La Mama China

a new school year

2010-01-22T22:50:00.000-05:00

August also meant the start of a new school year.

For Xixi, it was a new school

And for Cristina, it was third grade

8

2010-01-22T22:29:00.004-05:00

My big girl turned 8 in August

We had a cake for her on the ship

and one when we got home

catching up continued.....

2010-01-19T23:06:00.009-05:00

Third port was Belize and this time the three of us went on an adventure together. We hiked into the jungle and went cave tubing. Our guide was Joel, what a nice guy! He carried Xixi all the way to the river.

Cristina had her own tube tied to mine and Xixi sat on my lap. The caves were gigantic and it was pitch black!

I'm not sure what happened but the following day I woke up feeling terrible. We arrived in Cozumel so we got off the ship and took a taxi cab downtown. I hated it! I used visit Cozumel when I got my scuba certification in the mid 1980's and it was a lush and sleepy little island surrounded by beautiful reefs. Fast forward a few hurricanes and the island has been completely built up all - it's called insurance money. It was sad. So I went and got myself some antibiotics at the drug store and headed back to the ship to sleep. The girls were also excited about going back to camp.

The last day of the cruise was out at sea and I spent much of the day asleep or reading, the girls happy to be at camp.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-18T18:56:00.011-05:00

So the year starts with all kinds of new resolutions and one of mine is to start blogging again.
Being the procrastinator that I can sometimes be, I finally ran out of excuses not to start, so here I is.

So where do I begin? well, how about where I left off which was back in the summer, the first day of summer to be e xact....

The summer was dreadfully hot and mostly uneventful. We spent most of our time swimming and grilling outside. In August we took a 7 day cruise to coincide with Cristina's 8th birthday. I was kind of apprehensive being on a ship for 7 days with these two but it turned out to be more than great! The three of us had an awesome time - together and separately.

The first port of call was Georgetown, Grand Cayman. Xixi stayed at the ship's camp while Cristina and I went snorkeling.

We found an outfit that took us out to some of the shallower reefs and to Stingray City. As soon as we jumped off the back of the boat, we were greeted by a bunch of hungry stingrays. These things were incredible, they rubbed themselves all over you. We learned that they should be held with arms out as if you were holding a pizza. Their mouth is at the bottom.

This one took both of us to hold it.

Our next port of call was Roatan, one of the bay island of Honduras. I've always wanted to dive Roatan so that day, I left both girls at camp and did it. I didn't get any pictures of my morning on the reef with West End divers, but being underwater was beautiful, peaceful and relaxing. I only wish I had had more time to spend, but I'm already working on that. I got back to the ship with enough time to disembark the girls and go for a walk around the island.

Here's Xixi telling the natives how it is. Look at her expression and her assertive little finger.

Tomorrow, Belize, turning 8, 3rd grade....

a slow return

2009-10-28T21:46:00.003-04:00

Well, yes... I did take quite a respite from blogging. I think I'll blame it on Facebook. I don't know what possessed me to join but I did and it became well... annoying. Sure, it was cool catching up with some dear old friends and family that I hadn't seen in ages but it also got... annoying. I'm just not suited for knowing what everyone I know is doing every minute of the day. I also found myself getting heated up about political crap that frankly I don't give a crap about.

So, I've decided I'm much better suited for one way conversation, namely from me and about my girls (and me). I'm taking my 'free' internet time to continue documenting for them our everyday life.

It's a great time of the year to start again and this is Halloween weekend, so pictures to come...

hoedown throwdown

2009-06-21T22:44:00.005-04:00

We're not Hannah Montana fans here so poor Cristina didn't really know this dance... but she did a great job keeping up!

Ohmmmmmmmmm

2009-06-21T22:41:00.003-04:00

mini pro

2009-06-21T11:45:00.006-04:00

I went to see Xixi during the tennis lessons she's getting at camp and I have to say I was really impressed with her maturity.

You have to admit, she's the best dressed one in the group.

takes the stretching seriously

good eye contact

and balance.

keeping hydrated

week 1 at CLH

2009-06-21T11:29:00.006-04:00

Week one at CLH has passed and Cristina is loving it. She even asked to stay at Thursday night's campover. It's amazing what a difference a year made. The last few years at CLH I felt that Cristina was not really enjoying it because she's so shy. But now at almost 8, she's slightly out of her shyness and was happy to see her campmates again.

2008

2009

Closing ceremony, Cristina carrying the orange unit flag

fetishes

2009-06-21T11:25:00.002-04:00

Xixi and I share these traits ~ we're neatniks and love shoes

mango mania

2009-06-19T22:32:00.005-04:00

It's mango season in S. Florida and our little tree has been quite fruitful!

I've made all kinds of goodies. Xixi approved of the mango ice cream.

comparing moustaches

2009-06-19T22:30:00.002-04:00

Xixi and Papi on Memorial Day

Silly songs

2009-06-19T22:22:00.003-04:00

To end the school year, the West Lab kids put on a silly songs show. Cristina's class sang 'I've Gotta Crow" from Peter Pan.

Naturally
When I discover the cleverness of a remarkable me,
How can I hide it
When deep down inside it just tickles me so
That I've gotta let go and crow!

goodbye crib

2009-06-19T22:17:00.005-04:00

May 23rd, Xixi moves to a big bed ~ she was very excited!
Another step in her plan to outgrow her sister

busy, busy

2009-06-19T21:35:00.010-04:00

I've been working four day weeks since the beginning of June and I have to say, it's hard. The days get to be so long and then when my day off comes around, I end up having to do catchup with the things I didn't get to during the week. So far I haven't gotten what I wanted - some free time for just me. I've always loved being alone and now it never happens.

I know, I know... I could always get a babysitter... but where am I going to go? I can't stay home which is where I want to be. I also miss those days of going wherever I want at whatever time I wanted. I used to be nocturnal. My friend Liz and I would go to Walmart at 3am just to walk around and see if we'd find anything interesting. Or midnight movies... whatever, I just don't have any time alone and I miss that.

oh well... I am not sure why I went off on this tangent but I guess it's because I have fallen behind in life and don't understand why. I feel like that hamster on the wheel... always running, running.

I didn't finish up writing about our Jamaica trip so I'll finish up now. Our last full day in Jamaica was my 53rd birthday ~ yeah, 53! I guess I shouldn't disclose my age.. I think it's a female thing to keep your age secret, but I am so over most PC things that I really don't care. We spent that day in our villa and out on the beach and had a most uneventful day ~ just peace and relaxation. It's been a little over a month since that day and I'm ready for another vacation, that relaxed state just does not last for more than a few days. So here are a few pictures from my birthday.

Bones brought his daughter, Ashika, in the afternoon to play with the girls. The girls couldn't quite understand her Jamaican English at times, but it was ok.. she was really funny and playful and they got along great. Here they are with the cabbage vendor.

Xixi and Ashika got in this little pink boat we found at the pool of the villas and Cristina would pull them along as she swam with her mask and snorkel. They'd all be on the lookout for starfish.

When they'd find one, Cristina would dive down and bring it up to show them.

and of course, she'd carefully put them back.

After sunset, we had dinner back at the villa and Dottie made me a cake.

After dinner, the girls plopped in front of the TV to watch a movie. Xixi has a tendency to be a copycat sometimes.

The next morning we bid adieu to our friends at Crystal Waters and took the ride back to Montego Bay to catch our flight home.

first day of camp

2009-06-08T11:13:00.008-04:00

One of these days, I'll catch up on May, but June and summer are officially here.

So here are our first day of camp 2009 pictures. What a madhouse this morning, I'm glad I took a flex day!

Last gulp of chocolate milk

We dropped Jie Jie off first

And then on to the crazy camp. I can't believe my peewee is going to take tennis lessons.

jamaican horses

2009-06-07T23:51:00.015-04:00

On Wednesday, Bones drove us to the Rhodes Hall Plantation to go horseback riding.
Cristina and I got our own horses and Xixi rode with our guide, Evans.

Evans was cool guy, he must have answered Xixi's 'where we going?' question at least 27 times.
Heck, I was able to capture it twice in some random videos that I took with my camera.

The ride up the mountain was a nice shaded trail.

We came to a grassy clearing which was a lookout area. We could see all of Negril and out into the ocean, it was beautiful. It was also very breezy and cool as a storm was passing over another hill close by. We stopped there for a little bit to let the horses graze.

On the way down we took another trail and Xixi continued yakking away. The trail continued through a long clearing where we saw horses grazing and eating mangos from the trees. The trail however, was unshaded and it was hot!

It was only after a few minutes that I realized that Xixi had stopped her talking. When I looked back, I found her like this ~ fast asleep on Evans arm.

When she awoke, we where already by the shore. We continued to ride through a mangrove trail to a lagoon where we saw crocodiles. For some reason and I don't know why, seeing these crocodiles was the highlight of Xixi's vacation. There is not one person in our circle of family, friends and acquaintances that has not heard her recount of falling asleep on the horse and going to see crocodiles.

When we got back to the plantation, Evans asked if we wanted to go swimming with the horses and of course we did. We dismounted so the saddles could be removed and blankets were laid on their backs. We got on again and started wading into the ocean. Our horses were snorting really hard, those big nostrils blowing out the salt water. I could see Mandela's (my horse) hoofs touching the sand as we walked in deeper and deeper. All of a sudden I see his legs and hoofs moving in front of him through the water ~ he was swimming! Cristina and I began to giggle as we floated off the horses so Evans told us to grab on to their manes. I almost fell off a couple of times but it was great.

I couldn't get pictures of us out there for obvious reasons so I left my camera on the beach.
As we were coming in, the old guy that helps out there, Chuy, picked up my camera to take a picture. He ended up filming us and that's him talking to himself

So, we said goodbye to Evans and Bones drove us home. The nice girl at Rhodes Hall whose name I cannot remember gave the girls a Ting which they shared on the way back to our villa.

And when we got back, we ran out to the beach to cool off and watch the sunset.

May madness

2009-06-01T18:46:00.025-04:00

I think May is my favorite month of the year ~ Xixi and I have birthdays in May, mother's day is celebrated, cucujos make their appearances and the school year winds down to a close.

Well, this year May was busier than ever ~ so many events, so little time to blog.
The month's passing was a big blur. The rainy season is here, so it's time to relax and enjoy the indoors. So... what better time than a rainy evening to sit down and try to recapture the past few weeks.

We'd planned to leave for Jamaica on Saturday morning but being the crazed and blind person that I am, I messed up the times and missed our flight. At the airport, I proceeded to the ticket counter, suitcases and girls in tow, to negotiate our way onto another flight. But as Murphy's Law would have it, swine flu was in full swing and vacationers had changed their destinations to other places in the Caribbean.. ie Jamaica. The AA ticket agent was nice, he said I'd picked the wrong day to miss a flight~ the next flight was oversold 30 seats and so were the subsequent flights into Sunday. He gave us standby tickets, told us to proceed to the gate and wished us luck. I was so angry with myself! I couldn't believe that I had planned this vacation for weeks and now I was going to miss it.

So we walked up to the gate and I gave the agent my best humble dog look. He told me I had picked the wrong day to miss a flight (ok, knew that already). He looked at our boarding passes, then looked around the counter to get a look at the other two passengers, and we were told to sit down ~ he'd see what he could do.

I don't know how I managed to sit there (actually fidget) for that hour without screaming. The girls both picked up that mommy was @#$%&&ing so they behaved their best ~ Cristina listened to music on my iPod and Xixi colored.

An hour later they began boarding the flight, they went throught the usual boarding routine. I swear, I was counting hundreds of people on that plane already, but I just sat there and did not move an inch. Finally, when everyone was on board and the gate was empty, the agent called me over. He said "I'm not supposed to do this, I could get in trouble but... single woman traveling with two small kids ~ here you go, have a drink on me" Yahoo, the single mom status pays off again - he put us in first class!! I had three screwdrivers on the way to Montego Bay! What a relief!

So we arrived in Montego Bay and were met at the patty stand by our driver, Bones. We headed to Negril which is an hour and a half away and on the way we stopped at a fruit stand. The fruit stand woman thought Xixi was cute and that's all you need to say for Xixi to start her 'look at me, I'm Sandra Dee" performance. Apparently this woman only had boys and wanted a girl so she asked if I would let her have Xixi. I know that she was kidding (I think?) but I wanted to see Xixi's reaction so I responded 'uhmmm... well, uh.. OK, but I'll trade her for a jackfruit." When Xixi heard that, she stopped her showing off so quickly and immediately jumped back into the car. We laughed so hard. An hour later, we arrived at our villa and it was getting dark. Thankfully, a home cook meal was waiting for us.

The rest of the week was paradise ~ we did have some bickering banshee moments but they were few.

The next day, we met our housekeeper, Dotty. We'd arrived late the day before so we missed her.

Dotty would come in the mornings and make us breakfast. Then she'd stay during the day to clean up our little house and set us up with fresh flowers, towels and linens. And before leaving, she'd prepare our dinner. It was great, the girls and I ate and slept so good during our stay. Dotty was sweet, I don't think she liked that I called Xixi termite because coincidentally in Jamaican English, Chichi actually does mean termite and it's a pest. But I think she was too shy to tell me so.

So after breakfast, we went into town to the Hi Lo grocery story to buy our food for the week. Here are the girls at the Hi Lo eating Irie pops.

We'd spend our afternoons at the beach until sunset ~ Cristina snorkeling for shells or starfish, Xixi playing in the sand and me just relaxing listening to music and watching the stream of people walking along the beach. Some were tourists, some were selling something, all were respectful, no one tried to push anything on me. The only one that was insistant was the old patty man who said we had to stay with him next time we came to Negril.

Next door to the villas is a place called Margaritaville and it was kind of nice having it next door. They had a little play area for kids and good music playing all day long. That Sunday afternoon they played a song dedicated to the moms and that's when it dawned on me that it was mothers day. I told the girls what day it was and they gave me a mother's day salute.

The next day was Xixi's birthday so I thought we should do something different. I asked Clifton, the security guard, to please find us someone with a boat who could take us snorkeling. After breakfast we marched out to the beach and found Mike waiting for us in his glass bottom boat. So we went out to the reefs.

Xixi stayed on the boat

while Cristina and I snorkeled. The snorkeling was great, we went on some reefs in an area called Bloody Bay which apparently was the site of some battle with the English ships. There was a sunken cannon and a giant anchor in a sandy area by the reef. We also saw a resident spotted eagle ray that was probably bigger than Cristina.

After the snorkeling, Mike took us over the reefs so that Xixi could see the fish through the glass bottom and then for a ride along the coast back to our place.

When we got back, Dotty was putting the finishing touches on a birthday cake she made for Xixi.

We sang Happy Birthday and celebrated with cake and ice cream

followed by a nice, cool nap

to be continued....

celebrating early

2009-05-03T20:52:00.004-04:00

since we're leaving for Jamaica on Saturday and won't be around, I decided we should celebrate mother's day and Xixi's birthday with my family. I bbq'd a carnivorous feast and the girls swam in the pool while Tia Merch watched them. Since I was cooking I wasn't able to take any pictures, but I did manage to get my camera for in time for two.

Practicing for the BIG 3!
Dig the sunglasses on her head ~ 'just like mommy'

Another fang out courtesy of Papi

Xixi's bean

2009-04-30T22:04:00.002-04:00

Xixi planted a black bean in school. She brought her plant home today.

Miami river run

2009-04-26T12:57:00.007-04:00

Last Friday I went with the Visions class on a field trip. It was boat trip up the Miami river.

I think the trip was more fun for the parents than the kids, they had to pay attention to the historical sites.

Cruising by the Miami Circle

All I can say is OMG

monday, monday

2009-04-23T22:07:00.005-04:00

On Monday, I dropped by Canterbury at lunchtime to see my little one

and then to the awards assembly where my big one received two awards.

I love my girls!
I love UM!

Happy birthday Papi

2009-04-23T22:00:00.002-04:00

Papi turned 78 on Sunday, April 19th and to celebrate the patriarch of a crab loving family, what did we do? We drove to Hollywood Beach and had all you can eat stone crabs at Billy's

It was great! I felt nauseous afterwards, but I'm dying to go back!

goodness!!

2009-04-23T21:16:00.012-04:00

these two drive me crazy! There was a chocolate milk explosion which made me yell at them to go to bed! I just finished cleaning up the mess. I'm po'd! Lately all these two do is bicker and fight for the same thing. This power struggle is insane!

Xixi has become increasingly assertive to the point where she tells Cristina that she is the mom. I listen to their conversations and shake my head. She has Cristina wrapped around her finger and Cristina, being the loving soul that she is, tries to appease her little sister as much as she can. But Xixi is overbearing ~ the commands she yells are outrageous. Eventually it gets on Cristina's nerves and it becomes tattletale whine time ~ 'Mom, Xixi is ________(fill in the blank)!'

I'm telling ya, my nerves are frazzled. It's no wonder I can't recover from my vacation exhaustion. Tonight's struggle was over control of the milk jug and the chocolate powder.
It resulted in milk and powder splattered all over my kitchen ~ I mean everywhere!

So, let me chill out by looking at some pictures of them and catch up on my blog.

We returned on Easter Sunday. The two hour car trip home was kind of quiet. I thought Xixi was sleeping, but actually she had found a pen and was silently tattooing herself.

Since we arrived later expected, we didn't have time to clean up, so we just headed straight for Tia Merch's house for an impromptu egg hunt and to see the grandparents and cousins.

That Easter bunny should know better than to put eggs on top of electrical fixtures!

Happy? ~ you bet! Two egg hunts in one day! (we had one the night before on the beach)

Seems the Easter bunny has also been hit by the economic downturn.
Last year those eggs were filled with nickels, dimes and quarters!
What's up with all those pennies?

islands

2009-04-21T17:09:00.006-04:00

I've opted for sleeping rather than blogging lately and as such, I've fallen behind. Here's my first attempt to catch up.

We ended spring break by going camping at Hontoon Island and Cayo Costa ~ both Florida state parks.
Both places were different ~ one was an island in the river, the other an island in the gulf.
But both were absolutely beautiful and we had a wonderful, memorable time shared with friends.

exhausted

2009-04-15T20:57:00.007-04:00

I'm still exhausted from our camping trip. And coming home to a sick Mingers has not helped.
I plan on long siestas this coming weekend!

We had the best time ever! We went to a couple of state parks and discovered beautiful, natural Old Florida. I'll post pictures later.

Xixi was a great camper, not once did she cry or whine. She spent most of the time chasing after her Jie Jie and the big girls. She's grown so much, definitely not a toddler anymore! She speaks and responds in fluent sentences and is clear about what she wants.

Tonight she told me she wanted a ponytail like mine

My little 'preschooler'

going camping

2009-04-08T21:12:00.009-04:00

this week has just flown, we're leaving early tomorrow to go camping with friends and won't be back till Sunday.
Xixi's going to miss the egg hunt and all the Easter festivities at her school.
I know one day I'm going to have to deal with the second child syndrome.
She's going to look back and see lots of pictures of Cristina in cute dresses at Easter parties and wonder, "hey what about me?"
Oh well... add that to the list of things I have to be concerned about, ha!

Well so, we are planning an egg hunt on Saturday out on the island.
When you live in FL, Easter baskets tend to be shaped like beach buckets.
It's going to be a full moon so finding them on the beach will be much easier.

Nevertheless, she did make a basket at school and since she's missing the egghunt,
they let her bring it home today.

Happy weekend!

spring break starts

2009-04-05T17:21:00.010-04:00

Next week Cristina is out of school and since she won't be seeing her BF and BFF for a week, Silvia asked if she wanted to stay over.
Are you kidding?
She packed her backpack and was out the door in two seconds flat.

So it was just Xixi and I for the rest of the afternoon and evening. After a nice refreshing bath and long nappy, we went over to Gaby's house as her parents, Kim and Alex, invited us to a delicious (and humongous) feast. Heather and Sofia were there too, so Xixi had a great playdate with her BFF's and I had a wonderful evening of good food, drink, and conversation.

Sofi and Xixi stroll right past Gaby totally ignoring her angst over the coche.

Xixi reads a story to her friends

Xixi tries to convince Sofi that using the potty is a piece of cake.
Sofi wonders where that stool came from

Heather, in her most ladylike posture, explains to the girls why it is that dogs sniff bottoms.

Bathing with your buds is fun!

bed time ~ yea right!

a day at the museum

2009-04-01T21:36:00.006-04:00

I chaperoned the Visions class on a field trip to the Bass Museum.

A few hours in an art museum with 20+ kids will make you _____ (fill in the blank).

swoosh

2009-03-29T14:56:00.003-04:00

running away

TGIF!

2009-03-27T21:44:00.005-04:00

Nothing beats coming home, ordering a pizza and plopping in front of the TV to watch Spongebob.

The Gap

2009-03-26T15:55:00.000-04:00

WL open house

2009-03-26T13:29:00.007-04:00

Cristina participated in a sing along yesterday at the West Lab open house.

They sang a medley of songs from the 50's and 60's.

Here she is singing 'Diana'.

To the left is her BF, Aidan. They are inseparable.

Burning down the temple

2009-03-24T15:40:00.003-04:00

My hard drive crashed and had to be reformatted. While checking my files, I found this old video. This was taken in September, 2007 at the Six Banyan Temple in Guangzhou.

It was during the final leg of our Xixipalooza adoption tour and was taken by our guide, Xixi.

Wow, I'm in shock at the blank expression on my Xixi's face. Looks nothing like the outgoing termite of today.

Those black mary janes brought me bad luck. I was wearing them when I lost my passport at the LA airport and a year later, I was wearing them when I biffed it at Multonomah Falls.
I threw them away. Am I superstitious or what?

I'm pooped

2009-03-22T10:38:00.005-04:00

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed right now, I think it's because it's getting closer to April 15th and I have a giant stack of papers that I have to go through. Blogging has had to take a break.

I need a vacation ~ but I wasn't too overwhelmed to plan that!

We're going to Jamaica!

Xixi will turn three and I, fifty three (ugh!) in Negril. We're exactly 50 years and 2 days apart.

Yea mon!

our teepee and awaiting the toothfairy

2009-03-15T20:44:00.010-04:00

Santa had brought the girls a teepee so this afternoon I built it.

Olga came over with a bottle of pink wine so we had a Connect 4 party inside it.

Abuela and Papi came by later and Papi pulled Cristina's fang out.

She put it in a zip lock bag on her night table

And fell asleep wondering how much the tooth fairy was going to bring her.
I know it will not be nearly as much as she collected from Papi and Olga.

Victory for the Crabs!

2009-03-14T11:16:00.004-04:00

Yay, the team won their first game today ~ 3-1!

it's official

2009-03-07T13:54:00.005-05:00

I'm a soccer Mama China

with BF and BFF

Her team, the crabs, lost 3-0.

Have I mentioned how much we love crabs?

stimulating the economy

2009-03-06T15:38:00.005-05:00

Scream! We got a new UFO!!!

Send me some chillout vibes, I'm having major buyer's remorse... but we love it!!!

overwrought with sadness

2009-02-25T23:41:00.003-05:00

A horrible, horrible thing happened today to someone close to Cristina.
I don't know when she will notice or what she will ask me in the weeks to come.

Life is so fragile ~ my heart breaks for Miss Bea

it's my blogiversary

2009-02-25T00:02:00.010-05:00

Wow, so like a year has gone by since I started this blog and I gotta say I likey!

(BTW, likey is Xixispeak for like it ~ appropriately spoken it's 'I likey' or 'I no likey'.)

It's been fun doing blogging and fairly easy since all my tools are right here in this little machine.
The laptop and the 11th grade typing class is all I ever needed to be able to express myself and keep track of my girls.

Blogging has enhanced my cooking skills, made me aware of new places right outside my doorstep, raised my quotient of useful (well some of it is!) knowledge and let me peek into the parallel universes of other Mama Chinas.

And all for free! Could you possibly ask for more?

So, today I'm gonna do a shout out to my faithful followers ~ yea, the handful of you!
Here's some random images I found in the blogosphere that reminded me of you.

Thanks for the warm comments and keeping in touch.

a crabby weekend

2009-02-23T21:26:00.004-05:00

I had stone crabs twice this weekend!! I think I love stone crabs more than chocolate. I was telling Liz that if I was ever on death row, stone crabs would be my request for my last meal. They'd never get to executing me because I would never stop eating! I'm a bottomless crab pit.

Liz went to Golden Rule on Saturday and brought back four pounds. After a nice crab and Pinot Grigio lunch, the girls and I left for the West Lab carnival. I was so relaxed I didn't want to deal with taking pictures so I didn't take my camera. I did catch Cristina with my cell phone when she got on the bungee jump.
Don't let the appearance fool you, she was a chicken and did not catapult herself into the air like most of the other kids did. Xixi wanted to but fortunately she was too small for the harness. I was relieved that she took the guy's word because I don't think, that in my state, I could have run deep for a termite projectile. We got home at about 5PM and the girls fell asleep and did not wake up till the next day. I got in bed and watched three movies!

I told my parents about the crabs, so they came over on Sunday and we drove down there and got some more! We just love those crabs!

I was satisfied, I got my pigginess in~ today I started my 14 week cardiovascular training program at the Wellness Center.
The good news is that stone crabs are allowed on most diets...the bad news is that it has to be in moderation.

Is it Spring yet?

2009-02-19T21:36:00.013-05:00

We got home at our usual time but it seems like it's getting dark later. So, we ran outside to play.

One of the disadvantages of being potty trained is that you no longer have a diaper to hold up your shorts when you run.

This is especially true of little Chinese girls with no booties.

The Angel's Trumpets are in bloom

Hello.. no, Cristina no home!

Give me a bungee cord and I'll keep 'em entertained

Buddy no likey

It's been so dry, my staghorn looks thirsty.

Hello, yes tooth fairy... ummm, I've decided to keep my tooth on longer...

That fang is driving me crazy! It's gotta come out!

Can you do this?

2009-02-19T21:24:00.003-05:00

OMG! I adopted a pair of contortionists!

Frogmore stew

2009-02-19T20:58:00.005-05:00

A few days ago I made a big pot of Frogmore Stew. Mmm, mmm.. was it good!

I was hoping Cristina's loose upper tooth would come off

The termite loves corn

Happy Valentine's Day Dahlink!

2009-02-13T09:30:00.002-05:00

Two little sisters

2009-02-10T07:57:00.002-05:00

Follow this link to see the photos from Sunday: Two little sisters

photo shoot

2009-02-09T07:22:00.009-05:00

We had a photo shoot yesterday at Fairchild Tropical Gardens with Amber Syzc.

Cristina was great ~ super cooperative and posed like a model.
Xixi was another story.

sweet dreams my princesses

2009-02-06T23:58:00.006-05:00

Who do you love?

2009-02-05T21:42:00.004-05:00

On the Valentine's bulletin board at Canterbury

go fish

2009-02-04T22:05:00.008-05:00

Meet Jerry

With her own money, Cristina adopted this little guy.
We set him up in a cool little tank (also purchased by her) and placed him in a nice spot in her room.

His middle name is Earl

Lion dance lunch

2009-02-04T21:10:00.021-05:00

Last Sunday we went to our favorite Chinese place for lunch and a lion dance.

We met up with Lia, Jean, Jia, Magaly and Liz.

Kon Chau, aka 'the hole in the wall' is located in a strip mall that has the usual Asian businesses.

The lions came to Kon Chau first

They scared evil spirits out of the restaurant

And ate lettuce on the way out.

Sisters

February 2009
Jia, Cristina, Xixi, and Lia
Xixi and Lia are wearing big sister hand me downs.

In the same spot ~ February, 2003
Cristina, Jia, and Lulu (who is waiting for her mei mei)

Chopstick devils! Xixi winces in fear!

Gong Hay Fat Choy

2009-01-26T17:59:00.013-05:00

a working mom LOL

2009-01-24T21:38:00.001-05:00

After it was graded and the child brought it home, she returned to school the next day with

the following note ;

Dear Ms. Davis,

I want to be very clear on my child's illustration. It is NOT of me on a dance pole on a stage in a strip joint. I work at Home Depot and had commented to my daughter how much money we made in the recent snowstorm. This photo is of me selling a shovel.

Mrs. Harrington

cuatro

2009-01-22T20:45:00.005-05:00

I realize that I'm a tropical wimp but I've had enough of this cold weather.
A cold front moved it a few days ago and it's gotten down into the 30's in SoFlo!
The heater stopped working (most probably from non-use) so the last couple of nights we've had to bundle up with extra blankies.

Xixi counts how many blankies I bundled her in tonight.
I want to go to Jamaica.

Play ball

2009-01-22T13:14:00.007-05:00

We went to Zachary's birthday party this weekend which was held at a baseball camp.
While the party was lots of fun for the boys, all the girls sat on the bleachers looking bored.

Well... all the girls except my little baseball fan, Cristina.

Here she is rounding first.

We headed off camping afterwards. I left my camera home so no pictures.

pre-smores

2009-01-15T19:29:00.005-05:00

We're going camping this weekend so the girls are getting in the mood by making smores on this nifty gadget my friend Helen gave us.

It worked great! no mess and cooperation. I had time to write this post!

metamorphosis

2009-01-14T17:58:00.005-05:00

What a beauty!
Cristina remembered the word.
Tonight we will read La Oruga Muy Hambrienta .

glow

2009-01-12T22:45:00.010-05:00

I made good progress and got all the Christmas ornaments organized and packed. The only thing left is take down the tree. I kind of like having it still.

It's like a giant night light.

Maybe I'll take it down after Chinese New Year.

adios holidays

2009-01-11T13:22:00.009-05:00

Ah-h-h-.... my sister took the girls - free time to chill - not! I gotta take down the Christmas tree and decorations. Obviously, I'm not real motivated. This is such a great time of the year, the weather is awesome ~ dry, cool and sunny ~ time to plan a camping trip.

The monarchs are back. They've eaten all my milkweed and started their cocoons.

Hope this little guy makes it, there's not very many leaves left.

The big boys have already moved into their condos.

Liz came by last night and brought Xixi a new sleeping buddy and replacement for Lambie.
She suggested he be named Duffy, but this morning Xixi told me her name is Sara.

Xixi is not warming up to Bei Bei. She took her to school on Friday to introduce her, but then stuck her in her cubby for the rest of the day. Every night when I put her to bed, I ask her if she wants her baby and she tells me no and to put her on the rocking horse. I'm starting to see that my kid is the not the nurturing kind. To this day Cristina sleeps with her Yang Yang. They are so different.

oh well... enough stalling... get to work.

last day in TN

2009-01-05T14:09:00.004-05:00

Wednesday morning I packed a picnic lunch and the girls and I headed back into the park. It was a beautiful day and the 27 mile drive along Laurel Creek Road to Cade's Cove was really nice.

We stopped at a little pullout on the road and climbed down the rocks to look at a little waterfall.

It was really cold when we arrived at Cade's Cove. Perhaps it's because it's in a valley, but it was about 30 degrees and windy. We explored (actually ran through) a handful of the buildings because we were so cold.

The Methodist church was built in 115 days for $115. Cristina freaked out looking at a couple of the tombstones that belonged to kids. She couldn't believe that children had actually died. Xixi took Lambie to check it out. Sadly, Lambie was lost on this trip. I believe he was left behind at the Atlanta airport on our way back home.

Dan Lawson place ~ this cabin was build in 1856.

Despite her best efforts, Xixi could not contain her excitement when she saw a deer. Unfortunately her 'dea, dea' squeal scared away one that Cristina and I were silently scoping. After that, she pretended to be frozen and made me carry her back to the car.

We left Cades Cove and headed into Townsend. We stopped at a little cafe and had some fried pies and hot chocolate.

In spite of all the natural beauty around us, what Cristina really wanted to do was play mini-golf at the flying pigs place she saw on the road at Sevierville. We had a couple of hours to kill before meeting the family at Dixie Stampede for dinner so I gave in and took her. It was already dark and about 27 degrees. I could not believe she could even hold that golf club. Xixi and I just ambled behind her in a cryogenic state.

We made it to the Dixie Stampede right on time. The show was great! I did not realize my girls were such country fans. They were whooping it up with the pig and chicken races. They deboned and devoured the little roasted hens that we were fed and Xixi had three corns on the cob. They absolutely loved it and had a great time.

After the show, we all headed back to the cabin to wait for the new year.

Coco was determined to get Xixi's shaker. Xixi was whacking her in self defense, but Coco would not give it up.

Ah success ~ the sceptre is mine!

The next morning we left for Atlanta and visited our good friends David and Daisy.
I didn't get a picture of the kids.

vacation

2009-01-04T17:57:00.000-05:00

The Griswolds... er, I mean, my family went on a holiday vacation to Tennessee.

Here are the girls on the the Enterprise bus at the Atlanta airport. We were on our way to pick up our car.
Six hours later, we were lost in the mountains and I got so angry I bit and exploded these balloons.
I realize it's not very mature to chomp on balloons but I believe I was justified.

The situation was this ~ a night vision impaired, flat living Floridian (namely me) is lost and driving through winding mountain roads in the evening in the middle of nowhere. My peripheral vision was impaired by helium balloons and I had two bickering, whiny banshees in the backseat. There was no signal on my Blackberry so I couldn't call anyone for assistance.
When I reach what seems civilization, I find I'm in the wrong state!

Well, my rabid little fit sure quieted things down.

Before things got hairy, we stopped at a Cracker Barrel somewhere in N. GA. It was here that Tia Merch secretly bought Cristina a tiny Etch-A-Sketch which was at the root of the back seat unrest.

We finally made it to Gatlinburg as did the rest of the family.

Papi is the star of the cousin tree

Xixi and I went for a walk when the volume got really high.
I don't know how I pulled her away ~ she's the first one for the pachanga!

So the first day there, the whole group went into Gatlinburg. That was more stressful than fun.
We took the tram up to Ober Gatlinburg and it was freezing up there.

Fortunately, our cabin had a heart shaped jacuzzi so we were able to thaw out and unwind when we returned.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

2009-01-04T15:54:00.000-05:00

One day in Gatlinburg was more than enough ~ I found it crowded and tacky.
I decided we'd spend the rest of our time there exploring the Smoky Mountains national park.

Here are some pictures of our hike up to Laurel Falls

On the way up

Hiking back down

I was proud of my little hikers!

We stopped to have a snack at a roadside spot but it was so cold we decided to munch out in the car instead

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T20:55:00.000-05:00

Santa's arrival

2008-12-26T01:28:00.011-05:00

I was upset with Santa this morning. He tracked dirt all the way from the fireplace to the Christmas tree in the living room.

Why didn't Santa eat everything?

Opening Santa's gifts was great fun

Meet Bei Bei Dolphin ~ I think Dolphin is her last name

Poor sweetie, still has 102 fever today

Two on a Plasma car

the night before Christmas

2008-12-26T00:52:00.015-05:00

December 24th was rainy and gloomy in South Florida. Papi is sick with a cold and Cristina came down with a fever so our traditional Nochebuena at Joe's was downscaled. Later in the day, Cristina felt better so we decided we'd go.

The girls wait for Mami to get ready.

We went with Tia Merch, Susie and Chris.

Mmmm.... stone crabs

After dinner, we got home, into our PJ's and ready for Santa's imminent arrival.

We tracked him thru Norad
He was in Canada ~ it would still be several hours before he made it this way.

Cristina removed all objects from the fireplace to ensure he'd have no accidents

We left him milk, cake, a biscotti and a fortune cookie

Xixi got upset when I told her she could not wait up for him.

Chappy Chanukah

2008-12-25T15:59:00.001-05:00

The Hanukah party ended like la fiesta del Guatao. Olga plowed into Frank's vette. Oy vey!

Merry Mingercat

2008-12-21T16:03:00.003-05:00

What Mingers loves most about Christmas is napping under the tree.

equal time for jie jie

2008-12-20T11:49:00.004-05:00

For us, winter really is a wonder

Feliz Navidad

2008-12-19T22:30:00.003-05:00

She wants to make sure you're aware that she's pronouncing Feliz correctly.

rewards

2008-12-19T19:07:00.002-05:00

This is the result of encouraging your child's potty training with stickers
Buddy needs a bath

Canterbury holiday show

2008-12-18T21:08:00.002-05:00

Xixi and her classmates sang 'Feliz Navidad'

O Christmas Tree

2008-12-16T21:51:00.003-05:00

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
Your branches pink delight us.
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
Your branches pink delight us.
They're pink when summer days are bright;
They're pink when winter snow is white.
O, Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,
Your branches pink delight us!

Holiday show

2008-12-14T21:11:00.005-05:00

I had a hard time finding Cristina on stage at the Christmas show. I knew she was singing because I could see the top of her head bobbing up and down.

She leaned forward one time and I got to see her... well... part of her.

my elf

2008-12-14T17:37:00.004-05:00

My older elf is very helpful, she folds laundry.

A visit to Santa

2008-12-14T10:42:00.012-05:00

Hmmm.... could you possibly accomodate some last minute requests?

It's almost 11am and the girls are still sleeping ~ we were at the mall last night till almost midnight!
We didn't really buy much, but it was so holiday festive that we just hung out.

I forget

2008-12-12T21:56:00.010-05:00

Today I went to the mall and saw one of Cristina's pre-school teachers. Young, big goofy guy who was the teacher's aide in the afternoon. The kids loved him. They'd climb on him and he was always very careful with them. Cristina and I really liked him.

Well, I saw him at the mall and I was so happy to see him. I was going to run up to him and say hi and then all of sudden I realized that I couldn't remember his name. I couldn't believe it, OMG a sign of old age! Heaven help me! I called Silvia and asked her and she couldn't remember his name either. Thank goodness, Silvia is much younger than me. That made me feel better. Ah, what a relief! I don't have the beginnings of alzheimers.

I also realized how many things I have forgotten when I tried to play along with the game Stacey sent me. Here they are, I can't even remember 8 in each category, I'm in sad, sad shape:

8 Favorite TV shows: I fall asleep when I turn on the TV and the only shows that come to mind right now are I Love Lucy and the Jetsons (I loved that futuristic stuff and always wished that I could push a button and have a pizza come out of the wall)

8 Things I look forward to: some relaxation during the Christmas break. I hope that certain people don't ruin it. Can't think of anything beyond that.

8 Things on my wish list: lose weight, relax, new car, Xixi to relax, a button on the wall that delivers pizza

8 Things I did yesterday: went to Cristina's Christmas show, hid boxes, went to the Gap, made fried rice, the usual stuff and passed out. ~ I had to think really hard to answer this one!

8 Favorite Restaurants: Big Cheese, Benihana uh... can't remember.

a treasure

2008-12-10T22:31:00.012-05:00

Published Saturday, Jun 17 2006
Countryside News, Countryside edition of Hubei Daily

The translation of the notice read:
#20. Present name: Ye Meng Bei, F, born on May 11 2006 (according to the birth note), was found abandoned at #106 Lian Hua Xin Village, Ye Jia Ba, Daye City on May 19 2006. She wore white and blue clothes and was wrapped in a comforter with yellow and green square patterns.

Yesterday I received the comforter with yellow and green square patterns.

Now, I don't know if I should be happy or sad. I think it made me more sad.

The sadness is not for the people who abandoned her. At one point right after Cristina's adoption, I used to romanticize about the birth mother. I don't anymore. I've learned too much and now I'm just practical. Facts are they live in a world where they are restricted to one child and they have their reasons for the things they do. And so they do it. Period. Move on.

The sadness I have is for my daughter. One day she'll grow up and look in the mirror and see someone's eyes. Someone she doesn't know. I pray that it doesn't haunt her.

I hope that I can make her realize what a fortunate and wonderful creation she is. I hope I can help her grow up to be the strong and powerful woman she is destined to be. I hope I can make her see that in my (and my family's) eyes, she is a treasure to behold.

Because she really is. Both of them are.

Buddy

2008-12-08T19:27:00.002-05:00

I'm dreaming of a white terrier
Not like the one I used to know

I potty

2008-12-08T19:19:00.003-05:00

Guess who's wearing panties now?

One whole day with no accidents.
Yahoo!

Santa drives a Kia

2008-12-06T23:16:00.022-05:00

We went to the West Lab 'Winter Wonderland' party today. I really didn't want to go but Silvia convinced me that as a good parent I should support the PTO and participate. So we went. All I can say is hallelujah for the open bar.

The kids, in spite of being all dressed nicely in their Christmas finery, ran amok! Their conga was a runaway train. The electric slide left some with injuries. They threw themselves on the floor and did something that I believe was break dancing. They hid under the tables and ate the centerpieces.

They just went wild. What fun!

And Cristina did not want the party to end ~ when it was over, she left with her friends for an impromptu sleepover.

Santa made a special appearance. Xixi was fascinated. She'd hover and stare, but there was no way she'd go near him.

Keeping her distance, she watched him as he left the banquet hall

and then followed him out to the parking lot.

Pobrecita la Xixi, I think she was expecting reindeer.

gouda and growth

2008-12-02T21:11:00.026-05:00

Official ceremony for becoming a Gouda Master

It's amazing how quickly I see Xixi growing. I didn't quite see the same speedy progression with Cristina. Maybe it's because I'm older and time goes faster or maybe it was because my life was slower when I only had one child. Well anyway, I've noticed the spurt.

Take a look ~

January 2008 at Fairchild Tropical Gardens.
She refused to share the fruit drink with Cristina.
She's still willful, but I have to admit she's chilled out alot!

Last week ~ where did my BeiBei go?

She's also done some other very mature things. This past weekend she told us that we should start referring to her by her proper name. Her exact words were 'no more Xixi, Angie'.
So we're trying that out but she's just so Xixilicious that it's hard to not call her by that silly name.

My final observation ~ she's conquered the cheese wax!
We love mini Babybel cheeses. Not only are they creamy and delicious, they are a challenge to determined two year old. No more of those plain cheesesticks in boring plastic wrappers.
No sir, where cheese is concerned, this is the way to go.

OK so I realize it's wierd to write (and photograph) about your kid unwrapping cheese, but I had to capture her determination. Those pursed little lips say it all.

BTW, the Venus and Jupiter conjuction will be over in a few days ~ it's been absolutely beautiful every evening.
I wish I had a lens that could capture it!

a visit from Tanya

2008-11-30T20:15:00.014-05:00

Cristina and I met Tanya last year during our passport/visa fiasco. We were among the first few people in line early on a Monday morning at the Chinese consulate in Hong Kong.

Tanya was waiting for her work visa so she could start her job with International China Concern helping orphans in Hunan and I was trying to get our visa to get to Hubei and adopt Xixi. We've kept in touch since.

About two months ago, Tanya moved to another position with ICC and returned to Vancouver.
She's going to be in Orlando for the week and she was able to come a couple days earlier to visit us.

On Saturday night, we drove to see the Clot Family Christmas lights. This family started this tradition many years ago and some of the displays look dated, but lights are spectacular and it's a great and free place to go to get into the holiday spirit.

I don't know why Xixi kept bouncing her head off those cables.

We told her she'd get hurt but she wouldn't listen

This is probably a pretty old display, it seems the girl lost her neck and broke her arm ~ looks quite painful.

These carolers were eerie ~ it was as if they were begging for mercy.

Thankfully, all this was lost on the kids but Tanya and I had a good laugh.

Dear sweet Tanya, have a great time in Orlando. We loved having you here with us.

thanksgiving

2008-11-28T09:39:00.015-05:00

I don't believe we've ever eaten as much as we did this year. We are fortunate to have had two places to go to celebrate Thanksgiving.

In the afternoon, we went to the abuelo's house for lunch with the family. Abuela prepared the traditional Cuban Thanksgiving meal of mojo turkey and arroz y frijoles.

Like pilgrims, our family holds Thanksgiving as a special day. It was on Thanksgiving day 47 years ago that Abuela, Tia Merch, and I came from Cuba. Papi came about a week earlier. To this day, I remember the emotions I felt arriving at the Miami airport and seeing Papi's eager face through the little window of the door between customs and freedom. I was five years old.

Abuela gives thanks and gets emotional recounting our arrival.

I think Xixi was Cuban in a previous life ~ she devours the food.

Cousins -2

Later in the day we headed off to Casa Salchicha for dinner with friends.

Liz prepared a delicious Thanksgiving feast

Cristina loves them turkey legs!

Xixi and Chichi ~ is there a resemblance?

Mami and Xixi in a digestive trance

priceless

2008-11-25T23:45:00.013-05:00

At first I was hesitant about exhibiting my collection on the internet.
I feared someone might see them, become envious, and try to steal them.

But the better side of me realized that precious works of art, such as these, are to be shared and appreciated.

So here is Mami's treasured turkey trove ~ crafted by little hands that are growing quickly and symbols of a special day from each passing year.

I have much to be thankful for.

ay

2008-11-23T10:15:00.008-05:00

estoy cansada

I have to bake a rumcake for a lunch at my sister's house today and some side dishes for the teacher's lunch at Xixi's school tomorrow. I have some bananas that have reached the maximum degree of rotten-ness so they need to be made into banana bread now. Plus, I promised Cristina I'd bake her a chocolate cake.

I woke up this morning so focused on my kitchen mission that I didn't even bother to look down. I'm glad it made Cristina laugh.

I look forward to pegar la gorra on Thanksgiving day.

FCC picnic

2008-11-21T10:27:00.011-05:00

Last Sunday our FCC group had a picnic to celebrate national adoption month.
We had a great time, it was good to see old friends and meet new ones.

The termite was a flash ~ she ran her crocs off.

Cristina hung out with her friends

And we fed bocaditos to the turtles before going home.

my beautiful violinist

2008-11-19T11:44:00.001-05:00

She warms my heart

xTunes ~ the musical stylings of a termite

2008-11-19T00:19:00.010-05:00

L,M,N,O,P as it's never been done
(btw, the swish is Mingers' tail)

An interesting version has the farmer quacking and mooing

dramatic interpretation of spider's washout ends on a happy note

two awards!

2008-11-19T00:06:00.004-05:00

Cristina got two awards today ~ Honor Roll and Perfect Attendance
She's in the pink shoes in the front row

friday nite

2008-11-15T20:32:00.005-05:00

While Mami makes dinner

Xixi colors

Cristina catches 40 winks

it's time for bed

2008-11-11T21:37:00.004-05:00

No bed!

Yea mon

2008-11-11T21:22:00.003-05:00

President elect Cow

2008-11-11T18:45:00.006-05:00

This morning I was driving to work listening to NPR and naturally the talk was all about the president elect.
From the back seat Xixi also made a commentary about Vaca Obama.

Hail to the Beef!

this is important

2008-11-09T13:57:00.010-05:00

Mami has been tasked with getting these delivered to Santa post haste.
We know he has email, so it was agreed that soft copies should be sent beforehand.

Originals are in envelopes ready to be dropped off at the post office tomorrow on the way to school.

This year we're getting our orders in early.

avocado harvest

2008-11-09T13:38:00.010-05:00

I was woken early today by the sound of a large thump over my head. I jumped out of bed, went outside and found a tiny squirrel chomping on an avocado that was nearly twice it's size.

So when the girls got up, I figured we'd better get outside and knock some down for us before the neighborhood critters finish them off.

Mami, look ~ I got a big one!

A successful pickin' I would say

Dear Santa

2008-11-08T19:27:00.007-05:00

We're preparing our wish lists ~ Mami should be getting them to you real soon!
Please keep an eye out.
Please note that we've both been exceptionally good this year.

XOXOXO

YES WE CAN!!!

2008-11-04T22:56:00.022-05:00

This brought tears to my eyes.
I don't know why...
Maybe because I was witnessing an American story unfold before my eyes.
Maybe because I was seeing my childhood lessons on tolerance and acceptance on live TV.
Maybe because I was feeling there really is hope for unity and respect in this country irregardless or race, creed or color.

Irregardless of your political inclinations, today was definitely a historic day.

God Bless America!

Voting

2008-11-04T21:00:00.001-05:00

We waited an hour to vote today. Cristina came prepared.

She is really excited about the election.

the results are in

2008-11-03T23:53:00.007-05:00

For several weeks, Cristina has been counting the campaign yard signs as we drive around the city. She's been asking lots of questions about the presidential candidates and I've tried to answer them as (ahem..) unbiased as possible.

This I know: she's talked about the candidates with her friends, she is aware of prejudice. She is aware there is a war and that there could be more wars. She is aware that some of her friends parents have lost their jobs. I feel sad that she's aware of stuff like this. I worry about her future.

On the other hand, I think it's great that she's aware. This is historic. I guess her teachers are also talking about the election because she asked me if she could stay up late tonight and watch the news about McCain and Obama (there is no school tomorrow). I said no.

I may let her stay up late tomorrow just so she can see the results. In the meantime, I'm glad that she's learning about the democratic process of our country without the influence of CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS....... Hopefully when she grows up she will make educated choices.

Well, here are the results of the election held today at West Lab:

John McCain 71
Barack Obama 194

Cristina was very excited and tomorrow she's accompanying me to vote.