Dec 27, 2009 Posted in Daily Ramblings, Photos, Scrapping | View Comments

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Christmas is over. Wow. It kicked my BEHIND, y’all. Let’s recap, shall we?

Christmas Eve. Which is also Maggie’s birthday. It has, in the past, caused lots of problems trying to schedule in special time for her on that day around all the other commitments we have. This year, however, it all worked out great. We decided to have our Christmas celebration with my parents & siblings that afternoon, so the morning was Maggie’s time. We started a tradition back in the day that we would celebrate her birthday first thing in the morning, which translated into chocolate cake for breakfast. Somehow, THAT’S the tradition that stuck. Wonder why? So we got a cake when we ran to Costco on the 23rd to get the kids’ new glasses. Maggie woke us up at about 7:30 to eat cake, drink milk and have her open a present. Since getting her ears pierced was her birthday present this year, I let her choose one Christmas present to open, just so it’d feel like a birthday. She got an adorable royal blue felted purse with handmade bead strap from etsy. She loves it!!  Here’s little Miss 12 year old during the cake ceremony.

Thankfully, I actually got all the wrapping done the night of the 23rd, so there was none of the crazy last-minute insanity I’ve done in the past. At 1pm, we went over to my parents to celebrate with them, my grandma, my aunt, my older brother & his family and my younger brother, in from California. It was so different from celebrations in the past where there are SO MANY people and I’m panicked about Henry’s behavior and it’s just so loud and chaotic. It was quiet, calm and fun. There was none of the foolishness where the adults make the kids wait interminably for the present-opening while we sit down and eat and visit and do all grownup things and make the kids wait. I hate that – I’ve always hated it. We expect the kids to just wait & wait and still behave and then freak out on them when they go into sensory overload and can’t control themselves. Just a tip: let the kids open the gifts and then send them off to play with them while you do your grownup Christmas bidness. Oh, and one more thing. Please stop making your kids recreate that moment when they’ve opened the present and are surprised by what they see. First, do you REALLY need a picture of every single gift the kid got? Second, you cannot recreate that moment. Either pay attention while it’s happening or let it go. The kids HATE being told, “Oh, do that again!!!” or “Hold the present up and smile!” Seriously.

Anyway. Back to our celebration. I got a couple things I really loved. My mom got me this tshirt to feed my House addiction:

She also got me printer paper & ink, so NO MORE PRINTING PROBLEMS. Yay!! The kids got lots of stuff they love, too. Steven got a DSI:

Maggie got lots of makeup & a Kindle! And, of course, there was lots of snuggling the baby.

Here’s my mom & Will

And my older brother’s wife with Will

And here are my younger brother, Andrew, and my older brother, Tony

After presents, we played Pit with me, Steve, Andrew, my dad, my grandma and my aunt. Never played that before, but it was fun. After that, we cracked open the Wii Super Mario Bros that Andrew gave us. I used to play the original on the NES system with Andrew back in the early 90s, so this was weirdly reminiscent, but completely different. So that was nice, low key and filled with family love.

We got home about 6 and I had to put together Will’s Santa present

fill the stockings & put out Steven, Maggie & Henry’s Santa presents. I got everything done by about 11pm, and went to bed around 11:30. Quick aside – a few days ago, we decided it was time to move Henry into the big boy bed because he finally started climbing out of the crib. I’m afraid he’d hurt himself, so time to move. The first nights, he did great. He went to sleep and didn’t come out till morning, when Steven would let him out. Apparently, he figured out that the door to their room doesn’t latch fully and therefore he can get out of the bed and come out of the room. Which…uh….no. Momma don’t play that. So…yeah, there’s that.

Will didn’t sleep real well on Christmas Eve, so I was up every 2 hours with him. Then, I was awakened at 5 by Henry who wandered into our room. I went to put him back and realized Steven was already awake with all the room lights on, so they were both wide stupid awake. GRRR. I had made it clear to Steven that Christmas wasn’t starting till 7 am, so I tried to put Henry back in bed with some books to read. But…no. He’s back 5 minutes later demanding Little Bear and Cheerios. NOOOOO. NOOOOOOOOO! I brought Henry into our bed and Steve took the com and just restrained him back to sleep. It took about an hour, but he fell back asleep and we reveled in the delicious slumber until Steven demanded Christmas at 7am. All right. <sigh>

I got up and plugged in the tree, set up the camera and called them down. Will cuddled with Daddy…

Henry jumped right onto the cow Santa brought him

Santa brought Rock Band 2 to Maggie & Steven for us all to play over at my parents. More on that later. The 3 older kids each got a new Ugly Doll. Henry got Suntan Target (LOVE the chest hair), Steven got Wedgehead and Maggie got Fea Bea.

Steven got tons of Bionicles & Legos, of course, Maggie got a lap desk, new Bible, earrings, lip stuff from Claire’s, makeup & I gave her my old point & shoot camera. Henry? Got cows. Basically, that’s it. Cows and books about animals.

I gave Steve the Pioneer Woman’s cookbook, a bunch of his old college acting photos that I’d had matted & framed and these that I made for him.

Each one got placed inside an embroidery frame (6″) and then I trimmed the frames in ribbon. They’re for Steve to take & hang in his classroom at school. They turned out nicely and he seemed to really like them.

Me? Steve got me 2 things I really wanted. The Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6Di LD Macro Zoom Lens. Yum.

And the Sony HVL-F42AM High Power Digital Flash

Boy, I knew it would be an awesome difference to add the external flash, but I had NO IDEA. I got shots at our whole family Christmas that BLEW MY MIND. This is Steve, my uncle and Andrew from the other side of the room.

Here’s a gorgeous centerpiece on my aunt’s piano

I nailed this shot of Henry. In a darkish basement. LOVE IT.

Here’s my cousin’s new baby, Mckenna, held by her dad.

And this, I think, is the best shot I’ve ever taken. Totally casual, random shot that turned out like a studio shot.

Here’s my cousin, Rosie, with Henry. Again in the darkish basement.

I am SO going to have fun with this flash & lens! Rock on.

Okay, that’s over 1200 words and you’re probably screaming TL;DR right about now. (Warning: link has swears) So I’ll shut up & get into Rock Band in another post. Merry Christmas, y’all.

 

Nov 13, 2009 Posted in Daily Ramblings | View Comments

Another Year Down

It’s not quite that dire, but I am another year older! Thursday was my birthday and I had such a great day. My birthday has been rough on me in the past. I usually get depressed and cranky a day or so before, lasting through the day after. When I’ve tried to analyze what goes on in the past, I come up with this. I feel like I desperately want someone to make a big deal out of my birthday, but I don’t want to have to ask. I want to feel that I’m important enough to someone to want to go, BAM!, but I hate myself for wanting that. Then, when nobody makes a big deal about it, I get all pissy & sad that no one cared enough, and then I beat myself up for feeling that way. Pretty psychotic, huh?

This year it was different. I don’t know what made the difference, but I woke up on Thursday in a very good mood. I knew I got to spend the day (until 2:30) with my mom, which is something I absolutely love. My mom is totally my best friend. I talk to her about nearly everything, I enjoy being with her and, while she doesn’t always understand what I’m talking about, she accepts it as me. So, after I took the kids to school, I went to her house & picked her up. We grabbed some coffee and headed to Crystal Lake. First we went to Hobby Lobby. She had some prints to get framed and I wanted to get a couple frames for both some art prints I bought and for some pictures I’ve printed for Steven’s room. And WHOOP-WHOOP, wall decor was all 50% off! I came across this gorgeous piece that’s like a canvas in a mottled burgundy. It’s got a decorative cross and says, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord”. Loooooved it. Can’t figure out where I’m going to put it yet, but it’s going up somewhere. Found the frames for my artwork so I finally have something in my bedroom that I love. I love Gustav Klimt and have always loved his “The Kiss”. I saw another one that portrays motherhood to me, so I ordered those 2 and here’s how they look:

Yes. There’s a crack in the glass. Happened as I brought the frame into the bedroom. So, I’m going to have to go get another one, but I still wanted to get it up for now.

I absolutely adore this. The full print has mommy bre@st in it which I didn’t really want in my bedroom, so I found a cropped version that still conveys the feeling without all the breasteses. I just love looking at it and the feeling of motherly love and devotion it has. Yum.

After the Lobby, we went over to the hair salon so I could get a cut. I can’t believe how quickly time flies between my salon visits. It’s been about a year or so since I’ve had a cut, so my hair was out of control. I actually let the stylist have carte blanche and just do whatever she thought would look best. And it turned out pretty cute.

Normally, I don’t like my hair straight. I have a really, really long face and, right now with my weight the way it is, I feel like my head looks a little too much like the kid from Mask. Like, 3 feet long with a foot of it between my lower lip & chin. Straight hair really accentuates the length of my face, so I’ve usually gone with curly hair or big hair. Plus, no matter how hard I try, I fail at blowing my hair out with a round brush. I simply cannot do it. I do like the way it curves around my neck, though. I probably won’t wear it like this much, as I have a sensory thing about my hair being in my face. When it’s loose, it’s constantly in my face, sticking to my mouth and tickling me. I hate it.

After hair came the bookstore! Man, I adore a bookstore. Even if I can’t buy anything, I love walking around  making notes about what books I’d like to get from the library. But my mom bought me some books and I honestly am having trouble deciding what to read first – I started 3 of them! Here’s what I got:

So…why did you get these, you’re asking. Let’s see.

I got the first one because it’s a humorous look at strange subcultures on the Internet. I find that kind of thing fascinating. This book is funny as all get-out. All I can say is the line, “You eat like a monster” had me laughing nonstop for 5 full minutes.

Mentally Incontinent I got because it’s written by a Peacock. No, not related to the ones I know, I don’t think, but I’m hoping it’ll be super funny. Looks good so far.

World War Z I got for one reason. The subtitle. “An oral history of the zombie war”. I don’t know if the book came before the script for True Blood or vice versa, but that quote from Jason is amazingly awesome. Any book that has that on the cover has to be great.

Cake Wrecks? Because it’s CAKE WRECKS, y’all. ‘Nuff said.

The Erma Bombeck books are CLASSIC. My mom had a couple of her books and a record album of her comedy when I was growing up. I thought she was hysterical and now, as an blogger, I strive to someday get to her level of awesome hilarity in my writing.

Then we went to lunch at Chili’s and it was time to come home & get the kids. For dinner, Steve brought home Portillo’s (YAY!!!) and my gift – a TiVo! Rock on!
I’d like to write more, but William’s fussing, so I have to sign off. I’m 41. And I’m okay!

Oct 21, 2009 Posted in Down Syndrome, Parenting | View Comments

Happy birthday, Miracle Boy

It’s here. He’s 6. I cannot believe it. Somehow, someway, six years have flown by and I’m still a little disbelieving of it. See, technically, Henry almost was never here. A few small changes and he wouldn’t be.

When I was newly pregnant with him – about 8-9 weeks along – I had some spotting. Which wasn’t unusual for my pregnancies, but since I’d had 2 miscarriages in the past, I was vigilant about it. I went in, had blood drawn and had a quick ultrasound. And was informed by the doctor that he couldn’t find anything. Nothing. No baby. Just an empty sac. Very often what happens in these cases was just that you go in and have a D&C to eliminate everything. In fact, my first pregnancy ended just that way.

This doctor, however, hesitated. He actually said that he wanted to wait a few days and see what happened and he’d probably schedule a D&C then. But he didn’t want to do it yet. So, I went back home to wait. And wait. And wait. 5 days later, I went back and had another blood test. Surprisingly, my HCg levels went UP. Which made the doctor go, “Hmmm.” So, another ultrasound. This time? They found him. There he was. Measuring right on schedule. I don’t know where he was hiding previously, but I do know that I thank God all the time for that doctor. My first OB would have aborted Henry without knowing that he was fine. I wonder if that’s actually what happened with my first pregnancy. But…dwelling on it won’t change the past. All I know is that I’m very, very thankful that Henry’s doctor hesitated. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be here.

Happy birthday, buddy. I don’t know what the future holds for you, but I pray that God will equip your father and me to help you achieve it. I pray that your skills will develop so you can live your life to the fullest – whatever that means for you, specifically. I pray that you will learn to eat and enjoy something other than baby food. I pray that you’ll grow out of your constant screaming when something is amiss in your world. I pray that you will grow to discover things that bring you great joy and happiness. Maybe you can someday own your own cow. But, most of all, I pray that you will grow to learn about Jesus and how very much He loves you. That you will put your faith in Him and trust Him with your life. Because, after all, that’s all that really matters. We love you, Henry. So very, very much.

Apr 25, 2009 Posted in Parenting | View Comments

Eight years

I woke up on Tuesday, April 24th 2001, with noticeably different contractions than I’d had before – focused lower in my abdomen & across my back, too – rather than up at the top of my uterus. Since I already had a regular appointment that afternoon at 4pm, I decided to just wait & see what the doctor had to say rather than call earlier.

I went about my day, noticing that the contractions weren’t going away, but didn’t have any regularity really. I called Steve and told him that he should probably come and get me to take me to my appointment, just in case, so he did. At the doctor, I was only measuring 1 cm & 20% dilated, so I was disappointed. We decided to drop Steve off at the local clinic (he was sick & needed some meds) & Maggie and I would go walk around the mall a little bit while we waited. We did that for about an hour & then went to dinner at Outback. At dinner, the contractions picked up in both regularity & intensity & we were timing them about 7-12 minutes apart. We went home, put Maggie to bed and decided to watch Space Cowboys & see if anything developed. As I tried to lie down & watch the movie, the contractions got closer & closer & more painful until finally at midnight, I called the doctor & they dispatched a nurse to check me out. While we waited for her to arrive, Steve cleaned the kitchen & I set up the playroom with the last minute stuff we needed – towels, washcloths, underpads, crockpot (to warm washcloths to protect the perineum) & got the futon ready.

She got there about an hour later (1:30 am) and when she checked, we were all surprised to see that I was fully effaced and 5-6 cm already! I called my friend, Connie, who was my doula & the doctor was summoned. For the first hour or so, I was doing really well – chatting with everyone & standing & leaning over the table when I’d get a contraction (every 3-5 minutes). Steve fixed me a sandwich & I ate half of it.

At about 3 am, I decided to try the jacuzzi tub to see if that would help ease my pain. I stayed in there for about 45 minutes, but lying back was too painful. I was having lots of back pain, so I needed to get off my back. I got out, put a robe on and went back into the playroom to try hands & knees & rocking to alleviate the back pain. I had made some wonderful tapes of my favorite praise & worship music & Keith Green songs, so I turned them on now to give me some encouraging & soothing music to listen to. This is when it really started kicking in – contractions every 3-4 minutes lasting 60 seconds or more. I was still wanting to chat between contractions, but they were starting to get really painful. The hands & knees position really helped – I put a pillow under my body to support between contractions so I could just stay in the same position, which helped for a while.

About this time, my in-laws arrived. My father-in-law was a chiropractor & he came in & spent a long time rubbing my back & hips – really helping with counterpressure – using it to help my hips spread & relieve the back pain. At this point, with every contraction I needed someone to push hard on the small of my back, which was awesome. I also remember that during this time, the song “Draw Me Close” came on which was sung by my best friend, Camille. It was wonderful to hear her singing to me while I worked for this baby – I was in tears!

I changed positions at about 4am – leaning on Steve while Connie pushed on my back. This was good for a while, but not too long. I was getting really tired now & decided to lie down on my right side. I would start to fall asleep a little between contractions, but when they’d come, they were powerful! I’m so glad I had Connie at this point, because she was so awesome at keeping me focused. When the contractions would come, I’d open my eyes & she’d be right there at my level looking right in my eyes. I’d zone in on her eyes & follow her breathing patterns. She totally got me through it!

At about 4:30am, Maggie woke up & came in to watch. She sat with my mother-in-law and watched the whole rest of the scene. At this point, I was almost completely dilated, so the doctor said I could push gently if I felt like it. I started pushing at 5:30am on my left side with my right leg bent up.

At 5:40, Dr. Shelton-Hoffman said I should sit up & start pushing. I sat up with pillows behind my back & we started pushing. Three or 4 pushes in, my water finally broke. Steve said it was cool to see – the head was just starting to show & the water broke around the head & kind of spurted around the head – like fireworks! The pushing was SO hard. With Maggie, I had an epidural so I didn’t know how it felt at all. It was such a different feeling – feeling the baby moving down & feeling the “ring of fire” as he started crowning. There was tons of pain in my back & I started feeling like I wasn’t making any progress even though everybody said I was. I’d push for 3 sets of 10 on each contraction & I was pushing so hard I thought for sure I’d have a stroke or an embolism!

Maggie was getting a little upset with Mommy’s noisemaking & got a little worried, so at this point, she decided to go over to her easel & paint some pictures.

Again, I was so happy to have Connie there – she kept me totally focused & helped me get my breathing under control. After about 20 minutes of pushing, I was feeling ready to give up & with each contraction, I was getting upset rather than focused on the work ahead. Connie helped get me back on track so the last 20-25 minutes was spent really concentrating & pushing hard. The baby crowned at 6:15 and was delivered at 6:22. The nurse did all the work & in one fell swoop, pulled the baby out & placed him on my skin! He let out a few mews, but was pretty quiet – looking around & just kind of cooing. The nurse said his cord was kind of short – never heard of that one before – so I couldn’t quite get him all the way up to my chest.

They weighed him wrapped in a blanket which was held by forceps and hung from a fishing scale!

As Daddy, Maggie & I spent family time looking at the baby and bonding as a family, the song “I Cry Out” came on – again sung by Camille. It was such perfect timing & so cool that Camille was singing at Steven’s birth – I started crying again!

Steven Ray Andrew Sturm – born at 6:22 am on 4/25/01. 8 pounds, 12 ounces and 21″ long.

It’s been 8 years since that morning. We’ve been through the ringer with Steven – so many challenges, struggles & roadblocks. There have been days when I had no idea how I’d get through another day with him. I didn’t know what to do, how to help him do well or how to overcome his challenges. With his diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome at 4 years old, so much was explained and it was like a window had been opened, giving us a new path to take.

He has worked SO INCREDIBLY HARD over the past 4 years – trying to learn how to do what other kids do, how to be “good”, how to accept disappointment and how to find success in what he does well. I’ve really had it presented vibrantly over the past week or so – how very, very far he’s come. The boy who, 3 years ago, couldn’t even get up on stage and sing a song with his entire class and had to sit it out. The boy who’d perceive injustice and completely lose his cool. The boy who couldn’t participate in any team sports because none of it made sense and he’d rather run around the field like a wolverine than learn how to play ball. Or lose himself spinning in the middle of the soccer field. This is the same boy who just gave a brilliant solo performance in his school’s talent show, with a little bit of nervousness, but more confidence than I can dream of.

I’m so incredibly proud of you, Steven. Every day is a new challenge for you, but you rise up to face it. You have faith in Christ and trust in His promises. You love with fierceness unlike any child I’ve ever seen. Yes, your love expresses itself differently – even unusually – sometimes, but it’s vibrant within you and you’re learning how to share those feelings appropriately with others. You are AWESOME. Yes, you are a neat kid. And I’m so very proud to be your mom. Thank you for the past eight years. It hasn’t been easy, but you have taught me so much and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Nov 12, 2008 Posted in Daily Ramblings | View Comments

My Birthday

So, today’s my 40th. I enter a new decade and really say goodbye to youth. Which is good in some respects and difficult in others. But, as always, I must find the humor in it.

I learned this morning, as I listened to Bob on Ron on Steve Dahl’s show, that I share a birthday with Neil Young. Which….ew. I cannot stand Neil Young. Dude, it’s 2008. Wash and cut your hair, buy some clothes that don’t look like you pulled them from a dumpster and stop singing. Because your voice makes me want to claw out my cochlea with a corkscrew. And, Cinnamon Girl? What in the %^&*$& is a Cinnamon Girl? Is it some sort of doll made of cinnamon sticks a’la The Blair Witch project? Is it a girl who smells like cinnamon? Because….take a shower, seriously. Is it some chick he met who makes a mean cinnamon-spiced baked good? Did he make himself a RealDoll out of cinnamon sticks?? Whatever it is – your song, it stinks. Mostly because you sing like a cat being run over by a scooter. So….yeah. Not real pleased about sharing a birthday with Mr. Young.

But that made me look up who else shares my birthday. Some, I like. For example, Grace Kelly. I mean, does it GET any classier than this? I think not. I’ll happily share my birthday with her. Then there’s Megan Mullally, who’s wicked funny. That’s cool. And Romainian gymnast Nadia Comaneci. She rocked the ’76 Montreal Olympics. And Anne Hathaway. I like her and, more importantly, so does my daughter. Oh, and the chick who plays Tonks in the Harry Potter movies. But the best? Wallace Shawn. I share a birthday with Vizzini from Princess Bride. It’s inconceivable.

But then there’s Rhonda Shear, whose claim to fame is hosting horrible B movies on USA’s Up All Night with the biggest hair and cleavage ever seen by man. And David Schwimmer, who, I’m sorry, but I cannot stand. The puppy dog Ross thing got old after about 10 minutes and now every time I see him, he looks so smug and self-satisfied, I want to trip him. But the piece de resistance?? I share a birthday with Tonya Harding. Good heavens. Girlfriend needs to pull herself up by her bootstraps and behave like she deserves the most awesome birthday ever. I mean, GRACE KELLY, people. Sheesh.

So. I’m 40. That’s a big birthday, I’m told. Things only get better, I’m told. Okay. I’ll buy that. I mean, I’m certainly glad I now have the sense God gave a small rodent – as opposed to how I was, say, 20 years ago. I’m glad I have a husband who’s made of amazing awesomeness and 3 children who I adore and who I’m proud of when they’re not fighting. My life is pretty darn good. And, for the most part, I like being me. Most days.

What do I want for my birthday? Dear Birthday Fairy: for my 40th birthday, I’ll take one of these:

With a side order of this, purring gently in my ear as his amazing hands rub my shoulders:

And I’ll also take a dollop of each of these:

I don’t want to be greedy. Just a smidge of those 3. But the first one? I get to keep. Oh, yeah. I’ll take a tripod and .

Thanks. Love, Christy