HUGS FOR M3

At a time when I am usually stalking the internet for referral joy, I have to say that for the moment I am feeling sad. A person I have been following for quite some time now (and most of you have too, I am sure) missed the cut off by one day. ONE FREAKING DAY! So this post is a shout out to Mary-Mia who has been waiting SO SO SO long for her baby and I so wished she was getting a referral this week.

Mary-Mia's "Do They Have Salsa in China" was the first major china adoption blog I found last fall when I started thinking about adoption. I, like others, stalked her site without posting but merely enjoying her endless humor. Then we ran into what we thought was a snag in our plans to adopt so without knowing where to turn I emailed M3 and she got back to me right away with as much info she had on the issue that had come up. We have since resolved that issue but I have such a special place in my heart for M3. I am feeling her pain today. The good news is that, she is, without a doubt, NEXT!

XOXOX to you M3!

S #8

***Please note: I am happy for all of you who did receive your stork alert and will be stalking your referrals as they show up! Especially NOvary who missed it by one day last time! ****

Last but not least, the good!

For those of you who have not been here, Nantucket is one of the most beautiful places to visit. Children and adults alike revel in its splendor. Here are a few shots from our stay here on the Grey Lady.

This is one of the two slow ferries that shuttle cars and people from Hyannis to Nantucket. We are sitting on Jetties Beach where there is a great sandbar at low tide and we can watch all the great boats coming and going!






Last monday the Spirit of Massachusetts came to the island and here she is either just cruising around or taking guests out on a special sail. She will be open to the public sometime soon for viewing.


Here are the famed cobbled streets of downtown Nantucket. The story goes that as whaling ships brought whale oil to England they needed a heavy cargo for the way back. They loaded up cobblestones from England and brought them back. As they were unloaded here on Nantucket the town's people decided to start paving roads with them.

Now the town has some of the best shopping in the world tucked away in little boutiques that line these beautiful streets. Not cheap so I mostly window shop!




I did buy a little scallop shell charm from a woman who has been a jeweler here for as long as I can remember. Kim England now has a prominent place on Main Street for her store called Diana Kim England Goldsmiths. Nearly 30 years ago, when she was working in Silver, my mother brought me in at the ripe old age of 5 to have her make me a bracelet. It is a simple hammered silver bracelet with a hook closure. I wore it until it left marks in my skin and had to take it off to save for another day. Well this day has now arrived. My daughter is wearing it this summer for the first time. She is 4.5 and it is beautiful on her. When the day comes that it is too small for her, I hope we will have our little sister here ready and waiting for that silver gem!

What could be better than blueberries in July. Blueberries on a cute little boy!

Now for the Wierd

Ok now for the wierd. For some reason my daughter got bored at the beach today- huh? How is that possible?? She insisted on getting out of her suit and into a dress while everyone else was still in the water having fun. Here she is being wierd- I think she thought this was better than sticking her head in the sand!

The Good, the Wierd and The Ugly!

Yes, I know it should be the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly but there is nothing "bad" here on Nantucket- well perhaps the yellow Hummer that nearly ran me over and the little white car that darted out from a side street trying to get me today- they would be bad and should be reported here. Besides those things, nothing bad here.

However, I will start with the UGLY because since Nantucket became so popular and accessible with the airport it attracts what my brother calls real estate whores. Here is a prime example...
This is the house we used to rent with our family as kids. From pre-school age through college, we spent many summers here. We shared the house with another family through most of those years but when we were teenagers my brother and I were allowed invite tons of friends so it was always a good time. Oh wait, no not that house in the foreground- there is a bigger one in the back. Oh wait, you can't see it? Yes, that's right b/c they put another HOUSE where we used to park cars! SUCH A SHAME! My brother referred to it as whoring out land today and that is exactly what it is. Here is another view. As you can see the new house is just a few feet from the larger house. If you look on the right side of the larger house you can see a room that is windows on 3 sides. We used to call that the sunroom b/c it had no curtains and got really hot. Well, we should be calling it the moon room now b/c the new house is so damn close that if anyone gets dressed in either house on that side all you'll see is a full moon- kinda like this one.

Old Haunts

It so good to be here on Nantucket with grey shingled houses and bright blue hydrangia everywhere. The smell of cape roses lingering in the air instantly makes me relax. I grew up coming here every summer with my family. I have memories from this Island from when I was a small child building sand castles and playing on the sandbar at jetties to when I was an adventurous teenager biking to surfside to wrestle the waves.

Now I get to come here with my children and it is the greatest privledge and pleasure to watch them delight in the wonders of this place. This is a picture of B looking at shells and it could easily be a picture of my brother from all those years ago. The best parts of this island have not changed in 30 years. Days on the beach collecting shells, pictures of children on old weathered decks, and of course daily ice cream were what I remember from my childhood and now I watch as my children make their own memories.

Nantucket, here we come!

Here we are Monday morning getting ready to leave for Nantucket!


We had smooth sailing down to the docks in Hyannis and had a quick lunch at the ferry terminal.


The kids had a ball on the ferry but mommy was happy we took the fast ferry cause one hour was just enough "boat time" for them!







We are all settled in at G's house and all 4 kids are having crazy fun. Off to the beach now!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY EVERYONE!

Just wanted to wish you all a very nice Independence Day as we all get dressed in our Red, White, and Blue! This is a special holiday for SJ and me because it is the anniversary of our engagement. 10 years ago we flew to England so I could meet some of SJ's family and while in London on the 4th he asked me to marry him. He proposed in Westminster Abbey and of course I said YES! That night we went to get some champagne to celebrate and the store we stopped at was all decked out in Red, White and Blue and the clerk wished us a happy 4th of July thinking that was why we were buying the champagne. Now, I was born and raised in Boston and spent much time in Concord, MA and Lexington, MA where there were famous confrontations with the Red Coats. You know, the "Shot heard round the world"!! Well, this New Englander got a good chuckle out of being wished a happy 4th of July from an Englishman IN England!