NEW HOME!!!

I’m soooooooooooooooooooooooo IN LOVE WITH OUR NEW HOME!!! We’ve been wanting NEEDING a ranch-style house to help take some of the load off with caring for Boogie and EVERYTHING about this house fit the bill!

Like I said, the house is a ranch-style that sits on 4 acres of land. Upstairs, there are 4 bedrooms with walk-in closets in each, 2 full baths, a gigantic livingroom (we’re talking 20x20 folks!), and the perfect size kitchen and dining room. The halls, door frames, bathrooms, etc are oversized (the previous owners built it themselves, so that’s how they wanted things), but its an absolute perfect fit for us because this way we will have plenty of space to maneuver a walker, wheelchair or any other piece of equipment. Downstairs, there is another bedroom with a walk-in closet and full bath, a partially finished basement and the unfinished part even looks “finished” (meaning, it doesn’t creep me out hahaha). One of the many things that have been a true blessing is having everything Boogie would need all on one level of the house. We even have enough space now that we can dedicate a whole room solely to housing all her therapy equipment and still are able to do our activities in there!!!!!

We are almost totally moved in but of course the fun part of unpacking, organizing, purchasing and purging things begin! We’ve already done quite of bit of all these things (we just aren’t the type to not get stuff done), but there is always so much to do it seems.

CHECK THIS PLACE OUT!!!!!!!

Here’s the front of the house!

{Its not the best picture as it looks kind of plain Jane, but it really isn't}

And here is the back of the house with an awesome screened-in porch! This is definitely my oasis each and every night. We’ve slept in the house the past few nights and each evening we’ve sat out here until the sun has went down, and the peacefulness of the country is out of this world! (For those of you who know me, I’m NOT A COUNTRY GIRL, but now living here, I just didn’t know what I was missing!!!!)

Justin and I moved our whole house by ourselves (definitely not the 1^st time we’ve done this, but it will more than likely be the LAST time). There were moments when we were less than desirable people to each other, but that’s just gonna happen when its hot, things are heavy, you’re tired and trying to care for a little one all at the same time. We made it work though and really in hindsight, it wasn’t all that bad, and the reward has been great! I truly can't tell you how blessed we feel to have been able to find such a jewel and how much we are totally loving our new home!

IT'S A TOTAL DREAM!!!

Rees' Fruit Farm

The last few days have been fun yet definitely back-breaking...quite literally. I'm so mad at myself for hurting my back. I either hurt it moving heavy boxes to the new house by myself, OR the daily grind with lifting and manipulating Jocelyn with her therapies, and her every day life, is already taking its toll on my body. I pray I just strained a muscle and nothing else is wrong, but I've been taking medicine, stretching and a wide variety of non-pharmacological treatments with no real relief. :s

But the fun stuff? Last week we went to Pet World here in Lawrence for the first time. Jocie LOVED the fish but literally nothing else! I have to admit, I'm not a fish aquarium type of person, but watching all the beautifully colored fish swimming around was pretty relaxing. I know your not suppose to tap the glass, but if Jocelyn wants to engage in something, I'll just about break any "rule." We had a bird jump on my shoulder and attempt to eat my flesh which made us both freak out!! Then a random customer thought she'd be "helpful" and try to show Jocelyn the hamsters, chinchillas, rabbits and every other creepy animal in that place. She was a super sweet gal that was oozing over Jocelyn (it truly was very sweet) but BOTH of us wanted her to quit bringing anything fury and moving in our vicinity!!! I really do love animals but perhaps I'm more of a domestic animal lover?? But, I'm glad we went to Pet World when we did because only days later an elderly woman mistakenly hit the accelerator instead of the break when trying to park, and crashed right into the front of the store where they keep all the animals. That would've scared the holy hell out of me, not to mention Jocelyn would've NEVER allowed me to take her to another pet store, or any store, ever again! :P

We also checkout the Lawrence library storytime for toddlers and the topic was all about Wolves. There were so many children there and that was a pleasant surprise. Everyone really seemed to enjoy the stories, but Jocelyn didn't show much interest though. In either case, it was good for her to be out, around a large group, hear all the voices/noises and hear someone else reading a book. Jocelyn does a lot of head turning and that kept catching some of the kids' eyes, but they were simply inquisitive. The adults were a totally different story but I don't really feel up for discussing that right now.

On Saturday, Jocelyn and I went to a place right outside of Topeka called Rees' Fruit Farm with some of our good friends.


{Inside the store with my friends Cherry & Ashley, and all of Jocie's little buddies}

The farm wasn't quite what any of us thought, but it was still a good little outing. As luck would have it, they had "musical instruments" for us to play with! :D

This place truly makes the best apple cider I've ever had (just the juice from the apples and nothing else). On the weekends they make slushies and soft serve ice-cream with their homemade cider that is suppose to be fabulous! I had all intentions of trying both of them but I didn't, and I'm not quite sure how that happened? :P

Also, to our surprise, someone had dropped off kittens that morning at the farms front door. The ladies in the store were trying like mad to get us to take some home with us. I LOOOOVE cats and still hate that I had to give our cat, Mr. Bigglesworth, away over 2 years ago. He was such a loving cat but he sort-of-kinda had a peeing/spraying problem that did NOT fly with the hubby. If I would've brought a kitten home, then I probably wouldn't be writing about it right now hahaha. It was fun to watch the kids play with them (ok, ok...I probably played the most), but the one that HATED them? ding, ding, ding...you guessed it, JOCELYN! :s

{Jocie smiling made me giggle...but...}

{Her enthusiasm lasted literally seconds hahaha}

{Grady loved the kittens though}



We finished up our trip to the farm with a short stroll outside (it was H-O-T!!!), and then all headed home for some lunch. When Jocie and I got home, daddy called to say he was officially finished with AT (ie annual training) and ready to come home! Woohoo!!! So, now its time to get moved into our new house and really get to crackin' on some summer fun! ;)

Entryway Organizer

One of the projects I recently tackled to get more organized, was to come up with an idea for a unique entryway organizer. I looked and looked online for something that tripped my trigger and after days of looking, I realized I wasn't going to be satisfied until I came up with my own. Its funny how annoying it can be when your keys have gone awol, you don't have a home for loose change, etc. So I thought today is the day to come up with something and get it done!
One of my favorite places to go for crafty things is of course Hobby Lobby. I probably could be in that store for hours on in, and its the perfect place to play with Jocie. She went from playing with fluffy bright boas, to assorted pinwheels, to funky furs, to endless flowers...it was fun yet distracting from my original plan for going (oh well, seeing Jocie learn and have fun is a welcomed distraction I suppose).

So bottom line...

I went to look for something I could re-purpose into an entryway organizer. After about 45 minutes I found what I needed (not bad when you are easily distracted and entertained by the littlest things). The final results were 1 wooden box, 1 can of spray paint, a big letter 'P', plastic hanging hooks and these nifty little brown boxes. Grand total for the project? $20!!! Woohoo!!!!

Here is the seriously BRIGHT green box I found and it was even 1/2 off!!! Say what, what??

Before beginning I drilled 2 holes through the back so I could thread the hemp twine that you see already attached. Next I attached the plastic hooks. You could get really fancy with fun knob-type things, but these were cheap and I knew they'd work well.

After all that, I spray painted everything, painted and attached the letter 'P' on the front of the box and glued the four light-weight little brown boxes (these things were only $0.99 each!!).

Here is the final results!!!!!

Gotta be honest, I'm pretty surprise it all turned out and is actually functional hahaha! Now all we have to do is USE IT!!!

I Love...

It's so easy to focus on the negative things in this life and what you don't have, who has hurt you, what is happening to the people you love and all around you, how you wish this and wish that, that things would be better 'if'...

Trust me when I say that some days I have a HUGE pity party for one! (I'm sure we all do because well, we're HUMAN, but instead, lets choose to focus on what we love)

I LOVE...

a) ...that the first piece of jewelry given to me by my beautiful husband (when we first started dating) was a necklace with an Aquamarine stone. Up until then I really didn't know how beautiful these stones were, and I certainly wouldn't have chosen one for myself simply because the thought never cross my mind. The Aquamarine stone is often referred to as the "Stone of Courage." For some reason I love that this has so much meaning to me because it was almost like this gift was a foreshadow of what was to come in our lives. I say this because Jocelyn's birthstone is an Aquamarine. I needed courage to get through what we have been through thus far, and for all the things to come. I believe this is the most fitting stone for Jocelyn as she is the most courageous person I know.

b) ...starting my day to Mandisa: Good Morning! Click the blue link at the bottom of this blog to listen if you've never heard it. This song just miiiiight make you a morning person with a purposeful direction for the day!

c) ...that for the last few weeks, every single time Jocelyn and I have went for a jog, a ride on her trike, swimming, swinging at the park and so forth, that we have ALWAYS been greeted with 3 or more butterflies while on our excursion which I think is totally awesome. The first couple times it happened I didn't think too much about it and just used it as a chance to point out something pretty to Jocelyn. As this has happened time after time, and the butterflies were literally landing on Jocie (sometimes more than one at a time while we were in motion), I heard this little voice in my head saying 'pay attention.' Pay attention to what I found myself saying? Then it dawned on me what butterflies mean (well, to me anyways). I feel like butterflies symbolize birth and growth, a sign of good changes and evolution, perseverance and beauty. I also heard (or read) somewhere that butterflies are attracted to, and land on, pure spirits. Remembering this made me look at Jocie and say "no wonder you are swarmed by butterflies babygirl...you're the purest of spirits."

d) ...when a re-run of The Golden Girls or Roseanne is on TV and I can actually watch it. I still get so excited and find myself saying "yay! something good is on!!" I make no apologies for my guilty pleasures.

d) ...a perfectly brewed cup of coffee with half & half virtually any time of the day. I am a sucker for Dunkin Donuts house coffee that's for sure.

e) ...watching Jocie's reaction when I turn on Skype and it makes that sound when you're calling someone. She is crazy about Skyping with her Aunt Cindy and the squeals, smiles and body language prove it time and time again.

f) ...that my sister and I have gotten incredibly close since having Jocelyn. We understand one another better, we laugh then cry all in the same conversation, we are each others cheerleaders, we are open and honest, we talk everyday and sometimes close to 20 times a day (that's the beauty of texting and Skype), and I'm so unbelievably thankful that God gave me my sister (her name is Cindy for those who don't know her). Cindy is not only my sister, but my very best friend!!

g) ...that I'm finding time to do 'crafty' things once again! I don't really see myself as creative or anything like that, but I sure do enjoy scrapbooking with Picaboo (they make THE BEST hardback photo albums) and re-purposing things. My latest addiction is finding ways to become more organized and all the fun and ingenious things you can do to make that possible.

h) ...when Boogie does her version of 'jamming out' in the back seat of the car! We spend a lot of time in the car traveling to and from appointments, so watching her have fun makes me sing louder and even dance with her.

i) ...that we have been blessed with an phenomenal new house!!! I'll have to tell ya'll about our new home soon, but we haven't moved yet even though we already technically own it. Our house, which will soon be made into a home, is exactly what we've been needing and God blessed us with more than we deserve.

j) ...that we have so many people in our lives that truly, truly CARE about us in every way possible. We are supported by so many and there is just absolutely no way I could ever express our gratitude. You are forever embedded in our hearts!

 

k) ...nearly all things sweet! I'm so happy I have taste-buds because lately all I'm wanting is a delicious S'more (I even saw on TV tonight that you can deep fry them...say whaaaaaaaaaaat? SCORE!). Or even cotton candy would be awesome. Truly, they both are favorites of mine!

 

l) ...to snuggle with my sugarbear (that's code for 'The Hubby') and how no matter whats been going on that he still seems to make me feel safe, secure, loved and like everything is okay.

 

............As I'm writing all these things, I'm realizing that I could probably go on and on and on about all the things 'I Love.' So for now, I'm going to stop because I need to go to bed (Jocelyn doesn't seem to think sleeping at night is important anymore), and I never know when the day is actually going to start!

Mandisa: "Good Morning"

Semi-okay

This morning Jocie and I went to LMP Farm in Baldwin City for our weekly hippotherapy session with "Big Al." The last two times Peggy put Jocie on an industrial vibrating machine (these machines are actually to help train the gait of horses), but it's being used for Jocelyn to help "rev-up" her body prior to riding. I knew as soon as she suggested the idea it was going to work wonderfully because anytime I rough Jocelyn up before we do something, she sits/plays/interacts/all around performs better. After about 5 minutes on the machine, Jocie got on Al and did incredible!!! She was coming up over her pelvis, not sitting so posterior (meaning, her back wasn't rounded like it so often wants to do), she was using her hands and eyes while playing with the handle bar and Al's hair, and really Peggy didn't have to provide much support at all. I couldn't decide which one of us were more excited! :) The positive? This was an excellent way to start the day. The negative? We had to get up at 5:30am to ensure we got all our morning stuff done before having to be there by 8am, and Jocelyn was actually SLEEPING which is a rarity these days.

After hippotherapy we decided to go to the "Prairie Park Nature Center" for something different.

{Inside the Nature Center}

When we got there we hit-up a stamp station and as you can see, Jocelyn was NOT amused.

{She was like "THIS is what we came here to do!"}

{"Fine...I'll try it"}

As we continued exploring we saw snakes, turtles, bobcats, deer, a possum (which creeped us BOTH out) and variety of other things.

One thing that Jocelyn seemed to LOVE, was this over-sized turtle shell and the bones from a dinosaur. I have no clue why, but they both struck her funny bone. She didn't want to leave them alone so of course we stood there until she was completely finished with them (no way was I going to cut her exploring short because seeing her do this makes me EXTREMELY excited...I WANT her to show an interest in new things). 

{"What the heck is this thing?"}

{SQQQQUUUUEEEAAAALLLL..."this is SO COOL!}

{"This is a bone eh? And I have one of these too?}

{"mmmmmmm this taste pretty good!"}

{Look at this face -- her laughter is so awesome!}

{Mama's girl!}


While we were there we also tried to play with the cat which was partially successful. Jocie likes watching it, but it scares her when it would start to come close. The center also had a variety of animal furs you could touch and play with, and that was also a big no-go for J. She did not want those things anywhere near her! The parrot was also terrifying to literally everyone. Its suppose to talk to you and "be friendly," but instead it shrills and screeches and scares the livin' daylights outta everyone. We did however find a crow that talked to us! Yes, a crow talked to us!! Each time I said "Hi Honey," it would say "Hellooooo." I seriously thought someone was playing a joke on us, but when we went back inside I asked the lady and she confirmed it could imitate people. I never knew a crow could do that!

After we were all finished, we went for a short nature walk (the center has some pretty trails around it) and then decided to chillax on some of the picnic tables and enjoy the wonderful weather.

{I'm so proud to call you my daughter sweet babygirl!}

I say the trip was "semi-okay" because although there were parts that were fun and enjoyable, there were quiet a few things that scared Jocelyn and some things just weren't interesting for her (but that's to be expected when you have limited mobility). We also could've done without someone asking "can she not walk?" and "is your daughter handicapped?" Seriously, mind your own business because you're a stranger and no matter how you say it, I'm not going to like it. Oh, and we could've done without a little thug of a girl, along with her posse, trying to steal my cell phone. She was not prepared for me to call her out on it that's for sure. Once you're a mama, I think you inherit that mama voice and glare. My own mother was the queen of letting you know when you were doing something wrong, so it comes to me even more naturally.

Overall, I'm always happy to get Jocelyn out and about to explore and be part of life. And besides, I always say I'd do anything for her smiles!





Sweet and Sticky

Today on the "summer fun" agenda was snow-cones, a trip to the park and a dip in the pool!

It feels so good to finally start to learn how to balance being a MOTHER along with being Jocelyn's therapist, nurse, researcher, dietitian and so forth. It's easy to simply focus on how much "work" we need to do each and everyday in hopes of reaching our desired goals, and yet forget that we are mother/daughter and we also need to have fun together. Don't get me wrong, I put in a lot of effort to make our therapies as enjoyable as possible, but lets face it, most of the time it's tedious, repetitive and just plain HARD WORK for the both of us!!!

As part of our "2012 Summer Bucket List," today we picked to go eat snow-cones since it was blazin' hot outside.


{Each time we do something on our list we get a gold star...corny I know, but I liked the idea}

The place we found that served snow-cones (or better yet, shaved ice) was Tad's Tropical Sno here in Lawrence. They didn't open until 12pm so we decided to make our fun-tastic activity an evening one because there was no way we were going to miss nap-time if possible! :)

Once we arrived to Tad's there was a little bit of a line, but not bad considering what some of the reviews online stated. Being social butterflies like we are (although I'm starting to be a little bit less of one these days) we met some interesting Goth-like people who were eager to inform us which flavor was the best. They offered to take a picture of Jocelyn and I, and of course I agreed to such a sweet gesture. They must have known I needed a picture for the scrapbook of our adventures!

Once we got to the car, I gave Jocie the snow-cone just to see what she would do. In 5 seconds flat she shoved her hand right into it and then looked at me like I just did something horrible to her. I couldn't stop laughing at her reaction. For as much as she hated the "cold blue stuff" (we ended up getting cotton candy flavor mmmmmmm), she sure did think her fingers were tasty.

After getting to the park and finding a comfy spot, we dug into the snow-cone. Below are some pictures of Jocie eating one for the 1st time.



{She didn't do too bad with eating it...it just had to be VERY little}






{I think that's a "mmmmmmm" face}



{She was down for giving me some sticky kisses -- she knows mamas game!}

{She did NOT however want them from me -- what a little turd!}

{She is my heart! Blue-faced and all!}

 We finished up at the park with tapping into Jocelyn's mad swinging skills! Today was without a doubt a great day!!

2012 Summer Bucket List

When scoping out facebook the other night, I came across my friend's page and saw this really cool idea to foster creativity, family togetherness, fun and laughter, memories to last a lifetime and all around inspiring idea.

The idea?

"The Happy Family Movement"

This is a concept that came from a family in Kansas City, MO (you can find them on facebook) and its absolutely the simplest idea with the largest impact on both your family and yourself. Their mission is "raising a happy, loving family is one of the most important things we will do in this lifetime. Because we know that happy kids raised in joy-filled environments will change the world." I read this and said "duh!" Not in a spiteful way but in a "but of course, let's get excited and start doing some FUN things together...lets start LIVING!!"

So, last night I created my own "2012 Summer Bucket List" and now have it hanging on the wall just waiting for us to conquer!

 {Making this seriously made me so excited and uplifted!}

Today, with our good friend Cherry and her sweet little kiddos, Jocie and I went to the Lawrence Farmer's Market. It was a BEAUTIFUL morning for it and there were lots of people out.

{Jocie is the best shopping partner -- She had a pretty comfy seat} 

{There were several people playing live music}

{Some of the crowd}

{Attempting to taste the juice from fresh blueberry -- she was totally horrified}

{Our shopping rewards!!}

One of my favorite parts of the trip, besides getting to enjoy our friends' company and some outdoor fresh air, was watching and listening to a guy and his wife singing to the kids. They got the kids involved with playing some of the instruments and miss J-Rae and I were dancing (of course she had to dance with her crazy mom because I had her trapped in the Maya Wrap...but she loves dancing anyways hahaha). But, since I was holding Jocie, the guy came over to us, got right next to her and started playing his guitar and singing to her. She giggled and got the biggest smile on her face which was priceless! I wish I could've gotten that on film because it was super precious!

 



Shoot and Shock!

It's been quite some time since I've written ANYTHING and yet I THINK about blogging quite often! So, to spare you all the mundane details, I'll just pick up with whats going on right now and chat it up with you as life happens, or whatever spills out from my little head :)

The last 24hrs have been a whirlwind for Jocelyn and I. Last night we had a sweet woman named Jan Wilson take "beauty" shots and "action" shots of Boogie swimming in the pool. Jan asked us if we would be willing to participate in her efforts of showcasing some of the children that receive services from the Salina Infant Child Development (ICD) program.  We have such a strong love for our family at the Salina ICD that we didn't give it any thought at all and in fact, it was such an honor for them to even ask us if we wanted to be involved. These pictures, along with numerous other kiddos, will be on display as art in the new ICD building come mid-June! Pretty excited to share our little stinky with others. As an added bonus, Jan informed us that we would get free copies of these pictures. I'll have to post them when they arrive.

Jocie is so hilarious in the water and loves every minute of it as you can see below, so it was only natural to catch her doing this type of therapy.

{This was from last summer and man has she ever changed!!}

 

Then today, we spent about 2hrs doing physical therapy which included learning how to use a Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation Unit (aka E-Stim) on Jocie. This type of therapy isn't difficult to do, but there was some learning involved, picking which muscle sites to attack, what parameters best suited her and so forth. And well lets face it, I'm not a therapist, new machinery can be intimidating and this thing was NOT cheap! The purpose of E-Stim is to send electrical impulses to the muscles that are not being activated appropriately or at all. The goal is that the contraction/relaxation of the muscles will begin to register in the brain and start functioning/firing as needed. The perk for us? Jocie seems to really enjoy it!!! THANK GOODNESS!!! The funniest and unexpected part is her inquisitive face when she's receiving the shock...so funny! She puckers her lips and almost does a silent "oooooh oooooh" hahaha.

Below are pictures of 2 of the areas that she will be getting E-Stim every other day. As of right now we are targeting 3 different muscle groups for no more than 20 minutes at a time. Of course if that length of time isn't tolerable, then I'll just adjust accordingly.

{This set-up is intended to target Jocelyn's oblique muscles)

 

{Whereas here, the target area are her adductor muscles}

 

I gotta tell ya, thank goodness for cameras because there is so much to remember nowadays, that its really difficult to keep things straight. Funny, before being a mother, all my co-workers use to tell me I was "so sharp," "Johnny-on-it," "quick and precise"....sigh....those days are LONG gone hahaha!!! That's okay though, I've been called to put my life to different use! :)