Project 365: March 23 - 29

I'm so behind on posting these! But I have been taking them. I'll get you all caught up after the craziness of the first of May!

Monday, March 23 Working from home - yep, I'm in my jammies. One of the beauties of working from home!

Tuesday, March 24All it's done is rain here lately!

Wednesday, March 25 Fireman Noah The fire dept. came to visit Noah's school. Noah got to sit in the fire truck and was talking ALL about it when he came home. The firemen gave each child a fire hat that Noah is modeling in the picture. 

Thursday, March 26Some of the results of my craftiness Friday, March 27Noah's Easter Outfit. It's so cute - but it's going to be even cuter when he is in it! Saturday, March 28 Signing Phone - This is how Noah asks to use the phone 101 times a day. Sunday, March 29

Heart shaped necklace I'm really digging lately.

Busy Time of the Year

This is my super busy time of the year. Why, you may be asking? Because of what season it is!  Every year BirthMom Buds hosts an annual “Birthmother’s Day Celebration” in Charlotte, NC (or that’s where it’s been the past 3 years) that is typically held on Birthmother’s Day which is the Saturday before Mother’s Day. This year we are doing things differently and having it the weekend before Mother’s Day which is next weekend!!  Every year, we choose a different theme and I (along with the help of others) plan décor around that theme. Aside from just having fun and fellowship with other birthmothers, we have breakout sessions, speakers, a candle light ceremony, door prizes, and more. It really is a fun (but exhausting!) day.  (Check out some of our fun from past events here.)

I’m stoked about this year’s theme which is The Road Less Traveled which I “borrowed” from Mr. Frost’s poem. It’s a theme that really makes sense to me for birthmothers but it is also a very “out of the box” type theme and has challenged me to get really creative with the centerpieces. But it’s been fun and I can’t wait to see what everyone thinks of what I’ve come up with! And an added bonus to all of that is getting to spend time with my BFF, Holly, and Melanie, as well as seeing all the familiar faces of birthmoms from the past few years. 

Also, it's the busiest time of the year with the cards I sell at Heartmark Designs. Although, cards sells are a lot slower this year than they have been in the past. I'm totally blaming that one on the economy!

So, needless to say, the next week will be super busy as I finish up last minute projects, tweak the program, plan the breakout session I will lead, wrap door prizes, and I could go on with more things to do but I won’t bore you with the details. Plus I have to juggle my normal everyday stuff like IEP meetings, baseball, writing, Heartmark Designs, etc. 

If I’m quiet next week, now you know why! 

Special Olympic Reflections

While watching Noah compete in the recent local Special Olympics my Mom and I were chatting like Mothers and Daughters so often do when my Mom mentioned that she took two children to the Special Olympics in Mississippi back in the 1970’s when she was a special education major in college. She started telling me about the little boys, their disabilities, and what not. 

I then brought up that I was a Special Olympics volunteer when I was a senior in high school back in 1994. She remembered that and I began telling her what I could remember about the little boy I was assigned to. His name was Jimmy and his disability was pretty severe. I believe he had cerebral palsy but I can’t remember that for sure. Mentally, he was about six months old, was in a wheelchair, didn’t talk or interact any at all. I remembered that the child my friend was assigned to had his Mom and Grandma there cheering him on but Jimmy didn’t have anyone there but me, a stranger. 

It struck me as ironic. Little did I know then as I pushed Jimmy in his wheelchair at the Special Olympics that fifteen years later I would be at the special Olympics again pushing someone in a wheelchair but that someone would be my son. And actually it’s not ironic – it was/is God’s doing. 

For so long I have always believed that God gives special needs children to special families. He hand picks the families that he thinks can handle these children. (I say families because it really does take a family to raise a special needs child.) Once we knew the cause of Noah’s cerebral palsy, I had a hard time believing that. I no longer felt like we were special or chosen. I was angry for a little while and had to work through that. 

But later that day as I reflected on mine and my Mom’s conversation and my own thoughts, it became apparent to me that regardless of how Noah’s cerebral palsy happened, God chose the family that would be lucky and special enough to have that wonderful little boy.

(above photo taken at this year's Special Olympics)

Wordless Wednesday: Signs of the Times

This was on a billboard at a sandwich shop near my parents’ house a couple of weeks ago. Nothing like marketing towards the bad economy is there! 

Special Olympics

Noah had a great day at the Special Olympics last week. His big event was the 25m wheelchair race. 

Lined up, ready to go, and sizing up the competition

Go Noahie, Go!

Making his way to the finish line with Daddy and Grandaddy cheering him on from the sidelines.

Noah's ribbon

Basking in the sunlight after the race

He's a tired athlete ~ resting on Grandaddy's leg. Last but not least, snuggling with Momma

Six Years Ago Today

I married my best friend & soul mate, the man who makes me laugh, who knows what I am thinking without even saying it,  who takes care of me when I'm sick,  who praises me when I do something praise-worthy, and who brings me back to reality when I need it. 

Noah "married" J too, giving Noah another strong male role model, a coach, a friend,  and someone to tussle around with.  We officially became a family unit.  A family who loves each other dearly,  who likes to travel and spend time with extended family.  A family who is there for one another through good times and bad.  Cheers to the future! 

Make your own Memory Board

I love reading craft blogs and found a new one not too long ago called One Pretty Thing. This site is basically a collection of DIY projects and tutorials all over the web. If you go to the site each day, you'll see about 20-30 links (with photos) to the projects. I've had fun visiting the site and actually using some of the tutorials to create my own stuff. I've been inspired by those tutorials to create my own so each Thursday as time permits, I'll try and share some kind of tutorial featuring something I have created. And of course, I hope one day one of my tutorials will be featured on One Pretty Thing.  So for our first Thursday Tutorial, I'll teach you something I have shared in other places before but it remains to be a favorite project - how to create a fabric covered memory board/bulletin board. Unfortunately, I don't have photos to show each text like some of the other awesome tutorials I've read out there, but that's something I'll work on next time I'm making a project I want to share. Creating a fabric covered memory board or bulletin board is easy and inexpensive. It's also a great way to utilize a bulletin board but in a fun way. Materials Needed: 1. Plain Cork Board (If you can only find the kind that has a wooden frame around it you could take the frame off. You could also use foam core board, like what is used for science projects.) 2. Fabric of your choice (How much you need will depend on the size of the board you use, but you'll need enough to cover the entire board.) 3. Ribbon 4. Embellishments such as flowers, buttons, rhinestones, etc. 5. Stapler 6. Glue Directions:   1. Cut fabric to fit the cork board. Leave enough so that you can fold the fabric over the edges neatly. 2. Once the fabric is cut and folded over begin to tightly staple it down on the backside. If you use enough staples it should be pretty secure but you may wish to add a little glue underneath the fabric as well for extra hold. 3. Cut your ribbon and criss-cross it in your desired pattern. Staple the ribbon down on the backside. I usually put a little glue under the ribbon on the back as well. You want to get it secured down as tightly as possible. 4. Use flowers, buttons, or whatever you like to add a little extra pizzazz to your memory board. 5. I usually make another ribbon loop on the back that turns into the hanger but if you didn't want a ribbon hanger, you could just  omit that step.  You can make this in less than an hour. And you can totally customize them to match the décor in your child’s room, your office, or anywhere in your home!

Wordless Wednesday: Ouchie Kiss

Noah giving me an "ouchie kiss" as we call them. I mentioned that I was getting a headache to J and he pulled me down and gave me a kiss on my head.  Such a sweet boy!

Easter Recap

I hope each of you had a great Easter! Ours was low key but nice and quiet all at the same time. I pulled a muscle lifting Noah on Friday night and ended up going to the doctor late Saturday afternoon so we didn't make it to my parents' until late Saturday night, so we didn't really do anything Easter-ish on Saturday, just Sunday. 

We of course went to church. We went to the earliest service my church had (9 AM) and it was still pretty crowded! After church we stopped by the little park in my parents' neighborhood to take a picture of two of Noah in his Easter finery. For some reason, I had in my head this year that I wanted to take Noah's Easter pictures on a bench in a park. Although they are cute pics and I love them, they didn't turn out quite as I hoped due to the location of the bench.  Then, Noah inspected his Easter basket which contained some books, 2 light up t-shirts, some tattoos, a Clemson bear, some bubbles, a pair of dinosaur socks, a pair of socks with baseballs, footballs, and soccer balls on them, and various other random goodies that I can't remember at the moment! I forgot to take a picture of the basket before he began plundering through it this year! After a surf and turf style lunch and a brief nap, my Mom and I dyed Easter Eggs. We always attempt to get Noah involved but he never really wants to help so my Mom and I always end up doing it. I thought at some point along the way as Noah got older we'd stop dyeing eggs but nope, I don't think so now. It's just fun and while we understand the true meaning of Easter and know that eggs have nothing to do with it, dyeing eggs is something we have done each year at Easter ever since I can remember and I just don't think it'd feel like Easter without dyeing a few eggs.  As we do each Easter, Mom and I had fun dyeing the eggs. I had fun making some polky dot eggs and using ribbon (Oh, how I love ribbon and can find 1001 different uses for it!) to adorn the eggs.  So, enough of the talking, let’s see some photos!

Noah on the steps at my parents house. Look closely - the kitties are in the doorway. They wanted to be in the picture too!

Noah in his Easter outfit. Taken at the park near my parents' home.  Noah getting into his Easter basket.

And a mosiac of some of our Easter Eggs.

And it just would not be my blog or my photos, if I didn't include some edited photos using selective colorization.

My Terrific Kid

The Spring Pep Rally and Assembly was held at Noah’s school today. We had been invited by the school a few weeks ago because Noah had been selected as the Terrific Kid for his class and would be presented with an award.  Each teacher nominates one student from her class who has done well in school, has improved, has good behavior, and gets along with his/her peers. We were very excited that Noah was chosen as the Terrific Kid of his class. He has come such a long way since the beginning of the school year.  So of course we were going to be there and see Noah honored as a Terrific Kid. The guidance counselor at the school gave a little speel about what it means to be a Terrific Kid and how it all works. I wasn’t aware of this part until she explained it but apparently the staff at Noah’s school vote and then select an overall Terrific Kid for the different divisions at his school.  They had chairs up front for each of the Terrific Kids to sit in when it was time to be recognized. They left blank spots for the students in wheelchairs and J had already spotted Noah’s spot with his name taped to the floor. Finally it was time to bring in the Terrific Kids. Noah’s name was called first and he made his way to his spot amongst the cheers and applause. Apparently, he loved the cheers and applause because he kept signing that he wanted more applause! After each child’s was recognized it was time for them to announce the Terrific Kid for the entire elementary division.  Yep, it was our No-No!!! My Noah is the Terrific Kid of the entire elementary division. That’s big stuff for this little boy! J and I were so proud.  After the assembly was over, teachers and some of Noah’s friends were coming over to him congratulating him. He was eating up all the attention.  Of course we already thought Noah was a Terrific Kid but we are sooooo proud of him to receive this honor!

Noah with his teacher, Ms. Allison

J and I posing with our Terrific Kid

There is a bulletin board in the hallway listing all of the Terrific Kids for each class and it has the little write up that each teacher turned in when she chose the Terrific Kid for her class. 

The Shoes that Talked to Me.....

I’m really not a shoe girl. I mean, I wear shoes, when I’m leaving the house butI much prefer to be barefoot or wear crazy socks. But, you can’t really run around town in just socks or bare feet, so I wear shoes of course. But I’m not like other girls who buy a zillion pairs of shoes or buy fancy brands of shoes. I'd much rather buy purses than shoes! I do have a variety of shoes though but I usually don’t see a pair of shoes and just HAVE to have them.  Well, that is, until yesterday……. I was walking past a shoe store and in the window I saw the most adorable pair of shoes. They were brown (if you know me you know I love brown) and they had white polka (which I like to call polky) dots (again, if you know me you know I love polky dots.)  So, as I am passing by the store, that particular pair of shoes starts talking to me. The shoes are practically begging me to come into the store and visit them! So, I obey and go into the store. Oh, the shoes are even cuter closer up. Now, they are begging me to buy them. I’m running the outfits that I could wear with these shoes through my head to see if I have enough outfits that would go with them to justify buying them. I’m thinking I don’t but decide to peak at the price tag anyways.  I’m kinda shocked and adjust my glasses and look at the price tag again. I’m thinking I am loosing my mind. First the shoes are talking to me and now I’m seeing things.  I try the shoes on. Love ‘em! I look at the price tag again. A lady who works at the shoe store comes over and asks me if they fit well and I reply yes. Then I make a joke about the price and she explains to me that those shoes (they had the same shoe in many different colors) have been in the store forever and they have to get rid of them to make room for new shoes and just have to keep knocking them down.  So, I bought the shoes! And here are those fabulous shoes….. And here is the price of those fabulous shoes…. And just in case you can't read it - it says "2.97." Yep, you read it right! Sweet deal, eh?!?

Wordless Wednesday: Itsy Bitsy Spider

My Mom and Noah singing Itsy Bitsy Spider. I love this picture!!

Trip to Summerville

In my last post, I mentioned that we took a little road trip to Summerville to see my brother, Andy. It was a quick trip but a fun one!  On Friday night, I had dinner with my parents and my brother at a local restraunt which had some really yummy chicken enchiladas. Noah was not in the mood for a restraunt so he opted for Sonic and crackers. Interesting combination but crackers are Noah's fall back food. (If all else fails, give the child some cheese crackers!) We spent a little time with Andy at his place then went to our hotel. Noah LOVES the big beds in hotels.  Saturday morning, J, Noah, and my Dad went and participated in the Cooper Bridge River Run/Walk in Charleston, SC. After that, we all headed back to Summerville where the Flowertown Festival was going on. At this point, Noah desperately needed a nap so while he and J took a short nap, my parents, Andy, and I walked around the festival looking at many different arts and crafts booths, sampling some different foods, and enjoying the sunshine. 

All in all it was a short but fun trip. Here's a few photos from our trip!Hugging Uncle Andy

Noah in the BIG hotel bed.

My Dad, J, and Noah after walking the 10K. As you can tell, Noah was not in a picture taking mood!

Riding the Train with Grandad at the Flowertown Festival

Noah playing with a balloon at the Flowertown Festival

MIA

I've been Missing in Action! Last week was Spring Break, which limited my computer time anyways. Noah and I spent a lot of time just playing, coloring,and singing. A lot of times on breaks he just wants to play by himself a lot but not this time - so that was fun for both of us.  Then my computer got a virus and was in the shop for a few days being repaired. Then when I got it back, I had to re-install all my programs and what not. That has NOT been fun! There's still a few more things I have to install and fix and I have to do some catching up on lots of different things. Then on Friday, we took a little road trip to see Andy in Summerville. More details and photos about that coming tomorrow! For now, I just wanted to let my regular readers know I'm still alive! ha!