 |
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Daddy's Girl
I'll admit it.
I'm a Daddy's Girl and today, on what would have been his 89th birthday, I miss him.
I miss his hugs. I miss his smile. I miss his laugh.
Recently as I was cleaning and trying to purge our home of the extra stuff, I came across a video of the last Army Reunion my father was able to attend. A video of a local news report where my Dad was one of a few that was interviewed. The reunion took them back to Jefferson Barracks where he and his squadron were stationed before heading off to WWII. Taking a deep breath, I slid the tape in our lone VHS player. And there. There on the screen was my sweet, sweet Dad. Happy. Nostalgic. The Dad I love and adore. The man I miss. And tears flowed.
You taught me all you could in your far too short time with me
And now my only job is to remember and never forget
I'm a Daddy's Girl and today, on what would have been his 89th birthday, I miss him.
I miss his hugs. I miss his smile. I miss his laugh.
Recently as I was cleaning and trying to purge our home of the extra stuff, I came across a video of the last Army Reunion my father was able to attend. A video of a local news report where my Dad was one of a few that was interviewed. The reunion took them back to Jefferson Barracks where he and his squadron were stationed before heading off to WWII. Taking a deep breath, I slid the tape in our lone VHS player. And there. There on the screen was my sweet, sweet Dad. Happy. Nostalgic. The Dad I love and adore. The man I miss. And tears flowed.
Everyday I picture you
Everyday I remember you
You taught me all you could in your far too short time with me
And now my only job is to remember and never forget
To pass those memories on so you will forever live in our hearts
I love you, Dad.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Unintended Hiatus
Hello dear readers! Thanks for sticking by through my unintended hiatus.
Mid-July we took a two-week vacation to spend some time with family in Missouri. While we didn't escape the desert heat (it was HOT and HUMID our entire stay) we did get some FANTASTIC quality family time.
My intent had been to schedule some posts for the time we were away but it just never happened. The Little Miss has been working on her four canine teeth for what seems like MONTHS. The top two finally popped through last week but she was all over the place sleep-wise. Add to that our usual work schedule and some other chaos thrown in and this poor blog was pushed to the back burner. Seems to happen more often than not despite my good intentions!
The Little Miss is really developing her pretend play lately and was such a riot with family. Makes me long to be closer to them as she just adores her Aunts, Uncles, Grandma and Cousins.
On the home front I'm on a mission to simplify and PURGE our house of all the STUFF. Stuff is everywhere and we're running out of space. In the three days we had to purchase a home five years ago, we didn't consider the amount of storage we'd had in our NY home vs. what we would have in this home. Needless to say, storage space is very sparse in this house. While it had most everything we needed, storage was not one of them. A fact we begrudge a lot these days. I'm not the biggest pack-rat in the world but piles tend to collect when life gets busy. Those piles then get moved to a room we're not in 90% of the day. What I need is my sister who is so good at utilizing what space is available and purging unnecessary clutter from your life. Now to convince her to take a short leave from her job and family to come help me. What do you think, Internet, can I make it happen!?
In the meantime, if you'll stick with me, I promise not to disappear again for so long. I just have to get caught up with life!
Mid-July we took a two-week vacation to spend some time with family in Missouri. While we didn't escape the desert heat (it was HOT and HUMID our entire stay) we did get some FANTASTIC quality family time.
Poor bug was SO sweaty!
The Little Miss is really developing her pretend play lately and was such a riot with family. Makes me long to be closer to them as she just adores her Aunts, Uncles, Grandma and Cousins.
Sophie cracking up at her Cousin.
On the home front I'm on a mission to simplify and PURGE our house of all the STUFF. Stuff is everywhere and we're running out of space. In the three days we had to purchase a home five years ago, we didn't consider the amount of storage we'd had in our NY home vs. what we would have in this home. Needless to say, storage space is very sparse in this house. While it had most everything we needed, storage was not one of them. A fact we begrudge a lot these days. I'm not the biggest pack-rat in the world but piles tend to collect when life gets busy. Those piles then get moved to a room we're not in 90% of the day. What I need is my sister who is so good at utilizing what space is available and purging unnecessary clutter from your life. Now to convince her to take a short leave from her job and family to come help me. What do you think, Internet, can I make it happen!?
In the meantime, if you'll stick with me, I promise not to disappear again for so long. I just have to get caught up with life!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Happy Independence Day!
To my readers in the US, we're wishing you a safe holiday. May you enjoy all the joys the long weekend can bring while taking time to appreciate the freedoms we have.
Hopefully you have something more tasty than fingers to eat!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Our Little Chef
So now that the Little Miss is down to one nap a day and it's hotter than blue blazes in the desert, we're trying to find activities to keep the Little Miss occupied until nap time. She has always been interested in what we do in the kitchen and most recently wanting to help feed the dogs. I decided last week would be a good time to start baking.
I used to bake about once a week but when Sophie came along time between baking sessions has dwindled since my time is devoted to either keeping watch over her or working I just don't get to bake. I miss baking, though I can't say my body misses the baked goods. Ask Y and he'll tell you he's missed my baking. A lot.
Anyway, we started our baking adventure with some simple peanut butter cookies. I missed getting pictures of the Little Miss pouring the ingredients into the mixer but she LOVED making the criss-cross patterns and "squishing" (ish-ish as she would say) them with a fork. Of course she'd get overly excited and start STABBING the cookies.
Next up: Homemade Ice Cream and Chocolate Chip cookies! Yum!
I used to bake about once a week but when Sophie came along time between baking sessions has dwindled since my time is devoted to either keeping watch over her or working I just don't get to bake. I miss baking, though I can't say my body misses the baked goods. Ask Y and he'll tell you he's missed my baking. A lot.
Anyway, we started our baking adventure with some simple peanut butter cookies. I missed getting pictures of the Little Miss pouring the ingredients into the mixer but she LOVED making the criss-cross patterns and "squishing" (ish-ish as she would say) them with a fork. Of course she'd get overly excited and start STABBING the cookies.
"Mama! There's sugar on my hand!"
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Florida!
So WAY back in May we had a short vacation/family gathering in the Ft. Lauderdale area. Y's grandmother turned 90 and we did our best to gather the entire family. We were mostly successful minus an Aunt, Uncle & Cousins in Massachusetts that couldn't make it down for health reasons.
Our day started off at 5:15am to catch a REALLY early flight. We traveled cross-country with The Little Miss' grandparents. Sophie was so, so good on the planes. Numerous fellow-passengers would comment: "She was so good!" or "I didn't know there was a little one on the plane. We never heard a thing!". And it was true (yes, I'm bragging...sorry). She really didn't make a fuss and until, quite literally, the last THREE minutes of the first flight she didn't sleep.
The three-hour time difference was a struggle but we managed. We arrived on a Thursday night. The party was Saturday so we were able to let the Little Miss get settled and get to know some family members she'd never met before throwing her into a party with even MORE people she didn't know. Since this was Y's side of the family we had to remember the proper relation name in Chinese for each member of the family. By the time the long weekend was over I think we finally had it down!
First up was Zeng Nana (the person of honor and her Great Grandmother):
Zeng Nana was so great. She's getting around extremely well for 90. Sophie loved on her despite having only known her in photos. The Little Miss would play peek-a-boo with her and bring her all the various books she had lying on her coffee table.
Then there was was DaJojo and Nana Hong (her Grand Uncle and Aunt):
Nana Hong ADORED Sophie. Every moment they were together she'd whisk Sophie away to go play or explore. The Little Miss was a little unsure of what to think at first but then she began to figure out Nana Hong would take her to do fun things. We spent Friday afternoon and evening at their home where Hong made an exceptionally good dinner starting with homemade spring rolls. My mouth waters every time I think of them. Sophie spent the entire time climbing their stairs.
Next up was Uncle Mike, GouMa Tchi (whom she met last summer), and her two cousins Griffin and Shao Ming. It was also our first time meeting Shao Ming (he's exactly 2 weeks younger than the Little Miss) since he was just adopted from China in March:
Then her second cousins Thuy, Thien and her second cousin once-removed Sophia and Chantam (You know, the whole cousin lineage is really confusing!):
The party was chaotic but fun. The kids all gathered in the neighboring ballroom to run free while the adults chatted and ate. The youngest kids (Shao Ming, Sophie, and Chantam) were getting cranky so we left a little early to head to our hotels for a little R&R time before meeting up for dinner and some beach time.
After naptime, we met Sophie's Aunt & Uncle on the beach to let the kids run around before grabbing some dinner. Because of their huge adoption trip to China we were only able to spend Saturday with Y's sister and family. We hated they had such a short time to spend in FL because the kids (and we adults) were having a great time together!
The rest of the trip was spending more time at the beach and visiting with the family we rarely get to see. The beach, of course, was a huge hit. Because of pending storms we were never able to allow Sophie too far in the water. We had to laugh at the young couple wanting to spend some romantic time together on the beach and Sophie just wanted to watch them. She'd go running over and stand in front of them until they'd smile at her. No matter how many times we distracted her she kept returning to that young couple. Thankfully they were good sports and started laughing every time we had to run interception.
Family time is always precious and we enjoyed our time together. We just wish we were able to get together more often!
The Little Miss on Pompano Beach
The three-hour time difference was a struggle but we managed. We arrived on a Thursday night. The party was Saturday so we were able to let the Little Miss get settled and get to know some family members she'd never met before throwing her into a party with even MORE people she didn't know. Since this was Y's side of the family we had to remember the proper relation name in Chinese for each member of the family. By the time the long weekend was over I think we finally had it down!
First up was Zeng Nana (the person of honor and her Great Grandmother):
Zeng Nana was so great. She's getting around extremely well for 90. Sophie loved on her despite having only known her in photos. The Little Miss would play peek-a-boo with her and bring her all the various books she had lying on her coffee table.
Then there was was DaJojo and Nana Hong (her Grand Uncle and Aunt):
Nana Hong loving on Sophie.
Playing on DaJojo and Nana Hong's balcony.
L to R: Cousin Griffin, Uncle Mike, Cousin Shao-Ming and GouMa Tchi
Then her second cousins Thuy, Thien and her second cousin once-removed Sophia and Chantam (You know, the whole cousin lineage is really confusing!):
Thuy and Chantam
Sophia
The party was chaotic but fun. The kids all gathered in the neighboring ballroom to run free while the adults chatted and ate. The youngest kids (Shao Ming, Sophie, and Chantam) were getting cranky so we left a little early to head to our hotels for a little R&R time before meeting up for dinner and some beach time.
The kids playing the the adjoining ballroom
(Click image to see it larger)
Family time is always precious and we enjoyed our time together. We just wish we were able to get together more often!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
