Sunday, November 22, 2009

We Have (another) Crib (finally)!

Well, #2 might have little else, but he/she will have a place to sleep at least! Yesterday, Sam and I drove down to Sunrise to pick Elise up from her Women of Faith conference and hit up Ikea at the same time. We purchased a crib for #2. Sam picked out to tiny stuffed animals for 50 cents a piece as a present, too.

Afterwards, we grabbed a bite at a pizza joint around the corner. Evidently, it was a hang out for hockey fans (Yes! hockey fans in S. Fla!) and the Florida Panthers were on all the big screen TVs. There were even cheerleaders there and Stanley, the 6 foot guy in the panther suit. Sam didn't know what to make of Stanley. It was really his first encounter with a giant moving stuffed animal since he hasn't been to Disney yet and he wasn't too thrilled when he sat down at our table and started to eat our pizza.

Sam fell asleep on the way home, but the mission was a success. Now if I can just find time to put the thing together!

Boy's Night!


Elise went to Sunrise to attend the annual Women of Faith conference. Sam and I stayed home, drove around with the windows down and listened to the Zac Brown Band on full blast. Here is a shot of our Friday night dinner, a big pile of Man-food! The next best thing to a 2 LB Hungryman!

Sunday, November 15, 2009

A New Perch



No matter how old the house there is always a new spot to play with a little imagination. The other day Sam and I discovered that the windowsill in his room is quite a bit wider than in ours. The perfect spot to sit and watch the rain pour down. So we tested it out again the other day to show dad when the breeze and sunlight was streaming through the window after Sam's nap. And look who's coming around to having his picture taken! I thought for sure I had the curse of the photographer's child! Now I can't keep him out from in front of the camera when I'm taking photos of anything but him. :)












Feeling 'Normal'

This has been a bittersweet weekend in our house. Sweet because the weather is beautiful and we have spent so much time inside, but sad because we are missing a member of our family this weekend.

The neighborhod next to our slum, Valencia, had a neighborhood-wide garage sale yesterday morning. We cut short Sam's Saturday morning cartoons to hurry over and see if we could find anything good. Valenica is the known for its multi-million dollar mansions, so we were hoping to find a barely-used Bellini crib, McClarren stroller that hadn't been recalled or something--anything!-- for #2. Alas, the pickings were slim. Sam had fun wandering from garage to garage, playing with other kids toys. We didn't even have to buy him anything as long as we stopped long enough for him to peruse the wares. Everyone was kind enough to let him test out all the toys without actually purchasing anything.

After our morning jaunt to Bucky's we drew sidewalk chalk figures in front of our house. We had an albino tree frog perched outside our front door for a few days a week or two ago and everytime Sam and I saw it we said, "No no no, Mr. Frog, you don't come in our house." So everytime Sam sees a frog now, he wags his finger at it and reminds it, "No no no." So I drew a frog and Elise drew an umbrella sheltering the sidewalk from pink heart-shaped raindrops.

After naps, we embarked on a photo shoot. The results posted below. We capped off a beautifully mellow day with a platter filled with homemade nachos. Elise and I sat at the dinner table and Sam sat by himself at the counter. Not exactly the perfect family meal dynamic, but the most tranquil and most family-like dinner we have had in awhile. At least he wasn't clamoring to get up in Elise's lap for the umpteenth night in a row.

I am thankful for everything we have, but especially thankful that I have a goal to work toward. It frees my mind from the spiralling trap of worry and negative thoughts and allows me to appreciate skipper-dees basking on the trail in the noon sun and a beer that feels well deserved for a change. We have a long road ahead of us, but we have an even longer road behind us in a car with no rear mirror.

32 Weeks


Another guest appearance by Mr. Paul Hanna Behind the camera. Can this guy quit his job already and become my full time assistant? Sheesh!
Feeling good. I head to the doctor tomorrow for updates and to try to convince my OB to let me deliver this kid before the new year. Wish me luck! This child is kicking me like a madman (or woman) whatever the case may be. Sam is beginning to like the belly and occasionally just wanders right up and pats me on the stomach or gives the baby a kiss. Too cute! We are prepping him by pointing to every baby everywhere in the world and reminding him that we will be 'receiving' one of those at our house soon. Hmmmm should we bring a toy doll home or something like they do for dogs? :) Kidding. All sibling rivalry shall reveal itself in due time. We are excited, not as nervous as we should be and elated that we get to have two of these smiling, giggling little people in our house soon.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

I PASSED!

So I passed Oral! I don't exactly knows what this means yet but we are excited and nervous and...oh did I mention excited! It just gives us one more option moving forward.

Monday a.m. Virginia Ave D.C.


6:45 a.m. on my way to the Oral Assessment, Annex 1, Washington D.C.

Lazy Sunday Morning




Recently, I flew to Washington D.C. for two days to sit for my Oral Assessment to join the Foreign Service. I had to get up at 4 a.m. on Sunday to catch my plane, leaving Sam and Elise to an extra day of morning toons. These shots are of Sam taking awhile to get going. I don't know if you can see it or not, but there is a tiny feather attached to his tizu (tooshie in Arabic) in the first shot. Elise told me he picked it up from one of the pillows and that he looked like a little bird.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Puddle Jumper

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Don't Miss The Bus!














Words and stories to follow.....