7 Quick Takes: Random Act of Kindness, Baseball, and Lullabies

7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Do you see these three darling children?

First row: Brett and Iris.
Second row: Kaia.

BrettIrisKaia

Brett still needs a mama. Iris finally has a family committed to her and they are in the homestudy stage. Kaia has met her family and they are in love with her!!! πŸ™‚

Click on their names to see their Reece’s Rainbow pages.

— 2 —

Consider this. I know most of the people who participate in this link-up/meme are Catholic but these apply to priests as well.

— 3 —

Random Act of Kindness. Those who know me on Facebook or Twitter have heard this already but I’ll tell it again.

I’ve been having a really tough week. My brother is moving out of state at the end of the month and he and I had a tough conversation this weekend because he’s stressed and I unfortunately can’t fix it. (Nothing really bad — I just can’t get into the details until he makes some of them public on Facebook.) Everyone who I talk to about the move mentions Sean (my brother) being at the hospital with me the night they almost put Daniel on ECMO and I hit the breaking point with that on Monday night. I had a serious cry and barely got sleep so Tuesday, I was tired to the point of nausea. (I had to cancel Daniel’s ENT appointment because I was in no shape to drive.)

Wednesday, I had the radio off while I was driving up to Sacramento and was praying aloud about how stressed I was and how I didn’t know how I was going to make it through the day because it was going to be long. I was also praying about Daniel’s peds appointment because doctor’s appointments with him can be either hellish or good — there’s no in between. I stopped at the drive-thru $tarbux because I needed caffeine and the car in front of me was blocking me from being close to the speaker so it took a few tries to communicate my order. When I got up there, I was reaching for my debit card when the barista told me that the car in front of me had paid for my drink.

I started sobbing and probably scared the barista but it was seriously what I needed. Given that coffee is usually on my no-no list (stupid ulcers!), you can definitely say I enjoyed my lattΓ© a whole lot more. Seriously though, it was a total answer to prayer.

— 4 —

The appointment. Daniel’s appointment went well — he’s high-maintenance enough health-wise that we have to check in with his pediatrician more often than just the yearly Well-Child appointments. When we were there on Wednesday, she had made sure her scheduler put us in when the clinic was likely to be fairly empty so Daniel could run around and open/close doors to his heart’s content while she and I followed him and talked. He allowed her to examine him without objecting too much and she’s satisfied with his growth at the moment. She had also FINALLY (!!!!!) received Daniel’s MRI’s from his previous neurologist at Sutter and was amazed when I told her exactly what was going on in the report using words like “demyelination” and talked about how the lack of myelin on the neurons meant that the information wasn’t being transmitted as quickly. (My undergrad Biology classes were definitely not a waste of my time even if I didn’t end up being pre-med and heading to medical school.) I should have told her about pwning the residents who made up the entourage of Daniel’s pediatric neurologist last year when I was using words like “methodology” and “antecedent” to explain ABA to them after the neurology resident dealing with us had spoken to me condescendingly.

— 5 —

Cuddlebug time. I had another opportunity to have a sleepy boy in my lap and sing him to sleep on Tuesday night. He didn’t feel the need to nap yesterday or today and is still (at 9:50 p.m. as I’m typing these) running around the living room like a live wire. Oh well… there will be other opportunities.

— 6 —

Baseball. My Giants play Marie’s Orioles tomorrow. I have a feeling that there will be some trash talking over Twitter during the game. πŸ˜‰ Then again, my Giants have been sucking lately so some of it will probably be warranted. Of course, the worst thing is that I live with a Dodgers fan… and they’re at the top of their division while my boys are at the bottom.

— 7 —

Inside Westboro Baptist Church. I’m currently reading Banished by Lauren Drain and while it is disturbing because of the sheer crap that church teaches their young, it is fascinating how they lived “normally” in the world but were also completely separated from it. It shouldn’t astound me how severely brainwashed those poor people are but it does. I haven’t gotten to the part where she has a change of heart and I’m kind of looking forward to that.

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.

{Virtual} Coffee Date (vol. 1)

I’m stealing borrowing this idea from Karianna at Caffeinated Catholic Mama. Go check out her site and find out what she’d tell you if you were having coffee with her. Tell her also to make this a weekly link-up. πŸ™‚

If we were having coffee, I would tell you about the dietary changes I’ve been having to make because of my PCOS and how there are a lot of days when I’ve maxed out my calories and am still hungry. I’m also getting sick of grilled shrimp and grilled chicken. I’m hoping that there’s enough weight loss to make my endocrinologist happy when I see her in a few weeks and that my sugars are good enough even though I’m not testing because meals tend to not be scheduled affairs.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you about Daniel’s in-home ABA therapy and how he seems to be doing really well with his primary tutor. I’m present for sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays and Jon is there for Fridays. We’re trying to find a tutor to do Tuesdays and Thursdays so right now, it’s just 3 days a week.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you about how hard I sobbed when I saw Katy Perry singing that duet of “Firework” with Jodi, a little girl with autism because it seriously illustrates some my frustrations at being the parent of a child with special needs and how much ambiguity there is in his future.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you about Daniel falling asleep in my lap with me singing to him and how I’m resolving to do more of it after I realized that the only time I’ve done it has been when he’s been in the hospital. That realization led to a lot of crying on Monday night on my part but that’s OK. Crying is a stress release for me.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you about how doing Compline has helped my faith and enables me to go to sleep. Edda even joined me for it yesterday which was very helpful — she is a meditative panther and petting her was a nice addition to prayer.

Thank you for having coffee (or tea) with me today. Shall we do this next week?

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: August 5, 2013

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY August 5, 2013

Outside my window… sunny and warm. It’s in the 80’s so we’ll probably go play outside during therapy today.

I am thinking… about the devotions I’m trying to get written.

I am thankful… for Daniel falling asleep in my lap while I sang to him.

In the kitchen… chicken marinating.

I am wearing… green “Online Debate Team” shirt, running shorts, and my Celtic cross.

I am creating… devotions for the book.

I am going… to be seeing a lot of the Glassrock Building at UCD Medical Center this week — Daniel has a peds check-up and an ENT appointment.

I am wondering… if penguins have knees. (It’s related to a Facebook picture.)

I am reading… Banished by Lauren Drain. I finished Going Going Ganache by Jenn McKinlay last week and Apologia pro vita sua is still on hold.

I am hoping… Daniel’s ENT goes well tomorrow and we’re not stuck waiting in the exam room for a long time.

I am looking forward to… saying Compline tonight. It’s actually gotten to be the highlight of my night.

Around the house… trying to channel my inner Flylady and get the clutter under control.

I am pondering… many things internally.

A favorite quote for today… “All the world is made of faith and trust, and pixie dust.” — J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

One of my favorite things… quiet mornings which don’t exist in my house at the moment with Daniel on break from school.

A few plans for the rest of the week: ENT appointment for Daniel tomorrow, peds appointment and ABA therapy for Daniel on Wednesday as well as Ladies’ Night Out for me, a rheumatology appointment on Friday, and Date Night for Jon and I on Saturday night thanks to Respite Night at a church in Elk Grove..

A peek into my day… I’ll share the image involving penguin knees.

Do penguins have knees?????

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

What I Wore on Sunday: August 4, 2013

What I Wore On Sunday

The bear child was up at 6:45 (!!!!!!) this morning so I had no excuse for not making it to church except for sheer sloth on my part.

My normal Sunday look.

Ahem.

Daniel and I made it with a few minutes to spare and other than pitching a fit when one of the teens tried to take him out into the hallway to slam doors (his favorite thing in the world), he was fairly good today. We skipped the special music and part of the sermon in favor of doing a few laps around the block and he let me stay until the end when he melted down rather spectacularly after he ran into the fellowship hall and realized that I hadn’t followed him. Oops! At least I actually made it through without having to have Jon bring me the Eucharist at home today?

Sam and I.

Dress: Kohl’s.
Flip-flops: (not shown) Old Navy

(Ignore my double chin. It only appears when I look down.)

This was actually my Easter dress from last year but it’s one of my go-to dresses for church because it makes me feel pretty. It has an empire-waist and a really swingy skirt which I think looks kind of vintage. I’ve used it for a Broadway touring company show in Los Angeles as well as for a funeral and a wedding because it tends to be dressy enough that I can pair it with heels but also something that allows me to move which is essential when I’m having to keep tabs on Daniel.

My cats made themselves scarce for picture-taking today so I had to settle for my hospital cat Sam. My mom got him for me when I was stuck in Good Samaritan Hospital (known as “Good Sam” to the locals) for 5 days around my 21st birthday and I’ve had him with me every time I’ve ended up in the hospital since then with the exception of my c-section (though Jon brought him up for the last night of my hospital stay).

My necklace

Necklace: made by my friend (and maid-of-honor and Daniel’s godmother) Rebecca. It went well with my dress and I’m glad I got to wear it today.

Go visit Kendra and the other beautiful people at Fine Linen and Purple.

52 Weeks of Blogging with a Purpose: If I Could Turn Back Time…

This week’s topic: if I could turn back time…

I try to live my life without regrets but there are things in my past that I wish I could do over.

If I could turn back time, I would make sure Daniel got the high-risk screening in Montana. Granted, our lives were in such chaos at the time that it would have been ONE MORE THING but it would have let us know that there was a problem before we reached southern California and had to figure out how to get him help.

If I could turn back time, I would not have compared Daniel to every other child I encountered. Doing all the comparing just made me feel like the worst mommy ever… and for things that weren’t my fault.

If I could turn back time, I would not have been so jealous of moms with normally-developing kids. This has been another source of stress in my life and it’s one that kept me from appreciating Daniel as much as I should have. I’m not going to lie — it is hard having a kid with special needs — but it is ten times cooler when he hits those milestones.

If I could turn back time, I wouldn’t have procrastinated as much in high school. I did get good grades but they could have been better if I hadn’t put things off until the last minute.

If I could turn back time, I would have gone with my strengths in college and double majored in History and Linguistics. I’m glad I had all the Biology and Chemistry but my college GPA would have been better if I had gone with history classes and language classes, areas where I excel.

If I could turn back time, I would have learned NFP before I got married. The Pill had some negative effects on me and other forms of contraception don’t appeal to me. I wish I would have learned how to read my body to know what my fertile signs were so that I wasn’t in the dark about how my body works.

If I could turn back time, I would tell myself not to sweat the fact that I was never invited to Homecoming because it was overrated and I had better times at the formals in college. It really depressed me in my junior and senior years not to be invited and I spent a lot of time wondering what was wrong with me. The answer: nothing. The really awesome guys who I hoped would ask me all turned out to be gay. Yeah… didn’t see that one coming.

If I could turn back time, I would take better care of myself. I’m having to drop a chunk of weight and am finding that doing so is a catch-22. My fibromyalgia is better with exercise… but the exhaustion makes it hard to exercise. I really need to find something I like doing and stick to it.

If I could turn back time, I would ignore the lies I was being told by Satan that any church I attended would give me crap because my parents weren’t there. I was thoroughly welcomed when I *did* start attending church and they were fine with the fact that I attended by myself.

Now go see Becky and what everyone else would do if they could turn back time.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook: July 29, 2013

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY July 29, 2013

Outside my window… sunny and cool for this time of year — only in the 80’s.

I am thinking… that naps are wasted on cats and on the young.

I am thankful… for access to good medical care.

In the kitchen… chicken marinating.

I am wearing… green “Online Debate Team” t-shirt and black running shorts.

I am creating… blog entries and devotions.

I am going… to have a crazy day on Friday with parent training for Daniel’s ABA therapy, a doctor’s appointment, and a massage.

I am wondering… if Daniel will nap today as he’ll have had school plus 3 hours of ABA therapy.

I am reading… Going Going Ganache by Jenn McKinlay. I still have Apologia pro vita sua on my NOOK but I needed something light for a little bit.

I am hoping… for a quiet night.

I am looking forward to… my nail appointment on Wednesday.

Around the house… got vacuuming done today.

I am pondering… too many things internally.

A favorite quote for today… ??You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth of falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you. It is easy to say you believe a rope to be strong and sound as long as you are merely using it to cord a box. But suppose you had to hang by that rope over a precipice. Wouldn’t you then first discover how much you really trusted it??? ? C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed

One of my favorite things… quiet. I don’t have it at the moment and probably won’t have it until Daniel goes to bed unless he decides to nap after therapy today.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Morning Prayer tomorrow with Anne, mani/pedi on Wednesday morning (I feel like a yuppie suburban mom), and my crazy insane Friday of activities. Daniel also has therapy today, Wednesday, and Friday.

A peek into my day… Sharing the video of Matt Maher at World Youth Day again. What can I say? It’s powerful.

Hosted by The Simple Woman’s Daybook

7 Quick Takes: Writing These Took a Herculean Effort

7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Serious cuteness. When Jon was about to pull into the driveway this evening, Daniel rushed to the window to watch and started singing “da da da da da” to the tune of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. As Jon walked around the house to get the garbage cans to put out, Daniel followed him around the bank of windows and then rushed to the door when Jon started unlocking it. When Jon came in, Daniel took his hands and started bouncing. It was totally fun to watch.

— 2 —

Orphans. Do you see these three adorable children?

First row: Brett and Iris.
Second row: Kaia.

BrettIrisKaia

Brett still needs a mama. Iris finally has a family committed to her. Kaia has a family committed to her who will be traveling to her country and will meet her tomorrow! Click on their names to see their Reece’s Rainbow pages.

— 3 —

Not good for me to find. Did you know that HuffPo has a Cats section???? A page full of cat stories!!! Can we say “massive time waster for Jen”???

— 4 —

I might be getting a little verklempt… Thank you to Beth Anne who shared this with me on Twitter. The ones involving cats are lovely but they’re all good and may cause a little water to leak out of your eyes.

— 5 —

Real life. So my chest cold *did* turn into bronchitis and by Sunday, I was sick enough that my parents were terrified of letting me drive home by myself. On Monday, I went to the clinic where my FNP wrote me a script for antibiotics and an inhaler as well as giving me the option of also having a Rocephen shot. I took her up on it (mostly because my life would suck immeasurably more if Daniel got this) and of course, the shot *would* have to be given in my rear end. (It’s probably good that I was too sick to reflect on this at the time because I think prudish me would have been blushing and hugely embarrassed as it was the male student nurse giving it.) I was also too tired and sick to think of curse words to say (the shot hurt like Hades) and was instead going through the Jesus prayer to try and keep myself calm. The injection site is still sore a few days later but the shot was a good thing — I turned a corner within 24 hours and am almost back to normal today.

— 6 —

Some good news. Thomas of Fuller Life (formerly known as “Strong Catholic”, “Identified Catholic”, and “Listening for the Shepherd”) has some BIG NEWS. He’s been a little vocal about it all week and I’ve been mocking him mercilessly so I figured I’d give him some link love as a way of making it up to him. I’m also under orders to pounce on his naysayers like a “mama lion” (or is it “friend lion”?) so please go give him some congrats and please don’t make me screw up my gel nails.

— 7 —

With Simcha on this one… Apparently, there has been some grumping in the Catholic blogosphere (where I hang out because there aren’t any Lutheran bloggers like me) about the confessionals at World Youth Day in Rio because they aren’t “pretty”. Simcha Fisher takes them to task and I’m with her on this one — yes, they aren’t as aesthetically pleasing as Gothic cathedral but seriously… THAT’S NOT THEIR PURPOSE!!! I’d personally rather see hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of young people having the opportunity to engage their faith and seek forgiveness for their sins than something that may be aesthetically-pleasing but not functional.

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.