Double Lucky

Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T11:59:00.001-05:00

“You can do it, Luke. I’ll be waiting…”

2011-11-17T09:15:00.001-05:00

Lately it’s been all about Star Wars…most assuredly because they have been playing with Jackson and Mason, their 6 year old pals who are obsessed with Star Wars.

Sammi ran to the garage one day to tell Ed that she must have an authentic Luke Skywalker outfit so he attired her with his jacket and a foam baseball ball. Fit the need perfectly!

She then runs back out to Nicki (who is, of course, Lea) for this exchange:

Luke: “I’m off to fight them (ayii.the poor grammar…we are trying!!) bad guys.”

Lea: “I will be waiting for you!”

Lea: “I know you can do it, Luke!”

Victorious!

Made me smile. Hope it did you for you…

-cindy

Scooter-ing

2011-11-15T15:02:00.001-05:00

We have a long and fairly flat and wide driveway. It’s perfect for scooter-ing. Have you personally tried scooter-ing lately? It is FUN though Buddy and his barking probably brought all the neighbors out to their windows. How come Buddy only goes crazy when I’m on the scooter and not the girls? (Don’t tell me because he is trying to tell me I look silly..!)

Sam in yellow….Nicki in pink.

-Cindy

Five Joy-Filled Years Later….

2011-11-13T08:16:00.001-05:00

Five years later and every single dream, expectation, hope, wish and desire has come true. Our girls have completely enriched our lives and they are our precious treasures. It is simply impossible for me to imagine ‘life’ without the girls….I know all parents must say that but….I ‘really’ mean it!! Our 5th Year Anniversary ‘Gotcha Day’ was November 6th, 2006 and it has zoomed by….

We spent our Anniversary Day in a low-key way…..we went out to lunch, went to the park, cooked together (which the four of us love doing together) , and mostly just played around the house while I snapped some pictures. The night before the Anniversary Day, the girls insisted on pulling out their ‘fancy’ dresses for the ‘important’ day. At one point during the day….as I watched them running and tumbling and scooting and biking and twirling and swinging and sliding and zooming and hurling themselves all about (like normal), I asked them if they wanted to change into their play clothes. They both looked at me indignantly and said (truly!) that it would be “disrespectful’ to change out of the important clothes because the anniversary lasts all day.” Well-said, girls, though, I have to say in my and Ed’s case, we have been celebrating every day since Referral Day on August 24th, 2006.

Sammi on left; Nicki on right….

So Nicki is my silly one…..always giving me funny poses and being ultra goofy….hard to get her to be serious and she is definitely the one to tell a joke or catch a joke first….

And Sammi wants to ‘tow-the-line’ and keep the order and make sure everything is just ‘so’…..She wants to plan and organize and direct.

You can see just from this pic below…Sammi trying her best to smile in that direct sunlight and Nicki just being an irreverent as possible….

Nicki….

Now check out this very last picture. Isn’t it interesting….? I caught them dancing together and just simply joy-filled.

I hope you and your family are filled with joy and treasures, too!!

Hugs,

Cin

Blue-Jean Girls

2011-09-06T13:15:00.004-04:00

The girls attend drama school for about 3 weeks every 9 weeks or so during their Track Out periods. At the camp, the children (aged 3 to 14 with most children around first grade to fifth grade) learn all aspects of drama and production such as set-building, script-writing, direction, filming, lights, stage work, and of course, acting. It is rather impressive. Then, each Friday, the company puts on a weekly play that lasts about 20 or so mins with 8-12 or so kids. It's great fun. We initially enrolled them when they just turned four as they were so shy…so very very timid. Our hope was that acting would allow them to gain confidence in speaking and interacting with others. Well, I am happy to report that they are thriving at the drama school and in fact just played two key roles in last week’s production. They both now are assigned complex lines, they have to sing and dance about and……the best part, of course….is that they just love it. They talk about their beloved drama school all the time. Ed and I get the biggest kick out of watching the productions. The school hires professional actors and artists to work with the kids so it’s all so top-notch and well-done.
I think the drama and productions are spurring them on to constantly bombard me to film or shoot them as they bounce around the house and yard creating their own little plays. And, I am highly encouraging and inciting them on as it is so fun for me to watch them love doing what they love to do.... :)

As a side note, I highly recommend any parent to think about drama school activities (as long as you can find a theater company with a good reputation) if you have an unusually timid child and you are looking for something to help build their confidence. We are fortunate as the drama school the girls attend is actually affiliated with a very reputable city sponsored Theater organization that has been in our area for almost 100 years and is quite well-established so we feel great about their involvement in this troop.

Below, they both wanted to dress up as blue-jean girls and pretend they were getting ready to perform at a Bruce Springsteen concert. (are you surprised to hear that Ed is from Pittsburgh and we listen to Bruuuce all the time…?).

Happy Dancing to You, Too. !!!
Hugs,
cin

First Day of First Grade

2011-09-06T12:44:00.002-04:00

In our area, we have some schools that operate on a ‘year-round’ schedule and we love it! We’re on Track 2 (there are four tracks) and the children attend for approximately 9 weeks then they are out for 3 weeks. Multiple tracks are staggered and it works out so that the schools are operational all year long and…so much better….the children don’t ‘waste’ the first 6 weeks of the traditional school year relearning what they forgot during the 3-month summer block. Plus, the girls attend Track-Out camp (mostly) during the 3 week hiatus and get to go to all sorts of fun programs though by far their favorite camp it a drama school.
Sammi and Nicki returned back to school a few weeks ago but the pics below are from their very first day of First Grade.
Sammi in the red stripes; Sammi in blue….

Hope you continue loving first grade, Little Ones!
Hugs,
cin

Easy-Peasy Greek Salad

2011-06-29T01:07:00.001-04:00

Someone wrote in earlier and asked for another easy-peasy summer recipe. ……Well, here you go…

Greek Salad -- I found this on the web quite some time ago and have since lost the citation to the person who posted it. If anyone knows, please do let me know. It is EASY-PEASY and simply fantastic. You just cannot go wrong and it is HEALTHY HEALTHY HEALTHY. Nicki is crazy about the black olives…….Just serve it with plain pita chips you can buy in the grocery store.

3 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 1/2 Tbsp Lemon Juice – fresh ONLY please

1 clove garlic-minced – the minced garlic in the jar is fine

1/2 tsp dried oregano (use same amount fresh if you have it…fresh is better!!)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground pepper for garnish

3 tomatoes cut into wedges

1/4 onion chopped finely (can be cut into rings or slices)

1/2 cucumber sliced in to thick half moons

1/2 green pepper julienned

4 oz feta cheese cut into small cubes

16 kalamata olives

Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and oregano in a small jar with a screw-top lid and shake-shake-shake and then dance a bit around the kitchen….any silly dance will do….. to combine.

Combine the salad ingredients in a large bowl.

Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine just before serving. GARNISH the Greek salad with a little freshly ground black pepper.

Ta-DA!!!! And then serve with a light wine for you and sugared lemon-water (freshly squeezed) for the little ones.

So what haunts you then?

2011-06-29T00:39:00.008-04:00

The girls’ target bedtime is 8 pm. Mostly (95%) of the time, we make that deadline faily well as I push hard to stay on schedule each night....even weekends for the most part. Dinner and dinner-clean-up is done by 6:30; baths 630, books start at 7:00 until 8. So….no big deal. Then, I come downstairs and read books or my NY Times or hang-out on the back porch with Ed (mostly) and chat or watch Charlie Rose or cooking shows. (or the Antique Roadshow). My TV watching really is limited to about those three shows..or sometimes we'll catch Masterpiece.

I’m getting to my plot line here…

I then go upstairs to check-up on the girls around 10pm-ish. Most of the time, Nicki has crawled into Sammi’s bed and is curled up next to Sammi. Sammi’s arm is draped over Nicki’s back and sometimes her hand is lying on Nicki’s head...really a sweet scene. Nicki likes her head to be patted so I'm sure Sammi is doing so. During the daytime, Nicki is typically the de-facto leader and Sammi mostly goes along with her games and mostly takes her leadership in stride…except…..except….if there is anything at all whatsoever that makes Nicki hesitate or that spooks Nicki or scares Nicki, then Sammi is 'enguard at her side' to take over and be Nicki's 'protector".

It is one of my greatest joys the girls treat each other this way and it is my greater fear that somehow they could possibly lose each other. I do, of course, dwell on "the good" and I try hard not to think about "the bad" but it’s there and it can haunt me. How on earth do parents get through the loss of a child and how on earth do twins get through the loss of the other...?I guess one doesn't get 'through it', do they...

I thank my lucky stars about a quadrillion times a day.....

Here's to keeping us all safe and sound as can be,
Cin

Summer Smiles

2011-06-28T17:07:00.001-04:00

Hello Everyone!

Hope everyone is doing well…we’re all going great here though it is quite hard to believe the girls are almost ready to start first grade in a few weeks. We’re in year-round school which means some families start school in the summer. Before I let months go by again without posting, I am happy to put up a few great summer pics. I hope your household is as full of smiles and giggles and silly stunts as ours is as it is quite fun. We’re crazy-tired at night but it’s a ‘good’ tired…

Nicki in pink……Sammi sitting up….Buddy in fur….

Nicki has the pink bow….

NIcki in these next three

Sammi in purple…

And Sammi once again…

Nicki is the goof-ball…she has the very silliest streak….always hi-jinks with this one….

And Sammi below…

Nicki on left kissing Sammi….

Sammi in blue…

And that’s it for now…Whew, I feel so much better FINALLY getting some pics posted. Now I’m looking forward to looking up other blogs, too.

Hugs!

Cindy

50th Birthday Bash – Surprise Party AND Opera Weekend in Manhattan!

2011-01-05T20:51:00.009-05:00

I turned 50 at the end of October and it was one of the best times I have ever had. The week before my birthday, Ed surprised me with a day at the spa with Jeanette but as we were spa-ing it up all day, Ed and tons of friends and family were busy back at the home front preparing the best surprise party ever. It was quite a large event, he had an oyster roast/seafood dinner catered by a terrific local restaurant and a great time was had by all. And, the Uncles Lloyd and Josh plus Liz travelled down from PA (big road trip!!) to join us. Oh, every time I turned somewhere in the house, I was surprised by yet one more set of friends and family. Ed really pulled it off as I did not have even the slightest idea (not even an iota) that he had been planning this gala for months.

Then, the surprises just continued because towards the end of the evening, he gathered everyone around and presented to me airline tickets to NYC for the following weekend plus the best seats (the ultimate very best….) in the house at the Metropolitan Opera House to see “Il Travatore” (I greatly appreciate opera)…..Oh, and did I mention we stayed in a suite at the Waldorf Astoria and Ed hired a photographer to capture some good pictures and video prior to us going to the opera…..Oh…and….I was “forced” to go out and buy a lovely gown for our opera evening…..Oh, and we had incredible reservations at two highly rated restaurants in the City thanks to recommendations from Jeannette. Oh…and Ed arranged limos for practically all our big outings….and…of course…..our friends took care of the girls all weekend….

That is a lot of “Ohs”, isn’t it? (Have I ever mentioned how much Ed rocks…?)

I have a ton of pictures in this post. The first set of pictures are from the Surprise Party and weekend and then the second set are from our “ooh-la-la” Dream Weekend in Manhattan.

So as I was saying, Jeanette and I were at the spa all afternoon and we headed back to my house where I thought that Ed and George were hanging out watching a game and waiting for us to come over to pick them up for dinner. Jeanette and I were in separate cars as we had met each other at the spa earlier in the afternoon. Unbeknownst to me, she was busy on her cell phone the entire commute back to my house to ensure everyone was in place before we arrived…..

When Jeanette and I entered through the house via the garage-kitchen door hallway, she stopped in her tracks for me to enter my house first. I was a little 'perplexed’ that she insisted on me going into the house first as it was just ‘strange’ and…actually… it was a little annoying as she was being so stubborn about it….but I surely did not expect anything was “off” other than Jeanette behaving a little ‘funny’. When I walked in the door, I expected to see Ed and George slouched on the couch watching the game but instead….as you see on my expression…..it was quite the surprise! Colleen was right there on the spot with the camera to catch my first expressions!

All my great friends were there but I have to say that the Pittsburgh crew really surprised me….Lloyd, Josh, and Liz….

Had some folks from work (Sarah, Toby below + Jeanette) and of course Colleen and family were all there….

We then had a great follow-up day with Lloyd, Josh, and Liz in town….

Ed is quite debonair in his tuxedo, don’t you think…..?
nks

How Ed managed to pull off every single (and I do mean every.single) tiny and minute detail of this entire experience that lasted over a week but took him months to work-out is simply a testament to how he just “is”…..

Also, many many (many) thanks to Jeanette and George and John and Colleen and Kelse and Jess for all their involvement and for taking care of the girls.....And, sure do appreciate Josh, Lloyd, and Liz coming down on their road-trip....

May I please turn 50 once again?

Ed, you so very much so Rock.

Hugs,
Cindy

HOW ED IS THE BEST.....

2010-12-28T11:24:00.002-05:00

Am sitting in bed in my master suite with pjs still on, fever of 102 degrees, achy-knees and headcold on top of flu, no appetitie, headache, very tired and ....still bored. I actually almost fainted while in the bathroom today and Ed caught me and hauled me to bed. BUMMER. Though I do have my laptop, the NY Times, my new eBook (Nook) from Barnes&Noble and tons of mags....and my beloved NPR is on, of course, but still...I am bored. Ugh.
Now, here's how AWESOME Ed is:
1) he is taking care of me and the wild house-bound (and oh so not sick) little ones with nary a complaint and a rather good attitude. He keeps reminding me "remember, Cindy, when you took care of me when I had pneumonia for a couple of weeks and we had brand new little babies...?". (what a typically thoughtful Ed thing to say....)
2) They are going around the house collecting old toys still in good condition the children no long use for donation
3) He is taking them out at some point today for their daily outdoors play....even though still all that snow out there.
4) He is serving me hot drinks and meds.
5) He ROCKS and it humbles me and i am just crazy about him.

I hope you have that kind of ROCK in your life, too....! :)

Sniffly, Feverish Hugs,
Cin

White Christmas Weekend

2010-12-26T18:24:00.002-05:00

47 years. That is the last time our town had a White Christmas and a lovely white snowy event it has turned out to be. We packed in more than 8 inches of the perfect-sledding snowman snowball flakes you could dream of and we sure did take full advantage of all-things-snowy today. It was a packed (pun intended) day of snowy-events that I eagerly planned throughout last evening and through the night as I kept my fingers crossed the snow would really fall like our forecasters predicted. I’m kinda goofy about watching snow accumulate….I like to watch all the weather news, hear the potential accumulation figures, then run outside to vet it for myself. It’s exciting in our house anticipating the white-stuff and hey, I grew up in Miami so snow is a Big.Fun.Event for me!! (got milk, bread, and eggs??)

Early this morning after devouring a quick breakfast, we hauled down our ski gear from the attic, padded-up the children and ourselves and ran outside with the dogs in tow to make tracks all over our yard (did I mention 8 inches!!!) and up and down our street. (of course we were the first ones up). Then, we headed for the hills to sled for a good long time. It was great fun as Sammi and Nicki love sledding and they peal with giggles when they take a spill off the tube. No tears and whines as we have tough little girls!! Then, back in the house for hot chocolate and then back outside to make a groovy snowman.

Now to some pics. Throughout the morning, it continued snowing quite a bit so I pulled together some makeshift camera-protection gear and gamely headed outdoors to shoot. I felt….for a sec here and there…very Art Wolf-y…though I know Mr. Wolfe’s rain/snow-protection gear isn’t made of a plastic bread wrapper….(must buy more camera equipment!!)

First to the dogs….the Aussie is Buddy (our dog) and Piper is the little one we are dog-watching.

It was so easy to lose Piper in the snow as she sure does blend-in. She loved it…barking and running and yipping and…trying her very best to keep up with Buddy. Good show, Pips!

Heading up the drive to the hill…..

Look at the joy on Sammi’s face….

Here’s Sammi at the bottom of the hill jumping up as fast as she can to run to the top to do it all again. They LOVED it and it was our joy seeing their joy….ahh…so good so very good….

Our snowy-house…

Cute hats, aren’t they…this one is Nicki in the pink hat

Happy-happy…..

The trio is Making Mischief here as I got pelted with snowballs a nano-second later. I knew they were up to something…

I would like to introduce you to Spike-a-roni….

Happy Snowy-Day!!

Scarves and Smiles….Merry Merry Day!!

2010-12-25T17:00:00.001-05:00

The girls twirled and swirled in their new scarves this afternoon as a prelude to our traditional Christmas Day hike. The woods were lovely today, the air was quite cool…in the 30s…and we all enjoyed a hearty hike. Sammi took the lead…as usual…and gave us an active pace!

Thanks to Leslie and Jason for the new scarves and excellent books. Merry Christmas!

P.S. Yes, it is make-up….but just princess make-up and only allowed for play occasions…!

NIcki in the pink hat; Sammi in the other….

Hugs,

Cin

Merry Christmas From Our Family to Yours!

2010-12-25T11:11:00.001-05:00

Hello Hello and Happy Holidays

2010-11-27T22:39:00.001-05:00

Hello Out There!

Hard to believe that 2011 is just mere weeks away. I remember being much younger and just not thinking I’d ever really understand when older people (and i did NOT say “old”….just “older”….key distinction!!) always said, “Sometimes I don’t even know time of the month I’m in much less the day I’m in…”. I think that is me now, too. And, for us, all is fine and everyone is healthy and happy and thriving….it’s just that time goes by so quickly. It’s almost Christmas, for goodness sake!! Ah well, good problem to have, huh…

So yep, all pretty well. The girls are simply loving (just loving) kindergarten. You may remember that we (okay, me…) were worried about whether they’d be distressed due to being in separate classrooms…..Nope, not one little bit. Not an iota….They now each have individual friends, individual parties and events to go to…individual (sigh) homework and individual (sigh again) teacher expectations…. :) Ah well, again, good ‘problem’ to have.

Been quite busy too. Ice skating, parties, visitors, my 50th birthday party celebration and awesome huge and total surprise party Ed threw me and the subsequent surprise weekend trip (sans enfants….yes, without children…) to New York City to the Metropolitan Opera House (best tickets in the House) to see La Traviota, then more school projects, Thanksgiving Party, more holiday parties to host…..Oh, wait….did you say “What!! You are 50 now and you went to NYC for the best and most extravagant weekend at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel ever……? Did you say that…?” Why, yes, I certainly did….Please do come back to see my later post..!! I promise to post in the next 2 days.

But…for now….here are some pictures…including some beautiful pictures from our dear friends, J & K and family…This first lovely picture is of J….just lovely-lovely, isn’t she? :) Her eyes are absolutely gorgeous—I’m so pleased I got some great shots…

And next to her is her sister, K…..Lovely, too, isn’t she? It is fun having them model for me….

Here’s J again with those fantastic eyes…!

And here come my two little imps….pure imps is really what they are. Are you familiar with Thing One and Thing Two? Yep, figured you would be….well, that is who they are…it is CRAZY…but such a fun crazy…!! (Sammi on left; Nicki on right)

NIcki left; Sammi right

Nicki Princess Butterfly….

Sammi below is Princess Doggie Girl…(?, her words not mine)

Halloween buddies…

Ed is building a shed….solid “would withstand a Cat III storm” shed…..because that is the way he does everything…(all good)

Lovely J once again…..

And her sissy….

Col and K:

Ok….it for now…next big post (better be tomorrow, huh…) is my trip to NYC. Internet, wait ‘til you see it….

Hugs to All. Hope you and your families are safe and sound during this Holiday Season.

-Cindy

Dog Days Summer

2010-07-25T17:53:00.001-04:00

Summer heat….summer time-off…..summer schedule….We’ve been non-stop since last post and all good except the 101 degree actual temperature with 109 heat index. Good grief, I’m from South Florida but i never ever-I-assure-you experienced this kind of oppressive heat before. Ed and I are convinced it’s due to the take-over of concrete in our state on top of what our dear Mr. Gore has to say…..

Ah well, what do you do but stay cool. We’ve been trying to do that with our annual vacation retreat to the PA mountains (pictures to be posted at some point) and water-water-water stuff…..Remember the days of running through the sprinklers and playing on slippy-slides…..? :)

Serious Sammi…..

Thanks for stopping by……PA friends and family, posting to come this week from our vacation…

Hugs,

cin

Hatchling

2010-06-04T13:34:00.002-04:00

Last evening at the dinner table:

Me: "Girls, tell me something interesting you learned today?"
Sammi: "Mommy, guess what! Jayden's Mommy is hatching a baby in her tum-ick"
Nicki: "Yes, and it's gonna be a big one!"

:)

-cindy

Summer Side Dish Recipes --- Easy Peasy!

2010-06-02T10:52:00.005-04:00

As promised yesterday, here are two simply awesome and refreshing summer side dishes that I make (from much constant pressure from family and friends) at least twice a month. The best part....it only requires minutes of easy-peasy preparation. The key is you must use fresh herbs....

Basil Marinated Tomatoes
4 large tomatoes
2/3 cup olive oil
½ cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (must be fresh!)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (again, yep, must be fresh!)
3 tablespoons chopped onion

Cut tomatoes into wedges and arrange in a large shallow dish. (I use a 9.5 by 11 casserole dish). Set aside.
In a jar or a Tupperware container with a tightly secured top, toss in the next 7 ingredients and shake it vigorously. Pour it over the tomato wedges, cover and chill for several hours.
Yields 8 serving….I very typically just double everything for 16 servings…..
The key to this recipe is the fresh herbs and letting it marinate for at least 3-4 hours in the fridge.

Marinated Cucumber Salad – there is nothing more refreshing than this one!!
7 cups peeled and sliced cucumbers (2 ¼ pounds)
1 large white onion, thinly (thinly!) sliced and separated into rings
1 cup water
1 cup white vinegar
¾ cup white sugar (do not skimp on the sugar and go less…it is key to this recipe!)
¾ teaspoon celery seeds
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley (don’t go dried on me….use fresh!)

Layer cucumber and onion rings in a large bowl. (I use a huge mixing bowl). Combine water and remaining ingredients and pour over the vegetables. Cover and chill AT LEAST two hours. Serve with a slotted spoon.
Yield: 14 servings

Lots Of Pictures :)

2010-06-01T12:12:00.001-04:00

It’s hard to believe it is summer already. June 1st. 2010. How does that sneak up so quickly? Parenthood really does equate with time-warps, doesn’t it? Seems like it was just a few weeks ago that we were bundled up in coats, scarves, wintery mixes and now it’s…..summer! Ah well, all good.

We are all doing so very well. The girls are wrapping-up pre-school and are getting prepped for their little graduation day (June 12th) as then kindergarten begins in July. We’ve gone on the kindergarten orientation tour to see the school, meet the teachers, and meet with the school leaders. The girls are going into a year-round school on Track 2 (which I think is awesome….) and they will be in separate classrooms (first ever for them!). Their classrooms will be next door to each other and the teachers integrate the two kindergarten classrooms during music class, lunch, and recesses so they will see each other a bit…... I do think the separation will be really good for their girls as they are so inseparable now but i don’t think it has quite sunk in for them…Ah well, it’ll be fine. (gulp again)

Gosh, the pictures in this post….in my opinion…are simply adorable. I am so proud of my girls and I am so proud that Ed and I are actually doing quite a pretty good job parenting (so far…). I think it shows in their sunny, happy, sweet dispositions and I think it shows in how healthy and thriving…and engaged…..they are. I am quite proud to say that Ed and I are both on the same determined front as it applies to our consistent approach to our parenting styles, to their diet and nutrition and to how important it is to let them play and be little girls. I am a strong advocate in lots of play and not so much stress in what they “should” be doing…..There is plenty of time for that!!

Nicki…her sunny smile and cutie-pie face lights up an entire room!

And then, with Sammi’s sunny smile and both girls’ (99% of the time) sunny dispositions and their oodles-of-giggles and sillies, we have quite a bright and happy (albeit loud) household. Many acquaintances (and some friends) note that the girls seem so quiet and subdued as they are so very shy and slow-to-warm-up. However…..I can assure you that they are the OPPOSITE of quiet and subdued. Their “noise” can be deafening at times and sometimes during the day I institute a moratorium on chattering for a few mins here and there just to get a bit of peace. But….i’m surely not complaining. It’s really quite a joy…

Ed….you are surely showing your best side. My goodness you are cute… :)

Sammi in pink; Nicki in yellow:

Check out my little side herb garden. It is truly a joy of mine. I have rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, marjoram, parsley, dill, chives, lavender (ahh…lovely lavender), tomatoes, jasmine vines, and some flowers. I simply love the ability to go outside the porch (it is right under my kitchen windows as you see below) and trim off a bit of herbs here and a bit of herbs there for simply delectable and fresh dishes. I think I will post two of my favorite summer dishes I prepare over-and-over throughout the summer that star these fresh herbs. Look for the next post later today with the two recipes.

Book time on the screened porch is one of our favorite things to do in the early evening as we wind up the day. I can’t even imagine life without our outdoor room. We so enjoy it……And the girls and their books…Ah, it’s what I envisioned making happen as a parent and we’ve surely succeeded on this front. We have books everywhere. Stacked here and stacked there. Bookshelves in almost every room. Stacks in corners. Stuck under chairs and tables. In the kitchen cabinets. In the cars. In their bathroom. On the porch in baskets. In our library bags. In our room. Just everywhere. And Ed and I both enjoy sitting back and reading and it’s certainly true that children want to do what their parents want to do so we have lots and lots of book time at our house.

Oh my….cute, isn’t he? :)

Nicki on left; Sammi on right….

Guess who took this picture of Sammi and me? Yes, Nicki did! Pretty good, huh… :)

Play date with a gaggle of lovely and sweet children from their pre-school….We had a picnic and hike at a local conservancy…..great fun!!

Hope summer days are going well for you, too!

Hugs,

Cin

School?...Separate Classes?....in Ten Weeks?....(gulp!!)

2010-04-27T18:36:00.005-04:00

This post title pretty much just says it all, doesn't it. We received their K-school schedule today. They are starting school in July. In.July. Yes. In.July......(do you get that I am shocked...in.ten.weeks.....!!). My first reaction?.....well, my first reaction was....."No, oh please not yet...". My second reaction? My second reaction was..."I want another baby....". :)

Hey....wait.....they are only 32 pounds and they still wear size 3....How can they go.to.School???

So what is really creating the stress? Here's what it is......They are inseparable. Simply inseparable. They do everything (everything) together. The other day when I picked them up from school, I peered through their classroom window (behind blinds) and watched them play on the playground for about 20 minutes. They were holding hands the entire time. (remember, Jeanette....I was on the phone with you.....crying.....).....I watched them both flit-and-prance from child to child all across the playground while holding hands the entire time. Oh my. And...here's the deal....When they go to school, we are absolutely separating them. They need to be in separate classrooms doing their individual things and developing their own selves. I truly believe that is the right course but...oh...my.....they have never been separated. Oh dear.....why can't Time just go slooower some how.....I just love this time and this age and this everything. Ah.....

So.....both J and C both have good ideas......I need to organize separate play group activities for them this summer before school starts in..gulp.....10 weeks....

I need to get them ready for this. I need to buy them supplies. I need to get cute school clothes. I need to get them ready for this. I need to buy lunchboxes....I...I........I need to get ME ready for this, don't I.......??

gulp....

hugs,
cin

My Cutie-Pies

2010-04-26T00:55:00.004-04:00

I try to keep my cameras handy and charged-up as you just never know, do you, when a Kodak moment may appear..... ? I was tending to my front porch flower boxes and pots and when I leaned over, my cap fell off and Nicki grabbed it, placed it on her head and started to prance around the porch giving me all sorts of cute-poses. Sammi quickly found another dirty-old-raggedy cap to wear (I use them for my yard-work) and before I could convince them to let me take their pictures (which is what I typically need to do....), they were imploring me to do so....

Bottom-line…they are becoming little camera hams…!

Nicki in the grey hat;Sammi in the red WolfPack hat…. (Go Pack!!)

Easter Fun & Glam Shots

2010-04-26T00:13:00.004-04:00

It’s the rule. If both families are in town during either Easter or Thanksgiving, then our families spend the holiday dinner together. We simply take turns and it’s awesome. I’m thinking that our first holiday dinner must have been in 95 or 96…..so at least 15 or so years ago and I think there is not a time where we missed a year. It’s all so good.

So this year's Easter get-together was held at the S’s. Col’s sister, brother-in-law and their two children came along as well and we really enjoyed meeting them.

Happy SpringTime! :)

Hugs,

cin

Deep and Lasting Bonds

2010-04-24T09:01:00.001-04:00

Earlier this month, we had the great fortune of having Truly Blessed and some of her family (Katie and Ella and Toby) visit us for a couple of days during their trip to NC. Our families share a special bond…and it’s a long story….back from our China days and, for our girls, a story that goes back even further to their orphanage days as Katie, Sammi, and Nicki were all side-by-side crib-mates in Yangdong SWI. (Whew, now is that a “big” sentence or what……). Our families….very amazingly so….bumped into each other just two days before we were all to depart China. And guess how we bumped in to each other….? At breakfast at the White Swan, Little Katie was clamoring and squiggling and squirming out of her Aunt’s arms in her quest to make her way over to her little “best friend” Sammi. Katie’s Mom introduced herself and we all figured out pretty quickly that all three girls came from the same SWI and were, in fact, “best friends” according to our paperwork and notes from the caretakers. Kelly said she had been planning to go back to the States and do ‘whatever’ it takes to find the family who adopted the twins that were little Katie’s best friends throughout her orphanage but as fate as it…..no seeking was required as we literally bumped into each other!! Wow, as any family knows that goes through the China and the White Swan craziness, the chances of two families connecting up like that is simply….not to be believed.

Sammi, Toby, Ed, Cindy, Nicki, Katie, Kelly, Ella ….Yippee…what a GREAT group shot…..

Here are the Bubble Princesses (thanks to K for bringing the bubble toys…big hit!!) (Sammi, Ella in background, Katie, Nicki)

We had another China family join us that weekend as well. Jie Jie (Big Sister) on left and Mei Mei (Little Sister) next to her in the pink ballerina outfit……

Below is our “couch” picture….kinda blue tint (had wrong setting on my camera…sigh….) but still so cute…Look at tall and beautiful Jie-Jie in the middle. Jie-Jie and Mei-Mei are just simply delightful girls and we are so pleased to have met their family.

There’s Katie-Bug being simply….Katie-Bug….! :)

Below is Sammi and her beloved blanket flanked by Ella in yellow and Nicki on the couch. “Dear Universe, please don’t let us ever-ever-ever lose that blue blanket.” I just can’t even fathom that happening. I take the girls’ “loveys” very seriously and…in fact….I think i know where their special blankets are pretty-much all the time. (pretty-much…..gulp….)

The next two pictures are all the girls gathered in Sammi and Nicki’s room for their sleepover slumber party. I was expecting to hear giggles all through the evening but in fact they all fell fast asleep quite quickly. We pulled out the girls’ crib mattresses for beds for Ella and Katie. It worked out just perfectly!

The four little ones were all into the “hip-hip-hooray-girl-power-chants-and-cheers” or something like that. Whatever it was, it was very cute and happy….

Notice the lovely earrings….

Time….please be still….Can’t the girls just stay little a bit longer (like, um, for a few more years at least….)…..ah…it goes so.fast…..Just look at their adorable, cute, happy, beautiful, thriving little faces….Oh my…we are lucky, aren’t we, Kelly.

Of Teas and Tete-a-Tetes….

And…final picture for now of me and Kelly and the girls…(yes, that is a barrette in my hair…). Thanks, Kelly, for the awesome visit. We love you guys so very much!!

Hugs,

Cin

Of Daddy and Dear Ones and Riches

2010-04-02T21:53:00.002-04:00

Nicki walked over to me today while I was cleaning the kitchen up and she tugged on my hand then looked up to me and said, “Mommy, I am so in love with Daddy”….(it is a phrase Ed and I use frequently with each other but I never really thought they were listening…cute, huh..)… When I said, “Oh Sweetheart, that is such a nice thing to hear. Daddy is so in love with you, too…” then Sammi weighed in to say “Me Too”….It was a love fest moment and I rocked back on the balls of my feet, looked down at their happy earnest faces and felt joy well up and out through me. The minute (half-minute?) was quite fleeting but the memory is cherished and captured forever. I won’t forget that feeling… Hey, do you often stop and just pause to remember how rich and fortunate and blessed you are…..I do and it takes my breath away. I need to post a blog about all the things that stop me in my tracks…Isn’t that a cool idea?

Okay, so I got off-topic……With the whole Daddy Fan Club the girls have going on, thought I’d post some Daddy and Dear Ones (it’s what we call the girls……

Being rich is not at all about having lots of things or fancy houses and jewels or designer clothes or luxury vacations....For me, rich is having happy and healthy children, health for me and Ed, Great and loving friends, interesting jobs we really enjoy and having a big yard to run around in and garden and have parties and fun and lots of laughter....For us, that's why we know we are so rich.

I hope you have riches in your life, too!! :)

Hugs and Peace,n

cin

216 Votes…Health Reform JUST PASSED

2010-03-21T22:46:00.001-04:00

Thank you, thank you, thank you. How very civilized of us….late but well…..it’s done. Congrats, Mr. President. Well-done. :)

Oh La La

2010-03-21T22:14:00.007-04:00

My indulgence is "pretty girls" clothes. Yes, of course, the girls certainly do love shopping with me and they really enjoy the cute clothes we look at….but I’m happy to note that I buy their clothes mostly for me as I’ve just waited all this time over all these years looking forward to buying cute little-girl clothes. I enjoy overindulging and I do not have an iota of guilt about it….Check out these precious dresses…..

We had such a fun time picking out sun glasses today….They want to dress “like Mommy”….I’m sure all the Moms out there hear it all time time but boy-oh-boy it is something I’ve not grown a bit weary of at all…. (Sammi left)

Finally, today, they were sitting out on the screen porch having “a chat” (their words, not mine). They like to sit down and just chit-chat and today when I tried to join them, they politely said to me, “Mommy, this is just a little-girls chat...but could you just take our picture?”…..(oh, okay…..)

(Nicki on left, Sammi on right)

Hugs and Peace!

cin

Mean nasty comments

2010-03-16T07:53:00.003-04:00

Guess it was bound to happen. I received a mean and nasty comment on my blog last night that was quite obscene. What is wrong with people? What kind of life do people like that have that makes them think it is just find and dandy to leave obscene comments on a blog that deals with family and innocent little children. How sick they must be. How sick and mean and just utterly despicable. Can't people like that find other venues for their nastiness?

I am now turning on the "Comment won't be displayed until author approves it" setting....

Shame shame shame (shame) on you, you bad and nasty mean person.

In support of the Quest of Balance (subtitle: Artis….)

2010-03-15T19:58:00.002-04:00

We have something that is working pretty well for us as it relates to our eternal (and internal….lol….) quest for balance as two full-time career professionals with what I like to say…”big-jobs”……. I eluded to it in a previous post but wanted to share a bit more details…..as it’s working so well…..

For about a year or so, Artis (our angel from Honduras..oh my are we ever lucky to have connected with her…) was coming to our house each Friday for housekeeping services……deep thorough cleaning with a solid crew, equipment, experience, etc…….But it just wasn’t enough. And……we really (really) appreciated and respected her services, appreciated her dependability, believed in her trustworthiness, liked her crew, her professionalism, etc…… i.e., all the good stuff…

So, right after Christmas, we asked Artis if she could come four times a week to our home to do all our laundry, all the picking-up, additional services, and….ta da….the daily cooking. And, I am SO pleased (and so grateful) to say that it is working wonderfully. Artis is quite a skilled Latino chef and…she’s game to try all my veggie recipes and does quite a nice job. On Mondays, she does loads and loads of laundry and she prepares our Monday meal…..fully and even to the point of setting the table. On Tuesdays, Artis completes any left-over laundry (and she folds and puts up everything) and prepares our Tuesday dinner, on Wed she picks-up and prepares the Wed dinner, Thursday we do leftovers, and on Friday, Artis and her cleaning crew comes for the weekly deep cleaning. All, I’m telling you what….this is the best. We have no major household chores to do……we don’t clean, we don’t do laundry, we don’t “do” bathrooms…..All our non-working time is spent with the girls, with each other, relaxing, etc. I fully appreciate how fortunate we are to be able to afford this but…..I also want to let you know that…in the end…..we don’t go out to dinner like we used to, we take our lunch to work (leftovers…..), we are eating so very healthily…and the reduction in stress in our household by not having to prepare the supper meal, not having to spend Saturday mornings doing loads of laundry, not having to deep-clean…..well, it is really well worth it for us and our lifestyle. I’d give up other amenities to keep our Artis’ services. We both love our careers, we love the activities we invest in outside our girls…..and for us, Artis’ services allow us to spend more quality time (yep, sounds trite but it’s true for us) with our daughters. It’s a good choice for us.

My take-home-point……this is working and our daily life is so.much.better and if you can afford even a bit of these kinds of services/resources and you are a two-professional careers family, I’d seriously consider taking advantage of additional resources.

Here’s to the eternal quest for as much “balance” as possible…..

Peace!

Cin

P.S. The whole idea for tapping into additional resources like we’re now doing is Kathy M.’s idea. Thanks, K. You get all the credit here…. :)

Hello Spring Dresses!

2010-03-15T08:57:00.002-04:00

Big Sigh of Relief. SIGH. WHEW. Yay! Spring is coming, the weather is warming up, we’re opening up some windows, we are walking around our yard dreaming and planning about planting flowers, shrubs, digging into our yard projects, etc…..ah…all the signs of Spring. I LOVE Spring more than any other time of the year….

The girls have been asking all winter long, “Can we wear our spring dresses and T-shirts now…..?” “Well, yes, sweethearts, you sure can today…. “

Sammi on left….Nicki on right. Ah…look at my herb garden in the background…just calling to me to dig-up, clean-up, and get things going. In my parts of the country, April 15th is THE magic date for planting. If you plant before that date, you’ll be sorrr-reee as we always seem to have one last hard frost a few days before the 15th. But come then, yippee!!

Off to our backyard swing-set. You can’t see it from this angle but I have two lovely Adirondack (sp?) chairs positioned to the left of the play set and I sat there and read my beloved NY Times for hours as they played. Then….we ended-up (all 3 of us) having a picnic snack up in the “treehouse”…..The best of things are always the simplest, aren’t they…..

My happy and sweet girls……Nicki on left; Sammi on right….

Happy Spring-is-Finally-Coming!

Hugs,

cin

Of Tea Time and Doggies and Getting Along So Well…

2010-03-14T21:37:00.002-04:00

Today, while Ed and I (okay, mostly Ed) arduously stripped-out VISTA (Good Riddance, VISTA, you piece-of-junk…..and Good Riddance to you, too, MicroSoft….you should be ASHAMED of yourselves deploying that piece-of-junk operating system…….whew, i feel better….um…..anyhow…..), the girls played tea in the hallway with Buddy, our Aussie. Buddy adores being around the girls and feels like it is his duty to be sure they have his companionship and he has their back…Where there are girls…..there also shall be the Budster…..

I’m constantly amazed at how well the two girls (and Buddy) play together for simply hours-and-hours….and hours all day long. Sure, they occasionally whine and argue with each other but I’d say it’s well less than 1% of their time together. I attended a birthday party last month and got to chatting with one of the moms there who also has 4 yr old twins (identical girls)….I could tell she really did not believe me when I said Sammi and Nicki are great with each other……She seemed absolutely convinced it was not possible for siblings (much less twins) to get along the way i was saying Sam and Nick do..…Sad,huh…

Ah, so….Buddy’s getting sleepy there in the last picture and so am I….more later.

Hugs,

Cindy

Paying It Forward -- The Sillies & Smiles

2010-03-09T21:37:00.004-05:00

I know I’ve said many times that we have a lot of giggles and sillies at our house….well….I do mean quite.a. lot. of sillies…. The cool thing about the sillies is that they are contagious, they are extremely cheap, and having the sillies can make you want to “pay it forward” in spades. When I’m smart (which i surely am not a lot of the time….), I put memories of the sillies & smiles right into my pocket so that I can pull them back out when I need them the most.... Try it out – I assure you that it really works….

So….do you? Do you have just perhaps a teeny-tiny little bit of a smile on your face?

If you do, then please pay it forward…

Hugs,

cin

It’s Getting Better All the Time…Better, Better, Better

2010-03-05T21:47:00.003-05:00

Better…..much better. The Woloszyn-House-of-Sick is not as sick and we’re all getting better each day. Oh Happy Day! This has been a long haul…since ‘bout first week of January up through to now….so better on that front. And---and---the weather is going to be lovely this weekend in the 50s and low 60s with full and total sunshine. Oh Double Happy Day! I tell you, the older I get, the more tired I become of cold weather. Of course, I am really a Cuban girl from Miami and think 65 is still pretty cool and 86 is perfect and 96 works for me, too! :)

So, the other “better….much better” thing going on is that work has settled down a bit now that we’ve very (very) wrapped up a very (very!) successful endeavor that required 8 months of my life for 60-70 a week with no break. That baby is done!

With all this new-founded time and a bit of better health on my hands, I grabbed the camera the other day while Sammi and Nicki were drawing pictures. Oh, they LOVE to draw pictures. So so love it. Their teacher said they have a bit of extra skills and interest she normally doesn’t see in 4 year olds and is encouraging us to find some art camps for them this summer…which we shall…..

Does it look like a fun evening? Yep, it sure was……..And aren’t they getting so big!! No more baby girls…..they are adorable little ladies. Oh my, I do so so love being a Mommy. I love it more than I ever believe I would or I could. Mommyhood Rocks…it just truly does. And, having these two girls makes it a Double-Rock!

Hugs,

Cindy

Oldies but Goldies

2010-02-24T19:32:00.002-05:00

We’re looking to purge/delete/wipe-out/kill-daid Vista Operating System and replace with Windows 7.0….So (why do you care about this….?)….I’m in the process of archiving pictures and came across a few oldies but goldies….and boy are these ever goldies.

Good stuff, huh….?

Hugs,

Cindy

“They Make My Knees Go Wobbly”

2010-02-23T22:21:00.002-05:00

I’d be just fine if my little four year old twins could just stay four years old for another four years. Anybody know any tricks here to get them to not grow-up? Sigh..... I can’t say they are toddlers….haven’t been able to for ages now…..and they aren’t. They look and act like cute little girls. They are articulate. They tell long drawn-out stories and draw pictures to go along with their stories. They dress totally by themselves, they clean their room, they are polite to each other even if I am out of earshot. We went to a rather nice restaurant and Nicki said to the waitress, “May I please have some chocolate milk?” without me having to prompt her and when it came to our table, she remarked, “Oh, thank you so much. It looks lovely” (I say that all the time…..)……I had to (and I am serious) go to the loo and cry a bit as they are not babies any longer……

In fact, they are thriving, fun, mostly sweet, they adore each other, and…..they makes my knees go wobbly….You know what I mean…?

Winter Wonderland Fun

2010-02-23T22:03:00.001-05:00

I just read my last post. I sounded a little …um…shall we say, “un-hinged” a bit at the whole family sick thing and then the ol’ quest for balance. Nope, no revelations since yesterday but thought I could at least post some fun family pictures…..

So, Raleigh got the big-snow…..at least 8 inches….and so school was out for almost 4 full days. Ah well, we had fun for a bit of time until we all started to get sick….(but am not going to talk about that now….).

The day was a beauty and Ed pulled them all over the place in inner-tubes as you see here. They had a blast!!

Below is Ed (boy-0-boy, isn’t he cute!!) and the girls……Sammi on left; Nicki on right….

So we had quite the day……More pics coming…

Hugs,

Cin

Full-Time Working Mothers -- How do you find the balance?

2010-02-21T05:38:00.005-05:00

I am venting quite a lot here about work-life-children-husband balance....Love any suggestions about how it works for you? Is it even possible to manage the time-wrap bus....? You know, you get on the bus one day (let's say we got on last Spring following a really nice and relaxing set of trips we had with the Uncles (Josh and Lloyd, of course) and their entourage and Anita and family)....and then it zoomed through all-of-Summer (it clearly did not make the "Summer" stop) until Sept when The Bus stopped for us to all get back with the Uncles and with RonyKatieAbbie and Col for a beach trip....but then...then...The Bus did not stop until now. What is this...Feb? The Bus did not STOP for 5 crazy months?

And you know why it stopped now? Because we've all been sick (all four) for 6weeks. Ed is still sick. I am really venting now. This situation is ...um, shall I say...."sub-optimal". When I say the "Bus does not stop", I mean, no extra time to just do me-things that do not involve Ed and/or girls. None. No ice-skating, no girl-time (which I need BADLY), no blogging (which i do enjoy), no blogging and photography time, no consistent working out, no consistent Pilates, no girlfriend time (yes, i did already say that and I really need it)....Just work, girls, work, girls, work, work, girls...(not too much Ed in there either....).

I know the real problem, of course. My job is way-way too demanding since i got this last promotion last Spring. I need to get that under control better. I love-love-love the work as it is fascinating and actually, fun, but i am SO NOT balanced. I work too hard and then when i come home, i collapse. On weekends, I just hang-out and do projects with the girls. And...of course....when Ed is sick (like he has been FOREVER....), it is very difficult slipping out for me-time as i don't want to pay a babysitter $12/hour just so I can have a class of wine...makes for an expensive glass of wine. And, having my friends here don't help as girls are underfoot and it does not give me my break...

So, I'm trying to take a better look at this. I have no intention of reducing my job or cutting back and take a lesser role as I love my job and i love the work and I'm really good at what I do. It is a huge part of my identity. Anyone else facing the big-huge-demanding job (this job is...as you can imagine...so not 40 hours a week....bet it more line 55-60 hours a week), young children, not finding enough-me.....and I need it as I"m stressed not having it and.....actually....am thinking i'm feeling a bit depressed, too. Would love to hear some ideas....

Hugs,

cin

2009-10-12T06:55:00.004-04:00

Hello Everyone,

Ah...been such a good long time since I've posted but....I sure do have some good pictures. Life has been good -- busy but good. I'm hoping I'll be able to get into the swing of "blogville" before the holidays descend upon us.

Sammi and Nicki (and Ed and I) are all doing simply wonderfully. Life is very (very) good. The girls are 4 yrs old now and are truly thriving. I love this age...perhaps even best of all so far....as we just have so.much.fun. It's all about girly-girl princess stuff these days and sugar-and-spice-and-all things cute that go right along with....

[Note: Did I ever share with you all how GLAD I am that I just have girls? How much I wanted girls and (nothing against boys but....) how boys would simply bewilder me and how this is what I really always dreamed about (i mean the sugar-and-spice-stuff...) and what I wanted in my heart-of-heart-of-hearts....? Well, it's all good....let me just tell you -- it is all.good.]

So, they're looking pretty darn happy, aren't they? (Nicki in purple...)

Ed in the middle..Nicki in light pink/Sammi in the darker pink...Buddy Dog in "black, white, and tan..." LOL

Here's Nicki in the next two....

And here's my Sammi....

Surely this will get me into the swing of things.....Posting these great pics and going out and catching-up a bit....Send me a note...I sure would love to hear from you all.

Hugs,
Cin

Oh My....

2009-07-14T10:42:00.003-04:00

Sammi then Nicki....

2009-07-13T14:52:00.004-04:00

Hello Hello Everyone!

Yep, quite some time since the last posting but.....been a very busy last 4 months.....big business trip to Asia for me for a couple of weeks, ballet-ballet for the girls, fantastic-awesome vacation in PA, Ed busy doing custom cabinetry work for the "big-girls" room, doing a fair amount of entertaining (whew...) these last few months (which we do love...just crazy sometimes....)and well, just life working full-time and life-with-twins. But...all good....all quite good......

Thanks to all for the very nice "check-in" emails.....and for the APB that I just read about today. (My email at work automatically gets "filtered" for spam and many of your emails landed (incorrectly) in a spam folder. I've fixed it now but sorry for not responding to many of you....and thanks so much....)

So.....you don't want to hear my story....you want to see more pictures....

Getting ready before the Big Stage...

Ah, one of the biggest joys with the girls is...truly...just how much fun they have being together. They certainly have their "moments" but 95% of the time, they are running around giggling, hugging, being silly, and really (no, I'm not biased!) just so.darn.cute... :)

We had Jeanette over one evening with her neice, Corrina, friend Lawson, and of course Adam... (cute cute Adam....nice looking fella, isn't he... )

Blowing bubbles....I think we blew bubbles for hours all weekend...

That's my Sammi....

Hugs to All.....I sure look forward to diving into catching-up with some blog reading!

Cindy

Um...ow

2009-04-11T07:39:00.002-04:00

The other day in the car when the girls were acting-up and irritating each other (and really irritating me)....

Me: "Girls, you must realize by now that I have eyes in the back of my head and i can see EVERYTHING all the TIME... so you better behave....!!" *

Nicki: "Moommmeeee (all drawn out and dramatic...), doesn't that hurt?"

LOL!!

*Yes, my grandmother used that saying too.....

Happy Spring

2009-04-10T21:44:00.003-04:00

Hello hello. Glad to be here posting pictures as it's been since mid-Feb-ish since I last came on site. Everything and everybody is fine although we certainly had a stint of being the House of Sick for about 4 solid weeks from mid-Feb to mid-March. We literally had the flu (authentic case for me), bronchitis, ear infections, and tons of virus stuff. But......all gone now....

Then, I travelled and have more traveling upcoming to Singapore and India starting next week for 2 weeks. (oh, Ed's loving this..... not!!). So, in between all of that....oh yes, and starting a very (very!) exciting new job at work, it's been quite crazy in our household. Crazy but fun and the girls...now over the sick stuff....are simply truly thriving. Just adorable. Three-and-a-half and loving every second. I'm tired at the end of the day but gosh, it's a good tired.

Ah...it will be nice diving back into the blogosphere for a bit. Sure hope everyone is well....I look forward to catching-up after my bit of hiatus....

Hugs to All,

Cin

Oldies But Goodies

2009-02-17T17:10:00.002-05:00

I came across a couple of old favorite pics....First one is well...you know, right outside the White Swan in China....

This second one is here with our "first" child, Buddy

Of Tutus, Twirls, and Twin-kies....and Waiting...

2009-02-03T07:57:00.011-05:00

You see, I always thought I'd have little girls when I was in my early 30s and I'm now in my way-late 40's so that's about 15+ years of waiting..give or take a few. What is it that I've been waiting for? Tutus and Ballet Lessons. You guys know this 'cause I say it all-the-time but by-golly, I sure do love being immersed in all this cute little girl stuff and I think ballet lessons and tutus and tights and twirls is way up on that spectrum, isn't it?

The girls started taking ballet a few weeks ago and they simply love it. Almost every morning, they wake up and say "Mommy, is it ballerina school day?" And, every evening after school, they both can't wait to either put on their princess dresses or their ballet outfits....

Ahh...all such good stuff....

Hugs,
Cindy

Pretend this is dated on Feb 1st

2009-02-02T16:31:00.003-05:00

Ok...I will be posting a picture every day this month.....so...pretend that this is posted on Feb 1st..... ;-)

SuperBowl Food and Fun...

2009-02-02T11:40:00.006-05:00

Whew, thank goodness for the Steelers win last night. Would not have been that much fun if #10 didn't make that fantastic catch at the very last minute...(well, last 2 mins...). We had a fun evening.....the Ks, the McCraes, the Schmitz came over for SuperBowl Sunday. Ah...so much food...

Look at this...to be so young....Pretty good picture of Adam and his friend, Samantha, don't you think? :)

Here's Deb and J...

Don't know if you can see, but there really was SO MUCH food. My favorite.....Bob's spicy shrimp...there's Bob in the background...Darn, the only picture I got of him....

J and me and the girls...

Col and Sammi

And then, the girls of course. Not a great picture but still pretty cute. Gosh, they love their princess dresses!!

Hugs,
Cindy

Keeps Me Laughing Most of the Time

2009-01-26T21:47:00.002-05:00

We do a lot of laughing around here. Not all laughing, for sure....but pretty-much mostly it is laughing and giggles and very (very...) silly stuff. And it's mostly all good. One thing I like to do is let them sit on the kitchen counter and hang-out with me while I cook and clean and do kitchen-y things. And, as I scurry here and scurry there in the kitchen, they keep me giggling and as tickled as they are....At 3-years old, it doesn't take too much to make a giggle...but hey, doesn't take too much to get me to giggle either...

Ah....can someone out there please tell me how I can keep them 3-yrs old for maybe another 4 or 5 years....

Hugs,
Cindy

P.S. Nicki on left; Sammi on right....

Testing Out Larger Sizes...Do you like it?

2009-01-18T05:40:00.010-05:00

Here is the default size that Blogger provides:

OR

This...

or this...

Of Polka Dots....

2009-01-17T15:15:00.007-05:00

You know that feeling you get when you know you're going to get some great Kodak moments...and the lighting is good and the mood is good and the pony tails have the "je ne sais crois" just right-ness? You know, right?....Well, then why is THAT the time time my battery power gets deleted....I only had time for a few of these pictures...!!(i need a spare battery for my Canon DSLR)....

Ah well....always another day, another opportunity..... :)

Hugs,

Cindy

Weekend Hangin'

2009-01-11T14:46:00.011-05:00

The girls now have a ritual of taking their National Geographic magazines (thanks, Aunt Regina...very cool Christmas gift!!!) and scurrying off to their "secret" fort or their playhouse to read to each other....They don't want me around..."No Mommy, it's our 'madazeene"...

Here's Nicki reading to Sammi....

And Nicki on the ladder...

Getting ready for our neighborhood stroll over to Pat and Tracy's and then to Kathy's mailbox and then to Deborah's mailbox (our regular stops) with the CareBears...

After naptime snacks.....anything with dip is a hit...

I just really like this shot with Sammi and Ed.

And fairy wings....it's all about fairies and ponies and princesses...Have to admit that I find it all very very cute. I honestly don't know what I'd do if I had boys...I never (truly) pined for boys either...But girls...well girls just rock, don't they....It's hard to get too-cute for me...I really do enjoy it!! :)

Hugs,

cindy

Wordless Wednesday....

2008-12-31T12:14:00.008-05:00

Hugs,

Cin

What I Think Is Cute....

2008-12-30T20:32:00.016-05:00

Me again. Yep, two postings in one day...must be a first...It's due to the inspiration of seeing all my blogger friends devote the time day-in and day-out to their posts.

Ok...so...here's WHAT I THINK IS REALLY CUTE...

Look at these boots....oh, how cute....the girls LOVE them....have worn them almost non-stop for almost a week now....(and Ed picked them out..not me!)

Sammi in pigtails tonight...
.
Goofy Sam-a-rina...

And yet goofier still...

Now to Nick-a-rina.....

And both.....giggles abound....

Ok.well, I even have MORE pics to blog.....maybe I'll try Wordless Wednesday tomorrow...

Hugs,

Cin

2008-12-30T10:39:00.029-05:00

Happy 2008 Holidays to You!

Warm wishes that everyone is having a safe and happy holiday season. We are all doing quite fine in this busy season and have had the great fortune to celebrate many Thanksgiving and Christmas occasions and cheer with both dear old friends and new friends, too! And, of course, it’s been quite a blast watching Sammi and Nicki really get excited about Christmas, Santa, presents, Christmas decorations, etc. There’s nothing as magical as watching 3-year olds totally believe in the magic, is there..?

Here's Sammi....(yes, in pink...)

and Nicki....

J and me with the girls....

Ed opening-up a present as Sammi anxiously looks on...

Look at the background of this pic....oh my...so many presents...they had so.much.fun. opening-up the packages...

Horse-Farm...it's all about ponies and princesses these days...

Can you spot the half-eaten carrots on the plate...?

Girls making cookies...oh, my, we made a dozen-dozen (yes, 144!!) Mrs. Smith's cookies and walked around the neighborhood and handed out cookie tins to our friends...lots of fun although I think I won't be able to look at (or smell....) another cookie for..well..at least another year...

See this big "mixing" bowl I used...and see who got the "licks?" :) Oh, and to think that we used to lick spoons growing-up!! Ugh, uncooked eggs...YUCK...what were our mothers and grandmothers thinking...??!! Best left to the dogs, I say...

Here's my sweetheart Kelse...

And high-jinks from Jessie (left) and Maddie... :) It's become quite a ritual every TGiving with Col and John and Jess and Kelse....this "high-jinks" business with the ol' whipped cream. Who started that silly business, anyways...(oh, yeah, that's right....um, I did.....) !!!

TGiving with a crew of dear friends..

Ha...I remember when Amy (on left) and Karen were in elementary school...look at them NOW...

George and the girls....(psst...George is a big ol' softie AND the girls adore him...)

Here's Ed in his favorite holiday pose....

Hugs to All,

Cindy

It's Catch-Up Time....1 of....lots

2008-11-16T09:21:00.016-05:00

Hello Hello Everyone!

Oooff, I know it's been quite a long time since coming here (and blogging on to others...)....Actually it's been more than 2 months to be precise. But...I sure do miss everyone.....

So, why the MIA? Well, lots of reasons but all just fine stuff (thanks for the many-many-many emails I've received checking to be sure all is ok....yep, all is very well....). What I have been up to is..

AWESOME trip to Chicago in August for our Holt Adoption Group Reunion (yep, lots of phenom pics to blog there.....)
Path to the election obsession....too many papers...too much involvement in political blogs...just overload...glad the election is over!
FANTASTIC trip to the Outer Banks with some of our dearest and oldest friends in our lives + our very dear new friends, too, like Rony and her family (yep, lots & lots & lots of pics to blog there.....)
Lots of international travel (nope, nothin' to even consider blogging there unless someone wants to see what the insides of boardrooms look like when we gruel out our 18-hr day.....international business travel is so-not-glam)
Fun (really fun round of parties in our social circle lately...oh my...just a spate of fun stuff...kinda funny but practically one a week for 2 months now...)
I've institued a very very important First Friday of Each Month Girls-Night-Out affair.....very big deal...
Awesome mountain cabin vacation...in the lovely mountains of NC (yep, lots of pics to blog there)

And, interspersed there one weekend, we had Jessie come hang out with me and the girls while Ed was...um, somewhere...forgot where...and we had the best girls-weekend....!

So...more coming very soon.....But first...before I even blog more, I'm off to VISIT some blogs I've not visited in months!!

Oh, blogger friends, I've missed you!!

Hugs,

Cindy

Feeling Reflective...the "Then" versus the "Now"

2008-09-08T14:56:00.021-04:00

Cafe next to the White Swan Hotel....

Maybe it's because we recently passed our 2nd anniversary of our referral (August 24th--which is also Ed's birthday!!). Or maybe it's because they seem to be at the sheer pinnacle of what I think "thriving" is all about. Whatever the reason, I've been feeling unusually reflective lately so I dug-up some old China and Early-Days thereafter pictures.....just to kind of "compare" and jog my memory of the "Then" and the "Now".....

Forbidden City, of course.....

Um...guess what...I'm thinking this is Nicki 'cause I'm more sure the next pic is Sammi but....I think I may always be unsure on these two shots which is completely unusual for me!!

Wonderful Welcoming Committee at the airport when we returned from China...

Ooofff....we were so beyond-belief tired after 45-50 hours non-stop travel from White Swan to RDU...

Here is Colleen and me on our first evening home....Colleen and all our friends were just wonderful...Ed and I were so exhausted and our friends all rallied around us and helped us out for quite some time.....

Ah, I'll never ever forget what our team of pediatricians (who specialize in Chinese adoption ) said to us those throughout their first two months home: "Your daughters have quite a lot of issues going on right now." Whew, and were they ever right. They came home with double ear infections (both), exotic skin fungus problems (Sammi), severe bronchitis (both)...and oh yay, RSV (Nicki). On one of our practically daily doctor's visits (which happened to be Christmas Eve), Dr. Foster took one look at Nicki, slammed-on a pulse ox monitor and immediately called the EMS as Nicki's reading was right at 89-90%. Poor little thing and poor us. As the EMTs were whisking Nicki away, I overheard one of the nurses say to another nurse that RSV can absolutely be fatal. Oh my....there we are below in the ER waiting on her room as she had to be admitted for a few days. And, I'll never forget what Jeannette and the Ks did for us.....I called Jeannette crying and in need of immediate help to take care of Sammi and Jeannette dropped everything she was doing (on Christmas Eve!!) to swoop in and take care of Sammi while Ed and I stayed at the hospital with Nicki....wow, pretty awesome, huh! Ah, our dear friends are indeed our "family".....

A few weeks later, things started to get better....here we are at the Mall...

Oh, so tiny....they weighed 13 pounds when we came home....and gained just a whopping 8 pounds over the year. Now, at 3 yrs old, they still just weigh 26 pounds...Tee-nine-eey....

And....here they are now.....simply awesome, happy, fun, funny, capable, mostly pretty sweet, they play so very well together....and they are both just our bundles of joy....Wow, Then vs Now. What a journey.....

Hugs,
Cindy

Of Birthdays, Bikes, and Bits of Bliss

2008-09-06T11:15:00.017-04:00

Oh my.....Sammi and Nicki turned 3yrs old last week on August 27th. The days and weeks and months...and oh my goodness, the years....are flying past. I know, I know...everyone always told me this would happen....that time just flies by as you watch your children grow-up...but I never expected it to fly by at warp-speed!
I have to say that for my situation, I'm glad and really content to be an older Mom. I'm glad to have a good bit of the "What's "it" all about?" and "What am I seeking?" behind me. I'm glad we are financially stable...we sure have worked hard for it. I'm glad (and quite grateful) to have 20+ years of a solid marriage to my best friend as my foundation for...well, pretty-much for everything. I'm glad Ed and I have played so hard (still lots of 'playing' left but a different kind) and have had so many adventures and..well, have had the chance to "sow-our-oats" because I am so content being right where I am today...an older 'in my late gulp 40s" Mom with two little ones....Jeez, life has changed a lot in less than 2 years!

Sammi and Nicki are doing great...talking up a storm....telling stories, talking non-oh-my-goodness-stop, and they are simply thriving. How lucky-lucky Ed and I are to have these 2 little elves in our family. Sure doesn't mean it's not hard sometimes and that I don't love my breaks away....but, good-grief times are good right now.

Party at da preschool....

They are finally beginning to figure out how to pedal...

Ok...here's where the WORM pictures start...yuckky....I'm such a nature outdoors kinda girl....in a big-way...minus worms and snakes and things that slither along....but the girls LOVE them....

For cyring-out-loud, they are running all over the yard with these worms!!

Screen-porch picnic with Alice's neice, Althea

Dollhouse present from Cathy and Robbie!

And last but not least, a great picture of Buddy-Dog....

Hugs,

Cindy

Hello Hello

2008-08-17T14:54:00.016-04:00

Hello hello....

Been quite awhile (give or take a mere 7 weeks or so...) but am now "back" and finally doing a bit of posting and catching up with reading blogs. This huge wave of lassitude simply took over since Bob died..but some days are better than others so.. We recently returned from a long weekend in Chicago for a China Adoption Group Reunion and I think that trip helped Ed and I (mostly me) kinda take a deep breath and dive for the surface....

I have a lot of pictures to post from our Reunion trip but not today....

Still....I do have some pics.... :)

Here is King Buddy...

And Ed's latest project....the girls love it...nice job, Ed, as always...nice job...

Hugs to All,

Cindy

And On "It" Goes....

2008-06-29T13:10:00.011-04:00

And on it goes, doesn't it? Life, that is. Tomorrow will mark...to the very day....a month since we learned of Bob's departure from us...and life and things and people and well, just stuff....it keeps on going, doesn't it? In those first early hours and days and weeks of Bob's death....it seemed like Time (with a capital "T") just stood still. Like we were in a time wrap. And that time didn't matter and we couldn't track it anyways so whatever.....

And then.....I remember simply being amazed and kinda stunned...and a bit angry.... when people around us had to "get back to work" and "go back the next day" and just kinda "do" the ordinary things you do in life. I wanted to shout..."No, No, No, wait guys...., it's not so ordinary!"..."You can't just get back into your routine, can you...huh...?" But you know what?....yep you can and yep that's what happens. That's life....it's for the living. And so.....what better way to celebrate the embracing of what life has to offer us here...than through our two beautiful little girls......To me, they are running at full hilt/"no-holding back" gusto....Ah, what great examples that we can all learn from....

Sigh......And On "It" Does Goes........

Hugs To All.

Cindy

My Tribute To Bob Elizeus, Jr.-- Our Best Friend and Brother

2008-06-22T05:37:00.020-04:00

Dear Bob,

You’ve been the best friend…a lifelong best-of-best friends for 25 years....and when you died just 3 weeks ago at the end of May….I immediately realized that I will forever more measure memories in terms of Before Bob and After Bob. We are all so sad, so shocked, so beset with grief, so sorry, so sick-with-sorrow that you died in the prime of your life….at just 44 years old. Ed knew you before either of you two could talk…as diaper-buddies…and basically grew-up with you as toddlers and as young boys and pre-teens and teens and through our college years and then all of our adult lives. I met you just shortly after I met Ed when I was in my early 20’s…25 years ago…and considered you absolutely nothing short of a true brother…and knew you loved me that much, too. I am so grateful….so very grateful….that we called you last month…maybe just a few weeks before you died and told you those very words. Out of the blue I remember telling you how much I loved you and how one of our greatest lifelong regrets was that we did not live in the same town. We’re just so sorry and so sad you have departed us. You were the Best Man in our wedding 20 years ago and you are the Godfather to both Sammi and Nicki…and you are our Great Friend. Oh, Bob. It hurts so much that it catches my breath and keeps it and then I forget to breathe. And then, when I finally do breathe, it hurts again.

Hey……we smashed-in a lifetime of great times in the 25 years the three of us had together, didn’t we…? Next to trying to be the best girlfriend ever to the man I so fell in love with in college, I wanted to make a good impression on you. No, not a good impression. I wanted to make a GREAT impression on you. From Ed’s point of view…back when I first met him and through to today, I can assure you he believed the sun rose and set on you. You two were joined at the hips from babyhood and were Great Friends. You know what, Bob? Hardly a week went by…in 25 years…that you and Ed did not talk. He loved you more than a brother could. It’s not possible to even describe in words your and Ed’s friendship. And…I count myself part of that, too. Oh, the 3 of us did so much together. We backpacked, whitewater canoed, hiked, snow-skied, water skiied, went spelunking, boated, biked, fished, moaned-and-groaned, wined-and-dined, laughed-and-cried, debated endlessly and shared great whiskey and Pivo together. Remember our double-blind whiskey contest? Here’s the thing, Bob. You were the Rock. Our Rock. Remember what you did when Ed’s Mom died? Yep, just a Rock to us. And Rocks are supposed to be well… forever….I so miss you.

Oh, Bob….all those crazy things we did together. You almost “killed” my husband-to-be on the eve of my wedding (thanks, Pal!)…and you almost totally interrupted our wedding ceremony because you wouldn’t follow the priest’s direction. Remember, when I almost dropped to my death when we were spelunking that time and we came upon that ledge in the pitch darkness and I’m clinging onto you for dear life??….Remember??….I held onto your shoe….then it slipped off…then I held onto your sock…then that slipped off….then I held onto your ugh big-toe…and I still slipped off the ledge into darkness. And you…you were laughing your head off…Ha Ha! (okay, so you knew it was just a 3 foot drop….but I didn't!!!)

And, all those crazy insane backpacking trips in the total wilderness of barely-even-a-trail nowhere in the West Virginia Cranberry Glade Wilderness Area. Hey, remember Ed and the “Oh, there’s got to be a better camping site just around the corner!!” Oh, you and I made fun of Eddie, didn’t we? And, remember that one old girlfriend (or whatever she was…I’m too classy to say what she really was….) and how she did not know that backpacking means that you go out for days on end (nope, you don’t go back to the van at night…) and she had those nicotine withdrawals? And she fell in the mud-hole and you and Ed were rolling around laughing your heads off (nice, guys, really nice…) and then..the best part…as we were backpacking to the van four days later up the mountains (why was the last day for us always uphill..??) and she said “Well, you may as well put bamboo splints up my fingernails ‘cause that is how much fun I’m having!!” Oh my, we howled about that for decades, didn’t we….!!

And…and….you and I going down the New River in Class 4 rapids in an open canoe and not knowing what we’re doing….! And the skiing…and the drinking…and the arguing over politics.. (well, I too am a die-hard Democrat but you had some rather…um…ardent ideas that no one could talk you out of….).

Oh, and remember that great trip we had with Leslie when she was about 12? It was in WVa again…of course…and we were all into mountain biking…and you guys were into fly-fishing big time…and we hiked and biked and Leslie had a HUGE crush on you?! That was the time I practically got both Les and myself killed by hurling ourselves down a crazy steep mountain trail on bikes that did not fit us at all…cause we were not wanting you and Ed to get the best of a couple of girls. Oh my goodness that was a great time. We had quite a number of great times with Les, didn't we? The four of us really had a ton of fun together and great memories and I know Les considered you an uncle to her…

And, jeez…remember all the GREAT ski trips. Vermont. Utah. British Columbia, PA. Your idea of teaching me how to ski (thanks again, Pal) was to have me point my skis downhill and just go. Great. And….and and…remember (in Vermont) the time me, Ed, Les, Dave, Tanya, Dan, Dave’s Dad…but not Lloyd (chicken-Lloyd / smart-Lloyd) crept upstairs while you were taking a long shower after a big ski day…and we had a HUGE bucket of ice…to throw on you….And right before we opened the door to the bathroom, we heard you singing. You were singing away to your heart’s content. Singing loud and singing with great gusto. Some song about…a railroad??...and in the song…the train is supposed to ….toot??....but instead of making a “toot” sound, well, you actually…how do I say this…you actually “tooted”!! HAHAHA. We all…all of us …rolled on the hallway floor outside your bathroom laughing and laughing and laughing ‘til we cried and could not breathe. And then we laughed more. You finally….in the middle of your “toot” song and your toots, heard us in the hallway and stopped to turn to the door and we bombarded you with a huge big pail of ice/snow water. Oh….be still my heart…it is still laughing. Then, to make a great time even better…you realized we had heard everything. Yes, all of it including your special toot sound effects. And after your shower, you slinked downstairs and put your forehead against the wall ….I’ll never forget it…it was the stone pillar next to the dining room…and….and….and…you BLUSHED. Wow, The Bob blushed. Probably never had happened before and never happened again but we got you, Buddy. To give you total and complete credit, you then laughed longer and harder than all of us put together.

Oh, gross, Bob, what about the time you were chewing tobacco and Ed was drinking a beer and I had a bad habit of taking big swigs of Ed’s beer but…..it wasn’t HIS beer that I was drinking…Oh, you two….bad bad boys to make such fun of me. I’m sweet…how could you make fun of sweet ‘ol me?

I remember you always teasing me of my pixie haircut…I always pretended to be aggravated but you know what….I loved it when you teased me. What I wouldn’t give to hear you say in that funny high voice you’d affect…”How’s the little pixie haircut girl….?”….

Hah, you could never appreciate how I am such a vegetarian and you always sided-up with Janina when she tried so hard to get me to eat her…sigh….pork, and beef…and...roast…and sausage..and….oh, all that stuff. But, you do know how much I loved your sauerkraut (who didn’t??). Hey, remember that great day in the 80’s when the 3 of us went ice-skating and I drove your brand-new insanely powerful Mustang back to your house and you said (oh, I loved this) aloud to Ed that I ….yes I ….drove your hot-rod better than Ed did. (I am still doin’ the Snoopy dance on that one…). And, then, you served us homemade tomato soup and a crisp fresh salad. I think…no kidding…to this day it was the best food (even better than France which is saying a lot!!) that I ever had. And it was in your Mom’s old house. You were into cooking then. And we ate (right?) on your grandfather’s old butcher block table. And then, that night, you had a dinner party and Becky and friends came over and we played Scrabble and Ed and I lost so horribly. “Dog”. Go”. “No”. Hah! Remember the 3rd grade teacher who was doing all sorts of interesting things in the kitchen. Ha! Ha! And Ed said. “Uh huh, I washed my hands…..see…they are wet!” Eeeewwh… LOL.

And, Bob…..you were so funny and so sweet…and so truly interested and caring and gosh-darn happy for us….when we adopted our twins. I’ll never forget your “check-in” trip down to Raleigh just after we came back from China. We were all so sick still….especially Ed and the girls….and you hung-in with us for a long weekend and just sat back to watch it all and check-it-out. You told me at the end of the trip that you just wanted to be sure that Ed and I had it under control. And we did and we do and you were so proud of us…I could tell….

Well, like I've told you many times, you know how much the girls love talking about you and seeing your pictures all over our house and saying "Hi" on the phone to you. They pass by your pictures…in fact they just did this with me just this very afternoon…and they say “Uncle Ba-Ba coming??”. And now it is “Uncle Ba-Ba gone?” Oh, this is one of the hardest things for us. It breaks our heart you’re not going to be here to share our girls with you. Les told me last week that before their baptism last summer, you had called her to anxiously ask her what type of gift you should give the girls. Les said you were really taking it all quite seriously…and you did take it seriously. You gave them each a beautiful….simply beautiful…cross. One of my most favorite pictures and memories is on that morning in church seeing you and Leslie holding the girls and participating as GodParents in the baptism celebration. Oh, Bob, your smiles that morning last summer was a sight to see….

And, Bob, I’ll never ever forget that one early morning trip you and I had this Winter as I was taking you to the airport after one of your visits. You know how it’s so easy to talk in a dark car to someone?….Well, you said…out of the blue….”You know, I can do that too!!”. I said “huh, Bob…huh?”…. And you said, “Well, I could do what Ed’s doing…if I found the right person, I could have little ones, too…” Oh, it was so heartfelt, Bob…and so special of you to share that with me. And I was so surprised you said that that I almost veered the car off in the dark right there on Highway 98.

You know….the last thing I want to say here….and I think maybe the hardest thing for me…is what I expected and knew…without a shadow-of-a-doubt…is that you would always just be there with us and for us. And, that I just knew that when (not if but when) one day (decades from now but yep, one day) something happened to Ed, that I’d pick up the phone…like I have hundreds and hundreds of times over the last 25 years….to say "Bob, I need you." And that was just a fact for me. Sometimes I think none of this really happened and that you are not gone…but then my head catches-up and I realize that you are gone…and then I just hurt all over again. I know the hurt will ease over time but it’s not easing now and I’m sad and I miss you so very much.

Here's to you, our buddy and my brother, Bob. Rest in Peace, Sweetheart....

Your ever-loving dear friend….who also thinks the sun rises and sets in you,
Cindy

My Soapbox

2008-05-28T10:15:00.035-04:00

(Sammi in yellow by couch in these pics, Nicki on other side...)

I don't have too many soapboxes (that I blog about...) but TV/video viewing is probably one of my lifelong one ardent ones. We have a lot of rules about TV in our house...always have and no doubt always will. Very much like me...and quite fine with me, too.....the girls are really sensitive to any type of drama on the TV. (heck, I personally get stressed over seeing some regular network commercials.) I think TV/video watching should be tightly controlled and quite limited for toddlers....and to be quite honest...for older children, too.

So...:

1) No background TV allowed at any time...kinda drives-me-crazy....

2) No TV-watching without me or Ed in the same vicinity keeping watch over their reactions.

3) No more than 30 mins a few times a week....

4) We try to limit their exposure to commercials...

5) So far I only allow Mister Rogers, Calliou, Food Network, the Antique Roadshow and their one Elmo movie....and no TV-watching with babysitters..

6) No video game equipment in our house. Yep, for an engineer, I'm quite a fuddy-duddy about technical games & gadgets & computers...plenty of time for that when they are older...

7) And...for me....when the girls are down....Ed can't have any show on if I'm in the room that he knows will distress me. If he wants to watch violent "stuff" or degrading/disrespectful material (shows or movies), then he has to go upstairs to the den and close the door. I just don't believe in subjecting myself to negative and violent vibes. I don't understand a desire (or a market) for that genre and I certainly don't want to waste my energy on being stressed over negative images. Gosh, we get enough real crisis and awful events on the news...

My personal favorite by far (for the girls...and I quite like it too, to be honest....) is Mister Rogers. I tape it each morning and we watch it together a few times a week.

Look at this last pic....Sammi automatically puts her arm across Nicki whenever a "scarier" image comes on the TV. In this case, it is when Elmo first encounters the Grouch in Grouchland. Sammi, you are such a protective sister....

I know that's a lot of rules...and do I realistically stick with them...? Yep, I surely do...

Ok, vent over.....

Happy Safe and Careful TV watching!

Hugs,

Cindy

Ed's Screen Porch Masterpiece is DONE!

2008-05-27T22:22:00.011-04:00

Guys, it's really lovely and I just could not be happier. I'm telling you, my husband is talented and dedicated and committed to simply doing the very best he can at just everything he tackles. I've watched him do his best "across the board" for the last 25 years and well....take a look....I'm thrilled!!

Look at Ed's ceiling...tongue-and-groove and painstaking varnish, varnish, varnish....and Ed did all the electrical, too. We have lots of lights, all dimmer-switched..and we have built-in speakers....

My models look pretty good, don't they.....(Samzie in da cap)

Ed and I love sitting out here in the evenings and just chatting and chatting after the girls go to sleep and I love reading the paper in the morning...birds chirping, breeze blowing...just lovely...

Next to the screenporch is an outdoor deck....next year we plan on extending the outside deck and will put in patio/terrace/hot-tub and outdoor fireplace...but that's next year's project.....

Baby in Bag!! Sammi in; Nicki out...

I held the best picture for the last. Look at the smile on my husband's face! He is THE MAN. I'm telling you, he's something else.....

Love ya, SweetHeart Ed. You made this all happen and it exceeded my expectations on every.single.front.....

Love,

Cin

A Lovely Mother's Day Weekend

2008-05-11T22:06:00.029-04:00

Nicki and Sammi tumbled out of Ed's car on Friday afternoon running towards me with little tissue-wrapped presents clutched in their hands chanting "open-it open-it open-it, Mommy!" Oh oh oh, how cute. I opened their little gifts (tiny little hand-painted clay pots) and card on my brand-new screen deck that Ed just finished 2 days ago (Ed, it is awesome) and and we enjoyed the evening lounging on the new set of screen-deck furniture that Ed suprised me with for Mother's Day. (I have been pining for this beautiful wicker set for quite some time but thought it was way too extravagant....but, Ed pulled an "Ed" and big-time surprised me with it...Ed, you're something else...!)

Then, today, ....Ed let me sleep in late this morning, he did baby-duty all night long last night, and he made my favorite breakfast....french toast. But, best yet....he taught the girls to greet me with "Happy Mothers Day!" this morning...(actually, it sounded like "happy mudders day") when I came into the breakfast nook. They then proceeded to repeat their chant all day long and it melted my heart every single time they said it. Ooh, they learn quickly what Mommy loves. At one point, after one of Sammi's tantrums today, she looked-up at me and said "Happy Mudders Day, Mommy, I love you so much!" (yep, that was a melt-y moment...)

We then dressed-up in the beautiful kimonos Conkle Jay-Jay sent us from Korea (thanks thanks again....they loved them...) and we took off for a day at the Children's Museum. Jason, the girls insisted on wearing the kimonos all day long.....even at the museum. Wow, they were cuties...everywhere we went everyone was grinning at them all dressed-up in those lovely outfits. "Thank you!!"
Then, we came home, we all played and tumbled for hours this evening, and then read an extra stack (ok, stacks!!) of books at bedtime. Just can't get better than this, can it!

Thanks, Ed....thanks Sammi and Nicki....for making this a very special Mother's Day weekend! I truly do hope that each of your own Mother's Day was as special and joy-filled as mine. I so remember trying to get and then stay pregnant over those 11 years of endeavor until we turned to adoption for our family. Then, the tough tough oh-so-tough years of waiting were not any easier. But, I'll say this once more.....if I had to endure all of that all over again to get these two little angels in our life, I'd so do it in a skinny minute. Keep your chins up, you Moms-to-Be.....keep your chins up......

Hugs,

Cindy

Screen Deck is coming together...yay!!

2008-05-04T01:23:00.006-04:00

Hi All.

Have been away for a bit as have been travelling over in Europe for a series of meetings and to hold some training sessions. I actually had a very successful trip...you know how you know when you're kinda in the groove/"in the zone" at times....?.....Well, that's been me lately at work and I'll go even so far as to say I've been having a good bit of fun, too. I think when you do well, it's fun and I think when it's fun, you do well.

Back on the homefront, Ed's having his own quite successful endeavors in that he is in the "short rows" for the completion of this screen-deck. Hmm....I should write up a post that shows the step-by-step pics of the screen deck being born.... The thing about Ed's stuff (and he is a phenom carpenter.....quite talented....he rocks at it. I saw him once design a beautiful mahogany desk and shelves on the back of a napkin...I was there!!...and 6 mons later it was built and it is truly gorgeous....) is that when he builds something, it's here to last through to the next century AND (hopefully) to survive the occasional 75 mph winds and hurricane-effects we sometimes get in this part of the country.....

Here's a few more of pics of Sammi and Nicki playing around the deck while Ed is putting up the screens.

We're in the process of looking for deck furniture now.....what a fun task.....and I'm in charge of the overall "look-and-feel" of the outside room....a job I'm truly relishing. I want it to have a feeling of a retreat...kinda like a spa-y sort of feeling. (you should see Col's porch and deck...truly lovely....I just want to be like Colleen...!) I'd like to have a fountain somewhere in the room, and lots of ferns and dark leafy plants...and we're in the middle of completing re-sodding the ENTIRE yard (yay!) with the zoysia seed that is meant to be a bit more environmentally friendly and more drought-tolerant than other varieties typically used in our growing zone. So, in a couple of weeks the sod-guys come in and they'll also fix up my planting beds along our new deck. I am planning to plant as many gardenia plants as Ed will let me get away with...ah....smells so good. We also are preparing a bed/nook for a honeysuckle vine right next to our screen. So....hopefully....this screen deck really will feel like a bit of a "retreat" by the time I get it all put together.

Hey, please come by and see us on our deck. I'll serve you a fine glass of wine and and assortment of my yummy appetizers.....:)

Hugs,

Cindy

Back on the wagon!

2008-04-15T12:32:00.007-04:00

Thanks to so many of you who sent me all the positive thoughts and emails. I'm happy to say that after just a week of rehab-ing a bit and being extra careful, I'm back into Pilates and I'm just fine. Funny, isn't it....I've felt so fit and strong these last five years but I sure did let that little muscle-strain incident get to me. So....I've vowed to keep up with my Pilates sessions...no-matter-what.....!!!

Big-and-Strong-Hugs this time 'round,
-Cindy

P.S. pics coming soon

I Know Better Than This....

2008-04-07T17:40:00.005-04:00

I know better than this...I do I do I do. So why did I let it happen?! If you know me even a little bit, you know that I’m a die-hard dedicated East-Coast Power Pilates (which is the original Joseph Pilates program) fan. I suffered a significantly serious sports injury 6 years ago that left me in really bad shape for quite some time (ie not walking for months and months and not normal for 2 years…). After some big-time serious back surgeries and tons and tons (and tons and tons) of rehab and serious "blood sweat and tears" work…and Pilates…I recovered. And, in fact, I recovered to the point I was in better shape post-injury…due to my dedication to Pilates to the tune of 2-3 and sometimes four private sessions a week for the last almost 5 years.

So.... I know better than to back off my Pilates. I know better than this. But I screwed-up, gosh-darn it, I screwed-up. I let work get in the way and I dissed my private Pilates sessions for almost 2 months. And, I’ve injured my back by just leaning over a colleague’s desk the wrong (!) way to look at a stupid (stupid!!) report. When I stood up, I knew instantly I was in trouble. I went to my Pilates session this afternoon and it wasn’t good. So now I’m back in pain. I have a doctor's appt on Wed. I'm taking pain medication. Ed is carrying the load. Darn it, I am mad at myself for letting this happen because I know better than this…. It will all be okay….just need to recover and get back into it….it’s just a road I should not be on because..well, I know better than this…..

Send me positive thoughts, please. I'm feeling blue AND I'm mad at myself...neither good positive sentiments.

Gentle Hugs this time 'round,
Cindy

Thirty-One Month Old Newsletter

2008-03-31T10:51:00.020-04:00

Dear Cian-Cian and Liang-Liang,

You just turned thirty-one months old and we’re now heading into our second Spring together. Without a doubt, the four of us are having….well...The.Best.Time so far. You two are chatting a mile a minute, you’re laughing-running-bouncing around, you play together for hours at a time, you’re both healthy…and just seem to be having a lot of fun….

All of us are simply in a really good place right now....

Yep, you’ve really both been a picture of health recently (hope I don’t jinx us by saying this….). You both weighed-in at 25 whopping pounds last night, you are 33 inches, size 5 shoes, and wearing 24-month old shirts/18-month old pants (and sometimes still 12 month pants). Oh my goodness, you are both so cute.

Kelly...look below....does Sammi not look like Katie here? Look at how similar their facial expressions are....

You are both chatting away these days…and sometimes even in complete sentences. Sammi, after we read your new Honey-Bunny book last night, you put your arms around my neck, looked right into my eyes and said “Mommy, I like that book”. Wow!! I almost fell off the chair. And, then, this morning, Nicki, as we were eating our breakfast, you looked across the table at me and said “Mommy you are eating apples, too”. Wow. Whole sentences and sometimes even with the proper pronouns! Hip Hip Hooray!….Other things I’ve written down lately:

Nicki: “Mommy, I’ll be right back”, “”Here’s my ticket, Mommy” (Rony and Anne-Marie, this is from the Polar Express…..it’s all about tickets tickets tickets in their pretend play….).

Sammi: “Mommy, I go play now”, “Mommy, my baby needs blanket”, “I want a surprise”, “I want lav-ee-oh-lee” (ravioli)

Both: “Sister did it”. (Yep, this is funny to me. You both address each other as Sister with a capital “S”. You’ll say, “Sister, take this”. “Sister, that’s mine”, “Nitey-night, Sister”.)

The other notable change over the last few months is that you two will literally play together for two hours with no intervention from me. Wow, I didn’t even know that two-years could do that!! You want me in the same vicinity as you are but you are no longer incessantly imploring me to play with you every minute. You two are perfectly happy playing “pretend” by yourself.

Last weekend (Ed was off on his big ski trip), when I was cooking for hours on end, the two of you played “kitchen” with a few old Tupperware props, paper plates and cups and plastic utensils. You happily frolicked from the kitchen to the breakfast nook to the screen porch and back again. We had my Izzy CDs playing (the Hawaiian with the angel voice), the house was opened-up, and you two played and giggled and scampered around happily for hours. It was pretty-much a magical time for the three of us and I think that all three of us knew that. You would occasionally stop-by and hug my knees and look-up and laugh at me or you'd come running over and slam into my legs….or you would chase each other around and around me and our kitchen island…and then you’d dash away to the "kitchen" you had set-up on the screen porch.

In fact, I remember standing at the kitchen sink thinking to myself that I never wanted to forget the feeling I was having that very minute....the deep-down to-my-core joy of realizing that so many of my dreams really have come true...I have an incredible marriage to my oldest and best friend, I have two beautiful healthy and thriving toddler girls (and twins…wow oh wow), we all have terrific health, we are blessed with amazing simply-amazing friends, good jobs, financial security, a lovely home..oh oh oh….our bounty and blessings stops me in my tracks and takes my breath away.

Oh Liang-Liang and Cian-Cian, I so love you two!

Love,

Mommy

Easter Pics

2008-03-29T08:53:00.018-04:00

Me: "Nope, no-way, no more chocolate, no more jelly-beans, no more sugar, no more no more of the white refined drug that makes you more hyper and wackier than you two typically are..Remember, I'm solo this weekend...Your father is off on a 5-day 'guys-only' ski trip and I'm left to fend on my own.."

Sammi talking to herself: "Um, yep, sure, um whatever, Mommy. All I have to do is go find Jessie or Kelsey...they'll give us all the Easter candy we want....., right, Nicki?"

Nicki: "Hah, we don't even need Jessie and Kelsey... I'll show you where Mom hid the baskets from us.....they are right behind the grill...."

While Ed was on a five-day ski trip with our best buddy, Bob (yes, over Easter....and yes, I'm the one who really encouraged him to go and take his first break since China with a bunch of guys ...), the girls and I spent Easter Day with the Schmitz family. In fact, we (both families) have been spending more Easter and T'Giving Holidays than not over the last 14 years. It was great fun as usual...we went to Mass, then back over to Col's to hang-out and have Easter Dinner.

Starting from left, Jessie, Sammi, Nicki, and Kelsey

Sammi with the ladybug headgear on :)

They really enjoyed the Easter Egg Hunt (once again in Col's backyard). Kelsey and Jessie did a great job stuffing the eggs and hiding them all throughout the yard. Some of the eggs were stuffed with goldfish and graham crackers (good...good) and then another set of eggs (the ones that had my name written on the outside) were stuffed with chocolate and jelly beans. Um...guess which eggs the little girls appreciated the most....?!

Nicki on Col's lap; Sammi standing..

We truly did have a fun day....the girls even napped for a bit and we had a big Easter dinner with all our year-after-year vegetarian (for me) and non-vegatarian dishes: cauliflower with cumin and cheese, stuffed zucchinis, sweet potatoe casserole, some ham thing-y, and of course, pie pie pie!. Didn't have Ed's famous mashed potatoes or dill-carrots since he was not there but we'll catch that next time 'round at Thanksgiving.....

Hugs,

Cindy

The Giggle Doppler Effect

2008-03-15T13:57:00.014-04:00

Do you know about the Doppler Effect? You typically learn this basic physics principle as a schoolchild...it's the sound a train or car makes as they whiz by.....neeeeyoooowwnnnn......Higher at first...with second phase accented..then third phase fades away..... Well, I'm here to tell you that we have our very own Giggle Doppler Effect in our house. See, we have a very long catwalk corridor in our house that looks over our great room and ajoins all the rooms upstairs.....The nursery is at one end and the playroom is at the other...and we lock all the rooms (study, bathroom, guest room etc) so they (the girls, of course) only have access to each room on the end of the corridor. So, you got that pictured...? Now, we no longer take "nap time" around here but since I still need/require/demand my Saturday afternoon "chill with glass(es) of wine time, the girls play by themselves during the ye-ol' "nap-time"...and we're talking up to TWO HOURS (yay) of play by themselves (this is when twins are truly easier...).....

Nicki and Sammi will run up and down and up and down ....and up and down....the long hallway accompanied by peals and peals of giggles....and the Doppler Effect is in full throttle....

Truly, their giggles...their giggles that just don't relent....is a truly awesome joyous "knocks-me-outta-my-socks" noise/mayhem each time I hear it.

Here's some pics of the "Oh We So Don't Nap Any Longer" girls...

Nicki: "Who Me, Take a Nap...?....Hah!!"

And Sammi: "Double-Hah...!...Me...Take a Nap...???"

Hugs to All,

Cin

Three Sets of Twins....Our very own Red Couch

2008-03-06T21:05:00.026-05:00

We three Moms are the exact same age
We three Moms are all "first-time" Moms
We three Moms adopted twins....from China...and our three sets of twins are all within 6 mos old of each other
We three Moms have full-time careers
We three Moms are big-time D's (um, that would be Democrats)
We three Moms continuously finished each others' sentences
We three Moms laughed and cried and then laughed again all evening long
And...best of all...thanks to Rony...We three Moms found each other

We had our very own twin festival this weekend in Rony's lovely, elegant, classy Washington DC home. Sammi, Nicki and I travelled up to DC to stay in Rony's home with Abbie and Katie (and Maggie the Dog). Anne-Marie and her twins, Hannah and Allie, spent Saturday with us....We had six toddlers all within six months old of each other.

Wow.

It was an amazing weekend.It was fun and cathartic as we all have such similar life experiences (both pre and post A). We finished each others' sentences. We continuously swapped "looks-without-words" that conveyed a whole host of emotions and shared experiences because words weren't so much needed...and words couldn't be heard, anyway, above all the melee! Our daughters (pretty-much) got along quite well for a gaggle of 6 two-three-year-olds sharing the same space.

Katie & Abbie.....

Hannah, Allie, and Anne-Marie ........

The girls laughed and played and ran and argued and cried and laughed and giggled and made so.much.noise. It was truly a cacophony of unrelenting noise and chaos. I believe it was one of the most joyous noises and chaos I've ever experienced.

Thanks, Rony, for being such a gracious, accommodating and fun host. Sammi and Nicki and I all felt so at home and comfortable....was just delightful being there!

Twin-Festival in Raleigh next-time-'round!!! :)

Hugs,
Cindy

Sedona Pics - Part 1

2008-03-04T08:55:00.007-05:00

Leslie emailed us a few pictures from our big trip week before last...with more to come soon. Look at these amazing vistas..just jaw-dropping awesome. And imagine Sammi and Nicki fearlessly and amazingly and tirelessly bounding up and down the paths. They were so excited to be there and I think so proud to be little hikers. If you know Ed and me, you know how much

that we're into the hiking/outdoors lifestyle.

I simply can't wait for our first backpacking overnights....coming soon this Spring! (Ed, we need to buy them little sleeping bags at REI soon....how fun!...any maybe teeny-tiny backpacks??)

Love,

Cindy,Ed, Sammi, Nicki, and Buddy

Twinny Stuff

2008-02-26T20:57:00.010-05:00

Now that we're all getting the rest that we need (see previous blog, thank you very much!!), I have pics to load-up and and blog posts to write.

The weekend before last, we flew cross-country to Phoenix to see Cos-Aunt Leslie and Cunkle Jason. Oh, what a terrific awesome time we had. The girls are terrific little travelers....(Dirk, you are right...turned out to be a load of fun) and we have zero complaints. The direct flight from Raleigh to Phoenix was about 4.5 hours and the key, the number key, to our success was that I was all prepped with little brand-new junkie trinkets that I promptly threw away the minute we left the plane. But that was what worked. In between the whole novelty of flying, the seat buckles, the snacks (we bought!! ugh), and the "trinkets", my 2.5 years old were champs. Then, on the way back they were pros by then and nary a tough moment.

So, I would love to regale you with pics from our trip but I AM WAITING ON JASON to send me the pics to post. So, give Jason a hard time, please all, so I can show off our awesome weekend. The best best part was hiking all day long in Sedona. Wow, the girls hiked up hills, climbed up boulders, ran down trails, hiked through ice and snow, stomped through puddles and simply kept on going like energizer bunnies. But, you'll just have to imagine what that looked like UNTIL WE GET PICS FROM JASON.

Actually, the real reason we took the trip is b/c Jason is being deployed to Korea on March 8th and we all wanted to see him before his trip. Since he is leaving in just a couple of weeks, I guess he better SEND ME THE PICS before he goes across the world. :)

"Oh, Nicki....what were you saying....?" "Ah, you were screaming 'I WANT PICS FROM CUNKLE JASON"......wah wah wah.....(jason, just having fun....we love you very very much and know how busy you are now.....)

Hugs,
Cindy

The sleeping thing, Part 3 (zzzzz...yes....zzzzz!!)

2008-02-26T20:46:00.003-05:00

You were all right. It has all worked out....at least for 3 nights running and baby(s), I'll take that. Slowly, but surely, both girls started calming down, woke-up less often, just seemed better. Then, 3 nights ago, we quasi-Ferberized them (pretty similar to combo of Laura C and Senja's comments), and instead of going all the way downstairs..I camped-out in the study next to the nursery and started the Ferber routine. It took 3 cycles the first night (ie about 12 mins), one cycle last night (3ish mins) and was zero cycles tonight. Ah, success. And, when they wake-up in the middle of the night, I bound from my bed (yes, the one with my husband...not the mattress on the floor of the nursery!), I fly-up the staircase like a lighting bolt, and calm down before they can take their next breath.

Yep, am feeling pret-tee darn yay and hooray sa-tis-fied (!) right now.....

Shhh.......babies sleeping...!!! :)

hugs,
cindy

The sleeping thing, Part 2

2008-02-18T20:36:00.003-05:00

Hi all. You guys all gave me some really good advice and I wanted to post just to say "thanks". And, of course, so many thanks for Rony for bringing in the brigade

We are progressing just about the same as this time last week with the difference being....after getting your feedback and a few more thoughts from other resources (thanks Laura, I'll be in touch this week...)...that I now realize the best thing to do is for me to adust my expectations and stay calm. Frankly, after hearing everyone's anecdotes, it's probably helped me the most because I feel the least anxious about the whole sleeping situation now because I don't feel so "alone" in dealing with this ordeal.

We flew this past weekend (Friday-today) to visit my favorite niece, Leslie, and her awesome husband, Jason, in Arizona (really cool pics to come in next blog(s)....). Of course the sleeping situation was all upside-down in their house (Ed and I both ended up sleeping in same room with them) but now that we are back home in NC, we are going to follow through with a few techniques/processes like many of you offered up such as Diana, Christine, Truly Blessed, Heather's and others ideas about letting the girls know where I am and what I'll doing throughout the house after they go down makes a lot of sense. I noticed over the last week (as I slept on a mattress in their room) that they were waking up a lot lot less so maybe they are beginning to calm down a bit. As I write this post, I'm up in their room now (is a good time to blog and a great reason not to do chores so there's a plus!!) and I'm thinking I'll continue with this sleeping-in-their-room bit for another week or so and then I'll begin easing the mattress out into the hallway until I'm not in their room any longer....Then, we'll see if that works. I also appreciate Senya's and Sam's comment that maybe a specialist would provide some value (at least I get educated) re: possible attachment or re: their anxiety when I not up there with them throughout the night. It's funny because during the day, we're hard-pressed to observe a single issue with them (outside being typical two's!!)...

So, I'll keep you all posted. How very kind of you to drop your notes. I appreciate it. It's like I truly do have a small community of friends out there that without a doubt actually care about me and want to help. How lucky for me.

Keep a look out for our next posting ...probably later this week...as I have some AWESOME pics of the girls and me and Ed and my niece and nephew-in-law hiking and scaling rocks outside Sedona Arizonia. The girls were AMAZING......they hiked (up rocks and hills) for close to 4 hours yesterday and loved every sec. In fact, when we stopped hiking, they cried to go "climb more, Mommy, more...."!!

Now my turn to visit your blogs!
Love and Hugs,
Cindy

This is just a stage, right? Interested in your advice, anecdotes, perspective, ....

2008-02-10T20:13:00.000-05:00

This is a longer post than normal but I sure would welcome your feedback, insight, comments, shared anecdotes....heck, anything as long as it's offered in a positive way.

Here's the deal: Many of you already know that Ed and I have had a charmed life these first 14 months following our return from China regarding all things relating to sleep. I'm talking charmed. We spent the first week back from China adapting to the western time zone, and then over the next few days we used a few different techniques (mostly via Richard Ferber's model) and...voila....the twins would fall asleep every night between 7:30 - 8pm with no trouble at all. None. Zip. Nada. And, they both slept through the night for 11 solid hours and woke up happy at 6-6:30....We were golden. (ah, the "golden glory" days).

Then,then, then.......I went to Europe last month (3 weeks ago) on a business trip for 9 days/8 nights. It was certainly not my first trip away from them as I travelled internationally fairly extensively a number of times before the holidays but this last trip to Europe was my longest trip thus far. Ed said that by the 4th night of my departure, both girls started to get increasingly fretful and call and cry for me a lot throughout the night and by the time I came home (poor little girls), they were extremely anxious. And...now....they no longer will go to sleep on their own. I have to lie on a pallet in their room for about 45 mins until they fall asleep. If I attempt to leave the nursery before they are asleep, they become hysterical. I'm not talking uphappy and whiny; I'm talking body completely soaked in sweat and just inconsolable. They have toddler beds so the minute they see I'm not in their room, they jump out of their beds (and they wake each other up so both girls then get hysterical) and come out of their room and stand screaming at the top of the landing (where the baby gate secures entrance to the stairs). Once I do manage to get them to sleep, I can creep out of their room for a bit, but when they wake up and see I'm not there in their room on the pallet where they last saw me, then it is mass hysteria..not normal crying but screaming like their room is on fire. Crazy upset. And, even when I do sleep on the floor in their room, at least 2-3times a night (each girl) will wake up, come over to my pallet/mattress on the floor and then will fall asleep on the floor as long as their little leg or arm is touching me.....Yep, now that's a heartbreaker thing to experience. And they'll both say (over and over again) in their very anxious little trembling wispy voices, "Mama sleeping here?"

I'm exhausted as I'm not sleeping well at all AND I'm not getting any downtime from them in the evenings after they go to sleep...much less not getting any chores down. In fact, I'm sitting here writing this blog on the mattress on the floor in their nursery. Mostly I'm exhausted b/c I truly feel bad for them. It's weighing heavy on me and I feel guilty for complaining about it. Whew....now I'm the one doing the whining... and it's stressful for Ed and me to simply not have any downtime together anymore.

So, we have called our Peds physician (who specializes in chinese adoption and also has twins herself) and we called in a child development specialist (psychologist). Both are telling us that the girls' anxiety about sleeping probably did get triggered by my 8-day trip and that they are most likely remembering the feelings of anxiety and being "left-out" from their orphanage days. They also both said that maybe we never saw this behavior before because now the girls realize the stakes are "higher" for them now more than ever and that's why they are so fiercely anxious at night.

Me? I don't know what to think or what to do or what to encourage/discourage etc...I am "out-of-my-league" with no experience and no context into this at all. I just know that when I wake-up in the middle of the night on a pallet in their room and see them crouched down next me and see them staring right at me with their little hands just rubbing my arm up and down, it melts....breaks...my heart. Poor little creatures.

But what do I do and when do I stop doing it and how long will that be? Am I doing the right thing by sleeping on a bed on the floor in their room? We actually tried moving them down to mattresses on the floor on our bedroom...(so at least Ed and I could be in the same bedroom together) but they seem much better in their own little beds. Have any of you experienced something like this before? And, I really want to know if I am creating an even "tougher-to-go-back" situation by conceding to sleeping in their room and staying with them....

I'd really appreciate any feeback, thoughts, anecdotes, perspective....

Hugs and thanks,
Cin

Twenty-Nine Months Old - Newsletter

2008-01-27T14:51:00.000-05:00

Dear Liang-Liang and Can-Can,

Today you are 29-months old...just shy of being 2.5 year olds. So for how long will I be able to call you my babies instead of my toddlers? Yep, that's what I thought.....you'll always be my babies. And, anyway, technically speaking...you are still so very little. You are both now just a whopping 24 pounds and 33 inches tall....you two little midgets. I can still haul you both in my arms at the same time

What's the big notable mark this past month? Well, without a doubt it's that your language skills have quadrupled!! You guys are chattering a mile a minute....to the outside world a lot of what you say is garble-ly-gook but we mostly understand it. You're both stringing multiple words together, you're playing around with verbs and nouns and it's just so cute. I gotta tell you that I'm relieved. We actually called in a speech therapist to come and observe you during playschool and then to conduct one-on-one interviews with each of you. The news was good.....nothing to worry about for 29 month olds and especially nothing to worry about for toddlers who spent their first 15 months in China in an institution!

The other notable mark I've observed is your concentration skills. You both can sit at your little art table and draw and color and do all sort of crafts for a solid 60 minutes. Wow. That's impressive. Now, I know I'm a nut about buying all sorts of age-appropriate crafts stuff (yes, my kitchen is an off-shoot of the kid-aisle at Michael's Arts&Crafts store) so you do get a lot of "new" things to explore with but still.....an hour...an hour and a half is incredible for tots your age.

Sammi...here's what I've noted with you. Your sense of humor grows more sophisticated every day. You're the one that checks out what's happening around you...constantly...and if you think a good hearty laugh or sense of cheer needs to be interjected into the situation, well, you're right on it. You'll run to put the 5 hats on your head to cheer up Nicki or you'll run over to Mommy or Daddy and make silly faces to put a smile on our face. Yep, your empathy and sense of your surroundings is impressive.

Nicki, you've become more of the Mommy-cling-y girl this last month and that is quite okay. I travelled quite a lot in Dec and Jan and when I was in Europe for more than a week this month, I think it was pretty tough on you....and that really touches my heart. You've started to wake-up around midnight every night and you cry for me, repeatedly....for at least a few hours. I think we're averaging me coming to comfort you at least 9-10 times in the middle of the night. I'm trying to give you extra attention and extra TLC 'cause I know my business travel seemed to make you a bit anxious. It's all okay, little one.

Now, Both.....here's what we've enjoyed more than joy itself.....It's that you guys play so so so very well together. It's just magic. For hours and hours you play and giggle and hang and scheme-and-plot and run and dance .....and.....and you're both so inseparable. You've exceeded my vision....my dream...of what it would be like to have twins. Nothing...and I mean nothing....is better to me that to hear you two giggle....just peals and peals and peals of giggles most of the day. Thank you, girls, for that gift. In fact, I'm sitting down here in my favorite chair and listening to you two giggle and play up in the playroom...chatting and laughing with your wisp-y voices. Ah, does it get better??

Happy Twenty-Nine Months Old, my dear Liang-Liang and Can-Can. Mommy loves you so very much. Life is sweet. I just simply couldn't imagine life without you now.

Love,love,love,

Mommy

Just When You Think It's Safe.....

2008-01-26T15:24:00.000-05:00

Was home for the day for MLK school holiday and trying hard to keep the girls happy and busy so I could sneak in as much work as possible as, of course, I have a big work deadline looming. Do you know how hard it is to work with two two-year monkeys underfoot? Um, yep, not gonna happen. I just turned to my email for a few secs....was typing away and saying 'hmmm.mmmmm" as they chattered to me but I wasn't looking down....Here's what Nicki was happily doing to Sammi.....

So...I gave up the work, bundled them up and took them outside in the frigid NC morning (less than 20 degrees...what's up with THAT?!). They are posing with Miss Bunny, a very important family member who's been with our family for more than 20 years...Miss Bunny lives up the long walk towards our front door and we try to go by and visit her at least once a day...

Oh Nicki....you are so.cute.

And, now back inside...playing one of their fav games.....clomping around in Mommy's clod's.....

More pics and posts and monthly letter to the girls to come this weekend...

Hugs to All! :)

-Cindy

Annie

2008-01-12T14:44:00.000-05:00

Um...well, you see, it's Annie's fault. It's Annie's fault that I have not blogged since Thanksgiving. You remember Chef Annie. She was our family chef extraordinaire. She came in once a week and prepared our dinner meals and sometimes lunch meals and then when the timing worked out, Annie helped with our entertaining parties. In essence, she rocked. Until she left. Right before the holidays. Right around the time I had just wrapped-up on that insane international travel-for-weeks-on-end travel. Annie left to seek her other non-chef profession world. So I tried and pretty-much failed miserably to keep my family's nutritional intake at the quality I require and also keep our family life sane at the same time. I managed to keep us nutritionally sound but at a large cost....large cost on the ol' sanity work/home life balance thing. And the ol' pocketbook. Do you have any idea how much it costs to buy last-minute prepared meals at Fresh Market on a daily basis? Yes, a lot. So.....I did what any other self-respecting adult woman in her mid-40s who has two-year old toddler twins and a job that requires a lot of attention and time (which, by the way, I totally love and rock at......) I begged. I implored and pleaded and begged....and won. Annie came back to us. She is here. Now. This minute. Downstairs cooking up a storm. All our meals for a week. I'm leaving for Europe tomorrow night for a full week and my family will be nutritionally sound...because Annie came back. Thank you, Universe Gods.

So, now to why you really came over to my blog....pictures. Lots of pics since T-Giving. Christmas was awesome, words don't describe the indescribable joy that we felt thru the holidays, post-Christmas was great....everything really really good this year for hols.....the pictures say it all......(now I'll stop rambling...).

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Sammi and Ed's hand...

I sure miss everyone. Can't wait to start reading-up on all the blogs I've been missing.....

Love and Hugs,
Cindy

Rich rich so rich.....

2007-11-24T15:33:00.000-05:00

I'm sitting here in the study on a beautiful Saturday-after-TGiving afternoon. My girls are in their nursery chattering and singing away (not napping but oh well), Ed's out back working on our new screen porch addition with John helping him, the girls and I met Col and her girls for a downtown museum-hopping morning, I have a glass of wine, there is Christmas music wafting through the house, Ed and I have a date tonight, the house is a mess and laundry is piled-up and it's not bothering me even one whit...and all is so so very good. And, I've been traveling a lot (yes, a lot) this past year to all sorts of Third World countries in South America and Africa and Asia and well, jeez-a-reez.....we are rich. Rich beyond belief on so many fronts. You know the feeling you get when you're just blown away by your riches and fortunes and just plain ol' good luck....? Well, that's me right now.....

Twenty-Seven Months

2007-11-21T07:11:00.000-05:00

Dear Liang-Liang and Can-Can,

You will be twenty-seven months next week and we just celebrated our first anniversary of your Gotcha Day earlier this month on November 6th. Oh, you are both doing so well....so well indeed and so happy, healthy....and just rockin-n-rolling. Even though I have been travelling quite a lot these last two months for work, I still feel like we've had the best times together in the evenings and especially on the weekends. Your Dad and I aren't stressed these days, we're really feeling like we're in the groove, you two seem to be thriving on all fronts and we're just plain ol' having a blast. Boy-oh-boy, we've waited a long (long long long did-I-say long) time for this time in our life......I have to say I enjoy the "now" better than the "then" but I'd do it all over again in a skinny-nano-minute if that's what it took to get the two of you....Ahh, here's a fond and empathetic thought to all the other families out there waiting for their babies...Keep thinkin' the good thoughts, guys. It will happen.

You're both shooting-up in height...not so much in weight but definitely in height. Where your height is really showing up is when I hold you and your legs wrap more around my waist and..cutest thing....when you ride on your School Bus and trikes. Neither of you can still really pedal the trikes yet (still a bit too short) but I bet you both will be Springtime. Still in 12-month pants, still 22 pounds (yikes-tiny!!) and in 18-month shirts.

Biggest milestone is your chattering.....it's so cute. Nicki, you're more inclined to try out the long sentences but Sammi, you're the one that just sings-sings-sings all the time. In fact, as I'm sitting down here in my big comfy chair writing this letter, I hear both of you up in the nursery. Nicki, you are chatting away and Sammi, you are singing a silly song.... :)

The other thing I've noticed these last two months is the growing empathy you both have for each other. Sammi, you are most especially prone to run to Nicki the second she sounds the peals-of-distress and you busily with great dedication bring her her towels (ie blankie), toys, baby doll, etc....and you cutely pat her head or back....It's very nice and I'm quite proud of you. Nicki, you're beginning to do likewise....At dinner, you are especially attuned to knowing if Sammi wants some of your food (she's a faster eater than you....) and if she does, you gladly hand it over, sling it over, throw it over to her. Your intent is admirable; your delivery needs some working-on.

So, you two, we're getting ready for the holidays. Yay!! Your Dad and I are so excited! We're going to the Cartiers for T'Giving Day Brunch, we're spending the rest of T'Giving Day with the Schmitz and then we'll spend the rest of the weekend putting up Christmas decorations. Wait til you see the train set Ed will put up for you. We bought this very elaborate Lionel set years ago (maybe 5 yrs ago....!) in prep for you two (although I suspect it's just as much for Ed as for you....). And, we'll be hosting a gigantic Christmas Party this year on the Dec 15th. Oh, I love hosting parties....I'm off to buy your TGiving and Christmas outfits today while you are at school and I am going to SPLURGE SPLURGE on the cutest of cute outfits.

So, my two little twinkies, as our good friend Rony says, time to get moving and get you two monkeys up and about. I'm feeling the need for a giggle-fest just right about now....

Love, love, love,

Mommy

P.S. Note sure I ever said this to you but....Truly one of the reasons I always dreamed for girls and dreamed for twin-girls (and knew it was meant to be...) was because of girly giggles. I simply love to giggle, have always loved doing it, am personally good (no, great) at it and wanted more girl-giggles in my life. You two are expert at it and I'm just so glad because it is a very important thing to have in your life. May we continue to hone our giggles for the next 50 years! :)

Love love love again,

Mommy

To Ed -- the ROCK who rocks!!

2007-11-12T17:00:00.000-05:00

Well, I knew the last two months at work would be tough...and it has been....but it's been okay and I'm almost through with the "big-push". For those that remember, I've been totally absorbed in implementing a new global system at work....and I've been on-the-road practically non-stop for about 8 weeks....Been across Europe numerous times, been down to South America, and been all over the US implementing and training and troubleshooting. But now I have just two more easy-peasy US-based trips to go and the light is at the end-of-the-tunnel. Hip Hip Hooray. It's not been so gosh-awful, either, because of one and only one reason which would be...Ed. This post is so dedicated to Ed. He's come a long-way, baby, in just a mere 12 months. He held down the fort pretty-much solo, he kept everyone happy and healthy, he is a constant non-stop positive force as I travel to all sorts of crazy places and he is, well....he's the Rock. The girls are good...no, the girls are GREAT.

We've all kinda turned the corner in the last few months and on top of me being so mostly gone, Ed's kept the positive momentum not only going but darn-right thriving. Folks, this is a manly-man kinda "guy-who-grew-up-in-steel-town-Pittsburgh" Polish fella who didn't have the slightest idea how to change a diaper or deal with a tantrum or sing a lullaby or convince a toddler (um, two toddlers...) to eat healthily and play nice...he didn't have a KA-LUE. And now, he's just all over it......all of it...especially the lullabys and the toddler-chat. I heard him chatting with them just tonight as he was giving them a bath--he just keeps the cutest running commentary going and doesn't even blink at it.....Ed--YOU SO ROCK, sweetheart.

So, enough said.....just take a look at these pictures 'cause it says it all. Nicki is the one leaned-back in so much laughter....honestly, how does it get better than this? A knock-out husband and twin daugthers that are overbrimming with giggles....

Here's to you, Ed! THANKS!!! :)

25 Months Old -- Newsletter

2007-09-29T07:09:00.000-04:00

Dear little Liang-Liang and Can-Can,

I'm going to try this monthly newsletter out. I've watched Heather at dooce.com do this now for a couple of years and I see what a treasure it is. Heather writes her typical blog, but then she posts a monthly newsletter to her daughter who is now around 3.5 yrs old, I think. I struggled a bit with whether I do two letters (one for each of you each month) and decided on one letter with little vingnettes in the letter about both of you. We'll see how it goes.

This week are you 25 months old. You each weigh exactly 22 pounds and you are each 31 and 1/8 inches tall. You're wearing 18 month shirts but mostly 12 month pants and skirts because you are so tiny and you have such slim hips (okay, yep, you have no-butt behinds!).

You both have become much more physically daring this month. You two love the big slide at the park, you love going really fast down the hill on your trikes (esp. when I irresponsibly run in front of you and let you go by yourself) and you're both beginning to love to really bounce around hard on the beds. Yes, Sammy, you took a big 'ol spill last weekend off the bed, but you got right back up and right back into it.

Nicki, you seem a bit calmer and more confident this month. You're more content (on most days...not all) to let Sammi have more of the "Mommy-holding" time...although it's true that you both really do seem to swap back and forth on that one. Nicki, you're a bit more content to sit still and read through your books and figure out how something works.

Sammi, you are all "out there" every minute every second. Though you are both into this, you especially really seem to enjoy stooping down and inspecting every single rock, acorn, blade of grass, crack in the sidewalk etc. We call you our little "naturalist".

Ah, so....neither of you are really putting too many words together yet. Your vocabulary is still quite limited and so of course I am in the "worrying a bit" mode. I fully appreciate you've had a bit of a tough start....Cantonese orphanage for first 15 months and then the whole "twins are more delayed in talking" thing going on but still....I'm fretting a bit. We're reading and talking and repeating all the time....all the things we should be doing....

But, having said that....the things you DO say are so sweet to hear....You both whisper "bye-bye" to everything. Bye-Bye swingset. Bye-Bye acorns. Bye-Bye stroller. Bye-Bye to me and your Dad at night....Just so cute. And, you do say and sign please, thanks, mommy, daddy, help, more, milk, food, moon, stars, cat, dog, love, baby, hug, etc.....About 25 or so words. And, for sure with no doubt, you both understand 99.999 percent of everything we say....So, my official fretting won't go into high-gear for another 3 months...

Ah, Nicki....now I do know what your favorite word is these days....No surprise 'cause you're two...it is NO!....Would you like to read a book? NO! (as you crawl in my lap...). Would you like a cup of milk? NO! (as you reach for your sippy). Would you like some pudding? NO! (as you gobble the pudding up). Ed and I have to bite our lip....it's funny and we almost say it with you in unisom!

And, Sammi, you're not into the NO! thing yet (but I know it's coming). You are actually into being the sweetest thing possible. (so this must be the calm before the second storm....). You want to "help-Mama" every single second. You put trash in the trashcan, you help me wipe down the floor, your favorite thing is to help me put away the groceries, you help me load and unload the washer and dryer and it goes on and on....It's so sweet. You're also so much more prone these days to be the one that finds Nicki's towel, that gives Nicki your last Cheerio or goldfish....Just in general, you are in a very giving mood this last month. It's sweet.

We've started Fall this month and I've bought the cutest long sleeved shirts and pants for you to wear...And, we're heading out to our favorite mountain cabin up at Nantahala later this month. Yippee....falltime in NC is simply awesome. Oh, yeah, and we're going to a pumpkin patch tomorrow to pick-out pumpkins, have a hay ride, see the goats and chickens, and all sorts of fun.....

Love you both so very much,
Mommy