Red Thread to our Daughter...Life with Paige and the boys

3 years ago....

2011-12-15T06:34:00.003-05:00

Three years ago today I first saw my baby girl's face. It came over in my email, and just like that -POOF- she was mine. Well in my heart anyway. It tooks until August to finally go pick her up. She was a tiny little thing (that hasn't changed). I love this little girl with all my heart and soul. It is funny but I remember that day so well.

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY!!!

2011-11-21T05:00:00.000-05:00

Yes Paige is 3 today.. Wow 3. Time does certainly fly. Paige has certainly grown in sooo many ways. I will try to remember all the things that she does at this age.
*Loves to dance, and sing. Will stop everything and anything if music comes on the Tv and will dance and immitate the rockers.
*Loves to have her nails painted- diva like sits at salon and gets them done.
*Coloring has become her preferred past time. She says she is doing her homework.
*blew out her own birthday candle.
*Loves to hang out with the boys and ruff house
*knows her alphabet
*spells her name
*loves to dress up and play pinkaliscious,purpleiscious, tinkerbell, and butterfly
*Belle is her princess of choice. She loves to sing the theme from Beauty and the beast, and sit down as her gown bellows around her "like Belle"
*Paige loves to go to Gymnastics.
*Tells me I am a bad girl and that I that she is not happy when she is mad at me.
*Can still tear apart a room in 2 seconds flat.
*loves her dog more than anything else.
*Pulls out her earrings almost everyday.
*gives the best kisses and hugs.
*loves to snuggle at night.
*hates to have blankets on her during the night
*still climbs on all the chairs except now she pushes them around the room to where she wants to get into.
*Loves to name everyone in our family and say this is my family.
*has a wicked temper
*loves icecream, and her cookies
*wears 18-24 month clothes- size 5 shoe (some size 6)
Is the sunshine and light in our lives.. Happy birthday baby girl!

Endocronologist revisit.

2011-11-09T20:02:00.000-05:00

Our 6 month visit to the endocronologist went well. No crying as they precisely weighed and measured her. Paige is 23 lbs. Woohoo. Still not on the chart in weight and 33 inches tall which is on the chart but not more than the 5th percentile. He said that she is following her curve be it a small one- so all is well. She is developmentally on target,and is a mighty moe. He wants to see her in one year.

Halloween

2011-11-08T19:34:00.002-05:00

Hey better late than never. Paige wanted to be none other than BELLE. She was all about the makeup and the dress, and the crown. We started on Sunday with the annual Neighborhood Party and Parade.. Then we went trick or treating on Monday after school and work. Our evening ended at my sister's house for dinner.

Pumpkn pickin

2011-10-11T19:21:00.006-04:00

Every year on Columbus day, since Kyle was a baby (er 21 years ago), we have gone pumkin pickin. This year the weather was a balmy 80 degrees. Very warm. Both kids gave us lip- Coleton because he wasn't with a ton of friends this year pickin, and Paige because the horse spooked her as we arrived at the field. However, within the hour they were both running around and climbing all the different wood items, and sticking their heads in the ghosts and pumkins..

Gymnastics

2011-10-09T17:45:00.003-04:00

Paige was moved up to the next gymnastics level. I was a little
hesitant because of her clinginess. However the last two sessions
have been great. She went in with no problem and her ability is
amazing. She is learning to do splits, the high bar, the balance
beam and cartwheels and handstands. Thank you Jules for the
perfectly fitting leotard.

Picture Day

2011-10-07T19:33:00.002-04:00

It's Friday!! A three day weekend. Life is good. Our weekend will be filled with gymnastics, lacrosse, football a sweet 16 party and pumpkin pickin.
Here is a quick photo taken yesterday morning before school. Paige had picture day.

Asbestos?

2011-10-05T23:25:00.002-04:00

Today we found out that there are rooms in our building that have asbestos tiles in the ceiling. They say as long as the tiles are not disturbed we are not at any risk. What about the past 10 years? Hmmm. My friend who survived her very agressive breast cancer has many concerns. Not sure what I think at this point.

Enough already.

2011-09-30T08:12:00.002-04:00

No way... I am not abandoning my blog. I love to blog. Life gets in the way.

SO a month and a half recap.

We had a great August of Travel and Baseball. I didn't blog about our Taiwan reunion, but let me just say it was amazing. I might still throw a post up about this.

I went back to work. I was put back into the classroom after being out for 10 years as a math consultant. Although it wasn't my choice, I always give my students 100% so I have been busy with everything involved in setting up a new classroom. Maybe another post will be made about people that are dishonest and power hungry, and like to disrupt lives just because they can.

Paige is back at daycare and is in the 3 year old preschool room. She had a really dificult time adjusting. She went a whole week of crying everyday most of the day, to now she gives the death grip in the morning, as we peel her body from one of us., At least she is not crying all day anymore and seem to like her teachers. We just have to work on the serperation issues.

Coleton is in 6th grade in the middle school and is loving life right now.. His current sport is football. We spend over 6 hours a week on the field and Sundays at gmes..He is also involved in a lacrosse tournament coming up, and is trying out next week for travel basketball. He is still taking his upright bass lessons once a week on top of all this...

So... hopefully I will be back in and blogging so check back soon.

Taiwan Rocks

2011-08-12T00:30:00.000-04:00

Oh my it is finally here.. I am so excited to meet so many that I have come to know only from their blog. I love this.. Stay tuned for pictures from our Dallas reunion.

We met 2 years ago:

2011-08-06T00:46:00.000-04:00

It was 2 years ago that we met. I remember the awe of seeing you in person for the first time. You were so tiny- and happy. We all fell instantly in love with Paige. Right from the get go Paige was our family... today, 2 years later we can't imagine life without this little spit fire. Our trip to Taiwan is now a distant memory, but we loved the country and the people.

It is very fitting that in one week, we will be getting together for our first annual Taiwan Rocks event with other families that have adopted from Taiwan.

Paige is really into the family thing right now. She will see a picture of us and say "that is my family", or she will say to me "mama- you are my family".
Happy Paige Day!!!

Disney Dream

2011-08-01T23:02:00.004-04:00

We have just returned from a week long Disney cruise on the Dream. It is Disney's new boat. It was a a beautiful ship. The food was yummy, and the shows spectacular. We went with my sister and her family and her inlaws and my parents. Paige was at times a little difficult. She loved the characters but was not brave enough to go up to them alone. There was a princess signing and we went, she went to every princess but was clutching me tightly. We loved the Island Castaway Cay. It was beautiful, serene and relaxing. Paige loved the water and the sand. Coleton had a blast. We basically didn't see him at all. My niece and nephew are all about the same age and the hung out with other kids in their kid area.

All stars...

2011-07-12T01:01:00.002-04:00

Tonight we had our first ALL STAR game. John is also one of the assistant coaches this year. Congratulations on their first win. All the boys played very well. Coleton hit 3 for 3 with 2 RBIs.

Swimming

2011-07-07T07:37:00.001-04:00

Last year Paige loved the pool. She was swimming like a fish. This year started with her screaming her head off, and not even wanting to put on a bathing suit. I thought, Oh boy we are going to be in trouble this year, what with all the trips we have planned most centered around water. So for the last week, Coleton and I took her in each day and let her scream her head off and slowly get her into having fun. So yesterday, yesterday she totally decided that she loved the pool. My girl is now swimming on her own (with floaties) and loving it.

I know

2011-07-06T07:14:00.005-04:00

Coleton Pitching.

I know I have been just terrible at this bloggng thing. I love to blog but for some reason so many times I feel like I have nothing to say. I am in my second week of being home from work and I absolutely love this slower pace. I will highlight what has happened in the last month.
*Coleton's team won the championship- John coaches and this is the second year with a totally different team - so whooohooo for them.
*Paige is potty trained... Yup just having poopy issues at times.... she doesn't like to let it go.
*We are in full swing with travel baseball and with ALL STARS starting.

See- not that much happening here, just the usual.

2011-06-18T10:48:00.002-04:00

Today Paige's gymnastic group had their first little showcase. She was amazing! Normally she cries for me but not today.. She ran to us for high fives and kisses..My sister came with my neice and nephew, and Kyle and his girlfriend Steph came as well as me, John and Coleton..

Alive and well.

2011-05-30T23:38:00.002-04:00

Too many days in between posts I know, but life has been really crazy.. I will work backwards on posts.. but I wanted to get this one down so I don't forget it. Today was day 2 of our potty training, and Yeah! One accdent each day... Miss little Paige has been doing great in her big girl umdies. I have been putting her in pull ups at night and she is saturated- and she did the big (and I mean BIG) number 2 on the toilet today. We all stood around the bowl and clapped and waved goodbye to her load as it swished away down... Paige says " did it go home to it's mommy and daddy?" uhhh no honey.. (of course I tell her everyhing goes to its mommy and daddy when she doesnt see it anymore -the rabbits outside, the fake 2 foot rabbit we had in the hall for Easter, the worms in the dirt, the birds that fly in the air, her beloved preschool teacher... You get the idea...
So let's celebrate the potty training!!! We shall see how it goes tomorrow at daycare.

Baseball ???

2011-04-27T18:02:00.000-04:00

So if you think Coleton is the only one in the family that is into playing baseball, well think again.. My delicate girl, is one heck of a Tom boy when it comes to hanging out with her brothers, and dad. She loves to play whatever Coleton is playing. You should see her with a LAX stick.

Easter 2011

2011-04-26T22:20:00.003-04:00

Paige was really into the whole Easter thing this year. She liked getting the basket of goodies, and hunting for eggs too. Unfortunately, I didn't take a lot of different pictures - only the Easter egg Hunt.

HAPPY EASTER

2011-04-23T20:28:00.001-04:00

Manicure time.

2011-04-22T06:32:00.003-04:00

Oh bestill my heart.. The other day I had to take Paige with me for my manicure until John came to pick her up. She loves to see my nails when I come back from my appointments. Well yesterday she sat on my lap and said to Sue (my nail person) my nails- then when we asked her what color she wanted she said BLUE- and picked out her color. Well Miss thing sat there and had a manicure complete with blowing her nails so they dried.

April updates

2011-04-17T21:35:00.003-04:00

This has to be record I realize. I have not posted in almost 3 weeks. I guess it has been for a couple of different reasons. One being, I have been busy, but then that gets boring cause everyone is busy. The other being that I have been totally absorbed in school related stuff. Busy defending my profession, busy getting totally disgusted with the school district where I live- too many cuts- too many programs that my son will miss out in next year in Middle school, and way too high taxes..

Here in NY, in my little neck of the woods, I will be paying over $15,000 in property taxes. Most go to school taxes. It is getting harder and harder to live here, and harder and harder not to get more disgusted about the situation.

Where I work, over 90 people will lose their jobs. We took pay cuts last year and freezes so that is probably not an option this year. It is a darn shame what is going on in this state, and I guess all over the country.

Ok so nuff about that..
Paige is amazing. I am sooo happy to be on vacation this week to hang out with her and Coleton. I am truly enjoying them both.

Opening Day

2011-03-31T15:43:00.002-04:00

Playyyyy Ball!!! Now if we could just get some warm weather.

Blast from the past

2011-03-27T22:53:00.005-04:00

This weekend we attended a party at a neighbor's house with an 80's theme. I think John and I were one of the oldest there. Our 80's consisted of graduating high school, joining the Navy, getting married, moving away, getting out of the Navy, moving back.
We had a blast locating clothing for this event. Some of our stuff we had, and some we bought at the grossest of gross thrift stores in the area. The party was fun and everyone looked really great. Although when I look at the pictures my hair doesn't seem so big.... and when I was doing it for the party, I piled on the AQUA NET, and teased away.... it really was very big for me... so here are some of the picts from the party.

Welcome Spring!

2011-03-19T13:44:00.004-04:00

It is finally here.... Hope the weather stays nice.. Paige loves to be outside.

Really?

2011-03-16T23:35:00.003-04:00

Yes, I am still here. Just busy. Coleton started baseball and LAX this past week. Paige has another ear infection, and I had Science Fair night at my school as well as attending board meetings about the budget in our own school district
Let's talk about school budgets. Here in NY the state has taken away all sorts of money from the schools and it is really impacting the programs in each of our schools.
Teachers are the scapegoats for all the ills of the budgets, and people are often not nice about teachers and the pay and benefits they receive for the job they do.
I say they, when I really mean me- because as most of you know I am a teacher.

Well, I just say to all those people- Really? Most teachers I know work really hard, and of course you will find the few that well - don't- but come on there are a few bad apples in every pot. We didn't create all the chaos that is going on in the state budgets. Tenure is being attacked, my pension is being attacked and generally everything I stand for in my profession is being attacked.
When did we become a society of - you get more than me then no fair- ? Everyone has choices. I would like to see Mr. Bloomberg- the worst offender of badmouthing teachers- stand up and really teach for one week in his city schools.
I didn't complain when the business people were getting good raises and nice fat bonuses, or stock options... nope. Now that I get a measly 3 % cost of living raise people can't stand teachers... Really?

I could go on but I won't. At least not in this post.. Mostly, my kids are gonna suffer because all the programs they love will be cut, some of the important academics will be out and the fun stuff too. I know who I won't be voting for in the next round of elections.

Really!!!!

My 11 year old baby

2011-03-06T07:30:00.007-05:00

Another year older... Coleton has turned 11. He is an amazing boy... He is a mucically talented, athletic, smart, kind, funny child. We love him more that I can put into words...

'STINKY'

2011-02-25T08:39:00.004-05:00

Potty training.Last week we were trying since we were been home on vacation. Hmmmm. Well looks like Paige is a little stuborn with this. She hates a wet diaper, and one that in her words is "stinky". She will strip down and take off the diapers, bring me a new diaper sit on the potty 9 thousand times. I have a small potty but most times she likes to sit on the regular toilet. I have gotten her to go a drop or 2 at a time sometimes a little more. I bought her YO GABBA GABBA undies , "backpack" as she calls Dora. She was pretty dry all day Sunday, but then held it in for way too many hours when we went to my parents. Yesterday I sent her in daipers to daycare, but she sits on their potty when she gets the urge. I don't want to do Pull ups during the day because I feel they feel too much like diapers.

The good thing is that she is my 3rd child and I'm really not rushing this whole potty training thing. I still want her to be my baby. I will try again on weekends, and then again during our Spring break.

Paige's friend Mia

2011-02-24T09:15:00.010-05:00

JoAnne made this awesome cake

Happy Birthday Mia

Paige enjoying the activities

Paige and her friend Julia

Last week Paige's dear friend Mia had her 5th birthday party. My friend made it a combo American doll and girl pseudo sleepover party. Paige was the youngest but along with her itty bitty baby she got into all the activities. She loved the crafts,and having her nails done as well as hanging with the girls.

Our Cleaning Lady

2011-02-15T21:00:00.003-05:00

For Valentines day we gave Paige her very own mop with cleaning gloves and fancy shoes....She loved it.

Taiwanese Cooking

2011-02-06T23:31:00.003-05:00

This year for Lunar New year I made all Taiwanese food. I made 2 recipes:
One was a Chicken recipe- the other was a pork recipe. Both very tasty and very easy to make. And I made my Taiwanese dessert that I make every year. Here are the recipes and the pictures.

Red Bean TrifleTaiwanese red bean trifle
(Almond Cake)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into several chunks and slightly softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
3 large eggs
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (4 ounces) whole almonds, or 4 ounces almond meal
1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
Line an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick spray.
Mixer method:
Beat butter on medium-high speed until smooth, then add sugar and beat until creamy and lightened. Add salt and almond extract, and beat briefly to mix. Add eggs one at a time, making sure each one is mixed in thoroughly before adding the next. Add almond flour, flour, and baking powder, and mix on low speed only until everything is mixed.
Scrape batter into prepared pan and spread it evenly. Bake until cake is golden brown on top and a toothpick plunged into the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in pan on rack.
For the Custard Part:
1 package Jello instant vanilla pudding mix
1/2 cup milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup of whipped cream or Cool Whip (reserve the rest for topping)
1 can of chinese sweet red beans.
Black Tea Milk: Brew black tea add 3 tspoon sugar and milk.

***Variation: I used vanilla cake mix instead of the Almond cake.
Pour cup of tea over cake cut into cubes. Let cake soak up tea. Take the tea soaked cake and add to trifle bowl and layer-. Cake cubes- custard –red beans until you finish the ingredients. Put the remaining cool whip on the top at serving time.

Pork Meat sauceLo Bah png- Taiwanese Meat Sauce over rice
• 1/2 lb ground pork
• 3 shallots
• 1T rice wine (sake)
• ½ cup soy sauce
• 2 cups water
• 1 t sugar
• ½ T 5- spice powder
• White rice
Heat vegetable oil in wok. Add shallots and sauté until they start to turn brown. Add ground pork .Add rice wine, soy sauce, water, sugar and 5 spice powder.
Cook for about an hour. There will be a lot of liquid. Ladle over white rice.

Three cup chickenThree Cup Chicken: Taiwanese Recipe

Ingredients
• 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1/2 cup Sake (rice Wine)
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/2 cup fresh Thai basil leaves
• 1 red chile pepper
• Sesame oil
• Corn starch
• 1 T sugar
Directions
1. In a large bowl combine chunks of chicken 1/3 cup water, 1/3 cup soy sauce and 1/3 cup corn starch Marinate for 20 minutes
2. Heat sesame oil-high heat. Add chicken pieces, and cook until lightly browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. set Push to side of wok and add chopped garlic and chopped chile pepper. Saute and then mix chicken together.
3. Add 1/3 cup Sake, soy sauce, water or more as needed.
4. Cook until chicken cooked through….
5. Add the basil 2 minutes before serving.

xin nian kuai le!

2011-02-05T23:01:00.006-05:00

Tonight we celebrated our 4Th annual Lunar New year together with our friends. We really look forward to this evening. We each cook a dish or two and voila! we have a delicious festival of Chinese and Taiwanese food. I think this year we really perfected the menu, and we will probably keep it at this menu for next year. This is Paige's 2nd Chinese New Year at home... It warms my heart to see all our beautiful children together.

Happy New Year ---Rabbit

2011-02-03T17:10:00.003-05:00

Happy Chinese New Year!! This is the year of the Rabbit. We will celebrate this weekend- stay tuned for my Taiwanese recipe that I will be cooking..of course only if it is good.

Here is a fun proverb I ran into today:

"If you want 1 year of prosperity, grow grain. If you want 10 years of prosperity, grow trees. If you want 100 years of prosperity, grow people." - Chinese Proverb

Slip Slidin...

2011-02-02T07:56:00.001-05:00

Today is another snow day – er-ICE DAY.
We have major icing here, and my school is closed.
However
Coleton is going on a 2 hour delay- go figure. Not good there because then at some point later in the school year he will be off and I will have to work. I am getting weary of all this- but I am happy that I didn’t have to commute to work in this ice. It takes me about 45 minutes on a regular day….
So today would have been horrible. Miss Paige will stay home with me and we will – hang out us girls.

What color?

2011-01-31T23:39:00.001-05:00

We need a new dishwasher desperately. I have white appliances... Do I buy a stainless dishwasher for a later updgrade to all my appliances (like 5 years) or do I go white again ??

Gymnastics

2011-01-27T22:14:00.003-05:00

Paige has started to take a gymnastics class. She has been going for about 3 weeks now. She is really good at doing all the activities but when it comes to waiting her turn she is not so patient. The teacher and her helpers or myself are constantly running after her to redirect her to the right positions. Last Saturday she actually followed along for most of the time. My friend from work brings her daughter there as well. They are only 3 weeks apart but Eden is so much bigger than Paige. They really are so cute together.

LISFA

2011-01-25T05:00:00.001-05:00

My boy!!! Yes my little guy. I am so very proud of him yet again. This weekend he performed in a special Orchestra concert. He plays the string bass, and was one of three children selected from his grade in the school district to participate.He achieved the 4th chair out of 16 children- wow. Considering that he hadn't gotten a private lesson prior to this.

The concert brings together children from all different school districtst to play together in a special concert. Coleton attended practice all weekend at the school where it took place.

AMAZING! They sounded like angels playing all together. I cried like a baby to hear such beautiful music from 10 year olds that have never played together before..

Paige and Coleton-

2011-01-22T12:10:00.002-05:00

These two love each other soooo much. It always brings tears to my eyes to see how much they really love each other...

What can I say??

2011-01-16T20:39:00.003-05:00

I don't know but it seems as if I have nothing to say. Really. We have been busy as usual doing well everything. Miss Paige has been doing really great at daycare. She has been getting really good reports that she has been listening and not climbing all over everything. She does listen more at home but still is not stop movement. Night time has been a challenge. We are at a cross road as to what to do. We removed one side of her crib but now she won't go in it at all. We put her in dead sleeping and she bounces up as soon as her head hits the pillow. So for now our solution is to put her in our bed each night. But it is really difficult having her in our bed because she is a wild women tossing and turning, kicking and yes even falling off the bottom of the bed where she manageds to wiggle. Do we buy her a regular bed (with rails) so we can sleep with her until she falls asleep? My boys always managed to sleep with us at that age too, but they were not crazy sleepers like Paige.
Here are a few pictures of life over the last few weeks.

SAVE THE DATE

2011-01-08T22:27:00.002-05:00

TAIWAN ROCKS: this is the name of our first annual reunion of families with children from Taiwan- and other asian countries.
I will be doing a blog post shortly with tons of information on this event.
AUGUST 12-14 DALLAS, TEXAS--

Terrible Twos

2011-01-07T18:02:00.004-05:00

Yes I love my daughter to pieces. BUT she has been really having bad temper tantrums, and sleep time has become well- no sleep time for us. She has a had a series of really bad tantrums where she just cries and kicks, hits her head, pulls her hair and throws herself. They last for like an hour or more. We try everthing to get her stop but they don't. I have a feeling that they happen when she is overtired, has eaten tooo much junk and is off her schedule.
As for her sleeping issues: well if you have been following you know that Miss P is a climber. It has amazed us that she had not climbed out of her crib yet... hence we usually had good nights sleep. UNTIL....last week when she climbed out in the middle of the night and fell. Yup...scared the living crap out of us.. So we took one side of her crib off- converts to JR. bed and now she either won't stay in there or wakes in the middle of the night and starts screaming and walking around her room or falls out ( didn't buy a rail). Our solution? march all 19 1/2 pounds of her into our bed. Paige immediately falls asleep but then she does her acrobatic act and tosses, turns, kicks, sleeps horizontal, down by our feet etc.. NO SLEEP for mommy and daddy. AHHH the 2's...
Of course I will leave you with an adorable picture of Paige.

Happy New Year 2011

2010-12-31T14:12:00.002-05:00

May you have a great New Year and all your hopes and dreams come true in 2011....all ours have.......
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Christmas Day:

2010-12-29T22:42:00.000-05:00

Do you notice how beautiful my photos are here?
Do you notice how BAD my photos generally are?
The Christmas morning photos from yesterday's post were awful- that camera really had issues.
In general I am a terrible photographer, but sometimes the camera can help on that.
Yup I got a new camera for Christmas and hopefully the end to my really bad photos. Here are some snapshots of our day at my brother's house for Christmas.

Christmas 2010 Part 2: Christmas Morning

2010-12-28T22:36:00.001-05:00

Blizzard 2010

2010-12-27T19:26:00.003-05:00

The snow started on Sunday morning and finished this morning. Coleton was out in it all yesterday afternoon with friends and then again today- so no pictures of him.. Miss Paige got all geared up- although she was not happy about the many layers- and then she really was not a fan of the wind blowing in her face or the snow. She kept saying she was STUCK- everytime her foot would step down.

Christmas 2010 part 1

2010-12-27T12:47:00.003-05:00

Aunt Carol and Grandma...and the fish

Uncle Rick and Paige
The traditional Christmas eve Picture with grandma and grandpa

Exchanging gifts in the afternoon of Christmas eve with Meaghan

Exhchanging gifts in the afternoon of Christmas eve with Mia

Pinkaliscious

2010-12-19T22:45:00.004-05:00

Our dear friend Michelle has started a tradition of having a Chistmas tea for her daughter Meaghan and her friends. This year it was a Pinkaliscious tea party and Meaghan's birthdayn party. Meg's real birthday is in January. Paige is the youngest at 2 and the other girls are all 4 and 5 years old. The party was delightful, with Auntie Michelle really doing a fabulous job of making it truly PINK. Of course I had Paige dressed in her pinkness, and mommy too. It was fun, and since this is Paige's 2nd teaparty she will be a teasista in no time at all.

Santa Party and Santa on his truck

2010-12-13T23:44:00.000-05:00

Every year our friends host a Santa and cookies party. Paige did not want to sit on his lap at all. So no lap pictures with santa. Her friends were so cute with her.
Coleton got a nerf gun and was thrilled that Santa knew what he wanted. Coleton is 10 and still believes!!

This was the weekend of Santa... Paige is not a fan of Santa this year. She will view him from afar but that is it. If he gets too close she claws me to get away. So on Saturday night when Santa came through on his firetruck she was happy for him to be far from her.

Paige waiting for Santa

Santa on the fire truck.

Trimming the tree

2010-12-13T00:03:00.003-05:00

Finally I am getting the house decorated for Christmas. Paige was so cute and really wanted to help.

Small????

2010-12-09T04:52:00.000-05:00

Paige had her 2 year old check up last week. She is doing well in all developmental areas. She weighs a wopping 19 lbs 4 0z and is 32 in. tall. However, our Dr. wants her to go to an Endocrinologist "just to make sure we aren't missing anything". She is just about 10th Percentile for height and not even on the chart for weight (US). I haven't made the apt. yet but not sure how I feel about this.

How many days til Christmas?

2010-12-07T23:08:00.003-05:00

Holy Cow... Christmas is quickly approaching We have most of the shopping done, but still need to do the "little" things, the stockings, the teachers, the hard to buy for, and yes of course the wrapping. I just ordered my Christmas cards and hope to have them out before Christmas. But I don't have to tell all of you that....you have your own lists to solve. Here are some highlights from the past week or so. * Coleton is now into basketball season. He plays on 2 teams so we are runnng a few times a week for this. * Coleton was one of 3 children from his school that was selected for a special Orchestra. He plays string bass and was chosen to play in an all county festival comprising of kids from all over the county. (SEE HE IS NOT JUST A JOCK) *Paige is doing great. She is getting comfortable with the Santa idea and says "HO HO HO" whenever she sees one.

Post Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-28T21:30:00.002-05:00

I just love the Thanksgiving Holiday... I don't have to cook the main meal and I get 4 days off. I hope all of you had a great Holiday as well. We did do some damage to our Santa lists this Black Friday,as per my hubby going out bright and early and me going on line.

Paige had fun, she got tons of attention and stayed up waaaaay past her bedtime each of the 3 nights. Thankfully she did sleep late each morning. We are not decorated inside for Christmas, but the outdoor lights are up.. I will work on putting up the 50 filled bins of Christmas decorations during the week. We will most likely get our tree next weekend.

Here is a picture of the Princess as she awaked one morning.

More birthday picts.

2010-11-24T06:33:00.002-05:00

Paige truly enjoyed herself on her Birthday.
Paige and her BFFS
Paige and Grandma
Paige after the cake
Paige and cousin Taylor

Oh beautiful 2 year old.

2010-11-22T18:35:00.003-05:00

Paige had a great birthday celebrating with family and friends.

Happy Birthday to my daughter.

2010-11-21T08:39:00.001-05:00

You complete us and we love you so much. 2 Years old already. Time has gone so fast, and yet we waited for you forever. Happy Birthday.. We will post pictures from this day later or tomorrow.

I can't make this stuff up.

2010-11-18T22:03:00.000-05:00

The other day in one of my 5th grade groups, my students asked to see a picture of my daughter. They remembered that I had adopted her last year. One of the students- a boy said- I remember it was Taiwan..Wow I was impressed. So I showed them some of the pictures I had of Paige. One little girl says to me- I have chinese eyes because my mom ate chinese food when she was pregnant for me.... Hmm. So of course I said, you can't get Chinese eyes that way... you get your eye shape from your birthparents....Do you know this little girl did not believe me and insisted that she got it from the Chinese food..

In just a few days....

2010-11-16T21:56:00.002-05:00

I love this little girl. In just a few days my baby will be turning 2. I think about her birthmother...is she thinking of her? I think about the incredible journey that led us to this beautiful baby girl. I still can not believe that we have known her for almost 2 years now... (we got her referral about 3 weeks after she was born).
Her birthday means more to me than just a birthday. It makes me think of so many things. It makes me think about how she has changed since we brought her home from Taiwan. It makes me think that how much I have changed since bringing her home from Taiwan. It reminds me how incredibly lucky we are to have Paige Min Shan.
Almost 2.... She has soooo much to say, and so much to do. What an incredible lucky mom I am.

County Champs

2010-11-14T20:19:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to my son Coleton and his football team. Today they played their hearts out, and came out the winners. What an awesome group of kids and parents too.
This is the second year in a row that this team won the Championship... One more year together until they all go to their seperate school districts and play middle school ball.

She's almost 2 already.

2010-11-14T10:12:00.001-05:00

My girl is gettng so big. In just a little over a week she will be 2. Can ya believe it???? So rather than make one big post on her birthday, here are some of what she is doing.
The food thing: wow- she is becoming a really good eater- good in the sense that she will try everything I put in front of her. She likes a wide variety of foods including salad, chick peas, coffee. Yea I know -mother of the year giving my kid coffee- but she only gets it when she climbs up and sneaks a sip before I can get it away from her. She still eats like a bird though.
Words: Ok so I think she should be doing better in this area but she has a lot to say. She has very clear words and only words that mommy recognizes, and she is putting words together. Like she says I love you : "I O ooh", or milk "MMMMMMo",.
Her favorite snacks these days: m&m's, granola bars.
She has been having a hard time with bed time these days and cries for at least 20 minutes each night when we put her in.
She won't even consider sitting in a stroller.
She loves to dance- and sing.
Paige gets really excited when she sees a bus and the moon.
As of this morning she weighed 19 pounds.

She is a little dare devil too. She loves to leap off the steps, the couch , chairs. Paige embraces each day with a lot of spirit.
Here are some pictures of our girl.. I take a daily picture on my iphone so I can look at her during work- and because everyone wants to see what she is wearing that day. so these pictures are not the clearest.

Is this sign of what' s to come?

2010-11-12T22:26:00.005-05:00

Paige got a bad report today at daycare. Her teacher said she hasn't been listening and continually climbs on the tables, and the wooden play kitchen they have. She wanted to know what we do at home so they can use the same language.
What I wanted to say was "What the hell do you want me to do? she doesn't listen to us either. We are always pulling her off tables, and places she shouldn't be, and her favorite word to us is "NO""

but instead I said

"ok I will discuss this with her. I tell her no it is not OK to.....We will work on her climbing and listening"

She is a handful. I know it is the age but sometimes I just don't have the patience I used to have. It seems like she cries a lot from the time we get home in the afternoon til she is sleeping. Her tantrums are becoming louder and I swear she is gonna crack her head open when she has one. She will throw herself down on the floor and slam her head down, then kick her feet on the floor, at me, at the cabinets or whatever else is around. She is pulling chunks of hair out on purpose too, because she will look at me pull her hair then look at her hand to see how much she tore out. or
like the other day when we came out of a store and I tried to put her back in her car seat, and she was screaming bloody murder, arching her back twisting her body, and I had to hold her in the seat with all my might, that if you were in the parking lot you would have thought I was killing the poor child. I was sweating by the time I was done.. NO STOP LAUGHING_ THIS WAS NOT FUNNY!
It feels like she is very defiant these days. I hope she grows out of all this. I'll gladly take any one's advice about any of this....

Then she turns and kisses me up and she is the sweetest child in the world.And of course she is the princess and we love her so darn much.

My other boy....

2010-11-08T21:25:00.004-05:00

Kyle is an aspiring journalist. Here is a current clip he did for a local station which is part of a class he is taking. Click here to view.

My Boy

2010-11-04T22:46:00.000-04:00

He plays mostly center and loves football. Coleton's team is in the playoffs. They won their first game so far.....

Halloween in Pictures

2010-11-02T22:35:00.005-04:00

A beautiful day for Halloween. It started with Pancakes made by my hubby, and then off to Coleton's first playoff game..then onto trick or treating..

Neighborhood Halloween Party

2010-10-31T19:43:00.001-04:00

Every year we have a group of moms who make this great neighborhood party for the kids.. It is all outside with different activities for the different age levels. This year Paige got to get involved. Although she was a little shy at first with all the strange outfits about... she warmed up a bit by the end..(Coleton had a birthday Party so he chose to go there for the day).
Paige getting her hand Painted with hearts and Pumpkin
The whole group of kids posing
Meaghan, Mia and Paige

Paige's first Halloween Party at school

2010-10-30T19:32:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, Paige had a party at daycare. They had lots of goodies and got to dress up in costumes. I left my camera with Paige's teacher and she managed to get a few shots in for me.
The first few pictures were taken before she went to school.

Daycare Diaries gone wild.

2010-10-22T17:28:00.006-04:00

I think I told you guys about how I haven't been very happy at our daycare this year. I started Paige back in September when I returned to school. She went back to the same daycare she was in last year (and I loved)- but since she was older when she returned she went into the toddler room.. OH BOY...disaster... there were 2 teacher changes since September. The kids were wild, noone was taking charge, the room was not decorated and was plain ugly, Paige was bit 3 times, and everyday she came home looking like she was in a wrestling match and dirty. She cried every morning when this one particular person was there - so not Paige. She had very wet diapers when I picked her up even though her report said that it was just changed. Just not what I wanted for my daughter and not what I was paying for. I had finally spoke to the owner and explained that Paige was not happy- we were not happy and that since she was going to be two next month perhaps she would move her to the next room (the twaddlers)-which by the way had most of the kids that were in her room last year. She said yes, and was transitioning her into the room.
The final straw came last week when the final straw broke the camels back. Now keep in mind if this incident occurred alone it would be minor- but since it was just one of many it was my final drawing point. I went to pick her up and she was wearing her long white sweater over her clothes. The sweater was her outdoor garment in which my hubby brought her in and then took it off when he got her settled in the room. I had put warm clothes on her for inside- long sleeved- heavyish tights. I knew she had been wearing the sweater since at least lunch ( telltales signs of disgusting food all over the sleeves and front)... neither teacher in the room could respond to me why she was wearing her sweater- which obviously they had put on her in the morning when they went out to play.. I freaked...If they were not paying attention to this- take of her darned coat (sweater) what the heck else were they not paying attention to.

Of course I go stomping up to the owner telling her that I was very annoyed and requested that the transition be complete now! She saw how uset I was, and obviously understood why, and agreed that Paige would start full time in the next room the following day.

AMEN!!! We all love this new room. The children are calmer, the teachers are in controll. The children are engaged in good activities. Paige comes home much cleaner- she is not crying every morning. It is what I expect for her while she is in daycare. I have been through two children in daycare already. I know what makes them happy and me happy. Both boys were in different daycares years apart so I think we have a pretty good idea of what is good for our children..

Let me tell you- I was getting ready to pull her out and find another center. Thankfully the owner acknowledged the problem. There is yet another set of teachers in that room... why any of the other parents are tolerating this I don't know why. I realize that it is difficult to staff a daycare- but you know what??? My kid is not gonna be the one that has to suffer for it.

I still feel that the daycare option is the best for my daughter. She needs the stimulation. She is going to have her first Halloween party this week.. Hopefully this will be the last chapter in the daycare diaries gone wild....

No Comment??

2010-10-22T17:22:00.003-04:00

C'mon People...
Last post didn't get one comment... DID YOU READ????? I CLIMBED A 35 ft. POLE and bungeed off the top......
HELLOOOOO???? Those of you that know me know I don't like to do anything that might break a nail (LOL)....

Ok so here is a picture of Paige...this will get ya to comment.

JUMP

2010-10-19T21:42:00.003-04:00

I had a really fun day at work today. Well it was a conference day for us teachers- usually spent in some lame-o workshop having nothing to do with anything realistic. This year we thought out of the box and ventured out into the cold morning air. We did something called project care. It is a program designed to help us work together and stretch out of our comfort zones. We came up with 3 objectives that we wanted to accomplish- trust, communication and doing more with less.. oh yes we do a lot of doing more with less these days. Each activity was related back to how we could carry the concept into our professional lives. Our first activity was to send marbles and balls down a pike using team work.. Well that was easy and our team sent 100 "students" flying into the bucket.
The second activity was fun. We had to high wire around some trees using ropes, trees, and each other to make it to the end of the course...
The third activity was to climb a 35 ft pole in a harness with a partner- get up on a platform and then lean back from each other and then let go as we bungee jumped to the ground... Yes I actually did this.. I didn't think I could get up on that little platform without knocking my teammate off but everyone cheered me on and yes did do it..

It was fun, and I would recommend this type of team building for those that rely on each other for their day to day sanity at work.

Adoption is a world of uncertainty.

2010-10-16T07:50:00.000-04:00

It never ceases to amaze me when a good adoption program goes bad. I should be used to such news, since it seems it is becoming the norm more than the unusual. I remember when I first made the commitment to adopt- with much prodding from John- and finally decided on CHINA.....Then within days of getting in our paperwork the wait quickly went to 9 months- to one year- to who the heck knows how long. It was at that point that we started to search for alternatives. We dabbled in domestic adoption ( spent a ton of money on a useless adoption coach) and then realized that was not for us. Finally I stumbled across this wonderful Taiwan program, through an agency in Seattle Washington...almost too good to be true. I made some phone calls to the agency, and then joined a yahoo group for those adopting from this agency, and then made a phone call to someone who had recently adopted from the program and viola we decided to go with them. I remember a friend telling me that she had heard from a social worker friend that if we were going to adopt from Taiwan we better do it quickly because many people were starting to jump ship from China to Taiwan agencies. So we took a leap of faith and had our paperwork in. We waited longer that anyone else at that point for a referral and then there were some bumps along the way.... (see my posts from December 2008)and then a really looooong court time until finally we traveled to get our Paige.

I remember the little deaths I would die each time we hit another road block- delay-problem. We thought at times we would never get our baby home. And finally we did.

A few months back, our agency stopped their Taiwan Program that we used. There were issues- questions - government problems.....and people on the wait list- the same wait list we died and lived by- just lingered- putting all their trust into this agency.
This past week, the main Taiwan contact person left the agency, and the information everyone got was- lies? incomplete? devastating to say the least- they don't know what the heck will happen to the program. Supposedly, the Taiwan agency doesn't want to work with this agency... Why can't the owner be honest and tell these people what the heck is going on.

Even though we have our daughter- It reminds us how close we came to no having her. I think there were only maybe 5ish more referrals after us....on boy- that was really close. How lucky we were to get her... I still can't help but feel devastated for the families still on that wait list that have been in limbo all these months waiting... International adoption takes a special type of person to see it through.. even with all the bumps and turns.

I hope that all those people get to bring their children home at some point- whether through that agency or with someone else. Hang in there friends.

Pumpkins, Pumpkins Pumpkins

2010-10-14T22:54:00.004-04:00

One of our favorite days of the year.Paige had a fun time this year -not so much picking out the pumpkins- but playing on all the stuff there.

Homecoming Day!

2010-10-13T05:25:00.002-04:00

Coleton turned down or anual trip to Montauk for the day just so he could be in the homecoming parade and go to the game. Go figure... Football all the time in the fall..Of course mommy took her camera minus her card and battery therefore no picts umless I used my cell phone but then not so good from that. Here is Pige and Coleton after the game!!!

Bye Bye Stiches

2010-10-08T19:30:00.000-04:00

Paige had her stiches out last week. The plastic surgeon was pleased with the results. He wants us to keep the bandage on until it falls off. She handled it all like a little trooper.

A wedding, and life

2010-10-06T23:12:00.003-04:00

Thank you everyone for your ideas about the biting.. So far there hasn't been anymore episodes. Daycare has been interesting so far this year. There are 2 totally different teachers in the room than when Paige started in September. The head teacher is really sweet and a mom herself with a child in the daycare. The newer lady....well let's just say the verdict is still out. She is older and doesn't give me that warm and fuzzy feeling. I will say though that Paige is cleaner since both took over. In the beginning she was coming home like she had been through a war..yuck! But lately she looks great and has even been sleeping a nice long nap and eating most of her food for lunch..

On another note. My nephew got married this weekend. My brother in law, my sister in law and my nephew Jacob (their 3 year old) came down from Canada. We had them over for dinner along with the bride and groom. It was good to see them and the wedding was really beautiful.
The Bride and Groom

Uncle Jim and cousin Jacob
Aunt Tova

Don't bite my kid!!!

2010-09-28T11:24:00.000-04:00

Last week at daycare Paige was bit 3 times by the same kid. What the heck??? I know the director spoke to the other mom and she is very upset. I know this is normal behavior for this age but come on--- stop biting my kid. The director told the other mom that if it happens one more time the kid is out... Expelled from preepree school?? That will be a story to tell him when he is 16.
I am pretty upset over this. I know that they are going to keep the boy away from Paige to help prevent this. Believe it or not both of my boy were in daycare- two different centers- and I never had this occur. Not sure really how to handle it. However- I know if it happens again and the kid is still there I will be looking for another center. What do ya think??

Oh here is a picture of Paige from Sunday- I don't know how she wound up looking this disheveled.

Happy Autumn Moon Festival-better late than never.

2010-09-26T21:40:00.004-04:00

ok so I still can't seem to get it together since returning to work. I guess it is the 3 nights a week immediately following work, football practice that just sucks away any free time I might have. I try to catch up my life on the 2 days we don't have football practice and then they are filled with dr. apts. or nail appointments (hey a girl gotta do what a girl gotta do), etc. Even though Autumn Moon festival was Saturday, we had to have moon cakes. I think it is fun to start to incorporate our own traditions in with the customs of Paige's native country. Voila- moon cakes and talking about the harvest moon and all the tradition that goes with it. Here is the recipe for my moon cakes- not sure where exactly I found this last year- but it is a yummy recipe. Traditional mooncakes do not have much of a taste- but these are good. My friend Michelle even filled hers with chocolate this year instead of jam. I use a williams Sonoma pan that I bought for this occasion- again my American version.
This year was kinda fun since Paige got to help mix the ingredients- and make a big mess- but she seemed to enjoy it.
I doubled this recipe because it didn't quite yield what it said.
Americanized Moon Cakes
> Ingredients:
> • 1/4 cup sugar
> • 2 egg yolks
> • 1/2 cup salted butter
> • 1 cup all-purpose flour
> • 1 cup strawberry (or your favorite) jam
> Directions:
> 1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
> 2. Combine the butter, sugar and 1 egg yolk and stir.
> 3. Mix in the flour.
> 4. Form the dough into one large ball and wrap it in
> plastic wrap.
> 5. Refrigerate dough for half an hour.
> 6. Unwrap the chilled dough and form small balls in the
> palms of your hand.
> 7. Make a hole with your thumb in the center of each
> mooncake and fill with about half a teaspoon of jam.
> 8. Brush each cake with the other beaten egg yolk and place on a cookie sheet.
> 9. Bake for about 20 minutes or just until the outside edges are slightly brown
> 10. Makes 24

2010-09-21T05:30:00.004-04:00

I know I have to older boys and you think I would be used to this stuff. Well, no it doesn't get easier and in fact I think we both felt more panicked this time. I'm talking about when your child needs stiches and bleeds a lot. Paige yesterday fell into the corner of our wall and wound up spitting her forehead open. Uggg. John picked her up from daycare as I was going to run to the grocery store... well I didn't make it to the store. We rushed her to the hospital and they called in a plastic surgeon. We had to leave the room and she was screaming her head off but then he said that she fell asleep and he was able to do a really good job on her repair. As far as scarring- it really depends on her skin and the way she heals. She can't get the bandage wet, which means that I don't know how I am gonna wash her hair for over a week..
I am sure this is one of many visits to the er with Paige. She was right back with running around and climbing and jumping all over the place when we got home last night. This girl has some spirit...

2010-09-17T12:16:00.001-04:00

You know how life gets once everyone is back into school. Well this was our first full week of work (for me), school for Kyle and Coleton, and daycare for Paige. Plus we had Coleton's back to school night on Monday - love his teacher(5th grade)- and then I had to go back to work on Tuesday for work for our back to school night. I feel like my house is a mess and I have a ton of clothes to put away. Last Saturday was our Little League trophy day- Coleton's team won first place in the playoffs (my dear husband coached). Then on Sunday Coleton had his first football game of the season. They won 27-0. Of course Paige was on each of these fields and had a great time running around.

Bye bye teenager

2010-09-16T20:54:00.003-04:00

Today was our son Kyle's birthday.He turned 20 today. Not sure where the time went. Yes he knows how to push every button but overall he is a good kid.. But 20?? That just can't be possible. I don't feel old enough to have a 20 year old. I remember being 20 for goodness sake. Happy Birthday Kyle!!!

GUILTY???

2010-09-09T17:13:00.000-04:00

Ya know there are alway discussions about leaving the kiddies while at work.. Good?? bad?? I have now had 2 boys in daycare and now my daughter is in daycare. Looking back at the boys, I feel that I did miss some things... not being class mommy, not going on class trips...but they are now at 20 and 10 extremely well adjusted kids. Maybe I did do something right after all. Now my daughter is almost 2 and when we adopted her last Summer (09) I took off 3 months with her.. She went into daycare, and she seemed well adjusted and thoroughly liked to be there. She still knew I was mommy, and dadddy was daddy.... she still gave me kisses and hugs,she learned sign language,and songs and had a great time everyday. So why now do I feel guilty that I have to leave her again this year?????

2010-09-07T22:21:00.000-04:00

First day of 5th grade for Coleton. First day of work for mommy.

It's over!!!

2010-09-06T20:28:00.002-04:00

Yup, summer is over for us.. Back to work for me tomorrow and back to school for my little guy. 5th grade for him. I can not believe he is going into 5th grade... where did the time go?? My older guy starts next Monday and he is now a Junior in College...Paige starts daycare next Monday too since hubby took this week off. I don't have students tomorrow just meetings in the a.m. and then first grade orientation. I teach math remediation for grades 1-5, therefore I will be handing out materials, and making sure all my teachers have what they need. This was a great summer with my kids- couldn't have asked for a better one. I loved being home with Paige, and it will be hard to leave her. So good buy summer 2010 and hello school year 2010-11.

Could you just eat her up????

2010-09-02T23:25:00.001-04:00

This was one of the photos that Jules' friend took. I referred to her site in the post below.. I can not wait to see her other pictures.

We are back

2010-09-01T21:43:00.006-04:00

Paige and Hayden in a photoshoot moment
Coleton amusing himself during the photo session.. What a boy to sit in public looking like this.

Coleton, Paige,Hayden and Ruby (just home from China in June)

We returned from our Texas trip last evening.We went to visit our friends. See Jules' blog here. We had an amazing time there and can't thank Jules, David and Hayden for a great time. We ate at this great place where there was fried chicken and fried steak (which is the first time I have ever had fried steak) with gravy, potatoes corn and biscuits. Great eating- of course my dear Paige was the one running all over the place. Coleton was in heaven because it seems that Dr. Pepper is the beverage of choice there and of course Jules indulged his every Dr. wimm

I met Jules' wonderful friends- 2 of whom have adopted children from China...Loved each and every one of her friends.

Then we did this great photoshoot with a great photographer who is also Jules' friend. You can check out her site here. Paige was on for about 20 minutes and then she had had it.... Hayden on the other hand is definitely not shy in front of the camera.
We checked out our location - shhh not telling yet- for our first annual Taiwan Rocks get together for next year... It is great and we can't wait to go back.

Hayden is such a riot. She has such a big personality. It is unbelievable the way she speaks. Her language skills are well above any 2 year old I know. Paige and Hayden had a blast together. I know Paige really enjoyed having her there all the time and especially in the car.

Coleton loved it there too- why shouldn't he- Jule's husband rocked in keeping him occupied in all things av.

Coming home on the plane was- welll- challenging. I couldn't have done it without my wonderful son. He really helped me sooooo much. On the plane ride home Paige cried almost the entire time. We flew AA and I wouldn't recommend bringing a car seat. There is no room for them and Paige is tiny and still didn't have any room to put her feet except on the chair in front. Needless to say the man in front of Paige was a real ass and instead of me telling her not to kick I let her go for it...

Texas was quite beautiful... not at all what I expected. I didn't see a lot of cowboy hats or boots and not one cactus..... We did see High School football fields that would put some college arenas to shame.
Thank you R family for hosting us... we miss you all already... we can't wait til next year.

Dallas Chicks...

2010-08-27T00:37:00.000-04:00

I'm off to see a friend for a few days in Texas with the kids. I am sooooo excited! It is amazing that friendships are formed through the use of technology and of course our common bond of adopting princesses from Taiwan. Jules and Hayden came to see us last Ocotber, and now I'm going there. I am a little nervous about the flying part- with Paige that is. Coleton is coming with and he is good at distracting her. So if anyone has any ideas about keeping a toddler calm on a plane tell me about it.
I won't blog from there- maybe some facebook posts. Jules has a lot planned and I can't wait to see the girls in action together.
Wish me luck....

What??? Only 2 more weeks? Working Mom again.

2010-08-24T23:55:00.005-04:00

Ok Ok- before I start whining all you working non- teachers might want to log off right now. Each year as our wedding aniversary passes I know that it is only a matter of time before my life goes back to schedules, juggling and sick days. I love having my summers off but just as we get into a routine of summer, it is time to go back to work.

Paige will be going back to her old daycare but in a different room with different teachers. I called the director yesterday to get all my dates scheduled and to finalize when Paige would be returning. This year she will start in the toddler room of 18-24 month children (5 of them) and then moving into a different toddler room around January that accomodates up to 36 months. She won't be napping when she feels like but rather on a schedule- ha good luck with that one- and on a cot, not in a crib- again, good luck with that one. She will be eating their provided lunch and snacks all at specific times. I always worried that the schedule thing will be the end to my kids whenever they went back to daycare (she grazes with snacks alllllll day). Ultimately she will adjust and be totally fine. I hope they are ready for her activity level because if anything, she has gotten more active.

Coleton got his teacher today, and the poor kid doesn't seem to have any of his good friends in class. I know he too will be fine, but I hate to see his dissapointment after so much excitement for getting his teacher assignment.

As for me- I will be going to my hole in the wall of a class next week to tidy it up and to meet with my principal about the changes that will be taking place in my math remediation world. I probably should blog more about what I do at work- some of the stories you just can't make up.
So good bye summer- Ok well not yet exactly........

Happy 28 years

2010-08-23T08:33:00.002-04:00

Ahhh Sweet marital bliss... mmmm, ok guys we are talking 28 years here. Yesterday me and my honey celebrated our aniversary. We went out to dinner- nothing fancy - to a little casual restaruant that we both love- and then to see a movie. We haven't been out together in a while so this was a nice night. We saw INCEPTION.... not sure if I totally understood it- very deep one of those with no real ending..please, we were both worried that if we could stay up til 11:00 watching this movie. Don't worry we did manage to stay awake and it was a really fun night.
Happy aniversary Honey!!

21 Months

2010-08-21T09:04:00.003-04:00

This little girl who came into our lives one year ago is 21 months today. She is sweet, funny, athletic, strong willed, smart and feisty. She is soooo my daughter. It amazes me that all the little boys (Coleton's friends) all want a sister just like her... really just like Paige not any different. Everyone wants to hold Paige -including the little kids-maybe it's her size???
Here are some new things she is doing this month:
blowing and giving smooooches... She will walk up to you and kiss you with a great big smooochie noise. When I yell at her for something she walks up to me and smooches -my leg-my arm-my hand- oh yes I guess I should put cunning? in the above description?
She is starting to put two or more words together- yesterday she said to Coleton -"come Coleton eat". She says Coleton's name like this- TEEEKA and Kyle's too. No matter how we try to have her say it differently.
If an airplane goes by in the sky she screams "AIRPLANE" and won't stop until someone acknowledges that yes there is an airplane.
She is swimming with her floaties like a fish- she hated her swim teacher that came to the house- cried for the entire time and would not do anything.
She is finally trying new foods- she now eats (drum roll please)- hotdogs-bologna (hey I will take it- it's protein), tuna fish, hamburgers(tiny bites if there is cheese). Still not gaining weight- still only 18 pounds 8 ounces but hey she has more energy than the bunny....
So here you have Paige at 21 months...........

Divine Intervention

2010-08-20T22:30:00.003-04:00

It is always an interesting experience when I go shopping with my daughter. No not interesting in the respect that she doesn't want to sit in her carriage anymore, or be held by me or anyone else for that matter. No, not that she is only a little over 18 pounds and squirms so much in you arms that your arms and wrists feel like they are going to explode from the tension of holding thus squirming child in such odd positions so that her head doesn't smash to the ground. No,not the experience of finally putting her down and then she runs away down the aisles that you have to leave, purse, shopping bag and whatever else sitting abandoned in aisle, in high persuit of this very quick child. No, the interesting experiences are usually from encounters with people.

The other night we ventured out to the store and the cashier who helped us asked me if Paige was adopted. Now - remember that I had just suffered through an hour of the above so my choices were A) ingnore her B.) tell her no C) It's none of your business or D) yes she is. I chose D - and I am glad I did. This young women proceeded to tell me about how she was adopted and was one of 15 adopted children. She told me how wonderful her parents were, how much she loved them and how race was a non issue in her multicultural family(she was african american). She said how happy Paige looked (even after the sweat was dripping from each of our brows due to our hour long wrestling match) and how she was sure Paige would grow up and love us as much one day as she loved her parents. ***Was she a plant from above sent to tell me this because I was having such crazy day????

Dragon Boat Races

2010-08-16T16:38:00.005-04:00

August has been all about being busy. We went last weekend to the Hong Kong Boat Races in Flushing New York with our good friends. It was interesting. We got to go to a park that I had never been to but have passed by hundreds of times on my way to and from airports, ballgames,and off Island. It was a beautiful park- surprising to this suburban girl- since it was located right under and around major highways and you could see the city buildings off in the horizon. We walked around, sampled some chinese food, and of course they had delicous BUBBLE TEA.
All the kids

Paige and Mia
You can see the races going on behind us.

Baseball still.

2010-08-12T08:30:00.000-04:00

Yes the past 2 weeks between trips and everything else, Coleton has been playing baseball and football. We are now officially out every night doing one sport or the other. Paige goes to every baseball game. She loves her brother soooo much. This week is Baseball playoffs. GO STALLIONS!!!

Summer Vacation

2010-08-11T07:53:00.006-04:00

Last week we did a few seperate trips. We went to Mystic Seaport and stayed overnight. We have been there several times, but Coleton didn't remember much from those past trips and of course Paige hadn't been there. It was "fun"- Paige loved the sealions and the whales. It was "interesting" traveling with a toddler. Let's just say John was driving around Conneticut at 2:00 in the morning trying to put Miss Paige to sleep.

Our second adventure was to Coopertown. You all know how much Coleton loves baseball and we have been promising.. so off we went to Cooperstown- 5 hours drive- in the middle of no where. It actually was a really nice town- not so stroller friendly but nice all the same. When we first got there we stopped at a Farmers Museum with live baby animals and a carousel and people dressed like they lived in the colonial times. We figured it would be good for Paige to run around before embarking into the Hall of Baseball. It was really nice and she did so enjoy the animals. The Hall of Fame was a bit challenging for her but we did it in two seperate visits. We stayed for a little over an hour the first time and then went back in the evening to finish for about 2 hours. Coleton loved it! This time she did sleep in the hotel without a problem.
On the way home we stopped at Howes Cavern. We had to carry her the whole time, and about half way through John had to take her out because she was screaming her head off. Oh the memories..... But Coleton and I finished it and it was very interesting.

Here are a few pictures fromt our adventures.

Family Day- one year

2010-08-06T10:23:00.003-04:00

Taiwan 2009
Home one year 2010
Today is a very special day. One year ago we got to meet Paige and we became a family of five. As I thought about what to write in this post it occurred to me that a year is not a really long time. It was like yesterday that we were waiting for little miss Paige to come home... oh and the endless wait I still remember so clearly- the rulings that took forever- the ups and downs of the wait- and then finally getting the final ruling and the travel plans made to go to Taiwan. Sometimes I still can not believe that we traveled to Taiwan and have Paige. If you had told me this would happen 5 years ago- I would have laughed at you and said "Yea right". I can not believe the paperwork and the hoops we had to jump through to have our little Paige. It was not an easy journey to adoption. I wish everyone could experience adoption- it is absolutely a journey of love- and when you finally have the child you are meant to have- love -pure love - no difference - amazing!!!!

We weren't supposed to pick up Paige until the 7th but there was a Typhoon coming in very strong. We had gone to breakfast and were preparing for a day of site seeing when our agency guide- Fion phoned us and told us we had to be ready in 2 hours to go to pick up our daughter. Oh my, I instantly went into a panic mode. What? I had 3 years to prepare for that moment and I still wasn't ready. Of course we were so excited that we were actually going to get her that day. But I had to write her birthmom a letter yet, wrap up all the gifts for the agency, the foster family and the birthmom as well as put the diaper bag together. All things I was planning on doing that night. But it all got done and 2 hours later in pouring rain we made the trek to Taichung.
When I think back to walking into the foster mom's home- seeing Paige in her arms I remember thinking OH MY GOD SHE IS SO TINY- her face is so tiny. Not really believing that we were going to take her home. The whole time in Taiwan , I kept thinking they would take her from us or that something would happen with our paperwork and she wouldn't be able to leave the country.

I think about her birthmom, and wonder if she thinks of her and if she was notified of the day we were going to pick her up.. and if she thinks of her on this day as well.

Today I look at Paige and she is so perfect to me. Our first meeting went so smoothly. I was prepared for tears and tantrums, but got smiles and hugs instead. Paige never really had visible grieving- yet we could see how much Mrs. Lou loved her and how she loved Mrs. Lou (her foster mom). Today Paige has such a beautiful relationship with her brothers. She adores them, and they her. She loves us too with her kisses and her sweet hugs.

I struggle whether to mark this day or not. Some feel that by marking this day it celebrates a day of grieving. For us it has meaning for our family. Here is how I feel. It is a special day to our family. Paige had already been away from her birthmom. She didn't struggle with leaving her foster mom. We didn't leave Taiwan for a few days after that, so she didn't lose her country on that day.It is the day that we met, and I hope that it will be special to Paige as well as she gets older.

It is on this day that we will give her one of the several gifts that we purchased for her in Taiwan. We probably won't start until she is about 5. Coleton said that is not fair- it is like 2 birthdays for her... it really is but think how many months she didn't have the benefit of our family. Our boys got to come home with us right away, they didn't lose their birthmom- so yes this day is special to their sister. I make no apologies to this difference. Coleton thought about this and he agreed, and he understands that there is this slight difference in his sister's life. This is all part of her story. So with this being said- we will be marking this as a special day for Paige.

Happy 1st family day our dear daughter Paige Min Shan. We love you so much!

Misery Loves company

2010-07-26T20:59:00.001-04:00

It is amazing that even though Paige is our third child it feels like she is our first. Or should I say- good thing she wasn't our first child. This little one is so active she doesn't stop from morning to night- ok fine I can do that but the climbing oh boy. She will climb the stair case in 2 seconds flat, be on my kitchen table or center island in 1 second flat or climbing up the playset in a blink of the eye. She loves to reach her hands up to the counter and grab anything she can find. Paige is definately a tornado in any room. However, it is quite comforting to know that my fellow blogger mommies are experiencing the same thing. Is it because they are girls???? or what???? My boys never climbed like this. So yes misery loves company. I am so glad that many others are going through this too. I have semi-solved the table thing... I have to lean my chairs in and then she doesn't attempt to climb the tables, and for the stairs - I use a bungy cord so that she can't slide the gate over.. Yes- though- when she gets caught on one of her climbing escapades, she will look at you and smile and say "HI HI" so of course how can you be mad at such a cutie???

This is how I have to arrange my chairs each day so Paige doesn't climb

Engagement Party

2010-07-25T21:18:00.004-04:00

My niece Kaitlyn is getting married next spring. This weekend we went to her engagement party held in my brother's backyard. It was sooooo hot and humid but we had fun. Of course I didn't get a picture of Kate and her fiance or very many other pictures. So here are the few that were taken.
This is Kaitlyn with my mom.

Taiwan Rocks 1st annual get together

2010-07-23T16:17:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago, some of my mamma friends that have children from Taiwan decided to have an annual get together of families that adopted from Taiwan- no matter what agency they used. Of coure I wanted to help and soon the plannin of this fantastic event has begun. So those of you who have children from Taiwan - start saving your money now- or use frequent flier miles- but truly try to get to this. We are going to hold it in a different place ever year- this year it is in Dallas Tx. We are getting a feel of which of 3 weekends is good for most people. March 25-27 or May 27-29 or August 12-14 all in 2011. The location will be in a super duper family, friendly location too. We will let everyone know the location and details soon. But right now anyone that hasn't voted on a weekend please leave a comment here and tell me what works best for you.. Hope you all will be able to make it...

20 months

2010-07-21T01:03:00.007-04:00

Last year at this time we were waiting anxiously for word of final ruling. I still can not believe that this year Paige fills up our every day. We took her last week to the doctor for her next round of shots. She was a few months behind of schedule because of all her ear infections over the winter. Believe it or not Paige gained a pound. She is now 18.8 lbs and 31 inches tall. She is still not on the American charts but she is growing steadily. It is amazing that she is now turning into a little girl.
Today will be day 3 of no more bottles. I decided on Monday that we needed to get rid of them. Both My boys stopped bottles at age one and since Paige drinks out of all types of cups and with straws I knew she was ready. It really hasn't been that hard. We threw the bottles in the garbage together and said bye bye babas. (of course I dug them out just in case while she wasnt looking). She will still ask for BABA but I remind her we threw them out and then ask her if she wants a drink and Paige will usually say YES.
So this month my girl is repeating all types of words including Sh-t, and cr-p. (So proud of her). She says "watsup" with a nod of her head and rap sings and dances like a good gansta (Thank you big brother Coleton). Paige hides behind her hands when I tell her no or reprimand her- we remind her that we can still see her of course. When she grabs something she shouldn't have ( like my iphone) and I catch her as I head towards her to get it, she quickly runs in the opposite direction and throws whatever it is I want back- great when we are on cement. Paige loves to swim, and it is so much fun to watch her in the pool enjoying herself. She climbs up the playset in 2 seconds flat- giving this mommy a heart attack- to go flying down the slide- literally catapulting 3 feet from the bottom because she is so little. It is almost impossible to go food shopping or shopping anywhere these days because the princess does not like to sit in her carriage or shopping cart.
But the best part is that Paige loves us all so much. She gives big hugs and big kisses and when I hear MOMMMMY in the morning from her crib I can not help but feel like the luckiest person in the world.

1st Dance class

2010-07-20T17:11:00.002-04:00

Ok so it was really a Mommy and me dance class. Or as it turned out by the end a Coleton and Paige dance class. Byt the end Coleton stepped in to lead Paige because she does so like to follow whatever he does. He is such a great big brother. There was only one other little girl in the class. The teacher tried to engage miss Paige but those of you that know Paige know that she has a mind of her own. She did relativly well for this one. We signed up for three more summer sessions. Oh Yea,....bad mommy had her tutu on inside out- go figure- thanks Jo and Michelle for the dance attire....:)

Baseball buds

2010-07-16T13:38:00.005-04:00

During Coleton's travel baseball games Paige and Tyler(one of the other player's brother)- are too cute as they hang out together. They start out not wanting to do anything with each other and usually end up like this.

Beach Day!!

2010-07-16T13:32:00.002-04:00

Even though we live on an Island, yesterday was the first time I took Paige to the beach. It was the Bay side- so she would walk up to the water but then back away. She did however love the sand and I was amazed that she didn't throw any. We had such a great time hanging with some work friends that we don't get to see much over the summer. Coleton had a great time too because he had buddies his age to play with.

The news boy

2010-07-13T07:58:00.000-04:00

Kyle always has had a knack for finding odd jobs- especially within his area of interest- journalism. This time he has connected with the new start up enterprise owned by AOL. It is an online news site. He writes and takes pictures and gets paid quite well for it. I have included the link to this site here.

Also, he did a photo shoot for an advertising agency advertising his college. He did a whole photo shoot last winter in SOHO with makeup- hair- and wardrobe...
The ad campaign is now in our mall. The posters are huge and are located in center court. I have a picture here from my iphone so it is not so great.