Oh how she

When my mom's fiance Hale sold his house my mom and Hale borrowed my BIL's truck for the week. At one point I was in it with her doing some running around. When BIL gave Mom the truck my sister tossed in the Valentine's Jake had made for me. You know, the classic construction paper, glue and glitter kind. When the truck was returned my BIL asked my sister "Has Shanny been in my truck lately?" Why? "Cause there's glitter EVERYWHERE." So Sara goes out and inspects the truck and gently informs her husband that I don't wear craft glitter! I'd look like a disco ball! He said "I don't know what you girls do." Well, Sara told me this story and I told Jon about it and I found out that one day not too long ago all 3 of them had a conversation about my sparklyness. Said I was doing much better. Apparently it is a sickness to sparkle. Also apparently, Sara would have to wipe down the boys after my visits cause they'd be covered in sparkles from my lip gloss and body shimmer. So I've been making sure to lay off the body shimmer if we're visiting and only use plain lip balm. Nice to know my efforts are not going unnoticed. I thought it was funny though that my family would actually discuss my sparklyness intervention style!

A Precious Pair

Spotted at the mall- this ad sign for sunglasses. Pugs are popping up everywhere!

Volcano face

Hi. I'm 32. Shouldn't I be past the stage in my life where I have to worry about zits? Then why have I been harvesting those awful volcano zits lately? You know the ones, they hurt, and they never really amount to anything other than some painful lump that won't go away for a week but you can't pop it either. I grew one ON MY EYELID for Easter that was so heinous it threatened to obscure my vision. How do you get a zit on your eyelid?? Now I have one on my jaw that from a certain angle makes me look like I have 2 chins. This is not fair. If I'm going to have the face of a teenager then I want the body to go with it!

Wedding Plans

My mom's wedding plans are coming along. We've got our outfits, the beach house is rented, and the officiant is reserved. He's the chief of police! Too funny! The only downside is the beach house doesn't allow pets. Too bad, as I'm sure Ike would look so dapper in a tux! He's a little miffed.

Secret keepers

Yep, we kept Molly a secret. Remember when I was telling you guys about that letter I got from "Tina" and the followup conversation and all that? Well she wrote the letter when she found out through the family grapevine that we had Molly. But she didn't know Molly was a gift. And when you are adopting and everyone and their brother has opinions on how you should spend your money, extra vet bills don't make the grade. But Jon really wanted Molly and he never asks for a thing. Plus, how we spend our money is our business and I have to quit worrying about what other people think. He said it would help with the wait we're dealing with bringing our girls home. And you know what? He was right. It's nice having another little baby around the house. Now, you asked for more pictures so here we go!
This is when Molly found her bark:
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When Molly drinks out of the water bowls, she stands in one to get to another. She loves to ride in the car:And she loves tearing around the yard:This is Molly with my sister's dog Ally:
I take a ton of pictures so more will come for sure!

Molly Makes 3

I would like to introduce you to our newest family member: Molly. Jon has wanted a little black pug forever. This being the year of the dog, his parents thought Molly would be an appropriate gift. This first picture was when we met her on Feb. 2nd. She was born on Jan 18. We were able to bring her home on March 13th. Jon instantly fell in love. She was so teeny he didn't want me to blog about her, or include her on our St. Patty's day cards just in case something went wrong. But she's a fighter! When she came home she weighed 2.62 lbs. Now she's up to 5lbs. Here she is meeting Ike & Kea for the first time. Jake adores her: And of course so do we! Now we have one of each flavor- vanilla (Kea), Caramel (Ike) and Chocolate (Molly). Oh, and her full name? You know with Ike Jit-Boo Kung Pao and Kea Li Mei Fun, she'd have a funky one. I let Jon have full naming rights cause this is his baby. So I present to you....Molly Xavier MuShu

Food camel

My husband is a food camel. I do not understand his behavior. He will wake up the morning after a big meal and I'll ask if he wants breakfast and he'll say "No, I'm still full from last night." Wha? When I wake up I need breakfast, whether we ate dinner at 6pm or 10pm. But Jon apparently has meal reserves. Boys are so weird!

Killer party

The Party Lite party went really well! Shannon did a fabulous job and bonus- I got to meet Alfred's Mom .AM is way cute and fun. And not once did I think about killing her. Her husband was so worried she'd be murdered as soon as she stepped through my door. Bless his heart. I just don't have the time and energy to blog for over 4 years on the off chance AM would read my blog, come to my house so I could kill her.
Now, it is not too late for those of you who couldn't come and would still like to place an order! Here's what you need to do:
1. Click Here
2. Enter password: ELX4
3. Click on PartyLite Products (at the top). From there, you can view the
catalog.

When you find exactly what you would like to order, just email me and we'll take care of the rest!

Sunday PL Shannon and I went to the Apple store. She's been needing a new computer- esp with this new PL venture and I talked her into a Mac. We parked and had to walk through Dillards to get to the Apple store and lo and behold as soon as we walked in there was the Croc display. They had the Athens flip flops for sale finally. Unless I have to get dressed up, I wear flip flops exclusively from March-October (November if it is warm enough). I tried a pair on and that was it. So I went home with these:
They are by far the most comfortable flip flops I have ever worn. I will not be returning to Old Navy for my summer footwear any longer. So sorry O.N.
Anyway, we made it to the Apple store and a very cute Apple man walked Shannon through her purchase. We went to her house and got her hooked up and she fell in love. So did I. My eMac is now about 1.5 years old and since then Apple has hooked up with Intel. Shannon's Mac Mini is so freakin fast. She couldn't get over all the things you can do with a Mac and was so pleased with her purchase. I was too cause I would have hated it if she spent all that money on my suggestion and hated it!
But you know what they say, once you go Mac, you never go back!

Lite of the party

Tomorrow night I'm hosting a Party Lite party at my house. So if you'll be in the Carolinas and wanna stop by, email me for directions! Shannon is the consultant and this will be her first party. I'm so excited for her as she'll be able to raise money for her adoption through Party Lite sales. If you'd like to make a purchase and can't make it to my house, you can browse the catalog online
and email either me or Shannon with your order. I wouldn't pimp out anything I don't believe in. These candles burn clean with no soot or leftover wax you'd have to scrape out of your candle holder. And for all of you adopting from China like us, they have an Asian inspired section. I'd been wanting to put a little Asian flair in my house without looking like I was trying to hard, and I didn't want it to be cheesy. I saw this bamboo sconce and I paired it with a Chinese coin from World Market.
When you light the tealight in the sconce it throws cool shadows on the wall. Ok, gotta go get ready for this party, no more time to be your personal shopper! Hop to it and check out that catalog!

Weirdo

I've been tagged by Karen to list 6 weird things about me. Only 6?

1. I can not stand the sound of teeth grinding, or teeth screeching across a fork or anything else metal. Would rather lose a limb than have to hear that all day.
   
2. I'm a tactile person. So everywhere we go I have to touch stuff. Can NOT keep my hands to my sides. Especially if there are bins of things like coffee beans or anything I can sink my whole hand into.
3. I'm obsessed with the mail. Jon is not allowed to check the mail because he might throw something out. If we don't get mail one day it bums me out. And circulars don't count as good mail but catalogs do. The best is if there's a large envelope or package. Swoon.
4. Zits drive me insane. It boggles my mind that someone would walk around with a mighty whitehead and not get it. Jon will on occasion let me get something, but he's a big baby so most times he'll run and do it himself. One of my relatives has been letting this giant blackhead right around on their cheek for the last 7 years. Every time we see this person it is all I can do to keep myself from tackling him/her and taking care of business.
5. I can fall asleep in a matter of seconds, but I have to have my eye mask and ear plugs, and preferably the sound machine on, oh, and a ceiling fan running, and water nearby to drink. Who knew someone could be so high maintenance while asleep?
6. I'm a beauty product whore and love anything sparkly. I would never apply to something like survivor because I know I'd run out of lip balm and things would get ugly. I must at all times have lip balm and hand lotion within easy reach. I have lip balm & lotion planted like land mines all through my house & car. Once when we were dating Jon picked me up for a movie- Saving Private Ryan. A 3 hour event. I realized with only 20 minutes before the movie started that I didn't have my lip balm (oh, and lip stick doesn't count. Not the same moisturizing quality). So we literally ran for the next 30 minutes through the mall til I could find lip balm. Had to pay $5 for a Hello Kitty lip balm necklace, but it was worth it.

Ok, I'm done. I tag....Ani, Lisa, Shannon H, Alfred's Mom, Susan, and anyone else who's game! Be sure to leave a comment here if you're playing along so I can come read!

An agressive agenda

Lots going on. Here's a bit of a recap and some teasers:
-Got the save the dates for the posh wedding in the fall. Holy moly they must be spending a king's ransom on this wedding. The STD cards were magnets with photos of the couple attached to 3 pieces of cardstock tied with a ribbon and engraved with the activities we'll be invited to (including a luau, departing brunch, the wedding & reception- all at a mega posh resort & spa) and a list of hotels besides the resort where we can stay. None of which we could afford unless I could get a good price on the black market for my spleen.
-We've made some major decisions recently that will have a huge impact on the adoption (still on of course), our living situation, and loads of other things. More details to come.


-In the midst of helping my mom plan her wedding which is fast approaching. Must remember to buy outfit.
-Was recently delighted to find out that M&M's will keep dark chocolate as a regular flavor soon. Yay!
-Somehow managed to lose our w2s and mortgage interest statement forcing me to file a tax extension. Nice.
-Shannon H is starting a pt career as a consultant with Party Lite. I'm having her first party this Saturday. You are all invited. More on that later as well.

With all the frills upon it

This is Ling Ling's Easter basket. It was full of sweet goodies like a switchplate for her room with ladybugs on it, a lady bug & shamrock bookmark (Yay for the Irish reference), and an adorable sun bonnet. My MIL & FIL had it waiting for us when we got to their house for Easter dinner. Jon had to work Easter til 3 so I had brunch at my BIL's mom's house with Mom, Hale, Sara, Marc, the boys, Marc's brother, his wife & their son. It was fun watching all the boys running around finding eggs. Then we drove south to my inlaws' where we had dinner with them and aunts and uncles and cousins. Jon and I also had Easter baskets for us. I received a sparkly ladybug pin- very cute, along with yummy candy and lip balms. Jon got his standard Starbucks card and some other goodies. We are too spoiled. What was funny though is that I'd found LL a ladybug Easter basket too and picked it up. Maybe it is a sign we'll get twins after all- what else will I do with 2 ladybug baskets?

Spring Nephew Cuteness

I swear if these boys were any sweeter I'd have a toothache! Ba dum dum! Tip your waitresses! Seriously though, Jake would go and get the Easter eggs and bring them to Joey. Jake was smart enough to check inside for dollar bills though! By the way, when I was a kid we got jelly beans. Not money. Oy, kids these days! Don't know how good they've got it!

Happy Easter!

Apply Within

I need to hire an assistant. Little to no pay. But I do encourage naps. Please find below a list of duties:

• Undos & put aways: unpack suitcases, unload dishwasher, put away groceries, put away clean laundry, put away craft supplies after projects.
• Task master: I get easily distracted and you may need to gently prod me to keep me on task when I'm working on crafts and things.
  
• Fill out all rebate forms.
• Remind me to use coupons I clip and carry around then let expire!
• Finish adoption paperwork.
• Clean my house. I'll vacuum and load the dishwasher, ooh and swiffer- I don't mind that, but the rest is on you sport.
• Take my car in for oil changes and service. I hate those waiting rooms. I always get stuck with the chatty person with bad breath.

Oh! And it wouldn't hurt if you could cook for us. That would be great. It seems I've maxed out my reportoire at spaghetti, lasagna, chili, and well, anything involving ground beef, red sauce and some sort of pasta.

You wouldn't have to wear a uniform, but I'll get to rock a tiara.

The Tina Saga continues!

**I'm totally over all this Tina business. I just felt it important to record the saga as this blog does serve as my journal.

Ok, so it has been soooo hard trying to protect Tina's identity while talking about her on the web. Here's a little background though. She's been a HUGE part of my life since the day I was born. Her and her husband have been nothing but good to me. Til now. So her child, let's call him/her Pat talked with her today and called me after to tell me what happened. Pat said "Either I'm really good or she's really good." Unfortunately Pat, she's really good.
Tina twisted everything around like you wouldn't believe. But Pat did manage to get a wee apology out of her. You won't believe the final thing she said though. Now remember, most of my complaints she WROTE on paper. Here are highlights:

* When she said why not go to Russia cause they look more American, she meant that Russia is closer to Ireland where we are from. WTF? And furthermore, she was concerned that I might name Ling Ling something Chinese which "would only remind LL of the country that didn't want her."
* When she said my aunt and uncle would have sent money to help with the adoption until they found out we were going to China for LL, she meant to say that they called asking how they could help and Tina suggested they not send money but send a gift once LL arrives. Tina had told me that Uncle had gotten so upset because "I didn't spend 4 years fighting the Chinese in the Korean war so she could bring chinks into this family". Turns out Uncle did fight in the war, but never made it to actual combat as he was stationed in Hawaii the whole time. Odds are he never said those awful things. So Tina basically jipped us out of financial help and painted my aunt and uncle as racists all at the same time.
* When Pat reminded her that Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world, red & yellow, black & white, they are precious in His sight, Tina said oh yes that is so true and LL should remember that when she gets picked on for being Chinese.
* And finally after all this twisting and turning and lying she actually had the big brass balls to tell Pat that she would be honored if we would name LL after her! Her, the most racist, lying, manipulative relative we have. I'd name LL Poo Face before I'd name her after Tina.

You know you can't pick your family. But friends are the family we choose for ourselves. And thankfully LL will have all of her Mommy's bloggy friends and real life friends, plus the non-insane members of our family to love and support her.

DC bound

I took my mom and Morgan to the airport this morning. They are headed to DC for the week. Morgan is on Spring Break and it just so happens that Hale's big conference of the year is this week in DC. Apparently W himself might even speak. They took my camera with them and I'm suffering withdrawals like you wouldn't believe.

Spidey diapies

When Jake showed up at Mama M's house Saturday for Marc's birthday dinner he was carrying his stuffed Spiderman. Spidey was wearing a diaper and a backpack. It was the funniest thing I'd seen all day. Apparently Jake wouldn't get a new diaper on unless Spidey did. Ah, role models.

Spiderman Birthday Party!

When Jake woke up this morning and Sara told him today was his Spiderman party, first words out of his mouth were "Where are my shoes? Have to put on shoes." He was ready Freddy!
Every child born anywhere near the Carolinas was there. Food was great, it was a lot of fun, and Jake received every conceivable Spiderman toy you could think of. Susan and Olivia came and Miss O had a ball! I think Joey has a wee bit of a crush on her!

Saturday

Saturday my Dad came into town and we went to my BIL's mom's house to celebrate Marc's (my BIL) 37th birthday. Wow. We are all getting so old. I remember when I thought 37 was old. But with all of us sitting around that table it still seems like we're just a bunch of young punks! *pictured from left to right- Eric- my BIL's nephew who was adopted from Russia, Sara my sister holding Joey, my BIL Marc, and Jake is on his lap.

Thank you for all of your words of support. A special thank you to all those who commented for the first time. I love "meeting" new readers! It really means a lot to me. If you haven't already guessed, Tina is a close relative- one I can't boot out of my life. I talked with her child about her- the child is over 50- and said child will be having a talk. This "child" is the only one Tina will listen to so I hope it works. My main message for her is I'm a grown up and don't have to take her crap. And I just want my kids treated like the other kids in the family. I did hear another gem of Tina's. She made a comment to my step-mom that my step-mom doesn't have any of "her own" grandkids and isn't that too bad, since my s-m's son married an infertile and they adopted. Nice. My s-m replied that she does so have her own grandkids, and included Ling Ling in the bunch. I heart my step-mom.

In other news, my dad drove almost 600 miles with a 3 week old new knee just to be up here for Jake's 3rd birthday. Highlights from the birthday partay to come!

What a croc!

I received a disturbing letter from a relative a few days ago and I've been debating about blogging about it. But this is my journal so I feel it warrants a mention. In the letter my relative, let's call her Tina, made some strange remarks. So I called Tina and during our conversation things went from bad to worse. All centered around our adoption. Here are some highlights:

• Tina thinks we should sell our pugs and put the money in the baby fund. Ok, no. Those pugs saved me, gave me something to nurture and care for during my lowest times while dealing with my infertility issues. They kept me company while I was recovering from surgeries. They are as close to kids as we've ever had and they aren't going anywhere.
• Tina and her husband say they want to help financially. We have NEVER asked anyone for money. Tina thinks by offering financial help she can dictate what we spend our money on. For the record, any $$ that comes in from people helping with the adoption goes straight to the baby fund. But we have to live our lives. I have to buy an outfit to wear for my mom's wedding for instance. I won't spend baby $ on that, but $ will be spent and I'm sorry Tina you can't tell me what to do. Believe me, we're on a budget. We clip coupons and have given up date nights out, movies at the theatre, nice dinners in restaurants, and we only buy what we need. But dammit I'm not going to feel guilty if every once in a while I spring for a frappucino or get my hair done.
• Tina mentioned that her brother and sister "were going to send you $ til they found out you are adopting from China. If it were an American baby they'd help." By that, I'm sure they mean white baby. Cause I seem to recall some not so nice comments about minorities made by said brother and sister. And frankly, they can keep their bigot money. Then Tina threw in "Have you thought about Russia? Their babies look more American." Again, white. Ugh!
  
• After all this talk about how we should be budgeting and scrimping and how my entire family on Tina's side is broke so I shouldn't expect anything from them (which I'm not and never have) I was then reminded that we are expected to show up to another relative's wedding in a VERY pricey posh area where hotels run $300+ a night 3 states away. So save all you can and don't buy clothes or food but spend $1000 to come to a wedding so we can show off. See, Tina feels bad for the mother of the groom who is "forced" to spend $10k on the rehearsal dinner. Oh, and did I mention they are registered at Tiffany's? Tina didn't forget to tell me that.
  

I swear after this conversation I needed to play a good game of whack-a-mole. Sorry for the rant. It's just so hard. Yes, we're doing all we can. But adoption isn't cheap. We still have bills to pay. We're working. I'm trying to be creative about fundraising (anyone wanna buy some earrings?). But we are not soliciting. Apparently some relatives thought our adoption announcement was a solicitation. Maybe it was the return envelope and pledge card that threw them off. Ha! We just figured that if I got pregnant people would find out so why not tell everyone we're adopting? Plus, EVERYONE would ask when were we gonna start our family so this would answer that question. Who knew people would assume we were asking for $? We never even mentioned money! Arrgghh! Why is this so hard? Why is this so touchy? Why do people feel like they can say anything they please when it comes to babies? No one in their right mind would utter similar comments if they were directed somewhere else. Like if I were going to marry a Chinese man, would someone have the balls to say to me "Have you thought about dating a Russian? They look more American."

Ok, enough of that. I will now end my post on a happier note. I have fallen in love again....this time with Crocs! Yes Tina, I paid $29 for the most comfortable shoes known to man. Deal with it. I love them so much! I have wide feet and have a hard time finding shoes that are comfy. These are amazing! I wore them to the dr's office yesterday for my 2nd hep shot (and Jon's 1st- he lived!) and I think I've got the whole office sold on them. I read somewhere that one lady went to China and took just one pair of shoes- her Crocs. I believe it! They are perfect year round. And so lightweight! This pic shows them in orange- I've got the hot pink. I'd love a pair in each color! And I can't wait to get Ling Ling a little pair of red ones!

Such a critic

I'm having a hard time with American Idol this year. I like too many of the contestants. I was really surprised though, to see Mandisa get booted. I thought she had a great voice and figured she'd stay around longer than Bucky for Pete's sake! As long as Chris stays I'm happy. I love how we can be watching this show (neither of us a great singer- me, I'm horrid) and critique the contestants: Oh, she's pitchy, or He's way off key. We turn into instant Simons!

Holiday season

We have officially entered mega birthday season for my family. Jake's is March 30, Morgan April 2, Pappy April 5, Marc April 6, Hale April 17. Throw in there the tax deadline and Easter and I'm one busy chickie! Jake's party is this weekend and should be lots of fun. Jon's found a special gift for him and is all excited about it. He's loving being an Unca! Oh, and Jake went peepee in the potty the other day- big news! He forgot to take off his big boy underwear first, but hey, he's getting it! You know, when kids come around it makes you wonder what did we all talk about before peepee was so interesting?!

@#$%& Alpha bits

Have you guys seen the Alphabet Pal? It's this cute little educational toy that is supposed to teach your child the sounds each letter makes, the alphabet, and colors. This was one of Jake's first toys and Olivia has one too. I saw it at her house the other day and had to share a story. When Jake was just a baby the family was gathered at my mom's for some holiday dinner. Alphabet Pal was there and at one point we noticed Jon and Marc (my BIL & Jake's dad) were missing. We found them in the den huddled over Alphabet Pal with impish grins. "Look what we can make it say." These 2 grown men had figured out a way around the curse word sensor (you can't make it sound out the word damn or ass for instance. It will say duh-ah-ooh that tickles!). But these 13 year old boys trapped in husband and father bodies got Alphabet Pal to sound out s h ! t h e a d. As soon as Susan heard this she grabbed Alphabet Pal and we all gathered round to see what we could make it say. Constructive and educational use of this fine product? Nah, but it sure is fun! Heh, and the government says we're approved to be parents!

Trooper

Laura's wedding was yesterday and I have pictures! It was so beautiful and I hate I wasn't there, but I couldn't be happier for them. They are such good people and a wonderful couple. Laura looked so gorgeous! Click here to see pictures. All the girls loved the jewelry I made. Yay! Today Shannon and I went to visit with Susan, Olivia, and Will. Oh, and of course PomPom. After visiting with Miss O, Shannon and I met up with a friend of her's Jody, Jody's bf Scott, and Jody's grandpa for dinner at an Indian restaurant. This was my first experience with Indian food. Let me help you newbies. Medium spicy in English translates to plate of edible hell in Indian. OMG the waiter literally was fanning me at the table. He was kind enough to tone down my dish after my tablemates could no longer stand my silent suffering and panting and then it was really good. He made a little dessert sampler for me since I was a trooper. I can't believe I didn't photograph this stuff. One dish was a rose flavored (yep, the flower) sweet cottage cheesy sort of patty called rasmalai. The other was called GULAB JAMAN and I did find this pic online: Mine was a big, black, quivery ball on a plate with honey sauce. Scary. But surprisingly tasty after you get past the appearance. The funniest part about the quivery ball dessert is that Shannon said she'd had it before on a BUFFET! Now, if I'm strolling down a buffet and I get to the desserts and I can choose between moist, black, quivery balls and, well, anything else is the world, I'm skipping the balls. Looks like Shannon's a trooper too!

16 candles

Tomorrow is my sister Morgan's 16th birthday. Today was her party. I can not believe she is 16. I was 17 when she was born and she was my favorite thing ever. She still ranks right up there. It is almost as if she was raised with 3 moms. I truly believe that my love for her comes as close as it possibly could to the love a mother has for her child. She may be 6 feet tall and gorgeous and have boobs now, but she will always be my sweet pea.
We threw a fiesta! Taco bar, pinata, games. So much fun! I made up a bobbing for sombrero wearing rubber ducks trivia game that the girls really loved. We had a blast. Susan and Olivia were able to stop by and Olivia had a big time with the maracas. Oh, and I made a cake that I decorated within an inch of its life. I don't always subscribe to the theory of less is more. The girls, and most importantly Morgan, had a fabulous time!