Friday, April 30, 2010

Just for fun...

I have nothing enlightening to post about today...just some random pics of my kiddies. We are going to have a action packed weekend, so I'm sure there will be MANY more to come. We have Gracie's two BFF's staying the weekend with us while their parents take a little trip!!


Good starting pic...right? LOL I love this pic! My little Bubba!

In deep thought about...playing with his shadow!

Shadows...BEST PLAYMATE EVER!!

Does it get any sweeter?

Gracie now LOVES to have her picture taken with "me & my Bubba".


She's very proud of being a big sister. She thinks she is teaching him to crawl!

"Keep going Bubbs...you can do it...you need to get big strong Bubba legs" LOL

"Hmm, not sure about this mom..."
"It's kind of fun..."
"What the heck...I'll eat it"
We like to embrace Jake's inner messy monster!
Oh, and notice the dog, planted right under Jake's chair...
That's always helpful too!!

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Things that make ya go hmmm

What...it was a good 90's song...& it makes a good blog post title too! LOL


So a few weeks ago I went to a conference in Portland, Oregon called all born (in). It was a cross disability inclusion conference put on by the Northwest Down Syndrome Association. What an amazing conference. But 2 words come to mind:
1. Information
2. Overload
I spent the first 2 hours trying to figure out what the keynote speaker was talking about, and how was I going to explain to my group that I sat there like a zombie trying to figure out what language was being spoken. Because it certainly wasn't English! Not English that a 32 year old house wife momma with some college education was comprehending! But then the clouds parted and the sun came out...in the form of breakout classes! Classes spoken in everyday English, by everyday (sort of) moms of children with disabilities. So, there was one class that I really enjoyed & I wanted to write a little about it. It really struck home for me & here is why...

The speaker was Roberta Dunn. She is a parent of a 17 year old twin son with Down Syndrome. She also is very involved in FACT (Family And Community Together). She is an amazing speaker. She speaks right at your level, & started her class with her story or her family. I can't possibly regurgitate her entire class but the main point was, to me pretty profound, with a little bit of "dahh" at the end! It went a little like this...

She believes that when it comes to raising a child with special needs you can be one of two things.
1. A leaf
OR
2. A rock climber

The leaf starts off high up in a tree and eventually breaks away. It gets caught in a little breeze and eventually lands in a river, where it is carried away, but eventually lands in it's resting spot. That leaf only gets as far as it's environment is willing to take it.

The rock climbers has a goal. It's goal may be HUGE, but it's his/her goal. The climber starts at the bottom of the rock with that goal way up high. The climber doesn't just start climbing with no plan, no precautions. The climber makes a plan or a path. The climber puts on safety belts and ropes and checks everything twice. Then the climber starts his/her journey. They WILL run into unexpected obstacles, but the climber re evaluates the situation and makes a new plan or path to get to the top of that rock. Eventually, the climber gets to the top of that rock because of the well thought out strategies. The climber chose where he/she wanted to end up and made it happen. It was NOT left up to chance.

Pretty cool ha? And so simple. Obviously you want to be the rock climber and make the well thought out, planned decision as to where we want/expect our child to be. Not that we can always plan for those kinds of things, but it's always good to have goals! And it could apply to anyone/anything in life. Another thing that Roberta & her husband did, when her son was born was they made a family mission statement. Hers was long...very long. But it was personal to them. It was their road map to raising their family. Not just their son, but their family. It was cool. Very cool. And something that Zach and I will do. And I decided that I want to take it 1 step further. When we do get our "statement", I am going to use it as some kind of decoration in our house. It will proudly be displayed for not only our family, but for everyone who enters our home. I think it's important for the people in our lives (family & friends) to know what our "road map" looks like. So one of these days, I'll be posting not only our family mission statement, but my craftiness to go along with it! Something to think about...you might want to try it! If you do, share it with me...I'm excited to hear!
Oh ya, and a few posts ago I made a comment about Jake's new rock star summer hair cut (thank you Auntie Patty), and why he got it...well here it is...


Jake was doing his goofy little kick stand scoot super fast around the island in the kitchen trying to catch Gracie. They were playing toddler/kid tag. Not a real fair game, but fun for them! Anyway, the reason Jake got this super sweet hair cut...he and Gracie are going to be in a calender this fall!! Our local Down Syndrome Group is making a calender of our local kids and their siblings to sell at the Buddy Walk this year!! Yahh!! I can't wait to see it! Jake & Gracie are going to be in September (Jake's b day month). The theme was back to school, so the had on white shirts, jeans & Gracie had on a backpack. There is another family that will also be in the pic, but thanks to technology, the picture was taken against a green screen. All the kids and the background will be photo cropped together later!! So it will be a surprise for me too!!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

34 is the new 25

I'm not sure how that math works out but...What Momma Garcia wants, Momma Garcia gets!

Happy 34th 25th Birthday Girlfriend!!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

All a girl needs...

Is a little bit of sidewalk chalk and a rock!

Hop Scotch anyone?Remember when something so easy was so much fun...No cares in the world, just get that rock with out putting your other foot down... And don't step outside the boxes...
Being so proud that your almost to 10...
Oh to be 4 again!

Days like this remind me to not sweat the small stuff, have fun where ever you are, with whatever you have. Good job baby girl for bringing mommy back down!

Sorry, sorry, sorry...

I have been neglecting my blog, but I'll be back soon with lots of pics & stuff to talk about!! I'm playing single mom this week while Zach is out of town for work, so the parent to child ratio is 1 to 2 right now!! LOL! Here are a few things that I will be posting about in the next day or two...

1. Tid bits about the all born (in) conference I went to in Portland last weekend
2. Sibling love/play
3. Fab pics of my beautiful babies playing
4. One of my bff's (are we too old to use that term?) b day is Thursday & the treats I've made her
5. Jake's rock star summer hair cut & why he got it!!

See...I've been busy!!

10 minutes later...

Ok, I couldn't stand it...I have to show off (sort of) my super cute treats that I did a practice run on last night! They are SO stinking cute...but taste...well, not so good! I'm going to try again today but switch it up a little. If round 2 doesn't go so well...Carrie, you are getting a DQ ice cream cake tomorrow night!! Here they are!!


They are Cupcake pops by Bakerella! Here is the site http://www.bakerella.com/category/pops-bites/cupcake-pops/
Thanks Denise! So many cute ideas, so little time.

Friday, April 16, 2010

2.5 seconds

That's about how long I spent having a "poor me" moment last night. I'm getting good at getting over things. Today, I'm going to Portland to go to a special needs conference called All Born In. Last night I was starting to get my things packed up for my little road trip & I started having one of those "if things were only different" moments. A very selfish moment, I will admit. Because my thought behind it was...If Jake were typical, I would be going to Portland to go shopping with my friends, not to sit thru 8 hours of special needs topics. And as quick as that thought came into my head, it went right back out. I do have to thank Tara & Carrie for that. Tara is one of my life long BFF's. She has always been my "go getter" friend. My friend that kept me on the straight and narrow in our early years, that has ALWAYS been there for me, and always will be. She lives in western Washington, is super successful in her professional life, as well as in her family life. She is a very well balanced person, which is why I love that I have her in my life. She is meeting me in Portland tonight after she gets off work, for a little shopping, dinner, & drinks. A very mini girls weekend. But much needed for both of us! My Carrie...oh my Carrie. I couldn't be more lucky to have Carrie in my life. Everyone should have a Carrie. I honestly don't know that (outside of my immediate family) there is a bigger "Jakey fan" than Carrie. She loves her some Jakey. Carrie and I have become friends over the last few years. She's a newer BFF,that will never be anything less. She gives her all in everything, & everyone. She loves & believes like nobody I've ever met. Carrie is making the trek to Portland with me today, & is also going to the conference. The reason I'm bragging about these two...they made me realize that things don't need to be different. I'm still going to Portland for a girls weekend. With 2 of my besties. Perfect. And the conference, I wouldn't be going to the conference if Jake were typical. Which is really kind of sad, because I have a feeling I am going to learn so much. So much more than typical Jane with her typical kids. So I guess I need to thank Jake as well. I would brag about him like I did my girls, but I do that on a daily basis!

When I started this blog, I needed a place to try and sort out my feelings. I learned early on in Jake's life that writing was my way of sorting things out. Blogging brought a whole new world into my life. A whole new circle of people that have helped me, & I in turn have been able to help. It's very rare that I have feelings that I need to sort out anymore, because life has become very typical for me. I feel very comfortable in Holland now. Holland is home. Finally.

So, off I go with 2 of my besties for a day of girl talk, shopping, dinner, martini's, and a good night sleep without the 4am wake up call (sorry Zach...he's all yours tonight). And tomorrow, I'm going to learn to be a better wife/parent to my family with special needs.

Oh, for those who don't get the Holland comment...google Welcome to Holland.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Big girl...in training

Last night, Gracie informed me that she is a big girl, and she wants to make her own dinner!
My thoughts...RIGHT ON!
On the menu:
PB&J!
First, we smash on lots of peanut butter (she tells me)...
Then we have to put jelly on...v e r y c a r e f u l l y...
Oh, and don't forget to sing the jelly song (she made it up)...I have video, if I can figure out how, I'll post it!
Taste test...
So hungry, that was hard work!
Best sandwich EVER!!

Jake, he just watched...
And ate the chicken and rice that dad made him!



Ahh, I love these ages!

A very Minnie day...

Saturday was Lexi's day...

There were 5 candles on her cake...
Lots of special gifts, for a very special girl...
I think she have like the Disney Princesses sleeping bag that Auntie Julie got her...
Just a little...
But gift that got this reaction...
Her super sweet, totally pink Barbie bike!

There were lots of friends...
A super fun bouncy house...
With LOTS of bouncy kids...
All because...


Happy birthday sweet girl!

Friday, April 9, 2010

Some like to eat in bed...

I like to craft in mine. What can I say, it's warm & we have a big tv in our room. Someday, I'll have an actual craft room, but for now...our bedroom will have to do! I found myself with a little free time on my hands tonight, so I whipped these up...

These are on bobbie pins

This big daddy is on a lapel pin

The big pink one is on a bobbie pin, the other is on a snap clip

Only because I just got my hair done!

Made this one to wear to Lexi's party tomorrow!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Craft on!

Ahh, the smell of hot glue, the buzz of my girl Cricut, radio in the background, kids locked lovingly placed in the playroom with a movie...I'm ready to get my craft on! Crafting is my sport. I am by no means a professional, but I do enjoy it. A lot. I love my friends that are not crafty. I love that I can amaze them with my so so skills...& they call me Martha Stewart! It makes me giggle a little inside. Tonight, I am finishing up Ms Lexi's birthday party decor! I can't wait to post pics tonight!!
Sneak peak! The party will be Saturday afternoon!