Dyeing for Fun

So, I decided the best place to decorate the eggs would be outside. It was a beautiful day. I brought out the (previously hard-boiled) eggs, the egg dyeing package and some water. Isabel was just about beside herself with excitement. It was at this point that I realized I needed some vinegar. I ran in the house, only to find that the only kind I have is balsamic vinegar. (Sort of defeats the whole decorate-the-egg thing, if you are starting off with a dark brown vinegar, huh?) Fortunately, a neighbor helped us out and we were able to get to work.

A Perfect Moment

Five years ago next month, I drove by a house that had a For Sale By Owner sign on the front lawn. I peeked in the windows of the empty house and saw plenty of sunlight, hardwood floors and a fireplace. I loved it. I knew in my heart that this would be the house that Isabel would spend her childhood.

I checked out the fenced backyard. It was in pretty bad shape. (A lawn guy told me that I would definitely have to sod it.) I don't know whether it was stubbornness or frugality, but I was determined to prove that man wrong and to transform that yard into a place of wonderful memories for my daughter. I just knew I could make it into a beautiful place; I could see it in my mind’s eye.

Working on the yard turned out to be therapeutic. As the time until referral tripled from the original estimate, I spent more and more time working out back. I planted crepe myrtle, Satsuma, and ligustrum trees. I put in day lilies, daisies and hibiscus bushes. I bought a wooden arbor and planted confederate jasmine beside it, already picturing the cascading leaves in years to come. I had a gifted woman carpenter build an amazing deck and pergola in the spot where an old garage had been. By the time I finally received Isabel's referral, it had been almost three years. The yard was everything I had envisioned.

That was almost 2.5 years ago.

The yard now... well, let's just say that the time spent working in a yard has been replaced by being a mom. I find myself overwhelmed with all that has to be tended to out there. I have come to grips with the fact that it will never (or at least not for a while) look like it did pre-Isabel. That is what made this evening so special; it was so unexpected

I had the day off today and mowed the lawn. I was planning on doing the edging after picking Isabel up. When we got home, we headed out to the back yard. The edger was there… waiting just where I had left it. I knew what I should do, but instead … I chose to stop and let myself be in the moment. While I was having my epiphany, Isabel realized that the bird feeders were empty. We went in to get the birdseed and I grabbed a blanket... and the camera.

We put the feeders on the blanket and Isabel filled them… very precisely. Sitting there, in the middle of a freshly mown lawn, I saw everything differently. In front of me, the arbor I put in four years ago is so covered in jasmine that it looks like a green tunnel. The flowers are just about the burst open (most likely tomorrow) and the heady fragrance will fill the house. Behind me, my Satsuma has its first orange blossoms in four years. The perfume transports me back to Seville. To my right, a rose bush is blooming amidst a backdrop of honeysuckle lining the fence.

As dusk turned the sky darker, I lie on my back and looked at the silhouettes of the pecan branches just started to bud. Time stood still. I felt complete peace ... at which point Isabel ran over and insisted that I give her an airplane ride up in the air on my feet. She squealed with delight at being up high. I laughed (and grabbed my camera.)The light didn't last long, but it was long enough. It was better than anything I could ever have imagined.

It was a perfect moment.

Who Knew???

Disney World last week.
Disney on Ice last night.
and yet.. my three-year-old can have more fun by
dressing herself, playing with plastic containers and, of course,
recycling the beloved Slinky…yet again.
Who knew?
[Note to self: Save money… buy Rubbermaid]

Slinky Jewelry (A.K.A. Faux Elizabethan)

One minute...a slinky,
the next... a belt, bracelet and necklace.

PS This morning's outfit selection (including pink sparkly shoes) brought to you by Isabel... and the colors blue, pink and purple.

Flying Cats and Heavenly Visitations

The setting is inevitably the same..church, Publix or our morning commute.
I am continually both moved and entertained by Isabel's view of life.
During this morning's drive to school she started listing things that fly.
I was half-tuning her out (such a bad mother!) as I heard the following...

Isabel: Blue jays fly. Ducks fly. Cardinals fly. Airplanes fly. "Gooses" fly.
(She just can't get that irregular plural form down yet.)

And then I hear, "Angels fly", followed by, "Cats fly."
At this point I decide to give her my 100% focus...
(well, as close to 100% as is possible during a rush-hour morning commute)
and tell her cats don't fly; they don't have wings.

There is about a three-second pause and then I hear
"Well, Bart Bart has wings. He's in heaven."

It took me a few seconds to process what she said... and then tears came to my eyes, not only because of the childlike simplicity of her theology, but because it has been over a year and a half since my little Bart Bart died. Isabel was only 20 months old and had been home only 6 months. Since Lulu arrived 4 months later and has been a part of her life for a much longer period, I was pretty surprised that she even remembered Bart. For Isabel, it was just natural to include her little kitty in a list of things that fly.

For me, it was a gift.. of memory, of love and of grace.

Isabel and Bart Bart at 18 months






Isabel and Bart Bart at 20 months










Isabel and Lulu (her Happy Second Birthday present)

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

It really shouldn't have been a surprise. After all, the signs were there (as were the warnings from more than one friend) of its impending arrival. So, it's not like I had no idea... I KNEW it was coming. I just hadn't planned on it being a week before school pictures and 10 days before Easter. Yup... you guessed it. That wonderful three-year-old rite of passage...the ole hack off your hair with scissors.


Hair on Monday


Hair This Evening
(After an Emergency Visit to the Hair Stylist)

The Magic Kingdom

We headed out headed out (not as) early (as I had planned) to Orlando yesterday morning to surprise Isabel with a trip to The Magic Kingdom. Fellow teacher and WAP Laurie (a.k.a. Baby Hannah’s Mommy) joined us. Isabel just loves surprises and it was driving her crazy not knowing where we were going. Her first guess (and of course, my favorite) was “Are we going to Long Horn Steak, mommy?” [I almost drove off the road laughing.] It wasn’t until rounding the last bend in the ticket line that she saw a topiary of Minnie Mouse and started to realize where we were. Despite a momentary mental breakdown because of the length of the lines, the heat, the people, etc.... and wanting to leave shortly after arriving, all went well. [Okay, for the sake of honesty I should mention that the breakdown was mine…NOT Isabel’s. She was amazing!] She brought her princess snow globe to school this morning for show-and-tell. I left her surrounded by three little girls ooo-ing and ahh-iing. Magic.


Riding the tram to the park


My Little Water-Lover



Seeing Minnie in the Parade


How Do I Look?



Mom and Isabel at the Dumbo Ride



Unsure of the Lizards Scampering Nearby



And She's Gone...

Book 'Em Part 2

I have always loved books. My earliest memories included visits to the library. The first book I can remember reading at the library was Blueberries for Sal by Robert McClosky. Reading enabled me to travel in my imagination long before I was able to do so in reality. During the long wait for Isabel, I started to collect some of my favorite childhood books including including Make Way for Ducklings (also by McCloskey) and Harry the Dirty Dog stories.

I discovered Andre Dahan at a book sale and just love his books. The pictures are beautiful and the story lines simple but sweet. My favorite is Dear Little Fish. By the Christmas after my dossier was sent to Beijing, her little library was already growing with great books including a wonderful present from my mom, A Family of Poems by Caroline Kennedy. Being from Massachusetts, how could we NOT have that one! : )
Through the years, my favorite gifts (both to give and receive) have always been books. Two exceptional ones that Isabel got as presents especially moved me... and still do. They are I Love You as Much by Laura Krauss Melmed (Thanks, Jackie!) and The Lamb-a-roo by Diana Kimpton (Thanks, Kate!) Get ready to bawl... especially with the second one, if you are adopting transracially.

Isabel's love of books is a joy to me. Even before she could speak very clearly, she was "reading". Here she is before she turned two. A year and a half later and there is a remarkable change. This is her this morning. I crack up at the way she holds the book like a teacher reading to her class.

I hope her love for reading continues to grow and that, in 20 years or so, she might be in a book club of her own. : )

Here are some pictures from this past year. My two favorites are the ones where she fell asleep reading. How many times I have done the same thing!

Book 'Em, Dan-oh

The highlight of my month... getting together with great women, good wine and lots of laughter. Oh yeah... and disussions on books. (Don't want to forget THAT!) We have been meeting for over two years now and read a wide variety of books with the general themes of adoption, China and culture.

Look Who Has a Big Girl Bed!

So here was the deal...
Isabel would get a big girl bed as soon as she was potty trained.
Amazingly enough, she taught herself within two days.
Let's here it for motivation! (And thanks, Uncle Jim, for the bed and night table.)