What Do You Think?

I was just in a discussion on another blog regarding the kind blog button. The concensus there seems to be that those of us who are displaying the button are in effect the opposite. That we're holding ourselves up as better than others, and therefore, the very opposite of kind. The original post wasn't quite that harsh, but some of the comments got there.

I commented that I had the button because I think it would just be a better world if we were all a little kinder to each other. When I say that I include myself. That button reminds me to be a little kinder when I want to go into a rant. I see people tearing each other apart all over the Internet on blogs and message boards. All the while they hid their identity under some clever, or not so clever, pseudonym.

I also mentioned that as a high school teacher, I really wish people would be kinder to each other. It is amazing how cruel kids are to each other, to their families, to their teachers, and to themselves.

I also admitted to loving a good snarky blog. I'll admit it. I'd be snarkier if I could be, but when I do it just sounds like bitchin'. I admire someone who can state their opinions in a humorous snarky way.

I was taken to task and quoted the definition of snarky, which apparently is mean. I haven't looked it up for myself because I don't really care what the "official" definition is for that word. The snarky blogs I enjoy, and there are quite a few, have one main thing in common and that is humor. And while they may make sarcastic comments about situations, I haven't seen them attack an individual. It's okay to make fun of situations.

I guess being funny wipes out the mean for me. For the record, I think it's mean to personally attack another person for what they say, especially for what they write because nuance is so easily lost. I think it's mean to be rude or malicious or to pick a fight just because you disagree. I don't think it's mean to disagree. I think that's great, and I don't think it's mean to be snarky.

Enough of what I think though, what do you think?

Favorite Ingredients Friday - 4th of July Edition

A few weeks ago, we tried this awesome cake at our friends' house. The next time I went shopping, I bought the ingredients and made it for Jim's Father's Day dinner. The store was having a 2 for 1 cake mix sale, so I had to buy two boxes. I think I'll make another version for the 4th. I made the first one with the caramel topping and Fluffy Cream Cheese Frosting. This time I'm going to try the fudge topping with the whipped topping as frosting. The recipe is also on the back of the Betty Crocker German Chocolate cake mix box.

Better Than Almost Anything Cake

1 box German chocolate cake mix
Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 jar (16 to 17 oz) caramel, butterscotch or fudge topping
1 container Fluffy Whipped White Frosting or (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 bag (8 oz) toffee chips or bits

1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Bake cake as directed on box for 13x9-inch pan.
2. Poke top of warm cake every 1/2 inch with handle of wooden spoon. Drizzle milk evenly over top of cake; let stand until milk has been absorbed into cake. Drizzle with caramel topping. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen cake. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours or until chilled.
3. Spread whipped topping over top of cake. Sprinkle with toffee chips. Store covered in refrigerator.

Go visit Overwhelmed with Joy for more fantastic recipes!

Past FIF recipes:
Fruity Sangria
Outrageous Brownies
Enchiladas de Pollo
Lescó
Catalina Chicken
Croissant French Toast
Corned Beef
Sloppy Joe, Mac 'n Cheese Casserole
Shredded Chicken
Baked Bean & Burger Casserole
Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
Crab Rangoon
Sausage con Queso and Ro-tel Cheese Dip
Blueberry Multigrain Coffeecake
Banana Bread
Bananas Foster
Old-Time Beef Stew
White Chocolate Snack Mix
Gorilla Bread
Ginger Shrimp
Roast Chicken
Tex-Mex Chicken Taco Soup
Shrimp Mold
Pasta Puttanesca
Pork Milanese
Pumpkin Dip
Oven-fried Chicken
Best Bundt Cake Ever
Hot Dog Casserole
Chicken & Rice
Peanut Butter Fudge
Omelets in a Bag
Shrimp Boil
Apple Cheese
Pulled Pork BBQ

All Ages Welcome!

I found the link on Erin's blog. I obviously need to work a little harder to make my blog a little "saltier." No one (but me) watches G movies anymore.

Please keep my friend, Colleen and her husband in mind this week. They just lost their beloved dog to cancer.

Ow-ee

Why, you may ask, do I have a photo of peas on my blog? Not just any photo, it's one I took on my kitchen counter yesterday. Why did I take this picture? I had just removed it from the grocery bag and was about to put it away when I stopped to take the photo. You see, I don't buy frozen peas. I'm a bit of a pea snob. I only buy LeSeur baby peas. I love them. They're soft. They're sweet. They're yummy. These peas are not for eating.

Sera has been working hard on this walking thing. Each day she is stronger, steadier, and goes further. On Monday, she was having fun pushing herself further and further. The problem we ran into was one of over-exuberance. She was sitting across the living room from me playing when she decided to get up and walk to me. The closer she got, the faster she walked. When she was just out of reach, she decided just to lunge the rest of the way. She didn't quite make it and fell hitting her forehead. She cried. I scooped her up and kissed the rapidly swelling red bump on her forehead. After a minute, she climbed down and went back to play.

About an hour later, she was still practicing her walking around the room. This time instead of lunging for me, she lunged for this big black boxy thing that is part of our sound system. She knows she's not supposed to play near it, but it calls her with its siren song. I was picking up some toys when I heard the crack and the scream. She wacked herself good on the same side of her forehead. This time the skin around the outside of her eye even started turning purple. This one got her. For the first time, she really snuggled after a fall. She's more the brush it off type. After I cuddled her and kissed her owee or boo-boo (haven't decided what to call it yet), she grabbed her baby doll and cuddled up next to me on the couch for a good half hour.

Fast forward to Tuesday afternoon. We're standing in front of the frozen vegetables at the grocery store when I saw the bag of peas. I looked to Jim and wondered whether we should buy one to use as an icepack for Sera. He just gave me a look, opened the door, and tossed the bag in our cart.

By the way, she was completely healed by Wednesday morning. Not a mark to show for her pains the previous day.

Read The Label!

You know those little tags that hang from the collar of your clothes. Did you know that if you read them, they tell you how to launder that item? Shocking!!

Remember that adorable ladybug costume/jacket I bought a few weeks ago at the yard sale? I had tossed it in with some other red items waiting until I had enough for a load of wash. I never bothered reading that tag. I usually do, and now I know why. That jacket was a 4T. It was going in the closet to wait the years it would take until Sera could wear it. We don't have to wait anymore. It will fit her this fall now! All's good though. It only cost me $4.00, and it will fit her this fall. It's still cute, just much, much smaller now.

Lie flat to dry does not mean toss in dryer on low cycle.

As a bonus, here's a picture of Sera and me at Lily's birthday party last Saturday. I copied it from Lily's mom's blog last night.

I'm a Winner, And You Can Be, Too!

Well, you already knew that. Just look at this precious face.
But I also won a $25.00 gift certificate to thebabymarketplace.com. Mommyknows.com is giving away a prize every day for the months of May and June. You still have time to get in on the action.

I'm also a winner because I have great family and friends who've supported us and our decisions. One of the best ways I know to thank them is to pass that support on to others who need it.

Recently, I mentioned my friend, Julia. She and her husband are in the process of adopting a 13-year-old from China. They have a blended family of five adult children and two young daughters from China. They had not planned another adoption. Julia's agency contacted her about this young girl because she's close to aging out of the program. Her options become very dim when she turns 14 on December 31, 2007. The CCAA has pre-approved them based on their previous dossier. They have to update their homestudy and get their USCIS (Immigration) approval. Everyone is working to expedite the process and get this girl home. Julia and her family need all the help they can get as this was not planned. Here are some places you can go if you need to purchase scrapbooking supplies, Mary Kay, or magazines and help this family out at the same time.

Julia also wants to make a 100 Good Wishes quilt as she did for her other two daughters. Since she's not part of a DTC group, she doesn't have the access like before. If you have a quilt square to spare, please think about sending one her way. Julia's blog is TrawickClan.

We all know how wonderful the mom blog/adoption blog community can be. Please pass on the word, and help unite this family.

IKEA, Here We Come

We're up to five steps now walking. It's too cute to watch. She loves to walk from mommy to daddy and back, but now she's also standing from a sitting position and racing to one of us. Sometimes she catches us off guard because we weren't watching her at that moment. Then out of the corner of your eye, you see this pint-sized dynamo staggering at an amazing speed straight for you. She grabs on, looks up and gives the biggest "I'm a big girl" grin you can imagine.

All this walking makes her bones weary, so now she's decided she likes to sit. She likes to sit like everyone else with her knees bent and her feet touching the floor. Who wants to sit with their legs stuck straight out all the time. A small table and chair set is on our list, but we hadn't rushed out to buy one yet. I think we have to now because she's claimed this as her chair.

It is kind of handy. She pushes it to where she wants to sit and then has a seat. She's tried sitting on the upper step, but it's a little too high for her, and she fell off. The bottom seat is perfect. This was a gift from my sister, Kati. Sera loves to pull the blocks out. The blocks in the lower step are rubber. In the top step, half are wooden and half are fabric. Two of the fabric ones have a mirror on them. Sera recognizes which two they are as they're her favorite. I'm impressed because each side of the fabric blocks has a different pattern.

Yesterday, we went to a 2nd birthday party for Lilly. Lilly came home about a year before Sera and is part of our weekly play group. Her older brother is just 2 1/2, so their mom has her hands full. It was a very nice party with lots of friends, food, and fun. Sera and I only knew one other family there, so it was nice to meet some new people. The weather was perfect, in the 70's and just slightly cloudy. Since scattered thunderstorms had been predicted, this was a nice surprise.

This family has an amazing backyard with the best swingset. It has two slides and a tire swing underneath the treehouse-like top. I want to be six again! There was also a sandbox, tons of riding toys, and some lawn toys. The kids had a blast. Sera stuck pretty close to me. She's not big on swings, but does like the slide. For the most part, she enjoys walking around me. The other family that we knew there has a Lilly, too. She's just five months older than Sera. It was amazing to see her running around and playing. She stuck close to mom and dad at first. When she warmed up though, it was off to the races. She would take off and play. She'd stop and look to see her mom and dad and go back to playing. It's hard to imagine Sera running off and playing, but I know it will happen soon.

If we'd had any doubt about Sera liking a table and chair in her size, just take a look at how she loved this table set.

Taking Care of Baby

Don't you love a good yard sale? Our next door neighbors are having one this weekend. We went over to say hi and bought a toy swing, pack n play, and high chair for a whopping $2.50. They're the perfect size for Sera's favorite doll. She needs to increase her vocabulary soon so she can start naming her dolls. Mom's imaginative name for this doll has been Baby. Any suggestions?

Party Time!

5 Minutes for Mom is hosting a big party for the 4th of July. They will be giving away tons of prizes. Go check out their contests and see which ones you want to enter.

But Does Yours Play Music?

We did learn something new about Sera during her evaluation yesterday. Apparently she thinks her butt plays music.

On one of our visits to Borders, I picked up a book for her in the bargain book section. She had never seen The Wiggles at that point, but she loves music. I knew she'd enjoy the book. She loves that book. It usually stays in her Pack N Play. She initially pushed the buttons to play it, then she started using her feet. She'll stand on it. Her favorite method by far, though, is to sit on it. Whether it's in the Pack N Play or on the living room floor, she'll plop her little butt on it and rock to the music. When the song ends, she wiggles around until a new one starts. I thought this was adorable, but didn't really give it any more thought.

One of the toys that the therapist brought yesterday was a small toy piano with a xylophone on top. The therapist played it a little to show Sera how it worked. Sera dropped one of the balls she was holding on top of it and the xylophone played. We all laughed when about 30 minutes later she returned to the piano and sat on it. The therapists just thought she was looking for an appropriate sized chair. Jim and I knew right away what was happening though. I pulled her Wiggles book out of the Pack N Play and put it on the floor. Sera headed straight for it, sat down, and started singing along with the music...wiggling all the while. Her butt plays music. Doesn't yours?

Practically Perfect In Every Way

This is an old picture, but I don't think I've posted it before. It's part of a series of pictures I took when I was playing with my new camera's settings. She had decided she wanted to stay in her high chair after her snack that day.

Today started out on the rough side. By today I mean last night. I was just getting ready to close my book and turn off my lamp when I heard Sera cry. She never cries at night, so I checked the video monitor. She must have had a nightmare because she was tossing and turning and whimpering. I made a decision that I still don't regret, but then I may be insane. If I had left her alone, she probably would have fallen back asleep. She goes to sleep on her own when we put her down. I've seen her wake up before and go back to sleep. This was different though. Images of her waking up from nightmares in an orphanage and no one being there to rock her just filled my brain. I went to her and held her and rocked for about an hour. She fell back to sleep pretty quickly, but she was still whimpering and kneading my shoulder with her left hand and my ribs with her right. Now let me interrupt to say that I am extremely ticklish, but I held it together. She kept waking and going back to sleep. When she finally seemed to relax, I put her back in her crib. I covered her, did our normal night-night good bye and went to bed.

One hour later, she cried out again. Jim woke and got to her first. In my groggy state, I just told him to bring her to me. What was I thinking? She doesn't sleep in our bed. Mommy and daddy are way too much fun to waste time sleeping. She wouldn't even lie down. She sat between us on my pillow with her butt in my face. I'm so glad she didn't have a poopy diaper. She alternated between grabbing my nose and poking Jim's lips. I quickly gathered her up and headed back to the nursery.

We settled in on the rocker. She wasn't upset anymore at all. If anything, she was playful. She'd play for a few minutes, settle in and seem to want to sleep, and then toss and turn and play again. I so wanted to sleep. Everytime I tried to put her down, she'd start to cry. This is so unlike her that I continued to hold her. Finally, she got tired and comforted enough to willingly go back in her crib. It's where she sleeps best. She is a mover and needs her space. That's why she doesn't really like being held when she's asleep. It's okay for short-term, but not for very long. When I returned to my room and looked at the clock, it was 3:30 AM. Ick! No big deal, I thought, I'm sure Sera will sleep in in the morning.

NOT! She woke up only 15 minutes later than usual. Okay, I dragged my sorry, tired butt out of bed and made her bottle. I put her down for her morning nap on time and she went right to sleep. Yay, surely she'd nap for two hours. She usually naps for two hours, right? WRONG! She only slept one hour. I didn't even make it to my morning shower.

When Jim got home, I begged for mercy. He took her with him to run some errands, and I slept for 45 minutes and took a shower. He came home in time to put her down for her afternoon nap where she slept for an hour and a half. She probably would have slept longer, but she needed to get up as we had two therapists, a developmental and an occupational, coming at 4:00 PM to evaluate Sera's development. My only worry is that a rough night and then being awakened from her afternoon nap might not let Sera show her best side. You know?

My first strategy was to have Jim wake her up. Since I'm usually the one getting her when she wakes, she absolutely loves when Jim gets her. I thought his presence might forstall or even prevent the whiny clinginess she displays when I have to wake her instead of letting her wake naturally. It's rare that I do this, but sometimes it can't be helped. The strategy worked. He brought little Miss Sunshine downstairs.

They stayed for two hours, and she performed for them. It took her about 15 minutes to warm up to them. During that time, she'd go between Jim and I, but had to be held by one of us the entire time. Then Lydia pulled out a plastic fish bowl that played music and lit up when you put the balls in it. That's a hattrick, ladies and gentlemen. She loves toys that play music and light up, and she absolutely adores balls. She slid off my lap to the floor and began to play. They observed her the whole time while asking tons of questions. They watched her interact with Jim and with me. They interacted with her to see what she would do. They found her to be developmentally on target in every single area.

They were amazed when they learned what she had picked up over the last two months. She's completely caught up. They also told us how happy they were to have a meeting that went so well. As you can imagine, they don't always have such good news for the parents. Most people don't use their service unless they think there is a problem, and there usually is. It's a shame that more people don't as the evaluation is absolutely free. They're even paying for her hearing test later this month. This service is offered to all children under three years old* to make sure they get needed services before entering the school system. If parents wait until they're in the system to get them help, they're missing a vital opportunity. If Sera had been found to need therapy, there would have been a fee, but it's based on income and sooo worth it to give your child every chance they need to succeed.

They wished us luck and thanked us as they left. They also wanted us to know that if any concerns come up in the future to call for another evaluation. They left us notes on what is next for her developmentally and suggestions on play that will help her. I would never have thought she was old enough to start coloring, but guess what...it's time to by some art supplies and puzzles.

The program is called First Steps here. We received the number from our doctor. Here's a site that goes into it a little bit more. I strongly recommend all parents, not just adoptive, use these resources.

*Children over three who need services are helped through the local school systems.a

The Heart Breaks

My blog started as a way for me to journal my adoption and to keep long distance family and friends informed of our progress. It's turned into a real outlet for me, and something I enjoy doing. It's also brought many wonderful people in my life.

Like a polite guest in the Internet world, I decided there were certain areas I wasn't going to blog about: politics, religion, and sex. The standard big three. If I had to label myself it would be conservatively liberal or maybe liberally conservative. I think if everyone just followed the Golden Rule, we'd all be a lot better off. I have very definite ideas, but I know I'm not going to change anyone's mind. Nor do I feel this is the venue to attempt it.

This, however, goes beyond politics. This is about basic human decency, or lack thereof.

Full Disclosure

Just in case you think Sera always neatly feeds herself as she did here, this is what it usually looks like. She uses her left and right hands equally at this point.

That sure was some tasty yogurt.

Time Travel, Take Two

On Friday night, we met our friends, Doug & Laura, and their son, DJ, for a quick dinner before heading back out to the drive-in theater. First, we stopped by their house to pick up their two youngest, Sean and Kyra. DJ headed out to a social event at their church. He is fifteen, so it makes sense that a night with his friends is more attractive than a night with all of us. Sera did get a kick out of watching him play peek-a-boo with his napkin as he sat across the table from her. He's such a good kid.

This time we prepared better for the movie. We brought chairs and a blanket. After we parked and got out of the car, we were surprised to see Doug's sister Chellie, her husband, and two of their three sons come walking towards us. They were also out for a family evening. Their youngest is seven months old, so they run into problems trying to get out, too. The kids took off to play. I'm not sure if they just ran around the cars or headed to the playground. The playground is open until the movies begin. We got there about the same time as the week before, but between setting up and visiting, the time just flew. Before I knew it, the movie was getting ready to start.

I hurried to the car to get Sera's bottle ready. She sat on my lap and guzzled down that bottle as the movie got rolling. she had fun playing on the blanket and walking between Jim's chair and mine. When she started to get fussy and do the frenetic play that she does when she's overtired, Jim took her in the car. They watched the movie for a bit before he put her in the car seat and she went to sleep. Though 100% better than the week before, we still learned. I think she would have gone to sleep earlier if we'd just put her in the car seat and went back to our chairs. Our chairs were set up in front of the car. With the sunroof open, we could definitely hear her if needed, but she's used to sleeping by herself in her crib. It's hard for her to sleep while being held because she forces herself to stay awake and play with you.

It was just such a nice evening. Even though the temperatures during the day had been in the 90's, the evening temps were in the 70's...very comfortable with a nice light breeze. The stars were out and so were the fireflys. All around us sat small groupings of people, families and friends, watching the movie. You could easily whisper something to the person next to you and no one else could hear or be bothered. Better yet, you couldn't hear them either. Watching a movie without having your seat back kicked or someone trying to get out of your row or listening to some chatty Cathy give their running commentary was just wonderful. How in the world did drive-ins fall out of favor?

After I wrote last week's post, I saw an article saying that drive-ins are having a renaissance of sorts. To find out if there's a drive-in near you, check out this site.

In case you are curious, we saw this movie. Sorry there aren't any pictures, but they don't allow it at the drive-in.

Happy Father's Day

to my daddy, who has always been there when I needed him...even when I thought I didn't.

And to Sera's daddy. Here he gives her his very first kiss.

Happy Father's Day, DaDa. I love you!

From: your little Tiger

Favorite Ingredients Friday - Refreshing Drinks Edition

Summertime just screams for refreshing drinks, doesn't it? There are tons of fancy recipes for sangria, but I like to keep it simple.

Fruity Sangria

2 bottles of white zinfandel
Mixed fruit (fresh or frozen), peaches, berries (strawberry, raspberry, blackberry), cherries, etc…

Slice fruit, if necessary. Fill pitcher approximately half-way with fruit; add wine. Let sit, refrigerated, for a few hours. Add more wine as needed.

Now, this recipe is easily adaptable. Don't like white zinfandel? Use any light white or red wine. Choose your favorite fruits. Like it sweeter? Add some sugar or peach brandy or any other fruit-flavored liqueur.

Just make it to your own taste, and make a back-up pitcher if you have company. It goes quickly.

Go visit Overwhelmed with Joy for more fantastic recipes!

Past FIF recipes:
Outrageous Brownies
Enchiladas de Pollo
Lescó
Catalina Chicken
Croissant French Toast
Corned Beef
Sloppy Joe, Mac 'n Cheese Casserole
Shredded Chicken
Baked Bean & Burger Casserole
Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
Crab Rangoon
Sausage con Queso and Ro-tel Cheese Dip
Blueberry Multigrain Coffeecake
Banana Bread
Bananas Foster
Old-Time Beef Stew
White Chocolate Snack Mix
Gorilla Bread
Ginger Shrimp
Roast Chicken
Tex-Mex Chicken Taco Soup
Shrimp Mold
Pasta Puttanesca
Pork Milanese
Pumpkin Dip
Oven-fried Chicken
Best Bundt Cake Ever
Hot Dog Casserole
Chicken & Rice
Peanut Butter Fudge
Omelets in a Bag
Shrimp Boil
Apple Cheese
Pulled Pork BBQ

Neglecting My Duty

I have been informed that, once again, I've been neglecting my duties in updating you all on the Wonderful World of Sera.

What can I say...she's wonderful. She's opening up more and more. She now loves on her baby doll. She hugs her and kisses her. She's always been fine receiving kisses from Jim and me, but now she's initiating, too. The other day when I was unbuckling her from her high chair she leaned forward and kissed me. She's done that every time since. Of course, it just shatters my heart into a gazillion lovely pieces each time she does it.

This week we headed over to the Social Security office and applied for Sera's social security card. They said we should get it in about three weeks.

She's saying mama and dada a lot more, and she's saying it to us. Hi has replaced uh-oh as her favorite word. We're not hearing uh-oh as often. No one else could tell, but she is working on bye-bye, baby, and thank you right now. We know based on context, intonation, and syllables.

She's been walking by holding our hands for several weeks now. Each day she's been able to stand for longer and longer before falling and could take one step. Jim and I decided taking one step was not walking. It's more like falling with style. A few days ago she mastered standing, squatting down to pick up a toy, and standing again. Today when we practiced having her walk from mommy to daddy and vice versa, she didn't clutch our hands as usual and made it a good three or four steps each time. She's had this push toy since the first week we got home. It was a gift from one of Jim's co-workers. She's often sat in front of it and spun the many toys on the outside. I have shown her how to push and walk, but each time she sat right down and acted afraid of it. Today, after she got tired of walking between Jim and me, she crawled over to it, stood up and took off.

To make up for my bad blogging this month, here are pictures and a video from today. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera handy when she was walking on her own. I did get the pictures with her push toy though.

I'm cruisin' now.

Don't I look jaunty?

Mama, we need a bigger living room.

The Differences Between Mommy and Daddy

AFTERNOON SNACK



Mommy - biter biscuit, 1/2 of a banana, sippy cup filled with 1/2 100% apple or pear juice and 1/2 water



Daddy - Fritos with dip made from Ro-tel Tomatoes and cream cheese, full strength limeade



Results - Sera is just as happy with either, though she did get one extra spicy bite of Ro-tel. She stuck her tongue out and yelled before biting into the next Frito and dip. She's a spicy girl.

Helping Hands

In January 2006, Jim and I signed up to take Mandarin class at the local Chinese language school. The school uses the facilities at a church whose congregation is primarily Chinese-American. It is run by the parents, who take turns as principal. Each year a different parent is chosen.

In January 2006, it was Hong. Hong, a Beijing native, had just received her referral. During our Sunday classes, she would pop in and show us pictures and give us updates. She travelled while we were in session and brought her daughter to meet us the first Sunday she was home. The school is and was dedicated to teaching Mandarin to children. The Chinese adoption community became aware of this school and worked with Hong to become a part of it. They opened their doors and hearts to us making us feel very welcome. Our children are welcome in their classes, and a new class was formed for adoptive and pre-adoptive parents to learn some basic Mandarin. We were invited to attend the Chinese New Year celebrations and even participated in the end of year recital with all the other students. The kids got quite the kick out of seeing a bunch of us adults stand up there and sing children's songs in Mandarin.

One of the other students in our class was Julia. Julia and her husband had a blended family of five. They had then adopted their first daughter from China in 2003, and their second in 2005. In fact, their second had only been home for a few months when class began. Julia's youngest son travelled with her both times. He even went back this last winter to travel with a family friend, a single mom who would need a helping hand.

Julia has a lot on her plate right now with two young daughters. Owen just graduated from high school and is leaving for boot camp on Monday. Another son just told her that he's getting married on Friday. He and his bride didn't want a fuss so they planned everything and just told their families to show up and enjoy the celebration. Plus, Julia works as a local liason for the adoption agency she used.

This agency recently called Julia. They have a young lady on their waiting list looking for a forever family. They asked Julia and her husband to take a look at her file and consider adopting her. They took the plunge and agreed.

This child is 13 years old and months from aging out of the adoption program. They are frantically working to get this completed before her 14th birthday, 12/31/07. Julia must have her adoption completed by that date. Her agency sent her old dossier with updated financials and family photos to CCAA and got pre-approval. The local social worker is waving the home study fee for a new home study. Fees are being waived wherever possible. They're trying to gather frequent flyer miles and work with airlines for airfare. The family admits they have no idea how they're going to pay for it, but they're going to do everything they can to make this happen. They're also looking into all available grants.

This 13 year old girl was abandoned at the age of 8 when she contracted pneumonia and was hospitalized for 6 months. Since then she has been in the care of her SWI. She has requested a forever family and also requested that she be adopted by an American family.

Another local friend, a member of our weekly playgroup, has generously offered a portion of the proceeds from her business. If you are a scrapbooker, please take a look at her site and consider making a purchase. You might want to let her know that you want to help Julia's adoption.

Time Traveler

If an afternoon at a festival isn't enough excitement, we decided to do a little time travelling on Friday night.

Earlier that day I had seen a commercial for a local business. As we're eating dinner, I mentioned it to Jim. Okay, Jim was eating dinner, and I was feeding Sera. He thought it was an excellent idea, and ran downstairs to check out their website. Our thought was for next weekend and that we'd invite Doug & Laura and their kids to join us. After checking out their website, Jim decided we needed to do a test run.

What is this local business, you ask? It's an old-fashioned drive-in movie theater. Yep, it really exists.

It's located in a town about 30 minutes south of us. They have three screens. Screen 1 was showing Surfs Up and Shrek the Third, screen 2 had the latest Pirates of the Carribbean and Wild Hogz, and screen 3 had Knocked Up and 28 Weeks Later. They have a playground, a miniature golf course, and a restaurant that serves what you'd expect. You have your choice of various styles of hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, popcorn, candy, coffee drinks, slushies, funnel cakes, ice cream, etc... Their prices are amazingly reasonable. Admission is $7.00 for adults, $5.00 for children, and free for under three. This is for a double feature. Jim bought a large tub of popcorn and 2 soft drinks that hold more than any one should drink in a week for $8.00.

When we drove in, it was like going back in time. Cars were parked all over the grassy field, children ran around their parents' car, and teenagers flirted on blankets. Car windows and hatches were open so that the radio could be heard. The tinny speakers have been replaced by tuning in to the assigned FM channel. People sat in their folding chairs or on blankets and visited until the sun finally went down and the feature started.

The bad news is that we live in a state where people can't read a map. Even though we are geographically in the center of the country, our politicians have decided the sun rises and sets here at the same time as it does in Boston. It was 9:45 pm before the first feature started. I don't see any double features in our future.

I'm glad we did a test run. The night wasn't a huge success, but we learned what we need to do to make this work. First, bring chairs and a blanket so we don't have to sit in the car the whole time. Second, do NOT remove the toddler from the carseat. It was way past her bedtime and she would have fallen asleep shortly. Once she was loose though...fuggheddaboutit. There was just way too much to see to sleep. When she finally fell asleep, I think she truly passed out. It was ugly and reminded me of that sack full of puppies.

She was so out that she didn't wake up when the movie ended and Jim put her back in the car seat. Nor did she wake up when we got home, and he took her upstairs, changed her diaper and put her in her crib. She didn't make a peep until 10:00 am Saturday morning.

We'll make some adjustments and try again soon. It's a great way to see current movies and enjoy time under the stars.

Lucky

The first Friday of summer. Summer, as I'm sure you know, begins as soon as the school year ends. The town where we work was having a festival. 'Tis the season and all, don't ya know. We decided to go check it out.

As festivals go, it was pretty disappointing. Even though it officially opened at noon, there were still many empty tents when we arrived at 1:00pm. The park was pretty neat though. It's called Island Park, and it is...an island that is. It's just a few blocks from the downtown area, but it can only be reached by walking across one of the many bridges. It's filled with trees, and the weather was gorgeous.

We headed to the carnie food because lunch was way overdue. After checking out all the offerings I made what I knew was going to be a big mistake. It just smelled so good that I thought I'd give them a chance. After a few bites, I told Jim that we had a new rule: No More Ordering Cajun Food in Indiana. I decided to try something else. This time I headed for an old favorite that I haven't indulged in for years, a corn dog. It was wonderful in all its greasy goodness.

While we were eating, I noticed that Sera's sweater was missing. This really put a damper on my day. I had tossed it in her stroller when we got out of the car because there was a cool breeze. I thought she might need it if we ended up in a too shady spot. It was her ladybug sweater that matches her ladybug dress from Gymboree. It's also the sweater she wore almost every day in China, including the day we went to the U.S. Consulate. This makes the fourth time I've lost that sweater. Once in China, and then I couldn't find it when we got home. The third time was when we headed to northern Michigan. It was in the car, and I tossed it in the back to get it out of my way. Each time it has turned up where I thought it was even though I had already looked there.

Even though I was seriously bummed, we walked around the rest of the festival. I kept an eye out for that sweater. I've always loved to visit the vendors at summer festivals. I like to see the work created by people, the original paintings, ceramics, jewelry, etc... These vendors all carried the same items, and they all looked like they had been purchsed in bulk from some liquidator. It was just table after table of crap. Very disappointing. The main theme for this festival is music, but the performances weren't scheduled to begin until 5:00pm.

Still it was a beautiful day to walk through the park. As we came around the final curve before heading back across the bridge to our car, we heard a large cracking noise. A branch above us broke off and landed right in front of Jim and then shattered. I was slightly behind Jim and to his right pushing the stroller. We both hurried to get out from under that tree and then turned to look back. Wow, that was close. All the vendors sitting near us commented on how lucky he had been as they'd all seen it. It wasn't a huge branch. Jim wouldn't have gotten a concussion if it had hit him, but I think he might have needed a few stitches. It fell from high enough that it would have definitely hurt.

We crossed the bridge and headed back to the car. From the distance, I could see something white sitting on a small retaining wall around the landscaping. I didn't say a word. A minute later, Jim says he doesn't want to get my hopes up, but he thinks Sera's sweater may be in the parking lot. We hurried to it and there it was. A little dirty, but there. That is one lucky sweater. Maybe I should just put it away now.

Photo Update

Here are the pictures from our tree issues last week.

The split

The view from below

Tree resting on house

Fallen tree gone. Lonely tree left

Branch that tried to kill Jim at the festivals

Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign

I think baby signs are the best idea EVER. Okay, I seem to have developed a new fondness for shouting out the word ever.

Anyway, I'd read enough about it as we waited for Sera to know that it was really popular. I decided we'd give it a shot. We started out with three signs: go to sleep, eat, and drink. She picked up eat and go to sleep pretty quickly. Go to sleep made her cry at first, but eat was all good. Drink took a little longer, but she definitely has that down now. It's wonderful. I don't have to guess or wonder why she's fussing. In fact, she doesn't have to fuss. She gives me the eat sign, and I give her some food.

The first few days we worked on eat, I made sure to keep some puffs or something handy. I wanted to give her the food immediately so she'd associate the sign with the result. Now when she gives me the sign. I put her in the pack 'n play to keep her safe and head to the kitchen. I tell her I'm getting her food and she understands and waits patiently, usually. Sometimes she'll shout to urge me on.

Drink was a little harder for her, but she's got it now. She can be quite insistent, too. Now I want to work on specifics with her. Yesterday she kept signaling that she wanted a drink, but she would push away her sippy cup of water. I've been working on the water and milk signs with her. I guess I need to learn the juice sign. I have no idea what that one is. We are also working on more.

She even uses the go to sleep sign. In fact, she used it this morning. We had a lazy start to the day. We were all up way too late last night, but that's another post, so we slept in. When she woke up and had her bottle, all three of us laid in bed watching The Wiggles and Higglytown Heroes and played, mainly played. She started acting sleepy and ready for her morning nap, but she couldn't find a comfortable position to sleep in. She's a wiggler and likes lots of room. I got out of bed and she crawled across the bed to get to me. I picked her up and she gave me the go to sleep sign. I took her to her room and put her in the crib. She smiled at me, plugged in*, and was out in virtually minutes. I know, I'm spoiled.

I'm not concerned about please or thank you. Those can wait until she talks. She's already saying thank you. It's the cutest. Whenever she hands me something, I always say thank you. About two days ago, I handed her something and she said, "ache oo." Jim and I looked at each other and said, "she said thank you!"

What other signs should I learn though? I see this as a method of communication to help us until she can talk. I want signs that tell me what her needs are at that moment. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears, errr...eyes, errr....you get the idea.

*That's become our term for her thumbsucking. She only does it when she's falling asleep. She never sucks her thumb when she's fully awake and rarely when she's completely asleep. It's just her way of getting to sleep.

Favorite Ingredients Friday

It's a good day for chocolate, but then when isn't? If time is short, nothing beats a box of Ghirardelli brownies. They are by far the best boxed mix. If you want the best brownies though, invest the time and money and make these. They make a huge amount, but freeze beautifully. It's always nice to have a stash of these in the freezer. Jim likes to make a brownie sundae with them. I like them just as they are. They're really fudgy and should be kept refrigerated.

Outrageous Brownies
Recipe By : Barefoot Contessa
Serving Size : 20

1 pound unsalted butter
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
6 ounces bitter chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee granules
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour a 12 x 18 x 1-inch baking sheet.

Melt together the butter, 1 pound of the chocolate chips, and the bitter chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup flour, then add them to the chocolate batter. Pour onto the baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven self to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! Allow to cool thoroughly, refrigerate, and cut into 20 large squares.

Notes: Flouring the chips and walnuts keeps them for sinking to the bottom. It is very important to allow the batter to cool well before adding the chocolate chips, or the chips will melt and ruin the brownies. This recipe can be baked up to a week in advance, wrapped in plastic, and refrigerated.

Go visit Overwhelmed with Joy for more fantastic recipes!

Past FIF recipes:
Enchiladas de Pollo
Lescó
Catalina Chicken
Croissant French Toast
Corned Beef
Sloppy Joe, Mac 'n Cheese Casserole
Shredded Chicken
Baked Bean & Burger Casserole
Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
Crab Rangoon
Sausage con Queso and Ro-tel Cheese Dip
Blueberry Multigrain Coffeecake
Banana Bread
Bananas Foster
Old-Time Beef Stew
White Chocolate Snack Mix
Gorilla Bread
Ginger Shrimp
Roast Chicken
Tex-Mex Chicken Taco Soup
Shrimp Mold
Pasta Puttanesca
Pork Milanese
Pumpkin Dip
Oven-fried Chicken
Best Bundt Cake Ever
Hot Dog Casserole
Chicken & Rice
Peanut Butter Fudge
Omelets in a Bag
Shrimp Boil
Apple Cheese
Pulled Pork BBQ

Morning Song

Sera is a slow riser in the morning. I usually wake up about 7am and turn up the monitor. She occasionally wakes up before 7, but rarely. Her room is just across the hall, so I don't actually need the monitor to hear her, but it helps.

I'll hear her start to rustle as she rolls back and forth. Then she might start to wave her foot or her hand, while her other hand is firmly planted, thumb out, in her mouth. She quiets down again and falls back asleep for as much as half an hour. She might babble a bit, but she's really not ready to get up yet. When she's ready, she stands up and shouts, "Ahhhhh!" You open her door, walk in, and she'll start to bounce and give you the biggest brightest smile. It's a great way to start the day.

This morning, I woke up and turned on the monitor as usual. I heard and watched her roll around a bit, then I heard her singing.

She's loved singing since the first day we met her. Her singing used to be just a monotone hum. About a week ago, her song changed. It became EEE III EEE III, but she never adds the OOO. You might recognize that tune if you start singing Old McDonald. She just sings the E I part over and over. For the last few weeks, Daddy has been teaching her Beethoven's Fifth. He's done this with an ulterior motive. Sing it in your head...dadada daaaaaaaaaa. Get the idea? He actually goes on and sings the rest with her, but that's the part we all know. It also makes it sound like she's calling her dada all the time, which she does anyway. She loves singing this with Daddy. She usually adds the final daaa.

This morning what came over the monitor? Dadada daaaaaaa over and over for about 5 minutes and then she went back to sleep for almost 40 minutes, and that's not even her morning nap. She's having that now.

I Resemble That Remark

Every now and then you read a post that really strikes home. Enjoy!

Four Men and a Chainsaw

What a day. It started out normal enough. Sera woke up, drank her bottle, and we played for the next hour and a half before her morning nap. After her nap, she ate again, and we played until Daddy came home.

Summer School has started. Jim teaches one class, but it meets from 8am to noon. He got home, ate lunch, and we got ready to go run some errands before it was time for Sera's afternoon nap. As I passed by the front door, I noticed that half of the tree in front of our house was lying in the front yard towards the road. What?!?!?

Jim went outside to take a look. The tree, one of three growing side by side, was split all the way up and part of it had broken off. He got on the phone and found a tree service who agreed to come this afternoon. They arrived about 2:30. The guy told Jim that the other half looked like it would be okay. They cut down the broken part, loaded up and were gone in about 15 minutes. It was the most amazing thing I'd seen.

At 4pm as I was feeding Sera an early dinner, I heard a small thud. I looked out the front window and saw nothing but branches on the front porch. The rest had fallen. Luckily, it didn't damage the house when it came down. Jim called the tree service again, and he made it back around 7pm. Another 20 minutes and you can't even tell a tree was ever there.

While he was here, I had the tree guy walk the rest of our property with me. He told me what kind of trees we had. We had no clue. We have four sassafrass trees, one of which needs to come down. He said it's too close to the house and the roots will start to damage the foundation. The others are far enough away. We also have four wild cherry trees. We had five. The one that came down was also a wild cherry. We knew it had some kind of berry on it, but we never knew what they were. The tree guy says they make a great jelly, but they're really tart and need lots of sugar. They'll all eventually need to come down. He said they're rogue trees and the contractor shouldn't have left them. Between this and the sassafrass tree, he basically said our contractor was an idiot. I can't argue with that.

Then he ran to the back of our lot in ecstasy. We have a grove of small trees back there. I'm always asking Jim if he's sure they're trees and not weeds. They're still that small. The tree guy looked at them and told me it was our college fund for Sera. They're black walnut trees. He said they should start bearing nuts in about 5 years. They'll reach full maturity in about 20-25 years. At that time we can sell them for lumber. He sold one from his backyard last year for $8000.00. Apparently black walnut is a highly coveted lumber.

He also recommended that I go to arborday.org. Join for $10, and you get 10 free trees. He told me to get the pink flowering crabs. Sounds like a bad medical diagnosis, doesn't it? He also told me that when I want to buy plants for the yard to give him a call. As a service to his clients, he will meet us at the nursery, recommend plants and pass on his 40% discount. Based on what he charged to take down the one tree and how many more he said we should take down over the next 3-5 or 5-10 years, I can see why he offers this service. Keep his customers happy with the little things and we'll call him when the trees fall.

He was very nice, prompt, and efficient. He even knocked $100 off the bill for telling us the other half would be okay when it wasn't.

The pictures are on Jim's camera, so I'll have to add them later.

Bad Me

I'm a slacker...a bad blogger. Jim, however, has been picking up the slack. If you'd like to know what happened over the weekend and see one of the cutest pictures of Sera EVER, head to his blog.

I'll do better. I promise.

Two Whole Months

Today. It's been two months today since we first held Sera. Can you believe it? It seems like yesterday, yet I can't remember how we lived without her.

We headed out early today to do some yard-saling. We had breakfast at our favorite restaurant, bought a newspaper, and hit the trail. Sera promptly fell asleep as it was morning nap time. That worked out fine. We tag-teamed the yard sales. One of us would check it out while the other stayed in the car with Sera. We didn't find anything on my short list, but we found some good deals. I bought about 10 children's books. They're hardbacked and in perfect condition. They're a set. Each book is filled with stories and has a different theme. Two of the themes are fairy tales and science fiction. As you can tell, they run the gamut. They were printed in the 60's. I used to have a collection of antique or just old children's books. I lost most of them when my apartment flooded in New Orleans. I don't plan to restart the collection, but I have replaced a few books, mainly Louisa May Alcott and Noel Streatfeild books. This was just too good to leave behind. I got them all for a grand total of $3.00. I also picked up a snowsuit in perfect condition, I'm not sure it was ever worn, for $4.00. It looks so big, but it's a 12-month size. I'm hoping it will work for her next winter. At least I'll only be out $4.00 if I'm wrong. I also bought the cutest jacket. Well, it's really a costume. It's a red coat with big black spots and the hood has antennae. Yep, it's a ladybug. Too cute! Of course, it's huge. By the time Sera is big enough to wear it, she may have absolutely no interest in it. Right now, however, she's loving all the butterflies, ladybugs, ants, and bumblebees that live on her walls.

From the first day we met Sera, she has shown a marked preference for toys that she could bang together or that lit up or that played music. She's had no interest in anything soft or cuddly. No blankies, no stuffed animals, and no dolls. About three weeks ago, she started showing interest in her Taggies lovey. It was definitely the tags that got her interest though, not the soft blankie part. For almost two weeks now, she's been fascinated by faces, mainly her reflection, other children, and animal faces. I broke out some of her Little People toys. She has several Sonya Lees. Many of the tiny plastic ones like this...

She also has a soft one with hair that's about 4-inches tall, and she has this one that's about 12-inches tall.

She'll play with the little ones for a while. She'll hold on to them as she goes through her toy basket. The two larger ones she digs out and hands them to me. She'll then say hi and wave to them, but doesn't really want to hold them.

The other day I put the Lady & the Tramp dvd on in her room while we played. It was really for me to watch as she was just fine playing on the floor. Every now and then she'd look up and say hi to Lady or Tramp. The next day she noticed the tiny stuffed Lady in her toy basket. You could see the recognition in her eyes. She bounced and handed it to me and said hi. But again, she didn't really hold it or play with it.

Months ago, my sister sent me the Cailin Yang doll by Corolle. I hadn't shown it to Sera yet as she still hadn't shown any real interest in dolls. On Thursday when we were leaving her room, she noticed the doll sitting on the shelf of her armoire. She got so excited and was pointing and reaching for her. I grabbed the doll and took her with us.

She didn't let that doll out of her sight all day. She would wave to her and pick her up and hold her. She gave the doll kisses, and of course the doll kissed her back, too (with a little help from mommy)! When Jim came home Thursday afternoon, she played a game with him that he had played with her. He'll stand behind me and hide. Then he peeks out from one side, hides, and peeks from the other. She did that to him while hiding behind her doll.

On Friday, I took Sera to a new fancy farmer's market that just opened. Then we went to lunch at my school as it was the big end of school year luncheon, and then on to Jim's school to wish everyone a good summer. Cailin Yang never left her side. I used the toy strap that one of the shops in Guangzhou gave us to anchor her to the stroller.

That's not all she hung on to either. She has these interlocking toy rings in different colors, orange, green, & purple, and shapes, squares, circles, & triangles. She likes to break them apart and wear them as bracelets, especially the purple square one. I had to go through some of our China souvenirs to find a gift I bought a friend who retired yesterday. She teaches in my department. While looking, I found some bangle bracelets. I bought a few small child-size ones for Sera to have later. I took one out as a lark and put it on her. Even though it's too big, she kept it pushed up around her bicep, she wore it the whole day and throughout all the stops. She loves bracelets.

This morning Jim and I reflected on how amazing our experience has been over the last two months. Sera is such a different child than the one we knew those first few days. I was convinced she was going to be a timid, clingy child. She cried easily and often. She didn't want to look at anyone. She would be fine in our room with us, but would withdraw into the clingy, crying baby anytime we left the room. She was afraid of her bath and just about everything else. She had very good reason to be afraid. Her entire world had changed. We expected that and were more than willing to do whatever was needed to help her.

The Sera we know now is funny and social. She loves being the center of attention, yet will also ride around in the car for hours as we hit yard sales. She loves being active. She rarely fusses and cries even less. She's gutsy and brave. She sleeps well, and she eats well. She's had one mild cold. She's developmentally on target. She loves her mama and worships her dada. She even thinks Shadow is one funny dog. She's always so excited to see him. She's the perfect child....for us. I hope that every parent feels the same when they think about their child.

Rubber Ducky, You're The One

We waited until the second day to give Sera her first bath with us. It seemed like she had been through enough the first day. As you can see, she HATED baths. This tub was in our room. We thought it was going to be so helpful. We tried it twice and got the same reaction each time. We then tried me taking her in the shower while Jim stood outside the shower door. She was so slippery that I hated it. I was sure I was going to drop her.

For the rest of our time in China, she got bathed in the bathroom sink. She would scream each time. I would have her sitting on a towel on the edge of the sink with her feet in the basin. I'd then use a washcloth to bascially sponge bathe her.

When we got home the sink baths continued, but she finally started enjoying them. Once she got comfortable in the water I started thinking about moving her to the tub. My only problem was the tub looked so big, and she looked so tiny. I just couldn't imagine putting her in there. All the baby baths I saw were for infants. That wouldn't work either. On one of my many Target trips, I found this gem. The first time she went in this tub, she had a blast, and it's been love ever since. By the way, when you squeeze his bill, he quacks.

Daddy pours water in from way up high and makes big bubbles!

Favorite Ingredients Friday - Freezer Edition

I'm hoping to get some good recipes today. Overwhelmed with Joy is doing a special theme edition of Favorite Ingredients Friday. Today's theme is freezer foods. I love this idea in theory. I'm just bad about putting it in practice. I freeze lasagna, but I would really like to get in the habit of making double and freezing one for more things. My lasagna recipe is pretty basic. I also thought about sharing a taco soup recipe that freezes well, but doesn't everyone already have that? Then I thought of this recipe.

Now, Jim is going to get upset. He does whenever I post a recipe of something I haven't made in a long time. This recipe falls under that description. It used to be my go-to recipe. It always came out great, and everyone always loved it. I would make double and freeze one. It's not difficult to make, but it does have a lot of ingredients so I liked to knock out a couple of them. In fact, the first home-cooked meal I served Jim was this recipe. I haven't made it in years because I couldn't find canned tomatillos when I first moved to the Mid-West. They're all over the place now. I have no excuse. I will be making this soon. I love this dish. It is not spicy at all. You could add some jalapeno to the cream sauce if you want to "kick it up a notch." I like to serve it with Mexican rice, refried beans, and a guacomole salad.

Enchiladas de Pollo

1. 2 whole chicken breasts
2. Water
3. ½ small onion
4. 1 bay leaf
5. 8 peppercorns
6. Salt
7. ½ med onion, chopped
8. 3 T grated Parmesan cheese
9. 4 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (1 cup)
10. 1 (4 oz) can green chiles
11. 1 (13 oz) can tomatillos, drained
12. ¼ c cilantro
13. ¾ c whipping cream
14. 1 egg
15. Salt
16. ¼ c vegetable oil
17. 8 corn tortillas
18. 4 oz Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (1 cup)

Place chicken breasts in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add wter to cover, onion, bay leaf, peppercorns and salt to taste. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 45 minutes or until tender. Cool chicken in broth. Drain; reserving broth for another use.

Shred chicken, and mix with chopped onion, Parmesan cheese, and Monterey Jack cheese (1 cup). Add salt, if necessary, and set aside.

In a blender or food processor, combine green chiles, tomatillos, cilantro, whipping cream, and egg. Blend until smooth. Add salt to taste.

Preheat oven to 350. Heat vegetable oil in small skillet. Using tongs, place each tortilla in hot oil until softened, about 5 seconds. Drain on paper towels, and place 1/8 of filling in center. Roll tightly, and place seam-side down in baking dish. Pour cream sauce over top, and sprinkle remaining cup of cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes or until heated through and bubbly.

Note: I usually double this recipe, and freeze one before baking.

Go visit Overwhelmed with Joy for more fantastic recipes!

Past FIF recipes:
Lescó
Catalina Chicken
Croissant French Toast
Corned Beef
Sloppy Joe, Mac 'n Cheese Casserole
Shredded Chicken
Baked Bean & Burger Casserole
Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
Crab Rangoon
Sausage con Queso and Ro-tel Cheese Dip
Blueberry Multigrain Coffeecake
Banana Bread
Bananas Foster
Old-Time Beef Stew
White Chocolate Snack Mix
Gorilla Bread
Ginger Shrimp
Roast Chicken
Tex-Mex Chicken Taco Soup
Shrimp Mold
Pasta Puttanesca
Pork Milanese
Pumpkin Dip
Oven-fried Chicken
Best Bundt Cake Ever
Hot Dog Casserole
Chicken & Rice
Peanut Butter Fudge
Omelets in a Bag
Shrimp Boil
Apple Cheese
Pulled Pork BBQ