From the Mouth of my Babe - Volume 2

A couple of weeks ago, Jeramie was putting Ethan in the car.  Jeramie accidentally bumped Ethan's head on the door and apologized for "bumping his noggin'"  Ethan responded with: "Daddy bump my noggin' everyday! At home...at work...at school..."

Evidently, we need a bigger car.

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For the longest time, Ethan has pronounced "tomorrow" as "tum-ah-yo" and I adore it.  While at my parents' house for Christmas, he began talking about something that would happen the next day, but stopped himself mid-sentence and said, "No, not tum-ah-yo.  Tomorrow."

Like, duh.

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And, finally, straight from Jeramie's Facebook status:

"Earlier tonight [Tuesday] Ethan accidentally kicked me in the coconuts (hard).  After about five minutes of me writhing in pain and him asking a handful of times if I was okay he finally said, 'Daddy? You dead?'"

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What will he come up with next?

Christmas Interview - 2011

Ethan's been saying and doing some cute things lately, so I thought I'd try to get them on camera.  It's a bit lengthy, but pretty cute - if I do say so myself.

School Days

So, I guess it's about time I update the blog on Ethan's preschool situation.  Yes?

We met with a preschool IEP team - and, by meet, I mean I talked and Ethan played - a couple of weeks ago.  An hour and a half later, I walked out of the building with a proud smile spread wide across my face.  Within that period of time, the team - consisting of an occupational therapist, a speech therapist, a special education preschool teacher, a case manager, and myself - decided that Ethan will NOT be eligible for special education services through our public school system.

Between my assessment of Ethan's early learning skills, and the team observing him, we all agreed that he is developmentally on track - and then some, in some areas.  The case manager described him as a "true early intervention success story", meaning all of the therapy he has received since he was born has closed those developmental gaps and eliminated the need for future intervention.

[insert praise for our local CDSA and all of our therapists/friends here]

But, I'm not gonna lie.  While that is news every mother wants to hear about their child, I felt my stomach churn as I thought about being on my own for the next two years.  Since the day Ethan was born, we've had someone by his hospital bed, or in our home, coaching us on how to help him.  While I like to think that Ethan would be where he is today without the help of those people, I just don't know.  Yes, I was in the special education field for 6 years, but there's a mental block when it comes to applying that knowledge to my own son.  It's strange, I know.

I'm going to have some huge shoes to fill come March, and I'm already asking God for the parental confidence and wisdom I'll need to get us to kindergarten.

Until then, the IEP team did suggest that we give Ethan extra opportunities to socialize with groups of kids his age.  Given that, and my new job situation, we've enrolled him in the preschool program at Jeramie's work.  It's a back-up only program, and Ethan is able to go twice a month.  He'll be in a class with two-to-five year olds and I think it's going to do wonders for his social language and behavior!

And, I know for a fact that he loves it.

He had his first day of "school" this past Thursday and it exceeded all of my expectations.  I held it together through the whole drop-off process, but lost.it once I got in the car.  Y'all, I'm not even kidding.  I cried for 15 minutes straight just thinking about my sweet boy with that bookbag on his back.  Then, when I imagined him looking around the room not knowing anyone, it broke my heart all over again.

Thankfully, I was headed to a meeting for work and had no choice but to stop the tears and focus on the task at hand.  And, when the meeting was over and I read the report from his teachers?

Victory.  Sweet victory.  Now, somebody pass me the tissues.

Christmas Craftin'

Last year, Jeramie and I decided to ditch the idea of going out and spending tons of money on Christmas gifts.  Our decision was fueled by multiple reasons, one of which was our need to save said money.  I was a little nervous about how our handmade gifts would turn out, and if they would be well-received, but Christmas Day affirmed that we had made the right decision.

We've continued with this style of gift-giving throughout the year and, thanks to Pinterest, I've found some great ideas for Christmas gifts again this year.  Of course, I can't share those on the blog just yet, but I did want to share some other crafts we've made this holiday season.

Courtesy of Pinterest:

Hand print Christmas tree

Mop & Glo + glitter ... who knew?!

Courtesy of Amy @ Eat. Sleep. Decorate:

Paper-pinned & fabric-wrapped trees

Cute little snow globe

Other than the hand print tree, I made each of these items at craft parties over the weekend.  It was so much fun to get together with friends and create such cute stuff!

Now, to finish start on the gifts...

So, I have a job.

This has been a common sentence lately, interjected in conversations during play dates and dinner dates, and it feels almost question-like as I state it.  "Soooo, I have a job?" - as if my mind still hasn't fully comprehended this fact.  Or maybe it's that I'm questioning whether I can actually call it a job, given that it seems entirely too good to be true.

But yes, it's true.  Mama's got a j-o-b.

I guess it was sometime in late October when I got an e-mail from a friend & former co-worker, informing me of a need for some consultative work with a local charter school.  After exchanging a few e-mails with the director of said school, I went in (entirely over-prepared) to "interview" for the position.  Little did I know that my contract would be laid out, ready for me to sign two minutes after I walked through the door!

Since then, I have been going out to the school to consult with teachers regarding the education of a hearing impaired student.  I make my own schedule, based off of what works best for Ethan, all the while knowing that he's in the hands of one of my dearest friends! He gets play time with one of his best friends, and I get to take back the part of my brain that was slowly being taken over by all things toddler.  It is super flexible, affords me the opportunity to keep "stay-at-home-mom" as my top priority, and all the while helps to pay a few bills.

It is quite the lovely situation, and I say all of this for two reasons.

One - at some point in the future, somebody's going to want to know where I worked during the 2011-2012 school year and, like with everything else I need to remember, I'm going to come here to figure it out.

And, two - the most important reason - at some other point in time, I'm going to need a reminder of just how good our God is.  I'm going to need to remember that time in 2011 when I gave up control of our financial situation and watched Him orchestrate something I could have never put together on my own.  Then, when I get all prideful about what a great job I've done, and how I'm making all this extra money for my family, I'll need a swift kick in the pants to remind me that it's all about God's provision.  Modern day manna, if you will.  And then, when I turn all whiny-Israelite on y'all, you can feel free to point me back to this post. 

I'm not there yet, but I know me and I know it will happen.  Until then, you can find me delighting in this sweet gift of financial peace, typing up IEP notes, and most likely taking a few more naps!

"He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord."

-Deuteronomy 8:3

Promo code!

Hey y'all! For those of you who still need to order your Christmas cards (I just placed my order last night!), I have a promo code to share with you.

We've used PhotoAffections for the past 3 years for all of our photo card needs, and we've always been super impressed with both the price and quality of their cards.  To save $10 off your holiday photo card order, enter the following promo code at checkout:

HRC02OY

Happy shopping!

For the Locals - Part II

I don't know about y'all, but when I think about the holiday season a few things come to mind.  If you're of the Christian faith, the celebration of Jesus' birth is first and foremost - but, aside from the reason for the season I think about things like family, and giving, and an overall spirit of cheer.

I am delighted with the cheerful giving I've seen take place after this post and, because I'm all about spreading said cheer, I'd like to inform you of another great way to give back!

Do y'all remember this post? I wrote it for Ethan, who had just turned two and a half, but it was full of incredible pictures taken by Nicole Campo.  Nicole is one of my sister's co-workers and, not only is she fabulous with hair, but she takes some pretty amazing photographs.

Nicole just set-up her brand-spakin' new photography website and is ready to start booking sessions.  But not only that, she has generously offered to donate $50 to the Children's Heart Foundation for every session booked just by mentioning this blog or my name.

Now's the time to get those family pictures taken, and feel good knowing a portion of that is going towards "saving children's lives .. one heart at at time".

Check out some of Nicole's work by visiting her website OR her Facebook page.  You won't be disappointed!