The River to Africa...

Re:

2011-09-07T14:21:00.001-06:00

.A simple mode to be sexy. http://arredilferro.com/com.friend.php?hyryahooID=54i6

Everyone needs a laugh sometimes

2009-10-02T08:47:00.001-06:00

Ok, so my brother emailed this to me and I was really laughing as I read through this. And, since I felt like I really needed that laugh, I figured there are others out there that do too. So, without further ado, laugh away!

Subject: 40 thoughts...

1. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you
realize you're wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4. Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may
know" feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately
choose not to be friends with?

5. Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it
wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would
magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did
we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message
boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

6. There is a great need for a sarcasm font.

7. Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and
suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first
saw it.

8. I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually
becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting
90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's
laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little
bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the
only one who really, really gets it.

9. I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand
than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

10. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear
your computer history if you die.

11. Was learning cursive really necessary?

12. LOL has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".

13. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger..

14. Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a
Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.

15. Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart",
all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

16. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just
nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

17. Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in'
examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete
idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and
said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"

18. While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and
instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

19. Google Maps really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty
sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

20. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how
the person died.

21. I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the
shower first and THEN turn on the water.

22. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get
dirty, and you can wear them forever.

23. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

24. Bad decisions make good stories.

25. Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?

26. If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring
would probably just be completely invisible.

27. Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to
go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so
incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this
shouldn't be a problem....

28. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at
work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything
productive for the rest of the day.

29. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't
want to have to restart my collection.

30. There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are
going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

31. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks
me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I
swear I did not make any changes to.

32. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

33. I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people
watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will
they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't
watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and
leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'

34. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello?
Crap!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes
to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and
run away?

35. Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising
speed for pedophiles.

36. As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate
drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate
cyclists.

37. It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

38. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not
to answer when they call.

39. Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what
to do with it.

40. I wonder if cops ever get ticked off at the fact that everyone
they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

Living life in fast forward

2009-09-28T13:14:00.003-06:00

Does anyone ever feel like they're living life in fast forward? I was thinking about it today, and that's how things feel. Time seems to be speeding by all around me and I have no idea where it's all going. I mean, I realize I'm working long days, trying to find fun and new things to do with two very active and curious toddlers when I'm not working, and always cleaning up after one thing or another (read here: a shedding malamute, two messy toddlers, a fairly messy husband, etc.). So, I know the time is going somewhere, but when I look back on my day/week/month, I wonder WHERE did it go and how did I manage to NOT get done so many things I have on my "to-do" list???

I've at least prioritized one thing lately that's been nagging at me for about a year. I've been anxious to get the kids readoption done, but for one reason or another haven't. First, I didn't want to start the process in southern California, as I knew we were moving and didn't want to do that mid-way through. After that, well... one thing or another has been reason enough for it to slip to the back burner over and over again. Well, on Friday Joe and I were fingerprinted and today I sent those prints in to CBI in Denver and the FBI in West Virginia! That's the FIRST step towards the readoption... so I'm finally getting somewhere! Let's hope those come back quickly and we can move on to the next step! I also need to work on getting our TRAILS background checks done. It's wild how different the fingerprinting process alone is in Colorado than it was in California.

In addition to that, I'm bound and determined to finish up a few things around the house soon. It's sad, but we still have a ridiculous amount of boxes piled up in the garage from our move here in late May. It's been hard to find the time since we aren't home very much, and when we are, the tornadoes REALLY enjoy helping me, which is not quite as helpful as they'd like to think they're being... :-) So, it keeps getting put off and now that it's getting cool outside, I know winter is just around the corner and I would love to be able to park in the garage before snow falls. *Sigh* We'll see. I also need to finish organizing and setting up the basement. It's huge and unfinished, so things were just sort of piled up and tossed down there as we moved in. I have a huge play area for the kids, but it's been taken over by the mess when I go down there in search of something. I am DETERMINED to get that back into usable order since most of their toys are down there.

This year, I've begun my Christmas shopping early. Just some casual "Cra*gsli*t" shopping to find some neat things for cheap. Our new income situation has forced me to plan ahead and really get smart with my shopping. I've already picked up some great stuff, and also found them new jackets and snow boots!!! Now, if only I could find someone with free sod, landscaping rock, and labor to put it it! I'm dreading the idea of having a yucky muddy yard all winter. Not much fun to go play in! We'll see... for now it's a pipe dream.

All this leads me into my next goal. I'm starting to think about returning to the work force - for real. Not that I'm not really working, I guess I more mean that I think I should be looking for IT jobs that would land me a salary and benefits. We could REALLY use that, and it would take a load of stress off as our business is still a baby and it's a struggle to find the money to support our personal needs as well as keep fueling the business. I still feel like my role there is important, but I think I may be able to help Joe from the sidelines more and find someone that can just run the front desk. Soon, we'll have a book keeper and an accountant handling the ugliest part of the business (in my opinion - that stuff is NOT fun for me!), and then I think I'd be comfortable stepping down. I would/will miss spending my days around Joe, and enjoying the ability/freedom to take days off whenever needed to take care of sick kids, etc.... but I guess it's about doing the smart thing, not the easier. Right?

Ugh... I still think about how nice it'd be to go back to just being home with the kids too! I always felt so negative about having someone else take care of my kids all day long, five days a week. It seems like THEY are the ones "raising" them. I realize that's not completely the case, and I DO see a lot of positives about daycare, now that they've been there awhile. Their language is REALLY blossoming, and I think that's in part to being around so many different people and kids of various ages. They have actual "lesson" type of things, so they may be learning a larger variety of things than they were at home playing with me... not that I wasn't always trying to teach the, and not that they weren't learning... I don't know. Maybe I'm just trying to see the positives.

Today, the kids are home sick and I am sitting here writing a post I really don't have time for. I haven't vacuumed in a few days, so it's like a giant fluffy layer of hair is coating the carpet (ewww, I know!). Malamutes are GREAT dogs, but they sure do shed a lot twice a year! I had better get back to reality. I'll post some random pictures really quickly to appease those that have been asking for them!

And the Worst Blogger of the YEAR Award goes to... ME! :-)

2009-09-22T20:29:00.002-06:00

Well, at this point I figure this post will be written and read by me and me alone, but here it goes anyway. We've been quite busy around the G household this year. Ezra and Olivia are full-fledged toddlers that are doing their best to emulate typical 2-year old behaviors in all their finest. :-D

The auto repair shop that we bought in March is doing amazingly well. I guess we have the poor economy to thank for that - more people fixing their old cars rather than buying new ones. Of course, the poor economy also means we end up with a large number of customers that have to seriously stress over getting their brakes replaced (for example) than you might normally see.

Joe works longer hours and harder than about anyone I've known. After a couple of weeks running the office and having another mechanic do the wrenching, he realized that mechanic was NOT going to work out. His work was sloppy and unreliable. So, Joe headed out into the shop to do the wrenching himself and I was called back into the workforce to man the office. Sadly, that meant the Olivia and Ezra would no longer be able to stay with me during the days and daycare was in their future (with literally a day's notice). I agonized over the decision, but we felt that for the survival of the business it would be necessary, at least short term. I enrolled the kids in the best daycare I could find and choked back my feelings of disappointment and failure.

E&O made sure to voice their unhappiness with the change of pace initially too. Ezra, in particular, took about a month to warm up to the situation. He HATED drop offs in the morning, but was usually having a blast and playing like crazy when I'd go to pick them up in the evening. Ez now has a best friend that he loves to head-butt and wrestle with. His buddy, JH, is also a twin, and his sister, JN, is best buddies with Livi. Ezi also decided he just loved a little girl named M, and gives her hugs and kisses all the time. Very cute stuff, let me tell you.

Between the most chaotic workdays I've ever had and the hustle and bustle of life with two toddlers, the summer passed us by in the wink of an eye. Suddenly, it's September and I haven't found a moment to blog since April. Yikes! I've missed a lot and will never be able to really catch the blog up. Some "highlights" in brief however:

1) Ezra and Olivia have been fighting sickness galore since starting in daycare. It's been a stream of ear infections which nearly landed Ezra in surgery to get some tubes. Thankfully, we've been ear infection free for about a month and a half now. Whew! Let's hope that's the end of that... somehow I kind of doubt it though. Right now, both have runny noses and Ezra seems to be pretty darn grumpy. Ugh.

2) Joe's schedule prevented him from being able to travel to the Ethiopian Heritage Camp in California with us (we'd pre-paid in January expecting we could make it work), so my dear friend, T, travelled with us and prevented me from being up a creek with out a paddle (no way could I keep the twin tornadoes under control on a trip like that alone!). The flight out went about as smoothly as could be hoped for and we took the kids straight to the beach. After seeing a dead seal rolling in and out on the shoreline just feet from where we were playing in the sand, we headed up to the camp.

First thing in the morning the first session of camp began. As an adult-only discussion about race, there was a daycare set up for the kids. I was quite leery to leave the kids, as they were worried about being out of their element and the setting was less than "safe" in my opinion. There was a large slide meant for older children on the outside deck (literally on a wood deck), and about 21+ young children (4 and under) to only two adults. Seemed like a recipe for disaster, but I tried to let go of my over-protectiveness and trust the situation since the other parents obviously had. I walked around the corner with T (who was celebrating and making phone calls to family as she JUST learned they passed court for their Ethiopian beauties!!!) and waited two minutes before peeking back around the building to see how they were doing.

As I came around the corner, I heard a sound that makes a mommy's blood run cold. My feet began pounding against the pavement and I was grabbing Ezi out of the arms of one of the caretakers before I realized WHAT was even happening. After a quick wipe on the side of his head, the caretaker told me he'd fallen and was bleeding a little bit. I glanced at his cheek where I thought she'd wiped and didn't see anything. Tracy grabbed Livi and I asked what happened. I learned (in broken English as the caretaker was Ethiopian) that Ezra had fallen off the slide... a mere five feet or so. HOW and WHY he was up there was beyond me. I touched the back of his head and pulled my hand back wet - covered in blood. We rushed off for a first aid kit. I asked T to put the gloves we were given on and to try and clean it up so I could hold him. She wouldn't touch it and we agreed a trip to the emergency room was in order.

While zooming down the two lane road out of the mountains, following a camp employee to the E.R., Ezra's head began to droop and we couldn't get him to keep his eyes open. THAT was the scariest moment. Until then, I was holding it together and staying strong for him. Seeing him losing consciousness freaked me out completely. That was definitely one of those situations I don't hope to relive.

Ezi was a trooper at the E.R. and received a few staples in his scalp to close the wound. Under strict instructions to observe for further signs of brain injury and advisement that staying close to a hospital for 48 hours, it was agreed with the doctors we needed to get home to Colorado and not head back up to the camp. We packed up and did just that. So, we missed the ENTIRE camp, which was a real bummer as I'm sure the experience would have been great for the kiddos as well as us adults.

Thankfully, Ezra recovered very well and has done great. I'm so proud of him and thankful that he was so lucky. A fall that far onto such a hard surface could have been MUCH more devastating. I'm also sooooo glad that I was worried enough to go back so quickly to check on him. He's doing great now, and that's what matters.

3) We moved into a nice new place that's very close to our shop. It was a new home, so no landscaping whatsoever. That's one more thing that's kept us busy - getting fencing in, irrigation, and hopefully grass at some point! ;-) In the meantime, it's a bit muddy when it rains! One thing at a time, and one expense at a time these days.

I can honestly say there is no way I would have pictured this is where we'd be right now at this time last year, but I'm thankful for the life lessons we're learning. We're working harder than ever for less money but appreciating the achievements so much more. You reap what you sow, and we are sowing our booties off... so hopefully the reaping is coming. :-) Something like that, anyway. Let's just say that it's been a tough year in many, MANY respects, but I know that things happen for a reason and good times are ahead.

While I'm into the honesty though, I'll say that I now have a very hard time choking back laughter when people tell me bad things happen in three's. Um, three's? Really? Try 3*100 or something like that. It's been a year where one challenge is followed up by another, bigger one. When I'm feeling like I can't handle any more though, I focus on all that we have and what a miracle our two kids are. They are really, truly amazing. For them, we can get through anything.

I certainly don't mean for that to come off as overly dramatic, so I apologize if that's how it seems. I can't go into detail on all the drama that's been going on in our lives in various forms this year, as it's not exactly anyone else's business. :-) And it's not that one single thing has been ridiculously bad, just so many things all rolled into each other that leaves a person struggling for some reprieve. The hardest part for me is that I know we still don't have things that bad compared to many people. So, I feel selfish when I am overwhelmed with everything life tosses at us. I KNOW it could be worse, but that doesn't really make me feel any less weak on the days where the *crap* continues to pile on.

I'm not really sure if ANY of that makes much sense, so I'll just end it with that. Life is HARD sometimes and that's that. Things are/will get better. Ezra and Olivia are the smartest, most beautiful, amazing babies in the whole world. Oh, and some of the biggest for their age too! TALL and super skinny. Barely any of that delightful baby fat most kids have at some point... they are ridiculously muscular and lean.

I'll work on getting some more current pictures uploaded next. As with everything I've been bad about this summer, I haven't taken nearly as many pictures as I should have. Hmmmm.... anything else I can slack on here? Nope, don't think so!

That's all for now! More soon (I hope!)

Catching up... and growing up

2009-04-28T11:37:00.009-06:00

Sledding, slides and Easter, Oh My! I am way behind in photos... my sincerest apologies. With the craziness lately, I don't pick up the camera often enough, and even more seldomly do I actually get photos uploaded on here! So sorry!

A yucky, ucky weekend for the bambinos

2009-04-28T10:59:00.002-06:00

So, who here likes pink eye? How about a good ole' dose of conJUNCtivitis? :-D Please, sign me up for another round!

My poor angel baby, Livi, woke up with a nice gunky, pink eye last Thursday. Ezra was doing great and his eyes were as clear as could be, so he got to enjoy a day of play on his own. Livi, however, was stuck with mom, ouchy eye drops, and feeling miserable. We paid for the "wooha" eye drops that the Drs. office told us made it non-contagious after the first drop. However, after waiting around at the pharmacy for an hour (the Drs. office FORGOT to call in the Rx after we spoke that morning... no visit needed for pink eye these days), the Pharmacist told me that was bologne and that all antibiotics take at least 24 hours to become non-contagious. Ugh. I call the doc, they argued that, and I went with the more expensive stuff in the hopes that the first drop would at least significantly reduce the risk of spreading since having Ezi and Livi around each other is almost a guarantee that fingers will be rubbing eyes and poking the other ones eyes with their contaminated fingers. :-) Nice, huh?

Friday morning Livi was looking and acting much better, but on Saturday, things went downhill. She developed diarreah, became really rattly in the chest, and started occasionally making a weird, strained sort of breathing noise. I call the after hours number for our pediatrician and after discussing things with the nurse that called us back, she asked to listen to Livi. The result.... head to the E.R. to have her checked out. No other option since the urgent care was closed at that point as well. So, Ya-ya and Papaw (my parents) watched Ezra and I loaded up my angel and zoomed to the hospital. Daddy met us there, and we made an evening of it.

They started listening to her heart and lungs, sucking boogies out of her nose to check for Flu and RSV, gave her a nebulizer treatment, and THEN decided on a chest x-ray to check for pneumonia. Let's just say that Olivia did NOT want to be stripped naked, set on the bed apart from her mommy's warm, loving arms. She was screaming (bloody murder... but it was a much more silent version than normal since her voice was pretty weak and squeaky). The front x-ray was "OK" since she could see me standing there with her with my pretty teal, lead vest on. The side view was not so good. Livi was turned away from me and her arms were held out in front of her by the x-ray tech. I had to hold her head to keep her looking forward... at this stranger x-ray tech. She SCREAMED and wriggled and then.... she projectile PUKED all over the tech. Poor angel had it all over her lap, her diaper, the floor, her legs, my goodness, it was everywhere! She was shaking and crying and I had to get a new diaper on her and wipe her up before she could be held and snuggled again. It was heartbreaking.

And Joe... oh my did he freeze. He's sort of a "reactive" puker. When he seems someone else puke, it can make him puke. He was standing back behind the x-ray machine and when the chaos of getting her cleaned up began, he stayed frozen in the background until he heard me hollering for assistance. He pulled himself together and managed to keep from following in Livi's footsteps... thank goodness! Once Livi was cleaned up, they gave her a hospital gown sized for a MUCH larger/older child, and I snuggled her again. She almost instantly began falling asleep and remained content if we were the only ones in the room.

The results of the chest x-ray, flu and RSV tests were all negative. The x-ray showed some markings that were consistant with what a virus does, I guess, but no pneumonia. They gave Livi some meds to calm her stomach and prescribed an antibiotic to help ward off an ear infection that looked like was beginning in her left ear. Just as we changed her to go, one of the doctors overheard her cough, something she hadn't done prior to arriving at the E.R., but she'd done it a few times there when we were alone with her. The doc thought it sounded pretty bad, and decided we should try some steriods to see if that would help. So, one more nasty tasting thing for her to taste, and we were outta there!

I am so thankful that it wasn't anything more serious and that today she seems much better. She still has a lot of congestion and a raspy voice, but is getting back to her normal self. Yeah! Ezra did seem to get sick, but not nearly as badly and also seems to be feeling/acting much better today! Hooray... we've gotten through our first trip to the E.R. with one of our babies and come out successfully!

15 months (well... 15.5 months really) and more amazing by the day

2009-04-11T16:56:00.002-06:00

I actually wrote this post weeks ago... and am just now posting it... I guess I got distracted by that tornado!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm a bit delayed in updating (thanks to a LOVELY bout of the stomach flu & a head cold passed between the four of us last weekend), but here are the updates on the twin tornadoes, from their 15 month well-baby checkups.

Olivia:

31.25" tall - 75%

20 lbs 10 oz - 25%

Ezra:

32.75" tall - 90%

23 lbs 11 oz - 40%

The doctor kept commenting on how tall and lean they continue to become. He was amazed by our little man's abs. It's a bit freaky, really. Ezra has been sporting a bit of a 6-pack for months now. He's had one (a six pack) most of his life when he'd stretch or tighten those abs, but now it seems even more apparent.

Ok, gotta run as the tornado seems to be taking over the play room! ;-)

Here you go... a quick photo catch up

2009-03-17T13:45:00.027-06:00

Ezra enjoying some of his grandpa's birthday cake (Valentine's Day)

Olivia after gobbling up her slice of Grandpa's cake.

Yummy stuff!

Olivia after her puffs are taken out and her hair is combed through.

Splash time! Oh! That brother is such a pain!

"Somebody call a vet cause these puppies are sick!" says Ezra about his massive muscles

Reason #1 you shouldn't crawl under the table... you'll get stuck!

Oh my word, are those clippers for me?!

It's finally my turn?! Hooray! (Not!)

Ezra's natural mohawk - daddy insisted we leave it there since it's so cute...

Awwwww. Shucks. Mommy shaved my mohawk off!

Ezra looking fabulous without hair on St. Patty's day (and our one year anniversary of becoming a family!)

One proud mama with her cuties

What? Are you looking at me?

St. Patrick's Day... a day to remember

2009-03-17T09:35:00.003-06:00

Just a quick post to revel in the fact that one year ago TODAY, Yodit & Tewodros became our children... legally. Finally. What an excruciating morning it was waiting for news to see if we'd passed court. Joe was so calm and kept telling me that we did and I needed to relax. But, I couldn't. Not until I had word from our agency and saw those beautiful words. There's no way that a year ago today I would have been able to guess where we'd be now and all the amazing highs and lows that would be thrown our way. But, on the roller coaster of life, I couldn't be happier that we are a family and that the oceans and continents that separated Livi and Ezi from us couldn't keep us apart!

Pictures to come... gotta put the kiddies down for their morning nap first and then upload them off my camera!

The crazy whirlwind continues... and the blog is seriously neglected!

2009-03-15T15:19:00.002-06:00

Ok, so I realize it's been about 4 weeks since my last post. And I REALIZE that I left that post with a promise of pictures in the next few days. Well, that CLEARLY didn't happen. So sorry. Our lives have been so crazy I just don't know where to start.

Joe traveled back to O.C. to get the remaining stuff we had there (mostly furniture) loaded onto a moving truck, which my brother then very graciously drove back to Colorado for us. Joe had to fly home as we were closing on a commercial property at the end of that week that needed a number of things done before closing. Yikes.

Well, the closing went off without too many hitches and we are now the proud owners of a historical piece of downtown Loveland. Joe purchased the shop he worked at so many years ago. He worked there for a while after returning from Basic & AIT. Wow... it seems like light years ago. The owner had let the shop really go downhill. It'd always looked a bit like a junkyard, and he never had kept it a smooth flowing auto repair shop, but when Joe drove by to say "Hi" after getting back to Colorado in December, it was shocking. The guy had completely let the place go and just wanted to be done with it. He didn't know how to run a business and just didn't want to try anymore. So... the bright guy Joe is, he negotiated an incredible deal with him. Fast forward a couple of months, and we now own "Alliance Auto Care" off 4th and Garfield!

The building DEFINITELY needed an overhaul. The downtown area of Loveland has been getting a facelift, and this was definitely the eye sore of it all. We picked new paint colors (which we're still waiting for the exterior to get painted due to the cooler temps since closing a week and a half ago), scrubbed the place top to bottom, removed inches upon inches of grease and gunk that was caked on the floor of the shop, outfitted the office that had previously been used as a dumpster ;-), ordered banners to announce the new store, and are now working on our marketing and advertising. It's incredible how much different the place is already... and how much more has yet to be done! Joe now works Monday through Saturday which SUCKS, but it's necessary for the time being. I think I complain about this more than anyone... but the kids are a close second. They LOVE their daddy and hate having him gone so much. I LOVE their daddy too... but at least I "get" why he's gone.

Enough of THAT nonsense. I know everyone is really just wanting news on the kids. So, here it is. Ezra and Olivia are so stinkin' fast and strong-willed these days I feel like the things I say al day long are: "No. Don't touch that. NO! NO TOUCH!!! DANGEROUS. Don't climb on that, please. GET DOWN! Ewww!!! Don't suck on that. Keep that out of your mouth. Ahhh! Get down! You'll get hurt! Ah, ah, ah! I see you! Stop banging the windows! NO! Good job, good decisions... WAIT! STOP THAT! Don't hit your (brother/sister)!"

You get the point. They are all over the place and definitely into EVERYTHING. What was previously a very safe play zone where we had gates/covers/padding/protection/dangerous items removed is no longer safe. They now climb the back of the dining room chairs (resulting in the chairs tipping on top of them), MOVE the gates that aren't secured to the walls, slam toys into the windows, push/shove each other, climb all over the couches, and SCREAM with pure delight or absolute frustration. I swear they are communicating and working together too. They tend to go opposite directions and get into things simultaneously so I can only get to one at a time. You'd think with all the running around the room I'd be fit for a marathon by now! Taking them to the store alone has become treacherous. If one's in the shopping cart, they're desperately trying to get out. If I let one be down on the ground with their backpack leash attached, that one screams and stomps their feet when they can't go the direction they want. They are VERY independent and LOVE to explore. Babies were nothing... toddlers though??!! Holy smokes!

We do have one really huge saving grace coming into play though. Language and communication. They don't have great speech (attempt most things, but it often all sounds the same), but they are getting really good at signing. It's a mixed blessing, I guess, because now they are SOOOOOOO cute when they ask for something. Livi constantly says: "Tee? Tee?" while enthusiastically signing "Eat." Of course, this is about 5 minutes after we get done with a meal that they wouldn't really eat. Ugh.

So far, the signs they know are: eat, more, all done, diaper, mama (kind of), and milk.

Ezra is really good at attempting to repeat words you say, such as "please." He'll say "peeeeeeaaassss" while stretching his neck forward and tipping his head back. This is similar to how he makes his neigh sound to "NEEEEEeeeee!" while stretching his head forward and tipping it back. Very cute. They've both got the cheesy expressions down pat and it's just a riot. Ezra will get so goofy out of nowhere. He'll just be doing something and then turn on the wackiness. What a total goofball! Livi, on the other hand, is an absolute love! If either of them is getting in trouble, she usually runs over and snuggles into my chest and wraps her arms around me to hug. She does that when they're not getting in trouble too, so I get lots of love during the days! She loves on ALL their toys by resting her head on the toy and batting her eyes. She gives kisses, and has even started puckering her lips up in a very exaggerated way to do so. It's sort of like a fish kiss. I haven't been fortunate enough to get it on camera yet, but I'll keep trying.

So, in summary I have two totally exhausting and incredibly active, intelligent and beautiful kiddos. Do I have my hands full? Heck yes! Between the kids and the three businesses Joe and I have going on (the other two are stories for another day...), I'm beat and not getting the amount of sleep my body tends to prefer. But, we are so fortunate and I love my family so much... so I try not to complain too much! I know all the hard work will pay off soon enough. AND, I know Ezi & Livi won't be toddlers forever, and I try to enjoy it while it lasts!

Where in the world have we been?!

2009-02-10T15:41:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness, what a disgrace! I can't believe I haven't written since the day after Olivia and Ezra's birthday! Yikes! Time flies these days. Ezra and Olivia keep us hopping, and we've had so much going on in addition to the fun we have with them.

Joe was able to move out to Colorado permanently the day before the kids birthday. It was such a huge relief to finally have him out here after three months of seeing him every couple of weeks. The kids have loved having daddy around all the time again, and Ezra quickly got back into being a daddy's boy. It's funny how things work out... Livi has been a total mama's girl since as far back as I can remember, and Ezra has been a daddy's boy.

Day to day, you never can guess what the twin tornadoes will do next. They learn so quickly, it's such an amazing thing to watch. For a while, they're verbal skills seem to plateau and even drop backward. This happened around the time they started walking. I have always heard that once babies start walking their language accelerates, so this was intriguing. However, I think they were so focused on mastering walking, followed by running and climbing. They are now much chattier again, though they still don't use too many words. Ezra is still famous for his ridiculously high pitched scream. It's the most impressive scream I have ever heard. Amazing that all the windows haven't shattered yet! He screams with excitement, pleasure, frustration, anger, you name it. Any sort of emotion can trigger the scream... so beware! ;-) Olivia has learned to copy him, but thankfully she isn't quite as persistent.

They now climb up on the ottoman and use it like a stage to dance and scream at each other. It's hilarious. They have both become such avid dancers that they stop whatever they are doing to start boogying when music comes on. Ezra tends to bob up and down and Olivia sways side to side. Their favorite songs for US to sing are: "Bringing home a baby bumblebee," "Little cabin in the woods," "Itsy, bitsy spider." All with the hands motions, of course. When they want us to sing one, they put their hands they way you do for the start of that song and start singing it. Their singing is still just jabbering in a way that sounds a little like the song itself, but it's adorable.

Olivia has become a master of body parts, practically overnight. Ezra is doing well too, but much less interested in anything relating to detail (like pointing out body parts). Olivia can identify her eyes, ears, hair, nose, teeth, belly button and toes. She LOVES to walk around poking people in the nose and saying "Nee." She ALSO enjoys lifting up shirts to point to belly buttons... whether hers or someone else's. She's gotten big into giving a cheesy grin to people, which is absolutely goofy and precious. She also LOVES to "give love" to her stuffed animals, MAMA, and daddy. She has started giving kisses, too. One of the worst, but cutest, things she just started doing is after she does something naughty (like smacking mommy on the head), she comes over and gently hugs your head (or other "injured" body part) and gently pats you. Ezra has started to copy her, so I've had the extreme pleasure of having two cuties fighting for time to give love and hugs. It's so cool!

Ezra is such a B-O-Y! He really and truly is a stereotypical boy. He still doesn't use his finger to point (which Livi has been doing for ages), as whatever HE cares enough about to point at is big enough to gesture with his entire hand! He does this cute arm extension with a downward sort of flick of the wrist to "point." He stomps, runs, throws, crushes and clobbers things. If I ever doubted how much NATURE has to do with who we are, those doubts are 100% resolved. These two have shown me that despite identical parenting, age range, etc... they are DEFINITELY two very different people! It's really fun to watch all the changes and differences surface. Ezra has been really enjoying swings when we go to parks and will laugh with his perfect, deep, giggly, belly laugh. That boy could melt the heart of the meanest, nastiest person alive with his laugh.

Every night before bed we have a tickle time. Ezra and Olivia LOVE to be tickled and will even sign for "more!" They run around the room and when they're ready they tackle me so they can get tickled. By the time we carry them upstairs to go to bed they are both breathless and smily as can be. I don't know how they can stand getting tickled so much, but they seem to love it and we LOVE hearing all the laughter around here! What good is life without laughter???

So, that's a quick recap of how Ezra and Olivia are these days. Now, on to a recap of events over the last month and a half!

Christmas was a blast. E&O didn't know what to make of all the presents and hardly napped on Christmas day... to much excitement in the air, I guess. They played with new toys all day long and enjoyed their first Christmas dinner. They loved playing with everyone that visited... and had a long list of adult playmates all day long. Family is the main reason we chose to move back to Colorado... and the holidays are a perfect example of how that can really make life special. Sharing everyone's joy in seeing Ezra and Olivia enjoying their first Christmas with us was really a treat. Olivia and Ezra give us so much more than I think we will ever be able to give them. We are so fortunate to have the honor and pleasure of being their mommy and daddy.

In mid-January, Joe and I drove to Palm Springs for a 5-day business conference followed by a quick trip to our condo in O.C. to check on things. E&O spent the duration at home with their grandma and grandpa and did just great. I, on the other hand, had a bit of a hard time missing them like CRAZY, but it was nice to allow myself to trust them to have fun and do well in the excellent care of my parents and enjoy some adult time getting my brain cranking again. The weather in Palm Springs was incredible and we had a lovely trip. My only complaint was getting sick the evening the conference ended (good timing though!) and running a really high fever for the next 4 days or so. That made for a very unpleasant road trip home and MORE time away from Ezi & Livi once we were back! Ugh!

The week we returned from Palm Springs I went under the knife. Let's just say it was LONG overdue, but much dreaded. I have had serious issues with my tonsils since I was very little, but was completely terrified about surgery and wouldn't agree to having them taken out when I was younger (and the surgery would have been SOOO much easier on me then, I'm told). Last year (2008) in late January I was dealing with ANOTHER bout of strep throat when I developed a peritonsillar abscess. Let's just say it was one of those pains you hope to never relive. This occurred just before we received our referral for Olivia and Ezra, so the renewed need to get my tonsils dealt with was put on hold with baby preparations. After I began having issues with them AGAIN in December 2008 I decided this was as good a time as any to go to an ENT and have them looked at.

The ENT I saw took one look at my tonsils and heard my history before telling me they needed to come out. Apparently since they didn't shrink and atrophy after puberty, they will always be a problem for me, and were creating tonsilliths. Yuck. Those suckers had lived past their prime and were just begging to get yanked out. The surgeon told me it would be much harder for me as an adult than it is for children, but that I'd do great. Huh. Let's just say I did not come close to mentally preparing myself for what I felt post-surgery. That was BRUTAL. When I was in recovery, they kept asking my pain level and giving me more pain killers through my IV to try and lower it. However, that kept causing me to stop breathing, which isn't exactly a good thing, I guess. So... they stopped giving me drugs through the IV and tried the oral painkillers that I'd be sent home with. I spent a good bit of the day in recovery and then was sent home to wallow in my pain. I was starving, but sipping broth didn't begin to weaken my hunger and was ridiculously painful.

I'm now ALMOST two weeks post-op and still hurting. I can eat most things again, but am still taking 4 Aleeve every 8 or so hours. I had an allergic reaction to the antibiotics I was given in surgery (and sent home with to take 4x per day). That was a real drag. I itched like crazy and my tongue got so swollen I couldn't really talk. My tongue is still damaged (from the reaction, apparently) and hurts a TON when I have anything very cold. No ice cream or ice tea for me. :-(

Oh, and eating ice cream wasn't really a part of recovery! It was too hard to "chew" and the cold was too much for my tongue! Oh, and the ear aches I got were so strong that I couldn't have cool water for a few days (I drank WARM water... ick!), so anything from the freezer was OUT! Isn't that a bummer?! That was the part of recovery I looked forward to the most! Anyway, enough whining. I'll be back to feeling good again in another couple of days and undoubtedly much healthier. During my first post-op visit with the surgeon last Wednesday I learned that my tonsils were filled with.... drum roll please.... FUNGUS! Ewwwwwww!!!!! Those suckers definitely needed to come out, as each illness and resulting round of antibiotics just allowed the fungus to rage further out of control. Let's just say that's NASTY. It's ok, I know. I was growing fungus in my throat and I think that's is downright DISGUSTING! Yuck.

Sooooo, that about sums it up for now. I have some really exciting news I'm hoping to post in the next couple of weeks, but not just yet. Hopefully you will all be just as excited as I am! ;-) To those of you still out there and reading this, thanks for sticking around! I'll be back soon with photos of the kids!

Happy Birthday Olivia & Ezra!

2008-12-22T16:48:00.000-07:00

It's official. Our babies are ONE year old! We had an astounding and fantastic birthday, complete with cake, presents, family, friends, and my brother's return from a year long tour of duty in Afghanistan! (Uncle Z wasn't able to be at the party, but he made it stateside on their birthday... what a treat!).

Today, Ezi & Livi had the wonderful fortune of having their 1 year well baby exam. That included FOUR shots each from their new pediatrician... an event to remember! :-) Thankfully, the art of distraction is one I excel at, so shortly after the offense, each of them were tear free and enjoying the new pediatrician and nurses once again. Four shots though, poor babes.

Here's their current stats. Prepare to be amazed!

Ezra
Height: 30.75 inches (80%)
Weight: 22.06 lbs (45%)
Head Circ: 18.11 inches (45%)

Olivia
Height: 29.75 inches (75% - up from 25-30% range!)
Weight: 19.25 lbs (25% - still a lightweight!)
Head Circ: 18.11 inches (75%)

So, as usual their head circumference is the same, Ezra is taller, but not by quite as much as before, but he's GAINING in weight much faster and is now almost 3 pounds heavier! They keep on growing, but still are not the "huge" babies people seem to think they are. :-) Close, but not quite. The new pediatrician seemed really nice, and the kids liked him well enough. Well... Livi exhibited her typical stranger anxiety (pouty lip, running for mommy, near tears), but Ezra was ever the champ. He was a nice guy, and I think we'll like him. The exam room was GREAT... at least twice as big as our previous pediatrician, and plenty of room for the two of them to run around in their diapers, look out the window, and admire the planes hanging from the ceiling. With two toddlers, having some room (and a safe place) for them to run around makes a HUGE difference.

Now, back to yesterday and their birthday party! We were afraid my parents and uncle wouldn't be back from my brothers' welcome home party (scheduled originally for 01:45 am at Fort Reilly... a good 8 hour drive from here - delayed until 5:00 am!), but they got here in time for cake! Hooray! It was a nice, cozy party with their grandmas, papaw (my dad), their great uncle Marty, and friends Tracy & Sean (currently awaiting a twin referral from Adoption Avenues!!). We had a lovely time and other than Livi getting a bit overwhelmed with being the center of attention, the kids had a blast. I gave them REAL cake (GASP) with REAL icing (BIGGER GASP), so I'm sure the sugar high was a whole new experience for them. Ezra is such a boy... dug right into that cake with two hands and began shoveling it into his mouth. Livi, however, was so bothered by having her hands all goopy and sticky. She was much more reserved and delicate, leaving part of her cake for Ezra to inhale as well. Yikes. That boy had some serious cake yesterday!

Thank you to all of our fabulous party goers, it wouldn't have been the same without you! Thank you ALSO to Tia Claudia who made an overnight appearance on a long layover in Denver so we could visit and catch up. We love you Claudia!

Now, on to the good stuff... pictures!

Playing For Change: Song Around the World

2008-12-17T10:31:00.001-07:00

This kind of unification amongst people around the world gives me chills... hope you enjoy a little bit of uplifting music for the holidays!

Snow and Eye Gashes, Oh My!

2008-12-15T13:09:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it took a wee bit longer to get some pictures posted than I thought it would. You know, I'm a BUSY lady these days! Try getting ready for a first birthday/birthday party for your prince AND princess as well as a first Christmas - and your hubby is living and working in a different state so HE isn't around to help, getting the flu, AND trying to work! ;-) Not that I'm whining, because the holidays are the BEST and I'm so excited about watching Ezi & Livi enjoy all the wonderment of their first big holiday season, but... yikes! I'm feeling sooooo behind and the blogging is definitely suffering because of it!

As for Ezra's BIG eye gash incident. I was AMAZED at how little it ended up bruising. It was pretty swollen the day of the accident and the day after, but that's about it. I took some photos of it just after the tears ceased the first day (and the bleeding had stopped), but they aren't too graphic... no worries for the faint hearted! :-)

I'm also posting some pictures of Ezra outside in his snowsuit for the first time (don't have any of Livi yet as she hasn't been out! She was sleeping during our brief evening excursion with Ez). It's been sub-zero here the last two days, so no trips out in the beautiful, fresh snow have happened this time either! It seems that my flu bug and the super cold temperatures are conspiring to keep us indoors! Grrr! You'll notice Ezra's snowsuit is huge... it's an 18 month size since we wanted room to bundle him up and the 12 month (of a different brand... both were bought used) fit PERFECTLY right now... I thought we'd be OK in the 18 month size... WHOOPS! Oh well, at this rate it'll probably fit Livi NEXT year this time! :-)

I'll also post photos of the first snow day we had and I carried snow inside to the kiddos in the lid of one of their Rubbermaid toy boxes. Ezra anxiously dove in with both hands and quickly regretted the situation... that stuff is COLD. After that he was much more reserved and cautious, but learned it's mighty tasty stuff - so long as it's fresh and WHITE. :-D Livi was ever the delicate explorer - gently touching the snow and scooping it up in measuring cups. The differences in the two of them crack me up... we definitely have the ALL boy and ALL girl around here! :-)

Enjoy!

SNOW!

2008-12-05T21:47:00.001-07:00

Yesterday morning Ezi and Livi awoke to their first REAL snow! To see the wonderment from their amazing eyes... beholding the world and its magic for the first time. Ezra stared, mouth agape, out the window for ages (and this was BEFORE they had breakfast which is the second thing we do EVERY DAY... it comes only second to a diaper change when they first get up!). Olivia pointed, touching the cold glass of the window and blabbered in her own little language about the miracle that had taken place whilst they slept. SNOW.

Mama (that's ME), spent the remainder of the day scrambling to find a good snowsuit for Ezi. I'd lucked into finding a GREAT one two days before when my mom and I took the kids to the store, Once Upon a Child, for the first time in Longmont. Little did I know it'd get used SO soon! However, Ezi was left without one, so I spent the day scrambling. They both also needed jackets, and, oh yeah, SNOW boots! You know, for my toddlers that RUN around everywhere they go! So, no playing out in the snow yesterday. I brought the snow in to them on one of the lids from their big toy tubs.

The first thing Ezra did after I set the lid down (FULL of snow), was DIVE IN. Can you imagine his reaction?! He sat back on his bum, looked at me, slightly panicked for a moment, stared at his hands, and began screaming. While this was taking place I dove in and was rushing to get the powdery snow off his hands, but not fast enough. Snow is C-O-L-D! Poor guy. It took quite a while for him to get up the guts to touch it again after that. But once he did... look out! Snow is TASTY! We made them snowballs, showed them how to scoop it up with measuring cups, you name it. Who knew a lid of snow could be so cool?!

This morning I ran over to Centerra (big outdoor shopping mall thing in Loveland) to meet a woman about a snowsuit. Yep, found her on Craigslist. Who doesn't love Craigslist? She drove down from Fort Collins so I wouldn't have to go that far. I ALSO had a lady meeting me there with a BIG bag of Peek-a-blocks (she was from Greeley), so I was set. The snowsuit seemed pretty big for Ezra... but he's a growing boy. I snagged it from her (HOW did I score TWO fabulous condition, down snowsuits for the kids in just the right sizes?!), got the Peek-a-blocks, and began the search for snow boots and winter coats. Not easy... somehow it seems the right sizes/combination of features was VERY elusive on these items.

I ran into my awesome mother-in-law at Kohls (whom I don't see enough of... hint, hint Dr. G - we want to see you LOTS more often!) while waiting for the correct size jacket to be located for Ezra from the back of the store. That was fun and made my day. Lee is always fun to chat with and we've made plans to get together MUCH more often! HOORAY! I hopped in the car to head home with EVERYTHING I needed... a snowsuit for Mr. E, boots for E&O, jackets, you name it. I was SET. I began sledding - AHEM, I mean driving, home to see my little wild ones. Let me tell you, there is nothing more incredible than driving up to the house and seeing their little faces peering out the window, waving and blowing kisses (YES, they do that!), squealing, and shouting MAMA (sometimes). That is the neatest thing ever and makes going away for errands and work on occasion a little easier... knowing I get to come home to that.

Ok, I'm rambling. The part of the story I really needed to share was what happened AFTER I got back. I slipped Ez into his new, blue snowsuit and zipped him up. He thought this was super cool and began running around and screaming with excitement. I went crawling after him to try his new boots on him... and he thought the chase was on.

*Let me preface this with the fact that Olivia and Ezra LOVE to have someone "get them." If you crawl, walk after them, cackle, growl, roar, say "I'm gonna get ya," or anything similar, squeals of glee will ensue and they will either collapse to the floor, face in the carpet giggling with defeat... or run away and play hard to get.

So, as I crawled after Ezi, he decided I was playing since he was so wound up with excitement from wearing his new snowsuit. He squealed and began laughing his incredible, contagious laugh. I grabbed at the back of his snowsuit to quickly pull him into me. However... right as I grabbed ahold of the middle of the back of his snowsuit, he spun around to face his attacker. The combination of his quick spin and the fact I'd just grabbed him cause him to slam into the window sill at, oh, maybe Mach 3!

Ugh. My heart sank. My stomach instantly knotted and I grabbed up my boy just as he fought through the daze and began the silent scream of horror. I looked... and saw it. A big, white colored dent right on the edge of his left eye/eyelid. My stomach flip-flopped. I don't do messy. This looked like it might get messy. My mind INSTANTLY went into overdrive... get the snowsuit off, asked my mom (who'd been there with us playing) to run and grab a cloth and a cold pack, and I thought CALL LEE (Joe's mom... the ER doctor)! I just knew it was going to be a huge bloody mess and his eyeball was going to pop out at any second or something. Yeah, drama, I know. But that first glance at the big, white dent that was the kind of thing you see after something is sliced badly... before the blood reaches the wound and starts pouring out.

I ripped the snowsuit off and cuddled Ezi close. Grandma ran in with a cold pack and I snuggled onto the cough with Ez and tried to get him to let me hold it on there. I knew that this was going to swell badly without some cold. But, let me suggest you consider what kind of effort it might take to hold something very cold on an insanely strong 11 month old that was just wounded. Not fun. I finally soothed him with some of my fabulous singing (Er... maybe it was my squawking). The crying lessened a bit and he slowly relaxed. Surprisingly, the gash never bled too much, but I think he's going to end up with his first shiner. His outer eye is swollen and the bright red gash is quite visible.

I guess I should be thankful that this is the first drama we've had since they came home... 7 and a half months ago! No big illnesses, no other boo-boos (aside from very small scratches and bruises that come with learning to walk). All in all, and the guilt I feel for the role I played in the accident aside, I'm thankful that THIS was drama. We could have had so much worse by now. Poor Ezi though... I feel so badly about it! Thankfully, he doesn't even seem to remember it happened and was ripping around again without hesitation after their afternoon nap. Tough little guy, let me tell you!

So, that's our day in a nutshell. Ezra got a quick trip outside to try out his new boots and snowsuit this afternoon (post nap- he was pretty bummed out after getting his boo-boo and a nap seemed to help). Of course... that means he got to try out his snowsuit in the DARK since the sun sets so early these days! Pictures to follow tomorrow... I have GOT to get to bed before 1:00 am tonight! I've not been getting enough sleep to function well lately.

Picture-a-palooza!

2008-12-01T11:04:00.000-07:00

Craving updates?

2008-12-01T10:32:00.000-07:00

Ok, I admit. I've been a TERRIBLE blogger. You may wonder what in the world has happened to me... did I drop off the face of the Earth?!

No. I'm here. I'll give you the low down on the last couple of months, since I'm sick of getting harassing emails about where I've been. ;-) (Just kidding... I love that I'm loved and missed!) I'll keep it as short and sweet as I can since no one wants to read in depth about all the crazy happenings of the last couple of months since we moved.

Halloween was a hoot. The kids were ADORABLE. Of course. Ezra was a very handsome peacock and Olivia was a beautiful Flamingo. (Pictures to follow). They had a blast toodling around Pearl Street in Boulder with my mom and I. After getting ooggled and ogled for a couple of hours, my mom took them home to sleep while I headed to the airport to pickup Joe for our weekly/every of week visit from DADDY! :-)

Joe's been back and forth a number of times, but sadly not every week like we'd prefer. He's missing the twin tornadoes like crazy and treasures their weekends together (as do I!). It sounds like he'll be getting relocated out here in the next 3 weeks... Hooray! The downer is that we may not see him again UNTIL then... as tickets are just too pricey to splurge on right now. Bah. Since I'm a total nut for the holidays and the Christmas season is my favorite, I'm a bit of a grouch about having him miss out on preparations and festivities for the kids first birthdays and Christmas! (It's really their second Christmas... but since they were only a few days old then, it's really like their first, right?).

Anyhoo. We had a super fun week with Joe last week, celebrating his birthday and Thanksgiving. We had way more food than we should have for the 6 of us, but that's part of the season, right? Yummy times, let me tell you.

Joe and I have also been overwhelmingly busy with some entrepreneurial ventures lately, as well. I find myself struggling to get comfortable with allowing Ezi and Livi more time with their grandma so I can get some work done. I juggle some of it while I'm with them and they're napping, and some days have actually LEFT the house without my appendages. Ugh. Talk about tough. Turns out that after 8 months together (and only two very brief separations with E&O staying with a family member) it gets kind of hard to be away from them. Even though the break can be a breath of fresh air, it's HARD. Those goofy little angels are really the light of my life and my reason for getting up in the morning (hee hee... literally and figuratively). They are truly wonder babies. My uncle tells me their magic babies. Since the day he met them he's said they seem magical, and they really are. Somehow, most everyone that meets them is enticed by them. Ezra is said to have an "Old Soul" and has more depth and wisdom in his eyes than most elders of mine. Olivia... she has such a spark about her I can't even describe a worthy comparison. Ah, my heart.

So, here I am, taking time away from work and feeling guilty for it already. Ezi and Livi will be up from their naps any minute and ready to go 90 miles an hour again. These two have progressed to running (clumsily) already and are such an entertainment. They laugh at each other, chase each other in delight, then throw themselves on the floor in anticipation of being caught by the chaser. I cannot imagine having one baby... is it boring? (No offense intended here!!! :-D ) I can't imagine them not having each other. They often grab hands and hold each others hands while eating... so cute.

On the tooth front, Ezra is about to pop through two more teeth (giving him a total of 6) and Livi is really close to having her top middle two teeth come through. They want so badly to eat "real" food, but they just can't manage much without any molars. I cannot WAIT for them to get a few more in! Oh.... except that Ezra likes to give love bites, and THAT continues to get more painful with each and every tooth! How does one stop a BABY from biting?! It's NOT funny and I've got bruises to prove it. :-S

If I haven't bored you to tears yet, you're superhuman. Thanks for hanging in there. Oh, and if you're still reading my blog after my last post (and/or email for that matter), thanks. I know it was a topic that could alienate people from my life, which it did and that was hard. But, sometimes you just have to do what you know is right... even when it means you may lose people you care about.

Breaking the silence

2008-11-14T07:53:00.000-07:00

I'm finally breaking my blog silence. I apologize repeatedly for dropping off the face of the world for a few weeks. Things have been so busy, and I daresay, FUN, with the kids now that they're toddling all around their world.

However, today, rather than speaking of how Ezra and Olivia are, rather than rejoicing in our new president-elect (yes, I'm STOKED about Barak Obama!), I have a much bigger purpose. I am also HORRIFIED at one result of the election, in particular. Proposition 8. It cracks my heart in two that Proposition 8 could have passed. Who on EARTH would take away the rights of another human? (Stupid question, I know. There are countless people out there that are narrow-minded, cruel, or just a sheep.)

Please keep in mind as I write this post I want nothing more than to say eloquently, intelligently, and passionately my points. Ugliness, however, is clouding ME. I have many loved ones that are gay. Am I, myself, personally affected by Proposition 8 passing? Yes. I am embarrassed... even ashamed to look my friends and family members in the eyes that have lost the right to marry. I hope I don't overstep my bounds here by saying that someone I love very much, my dear uncle M, is gay. He has been "my favorite" since I was a child. My uncle M is proud, kind, honest, and will stand up for injustice. Now, it's my turn. Too many years have gone by without me standing by his side at rallies, walks, marches, you name it. I have a voice and you DARN WELL better believe I'm going to use it.

Since Keith Olbermann has a much more eloquent style than myself, I direct you to PLEASE watch this video. Take 6 minutes and 30 seconds of your life and watch what he has to say. PLEASE.

Then, when you're ready to be the pure hearted, strong, loving individual we all strive to be, step out tomorrow and join myself and thousands of others on the steps of courthouses 'round the nation. Tomorrow is a day that YOU can make a difference. I'll be there. My whole family will be out there standing up against this despicable injustice. I urge you to join us. Cities all around the nation will be having these demonstrations... find the one in your city and get yourself there. We can all make the difference and support equality.

Now, go watch the video.

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

HE Walks!!!!!

2008-10-22T16:17:00.000-06:00

So, with all the commotion around here, I'm a bit delayed in posting this... but EZRA WALKS! I could hardly believe it when he started taking his first steps forward the day after Olivia!!! Olivia first walked on Sunday and Ezra began walking the very next day! WOW! Talk about them being synced up!

Although Ezra first started walking the day after Olivia, he is definitely working on the new skill more than her. He seems more confident and determined, and has had a few good successes. Olivia has barely "walked" since Sunday... she is so fast at cruising along things, dropping to crawl, getting back up to cruise... she just doesn't really grasp yet, I think, that she could just WALK. She's got such incredible balance, she's just not utilizing it too well yet. Ezra, on the other hand is ready to get this down and go, go, GO! :-D

Still no videos of them... it's been too sporadic and they always seem to be climbing all over me, which makes it a challenge to get ANY pictures or video these days. Sigh. Soon... I promise!

Pushing Daisies....

2008-10-22T16:00:00.001-06:00

Well, tonight is the BIG debut! ;-) Thanks Sam for reminding me to remind everyone! :-D Ezra and Olivia should be able to be seen in the scene in front of the courthouse on the episode tonight (fourth episode of the season). Pushing Daisies is on ABC and is on at 7:00 pm MST, I believe. Check your local programming for the exact time. On ABC's website, it states it's on at 8/7 Central... but we're Mountain time, and our guide shows it as being on at 7:00 pm! Sooooo... if you don't want to miss them, check your local guide!

So, tonight, Pushing Daisies, ABC. Don't forget. Tune in and be prepared for some quick glimpses of absolute perfection and amazing acting on the parts of E&O.

ENJOY THE SHOW!

Racism and politics

2008-10-20T10:12:00.000-06:00

I haven't touched politics in my blog before now, since this is a blog to share about my family and our adoption. However, for the sake of our country and my children, I believe I must speak up. It saddens, angers, and terrifies me that this type of thing still goes on in this country. I know racism is alive and well... but the level to which this is allowed and endorsed by the McCain/Palin campaign is just nauseating. I realize that mudslinging is a central concept of campaigns. It happens. However, the mud should at least be dug up from something REAL. TANGIBLE. How can ADULTS go around touting such disgusting and off base statements?! Please take a moment to read the letter below and go view the video with segments from McCain/Palin rallies and see what has myself, along with many, many other Americans so upset. It IS time for a change...

Dear Friend,
John McCain and Sarah Palin have stopped talking about the issues, and have instead launched a strategy relying on fear-mongering, racial divisions, and hate. The result is McCain/Palin supporters saying "kill him!" "terrorist!" "traitor," and more, at rallies, with the McCain campaign playing dumb in response. It's outrageous and it must stop.

Together, we can show that Americans of all races won't stand for this.

I've signed onto ColorofChange's open-letter calling out McCain and Palin. ColorOfChange.org will publish it this week, and as they've shown in the past, when enough of us stand together, we can force the mainstream media to amplify our message. Will you join us?

http://www.colorofchange.org/united/?id=2087-687345

McCain-Palin rallies have started to look more like mob scenes than political events. The candidates keep asking "who is the real Barack Obama?" (a question that also kicks off almost every McCain television ad).In response, supporters have yelled "terrorist!" and "traitor!" And the venom goes beyond Obama--one McCain/Palin supporter shouted a racial epithet at a Black member of a news crew, saying "sit down, boy."

McCain and Palin are going down a dangerous path. Watching some of their supporters being interviewed shows the kind of fear their campaign is stoking and exploiting.McCain and Palin are clearly in the driver's seat. They've personally made it a point to use "terrorist" and "Obama" in the same sentence; they have surrogates repeatedly refer to him by his middle-name;and they keep pushing the discredited guilt-by-association smears that have long been debunked.

All of it plays on the much more sinister rumors in anonymous smear emails which claim Obama is Muslim (a myth designed to tap into anti-Muslim bigotry), anti-American, and is somehow connected with terrorists. This strategy is powerful because Obama is Black, and it's designed to make Obama's race a disadvantage without appearing overtly racist.

As Americans of all stripes, we've seen how Barack Obama's historic candidacy has moved our friends and family to have a more honest conversation about race in this country. It's inspired a lot of people to step out of their comfort zone and confront racism in their own communities, with their friends, neighbors and families.

In the final days of this campaign, we can't let a desperate John McCain and Sarah Palin drag us down. If enough of us act, we can create a powerful story in the media about Black people and our allies of all races standing together against race-baiting and fear-mongering coming from the McCain/Palin campaign. But it will take a lot of us speaking in unison.

Will you sign an open letter to McCain and Palin, telling them who you are and why you won't let them move our country backward? ColorofChange.org will publish the letter and make sure John McCain is forced to respond.

http://www.colorofchange.org/united/?id=2087-687345

Thanks.

Off my soapbox and back to life... boy do I look forward to having this election behind us and having the thrill of worthy and capable new leadership for our country just around the corner... GO OBAMA!

She WALKS!

2008-10-19T14:13:00.000-06:00

Oh my gosh... I can hardly believe I'm posting this. Olivia WALKED on her own today! She has been SOOOOO CLOSE for a long time now, but she did it today! I'm one proud mama! Her and Ezra both have been able to stand unassisted for a few weeks now (but only if they are distracted and not thinking about what they're doing! ;-), and able to walk quite well behind their little ride on cars and walker thing. They do just DANDY with something in front of them to give them confidence. But today... she WALKED ON HER OWN! Probably 4-5 steps! It was the cutest walk EVER!

I know Ezra is just behind her... any day now we'll have 2 TODDLERS! ;-) How exciting!!! I'll try and get my camera unpacked and start snapping some pictures and video later today to upload... stay tuned!

(Sorry to be so behind in updates. I got sick last week and JUST when I thought I was getting over it, my cold returned FULL FORCE yesterday and I've been exhausted just trying to drag myself about with the minimal necessary tasks around here. Poor Livi has a fountain of snot that is plaguing her nose, and Ezra has the darn cold too, but thankfully he never gets such a miserable, messy nose. Poor babes.

Something to read... a true MUST READ!

2008-10-16T09:51:00.000-06:00

Life can be so ironic sometimes. I used to feel so much more literate and eloquent. I recently felt called to action by some posts on an agency specific adoption group I'm a part of. I felt I HAD to attempt to provide some introspection and perspective on a PAP's (prospective adoptive parent) comments about adopting to "save" a child.

Ironic to me that I have now seen a post on a much more eloquent and amazing mama's blog... thank you Julie Please take a few minutes to go to Julie's blog and read her post. Is adoption selfish. Yes. It IS. Is adoption the ANSWER to the problem of poverty. No. Not even close. Yes, it can change the life of the child you adopt... but think about those left behind. Think about how radically you are changing your child's life by adopting them... for better AND for worse. Should we adopt to "save" a child? That's for you to decide... but I truly and deeply believe that one's motives should not revolve around that concept as the primary motivating factor. There are too many other incredible ways to help try and make a difference for the children of the country you are adopting from to adopt because you feel called to "save" a child.

Really. Please. No hate here. No backlash comments. Just consider what I'm trying to say. Think deeply... all AP's need to do this. If you aren't willing to question yourself, your motives, and the life you will provide for your adopted child(ren), you really shouldn't be adopting. As AP's (adoptive parents) we really must take it upon ourselves to see the bigger picture!

Thank you Julie. Your eloquence gets across the very point I recently tried to make but failed to TRULY get across. Thank you. :-D

COLORADO

2008-10-10T10:08:00.000-06:00

We are HERE. Somehow, we made it. It was a whirlwind up until the moment I put the kids in the car to go to the airport. I can only imagine the craziness that's been taking place at our old house after our departure to get stuff loaded into the trailer, finalize packing, and get the dogs loaded up to get here. Joe and my dad had the fun task of doing that... and are hopefully on the road to us here in Colorado as of this morning! Fingers crossed, please!

The flight here was GREAT. The kids did so well. Ezra was a cranky little man when we first sat down and he saw me sitting with Olivia across the aisle, so I traded with mom and held him for a while and that seems to be just what he wanted. He has truly become a momma's boy overnight. I first noticed it this past week, but I'm sure it was more noticeable since I was so busy running around and packing while he was left to play with his sister and Tia Claudia or Uncle Marty. He'd be relatively content, and then he'd see me coming or going and start screaming. It's pretty cute, even if it does make things a bit more challenging while getting ready to move. He was even worse when he'd see Joe. Normally Joe plays with them from the time he gets home until they go to bed... so all the evenings spent packing and preparing this week and over last weekend sent Ezra into a furious fit when he saw his daddy come or go. Livi is much the same, just less dramatic and insistent.

When we arrived at DIA we did quick diaper changes on the kiddos and then zoomed to baggage claim. My bag was already waiting on the carousel and we grabbed it and started for the car.... and then my mom reminded me about our car seats. We had checked our nearly brand new (used only 2 times so far I think) Britax Marathon car seats. Yikes! I ran back to the over sized baggage area to try and find them. No go. I waited and watched a while, but still nothing. I asked a baggage employee and he began looking into it. Long story short, they were missing. Ugh. We filed a claim and I was ushered to a back room to select suitable loaner seats. Uh huh. A bit of a challenge when the only car seats they have are infant car seats (which the kids outgrew a good month ago) or forward facing car seats (which they aren't big enough or old enough for yet).

I tried explaining the dilemma to the woman at the baggage counter, but she kept arguing that they could go in the infant seats. I explained the reasons they couldn't be put in those, but she persisted. We had to talk to a couple of supervisors before we made any progress. In the meantime the original guy we spoke to about our missing car seats asked if he could buy us lunch since he felt so badly about it all. The kids were totally zoned out, strapped to my mom and I in the Ergo's. I thanked him, but declined since we needed to get the kids home and get THEM fed... and trying to find some sort of table food they could manage to eat at the airport was something I hoped to avoid.

About two hours after our plane landed, a woman with the airline took me over to the Delta baggage area. She said she wanted me to see if they had what we needed before she went to buy the convertible car seats we needed. You know what? They DID! At least 5 or 6 of them! I snagged two, thanked the Delta guy, and we rushed out to the car. After some fiddling, we got the car seats in the car, babies loaded, and were on our way home. I sat in the back seat, feeding Ezi & Livi a late lunch and wishing away a migraine that had moved in and made itself comfortable in my brain during the whole snaffu. Thankfully, they were hungry and ate like champs so I was able to move to the front seat and recover from the car sickness, take some medicine and even get most of the migraine eased away. By the time we hit home, I was feeling MUCH better.

Ezi and Livi are having a blast here and loving all the space. They are so smily and cute. We haven't been outside much since I packed so lightly for the plane and the weather's a bit cold for the clothes I have (for myself... I have layers for the kiddos ;-). Shorts and flip flops just doesn't do it for me on 50 degree days anymore... I truly have lost my hardened Colorado blood! Nothin' but a wimpy So Cal transplant for the moment. Mom even had to turn on the furnace for me! :-D

I'd better run. We're off to a consignment sale this morning (baby/kid stuff galore) to look for a playhouse for the kids, amongst other goodies. Then, we are loading up on fun stuff to send my brother for his birthday next month! You have to plan in advance when mail takes so long reach the recipient! I imagine it'll be getting pretty cold in Afghanistan by then... so I'll pack a nice, snuggly blanket with the kids picture on it or something saying "We love you Uncle Captain Z!" Oh yeah, he'd love that! ;-)

We are soooo looking forward to seeing Michael and Julia (and maybe meeting Brad this time?) again soon, and getting to know others from the Colorado Ethiopian adoption group. We already miss our SoCal Ethiopia Adopt and OCEAN friends... stay in touch! We will visit when we can! Feel free to come to Colorado and see us anytime! :-D

Procrastination

2008-10-01T11:37:00.000-06:00

"Procrastination is a type of behavior which is characterized by deferment of actions or tasks to a later time. Psychologists often cite procrastination as a mechanism for coping with the anxiety associated with starting or completing any task or decision. Psychology researchers also have three criteria they use to categorize procrastination. They believe that procrastination must be counterproductive, needless, and delaying.

For an individual, procrastination may result in stress, a sense of guilt, the loss of personal productivity, the creation of crisis and the disapproval of others for not fulfilling one's responsibilities or commitments. These combined feelings can promote further procrastination. While it is normal for people to procrastinate to some degree, it becomes a problem when it impedes normal functioning. Chronic procrastination may be a sign of an underlying psychological or physiological disorder." --- Wikipedia

Ok, yeah. I'm guilty. I am seriously procrastinating. Considering that I am MOVING to another state next week, you'd think I'd be busy packing rather than blogging. Alas, I just haven't been able to get myself to focus on the task at hand. I HAVE gotten some boxes packed... just not as many as I should have by now. :-( So, now that I know I'm a chronic procrastinator, I guess I should be seeking professional help before it reaches the level of impeding my normal functioning. Gulp.

Anyone out there like to pack? Wanna come pack up my house? Or, you could come watch the ridiculously adorable duo so that I can actually pack. Hmmm, there's a thought. ;-) I did get some help from the lovely, Tia Claudia, on Monday. Poor thing drove down here from Long Beach to help me, after puking her guts out all day on Sunday from food poisoning! She didn't tell me about it BEFORE she came down though... I'm not THAT selfish to let her come help after being so sick! I did enjoy her company though, and got a lot more packed up during E&O's afternoon nap than I would have without her assistance. Thanks Claudia!

Other than moving, things have been pretty low key. Ezra has decided the easiest way to avoid eating something is to let the bite of food just sit in his mouth, mixing with saliva and liquefying until it all drools back out. Let's just say that the last week has been a wee bit frustrating... I know the kid's got to be hungry! He's taking his bottles just fine, and sometimes has a bite or two of food before deciding he won't eat it, what's up?! I've tried all stages of baby food, table food, different flavors, etc. If I push it and keep trying to give him food, he'll often give me a look of frustration and then throw up whatever he's eaten. I'd be worried... but other than this he seems perfectly normal. Any thoughts?! I'm ready to poke my eyeballs out at this point! It's a bummer too, because the new habit seems to be rubbing off on lil' miss Livi. Oi!

Ok, lunch time for the peanuts! Ta ta for now!

We're OUTTA here!

2008-09-24T16:52:00.000-06:00

I don't know how else to say this, so I'll get to the point. We're MOVING to Colorado. There. I said it. No one can talk us out of it now, because the kids and I fly to Colorado with my mom on October 8 and Joe and my dad will be following with the dogs and my car and a trailer load of CRAP on Thursday evening. Yikes. It's a bittersweet feeling to get this news out there.

We wanted to tell each and everyone that we know and care about in person, but we haven't had the chance to yet. We will be leaving behind relatives, friends, and some really lovely year-round weather! But, we'll be moving to family, friends, SPACE, lower cost of living, snow days, snowball fights, sledding, FAMILY, space, friends, etc. We'll be able to buy a house with a YARD - heck, maybe even a few acres. Wow. I COULD get a horse again - if I want to. I had to sell my horses to move out here and I miss them, darn it. But really, we're moving for the kids. We want the kids to grow up in an environment where Joe doesn't have to work crazy, long hours to cover our bills, where they have room to run, clean air to breathe, LOADS of open spaces to hike, climb, bike, ski, or whatever in. I want them to enjoy the thrill of waking up to a snow day and enjoying hot chocolate, playing in the snow, snuggling up inside by a fireplace and reading. I want to see our fur kids running around and chasing rabbits, even though they have NO hope of ever catching one. I want to FEEL like I can dress nicely and look good again - on a GOOD day in O.C. I look like the average woman here. On a normal day - I look like a homeless bum next to the average person here. Since moving to O.C. Joe and I have changed so much - some great stuff... some not so great. We've both become more image conscious, drive expensive cars, and always want MORE. We didn't used to be quite so needy and spoiled. I don't think everyone here is like that, heck no. But this is the land of plastic surgery, Hollywood, and detoxing. Detoxing ALL THE STINKING TIME. :-) Ok, again, not everyone, just some people I know and love that think their bodies will never be clean and healthy enough.

Sorry. Done rambling. Joe will NOT be moving with the kids and I just yet. He will continue to work here and fly to Colorado on the weekends. We won't be seeing much less of him since he generally doesn't get home from work until the kids go to bed - or sometime after that. The kids and I are leaving now because our house is so difficult to keep clean ENOUGH, tidy ENOUGH, and empty ENOUGH for all the showings we've been having. It's nuts. I'm constantly loading the kids into the stroller or the car, locking the dogs in the garage, clearing all the toys out of the downstairs, and getting ready for another showing. Our life has been REVOLVING around them. We have TWO offers now... so hopefully we'll get this place sold pretty quickly, but I don't want to count my chickens before they're hatched. We've been down this road before and had the buyers back out two weeks before closing... so we need to get the chaos outta here. I want the kids to have some stability, and mostly I want ME to have some sanity again. I'm losing my mind! I like clean and organized, but with two tornadoes and three fur balls - this is TOUGH.

Bleck. This was painful. I'm sorry to everyone we're "leaving behind." We really do hope/plan to visit as much as possible. We'll miss California. And, we hope everyone will be able to come visit us in Colorado. Seriously. Please. I'm begging. I hate goodbyes. I'm much to weak and sappy for that.

On other fronts, we have had a few other things happening lately. We had our first post placement visit (I know - it was WAY overdue... I'm sorry everyone!). It was a breeze, and pretty wild to see our social worker for the first time since she completed our home visit and wrote our homestudy for us. The kids were in happy, wonderful moods and it lasted about an entire 15 minutes or so. She was amazed at how well they're doing and how smoothly things are going. I was like, "Yeah, we're just such awesome parents, ya know. How could things not be going so perfectly? Duh!" Ok, maybe I didn't say that. I know it's really got something to do with how incredible Ezi and Livi are, and that's just about impossible to take credit for. We are blessed with the two most incredible little miracle babies ever. And trust me, it's not like I'm biased here. ;-)

Then, the next bit of excitement was that Oli and Ezi had their 9-month birthday. At nine months, we are truly awed at what our little Einsteins are doing. I know as parents we're all impressed by what our babies do, but ours ARE amazing. :-D Ezra can now stand on his own (without holding ANYTHING) for a few seconds before losing his balance. They climb all over everything. Walking is on the horizon... gulp. I think Olivia's working on her first word too... but that's still a bit hard to say for sure. There have been a few times that she's said "Baaa" while holding a ball. Just a short, sweet "Baaa" with no other babbling. She also chased Joe down the hallway and shouted "Dada" but I don't know if it was just babble or not. Probably babble. But still. They're brilliant.

Oh, and here's something to make you all laugh. I was zooming around trying to get the 3 of us ready to leave the house the other day. The kids were fed, diapered, dressed and ready to go. I just had to slap some makeup on my face so I didn't look like walking death. I bolted up the stairs and spent a whopping 2 minutes doing my makeup. I heard a little screech out of Chloe, but nothing more. When I came zipping back down the stairs, what I saw stopped me in my tracks. My precious little Olivia was sitting in "the mosh pit" (what we call this big, huge square section of our couch) and was surrounded by Chloe's dog food. She had a fistful in each hand and was as happy as a lark. Chloe, on the other hand, was huddled in the corner of the mosh pit, skulking. Olivia had crawled up the doggie steps (small steps onto the couch for Chloe and Cooper). Yikes.

I couldn't believe I left the steps down without me being in the room. Stellar parenting, I know. She's climbed the steps one other time (while I was there), and I've been working hard on teaching her what happens when you crawl off the edge. She's learned to NOT crawl off the edge... but still. Ugh. Poor Chloe was so bummed about her food getting swiped. She's been so sick again lately which is the only reason her food was left up there for her to nibble on. You better bet I cleaned Livi's hands off and checked her mouth for any little treats. Ready for the next test, Livi girl! You taught me.

So yep. This is the house of learning these days. Kiddos learning, mommies learning, everyone's learning something these days. :-)

Ok, time to end this post and get the NEWS out there. :-)

Baby Crap... I mean Baby Gap

2008-09-12T17:18:00.001-06:00

Hmm. Maybe that's not such a nice thing to call this post. Besides, I'm not really sure who's to blame for the morning's insanity, but as far as I'm concerned...

Let me start at the beginning. On Tuesday Olivia and Ezra were asked to audition for Baby Gap's Spring 2009 ads. I agreed - so long as both kidlets were healthy by the audition today. We were given an appointment time of 11:35 am, and the kids had been ASKED to come based on a photo Gap had already seen of them.

Ok. Los Angeles, Friday, 11:35 am. Got it.

This morning begins:

7:00 am Feed hungry babies

7:30 am Run around house preparing stuff needed to take for audition (bottles, food, diapers, clothes, etc.) Pretend you don't hear two screaming mimi's begging for attention and climbing up your legs every time you pass through the room.

8:30 am Allow crazy babies to climb all over you for a half an hour like their own personal jungle gym. Prevent as many poking of the eyes and hair pulling between the two of them as possible.

9:00 am Lay babies down for a brief nap before departure. Load car with baby gear while babies are sleeping.

9:30 am Wake peacefully sleeping babies to change diapers, dress, and load into cars.

10:00 - 11:15 am Drive to Los Angeles

11:15 - 11:30 am Search desperately for a parking spot in very crowded area. Watch out. Don't run over toddlers and parents holding babies & pushing strollers. They're everywhere. Breathe. This is going to be a bit nuts... there's quite a crowd at the studio.

11:30 am QUICKLY load babies into stroller/ergo. Grab diaper bag. Oops. Run back, lock car. Cross busy street with no light or crosswalk. Run 3 blocks down broken up sidewalk with stroller frequently getting stuck in holes and crevices.

11:35 am Arrive at studio RIGHT ON TIME. Long line coming out of front door of building. Huh. Stand in line. Begin chatting with other parents. Learn that some parents were told to arrive during a "window" of time - somewhere in a two hour gap. No appointment. Huh again. Ask parents exiting building how long they have been there. 1 hour +. Ugh.

12:10 pm Move Ezra from back position in Ergo to front position. Stop starving babies and mix two bottles. Hold bottle in Ezra's mouth by pinching it between chin and chest. Stoop over and hold Olivia's bottle in one hand while pushing stroller with other hand. Get many stares from people. Begin realizing most OTHER babies have 2 adults to cater to their needs. Hmm. Realize you are the ONLY parent with two babies and no help. Gulp. Sigh. Sorry Ezi & Livi.

12:40 pm Arrive at check in desk. Ask about appointments vs. window to arrive. Told some agencies blew it and gave out windows' rather than clients' assigned arrival time. Grr. Fill out two sheets of paper with E&O's info on it. Begin wait for our numbers to be called (63 & 64). Force way into the crowd of people. Begin standing shoulder to shoulder. No more than 6 inches in any direction to next person. Hot, stuffy, fun.

1:00 pm Begin feeling tired and impatient. Ask someone what number they are on. They are now calling number 15. Oi. Hum and sing to Ezra while holding squirming Olivia on hip. Hum loudly enough to have Ezi hear me over the drone of babies squawking, screaming, and toddlers talking. Succeed. Get Ezra to sleep. Somehow keep Olivia from crying.

1:30 pm Our numbers are called! Hallelujah! Force way to front where babies will be photographed for "audition." Wake Ezra who had FINALLY fallen asleep in Ergo so he'd be ready for his close up.

1:40 pm Plop Ezra onto white, paper ground in front of photographer. Smile at his cute, sleepy, open mouthed, blank stare at photographer. What a trooper.

1:41 pm Put Ezra in stroller and plop Olivia on ground in front of photographer. Nope, try again. Olivia, stop crawling away! Plop her down on her toosh again. Hold her down. Sing songs. Beg her. Just wants to crawl away. Photographer keeps getting shots of the top of her head as she attempts to get free from further constraint and lack of movement. Get one shot of her face on - crying now. Beg photographer for one more chance. Please. Let me try another toy... Nope. Our turn is over. Ok. Let's go home.

1:45 pm Leave chaos. Breathe "fresh" air. (Is the air outside in LA fresh?)

2:00 pm Force kids into car seats. More constraints. Not happy babies. Give another bottle. Ok, that's better. Load car. Down a bottle of tea. Whew. We did it. Drive home in traffic since audition took so long.

Yep. That's our day. And therefore, why in my current state I'm now calling it Baby Crap. You'd think that after all these years they'd have the auditions down. I'm not sure if Gap was organizing it, or the studio we were at, but it was a zoo. One agency that was part of why the schedule was so screwed up will no longer be used by Gap. Ezra and Olivia were such troopers. Made me proud. Just wish Livi had been able to sit patiently for one SECOND in front of the camera to make it worthwhile for her. Oh well. Guess they could still end up getting a call back... but I'm NOT holding my breath!

All whining aside, I really am proud of the kids and think it would be so cool if they were called back. What fun for them to get to be in the Spring 2009 Baby Gap advertisements! I sure would enjoy seeing their beautiful little faces light up the photos.

Better run. Von's grocery delivery guy just arrived! Yep... I'm that lazy right now, I ordered my groceries online! So cool!

The newest MUST HAVE accessory...

2008-09-10T15:55:00.000-06:00

My fantastic, amazing, uber-cool and creative blogging buddy, Tara is now open to the public! She's hand-crafting fabulous leather cuffs for babies, kids, and adults! They are so stinkin' cool... I can't wait to get mine!

You MUST go check them out. They really are the accessory to have, and are priced really well! Go. Now. Buy a bunch. Christmas is just around the corner... keep that in mind!

These cool cuffs are available on Tara's Etsy site. daisytara.etsy.com

Handsome Malak, Tara's son, sporting a cuff

Cuteness overload

2008-09-08T16:30:00.000-06:00

"Off with his head!!!"

2008-09-08T15:15:00.000-06:00

Did you miss me?

Sorry we haven't gotten updates out lately, mom's been lazy (or busy?)

Uncle Brett, do you know what we've been up to?

Oh finally, mom's going to post about our trip!

Whew. I really meant to post an update prior to this. Things have been a little crazy since we got home, and I seem to have acquired the desire to be desperately lazy. Hmm. Maybe it was the two weeks without Joe with E&O... not sure. Or maybe it was the cold that Joe had when we got home on Thursday and now Ezra and I are both enjoying the effects of catching the cold. Ugh.

Anyhoo, I should start at the beginning. On August 22 we arrived in Denver at about 11:15 pm. We'd lucked into extra seats on the flight, so Ezra and Olivia got to enjoy sitting in their OWN seat in their car seats. Both fell asleep for a little while at the end, but Olivia was awake again the second we landed. Ezra, thankfully, slept through the landing, getting off the plane, and the whole reunion with my sister in baggage claim.

My sister is all grown up! Wow. I obviously knew she would be older and more grown up, but seeing her as an "adult" was still a shocker. Somewhere deep inside her eyes I still saw a familiarity, but otherwise she was so different! She's turned into a beautiful young lady that really seems to know what she's after. Well, sort of. Anyway, our airport reunion was nice, but brief. My dad was there to take Joe, myself and the kids home, and my two sisters (one of whom I was reunited with 4 years ago - my sisters are bio sisters) and one of their bio brothers headed off to get reacquainted at S's home.

The next day, S & J drove up to my parent's place and spent the day visiting with us. We had a great time getting to know each other again, and rounded out the evening with a ridiculously humiliating home video extravaganza. I was the oldest sister, and definitely dug the leader role. S & J really had to endure a lot with me, I tell ya. We were all in dance, and I enjoyed (with a little of their help) coming up with recitals and such at home. Oh yeah, we were the bomb. I had one song I wrote about my hampster (that had died) and how I wished it would come back to me... yadada yadada. We had this Christmas show with a program and everything... there was only, oh, 40 songs on the list... most of which were songs I'd made up.

Ok, back to the topic. We watched videos, laughed at ourselves, cried, talked, answered tough questions, etc. S has been feeling sick for quite some time now and has dramatically dropped weight in the last 6 months. Scary skinny. We talked with Joe's mom, a Dr., and asked about some things that concerned us since part of the day S was laid up in bed away from the festivities. J and I discussed our concerns with each other, but agreed we didn't want to get into talking about it with S yet. J knew her and S weren't close enough for her to mention it, and I felt I needed to talk to S at the "right" time... which wasn't that day. :-S That night, the girls drove back to S's house about 10:00pm. Apparently, the drive home is where the real DRAMA of the weekend began.

Drama, you ask? Yes. Drama. I am a totally old, mommified bore and was out cold (sleeping) by the time my phone rang at 11:13pm. S was freaking out and telling me there was a problem with J. Huh? The problem was that J wanted a beer and some time to chill out on S's porch by herself and process the crazy amount of things that were happening to her (learning more about her past, seeing her old family members after 15 years, you know... stuff). S was worried that J was an alcoholic since she'd ALSO had a drink the night before, so she wouldn't take her to the store to buy a beer. That's when J walked off to be alone. That was the problem - in brief.

I spent the next half an hour talking to each one as they handed the phone back and forth. J had also upset S by confronting her on the sensitive health issues, so S was mad at J, J was mad at S, etc. Neither one thought they should stay at the same 1 bedroom apartment anymore, so S asked if J could come stay at my parent's house. I told her I'd ask my parent's since it was THEIR house and that it was late, couldn't we change the housing situation the next day? Finally, they agreed to leave each other alone and get some sleep.

Early the next morning they arrived, ready to pull me off to the side and get their side of the story in. We ended up spending the morning on my parent's deck having a "pow-wow." Mom, S, J, and myself. Things were smoothed over and both agreed that some overreacting was happening to to the high level of emotions relating to being reunited. There was a little too much forcing of the "getting to know" EVERYTHING about each other going on. J was going to stay with us at my parents, and they could give each other space.

Well, soon after, J asked if she could invite her ex-boyfriends' parents up to meet us as she was very close to them. We agreed and soon they were on their way up. The visit was brief and J decided she was going to go spend a night with them... which ended up being the rest of the time we were in Colorado. Gulp. I hope she does not disappear on us again, but I know it was a lot to take in. I'm sure once she gets done with basic training and returns to Colorado she'll be ready to visit again. I hope things go more smoothly next time, but was not altogether surprised that there were some... hiccups. :-)

While in Berthoud, we greatly enjoyed meeting the infamous Julia and Michael! It was so neat to see them in person, as I've followed their adoptive journey since the middle of last year, prior to their referral. Michael was so cute, and incredibly generous to allow Ezra to cling to his mommy so much and use her as a jungle gym. The three of them got along well, and the play date was a lot of fun. I look forward to many more fun get togethers in the future!

So, that's THAT visit. On Wednesday (August 27) my parent's, E&O and I were off to Chicago. Joe flew home on Sunday since he had to work. We spent the next 4 days enjoying the company of my aunt (mom's sister), uncle, cousins, and my cousins' 3 month old, Luke. It was a bittersweet visit, as my aunt has been battling with cancer for seven and a half years. She's fought an incredible battle and I admire her strength and courage through it all. She has been a first grade teacher for years, but was unable to return this year, which is such a loss for those students that would have been in her class... she's an amazing woman. She was so delighted with Ezra and Olivia, and showered them with some cool gifts - my favorite of which was some great books and the stuffed animals that go with them.

Please keep my Aunt Patti in your thoughts and prayers. This past Tuesday she went in for her final round of chemo before her next scan to see how effective it's been. She has a mass in her chest that makes it very hard to breathe, and I pray for her breath to come easier and her pain to be lessened. I am so proud and thankful to have such incredible cousins that take such amazing care of their mama. It's hard to be so far away and to be able to do so little. I am so thankful that her husband, my Uncle Al, is so strong and has been able to hold her up and help her fight through this. The strength in their family makes me proud. I love them all endlessly and wish our visit had been under happier circumstances. Robin (I'm guessing you'll read this), please give Aunt Patti more love, hugs, and kisses from myself, Joe, Ezra and Olivia and tell her she's always in our thoughts and prayers. It meant the world to me to get to have those precious days in their house enjoying the delicious treats, yummy food, and fun conversations.

While in Chicago we also got to see my Uncle Steve (my mom's brother) and my grandpa (my mom's dad). It's been a while, and it was such a joy to show off E&O to them all. My grandpa also has been struggling again with his heart, and apparently the valve that was replaced last year is beginning to leak again. I wish there was something I could do to help get THAT fixed for him! I'm sure another heart surgery does NOT sound like something he'd be too interested in at this point.

Luke was so cute and much smaller than he looked in his more recent photos we'd seen prior to meeting him. He looks so much like my cousin (his dad) did as a baby. He also has this adorable, pouty lip thing he does where he sucks in his lower lip and it sort of quivers. Totally cute. It's funny to see him... a tiny bit bigger weight wise that Ezra was at homecoming, about a pound and a half bigger than Olivia and imagine them like that again. They change so quickly, and yet seeing them every day it is hard to realize how much they have grown. This was E&O's first time around a smaller baby... they've ALWAYS been the smallest in the group. It was neat, and funny, to see them looking like the gargantuan babies. Sadly, since Luke isn't old enough for any baby proofing to need to be done at my Aunt's house yet, it also meant 4 days of E&O going NUTS trying to grab everything in sight and not be able to crawl more than 3 feet in any direction without being turned around or picked up.

Oh, and as for sleep. Huh. So much for being able to show off my good sleepers! Poor Olivia and Ezra had been taken from home, to Colorado, to Chicago, back to Colorado, and then home. They did sort of OK in Colorado sleeping (a few fairly minor night awakenings), fairly catastrophic in Chicago (they are somewhat light sleepers and were supposed to be sleeping in the room that adjoined the area of main activity - aka LOTS of noise! :-), back to decent in Colorado, and at home... almost PERFECT again. Phew. It was pretty much terrifying to watch them spiral into such an awful sleep pattern - I was sure we were doomed to a long time trying to get them back on schedule. But, turns out, a sleeping pill or two knocks them right out! KIDDING! Seriously, no drugs needed, they were so happy to be home!

Overall, I think the kids were troopers. Their world was flipped upside down, they were forced to sleep in strange places, spent LOTS of time in the PeaPods, and missed their daddy for almost two weeks. I'm sure we were a bit of a tornado and looked like chaos to all my relatives, but considering the changes they went through, I guess I am impressed with how they did. The toughest part for me was that for a couple of days in Chicago they began giving me some reasons for attachment concerns. They'd start crying and crawl to ANYONE but me. Totally NOT normal for them. They'd even push me away a bit when I'd try to soothe them... which was an emotional blow on top of all the emotions I was already facing with my aunt's health, grandpa's health, and the drama with the reunion with J.

I was not the most easy going person by the end of the weekend, I'm sure. It's hard because I don't want to always "force" information on people, but know that outside of the adoptive realm, very few people know about attachment, bonding, and how important these issues can be with adoption. Not everyone will have serious issues, but I feel it's about being proactive. Ezi & Livi came home at a VERY early age. According to the International Adoption pediatrician we saw that means they really shouldn't have too many issues with attachment and bonding since that tends to be more of an issue for babies/children older than 6 months. BUT, it's still about being proactive. Only Joe and I feed the kids (except for an exception here or there), we try to be the ones that always diaper them, lay them down for nap/bed, get them up, etc. If they need to be soothed, we are the ONLY ones to do so, unless they are being watched by someone else while I shower or something. This seems to be something that's hard to understand for people, so I spent a lot of effort trying to downplay how HUGE that is in my focus and running around double time to ensure I could handle the care of both of them without it seeming like someone needed to step in and lend a hand.

Does that make any sense? Hard to explain... but it was exhausting. I really am no super woman, and was so tired by the time we finally got HOME this past Thursday. Thankfully, once in our own environment again they seem to be coming to me for comfort again (well... there's no one else around during the day again, I guess ;-) and I think they've fallen quickly back into their rhythm. I am SOOOO glad we worked so hard and did "sleep training" early on. I have no idea how I'd remain sane if life was that chaotic and out of whack for more than 2 weeks! Now, if only Ezra and I didn't have colds.... boohoo!

Saturday was kept exciting by a visit from our neighbor, Stephanie. She came running over while Joe was home with two napping cuties and I was out getting groceries with my mom. Our neighbor needed a hero, but Joe couldn't leave the house. As soon as we got home, Joe grabbed me and started to fill me in as we ran over to Stephanie's house. They had a rattlesnake hanging out in their backyard, which was a serious threat to their three small dogs (fellow mini dachshund family!). Stephanie grabbed a big shovel, handed it to Joe, and we began searching for where the snake had gone. Upon locating it, I egged Joe on since he's a bit of a snake wimp. Not that I'm not, but I knew he wouldn't go through with it without some assistance. ;-) After a little prodding, the shovel went squishing down through the snake's neck, crunching as it went. Ewwww. I covered my eyes and ran away; I've seen enough snake gore from living in the country along the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Joe chopped off it's head and saved the day! Poor snake was definitely chillin' in the wrong place, that's for sure. Sorry dude!

Oh, and one last bit of info. Chloe (my super cool mini dachshund that has enough attitude to fill the entire state of California) had a checkup with her neurologist, Dr. Berry today. I loaded her and the kids up and headed in to see the super cool, South African neurologist that saved Chloe's life early last November. We have been able to reduce her Cyclosporine levels quite a bit over the last two months - a slow weaning process to see if her body can handle it without her brain swelling again and herniating BACK into her spinal canal. She's done GREAT and over the next 2 months we'll reduce her medication levels further. We go see Dr. Berry in two months and if she's done well with the continued reduction, she'll be taken OFF Cyclosporine! A huge feat for Chloe, that wasn't expected to live through all this. She's had quite a year - Menigoencephalitis, bladder stones, a cystotomy (to remove the stones), ear infections, and nasty side effects from the Prednisone. Her Cyclosporine cost $200/bottle and we were going through a bottle every 4-5 weeks. Yikes. Plus, finding arrangements for the dogs when we leave town was so challenging because of her medication and how crucial it was for it to be given to her at the right time, two times a day. Thank you Claudia for always taking care of our fur babies when we leave town!

So, that's the last two weeks, in a VERY big nutshell.

Whatcha lookin' at? This post is OVER!

We're BACK!

2008-09-04T16:26:00.001-06:00

Whew. What an exhausting couple of weeks! Sorry I haven't been able to post, things have just been so stinkin' busy!

We just got home about an hour ago - so details to follow soon... just wanted everyone to know we're ALIVE! It was so fabulous to see so many people that I care so much about. I definitely wish I was able to do more visiting with all of them!

Off to start unpacking, figuring out what groceries we need (the fridge is EMPTY!), and getting the bambinos back on a schedule!

Busy days of incredibly exciting stuff ahead!

2008-08-22T12:34:00.001-06:00

Well, this will be my last post before we head to Colorado! The events that have taken place this week have been truly incredible. J, my long lost sister, has been so great to talk to and continues to impress and amaze me. I'm so proud of her. It was sounding like it'd be awhile before we'd be able to see each other in person, though... so I was bummed. However, in the last two days I was able to find a shuttle to get her to the airport (she doesn't have a car), a plane ticket, and convince her I was treating MYSELF by doing all this for her... so she's coming to Colorado TOO!

We arrive tonight about 11:15 pm - ugh. The kids will be beat, but hopefully it'll mean they'll fall asleep on the flight since they slept on this flight out last time. When we get to DIA, J will have already arrived - barring any delays on her flights. She's hoping to meet us at our gate, and if not there then at baggage claim. It's going to be one of those very public reunions, for sure! My dad will be there to take us back to my parent's place, and our other sister, S, will be there to take J back to her place for the first night of slumber party central. ;-)

I can hardly believe that in about 11 hours I'll be officially reunited with J! I'm so stoked... this still feels pretty surreal. It's only been... oh, about 15 years now!

While in Colorado I'm also hoping to get some time in with other friends we've missed. Elsa - you up for driving down?? ;-) We know we'll be having some fun with Michael and Julia, which is incredibly exciting, as we've followed their journey for ages!

Then, after a few days of fun in Colorado, we're off to Chicago to visit my relatives on my mom's side and meet the infamous Luke! I'm so excited to meet him, and I hope Livi and Ezi pick up on the fact that they will finally be the bigger and stronger babies in the bunch (they've ALWAYS been the youngest!) so maybe they won't try and crawl all over him! It'll probably end up looking a bit like a cattle roping contest, with me trying to keep them off the poor little guy!

And THEN, after a few days in Chicago, we're headed BACK to Colorado for a few more days of fun before finally returning home. Whew. It's going to be a whirlwind 2 weeks for the kids and I! Joe isn't coming for most of it - he's just helping fly us to Colorado and then coming home after a day there. Poor Joe... his a total work-a-holic in his new job and doesn't think he's got things squared away ENOUGH to really take any time off. We'll miss him like crazy... and be doing lots of web conferencing I'm sure so he can see E&O!

So, that's what we'll be up to! I'll try and update as I can and possibly even post pictures of the big reunion with my sisters! I'm getting so nervous about it I feel a bit sick to my stomach! I know I shouldn't be... but I can't help it! I really thought this day may never come! Wish us luck on the big adventures about to begin!

Bear crawl

2008-08-21T20:15:00.001-06:00

Ezra's newest trick to avoid putting his knees onto hard surfaces... this kid cracks me up. I remember having to do this as a workout in gym class and it was TIRING!

Happy 8 months!!!

2008-08-21T10:36:00.000-06:00

Wow, what an incredible day this is for us today. Ezra and Olivia are now 8 (EIGHT!) months old! It's incredible to think that we've been together as a family longer than they were without us. We met Ezi & Livi when they were 3.5 months old and came home on April 18th when they were ALMOST four months old. As I think about all these things, I wonder if they still have any remaining memories of their time in Ethiopia. Do they remember Toukoul? Would it feel familiar to them if they were to see the care center again? Would Ethiopia still have anything "familiar" about it to them?

The changes in Ezi have been truly astounding. When we met our little man, he was used to laying in his back and soothing himself in the cutest way. He would hold his right arm up over his head, turn his head to the right, and grab his clothes with his left hand over his heart. So cute and touching, but so heart wrenching. This little man had learned to soothe himself at a young age - too young. His right sided soothing leads me to believe that he was turning into the room at the care center. We saw their cribs, and this hypothesis is right on I believe. Little Ezi must have spent a lot of time watching the door and waiting for snuggles and kisses.

When we first held Ezra, his tiny body was so floppy. He was so young, but so weak for his age. Tummy time was like torture and it took a long time to help him build up his upper body strength. Look at him now!

He talks (still in his own, screeching language), he sits, he crawls, he enjoys making people laugh - currently by shaking his head no over and over again (he doesn't know what it means yet), and he also pulls up to his knees. He's truly amazing. He loves to cuddle with his mama and is becoming a bit of a flirt with me. He stares dreamily into my eyes when I have him strapped into on of our new Ergos (if he's on my front) and smiles whenever I look down at him. Such a ham!

Olivia is such a strong little girl. She has flown through physical milestones and is starting to cruise. She's had a few cruising steps, but isn't doing it very consistently yet. She loves to grunt LOUDLY as one form of talking and has a love affair with blowing raspberries. When eating, when crawling around, when climbing on things... spit's always flying! She's still a peanut, but is definitely so, sooooo much bigger than the day we met her. She's puttin' on the pounds and it's looking like it's mostly muscle. Both Livi and Ezi look pretty lean compared to many other babies around their age... but I swear we feed them LOADS of yummy stuff. They still consume formula like it's going out of style, and have been enjoying more and more foods with more texture.

Olivia is starting to work on her pincher grasp, and it's coming along. She now gets Cheerios and puffs into her mouth with relatively frequent success... her only problem is getting it OUT of her hand once she gets it to her mouth! ;-) Ezra's doing pretty well with that too, but seems to still be quite content with grunting and squealing at me to request another bite of something be put into his mouth. Back to Olivia....

She is definitely a mama's girl when she's uncertain about things. She's getting better at snuggling into me when in a carrier (now the Ergo!) and letting herself sleep/nap this way. JUST like me, she tends to prefer her own space when sleeping... but recently she's getting better about being flexible about that when we're out and about. She loves to crawl and climb all over Joe or myself when we're down on the floor playing with them, and has a serious jealousy thing when Ezra's getting cuddled and she's not. This girl has an attitude and will show it if necessary!

A trait these two keepers of my heart share - CURIOUSITY. I realize by nature, all babies are pretty curious. But from DAY 1 with Livi and Ezi, we knew we had some seriously curious kiddos. People have never believed how young they are because of the level of alertness and curiousness they display. They're interested in everything, but in recent weeks have really begun to have a real awareness of what the OTHER one has and then MUST have it for themselves. Olivia is definitely worse than Ezra about this. She follows him around stealing whatever toy he has, and insists on climbing over or onto Ezra to get it. She has also discovered the velcro on the back of his diaper and occasionally spends an entire play session chasing him around, climbing on his booty and trying to undo the velcro. Yikes...

Check this out:

So that's it, in a nutshell. We have been blessed beyond words with two amazing, miracle babies. I can hardly believe I get to be their mommy!

Happy 8 month birthday Olivia and Ezra!!!!!!

Photo catch up

2008-08-20T16:28:00.000-06:00

A few photos from the last few weeks to catch everyone up on the E&O cuteness around here!

Reconnected to my past...

2008-08-19T17:09:00.000-06:00

I can hardly believe I'm typing this. It's taken me nearly 24 hours to get this post written from the time that the following events conspired. This is NOT related to our Ethiopian adoption, but to the "failed" adoption of my sisters.

Let me explain - in BRIEF. :-) My parents wanted to expand our family through adoption when I was about 9 years old. When I was 10, we had two incredible sisters join our family through the county's social services' system. They had endured a life story up to that point that was beyond conceivable (they were 3 & 5 years old then). We loved these girls unconditionally, but the US foster-adopt system can be... well, I won't type what I think. Let's just say that social services in that county did some terrible things, and my beautiful sisters were separated and re-homed individually. They been in our family for over two years when this happened. After some initial contact with us, their new families felt their attachment to us prevented them from bonding to them, so we were no longer allowed to visit. (The re-homing had nothing to do with something that happened in our family - it was external factors).

A miracle happened a few years back - the older sister sent us her high school graduation announcement and invited us to her graduation party. It was unreal. Seriously like living in a foggy dream. What do you say to your "long lost sister" after so many years? Well, long story short, things have gone very well and we're all very close now. Our love never left and we now get to enjoy a friendship I thought would never be possible. I had one of my sisters back - it was a different sisterhood, but it was something.

This was also a constant reminder of our other sister for me. It nagged at me and made my heart ache more than ever before. Our younger sister had also lost contact with her bio sister (getting confused?) as well as our family. Only small second/third hand details were passed along to S (the older of the two) on what had become of J. We both talked of how we'd love to find her, but from what we heard, she wanted nothing to do with any of us. So, we reluctantly didn't begin the large-scale search for her in order to respect what we thought were her wishes.

Last week, S decided it was time to find J. Don't know why she thought NOW was the time, I guess it was because she thought they had a way to track her down. Anyway, J has been located! Not only has she been located (after a few false leads!), but I have SPOKEN to her! I wept and wept yesterday when sister, S, called to tell me she'd spoken with J and J WANTED to talk to myself and my family! Apparently we'd been told wrong and she'd always wanted to reunite with us!

J and I spoke for TWO hours yesterday afternoon. Half the time I was hardly able to form sentences - had our little J really grown up?! She sounds sooooo different. Of course she would, but when you haven't spoken to someone since they were 7 years old.... at ALMOST 22 years old now they sound pretty different! She's truly blowing me away. I couldn't be more amazed at what she's endured, overcome, and risen above. There isn't an ounce of weakness in her, I think. She sounds so mature and couldn't be more sweet and polite. Wow. I've fallen in love all over again with my baby sister. :-D She's back - and hopefully for good this time! We're halfway across the country from each other right now, but we're hoping to meet face-to-face soon. I haven't seen a picture of her yet... so I have no idea what she looks like. It's weird when I talk to her because I have this vision of her tiny (she was TINY for her age) little self with white-blond hair and her cherubic face with adorable chubby cheeks. She tells me her hair darkened and she's NEARLY my height! (She's 5'6", I'm 5'7"). She was so little we all figured she'd be lucky to hit 5'0"!

Ok, enough rambling. I spoke with her again today for about 45 minutes... this is unbelievably surreal. I am in total awe. Thanks for listening to me ramble - I just had to share my joy! She's doing so well with this "blast from the past." She spent most of the day yesterday on the phone - talking to S, talking to my parents, talking to me. It's crazy. I hope we don't overwhelm her - at this point she tells us she's realizing how much she missed us... but I'm sure that'll wear off soon when she remembers how goofy we all are! ;-)

Are you racist? LINK FIXED! :-)

2008-08-19T09:30:00.000-06:00

There was a link to an interesting study posted on one of the Yahoo Ethiopian Adoptive groups I'm a part of. It's quite interesting. Many people have been surprised by their results. I was relieved to get a response stating "You show little to no preference between European Americans and African Americans." I really didn't think I would, as I don't consider myself racist, but the study was formed (I believe) to test for underlying racism.

Take the test for yourself and see where you are in the racism spectrum.

Tag - I'm it!

2008-08-14T15:26:00.000-06:00

Holy cow! Katie, you've got me! I've been tagged for a SAHMBOSS award! The first time being tagged for me, so hang for some seriously exciting stuff!

So what is the SAHMBOSS award, you ask? In Porter's words, it's "some kind of annoying prestigious hybrid meme/award thing, which now - thanks to Michele's way with words - will officially be known forever s The Super Awesome Hot Mama Blogger or some shit (SAHMBOSS) meme/award."

Here's how it works:

First, I have to answer a little questionnaire thing all about ME!

Then I have to choose 7 bloggers who I feel are super awesome hot mama bloggers or some shit (see list below) and I "give" them the SAHMBOSS "award." They will post their own answers to the questionnaire on their own blog and they will choose 7 more recipients. And so it goes!

Here is the questionnaire:

A. Attached or single? Ummm... attached for sure. To my DH Joey and my kids - the hairy and not so hairy ones!

B. Best friend? Are we in high school here? Do we have to pick the BEST one? Ok, I don't have one. My mom I guess, followed up by the lovely Claudia. Yep, that'll have to be it.

C. Cake or pie? CAKE! Though, I have come to love pie over the last decade (hated it before due to the texture).

D. Day of choice? Saturday. Most definitely. No work, family's together, love it!

E. Essential item? LAPTOP! I can't be without the stupid thing for long or I feel so disconnected from the world!

F. Favorite color? PINK, so cool, I know!

G. Gummy bears or worms? Worms. I hate worms soooo much, so maybe that gives me a rush when I eat a gummy worm. Honestly though, I don't really LOVE either. I pretty much never have them.

H. Hometown? Not sure - where I live NOW or where I'm originally from? And if it's where I'm "originally" from, is that where I lived the longest growing up, or where I lived as a child. Right now, I'll go with Berthoud, CO - home prior to being a married woman.

I. Indulgence? TV and crappy food. I am a couch potato whenever I can be and I love ice cream and other not-so-healthy food. NOT a good combo!

J. January or July? July - love the summer!

K. Kids? Two amazing babies - our twins Ezra and Olivia, two miniature dachshunds, and one malamute. Yep, it's a full house!

L. Life isn't complete without? My family!

M. Marriage date? June 18, 2005 (our 5 year dating anniversary!)

N. Number of brothers and sisters? One brother and two girls that will always be my sisters in my heart.

O. Oranges or apples? Either, can't decide.

P. Phobias? Worms. I kid you not when I say I HATE worms. I'll cry if I touch one or when it rains and they cover the sidewalks. It makes it HARD to garden... which I love to do! :-(

Q. Quotes? "Live, Laugh, Love"

R. Reasons to smile? My family, friends, and most definitely my fur kids!

S. Season of choice? Summer or fall - I love the summer but also enjoying the changing leaves and cooling weather of the fall.

T. Tag seven peeps! (see below)

U. Unknown fact about me? I'm a bit OCD. I hate to have things put away in the "wrong" place and will actually put off cleaning tasks when they mount up because when I DO clean it has to be PERFECT. Quite exhausting, actually. I hide this little trait of mine as best I can!

V. Vegetable? I love most all veggies!!

W. Worst habits? I'm with Katie on this - stress eating!

X. X-ray or ultrasound? Ultrasound - they can actually be relaxing. I had to have physical therapy for my knee in middle school and 3 times a week they did ultrasound on it before therapy... definitely soothing!

Y. Your favorite food? Tough question! I love beef and noodles, steak and a baked potato, spaghetti, the list really goes on and on (and this is NOT including DESSERT foods!).

Z. Zodiac sign? Libra

I'm tagging:

1. Julia

2. Kerith

3. Tara

4. Leslie

5. Jodi

6. Holly

7. Laurie

NEW LAPTOP!!!

2008-08-14T15:17:00.001-06:00

Yep, that's right. I'm back in business! I received my new laptop in the mail yesterday and have been incredibly busy transferring all the ridiculous amount of *stuff* I have from my old machine to my new one. In the meantime, I have to apologize for a lack of photos. As soon as I get everything transferred and my software installed, I'll be back in full force! Oh, and once I get all happy and settled into my new laptop, I'll share what I got for all those interested. :-D

More Blog Union photos

2008-08-10T11:40:00.001-06:00

Ok, so here are the photos WE took at the BU...

Hooray for matching shirts!

Did you hear that we're going to the beach?

Gee mom, that's SHOCKING news! Where's my sunblock?!

A late evening and they're still looking cute after a big day!

Excuse me, where's my chai latte?

Halt! Who goes there?!

This camping out stuff is fun!

Isa B looking coy

The lovely ladies, Livi & Isa

Look at our big girl!

2008-08-09T14:54:00.000-06:00

Oh my gosh. She's doing it. My very own miracle baby. :-D Olivia now pulls to a stand all by herself! She first did it when I ran upstairs to change Ezra's diaper and lay him down for a nap. I heard her downstairs grunting. Not a noise she ever really makes. I thought "Is she pooping?" Normally she is a SILENT pooper, but what else would it be?! I finished Ezra quickly and peeked down the stairs. My baby girl was standing up and looking into the kitchen area where the dogs were!! I squealed, laid Ezra in his crib and ran down to her. Thankfully I got her to repeat her performance again, this time no grunting and like a pro. You'd think she's been pulling to a stand all her life. My own miracle baby.

Also, as of today Ezra is really crawling SOOO much better! He's really starting to move around and get the hang of it. These two - our wonder duo - amaze me more and more every day. You can clearly hear in the video of Olivia how ridiculously excited I get for them as they learn a new skill. Lucky them... doomed to have the mom that wears giant button pins around at their school track meets and such. I can just hear myself now cheering on my babies as they score a goal, perform in their first play, or whatever. Heck yeah, I'm going to be sooooo embarrassing! Trust me, not because I WANT to be embarrassing, just because I'm so darn proud!

Without further ado... here is our girl!

Blog Union 2008 - Hermosa Beach

2008-08-06T14:22:00.000-06:00

It's probably high time I post about our exciting weekend now that we're all back in the swing of the day to day again. This past weekend the four of us spent a couple of nights in Hermosa Beach for the first annual Blog Union! The blog union was for Ethiopian Adoptive families that have blogs and have come to know one another virtually through them. A face-to-face meeting for friends that have become like extended family through our blogs. It was an INCREDIBLE weekend, all made possible by Drew and Carey. Thank you so much to both of them, as the weekend could not have been any more perfect.

Ok, it COULD have been more perfect is Ezra and Olivia would nap anywhere, anytime so there would've been zero crankiness on their parts, but I think we got off pretty easy despite some of that. :-D They both did great at the hotel, and slept like rocks in their PeaPods. They did later nights than their used to, but also slept in later than normal in the mornings so that made up for it. Our BOB stroller was as wonderful as ever, carting the kids up and down the hill to/from the strand and our hotel. Not only did it carry Ezra and Olivia, but it also did great with all the extra gear we piled on it, crammed under it, etc. LOVE the BOB!

There were a few people, in particular, we really enjoyed meeting. I've come to know and love them over the last year. I had the great pleasure of picking up Katie and Isa from the O.C. airport and spending much of the weekend with them. These two are some seriously FABULOUS gals. Can't wait to see them again. Isa is such a doll! I think Katie and I share a very similar parenting style, so it was great to see it working so well for her too. :-D Tara and Malak - it was a PLEASURE. Wish we'd had more time to chat... but I love ya both and all your greenie-ness. The G diapers with homemade cloth inserts are working so well for us now too... thanks for all the tips! Porter, Elsa is a cutie patootie. I can't believe how big she's getting and how great she's doing! I wish we could've enjoyed more time with you and actually had a chance to chat a bit. Something about having two babies constantly wanting to move around and have all my focus seems to have kept me from talking with EVERYONE as much as I'd have liked! Those that we did have a chance to talk to we loved meeting you!

Oh, and to all those of you calling me Super Mom Friday evening... let's just say I was paying for my super-heroness the next day. ;-) To those wondering what in the world I'm talking about, Joe was REALLY late getting to the dinner on Friday evening. So late that we were at the restaurant almost 2 hours before he arrived. This led to me having Ezra strapped to my chest in our Lascal carrier and holding Olivia on my hip. Thank goodness she's still pretty small. :-D Thank you to the wonderful people that helped me out and loved on the her a bit for me... the break was wonderful for my arms. I wish I could've accepted more help, but she was being pretty clingy and not letting me share her too much! :-S Good sign of attachment, no doubt, but exhausting!

To those with upcoming travel, court dates, or still awaiting referrals - good luck and enjoy every minute of it. Time FLIES once they're home. I can't believe we've had Ezi & Livi home for almost 4 months now... that's crazy to think about. I can't imagine life without them and am excited to cheer them through each milestone, but have begun to grieve the passage of time and their infancy. They'll be walking and talking tomorrow at this rate and I just can't believe it. My little babies have gotten sooooo big!

I definitely did a TERRIBLE job of taking pictures this weekend, which is a bummer. however, I allowed myself some laziness since Drew and Carey had actual photographers running around taking photos all weekend long. It was so cool! I'll share a few of those photos with you for now, since the few I took are still on the camera! :-O

All you Ethiopian adoptive bloggers... be at BU09!!!

Thank you to Drew, Carey and their wonderful photographers for the pictures below:

Olivia's adorable crawling - the early days of mobility

2008-07-29T17:02:00.000-06:00

We're still here (just a little more shaken...)

2008-07-29T15:51:00.000-06:00

Where does the time go?! Days seem to fly by and I hardly know where they've gone! On Friday I need to have the kids, Joe and myself packed up for the first annual Blog Union in Hermosa Beach and I still feel as though we just returned from Colorado. Whew... packing and unpacking is tiring. Mix into that some showings on the house (and racing around picking up toys, tidying and cleaning before each), some wonderful visitors, a trip to Burbank for the kids big TV debut filming, sewing cloth diaper inserts every "free" moment I get and some other randomness and I guess that's why I feel like life's a constant whirlwind now. :-D In a good way though.

I really enjoy moments when one of the babies is still sleeping and the other is awake for me to dote on. This happens sometimes if I get into the nursery quickly enough to swoop up the talkative, freshly awoken baby before their play sounds wake the other up. Today, it was Olivia that I got to enjoy for about a half an hour before Ezra awoke. She had just finished enjoying her lunch of homemade green beans and butternut squash and a bottle when the real excitement of the day began. I was talking away with Livi and walking back towards her (in her high chair) after rinsing off a rag when it began. Slowly at first... like a low, rumbling semi-truck approaching the house... and then into a full on rolling, shaking, quaking everything. Yep, that's right. It was an earthquake. Not our first since moving to California, but the biggest! It was a 5.4 magnitude... not too shabby! The chandelier was rocking, the dogs began barking and howling, and mommy began to PANIC!

I have enjoyed previous earthquakes... they were small and just enough to be "exciting." This time was different though. As I stood frozen in place watching my sweet Olivia I was TORN. Do I run upstairs to Ezra (who was presumably sleeping) to be sure he was okay, or do I stay with Olivia? The quake lasted about 30 seconds or so, but long enough for me to bolt up the stairs (after ensuring nothing around Olivia could fall and hit her) and hover over my sleeping boy (STILL SLEEPING?!??! Dogs barking, house shaking and creaking... wow) and observe his surroundings to be sure nothing would fall on him. We'd been sure that things hanging over his bed were "earthquake" safe, but having the safety tested whilst he slept below them was another story for me. Thankfully nothing fell and the earthquake ended without Ezra or Olivia getting scared. It's forced me to consider what I WILL do though if one happens again... especially if they're in separate parts of the house. Any suggestions from earthquake savvy people?? Stay inside, go outside, what to do, what to do? I've heard so many things, but most seem to conflict.

After I finish this post I'm going to upload a video I took of Olivia on July 21... her 7 month birthday. She began crawling 3 days before the video... and has come a long way SINCE the video was taken. She's beginning to pull up on things, but can only get to her knees and is working on getting her foot under her to stand up. I know cruising isn't far off... she can stand so well with very little assistance already! Ezra isn't too far behind. He's spending more and more time on all fours and is now rocking forward and backward. He's even lifted up a hand a couple of times and set it down farther forward and a few times and skooched his knees forward under him. He has also pushed himself backward into a partial sitting position. I think he'll be joining the ranks of mobile babies in no time at all (2-3 weeks or less maybe???).

A highlight of our weekend was seeing my uncle and my cousin! My cousin recently moved to Santa Monica from Chicago, and I hadn't seen him in a couple of years. It was great catching up and hearing about his new job out here. Ezra initiated him from the get-go with a nice big spit up all down the front of his shirt (missed the burp cloth COMPLETELY... go figure). Sorry about that Kyle! The weirdest thing was that after Ezra covered Kyle in spew, he lost it. Joe set him on the ground to help Kyle clean up and Ezra began screaming. He carried on and on. He was a baby possessed. I still have no clue what that was about. Joe tried consoling him, and when that didn't work I gave it a shot. I got him somewhat calmed down, but still not happy and fuss-free. I gave him Hylands Teething tablets (just in case it was a sudden onset of teething pain), snuggled him, danced with him, everything we'd normally do to get him happy. It was bizarre. He hadn't napped well that morning... so I'm hoping that was all it was. Poor guy.

Now... for their big moment of TV stardom. Tune your TVs to ABC on October 22 (the fourth episode of the season) to watch Pushing Daisies. I can't tell the plot or what will be happening, but let's just say both Ezra and Olivia will have brief but up close and personal moments on camera. Come to think of it.... I had to get up close and personal with the camera by draping my body over it while trying to get Livi to smile and look at the camera for her big shot. I'd had no clue that they'd want ME on set. ;-) The filming took place at Warner Brothers Studio and I was required to have one adult over 18 per child. So, luckily for me the kids wonderful Tia Claudia was able to come. Claudia and I had a blast wandering around the studios. We got to go on a bunch of sets (Two and a Half Men was gearing up to begin filming again in the next week, Terminator - Sara Connor Chronicles, etc). Heck, we even got to see the stage where Friends was filmed! It was really neat. Oh, and the kids got a trailer! Yep, true stars already with their OWN dressing trailer. Never mind that the thing wreaked of smoke... it was still just for them, whereas most of the actors has to share dressing trailers and only the leads had their own!!!

The neatest part was how nice everyone was. From the director, AD, cameramen, crew, actors/actresses... they were all so nice. The kids were treated like stars and had so many people ogling over them. I hope it'll be a fun thing for them to be able to look back on when they're older.

Better get back to sewing diapers. I hope to have enough completed to begin using them tomorrow! That's a post in itself... I'll try and get photos of them uploaded as well as our cloth diapering "plan." I'm so excited to get started! Thanks again for the encouragement and diaper insert instructions!

To those of you attending the B.U. (blog union) this weekend... can't wait to see you/meet you there!!!! :-D

Laptop "confiscation"

2008-07-22T15:48:00.000-06:00

My lovely laptop is being taken away from me because I am now officially on an unpaid leave of absence. Up until this past Friday I was using vacation time, a company paid 2 week bonding leave, and then the California Paid Leave (which is 6 weeks of pay at 55% pay). Now that the "gravy train" is over, apparently they want me lifeline back! ;-) This policy had changed recently (at least for a coworker of mine in another group within my company), and while he was on leave they sent his laptop back to him. Well... it seems my group is not interested in being able to continue contact with me while on leave, so they want my aged laptop back. Pooey to them! :-P I'll send it back... fine. But now I don't know how they expect to reach me with updates on my return from leave since the contact info they have for me is all work numbers/email which I will no longer have.

Such a bummer. Never fear though, I will stay connected to the wonderful world of blogging! I'll be getting my hands on a replacement somehow... and hopefully before the dreaded moment when I must encase my laptop in it's new, foamy home and send it on it's way to be stored in a warehouse somewhere. Awesome.

7 months old

2008-07-22T15:26:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was Olivia and Ezra's 7 month birthday. Wow... hard to imagine. I still remember the utter shock at seeing the email with their referral at a mere 5 weeks old. Where does the time go once you get them in your arms?!

Here's a little update on where each of them are at in their miraculous little lives:

Olivia

Weighs 15 lbs 4 oz and is 25.5 inches tall
Starter crawling 5 days ago and is really starting to get the hang of it
Can stand incredibly well with a little help balancing (or all on her own if she's got the edge of her crib to hang on to!)
Can keep herself entertained for relatively long bits of time (at least compared to Ezi!)
Melts our hearts with her incredible smile and giggly, grunty laugh
Sleeps through the night (and has 100% consistently since about 5 months old!)
TOTALLY has her daddy wrapped around her itty bitty finger
Is completely and utterly obsessed with my hair and plays with it (often jerking on it VERY hard) and twists it around her tiny fingers every chance she gets.
Finds our dogs to be hilarious. If you want a nearly foul-proof way to get her laughing, allow Chloe (who is STILL obsessed with Livi) to pant and circle my feet while holding her and she'll giggle over and over again.

Ezra

Weighs 17 lbs 2 oz and is 17.25 inches tall
Can get up on all fours but just doesn't seem to care about staying up there or moving forward yet
A total attention hog... and doesn't like to play on his own
Has the BEST laugh and is super ticklish... yes, I exploit this characteristic to hear that boy grunt and giggle!
Has an incredible gummy smile that is now being graced with the beginnings of his FIRST tooth! (The bottom, left, front tooth)
LOVES to jump... constantly. I don't think this boy cares about standing or walking one bit. He'll just hop and jump from one place to the other. Yep, he's our little kangaroo.
ALSO sleep through the night and has since about 5 months old too... sleep training and a rigid schedule DEFINITELY worked for all four of us!
Screams better than ANYONE I know
Has JUST developed the CHEESIEST, biggest, and cutest grin ever... don't know where it came from, but he just started doing it on their birthday yesterday!

I have no idea how we had the incredible fortune of being blessed with such amazing, fun and loving cutie-pies, but we are so thankful for every day we have them. There are some trying times (read here: the flight home from Colorado) and more incredible moments than I could ever have imagined. Ezra Tewodros and Olivia Yodit - you have filled our lives with more love, fun, excitement and hope than we could ever have imagined. Thank you for allowing us the incredible honor of being your parents. We love you!

Changes abound!

2008-07-21T14:49:00.000-06:00

I barely know where to begin. I think I'm still trying to catch my breath from the craziness of the last week. I've definitely become one of THOSE parents that is unbelievably proud and thrilled at my babies' milestones.

We headed out last Thursday evening for our trip to Colorado. Events in the two days leading up to our departure had me already exhausted... and there's nothing like a "vacation" with Ezi & Livi to help you catch up on much needed rest! (Please note the sarcasm here) On Wednesday I found myself zooming around running last minute errands, taking E&O to the pediatrician for their well-baby exams, and then rushing to the Labor Office for work permits. Work permits, you ask?? Yes, work permits for Ezra and Olivia! Long story short... they've been asked to be in a major TV show and how could I possibly refuse them this fun little moment of fame?! I'm definitely NOT into the idea of one's childhood becoming consumed with this sort of thing, but do think they'd have a blast getting the attention of so many for the day and having the experience to look back on when they're older. So, on this Thursday we head up to Hollywood for the big shoot! Once I have more info I'll pass along details on the show and when it will air. From what I understand it's a little background type role... but still really cool to me anyway. My little stars! ;-)

After a grueling hour+ in the dim, gray, and window-free hallway on the 8th floor of the state building, I had their work permits in hand. Nothing like feeding the babies whilst stooped over the stroller and then spending a solid 45 minutes tickling and tossing into the air your growing boy. Poor Ezra gets so fed up with sitting still and not being held, so it was a trying experience. Of course, this was also following a shot for each of them at the pediatrician's office, so they did so well considering. As for the shots... it's ALL about distraction. They did great. A VERY brief protest and bit of tears from both, which was quickly ended by silly ole' mommy being her silly ole' self. Thank GOODNESS I have no pride and am willing to act so ridiculously in front of the nurse! ;-)

Thursday was a whirlwind as I tried to get the four of us packed and pull the house together for our departure. Our wonderful Tia Claudia was coming for the weekend to take care of our furry babies and I didn't want to leave the place a total wreck. The kids did remarkably well with mommy running around the place like a madman and even seemed to get a giggle out of it here and there. Little did I know that while I was in the midst of this craziness, a cute little tooth was making it's final push to come into view in Ezra's gummy grin. This said tooth was finally noticed while we were waiting to board our flight, and boy did I get excited. Seriously, how lame must I have looked?! I was shouting to Joe as he walked up carrying our bags of McDonald's nastiness, "Hurry, run! Come HERE! FASTER!!!! Joe, RUN!" As Joe rushes to my side, I pull back Ezra's lip and point out the source of all this excitement. I think half the airport was looking our way for the big moment as they were sure there was some sort of emergency. I am such a dork. Who cares though... cause my baby boy is about to be the proud new owner of his first chomper!

The flight went quite well, despite screwing up the rather rigid sleep schedule Livi & Ezi keep. No meltdowns on the plane... just a little, brief fussing, some sleeping, and lots of lap jumping for Livi. Oh yeah.

Here's the REALLY big news...

Olivia is CRAWLING now!!!!!! She began crawling the next morning at her Grandma and Grandpa's house. She's been so close for so long and she finally started SLOWLY moving those adorable little arms and legs forward. She still has a very slow and hesitated crawl... but she's doing it! And with more and more confidence each time! Soooooooo cool! I can't believe what a little stud she is! She also does the downward dog (yoga move) incredibly well and can stand on her own with a little help balancing. This little button of our's will be cruising in no time! I know I don't REALLY want them mobile as life will REALLY get interesting... but I can't help but be so excited for her! Ezra's getting close too... spending more time on all fours each day! It's hard to believe how far they've come in the last three months home! And, just because I think it's cool, I'll point out that on Friday (the day Livi started crawling), we'd be home exactly 3 months as a family!

Saturday we went to a dear friends' wedding and the kids amazed us yet again. The ceremony was outside and the temperature was a mere 99 degrees. It was just a tad bit toasty. BUT, not one fuss from either of them! Another baby there started wailing pretty early on... and I admit that I am petty enough that I did the "Yesssss!!!!" thing with the downward arm motion and all. Soooo happy someone else's baby lost it first JUST in case ours had a meltdown too. :-S After the ceremony we fought our way into the A/C for the reception and were blown away by Ezi & Livi's patience. They allowed us to stay until about 8:00pm by having a bottle and then catching a nap in our laps. No crying. Good stuff.

The whole weekend I enjoyed that Olivia showed quite a bit of nervousness about the change in scenery and clung to me for security. She's normally much more independent than Ezra and doesn't particularly like to be cuddled to sleep. But, that's the ONLY way I could get her to sleep was to snuggle her close for a while first. She was such a snuggle bug! LOVED that!

We also got to briefly enjoy the company of my brother. Not surprisingly he's spending his leave time ridiculously busy.... first a week in Mexico getting open water certified for scuba diving, and now spending this week climbing in Colorado and hiking 14ers. Oy. I was bummed I couldn't spend a longer time in Colorado and see more of him and my parents, but we couldn't work out who would help me home with the kids, and due to carry on bags, their car seat strollers, etc. there was just no reasonable way for me to travel with the two of them alone. And let me tell you how THRILLED I am about deciding that! The flight home was much closer to a nightmare. One of those flights you wish you could erase from memory. One of those flights in which everyone around you was wishing you were NOT on their flight. Let's just say that Ezi & Livi were NOT in the best of moods. Both of them were fed up with sleeping in our arms I think, because they fought the crowded conditions quite a bit. Bleck.

Oh, and today I learned my laptop is being confiscated. I nearly cried. What WILL I do?! ;-) My laptop is my lifeline... I'm an online junky. I check email and blogs all the stinkin' time! I can't even begin to tell you the withdrawals I had just from leaving the laptop home for this past weekend... let alone for good! Joe thinks I'd better get myself a new computer... and FAST! I also need it for some freelance type work I may start doing... so maybe that helps justify it. Maybe. But seriously, I'm an IT professional. I NEED this stupid thing. :-D That's all for now. Off to pout... or maybe order myself a laptop. ;-) That is ONE perk of working for a major IT company... discounts! :-D

Tia Claudia

2008-07-11T16:20:00.000-06:00

This is definitely overdue. Inexcusably, completely and totally way too late in getting posted. I have somehow lucked into having a true angel come into my life. Here's the story, in brief. My mom had the incredible fortune of working with this amazing woman, Claudia, while here in Southern California. When Claudia heard that we were adopting from Ethiopia, she was so excited for us (and we really didn't know her then other than brief "Hellos" here and there). When we got our referral for Olivia and Ezra she SHOWERED us... utterly SHOWERED us in kindness. She gathered up her niece and nephews hand-me-downs with her sisters' help and gave us a ridiculously amazing haul of wonderful things to use for our kiddos and to take to the orphanage and donate when we traveled. She got me a great Mother's Day present for my first Mother's Day and an incredible necklace that I LOVE for no reason at all! I've never known a more loving and giving person.

Now, what's seriously cool to me is that my children have the amazing fortune of getting to call this fantastic woman their "Tia." She's going to help me teach them some Spanish (ok... she's going to teach me some too!). She's come over a few times to just hang out with me and give me some adult conversation time during naps and has cooked incredible, yummy, and AUTHENTIC Mexican food. To top it off, when she heard we were going to Colorado she volunteered herself (and undoubtedly does NOT understand how much she's volunteering for!) to stay at our place and feed and love the doggies for us while we're away. No easy task considering what it takes to feed our pups... and medicate Chloe! Ugh.

There is really no way to thank her for everything, as her love and friendship couldn't have come at a better time for me. With my mom moving back to Colorado a few weeks ago and my very short list of local friends disappearing from my life (sniff, sniff... wish I understood what happened there... am I that boring or do I just suck that badly?! ;-) ), Claudia has been a lifesaver. During a time in which I would otherwise have no one else close by, she rose to the challenge of being an incredible friend. THANK YOU TIA CLAUDIA! Ezra and Olivia are so blessed to have you in their lives and to be able to call you their Auntie. I am even more fortunate to be able to call you my friend. You rock! :-D

A HUGE surprise

2008-07-11T16:10:00.000-06:00

Wow, I'm still reveling in the news and it's been 5 hours since I heard! My brother is on leave RIGHT NOW! He's been serving overseas (location left out for privacy reasons) since December and is now on mid-tour leave! I'm additionally thrilled because we will MIRACULOUSLY be in Colorado next weekend while he's on leave! We are traveling for my dear friends' wedding and he will be just returning from a week spent relaxing at the beach with a friend of his. The timing is perfect! So cool how things can play out like that! Now I just have to decide if I'm up for flying home alone with the kids so I can stay in Colorado a bit longer to visit more... Joe has to come back still on Sunday as planned due to work, but I could enjoy more of his precious time if I think I could manage to handle the flight home alone! (I definitely know I COULD handle it... but don't really dig the idea since it'd be such a handful!)

Hallelujah! What incredible, amazing news. Zak hit "boots on ground" in his duty station the DAY our precious angels were born. I'm not sure what the significance of that is exactly, but I still think it's pretty incredible. My brother is an amazing man that makes us unbelievably proud. I am still loopy with excitement about getting to see him and introduce him to his niece and nephew NOW! It had looked like he wouldn't be meeting them before his tour of duty is up... which would be December at the earliest! Holy smokes! Time to run out and get t-shirts made for the kids that say something cheesy and embarrassing about their amazing Uncle Zak! Yes, I am my brother's biggest fan and he is totally awesome. ;-) I just have to keep reminding myself he'll have lots he wants to do while in Colorado so hanging out at our parents house with me and the kids may not be the ONLY thing he'll be doing... bummer. ;-)

Yep... next weekend our whirlwind visit to Colorado just got a LOT busier!

Going green... a challenge to all!

2008-07-07T16:03:00.000-06:00

Joe and I have aspired to be green-living individuals since the beginning of "us." However, there are admittedly WAY too many things we do that are NOT green. We try to do what we can, but we often feel ourselves falling short. I'm happy to admit though, that we have taken two big steps to being a bit more friendly to good ole' Mother Earth.

First, diapers. We have been using G diapers since the early days of having the kids home. We've had our G's here since before we even brought E&O home, but they were a bit big until the wee-bots put on a couple of pounds. So, once the G's fit, we've used them consistently. What's super cool about the G diapers is that it's a great hybrid between a disposable and cloth diaper. No plastic or other nasty chemicals & components. Just good stuff that's kind to the behind. The flushable liners are FLUSHED down the toilet or they can be composted... nothing for the landfills! However, we still felt like we should do more. The G's flushables still use a good bit of water with every flush and are made from trees and such... so still sucking up natural resources.

The next step for us... CLOTH. Yep. I said it. CLOTH diapers. I'm stealing the idea from a good bloggy friend, Tara. She also used G diapers on her adorable little hunk of a man, Malak. However, this genius of a tree-huggin' girl (LOVE it Tara!) made cloth inserts for her G's. They are soooo cool and have apparently been no big deal. She does a diaper load of laundry about every other day (using MUCH less water than flushing that many inserts), and that's it. Oh, and no leaks so far! Sounds good to me, so we're taking the plunge. In true form, I'm sticking with what works. I've gotten the master plans from Tara and I'm copying her cloth inserts. I can't tell you what a tough time I had finding the hemp online (due to the earthquakes in China causing issues with supply), but it's finally on it's way, along with microfleece, microfiber, and a couple other handy items to get us going. Get ready folks, I've got another project to get busy with! My poor, neglected sewing machine was put up in mid-March as I wrapped up baby projects (ok... ran out of time to finish many), and it's been calling to me ever since.

Our other step in "the right direction" relates to Joe's wheels. Joe started with a new company in an incredible position a couple of weeks ago and was left carless since he used a company truck with his previous employer. After LOTS of discussion and weighing pros/cons, we took the plunge and got Joe a diesel. Why, you might ask?! Great question! We're going to use BIOdiesel in it! Joe's new-to-him Touareg TDI will be run with biodiesel. This has been a dream of ours for a long time and we're FINALLY going to be able to act on it. Not only is biodiesel free from nasty pollutants (the exhaust smells like french fries!), it's also MUCH cheaper than regular fuel. It's not "hassle-free" and there is equipment, supplies and GREASE (think the nasty crud they get rid of after making your french fries) needed to make it, but the results will be totally worth it.

As for other green things we do on a daily basis - run our A/C as little as possible, turn off lights when we're not in the room or they aren't needed, keep the windows covered to keep the sun/heat out on hot days to further reduce our need for the A/C, low-flow shower heads, toilets that use less water, we do NOT buy bottled water (think of all the bottles people go through- hear me peeps - Nalgene. If you don't know about them, Google them. Great bottles loved by MANY), recycle anything we can, and minimize trash (avoid using paper towels - use reusable rags instead for clean ups). I'm sure we could do much better in each area I've listed but we really do try.

So, there you have it. Our newest two green moves. How green are you? I'd love to hear what others of you are doing to reduce your carbon footprint and give back to the world around us! If you have any tips/tricks on being green that you'd like to share, please do!

A tragic loss

2008-07-03T15:58:00.000-06:00

Please send your thoughts, prayers and good vibes to my good friend and her family. On Tuesday morning, my friends' younger brother was found dead. He was 22 years old and the bassist in an up and coming band called Tickle Me Pink. They were releasing a new cd that day and had a signing and celebration scheduled. Instead, we are all mourning the loss of an incredible young man. My friend and I met while on Semester at Sea. As roommates, we enjoyed sailing around the world together and becoming a little less blind to the world we live in. My heart aches for her and her family as they cope with this terrible loss.

And to make things a bit more surreal, my friend is getting married on July 19th! What an incredibly difficult prelude to the festivities. E- I am sending all my love and strength your way! You WILL get through this and I know Johnny will be right there with you on your big day!

If you would like to read an article about his death, you can view the story here.

Little windows cuteness!

2008-07-02T16:09:00.000-06:00

So, one of the cool people I blog-stalk (you know it Kerri!) posted about this cool item... Little Windows. I'm totally in love! Crafting is something I LOVE to do... and with all the great pictures of Livi & Ezi, I could have a blast with the kit they sell!

They also have a cool contest where you can win a kit... check it out if you're interested! Contest.

Chit chat with Easy E

2008-06-24T15:20:00.000-06:00

Ok, so as I've mentioned, our little Ezi (also known in this house as Easy E) is quite a talker. And, just to share with the world what I'm talking about when I say he likes to scream, I finally captured the moment on tape last week and have decided it's time to share. You can only imagine the horror flick I've got playing in the background to get him ramped up! ;-) (Only kidding)

What I wouldn't give to figure out why and how he learned to "coo" this way, and how to undo it! ;-) I'm sure our neighbors worry about what I'm doing to the poor baby all day long, as he's even being camera shy here and not showing you his full potential! He really is holding back and using a softer scream than he tends to use, but it's still an idea of the sweet sounds he shares ALL THE TIME. The REAL bummer is that in the last week, he's learned to use a really frustrated and angry scream when he's legitimately mad (like waiting for his slow mama to get his bottle into his mouth or another bite of food or ...) Oy!

Livi & Ezi's first watermelon

2008-06-23T15:58:00.000-06:00

So, all in all, I'd say it's not a favorite of Livi's. What do you think?! She's NEVER done anything like that before, so I'd say it's a pretty safe guess. ;-)

Ok, so maybe Ezra's not a fan either. Hmmm... what's with these kids?!

Our 3 & 8...

2008-06-18T17:07:00.001-06:00

A bit off the topic, but I had to announce that today is the big 3 and 8 for hubby and I. What, you may ask, is the 3&8? Well... it's our 3 year wedding anniversary and 8 year together anniversary. We got married 5 years (to the day) from the day we started dating. Yep, super cool, I know! ;-) I can hardly believe our time together is creeping dangerously close to a decade already! For those of you that don't know us very well, let me fill in the story a little bit.

On a beautiful, autumn day an innocent (and rather geeky) blond girl began the first day of life in a new middle school. She had just moved to a new, VERY small, and quite "hickish" town and was determined to make a great impression. She'd cut her long flowing hair to try a new look (and learned that somewhere along the way her wispy blond waves had become a THICK head of hair... picture an unintentionally goofy looking chin length cut that was not too flattering). As she walked boldly into this new school she was greeted with glares and looks of disapproval. The innocent little girl was about to learn that in 8th grade you were only "cool" if you'd been born and raised in that little town or were miraculously blessed with the cool gene from birth. In THIS school, this girl was an unwelcome nobody. Ugh.

This girl, however, was undeterred. She was a TALKER and when nervous this blessing/curse was at it's best. Therefore, when assigned to sit by a dufus-cute boy in her science class that ACTUALLY said "Heyrmph" (an 8th grade boy grunt of a greeting as it turned out), she immediately began chatting his ear off. Over the first few weeks of school she learned VERY little about the quite guy that sat slouched waaaaayyyy down into his chair and grunted responses to her, while HE got to learn way more about her than he'd care to. Ahhh.... the beginning of a friendship. ;-)

This boy quickly learned that this girl was quite studious and received fabulous grades. He therefore began occasionally peering over her shoulder to "check" his answers on tests. This boy was not too subtle in his peeks (apparently) because during one fateful test this boy was caught CHEATING and the boy AND the innocent girl were given big, fat, and incredibly UGLY "F's" on their tests. This was beyond devastating to the girl (duh!) and she ran from the classroom crying. Totally cool, obviously. Soon after the school's requests to move her to 9th grade were accepted by girl and her parents and she left the terrible 8th grade memories behind to begin enjoying HIGH SCHOOL! At this point, the boy and girl no longer saw each other until the boy made it to high school the following year... and gave her goofy looks of surprise when she would say "Hello" and acknowledge him in the hallways. Thus, was the "end" of their friendship.

Many years later (ok, actually it was only 3 but back then that was a long time!), that boy began hanging out in the library during the final period of each day. This period happened to be that girl's peer counseling hour, and when there was no "counseling" to be done to peers, she spent HER time in the library completing scholarship applications on the TYPE WRITER (!!!). The boy began sitting in the lounge chairs beside the type writer and talking with the girl. It was one of those adorable and totally pathetic boy/girl flirting relationships in which loads of teasing and giggling occurred.

One day, the boy (after a day ditching classes and 4-wheeling with friends) decided he wanted to see the girl so badly that he LOOKED HER UP IN THE PHONE BOOK and called. Yep. He did. At that moment that girl was already "fighting" with her current boyfriend about something lame and was totally caught off guard by the call. She told her boyfriend to leave as JOE had requested to come over. Yikes... that girl was totally not a player, she just KNEW her boyfriend wouldn't have been friendly to any male friend she had. From that point on, the boy and the girl began spending exorbitant amounts of time together, quickly growing increasingly fond of each other. He escorted her to her senior prom (after double checking with her that he actually did have to wear a Tux), and broke his neck the day of her baccalaureate just to see how much her nerves could handle (did I mention he rode moto-cross and was actually SPONSORED to do so?! Yes, he was awesome but this terrified the girl). The friendship blossomed into more and on June 18th it became official (sealed by their FIRST KISS!).

So, you guessed it. That story was about us. Joe & Jesi... the beginnings of one heck of a pair. We've endured deployments to Iraq, enjoyed laughing until we cry about things so stupid I couldn't remember to tell you what they were, and even the ups and downs up the adoption roller-coaster, a layoff, a move to a new state, and life with THREE incredible and very spoiled dogs.

This is to you baby... I love you!

For the rest of you, thanks for suffering through the mush! I'll do my best to refrain on most occasions in the future!

(First photo is 1/1/2003... blissfully unaware of a war that was about to begin with Iraq and that hubby would be activated on Valentine's day the next month... :'-( and the second photo was on vacation in January 2007)

Raspberries for breakfast, anyone?

2008-06-17T09:29:00.000-06:00

Yep, our little angel LOVES raspberries! Check it out. This has become her FAVORITE treat (and she loves to share her treats with us!) in the last week or so...

Blue horizon

2008-06-16T21:41:00.000-06:00

OK, so I thought THIS topic deserved a brief and separate post from Father's Day. My mom left us for Colorado on Friday and I have definitely been in a funk. My mom is my best friend and a huge support. We had the most quiet goodbye possible as her and my dad left on Friday. Mom and I couldn't speak as we were completely choked up and fighting back tears. My dad told me "I love you" and I couldn't fully reciprocate the words before the tears poured forth. I cannot believe this is real. Heck, I can't even TYPE about this without crying. Ugh.

I HATE this. Even if they visit EVERY month it won't be enough. That's what I love/hate about being so close to my family... hate that it's too hard to be so far apart but love that we're all this close. As if it's not hard enough to be missing my brother like crazy (he arrived in Afghanistan the DAY our babies were born!), now I've got to be missing my parents too! Poo.

Oh, and I REALLY hate that now Ezi & Livi don't get to have their grandma around regularly. They are seriously missing out on tons of lovin', smoochin, and fun with her now. It was bad enough that my dad couldn't see them regularly, now it's BOTH of them. Double boo-hoo.

Sorry... I'll try to be more optimistic about all this now, but I had to get my sob fest off my chest!

A Happy Father's Day... mostly

2008-06-16T21:24:00.001-06:00

Seriously, there's nothing cooler than getting to tell the new daddy in our lives how amazing we think he is. So, Livi, Ezi, and myself spent the day trying to tell their daddy what an INCREDIBLE daddy he is. It was a relatively "uneventful" day, other than having two showings of the house, we didn't have a lot going on. Joe decided to take the wee-bots out for their first run and they did about 5 miles. No small feat in the afternoon on a hot day! The twins seemed to love it and came back smiley and content. Their daddy was also super pleased to get in the exercise and manage to get his sweat on. Oh yeah, that guy LIKES to sweat... that way he knows he's really working. I, on the other hand, think it's NASTY and sent him for an immediate shower! Yuck!

Sadly, the wee-bots became possessed as we did bathtime and we got to laugh at ourselves as we sung round after round of "Wheels on the Bus" to two screeching, howling babes. I really don't know WHAT we would do if we didn't laugh... I mean their moods were TERRIBLE! I told Joe they just wanted to SHOW him how awesome he was on Father's Day by allowing him to be his best when they were at their worst! It was probably our fault that they were so upset, I can TOTALLY admit to that. Their naps have been a bit funky lately so we thought based on their sleep/wake patterns that they may need 3 shorter naps rather than 2 longer ones. So, their when they woke up early for their morning nap, we got them up and went for a walk. The timing went well as it allowed us to be out of the house for one of the showings yesterday. However, it was the beginning of a ticking bomb I think. They were literally a timebomb waiting to blow. And blow they did... about 5:30 pm. Ugh! Let's just say we WON'T be doing that again!

Luckily they still went to sleep like the perfect angels they are, as the bedtime bottle and cuddles seemed to banish the demons. They slept through the night (as usual) and awoke to their normal sweetness. In fact, they napped REALLY well today and I was one SUPER happy mama! We have the two most amazing little bits in the whole world. I know I'm biased, but there's no denying it. They are such AMAZING people already. I mean, Ezra will MELT your heart with his flirty smile and easy giggle. He is SOOOOO ticklish and I cannot help by take advantage of it and tickle him often to hear his grunting and laughing. Olivia... well let's just say our little button (as in "cute as a button") is a tiny little bundle of sweetness. She ALWAYS has a smile on her face when we go in to get her up in the morning or after naps and I cannot wait to be greeted by that smiling face and her little legs kicking from excitement to see us. That girl will wrap ANYONE around her finger I think!

So, all in all we had a phenomenal Father's Day. And despite the evening craziness, we STILL laughed at it and had a great dinner together after the kiddos went to sleep (yummy burgers on the grill, mac'n'cheese, delicious watermelon, and salad... oh yeah I made a REAL dinner for once... and total comfort food to boot!). I love that despite being new parents to twins our lives seem pretty relaxed, Joe and I are NOT at each other's throats about the stresses of parenting, and we can both laugh during the moments that ARE stressful. Will the "ball" drop and things get as crazy and hard as people told us it would?! Who knows... but for now I'm counting my blessings and enjoying our incredible new lives. And, in 2 days I'll be celebrating the 3&8 with my amazing hubby... hard to believe it's been "that" long... times flies when you're having fun!

P.S. We finally decided that since Livi and Ezi have become FREQUENTLY used nicknames for the wee-bots, we wanted to decide on a spelling we liked. So... it's now Livi & Ezi (vs. Livvy & Ezzy). Livi is PART of the spelling of Olivia, plus it fits the pattern of her mom and grandma (Jesi & Juli)... unique 4 letter spellings, and Ezi follows suit. Like the new spellings... or hate them?!

Cystotomy

2008-06-12T13:35:00.000-06:00

I wanted to dedicate a post just to my eldest daughter... my sweet miniature dachshund. She's been struggling with so many health issues since late October of 2007, and in January we learned she's dealing with a very large bladder stone on top of the neurological issues. So, today, she is finally in surgery getting it removed. It's for the best as she has blood in her urine and it definitely causes discomfort, but still stressful for her mommy!

We are anxiously awaiting word from her fabulous veterinarian to hear how surgery went. Please send some well wishes Chloe's way!

This is Chloe and I her first night with me... all the way back in December 2000!

Chloe watching over the feeding of her new babies, Olivia & Ezra!

Pre-nap calm

2008-06-12T13:17:00.001-06:00

Ok, I finally managed to force myself to run down the stairs yesterday after E&O finished their bottles and waited for me to move them from their bouncy seats to their cribs. The scene you are about to witness is far from uncommon... and is always before the afternoon nap (never the morning nap). Prepare yourselves for your heart to melt...

People may ask, "Are you nuts?"

2008-06-10T17:28:00.001-06:00

Yes. We may just be nuts. Who knows. However, as nuts as we may be, it still seems to be the right thing to do. We have put our home up for sale. Yikes! I'm not sure what the "scariest" part of it is... but right now I think it's the idea of having showings. Need I remind you that we have THREE (yes 3) dogs, and now TWO (yes 2) five month old babies?! That makes for a lot of toys laying about, beds to pick up (dog beds), baby/dog gate obstacles to get out of the way for showings, etc. How in the WORLD will I keep our place tidy enough to be ready on short notice to get all FIVE (yes 5) of my kiddos out the door, into the car, and stay there to hang out during showings?! I have no clue. Especially considering that E & O sleep about 5 hours out of the day... nap times will really make showings a pain. Alas, getting this place sold would be nice.

Those of my readers (like I have any these days!) that have followed our adventure for a while will remember that our house WAS on the market last year and nearly sold before the couple we were under contract with decided not to buy and see where the market went. At that point we kept our place listed another couple of months and then decided we would focus on the adoption and wait to sell until sometime in the future when we had our kids home. Well, apparently that "some time in the future" came sooner than we'd originally thought it would. There are a NUMBER of factors that play into why we're listing again NOW. I don't want to bore you with that though. Suffice it to say we're ready to move up to a slightly more spacious pad as these kiddos grow and begin really stretching their limbs and running about.

On another note, I am incredibly saddened to say that my mom is moving back to Colorado. I am trying to be happy about it and supportive, but mostly I'm just grumpy, pouty, and quite a bit LESS than pleased. My mom is my best friend and I can't believe we'll be so far apart again. She moved out to California a year and a half ago (while waiting for my dad to finish some remodels on their home in Colorado and get it sold) and is STILL waiting to be able to get my dad out here. There's been a number of factors that have played into why he's not moved yet... getting the house finished has been a huge challenge, blah, blah, blah. But, she had no plans to head back that way until about 3 weeks ago when she got a call from an old co-worker that had an INCREDIBLE job opportunity for her. After much uncertainty and stress she decided it was the right thing for her to do. I think she's also hoping that ultimately it'd be the right thing for Joe and I to move back to Colorado too since the cost of living is much, MUCH lower, and somehow that her moving will bring us back that way. Who knows. We don't really want to give up the lifestyle (and year-round warm weather!) we have here, but I do hate the idea of not having my parents close-by. Never say never I guess. If Joe got some CRAZY amazing job offer in Colorado we'd probably consider it.

Speaking of jobs... Joe will be starting with a new company in a couple of weeks and it's an INCREDIBLE position. Really, truly exciting for him. I'm so proud of him. He's such a driven, incredible, hard-worker that really deserves this huge, new opportunity. It's quite an undertaking, but I know he'll handle it with no problem. I'm excited for him like you wouldn't believe, and thankful as it also should provide some security for us as I continue to stay home with the kiddos. I am NOT ready to return to the life of a consultant and risk being asked to travel and be on the road (aka OUT OF TOWN!) 4-5 days per week. No way. I hope to be able to get into another remote position/contract where I can work from home, but if I can't, it won't be a big problem anymore, THANK GOODNESS! Talk about a stress relief! Taking care of the kids is probably as much work as my job ever was, although more rewarding by far.

Soooo, if I haven't bored you to tears just yet, let me fill you in on E & O updates. On the SAME DAY the two of them decided it was time to start rolling from their backs to their fronts. Constantly. Non stop. Ugh. It's super cute to watch, but they can't roll from their tummies to their backs yet so it's a huge nap-time issue. They both get rolled onto their stomachs and cry like there's no tomorrow. Thankfully, Olivia now seems to prefer sleeping on her tummy so no more fussing from "accidentally" rolling over and getting stuck.

Ezra on the other hand... Oi! That little man rolls over then cries like the dickens until I fix him. Sometimes he continues to cry after he's been put back onto his back as though it takes a moment for him to relax and realize he's comfortable again. Then, as I walk away, he rolls onto his tummy again and wails! So NOT a fun game to play! ;-) Makes for a cranky little guy when he does this throughout his nap time. We have a sleep positioner but that just gets him upset from being constrained (and his head is now beautifully symmetrical with no flattening on the right from ONLY sleeping on that side at Toukoul). So... using the sleep positioner didn't solve the problem. He seems to be starting to nap better now that the novelty of rolling over is wearing off. He's also doing MUCH better with upper body strength and seems to enjoy being on his tummy more than before.

On the "mobility" front I think we're in trouble! Olivia is now wiggling forward and backward. Not crawling yet.... but on her tummy she gets moving/pulling/pushing enough to move forward & backward. She can hold her self up for short periods with her arms straight under her and will undoubtedly be crawling much sooner than we'd like! ;-) We're THRILLED with their progress, but once they're mobile I know we're in trouble! Especially with Olivia... that girl is a mover and I imagine she'll be all over the place! As far as progress though, there's nothing cooler than seeing Ezra finally make a big step forward with the upper body strength. We've worked on it for so long and so hard and it's finally paying off. It seemed like he was making very little progress and now he's pushing up and able to stay up with his arms straight under him for very short periods and he's "helicoptering" when on his tummy, keeping his upper body/head UP (as opposed to slumped over) when in his Bumbo seat, etc. Yahoo! He'll be pumping iron in no time! :-D I doubt he'll be too far behind Olivia with the crawling... yikes again!

Ezra is still a screamer. It's what he seems to do for pleasure. He SCREAMS and then smiles at himself for being so shrill. Seriously. He's got the most high pitched, shrill scream of anyone out there. He LOVES to do it. I keep telling him it's really not the best indoor voice... but he doesn't seem to care. ;-) He's also seeming to attach the scream to anger. He seems a little young for it, but he's starting to scream before crying when he's waiting for his slow mama to get a bottle into his mouth, or if he isn't getting what he wants. We're in big trouble when we hit toddler-hood and tantrums if this is going to be the case. Gulp. Thankfully Olivia is still a MUCH quieter talker... her voice is much less mouse-like than before, but she's not a screamer (yet?!). Let's just hope it's not one of those things that she picks up from Ezra!

Oh... I nearly forgot! They fought over their first toy the other day! It was actually REALLY cute! I know, I'm terrible. I couldn't help myself, I couldn't stop laughing. Picture this:

They are both sitting in their Bumbos, up next to each other at a right angle so their feet are together and overlapping. I set this fun, new toy on their legs and they both grabbed it and started pulling towards themselves. It was this cute little tug of war that lasted about 30 seconds before little Miss Muscles ripped it from E's much weaker grasp and giggled about her success. Ezra just sat there (rather slumped over since he wasn't showing the upper body strength improvement yet at that point) and grasped at the air towards the toy. He had this look of disappointment and shock. Poor little guy. I know soon he'll be able to keep everything away from his tiny peanut of a sister so I'm happy for her that she was able to enjoy the victory. Her brother is growing SOOOO quickly and definitely outpacing her on that front. He's going to be a big boy at this rate!

Okay, that's it for now! Gotta get the kids up from their naps and feed them dinner! They've started on meats and fruits so their palates are enjoying lots of variety these days! They haven't disliked anything up until meat... then made some funny faces the first few times they had turkey. Now it's back to sucking down whatever I stick in their mouths. Yummy! Oh, and I started making my own baby food finally (only sweet potatoes so far... but I have lots of veggies in the fridge to make all sorts of other goodies during their naps this week!).

Long time no post...

2008-05-29T16:51:00.000-06:00

Whoa, I had no idea it'd been 10 days since I last posted! Sorry! Time flies when you're having fun!

We've been staying busy with our growing babes and loving it. I'm not one to normally NEED to get out of the house a lot, but since the babies have been here (and we have such a limited area to play in), I am always zooming out the door with them to one place or another. I love taking them on walks and bopping around with them in the Town Center. We draw a crazy amount of attention and the comments we get are incredible and nearly non-stop... but it's still great to be out. I'm sure one of these days I'll get used to toting around our beautiful little celebrities.

I can't say that things are perfect, but holy smokes I'm actually able to admit I'm proud of how our transition continues to go. I'm not sure if it was the way we became parents (both incredibly ill in another country, then traveling nearly 40 hours to get home, etc., etc.) or just skill or luck or what, but we're really doing pretty well (I think). We are pretty good at the schedule - I work HARD to stick to it no matter what, and Ezra & Olivia seem quite happy and generally pretty content in their new lives. They have changed so much since we met them nearly two months ago and amaze us every day. Days go by where they couldn't make life easier on us, and then one of them tried throwing a curve ball to test us out. :-D

It's amazing how much harder it is to keep my feeling of absolute cool when one of them breaks into all out tears and wailing in the middle of Barnes and Noble. I have this pact with myself to just smile about it and not freak out... but seriously. Barnes and Noble is one of those "quiet" type stores and when Ezzy lost it I thought I was going to lose it. All eyes in the store are instantly on the lady with the big, orange stroller that holds a screaming baby. My eyes quickly began scanning the store to see where Joe had wandered off to during our previous time of calm. Thankfully Joe heard the little man and rushed to my rescue to scoop Ezra up. I should also mention that I already had Olivia in the sling, so quickly scooping him up myself was not too easy. Or, maybe I'm just not that talented. Who knows. :-)

Anyway, as we checked out while getting the glare down from a cashier at another register, Joe stayed calm and cool and I stood there wanting to hide. Yep... that's my little man letting you ALL know he's here and he's not happy! When that guy needs to sleep... it shows VERY clearly!

In addition to the regular outings, I've been having fun (I'm definitely more excited about it than E&O are!) introducing new vegetables into their cuisine. They started veggies last Monday, so it's been nearly 2 weeks now. They don't seem to act any differently when I put a new veggie into their mouths than they do when it's just cereal. Oh well... it's fun to add new foods for me because I love the variety. Tomorrow we start with the green vegetables! 'Nough with the yellow veggies... we can't wait to go green! One interesting thing has been watching the changes in their diapers though... who knew you could SMELL carrots in poo? (TMI? Sorry... I'm a sharing kind of girl!). Thankfully though the veggies also seem to have finally firmed Olivia up quite a bit so her diapers aren't generally nasty, blowout, raunchiness anymore. Normally to get ready to change her stinky diapers we get EVERYTHING ready before the diaper gets opened, and this morning was no different. She is a BIG kicker during diaper changes and often gets her feet in the mess if you aren't careful. So, when someone is here to help I take advantage of it. My mom was handy, so she was holding Livvy's feet when I went to open the incredibly smelly diaper. I was bracing for a huge mess based upon the seriously pushing she'd done combined with the smell and amount of kicking she was doing. We were all ready for a huge mess and all there was in the diaper was the tiniest little rock. That was IT! Total Ezra style. My mom HAD to make fun of me and all the "Mama drama" getting ready to change that little thing. Ugh. Figures... I'm all ready for her typical and she was making it easy on me.

Now that I've probably lost most of my readers (who wants to read about poo?! At least I haven't shared any PICTURES of blowouts with you... yet), I guess I'll wrap up. In case any of you are going through E&O photo withdrawals, here's a couple new ones I took on Tuesday.

She's TALKING, a BUSY weekend, and the vampires

2008-05-19T16:53:00.000-06:00

Woohoo! Over the weekend Olivia started talking... little bits at first and now it's pretty regular! She's sooooo adorable and has the softest, most mouse-like little giggle and coo. I really MUST get the two of them talking on video and post it... it will melt your heart. Well, Olivia will. Ezra's talking will likely make you think we're unable to keep him happy as it really sounds like yelling/screeching/screaming. When people around us hear it, even after we warn them that he talks like that, they ALWAYS come over to see if they can help... as though he's needing comforting. It's kind of funny and not too surprising since the first few days he chatted like this we thought he was upset too!

So, we had a BIG weekend... on Friday morning my cousin and his wife had their first baby - a little handsome guy by the name of Luke. He's a total doll and I can't wait to meet him. We've loved ogling at his picture and reveling in how fun it is that babies are just flying into the family these days! (Ok, well 3 new ones so far this year and 3 more expected by the end of the year!) After the baby excitement in the morning we rounded out a VERY hot afternoon with a fantastic dip in the pool. It was our second time taking them there and they seemed to enjoy it. Olivia definitely preferred to be glued to my shoulder for the first 3/4 of the visit and was so busy sucking on my shoulder she left hickey marks! Yikes! But, by the end she was also frogging her way around the pool TRYING to kick a little and catch up with her swim-crazy tadpole of a brother. Ezra is SUCH a pool fiend already!

On Saturday Joe and I hauled the kids to Tustin to visit briefly with the lovely families of OCEAN (Orange County Ethiopian Adoption Network). They are a great and growing group of families in the Orange County area adopting from Ethiopia and we were THRILLED to show off our bundles of fun. The neatest part was that Olivia and Ezra came out of their shells almost immediately and were smiling and giggling. Often they're a bit shy for a while and have the most serious expressions when people meet them, so it was so neat they were so comfortable there! Thank you to the C. family for hosting! Sadly our visit was only about an hour since we had to zoom home and get the kids to bed.

On Sunday evening Joe and I took the babies to Laguna Beach for family photos and their first experience with the Pacific ocean. They were COMPLETELY entranced by the ocean and getting them to smile was a TOUGH task. I hope we got some good ones with them smiling, but who knows. A friend of Joe's does some photography on the side and I am so grateful to him and his wife for helping us out and doing that. There's no way we could afford to have hired someone, so we are indebted to Bill and Kara BIG TIME! Thank you guys! Hugs and kisses from Olivia and Ezra! Oh, and to me one of the coolest things about having our family photos taken yesterday was that it was our one month of being home forever with the kiddos! How neat is that?!

Then today was a little less fun. Ok, a LOT less fun. The morning started with sticking U-bags (literally STICKING since there's adhesive to hold them on) to my beautiful babies' undercarriages. Then, giving them bottles and hoping they'd pee for us. After a while of waiting, I had enough urine for them both and went to remove the bags so I could pour the contents into the "pee cups." Seriously, have you ever used a U-bag on a baby?! The doc told me they'd peel right off. Huh! Not even close! Talk about torturing your wee ones! It seemed more like the bags had been crazy glued to their skin to never be removed again. It was especially bad with Ezra who was a champ through part of the removal... until we hit a large amount of loose skin that was determined to never be parted from the bag. It was agony peeling it off... I can just imagine the nightmares he'll have from the experience.

After that bit of fun I zoomed to the lab since today I had to have some blood work (including fasting blood work) done and share with them a ridiculously humiliating amount of stool specimens with them. Yep, you read that right. My doctor is trying to figure out what is cycling through Joe and I over and over and ordered a lot of blood and stool work to be done. You can't imagine (or maybe you can if you've BTDT) how incredibly uncool it is to walk through a drug store to the lab in the back carrying 3 days worth of specimens. Ugh. Of course, there couldn't be any less than 30 people crammed in the tiny waiting area to overhear the questions about my specimens and confirming what had been needed. Um, yes. Would you like a megaphone lady so the whole store can hear you ask me about it?! Fun stuff. I really pity the person that actually deals with the stool cultures for people, that must be one of the suckiest jobs ever. Can you imagining opening the jars of poo and looking at it under microscopes and whatever else they must do?! Ewwww. After visiting the vampire in the back and donating a bunch of my hard earned blood to him, I raced out of the store and headed home so my mom could get to work and leave her post as grandma-sitter. :-)

As soon as I got the wee-bots up from their naps, it was race mode. Bottles, change diapers, get them dressed, loaded into the car, and off! Now I had to run THEM to the lab to get THEIR blood sucked and give them the fun stool specimens from the kids. Yeah, there was a LOT of poop scooping at our house over the weekend and I'm NOT just talking about the dogs! ;-) Oh baby, what fun! Now, on to the vampires. After waiting a ridiculously long time to be seen, a terrible phlebotomists proceeded to try and hit a vein in Ezra's itty bitty arm. The poor guy was NOT thrilled to be restrained by his mama, let alone have his arm immobilized and felt for a vein. When the actual needle was stuck in I thought he'd explode from screaming so hard. Then I nearly screamed at the woman when she began wiggling the needle around in his arm and dug for a vein. After a few attempts I told her that was WAY too much digging and she stopped. We then had to wait around for 45 minutes for some guy that does the pediatrics in another part of the hospital who would supposedly have more chance of success.

Joe had met me at the lab for a lunch break and was none too thrilled that he now had to cancel a meeting to wait around for this new guy. I was none too thrilled since now this meant the babies would be having their blood sucked by the nasty vampire when they should be having a bottle and going down for a nap. So much for getting to the lab early and expecting to have plenty of time to get home for the nap routine... bleck.

Long story short, the pediatric guy shows up and luckily seemed to know what he was doing. He hit veins on both the wee-bots on the first try and knew that the previous woman had been planning to take WAY too much blood since there were so many tests being performed and she was going to use full-sized vials rather than the micro-vials. The babies both screamed initially, but about halfway through Olivia was overtaken by an almost eery calm. She even smiled and wiggled as I went to lift her up when she was done. I may be deaf in both ears from having been hunched over them whispering in their ears and restricting their body movements during the ordeal, but that smile made it all better.

You may be wondering what all the tests on the kiddos were for. We took them to see Dr. Feldman in Long Beach a couple of weeks ago to have thorough assessments of their physical condition, developmental milestones, attachment, etc. He specializes in international adoptions and was really incredible. It was a grueling 3 hour visit, and part what he wanted to look at were their blood titers (to see where we should start their immunizations at - were the ones they've already had effective, do we have to repeat the ones done in Ethiopia, etc.), check to be sure there are no underlying issues anywhere, no giardia, etc. Mostly just precautionary stuff, but good to know and also great to have a baseline of for the future if ever needed.

On Thursday we have their next appointment with their regular pediatrician to do a well-baby exam. If the results of the titers are back we'll begin immunizations based upon the needs determined by the blood titers. More fun to look forward too... poor babes! We will also be starting vegetables this week! Woohoo... no more cereal only for solids! I can barely believe that Wednesday is their 5 month birthday! Happy 5 months sweet angels! We love you!

I leave you with some pictures of Friday evening's pool fun...

Where's Daddy??

There he is!

Picture-a-palooza!!!

2008-05-16T15:58:00.000-06:00

Finally some long awaited photos! I found my memory card reader and am happy to show you the latest shots of our cuties! This evening we're heading back to the pool to cool off after a hot day!

Ezra and his Grampa Paul

Our little man tasting his hand

Olivia - lots to think about as she enjoys her cereal!

Ready for their first pool adventure! (Still have a lot of growing to fit into their 3-6 month swim suits!)

Mommy and her beautiful babes after their first swim

Tummy time fun

Seriously, could she be any more gorgeous?! :-D

Talk about a cute smile... love to see him having fun on his tummy since it's not exactly the norm

To be a baby - it's a rough life

See! Told you it's rough! Smiles to screams in 2 seconds flat!

WHOA!

(A very typical Olivia expression for the camera... seems to think it's a scary device!)

Watch what you say or I'm gonna slap you!

Take that...

And THAT! Ha!

I think they communicate to each other with their tongues...

Love the big bums, compliments of G Diapers

Telling Ezra how it's gonna be...

I told you to feed me NOW!

Seriously?!

We love hugs!

Awww... what style they have!

Our little guy is one cool dude!

Ready for their daily walk and looking good!

Hurry up and get this show on the road! I have places to go and people to see!

Olivia's heading out for a stroll, don't tell the paparazzi!

An addition to my last post

2008-05-13T16:48:00.000-06:00

Ok, after skimming quickly through my last post I realized that despite all the ramblings, I made the picture of our new life out to be perfect. However, in order to share more of the reality with those considering adoption, starting the process, waiting for their referral, waiting to travel, or whatever; I thought I'd add a little update.

Things HAVE been tough. Not all the time, but occasionally. There has been so little issue with the kids attaching to us since they are so young (and according to the Docs attachment really starts to happen after 6 months apparently), but for us to attach & bond with them it hasn't all just come instantly. We have loved them since we first laid eyes on their referral pictures... but to really start to feel like their parents and love them through and through... it has/is taking time. There are moments when one of them is crying for no apparent reason and I can't get them to stop that I feel frustrated beyond belief. I wonder what I'm doing wrong or "WHAT IN THE HECK WERE WE THINKING?!" There are times when I am counting the minutes until Joe comes home from work so I can get a break or get away. But, usually just after I have one of these breakdowns in thoughts, I'm flooded with how lucky we are to have these amazing little people and how much I DO love them. Their smiles are the best gift in the world... and I can't tell you how perfect their giggles are. Really... hearing them laugh is food for the soul.

So, while we both have struggled to feel like we ARE a family and question why it didn't just feel like that overnight, we know it's a part of the process. It's a difficult part at times, but one that makes it all the more rewarding. These babies deserve our love more than anything or anyone else, and we're thrilled to be able to give it to them. For every down there are 10 times the ups in our daily lives... so the good really does outweigh the bad, but it's not all easy. I don't want my last post to make it seem like it's been a total breeze... we HAVE had challenges! Many times I read other peoples blogs and think "WOW, how do they do it so easily?!" and then remind myself we often on talk about the good... at least in public. When I read some one's blog that is honest, open, and get to really read about the roller coaster, I find it so refreshing and helpful in my difficult moments of the journey. Therefore, it's my commitment to all of you to continue to try and share the good AND the bad! (Lucky you... I know! ;-) )

Oh... and Joe and I are still cycling through the battle with the GI bugs... so send those get well wishes our way! We are SO ready to be back to full health so we can REALLY start having fun with these two gorgeous babes!

Alive and... doing GREAT!

2008-05-13T15:46:00.000-06:00

Hello blog world! I am so sorry for being such a dud with my blogging lately! It's taken me a while to feel up to answering the phone and returning emails during the days, let alone getting the blog updated. At this point though, I think I can safely say we're really getting into the swing of things and I'm starting to return (at least somewhat) to the world of COMMUNICATING! I know, it's terribly exciting! I've missed it!

On that note, let me point out some exciting things. First, we met Olivia & Ezra more than a month ago now! Our first meeting was on April 7th, and while the memory is still vivid and fresh, it feels like a lifetime ago. I really feel like it's been so much longer, as they have become such a part of our lives and I can barely remember what life was like without them. We arrived home the evening of April 18th, so we've been home ALMOST a month now! While it seems amazing it's been that long, it really feels like it's been so much longer. Every day we see changes in Olivia and Ezra - at least developmentally. I think I'm too close to them to see how much they are physically changing, as they still seem like precious little babes to me! I know they're growing though, and Joe and I see Ezra's face filling out at least!

Soon, we'll be starting them on vegetables and we've already gotten through all the different types of cereal. I now have some recipes to make my own baby food, so I'm excited to start that adventure soon. It's funny how much I get excited about starting them on new food... I'm not too sure they care yet about having more variety in their diets. :-D

Health-wise both our angels are doing great. Ezra still has some congestion sounds, and his cough is occurring more frequently than before, but apparently it's nothing to be concerned about. This week we'll be taking them in for a slew of blood & urine tests as well as stool cultures, and then next week we have a well-baby exam with our regular pediatrician. At that point we should have a good idea of where we're going to go with their vaccinations, since some of the blood tests are to check the titres (level of antibodies in their blood) for various vaccines they were given in Ethiopia to see if we need to start the vaccination schedule from scratch or move forward from where they are already at. I am NOT looking forward to the blood tests or vaccines, but it's all a part of life so I guess I'll have to get over it. :-S

As for their daily changes... here's a little of what they're doing these days:

Olivia is such a strong, tiny peanut. She weighs in at about 12 pounds now (at just shy of 5 months - not TOO tiny, but still little). Her strength is really impressive. She's already rolling over (not consistently quite yet), and can pull her knees up under her during tummy time. She's also a tummy time champ and will hang out and move around on her tummy for a long time. She's still a quiet little thing, and a bit behind in her "language development" since she's not doing too much cooing and chatting just yet. BUT, I will say that in the last week she seems to be doing a lot more of the tongue "Thhhbbbbbbttttt" type stuff and getting a bit more vocal - so I think she's on her way! The lag in her language isn't too much of a concern yet, but obviously "could" indicate hearing issues. We aren't going to test her for that until a bit later if there's still concern, as the international adoption pediatrician wants to give her 6 months to settle in at home and get comfortable before worrying. Plus, hearing tests in infants under 6 months are apparently not too accurate. Olivia is also grabbing objects and sticking them in her mouth like crazy now. When we met them they could barely grab an object intentionally (you know, where they see something and reach out to touch or feel it), and now she's definitely getting that down. HOORAY! Some days, she even holds her own bottle for a short bit of time... ok, it's more like she balances it and it falls when she turns her head... but she's starting to get it!

Ezra is also doing phenomenally. He is SUCH a talker! He really chats up a storm... and his version of cooing can be super cute little coo type noises, all the way up to a LOVELY scream he loves to do - and OFTEN! I swear the first week or two he was making the noise I'd run to him to be sure it wasn't caused by pain or make sure he wasn't crying! He's just really excited to try out the full range of his vocal cords I guess! The bummer is, he's NOT a fan of tummy time and is a HUGE fan of being held over your shoulder and conforming to your body like an amoeba. Therefore, his upper body strength is a bit on the weak side and compared to Olivia he feels fairly floppy. When he's sitting he often lets his head just droop down and his back hunches over... so we're working hard on that. He also is ADORABLE when he soothes himself as he gets tired.... from the time we met him it's been the same exact action. He lifts his right arm straight up over his head and turns his head to the right and pushes his face into his arm. At the same time he takes his left hand and puts it on his chest and grabs his clothes. Then he starts suckling against his arm. It's REALLY cute... but has also contributed to a slightly flattened right side of the head. He also would barely look to the left at all... no matter how hard we'd try to get him to look that way. So, we bought a sleep positioner and now have to lay him down on his left side. I think I'm already noticing the right side of his head curving back out AND he now looks left fairly often! YIPPEEEEEE!!! We're so proud of him! :-D

They are both also sleeping pretty well now, and the schedule is getting pretty routine. Ezra is the one that most often wakes up at some point during the night and it doesn't take too much to get him back to sleep usually. Yes... this is the BIGGEST help of all I'm sure and probably the biggest reason our transition into parenthood has been so smooth! We're still tired a lot... but I think it's more from how exhausting it can be "entertaining" them and playing than it is from lack of sleep at night.

We LOVE taking them out for adventures too. We went to the pool a couple of weeks ago for a short swim and they both did great. They didn't seem too sure WHAT they thought of it... but there were no tears and they looked adorable in their swim suits! They do have some growing to do before their suits fit thought... the 3-6 month size is still swimming on them (no pun intended!).

The biggest adjustment to our trips out though is the attention we draw. Don't get me wrong... we EXPECTED to get a lot of stares, comments, etc. But, it's still an adjustment. How I respond to it depends on a few factors, including what is said or done. We've had some comments/questions that were so beyond rude I could barely contain my disgust, as well as some genuine, sweet remarks. The part that really irks me is when someone interrupts Joe or myself mid-sentence when were talking to each other to ask us something incredibly personal... and I must admit the "Are they adopted?" question is getting pretty old. Some times I want to tell the person asking that question... Um, let me think... I can't remember! Joe and I are thinking the next person to ask this may get a response from us like "No. Sometimes when you swing accidents happen... and that's exactly what happened." We're thrilled to talk about our adoption when people are polite and/or we're having a conversation, but the way people go about asking their questions is just downright stupid sometimes. And seriously people, don't step in front of our big ole' double stroller and stop when we're plowing along on an outing. We DO have places we're trying to go to and don't need to be stopped every 10 feet for the barrage of questions!

Sorry for the rant... we really do love to share the miracle of adoption with people and are thrilled to educate the public about it. It's just hard in the moment to answer in a polite or friendly manner when someone asks something that's just out of line. We ARE getting used to it though, and finding ways to respond that we *hope* Olivia and Ezra will one day be able to be proud of. Baby steps... we'll get there! In the mean time, if you walk up to me and ask me how much I paid their birth mother to be able to adopt them (or if we got them 2 for the price of 1)... you may get a pretty gruff response!

So, as you can see we have two incredibly, amazing blessings. I cannot possibly imagine life without them. We've settled into being a family more quickly than I could ever have hoped, and parenting twins really hasn't been nearly as hard as I'd prepared myself for. I really can't imagine how boring things would be with just one! No offense to the parents of singletons... I'm sure they're great!!! I just love how we have two incredible personalities to keep us entertained, watching them interact with each other, dressing up a boy AND a girl... that sort of thing! Why in the world do parents of twins or singletons make it sound like multiples are so awful or challenging?! Seriously? It's definitely got it's additional complications, but it is SOOOO worth it, trust me. If ANYONE wants to hear more about parenting twins, feel free to ask. I'm no expert yet and definitely still expect plenty of tough days ahead, but I'd be happy to share more about what we've learned and how we make it work.

I'll try to add a few pictures today too... I just have to find my memory card reader so I can download them! Sorry I've been so bad about pictures TOO! I know what fun it is to see them growing and changing!

Hugs to all... and a late Happy Mother's Day!

Laughs in our daily lives

2008-04-28T15:31:00.001-06:00

What a weekend it was! During our gap between the morning and afternoon naps we had outings on Saturday AND Sunday! We ran to CostCo, visited some friends and family, and even took Joe to the hospital! Poor Joe was feeling really crummy when he woke up Sunday morning, and before long was experiencing more fun like we had in Ethiopia! :-( I have no clue why he was sick like that again, but the poor guy was down and out for the day. Sadly for myself (yeah, I know, I'm selfish!) I lost daddy's help for the day too... so it was an extra bummer! I somehow still managed to get the kiddos fed and out the door (albeit late) to visit during our awake time prior to the afternoon nap (or cry fest... depending on how you look at it), and then after the nap got Joe to the hospital, kept the babies entertained there for a couple of hours, and then zoomed home to put them to bed by myself. Whew... what a day.

Today, Joe's totally out of commission still, but has been desperately trying to lend a hand where he can. As I was finishing afternoon bottles and getting ready to take E & O upstairs for their afternoon nap, Joe offered to change Olivia for me since she'd been working on filling up her diaper during her bottle. What a guy... I tell ya. So, he's on the floor with her on the changing mat, and gets the new diaper, wipes, and a diaper bag ready to go. Then, he opens up her diaper to the aftermath of a real explosion. It was no blowout (I've had to change her after a few of those already...), but there was a lot in that diaper! As he rolled it up to Velcro it closed on the mess, she began shooting poo at him! This was no drip action, it was full on projectile poo missiles! It went about a foot... that's some serious distance for such a little thing!

Being the helpful and loving wife that I am, I instantly jumped into action to help. Oh wait, no I didn't. I began laughing hysterically... so hard my abs hurt and I was crying. I just couldn't stop laughing! I've had so many nasty diaper change accidents (both babies have pooped into my hands during their changes, I've been peed on by both, dealt with Olivia diaper blowouts, you name it - and Joe's gotten off easy until then!), so I was unbelievably entertained by the incredible mess she created. I only wish I could've gotten it on video, it was too funny to not share.

So, yeah. That's the fun from today. At the moment the little munchkins are ACTUALLY sleeping (or at least quiet) during their afternoon nap. It's been 30 minutes since we put them down, so I expect that the pattern of lately will continue and crying will begin momentarily. Wow... as if on cue, Olivia JUST began crying! Ugh! Off to try and do some back patting and soothing. I have no idea why she's no longer able to nap longer than 30 minutes or so between wake ups... but it's the pits! So much for being productive OR getting a nap of my own during their nap time! :-( At least they're still sleeping reasonably well at night!

Later all! Off to give some kisses to our little princess!

Pictures!

2008-04-25T16:02:00.001-06:00

Together in the visiting room at Toukoul

JUST HOME! Comatose babies...

Little Miss Olivia enjoy some cereal

Our handsome man NOT enjoying cereal

Fun in the bouncy seats

Sleeping before bath and bed... this guy goes into a coma when he's ready for bed!

Our little beauty out of her bath and smelling wonderful!

That's all for now... more later! Enjoy!

We're HOME! (Sorry for the delay in posting!)

2008-04-24T14:35:00.000-06:00

Ok, first a quick apology to everyone that's been anxiously waiting for news. I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am at my lack of posting! Let me just say that after my last post last week things got VERY crazy!

On Tuesday our attorney took the kids to the embassy for their blood draw, and then supposedly talked to someone there on our behalf to "plead" our case. Therefore, he told Joe they wouldn't be going in together to talk to them that afternoon, and instead we spent the day visiting the kids and trying to recover. Food was something that just didn't seem to be welcome to my stomach, so eating was difficult, and all I could stomach were familiar foods like pizza (and in tiny small quantities).

Wednesday morning Joe and I decided we needed to step up and take some action as it was becoming clear that our attorney was misleading us. There are so many details as to why everything that was happening was happening, but to make a long story short, it didn't make sense that at this point the embassy STILL didn't have everything they needed and it was less than a week before the April 21 embassy date we were assured would work. We'd been told they normally have to have your entire file at least one week prior to the embassy date, so since they still didn't have it, we were beginning to wonder if the April 21 date would still even work or not. Our attorney assured us that first thing in the morning on Wednesday he would be getting the medicals to the embassy and that was all that was needed to complete our file at that point. So, we were shocked and frustrated that at 10:30 on Wednesday when we spoke to someone at the embassy, we learned the medicals were still not there. They told us that we could most definitely have our embassy interview THAT afternoon at 1:00 if our attorney got the medicals to them in the next hour or so.

We rushed out of the embassy and quickly called the attorney. As usual he danced around the answer as to why the medicals weren't there yet and said he'd take them over sometime that day. Joe bluntly stated to him that he needed to take them in immediately and that we would be at the embassy for a 1:00 interview. After we got off the phone with him, we ran to Bambi's to grab formula and then to Toukoul to check the kids out for good.

At Toukoul we got the kids schedule finally (or at least their feeding schedule, there was nothing about when they normally napped), and were handed the kids and their files. Ezra and Olivia were carried out to us and we were given a bottle so they could eat prior to the embassy appointment. As soon as the bottles were finished we hopped in the car and zoomed back to the embassy. It was a hot drive and part way there we had to meet the attorney and after talking to us as we sat in the hot car and waited to get moving he climbed in and rode over with us.

We arrive at the embassy about 12:30 and were allowed to wait just inside the doors while the embassy personnel were at lunch. We didn't have to wait too long before getting to pay for the visas and then get called to the window for our interview. The appointment itself didn't last too long and soon we were being told they'd have the visas ready for us by 2:00 pm the next day. This would be soon enough to still allow us to depart on Thursday evening, as scheduled, so we were THRILLED!

That evening let's just say the twins weren't up for giving us a break. Although we were both exhausted from being sick and puny from not eating, they wanted to party all night long. We couldn't set them down without an ear load of tears and screaming, so it was a long first night together. The following day was much the same... a difficult environment to entertain in, and a real challenge to pack to head home with two fussing, cranky babies. Somehow we managed, and after a long day we made it to the airport at 7:00 pm (I'll skip the details on getting our visas from the attorney... let's just say the man is scum and we're thrilled to be done with him...). At the airport Joe was feeling really sickly, so I was no longer alone in my misery. I was terrified about the trek home, and often wondered if we'd really make it.

Thankfully, our 17 hour journey on Ethiopian Air was relatively roomy as the flight wasn't very full. We got TWO bassinets for the return, and E&O occasionally even let us lay them in the bassinets for some much needed resting of the arms. By the time we hit Dulles, I was ready to collapse and still had barely gotten any food down. I didn't get sleep on the flight and was reveling in what our bodies do as we push them to the limits. Surprisingly (or maybe NOT so surprisingly), there were many occasions in which someone could have lent a hand and helped us get our backpacks on our backs or something like that and all anyone did was stare. I realize we were a sight to behold... but you'd think at some point on the journey SOMEONE would have at least offered to help me as I kneeled on the ground with a baby strapped to my chest and struggled to lift a really heavy backpack onto my back. What are we coming to these days?

Anyway, after a LONG journey home we met up with my parents at the Orange County airport. We immediately handed off the babies and I collapsed to the floor of baggage claim. I have no idea what we would have done if my parents weren't here. They had dinner waiting for us (that I couldn't eat), and took the first night shift so we could get some much needed sleep. The babies were comatose the first couple of hours home, as they'd finally passed out on our flight from Chicago to Orange County.

The last week is a bit of a blur. We've had good days and not so good days. The last two days the afternoon nap seems to be the enemy of Miss Olivia and there is much crying no matter what... crying from not sleeping or crying from us making her have quiet time in her crib. We visited a pediatrician on Monday and they were both given some antibiotics for their sinus infections, and are hoping to see some improvement from that in the next day or two. We've been going for walks in the stroller every day, and they seem to be starting to really enjoy seeing the trees and sights. The pediatrician also was happy to have us start on solids, so we began rice cereal on Monday evening. Olivia is getting the hang of it a bit faster than Ezra, and she's much more interested in the whole affair. She's getting a decent amount down, but her much bigger brother isn't too interested.

So, that's a wrap for now. I need to go see what I can do to get these babies back to sleep and try and allow my brain to vegetate. I think it's become rather like mush...

Thanks for sticking with us while anxiously awaiting the updates! We ARE home safe and sound and appreciate all the support!

Day 7 updates... embassy status

2008-04-14T07:51:00.001-06:00

Just a quick update... we didn't get to the embassy today and we will be pleading our case tomorrow, hopefully they'll allow us to have an embassy appointment on Wednesday, which means a Thursday departure at the very soonest.

Today I wound up at the hospital due to a serious case of food poisoning or something. Nothing like getting sick again less than a week after the last time! This is by far the worst I've felt in as long as I can remember and hope to be feeling well enough to visit the kids again tomorrow since I couldn't today. It's so hard to be sick and not have access to the familiar "sick foods" of home... trying to find something I can stomach has been a real challenge.

Hopefully tomorrow will bring good news and better health! Sorry for the short update, I need to lay back down! :-S