SICK ---AGAIN?

Lil' Miss Sassy just can't seem to get well.  Last day of antibiotics and now she has a tummy virus.  We clearly are sharing it.  I am traveling and have been quite ill all day.  Thankfully the day was spent in airports and flying.  EVEN MORE thankful for first class upgrades. How unfortunate that I drank not One GLASS OF VINO on the flights today.  Better save it for another day.  Praying that my little girl gets rid of the 'blahs' soon and that Luke doesn't get it.  (He has NEVER yaked before and he will be 5 in October)... LORD please don't let those words put a curse on my Snickerdoodle.

Day 99 with our Maran!

Maran is not the same child that we got 99 Days AGO!  It is incredible how smart and brilliant someone so young can be.  She continues to amaze us and make us smile each day although I will admit each day does bring its own challenges.  I often think of the day that our "GUIDE" in China left us and I was so teary eyed.  I will never forget the feeling of  "OH MY.. we are alone with this poor helpless little girl who is so broken hearted and tender and has no clue of what is going on".   Her disposition is a million times different.  Although her frolicy self  snuck out at times in China we didn't know then what a resilient, motivated and spirited child we had.  She is such a bundle of many things all wrapped into one little beautiful porcelain doll. 

Her hair has grown so much and is so pretty.  It is incredible the color difference in her hair from when we got her to now.  The brown hues are coming out due to the different nutrition she has been given here.  Thankfully our pediatrician told us to look for this and it was so neat when we could tell.  It was almost like she had gone to the salon to get her highlights done.  He skin is so soft and has a nice color to it and her smile is not pasted as it possibly was at times when we first got her.  She can grow fingernails like crazy and still would rather die of thirst before she would take a sip of milk.  (Now that's a girl after my own heart.... MILK is not something I care for but I could eat ice cream like crazy... go figure).  You can hold a conversation with her and it is like she has been speaking English her entire life.  Forget the "IT WILL TAKE SIX MONTHS FOR HER TO LEARN ENGLISH".... the child is rolling all over it!

She adores Daddy more than the world and that will never change and thankfully so.  Add Luke to the adoration and Daddy has not a moments peace once he gets home from work.  I remember when I thought Maran would never call me Mama or Mommy as she would only call me YaYa (which is Auntie or caretaker in Chinese).  Those days are long gone. 

I love how children are so smart and not afraid to discover.  Maran's discovery has been so different than that of Luke's.  Since we got Luke when he was 10 months old it was like he was "ALWAYS ours".  He was so small when we got him it was like he was just out of the womb. 

Luke is adjusting better but quite honestly would probably still like it better if his "sister in China" was still that.... "IN CHINA".  Thankfully she is not still there and is with us.  While we have grown immensely during this process each as individuals it is wonderful how we have grown as a family.  What used to matter to us no longer does and our goals and ambitions seem far different.  We went from daily figuring out what restaurant we were going to eat at that night (BEFORE KIDS) to now thinking about college tuition and many other things.  From the offset our goals have been the following.  We want to 

• Raise a child who is responsible. 
• Raise a child who is Respectful.
• Raise a child who gives back.
• Raise a child who knows and feels love and safety not only by us but with our extended family and friends. 

A few other things added to the above and that is our first and foremost package.

There is NO DOUBT in my mind that Maran does not feel loved.  She is so loving and shares love with many.  She, like Luke, is a very caring child and one who is constantly labeled as a good friend.  Tender hearted at times yet silly and adorable.  She can laugh at herself and it is so funny.  The best package one could ask for.  She and Luke together are great (AT TIMES) but I know the future will hold two siblings who will hopefully have a bond that is unbreakable as the type bond is that David and I both have with our siblings.  To us, that bond is priceless and means more to us each day as we grow older.  

So on this 99th day of FROM CHINA TO CAROLINA it is with happiness, love and full hearts that we are appreciative of what the good Lord has let us have. Our family means more to us than anything.  It comes with its ups and downs and raising two toddlers 9 months apart has been something else. We wish for many more special 99 day anniversary marks and know that the love and memories will be overflowing. 

Our hearts are light and our worries are almost non-existent especially when we look at our children's faces. 

May you receive the love and joy we have.................................

 

 

 

Bronchitis Sets In

To add to the guilt of thinking about the taste of the wine in Italy that I had fantasized about and the fact that I was actually glad to be getting to go there for a FEW DAYS Maran developed bronchitis while I was gone.  So Nammy and Pop Pop got to take her to the Dr.  I feel like even worse of a mom now.  Poor David had to call his parents to get them to come and care for Maran as she couldn't go to school with a fever.  (So cognisant of others he is...not sure I would have been that good).  One LARGE bottle of Pink pepto looking antibiotics has to be given to her.  Who knows how many days this will take as the bottle is LARGE and the dosage small.  Getting that stuff down the hatch I fear is NOT going to be easy.  GUILT GUILT GUILT... I wasn't even here for the craziness and her coughing attacks when they were so bad.  But I have to say that the wine was good.  See... so bad!!

I get paid back for getting a BREAK

So I go on a business trip to Italy. Sounds great right? Well it should but I truly got what I guess I deserved because I was more than ready to get the heck outta dodge. In fact I probably would have walked to the airport if I had to. Guess it comes down to this.....I am NOT the mommy I thought I would be. Not sure if it is good or bad. Ask Maran. Her typical reply to all is "no". So my visions of a June Clever home have all but vanished and Roseanne is the only thing that pops through my pea brained head. My children are gorgeous. They don't look like me or their daddy at all for that matter. At times they just don't want to get along with David and I. When they want they can be quite a team of 'ganging up on ma and pa'.  However, when it comes time to acting nice at Bruegger's it is such a far fetched idea that you would think that two kids never once behaved before in their life.  At times I think they would like it better if we were gone. Quite honestly we have thought about running but where would we go? I never knew kids could fight over a cheerio that had fallen to the floor and was covered with 2 inches of dog fur. Had my mother ever told me that I would have known that she was certifiable crazy. Is it that big of a deal that a sippy cup falls and is picked up and RETURNED by the other sibling? On Folger Drive it is. OK so why am I getting paid back? Because as visions of sugarplums danced through my head last month visions of VINO danced through mine this month. There is no better place than Italy for wine. Sorry California but the truth may indeed stink. First and foremost I  am in Italy on business. I love that most of my business is done around a glass of vino. In fact wine is cheaper than water in Italy. This day and time we are to be cautious which means that I  drink the wine and save money. After all the euro is still kicking the dollars you know what. 

Departure from Charlotte....OK.  Departure from Chicago -- NOT OK.  Just a little late. 

Arrive in Italy... OK

Rental Car counter....OK

Getting onto the A4...OK

Getting pulled by the Italian police... NOT OK.  So they come up beside us and tell us to get over so we do... we were going about 110 MPH on the A4 as there is no speed limit (at least in the area we were).  They are holding a red stick out the car window that looks like an oversized lollipop that says on it "STOP".  So we get pulled over... I get out to try to circumvent what may be about to happen which I had no clue of what it was but after no sleep I knew I would handle this better than my boss.  Turns out the hood of the car was open and so we were pulled.  I appreciate that since going SO FAST and having the hood fly open would have NOT been a pretty sight. 

Business in Italy is handled fine. 

Dinners in Italy... as good as always.  Calories here are like CHRISTMAS CALORIES...they don't count.

Return flight.... what should have taken 9 hours took over 29.  DE-JA-VOUS?? CHINA TRAVEL ANYONE?  Therefore I am paid back for actually wanting to leave and get a small break.  I deserve it.  It was nasty of me to want to get away... after all who flies to Italy on a Thursday... lands on a Friday.... does their business on a Saturday and Sunday and leaves on Monday?  That is like a long weekend in Hawaii from the East Coast... REALLY?  Well, that is how I do business. I go there, get it done and come back.  Before the thought of  she 'lives the life of luxury and gets to go so many places' please know that I have been to ITALY 19 times and NEVER ONCE have I been to Florence or Rome.  Sound like a complaint?  Well it kind of is but I can tell you all about the worlds best place (that I have been to thus far) and it is VERONA, ITALY.  If I never get to Florence or Rome it is fine as I can not imagine that any place could ever top the quaint and quite lovely Verona. 

I am now going to watch HOARDERS so that I can feel better about myself and possibly a Roseanne Re-run so that I can  feel better about my parenting skills or better yet lack thereof.  

Not all days are lollipops and swingsets.  Now off to do laundry.. HOARDERS is not on.  Shucks......

Home from Mickey Land

We came back from Disney a day early since the weather here was not so great and the weather in Orlando was becoming quite stormy.  We thoroughly enjoyed our vacation but are exhausted.  Mommy and Daddy's bodies don't react the same at the amusement parks like they did 20 years ago.  What a blast we had.  We still have that 'amusement park feeling'.  You know when you feel kind of icky but not totally.  You feel like you have been eating junk food for days on end with no real nutritional value being put into your body and you can't truly recall the last time you had a glass of water type feeling?  Well we felt like that every day and still do.  Believe me we went through some Tylenol. 

It is nice to be home and in our own bed.  We didn't have a bit of trouble getting home due to the weather.  We saw our first sign of snow in South Carolina and really saw it when we were approaching Columbia.  There was MINIMAL snow on the streets.  Once in the city we had no problems either except our driveway is a complete sheet of ice.  Back roads here are still ify at best and will freeze over tonight.  NO SCHOOL TOMORROW so we get to have fun! 

Will post MICKEY pictures and HARRY POTTER pictures later.  The car is still not unpacked.  Who wants to unload on a sheet of ice?  NOT US!  Sweet dreams from our Winter Wonderland!

Hello from SUNSHINE FLORIDA

To all of our WINTER WONDERLAND friends in North Carolina and all around we will enjoy the sun for you today here in Florida.  Gotta go... sunscreen must be applied and Harry Potter at Universal is awaiting one Lil' Miss Sassafras and a Snickerdoodle Luke.

Stay Warm..... oh and in case you think we are rubbing it in we are not.  It is quite windy here and if you are not in the sun you are truly chilled.  We have worn three layers each day.  Therefore, don't be mad at us as we are not in our swim suits by any means! 

Love and Hugs from UNIVERSAL and DISNEY.... this is the happiest place on earth!!!

ON VACATION WITH MICKEY MOUSE!!!

Maran's First Day of Play School!

I was so nervous about this morning and how Maran would take to going to Play School (Mother's Morning Out).  She is so used to so much activity from her orphanage days and I think she was bored out of her mind for the past few weeks.  The plan was to drop Luke off in carpool line and then park the car and walk Lil' Miss Sassafras in.  Once we pulled up to car pool lane Maran decided she was going with Luke and she was out of the car like a bolt of lightening.  She never looked back and I don't think I could have hit the gas pedal any harder (slightly joking here but maybe  not by much).  It's time for Maran to have some 'away from mommy time'.  She ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT.  She did her first art project and made many new friends.  She got teary eyed once.  She found Luke on the playground and she was in heaven.  I called once and e-mailed once only to find out that she could have cared less about being away from me. 

The Christmas Holiday was nice but long.  With both Luke and Maran at home full time it had many challenging moments.  While we were busy with many holiday parties, family gatherings and all it seemed like they bickered more.  Of course they did... they were together longer!  That said today was probably one of the best days so far and believe me it is WELCOME. They played perfectly this afternoon.  I was trying drastically to recall what I put in their lunches so that I can do a repeat of that one really soon!

Maran is talking like crazy.  You actually can have a small conversation with her.  She asks you where you are going what you are doing, why and so on.  She tells you what she needs and she is SUCH A HUGE HELP.  You can ask her to get things and she understands and she will even take things to certain rooms of the house.  Such progress for such a SMART young lady.  This child will help you tidy up like nobody else has ever helped. (What a relief).  The fact that she is an organizer has made me step up a little.  Pretty soon my child will be organizing my office which is maybe not such a bad thing. 

Here's to hoping that Play School continues to be fun for her.  She was ALL SMILES when I picked her up.  Many of the days have been long but overall the 9 weeks we have been home have gone by fast. 

Hope today brings a smile to your face and a giggle in your voice.

It was actually quite cold but she continuously sheds her coat.  Showing off her backpack here. (Note hairbow already missing in action)

There is a better picure than this but David uploaded the wrong one and I am too tired and confused to figure out how to get the right one here... so for your viewing pleasure you get the picture that is not so good.  Luke enjoyed playing big brother today and did a great job.

She certainly gets her nickname as Lil' Miss Sassy honestly......