Tell me Thursday

When I posted my wordless Wednesday photo (on Monday!) I fully expected that I would be feeling just fine by now.

I am not so this will be brief. I was hospitalized on Saturday for excruciating pain and found I had large stones in both kidneys. A surgery on Sunday put stents in both kidneys.

I follow up with urologist next week to hopefully laser these things out of me since they are too big to pass on their own but my kidneys are in bad shape and need a round of antibiotics before any more stress.

Until then I'm just getting by in a pain pill haze. It sucks. I've never been so sick for so long before.

And typing this wore me out.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Wordless Wednesday

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Tell Me Thursday - Amazing!

This picture is probably the most difficult to discern of all my "Wordless Wednesday" posts.  What you're looking at is a photo collage and a stack of golden trophies.

On Saturday, very dear friends of our family came over to help celebrate Nate's birthday.  They came a little early, and gathered everyone in the living room so they could present something to Nate.  Their sweet, oldest child made a little speech and handed Nate this photo collage, the trophies, a card with a note and a check for an amazing amount of money.

They know how important the National Stuttering Association is to Nate, and how important attending the annual conference this summer is to both of us.  My dear friend has brainstormed with me a little about fundraising ideas, and I was putting any further efforts on the back burner until the kids were out of school.

What I didn't know is that my friend was planning something and kept it a secret from me. This wonderful family arranged a car wash asking for donations to help Nate and I attend the conference.  It was a complete surprise to us!  My friend made the effort to get information from the NSA about stuttering, contacted people to let them know about the car wash, made posters explaining their efforts, arranged for a location and then her entire family gave up their Saturday to wash cars and raise money.

Just for us!!

The photo collage shared pictures of their efforts with us. The golden trophies were signed by all the wonderful people who had their cars washed and donated money.

To say that we were blown away is an understatement.  We are privileged to be blessed with such wonderful friends and we can't wait for the conference in July.

I met this sweet woman 4 years ago when she swept into my house carrying food and groceries after Lydia was born.  She can always make me laugh, astound me with  her generosity, and humble me with her positive outlook.  She is a fantastic mom. Our children count each other as best friends and her oldest is always quick with a smile and a kind word.  Her husband is a hard-working, friendly, kind man who we are lucky to count among our friends as well.

This is a very public THANK YOU to this sweet family.  We appreciate all of your efforts and are glad we can call you friends.  Nate and I are looking forward to the conference in July, and are so thankful that we have the money we need to make the trip!!

National Donut Day is June 3 (Giveaway!)

Did you know that the Salvation Army helped popularize donuts in the U.S. by serving them during WW1? 

June 3 is Donut Day!   Entenmann's is helping celebrate by donating $1 for each Facebook "like" to the Salvation Army.  Every "like" until June 3rd will count towards their donation (up to $10,000)!  You can also enter their sweepstakes for a chance to win one of 10 iPads in celebration of Donut Day!  So, follow the link and "like" Entemann's right now!

While it's not an iPad, I do have a $5 Entenmann's gift certificate for one of my readers!  All you need to do is FOLLOW THIS LINK and fill out the form with the required information!

• Name of Giveaway: Donut Day
• Mandatory Question: What is your favorite donut?

The giveaway ends May 31, 2011.  Winning comment will be chosen via random.org and I'll contact the winner via email. Good Luck!

Wordless Wednesday - Amazing!

I know the picture is upside - down!  I'm posting from my phone and can't flip it.  Come back tomorrow for the story!  It's a great one!!

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Review: FyrFlyz Toys

Little League season ended for us last week (well, except for playoffs) and the boys' coach invited the team to a local pizza place to celebrate their season.

The boys all tried hard, and learned more about the game.  We didn't have a very successful season, but I think they all had fun -- and that's an important part of sports play.

Thanks to Mom Select, I was able to give all the kids & their siblings a toy that is new to the market!  I think that FyrFlyz will be a hit!

The toy is fairly simple -- 2 LED lights in the middle of 2 strings with finger holds.  Simple sometimes is best -- as these toys light up and kids can twist and spin them to make fun, colorful patterns.  These are the best outdoors at night -- they are better than sparklers since you don't have to worry about burned fingers!  (you only have to worry about tangled strings -- but even when they get tangled, it's not difficult to straighten them out.)

The kids had a great time and declared them a very cool toy!  I handed out the toys while the kids were all seated, and they were up and playing as soon as the FyrFlyz were out of the packaging.  Thankfully, we were in a room by ourselves as the kids got pretty animated and loud. 

FyrFlyz will retail for less than $10 and will be available nationwide in September.  If you are in NYC or Phoenix, you may be able to find them sooner.

We captured a video of the toys in action --



*Disclosure: I received FyrFlyz toys from FyrFlyz and Mom Select to share with the team & to facilitate this review.  No additional compensation was provided.  All opinions are my own.*

Happy Birthday Nate!

Nate's First Birthday

My sweet, second child turned 9 today!  He was as unexpected as my first, but at least this time I knew about my pregnancy at the very beginning.  We were moving into this house in October, and my sister came from out of state to help.  I was so tired that I kept falling asleep on the couch in between runs from the old house to the new house.

She mentioned "Maybe you're pregnant" and I blew it off as unlikely.  A couple days after she left, I had to tell her that she was right!! 

Colin wasn't a year old yet, and when Nathaniel was born a month early, that made them 18 months, less a day, apart.  Unlike his siblings, I wasn't sure of his name until he was born -- but now that he has been with us all these years, I know I chose the right name for him.  His name means "Gift of God" and this spirited and dedicated child is definitely another gift from God in our lives.

Nate is a young man that is conscientious, generous, kind and loving.  He is always quick to help others and doesn't shirk from hard work.  He has a sensitive spirit, although he likes to put on a face that he doesn't. He likes to work with his hands.  He loves the outdoors and heat. He is intelligent, and when he puts his mind to it, does very well on spelling tests.

He loves to play sports and looks forward to the start of the different seasons.  He is finishing up Little League this week and can't wait for club soccer this fall. He always tries his best and gives each sport his all!

He loves his family very much.  He and Lydia are so close that they often fight with each other, but you can see the love anyway. He and his brother are still extremely close, and I hope the three of them retain that closeness throughout their lives.

He chooses friends who are kind as well.  He is well-liked by his classmates, and teachers.

This year was his first in the school system, and he adjusted beautifully. His grades put him at the top of his class, and his great attitude made him a favorite of his teachers. He is still working hard at speech therapy and learning tools to lessen his stuttering.

He has blossomed into an advocate for the stuttering population by sharing his presentation videos, as well as always being willing to educate others about stuttering. He never lets him hold him back.

He is friendly and outgoing and while his stutter sometimes slows down conversations he never backs away from talking with others.

He's my child that I would choose to visit museums with, because he is thoughtful and interested when visiting them.  He likes to have the space, time and peace to fully appreciate the things around him.

I'm lucky that he still hugs me goodbye in the morning, and hugs me goodnight.  He won't kiss me out in public, but if I catch him in the moment sometimes he will still hold my hand.

Today I wish my "little one" a very Happy Birthday!  He celebrated with his friends yesterday, but today it's about family.  He requested lasagna for his birthday dinner and I was happy to make it for him!  It's been wonderful watching him grow through the years and I'm eager to see what he does next.

Review: Princess Zhu Zhu Pets

 Lydia's birthday was April 29 -- which coincided this year with a royal wedding in Great Britain! Thanks to Mom Select and Cepia, we had the chance to play with the latest Zhu Zhu Pets -- which include a princess & a prince as well as a Princess Castle, a Princess Ballroom and a Princess Carriage!

The pets are pink and purple and are adorable!  The castle and other pieces are pink & white and very detailed.  The carriage got the most play in our house, but the dance floor was a close second.

The pink pet is Magical Zhu Zhu Princess Snowcup and the purple one is Prince Dashington.  Pink and purple happen to be Lydia's favorite colors -- so they were quick friends.  We also got a few costumes, which fit any of the Zhu Zhu pets.  They were adorable and included a princess dress.

Lydia had a friend over a few days after her birthday and they had a great time playing with the pieces.  It was her friend's first exposure to Zhu Zhu Pets and she was delighted with the noisy hamsters!

My son, Colin, did the work of setting up the castle and other pieces.  He also quickly realized that any of the Zhu Zhu pets could play in this set, and added a few for extra characters. Colin and Lydia took some time to make a video review of the set and shared their thoughts --



Zhu Zhu Pets are made by Cepia, Inc. and are available at major retailers, including Amazon.com.  My kids have enjoyed playing with the pets since we were first introduced to them -- and we are always on the lookout for new characters and playsets.  This set definitely appeals more to the girls -- but Colin didn't mind playing with Lydia!


*Disclosure: I received pets and playsets from Mom Select and Cepia to help facilitate this review.  No additional compensation was provided.  All video belongs to me.*

Tell Me Thursday -- Stuttering

This is a poster for the National Stuttering Conference put on by the National Stuttering Association.   This is the first year we've been involved with the organization, and we have had a great time meeting with the local support group.

Nate & I are planning to go to this conference in Texas this summer.  He is excited about spending time with others who stutter, and I'm looking forward to meeting other parents.  It seems that there will be a ton to do, and we can't wait for July.

The rest of our family will stay home, so it will be a trip for just me & Nate.  I've taken a few weekends away with Lydia, but never with either boy.

We're working on a couple fundraising ideas to help us get there.  We have our plane tickets and hotel taken care of -- thanks to an extra project I picked up and a generous sponsor.  Thankfully, we are just looking for traveling money at this point, and I think that we should be able to do a few things to raise the extra money for that.

Wordless Wednesday - Stuttering