Monday Night Football

BD may be in the living room checking out the pre-season game, but I'm totally getting a kick out of watching this instead:



I love how he tells her to "rub some dirt on it" regarding her "injury."

No wonder she's a brute!

Winning

I'm all about it.

Wanna help me?

Ok, so last night, I entered the following pic in the Natalie Crater Photography "Mommy and Me" contest.


If you become a fan of the business on Facebook by clicking "like" on the page, then you can, again, click "like" on the our pic. That's it.

The contest ends on Sunday, April 24th at 11:59pm and the one with the most "likes" wins.

We can totally do this.

The prize is a $30 mother's day session, complimentary 8x10 print, and a special gift for me (woot!).

Bonus: I met Natalie because we both moved here at about the same time. She's a fellow Ds/military mom.

Freeze!

One of Playette's newest obsessions is this ragtag group of hooligans.

Ok, so maybe they are squeaky clean.

And I could probably really let them off the hook because they're all daggone near 30 years old.

Anyway.

For the last few weeks, Playette has been enjoying the show immensely. It's funny because I swore off High School Musical and I'm guessing this is pretty darn similar.

And I like it.

Don't judge me.

Playette picked the following up from them and it cracks me up.

It also makes getting ready for school very time consuming since every few seconds we have to "Pease!"

Also, check out how my daughter knows way more ASL than I do and I can barely follow what she's trying to tell me sometimes. She goes on these long signing tangents and I get all noddy and "Oh, really?"

Poor, forgetful mama.



Yeah, we're still working on toileting. The plastic pants are the hotness, aren't they?

Whatever gets you through the day.

Sometimes we just have to laugh.

(Or snort.)

Thanks to my sister-friend for bringing this to my attention.

Driving Miss Crittle

Playette and I hung out at one of the coolest parks ever today.

She really enjoyed "driving" me around and doing the "beep beep" on the horn.

Some other stuff happened at the park, too, but, hey, it's 31 for 21, so I need to space out the goodies a bit. ;-)

Saturday Snippets

Charm School

The storms were pretty bad around here the other night, so BD unplugged all of our lifelines big electrical stuff. Instead, we sat in the kitchen and worked ever-so-intently on our posture.

We are so gangsta! WHAT?!

Push-Up Contest

She's Made of Awesome

As if you didn't already know.

My Kind of People

I love this so much, I had to share.

I got the following email a little while ago, confirming an order that I placed. I love good customer service (meaning: they even bother to try) just as much as I hate bad customer service. I'm not afraid to complain so I figured I should give props to the people that do it right, y'know?

========

Chrystal-

Thanks for your order with CD Baby!

USPS

(1) [Insert name of CD here]


Your CD has been gently taken from our CD Baby shelves with sterilized contamination-free gloves and placed onto a satin pillow.

A team of 50 employees inspected your CD and polished it to make sure it was in the best possible condition before mailing.

Our packing specialist from Japan lit a candle and a hush fell over the crowd as he put your CD into the finest gold-lined box that money can buy.

We all had a wonderful celebration afterwards and the whole party marched down the street to the post office where the entire town of Portland waved "Bon Voyage!" to your package, on its way to you, in our private CD Baby jet on this day, October 19, 2009.

We hope you had a wonderful time shopping at CD Baby. In commemoration, we have placed your picture on our wall as "Customer of the Year." We're all exhausted but can't wait for you to come back to CDBABY.COM!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Sigh...

We miss you already. We'll be right here at http://cdbaby.com/, patiently awaiting your return.

--
CD Baby
The little store with the best new independent music.
http://cdbaby.com cdbaby@cdbaby.com (503)595-3000

Update About Something Really Important

The TiVo remote. It is saved.

I found an old one downstairs, all sticky-by-the-keys after having sat in a sunny spot unused for almost two years, and I reprogrammed it to work with the TV upstairs all by myself, thank you very much.

And then BD threw the original one at me last night, all "Try it now."

I know, I know. I'm a lucky gal. *swoon*

I still kinda want to use the sticky, melted button one, just because I fixed it all by myself, but I guess I'll settle for the one that swam in our toilet.

Ah, choices.

Happy Video

Mom's OverNight Out Recap

So, there was a time, about a year ago, that I wanted to host a Ds'elebration. Remember that? Well, it did happen and it was a great time.

From that event sparked an interest to do something just for the moms. And when Wellsphere came along and offered $150 towards to cost of hosting events for health bloggers, I submitted a proposal right away. This was my chance to make it bigger and better!

Excerpt from the proposal:

Title of Proposal: Mom's OverNight Out

Now, describe your proposal a little more. Please don't forget to describe:

a) The purpose. Tell us what you are looking to achieve.

When I discovered my daughter's diagnosis after she was born, I was devastated. I didn't know what to do or where to turn. What I've since realized, over the past two years, is that the support of other parents is invaluable. Not only do I know that I am not alone, but I can get questions answered, express my feelings to people that understand, learn about opportunities to help my daughter reach her fullest potential, and share her successes with those that will gladly celebrate with me. In that regard, I am very interested in hosting a Mom's OverNight Out at my home.

All moms need a break, but moms of kids with special needs often need respite so that we can be recharged and empowered to be the advocates that our children need daily. I think it would be fantastic if Wellsphere could support this endeavor to help make this night extra special for a wonderful group of women.

b) The people. Tell us who you plan to share the event with.

I would like to bring approximately 30 women together (all mothers of children with Down syndrome) in my local and extended Down syndrome support network and have a time that is just for us. We can discuss our kids, pick each other's brains, and also just relax knowing that we're all among friends who "get it." A fantastic Mom's Night Out!

c) The location. Where are you having this event?

It will be hosted at my home

Tell us about the angle: What makes this event unique?

While there are virtual support groups that exist and allow parents to share information via the internet, due to the sometimes very-scheduled lives of families with someone with special needs, getting together in person can prove difficult. When it does happen, there always seems to never be enough time to chat about the various things we have in common. This would be an opportunity for our support group to have time for just the mothers alone where there is essentially no time limit. We can support each other in a way that just hasn't been done before.

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On September 19th, it all came together. As the time approached, I had the thought to expand the group to include mothers of children with diagnoses other than Ds as well. I'm glad I did because we were able to be joined by some more really great people!

There was a TON of food, a wide array of drinks, and even more laughs and conversation. While some people did have to get home that night, a good number of us were able to remain and have a good, old-fashioned sleepover. Playette and BD were gone for the night so we, honest-to-goodness, had the house to ourselves and we could stay up because we wanted to and sleep in until we were good and ready to do otherwise.

Awesome.

Aside from armloads of cakes, pies, muffins, and other assorted pastry items, many of the ladies were able to go home with souvenirs of the gift card variety (from Victoria's Secret, Cold Stone, Target, Bath & Body Works, and Starbucks) to remind them of the time we had together and also to encourage them to do something for them and them alone. (Moms tend to forget that "just for us" stuff sometimes.)

Thanks to our esteemed photog friend and fellow mama, Jen, we have some pics to share of the event.
I like to call this one..."Oops. I guess I don't know how to use that rabbit wine opener thingee after all."

Mothers of kids with differing abilities are nothing if not resourceful. Believe that.



Wait. That didn't work? Hm. How about this?


New bottle, you say? We can accommodate.


That one wasn't my fault. I swear!


Off to cause destruction elsewhere and banned from the wine pouring duties I got to mixing up some Electric Lemonade...


...while our esteemed photog opted for a different libation.


In the end, we all came together and gave a salute to our less-traveled paths that brought us together to celebrate as moms.


I thank everyone that contributed the time, energy, and resources to help make this event a reality and a success.

O-Dogette

Confused? Hint: It's all about the hair.

Killing Me Softly with the Shoulder Action

Sunday morning with the Smith-Smiths.



Gems, aside from the dancing of course: She signs and says the word "music" at the beginning (using the microphone instead of her hand); you can hear her say "all done" at the end.

1,133 Days

Kristi just forwarded me this link and it's a classic so I thought I'd share.

I didn't even know they'd keep pages up this long!

Aw, weren't we cute? All giddy and oblivious to what was to come...

This made me smile...

If you're going to have a big wedding, at least put them to work.

Awards!

It's been a while since I've shared these. Please know that, regardless of the fact that it may take me some time to pass them along, I really do love receiving the awards and appreciate your thoughtfulness. It's cool that people not only read here, but also like what they read here enough to think of me when it's time to pay the love forward.

So thank you.

Renee, who writes Life with my Special Ks, graced me with a TLC Award.



Aw, it's nice to be thought of as practicing tender, loving care.

I'd like to pass this one along to Linda at Lila's Miracle Life.

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Sonia from A Hapa Girl and her Hapa Family sent over a Lemonade Award.



I would like to bestow this upon Lacia, whose blog, Outnumbered by Kids, I feel, shows great attitude/gratitude.

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Many thanks go out to Lisa at Genetically Enhanced for the Honest Scrap Award.



This award comes with an assignment to tell 10 honest things about myself. A chance to blab? Well, alright!

1. My dream job is to be a cashier at Target.

2. I could stay in bed all day if you let me.

3. I watch a lot of crap TV. Horrible, I know.

4. I could swim before I could walk and I still enjoy it.

5. I love receiving real mail.

6. My mother first introduced me to driving a stick shift when were on the NJ Turnpike and she wanted a break from driving. Scary!

7. Driving in mountains is even more scary to me than #6.

8. I'm already considering growing my hair back out.

9. I'm lacking motivation these days.

10. I'm now officially 2 hours late for my "run." See #9.

I'd like to send this award over to Beth at Hannah's Shennanigans, whose blog I find encouraging.

Cell Phone Photo Challenge

I was catching up on my blog reading and noticed that Lisa posted a challenge to post photos from your cell phone. I have a crappy phone so I do apologize for the quality, but take take plenty of pictures on it, so I figured this would be fun. It's interesting how these grainy photos can really tell a story.

You already know I like to take goofy self-portraits, so I'm not including any of those. And I'll stick to somewhat recent stuff so that I don't go completely (further) overboard.

Anonymous Vegas blackmail photo. Did I ever blog about that trip? Well, no. No, I didn't.


Part of the case I'm building against my landlord. Our lease promises a gardener. We pay for that. We obviously don't get it.


Cake!


Reecie the wonder puppy! (She belongs to my aunt.)


What I found outside of my office on my first day of the new job. Very nice.


Hm. Looks like my fears are warranted. I found this sign about a mile from my house.


Evidence that my grandmother's flower arrangement was less than stellar. What a rip-off.


Playette has taken to cleaning lately. She picks up rags, or things that are rag-like, and starts to "clean." She doesn't get that from me.


Caught!


The beach at sunset yesterday.


Baby Fish Mouth. We had just come from the Farmer's Market and Playette was chowing down on some fried catfish that I bought from the Soul Food Lady.

And the Bloggy Award goes to...

I’ve been honored with a few blog awards lately, which I happen to think is pretty cool. The first one I ever received was from Lisa and I totally dropped the ball on receiving that one properly. (Sorry, Lisa!) I’m still a newbie to the whole blogging culture, so please blame that on my ignorance and not my heart.

Here it is now for all to see:

These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated.

Sweet, huh? BD just said "shame on you" to me for slacking. Shame on me, indeed.

I’m glad that people tolerate enjoy reading what I write. Having this space has been very therapeutic for me and if it helps others along the way with some info or a smile? That’s even better.

Courtesy of the two lovely Lisas: Lisa at Bridget’s Light and Lisa at Finnian's Journey. Since I received these at right around the same time, I'm answering them both now. Some of the questions differ, but most are the same.

Premios Dardos means “prize darts” in Italian. This award acknowledges the values that every blogger shows in his or her effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values every day.

And in the spirit of passing along the love, here's how it works:

Step 1: respond and rework -- answer the questions on your own blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention.

Step 2: tag some other bloggers to do the same, remembering to contact each of them to let them know they have been selected for this award.

1) What is your favorite thing to wear?

Anything comfortable, but mostly sweats, t-shirts, and tennis shoes. I really wish I were more girly.

2) What is your biggest fear?

Tsunamis or raccoons? (Oh! I saw one last night when I was leaving work and I almost lost it. I made my co-worker stop talking to me outside and get in my car so that I could drive him 10 feet to his own car. That thing looked vicious.)

Ok, so raccoons then.

3) Do you nap a lot?

I want to nap a lot.

4) *My New Question* If you could have one thing in your house magically fixed, what would it be?

I'd get one of those TV organizers to come over and get all my crap together and make it simple for me to do for myself from then on out.

5) What websites do you visit when you go online?

Blogs, Facebook, and Hotmail mostly

6) What was the last item you bought?

We bought a new car seat for Playette last night. Saved $100! WOOHOO!

7) If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

One day

One day hopefully a little sooner than that

I love how both BL Lisa (who gave me the award) and Cheri at Raising Reid (who gave it to her) both mentioned my ‘hood in this answer.

8) If you could go to the Oscars, who would you want to sit next to?

Someone fun, I guess. I’d be too excited about the parties to care.

9) Has a celebrity's hair cut ever influenced your own hairstyle?

I had the Halle Berry 90s cut.

Remember?

10) What is your most embarrassing moment?

I do random stuff all the time so it’s hard to pick one. BD just reminded me of something…

How about when his mom gave me a bag full of sexy lingerie in front of a room full of people right before we got married? I am such a prude so I think I wanted to melt right into the floor at that moment.

Not funny, I know, but trust me. I was embarrassed.

11) What was the last movie you watched?

Notorious

12) What is the luckiest thing that ever happened to you?

I am not what I consider a lucky person. I’ve won a couple of radio contests.

13) If you had a whole day to yourself with no work, commitments or interruptions what would you do?

Sleep in, watch TV, probably a whole lot of nothing.

I’d like to think that I’d file all of the paperwork sitting in a pile on my desk, but what’s the use of lying in a meme?

14) Is there a major goal you have that you haven't yet achieved?

Becoming fluent in a foreign language

15) Drinks are on the house!! What do you order?

Mojito or a Lemon Drop…wait, someone else is paying? Maybe something bigger and stronger.

16) If you were in a terrible accident and your doctors told you they could save either your hearing or your sight (but not both), which would you choose and why?

I would choose sight. I have a new found fondness for sign language and know that I could communicate just fine that way if need be.

17) What is something that those in blogland might not know about you?

I know some people read that know just about all there is to know about me, so that’s a hard one. Hm… Well, I’m a big scaredy cat. I have to run upstairs at night if BD leaves me down here alone. I get to bed all out of breath like someone’s been chasing me.

18) What do you regret?

I always regret not saying how I feel when I'm "in the moment" and then thinking up fifty-eleven things I could have said after the fact. Blogging helps in that area.

Which is a great segue to the next question...

19) Why do you blog?

Several reasons

20) What do you feel is your worst character flaw?

I'm too sensitive.


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This one came to me courtesy of Sonia at A Hapa Girl and her Hapa Family.

The rules of the award state that I must list seven things I love, and then pass the award onto seven bloggers I love to read.







Seven things I love:

1. All things Playette
2. Enjoying common interests with BD
3. Vacations
4. Spending time with friends
5. Sleeping
6. Laughing
7. Learning

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And now for the tagging:

I love reading lots and lots of blogs. I'll pick 3 here (which is very hard for me to do) and tell you why I think they're worth reading. The authors of the blogs I choose can feel free to respond with as little or as much as they want. No rules.

Proximidade - Living in Invisible Cities

I've mentioned here before how much I admire this blog. "Willa's Mom" is raw, honest, and engaging to read. She draws me in every time.

Since that post, I've heard from several people that they also felt the same way after reading. That's a pretty powerful thing to be able to do with your words.

Premios Dardos - Where Are My Angels

From tears to laughter.

Every time I read this blog, I crack up. One time I was sitting with BD at Denny's and I just couldn't put my Blackberry down until I finished reading about the author's Wii struggles. I love reading about her day-to-day adventures with three beautiful daughters and a "Child Husband."

Just having a Child Husband alone should be award worthy.

Kreative Blogger - The Zoromski Chronicles

The author's littlest daughter is just about a month older than Playette. I love seeing her photos and thinking, "Not too long from now, we'll be dealing with that!" It's even more exciting now that Ruby's walking. The whole family just looks like a lot of fun to be around.

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You know the hardest thing about blogging? It's not the time it takes. It's that you learn so much about people, develop relationships based on commonalities, and then you live nowhere near one another so you can't even hang out. Geesh! I wish everyone listed in my reader could come chill at my house for a day.

Wait.

That's a lot of people.

And then I'd have to clean up.

But you know what I mean.

I love you guys.

Thanks for listening.

My heart is full.