Just RK

Fall 08, #4: Halloween The Random Questions process ~Choose one or all of the questions to answer. ~Either respond with a comment to this post with your answer or put up a post on your own blog for a full response. ~Don't forget to include any funny or interesting story to illustrate your answer in action. ~Be sure to leave a comment on this post to let us know where to find your post so we can come check it out! 1. When it comes to Halloween, which are you? 1) All about it. 2) Don't really care. 3) Avoid it. 2. What's your favorite element of the Halloween season? Candy, pumpkins, costumes, or kids knocking on your door? 3. Which candy is the one you always hoped you'd get lots of when you did your trick-or-treating? 4. What's your favorite costume that you had, either long ago or recently? 5. If you've got kids who are dressing up, what are they gonna be this year? ___________________________________________________ As for my answers... I'm not int...

I found this and was so surprised. Not at the content, but because I've conducted some of the same kind of surveys with people here and there, just in conversation, and found it so amusing. I didn't know someone had taken it to the next level and aired them. It's short and entertaining, so take a listen. (Don't be startled by the picture or voice...it's not foul or anything.) I'll grant you this, it may be the case for both sides...but in my personal and unscientific experiments, I've found that there are far more on one side who are "riding the wave" you might say without knowing what's in the water beneath them. That's dangerous surfing, you know. Get informed. Vote. Good things. Just know what you're voting for. (Thanks, MH!)

I'm thankful for many things every day. Today, a highlight is cable television , and surprisingly enough, ABC tv! I'd have never thought ABC would be high on my list, but tonight, thank goodness. And luckily, Pushing Daisies is on at 7pm. At least no one is wasting huge amounts of money or anything in this time of financial crisis. Holy Cow.

I watch the show Intervention on A&E here and there. I've honestly learned alot about addictive personalities and how to deal with them, and that's been helpful in many ways actually. It's a disturbing show, I admit, and often times hard to watch people and their families endure addictions, but the intervention events are amazing. They don't always bring the outcome the family wants, but often they are successful. This week, there was an episode that I found interesting. But one line caught my attention in a very sharp way. Jeff, the interventionist, asked the family this, as they were preparing for what their daughter's response might be... Are you willing to have her hate you for the rest of her life as long as she gets better? If it's neat, great. If it's messy, fine. But we're going to do what we have to help her get better. Even if it hurts to walk away. I used the rewind on my DVR about 3 times to listen to this again. What an amazing choice fo...

Sunday mornings at church are Braska's special time with Daddy. She sits with him, he holds her during the music and she dances like a crazy girl when the band gets going and claps right along with everyone else. She always attracts attention from those around, and sometimes I feel like she's gonna burst with excitement. Speaking of which, we could use a bit more of that at church, couldn't we?! Anyway, this week, like most others, she was having a ball. One lady directly behind us played with her, waved at her, and when we sat down for the sermon, she played little games with her. She'd put her hand on the back on the chair, and Braska would push it away and smile. Over and over. (I hope she is a multitasker, because it was a really great message, so I'd hate for her to have missed anything.) Braska usually falls asleep for part of the quieter parts, and then wakes at the end to dance a little more before we go. I haven't figured out a way to discreetly video t...

We're all wanting to be good little advocates, and it is a priority of mine to put a good and real perspective of life with Down syndrome "in the house." But we're all so busy just living life with our little ones that we're too busy to talk about how we're doing it. Funny. And I guess, as many have said better than I, that's the point. Yes, we were shocked. Yes, I thought life was (cue the dramatic movie music) *forever changed.* And yes, there have been some things to figure out, to say the least. But the beauty is, you don't have to figure it all out at once. You get to wake up just one day at a time, like everyone else. And ya know what's crazy?? Life goes on. We do what we do, and we find it to be so much beyond more enjoyable than what we thought. PLUS, we have these ridiculously cute kids to play with in the meantime! Just wish I could bottle this and share it with all those who are a few paces behind and still freaking out. It sure would...

We did a dress rehearsal today of an event tomorrow. Braska will have pics to show I'm sure. And it's likely to have excessive kid cuteness involved. Just thought it was fair to tell you in advance. And yes, this makes me THAT mom. We don't take chances with serious things like opportunities for excessive cuteness. We take the time to get it right. Practice makes perfect.

Gas is $2.33/gal today! I am liking this extra money that we're saving on gas. So everyone is talking about how to save a buck here or there... be it because of the financial crisis that is upsetting so many or the simple nature of life at this juncture for some of us. We might as well share what's working, I figure. So do tell! What's REALLY working, or at least what are you really trying to do? What are you doing that's different than your "norm" to save money right now? Eating out less, shopping more frugally, selling a car, or selling a kidney (ha!)? What are some ways your holiday will be different this year than last due to the financial stuff? Not traveling, buying less gifts, going for the generic turkey over the Butterball ? For us, it's been about the income-cut-in-half thing over the last few months since I'm not working anymore. I grant you this, we've made some major changes that many might not have chosen, but it's been gr...

It's 11:35pm. I should be in bed. Long ago in bed. But it's not been working that way. And I have alot I want to get in before the end of the month, blog-wise. I want to talk a little about discipline and what we do with Braska. (Yes, even our perfect little compliant child occasionally pulls a naughty one on us...and she does get in trouble when that happens.) Part of me wants to talk about politics, but I can't formulate like I want when I'm this tired by the time I get to blogging. And I'm guessing I wouldn't successfully change many, if any, minds. (If you're undecided and just want some interesting perspective to consider, send me an email if you want.) I want to talk about the great things we've learned in these 23 months of being in this club that is living with DS. But I'm exhausted. My kitchen is so darn messy. I need to get off this computer. So for now, these things will wait. And hey, who says I can't talk about them in Nov...

Back in September, we were happy to find out that Braska had been included in the 3rd gallery of the Parenting.com A Special Joy: Babies with Down Syndrome . There are now 20 galleries! 20!! How great is that!?! And we know so many of those cuties...that's pretty cool, I think! Check out all 20 from here . Can I just ask a favor of those of you who don't have kids with DS but have blogs? As October is Down Syndrome Awareness month, would you be willing to post a little something with the link to the gallery page? It's kind of to be expected that those of us "in the club" would be all over it, but I think it would be a neat extension of the awareness aspect if we could spread the word via non-DS related blogs as well. We like to show off our kids, sure. But it would mean alot to have those who have been impacted by our kids to put in a plug for them as well. Thanks, really. (Side note: The Gallery page is down for a bit this afternoon, but it should be back short...

Holy vote begging, Batman! Missouri is being sought after by both the big guys in this crazy election...in a BIG way. For example, lets consider who was in my little corner of the state this weekend. (All this in the St. Louis metro area) Saturday Obama was smiling and schmoozing on the Arch grounds. I didn't even know this til today, which is fine, but it's interesting because I drove right past the Arch twice on Saturday, once in the AM and once in the PM, and must have missed everything. Thank goodness I didn't get caught in that traffic! Then today... this is just nuts! ~McCain was about 2 miles from my house here in St. Charles early this morning. ~Bill Clinton was at a rally in Kirkwood tonight. ~Dick Cheney was at a luncheon in Clayton today. ~Mike Huckabee was at a benefit dinner tonight here in St. Charles. I'm surprised anyone could get anywhere today with all those motorcades roaming the streets.

Today I received info about this new business. The owner is a very cool young mom (and most DEFINITELY a "modern mama") who has a really adorable little girl, Karly, who is not quite a year old if I remember correctly. Little Karly has had problems with reflux for alot of her young life, and LeAnn has done a great job at finding ways to help by providing nutritious, homemade baby foods. As of tomorrow, she's rolling it out to the masses. At least to the masses in the St. Louis metro area. Complete with 24-hour turnaround with delivery to your door! I know most of you aren't in our immediate area, but I also know that there are several who are... so check out her site , and you could always send her a note to see if she'll ship to you elsewhere, right? I think it's cool when a mom sees a problem and really does her homework to find answers for herself and shares them with others. And LeAnn is a super nice person too, so I hope things go very well! If Braska wou...

Today I (with Braska in tow) drove 50 minutes to a baby shower for a friend I haven't seen in years. The guest of honor (and her mom) were the only people there I knew out of a large crowd at her church. Made for a kind of awkward time, but it was nice to see them for a quick minute in the midst of things. Tomorrow the tiny one and I drive 90 minutes to a baby shower for a friend I haven't seen in years. The guest of honor, and maybe a sister or relative that might be there, will be the only ones I know at what will probably be a large group at her church. I have a feeling this will be a bit less awkward maybe. This new mommy used to be my roomie when we were young, single, and living large. These girls are worth it, but they better appreciate this! I didn't even look forward to my own baby showers! :o)

It was a nice day. Quite nice. And it wasn't hardly painful at all, who knew? (BTW, I've been a bit post heavy today, so scroll down if you're a direct blog-checker so you don't miss something.) First, I got a card from Mrs. N. She was in my dad's church from way back when he was in college, a young preacher boy. She has sent me a card all 35 years of my life, I think. My parents would have to verify the first few, but I can tell you that the last 30 at least I've received a card from her. Always with a letter. Used to be with a dollar inside, but I understandably outgrew that. I looked forward to her cards, and now, in an age of few pieces of REAL snail mail, hers has more than once been the *only* birthday card I've received in a given year. It might be a small thing, but it's big to me. I appreciate it, and I'd miss it if it weren't there. This spring I saw Mr. and Mrs. N at my grandfather's funeral, and the older three of us F siblings al...

There were some great stories this past week about some wonderful teens with DS making news during homecoming season. It is so amazing to see how well these kids have made friends and made a difference in those friends' lives. The friends will be better people forever just for knowing these super cool kids. There may even be more, but these are the ones I've heard about. (Thanks to all who sent these to me or posted about them!!) A Queen (video here ) A Queen A Queen A Queen and a KING and another KING !

In case some of you want more debating... my inside political contacts have shared this bit of info with me. I know some of you are yet to be completely sick of this stuff, so here ya go. Personally, I'd be happy to have all the candidates of all kinds stop ALL their ads and give the money (ridiculous millions!!!) to all these people who are apparently in need of the "wealth spreading" that seems to be so darn popular. Just a thought... talk amongst yourselves. ____________________________________________________________ PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE TO BE HELD SUNDAY AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY The Free and Equal Elections Coalition (FREE) and the Columbia Political Union are pleased to announce that a Presidential debate will be held this coming Sunday, October 19th, 2008, on the campus of Columbia University. ALL SIX of the Presidential candidates who appear on enough state ballots to acquire the 270 Electoral Votes needed to become President are invited. They are as follows (listed ...

90 minutes. That's all that's left. (Ok technically, a few more after that, I wasn't born at midnight, but come on, that's not how it works.) I didn't think it would be as big a deal to me as it is. I didn't really have trouble with 30, and 32 struck me mildly uncomfortable, as I thought that was the age of "real" adults. When people would ask a kid on the street how old their mom was, they'd say 32, and that was just weird. 33 and 34 just came and went, no biggie. So what's the big deal? Who knows. Maybe it's having my second kid, maybe it's not. It doesn't really matter. I'm not depressed or anything. I just don't generally even notice birthdays that much. They weren't a big part of things growing up. Not that we didn't have a party here or there, but it just wasn't a big deal, and that's fine. The fact that this one has kind of snuck up on me and has been on my mind this week... that's diff...

Yep, she's a girl... (For those that have issues seeing ultrasound images....She's on her back here, head in the center facing up, cute little nose and lips. See it now?) And her name is ... It's not like we could go with anything normal, I mean, come on! We're a house full of weird names. The name is a combination of some family names. Lee is for Auntie Rachel's middle name, Car is for Grandma C, Carole, and the ene is for Grammy's middle name, Irene. And it's kind of just coincidental that the Kin is what's left...get it? Like kin=family. The ultrasound looked great. Very detailed level II (which I learned is just a regular ultrasound with alot more measurements and specific things evaluated). As of now, things look good. So there you have it. Happy now??? :o)

Newsflash: DS is contagious!! Keep reading!! Down syndrome is a genetic disorder characterized by a triplication of the genetic material on the 21st chromosome. This trisomy occurs with the first division of the developing zygote, as a result there is extra genetic material present in every cell of the individual. Recently, science has discovered that this cellular abnormality is highly contagious. As result, family members (and even friends) of individuals with Down syndrome often find themselves exhibiting dramatic changes due to this "something extra" permeating their bodies at the cellular level. These changes manifest themselves in a number of ways. Something extra in the visual cortex results in parents who view the world differently. In addition to seeing things in an entirely new light, these parents also report having an increased ability to focus on what is important. Spontaneous appearance of tears of joy have also been confirmed. The section of the brain used in ...

I love peppermint ice cream. It's only around for the holiday season usually, so I enjoy when it shows up in the stores. Tonight I snagged some and learned a little something. Braska loves it! That's my girl. She ate more than 1/4 cup of the stuff, and in our world of no food orally, that's HUGE!!!! Now understand that she has these moments. She does something then won't repeat it afterwards, so we're cautious, but we're still excited. She just kept asking for more, so I kept giving it to her. We don't care much what she eats if she will eat by mouth. For now, anything is a win. Like I say often... celebrate the little things!!

Tonight we went to dinner with some friends. As we were waiting for them to arrive, one of the waitresses passing through the entry area stopped and talked to Braska, going on about how pretty she is (to which Braska signed "pretty" of course, compounding her cuteness). Then a few minutes later, she came back, this time with another waitress, to show her "just how pretty" this little girl was. She kind of patted her and acted like she just wanted to cuddle her, and she said, "She's sure going to be a heartbreaker one day." We agreed with her as we smiled. Earlier this week, a woman came across the parking lot at Aldi while I was putting things in the trunk and talked to her, saying she'd seen her in the store but hadn't been able to catch up with us. She walked over a full aisle out of the way to her car to come say hello, ask her age, and comment on how well behaved she was in the store line. I thought that was nice. We have been so fortunate ...

I really SO need to be doing other things than sitting here on the computer. So I'll be succinct... ~Thanks for the comments to the economy post . That's why I asked. I didn't mean to sound smug, I just really don't have a personal connection to this crisis that they keep talking about. As I mentioned in a follow-up comment, my family is a bunch of preachers, on both sides, and there's not alot of retirement accounts and 401Ks or 403Bs to be had in the small town church budgets, so it's more a work-and-earn situation, and they will all be working til they die, probably. Therefore, I haven't thought much about the repercussions of those elements. So thanks to you guys who shared. I'm still not panicking, but I see why there's concern. ~On a nice note--Gas is under $3/gal today here!! Woo hoo again! ~For the props... in my post on laundry , I mentioned that I do all the laundry, etc, etc. And that has generally been true. BUT I want to be fair and say ...

This is not an attempt to be political at all... that's not my point here. I'm curious though, so here's the question. Are you personally afraid of anything in the here and now with relation to this dropping Dow and our "failing economy"?? I hear alot about how bad things are, and I'm not saying everything's perfect, but I am just not scared one single bit. I got my quarterly statements yesterday for our investments, and sure, they're down. But I'm not concerned in the least. I won't be using them for a long time to come, it's not money that's in the accessible part of our budget, so it's like it's not even there. The markets will recover, it's what they do. Maybe it's because I'm an optimist. Maybe it's because I was fortunate enough to be taught well about money and wise spending and saving and so on from a very early age. Maybe it's because in the last few months we've lost more than 50% of our income...

I've never heard of this thing until tonight on Discovery Health. And I can only say this from the commercial I saw... Are you nuts?!?!? Ewwwwwww! For the record, in case I'm out of it when it comes time to deliver this kid that's baking. (And yes, the husband is VERY aware of these things.) 1. Every drug possible as soon as possible and as long as possible. 2. No mirror and no I won't reach down and help deliver my kid! 3. No baby on the chest until it's cleaned and wrapped and not sticky. M has a few of his own...I'll let him share if he wants. Maybe it's "in" to do the natural thing, but I don't want anyone thinking I'm in the "in crowd" if that's the case!

The Random Questions process ~Choose one or all of the questions to answer. ~Either respond with a comment to this post with your answer or put up a post on your own blog for a full response. ~Don't forget to include any funny or interesting story to illustrate your answer in action. ~Be sure to leave a comment on this post to let us know where to find your post so we can come check it out! Fall 08, #3: Blogging 1. Why did you start to blog (either your own or reading others...like mine!)? 2. How many hits do you get in a day, if you have a blog and a SiteMeter or something like that? 3. If you lost your ability to read blogs or post on you blog today, what would you miss most? 4. What is something you've learned from another blog that you'll always remember? My answers to come along soon!

Karen K sent me a link to a blog today. I get links to blogs from friends alot. Blogs that are funny. Cute kid blogs. DS blogs. Blogs with good music. Lots of blogs. Many of them, though, are stories of amazing families who are making the most of a difficult situation. This blog Karen sent today is much the same as some others. The tragic story, some might say, and the strong people who are living through it. Tomorrow, this very young couple is going to meet the son they've been waiting for and loving intensely for a long time. But it will be bittersweet as they know his time with them will be most painfully short. But here's what struck me... This story reminded me of why every single life matters. Even though this little boy will have such a short time on earth when he is visible and touchable and breathing air, he has made a difference that will NEVER be undone or forgotten in hundreds of lives. His parents' decision to grant their son life for as far as they c...

Just another word about last night's dinner. When we were leaving the restaurant, there were alot of people waiting by the door to be seated. Over to the left was a young lady who I only caught a glance of as we passed by and dodged other people. M asked to me as we turned the corner into the airlock/entryway, "Did you see her?" I knew what he meant and said I did. I asked if she'd reacted to Braska, and he stepped back to a window between the airlock and the waiting area to try to wave with Braska, but there were too many people between. Big deal? Yeah, maybe. But I've found it quite interesting that adults with DS, especially when with their parents, are so happy to see Braska (and us too) and they love to say hello. I am not bothered by it at all. We've had no odd situations, just really great people who have wanted to meet our little princess or simply connect with someone under that invisible umbrella that is DS. I'm always a bit amazed that...

I'm wiped out, but here's the summary. Our first "blind date" for friends went well. We think they're pretty cool. Braska will tell you more . Hopefully we weren't too scary. Now I must sleep.

It's 3:45p, we've been home about 35 minutes. My feet hurt and I'm sore in unfortunate and inconvenient places. BUT the garage sale went pretty well, as they go. Oh yeah, before I forget ... 11 years ago today, my husband (then someone I'd never met and only had talked to online for 6 days) drove over 28 hours from Montana to Missouri because he "just had" to meet me... time flies. Here's the rest of the story if you missed it last year. We ended up with a TON of stuff... big stuff, little stuff, junk, real finds, and alot of it sold. Overall, the sale brought in close to $2000 total, most of that going to the brother-in-law who had the furniture and bigger ticket items, but the parents-in-law did awful darn good with their ridiculous tons of DVDs that were a big hit. Me and M did ok, as things go. I think we came home with just shy of $100, plus a car seat for Braska to use for the next 2 years (at least) in Daddy's car as a back-up and the to...

I had good intentions of making good use of my 31 posts for this month, like talking about DS in an educational way, informing and helping the uninformed understand, but it's not looking promising for the next few days at least. I hope the whole month isn't going to be this crazy. Today we spent most of the day getting ready for a big family garage sale tomorrow. Let me just state that I *hate* garage sales. I don't like to have them, and I don't like to go to them. Some seem to really have a knack for these things, but it's not me. But since we have a dear couple members of our family who really need to get rid of some big items and some who need some cash instead of junk, I thought I'd throw my stuff in, thinking it would be better to have a more substantial sale. Granted, the stuff I'm contributing is straight up junk in my opinion, for the most part. I'd have thrown it all away if I'd had my way, but my mother, queen of garage sales, decid...

No nap was had by me today, so now it's time to get this kid fed and try to get a peaceful night of sleep. She's had a good day since this morning's unfortunate start. I think it's teething, it seems as we've moved through the day. We'll give her some pain meds with this last feeding and hope for rest. She did have one good nap, but I had too much work to get done to take advantage of it. Never fails... If she gets up tonight, Daddy's on duty. She could kick him and jump on him all night and he'd still sleep.

Braska was up at 3am in the oh-so-frustrating way she does on rare occasions, sitting up and crying in her crib. After a few tries of rocking til she was asleep and then putting her back in bed, only for her to pop up right away saying "up! up!", she went back to bed with me. As I've mentioned before, I'm not at ALL a fan of kids sleeping in the parents' bed. But when the two options are for me to sit and rock her while she sleeps or to lie down and at least rest while she sleeps, I go for the horizontal position. She wasn't snoring, so that was an improvement over the congestion issues of a few weeks ago, but I still can't sleep at all when she's right there. I hear every sound, feel every quiver or kick, and it means no sleep for as long as she's there. I managed to get comfortable for a while, but it was short lived as I was on about 10 inches at the edge of our lovely king-sized bed. In my state of aches and pains, with Pepino constantly...

Ok, I get it...today. Right. It's the 1st. But still. How did that happen?!? Maybe it's because the last 5 months have been just about the busiest of my life so far, but this summer just plain flew. But it's ok. Fall is my favorite. I love the cool weather, the faint smell of fireplaces starting to float through the air, the changing colors (which we'll get to see more of here in MO than back in IL), and the comfy clothes that allow for hiding things. Bring it on! What does October have in store? Of course, it's Down Syndrome Awareness Month, don't forget. Hmmmmm...what else? Well, we'll celebrate the 11th anniversary of my meeting M and being swept off my feet (give or take a trip and fall here and there...ha!), a family yard sale, there's my brother's 32nd birthday, the (hopefully) confirmation of Pepino's gender, my 35th birthday (what??????), Braska's last month-birthday before she's 2, and my mother-in-law's birthday. ...