My Favorite Little Boy

I wanted to promote a wonderful idea and opportunity to trim Tripp's tree. 

Personalized Free   is donating 10% of their proceeds from now until Christmas to Debra.  This is an organization that helps those whose lives are afflicted by EB such as my favorite little boy Tripp Roth.

If you are ordering any personalized gifts this year I encourage you to order something from Personalized Free.  Here is a link to the blog they wrote about Tripp and his mother Courtney.

The rest of my blog was written by Courtney.

My mom, Christie Zink (our superwoman advocate and supporter from Minnesota) and I, came up with what I think is a FABULOUS idea. I hope you guys will agree.

This year for Christmas, we want YOU to

"Trim Tripp's Tree."

We are going to put a Christmas Tree behind Tripp's rocking chair in the corner of our living room this year. I want to decorate it with ornaments from everyone (no matter where you are) that follows our story and prays for my little Drummer Boy. These ornaments will be something that I will TREASURE every single year, no matter what happens in the future. Something that will have SO much meaning and will be so very special to me. So I can always remember all of the support that we've had through everything.

You all know that it's hard for me to ask for something for myself- but I figured that this would be the perfect opportunity to raise money for DebRA, give business to a company that wants to help us, and also make Tripp's Christmas tree this year the most special Christmas tree in the world.

You can put your name, your state, city, or a special message to Tripp if you'd like:)

Now, you DO NOT have to buy an ornament from personalizedfree.com if you do not want to. You can order from anywhere you want OR you can just make a homemade ornament!! No matter where it comes from, it will be SO special to us!

I can't wait to share pictures of our tree with you all this year!!

If you want to join in the ornament fun, you can mail them to us at:

18669 Sisters Road

Ponchatoula, LA 70454

Ok, so I hope no one thinks I'm being pushy for asking this- I mean, you guys have already gone above and beyond for us in SO many ways. I just wanted to throw this idea out there, in case anyone wanted to participate- and Christie has also created a Facebook page event called "Trimming Tripp's Tree."

 

I can't wait to hold my Trim Tripp's Tree party!

Josh Groban

Amazingly good seats--$125

Food and drinks--$60

Parking--$20

Seeing your mom cry with joy when Josh Groban walked out and began singing 30 feet in front of you--priceless.

Humble

I had a lesson this morning in how God humbles you in the little ways. I was changing Emma's diaper and thinking how awesome it was that she no longer peed during diaper changes and how it had been so long since she had done that. I reached up to grab the diaper rash cream and as I sat back on the floor I was greeted with a fountain of pee. I laughed and thought well at least she's on a changing pad. A fresh diaper and new outfit later and I am less full of myself. Lol. Thanks God!

The Top 10 Reasons Living at Home When You're 34 Rocks!

10.  There is someone to watch the baby when you need a nap.

9.  No household bills.

8.  Live in babysitters.

7.  There is always food in the fridge.

6.  You get a "bonus" when dad gets paid in cash.  Allowance?  Yes, please.

5.  Someone else cooks dinner.  And there are always appetizers on the weekends.  With wine.

4.  There's a pool and a hot tub.  It's like a resort.

3.  You only have to keep your room clean, not the whole house.

2. When you get home from running errands on Saturday your sheets have been washed and your bed made.

1.  There's an unlimited amount of wine.  And since your household members drink way more than you, you actually feel pretty good about yourself. 

EB Awareness Week

Today is the start of EB Awareness Week and I just had to share this post on "EB"ing a Mommy.  It is written by the mother whose son suffers from EB and when I say suffers I mean suffers.  Suffering like you and I could never ever probably survive.  Tripp is 2 years old, has a trach, a feeding tube, and has lost his eye sight due to EB and his body is covered in painful sores.  Any little amount of friction causes painful blistering of his skin.  This includes the inside of his mouth.  Can you even imagine?  And yet in the videos his mommy posts his beautiful spirits shines through and you can tell he is a joy and a delight to be around.  He certainly is one of God's favored and I have to believe that with the amount of people who pray for him on a daily basis that perhaps he was brought here to show us how to pray for others and how to believe that our faith can make a difference.  His mommy's strength and faith in God amazes and inspires me as does tiny little Tripp's.  Even though I've never met this family I don't think I can express how much Tripp's story has touched me and how much I love this little boy. 

So what can you do? 


I made my donation and you can, too.  1 in 50,000 babies will be born with EB.  How easily can it be you or I in this situation, mothering a child with this terrible, incurable disease?   What is $10 worth to you?  A weeks worth of Starbucks?  A lunch out during the work week?  A new book?  How about a child's life?  And the $10 goes directly on your cell phone bill. 

We are so blessed in our lives.  Please take a minute out of your life to share, educate, donate and do what you can to help spread awareness and find a cure for EB. 

You can also join EB Part of the Cure on Facebook.  Also vote, vote, vote for Courtney and Tripp in Reader's Digest Your Life contest. 

"Once our eyes are opened, we can’t pretend that we don’t know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know and holds us responsible to act.” -Proverbs 24:12

What will you do now that your eyes are opened?

Only My Dad

I sent Paul a box of dvd's for him to watch and leave in the morale building.  He got them today and called me. 

Paul--"I got the boxes you sent me."

Me--"Oh good." 

Paul--"Did you pick out the dvd's?" 

Me--"Yeah. I just got them out of my dad's movies in the living room. I tried to pick out action dvd's because I thought the guys would like them."

Paul--"Oh really.  Well, you picked out an action movie all right." 

Me--"What do you mean?"

Paul--"It's a good thing I looked through them before I put them in the morale building."

Me--"Why?"

Paul--"Ass Play 4?"

Me--"What!"

Apparently my dad stuck a pornographic film starring Jenna Jameson into my box of dvd's and I didn't see it.  We laughed so hard and then of course Paul immediately took the movie to the burn pile and destroyed it because it is against General Order 1 to have porn.

Only my dad.  Only my dad.

Sleep is for Wimps

I initially go to bed so hopeful.  This is going to be the night she sleeps through the night is the mantra I say over and over as I fight off the tension that comes from knowing she is probably going to be awake as soon as I fall asleep. 

Last night it was light's out at 9:30pm for me.  Em had been asleep since 7:15pm.  I was laying in bed, dosing off, but not yet fully asleep when I hear her.  Whah, whah, whah.  Sigh.  Groan.  It's 11:20pm.

I walk, blurry eyed, down the hall to her room.  She has no interest in her passy, but is happy to have me rub her back.  I do love this little bean.  Rub, rub, rub.  I see her eyes close and softly tiptoe from the room.

I make a pit stop at the bathroom and as I lift the lid of the toilet it slips out of my hand and as it's slamming back down I wait for what I know is coming.  Whah, whah, whah.  Sigh.  Groan. 

This time she is really upset.  Perhaps because her mother just scared the crap out of her.  I change her diaper and as I am standing up I hit the footboard of the bed with my knee cap.  HOLY HOT BURNING PAIN.  I sit on the ground and contemplate Em and I just sleeping at the foot of the bed for the rest of the night.  I finally get off the ground and put Em back in her crib.  I give her some Tylenol and get her back to sleep. 

I hobble back into my room, climb into bed, and close my eyes.  Whah, whah, whah.  ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME??????  Sigh. Groan. 

Ya know I'm just gonna nurse her because I am exhausted.  I put her on the bed and climb up beside her and it feels like someone has hit me in the knee with a bat made of concrete.  She nurses, is drowsy, back into the crib.  Tiptoe from the room.  Climb back into bed.  Close my eyes. 

Whah, whah, whah.  WHY DOES MY CHILD HATE ME?????

More nursing, more back rubbing.  Back to sleep.  Back to my room.  Climb back into bed.  Eyes closed.  Whah, whah, whah.  I look at the monitor and she is rolling over so I wait.  She settles down. It's 1:15am.

3:50am.  Whah, whah, whah.  Sigh.  Groan.  This time I just bring her into bed with me.  I have no idea what times she woke up to nurse the rest of the night because I can no longer feel my nipples.  I find it's easier just to sleep with my boob hanging out so that Em can use me as a kitten uses it's mother.  I think Em is a boobie-juice-aholic.  She wants to nurse all night long.   

7:15am and she's awake.  I feel like I have spent the night with my eyes vacationing on the beach.  They brought a ton of bags with them for their vacation.  I look like a zombie. 

Who is this cranky baby and what has she done with my happy baby?  And why don't they make baby Tylenol pm? 

Sleep Deprivation

I am pretty sure my daughter has been recruited by the government to perform secret science experiments on me in sleep deprivation.  Granted this suspicion may be fueled by my sleep deprived psychosis, but you never know. 

I used to think Em was a great sleeper.  Sure she only slept in 20 minute chunks during the day and sure in those 20 minutes (if I was lucky 3 times a day, but usually 2) I would run around like a lunatic trying to get laundry, dishes, dinner, etc. done.  I would like to thank all the people who told me to sleep when the baby sleeps because that truly is a great piece of advice....if you have narcolepsy and can fall asleep inside of 60 seconds so that you really benefit from that 20 minutes the baby is asleep.  The few times I've actually tried to sleep when the baby sleeps I am just falling asleep when she is waking up and ready to play and then I feel worse than if I hadn't napped at all.  But she was a good night sleeper and I felt blessed in that.  She didn't cry and she went right to sleep.

Since we've been in FL Em has become a terrible night sleeper.  Granted she was sick for 2 weeks so that was rough and now I think she is teething, but how does she know the exact second I lay my head down to go to sleep to choose to wake up unless the government is somehow controlling her?????

So last night I decide to go to bed and I actually got an hour of sleep in before she woke up...at midnight...crying.  Yay.  I give her some baby Tylenol and I am exhausted and I just need her to go back to sleep so I nurse her (I know, I know.  It's a terrible habit, but I am exhausted.  Don't judge me.).  At which point I fall asleep and wake up an hour later, boob still her in little mouth, having no idea where I am, but she is asleep.  So I gently climb off the bed, pick her up, lay her gently down in her crib AND she's wide awake and crying.  Are you freaking kidding me??????  I almost started crying with her.  So it's back out of the crib and onto the other breast and she finally falls asleep and I can get her back into the crib and she stays asleep.

Until 3:50am.  And it's more crying and I think holy crap am I tired.  So I bring her into bed with me, just let my boobs hang out, and let her nurse as much as she wants (cause did I mention she wants to nurse all night long now for some reason). 

Oh and at 7am it's like a tiny rooster inside her head starts crowing because no matter how little sleep or how much sleep she's gotten by 7:15am she is wide awake and it's time to start the day.  Which is super fun now that it's still dark out at 7:15am and feels like night time to me. 

I'd also like to thank people for the advice of give her a little rice cereal in a bottle before bed to help her sleep...this chunky monkey eats 3 huge meals a day AND nurses so I'm pretty sure rice cereal is NOT going to induce any kind of sleeping through the night. 

And we are not a cry it out family.  I tried.  I can't do it.  Em doesn't cry and fall asleep.  Em screams her fool head off until snot is running out her nose and she can't breathe and she's gasping for air.  That can't be healthy.  And then I have to use the boogie catcher and then she cries harder and it's a vicious cycle.  So no crying it out for us.  I did start reading The No Cry Sleep Solution and just have to start keeping the logs so maybe that is our goal for this week.  I started the book when she was sick and that was obviously not the time to keep a sleep log because really who has that much paper (awake 20 hours, asleep 3 minutes). 

Paul thinks I'm joking when I tell him that I'm going to stay at a hotel when he gets home and leave him home with Em so I can get an uninterrupted night of sleep...And I'm not staying at no crappy Motel 6 either.  Boston has some nice hotels.  I'm going balls to the wall on this one. 

Gotta run.  My 20 minutes of freedom has ended and my tiny dictator has woken up.  God I love this hot mess that runs my life now.  :)

Adoption

I didn't really have anything to say for myself this evening so I thought I'd share a request from someone else. 

Even if you are not in a position to adopt there are ways you can help. 

Adoption is a cause that is near and dear to my heart and I can't wait for the day we adopt (still praying for God to open Paul's heart to an overseas adoption of a special needs child in addition to the sibling group are plan on adopting from the US). 

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Retail Therapy

A conversation between Paul and I last Saturday:

Me:  I'm going to pre-order the new iPhone.

Paul:  How much is that going to cost?

Me:  Uh, I'm not sure.  I've gotta go see which one I want.

Paul:  Ya know we'd save more money if you'd stop spending it.

Me:  My husband's in Afghanistan.  I'm sad.  Buying things makes me happy.

Paul:  It's good to know that if something happened to me a new iPhone would help you get over it.

And that's how we roll in our household.

Kindness Girl

I was reading my O magazine (when did I go from being the girl who lived for People magazine to the woman who now has no idea who any of the celebrities are in People magazine and loves her O & Better Homes and Garden?  How did that happen?) and I came across a blurb on a blog entitled Kindness Girl.  It is all about a woman who practices random acts of kindness and teaches her kids to practice random acts of kindness and blogs about random acts of kindness. 

It's been awhile since I've practiced random acts of kindness and as I read through this woman's blog I started to wonder when I fell out of practice.  It's so simple really to do something nice for others.  A bag of food for a homeless person, a secret gift left in an unexpected place for a friend, etc. 

One time when I was at Cheesecake Factory for lunch a soldier was there in uniform with his wife and child. We had the same server so I was able to find out that he was getting ready to deploy so I secretly paid for their meal when I paid for my own. I tell you this not to brag, but to hopefully inspire you and give you some ideas.

I do make donations.  Not monetary donations because I'm a stay at home mom (although I did give a few dollars to the disabled vets yesterday), but I donate household items to Big Brothers Big Sisters Foundation (you schedule a pick up online, leave your stuff in your driveway, and they come get it and then sell it to raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters programs--how fabulous is that! Plus you de-clutter your home in the process.) and donate books to my local library for their book sales (hint, hint Karin--you little book hoarder you). 

But a random act of kindness...hmmmm....so I've decided the next time I am at Starbucks and someone is behind me I am going to pay for their coffee.

What will you do for your next random act of kindness?

Missing

Today I miss Paul.  I miss having him with me in the car.  I miss going out to dinner with him.  I miss spending the day running errands with him and stopping for lunch.  I miss having him here to help with Emma.  I miss making each other laugh.  I miss holding hands and kissing and hugging. 

I know he will be home before I know it, but for now I miss him.  My heart aches with that missing.

It Really Is True

I always thought people that had kids would make up stuff so that people who didn't have kids would decide to have some and share their misery.  Stuff like "it's different when it's your own kids."  This was mostly said in conjuction to somthing gross happening usually involving a substance coming out of the nose, mouth, or bottom. 

I remember gagging when my God-daughter woke up with a terrible cold after spending the night at my house.  I've never seen so much snot and subsequently spent the entire drive to take her home gagging. 

But

It really is true!  It's different when it's your own kids.  I've picked boogies out of Emma's nose more time than I can count because my nails work way better than that stupid boogie catcher and even though I gag when I cough up my own phelgm the last week she threw up in my bed 4 or 5 times because she was congested and I didn't gag once.  I admit she has had some diapers that have made me gag a little, but those were way stinky and gross. 

In other news we are settling in to our lives in FL.  We've been here 2 weeks as of tomorrow and I will be celebrating by pre-ordering my new iPhone.  Yay!  Paul is almost halfway through with his deployment.  Double Yay!  Yay! 

And I've started a Couch to 5K program in an attempt to get in shape and lose some weight.  I am so out of shape that I will be repeating week 1 next week, but at least I'm gettin out there and the days I don't run I make myself walk.  Emma loves the stroller and looking around so at least she is enjoying it. 

I am off to read in bed.  Em is finally back in her crib after sleeping with me for the last several days.  Tomorrow Grandma is babysitting so mommy can go get a facial and a massage.  Wish her luck! 

Baby Diva Strikes Again

What a week!  I think it was on Tuesday that I noticed poor Beast was not feeling himself so the vet allowed us to come in at 5:15pm.  After antibiotics and what not I got home to a sick, feverish baby.  Poor little darling.  I took her temp and it was 103.1 so I called our on call service in MA.  A few minutes later and my phone rang and it was our friend Rebekah.   She was the on call doc that night.  Sweet!  I dosed Em up with baby tylenol and took her temp again at bed and it was down to 102.1.  I thought she was going to be fine.  Just as I was getting ready for bed around 10pm Em woke up crying.  When I went in to get her she was burning up and her temp was back up to 103.7.  Since Rebekah was on call and I have her personal cell number I just called her back directly (haha gotta love being friends with your doc) and she said to go to the ER.  I didn't want to go to the crappy hospital in Venice so I called my mom to go with me to the good hospital in Sarasota.  Turns out Em had a slight UTI and the start of a virus. 

The ER doc prescribed an antibiotic and we stopped at the all night Walgreens only to find out none of the Walgreens stock this medicine because most insurances won't pay for it and it's expensive.  I guess there isn't much military in this county.  haha  Our insurance will pay for anything.  We went home and I let Em sleep with me because she was so uncomfortable. 

The next day I called CVS, Publix, and the apothocary the local hospital uses and no one had this drug!  Is it made of gold?  WTH!  I had to call the hospital back and ask for a new script and yay it was one of the Publix free meds.  I totally forgot Publix did that. 

So, Em is finally feeling better and we head to Publix the other day.  Shopping with her here takes about 8 times longer than it normally does because every senior citizen in the store wants to come up and talk to her and touch her.  I'm surprised at how many of them bust out with "What's on her face?"  Um, it's a birth mark, but I've decided I'm going to start making stuff up (squirrel bit her, I colored on her with a marker, tattoo, what are you talking about?).  And seeing as we are currently living in God's waiting room you can only imagine how many senior citizens are in the store at any given moment in time. 

Em, being the baby diva she is, eats up the attention and gives smiles to everyone.  She is quite the little flirt and I can see that her daddy is going to have his hands full as she gets older.   I hope he's preparing himself. 

Tomorrow I am back on WW and starting Couch to 5k.  Blogs to follow I am sure!