HALLOWEEENIE BABIES!!!

COULD THEY BE ANY CUTER???????????? These beautiful children are the three I nannied for for the past 3 & 1/2 years and their mom Jen just MADE MY MORNING by sending me a pic of them in their costumes cuz it'll be the first Halloween of theirs I'll miss EVER! So A GREAT BIG THANK YOU TO JEN FOR MAKING MY MORNING AND PUTTING A HUGE SMILE ON MY FACE WITH THIS BEAUTIFUL PICTURE!!!!!!! and to my babies... should Momma read this & tell them what Nanny said:

To Abi: YOU'RE THE MOST ADORABLE HARMONY CAREBEAR I EVER DID SEE!
To Emma: I think you are the most BEAUTIFUL SLEEPING BEAUTY EVER IN THE WHOLE WORLD!
and last but not least...
Mister Sam: (aka: Bob The Builder) SAM!!!!!! CAN WE FIX IT????? YESSSSS WEEEEEE CANNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!! =) Sammy, I loveyou, to the moon and back and the stars and back and the sun and back and to CHINA AND BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*teary* I MISS THOSE THREE SOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH IT'S INSANE!!!!!!!!!


NANNY LOVES YOU ALL SOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!! I PROMISE TO COME VISIT WITH RUBY BEFORE CHRISTMAS OK????? *KISS FOR EMMA* *KISS FOR ABI* AND *KISS FOR SAM* !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Nanny

How Time Flies...

OMG... tomorrow is Halloween, I leave two weeks from Wednesday and my Cousin & his wife just stopped by with my nieces Stephanie & Jennifer for a visit & they invited me AND RUBY to Steph's birthday party on Saturday Dec 3rd. It struck me funny at first cuz I'm used to going to these things solo but to hear her say " We'd love you and Ruby to both come" I was thinking " OMG THAT'S RIGHT, RUBY WILL BE HERE! HOLY CHRIST!" I can't beleive how fast this is all going... I am gonna run to Target today for some last minute items that I need: Aleve, chapstick, a couple long sleeve shirts for my Ruby girl, and I need to find a little set of stacking cups to bring & I think that's IT! Oh, and maybe some Robitussin DM for momma, and a bottle of Nyquil COUGH because that stuff just ROCKS!!!!!!!!!! I'll post more later after I'm back from Target but figured I should post something for now since I hadn't in a few days. I hope you all enjoyed checking out the hotels I'll be staying at, DON'T THEY LOOK SO NICE???? Man, a nice vacation & my beautiful Daughter all in one trip, TALK ABOUT A DREAM COME TRUE! =)

Later Gater...

XOXOXOXOXOXO

DIG IT!

Ok, just got off the phone with Eric from my agency & although our official in country details won't arrive until tomorrow, I DID MANAGE TO FIND OUT WHAT HOTELS I'LL BE STAYING AT! =)

The WanFuJing Hotel in Beijing

Gloria Plaza Hotel in Nanchang

& last but certainly NOT LEAST...

The White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou

WOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOO I AM GETTING SO EXCTIED!!!!!!!!! =)

OMG MORE PACKING!!! UGHHHH

Ok, so here's two more pics, ABOVE is another shot of my red luggage for my little Jewel of a daughter, WITH, IF I MAY POINT OUT, TWO ADDITIONAL SHIRTS SLIPPED IN ON TOP... and THEN as if the fact that I keep ADDING things to my luggage isn't bad enough, LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THIS BEAUTY BELOW!
It's a BRAND NEW LUGGAGE FILLED WITH CLOTHING & SALT WATER TAFFY FOR THE ORPHANAGE & THE NANNIES OF SAID ORPHANAGE! OMG I seriously don't know HOW I'm going to bring all this with me! I need to have Ronayne over here to help me organize my CHAOS! (she's gooad at that!) I so think that this may be a calgon moment... SOMEONE BEST TAKE ME AWAY SOON! ugh Why can't the 16th just be tomorrow morning? grrrrrr

I LOVE BOOKS!!!!!!

As long as I can remember I have LOVED BOOKS! Always reading something & now that I have a daughter on the way I hope to pass on to her my love of books, thus the pictures featured here. First one above is Ruby In Her Own Time... a gift given to me by my friend Krista and it has become the mantra of my adoption journey & thus for my blog as well. It's a VERY SWEET BOOK that I love reading out loud to my dog & once Ruby is here, to her as well. lol ( Yes, I know, I probably need some sort of therapy but what the hell, for now let's just go with it! )


This next picture above me obviously more books & hardly all of them, just a small snippet of them so that you get the idea... If anyone is ever at a loss as to what to get Ruby for birthdays etc... GIFT CARDS TO BARNES & NOBLE WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED! hee hee


AND LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, the BOARD BOOKS! My girl is going to start reading ASAP all on her own! =) I'm gonna talk always & read always, if she isn't speaking full sentences within six months I'll be a monkey's uncle! ( or aunt ) LOL

Packing, more packing & christmas gifts for my CHUNK'O'CHINA!!!

Ok so I did a little 'shopping' for my beautiful girl on China Sprout recently & yesterday a nice big box arrived with FUN THINGS IN IT!!!!!!!! =) I bought this beautiful Fancy Prancey Princess- Asian Doll, this Woodkins Dress Up Kid-Kimmy complete with Woodkins Dress Up Kid-Accessory Fabric Pack. I forgot to take a pic of the wonderful Peddler Drum and the Little Miss Ladybug and her Magical Red Thread BookI got her like a dork but trust me, they're adorable! I also HAD to get the DVD Big Bird In China!!! IT IS SO CUTE!!! (Yes, I've already watched it & got very teary... I'm a dork!) The asian CPK I bought AGES ago because those of you who know me KNOW that I'm a HUGE CABBAGE PATCH FAN! (With a collection of over 55 MINT CONDITION ORIGINALS from the early 80'S~!) hee hee so it went without saying that my Ruby needed her very first CPK & there she is! =)
Also among all this 'shopping' was some 'packing' and let me tell you that this red suitcase pictured is JUST RUBY'S STUFF ALONE! I know, it's insane but the other suitcase that I have yet to take a pic of is filled with tons of donations of clothing & candy for the orphanage & then a small space up top for MY THINGS lol which don't amount to more than 2 pairs of jeans, several mix & match tops and a handfull of undies & two bras, one black, one white. VERY SIMPLE PACKING FOR ME but man, Ruby's stuff was insane and that black CARRY ON weighs MORE THAN MY DOG EBBY! Looking forward to figuring out how I'm going to HAUL ALL THIS SHIT onto the plane! ;) But don't worry baby...MOMMA'S COMMIN' COME HELL OR HIGH WATER! ;)

MY TICKETS ARRIVED!!!

Monday Nov 24th (yesterday) a nice big FEDEX truck arrived & LOOKIE LOOKIE WHAT WE HAVE HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*huge ass grin*
To actually see my daughters NAME on that ticket? PRICELESS!!! hehehe WOOOHOOOO CHINA HERE I COME!

Don'cha just LOVE kid's birthday parties??? hehehe

Ok, so yesterday was my sweet little Kayla's 4th birthday party and I was there with bells on with my three little friends Emma, Abi and Sam in tow...
First of all, KID's STOP is a WONDERFUL PLACE FOR ANYONE UNDER 4 FEET TALL! My kids LOVE IT THERE so the fact that their favorite place on earth was now host to their favorite Kayla's birthday party... well, life just doesn't get better than that when you're 4! Add to that the prospect of Pizza and Cake and you've got yourself a recipe for SUCCESS! =)
I have to admit though, the best part of any party, child or otherwise, is seeing one of your friends dress up silly just because he can! (And the better part of that is knowing that at all times, a FULLY CHARGED DIGITAL CAMERA IS WITHIN ARMS REACH TO CAPTURE SAID MOMENTS FOREVER!) hee hee Sorry Dan! HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAYLA!!!! DOESN'T DADDY LOOK SO PRETTY?! HEHEHE

There's room for ONE MORE!!!

The Study of Man and The Steaming Pile

AHHHHH FINALLY Everyone is SLOWLY jumping on the BLOGWAGGON! There's always ROOM FOR ONE MORE! hehehe Hmmm, now if I could only teach Ebenezer to start his own BLOG... would that then be a DOGBLOG? hee hee HOW CUTE! ;)

-Amy

I LOVE MY BABIES!!!

*sigh* I miss my babies that I've loved & nannied for for the past 3 & 1/2 years SO MUCH!! Tomorrow I am going over in the a.m. to pick them up & we're all going to our friend Kayla's birthday party! THEY ARE VERY EXCTIED & their mom emailed me today asking if things were still 'on' for tomorrow & of course I replied with 'yes absolutely!". So, tonight before their bedtime, I felt the need to call them because I love them so much & miss them like MAD, the following is that conversation:

Phone ringing...
Jen(their mom): Hello?
Me: HEY! How are you?
Jen: Great Amy, how are you?
Me: Good, I'm just missing my babies & I wanted to talk to them about tomorrow...
Jen: Awww, Sammy will be excited because just this morning he was saying to me " Momma, I miss my old nanny..."
Me: *teary eyed* Awwwww I MISS MY SAMMER SO MUCH! HE'S MY LITTLE BOYFRIEND!
Jen: Abi wants to talk to you ok? (handing the phone to miss Abigail...)

Abi: HI NANNY!! I miss you... *sad sounding*
Me: Awwww Abi, I miss you too baby, but I'm coming to see you tomorrow! Isn't that great? (waiting for a response...)
Abi: Nanny, I'm gonna miss you so much when you go to China... (more sad snifflie sounds)
Me: Awww Abi, I'm going to miss you too but I'm not going to China for another month but I'm coming to SEE YOU TOMORROW! I miss you baby!
Abi: (mood shifts & obviously becoming more happy) hee hee NANNY I LOVE YOU!
Me: Awww honey, Nanny loves you too baby!

(phone dropping... Abi screaming 'EMMA NANNY WANTS TO TALK TO YOU!")

Emma: Nanny, I got a new tooth fairy box, it's different than the one that you got me, it's all gold & very shiny & special. It could break if you step on it so I'm going to be very careful !
Me: Emma! that's so GREAT honey! I can't wait to see it! I'm excited to see you tomorrow honey... Nanny's coming to pick you and Abi and Sam up and we're going to go to Kayla's birthday party at Kid's Stop, isn't that exciting?
Emma: Nanny, um, Sam wants to tell you something...
(phone drops hard onto the wood floor & then I can hear it dragging along for a bit until little hands come to grab it up & then, a voice...

Sam: NANNY I HAVE A TELL YOU SOMETHING, I DID A BIG HUGE POOPIE ON A POTTY LAST NIGHT!!
Me: Sam! That's SO GOOD BABY! NANNY IS SO PROUD OF YOU!!! I LOVE YOU BABY!
Sam: Nanny, you gonna give me a prize? It was a 'BIG HUGE ONE!'...
Me: Are you kidding? OF COURSE I'll bring you a prize baby, nanny is SO PROUD OF YOU YOU'RE SUCH A BIG BOY!
Sam: Nanny, what you you you, you gonna bring me?
Me: Sam, I'll bring you a Sponge Bob Square Pants treat! (normally he LOVES SPONGE BOB...)
Sam: Nanny, I wanna Superman prize! You you you, got one?
Me: Sam, I don't have anything Superman honey, Nanny has Sponge Bob treats honey, I bought them for Halloween...
Sam: Nanny, you you you can go a store an get a Superman prize for me?
Me: Awww honey, Nanny is coming to see you first thing in the morning, can I just bring you one of my special Crabby Patties that are special for Sponge Bob? You LOVE Sponge Bob honey!
Sam: Nanny, I love you, you my boyfriend!
Me: (heart bursting at the seams with LOVE for this child) Awwwwww baby, Nanny loves you toooo SO MUCH~! You're my boyfriend too sweetie!
Sam: BYE BYE NANNY, I SEE YOU IN A MORNING!
(phone falls crashing yet again onto the hardrood floor...)

screaming wild children as it IS the 'witching hour' for them... then fait footsteps headed for the phone...

Abi: Nanny?
Me: Yes sweetie?
Abi: Nanny, it's me Abigail!
Me: I know it's you Abi, I love you sweetie, what's up?
Abi: Nanny, when you go to China can you bring me home a special prize? I want a purple prize! And Sammy needs a Green prize and a Pink one for Emma, ok? I love you Nanny, I'll see you tomorrow, goodbye!

*click*

all done. LOL

I love those kids & I CAN'T WAIT for Ruby to know them too, they're wonderful little people who bring such joy to my life, even if they tend to hang up on me every time we talk. LOL ;)

hee hee

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DAD!!!

Today is my father's 58th birthday! My mom made a special dinner of Haddock and rice with Italian greens & tomato's, some fresh cooked green beans, corn in a butter sauce, italian garlic bread, wine & then as if that wasn't enough, we finished it off with Canolli's & Bizmark's for dessert! Dad was very happy & wasn't shy at all about posing for some pics! =) TI AMO PAPA!!! PER SEMPRE!!!

-Amyla

WHY I LOVE DEIDRE!!!

WHY I LOVE DEIDRE!!!!

HAHAHAHAHA ok... now that I've stopped LAUGHING SO HARD, I am free to share with all of you, regardless if you ARE or are NOT from BOSTON, the above link. DEIDRE IS HYSTERICAL AND HER WORDS MAGICAL & ON THE MARK, EVEN IF IT'S AT THE WEE HOURS OF THE MORNING! Those of you FROM MASSACHUSETTS, enjoy the HUMAH' of the post, SHE IS JUST A RIOT!

LOVE YA De!

-Amy

HEHEHEHEHEHEHE

To Quote Pink Floyd: "Money, it's a crime. Share it fairly but don't take a slice of my pie!"

Pink Floyd...

Today Mom & I made our trip to the bank to pick up my 'NEW BILLS' to take to the officials in CHINA! New bills they want? NEW BILLS' THEY'LL GET! Also got myself some travelers checks to be on the 'safe side' as I'm really not all that comfortable travling with so much cash SO I feel ALOT better now! =) The kind ladies at the bank were completely kewl with letting me snap their pics so the dirty blonde girl in the peachy shirt is Jocelyn and the brunette in the yellowy top is Georgia... THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP LADIES! I swear, I never knew I'd EVER have to sign my name SO MANY TIMES!!!!!!!!! Ugh, my hand would've gone numb had it not ALREADY FELT NUMB COURTESY OF MS! Grrrr Anyway, obviously above are the pics of my trip today, seeing that money & those checks really makes it FEEL THAT MUCH CLOSER! OH, AND FOR THE RECORD, ONE MONTH FROM TODAY I'LL HAVE RUBY IN MY ARMS!!!!!!!!! OMG *thud* Sorry, I just fainted!

FINALLY MY OWN LINKS!!!

THANK GOD FOR VERY SMART BEST FRIENDS!!! You may all direct your attention to the RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE SCREEN, and notice the WONDERFUL LIST OF LINKS!!! For as long as I've had this blog, I have had NO CLUE how to put what I WANTED for links in that space, and it's been just stupid 'google me' and 'edit me' 'edit me' there FOREVER!!! UNTIL THIS MORNING!!!!!!!!!!!!! MY EXTREEMLY BRILLIANT BEST FRIEND JEN WALKED ME THROUGH CHANGING THEM AND NOW I HAVE THE LINKS UP THERE THAT I WANT UP THERE!

From the top:
Welcome to my kingdom- Every glorious QUEEN deserves her very own KINGDOM complete with CUTE KING at her side... my friend has it ALL! Her palace is also complete with THREE little furballs who keep life interesting to say the least! (Maggie honey, BE NICE TO MOMMY!)
The Random Thoughts of a Misplaced Bostonian- our friend De's blog which by the way doesn't necessarily always fall under the 'FAMILY SHOW' category... LOL ;) LOVE YOU DE!
Journey to Gwen- My adorable friend Karen & her husband Scott's journey to get their PRECIOUS DAUGHTER GWENDOLYN AND MAN IS THAT KID CUTE!
Journey to Arianna- My wonderful friend Katherine and her journey to get her daughter Arianna!! She's actualy in china RIGHT NOW so check out her pics! (another single mother, but from Jersey not BOSTON which makes her a yankees fan, but we won't hold that against her!)
Journey to Kaylie- My sweet friends Jen & Al who are LEAVING FOR CHINA THE SAME TIME I AM! & their journey to get their sweet Kaylie WHO IS FROM THE SAME PROVINCE AS MY RUBY & IS JUST SIMPLY GORGEOUS! =)
Journey to Annalisa- My SECRET BUDDY and her husband on their journey to get their precious ANNALISA! Check out the link on her page to her daughters' life book'... the cover, her name stitched 'ANNALISA' was done by YOURS TRULY! ;)
Ladybug Diary- My friend Lisa & her hubby from our neighboring 'city of sin' and their journey to get their precious little one from China!
Our Family Journal- Boston pals Sparkybear and her husband who are also adopting from China!! AND for those of you NOT from this area, check out her recent post 'LOVE, LOBSTER & LAUGHS!' it will show you how to CORRECTLY PRONOUNCE things while like a TRUE BOSTONIAN! ;)
Crazy about Emily- My friend Shannon from NC & her road to becoming a single mommy too! US SINGLE MOMS ROCK!
My Adoption Website- Nicole and Brandon are currently IN CHINA getting their precious little girl Kiah Faith Mackenzie RuoPing!! FOLLOW THEIR JOURNEY AS THEY POST PICS FROM CHINA!

I check these blogs ON A DAILY BASIS... and now YOU CAN TOO! ENJOY!!


-Amy

Chunk'O'China!

Ok, so Hump day is here, another week, another X on the calendar... ANOTHER DAY CLOSER TO GETTING MY PRECIOUS LITTLE RUBY PEI PEI!! I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just could stare at her chubby face, that delicious double chinny chin chin and those BEAUTIFUL ROUND CHEEKS ALL DAMN DAY!!!!!! Maybe that's what I'll do tomorrow, just stare at her mug shot for HOURS! *grin* I mean, after all, she is the cutest little CHUNK'O'CHINA I've ever SEEN! ;)

Special outfit for a VERY SPECIAL LITTLE GIRL!!

So, I just got back from a trip to 'Babies "R" Us' with my Mom & a gift card from a friend of hers & intentions on USING IT! So I browse the store & know that it's silly to even be getting anything cuz I already have a TON of stuff for her but I knew that I'd find SOMETHING...
...ahhh behold, a precious dress with fancy fuzzy collared TOP to go with 'said precious dress' for an even more precious LITTLE GIRL who awaits for me in China! I think I'll put this on her for our 'official' adoption day when paperwork is signed & photos are taken & my little 'Fu Pei Mu' becomes my little Ruby Cate Pei Mu! =) OMG IT'S GONNA BE HERE BEFORE I KNOW IT!!!

Just because I LOVE THIS PICTURE! hahaha

HAHAHAHAHA I LOVE YOU BOTH SOOOOOO MUCH! THIS PICTURE ALWAYS MAKES ME SMILE!!!!! WHO COULD NOT FORGET THE 'WEDDING NATZI' !!! HAHAHA OMG!!!!!

MS SUCKS, thank GOD for TIVO & TEA!!

Mmmm TEA...
Today I woke up with what I like to call 'elephant legs'. Imagine for a moment that each one of your legs weighed in at oh, 1,000 lbs a piece, then picture trying to make a b-line for the bathroom with said legs... WELCOME TO MY WORLD THIS MORNING! Ugh... the joys of MS... NOT~!

Only thing to be thankful for today is to know that I don't have to actually function other than to schlep around my apartment & 'exist'... being unemployed will do that to you. I don't mind the time off, actually it's a blessing. I need to realx before hopping the plane to China but man does it get OLD faster than you thought it would! Only thing that really helps me is tea & TiVo... amen!

-Amy

My Cousin's Wedding...

Yesterday, October 15th, 2005 my beautiful Cousin Robin married her best friend Lee Retzlaff. He's also the proud father of their two gorgeous children Little Mister Judan & Little Miss Drea'. I am proud to present to everyone this gorgeous picture of the new, Mr. & Mrs. Retzlaff!!
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE HAPPY FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *BIG HUGS*

Isabella's homecoming...

Ruby In Her Own Time...

Today my beautiful niece Isabella Grace came home to stay with her Mommy & Daddy and this proud AUNTIE could not be happier! =) Above are some pics of her wonderful arrival... complete with a surprise breakfast of french toast & bacon & coffee for the proud parents courtesy of Auntie Amy! =) Ebenezer was happy to stand watch over the food until we all sat down to eat. LOL ;)