Buddy Walk

Our Buddy Walk yesterday was a HUGE success! We had the perfect weather, Joey was such an angel, and we raised $895 for our team. We've been recuperating all day!! My friend who is stationed in Groton even got a weekend leave and was able to be there with us. It was all together a wonderful day! Here's some pictures...


Patrick & Uncle Martin


Aunt Eileen, Aunt Margaret & Aunt Maureen


Our view during the walk


Team Heeran!


Mommy, Daddy & Joey!!!


Dancing to the "good bye" song

5 Ingredient Friday

Corn Casserole

-2 cans of creamed corn
-8 oz sour cream or yogurt
-1 egg
-1 box corn muffin mix
-1/4 cup milk

Directions
Mix all the ingredients together. Bake in 9x13 inch pan at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until firm.

*This is my favorite side dish at family holidays that is made by my favorite aunt. The couple times I've tried making this, it never comes out as good as Aunt Dolores makes it, but it's still very good!


For more 5 Ingredient Fridays, go to Overwhelmed With Joy!

During Joey's therapy evaluation today, I started wondering, "what is normal for a baby?" I know Joey, like many other babies with Down Syndrome are a little more behind than a so called "normal baby" in some areas like strength. But I have no clue what truly is normal. My brother was 16 when I was born so I pretty much grew up an only child and since I have no nieces or nephews to compare Joey to, I have no clue when certain milestones are usually met. When I asked my mom or mother in law, they both said that it's been so long that they can't remember.

For every two steps Joey takes forward, he's been taking one back. A couple examples, a couple weeks ago he started saying "mum" and calling out for me when I would leave the room. It seems like once he started rolling over from his back to his belly, he stopped saying "mum". And now that he can roll from his back to his belly, he can no longer roll from his belly to his back. He gets stuck and starts crying. Luckily after Joey's evauluation today, his PT decided to start doing PT with him every week rather than twice a month.

Somedays, I sit and wonder, "what is normal?", and "is there such thing as a normal child?". But then, if God made all of our children the same, the world would be one boring place!

I can tell you this though...I am so grateful to have this community of fellow bloggers who know how I feel and to get advice from. It's helped me so much just knowing that I'm not the only one out there. But you know, I wouldn't have Joey any other way. He's the best little baby in the world, extra chromosomes and all!!

Wow, I can't believe how busy I've been the past couple days! Yesterday and today, I've been busy making various signs for our Buddy Walk on Saturday and making Joey's shirt for the walk. So many last minute things that need to be done! I thought it wouldn't take me long to make the signs, but trying to make the darn things plus take care of Joey and do household things has worn me out!! Luckily, I'm almost done, just one more sign to make tomorrow, not to mention more house cleaning and Joey's physical therapy.

Monday, after Joey's TV debut, I took him for his 6 month check up with his pediatrican. Of corse he got 3 shots and screamed his little head off afterwards. I still cannot watch him get a shot. My eyes tear up if I see the needle go in. I guess I just feel bad. But Dr. B said Joey is doing wonderful! He's up to 14 lbs, 9 oz!! He's turning into a little pig! And he's grown 1 3/8 inch in the past 2 months!!!

Tomorrow Joey's physical therapist is doing his 6 month evaluation and more therapy will be added since he's getting older. I can't give enough praise for his PT, Michelle. She is such a wonderful person and she truely seems to care about Joey.

A week from tomorrow, Patrick and I take Joey for the mold for his helmet to be made. I am not looking forward to this, we have to hold him still for 10 minutes while the plaster hardens. Thank goodness Patrick was able to get the afternoon off to go along with us so I wouldn't have to do it alone.

Wordless Wednesday

Newport Bridge

For more Wordless Wednesdays, go to 5 Minutes For Mom.

Joey's TV debut!

For your viewing pleasure... Joey's TV debut!! Once you get onto the written story, clink on side link for the actual video. I can't stand to see myself on film so I'm not actully on the segment. I let our fellow Buddy Walk committee member, Amy, hold Joey. Enjoy!!

We've got a BUSY day today! Joey makes his TV debut on the news today at noon so I'll be sure to post a link as soon as I get it! It's a 4 minute segment on the Connecticut Down Syndrome Congress and our Buddy Walk!!

After the news station, Joey has a Dr's appointment. THEN tonight Patrick and I have our final Buddy Walk Committee meeting before our walk on Saturday!

So I probley won't be posting again today unless it's to put up the link for the news!

Wish us luck today!!!!!!!

Joey gave me his cold so needless to say, I didn't do much today. But even sick, Joey still finds time to play...





On that note, I think I'm going to bed early. Hopefully tomorrow I'll feel better!

5 Ingredient Friday

Egg and Muffin Sandwiches

1. 12 English muffins, split with a fork
2. 12 frozen sausage patties, cooked and well drained
3. 12 slices American cheese
4. 12 eggs
5. 3 Tbsp. butter

Cook the eggs as desired on a nonstick skillet, using 2 Tbsp. of butter. I like them over hard (instead of over easy). Make sandwiches with the English muffins, cooked sausage patties, cheese and cooked eggs.

Cool sandwiches in the refrigerator. When cool, wrap each in a microwave-safe paper towel and freeze. Package them into heavy duty ziplock freezer bags.

To heat, slightly unwrap the paper towel and microwave on high for one to two minutes until the cheese is melted and the sandwich is hot. Makes 12 sandwiches

*A great recipe to make lots of & freeze them for later!

For more recipes, go to Overwhelmed With Joy!

What a way to wake up this morning... to a baby with snot running clear down to his chin! Poor little guy has another cold! At least this time, he's not running a fever. Luckily he seems to feel somewhat ok, he's not miserable like the last one.

Yesterday, my mother in law and I took Joey to Craniotechnologies and he does need a helmet to correct his mis-shaped head. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the worst), Joey's head is a 7. I never thought his head was that bad. Anyways, he not only has plagiocephaly, he also has brachycephaly. So after it's approved by our insurance (which they Do cover these), we'll go back and get a mold of his head made. This is going to be the worst part of it all. We're going to have to hold Joey still for 10 minutes while they make a plaster mold of his head. Then around a week later we go back to pick it up. Joey will have to wear his helmet for 23 hours a day for approximately 12 weeks, then his head should be better! But THANK GOD insurance covers these things cause they're not $2000 like I thought, they're $3000!!!!!!!

Wordless Wednesday

For more Wordless Wednesdays, go to 5 Minutes For Mom or to join go to Wordless Wednesday

preparing for the buddy walk

I've been slowing getting things together for our Buddy Walk on September 30. We've got our t-shirts and personalized buttons with our pictures with Joey. We've already made it to our goal of $500 and the money is stil coming in! Since this is our first year in the buddy walk, I didn't want to set our goal too high. But we made it! I'm so excited... I guess didn't expect people to be so generous, but they have been and I really appreciate it.


This is the picture we decided to go with on our t-shirts for Team Heeran.


Tommorow, Joey and I have an appointment to go to Craniotechnologies for a consultation for Joey to get a helmet. Unfortunatly, Joey's head never rounded out and has plagiocephaly even with all the belly time and using blanket rolls to have him lay on his other side rather than the flat side. Poor little guy's back right half of his head is rather oddly shaped. Our insurance says they cover a helmet, or else I'm not sure if we can afford it, they're close to $2000. Wish us luck!!!!

Thanks to LeslieAnn for sharing the link to Bluebird Blogs and their contest! My blog really needs a new look that I don't know how to do, so hopefully I'll win! From what I've seen for LeslieAnn's blog, this lady does great work!!!

cued speech workshop

The Cued Speech workshop was a little bit tougher than what I expected it to, unfortunately I wasn't able to attended the last day of it today to finish it up. But, I was expecting actual signing like ASL but Cued Speech has NONE of the sign language I know and I was getting so confused! It's actually like you're signing in phonics. The bad thing is for me that when I learned to read, my school system didn't teach phonics so I had no clue what I was doing. Oh well, I gave it a try. If you know phonics, it would be fairly easy. For those of you who might be interested in learning more, visit here. I think I will stick to teaching Joey plan old American Sign Language like I know.

Five Ingredient Friday

Meatball Casserole

INGREDIENTS:
18 oz. pkg. frozen meatballs, thawed
16 oz. pkg. frozen peppers and onions stir fry mixture, thawed
2 cups chunky pasta sauce
1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine meatballs, pepper and onion mixture and pasta sauce in 2 quart glass baking dish and stir well to combine. Top with cheeses. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until casserole is bubbling and cheese is melted.


*I actully just found this recipe the other day and can't wait to try it myself, I thought I would share today. It seems easy not to mention yummy!!!

For more 5 Ingredient Fridays or if you would like to share your recipe go visit Overwhelmed With Joy.

My son, a star!

Patrick and I are on the Connecticut Down Syndrome Congress's Buddy Walk committee and amid all the planning and craziness we were just asked if Joey could be used for our local ABC news station's buddy walk segment! Joey is going to be on TV! It's going to be taped on September 25 at 12:15 so I will be sure to post a link to the news story as soon as it is available online!! Well at least I have an excuse to go shopping... this means I have to go out and buy him a new outfit :)

workshop tonight

Tonight I'm going to a workshop on Cued Speech. I'm quite excited and interested to see the difference between Cued Speech and American Sign Language. ASL was my major in college for 3 years. Unfortunately, I did not finish out my last 1 1/2 year. I got too burnt out and changed my major (Occupational Therapy), of course that didn't work either, I ended up quitting school completely. Hopefully someday I will go back. Anyways, back to the main subject... I will let you all know what I think about the workshop. I have it tomorrow night and all day Saturday too.

You know, it's quite funny... both of my previous college majors have helped me out with my child. When I was taking sign language and learning how to become an interpreter, I often thought to myself that I would someday adopt a child with special needs. Well, I didn't need to adopt, I ended up giving birth to a child with down syndrome. For the past 6 months, I've often wondered if that is why God choose us to have Joey. For whatever reason, I am so grateful that we have him. I wouldn't change anything!

And, can you all believe this??? JOEY IS 6 MONTHS OLD TODAY!! Wow, has time gone by fast?! It just seems like yesterday that I was pregnant and ready to pop!

Wordless Wednesday

For more Wordless Wednesdays, go to 5 Minutes For Mom

HBO's Bill Maher said something in his latest show and it ticks me off that he said it... I just went onto his website and got the transcript of what he exactly said...

"Honestly, maybe the reason they haven’t attacked us again is they figure we’re already suffering enough. [laughter] No, it pains me to say these things because I know, deep down, George Bush has something extra. A chromosome. [laughter] [applause] Wait, wait, wait. You see, wait. I did that on purpose. Was it cruel? Maybe. But it saved lives, dammit! [laughter] Because by doing the “extra chromosome” joke, I sent a message to a young Muslim somewhere in the world who is on a slow-burn about this country, and perhaps got him to think, “Huh, maybe the people of America aren’t so bad. Maybe it’s just that rodeo clown who leads them.” [laughter] [applause] [cheers] “Maybe the people get it!” We do, Ahmed, we do!! [laughter] [applause]"


I never have anything related to politics on my blog, I choose to stay quiet about that subject but this really upsets me. Whether your a republican or democrat, for the war or againist it, it doesn't matter. What he said is very innappropraite.

Like Patrick just said, "I knew he was an a-hole but not that big of one". I also agree with something that All 4 My Gals said too, "Again, why in the world do comedians think it's okay to make fun of our disabled citizens?"

Parent's Magazine October 2006

Parent's Magazine is has an article in October's issue featuring 3 families that have children with Down syndrome. It's called "Exceptional Children, Forget everything you know about Down syndrome. We asked three moms to talk frankly about the joys and challenges of raising their amazing children- and what they have to say will surprise you", written by Brooke Lea Foster. The article was a nice change compared to the articles we usually read about all the negatives.

MA!!!!!

Drum roll please.... JOEY SAID HIS FIRST WORD TODAY!!! And it's not Dada!! It's actually "Mum" or "Ma", and we really think that he's using it to call out for me. Whenever I would walk out of the room today, he would start saying it, then I would walk back in the room and he would smile at me! I never thought his first word would be Mom!!! I really wish we had a digital camcorder so you all could hear him!

Today at church, Joey was an angel! No crying, no screaming out, just a wonderful little baby! He does love the sound of the organ. Whenever a song is being played, Joey just looks up at me and Pat and smiles.

As I sit here and type, I'm getting that awful feeling in my throat of a sore throat coming on. Geez, I hope I'm not getting sick! Joey just got over his cold last week and I can't afford to get sick! Hopefully it's just allergies.

I will end with this tonight...Joey, like any other baby loves bright lights so I bought Joey a fiber optic wand at the store the other day and he has been mesmerized by it ever since...

GO BUCKS!

Did I forget to mention that I'm a buckeye? GO BUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

9/11

September 11, 2001 is a day none of us will ever forget. I was still living at home with my parents and was actually in the shower getting ready for work when the 1st plane hit. My mom knocked on the door and told me a plane just hit one of the World Trade Centers. At that point terrorists never even entered my mind. So I finished my shower, grabbed my makeup bag and went into the family room with my parents to watch the news and finish getting ready. Suddenly the other plane hit as we were watching the TV and my eyeliner went halfway down my cheek (no joke). I couldn't believe it! Then we realized it had to be terrorists and not long after that the 3rd plane hit the pentagon. I went ahead and left for work at the bakery to hear on the radio that a 4th plane crashed in Pennsylvania.

I lived in Dayton, Ohio about 20 minutes from Wright Pat Air Force Base. Later on that afternoon, sitting at work, there was a HUGE explosion sound. It actually was loud enough to shake the windows of the store I worked in. Suddenly it can across the news that a plane had just crashed into the Dayton VA Medical Center. Of course this DIDN'T HAPPEN. The news crews were a bunch of idiots, who saw smoke coming from that area of town and heard the explosion and put two and two together. The smoke was from a brush fire right outside of the VA. The local news never gave an apology for their mistake. The worst part was that this put many people in Dayton in panic mode including my family since my mother works out at the VA. Come to find out that the explosion we heard was 2 fighter jets going to escort Air Force One and when the took off they made a sonic boom.

Of course, no one was coming into the bakery that day, so we closed early and I went home to watch the TV. It didn't really hit me until that evening what had happened that morning and the extent of what had happened. I sat at home by myself and wept for all the victims and their families.

I will never forget September 11, 2001

For more September 11 stories or if you would like to share your story, go to Rocks in My Dryer and leave your link.

Eddie Barbanell's blog!

Last night I came across Eddie Barbanell's blog. For those of you who don't recongnize his name, he's one of the actors from The Ringer. You know, Johnny Knoxville's roommate, "You scratched my CD!". Check out his blog!

Five Ingredient Friday

No Bake Cookies

2 cups granulated sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) margarine or butter
1/2 cup low-fat milk
1/3 cup NESTLÉ TOLL HOUSE Baking Cocoa
3 cups Quaker Oats (quick or old fashioned*, uncooked)

In large saucepan, combine sugar, margarine, milk and cocoa. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Continue boiling 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
Remove from heat. Stir in oats.

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto waxed paper. Let stand until firm. Store tightly covered.

Makes about 3 dozen.

*If using old fashioned oats, cool mixture in saucepan 5 minutes.

For more 5 Ingredient Friday Recipes, go visit Overwhelmed With Joy!

another milestone!

I thought I'd make a quick post before we give Joey his bath...

I forgot to post yesterday that Joey hit another milestone... he rolled from his back to his belly all by himself!!!! I couldn't believe it! The sad part is that I missed it. I turned my back for a minute and boom! He was on his belly!


Joey has been enjoying his playtime in his new exersaucer although he only tolerates being in it for about 5-10 minutes at a time.





I tried feeding him pears today for the first time. I don't think he liked the texture of them very well. Patrick tried again this evening to feed them to him and he did do a little better. He didn't spit them all over the place like he did for me.



Sweet Potatoes!!!


Pears!!!


Joey's favorite... PEAS!!!!!!

Baby Blog O Rama!

I just realized that I never made a post about another Blogroll I belong to. It's called Babes In Blogland. It's a great blogroll to get involved with if you have a baby or are trying to concieve. Check it out!

CBS Early Show

I usually watch the CBS Early Show every morning while I feed Joey his breakfast bottle. Today I was pleasantly surprised to watch a wonderful segment on a married couple who found out that their second child was prenatally diagnosed with T-21. What a wonderful family!

Wordless Wednesday

A day with my cousins... I'm the one in the middle.


For more Wordless Wednesdays go to http://www.5minutesformom.com

I can't believe how tired I am today. I couldn't fall asleep last night, the last time I looked at the clock it was 1am. I usually fall asleep around 10:30 so it was a long night. Then of corse Joey was awake at 6am and I don't do well on a couple hours of sleep, I guess this is something I just need to get used to.

Joey has been having issues with constipation again the past week. He's been refusing to eat prunes (the little booger spits them out), he refuses to drink water so I can't add prune juice or dark syrup to it. I'm running out of ideas! Help!

Oh yeah... You might have noticed that I have added an add for Coupon Clipper torward the bottem of my page. For those of you who are into coupons, it's a great site to get them from. My mother in law uses this site and she LOVES it! Give it a try!

Well, I'm off to bed, I need some extra sleep tonight!

Is anyone else having problems posting comments to other bloggers? This Beta Blogger is really starting to tick me off! I haven't forgotten about all my blogging friends out there, I'm still reading your blogs daily, but even when I sign in with both accounts, it still won't let me leave comments. I think it's time to write the people at blogger an email...

Happy Labor Day!

First of all, I would just like to wish everyone Happy Labor Day! We didn't really do much this weekend. We stayed home, cleaned & played with Joey. I'm actually in the process of cleaning, but I needed a break after mopping the kitchen floor. Friday night, we dropped Joey off with his grandparents and Patrick took me out to dinner at TGI Fridays. I must say that their kungpow chicken wings and the deep fried green beans were excellent!

Saturday, college football made it's offical start for the season and OSU kicked butt! There's nothing better than a stadium full of Ohio State Fans!

It was such a shame to wake up this morning, turn on the TV to see that Steve Irwin aka the Crocodile Hunter was killed. So many kids enjoy watching his shows on TV. Heck, sometimes I even enjoyed watching his shows although sometimes he did get to be a bit much. My prayers go out to his family.

I did go to Michael's today (gotta love those 50% off coupons!) and bought more scrapbooking supplies. I never thought I would get so into scrapbooking! It's so addicting! It seems like everyplace we go, I have to make a page just for the occasion.

exersaucer!

Sorry about the lack of "real" posts lately. I've been stressed out with things going on back home in Ohio and haven't felt like posting much lately.

Anyways, we went back to Babies R Us and bought Joey an Exersaucer today. It took Pat and I nearly one hour to put the darn thing together but it was worth it to see how happy Joey was to have a new toy to play in. I'll be sure to post pictures of him playing in it later. I had to take a couple rolled up recieving blankets to prop him up to keep him for falling forward since he can't hold himself up yet.




Ok well I thought I had a good post in my head, but I lost it so I'll post again later.

I just have to complain and say that I do not like this Blogger Beta very much. I really wish I wouldn't have switched over now. It's constantly having error messages and I miss using my HTML. You're suppose to be able to use HTML, but everytime I try, it tells me that there's an error. Well, it's the exact same HTML I used with my previous layout and now it's not letting me use it. Grrrr... I just had to complain. Is anyone else having problems with it?

Five Ingredient Friday

Crockpot Cajun Beef and Potatoes

INGREDIENTS:
3 Tbsp. Caribbean jerk marinade
1-1/2 lbs. round steak
4 potatoes, cut into chunks
1/3 cup flour
14 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained

PREPARATION:
Trim excess fat from round steak and cut into 1" pieces. Combine marinade and beef in a large glass dish and stir to coat. Let stand for 15-30 minutes.
Place potatoes in crockpot. Add flour to marinade/beef mixture, mix to coat, and place on top of potatoes.
Add undrained tomatoes. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours until beef and potatoes are tender. 4 servings

Today was a great day. Joey and I went to have lunch with Pat, then we went to the mall for a couple hours. We went to the Build A Bear store and built Joey a bear. It was so funny watching him stare at all the different bears and feel them. He reacted the most to a soft fuzzy one. He had the biggest smile on his face.

For the past couple months I've noticed that my feet have been hurting more than usual especially around my toes, well the other day, I realized that my feet grew! I'm 25 years old and my feet had a growth spurt! So I treated myself to a new pair of gym shoes today.

Then after the mall, we went to Babies R Us to look at Exersaucers,and Jumpers for Joey to play in. We happened to pass by the Halloween costumes and of course I fell in love with the little pumpkin, so I bought it in case they would be sold out by the next time I get there. Anyways, if any of you have a favorite exersaucer, jumper, etc let me know. I'm wanting to get people's opinions on which one to buy for Joey.

Wordless Wednesday

For more Wordless Wednesday's go to, http://wordlesswednesday.blogspot.com/

Super Duper Jack!

If you haven't already been to her blog, be sure to go visit Leslieann's blog about her son Jack, Super Duper Jack. What a wonderful blog!

Word Cloud

I made a Word Cloud out of words from my blog the other day and forgot to post it! It's interesting to see all the different words from your blog. Like Michelle said, it's neat to see.

Wow, it's been a busy last 2 days. Pat and I woke up two nights ago at 3:45am to Joey crying, which scared the heck out of us, it was the first time he's woken up in the middle of the night since he was two months old. So I ran into his room and picked him up and realized he was burning up. He had a 101 fever. I gave him tylenol and got him to go back to sleep in bed with us. His fever came back about 9 am so I called the doctor and took him in. Poor little guy has his first cold! The sneezing and coughing started today and his eyes are so puffy. They look awful! Dr. B said his throat was bright red (negative strep culture). I feel so bad for him! Then he woke up at 4:30 this morning crying again, but no fever. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for him (and me).

Before I had Joey, I never realized how stressful motherhood can truely be!! Gotta love being a first time mom!

Carrie and Sujeet are in the news again!

Carrie and Sujeet are in the news again!! "When Love Conquers All" was aired on ABC's 20/20 last night.

Their love for each other is so beautiful and pure. It brings goosebumps everytime I think about them. I can't wait for the day that Joey finds the love of his life.

The day I met Patrick for the first time still brings goosebumps everytime I think about it too. It was the summer before his last year of law school. We both worked at a nursing home. I was a nursing assistant and Pat was the ground's keeper. I would go outside for my breaks and saw Pat working. Word got back to me that he thought I was pretty so I decided to go talk to him. He asked me out on a date that day. I just had a gut feeling he was "the one" and that we were going to get married. Sure enough, I was right. It's kinda funny, I met my husband at a nursing home!!

Five Ingredient Friday

Berry Berry Cool Pie

Ingredients

1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup lemon juice

2 cups assorted fresh berries (raspberries, blueberries or blackberries)

1 tub (8 oz.) frozen non-dairy whipped topping, thawed

1 Keebler® Ready Crust Graham Pie Crust

Directions

1. In large bowl combine sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice.

2. Stir in berries. Fold in whipped topping. Spread in crust.

3. Freeze at least 5 hours or until firm. Let stand at room temperature for 30 to 40 minutes before cutting. Garnish as desired.

OK, onto a much better, happier entry than my last one. I had such a great week with my friend and her daughter. I usually only get to see them about once a year so I enjoyed every minute of their visit.

Our trip to the Lyman Orchards on Tuesday was a blast! Teylor fed the ducks for a while and Joey enjoyed looking at all the sights and sounds. Afterwards, we went in the store and bought lots of good food! Their apple pie is the best!

Yesterday we went to Mystic Aquarium and had a great time. Teylor loved the sea lions the most, she actully wanted to bring one home with us. Her mom had to go buy her a sea lion stuffed animal to get her mind off of bringing a real one home!! Joey loves watching the fish swim. The sting ray tank kept him occupied for about 10 minutes!

Well, I better attempt to catch up on laundry and cleaning that I haven't done since last week!

What a jerk!

I’ve been contemplating writing this entry just for the simple fact that the topic really ticks me off every time I think about it. Well, a couple weekends ago we had some friends over for a bonfire. Our friend brought one of his friends along which was fine until he started dropping the “R” word every other word.

It all started when we started talking about movies we’ve all watched recently and I said that Pat & I watched “The Ringer”, and how mush I enjoyed it and thought it was great that the actors with T-21 were given a chance to act in such a big movie. This guy blurted in saying that all the actors were “f-ing R’s” and that’s all they’ll ever be, and he just started ranting and raving about people with disabilities. I sat there biting my lip as hard as I could for long enough and I finally jumped up and ran inside to my husband.

I know this guy was drunk but that makes no difference or excuse. I knew if I would have opened my mouth and said something to him, it would of just made him rant and rave even more, and I’m not sure if I would of opened my mouth it would of stopped. And I’m not even sure if he realized that our son has Down syndrome.

After this I found out this guy really is crazy and a drunk so he is no long welcome at our home and if we go to an event that he is at, I will leave. I just had to vent somewhere to someone and the majority of the people that read this are fellow T-21 parents.

I know that I’m going to come along other people who are going to be mean and disrespect Joey and us, but that was the first for me and it still hurts. The more I think about it, I feel like I failed as an advocate for people with Down syndrome by not saying something to this guy, but I know I would of just gotten hysterical.

Does anyone have any advice on how to handle idiots like him and what to say to them when/ if this happens again?

Well, I just finished feeding Joey peas for the first time and he LOVED them. I expected him to spit them all over the place and making yucky faces, but instead I got a happy little boy smacking his lips together and smiling at me! I really wish I would have had my camera handy so I could of gotten some pictures.

My girlfriend and her daughter are here until Thursday, and we've had such a great time! Yesterday we went to Ikea (I love that store!) and today we're going to a local orchard. Tomorrow we're going to go to the Mystic Aqaurium. I'll be sure to post pictures later. On that note, here's a couple tummy time pictures to leave y'all with!

Great book!

OK, so I didn't think I would be online much, but the guys are watching a movie, so I decided to take advantage of the moment. I've actully been reading a great book the past couple days and wanted to share it with you, "Baby Laughs: The Naked Truth About the First Year of Mommyhood" by Jenny McCarthy. At first when I saw the book, I was like, "Heck no, she's been in playboy and seems so vulgar on tv", but the book is great! I gave up reading books on parenting and babies just due to the fact that to me, they are boring. This book is great. She is so truthful and funny at the same time!! This is definetly a must read!

Happy Birthday Terry!

My brother was 16 when I was born and unfortunately our father worked a lot of overtime and wasn’t home very much. Terry filled in for Dad. He has been like a second father to me. He took me to my first baseball game (Cincinnati Reds) and first concert (Melissa Etheridge). I would spend almost every Saturday night with Terry and his wife growing up. Many of my best memories have my brother in them. He also took me to about every movie I went to when I was a kid. For some reason one thing I remember more than anything is whenever we were in his car, we would listen to David Lee Roth blaring on the radio (gotta love the 80’s)!

The past year has been so hard being away from my family and friends, especially being away from Terry. You never realize how much a sibling means to you until you’re away from them for an extended period of time.

The day after I got the call from the doctor that Joey has Down syndrome and needed my family more than anything, it was Terry that I called crying wanting to go home to Ohio. He was there on the phone listing to me cry and telling me that everything was going to be all right. I could always count on him for anything, I still can.

When Patrick and I got married last year, I had a brother/ sister dance with him. The song was “Hero” by Mariah Carey. Terry is truly my hero and was who I looked up to growing up.

Today is his birthday and I wish I could be back home in Ohio to spend it with him. Happy Birthday Bubba! I miss you!!

I just wanted to give y'all a quick update. I won't be around a lot for the next couple days. One of my best friends from high school, Paco aka Ryan who is in the Navy and stationed a hour from our house, was able to get a weekend of leave so I drove to Groton yesterday and picked him up. Then Monday, another one of my best friends from high school, Chauntey and her 4 year old daughter, Teylor, who now lives in New Hampshire are coming to visit until Wednesday. It's going to be a busy, fun week!!

Joey is doing great. Still cranky and not wanting to take naps, but hopefully it will get better soon!

OK well, if you notice any weird changes in my blog in the next couple days, I just switched to blogger beta. Apparently it's easier to use it than the regular bloggler (we'll see).

It seems like the past few days Joey hasn't been doing as good of a job eating and drinking. He usually is an awesome eater, but lately he's been choking on his formula and almost gagging on his cereal. I talked to his occupational therapist about it today and she told me to call his pediatrician tomorrow and to talk to his speech therapist next week when she comes for her monthly visit. But I think I'm going to call her tomorrow too. Sometimes it seems like for every step he takes forward he takes two back.

My Grandma had her open heart surgery yesterday. The doctors had to replace the whole valve rather than repairing it. So she has part of a pigs heart in her now, it's truely amazing the things they can go with medicine now compared to even 10 years ago. But Grandma is a tough ol' bird, she was sitting up in bed this morning eating jello, so she's going to be just fine. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers for Grandma.

Peak A Boo!

Article time!!

I've been slacking in the article department so I figured it was time to find a few good ones!

"Families’ joy as Down’s pair wed", by Joanna Codd. Another cute couple ties the knot!


"Disabled Teen Becomes Eagle Scout", By Matthew Pleasant. A wonderful article about a young man with T-21 who becomes an Eagle Scout.

When I started posting about Joey having down syndrome, I was writing so my family and friends back in Ohio (Hey guys!!!) could keep up to date on what was going on with us. I never imagined that I would find an online community of parents or should I say, have the community find me. I enjoy my daily routine of reading all of my fellow T-21 mom's blogs. Writing on here daily has almost become a job for me. Since I'm a stay at home mom, besides taking care of Joey, cooking and cleaning, I really have nothing else to do, but write in my blog. I've also been trying to read at least one or two new T-21 blogs a day, and look for news articles pertaining to Down syndrome. If you are a parent that I haven't met online yet that is reading this, please introduce yourself! I love meeting new parents, T-21 or not!!!

Joey's newest milestone... rolling from his back to his side. He can't roll from back to belly yet, but soon enough!!

And his new favorite activity to pass the time... sucking his thumb!

Well, I called my favorite aunt on Monday to see if it was ok to stop by and see her and my uncle. She took a huge breath and said "no, I can't be around Joey for a while". I didn't fully understand at first and she proceeded to tell me that she's been hiding something from me, cancer and that she's on chemotherapy until November and can't be around children. She has lymphoma in her mouth on the inner part of her upper gum. She didn't want to upset me until she knew how bad it was going to be and she didn't want me worrying. Luckily, it's isolated and they were able to remove the tumor. Please say a prayer for her if you could.

THEN, my Grandma has been having asthma attacks one after another for a the past week. She went to her regular doctor and she was told that it was her allergies. My aunt ended up taking her to the hospital on Thursday. During all the tests, the doctors discovered that she had 700cc of fluid around her left lung and 500cc around her right. We were told it was either cancer, a bad infection or possibly her heart. The tests were furthered and she has a severely leaking mitral valve on her heart. Needless to say, she goes in for a heart cath on Monday and open heart surgery mid to late this upcoming week. Pray for her too.

These two women are two of my favorite people in the world and who I'm the closest to out of both sides of my family.