Cousin Chucky/Uncle C

My cousin traveled with me to Ethiopia. He met Naomi the same day I did. They have a special bond. She loves her Uncle C very much. Here they are the first day they met.


And playing together her first week home.



It had been 4 months since he had seen her and I was curious to see if she would remember him. I think she did. Here they are after 4 months apart.



We love you Uncle C!!!

Dining Al Fresco

We dined al fresco tonight! I love my new deck. Now all I need is some nice furniture and an umbrella. And a beautifully landscaped yard. Maybe next summer!




All done!

After dinner we went down to my embarrassingly dry and neglected yard. I haven't watered it once this year and it has been extremely hot. Not that there is much grass there anyways, mostly weeds, but even the weeds are dry and stiff and dead. Naomi doesn't have sensory issues, but she walked in the 'grass' and said "Owie!" LOL



We played in the weeds and then we had Popsicles.

Thrift Store Thursday

It's been awhile since I've posted about it but I'm still thrifting so I thought I'd share what I picked up today. On Thursdays everything is 25% off so I bought some things that I needed (and a couple of things I just wanted). In all I found two nice skirts for dates or work which fit perfectly, a green striped T shirt, two belts and a scarf, two bags of hangers, two brand new containers for school supplies for my classroom and a six board book/CD set still in the shrink wrap. In an effort to not add more clutter to my overstuffed house I also require of myself that I eliminate at least as many items as I bring in. So I must now go and find a bunch of items for Goodwill or Freecycle.

close up of the scarf and belts

the book/CD set (a good Christmas gift for Almi or birthday gift when we get a party invite)


Grand total: $22.36. Not bad, huh?

Showered!

My co-workers threw me a breakfast baby shower in the media center! I hate being the center of attention like that (way shy!) but it was cool. I think it was fun for them though, too, since they all got to meet Naomi. I got a diaper bag filled with supplies (wipes, Tylenol, thermometer, etc.), a monitor, tons of board books, clothes, toys, DVDs and gift certificates. Almi was her normal outgoing self and impressed everyone with her fun personality ...and her appetite! :-)

Fun With Friends

I swear, this has been the busiest three months of my life! School is finally out (longest six weeks ever!) and I now will have time to post about all the things we have been getting into. My poor, neglected little blog. Oh, how I've missed you! In the meantime, here are some shots from the last couple of months. Naomi has had many visitors and has seen a lot of new things. One thing I can say is she is not. shy. at. all. She loves to interact with new people-- adults and children alike. We love you Titi, Stuart, Ayanna, Dawn, Deborah, Tigist, Helina, El-Shaday, Ruthie, Abraham, Rebekah, and everyone else who visited when the camera wasn't around. Please come again! You are always, always welcome!!

My First Bento

For someone who likes a variety of foods at one meal, sushi and tapas are always winners. At-home cooking can be a chore because along with my meat/starch/veggie I could easily want some carrots&hummus or chips&salsa or olives or a cheese stick. You get the idea. I like a lot of variety. Well, Bentos allow for quite a variety of foods in one meal. I think that's why the meals always look so appealing to me. They can be quite beautiful and labor intensive or they can be made with some leftovers while you are cleaning up dinner. Already, packing a lunch for daycare has become the bane of my existence. I hate putting thought into it. But then I found these cute Bento-like containers. I went to a local Asian food mart in search of Bentos and they had only one Bento for sale but it was still too expensive so instead I bought two cheaper containers (one for each of us) with three compartments and now packing lunches is much more fun. I can't wait til she's a little older and I can get more creative with them!

garbanzo beans, chicken/apple sausage, sliced banana

I realized after I posted this picture that it wasn't the container that I bought for her. Here is a picture of the container I actually bought.

I love the three partitions.

The little containers above are from some Gerber baby meals. I hated the thought of just throwing them away and I'm glad I didn't. They are perfect for lunches or little snacks on the go.