So much happiness packed into one day

Where do I begin? Today was all around an incredible day.

(1) It's my sister's 35th birthday. I mean, 29th birthday. ;) So I got to wish her many happy returns and totally razz her about being halfway to 70. When I turn 34 next month I will only be halfway to 68, which is vastly younger. I also got to have my boys sing "Happy Birthday" to her on her voicemail (since she never answers her cell phone), and it was darn cute. Probably good that she didn't answer because now she has it recorded for many humorous playbacks, complete with the sound of Henry blowing out candles at the end.

(2) This morning my friend Tori welcomed her second son into the world. I got to see a picture, and he is a handsome dude. Having experienced the joys of having two little gentlemen in my life, I know that Tori, her hubby, and her older son have many happy, loud, and interesting days and years ahead of them.

(3) A business trip I had been dreading that was set up for later this year was canceled. CANCELED. Thank God. Call me a wuss, but I don't want to travel to unfamiliar territories alone. I go to many major U.S. cities each year by myself for work, and I make damn sure I don't go out alone after dark, so there is a lot of sticking around hotels. This trip would've been to the southern coast of Mexico via a flight into Mexico City, a connecting flight to a regional airport, and then a decent bus ride to the final destination. Sorry, but I don't feel all that safe traveling like that by myself. I had been wondering how the hell to mention that to my superiors, or whether I even would, and now that situation no longer exists. Whew.

(4) Today was my last day in the office till next Wednesday because we leave on vacation tomorrow night. I'll spend the day running various errands like picking up snacks and sunglasses, bringing the dogs to the kennel, and mailing some packages I wanted to get out earlier this week and didn't manage to. Then we fly to Tampa and drive about an hour to my ILs' second home, which really is my MIL's primary home since she switched residency awhile back.

Our plans while there include going to the Phillies/Twins game at spring training on Saturday, hitting the local zoo, maybe going to the children's museum in St. Pete since Friday is supposed to be rainy, celebrating Mom-Mom's 29th b'day (everyone is turning 29...it's weird), and possibly swimming if I can stand it. Seventy degree air is gonna feel mighty cold when coming out of an 86-degree pool, and I hate to be cold. But for the boys I might be able to suck it up just once.

It'll hopefully be a nice, relaxing vacation, and then we'll return home and have to hit the ground running. Lots of other things going on in March, including a business trip for me and kindergarten registration for Padraic. Exciting times!

Operation Orphan Hairbows for Ukraine

If you'll allow me to bend your ear for a moment, I'd like to tell you a story.

Six years ago when I was pregnant with Padraic, a coworker who had an infant son suggested to me that I visit Babyzone.com to learn about all things baby- and pregnancy-related. I found the message boards there and joined the one that had other women expecting babies during January 2005 as I was.

Over the years almost five dozen of those women and I have stayed in touch, sharing our parenting successes and oopsies, new pregnancies and some heartbreaking losses. We've built an amazing support system that some people might question since so many of us have never met in person. This group has seen me through plenty of my own highs and lows, and I have had the distinct pleasure of meeting a handful of them in various cities as I've traveled for work. Each woman in this group has made a positive difference in my life and my parenting.

So let me tell you a bit about my friend Brooke from this group. Brooke and I have not yet gotten to meet, but she is very dear to me. She is an integral part of our group and has been for most of the wild ride. There's one meaningful difference, though. Brooke hasn't been raising a biological child this whole time like the rest of us have. Until recently, Brooke and her husband were primary guardians for her 5-year-old nephew, and it was stories of his growth and development that she has shared with us and through her experiences with him she has become an amazing parent. Across the years they've also tried to start a biological family. Life being cruel as it sometimes is, they've lost several precious angels through miscarriage, which led her and her husband to start considering adoption as a means of growing their family.

As one step toward feeling out how they'd feel about adoption, Brooke and her hubby welcomed an 8-year-old girl from a Ukrainian orphanage into their home for three weeks over the holidays. This girl, Luba, changed their hearts and lives. They are now dedicated to adopting Luba and possibly other children from Ukraine to round out what will surely be a very happy family.

Luba is back in her orphanage in Ukraine now, but Brooke is able to keep in touch via various means, including other families who go over to adopt a child, and staff at the orphanage. One thing Brooke learned is that at Easter time the girls at the orphanage don't tend to get any presents. The day is honored as a religious holiday, but gifts are usually not part of the situation as they are here in the United States.

To bring some joy to the Luba and the other girls at the orphanage, Brooke started Operation Orphan Hairbows for Ukraine. Her goal is to supply each girl at Luba's orphanage with a new hairbow of her own by Easter. If she gets more hairbows than there are girls at that orphanage, she'll start sending bows to another nearby orphanage so those girls can have something special, too. She's looking for people who make hairbows or want to purchase and donate hairbows for this cause. At the same time, Brooke is operating a fundraiser to help offset the massive costs involved in international adoption. She'll be raffling off various goods and services to get them closer to traveling to Ukraine to bring Luba, and possibly some siblings, home.

If you are inspired to do so, please visit her blog at http://ourukrainianfundraiser.blogspot.com/ to learn more about what donation opportunities there are. Thanks!