Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Blogging Funk and Other Stuff
I guess I've been in a bit of a blogging funk lately. No real motivation to blog, which certainly doesn't mean that there hasn't been stuff to say. I know we all go through it at some point. Hmmm...October 4th was the last time I posted, and even then I had posted a photo that was already more than a week old. The time is passing very quickly, and I guess I'm just feeling a bit out of the loop lately, personally. Can't really put my finger on it, exactly. Blogging is a good thing, and can be cathartic, but it can also pose some serious logistical problems, such as when the things you want to blog about you can't really blog about because of the people who read it. I'm not really into making things controversial, scandalous or full of self-pity. Not like I need to do any of that right now, but I'm just putting it out there...
Since my last post, my sister in law's husband passed away, and Steve drove up to Michigan for the week to be with her. Actually, he drove up, then drove back for a day to sort out some work stuff and to allow me to go back to work for a day, then drove back again. He's on his way home again now. It's kind of funny saying he's driving to and from Michigan, like it's some sort of commuter route, especially since he didn't get his driver's license until Samantha was born and never wanted to drive, even over the 15 years we'd been married by then. Now he says he enjoys it. At any rate, back to the purpose of his trip, Scott was only 47. A very tragic and unexpected departure, and my thoughts are with his family and most certainly with my SIL.
Also, since my last posting, Samantha fell and got one heck of a shiner.
This was her first big injury, as we tend to treat her with kid gloves and wrap her in cotton balls at every opportunity. LOL She handled it pretty well, getting upset for a few days every time anyone would talk about it in front of her or any time she saw it in the mirror. Which was a real challenge, every time she washed her hands at the bathroom sink. At one point I even put her hair over it so she wouldn't see it. It actually worked! I wasn't sure what the teachers at school would make of it, so I sent a little note to school in her backpack, explaining. I guess these days CPS could show up at your door any time! I didn't get any kind of a note back from them, which was a bit disconcerting!
Our Buddy Walk for the Down Syndrome of Northern Virginia was yesterday.
Of course it happened to be on one of the most cold, rainy (seriously, it did not stop, even for a minute), miserable days of the year, but the turnout was decent, and I'm very glad I went, even having to do it without Steve. Two of my work friends, Donna and Nejet, showed up (one other was a no-show, without even a response to my multiple e-mails from the day before to confirm, but that's a whole other story for a whole other blog post) as well as my dear friend, Crystle along with her mother, my friend Rob of Abby Monroe is HERE (whom I had never met, but knew through Flickr, this blog, and Facebook) and his wife, Anny, and adorable 2-year old daughter, Abby (sporting her own recently-obtained, staircase-battling black eye in sympathy of Samantha's), my parents, and the Lamjav Family, who will have their own Buddy Walk team next year, but we were thrilled that they could join us this year! We were thrilled to have had a really wonderful team, and I give my thanks to each of them for coming out and braving the elements to support us! Samantha was pretty miserable when it came time to do the "walk," and made me carry her. Now this is certainly no easy feat, especially when the venue was soooo much bigger than last year's, and she's rediculously heavy. Especially heavy when I realized, halfway through it, that she was asleep!!! Through me staggering under her weight and the rain, she somehow found it appropriate to completely relax. Ugh. It's going to take a whole lot of visits to the gym to fix the damage and loosen up those muscles again.
Many, many thanks to Michelle and Brian (Our Roads Traveled), Linda (Lila's Miracle Life), Bethany (Life With Bubba, Chicky & Nika), Megan (Audrey & Stella's Playground) and everyone else who tirelessly put in so much work to bring us the Buddy Walk again this year.
I'm not sure when I'll post again, but hopefully I won't let so much time elapse next time. We'll see how I feel.
Since my last post, my sister in law's husband passed away, and Steve drove up to Michigan for the week to be with her. Actually, he drove up, then drove back for a day to sort out some work stuff and to allow me to go back to work for a day, then drove back again. He's on his way home again now. It's kind of funny saying he's driving to and from Michigan, like it's some sort of commuter route, especially since he didn't get his driver's license until Samantha was born and never wanted to drive, even over the 15 years we'd been married by then. Now he says he enjoys it. At any rate, back to the purpose of his trip, Scott was only 47. A very tragic and unexpected departure, and my thoughts are with his family and most certainly with my SIL.
Also, since my last posting, Samantha fell and got one heck of a shiner.
This was her first big injury, as we tend to treat her with kid gloves and wrap her in cotton balls at every opportunity. LOL She handled it pretty well, getting upset for a few days every time anyone would talk about it in front of her or any time she saw it in the mirror. Which was a real challenge, every time she washed her hands at the bathroom sink. At one point I even put her hair over it so she wouldn't see it. It actually worked! I wasn't sure what the teachers at school would make of it, so I sent a little note to school in her backpack, explaining. I guess these days CPS could show up at your door any time! I didn't get any kind of a note back from them, which was a bit disconcerting!
Our Buddy Walk for the Down Syndrome of Northern Virginia was yesterday.
Of course it happened to be on one of the most cold, rainy (seriously, it did not stop, even for a minute), miserable days of the year, but the turnout was decent, and I'm very glad I went, even having to do it without Steve. Two of my work friends, Donna and Nejet, showed up (one other was a no-show, without even a response to my multiple e-mails from the day before to confirm, but that's a whole other story for a whole other blog post) as well as my dear friend, Crystle along with her mother, my friend Rob of Abby Monroe is HERE (whom I had never met, but knew through Flickr, this blog, and Facebook) and his wife, Anny, and adorable 2-year old daughter, Abby (sporting her own recently-obtained, staircase-battling black eye in sympathy of Samantha's), my parents, and the Lamjav Family, who will have their own Buddy Walk team next year, but we were thrilled that they could join us this year! We were thrilled to have had a really wonderful team, and I give my thanks to each of them for coming out and braving the elements to support us! Samantha was pretty miserable when it came time to do the "walk," and made me carry her. Now this is certainly no easy feat, especially when the venue was soooo much bigger than last year's, and she's rediculously heavy. Especially heavy when I realized, halfway through it, that she was asleep!!! Through me staggering under her weight and the rain, she somehow found it appropriate to completely relax. Ugh. It's going to take a whole lot of visits to the gym to fix the damage and loosen up those muscles again.
Many, many thanks to Michelle and Brian (Our Roads Traveled), Linda (Lila's Miracle Life), Bethany (Life With Bubba, Chicky & Nika), Megan (Audrey & Stella's Playground) and everyone else who tirelessly put in so much work to bring us the Buddy Walk again this year.
I'm not sure when I'll post again, but hopefully I won't let so much time elapse next time. We'll see how I feel.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Bellies!!
I hope the parents of Sammi's friends don't mind these pics (if you do, please let me know and I'll take this post down!)--they were just too adorable to resist!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Scenes from the Bathtub
Fade in…Samantha sitting happily in her bubble bath lastnight, me trying to think of ways to bribe her to get out, but entertaining her in the meantime…
Me: Do you want to sing a song?
Samantha: Yes!
Me: What song do you want to sing?
Samantha: A-Donald.
Me: Okay! (singing) Old Mac Donald had a farm…
Samantha: (singing along) ...ee ai ee ai yooooo
Me: And on his farm he had a…
Samantha: No.
Me: No more Old Mac Donald?
Samantha: No a-Donald. Pat.
Me: Pat?
Samantha: (looks over at the vanity) Pat!
Me: I’m sorry, honey, I really don’t know what you’re saying.
Samantha: Pat! (makes frustrated whiney sounds while still looking over at the vanity)
Me: I’m so sorry, baby. Say it again?
Samantha: Pat! (looks like she’s got an idea) Blue yellow red!
Me: Ohhhhh! Paint!!!!
Samantha: (looks very, very pleased) Yes!
I reach into the vanity drawer and pull out her 3-color bath paint set with tubes of blue, yellow and red. Life is good.
Fade out...
Me: Do you want to sing a song?
Samantha: Yes!
Me: What song do you want to sing?
Samantha: A-Donald.
Me: Okay! (singing) Old Mac Donald had a farm…
Samantha: (singing along) ...ee ai ee ai yooooo
Me: And on his farm he had a…
Samantha: No.
Me: No more Old Mac Donald?
Samantha: No a-Donald. Pat.
Me: Pat?
Samantha: (looks over at the vanity) Pat!
Me: I’m sorry, honey, I really don’t know what you’re saying.
Samantha: Pat! (makes frustrated whiney sounds while still looking over at the vanity)
Me: I’m so sorry, baby. Say it again?
Samantha: Pat! (looks like she’s got an idea) Blue yellow red!
Me: Ohhhhh! Paint!!!!
Samantha: (looks very, very pleased) Yes!
I reach into the vanity drawer and pull out her 3-color bath paint set with tubes of blue, yellow and red. Life is good.
Fade out...
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
It's Here! Get It While It's Hot!
Yes, you heard correctly...the 2010 DSANV calendar, "The Eyes are the Mirrors..." is now here! I can't believe it's been a whole year already since I completed the 2009 calendar, and the last 6 months of working on this one went by so quickly. Once again, I had wonderful photographers to work with, photographing some truly beautiful and amazing people (see the lovely cover girl, Stella, from Audrey and Stella's Playground). Our models, or ambassadors, if you like, hopefully will help to raise awareness of the beauty, intellect, joy and complexity of people with Down syndrome. Of course the majority of people who purchase or view this calendar are people whose lives have already been touched by Ds in some way, but I know that changing minds and removing stereotypes of even just one person that would otherwise have no connection to Ds, is worth sooooo much.
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The calendar can be purchased for $10.00 plus shipping at http://www.dsanv.org/ (the link is partway down the home page, and may still be for the 2009 calendar--we're working on an update, but you can still use it to order!). This will make a great holiday present for your OBs and pediatricians, btw. My OB has our 2009 calendar hanging in her office now. That definitely makes me feel so supported, and gives me so much hope that others will see it and know that the trip to Holland is a good one.
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