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Anybody who knows me well knows that I have a special gift for making simple things difficult. Truly. I've taken it to an art form!
When Tony and I decided to start a family I assumed when the time came our child would attend the local public school. It's a wonderful school, highly rated, etc., etc., etc.
But...here's the thing...I don't think it's a good fit for Lily...for us. Um...have I mentioned that I can make simple things difficult???
The school has 6 kindergarten classes. Six!! And...it's full day! I don't want Lily in school full day...not yet. Honestly...not ever!!
The school has a maximum capacity of 660. Their current enrollment is 720...and growing!
As I've mentioned before, Lily is pretty sensory sensitive. In an environment like that Lily will be completely overwhelmed!
I know what you're thinking. Oh no, TJ's going to homeschool Lily!
I'm not going to lie to you, the thought has crossed my mind more than once. If I thought I would be a good homeschooler I might even try it. I just know that teaching isn't my strength. Besides, as much as I love to spend time with Lily I think it's healthy for us to spend some time apart.
You may all now breathe a collective sigh of relief.
Tony and I can also breathe a sigh of relief. We've found a small private Christian school in our area that we think will be a good fit for Lily and our family.
The environment at the school is warm, loving, and nurturing. Current and former families RAVE about their experiences at the school.
There are approximately the same total number of children in grades K - 8 at the private school Lily will attend as there are in the kindergarten program alone at the elementary school!
Then when we learned that there is actually more ethnic diversity at the private school than there is at the public school that sealed the deal for us. Unfortunately, we're not talking about huge percentages of diversity...but it is better than I thought it would be...and better than our neighborhood school.
We have visited Lily's new school several times and we believe Lily will thrive in that environment. Lily is so excited about starting Kindergarten there in the fall...and she gets to wear a uniform!!
Last week Lily went for her Kindergarten Readiness screening. We received the screening results back and the comments were quite lovely. It came as no surprise to us that Lily is more than ready for kindergarten.
Now, if we can just get Mommy ready!
This afternoon Lily and I were out running errands.
After we left the bank Lily said to me, "Mommy, you know what I noticed in the bank?"
"No, honey. What?"
"There were more people in the bank that looked like me than looked like you."
"Hmmm. Really? I didn't notice."
"You didn't??? REALLY???? You were the *ONLY* person with your color skin in the WHOLE ENTIRE BANK!"
Have I mentioned how observant our little cutie is?? Seriously. She doesn't miss a thing. EVER.
Truth be told...I think if Lily hadn't been talking my ears off in the bank I probably would've noticed...maybe. Obviously Lily's a much better multitasker than I am!
Guess who turned 70 on Saturday???
Oops, I think I might of given away the answer by the title of this post!
Suzy turned 70 on Saturday and we all got together for dinner to celebrate. It was actually a joint celebration for Suzy's birthday and a belated birthday dinner for Sheila.
I forgot to bring my camera Saturday night so I don't have any pictures of the birthday girls :-(. If I had brought my camera you would see a picture of Suzy, Sheila, and Lily (of course, wearing her favorite outfit that Nai Nai gave her).
Happy Bithday Suzy and Sheila!
Lily has a new favorite outfit.
Can you guess what it is???
I'll give you a hint...
Okay, here's another hint...
Lily just absolutely loves this little pink and brown outfit!
And, yes, she does where the little jacket zipped all the way up...All. Of. The. Time!
Lily would wear this outfit every day if she could. Seriously. Every. Single. Day. She loves, Loves, LOVES it!!
Nai Nai gave Lily this cute little dress and jacket for Christmas. To be honest, I don't remember it getting a huge reaction from Lily when she opened the package. However, since the first time Lily put the outfit on she hasn't wanted to take it off!
Why is Lily so crazy about this outfit?? I mean...besides the obvious fact that it's pretty darn cute. It's because Lily thinks it makes her look like she's wearing a school uniform! I tell you...our girl is all about the uniform!
Oh, and I should mention the pièce de résistance to this little number. It's the pink and brown rain boots that don Lily's feet everytime she wears this outfit...even if there isn't a cloud in the sky! Somehow...and I can't explain how...I don't seem to have a picture that shows the rain boots.
You'll just have to trust me...they complete the look :+)
...was my Forever Mother does that mean you would never be my mother?"
This is the question Lily asked me the other morning as she was helping me make her bed.
These type of questions always come out of the blue. No warning. No preamble. Just...WHAM!
Hopefully without missing a beat I answered, "Yes, honey, that's what it would mean."
To which Lily replied, "Then I'm glad she's not my Forever Mother."
A huge part of me wanted to say, "So am I!" But...somehow...that just seemed disrespectful to Lily's First Mother.
Instead I said, "I'm so glad I am your Forever Mother and that you're my Forever Daughter."
Lily followed up this emotional moment with, "Can we have bagels for breakfast??"
I just can't begin to tell you how much I love this child and how thankful I am to be her mother.
When I think of all I could have missed...
How does that old saying go...If you're lucky enough to be Chirish, then you're lucky enough...or something like that.
We had a lot of fun celebrating St. Patrick's Day!
Last night we had dinner with our favorite Irishmen.
Lily LOVES when Dad Dad comes over for dinner. Lily always waits anxiously staring out the window for his arrival.
Of course, the fact that Lily wanted to show Dad Dad how she can tie her own shoes made her all the more anxious for him to arrive!
Lily wasn't a huge fan of the Irish stew served over champs that I made for dinner. Maybe it was the Guinness in the stew that turned her off! The good news is Dad Dad seemed to enjoy it...either that or he's a really good actor!
Tonight, the leprechaun played a few tricks with our dinner and made our macaroni and cheese turn green. The macaroni and cheese tasted great...but it looked...um...let's just say I'm not the only thing that doesn't look good in green!!
The leprechaun also worked his magic on the kettle corn I made for dessert. Thankfully that looked a little better in green than the mac and cheese did!
Lily wanted me to take a picture of the kettle corn so Daddy could see what the leprechaun had done. Then after she thought about it for a minute, Lily told me she knew the leprechaun was really me...and maybe we should save some popcorn so Daddy could have it when he got home from work!
Today was the 56th annual St. Patrick's Day parade in Baltimore.
What made this year's parade more special than any of the others is who was selected as the Honorary Grand Marshal...none other than my sweet Dad!!!
Every year all of my cousins from Dad's side of the family stand together to watch the parade, drink a few beers, and catch up with each other's lives.
This year a lot of my cousins from Mom's side of the family joined us, too! It was great to see everybody and it positively made Dad's day!!
It was a wonderful day from start to finish! The only thing that could have made it better is if Mom were there. She always loved Dad in a tux!
I can't tell you how many times since Mom died I've thought, "I've gotta call Mom and tell her..." Sometimes it's big things, but usually it's just the day to day stuff that I want to share with her.
Several times I've actually gotten as far as picking up the phone and dialing before the truth hits me...we don't have that kind of long distance.
Of course, I always talk to Mom in my heart. It's just that sometimes I want more than that. I want to hear Mom's voice.
That's something I can't do anymore. I can't hear Mom's voice at all. I hate that. I can picture her perfectly...it's just her voice I can't hear. I miss it so, so much.
Today would have been Mom's 74th birthday.
To remember her birthday, we all got together this morning for breakfast. It was by no means a somber occasion. In fact, Lily was such hoot at breakfast that she kept all of us in stitches.
I'm sure this sounds strange, but sometimes I forget that Mom never had the chance to meet Lily. I know she would've gotten such a kick out of our little sweetie.
Today is the fourth anniversary of our Referral Day...the first time we ever saw our sweet Lily's face.
I remember that day vividly.
This year, for the first time, Lily asked me A LOT of questions about our Referral Day.
I guess I should have expected it. Lately, Lily has been asking me A TON of questions about how we became a family, about her first parents, about her time in China, and more.
Many of the questions Lily is asking I don't have the answers to. That's hard...for both of us. It was fun for a change to be able to answer almost every question Lily asked!
Lily wanted to know specifics. She wondered what Daddy and I thought when we first saw her picture, which picture was our favorite, who did we call first to tell them we had her pictures, why was she wearing that outfit, where was she when the pictures were taken, why wasn't she smiling, and the questions kept coming...and coming...and coming. Seriously.
It was fun reliving that day with Lily. From stalking the Fed Ex man, to finally seeing Lily's sweet face, to the flowers and bottles of wine from my sisters, to the dinner out with the family to share the wonderful news and pictures...it was a wonderful trip down memory lane.
If you want to take a little stroll down memory lane click here to see our initial referral announcement, click here to see our first anniversary, click here to see our second anniversary, and click here to see our third.
Lily and I talked a few times during the day about taking our annual picture with her holding her referral photo, but somehow we...as in me...kept forgetting.
Luckily, as we were upstairs getting Lily ready for bed I finally remembered...again. I like this little tradition and want to keep doing it as long as Lily is willing. So, I ran downstairs real quick and grabbed Lily's referral photo and the camera.
Lily was a good sport about having her picture taken...even though as she reminded me...it was bed time.
As you can see, I got some sweet and some silly pictures of that precious little cutie who stole my heart 4 years ago.
Several months ago Lily asked me if she could have a sewing kit. Honestly, I have no idea where Lily ever heard of a sewing kit. Definitely not from me! The only thing I ever sew are Lily's hair clips.
Lily was quite specific that she did not want a kit where you "lace up things." She wanted a "real" sewing kit.
Around Christmas I looked for an age appropriate sewing kit for Lily, but came up with nothing.
Then, right before Valentine's Day I was in Barnes and Nobles and found an Alex Toys - My First Sewing Kit. Even though the manufacturer's recommended age is 7 - 12, I bought the kit for Lily. I thought Lily and I could work on the projects together...or not.
The kit is super cute. It includes a tomato pincushion, a measuring tape, a round wheel of pins with different colored heads, multiple skeins of embroidery floss, scissors, a thimble, felt, trim, ribbons, and more!
Lily was super excited with her Valentine's gift and couldn't wait to get started.
The sum total of my contribution to Lily's creation is tying the knots in the thread. Oh, and I drew the cat's mouth on the felt so that Lily could stitch over it.
No, I'm not kidding. Lily even threads the needle (a REAL needle) herself!!
Lily worked on this cat for hours. I am positively amazed with her ability to stay focused.
Of course, there is an ulterior motive. Apparently, Ariel needs a stuffed animal!
As you can see, Lily and Ariel are pretty tickled with Lily's creation! So is Mommy!!
Four years ago today, Tony and I were in a Build-A-Bear store when we received the phone call we had been waiting for so long.
Of course, we had no idea then how that one phone call would change our whole lives forever...and for better!
Lily was so excited about going to the Build-A-Bear store and has been counting down "how many more sleeps" until we could go.
Of course we don't need another stuffed animal in our house, but I just love that going to the Build-A-Bear store has become part of our annual celebration of how we became a family.
The other day Lily and I were reading a book that mentioned volcanoes. I was surpised to find out how interested Lily is in volcanoes.
Apparently, Lily and one of the boys in her class like to play the game "Hot Lava." She went into great detail explaining to me the rules of the game and who does and does not like to play.
Offhandedly I mentioned to Lily that I knew how to make a pretend volcano. Well, that was it. She just about worried a hole in me until we actually made the darn thing.
It was so beautiful outside I asked Lily if she wanted to go outside and get to work. She was so excited, but first she had a little preparing to do.
No, she wasn't gathering supplies. Lily was concerned about her hairstyle and apparent lack of jewelry.
No, I'm not kidding.
Lily said to me most seriously, "Mommy, I think I need a special hairdo to make a volcano. I don't want my hair getting in the way."
I told Lily I would pull her hair back in pigtails, but she thought she "needed" French braids.
After I braided Lily's hair I went to get the baking soda and the vinegar. When Lily walked back in the room she was wearing blue clip-on earrings. Can I just tell you this child absolutely cracks me up!
After Lily was properly coiffed and accessorized she was ready to get down to business.
Who knew a box of baking soda, a bottle of vinegar, some braids, and a few baubles could lead to a morning full of so much fun?!?
Last weekend Lily and I headed to Virginia to visit Laura, Rich, and the boys. We had so much fun!! As usual, it was a weekend filled with laughter and stories and more laughter and more stories.
The only thing that could have made the weekend better is if Tony could have joined us. Instead, while we were in Richmond having fun, poor Tony was here hard at work. Is tax season over yet?
Allegedly someone had a birthday while we were away. However, since we no longer really mention birthdays much less count them...we celebrated Friendship weekend instead. And...wow...what great friends they are!
It doesn't matter what we do when we get together we always have so much fun. Whether our weekends together are crazy busy or we just spend the time sitting around the table catching up it is always time I look forward to.
I'm not the only one that loves Laura, Rich, and the boys. Lily absolutely adores them! Oh, and it turns out they're pretty crazy about Lily, too!
It's amazing how comfortable Lily is when we're at Laura and Rich's. You would swear we see them every weekend...instead of every couple of months.
This weekend I left Lily with Laura and Rich so I could run upstairs and get a shower. You will never guess what Lily and Rich were doing when I got out of the shower...stair surfing...or stair luging...or stair something... All I know is that I came out of the shower to the sounds of hysterical laughter and found this!!
What you can't tell from these photos is that there was quite a crowd gathered to watch the races. Somehow...miraculously...Lily always won. This stair luging went on for quite a while and Lily and Rich have the rug burn to prove it!
Stair luging was not the only fun that was had this weekend! There was also a bit of baking, some car repairs, more than a few rounds of hide-and-seek, some juggling, and lots and lots of laughter!
On our way home Sunday Lily said, "I wish Aunt Lala and Uncle Rich lived next door to us." So do I, Lily. So do I!!
