Does unpacking EVER end?!?

 
 

Who knew we had this much stuff?? In all honesty, most of this stuff that we moved to this new home is my husband's and Emma's....i have clothes (umm, yeah, a lot of those...) and shoes (okay, yeah, a lot of shoes, too...), my 6 precious llardo pieces and my cookbooks (i LOVE me some cookbooks, especially with photos!). Oh, and a painting that i bought for me with my Mom before she passed away. Oh, almost forgot, about 20 (yeah, yeah...) plants. That's it. Really. Never mind, i DO have a lot of stuff...but i've made a promise to myself that whatever isn't unpacked in three months is outta here. If i didn't need it in those three months, the chances that i need it are slim to none.

It doesn't feel like home here yet...i guess that will take time. Something has kinda surprised me, though....when i bought my first house, i had neighbors who brought me fresh baked cookies, a welcome basket and who offered friendship. I made many friends that i wouldn't normally have had the chance to make. I decided that i would do that, too, be a 'welcome to the neighborhood' girl for the next new neighbor. And i did. It seemed like the friendly thing to do: to welcome a newcomer into your neighborhood. And really, it was fun to get to meet my new neighborhood families. At my next home, i was happily greeted the same way and i did the same to other new neighbors. But here, well, i haven't seen anyone. No one. Not one person. Wait a second, i did yesterday-i saw a woman with a child in a stroller. Had i been dressed, lol, i would have ran out, chased her down and introduced myself. My husband tells me that the "Welcome Wagon" is a thing of the past and that most families are so busy working and taking care of children, well, they just don't have time to do the things that they use to do. Perhaps he's right, but i hope not. I guess i'm going to have to go out and knock on some of my neighbor's doors and introduce myself...

These two rooms are my favorite so far...but of course, how in the heck do you decorate on slanted walls?? The second photo is part of my (i mean, "our") bedroom--i love those windows. I should take a photo of the garage with all of the boxes stacked, just waiting for me....

Back to my boxes....

Packing up baby stuff....

 

...has been kinda sad and fun for me. Fun in that i see how much Emma has grown and sad that, well, she's not a baby anymore. I have loved each stage of Emma so far, but i tell you, as she gets into being two years old and quite chatty, i've noticed that she can be a drama queen when she's tired. ;)

So many little socks, so many outfits that i 'had' to have for her. Little hats, baby toys, bibs...you name it, i still have it. I found a friend in my MOPS group who can use the 9 month to 12 month stuff so i've passed it on to her. And yes, that was after i picked two outfits to keep: the one that she is wearing in this photo (we had our first meal as a family in Guatemala when she was dressed in that!) and her Guatemala dress that we had her first photos taken in.

AAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!! My husband just called me to give me some 'wonderful' news. The movers that he told me were coming NEXT Friday? THEY. ARE. COMING. THIS. FRIDAY.

Well, enough of my trip down baby memory lane...i gotta get packin'!

Who is that??

 

BEEP!! BEEP!!! A DORA UPDATE!! BEEP!! BEEP!!

Thank you to my friend Amy who sent me this story from yahoo! We can all apparently relax now! Here's what the article on yahoo said:

Mattel and Nickelodeon both say there are two major misconceptions about the new Dora, which is not replacing the "Dora the Explorer" cartoon, but will be a new interactive doll aimed at 5- to 8-year-olds.

"People care so deeply about this brand and this character," Leigh Anne Brodsky, president of Nickelodeon Viacom Consumer Products, says. "The Dora that we all know and love is not going away."

"I think there was just a misconception in terms of where we were going with this," Gina Sirard, vice president of marketing at Mattel, says. "Pretty much the moms who are petitioning aging Dora up certainly don't understand. ... I think they're going to be pleasantly happy once this is available in October, and once they understand this certainly isn't what they are conjuring up."

Part of the confusion stemmed from the silhouette that was released, which made Dora look more like a Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan than a young girl. For the record, the doll does not wear a short dress, but a tunic and leggings. And while she looks older (she's supposed to be about 10), with longer jewelry and longer hair, she doesn't have makeup and seems pretty much like a 10-year-old girl.

Nickelodeon and Mattel say that as part of unrelated research, they found parents wanted a way to keep Dora in their children's lives and have their daughters move on to a toy that was age appropriate.

"The idea is Dora for more girls," Brodsky says. "The whole point was this was created because moms said help us."

But the new version is a significant switch from the Dora many preschoolers have known, aging her so the kids who tend to drop Dora once they hit kindergarten and first grade remain connected to the new character, who has a new group of girlfriends to go exploring with (Sorry, but Boots, the Map, Swiper and other characters from the show didn't make the transition)."




Since becoming a Mommy, my TV habits have changed. I didn't watch a lot of TV, but i love the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, and of course, my all time fav~The Food Network Channel. Yep, it's like porn to me. :) Give me a Chef baking something or a Food Network Challenge, or better yet, "The Ace of Cakes" show, and i'm in heaven! But since Emma, well, the TV is rarely on and when it is on, it's to watch Dora. I have to be the oldest Dora fan in the history of the Dora Show. I know ALL of the characters (Dora, Boots, Tico, Benny, Isa, Swiper...you get the picture, right?), can sing ALL of the little songs ("SWIPER, NO SWIPING!!" & "I need YOUR help!"), and can sing all of the Spanish parts! Emma and i, well, love the show.

Until i heard the horrible, terrible, upsetting news....they are changing my little Explorer, Dora.

She's apparently growing up....you know, that pre-teen thing? Only, i've never seen a "pre-teen" look like this photo of the "new" Dora. They've not released what Dora will look like...giving us only this shadow photo. I'm heartbroken as Dora now looks like a freakin' Bratz doll. (You know, the hooker-look-alike-doll?) Dora will now live in the dang city, and will still 'explore'. Yeah. Sure. Explore what? The subway system? No word yet on her best bud, Boots, but somehow, wellll, i don't see Boots being a part of this new gig. Which is also very sad....Boots may be unemployed. No word on Tico the squirrel, Benny the Bull, Isa nor Swiper, either. I just don't see how a story line can work with Benny the Bull in the big city.

Why can't they just leave things alone? Apparently, this change is so "Dora can grow up with her friends". If you read between the lines, what the change hopes to accomplish is to get folks to spend MORE money on Dora stuff as she is now suppose to appeal to a larger, preteen audience.

I don't like change. Especially this one.

I'm sad now....good thing we have oh, about a gazzillion (not to be confused with "Trillion" that is the US deficit...) Dora movies to watch over and over....and over again.

Run away, Dora....and take your friends with you! Stay in the country (or is it a jungle??) with your friends and keep being the Explorer!

We closed!

 

 

 

 

Today went well...the walk-thru at the house was fun for Emma and i, who chased and played while Robert and the builder did the work. The closing was, well, not exactly "fun" since you're signing your name about a hundred times, but Emma was a doll and so well behaved today. Emma played chase with one of the men who were working on finishing the punch list at the house and was even great at the closing. Of course, she had crayons, Little People to play with, snacks, her stuffed animal, and books. Oh, yes, i was prepared. She saved her melt-down for us when we were on our way back to the house, lol...

Here's what the new home looks like...the photos really don't do the light of the house justice. My favorite room? The bathroom where the tub is...and of course, the laundry room. :)

Now comes the hard part...finishing the move.

Seriously? Snow??

 

It's snowing. Here. Did someone forget to tell Mother Nature that i was expecting Spring and not more of Winter?!?

I have to say, though, it's beautiful. Big, fluffy snowflakes....i'm sure that it's going to stop soon, but for now, i'm enjoying the snow. You know, inside with a cup of yummy hot chocolate while my little one is at her Mother's Day Out class. This photo was taken last year when it snowed...it's one of my favorite photos of little Emma looking out at her favorite window.

We close on the house tomorrow. Robert is so excited that he can't stand himself. And i'm sick to my stomach seeing how much i have left to pack! Really, how can two adults and one little child have so much stuff?? The little child has a lot more stuff than i thought....but i've managed to find someone who was thrilled to have Emma's 9 month and 12 month clothes so i did clear out a lot of stuff. Emma can still wear 18 month clothes so i'll hang on to those for now. Lots of things have been donated, lots of things have been given away. I am hoping that we will be totally in the other house by the end of the month. I'm happy that this new, large backyard of ours has a wonderful black iron fence~i think that we'll be spending a lot of time out there...

I thought that it was interesting that we are closing on this house on Friday, the 13th. We also came home with Emma on a Friday, the 13th. I guess that's our new lucky day? ;)

Off to pretend that i don't have a lot to do....hehee...

Better late than.....

 

 

 

 

...even later. :)

Here are some 2nd Emma birthday photos. In all of my rush to pack the house for moving day, i managed to pack the camera. Which is insane as i have the camera near at all times. You know, just in case something happens or my cute little 'terror-tot' does something REALLY special that only a photo could capture!

Today was Emma's second year wellness doctor appointment. All went very well...she's 33 inches tall (35%) 22.8 lbs (21%). My favorite part of our appointment is when the doctor was looking in Emma's ears and Emma asked her "What are you doin'?" I could barely stop my laughter. Emma was chatty and interested in the room and in the toys that they gave her to play with. The best part of the appointment was finding out that we (okay, that "I") was apparently incorrect about Emma having a lazy eye. It seems that when a child has a broad bridge nose, that it sometimes appears that they have a lazy eye. Our doctor had a flashlight thingy that she spotlighted on both of Emma's eyes and the white dot was in the middle of both of them! Yeah, there is a really fancy name for the optical illusion of the lazy eye thing, but i can't remember it. It seems though, that this happens with many Asian and Latino children. So, good news for us...but we are following up with an eye doctor at Vanderbilt at our doctor's request.

Of course, i was chastised (and rightly so....sigh) about Emma still having a night-time bottle. Yes, she can drink from a sippy cup....she does it all during the day and at preschool. But i haven't stopped the night-time bottle. I did, however, get praise for Emma's teeth brushing routine (in the am and in the pm after the bottle) so it wasn't a total 'bad Mommy' visit for me. Emma even showed the doctor how she brushes her teeth! :) Robert or i read to her before bedtime and then she cuddles on my lap with a 6 oz bottle. She holds my hand, pats my face, looks into my eyes...afterwards, we cuddle for a bit on the big rocking chair and then go brush teeth. Then it's off to bed. I have to admit, it's one of my favorite parts of the day with Emma....

I really thought a lot today about why i haven't changed our night time bottle routine. I finally realized that i so want to enjoy and remember every single moment that i am holding Emma back. Emma will more than likely be my only child-but i'm not doing my job by not letting her advance the way she can. I remember growing up, my Mother always wanted me to slow down, to stay home with her or to not do something that i thought would be so 'great' to do. Now i see why...but my job as a mother is to prepare Emma for the world and not keep her in a glass house. I am sometimes breathless when i look at her little face--so innocent and beautiful. But by keeping my arms around her tightly, i fear that i will make her be like how i was growing up--always fighting for room to grow. Or maybe that is just how children push away from their parents to learn how to grow into young adults and towards their own lives?

Lots to think about....

Feelin' like....

 

the most horrible mother ever. EVER.

Robert is in FL for some kind of convention. Emma and i have been on our own for almost five days now...Emma keeps asking for him. "Wheres dada? Dadadaaa?" she'll ask frequently during the day. Yeah, he's the 'fun' one, i'm the diaper changin' lady, the stuffed animal finder, book reader and food giver. ;) Emma and i have kept busy...me by packing stuff for our move and Emma by "unpacking" stuff that i pack. Needless to say, not much has gotten done.

This afternoon, i could tell that Emma was ready for her nap. We were both on the floor and she was playing with her barrel full of monkeys (she knows all of the colors and numbers, btw!) and she was getting frustrated as she couldn't get the lid on the top of the barrell. Finally, frustration won, and she threw the barrell lid and turned around and hit me in the face, catching the corner of my eye. I sat there, completly stunned. I sat up, grabbed her arms and said sternly, "Emma, we do not hit. Hitting hurts." She tried to hit me again...so i picked her up and carried her upstairs. She was very upset, screaming for Paci, her beloved stuffed pink elephant. I got her to her crib, put her in it and told her that it was nap time. I then closed the door to her crying....

....and sat on the other side of the door and cried along with her. Within 5 minutes, it was competley silent in Emma's room. I went down stairs and got Paci, went back to Emma's room and snuck in. She was asleep, cuddled up in her cute sleeping position with her tush in the air. I put Paci under her arm, smoothed her hair, covered her up and silently apologized for getting angry.

Still, I was upset...upset that i got angry that she hit me. I know that Emma doesn't mean it...she's a child, and she's frustrated that she can't speak yet and get the words out that she needs--and it was naptime. But i was ashamed. Ashamed that i was angry at my little daughter. It's not the first time that she's hit me--i had a conversation with her preschool teacher to ask about her hitting and she said that she's only seen Emma hit once in the entire time that she's been there. She hit a little girl named Julie after Julie hit her in the face, trying to get a toy that Emma had. Emma has never hit her teachers. She did tell me that it is a phase that children sometimes go through, for me not to be upset about it and that Emma would grow out of it. A friend of mine that i spoke to about this said that her son also is a hitter. The only thing that has gotten her son's attention is when they spank him on the tush for hitting. I don't think that approach is going to work for me--spanking a small child because she hit? I'm going to spank her on the tush to get my point across that you shouldn't hit?

So, i'm feelin' yucky.

I'm off to find some chocolate. I hope that there's some in this house....and that i haven't packed it.

Have you seen this little girl?

 

This photo was taken last year on Emma's birthday. I love this photo of her...but this little baby, has grown into a little girl. She isn't a baby anymore....and while that makes me a little sad, seeing this new phase of her life has been amazing. Her vocabulary is expanding and i'm amazed to watch her speak. Today was a day of a lot of firsts:

~Today after Mother's Day Out, Emma walked down all of the stairs to the parking lot, holding my hand. Usually, she gets on her bottom at each stair, but not today.

~She brought me her favorite book and handed it to me and said " Weed Gooonitee Gorrilllla". (Read Goodnight, Gorrilla).

~Tonight, as i was finishing up laundry, she came to me, smiled and said "i poopy". She was rubbing her eyes, so i asked her if she was ready for nite-nite. She said "wes" and started gathering all five of her Backyardigans and Cupcake the Pink Elephant and started up the stairs to her room. And it was only 6:45pm!!!!

It's been a very good day....

A Valentine's Surprise!

 

Well, not exactly a "Valentine's Day Surprise", but Emma's Certificate of Citizenship showed up the day before Valentine's Day. We have been patiently (okay, okay, not so much) waiting for the COC for almost 9 months now. In the state of TN, when you re-adopt a child, they automatically become American Citizens, but i just wanted that COC paper! We have two steps left: one, a ss card and a passport. I've applied now for the ss card and the woman at the SS office promised me that it won't take nearly the time that it took to get the COC!

Valentine's Day was nice...i made cupcakes and we had dinner out at Chef's. It was a good day. And of course, Emma and i got flowers from Robert. Emma made a frame for us at her preschool class--Emma and i delivered it to Robert's office and he managed to keep it before i could take a photo of it.

Birthday photos to follow....yes, my little one is now TWO YEARS OLD. :))

Behind door number 1....

 

We (okay, 'i') am at what feels like a frantic pace. It's now official and unless something totally unforseen happens, we will be moving. Moving from a home that i love, a house that we brought Emma home to, a home where we became a family. I love the house we are in now. This house has amazing windows where you can see the tops of the trees; when i sit on the back deck, it's almost like sitting in a tree house. Lots of windows and lots of light. My plants are happy here. Our house is very close to Moss Wright Park...which is such a nice park to walk to with Emma. There are nature trails, a doggy park, and of course, a play ground. Can you tell that i don't want to leave?

The thing is, it's a wonderful house that we are moving to. It has a big fenced in back yard, which we don't have now. It's in an amazing school district for Emma. It's close the the YMCA. Lots of churches near by. It's an amazing investment for us. Robert is so excited about this new house that he is acting like a little kid. And i do love the kitchen. And the master bath. But honestly? I feel like the wet blanket on this little move of ours. I have seemed to finally settle in and have made a few friends. I have always had a lot of aquaintences, but few close friends. I'm a slow friend maker, lol...but i belong to a MOPS group that i truly enjoy, i have neighbors that are truly nice and look out for me and i can find my way around without getting lost (at least i don't get lost on MOST days!). I love the folks a the Publix where i shop. I found a wonderful dry cleaners here and enjoy talking to the woman who ownes it. I even know the folks at the post office!

Oh, and of course, i feel guilty for feeling that this is a wonderful move for Robert and Emma and not for me. It's not about me. Right? It's about my family and where it's best for us to be as a family. So, i have basically two doors--
behind door number one, i can just say out loud that i hate this idea of moving and go kicking and screaming like a small child. Or, behind door number two, i can decide that i will make the best of this move because it is the best move for Robert and Emma. And really, with the economy the way it is right now, we are lucky to be able to move.

Yeah, not much choice in how i should pull up the big girl panties and get on with it, right?

The painters have been here for a week and are done with the upstairs and the main floor. They are now working on the basement and garage area. I do have to say, this group of painters has been wonderful. They are on time, work quickly and of course, have entertained Emma when she HAS to see what they are doing. She tells them "Hola!" every morning! So very cute, lol...

....all that is pretty much left is to pack and organize. We close on this house in March so time is ticking away. I still have a few closets to do and a lot of other general packing. I really wish that i could do the nose twiting thing and have the house packed....like the "Bewitched" show? :)) I have gotten rid of a lot of stuff....Robert's records (we never, ever played them....), books were donated, furniture donated and i'm going through Emma's baby clothes. Luckily there is a MOPS mom in my group who can use the clothes, so they will go to her and her little one.

I gotta go get Emma....she has learned to open the door to the basement a few days ago and i'm sure that she wants to visit with our painters!