A well deserved Mom's night out!

Last night I got together with the some of the Mom's from our local adoption group. I am so lucky to have these girlfriend's in my life. It really is an amazing story how we all came together via the adoptions of our children. We are more then just an adoption group. We are FRIENDS and like FAMILY. I keep saying I need to do a whole post on how we all met like a family tree.

We try to get together for a Mom's only night out every few months. We always have a blast! Last night we went to Carlucci's grill. The food, wine, and conversation was great! Of course I had a great time talking everyone's ears off!

Let's do it again real soon gals!

Gina, Kathy, Kate, Deb, Me, Jennifer, and Kellyann

Coach Daddy

Last week we got the Fall Soccer season schedule and Dan has been selected as a volunteer Coach. Katie is very excited that Daddy will be her soccer coach. Mommy and Daddy are pretty excited too.

Dan attended the coaches meeting tonight and got Katie's uniform. The first game will be Sept 6th. We are really excited!!!

Daddy said a bad word!

So we just got home from work and school and we are sitting in the kitchen deciding what to eat for dinner. Dan says "My shoulder is killing me". Katie says "Ohhhh Daddy said a bad word!!". I said "What did he say?". Katie says "Daddy said killing, that's a bad word".

Too funny!

What happens at Mimi's........

stays at Mimi's until Mommy sees it on Mimi's camera.

Little video of Katie having fun at Mimi's

Frankie and Peep's House

When we ask Katie where she wants to go to get dinner she says "Frankie and Peeps house". Our favorite Italian/Pizza Place is Candela's. The pizza is great but we go for the great Italian food. Dan and I have been going to Candela's for about 10 years with Karen and Jeff. Jeff's family has been going to Candela's since Jeff was little. It is a lovely family owned place and over the last 10 years we have come to know the owners and waitresses well. Candela's is now run by the 2 Candela sons Frankie and Pete.

After we flew home from China with Katie we stopped at Candela's for dinner. It was the first place Katie went to in America. Since then Katie has been to Candela's more times then we can count. She fondly calls Candela's "Frankie and Peep's house". She started calling Pete "Peep" and it stuck. Frankie and Peep always make a fuss over Katie. She has even gone into the kitchen to see the pizzas being made.



My favorite is the Chicken Parm with Spaghetti. Dan's favorite is the Vodka Rigatoni with Chicken. Katie likes both. She likes my chicken with "Daddy's orange noodles".



We went to Candela's for dinner last Friday night and we had the camera with us so we took some pictures of Katie with Frankie and Peep.



The night we got home from China with Katie. Unfortunately this picture is blurry.

Katie with Peep and Frankie

Peep making the Pizza. Pete is always working while Frankie socializes with the customers

Frankie socializing!

Well we couldn't get a dog so.........

WE GOT A CHINCHILLA! Yes, a chinchilla named Chipper. I didn't even know what a chinchilla was. Apparently their fur is worth alot. My co-worker Andrew was giving away his chinchilla Chipper. His 13 year old son wasn't interested in him anymore. Chipper is 3 years old. He is the softest thing you will ever feel. He has a mouse face, with a rabbit body, and a squirrel tail. I think he was alittle SHOCKED by us last night after we got him home. Karen, Bailey, and Brady came over to see Chipper. Between the three of them and Katie and I we were all calling his name and trying to pet him. He was going crazy in the cage. Today he was much calmer. But, big mistake~I let him out of the cage!! I was telling Katie not to chase him. She chased him all over the house, calling him her bunny rabbit. I finally threw a blanket over him to trap him and put him back in the cage. Hopefully Chipper learns to trust us soon. I think we make him nervous.

A Trip to the Lake!!!!!

Saturday we spent the day at Penn Warner Lake with family and friends. Penn Warner Lake is about 10 minutes from our house. It is a members only lake. My Mom is still a member. She started going to Penn Warner Lake when she met my Step-Dad Bob. Bob loved the Lake. My Mom and Bob had a whole group of friends at the Lake that I would fondly call "The Lake People". Bob passed away 2 1/2 years ago. My Mom still has Bob's lot and she shares it with friends.

It was a beautiful day at the lake. We cooked a wonderful picnic dinner and had a campfire. The kids had a great time running around and playing. I went tubing on the lake with Eric and Eddie. I am so sore today, I have to remember I am not 21 anymore.

Katie in front of the lake
Bubble fun

Our new camera takes such a great picture that you can see the crumbs all over Katie's face from the cupcake she just ate.

Sitting on the dock

I am on this tube with Eric and Eddie. I am in the middle sitting down in the tube.

I love this picture of Katie in the canoe. The canoe was anchored down and Eric was in the water behind the canoe. Katie thought she was really paddling it.

Eric diving off the tube

Brady on the tractor

The Sunset~What a great day!

From Qichun

We are very lucky to have a very active online orphanage group. The group is for anyone who adopted a child from Qichun Social Welfare Institute. Qichun, Hubei Province. About a year ago one of the members came up with the idea of sending a scrapbook of all of our children to show the orphanage how well they are all doing. The people who participated sent one or two scrapbook pages of their family to the woman who made the scrapbook. Then a couple joined our group that was getting ready to travel to China to adopt their baby. This couple hand delivered our scrapbook to the orphanage and took pictures of the Director and Head Nanny looking at the scrapbook. This picture is of them looking at Katie's scrapbook page. What a great keepsake I have for Katie. The couple that delivered the scrapbook said the Director and Head Nanny really enjoyed looking at the scrapbook. They said they were talking and pointing at the pages. I hope Katie's Foster Mother sees the scrapbook and can see how well she is doing.

Hannah Montana WHAT????

So I can't believe Katie knows Hannah Montana already and really likes her. Lauren at school brought in her Hannah Montana DVD and they watched it at school. Katie likes to sing the Hannah Montana theme song. Equiped with her microphone from one of her dress up outfits, she can really belt out the song. I took this video of her singing......ENJOY!

Pet Pictures again

Hope you can see the pictures this time!

Enjoy!

R.I.P. Dorothy Swimmey

Back in July I won a goldfish for Katie at the St Mike's fair. She originally named the fish "Swimmey" and then the next morning announced that she wanted to name her fish "Dorothy Swimmey" after Elmo's fish Dorothy. We went to the pet store and got a nice tank for Dorothy Swimmey. Dorothy Swimmey went to fishy heaven 5 days after we got her. I think I was sadder then Katie about the fish. We had a nice little ceremony in the bathroom while we all said a few nice words about Dorothy Swimmey before we flushed her down the toilet. I promised Katie a new fish after we got back from vacation. Right after getting back from Cape May, I had this bright idea that I wanted a dog. I wanted a little dog. I was interested in a yorkie or yorkie poo. I wanted to rescue a dog because I learned that puppy mills and pet stores were not good places to get a dog. Dan was not into the idea of getting a dog. I was never really into a dog either. But lately I really wanted a dog. Maybe it is the long wait for baby sister. Dan reminded me how busy were always are and that a dog may not be a good idea. I am putting it nicely on the blog. I threw a little fit(I was PMS'ing) and Dan said he hated dogs. So no dog for now. He is right but I am not admitting that to him(unless he reads this) we are VERY busy. So, Katie and I went to the pet store last week to get more fish for her new fish tank. We looked at the dogs at the pet store and even held a few. I was VERY tempted to get a dog but we left the pet store with 3 female beta fish. We looked at the beautiful male beta fish but Katie didn't want them. She wanted the 3 little fish that were in the tank next to the males. The man at the pet store said "I don't even know why they were ordered". Well Katie liked them and we got all 3. She named them~Ariel, Prince Eric(yes, the girl fish Prince Eric), and Belle.


This past weekend when we went to LBI we got 2 Hermit Crabs. We went to a store in Surf City called "Things A Drift". A very interesting lady named Cheryl sells beautiful shells, sea glass, etc. She also sells Hermit Crabs. She is very knowledgeable about her Hermit Crabs. They were the best looking Hermit Crabs I have ever seen. She had a Hermit Crab that was 19 years old. She was something to see! So I adopted a Hermit Crab named Pearl. I added my own name and she is now Petunia Pearl. Bailey and Brady went back and got Hermit Crabs too. Bailey got "Babs" and Brady got "Max". Brady had some excitement with his crab already. Last night it changed it shell. Jeff also wanted a crab to take to work. He got little "Fudge". Karen and I picked him out. Jeff didn't like "fudge" so I adopted fudge and Jeff went back to the store and got "Spike". The lady has about 50 Hermit Crabs and she has them all named. Katie is not really crazy about the Hermit Crabs.

Some Hermit Crabs Facts that I didn't know:

They have a life expectancy of 30-35 years

Hermit Crab(coeno bita clypeus's) comes from Haiti and best species for pets.

They eat table food. Sea Salt and Calcium must be added to their diet. You can give them Tums!

They like~corn on the cob, pizza, chicken bones, blue corn tortilla chips.

Hermit crabs do not carry diseases. Do not use a sponge in the cage this is how they get bacteria in their cage.

Hermit crabs grow by shedding their outer exoskeleton; this is how and when they grow. They molt or shed once a year usually in June or July. They will eat the skin and they be ready for a new shell.

Learn something new everyday!

Dorothy Swimmey in her new home

Katie happy with Dorothy Swimmey

Collage of new pets. Fish~Ariel, Prince Eric, and Belle. Hermit Crabs~Petunia Pearl and Fudge

Cedar Bonnet Island

We had another fun filled weekend. We spent a long weekend on Cedar Bonnet Island. My friend Chaz's Mom owns a house on Cedar Bonnet Island. It was Chaz's Grandfather's house. It is an adorable beach house with an amazing view of the bay. Cedar Bonnet Island is right before the bridge into Long Beach Island. We arrived Thursday and ate lunch at "Joe Pop's". We drove around and took a tour of LBI. Friday we went to the beach. The kids had a GREAT time. I will post some beach pictures later. I took those picture with our old sony cybershot. I got strict instructions not to take the new camera on the beach. Friday night Dan and Jeff arrived after work and we went to Beach Haven Fishery for dinner. Saturday we went shopping and I got a new pet. Since I am not "allowed" to get a dog because we are "too busy", I got a hermit crab named Pearl. She was already named Pearl so I am going to keep it but I had to give her another name so I thought Petunia Pearl had a nice ring to it. I will post pictures later and tell you all about Petunia Pearl at a later date. We have a whole pet situation that deserves it's own post. Saturday afternoon we had lunch at The Dutchman. It has outdoor seating with a beautiful view of the Bay. We also went to see Barnegat Lighthouse on Saturday. Saturday night we relaxed at the house and cooked clams and munchie foods. We played the dice game. We packed up this morning and headed home. It was a GREAT weekend.