Never did I think when entering the Ipad contest that I think it would turn out the way that it did. And I certainly didn't think we would end up on the NEWS! My mom sent an email to our local news station, letting them know about the contest, the outcome, and the events that followed. They immediately got in touch with her, and an hour later they were at my house for an interview! It was the first story on the eleven oclock news tonight! I feel so blessed to have been a part of this whole experience. It has been so humbling, and I'm sure the people I have met through it will become great friends! There are already plans in the works to meet quickly tomorrow and have dinner sometime soon!
This whole thing really has renewed my faith in people and in God's plans. Sometimes you may not get the answers you want, but He takes care of your needs. This time He did it in a HUGE way, and for that I am thankful.
Link to our news story :)
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Facebook isn't all bad.
On March 3rd I entered in to a contest on Facebook that a local car dealership was holding for an Ipad 2. The challenge was to get the most likes in order to win. I set out to do this thinking it was a long shot, but by golly was I going to try. I have been looking in to getting one for Isaiah for months, but the funds have never been there in order for us to get him this awesome tool. After a few days in the contest I was leading by a pretty good amount, I was feeling optimistic, but still nervous. It became apparent though, that there was someone else who was just as determined to make this Ipad their own. The battle had begun. Friends, family, and random strangers had been recruited to be a part of this epic challenge. It got down to the last night, where we were going back and forth with the lead, when out of no where, another person got several hundred likes and took the lead. At this point we each had over 600 votes, and were still determined to fight to the very end. Family and friends plead along with us on their walls, through email, and even phone calls, for people to take the few seconds to help us win something amazing. In the end, we were beat by the woman who swooped in at the end with 750 likes! We were both sad, but so grateful for everyone who rallied together to try to make this happen for us. It was so wonderful to see that so many people cared enough to take the time to vote/share in order to get us closer to that goal.
Fast forward to later on that day, I get a message on Facebook from the uncle of the woman I had been competing against all week. He and several friends and family had made an event to raise money for an Ipad for his niece. He told me they had decided that any extra that was raised would go towards and Ipad for Isaiah!! I was floored! I couldn't believe the generosity of these people that I had never even met. It truly was humbling.
I invited any friends and family that I thought might be interested in helping out with the donations. In as little as two days, all of the money was raised to get Isaiah and the other contestant each their own Ipad 2! In the end there were about 25 contributors of over $1,000.
I can't even begin to express what this means to me. Never did I think that I would get so many votes or that so many people cared enough to gather votes for us. When we didn't win, I was truly disappointed. Trying to get those votes had become a full time job. I was stressed, checking the results, and staying up late, trying desperately to make this happen for Isaiah. I knew that we would eventually find a way to get Isaiah an Ipad, but NEVER did I think that God would use this as an opportunity to show how good His people are. I understand now that God had a big plan in mind when I entered in to that contest. I didn't think that it would be this wonderful though. This just goes to show that sometimes when things don't happen like you want them to, give it time, because God probably has something SO much better in mind :)
On another note, to find out why I wanted this SO stinking badly for Isaiah, google: Ipads for autism. It seriously blows my mind how much this tool helps people like Isaiah. He has used them in his therapy and absolutely loves them, and I can't wait until he realizes that this one is his for good :)
Fast forward to later on that day, I get a message on Facebook from the uncle of the woman I had been competing against all week. He and several friends and family had made an event to raise money for an Ipad for his niece. He told me they had decided that any extra that was raised would go towards and Ipad for Isaiah!! I was floored! I couldn't believe the generosity of these people that I had never even met. It truly was humbling.
I invited any friends and family that I thought might be interested in helping out with the donations. In as little as two days, all of the money was raised to get Isaiah and the other contestant each their own Ipad 2! In the end there were about 25 contributors of over $1,000.
I can't even begin to express what this means to me. Never did I think that I would get so many votes or that so many people cared enough to gather votes for us. When we didn't win, I was truly disappointed. Trying to get those votes had become a full time job. I was stressed, checking the results, and staying up late, trying desperately to make this happen for Isaiah. I knew that we would eventually find a way to get Isaiah an Ipad, but NEVER did I think that God would use this as an opportunity to show how good His people are. I understand now that God had a big plan in mind when I entered in to that contest. I didn't think that it would be this wonderful though. This just goes to show that sometimes when things don't happen like you want them to, give it time, because God probably has something SO much better in mind :)
Monday, February 20, 2012
Life Lesson #1-Never underestimate the sneakiness of a child
To say that it has been a rough couple of weeks for me would be an understatement. It's difficult enough that I'm a stay at home mom with 3 kids 3 and under. Add to that the fact that the oldest has autism, the middle one is a drama queen, and the youngest is addicted to nursing, and you get a VERY tired, sometimes unaware mommy. This has led to quite a few interesting happenings at my house in the last week.
Sneaky toddler incident #1- As you all know, it's tax season. I choose to do our family's taxes on my own, which is pretty time consuming and confusing (I admit, I'm terrible at with numbers and somewhat disorganized). I decided to take advantage of a small window of opportunity while the kids were quietly playing, to get some work done on the taxes. I figured, "what's 10 minutes?". A few minutes in, I look around the living room to see what each child is up to. Isaiah is busy lining up trains across the house, Annabeth is rolling around on the floor, and Abigail.....is smearing vaseline all over the dog's face. That's right, vaseline. Apparently, in the few minutes that I hadn't had my eyes on them, Abigail grabbed my diaper bag and took out my tub of vaseline to use for her own entertainment. My dog (Malachi the German Shepherd) laid there as a perfectly willing participant to the antics of the little girl he loves so much. He didn't even try to get up and hide from her. Upon further investigation, I realize Abigail herself is covered in vaseline. This of course, is the funniest thing to her.
Your lesson to take from this is, keep any smear-able substances well out of reach of children.
Sneaky toddler incident #2- I started the bedtime routine a couple of nights ago by getting my youngest changed, in to her pjs, and nursed. This usually takes me about 10-15 minutes, depending on how hungry she is. During this time the other kids are usually in the same room playing. Not this night. They had ventured off in to Abigail's bedroom and were playing. They weren't yelling, screaming, crying, or fighting, so I let them be. I finish up with the baby, set her in her bouncy seat, and go to get the others so I can get them ready as well. I walk in to the room and am completely shocked. There was a rocking chair on the opposite side of the room that it should have been, the ottoman was turned upside down, the cushion was off of the rocking chair and in the crib, there was dog food all over the floor, my daughter was naked, and all of the clothes had been taken out of the drawers and strewn about the room. I shook my head, grabbed my kids, and shut the door. This was going to have to be dealt with the next day.
The lesson from this story, quiet=bad.
Sneaky toddler incident #3-My daughter now knows how to get out of her crib. For parents, this needs no more explanation. This is a terrible thing. Between the time I put her in bed and about midnight, she gets out of her bed about a dozen times, every time thinking she is hilarious. Apparently she thinks I'm having a great time too, because she has the biggest grin on her face, thinking I'm surprised when she walks in to the living room at 11:30. No baby, I heard you open the door and run down the hall squealing because you were so excited. It breaks my heart to have to be stern with her and put her back in bed. It is however, the most frightening thing in the world to wake up at 4 in the morning with a 2 year old staring at you while your sleeping. It's also shocking to walk in to her room and realize that she has built some sort of tower in order to get in and out of her bed without breaking any bones. The predicament now is, do I get a crib tent so she can't get out, or do I just give in and move her to a toddler bed so she doesn't end up cracking her head getting out of her crib one night??
Lesson-kids can climb anything, and sometimes they are super creepy too.
Sneaky toddler incident #1- As you all know, it's tax season. I choose to do our family's taxes on my own, which is pretty time consuming and confusing (I admit, I'm terrible at with numbers and somewhat disorganized). I decided to take advantage of a small window of opportunity while the kids were quietly playing, to get some work done on the taxes. I figured, "what's 10 minutes?". A few minutes in, I look around the living room to see what each child is up to. Isaiah is busy lining up trains across the house, Annabeth is rolling around on the floor, and Abigail.....is smearing vaseline all over the dog's face. That's right, vaseline. Apparently, in the few minutes that I hadn't had my eyes on them, Abigail grabbed my diaper bag and took out my tub of vaseline to use for her own entertainment. My dog (Malachi the German Shepherd) laid there as a perfectly willing participant to the antics of the little girl he loves so much. He didn't even try to get up and hide from her. Upon further investigation, I realize Abigail herself is covered in vaseline. This of course, is the funniest thing to her.
Your lesson to take from this is, keep any smear-able substances well out of reach of children.
Sneaky toddler incident #2- I started the bedtime routine a couple of nights ago by getting my youngest changed, in to her pjs, and nursed. This usually takes me about 10-15 minutes, depending on how hungry she is. During this time the other kids are usually in the same room playing. Not this night. They had ventured off in to Abigail's bedroom and were playing. They weren't yelling, screaming, crying, or fighting, so I let them be. I finish up with the baby, set her in her bouncy seat, and go to get the others so I can get them ready as well. I walk in to the room and am completely shocked. There was a rocking chair on the opposite side of the room that it should have been, the ottoman was turned upside down, the cushion was off of the rocking chair and in the crib, there was dog food all over the floor, my daughter was naked, and all of the clothes had been taken out of the drawers and strewn about the room. I shook my head, grabbed my kids, and shut the door. This was going to have to be dealt with the next day.
The lesson from this story, quiet=bad.
Sneaky toddler incident #3-My daughter now knows how to get out of her crib. For parents, this needs no more explanation. This is a terrible thing. Between the time I put her in bed and about midnight, she gets out of her bed about a dozen times, every time thinking she is hilarious. Apparently she thinks I'm having a great time too, because she has the biggest grin on her face, thinking I'm surprised when she walks in to the living room at 11:30. No baby, I heard you open the door and run down the hall squealing because you were so excited. It breaks my heart to have to be stern with her and put her back in bed. It is however, the most frightening thing in the world to wake up at 4 in the morning with a 2 year old staring at you while your sleeping. It's also shocking to walk in to her room and realize that she has built some sort of tower in order to get in and out of her bed without breaking any bones. The predicament now is, do I get a crib tent so she can't get out, or do I just give in and move her to a toddler bed so she doesn't end up cracking her head getting out of her crib one night??
Lesson-kids can climb anything, and sometimes they are super creepy too.
Friday, February 17, 2012
A different kind of day
Of course, on the day that I was to start documenting all of the ridiculous and crazy things my kids do, they act sweet and perfect. I'm telling you, they KNEW. I took them out for frozen yogurt, angels. The whole time in the car, quiet. We come home, they actually take naps. All day long, NOTHING. I don't think I've ever had a day without a story to tell. I guess today my story is, my kids are amazing, and they decided to give mommy a much needed break. Thanks babies, mommy appreciates it.
I did however, get to be a part of something great today. I am a member of a few local yardsale pages on facebook (don't judge) and today someone was looking for an old playskool plush bunny. Her friends little girl, who has autism, lost hers and was frantic without it. I really wanted to help, because as a mom with a child with ASD (or a mom in general), I know how terrible it is to lose that favorite toy. I proceeded to look it up on ebay, and found someone selling it for quite a good bit of money. I asked her if she would take half of the price and told her the situation. She was so excited to help, and she even gave free shipping. I was able to help get together money from friends and family in order to get this little girl her toy. I can't tell you how awesome it was to be able to help and to see so many people pull together to do something wonderful for a little girl they hadn't even met. It gives me hope.
I did however, get to be a part of something great today. I am a member of a few local yardsale pages on facebook (don't judge) and today someone was looking for an old playskool plush bunny. Her friends little girl, who has autism, lost hers and was frantic without it. I really wanted to help, because as a mom with a child with ASD (or a mom in general), I know how terrible it is to lose that favorite toy. I proceeded to look it up on ebay, and found someone selling it for quite a good bit of money. I asked her if she would take half of the price and told her the situation. She was so excited to help, and she even gave free shipping. I was able to help get together money from friends and family in order to get this little girl her toy. I can't tell you how awesome it was to be able to help and to see so many people pull together to do something wonderful for a little girl they hadn't even met. It gives me hope.
And so it begins...
I've decided that I need to keep a written account of the craziness that I call my life. Things included will be real life stories about my amazing children, recipes, crafts, toddler activities, and general ramblings. I hope not only to entertain and give out good information, but to also use this to show my children just how close to the brink of insanity that they drove mommy to when they were young ;)
If you have anything specific you'd like to see me write about, don't hesitate to let me know :)
If you have anything specific you'd like to see me write about, don't hesitate to let me know :)
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