Right now last year we were in air with a crying baby... But we were on our way HOME.

The last few day's were spent in Kazakhstan. We had to drive in a VERY SMALL car for six hours and cross the boarder into Kazakhstan. There was me, Tariq, Leila, our interpreter, our guide and the driver. It was absolutely miserable. The driver was smoking even though we asked politely he not as there was a baby in the car, it was hot and Leila was miserable. When we got to the boarder there were men in uniform holding guns and yelling, utter chaos. We were told to wait as the men took our passports and paperwork for Leila while our crew made it through. Finally we made it through after about an hour, phew!

(This was us in our car ride across the boarder.)

We were now in Kazakhstan, I tried to enjoy the beauty but it was difficult with the circumstances. After getting lost in downtown Kaz looking for the International Medical Clinic for an hour longer, we finally arrived. Inside the clinic we thought we finally hit solid ground. No such luck. Our facilitator had not brought proper paperwork regarding Leila's vaccine history. She had vaccines yet we had no paper stating specifically what she had. Now we were stuck trying to get a hold of the director back in the Tokmok Orphanage for help. Our facilitator had no cell phone to use so he was stuck asking the medical clinic for help. We were now in a major city trying to contact a place in the middle of nowhere that likely does not even have a fax to get us medical paperwork ASAP! We were told it would be faxed the next morning first thing. Not having faith in this, I reluctantly agreed and we left the medical clinic. Outside we are greeted with a very unhappy cab driver. Now, we paid him a set rate to take us across the boarder and for the entire day. He was now claiming that we made him wait outside the clinic for too long and we now owe him more money. Our facilitator and cab guy get into a fight, almost to blows....it was very uncomfortable as you can imagine. We asked that he just take us to the nearest hotel. The cab driver dropped us off at the Hotel Kazakhstan and literally threw our bags out and was still demanding money. We grabbed our bags and ran into the safety of the hotel, our facilitator was still arguing with him in Russian. We were now in Kaz and had no idea where to stay. We were stuck where we were as it was getting late in the day. There were no arrangements made for us to stay anywhere so here it was. We had to pay $250 for a night plus we had to pay for a room for our facilitator and translator as he they had nowhere to go......$500 in one night!

Apparently this hotel has been redone however, we got one of the last rooms available....not redone. The tile was popping up everywhere; bathrooms, tub, shower, floors.......The faucets didn't work, the bed felt like sleeping on twigs, literally. It was here that I completely lost it. They brought us a crib we could not use as it was completely broke. I lay awake all night worrying about Leila and the way she was sleeping. I thought about our son back home and how badly I wanted to hold him. That morning before our clinic appointment I called Jalyn on Skype. Looking at him I just lost it. I cried and cried and told him how badly I missed him. I watched his eyes fill with tears and he started crying saying how badly he missed us. My parents were there to hold and comfort him, but as I hung up I felt like a terrible mom. I had managed to stay strong for the past two years enduring the emotional roller coaster that comes with International Adoption, but I just physically could not hold it in. I knew that I just did my son no favors, nor my parents that had the difficult task of cheering him up the next several hours. I felt terrible.

Tairq took over carrying Leila around for most of Kaz. I think he could slowly see me turning green by this point.

Back to the Medical Clinic we go. We are on a time limit. We have to take an envelope from the medical clinic to the Embassy in Kaz by 1:00 to receive an appointment for the next day to make our flight the following day. When we arrive to the clinic they say "we haven't received your papers yet!". Are you freaking kidding me?! Now I am irate! Phone calls are made over the next several hours. FINALLY, our translator thinks to ask if there are other faxes in the clinic.......we are told they have one other but it wouldn't go there, she asks that they look anyway. The gal comes down holding the papers. So we think we can grab the papers and go, but then they ask for passport pictures of Leila. What?! We were never told we needed these. Remember we are on a time limit with the Embassy. Where can we get these we ask? They tell us where and off we go to catch a taxi. We arrive to the photo shop and wait for two hours to take and develop her pictures. Back we go to the Medical Clinic and receive this precious envelope and run our butts off to get it to the Embassy on time. At the Embassy we are greeted by Americans.....how nice it was. This was supposed to be the scariest place, the last and final interview that would take place the next day. I was so happy to be here yet still scared as this was it. All we had to do was get through this interview and Leila would be ours. As we dropped off the envelope we are told that the pictures of Leila are not the right size! UGH! However, they were very nice and said we could bring them back anytime today and still keep our appointment for the next day.

After dropping off the pictures we find a different hotel. We settle on one right across from the Embassy, Hotel Eurasia. It was connected to a mall, weird but very nice. Our first room didn't have AC so we asked to switch which they allowed. Now, all we had to do after two weeks of ups and downs and people telling us "she's not legally yours", was walk across the road the next day at 1pm for our appointment at the Embassy for our final interview and she was ours and we could depart the next day home.

(Our dear friend Aijana was our interpreter, we love her so much. Leila refers to her as Aunt Aijana. She is from Kyrgyzstan and we speak to her often via skype. )

We got all dressed up for this big day, Leila wore her first dress that was way too big for her! I thought she had grown more so most of her clothes fell off. Our facilitator and translator met us at the hotel, mostly for support as we didn't really need them here. Everyone spoke English and all paperwork had been turned in. We left the hotel anxious as can be. If it were just Tariq and I we normally took the stairs down, but since we had more people with us and we were all dressed nicely we took the elevator. I had Leila in the carrier. On our way down the elevator stops.... WE ARE NOW STUCK IN AN ELEVATOR. We shake the doors and Tariq tries desperately to open the doors, they are stuck. Our translator is hitting/kicking the doors and screaming in Russian. I hear men outside saying something that our translator clearly does not like as she yells even louder and punches the doors, the men outside disappear and we hear nothing. I'm crying, our interpreter's crying and Leila's now crying. Tariq is still desperately trying to open something, anything. He lift's the facilitator in the air and he attempts to open the ceiling, the light bulbs break, glass goes everywhere and we are now stuck in an elevator.....in the dark. I'm looking at my watch and see our appointment time coming closer and closer...."Were going to miss our appointment!" Our translator starts yelling again, this time I hear the words Embassy. She's telling them we have a very important appointment right now! I'm literally about to have a panic attach, one of my worst fears is coming true but it's even worse than I imagined...we are in a different country. I know in America that if I were stuck in an elevator someone would come running and help, here I have no idea if they even care. All of a sudden I hear a loud clang and see something that looks like a crow bar slightly open the doors. Tariq grabs the doors and along with the crow bar they open, finally. We were dripping with sweat and tears and covered in broken glass, but we were out! We ran so fast over to the Embassy, my watch showed we are late. Maybe we can plead our case to them and get an exception? Please Dear God, Please.

We arrive up to the floor where our appointment is, escorted by armed guards. We see the lady that helped us yesterday and explain our situation to her and apologize up and down. She couldn't believe what we had gone through to get here, she told us to take a seat that we would be seen soon. Our name is called at a glass window, it is time for our interview. The Ambassador arrives and looks at Leila, "are you ready to go home my dear?" Stamp, staple, pay, receipt and here you go. "Have a safe trip home" he says, and that is it. We talk with him a bit longer as those of you that know my husband know he talks to anyone and everyone at length! We walk out with Leila and she is now officially ours, it's over. No more appointments, no worries, just an airplane ride away.......what more could go wrong (don't ever ask yourself this).

(This was us outside the Embassy, as soon as this picture was snapped a guard came up and yelled at us...opps! She was officially ours now and no one could say otherwise!)

The next day we fly out but not until late at night. We spend the day packing and give away much of our belongings to the hotel staff, less to bring home. A cab arrives at our hotel around 9pm, our flight leaves around 4am. We arrive at the airport, we wanted to be early just in case plus we were anxious but we figured there would be seats to sit/sleep on and we figured Leila would sleep there.....no such luck. Since it was after hours, there were gates up leaving us stuck in the main entrance for six hours. We did not sleep this night one bit. Finally they open the gates and we are shuffled into a line to check in. Everything goes smooth and we are sent to customs. There we are greeted by a lady in a glass box asking for our passports, in Tariq's was a little piece of paper he received when we crossed the boarder into Kazakhstan. The lady holds this paper up and says something we don't understand, Tariq replies "no we don't need that", she looks frustrated and leaves. She returns with another lady, looks like a manager or something, she says to us in broken English "this paper is the man's, where is one for woman and child?" Tariq and I look at each other and reply "we don't know, we weren't told to keep them for anything". The lady says "you don't find, you don't leave Kazakhstan. You will have to make appointment at Embassy to have this resolved." Holy Crap! We could be stuck here more days?! I panicked once again....how could this be happening, why weren't we told of the great significance this tiny paper holds? I put Leila down on the ground and she starts crying, we begin madly going through our bags and everything we own to find two tiny pieces of paper, everyone is looking at us like were nuts. We were frantic with a crying baby on the ground, must have been a site to see. Finally I found them and I stand waving them in the air like a flag! "We found them" I yelled! The lady returned with a disgusted look on her face and reluctantly let us through.

(I just took a deep breath, writing this is like reliving it.)

We were finally done. We had to get on the plane and head home.

Leila did not sleep for more than one hour. We had connections in Germany and London. Tariq and I had not slept in over 48 hours. We arrived in LA, finally on American soil. Leila is now a United States Citizen. I find a bathroom and threw Leila to Tariq, ran into women on the way in, closed the bathroom door and starting throwing up. I was so tired, so mentally exhausted, I was spent.

We arrived in Phoenix to family and friends holding signs and balloons, it was amazing! I cried as soon as I saw everyone. We were home. Jalyn was the first one to see and hold Leila, just as we wanted. He was so proud. We spent about an hour showing Leila to everyone and she was thrilled to meet them. It was like Leila knew this was her forever family and she loved them from this moment on. We came home and the grandma's swooned over Leila, feeding her, loving her, holding her, playing with jalyn and yelling at me to go take a nice warm shower. I will always love the grandmas(and grandpas) for this, they were all there when we needed them the most. How very lucky we are.

(My shirt read One Happy Mama and Leila's dress was personalized with her name on the front and an L on her bottom. I saw my Bubby and my feet couldn't walk fast enough.)

(Our first family hug.)

(Amty's girl from the start.)


Only one of a gazillion kisses from Mama (Grandma Rowland).

Nana's girl.

Leila never looked back since the day we left the orphanage, she is our daughter, grand daughter, sister, niece and friend. No matter what we went through to get her, it all was worth it. I would be lying if I said that hearing stories from people that had a great experience adopting internationally doesn't hurt. In some ways I feel robbed of the whole "gotcha day" experience, I never truly was able to enjoy my daughters birth country as it was plagued with worry, but I have made peace with our storey.

Today...one year ago....right about this time....we landed in Phoenix.

No matter how badly my heart was breaking from the mountains of delays and let-downs, I kept going. I have only begun to process what exactly we went through during two years of trying to adopt internationally. It is an emotionally painful journey that will challenge the best of marriages, but the end result is absolutely worth every minute. I look at Leila and I see reason to fight. I see a little girl that lost all she knew and still wakes up with a smile. I see the good in people and in God through her tiny eyes.

Right now there are sixty-five families in the US that already have received referrals of their babies in Kyrgyzstan and most have met their little ones. Kyrgyzstan is not processing these adoptions right now due to various reasons and many parents have taken numerous trips to check on their children. I pray that the officials will process these adoptions soon and open the country back up completely.

Memorial Weekend

Camping up north. No make-up no hair no problems.

Boy does she love suckers!

Cool man cool. Jalyn going for a ride on his uncles quad.


Hotter than blue blazes in this place....
remind me again how I ended up in the bowels of the desert...ahh yes, I remember.....boyfriend moves to desert, girlfriend follows boyfriend to desert, boyfriend flakes and leaves girl in desert, girl meets prince charming and lives happily ever after in the desert, not so happily in summer.

We went on a camping trip this weekend up north. There were storms! We even had to wear sweaters around the fire. We went with my in-laws, Mr. and Mrs. Whoo and Thing One and Thing Two.

We returned to the miserably hot desert only to find that our air conditioning............died. Dear God in heaven.

It has been a long few days in the Al-Mutawa house. Hot mama equals grumpy mama. AC guy came and fixed the darn thing.....500 bucks later. I sure can think of a better way to spend 500 dollars! The joys of being a homeowner.

Back to my Kyrgyz stories tomorrow. Right now, last year, we were in Kazakhstan. And boy do I have stories from that phase of our visit.

But for now, I'm off to bed to hopefully enjoy a good nights sleep with air conditioning.

Adios!

Movin On Up

Yesterday my Bubby graduated from Kindergarten.

It was a beautiful ceremony.

They wore caps that had a K attached.

They walked in to music, sang songs and we watched a slide show of pictures of their year together.

They were called up one by one, gave their teacher a handshake, received their diploma's and had their K's cut into a 1 (for first grade).

University of Michigan? Sure! If mommy has anything to say about it!

Daddy went to University of Arizona so he may have something to say about it. That and Jalyn will receive 75% off tuition at either UofA or ASU if we are still here.......

Whoever gets this boy will be lucky as far as I'm concerned. A proud mommy talking.

Passing Through The Storm

These were the days in wait.

We knew it was a possibility that we may not be bringing our daughter home. Even though this was the trip, the last, the final, the throw your feet up and relax you've got your daughter trip. Not for us it wasn't. There were terrible problems brewing in the horizon for adoptions in Kyrgyzstan and we were left to only wonder for two weeks what would become of our fate.

These were the days in between. They were long, they were hot and everyday brought about more bad news......oh wait!...some good news!.......then WHAM, more bad news to bring you down. The experience's we shared during these two weeks, one year ago today, were the most emotional days of my life. We had our daughter and we tried to stay positive about that, however, in the world of International Adoption you can never get too comfortable until you've landed on American soil.

The memories are still fresh. When I let myself go there, I start to feel sick all over again. I feel as though I have to grieve this period in my life in order to move past it. My hope is that maybe one day, maybe even next year, I will sit at this very computer and not feel sick about this time two years ago. That maybe my memories won't be as vivid and strong. Maybe it won't hurt as much. Maybe I'll be able to look through all the negative and find more positive...........Next year.

This was our life one year ago........

Our first lunch with our daughter. It was beautiful and an experience I'll never forget. They take you to a floating table on a lake by boat and leave you with menu's. By boat, they return to take your order and bring food etc. The wind was blowing and the sun was shining, what a beautiful day. Blissfully ignorant to the days ahead. Leila took a nap on the pillows while we ate.

On one of our many excursions downtown to site see, people watch and grocery shop. I carried Leila all over Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan just like this.......no wonder my back needed surgery:)

Leila had diarrhea. This was only one of his many loads of laundry he hand washed and dried.

It was starting to get difficult. I just wanted all the uncertainty to go away. I felt robbed. When you hear most adoptive parents speak about the trip to pick up their child, they have wonderful experiences. They had no troubles and truly were able to sit back and know everything was taken care of and enjoy their child's birth country. I wanted to enjoy it, I couldn't. We didn't even know if our daughter was coming home this trip. There was too much left to go completely wrong to relax.

The faces that kept me going. The encouragement we received from family and being able to see Jalyn's face and know that he was OK was all we needed to keep on trucking.

Over the next week or so I will be paying tribute to our trip here on my blog. I will be posting more pictures and talking about our experience a tad more.

One Year Ago Today

We picked our daughter up from an orphanage in Kyrgyzstan......and brought her HOME.

Tomorrow is Leila's Gotcha Day. It was questionable as to whether or not we could bring her home this trip and I was a nervous wreck, so technically, I don't feel like we truly "got her" until we landed on American soil.

You can see just how much she has changed and how much she has accomplished since then. She works hard as she has physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy every week. She used to think it was play time but she is starting to catch on!

I know I've said how appreciative I am over and over to all of you who stood by our side during our six month struggle to bring Leila home. We could not have made it through without our friends and family, your support was amazing and I truly believe all the prayers that were said made a difference. Even my friends that are not religious shot up some prayers, and that tells me something.....I have some pretty special people in my life.

This was one of Leila's caregivers, she took care of her and Leila's friend Kaiden. We know Kaiden's family well and keep in touch with them.

The lady to the far left was her other personal caregiver, she came back to the orphanage just this day to say goodbye to Leila. The other two gals on the right are caregivers for all the babies.

This is me signing the official book stating that this child no longer belongs to the orphanage.......Hallelujah!

Daddy holding her on our way to an appointment. Locals look down at you if your baby is not all bundled, even if it's 90 degrees, so every chance we had we unbuttoned and let her cool off!


We called all our family on Skype to meet Leila for the first time, what a great invention!

Seems like this all just happened yesterday, I can't believe it has been a year already.

How far we have come.............

Dedicated To My Children and My Mother

"What a great mom you are"

replied Laura, our friend and nanny as I prepared a fun afternoon snack for my children. Tears filled my eyes as those simple words filled my heart with such joy and appreciation. You see, I can count on one hand the number of times that someone has said these words to me since I became a mom six years ago.

So the question becomes what constitutes the making a "good mom"?
All moms have different belief systems, different rules, different goals and ideals for their children. Some moms even raise one child and realize certain things they need to do differently the next time around and so on. We (moms) are always evolving, re-adjusting our goals over time. Over the years, my choices as a parent have been questioned, analyzed and quite frankly judged. However, I stand strong as I have faith in the choices Tariq and I have made regarding our children. When a decision in our house needs to be made, we always start the conversation with one question: What is best for our children? We always have our two children in the front of our minds, always.

I don't feel the need to explain our reasoning to others but have found myself doing so from time to time.

I had stated earlier on that I am partly keeping a blog for my children. If something happened to me and I could no longer express my thoughts and feelings, they would have my thoughts on paper to look back on. They could see what was important to their mom over the years. Sometimes I write silly stuff that quite frankly I'm shocked anyone would read and other times I write about something serious and close to my heart. Today is one of those "serious" days. The following message is dedicated to my children. This is what is important to your mom:

A happy marriage equals happy children.

Our marriage is our priority. Kids pick up on how mom and dad feel about each other. If they see two parents that love each other they will feel secure. This is why your mom and dad have date nights. It is important for us to have time alone together and reconnect, it is vital to our marriage in this busy time in our lives. We hire a babysitter or family watches you for our nights together. We are nothing to our kids if we are not content in our marriage. Take this time when you are grown and married with children. Nurture your marriage, a happy mom and dad is the best gift you will ever give to your children. When the children grow up and move away, you don't want to look at your spouse and think who are you or where have you been all these years? You will want to be in love with the person you are with as you now have all the time in the world together! Unfortunately others may look at you and say you are being selfish, why don't you want to be home with your children. You look at them and tell them, I'm giving my children the best gift ever; a happy glowing mommy or a rested daddy.

Friday nights are sacred and not to be spent doing anything but Family Movie Night. We watch a movie that the kids pick and make popcorn in Jalyns machine that Santa brought. Your dad and I chose to have one night a week that is not open for time with friends or going out anywhere. This is our night to re-connect as a family after a long week of being busy and apart from each other. I hope you choose to bring this concept (or something similar) into your families one day. It has brought such closeness to our family, not to mention something for the kids to look forward to all week.

I love you unconditionally. I may not always agree with the choices you make in life but I will never judge you. There is nothing you could ever do that you can't talk to your dad or I about. We may not like the choices you make, but we will always love you. I will never give you advice unless you ask for it. You will make mistakes throughout life, when you are young and when you are old, but from every mistake that you make you will grow from it. Make your mistakes, learn from your mistakes, and always know you can come to us for advice.

This message is to Leila. Your life story is unique and incredibly amazing. We have God to thank for bringing our family together against all odds. When you came into our family, we became complete. Share your story with whom you trust and love. This is your choice, not mine or anyone else for that matter. Keep your story and your birth country close to your heart, you were born in an amazing place.

Jalyn and Leila, you are all each other has (now I'm sounding like MY mom:) Don't let any disagreement rob you from a life full of memories. You will say things you regret, you will make decisions that will hurt the other and you have the right to feel hurt and upset. Talk to each other about it, share your thoughts and feelings as to why you were hurt, apologize and move on. Life is too short to hold a grudge. I am not asking the impossible here, my brother and I have had our moments and that's all they were...moments. Nothing compared to a lifetime of good times.

To my mom:

Now that I'm a mom I realize what you went through, the times I made you crazy. I do so apologize. I have such great memories that you and dad gave to me that I hold dear, and now I'm sharing some of those very same memories with my own children. You were and still are the most amazing mom and my best friend. Thank you for talking to me each and every day, for listening to me when I'm upset, and for giving advice when I need it/ask for it and for holding back when you know I don't want to hear it:) You are a constant in my life and I'm partly who I am today because of you. I love you.

You guys are my world and I'm so thankful to God for all the blessings He has brought to my life. No matter what happens in life, always have faith in God. He has a plan for you and you may not always agree or understand His plan, but trust me, there is a reason for everything that happens to you in life. You may realize His reason later or you may never know, but always trust Him. God will never abandon you or leave you, talk to Him about anything.

I love you my two beautiful children, I love you to the moon and back.

To all you mama's out there reading this, YOU ARE GREAT MOMS! Trust in your reasoning in raising your children and don't let anyone doubt or judge you. It's a waste of time and letting it hurt you or eat you up inside does nothing but take a piece of you away from your husband and kids. Thank you to all the Mom's throughout my life that helped mold me into the mother that I am today. You taught me many things, and I'm so blessed to have these women in my life.

After our camping trip we returned home to this beautiful little girl. We missed her so much. She is purely walking now, no crawling. There is some concern over her having CP .

We have scheduled a follow-up with her neurologist for an MRI to confirm this. We are not worried by any means. From what we know about CP, it will not progress, she can only get better. It would just provide some answers and fill in the missing blanks. We will keep you all posted as we learn more.

We cannot imagine our lives without her. She has brought so much love and laughter into our home. It's been so much fun watching her little personality develop. Let me tell ya, she will hold her own with Jalyn that's for sure!

Hope you all are having a great summer! J is out of school next week already. We are looking forward to sleeping in and having a more relaxed schedule around here for a while.

Our first camping trip was a success!

We had a blast! Our friends Mary, Bill and their son Billy joined us along with Tariq's parents. Leila had a slumber party at her friend Brooklyn's house. This way we could spend some good quality time with J and not have to be so stressed our first time out. We stayed at a lake that is only 45 minutes from our house! We found this great area where you pull your truck right up to the water (since there is no "beach", it's paved) and the parents just put their chairs right in the water and watch their children. We roasted marshmallows, had great bbq's and most importantly, we spent time bonding with J and Tariq's parents. Family and friends are the most wonderful gifts.Jalyn bonding with Daddy. They sat here for about an hour just taking in the views of the water and mountains. A picture perfect moment.
I love my bubby so much! We played catch with a football in the water and just had a blast!

J loved riding the waves that came from the boats farther out. Some were actually quite big.

Our big camping dog, Nasser. He loved going for walks and meeting new friends. Jafar is getting too old to take out in the heat. He has terrible arthritis and wouldn't be able to tolerate getting up into the camper. And Amir is grouchy, he would not be a good camping boy! Nasser is only one and very well trained (although we didn't train him! Vet thinks he is part boarder collie so maybe he's just smart like that:)

The guys playing washers on our site. The camper in the background is Tariq's parents.


Next camping trip will be with our whole AZ family! The entire Whoo family will be there while we celebrate thing 1 and thing 2's birthdays along with Tariq's parents! I'm really looking forward to it. Although it was a TON of work to get ready, it was completely worth it. We created so many memories and that is what it's all about. I'm finding that camping is addictive, you just feel so relaxed when you get back. We are also planning another trip. We are either going to take an ADULT ONLY trip, just me and my man having some alone time together.........OR take the kiddos to CA and maybe go to Sea World.............decisions, decisions.........

Our Big Family Surprise...........

After years of saving, researching and dreaming..........we finally had a dream come true and found our perfect trailer.

We have dreamed of camping with our kiddo's and sharing with them what our parents gave to us as children........memories.

I vividly remember camping every fourth of July and watching spectacular fireworks, standing on my dad's shoulders in the lake and jumping off, campfire stories, smores, wading in the creek, fishing and loading up on boat loads of candy for only a dollar at the campground market (long gone are those days).

May I present to you our new memory-maker on wheels!

Jalyn jumping for joy when we pulled up with the trailer.

MY domain! Well as you can see I'll share with our camping dog:)

We surprised Jalyn with the opportunity to have a slumber party in the trailer (parked in front of our house) the first night we brought it home. He asked that I sleep in there with him. Now, if you know anything about me at all, you know I'm a big chicken! But I took one for the team. We watched Gremlin's, ate junk and called it a night around ten. I had a terrible nightmare that someone broke into Tariq's truck (as it was still connected to the trailer) and hauled us off. I woke at 2am scared out of my mind. I felt so vulnerable sleeping out there on our street!!! But I was a trooper and toughed it out. Jalyn, Nasser (our camping dog) and I all slept on the queen bed. Even though Jalyn has his own bunk beds in the back complete with TV, he wanted to sleep with Nasser and I.

Since Miss Leila retires at 5pm, she slept in the house, but she did join us for (her third) breakfast in the trailer. She was so excited!

Banana's What?!?!

OK, So I Am Currently Watching My Nephews....

If you've checked out Beanie's site, she CLAIMS to have "Gone Banana's".

I walked in to a totally clean house. Everything placed in just the right places, clean and even candles are lite.

Since my arrival to babysit, I have sat my plump booty on the computer and ordered myself some sun dresses super cheap from American Eagle, caught up on the blogs I follow, pet the cat that has no hair (don't ask), gave some lovin to a very well loved dog (aka fat, not that I have room to talk, you've seen pictures of my boys:)...and the kids are playing the wii.

I have not yet had to break up one fight as they are playing so nicely together. In fact, I could probably disappear and they would not even notice.

So either my nephews just behave incredibly well for me or Beanie is full of stuff floating in the sewer!

At some point I'll have to fix them dinner....Phew! It's a rough job but somebody's gotta do it!

I'm digging this job!!!

p.s. I have not forgotten to announce our family surprise, just haven't had a moment to upload pictures. Promise, really promise, either tonight (if I'm not too tired from this torturous babysitting job:) or tomorrow!