favorite toy

This is Rick.

Rick Bayless.

Not only is he a mole, but he's mole as in mo-lay.

The dogs!

The girls loooove Nora-Peanut can't get enough of her!
Smokey, on the other hand, could really care less that there is a baby in the house.
Miss P has to know where she is at all times, plus she loves to clean her runny nose (ick!)

Ugh, the doctor's appointment was awful :(

Don't get me wrong, I love our doctor-he was very nice & he has 3 kids from Guatemala and is the process for #4 so he was all up on what tests to run, etc BUT the blood draw was horrific!
The nurse strapped Nora down on something they call "The Papoose" which, in reality, is just a nice word for baby straight-jacket and proceeded to poke her a dozen times cuz she couldn't find a vein. All the while saying to me "Gosh, she must really be dehydrated, blah, blah, blah"
Finally, someone else stepped in and got blood right away (dehydrated? Humph! You should see how much liquid this girl consumes, plus her diapers are HEAVY)

Anyways, I seriously thought Ryan was either going to faint or smack the nurse!

I promised Nora that tomorrow wouldn't suck as much as today did ;)

Feeling better :)

We are all starting to feel a little better around here. Ryan's fever is gone, I'm not as weak and little Nora's cold is clearing up. She seemed really bad on Sunday so we took her to the Acute Care Center because we didn't know what else to do for her...they took an xray & swabbed her nose and said "She has a cold & you guys are doing everything right"
Oh well, I guess it's better to be on the safe side.
She is eating up a storm (loves her sippy cup, bottles are not her thing) and she digs the rice cereal...she has her 1st visit with her pediatrician today...I'll let you know how that goes.

Our trip (minus the vomit fest from DC-Chicago) was fantastic! We were really lucky to have such a great travel group and we had a great time & made some new friends along the way.
Ethiopia is such a wonderful country-it's beauty is breathtaking & the people are so welcoming.
Meeting Nora for the 1st time was fabulous but Ryan & I both agree that meeting Nora's birth mom was really the best part of the trip. What a wonderful, beautiful, sweet & caring woman. We were able to spend extra time with her since we gave her a ride back to her town, not much was said since we don't speak Amharic but just being with her was huge and being able to tell Nora about the time we spent with her is priceless. I am so grateful for that experience.

I will try to get my photos & videos of the trip in order and posted soon. I will also post more about our trip-I think I still need to process it, it was such a huge experience.

Ciao!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

We're home.......

and very sick:(

Nora is doing well.....she just has a MAJOR cold as do Ryan & I.

The trip went well except the last leg (DC to Chicago) I became VIOLENTLY ill....I vomited the entire flight & all the way through the airport & our ride home. I ended up at the ER last night where they gave me fluids and I'm better today. I will try to upload more photos and tell everyone more about our trip as soon as I am feeling a little better but here are a few to tide you over...

Just dropping in briefly to say hello and give everyone an update!

Tigist is doing well, we still haven't been able to spend much time with her, other than the embassy appointment yesterday (BTW, that was a breeze and she did very well considering we had no idea what we were doing)
Tonight is the goodbye ceremony and then we take her back to the guest house with us for our 1st night together :) She is such a gorgeous & happy baby-I can't wait to post photos!

We will be home Saturday-I'll have more for you when we return!

Gotta run!!!!

We made it!

We arrived safe and sound after a very very long flight!!
Nora is even cuter in person and the happiest baby ever!! We've only spent a little time with her-Wednesday we take full custody.
Don't have much time to write-we are leaving for the museum!

More later!!!!!

Go-bez

I am so excited that this exhibition is coming to the College of Lake County at the end of August thru September!

The time has come...

We leave tomorrow afternoon for Washington D.C. and then Friday for Ethiopia :) FRIDAY!!



I can't believe we are leaving-it's like I can't wrap my brain around it! It's really happening!!



Ryan struggled for about an hour to install the dang car seats this afternoon, all the while teasing me about my car seat because it is leopard print. He thinks it will send Nora into some sort of seizure...what's wrong leopard print? I like leopard print!



Anywhoo, we then went out for sushi as our last dinner out as a family of 2 and then headed over to Tastee-Freeze for butterscotch dipped cones..Mmmmm, yum..... But y'know what? I can't wait to have sushi & butterscotch dipped cones with my husband AND my daughter (OK, she'll have to have something cooked because, yes, I know that raw seafood isn't good for babies) BUT I can't wait for her to be here! I just can't wait!!



I will try my hardest to post at least once from Ethiopia and I'll see everyone when I return :)

FINALLY!!!

YAY!!! We finally received Nora's birth certificate-she looks so much older but still is the darn cutest baby in the world!

OH MY GOSH, we leave sooooooo soon!!!!

For those of you who have requested another shot of the nursery.......

T.O.P.S. Baby Shower Madness

Ryan's work threw us a fantastical baby shower at The Full Slab

Really, how often can you have a baby shower at a bar? It was loads of fun and they kept the mojitos coming! Not only were Ryan's co-workers there but also quite a few of his clients. It was really sweet of everyone and it meant alot to both of us.

I was really touched that Mary Ann organized the whole thing AND managed to find some Ethiopian food to add to the menu :)

Thanks Mary Ann & TOPS!!!!

Check out some photos from the party below!

The proud new papa

The proud new papa & mama!


The food-Mmmm, BBQ......AND Ethiopian food!

Ribs, pulled pork, lentils AND injera


Ryan eating coleslaw with injera (yuck!)

The cake & party favors



Gifts, gifts and more gifts!

I'm outta there!!

Well, not forever..but for the next 9 weeks I AM DONE!
I have just completed my final shift before maternity leave (that still sounds weird to me) and now I am free! free!! free!!!
Don't get me wrong, I love my job and most of the people with it but it sure is a great feeling to know that I don't have to work for the next 9 weeks. It feels fan-freakin'-tastic!

Especially since today was an extra busy and annoying day.

my baby girl is growin' like a weed!

I can't believe we just recieved another update on Nora (still no pic-wah wah wah)

Nora is up to 12.8 lb & 24.2 inches long!!!!

Ahhhh, it's the little things that make me happy :)

Mesgana Dancers

This post is a little delayed but I had the opportunity to enjoy the Mesgana Dancers performance on Saturday-I was totally blown away!
One thing I wasn't expecting was that I would be so emotional! I found myself tearing up various parts of the performance-starting with Nancy & Jayme giving me gifts for Nora and then the short videos of the girls, Ethiopia and it's people to the dances & singing. All I could think was "What a beautiful country & beautiful people and that is where my baby is!" I am so in awe with Ethiopia and I am so grateful and touched that our family is going to be a part of such a wonderful community.

baby shower

Today the gals that I work with threw me the most fantastic baby shower ever!! Joyce & Kelly totally outdid themselves-it was so much fun!
It was at Tapas Barcelona -home of the most fabulous sangria & bacon wrapped dates (mmm...yum)

The cake was absolutely stunning AND yummy AND totally cute!


Joyce made a cute little cloth book for Nora and her Mom knit a beautiful blanket. The blanket is very special because it turns out that Nora was born on the very day her Mom had a stroke-ok, now I'm going to start crying...again!


Christy had a blanket embroidered with Nora's name & birth date-so cute!!

We also received TONS of other

wonderful gifts...too many to post all

of the pictures but here's a photo of the giant pile :)

I have the best co-workers in the world!

I think I have a problem

I'll admit it, I LOVE shoes......I mean I really love shoes (and bags, but that's another story)

Lately, I have been good about not buying any shoes......for myself.....(minus the slip-up at Nordstrom's the other day with Joyce, but I really needed comfy shoes for Ethiopia)

But for Nora.........

I think I have a serious problem.

The kid is only 4 months old and she already has 9 (NINE!) pairs (1 pair not shown-already packed)

Thank God, she is too young to carry a purse!

p.s.

Y'have to admit it, they are TOTALLY cute!

15 little pieces of randomness

Someone sent me these random questions in an email but I thought I'd answer them here..why not? It's 2:30 in the morning!

1. Do you pour the little broken off noodles of ramen into the pot?
Usually I just eat them dry & uncooked

2. Do you use paper towel to open the door in public restrooms?
Depends on how icky the bathroom is...

3. Have you ever fallen asleep when you were on the phone with someone?
Yes, but not since high school

4. Do you ever play the advertisement games for fun?
No way, that only elicits more spam!

5. If you could only have 1 flavor of toothpaste forever what would you pick?
Cinnamon gel....I am not a fan of the pastes

6. What's worse, mosquito bites or finding hair in your food?
Ack! Hair in my food! I had a VERY bad experience involving a Marie Calendar's peach pie and an unnaturally loong hair. Blech! I am dry heaving just thinking about it!

7. What brand of orange juice do you drink?
Whatever brand is on sale...not much of an orange juice drinker

8. If you could eliminate one color from the world, what would it be?
Like crayons or paint? It's a tie between beige and mauve

9. Do you act on spontaneous ideas?
I guess...I'm a spontaneous online shopper

10. Describe your favorite pair of underwear.
not too tight and not too baggy...and preferably clean

11. Do you like to play on the swing set?
Not really, the swings make my stomach tickle. I can't stand that feeling of falling

12. What's your favorite commercial?
The Comcast cable commercial with the tortoises "You come and push it! Y'push it real good!"

13. Have you been to a drive-in movie theater?
Yes, a long time ago...don't remember what I saw

14. Johnny Rockets or Steak & Shake
Johnny Rockets all the way! They make a mean grilled cheese!

15. Can you tie a cherry stem in a knot using your tongue?
no