EASTER

Today was a lovely day spent with family.  There were Easter baskets o'plenty, egg hunts galore, yummy food and treats.  Hope you all had a wonderful Easter.

Out and About, Almost, Not Just Yet

Dreaming of warmth, dreaming of sunshine, I seriously think that I suffer from Winter depression.  It has been especially hard this winter, we have been stuck in the house probably since October.  I wanted to keep little Miss as healthy as possible, with a few outing here and there but mostly we have been in the house.  I know people think I am crazy, but whatever. 
The therapists keep pushing, play group, mommy and me classes with "regular" kids and honestly I am not comfortable with that, I don't want to have to explain her to people, I just want to go and have fun with her and let her have fun.  I guess I am still getting used to the stares and the comments and the questions.  I honestly don't care what they think of her, I am proud of her just the way she is, I just don't understand why some people can be so kind and others can be so cruel.  I am just so afraid that kids will make fun of her, I was teased terribly as a kid and I don't want that for her.  I know that the best thing I can do for her is to prepare her to live in this world good and bad, but it's hard for this mama to get started.
It seem like everything we have tried to do has not worked out, so it has been a bit discouraging.  Anyway that's enough complaining, so happy that spring is coming and we can get out and about a bit more.

Spring Break and Other News

So it's Spring Break for my oldest and it's not exactly the nicest weather here, in fact it's still winter.  This time last year we were walking around without coats and it was so nice out, this year that's a whole other story. Hubby and I have been seriously discussing moving to a warmer climate, maybe Florida, somewhere where we will be able to enjoy being outside for most of the year.  We also would love to move closer to all the new friends we have met whose kiddos also have DS. We have so much work to do and so many decisions to make, decisions that will affect our whole family.


In DS news, we joined a playgroup, all the therapists said how great it would be for her, we were so excited, then we find out it takes place shortly after she has PT, so there goes that plan, oh well. I will never make it there in time. Little Miss is still cruising and standing holding on to things.  She is now blowing kisses, saying "All Done!" and signing "All Done!" She is saying what we think is some form of "Grandma," sounds more like "Abba" but we'll take it.  She is very stubborn and gets into everything, and the therapists keep telling me these are good things, we'll see.  I hope everyone is doing well.

LIEBSTER AWARD

My blog has been nominated for the Liebster Award.  Thank you Claudia from http://littlemayberrylife.blogspot.com/ and Andrea from http://theuglytruthmom.blogspot
for nominating me.   

 

What's the Liebster Award?  It's an award given to blogs with less than 200 followers. It helps bloggers connect, discover new blogs, and support one another.

RULES
1.Each person must post 11 thinkgs about themselves
2.Answer the questions the person who has nominated you has asked.
3.Choose 11 people and link them in your post
4.Go to their page and tell them

11 THINGS ABOUT ME

I am very shy
I have been to Disney World 32 times
I am left handed
I was an elementary school teacher before I had kids
I always wanted 4 kids but only ended up with 2
I am an only child
I love reality TV
I have never had a lot of friends
I am crafty
I love planning my kids birthday parties
I wasn't supposed to live when I was born

Questions from my Nominator
Why did you start blogging?
I started blogging when I gave birth to my second child who had Down Syndrome, it was a way for me to start coping with all of my feelings and to help me find my way through this new life.

How did you come up with the name for your blog?
Eveyone that would come into the hospital room kept saying "You are going to have your hands full" from there I just came up with "My Hands and Heart are Full"

What is your Dream Vacation?
I would love to stay at the Polynesian Hotel in Disney.

Favorite Joke?
My son used to tell me this cute little Knock Knock joke when he was little, "Knock Knock" "Who's there?" "Boo" "Boo Who" "Here's a tissue mommy, don't cry" I can still hear his little giggle when he used to tell me that 100 times a day at least.

Favorite Meal?
Steak, Baked Potato and Broccoli w/ Lemon

Best Childhood Memory?
Going to Disney every summer.

Favorite Book?
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Dream Job?
To work for the teaching magazine, Mailbox.

Last Movie Seen in the theater?
The Lorax

If you could have one do over what would it be?
I would love to do over the night my husband and I got engaged, people didn't react the way we expected them too, was kind of sad since that is all I really remember about it.

If you could change the world what would you change?
If I could I would completely eliminate bullying.

QUESTIONS FOR MY NOMINEES

1. What would do if you won the lottery?
2. What do you like about yourself?
3. What do you dislike about yourself?
4.Why did you start blogging?
5.If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
6. If you could spend 1 week on vacation anywhere in the world where would it be?
7. What scares you?
8. What makes you happy?
9. What do you love most?
10. What are you most hopeful for?
11. If you could have 3 wishes what would they be?

My nominees

http://betweenthe2.blogspot.com/

http://www.bearandlionmama.com/

http://adventuresbeyondthecrib.blogspot.com/

http://pigtailsnpearls.blogspot.com/

http://sosewmama.blogspot.com/

http://mlogandclog.blogspot.com/

http://naturallysta.blogspot.com/

http://homeiswhereitsat.blogspot.com/

http://smiletomyface.blogspot.com/

http://teal915.blogspot.com/

http://ohlifeisbeautyfull.blogspot.com/

I LOVE FORTUNE COOKIE SOAP

So  I love Fortune Cookie Soap, http://www.fortunecookiesoap.com/, so much so that I have subscribed to their quarterly Soap Box Subscription.  "The Soap Box is a quarterly subscription box, centered around handcrafted, bath + body products."  There is a Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall box! I decided I would do a little mini review of the products each season.

So this is the Spring Soap Box.

"The Birds and the Bees" Bath Fizzy, smells AMAZING, fruity and sweet, just toss it in the bath as it is filling up and if the smell doesn't make you feel like it's spring, I don't  know what will. It leaves your skin feeling super moisturized and soft.

"Late Bloomer" Fortune Cookie Soap  scented with Polynesian Hibiscus, ripe berries, white amber and vanilla.  To me it smells a bit like Pineapple and Vanilla, love it.  It leaves your skin super smooth and exfoliated.

"Down to Earth" Tea Light Candle, this is FCS's first candle and let me tell you it smells fabulous. It's a soft earthy blend of basil and lavender and I hope they come out with jar size candles ASAP.



"Dirty Hoe" OCD Hand Sanitizer, can I say that I love, love, love FCS's Hand Sanitizers and this one is so nice, to me it smells like a mixture of fresh cut grass and spring rain.

"A Nod to the Hippies" Shimmer Stick
Patchouli, amber and vanilla, leaves a slight scent on your skin and adds a bit of shimmer and shine wherever you want a highlight.

"Kiss My Vine" Bath Salts smells just like Strawberries and Champagne, yummo.  Sprinkle the salts while your bath is filling. Leaves skin soft and smelling sweet.

"Honey Dew Me" Whipped Cream smells like watermelon, canteloupe, apple and vanilla. This stuff is wonderful, it is a body cream that is whipped, it is lovely on the skin, not greasy and smells wonderful.

"I Wet my Plants" Spray Lotion smells like melon, jasmine and baby powder.  I am not sure if I like the concept of a spray lotion, although I loved the lotion itself, smell fabulous and leaves skin smooth. I just wish it wasn't in a spray bottle.

When you join the Soap Box you will not be disappointed, it is so much fun getting surprises in the mail.  They also give you a $10 coupon toward a future purchase with every box. This is definitely one of my favorite companies and I am so glad that I found them. Visit http://www.fortunecookiesoap.com/





Happy Anniversary

Today is our 11th wedding anniversary!
Happy Anniversary to the best guy a girl could ask for, I love you.

I remember the day like it was yesterday, by far one of the best days of my life.

Our song was At Last by Etta James, I had so much fun at our wedding.

 

We went to Disney World on Our Honeymoon. We look so young.

 

To homeschool or not to homeschool, that is the question of the day.

Homeschooling is starting to look very appealing, I was a teacher before having my kids and know that I could totally pull it off.  The whole idea looks very daunting though, where do you even begin?  How do you home school a regular ed kid and a special ed kid?  Would my daughter need to go to school, would I be doing her more harm by keeping her home?  I just don't know, but I am thinking a lot about it lately.  Guess I have to do a lot of research.  If anyone has any input on this please let me know.

Moo Says the Cow and 2+2=4

Okay so Little Miss is surely doing things that all these specialists said that she could not.  This weekend marked one of those memorable celebrations of sorts.  She has been hearing Old MacDonald for months now and looking at picture cards of animals and listening to me say all the sounds and the matching animal, well this weekend was a proud moment. I would say "What does the cow say?", and she would say "MOOOOOO," "what does the sheep say," "Baaaa Baaa Baaa" "what does the piggy say" for this one she makes a sort of snorting sound.  It was the cutest thing I have ever seen or heard, I am one proud Mama this morning.
My son is doing super dee duper in school, he was having a little trouble on these timed Math Quizzes, the teacher would give them 1 minute to anwer 50 questions so we have been practicing those like crazy and he has gotten so much better.  So it's the little moments that make me happy, even if it is just the Moo of a cow, the baa of a sheep or the fact that 2+2=4 I am going to celebrate it.

Letter To My Daughter Featured on loveyou-mom.com

A letter I wrote to my daughter has been featured on another blog, please go and check it out
http://loveyou-mom.com/?page_id=137

Please go check out her blog, leave a comment and follow her. She has a wonderful blog where she writes letters to her son, what a wonderful idea and a wonderful way to keep her memories with her son alive forever.

Doctors, Specialists, and More Doctors

So this week our Little Miss turns 19 months old, and along with the Down Syndrome comes the visit to the eye doctor every 6 months, the cardiologist, the endocronologist, and all the other specialists who line up to take measurements of height, weight, blood, urine, etc.  It is so overwhelming at times, it is at times like this that I wish this didn't happen to us, it is times like this that I wish there was a cure for Down Syndrome, that I could just take it away for her.  It makes me angry when I see people who clearly should have never been parents and have perfectly healthy children, it makes me angry that I wanted her so badly, I did everything right but it wasn't enough.  So I have my little pitty party in my head and then I get over it.  She needs to go to these specialists, without them she may not do so well.  So I suck it up and I go and I deal with it because who else will, she needs me to be strong for her, so that is what I do because there is no other option. So today we are off to the eye doctor and next month it's the dentist, pediatrician, endocronologist, etc.

New and Improved Blog

Thanks to the best hubby a girl could have my blog is new and improved, I drew the clip art and he was able to make look exactly the way I wanted it to. I have a few more things to add to it but, I just love it.

Leave me a comment below and let me know what you think!!!!!! Hope you are all having a fabulous weekend.

People Who Know

Today it was so nice to sit and talk to people, adults.  It was nice to talk to kind, caring people.  It was nice to talk to people that get it, that simply know and understand, because they too have been there, they too have shed tears, they to have had doubts, they too have felt exactly what I have felt, and even if there are no words to explain, it's okay because they already know, they already understand.  They know what it's like to be told your baby has Down Syndrome, you are friends instantly, because you share a common bond.  You share something that noone else gets, noone else understands, noone else lives, noone else breathes.  They hold your baby and know, they talk to your baby and they know, they look in her eyes and appreciate how cute she is and know how wonderful she truly is, because they see those same things in their own children. 
Today I was given a gift, and I took it, unwrapped it and thanked God for it. I also need to thank someone I once knew in High School, I was introduced to her cousins who have a son with Down Syndrome, it was a wonderful meeting.  Oh but the story doesn't end there, there's more, so pay attention.  I met a girl in the dentist office and I had my daughter with me, we got to talking and turns out she has a son with Down Syndrome who, get this was born the day before my daughter, same year, crazy right?  Oh but wait it gets better, turns out she was born in the same year I was, the day before me.  So I believe somehow God, the universe whatever you want to call it brought us together.  Oh but wait there's more, turns out the cousins of the girl I went High School with and the girl I met in the dentist also know each other. Okay, okay you can all chime in now "It's a small world after all, it's a small small world."
Anyway to make a long story short, I am thrilled to have found friends for myself and my daughter, it was a wonderful day. Today starts Down Syndrome Awareness month, if you have a child with Down Syndrome, I urge you to reach out to your local Down Syndrome group or if people are willing to introduce you to people who are going through a similar situation, take them up on it, we can all use support, we can all use a shoulder to lean on.