Easter Photos...Finally

The kids woke up on Easter morning and began their annual quest to find their Easter Baskets, which for some reason are hidden by the Easter Bunny the night before (family 'Easter' tradition courtesy of Neil's family, who ironically are Jewish...clearly REFORMED! LOL).

Sophie found hers behind the chair...

Chris found his behind the tree...

Livie's was in the hallway...

Oh, wow...CANDY!!!

And toys!

For anyone who is concerned, Lindsay found her basket right away, and since the Easter bunny had let her an iTunes gift card, she disappeared to the computer almost instantaneously!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Then it was on to Church. The service was lovely, as it always is.

Lindsay and Livie dancing after Church.

Chris and Sophie

Lindsay's BFF, Sierra, spending some time with Livie.

Sierra and Lindsay

Matthew 28:6 - He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.

HAPPY EASTER!!!!!

Mary

Boom Boom And Out Go The Lights & Sophie Sillyness

Yes, I am still here. Yes, I have been a naughty blogger. And yes, I will explain why...just not now...maybe in a day or two (I am still catching my breath).



Now on to 'what has been happening' -- I will attempt to catch up over a blog post or two -- or three. Well, you get the idea!



The week before Easter I took The Littles to a lovely Japanese Garden in Delray Beach called Morikami Gardens. Our sole purpose was The Littles - dressed in 'their Chinese best - and my Nikon camera. My friend Jolene met us there with her younger daughter, Emma. Jolene owns a China Adoption-inspired web store called China Patterns, and she came with us to snap photos of some GORGEOUS outfits which she will be adding to her store. We got some GREAT photos...of Emma! The Littles were...ummm...how do you say...a pain in the &#$%#@!!! I took over 250 photos, and if I have more than 5 that are half-way decent I will immediately drop to my knees in thankfulness to my Lord! I will be taking the memory card thingy to CVS tomorrow in order to download all of my mediocre photos of The Littles to a disc. I will also download all of the DYNAMITE photos of Emma -- who let me just say KNOWS how to work the camera!

Why do I tell you this, you wonder? Well, how many times have you made an appointment to have your child/children photographed only to have them get a bug bite on their cheek or to scratch their nose? Thankfully our 'injury' occured conveniently 2 days after our *photo session*. Who was injured, you may wonder (of course, you will only wonder this if you don't actually KNOW my Littles!)? Well, it was Livie, naturally. Yes, poor Livie was attempting to get off of a little ride-on toy in our living room when -- BAM!!!!!!!! -- she fell on our marble floors (note: if you are on Facebook with me then you already know just how much I HATE my marble floors!). That wouldn't be so bad except that due to some medical issues Livie has very, very little anticipatory behavior. Most folks begin to fall and hold their hands out to 'catch' themselves. But Livie, due to her special needs, can not do this. Hence, she literally catches herself with HER FACE. This time it was her chin:

Livie's chin immediately swelled up (which is good), while I began to freak out. Now I am not typically one to freak out, since I am certainly not a neurotic parent...I am more of a negligent parent...LOL! At any rate, her chin really, really shot out with immediate swelling and bruising. Livie cried like crazy, and then calmed down - bag of frozen peas placed against her chin. Her bruising was wicked...and yet, in typically Livie fashion, the bruise itself was actually in the shape of a HEART!!! Go figure!

All the while Sophie, our resident "Princess", was playing quietly with Mr/Mrs Potato Head. Here she is modeling the pirate hook and princess hat...slightly confused, I would say!

And here is Sophie modeling the latest in Botox...the Mrs. Potato Head Botox line! LOL Sophie is already blessed in the 'full lip' department, so the fact that she felt the need to *add on to her lips* cracks me up!

Mary

Parent's Job Description

PARENT- Job Description

This is hysterical. If it had been presented this way,
I don't believe any of us would have done it!!!!

POSITION:
Mom, Mommy, Ma, Mama
Dad, Daddy, Pa, Baba

JOB DESCRIPTION:

Long term, team players needed, for challenging,
permanent work in an
often chaotic environment.
Candidates must possess excellent communication
and organizational skills and be willing to work
variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends
and frequent 24 hour shifts on call.
Some overnight travel required, including trips to
primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities!
Travel expenses not reimbursed.
Extensive courier duties also required.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

The rest of your life.
Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily,
until someone needs $10.00
Must be
 willing to bite tongue repeatedly.
Also, must possess the physical stamina of a
pack mule
and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat
in case, this time, the screams from
the backyard are not someone just crying wolf.
Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges,
such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets
and stuck zippers.
Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and
coordinate production of multiple homework projects.
Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings
for clients of all ages and mental outlooks.
Must be willing to be indispensable one minute,
an embarrassment the next.
Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a
half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices.
Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.
Must assume final, complete accountability for
the quality of the end
 product.
Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and
janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION:

None.
Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills,
so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE:

None required unfortunately.
On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION:

Get this! You pay them!
Offering frequent raises and bonuses.
A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because
of the
 assumption that college will help them
become financially independent.
When you die, you give them whatever is left.
The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that
you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more..

BENEFITS:

While no health or dental insurance, no pension,
no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and
no stock options are offered;
this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth, unconditional love,
and free hugs and kisses for life if you play your cards right.

Forward this on to all the PARENTS you know, in appreciation for everything they do on a daily basis,
letting them know they are appreciated
for the fabulous job they do...
or forward with love
to anyone thinking of applying for the job.

** AND A FOOTNOTE:  THERE IS NO RETIREMENT --------------- EVER

Mary

Jagged Little Pill

So, where have I been, you may wonder? Why have I abandoned my sweet little blog?

Well, pull up a chair and let me fill you in:



When I was preparing to go to China last November I made sure to pack along some Xanax, since I AM the definition of a scared flyer. One bump and all the the blood drains from my face...I begin to search anxiously for a flight attendant, and when I see one I try desperately to read their minds...what are they thinking...are they SCARED...what is going on?!?!?!

You get the picture.

Sadly, I blame all of this on my father, a career F-4 Navigator and Helicopter Pilot in the USMC. When we were little and traveling he would always make us sit in the the very last row on a plane. You know the row - the seats that won't recline more an 1/2 inch since you are right in front of the outhouse bathroom. If my memory is correct I recall him telling us on every flight we ever took at least once, "If this plane goes down we are the only ones who have a CHANCE of surviving!"

Oh, goody.

So now I hate to fly.

But I do it because I am too lazy to drive more than 8 hours or swim the across the ocean to get to China.

So I have mother's little helper much needed medicine in case of even the slightest, most tiny bump severe turbulence. Since I knew I didn't need to take an entire bottle of these wonder pills, I opted to place about 8 or so in my Synthroid bottle. Although they are almost the exact same size and shape, they are differenct colors so I knew which is which.

Last week I began to run low on my synthroid, and thought I really needed to call in a refill, which I finally got around to on Friday. Unfortunately, I took my last synthroid pill (this is a medication that helps regulate your thyroid, and since I had Grave's Disease and underwent two rounds of nuclear medicine, I know do not have any thyroid at all, thus, I am very dependent on my synthroid medicine to keep my thyroid level balanced) on Friday and then did not get by the pharmacy until Monday to pick up my prescription. Two days with no synthroid medicine had left me feeling like a sloth. I could barely think. I felt so weird. Actually I had been feeling stranger and stranger all week long - well before I ran out of my medicine.

When I got home I immediately popped the two pills I had missed. I then proceeded to go to my medicine cabinet to replace the empty synthroid bottle with the new bottle. What is this? There are 7 pills in my synthroid bottle. I don't understand...I took the LAST PILL on Friday?

Wait a second. Where is that bottle with the Xanax pills?

Oh.my.gosh.

IT IS EMPTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yup. I hadn't had ANY synthroid in 9 days. I suppose the good news is that since I had been popping a Xanax every morning for 7 days I really didn't freak out worry about it!

Now I am back to my old self.

Taking my synthroid every morning.

The effects of this are that I have regained my cognitive abilities and energy. Unfortunately, I am now freaking out about everything!

So mom is back. Now I need to access all that has gone on in my home in the past week+!

Mary