Snow Day

Since I last wrote, a few things have happened with the Weavers that are worth mentioning.  Today was a snow day – among other things – so I’ve had plenty of quality (tormenting) time with my kids.  And, I was lucky enough to have Nana the Wonder Sitter all day as well.  The pesky snow day was late coming, and plans were already in place when school was called off, so we just moved forward with the original plan.  But more on that later.  First, some updates…

Finn has been home for a week now.  He came home 100% healthy, over the RSV, pneumonia, and whatever else he had, and back to normal.  This was a blessing and a curse.  Dad and I came home 100% exhausted.  It was hard to keep up with him and the Big Dream Weaver kids those first few days!  Last Thursday Finn had a follow up with his pediatrician which went perfectly well, then an appointment with the Ear, Nose and Throat doctor that afternoon.   Our pediatrician is working to schedule us an appointment with a pediatric pulmonologist for follow up, and the ENT scheduled Finn for ear tubes a week later (today).  Never a dull moment with him these days!

Friday was a SUPER EXCITING day!  If you’re a follower of the Six Dream Weavers, you know we have been touting BALTO week at Edmond North High School for several weeks.  Their benefactor this year is the March of Dimes NICU Family Support Specialist program.  Last Friday was the final assembly.  The one where everyone gets all emotional and thanks everyone for everything.  But, the best part?  They calculate and announce the final fundraising number!  Their goal for this year was $225,000.00.  We were pretty sure they would exceed that – this is an AMAZING group of kids – but we didn’t know by how much until the end of the 2 hour assembly.  When they raised the balloons to reveal the final number, the roar of the crowd was deafening, and the tears from the March of Dimes section of the stands were freely flowing.  My Instagram (BestWeave) from the moment:

And the final photo with the amount raised:

We are so excited to see how this money is used in the near future to grow the NICU Family Support Program from just one hospital in Oklahoma (Mercy) to at least one more in OKC and possibly Tulsa as well.  Having one at our hospital made a WORLD of difference in our NICU experience compared to many of our friends who had very different experiences at other hospitals.  THANK YOU, BALTO for choosing babies!

After a busy weekend of running the Bigs to birthday parties, basketball games, dance workshops, and church events, we were glad to get back to a routine on Monday.  Sort of.  The kids had the day out of school for President’s day, so Nana the Wonder Sitter was on quadruple duty while Dad and I went to work.  We really felt like we were starting to get back to normal and back into our routine at that point – even though we were still super tired as parents.  We were blessed by friends and neighbors with food for a few days, which kept us OUT of Wal-Mart for groceries and allowed us time to get the house (laundry, clutter, mail piles) in order without having to worry too much about food.  We are so grateful to have such wonderful people in our lives who love Finn as much as we do!

Of course, as we get back to normal, there is another little obstacle for us to overcome!  Finn was scheduled to have tubes put in his ears at 6:00 this morning.  Which isn’t really that big of a deal.  Except that we were having a thunder sleet storm over night and early this morning.  Ain’t NOBODY got time for that!  It was crazy.  And when we left our house shortly after 5:30 am to go across town to the Surgery Center, the roads were pretty bad – and getting worse!  Of course the process at the surgery center was a bit of a hurry up and wait game.  We were called back right at 6:00, but Finn wasn’t taken back for his procedure until 7:06.  During that time, we were obsessively checking local news channel websites and the Public School website for news of school cancellation.  EVERY town around us was called off; we just knew we would be too.  But, in the meantime, the plan was for Nana to come to our house at 7:00 to get the big kids up and off to the bus stop.  So when the School Board finally announced school closings at 6:50 am, my dad was already driving my mom to the other side of town to my house with chains on his tires to drop her off.  We could have avoided that whole scenario if school had been called off earlier!  The kids would have been fine by themselves until we got home.  *sigh* So, Finn was back in my arms by 7:21.  He did great!  Woke up a bit cranky, but overall did very, very well.  After a really great experience at Stillwater Surgery Center, we got home right at 8:00 am, and Dad went off to work, and I stayed home with the kids – and Nana!  It made for a pretty easy day with the extra help.  We weren’t sure how Finn would react, so it was nice to have extra hands to keep everyone clean, dry, entertained, and happy!  Finn did throw up once about 45 minutes after we got home, but he never ran a fever, had not had any more pain meds, and ate well the rest of the day.  They told us he would nap extra-long, too, but they have not met this child!  He was too worried he might be missing something his siblings were doing to sleep!

We really hope this procedure is a turning point for Finn.  We are looking forward to hearing words and seeing him take his first steps.  He has a hearing test scheduled for next week in Oklahoma City, but we’re thinking the tubes will have done the trick and that the hearing test will come back completely positive!  In the meantime, I hope my big kids get to go to school tomorrow, and I am looking forward to a calm weekend – it’s time to start tagging clothes for the Adorable Affordables sale!

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...

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!