Thanksgiving at the Little House

It was just the five of us. Well, the four of us, since Laney fell asleep on the couch 15 minutes before the turkey was on the table. But, we had a real feast!

The girls made a Turkey appetizer / centerpiece and decorated turkey cupcakes, Patrick cooked the turkey and made some wonderful wild rice and mushroom dressing, Laney made crescent rolls, I made the green bean casserole, Boston Market made the mashed potatoes (leftovers from Mia's school feast), and Mia made the pumpkin pie with her daddy. Yum!

Handprint turkeys accompanied pens on the table for writing or drawing those things we were thankful for, and giant turkeys spread cheer to the people waiting in the traffic on our street...

Please Pray...

I know this is not entirely my news to share, but I also know that prayer works, and that about 98% of my reading audience has been in the place our family is in today, so I'm sharing anyway and asking you to say a prayer...

Alicia's doctors found some lumps in her breast. They performed a mammogram on her and it was inconclusive, as there are some cysts that may be hiding some cancerous cells, so they will do a biopsy to find out more. As of today, her insurance doesn't want to cover "look-and-see" surgery, so they are running some blood tests to see if she has the genetic markers that can indicate a higher risk of having cancer before they go further. My understanding is that her birth mother as well as a birth-family aunt have already undergone treatment for breast cancer in the past 5 years so you would think that would be enough for them to proceed with a biopsy, but I guess it's not.

The details are fuzzy for me, and I'm sure as things move forward I will know more, but please just Pray. That it's not cancer. That if it is cancer, they can remove the cancerous tumors and she stays cancer-free the rest of her life. That the doctors are able to perform the tests they need to perform so they can make an accurate diagnosis.

And thank you to all of you who have been where we are, and where she is, for any and all support you have shown. :)

Pink Hummus

I think my girls, who love all things pink, and who love hummus as well, would love this. Me, however? Well, pink IS my favorite color, but this just looks unappetizing. What do YOU think?

http://weelicious.com/2009/06/08/red-beet-white-bean-hummus/

Santa Letter

A letter Mia wrote to Santa on the behalf of the family -



translation -
"Dear Santa,
We're going to the beach for Christmas. Please send our presents there.
Love, Mia Laney Mommy Daddy Carina"

The Audacity!

So, one day last week, I was picking up Mia from preschool, and just like any other day, I was chatting with other moms and picker-uppers at the playground. This conversation (if you can call it that) really got me fired up however.

It began innocently enough. She asked me if I "got the baby yet". (Yes, in those terms.) So, I said Yes, even though I was wearing her in the Baby Bjorn carrier (duh.), and I continued, saying she was 4 weeks old and was born on the 13th. She said, "Which month?" (duh again.) "October". She smiled thinly - "Oh, and it's a girl? 3 girls huh?" Then a pause with pursed lips. "Well, I guess you'd better have a double ceremony then." "3 Girls is Bad Luck...AND she's born on October 13th." (What?!?!)

I looked at her a little funny and said "Oh, because she was born on the 13th? I don't really worry about that too much. Though, I guess one day her birthday will be on a Friday and then we can have a Freaky Friday party." (I thought she'd laugh. She didn't."

She went on about how where she was from they believed bad luck would fall upon the family if they had 3 girls. I understand about the October 13th, but the 3 girls thing I just don't get. And it irked me.

Halloween ReCap

Halloween was a busy day! The family trekked up to Germantown in the morning for a birthday party. It was held at at Phillips Orchard - a pumpkin patch! What fun! The kids got to go on a hayride, pick a small pumpkin, enjoy a campfire lunch of hotdogs cooked over a bonfire, whack a pinata, ride ponies (!!!), and play on haystacks, meet and pet farm animals, and do it all in costume! What fun!

After we returned home, we had a little pumpkin carving time, some down time, and then watched the Takoma Park Halloween Parade head down our street. We usually participate in the parade as well as the costume competition, but we thought it would be too much to add to the daily festivities and still be able to enjoy trick-or-treating.

Then the big girls met up with friends Audrey and Daphne and their parents and headed out with Daddy to get as much candy as they could. And boy did they get a lot of candy! Now we just have to figure out how to ration it until Christmas...

Settling In

Today Carina had her one week (plus a few days...) check up and all is well. She's gaining weight back she had previously lost, her color is good, she's eating well, though not on any schedule yet, she's looking around, and she's in overall good health.

The doctor's office is out of flu shots (H1N1 and Seasonal) and it's a race in this area to get one. Evidently people are lining up at 3 in the morning when the listserves announce a place that has them available, and they run out in less than an hour. Our family is in the high risk group with Carina being so young, so we may spend the next few weeks getting up early and camping out at various locations trying to get a flu shot - sounds like fun.


Mia and Laney are being great big sisters. They get diapers and wipes, give Carina her pacifier, and want to hold her all the time (supervised of course).

Our friends from Laney's (and previously Mia's) preschool have coordinated a meal schedule so our dinners are taken care of each night. What a difference that can make, and how wonderful it is we have a supportive group of friends and neighbors to make the transition easier! We feel so blessed!

Mia has a bad cold and is home from school today so the girls are playing and getting into mischief today. So, life's almost normal, but with a quieter Mia since her voice is almost gone - poor thing.