PB&J

Baby day came and went not too long after Jacob and I arrived in Ohio, so I not only got to be there to snap some shots of J carrying the baby, but of all three: baby, P and J. So, now it's PB&J around their house, and all I can say is that's one very very goodlooking sandwich.

Trying on a Life

Nearly three months ago, we made our big return - to our friends, family, lives - in a way. But, however you feel about the statement "you can't go home," (is it metaphorical or literal?) when you try, it's always different. 

So, I find myself tonight trying on a life (and blogging about it - because even though I don't think my day to day is that interesting, the last couple of weeks have brought requests for revival) even though I'm home.

There are some things to which return and they are blissfully the same - my iTunes library (recently re-discovered), The Bachelor wine nights with my best girlfriends in Lex (and, puzzlingly, the bachelorettes - same drama), the fact that I love driving around with the windows down, and working.

There are lots of things, however, that are incredibly, disturbingly, wonderfully different. My best friend has a baby! Not just any baby - a miracle baby who I adore. Lots of buds have babies, actually. I could have a baby (no, we aren't even trying, but it's that whole marriage thing - I could! Whoa...) I don't have a steady job, so I'm doing marketing and pr consulting work as well as freelancing (too bad for Obama my entrepreneurial efforts don't count for the jobs numbers) - which I have discovered I love (lots of freedom, but also allows me to be self-motivated). My fab husband and I are homeless homeowners (the house is rented, remember), so we live in my in-laws basement (remember?), which brings me to trying on a life today...

My sweet mother in law (yep, actually really love her) is on a vacation with a friend - for 10 days! There is no one in the world who deserves this more, and I'm so happy she could take this break and we can be here to help support the family in the mean time, but that leaves me the sole female in a house with my father- and brothers-in-law as well as my husband. So I've just sent the hubbie to BSF, the in-laws to boyscouts and I'm left with the dishes.

Don't cry for me, though, I only cooked a frozen casserole pre-prepared by said genius MIL and I'm also left with a miraculously quiet house (except the blaring iTunes!) and a glass of wine as I tidy up and wonder about the future...

Just a little fun sample from a new discovery (the hipstamatic app for iPhone - LOVE IT! Must for medium format photography lovers/owners/wishers):

Ashland, The Henry Clay Estate

Shower the People

Tonight was a fun and special night - the baby shower for the person who graciously encouraged me through frustrations and taught me the Arabic alphabet with such phrases as, "No. Is wow (a letter pronounced as such), not ya. If you confuse again, I will bite you. One more time say wow for ya and I will bite you. Now, read."

All tutoring issues aside (and the fact that she calls me Dth-oo-bah or fat every time she sees me), it was such a sweet night to celebrate Huda and welcome her almost-here-bundle-of-joy-to-be, Saeed, and I got to take photos!

But, even though I now have actual real proof of my Arab-girlfriends, I can't show that proof to you (especially you men - married or single!). Most of the women here are very sensitive about even having pictures taken, not to mention the thought of them being posted on. the. internet. When Huda got her wedding pictures back, we had to sneak them into a side classroom and post a lookout at the door in case a *gasp!* man should walk by.

So, instead, here are a couple of my faves that don't compromise anyone!

This is Blair and Roman on the left (due in two weeks) and Huda and Saeed on the right (due in four).

And Miss Party Planner Ellen's tasty and cute decorations...I'd say they speak for themselves, but the writing on the top two rows of cupcakes is in Arabic. They say (reading from right to left) Mabrook Huda (Blessings or Congratulations Huda).

PS-Pics

You can see the rest of pics of Mia on my google picasa account here, and photos and stories from past posts about the Emirates, Jordan, Oman, Arabic, the US, and various rants and raves about being an independent woman in the middle east at thehardyheyday.blogspot.com!

Tour de Force

Ever since my wedding, there's been this rumor going around that I get things done by, well, forceful measures. Something during the MOH speech about me coercing people to be friends with me by depriving them of house and home...

So, yes, it's true, I threw Sarah's house keys out the window of a school bus after one day in second grade so that she would have to come to my house instead of heading to hers. But it's not like I threw them into a cornfield or a creek! I threw them into my front yard, obviously. And, hey, it worked. Credit where credit is due, thankyouverymuch.

Because here it is some 20-odd years later and we're still the closest of friends (although I'll credit her ability to persist with me through attitude as much as I insisted with her through lack thereof). It's been many moons (as my mother would say) we've seen through all the elementary school recitations, icing fights, carwashes, choir rehearsals, beaded-button rings, goofie movies, catchphrases, college apps and acceptance, marriages, moves and, now, babies (she had just let me get all caught up and then there she goes, moving ahead again).

I've linked to Sarah and Travis' blog before, wherein they've chronicled the 2+ year journey of adoption, but now the process is complete, the family is together and Mia is home.

The absolute and undisputed highlight of the trip home for me was seeing my best friend and her wonderful husband become parents (you can see it, too, on their blog). We had two whole days to drop in and visit and share dinners (and Mia's first cereal) and laughs and hugs before Jacob and I got back on a plane. Praise God for this little family and that I got to see them all together! Below are a few shots of their arrival from Ethiopia with their darling baby girl.

After abandoning my husband and the car at an airport dropoff, I ran through the terminal and up an escalator - pushing people out of my way - to get my first glimpse of this baby. Isn't she gorgeous?

With Travis' dad - proud grandfather!

Momma and baby getting used to being home.

Daddy and Mia, sharing dinnertime.

Cutest nursery EVER!