A Museapalooza!

Honestly, have you ever seen anything cuter?

 

I just picked up these new stamps at my LSS yesterday. They were having an A Museapalooza event and I just had to check them out. These are from A Muse Artstamps, who I think make the cutest stamps around. They just released their Halloween, Fall and Holiday lines. By the time I got there, most of the stamps were gone, so I am sure I didn't get to see everything. A Muse hasn't updated their site yet with the new stamp images, but as soon as they do, I will be checking to see which ones I missed. I am mostly a digi scrapper but I still have a weakness for stamps and cards!!!

~Chef

25 weeks and 2 days!

That's how pregnant I am. And the reason that is significant and worthy of a blog post is because I was stricken with Pre-Eclampsia at 26 weeks 3 years ago when pregnant with my son Ben.

Needless to say, we are watching my health like a hawk. I had a check up with my perinatologist today and everything looked normal (aside from my 5 pound weight gain - UGH!). So, we are cautiously optimistic. Hoping to get to at least 32 weeks....but 39 would be ideal (obviously). I will be seeing my doc every two weeks from here on out and I monitor my blood pressure and protein levels at home....so this time, it won't sneak up on us. We were literally blind-sided the last time.

Working on a total site make-over. Hope to have that completed by that end of the month. I am thinking about getting rid of the forums. There are enough established and active forums out there and I just want to simplify everything. I definitely want to keep the gallery going, at least so that my DT has a place to post their fabulous layouts. Well...that's all for now.

More later,
~Chef

Bittersweet Goodbye

Wow. Today was an emotional day for me. While I am happy that Ben has reached another milestone, I am saddened that this milestones is accompanied by several goodbyes. Ben turns three tomorrow and therefore, he is no longer eligible to receive Early Intervention services. All of his therapy now has to be administered by the school system. Early Interventional is a federally funded program that assists children with special needs. Ben qualified for the program due to his extremely premature birth. He has been receiving OT, PT, Speech, Special Educator and Feeding therapies since he came home from the NICU. These therapists have been in my home weekly, for three years, working one-on-one with Benjamin. They are a part of our family.

The woman below is Anne. She was Ben's case manager and PT. She evaluated Benjamin when he came home from the hospital, barely 4 months old and 4 pounds. She has been there from the beginning. 3 years of hard work, advocacy and devotion from this woman. How do you say thank you for getting us through the tough times? How do you say thank you for changing my life and my son's life for the better? Needless to say, we were in tears today. She is the sweetest woman with the warmest, most comforting voice. Ben adored her.

She recently moved to the South End of Boston (well over an hour away) and she is ending her practice in my area. I will never see her again. My heart is broken. Thank you Anne. For everything.



Ben and Anne working on his leg strength. She uses a wooden step to get him to improve his balance and practice walking up and down steps unassisted.



Clowning around.

Now we are ready to face new challenges with new therapists at the pre-school in the Fall. No one can ever replace the team we had at Minuteman E.I. But I am sure we will grow to love the new team as well.

Chef

Swimming!

 

So, we decided to spend the day at the pool today. It was really beautiful... warm, but not too hot. Ben loves the baby pool where he can walk around and play with toys. Today, he actually acknowledged another child and said, "hi". Swimming is a fantastic summer activity. By the time we are ready to go home, Ben looks like this:

 

Very very tired. He came home and slept for 3.5 hours. We had to wake him for dinner. Gotta love the swimming pool!

Chef 

Turning 3 Next Week

 

I cannot believe it has almost been 3 years since Ben was born. He was so tiny and fragile. Born way too soon. Now look at him! He is growing into a fine little boy. He still has some baby-ish qualities, which I love. His giggles and babbles are still so reminiscent of his infancy. But they are starting to fade....or morph...into the sounds of a little boy. Bitter sweet.

I love this kid.
Chef