Fun Friday Find: F is for......

Happy Fall, Faithful Followers!

F is for....

Fall!  I absolutely adore all things Summer.  Heat, clothing, slower pace, no school, vacations, etc etc, and so on.  Many of you know that I have a hard time with change.... daylight savings, new neighbors, new t.v. shows... you name it.   However, when it comes to fashion... I can handle it.  When the cooler temperatures started rolling into our neighborhood a short while ago, I stood at my closet door realizing (as I do with every seasonal change) that I had forgotten how to dress in anything other than sun dresses and tank tops.  After revisiting the cardigan, jeans, boots, and long skirts/dresses department of my life I decided that I would be ok with the weatherman using the words "much cooler" and "55 degrees!"  Winter will be another topic and therapy session entirely.

Just for today, I will enjoy the word Fall and think on these things:

-football
-boots
-hot tea in the afternoon
-jeans
-cardigans
-T.V. shows returning
-pumpkins
and
-Thanksgiving

F is also for....

Friends!  I had dinner last night with some lovely ladies who happen to all have babies and we had a fabulous time.  I got to spend time with some of my favorite people that I do not get to see very often, and I met a new friend.... whom, I am proud to say, also wipes down the tables and high chairs in restaurants; the beginning of a beautiful friendship, I believe.

This was one of those dinners that should have started at 3 in the afternoon.  After 4 hours of talking, laughing, crying due to laughing, we had to call it a night.... only because the hour of 11 p.m. was rapidly approaching and not because we had run out of material.  We were celebrating a dear friend expecting her first baby and we were giving her all the advice we could possibly think of.  All welcomed by the guest of honor... we made sure to ask every 20 minutes, "are we freaking you out?! you're going to be fine!  ok... what's next....."  She seemed to be picking up what we were throwing down, so we continued.

This was not your average "you're having a baby, so we got you a nice stroller!!" type of deal.  There was:
a spreadsheet
printed out questions
note taking
a box filled with invaluable things like battery operated nasal aspirators, hand sanitizer, and a sound machine, among other "I can't live without...." types of things
a few bottles of wine
and
every bit of the table settings from the new Missoni for Target line

It did not take us long to realize how incredibly wise and amazing we all were and that with our brains and experience put together, we should quickly get on the phone about a book deal.  The title is still in the works, but I'm hopeful that we'll be hearing from Missoni about wanting to jump on board after they hear about it.

Lastly, F is for...

Family!  My parents are coming to town this weekend to see us and celebrate Peanut's birthday, and also witness her dedication at our church on Sunday.  (for those who are more familiar with an infant baptism; a baby dedication is mostly for me and my husband as parents.... publicly dedicating ourselves to our child and that we will raise her in a Christian home, with the help of our families, friends, and church family.)

We are all so excited to see our Pop and Susu!  There will be farmers marketing, shopping, golfing, eating, churching, and there will be cake.

Have a great weekend!

Celebration Station

I was sort of absent from blog world last week.  We have had a lot going on surrounding our little house.  I have been doing my celebration preparation routine, and loving every minute of it.  There is a lot to discuss, so I will try to give you the "reader's digest" version.

My husband's brother and his wife came to town for various reasons and stayed with us which was so much fun for all of us, but especially, "sleep-over obsessed" Bug.  When they got to town we celebrated our little Peanut.  Her birthday is actually TODAY, but I'll get further into that later.  We had dinner in our "intimate" (tiny) dining room, and Bug made everyone wear the tiny birthday hats that were part of the table setting.  We sang.  Peanut cried.  Bug blew out the candle.  Peanut shook her head and spit out the yummy birthday cake I had made.  Over all, it was a lovely party.... considering the fact that the guest of honor was strapped to an orange plastic chair and rubbing melon and bananas in her hair.

After dinner we greeted a sitter and left for an adults only celebration downtown; to see Robert Earl Keen play some good 'ol country music.  A bunch of our friends were also there celebrating that we were out without our adorable children.  It was nice to see and be seen.

The next morning came all too quickly for some of the celebrators from the previous evening.  However, we all met at the park for the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes, wearing our matching team shirts, sipping our coffee, and praying for sunshine.  Bug went on stage with her red balloon and the rest of the JDRF ambassadors to get the walk started.  Her moment in the spotlight, only to be cut short by the sudden need to "go potty", and a quick exit off stage left.  Then the sun had begun to shine, and the walk commenced.  Bug's team raised (and is still raising) a bunch of money for diabetes research, and we will find out in about a month exactly how much we raised.  As of right now, we are one of the top family team fund raisers..... thanks to all of you!

The next day my husband and I were able to have a last minute date, and meet our new favorite (non-family member) babysitter.  On our date we celebrated our anniversary (that was actually on Friday).  We have known each other for almost 6 years, and have been married for 5.  My husband is my most favorite person, my best friend, and my greatest support.  We have been through a lot together in 5 years, and it has truly made us who we are today as a family.  It has been humbling, exciting, scary, and hilarious all at the same time.  If I had it all to do again, I wouldn't change a thing.  It would be nice to have the relationship we have without having to get here through a diabetes diagnosis.... but I'm not sure it would be the same.

Today, Monday, September 19th, is Peanut's first birthday.  Born one year ago at 7:36 am on a Sunday morning, weighing 8 lbs and 1 ounce and measuring 20 inches.... a bit of a shrimp in our family.  Peanut is a:

cuddle monster
mess
food thrower
dog lover
crawler
sleep lover
dancer/bouncer
laugher
fruit monster
second child
joyful little girl
determined little girl
and
1 year old!

I can't believe our baby is 1.  I could not be more excited about it.  I'm getting to know more and more about her every day, and I am dying to know even more.

Have a great "Peanut's Birthday" Monday!

Fun Friday Find: Support

First of all I need to address the many of you wanting to know how Bug did at her first ballet class.

I would like to fully address the ballet class at a later date in a post dedicated fully to the subject.  So for now, let's just leave it at the fact that the little 45 minutes of "dancing" was everything she had hoped for.  I sent my mom a picture of her in her "uniform" just before entering the class.... huge smile, tiny little bun, pink all over.  My mom responded with something like, "I hope it's as exciting as she thinks its going to be".  By the time I was able to respond to her text, the girls were stretching... the butterfly stretch to be exact.  Bug's face was completely lit up, as she smiled at the teacher (whom she was sitting too close to; purely out of excitement).  When Ms. B called the stretch the butterfly stretch, and said to "flap your wings", Bug thought that was so funny; covered her mouth, shoulders bouncing, eyes squinted, kind of laughter.

I responded to my mom just saying, "they are only stretching and she already looks like she's in heaven!" Much more to follow about ballet, but just know its one of the better investments we have made thus far.

Now... on to my Fun Friday Find.

Next weekend we will be participating in our third JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes.  I know I've mentioned it before, but since I first mentioned it, we have ordered and received our team shirts and started to assemble our team.  It always surprises me how moved I am to see other people show interest in a cause that effects our family.  Whether it's a donation, a word of encouragement, or signing up to walk with us... people are showing their support.

I still have people asking how to sign up and or donate.  You can go to www.walk.jdrf.org and in the spot where it says "donate to a walker" (which you don't have to do, but that is how you get to the sign up page... sneaky of them, isn't it)  you type in Bug's name (Ada) our team name "We the Peeples" and where we are walking (Little Rock).  Then you can follow the steps from there.  The whole process takes about 6 minutes.

Our team also walks to support Bug's uncle who also lives with type 1 diabetes.  We just advertise him less because he's not as little and cute.  But if you know and love Bug's uncle more than you do her own little self, sign up for his sake, because he needs a cure too!  He will be there that morning to greet his adoring public.

I would like to encourage you to sign up online, if you are planning on walking with us, because it will help all parties involved.  I will have a visual to see how many people we are expecting, JDRF will have a visual to see how they did overall this year, and ALSO if we have one of the biggest teams, we get a fancy tent on the day of the walk.  The first year we walked as a team, we had a ton of walkers.  I was so excited, I decorated the tent in our team colors, balloons, streamers, brought snacks.... very exciting.

There will also be fun things for the kids, bounce house, petting zoo, face painting, entertainment on a big stage.... Radio Disney was there last year.

We will start to assemble at 7:30, and we will be walking at 8.  Parking is a zoo, so just decide now that you will not be bothered by that.  The walk is about 3ish miles I think, and after the walk there are snacks, play time, and awards for the kids that raise the most money and win the t-shirt contest.

After all of that... I will make us all take a picture (mostly because the past two years we left and I said, "we forgot to take a picture of everyone!  next year we WILL do that.").  Then you can leave and have a nap.

A fun side note: last year at the walk I was one week away from my due date with Peanut.  I was feeling good that day, so I did half of the walk until I was worn out and hot....... 6 hours later I was in labor at the hospital and delivered a baby sister soon after.

So, sign up and come join us!  I will be delivering t-shirts throughout this next week, so let me know if you want one.... they are already going fast, they are cute, and they are free!

Have a great weekend.

Another Opportunity to Practice Letting Go

Today we went back.  Back to school.  Back to trusting the school part of our team.

I took Bug to school this morning along with a plastic shoe box that will live in Mrs. M's room this year.
complete with:
-apple juice boxes
-tubes of icing
-a glucagon kit
-extra test strips for blood sugar checks
-a sharps container
-special treats for when other mommies bring cupcakes/cookies/you name it (hostess cupcake makes a 100 calorie pack.... 3 little cupcakes, 15 grams of carbohydrates.... all adds up to Bug SO excited to get to have 3 whole cupcakes)

On top of all of that, there was her little red backpack with a turquoise monogram, filled with a glucometer, a low blood sugar snack, a high blood sugar snack, and a change of clothes.... just in case....

I had the opportunity to meet with all the teachers at school (as I had done the year before) to talk about Bug's care, risks, and all of the "what to do if's....."  So, I felt great about leaving her under the wing of a school that took such good care of her the year before.... but diabetes aside.... I still felt uneasy about leaving.

With all the other apprehensive mommies, I waited around like I was taking pictures.... making sure she was going to be ok.  Was she going to have fun?  Will she be able to make friends?  Will she make it to the potty in time?  Will her blood sugar be too high?  too low?

I had done this before, a year ago, but for some reason it was harder this time.  Maybe because I know her better now, and I am slightly more attached?

As I stood there, reminding her that I would pick her up soon, and that she needs to be sweet and follow directions, and so on and so on..... she jumped right in.  By the time I left, she had introduced herself to another little girl, gotten out entirely too many toys in the kitchen center, and looked at me with the "seriously mom... GO" eyes.  So I went.

When I got to the end of the hallway, I turned around and went back..... to make sure "the teacher knew I was leaving".

I leaned back into the doorway, told the teacher I was leaving and asked if she felt comfortable with the diabetes care, did she have any questions, call me if you need anything, if I don't answer the first time try me again... blah blah blah.  Bug's teacher seemed very confident and ready for the task ahead.  Bug seemed comfortable and happy.  No more ends to tie up.

I got to the car, buckled Peanut back into her seat, and instantly had a feeling I had forgotten something.  My purse was carrying lighter without the glucometer, my car was filled with the absence of nonstop Bug commentary, and my brain was left only to focus on one instead of two.  I turned to Peanut and, as if expecting to get an answer, I asked "what are we going to do when we have to take her to Kindergarten?"  She sneezed a yucky allergy sneeze and thought it was hilarious.  I cleaned her up and realized it was time to get to know her a little better.

After a needless trip to Target (where I ran into another mom from school who was admittedly "killing time until 11:20), I took Peanut home to let her play with toys all by her lonesome.  She dumped out every organized container of toys I have, then looked a bit lost.  Looking for Bug maybe?  Then she found Hamilton our dog, and crawled and loved on him for about 15 minutes.

Tick tock. tick tock.  Finally time to (leave early) to go get Bug from school.

Needless to say she had been left in the best of care, she had an amazing time, and met a lot of new friends; who's names she can't remember yet.  She is so excited to go back on Friday and "play on the playground! and have snack!  and get to see my new friends and Mrs. M!"  All followed by clapping and giggling.  I do not embellish when I quote her as saying, "School was so so great today, Mommy!  I think it will be so much fun if I could go back to there and do it all again."  (with her little hands folded and held up by her heart.... can't make this stuff up)

Sometimes I am amazed by how excited one little brain, body, and heart can be about the simplest of things: "I got to have cheese crackers for snack that you packed for me, Mommy!!!"  I truly love the way God made her.

There is still so much more left to this exciting day.... this afternoon we start:

BALLET CLASS!

To be a fly on that wall.....

Fun Friday Find: This Blog

You and I have a lot of catching up to do.  Let me get you up to speed.

Since I left you, I have been very busy.  There has been:

A trip to Arizona with friends: shopping, golfing, sunning, lovely people.
Fleas: my dog had a couple, which left (only) me with flea bites.  so so gross and embarrassing for a germ nut like myself.... and because of the fleas there has also been
A lot of house cleaning: obsessive and constant (*not a flea in site for three weeks!)
A Chipmunk: living, or maybe passing through, our basement.  Thanks to the Disney Channel I'm less frightened than I would be if it was a rat
A meet the teacher day at preschool: Fabulous teacher, fun new friends, very excited Bug
A "learn all about diabetes" in service for the teachers at Bug's school:  All went well, very attentive, capable, and smart teachers = peaceful mind for me.
And finally...
A new month!  We made it through August.  It was hot, but not terrible, but it was our last spent in this home.  Bittersweet.

So now that we are caught up, I'm leaving you again to enjoy the three day weekend with my husband and our sweet little girls.

Have a great weekend.