Thankful for Their Light

Early on Monday morning, Britt, Finn and I loaded up Derek (our Uplander) with all the things we would need for a baby for several hours away from home, some breakfast, and our excited selves.  We pointed the van towards I-35 southbound, and once again headed for Edmond.  Seems like we have been doing that trip a lot these days - but we love it and wouldn't trade it for the world!  This time, destination was Edmond North High School and the Huskies Senior Class!  We were going to be speaking to the Class of 2013 about March of Dimes NICU Family Support program being chosen as the BALTO (Bringing a Light To Others) gift recipient this year.  We just LOVE telling our story, and we would not be able to if not for the March of Dimes!  So, of course, we were fired up and willing to do so.

Each morning this week, they are having an assembly with one class form the school in order to let them know what is going on each day of BALTO week, what to expect, and to educate them a little bit about the charity they are raising money for.  Julie Leclercq is the March of Dimes NICU Family Support Specialist at Mercy, where Finn was born.  I was lucky enough to meet her soon after I was put on bed rest in the hospital, and we have grown to be better friends over the last 18 months!  She is truly a bright shining star, and we are so lucky to have her on our side.  She introduced the cause, and then the Weaver Family.

Once we were up on stage, our micro-preemie miracle boy Finn OF COURSE stole the show!  What's that line about not working with dogs or babies?  Anyway - the plan was for me to speak, and for Britt to hold the baby.  So, I told a short version (it can be done!) of our Story with Finn, then I told about what the March of Dimes and NICU Family Support have meant to us.  We were so blessed by the programming put on by Julie and her team.  We made name plates for our babies beds in the NICU, we made hats and blankets.  At Christmas time, we made adorable little onesies, and at that meeting I met another set of parents that I am still very close with today!  They had pizza parties for the siblings and many other activities that helped make our 3month + stay in the hospital a positive experience.  I am grateful we were in a facility that had this service - I know many others who were not and it seems their journey was not as positive as ours was as far as the services and education we received.  Then we let Finn take over - he smiled, and cooed and was generally adorable - as usual!

I truly hope the BALTO candidates meet and exceed their fundraising goals.  I see so much value in the job that is done by the Family Support Specialists!  Right now, Mercy is the only hospital in Oklahoma that has one, and that needs to change!  This money will hopefully help start a position at another Level III or Level IV NICU in the state!  Hmmmm...  Sounds like a job I might need to apply for...

2+0+1+3 = SIX

Jake's 6th Birthday - Bowling Lanes Cake

Betcha didn’t know that, did ya?  And the cool thing for my oldest son?  He just had his SIXTH birthday in the year 2013!  How fun!  For him!  And me… because I like freaky number things like that.  I figured out in fourth grade that the digits in my birthdate (100874) and the digits in my mother’s birthdate (040448) both equaled 20.  (I know you want to try it…)  AND!  Here’s where it gets really freaky!  The digits in my older brother’s birthdate (021371) and the digits in my dad’s birthdate (012146) both equal  14.  I KNOW, RIGHT!?!?!??!   But, this isn’t about numbers.  It’s about Jake – bowling strikes and turning 6!

We had a bowling party for Jake and a few of his (male only per his request – mostly) friends on Sunday afternoon at our local bowling alley.  (The only females in attendance were family – his sisters, and one guest’s little sister – who was specifically requested by the birthday boy because she makes him laugh!)  We had 9 kids bowling, and there was a bit of an age gap, so we had the 4/5/6 year olds on one lane, and the 8/9/10 year olds on the other.  The “older” kids were way more competitive, and it was so fun to hear them talking.  The little guys were just as funny, but because of their "form" and the things that made them celebrate!  They all chose to bowl with bumpers, and all the adults wisely refrained from jointing the festivities.  The kids bowled one game, we ate ad opened presents, and then they bowled another game.  It was the perfect length of time, and a GREAT time was had by all!

Jake never could come up with a “theme” for his party this year, so we went with “bowling.”  We were trying to keep this party a little lower key than the 1st birthdayparty we did for Little Brother a few months ago, and I think we did a good job of that!  Jake wanted everything green.  So, we have green plates with sticker dots on them to replicate bowling balls, green balloons with white dots, green napkins, and a solid brown cake with home-fashioned decorations.  6 red and white striped candles for the “pins,” stick candy for the lane markers (with “gutters” dug out with a chop stick!), and a green gumball with icing dots for the bowling ball.  I think it turned out pretty cute, if I do say so myself!

Here are a few pictures of the festivities and the party goers!

Party Table!  Let's BOWL!

Bowling Ball plates

The Bowlers

Happy Birthday Jake!

Blew out all 6 of the "pins" in one try!  STRIKE!

Who knows what freaky number things I will come up with later.  You’ll just have to stay tuned…

Friday One Liners

• ·         Oklahoma weather is schizophrenic

• ·         Whatever I have done to my right foot/ankle is making me limp.  Which messes up my left hip.  I may need to visit the Chiropractor

• ·         Ree Drummond, Pioneer Woman is my BLOGspiration.  But I don’t cook.  Or ranch.  Or have Basset Hounds.  But whatev’s!  She says to write like you are talking toyour sister.   I don’t have a sister.  But I write like I talk, so I guess I am good there.  Always wanted one (a sister).  Glad my girls have one each.  I had a brother for 36 years… (That was a lot more than one line…)

• ·         I am a big fan of the internet

• ·         Micro-preemies keep you on your toes and keep you learning new things.  I still want to learn sign language.  Just for fun – not because I need to…

• ·         My first son is six years old today.  I am going to have a hard time remembering to say 6 instead of 5.

• ·         “Scandal” and “College” seem to go hand in hand way too often

• ·         I’ve got a very understanding boss that lets me do what I need to do when it comes to my family.  So grateful for that.

• ·         Thankful that I have found a creative outlet.  May put that “learning to sew” thing on the back burner…

• ·         I’ve added more designs to my ETSY shop  – including CHALKBOARD ART for Valentine’s Day!! Readers – use the code LOVE14 at check out for 14% off your order now through February 14!

SOLD

My favorite part of this week so far?  I SOLD my first item in my ETSY store - Dream Weaver Prints!  I can’t tell you how exciting it was to get the alert on my phone, and to see the fun image that popped up in my email congratulating me!  I was ecstatic and I was thrilled to be able to tell my husband, my kids and my family.  So, I thought I would share with YOU as well!  I SOLD SOMETHING I CREATED!  That’s a heady feeling! And, much to my surprise, it wasn’t to someone I knew, or even a friend of a friend!  It was a legit Etsy customer who saw my stuff, liked it, and PAID ME MONEY for it!  WOW!

The first item I sold was a baby boy birth announcement subway art print fashioned like the one I made for my son Jake.  In my policies, I make the file, and then I send it out to the customer offering the first set of changes for free.  I was very nervous about her feedback, and almost rightfully so!  The first email I got back from her, I could tell she was disappointed.  Her son’s name is Paul Joseph, but they are going to call him PJ, so she wanted his initial nickname on the sign somewhere.  I had never done this before, so I knew it would be hard to make it just right for her.  So, after her initial dissatisfaction, I reworked 3 more versions to help find her the perfect fit!  OF COURSE, she liked the fourth (and LAST) one I made for her!  But, I was happy to do it because now I know where to put initials next time!  PJ is now one month old and lives in Portland Maine and he has a BDub Writes original!  Makes me smile!

In other news, life is just carrying us on its wave!  Dance practice; basketball practice and games; Odyssey of the Mind workshop, rehearsals, and projects; March for Babies committee work, March of Dimes committee work, ΑΔΠ work… WHEW!  Not to mention, Jake will be SIX on Friday!  WOWza!  Time sure flies!  Finn passed his vision check up and doesn’t have to go back for 2 more years, and he has a hearing screening tomorrow.  Preemies sure keep you on your toes as far as appointments go!  He also finally transitioned from the bottle to sippy cups!  He can do a straw cup and a traditional sippy cup now!  YAY, FINN!  The big kids are all doing excellent in school – Emma and Lara both brought home straight A’s on their report cards, and Jake declared he was the smartest kid in his class at dinner the other night.  The only “bad” mark he got on his report card was in PE – poor kid can’t skip.  I don’t think that will keep him from becoming President. LOL!

On the horizon for Britt and I (and Finn) are a couple of BALTO week events with Edmond North High School.  ENHS has an annual fundraiser called BALTO, standing for "Bring a Light to Others." It is a fundraising effort that lasts several months ending in February. In years past, BALTO has raised over $250,000 for their chosen non-profit. This year BALTO has chosen the March of Dimes NICU Family Support program as the 2012-2013 recipients! At this time, Mercy Hospital (where Finn was born) has the only NICU Family Support program in Oklahoma. With the funds being raised by BALTO, they are hoping to expand this program to other NICUs in Oklahoma as well as improve the program at Mercy Hospital. The March of Dimes feels blessed to be BALTO's recipient this year and are very excited to do even more for the NICU families in Oklahoma with this extremely generous donation.  The first event is this Saturday when The BALTO Carnival will serve as the 2013 Mercy NICU Family Reunion. There will be food and games for the entire family.  This event is open to the public and the game tickets are $0.50 each.  Come out and bring the family!

Next Monday, the 28^th, Britt, Finn and I will go to ENHS to speak (inspire and encourage) the student body at one of their morning assemblies getting the word out about the upcoming finale of BALTO week.  We are very excited to be able to share Finn and out story with these amazing kids!  The final assembly is slated for February 15, and that is when they will announce the total amount of money raised!  We can’t wait for that day and to see how March of Dimes NICU Family Support uses those funds to touch lives!

The next event is something my runner friends may be interested in!  February 2 - BALTO 5K @ 9:00 am and 1 Mile Fun Run @ 10:00 am @ Mitch Park. $20 until January 25 and afterwards $25. Includes a T-shirt. All preemies and mothers of premature babies will be given a purple ribbon to wear. We would love a lot of participation in this event! When registering please indicate you are on the March of Dimes team. (registration available on the BALTO week website)

If you are interested in making a donation to BALTO week, you may do so through the BALTO website www.baltoweek.org or through the March of Dimes Oklahoma Chapter website.  We would like to help BALTO reach their goal of $225,000 in order to help even more NICU families in Oklahoma!

Grasping at Straws

I am pretty sure I have never been more happy with one of my children accomplishing a simple task than I was last night!  HE GOT IT!  He really got it!  We have been grasping at straws – literally – for over 3 months to get Finn to transition from the bottle to a sippy cup as recommended by our pediatrician.  He hates sippy cups. HATES them!  This kid is strong, and opinionated, and he was having nothing of this sippy cup business.  So, friends suggested straws.  I know for a fact Emma and Lara got straw cups by about 7-8 months, and Jake by 10 months.  Finn just wants to bite down on the straw as hard as he possibly can!  Then pull it out of the cup!  UGH!   We even had one straw cup (highly recommended) by Playtex that you could squeeze to help get the flow started.  HE HATED IT!  You see where this is going, yes?

In my ever growing  love of the Internet and all things social media, I am lucky enough to find very resourceful pages to follow on Facebook.  Some of my favorites that I follow that deal with prematurity and the NICU are It's a Preemie Thing,  Peek-a-Boo ICU and Life After NICU.  Around Christmas time, someone posted about the “Mr. Juice Bear” from Beyond Play on the It's a Preemie Thing page.  I was very interested in it, but wasn’t ready to purchase it just yet. My mind changed about a week later after more unsuccessful attempts at sippy cups and straws. The special squeeze bear and tubing straws arrived Thursday night last week.  My mom tried it with him on Friday, but he just wanted to play with the cute bear!  I mean, he is cute…  (And yes, this is a honey bear bottle and basic tubing, but it works!)  But when I tried it Saturday at dinner, HE DID IT!  I had been squeezing the bear to prime it get the milk into his mouth, and suddenly one time he actually closed his lips and sucked the milk on his own!  And then he did it several more times!  

He has been using it, as well as the Playtex cup mentioned above, successfully all day!  He still tries to bite the straw more than he should, but he can do it!  He can close his lips and suck!  YAYAYAYAY!  So proud of him!

And in other news, we had Finn's 15 month / "I SHOULD BE ONE" photo shoot this week!  I am so impressed with Shawna Meyer and Touch of Wonder Photography!  We had a GREAT time in the mini-session we won back in the fall with her contest!  The hat and scarf he is sporting were the props I won from Shutterfly Prop Shop in the same contest.  This is the image Shawna posted as a sneak peek!  I can't wait to see the rest!

Betsey on Etsy

Have you ever had a wild hare?  Then actually ACTED on it?  I don’t know if it is the stress I am under, or too much Diet Coke, or maybe I took two Zoloft today or something, but I went out on a limb.  I opened a little shop on Etsy.  If you are not familiar with it STOP!  Stop right now and head over there and look around.  I would go broke over there!  I have bought a few nursery and clothing things for Finn, decals for computers, a blanket for Finn, presents for others, etc.  I love just looking for inspiration, but I also find things I *think* I cannot live without.  My wallet can live without them, though, so I leave them there for other treasure seekers…

This “Subway Art” fad is all over the place.  I have seen several cute little birth announcement type things styled with that, and I even pinned a few on Pinterest.  I was looking at them again the other day, and I decided, “I CAN DO THAT!”  So, I did a little internet searching, some font downloading (I love DaFont.com), and started playing around!  Here is what I came up with!  This is about the 4^th or 5^th “version” of these, but it is the one I settled on (click on the image to make it larger):

So, I showed them to my hubby, saying I wanted to print them on canvas when Canvas People have one of their sales, so I can have all four of them for our house.  You can also just print them on photo paper (I love mpix for this!), or there are tons of tutorials on the internet about how to put them on wood and make them look distressed.  Like I said I just want them on canvas. He agreed that they were very cool and was impressed with my work.

But somewhere along the way while working on them, I decided I could sell mine, too!  Other people do it!  They range in price from about $7.00 all the way up to like $20 on Etsy!  Granted some of them are the actual print or a framed print, and I am just interested in making digital files to self-print (for now), but still!  I need Sonic Run money!  So, I did it!  I bit the bullet!  I made a shop banner, and listed my subway art birth announcements!  SQUEEEEEEEEE!  In the listing I also mention weddings and graduations and other special event dates.  I need to get some examples up of those, but this is a good start!

So, why don't you click on the banner and check out my shop:

All Feedback is welcome!

*****UPDATE*****

January 16, 2013

I added a product to my store!

I had said I could do wedding signs,  but I had yet to actually create one... Until now!  They always say, work with what you know, so I did! And here is the wedding announcement I made for Britt and I:

Click on the image above or this link to my Etsy store to see this listing, and many others!  Thanks for taking a peek!  Use the code LOVE14 now through Valentine's day for 14% off your total order!  What a great time to stock up on gifts!  I can't wait to fill YOUR order!