Pittsburgh ET Posse

Today Brynly and my mom and I went to the monthly gathering of a group of Ethiopian adoptive families. It was really great to connect with some folks I know from blogland and to meet some new folks who share this wild ride. Our gathering was at a GREAT Ethiopian restuarant called Tana. If you are ever in the Pittsburgh area, I highly recommend. It is the best Ethiopian food I have had outside of Ethiopia. Brynly was a little out of sorts when we first arrived. The product of the car ride and no nap. She is not a kid that can go without a nap very successfully. At first she was clingy-not Brynly at all. But she warmed up and was a bit wild for the rest for the afternoon. She is definataly 2. After we ate, the owner put in a video of some Ethiopian dances and the kids all got up and busted a move. Check out my little move buster.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Mouse in the House

Ah what an exciting afternoon. So, here is what went down. I was babysitting my three nephews while my sister and brother in law went to the parent teacher conference at the boys' school. The two older boys were in the downstairs family room at my parents house. I was upstairs with the napping youngest one. There had been a bit of commotion when Blake,5, had an infortunate encounter with a coffee table. So, that commotion had died down and a few minute's later, I hear another. As I made my way to them, I realized Ethan, 9, was yelling, "A RAT! RAT! RAT!" Uh oh. The two of them barrel up the stairs both yelling and slightly freaking out. Blake yells, "Call 109!" Ethan answers, "It's 911!" So, they calm down a bit and we go on a mouse hunt. (from the description, we decided it was not, in fact, a rat) No luck, but we did wake up the sleeping Kaden who joined in the hunt and announced "there's a mouse." He had found a mouse, only it was a book about Mickey Mouse.

We never found the mouse so this should provide some fun for awhile to come.

Winter...grrr

Did I ever mention that I hate the winter? ...that I hate it with a white hot passion?

Let me preface the rest of this post by stating that I am acutely aware of my blessings and that I really don't have anyting to complain about. And yet, compalain I will. A girl has to vent sometime, eh? So here goes.

Morning is my least favorite time of the day. Getting out the door can be a hectic thing in the best of times. Brynly and I have a system worked out that usually executes pretty well. She wakes up. I get her out of bed and dressed then put her in her seat thingy where she eats Cheerios, drinks milk and watches Barney while I get ready. After I am ready I do her hair. We get coats, etc. on and out we go. Well a couple of days ago, the tv in her playroom went on the fritz. Oh no. Yesterday she sat in her seat in my room and watched Noggin. That went okay. This morning, in my infinite wisdom, I broke from my oath that Brynly does not get in my bed. This oath has a lot to do with the fact that my dog sleeps in my bed and it is her only refuge from Brynly. But, Rudi spent the night at my parents last night, so I thought "what the heck." Brynly was still for a few minutes, then wanted her milk. Okay fine. While I went to get it, she fell on her bum getting out of the bed. Then she was carrying the Cheerios all over creation leaving a trail through the house. Then she wanted to brush her teeth. She sits on the toilet to do this, usually with me in front of her with another toothbrush actually doing the brushing. Well I attempted to put my hair up for the fifteenth time and, wouldn't you know, she fell off the pot. Cried this time, but was fine. That was it, into the seat, like it or not. She reluctantly got into the seat and finished her milk and "O's". I did manage to get her dressd and her hair done, but all out of our usual orderly order.

So, we are ready to leave and lo and behold, it has snowed another four or five inches. Grrrreattttt. I wrestle her into the seat, start the car, shovel the walk, clean off the car. And, finally we are on our way. Over an hour later, I have made it the 20 miles to work, anticipating many excuses from absent students who live in the dorm I can see from my office. I wonder if my school would consider moving their base of operation to Aruba for the first part of the second semester?

I'm telling you groundhog, if you know what's good for you, you better not see that shadow!

What's Up Doc?

Brynly had her two year old checkup today. She is now tipping the scales at 25 lbs and has grown to 33 inches tall. These numbers put her in the 25th percentile for both weight and height. Pretty good since she started out below the 5th. She is on or beyond target in all areas of her development. She is kind of pigeon toed but the doc says she will outgrow this by four years old. And, of course, she has an ear infection...the beat goes on. These ear infections always come as a surprise bc she never cries about it, tugs at her ears, has fevers in connection with them. Anyhoo, we are riding high in antibiotic land once again. All in all, Brynly is a healthy, happy two year old.

Sam and Esther

I saw this on another blog. Heartwrenching. It is Uganda, but makes no difference. The story is the same in Ethiopia. It only strengthens my resolve to work harder, even if the difference that can be made is small. Small is relative.

So Cute

Could she be any cuter?

Witness to History

I just witnessed history. I was in a small theatre with 60 or so other people, but I was watching for two people. My baby daughter, born far away in a place where freedom and opportunity are in too short supply and for my oldest daughter who is there still. Neither know what a momentous today today is. But they will.

Selam everyone.

Winter-Ugh.

A winter WONDERLAND? I think not. The word that comes to my mind to describe this snow and cold is a more along the lines of a four letter one.

Wanna Win a Wii?

Ethio-American Family Services is having a Wii raffle to raise funds for the Miskaye Orphanage project (see the video and post from a few days ago for info on that awesome project. We are hoping to sell 100 tickets which will allow Miskaye to begin accepting children.

Each chance on the Wii is just a $20 donation.
Here is how to enter:
-Click the Ethio-American Family Services Logo at the right to enter via Paypal

-Send your entry (checks payable to Ethio-American Family Services) in the mail to
Ethio-American Family Services PO Box 337, Newton, GA 39870
Be sure to send yourtelephone number so we can confirm your entry and let you know if you win.

-If you know me in "real life", see me I will have tickets on me at all times


The drawing will be held on March 8 and a video of the drawing will be posted on the EAFS site on March 9.

Winter Whine and Sort of News

Okay, so no official announcement as that nothing is official yet, but I did learn yesterday of an 8 year old girl...no other information. I will keep yall posted.

Now, I must inflict on you my winter whine. I hate winter. I hate snow and ice and cold and big bulky coats and hats and gloves and wrestling Brynly into these things and then wrestling her into a car seat wearing all of these things. I hate wet footprints on my floor and my streaked up windshield. I hate scraping my car and I hate that the cold makes my dog's arthritis flare up.

Okay, thanks I feel a bit better.

Addendum to My Last Post

On my last post I ended with "...thankful that both my girls are okay..." There is a little girl who is not okay right now. Abby is a very special little girl who suffers from Leukemia. Tomorrow she begins a VERY dangerous phase of her treatment. You can read her story on her family's blog. www.riggsfamilyblog.com

Let's all send some prayers, vibes, whatever is your thing to this little girl and her family.

A Day in the Life

It has been quite a day in our neck of the woods. Actually, it started yesterday. I let Rudi, my dog, out in the morning as I always do. When she back in she was acting strangely. She was walking very gingerly, had her tail between her legs and was hiding under tables an such. Not good. She has issues with arthritis in one of her legs so I thought maybe she hurt her leg. But I also thought maybe some fool threw something over my fence and posioned my dog. She perked up some later but was still not herself. So, I decided I would call the vet this morning to see if she could be seen. Today was also my first day back to work after Christmas break, so I made the appointment for later in the day. I was on my way home to get her when Brynly's daycare teacher called. Brynly had a fever of 102.5. Oy. So, my mom went to get Brynly and Rudi and I went to the vet. Luckily, Rudi was suffering only from a sore back. She got a shot an dsome pills to take home and I was on my way. I get to my mom's and Brynly is not herself-quiet, clingy...So, off we go to her doctor. We waited in the exam room for the doctor. The doc decided she should do an RSV test to be sure. So, the results for that take 20 minutes. There we sat...Negative-great. So, we got an antibiotic prescription and off we go. After a trip to the drugstore, picking up Rudi and eating some dinner, we are finally home. Brynly is sleeping with her cool mister nearby and hopped up on amoxicillin and ibuprofen. Here I am relaxing in front of the tube, blogging a bit, very thankful that both my girls are okay.

You're Invited to a Shower

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Malkam Gana! Happy Ethiopian Christmas!

Last year I cooked Ethiopian food. That didn't work out great. So, this year I am honoring the holiday by announcing a "shower" for the Miskaye orphanage project. WE HAVE A BUILDING! Hooray! Dedra made a trip to secure the building, start the hiring process, meet with our in country team, etc. Before we can fill the place with children, we have to fill it with all the necessary items such as beds, chairs, supplies, etc.

If you haven't decided on your charitable giving for the year or want to know exactly what your money is being used for, check out our "registry." EVERY donation is so appreciated by us and by the kids we will soon be serving.

www.ethioamericanfamily.org/miskaye_home_registry

Also, if you have a blog and would be willing to post this "shower" on it to get the word out even more, that would be GREAT!!!!!!!!!

And another announcement: my bud, Dedra, has made her blog public for a limited time, so get over there and read about the amzing Hawkins trio I often refer to.

www.journeywithmydaughters.blogspot.com

Embracing "2"

Brynly is now officially 2. She has, however, been rehearsing the role for several weeks as evidenced by three timeouts in as many days. But, even at her orneriest, she is still sweet and adorable.

We had a party at our house for family and friends on Saturday. A good time was had by all at the luau.

New Year's Eve was also fun. As has been tradition for the last 10+ years, NYE was spent in Maryland with Diann. Brynly has some pics taken. they are super cute even with the near hair catastrophe caused by the risky move of changing hairstyles 20 minutes prior to the appointment. Then we went for lunch, some shopping and returend to Diann's house. There had been high winds all day and around 4:30, the electricity went out. Oy. Options were contemplated-heading to a friend of Diann's (nixed due to closed roads), heading back to WV (not a good plan in the dark with all the drunks-plus that would have completely stunk)and attempting to find a hotel. We went with the hotel option and it ended up being great. They had a computer so we could watch brand new video of Diann's gorgeous girl in Ethiopia (thanks Dedra). We also decided this would be a great plan for next year as well

I hope 2009 brings health and happiness to all of you out there.