Rockin' Out

Here are my kids doing their thing, just being regular kids.

I just love to see them have fun together as siblings.

If you know FXS kids you'll see some FX things otherwise, you'll just see them being like any other kids their age.

Just watch:

Toy Baby

My mom found this awesome double stroller at a yard sale. It is for the grandkids to take their toy babies around in... Jman and LittleB thought it was funner to take the real thing who was holding a toy baby.

(smile)

My children so incredibly blessed to have cousins who live close. Not just because they are cousins but, because they are their friends too. Jman, MrT and LittleB all love my kids. It is so nice to know they will always have friends even when they may not have them at school. I know that my nephews and nieces will all be better for knowing Brother, Sister and Baby but, it is even more satisfying to know that my kids will have a better quality life because of their friendship with their cousins.

I am so thankful to my brothers and sisters and how much they love my kids. It is great to have family. I am so blessed.

Last night for family home evening we talked about what we will be doing as a family this weekend. Once we got Sister to stop screaming about having to turn off Scooby Doo for 10 minutes, we were able to watch this and sing some songs while Baby danced and giggled.

And this little piggy went...

I had Baby dressed up so cute for church on Sunday. I had her in a darling red, white and black dress and white tights with silver and black shoes. Adorable.

When we got home I was changing her into some play clothes. When I took off her shoes there was a sweet little mark on the bottom of her foot.

Apparently her shoes have a bit of a staining issue...

My first thought was, "Oh man."

My second thought was, "Oh, look at that cute, perfect, little footprint."

My third thought was, "Wait. There are only 4 toe prints."

Here, look closer:

Then I just started to laugh.

It's  hereditary toe-thing.

Here, I'll show you:

That little piggy goes...

up.

Code Pink!

So we went together today to go see our new little cousin/niece. Oh my word is she cute! Check out her chin and that dimple.

We didn't want to overstay our welcome so we didn't stay too long. Brother and Sister were out of the room before me, which is typical, but when I got out the door I only saw Brother... no Sister.

Don't panic.

She actually disappears often... usually for only 30 seconds to 60 seconds and then we find her.

Well, we looked.

And looked.

And then we asked the nurses on the labor and delivery floor if they had seen a cute little 5 year-old girl wearing pink...

They hadn't seen her either.

I went to the elevator and checked the lobby and then outside near the car.

Nope.

Now I am panicking!

I go back up to the labor and delivery floor and tell the nurses that I can't find her still. I give them a description and the call out a code pink over the speakers throughout the entire hospital and then lock down the doors so no one can leave or come in.

I am actually freaking out at this point but I have to look calm because Brother is starting to panic.

Then after what seemed like an hour (probably 5 minutes) a nurse announced that she had found Sister behind a cart hiding in a corner just a hallway away from where I was.

Three of the nurses began to cry.

My tears began to fall.

Brother began to wimper.

Baby started laughing...

ya, laughing. She was just so excited to see her sister.

This all happened about 2 hours ago and I am still shaking.

Thank goodness it was all preceded by a sweet visit with another pink sweetie. (smile)

3's a crowd

Baby, Sister and their cousin, LittleB all wanted to swing in the hammock. Ya, that's Sister's head down there—she chose the bottom.

Don't you just love my sock.............................................................................. right there........^

Two Too Big

I just have to post these two pictures that my mom has sent me over that last few days...
(The pictures aren't the best because they came from my mom's phone, but, this is a real life blog so you get it as it comes... unedited and all... most of the time)

#1 Too Big
Background: My mom grew up on a large farm. The land has been cleared off because it was "sold." (I say "sold" in quotes because it really is a long story... it felt more like "stolen") She was walking around the land reminiscing and saw this...

Now you have to understand that this land was covered in junk collectibles and tires were one of the collectible items. I guess this one sat in one place a little too long and the tree got too big for the tire.


#2 Too Big
Background: My sister has been put on bed rest for preeclampsia (she's due in two weeks) so my mom has been going over the last couple days just to keep her company (I know my mom rocks!) Anyway, we always tease Kirsten because she is so little but, her comfy chair put it all in perspective...   or is the chair just too BIG?!

Who has a shirt that matches their favorite chair?

A Grand Story

I'm not quite sure why, but it melts my heart every time my dad reads to my kids.

But trust me, every story with Grandpa is a Grand Story indeed.

Little Memories

I am amazed at how fast you can watch your child go from this:

to this:

I was just talking to my sister, Kirsten, tonight. Her baby is due in only 2.5 weeks. She could have it any day now...

Oh, and my brother, Aaron's baby was blessed...

Aren't they cute.

It has been fun to see this little girl every so often and get to know her little personality. I love holding  her and making her smile. She is so amazing for me to watch too... she is so on top of her development. I'm insane about watching development... I guess it is just one of my habits.

It's so crazy to think that I am just going to be enjoying everyone else's babies from here on out.

By the end of this year my parents will have added 3 more grandkids to their list.

Aaron's (December '10), Kirsten's (soon '11) and Daniel's (September '11)!

The Photo Booth Truth

I just love Photo Booth on my MAC.
(Things to notice as you look at the pictures: Baby's face, Brother snuggling up to Marc, Brother dancing with his megaphone in the background, and Sister's smiles)

Truth is:
It easily entertains all of us.

It was a good way to get the kids all in the same room for family home evening tonight.

Our lesson was short and sweet.

Our songs were even sweeter. Baby was really bouncing to this one. We sang it twice because it made her so happy.

I am not saying that the whole evening (the 15 minutes total that it lasted from start to finish—including the time it took to get Sister to come down twice and for Brother to sit right side up instead of upside down) was perfect.

It wasn't.

But, truthfully, chaos and all, I felt good knowing we keep trying.

And practice makes perfect...

right?

(smile)

Cover Girl (+family)

My family is on the front cover of the National Fragile X Foundation Quarterly!!

They contacted me about this a little bit ago and I felt so privileged.

This gives me bragging rights doesn't it?

Yay!

If you want to receive this quarterly and  you want to help support the NFXF you can go here.

The picture was taken by Gallery Image Photography!

From Blue to a Hundred

I love to read the NieNie Dialogues (who doesn't really).

She posted a video by Mindy Gledhill—her newest song.




After yesterday this song really hit me.

I felt that it explains my journey.

I think many of you will also relate.

I love music.

Music is pretty much my whole life.

That, and art.

So why wouldn't I love a cool song with a crazy video to go along with it.

We all have a journey. (Watch this video to understand where I am coming from when I say "journey.")

It is up to us to take on the journey with gusto.

Right?

I will make my journey one day at a time.

One social story at a time.

One IEP meeting at a time.

One OT appointment at a time.

And in between...
I will eat lemon bars.

(smile)

Blue on a Green Day

(I promise, this whole blog post is not all sad. It will be worth the read. You'll learn something, I am sure)
I try hard not to be blue.

Really, I do.

Especially publicly.

But, I just have to be real.

Blue has been knocking on my door for a few months now and I am afraid if I do not keep trying to avoid it, its friend, Depression, will soon follow.

I have to keep my head up for my kids.

I have too much to do for them to actually fall apart.

But, that doesn't mean that I am not fighting the urge to crawl into my bed and sleep the day away because I don't want to face my challenges.

I have heard so many other moms who are carriers of Fragile X Syndrome talk about their depression issues or having the blues. I do find it to be true that it really is something we have to stare straight in the face and realize this is a symptom that comes with being a FXS Carrier.

I have tried to realize, though, that this does not define me.

Just like I tell Brother that FXS does not define him.

Brother gets so excited when he hears me talk about someone else who has FXS or if I am talking about a conversation I have had with a mom who thinks her child may have FXS. Just as I seem to get excited when I meet another mom of FXS knowing that she understands what I am going through.

Then I talk to other moms and realize that they, too, know what I am going through on the other side of things.

My biggest obstacle lately has been our issues with Sister... she jumps, grunts and throws her "bracelet" all the time. Rarely is she not doing this. It starts to wear on you as a parent. I don't know how to explain it. It just does.

And all of this doesn't just affect the mom of this house, it affects that dad too. I see it wear on Marc. We are both worn out and overwhelmed. I guess that is why we sold our goat and our chickens. That was a hard decision for all of us. The kids were very sad to see their pets go but, Marc and I really need more time to focus solely on our kids and the animals were taking up a lot of that time. Anyway...

I remembered to pray in the morning when I woke up before I went on with the rest of my day because I was working hard to fight off the blues. I was inspired to keep myself busy.

I made some hair things with one of Sister's jean skirts that was too short, broken jewelery, a spandex book cover, and some flannel pajamas (I didn't put them all together,  mind you, but individually).

This head band is made from the jean skirt. It was a 2 tiered ruffled skirt with buttons so I cut 2 sections of the gather and then put the together in opposite fashion and lined the buttons down the center. I super glued all this together and glued it to an old headband I don't use anymore.

I know this is a funny look, but she was tired and really didn't want her picture taken (really I think it is a cute look in a funny way). Anyway this one is made with felt, some beads from a broken necklace and a broken earring.

I made this one to match Baby's cute little shoes. This one was made from the book cover and a broken earring.

Left: more of the jean skirt.
Right: the flannel pajamas and a bead from a broken necklace.

This pin is made from the belt loops of the jean skirt.

Fun stuff, huh! and so frugal! (smile)

And then I created a social story for Sister that I will share with you, to give you an idea of what a social story can be.

The key to a social story is simple and at a level your child will understand, the words and the images.  Actual photos are also a great idea.

I just did simple illustrations because she likes to look at books and I thought this would be fun. I hope it works.

So there it is. I hope it works.

Now looking at all these things I did accomplish yesterday along with working on OT tasks with Baby I can feel good and move past the yucky stuff.

Besides, today is St. Patrick's Day. All the more reason to be happy. I get to wear green and pinch people who aren't wearing green. What more could I ask for?!

my tight pink pants

went through a lot with me today

I wore them while I laid on top of Brother's legs to keep him in the seat during his two fillings at the dentist today... he was even mildly sedated... he was snoring... and then he heard the dentist come in... it was all down hill from there.

We were laughing while he was crying only because I kept telling them how funny it must look to passersby: a lady in tight pink pants laying on top of a string bean kid and still getting thrown around.
I try to keep things light if at all possible so I don't break down and cry.

Or I threw in the line, "Sometimes I wear tight [pink] stretchy pants in my room just for fun."
Click here to see where that line comes from.

We both survived.

Brother is not flattened.

I am not bruised.

A little traumatized.

We put our chickens, chicken coop and goat up for sale last night.

They sold today.

All of them.

Now we just have a horse.

I completed my tax information.
insert: sigh of relief

I made dinner.

Visited with the neighbors.

Wrestled with Sister and Baby because they absolutely LOVE it.

And I was wearing my tight pink pants all day because they were fun.

And I was too lazy to get ready after this mornings ordeal.
Read above if you have forgotten why I would be tired today.

Maybe I should call these my lucky pants.

A lot of good things happened today.

Oh, and speaking of tight pants, go here to see some other tight stretchy pants and get a good laugh.
Mom this is for you!

Pig tails, Goat kisses and other happy moments

Our goat, Pepsi, lets Baby give her a kiss (cute little pig tails, huh?)

Brother and Sister having fun in the sun on their BIG toy

Does a girl really need anything other than a good book and some chocolate?

She loves her new pajamas!

Mock

Any of you who are around my age and older, male or female, will remember these:

The mock turtleneck or the dickie...

Tee hee!

Yes, I wore them at one time.

But, this guy made famous the silliness of it:

Laugh out loud!

Classic.

Well, I am going to try a product that is something similar but hopefully not dorky.

I found them tonight at Walmart.

(We went on a date... yes, I know... but we did have fun.)

And for $9.88 I decided to give them a try.

Wearing a cami in the winter is totally fine, but in the summer I really don't want to put on the layers. 

So, I thought this, Cami Secret thing would be a nice alternative to keeping my shirts modest.

"Less cleave, more sleeve," is my motto. (smile)

Anyway, I will try them out and let you know what I think.