What are we up to???

I was lucky enough to enjoy a day at a Down Syndrome Conference this weekend.

The Wonder Years Conference

put on by Ups and Downs

There were many great speakers and I learned so much. One of the best things I learned was that Calgary has more resources for a child with Down Syndrome than anywhere else in Canada. Hallelujah for living in Calgary! A friend of mine summed up the conference on her blog if your interested. You can fine that HERE.

In other great news! We were the proud recipients this week of the T21 Traveling Afghan. It is an Afghan that has been traveling the world, visiting families who have a child with Down Syndrome. We get it for a week and than we send it off to the next family. Along with pictures and a journal entry of our time with it! How cool is that? To have an amazing connection with people all over the globe because of one thing... AN AMAZING EXTRA CHROMOSOME!!!

Pictures to come!

Pizza Friday

Macy joins us for Pizza friday and has her first experience with Pizza!! I started out quite a bit bigger, but she gummed it down to a soggy little piece. She also loved when I dipped it in extra sauce and gave her that!

A year ago or so, someone asked how I would feel if the Savior came to my home.

How would you feel? I am sure many would feel nervous.

I won't lie about having a few nerves, but I would greatly welcome the occasion!

To have my home filled with His presence and to have his footprint left there. To get a little time to find out how I'm doing at this HUGE job He has given me. Maybe He could throw in some pointers ;) and maybe, just maybe he would let my little ones sit upon His knee!

So that leads me into this little story(at bottom). I have loved it since I was a little child. It is by far my favorite story at Christmas time. You will not be disappointed :)

So with that said, what I am most Thankful for is a season to spend celebrating my loving Savior with my very special family! The two most important things to me!

and maybe this season will linger into the new year and leave footprints of the Saviour in our home!

Uhh, rewind please!

You remember that WONDERFUL day I blogged about yesterday???

Well it was shot down! I'm gonna spare you the details. But suffice it to say, it has thrown my world into a bit of an uproar! One of those "my mothering skills suck" kind of things.

But, I've had roughly 24 hours to mull it over, talk to some people, get some great advice, and kick the devil and his evil whisperings out of my ear. So now I can think a bit more clearly. I've opened the door to heaven (and keeping it open) and I am ready to be filled with motherly knowledge! ;)

So, today I wanted to present another Awesome thing... because everyone needs a little awesome from time to time. This is the Awesome that got me through my evening last night, after the kids were in bed of course!

#574 Nudging the shower faucet a little bit hotter then a little bit hotter
If your body starts getting used to that hot water it’s time to crank up the heat to keep the steam coming. Or if you’re in a race against the tank just turn that dial without mercy and get ready to lean back, relax, and sweat it all out.
AWESOME!

A wonderful day!

Today is a fabulous day for Macy and Me!!

Macy was born with problems with her colon (Hirschsprungs disease)and had 1/3 of her large intestine removed at 3 weeks old. They were able to successfully attach the rest of the colon to her bum hole. Therefor she is able to poop normally. Yeah for that!

The down side.

Since that surgery (for 8 1/2 months now) I have had to dilate her bum hole once a day. This is to prevent the scar tissue from closing up her bum hole. I was going to post a picture of a dilator... but I didn't want to scare anyone. It's a metal probe that I have to put 2 inches up her bum everyday (just a quick in and out). Every few months the surgeon increases the diameter to further stretch the scar tissue. Obviously Macy hates it... wouldn't you! and I hate doing it to her.

Well, we had an appt with her surgeon today, we thought we were going to increase size again, but he said... She no longer needs the dilator!!! YES YES YES!!

Give me a minute to do my little happy dance!!!!

My Angels!

Last month when we headed down to Utah, I had a friend of mine take some pictures of my three angels (then she threw me into a few... YIKES!). I've known (and admired) shannon since we were wee kids dancing at the same studio... I secretly wanted to be her and if not, at least to be in her circle of friends! Yes, I finally made it! ;) Thanks for the great pictures shannon! Her blog is HERE!

Giving me a heart attack!

Is she trying to KILL me?
All for a little candy...

You all know what I'll be buying today... a child proof door knob thingy!

Start this season off right!

This is what it's all about!!

In all honesty...

I really do want to say something witty. I'd love to help you start your week off with a good laugh. Hey, I'd even love to inspire you today. But you know what?

I'm just not feeling it! Everyone is entitled to their moments, right!?

I was feeling it at one point this morning. That was around 7 am as I stepped up to the admitting desk at the Children's Hospital to check Macy in for her surgery (ear tubes). *note- this is the third time it has been scheduled.

Well, my bubble was burst when I was told that Macy's surgery was being postponed. This was after dealing with a hungry baby all night who could not be fed (because of the upcoming surgery), getting up at the crack of - well, no it was way earlier than dawn! And after changing her into her surgery clothes and even after they gave her a dose of medication to prep her.

Macy showed up with a bit of a cough, I can understand a little concern. But let me remind you we live in Alberta where is is extremely dry. She wakes every morning with nasal congestion. But this being an early morning, I didn't get the chance to syringe her nose. Well 2 nurses listen to her chest and said she was clear and it would be fine. Then a resident comes in and listens to her and says (in broken English) "oh, very noisy chest, we cannot do the surgery today." (The thing that makes me the most mad is that the surgeon did not come assess her and neither did the anesthesiologist.) So upset and near tears I leave and take Macy to the doctor.

Well, the doctor was shocked that they didn't do her procedure. She said Macy had a mild cold, but her chest was clear and she was in no respiratory distress. This surgery is an easy 5 min procedure.

Why am I mad?

- She will probably have to wait till January now when she should have had them done in September.
- I feel that I am at the hospital often enough and don't like going there for nothing!
- and a few other reasons that I will kindly keep to myself :)

K, I'm climbing off my soap box now!

Parenting and a recipe!

I'll share a funny conversation I had with My sister-in-law at a family party a while back.

Her little girl was playing roughly with a doll. Spanking it and saying angrily, "Go to bed baby, right now!" (so normal!) But in the moment I said, "Sheri, what kinds of things are you teaching your kids? All Kyla does with her dolls is hug them, kiss them and say... I love you baby!" In the moment it was quite funny and we laughed about it for a while! **Note- My sister-in-law does not spanke her kids and she is a very good mother!

Well, today I was playing with a new toy with Kyla and every time she got it right, I would say. "Yeah, good job Kyla! You did it!"

I left her and Macy there to play and after a minute I heard her saying to Macy, "Good job Macy, you did it! That's a good job, baby!" She said it in a very "oochie goochie goo" kind of way!

So there you go... They do what they see! :) They are like little sponges.

So glad Macy had some fun times with her sister Kyla today, because the rest of this evening has been spent like this.

Macy is teething and fevering and teething some more. Her gums are so soft right now. Hopefully the rest of the night will go well. I had barry pick up a truckload of Tylenol, Homeopathic teething medicine, Baby orajel, and Gripe water... Something has got to do the trick! Bless her little sweet self!

K, so... Who likes Steel cut oats? Raise your hand! ME!!!

Who hates waiting 30 min in the morning to cook them??? ME!!!

Who hates when they boil over or don't turn out right?? ME!!!

Here is the solution!

Before bedtime, place an oven safe bowl in your crockpot. Then place 1 cup steel cut oats in the bowl and 4 cups water (pinch salt). Then pour water into the crockpot on the outside of the bowl up to an inch from the top of the oven safe bowl. Put the crock pot lid on and cook on LOW. Go to bed and wake up to perfectly cooked Steel Cut Oats! I like mine with slivered almonds, dried fruit and honey! Mmm.

A whirlwind day!

It started with a 7am brief phone call from my mom. Their bobbing smelly and boring home (The Carnival Splendor) had finally reached San Diego! Of course anticipating more phone calls and eager to know what was going on, I jumped right onto the computer and turned on CNN.

Well, a quick comment on twitter about my family on the ship and me stuck in Canada opened Pandora's box! I was contacted by someone from Canada Press. She asked if she could call and ask me a few questions. She must have leaked that number because for the rest of the day I answered call after call from different media sources.

It's kinda fun to feel important for one day! I will admit :)

-Global TV came to my home last night for an interview.
-CTV sent a car to my home at 3:45 this morning to take into the studio for an interview (with my sister on the line from California).
-CBC radio had my mom and myself on their morning program today.
-660 News did a phone interview yesterday, then posted this article. http://www.660news.com/news/national/article/127769--nearly-200-canadians-stranded-on-cruise-ship-4-days-after-fire-knocked-out-power
-and my initial interview with Canadian Press is being aired on different radio stations.

Exciting! Oh and CTV promised me a free Canada AM Mug! Wow, hey... lucky me!

But I can honestly say I am ready to get out of the house, away from the computer phone and TV and feel normal again!

But it was fun while it lasted :)

Awesome!!!

Found a great book! 1000 Awesome things. Every Monday (Tuesday this week) I will try and put one of them that I like on my blog. Here goes!

#538 Laughing so hard you start crying

It’s a beautiful moment.

Your friend suddenly squeezes her eyes shut and starts shaking her head while laughing so hard little streams of salty tears start running down her cheeks. She covers her mouth with her hands as her wide-eyed face turns red — and you can see shiny reflections sparkle in her glittery wet eyes. Big booms bounce off walls until she eventually slows down, gasps for air, and open her eyes wide while wet sniffling, smiling widely, and regaining her composure.
And then she looks you right in the eyes and smiles. And you look her right in the eyes and smile. And it starts all over again.
AWESOME!

A time and a place!

I love reminders that there is a time and a place for everything. I may not have the time right now to have the perfect home or the perfect body. I may not be doing everything that I know I should. I love what kelle hampton once said about trying to juggle everything. She talked about sometimes letting one ball drop so you can catch the other one.



Being a mom and wife is a fine balancing act. Some days my kids take all my attention, some days my husband needs more of it and than there are days here and there where I get time to breath deeply and smell the roses. It's often on those days that I am reminded that it is okay to "drop a ball here and there." That's the stuff "good moms" are made of!

Architect?

Remember when we were kids and we didn't have nintendo and computer games?

We had to make mud pies or play cops and robbers.

And our favorite toys were blocks, bikes and marbles!

Well, what do you know... those basic toys are still a hit with my kids!

We are alive!!!

Yes, we did get back from our trip safely. But as soon as we get home, we are quickly swept up in our whirlwhind of life!

Been thinking lately. Thinking about the Jones's (you know that perfect family!), been thinking about the Hamptons (you know... that perfect DS family!) and I have discovered something. It has taken me until Macy's 9 month birthday to figure it out. I'm a little slow :)

I have decided that I just can't keep up with those two "perfect" families, and I am not going to pretend anymore! It all hit me one afternoon this week. Macy was needing some extra love. So, I dropped the laundry basket, put the dish towel down, and walked away from the mess. I climbed between the soft cool sheets and snuggled her. I got to thinking while lying there... it's not about being perfect. It's not about looking perfect in others eyes. It's about LOVE and it's about FAMILY!

I'm just going to love them and enjoy them at whatever stage they are in - that includes my husband!

Time spent "trying" to be someone I am not... is time spent away and therefore time lost. That is time I will NEVER get back!

You learn a lot when you just sit and enjoy them, watch them, listen to them.

And on that note... have you ever seen anything cuter?

Kyla and her cousin Taryn held hands all night! I think they were scared of all the monsters.

This scary dude sure has a soft side!

This has got to be the cutsest ladybug on the planet!