Listen with your Heart/Speak with Love

Sibling Love.

2012-01-25T23:01:00.001-05:00

I hope they always take care of one another the way they do right now.

Christian is the ever-present big brother...but he's not overbearing. He's patient. He's kind. He's sweet. He still takes care of Lily like she's still his "baby". He doesn't mind playing with her dollhouse, and willingly lets her play with his Monster Trucks and Legos. Of course during those moments of frustration, he ALWAYS gives her what she wants. It's usually followed with a little "Beany, you are my little sister, so I will give you this. But sometime soon you need to learn to wait your turn".

He still calls her Beany. And I love it more everytime he does.

Lily is the ever-present little sister...and totally tries to run the show. She's sassy. She's sweet. She's so gosh darn cute. She has this smile that literally lights up the room, and at any moment makes her Big Brother laugh and giggle. She is a clown, often making up elaborate "stories" for them to play together. I walked into them playing "family", and Lily was the Mommy and Christian was the Big Brother. She was telling him to "Please put away your lunchbox, ok!". She used to call him "Cri-Cri". She finally can say "Christian" with no problem. But she always greets him in the morning with a "Oh, good morning BRU-DER".

I love it. I love them together.

IEP Update

2012-01-14T12:56:00.001-05:00

In a dream world, our neighborhood school that Christian will start Kindergarten in this coming September would have all of the little accommodations that we have grown used to at his current school. Small classes, built in audiology suite, excellent student/teacher ratio, built acoustically sound, and a lightspeed soundfield system built in every room sure would make next year's transition easier.

In a nutshell, our I.E.P. meeting went well. In addition to our team of specialists, our county school system was well represented as well as representatives from the school and experts in curriculum. Our preferred Kindergarten teacher was even in attendance and we were able to have a great collaborative discussion about requested accommodations and strategies for Christian. The principal of the school also formally welcomed us into the community and was eager to have Christian as part of the Kindergarten class.

Where things got sticky was when the discussion of an FM system came up. Our county school system has offered Christian the use of an FM during the school day and our family has decided to initially decline the offer of the system. Now I know that there are some CI and other hearing loss families reading this rolling their eyes and calling me crazy. Believe me, I have read all the research, and I know that it does do wonderful things for our children who wear Cochlear Implants. However, if there is one thing that I've learned in this journey is that I never can underestimate what my Christian can do. From the beginning, he's had us in awe. He was never *supposed* to do the things that he is doing now. I've also learned that you can't judge a kid with a hearing loss just by their audiogram on paper, rather you need to look at the kid as just that: A KID. Christian has worked since he was 16 months old to listen and speak using his Cochlear Implant. He has consistently utilized the programs and features on his processor that allow him and our family to accommodate MANY different listening scenarios. We've educated Christian under a model that helps him utilize his existing hearing with his Cochlear Implant and his hearing aid. There is no doubt in my mind that Christian is an EXCEPTIONAL CI user. Christian also happens to be an auditory learner...pretty amazing considering that he is also deaf. We requested that Christian start the school year off without an FM system and we will re-evaluate his progress and reassess the need for an FM system a couple weeks into the school year. My heart is telling me to give him a chance without it. I want him to adjust to a new school and new friends without the FM. Our family's philosophy is that we absolutely will use it if Christian needs it. We're just not convinced that just because SOME kids need it that he will as well.

I am pretty sure that our county school system thought we were crazy. They told us that they have never had a family turn DOWN services (like the FM). I responded back that they never have had a student like Christian or a family like us. There was discussion about how it would be "easier" for the Kindergarten teacher to use an FM to ensure that Christian was getting everything. I quietly winced and resisted the urge to remind everyone at the table that the I.E.P. was not about making the teacher's day easier, but for giving Christian the access he needs. Luckily, our team members from our current school did that for me.

The tricky thing about Christian is that he really doesn't NEED that much. Sure, preferential seating will benefit him. Pre-teaching new vocabulary concepts will help him too. There are some things we can do in his classroom to acoustically treat it as well. We requested to meet again at the end of this academic year to reassess our goals, and the request was granted. We requested to also meet 60 days into the next academic year, and that request was also granted.

All in all, the meeting went well. We are lucky to have a great service provider, and our team from Christian's current school is top-notch. It's hard to believe that in just 7 months he'll be walking up to that school with his neighborhood friends to start a new chapter of his journey.

Still Breathing.

2012-01-08T18:47:00.002-05:00

I just looked at the calendar today and realized that in a few short weeks I'll have a 3 year old and a 5 year old under my roof. It's been a while since baby toys were out. Lily's been potty trained for almost 9 months now. Christian's trucks and cars have been replaced by Lego Ninjago and more Star Wars guys multiply as the days go by.

My Lily is tall---in the 98th percentile, just like her brother, for height but just the 50th for weight. She looks more like an almost 4 year old than an almost 3 year old. And she sure sounds like an almost 5 year old. Her speech and language honestly amazes EVERYONE. Full of spunk and personality, Chuck says she is "Little Tina". Especially when she demands more chocolate and pink hair bows. She is no longer my baby (even though she still is addicted to her binkie while sleeping). Her play has morphed quickly into imaginative and creative, often involving elaborate stories about her girlfriends from school, her Bitty Baby, or her dozens and dozens of Barbie dolls and princesses. She's a ballet princess, going once a week to a beginning class, learning the basic positions with her 5 besties. She loves our family kitty, calling her "My Sammy Cat". Lilybean loves her manicures. She loves all things GIRLIE.

Christian is tall too....but he's thinned out, and I call him my little green bean. Finding long enough jeans that won't fall off of him is a challenge. If it was up to him, he'd wear his favorite tie-dyed shirt to school everyday. Or anything sports related. My almost 5 year old is obsessed with sports. ALL THINGS SPORTS. He has a particular passion for lacrosse, but also shares in his Daddy's fervor for the 'skins and Georgia Tech. Christian is in the very early stages of reading, often recognizing words and letters. He loves books, and I often find him quietly reading on his bed his favorite shark book. Christian's at that in-between stage of still loving Lightening McQueen, but wanting to shoot his Nerf Gun with the bigger neighborhood kids. Some days, he's old. He says things like "Mom, that is so weird", but then will ask me to find his Tigger so he can snuggle with it. I feel as if he is straddling the jump from little boy to little dude.

Our IEP is done, and I finally can get back to writing on here more candor. It took EVERYTHING out of me, and while successful, it is just overwhelming. I am thankful that I have a myriad of supporters from our current school, as well as my dear friends Sarah and Jenny who have unique educational and personal perspectives on Christian's journey. I'm thankful it's over. For now.

2011-11-14T13:46:00.001-05:00

I'm full of anxiety these days and at the top of my list is Christian's IEP in a few weeks with our public school that we plan on transitioning to next Fall for Kindergarten. On one hand we're completely at ease. We know we are making the right choice, that Christian will be great, and the teachers will amazing. We love our public school. It's around the corner from our house and has a fantastic community. On the other hand, well, the other hand is shaking. I am absolutely freaking out and no amount of red wine, Lexapro, or yoga will calm me down.

The school system is recommending that we go the FM system route for Christian's Cochlear Implant. I've read the research, and know that it is a great option to help weed out all that extra noise in the classroom. I know that kids with CIs and FMs are super successful academically. I know it would really help him in the 26+kid classroom and all that background noise. I know that want him to have every single tool that we can get our hands on to make things easier. I can't stop from worrying about relying on yet another piece of technology. Am I crazy to even wonder if he'll end up RELYING on the FM and his listening skills may actually decrease?

I'd love to hear from other families that have a kid with a CI using an FM in classroom! Until then, I'm going to continue to self medicate with mass quantities of Malbec and Us Weekly magazines.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-11-08T17:56:00.002-05:00

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. I've made my shopping list. And this Ten on Tuesday is devoted to what I am most thankful for (in no particular order of course!)

1. I live a beautiful life. I have a beautiful home. Beautiful children. Beautiful friends. Beautiful things. Beautiful clothes. I have a beautiful husband. I also have a beautiful faith. I've been participating as a small group leader...yes, you read right....in a bible study in my parish. I've reconnected with my Catholic roots and complete rekindled my love for my faith. I am thankful for the gift of Christianity.

2. I married the strong but silent type. Not a day goes by where I don't thank my lucky stars that Chuck CHOSE ME. I'm pretty lucky.

3. I'm thankful for technology. Of course, my iPad, iPhone, Keurig and Nikon D5000 all make my life "easier". But Christian's Cochlear Implant makes our life POSSIBLE.

4. I have great kids. Not to toot my own horn or totally brag about them (but then again, what is this blog about anyway), but my kids are amazing. I love watching them grow together. I am thankful for how close in age they are. They are truly best friends. It is such a blessing to be their Mom.

5. Time is precious, yet I somehow still can find it to be my own person. Yoga is important to me. Working out is important to me. Dinners with friends are important to me. Bible study is important to me. Highlights,pedicures and facials are REALLY important to me. Finding time for these things while sometimes is tricky, it's never a rarity. I am thankful for the time that my family GIVES to me so I can be ME.

6. I have great friends. No really. I have REALLY great friends. I have the type of friends who will stop everything they are doing to help me. They'll also stop everything their doing to tell me to STOP doing what I'm doing. They call me out. They help me raise my kids. They make me laugh. They make my life so full of love and energy. I am grateful to be blessed with such fabulous people to spend my days with.

7. I am thankful for my country. I am proud to live in the land of the free BECAUSE of the brave. In these days of uncertainty, my country and my faith are my constant.

8. I'm 30something and now more than ever am I thankful for my parents. If there was ever a time in my life that I needed a Mom it was right now when I'm in the thick of motherhood myself. My father is still my hero and my truest friend. I am grateful for their health, and while I despise the distance between us, I feel blessed that we see each other as much as we can.

9. I drank the Kool-Aid and it goes without saying that Christian's school is one of our most precious blessings in our family. I can't imagine going through our Cochlear Implant journey with the team and resources there. The school community supports and rallies around each other and we all cheer each other's kids on. I am so thankful that we have the means to send Christian there. I am thankful that the country's BEST program for Cochlear Implant kids (and in my opinion typically hearing kids too) is just 8 miles away.

10. Not a day goes by when I don't remind the kids to love one another like crazy and to be eachother's best friend. I remind them that "Hey, you are brother and sister. YOU ARE ALL YOU'VE GOT!". I am thankful for my brother. It was just the two of us in our little in numbers but large in love family. We had our moments, like the time he booby-trapped me into my room or the time I forced him under a bed and jumped on it with the promise of Halloween candy (it was June). I don't remember my life without my little brother. I hope Lily and Christian have what my brother and I had as little ones and I pray that they grow up and love each other just as much as their uncle and I do. I am thankful for my baby brother who will always be a 9 year old little boy with grass stains on his Jordache Jeans and a He-Man t-shirt.

2011-11-04T08:35:00.003-04:00

I know I've been MIA, and thank you to everyone who has sent me emails and messages wondering what has been going on. We're busy. I've been overwhelmed with Halloween, Chuck being away for the weekend, preparing for Christian's public school transition IEP, and the day to day craziness of our family.

While at Christian's teacher conferences we heard all sorts of wonderful reports about Christian. We heard how he is a great friend, how he is doing great in his math and handwriting centers, and how he still loves dramatic play. We learned that he does still get a bit frustrated, but is still a class leader. He is having a great Pre-K year.

And then we learned that Christian expressed to his teachers that he "Wished he didn't have a hearing loss" one morning when he was pulled out for his listening check. His teachers encouraged us that it was a one-time thing, and that he said it because he didn't like being pulled away from time with his friends. My heart sank, I attempted to choke back tears, but they still came.

We've always taken a faith based approach to explaining Christian's hearing loss to both of our children. God MADE both of you perfect. He gave Christian magic ears. Everyone has their special gift, and Jesus thinks that you both are perfect. Christian has thought of his hearing loss as almost a superpower. His Cochlear Implant sometimes does give him BIONIC hearing. The child can hear the ice cream truck from 6 blocks away. It's always been "cool". Lily still pretends that she has a CI, because she wants to be just like her brother. Christian always has felt "special". Now at almost 5 years old special doesn't cut it anymore.

So, my heart broke just a little bit last week as I reminded very harshly that my sweet boy is growing up and noticing that he is indeed different. We're preparing for him to transition into our public school Kindergarten this coming up Fall, and while I know he is going to be absolutely amazing and do fine academically and socially, he'll be the only kid with a hearing loss.

I have a feeling I'm going to be a basketcase from now until he graduates high school.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-10-18T17:13:00.003-04:00

1. We just returned from a whirlwind trip back to Detroit to celebrate my cousin Ashley's engagement AND law school graduation. The kids had a blast with their grandparents, and I had some much needed time with my family and my dear friend Kate. Christian came back with some sort of fever/cough and I came back exhausted. It was worth it though!

2. My favorite part of the weekend was heading to a little bridal shoppe to watch my beautiful cousin try on gowns. First of all, she is stunning so everything she tries on is gorgeous. Second of all, she has impeccable taste. The girl IS fashion. I've seen two of the front runners and all I have to say is that she is going to be breath-taking! I was so happy to be there for her!

3. Other than being thrilled that Ash found an amazing guy to get hitched to, I am beyond excited that I have an excuse to look at wedding dresses online again.

4. And invitations. I love wedding invitations. I know. I need to get over it.

5. My brother, who always seems to fall into "interesting" situations ended up WORKING the Lions home game on Sunday. Nick is a die-hard fan, and when the call came in that FOX needed someone to work the cables, he jumped at it. He was like a kid on Christmas morning!

6. Poor Christian is home sick today. I took him to the doctor's this morning and he's been in his PJs laying around. I do have to say it's been AWESOME to not have to sit in traffic this afternoon for pick-up. I got SO MUCH done.

7. Chuck and I celebrated our 6th Anniversary this past weekend. We visited the church we were married in, enjoyed some cake, and Chuck plans to take me away to a B&B in the woods this fall. Wood is the traditional gift for 6 years....I thought it was VERY creative. I can't wait!

8. Our house is all decorated for Halloween and we're busy planning our annual Halloween party. I need some new signature drink ideas...send me some!

9. I'm so in love with my fall coat that I'm in search of a the same one, only lined for winter! I don't want faux fur, so I'm looking for something in wool.What can I say, I'm loving leopard this season!

10. I need to start researching paint colors for our downstairs living room. We have a sage couch and light beige carpet (how 80s...I know). Suggestions?

Ten on Tuesday

2011-10-04T18:17:00.000-04:00

Lily just being Lily. I love this girl.

1. Can I just brag for a quick minute about how adorable and sweet my daughter is? Seriously, she is such a JOY. I know I say how she is tricky and is a bit on the "difficult" side sometimes, but I don't think there is another little girl as cute as her. She is seriously my little love. When Chuck asked her what she did yesterday she responded "Oh, I just hung out with my Mommy". I love her. She is the best sidekick ever.

2. Lily and I have been doing a lot of hanging out lately. Yesterday she came with me to bible study (I'm a team leader this session....WHOA!) and she was beaming with a sweet smile and pointed up to the crucifix on our church and said "Look, Mommy Jesus is reaching out to give me a hug". She's melting my heart.

3. Christian, who I am going to brag about for at least the rest of my life, has been especially silly and sweet these past few weeks. I love watching his personality just grow and flourish. At 4.5 years old, he has got quite the sense of humor. Most of it revolves around saying things like "Cat Poop" and "Tricked Ya!". Yes, he is ALL boy. I love every minute of him.

4. I was totally spoiled on my birthday. My favorite gift of all is an amazingly blinged-out watch that my sweet boy picked out at a discount store. I guess he told Chuck he wanted to get me a "Jewel" and looked for rings. For obvious reasons, this totally fancy watch struck HIS fancy and he had to get it for me. I love how he picked out the sparkly and shiny watch for me. I'm not a watch person. I never used to wear watches, BUT NOW I DO.

5. This weekend I was lucky enough to co-host a Sip and See for my girlfriend her second beautiful baby boy that she adopted. It was just another reminder of how lucky I am to live in such a beautiful and caring community full of amazing families. We had such a nice time visiting and welcoming her little man into our neighborhood.

6. I can't wait to start my fall decorating, but I haven't even put away my Lilly Pulitzer dresses and seashell centerpieces. The weather here has crept down to the 60s and the leaves are gently starting to change. Come on DC...get with the program. I should be wearing a nice chunky sweater, riding boots and drinking a Chai Latte by now. COME ON FALL!

Super Fancy.

7. Chuck's birthday is this Saturday and the kids and I have some surprises planned for him. My sweet husband deserves so much on his special day. He works so hard and I hope that he likes what the 3 of us have up our sleeve!

8. I need new music. Please send me some recommendations. I listen to everything from Tori Amos to Trent Reznor. My favorites are Jam Bands, Singer/Songwriter, but I dig Showtunes too.

9. Is everyone else craving carmel apples right now?

10. I went on a shoe bender at Bloomingdale's this past weekend and got THESE adorable boots. Don't you love them?! And I love how they were 50% off with my coupons! LOVE!

Birthday by the Numbers

2011-09-30T18:01:00.004-04:00

I turned 33 years old today. I'm in my mid-thirties.

I feel old today.

I'm lucky enough in my friendships to have been with my closest girls longer than without them. Some of us have known each other since we were 13. Other's since we were 17. Oh, and let's not forget about my cat. Sammy the Siamese is almost 12 years old. She's the longest relationship I've ever had....

I've been married for close to 6 years now, and have known Chuck for 8.

In those 6 years, we've been homeowners for 5, and parents for 4.5 years.

Our two kids, ages 4.5 and 2.5 years old remind me that yes, I am in fact a 33 year old Mom. I pack lunches, carpool, make appointments for flu-shots, consignment drop-offs, shoe fittings, and hair cuts. I worry about everything from teaching them to read to teaching them to cover their mouth when they cough. I keep a pack of tissues in every purse, along with hand sanitizer, wipes, and countless bags of fruit snacks. I drive a mini-van. I'm 33 years old today and even though I feel old, I also feel incredibly blessed.

I remember my Mom's 33rd birthday. Seriously. And she still looks as glamourous and gorgeous as she did that day.

Looking much younger, but I think I still act the same. Oh, and I can say the same for my girlfriend here too :)

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

2011-09-29T13:13:00.003-04:00

First game for the both of them....

Ten on Tuesday

2011-09-27T17:56:00.000-04:00

1. I have so much on my mind and having a hard time sorting through it all. Please bear with me...I think I need to apologize in advance.

2. Two kids at two different schools with two different schedules is already taking it's toll. I had a moment today where I needed to be at both places at once. Most of the time, Chuck and I are able to work it out. However, it's a really crazy time for him at work and he doesn't need anything else on his plate. Times like these, I'm thankful for my in-laws who live close and who can pinch-hit for us.

3. Work is back to a steady pace which I am grateful for. August and September were brutal for me, and the delicate balancing act that I strive for just wasn't there. I've learned that there really is only so much that I can handle, and I think I figured out my exact breaking point.

4. Life isn't all stress and mania. Today is the Kate Spade Sample Sale! I spent my Saturday in Virginia Wine Country with 20 of my closest friends. My birthday is this week! It's hard being me sometimes.

5. Ugh. My birthday. I have a love/hate relationship with my birthday. I've been out of my 20s for some time, and creeping into my mid-thirties. I have the lines and larger pores to prove it. I also two beautiful babies to show for it all, a great husband who still sees me as that 25 year old girl on the beach, and friends who I can still act 17 around.

6. We're starting to research FM systems for Christian. One word: OVERWHELMING. His school right now uses SoundField systems with GREAT success. They compliment the small class size and perfect acoustical setting for kids with hearing loss. When we leave ~~fantasy world~~ his current school next year for our public Kindergarten the conditions will change. If you are using an FM system on your K-3rd grader I'd love to hear your experience!

7. I started Christmas shopping last week. I know. I'm crazy. Loving Family Doll House scored from one of my besties, couple of Star Wars guys I found at TJ Maxx that make cool sounds, and the Tiana Dress-Up from Target are all tucked away under the stairs. Someone please remind me that I bought these things on Black Friday when I stand in line at Toys R Us.

8. Lily continues to love school which makes my heart so happy. She talks all the time about her little friends and teachers. She is such a sweet love. Christian is doing well...he seems so old to me now. I want it to slow down a bit.

9. My girlfriend cracked me up the other day when we both were at the grocery store. She told me that her husband picked up this magazine and called it "The Magazine for Moms on Uppers". So true. I'll take my Us Weekly and pay someone to make Cake Pops and felt Halloween costumes any day. I often wonder how those chicks who can make dozens of cookies, homemade Halloween costumes, paint stencils on their kids' walls, and nurse 8 kids at once do it. It HAS to be drugs.

10. From the looks of our forecast for this weekend in the DC area, fall will officially arrive. I can't wait to go apple picking with the kids and am ready to start my fall baking. Please send me your favorite apple dish so I can try something new!

Ten on Tuesday

2011-09-20T13:06:00.000-04:00

Ok. I'm back. I promise.

1. I travelled for work for the first time in over two years to San Francisco for 5 days while Chuck played Mr. Mom. He shuttled kids back and forth to their different schools, sports, and our friends chipped in with playdates. I saw the city (MY FAVORITE CITY!) for a total of about one hour total the entire time I was there.

2. I found myself really missing the kids in the evening. I missed tucking them in. I missed having dinner with them. I really missed Chuck. We have such a good system and are such a good team.

3. We're back into our new/old routine of constantly being back and forth in the car to school to sports to ballet to errands. Lily started school this year, along with ballet and soccer and Christian is doing lacrosse and soccer. It's nuts. But it's good.

4. Lily is in a big girl bed now. I know, finally. She is only 2.5 years old. She still uses a binky (don't judge). BUT SHE IS POTTY TRAINED. So points there. She loves it. I love it too because the bedroom set she's using was mine when I was a little girl!

4. I can do a whole post on my sister-in-law's beautiful wedding, but had to share a shot of my dude during the rehearsal. So proud, a bit serious, and totally cute.

5. And then there's this shot of my sweet loves...

6. My Lily started preschool last week. She's in a REAL classroom with circle time, songs and cubbies. She carries a bucket in lieu of a backpack (sort of odd if you ask me, but hey...those are the rules).

7. Christian told me at dinner last night that his teachers took him out of the class yesterday since he was talking too much and disrupting the quiet reading time. Um, a little ticked off that he wasn't following the class rules, but I couldn't help but smile. My deaf kid is talking TOO much. Seriously.

8. Chuck and I celebrated the anniversary of our engagement this past week. 7 years ago he got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife on the corner of Q and 17th Street, NW and we haven't looked back.We

9. We're getting excited for Halloween. The kids already have their costumes, but I need to come up with something? Last year I was Lady Gaga. How do you top that?

10. This weekend I'm heading off to Virginia's Wine Country with 19 of my girlfriends for our 2nd annual Virginia is for Winos trip. I can't wait for some much needed girl time!

Gone But NOT Forgotten

2011-09-15T14:04:00.000-04:00

Has it really been a month since I blogged? I keep a running list of things I want to touch on here and it's two pages long. TWO PAGES. I've had many readers email me and ask me if I am ok...THANK YA'LL for being so concerned. Between both kids starting school, my little part-time job turning into a 56 hour a week beast this past month, soccer, lacrosse, ballet, my Sister-In-Law's wedding, I have hardly had time to breathe. I don't even know where to start, but in the meantime I'll leave you all with these two adorable pictures from our first day of school.

Christian's 1st Day!

Lily on her way to 2-Day 2s!

Imagination at Work

2011-08-16T21:44:00.001-04:00

I love his imagination. Now at 4.5 years old, everything has a story for Christian. He creates such awesome plans for all of his "guys". I often find entire Imaginext scenes built in his room, but with cute Christian takes on them (like the Imaginext Whale with a Star Wars guy in his mouth because "His Star Cruiser crash landed in the ocean and the pirates couldn't save him").

I'm so glad I caught this little exchange. This is such a wonderful example of how GREAT Christian is doing with both his expressive and receptive language. And I hope is just another example of how truly amazing the miracle of the Cochlear Implant is.

YouTube Video

Ten on Tuesday

2011-08-16T00:00:00.001-04:00

1. I really hope they love each other forever the way they love each other right now. They are best friends.

2. This past week was so easy-breezy. Lots of playdates with friends, including Miss Eliza. Christian loves Eliza because she plays "boy stuff". They watered plants, picked up bugs (dead cicadas to be exact), and played Dog and Kitty. Oh, and also Star Wars. Don't be fooled little dude, Miss Eliza is one of 3 little girls and can rock a princess dress better than anyone!

3. Lily and I are super-lucky. Ends up Eliza's Mommy is one of my favorite people, and Eliza's little sisters Lucy and Abby are two of Lily's favorite people. Does anything say summer and suburbs better than impromptu underwear runs in the sprinkler?

4. We also hit up Brookside Gardens for some serious running, jumping and exploring with Bianca and Eri. We went to the Butterfly Garden and they even got to hold some specimens. I love spending mornings with Eri and our kiddos. Both are so special to our family!

5. Lily can totally pump all by herself on the big-kid swings. Almost better than Christian can.

6. We headed to go see one of our favorite bands on Saturday with good friends. We were the old people in the parking lot....well, at least our friends who drove us took out their booster seats in their car. There was a couple a few cars down that had an umbrella stroller sticking out of their trunk.

7. How can we hide our age when we packed this "post-show" basket of munchies?!

Thank you Lauren Z. for your HOSPITALITY!

8. Is there anything better than singing and dancing at a live show with 14,000 other people singing and dancing with you? My feet got muddy, my voice was hoarse, but my heart was happy

9. Our favorite babysitter watched the kids for us while we were at the show. Lily is in one of those "Only Mommy Can Tuck Me In" phases. So, we bribed them with the promise of going to get ice cream on Sunday afternoon. A cone of "Captain America" for Christian and a cone of "Pink" for Lily.

10. Christian and his friends are in a fun camp this week hosted by my friend's teenage daughters here at the house. Each day has different themes, and lots of fun crafts and snacks. He is having a blast!

5.

Our Very Own Future SLP

2011-08-15T21:14:00.001-04:00

YouTube Video

This makes my heart melt.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-08-09T15:34:00.000-04:00

1. Lily is as obsessed with getting her nails done as I am. I paint her toes at least twice a week.

2. One of my favorite things about the summer is the bounty of fresh crab we have from our Bay House. I made crab cakes for dinner. So easy. Be jealous.

3. Over the weekend we went to Bianca's 2nd Birthday---we're so happy we could celebrate and enjoy the brownie pops that B's Momma mad. SO GOOD!

4. The kids enjoyed seeing the planes come in at National Airport at Gravelly Point. It was super-hot, and Lily did not like how loud they were. Christian of course thought it was the coolest thing ever to see the planes so low!

5. Lily's room is no longer a nursery. The changing table has come off the dresser and the mirror and new wall decor went up. All we need to do is buy a twin mattress and our little girl will be all set. I just love how it is all coming together. The dresser and mirror is my own set from when I was a little girl. And we're continuing on with a Lilly Pulitzer theme. I need to find the perfect twin bedding---any suggestions?

6. Um, saw this at the grocery store and I had to stop myself from buying it. I wonder what Jessica and Elizabeth are up to these days. Remember the SVH book when Jessica ran away?

7. It's so hot and humid outside I just can't deal. We've been doing lots and lots of arts and crafts.

8. And we've been doing lots of lounging on Mommy and Daddy's bed.

9. The New Walk4Hearing Video has been released this week---you'll see some familiar faces (especially around the 3:54 mark and on!)
10. My Mom and Dad are coming into town next week---I'm already counting the minutes until they get here!

Rescued.

2011-08-08T08:39:00.000-04:00

Aunt Ali came to the rescue this weekend.

At the Diner with Aunt Ali.

She always knows when we need her, sweeping in and showering the kids with love, and giving Chuck a break, and me my much needed "Ali" time. It's been a hard couple of weeks, and her visit was just what we needed. We love you Aunt Ali---thank you for always being there and coming to the rescue just when we need you.

The Witching Hour

2011-08-03T17:25:00.001-04:00

Even though they drive my crazy by this point in the day, they also crack me up.

Fun with pillowcases!

Summer Reading

2011-08-02T17:50:00.001-04:00

I often find him like this. He loves his books.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Ten on Tuesday

2011-08-02T13:18:00.001-04:00

How cute is this picture of my Dad, Brother and Christian?! Love it!

1. After a crazy busy week after our vacation, I was treated to a spa afternoon at Red Door on Sunday. All I have to say is AHHH....I had an amazing Oxygen Facial to remove all the "congestion" that has built up during these hot and sticky summer months. I left glowing and for the first time in months, I actually looked well rested.

2. Christian is in Vacation Bible School this week with his buddies. He LOVED it last year, and I can't wait to hear the songs he learns. He told me this morning that "God is so good!"

3. It's raining babies right now. In the past month, 4 of my friends and one cousin have given birth, one of my dear friends adoptions finalized and they have their baby, and another one of my closest girlfriends is eagerly awaiting the birth of her adopted baby. Christian is right. God is SO good!

4. We're spending a lot of time trying to find games that don't involve an intense amount of screaming and yelling. It's not that they are fighting---they are just LOUD. Lily has this new scream that could seriously shatter my Waterford.

5. I feel bad for my little girl. This week the Binkie Fairy came and gave all her binkies to the little babies that needed them (I actually put about 17 in my underwear drawer) and left Lily a special prize in her bed. Lily Grace LOVES her binkies. She loves sleeping with 3---one in her mouth, and one in each hand. They soothed her, and we were at the point where she really only wanted them in her bed. But, it was time to go. We're on Day 2 and I'm listening to her scream "MY BINK! MY BINK!" from her bed. Ugh. Tell me again why I am doing this to her? Her speech is fine, her teeth are fine....why am I rushing her to grow up?

6. I FINALLY got a new phone yesterday and am loving my iPhone already. I went from Blackberry to a Droid and thought I would never give it up. Well, after 4 replacement phones, enough was enough.

7. Why does it seem that technology always seems to fail together? Not that their related, but our flat screen in the kitchen just blew up. I'm missing it already. I listen to the news while I make the kids their lunch and have it during naps. I'm so frustrated!

8. The countdown has begun to Chuck's sister's wedding in 3 weeks. Christian is the ring bearer and is practicing his walk. He is taking his job VERY seriously.

9. I need new lunch suggestions for myself--I'm not a sandwich type of girl, and I usually just eat a salad or yogurt. I'm in a rut. Help!

10. Do you ever wonder about the girls at the gym who go in FULL make-up? If even a smidge of mascara gets in my eye it burns. What do those chicks do when their sweat is running all that eye makeup in their eye?

We're Baaack!

2011-07-28T08:42:00.000-04:00

Why does vacation go by so fast? We're back after an awesome family vacation in Northern Michigan with my parents and my brother and sister-in-law and slowly adjusting to the hot and steamy DC reality that we live in. I have MUCH to post, but also much to unpack and catch up on, so I'll leave you all with what I was dreaming about last night:

We Love You Miss Hannigan

2011-07-07T15:10:00.001-04:00

Annie for the 100th time. Lily sings along of course.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-07-05T20:36:00.000-04:00

1. After the long weekend, I'm still a day behind and thought pretty much all day that today was Monday. That's what happens when you spend a weekend with your dearest friends on The Chesapeake Bay drinking mojitos, floating in salt water pools, chasing kids, and picking crabs all weekend long. Yes, we had an AWESOME but tiring weekend.

2. Saturday night while the guys stayed up way too late playing Corn Hole and drinking beer, Christian, Lily, and myself bunked up with Aunt Alison and Justin. We were tired after playing in The Bay and pool all day. Christian had one of "those nights" screaming out, waking up all the girls as we're such light sleepers. I swear I was up every 20 minutes comforting him.

3. Sunday was spent at another dear friend's Bay House picking crabs and playing in the pool, where we learned Lily has no fear. She's going to be the one I'm going to need to worry about.

4. Despite the swim lessons, Christian is still a bit fearful in the water. I know it's going to take time. I just wish I could help him not be so scared.

5. Christian started camp today at one of our local nature centers. He spent the morning with some buddies from the neighborhood walking streams, finding bugs, and playing tag. I am SO happy that we are out of our routine of school and finding some peace this summer.

6. I went to the gym for the first time in 1.5 weeks today and I am feeling it. Do you ever feel that your body is just changing and you're getting old? I'm feeling it today.

7. The gym is paying off...I wore a bikini this weekend, and while I can never fix what 2 C-Sections did to my mid-section, my legs are showing my hours and hours of Step Aerobics, Yoga, and Pilates. Yay!

8. Christian has started a new "thing" lately. He's sticking his fingers in his mouth. It's weird. He's never been a finger or thumb sucker. What's this all about at 4.5 years old?

9. Lily's new thing is yelling at me when I ask her to not do something. It usually comes out as "No, bad Mommy". Just pour me another cocktail.

10. I'm looking for some beach reads as we get ready for our 1st beach vacation for the season. Send me your recommendations!

Hometown 4th of July

2011-07-05T19:47:00.002-04:00

Last Day!

2011-06-30T16:16:00.000-04:00

What an absolutely phenomenal year.

He worked SO hard.

He played even harder.

Today during the All-School Assembly the principal asked all the student's what their homework for the summer was. In a gym with over 100 kids, Christian raised his hand and answered "We can read our books to our baby sisters".

Of course I started to cry.

How far we've come. He's confident. He's sweet. He's smart as a whip. And sharp.

I'm happy to close this chapter of our family's life for now. A couple weeks off to recharge, to play more at home, and to be with friends from the neighborhood a bit more. Fresh markers are stocked in our project drawer, books and puzzles have been dusted off and are waiting for my little dude to discover them in the playroom. Camps start next week, along with what I hope is a little bit of a slower pace of life. I'm looking forward to a little bit more time in our pajamas, longer breakfasts, and less time fighting city traffic.

Winding Down.

2011-06-29T08:49:00.000-04:00

I made my last Sunbutter and Strawberry Jelly sandwich of the school year this morning.

Tomorrow is Christian's last day of school until September. My little boy grew so much. He stands taller, is full of confidence, and found his inner clown this year. He is SO silly, always looking for ways to make his family and friends laugh. He found his love for books, learned to write his name, count past 20, and show early reading skills like blending two and three sounds together. He learned to be a good friend, both in the classroom and after-school at playdates. He learned to advocate for himself, asking teachers and friends to "Say it Again" or "I didn't hear you, what did you say". He got SO big.

Christian and his teachers on a recent field trip!

Ten on Tuesday

2011-06-28T00:00:00.000-04:00

1. My cousins from Belgium visited last week through the weekend and it was such great medicine for my soul. My heart was so full of love having my family here with me, as was my stomach. We were WELL fed!

2. I worked the Cochlear Booth at the HLAA conference this past Saturday. It was so nice to reconnect with old friends and to share my passion for Christian's CI and our amazing company!

3. Christian has been in swim lessons this week. My fingers are crossed that he continues to get more comfortable in the water as the lessons go on. So far, he's frightful. Luckily, a friend of mine who has not only known Christian since he was 9 months old but ALSO happens to be an awesome swim coach is taking care of him.

4. Both kids were home last Thursday and Friday thanks to teacher conferences at Christian's school. We had lunch together. We ate gelato. We took a stroll through our little town, drank ice cold lemonade, and laughed. I love these days with my kids. It's rare when I have them both together.

5. I don't want to JINX anything, but Lily is POTTY TRAINED. Seriously. We have had one or two accidents, but for the past 5 days sweet girl is DRY! THANK GOD. I have been changing diapers for 4.5 years and I am over it.

6. I love summer in our neighborhood. Kids are running outside, our margarita machine is being put to good use, and playdates are always just a couple of houses down. We are so lucky to live in such a fun and loving community.

7. Christian had a FUN surprise this past weekend when his Daddy took him to see Cars 2 in 3D! They drove with Christian's Uncle Dave and his kids and had fruit punch, Twizzlers and Popcorn. He totally loved the movie, but I'm jealous. I want to see it too!

8. I don't know what I did to my neck, but it is all cramped up and I feel like I have pinched nerve. I've tried everything from muscle relaxers, yoga, heat, ice, mass quantities of margaritas....none of them seem to be doing the trick. I think it's time for me to go see a doctor.

9. Lily has what my Mom calls "Summer Knees". Sweet girl has bumped, bruised and scabby knees. In fact I think she has a scab on top of a scab. Gross. I guess it's good prep for her figure skating days.

10. A girlfriend of mine in the neighborhood just introduced me to this great jewelry line. I had an opportunity to attend one of of their showings and just love all of their pieces. They do custom work, and are really great gals. CHECK THEM OUT!

8.

We are Ready.

2011-06-21T20:02:00.000-04:00

It's summer, and my little guy still has 1.5 weeks left of school. I'm ready for it to be done. I'm ready for us to play in the sprinker in the mornings, head to the pool in the afternoons, and to have lazy early evenings with our neighbors. I am ready to have him home. Lily misses him terribly. She always asks "When is Christian home? Can we go get him now?"

It feels like this school year has gone on and on. I'm drained from the constant commute, and Christian is showing signs of fatigue too. While he LOVES his friends and his teachers, he is done. He needs a break.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-06-14T17:02:00.000-04:00

1. My suspicions about something going on with Christian and his listening were right. Ends up his Maps somehow became switched on his Nucleus 5. We finally got to the bottom of it, but he was on his Noise Program for 2 weeks and we thought he was on Everyday.

2. I'm now obsessing over checking his remote for the processor. While I love the Nucleus 5, I do miss the display on our Freedom that would confirm what program he was on.

3. Lily had her last day of her first year of preschool last Thursday. My sweet girl loved her teacher, her friends, and learned so much. I am so happy that we placed her in a caring and nurturing program where she could learn and play.

4. I'm co-hosting a little party for Lily's teacher tonight complete with my Margarita Cupcakes. I've made them twice in a week!

5. We are so excited to have a house full of guests this week! My cousins from Belgium are visiting Washington for the first time and we can't wait until they arrive. We're also looking forward to seeing our favorite Wilmington, NC Sports Guy when he visits for the U.S. Open.

6. It just took me 1.5 hours to get home from picking Christian up. I AM OVER THE DRIVE. I just want to sit in my backyard with him while Lily naps and read stories. I am over driving back and forth into the city everyday.

7. However, I have no idea what I am going to do with all the time I'll be saving everyday---maybe, just maybe I could actually have more than 1 or 2 consecutive hours at home :)

8. We picked out Lily's first set of big girl undies (yes, I'm attempting to get her to go on the potty). She chose a Yo Gabba Gabba set and asked me "Mamma, where is DJ Lance on my undies?". For those of you who haven't seen the show, DJ Lance is this freaky looking DJ with horn-rimmed glasses that controls all the Yo Gabba Gabba creatures. It would've been sorta creepy to have THIS guy on my little girl's panties.

9. Our camp schedule is finalized for the summer---Christian is scheduled for several fun weeks, including a camp at our local parish, Vacation Bible School with his friends, and a cool outdoor nature camp. Lily will be joining me at Camp Golds Gym.

10. I'll be at the Cochlear booth at the HLAA convention this Saturday. Please come say hello and humor me as I brag about how awesome my kids are.

Watch out Dewey Beach

2011-06-10T13:04:00.000-04:00

In 16 years, he'll be rockin' out at The Starboard!

Ten on Tuesday

2011-06-07T00:00:00.000-04:00

1. Christian was on break last week and we had a little taste of the summer to come. No driving back and forth into the city 2x a day. No racing to one after school activity to the next. No packing lunches in the morning. Today was his first day back, and I haven't found my groove just quite yet.

2. We spent a couple of days at the beach and it was a much needed break. It's been a while since we had uninterupted family time. We had ice cream, italian ice, played on the beach, visited old beach bars of our days gone by (for lunch of course), and just enjoyed eachother. It was pure bliss.

3. I'm loving the beach even more and more these days now that we've eased up a bit with Christian's CI. He wore his Nucleus 5 most of the weekend, but we also traveled with his back-up Freedom processors.

4. Lily Grace took almost an entire day to warm up to the idea of the beach. Once again, she did not like her toes getting sandy, and once again, she preferred to sit on a beach chair and observe her brother making sand castles. Such the drama queen.

5. And now we are back to the never ending grind. We went to dinner with some other couples this past Saturday and we pretty much decided we wanted to live on a commune. We all agreed that we were done with the fast paced DC life. Wouldn't life be simpler if we were somewhere other than the epicenter of the free world?

6. I'm trying to make life calmer. I'm trying to breathe. We had a Friday night dance party with our best friends and all of our kids. Mass quantities of drinks were involved, and the kids who are all being raised like cousins had a blast. Life is simpler when it's spent with friends who just get you. I'm thankful that I have those folks in my life.

7. Today was Christian's last soccer practice of the year. I'm so proud of him and all that he has accomplished. He got a SNAZZY trophy today that he is super excited about.

8. Have you been following the buzz about the new series Switched at Birth? It's on my DVR schedule and I'm looking forward to seeing how the characters with hearing loss are portrayed!

9. Father's Day is just around the corner and I need to scheme and plot something fun and DIFFERENT for Chuck. He is a super-dad who deserves everything. Any ideas?

10. If you're planning on coming to HLAA's convention, visit me at the Cochlear booth on Saturday afternoon!

Giving Myself Permission

2011-06-02T22:26:00.000-04:00

Tonight is one of those nights where I'm going to flat out say that it SUCKS that Christian is deaf. He's overtired, and when he's overtired, he has restless nights. Sometimes he has nightmares. Tonight, he's woken up screaming 3 times already and it's only 10:30. Moms of deaf kids will confirm that these screams aren't your typical screams. They are blood-curdling, so loud that the neighbors might call the police screams. I run into his room, and do my best to comfort him with my touch. I keep it dark so not to scare him, but that also means he can't see my crude signing and read my lips. So I pick up my sack-of-potato 43 pound bruiser and carry him into the kitchen. I dim the lights, sit him at his chair at the table, pour a glass of water and run back into his room. I fumble in his closet to put one of his processors together, as he just cries and cries back in the kitchen.

The light on his processor turns on, and he goes quiet.

I ask him what's wrong. I ask what I can do for him.

"Mom, I couldn't hear! I couldn't hear! I'm thirsty! I couldn't hear!"

And my heart breaks. No matter how thankful I am for the miracle of the CI, it doesn't change that he's deaf. My sweet little boy.

Change of Pace

2011-06-01T19:10:00.001-04:00

We skipped town and headed to the beach. Much to post, but check out these beach babies. Seriously...just like their parents. They love Dewey Beach!

3 Years!

2011-05-27T00:00:00.001-04:00

I'm proud of you every moment of everyday.

Each sound, each word, each sentence, each story that you've spoken, I've celebrated.

I see little miracles in you each day. When you can hear me from the basement calling your name, to catching onto the lyrics of a new song on the radio, my heart still skips a beat.

It never gets old.

I love listening to you play with your sister, especially when you call her "Beanie". Knowing that you both are able to share precious moments together as siblings fills my heart with so much love. I love listening to you play along with your friends, making up silly stories and games.

I am grateful. I am grateful for the determination that God blessed you with to move through challenges everyday with ease. I am grateful that you are the type of kid who rolls with the punches, who can adapt to new situations, and remember routines of old. I am grateful for the absolutely top-notch team of educators, clinicians, and physicians who have invested so much of themselves into your success. I am grateful for all of your friends and their families who treat you just the way you deserve to be treated: Like a typical 4.5 year old little boy. I am grateful for your family, all of your Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents and Cousins. They are so proud of you!

3 years ago today we turned on your Cochlear Implant, and you've never looked back. You have defied the odds. Today is the day we celebrate your hard work and the amazing little boy you are.

Happy 3rd Hearing Birthday!

Ten on Tuesday

2011-05-24T00:00:00.002-04:00

1. It's hard to believe, but this Friday we are celebrating 3 years of Christian hearing with his Cochlear Implant. How has it been 3 years already?

2. I still remember Christian's activation appointments like it was yesterday. I was barely pregnant with Lily Grace, and it was sticky humid day but I had the chills from nerves. I had a pit in my stomach, but at the same time I was full of hope.

3. On Day 1 of his activation, he immediately responded, and my heart immediately jumped. He imitated 2 Ling Sounds. 14 months old. A baby. He was JUST a baby.

4. I remember bringing home this huge box of wires, manuals, batteries, spare parts, and just sitting on my bed thinking that I would never know what to do with all of it. And now I can pretty much troubleshoot the processor with my eyes closed.

5. I'm sitting here typing this blog on the same table that I used day in and day out that first year or so with my little boy working on our Mommy Speech Therapy. My kitchen table (which was my Grandmother's kitchen table) became our family therapy center. So many milestones and memories were made at this table. I swear it has magic in it. Will someone please make sure that this table doesn't end up in a garage sale when Chuck and I are long and gone?

6. Speaking of garage sales, isn't it funny how us Moms can really make ANYTHING into a therapy tool. So far, my favorite find were Chinese Handcuffs to work on the initial /P/ sound "PULL, PULL, PULL, Christian".

7. It's funny when I look back to see how Christian's progress never was gradual. It was warp speed, and there was never any gradual let down of our therapy, but it also didn't stop. It evolved as Christian did, and we just followed his lead. His teachers continued to challenge him daily in school and we would celebrate each new milestone with complete joy. The day he correctly produced /sh/ is up there with seeing my babies on their ultrasound pictures for the first time. Seriously.

8. This journey hasn't been all fuzzy blankets and rainbows. It tested our marriage hard in the beginning, and still creeps up on us at times when we don't expect it. I hate the saying that "God doesn't give you anything you can't handle" because quite honestly, at times I had a hard time handling all of this. However, the hard times did make us grow-up much faster. By our 3rd wedding anniversary, we were dealing with things that couples married for 30 years never even touched. It's hard. Thank goodness for our faith, our family, and our friends.

9. My friends and family always compliment me on the advocacy work I do for Christian, and I am so touched. It feels good to know that people notice my hard work and commitment. What they don't know is that Chuck is our behind the scenes guy. I may be doing the insurance claims, tracking appointments, monitoring new MAPs, and ordering new parts, but he's the one really keeping us TOGETHER. He is our glue.

10. Christian is set to have a dance party and Rice Krispie treats on Friday to celebrate in his classroom. He's requested Laurie Berkner, Mumford and Sons and Gaga. Chuck and I are going to continue our tradition of drinking ridiculously good and fancy wine with our best friends on Friday night and toasting to our amazing little dude's progress and to each other for getting through another year relatively unscathed.

Does It Ever Get Old?

2011-05-17T19:53:00.000-04:00

The sound effects of a shooting laser from a Star Wars ship.

His laugh. Especially his belly laugh. Oh, I love that laugh.

The conversations between him and his sister.

Negotiating over a toy with a friend at school.

Yelling over a toy with a friend at school.

His gentle voice, asking me for more milk

Almost 3 years later, and everyday is sprinkled with CI miracles.

A Day at The Races-Potomac Hunt 2011

2011-05-17T16:56:00.000-04:00

Ten on Tuesday

2011-05-17T16:31:00.000-04:00

1. Blogger has been giving me a headache, going on and offline for 2 days now. Seriously, what IS the deal?

2. This past weekend was a blast. Started off on Thursday night at DC's best Indian restaurant with the girls. We sat at the table next to Chef Spike while celebrating Nat's birthday. Made our way to what I think is DC's best Mexican restaurant right around the corner for margaritas. It was a much needed night out with the girls.

3. However, I learned that Indian food and Margaritas don't pair well together. What a headache on Friday night. Oy.

4. Saturday night I became a hipster. We headed down to fashionable H. Street for some beer and brats with good friends. We ended up in a bar that I wasn't cool enough to be in by the end of the night. Another headache, but it was worth it.

5. And on Sunday, we attended the Potomac Hunt Races with the kids. We had a blast. The weather was gorgeous. We spent the day with dear friends and their families. Once again, another headache induced by Skinnygirl Margarita. But it was worth it.

6. It's now Tuesday, and I'm detoxing. I'm working my tail off with my clients, and trying to juggle some insurance drama (ISN'T THERE ALWAYS DRAMA), all the while planning a bridal shower totally on my own for my sister-in-law that will be held at my house on Sunday. I'm preparing for another headache.

7. I'm missing my Grandmother today. My Nini passed away 8 years ago and today is her birthday. She was lovely. She was beautiful. She made all of us grandkids feel so special. She was a beautiful woman, inside and out. She taught me determination, perseverance, but most of all, she taught me confidence. I've never met a woman more confidant than my Nini.

8. I'm also missing my brother today. Tomorrow is his birthday and I would give anything to share a piece of Mom's cake with him tomorrow and have a beer with him. I know he's been celebrating all week (as he ALWAYS does!).

9. Christian took the bet book from the horseraces to show and tell yesterday at school. How awesome is that?

10. I'm sitting on my front porch watching them pretend that they are "AJ-The Neighborhood Ice Cream Man". I love watching my kids play together. I just hate breaking up the fights.

Mother's Day

2011-05-17T12:51:00.001-04:00

Ten on Tuesday

2011-05-10T00:00:00.000-04:00

1. Just call me SuperCatholic these days. I spent my weekend at Church, attending confirmation rehearsal, actually attending and sponsoring a candidate at Confirmation, and on Mother's Day celebrating 1st Communion of two very special little ones.

2. You can actually call me SlackerCatholic too. By Sunday morning, I was exhausted and a bit selfish. The kids were pooped from all the action, so we decided to NOT actually attend 1st Communion Mass. The Confirmation Mass counted for me for my Sunday obligation. But we did go to the parties. Typical Catholic.

3. Mother's Day was adorable. I will post fun pictures from all the activities leading up to the day, but the children spoiled me. I got the best cards EVER from them, a special breakfast, and a beautiful charm for my bracelet that they started me 4 years ago. This year, they chose a cupcake. So very appropriate for this past year of hanging out with my beautiful babies enjoying sweet treats and cupcakes after school.

4. Christian's CI processor was giving us trouble last week. The power switch on his Nucleus 5 was being a bit tricky, however it was still working. I called Cochlear on Thursday late afternoon. By THIS Monday afternoon, he came home with a replacement already mapped by his school audiologist. How awesome is Cochlear? And how awesome is our school audiologist?

5. This week totally snuck up on me. I'm writing this on Monday night with NO food in my house, and I still can't figure out when I am actually going to go grocery shopping. I hope the kids don't mind another night of a random pasta creation. Tonight I made Bow-Ties with Butternut Squash and Parmesan. It did not go over well.

6. Christian (and ALL of his friends) is now totally in to Bakugan. His Aunt Alison gave him 2 this past week as a little "Thank you" gift for letting her come to Grandparent's and Special Friends Day and you would think they were gold.

7. I've hit that point in the school year where I am just completely over the drive and the commute. Christian goes to school until July 1st and we have one week off at the end of this month. I am really looking forward to some lazy summer days.

8. I just realized I wore Lilly Pulitzer for 4 days in a row. I love the Spring!

9. With lazy summer days come bored kids on summer vacation. Start praying for me now so I don't lose my sanity.

10. Lily's new favorite word this week is "Actually". She is ACTUALLY using it correctly too. My favorite from today was "Act-chully MumMum, I go to park wif Tara, ok MumMum? Love this girl!

draining.

2011-05-04T20:15:00.000-04:00

Oh Lily. I love you. But girl...you are really just taking everything out of me. You are full of laughter, but also just as full of growls and yells. You talk a mile a minute, prompting strangers at Whole Foods to ask just how old you are because you have SO MANY WORDS. You also can scream for hours if I would let you. Lily Grace, I have met my match.

I love spending my days with you. We wake up, send brother off to school and Daddy off to work. We eat breakfast in 2 phases. The first at 7 with brother, the second at 8 when I finally can sit and have my coffee. You like an Eggo waffle with Nutella, you demand strawberries even though I have refused to buy them until I can find them from our country and they are organic, you love your yogurt, and you pretty much eat all of my 3 Sisters oatmeal that I make for myself. We race either to the gym, or to your little school, or to errands. We have Starbucks together, where you love the petite vanilla scones. We the race back home to nap you earlier than all of your little friends, just so we can be on the road in time to get Christian at 3. Your favorite part of the day is getting in the car to go get your brother and great him EVERYDAY in the carpool with a big "HIYA CHRISTIAN!". You are my little lady. My little friend.

Until....

I walk into every room in my house and see your destruction, and sometimes at my friend's homes too (NO MORE RED MARKERS AT MO-MOs HOUSE!). I haven't taken a shower in private in 2 years. You won't nap or sleep without serious coaching, and to get you to actually follow any form of instruction or direction requires serious negotiation and bribing. You are too smart for your own good. I know you could be potty trained, but you want to do it on your terms. I find you walking in my most expensive heels naked. You rip library book pages, and then say "Oh no, betta fix it Mom-Mom". You are my little gremlin.

You drain me sweet girl. But I love every minute of it.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-05-03T21:05:00.000-04:00

1. This past weekend Chuck played Mr. Landscaper and mulched, planted, weeded, cleaned out and worked his magic on both our front and backyards. He may not be all that handy, but he sure does have a green thumb!

2. The news of Bin Laden's death early this week has literally stopped me in my tracks. Living in DC and actually witnessing the plane crash into the Pentagon on 9/11 changed me forever, and his death has basically ripped off a band-aid on my heart. I'm not quite ready to cheer in the streets.

3. As much as I try to shield the kids from all of this, Christian has asked me "Who that guy is with the long beard and the dress on". What do I say to that? The best I could come up with was "He's a bad guy. Pray for him".

4. Lily is acting weird this week with her sleeping habits. She's up. She's down. She's tired, but won't sleep. Everytime my kids do this they are getting ready for a developmental leap. Wonder what's neck (Oh please, please let it be her being ready for potty training!)

5. Have I mentioned how much I love Skinny Girl Margarita?

6. Have I also mentioned how much I love my stylist Corey at Bella Bethesda? I know this is a shameless plug, but I've been going to him for almost 9 years now, and he is the BLONDE MASTER. He also is one of my dearest friends too :)

7. I'm in laundry denial. I have 3 loads downstairs, and 2 baskets to put away and it is just SITTING THERE.

8. And now for the upcoming weekend...Friday is Grandparents and Special Friends Day at Christian's School. Both sets of his Grandparents are unable to attend, so this year Christian asked his Auntie Alison to come visit his school. He's so excited to have her come and see his class and meet his friends. I'm so happy she is able to not only juggle a visit with Christian, but also her own kid's Moms and Muffins that morning. With 4 kids, she's learned to do a lot of juggling!

9. Saturday is Tara, our very special friend and super-duper Mother's Helper Confirmation! We are so excited to witness her become a full member of our church, and I am even more excited to be her sponsor. We love our Tara!

10. Sunday is 1st Holy Communion for two of our favorite big kids, Isabelle and Timmy. Belle is like a niece to Chuck and I and a cousin to Christian and Lily. Timmy is Christian's neighborhood big-brother who looks out for and teaches him everything he needs to know. It's such an important day, and I am so glad that our family can support both Timmy and Belle as they make their sacrament!

Just another playdate that I'll remember forever

2011-05-02T16:17:00.000-04:00

Do you ever wish that you could just freeze a moment of time and keep it in your pocket so you could always relive it whenever you wanted to?

It's 4pm on a school day. Christian has a friend over before they head on over to soccer. They are playing Star Wars, creating these elaborate stories about Bobba Fet, Jenga Fet, Droids, yet the Imaginext Firehouse Set is also in play and the firemen are rescuing Darth Vader. I just saw a droid roll through the living room in a Batman car.

Yes, it is always that messy....

To me, this is honestly all I could ever asked for when it comes to Christian's Cochlear Implant Journey. He plays like a typical 4 year old boy. He keeps up...scratch that....he leads playtime with his friends. This is all I have ever wanted. He's happy. His friends are sweet little boys and girls. And his imagination is just wonderful. He can communicate and express himself clearly.

Easter Pics

2011-05-02T14:20:00.002-04:00

Ten on Tuesday

2011-04-27T08:45:00.000-04:00

1. Gone are the days of having a TEN page IEP with my little boy. Last week I signed off on 1/2 page document. How far we've come...

2. It's official. We WILL be returning back to his current school for his last year of preschool next year.

3. The weather seems to have FINALLY broke here in the DC area. Which means I have been on a mad dash of forcing Christian to try on his clothes from last summer to see if they still fit. Poor kid told me this morning "Mom, these are sorta tight on my hiney". Anyone have a coupon code for Crewcuts?

4. I'm always amazed at how much clothes my kids accumulate a season. And they are adorable. How awesome would it be to get a new wardrobe twice a year?

5. It's 80 something degrees, there are NO bugs out yet, the kids are playing on the front lawn, and I'm having a glass of wine. Talk about a nice stress relief...

6. Easter weekend was wonderful. We spent the weekend with my college roommate and her husband and our best friends and their family. I missed my family like crazy, but it was nice to be surrounded by our "family of friends".

7. Lily enjoyed the Easter Egg hunt so much that she actually consumed all of her loot before we got home. She was on a sugar high all day Sunday and Monday, and is now crashing.

8. The Easter Bunny brought Christian his first set of hockey sticks, and he is OBSESSED with them. We've converted our soccer goal into a hockey goal, and he has 2 skinned knees to prove he's been playing non-stop.

9. I'm obsessed with the Royal Wedding. I actually watched the Lifetime movie Will and Kate. I cried at the end. What's wrong with me?

10. These past two weeks I have been reminded just how precious life is. Two of my friends lost their children, one via a full-term still birth and the other's strong little boy lost his 3 year fight with brain cancer.

A Shared Experience

2011-04-22T21:14:00.001-04:00

Last night Christian's school hosted a panel of young adults with hearing loss. Panelists included a bright working Mom with a Cochlear Implant, a high-school senior with bilateral CIs heading to college next year (and who happens to be the head of school's son) and the infamous Josh Swiller. The conversation with the panelists covered everything from how they incorporated today's technology such as iPods and iPads into their lives with their CIs, what their experiences were growing up in mainstreamed schools as children with hearing loss, and what some of their challenges were socially. They spoke of what it REALLY feels like to be mapped, if they REALLY switch between their programs on their processors, if the REALLY take their CIs off to have quiet time. It was a really insightful and inspiring evening.

We had an interesting conversation about the role of American Sign Language, how people with CIs are viewed within the "BIG D" Deaf community, and the role of ASL and the culture of being deaf. I often find myself having to explain to people why we don't use ASL. I think there is a misconception out there that ALL "deaf" people use and need sign language. I also feel that sometimes there may be an expectation by some in the deaf community that despite our choice as a family Christian NEEDS ASL. I want Christian to learn sign language one day. It will open up new opportunities and expose him to new experiences. Josh had an interesting take on all of this. He suggested that "Rather than deafness being viewed as a culture, it should be viewed as a shared experience". I couldn't agree more.

With all of these debates, I often feel as if I am constantly on the edge of a beautiful pool. From the edge, it's gorgeous. It's vast, and deep, and I know that once I'm in it, I will feel refreshed and relaxed. Before I jump in, I dip my toe in just to test it and I quickly jump back because the gorgeous beautiful pool is actually freezing cold. I step back, and while on the surface it is glistening, the deeper it gets, the murkier the water becomes. I know one day I will take the plunge, but for right now I'm ok enjoying the pool deck with a cocktail in one hand and my Nucleus 5 remote in the other.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-04-19T14:32:00.000-04:00

1. Are we FINALLY out of the woods after lice-a-rama and puke-a-rama these past 2.5 weeks? It's been rough and I hope are spared for Easter. I don't know if I can take much more of this!

2. I feel behind the game with Easter. Sure, the baskets are out. But I only have one bag of candy and I haven't really even decorated the house. I have NO idea what Lily and Christian will wear. The crazy thing is that I'm not going crazy about it. Progress!

3. I have however managed to fall in love with a NEW Easter candy this year. They are DELISH.

4. Love Cadbury Eggs? Check this out! I am going to try the brownies.

5. One of my girlfriends had a Kate Gosselin siting at our Whole Foods. She reported that she was wearing fabulous shoes, was really skinny and had stick straight hair. Oh, and she was driving a slick Audi.

6. I just had a Corey from Teen Mom 2 siting at my door. I mean, I am pretty sure it was him offering to cut down my tree for a good price. You have got to LOVE the West Virginia Tree Cutters.

7. I'm reading 1-2-3 Magic in an effort to TRY to finally learn how to discipline my kids. Anyone else have great success with it? Pretty much right now I have Lily telling me to go screw myself every day and Christian doing everything just so he can have dessert. Not really "model" parenting going on here.

8. It's 2:30pm, which means in exactly 3 minutes I am going to race out the door and be in the car for 2 hours as I drive to school, sit in the carpool line, then drive home. I do this everyday.

9. Thank goodness for Sirius radio in my totally cool mini-van which makes the drive a bit more tolerable. I switch between Hits 1 and Martha Stewart Radio. And Chuck wonders where Lily learned how to say "Shake your moneymaker" came from....

10. Tonight is poker night for Chuck which means I have a date with all my girl shows I have waiting for me on my DVR. Oh Pregnant in Heels, Bethenny and Army Wives how I have missed you!

Resources or Racehorses?

2011-04-18T13:34:00.000-04:00

Today at breakfast we had the news on. Christian noticed all the coverage about the tornados down south and we started talking about what was happening. Sometimes I do get little reminders that my kid really does have a hearing loss:

Christian: Mom, what are those people doing?
Me: They are picking up their belongings and their houses that the storm blew down. We need to pray for them.
Christian: Ok, I will.
Me: We need to make sure they get all the resources they need to be ok and fix their houses.
Christian (in a silly voice): RACEHORSES? What do mean RACEHORSES?

Yes, he still does have a hearing loss.

simply.amazing.

2011-04-18T13:08:00.000-04:00

Christian is 4 years old chronologically, but technically has only been "hearing" for 2 years and 10 months.
When I think about those numbers and all that Christian has accomplished, it's mind boggling. He is such an amazing and smart kid.

We're meeting today after school with Christian's in-class SLP to discuss his Speech and Language Evaluation which includes a series of 4 tests, a classroom language sample and an oral-motor evaluation. Christian's results are outstanding. His scores across the board are above average. Simply amazing. He is just such a special kid. I am so thankful that we have had the resources to give him everything we possibly could. I am thankful for his outstanding team of educators that believe in him everyday. I am thankful for our family who cheers him on. I am just so thankful that my sweet boy is doing so well.

And now....A Fever.

2011-04-14T11:27:00.000-04:00

6am this morning I was woken up by a chorus of "Momma, Mommy, Momma, Mommy MOOOOOOOOM".

Lily.

101.2 temperature.

It's a school day today.

We're in the playroom on a 70 degree day pulling all of her dress-up clothes out, transforming from Tinkerbell, to Jasmine, to Cinderella, to Tiana, to a combination of a FireWoman-Spiderman superhero.

Pray that it's just a quick one, or I seriously am going to lose my mind.

Sights of the Season

2011-04-12T17:15:00.001-04:00

Ten on Tuesday

2011-04-12T13:36:00.000-04:00

1. I have SO much to blog about, but honestly have had NO time. I have a running a list, and it just keeps getting longer and longer. It's starting to get frustrating.

2. The lice drama is all but over. Yesterday was our last day of combing, and I started unbagging toys and linen that have been washed. I still am overwhelmed by the number of stuffed animals we have in this house. I'm seriously considering just keeping them in the garbage bag and "accidentally" throwing them out.

3. And if things couldn't get any worse, Christian was hit with a stomach bug this past Saturday that left him just about as sick as I've ever seen him. Poor kid was knocked out the whole weekend. He seemed better this morning, so he went to school....

4. For 1 hour. I got a phone call just as I was walking into a doctor's appointment that he still didn't feel well. I raced over to get him and we picked up more popsicles and Pedialyte. Will this ever end?

5. Luckily in the middle of all the yuckiness at my house this weekend I escaped for some fun girlfriend time at our neighborhood school's auction on Saturday and co-hosted a little baby shower (sprinkle!) for a dear friend on Sunday. I had the most amazing blueberry mojito. It was DELISH!

6. I also ate my weight in pastries from Dean & Deluca after the sprinkle and have yet to be to the gym. The Napolean was SO GOOD!

7. Lily has become a pro on Christian's old scooter! She really has picked it up fast. I need to get a video of her scooting along our sidewalk. We decided to upgrade Christian to his first big boy Razor Scooter. How are they getting so old?

8. Lily started a new class with two of her friends this past Friday and absolutely loved it. I am so glad I have my special time with her on Fridays. I really am cherishing that time with her.

9. Do you ever feel that all you do with your kids is bribe them to do stuff for you? I find myself saying daily "Lily, if you (insert random request here), I'll get you (choose from ice cream, a toy, or some treat). It gets draining.

10. With all the drama going on in our house this week (it's only TUESDAY!), my complex dinner plans that I have prepped (braised roast and vegetables) seem overwhelming. Can we just order pizza?

Ten on Tuesday

2011-04-05T00:00:00.000-04:00

1. I am pretty sure that I have done more laundry in the past week than I have during these past 4 years of Motherhood. It's never ending. I don't wish this even on my worst enemy.

2. Despite being held hostage in my laundry room, we did manage to escape this weekend to take in the cherry blossoms that are in peak bloom here in the DC area. Spring is definitely my favorite time here. No humidity. No bugs. Just beautiful blooms, 70 degree days, and gorgeous crisp nights.

3. We also had one of those once in a lifetime opportunities this past weekend to watch the Washington Capitals rink side 4 seats from the penalty box. The tickets were amazing. We banged on the glass, saw Ovi up close, and the Caps brought home a win. We had impromptu drinks afterwards with our dear friend and it was an awesome night. Even though I'm a die hard Red Wing fan, it was still one of those experiences I will remember forever.

4. Soccer started today for Christian and he LOVED it! It's his second season, and he just has a blast on the field. He plays at a park around the corner from our house. It's easy. It's fun. And he loves it.

5. In an effort to better take care of myself, I finally went to the Internist last week and am proud to report that my doctor says I have "Exemplary health habits" and am in "amazing shape". Go me. Now if only I could get a handle on my excessive worry and anxiety.

6. Lily continues to simultaneously push my buttons and melt my heart. On the way into Bible Study on Monday she pointed up to the crucifix on our church and said "Jesus is up dere. He ok, MomMom? (our crucifix is the typical Catholic crucifix depicting Jesus in agony on the cross). After I tried to explain that it was just a statue of Jesus and not the REAL Jesus and the REAL Jesus was up in Heaven smiling down on us and so happy that we love Him so much, Lily exclaimed "Jesus loves when I use da potty. Yay Jesus!". I guess we are on the spiritual track of potty training now.

7. I went out for cocktails with some of my girlfriends last week and discovered my new favorite drink. Chocolate Mojitos. DELISH!

8. I miss scrapbooking. I used to be a scrapbooking addict. I have all the gear and tools, a set area in our family office, and honestly can't remember the last time I sat down to do a page. I'm making a resolution to scrapbook at least 2 times a month. I really miss it as my creative outlet.

9. My mission to streamline my life and to shift my focus is working. Just this past week I said "No" to 2 different volunteer opportunities. I am no longer going to be known as the sucker.

10. Christian heard the breeze rustling the branches and leaves today on our trees. He pointed it out, and told me to listen for it. Such a miracle.

You Have Got To Be KIDDING ME.

2011-04-01T08:40:00.000-04:00

What's the worst kid illness that we could get? We've had RSV, the flu, Hand/Foot/Mouth, H1N1, various respiratory issues, strep, bronchitis, ear infections, and a whole bunch of tummy issues. We got through them, and with each one I always thought it couldn't get worse. But it did.

We got lice.

I was absolutely mortified that I could possibly miss this. I wash his hair every night, comb it in the morning, tousle it when he's home from school, and pat his little head at least 15 times a day. It was nasty. It was horrible. We're not dirty people! How could this happen?! We went to a professional nit picker (yes, there is such a thing) and she looked through for 3 hours. He got a buzz cut, and Lily is in braids. Ends up a bunch of kids from his class have it. I still have the creepy crawlies. And I am still grossed out.

The amount of laundry I have done, and will be doing for another week is crazy. Every morning I strip the beds and sanitize all of our linen. Christian's nap mat from school is washed everyday. Bath rugs are washed every day. And I wash all of our clothes that we wear that day immediately. There is NO way I want to go through this EVER again.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-03-29T20:53:00.002-04:00

*I'll have to get to this in the next few days as our world has been turned upside down and I've entered a whole new realm of motherhood. Can you guess why I'm doing laundry until 3am, Lily is in braids, and Christian has a crew cut? Are you itchy yet?

This is my weekend.

2011-03-27T20:59:00.001-04:00

It's close to 8 o'clock on a Friday night. Chuck is, as usual, working downstairs. We put the kids to bed on the earlier side since excitement (or lack there of) of Spring Break has seemed to wear them both down. An hour and half later, Christian is sound asleep. Lily, however, is testing my patience. I have nothing to do tonight other than house chores. I spent the entire day going from a gym class for Lily to getting new shoes for both the kids, to fighting with an insurance company during their naps, to running back out to the store with both of the in tow so I could pick up fish for tonight's dinner. I made dinner while the two children fought in the playroom, annoying Chuck as he worked from home in our office. Served dinner, only to not want to eat it because I was already so tired and exhausted from the monotony of the day. Skipped baths for the kids because I just wanted today to be over, and put them both to bed. And here I am. It's 8:05pm, and Lily is still testing my patience and this day is not even close to being over.

The weekend seriously could not come soon enough.

Fast forward to Saturday night. Spur of the moment date night at a my favorite local restaurant after a busy day and evening thanks to a surprise visit from Grandma. Drinks with neighbors. In bed by 11.

Have insomnia. All Saturday night. Maybe get 4 hours of sleep. If that. This is the new normal.

Sunday Morning. 8am. Both kids are awake, and my mind is racing with the list of the many things that need to get done today. Grocery shopping, which I hate doing on the weekend with the rest of the world, must get done today thanks to a busy Monday. Ugh.

8:05am. Coffee is brewing, and so is something down in the playroom. The noise level is rising, and Lily starts to scream. Chuck breaks up whatever is going on just before I lose my mind.

8:10am. I'm slipping into my sweats and fleece, rallying the troops to get dressed for bagels. There is no way I can do church today.

8:25am. We're all in the van on the way to the bagel shop. Kids are happy. For now.

9:15am. We're in Target. Shocker. Today's list includes a birthday present for a party later today for a family friend, dishwasher detergent, deodorant for me, new toothbrush for Lily.

9:16am. First meltdown by Lily. Chuck calms her down with promise of a special treat. Who knows what that will be.

9:20am. In the toy aisle, picking out something for the party later today. Lily thinks everything is for her, and all Christian wants to do is pick out a new car to add to his 500 car collection. I'm losing my patience.

9:40am. Finally out of Target. Breathing deep breaths, on the way to Whole Foods.

9:45am. Family grocery trip starts. Kids are contained by Tootsie Roll Pops given to them by the bagel store owner.

10:30am. Checked out at Whole Foods, only to forget two main ingredients for Monday night dinner. Awesome.

10:45am. Home.

How is it only 10:45am? I used to sleep in until noon on Sundays. You have got to be kidding me.

11am-12:30pm. Total chaos ensues down in our playroom, laundry is being done, 3 different lunch orders are placed.

And finally, 1pm. Naptime. Lily is asleep. Christian is watching a show. I sit. For the first time since the bagel store. And I breathe.

1:01pm. Christian needs a drink. And wants to play Chutes and Ladders.

2:00pm. Finally. A shower for me.

2:30pm. Hair already dried, and I can't believe Lily is already awake.

2:45pm. Fig Newtons for the kids, and I am seriously debating opening up the bottle of Pinot Grigio that I know is in the fridge chilling. Is it too early for wine? It feels like 6pm to me anyway.

3:10pm. Dressing Lily for her friend's party, I run my second pair of nylons of the day. Totally annoyed, I declare "Screw It", to which Christian then promptly asks "Do you need a screw driver Mom?". I laugh. Hug him like crazy, and figure out a new outfit.

3:45pm. Pile Lily in the van for the birthday party which is just for little ones under 3 and their Mommas. I'm so looking forward to Prosecco with my girlfriends.

5:15pm. I'm laughing with two of my best friends. It finally feels like the weekend.

5:17pm. Lily just hit a kid I don't know.

6:30pm. Still laughing with girlfriends.

7:45pm. Finally come home to a quiet house. Chuck bathes Lily. I put sweats back on.

8:00pm. I breathe. Again.

8:15pm. Lily is once again, playing and jumping. She won't sleep.

8:30pm. Still breathing.

I'm still breathing.

Spring Break. Ahh...

2011-03-23T15:28:00.000-04:00

We're on day 3 of Spring Break. It's absolutely awesome to have both of the kids at home, to not be sitting in the car for up to 2.5 hours a day commuting back and forth to school, and to be able to just relax at the end of the day. Christian has been resting a bit more and it is so nice to have a happy and well rested little guy in my house at 4pm instead of the tired and a bit cranky dude that shows up most days after his long day at school. We've had park dates, play dates, and some special alone time when Lily has been in school. Both of the kids have joined me at the gym. It's been nice to have a little glimpse of a slower life. I wish we could've gone to the beach this week, but hey, I'll take what I can get.

Ten On Tuesday

2011-03-22T14:21:00.000-04:00

1. Have you ever noticed how it really is JUST the little things in life that REALLY make you happy? For me today it was eating my greek yogurt at the lunch table with BOTH my babies. Christian is on Spring Break this week so both of my loves are with me this week!

2. We don't anything glamourous planned this week--maybe a trip to the zoo, maybe a trip to get new shoes, maybe a pizza lunch. It is a nice and much needed break from the rat race of city traffic, car pools and attempting to be in 3 places at once.

3. I'm slowly but surely trying to dig my way out of the crappy mood and all around BLAH that I've been feeling lately. Highlights were done this weekend and a wonderful sangria and tapas night with two of my oldest and dearest besties are clearing the way. I'm almost there...now if only I could get sleep.

4. Instead of giving something up for Lent this year, I decided to go back to my bible study. I am so very glad that I am taking that time once a week for me and my relationship with God.

5. Do you ever feel that all of the "extra" things that you have taken on really just cloud up your life and serve as a distraction and don't add to it? I had a moment of clarity at this week's bible study and realized that everything other than family, friends, and my work need to go. EVERYTHING. I have such a limited amount of time during the day, and the time I had was spent worrying and stressing over things that really aren't important. I need that time back. If I have 2 hours a day to spare, it better be spent working on my relationships with my husband, kids, family, friends and my faith. I'm not going to give up the "extras" that bring my happiness like volunteering for my children's schools and advocating for children with hearing loss, but I sure am going to limit my time with everything else.

6. Ok, another question: Do you ever look at the mess that is your house and just take a breath and walk over the Transformers and Itty Babies and puzzle pieces and sit down and drink a coffee? Because that is what I am doing now. I should be cleaning. Instead, I'm quickly blogging, then showering, and then taking the babies to the park. On a 65 degree day, the Transformers can stay right where they are.

7. I'm switching out my closet from winter to spring. I am so happy to finally put away my stretch skinny cordourouy leggings, Uggs, and riding boots. It's been a long winter.

8. I know I keep saying this, but I really need to get the video camera out and start taping Lily's little conversations. I don't know if it's because I am more aware or what, but she seriously speaks as clear and articulate as a 3 year old! Hmm....lucky little girl having Christian as a language model and a Mommy who uses Auditory Verbal Therapy!

9. Best surprise of this day so far: A load of washed, dried and FOLDED laundry in my basement done by my amazing husband.

10. Worst surprise of the day: What probably is a week old Eggo waffle in the microwave of the play kitchen downstairs...still with Nutella on it....thanks Lily.

Public? Private? Who Knows...

2011-03-20T12:10:00.000-04:00

I attended the 3rd Annual Conference on Faith, Deafness, and Disabilities for our Archdiocese this morning at one of my local parishes. While it is always nice to connect with other families in our area, my main focus of attending this morning was learning more about the possibility of a Catholic School education for Christian.

Both Chuck and I were educated in the Catholic Schools. We both had absolutely wonderful experiences, and I truly feel that my Catholic education (which went all the way through college) was the most amazing gift that my parents gave me. As parents, we are committed to absolutely sending the children to Catholic High School. We are also very serious about exploring the option of sending them both to Catholic Grade School. However, we're at a cross-roads right now when it comes to our plans for both of our children's education. Christian attends an independent secular school, and our game plan has always been to move him into one of our neighborhood schools for Kindergarten. The question that remains is which school will he go to?

We are incredibly lucky to live in a public school cluster that includes one of the best elementary schools in our county that feeds into one of the top 25 public high schools in the COUNTRY. Our county school system is top notch in regards to deaf education and support. The elementary school is within walking distance from our house, and has a bright and vibrant school community. Christian would receive any services he needed, whether it's speech therapy or note taking when he is older to back up the curriculum, no questions asked through the public school system. The other option is our parish elementary school that is also located in our neighborhood. It is a Blue Ribbon school and has an equally bright and vibrant school community. The tricky part is trying to figure out just what services we could get if we needed them and how our parish school could support Christian.

So what the heck are we going to do?

Wherever we send Christian for Kindergarten, Lily will follow and go there as well. I know it may sound trivial, but I have just about had it having 2 kids in 2 different schools with 2 different pick-up times, not to mention they are in 2 different states right now. As much as I know that I need to think about picking the school that fits Christian the best, I also know that we need to pick a school that fits our FAMILY the best as well. There's something to be said about going to the same school as your sibling, especially when the siblings are as close in age as Christian and Lily.

Again, what the heck are we going to do?

Our public school already has the systems in place and is ready to accept Christian and WHATEVER (if anything) he needs. Our parish school does not have systems in place, but I know will open its doors to Christian and our family and work with us. It's hard to believe but we're nearing the end of this academic year, with just 3 months left of school. Come this September, Christian will begin Pre-K, and I am sure I'll be stressing more.

Lucky.

2011-03-18T15:27:00.000-04:00

I'm not Irish, but my babies are. Can't you tell?

Twitches, Ticks and Tired Beyond Belief

2011-03-16T13:35:00.000-04:00

I love this picture of my sweet girl. She's always in motion. Always smiling. She's tiring, but is sure as hell the light of everyday for me!

I'm having one of those weeks that feel like it will never end. I'm coming off of a 4 month binge of volunteerism and events that have been fueled by Adrenalin and caffeine. Now my body is fighting me, with anxiety and exhaustion at the same time. How crazy is it that even though I honestly don't think I've been THIS tired that I have insomnia and can't sleep?

I've found myself getting a bit short with the kids and that disappoints me. I'm just in a foul mood. Maybe this is how all those celebrities feel when they check themselves into rehab for "exhaustion". I wish I could just take one day to clear my head and to sleep. No children waking up in the middle of the night, no snoring from my husband, no thoughts stirring me from rest. Just peace. And quiet. This is when I wish we lived close to my parents. I know that my Mom and Dad would just take the kids for the weekend, no questions asked while I rested my body and my mind. I bet they would even take Chuck too :)

Ten on Tuesday

2011-03-15T00:00:00.000-04:00

1. Update: Thanks to one of Christian's Auntie's, Star Wars boxer briefs have been found!

2. I started off this week with a trip to the doctors office for our sweet Lilybean. She has walking pneumonia. And I now have yet another week with no sleep I am sure.

3. Luckily, before the doctors we went to Lenten Bible Study. Lily had what she called "Playgroup at Church" and I had some much needed Jesus time.

4. Even though both of my auctions that I volunteered extensively for, my body is still freaking out. I've had eye twitches, insomnia, a racing heart and shortness of breath for over a week. Anxiety issues anyone? Can someone please spare a Xanax? Oh, and I had a mini-panic attack during my bible study. Now that's not supposed to happen.

5. Seriously, I am going to go to my internist to get checked out. While the weight loss side effect of my non-stop worry and panic is welcome, the dark circles under my eyes are not.

6. Christian amazed me on Monday. He asked me while we were in a noisy pharmacy that was full of music from a radio, loud voices and the clanking of a delivery man stocking shelves "Mom, what is THAT noise?". I walked around the little space searching for SOMETHING. Ended up he heard what I can only describe as the silent hum of the soda cooler. Amazing.

7. Our neighborhood is busy preparing for St. Patrick's Day. Our little group that we call the Happy Corner is throwing a traditional Irish feast in the evening, complete with Corned Beef, Lamb Stew, Sausages, and Samosas. Yes, Samosas. The filling is green.

8. St. Patrick's Day falls on a Thursday this year. Which means BOTH kids are in school. I know where I will be in the morning.

9. I'm still reeling from the horrible tragedy in Japan. I've tried so hard to shield the graphic imagery that's all over the news from the kids. Still, Christian saw some and heard about people dying and asked me what happened. How do you explain something so tragic to someone SO little? It's moments like that where I wish I could pull out a handbook and just look it up.

10. I ended up telling him there was a bad storm and we need to do everything we can to help the people in Japan. He responded to me "Mommy, we need to box up some of our food and mail it to them. And pray to Baby Jesus to help them." Again, why do I have anxiety? This sweet boy makes my heart SO happy.

10. Despite the anxiety, my heart is full. I must be doing SOMETHING right.

7.

He's Getting Old...

2011-03-09T19:06:00.000-05:00

I was on a mission today to fulfill an underwear request given to me last night by Christian:

"Mom, I only want to wear Star Wars underwear. You can put my Mater underwear away or give them to Ethan and Olivia's little brother when he needs them. Oh, and I want the ones that look like Daddy's (meaning briefs).

Do you have any idea how hard it is to find Star Wars Boxer Briefs?

He is getting old. I feel like we went from Little Bear to Star Wars over night. I'm going to buy him a Razor Scooter for the spring. He's all boy.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-03-08T08:55:00.000-05:00

1. We had teacher conferences last week, and I just can't wait to brag about Christian. Post to come, but I am excited to see his handwriting progress that he has made!

2. We had another low key weekend, but I still find myself totally stressed early on in this week. I seem to have developed an eye twitch that won't go away and I have been waking up in the middle of the night with a racing heart. Gotta love anxiety.

3. They call it "Fat Tuesday" here South of the Mason-Dixon, but back home it's PACZKI DAY, and I have tracked down my traditional pre-lenten Paczkis here in MD.

4. I am STILL on a drug. It's called Charlie Sheen. I'm sucked in. Can't.Stop.Watching.

5. Did anyone else see that Liberty has a collection through J.Crew this season? I love their prints, and they are so accessible. They are perfect for days like today where I'll drop-off Lily at school, and then swoop over to my client's office for a quick meeting.

6. With Lent starting tomorrow, I've had this fleeting idea that I would give up Facebook for the season. And then my tech-snob of a neighbor reminded me that it would be like giving up EMAIL for 40 days. I don't think I could do that. I use Facebook for so much more than just posting adorable pictures of my kids.

7. Speaking of adorable: Miss Lily after her nap...messy hair and all:

8. Lily is totally into my painted toenails right now. So, we're going to get pedis this weekend. I can't wait!

9. And Christian is REALLY into hockey. He keeps telling me "It's ok, I like the Caps and you like the Red Wings. The Caps are better". We're going to have a throw down on that one.

10. I am registering for HLAA this week. Who else is going?

For the Love of Gaga, Bon Jovi, and NyQuil

2011-03-03T17:34:00.000-05:00

I headed out to see Lady Gaga last Thursday with some of my dearest girlfriends. It was an AWESOME show and a MUCH needed break from day to day insanity. We had a blast both at our Margarita Dinner before and at the show. For just a couple hours I let go of my Mommy Stress and turned into one of Gaga's Little Monsters...

Did I mention it was on a SCHOOL NIGHT? A Thursday night...yeah.

So, Friday was spent in a fog, with no voice and I had to wash my hair 2 times to get all the glitter out. Saturday was spent running around, with my ears still ringing.

And Sunday...

Well, then came Bon Jovi.

A fun date night with some good friends. On yet another school night. What the heck was I thinking?

Don't you just love how even though I'm trying to be rockin' and all cool, that I'm really just signing "I love you".

All this left me with a horrible cold/chest/sinus thing going on. I'm living on Dayquil/Nyquil and thanking my lucky stars for my Mother's Helper and friends who will just take my kids so I can recover from all this. I had fun, but I also learned I'm no longer 21 and I can't function on 4 hours of sleep anymore.

McFly? Hello? Are You Listening?

2011-03-02T20:52:00.000-05:00

I know. It's horrible that I even just wrote that as my title of this blog, but in all honesty, that is what I want to say to Christian at least 3 times a day. Of course, that's in between playing the "Is it his age or hearing loss" game that I so hate. I am so frustrated.

All of the sudden it seems like Christian went from hanging on every single word I had to say to not caring at all. It was almost like switch was flipped on his 4th birthday that made him totally ignore me. I just sent an email to his teachers and in school audiologist to check his equipment. They probably are going to think I'm this crazy Mommy who can't come to grips with the fact that this is the start of 14 more years of him ignoring me in my house. It's just odd behavior for Christian, who usually makes eye contact and nods, and reaffirms what I have said.

I've also noticed some little changes in his personality. He's grown much bigger emotions, and now, more than ever, his sense of humor is exploding. I think he is going to be quite the clown, which makes me happy. I love how he is silly. I love how he giggles.

Fingers crossed that the foggy listening over the past couple of weeks is just a phase...or a dirty microphone cover!

Ten on Tuesday

2011-03-01T08:07:00.000-05:00

1. I think I used more glitter and hairspray last week than in the 15 years that I was a competitive figure skater. Gaga and Bon Jovi were amazing, but I am BEAT.

2. Christian and Lily gave me their colds, which gives a whole new meaning to "hardly having time to breathe". I'm going to apologize to my husband in advance for the snoring and to my classmates in my yoga and pilates classes this week for my mouth breathing.

3. Is everyone else watching the train wreck that is Charlie Sheen? Although I may have to take some of his talking points to my next IEP meeting with me. I mean, I do have tiger blood running through MY veins too...

4. I can't believe it's March already. How the heck did that happen?!

5. Christian is eating like a college kid these days. My little guy who I used to have to coach at every meal is now shoveling everything in. Just today at breakfast he ate a whole banana, yogurt, waffle, 4 strawberries, and asked for sliced apples. Growth spurt anyone?

6. I'm officially initiated in the Kindle Club now! I have had it for a week, and I love it! Are there eBook lending clubs out there? I am a library girl and haven't paid for a book in years!

7. To go with my Kindle, I'm looking for the perfect cover. Any suggestions? I found a Lilly Pulitzer cover for the Nook, but I wonder if it will fit the Kindle?

8. I just realized I only blogged once last week. I have A LOT to report--mostly language updates on Christian and BEHAVIOR updates on Lily. We have hit the Terrible Twos with her. Oh this child...

9. I came across this really cool resource that was advertised in our church's bulletin. There is an article about Marriage and Your Special Needs Child that is interesting as well.

10. Lent starts next week which means I get to dust off all my vegetarian recipes that are only in the cycle 4 or 5 times a month and start using them more regularly. I also need to find my Paczkis for Fat Tuesday. Does anyone know of a bakery that will ship them?

Ten on Tuesday

2011-02-22T00:00:00.000-05:00

1. For the first time in FOREVER, this past weekend we had almost no plans. A nice long weekend with just lots of family time together in our basement playing Wii, in the playroom playing with Baseball Guys, and in our kitchen drinking wine. Just the hubby and I. Lots of wine.

2. Of course, no long weekend would be complete without a little spec of the kids not feeling well. You know when you can tell SOMETHING is going to pop up? Yeah, that is happening here. They both look pale. Maybe even a bit feverish. Great.

3. Our weather forecast for tomorrow may be giving us a 4th day in our weekend. They are calling for 2-8 inches of snow tomorrow for the DC area. 2-8 inches. Isn't that a BIT of a spread to forecast? I hate our weather people.

4. So, if we get snow tomorrow, there is a pretty good chance that one of my kids will have school and the other won't. Christian's school marches to it's own drum and while located in DC, it doesn't follow DC Public School closings. Lily's little play school does follow Montgomery County public schools calendar, so when they are closed, Lily's school is too. Ugh.

5. I have a TON to do tomorrow, most revolving around the prepping of going to see LADY GAGA on THURSDAY!

6. Yes, I am going to see Gaga. I heading with 8 of my girlfriends. We have dinner reservations at a delish Mexican Restaurant downtown at 5, which means our husbands are going to either be working from home on Thursday to accommodate our drinking schedule or they are coming home early from their important jobs to accommodate our drinking schedule. We are so lucky to live such ho-hum suburban lives. Really, we are.

7. This might as well be my one winter week of fun, as Chuck and I are also heading to see BON JOVI this coming up Sunday with some good friends. Now...where is my leather miniskirt?.....

8. I'm beyond thrilled for our good friends Dave and Jenn as they welcome their baby boy Henry into the world today! Congrats! We love you!

9. The crocuses are peaking through (just in time for the snow tomorrow) which puts me in crazy "I have to sign my kid up for 8 million camps and sports clinics" mode. I can't decide if I want to wait out this soccer season (which ends in May) until a summer session or if I want to brave standing out in pouring 65 degree rain this Spring.

10. I'm writing this on Monday night around 10:30pm, and Chuck has just reported that ice is coming down and our sidewalk is already slicked over. I can't wait to brave carpool tomorrow. Hooray.

No Limits.

2011-02-18T14:35:00.000-05:00

Christian and one half of his class (the other half was on the other side of the stage!)

Yesterday Christian showed us yet again that he truly can do ANYTHING. For weeks his class has been preparing to sing a short but very important (hello, it is ALL about astronauts MOM!) song in front of his whole school. It culminates with a backwards countdown and it's ALL we've heard in the house for the past month.

He marched on stage yesterday with a proud little smile and confidently sang the song. Of course I was a puddle by the end. My little boy, who is deaf, just sang in front of his school perfectly. He has NO LIMITS.

Time.

2011-02-15T22:02:00.000-05:00

Time is not on my side these days. How is it almost 10pm and I haven't even thrown a load of laundry in today? Come to think of it, I haven't done a lot of things today. I have lists and lists of things that I want to get done. So many house projects, some as simple as just painting trim to the big ol' bathroom re-dos I have planned on 2 of our 3 full baths this year.

Why do I keep pretending that I am a "Stay at Home Mom". I'm never home. And the time when I am, I am actually working my part-time gig. So when IS there time to work on little projects? When is there time to clean my toilets? I spend from 2:15pm to close to 4pm everyday in the car as I go pick-up Christian from school. The 2 hour window I get when Lily naps before that time is usually spent working, showering, prepping dinner, and attempting to work a bit more. My mornings are shot---I am committed to going to the gym, so I can't complain about that. But that's just for an hour...tops, maybe 3-4 times a week. It IS my sanity. I need to find peace in all of this. However, when I look at my days, I realize that the lists keep growing and the time to do them just gets lost.

The little free time I do have (10 minutes here, 5 minutes while sitting in traffic), I spend stressing over the many things that I over committed myself to. Why am I always rushing? Why am I always multitasking? I need to stop. I need to focus. I need to weed out the things that are causing all of this stress and nonsense.

Come March, things are going to change.

Funny Valentines

2011-02-14T08:33:00.000-05:00

It finally hit close to 60 degrees yesterday, so we hit our favorite local park in the afternoon. I just got a pedicure and didn't want to smudge my toes, so I wore flip-flops. BIG MISTAKE. The snow melt caused some serious flooding and mud. I left the park with frozen tootsies and mud in between my toes. The kids had a good time, and I HAD to snap some pictures. It's been too long since I've been able to catch them in action the way I like to.

Once we were home, Christian worked on his Valentines for his classmates. He worked SO hard to sign his name!

Ten on Tuesday

2011-02-14T00:00:00.000-05:00

1. My dryer blew out last Wednesday. 600 dollars later we're the proud owner of a new Maytag. I only have 2 kids, but can you just imagine the laundry that piled up over the 72 hours I was unable to do wash? Thank goodness for our friends who share their wine AND their laundry rooms.

2. I've recently fallen into the "Let me make doctors/dentists/specialists appointments for everyone in my family but me" trap. I have a list of 6 doctors that I need to see and I have no idea when I can do it.

3. Valentine's Day has turned into more of a "Kid Holiday" in our house, complete with homemade construction paper hearts COVERING my front bay window and a basket of Valentine-esque Stuffed Animals in my living room. However, my Valentine surprised me with flowers, the dark chocolate Godiva assortment, our favorite bottle of wine, and a beautiful dinner (via take-out!) from our first date place. He's awesome. He really is.

4. We're inching towards a long weekend, and I am SO looking forward to not doing ANYTHING. I am dreaming of sleepy mornings with my babies in my comfy bed. When are they going to be old enough to make me breakfast while I watch my shows?

5. Lily told me today to "Go Away" and "No, I want to try that". Why do I feel like this is just a GLIMPSE of what I will hear in 10 years from her?!

6. Countdown to Lady Gaga has officially begun! 10 days!!!

7. It was 65 degrees here today, which makes me can't wait to wear these adorable jeans!

8. Thanks to the snowmelt, my yard is a total mudpit. I have my wellies, but I'm searching for the perfect rain boot for Christian. Send on any suggestions!

9. Christian told me today that I was his "Special Valentine Mommy". L.O.V.E.

10. And last, but not least...Lily went #2 in her potty last night. Don't want to jinx anything, but we're on our way....

All Knowing.

2011-02-13T23:06:00.001-05:00

I'm DESPERATELY trying to get our family back into the church routine. Us Catholics are known for not having very family friendly services, and for a while having two children under 4 was wearing me out. I couldn't get ANYTHING out of the readings, would stumble over the responsorial psalms, and our priest's homilies were heard through the muffled closed doors in the vestibule while one child was in my arms and the other was in the Usher's Room bathroom playing in the sink. Church was totally stressing me out.

I woke up today and figured that if Christian was old enough to memorize all the names of the characters from Clone Wars, he was old enough to memorize the Our Father and get his cute little butt to Church. I proudly raise the kids in a Catholic home (ok, a Catholic-Light home that praises tolerance and equality for all...and that's a whole other conversation), but I do believe that Mass needs to be a part of our life. So, I packed up Christian and went on a Church Date with my 4 year old boy. Our parish does have a children's program during our 9:30am Mass, but the kids have to be in Kindergarten to participate. I decided to sneak little dude in today. They drew pictures of what God looks like to them. Christian drew a stick figure with a HUGE head. I'm guessing it's his interpretation of God being ALL KNOWING or something. Who knows.

I stayed in the room to keep an eye on him. I watched him be such a good and sweet boy. Listening, sitting criss-cross-applesauce, and acting respectful. I also watched a little boy, who probably was in Kindergarten, crawl over to him on the carpet and stare at his Cochlear Implant. He got SUPER close to Christian, almost to where his nose was touching Christian's head. Then the little boy backed up, and looked at Christian and said "What's Your Name?. Christian, who was certainly annoyed, turned and said "Shh....we're in Church. I'm Christian". I didn't know if I wanted to swoop up and hold my little boy and protect him from what could be a hurtful situation, or if I wanted to run over and give him a high-five for being such a smart and big boy. Instead, I just sat and watched Christian handle the situation himself, and said a prayer of thanksgiving that my Christian has been blessed with SUCH resilience.

Cochlear Implant College Basketball Player

2011-02-09T12:23:00.000-05:00

Many thanks to Drew's Mom for sharing this story from The Columbus Dispatch. I always enjoy reading about CI athletes. This player uses a hearing aid AND a CI (just like Christian).

White, a key player for Ohio Wesleyan, doesn't let hearing problem define him

Saturday, January 29, 2011 02:52 AM

BY MARK ZNIDAR

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

CHRIS RUSSELL | DISPATCH

Ohio Wesleyan forward Greg White has a hearing aid in his right ear and a cochlear implant in his left. Neither works well when crowds get loud during games, so he reads lips and teammates use sign language.

OHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY PHOTO |

DELAWARE, Ohio - In fall 2009, Ohio Wesleyan men's basketball coach Mike DeWitt noticed that Greg White wasn't paying attention during a preseason practice.

"I figured Greg was just another player who wasn't going to listen to me," DeWitt said, smiling. "I thought, 'He's going to fit in really well here.'"

Later that day, center Billy Reilich, who has known White since third grade in Centerville, told DeWitt that White was deaf.

DeWitt was taken aback. Had he not scouted White at Centerville High School and talked with his coach? Had he not given the White family a tour of campus? Had he not conversed with White face to face many times?

"Billy said, 'Greg can hear, but sometimes you have to look right at him when you talk because he reads lips,'" DeWitt said. "Greg was too shy to bring it up."

White's hearing was never brought up because he has never considered it a problem. He can pick up low-level sounds such as an eraser on a blackboard and soft rain on the roof of a car because of a hearing aid in his right ear and a cochlear implant in his left.

He speaks clearly, although people have asked if he is from a foreign country. There is a hint of what can best be described as baby talk in his speech.

White, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound forward, couldn't resist throwing a jab at himself.

"Sometimes I do have selective hearing," he said. "We'll be watching TV and someone will say 'seat check' when they leave the room. I'll move in and take the seat. When the guy comes back, I'll say, 'I didn't hear you.'"

Almost two years into college, White is getting along superbly. He has a 3.2 grade-point average in economic management and is a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

The team wonders where it would be without him. The Bishops (11-8) have won eight of their nine games since White became a starter. He is averaging 9.0 points and 4.0 rebounds, is shooting 40.5 percent and has 17 steals.

"Greg brings a lot of energy," senior forward Andrew Martin said. "He's a tough kid. He outrebounds and outworks people. I notice a lot more confidence in him this year."

These accomplishments wouldn't be possible, White said, had his parents, Richard and Cathe, not decided to raise him in the hearing world after his deafness was diagnosed at age 8 months. He was outfitted with a hearing aid at 9 months and enrolled in a private school when the family lived in Whittier, Calif.

"Everybody in our family is hearing and everybody we knew could hear, so we said Greg would remain in the hearing world," Mrs. White said. "If you don't begin oral training in a child's first years, he or she always will be behind. When he was an infant, I would be so verbal with everything. Greg has worked so hard to get this far. It's a credit to him."

Early on, the Whites were told that their son should be raised in the deaf community.

"A specialist gave us his card and said, 'Get back to me because your son is so deaf that he will never be able to talk,'" Mrs. White said. "I'd like to talk to that man now. There was such a big push at the time to enroll him in the deaf culture."

White's world opened when he underwent cochlear-implant surgery as a 14-year-old. Until then, sounds were muffled.

"Being able to hear distinct sounds was overwhelming the first months," he said. "I had never heard birds chirping or leaves rustling. There was something new to hear every day. I could hear people speak for the first time. I've been able to talk on the phone the last three years."

The cochlear implant has been knocked out during games. White will hand it to a teammate on the bench, or someone on the bench will retrieve it.

Neither hearing device works well when a crowd gets loud. Voices become distorted. This is a particular problem at home in Rickey Arena, where the high wooden ceiling can be almost like an echo chamber.

That's when teammates must communicate with White through hand signals and mouthing. During timeouts, DeWitt looks directly at White when speaking.

Few opponents and officials have picked up on White's hearing problems. He wears his hair long, partly to cover the hearing aid and coil and magnet.

White entered the deaf world for the first time last summer in winning a gold medal with the 21-and-under United States team in the World Deaf Basketball Championships in Lublin, Poland. He is scheduled to play for the 21-and-over U.S. team in the 2013 Deaf Olympics in Athens, Greece.

The only change was that White had to remove his hearing aid and outside implant so he had no competitive advantage.

"I had to learn sign language," White said. "Playing basketball with the deaf has been a great experience. But I'm glad I'm part of the hearing culture. I have my parents to thank for that."

mznidar@dispatch.com

Poor Baby

2011-02-08T18:53:00.001-05:00

So pitiful. I so hope she doesn't have asthma.

Ten on Tuesday

2011-02-08T16:32:00.000-05:00

1. Over the past 2 weeks, I figured out I made 48 cupcakes, 2 cakes from scratch, 1 from a mix, and used approximately 6 lbs. of confectioners sugar. Birthday mania is over.

2. We hosted a raucous joint birthday party for the kids with our family and neighborhood friends. It was one of those days where despite the complete anarchy that occurred in the playroom with 8 million children ranging from 18 months to 11 years year, I couldn't help but feel so completely blessed. Both sets of grandparents were here and our home was filled to the brim with the people we love. Our family has some amazing friends who we are proud to call our extended family!

3. I scheduled the kids well visits for the same time. Let's just say after 4 shots and a nebulizer treatment I learned my lesson. NEVER AGAIN.

4. I'm a bit worried about my little Lily. That nebulizer treatment was for her and now they're thinking that she may have a touch of asthma. My poor sweet girl.

5. I can't stop watching the Chrysler SuperBowl commercial. I'm so proud to call Detroit my hometown.

6. Valentine's Day is on my brain. I'm heading to one of my favorite blogs to gain some inspiration!

7. How cute are these leggings for little girls!? Especially for Valentine's activities and parties!

8. Chuck and some of the guys from the neighborhood are having their inaugural poker game this evening. I wonder if it's going to be like my "book club", where we drink more wine than actually read.

9. I know this sounds lame, but I am SO looking forward to taking a nice long bath, opening up my new copy of InStyle and watching some TV. After these past 2 weeks I am SPENT.

10. I hear banging upstairs. Gone are the days of Lily and her independent play. I'm quite certain she just climbed on top of the dining room table. Again. Awesome.

Happy Birthday

2011-02-03T00:00:00.002-05:00

How do you go from this:

To this:

Happy 4th Birthday to my Buster, my Little Dude, to my Sweet Boy. Happy 4th Birthday to my guy who makes me so stinkin' proud everyday. You make Daddy and I so happy Christian! You are an incredible big brother to your "Bean" and she loves you so much too!

On the day you were born, you were 9lbs. Now you're over 40! Even though you are so big, you still let Mommy cuddle you and hold you. You love your Star Wars guys, all things Toy Story, and ANYTHING sweet. I love how you have my sweet tooth! You are just about the smartest little boy I know, and you amaze me everyday. I love you so much Christian. You are my favorite little boy in the whole wide world!

Ten on Tuesday

2011-02-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

1. I'm already having one of those weeks where I'm feeling suffocated by my schedule. Christian's birthday on Thursday, my parents come in on Friday, family birthday party here on Saturday and on Monday I'm hosting my women's group for our monthly meeting. I'm going to apologize in advance to everyone who will be in and out of my house this weekend for the condition of my house.

2. I've never see more camouflage jackets and guys with fishing hooks on their hats that at the Monster Jam show on Saturday. It was a totally different cultural experience...sorta like when you ride the Small World ride at Disney World and it all looks cool from far away but when you get close the puppets freak you out.

3. Christian also had his friend birthday party on Sunday at My Gym and had a blast. What an awesome place for a preschool birthday party. They did everything and I was actually able to enjoy partying with my birthday boy. Sure beats running party games and cooking for 35. Oh wait, I'll be doing that this Saturday for their joint family and close friend party.

4. Target once again proves to be my GO-TO place to find deaf adults to connect with. Just today I spotted a nice lady with a Nucleus Freedom and of course felt the need to go up, introduce myself, and gush about how amazing it all is and how awesome my kid is. She was so sweet...and we both like the same Greek Yogurt. Hooray for our Target carrying groceries now!

5. In more grocery news, I feel very suburban saying this, but I am super stoked for our NEW WHOLE FOODS to open in April! Luckily, I'm already sandwiched in between 2 great WF stores, so no matter if I'm going uptown or downtown, I can get my groceries. This one is going to be smack dab in the middle of both and only about 3 minutes from my house. Hooray for easily accessible Quinoa!

6. February is my month of concerts! Let the countdown begin to Lady Gaga and Bon Jovi!

7. After all this snow and ice I'm already thinking spring. I can't wait to get my hands on these and this adorable dress!

8. My parents come into town on Friday! I can't wait to have my Mom and Dad here. Mom will get the kids in the morning, Dad will make the coffee, and we're sure to have lots and lots of laughs and wine together. Hurry up and get here guys!

9. My stylist (and dear friend) just gave me the most beautiful color this past week. It's a buttery, carmely, blonde look with an insane amount of shine. Again, I'm thinking Spring.

10. Lily's new word of the week is "Delicious", and it actually sounds like it should. Love that little voice!

Snowpacalypse 2011

2011-01-31T12:22:00.000-05:00

Ok. Enough already.

I am officially over winter. I think it wouldn't be so bad if I actually lived where winters were worthwhile. Here in the Northeast, it's horrible. Especially in the DC area where 3 inches of slush can cancel schools for 3 days. We just can't handle it here. And when things get bad here...they get BAD.

I must've been living in my own birthday-mania induced bubble last week as I was completely taken surprise by Snowpacalypse 2011 that took our power out for 3 days. We were out at our friend's house when thundersnow and lightening hit our town's power substation. It looked like something from Lost---the sky turned green and huge explosion sounded. The only thing we could do was light candles and poor more wine.

Schools were cancelled and our house was FREEZING. By Day 2 the kids were over sledding and just wanted to watch a show in the playroom. Try explaining to a 2 year old the concept of electricity and how it makes a TV work. Yeah, not too pretty. We even emptied our fridge and made mini-coolers in the snow banks.

Worst of all, Lily's 2nd birthday was in the middle of all this. While we did get power back on that day, it wasn't nearly enough time for me to whip up some of my signature cupcakes or even get a little family party together. Luckily, our best friends came to the rescue and we pulled together something for my sweet girl complete with ice cream cake, turkey burgers for the adults and pasta for the kids.

Times like these always remind me to get our CI emergency pack together. We use rechargable batteries on Christian's CI, and always seem to fumble around looking for the disposable batteries in the dark when we need them. I've already put a little plastic container together near our flashlights that has all of our emergency grab and go CI stuff so next time (PLEASE, I CAN'T TAKE ANYMORE!) we are ready.

2 Years Old. My Sweet Pea.

2011-01-31T11:59:00.000-05:00

Sweet Pea.
Angel Baby.
Peanut.
Lovey.
Little Love.
Baby Baby.
Baby Girl.
Lilybean.
Bean.

Over the past 2 years, our sweet girl has acquired many nicknames. Some days she's all sugar. Some day's she's all spice. And some days, she's a little devil who can wreck just about anything in her path. She lives up to all her nicknames. She really is my little love. She really is a peanut. She REALLY IS my Angel Baby.

Happy 2nd Birthday to my special little girl. I so love watching you grow.

Great Job Buddy!

2011-01-26T13:26:00.000-05:00

This week has been one of "those" weeks. Lily has been sick and up and down the past couple of nights, the weather is gross, and I'm running around like an absolute nut trying to squeeze everything in that I can in the limited amount of time that I actually have. I almost lost it yesterday picking up Christian early from school and then shuttling him all the way back to our neighborhood for an appointment with our county school SLP. I had to wake sweet Lily up from her nap (again), traffic was HORRIBLE (as always) and I didn't make it the gym (not good). I was grumpy, and certain that what was left of the day was shot.

When I picked Christian up an hour earlier, my mood instantly changed. His teacher reported that they "Had the BEST session EVER" that he did awesome in some background noise situations, that he ROCKED identifying different speakers in NOISY situations, and that he was a superstar in isolating the /f/ and /v/ sound. She even joked "He doesn't need me, seriously".

Of course I was elated and forgot about all the crabbiness of the day. High-fives were given, chocolate milk was toasted when we got home, and I snuck in some big squeezes to my little guy. I'm so proud of him. Honestly, this child works harder than any kid I know. While we technically really don't need speech services any more, the tasks that his teacher is working on with him are almost like drills to prepare him for the "REAL" world when we leave his school and he goes into the public school in our neighborhood with 27 kids a class. He WILL have to work hard to listen in a noisy classroom. He WILL have to work at identifying different speakers in NOISY situations. I'm glad that he's working on all these skills now. I know he'll be ready when the time comes.

Ten On Tuesday

2011-01-25T00:00:00.001-05:00

Poor Lily and her life as the 2nd Child. Constantly woken up from her nap to sit in carpool lines.

1. I can't believe my baby girl is turning 2 this Friday! This is my last week having a 1 year old in the house.

2. And since I won't have a "baby" in the house anymore, I decided to consign TONS of baby things today at one of our local kids consignment shops. Winter coats, nursery decor, baby toys, even a double stroller. Fingers crossed that things sell and we can put them towards my DISNEY FUND!

3. Yes, we're officially saving and planing for Disney 2012! I'm thankful that many of girlfriends have already been there/done that and we can steal their planning binders. 2012 is our magic year as by then Lily will be potty trained, no one will be napping, and we need at least a year to save!

4. In other travel plans, this horribly frigid weather has me wishing we took our Aruba trip in January not in November! We're thinking of trying out one of those indoor water parks with the kids for a night or two in March with some friends. As much as I can't stand a pool full of runny nosed kids, the thought of the kids getting away with our friends and having some summer style fun in the dead of winter really is appealing right now. Besides, I hear it's a comfortable 84 degrees at all times in water park AND parents can drink wine and beer while watching the kids play. Sounds good to me!

5. I went over to my girlfriend's house last night and we celebrated her birthday with a true Maryland dessert, The Smith Island Cake. 12 layers of absolute bliss! It definitely gives my favorite Michigan dessert a run for the money.

6. We're pedal to the metal with our letters, numbers and pre-reading skills with Christian these days. I just purchased this really cool system that they use in our preschool to supplement writing skills, as well as this DVD that my girlfriend claims that her son learned the letter sounds by "osmosis" after zoning out with it after school.

7. I'm counting down until the reinforcements (also known as my parents!) come into town in just over a week! It's always fun having them here, even though I have a list of projects for them to conquer, a joint birthday party for the kids for them to execute and at least one night of babysitting planned for them!

8. One of the *little issues* we've had with Christian's Nucleus 5 is that sometimes the T-Coil would turn on after the processor was activated in the morning. We would double check and turn it off using his remote, never relying on him to tell us if something sounded funny. Well, today he told us that his implant sounded "scratchy" and it was "buzzing". Way to go little dude! Hooray for self-advocacy!

9. Christian is in HEAVEN playing with all of his Dad's VINTAGE Star Wars guys he just acquired last weekend. He took "Darth Vader with the Cape" and "Obi Won Candoby" into show and tell today at school. Priceless.

10. Lily is REALLY into her magic wands. Like REALLY into them. She bops me on the head and says "Magic". I wonder if she's trying to make my roots somehow magically disappear before my Thursday highlight appointment?

Lucky Girl.

2011-01-23T21:01:00.000-05:00

I'm a lucky girl.

This weekend included a quick road trip on Saturday up to Wilmington, DE with one of my oldest and dearest friends to visit another oldest and dearest friend. We left around 3pm, and by 6pm we were sitting in a swanky downtown restaurant, all dolled up, drinking Malbec and getting excited to go see one of our favorite Reality Stars. It was a FUN evening. I think my favorite part of the trip was laying on the couch with them this morning watching re-runs of the show we all affectionately call Bev-Niner. What a wonderful way to start the week: lounging comfy clothes with two of my besties, reminiscing about early 90s fashion.

By 3pm on Sunday, I'm back home, with an itchy eye. By 5pm, I've been to Urgent Care and back with a prescription to combat possible pink eye. Not so lucky there, but whatever. I still escaped for a quick but much needed break with beautiful friends.

Dramatic Play

2011-01-19T11:43:00.000-05:00

I don't think much about language opportunities these days, since they seem to just NATURALLY happen here. Both Christian and Lily are REALLY into dramatic play--dressing up as Transformers, Super Heroes, Princesses, Knights, Firemen, Policemen...you name it they do it. I love listening to them play together. Christian takes on the role of "organizer", and Lily listens intently. I love these brother sister moments.

Ten On Tuesday

2011-01-18T11:45:00.000-05:00

1. Most of the public schools were delayed today thanks to a good ol' fashion southernish icing. Christian's school had a 2 hour delay. I'm still in my PJs, Lily is dressing up in various princess outfits, and laundry is getting done.

2. I went and saw Black Swan with some girlfriends last night, and I had a hard time sleeping. I swear, I will never pick a hangnail again after watching that movie.

3. I love long weekends. We had a wonderful break together, spending the evenings with our good friends. I ate my fair share of football food, and one of my best friends reminding me that the holidays really aren't over until Super Bowl. Great.

4. I burned off some of the football food having a dance off with Just Dance 2. My girlfriend Alison kicked my butt 2 out of 3, but I still schooled her with my disco moves. I'm obsessed, and I will be buying it this week!

5. We did a serious purging of the playroom during Lily's naps this weekend. It LOOKS clean, but I'm sure after the 3 after school playdates we have scheduled this week it's going to be back to our normal in no time.

6. I'm heading up to Deleware to visit my roomie with one of my best friends this weekend so we can go see my favorite Real Housewife speak. I love despite how well-read, well-traveled, and well educated we all are, we still can watch trash TV and follow reality stars.

7. Another one of my best friends just launched a new business. If you're in the Metro DC area and LOVE FASHION, check her out!

8. Did everyone hear that Starbucks is launching a new size drink come May? I love how it holds more than the average stomach can hold. Sorta gross.

9. I think cauliflower is one of the most underrated veggies ever. I am excited to try this new recipe this week!

10. 2 kids who have birthdays one week apart means 4 birthday parties in a one week span (1 at each school, 1 for Christian's school friends, and one joint family party), which also means I'm on the quest for goodie bag filler (also known as junkie dollar store finds that will clutter up another family's home). I think Moms of the World should outlaw goodie bags. Like we need more Silly Bands. Really.

Together.

2011-01-14T21:55:00.001-05:00

Once a day, my heart hurts just a little. It's lunchtime, and my little guy's seat is empty. It's just Lilybean and I. My sweet girl with her tofu, carrots, hummus, and lots of apples and I with one of my "Go-To" salads, usually a spinach salad with some sort of soft cheese and beets. It's quiet. It's boring. And I miss my Christian. I think of what he's doing, and laugh a bit, knowing he's eating his Sunbutter and Jelly sandwich with his best buds, woofing down his fruit snacks, and drink his milk faster than any kid. I miss him at lunch. I know Lily does too.

Christian had a half day on Friday. I brought him home, sat both my babies at my old table, and just soaked in the moment. There they were, eating leftover pizza, laughing and giggling together. And my heart was happy.

Finally.Friday.

2011-01-14T00:00:00.000-05:00

I have had a rough week. Chuck's car has been in the shop which has left me driving into the city in the morning to take Christian to school and dropping Chuck off at the Metro. I just made my chocolate chip cookies that I've been making since I was 13 and I burned them. Who does that? I am so glad that it's Friday. For the first time since AUGUST (not kidding) we have NOTHING planned. Nothing. I see a weekend full of cuddles, PJs, wine and lots of down time.

She's All Me.

2011-01-13T00:00:00.001-05:00

Can I just take a couple of minutes to brag about my sweet and silly Liliana Grace? Lilybean, as she is affectionately called by her Daddy and I, or just Bean by her brother, is amazing. She is hilarious, always in a joking mood. She chats nonstop. Just yesterday she came running into the bathroom as I was doing my hair and make-up and exclaimed "Mommy, De-ah, De-ah, De-ah ou-side da window". She took my hand and led me to our back windows showing me 2 deer that have made their way into our yard.

She loves primping and helping me with my make-up. Her favorite color is pink, and prefers Chanel lipgloss (in Blizzard no less) over Laura Mercier (atta girl, I do too!). She is a complete joy. A COMPLETE JOY.

I never knew that having a daughter would be so much fun. I see her and I already see so much of myself. She is an independent little love, but also likes to surround herself with fun. She runs everywhere and rarely sits to play. She is too busy to worry about the little things, but takes much needed breaks to read her books or to sit with her kitty Sammy every so often. She is my special gift.

It's days like yesterday that started off with a rush to get Christian to school with 3 inches of snow on our panicked DC area streets that I truly cherish with my little girl. We came home, took off our boots, and had hot chocolate. She picked all the marshmallows off, squeezed them and stuffed them in her face. We played downstairs in the playroom where she asked me "You want your cah-fee Mommy?" and brought me a pink tea pot and a cup. We had a dance party to The Bangles, she helped me fold laundry, she got into a bit of trouble when she found one of her preferred Chanel lipglosses and tried to put it on her kitty's lips. Sweet old Sammy, just sat there as Lily shoved it in her face.

We skipped the errands, I skipped the gym, and I wasn't even humming along on my laptop. It was just me and my girl.

The Polar Bear Game

2011-01-12T17:43:00.000-05:00

I went up to Christian's class to bring and snack and share a story today. Their class theme this month has been all about winter sports and ice skating, so I brought in my very own figure skates that I used from back in the day and a nice story about ice skating. As I was getting things organized and ready for my story, Christian's teachers pointed out that they were learning about polar bears and how they have absolutely WONDERFUL hearing. They were playing "The Polar Bear Game" and it was Christian's turn.

All 13 of his classmates sat in their semi-circle with Christian in the front. His eyes were closed and his one teacher even covered his eyes with her hands. The other teacher then pointed to one of Christian's friends who then exclaimed "Hi Christian!". Without any hesitation, Christian identified his friend's name. Friend after friend, Christian got them all right. He knew their voice. He knew their tone. Of course, I cried. It's these little moments that other parents may take for granted that I treasure so very much.

Music and My Deaf Kid

2011-01-12T00:00:00.001-05:00

My Uncle Pete, teaching my little man everything there is to know about Dylan, McCartney, and Lennon.

3.5 years ago when we found out Christian was profoundly deaf, one of the greatest losses that I grieved was his love of music. I assumed that due to the severity of his loss that he would never be able to enjoy music. I cried for days. Music is EVERYTHING to me. I grew up in a musical home, exposed to all genres from Chopin to Joplin. I grew into the girl who can hear a song and remember exactly what I was doing 15 years ago when that song was playing. I remember wondering how my little boy could grow up without knowing The Beatles or the soft lullabies of Simon and Garfunkel. I was devestated.

Hearing loss or not, Christian was going to know music. As a little baby with hearing aids, he was sung to CONSTANTLY. As a toddler with a new Cochlear Implant, even more. And now as my preschool little dude, he's singing to us. On key. In tune. And clapping out the beats to songs. And requesting his favorites (Currently, anything by Lady Gaga, Dave Matthews Band, and The Beatles). And amazing us everyday.

Christian goes to music class at his school once a week where he learns about music terminology---can you believe he told me what vibrato was?-- is exposed to all sorts of different musical instruments (his favorite is the tuba), and learns all sorts of new tunes. His teacher has expressed to us before that he truly LOVES music class and is a musical little guy.

Is that a miracle or what?

The musical authority in my family is my Uncle Pete. I treasure our relationship, and many of the memories I have growing up with him are centered by our mutual love of music. When we are together, I still feel like that 14 year old girl who JUST discovered Bob Dylan tapping into his never ending knowledge and passion for music. Christian loves his Great-Uncle Pete, especially his guitar. Imagine my Uncle Pete on the guitar singing and playing Bad Moon Rising as Christian plays the tamborine. It was such a sweet scene, I couldn't help but think back to all those times I worried that he would never know music. I wish I didn't cry so much back then.

Uncle Pete is convinced that Christian has music in his bones and urged me to get him lessons in SOMETHING. Beaming with his signature Uncle Pete smile, he told me how he saw how Christian can find the beat and rhythm.

My deaf kid. My musical deaf kid.

Is that a miracle or what?

Ten on Tuesday

2011-01-11T00:00:00.011-05:00

baby girl having her first crepe a la nana. delish.

I used to do What We're Working On Tuesday posts, and once Christian was removed off of related services at his school and met and exceeded age appropriate benchmarks for all aspects of language and listening, I backed off. Of course we're always working on SOMETHING, but it usually involves picking up toys in our playroom, identifying letters and numbers, and how to change out the toilet paper in the upstairs bathroom. Obviously nothing my readers would be interested in (although, when I do figure out how to train a preschooler to clean my bathroom, I'll let you all know when that has been mastered). One of my favorite new blogs posts Ten on Tuesday weekly, and naturally I thought I would give it a try.

1. I just made the most amazing banana bread. From scratch. That has cauliflower in it. Half the loaf was gone after the kids sat down and had after-school snack. Thank you Jessica Seinfeld.

2. It's a new year, and I'm in the mood to purge. Why do we have 800 stuffed animals? Anyone know where I can donate BRAND FREAKING NEW stuffed animals that my kids haven't touched?

3. In more purging news, I'm done with the baby toys. Hopefully by this weekend all we'll have in the playroom will be Star Wars guys, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse things, dress-up clothes and a whole nursery school of various types of Babies.

4. I'm taking advantage of the 20% off sale at SkinStore, and trying a new regimen thanks to philosophy. I love my Skinceuticals, but it's time to change...and time to save money.

5. Don't you love it when you rediscover music that made you happy. This week it's Guster. How did I forget about them?

6. Lily is going through a phase of spitting out her food to take a drink. It's nasty.

7. On the flipside, she's talking consistently in 3-4 word sentences we can all understand. I love it. And I love her.

8. I'm back to my old gym routine after taking about 2 weeks off. What's crazy is that I lost 3 pounds over the holiday, and I think it's because I WASN'T working out. Time to get my curves back.

9. Christian is cracking me up these days with his color commentary on all things Toy Story related. He's making stories up about Ham and Jesse and how they are really good friends and go to the same school. I love his imagination.

10. Do you have Facebook "friends" that all they do is complain about how crappy their life is on their status updates? What about the ones that if you didn't know better, you'd think they were purposefully trying to hurt your feelings? I'm totally over those friends, and in 2011 one of my resolutions is to use the Hide button liberally.

Sanity Circle

2011-01-10T09:45:00.000-05:00

Kicking of 2011 with a bang this past weekend (and a Pomengrante cocktail) with my sanity circle.

These girls know far too much about me, about my husband, and about my kids. I cherish their friendship, their willingness to listen to me complain about the nuances of carpool, the craziness of my home repairs, and all the ins and outs of hearing loss. Honestly, I think it's safe to say they probably know just as much about Cochlear Implants and hearing aids as most parents of children with hearing loss do. Our history goes as far back to when we were 17 years old, just staring college in a big city, still listening to grunge and wearing hemp necklaces. We have inside jokes that no one else would think are funny. We've literally watched each other grow-up.

Times have changed and we're not sharing dorm rooms, first apartments, or beach houses anymore. Some weeks, we may play phone tag and not be able to connect. But what I love most is that we always are able to pick right back up and it's as if we talked for hours the night before. We know all our backstories. We all have changed, but NOT THAT MUCH. Sometimes, I look at them and while I see beautiful, accomplished, and absolutely amazing women, I can't help but see them as 19 year old party girls with late 90s hair (and shoes to match). And that is why I love them so much.

Bimodal vs. Bilateral

2011-01-07T13:57:00.000-05:00

The online CI community is all a-buzz (and honestly I am too) over the newly published research on Bimodal vs. Bilateral performance in this month's Ear and Hearing. Why do I have the urge to scream 'I TOLD YOU SO!" after reading this?

Ear & Hearing:

February 2011 - Volume 32 - Issue 1 - pp 16-30

doi: 10.1097/AUD.0b013e3181edfbd2

Research Articles

Comparison of Bimodal and Bilateral Cochlear Implant Users on Speech Recognition With Competing Talker, Music Perception, Affective Prosody Discrimination, and Talker Identification

Cullington, Helen E.¹; Zeng, Fan-Gang²

Abstract

Objectives: Despite excellent performance in speech recognition in quiet, most cochlear implant users have great difficulty with speech recognition in noise, music perception, identifying tone of voice, and discriminating different talkers. This may be partly due to the pitch coding in cochlear implant speech processing. Most current speech processing strategies use only the envelope information; the temporal fine structure is discarded. One way to improve electric pitch perception is to use residual acoustic hearing via a hearing aid on the nonimplanted ear (bimodal hearing). This study aimed to test the hypothesis that bimodal users would perform better than bilateral cochlear implant users on tasks requiring good pitch perception.

Design: Four pitch-related tasks were used.

1. Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) sentences spoken by a male talker with a competing female, male, or child talker.

2. Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia. This is a music test with six subtests examining pitch, rhythm and timing perception, and musical memory.

3. Aprosodia Battery. This has five subtests evaluating aspects of affective prosody and recognition of sarcasm.

4. Talker identification using vowels spoken by 10 different talkers (three men, three women, two boys, and two girls).

Bilateral cochlear implant users were chosen as the comparison group. Thirteen bimodal and 13 bilateral adult cochlear implant users were recruited; all had good speech perception in quiet.

Results: There were no significant differences between the mean scores of the bimodal and bilateral groups on any of the tests, although the bimodal group did perform better than the bilateral group on almost all tests. Performance on the different pitch-related tasks was not correlated, meaning that if a subject performed one task well they would not necessarily perform well on another. The correlation between the bimodal users' hearing threshold levels in the aided ear and their performance on these tasks was weak.

Conclusions: Although the bimodal cochlear implant group performed better than the bilateral group on most parts of the four pitch-related tests, the differences were not statistically significant. The lack of correlation between test results shows that the tasks used are not simply providing a measure of pitch ability. Even if the bimodal users have better pitch perception, the real-world tasks used are reflecting more diverse skills than pitch. This research adds to the existing speech perception, language, and localization studies that show no significant difference between bimodal and bilateral cochlear implant users.

Until Next Year

2011-01-06T13:46:00.000-05:00

On November 27th, 2010, we began the transformation of our house into a miniature Bronner's Christmas Wonderland. Every room in our house was Christmasfied, along with our exterior too. Over the next month, Gingerbread houses, construction paper wreaths, advent calendars, Christmas platters, collectible snowmen, Christmas countdowns, pine scented candles, multiple nativity scenes, seasonal towels, rugs, multiple watercolor paint projects from 2 preschools, and entire picture galleries found a spot in our home. I love Christmas. It's my favorite time of the year, and my house looked so beautiful. But come January, I want it gone.

We've spent the better part of the past 3 evenings clearing out the Christmas. The tree was taken down, and bins and bins of decor were put back up into the attic. I got a bit teary eyed packing all the "magic" away. As each bin was closed, so was another year of my children's lives. I wish I could just stop time and ensure that they always will have the wonder and awe that they had this year. I want them to always have their matching PJs, and complete and utter belief in Santa Claus. One day, they won't be bringing me home handprint wreaths from school.

With all the Christmas gone out of our house, we're preparing for both of their birthdays in just a few weeks. Again, all I want to do is just stop time. Once Lily is 2, I won't have a baby. And Christian, well he might as well be a grown boy. 4 years old, and full of love and laughter, and a bit of an obsession with Super Heroes and Star Wars. I just want it to slow down.

New Year and New Hopes (and some old ones too)

2010-12-31T09:42:00.000-05:00

It's absolutely mind-boggling to think that tomorrow is 2011. I still think of myself at times forever stuck in 1995 as a 16 year old girl, listening to Pearl Jam in my Doc Martens with my best friend (who STILL is my best friend) in her room as we attempt to make mix tapes and analyze Khalil Gibran. How did I suddenly become a 32 year old Mom of two, who still listens to Pearl Jam in my ballet flats analyzing the various coffee table options in the new Pottery Barn catalog?

2010 was a fine year. My children were relatively healthy. My marriage blossomed with the help of some short getaways and our first LONG vacation since our honeymoon. My home, constantly being tweaked and renovated, is starting to look more like "me". My friendships grew---some stronger, some weaker, but they are all in a place that I am comfortable with. 2010 gave me much to celebrate, and little to be discouraged with. I wonder what 2011 will hold?

For one thing, I hope 2011 will bring our family continued health. Lily Grace is my constant sicky, with a boogery nose and a constant cough. Her big brother, with the iron immune system, brings home the bugs that she just can't handle. However, with all the boogers, I have to remember they are JUST boogers. Life could be worse, and in 2011, I hope all we have to deal with are JUST boogers. Christian continues to thrive with his Cochlear Implant. His hearing loss has remained stable, and recent audiograms and testing have shown his extremely high performance---reading almost 15db across the board in all frequencies. He is my super dude, amazing me everyday with his beautiful speech, remarkable conversational skills, and beautifully inquisitive mind. I truly hope that 2011 will bring us even more miracles with his CI.

2011 will bring me a 2 year old and 4 year old, which officially designates that I no longer have a baby in the house, which means that I will be potty-training and binkie breaking. My sweet Lily is growing everyday, looking less like a toddler and more like a preschooler. Her brother, honestly has the look of a school aged boy. He's my Pre-K guy. He likes Star Wars over Max and Ruby. He prefers Spiderman over Thomas the Train. He has a LIGHTSABRE. He's old. In 2011, I'll be frantically grasping at the last days of my kids as "little ones". I hope that I can preserve every sweet little moment with them.

In addition to designating 2011 as the year of the bathrooms in our house (3 full baths need some MUCH needed attention, and it will start this year!), I am also designating 2011 as the Year of Tina and Chuck. It's amazing what a little vacation to do for a marriage. I'm going to work on focusing more on "us" and less on "me". After 5 years of marriage, I think I figured out that we're a team. Finally.

Happy New Year to All. Here's to health, happiness, and an insane amount of love to surround you and your family.

Most Wonderful Time of the Year-Christmas Day

2010-12-28T16:40:00.000-05:00

Breakfast before presents!

I should start this post pointing out that our kids RARELY sleep in. Regardless if they've been up until 10pm or put down to bed at 7pm, they are up religiously every morning between 6:30-7:00am. This works well for Christian during the school year, as he leaves with his Dad to go to school around 7:45am. Lily, never wanting to miss ANYTHING, always is up to see her big brother off to school. So, when almost 8am rolled around on Christmas morning, Chuck and I thought that we had our own sort of Christmas miracle going on. Thank you Santa, for that extra hour of sleep was really a WONDERFUL PRESENT!

Christian woke up first, ran out and exclaimed "Santa was here". Then he decided he would "wait for my baby sister to get up" before presents were opened. I had a cup of coffee, sliced some pumpkin bread, turned on the Christmas tunes, and around 9am we started opening presents. Christian was completely in the moment, however Lilybean was a bit overwhelmed. Once she got into her groove, you couldn't stop our present-opening machine. She was very excited for her Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Playset, and Christian decided it would be a good idea to get into his new Spiderman costume to test it out. My heart was so full of love watching my babies laugh and beam with excitement.

We hosted Christian's Gram, Papa and Aunt Jess for a fun Christmas Brunch (complete with my Farmer's Casserole, Overnight French Toast, Hot Toddies, and Mimosas. Christmas naps were taken (even by ME!) and then we headed out to Chuck's family Christmas party that evening. We were home by 8ish, kids were tucked in, and Chuck and had a moment to cuddle, drink eggnog, and eventually fall asleep in front of our new TV (thank you Mom and Dad M.!) watching The Blues Brothers.

It was a WONDERFUL Christmas.

Most Wonderful Time of The Year-Christmas Eve.

2010-12-28T13:20:00.001-05:00

Why is it so hard to capture an almost 2 and almost 4 year old sibling shot?

After the weeks of planning, wrapping, hiding, taping, schleping, parking, and all out running around in preparation of Christmas....it's over. It went by WAY too fast. I wish I could've hit pause over the past 3 days and just taken in the complete magic that the kids were soaking up. There really is NO BETTER TIME that Christmas for an almost 4 and almost 2 year old. Seriously.

Christmas Eve day was spent running last minute "errands" thanks to amazing but procrastinator of a husband, early naps and then the rush to get ready for Mass at 4pm (which meant we needed to get there are 3:15pm for seats!). Christian and Lily's Gram and Aunt Jess came with us, and we sat next to Lily's Godfather and his family. The 4pm Mass is the Children's Mass at our parish and while adorable and cute, it's a madhouse. Lily and her cousin, who is also 2, were hopped up on Smarties, while the bigger kids were attempting to patiently wait through the Mass until the Children's Christmas Pageant. Christian went up to watch the pageant ALL BY HIMSELF this Christmas. How is he so big? Really. I love our church community, and it was so nice to see all of our friends and neighbors.

After Mass, we headed over to Gram and Papa's house for dinner, then raced home to get into our Christmas PJs and do all of our Christmas Eve traditions:

Checking out Santa's track via NORAD on the internet!

Christian letting his Baby Sister hold Santa's Magic Key!

The Key!

Hanging it on the door

Reading The Night Before Christmas

I thought I was ahead of the game after wrapping most all of our presents during the whole month of December, but I was wrong. Chuck and I were still up close to 1am. Never fails. I think it's part of the parent handbook that you will never go to bed at a decent time on Christmas Eve.

We made it...sorta

2010-12-23T17:54:00.000-05:00

Last night after Santa road through our neighborhood on a FIRETRUCK (how cool is that?!), the kids were put down to bed. I was getting a quick haircut and then stopped by my girlfriend's house for a glass of wine. All was quiet. Until about 2am. Lily woke up with the pukes. Lovely.

Christian, Lily and I were in our PJs for most of the day. I did loads and loads of laundry, made more cookies, wrapped more gifts while Lily took a 4 hour long nap (OMG!), and then sent Christian off with his Gram to go see a play. I'm pretty sure Lily's puke was a rogue puke and NOT the stomach flu that has been going around our neighborhood, but we're still playing it safe.

Tomorrow starts our official 1.5 week family vacation. Chuck will be home. I AM SO LOOKING FORWARD TO FAMILY TIME.

Mom, I really love this alone time with you.

2010-12-21T13:13:00.000-05:00

Spoken as we crossed the slippery parking lot of our Bloomingdale's this morning. I mean, I just about melted. Really.

Dropped Lily off this morning for her last little school party, and big brother and I did some errands. He was my date to the bank, post office, Bloomingdale's, and some last minute Christmas hunting. He was adorable. Held my hand, offered to hold my purse while I tried on shoes, and was hugging on me the whole morning. My sweet boy, who as my girlfriend Erika puts it, has a full time job. He goes to school 5 days a week for 5 full days. So, my time with him usually is from 6:45am-7:45am and then from 3pm-6:45pm everyday. Not much time with my guy who is constantly growing and developing his amazing personality. I love our little moments alone.