Angel of the Week~ Lera is so beautiful... Look at her face, those eyes! Follow @Reecesrainbow

Reeces's Rainbow
Lera is a precious little girl and she is in urgent need of a family. If her face looks familiar, it should. She's been here before and had three families commit to her and now for the third time, that has fallen through.

This is what Andrea has said about Lera today:

Lera has yet again lost her committed family. There is no hope to save her from the institution at this point, but she can still be adopted, assuming the US delegation is able to convince the Russians to leave their program open to American families. Her grant is still over $10,000.

Isn't she the cutest thing you have ever seen! :)

She CAN be adopted by Canadian families, if anyone out there is watching!

Because she has lost so many families, only home study ready families will be considered by her agency. No match can be made on the site until initial agency fees are paid. Very very sad day for our beautiful Miss Lera.




And Jill, from Reece's Rainbow's after adoption support group wrote this about her on her blog:


The basic idea is this: Lera is currently living in a baby house where she is treated like all the other children in the orphanage. They have three meals a day of barely passable quality, they play outside in a crummy little play area, they have a few toys, they nap daily, they probably go to the bathroom in a little plastic pot after each meal, scrubbed down with cold water 'baths' and they don't get lots of hugs.


Doesn't sound nice, does it? I may be slightly wrong about her exact experience, but that is what I saw at Alex's and Vera's orphanages.


It's a garden spot compared to what's coming for her. One day soon she will be plucked out of her little place in the world with no warning and no transition. She will go to sleep surrounded by the kidlets who have been her friends for years and awaken to a world filled with emaciated adults prone to strange outbursts, no playground, just a bed, meals occasionally, baths less occasionally, and caretakers who were overwhelmed with the endless needs of the variously handicapped residents years ago.


Alternatively, she could come to YOUR home. Do you see how much you have to offer her? Think of your home, with a soft bed for her, a warm, nutritious meal (yes, even a kid's meal with chicken nuggets and fries is better than what she had and what she's going to get), a warm bubble bath, medical care from your friendly pediatrician, a toilet that flushes (!), toys of her own, maybe even a baby doll or an stuffed animal. Best of all? YOU! A parent to hug her, bandage her scraped knee, fight for her educational rights in school, tuck her in each night when she's scared, play music so she can dance, give her a new name to call her own, give her a future with a family to catch her when she falls.

Believe it or not, the life you save

will be your own.

To see if you qualify please CLICK HERE and read about the financial and other requirements for international adoption.

Please pray for Lera and if you or anyone you may know is able to be Lera's family, please contact Andrea Roberts, Director of RR

SPREAD the word... repost.... TWEET.... it can help a child in need.

THANK you
Grissell

You know your old when

So alright! Enough already... I know I know.... I am obsessed lately about my getting old. I didn't discover I was old until recently when I realized that I was indeed turning 38.

I knew I was getting old when

I looked so close at my chin and there was these freakn thick hairs protruding, Yep staring straight at me. I am a walking danger to those around me. I might seriously poke an eye out. I started getting flash backs from the lunch lady in High School.  YOU KNOW what came next SCREAMING>>>> OMG I am the lunch lady!

When the heck did this happen? REALLY when!

So I knew I was getting old when

I lifted up a load of laundry and the sciatic nerve that runs along my back , butt, and legs thinks it is funny to see me drop straight to the floor and then continue to laugh when it proves to be difficult to get back up. DARN you old age!...... why why!!!! waaaaaaaa :(

SO I knew I was getting old when

I buy some alcohol I happily had over my ID and the cashier chuckles and say "it's alright MAM" Excuse me I do not look at day over 25 ok! Well maybe 27... ok maybe 30.......... that is as far as I am going K!

SO I knew I was getting old when

I go with my family and friends to a bar and grill . THEN I see 2 twenty something girls fighting and I break it up. DO the whole mommy thing of it not being worth it! STUPID me standing between them and the group of girls are pushing me and saying "LADY move!".... EXCUSE me LADY!!!!!!!! Hello... Lady! you calling me a lady! I will give you LADY! OK!!!!!! Wait what year is it?........ this isn't 1995? Dang!


THEN you know you are getting old when the girl tries to grab your arm and YOU so get in her face and tell her to NOT touch you! Don't back down THEN get bombared by a whole group of thin 20 something girls... ME thinking to myself " I SOOOO out weigh all these girls shyt did I send in my payment for my health insurance- I hope this is covered! HMMM, OH lord why the heck am I not laying in my bed with my cold cream, my jammies, and watching my favorite shows.......... BECAUSE I forgot I AM TOO OLD For this @#$%.... LOL

If you insist on being "All up in my kool-aid" at least bring a spoon for stirring! Cuz girlies you aint no match to this OLD chic!

THANK YOU very much!

THANK YOU for reminding me WHY I LOVE being old! WHY I LOVE being where I am! WHY I would not go back to being twenty ....... but can I just say: WHY the heck do I have to experience the wrinkle thing though cuz SERIOUSLY that really chaps my hide!..... any ways..... that is another post :)

LATER,
GZell

Sweet Spring Treats Prize Pack with $25 giftcard for Safeway.. HOLLA!!!!!! that's right baby! Enter now :)

Now that spring is in the air, it’s the perfect time to put a fresh spin on some of your favorite baking classics.

Using Betty Crocker® SuperMoist Cake and Traditional Brownie Mixes, and with a little help from the Safeway family of stores, you can put your budding baking skills to the test to serve up special treats that will have you and your little sprouts ready for springtime!

For great spring recipe ideas, visit BakeSweetMemories.com today.

Bake Sweet Memories has delicious recipes for fun desserts using your Betty Crocker favorites, including Easter Bunny Cakes and even morning brunches, like the Impossibly Easy Breakfast Bake, which are sure to brighten any morning!

Doesn't this LOOK fabulous Click here for the recipe

Yummy!~ Click here for the recipe

Visit your local Safeway family of stores to take advantage of this great savings and more!

Even if you miss the sale, check BakeSweetMemories.com for great coupon offers that download right to your Safeway Club card.

This Spring, Betty Crocker makes life a little sweeter.

Want TO WIN:

“Spring Sweet Treats” prize pack that includes: a silicon baking pan, stainless steel mixing bowl, oven mitt, Betty Crocker mixing spoon, and a $25 Safeway gift card.

How to ENTER:

2 entries you must be a follower of my blog

LEAVE me 2 comments

with YOUR email please :)

LET me KNOW what is the best part of SPRING FOR YOU!

Want ANOTHER 2 entries:

Follow me on twitter: www.twitter.com/boriqua3720

Leave me 2 comments

with YOUR twitter handle

WANT WANT WANT some more!
Tweet about my giveaway and receive 2 more entries
LEAVE me 2 comments with your link

Good LUCK Everyone!

Contest ends

MAY 1st at midnight

Safeway and Betty Crocker provided me with the VIP coupon, information, and prize packs through MyBlogSpark.

Born between 1930-1979 still living??? A must read!!!

I got this email from my friend Mike and it made me THINK wow! Life was so dangerous! LOL......

No matter what our kids and the new generation think about us,

WE ARE AWESOME !!!!

OUR LIFE IS LIVING PROOF !!!!

To Those of Us Born 1930 - 1979

At the end of this email is a quote of the month by Jay Leno. If you don't read anything else, please read what he said.

Very well stated, Mr. Leno..

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE

1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. OMG can you believe that this was the norm.... OH my goodness!!!!

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-base paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps not helmets on our heads.

As infants and children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes.

Riding in the back of a pick- up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. I freaked out the other day cuz C was drinking from the hose.. LOL.....

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one actually died from this. They did forget to mention some people got MONO.. um not fun! LOL

We ate cupcakes made with Lard, white bread, real butter and bacon. We drank FLAV- OR- AID made with real white sugar. And, we weren't overweight. WHY?

Because we were always outside playing....that's why!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on..

No one was able to reach us all day. And, we were OKAY.  THANK GOD!

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride them down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem

We did not have Play stations, Nintendo's and X-boxes. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's,
no surround-sound or CD's,
no cell phones,
no personal computers,
no Internet and no chat rooms.

I must say... I CANNOT live without technology now LOL...... I know sad :(


WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We would get spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping pong paddles, or just a bare hand and no one would call child services to report abuse.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.


We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them.

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team.
Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment.

Imagine that!!


The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!


These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever.

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. What can kids today do besides push buttons.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.

If YOU are one of them, CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good.

While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave and lucky their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it ?

~The quote of the month is by
Jay Leno:

'With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?'


AMAZING what we had to face as kids... my goodness......... wow!~

Have a great weekend! :)
Grissell

Angel of week! HE is adorable--LOOK at his face. PLS take the time to read this :) Follow @Reecesrainbow

Look at this darling little boy. ADORABLE! I received this information from Reece's Rainbow BLOG:

Jorden was born in April of 2005

SIGNIFICANT RISK. PLEASE ADOPT ME !

Jorden is a handsome young man.

A very loving, calm and happy boy.

Shy and quiet sometimes, but very intelligent and clever.

. Jorden will be institutionalized and remain bedridden for LIFE, if he doesn't find a family quickly!

Medicals records indicate arthrogryposis
Jorden would be a wonderful son, and just thrive with a forever family: )

IF you want more information on Jorden, please contact ANDREA at bamaroberts@comcast.net

CAN you help? KNOW someone who can?  Please spread the word.. or purchase merchandise from REECES rainbow and HELP a child.. OR donate money...... :)

Grissell

The Survivors Club~ Are you a survivor? Will you survive or will you perish?

THE SURVIVORS CLUB

By Ben Sherwood

The Secrets and Science that Could Save Your Life

Which is the safest seat on an airplane? Where is the best place to have a heart attack? Why does religious observance add years to your life? How can birthdays be hazardous to your health?

THE SURVIVORS CLUB

Each second of the day, someone in America faces a crisis, whether it's a car accident, violent crime, serious illness, or financial trouble. Given the inevitability of adversity, we all wonder: Who beats the odds and who surrenders? Why do some people bound back and others give up? How can I become the kind of person who survives and thrives?

The fascinating, hopeful answers to these questions are found in THE SURVIVORS CLUB. In the tradition of Freakonomics and The Tipping Point, this book reveals the hidden side of survival by combining astonishing true stories, gripping scientific research, and the author's adventures inside the U.S. military's elite survival schools and the government's airplane crash evacuation course.

With THE SURVIVORS CLUB, you can also discover your own Survivor IQ through a powerful Internet-based test called the Survivor Profiler. Developed exclusively for this book, the test analyzes your personality and generates a customized report on your top survivor strengths.

There is no escaping life's inevitable struggles. But THE SURVIVORS CLUB can give you an edge when adversity strike!

 I am so hooked on this book! Some interesting things about WHO survives and WHO doesn't! WOW! Is all I have to say. My goodness things I really didn't think about and stuff I was like WOW I knew that. LOL.....

I think I am going to get a copy of this book for all my family and friends who make fun of me when I worry about stuff like this... SEEE I am not crazy! LMAO... I totally count the rows to the exit. I so sit in the middle of the plane near an exit and I so pay attention at take off and landing... I listen carefully to the flight attendants and directions.

According to chapter 3:

NINETY seconds to save your life!

Plus 3 minus 8

- primetime for an emergency in flight

The first 3 minutes in flight and the

last 8 minutes of flight

80 percent of all plane crashes

take place during those 11 minutes

MYTH : When planes crash everyone dies.

Brahahahaha and this whole time I am the one that will survive and LEAVE you haterz in the dust LOL.......... Well I might save you :) Just sit next to me :D--So glad I read this book so now I can be LIKE um ya here in paragraph 3 section 4 says the same thing I have been saying for years...... yep that's right!

The great part was taking the quiz to see if I was a survivor and what type of survivor I was.

Like in the words of the wise Beyonce:

" I am a survivor! I'm going to make it! I'm a survivor! Keep on surviving!"

IF YOU DON'T get this book you ARE CRAZY!!!! LOL  You need this book! Your family needs this book! EVERYONE needs this book!

GO on get it!

The paperback of this book at currently on sale for $8.99 at amazon
Check out Ben Sherwood's website HERE

ARE YOU A SURVIVOR?

Let me know!

This book review was made possible through the PRODUCT review place and Hachette book group.
I was not paid for this review. These opinions are my own.

Winners of the NEVER look fat again book... woo hoo!!! it's your birthday , we're going to partay like it's your birthday!

EVERYONE forgive me for my absense and delay in posting and email winners. I am catching up today and tomorrow.

Here are the winners:

#30   Kerri69
#5     guccimama
#13   misusedinnocence

Woo hoo!!

Later
Grissell

So ya I @#$ up royally ..... sorry I am trippin

Oh man talk about adding to the stress of going back to work and leaving my baby with my mom while she cries for me not to go and then dealing with the traffic... etc... WELL I screwed up! On what you ask my FORMS for winners. I flip flopped the winners... Um ya.... you read it right! Crapola.... I wanted to cry this weekend. Seriously how the heck did I do that.! 

I have got too much going on. UGH! So I emailed the woman in charge of such giveaways to see what we can do. THE other person already got the wrong prize and the other has nothing. So we will see what happens at the end of this week.

DUDE !!! I can't hang..... I feel bad....... I feel sick...... I hope and pray they answer soon with good news.

Please send me good thoughts and pray that my week gets easier...... the stress is killing me. :P......

Later,
G

I am soooooooo SORRY!~

I want to apologize to my recent posted winners I have not had a chance to email you all. I promise next week! I started my new job and getting use to the new routine was hard. I thought I would be able to catch up on reading this weekend of blogs, answering emails, and sending out emails to my winners..BUT ya that isn't going to happen.

During the week, I have to get up at 5 am~get ready and the girls ready then leave my home by 5:30 am to drop off at my mom and dad's house THEN be on the road by 6 am...... THAT was my goal ...... I haven't been late to work but I feel like I am in a rush........ all stressed out LMAO....... So I hope to be more at ease next week.

Again I apologize for my absence this past week. I hope everyone is having a great weekend.
Later,
Grissell

Angel of the week..... darling girl :) Follow @reecesrainbow

From Reece's Rainbow's blog.

She will blossom like a rose when she has a family!

Anastasiya (orphanage 9)

Girl, Born September 8, 2007

SIGNIFICANT RISK, PLEASE ADOPT ME SOON!!

Anastasiya has been stuck in a crib most of her life.

She desperately needs a family so she can flourish! Anastasiya does have an ASD (atrial septal defect) and an oval window that will need attention when she gets home. She needs to have surgery as soon as possible to correct this! She does has strabismus as well.

She is undernourished, and will blossom like a rose once home with her family.


Could she be who is missing from your family?

Anastasiya can be found here: http://reecesrainbow.org/eelittles.html

Anastasiya is a darling little girl with brown hair and brown eyes. She needs to have surgery as soon as possible to correct this! She does has strabismus as well. She is undernourished, and will blossom like a rose once home with her family.

Regrettably, this orphanage is one of the poorer ones, with very little outside aid and very little hope. All of the children are tiny and undernourished. These children are immediately transferred at 4, and have little chance of survival where they are sent. All of our waiting children need families, but these have a critical need. Please consider one of these children soon!!

I have $1669 in my grant fund towards the cost of my adoption!

If you can help or no someone who can please forward this information.

Grissell

I survived 2 days at my NEW job yeah!

I will be catching up with all of you soon. I had a fantastic two days at my new job. I miss my girls though :(

I am the administrative assistant to the EXECUTIVE assistant to the CEO... whew.. that was alot to say. I work in the administration office which is a nice change for me. I use to manage a Cardiology office and it was focused on the clinical side.

I work at a HOSPITAL about 45 minutes from my home I am so use to traveling the most fifteen minutes tops so different. The adjustment of having to wear business attire and iron my clothes... yep HARD.. I miss my jeans and t-shirts... and my tennis....

THANKS to all the well wishes...
I will see you in a few
NIGHT
Grissell

So tomorrow I start my new job! Yeah :) But I am so sad at the same time

My chest feels tight thinking about tomorrow. The first day without my girls. My peanut is so close to me and I know she will be looking and crying for me. UGH.. I get a lump in my throat thinking about it. Thank goodness my parents will be watching them so I know they are in good hands.

I am totally excited and sad at the same time. I have been home with the girls for 2 years and I am going to miss them so much! Lil Princess starts kindergarten in August and my lil peanut will be 2. Time is going by so fast.

I am so nervous. I feel like this is my first job ever LOL. My confidence is so so. BUT I know once I get there I can show them my skillz. CUZ baby I do, I got skills. :)

 I will definitely still be blogging. I just need to get myself organized and write my posts at night and then post them before I go to work LMAO.. we will see how that goes.....ROFL...

Wish me luck! Mommy gots another job. According to Miss C she says I already have a job taking care of them... AHHHHH it made me cry......

As I am finishing up this post all teary eyed... Miss C yells "Mommy Peanut spill daddy's soda all over the floor!" "MOM pooh went caca on the floor and it stinks!"  Maybe I am ready to go back to work LOL...

I LOVE my family!

Everyone have a fantastic week.
Grissell

Ahhhhh taking a few days off was MAR~VE~LOUS......... Guess what I won

I hope everyone had a fantastic Easter!~ It was so nice to hang with family this weekend. GOOD times! Funny times! Hilarious times!

Thank goodness we had our Easter Egg hunt on Saturday and the weather was good. IT rained on Sunday in Cali  :( it was freezing.

I won the GOLDEN egg hunt against the other adults because FRANKLY I never lose.. EVER LOL.....I will take you down!! :)... I won $20 bucks! I know I am rich now......sorry no loans LOL

Lil Princess getting eggs

in her Halloween bucket

since the Easter Bunny had not come yet LOL

IT IS JUST ALITTLE TORE UP :D

Lil'peanut got an egg yeah!

Lil' Peanut hitting the pinata!

Princesses empty basket after she ripped everything open

and there was nothing for me to photograph...

Peanuts basket minus the sucker from hell LOL

I call this the sucker from hell because after the girls

saw this in their baskets they wanted to open it

and not eat breakfast..... When I had to take it away

Happy Easter turned into

Screaming and crying and tantrum EASTER

LOL

Don't make me call the Easter bunny up and return this!

LOL

The baby taking a nap after an exciting day

of toys, candy, and fun :)

LOVE my family and friends

TTYL,

Grissell

aka G-Zell

Spreading the word......

This post is from Life with my Special K's , I am reposting to spread the word in hopes that someone can help.

She writes:
I have received this email a few times now and I thought I would post it here in case any of YOU can be of any help.

Alessandra is a 6 1/2 year old girl with Down syndrome. She is
one of the sweetest and funniest little girls that you could ever meet. Last
Monday, March 22nd, 2010, we were told that Alessandra has malignant non
germinoma (or mixed) cell brain tumors. These make up only 2-3% of all
pediatric brain tumors so they are quite rare. They are curable though!
Although our neuro-oncologist has treated several patients with these kinds
of tumors, in his 20+ years at several leading cancer centers, he has never
treated a child with Down syndrome.

We are desperate to find other families, doctors, or anyone who has come
across a case like this or similar so that we can know how other children
with DS have responded to treatment. There are a couple variables that are
unknown that we don't want to take our chances on and we know that if we
look hard enough - there are other people out there who have gone through
this or treated someone who has. Thank you for helping us look!

Questions we have:
1. The chemo being recommended to us is a mixture of Carboplatin, Etoposide
amd G-CSF for half of her chemo cycles and Ifosfamide, Etoposide and G-CSF
for the other half. Etoposide can have a side effect of leukemia. Children
with DS have a 50% higher rate then typical kids of getting leukemia. Should
we give her Etoposide?

2. Radiation - we are getting conflicting recommendations about giving
children with DS radiation. That are prone for early onset alzheimer's
disease and doctors are not sure how radiation will effect her cognitive
abilities in the future. It might accelerate the on set.

Here are the facts -
2 to possibly 3 large tumors in her head
1 in the superseller region of the brain that has completely wiped out her
pituitary gland and its functions, has grown into her cavernous sinuses and
is compressing lightly on her optic nerve although there doesn't look to be
any damage to her sight yet.

1 or 2 in her pineal region of her brain. It's either one tumor with an
extension or two separate tumors.
Beta HCG levels of nearly 8000
AFP levels of 10
No tumors found on the spinal MRI
CSF levels of 1500

We don't need to find someone who matches exactly because there may not be
anyone out there. We would love to find anyone who has had, known or treated
a child with Down syndrome who had a brain tumor even if the outcome was not
successful. Anything and everything we learn may help us help our daughter.
Please email tashamalla@hotmail.com.

Thanks for helping this family and spreading the word, and be sure to keep Alessandra and her family in your prayers!!

Thank you for taking the time to read it!
Grissell

Winners, Winners, Winners, and sorry some LOSERS :(.......... I still LOVE you anyway!

Thank you THANK you to all of you who follow my blog and leave me comments and OF course enter my giveaways. IT greatly appreciated! LOVE you all!

I am taking the week off but I wanted to announce the winners of my giveaway. I will be sending you an email in the next few days for all your information: Name, Address, phone for deliveries of your WINS!!
Yahoo! BABY!

Chocolate Milk 2 Winners:
#30 Heather
#11 Richele

Wanchai
#49 Messy Mommy

Totally Toned Arms 5 Winners:
#17 Traci Smith
#4   Amanda Corley
#13 Hotmama0609
#6   Pink Haired Momma
#8   Jenny

I have another giveway to the right: HOW to never look fat again! I will be posting 2 more giveaways next week. I apologize for my delay. I am also CATCHING up on FRIDAY Follow backs. RUNNING behind.

Until we meet again,
Grissell