjoying the view and the ride.


More of the same


Once we arrived at the Government Centre we had to find our way to the store. I have driven there countless times but I have no sense of direction and without my car's GPS system I am useless. So we walked and walked and walked for ages until I finally recognised where we were and we reached our destination. How the girls didn't have a meltdown I have no idea because it was blisteringly hot. Once we met Sandy she gave them each a Jack-O-Lantern filled and I mean filled with stuff. Not just candy but all sorts of wonderful Halloween fun and then we headed to lunch. We arrived at a very crowded Italian restaurant where a table magically became available to us. (it must be nice to have connections) The girls loved having lunch with her. Everything was done especially for them. Nothing was served in the usual portions, everything was made for them and not from the menu the whole lunch was fabulous and thankfully both girls were really well behaved using their best manners. Mummy was really proud of them.

Rosie snapped this shot.


Lily drooling into her dessert. I have to say it was heavenly.


After lunch we walked back to the store and both girls were given necklaces which I may have to pry off of them because I am sure they will never take them off willingly. They strutted about like little starlets for the rest of the day! From there we went to a wholesale bead store to buy bracelets and necklaces for Lily's teachers for the holidays. I was in heaven. I don't even remember the name of this place and I know that it isn't somewhere you just notice from the street cos we entered a building and went up some stairs and down a hallway. Lily designed her own necklaces for her teachers and they are gorgeous. She choose ribbons for some of the necklaces and they look really nice, so nice in fact I had to make one for myself.

By now it is 3ish and Rosie hasn't napped but she isn't at all bothered and is keeping up with us and not complaining but it was time for us to bid Sandy farewell so that we could head home and get ready for part 2 of the day, a birthday party. As we were leaving, Sandy's hubby told me to take the Metro Mover back to Government Centre. Say what? We don't have to walk? So we took another kind of train. Holy smoke the kids were in train heaven!

This is fun Mummy and there aren't any seats. Can we dance around these poles? Hmmm, let me think. said the mummy, pole dancing? Hell NO!



I need to add here that I really do have the most wonderful clients. When Lily first came home I decided to cut my hours back to the bare bones which meant saying good bye to many of them. At that point I had a client list that read like a who's who. I had professional athletes, actors you name it and I also had a waiting list that went on and on. When it came to crunch time I knew exactly who I was staying with and these people are still with me today. Some are business people some are retired but all of them are kind sweet and in their own way a superstar.
We arrived back at the car around 4.00pm, I think and had to be at a party by 5 so we just headed to Target and picked up what we needed. Rosie slept on the Metro Rail for a few minutes and didn't wake up when I moved her to her car seat or back into her pushchair at Target. We raced to Erics house and got there just a few fashionable minutes late! I have no idea how the kidlets managed to keep going all day but they did and they remained happy go lucky all day too. Both of them had a wonderful time at the party and Rosie had a great time with her little friend Bianca.



Getting ready to blow out the candles.




It really was a wonderful day and the girls were just great. I am sure that I will regret this tomorrow cos they went to bed so late and tomorrow is another big and busy day for them but Rosie will take a nap tomorrow and they only get to live each day once! I have more thing to say....G'night!

Oh and this new larger print size...I am tired of having to wear glasses to read my own blog.

Halloween FCC Gatecrashing Fun.

Today was the day for us to gatecrash our annual FCC Halloween bash again. Notice how brazen I've become I actually call it "our" Halloween Bash. Lori actually handed hubby a business card with all the FCC details on it and made some quip about us joining. Ha ha ha, she knows us better than that. Once we move closer to their 'headquarters" it will be a given but the 50 minute drive just ain't happening for this family of slackers.

Lily decided she wanted to dress as a witch this year which is such a complete change from all of her other very sweet little girl costumes of years past. Sigh, she really is getting big. Until now things like witches scared the pants off of her. Rosie who doesn't have a clue what this day is all about was dressed as a cat and loved it. I painted both of their faces but Rosie wasn't looking so hot by the time we got there as she napped in the car for 10 minutes and sucked her thumb so her little face was rearranged to say the very least. You would have thought I would have taken photos before we left but noooo, of course not. We were so impressed that we were actually ready to leave the house on time that it slipped my mind but have no fear we have at least 5 more Halloween parties to attend so we have plenty of time!

Lily the witch



My little cat face. If you are wondering why this photo is far superior to all the others it's because it was taken by Grace who takes the most amazing photos, and she emailed it to me.



Sort of a group shot.


The DD and Lily. Rosie was meant to be i here to but somehow all I got was her arm...great mother I am. LOL
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A great time was had by all. The kidlets consumes massive amounts of candy. I don't think Rosie has ever had quite so much and she literally chattered non stop the whole way home and then continued and also skipped and jumped and bounced around for hours until at 7pm she crashed like a lead balloon.

All candy has been hidden and will be rationed, very very strictly cos I never want to see Rosie quite this batty ever again. I let the girls eat sweets but apparently not he kind or the amount they consumed today. They made me look calm and that is quite a feat.

I just have to add how wonderful it was to see Marc and Lori back on the social circuit just days after Marc's heart surgery. She looks very relieved and he looks wonderful. Amazing, just amazing.

They've Gotta A Feelin'.

Lily loves this song, so do I for that matter but she really LURVES it. She is always asking me to put it on You T*be. After dinner tonight I obliged her so that she and Rosie could sing and dance their little hearts out whilst I cleaned up the kitchen but what she didn't know was that I was videotaping her and not actually cleaning up the dishes at all. She is trying to get all the moves down pat of the mob flash dance.

After she saw it she said, "you're not going to put that on the blog are you, it's embarrassing".
Uh, no Schnoog of course I am not, well maybe but don't be embarrassed because only a few people read this thing nowadays and I promise I won't FaceBo0k it.

Have fun watching them, I did.



Little Rosie looks a bit like a lizard having a seizure when she dances, bless her! Like father like daughter. (snort)

I have decided to grow out Rosie's fringe and so now every day I have to find a way to keep it out of her eyes. I remember this battle with Lily and it isn't much fun. Since the girls have such silky smooth hair hairclips just slip onto the floor in record time.

I think she looks so sweet with out her fringe.


When we first bought her home we used to call her the big giant head cos she had such an enormous noggin and this photo just made me laugh cos she bounced forward just as I took it and she looks like an enormous head and nothing else.


After all that bragging yesterday about her finally wearing clothes that are 24 months this outfit nearly fits her now. My sister sent it to her for her 2nd birthday, last February, it is 12-18 months and the trousers are still way to big. English children must be gargantuan. LOL

Milestones....and mumblings. (amended)

I completely forgot to mention the milestone! As of 2 days ago when the weather turned chilly ( it has since returned to it's usual yucky hotness ) Rosie wore her first piece of clothing that has the numbers 24 printed on the tag! Yes that is correct, our little girl who turns 3 in 3 months time is finally wearing 24 month clothing just so long as it is 18-24 months and not plain old 24 months or heaven forbid 2t! I pulled a pair of her jeans out for her to wear on Sunday and they were capri's on her, they fit perfectly at her waist but were way to short in the leg so I paraded her around the house for her whole family to see before dragging her back to her room to find something bigger.

This is one of those posts. One of those that hops about a bit. You may need sea sickness tablets.

Rosie is growing up WAY. TO. FAST. When Lily was little I suppose part of me knew that she was going to have a little sister, that I was going to have another baby girl but this time around, THIS. IS. IT. The crib is gone, the tiny baby clothes are all gone, some of her little baby toys are gone. What's going on? This is bothering me alot. It is just a little bit too final. I keep thinking perhaps one more? My new found friend Grace has the most gorgeous little man called Liam. I can barely look at him in fear of drooling on his head! I often wonder if we should have a boy as well, just one more. Then reality sinks in...WE ARE DONE, NO MORE! But what if I log in to WACAP's waitng child list and I see a little boy? Would it be really terrible? Yes, yes it would cos we are done!

Rosie is now becoming very independent however she refuses any and all attempts on our behalf to get her to give up her diapers! I bought her some Elmo knickers at the shop the other day cos the loved them. I told her she should wear them but mustn't pee in them cos she would be peeing on Elmo's head. She loved the idea of Elmo knickers and said she would never pee on his head. Of course she won't pee on his head because that would entail actually having them on! She is quite capable of using the loo. In fact she hasn't pooped in a diaper in 7 months and frequently tells me she has to pee but she is lazy, really flipping lazy...little devil!

Her vocabulary is outstanding. She strings full sentences together like nobodies business. Of course with that wonderful use of words comes many embarrassing moments for me. We were in the store the other day and an elderly lady in front of us was really slow at unloading her groceries and to my horror Rosie yelled, "come on old lady move it". I was speechless. Mortified, Red Faced. I didn't handle the situation well at all. Thankfully the lady was Hispanic and spoke no English so I was saved. I think Rosie got that frightful expression from me when I am driving. I am not a patient person behind the wheel. I think it could have been worse but at the time I wasn't so sure. Jacob gave me the stink eye for ages for that one! Oopsie, live and learn I say. There are still words she cannot say, washcloths are still, loff joff's but she has mastered most words. Things like garbage are garby but she doesn't really have to many Rosie-isms. Like I may have mentioned she is growing up way to fast.

I miss my folks. I came over to this country for a year, in 1983. We would like to move back, if only it were that easy. We just found out that the UK may not recognise our adoptions...oh well thank you very freaking much. We are looking into it. My green card expires again in a couple of months so I have to renew it or go for citizenship. I hate tests but for the sake of the girls and my own sanity, immigration officers are really nasty and very mean I need to do the citizen thing.

Lily gets sillier by the day. She is really into origami and yesterday made her and Rosie some paper shoes. They were so funny. I failed to get photos of them. They poked about the house in them for ages.

Miss Lil loves school again this year. Really loves it. She is doing really well again too and her reading age is off the charts. She loves to read and write silly stories however she doesn't like to actually write, if that makes sense. She always gets told her writing isn't neat enough. In the last couple of weeks she has worked very hard on it and when I asked her about it she said, "I got fed up with people telling me to re do it so now I just do it neat the first time:. Well duh sparky!

She is very protective of Rosie. She knows what Rosie likes and what gets her upset and when we are out she goes to great lengths to make sure she is protected. She is a very kind child, always has been. I don't think she will ever do well up against mean kids. Jakey will have to toughen her up a bit. One of her cousins was a bit mean one day and she ended up in tears, she just couldn't get her head around it. I really hope she stays this way but who knows.

I asked Lily to start a Christmas list and she handed me a list of things for Rosie. I told her that was nice but I needed one for her. SHe said she didn't need anything but Rosie would like this stuff. She then said did she have to have anything? What am I supposed to say to that? I suggested she think of something otherwise she might feel a little bit sad on Christmas morning but she insists she has everything she wants.

Oh here is another wonderful line from Rosie to end this post with. We were driving home on Sunday evening and we were just saying silly words. Usually at this particular spot I read the street names cos they are all birds. But it was too dark and I couldn't see them so instead I said silly things, ie. squiggle swaggle, and the girls would say it, then Lily would say something silly and we would say it and then it was Rosies turn, etc etc repeat repeat. It was Rosie turn and she belts out........ANUS! Lovely huh? Do I need to tell you how hard we all laughed. As for where she got this awful word, well it's along story but it was in fact from Lily's Spanish homework. The word was anos meaning year but if you don't have the little accent on the N you have anus when you translate it and we don't have the accent on out computer so Lily had to ask me what anus meant cos that is what it translated to and all of a sudden I was laughing hysterically and I had to explain and Rosie heard and she NEVER forgot the word! SIGH.

Adios, mi amigos. hasta ya pasta.