I have to write this, because it's so awesome, but I only have about 5 minutes, so I apologize profusely for any typos:)
Logan had gym class today, which he loves, but possibly not his strongest subject. In a few weeks, the kids are having a race (the turkey trot) so I'm assuming they're practicing for the race in gym (1/4 mile for first graders).
Anyway, I'm stuck in the house with a sick 3 year old all day, so I'm catching up on alllllllll the unendless laundry and also have all the windows open because I need the germs OUT. As a result of windows open, I've been hearing the sweet little kiddies practicing for their race on the field across the street from our house all day. I love hearing the kids out playing!!
So, I'm in my room (front of the house) putting laundry away this afternoon, and all the sudden, what do I hear, but "Logan, Logan, Logan" coming from across the street. I quickly pull up Logan's schedule in my head and, yup, he's in gym right now!!! I run out, Sam's in the driveway and he hears it too. We couldn't see Logan, but we saw the kids cheering and jumping for him. I thought maybe he was coming in last and they were cheering for him, but it turns out they gave a him a little head start and then cheered for him the whole time.
Who are these children?!?!?! I mean this is a world where we hear of bullying and terrible, awful things happening to and because of children alllll the time, but these kids are letting Logan win and cheering for him. Seriously, it brings tears to my eyes every time I think of it. These kids have hearts of gold, they're amazing, Logan's amazing. This is a great story, I wish I could express it better, I wish you could fully explain how my heart felt when I heard them cheering for him. I wish you could fully understand how much it meant to Logan, how big the smile was on his face. I just don't have the words (and also, Maddie is MELTING down because she doesn't understand her homework and Georgia is saying she's going to throw up so I kinda have to scoot).
Also, I NEED to tell you about the day I went in to talk to Logan's class about DS. Again, a really great experience. First graders ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Monday, October 21, 2013
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Our Peeps
I ran into my beautiful, wonderful friend Leigh today and we started to talk about the blog. Leigh is a friend I met after I had Logan, Logan and her son went to preschool together. Anyway, Leigh said that she loved reading the blog post I wrote about the first couple weeks of Logan's life. I hadn't read it in a while so I came home and looked it up.
I realized that all the same things I wrote in there about our friends and family continue to be true and it's so amazing to me.
If you haven't read it, here it is (http://logands.blogspot.com/2009/10/mine.html)
In that post I openly admit that I did not have faith that our friends and family would stand by us, I thought eventually they would all ditch us and move on with their typical lives (in Italy) and we would be living our lives all alone over in Holland. (I know that's maybe a confusing analogy for some of you, but my peeps in the DS world will get it, it's not exactly my fave analogy anymore).
Anyway, I go on to say that I was very, very wrong. Everyone loved us and Logan and took care of us and helped us and celebrated with us and it was perfect.
What I realized today is that I continue to doubt people, and I don't know why!!! because they continue to come through for us. When Logan started school, I was sure that he wouldn't be loved or accepted, but, of course he was (Leigh is proof of that!!!).
When we moved into this neighborhood and started a new school, I was a nervous wreck!! I thought for sure that it would be a disaster and I would have to home school Logan and he woulnd't have any friends. You have NO IDEA how wrong I was about that. Logan is so loved at school, the parents of the kids who are in his grade are so amazing, and kind and open minded and they have created a community in which my child is loved, adored, protected and nurtured. I'm so eternally grateful for every person in this fabulous neighborhood who has welcomed us with open arms and accepted Logan and helped him blossom.
Today I'm going to talk to Logan's class about DS. I'm just going to read them a little story and give them some 3 egged brownies. It's something I did last year and the kids loved it. On Tuesday, I sent an email to the parents and told them I would be going in today. So many people responded thanking me and telling me how much their child loves Logan. I can't believe they're thanking me!!!!! I'm the one who is so, so, so thankful for all the good people in this world who are working hard, with me, to make this world a better place for all of our children.
Life can be very hard sometimes, and there are definitely bad people in this world, but there are also some very, very, very good people and having Logan has given us the ability to see so much of that goodness. That is truly a blessing.
I realized that all the same things I wrote in there about our friends and family continue to be true and it's so amazing to me.
If you haven't read it, here it is (http://logands.blogspot.com/2009/10/mine.html)
In that post I openly admit that I did not have faith that our friends and family would stand by us, I thought eventually they would all ditch us and move on with their typical lives (in Italy) and we would be living our lives all alone over in Holland. (I know that's maybe a confusing analogy for some of you, but my peeps in the DS world will get it, it's not exactly my fave analogy anymore).
Anyway, I go on to say that I was very, very wrong. Everyone loved us and Logan and took care of us and helped us and celebrated with us and it was perfect.
What I realized today is that I continue to doubt people, and I don't know why!!! because they continue to come through for us. When Logan started school, I was sure that he wouldn't be loved or accepted, but, of course he was (Leigh is proof of that!!!).
When we moved into this neighborhood and started a new school, I was a nervous wreck!! I thought for sure that it would be a disaster and I would have to home school Logan and he woulnd't have any friends. You have NO IDEA how wrong I was about that. Logan is so loved at school, the parents of the kids who are in his grade are so amazing, and kind and open minded and they have created a community in which my child is loved, adored, protected and nurtured. I'm so eternally grateful for every person in this fabulous neighborhood who has welcomed us with open arms and accepted Logan and helped him blossom.
Today I'm going to talk to Logan's class about DS. I'm just going to read them a little story and give them some 3 egged brownies. It's something I did last year and the kids loved it. On Tuesday, I sent an email to the parents and told them I would be going in today. So many people responded thanking me and telling me how much their child loves Logan. I can't believe they're thanking me!!!!! I'm the one who is so, so, so thankful for all the good people in this world who are working hard, with me, to make this world a better place for all of our children.
Life can be very hard sometimes, and there are definitely bad people in this world, but there are also some very, very, very good people and having Logan has given us the ability to see so much of that goodness. That is truly a blessing.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Bleh, bleh, bleh
Oh Lord, this is much harder to do than I even thought it was going to be.
I first thought, this is hard because our life is so boring!!! But, I don't know, that must have been a moment of confusion or delusion or something because our lives aren't boring AT ALL, possibly the complete opposite of boring, so I don't know why on earth that thought would have ever popped in my head.
Then, I thought, I don't really have anything to write about because while we aren't "boring" we aren't exactly interesting either. We actually aren't interesting at all. I think that's what I meant/thought by "boring."
So, I was going to right that, "Our lives are boring and uninteresting and we're happy with that." Lalalalala.
BUT, then 2 things happened; I remembered that I really, really hate it when I read blogs or fb posts or newspaper articles about people talking about how great their lives are, how perfect their kids are, how fan-freaking-tastic everything is. I really don't like that because I know it makes other people feel bad and who would want to do that? Then, the second thing happened, which is that Maddie (whom I previously wrote wonderful things about in another post) turned evil. Not completely evil, just before school, after school and before bed, and sometimes in between after school and before bed. The child is literally fighting with me about every, single possible thing under the sun. And, to be perfectly honest, it's driving me CRAZY!!!!! And, it's turned me into a cranky, grumpy, grump that doesn't want to write anything at all. Can I just give you a quick example? So, every morning I try to "do" her hair. I always put it up in a ponytail, braid or bun mainly because I have an irrational fear of lice and I read once that it's hard for the little buggers to "jump" into hair that's pulled back but also because it's crazy hair and I don't want it to get in her face while she's working or playing. Anyway, for the past week or so she's yelled at me that she hates ponytails and everyone will laugh at her if she wears her hair in a ponytail and blah, blah, blah. So, I'm a big believer in picking my battles and that's not really a battle I needed to have with her so I let it go. Today, she wears her hair down, we pull up to school, her little BFF comes up to her with her hair in a ponytail and Maddie whines to me, "ohhhhh, you NEVER put my hair in a ponytail." And it made me want to scream!!! You see where I'm coming from?
Anyway, there's absolutely NO POINT to that story except that I just needed to get it off my chest.
Back to the point. I do feel bad about not writing this blog though because I agreed to do the 31 for 21 challenge and now I'm wimping out on it. Everyone's lives are busy and everyone has stuff going on and everyone else seems to handle it while I just get grumpy and cranky.
So, here's my thing for today. Logan has been in a really, really, REALLY happy mood for the past few weeks. I think he's gotten in his groove at school, and he's making progress, and we've got some other things that we've been working on that have all just clicked and it makes me so ridiculously happy to hear him chat away about school and his friends and all the things he does. I'm proud of him and I'm proud of us too because we (me and Sam) worked really hard to get him to this place and I'm going to make a valiant effort to just enjoy this wonderful time and be grateful for at least one kids happiness.
I mean I guess all the kids can't be happy all the time. Right now we have 1 out of 3 (Georgie's sick so she's grumpy too) and that's better than 0 out of 3. Right?
I first thought, this is hard because our life is so boring!!! But, I don't know, that must have been a moment of confusion or delusion or something because our lives aren't boring AT ALL, possibly the complete opposite of boring, so I don't know why on earth that thought would have ever popped in my head.
Then, I thought, I don't really have anything to write about because while we aren't "boring" we aren't exactly interesting either. We actually aren't interesting at all. I think that's what I meant/thought by "boring."
So, I was going to right that, "Our lives are boring and uninteresting and we're happy with that." Lalalalala.
BUT, then 2 things happened; I remembered that I really, really hate it when I read blogs or fb posts or newspaper articles about people talking about how great their lives are, how perfect their kids are, how fan-freaking-tastic everything is. I really don't like that because I know it makes other people feel bad and who would want to do that? Then, the second thing happened, which is that Maddie (whom I previously wrote wonderful things about in another post) turned evil. Not completely evil, just before school, after school and before bed, and sometimes in between after school and before bed. The child is literally fighting with me about every, single possible thing under the sun. And, to be perfectly honest, it's driving me CRAZY!!!!! And, it's turned me into a cranky, grumpy, grump that doesn't want to write anything at all. Can I just give you a quick example? So, every morning I try to "do" her hair. I always put it up in a ponytail, braid or bun mainly because I have an irrational fear of lice and I read once that it's hard for the little buggers to "jump" into hair that's pulled back but also because it's crazy hair and I don't want it to get in her face while she's working or playing. Anyway, for the past week or so she's yelled at me that she hates ponytails and everyone will laugh at her if she wears her hair in a ponytail and blah, blah, blah. So, I'm a big believer in picking my battles and that's not really a battle I needed to have with her so I let it go. Today, she wears her hair down, we pull up to school, her little BFF comes up to her with her hair in a ponytail and Maddie whines to me, "ohhhhh, you NEVER put my hair in a ponytail." And it made me want to scream!!! You see where I'm coming from?
Anyway, there's absolutely NO POINT to that story except that I just needed to get it off my chest.
Back to the point. I do feel bad about not writing this blog though because I agreed to do the 31 for 21 challenge and now I'm wimping out on it. Everyone's lives are busy and everyone has stuff going on and everyone else seems to handle it while I just get grumpy and cranky.
So, here's my thing for today. Logan has been in a really, really, REALLY happy mood for the past few weeks. I think he's gotten in his groove at school, and he's making progress, and we've got some other things that we've been working on that have all just clicked and it makes me so ridiculously happy to hear him chat away about school and his friends and all the things he does. I'm proud of him and I'm proud of us too because we (me and Sam) worked really hard to get him to this place and I'm going to make a valiant effort to just enjoy this wonderful time and be grateful for at least one kids happiness.
I mean I guess all the kids can't be happy all the time. Right now we have 1 out of 3 (Georgie's sick so she's grumpy too) and that's better than 0 out of 3. Right?
Monday, October 14, 2013
Feeling so grateful for this....
https://kcdsg.securednerd.com/files/content/termination%20rate.pdf
Can't imagine our lives with my sweet boy! Glad others are seeing the light too!
Can't imagine our lives with my sweet boy! Glad others are seeing the light too!
Sunday, October 13, 2013
"Every day is a good day when you run"
Love this quote from Kevin Nelson!!
I used to HATE running, seriously, it took me about 6 months to train to run 4 miles in the inagural Baltimore Running Festival relay 12 years ago. In that race, I completed 4 miles in 52 minutes. YIKES!!
A few months after I had Logan, I joined a gym and started working out, pretty much for the first time in my life. I found that not only did I feel physically better, working out helped me so much mentally.
The first year of Logan's life was stressful. There was a lot of stuff for us to learn, a lot to do, a lot of doctors appointments, therapy appointments, just general craziness. Spending an hour at the gym gave me time to process and plan better. It was so important to me, I made time for it everyday.
A few years ago, I started to run again. Just a mile or 2 at a time, I still hated it but not as much. I never got that "runners high" or felt particularly fabulous afterwards, I still dreaded it.
I don't know how or when, but something switched in me at some point and now I love to run, I crave it, I think about it all the time, when I finish a run, I can't wait for the next one. It's when I get my best thinking done, I still use that time to process and plan, I have some of my best ideas when I'm running.
Don't get me wrong, sometimes my runs suck. But, more and more, they're awesome, fun, relaxing and therapeutic.
Running. Another gift from my buddy.
I used to HATE running, seriously, it took me about 6 months to train to run 4 miles in the inagural Baltimore Running Festival relay 12 years ago. In that race, I completed 4 miles in 52 minutes. YIKES!!
A few months after I had Logan, I joined a gym and started working out, pretty much for the first time in my life. I found that not only did I feel physically better, working out helped me so much mentally.
The first year of Logan's life was stressful. There was a lot of stuff for us to learn, a lot to do, a lot of doctors appointments, therapy appointments, just general craziness. Spending an hour at the gym gave me time to process and plan better. It was so important to me, I made time for it everyday.
A few years ago, I started to run again. Just a mile or 2 at a time, I still hated it but not as much. I never got that "runners high" or felt particularly fabulous afterwards, I still dreaded it.
I don't know how or when, but something switched in me at some point and now I love to run, I crave it, I think about it all the time, when I finish a run, I can't wait for the next one. It's when I get my best thinking done, I still use that time to process and plan, I have some of my best ideas when I'm running.
Don't get me wrong, sometimes my runs suck. But, more and more, they're awesome, fun, relaxing and therapeutic.
Running. Another gift from my buddy.
Friday, October 11, 2013
Teachers
I have a bigger, greater post that I'm working on that will better reflect how I feel about these amazing people in Logan's life but I feel like Logan's teachers, his actual schoolteachers, deserve a whole blog of their own.
Just so you all know, I was a teacher before Logan was borng. I was getting my masters in Special Education from TU while I was pregnant with Logi. Sooooo, I have a TON of respect for the educators in this world, I always have.
However, seeing the way that Logan's teachers have treated him since he entered school has raised my level of respect for them higher than I ever thought possible.
Logan has been in school since he was 3. He started in the 2s program at a little preschool right up the street, he's been fully included with his typically developing peers every year of his 5 year school career and EVERY SINGLE TEACHER he has ever had has worked their butt off for him. They've made modifications to the work for him, they've communicated with me (ad nauseam, because I'm a pain in the ass and require constant communication;) , they've loved him and protected him and they've taught him SO much.
I know we won't always be so lucky, but today I feel so blessed for the 9 teachers that Logan has had so far, my family will be eternally grateful to them.
Just so you all know, I was a teacher before Logan was borng. I was getting my masters in Special Education from TU while I was pregnant with Logi. Sooooo, I have a TON of respect for the educators in this world, I always have.
However, seeing the way that Logan's teachers have treated him since he entered school has raised my level of respect for them higher than I ever thought possible.
Logan has been in school since he was 3. He started in the 2s program at a little preschool right up the street, he's been fully included with his typically developing peers every year of his 5 year school career and EVERY SINGLE TEACHER he has ever had has worked their butt off for him. They've made modifications to the work for him, they've communicated with me (ad nauseam, because I'm a pain in the ass and require constant communication;) , they've loved him and protected him and they've taught him SO much.
I know we won't always be so lucky, but today I feel so blessed for the 9 teachers that Logan has had so far, my family will be eternally grateful to them.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Growing Up
As almost all of you know, it's pouring buckets here in B-more. All 3 kids had school today, so I decided it would be a great time to clean the house. Not just clean the house, clean the house, purge the house of toys and clothes that we no longer need. I naively thought I could do the whole house in the 3 hours that Georgia was at school. Baaahaaahaaaa. Yeah right, we have so much junk I now think it might takes months, even years, to clean this house.
However, I was lucky enough to get through the bedrooms (the kids bedrooms). And, I have to say, as much as I hated doing it, it was kind of a cathartic thing to do. I do enjoy cleaning and getting rid of things, I just sometimes feel sentimental about getting rid of them.
I started with Logan's room and the awesome thing is that he's grown out of most of his clothes from last year. I KNOW a lot of you may be wondering why that's a "good" thing and it's because, for a long time, Logan didn't grow very fast. Don't get me wrong, he's certainly not growing at warp speeds now, but he is growing, getting taller and thinner, he's losing all his baby fat!!!!! That makes me sad. But, I'm happy he's growing. We don't have shirts with cars or teddy bears on them anymore, now it's Star Wars and Under Armour.
Next, I cleaned out his toy chest. This is where I get REALLY sad. My sadness stems from the matchbox cars. Logan loved matchbox cars for years and year, the movie, "Cars" was his favorite. He would spend hours in his room playing with the cars. As I was sorting them all, I realized he hasn't played with cars in a really long time, like maybe a year. And, I don't know, it just hurt my heart a little. I really loved my babies when they were babies, I loved my squishy, kissable, lovable Logi bear, but he's not really a baby anymore. He's really growing up and while that does make me sad, because I'll forever miss the sweet, amazing baby that he was, I'm really happy and excited to see him grow up.
He's a pretty neat kid and I'm so enjoying getting to know him. I mean I've always known him, but now he's expressing himself so much more and he's funny!!! And he's really kind and very empathetic. He's happy and sweet and smart but also very stubborn and a little manipulative at times. He's also a really, really hard worker and that's maybe the thing I admire in him the most. Things do not come easy for him, but he never gives up and he doesn't complain, he just keeps working.
Today, I'm truly just feeling so blessed to be able to watch this boy grow into an amazing young man. I'm happy to see the effect he has on others, and the way he's changing lives and minds. He's a pretty cool little guy!
On a completely different note, anyone interested in a couple thousand matchbox cars? :)
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However, I was lucky enough to get through the bedrooms (the kids bedrooms). And, I have to say, as much as I hated doing it, it was kind of a cathartic thing to do. I do enjoy cleaning and getting rid of things, I just sometimes feel sentimental about getting rid of them.
I started with Logan's room and the awesome thing is that he's grown out of most of his clothes from last year. I KNOW a lot of you may be wondering why that's a "good" thing and it's because, for a long time, Logan didn't grow very fast. Don't get me wrong, he's certainly not growing at warp speeds now, but he is growing, getting taller and thinner, he's losing all his baby fat!!!!! That makes me sad. But, I'm happy he's growing. We don't have shirts with cars or teddy bears on them anymore, now it's Star Wars and Under Armour.
Next, I cleaned out his toy chest. This is where I get REALLY sad. My sadness stems from the matchbox cars. Logan loved matchbox cars for years and year, the movie, "Cars" was his favorite. He would spend hours in his room playing with the cars. As I was sorting them all, I realized he hasn't played with cars in a really long time, like maybe a year. And, I don't know, it just hurt my heart a little. I really loved my babies when they were babies, I loved my squishy, kissable, lovable Logi bear, but he's not really a baby anymore. He's really growing up and while that does make me sad, because I'll forever miss the sweet, amazing baby that he was, I'm really happy and excited to see him grow up.
He's a pretty neat kid and I'm so enjoying getting to know him. I mean I've always known him, but now he's expressing himself so much more and he's funny!!! And he's really kind and very empathetic. He's happy and sweet and smart but also very stubborn and a little manipulative at times. He's also a really, really hard worker and that's maybe the thing I admire in him the most. Things do not come easy for him, but he never gives up and he doesn't complain, he just keeps working.
Today, I'm truly just feeling so blessed to be able to watch this boy grow into an amazing young man. I'm happy to see the effect he has on others, and the way he's changing lives and minds. He's a pretty cool little guy!
On a completely different note, anyone interested in a couple thousand matchbox cars? :)
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Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Ahhhh....the mornings:)
I'm not going to sugar coat this blog post today. Mornings are pretty much the bane of my existence. I wrote about mornings a few years ago on this blog (can't find that post at the moment) however, things haven't changed that much.
I loathe waking up, especially when it's cold out, I would love to just sleep in my bed, all cozy and warm, until I wake up on my own. Obviously, that's not an option. Soooooo, I set my alarm clock for 7 a.m. and almost always wake up determined to have a quiet, calm morning. It almost NEVER happens. Other stuff happens, like we can't find the exact dress that Maddie wants to wear, or the exact socks that Georgie wants to wear, I don't often understand how Maddie wants her hair done, I haven't packed the correct stuff in their lunches, etc.,etc., etc. Logan doesn't really complain in the morning because he's usally busy eating. He generally eats 4 pieces of toast, a couple of bananas and sometimes a few waffles too. Logan is a VERY SLOW eater so this takes him almost the whole morning.
Anyway, I'm not going to go into all the gory details, but it's usually a cluster f--k from about 8:15-8:30 when I finally drop them off at school. (Yes, I drop them off because we don't have 1 extra minute to spare to walk across the street to school. No judging!!!!)
Almost everyday last year, when we got to school, Logan decided he didn't want to go to school anymore. At that point, I would bribe him with anything and everything I could possibly think of, "Logan, if you go to school, you can play the wii when you get home for 18 hours, you can have pizza and tacos for dinner, I'll take you to get an extra large snowball, you can play with my phone allllll night long, please, please, please get out of the car and go to school. PLEASE!!!" Eventually, he would take pity on me and hop out and then very, very, very slowly meander to the door (sometimes it would take him 15 minutes to walk about 50 feet.)
That was last year. This year has been a little better because Maddie is going with him and he likes that, there still not always great. But, THIS MORNING!!!! Ahhhh, this morning was the BEST!! We got out of the house on time, pulled up to school behind our friends. Logan hopped out, kissed my cheek and took off with his buddy. The crossing guard crossed them, some little girls he went to preschool with ran up behind him calling his name, he said "hi" then continued on with his pal. He stopped about halfway up, turned around to wait for Maddie, then they all took off together. I actually stood there and cried because I LOVE mornings like this, I LIVE for mornings like this. It's the very best. And, I don't owe him anything when he gets home today:)
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Panic Has Set In
I was really, really proud of myself yesterday for my idea and for writing an actual blog post. I mean, really, really proud. For, like, an hour. Then, panic set in!!! What on EARTH was I thinking?!?! Writing about "my blessings" every day for the rest of the month?!?!? Dear Lord, that's a lot of blessings. And, let me tell you, it's not all sunshine and roses up in here. I know I have a lot of blessings, I'm just not sure I can muster up the energy to always write about them.
However, I will try.
I do have one for today, though. Yesterday, when Maddie came home from school I showed her this really cool video because she absolutely LOVES that song, and because she has a brother with Down syndrome (full disclosure: we talk about DS in this house often, not a lot, but often. We talk about it with Maddie and Georgia and Logan, everyone knows Logan has it, and all questions are welcomed and answered honestly so it's not really a big deal). Anyway, I showed her the video because I was hoping she would like it. Sometimes, Maddie can be a bit of a grump and not appreciate things that I think she'll surely love. But, there's one thing (person) that always brings a smile to Maddie's face, her brother. I showed her the video and she smiled the whole time, then asked to watch it again. After the second time she looked at me with such a happy look on her face and said, "aww mom, it's so special because people with Down syndrome can do anything." YESSSSSS!!! Yay Maddie, thank you for getting it!!!!
Now, please don't think I'm writing, "Oh, I Have the very best child in all the universe" because I am most certainly NOT writing that. Maddie is of equal pain-in-the-assness as her brother (and don't even get me started on the littlest one) BUT the one thing about Maddie is that she LOVES Logan more than anything on this earth and the feeling is mutual. They are each other's people, they are soul mates. It's such a relief to see their love for each other, it makes my heart happy.
Maddie, I'm sure, will have a rough road ahead of her. She's already had some comments from kids at school about her brother (size, behavior, speech, etc.) but I'm hoping that we can give her enough confidence and love to hold her head high and deal with these comments with poise and courage. In the meantime, I'm just going to keep on thanking my lucky stars for this sassy, spunky, super smart (and sometimes a smart ass) girl.
However, I will try.
I do have one for today, though. Yesterday, when Maddie came home from school I showed her this really cool video because she absolutely LOVES that song, and because she has a brother with Down syndrome (full disclosure: we talk about DS in this house often, not a lot, but often. We talk about it with Maddie and Georgia and Logan, everyone knows Logan has it, and all questions are welcomed and answered honestly so it's not really a big deal). Anyway, I showed her the video because I was hoping she would like it. Sometimes, Maddie can be a bit of a grump and not appreciate things that I think she'll surely love. But, there's one thing (person) that always brings a smile to Maddie's face, her brother. I showed her the video and she smiled the whole time, then asked to watch it again. After the second time she looked at me with such a happy look on her face and said, "aww mom, it's so special because people with Down syndrome can do anything." YESSSSSS!!! Yay Maddie, thank you for getting it!!!!
Now, please don't think I'm writing, "Oh, I Have the very best child in all the universe" because I am most certainly NOT writing that. Maddie is of equal pain-in-the-assness as her brother (and don't even get me started on the littlest one) BUT the one thing about Maddie is that she LOVES Logan more than anything on this earth and the feeling is mutual. They are each other's people, they are soul mates. It's such a relief to see their love for each other, it makes my heart happy.
Maddie, I'm sure, will have a rough road ahead of her. She's already had some comments from kids at school about her brother (size, behavior, speech, etc.) but I'm hoping that we can give her enough confidence and love to hold her head high and deal with these comments with poise and courage. In the meantime, I'm just going to keep on thanking my lucky stars for this sassy, spunky, super smart (and sometimes a smart ass) girl.
Monday, October 7, 2013
We Are Blessed....
Lots of people say this to me, "you are so blessed." Meaning, we are blessed to be Logan's parents, Logan is blessed to be our child, Maddie and Georgia are blessed to be his sister, etc.,etc.
I think about this statement every time I hear it and wonder what that means?!? It baffles me occasionally because, to be honest, sometimes I forget how blessed we are because, well (again, just being honest), Logan can be a real pain in the ass. I'm pretty sure he's not a pain in the ass because he has 47 chromosomes but because he's a 7 year old boy and, truthfully, that's more of who he is than anything else.
He's just a crazy, wild, LOUD boy! Overly enthusiastic about sports and Star Wars, under enthusiastic about school and homework, very, very happy to annoy and irritate his sisters, and not above blackmailing his parents to get what he wants kind-of-boy. Last time I checked, these were just that, boy things, not DS things. So, yeah, more alike than different.
I think that's why I had trouble drumming up inspiration for the blog this month, because even though the extra chromosome is a part of Logan and our family, it's not who he is or who we are. However, this month is a time of reflection for me and I do believe we are very, very blessed to have Logan in our lives, and I believe Logan is very, very blessed to have all of YOU in his life. So, that's going to be the theme of the blog this month, our blessings. Hopefully, each day, I'll get a hot minute to write some stuff down about our blessings.
For today, I'm pretty happy with the fact that Logan is a pain in the ass. For a while, after he was born, I was afraid he wouldn't be "just a boy", but he is. He totally is. And, even though I don't care for Star Wars or SportsCent er or irritating his sisters, I'm secretly glad he loves all those things and I feel blessed that he does.
Stay tuned....
I think about this statement every time I hear it and wonder what that means?!? It baffles me occasionally because, to be honest, sometimes I forget how blessed we are because, well (again, just being honest), Logan can be a real pain in the ass. I'm pretty sure he's not a pain in the ass because he has 47 chromosomes but because he's a 7 year old boy and, truthfully, that's more of who he is than anything else.
He's just a crazy, wild, LOUD boy! Overly enthusiastic about sports and Star Wars, under enthusiastic about school and homework, very, very happy to annoy and irritate his sisters, and not above blackmailing his parents to get what he wants kind-of-boy. Last time I checked, these were just that, boy things, not DS things. So, yeah, more alike than different.
I think that's why I had trouble drumming up inspiration for the blog this month, because even though the extra chromosome is a part of Logan and our family, it's not who he is or who we are. However, this month is a time of reflection for me and I do believe we are very, very blessed to have Logan in our lives, and I believe Logan is very, very blessed to have all of YOU in his life. So, that's going to be the theme of the blog this month, our blessings. Hopefully, each day, I'll get a hot minute to write some stuff down about our blessings.
For today, I'm pretty happy with the fact that Logan is a pain in the ass. For a while, after he was born, I was afraid he wouldn't be "just a boy", but he is. He totally is. And, even though I don't care for Star Wars or SportsCent er or irritating his sisters, I'm secretly glad he loves all those things and I feel blessed that he does.
Stay tuned....
Thursday, December 15, 2011
The Christmas Program
I do not know why, today, I feel so compelled to write a blog because I have a million and ten things to do as I'm sure everyone else does too!!! It's just that crazy time of year. BUT, it's also a time of year to reflect and be grateful for the things you are blessed with. Right? Today, I'm feeling grateful and blessed.
This morning, Logan and Maddie had their annual Christmas pageant at preschool. This is Logan's last one before he goes to kindergarten. Logan's had a tough couple of practices the past few weeks and I was debating even letting him be in the program. However, he promised me that he would not tackle anyone during the program and he would not touch anyone. He promised!!!! so I let him go through with it.
I'm sure you can imagine, after I had this talk with my precious little rough and tumble 5 year old, I didn't have super high expectations for this performance. I mean, I was just hoping and praying that he wouldn't knock anyone off the altar, you know?
However, as always, as he always freakin' does, Logan FAR surpassed my expectations. He was AMAZING. It was the greatest performance I've ever seen. Greater than U2 in Dublin ;) Logan was a rockstar. So sweet and awesome and wonderful. He sang his little heart out, every word to every song. He did all the hand movements and did not tackle anyone. Hooray!!!
I was barely containing floods and floods of tears as I watched my little man. He's amazing!!! He's the most amazing person I know. How did we get here? How did WE get to be HIS parents?
Soon, OBGYN's across the county are going to be testing pregnant women to see if their unborn fetus' have DS. The test is done very early in the pregnancy given women more time to process or, if decided, to abort the fetus. Currently, 85% of parents who find out their unborn fetus MAY have DS decide to abort.
I am not going to offer an opinion on this one way or the other. I did not have the oppurtunity of knowing that Logan would have DS before he was born so it feels wrong to pass judegement on people who do know. However, I do want to say that, with days like today I just thank God a million times over for giving me this little boy. He is such a joy to us!!!
Logan brings more joy and happiness to our lives than I ever, ever would have dreamed possible. I'm the first to acknowledge that often things are a bit different with Logan, and definitely a bit tougher but, I'm telling you I would NOT trade any of it for anything in the world.
Watching that little munchkin parade down the aisle at Hunt' Church, high-fiving and waving at people he didn't even know, like he owned the place, watching him ROCK out on stage, then, when it was over, watching him say "thank you, thank you, thank you" like the applause was all for him, made my heart swell so much I thought it would burst. I'll say it again, he amazes me. Every single child I have met with Down syndrome, EVERY ONE!!!!!!! Is amazing. I'm 5 years into this world and I am happy to report, I'm thrilled to be a part of this special community. I'm truly thankful and grateful this year that my little boy has a little something extra ;)
This morning, Logan and Maddie had their annual Christmas pageant at preschool. This is Logan's last one before he goes to kindergarten. Logan's had a tough couple of practices the past few weeks and I was debating even letting him be in the program. However, he promised me that he would not tackle anyone during the program and he would not touch anyone. He promised!!!! so I let him go through with it.
I'm sure you can imagine, after I had this talk with my precious little rough and tumble 5 year old, I didn't have super high expectations for this performance. I mean, I was just hoping and praying that he wouldn't knock anyone off the altar, you know?
However, as always, as he always freakin' does, Logan FAR surpassed my expectations. He was AMAZING. It was the greatest performance I've ever seen. Greater than U2 in Dublin ;) Logan was a rockstar. So sweet and awesome and wonderful. He sang his little heart out, every word to every song. He did all the hand movements and did not tackle anyone. Hooray!!!
I was barely containing floods and floods of tears as I watched my little man. He's amazing!!! He's the most amazing person I know. How did we get here? How did WE get to be HIS parents?
Soon, OBGYN's across the county are going to be testing pregnant women to see if their unborn fetus' have DS. The test is done very early in the pregnancy given women more time to process or, if decided, to abort the fetus. Currently, 85% of parents who find out their unborn fetus MAY have DS decide to abort.
I am not going to offer an opinion on this one way or the other. I did not have the oppurtunity of knowing that Logan would have DS before he was born so it feels wrong to pass judegement on people who do know. However, I do want to say that, with days like today I just thank God a million times over for giving me this little boy. He is such a joy to us!!!
Logan brings more joy and happiness to our lives than I ever, ever would have dreamed possible. I'm the first to acknowledge that often things are a bit different with Logan, and definitely a bit tougher but, I'm telling you I would NOT trade any of it for anything in the world.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
The Plunge (What else could I possibly write about this week?!?!?)
Anyway, The Plunge. So, background info, every year for the past 4 years we've done the Polar Bear Plunge which benefits Special Olympics Maryland. It's an amazing cause and the first year that we did it, it completely changed my life. See the following blog posts: Cels, Super Plungers and What's In a Team? for more info.
But, actually, this isn't about the plunge, per say, it's really about what the plunge means to us. It's about what the people who plunge and donate mean to us. The first year we did the plunge, Logan was about 8 months old. It had been a tough couple of months, as I'm sure you can imagine. However, we got a phone call from a good friend who suggessted we do the Plunge. Sam and Bobby came up with the name, "Logan's Heroes" and we set our goal at 10 plungers and $1000. Wow, were we amazed when we FAR surpassed those goals.
That day, 4 years ago, we were surrounded by our family and friends who were so ready and willing to support us. We were also welcomed into a community, one that we wouldn't necessarily have wanted to join, with open arms and felt so blessed and supported that it completely erased all fears and apprehensions we had for our son. At least for a while :) It was a truly magical day. And, what's even more magical is that you continue to support us, year after year, and, truthfully, day after day.
So, it's not just the plunge that I'm talking about. Believe me, I KNOW that it takes a special type of person to pledge to plunge into the absolutely freezing cold waters of the Chesapeake Bay. I did it one year, and, honest to God, prefer child birth to plunging. So, please don't ever feel bad about NOT plunging, I'm never doing it again either :) And, please don't ever, EVER feel bad about not donating to our cause, or, actually, causes. Those aren't the most important things to us.
We love you plungers and we love you donators, and we appreciate every single day how much you do for us. But, we also appriciate all the really great people in the world who support us every day. By teaching your child love and acceptance of all people, you support us. By listening to a friend who's going through a tough time, you support us. By just saying "Hi" to Logan in the supermarket, you're supporting us.
We so often hear about all the negativity in the world. But, there's so much good in people, that I wish we heard more about them. Look at Jimmy and Theresa Z who've started the Baltimore Saints Hockey program for special needs kids. They've impacted hundreds of families. They've given kids the opportunity of a lifetime!!!! Look at Kate Lepley and the Miracle for Meghan Foundation, they've raised thousands of dollars for research into genetic disorders which will impact hundreds, maybe thousands of families and hopefully provide kids like Logan and Meghan a much better quality of life.
So many people are so wonderful!!!! So, plungers, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I mean that more than you'll ever know. And, thank you to everyone else who just loves and supports and accepts kids, and adults, with special needs. That's all we've ever really wanted for Logan and that, to us, is what the plunge is all about!!!
You know, I'm not sure I ever would have been involved with these organizations if we didn't have Logan in our lives, so, again, one of the gazillion reasons I'm so eternally grateful to have him as our son. He's a true, amazing blessing to all of us.
Okay, and also, I just read this and it's totally not written well so I apologize for that, but it actually took me 3 hours to bang this thing out. Of COURSE, Sid the Science Kid didn't keep anyone's interest. Sooo, we had to make cookies, then pizza for lunch. Then, we had to make hot chocolate to dip the cookies in, the Georgia spit up because someone shoved a cookie (a FULL cookie) in her mouth so she needed to be changed, then Maddie wanted to dress up like a princess, then Logan wanted to be Spiderman, THEN Spiderman ATTACKED the fairy princess, and so on and so on and so on......
Anyway, good luck Plungers!! We love you all :)
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Ummmmm....
I just want to say that, while it really is super fun to just blow off ALL household chores to play with the kids, it's actually not that great of an idea.
First of all, people get hungry when you don't make them meals, which makes them cranky and kind of annoying and not fun to play with. Also, the kitchen sink is only so big, therefore, you have to actually clean the dishes, put them in the dishwasher or let them pile up around the counter (which doesn't look very nice)
Also, these kids get frustrated when they can't find a toy that they want, which they can't when thousands of toys are scattered haphazardly around the house. Someone (me) needs to organize these toys.
Furthermore, laundry absolutely HAS to be done. People need clean underwear :) You know?
So, I'm going to amend my resolution to saying that I'll make an effort to spend more quality time with the munchkins. No longer am I going to spend ALL my time with them :)
And, to tell you the truth, I think I was getting on their nerves anyway, so I'm sure they're just as happy about this amendment as I am.
First of all, people get hungry when you don't make them meals, which makes them cranky and kind of annoying and not fun to play with. Also, the kitchen sink is only so big, therefore, you have to actually clean the dishes, put them in the dishwasher or let them pile up around the counter (which doesn't look very nice)
Also, these kids get frustrated when they can't find a toy that they want, which they can't when thousands of toys are scattered haphazardly around the house. Someone (me) needs to organize these toys.
Furthermore, laundry absolutely HAS to be done. People need clean underwear :) You know?
So, I'm going to amend my resolution to saying that I'll make an effort to spend more quality time with the munchkins. No longer am I going to spend ALL my time with them :)
And, to tell you the truth, I think I was getting on their nerves anyway, so I'm sure they're just as happy about this amendment as I am.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Time Flies
So, today I finally got around to taking our Christmas cards down. Every year, as they come in, I hang them around the kitchen because they're all so beautiful and my kids love to look at their friends. However, having already packed away all other Christmas stuff, I felt this was next on the list. And, I'm also majorly purging all "junk" we have in our house because I can no longer stand the clutter!! Ugh, it drives me crazy.
Anyway, I'm taking down the Christmas cards, and it occurs to me that most of our cards have picture of KIDS on them, not babies. Our wall used to be filled with babies, not kids. The first one that struck me was Carter and Brooks, oh my word!!!!, they're pretty much all grown up (at the ages of 4 and 2), and Colin, he looks like a teenager to me (even though he just turned 4) and Declan and Mac!!! Weren't Logan and Declan JUST born?!?!?! What the hell? I'm looking at the Nicholas clan and it occurs to me that Jen and Brian just celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary....how can that be? Wasn't it just yesterday that I was laying in bed, totally hung over, from having the time of my life from one of the best weddings ever?!?!?!?
Then I see the cards of people who have kids my kids ages, Danny and Natalie, Graham and Jane, Patrick and Ryan...if these kids look big and grown up to me that can only mean one thing....MY kids are growing up. THAT I do not like.
I love this snuggly stage where everyone loves everyone else (particularly ME) and we all get along and we're happy and there's no friend drama.
I realized today, I need to cherish these days, they are certainly limited. I don't want to spend my time cleaning out closets and making homemade, gourmet, super healthy meals anymore. (Actually that was a bit of a lie, I don't make gourmet meals, nor are they actually super healthy, but I ALWAYS think about making those types of meals.) I'm going to try and stop pressuring myself to have the perfectly clean house, with the perfectly organized closets and try and spend more time with these little monsters who seem to be growing up right in front of my eyes.
When we came home from school today, it was freezing in my house. The reason being I was sweating this morning trying to get all 3 kids out the door so I hastily turned off the heat, cursing it under my breath for making my house so darn hot...lol. Anyway, it was so cold, that instead of rushing in to have lunch we all piled on the couch and snuggled under a blanket until the heat kicked in. And I heard some GREAT stories about school that day. Awesome, hysterical, probably totally made up stories about school. I loved every minute of it.
It finally hit me, this was going to be my New Years Resolution, which I don't usually have, but how much longer are my kids going to want to snuggle with me on the couch and giggle with each other. Screw the closets (for now), I'm going outside to play with my kids!!
HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE!!!
Anyway, I'm taking down the Christmas cards, and it occurs to me that most of our cards have picture of KIDS on them, not babies. Our wall used to be filled with babies, not kids. The first one that struck me was Carter and Brooks, oh my word!!!!, they're pretty much all grown up (at the ages of 4 and 2), and Colin, he looks like a teenager to me (even though he just turned 4) and Declan and Mac!!! Weren't Logan and Declan JUST born?!?!?! What the hell? I'm looking at the Nicholas clan and it occurs to me that Jen and Brian just celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary....how can that be? Wasn't it just yesterday that I was laying in bed, totally hung over, from having the time of my life from one of the best weddings ever?!?!?!?
Then I see the cards of people who have kids my kids ages, Danny and Natalie, Graham and Jane, Patrick and Ryan...if these kids look big and grown up to me that can only mean one thing....MY kids are growing up. THAT I do not like.
I love this snuggly stage where everyone loves everyone else (particularly ME) and we all get along and we're happy and there's no friend drama.
I realized today, I need to cherish these days, they are certainly limited. I don't want to spend my time cleaning out closets and making homemade, gourmet, super healthy meals anymore. (Actually that was a bit of a lie, I don't make gourmet meals, nor are they actually super healthy, but I ALWAYS think about making those types of meals.) I'm going to try and stop pressuring myself to have the perfectly clean house, with the perfectly organized closets and try and spend more time with these little monsters who seem to be growing up right in front of my eyes.
When we came home from school today, it was freezing in my house. The reason being I was sweating this morning trying to get all 3 kids out the door so I hastily turned off the heat, cursing it under my breath for making my house so darn hot...lol. Anyway, it was so cold, that instead of rushing in to have lunch we all piled on the couch and snuggled under a blanket until the heat kicked in. And I heard some GREAT stories about school that day. Awesome, hysterical, probably totally made up stories about school. I loved every minute of it.
It finally hit me, this was going to be my New Years Resolution, which I don't usually have, but how much longer are my kids going to want to snuggle with me on the couch and giggle with each other. Screw the closets (for now), I'm going outside to play with my kids!!
HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE!!!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Mornings
I've been wanted to write a post about mornings forever, but, of course, I have no time :) Finally, today, things have settled a bit and I've got about 3 minutes to spit out this blog.
Here's the thing about weekday mornings in my house....they STINK!!!
Now, let me regress for a moment. I used to love mornings. I truly did. I was a "morning person." When I lived with my parents after college, before I married Sam, I would wake up to a fresh pot of coffee courtesy of my dad, down my first cup, jump in the shower and watch the Today Show while applying my make-up and carefully dressing in my freshly ironed clothes, courtesy of my mom. I would grab a second cup of coffee, jump in my sporty little Honda Civic and cruise into work listening to U2. Ahhhhh....those were the days. I loved my mornings. It was the best time of my day because it was quiet, calm and relaxing. HA!!!!
Fast forward 10 years and it's the total opposite now. (I just want to interject here that I've already been interrupted 3 times while writing this....ay yi yi). Anyway, NOW, I literally wake up late every, single day. So, when I do wake up I hit the ground running. For real. I run to get the kids, run them into the bathroom, while they're "taking care of business", I run and get their breakfast ready. While they eat their breakfast, I run and collect, clothes, socks, shoes, jackets, hats, gloves, glasses, etc. It's generally at this point that I remember I have a 3rd child. So, I run into her room to find her happily looking at her mobile. Shew....I'll leave her there just a bit longer. Run back to the kitchen, grab a cup of coffee, scrup my face, throw on workout clothes (which is a bit humorous since I almost NEVER work out while the kids are at school, it's just easier to wear them than to actually look nice). Now, 2 things are happening while I'm running around. 1.) I'm screaming like a chicken with my head cut off the entire time and 2.) My children are very slowly picking apart their waffles, meandering around the house, sleepily talking to each other. There is NO sense of urgency in their little minds. They're just like their father :)
So, it makes me scream louder (and more unintelligble). Anyway, almost every day we make it out the door and almost every day I'm amazed that we did. Well, I take that back, I'm ALWAYS amazed that we actually made it out the door.
On our way to school we listen to Milkshake, Barney, Elmo, a LeapFrog DVD, whatever, it's NOT U2 :(
However, when we make it to light at Bellona Ave and Joppa Road, I always look in my rearview mirror and am so thankful for my little peanuts, I don't even care about the craziness of the morning compared to what it used to be. I'm just grateful to be there mom. And, I hope they'll forget that I was a crazy lady in the mornings when they're older!!
Now, getting them into school....well, that's another story :)
Here's the thing about weekday mornings in my house....they STINK!!!
Now, let me regress for a moment. I used to love mornings. I truly did. I was a "morning person." When I lived with my parents after college, before I married Sam, I would wake up to a fresh pot of coffee courtesy of my dad, down my first cup, jump in the shower and watch the Today Show while applying my make-up and carefully dressing in my freshly ironed clothes, courtesy of my mom. I would grab a second cup of coffee, jump in my sporty little Honda Civic and cruise into work listening to U2. Ahhhhh....those were the days. I loved my mornings. It was the best time of my day because it was quiet, calm and relaxing. HA!!!!
Fast forward 10 years and it's the total opposite now. (I just want to interject here that I've already been interrupted 3 times while writing this....ay yi yi). Anyway, NOW, I literally wake up late every, single day. So, when I do wake up I hit the ground running. For real. I run to get the kids, run them into the bathroom, while they're "taking care of business", I run and get their breakfast ready. While they eat their breakfast, I run and collect, clothes, socks, shoes, jackets, hats, gloves, glasses, etc. It's generally at this point that I remember I have a 3rd child. So, I run into her room to find her happily looking at her mobile. Shew....I'll leave her there just a bit longer. Run back to the kitchen, grab a cup of coffee, scrup my face, throw on workout clothes (which is a bit humorous since I almost NEVER work out while the kids are at school, it's just easier to wear them than to actually look nice). Now, 2 things are happening while I'm running around. 1.) I'm screaming like a chicken with my head cut off the entire time and 2.) My children are very slowly picking apart their waffles, meandering around the house, sleepily talking to each other. There is NO sense of urgency in their little minds. They're just like their father :)
So, it makes me scream louder (and more unintelligble). Anyway, almost every day we make it out the door and almost every day I'm amazed that we did. Well, I take that back, I'm ALWAYS amazed that we actually made it out the door.
On our way to school we listen to Milkshake, Barney, Elmo, a LeapFrog DVD, whatever, it's NOT U2 :(
However, when we make it to light at Bellona Ave and Joppa Road, I always look in my rearview mirror and am so thankful for my little peanuts, I don't even care about the craziness of the morning compared to what it used to be. I'm just grateful to be there mom. And, I hope they'll forget that I was a crazy lady in the mornings when they're older!!
Now, getting them into school....well, that's another story :)
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Ugh, so I haven't written a post in forever!!! I think, partly, because this time of year is SUPER crazy. Isn't it? My God, we hardly have ANY free time. Also, I think since I'm not writing everyday, I'm not thinking about it constantly, therefore; I have no idea what to write!!!
However, today I got an email from an organization I've been following since Logan was born and I really wanted to share it with everyone.
First, let me give you some background on this organization. About 4 years ago, Logan was almost 6 months old and while I was getting dinner together one night, he was sitting on the kitchen floor banging on pots and pans. I had the TV on and was watching the Nightly News with Brian Williams. Ann Curry came on with a story about institutions and orphanages in Eastern European countries. I believe she was in Serbia. Anyway, the basic jist of the story was that babies who were born with any sort of disability were put in these orphanages that were absolutely terrible!!! Horrible, horrible places. THEN, the camera panned to a little boy, about 6 months old, with Down syndrome TIED to his crib posts. I nearly fell on the ground in shock. I could NOT believe that people with disabilities were still treated like that. (I say still because many people with disabilities in the United States were placed in institutions for years and years and years and, really, only recently, has that practice changed. However, some people still do live in these institutions although they're called something else to make it seem not as bad.)
Anyway, back to the little boy. I watched THAT little boy on TV and MY little boy on the kitchen floor making music and I wanted to just die. It was the most heart wrenching site I had ever seen. It touched me so deeply. For months and months I would sneak into Logan's room to watch him sleep and imagine if he hadn't been born to us, if he hadn't been born in this country. It was a sick thing to do, but I couldn't help it. And, I couldn't get the images of these children out of my head.
So, I contacted the organization that provided Ann Curry with the information on the orphanages to see what I could do to help. I've been receiving emails from them ever since. Sometimes they ask for letters to be written to our government officials, sometime to other countries, sometimes they just need money, or sometimes they just pass information along. I'm still very much pained by these emails and all the tragic stuff that goes on in the world, but I'm not naive about it anymore. I know it's happening and I try, very hard, to do the best I can to stop it.
Right now, with 3 kids 4 years old and under, I don't have a ton of time to write letters and emails and make phone calls, but I can pass the information on and hope and pray that someone out there will help to fight for the rights of these poor people.
And, I don't want to sound preachy about this, but I also feel like there's a connection to be made between these institutions and the segregation of our kids at schools. As I said earlier, for years and years and YEARS people with disabilities were literally taken from their mothers' wombs and put in institutions. Some of these parents didn't even have a choice. They were TOLD that it was the ONLY thing they could do for their baby. It was heart-wrenching and painful and sometimes, sometimes, parents wouldn't accept that fate for their child. They either refused to send them to the insitutions or they went and got them after several days, weeks or months. This VERY slowly started to catch on and parents started refusing the send their babies away.
Now, it's more the norm to take your baby home with you and "just love" him or her. That's what we did :) Thank GOD!!!
However, in our schools, kids are still seperated from their peers. It's not as extreme as living in an insitution outside of society, but it's still segregation and it's still harming our kids!!
People are always saying to me how amazing Logan is, and, for a while I took the credit for that (lol) but then I started to realize that a) I'm not really doing anything for him that other people aren't doing for their kids and b) all the other kids I know who have DS are pretty much the same as Logan. So, why is this? After pondering it for a couple of years, I think it's NOT that they're so exceptional, it's just that they're able to live up to almost their full potential now because they're NOT treated AS poorly as they used to be.
Can you IMAGINE how well they would do, how exceptional they would be, if they really, truly were just treated like EVERYONE ELSE!!!! If we really, truly didn't use their physical charateristics to pre-judge their abilities? I can imagine. They WOULD be like everyone else.
Oh Lord, I've really gone off on some tangents here. But, here's the point, parents stopped sending their children to institutions to be separated from society and they've done exceptionally well. Now, let's just take it one step farther and STOP separating them in the schools and watch and see all the amazing things they will do with that. Let's see them reach their FULL potential.
Here are the links to Disability Rights International and some of their recent news stories:
http://www.disabilityrightsintl.org/
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/mexican-psychiatric-institution-hell/story?id=12267276&page=1
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/01/world/americas/01mexico.html?_r=1
However, today I got an email from an organization I've been following since Logan was born and I really wanted to share it with everyone.
First, let me give you some background on this organization. About 4 years ago, Logan was almost 6 months old and while I was getting dinner together one night, he was sitting on the kitchen floor banging on pots and pans. I had the TV on and was watching the Nightly News with Brian Williams. Ann Curry came on with a story about institutions and orphanages in Eastern European countries. I believe she was in Serbia. Anyway, the basic jist of the story was that babies who were born with any sort of disability were put in these orphanages that were absolutely terrible!!! Horrible, horrible places. THEN, the camera panned to a little boy, about 6 months old, with Down syndrome TIED to his crib posts. I nearly fell on the ground in shock. I could NOT believe that people with disabilities were still treated like that. (I say still because many people with disabilities in the United States were placed in institutions for years and years and years and, really, only recently, has that practice changed. However, some people still do live in these institutions although they're called something else to make it seem not as bad.)
Anyway, back to the little boy. I watched THAT little boy on TV and MY little boy on the kitchen floor making music and I wanted to just die. It was the most heart wrenching site I had ever seen. It touched me so deeply. For months and months I would sneak into Logan's room to watch him sleep and imagine if he hadn't been born to us, if he hadn't been born in this country. It was a sick thing to do, but I couldn't help it. And, I couldn't get the images of these children out of my head.
So, I contacted the organization that provided Ann Curry with the information on the orphanages to see what I could do to help. I've been receiving emails from them ever since. Sometimes they ask for letters to be written to our government officials, sometime to other countries, sometimes they just need money, or sometimes they just pass information along. I'm still very much pained by these emails and all the tragic stuff that goes on in the world, but I'm not naive about it anymore. I know it's happening and I try, very hard, to do the best I can to stop it.
Right now, with 3 kids 4 years old and under, I don't have a ton of time to write letters and emails and make phone calls, but I can pass the information on and hope and pray that someone out there will help to fight for the rights of these poor people.
And, I don't want to sound preachy about this, but I also feel like there's a connection to be made between these institutions and the segregation of our kids at schools. As I said earlier, for years and years and YEARS people with disabilities were literally taken from their mothers' wombs and put in institutions. Some of these parents didn't even have a choice. They were TOLD that it was the ONLY thing they could do for their baby. It was heart-wrenching and painful and sometimes, sometimes, parents wouldn't accept that fate for their child. They either refused to send them to the insitutions or they went and got them after several days, weeks or months. This VERY slowly started to catch on and parents started refusing the send their babies away.
Now, it's more the norm to take your baby home with you and "just love" him or her. That's what we did :) Thank GOD!!!
However, in our schools, kids are still seperated from their peers. It's not as extreme as living in an insitution outside of society, but it's still segregation and it's still harming our kids!!
People are always saying to me how amazing Logan is, and, for a while I took the credit for that (lol) but then I started to realize that a) I'm not really doing anything for him that other people aren't doing for their kids and b) all the other kids I know who have DS are pretty much the same as Logan. So, why is this? After pondering it for a couple of years, I think it's NOT that they're so exceptional, it's just that they're able to live up to almost their full potential now because they're NOT treated AS poorly as they used to be.
Can you IMAGINE how well they would do, how exceptional they would be, if they really, truly were just treated like EVERYONE ELSE!!!! If we really, truly didn't use their physical charateristics to pre-judge their abilities? I can imagine. They WOULD be like everyone else.
Oh Lord, I've really gone off on some tangents here. But, here's the point, parents stopped sending their children to institutions to be separated from society and they've done exceptionally well. Now, let's just take it one step farther and STOP separating them in the schools and watch and see all the amazing things they will do with that. Let's see them reach their FULL potential.
Here are the links to Disability Rights International and some of their recent news stories:
http://www.disabilityrightsintl.org/
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/mexican-psychiatric-institution-hell/story?id=12267276&page=1
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/01/world/americas/01mexico.html?_r=1
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Potty Training and Other Stuff!!
So, this is definitely NOT a post for people who don't have kids or who have never potty trained. If you read it, please be warned, it might be a little gross to you!!.
The other day, Maddie approached me and said that she would like to wear underwear now. Oooooookay, she's 2 and I've been asked her about this for 6 months and she's flat out refused to use the toilet. But, apparently now she's ready. And, boy oh boy, is she ready. She literally put on underwear the other day and hasn't looked back since. Now, she did have a few accidents when our poor, sweet, saintly babysitter was here today, but other than that I would call her potty trained.
To tell you the truth, this irks me a bit. Why? Because it's literally taken me YEARS to potty train Logan. YEARS!!!! I started when he was 3 and now, at 4.5 he's probably about 90% done. But, it has not been easy, it has not been without tears and really, really hard work and a lot of frustration. Potty training Logan was perhaps one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life.
However, I seem to say that a lot when it comes to things we've taught Logan. For example, it took me months to get that child to use a straw. He finally "got it" when he was about 9 months old and I coined that particular accomplishment, "my greatest feat EVER" Haha, I was a little naive and way over dramatic (some might say I still am). Anyway, that was before the walking challenge. Logan took his first step when he was 13 months old, walked 5 steps when he was 18 months old and started to really waddle when he was 20 months old. It took him a looooooong time. But, that's life with Logan.
Things take a little longer and are a little more challenging. BUT, the most amazing thing about Logan is that he always gets it.
The other day I watched my little Georgie roll across the floor to get a toy. I kinda felt sad about it because I wasn't prepared for her to do it. I didn't anticipate it because I hadn't been "working on it" with her. All my friends who have kids with DS will understand that. We "work" on everything with our kids. It's awesome a lot of the time because they always get it, and it's such a great accomplishment. But, it's still hard to get there.
The other day my niece asked me when babies usually crawl, and I went into this long story about the first time Logan crawled, I'll NEVER, EVER forget that minute as long as I live. He was 10 months old and it was Easter Sunday. It was the best day. Then she said, "when did Maddie crawl?" I floundered a bit. "Ummmmmm, ummmmmm" My sister-in-law giggled because she gets it and she saved me by saying something like, "Oh you always remember when your first does something." But, truthfully, I have NO IDEA when Maddie crawled. How terrible am I?!?!? But, it's because she probably did it one day when I wasn't looking. When I didn't anticipate it would be happening.
Anyway, what is the point of this very long, drawn out blog? I don't know. Ha ha. It just has occurred to me lately that people always say how great it is when our kids do something, but I don't think people often talk about the time and patience it takes to do teach them. It's tough a lot. And, it's not just tough for us. Lots of moms struggle to help their kids with all sorts of thing. It's really hard to be a mom!!! It really is. So, I think the purpose of this blog is to say "Go Moms!!!" All of the moms I know totally, totally rock. You keep on doing what you're doing. And, one day, when your kids are older, they realize how great you were. Just as I appreciate how great my mom is today.
Love you mom and all my other mom friends :)
xoxo.
The other day, Maddie approached me and said that she would like to wear underwear now. Oooooookay, she's 2 and I've been asked her about this for 6 months and she's flat out refused to use the toilet. But, apparently now she's ready. And, boy oh boy, is she ready. She literally put on underwear the other day and hasn't looked back since. Now, she did have a few accidents when our poor, sweet, saintly babysitter was here today, but other than that I would call her potty trained.
To tell you the truth, this irks me a bit. Why? Because it's literally taken me YEARS to potty train Logan. YEARS!!!! I started when he was 3 and now, at 4.5 he's probably about 90% done. But, it has not been easy, it has not been without tears and really, really hard work and a lot of frustration. Potty training Logan was perhaps one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life.
However, I seem to say that a lot when it comes to things we've taught Logan. For example, it took me months to get that child to use a straw. He finally "got it" when he was about 9 months old and I coined that particular accomplishment, "my greatest feat EVER" Haha, I was a little naive and way over dramatic (some might say I still am). Anyway, that was before the walking challenge. Logan took his first step when he was 13 months old, walked 5 steps when he was 18 months old and started to really waddle when he was 20 months old. It took him a looooooong time. But, that's life with Logan.
Things take a little longer and are a little more challenging. BUT, the most amazing thing about Logan is that he always gets it.
The other day I watched my little Georgie roll across the floor to get a toy. I kinda felt sad about it because I wasn't prepared for her to do it. I didn't anticipate it because I hadn't been "working on it" with her. All my friends who have kids with DS will understand that. We "work" on everything with our kids. It's awesome a lot of the time because they always get it, and it's such a great accomplishment. But, it's still hard to get there.
The other day my niece asked me when babies usually crawl, and I went into this long story about the first time Logan crawled, I'll NEVER, EVER forget that minute as long as I live. He was 10 months old and it was Easter Sunday. It was the best day. Then she said, "when did Maddie crawl?" I floundered a bit. "Ummmmmm, ummmmmm" My sister-in-law giggled because she gets it and she saved me by saying something like, "Oh you always remember when your first does something." But, truthfully, I have NO IDEA when Maddie crawled. How terrible am I?!?!? But, it's because she probably did it one day when I wasn't looking. When I didn't anticipate it would be happening.
Anyway, what is the point of this very long, drawn out blog? I don't know. Ha ha. It just has occurred to me lately that people always say how great it is when our kids do something, but I don't think people often talk about the time and patience it takes to do teach them. It's tough a lot. And, it's not just tough for us. Lots of moms struggle to help their kids with all sorts of thing. It's really hard to be a mom!!! It really is. So, I think the purpose of this blog is to say "Go Moms!!!" All of the moms I know totally, totally rock. You keep on doing what you're doing. And, one day, when your kids are older, they realize how great you were. Just as I appreciate how great my mom is today.
Love you mom and all my other mom friends :)
xoxo.
Monday, November 8, 2010
"Are We Old?"
First, I want to start by saying NO, I don't think I'm old, nor do I think Sam's old. I don't really think of anyone as "old" until they're in their 90's.
My grandmother is is her 80s and just returned from a 3 week trip to Turkey!! She's definitely not old.
But, the reason I bring it up is because Sam asked me this question, "Are we old?" last night on a return trip home from a little jaunt around the reservoir.
The catalyst for this question was Logan YELLING at us to stop singing a song. I don't remember the song we were singing (which is kind of ironic since I'm claiming to NOT be old) but it was a GREAT song from the 1980's that we both loved. This was the 3rd awesome song in a row that had come on the radio and we were literally singing at the top of our lungs and Logan was begging us to stop. Begging us!!! Maddie was covering her ears and, at one point, screamed out, "you're hurting my ears."
At that point, Sam looked at me and said, "I think we're those parents already. We're old and embarrassing." Why is that? Why are we already old to our kids? Shouldn't we still be relatively cool to them. They're 4 and 2!!!
But, the more I thought about it, the more I thought, maybe we are old-ish. We had spent Saturday afternoon and evening "hiking" the NCR trail, we had so much fun that we nerdily joked that it was our new, "happy hour."
Then, yesterday Daylight Savings Time ended. This used to honestly be one of my favorite days of the year. It meant we had an extra hour to drink on Saturday night, and then an extra hour to sleep in on Sunday. NOT the case when you have kids.
Logan, the morning monster that he is, woke EVERYONE up at 5:40 Sunday morning. He started by taking Maddie's pacifier out her mouth WHILE she was sound asleep, then he went into Georgie's room, got right up in her face and screamed, "GOOD MORNING GEORGIE!!!!" Then he moseyed on into our room and declared, "I have to poop and I'm thirsty." Wow, I thought, Daylight Savings actually stinks!!!!
So, I guess we're getting older, and we're definitely probably getting to that period when our kids are thinking we're really old but, guess what, I'm going to KEEP singing my songs, LOUDLY, and I don't care if they think I'm nerdy. I'm going to embrace my new old, nerdy self :) I'm pretty sure Georgie still thinks I'm cool!!
2 Updates:
Literally, just "posted" this blog and went upstairs to check on my crock pot meal which has been "cooking" since 7:30 this morning and, surprise, surprise, I FORGOT to turn the frickin' crock pot on. Sooooooo....maybe I am old.
Also, I remembered the song we were singing. It was Billy Idol's, "Dancin' With Myself" which was a cool song. It really was. You remember it? Here are the lyrics. GREAT song.
"Dancing With Myself"
On the floor of Tokyo
Or down in London town to go, go
With the record selection
And the mirror's reflection
I'm dancing with myself
When there's no-one else in sight
In the crowded lonely night
Well I wait so long
For my love vibration
And I'm dancing with myself
Oh dancing with myself
Oh dancing with myself
Well there's nothing to lose
And there's nothing to prove
I'll be dancing with myself
If I looked all over the world
And there's every type of girl
But your empty eyes
Seem to pass me by
Leave me dancing with myself
So let's sink another drink
'Cause it'll give me time to think
If I had the chance
I'd ask the world to dance
And I'll be dancing with myself
Oh dancing with myself
Oh dancing with myself
Well there's nothing to lose
And there's nothing to prove
I'll be dancing with myself
If I looked all over the world
And there's every type of girl
But your empty eyes
Seem to pass me by
Leave me dancing with myself
So let's sink another drink
'Cause it'll give me time to think
If I had the chance
I'd ask the world to dance
And I'll be dancing with myself
Oh dancing with myself
Oh dancing with myself
If I had the chance
I'd ask the world to dance
If I had the chance
I'd ask the world to dance
If I had the chance
I'd ask the world to dance
[Scat]
Dancing with myself
Dancing with myself
Dancing with myself
Dancing with myself
If I looked all over the world
And there's every type of girl
But your empty eyes
Seem to pass me by
Leave me dancing with myself
So let's sink another drink
'Cause it'll give me time to think
If I had the chance
I'd ask the world to dance
And I'll be dancing with myself
Oh dancing with myself
Oh dancing with myself
If I had the chance
I'd ask the world to dance
If I had the chance
I'd ask the world to dance
If I had the chance
I'd ask the world to dance
My grandmother is is her 80s and just returned from a 3 week trip to Turkey!! She's definitely not old.
But, the reason I bring it up is because Sam asked me this question, "Are we old?" last night on a return trip home from a little jaunt around the reservoir.
The catalyst for this question was Logan YELLING at us to stop singing a song. I don't remember the song we were singing (which is kind of ironic since I'm claiming to NOT be old) but it was a GREAT song from the 1980's that we both loved. This was the 3rd awesome song in a row that had come on the radio and we were literally singing at the top of our lungs and Logan was begging us to stop. Begging us!!! Maddie was covering her ears and, at one point, screamed out, "you're hurting my ears."
At that point, Sam looked at me and said, "I think we're those parents already. We're old and embarrassing." Why is that? Why are we already old to our kids? Shouldn't we still be relatively cool to them. They're 4 and 2!!!
But, the more I thought about it, the more I thought, maybe we are old-ish. We had spent Saturday afternoon and evening "hiking" the NCR trail, we had so much fun that we nerdily joked that it was our new, "happy hour."
Then, yesterday Daylight Savings Time ended. This used to honestly be one of my favorite days of the year. It meant we had an extra hour to drink on Saturday night, and then an extra hour to sleep in on Sunday. NOT the case when you have kids.
Logan, the morning monster that he is, woke EVERYONE up at 5:40 Sunday morning. He started by taking Maddie's pacifier out her mouth WHILE she was sound asleep, then he went into Georgie's room, got right up in her face and screamed, "GOOD MORNING GEORGIE!!!!" Then he moseyed on into our room and declared, "I have to poop and I'm thirsty." Wow, I thought, Daylight Savings actually stinks!!!!
So, I guess we're getting older, and we're definitely probably getting to that period when our kids are thinking we're really old but, guess what, I'm going to KEEP singing my songs, LOUDLY, and I don't care if they think I'm nerdy. I'm going to embrace my new old, nerdy self :) I'm pretty sure Georgie still thinks I'm cool!!
2 Updates:
Literally, just "posted" this blog and went upstairs to check on my crock pot meal which has been "cooking" since 7:30 this morning and, surprise, surprise, I FORGOT to turn the frickin' crock pot on. Sooooooo....maybe I am old.
Also, I remembered the song we were singing. It was Billy Idol's, "Dancin' With Myself" which was a cool song. It really was. You remember it? Here are the lyrics. GREAT song.
"Dancing With Myself"
On the floor of Tokyo
Or down in London town to go, go
With the record selection
And the mirror's reflection
I'm dancing with myself
When there's no-one else in sight
In the crowded lonely night
Well I wait so long
For my love vibration
And I'm dancing with myself
Oh dancing with myself
Oh dancing with myself
Well there's nothing to lose
And there's nothing to prove
I'll be dancing with myself
If I looked all over the world
And there's every type of girl
But your empty eyes
Seem to pass me by
Leave me dancing with myself
So let's sink another drink
'Cause it'll give me time to think
If I had the chance
I'd ask the world to dance
And I'll be dancing with myself
Oh dancing with myself
Oh dancing with myself
Well there's nothing to lose
And there's nothing to prove
I'll be dancing with myself
If I looked all over the world
And there's every type of girl
But your empty eyes
Seem to pass me by
Leave me dancing with myself
So let's sink another drink
'Cause it'll give me time to think
If I had the chance
I'd ask the world to dance
And I'll be dancing with myself
Oh dancing with myself
Oh dancing with myself
If I had the chance
I'd ask the world to dance
If I had the chance
I'd ask the world to dance
If I had the chance
I'd ask the world to dance
[Scat]
Dancing with myself
Dancing with myself
Dancing with myself
Dancing with myself
If I looked all over the world
And there's every type of girl
But your empty eyes
Seem to pass me by
Leave me dancing with myself
So let's sink another drink
'Cause it'll give me time to think
If I had the chance
I'd ask the world to dance
And I'll be dancing with myself
Oh dancing with myself
Oh dancing with myself
If I had the chance
I'd ask the world to dance
If I had the chance
I'd ask the world to dance
If I had the chance
I'd ask the world to dance
Sunday, October 31, 2010
The Last Day....
I can't believe it's the last day of October!!!! Wow, time flies, huh? So, the 31 for 21 blog challenge is over, but, I have to admit, I had so much fun writing these blogs this month, I hope to keep it up throughout the year. Obviously not every day, but I promise to do better than I did last year.
The point of my blog this year was to raise awareness about Down syndrome, to help people understand that children with Down syndrome are just like all kids and should be treated equally.
I also wrote the blog to help new moms of kids with DS because no matter how great your support system is, and no matter how much you love your baby, it's still REALLY hard to hear that your child has Down syndrome. It's hard for different reasons but it's hard nonetheless, so I wanted to let those moms know that it'll be okay. It really will.
And, it helps ME to remember how scared I was, to realize how okay we are now, which makes me think the things I'm scared of about the future also won't be do bad!!
Thank you all so much for your support again this year. It just warms my heart so much.
We decided to end the blog with the 21 Things We Love Most about Logan (get it, 21, trisomy 21)
So, here goes:
1.) His precious, sweet, pudgy little hands.
2.) His heart. He had a hole in his heart when he was born, but there's no hole anymore. It's the purest, most perfect heart and it's big enough for him to love every single person he meets.
3.) The way he talks. This is a multifaceted thing, because, I love the mere fact that he CAN talk (thanks to Alicia!!!), I love all the things he says, and I especially love his deep voice and the slight Baltimore accent (LOVE).
4.) I adore his little love handles....so much!! I just want to pinch them ALL the time (sometimes I do and he gets REALLY mad)
5.) Oh that beautiful blond hair. I love the way it just falls, the way it bounces when he dances and runs, the way it curls up when it gets too long.
6.) His hugs are the absolute BEST. First of all, they're totally free to anyone who asks. Some people I know (ahem...Maddie) are very selective about who they hug, Logan has been known to hug trees if asked. He'll hug anyone. And they're full bodied, arms wrapped around your neck, long, sweet hugs. They're the best.
7.) Okay, back to the talking. Logan has developed a nice set of manners, so he says "Tank you mama" every time I do anything for him. For example, he hates when I clip his nails, he flails about, and screams at me to "stop, stop, STOP" But, when I'm done, he always says, "Ahhhh...betta, tank you mama." I love it.
8.) His smile.
9.) "I do it self." This is his "main phrase." He's said it 20-30 times a day for the past year. I know it's totally a 2, 3 and 4 year old thing to want to do everything themselves, but it just always impresses me about Logan because things are harder for him, but he still insists on doing everything himself. And he ALWAYS does. When things are hard for me, I ask for help. When things are hard for Logan, he tries harder.
10.) Logan is a snuggle bunny. He loves to snuggle. And, my favorite thing he does is when he curls up in our lap and pulls his little feet up under him, just like when he was a baby. I hope his snuggling never ends. Do you think when he's 13 he'll snuggle with me?
11.) The way he runs is hilarious. He sticks his tummy waaaaaay out, his head is back almost like he's looking up at the sky praying to God he doesn't fall, hands are up and out (like wings) and his hair is flapping all over the place. He's also, almost always giggling when he runs. It never ceases to crack me up.
12.) "How bout...." Logan, just like his Daddy, takes his sweet time making decisions about the really important things. We'll ask, "Logan what do you want...." and he responds, "How bout.....mmmmmmmm...." All the while his little finger is tapping his chin while he's thinking.
13.) His dance moves!!!!
14.) Allllllllll the questions, allllllll the time. "Cookin' mama?, Goin' mama?, Talkin' to mama?, makin' mama?" I LOVE the questions.
15.) Logan loves to watch football. And, he seems to understand it better than I do. So, when something good happens, and I miss it, he yells at me to clap. "CLAP MAMA." It sort of makes me look bad, you know, that my 4 year old knows more about football than I do, but I don't mind because it's so darn cute.
16.) How he loves to share. He'll share anything with anyone because, as he says, "I wuv to share." This might be the reason that Maddie is so unable to share, but, whatever, it's a good quality for Logan to have :)
17.) Okay, I have to admit, this is one of my all time most favorite things about Logan. When I pick him up from school, it's as if he hasn't seen me in months, he runs to me with a huge smile on his face, arms outstretched and just tackles me with his big, bear hugs, every day!!! Every day!!! Seriously, it makes me smile thinking about it.
18.) He's my yoga partner and he's way better than me. Since he doesn't really nap too much anymore, I bought a couple of yoga dvd's which we do in the living room while the girls sleep. He's really, really good at yoga and he often helps me get into the poses.
19.) Just like me, he loves to cook. So, in the evening, I can put on a show for Maddie and Logan and I go to the kitchen and make dinner. He's honestly really good, and he enjoys it so much. So now, I have dreams of opening a restaurant one day with Logan as my head chef. It also explains his crazy love for the movie, "Ratatouille."
20.) His resilience. Logan definitely struggles with some things, but it never gets him down, he just keeps trying until he gets it right. He also quickly bounces back when he gets a "boo-boo." He often will kiss the boo-boo himself and says, "ahhh...betta." Then is up and running again. He's a strong little boy.
21.) Most of all, I love Logan's extra 21st chromosome. Without it, he wouldn't be the sweet, wonderful, loving little boy that he is.
Thanks again for reading everyone. Happy Halloween.
The point of my blog this year was to raise awareness about Down syndrome, to help people understand that children with Down syndrome are just like all kids and should be treated equally.
I also wrote the blog to help new moms of kids with DS because no matter how great your support system is, and no matter how much you love your baby, it's still REALLY hard to hear that your child has Down syndrome. It's hard for different reasons but it's hard nonetheless, so I wanted to let those moms know that it'll be okay. It really will.
And, it helps ME to remember how scared I was, to realize how okay we are now, which makes me think the things I'm scared of about the future also won't be do bad!!
Thank you all so much for your support again this year. It just warms my heart so much.
We decided to end the blog with the 21 Things We Love Most about Logan (get it, 21, trisomy 21)
So, here goes:
1.) His precious, sweet, pudgy little hands.
2.) His heart. He had a hole in his heart when he was born, but there's no hole anymore. It's the purest, most perfect heart and it's big enough for him to love every single person he meets.
3.) The way he talks. This is a multifaceted thing, because, I love the mere fact that he CAN talk (thanks to Alicia!!!), I love all the things he says, and I especially love his deep voice and the slight Baltimore accent (LOVE).
4.) I adore his little love handles....so much!! I just want to pinch them ALL the time (sometimes I do and he gets REALLY mad)
5.) Oh that beautiful blond hair. I love the way it just falls, the way it bounces when he dances and runs, the way it curls up when it gets too long.
6.) His hugs are the absolute BEST. First of all, they're totally free to anyone who asks. Some people I know (ahem...Maddie) are very selective about who they hug, Logan has been known to hug trees if asked. He'll hug anyone. And they're full bodied, arms wrapped around your neck, long, sweet hugs. They're the best.
7.) Okay, back to the talking. Logan has developed a nice set of manners, so he says "Tank you mama" every time I do anything for him. For example, he hates when I clip his nails, he flails about, and screams at me to "stop, stop, STOP" But, when I'm done, he always says, "Ahhhh...betta, tank you mama." I love it.
8.) His smile.
9.) "I do it self." This is his "main phrase." He's said it 20-30 times a day for the past year. I know it's totally a 2, 3 and 4 year old thing to want to do everything themselves, but it just always impresses me about Logan because things are harder for him, but he still insists on doing everything himself. And he ALWAYS does. When things are hard for me, I ask for help. When things are hard for Logan, he tries harder.
10.) Logan is a snuggle bunny. He loves to snuggle. And, my favorite thing he does is when he curls up in our lap and pulls his little feet up under him, just like when he was a baby. I hope his snuggling never ends. Do you think when he's 13 he'll snuggle with me?
11.) The way he runs is hilarious. He sticks his tummy waaaaaay out, his head is back almost like he's looking up at the sky praying to God he doesn't fall, hands are up and out (like wings) and his hair is flapping all over the place. He's also, almost always giggling when he runs. It never ceases to crack me up.
12.) "How bout...." Logan, just like his Daddy, takes his sweet time making decisions about the really important things. We'll ask, "Logan what do you want...." and he responds, "How bout.....mmmmmmmm...." All the while his little finger is tapping his chin while he's thinking.
13.) His dance moves!!!!
14.) Allllllllll the questions, allllllll the time. "Cookin' mama?, Goin' mama?, Talkin' to mama?, makin' mama?" I LOVE the questions.
15.) Logan loves to watch football. And, he seems to understand it better than I do. So, when something good happens, and I miss it, he yells at me to clap. "CLAP MAMA." It sort of makes me look bad, you know, that my 4 year old knows more about football than I do, but I don't mind because it's so darn cute.
16.) How he loves to share. He'll share anything with anyone because, as he says, "I wuv to share." This might be the reason that Maddie is so unable to share, but, whatever, it's a good quality for Logan to have :)
17.) Okay, I have to admit, this is one of my all time most favorite things about Logan. When I pick him up from school, it's as if he hasn't seen me in months, he runs to me with a huge smile on his face, arms outstretched and just tackles me with his big, bear hugs, every day!!! Every day!!! Seriously, it makes me smile thinking about it.
18.) He's my yoga partner and he's way better than me. Since he doesn't really nap too much anymore, I bought a couple of yoga dvd's which we do in the living room while the girls sleep. He's really, really good at yoga and he often helps me get into the poses.
19.) Just like me, he loves to cook. So, in the evening, I can put on a show for Maddie and Logan and I go to the kitchen and make dinner. He's honestly really good, and he enjoys it so much. So now, I have dreams of opening a restaurant one day with Logan as my head chef. It also explains his crazy love for the movie, "Ratatouille."
20.) His resilience. Logan definitely struggles with some things, but it never gets him down, he just keeps trying until he gets it right. He also quickly bounces back when he gets a "boo-boo." He often will kiss the boo-boo himself and says, "ahhh...betta." Then is up and running again. He's a strong little boy.
21.) Most of all, I love Logan's extra 21st chromosome. Without it, he wouldn't be the sweet, wonderful, loving little boy that he is.
Thanks again for reading everyone. Happy Halloween.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Well Done...
Today's my Dad's birthday and he wrote an awesome blog that is very well said!!!
Happy Birthday Dad. We all love you so much. Thank you for continuing to be such a positive, loving light in Logan's life....he certainly adores his Grampy :)
Happy Birthday Dad. We all love you so much. Thank you for continuing to be such a positive, loving light in Logan's life....he certainly adores his Grampy :)
“Well done is better than well said…”
One of my favorite quotes since I always enjoy stories about everyday people who do extraordinary things and in the process inspire us to accomplish more than we thought possible.
Ever since Logan was born four and half years ago we became part of such a terrific community of families organized together as the Chesapeake Down Syndrome Parent Group. They are truly some of the most caring, genuine and sincere people you could ever imagine knowing. The CDSPG organization was founded in the early 80’s by a group of parents who were determined to make a difference for their children. Over the years they’ve done an inspiring job providing their local membership with a regular series of informal grassroots educational and social forums to raise awareness in the community and provide direct family support.
So what does all this have to do with Logan and the 31/21 challenge? For Logan and all the other children with possibilities it seems that quite a number of people who are reading, writing and commenting on this blog are thinking about the road ahead. Everyone seems to have such a strong desire to work towards a brighter future of inclusion for these children. It won’t be easy getting there. It will take leadership. It will take every bit of your energy, your enthusiasm, and your willingness to get involved, speak up and be an advocate.
Congratulations and thanks to all of the families of the CDSPG who have inspired our family and have paved the way to get it done in our local community. I have great confidence that through your dedication we now have a stronger and bigger family that is now poised to continue to get it done and make a difference well into the future.
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