Aunty Moses

Aunty found out this morning that when you yell "potty training!" while making a beeline to the doors in a crowded grocery store, people part out of your way as if Moses himself were parting the Red Sea... 

I Had a Dream

Yes, I had a dream. it was not as poignant and moving as Dr. Martin Luther King. Nor did this dream carry with it the passion and tenor Martin Luther imbued into his being as he spoke that famous speech. But, it was just as awe inspiring.

This morning, just before I woke up, I dreamt I woke up. It was quiet. I could hear my husbands deep breathing as he continued his slumber. Light was streaming into the windows, the white noise of the fan we always turn on before bed hummed comfortingly. It was quiet. 

I was refreshed. I stopped and listened very hard…nothing. The girls were still asleep. I looked over to my left at my clock…it read…10:00AM!

I balked…could  it be? Did I actually get to sleep until 10 am in the morning? No little girls screaming for attention? Had we just passed a momentous milestone and I didn't even know it until now? 10 AM! It was QUIET!

Alas, it was just a dream…"baba……Baba…..BABA!" I woke up. I blearily glance over to my left at my clock….it was 6:30am. Sigh…crap.

SPAM Begone

So we're getting Spammed again by less than reputable persons. To our regular readers, we have turned on comment moderation. You can leave a comment, you just won't get the instant gratification of seeing your words/name up in cyber lights right away...sorry if it's a buzz-kill.

On the flip side, I'm now letting anyone comment as I can control the nasties and hit delete with unfettered glee! Ooooohhhh...my finger is just a tingle! My attitude is simple when it comes to comments, hateful...DELETE...Spam...DELETE...difference of opinion...PUBLISH. You may or may not agree with some of the posts and opinions we have, that's cool. A robust dialog, even perhaps tense or adversarial, is part of life. We do not, however, tolerate spam or just downright spiteful, hateful, or mean-spirited comments. In my experience, the people that leave these types of comments are in need of therapy...and I'm not a therapist.

I don't expect everyone to hold hands, grow their armpit hair long, build a bonfire, don a guitar and sing cumbaya...I do expect respect. Simple.

AAAAAAAAARRRRRSE?

When you are grossly overweight, that's your business. 

When you are grossly overweight, chasing your 1 year old up the large wooden pirate ship at the indoor playground...hey, at least you're moving. 

When you are grossly overweight, and then slide down after your 1 year-old little boy on the plastic slide sticking out of the large wooden pirate ship…you're really pushing the weight limit of that slide as it's not meant for 300+ lbs adults. 

Now…when you are grossly overweight, slide down the slide, then stop, lean forward to pick up your one-year-old and don't notice my pint sized 2-3/4 year old little girl sliding down after you only to be smacked in the face by your extremely large derriere that seemed to double up as a large car airbag…GET OFF THE FUCKING SLIDE!

Thankfully, no harm was done and Rose was no worse for the wear. It seems that much fat is soft and bouncy. Rose looked a little dazed, but once she recovered, and the very large woman finally moved (she barely registered that Rose even smacked into her!), she hopped off the slide and zoomed around to the ramp up the pirate ship to have another go.

I have become very good at dodging zooming children in these venues, running, crawling, riding little cars, etc. I have also become good at rescuing little kids, mine, and others from spills, trips, conflicts, etc. Too many times in these venues you get parents who either just zone out and let their kids run wild many times to the determent of others, or those parents who hover over their child with blinders on. While I may not always be successful, I do try to balance my hovering and my zoning (zoning usually comes in the form of checking work e-mails on my phone because I have a type A personality).

Note to parents and parents to be: When in a playground full of kids, while obviously your attention is on your kids and their safety, don't forget that you and your kids are NOT THE ONLY CHILDREN THERE! It's a playground...remember that. Conversely, the playground is not a babysitter. You should not "check-out" once you let loose your child/children.

As I was getting ready to post our obligatory Santa photo, I came across a gem I forgot about.

Christmas 2009 - Our First Christmas Photo Shoot

This was Christmas 2009, our first Christmas with the girls. This was one of many photos I had taken when we were doing our own Christmas photo shoot for our first Christmas card. This one didn't make it, but it's got to be one of my favorites. I showed Mike B. and it is now his screen saver for his work computer.

It is amazing what a difference 2 plus years make. Time really does just fly by. And while I don't miss the sleepless nights that came with them at such a young age, this photo reminds me just how blessed we are to have two happy, healthy, and highly energetic girls whom I just wanna hug and kiss and never let go...well okay, not fully true...there are those times!

So now, without further ado, I present our truly fashionable duo and the jolly fat guy that came with a $26 price tag!

Santa and the girls 2011

Eva is SUCH A HAM! Rose we had to bribe with a peppermint candy cane....which both promptly got all over their hands and face once we departed with my wallet $26 lighter.

This evening, Mike B. is making Pizzellis for an office shindig, in the day he wrapped all the presents, and I put together their Schwinn tricycles. Unlike poor Edward and Paul, these things were put together in three main components with nary a cuss word uttered...

The down side, these things are solid and metal...these have to go outside as I don't relish the idea of patching up drywall. Hope we get a few decent days before winter fully sets in. 

So we're as ready as we can be. I sadly, still didn't finish my Christmas shopping. With the girls being sick over the past two weeks with a cold, then strep, then another cold, and the insanity of work as we all try to get things done before everyone goes on vacation, shopping is the last thing on my mind. I barely got Christmas cards out in time and still have a box of goodies sitting on my counter that needs to be shipped off to Germany...turns out my twin can't find any Black bean sauce in Germany,

So to all, happy holidays and here's looking to a new year. 2012 will bring more adventure to our family as we begin down the path of starting them in daycare one day a week. And then, as Spring finally lifts our winter doldrums, we celebrate their birthdays and we will be the proud parents of 3 year-olds...it seems that it is at this age that most parents I have talked to recall with a shudder. Ah well, it's what we signed up for..so BRING IT ON!

Mele kalikimaka e hau'oli makahiki hou!

The Light Fairy Returns

I am a light fairy, I own up to it, I embrace it, I am an SPT1 18 gauge cord, zip plug, twinkle light toting fairy. If I could get away with it all year around, my house would be decorated with lanterns, lights, and anything outside that glows, sparkles, or twinkles. This is of course the perfect compliment to my husband who is most definitely a decorating and chotchkie fairy. 

For the past two years, however, I have not done lights on the house over Christmas. Mostly because the girls were too young and took up too much time. Time I needed to spread my...or plug in...my light fairy magic. This year, however, the light fairy in me could be held back any longer. And as the first real Christmas the girls can really comprehend, I was super excited. So I was on a mission to funnel two years of suppressed light fairy magic into a twinkly wonderland for the girls.

I wanted something different and dramatic this year. I found 21" indoor/outdoor Moravian lit stars from Sam's club. Different, interesting, I bought 12 of them, my husband thinks I'm insane...this coming from a man who every year orders me up to the attic to bring down his Christmas stash so he can explode in a giant puff of Christmas fairy dust. At least when the dust settles, it's always to a lovely aftermath...despite the foul language spewing from my less than fairy like mouth as I smack my head and stub my toe in the attic. 

So the day after T-day, the plans floating around my noggin, which included my new 12 very lovely and large Moravian stars, began its magical journey to the front of our house. There were many obstacles involved. Dead lights, lights that didn't connect, having to make my own extension cord, multiple trips to the likes of Target and Home Depot, climbing on the roof and scaring the neighbors and my husband (who were convinced I was going to fall)...oh...and the Squirrel that got in the house Friday night (the day after T-Day) when I was out and about putting light hooks on the house. But that's another post.

Finally, after 3 days, and much to the approval of two little girls, the house was lit, the squirrel had been chased away, and my magic was done for the year! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

It’s hard to believe it’s Thanksgiving again here in the States. It’s hard to believe yet another Winter is upon us. It’s hard to believe in 4 months, a little over 4 for Eva, our girls will be THREE! I have never been one for saccharin sweetness or the type that immediately launches into a litany of what I am thankful for. Others, such are far better at that than I and a heck of a lot more sincere. For me, well, it just makes my skin crawl.

However, I recently, I read through a powerful post of one of our fellow bloggers that made me stop and realize just how thankful and lucky Mike and I are. His post was a touching, incredibly well written, and deeply moving expression of the love and richness his children have brought into he and his husband’s life along with their gratitude and thankfulness to their children’s birth mothers. It was titled Dear Birth Mother from Mark over at Our Simple Lives. Warning, if you are even the faintest bit emotional, grab a tissue before you read it.

The circumstances and the adventure that brought our girls into our lives seem so far away and yet as vivid as if it happened yesterday. So tomorrow, as we awake to Thanksgiving day, Daddy will be running around cooking and preparing the house. Baba will be keeping the girls out of the way and assisting where he can…which may mean getting out of the house to the playground with the girls. Eventually, Granny, Aunty, and our Niece Hannah will be over to share Thanksgiving dinner with us this year. This year will be really special as now the girls are at an age where they begin to fully comprehend and enjoy these special events.

This was very evident over Halloween which was just a hoot. The quickly caught on to the whole trick-or-treat shtick and managed to con all the houses we visited into gobs of candy by their sheer cuteness. Thankfully they are also still at the age of short-attention-span which allowed us to HIDE the gobs of tooth rotting, hyper inducing sugar treats and only dole them out on special occasions…you know, like a distraction so they won’t have a meltdown in the store.

So before the start of T-day, let me wish everyone who honors the holiday a happy Thanksgiving! For us, we are thankful for our daughters, our new positions in the company that hired us, Aunty who takes care of our girls with so much love and A LOT OF PATIENCE, for the people who supported and helped us through our surrogacy journey, and most of all…we are thankful to now have our own family.

Some photos, it's been a while since I've posted any.

October at the Apple Picking Farm

Rose is an Apple Fiend. She LOVES apples. So you can imagine her delight on this day. It was marked by wide grins and a trail of nibbled and chomped on apples as she went from one apple to the next. This isn't to say Eva didn't enjoy herself, she also had a blast...but Rose was just in Heaven. 

The aftermath of it all? Daddy made an absolutely delicious Apple pie from the apples we picked which was promptly gobbled up by all.

LOOK BABA...AN APPLE!

Victory...slurp, chomp, slurp...is mine!

I picked it!

Daddy's Little Helper

Who needs a ladder
One of my favorite photos. The light filtered by the trees was just beautiful.

So cute

Done being cute, eating apple now...

Our intrepid apple picker knows no fear!

YUM!

Uhm hello? Can't you see I have an apple to eat here?

Halloween

Sadly, I did not get many Halloween photos. Trying to chorale them and take pictures while they were so excited about trick-or-treating proved to be challenging to say the least. 

Pumpkin Carving at Granny's with a Bumble Bee

Daddy's one-eyed Ogre head.
When I met Mike B., I had learned how to make large puppets for special events in college and I showed him how to make them. He created this for Halloween last year.

Candy Corn Witch Eva!

Bumble Bee with a Bear...give me a lollipop or the bear gets it!

Daddy and the girls
Daddy had to lift the mask off to assure the girls it was him.

Our Indian Princesses

These are not the greatest photos, I'll need to get better ones. Our friends Tricia and Rob in Singapore sent us these dresses. They used the same clinic we did and trailed behind us by several months. We began communicating before our girls are born and Tricia even scoped out hotels for us in Mumbai when she and her husband were out their for a business trip.

Their twins, a boy and a girls, had recently celebrated Diwali at their preschool/daycare and Tricia sent me photos. I commented on how lovely the traditional Indian outfits they were wearing were. She went out and got us two. A big thanks to them. We'll be showing up at Christmas Eve with our Indian Princesses!

Tried to get one just of Eva, Rose was not about to be left out of the picture!

Princesses with a cookie.

Cookies good...

Obey me peasant

Graduation Day

For the past few months, Eva has been getting out of her crib regularly. First it was of the aid of the toy chest next to her crib. Then, she got so good at climbing, she could climb in and out WITHOUT the toy chest.

The first few times she did this, we went through two weeks where she had to learn that getting out DOESN'T mean you can get out at midnight and crawl into Baba and Daddy's bed. That had a few tearful tantrum throwing episodes, but she learned real quick. Within a week, it turned into her waiting until she heard me in the kitchen in the morning before getting out.

So now, the routine is Baba gets up, showers, makes his way to the kitchen. The minute she hears pots banging or even footsteps, she is out and poking her head in for a kiss, a hug, and her orange juice and gummy bear multivitamin. She "helps" me make breakfast, and by help I mean she opens the fridge door for me and hands me things I don't generally need, and then we go get Rose up.

Rose…well, she's just plain cranky in the morning. And sometimes I mean CRANKY! 

So this past Sunday, November 13, 2011, Baba promised, and was reminded by Miss Eva, to convert her bed. With the turn of a few hex nuts, a screwdriver, and several curse words aimed at Ikea, I converted her crib to a toddler bed. She was just SO EXCITED! So much so that I anticipated a rough night the first night.

She woke up twice. It was new, different, a little scary. I rocked her the first time, and cuddled with her in her new toddler bed the second time. At 5'6" I can do that without too much discomfort. When Aunty came Monday morning, Eva was just so excited to show Aunty her new bed, she practically yanked her arm off. Since that first night, no problems at all. She is growing up too fast! Stop it!

As for Miss Rose, she can climb in, but still can't climb out. Plus, we don't think she's ready yet. Eva wants to be a big person in a hurry. Rose…no so much. 

So in congratulations to our big little girl graduating into a toddler bed, an outtake from our Photo session at JC Penneys.

We love you Eva, but please don't grow up too fast.

Cognitive Leap

As any parent knows, from the time your child is born, he/she goes through many cognitive leaps. Especially in the formative years of their lives from newborn to infant to toddler. We often watch in amazement and awe when we discover our little one(s) have almost miraculously made a giant cognitive leap. From their first words to standing up, we are just giddy with pride and happiness.

Our girls have, once again, made a huge cognitive leap. Astounding, astonishing, and completely inappropriate outside of our immediate family and home.

They now giggle hysterically after passing gas.

Snow...BOOOOO

This morning, our girls got up at 6am sharp and we had a daughter and Daddy/Baba fest in bed. Rose demanded we turn on the lights, Eva demanded we turn on the TV, and Daddy and Baba tried to get them to cuddle so we could steal a bit more sleep...NOT GOING TO HAPPEN...was their response.

So out of bed reluctantly goes Daddy. Weekends are generally his time to feed the kiddos. Baba stole a bit more sleep. But not too long. I got up, donned my thermals, a long sleeve shirt, jeans, my wool socks, boots, made a bagel egg sandwich for breakfast, sucked down some caffeine, and made my way outside for clean-up.

You see, Mother nature has decided to F*** with us and dump snow on us. This meant I had to winterize a month early and in a hurry. All I have to say is @#_Q@*)&#^%@#%^$#!#^!^&@!!!!!

So as I sit hear and type this, getting ready to go to bed, it's snowing. A transformer blew on the street across from us rendering them in the dark. I have heard a few other transformer blowing in the distance. I truly hope Mother Nature is enjoying the mayhem she is causing...and as I type this, BOOM!  A VERY LARGE tree limb just crashed down in the middle of the street in front of our house.

I shall repeat... #*(@#*)@(&^@#^%$#!!!