SPENDING....

I had to laugh the other day at something that was said to me by another momma. She was showing me all the new clothes bought for the her daughter's "winter wardrobe". These were cute classy little outfits, I tell you. When I asked what she was doing for her "winter wardrobe" she just laughed and said you are looking at it. In true momma form, our daughters will be dressed like royalty and we will remain in our "normal" clothes.

I joke that my Tate will be dressed like some rich kid and I will be in rags. I am sure that when viewed by others unknowing, they will assume that I am the nanny for a rich Asian family with a drop gorgeous little girl. I can only imagine their surprise when Tate calls me Momma. When Tate calls me "MOMMA"!!!! I just had to repeat this for the joy it brings me to write this. Feels so good to read, too! With the clothes issues in mind, I will relay this bit of a purchase. I have been drooling over this dress now for a few weeks, ever since I received the Hanna Andersson catalog in the mail.

I tried to buy it in a size 5, but unfortunately it was sold out. So this now is my first purchase of a larger size.... a size 3. I also tried to buy the tights (sold out). Plans are to buy the clogs when Tate is actually here and at the age for this dress and clogs. I can only imagine how adorable Tate will be with the raven black hair and this bright colored dress.

As for my "winter wardrobe".... it is non-existent.

STUFF

Mesa would like to thank Connie for this great pink duck and the reminder for her Momma to check on her Mammos. I am overdue for the big squeeze. Thanks I-Con!!!!

Storm of feathers.....

It has been getting cold here in Utah. The other night I was sitting in the office on the computer freezing, and in runs Mesa covered with this white flakes. My first reaction was, "is it snowing?", but soon realized that these white flakes were feathers from my winter down comforter. Earlier in the day, I switched out the summer comforter for the winter comforter and while waiting for clean sheets, left the down comforter on the dining room floor..... Mesa has been missing the ladies and the babies from the blogger reunion and decided to rip into the feathers for some fun! It is amazing what a mess can be made by fine down from a small hole. From my shocked reaction, I think Mesa deducted that this activity was not pleasing her momma.

Finally the last quilt square from my 100 wish square is in.... this one is from my adult niece who I really wanted to be a part of quilt for Tate..... this puts my grand total of squares at 104 squares collected. Next step is figuring out what to do with all these squares. I will be making this on my own, since I am not lucky enough to have an aunt, mother, friend who does this sort of thing.... I am not sure if I will make it real simple with squares together or if I will boarder each square with fabric..... I have a favorite quilt that I saw and really would like to try to copy it.... Time will tell, but this is my goal to have totally done by Thanksgiving time.

UTAH REUNION 2007

RED COUCH 2007....

Eliza, Tess, Maisie, Marie and Rose.... missing Tate, Hannah and Lauren.

I am wordless as to describe the JOY I had this weekend with these babies and ladies... With that being said, I will let you just see the pictures here and go to other the blogs for the "rest of the story"

Who would have guessed how much fun a $5.00 yard sale find could be???

Looks like Eliza is explaining the driving plan to Tess.

Eliza and Marie pushing Rose......MOMMAS PRESENT AND FUTURE HANGING IN THE YARD

Lisa S with Maisie

Julie and Tess......

Fun times for Toddlers.

Marie and Rose in dress up shoes and hat.

Maisie loved opening and closing doors!!THE UTAH CHILDREN'S MUSEUM IS SO MUCH FUN!

Rose and Marie and Catherine. The gals just loved Catherine!

This is way fun manning the check register at the store.

SCREAM!!!!

Mary-Mia and Lisa S

First Ponytails for Tess. She was adorable!


I'm still having that look of adoration on my face when gazing at Tess..... Who could blame me when she was soooooo cute and let me hold her and snuggle her?!

GLIMPIES....

We ate, we talked, we played..... Just a few glimpes of the few pictures I took, I was cooking but I know there were tons of other pictures coming soon!!! Eliza and Maisie were napping...


What is fascinating Tess so much???? Just 90 lb or snuggle lovin', Mesa!!! Mesa just loved the babies and Tess was a trooper with Mesa's kisses!!! Hmmmmmm, Julie, I see a snuggle pup in the near future for you!



Man do I make a mean cooked pasta! Rose and Marie sure loved it!!! Even if I forgot the cooked carots on the stove and gave them a nice little burn on the sides.

Marie on the left. Rose on the right. (m3 will be so proud that I know how to identify them!)

GETTING EXCITED....

In just a few more days will be the gathering of the Utah Summit Mommas dos (2). Last year was so much fun as we all waited for the babes.... Out of the 6 waiting mommas, only 2 waiting mommas remain.... me and Donna. Sadly, Donna had another blogger reunion in Florida and could not make the Utah reunion. We will miss Donna a lot. Happily another blogger waiting momma graciously agree to join in..... She is not replacing Donna, because Donna is non-replaceable. Catherine is adding to the group. Next blogger reunion all the waiting mommas will be holding their gals in their arms.



I am so excited to finally meet Catherine! The line up is as follows....So Lisa Shanahan and Maisie will arrive on Wednesday. Mary-Mia, Rod (husband extraordinaire) Marie and Rose will be arriving Friday afternoon. Julie and Tess, and Catherine (and the spirit of Hannah) will be in on Friday evening. Tiffany and Eliza already living here, will be part of the fun..... Big plans of fun, food, chat and playing with the babies will fill up my weekend. I look so forward to this!!!

As Catherine puts it .... "only (XXX) more sleeps!!!!"..... Indeed!!!

Tagged for Top 10 Things

I have been tagged by Donna for the top ten thing I wanted to get for Tate. Now with this being said, I could manage without any of these items if it meant that I would be holding Tate. She does not need any of these items, but a momma can always have a dream.

Most of the items I have registered for are either in my BabiesR or Tarjay registry.

First the practical stuff.....
The high chair. I want something that will match my kitchen. As I have said before, I think as a single momma, it is a necessity to have a high chair. This is one way to keep Tate occupied while I cook, clean, and just maybe rest. Besides being cohesive with the kitchen, it must have wheels, dish washable tray, and adjustable seat. I think this is an Even flow brand.

Besides a high chair, I want a chair that will attach to tables. I figure it is portable enough to leave in the car and a quick grab when needed. (Mom and brother's houses)

Going with the chair theme.... I love this chair. My friends in Norway have one for each of their three kiddos. Each chair is adjusted for that perfect sitting height. I figure this would work in the kitchen when Tate helps me cook or needs to just be part of things.

I have heard that this is by far the BEST car seat. Britax. I love the colors and the flowers..... I could care less if it matched my car. This should last until Tate no longer needs a car seat. Since this is a little pricey, I have also selected something that is more reasonable Not as cute, I might add, but safe none the less.

Ah, the classy Chassie. So far I have collected two jogger strollers. One that is not too new but was given to me that I will give away. I found another newer one that I bought for a steal at a yard sale. This newer one will be the stroller I take to the mountains and on some of the area trails. This Maclaren is the one I have registered for. I love how classy the look is. When the wait looked to be 6-9 months (at the beginning), my mom and I went out and bought a Graco..... I have since taken it back for a store credit and will buy this one when the time comes closer. I have a small SUV and travel a lot. I wanted something that would not take the whole back area of the SUV, while leaving room for Mesa. It is light, small and easy for traveling thru airports. I think this might do the trick.

Now I am not a religious freak, but I thought this would be so cool to have for the Christmas time. I have a friend who had one of these (older version) and remembers how cool it was to play with only between Thanksgiving and New Years. The baby Jesus was left out of the play until Christmas Eve and then could join in on the fun until New Years. I think that this tradition sounds so nice, and so simple to accomplish for a single momma. This is the FP Little People Nativity set.Also by FP little people is the Sweet Sounds House. This house comes with the traditional family but has an option to send away for an Asian family. I think this is something I remember from another blog, but I just may be wrong so don't quote me on this one.

Now for the DREAM stuff.....

From the Land of Nod, the table and chairs. I love that the chairs match my dining room chairs, only these are white. I love the round table with the storage area underneath.

From Pottery Barn kids, stolen from Tess' (actually her mommas) wish list. This little pink retro kitchen set. This also come in RED. I am not sure which I would go for if I had the choice. It totally depends on what color I decide to go with for Tate's kingdom's playroom.

Love the tutu.

I am so totally into girly-girl stuff. Not for me to wear, but I have started to gather dress-up stuff for Tate. It does help me visualize Tate wearing this when the model looks so cute in it.

Wow... I just did not think I could get 10 things when I was first Tagged. But when I put my mind to this task, I can even add more. Most are dreams and not reality, but like I said...

A MOMMA CAN ALWAYS DREAM.

I wanted to tag more than one blogger... so I am tagging Connie, Heather, and a momma who already has her babe in arms.... Julie.

Dream Come True

I am a BIG fan of dolls. American Girl dolls are top on my list. Last year with my (meager) Christmas bonus from work, I bought an Asian Bitty Baby and slowly added eight (yes...8) outfits for Bitty Baby. I have actually thought of actively campaigning to American Girl to get a doll series with an Asian girl as the "story line". In my email today was maybe a step towards my dream.

Meet Ivy....

It is not exactly what I wanted, as an Asian girl being the CENTER of a series, but still a step in the right direction. Ivy is the best friend of Julie Albright, a historical character from 1974.... Hmmmmmmm, I graduated high school in 1975, when did the mid 70's become "historical"?. Funny to me and dating to me, but still FUNNY.

So I clicked onto the American Girl site and see that Ivy is back ordered for a while. I think this is great news. I can only imagine all the Asian girls who will be holding this doll and reading the adventures of Julie and Ivy. I am still hoping for a series centering around a strong, vibrant Asian girl with maybe a best friend who is Julie.

LIZA B.....

Tonight was our monthly S.W.A.C. (single woman adopt china) meeting. We are a totally small but close knit group. It is so cool that we all can be so different in personalities but still enjoy each other. Out of the five of us.... one has been a momma to a China gal for 5 years, two have been home for 7-10 months..... then there would be two waiting. This is the category I would fall in. I am "NEXT"..... have been for the past 7 months. Nothing new. We eat some, talk a lot and goo and play with the babies. The big girl who is almost 7 is such a delight, an inspiration, and a JOY. Each month I have watched her grow, change, mature...... At first she was kind of wary of the babies. She would interact with them, but still in puzzlement how to act with the babies and also unsure if she liked sharing the limelight with two more gals. Liza is the big gal. Each month as I see her interact with the little ones I see her grow. She now plays with the little ones, picks them up, dances with them. The little ones just love Liza.

Tonight something new happened to me because of Liza. You see, Liza put a face to my longing for Tate. She made Tate seem real to me. I would sit and watch as others had their gals in arms. I would listen as they chatted about "kid things". Don't get me wrong, but I would listen, trying to be part of this "talk". But really how can you be part of something that you know nothing of. Tonight Liza brought her Asian doll, stroller, and supplies. She handed me the doll and said, "let's pretend that this baby is Tate". She wanted me to act like I had just gotten Tate and it was my first SWAC meeting with Tate, newly home from China. This play was just what I needed as I held her doll and played like Tate was in my arms.

Who would have thought that an almost SEVEN year old could give me the boost I needed to get me through another few months..... Oh man, I just love that kiddo!

ANOTHER LID

I'm really feeling pretty calm about this.... which I kind of find strange.

After a request for a copy of the original home study, the USCIS has finally sent me the brand spanking new I171H. This is one thing that I can mark off my list of things I am stressing about.

LABOR DAY

(I need to brag and say that my dad is 77 and mom 72, amazing if you ask me!)



Ahhhhhh. the last holiday of the Summer! I am not going to lie and say that I am so sad that the Summer is OVER! I am ecstatic that Summer had finally come to an end.

Twinkle Toes was lucky enough to have a three day sleep over with my parents, Nana and Gramps.... The end result was one very spoiled 8 year old and two tired but happy Grandparents. When I chatted with Twinkle Toes, she claimed that she was "bored" which I knew was not true but code for me to be part of the fun. I have been craving heading up to the crisp air of the mountains and wanted to go on a small hike around a mountain lake. It did not take too much convincing for these three, and off we went on this adventure. We headed up to a local ski resort. You can see that Twinkle Toes is presenting the sign that we were at 8,735 feet. What is it with 8 year olds that they are soooooo silly?! Just before I snapped this picture she was acting all goofy. I said something funny and this is the expression that I got out of my joke.

After walking around the lake and eating some BBQued hamburgers, we headed up over the mountains on a winding dirt road. Along the way we saw the coolest thing..... a Momma moose and her young baby moose. I did have a camera but thought that the momma seemed a little nervous and protective over her young charge, so I opted to make a mental picture and leave it at that. Within 15 minutes into this road, we saw a bull moose. I think this is moose heaven. We finally ended up in Park City where we did the Twinkle Toes exchange with her dad.

Twinkle Toes is the youngest in her family which is tough when there are so many changes with the older siblings. She now is alone in her elementary school and has to "represent" her family in that school. Once thought of as a darling little sister by Sparkle is not an obnoxious annoyance to this now 7th grader. Sadly, Twinkle Toes is the brunt of all sorts of eye rolls and irritations. I also remember the same age when I had a four year older brother. Once he hit the Jr High years he no longer adored me and I was just as annoying to him as Twinkle Toes is to her four year older sister. I got to share this with my mini-me, Twinkle Toes, bonding us even tighter than before.