Happy Easter My Blog-Reading.........

......."PEEPS"!!!

57 + 12 = Grammy's Age..........

.........that's right people, Grammy is 69 today!  .......don't tell her I told you, okay?

.........this year Grammy's birthday is so close to Easter, we were able to get an Easter Egg Cake for her birthday cake.........pretty, no?  and sooooo Y-U-M-M-O!

..........Paige especially loved the orange sugar flower......and I am sure her dentist will love her if she gets a cavity ;)

Happy 69th Birthday Grammy.........We Love You VERY, VERY much!

Butter.........

......this is what I found on my dining room table earlier this week:

1.  baby doll with "bare bottom"

2. pretend stick of butter placed on "bare bottom"

When I asked Paige what was the story with the bare bottomed, butter-wearing baby doll on my dining room table, she said, "Oh, Mama, her "tush" hurts and her doctor said to put a stick of butter on it for 6 weeks and it will be fine......."

Life is so not boring in my house......:)

A Blast From My Past.........

........So, Grammy & Pop Pop came over for a visit today, and Pop was carrying a Target bag, and in it was Smurfette's Mushroom House For......ME!

I loved Smurfs when I was little and haven't really given them much thought in recent years until today, and you know what people?  I L-O-V-E them!.............

.......Well, Grammy asked Pop Pop to take her back to Target where she bought me the COMPLETE Smurf Village........and you know what?!

My kiddo loves them as much as I do!  Long live Smurfs :)

Three Years Ago Today........

.......not only was our paperwork "officially" logged-in in China for Lily's adoption.......but this little "wonder" met her "forever family" (a.k.a. my sister's family) on the other side of the world........

......it's funny how waiting THREE long years for our adoption feels like FOREVER, but having my niece as part of our family, it just doesn't seem long enough........I can't remember our family without her!

this video was taken during her last visit to Orlando when she fell in love with Paige's "jewels" and Cheetah Girls guitar........the kid's got talent, no?

Happy April FOOL'S Day!

Jack is off today, which is usually a good thing. I like having Jack around me, he is funny...........


But.......


.........Today is April Fool's Day and Jack is good at getting me! I trust him too much......and he uses that against me on day's like today!


........it's 6:47am, I guess I could go running into the bedroom and start hooting & hollering, the CCAA referred our LID date!!!!!!!!!!! --wonder if that would get me the same reaction when I told him I was pregnant with Paige - "YOU'RE PREGNANT!?!?" oh that was good, I'll never forget the look on his face that day.......


I think I will lay low today with Lola, she has the right idea.......








..........and Paige has learned the art of snoozing from Lola & Mama!


Happy April Fool's Day my friends, and don't let yourself get fooled!

Happy Birthday Papa George!

Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday Papa George!  We love you & hope all your birthday wishes come true!

Miss Paige had a sleepover at Grandma Carole's & Papa George's house, she and Grandma Carole were busy baking a birthday cookie for a special surprise for Papa George.

Paige told Grandma Carole, that her new name was, "Chef The Great".......oh my little girl has such an imagination!

..........here is the finished product....YUMMO!

.......almost done, but Paige was conducting a "poison test" here......

.........oh, and here too!  Chef The Great is all about quality control..........amazing there was enough frosting to actually decorate the cookie, no?

.......here she is in action:  Chef The Great!

oh my kiddo, Mommy agrees, you are great!  love you oodles......

A Video Recap Of Paige's Tampa Vacation.....

I think this video really sums up Paige's Tampa Vacation.........

........Thanks again Aunt Thel, Mel, & Lee for giving Paige such memorable four days in her little life of four years!  

.......and for Mommy & Daddy's little "vaca" at home......we love you guys!

A Recap Of Paige's Tampa Vacation In Pictures.....part 3

(oops!  I uploaded these pictures backwards, sorry!)

Paige enjoyed her 2nd dessert of the night with a free mint chocolate chip Rita's Ice!  YUMMO!  Every year Rita's gives free ices on the 1st day of Spring........our family DOES NOT miss this delicious fun!

Paige's 1st dessert of the night was Elephant Ears at the Elephant Bar Restaurant......interesting that that was the restaurant they chose after seeing elephant's a the zoo earlier in the day........

Do you think my family thought to themselves while looking at the elephants, 

"Selves, those elephants ears sure do look tasty!  Let's have them for dessert tonight!"

 

.....back at the zoo earlier that day.......Cousin Lee helped Paige feed a giraffe!

Feeding the giraffe is mommy's 2nd favorite thing at the Lowry Zoo, and cousin Melissa finally got the picture Mommy has been trying to take forever!  Paige feeding the giraffe!

I think I get so excited and caught up in the moment, I physically can't take a picture!

In case you are wondering: my FAVORITE thing at the Lowry Zoo is the orangutans, I could sit there for hours watching them :)

.......and my sweet Paige visited her penquins, you think she likes them?

A Recap Of Paige's Tampa Vacation In Pictures.....part 2

Aunt Thel, Cousin Melissa & Cousin Lee took Paige to the Lowry Zoo during her "Tampa Getaway"........

..........she rode a pony!

.........she rode a tiger rollercoaster with Cousin Lee.....(thanks from mom for keeping her INSIDE the tiger during the ride :) )

...........she rode on a camel with some random little boy.........

..........and she rode on the dolphin on the carousel, (once again, thank you Cousin Lee for keeping ON the dolphin from Mom)

Can you tell Paige has a little crush on Cousin Melissa's boyfriend?  :)

A Recap Of Paige's Tampa Vacation In Pictures.....

........Paige enjoyed dinner "poolside", her choice for dinner:  bacon & applesauce!  (hey, she's on vacation - the sky's the limit, right?)

Enjoyed a game of "kitchen soccer" with Cousin Lee..........

..........Paige relaxed in her lavish accomodations a.k.a. Aunt Thel's bed......she also "needed" to borrow Aunt Thel's stuffed hippo and 3 bears, she said the Thelma Bear that is laying on top of her CAN sleep on top of her because she is so pretty......it's amazing their was room for Aunt Thel after Paige and her "posse" got cozy!

........Paige took advantage of the "free" cooking lessons available at  her "hotel".......

.......she also took an artclass or two - this class is called: Painting the Sidewalk with Water & Chalk!

Something I Found On One Of My China Adoption Message Boards That Made Me Smile...

You Might Be Adopting From China If....

* you know that I-600, I-171, & I-800 aren't highways

* you've been expecting a baby for over 3 years

* you understand that it's 2006 in some parts of the world

* you've "paid for" 3 citizenships, but never brought anyone into the U.S.A.

* you know that waiting for "China" has nothing to do with Tiffany & Co., patterns, or dishes

* your homestudy report is followed by a number (i.e. #3)

* you never know how many days "next month" will have

* you know that babies come in batches

* you've been fingerprinted three times, but never committed a crime

* you look twice when you see a ladybug

* you are more interested in what will happen in March 2006 than in March 2009

* you have friends & family who understand when you talk about 2 day months & 5 day months

* your "due date" hasn't changed by just days, but also years

* you know who Rumor Queen is...AND...understand you don't know who she is

* when you speak of "that time of the month" you're talking about the CCAA (The Chinese Center Of Adoptions Affairs) sending new referrals to waiting families around the globe

* you love someone you've never met with all your heart & soul  :)

love you my sweet Lily wherever you are........

Birthday Booty For Mama........

.........flowers from Aunt Thel & Melissa - (note the orange, my fav color, gerber daisy, my fav flower)  and balloons too!

......a custom made backpack purse from etsy.com, made especially with my choice of fabrics from Grandma Carole & Papa George.......

.........the Mickey Mouse House playset, I always look at whenever we are in Disney, from my parents.....yes folks, 37, and still getting toys.....but Paige sure does appreciate it!  good thing I share toys, not food (like Joey from Friends) :)

 

.......AND fresh, salty Disney World popcorn made this morning at the Magic Kingdom from my parents......they literally went this morning to get it for me.....how cool is that?

......if only computers were scratch and sniff.......:)

.........and from my dear husband Jack, a McDonald's fountain coke with no ice and he is hooking up my new "inherited" computer armoire for my "office" in our laundry room today.......thanks babe!

and one last thank you to Aunt Thel, Melissa, and Lee for giving Paige a "vacation" full of memories and Jack and I a little bit of quiet........there will be a vacation post coming soon with Paige's favorite vacation memories.........

Mama' Birthday.......

........Yes, my friends, I know I don't look a day over 21, but I turned 37 today...(Paige is holding up 3 fingers in this picture)

And it was a good, relaxing birthday........

........There was red velvet cake & a very "special" wish....anyone know what that wish could be??!!  :)  .....how brave am I to post this not so flattering picture of myself?

.......there was just plain old simple happiness.......

......and there was family.......(starting at bottom left, Grammy, Paige, Aunt Thel, Jack, Pop Pop, & Cousin Melissa.......

........oooooo!  & presents too!  to be continued see next post.......

While Paige Is On Vaca In Tampa.......

..........I am having some quality time with our pets, the 1st babies of our family :)

.....Paige is having a complete BLAST and told Aunt Thel & Melissa that she will come home tomorrow to give me my birthday present, but will go BACK to Tampa right after for a lot more nights!  (Thank You again Aunt Thel, Cousin Melissa & "Silly" Cousin Lee!)

When Aunt Thel asked her if she wanted to call her Mama, Paige simply said, "No....."

I know my little kiddo, and she thinks if she talks to me, I will tell her it's time to come home!  She is my smart cookie!

And I am thrilled that she is living large away from Jack & I.....I am so proud of her for being brave & enjoying a new experience.  

This reassures me she will be a-okay while Jack & I leave her at home with our parents while we are in China bringing home Lily........

It's nice to have a little quiet time at home while Paige is on "vaca"  but it's just not the same without her.......

I think Dottie (our cat), Emmaline (our yorkshire terrier), and Lola (our chihuahua) are starting to go through separation anxiety.......they seem depressed today......or maybe enjoying a few days without a 4 year old giving them hugs ALL DAY LONG!

Paige is on Vacation.......

So Paige is enjoying a little "vaca" with Aunt Thel, cousin Melissa, & silly Lee (Melissa's boyfriend) in Tampa!

Melissa works with special needs children and her "office" is a dreamland for Paige...here is a video of my kiddo living large........

.......miss you my Paige, but can't believe how "quiet" the house is......was it this quiet before you came into our lives?

Have fun my cutie pie!

Paige's New Cuddle Baby Has Arrived from Canada!

As most of you know I am obsessed with etsy.com. This website sells everything from hairbows, clothes & purses, to dolls, paintings & more by very talented people.  

Not only are the products unique and awesome, but they are handmade by actual people and not by a machine in some factory....I like that!

So one thing that Mommy loves, and now Paige too are Waldorf Dolls......I picked out one for me (yes, I am about to be 37) and my mom bought her for me for my birthday.....I've had my doll a couple of weeks, and Paige just fell in love with her.....and would "borrow" her some nights when she thought there were monsters in her room and poof!  she would be asleep in minutes after cuddling Mommy's "cuddle baby" who Paige named Rosie.

Paige & I decided to count up her piggy bank money to see if she had enough $$$ to buy her very own cuddle baby......Jack donated a bunch of spare and took her to Publix to "coinstar" her change into dollars...she thought this was cool......

She had enough $$$, so onto etsy.com, to order her own cuddle baby made especially for Paige, by a wonderful person named Chris who lives in Canada.

It was a good lesson in patience for Paige, because she had to wait for the doll to be made by Chris, then for the mail man to deliver Baby Lilac (that's what Paige named her) from Toronto to Orlando.........

Here's the video of her opening Lilac........my dad had picked up our mail, when he got back to the house, Paige was in the bathroom, so we just put the package on the floor for Blogging Mommy to get the "video play by play".......

I think we have a tiny glimpse of how excited Paige will be once Lily comes home here!

PS:  if anyone would like to order a cuddle baby like Lilac here is the link to Chris' Etsy store

www.etsy.com/shop.php.?user_id=5955705

Don't Mess With Paige........

......or you could look like this........

What a shiner, my kiddo!  We just got back from the Pediatric After Hours Clinic and Paige is going to be just fine!

Something I Never Thought To Teach Paige.........

so Paige used the bathroom this morning and comes into the living room and says:

"Mama, I don't have to wash my hands, because I didn't put my hands in the water in the toilet this time......"

WHAT?!?!?!? How on earth did she think this was ok to do??!!

.....my adventures with Paige continue on! :)

Two Firsts In Our House Today........

The 1st "first": a child of mine and Jack's fell asleep WHILE eating!

Judging by the "chubbiness" of Jack & I we clearly take our eating seriously.....so one would think our child would follow suit, no?

Paige was having some fruit loops in the living room and I was watching my new Girls Next Door dvd (I am a reality tv junkie!), I got up after a few minutes to check on her and called out to her while walking into the living room......no answer.......

I get to the living room (not a far walk.....we don't live in the Playboy Mansion) and I find this:

........her hand was grasping a fruit loop and she was ASLEEP!!!!!

.......and yes for a moment, I panicked and thought she choked and died.....

....when I woke her up, AFTER taking my pictures, she confessed to me that when Grammy put her down for a nap this afternoon that she didn't really sleep, "I played in my bed, Mama"......

the 2nd "first"........was this:

........a squirrel acting like Spiderman on our patio screen!  

......Have you ever seen such a thing......Paige and I walked out said hi to him, we both got our cameras, took pictures, the dogs barked, and the squirrel didn't flinch!

......and yes, I panicked thinking his fingernails were trapped in our screen & I would have to call animal control or our vet to rescue him........

Oh yeah, and one more "first" now that I think of it, Paige pretended she was a baby doctor this afternoon and "cut out" a baby from my stomach......she used her Captain Hook's hook from the pirate ride at the Magic Kingdom to pretend cut me.......this kid's got some imagination.......

.........and no, I do not have pictures of that.........

I am making a note in my calendar of the date, who knows maybe God whispered to her that her sister, Lily, is being born on the other side of the world in China today......March 10th......only time will tell!