Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Taking Great Strides for Brady

 This year, we are participating in a Great Strides Walk for Cystic Fibrosis as part of "Brady's Bunch."  Brady is the son of our friends, Jeff & Darby, and he has Cystic Fibrosis.  We met Jeff & Darby through the Navy when our husbands served aboard the USS New Mexico together.

Darby maintains their blog Keep On Going...No Matter What!  They hope to get the word out about Cystic Fibrosis and some of Brady's other medical conditions just like I hope to spread the word about VLCAD.

I asked Darby to write a guest post for our blog because I've learned so much about Cystic Fibrosis through her & Brady.  I've also learned a lot about about how to keep my head above water while working through Klaw's genetic disorder.  Enjoy!


****************************************************


Brady is the happiest little boy you'll ever meet. He doesn't have a
care in the world...he loves his life, just the way it is, and longs
for nothing! Don't you wish to long for nothing one day? I sure do:)

Even though he's made to do 2 breathing treatments, 2 chest therapy

treatments, take 10 medicines, and do multiple g-tube feeds each day,
he is just the happiest thing ever! He looks forward to his breathing
& chest treatments as they are "fun" for him. He even fake coughs
when he sees the equipment! Why is all this necessary for Brady?

He has Cystic Fibrosis...
what is Cystic Fibrosis?

We feel honored that the Lord chose us to be Brady's parents, to take
care of him, to raise him, and to love him. We wouldn't want him to
be any other way than he is...regardless of how long he lives.
Currently the life expectancy is about 37 years old, and Brady's 2.5
years old right now. We have plenty of time to show the world how
much we love our son and plenty of time to get the word out about
Cystic Fibrosis, which is a progressive disease with no current cure.
Brady will spend his entire life fighting to breathe...what will you
spend your life doing? Personally, I'm an avid runner, as running
clears my own lungs of whatever is in them, and running will clear
Brady's lungs of all the bacteria/infections in them on a regular
basis. Running is the best form of "natural" treatment for Cystic
Fibrosis patients, and we can't wait until Brady can learn to
run...walking is first on our list though...

he's almost there, but not quite.

Here's a quick example of why running is so important for CF

patients...take a minute and check this out...

Every spring is the Great Strides Walk for Cystic Fibrosis...this will

be our second year walking as last year Brady was in the hospital on
the day of the walk so we weren't able to go.

Check out our
Great Strides Page for more information on the walk.

We want CF to stand for Cure Found!
****************************************************

If you would like to make a donation to help find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis,
I've added Darby's Great Strides widget to my sidebar. 

Monday, March 28, 2011

Klaw's Birth Story

Warning!!!  This post contains graphic descriptions of labor and Klaw's birth.  It also contains colorful language.  Do not read if you would rather not know!
In celebration of Klaw's first birthday, I am publicly sharing his birth story as I remember it.  I wrote this down just a few days after Klaw was born while the memory of the experience was still fresh.  Thankfully, my doula also wrote Klaw's birth story for us to have and it's fun to compare the two perspectives.  I have done a little editing but only when it was necessary to make the story understandable.  I decided not to edit the language because, sorry folks, birth is not PC and neither is my mouth.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Sunday Funday!

This week, I'm linking up Chris's Three Dogs & a Baby post about Klaw's first camping trip.  Visit Carri's page and take a look at her hilarious posts...and the other bloggers who have linked up with their favorite posts of the week!




In addition to Chris's blog post, I decided to link up my friend, Darby's post about her little boy Brady.  Brady has Cystic Fibrosis and some other medical speed bumps that they are working through.  She is a delightful person and a wonderful mom and I am not the least bit biased even though she grew up in a town that neighbors my own hometown.  She has also agreed to do a guest post here about Brady & the upcoming Cystic Fibrosis Walk.  Be on the lookout!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Assplosions & Immunology Appointments

First of all, the past 12 hours in our household have been ruled by Murphy's Law.  

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Give Me Chips & Dip Or Give Me Death!!!

I woke up early & Klaw is still miraculously sleeping. *knock on wood* This almost always leads me on a Google search of random knowledge.  Today, with one eye open and one hand clasping a coffee mug, I managed to find some random holidays.  Well, one of the holidays isn't all that random since it's actually an historical event.

So folks, here you have it:  March 23 is Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death Day AND Chips & Dip Day.  I'm not kidding.  It's a twofer!  With this packaged deal, you can celebrate Patrick Henry convincing the Virginia House of Burgesses to commit troops in the War for Independence while munching on your favorite chips & dip duo.

I don't think you can go wrong with any particular potato chip - but I would stick with a potato chip.  It's really an American invention and it seems prudent to stick to an American theme on this historic day.  As for dips, this could get tricky.  What's the most American dip out here?  Since Patrick Henry's speech took place in Virginia, should you choose a Virginia favorite?  I haven't had enough coffee yet to make such a monumental decision.  I hope you have a much easier time.

Have a great day & enjoy yet another American excuse to eat in excess!

Monday, March 21, 2011

Three Dogs and a Baby

Well, it is official. Klaw's first camping trip is complete and if he could talk I'm sure that he would say that he had a terrific time. Ok, mostly a terrific time except when he was getting knocked around and down by three dogs.


Sunday, March 20, 2011

Blogs, Blogs, & More Blogs - Sunday Funday

Well, folks, I found YET ANOTHER way to get the word out about VLCADD!  Carri over at Adventures in Mommyhood has started a "Sunday Funday" blog link-up.






Basically, you just pick a favorite blog post of yours (or someone else's) from the week, add it to Carri's Sunday Funday list, and post the button above so that other people can find the list, too.  I kind of cheated...it's supposed to be your favorite blog of the week...but...c'mon...VLCADD is so important, My Latest Project deserved some extra attention.  (It looks like Carri agreed because she let me get away with it, thankfully!)  I'll stick to the rules better in the future...

Now that we are home from camping (don't worry - Chris is working on a post about the weekend's misadventures), I finally got around to fulfilling my part of the Sunday Funday bargain.  So, please take a moment to visit Adventures in Mommyhood and check out the other blogs that are participating!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Mama Said, Mama Said...



I came across a interesting blog thanks to Kate at the Mommy Monologues - It's called Mama's Losin' It!  Mama Kat has an interesting writer's workshop and I saw a post that inspired me, so I decided to participate this week.





Mama's Losin' It


The theme that caught my attention is "10 Things My Mother Taught Me."  I think everyone who knows me knows how much I love my mom, even though I give her a hard time and probably caused 70% of her beautifully silver hair.  I think she did a good job raising me (and my sister) and I'd like to give her a little public credit...

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...

I guess you could call this the Television Edition...

1 - DJ Lance Rock & the rest of the Yo Gabba Gabba crew...but especially DJ Lance.


YEAH! My name is Dana and I like to DANCE!!!

2 - The Hot Dog Dance



We can literally sing random words to this tune and it calms Klaw right down.  Amazing.

3 - Movie Credits - that's it.  Just the credits.  Why?  Because Klaw LOVES them.  Something about words scrolling up a screen is completely mesmerizing.  Five minutes can be a beautiful thing with a VERY ACTIVE toddler!

4 - YouTube - just look at the videos posted above.  We can load those onto our iPhone YouTube apps almost any time and my Highlander even lets me play the sound through my stereo system.  What a wondrous, wondrous invention!

5 - DVR - Chris & I don't watch a lot of shows on a regular basis but there are a few we really enjoy.  With DVR we can record those few shows and watch them whenever we please.  This means if we get an invitation to get out of our house & meet up with friends (hint hint)...we don't have to miss our shows!  We didn't get DVR until there was an offer through Dish Network for free DVR. We never knew what we were missing.  Oh, we also have many episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse & Yo Gabba Gabba recorded...just in case...

Sunday, March 13, 2011

An Hour We'll Never Get Back

It was a beautiful day in Hampton Roads.  A fabulous day, in fact!  The sun was out and the temperature was pleasant.  It was an absolutely perfect day for an outing to the local zoo!


Or so we thought...

Friday, March 11, 2011

Righting Past Wrongs

Several years ago, while Chris & I were living in California, Jimmy Buffett had a show in San Francisco right around the time of our anniversary. I had the Ticketmaster page open & all Chris needed to do was enter our debit card information & click "submit."

Evidently, that hint was not obvious enough.

I just found out that Jimmy Buffett is coming to Virginia Beach this May. Tickets go on sale this Saturday at 10am.

Chris - this is your chance to right a past wrong & make me finally shut up about San Francisco.

Update 12MAR2011: Jimmy Buffett tickets did not actually go on sale at LiveNation until 10:20am EST.  Yes, I sat there & refreshed the page for 20 minutes. I immediately tried to purchase tickets and failed.  The General Admission/Lawn tickets are $30 apiece ($46 with fees) and the scalpers are selling those tickets for $114 apiece ALREADY!!!  Sorry.  As much as I love Jimmy Buffett, I am not spending $228 on two tickets.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Just as I am...

One of my favorite hymns (oh, I have many...) is Just as I Am, Without One Plea.  It has a simple, straight-forward melody and the harmony, also simple, is beautiful.  I have always felt this way.  This hymn can bring me to tears in a minute.

The third stanza is particularly meaningful for me
Just as I am, though tossed about
with many a conflict, many a doubt,
fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.*

I was raised, intentionally or not, to question everything.  This part of my personality has served me well over the years but it has also caused me to be on a continual journey in my own spirituality.  I don't think this is a bad thing because through every trial, every question, every doubt, my faith has been reaffirmed.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Laissez les bons temps rouler!!!

Hello, Lent!  It's nice to see you again.

This year, I have decided to take a break from activity on BabyCenter & Facebook and focus more on this blog.  We hope that our friends, family, blog followers & random visitors will join the conversation here.

Chris & I are going to use this time for reflection...reflection on family life, religion, spirituality, parenting, good memories and whatever else happens to strike our fancy.  Last year, Chris was at sea and I was focused on the final weeks of my pregnancy with Klaw.  This year, we are together, a whole family.  I plan to enjoy it!

Friday, March 4, 2011

Karaoke Photobomb!!!




Tuesday, March 1, 2011

11 month Photobomb!!!





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