I feel like dancin'

Who knew that dancing would become such a dominant part of my days. Lila and I dance SEVERAL times each day - in the kitchen, whilst watching her fave shows (Super Why, Dinasaur Train, Sid the Science Kid), even in the supermarket when the cart makes a rhythmic sound over the tile floor. On days like today when I find myself easily frustrated over (what I now find to be) trite little things, I think of my Lila, who finds joy in the smallest, most bizarre things. A post-it, for example:

I'm going to have to ask my beloved what, precisely, she declared the post-it to be. It wasn't a hat (shockingly). But look at that face! She was THRILLED beyond measure.

Grocery cart dancing, tupperware as chef hats, post-its as...well, entertainment. That's the way I want to be. That's the way I will keep on trying to be.

I wanna go back to O-HI-O

I've felt more blessed than usual in the past few weeks. Much of that warm & fuzzy comes from feeling secure in the knowledge that we made the right decision in moving back to C-bus. Chicago was a great place and I will certainly miss living in an honest-to-goodness city, but K, Lila & I are now surrounded by family. I LOVE that. I love that Lila sees her aunts & uncles, Grandmas & Grandpas, and cousins on a regular basis. Having lived away from family for the past 8 years, I appreciate being near them so much more.

On to current affairs! Some pics of the past few days:

My darling girl in her Ethiopian garb (at the EnkuTaTash celebration). This is the dress we received when we signed the final paperwork at Le Toukoul orphanage.

Ethiopian kids singing!

Me crossing the finish line at the 10K. Now on to the half-marathon. I told myself that if I could run 10 miles then I would definitely sign up for the half-marathon. Well, yesterday I ran 10 miles. Damn, I guess I have to do this! My left hip and knee politely object, but I think that my stubborn nature will get me through. That, and I've become a wee bit addicted to seeing my husband and daughter at the finish line. Feeds the ego, no doubt, to see your family cheering you on. There aren't many opportunities for your average stay-at-home mom to feel like a rockstar (I mean, I rarely get applause when, say, I manage to clean up Lila's poop off of the floor before the dog eats it), so I will grab every little moment I can!

My little one is full of sentences and sass (in the best possible sense). She is also fond of turning almost anything into a hat. Lately some tupperware has been magically transformed into a chef's hat! Her dancing never ceases to make me smile & laugh, and thankfully Lila LOVES to dance. I hope she holds onto that as she grows up.

EnkuTaTash 2002

Below is a picture of my family from the local EnkuTaTash celebration this past weekend. A wonderful time was had by all despite possible hearing loss. Seriously, the music was insanely loud. A cultural thing? Hard to say, but it was near painful and I was constantly fighting the urge to check Lila's ears for bleeding. As we left my Dad observed, "Well, there are going to be a lot of deaf Ethiopians in Columbus." Deafness aside, the people (as always) were gracious and welcoming to all of the adoptive families that attended, the food was AMAZING, and my parents & brother were able to get a taste of Lila's culture.

Sunday started with the EAS 10K. Quite the challenge. Not the running part, but doing in the doing it by myself part. I'd always found comfort in doing these things with others - someone to help me figure out where to go, what to do...etc. But I did it. K dropped me off and I was on my own. And it wasn't nearly as awkward as I feared it would be. So, I'm now trying not to chicken out on the half-marathon in October. I really want to do this, and I imagine it's physically possible, I just need to, well, not chicken out.

Crap! I'm missing the premiere of House! Wow, that is seriously pathetic when typed. I don't care...blame the in-laws, they got me totally hooked on this show.

Oh! But best thing about the 10K - when I was approaching the final stretch there were my mom, K & Lila, cheering me on. As I passed by, my mom put Lila down and she started running after me yelling, "Go, Mommy!" Does life get better than that? Don't think so. Moments like that I need to remember. I am blessed beyond belief.

Now. House!

Tuesdays with Lila

Lovely day with my girl. Storytime, playground with wonderful friends, bike rides and more playgrounds. K took Lila to get ice cream (delicious Rita's Italian Ice) and upon returning Lila ran towards me yelling, "Mommy! Ice cream aaaalllll gone!" Which was then followed by a hug and a sigh with "I love you, Mommy." Love me my Tuesdays.

We've got spirit, yes we do...

Yep, I've become one of those moms.

I never thought I would, but when the moment presented itself to dress my daughter and poochie up for OSU's season opener, I was heady with excitement. Lila was all for it. Molly the dog, not so much. It's hard to make an animal who doesn't mind eating cat poop look humiliated & degraded, but I managed to do it. It doesn't help that the dog jersey is a wee bit snug - sausage casing-esque, really.

K came home on Sunday just in time to see Lila before bedtime. It was madness - Lila was so overwhelmed with happiness that bedtime did NOT go well, but it was definitely worth seeing her little face light up at the sight of her daddy.

The most exciting part of the week was Friday night: K and I actually went out! Like grown-ups! Dinner at a lovely little Mexican restaurant and then off to the North Market for the Microbrewery Festival. And, of course, I managed to sneek in some ice cream from Jeni's. I'd heard about this ice cream from several friends and I must say, it definitely lived up to the hype. I had a three scoop serving: goat cheese with cherries, lemon with blueberries, and strawberry buttermilk. Heaven.

The excitement is building for Enkutatash, the Ethiopian New Year. We had a fabulous family dinner night with lots of friends at Abyssinia. Lila actually ate some of the offered food, so that was a miracle in and of itself. And this coming Saturday is the official Enkutatash Festival: dancing, food, coffee ceremony, raffle...general merriment. Can't wait.

The weather is supposed to be gorgeous this week (is there anything better than a crisp, Fall day?), so I have lots I hope to do with my little girl. Zoo, playgrounds, bike rides (thanks to K for fixing my tire), storytimes at the library, yoga class for me & Jumpin' Jelly Beans for Lila...and somewhere in there, I have to really start training in earnest for a half marathon. No problem, right?

And finally, our dossier is on its way to Ethiopia. Let the great wait begin!

Macaroni jewelry boxes

I want to be crafty. In those rare quiet moments when my mind can wander, I picture myself as one of those moms who makes adorable clothing, knits lovely little hats & mittens, makes their own organic babyfood, comes up with clever and artistic crafts to do with the kids that day. Alas, I am not this person (yet). I have many dust-coated Martha Stewart magazines, and although I doubt my knitting will ever progress much past your basic scarf (one color only, please), I think I might try my hand at a few things. My daughter has amazing, gorgeous, curly, BIG hair. And I find most store-bought headbands for kids to be either waaaaaay too over-the-top girly, or just plain not up to the task of taming my daughter's flowing mane.

My crafty goal is to make headbands for my Lila - there are some wonderful fabrics out there that are just begging to adorn my little one's head. I've discussed my ideas with my husband, and received his much-coveted engineer's seal of aproval. Now all I need is some fabric, a sewing machine, and a wee bit of sewing skills (although I'm not entirely convinced I really need the latter).

As for my lovely daughter, we had an equally lovely day. We had an early start - I dropped her off at the babysitting room so I could make a 9:00am yoga class. The only sad note was that Lila's beloved Miss Sharon was not there. Thankfully, Lila was easily reassured that Miss Sharon would be back next week. Yoga was HARD but refreshing, and I'm glad I finally carved out the time to return to something I truly enjoyed pre-mommyhood.

Today was filled with lots of hugs, kisses, and very earnest "I love you, Mommy" declarations. It still blows my mind the full sentences that come out of her mouth. This morning, when I announced that it was almost time to go, Lila says to me, "No, Mommy. I stay and watch George." This being the George of the curious variety. We hit the playground after yoga (how can 30 solid minutes on a swing be fun???), and then Lila had a blast doing some hardcore showing off for her most precious Ya-Ya and Grandpa, who were kind enough to come over for dinner and bless me with some adult conversation.

Best part of today: it's almost over and K comes home tomorrow!! Ain't no sunshine when you're gone, my dear.

It starts today...I think.

I've been meaning to start one of these for ages, so here goes! The hubby is out of town, baby asleep in bed (I hope) and this beats watching bad TV, right?

I've been so inspired by my friend's blog (Paige, you are too clever!), and also love reading the Nie Nie dialogues...both blogs focus on topics near and dear to my heart: family, motherhood, the daily grind of trying to raise happy and inspired (and inspiring, I'd hope) children.

I became a mother at age 31 when we adopted our adorable daughter, Lila Rahel, from Ethiopia. She is the center and light of my life. In my past life, I was a very focused classical singer - went to college, grad school, even got my doctorate! And though there are moments where I wonder what happened to that person, I still feel like I'm now FINALLY doing what I was meant to do. Singing "You are my Sunshine" with Lila (as we did in the garden the other day) at the top of our lungs beats any recital I ever gave in grad school. What's lovely is that, whilst singing, she stares intently at my mouth to try and get all of the words out just so. I know it's selfish, but I secretly love that she rarely sings for anyone but me...it's our little secret that she's a natural born belter.

There she is - I got the perfect picture by asking her to jump up and down like a kangaroo. She is also wearing her most fabulous Sesame Street plastic backpack...I practically had to pry it off of her before naptime.

I wanted to have an outlet to remind myself, especially in the evening when all of the craziness has waned and I'm alone in a moment of rare silence, of how lucky I am to have this life, this family, this daughter. And as we begin the long wait for baby #2 (dossier arrived at the agency yesterday morning!), keeping and open heart and calm mind is my goal. I treasure my daughter and husband, and work each day to make sure they know it.

My little piece of happy.