March 21st, just 2 days late

World Down syndrome day was celebrated on March 21st.  Now I don't know how I missed the memo, but I wasn't even aware of this until a few of my other Ds friends on facebook started posting things about it. So now you all know March 21st ( March for the 3rd copy of the 21st chromosome) is World Down syndrome day and next year I will try to remember it.

I don't want to come on here and go on and on about Ds, this blog is to talk about my family's life and my family's life does not revolve around the Down syndrome it is just a small part of it.

Instead I just wanted to come on here and mention that this extra little chromosome scared the crap out of me almost a year ago, but as much as is scared me, it helped show me that I am a stronger person than I ever gave myself credit for. If I ever imagined that I might have had a child with a differing ability I would have told you that I couldn't do it. I would have said no way, no thanks, nope, not doing it, I couldn't handle it, but I can, and I am.

So thanks Down syndrome for pushing me down and making me cry 11 months ago. 

I just want to let you know that after some tears I got right back up, smacked the dirt off my knees, flipped you the bird and discovered that I am strong! 

and positive!

and awesome! haha!

and proudly sporting a yellow and blue Ds awareness bracelet hoping someone, anyone will ask me what it's for!

(nothing like a little self back patting to put a smile on my face!)

So happy belated (but not intentionally forgotten) World Down syndrome awareness day!

Ola was too busy jumping in the jolly jumper to take part in this picture.

choppy choppy

After my chance meeting a couple of weeks ago I decided that I needed a change. I realized that I was feeling a little bit blue, and I thought that maybe a hair cut would make me feel better. Those of you that know me, know that I am not a vain woman, however  I LOVE my long hair. I had it so so short for so many years that I don't want to lose a centimetre of it! So I knew I wouldn't be chopping it off, but I needed a change.

 I see women all the time and I think I love their hair! and then realize as soon as I get home that there is no way I could describe what I wanted that hair to look like. I try to find pictures online through google images mostly, but what do you type in? Cute long dark brown hair with wispy bangs, but not rockabilly chopped, and not too brown that it's black, but pretty dark cause I don't like my "mousey" brown? umm that doesn't work so well.

So I find a few hair blogs. These are good, but the problem is that most of the photos are of models, not of actual women who did their own hair that day. I want real woman hair, and I want hair that might actually look decent quickly flung up in a pony tail while I try to stay put together enough to make it across the parking lot in the blowing rain while I run to a playgroup or something. Geez is this too much to ask?

So I finally make the bold decision I am going to cut bangs. Bangs are the answer! I wish all of my life decisions were so easy. Oh yeah, and add some color, but not too much crazy color, you still want to look like yourself.  Secretly I am still dying too add one dark indigo streak to make up for my 16 year old self that wasn't allowed to.

So I scrape up every penny I can and I make the appointment. I try to stumble my way through the description to my hairdresser. Ok... so I want my hair to be dark brown, dark dark brown, yummy dark chocolate brown, all of it, the whole head, and I want bangs, but not CHOPPED just wispy, like they have grown out for a couple of months, and I want them to be a little longer on the sides so the pieces fall out, and I want them to look good when my hair is all pulled back, but I don't want to look like I am trying to hard to be cool, I want it to look cute, but not too cute... ok?.....


"Ok, I got it."

"Really? that made sense?"

"Yup"

"Awesome!"

So the color was first...

So cute, I know.

Then the chop...

even cuter right?

So I think I accomplished what I wanted, well I didn't, Alex did.

I went home and played with it, and I think I can rock out the bangs, for a little while anyways.

Just until they start poking me in the eye, and then their getting the pin.

Thanks Alex! I am really liking the cut! I got another compliment on it today and it was awesome considering it came from another stylist.

Check out Michaud's website

eyes think the pink eyes got me.....

I know it's so gross to post a picture of us looking like this...

But it's true, something is having a party in my eye ball and I am pretty sure this little one in the polka dots gave it to me. I am self diagnosing the pink eye but I will be getting this confirmed tomorrow at the doctors office.

Poor Ola has been down and out for heading on three weeks now, just a cold but is so darn persistent and now all 4 of us have snagged it.  She is on the road to recovery, thankfully.

I need to get better, don't these bugs know I have a lot of stuff to do!

**EDIT! So the doctor never said "pink eye" but I did get some drops. He said not to worry about passing it on. Ola is doing way better today, of course the day I decide to take her to the doctor right! We hope to see everyone at the Ds pizza night tomorrow!

my heart is beating like a jungle drum

We have been stuck in the house sick for heading on three weeks now... 

What else is there to do besides post videos?

Laundry? blech.

Visiting Iceland is now on my unofficial bucket list.

Just shoot me now....

Mark and I headed in Vancouver on the weekend to go to Pacific Center Mall. We had one destination... the Apple store. Mark and I are not shoppers especially at HUGE malls like Pacific center. I am sure it was comical watching us attempt to make our way to the mall, we had no idea where we were going, or how to get in, and it was busy making it really hard to navigate our monster stroller down the crowded sidewalks.

We eventually just decided to go into Sears and make our way from there, then we couldn't find the mall entrance so we had to ask a makeup counter girl for directions. Luckily the elevators were right there and we didn't have to search for them.

We get into the mall, and immediately I feel OUT of place. We were surrounded by pretty people. Suddenly I am realizing that I didn't have time to take a shower that morning, I barely put on mascara and my hair is pulled back mom style, just keep it out of my face and out of Ola's reach. We make it to the Apple store and honestly I just want to keep my eyes down, no one look at me, no one talk to me.

The Apple store is always packed and there was no way I was navigating the stroller through that mess, I hovered around the ipads for a few minutes because they are at the front of the store and I make sure to put the blog on all of the front pages ( I am so smart, I know!) When I walked back to the front of the store I noticed another mother trying to navigate her way back out of the store with her stroller. I kept looking and quickly realized that I was staring at a local celebrity. I wanted to say hi, as we have chatted on Facebook so I waited for her to make eye contact and it went from there. I told her she was brave attempting to make it in, and quickly re-introduced myself. She remembered me right away, and said hi to Ola (Poppy was at Nana's) and we stood there and chatted about runny noses, pneumonia, grandparents and how busy life gets.

 I really enjoyed our chat, and as she walked away I thought.. Oh my GAWD. I just met her and I look like this! (quickly checking for snot trails on my shoulder) UGH! I look like I am straight of the farm!(Well not quite, but still...) Just shoot me now.

I looked down.

Tan hoodie
Worn in jeans rolled up (like a pirate Mark says)
Black converse high tops (of course)
and a quick check of the plain face (ugh.. you could have at least put on your glasses, those help)
and the hair... 


Stacey London would not be impressed right now I thought. You should always dress like you are going out to meet someone important, because you never know... and she was right damn it.

Hopefully she won't hold her first visual impression of me against me. I am not giving up my converse for anyone.

And although she said she was tired she's the one who walked away with a Loius Vuitton bag on her shoulder.

Enough said.

I did not look like this unfortunately, which I think is a better representation of what I look like.

Have you met Persistence? She's my BFF!

Recently when out IDP consultant Katie came over for a visit we needed to get information ready for Ola's progress report.

I have to admit I was dreading it.

I told her that I was really not looking forward to it, as I have read some not so nice tales from parents in the states. They said that the progress reports focused only on the things that their children hadn't accomplished yet, their pitfalls, not their triumphs. I was scared of all of the things that she can't do, I didn't want to admit them. I didn't want it down on paper that my 10 month old still can't sit by herself. I didn't want that to be on paper forever.

It was nice to have Katie (and Ashlee) assure me that there would be no negative comments, no failures only triumphs! YAY! I think Ola has accomplished a lot in her short 10 months.

I have to admit I had a hard time coming up with things that Ola was good at when asked directly. I felt so bad, why couldn't I think of them? Why was it so hard? I have no idea, and after Katie left of course I instantly thought of 10 things that she could have written down. We did come up with a list of her strengths though:

• Has great eye contact
• Socially alert
• Physically strong
• Closed mouth at rest
• Babbles and blows Raspberries constantly

I then had to come up with a few things that I wanted to work on. This was easy, I knew right away:

• Work on getting her to sit unassisted by her 1st birthday
• Work on hand to mouth and self feeding

After our visit with Ashlee our IDP practicum student this week I decided that I would try a baby Mum Mum cracker... The following happened...

She put it in her mouth and ate it! The whole thing, by herself, over and over!

I knew that this journey was going to try me. I knew that it was going to be a challenge, and it was hard to imagine Ola eating something by herself. But the challenge was so worth it just to see that cracker make it to her mouth.

I also realize now that her not sitting bey herself right now won't matter in the slightest when she's walking in a year or two! 

PERSISTENCE BABY! She's my new BFF! I am putting her on speed dial and I am going to call on her anytime I need a little push to keep trying.

Just keep trying.

It'll happen...

I promise!