Merry Christmas

Two years ago, I spent my last Christmas as a non-mom. It was a month before I left for China to adopt Eena, and I was pregnant with Baba. The unknown filled me with excitement and a bit of nervousness. Last year, my daughters celebrated their first Christmas. Eena didn't quite know what to make of the gifts, and Baba was too little to even know what was happening.

This morning, I told them that Santa would visit when they go to sleep tonight. Within 5 seconds, both girls were on the floor pretending to sleep. What a difference a year makes! I can't wait for them to see what Santa brings.

My girls, of course, are the best gift in the world.

Happy holidays!

Now I know my ABCs...

In honor of Eena learning the ABC song, I baked letter cookies for her alphabet party. Eena sang at the beginning of the party, which also featured Alpha Bit cereal. Crunched for time, we postponed the alphabet pasta until Christmas dinner.

Baba hopes to have an alphabet party soon; she already knows "hijklmnop."

Who need to buy presents?

Eena loves to pretend she's a robot with the tubes that formally house wrapping paper. My daughters also love boxes, gift wrap, bows and--most of all--bubble wrap.

New roomies

We moved the girls into the same room yesterday. Eena was so excited to share a room with Baba. I was nervous about them actually sleeping, but surprisingly they did! At naptime, they talked for an hour and slept for an hour. When they awoke, a lamp was turned over and the child's rocking chair was moved to the middle of the room. Oh, and part of a plant--which had always been in Eena's room--was on the bookshelf.

At bedtime, they played and talked for about an hour. On the monitor, I could see Baba tossing a stuffed animal out of her crib and Eena throwing it back at her. I also observed Eena giving tissues to her sister, which she promptly shredded and threw on the floor. They finally fell asleep and slept through the night:)

This is the start of a beautiful relationship as sister roommates. Hopefully, they'll have as much fun as my sister and I had.

10 things done

10 things I've crossed of my to-do list

1. Write the first draft of a children's book that I hope to publish.
2. Bake an apple pie from scratch.
3. Move my girls into the same room.
4. Take Mommy & Me classes with my daughters.
5. Bake holiday cookies from scratch.
6. Give a speech on writing to an audience at the library.
7.Clean the basement.
8. Work on my non-fiction book that I also hope to publish.
9. Create an address database on computer for holiday cards.
10. Drove 12 hours with two toddlers in the car.

Riding in style

Marc Jacobs and Bugaboo have joined forces to design a new stroller. The result? A $1,500 black stroller. My husband and I have amassed 6 strollers (some hand-me-downs, some gifts). My favorites are two umbrella strollers that I bought. They're easy to get in and out of the car when I go to the mall or when we travel. They were also the cheapest; they each cost under $15. We bought stroller connectors that convert it into a double stroller. Although there's no designer name attached to it, the strollers are practical ... and who says practicality can't be fashion forward?