Tuesday, February 22, 2011

I am finally part of the 21st century!!

I had a BlackBerry.  Hated it.  I also hated AT&T, so I had to wait for Verizon to get their act together and get the iPhone.  As you know, this happened!

On Monday I finally joined the other giddy iPhone owners and understand the lure and addiction of this thing!  I am hooked, line and sinker!!

To make my gadget addiction worse, I also just ordered (and received today) my very first laptop!  QVC had a deal that I could not pass up!

I got a Dell laptop and while I could try and remember all the cool things it has…I’ll just tell you that it is awesome and I am more than happy!  It was a total cinch to hook up and get going on.

I hope these new gadgets will help organize my life as this is what they promise…right?  ;)

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Organics for Everyone!!

Okay, I'm going to get on my soapbox now!

6 or so months ago I caught an episode of Dr. Oz about pesticides on our food.  He had an expert come out and talk about all the nasty stuff that is in our fruits, vegetables, meat, milk!  It is everywhere.  On one apple alone, there are 40 known pesticides.  40!!  This is sooo completely unacceptable.

Needless to say, I was shocked about this.  And yes, I know that the Organic train has come and been around for years, but I never knew to the extent in which our foods are exposed to chemicals.  So, of course, I completely switched everything in our house to Organics.  Milk, meat, fruit, veggies, everything.  I have started shopping at Whole Foods religiously.  

Then it dawned on me.  I am in a position where I can afford to buy Organic, but many, many people are not.  So, even if a mother knows that organic is better, she doesn't have a choice due to the cost of organics. That is heartbreaking.  Organics should be available to all and it should be ALL that is offered.  It should not be okay to sell us food that can harm us.

Why in the world would the Government even allow foods to be sold that have poisonous chemicals in it?  I am soo flabbergasted that this is even acceptable. 


So, here's where the soapbox comes in.


Autism is on the rise.  Cancer is on the rise.  Do you see a correlation here?  Because I do!  I am completely convinced that all of these things are connected.  How can they not be!  If we are eating foods doused in chemicals, it has to have some negative effects on our body.


Ggggrrrr....this makes me soo mad!

God gave me a miracle

I read this on a CaringBridge site and it hit me hard. 

As most of you know, Jacob has special needs and they have hinted that he has Asperger's Syndrome, but with early intervention, we have been able to turn around most of his delays.  

I never would have believed that he would be making the progress he is making.  When we started his therapy, there was talk that it was questionable that he would be able to start Kindergarten on time.  Now, it is a sure thing that he will go off to Kindergarten.  The only thing we are trying to figure out is if he will need to be in a Special Day Class.  In SDC they have aides that help kids with learning disabilities.  It gives those kids, just a little omph to help them prepare for being in a general class where he would be 1 of 25, vs. 1 of 6 which is what he is in now.

Anywho, at 2 years old, Jacob was still not talking and we weren't sure if he ever would.  We started intensive therapy at home, working 40hrs a week with his therapists on everything from speech therapy,occupational therapy and ABA therapy.  And after a few sessions we had THAT moment where he looked over at me and said "Mama".  I can't even find the deep words to articulate how it felt to hear him say that.  It was a true gift and one that was not taken for granted.  I know how hard he had worked to get those words out and never had I been soo proud of him. Tears immediately filled my eyes.  

Mom's that have special needs kids, will find solace in this.  I know I did.

~Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures and a couple by habit. This year thousands of mothers will give birth to a premature baby. Did you ever wonder how mothers of preemies are chosen?

Somehow, I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting His instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As He observes, He instructs His angels to make notes in a giant ledger.

“Armstrong, Beth, son. Patron saint, Matthew. “Forest, Marjorie, daughter. Patron saint, Cecilia. “Rutledge, Carrie, twins. Patron saint... give her Gerard. He’s used to profanity.

Finally, He passes a name to an angel and smiles, “Give her a premature baby.” The angel is curious. “Why this one, God? She’s so happy.”

“Exactly, “ smiles God. “Could I give a premature baby a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel.”

“But does she have patience?” asks the angel. “I don’t want her to have too much patience, or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she’ll handle it.

“I watched her today. She has that sense of self and independence that are so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I’m going to give her has his own world. She has to make it live in her world and that’s not going to be easy.”

“But, Lord, I don’t think she even believes in you.” God smiles, “No matter, I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness.”

The angel gasps, “Selfishness? Is that a virtue?” God nods. “If she can’t separate herself from the child occasionally, she’ll never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child who comes in a less than perfect way. She doesn’t realize it yet, but she is to be envied.

“She will never take for granted a spoken word. She will never consider a step ordinary. When her child says ‘Mommy’ for the first time, she will be witness to a miracle and know it. When she describes a tree or a sunset to her blind child, she will see it as few people ever see my creations.

“I will permit her to see clearly the things I see - ignorance, cruelty, prejudice - and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side.”

“And what about her patron saint?” asks the angel, the pen poised in mid-air.

God smiles. “A mirror will suffice.”

~Author unknown

"How do you do it?"

That is a question that I have gotten more times than I can count.  Especially when Caroline was first born and the twins were 2.  My response was always "you just do".  And whilst saying that, I would be thinking in the back of my head, this isn't SOO hard.  It's totally doable.

Well, my tune has changed!!  And when people now ask me and I more reluctant to say "who say's I'm doing it well?".  Lately my patience and tolerance are at an all-time low.  I am soooo tired of hearing myself talk that I want to tell myself to shut up already!  I can only imagine what my children must be thinking!

They aren't doing anything out of the norm for 4year olds and a 2year old.  You know, not listening, arguing, debating, talking back, etc.  You get the gist.  If I had a penny for every time a child did as I told them, I would be beyond rich!  I would be the new Mrs. Trump.  No doubt.

But alas, that is a fantasy world. 

I am soo sick of hearing all the negative words in my house.  I do praise them when they do something great, but it is the not listening to just about everything we tell them to do that is taking it's toll on James & I.

Both James & I sit at work and think about our kids and how much we miss them, then within 5 minutes of everyone getting home, we are ready to pull our hair out!  And yet, we know that when they are grown and gone that we will be heartbroken.  So we try to savor every minute and be thankful that they still want to be around us.  

But in the moment, that is very, very hard to do.