One of my favorite sleeping pictures of him.
Gaga and Penguins and Buzz, Oh My!
Better late than never, right???
I really had two Halloweens. My first one was at Bunco , and then the second was taking the boys trick-or-treating on Saturday night.
We happened to have Bunco the Thursday night before Halloween weekend. So, of course, it was a costume party.
Lady Gaga stopped by:
And a penguin and flapper
And here we all are…the ones who dressed up…
Up next, the trick or treating! We had Buzz and Thomas at our house. It was hard to keep Buzz out of his costume before Halloween. He wanted to wear it all of the time. Thomas had a hat to go with his costume, but he wasn’t about to wear it. The battle was not worth fighting.
This year was fun because my 3-year-old really got into it. He kept saying, “Can we go to another [house]"?” as soon as we’d get finished at one. It surprised me that he really didn’t mess with the candy while we were walking through the neighborhood. We trick-or-treated around our house for a while and then we headed over to my in-law’s house so my 3-year-old could go around their neighbor with his cousins. If the proof is in the candy stash, then the evening was a success. And the bonus was that the boys are still too young to know which is the good candy, so mommy and daddy scored some good stuff. (Oh, don’t act like you don’t do it too.)
99 Things
I’m pretty sure I stole this from my friend Laura’s blog. I have had it in my drafts for a while now and had forgotten about it. I stumbled upon it today, so here you go. A little get-to-know-me post. Feel free to lift this for your blog. Laura won’t mind. Promise.
Instructions: The post is a list of 99 random things. Bold the ones that you yourself have done.
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disney World
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train (No, but I have on a plane.)
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke (With a little liquid courage)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing (And threw up the entire time)
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling — snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching (Sort of—Got lucky and saw them)
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House (Just from the outside)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
The Season of Giving
The Sears family in Canada needs our help. I met Dana on Twitter, & we have since become e-pals. Her family is struggling to pay for the care her son, Mason, needs. I know many of us look for ways to help those in need, especially this time of year. PLEASE consider helping this family. Thanks to Bonnie’s Bows you can even get some Christmas shopping done at the same time! Here is a sample of Bonnie’s goodies:
Here’s Dana’s story in her own words:
Hello, My name is Dana Sears & I am Mason's Mom. Mason was born with Special Needs. At this time we do not fully understand the "Special" but we do understand Mason's "needs". Because Mason doesn't have a diagnoses, Drs dont really know what causes his issues, we do not receive government funding for Mason's needs. In 2009 Mason received his G-tube, this is a tube implanted into his stomach to allow us to bypass his swallowing. Mason's feeding costs are around $100 a day, that works out to $36,000 a year, just to feed him. That is impossible for a young family. Mason also needs Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Developmental treatment, Behavioral intervention & tools to help us in our day 2 day life.
Many families with Special needs Children struggle financially due to the extraordinary costs of raising our children. Our Family has gone $64,000 dollars in debt just giving Mason the bare minimums for the last year and a half. We are unable to supply Mason with everything that the Drs. and specialists say he needs. We have had help from Variety-The Children's Charity, they supplied one year grant of $5000 when we were weeks away from having to give Mason over to the Ministry, we had no where left to borrow money from.
I never thought by Blogging my feelings, or our journey trying to solve Mason's Riddle that I would run across someone like Bonnie. Bonnie is an amazing woman, to want to help my family is more than I can thank her for. I am not good at asking for help, but we are again needing some funds for Mason. We are stuck waiting to hear about our appeal to the government and waiting to hear from Charities. As the next couple of months go by we will be in need of more medical supplies again.
What will we use the Donations for? The specialists have asked for Mason to have a swing that he can use at all hours of the day. Swinging is a long acting drug in Mason's body, better than any pharmaceutical available. Mason is the happiest when he is swinging. Over time we have purchased most of the parts like the swings, rope ladder, rings, and just need to purchase the lumber and bolts to complete it! This swing will allow Mason to use one anyone type if swing at one time and will sit in a room in our house. Also we need to purchase some more feeding bags, and a few Mic-key buttons. We go through a Mic-key button every two months, these cost just over $400 a piece. On average I spend $30-$45 a week in parking for appointments. This is a huge expense that most people don't realize. We have one credit card, right now it's maxed out at $1500 for just parking dues. It's crazy.
Our family can't thank you enough for helping. Complete strangers helping my family, it just amazes me. When everyone around us has left, complete strangers have picked us up, encouraged and now want to help support us. It's.Truly.Deeply.Amazing.
Warm Regards,
The Sears Family
www.DanaSears.com
Twitter: DanaSearsFam
So, how can YOU help? SIMPLE.
1) Head on over to Bonnie’s Bows and make a purchase. Twenty percent of her sales will go to Dana’s family.
OR
2) You can go directly to Dana’s blog and make a donation through PayPal. There is a donate button on the right hand side of the page.
OR
3) Spread the word. If you blog- steal as much of this as you want and re-post. Twitter? Link us up! Facebook, Myspace, Message Boards- we will take any advertising we can get!
In this season of gratitude and giving, please consider helping this family out in any of the above mentioned ways. Anything is appreciated!
‘Tis the Season
W.O.W.! Have you seen the selection for Christmas cards and invitations over at Shutterfly? And there are some really unique ones! Let’s take a look, shall we?
I like this one just because it’s pretty without being too girly. Living in a house of testosterone, I look for things that meet that criteria. Love the colors. Love the simplicity. And I totally have a picture of the boys that would go great there. I found this one here.
The story cards are INGENIUS! I love getting caught up on my friends and families lives, but sometimes those Christmas newsletters are just a little too long. These story cards solve that problem. Hit the highlights of what happened during the year without giving every single detail. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. this one.
And who doesn’t love a party? Shutterfly has a great selection of invitations. If I was having bunco at my house in December, I would be all about this cookie swap invitation. Who doesn’t love cookies, right?
My choice for a card for my family would be this one. I love the short, sweet updates you can put on it, but, most of all, I love the colors!
Go take a look for yourself at the traditional Christmas cards, the story cards, the Thanksgiving cards, and the holiday party invitations that Shutterfly offers. They really do have a plethora of choices.
AND….
If you are a fellow blogger and would like to receive 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly, go here. Clever 1000 is the referral source I used.
Moms: Let’s Stop Judging Each Other!
After reading this post over at the Heir to Blair my heart went out to her. You see, I’ve been there—a work-outside-of-the-home mom. And it’s though. Really tough. I totally get the guilt and frustration it can cause. I also get how exhausted you are at the end of the day. But I also think I have a unique perspective because while I was a work-outside-of-the-home for 3 years, I am now a stay-at-home-mom. (Do I sub one day a week, but that’s just for my sanity and because my MIL wanted to watch the boys one day a week still—perfection!) I am lucky to have such a great gig. Incredibly L.U.C.K.Y. As a mom who has been in both positions, I will just say each has their pros and cons and leave it at that for now.
Here’s what killed me, absolutely KILLED me about Blair’s post. It was the comments. The judgmental ones. I kills me that we moms judge each other so much. Now granted some of the comments could have been from people who do not have children, and let’s be honest, they have no clue what they are talking about and I can dismiss those. But some of the commenters where very specific about having children, so we know they are moms (or maybe dads). And some of the things those moms or dads said…Oh my. The GALL of some people.
Here’s an example:
I’m just curious about something here. Why isn’t you not working an option (I know, kinda personal, maybe you make more money than your hubby). But the work seems to be at the base of every problem you complain about. So quit. You don’t NEED the double income, no one NEEDS two incomes in a family. You just want one so you can keep buying pretty shoes and trendy hair bands, keeping your kid in the coolest clothes, and your hubby with the newest golf clubs. Life is about finding balance, and learning what is most important to you. You say it’s time with your kid, so than spend time with the kid.
Two things that got my feathers ruffled here.
1) Really? You don’t NEED two incomes? WHAT? You don’t know the financial situation of other families. A lot of families out there can’t survive on one income, especially in this economy. And they DO NEED two incomes to make ends meet. And they should be made to feel guilty about that. Yes, we are now a one income family. BUT we are doing A LOT of scrimping , pinching pennies, and rearranging of expenses. We are sacrificing quite a bit to make it happen. And? Here’s the other thing. I am a teacher, so once the boys both get into school, I will go back to work full-time. It’ll be a perfect situation again—on the same schedule as the boys. But some, no most, moms don’t have that luxury. Their careers aren’t so mom-friendly. And you know what? At that point my family will NEED the two incomes because you know what we aren’t able to do right now on one income? Save for college.
2) Apparently this whole comment isn’t even true, but even if it was, who cares? It’s none of your business why moms work. If they choose to work or if they have to work—not your concern folks. Priorities are different for everyone. Some people might work because they want to be able to take their families on nice vacations. Well, I can’t fault them for that. Think of the value of the cultural experiences, think of what you learn by visiting national parks. Honestly, I have big plans for vacations I want to take the boys on. That’s another reason I’ll be going back to work when they get in school. And some moms might work to give their kids nice things. And if that’s what they want, then more power to them. And? I’ll just say it. Some moms are not cut out to stay at home and, likewise, some are not cut out to work outside of the home. Love, love, love my boys, but I couldn’t get out of the house to sub fast enough today. They were driving me batty. I need this one day away to keep my sanity. Some moms may not need to work for the money, but they might need to for the sanity. I get that, and, even if I didn’t get it, not my place to judge.
Another example of a comment that made my blood pressure boil:
Blair has blogged about at least two weekends away without Harrison since he was born. I (and most moms I know) have had exactly zero weekends away from my baby at almost a year old; I already have very limited time with my daughter and I cherish what I do have. I would miss her if I went away.
Then again, I didn’t have the severe PPD/PPA issues, which I imagine would make you want to escape in a bad way so that’s a different situation that I don’t claim to understand.
Wait a minute. Hold the phone. Did this person really just insinuate that you have post partum issues to need time away from your kids? I can imagine that MAYBE, just MAYBE that might exacerbate the situation (and I am totally speculating here) but what mom out there can’t say she needs some time to herself? If you raised your hand, you are LYING. I’m just going to go ahead and call you on it. We all not only WANT some me time, but we NEED it as well. In fact I’ll just go out on a limb and say that I’m a better mom & wife when I get my me time. And how dare we judge moms who leave their kids for an evening to go out for some girl time. Or on a date with their husbands. Or whatever they need to do to have some time for themselves. And if a mom takes a weekend away to go to a conference, or a scrapbooking retreat, or a shopping trip once in a while, well, that’s her prerogative. More power to her. Heck, my husband & I have been known to take vacations without the boys. GASP! Judge if you want, but it has, dare I say, saved our marriage. We all love our kids, but sometimes we moms and dads need a break, yes?
My bottom line? This motherhood gig is hard enough no matter which side of the working fence you are on. We mommas need to be supporting each other, not tearing each other down. So the next time a mom is doing something you wouldn’t dream of, try to remember, you are doing something with your family & kids that another mom wouldn’t dream of. We are all different. Need different things. Want different things. Have different priorities. And just like with a society, shouldn’t we embrace our differences?
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