{Down With Detroit}
I’ve got kind of a weird thing going on with my living situation. I live in Beverly Hills for part of the year and then, during the summer, I live up north. My husband owns an overnight camp for kids and it‘s located in Kalkaska, Michigan which is not far from Traverse City, Boyne, Petoskey and Charlevoix. I love being up there in the summer. I love it. But I always love coming home too.
I went to college and lived in Columbus, Ohio for 8 years, (Go Buckeyes!–Sorry.) but other than that, I have always lived in Michigan—and I have always been happy here. I especially love that our city is making a comeback because there are no better days than the days we spend with our kids downtown. Plus, Eminem is here and even though he doesn’t know or care that I’m here too, I still like to be where he is, and so do my kids.
{My Life}
I am a parent, above all else, but that is funny to me because I probably have no business being in charge of anyone. It’s not unusual for me to tell my kids to do something and then start cracking up because, as far as they’re concerned, I’m their parent so they have to do what I say.
Besides the whole parent thing (seriously, though, that is enough) I have a job in promotional marketing and I have my camp life.
Outside of the kids and counselors, camp was not a natural fit for me; I am ANYTHING but earthy. I still get teased about the first time I went up for a visit and I asked if someone was going to come get my bags. I have no idea how I ended up there, in that life, but I show up every summer with wedge flip flops and tiaras for my kids and I love it. We all do.
I write a blog called Dim Sum and Doughnuts. I wrote another one before that one called FuLan-Mania: A Blog of Chinese Adoption and Clueless Parents. The blogs, they are for my girls, so they have them one day. That way, they will not only have some preserved memories, but they will also know that their mommy was totally off-the-wall crazy while she loved them with every fiber of her being.
Also, (side note) I love cake (like sheet cake, not fancy cake), “Miami Vice” (the first 2 seasons) and Henri Bendel. In case you were wondering.
{Babies and Beyond}
I have a husband, Mark Coden (Cody).We met in 2002 (I was 31 years old) when I wasn’t paying attention. I had on a baseball cap and work-out clothes but he fell for me anyway. I thought Cody was the coolest guy ever, and I still do.
Cody and I have a daughter, Frankie, whom (I think it’s “whom”) we adopted from Chongqing, China in March of 2008. She was 11 months old when we got her. We had absolutely no idea what the hell we were doing as parents, especially to a kid who was adopted. I made a lot of mistakes and there were days that I second guessed why anyone would give me a child, but Frankie seems to be adjusting JUST FINE. She is 1/4 an amazing big sister, 1/4 the sweetest kid, 1/4 the most fun, and 1/4 “OMG, you are driving me crazy!” (Wait…can we make that last one a little more than 1/4?)
Cody and I have a daughter, Frankie, whom (I think it’s “whom”) we adopted from Chongqing, China in March of 2008. She was 11 months old when we got her. We had absolutely no idea what the hell we were doing as parents, especially to a kid who was adopted. I made a lot of mistakes and there were days that I second guessed why anyone would give me a child, but Frankie seems to be adjusting JUST FINE. She is 1/4 an amazing big sister, 1/4 the sweetest kid, 1/4 the most fun, and 1/4 “OMG, you are driving me crazy!” (Wait…can we make that last one a little more than 1/4?)
Our life and our family is pretty unconventional, but we make it work.
(At least I think we do. I really have no idea…I’m just happy that I made it through another day and both of my kids are home, in their beds and alive.)
I hope you come check us out…
{Twitter} (Come find me! I’m finally getting the hang of it!!)
And I’m on {Instagram} too, but I don’t really understand it.
