Mother's Day

Spring Break. Ahh...

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. 

Lucky.

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

Funny Valentines

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!

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

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

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.

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.

Best Time of the Year

A bit of the craziness of this time of year had set in, but not to the point where I'm totally freaking out...yet. I really made it a point at the start of Advent to NOT let the nonsense of the holidays take over what it's really about. Christmas is magical here in our home. Christian gets the nativity story and why we celebrate Jesus' birthday. I don't want to build memories into my kids' minds of their Momma running around like a lunatic in preparation for Christmas. I just decided to NOT run around like a lunatic. It actually feels amazing to just relax and soak in the season.

Some cookies aren't being made this year---in fact, I'll be lucky if I only get 3 or 4 different kinds made.  Only one kid made it to Santa's lap (I bet you can guess which one decided to take a lollipop from him and run). We haven't done many light trips, since the evenings are tiring and the kids just want to read The Grinch or The Polar Express. I should be freaking out. But, I'm not yet. Instead, I'm still getting the chills everytime Christian sings Jingle Bells. I mean, will it EVER get old to hear his sweet voice? Lily is telling us all about her "Snoman" and "Gingerbread House" and helps us find our Elf on the Shelf every morning. More importantly (and most cutely), she wakes up and says "Happy Birday Cheeses". Priceless.

Sibling Love--Lily crashing Christian's school party and sharing a treat.

Silly man. I love being his Room Mom...I get to crash the parties too!

FULL.

We had a relatively low-key Thanksgiving holiday which was absolutely wonderful. We hosted a small gathering here, the kids loved their turkey dinner, and the holiday was stress-free. It was exactly what we needed! Christian reminded us that he was "Thankful for Timmy and Lucas" (his big kid neighbors) and Lily cracked us up saying "Gobble Gobble" for most of the dinner.

I was the crazy Mom who braved Toys R Us at 10pm Thanksgiving night with a good friend of mine who is also a crazy Mom. The line to our local Toys R Us was wrapped around the entire SHOPPING CENTER! Santa's sleigh is now completely full, and after heading to the Disney Store at 6:30am the following morning, the shopping for the kids is DONE!

This Thanksgiving we had much to be thankful for. Our family is so blessed. We are healthy. We are happy. And as always, we are thankful that everyday we can witness the miracle of the Cochlear Implant. Christian is doing simply amazing.

Let the Fun Begin!

Batman had a busy day today, marching in his school's parade, having a class party, and even performing a front of his class. And Mommy had a fun day today, trying to not let the craziness of schleping kids, packing treats, making snack for the class, and running up and down MacArthur Blvd. trying to get the perfect shot of my kid, and all of my friend's kids get in the way from enjoying this special and magical time with Christian.

Lily was my perfect sidekick today...and I can't get enough of how she is a HAT and BOOT girl. Just like her Mommy.

Trick or Treat! Halloween Safety Tips!

Thanks to Cochlear for providing these reminders! I especially like the reminder of turning on the indicator light to not only ensure that Christian is hearing, but also in case we need to find it in the dark (fingers crossed we don't lose it!)

Halloween Safety Tips Carry a flashlight and a mobile phone with you. Decorate costumes and candy bags with reflective tape for trick-or-treating. Instruct your kids not to eat any candy until they come home and have it examined by parents. Ensure costumes fit comfortably and securely around the Nucleus Cochlear Implant. Consider turning on the indicator light located on your children's sound processor so you can ensure they are hearing while trick-or-treating. Inform children to walk from house to house and stay at your child’s side (or holding hands) when trick-or-treating, especially when crossing the street. For older children/teens going out with friends, make sure you know where they are going and have "check-ins".

Savoring the Moment

I woke up this morning to pancakes, eggs, and bacon made especially for me. I was showered with gifts, hugs, and kisses. I spent the afternoon walking around an art festival, then having a fun lunch out with my babies and my husband. I took a 2 hour long nap. I made Rice Krispie treats with Christian, and giggled with Lily as she played outside.  Christian told me several times today "I love you so much Mom. Happy Mother's Day". And my heart melted.

I'm savoring these moments. They won't always be 3 and 1. They won't always have milk moustaches, pigtails with bows, and sippy cups.  Life won't always be as simple as Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches and Goldfish crackers. As hard and challenging as it is, life just doesn't get better than this. I love these days, even the ones that are followed by the sleepless nights. They won't always be this little, and while one day I will get the much needed rest I crave, I know I'll miss these days full of parkdates, juice boxes and never ending laughter. 

"But Mommy, WHERE IS JESUS?"

Ok. I love this one. 

After we sat down in our pew yesterday for Easter Mass, Christian turned to me, looked at me right in the eyes and said "But Mommy, WHERE IS JESUS?".

My heart melted and I couldn't help but laugh. I had to stop and think, and I ended up telling him that Jesus was all around us, he watched us from heaven, and he was in our heart. He looked REALLY confused. I think I was too. I mean, after being raised and schooled in the Catholic Church, I still can't really explain the Holy Spirit. 

Religion in general is really tricky to explain to preschoolers. I've tried to explain to Christian that Jesus is a very special friend to him, that he lives in heaven, and he will always take care of us. That part, Christian gets. My curious boy though expects to see Jesus in the flesh. He asked me the other day if Jesus could come over and play with his Batcave. 

If You're Thankful And You Know It

Had to post these videos from our Community Meeting at Christian's school yesterday. About 90% of Christian's school are typically hearing kids, and 10% are kids with hearing loss, many with Cochlear Implants. As I looked around the gym and saw all our CI kids sprinkled around the room, I couldn't help but tear up. They were singing, laughing, and dancing. My heart was so full of joy as I listened to one of the older boys in the school who uses a CI recite a poem with his class of hearing peers perfectly. I am so glad that Christian has been able to attend such a wonderful school.

*Be sure to disable the music on the right before playing
**You'll notice that there is an ASL interpreter during the assembly. While Christian's school is an oral program, there are several culturally Deaf families that attend the school who use ASL as their first language.

Like Clockwork

It wouldn't be the holidays without some sort of drama with Christian's CI. Last night while at his grandparent's house, his CI was turning off for no reason. His Gram and Poppa have become quite the troubleshooters with his equipment, and when Chuck and I got the call (we were out running errands with Lily) that they were having some trouble with it, we knew it couldn't be good. They reported that they turned the system on and off again, took the battery out, and then even dismantled all 4 pieces, and it still was acting funny.

When we arrived, I tried everything, and it still wasn't turning on. I finally ran out to the car and got our "emergency kit", which includes a battery cage and a wheel of disposable batteries (we use rechargeables). That seemed to do the trick, but I'm still not convinced that the rechargeable battery is the culprit. I know better than that now, and usually when Christian has these intermittent failures, it's because of the controller or some other connection. So, Christian is wearing his back-up today and his in-school audiologist who was previously employed by Cochlear is going to take a look at it. I'm hoping that she can help us figure out what the issue is AND help us expedite a new part from the company.

Start Making Your Christmas List!

Even though AJ's Momma beat me to the punch this year, I am still SO EXCITED TO SHARE TOYS R US' DIFFERENTLY-ABLED TOY GUIDE. Once again, the guide is broken down into categories so parents, grandparents and even SANTA can chose appropriate toys that reinforce and build skills for our little ones. For those of us with kids who are differently abled, we know that toys aren't just for playing with, but they are also important pieces in our therapy puzzle. Believe me, our playroom is stocked with toys that aren't just for "fun", but they also serve a very important purpose in his auditory rehab.

I remember stumbling upon this guide as we approached our first Christmas with Christian, and it has become one of my favorite resources to share with other D/HOH families. I just finished flipping through it, and there are several kids profiled with hearing aids, cochlear implants, and even a BAHA. I LOVE IT!

So, Toys R Us, I'm sending you a BIG HUG. And for all our family members and friends who are wondering about what to get Christian, this list should give you a head-start!

Halloween

Our house was hit with H1N1 last week, but thank goodness, I was the only one who got it! Fevers, chills, and aches and pains struck me down on Tuesday night and I pretty much was laid out until this past Saturday morning. So, I'm sorry for not posting last week!Thank goodness Chuck was able to take some time off and be Mr. Mom. He took Christian To and FROM school, fed, bathed, and even took my place as Room Mom at Christian's party (he was Room Dad) on Friday. How many husbands would bake and frost cupcakes for their preschooler? Yeah, mine did!

So, most of Halloween week was a bust for me. I missed the Halloween party and parade at school, and we had to cancel our HUGE Halloween party that we throw every year. Luckily by Saturday I was well enough to carve pumpkins in the morning and eventually even see Christian and Lily off Trick or Treating. I was so disappointed that I wasn't well for Liliana's 1st Hallween!

I always am amazed at the rate of Christian's progress, but holidays make it even so much more apparent. I always look back and think about how he was this time last year. This Halloween, I was so proud of Christian, not just for his awesome language comprehension and use, but also for how he has turned into my sweet little man. He was so excited to see his friends in costume, often telling them "I love your costume! I'm a pirate! Argh". I heard him have several exchanges with his peers in the neighborhood and my heart was so full of joy. Christian's CI has not only given him the opportunity to listen and speak, but to also be HEARD. One of my biggest fears when we were given Christian's diagnosis of his hearing loss, was that he was going to live a quiet lonely life, and relationships with friends would be difficult. My little guy is Mr. Social, who thrives with his peers, and loves to play with his friends. He UNDERSTANDS their conversations, initiates play, and is full of wit and laughter. Such a miracle.

Mother's Day Blessings

I woke up this morning to the smell of pancakes and bacon. I looked at the clock, and it was late for me (7am!). I turned over, flipped on the video monitor to check on the kids. Flipping between both channels, their cribs were empty, so they must've been with their Dad.

I walked in the kitchen, and heard the sweetest words ever:

"Happy Mother's Day Mommy"

What a great Mother's Day gift.

Hearing those words come out of Christian's mouth, with his great big smile and beautiful brown eyes just about made me melt. Just another little moment during a special day that makes me realize what a miracle his Cochlear Implant is.

On this Mother's Day, I am thankful for my beautiful children, my strong husband, and my own Mother. I'm thankful for the joy they all bring to me. I am especially thankful for my girlfriends who are also Mommies. Their perspective, whether they are also SAHMs or working Mommas, keep me grounded. Their friendship means the world to me, and our time spent together is so important to me. Without the standing playdates, park-dates, and happy hours we have together, I know that being a Mom wouldn't be nearly as much fun.

On this Mother's Day, I am also thankful for the community of Moms that I have met through this blog and the various Cochlear Implant sites. Knowing that I am not alone in this "different" journey gives me peace. These amazing Mommas give me strength, and their stories give me hope.

On this Mother's Day, I am so blessed.

And this is why we didn't have blue eggs this Easter

Yes, Christian ate the dye pellet from the kit, thinking it was "candy". I just about had a heart attack. Luckily, his tounge went from Navy Blue, to a light shade of purple in time for Easter Mass on Sunday.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Bells Jingling.

Paper ripping.

Cookies crunching.

Santa chuckling.

Carolers singing.

Although this will be Christian's 2nd Christmas, it really is his FIRST HEARING CHRISTMAS. For the past week or so, I can't help but get misty eyed thinking of how he is experiencing all the sounds of the season for the first time this year. My heart skips a beat when he bobs his head in the backseat of my car as we're listening to carols on the radio, and then says "Prosty (Frosty) NO-MAN!". Seeing Christian experience all of this for the first time has really reminded me what Christmas is all about-faith, hope, and believing in miracles.