Gabi's World

Pray For Julian!

2010-11-18T22:44:00.003-05:00

The little boy above is close to my heart. He is part of my extended family. You see Julian is one of Jeremy's brothers from his dad's side. As I type this Julian is undergoing surgery to have a shunt placed to relieve pressure off his brain stem. The prognosis isn't looking good. As the Neurosurgeon explained to Tommy (Jeremy and Julian's dad), the brain stem is one of the parts of the brain that is least tolerable to injury.

What lead up to this point is as follows. Tommy and Carla (Julian's parents) were headed to a parent teacher conference with Julian. Originally, Julian was to stay with his grandmother, but asked if he could go with them. At some point Julian suddenly started complaining of his head hurting and saying something was wrong. His dad had him turn his neck from side to side asking him if his neck was hurting too. (Jeremy's dad is also a nurse and was thinking this could be meningitis.) He decided to give him some ibuprofen and they headed to the parent teacher conference. On the way there, he kept asking Julian questions which he answered without any problems. They met with the teacher and after it was over they were walking towards Julian's desk to pick up his things when Julian began crying. Tommy kept asking Julian what's wrong, but Julian didn't respond. He sat him down in a chair and Julian's head fell back. At that point, he lowered him to the floor, and Julian began having seizures and posturing. Julian was brought to the nearest hospital and from there he was life flighted to Hartford where he was intubated on a ventilator in the PICU up until this surgery.

Julian had a AV malformation in his ear a few years back that was surgically repaired. It looks like he had another AV malformation in his brain stem that went undetected.

Tommy also mentioned that Julian wrote him and Carla letters this afternoon telling them how much he loved them. Tommy said the letters sounded like he was saying goodbye.

My son is obviously upset as we all are. All I can do is pray with him, hold him and comfort him. I wish I could make this all better. Will you all please, Please, PLEASE pray for Julian and ask God to give him a miracle?

Lord please be with Julian and give him a miracle. Lord, put Your healing hand on him. Be with his surgeons, doctors, nurses and anyone else involved in his care. Give them the wisdom to know exactly the right thing to do. And Lord be with his parents, Jeremy, and other loved ones as they go through this difficult time. Let them feel the comfort of Your Presence. I ask and pray this in Your Holy Name, Jesus. Amen!

Blog Hiatus Is Over

2010-10-25T17:19:00.003-04:00

Welcome Back ME!! I didn't intend to take such a long hitaus from blogging, but I did. Then, we lost our our old blog domain (gabis-world.com). So please note that we have a new address gabisworld.com (no hyphen). So much to catch you all up on if you aren't following us on Facebook. But for now we will just address today and this weekend's walk for Down syndrome.

Gabi Had Surgery On Her Ears Today

Several weeks back, I took Gabi to her ENT. She kept telling me her ears were "broken," and she had a horrible smell coming from her left ear. As expected, she had an infection in her left ear. She was placed on ear drops and oral antibiotics. On her follow up appointment, the infection had cleared, but her right ear had wax that was attached to the ear drum. The attempt to remove this in office failed, and surgery was scheduled for Gabi.

Today was the surgery date. I slept on the couch to prevent Gabi from ruining her nothing by mouth status by waking early and invading the refrigerator and kitchen. She amazingly didn't wake early this morning.

This was this morning as we were getting ready to leave for the hospital.

In the waiting room, Gabi played with a sand box that you move cars and boats with a magnet from underneath and a really neat interactive wall. As you can see in this picture above, Gabi was actually catching the falling projected colors in her arms.

This was preoperatively. They had just given Gabi Versed. It obviously had not taken affect yet.

And this was in the recovery room as she was beginning to wake up.

Unfortunately, the surgery didn't go quite as well as we hoped. We hoped that she would have the right ear cleaned out and find her tubes intact. The tubes were both protruding with granulation tissue. Her ENT said this is what happens when the ears reject the tubes. So the tubes had to be removed. New tubes were not put in at this time. The ENT said the new tubes would reject as well under the current condition of her ears. We have to allow the holes to seal off and pray that fluid does not collect in her ears again. If they do, then she has to have surgery again.

DSSASI 2010 Capabilties Walk and Talent Show (formerly Buddy Walk)

Our walk was this past Saturday. The kids all had fun. We had our family of seven plus Nana and Papa who have been visiting us from South Florida and Ms. Elise (Gabi's teacher) with us to support our wonderful blessing on this special day. Here are a few pics from that day:

Gabi started off with her favorite activity... face painting. They offered her to have a pumpkin, cat or a bat painted on her face, and Gabi said, "I want a ghost!" Well she got what she asked for and ghosts became an option from that point on.

Gabi also visited the Home Depot booth and helped build a bean bag toss game or as known in some areas "corn hole."

Preston played a few games and was excited to tell his sissy that he won her a stuffed animal.

This was during the walk. The boys had all walked ahead while us girls took pictures and talked during the walk.

Appreciating Our Favorite Teacher

2010-05-03T23:10:00.002-04:00

A few years back, when we moved 2 cities over, I was trying to pull a fast one on the school system by not changing Gabi's school. I kept her at the same daycare and was going to have the bus continue to pick her up and drop her off at the daycare like they always did. After all her school had a great reputation for it's special needs classes and I heard horrible things about the schools where we had moved to. Well, I made the mistake of including Gabi's teacher at the time in our plans. I didn't think it would be an issue. After all, she cared just as much for Gabi as we did, right? Wrong! She threw us to the wolves as far as I was concerned. After all, SHE was the one who said all of those bad things about the schools in the city we moved to. I got a call while I was at work from the principal that we either had to pay an incredibly ridiculous tuition to keep Gabi in this "public school" or she could not continue there. I was pregnant with Preston and raging with hormones. I spent the entire day crying my eyes out because I was hurt that her teacher didn't care and that God could allow this to happen. I just knew I was being punished and/or being taught a lesson for lying about our address. I couldn't afford the very expensive "public school" tuition they were requiring and requiring in 2 weeks from then nor did I want her to have to go back to the teacher who pretended to care. I was heartbroken. Anyhow, one of the other nurses I worked with that day had a sister who worked in the schools in the city we moved to (and worked with kids with special needs) and she got her on the phone with me. She helped me to find out which school would be best for Gabi and guided me through the process of how to get her in this school. I spent our entry meeting to the new school system in tears because I was sure my daughter was destined to be doomed and there was nothing I could do about it. During Gabi's 1st day, I met her new teacher and became more comfortable with where she was heading. Within weeks, I was thanking God for this switch! Gabi was doing wonderfully and her new teacher REALLY did care! It was different (in a good way). God had blessed me tremendously (not because I lied). I did however learn a lesson in the process. So it is possible that He is teaching me this lesson and going to give us blessings in the process.

Gabi has had this teacher every year since we moved here and will continue to have her until Gabi enters middle school. Gabi has made huge progress each and every year under her care. Thank you Ms. Elise for loving my daughter and providing her with a nurturing and caring environment to learn. I appreciate your time that you devote to her in and outside of the classroom. You are not only Gabi's teacher, but we also consider you our friend and extended family. Thank you.

Ms. Elise and Gabi during our 2009 Capabilities Walk and Talent Show.

Thank you also to the classroom aides. We love and appreciate you just as much!

Lord help us all when it's time to move Gabi to middle school. I'll be a quivering bundle of nerves. Ms. Elise, sure you don't want to try out middle school for a few years?

Have a wonderful Teacher Appreciation Day!

Milestones

2010-03-22T21:33:00.001-04:00

Many new or expecting parents get a grim prediction of their child or unborn child's future. I am here to tell you that children with Down syndrome do walk, talk, learn, run, jump, read, and many other things we are told they won't do. Gabi learned her first word at 7 months old and today she can carry on conversations and sing. She learned to walk at 2 years and 2 months old and now she can jump, run, and skip. Gabi was potty trained at 6 1/2 years old and this year she helped inspire her little brother to use the potty. I've seen videos of people with Down syndrome who drive and personally seen many, many of them in a work environment. While some of these milestones happen at a later age, they still happen. And ask any parent whose child has delays and they'll tell you the same, you just learn to appreciate and celebrate those milestones even more. And now, at 10 years old, I celebrate a new milestone that Gabi has achieved. Gabi has learned to READ!!!!

Thank you Ms. Elise and your wonderful group and to the wonderful educational websites out there like starfall.com that devote their sites to helping kids read!

Spread The Word to End The Word

2010-03-03T14:20:00.003-05:00

It's that time of year again. It's time to take the pledge, but remember to abstain from the use of the word "retard" or "retarded" all year long (not just during or pleas for respect.) Visit http://r-word.org to take the pledge.

And read my archived post of when "The R-word Hits Home."

Where Do I Start?

2010-02-02T11:04:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile yet again, but we took time out for enjoying my parents visiting for 3 weeks during the holidays. While Nana was here, we did a lot of shopping and redecorating. Jeremy got a new (and much needed) bed and linens.

We surprised him Christmas morning by texting him the above picture since he was in Connecticut visiting his dad, and he texted us back with this pic:

And Gabi got a new bed, too. Once we got started with Gabi's room, we decided to just redo the whole room.

So these are the before pictures:

We had many, MANY holes and dings to fix on the walls, the walls where dirty and the colors were just not as vibrant as they once were. The blinds were broken, and the carpet was dirty.

And these are the After pics:

A new bed, new linens, new blinds, fresh paint, new area rug, cleaned carpet, and a few other added details make her room look great again. And although the bedding is technically "High School Musical," don't tell that to Gabi. The moment she seen it, she declared it a "Kiki room." She is talking about Kiki from The Fresh Beat Band on NickJr.

As you can see, Gabi is more than happy with her new room:

And Just after Nana and Papa left, we had our first big snow storm of the season. Jeremy was happy to just have a day off of school. Gabi and Preston wanted to experience it all. So outside we went.

The first thing Gabi did was take off running in the snow.

Then, they decided it was fun to throw snow at Daddy who was just inside that window there:

Whoops! Guess I should've put a belt on this little girl:

The snow was still falling as we played outside. The most beautiful snowflakes landed on my gloves:

And I had to get them to stop and pose for some pics, too:

And guess what else we tackled during our bloggy absence? Here is the hint:

Just in case some of you haven't figured it out. Here were the clues: Preston is sitting on a pack of toilet paper and wearing underwear. Did you guess? Preston is a big boy now! He was potty trained in 3 days for pee and a week for pooping! Yayyyy Preston! And yay me since I finally don't have to change diapers after a 10 year run at it! Gabi was 6 1/2 when she finally potty trained and Preston was born within a few months of that.

And I am not sure why this happens during the winter, but the Lawn Mower Fear is rearing it's ugly head again. Ugh! And Gabi did so well last year with it!

And what happened to these 2 little kids that featured at the beginning of this blog?

They have both grown up so much since then. Here is how they look today:

Merry Christmas!!!!

2009-12-25T11:23:00.003-05:00

Happy 3rd Birthday, Preston!

2009-12-22T06:53:00.000-05:00

Preston's Birth Story is here.

Gabi Update

2009-12-15T13:30:00.000-05:00

Gabi's ticks are back. They aren't the same as last time. Now they affect her whole body, and they differ from day to day. Sometimes they look intentional and other times they appear to be involuntary. Her teacher has mentioned them at school several times as well. I had a theory that maybe it was due to lack of sleep. Her melatonin had run out and I was in no hurry to buy more. After a few weeks, we found her up in the middle of the night on the computer, watching TV or playing in her room. The ticks followed soon after. Since that time, she has been getting her melatonin every night and sleeping much better. The ticks still continue though. So next month, I'll be talking to her pediatrician about it during her check up.

Build A Bear

2009-12-14T22:35:00.000-05:00

Here are our long overdue pictures from our visit to Build a Bear back on November 1st for Gabi's birthday:

Arriving at Build a Bear

Once inside we were having so much fun learning how we go about building a bear that I almost forgot I had my camera with me to take pictures.

During the heart ceremony.

Enclosing "Papa Bear's" heart.

Time for a fluff bath.

What is that coming out of there?

Brush time.

Hmmm... what should Papa Bear wear?

Time to get dressed.

Gabi had trouble getting the underwear on the bear. So, I sat down the camera to help. Gabi quickly picked it up and took a picture of me.

Almost done.
How cool is my Papa Bear?

Papa Bear? Are you in there?

My Little Sportacus

2009-12-14T22:00:00.000-05:00

Preston loves wearing his Sportacus costume and dancing to Lazytown when its on. He's so cute and really gets into the motions and mannerisms of Sportacus. Here is one video I took. Of course he usually stops doing most of the stuff every time I pull out my camera.

Not Quiting

2009-12-04T09:41:00.002-05:00

Funny how time slips away so quickly! I can't believe I have gone over a month without so much as an update on this blog! Of course, I can blame it on being sick with bronchitis again or my back that put me out for almost a week or that Ryan's laptop is broke and he's using mine or that Preston uses the computer more than anyone else in this house or Gabi who I find on it when I wake up every morning! Oh I could go on and on, but truth is, I just got lazy about it! And now, my laptop is about to bite the dust, too! I haven't quit though! I love blogging! I love having the memories to look back to! I love having that timeline to help refresh my failing memory. So, next week, look for a long overdue post! And I also hope to visit some of my bloggy friends too that I haven't seen in awhile!

Holy Double Digits, Batman!

2009-11-01T10:12:00.003-05:00

Today is a very special day! It's not just the day after Halloween. It's not just the beginning of November. It's not just All Saints Day. It's not even just Gabi's birthday.

It's Gabi's 10th birthday!!!

She's entered the double digits! There is no turning back, but we can reminisce to those earlier days.

Happy Birthday to Mommy's precious girl!

Gabi sang Happy Birthday to herself this morning only she was still calling herself Stephanie (from Lazy Town) because that's what she was for Halloween:

We're headed to Build-a-Bear today to celebrate!

And how about a little bit of yesterday's fun:

Gabi and Preston dressed as Stephanie and Sportacus from Lazy Town!

Thank you Ms. Elise for making Gabi's Stephanie dress! If it wasn't for you, she couldn't have been Stephanie since the costumes didn't come in her size. And you made it PERFECT!

Trick or Treating was a bit chilly so we had to wear jackets.

Preston was thrilled with the Halloween decorations with motion sensors in this lady's yard.

2009 Capabilities Walk & Talent Show (formerly called the Buddy Walk) benefiting Down syndrome

2009-10-24T22:05:00.000-04:00

We had fun at our walk this year. Thanks to all who were able to contribute and/or come out to help raise awareness for Down syndrome. Here are some pics and video from our day.

As soon as Flash The Firedog walked up, Gabi immediately said, "Hi Anthony!" Yep! Her brother Anthony was inside, but not sure how she knew it unless she used the process of elimination.

Gabi was thrilled to see Shrek & Fiona!

Posing with Buddy the dog and Elmo
(who was working with American Red Cross at this event.)

Uh oh! DOG FIGHT!!!

Christopher and Ryan waiting to help teach families about fire safety!

Preston loved seeing "Spiner-nan" (Spiderman)
and even showed him his "Spiner-nan" shoes!

Starting out the door for the walk. Cool temps and light sprinkle at this point.

During the walk: Ms. Elise (Gabi's teacher) and Gabi in front, our niece, Jordan and her boyfriend in the back left side and Kami (Christopher and Anthony's mom) to the back left. We turned back right after this as it began to rain a little harder. No use risking illness.

This was taken just before the kids from the Speech/Music
Therapy class began their performance for the talent show.

Videos of both performances:

This video below cracked me up! I had trouble keeping
the camera still because I was laughing so hard:

Posing with Mark after his Elvis performance.

Gabi getting her participation award for the talent show.

And receiving her participation medallion also.

Showing off her goodies at the end of the festivities.

Does MENSA Need a New Member?

2009-10-19T21:54:00.000-04:00

I am finding it harder and harder to get anytime at all on the computer lately. Preston has become a computer junkie and a computer whiz, but we will get to that in a second. If it weren't for being able to get on Facebook and Twitter via my iPhone, I'd have no updates at all. I just wish Blogger would come up with an app that would be easy enough to post to this blog via iPhone. So, if your looking for more frequent updates, you'll have to add me on Facebook or Twitter.

This Saturday is our local walk to benefit Down syndrome. And like a true procrastinator, I just completed Gabi's poster that will be displayed at the walk:

click image to enlarge

When the walk is over, I will display it on Gabi's closet door. She loves to look at pictures. So this should keep her entertained for quite a while. Check out our fundraising page if you are interested in donating to our local Down syndrome association.

Now back to the computer whiz... Today, Preston wanted to go on YouTube to watch Lazytown videos, only he changed his mind as soon as I got onto the site. He decided he wanted to watch, "Preston." Naturally, I thought maybe he was talking about the videos of him and Gabi in the pool this summer. So, I logged into my YouTube account and discovered that a certain 2 yr old has not only been creating videos on YouTube, but publishing them as well under my account. No one has showed him how to do this. He just figured it out on his own. There were like 10 different videos on there that Preston did. So, of course, I posted some here for you to see just what he does.

Preston shows off his dance moves while Gabi
waves a Wii-mote cover in front of the camera.

So who has the number to MENSA?

Gabi Goes Bowling!

2009-10-11T18:52:00.000-04:00

I got an email this week informing me that our local Down syndrome association was going to start a bowling league. Usually we aren't able to go to a lot of the events because of me working nights every weekend. This time was different. It was going to be held on a Sunday! While the time meant I would only get 2 hours of sleep, it was worth it to see Gabi's excitement as she bowled!

Look at the nervous fingers behind her back.

She becomes airborne celebrating knocking down some pins!

She was great a rooting on the whole team!

My favorite part of the day was when Gabi said to me,
"Mommy, that says, 'Way to go!'" She actually read the board!!!

While Gabi never got a strike at least she got a spare!

Look at that bowler's form!

And look who won Game 3!!!

Special Exposure Wednesday ~ Terrible Twos

2009-09-30T00:05:00.004-04:00

Preston has a very serious case of the terrible twos! This kid is NONSTOP!! Yikes! I know it's a cliche' but I really, REALLY wish I could bottle his energy! Of course, last week, he did cause a plumbing mishap (which is totally worth reading... it's short and funny at our expense!) Real quick, I'll give you the update regarding that. Daddy removed the toilet gagging and puking the whole time with Preston standing in the doorway saying "Daddy wud you dewwing?" Then, Anthony, comes around the corner asking, "Dad, what are you doing?" To which Preston decided to answer for him by saying, "He doing (insert wretching sounds)!" It was hilarious! But a moment later, I heard Preston exclaim, "Daddy! You founda da phone!"

Okay so back to today! Preston's halloween costume came in a couple weeks back and I tried it on him today. Preston immediately transformed into Sportacus in looks, but less in acrobatic skills although he did try:

Of course, it was bound to happen and little Sportacus eventually fell flat on his face and bloodied his little nose:

But that still didn't stop him. After a good cry and a wiping of his nose he was back to his acrobatic stunts. Only a couple hours later, now out of costume, Preston tried his hand at artistry while Mommy went potty:

Did I mention there is a toddler for sale real cheap?

Don't Make Him Talk To Daddy!

2009-09-24T23:14:00.001-04:00

Today, Preston was playing with a toy cell phone and wanted me play with him. I was busy, but took the phone anyhow and pretended to talk to Daddy on the other end. I handed the phone over and said "Here Daddy wants to talk to you!" He grabbed the phone and responded with "I no wanna talka ta daddy" and ran in the other room. He came back a moment later empty handed and grabbed a page from Gabi's scrapbook and one of Gabi's socks and ran back. I heard a flush and ran to the bathroom to see the page and sock stuck in the toilet! I grabbed them out quickly thinking I saved the day! Only Preston looks at me and then looked into the toilet and said, "Where da phone? Phoooonnnee? Where are youuu?" and shrugged his shoulders...

Hmmmm... Are you thinking the phone is where I am thinking the phone is?

(and our toilet is clogged!)

Getting It

2009-09-23T22:09:00.002-04:00

I wrote a letter to Gabi's teacher tonight that I thought I would share with all of you. First let me give you a little background information that will help you to understand some of the content. Our household has been sick the last couple weeks. Everyone but me has been majorly sick (Preston was the worst.) Gabi has a communication paper sent back and forth to school for her teacher and I to keep communication about pertinent information regarding anything going on with her. Today's message from her teacher said, "She had a rocky start with hitting Ms. Carrie. She settled down and was great."

Hi!

I wanted to tell you about Gabi, but it was too long to put on the communication paper. We went back to Awana tonight after being off for 2 weeks with sicknesses. I spoke to her prior to going because her Smilemaker (aide for those with special needs) mentioned last time we were there that she wasn't trying to participate and was wanting to go off on her own to play. I just reminded her that she needed to listen and she needed to do work too. I noticed that her Smilemaker wasn't there and it was already time for class to start. The Awana teacher seemed comfortable enough with Gabi so I left her in class and went to take Preston to his.

Preston totally flipped out screaming, crying and clinching my neck with a death grip. I tried to stay in the class with him until he calmed, but it was obvious that he was making it worse for the others in the class. I went ahead and took him back out to the lobby where he calmed down. Once calmed he was wrecking havoc all over the place and even ran out the door, through the parking lot, and to the van once. I was very tempted to just pull Gabi out of Awana and all go home. It was a waste of a night anyhow, right? Preston didn't make it to his class, I wasn't going to make it to worship or my class, and Gabi's smilemaker wasn't there! I figured I'd probably be doing her teacher a favor by pulling her out. Preston ran up to her class once, but they were out of the room. I decided to just wait it out with Preston until Gabi's class returned.

Gabi's class didn't return until pick up time. They were in Kid's Church. I seen Gabi in line coming down the hall with her class and knowing in my head that the moment she spotted me she was gonna dash out of line straight for me like she always does. I noticed when her eyes met me and I just held up my hand to let her know not to run. You could see she wanted to but resisted the urge and continued to walk in line back into her class. Once her teacher finished counting all of the kids and all were accounted for, he turned to me and said, "Gabi had a wonderful day! Her smilemaker wasn't here, but she participated well, played games with the class and even won the first game!" I was so happy that she did so well especially since I underestimated her. I gave her a hug and told her how proud I was of her.

We began to walk out and I could tell that Preston was gonna make a mad dash for the parking lot again. So, I swooped him up and carried him out. This made him mad, and he started kicking, screaming, biting, scratching and pinching! I was thoroughly embarrassed by his behavior. I offered to let him down if he held my hand, but he just kept saying, "I no wanna hold your hand!" I knew he wouldn't anyhow. The screaming fit continued all the way to the van, while I buckled him and all the way home! Yes he's feeling much better now!

Anyhow, I tell you this because even a minute of Preston doing this sends Gabi into meltdown mode! She walked calmly to the van, got in, put her seat belt on and resisted any inkling of meltdown until we were about 3/4 of the way home. She let out a little scream which I quickly addressed with, "Gabi you have been a very good girl and Preston is not being very good." She stopped and continued to hold her composure the rest of the way home. Once I got Preston to bed, I came back to Gabi's room to get her to bed. I held her and told her again how proud I was and how happy she made me. She said, "Mommy's happy, but Carrie's angry." I asked, "Is it because you hit Ms. Carrie today?" She nodded. "Don't hit anymore, and make sure you tell Ms. Carrie you are sorry, okay?" She nodded again. I was surprised that she even remembered it or mentioned it. I hadn't even talked to her about it yet!

She's growing up, and she's actually "getting it!" I remember the days when I would ask with great frustration, "When is she gonna just 'get it?'" Some days, I wondered if it would ever happen. I just thought I'd share this with you because of the progress she is showing.

Shannon

Most moms and dads of a child with Special Needs know what I mean about "getting it." I have heard many parents in frustration wonder if their child will ever "get it." The best way to describe it to others who may not understand "getting it" is like an understanding, the ability to connect the pieces, being able to understand the cause and effect or even a negotiation or reasoning.

Holiday Road ~ Orlando Part 2

2009-09-17T07:05:00.000-04:00

Yikes! Totally didn't mean to let so much time pass before posting more about our vacation this summer, but life happens! If you missed the first post of our vacation, you can find that here. So here we go with the rest of our time in Orlando:

Day 2 in Orlando we headed to Islands of Adventure.

Hitching a ride on big brother's shoulders, Preston and Jeremy
entered the park along with the rest of our family.

While waiting for some friends, I took the opportunity to make one
of my many Twitter/Facebook updates of the trip.

Nana and Gabi pose for a picture.

My husband's best friend from High School (also named Jeremy),
his wife, Melanie and their children were with us at the park. And
no we didn't plan for the girls to wear purple and the guys to wear
blueish/green tops... it just happened that way.

Gabi giving a playful pose with one of the shows performers.
This guy was totally in love with Gabi and her enthusiasm to join in.

I tried to get a good picture of Gabi with Thing 1 and Thing 2,
but they were being the menaces they are and wouldn't stop
tickling her! You can't see their grubby little paws, but trust
me they both were tickling her sides.

I took this picture of what my husband calls the best
rollercoaster ride ever... The Hulk!

Day 3, we spent at Downtown Disney MarketPlace.

First, we stopped for lunch at a prehistoric-themed restaurant
called T-Rex. I had to literally drag Gabi through the door.
Maybe because a life size T-Rex that was greeting us at the door.
It also moved and made sounds as well. It's hard to convince
her that it's not real when it certainly looks real!

We were seated under the ice caves which were changing colors
from blue to red all of the time. It was certainly beautiful as
you can see. And the food was fantastic!

One of my favorite pictures of our vacation was this one taken
of me and my husband at the restaurant.

Here's Nana and Jeremy.

And Gabi and Nana.

Anthony and Christopher.

After lunch, we traveled around Downtown Disney and were
amazed by the Lego sculptures. This one is of a Loch Ness type
of monster in the water. All made of Legos.

The guys checking out more of the Lego creations.

I wanted Gabi to pose with the Lego tourist family, but she had
other plans. She was a little moody and not quite wanting to
cooperate. So I settled for the "Where's Gabi?" pose. If you haven't
found her yet, she is directly behind the boy with the black
shirt that is walking the dogs.

She was happy to see the princesses, but still not eager to cooperate yet.

By the second princess, we started to get a smile.

Next, we went shopping. Preston was thrilled to find Nemo!

For Gabi we looked at dress-up outfits...

and dolls...

and even funny headbands...
But we finally settled on a talking Nemo for Preston and A talking
Dori and colorful bracelet for Gabi.

Then we found Buzz Lightyear...

and Mr. Potato Head...

and finally the highlight of the day was when the little ones went
to play in the dancing fountains.

I loved watching them play.

and Preston flirted with the girls. Here he was showing off his
water catching moves to this little girl who was totally thrilled.

That night we had dinner at Old Town. There we met up with
Jeremy's Mima, Papi, and Titi Jennie.

Day 4, we went to Universal Studios.

Ryan and I and our 5 kids and Nana in front of the Universal Globe.

This day, we decided to let the boys (minus Preston) go off on
their own while the rest of us went to enjoy the stuff that the
younger ones would enjoy more. So we went to see Donkey...

and Shrek and Fiona...
Before we left, Gabi gave Shrek a kiss on the cheek!

We waited in line to see the lion and penguins from Madagascar.
And the kids were so thrilled by their presence that they wouldn't
even turn around to pose for a picture!

However we did get a pose with SpongeBob Squarepants!

Water play in the hot Florida sun is a necessity if you want to have fun.

Day 5, we packed (or crammed) up the van (with all 8 of us)
and headed south to my hometown of Homestead, Florida!

More Holiday Road to come...

It's Time...

2009-09-07T23:31:00.000-04:00

It's time to retire the cute little phrase at the bottom of this onsie...

It's time to buy the proper equipment...

It's time to pull out the big boy pants...

It's time for POTTY TRAINING BOOT CAMP!!!

And it's also time to end the 10 years of diaper changing. Gabi was finally fully potty trained at 6 1/2 years old... just a few months before Preston was born. We are serious. Ryan and I have become determined. Hopefully, Preston is ready. Lately, he's been removing his soiled diaper as soon as he's done the deed, and he sits himself on the potty. It's so cute because as soon as he sits down, he makes grunting sounds, looks into the potty, shrugs his shoulders, and says, "It's not working."

I'd love any wise words of wisdom anyone has for us to make this a successful transition!

Special Exposure Wednesday ~ Halloween Planning

2009-09-01T23:16:00.002-04:00

I've been watching Gabi and Preston lately when they watch LazyTown and realized that the characters in it would be perfect for Halloween costumes.

Gabi will be Stephanie:

Preston will be Sportacus:

And I tried to get Jeremy to be Robbie Rotten, but he wasn't going for it. He said I would have to pay him $100 to do it. Suddenly today, that became $200 when he remembered that Robbie Rotten wears tight-like pants. This is what he would have looked like as Robbie Rotten:

Personally, I can't wait to see Preston in the Sportacus mustache. I think they will both be thrilled when they realize that is what I am planning.

It's Finally The 1st Day of School!

2009-08-26T11:20:00.005-04:00

Jeremy, the 11th grader.

Gabi, the 4th grader.

And Preston, the disappointed one since
his playmates all went to school.

Dad & Jeremy Update

2009-08-23T16:24:00.002-04:00

My dad was just discharged about an hour ago from the hospital. All of his tests have come back negative (except the cardiac enzymes). The cardiologist believes that the cardiac enzymes were a false positive. He said that since my dad has already had heart attacks and experienced some pretty violent vomiting that it can release some enzymes from the already damaged portion of his heart. They believe it to be this because the elevation was only slight. Thank you for your prayers!

And Jeremy is doing so well that he went to the movies with some friends today.

Jeremy's Surgery & More Prayers Needed

2009-08-20T22:52:00.001-04:00

Jeremy's oral surgery: I always hear that the younger you are having your wisdom teeth out, the easier it is. I am not so convinced anymore. I did far better than Jeremy did. When we first came home, he was right in the bathroom vomiting. I called the surgeon's office and asked if I could give him one of my Phenergan tablets that I had here for when my migraines make me nauseated. They said that would be fine. Thank God it was just a one time thing. Then the pain got worse and worse as the numbing wore off. It was tough watching my son in so much pain. The first pain medication he was on wasn't helping his pain at all. He was getting more and more apprehensive as the time went on. I called the surgeon's office again, and they switched his pain medication. He finally fell asleep and slept a few hours. I kept checking on him periodically. It's probably a habit from being a nurse. I would wake him and ask him if he was okay and make sure he wasn't over medicated. By 10 pm, he had significantly improved, and by this morning, he was even better than that. I resisted any picture taking and videoing, too! This morning he looks like a chipmunk. His pain is now tolerable, and his need for any pain medication is getting further and further apart.

More Prayers: Tonight, my father is being admitted to hospital. He has been having nausea and vomiting for days and back pain. They ran blood work and found his cardiac enzymes were elevated. This means he had another heart attack. They are doing a cardiac characterization in the morning. Please keep him in your prayers.

Prayer Request

2009-08-18T21:40:00.004-04:00

Jeremy is having oral surgery tomorrow. He has to have all four wisdom teeth removed. His surgery is at 11am EST. Please pray for a quick recovery! School starts next Wednesday and I would like him to be pain free in order to concentrate on his studies. He requested a steak dinner tonight since he won't have anything that solid in several days! Of course, I was happy to oblige!

And Jeremy made me promise that I would not be taking any post op pics or videos! Now why would he think I'd do that?!

Holiday Road ~ Orlando Part 1

2009-08-07T10:28:00.000-04:00

I bet you all thought I wasn't coming back! Many of you have followed our vacation through Twitter and Facebook! Don't worry if you missed it. It will all be here plus more! I am breaking the vacation posts up into sections since there is so much! I'll try not to bore you, and just hit the highlights. So let's get on with it. The first several days we spent in Orlando to visit the theme parks. Most of us drove down in the van from Indiana, but some were flying in. So, we had to pick them up first.

We stayed in a luxury waterfront condo:

Okay! So it was swamp-front! They forgot to
mention that on the advertisement!

The first day down there, we spent a lot of time
at Orlando airport. Jeremy came in from visiting
his dad in Connecticut:

I hadn't seen him in 6 weeks. So, I was very
happy to see him, but I wasn't the only one.
Christopher and Anthony missed him, too.

Look! Christopher actually smiles! So, while the boys got
caught up, I took Gabi to meet Shrek!

Okay! So, it wasn't the real Shrek! But Gabi wanted to know
where her kiss was? Then we headed over to the Harley store.

Preston had to check to make sure we had gas before we took this baby out!

Now that we are all gassed up! Gabi is ready to
♫ head on down the highway... lookin' for adventure! ♪

And then we went to Disney's Earport (What a clever name!):

Gabi and Snow White got to meet! Look how excited
Snow White was to meet Gabi! She must be a fan of the blog!

And finally Nana arrived from her VERY LOOONG flight all the way
from Ft. Lauderdale! Okay! So the delay was longer than the flight
thanks to the thunderstorms down there!

Yay! Nana is here!

So now that the gang is all here, let's get the fun started! Tune in soon for Holiday Road ~ Orlando Part 2! I promise I won't make you wait as long this time!

On The Road Again

2009-07-19T16:12:00.001-04:00

Absent from the blog again, but this time it was related to getting ready for our trip! We actually left 8 o'clock this morning headed for Florida! Gabi hasn't slept yet, and I doubt she will. She is entirely too excited! Of course we'll have lots of pics to share! So stay tuned!

Special Exposure Wednesday ~ This Week's Favorite Photos

2009-07-07T23:25:00.001-04:00

Click Here and here for more Wordless Wednesdays.
And Click Here for more Special Exposure Wednesdays.

I Can Explain Really!

2009-07-02T20:30:00.001-04:00

I know I have been absent from this blog a lot this summer. No, it's not because I am busy and overworked. Well, I am with my home duties but not with work work. (double word intended)

I can explain. Well... let's start with this as an explanation:

Yes I have created a monster! She is totally addicted! A few days ago, I spent most of the day outside with Preston in the backyard (I could see Gabi through our glass French doors.) It was a beautiful day, clear sunny skies but not hot in the slightest. We were out there for hours, and Gabi never moved! She goes back and forth between Nick Jr.com and Sesame Street.com. So, she doesn't give me a lot of time on the computer myself.

But we have been having fun, too! Look at some of the things we've been up to:

Outside Fun:

Playdate with our friend Danny:

Fun at the water park:

Christopher and Anthony stayed with us for a week:

Enjoyed ice cream in the summer:

Gabi performing a song and dance after dressing up:

Speech/Music Therapy Class at Down Syndrome Assoc. of S. Indiana:

Of course, the summer also comes with chores to do. We have had plenty of those, too:

Had to cut down our Pear tree after a storm split it in half:

Had to brush out Fat Kitty and bathe her.
(I could have made a small cat with all
of that fur I combed off of her):

Of course I was tempted to do this to Fat Kitty but resisted:

Tons of Laundry to get done. Thank God I had my helper:

Speaking of laundry, anybody got a match for any of these?

And the summer isn't over! Jeremy is still at his Dad's house in Connecticut and will stay there until our vacation. We leave to Florida on the 19th of this month! So excited!

Can You Hear Me Now?

2009-06-30T21:48:00.003-04:00

I have had some issues with people having trouble opening my blog. I removed the item that I believe was causing the problem. If you are reading this in a viewer, would you take a moment to click through to my blog to see if you have any problems loading my page (especially those who have been having problems)? Please leave me a comment to let me know you had no problems. If you are having problems viewing my blog, please send me any email so I can still look into the issue. thegrahams at insightbb dot com

Thanks for your help.

Regretfully, Unable To Attend

2009-06-24T20:30:00.001-04:00

Have you ever got a wedding invitation in the mail and not recognized who it was that was getting married? I have a few times before, but usually I am too afraid to ask anyone how exactly I know this person. Yesterday was different.

Ryan, after retrieving the mail, opened an envelope addressed to Mr. & Mrs. Ryan Graham & Family turning to me to ask,"Who is getting married?" I said, "It's probably Courtney's invitation," (who is my niece that is getting married next month while we are in Florida.) He hands me the invitation. I proceeded to read it and said, "Who the heck is this for?" Ryan shrugs and says, "I don't know! Your mom sent it!"

I grabbed my phone calling my mother realizing only after it was ringing that it was ten o'clock at night. My mother answered sleepily, "Hello?" I didn't waste any time, "Mom, who the heck is this invitation for?" "Who do you think it's for, Shannon? It's Courtney's," was her response. "Courtney's name is no where on this invitation," I answered. "Well of course it is," she assured me. "Nope. This is what it says..." and I continued to read the following information really fast:

Mr. and Mrs. Mark Gaynor
request the honor of your presence
at the marriage of
their daughter
Elizabeth Marie
to
Mr. Jason Barry Johnson
Saturday, the eighth of September
Two thousand twelve
at two o'clock
Little Flower Chapel
1000 Morrison Circle
Providence, Rhode Island

I wasn't far into my reading before my mother was laughing. "So, who's it for, mom?" I asked again. "I don't know, they handed it to me and asked me to send it to you. I just addressed it and mailed it off," was her explanation.

Who doesn't check over their wedding invitations before mailing them off? Every bride I have ever known has checked and rechecked a hundred times.

So, if anyone knows Elizabeth and Jason who is getting married at the Little Flower Chapel in Providence 3 years from now, let them know we regretfully are unable to attend. That's my RSVP.

I called back today to find out just how many invites were sent for the wedding of "Elizabeth and Jason." It turns out that I should have been the only one who received the wrong invitation. The company that made them, sends an example to show how your invitation should look after you put it together. I got the sample. I hear Courtney's response was "Thank God it went to my aunt rather than anyone else!" She knew I'd be there... invite or no invite. After all, she waited until we were going to be down there before getting married! :)

So, I hope we've all learned something from this story. Brides and Grooms... check your invites before mailing them. Everyone else... If you don't think you know the people getting married, maybe you really don't!

Puberty and Down Syndrome ~ Part 1

2009-06-15T13:20:00.001-04:00

The past few months, I have been suspecting it. I wasn't sure if I was right, but the constant daily appearance of what appeared to be acne on Gabi's face was leading me to believe she was entering puberty.

At first, I was in denial. "Where is this rash coming from?" It was better on the days that I used Phisoderm on her face. Then, one day fairly recently, I noticed THEM. Her breasts looked slightly fuller. No, she doesn't actually have breasts. They are more of a budding. It almost looks like she has too much weight on her (only she isn't heavy.)

At first, I wondered if children with Down syndrome entered puberty early. After all, they are prone to getting dementia earlier than the general population and their life expectancy is still slightly shorter than average individuals. I posted a question on Twitter and Facebook to see what kind of responses people had. I thought I was being neglectful in not having researched this long ago. As a mom of a child with Down syndrome, I am supposed to be the expert on all things Down syndrome, right? Obviously wrong and to my surprise, everyone who responded only had guesses about it too. My searches on the internet were even futile. I couldn't find anything on the female with Down syndrome going through puberty and found only contradicting information regarding the males. Maybe they don't enter puberty early as I thought. Maybe they enter at varying ages just as the general population does. How is it that we determine when our children (special needs or not) usually go through puberty? That is when I remembered. I started getting breasts in the fourth grade (earlier than most kids). What grade is Gabi going into? You guessed it, the fourth grade!

I'll admit it. I feared this time of her life. I remembered how difficult it was for me going through puberty. Oh all of the emotions I went through! My poor parents (especially my mother) is all I have to say! Gabi is already the type of child who can cry and have a temper tantrum one minute and laugh and sing the next minute. How is she gonna handle the hormone fluctuations?

At that revelation, I decided I better start getting her some training bras so that she gets used to the idea of wearing a bra before nature necessitates it. Last week, we went bra shopping. She was thrilled! She loved the idea of wearing a bra like mommy. I was thrilled that they had at least some child-like designs. (I'll never understand why parents put "sexy" items on their children and then worry about their safety... another post for another day!) We opted for a plain white one and another with a cute monkey pattern on it to start with.

When we got home, Gabi was so excited about her new bras. I wanted her to keep that excitement. If she's excited about them, then she will more likely wear them. So I let her call Nana and Papa to tell them about our newest shopped items. My mom didn't answer her phone. So we called my dad next. I told him that Gabi wanted to tell him what she just got and put her on the phone. She was so excited and blurted out,

"Papa, I got new boobies!"

Shocked at her response, I couldn't help but to laugh. Oh, I would have loved to have seen my father's face when she said that! I am sure his face had more color at that moment than it has had in a very long time.

Then towards the end of last week, I had to take Gabi and Preston to the pediatrician because they were both sick. Our pediatrician at one point said, "... and the rash on her face looks like it may be from congestion." To my surprise, I responded quickly with, "It's not a rash." He looked a little surprised too and asked, "It's not?" That was when I explained that I think she has entered puberty and that her face has been broke out for at least 2 months and threw in there about her budding breasts. "How old is she again?" he asked. "9 1/2 and entering the 4th grade. I also started developing breasts in the 4th grade," I replied. After a short silence, he concluded, "I think you may be right about that." "Have you thought about what you are gonna do?" he asked. I realized with that question that there was more involved than I had already predicted.

Our pediatrician shared with me regarding his experiences with adolescents when he would volunteer at the Special Olympics events. He had some very interesting stories to say the least. Basically, they have normal desires, but teaching them appropriateness of acting on them and redirecting them to more appropriate outlets can be difficult.

This is where it gets explicit. So if you have virgin ears, heed my warning...

So what about the onset of menses? Our pediatrician said that once entering puberty, we have approximately 2 years before menstruation begins. I confided in him my thoughts of how I think Gabi may react when that day finally comes. Either she is gonna freak out because she'll think she is hurt, or she will try to hide it thinking she did something wrong.

This is when I question my decisions in the past. As a mom, you can imagine, I very rarely get to go to the bathroom alone. (Now it's with 2 visitors in there.) I have always been careful at that time of the month to not allow Gabi (or Preston) to see. I thought maybe she would think I was hurt. She did notice the use of a pad, and a couple of times, I had to explain "No, mommy does NOT wear a diaper!" Maybe I should have let her witness the normal womanly activities and just explained it as normal and made no big deal of it. Maybe if I had, I wouldn't be fretting her reaction so much as I do. I know... it's too late for the "what if's."

The pediatrician did tell me about what I like to call "the options." He said that often parents of kids with Down syndrome will put their kids on birth control or have them get injections every few months to lesson the periods or to turn them off. He said some parents have even gone as far as subjecting their child to a hysterectomy. (I am sure we are all gasping in unison over that one.) Her doctor wasn't suggesting it, he was just giving me information. He thinks that is a bit over the top as well. I can understand the hysterectomy only if there was a medical reason behind it as well (and to me Down syndrome is not a medical reason).

My personal thoughts regarding the other options is that it may not be a bad idea to lessen the periods as long as it won't interfere with her development. He suggested that I make an appointment with a gynecologist to discuss Gabi within the next 2 years so that we can have a game plan. So, what are your thoughts?

As you noticed, this post is titled "Part 1." I know this is going to be a reoccurring topic through these next few years. I am certainly not an expert on puberty and Down syndrome through each stage. Heck, I am not even an expert at where she is right now. This is gonna be a learning process. Please include any questions you have in the comment section. I am sure they will help me with preparedness and I can include answers in a follow up post.

Also I plan on buying this following book to see if I can get more answers as well: Teaching Children with Down Syndrome about Their Bodies, Boundaries and Sexuality If you've read it, tell me your thoughts about it. Was it helpful? Was it archaic? Was it a good place to start, but needs more work?

Ryan On The News

2009-06-08T23:39:00.003-04:00

Ryan was on the news yesterday for his business. He came home telling me he played "Vanna White." He wasn't kidding, look at this:

(Ryan is in blue if you can't figure that out on your own.)

If you can't see the embedded video, you can see it here: http://alturl.com/id4f

Hmmm... What is today?

2009-06-06T09:00:00.002-04:00

Don't know? Check out this post from last year to find out.

Magic Marker Monday ~ Self Portrait & Surrealism

2009-06-01T00:44:00.004-04:00

Haven't done one of these posts in a while, but someone suggested I show off Jeremy's artwork in a Magic Marker Monday post. I thought it was a great idea! It's a great way to come back.

Jeremy is my 16 year old and he has a love of art. Like most artists, he is also too critical of himself. This first picture, I rescued as Jeremy was trying to throw it in the garbage. It's a chalk self portrait. He hates this picture! I love it and honestly taking a picture of any of his artwork just doesn't serve it justice. It is so much better in person!

These next pictures were taken at an Art Show for Jeremy's High school. This one is done in pastels. This type of art is called surrealism... which means involving the combination of images that would not normally be found together, as if in a dream. So he has a hawk perched on the moon wearing a purple top hat while looking back at the earth. These were judged the next day and Jeremy received 1st place in his category for his entry! I was so proud of him and he was so excited that he called me right away when he found out!

For more Magic Marker Monday participants click here.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Fears Tackled

2009-05-26T23:00:00.000-04:00

You have got to see this! Gabi is conquering her fears!!!

Preston being bossy to Gabi:

Daddy plays with Preston (You gotta love his laugh):

11 hours of Agony

2009-05-25T13:15:00.000-04:00

Many of you follow me on Facebook. So, you have already heard my drama for this weekend. If you haven't heard, then here is the scoop.

Saturday morning, I came home and went to bed just as I always do. However, I woke up at 4 pm. I thought it was because the cat was locked in the room with me, but now thinking back, it was my head that woke me up. I felt like my head was splitting open! I kicked (well not really "kicked") the cat out of the room and asked Jeremy to bring me 800mg of Ibuprofen. Usually my migraines are preceded by a visual aura (which looks like water in my vision and blind spots), but I must have missed it this time since I was sleeping. While my visual auras are a pain, at least they give me the opportunity to pre-treat my migraines before they get out of control. It was too late for this one.

I ended up throwing up 3 different times before leaving for work. Yes, I still went to work. I have a contract that I have to meet the demands of, and losing time from work can affect my vacation later. Once at work, people could obviously see the agony in my face. I somehow managed to get started with my workday, but realized quickly that this wasn't very fair to my co-workers who were having to take up the slack for me. Let me say that none of them complained. They willingly stepped up to help out when they could. Before long, I was back in the bathroom throwing up again. I gave in to the repeated comments of "You need to go home" and "Your too sick to be here." They quickly found a replacement for me. Thank God!

As I was getting ready to leave work, I threw up once more and even contemplated going downstairs to the ER. Once I washed my face, I was feeling slightly better and decided to just go home. My bed was calling my name.

However, as soon as I got home I ended up going straight into the bathroom for my 6th episode in just 6 hours! However this time, I got really frightened. I had just thrown up blood. Not blood tinge, but frank blood! I called my charge nurse who agreed that I needed to come back and go to the ER. Ryan drove me back.

Once I arrived back at the hospital, I started with a nose bleed that lasted for the next hour! With an ice pack on my head for my still pounding head and a wad of tissues against my nose for the bleeding, you can imagine people's thoughts. One lady even I asked me if I hit my head.

After what seemed like and eternity, I was finally seen by the ER doctor and they gave me a 1 liter IV bolus of fluids (for dehydration), Imitrex injection (for migraines), Phenergan IV (for nausea), and Protonix IV (to help with my stomach). Within 5 minutes of that, I was knocked out! I woke approximately 1 hour later to my nurse standing over me asking me how my head was. It took me a minute to remember where I was and why I was there. To my surprise, my migraine was gone and so was the nausea! So at 3am, 11 hours later, I finally had relief and was headed home.

The explanation I was given regarding all of the blood was that with severe retching, the esophagus and stomach lining can create a tear in the lining. That must have been what happened to me, since it hasn't happened since. At least now I am prepared with prescriptions for Imitrex injections, Protonix tablets, and Phenergan tablets just in case I have this again!

So with all of that said and done, MIGRAINES SUCK! Do any of you all suffer from them? What do you do for them? Do you have any type of aura preceding your migraines?

God Doesn't Make Mistakes!

2009-05-25T11:38:00.000-04:00

God certainly doesn't make mistakes! And my Gabi was made perfectly in His image, just as He intended her to be! What a beautiful song this is!

I had to steal this from Renee!

Hi! My Name Is Preston...

2009-05-22T10:11:00.001-04:00

And it's been 2 days 14 hours and 11 minutes since my last paci!

My mom has officially declared our house a...

NO PACIFIER ZONE!

Right To Life

2009-05-21T14:01:00.002-04:00

If you've missed Sarah Palin's Right to Life Speech from last month, then you should at least watch this edited version of it! It makes me cry every time I hear it! It really hits home!

You Can Blame Apple!

2009-05-20T09:51:00.002-04:00

I have sure neglected my blog, lately. I can explain! You can blame Apple! You see my hubby bought me an iPhone for for Mother's Day (and an early birthday present), and I have been in love ever since! I have become iPhone obsessed and have been known to utter annoying things like, "There's an app for that!" I know I could blog from my iPhone, too, but I've been having so much fun with it. My poor laptop was beginning to collect dust!

So anyhow, what's been going on here other than downloading the latest, coolest apps on the iPhone? Well, here are a few highlights:

Jeremy is still practicing his driving. We are aiming to get his license June 4th, but honestly, I don't know if he'll be ready. So what's the hurry? Jeremy leaves to go to his dad's house June 5th and Indiana law changes July 1st. Really I am okay with the new laws. I think they make perfect sense. Basically, new drivers (that are 16 or 17 year olds) are not allowed to use telecommunication devices while driving (except 911), aren't allowed passengers without a licensed 25+ yr old in the car and have a curfew. It makes this momma more comfortable really!

Preston is actually making steps toward a paci-free life! We have made attempts to get it out of his mouth 24/7 by taking it away after he wakes (although sometimes he spots it later and cries for it) and negotiating! Oh I love it when they get old enough to negotiate with! Preston loves to go outside. So, I use that as another opportunity to get rid of the paci! I usually say, "Preston, do you want to go outside?" Which he enthusiastically says, "Yeah!!!" That is when I throw in the negotiations, "Well, if you want to go outside, then you have to give me your paci." He hands it over with a smile! :o) And last night he cried for his paci at bedtime, and I gave it to him. He sucked on it for about a minute and then threw it out of the crib. I asked him if he wanted it back, and he yelled, "Nooo!" I put it in the drawer so it was out of sight out of mind and he fell asleep without it!!

Gabi may be getting worse in the lawnmower department again! She is starting to freak out with going in the garage again. A couple days ago while riding her bike, she would stop dead at the end of our sidewalk and not go further because she seen fresh cut grass on the sidewalk in front of our neighbor's yard. He must have mowed it earlier that day, but he certainly wasn't out there now and there wasn't even a lawnmower in sight! *big sigh* (He did wake up a couple hours later and took his pacifier though.)

Here are some pics of Gabi and Preston taken outside yesterday with "my iPhone" of course:

And one last story! This one makes me sick! Yesterday, I left my purse hanging on the back of my chair while I was eating lunch with my students at the McDonald's in Kosair Children's Hospital. I realized it about 1/2 hour after we were back on the unit we were working on. I went back and it wasn't there. I asked about it at the counter, and they said that security just picked it up after someone turned it in. I picked it up from security, but all of my money was gone! I had about $35-50 in there. I am thankful for several things though: My ID and debit card was still there, my checkbook was still there, I didn't take out the $140 to get my hair done that I had an appointment for in just a few hours, and last but NOT least... my iPhone was in my pocket!!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T00:00:00.001-04:00

I wanted to wish all of you moms out there a Happy Mother's Day! Of course there is one mom who specifically deserves The Greatest Mom of The Year Award... my mom! Take a look at this video where her Mother of The Year is awarded: Mother of the Year 2009

(Thanks Bina for the video and for your ;) nomination.)

Pwetty Pwease

2009-05-08T10:14:00.003-04:00

Can you please do me a favor? Can you visit my friend Amy at this post and help her with something that will take just a moment of your time. I would really appreciate it!

My List of Total Randomness

2009-05-01T09:57:00.000-04:00

1. The kids are out of school today for Oaks Day... a frickin' horse race!

2. I don't "get" Derby either! This area participates in a month long of Derby festivities. How long is Derby? 2 minutes!!!!

3. Gabi and Preston play so incredibly well at times... I love hearing their laughter as they play together.

4. Preston repeats anything anyone else does... especially if it's bad!

5. Remember when I vowed to get rid of Preston's pacifier by the time he was 18 months? He's gonna be 30 months old this month, and still has a pacifier.

6. At times, Gabi and Preston fight like cats and dogs... is it wrong that I think it's funny?

7. Preston is still in a crib even though he is clearly showing signs of wanting to go in a big boy bed.

8. Jeremy finished Driver's Ed yesterday... with a D... he says it's passing... he better be right or he owes us a LOT of money!

9. Jeremy is an incredible artist! One day, I will have to post of of his amazing drawings!

10. I retrieved one of Jeremy's self portraits as he was headed to the garbage to throw it away... it was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen... How can he not like it?

11. Which is worse... knocking your husbands laptop off of a 5 foot cabinet or catching it by the corner with your foot?

12. Catching a laptop that fell 5 feet off of cabinet sure makes for a painful colorful bruise on your foot.

13. Scrubbing the walls of my house is a futile chore... they need to be painted.

14. I won't paint the walls of my house because I am afraid I may have to kill the 1st kid (or adult) that marks it up!

15. I am getting an iPhone for my birthday... I insisted upon it! ;)

16. Why does every diaper change with Preston have to be a wrestling match?

17. I am cutting my hours at my 2nd job after this quarter is finished so that Ryan can start working full time.

18. Our vacation is only 79 days away. I can hardly wait!

19. I could go on all day with more randomness, but I have a budget I have to adjust for a cell phone bill much larger than I anticipated!

Life is Good!

2009-04-29T00:32:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, Jeremy was driving himself to driver's ed. I was in the passenger seat with Gabi and Preston in the back. They came along for the ride. Preston likes to go "bye bye" even if "bye bye" is to no where.

We passed the local Elementary school and Preston spotted the playground. "Slide, Mommy!" is what he said. I didn't even know he knew what a slide was, much less be able to say the word. The last time he had even seen a slide was last year. He was only saying a few words at that time.

After dropping Jeremy off and heading back, I decided to stop at the Elementary school to let the kids play. Only I realized as I was about to turn off the van that neither of the two kids had on shoes. I picked up the cell phone and instructed Ryan to get ready. We took them back just a few minutes later.

This was Preston 1st look down his 1st slide! His face is priceless!

Gabi looked to be well balanced in this picture, but... um... balance is not her strong suit!

Preston decides that this is a better version of a balance beam.

The fun is over and like any other child in their terrible twos, Preston had to be carried back to the van kicking and screaming, "No, no, nooo! Gooooooooo! Go! Go! Go!"

It's times like these that I realize that I love my life, and life is good!

Awwww

2009-04-26T18:17:00.003-04:00

The other day I posted this picture...

Today, I found this...

Ahhhhh Spring!

Of course I am glad that no one got the picture of me running away from momma bird as she started chasing me away! LOL

Some of The Reasons I Love Spring...

2009-04-24T16:02:00.003-04:00

Just A Reminder

2009-04-23T14:54:00.004-04:00

Dave Ramsey's Town Hall For Hope is TONIGHT!!! To find out details about this free Live Nationwide Event, head over to Town Hall For Hope's website. I'll be there!

And don't forget to check out my previous post for an awesome video!

Are You Ready?

2009-04-23T10:14:00.001-04:00

Quote of the Day

2009-04-20T08:30:00.000-04:00

My children are certainly growing up in a different world than I did or my husband. It's a high tech world out there with all sorts of gadgets and gizmos. It's the kind of things we could only dream about when we were kids. Okay so we still can't drive in our flying cars. But with all of this technology, I don't doubt that we will get there, too by the time I leave this Earth. My grandmother would have loved all of this great stuff we have these days. I wish she had only lived long enough to play with some of it. I could see her with a GPS in her car and an email address among many other electronic stuff. She was that type of woman. God I miss her. Anyhow, this "Quote of the Day" is being brought to you by the toddler in this house who is growing up in this high tech world:

Preston and I were sitting on the couch drawing on a high tech electronic contraption similar to a magna doodle. I noticed he was trying to mimic anything I did on it. So, I began writing his name. He would repeat each letter after I would and although he wasn't correctly drawing the letters, you could tell he was trying to. This is how the conversation went:

Me: P
Preston: P
Me: R
Preston: R
Me: E
Preston: E
Me: S
Preston: S dot com
Me: Dot com?!? Did you say "Dot com?"

Apparently, he was wanting to get on the web! Too funny!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T18:27:00.001-04:00

Are You In Fear of a Recession?

2009-04-06T23:09:00.003-04:00

If you are, you may want to attend this Live FREE Nationwide Event offered by Dave Ramsey.

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009 at 8:00 pm EDT is when this takes place. Find a host location near you in order to attend by heading over to townhallforhope.com.

Quote of the Day

2009-04-05T20:53:00.002-04:00

Gabi has some days when she is so lovey dovey with me. The other morning we were waiting for her bus, and I could tell this was one of those mornings. I gave her some great big hugs and then she decided to start complimenting me...

Gabi: "Mommy I like your pretty hands and your pretty fingers and your eyes and your eyebrows and your nose and your mustache and your lips..."

Me: "Wait! Wait! Wait! Did you just say mustache?"

She just giggles.

And to set the record straight, I DO NOT have a mustache! I am sure my beautician would drop some wax accidentally in that direction as she waxed my eyebrows if I had one!

Updates

2009-04-02T14:27:00.001-04:00

Lawnmower Fear: As Spring approached, I worried that the fear Gabi had would resume with the first mowing of the lawn in our neighborhood. It was suggested in our IEP meeting that we make our lawn the first since we have control over that and could prepare her. That didn't happen. Our next door neighbor beat us to it. I noticed the moment the lawn mower started, but like always, I didn't make a big deal of it. I did keep on eye on Gabi (without her realizing I was) to see her reaction. She didn't seem to notice. Then, I wondered if we have made a breakthrough or if is she was having hearing issues again. I decided to make the noise a little more noticeable by pretending that I was looking for Fat Kitty. I opened the front door calling the cat just long enough that the mower could be heard. I walked back in the house and Gabi continued coloring her picture as if nothing had happened. I was feeling that breakthrough until a few days later when we were driving home and the moment I opened the garage door, the old fearful ways were back. "No, no, no Mommy!" I played dumb and asked her, "What?" She never actual said it, but I knew by the tone in her voice that it was the lawnmower in the garage. We still at this point had not started our lawnmower this season, but many of our neighbors had. I don't know if she actually heard one or if maybe she seen one being mowed while on the bus on the way home from school. Once I did pull up in the garage, and opened the doors, Gabi darted towards the front door of the house instead of entering through our garage door. I wasn't as patient with her at this point and called out, "It's raining outside and the front door is locked! If you want to get inside the house then you will have to use the garage!" A moment later, she dashed around the corner and ran into the house through the garage. Ryan mowed our yard a couple days after while Gabi was at school! *sigh* It's going to be a long grass-growing season!

Ticks: Wouldn't you know it, but the moment I posted that video, the ticks got better. While I still see the blinking occasionally, it is no where near like it was in that video. I think this will be a thing of the past before long. (Unless it's the stress of lawn mowers is causing it, then it may be awhile!)

Accident: Gabi was potty-trained when I was about 5 or 6 months pregnant with Preston. Once she was going in the potty, I kept her in pull-ups at night and left her mattress covered with a plastic cover in case she had any accidents in the middle of the night. After about a week of no accidents at night, we went to underwear. And a year or so ago, I took off the plastic cover off of the mattress because she never had any accidents. Then yesterday (April Fool's Day), I went to wake Gabi for school, and she said, "Mommy, I wet the bed." My first thought was that it was April Fool's Day, but then my next thought was that I don't even think Gabi understands the concept of April Fool's Day. So, I asked her what she said (maybe I heard her wrong). She repeated, "I wet the bed." Sure enough, I pulled back the covers and she was soaked. I really believe that she was sleeping so hard, that she just didn't realize she had to pee. We rushed her into the shower before the bus came and I did make sure that she didn't feel guilty over it. Last night, I didn't allow a bedtime drink like she is used to getting and explained that she could have a drink when she woke up. We don't want to repeat any accidents. I am also trying to watch for any signs of possible infection that may have caused the accident as well.

Birthday: Today is my mom's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM (NANA)!!! We love you and can't wait to spend some time with you this summer!

Driver's Ed: Jeremy started Driver's Ed this week. He told Ryan that he was afraid to drive when Ryan offered to let him drive. I think a little fear in this area is a good thing. Maybe he will be more careful than most teenage drivers because of that fear.

Sesame Street Live: Sunday, Ryan and I took Gabi and Preston to see Sesame Street Live at the Brown Theatre in Louisville. While it was boring as heck for adults, we found our pleasure in watching the faces of our children as one of their favorite TV shows came to life. Our kids were so good during the whole thing. Here are some of our pics from that day:

Spread The Word To End The Word!

2009-03-31T11:17:00.001-04:00

Ticks?

2009-03-26T11:00:00.003-04:00

About 4 or 5 days ago, I noticed something new with Gabi. She was forcefully blinking. I ignored it figuring if I don't give it any attention, then she will stop. She hasn't. She is doing it all of the time. Whether she is playing, talking, eating, watching TV, she is doing it. Ryan started noticing it about the same time I did, but we didn't really talk about it until yesterday. Now we have come to the conclusion that it's not intentional. We really don't think she even realizes she is doing it. Sometimes the blink uses her whole face. I took a video of her yesterday to show what this looks like. I just carried on a regular conversation so she had no idea why I was taking a video of her.

Of course, I researched Tourette Syndrome, and found this information about it. Of course 4 or 5 days is way to early to jump to that diagnosis, but she is definitely experiencing a tick. It says that they are usually related to stress. So I tried to think of things that might be causing her stress. We do have a certain toddler in the house that is extra loud and screams often (and like a girl I might add!) I know that loud noises are an issue for her, but she does this even when she is playing and having fun! I am just hoping this goes away soon.

Any thoughts?

UPDATE: This morning, I had a few thoughts come to mind. 1) Maybe the glasses she has been wearing the last few days were made wrong and she is doing it to adjust her eyes. 2) She didn't appear to do it when she first woke up. But as the morning progressed, the ticks slowly started coming back and she hasn't even put her glasses on yet today!

Adventures In The Days Of Our Lives

2009-03-25T22:32:00.001-04:00

This week is Spring Break and Gabi and Jeremy are out of school. With Jeremy visiting his dad in Connecticut, Ryan and I had to take the 2 youngest ones around with us as we did our errands.

We asked the kids if they wanted to go bye-bye and go eat. Of course, they were all for that. We decided to eat at the restaurant next to Big O' Tires since we needed to have our oil changed and tire repaired (darn nail). That way we could eat while they worked on our van. We pulled up into Big O' and Ryan got out first. Gabi looked up and said in a very concerned and serious voice, "I don't want to eat a tire!" It took me a moment to stop laughing, but I finally pointed at the restaurant next door and said, "That is where we are eating." Still dissatisfied she said, "I don't want it." So, I responded with, "Then I guess we will just have to eat a tire, then." Suddenly, the restaurant looked more appealing to her. Lunch went well without any major issues and the van was ready before we were even done. Off to the next errand... grocery shopping!

We approached this idea with a plan. You see our local Meijer's has those TV Karts that you can rent for a dollar. Our kids will quietly sit inside while watching Barney, and we can do our grocery shopping! We are such geniuses! Only we weren't counting on the fact that it would stop mid Barney show just as we get to the back of the store to start our shopping. We only made it through one aisle! Plus the front tire was lopsided making it hard to maneuver. Argh! I managed to talk Ryan into taking it back up front and getting a new one. Of course, the next one (a Bob The Builder model) happened to have a metal door in the back fall open just after we got the kids in and the groceries we had switched over. The ladies at customer service had no idea how to fix this. So finally we settled with a Thomas The Tank Engine TV Kart! This one steered much better, too! The kids were in and groceries were switched over once again! Finally! Let's get this shopping done! Wrong! This one died before we could even make it back to the aisles.

That's it! I am through! We grabbed a good ol' ordinary shopping cart switched the groceries over yet again. We put Preston in the front and instructed Gabi to hold on to the cart. Sheesh! Yeah right, who are we kidding? Gabi started running up and down the aisles like she had never been in a grocery store before. Preston would throw out of the cart any groceries he could get a hold of. Thank God, I didn't have anything breakable within his reach! Gabi was doing some shopping of her own as well. Every time I turned around their were more items in the cart than I put there. I put those things back, and did allow her a couple things that she did ask for first.

The checkout line was just as difficult as our shopping experience. We always opt for the lines where we can self check out. Usually this is a faster process for us, but today we should have opted for a line with a cashier. Gabi managed to get a hold of one of those shopping items conveniently placed at checkout for little kids to pester their parents with and scan it to our bill before we realized what happened. Ryan didn't want to waste the time of having the cashier come over and remove it from our bill, so we took it home. However, I can assure you a certain little girl will not be having that little box of Golfish crackers! Eventually, Gabi got more under control and started handing me the items from our cart for me to scan. This is when Preston took his opportunity to act up, again. He kept reaching over to the belt that was carrying our groceries to Ryan who was bagging them. The problem with this is that this belt weighs the groceries to make sure that you are not trying to steal anything by slipping it on the belt without scanning it first. So Preston's hands pushing on it kept making the checkout stop and say, "unexpected item on belt." I wanted to say back to the register, "Well then you don't know my kids because it's not all that unexpected!"

But it is over and we did eventually get all of our errands done. Of course we swore we were never taking them shopping again!

Guess What Mommy Did?

2009-03-24T21:50:00.002-04:00

She chopped off her hair!

This is what she looked like before. (In my defense, I can fix my hair better than this, but I didn't want to use any hair products just before having my hair dyed.)

And here is the after picture. It's hard to tell in the picture, but the front is longer than the back. Lost about 4 inches of hair!

Shame On You, Mr. President!

2009-03-20T08:04:00.002-04:00

I am very disappointed in you for your words that hurt an innocent and loving community of individuals who have never done anything to you! I really hope you are eating those words today in embarrassment!

Almost Legal

2009-03-19T21:08:00.002-04:00

Jeremy got his learner's permit today! Next week is Spring Break and then when he comes back, Driver's Ed starts! My 1st baby is hitting the roads! Look out, out there!

Have You Ever Seen Someone So Happy To Wear Glasses?

2009-03-17T17:20:00.002-04:00

Gabi got 3 new pairs of glasses in the mail this weekend. Yesterday, she was more than happy to model them each for us in the beautiful weather outside.

Glasses #1

Glasses #2
The first time she put on these, she looked in the mirror and said with tremendous excitement, "Hey look! I Nancy!" Nancy is my mom (aka Nana). My mom did have a pair of glasses that looked similar to this pair many years back.

Glasses #3
This pair is prescription sunglasses. We will use these at Disney and for summer activities outside. And she calls this pair, "Papa's glasses" because Papa always wears sunglasses!

Almost Back To The Land of The Living

2009-03-16T14:38:00.003-04:00

I am hoping to be back tomorrow or Wednesday with a regular post, but I thought I'd give a quick update on why I haven't been around. I will make this quick. Since I last updated, Preston and I went to the doctors. Preston has a "bad cold" and an ear infection, was placed on antibiotics, and is significantly improved. I was diagnosed with the flu that turned into bronchitis, I was placed on countless medications from antibiotics to inhalers to steroids, and I am getting better slowly. I just wanted to explain my absence and let you all know I will be back in the blogging world soon. Don't give up on me. Besides, I know a certain beautiful, young girl who just got some new glasses that might be interested in seeing!

Another Reason Why It Sucks Getting Older

2009-03-09T14:20:00.000-04:00

I remember the days when Jeremy was small, and I would pray that God would just let me be sick instead of him. I haven't mentioned it before, but Gabi is not my only child with medical issues. I'll tell about Jeremy's medical issues on another day. Of course when I had Jeremy, I was a young age of 21. I knew that my body could handle his medical issues better than this small child. Today, that is a different story. You see, I no longer pray to take away my children's sicknesses. My body can't handle it anymore.

Last Friday, Preston and I both woke up coughing. Oh great! We obviously had the same bug! As the weekend progressed, you could see the difference in how different we both handled this sickness. Preston continued through the weekend playing as usual except with a runny nose and cough. His sleep was disturbed a little by his coughing at night, but other than that, you wouldn't know any different. Me on the other hand, I got worse and worse as the weekend progressed. Friday night, I felt the aching all over my body. Saturday afternoon, I knew I had a fever since we were having a really warm day (in the 70's) and my teeth were chattering! I couldn't find a thermometer anywhere around this place. I still got ready and went to work. I was not about to risk losing my vacation time. By the time I got to work, I was thankful that it was a short night. Only 11 hours instead of 12 thanks to the time change mid shift. I took my temperature and I was 102.6 F. My coworkers encouraged me to leave, but I was determined not to give my job any reason to keep me from taking my time off in July. Eventually, I did make it through the night with my temperature never reaching any lower than 100.2 F. I went home and stayed in my bed all day, all night, and halfway through the day today. I have to give kudos to my hubby who is not usually sympathetic to me when I am sick. He actually brought me drinks, medicine and even some dinner when I was finally ready to eat something. And he did this while taking care of all 5 kids, cleaned the house and made dinner! What a man! Thank you sweetheart!

Well today, I think I am on my way back to the land of the living. At least I hope! Of course the meds could just be masking it all temporarily! So, I made my way into the shower and headed out to the living room to find my husband who looked like he was knocking on death's door and they were about to let him in for his turn to visit. So we had a changing of the guards. Ryan is in bed, and I am now caring for Preston out here in the living room. And yes Preston continues to play with a runny nose and a cough. He is throwing a Diego ball at me as I type this! Time to go play ball!

So How 'Bout Them Lawn Mowers?

2009-03-05T09:41:00.003-05:00

It's been a while since I last updated regarding Gabi's fear of lawn mowers. I have some good news and bad news. The good news is that you can never tell at this point that she even has a fear of the lawn mower. We go in and out of the garage the normal way. She doesn't even make a mad dash for the house anymore when she gets out of the van. We can even leave the big garage door open, and she will still walk right past the lawn mower into the house without insisting on using the front door.

So what's the bad news? Pretty soon the grass is gonna start growing again. I just hope we won't end up back at square one after the first day that we have to mow the grass.

Dealing With A New Diagnosis

2009-03-04T14:00:00.001-05:00

No, it's not for Gabi. It's for me. Some of you may remember last June when I hurt my back and started going to the chiropractor. Well, I continued going to the chiropractor until early this year and continued with the back pain. My back pain was actually beginning to get worse again regardless of the visits to the chiropractor. My pain is an issue everyday, but far worse when I work at the hospital. By the end of most weekends, the pain is almost crippling. I use a back support brace while I work, and it helps me to make it through the weekend. I haven't said much about it on here because quite honestly, I would be talking about my back nonstop and who would want to read that? Trust me! My husband and kids are sick of hearing me say, "Ow my back," "I can't because my back is hurting," or "Can you pick that up for me? My back is killing me!" B-o-r-i-n-g!

So, last month when I met with my primary care physician, I decided to mention that I am still having the back pain and included just how bad it can be at times. She recommended an MRI of my back. Last Monday, I went to get that done. Yikes! Not easy when you have claustrophobia, but I just closed my eyes and tried to forget the coffin-like contraption I was in. Eventually, it was over. I got the call yesterday regarding the results. "Multiple level Degenerative Disk Disease." Great! I was blessed with the back of an old lady! So the current recommendation is physical therapy. The really ironic part is that I am a nurse on a Neurospine Telemetry Unit! I take care of people like ME! So with that being said, I will avoid surgery like the plague! Plus, I have already forewarned my co-workers that I will be an awful patient! So, now I will venture into the world of physical therapy for me!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Tantrum

2009-03-03T23:37:00.000-05:00

It's a good thing he's cute!

Click Here to view images without slideshow.

Click Here and here for more Wordless Wednesdays.
And Click Here for more Special Exposure Wednesdays.

Tulips Don't Lie!

2009-03-03T19:23:00.002-05:00

Spring is coming! My sprouting tulips say so... regardless of the 11 degree F temperatures I woke up to this morning!

I Vowed To Never Do It!

2009-03-02T11:36:00.000-05:00

And I did! Gabi's glasses broke on Friday, and because the 3 pairs I ordered last week on the internet haven't arrived yet, I did it! I taped my little girl's glasses! Oh the horror! Here is just how geeky this looks:

Hmmm... doesn't look too bad here.

Oh but this angle reveals it all!

And it looked even worse by the time she left since it kept getting all crooked on her face. Please Mr. Mailman, bring us a box today from Zenni Optical!

Feeling Nostalgic

2009-02-27T10:26:00.001-05:00

With my high school reunion coming up, I can't help but to get all nostalgic. 20 years ago, I was a senior in high school. I have reconnected to a lot of old high school friends these past few months thanks to Facebook. And recently I did one of those tags on Facebook regarding high school. I thought it would be fun to post it here plus a few pics from way back when.

1. Did you date someone from your school? No, I was dating someone from our rival school.

2. Did you marry someone from your high school? I almost married the guy from our rival school, but I broke it off after 4 years.

3. Did you car pool to school? Sometimes my friend Alison and I rode together we lived a few doors down from each other.

4. What kind of car did you have? 1981 Toyota Celica Hatchback

5. What kind of car do you have now? Chevy Venture (van)

6. It's Friday night... where are you (then)? Either working at the local high school hangout (Dairy Queen) or out with my boyfriend.

7. It is Friday night... where are you (now)? At work at the hospital

8. What kind of job did you have in high school? Dairy Queen and I can still make those curls!

9. What kind of job do you do now? Registered Nurse on a Neurospine Telemetry Unit and a clinical instructor at one of the Nursing Schools here and of course I am a MOM!

10. Were you a party animal? On occasions, but not most of the time.

11. Were you considered a flirt? I don't think so.

12. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? Not in Senior year, but I was a dancer in our marching band for my 10th and 11th grades.

13. Were you a nerd? Only in senior year because I wanted to make sure I graduated on time.

14. Did you get suspended or expelled? no

15. Can you sing the fight song? No

16. Who was/were your favorite teacher? I don't remember any of them.

17. Where did you sit during lunch? Usually drove with some friends to BK or McDonalds.

18. What was your school's full name? South Dade Senior High School

19. When did you graduate? 1989

20. What was your school mascot? Buccaneers

21. If you could go back and do it again, would you? probably not but I could do it better!

22. Did you have fun at Prom? It was okay.

23. Do you still talk to the person you went to Prom with? It's been quite a few years since I last talked to him.

24. Are you planning on going to your next reunion? I am sure trying as long as my jobs cooperate (Of course, I filled out this when I still didn't know for sure, but YES! I AM GOING!!!!)

25. Do you talk to people from school? yes thanks to Facebook!

Having fun at Blue Wave practice after school.

Sophmore yearbook photo for Blue Wave Dancers.

Junior yearbook photo for Blue Wave Dancers.

Posing for a pic with a couple of friends who were in Silks (our flag ensemble).

Concert Chorus

Orchestra. I played the Cello in my freshman year.

In Biology class! Oh how I LOVED that class! (not really)

I worked at the local high school hangout... Dairy Queen.
Our DQ didn't serve hamburgers or any other fried thingys.
And the horror I would have felt back then knowing I would
post this picture today.

We went out on my dad's boat frequently. Here I was with my
niece, Courtney, who is getting married this summer while we
are down there. (And I am wearing a bathing suit under that
towel. I know it doesn't look like it, but I am!)

Grad Nite at Disney World with my friends Alison and Aimee.
(I know I didn't really need to label me in a photo full of blondes.)

Guess who we seen in concert at Grad nite?
New Kids On The Block (known today as NKOTB)

Heading to Junior Prom with my high school sweetheart, Mike.

Our official Junior Prom photo.

Please don't mind the ruffle explosion. My mother tried to warn
me about this dress, but I didn't listen. This was my Senior Prom
still with my high school sweetheart, Mike.

From our Class of 89 pic.
The actual picture is 3 times as wide (panoramic).

One of my Graduation pics.

Graduation day, receiving my diploma and shaking hands with the principal.

Get Squished!

2009-02-26T21:51:00.002-05:00

Okay, after all of the horror stories I have heard about mammograms, I felt it was my duty to tell you that it is actually pretty easy to do. I went today to get my first one ever. I am not 40 yet, but my doctor wanted me to have a baseline mammogram to be able to compare all others to. It was not painful. You do feel a little bit of a pull of the skin around, but nothing like I expected. It simply doesn't hurt, and they don't squish them as bad as I though either. So, if you are one of those women who have been putting it off because of the horror stories, get out there and get it done!

Unable to Upload Pics?

2009-02-25T13:14:00.002-05:00

Well, I had a post planned, but every time I attempt to upload pics, blogger gives me a "bad request" instead. Anyone else having this problem? I have tried 5 times already with the same result.

The Big Sister

2009-02-23T23:32:00.005-05:00

I just thought I'd share a little bit of stuff about Gabi today.

She is really taking on the big sister role, and Preston really looks up to her. You can see it in his face when they are playing, talking, fighting, or even sharing (gasp)! Tonight as I watched a movie online with the kids, Jeremy was on my left, Gabi was on my right and Preston sat on her lap. She held him as a big sister would and kept him entertained. Once, Preston got down to pick up a toy that big brother threw on the floor because it was annoying him (Grrr), Gabi patted her lap and said, "Come here, Baby Boy, come sit on my lap." And he crawled right back on her lap, and they were just as precious!

Just before bed, I was giving Preston and Gabi a bath. Of course Gabi loves to take a bath, she just hates having her hair washed. So I just do it amid all of the screaming that ensues. Tonight, she got so mad at me. This is how the conversation went:

Gabi: (In her growling/yelling voice) YOU! (pointing at me) Go to work!
Me: (laughing) You mean you WANT me to go to work?
Gabi: (growls at me)
Me: Do you want me to go to work? (still laughing)
Gabi: (In a milder demanding voice) No! You stay right here!
Me: Okay! I'll stay right here!
Gabi: (starts laughing)

And... I got a call tonight from my mom. My niece, Courtney, is getting married. They were going to get married at the beginning of July. When they found out we were coming down, they decided to postpone it a couple of weeks so we could be there! Isn't that so sweet? Now I have ANOTHER reason to look forward to going to Florida!

YIPPEE!

2009-02-22T16:30:00.000-05:00

If you don't follow me on Facebook, then you haven't heard my good news. My vacation request that I was sure was going to get turned down and have to fight for was APPROVED! I'm going home! My family is officially headed to Florida this July! I haven't been home in 4 years!

So what is on the agenda? Well... we are taking all 5 kids with us and visiting the theme parks, spending time with family and friends, and attending my 20 year high school reunion!

Woo Hoo!

Sorry Sweetheart, But He's Married!

2009-02-18T23:17:00.000-05:00

I married him! Well except for the strip tease part, she is talking about my hubby! Ryan loves this commercial... gee I wonder why!

Learn To Dress Like Gabi

2009-02-17T22:04:00.004-05:00

You know you want her fashion secrets!
Not anybody can pull this look together, but with Gabi's help, I will show you how you too can pull this off.

1. Pull out your favorite winter hat and uncuff it so that it stands REALLY tall on the top of your head:

2. Wear your shirt backwards (as shown by the pockets in the back) and extra points for wearing your pants off center so that your seam is in the middle of one cheek:

3. It's an absolute must to have your pants worn inside out with all seams showing:

4. Grab a pair of mismatched socks. You can't just buy them this way in a store. Allow one pant leg to extend farther than the other:

Obviously the mismatch was intentional because as you can see, Gabi has the matches in her hands:

And when you don't have time to come up with such a cool outfit, you can go for instant coolness with these hip pair of goggles (Just make sure you wear them in such a way that they pull down your lower lids exposing your lower conjunctiva):

Good News & Bad News

2009-02-16T22:32:00.003-05:00

Good News:

Preston added a new food to the very short "Will eat" list.

Bad News:

For the past several days, he is just nibbling on his food and sometimes spits it all out and proclaims, "Ewwwwwww!" We may have to start buying Pediasure again! Today, he consumed 1/8 of a chicken nugget, 1 bite of cheese pizza, 2 French Fries, 3/4 of a banana, and about 1/2 cup of Goldfish crackers. He drinks fine. So I think tomorrow I am gonna get him the Pediasure to drink until his caloric and nutritional consumption gets better. This is not going to help his anemia!

Sometimes You Gotta Say "Freakin'!"

2009-02-15T21:38:00.004-05:00

It's about 9:30 pm and I sit in my bed, laptop on lap, and earbuds in my ears. I am listening to a playback of Dave Ramsey's radio show (gotta stay Gazelle intense) and surfing through Facebook when Gabi enters my room. Apparently the pajamas she was wearing were not to her satisfaction. I am too tired to argue. Preston stands in his crib and starts his crying, "Mommy? Mommy!" I get out of bed upset that my "Mommy time" has been disturbed yet again. "Gabi, hurry up and get dressed and get back to bed!" My demands warrant a growl from the changing girl on my bed. "Preston lay down." I put on another round of Yo Gabba Gabba hoping this will be the last time tonight. He shrieks in protest (I swear he screams like a girl!) I clinch the bridge of my nose with my fingers and without thinking exclaim, "I've got a freakin' headache!" And without a moment to think about it, Gabi asks, "You gotta freakin' headache, Mommy?" I laugh knowing that when Gabi gets a note sent home from school saying she is saying "freakin'" that it will be all MY fault! Sorry Ms. Elise!

Alright... Who Replaced My Gabi With This Look Alike?

2009-02-13T21:00:00.000-05:00

Gabi has been acting very much like another child since she came home from school today. Some changes are good and some are not so good. It actually reminds me that Gabi is getting older and certain attitudes that come with being older are starting to rear in their ugly little heads! Take dinner time for example. I made Taco Salad. This is one of Gabi's favorite things to eat. Well after making her plate, I called her to eat. She walked over, crossed her arms, and tightened her lips. Then proceeded to roll her eyes up as she said, "I am not eating that. That is dis.gust.ing! I want ice cream!" Oh no she didn't! But yes... she did! First, I corrected her that we do not eat ice cream for dinner (as much as I would like to sometimes), then I informed her that I brought her home a surprise from the grocery store and if she wanted it, she had to eat her dinner. That worked.

But like I said, not all of these changes are bad. She is playing really well with Preston and after eating her Taco Salad that she earlier insisted was disgusting, she asked me, "May I be excused?" What?? Really?? That was when my mouth dropped open and with a puzzled look on my face I turned my head slowly to her and asked, "Just who ARE you? And what did you do with my Gabi?"

Sisterhood of the Traveling Afghan

2009-02-12T19:30:00.000-05:00

CJ has come up with a wonderful idea for the T21 family. If you have a family member with Down syndrome or are an individual with Down syndrome, you may want to head over to CJ's blog and read all about the T21 Traveling Afghan. This will be a unique experience.

It Was SNOW Fun!

2009-02-12T07:00:00.000-05:00

Don't attack me for no gloves and shoes on Preston! I promise he was in the snow less than 30 seconds and back in the house. He wanted so bad to touch the snow. We had to chase him many times the previous week because he would run out the door barfooted and no jacket and run straight into the snow. I think he has his dad's body temperature. The cold doesn't phase him at all.

Yes... Gabi is wearing Preston's hat!

"Look, Mommy, I found a triangle!"

"1...2...3 corners!"

"Look, I found another triangle!"

Gabi's friend across the street came over to play with her dog. She even let Gabi walk the dog for a little while. Gabi loved it!

Talking to her friend on the walkie talkie.

My Hip Hop Kids!

2009-02-09T21:01:00.000-05:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Magic Marker Monday ~ Mommy and Fat Kitty

2009-02-08T22:38:00.001-05:00

My observations of this picture that Gabi drew of me:

I guess the comb-over won't help when I only have 4 hairs, huh?
Sometimes I just really shouldn't ask questions because when I asked Gabi what was that thing on my right shoulder, she pointed to my breast! I assure you that I do indeed have two of them, and they are no where near that perky!
I think I was in some type of fight, too. It looks like my left eye is bruised and swollen and I look like I am falling to the ground. Maybe whoever I fought pulled out all my hair except for those 4 left!
I am either oxygen deprived or a smurf!
That is one huge belly button!
At least with all of that above, I am still smiling!

Fat Kitty after a diet I am guessing! Because if she drew it to scale, Fat Kitty wouldn't show but little stubs of legs under all of that hanging belly she has.

Okay, all jokes aside, Gabi certainly is making lots of progress in her artwork! Way to go my beautiful girl!

Mommy? Mommy? MOMMY!

2009-02-04T13:55:00.001-05:00

Gabi likes to call me by name... often! So much so that it drives Ryan crazy! He always says that Gabi doesn't really have anything to say and does this just to be able to talk to me. It usually doesn't bother me too much unless I am otherwise stressed. Now Preston whom I have started calling "Pete and Repeat" likes to copy Gabi. So usually while Gabi gets going with her Mommy, Mommy, Mommy's, Preston likes to get on the other side of me and do it himself. So now I get it in stereo! The other day, I got so tickled at Gabi after one of these experiences. It was last Friday, and I just woke up from my nap before work to find that we had lost our electricity less than 24 hours since we got it back (Yes this was one of those stressed times). I decided to go ahead and get a shower since the power had only been off for about 15 minutes and knew there would still be hot water left in the tank. Gabi walked into the bathroom when she realized I was up. This is how our conversation went:

Gabi: Mommy, what are you doing?
Me: I am taking a shower.
Gabi: Mommy, where are you going?
Me: I am going to work.
Gabi: Mommy?
Me: What?
Gabi: Mommy, where are you going?
Me: I said I am going to work.
Gabi: Oh work!
Me: Yep!
Gabi: Mommy?
Me: What, Gabi?
Gabi: Mommy, you taking shower?
Me: Yes
Gabi: Mommy, you washing hair?
Me: Yes I am.
Gabi: Mommy?
Me: YES, Gabi? (getting irritated)
Gabi: Mommy, Where are you going?
Me: I said I am going to work, remember?
Gabi: Mommy?
(And this went on for awhile with each sentence containing Mommy until finally I blew up at her.)
Me: Gabi stop saying Mommy!
Gabi: Okay, Mom!
That's when I just had to laugh!

I Am Getting More And More Forgetful In My Old Age!

2009-02-02T20:49:00.002-05:00

I was just visiting Stephanie's Blog and noticed she is having a giveaway for Aiden's Heart Day which is in couple weeks, and then remembered that last year I mentioned to her how Gabi's and Aiden's Heart Days are so close together... then my brain did a big flip flop and I burst out with "What is today's date?" Oh my gosh... it's TODAY!!!! And for those that don't know what a heart day is, it's the yearly anniversary of your child's heart surgery. Gabi had open heart surgery for repair of her Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) (also what Aiden has) and her Atrial Septal Defect (ASD). I may not be celebrating as fancy as Stephanie is, but my heart just leaped for joy knowing how blessed we are that Gabi's heart was able to be repaired. And here we are 9 years later!

The button below leads to a separate blog that I did to talk about that time:

Almost everything went as planned with her surgery except for this next part that I took from an old post of mine:

Gabi did really well after her heart surgery until the night that they extubated her. It was the first night that I didn't go home. She was seriously struggling, and I could see it in the medical staff's faces that they were also worried, considering re-intubating her, and putting her back on the vent. Her respirations were very labored, her breaths were fast, and her chest retracted deeply with each breath she took. It was the 1st time that the thought crossed my mind that she might not make it. I told Gabi's father, "I am staying tonight... I am afraid to leave her." Sleeping at the bedside was a big NO-NO because if they had to get to her in an emergency, the obstacle of removing a sleeping parent at bedside costs valuable time. That didn't matter because I knew I couldn't sleep due to my worry for her.

After much deliberation, one of the doctor's decided to try her on IV steroids to see if that would help her get over this hump. When he told me his plan, I let off a huge sigh of relief. Internally, that was what I was hoping for. By the time she received her second dose of steroids, she had already made huge improvements. It was a scary time, though.

So even though the day is almost over...

HAPPY HEART DAY, GABI!!

My Funny Hubby

2009-02-01T22:59:00.002-05:00

This is my crazy husband who changed his Louisville Cardinals shirt and hat into an Arizona Cardinals shirt and hat just so that he could heckle his friend who is a Steelers fan! And yes he did it with crayon, paper and duct tape!! Could you imagine the look on their face when he came in wearing this??

I Am Back Once Again!

2009-02-01T16:41:00.000-05:00

Actually, our electric has been back since Friday night. I was a little apprehensive about posting it again only to retract it once again. It totally stinks not having electric. I do have to say that at least we didn't lose any groceries like we did back in September during the wind storm. We put all of our groceries on our back porch in the snow. I loved referring to my back porch as our walk in refrigerator (well probably closer to a freezer). Many people in the area are still without power and the news reports more and more deaths everyday related to the snow/ice storm with hypothermia and carbon monoxide poisoning being the most common causes. I got a question for anyone reading this... I just may be saving a life by asking this... Is there anyone here that doesn't realize that having your generator running in your garage or house will thus cause everyone in the house to die from carbon monoxide poisoning? Or what about using your charcoal grill indoors for heat? While I do sympathize with those that were too cold to think clearly, people need to read warning labels on this stuff!

And my giveaway for the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace Revisited book ended Friday night, and the winner is:

commenter #51 Ebie

Congratulations Ebie and I am excited for you that you are about to enter a journey to financial peace!

For anyone who didn't win and would like some of that financial peace, you can visit Dave Ramsey's website to learn more, purchase one of his books on your own (they are pretty affordable), or even better check it out at your local library to read it for free. I would personally recommend attending an FPU class... click here to find one close to you.

UNBELIEVABLE!!!!

2009-01-30T16:53:00.001-05:00

Here we are less than 24 hours later and the power is out AGAIN! This is taking a toll on all of us... Jeremy went straight to bed, and Gabi started following me around like a lost puppy! This is depressing! The electric company is estimating Saturday night at 11pm before it is fixed again. I am headed to work (with a wet head... my mom will love that) in just about an hour. I worry how Gabi is gonna handle this come dark and Mommy isn't here.

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Pictures From The Snow/Ice Storm

2009-01-30T09:55:00.002-05:00

I can't take credit for all of these pictures since my camera battery died, but I did take some.

If your unable to see the pictures click here to go to the album.

Let There Be LIGHT and HEAT!

2009-01-29T19:17:00.004-05:00

Our electric has been restored after 2 days! Thank you, Lord! And not 1/2 hour later my friend Lana calls me to say she was at Sam's Club and they just got a shipment of generators! Figures, huh? But I would rather have the power back than have a generator!

You know, I told you earlier today about the tease of power we got late last night, but the kids were sleeping. It wasn't that big of a deal. However this evening our power came on, and Gabi got so excited. You would have thought that she hadn't had it in a year! She ran through the house flipping on all of the lights and asking for her TV on her room. I turned on her TV, and then put on SpongeBob in the living room for Preston. Gabi immediately joined us deciding that SpongeBob was even better. No sooner did the theme song finish and our power went back out! Gabi was devastated! She cried so hard that you would of thought her dog died (if we had one)! I had to hug and console her. I finally got her calmed down and focused on playing Legos with mommy again when the power came on again. This time Gabi AND Preston's faces both lit up! I did my best to try to keep them from getting their hopes up. After all, I just didn't think she could handle the disappointment again just minutes later! I eventually did turn SpongeBob on again hoping it was for real this time, and it was!

Now, we aren't completely out of the woods! The electric companies have forewarned us that as the ice melts off of the trees, the trees that became so heavy knocking down the lines will once again become lighter and could knock out the lines as they become erect (Gosh I wish I could think of another word for this... after all I am a G rated blog... Okay maybe a PG blog after this post) again.

It's Still Cold and Dark

2009-01-29T05:39:00.000-05:00

Just a quick update. We still don't have power. We called around first thing this morning and every place was sold out of generators and kerosine heaters. We contimplated driving down to my aunts cabin in Tennessee to stay for a few days, but decided against it when a friend lent us his kerosine heater. He already had a generator as well. It's still cold but tolerable. We put all of our groceries on our back porch to keep from spoiling. Why does this always happen the day after we spend $300 at the grocery store? Somehow OUR power came on last night for about 10 minutes. We were the only house in the neighborhood with lights, but before the house even had time to warm up... it was off again. What a tease!

I am hoping my next update is to tell you we have power again. I hope everyone else is staying warm. Keep praying because I am sure there are other families out there with no heat until the electric is back on. I heard 80,000 in S. Indiana and about the same amount in Louisville.

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THIS STINKS!

2009-01-28T08:41:00.001-05:00

We had an ice storm here last night, and our electric turned off at 3 am. Our only heat source is electric. It's currently 60 degrees in our home. We may have to head to a hotel, but it sounds like a lot of people are without power. Pray that they can get our electricity fixed soon!

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Sent from AT&T's Wireless network using Mobile Email

GIVEAWAY!

2009-01-25T17:00:00.002-05:00

Melanie is hosting the Bloggy Giveaways carnival again. It's that time when we give away some free goodies. It is suggested that we make it reflective of ourselves. So, I chose something this time around that does just that.

I am doing things a little different this time. I know this will probably decrease the amount of commenters, but I truly want this to go to someone who WANTS this and NEEDS this! For this carnival, I am giving away something that will change your life and the lives of your children. If you are ready to "live like no one else, so LATER you can live like no one else," are "gazelle intense" and are ready to "change your family tree," then this is the giveaway for you.

I am giving away to one person who is desperately wanting to get out of debt and stay that way... Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace Revisted.

If you are looking for a get rich quick scheme, this is NOT it. This is real life ways to get out of debt and stay that way. Dave makes the process simple by breaking the process down into baby steps. Don't worry this book won't bore you to tears either. It is quite entertaining as Dave uses humor and real life to comically teach you life's money lessons. He also applies it to biblical principals. If I can read this, then so can you! Heck, if I can DO this, then so can you! Our family is currently on Baby Step #2! Paying your bills becomes much more fun when you gain control of them instead of your bills having control over you.

So if your ready to make changes in your financial future then go ahead and enter. Here are my rules:

1- Don't forget to tell me why you need this or why you want to win it for someone else who you care about their financial future.
2- This giveaway ends Friday, January 30th, 2009 at midnight EST.
3- Domestic AND International entries accepted (although the investing principles may be different in areas outside the US)!
4- Bloggers AND non-bloggers accepted!
5- Each entry must contain an email address or link back to your profile containing your email address.
6- The winner will be chosen using Random.org and posted here no later than Monday, February 2nd, 2009.
7- There is no cost to anyone who enters. I pay for the book and the shipping!

Visit Bloggy Giveaways to enter the tons of other giveaways being offered this week.

I can't wait for the day my husband and I can call Dave live on the air and scream...

"I'm Debt Freeeeeeee!"

Call Me Starstruck!

2009-01-22T10:19:00.001-05:00

Some of you may remember last year when I was emailed by Jim Engelhardt, who is the writer of the children's TV series Mr. Moon's Magic Circus. I loved how he shared his memories with me of that time. I never mentioned it, but he actually emailed me a second time after that sharing more memories. I had since bought a DVD of Mr. Moon's Magic Circus for my kids to watch it, and they loved it, too.

Well just yesterday, guess who also visited my original post that started it all and left a comment?? John Sarantos (aka Mr. Moon) himself! Here is the comment he left:

click to enlarge

Now, my husband who is usually the gullible one and me being the skeptic, asked "Well, how do you know it was really him?" Well I guess I don't, but I believe it was. After all, not many people would come across that post unless they were specifically searching for "Mr. Moon's Magic Circus" and really what would anyone else get out of it? I believe it to be authentic and am now officially STARSTRUCK times two!!!

Incentives and Inspirations

2009-01-20T20:02:00.001-05:00

If your anything like me, then you need incentives or inspirations to help you lose weight. You know things like a special splurge at the end of the week for staying on track, a reward outfit for dropping a dress size, or a movie night for making it the gym every night of the week. Those are all great things, but what about an incentive or inspiration to get you going? I found a few things that really offer me encouragement to start peeling away the pounds. I'll share them with you.

#1 is...

Nintendo's Wii Fit

Not only is it great exercise, but it's fun to do which is a great incentive to get moving. Although I do have to forewarn those of bigger proportions like me... it does make a little fun of you, too. Those of you who already have it, know that your Mii character goes from skinny to overweight or God forbid obese when you weigh in and it plays this even more embarrassing blob-like tune as your Mii character turns gargantuan! We of course laughed like crazy, but I am sure it was because I was in the presence of others who were also in need of some weight loss. Had I been with a bunch of skinny Minnnies, I would have been scarred for life!

#2 is...

The Biggest Loser which is on Tuesdays at
8 pm EST/ 7 pm Central on NBC here in the U.S.

Make sure you check out Jerry and Dan. These are 2 people that should inspire anybody. 19 year old Dan (whose starting weight was 454 pounds) came in as the heaviest contestant in Biggest Loser history and doesn't whine about the exercises. He has great determination. Then there is Jerry who is the oldest contestant in Biggest Loser history. Although he is already off of the show, he had great determination to persevere even after losing consciousness and ending up hospitalized on day 1 on the ranch.

And let's not forget the added incentive of feeding the hungry with the Pound For Pound Challenge from Biggest Loser. For every pound you lose, Feeding America will provide 1 pound of groceries to a local food bank. So you get thinner while feeding the hungry!

#3 is...

Weightview.com

This site is great with it's near instant gratification in your weight loss. You've heard of people posting their horrific before picture on their refrigerator for an incentive to choose your meal or snack wisely, right? Well this site allows you to not only post that picture, but also allows you to post one of what you could look like from anywhere from 5-50 pounds lighter. I did mine of course, and let me tell you it takes extreme bravery on my part to post this horrible shot here in front of all of cyberspace to see! I had my hubby takes this AWFUL picture of me prior to going to work last week...

BEFORE

AFTER (50 pounds lighter)

and last but not least is #4...

Contests and Prizes!!!

Amy is running a weight loss contest on her blog, and we are only 1 week into the competition. So there is still time to join and she has prizes for the winner!

Doctors Appointments

2009-01-19T21:25:00.000-05:00

I took the kids for the yearly pediatrician appointment. No one needed any shots, but Gabi and Preston both got a CBC done. Gabi's came out fine (no Leukemia which is what we were screening for since it is more common with Down syndrome.) Preston's was okay too, but his hemoglobin was a little low. The pediatrician wants him to start taking a multivitamin with iron. I explained that his hemoglobin is probably low because he refuses to eat any red meat. The doctor agreed and said that he expects it will probably get even lower then unless Preston starts taking iron. So we bought him Centrum Kids Complete in hopes that he actually eats them. He did. So we are happy about that.

These are their most current stats:

Preston's growth stats:

Height: 36 1/4 in. (84th %tile) [previously 34 1/2 in. (94th %tile) on June 30, 2008]
Weight: 28 lbs. 8 oz. (52nd %tile) [previously 26 lbs. 4 oz. (53rd %tile) on June 30, 2008]
Head Circ: 19 1/4 in. (51st %tile) [previously 18 3/4 in. (43rd %tile on June 30, 2008]

Gabi's growth stats:

HT: 4 ft. 3 in. (23rd %tile on typical chart, and
between 75th and 90th %tile on the DS growth chart)
WT: 72 pounds (68th %tile on typical chart, and
between the 50th and 75th %tile on the DS growth chart)

A Man's Man

2009-01-17T09:00:00.002-05:00

My husband is a real man's man. He is very masculine in nature and lives and breathes sports. He likes his boys that way, too. God knew what He was doing when He made all of Ryan's offspring male. Gabi he gained through our marriage. Well, I am a mom who believes that it is also good for boys to be nurturing as well. Jeremy had a Cabbage Patch doll when he was a toddler, and my husband cringes when tell him about it. Preston was so excited this past Christmas when Gabi received some new baby dolls. He just loves to hold them and love on them. It drives Ryan crazy. I keep telling him, "It teaches him to be nurturing... unlike you!" He usually responds by rolling his eyes at me or giving me a glare.

Well, Thursday I brought Preston home a Happy Meal from McDonald's since I was out and about with Gabi all day. As soon as I opened it up, I realized that Preston's toy was a little, pretty, very feminine, FiFi looking poodle complete with a pink collar. My husband was right there. I laughed and said teasingly, "Awww Preston has a little FiFi!" I figured it probably wasn't going to be any big deal anyhow and I guess Ryan was thinking the same thing since Gabi usually takes over all of those toys anyhow. But the very next day, Preston was walking around in the living room, cuddling the little dog and brought it to me saying, "Awwww FiFi!" And all I could think was, "My husband's gonna kill me!"

And I had to laugh at the Urban Dictionary's definition of man's man because it fits my meaning perfectly of Ryan:

1) A successful man that totally rejects the femininization of today's metrosexual male.

2) A man that is macho by default.
A man's man eats meat(and plenty of it), he doesn't get manicures, he shaves when he feels like it, he drinks beer not wine, he absolutely does not know French, he plays dodgeball, he works hard, he is admired for his manliness by other manly men, and most of all, he's very heterosexual.

NOTE: A Man's man is highly sought after by women who want to feminize him through marriage usually with negative results.

Sometimes It Pays Off To Be Patient And Not Jump The Gun

2009-01-16T10:08:00.002-05:00

Well, I was successful about getting Dr. Bizer's to replace Gabi's lenses with the new prescription without having to use our insurance and without having to argue about it. When I went in, I told the lady that helped us that I had 2 problems with the glasses... #1 The right lens falls out all of the time and #2 her ophthalmologist tested them and said the angle for the astigmatism was reversed. She also tested the glasses, and said "It looks like the lenses were reversed. So the left is on the the right and the right is on the left, and that would be why the lens falls out all of the time." Then she looks down at her lenses and tells me, "Her lenses have got quite a few scratches!" I wanted to say, "Really? You think? You don't suppose the lens falling out all of the time and hitting the floor might cause that?" But I held my composure and it was a good thing because she continued with, "We can replace the lenses for you this one time." That is when I reached into my purse and pulled out the new prescription and said, "And since you are going to do that, you might as well change it to her new prescription that she just got today!" We had them done in 2 hours!

It's Been One of THOSE Days!

2009-01-15T14:07:00.002-05:00

I thought today would be a great day. After all, I got to sleep in since Gabi had a doctor's appointment scheduled for 10:30. I do have to be thankful for not having to get her off on the bus in 5 degree F temps with -11 degree F windchills. So the weather isn't the greatest. I can live with that. We have heat in our home and our cars.

We get to the ophthalmologist's office and see the doctor. Gabi cooperated pretty well... not perfectly but good enough. She was a little thrown for a loop when she heard Gabi went through 10 pairs of glasses this past year. Gabi needs a new prescription for her glasses which I expected. Last year, she told me she made them slightly weak so that Gabi could get adjusted to them first. No big deal. The problem was when she tested Gabi's glasses, she said that they were made wrong. What??? Does anybody remember the glasses fit where that was exactly what I feared last May? Then the next day, I had the prescription verified by her ophthalmologist and my fears were laid to rest! The prescription wasn't written wrong, but the glasses were made wrong! Well at least this pair was. We have been through 10 pairs! So hopefully, it was only this pair that was made wrong. Her doctor said they reversed the angle for the astigmatism.

I leave there headed for Dr. Bizer's in Louisville (They didn't make the pair in question, but our eye insurance only works in Kentucky). I give my insurance information and the prescription at the front desk, and the sales lady begins helping us to pick out a pair of glasses. She of course directs us to the most expensive in the store (over $100), but who cares? We have insurance to cover the 1st pair, and the second pair is free up to $69.95. I will pay a little for the difference, but it's not too bad! We picked out some really cute, purple and white hip looking glasses with flowers on the arms, and the second pair was hot pink. Both were plastic frames and totally different than any she has had so far. Gabi loved them, and so did I. Great let's get them, but before we could order the woman at the front desk points out something to the sales lady about our insurance. "Oh I am sorry, but your insurance only covers one frame every 2 years." Oh you have got to be kidding me? I have paid enough for my vision insurance to pay for a frame and lens replacement EVERY year! I almost didn't even opt for the insurance this year since Gabi uses our medical insurance for her vision testing. The only reason I kept it was for her to get another pair of glasses, and because Christopher is also supposed to wear glasses (even though he hasn't been).

I told the sales lady never mind, we aren't getting any of them. She said, "Your insurance will pay for free lenses." I responded, "Oh I AM getting the lenses replaced for free anyhow at the other Dr. Bizer's who made them wrong last time!" I am so glad that Gabi is easy to please in this respect. Had she been persistent about having those frames, it may have been harder to say no... although I am sure they were counting on just that.

By the time we finished all of that, it was just too late to bring Gabi to school. There was only about an hour left in the school day. Gabi was extremely cranky and whiny when we got home, and we still have to head out to the other Dr. Bizer's to have them replace the lenses this afternoon. Please Lord, let this go smoothly!

Do You Want To Be A Loser?

2009-01-13T21:59:00.001-05:00

I am not sure if I've shared here my love for The Biggest Loser. I am a HUGE fan of the show (no pun intended)! However, Amy over at The 4th Frog Blog just may be the ultimate Biggest Loser fan! She blogs about every episode (very candidly and comically) and occasionally blogs about it throughout the episode, and she has developed a following of other Biggest Loser fans! I sometimes wonder if she is my long lost sister. I swear we think so much alike, and I have just about gotten over the fact the she watched Oprah and blogged about it! So it only seems natural for her to run a Biggest Loser contest and I told her I would promote it here on my end (I mean my blog) as well! The winner will not only receive total bragging rights and a congratulatory post on Amy's blog and mine, but Amy is also giving away prizes!

Head over to her post to read all of the details of how to sign up! This is gonna be a lot of fun, and even if you aren't The Biggest Loser, you'll still be a loser!