Thursday, November 26, 2009

Thankful For ...

A husband who loves me unconditionally and accepts me for who I am.

A son who makes me smile and laugh daily ... for his hugs, smiles, laughs and innocent joy in life ... for his daily discoveries and learning experiences ... for his tantrums and acting out behaviors ... for all of this because it means he is still here with us. And that is what I am grateful for above all.

A funny and lovable pooch. My Maggie Mae, a total sweetheart and a total nutcase. ;)

The support and love of my amazing family and friends.

It's My Heart and all my Heart Mommy (and Daddy) friends.

A warm house, food on the table and clothes to wear.

My wonderful, amazing, stressful and complicated life.

My faith in God and His love for me.

Friday, November 20, 2009

With Heartfelt Thanks ...

I accept this Heartfelt Blogger Aware from Lauren, an amazing and beautiful young woman who is also an Adult Survivor of CHD (and has agreed to speak at our December 29th Support Group Meeting!!!!) You can link to her blog from her button on the right of mine. This award is given to the bloggers whose posts make us feel all warm and cozy inside when we read them.

Here are the rules for this award...

1) Display the award logo
2) Nominate up to 9 blogs that make you feel comfy or warm inside
3) Link to your Nominees and leave a comment on their blog telling them about the award.
4) Link to the person whom you received the award

Here are my Nominees...

1) Jess at http://themcclenahans.blogspot.com/ Her willingness to share the love she has for her sweet Cora, the strength she finds in Jesus and for her amazing support system ... it just makes me feel better about this world we're living in.

2) Stephanie at http://braedensheartjourney.blogspot.com. Without her poetry, I don't know what I would do. I have a sample, one that touches me deeply, on this blog. She is amazing.

3) Kelly at http://chdbabies.blogspot.com. Her beautiful posts to her baby girl and her amazing work to bring awareness to CHD are just two of the ways her blog warms my heart daily.

4) Angie at "Bring the Rain" http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com. Talk about true love for God and true acceptance of His will in your life. Angie embodies all of this and more. A loving Mama and Wife and true inspiration to all. And she's pregnant again! What a blessing.

5) Isabelle at http://chdspeaks.blogspot.com. For not being afraid to make a statement by using that *brand*. For giving CHD the respect it deserves. For loving her son and fighting for him.

6) Annamarie at 1in100.org (coming soon). For her amazing work with legislation in her home state of Minnesota and in our nation's capital. For fighting for newborn screening measures and pediatric devices. For being willing to share her talents with the rest of us. For Eve.

These are just a few of the many blogs that warm my heart and inspire me daily ...

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Paul Cardell and the Congenital Heart Futures Act

Thank you to Ruth, who commented on my previous post, for writing today about Paul Cardell and his mission to get this Act passed. For those of you who might not know, Paul is an accomplished musician and an Adult Survivor of CHD. He has a beautiful and inspiring website, Living for Eden, that you may visit here http://mytricuspidatresia.blogspot.com/ (one day, I swear, I am going to figure out how to enable that button function!)

Paul recently met with Senator Orrin Hatch to discuss this very topic. Please check out his website to read about this meeting, his journey with CHD (including a recent heart transplant) and his unwavering faith in God. He's an inspiration to me and all parents of children with CHD.

Can't Understand It

I know this post might spark some controversy, and that is fine...I welcome it. This would be a pretty boring world if we all had the same opinions.

I am just sick to my stomach after reading of ANOTHER family who chose to terminate their son who had been diagnosed with HLHS. I blame the inaccurate and scary information that is circulating out there on non-medical websites, medical staff pushing termination on overwhelmed and scared parents and the fact that abortion is thought of as acceptable in our society for this problem. Yes, I am Christian, and thus, in my opinion, only God can choose when to give and when to take life. Who's to say which lives are worthwhile and which aren't? Not us. There is no such thing as "perfect." And isn't it scary to think that some people are so hung up on that ideal?

I feel for these families, truly I do. How scared must one be to think that causing your child to die is a better alternative than surgery? Yes, surgery is scary ... and as the parent in the situation, I can tell you, it's a heck of a lot scarier for us than for them. And that's why I can't understand people who choose to terminate. It's not because I think they don't love their child or I don't see that they honestly believe they're doing the right thing ... I think maybe they are scared of facing the surgery themselves and have fooled themselves into thinking this is actually better for their child. They are scared of the unknown, they are allowing themselves to be persuaded into decisions that cause the death of their own child, and the medical community sometimes preys on this vulnerability. And let's face it, in our society, these parents are hailed as the brave ones and those who choose surgery, etc, for their children are sometimes painted as selfish. Every choice (and by this I mean the choice between compassionate care and surgery) is personal and parents should do what THEY feel is best for their child and situation. But for people to think termination is an acceptable choice in light of the other options available these days, is unfathomable to me.

I wish I could be in every fetal ECHO with pictures of complex CHD kids who are happy, healthy and leading *normal* lives ... or at every high risk OB's office with pictures of children who, while still in-utero, their parents were told any number of scary stories and yet, they were born perfectly healthy. You're talking about going through the mother to see the baby ... it's an imperfect science. And until the baby is actually here, no one can tell you with 100% certainty what kind of life that child may lead. And even then, there are many babies who defy the odds daily. Complex CHDs are NOT a death sentence.

If you are of the same mindset as I am on this issue, I ask that you please pray for these families and these precious little ones gone too soon.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

And the winner is ...

ME!

*Ahem* ... I'd like to thank Chrysler for making doors that mysteriously lock even though you haven't hit any buttons, my ongoing preggo brain that I never thought I would still have nearly 18 months later, cold weather and being in a rush ... without all of you, surely I would not have received this award.

I am, of course, talking about the "Mom of the Year" award.

What spectacular moment of exemplary modeling of perfect parenting transpired to make me earn such a distinction?

Welllllll ... you see ...

This morning, I took my son to a friend's house to grab blankets for the heart babies at Mott from her husband. We were stopping there on our way to drop him off at my other friend's so I could go meet with the Child Life Specialist at Mott and deliver the blankets and our IMH comfort bags.

Seeing as it was:

a) in the mid-40s
b) only going to be a second
and
c) my car was only 5 feet away from me in the driveway

I decided to leave Drew in the car ... with it running ... and shut the door securely behind me.

This was going to end badly, I just didn't know it at the time.

Sure enough, upon returning to my car all of 2 minutes later, I discovered all the doors had somehow locked. My keys snug in the ignition, my cell phone tucked safely in my bag, my son securely fastened in his carseat.

Sheepishly, I made my way back up the stairs to the front door and asked my friend's husband to borrow his phone. Mind you, I do not know him all that well, so that was adding to my shame and humiliation as the number of things he must've been thinking ran through my head.

I then proceeded to stalker call my husband until he answered the call from this unknown, different area code number. And, in my panic, I rambled off some instructions to him and almost hung up the phone until I realized, he has no idea where the heck I am! So, I slowed down and spoke clearly.

And about 10 - 15 minutes later, which seemed like an hour to me, my hero drove up the driveway and rescued our son ... who by this point was screaming.

So, I accept this award on behalf on Moms everywhere ... it's just one more thing we'll do in our lives that we swore, pre-child, could never possibly happen to us.

*sigh*

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

2009 IMH Officers Retreat

I just got back from a long weekend in Livingston, TX (outside of Houston) at a retreat for all officers in It's My Heart. Wow. That's all I can say. No words I could write could possibly do justice to how amazing the weekend was. First of all, to spend time with other officers and get to know them face to face was amazing and secondly, to be together with people who "get" you is just priceless. We were able to come together, discuss our hopes and our fears for our kids, our vision for IMH locally and nationally, and also, cut loose and enjoy each other's company! No one understands a CHD parent like another CHD parent. It's the same for cancer, etc, you have to go through it to "get it." We had many beautiful moments remembering our angels and talking about our warriors ... and how it's their strength and their struggles that keep us going.

When I left home, I was nervous to be away for such a long time and so far away...but once I set foot down in Houston and met up with Katy, Jim and Scott, I knew this weekend was going to be awesome. And I was so thankful I had the means and the opportunity to be there. We stayed in a campsite called Cho Yeh...it was really a breathtakingly beautiful location. We even saw a doe run across the road right by us. The weather was fantastic...75-80 every day and sunny!!! This northern girl was very pleased. The cabins pretty great too. I am not a girly-girl, but I don't "rough it" very well either ... especially when it comes to bathrooms. No worries there, we had bathrooms and showers in our cabin and they were nice.

Although I chickened out on the rock wall and high ropes course, which is disappointing to me, I got a new perspective on this fight we're all facing from those right there on the front lines with me. I became invigorated and renewed my determination to help lead the way in this fight. I saw how fearless adult survivors of CHD can be, and that's what I want for Drew. I saw how amazing and strong CHD parents are. I became even more certain that God blessed me with Drew for many reasons; aware of how blessed I am that he has the CHDs he has and how blessed we are for his relative good health. While some might look at this as a curse, I choose to see it as a blessing. I am blessed to be Drew's Mommy and blessed to be in this fight with such amazing people.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Truthful Tuesdays

I will return to my regularly scheduled CHD Awareness programming in my next post, but today I wanted to try something new ...

Truthful Tuesdays

I don't have the button graphic to go with this post today (*bad blogger*), but I will have it next week.

So, today's Truthful Tuesdays question (borrowed from Elizabeth at http://confessionsfromaworkingmom.com/) is:

"What body part are you least satisfied with?"

Oh my...I have to choose just one? Really? Is "entire lower body" an appropriate response? I have the arms I had back in my softball days (I was a catcher) once again, thanks to my hefty little man, but from mid-torso on down looks like a train wreck. Even if you overlook the stretch marks and cellulite, it's a hot mess. I have always been pear shaped, but my post-baby body has given this shape new meaning. My muscle tone is completely AWOL and my stomach ... ohhhhh my stomach ... I can't even begin to speak about the massive damage pregnancy did to my stomach (and yes, I would do it all over again for Drew!).

Also included in Elizabeth's post, is a pledge to be "hot and healthy" from now through the holidays ...

I pledge to help myself become "hot and healthy" by doing the following:

*Planks/Ab Exercises 3x every week
*Eating right, darn it!
*Walking 6-12 miles/week

Unlike Elizabeth, however, I refuse to post any before pics. More power to you my friend, I am not that brave. If you're looking for those, head to my FB account and check any picture from mid-pregnancy on...you'll get the picture.

So now, I am passing it on to you ... what will you do to become or stay "hot and healthy" this holiday season?

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Life as a Single Mom

...for a few days anyway.

In the last two weeks, I have gotten to try my hand at being a single parent not once, but twice. I don't like it. Don't get me wrong, I am staying at home with Drew because I WANT to, but that doesn't mean I don't like a little "ME" time at the end of my long day.

Oops, did I just admit that?

I guess I did.

Well, I do. I can't help it. I like to do whatever I either need to do or want to do during my ME time. Uninterrupted. At my own pace. And do it up nicely.

Especially now that I am working from home.

And, quite frankly, I don't get that during my single parenting days. So, to all my single parent friends, my hat's off to you...I don't know how you do it. I am too pooped when Drew hits the hay to do anything but lay on the couch after I finish up the evening "chores." And while I love me some Dancing with the Stars, it isn't exactly the best use of ME time.

Today's Single Parenting Adventure:

I get to drag Drew along with me to get my eyebrows waxed. I am thinking about all the ways this can turn out to be a disaster so I may have a fighting chance at avoiding it. I think the women who will be there getting manis and pedis will be grateful if I've at least thought out how to win the war of the screaming toddler so they may continue with their relaxing days at the "spa." (I really don't know what else to call it...my nail tech does my eyebrows. She's awesome. Go see her. Ly at Jolie Nails) Anyway, I will be "that Mom" today. The one who, undoubtedly, interrupts another Mom's serenity for a few moments by dragging my 17 month old to the place no 17 month old should go. To the mother's sanctuary.

Again, single parents, I have to hand it to you...I don't know how you do it.