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Category Archives: Celebrations!

Gratitude Journal

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1. Easter Egg Hunts

2. Matching Easter Outfits on sweet fairy children

3. Easter egg colored, ruffled-bottom swimsuits

4. Easter brunch

5. Easter dinner

6. a promotion

7. waking up at 6:30 am on a weekend and actually feeling awake and ready to go!

8.  mysteries being solved

9. a found earring

10. The best asparagus of my life

11. The sweetest French Toast to date- smeared with a little bit of marscapone cheese & blueberries picked by my loves, alongside a Bellini from Italy and…

12. a sweet remembrance from the past baked in a pound-cake filled egg shape, dipped in chocolate and smattered with candy flowers

13. a dear Theresa that made it possible

14. a dear Lovey that thought of the perfect Easter treat

15. quick and fully cooked bacon

16. Denise’s yummy more-dessert-than-a-vegetable carrot bake

17. Sweet Bad Mama’s helpful and way more organized menu planning and recipes

18. Meeting new friends and sharing a meal

19. healthy children and family

20. Zuzu’s sweet dinnertime blessings ending in “All-the-men”

21. Linen shirt weather

Happy 1st Birthday Quail!

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Saturday we had the Quail’s first birthday party at our home! It was lovely and sweet and a good showing of our dear local friends joined in the festivities. The day was not without it’s follies: the tiny tiara was lost before it could even be worn, the cupcakes were turned upside down  by a certain 3 year old in her eagerness to share, about half of the invitees were unable to attend. The birthday girl was at her refluxy-prime from the beginning and asleep when her guests arrived and that certain 3 year old later “helped” her sister unwrap her gifts before a certain Momma could write down who the giftees came from. But all-in-all it was a lovely day. The weather was beautiful, the house was clean, the children were chipper, our dear Justine was engaging, the pizza’s were on time, the balloons and singing and frosted-Italian-creme-violet-topped-masterpieces all made the Birthday girl smile and chirp with joy! And the girls in their matching green party dresses were as lovely as the early spring day itself!

Thanks to everyone who helped out! We love you all and feel so blessed to be part of such a rich communityof friends and family!

corner view: Holiday

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If you go back to the middle of December you will see Holiday pictures of our festivities. It was a much quieter, subtle time then originally intended. We had every intention of spending the Christmas holiday in the Midwest with Gramma and Grampa. We had been planning for months. The plane tickets purchased, the Christmas Dresses ready and waiting, the tree set to be decorated and we had begun reading children’s books about Christmas, winter and snow. And then along came life…both girls were sick and Zuzu was technically contagious until the day after Christmas. So we cancelled our travel plans and settled in to be merry in our own home. Our friends and family were sweet enough to expedite their  dresses and giftees for the girls and dear friends invited us to spend Christmas Day with them nearby. The girls are young enough that they weren’t too disappointed. They were excited to see their tree get decorated, to don their dresses here and open packages and wish family and friends a Happy Christmas over the phone. Zuzu asked Santa for a candy cane, Andy Williams sang Jingle Bells, there was freshly grated  nutmeg for the eggnog. Christmas Eve we had a family dinner and read Twas the Night before Christmas together before bed. Christmas Eve morning we remembered to pick up the bobka and stollen from The Village Baker. The stockings were hung and filled by Santa Claus with the likes of chocolate and musical toothbrushes. Zuzu, ever the pragmatic soul, was pretty concerned by the lack of toothpaste in her stocking to go along with the brush. Lovey noted this was the first Christmas ever that he did not receive toothpaste in his stocking as well. Santa duly noted his lapse in judgment and practical gift giving. Last year we noted the need for a new holiday movie to entertain Zuzu while we prepared breakfast. What a difference  year makes- she managed to entertain herself with her stocking pretty and what-nots and we barely heard a peep out of her all morning. After our long-winter’s naps we headed over to our friends for dinner and dessert. We whole-heartedly enjoyed their company and cooking as always. The girls were excited to play togther in their holiday dresses and we were happy to relax while they entertained themselves. The rest of the weekend was a series of cleaning up, late mornings and lots of naps. Oh and listening to repeated messages from Orbitz about the cancellation, after cancellation of each and everyone of our flights other then the initial one out of town. Apparantly, had we been on our flight as planned, we would have spent a good, long visit in Minneapolis- with no way to get to our final destination and no way to return home via planes, trains or automobiles. We are sad our health and weather didn’t provide the happy, family, white Christmas with extended family, but we are grateful for our little group being together and finally on the mend.

The photos above were the 2 centerpieces of our holiday. One group of my on-line friends whom I have had the good fortune to bask in the wisdom of since 2005 had an ornament exchange. I had the luck of the draw in getting to give to dear Marlo- whom I had the pleasure of actually meeting in person earlier this summer during a trip to Lovey’s family’s home. I had a wonderful picture of her lovely daugher and Zuzu walking together and had it turned into an ornament. I couldn’t have thought of or provided a more meaningful gift for one of these wonderful momma’s if I had rigged the draw myself! The ornaments above were only half of an extremely loving and thoughtful package provided by sweet Joanna in Canada. We had the privilage of sharing maternal time- our youngest small ones were born within weeks of each other. Her oldest- who is a little older then Zuzu was the MC for the gift giving extravaganza and chose a most excellent purple sparkely ornament for  Zuzu as it is her signature color. Upon opening the package, Zuzu informed me, ” Oh good, my friend Kitty-ara gave me my favorite color purple entament” Translation:” Chiara gve Zuz a purple ornament! The Quail recieved…yup you guessed it- a Quail ornament- so glittery, charming and lovely- much like the quail herself! For Lovey and myself there was pure Maple Syrup from a local farm- which I might add is one of Lovey’s primary food groups- and for me some vampire fiction- as Joanna knows of my obsessive reading of the Twilight Saga shortly after The Quail’s birth.  I feel so blessed to have such a thoughtful friend who knows us so well- yet bizarrely hasn’t even actually met us in person!

It was a lovely holiday and I can already feel the plans weaving in my settled brain for next year!

Come join in the festivities around the world via corner view as hosted by our lovely Jane:

jane, ladybug-zen, ian, bonnie, esti, sophie, cele, modsquad,caitlin, joyce, ani, kim, natsumi, epe, kaylovesvintage, trinsch, c.t., jeannette, outi, ritva, francesca, state of bliss, jennifer, dana, denise, cabrizette, bohemia girl, isabelle, amber, a girl in the yellow shoes, mister e, janis, kari, jgy, skymring, elizabeth, allison, lise, cate, crescent moon, erin, otli, ida, caroline, lisa, dorte, kimmie, la lune dans le ciel, nicola, malo, vanessa, britta, april, b, kyndale samantha, karen, kristina, goldensunfamily, sophie, janet, mcgillicutty, aimee, sunnymama, jenell, britta, juanita, pamela, inna, daan, myrtille, cris, ibb, jodi, gillian, travelingmama

Momma Monday- New Beginnings

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Ever since I was a small one I’ve loved the new year. The opportunity for a fresh start to become the person you want to be. Why the atmosphere is so much different around it rather than other times of the year I don’t know. But there is something about the brisk, chilly air; the clear, pure blues and sharply outlined lightness of clouds in a January sky that inspire me. You turn the page of a new calendar and turn a new dawn and voila! The world waits to see what you will do. Now that we live in the south there is also the delight of knowing that spring is not far away. That in just a month or so small buds will unfurl and bright color will start to dot the garden. Even now if you walk through the cultured nearby botanical gardens and know which turns to take you can find the smiling full blooms of the sasanqua camellias. Their lovely shape, fullness and variety of colors  make me smile to know that they are standing silently by just waiting for me to happen upon them.

The last few years we have stumbled into a few other welcomings of the new year as well. Co-workers of Lovey’s have an annual New Year’s Eve bash that begins at their home where everyone, note particularly the small ones are invited to play together and have their early meal. It is a pot-luck event where some of my favorite local family cooks are included and the food is wonderful- from the anti-pasto plate and smoked salmon, to the variety of breadmakers finest fare to the soups and salads. It’s become a neighborhood gathering that we feel fortunate to be included in since we actually live a few miles from the neighborhood. After the children are settled in with their steaming bowls of pasta and busy reconnecting with the others and the older children have been assigned to sitter duties; the grown-ups amble over to another lovely home  lit with luminaries and twinkling lights where there is wine, port, fine appetizers and even finer company. We went last year when I was humongously pregnant with The Quail and I swear it was the best time we had as a couple in ages. Even our tired selves were so invigorated by the festive atmosphere that we managed to stay out to ring in the New Year. After the reception we all headed back to the original home to check on our brood and settle in with a hearty, international meal and wait for the clock to strike twelve! Last year one of the families from Poland introduced the children to the folktale of The Stone Soup told with actual vegetable assignments for them over an open fire and stirred and simmered until after midnight for one last hearty meal before heading home. This year our Zuzu curled up on a wrought-iron bed and snored in the new year while The Quail wore her tiara and chortled it in along with the grown-ups. I hear there was also an additional home offering dessert but we didn’t make it over to that one.

On New Year’s day we have also had the good fortune to have our family included in another friend’s southern tradition of welcoming in the new year and inviting good luck into the year by feasting on hoppin’ john, rice, pork and collard greens. This is yet another group of fabulously talented cooks and we are so very blessed to be included in their festivities as well. Last year we had a little ceremonial embracing of what we hoped to invite into our lives and what we hoped to let go of. We shared them with the group and then blessed them to the earth. I thought we might do this again and so I had my items prepared for the event. Since we didn’t have a chance to do this instead I offer them out to cyberspace in hopes of sealing my success and inner peace!

This year I hope to embrace:

1. Moderation in my daily life

2. Connection- with friends, family, myself and community

3. Health- for me, my home and my family

4. Creative Inspiration and embracement of my expression of it

I hope to let go of these:

1. Clutter

2. Worry or rumination over negative energies and concerns

3. Anger or negative reaction as opposed to thoughtful action in response to something upsetting/bothersome

4. Emotional eating and nibbling out of anxiety

I’ll be working on goals for the year as well- both revising my earlier family goals post and setting some loose goals for myself in books I hope to read this year, music I hope to listen to,  movies I hope to watch and activities I hope to take part in.  These are things that I don’t always find I make time for much anymore. Mostly I hear children’s music, read children’s books and watch children’s shows. And while I’m happy to do those things with the children- I think I need to add some grown up versions back into my life so I don’t burn out or begin to resent Barney, Tinkie-Winkie, Wordgirl, Elmo, Kipper and Angelina. I also know that my children seeing me do these things for myself will set a good example for how they should naturally treat themselves as they grow up.

Speaking of which- time to go roast the chicken!

Zuzu’s Day: On Holiday

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Zuzu had a wonderful week at home from school with us. Due to the illness she spent more time home with Lovey or I then she has since she was born! She is fully recovered and back to her charming self though. She was heartbreakingly polite when she was under the weather and so we were happy to hear a little bit of sass and razz work its way back into her repertoire. Zuzu was pleased as punch to receive the candy cane, that she told anyone who would ask that she hoped Santa would bring, without having to actually sit on the man’s lap. So while we are sad to not have a photo commemorating the year- we doubt she is disappointed. She spent the week happily playing, helping out around the house and baking, eating and posing for Momma.

Angels we have heard on high!

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Won’t you please consider donating to an adoption grant fund for a child who needs a home? Reece’s Rainbow is a non-profit organization that helps children who have Down syndrome internationally find their “Forever Families”

Our family is donating to Jeffrey I chose him to post about on picture alone. I know it might have been more helpful to have picked a child who there was more of a background to tell you all about. In Eastern Europe it is not uncommon for babies that are born with a diagnosis of Down syndrome to be taken to orphanages. They are able to stay in their baby homes typically until the age of 3. Around that time the paperwork is begun to move them into institutions. While some can still be adopted after that time, it does not appear common. That’s where Reece’s Rainbow comes into the picture. This organization was started by one mother who had the good fortune to give birth to a child that has Down syndrome 6 years ago. Since that time she has become a passionate advocate for children and families of children who have Down syndrome. Her organization started raising money and assisting families in the process of adopting children that have Down syndrome. In other countries these children are typically viewed as outcasts and unable to learn and set away from society and the stimulation and love they desperately need. Before my life as a mother I used to work with adults that had a variety of developmental diagnosis and had lived the majority of their lives in institutions. Once they were able to move into their own homes and begin receiving one-on-one attention in a loving environment- they did learn. They began doing the everyday household activities that they were believed to not be capable of- it turned out they were just never given the same opportunities to learn and grow and be loved that you or I had growing up. So I can testify that if an adult with a diagnosis of the like of severe to profound mental retardation can grow and learn- then the possibilities of a very young baby or child that may have an accompanying diagnosis of mild to moderate mental retardation along with Down syndrome is fully capable of living a wonderful life- just like any of the rest of us- if, IF they are given that blessed opportunity.

Now- that is where you come into the picture. Won’t you consider adopting one of these beautiful children? Is that too much?- how about contributing to an adoption grant fund that will go directly to a specific child’s waiting Forever Family, that is just trying to raise the money to bring their little one home. That is what our family can do at this time and is doing. As I typed I kept going back to their page debating picking another child to post about that there is more information to share- a personal touch that might draw you in and make you more likely to give a few dollars. But in order to do that I would have had to remove sweet Jeffrey’s picture and I just couldn’t bring myself to do that. Maybe by the time you go to their website there will be more information about him- maybe not- but maybe in the process you will read about another little child and that will touch your heart and spur you on to donate- or adopt. So I decided to add a few more children’s pictures in hoping one of them would touch your heart’s as well. The Christmas Angel Tree Adoption Grant Fund highlights specific children that you can donate too. We chose Jeffrey because he is noted to be at high risk for institutionalization due to his age (these children are noted in red) and he had very little money currently in his adoption fund.

We are so blessed in this country to have so many great resources. The understanding of Down syndrome and the potential of a person born with this diagnosis really lies in the care they are able to receive. If they are encouraged, and expected to do well and given all of the love, health care, education and engagement that a typical child is- then their future is wide-open just like any of the rest of your children. The future of children with Down syndrome has really changed in the last 10 years. With the help of Early Intervention and adequate medical care- these children are more like your other children then they are different. They have conditions that can be medically managed- they are not outcasts that have no potential as they are viewed in less developed nations.

There are a number of families in our community like Lisa’s and Michelle’s that have read about these dear children and have made the leap of faith to begin their adoption journey to bring a new heart into their families. Go read their stories and get to know these amazing families.

Please consider helping a child find their Forever Family before they are faced with being institutionalized for the rest of their life. Some of these children need the care our medical system is able to manage and some don’t have any health care needs. Please at least take the time to come over to Reece’s Rainbow and meet these little darlings and consider making a donation.

And one last plea to my Corner View friends. The number one thing that prevents a child from being donated to or adopted is a bad picture. If the child was having a bad day and that is what was captured- that is all there is for any potential family to go on- and more often than not- that causes the child to be overlooked- for another child who was having a better child and maybe was a tad more photogenic. You,my corner view friends live all over the world and are amazing photographers. Would you consider contacting Reece’s Rainbow to see if there might be something that you could do- to see if it might be possible that you could help take good quality photos- so that one instance in time is not what is standing between a child finding it’s Forever Family  or living a life of institutionalization? What a difference a gift of your time and talent could make in the life of a sweet child.

Happy Holidays and Season’s Greetings to all- Please let your heart be filled with the joy of these children and their potential.

From our family to yours- with love and hope.

Zuzu Day- Our Star

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Our little star is feeling much brighter these days. Over the weekend her fever finally abated. While we didn’t make it to see Santa Claus this year; we did have a tree decorating party, an ornament party, a card sending party, a present wrapping party  and a cookie decorating party. And for those that might read this and feel left out- don’t- the party was pretty much just the good cheer and enthusiasm with which we did those things over the weekend. Our dear girl manages to find joy in the ordinariness of household activities. Did I already mention the dishwasher loading party, the laundry folding party, the kitchen and pantry sweeping parties that happen routinely here? The celebrations of most Christmas loving folks- ie- going to see Santa- are more traumatizing then fond-memory-making in nature for dear Zuzu.  I’ll take cheerful sweeping and song-filled table setting anyday from our little Cinderella.  Not to mention the plus of Santa having tried to get her to not cry by offering her candy canes has caused her to think that is what she should ask for for Christmas! We can handle that!

.Our first year I didn’t find a Santa until the week before Christmas. I was driving past a Burger King that had a sign up. So we raced home and donned her holiday outfit and ran back to duck in for a photo-op. They actually had a pretty tree set up just to the left of Santa, but the “Elf” angled the shot with the booths in back. Then Santa made a quip about her being so cute he could take her back to the North Pole with him and I grabbed the baby in a heat of new mother hormones and left. A week later I called back inquiring about the photo. They didn’t ask who we were- apparantly we were the only sorry takers for their offerings.  2007- Take 2- our little school had up a sign about a private photo session with Santa at a local dentist’s office. Zuzu was excited by all the dental equipment. She came around the corner, took one look at Santa and screamed. He was kind and tried singing to her and then finally suggested I come sit by him as well. I did, she turned around and saw him behind us and what you see below is the results. That’s what Momma gets for taking a kid to the dentist for her Santa visit. 2008- Take 3. We talked about Santa all morning and were meeting up with her BFF Sophie and her family at a local Reindeer Run/Pancake Breakfast where Sophie’s mom was running. We waited for her to finish and milled around Santa watching him greet little girls and boys and hand out candy canes. We made attempts to get close 3 or 4 times with Zuzu turning around and marching back to me and demanding I acquire her candy cane for her. I insisted if she sat by Santa he would give her one. I think Santa had had enough of our loitering by this time as well. She went up briefly, snatched the candy and held out her arms for me to save her. After the previous two years I can hardly blame her. We did try again one more time last year at  one of the musems light drive-through displays. We again talked about Santa all day, during dinner, on the drive over, through the lights display and as we hurried up to get in line. She even talked about how he would give her a candy cane and she would sit by him while we waited. When we got to the front of the line she again took one look at him and swiftly turned around proclaiming, “I no sit on his lap”. So we got a nice family portrait that includes a 7 month old in-utero Quail to come. I’m fairly certain Zuzu is already more relaxed about this Christmas with the lack of fat men in red suits and white beards offering her candy for her secret wishes and I can hardly blame her. It is such a mixed message.