Life As We Know It

New Year's Resolutions

2012-01-17T12:33:00.000-08:00

When I make New Year's Resolutions, I really make New Year's Resolutions.

I hate when I fail to fulfill them. Makes me feel like a quitter. And who wants to feel like a quitter??

Knowing this about myself, I am extremely careful about the resolutions I make. They have to make me grow and stretch and become a better person; but they also have to be realistic and attainable. It takes me a few weeks post-holidays to really figure out what I want to work on each year.

This year, because we are starting over in a new place and I know that I won't feel settled in and "home" for at least 6 months, I making my 2012 resolutions simple.

Here they are:
1. Go on a date with my fantastic husband, Dr. C, at least once a month
2. Only use the computer when my children are asleep or at school
3. Have personal scripture study everyday
4. Invite someone to my house for dinner at least once a month
5. Exercise 5+ days a week (was doing great at this until my awful half-marathon, time to get back on track)

These may not stretch me as much as some of my past New Year's Resolutions have--and some of these things I used to be fabulous at, but have slowly slipped and now it's time to fix it.

Here's hoping that at the end of 2012, I won't have been a quitter.

Avoidance Blogging. Alternate Title: The Moving Month

2012-01-09T23:31:00.000-08:00

Some of you may have wondered what happened to your Midwest-girl-turning-Southern-belle over the past month.

Well, I'll tell you.

I've gone back to being just a straight-up Midwest-girl.

More on that in a bit.

In the meantime, I should let you know that I've been practicing a form of blogging that I like to call "Avoidance Blogging". Let me explain. Usually, blogging is some sort of therapeutic activity...a place to jot down thoughts, record events, a platform to promote ideas and discussion.

In Avoidance Blogging, you don't do any of that. Instead, you simply own a blog, and don't write on it. Easy-peasy, huh?

I guess I should clarify though--Avoidance Blogging isn't simply forgetting to blog--it's much more involved than that.  In Avoidance Blogging, you think about your blog and you may even mentally compose several posts. And almost daily something happens that makes you think you really should be posting about this or that.

But, unfortunately, there are SO MANY of those things running through your head and so many different things occurring in your life, that you completely avoid your blog (hence the name) in hopes that things will settle themselves back into nice neat little happy posts with out any record of the chaos in between.

Avoidance Blogging.  If you haven't already tried it, you probably will.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now that we are settling into some type of normalcy and the upheaval of our lives and emotions has finally subsided, I am leaving my stint as an Avoidance Blogger.   Instead, I will condense the past Moving Month into one, devoid-of-emotional-angst post--complete with an almost daily breakdown of what has been happening and a smattering of pictures.

Here we go.

The Moving Month:
Dec. 1--Our First home is officially back on the market.

Dec. 2--Our friends-that-are-family have a going away party for us. During which, I fail to take any pictures because somehow it would have made the fact that we were leaving seem more real.

Dec. 3-17th--Dr. C leaves for Iowa, leaving me alone with our three-children and a house that has to be constantly kept "show-ready". We have various showings during this time, but no offers.

Dec. 5th--Dr. C starts his new job.

Dec. 9th--Church Christmas party and sitting on Santa's lap.

Miss B was not a fan of the guy in the red suit.

Dec.17th--Dr. C flies back to Memphis. The kids and I drive the 3 hours to pick him up. After six hours in the car, when we return home, we spend 3 hours moving everything out of the attic down to the garage and bringing everything in our storage unit back to our house for the movers. (P.S. A big thanks to our friends-that-are-family for watching the kiddos and helping us move all of our ~~junk~~ belongings.)

Dec. 14th, 15th, 19th--Miss B's last days with our Kids Therapy Spot/Early Intervention family.

Miss B with her first boyfriend.

Miss B's Occupational Therapist and Speech Therapist

Miss B's Speech Therapist

Miss B's Physical Therapist

Miss B's Service Coordinator

Dec. 18th--Our last Sunday with our church family in The South.

Dec. 19th--The movers arrive and start packing up all of our things. Miss B's amazing school, The T.K. Martin Center, holds their annual Christmas party and Miss B attends for the first and last time.

Miss B's lovely teacher.

Dec. 20th--The movers finish packing up and all of our belongings and head back to the Midwest.

Dec. 21st--The boys have a half-day of school; their last day at Sudduth Elementary. Some people come and look at our house while we are doing our final cleaning and loading up the van to overflowing. We leave our Southern Home and head to St. Louis for Christmas.

Dec. 24th--Christmas Eve. Complete with the annual Clam Chowder & bread sticks dinner.

T-Man making a funny face.

Dr. C wearing the crown from his popper thingy.

After dinner, we spend the evening by the fireside, and read the Christmas story. A perfectly lovely Christmas Eve.

Dec. 25th--Christmas Day. We wake up, open our stockings, stop, eat breakfast, go to church, come home, eat lunch, and don't even start opening presents until 4PM. And my kids are okay with it. Miss B had started feeling bad on Friday and by Sunday morning, she is looking pretty sickly. She still perks up enough to open presents.

Miss B loves this FurReal cat thing. The rest of us think it is a slightly possessed toy that really should have an on/off switch. It is currently residing in a corner of the basement, facing the wall. Please don't tell Miss B where it is.

T-Man, the Bounty Hunter

Miss B signing "help" as in "GET THIS DOLL OUT OF THE BOX FOR ME, NOW!"

Dec. 26th--Dr. C leaves St. Louis for Iowa to meet our moving truck. He is unable to return until Thursday night. Miss B wakes up feeling worse. We go out to lunch with my very good friend E.Lee who I hadn't seen in over a year.

That night, Miss B takes a turn for the worse, and a new adventure begins. We start at the Urgent Care center, they give her a breathing treatment but think she is too sick for them to handle. We are then sent to the ER. The ER spends 5 hours giving her meds (which she promptly spits back out), lots of tests, 2 breathing treatments, and then decides she is too sick for them to handle. After a lovely ambulance ride, we end up at St. Louis Children's Hospital and a definitive diagnosis of RSV and bronchiolitis.

We are there for a week.

Miss B staying with us is touch-and-go for a couple of days there. She spends some time in the PICU and her IV faithfully pumps her little body full of fluids and steroids and eventually antibiotics.

(Have I ever mentioned how thankful I am for modern medicine??? My little lady would not be with us today without it.

On the flip side though--those high-tech monitors with all of their wavy lines and different beeps could very likely drive a parent insane. Any parent who has spent some time in the hospital with a child knows what I'm talking about.

There's the beep. beep. beep.--the one that means something is up, but you just have to hit the silence button and keep an eye on it.

Then there's the higher-pitched, faster-- Beep! Beep! Beep!--which means it's time to call the nurse.

And then lastly, the panic-invoking, fear-inducing--BEEP!!!BEEP!!!BEEP!!!--that means it's time for you to run into the hallway and scream for someone to get there RIGHT NOW, #$&* IT, AND TAKE CARE OF MY BABY!!!

I hate the beeps.

Just sayin'.)

Dec. 31st--Miss B's very nice doctor brings us a bottle of sparkling grape juice for the evening. Dr. C and I toast the New Year with styrofoam cups at 8PM. Then Dr. C leaves and spends the rest of the evening at my parents' house with the boys so they would have at least one parent for the holiday celebration. I spend the evening watching The Big Bang Theory marathon on some random channel.

Most unusual New Year's Eve ever.

Jan. 1st--Miss B finally busts out of the hospital on New Year's Day--my 30th birthday--and we load up the van and make the rest of the journey to our new home in Iowa. Probably my most unusual birthday ever as well.

Jan. 2nd-Unpacking and settling in begins.

Jan. 3rd--Dr. C heads back to work; I get the boys registered for their new school. That night, we head to our first Iowa caucus where we hand-write our ballots and turn them by placing them in a plastic sack. Afterward, we check out the Mitt Romney Caucus Night party.

The press area--holy cow, there were a lot of cameras. Not to mention all the wandering camera people. Wowzas.

The kids and I only stay for a few minutes (it wasn't exactly a kid-friendly event). Dr. C takes us home and then goes back for the speech. Definitely a unique experience.

Jan. 5th--T-Man and Fearless are supposed to start school, but pick up a nasty stomach bug instead. I'm still not sure that it wasn't at least partly psychosomatic, but due to the fact that there was actual throwing up involved, the first day of new school is delayed.

Jan. 7th--In need of furniture for our new house that has a completely different floor plan from our old house; we drive the two hours to Omaha to the Nebraska Furniture Mart. We returned victorious with a new sectional precariously tied to Dr. C's truck.

Jan. 8th--Our first Sunday in our new ward. Everyone was perfectly welcoming--some new friends invited us to dinner that evening and we had a lovely time.

And finally--if you've made it this far--Jan. 9th--T-Man and Fearless started their new school. T-Man loved it, Fearless is not sure yet. I'm crossing my fingers that he will love it soon.

No, he didn't take the sword to school.

And that my friends, wraps up the recap of The Moving Month.
Here's hoping I don't need to practice Avoidance Blogging again anytime soon.

The Other Side of the Card.

2011-12-06T21:16:00.000-08:00

While I am currently focused on our upcoming move and in the thick of trying to keep my house clean for potential buyers (Side note: Anybody want to buy my house? And: Please don't make me go through the work of getting/keeping my house ready to show if you aren't going to buy. Just sayin'.) I am attempting to mix in at least a few of our annual Christmas traditions.

One of which is our annual Christmas card pictures. I was happily getting the kids in their Christmas picture clothes, when our realtor called and told me some people were coming to look at our house in an hour and 15 min., and could we please be out by then?

At which point, Dr. C and I cranked the stress level up about 50 notches, threw the Christmas-pic clothes on the kids, buckled them all into the van, turned on Charlotte's Web and then frantically ran back inside to do some last-minute ~~OCD arranging of the towels in the linen closet~~ cleaning.

By the time we drove away, my once-happy-children had been ~~imprisoned~~ sitting in the van for almost an hour, Charlotte had long since died and that Norman-Rockwell-Christmas-picture ideal died with her. (Note to self: Next time I put the kids in the van to frantically clean, choose a reeeaaaalllllly long movie.)

We went anyway.

I did get a *few* good ones...enough for the card...but I got a wholelotta bad ones. Lovely.

Here is a sampling, for your viewing pleasure. (Displeasure?)

Freed from the confines of the van, Fearless takes off the moment we get unbuckled. Takes several minutes to bring him back.

Don't be fooled by this cute pic--T-Man was pinching Fearless on the back. Nice.

T-Man: I will fake smile now because I know I'm in trouble for pinching.
Miss B: There is drama happening, so I must cry.
Fearless: "Mooooooommmmmy...T-Man PINCHED me!"

We are lucky to be alive after receiving that look.

Now it's T-Man's turn to run away. Yay.

This cry was legitimate, fell down and scraped her knees. So sorry, little love!

Miss B to T-Man: "Why the heck are you smiling?!?"

Another legitimate sad face...Fearless cut his hand a little on something and no amount of band-aids, kisses, reassurances would make it better. On a positive note, T-Man shaped up after the pinching moment.

And now she's outta there.

The End.

Welcome Back to the Pinball-Machine-Life

2011-11-16T21:43:00.000-08:00

After our crazy year with Miss B's diagnosis, Dr. C's PhD, Miss B's birth, Open Heart surgery and then our move down here to a state I'd never even visited before...I was in desperate need of a soft place to land. We had been living the pinball-machine life and I craved feeling like I was settled into Home.

The South has taken me in, showed me some amazing hospitality, soothed my soul, and treated me like family. And while The Village can't provide all of the things the city-girl in me misses; The Village has given me respite from the weariness I felt when we arrived.

So when Dr. C applied for a job back in the midwest back in August and asked me if I was ready to move again, I told him I'd think about it if he got an offer.

When he asked again after the phone interview back in September, I said I'd let him know when I saw the offer letter in his hand.

And then after they flew him up there for in in-person interview in October; and I felt like a little kid sticking her fingers in her ears--na-na-na-I'm-not-listening!

And then the offer letter came two weeks ago.

And I had to seriously think about moving.

AGAIN.

Our sixth move in 9 1/2 years of marriage.

As we thought about it and prayed about it...I was conflicted. We have been digging in here...we have our friends-that-are-family, Dr. C loves his job here, I was finally making progress on a Down syndrome group, Miss B is in the most wonderful preschool and has amazing therapists, T-Man and Fearless are excelling in school.

Most of all, how could we walk away from the people and the place that took care of us when we needed it most?

It is times like this...the times when you have a choice between good and good...that praying and receiving answers to your prayers is the only way to move forward with confidance. I didn't know what we should do--Should we uproot our family again for the unknown? Should we stay and make The South our permanent home?

After much prayer, apparently God wants us bounce back into the pinball-machine-life and we have decided that our time in The South is coming to an end--Dr. C starts his new job in Des Moines, Iowa on Dec. 5th.

I know this is the right decision, but it is with a heavy heart that I have been getting our first home ready to sell...ready to be enjoyed for years to come by some other family. And while I'm excited to live closer to my sisters...I will deeply miss all of my Southern family here.

Even though The Village and The South aren't going to be our lifetime-Home, I will always look back on these two and half years with gratitude for the wonderful people that have made my family part of their family; for the place that was a balm to my frayed nerves as I began our new journey having a child with special needs; for teaching me that slowing down is a good way of life; for giving us that soft place to land.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

The Third Year.

2011-10-30T20:56:00.000-07:00

Three years ago yesterday, I got a phone call that would change our lives forever. Three years ago yesterday, we got the results back from my quad screen test that indicated our little lady had Down syndrome. A few weeks later, amniocentesis results in hand, the quad screen test results were confirmed.

Since then, October has become a "reflection" month for me. A time to look back and evaluate how our lives have changed since that phone call. A time of introspection.

On the day we found out, I felt devastated...and that word doesn't even begin to describe it.

A year later, I felt like I was on the offense--I joined several different Down syndrome advocacy groups and felt the fire to rid the world of the injustice toward people with Down syndrome. When people would make comments about Miss B or about Down syndrome, I immediately became a mother bear, protecting my little one.

By year two, I was exhausted of being in constant "Down syndrome" mode. And so I stepped back, and simply enjoyed my daughter and the blessing that she is...We didn't do all of the therapy-homework we were supposed to do. I didn't read every news article about Down syndrome that came out. I didn't talk about Down syndrome constantly. We all just went about our daily lives.

And now, at year three--I am trying to find the balance of the two--being mother bear for people with Down syndrome when necessary, but living life just like any other family would. As I've tried to find that balance--to walk the line of "same as everybody else, just different than most"--I have struggled. How do I make a positive change in the world for people with Down syndrome without it consuming my life?

The push to make the world a better place for my little Miss B has driven me to start a Down syndrome group here in The Village and surrounding towns. As the President of this new group, I feel enthusiastic and optimistic that we can make a difference. And I'm excited that, in our little corner of the world, I am promoting inclusion and acceptance of my little lady. However, despite my enthusiasm, I worry about my life becoming engulfed by all things Down syndrome. While I want Miss B to have every opportunity to have the good life; I think that part of having "the good life" means that we shouldn't always live in "special needs land" and that we need to be a family first--a regular ol' family--and a "family touched by Down syndrome" second.

At the same time, I have guilt that I haven't done enough for Miss B. Like the other day when a friend used the R-word and I just let it go without saying anything...I felt like I was letting Miss B down. Or when I read about all of the different therapies and reading programs and equipment and toys and foods and vitamins and experiences that are recommended for people with Down syndrome--and I know that we are only doing a small fraction of what we could be doing--I lay awake at night worrying that we are failing her.

And so three years later, I have come to the conclusion that there will always be struggles in life--things that make you worry and times when you have to push forward or pull back--and that is okay. And I've realized that I feel so blessed to have these struggles. I feel infinitely grateful for the growth and change and learning that takes place as we find our footing on this path in life. I feel blessed to wake up each morning to my thoughtful husband and three beautiful children. I feel grateful for the change that Down syndrome has brought into our lives.

And while we don't have it all figured out yet...there is no hurry, we will get there someday.

While our life is not perfect...it is good.

My Favorite Spot Is Down At The Park.

2011-10-23T21:01:00.000-07:00

Miss B loves to watch SigningTime! One of her favorite episodes is "My Neighborhood"...she knows all of the signs and her hands go a mile a minute when I tell her about the errands we have to run.

But when the song "Down At the Park" comes on...Miss B runs and grabs her shoes and signs "swing" and "slide" over and over again.

And then when we head to the park, the lyrics are constantly running through my head:

(song from SigningTime! with Rachel Coleman)

My favorite spot

Is down at the park

So down to the park we go

Skate with a friend

Picnic with them

There's so much to do

Down at the park

My favorite spot

Is down at the park

So down to the park we go

Fly a new kite

Practice your bike

There's so much to do

Down at the park

Swing high, swing low

Slide fast, slide slow

Climb up, climb down

The park's my favorite place to run around

My favorite spot

Is down at the park

So down to the park we go

Play catch with a ball

Collect leaves that fall

There's so much to do

Down at the park

Swing high, swing low

Slide fast, slide slow

Climb up, climb down

The park's my favorite place to run around

My favorite spot

Is down at the park

So down to the park we go

Dig deep in the sand

Shake off your hands

There's so much to do

There's so much to see

There's so much to hear

There's so much to be

There's so much to play

Every day

There's so much for me

Down at the park

Down at the park!

Fall Travel Journal: A Perfect Ending.

2011-10-22T20:41:00.000-07:00

Sometimes people come into your life that aren't technically related to you, but they might as well be family.

While Dr. C was working on his PhD in Nebraska, we had the privilege of getting to know some these un-related family members. After we moved to The South, we unfortunately don't get to see them as much, but when we do see them, we pick up right where we left off.

On Wednesday night, before we all left San Antonio and headed home (us to The South, some back to Nebraska, some back to Brazil)--we had a mini-un-related-family-reunion at a fabulous brazilian grill, Fogo de Chao.

It was a perfectly lovely evening.

These un-related family members are some of my favorite people on the planet. An evening with them is like being home.

Thank you for the wonderful time; spending the last night of our trip with you all was the perfect ending to a fabulous vacation.

Next time, let's all meet up in Brazil.

Blog Hop And A Pile of Leaves.

2011-10-21T20:58:00.000-07:00

I have officially failed at the 31 for 21 challenge, now that I've missed posting for two days. I really do have good reasons for not posting...1) The internet in our hotel was down on Wednesday. and 2) Dr. C and I were driving the 12 hours back to reality all day yesterday. I'll try my best to finish out the rest of the month. To make up for it though, I'm participating in a Down Syndrome Awareness BlogHop today.

Today we were trying to tame the millions of leaves that have been having a wild party on our lawn for the past week while we were away. So while you blog-hop, enjoy some of our leaf-hopping.

Just for Fun.

2011-10-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

The Village has zero shopping opportunities (unless you count Wal-Mart, which I do not).

To make up for all the times that I don't get to go shopping at home, today I ventured out into San Antonio to go shopping for as long as I wanted...no one begging me for a snack, no one needing to use the potty, no one asking me if we were finished yet.

It was heavenly.

I picked up some cute new scarves...so I thought this video was appropriate.

Enjoy!

Fall Travel Journal: Remember the Alamo.

2011-10-17T20:55:00.000-07:00

The thing I love about visiting historical places is trying to envision what things were like "back then". As I was standing in The Alamo this morning, I tried to envision thousands of soliders overrunning the small chapel, the men inside bravely trying to stand their ground, to defend their need for independence. My mind's eye tried to take me back, despite the modern cars and buses and small shops 20 feet away from the iconic spot.

It's hard to imagine...but I always walk away from these places grateful for my blessings; grateful that my family and I are not fighting these types of battles; and most importantly, grateful to the men and women in uniform who DO fight on my behalf so that my life is relatively calm and peaceful.

Thank you.

My favorite quote of the day came from Davy Crockett--the frontier legend that joined the fight at the Alamo and gave it his all. "I told the people in my district that [if re-elected] I would serve them faithfully as I had done, but if not...you may all go to h***, I will go to Texas."

Ha!

Genetics Lesson.

2011-10-16T21:08:00.000-07:00

In honor of Down Syndrome Awareness Month, I thought I'd share a little genetics lesson.

From the National Down Syndrome Society:

In every cell in the human body there is a nucleus, where genetic material is stored in genes. Genes carry the codes responsible for all of our inherited traits and are grouped along rod-like structures called chromosomes. Normally, the nucleus of each cell contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, half of which are inherited from each parent.

Down syndrome is usually caused by an error in cell division called "nondisjunction." Nondisjunction results in an embryo with three copies of chromosome 21 instead of the usual two. Prior to or at conception, a pair of 21st chromosomes in either the sperm or the egg fails to separate. As the embryo develops, the extra chromosome is replicated in every cell of the body. This type of Down syndrome, which accounts for 95% of cases, is called Trisomy 21.

(Nondisjunction is what happened in Miss Banana. I'd also like to emphasize the point that Miss Banana's extra genetic material comes from either Dr. C or myself...it's not an alien chromosome that came out of nowhere. Miss B simply got an additional copy of either Dr. C or I's genetic makeup, not a separate "Down syndrome chromosome". It is the fact that she has that extra genetic material that causes her to have Down syndrome.

As an example...it's like she got two doses of my stubbornness and one dose of Dr. C's stubbornness...NOT one dose of my stubbornness, one dose of Dr. C's stubbornness and one dose of Down syndrome stubbornness. Hope that makes sense!

P.S. We don't know if it was me or Dr. C that gave her the extra chromosome. And it doesn't matter.)

The two other types of Down syndrome are called mosaicism and translocation. Mosaicism occurs when nondisjunction of chromosome 21 takes place in one-but not all-of the initial cell divisions after fertilization. When this occurs, there is a mixture of two types of cells, some containing the usual 46 chromosomes and others containing 47. Those cells with 47 chromosomes contain an extra chromosome 21. Mosaicism accounts for about 1% of all cases of Down syndrome. Research has indicated that individuals with mosaic Down syndrome may have fewer characteristics of Down syndrome than those with other types of Down syndrome. However, broad generalizations are not possible due to the wide range of abilities people with Down syndrome possess.

Translocation accounts for about 4% of all cases of Down syndrome. In translocation, part of chromosome 21 breaks off during cell division and attaches to another chromosome, typically chromosome 14. While the total number of chromosomes in the cells remain 46, the presence of an extra part of chromosome 21 causes the characteristics of Down syndrome.

And now we come to the end of our little genetics lesson.

Feel free to ask questions if you have any!

Fall Travel Journal: The First Day

2011-10-15T22:17:00.000-07:00

Dr. C and I are currently enjoying our vacation (for me) and ~~vacation~~ conference (for him).

Our first night, we left The Village at 9:30PM and didn't get to our hotel until 2:30AM. When Dr. C was reserving our hotel for the midway-point of our drive, I told him my only requirement was that it needed to be nice enough that I could relax and sleep in it.

No such luck.

The non-smoking room smelled like it had been housing a chain-smoker for years.

The bathroom light/fan sounded like they had a hamster up there, running (and squeaking) it's guts out to make the blades go round.

The shower water smelled disgusting...I literally gagged a few times. And then, randomly, it started smelling like a perm. Not much of an improvement.

The toilet made the noise I would imagine a duck being strangled and drowned would sound like.

And let's just say I refused to walk around without my flip-flops on.

I'm beginning to think that the people that write online hotel reviews have a fundamentally different set of standards than I do.

We were too tired when we got in to find something else...and knowing we'd only be there for a few hours, we crashed, woke up 5 hours later, and got the heck outta Dodge.

After another 5 hours of driving (plus a detour in Houston--a city where you can apparently see where you want to go, but there is no way to get there without driving in circles on a zillion one-way streets first.), we arrived at Sea World in San Antonio.

Maybe it's because I'm a beach person, or maybe it's some lingering tween girl thing where you love everything dolphins (or horses or butterflies or whatever-girly-type-animal-you-can-think-of) but I absolutely loved Sea World.

Loved it so much, that I told Dr. C I need to add "marine biologist" to the list of degrees that I need to get. "Marine Animal Trainer" is currently at the top of my Coolest-Jobs-On-The-Planet list.

And "Swimming With Dolphins" has been added to my bucket list.

I would even settle for "Swimming With Whales", if the dolphin thing didn't work out. Either way, I'd be a happy, happy lady.

There is just something so graceful and powerful about the dolphins and whales...I could sit there and watch them all day.

Shamu waving goodbye.
Although as far as I could tell, they call ALL of the killer whales Shamu. So this could really be Shamu the Third or Baby Shamu or really Shamu's cousin.
Your guess is as good as mine.

It was Fab-U-Lous.

And then, when we checked into our hotel for the rest of the week, we were met with valet parking, a newly renovated room with a giant flat-screen, balcony view of the San Antonio Riverwalk, granite counter tops, and a big comfy bed with a zillion down pillows that I easily relaxed in.

Quite the difference from the night before!

Traveling.

2011-10-14T23:03:00.000-07:00

Another quick post.

We went to bed at 3AM this morning, got up at 8AM, drove until 3:30PM, then spent 7 hours at Sea World. (Sorry, pictures aren't uploading right now).

Checked into our hotel at 11PM, ate dinner at midnight...and now I'm exhausted.

Longer post tomorrow and stay tuned for the newest item to be added to my bucket list.

Road Trip.

2011-10-13T18:30:00.000-07:00

Quick post--Dr. C and I are about headed out the door for a fun road-trip/vacation without the little ones.

I sooo need this vacation.

San Antonio Riverwalk--Picture from Accessiblevans.com

Next time I'll be posting from the Lone Star State!

Sometimes, Kids Know Best.

2011-10-12T18:29:00.000-07:00

Here's the Update from Miss B's big-girl bed transition.

Fearless is very protective of Miss B. While he isn't always extra-careful with her himself, when other people are around, he is her personal bodyguard. And if Miss B runs in the street (which is one of her fave things to do) Fearless is the first one to chase after her. He looks after her, shares his snacks, helps her open marker lids so they can have a color-your-arms-purple party, gets her toothbrush ready at night, likes to help pick out her clothes and hairbows for the day, and always picks up an extra sticker/prize/treat for her when he gets one. In short, he spoils her. Don't get me wrong...they fight, just like all brothers and sisters do; but it's easy to tell Fearless has a special place in his heart for Miss B.

(T-Man does too, but that's for a different day.)

Ok, with that background, let's go back to the bed-transition update. Miss B has a twin bed; I put it in the corner and then put rails down the whole long side so that she wouldn't fall out. The only open spot to possibly fall out of is the end of the bed. And after doing the same set-up with both boys without having any problems, I was confident it would work.

Fearless knew better.

Fearless: Mom, we should put a rail at the end of the bed too.
Me: I don't think so, she would have to move around the bed A LOT to fall out all the way down there.
Fearless: But Mooooom, she could get hurt!
Me: You and T-Man never fell out the end.
Fearless: Let's get another rail.
Me (exasperated and thinking I know best and tired of the battle): Maybe next time I go to the store.
Fearless (unconvinced): um, okay.

I put Miss B to bed that night, and she was easy-peasy. Didn't make a sound, didn't get out once, didn't cry...just went right to sleep, no problem.

At 1:34AM, I woke up to her screaming bloody murder. In a sleepy-panicked-rush, I booked it to her new bed, only to find it empty. With my panic level rising, I checked the end of the bed.

My poor little lady had fallen out the end, right into her empty laundry basket. Just like Fearless had said would happen.

I would be screaming bloody murder too if I had been happily dreaming and all the sudden found myself falling into a laundry basket, wouldn't you??

Ack! What a bad-mommy moment! If I had just listened to Fearless, there wouldn't have been a problem.

Thankfully she was unhurt, just scared out of her wits. Not that I blame her.

Back into the crib she went.

We won't be putting her in her big bed until we get another rail.

I really should have listened to Fearless.

Five Queens.

2011-10-11T12:32:00.000-07:00

Every parent looks forward to the future of their child and has hopes and dreams for them. All mothers want their children to be loved, successful, happy, well liked, and just an all around "good kid".

And then we have those little "extra" dreams for them...the ones that we know aren't really important but things that we would like to see our children do. Like not only wanting little Timmy to play football...but secretly, wanting him to be captain of the team, to score the winning touchdown, to hold the ~~school~~ ~~state~~ national record for number of yards thrown.

We all know these kinds of dreams for our children are silly...that they don't really matter...but I can't think of a single parent that doesn't have them.

I have one of those dreams for Miss Banana. Not only do I want her to be included in her classroom, but secretly? I want her to be popular. I want her to have friends, boyfriends, be on the cheerleading squad, sit at the "cool" table at lunch.

And I don't want her to be cool because she has Down syndrome, I want her to be cool just because Miss Banana is cool, extra chromosome or not. Is that expecting too much?

Is this little dream shallow of me? Perhaps.

But it's there.

When Miss Banana was first born, I thought there was no way that little extra-dream of mine would come true. But after seeing Miss B rock the tests in the interpersonal relationships catagory; it's come back. And just in the past week or so, there have been girls sporting an extra chromosome that are living that extra-dream.

Here is Katelyn Simpson, Homecoming Queen for Northwest Rankin High School (Mississippi).

Photo taken by Kevin Williams
Special to The Clarion-Ledger

And Emily Niedrich, Homecoming Queen for Birch Run High School (Michigan)

Photo taken by Brittney Lohmiller
The Saginaw News

And Sydney Blum, Tarkington High School (Texas).

And (the reaction at the end of this video is AWESOME), Mariah Slick from Azele High School (Texas)

Or read about Madi Sanju of Desert Hills High (Utah). The cool thing about her story? Her sister, also with Down syndrome, was the Homecoming Queen in 2010.
I hope that by the time Miss B gets to high school, these stories are commonplace.

And that my little extra dream isn't so far-fetched after all.

10 Reasons.

2011-10-10T22:14:00.000-07:00

If you haven't ever been to a Buddy Walk--you are seriously missing out. The annual Buddy Walk is one of our favorite family days of the year. They really are awesome.

Here are my 10 Reasons Buddy Walks are the best.

10. The T-shirt. While usually they are pretty cool and Dr. C and I wear them throughout the year with pride, this year, I think they were going more for the "get noticed" factor. And they definitely got that right. Dr. C and I decided that we will wear these shirts again when:

a) We decide to go for a nighttime run and all of our other clothes are missing

b) We become hunters and don't want to buy the orange vest

c) We find out someone is taking pictures from space and we want to make sure they can see us.

They did make us easy to find each other when we did a little post-Walk visit to Target. And we easily spotted some other people that had been at the Walk too.

9. There are plenty activities for everyone. This year they did a carnival type thing. The kids got to play the games as much as they wanted. Heck, I could have played the games as much as I wanted. Everyone is encouraged to participate however they want to.

8. All the money raised helps people with Down syndrome. It funds scholarships for summer enrichment programs, educational seminars, family events, and more.

7. When a 20-something woman hops on the horse ride and yells YEEEE-HAAAWW at the top of her lungs in true wild-west style while moving at about .3 miles an hour...everyone thinks it's awesome. That cowgirl was living the moment to the fullest.

Most of us could learn a lesson from her.

6. You could talk about Down syndrome the whole time...or you could not talk about it at all...and both options are completely acceptable and understood. Our first year, I think we talked about it the whole time. This year, I don't think it came up in conversation once.

5. When you speak in funky acronyms (AVSD, OT, ST, PT, IFSP, IEP, etc.) everyone knows what you are talking about.

4. No one is too cool, too old, or too self-conscious to have a good time.

3. It's completely appropriate to hug everyone you meet.

2. The entertainers stay long past their original quitting time, just to make sure no one is disappointed.

1. In a sea of 300+ individuals whose lives are somehow touched by Down syndrome, we all become "typical". We bond together, support each other, and we celebrate the blessings that we have been given.

There are still Buddy Walks going on across the country. To find one happening in your area, search here.

YEEE-HAAAAWWWW!!

Moving Up.

2011-10-09T21:10:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy Sunday, so the BuddyWalk post will have to wait until tomorrow. Instead, Miss Banana has exciting news:

If you look waaaay back there, you can see my little lady sleeping in her big girl bed for the first time. We've had her bed for ages. I haven't moved her over because ~~I wasn't ready~~ I didn't think she was ready.

All this time, her bed has been sitting there, neatly made--brand new sheets, brand new-homemade-by-mom quilt--just waiting for Miss B to crawl inside.

Tonight she did.

How is that even comfortable?!!??

She didn't make a peep, fell asleep right away, and didn't even flinch when I went in ~~rudely disturbing her sleep with a camera flash~~ to preserve this moment for posterity.
Here's hoping it continues to be a smooth transition.

Preview.

2011-10-08T19:29:00.000-07:00

From BuddyWalk.org:

The Buddy Walk® was established in 1995 by the National Down Syndrome Society to celebrate Down Syndrome Awareness Month in October and to promote acceptance and inclusion of people with Down syndrome. Today, the Buddy Walk program is supported nationally by NDSS and organized at the local level by parent support groups, schools and other organizations and individuals.

Over the past sixteen years, the Buddy Walk program has grown from 17 walks to nearly 300 expected in 2011 across the country and around the world. Last year alone, 285,000 people participated in a Buddy Walk! They raised more than $11.2 million to benefit local programs and services as well as the national advocacy initiatives that benefit all individuals with Down syndrome.

The Buddy Walk is a one-mile walk in which anyone can participate without special training. It is an inspirational and educational event that celebrates the many abilities and accomplishments of people with Down syndrome. Whether you have Down syndrome, know someone who does, or just want to show your support, come and join a Buddy Walk in your local community!

Speaking correctly.

2011-10-07T20:39:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit of a stickler for my children pronouncing words correctly and using proper grammar. I know this is slightly hypocritical of me; I'm sure my blog posts are riddled with improper punctuation and word choice. Despite my flaws, I do make an attempt to speak correctly and I expect my children to speak well also.

T-Man is a talker. He has a huge vocabulary and can make conversation with anyone about any subject. In fact, sometimes we have to remind him that other people need a turn to talk. In all of these conversations, his pronunciation is usually flawless...at least it was until last night.

He came home from school with a tooth about to fall out of his head.

I gave it a little push, and out it came.

Poor kid, definitely going to need braces.

And now words like "police" are being pronounced "pol-isth". And "rice" is "rye-th".

Strangely, my language OCD is not bothered by this yet; in fact, I find it adorable. Although it is pretty hard to take him seriously when he tells us to "Sth-op laughing!" whenever he talks.

Love you, T-Man!!

And while we are speaking about language, in honor of Down Syndrome Awareness Month, I thought you all would like to know how to speak correctly about Down syndrome. When I first got Miss B's diagnosis, the NDSS website was one of the first places I went for information. I read and re-read reading all of their "About Down syndrome" pages a gazillion times, trying to soak it all in. I remember thinking that I had no idea how to speak correctly about Down syndrome, about my baby. Oy! I had a lot to learn!

I know most of you already say these things correctly; thank you for being respectful and sensitive and for using the preferred terms and language when you talk about my little lady and all of her Trisomy 21 brothers and sisters.
Here's the "Preferred Language Guide" from the National Down Syndrome Society's website:

Below is the proper use of language for “Down syndrome”:
• Down vs. Down’s - NDSS uses the preferred spelling, Down syndrome, rather than Down’s syndrome. While Down syndrome is listed in many dictionaries with both popular spellings (with or without an apostrophe s), the preferred usage in the United States is Down syndrome. This is because an “apostrophe s” connotes ownership or possession. Down syndrome is named for the English physician John Langdon Down, who characterized the condition, but did not have it. The AP Stylebook recommends using “Down syndrome,” as well.

• People with Down syndrome should always be referred to as people first. Instead of “a Down syndrome child,” it should be “a child with Down syndrome.” Also avoid “Down’s child” and describing the condition as “Down’s,” as in, “He has Down’s.”

• Down syndrome is a condition or a syndrome, not a disease.

• People “have” Down syndrome, they do not “suffer from” it and are not “afflicted by” it.

• While it is unfortunately clinically acceptable to say “mental retardation,” you should use the more socially acceptable “intellectual disability”. NDSS strongly condemns the use of the word "retarded" in any derogatory context. Using this word is hurtful and suggests that people with disabilities are not competent.

Half Birthday.

2011-10-06T13:04:00.000-07:00

Six months ago today, Miss Banana turned two.

At the time, I still thought of her as my baby--my little one.

But in the past six months, she has decisively grown out of babyhood and is solidly a toddler/preschooler.

Gone are the days of Mommy picking out her clothes. Gone are the days of being able to keep her from climbing on the table. Gone are the days of needing me for everything.

Once my girl discovered all the things she could do for herself, she decided she wanted to do them. She is probably going to be just as stubborn and opinionated as her mother.

As a new parent of a child with Down syndrome, I worried about my child taking a long time to move to the next stage--all the questions about the timeline of the future swirled in my head; trying to stifle the joy to be found in the present...when will she crawl? when will she walk? when will she talk? will she ever be able to do things for herself??

As I've watched Miss Banana grow and develop, I've found myself asking the "when will she ____?" questions a lot less and the "What's the big hurry?" question a lot more.

And I've discovered that there is no hurry.

Whether she reaches the next milestones quickly or stays behind...my little lady never fails to move on--she's constantly working, progressing, growing, becoming all she is meant to be.

While I miss my Miss Banana-baby, there is lots of joy in my little lady as she is now.

Her future is bright; I'm so thankful that I get to be part of her life.

Miss Banana, I love you to the moon and back.

A Lovely Day

2011-10-05T22:01:00.000-07:00

Once again, I'm late posting. This time, I fully blame my tardiness on Pinterest, which is my new favorite website. It has all of my favorite things that I didn't even know I loved on there. And, it shows me all of my friends' favorite things...and let me tell you my friends have good taste. Every time I open it up it's like jumping into the deep end of a big pool of the loveliest things you can imagine. One day all the craft/quote/style/food/decorating inspirations just might make my head explode.

(P.S. If you're not on Pinterest yet, you should be. Let me know if you need an invite and I'll send you one.)

Before the kiddos went to bed and I got sucked into the Pinterest overload of loveliness, I actually lived some loveliness while playing outside with the kiddos. (How's that segue?)

We are currently experiencing some of the most fabulous weather possible. Clear blue skies, light breeze, 70s and 80s during the day. Lovely. Simply lovely. The fall weather here deserves its own Pinterest pin.

Miss B's favorite thing to do outside is to run as fast as her little legs will carry her to one of our neighbors' porches.

One of her brothers' favorite things to do outside is to chase her down and bring her back.

Miss B's second favorite thing to do outside is getting rides on her brothers' scooters. Or try to swipe a scooter for herself. Fearless was not into sharing with her today.

Miss B's face when she doesn't get the aforementioned scooter ride.

T-Man insisted that I get this shot. He rode up and down the driveway over and over again, stopping to critique my work until I got it just right.

Unfortunately, homework and piano practice and bedroom cleaning and chores and dinner making called us in long before we wanted them too.

Thankfully tomorrow is supposed to be another beautiful day...and who knows what new loveliness it will bring?

See you tomorrow.

Summer Travel Journal Part 7: The Great Outdoors

2011-10-04T20:19:00.001-07:00

And now we come to the last post in the Summer Travel Journal.

Sad, I know.

I was meant for the beach, but the majestic mountains also speak peace to my soul. With their mighty peaks and dizzying heights, they humble me; they serve as a reminder that their are many things greater than I. While at the same time, as I spend time sheltered by the shadows of the mountains, untouched by most of civilization, with clear air and beautiful skies, I can't help but feel that all of the beauty was made just for me; that I am important enough for God to put wildflowers and hidden lakes and mountain covered horizons on earth simply for my enjoyment. In the mountains, I can center myself between the two extremes of self-pride and self-deprecation.

Because we were in this beautiful place, we tried to take advantage of all it had to offer.

My oldest sister brought their canoe, so my family took it out for a spin.
Miss B cried most of the time.
That makes for a really peaceful and relaxing canoe ride.

Ok, so maybe it doesn't. But the boys loved it anyway.

This lake was supposed to be a good spot for fishing.

Um, not so much.

Poor T-Man, the kid is 7 years old and still hasn't ever caught a fish. He kept patiently trying and trying to get one, with no luck. I'm sure there is some sort of life-lesson in patience and "try, try again" in there, but really, if I could have figured out a way to stick a fish on that silly little hook without him knowing, I would have gladly done it.

Um, Miss B? You've got some dirt on your pants. Just FYI.

The group sitting five feet away from us kept catching fish after fish with a SpongeBob fishing pole. Our group didn't have the same luck, despite the fact that we were using the same type of bait. One of my nieces finally caught this little guy, but that was it for the day. After the little girl in the next group over did her 12532 "I just caught another fish and I wasn't even paying attention" victory dance and poor T-Man still hadn't caught anything, I really wanted to send SpongeBob to the bottom of the lake.

Not that I was bitter or anything.

Another day, we went hiking. It was supposed to be an "easy walk". Even though I had been training for a half-marathon, at 9000+ ft above sea level, a few crawling-over-rock spots, and with wearing Miss B in the sling, it was less of an "easy walk" and more like a "NEED. MORE. OXYGEN." moment.

And then when Miss B wanted me to sing the Itsy Bitsy Spider over and over again while hiking down, my little sea-level lungs were only happy when we got back down and I ~~flopped~~ rested gracefully in the car.

Fearless was all about throwing rocks into water. Didn't matter how big the body of water was or how big the rock was--no puddle too small or rock too big to waste a good rock-splash opportunity.

In the top left, you can see the little mud hole that is now filled with rocks, thanks to Fearless and his cousins. Sorry about that.

Fearless conquered this big rock. He was disappointed that we wouldn't all help him push it into the water.

The view at the end of the hike was simply stunning. Definitely worth the oxygen-free "easy walk". Beautiful.

We all made it! (We won't be putting this family picture over the fireplace either.)

And now you have made it through our entire Summer Travel Journal.

Thanks for reliving the journey with us.

Summer Travel Journal Part 6: Around the Cabin

2011-10-03T21:00:00.000-07:00

I will get to all the Down syndrome related posts in honor of October, but my goal was to finish my Summer Travel Journal...if only because this blog also serves as our family scrapbook of sorts, and I would like our fun trip to all be here. Please refer to Summer Travel Journal Part 1 where I warned you that my travel journal might be the modern version of the 80s horror of someone inviting you over to dinner and then forcing you to watch hours of slides from their recent vacation; only without the free dinner part.

And so I continue my epic travel journal series with some this-and-that from around the cabin. And this time I'll let the pictures mostly speak for themselves.
-------
Hot Dog Roast.

What good camping trip with kids doesn't include a hot dog roast?

Miss B loved the fire, the camp chairs, the mountain air...but hot dogs? Not so much. She'd rather starve herself than eat them. Add hot dogs to the long list of foods Miss B finds completely revolting. Aren't hot dogs supposed to be a standard kid food?? Maybe she just knows how bad they are for you. Not sure why that knowledge doesn't extend to her love of Cheetos...

---------

Cousins

Connecting with the cousins was the only item on my kids' agenda for the week. The boys were busy poking at ant hills, building rock and stick villages, swinging in the hammock, etc. While I don't put many pics of my nieces and nephews on the blog (their parents should get to decide if they want pictures of their kids online); my kids had a blast. I'm pretty sure they would have been more than happy to go home with one of my sisters' families.

Miss B and her cousin wearing reverse outfits one day. Totally unplanned.

-----------

Crafts

The backporch of the cabin was like a mini-HobbyLobby with project room. There were enough crafting supplies back there to provide Martha Stewart's whole staff a month's worth of projects. Despite the kids spending hours back there everyday, I think we used 1/3596842 of it.

Rock painting.

The best trivet for your hot pans you could possibly want. Fearless made this one and we proudly use it just about every night.

Miss B's final product. Jackson Pollock would be proud.

-----------------

Family Pictures

This was the best picture we got of our family. Yeah, probably not going over the fireplace.

My sisters and I had fun taking "engagement" pictures of each other. Sadly, we look much older in this picture than we did in our actual engagement pics...but that's what 9 years and 3 kids and graduate school will do to you.

P.S. I did spare you of the picture they took of Dr. C grabbing my bum.

Ever tried to take a picture with 19 kids in it? Fun stuff.

Love my family!

i have a voice

2011-10-02T18:13:00.000-07:00

I know I've posted this before, but since the first time I saw it, it has become my favorite. I know you will love it too.

Make sure to have the sound turned on as you watch.

Welcome October.

2011-10-01T19:13:00.000-07:00

If January is the "New Beginnings" month, December is about Christmas, and November is about Gratitude, then October is the "Let's Just Start Celebrating Now" month. It's like October knew that November and December had some major holidays in their favor, so October upped it's standing by being full of cooler weather, football games, General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Down Syndrome Awareness Month, beautiful leaves, yummy baking, sweatshirt-hoodie wearing and then caps it all off with the just-for-fun holiday of Halloween. I think of October as the warm-fuzzy month to help kickoff the next two months of celebrating goodness. I mean really, what's not to love about October?

Today and tomorrow my brain is focused on General Conference--one of my favorite weekends of the year when all around the world, members of LDS church gather together to listen to the prophet and apostles speak to us. Our family watches from home--the kiddos work on Gospel related activities and get to eat treats every time a speaker says "faith" or "prayer" or "Jesus Christ"or "service", etc. Dr. C and I lounge on the couch taking notes and getting answers to our questions.

It always seems that at least one of the talks was meant just for me; today there were two that really hit home and I'm sure tomorrow there will be more. If you want to listen or watch and hear some words meant for you, you can do that here. I highly recommend it.

Also in October, to celebrate Down Syndrome Awareness Month, I am going to try the 31 for 21 Challenge issued by Tricia from Unringing the Bell. The goal is to blog DAILY in October (hence the 31) for Down syndrome or Trisomy 21...Miss B already has the 21 part covered--which just leaves the 31 part to me. I'm not sure if I'll make it, but I'll give it a try.

(In announcing the fact that I'm taking this challenge, please remember that I'm the girl with 432598672 craft projects that I was really enthusiastic about starting, but now sit half-finished in my craft room patiently waiting for ~~days~~ ~~weeks~~ ~~years~~ forever to be finished. But, I'm also the girl that trains for and runs long distances...so we'll see which commitment-to-a-hobby side of me wins out this month!)

It's going to be a great month, folks. Welcome October!

Summer Travel Journal Part 5: The Egg Drop

2011-09-30T21:10:00.000-07:00

My family likes to keep things entertaining when we all get together.

For instance, while I was growing up, my parents had to figure out a way to keep us all occupied in that lull of vacation-laziness between Christmas and New Year's. When we got to the point where everyone had been on break long enough to feel relaxed...and we were all starting to get a bit ansty to do something...and when the sugar buzz from all the homemade caramels and cookies was turning more into diabetic shock, my parents would buy some giant bags of rubber bands from Sam's Club, take us all to the church gym, and we'd have a giant rubber band shooting war. The only rule? Don't shoot anyone in the face. Other than that, it was a free-for-all to release excessive pent up energy. And after a couple of rounds of shooting family members with rubber bands as hard and as often as I could while fending off their attacks on me, life was good and we were all ready to go back home and put together some Christmas-gift puzzles. Good times.

(Side note: If you ever try this activity, I would suggest wearing long sleeves and pants. Just sayin'.)

I think most families go see a movie or something?

Anywho, my point is, my family likes to mix it up in the entertainment area. Our family reunion was no exception. About a month before the reunion, my mom told us all to prepare for an Egg Drop--the kind of activity you did in 5th grade where you try to package your raw egg in such a way that when it's dropped off the roof of the school, it won't break. (If I remember right, my egg in 5th grade did break. Bummer.) While my siblings all paid attention to this email...I think I was buried up to my elbows in homemade paper mache and promptly forgot about it.

It all worked out okay in the end though, since I had been pinata-making instead of planning our egg's protection, we just used the broken halves of the pinata to package the egg.

How's that for being resourceful?

Most of the family--waiting for the excitement to start!

Woohoo! Not a single crack!

The rest my family did just as well and not one egg broke. I'm pretty sure that means we hold the World Record for "Least Number of Eggs Broken During An Egg Drop Contest At A Family Reunion".

(Cue music: We are the champions...we are the champions...no time for losers 'cause we are the champions...of the world)

I think we might have to add "Egg Drop" to our permanent family entertainment list. Oh, and we'll be stocking up on rubber bands too.

Summer Travel Journal Part 4: Gone Fishin' Party

2011-09-30T14:46:00.000-07:00

Once again, we are flashing back to our Summer Travel Journal. We spent the last week of our vacation at a family reunion with my family in the Uinta Mountains--a simply gorgeous part of our country. My whole family, minus one brother, was there...making a nice round number of 30 people in one cabin. It's a good thing we love each other!

The cabin we stayed in was pretty much waaaaaaaay out there...as in, no cell phone or Internet service. As in, so far out there that there were real cowboys (shepherds?) riding their horses and herding their flock of sheep across the highway. Nothing like starting a nice family reunion almost being slowly stampeded by sheep. The cowboy-shepherd guy kept telling us to just keep driving...but dude, who wants to run over a herd of sheep?!?

Baaa.

A couple of miles later, this deer was running along the road, right next to the van. After a good race, it decided to stop and pose for a picture. (Sorry for poor picture quality, I was took it through the window.)

The sunset view from the cabin porch. Simply beautiful.

We started our week with a Gone Fishin' party. Each family decorated a tackle box--and then filled it with yummy snacks like Swedish Fish and gummy worms.

Miss B picking out stickers for our family's tackle box.

I made this fishing-bobber-pinata for the party...and let me tell you the homemade paper mache process was a whole heckuva lot of work.

If I ever decide to make a pinata again, please, somebody stop me.

Despite the project being much longer than I expected, I was pretty proud of the fact that it lasted through 18 of the 19 grandchildren hitting it.

All that was left after my hours and hours of labor. Next time, I think I'll just buy one.

My mom did a cute carnival-style fishing game--where every grandchild got to fish for a prize. My dad was in charge of the child-with-the-fish-hook side of the pond...which was a very brave thing for him to do. I'm happy to report that not one person's eye was lost. (But we did have some close calls.)

My cute nieces made these fun fish-cupcakes for everyone to enjoy. I don't get to see my sisters and brothers and their families very often; so that evening in the crowded kitchen while we were making dinner for 30 and the girls were cupcake-decorating away and the laughter and chatter was constant...even though we were miles away from a decent-sized civilization and many, many more miles away from my house, it felt like home.

More to come...my goal is to finish our Summer Travel Journal by the middle of next week...we'll see if I make it!

Fall Means Football!!

2011-09-25T19:00:00.000-07:00

Fearless took this picture. Not bad, eh?

I don't know when it happened...must have been sometime during college and Dr. C's graduate school, but I have come to love football. When Fall rolls around and the leaves start changing and the mornings have that crisp-chill feeling...I find myself paying attention to Dr. C's reports from ESPN. Maybe part of it has to do with the thrill of Game Day...the throngs of people, the roar of cheers and applause that follow a big play, the camaraderie with random strangers all united in supporting their team...it all adds up to happiness in a big football-shaped package.

Although Fall is just barely upon us, we have been partaking of the Football-frenzy for the past few weeks. We started the season by watching our Alma mater--Brigham Young University--beat Ole Miss.

Fearless found some random sand/dirt to entertain him during the pregame tailgating.

Um, yeah, they were dirty before the game even started. Dirty, but happy!

Nice funny faces, kiddos. I bet you both are going to love this picture when you are older.

WooHoo!! GO COUGARS!!!!

BYU was doing well in all the stats except scoring until the 4th Quarter...when BYU scored twice within a couple of minutes to win the game.

I'm pretty sure the Ole Miss fans were fairly disappointed...you could practically feel the enthusiasm for the game drain out of the stadium with BYU's second touchdown. Except in the BYU section, where the crowd went wild. I love when my team wins!!

Check out THAT final score, baby! BYU by 1! Holla!!

T-Man is starting to love the game as well--this fall he decided to skip playing soccer and play flag football instead. I must admit these games are pretty funny to watch. It's a whole lot of kids running around essentially clueless about what they are supposed to do. T-Man's team did manage to score once in their first game though--at which time the sideline erupted in wild cheering.

"What am I supposed to do?!?"

And our most recent football excursion occurred last night where, after scoring some free tickets, we went to the Mississippi State vs. Louisiana Tech game.

Miss B is all about football--or at least all about yelling and cheering when everyone else does!

Our seats were in the third row, all the way in the end zone. So that last play, during overtime, when MSU scored a touchdown to win the game? Yeah, that happened 30 feet in front of us. I'm pretty sure you could see our feet on the JumboTron when we jumped up to cheer. LOVED IT!

Thank you JoAnn for tickets for Dr. C, T-Man, Fearless and I. Thank you Paul for the ticket for Miss B so we could all enjoy the game together. It was SO much fun.

And we've still got more of football season to go! Holla!!

Roots N Blues Half Marathon

2011-09-17T19:58:00.000-07:00

By now you should all know that I can't stay in The Village for very long before I get the itch to travel and Dr. C and the rest of the family end up on a quick road trip--even just a day trip--to somewhere. I think this road-tripping habit of mine (coupled with the fact that we've never lived anywhere for longer than 3 years) is turning us all into modern-day gypsies. My kids now routinely ask where we are going over the weekend.

Last weekend, we didn't disappoint them as we headed up to St. Louis to meet the fabulous Kate from Trial Run. While I'm not usually an internet stalker, Kate's blog is funny and insightful and entertaining...and when I learned she lives near my parents, runs half-marathons, and has a daughter with Down syndrome, I figured we were kindred spirits. And then when we discovered the Roots N Blues Half Marathon to run together, Dr. C agreed to another one of my gypsy-like weekends and we drove the seven hours to meet Kate and her family on Friday night and run the race Saturday morning.

I'm so bummed that I didn't take ANY pictures of Kate and I (or our kids) together--honestly it was such a pleasant evening and all the kids were getting along fabulously that I didn't even think about it.

Thank you Kate and Matt for being such gracious hosts and making the random Internet-friend from The South feel welcome in your home--we had a fabulous time. (Oh, and my kids want to play with your kids again next time we are in town!)

As for the race itself...it was my worst race EVER.

I broke my #1 Race-Day Rule of "No Walking". Ugh!

I originally broke the rule to help some fellow runners pushing a large man in a wheelchair up a monstrosity of a hill (it took all three of us pushing to get the guy to the top) but unfortunately I hadn't been training on long, steep hills...and I definitely hadn't been training pushing heavy wheelchairs up long, steep hills. My bad knee protested against the added strain and didn't give up protesting for the rest of the race. Which meant I had to stop and walk again and again, which completely deflated my confidence. Add to that the fact that the water stations kept running out of water right before I got there and my worst-race-ever fate was sealed.

(Yes, I am currently in the process of nursing my knee back to health and looking for a "Redemption" Race to train for and make myself feel better. I'll keep you posted.)

Later, I felt slightly better when T-Man overheard me telling my dad what had happened in the race--how I'd stressed my knee pushing the wheelchair and how I payed for it for the last 8 miles. T-Man interrupted and said, "But you did the right thing Mom; that's what Jesus would have done." Awww.

It was a fast, fun quick trip--about 36 hours total--just enough to get the gypsyness out for at least the next month or so (until we go on our next trip to San Antonio!)

Many thanks to Kate for letting me run with her and for sharing her home and an evening with us. And to the rest of her family for hanging out with us and letting us crash their family time! We think you all are fabulous.

And many thanks to my dad for watching T-Man, Fearless, and Miss B by himself on Saturday for many, many hours while Dr. C and I were at the race. Love you, Dad!

Adventures in Educationland: Miss B's Evaluation and First Day of Preschool

2011-09-08T12:31:00.000-07:00

Welcome to a new series here on Life As We Know It. Now that Miss B is getting older, her education is moving to a more formal setting. Because I am absolutely positive we will have Adventures in Educationland with her, this will be a continuing series involving our experiences. And, because sometimes T-Man and Fearless have crazy education stories as well, we will not limit the stories to just Miss B. Enjoy!

When we first told people that we were moving to The Village here in our little corner of The South, the majority of people expressed their concern over my children's educational opportunities. And while some of those fears have been substantiated, I am always pleasantly surprised when they are not.

Miss B's new preschool is one of those pleasant surprises.

I had some misgivings about sending Miss B to preschool because she is not quite two and a half...but I felt that the Special Instructor (a lady that I love to pieces and would adopt into my own family) just wasn't as effective as a more structured educational program would be. After having visited her Preschool and talking with the teachers and the director..I am confidant that I made the right decision.
Her school is located on the University campus, and is run by people with Master's or PhD's in special education or a related field. University students studying pertinent subjects (educational psychology, special education, early childhood education, etc) spend a semester helping in the classrooms. The class sizes are small (only 6 kids in Miss B's class), the classrooms are well supplied, and it's free.

I swear it's like someone read my preschool-wish-list, waved their magic wand, and *poof* Miss B gets everything she needs. The founder of The Center has surely earned his spot in heaven.

Last week, Miss B went in for her first Educational Evaluation. And it was frustrating and satisfying at the same time. Knowing that this was the first of many pieces of paper that would be placed in her file, the pressure was on. I was a bit panicked during the test because there were somethings that I knew she could do, that she just wasn't interested in that day.

Come on Miss B, show them you can kick the ball!
I know you can kick the ball.
No, don't run down the hallway...Come out of the bathroom--let go of the toilet paper!
The ball, remember the ball?

Zero points for that one.

But then there were also times when she shined and let her personality show. Like when the speech therapist placed a few toys in front of her and asked her to put the toy dog on top of the yellow paper. Miss B was more interested in playing with the baby doll...until the lady asked the 3rd time...and Miss B gave her a dirty look, picked up the dog, slammed it down on the yellow paper, and then went back to the baby. There, I did it. Will you leave me alone now?!

In the end, I shouldn't have worried at all...because my girl rocked that test. As in: only-significantly-delayed-in-one-area. As in: average-or-higher-than-average in all other areas.

Have I ever mentioned that my daughter is a Rockstar?

Just sayin'.

And it was the simple fact that she has an extra chromosome in every cell of her body that got her into Preschool. If they went just by the test results, she'd be too "high functioning" to qualify.

Thank you, little extra chromosome!!

Her first day was yesterday, and she did fabulously. To quote her teacher, Ms. E, "Miss Banana had a GREAT first day!! She is going to LOVE this!!"

And now comes the moment we've all been waiting for--pictures of Miss B on her first day of school yesterday.

(Please note that when we went shopping for her 1st Day of School outfit, Miss B picked this dress out herself and wouldn't let go. The checkout lady wasn't even allowed to put it in the bag--just scan and back in Miss B's arms. She is totally going to be a fashionista.)

Umm, Mommy? I'm not sure about this backpack thing.

Whoops! Down I go!

Summer Travel Journal Part 3: Hanging Out with Dr. C's Family

2011-08-24T20:24:00.000-07:00

You all probably thought that I had forgotten about the promised Summer Travel Journal. But, you are in luck, because I didn't forget and we are ready for the next installment.

We spent the first week at Dr. C's parents' house--where Miss B broke a lamp and an alarm clock; I broke the dryer and Dr. C's razor's case stained the bathroom sink.

They were probably pretty ready for us to leave by the weeks' end.

The boys got to try on Grandpa R's Green Beret. Very cool...although I'm not entirely sure that they understood the significance of it other than "Grandpa's neat hat." T-Man kept wanting to wear it like he was a Newsie.

What's with the one squinty eye?

Miss B took over the Flintstone car like she'd had her license for years and was cruising around in her hot rod.

One night involved some intense games of capture-the-flag. I think the girl's team only one once; but hey, at least we won, right?

Miss Banana kept getting tripped over, so she eventually became our inside cheerleader.

Yeah, not happy about that.

Another night we had a bbq at Aunt E's house, where much fun was had by all.

They have a kiddie-car-wash...how cool is that?!?

Water balloon volleyball (and regular volleyball) were also big hits.

Fearless and T-Man got in a water fight.
Fearless thought he had the only water gun.

Until Uncle C brought out the BIG gun. And when I say BIG, I mean BIG...as in T-Man needed help picking it up once it was full of water.

That thing was like a fire hose.

Fearless didn't stand a chance after that!

Despite losing the water war, Fearless was happy because later that evening, we partied for his birthday. He shares a birthday with Grandma R and a couple of days later is Grandpa R's birthday, so everyone got to celebrate.

Miss B was a little stinker that night because I wouldn't let her gorge herself on cupcakes.

I'm such a mean mom.

Thank goodness for all of the family members that cheered her back up; she's so much more pleasant to be around when she's not screaming her head off.

And, since you've made it this far, I will end with a little treat. Dr. C's niece (in the background of the picture above) has been playing guitar since she was 9; and recently won 1st Place in her division of the local Idol contest. She just wrote her first song, True. The recording makes it hard to understand some parts, but listen closely; there is a verse about Miss B!!

(Sorry, tried to embed it, but the video isn't working...hopefully the link works!)

Miss B Becomes a Fashionista

2011-08-11T21:53:00.000-07:00

Miss B has started taking charge of getting herself dressed in the morning. Yesterday, after picking out a stunning stripped dress, she decided to spice things up and add on some of T-Man's plaid shorts.

Apparently, that wasn't quite the look she was going for.

Instead, a pair of T-Man's gray undies, which she later further accessorized with pizza sauce, were needed to complete the ensemble.

Then, she was quite the happy little fashionista.

Doesn't Lady Gaga wear some outfits like this?

I would have thought that T-Man would voice some objections to his underwear being used as a girly accessory, but Miss B worked her magic and all was forgiven.

P.S. Please also note the hairstyle...that is the hairstyle she gets when she runs away from her ~~mom~~ hairstylist mid-ponytail. I'm think it's a perfect 'do for the outfit, don't you?

Partially Empty Nest

2011-08-08T19:39:00.000-07:00

Whenever my kids reach a new milestone, I always start thinking about the related milestone that will happen later on. Like when T-Man first took off riding his bike around the corner without me holding on or even being able to see him--I was proud as punch but my mind's eye flicked ahead to the first time he will pull the car out of the driveway, new license in hand, and drive away on his first solo adventure. That little bike ride is a major step for him and is a preparation for the future for me. We both grow a little in that moment.

Today was one of those days. With Fearless starting Kindergarten and T-Man heading into 2nd Grade, we've reached a milestone.

As Dr. C drove them away this morning and Fearless stuck his head out the window with one last, "I love you, Mom!" My mind's eye flashed forward to years down the road when they would be heading off to college and a majority of what goes on in their lives will occur without me.

Miss B and I missed them almost instantly. Miss B felt the need to make extra amounts of trouble (I'm assuming to try to fill in for her brothers while they were away) and the need to attach herself to my leg, hip, arm--whatever she could grab at the moment. And, while it was nice to only have one munchkin to control at the grocery store, when we got back home for lunch and nap time, the house seemed eerily quiet. Is this what having an "Empty Nest" will be like?

Even though my mind pushes me forward to prepare for that first-day-of-college moment, my heart is grateful for today; when, at 3:05, my little men and our carpool friend hopped into the van, their happy chatter filling and replacing any nervousness and sadness I had about them being gone. Miss B was all smiles and the balance of life in our world was restored.

We all grew a little on this First-Day-of-School Happy/Sad Day.

P.S. Miss B starts preschool in a few weeks; then I will have a few hours to myself. I wonder what that will be like?!?

P.P.S. I would guess that by next week, I will be relishing the time that I have to get things done while the kids are at school...and enjoying the time that I have with them as much as ever.

Dr. C Gets Another Year Older

2011-08-07T21:14:00.000-07:00

We are currently taking a break from our Summer Travel Log programming, for Dr. C's birthday. And since Dr. C is the love of my life, he deserves a whole post dedicated to him on his special day.

Happy Birthday Dr. C--here are 10 Things I Love About You:

(in no particular order)

10. You make me laugh. A lot.

9. You go along with all of my crazy schemes.

8. You rescue me when all of my crazy schemes get out of control and I'm in over my head. Like the time I did a full-on luau for T-Man's first birthday for 50 people with the ocean/island/volcano/hula dancer cake that took me a week to make and you ended up cooking all the food as I finished the decorations and icing palm trees. Thank you for waiting until after the party to tell me that I could never do that again.

7. You trust God and walk by faith.

6. You are an extremely hard worker--like that last year of grad school when Miss B was born and it was crazy stressful and yet you busted your butt to write the last 3 chapters of your dissertation so you could be done with it before Miss B's open heart surgery, which then meant you could graduate on time and start working to provide for our little family right after graduation. Even though it was wicked hard, you did it. And you still work hard everyday to provide for our family and to make our lives easier.

5. You know how to fix just about anything; or, if you don't know how, you will figure it out. Like all the times that the dryer has something random break and I want to just buy a new one, but you figure out how to fix it so it works even better than before.

4. You set a good example for our children by being honest, trustworthy, loyal and genuine.

3. You do the dishes, fold laundry, change diapers, vacuum, mow the lawn without complaint...and one of the first things you say everyday when you get home from work is, "What do you want me to do?"

2. You've seen me at my worst and you still love me anyway.

1. You're my best friend and I couldn't make it through life without you.

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!!

I made these Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes for Dr. C's birthday...find the recipe at Out of My Sister's Kitchen.

Summer Travel Journal Part 2: Visiting

2011-08-03T20:04:00.000-07:00

A lot of my favorite people on the planet live in Utah, and we were lucky enough to see some of them while we were out there. First up, my Grandad--he was hanging out at Snowbird Ski Resort, so we headed up the canyon to spend the morning with him.

All of us with my Grandad. Isn't he handsome? I hope my hair goes white like his when I'm old.

Later, we headed back to Salt Lake to meet up with our friends from The South that ~~abandoned us~~ got a new job and moved to Utah a year ago.

Teri and Jessie--while they are not blood-related, they are definitely family.

After a yummy dinner at the Lion House, we spent a lovely evening strolling around Temple Square.

Miss B was a little stinker during dinner, but once she was able to get out and run around, she was back to her happy self.

Thank you, Teri and Jessie for spending the evening with us--we had a fabulous time. Any time you want to move back to The South (or even just visit), we'd be thrilled to have you.

Summer Travel Journal Part 1: Discovery Gateway and Olympic Plaza

2011-08-03T18:15:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our Summer Travel Journal.
It will be long.
But, it will be flooded with pictures.

Let's get started, shall we?

After our 25 hour drive west, we arrived at Dr. C's parent's house.

As we were getting out of the van, Fearless and I had this conversation:
Fearless: Mommy, we have a really crummy car.
Me: (surprised) Really? Why?
Fearless: (innocently) Because there are a lot of crumbs in it.
True dat.

To take a break from our crummy car, we took the train down to Salt Lake City to visit Discovery Gateway.

Miss B's first train ride!

For those of you who have not yet visited Discovery Gateway, you are missing out. It's a pretty fun children's museum. My kids had a blast.

And, as an added bonus, I saw another cute little girl with Ds playing there too. I love seeing other kids with Down syndrome...warms my heart every time.

We also had to make a stop at the splash pad in the Olympic Plaza.

This is also where I realized just how much I have acclimated to The South. It was a bright, sunny, 93 degree day with very little humidity.When I used to live in Utah, I would have complained about how miserably hot it was. This time, it felt quite pleasant.

Fearless with his cousin...these two were like peas in a pod.

And Another Baby Makes 4.

2011-07-27T20:21:00.000-07:00

I know you are all anxiously awaiting my travel log from our most recent road trip...but seeing how I took almost 2000 pictures in a 2 week period, it will take me a bit to sort through them all.

To entertain you while you wait for the details of our latest adventure, I decided to post some exciting news.

Are you ready??

Wait for it...

Drum roll please...

My parents ACTUALLYdid take baby pictures of me, their 4th child.

(Ha!Ha! You all thought that I was pregnant!! I am NOT.)

But trust me, the baby-picture news really is exciting. I had never seen very many baby pics of myself because I was born at a time when slides were the "in" thing. Unfortunately, slides don't work very well when you are asked to do those elementary-school "Timeline of Your Life" projects so I would have to draw my baby-self onto my poster board.

(At this point in my poor-me story, my siblings are probably rolling their eyes. Love you guys!)

Anywho, my brother-in-law figured out a way to take all those old slides and turn them into jpegs. He then made a CD for us all and Voilà! I saw some of my baby pictures for the very first time.

I'd say that's pretty exciting news!

My mom made my blessing outfit; which I had also never seen until I was pregnant with Miss B. My mom found my dress in the garage in an old box and Miss B got to wear it for her blessing. Pretty cool, huh?

This is what we like to call my "balding stage" when all of my jet-black baby hair was falling out to make room for my childhood blonde hair. I think this picture kind of makes me look like a baby-faced-jovial-old-man.

My first birthday. Awww.

Hmm...I don't remember my childhood being this orange. (Thank you, While You Were Sleeping)

The top-knot, the pink-polka-dot-poodle pants, the big yellow coat...ahhh, childhood at its finest.

Now I understand why everyone used to pinch my cheeks and tell me I looked like Shirley Temple.

Whoa! Check out the awesome red corduroy jumpsuit!! Just Awesome.

Even better--a hot pink pantsuit and Farrah Fawcett hair!! I'm pretty sure these are back in style now.

And now we are finished with my fun trip down memory lane.

What do you think, do my kids look like me?

From the mountains.

2011-07-15T15:51:00.000-07:00

Nothing says "Summer" quite like being sardine-packed into a mini-van for a 25 hour road trip to the mountains.

Yes, we did bring T-Man with us, if you look closely, you can see him in his little spot in the back.

The little ones did surprisingly well. They only watched one movie the 1st day and one movie the 2nd day. Not bad. And, we only have New Hampshire, New Jersey, Hawaii, West Virginia, Rhode Island, Vermont, North Dakota and New Mexico left to find in the License Plate game. (or, if you are from The South, the "State Tags" game.)

The drive was well worth it for these views:

The mountains (and the Salt Lake City Temple) are grand and majestic. Even though I'm a full-fledged beach-person, it is awe-inspiring to spend some time in these beautiful places.

More to come.

Earning the Goggles.

2011-07-05T13:33:00.000-07:00

*FYI, this is a shameless brag-post. Have a great day!

Not only were we meant for the beach, but since moving to The South, we are also meant for the pool.

Last summer, my poor, swimming-daily children thought they were being deprived because they only had noodles and kick-boards (Oh, the injustice of only having 2 pieces of swim gear!!)--and that they NEEDED goggles. (Please note the sarcasm).

I postponed that desire for the whole summer last year (I want them to learn how to swim without wearing anything extra--no goggles, no floaties, no nose plugs, etc.) but I knew I couldn't hold them off for one more complete summer.

Being the hard-nosed mom that I am, I told them that if they wanted goggles, they had to earn them by jumping into the deep-end and swimming across all by themselves. T-Man was doing this last year, no problem, so after quickly warming back up to the water after 9 months off, he earned his goggles on Swimming Lesson Day 2.

Front crawl

Back Float

Goggles Earned.

Fearless was another story. Last year, he had a scary experience that involved him slipping into the deep end, some quick swimming by my SweatSister (who is also the best swim teacher on the planet), and a blessed escape from a watery end.

So this year, he was pretty leery of that deep water. Not that I blame him.

We spent some time in the shallow water where he was a little fish--swimming, flipping, jumping in without hesitation.

But still, no goggles.

Until we reached Swimming Lesson Day 7. My SweatSister had to rearrange the lessons a bit, and Fearless ended up having private lessons. I guess that one-on-one time was just what he needed, because on that day, my little man made the jump, the swim, and earned the goggles.

You can't see his face really well here, but right before he jumped, he had that Eye-of-the-Tiger-conquer-or-bust look going on.

Almost there!!

Made it!!

He's pretty proud of those goggles, as he should be. I must admit, at the beginning of the summer, I was worried he might not make it...but I shouldn't have doubted.

The kid really is fearless...or at least he conquers all his fears. Which is probably better after all.

And Miss B?

This girl was made for the water.

As soon as we get to the pool, she heads down the steps and makes herself comfortable. She will jump in, standing up, from the side while only holding onto one of my hands, and she can swim, underwater, for about 4 feet--no goggles, no floaties, no kickboards, no noodles--just my little two-year-old Miss B.

Sorry, no pictures of her swimming because it's kind of hard to take pictures AND try to keep her from doing something drastic. Because this chick has no issues with the deep end and is known to ~~run like mad~~ mosey on down there, climb down the ladder, and hang out with the big kids if I turn my head for a second. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm writing a post about Miss B earning the goggles next summer.

Matters of the Heart

2011-06-26T21:40:00.000-07:00

Two years ago today, I kissed the top of Miss B's head, and handed her to a smiling nurse, and sent her off to open heart surgery.

In that moment, I couldn't envision our future. There were so many unknowns, so many fears and worries that when I tried to picture what would happen next, I just came up blank. The rest of my life hung on the outcome of that surgery.

Look! Hair long enough for a braid!

Dr. HeartSurgeon did a fabulous job. He fixed Miss B's heart. He gave her an opportunity at life. And now, two years later, our life is vibrant and full and Miss B is quite the little character. Thanks to him, I can envision our future.

That surgery was like hitting the Reset button. Before her heart repair, we had fear and worry. After surgery? All that stressful-fogginess was washed away and we were filled with hope.

With Miss Banana's new, healthy heart, she moved past surviving, and began to thrive.

And that is the way life is supposed to be lived.

Thank you, Dr. HeartSurgeon, for giving Miss B the opportunity to live life to the fullest. I will never be able to fully express how how grateful I am that you saved my daughter's life.

And to Miss Banana:

Happy HeartDay, my little love! Thank you for fighting hard to stay alive and enrich our lives.
May God continue to bless your little heart!

Graduation: Cue "End of an Era" Tears.

2011-06-23T20:01:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'll admit it.

Since having kids, I've turned into a sentimental gusher.

(Whew, there. I said it. Admittance is the first step on the road to recovery, right?)

Don't you love the flip-flops??
Wearing sandals just about all the time to just about every event is one of my favorite perks of living in The South!

It's predictable and cliche, but when my middle child, who is about to turn 5, got all dressed up in his cap and gown for preschool graduation, I busted out with the teary, "When did he get so big?" and "It goes by so fast!" statements that the pre-children version of myself would have found ridiculous.

Whoever came up with the graduation-clothing get up designed it with a some sort of psychological guarantee that mothers would cry when their children are wearing it.

And what end-of-an-era ceremony is complete without some Pomp & Circumstance? I have a love/hate relationship with that inescapable graduation music that flashes me back to my own various graduations and at the same time, flashes me prematurely forward to my childrens' high school and college graduations. It forces me to review the past and to see the future that I'm not ready for yet.

Can't I just keep them little?!?

(P.S. If I'm ever in charge of a graduation planning...they're all marching in to Darth Vader's music. And then, to help speed things up, Flight of the Bumblebee. Just sayin'.)

Despite my sentimentality, Fearless was quite the proud preschool graduate.

His little sponge-brain has soaked in all it can from Miss Daisy's class, and he is ready for Kindergarten.

Congrats, my little love!

{cue tears}

Fearless with Miss Daisy

Hello. Goodbye.

2011-06-16T19:41:00.000-07:00

It finally happened. Our 1995 Ford Escort that Dr. C bought before we were married, died.

It's last act of service was filling in for the van which had been stuck in the service department at the dealership for a couple of days. The little red car carted us all around like a champ. When the van was ready, we drove the the 35min. drive to pick it up. As we got closer to the dealership, little red hiccuped, but kept going until we pulled into the parking lot. I got all the car seats switched back over to the van, ready to head home. Dr. C tried to take off in the little red car; it went about 10 feet and then...it completely died. Never to be driven again.

It was so thoughtful of "The Little Red Car" to wait to take its final guzzle of gas after we had our main car back; it full filled its mission of hauling us around and being our backup car right to the end.

Poor thing!

I think it was taking notes from Silverstein's "The Giving Tree", except without the apples.

The kiddos had to play in it one more time before it was taken to it's final resting place.

And now, after a month of being a one-car family...

We're over it.

And there's a new kid on the block.

Dr. C has always wanted a truck, so when he asked one of his co-workers if she would sell her not-for-sale truck to him and she surprisingly said yes...we bought it.

And now we are the proud owners of a truck.

Or at least Dr. C is.

I am not really a truck-girl myself, so I feel like a bit of a poser driving it. But it makes Dr. C happy and the price was fabulously affordable, so I guess that makes me a truck girl despite my personal feelings about it.

P.S. There is something about guys and their trucks...I don't think I've ever seen Dr. C so excited about purchasing something! I pretty sure that means having a truck is going to become a permanent thing.

Tent and Beach People.

2011-06-12T20:09:00.000-07:00

This is the post I was supposed to write before Miss B decided to take her little extra "vacation" at the hospital. Let's hope we have more vacations like this trip instead of that one.

I needed to get out of The Village for a little bit...the city girl/traveler in me feels stifled when I am too long contained to the main highway going through town.

Dr. C understands this about me; so on the Wednesday before Memorial Day, when I told him it was time we visited the Gulf, he obliged my impulse and we were in Gulf Shores, AL by Friday evening.

And seeing how we decided to visit a major resort town on a major holiday weekend, we were lucky to get one of the last three camping spots available. It was divine providence, I tell ya. Or at least, simply divine.

We were the Tent People among the hundreds of RVs. Someday we might buy something more comfortable to camp in; but for now, I find a quaint pleasure in teaching my children the fun of "roughing it" and cooking over a fire. My parents taught me, and now I get to instill the love of the outdoors to my children. I grew up a Tent Person, and now my kids are Tent People too.

Of course our trip to the Gulf involved oodles of time at the beach.

After spending a weekend at the Gulf, I've come to the following conclusion:

I was meant for the beach.

I completely and utterly fell in love with the Gulf...with it's pristine white-sand beaches that are as soft as flour, the refreshing cool breeze that makes kite-flying possible on any day, the gentle waves that are big enough for body boards but small enough to entice even the most timid child...I think a little while spent there would turn even the most devout mountain-person into a full-fledged Beach Person.

T-Man spent his time attacking the waves with reckless abandon. He was determined to conquer, and conquer he did. He earned his beach-person status the moment we stepped on the sand.

Miss B spent her time discovering the amazing qualities of sand...what it looks like when you pour it, how much it takes to fill up a bucket, what it tastes like. I'm pretty sure she was about 75% sand when were done.

Definitely a beach person.

And Fearless? He did it all...riding the waves, digging in the sand, searching for the perfect shells, flying a kite...observing and testing...becoming a beach person.

The beauty and majesty and joy of that place soothed my soul in a way that few places can.

The best part? Spending an entire weekend with my family--a whole weekend of happiness and memories that will not be forgotten.

We are definitely Beach People.

Medical Adventures with Miss Banana: Feeling Better and Home.

2011-06-02T21:48:00.000-07:00

In the not-to-distant past, an episode like the one Miss B just pulled might mean I would be coming home without her. But thanks to the wonder of modern medicine...she's almost back to herself.

I have a serious love for modern medicine.

This is what my girl is supposed to look like--happy, smiley, full of mischief.

I'm so glad she has returned.

Dr. Kids-BeachBumEdition came in this morning (complete with bermuda shorts and white golf shirt) and said Miss B's lungs sounded clear and that we were free to go home. While I still hold a grudge against that man for giving Miss B a drug that made me think she was having seizures, I appreciate him springing us from ~~jail~~ the hospital.

Hmm, what mischief can I cause while I wait for them to get rid of this blue arm stuff?? Ripping the cover off my Curious George coloring book is a good start.

Mommy, we should have done this earlier, it's so much easier to read this way.

That's my happy girl. Love love love seeing her smile!

I just want to end with a big shout-out to everyone for their love, concern, thoughts, prayers and acts of service. You know you have the best friends and family on the planet when you get home from the hospital and there are many, many messages on the machine, all checking on Miss B...when friends watch the boys at the pool so they can have some much needed fun-time, when dinner is taken care of without a thought from me, when the boys are watched all afternoon so Miss B and I could take a much needed 4-hour nap, when there are more offers of service than we could possibly use. You all are amazing. Thank you.

We love and appreciate you all.

Medical Adventures with Miss Banana: Whammo! She has Pneumonia.

2011-06-01T13:11:00.000-07:00

Lately, we've had very few installments of "Medical Adventures with Miss Banana" so I guess I should have known that it was time.

Medical adventures with her are tricky because you just never know when something little will explode into life-threatening illness. Last week, Miss B was a bit wheezy, but was still acting like her typical toddler self. We even took her to the beach this past weekend and to the pool yesterday morning.

But then...WHAMMO! I laid her down for her nap after lunch and she slept until 5PM, when I got her up for dinner. She didn't want to eat at all and her wheezing was worse and she felt warm...so I gave her some Motrin and a breathing treatment, which didn't help at all. About 45minutes of cuddling her later, I took her temperature and it was 103.3 degrees. (Where did THAT come from??)

I took her to the ER--and her temp had jumped to 104.5. A couple of x-rays and a dose of Tylenol later, her temp jumped to a whopping 104.9 and she had confirmed pneumonia.

The scariest though, was the hauntingly blank, lethargic stare on her usually cheerful, bright face.

I hate when my babies are sick--especially Miss B...because with every sickness, especially the sudden onset ones like this, my mind immediately jumps to panic about the possibility of the L-word or heart failure or lungs collapsing. I know that might sound extreme, but in "Medical Adventures with Miss Banana" land, they are frighteningly likely and real possibilities.

Thank goodness her blood count came back with good results.

After a night full of strong IV antibiotics, plus oral antibiotics, plus breathing treatments, plus continuous Tylenol and Motrin, I am happy to report my girl is doing better--she's currently sleeping, fever-free, in her hospital bed.

Here's hoping this is just a quick blip on her Medical Adventures radar.

Compartmentalized.

2011-05-23T14:27:00.000-07:00

When I was in college, training to be a social worker, I remember a professor telling us that you had to learn to mentally compartmentalize the emotional stress that comes with the job. She suggested having a specific routine every night after work to help you mentally "put away" your work (that was pretty heavy emotionally) so you would be yourself for the rest of your day.

It was (and is) wise counsel from an experienced professional who has skillfully helped many people through some very very difficult situations. It helped me--the greenie social worker--to soften some of the emotional turmoil that came with dealing with children who had gone through horrific experiences. It was (and is) a useful skill.

Except when everything comes back out.

Let me back up a bit and explain.

Dr. C and I have had the unusual habit of getting a degree and moving across the country every time we've added a child to our family. With T-Man, we moved from Utah to Missouri when I was 38 weeks pregnant. With Fearless, we moved from Missouri to Nebraska when he was 3 weeks old. With Miss B, we moved from Nebraska to The South when she was about 4 months old--3 weeks after major open heart surgery.

With each move, I compartmentalized the stress that came with place. For example: In Utah--I was working 20 hours a week; taking 22 credits; doing an internship 20 hours a week and was pregnant. Locked that away. In Missouri--being a first time mom, Dr. C in grad school, pregnancy...etc. Close that one up. The feeling were put into a little mental box and closed up until time and distance shrunk them to nothingness. And the compartmentalizing worked out okay because now I remember that there was stress associated with those times...but all I feel when I look back is happiness and fond memories.

But the last year in Nebraska was the most stressful time in my life ever. So when we moved--when we left my beloved Midwest and headed to a state that I'd never even stepped foot into before--I compartmentalized the unknowns in Miss B's pregnancy, the long hours alone with two young boys and a complicated pregnancy while Dr. C finished his PhD, the stress and worry and fear that came with open heart surgery, the emotional turmoil that Miss B's diagnosis threw me into. I guess I thought I could just lock up all those feelings, move across the country, and over time and distance they would be gone.

I was wrong.

A few days ago, for the first time since Miss B's pregnancy, I met a mom, in person, who is pregnant with her third child. A girl. Who will have special needs. Previously, I had only had the privilege of talking with other moms that are expecting children with special needs through email or blogs--but this time, in person, seeing her cute baby bump...it was so much more real and personal. And while the specifics of her pregnancy and the special needs of her child are different from mine--the unknown-ness of the situation is still the same.

And that little compartment where I had stored all those feelings--all the emotions that came with Miss B's pregnancy and heart surgery--came rushing out. So I did what any sensible person would do in the middle of church right before you have to go sing happy songs with 30 children.

I burst into tears.

Perhaps it was a bit of PTSD? or maybe it was just pure empathy that could express itself in no other way. I don't know.

But my compartments failed and I wished with all my heart that I could have taken the stress and worry away from that momma, added it to the suddenly-freed stress and worry that came with Miss B in Nebraska, shove it back into the compartment, slam the door, and never have to see it again--to let it shrink to nothingness without any effort on my part.

But since that meeting...there have been little pricks--a tv show depicting the passing and funeral of a sister with Down syndrome, a talk in church about overcoming trials and another one about the lessons we can learn from children--that have me in tears again when usually I would be fine.

Maybe it's time to purposefully open the compartment and empty it out permanently.

Embark.

2011-05-17T12:14:00.000-07:00

em-bark: \im-ˈbärk\ to make a start
I don't know why I ever plan my future because very little of my plans actually work out. I'm pretty sure that when I was writing my "What I Want to Be When I Grow Up" essay in high school, I never once thought I'd be where I am now.

I'm pretty sure back then I just wanted to own a convertible, live on the beach, and be glamourously famous for something. So far, none of that plan has materialized. Maybe someday.

Back in Mrs. Watson's 9th grade English class when I was writing those future-plans essays, I remember reading and re-reading a quote from Helen Keller posted on the bulletin board:

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.

Back then I thought that meant that I needed to:
1) Be a storm chaser or CIA agent
2) Travel the world
3) Go bungee jumping

I'm happy to say that my life full of daring adventures has involved crazy storms, but thankfully no espionage or jumping off of something tall while depending on a large rubberband to save my life. (I would like to have that "travel the world" part though!)

And I'm okay with that. Because I'm embarking on a new adventure that might not be as heart-pounding, but is just as daring as jumping off that bridge with a bungee cord.

I'm starting a non-profit organization with some other parents here in The Village to support people with Down syndrome and their families.

That might not sound daring and adventurous to you, but to me...I feel like I'm stepping into the air and hoping that I bounce instead of slamming into the ground. I already made some attempts at this a year ago and ran into brick wall after brick wall...but now it's time to push through and make something happen. This time, I refuse to give up or be complacent with the way things are now.

I have no idea how long I will be on this adventure. I have no idea how successful it will be. I'm simply a mom who sees the need in this area and will do anything to make life better for her daughter and others that also have Ds.

Let the daring adventure begin.

An Unconventional Mother's Day.

2011-05-10T08:53:00.000-07:00

On most Mother's Days, we head to church, then come home, take a nap, and then Dr. C makes dinner for me. This Mother's Day was quite different.

We went to church, but then Dr. C and most of the adults left after sacrament meeting to go help with tornado cleanup. Since I'm in charge of the Primary, I (and some other adults) stayed to do our regular schedule.

Dr. C working hard to clear away trees and limbs. Isn't he handsome??

After church, instead of heading home to take the usual Sunday afternoon nap and have Dr. C cook for me, the kids and I headed out to Webster County, MS to help with the clean-up too. You might have heard of this small town--East Webster High School was hit pretty hard by a tornado. I had seen the pictures...but they didn't prepare me enough for the enormity of the destruction.

It was incredible.

Just one of the many big trees that were completely uprooted.

I had a hard time taking pictures because no picture can help someone really understand just how utterly devastated these areas are. If you zoom out...you get a better idea of the grand scale of the tornado path, but you lose the fact that these are individuals' homes and lives. If you zoom in to get the details--the book stuck in the mud, the TV smashed to pieces, the smashed Easter basket full of Easter grass, insulation and glass shards--you lose the idea that it wasn't just ONE house...it was many, many houses. And this was just in rural Webster County, MS...I can only imagine what Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Smithville, Mississippi--where huge swaths of the city were wiped off the map, look like in real life. The pictures are bad enough.

This pile of rubble was a double-wide mobile home. It was picked up and flung into the street. FEMA came through and bulldozed it out of the way to clear the street--and in the process discovered the homeowner trapped in the wreckage with a broken neck. Amazingly, after surviving the tornado and almost being bulldozed over, the man is still alive, but in the hospital. Notice the mailbox is still standing.
That's the randomness of a tornado for you.

Simply heartbreaking.

Part of East Webster High School

Another part of the High School--check out how the basketball hoop is outside the building, on the roof. And I think that big black piece is from the roof of the brick building above...keep in mind that these two buildings are at least 200 yards apart. Crazy.

And so the kiddos spent Mother's Day hanging out in the van watching movies...while Dr. C and I, along with many others of the Mormon Helping Hands crew, spent the day hauling away trees and debris for FEMA to come pick up.

I have no idea what FEMA is going to do with it all.

Despite the unconventionality of it--giving up my nap and dinner seems like such a small price to pay when others so close to home have lost everything.

I'd say it was a Mother's Day well spent.

Still Counting.

2011-05-05T06:52:00.000-07:00

By now you have all seen the horrible footage from the deadly tornadoes in the South.

The destruction and devastation is heartbreaking.

And too close to home.

A few days before those awful storms, we took a day trip to the Atlanta Temple while it was open to the public. It was a whole day devoted to spending time together as a family, of teaching and learning and growing closer together.

Looking back, I don't know if that day would be as seared into my brain as much as it is now since those tornadoes tore through the South. But now, I look at these pictures of my family and look at the pictures of the devastation across the South...and I'm counting my blessings.

Because these four people--Dr. C, T-Man, Fearless, and little Miss Banana--are precious to me. And I am so, so blessed to have them.

The stories coming out of the storms are heartbreaking--a husband steps out on the front porch to see the storm and is never seen again. An elderly sister leaves the safety of her house to try to save her two sisters-in-law living in mobile homes--her last act of bravery in a well-lived life.

So much loss in such a short amount of time...it is difficult to wrap my brain around it. It's hard to reconcile the beauty and tragedy that nature can produce.

And yet despite all the devastation, I am amazed at the blessings all around--the strength of community the South has, the love of neighbor, the willingness people have to serve, the increase of faith and the turning to God despite all hardship.

Which leaves me counting my blessings.

One by one.

Still counting.

Easter Smatterings.

2011-04-26T11:21:00.000-07:00

The thing I love about holidays is that each one has fun memories and activities associated with it. And while some holidays (most notably Christmas and Easter) also have major significances that need to be prominently taught and explained to my little ones, we thoroughly enjoy the various "extras" that are involved in the holiday celebration. And since these events were spread over the course of a week or so--this is a mish-mash post of our Easter "extras".

T-Man is at the age where he knows what's real and what isn't...but he's not quite ready to let go of the magic yet. Thus the REAL Easter bunny visited our house, but THIS Easter bunny, was fake.

Miss Banana actually participated in the egg hunts this year. During the first egg hunt, I had to show her what to do--and she caught on, but at that point, the rest of the eggs were gone.
Egg Hunt #1
Miss Banana's Score: 6

Being egg hunt veterans, T-Man and Fearless knew exactly what to do.
T-Man's score: A full basket
Fearless' score: A full basket

At Egg Hunt #2, Miss Banana knew what to do, but there were many more kids that had the whole steady walking/running advantage. Miss B gave it her all, but when a bigger kid runs up and snatches an egg out from under your hand right when you are about to pick it up, it's a bit hard to up your numbers.

Miss Banana's Score: 6

Fearless' Score: A full basket that he shared with his brother and sister

T-Man's Score: 1

T-Man had a flawed strategy in which he only looked for/wanted to pick up the "golden egg". This means that he ran around like a wild man looking for the egg until he finally realized that it was already found...he scrambled and found one last egg.

Sorry, little man.

At Egg Hunt #3 at home, Fearless wore his new pjs that he found in his Easter basket...apparently he loved them so much he needed to wear them starting at noon. They must have been lucky new pajamas--he and T-Man found every single egg.

T-Man's score: More than a full basket
Fearless' score: More than a full basket

By Egg Hunt #3, Miss B discovered that there was chocolate inside each egg, so the whole searching-for-eggs-for-the-basket thing was pretty uninteresting. Instead, waiting for Dr. C or her big brothers to bring the eggs to her so she could glut herself on chocolate was much more entertaining.

FYI, don't ever get in between my little lady and her chocolate--bad things will happen, my friend.

Consider yourself warned.

We rounded out the "extras" with an evening of egg coloring. I must admit this is one of my favorite holiday traditions of all--watching my children patiently, carefully, and creatively color their eggs...admiring their handiwork...seeing the joy on their faces as a common white egg becomes their Easter masterpiece.

My children love it and I love to watch them love it.

And just so we don't forget the true meaning of the Easter Holiday, the REAL reason we celebrate--here's a little Easter message for you. I hope your Easter celebrations were wonderful and joy-filled.

Pure Joy.

2011-04-21T11:34:00.000-07:00

Oh my, two weeks without blogging? How could that have happened?? I could tell you the intimate details, but I'll just sum up by saying we're good, our internet service provider is not, and now we are back to our regularly scheduled programming.

We celebrated Miss B's 2nd Birthday dance-party style--complete with disco ball, bubble machine, strobe light, streamers, and lots and lots of balloons.

And my little lady was totally into it--with her make-shift rockstar dress and her love of being around people (and love of eating off of everyone's plates) she was one content little dancing queen.

Miss Banana showing off her new baby doll, new hairbow, and her sweet dancing moves.

(The afternoon of the party, I found this little girl t-shirt on clearance for $1 and thought it would work out...a few take-in seams later, it wasn't perfect, but it worked! Just ignore the chocolate cupcake marks.)

I love seeing how she's grown and all the things that she "gets" now. Like presents--this girl was totally into opening them up and checking out what was inside. Her excitement with each gift was hard to miss.

"Hmm, I wonder what's in this one?!?"

"What is it? What is it? What is it?"

"Ohmygosh!! This is fabulous!!!"

The best part? Being surrounded by friends-that-are-family, listening to their chatter and laughter with crazy-fun dance music playing in the background, feeling encircled by their love and friendship and happiness as we celebrated the life of my little Miss Banana.

Pure joy, I tell ya. Pure Joy.

Thank you all for your kind birthday wishes and for your constant love and support and kindness to my family and especially my little Miss B. We love you all.

A Very Merry Birthday

2011-04-06T12:43:00.000-07:00

Today is Miss Banana's 2nd Birthday.

I'm so glad she decided to join our family. We wouldn't be complete without her.

A cheesy smile. Literally. She was eating goldfish at the time.

She is our little ray of sunshine.

Thank you, little lady, for being our little bundle of joy.

At two years old, Miss Banana:

Wears size 3 shoes.
Can say mommy, daddy, stop, eat, more, this, that, up, hey, shoe, block, ball, book
Can sign cracker, more, eat, shirt, get dressed, sleep, pillow, book, grapes, apple, sorry, thank you, I love you, play, red, rainbow, colors, potato, stop, wait, wake up/awake, grumpy, dance, jump, walk, cheese and I'm sure there are more, but that is all I can think of off the top of my head
Wears size 24 month/2T shirts and 18 month pants
Can feed herself with a fork and spoon
Walks about 80% of the time
Can do all the fine motor skills that her typical peers can do
Loves to swing
Favorite foods are fishsticks, sweet potato fries, smoothies, any sweet treat and any other type of junk food (She has sixth sense that can detect junk food nearby. And you will be on her black list if you don't share.)
Turns on the cuteness and big smiles when she is trying to get out of working hard in occupational, speech or physical therapy ("I can't do that...but look how cute I am!!")
Has hair long enough to french braid
Has everyone wrapped around her little finger

Happy 2nd Birthday, Miss Banana!!

More birthday celebration to come.

The Many Faces of Miss Banana

2011-03-30T18:20:00.000-07:00

I don't know about the rest of you, but sometimes I really feel like I am barely keeping my nose above the water with all the things that we have going on. I try to simplify, really I do, but somehow we always end up in chaotic-run-run-run mode. Unfortunately, that means my blogs get left behind while we do our weeks-long sprinting. Hopefully, after next week, things will slow down and we will live blissfully in nothing-going-on mode.

Until then, I'll just have a few quick posts.

Afton, Courtney's daughter, left a comment the other day that she thought Miss B was beautiful, and I tend to agree with her. Her milky-white skin, her almond-eyes and chubby little cheeks are constantly begging to be photographed (even though Miss B herself isn't always happy to be on the other side of the camera).

Behold, the many faces of Miss Banana!

World Down Syndrome Day 2011

2011-03-21T12:26:00.000-07:00

Today is 3-21. In honor of Trisomy 21--three copies of the 21st chromosome, commonly known as Down Syndrome--today the world celebrates World Down Syndrome Day.

While I usually tend to ramble on about various aspects of T21 on days like these, today, I would like to keep it simple.

(Keep it simple?? Miss Banana is shocked.)

Today, on World Down Syndrome Day 2011:
I am grateful that Miss Banana is in my life.

I am grateful for the new perspective that little extra 21st chromosome brings me.

I am grateful that our lives are fairly mundane and that sometimes I can completely forget about that extra chromosome.

I am grateful to all of my family and friends who love Miss Banana (extra chromosome and all) and stick up for her and try to make the world a better place for her.

I am grateful to all the members of my Down syndrome family that answer my questions, calm my fears, open their hearts and share their lives with me and the rest of the world.

I am grateful to all the people that have stopped using the r-word.

I am grateful to all the doctors, nurses, therapists, and other medical professionals that keep Miss Banana alive and well.

I am grateful for my two little boys who love their sister whole-heartedly and are her biggest cheerleaders.

I am grateful for Dr. C who taught Miss Banana how to sign "I love you".

I am grateful to all the other people out there with designer genes who inspire me, keep me young, and make me want to be a better, happier person.

Happy World Down Syndrome Day to you all!!

St. Louis

2011-03-13T20:37:00.000-07:00

(Found this photo on NACUMS conference brocure)

My hometown city. Isn't it beautiful? I love this place.

And while I never have any intention of living in St. Louis again, I still refer to it as "My City". And I still find myself comparing every other place I've lived to my fabulous STL. And despite the fact that I have lived in lots of other places, when people ask me where I'm from, I proudly tell them "I grew up in St. Louis."

So this week, while T-Man and Fearless are out of school and Dr. C has to stay in the deep South to ~~play~~ work in the corn fields, I felt the pull of my hometown and brought the kids up here for the week to visit my parents.

Spring Break in My City? Priceless.

Sometimes I Really Just Want to Play Ostrich

2011-03-04T12:42:00.000-08:00

Wouldn't it be nice sometimes to stick your head in the sand and just be oblivious to whatever happens around you?

Photo from http://www.ostrichheadinsand.com/ (Side Note--National Geographic says that ostriches putting their head in the sand is a myth, but for the point of this post, let's just say this picture--and the myth--is real)

I've been feeling that way a bit lately.

We went to the kindergarten open house for Fearless last night and picked up his kindergarten registration packet. A few weeks ago, we went to a meeting put on by the nearest Down syndrome support group about Miss Banana making the transition from Early Intervention to the school system. While both events were informative and beneficial, at some points I had to fight the urge to cover my ears with my hands and do the juvenile "la-la-la-I'm-not-listening!" chant.

Fearless starts kindergarten in August.

Miss B's first transition meeting with the school is in four months.

My babies are growing up.

And with that--they have to go experience new things. And some of those things strike fear in my heart.

Will Fearless pay attention? Will his teacher quickly learn how to handle my little wildcard? Will he make good friends and be a good friend? Will he get good grades? Will he be happy?

Will Miss B be able to communicate to me what happens at school? Will the other kids be kind to her? Will she get a good education? Will I know when to compromise and when to take a stand? Will she make friends and be a good friend?

All the questions just swirl around in my head along with the fear that we will get some scrapes and bruises along the way as we move forward.

The emotional part of me just wants my kids to stay little and at home and safe with me. Part of me just wants to stick my head in the sand and ignore filling out those registration forms or taking classes on how to write a good IEP.

At the same time, the logical side of me is bustin' its rear-end trying to learn all I can about the Special Education laws so that Miss B gets the best education possible. And part of me is working with Fearless on sitting criss-cross-applesauce, saying the requisite "yes ma'am" and learning how to open his own cheese stick wrappers.

Change is coming. And if I want the best for my children, I have to be a grown-up and prepare and meet the new challenges face-to-face.

(But it still would be nice to just play ostrich.)

For One of My Fabulous Readers CLOSED

2011-03-03T06:31:00.000-08:00

This contest is now closed-- the winner was commentor #2--Whitney!

~~Have you checked out CSN yet? They pretty much have everything you could possibly imagine in their 200 online stores...swingsets, cookware, toys...you name it they've got it! They've offered a $45 gift certificate to one of my fabulous readers..go here to learn more and enter to win!!~~

TODAY is the Day

2011-03-02T14:21:00.000-08:00

Let's end the use of the R-word, right here, right now.

TODAY is the day to make a simple change and show respect to people with intellectual disabilities.

Go ahead, take the pledge, make a difference.

Today.

You CAN Help!!

2011-03-01T06:01:00.000-08:00

From fellow blogger, Patti:

Dear friends,

So many of you already know this beautiful little face....

Olga turned five last month. She has spent the last five years in an orphanage in Eastern Europe, without the love of a mommy and daddy- simply because she arrived in life exactly as God designed her. One chromosome too many, and her fate was sealed from birth.

Sealed, because in Eastern Europe, babies who are born with Down syndrome are deemed unacceptable at birth. They are discarded as cast-offs of society, and when they turn five they leave the only home they've ever known...

And I wish I could say that for most of these children, leaving that home means going to a place of safety, a place of happiness, a place where they would finally know the love of a family...know what it means to be cuddled or sung to or read to, tucked in at night, prayed for, loved.

Instead, they are taken to a place that most people wouldn't leave their family pet.

A place of living @#!*% , where they will never know the tenderness of a parent, never know the security of being raised in a family, and there they will stay, one ugly, pain-filled day at a time...until they die.

I read a post last December that stayed with me to this day. It was called from baby dolls to bedstraps.The blog author wrote about Elizabeth, an orphan on Reece's Rainbow who had been transferred to a mental institution, waiting for a family to step forward for her. Her words still haunt me.

I wonder where she thought she was going as they led her out of the orphanage that day. Did she think that maybe it was finally her turn? That they were taking her to her forever Mommy and Daddy?

And when they instead took her inside that dreadful place, when they shaved her head and tied her to a too-small metal crib

when they turned their backs and

walked

away…

when they left her confused, terrified,

in a room where the wails of schizophrenic adults echo through the cold air

what was going through her young mind?

Did she wonder if she was being punished?

How long did she hold out hope that this was only temporary?

That any minute, they would come and take her back to the baby house

to her baby dolls and teddy bear,

to her best friend, Angelina?

Did she long to free her arms from the restraints

to cover her head with her hands to drown out

the scary noises

the scary sights

the scary smells?

That could be my Lily….

It could be your child.

And what if it were?

What if you woke up one morning

and by some hellish, twilight-zone twist of fate

your child wasn’t still tucked into that warm bed down the hall,

what if your child was trapped

across the dark sea

in that nightmare that is

the institution?

What

would

you

DO?

Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. Proverbs 24:11
Elizabeth is being rescued today, thanks to the efforts of that blogging mama, and others like her.

Olga is being rescued today, thanks to so many of you...you gave so much and created such a large grant that a family was able to step forward and start the process of adoption.

The Abells have done so much already, towards rescuing Olga. I can't even imagine all the paperwork and prayer and emotion and finances that goes into an international adoption. They have done numerous fundraisers, and will continue to do so until they can bring Olga home.

Through the help of so many, a grant of over $13,000 has been raised for Olga's adoption. That grant is set aside for the final travel costs and fees that it will take to bring Olga home. It will take every penny of that and then some.

Right now the Abells are in need of raising the $7,000 that is needed to submit their dossier for Olga. Without that dossier we don't even know if Olga has been transferred yet. Here in America you just pick up the phone and ask these questions. But here in America we don't tie five year old girls to cribs to keep them from climbing out.

The Abells need to submit that dossier as soon as possible- at the very least to find out if she has been transferred already- because I know an army of prayer warriors who is going to want to know that piece of information as well. And at the very most, it could be able to hold Olga at the baby house until the Abells can rescue her. I wish I could say with certainty that she won't be transferred- truthfully we just don't know that.

Olga has been so heavy on my heart for months- friends, I want you to know that I DO trust that God has a plan here.

I prayed like crazy for a way to help the Abells. I truly believe that there is a network of people who love Olga here in blogland...a net that is woven by God and is stretching out across this blessed country we live in, and even beyond to generous hearts in other nations. I really cannot express enough how thankful I am to be a small part of what God has already done for Olga, Peter and Kareen. But I don't think our job is done.

Olga needs us.

I don't want her to spend one more forsaken day in that place than she has to.

We're not doing a giveaway here today. I don't even think we need to do one- I know so many just have a heart to help and to give, and prizes were never the real reason we all gave anyway.

So I'm just asking- for one day- for you to do whatever you could to help Olga. Whether that's $10 or $20 or even a hundred...if you are able to help raise this money for the dossier, please do so HERE... This is the Abell's chip-in.

This is the link for the Family Sponsorship Page on Reece's Rainbow...every single dollar goes to the Abell's adoption fund, and every single dollar will help.

We're calling this A Day to Save Olga, because there are about 17 of us blogging mamas and one blogging grandpa who have set aside this day to blog, post on Facebook, pray, give and spread the word to SAVE OLGA.

Will you help us?

I know you will:)

Love,

Patti

Generations

2011-02-26T19:43:00.000-08:00

I don't think the "Generation Gap" is as big as people think. Sure, each generation has its own set of challenges and circumstances that form the identity of that generation...but when you get down to the basics--each generation learns a lot of the same life lessons--that working hard pays off; that family and relationships are most important; that we all still have a lot to learn. The young, the middle-aged, the old...we all have a lot more in common than we initially might think.

Take my 91-year-old Grandma for example. She was visiting my aunt and uncle in Louisville, KY (only 7 hours from us) so we went up there to visit her a few weekends ago. My cousin took my family and Grandma shoe shopping. I thought I was a major shoe-shopper and that I could spend days looking at shoes, but my Grandma outshopped us all. In the crowded mega-shoe sale, she was squeezing through the crowd and trying on shoes like nobody's business. And then in the checkout line? My cousin had one pair of shoes, I had 2 pairs for me and one pair for Miss B....but my Grandma? 6 pairs. And she could have kept going!!

She is my hero.

Generation gap? Nah.

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For One of My Fabulous Readers ***CLOSED***

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Generations

For One of My Fabulous Readers CLOSED