Music Class Trial

I must admit, the class was great! I really enjoyed it and so did Playette. Her two close friends were in there with her, too, which made it even better.

Another thing I noticed, because I do tend to look for these things, was that neither the other parents nor the teacher seemed phased by having a kid with Ds in the class. Shoot, let alone three! Not that I think they should, but...it happens. Often enough that I am aware to look for it.

The kids in the class? Kids are great. They don't care. Inclusion comes natural to them. People have to be taught to be jerks.

I feel much better about the girls not having 'asstics (heh) anymore and I do believe that I'll sign up and make this music thing official next week.

They start the kids (3-5 years old) with singing several songs each class. Yesterday, it was the US presidents and states and capitals.

Let's just say that I was reminded of how much I've forgotten over the years.

Our homework: "Washington, Adams, Jeff-er-soonnn..."

They went on to play a game that taught them the difference between the musical terms "piano" and "forte."

Next, they watched a couple of videos of people playing the trombone.

Trombone Shorty

Bach

They discussed the styles of music of those artists and how they differered.

And then?

They all freakin' practiced playing a trombone!


WHOA.

But they weren't done.

They learned how to find "D" on the keyboard. (I had no idea it was the white key between a pair of black keys.)

They played another game that taught them about the types of notes - quarter, half, whole, dotted, etc.

Mixed in was a song that taught the Preamble to the Constitution.

And the kids were having fun the entire time!

*swoon*

Of course my little was playing shy for some of it, but that'll pass, I'm sure.

Aaaannnd...it's $3 cheaper per month than 'asstics. Win-win.

*exhale*

Another Month Bites the Dust

I have had this song stuck in my head for like a week.



You're welcome.

They used to play this at the church I went to whenever a couple got engaged. I thought that was like the best thing ever. Everyone cheered and it turned into a party. Not very traditional, I know. Shoot, it was stuff like that that got me in the door and kept me there so long. By the time I was betrothed to BD, they didn't do it anymore. Boo. I still can't help but think of that every time I hear the song though.

Anyway. So I've been gone. Again. Blah blah blah.

I really do have good reasons. Wanna hear 'em? Here they go:

1. I know I've posted since then, but I never really elaborated about our Christmas trip to the Dominican Republic. It was rather awesome, if I do say so myself. We didn't get to go away last year since we were in the midst of a post-deployment cross-country move. And then, over the summer, we were quite The Busy. BD was working and we were hosting company weekend after weekend. It was pretty chock full of activity and we hardly missed getting our passports stamped between beaches, lakes, and San Antonio.

So, yeah. The DR was a great get-away. I slept on the beach a lot.


And we ate a lot. Playette made plenty of friends everywhere she went. We forgot we had brought an actual camera until the last two days. Whoopsie! But I did get this cute little clip of her with my phone after the resort staff handed out gifts to all of the kids. It was an impressive stunt, even after a parade complete with brass band and landing Santa on the beach in a helicopter.

I'm not even kidding.


Obviously, I'll need to devote a post to this trip.

2. Right after we got back, it was off to DC for an amazing New Year's Eve wedding of a very good friend. Can you say Best Wedding Evah? Yeah. Cause it was. From the goody bag in the room (complete with a red velvet Georgetown Cupcake) to the steel drum playing during the cocktail hour to the fun photo booth to the hip hop violinist while we dined on amazing food. I totally made myself stay up until the music stopped at 2am.

Again, I'm not kidding. Hip. Hop. Violinist. It was all sorts of amazing.


I wore my sparkly shoes for the occasion and was feeling super cute, belly and all. Even though several people were concerned that I'd be giving birth on the dance floor. Apparently, I am very large. It's nice that people remind me of that, isn't it?

3. The next morning, we had to hop out of the ever-so-comfortable hotel bed and make our way to pick up Playette from her sleepover with my friend's kids so that we could get home as soon as possible.

Why?

Because I had to fly to Tennessee at noon on Monday (yes, the holiday) to start my two weeks of annual training with the Navy Reserve. Highlight: I got to break out the khaki tent, my affectionate name for the maternity uniform. That thing is not only super comfy, but totally unflattering. And it has no pockets, so it's also impractical. Woot!

I met some great people, had a few fantastic meals, learned a lot, saw the Globetrotters, went to the National Civil Rights Museum, skipped Graceland on Elvis's birthday, and more. If my family had been there, I would have been solid. But they weren't, so I came home as soon as the opportunity was made available to me.

BD did a fantastic job of holding down the fort. And Playette. Of course I mean that figuratively. Maybe.

4. I got home and slept. Because, ironically, while I was busy doing items 1-3, time did not stand still and somehow I crossed over into my third trimester of growing a human. After 12-13 hour days of work while I was away, coming home to my own bed was absolute heaven. The adrenaline rush that kept me vertical through the training faded right along with the second trimester and my body did all it could to recuperate before I had to return to work on Tuesday.

5. And then, on top of everything, work is a boiling pot of stress. I hate it. Did I just write that? I think I did. I really need to do something about this. It's been bad since pretty much Day 1 and here we are five months later and I'm still there.

I have a goal in mind and I've pretty much met it, so I'm about one stupid comment away from being back at home full-time again. Little do they know. Or maybe now they do.

I. Don't. Care.

6. If there's another excuse in there somewhere - and who knows, maybe there was something else - I can't even remember.

But I'm here now.

And I'm feeling big scared great, so let's just ride that out for a while, shall we?

Things are going to drastically change soon enough.

Hold me?

Potpourri

My brain is a hodge-podge spiral of everything lately.

I create posts in my head that never get written.

And, seriously, what else is new?

I want to talk about pre-natal testing (PNT). Whew, that's a biggie. I've been reading an article lately. In itself, it's not long. It's the 190 comments that are taking time to rifle through. And there are some doozies in there. Some make me gag because they're just so over-the-top syrupy and others make me fear for my life in this country and wonder if the author is my neighbor or co-worker. You can read for yourself here.

The article was published back in September, but I only just now learned about it for a reason that I will discuss sooner than later. I just need time to get my long list of thoughts together. I figure that people have wondered about my position on PNT, especially now that my pregnancy is common knowledge, but they're too polite to ask. Which is cool. So I'll just tell.

In a similar vein, I had an appointment with, as my friend likes to call it, my "nurse collective" last week. I am officially 3/5 of the way through my pregnancy and the baby appears to be doing well. He moves a lot and he has a great sounding heartbeat. I feel pretty good for the most part and if I could just get motivated to find a support group like "Pregnancy after Weight Loss" I might be able to wrap my brain around this whole upward motion of the scale thing. Trust me, I know it's a necessary part of the process, but I still sigh at every weigh-in. I need to get over it.

At my appointment, unfortunately, I also had to deal with a question about Playette that made me think. It brought up the whole "educate or get pissed or both?" feelings again. I swear, as more time goes by, this isn't as clear cut as it used to be. At least I'm not so quick to cry anymore.

There's also work stuff that is out of control. Like, really. They have gone straight nutty on me. I know I mentioned it briefly back in August/September, but because I wasn't ready to talk about the babe yet, I didn't get into details about why what happened really sucked as much as it did. Suffice it to say that coming back was not what I anticipated.

I've got reserve duty coming up (which caused more drama at work) and I am already thinking of how much I'm going to miss Playette and vice versa. My girl really tugs at my heartstrings lately and every choice I make seems to impact her to the core. I hope she doesn't hate me when I get back. The one good thing that will come of this is my getting to wear what I fondly refer to as "The Khaki Tent" again. Not only will I get more of my money's worth out of this rarely-worn gem, but it's super-comfy. So, yay for that.

Also, I want to touch on infertility. That's not something I've ever talked about openly. But it's real. And that makes me even more grateful for what's currently going on with my body.

I hope you're all enjoying a wonderful holiday season. If you have any specific questions, please either post here or email me and I'll add it to the lot.

We'll be celebrating in a unique way this year and I look forward to telling you more about that, too.

Soon...very soon.

Anything in particular that you want to hear about first? Majority rules.

It's Time!

What time is it, you ask?

It's t-shirt time!

You've been waiting so patiently for me to dish on what we were up to at the beach and this is it:

NDSS Signature T-shirts Are Here!

We are proud to unveil a collection of men’s, women’s and kids’ t-shirts featuring 3:21 on the front and the NDSS logo on the back.

Adult shirts are $25 each and kids’ shirts are $15 each. For each signature shirt purchased, $5 will be donated to NDSS.

Men:
Guys will love the fit and feel of this t-shirt, made from 100% cotton with anti-pilling finish. It is so comfortable it will become an instant favorite, and its subtle message will make you feel good about wearing it as often as you wear your favorite jeans (okay, maybe not that often).

Women:
The quality and fit of this t-shirt will make it the one that spends more time outside your drawer than in it, and will help you spread the word that people with Down syndrome are valued and loved members of our society. This flattering style and color options suit all sizes and skin tones and is made from 95% cotton, 5% lycra with an anti-pilling finish.

Kids:
Whether they're learning to tell time or setting their own alarm clocks, kids will love knowing the 'secret' meaning behind 3:21 and will enjoy being the one to share this info with their friends. It's always the right time to learn to accept and include someone with Down syndrome. These t-shirts are made from 100% cotton with anti-pilling finish.

Rhyme & Reason clothing can only be purchased online. Standard shipping time is 3-5 business days. Customers can use the code NDSS25 to receive 25% off their purchase and free shipping from now until the end of the year and 10% of the purchase will be donated to NDSS – this applies to any item other than NDSS signature t-shirts.

Click here to visit the Rhyme & Reason website (and see the cutest little model EVAH).

Click here to view photos of the NDSS Signature t-shirts on Facebook (if you can't see them, "like" the National Down Syndrome Society page).

And here's the newsletter, featuring another little surprise quite prominently.

=====

It's been super fun participating in this project and I'm so proud that we were able to help NDSS, in our small way, to raise awareness.

Plus, I got to tell you something awesome in a really unique manner.

If you missed it, GO CLICKY-CLICKY THE LINKS!

And, please, if you like the shirts, buy them! I absolutely love ours.

Thanks for playing, y'all. :)

C'mon now. Really?!

For me, a trip to the ER has become a little too commonplace.

Because it had been a while, we went ahead and visited on Saturday.

It was the strangest thing, really. I was in the bed, lounging, reading my Twitter feed and a few friends were discussing [something pretty damn gross].

"Hm. I've had that happen before. It is no bueno," I thought to myself.

And then, I turned over to my side, coughed, and [that same something happened].

*sigh*

So I called BD to show him the proof and he was all "ewwww" and suggested that I contact a medical professional.

I made the call, got the answering service, explained my situation, and waited on a call back.

And, because I'm that kind of person, I decided that before we did anything, we needed to go to Costco.

Because I'd be fired up if I ended up admitted and couldn't use my coupon.

Turns out that the advice I got was to go to someone's urgent-type facility, so after I did what I wanted (I know, I know), we went to the hospital. It actually made more sense to go there than somewhere else based on my insurance coverage, plus I knew that if I needed tests, I'd already be in the right place.

Thankfully, traffic was light in there during that time, so we were in and out in a relatively quick 2+ hours. Playette enjoyed the time outside with her dad after I had to kick her out of my room for touching everything and just plain being four years old and I played with my phone in between repeating my same story to every person that walked into the room (what's the point of them taking notes, anyway?).

A chest x-ray later, it was revealed that I, thankfully, do not have pneumonia again some more, so I was released on my own recognizance.

We celebrated with lunch at a new-to-us place and then went home to football for them and a nap for me.

Exciting, huh?

We are some serious party animals over here, y'all.

After that, things were pretty tame for the rest of the weekend. BD put up the tree, I rested and addressed envelopes, Playette did her silly little thing as she is prone to do.

I just realized today that we are sooo booked for the next six weeks or so. Going here, running there, parties, family time. And I just found out that I have reserve duty in January. I'm excited for what I'll be doing, but bummed to have to leave my peeps behind. I know first-hand how Playette gets when BD leaves and the thought of her missing me that badly just makes my icy heart crumble a little around the edges. Poor little boobah.

Or she could just be thrilled to have me gone. Who knows.

Oh, and I know I've kept you all dangling for deets. It won't be long now. Promise!

Maybe I should put a Neicy Nash flower in my hair for Reveal Day.

Lovely Day

This song has been stuck in my head lately. A version (not sure who sings it) comes on Playette's favorite radio station and I love that I knew some of the words right away and can sing along to it with her. She loves it when I do that.

Despite my lack of sleep and a list of things that still needed to be done no matter how crappy I felt, I have to admit that today was a lovely one.

Playette got up at 3am. Why? I have no idea. I assumed that she didn't know either so after giving her a potty break, I put her back in the bed. I figured that we could pick up our little convo once the sun came up and, thankfully, she agreed and didn't start yelling for me again for about 3.5 more hours.

For some strange reason, we got temps in the upper 70s today, along with sunshine. Since I needed to fulfill a promise to head to the beach with the fam (seriously, in the way of promises, that's a good one), to the beach we went, along with our faithful helper, "Pretend" Jen.

Playette has been asking and asking for the beach since the time had long passed to take a dip in the water, so she was very happy just to be there and have the opportunity to play in the sand in her jeans and tee shirt. I wish we could have stayed longer, but there was a birthday party to attend for one of Playette's school friends. Apparently, she had a ball. Being that I am currently hosting a myriad of germs, I wasn't able to make it. Boo.

I can't wait to show you all what we were doing at the beach though. Really. I'm excited!

But...I need just a little more time to get it all together.

So, please, bear with me and all will be revealed.

I hope everyone is getting in the spirit of the upcoming holiday in the US.

Can I just say that I CAN'T WAIT TO EAT?!

Seriously. The food. Bring it.

S'up, Y'all?

I honestly didn’t mean to just straight disappear for the most part after the end of October, but the last couple of weeks have been some doozies in our household. There’s just a lot going on and I’ve barely had the thought to blog, let alone carved out the time to actually do so.

Work is very busy. Well, sort of. I mean, there’s lots to do and way more confusion than I would like, but…eh, it’s complicated. I’ve had to take off a couple of sick days lately. One day last week for me, one this week for Playette, and then another will be next week for Playette in the morning (She’s slated to see some fancy feeding/swallowing doctor – not a therapist. Don’t worry, I’m confused, too.) and I have an appointment of my own in the afternoon. Best bet was to take the whole day even though I know that will be one hectic day between going to the city, back home to drop her off, and back into the city again. Yeesh!

Tomorrow is a holiday for us, so yay for a day off of work, but since Playette also doesn’t have school, we’re going to try to make the most of it by squeezing in a much-needed dentist appointment (pray for me) and then, in the afternoon, I get to take her to her new SLP. She’s had two appointments so far, but since they’re at 3pm, the sitter has been taking her. I’m glad to have the opportunity to finally meet this woman who is, to me, the representation of all of my dreams of the past year finally coming true.

See, we had out eval with Sara Rosenfeld-Johnson last November, I believe, and during that process, we got connected with a Talk Tools certified SLP that we were able to see twice before we moved. Even then, we had to drive over an hour to get to her because there was just NO ONE closer and I believed with my whole heart that Talk Tools was the way to go for Playette. I liked the SLP a lot and we tried to make an adventure out of it so that the early morning drives didn’t feel so daunting. As you all may recall, we then had the audacity to MOVE at the end of December once BD returned from his deployment, so that marked the end of Speech Therapy for a very, very long while.

Which sucks.

Because what is my daughter’s greatest challenge (well, besides using scissors which is the current bane of my flipping existence)? SPEECH.

When she started school in January, she did get some time with the ST there. But then, y’know, we took her out of that awful place in April after the teacher used the R word in the IEP meeting AND the bus drivers played that precious April Fools practical joke. Such a shame to leave such sweet folks, but I digress.

So, the little bit of ST she was getting disappeared. I was so torn up at the time about what was going on between us and the school district that I didn’t pursue their services at her private preschool. Plus, I just KNEW that we’d be coming up on one of the many, many waiting lists we were on for ST…any. day. now.

Ha! So much for that. If you are the parent of a child with special needs, you have probably noticed that there are a lot of children out in the world with “speech delays.” It’s a pretty common diagnosis. So, getting in to see an SLP, especially one with experience dealing with oral motor issues, not to mention the added bonus of being familiar with or certified to utilize Talk Tools? In a very congested area? Yeah…waiting lists. Long, long, long waiting lists. I made more phone calls than I can even recall, trying to track down someone, anyone, that could work with my girl.

Thankfully, we were so grateful to have Beth come by this past summer (housecall, woot!) to help me learn how not to be so overwhelmed by the whole oral motor process. She is a wealth of information and I am inspired so much by how well her daughter, Hannah, is doing, along with her other children. I hope I can be half the mama she is one day.

To bring you up to speed on this new SLP we have, about a month ago, she called me out of the blue and said that Playette had come up on her waiting list. I was shocked. She went on to tell me that she’s Talk Tools certified. I was stunned. The issues then became dealing with insurance (gag) and the logistics - her only openings were on days/times we were otherwise obligated, plus her office was REALLY far away.

Over the course of a couple of weeks, we got it all worked out. The insurance thing made me want to stab my eyes with a spork, but eventually that was rectified. And then, this woman offered to do some shuffling and got us in not only at a time where we could make it, but also at a closer office! Where has she been all my life?! Or at least for the past 10 months?! So, once I coordinated with the sitter, we were set. Yeehaw. Get along, little doggie. Forward momentum. All that good stuff.

So far, Playette has been twice and things are going well. I’m actually excited to meet this life-saver of mine tomorrow and see what she has to say about possible next steps. As it stands, I still have a massive drooler on my hands (and, yikes, winter is approaching and wet + cold = ugh), and you know that noise I mentioned that started last year? It STILL has not made a graceful exit yet.

And if you think that over time that it would just blend into the background? You, dear reader, would be incorrect. It’s just as grating as it was the first day she started. More so, in fact. More. So.

I felt like I wanted to write more than just about this topic, but my brain is all loopy at the moment. When it comes to me, I’ll be back. Promise.

More About Yesterday

So, as I was saying before we had to pack up and head home, I didn't get much sleep Friday night. I did see lots of Law & Order though.

Thankfully, the wedding wasn't until 2pm, so we could move slow and take our time getting ready.

The weather was not too friendly though. Saturday was pretty nasty all up and down the east coast. Not to be deterred, BD and I made our way through the wintry mix to a local diner and indulged in lots of wonderful breakfast-ness.

Oh! That reminds me. Before all the hotel drama on Friday, we did get the chance to try a pretty nice Japanese restaurant. For dessert, we indulged in an order of Oreo Cheesecake Spring Rolls. If that kind of thing sounds good to you? It was just as you imagine. Yum!

We arrived to the wedding just fine and the ceremony was quite nice. My friend looked amazing and so very happy. I almost teared up a little.

The reception was a total party and our table was the party within a party. I've never seen anyone get kicked out of a wedding for having too much fun, but if that were ever to happen, I think it would have occurred at Table 11.

And then the music started. The bride is Liberian so we all enjoyed participating in the lively traditions. I was jealous that I'm not Liberian, too!

Table 11 represented well on the dance floor. Out of the 10 of us that sat there, 8 of us were responsible for shutting the place down. Really. At the end, it was the DJ packing up his equipment, the bartenders cleaning up, the coordinator wrapping up final details...and us.

So, yeah. A well-utilized night out. We made 8pm feel like 2am.

Bonus: I'm a huge fan of The Amazing Race and one of the former contestants is a friend/co-worker of the bride. She not only sat at our table, but her date to the shindig was none other than her partner from the race! How cool was that? Uh, very. They were part of the Elite 8, too. They could hang. Loved it.

This morning, I woke up early and BD went downstairs and grabbed us some to-go breakfast that we enjoyed in bed before making our move to come back home. It was a long ride back, but the weather had totally cleared up, so it was smooth.

Playette was glad to see us, but moments after we got home, she was already asking for "Pillow." Poor girl. She's not going to be happy until both families are living in a split level or a commune or something.

I'm glad that she had such a good time though. Being a transient family, it's nice to meet people that you can trust with your kid when you really need help in a pinch. We're so very grateful.

Yesterday

So. Well. Yesterday.

I was planning to just come and post something so that I wouldn't feel bad for missing a day, but that didn't happen. It completely slipped my mind before things got crazy and then after? I passed out from exhaustion.

BD and I got some alone time this weekend thanks to a great friend who offered to keep Playette for us. That friend is her bestie's ("Pillow") mom, so little miss was all too thrilled to get some extended time with them. To date, they've gone pottery painting, fine dining (CFA, woot!), attended the Ds group's Halloween party for kids (she won the costume contest!), watched movies, hung out with more friends, and, I'm guessing, tormented the crap out of his mom. Bless her heart. And her sanity.

Meanwhile, over here, we checked into a nice hotel and eventually realized why we scored such an elaborate suite for such a non-elaborate price. Turns out they were in the process of re-surfacing the floors of the parking garage.

Ok, fine. No biggie, right?

Except that by doing so, they filled the place with toxic (?), potent fumes. I guess they tried to keep us from being bothered by putting us in a very high room, far away from the elevator (which was bringing the smell to every floor), but no.

I don't do so well with weird smells and things that trigger my respiratory issues, as you may recall.

So, first, we asked for something, ANYTHING, that could possibly help. Candles? Air freshener? Plug-ins?

Someone came in a sprayed some crap, but then it smelled like flowery toxic crap. I tried to focus on the flowery and went to sleep.

Four hours later (at 2am), I was up again. The smell had tapped me on my shoulder and said, "Geeettt ooouuttt."

My mama didn't raise no fool, so after asking the front desk (at 3am - see? I really did try to tough it out) for an alternative, I called another hotel to check availability. I figured that while moving would suck, at least we didn't have to be up early.

We didn't hear back from our front desk guy for a while, so we started to pack up.

Some time later, we still hadn't heard from him, so we left.

When we got downstairs (soooo much worse down there), he said that he had just tried to call us. His solution? Send us elsewhere at their expense.

Wow. I thought customer service was dead?

Apparently, it still kinda is because he said that everything took so long because he called his manager for approval and she said she'd call him back after she got off the phone with her mom. And she never did.

Ooooook.

He's probably going to get fired for helping us. Ugh.

So we moved. We had a view of the HVAC system instead of the city skyline, the tiniest bathroom ever, only one tv, and no living room. I mean, really. How would we make it? @@

But I could breathe. So, yay!

What I couldn't do was go back to sleep, so I indulged in four episodes of L&O while BD snored away.

Consider this Part I of our tale. I'll share the rest later today after we get some things done.

Three Things

1. Tricia was so kind as to share this video with me of Jamie Foxx and his sister, Diondra, (as well as others) at the Global Down Syndrome Foundation's Be Beautiful Be Yourself Fashion Show and fundraiser. How much would I have loved to have been there? A freakin' lot.

2. Gymnastics was slightly less awesome tonight as my child had a totally random and very rare accident of the #1 variety and then decided to top that feat moments later by spitting up some of her spaghetti dinner. At one point, she was walking around in a borrowed pull-up and a jacket because I didn't have any backup clothes because I'm cocky like that. Mom of the Year, ladies and gentlemen! Here I am. Right here.

3. Things went fine with my friend and the young man with Ds. I guess I didn't totally ruin everything, but my info didn't really end up coming into play this time. I was assured that he'd keep everything I shared in mind should the situation ever come up again. I hope you all can understand that I don't want to violate his trust by sharing any additional details. I just thought it was really cool that he asked me and found it heartwarming that all this advocacy is not always in vain.

Sometimes, it feels like I'm always talking to people that already know and understand everything I'm sharing, which is great because I totally need the support and validation, but...I also feel good knowing that people that don't have personal experience with Ds, especially people I haven't seen in many years, can get something from this as well.

Sneak Peek

We took Playette to a party today. It was free to military families and gave us an excuse to try out her costume, so we indulged.

It didn't end up being as fun as the flier indicated, but it wasn't awful and we got some nice family time in. I figure that's better than passing out on the couch while watching crap on TiVo/college football, which mayyy be what we might do most fall Saturdays.

I'll never tell.

I freaking love her costume. Love, love, love. I claimed it last year after a friend had it on her daughter. We're no strangers to going green with the costumes. A couple of years ago, that same friend passed the insanely cute Nemo on to us and then we paid it forward to another friend. This year's costume already has a home for next year and I think that's great. Too bad women don't share wedding dresses the same way. Imagine all the money saved!

I love saving money. I will talk to anyone anytime about saving money. Trust.

Anyway, here's your peek. More to come as the big day approaches.

Hint: She thinks she's a butterfly. She's not.

More Buddy Walkin'

On October 1st, we attended our very own local Buddy Walk. Imagine that, not having to travel by bus or plane! We didn't even have to drive more than about 10 minutes each way. Craziness.

It was the first day I remember really feeling like fall. And when I say that, I mean it was cold. I realized I had reached another weather milestone. Unlike when we were in The Land of No Seasons, it was going to go from oppressively hot to insanely cold. And I was going to have to learn how to deal with it. Bah.

I know. I'm a wimp.

So, yeah, Buddy Walk morning was brisk.

But it was gorgeous.

Playette got out of the car feeling nice and good.

She's on display, on display, on display.




We checked in, got our bag o' goodies and started with some face painting.



For some reason, Playette's ended up on her hand instead of her face. I'm not sure why I got hooked up and she didn't.

We didn't dwell on that mystery. Instead, it was off to the sidewalk chalk.


Not long after, it was time to start the actual walk. I really love the location of this Buddy Walk. It's scenic, central, and so many people come through there to walk dogs, have parties, work out, or to use the playground that I actually feel like that by having it there, some awareness is raised. People have to ask, "I wonder what's going on over there?" or "Who are all these people in matching shirts?" and I think that's really cool. I know that not every walk can be in a place like that, but it's nice that it can happen.

We did the mile-ish trek around the lake, checking out signs along the way that told stories of people with Ds of all ages. I had considered filling out the form so that Playette could have one, but I got a big, fat case of Something Shiny!Over There! and was distracted enough that I missed the deadline. Go, me.

When our loop was complete, we gorged on pizza and oatmeal pies.

Ok, maybe that was just me with the oatmeal pies, but still. Everyone else could have had some, too. They just need to learn to move quicker.

There was music throughout, with performances by cheerleaders and a dance team. We got to meet new peeps and spend time with friends. Playette also made sure to get her money's worth out of the bounce house.

Speaking of getting one's money's worth out of something...Sheree, if you're reading, please know that we squeezed every moment we could out of those shirts from last year. Both Playette and I were struggling to keep our navels covered. Now that's the mark of a good tee! Still useful and well-loved. We'll surely re-purpose those. Thank you, again. I wish we could be there with y'all again this year. Also? I totally wore those striped socks to the NYC Buddy Walk.

All in all, another great day. So great, in fact, that I came home and crashed for the rest of the night. Party animal. Woot.

I didn't think it was possible, but...

It got better.

Just when I thought gymnastics couldn't possibly entertain me any more (see: "triangle roll" from last week), I paid the registration fee and we were promptly given this to change Playette into:





Sassy!

Wednesdays are hereby declared as the most awesome-est.

Dude. Seriously. Just for the uniform alone.

Take Two

And here shall follow another post that proves that 31 for 21 doesn't have to include all Ds-related posts all the time. Because this one here? All about me.

Yes, again.

I'm pretty sure I only have 46 chromos, but no one's ever checked. Who's to say I'm not one of those people that doesn't find out until later in life? Ya never know.

So, today was one of those rare, awesome days that BD and I have off from work and Playette still has school. That almost never happens.

We got up and tag-teamed her right out the door before deciding that maybe a walk would be nice. And then when we were half-way home, I got the genius idea to...double the distance. Good grief. I just couldn't leave well enough alone, huh? It wasn't one of those situations where you could just change your mind mid-way either. I added a circle. A really, really big circle. With no short-cuts. One we started, that was it. We had to finish.

When we got home, I raced to shower because...

1. I had a massage appointment! Woohoo! It was the result of what I like to call the Summer of Groupon. I bought so much crap, I swear. And now we are in the Autumn of Using Everything Up Before it Expires.

Then I did something not nearly as fun. I went to sign Playette's IEP. Booooo. I got annoyed and kinda lost my zen-like state.

2. But then I went and got cookies! The local bakery that is known for its workforce of people with disabilities was right next door to the offices, so I just had to go. You know, in the name of Ds Awareness Month and all. I'm all about doing my part.

I got home and watched a little TV with BD, ate some lunch, and...

3. Went to get my hair done! (I hope you're all yelling appropriately when you see these exclamation points. This is exciting stuff.) The experience itself was less-than-awesome, other than the hair washing part - I love that, but the results were just what I needed. See, lately, I've been doing what I like to call the Lazy Brush-Over. I just kinda do the top of my hair. Whatever goes on underneath remains a mystery. Until I go to comb it and it takes 30 minutes of pain-inducing raking. It's a mess and I bring it on myself. With that in mind, I decided to get it temporarily straightened using a blow-dryer and scalp-scalding temperatures. I should have taken a before pic, but even I'm not that brave. Just know that it was an afro on it's best day and then remember all I mentioned about not combing it. Then make that picture in your mind 10 times worse. That was me.

And this is me now:



It's not flashy or glam, but I can get a comb through it. That's huge. And I'm good until it rains or I sweat. That equals about 12 hours, I'm thinking.

I attempted to have BD take the pics so it wouldn't be me doing goofy self-portraits in the bathroom mirror, but my husband and I had some creative differences. No worries. I love him for more than his picture taking abilities, thank goodness.

I still have my San Antoni-toes, but hey...I got a lot accomplished today. I'll get that pedicure in there sometime soon. That's a promise.

And I won't post pictures.

Well, maybe I won't.

Don't be mad. I have some pretty k-a feet.

Auntiiieee!

That's what's been yelled all through the house since yesterday evening when BD's sister arrived for a visit.

Playette could not be more thrilled. She gets a playmate and gifts? What could be better?

We went out to dinner last night and then, this morning, when Playette woke up...something was different.

BD and I were still in the bed. And we could hear her. But it didn't sound like she was next door.

Apparently, instead of providing us with her patented wake-up alert of "Mommy! Daddy! Potty!" she decided to quietly slip downstairs and wake her Auntie up.

Well. Hmph.

I'm ok. Really.

No, really. Sleeping in was awesome.

Once we were all up and dressed, we went grocery shopping in preparation for a fantastic dinner that I'm shocked hasn't put me to sleep by now. Barbecue ribs in the crock pot, jalapeno corn bread, pumpkin cupcakes. *swoon*

While everything simmered and prepped, Playette and Auntie battled it out on the living room rug.


After that, the grown ladies went for a walk to enjoy the gorgeous day we had here while BD stayed behind to yell at the TV some more and Playette took a short nap.

We were going to wrap things up with a viewing of Tangled, but...TiVo ate it. Or something. Not that we couldn't watch a million other things, but my heart was kinda set on that.

And, y'know, it's all about me. *eyeroll*

The Rest

So, remember that whole trip to NYC for the Buddy Walk?

Well, when our fun-filled Saturday was over, we still had most of Sunday to spend in the city.

After, once again, housing the breakfast buffet, we headed out. We had decided that we'd keep the day pretty Playette-centric.

First stop, FAO Schwarz.

It was a long walk from our hotel to there, so it was a welcome surprise to come across a market all down 6th Avenue. We stopped at a couple of places, drooled over some of the food being sold (only not partaking because we had just eaten) and ended up with new sunglasses for the bigger two of us. Five dollar bucks for mine. And they're cute. Score!

We eventually made it. I was whooped. Playette was rearing to go.


Check her out. This makes me laugh. "Dreeessss. Dreeessss. Dress! Cheese. (strike a pose)"


I have no idea who taught her that little pointed toe move, but she likes it. A lot.

Once we moved past the dresses, I just kept the camera rolling because she was funny to watch as she explored.


Don't worry. I went back and put everything back.

When I found my fam again, they were here:


Playette and I got down to our socks right after this and did some horrible big piano playing of our own for a while.

We thought about purchasing the floor model for the low, low price of $250K, but decided that eventually owning a home might be the more fiscally responsible option.

We are such dillhole killjoys.

To get the festive mood back, we played around some more before heading over to Rockefeller Plaza to tour an exhibit on education...


(I couldn't resist the scramble board.)

...back to Times Square for a Thai food lunch, people watching...


...and, finally, the pièce de résistance:


My little cell phone camera does this lighted mammoth no justice. Playette was excited as we stood in line (translation: she thought she was too good to wait and tried to bust ahead) and quickly pointed out the car with "Lala" on it.

That stumped us. We kept looking and looking, seeing Dora, well, nowhere.

Finally, I spotted her. Way up at the top, in the tiniest corner of a Nickelodeon-themed car. I can't believe this kid is supposed to need glasses. She wasn't wearing any at the time. Hm.

So, lucky us, for the next 15 minutes, we got to hear "Lala! Lala!"

And of course it's first come, first served. You can't just want "Lala" and get her.

I felt really bad by the time we boarded and missed it by one. She had to watch "Lala" go round and round in front of us the entire time. Womp, womp.

BD and I were ok with what we got though. What self-respecting child of the 80s wouldn't want to rock the Mystery Machine?! I mean, really.


They got a really cute picture of all of three of us in the ride, but, uh...it would have cost more than our lunch so...sorry.

It was another great day. We left there, grabbed our bags from the hotel, I went to get some bagels to bring home, we boarded the bus, and actually had a really decent ride back home.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Now that's it's a week past our local Buddy Walk, I hope I can get that in sometime soon, before we head to our third and final for the year.

The New Definition of Wednesday

In a word: Exhausted.

Hopefully, it'll ease up some, but today I am D-O-N-E.

For a couple of Wednesdays in September, I took Playette to a gymnastics class that I learned about early in the summer. Well, actually my friend B told me about the sign that she saw in her neighborhood and I gave them a call. Previously, they had hosted a Special Olympics Young Athletes (ages 2-7) class and I wanted to know if that was still available.

While I am totally on-board with inclusive practices, I am also realizing that certain adaptive activities certainly have merit. I'm all about having options, y'know? I like the ability to make the best choice for my kid. When people take that away from you? It's called discrimination. And I kinda have a problem with that.

So, add that to the fact that the Young Athletes class was free and I was sooooo in.

Except it wasn't going on anymore. Boo. Not enough participation, apparently.

But the lady was really nice and told me that she wanted to work with children with special needs again and that she'd make a decision by the time school started. When she did, she'd call me back.

And she actually did.

Not going did not feel like an option.

Add to that the fact that she comped September as a trial and Playette loved it and...we're now a gymnastics family.

It just makes for what currently feels like a really long day.

I haven't been sleeping well this week, so when we got home after five, BD and I rushed to figure out what to make ourselves for a later dinner while thanking the babysitter profusely for taking on the task of feeding Playette something extremely quick and nutritious so that we could get back out the door in time.

I've been late to this class once already. I don't want it to happen again.

The instructor is Bela Karolyi-esque. She doesn't mess around.

So with the rushing and the cooking and the eating and the actually having to participate in the class to help Playette and the non-stop yawning and then home, bath, and bed...I am so ready to eat and pass out myself.

Tomorrow will be quieter.

And our Littlest loves the class. She's about as graceful as a rhino and she rolls like a triangle, but we're all smiling throughout, so I call it a success.

Mama's Little Techie

We pondered the iPad thing for a long, long time.

To get or not to get?

I mean, I knew it was helpful for a lot of people, kids included, but let's face it...it's an investment. And Playette is four. And four can be quite destructive.

Once I realized, though, that this would benefit all of us and her educational apps would just be a really nice bonus on top of a pretty cool gadget, I relented.

And then, because I'm super tight with a dollar, we still waited a long time after that before actually taking the plunge.

I must say, I like it.

Mind you, both BD and I have iPhones and we have plenty of fun/educational stuff on those for Playette to partake in, but the larger screen? Eeeeeee!

Still totally a want. I get that. Trust.

But check this out.

I've loved this app since seeing Miss G show her stuff in a video that my friend Tricia made. Playette gets a real kick out of it, so of course it was transferred over promptly.

Check out how she signs and just really enjoys herself while playing.

(Really, anyone know if she's signing "flag" and "pumpkin" here or is it something else entirely? I know she threw deer in there when she saw the picture of one, even though it wasn't the word that was requested.)


If it weren't for this experience, I don't know that she'd currently recognize items like "harp" and "globe" and some of the other truly funky non-kid-ish words in the program that are totally escaping my brain right now. I mean, I know she'd get them sometime, she just wouldn't have them right now.

And her exclamation of "Awesome!"....Oh Em Gee. Love it.

By the way, it's the Receptive app under Kindergarten.com

If you have other apps that you recommend, I'd love to hear about them.

=====

You know what? She may actually be signing "Hopkins", the name of the frog from Signing Time and not "pumpkin." There's that rhyming thing again!

Buddy Walkin': NYC Part II

First off, HI, ZOE!

Or do you spell it with a "y"?

If so...HI, ZOEY!

Zoe(y) is the nice lady we meet right after walking up the hill to the lovely home base of the NYC Buddy Walk and wandering just a bit. She was there as a volunteer, meant to assist folks just like us who needed some direction.

But what was so unique about this direction-giver is that she recognized us.

Wha?! Little ol' us?

Yup, Zoe(y) reads along here and I really wish I would have taken more time to talk to her then. Since I didn't, I hope this salutation helps to show that you're appreciated. Thank you not only for joining us in our journey, but also for all you do to support the Ds community.

Pretty quickly after that chance meeting, we were able to get all registered and shirted up. The six of us were all part of Team Signing Time, so that meant Playette got to meet up with her idol right away since it was almost time to take a group photo.




They are just too cute.

We even had the good fortune of meeting Rachel's family. Here's Playette with her three daughters, Laura, Leah, and Lucy.


The look on The Littlest's face is her realizing that she's not, in fact, Signing Time's one and only love.

Playette followed Rachel/Signing Time around a lot. So much so that by the time we looked up (and had finished some popcorn and cotton candy, natch), we had missed the start of the actual walking part of the walk. So, the group of us rushed over to the starting point, hoping that we'd figure the path out somehow. Good thing it didn't turn out to be too difficult after all. Plus, the mob moved slow enough that we caught up pretty quickly.

I loved taking in the sites of Central Park. All of the runners made me want to run. It's just such a pretty place in the middle of the big city. It's hard for me not be awe-struck at least once during every trip.

BD was carrying Playette in a backpack while we strolled and she made good use of her time by passing out about 3/4 of the way through the loop.


She woke up in time to get her medal at the finish line though. Check her out, nice and refreshed!

Which was a good thing. Because it was time for the Signing Time performance.

It was wonderful, as expected. Rachel even called out to Playette a couple of times from the stage, which, surprisingly, didn't make her head explode right then and there.

She did have the idea, though, that she belonged on that stage, so I had to go grab her back from trying to do just that at least twice during the concert.

Leah performed with Rachel for most of the show and then Lucy came in for the last song. Which, um, had me bawling.

Couldn't. Help it.

Great, great, great time. We enjoyed it so much, we already have plans to see another concert again very soon.

To keep the momentum going - I think we were all ready to celebrate that the promised rain failed to make even a teensy appearance - the DJ got to work.

My girl loves to bust a move. It's almost like she's challenging BD to a battle at one point in here.


There was lots more move busting and snack eating before we realized that, as usual, we were among the last people there. We know how to shut down a party, yo. We left to the sound of balloons being popped for clean-up.

The rest of the evening was spent noshing on noodles here and slurping on sundaes there.

We even had a Nina Garcia spotting.

All in all, a great day.

Thank you so much to the SkaSka's for joining us!

Buddy Walkin': NYC Part I

Oh, yes. It's me again. I'm crazy back.

This whole working in an office - well, hopefully untainted trailer - thing? It's pretty draining. And hostile. But that's a post for another day.

And days are something I have plenty of, actually.

Because it's October.

Yes, already!

Today marks day one of Down syndrome awareness month.

And with that comes one of my favorite ways to celebrate and advocate: 31 for 21.


Grab This Button


I've been doing this for a while now. I'm thinking since I started blogging back in 2008. The way it works is that I, along with many other bloggers, commit to writing every day in October (31 days) in a show of solidarity and support for those with Trisomy 21 (Ds results from having three of 21st chromosome).

If you're interested in joining in, go see Tricia and sign up. You only need a blog, not a direct connection to Ds.

Even though if you're reading here? Allow me to be your secondary connection. I've checked with Playette and she's cool with that.

LEZGO!

So, my first post is so late. Of course. But right on time for this effort, which means my procrasti-fatigue paid off in a way. I kept meaning and meaning to write, but with so much to say and photos and videos (which you all totally deserve after a pretty desolate September around these parts), I knew it would take time that I just didn't have.

But I got up early today. Just for you. We have our local Buddy Walk this morning, but there's still plenty of time before that. I went to bed at like 9:30 last night so getting up at 6:30 felt like sleeping in and that I better go do something productive already.

Since milking a cow was not an option, here I am.

Last week was an adventure. For anyone that follows me on Twitter, you got a bit of a participation explosion from me last Friday night. Why?

BECAUSE I WAS ROTTING ON A BUS!

What seemed like a semi-good idea in the beginning turned out to be a version of torture for me. I mean, logistically, it made sense. We wanted to go to NYC for the Buddy Walk. Rachel Coleman was performing.

[I kinda like seeing my kid lose her ish for Rachel. And then when she gets extra-stalkery, I have to step in, but still. She loves her some Rachel and Signing Time.

Actually, she doesn't call Rachel by name anymore. She calls her "Signing Time." Which would be rude if it wasn't so damn funny to watch her do. Actually, it is still rude, bur Rachel's very, very cool about it.]

Since moving from California, almost anywhere on the east coast seems close. Because we're not a country away from it, right?

NO.

New York is not close. Trust me. And the drive to get there from here is painfully boring.

And that's why paying someone else to drive us there sounded positively brilliant! Because, hey, we'd leave at midnight, a mile from our house, we'll save money in the end between gas/tolls/parking/wear & tear on the car, we'll surely just wake up, fully-rested, a few blocks from our destination. What could be better?!

The answer is: a plane. A plane would be better.

A plane doesn't take 6.5 hours. A plane would have only cost $30 more per person. A plane doesn't freak you out by taking you the wrong way in the middle of the night. A plane doesn't make that rumprumprump sound that scares you out of your 3 minute nap because the only time you should hear that is when approaching a toll or running off the road and YOU'RE NOWHERE NEAR A TOLL BOOTH!

Yeah, I was grumpy. And because the last rider had spilled coffee in the seat next to BD, Playette was with me most of the time and she was a slightly less than stellar riding companion. Apparently, between the two of us, one of us needed to stand watch, so, as the "adult", I took one for the team. Yay, me. With no sleep, I was a flippin' peach when we finally disembarked in front of the peep show behind Old Navy.

Classy, I know. You're totally jellus.

I must mention the other reasons we decided to go. Some of our friends have an 18-month-old who also loves Signing Time and since they live in NY, we'd be able to enjoy the day with them. Plus, Central Park just sounded like an awesome place to have a Buddy Walk.

Aaaand, Playette's picture was chosen for the NDSS video in Times Square.

Had to be there. Had to.

Don't know about the video? Here's a clip from the official press release:

"The photo...was selected from over 1,200 entries in the NDSS worldwide call for photos. Over 200 photographs will appear in the video, which will be shown on the larger-than-life MTV plasma screen, located in the heart of Times Square."

Yeah, we had lots of reasons to go.

And, honestly, after that bus ride, things got much better.

We got our bags and walked the short distance to the hotel. Playette was thrilled to get her land legs back and had a ball zipping down the clean and mostly-empty city streets. She did find it necessary to point out to me the people that were sleeping though. I wasn't quite ready to explain homelessness.

When we got to the hotel, they had a room ready (bless them!) and extended the breakfast buffet to us (totally not required, but greatly appreciated). Grateful, we hustled upstairs and took naps before waking up, getting dressed in our gear courtesy of Sheree, housing the buffet, and walking to Times Square.

When we got there, we immediately picked out our peeps, posted up underneath the large screen with the gold frame around it that reminded me of the mirror my mother loved so much when I was in high school and college and that I kept in my own home for many years.


Yup, right between T.O. and LaLa. That was the spot. Superstah!

I took that last picture on Sunday though. Because on Saturday, I was too busy running my mouth to all the people around us like Ben's family, out celebrating his first birthday in full force, and Jewel's whole group of Gems. They really came out to represent for those kids and I loved seeing how much support they had.

I'm doing some thinking right now and choosing not to write it for the world to read, but if I didn't write something in this space, I'd be mad at myself. Infer whatever you wish. How's that?

Anyway.

The video lasted about 20 minutes and Playette showed up right in the middle, with her cute self. I was riveted the entire time because I could not, for the life of me, remember which photo I had submitted, so I was freaking out that maybe I'd miss her. Really? I thought I wouldn't recognize my kid? I'm such a wack sometimes.


When the video is available online, I'll share the link.

If my mother were alive, I probably would have gotten popped right in Times Square for submitting a picture of Playette sitting so unladylike. Oops. Still adorbs though, right? I promise to keep her out of clear heels, 'k, Ma?

Our friends arrived just as the first showing of the video was wrapping up, so we watched the second one, too, before heading to the buses that would take us to the main event.

This seems like the perfect place for a cliffhanger, soooo...

Stay tuned for Part II!

And, if you're so inclined, any donations to any Buddy Walk are tax deductible. If you go to one in your area, let me know. They're fun. We went to three last year and will do the same this year.

If you work for the Feds, both NDSS and NDSC are listed to receive CFC contributions.