I Don't Know Whether to Scratch my Watch or Wind My Butt!

{Anyone know what movie that's from?}

TGIF!

I am very glad to see Friday roll around!

This was my first week at my new job. I only worked two days, but today was a busy one and it kicked my butt! This job is great because I basically set my own schedule. I can be home when the kids get home from school, but on days that they're not home, I can work later (and make more money!).

On Thursday, my Littles (Elayna & Andrew) went to Saint Augustine on a school field trip. They had a blast and Elayna took about a million pictures. I'll be posting them here soon! Well, some of them anyway. I won't subject you to all 983,276.

Thanks for all your concern & sweet words about my burn. I have 1st and 2nd degree burns. Mostly first though. They're healing well and not very painful any more. In fact, the fingernail I broke way down deep today hurts far more!

We have a crazy busy weekend ahead. Tomorrow is our March for Babies, and tomorrow night we are all getting together to celebrate my husband, father and oldest son's birthdays. They were all born in March! Which I think is kind of interesting.

Then on Sunday, we'll be moving all day. A bunch of guys from church are coming with trucks & trailers to help us out. Have I mentioned lately how much I love our church family? They are AWESOME.

Speaking of love. I can't even explain how much we love our new home. After looking at homes in other school districts, one total dump, and even considering an apartment, we found this absolutely amazing little home out in the woods. Instead of being bummed about the move, we're all excited now. One of the things I'm most excited about? There's a chicken coop there, and the landlords are going to give us some of their laying hens! WOOHOO Fresh Eggs!

Next week is my kids' Spring Break. My kids will be with their Dad, and Andrew will be with his Grandma. It's going to be so weird for them to be gone for a whole week! But I have a feeling I'm going to stay very busy & it will fly by.

Time for the Song of the Week! I love this one. Enjoy & have a great weekend!

And don't forget to visit Mrs 4444 for more Friday Fragments.

We March Again.

This Saturday is our town's March for Babies (formerly known as March of Dimes).

Those of you who are new to my blog may not know the story behind our support of the March for Babies.

Not long after I met my husband in 2004, he poured his heart out to me. He told me of the birth, and then the death, of his first born son, Johnathon Wayne. He was born prematurely and only lived for 22 days. My heart just broke to see the pain that my husband felt over this loss.

In time, I started wondering what I could do to help him somehow. Obviously, I knew I could never take the pain away. But I wanted to help him honor his baby's memory, and prevent others from going through this pain. So I suggested we join the March for Babies.

We have walked every year since 2006. This will be the second time that my oldest two kids, Tim & Shelbie, will join us. The first time it was when we did the shorter walk. This walk is 8.6 miles. I love that they want to walk with us; I don't pressure them at all, I just ask them if they want to, and they do. My son took the day off of work for this. His girlfriend was going to walk too, but she has to work at her new job. It's going to be a good family event. I am still sometimes amazed that my teenaged kids actually want to spend time with their parents! And then I think....this 'baby' that we're walking for, he would be turning 13 this year. Would he want to hang out with us too? What would he be into, at thirteen years old? What would his life be like; what would our life be like with him in it?

Every year we see the Memory Mile signs, honoring children who did not survive, and then we see many survivors & parents who help to support the cause. It's a very moving experience.

Can you help us help with our March for Babies this year? Truly, every little bit helps. It all adds up to help give babies a fighting chance at life. If you can help with even a very small donation, or by sharing this post, we would be so grateful! Just click HERE or click the March for Babies widget in the right sidebar.

To read more about my husband's son Johnathon Wayne and the story of his short life, please click HERE.

{Linking up for Pour Your Heart Out with Shell @ Things I Can't Say,

and Wordful Wednesday with Seven Clown Circus & Parenting BY Dummies.}

This Time Last Year

When I looked back at what I was blogging about this time last year, I realized that it's a lot of the same stuff that's going on this year.

We were fundraising & preparing for the March for Babies.

We were preparing for sports season to start (although last year it was softball).

We were getting ready to celebrate the many March birthdays in our family.

We were preparing to move.

All the same stuff as this year.

Yep, we are moving. Again.

Since John and I met & married, we have moved several times. The first three moves were happy occasions; we moved from a crappy place to a nice place; from that nice place to a tiny but decent place in the town we wanted to be in; and from there to a great house that we absolutely LOVED in that same town.

That's when things got difficult. That house started literally falling apart, and to make a long story short, the owner wouldn't fix anything, and we found out that the house was in foreclosure. She was unemployed and using our rent payments to live on; the mortgage wasn't being paid.

So from there we moved into the first house we found that worked for us, in the same neighborhood. It was fine. It was a nice house, but overpriced. But the owner really wanted to sell, and we were not (and still are not) in the position to buy. He actually told us shortly before we moved to keep the house ready to show at all times, in case he stopped by with a potential buyer. I have four kids and multiple pets; that's just not happening. (we later found out that they let the house go into foreclosure after we moved out.) So we kept our eyes out and after about a year in that house, found the house that we're in now.

This house was great. Same rent as we were paying for the house we were in, but so much better. It was perfect for our family. We were determined that this would be our home until the youngest children graduated high school, at the very least.

But unfortunately, when you rent, you don't call all the shots. Once again, the homeowners have decided to sell (or at least, try). When our lease ends, we have to move. Again.

Always before, I looked at the bright side. I told myself and the kids, 'Home is where your family is'. I could always make the best of it.

Not this time. Not last week, at least. This time, it just hit me hard. I just wanted to give up. I wallowed in the unfairness of it all. I regretted so many past decisions and mistakes.

I have since come around, though, I am proud to say. I've dealt with the sadness and the loss. I've reminded myself of how much we have, that nobody can take from us. I've reminded myself of what we have to be thankful for.

And I'm looking at the bright side, and there is definitely a bright side. Financially, we will be better off because we are looking at houses that fit our budget, which drastically changed now that I'm not working. The realtor who rents this house to us has several other homes available in the area that are more in our price range. We will be much more comfortable financially, so that when I do start working again I can easily work part time. This is so much better for our family.

Also topping the list of pros about moving? The internet & cell phone service at the place we're most likely moving to is EXCELLENT. Where we live now, the service is barely existent. And clearly, I have my priorities, people.

And....this new place? Is cool. Very cool. But I'll post more about that later.

And the kids took the news just fine. They're even excited about it.

The thing is, the thing I finally remembered, is that we will be okay. No matter how many times we have to move, we will be okay. We have each other and we are really a happy, resilient bunch. We roll with the punches. I try to use these things as lessons for our children; make better choices so that you can buy your home, and don't have to be at the mercy of homeowners and landlords.

But really. We are all healthy. Our kids are doing very well in school. John has a job & excellent health insurance for all of us. We have our family, friends, and church family. There are far worse things that can happen, than to have to move from one comfortable home to another comfortable home, with your loving, dysfunctional family. Because home really is where your fun, dysfunctional family is!

But I really hope that this time next year, I am NOT blogging about moving. Again.

{Linking up with Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop.}

Chocolate: The Perfect Expression of Love.

It's actually been a relatively uneventful week, so I don't have a whole lot of Fragments floating around. Just a few things to share.....

We met with & hired an attorney this week regarding the situation with Andrew's" egg donor". He is totally confident that this will go in our favor (that is, Andrew's favor). He is the attorney who represented John when they established custody previously, so he knows the history. We are prepared to fight this every step of the way using every legal tactic possible, because we so strongly feel that her presence in Andrew's life would be extremely detrimental to him (as does his psychiatrist). We feel much better now that we have the attorney fighting for us!

I have not been feeling well this week and posted on Facebook last night: "Mama needs chocolate!"

When John came home from work, he handed me two Hershey bars. I heart him.

If you missed yesterday's post, Our Story of Loss (why we walk for March for Babies), please check it out. If you are able to give a little to help the babies, we greatly appreciate it! Every little bit helps. And those of you who already donated - I love you! Thank you so much.

Elayna heard this song on the radio the other night and cracked up! I love Brad Paisley. He has an awesome sense of humor.

Enjoy!

and don't forget to visit Mrs 4444's for more Friday Fragments.

Our Story of Loss

{Joining in with Shell @ Things I Can't Say for Pour Your Heart Out}

It's that time of year again; John and I are preparing for the 2011 March for Babies.
We do this walk every year, in memory of John's firstborn son, Johnathon Wayne ("Baby JW").

The post below originally appeared on October 1st, 2008. It explains Johnathon Wayne's short life, and the reason we do this walk. You can find more posts about Baby JW here.

Thank you for reading, and if you are able to donate to the babies, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. The widget to donate is at the end of this post, as well as on my left sidebar. (feel free to share the widget!)



You may have noticed the March for Babies widget in my side bar. You may have seen a few references here on my blog to why we raise money for the March for Babies, why we walk every year, and why we are so passionate about this cause.
But today I'm going to tell the whole story. My wonderful husband gave me permission to share this story with you all, and to 'interview' him for this post, because it is so painful that he never before shared all of the details with me. I knew the basics, and not much more. Ten years later, it is still so incredibly painful. But to help bring attention to this cause, and in honor of "Baby JW", I'm helping him tell his story here.

My husband has two sons. One of them I mention often, Andrew, my nine year old stepson. But he has another son, Baby JW. Baby JW would've been ten years old on October 18th of this year. But his life was cut very, very short.
The pregnancy was a 'surprise', but he was a very wanted and happily anticipated baby. It was an uneventful pregnancy. They were thrilled to find out they were having a boy. Then, at a routine ob/gyn visit on October 18th, 1998, they learned that C., the baby's mother, was in labor. She was dilated 6 centimeters. They rushed her to the hospital and tried to stop the labor, but they failed. She gave birth to a baby weighing just over one pound.

His prognosis was uncertain at the beginning. He had respiratory issues, as most preemies do, and was intubated.

They knew it could go either way. But of course, they hoped and prayed that Baby JW would survive.

John's family came in from all over the state to offer emotional support. C and John stayed at the hospital night and day, even after C was discharged. John didn't go to work and they rarely left the hospital. They spent as much time with Baby JW as they possibly could.
At one point, the doctor pulled John aside. He told him that he'd seen something with Baby JW that he'd never seen before. Baby JW never moved....except when John came through the door. The doctor said that even before he was completely through the door, Baby JW started kicking and moving around, and didn't stop until John left. The doctor felt that Baby JW sensed John's presence, and he thought it was amazing.

There were good days and bad days. One day things would look up, the next day he would take a downhill turn. All they had were hopes and prayers.

On November 9th, 1998, C and John were sleeping at the hospital. It had been a bad day. The baby was losing color, and his oxygen sats were dropping.

They were awoken by the doctor and several nurses, all of whom were crying. They told them that the end was very near, and asked if they wanted to come be with Baby JW. John was not able to do it, but C went in. That was the only time she got to hold him. About five minutes later, she came out. It was over; they had lost Baby JW.

John doesn't remember a whole lot about the next few days. His family planned the baby's funeral, a small graveside service. I asked him how did he cope with the pain, but he has no answers. Somehow, he just kept going. It never goes away. It's very hard for him to see pictures or video of preemie babies, it takes him right back to that NICU unit ten years ago. We visit the grave frequently, with flowers, balloons, toys, and prayers.

John thinks of baby JW every day, whether it's remembering his short life, or wondering what he'd be like today.

Every year, John and I walk to benefit the March for Babies. It will never ease the pain, but it is something positive to do in honor of Baby JW, and it helps to prevent other families from enduring this pain. That is John's motivation.

Our walk is coming up November 16th. We don't walk with a team, just the two of us, and last year my kids joined in. We set a small goal; we're not a huge organization. Just a daddy and his family, walking for his baby that never grew up. The stepson I'll never meet. The big brother that Andrew will never get to play with. We will forever wonder who he'd be today.
We would greatly appreciate if you could help us this year. Every little bit helps. The March for Babies has done so much for this cause. Prematurity effects half a million babies & families every year. There are so many stories that are happier than Baby JW's, thanks to the March of Dimes. Can you help us, help other families have a happy ending?

*Note: This year the walk is March 26th, and we are heading up a team for our church members. The only changes I made to the above post were the names: I used to use pseudonyms but I changed them to the real names.*

Weekend WrapUp: the Walk.

This Saturday was our March for Babies walk. Our team total for donations was $220, so we were only $30 short of our goal, and hope to have a few more donations coming in so that we will hit our goal of $250.
The weather was beautiful and the walk was a lot of fun! We walked 8.6 miles. I'm still a little sore!

Me & John, getting ready to walk

the crowd ahead of us....it was a record turn out this year!

Ambassador Avenue is where parents and preemie babies
hang out to greet and thank the walkers.

Memory Mile is where they put signs up
with names of babies who did not survive.

Memory Mile signs.

The Gator cheerleaders entertained the crowds after the walk was over.

Every year after the walk, we visit Baby JW's grave.

We bring flowers and/or balloons, and leave the roster from the walk.

It was a very nice walk, and it's always wonderful to see the babies who were born prematurely but are now thriving thanks to March for Babies!

On Sunday, we had a Palm Sunday service at our church. Our worship service was held outside, and the rain held out for us. Then we had dinner on the grounds. I made my World Famous Potato Salad.
After that we just relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the weekend!

This is the last week of work before our vacation! Hallelujah!!


Wishing you all a wonderful week! Join in if you'd like....
xoxo

Friday Bits and Chunks

It's that time again!
Time to spew out some bits & chunks of my week.
Like puking, only way less gross!
We like to call it Friday Fragments!

* Tomorrow, as my regulars know, we're Marching for Babies. It's a fun event and we always look forward to it. BUT. This year Elayna has a softball game on the same day, so we will have to miss it. She's with her Dad this weekend so she'll get to go, but I'm bummed that John and I won't get to see her play. It's for a good cause though! I'm praying for sunny skies, both for us and for Elayna!

* Does anyone want a dog? Because last night, I literally swept up enough dog hair to make a new one. Note to self: Don't adopt a large dog and then skip sweeping for several days. It will come back to bite you! (not the dog...oh, you know what I mean!)

* I've decided I prefer the term Cupcake Top over Muffin Top. It's just cuter! It's my Cupcake Top and I'll call it what I want!



* I installed my SiteMeter tracker in July. I just recently went over 10,000 hits! WOOHOO! Also I just hit 250 followers. I think this calls for a celebration! Which is good, because I'm going to be doing a giveaway soon. Stay tuned!

* And now, it's time for Facebook Faves!

Little bits of my life, as posted on Facebook.

Cyndy N*** E***: A chef prepared dinner for my children tonight! Chef Boyardee.
(hey, it's been a rough week!)

Cyndy N*** E***: If anything can go well, it will. (I've seen a ton of bumper stickers with this saying recently, and I like it!)

And between my teen daughter and I:
Shelbie ****: BOYS: You can't live with them, but you can't live without them. :(
Cyndy N*** E***: OH YES, you can definitely live without them. I promise!


AND....I don't know why my widget isn't updating, but we're actually at $190 in donations, with a goal of $250. ALMOST THERE!! For those of you who have donated....thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Have a wonderful weekend!
And don't forget to visit Mrs4444's for more Friday Fragments.

Loved & Lost

This weekend is the big day - John and I are once again doing the March for Babies, in memory of John's firstborn son, Baby JW.
Before my husband was 25 years old, he'd suffered two of the greatest losses anyone can have: he lost his first child, and his father. When I met him, he was still in a lot of pain. I wanted to help him in some way. We visited the baby's grave together. It was my first time visiting the grave of a child. It was so hard to see John's pain. I got the idea of doing the March for Babies. I thought it would be a way to honor the memory of John's son in a positive way.
So, every year, we do this walk. We raise as much money as we can, so that hopefully, parents won't have to experience pain like John's and so many others.
If you aren't walking this year, please donate to the March for Babies. We would love for you to help us reach our goal this year! EVERY little bit counts, and your support means so much to us. I tell John about every single dollar donated and every single comment left, and he greatly appreciates them.
*ETA* If you want to help but can't make a monetary donation, spread the word! Link to this post, tweet it, or share it via Facebook Networked Blogs. I appreciate it!

{Visit Angie @ Seven Clown Circus for more Wordful Wednesdays}

Fragments de Friday

It's time for Fragments de Friday from the Casa de Dysfunction!
For some reason, many of my Fragments for this week are about Elayna. But since her birthday is tomorrow, I guess it's fitting!

~Yep, my baby girl will be NINE years old tomorrow. I can hardly believe it. The years have flown!



~ I mentioned before that one of the things she wanted the most for Christmas was a Chia Pet. She loves it, and it has sprouted twice now. He looks pretty good!




~ Her betta fish, Savanna, tragically died over the Christmas holiday. So we got her a new one. This one is male and he is red. She originally named him Riley Cooper, after one of the Gator football players. However, she recently changed his name to Riley POOPER. "Because he poops a lot, and because it's funny."



~ Last night at dinner, she said grace to herself, and when she was done she told me that one of the things she prayed for was no more earthquakes in Haiti. =) Love that kid.

~ Tomorrow is Elayna's 50's Rock and Roll Sock Hop party! We have had so much fun preparing and I think it's going to be a BLAST and very memorable. We've already chosen a theme for next year's party too! I will be taking & posting lots of pics.

Now for other subjects.....

~ I have a RAVE about Dansko Shoes' customer service. Many of our nurses wear their clogs and rave about them. About a year ago I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis and told that I have to start wearing better shoes. So I went ahead and bit the bullet and bought a pair of Danskos (they're not cheap). I haven't had any problems with my feet since! I liked them so much I bought another pair in brown (the first pair was black). So, everything was great until the first pair started squeaking. First one shoe, then both. It was really annoying! So this week the Dansko people were here at the hospital again for a scrub/shoe sale, and I went to talk to them, and asked if there was anything they or I could do to fix the squeak. They asked me what size my shoes were...and handed me a brand new pair! The squeaking was a known problem they had and their policy was to simply exchange them for new shoes. I walked out wearing a brand new pair of $120 shoes! That is excellent customer service!

~ On Wednesday, I posted about our fundraising efforts for March for Babies and why we do it. Within MINUTES after posting, we received our first donation, and just a few hours later we received a second donation! And that made me cry. At work. Like a baby.
I'm not sure who the first donator was (feel free to comment, kind person!) but the second one was from my new friend Dina of 4 Lettre Words. Another reader, Katrina from the Sevin Family, started a team after reading my post, and is going to participate in her town's walk, and yet another reader, Inappropriate Sue, put my button on her blog & asked her readers to come over & give their support (which you are also welcome to do if you feel inclined). I am SO very moved by all of your support! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

~ See this weather? THAT'S what I'm talking about! I love storms and I LOVE those temps! That's the Florida I know & love.

As always, wishing you a wonderful weekend!
Don't forget to check out my Southern Loving food blog.
Visit Half Past Kissin' Time for more Friday Fragments.

WordFUL Wednesday ~ Why?

So that other parents have ornaments that their children made, and hung on the tree themselves, on their Christmas Tree, instead of one "In Memory Of".



So that other parents see their childrens' faces light up on Christmas Day, instead of decorating their grave.



So that other premature babies live....we March for Babies.

Can you help us?

In Memory of Baby JW

Visit Seven Clown Circus for more WordFUL Wednesday posts!