Update on Princess J

After a long night, of watching Princess J like a hawk for any signs of problems, I am happy to report that she is fine! I can't even begin to tell you how upset I was. I never would have even thought about a mushroom being poisonous had it not been for remembering news stories about people eating certain types of mushrooms and dying. I was so beyond freaked out when I saw that little mushroom in her hand. I didn't even know we had any on the lawn. It was the first time I had ever seen any there, and we play out on our lawn A LOT!

Thank goodness that I had placed those stickers with the poison control phone number the pediatrician had given us on our bulletin board. I have them a few other places as well, but this one is the most handy.

I might as well take this time to do a little public service announcement. If you don't have the number posted by your phone....go do it NOW! We posted the number by our phone when Little J was just one year old. We've never used it before, but thank goodness it was there. The nationwide Poison Control Center phone number is 1-800-222-1222. If you need to call, have as much information as possible about the item your little one ingested. They really were very helpful, and were very calm and comforting. This was so important, because while I tried to remain calm, inside I was doing the super freak out! They actually even called me this morning to check on Princess J and make sure that everything was fine. This also gave me time to process everything and I had listed a couple of additional questions to ask. It also made me feel better to know, that when I called the local ER, they said that they would have called poison control and done or told me to do whatever they said. This means, that I called the "top of the chain" and got the best information possible.

Thought I'd share a few photos of my happy little princess too! Go hug those kiddos now!

Too Quick!

14 months, and all I can say is that this girl is QUICK! She is so aware of everything! I was visiting Suzy and Princess J had her walking buddy on (I'll explain that more in another post). Anyway, she was a little upset that she couldn't roam about as she pleased and laid down on the ground and threw a little temper trantrum. As she's laying on the ground crying that "life is not fair" cry, I let go of the end of the walking buddy. This little girl was on her feet and off faster than a speeding bullet! Ever since she got the hang of this walking thing, she wants no part of being carried around. I really try and let her walk as much as possible, because I want her to be used to being in places and learning what she can and cannot do. I must say it's a bit exhausting right now. Nonetheless, I know it will be worth it in the end.

These photos came with some added stress, because of just how quick she is. I was happily snapping away some photos of her when a neighbor stopped by. We talked for like two seconds and Princess J was munching down on a mushroom from our lawn! It was so quick! Poor little girl was so scared, because I was holding her mouth open and trying to get every last bit out of her mouth! She was screaming and crying so hard! I brought her inside and immediately called poison control. Thank goodness we posted those numbers near our phone (on the advice of our pediatrician). Thankfully, it seems the type she got should not harm her in any way, but it sure gave mommy a HUGE scare! After I called poison control, I called our local ER as well, to find out exactly what they would do if I brought her in. They said they also would call poison control and then tell me to do whatever they said. I swear, if they had said they would have made her throw it up or pumped her stomach, I probably would have headed down there. As it stands now, we have to monitor her for the next 6 to 10 hours (from the time of the mushroom fiasco) and if she starts to get sick we take her in. So far, everything is fine and she is watching her favorite show Little Bill.

Exhausted!

I think the spring cleaning bug has bit me! I've been on a mission to get things cleaned up and junk out! So far this week, I've cleaned out the master bath, the guest bath and Princess J and Little J's rooms. I packed up a TON of clothes for both kids that no longer fit. I was sad to see some of the outfits go. I thought I'd share a few photos of Princess J's room here too. My favorite things in her room are her changing table....it's actually an old buffet that my stepmother had. G stripped it and painted it to fit in her room! I love her closet too It's so cute! Little J's room got the once over too. A while back, my mother-in-law bought Little J a fish lamp. It's the perfect fish tank! Little J loves to watch the fish swim by continuously. We finally got around to finding a place to hang it. As you can see from the photo he was certainly enjoying his new pets!

Princess J is just a little ham these days. She's walking like CRAZY! We had our first in public temper tantrum the other day too! OMG! This little girl was outta control! Earlier in the week, we had gone into Starbucks (I know you are completely shocked that I was in a Starbucks). She was running around all over the place! She was pulling coffee bags off the shelves (she did help put them back only to pull them off again) and taking the free to read newspapers and throwing them on the ground. All the while testing out the new found skill of walking. She didn't destroy anything and did help put stuff back, so the next time we were in Starbucks (I know you are shocked again) I decided to let her walk around again while I was waiting for my small cup of heaven. This time, she just wanted to crawl. Since I didn't think that crawling around on the Starbucks floor was that great of an idea, I picked her up.....this little princess screamed bloody murder! She was arching her back and just being a little wild girl! Thankfully, everyone in the store was super friendly and understanding and I didn't get the "control your child" stares! As soon as my drink was ready though I ran outta there as quick as possible!!!! I took a few impromptu photos of Princess J today...the last two are my favorites!

Other things Princess J is doing: High Fives! A little Patty Cake! Mostly she's working on the walking thing though. I'd say she's walking about 75% of the time now. This little girl is a character! I love how her little personality is just growing and growing!

American Idol!

Sadly, I did not pay much attention to American Idol this year. It just didn't fit into my schedule since I was already hooked on Dancing With the Stars. I didn't have enough room on the DVR, much less the time to go back and watch it. I did watch tonights finale though. Tonights finale had a little special meaning too. Did you hear the last song the new American Idol sang "Time of My Life" as they rolled the credits? That song was written by Reggie Ham. Reggie Ham is a dad to a little girl with Angelman Syndrome. They adopted their daughter from China and their story is amazing! I had heard small clips of the song when it was on the AI website for voting, but hearing the whole thing....WOW! What a great song and a well deserved win for Reggie! Can't wait for it to be available for download! Anyway, here is a link to the article in USA Today about Reggie Ham's win! It doesn't go into much detail about their adoption or diagnosis story, but he's shared it on a parent list I belong to and it's amazing! He really deserves all the success that comes from this......Now, as soon as you can....DOWNLOAD THE SONG!!!

Walking With Angels!

WOW! What an amazing day! First, I'd like to again thank all of our family and friends who donated to the Angelman Syndrome Foundation (ASF) and supported Little J in the walk-a-thon! The event was fantastic! I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it was!

We were up bright and early getting the kids ready and out the door! The event was in Sacramento, so we had to get an early start. The park was beautiful! It was sooo HOT, but the park had lots of trees and shade. We got lots of updates on what the ASF is working on now and for the future. The future looks so promising for treatments and possibly even a cure for AS!

At the beginning of the walk, all the Angels were lined up at the starting line for photos. It was so beautiful to see all these amazing kids together! A moment of silence was held for Dr. Joseph Wagstaff. He was an amazing doctor who did so much for research and for children with Angelman Syndrome. He passed away in April after a hiking accident. The walk started with one of the Angels using a huge pair of scissors to cut the ribbon! We enjoyed a three mile walk through a beautiful park. There were lots of smiles and laughter everywhere! Along the way they had signs that described some of the medical and behavior issues that individuals with AS and their families face. They had signs of thanks. They also came up with this brilliant idea of posting photos of some of the Angels and encouraging words along the walk path. Of course I did get a photo of Little J's sign!

After the walk, there was a lot of time to connect with other families and meet people we've only chatted with online. I had plans to take tons of photos, but I really got caught up meeting everyone and their angels. This community of parents and others who are involved with our children is just wonderful! There were families with older Angels as well as families of newly diagnosed. It was touching to share our experience with newly diagnosed families as well as getting information from families who've been where we are now. It really amazes me how open and giving this community is and how wonderful it is to just know these people. As you can see by the photos at the end Little J and Princess J were worn out. Not only did they take a nice nap on the way home from the walk, they also slept really well.

A rough estimate of the money raised by the Sacramento Walk location alone is about $115,000! So again, thank you to all of you who donated! The donation pages are still open, so if you'd still like to contribute you can! Here at Little J's fundraising page! The ASF is working on supporting so many research projects and every little bit helps!

Little J's Walk-a-thon is Tomorrow!!!

With all this heat, it's been hard, but we've been preparing ourselves for the
Angelman Syndrome Foundation Walkathon! We are so excited to be attending this year, as last year we were not able to because Princess J had just arrived. Little J has raised $805! Thank you so much to our family and friends who have donated! It really means so much to us, that you support Little J! With recent developments in research, some of which I've posted previously on this blog, I know this money will be going to good use. I know we are on the road to finding treatments and possibly even a cure for Angelman Syndrome!

If you still would like to donate to Little J's fundraising page, you can still donate here. I have my camera battery charging as we speak, so I plan on having lots of photos from our fun day! Here's hoping I can rope someone in to taking a few photos of our whole family together! I can't wait to meet so many families that I've only met online. The community of parents of children with Angelman Syndrome has been so awesome! They are one supportive and knowlegable group of people! Please pray that it is not too hot for all the kiddos though! Many children with Angelman Syndrome have difficulty regulating their body temperature. Increased body temperature can also lower the threshold for seizure activity. So, please pray that God will make tomorrow a prefect day for all of our angels to get together, raise some awareness and some money and just have a fun day together!

I know I've been teasing you all with all the new stuff I got going on. I'll post more on that after the walk.......you might be able to tell some of the stuff from the walk photos when I post them!

Princess J's First Movie!

So I decided to try playing with the video feature on the camera I got for Christmas. Princess J was ready to help me test it out too! Love just watching her walk around! I also how she loves to play peek-a-boo!

I've Fallen In Love with Starbucks All Over Again!

Just when I think about giving up my Starbucks habit, they make me fall in love all over again. Chocolate whipped cream (with just a taste of mint inside)! OH MY! YUMMO! I don't think I'm giving up my habit anytime soon.......

A Good Day for a Parade!

Saturday moring was the annual Rowell Ranch Rodeo Parade. This is a great parade for little ones! Lots of up close seats so they can all see the action. Last year Princess J was only 2 months old, so she really just slept through most of it. This year, she was having a grand old time! We got there pretty early to make sure we got some good spots where Little J could listen to the band beforehand. He loves to dance to the music! We were there probably an hour before the parade actually started, so we got a good parking spot within walking distance to Starbucks to Mommy could get her morning fix! Little J loved watching the police and firetrucks as well as the local high school bands. He also LOVED the Raider Fans! They were all dressed up in their "Black Hole" gear and Little J was just cracking up as they walked by. A few of them stopped to chat with him and he was full of smiles! Princess J loved waiving her American Flags! Everytime a group of Vetrans, soldiers or other military affiliated group went by our crowd cheered and I told Princess J to waive her Flags and she waved both of them and gave out big smiles! She loved the horses, the mariachi and banda bands as well as the marching bands! The last photo here cracks me up, because while we were waiting for the parade to start, we called daddy on the phone because he had to work. She heard the phone ring and handed it to me (since I put it next to her in her stroller seat). When I was done, I handed it to her and she tried dialing some numbers.

So, here is a hint to my cryptic message the other day:
I got a new......... and G got a new............
and I got a new.........
and I'm getting a...........
and I'm getting a.................

Coming Soon......

A new me! Can't wait!

A Crazy Busy Life.....

WOW! I never thought I would be as busy as I was when I worked out in the corporate world. I honestly think I am much busier now! This last week has just been outta control! At least one of the many many things on my "To Do" list was something just for me! Last Saturday was National Scrapbook Day, and I got to celebrate it with some great friends at Picture Me Perfect. We had such a great day just chatting and scrapping! Thank goodness for some girl time! Thank goodness I have such a wonderful hubby, who was off work and kept the little ones entertained all day!

We are also in the process of getting a new ride for the family! I can't wait to share! I'm quite smitten with it!

I have lots more to share about our week, but will save some of it for another post.

My Plan B.

The last time I posted, I shared a video from Pete Wilson and the Smith Family from the Without Wax Blog. If you didn't see it, then click on the link above and take some time and watch it. It's an important message.

The beginning of May is always a little tough for me. May 1st is an anniversary of sorts for G and I. It is the second anniversary of Little J's diagnosis. The day when our Plan A was thrown out the window. The day that we were so mad at GOD and didn't understand how he could do this to Little J or to us. As a little girl, I dreamed of meeting my prince charming and having a family. I pictured 3 children, I never cared if they were boys or girls. I pictured a nice house and doing all sorts of fun activities with my little ones. I pictured my prince charming playing ball with them, I pictured them going to school and experiencing all that life had to offer. On May 1st, 2006 that picture was completley changed. This is the reason that the Smith family video really spoke to me. I loved how Angie talks about being able to "yell" at GOD and knowing he can take it. I loved how Pete Wilson talked about the fact that these things are not Plan B for GOD. It just reminded me how fortunate we are, to know that GOD is walking this journey with us. To know that GOD is there to listen to us when we are frustrated and need to take it out somewhere. To know that this is part of his big plan. To know that Little J's diagnosis will somehow play a part in someones life.

I have been so fortunate to be connected with many Angel families through different message boards, list serves as well as in our own community (as rare as that is). I have also been so fortunate to connect with many other mommy's of other special needs children. I love how these moms know how to support you when you are having a rough time, I love how these moms know how to celebrate milestones with you no matter how late they come. We as a family have also been so fortunate to have such wonderfully supportive family and friends. There are so many people out there who love Little J. In the end, a lot of this is part of my Plan A. I wanted my children to make a difference in this world, I wanted them to be loved, and most of all I wanted them to be happy. It's not the way I would have planned my life, but I'm facing this journey. I'm lucky to be facing this journey with a wonderful husband, a beautiful daughter, a wonderful family behind us, wonderful friends and so many people who work with Little J daily, weekly, monthly and yearly and celebrate his love and acheivements. I know that GOD has a hand in all of this. I know that HE is walking with us. Above all, I have faith that someday (maybe even here on earth) our Little J will be healed. Someday, whether here on earth or in heaven, I will hear my baby boy say "I love you Mommy" outloud and I will see him run and play and jump with all the joy he has in his heart.

Little J's walk-a-thon is coming up soon! Thank you to everyone who has donated so far! There is still time if you want to make a donation!