steph's stuff

Incentive

First - pic of Andy Roo's 1st day of pre-K. 'Cause it's my blog and I can post a picture that has nothing to do with the following post if I want to. :) And, dang, my baby is soooooooooo big. :(

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And now, the post. It's short. It's not sweet. It's all about incentive. We came across home movies of the kids as babies and toddlers - haven't looked at these in over 4 years. And, really, aside from ooooh'ing and aaaaaah'ing over how completely adorable our kids were as wee little ones, it was all about incentive. Incentive to stay on Weight Watchers. FOR.THE.REST.OF.MY.LIFE. So that I don't look like that ever, ever, ever, ever, ever again. 17 pounds down, 13 to go a gazillion more to go. Incentive. I'm telling ya - it was all about incentive.

New stuff for everyone

Let's see - last week was mind bogglingly (soooo not a word) busy. We had parent teacher conferences for Em, nurse's meeting for Em, parent teacher conferences for Elizabeth, nurse/teacher/seizure action plan meeting for Elizabeth, 2 different parents' nights, 2 orientations, and the first day of school. Sooooo glad to have all that done!

This week brings the first full day of school for all 3 kids.

Em is in 4th grade this year and, at her school, that is now middle school. Their school goes from preschool through 8th grade and the school is broken down into "schools" within the one school. Kind of neat for the kids and simulates a lot of what they'll need to be ready for and experience in high school when they get out. So, middle school for Emily means learning how to switch rooms for about half of her classes and also means having a locker for the first time. You would think she had just won the lottery! For some reason, having a locker is off-the-charts exciting! Switching rooms and working with a locker brings with it a few more challenges, though, too since she'll need to have her diabetes kits that include glucose tabs, test kit, food, etc..... in multiple rooms. And she's really going to have to be on top of making sure that she takes care of herself.

Elizabeth is in 1st grade and that means that she moves out of the preschool/kindy building and into the "big school." We had a few anxieties that we had to work out (thank you sooooooo much for all the advice), but she absolutely loved her first day (only a half day) and her best friend is in her class. (Thank you, God!!!!!) She also has to learn to be on top of medical issues and let teachers know when she gets a headache and when she needs to take Advil for them or if she feels "shaky" as she puts it. No seizures or big problems since June, so I'm pretty confident that this is going to be a good year for her! And, really, just to see her excitement to see her best friend in there on the first day of school just brought tears to my eyes. Sooooo hard to believe that she's in 1st grade. :(

And Andrew. Wild, crazy Hurricane Andrew, as we call him. He is in pre-K this year. And goes 5 days/week - full days. Yep. My baby is going to school full-time. :(  The good news is that they have a 60-90 minute nap in the afternoons so the "academic" part of the day is really just the mornings. After having lunch and then nap, it's almost time to go home really. Kindy is full day at their school, so they offer the full day option for pre-K as well with the long nap to help get them ready for a very big year of kindergarten. We live so far away from their school that it doesn't make any sense for him to come home at noon. By the time we got home and had lunch, he and I would have to be back in the car 40 minutes later to get the girls. And he's sooooooooo ready for this.

And me - well, this leaves me home alone. And since we somehow have to find a way to pay for this wonderful school, that means back to work for me. Back to the legal field. There's some stuff in the developmental stages for me along the job front and I'll let you know as soon as I make some decisions.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with some back-to-school pics of the girls. Andrew's only had orientation so far, so I'll get pics of him on Monday.

This was Elizabeth's first time getting a desk and she got right to work. Loves having her own desk. :)

And Em - well, these photos just crack me up, even if I did catch her mid-blink. She immediately lectures the boys and then gets straight to work. Soooooo typical Emily. :)

Saving lives

This is the post that I've been trying to write about for days now. And, ya know, I've finally decided that getting the words just so really doesn't matter. I'm just going to write from the heart.

There are many, many ways to save a life. I'm going to tell you about one way today. As many of you know, my friend, Stef, was diagnosed last October with breast cancer. (I can't believe it's been almost a year!!!) And tomorrow, it could be me, or my neighbor, or my kids' teachers, or even you. Only 10% of breast cancer patients have a family history of it. It does not discriminate. And, as Stef and I have talked about many times, it's a vicious disease and it kills mommies. It's easier to not think about all of these things and it's easier to not worry about it hitting your family or your friends, but there's a better way. YOU can help save a life. And that life might be hers.

Stef has started a Race for the Cure team. And every penny that you donate to her team goes directly to fund research that WILL find a cure for this disease. Her team is called Team Warriors and you don't need to be in Nebraska to join her team or help her out. Just click the Sleep for the Cure registration, and for your $20 entry fee, you will receive a pillowcase from the Komen organization. Here's the important thing:  IF YOU'RE REGISTERING FOR A TEAM, THE DEADLINE IS SEPTEMBER 7. That's only a few weeks away. (And, yes, Stef, that is cut and pasted from your blog :p) If you want to help, please visit Stef's blog and follow her links to register.

And on a purely selfish note, I have to tell you just a bit about some women that I've met locally. After Stef's diagnosis, I felt so helpless. She's in Nebraska, I'm in Indiana and how the heck could I help her? And, after a bit, I realized that there were things that I could do to help other people even if I couldn't be there for Stef. So, I started putting out some feelers and a few days later, I received a call from a local hospital who was looking for a photographer. They had a breast cancer support group who had written a book last year and it was a huge success and they were writing a second one. They needed a photographer to volunteer to take photos for the book. I jumped at the chance and it's truly one of the best things I've ever done! Here's a layout about an event last week that I was honored to attend. Every time I get together with these new friends of mine, I get the chills. They are soooo much stronger than I am and some of them have conquered unbelievable odds. So, when I join Stef's team, I will be joining for them, too.

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Journaling: Last winter, I was asked to photograph some breast cancer survivors for the local hospital. A support group was writing a book and they needed someone to take some fun, lighthearted photos to match the humorous stories of their breast cancer experiences. The goal of their book was to give hope, humor, and messages of laughter and joy to women who were newly diagnosed with breast cancer. The title of their book was to be “Underneath It All.” I spent part of 3 different days with these women and I can tell you that they have truly changed my life. I am a better person for knowing them and I am honored to now call many of them my friends. Last week was the gala and our book signing event. And I have to say that underneath it all, these women are a testament to courage, hope, laughter, friendship, and the joy of living.
 

Not my original post

I have another post to post. And I will still post it. But, I'm struggling with writing it so in the meantime, I need help.

What do you say to help a 6-year-old little girl deal with her fears when she finds out that she got the "mean teacher" for 1st grade this year? And, um.........while I'm sure the teacher is not really mean per se, I have dealt with her in many other settings and she's certainly.........well............strict. :p  Not lovely dovey in the least, so Libby's fears aren't completely unfounded. Ugh. When she found out today who her teacher was going to be, she actually screamed in fear and started crying and screaming, "Oh no! Oh no! You can't make me go! She's so mean!" And this went on for over 30 minutes - totally irrational out of her head fear and the ugly gulping can't breathe kind of crying. And she's even had this woman as a substitute before, so she's not totally reacting based on rumors she's heard.

The first day of school is Friday and I've got to find a way to help her cope with this. I've tried the whole "she's not really mean, she just has rules like all the other 1st grade teachers" and "but your best friend's going to be in your class this year" and none of that is working. :(

Ugh!!!!!!! Help!!!!!  Anyone?

Fun, fun stuff!

I was pleasantly surprised to be asked to create some pages for CK's Kit of the Month this month. And even more surprised to see them on the front page!! Here are some previews of my pages, but go HERE to see the kit and even more pages.

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I LOVED this kit!!! It's a beginner's digital kit and if you're thinking about learning more about digital scrapbooking, this kit is perfect! It includes a tutorial from Jessica and, as we all know, her tutorials are simply the best!! And it also includes a complete digital kit from her and a mini-kit from Ali, as well. It was my second kit from CK's Kit of the Month and neither have disappointed!

And how fun to see that Janet was in on this, too! Great pages, Janet!!!

Pride

I take my children for granted. It's not something I'm proud of. But, I do. I take for granted that they're smart, happy, helpful, beautiful, healthy (for the most part), and bring me so much joy. I assume that they will do the right thing and they don't usually disappoint me. I am a very, very lucky momma. Of that, I have no doubt. But, still, I know that I take their good behavior for granted and don't always compliment them as much as I should or congratulate them on their successes or even let them know that I'm so proud of them when they do the right thing.

But, not today. Today, Emily did the right thing. A wonderful thing, a beautiful thing and a brave thing. And it may seem trivial in the scheme of things, but for a nine-year-old girl, it was huge. She had heard about an organization called Locks for Love when she was eight. And thought it was cool that people would donate their hair to help other people who didn't have any. But, she wasn't really interested in doing it herself. Cool for other people, but not for her. And then Stef was diagnosed with breast cancer last October. And we had just spent the last weekend before her diagnosis visiting with her and her kids in Nebraska. And Emily couldn't fathom that Zachie's and Bails' mom was going to have to go through chemo and lose her hair. So, right then and there, she declared that she was going to grow out her hair and donate it.

And she really did it. She hated having long hair for the growing out process and she was scared of having really short hair at the very end of the process, but she stuck with it for almost an entire year. And today, she donated her hair. Like I said, it may seem trivial to some, but to her and to me and to her Daddy, it was huge. And, believe me, we have let her know how very proud we are of her!

She chose to donate her hair not to Locks for Love, but in honor of "Miss Stef" (as Em calls her), she chose an organization that collects hair specifically for women who are going through cancer treatments (Locks for Love does not) - Pantene's Beautiful Lengths Program - it is a wonderful organization and has helped many, many women who have been affected by cancer.

And, truly, I don't think Emily has ever been more beautiful - on the inside, as well as the outside. I'm going to bed a very proud momma tonight!

 

and the years go by

perspective is really everything, isn't it?

i remember when Tom and i were in law school and we had no money. and i mean noooo money. we were both full-time law students and not allowed to work during the first year of law school. we lived on money saved from summer jobs and that was it. so, if we had to go anywhere to visit our family (we were in indiana and our parents were in michigan, maine, texas, and massachusetts), we obviously didn't have any choice but to drive. so, we did. our first year of law school, we drove to michigan many, many weekends. and we drove to maine at thanksgiving and at christmas. at the end of the school year, our wedding was only 3 months away and would be in maine at the end of the summer. but, our summer jobs were in texas. so, we drove to maine for wedding preparations, drove back to indiana to pack up our apartment and put our stuff in storage, drove to texas for our summer jobs and then, 7 weeks later, drove from texas to maine for our wedding. (that drive was a doozy - 4 12-hour days) and, then after our wedding, we had to drive back to indiana to start our second year of law school. and i don't think that we've ever had more fun than that year during all of those roadtrips.

our recent trip to texas reminded me of those days. we had to drive to chicago to the airport, fly to dallas, drive to austin for the 1st night. the next morning, we drove to san antonio and then back that night. the next night, we had to leave austin at midnight to catch a 6 am flight out of dallas, fly to chicago and then drive home. and it about killed us.

it's all about perspective.

quick layout done for the saturday scraplift on the designer digitals blog - every saturday, a layout is picked from the designer digitals gallery and we all try to scraplift it. this layout is based on Hillary's awesome layout.

loved them!

this was one of my favorite family sessions. :)

It's all about the chocolate.

Thanks for the anniversary wishes! We had a fantastic evening and ended up at a gorgeous little restaurant with an unbelievable menu. And chocolate cake to die for - 4 layers of cake with 4 layers of mousse - yum!

I've been busy trying to meet photo deadlines and keeping the kids busy and out of my hair - not an easy task. I ended up resorting to baking. Peanut butter kiss cookies - love those gooey little chocolate kisses on top!

And last night was Tom's firm annual summer outing and so we dressed up again and out we went. I normally don't enjoy these things a whole lot, but last night was wonderful! No one drank too much, everyone was happy and relaxed and most of the younger crowd was there - made for an unexpectedly nice evening. And dinner again was fabulous! Followed by THE.BEST.CHOCOLATE.CAKE.EVER!! I kid you not - Tom came home and said the only thing wrong with the cake was that there wasn't enough of it. Seriously, the best ever!!

It's been a good week, busy, busy, but good. But, really, with all that chocolate, how bad could it be?

August 7, 1994

The first day of the rest of my life. 13 years ago today.

I love you, babe.