Thankful

my children. 

i am so thankful God chose me to be their mommy. 

each one makes me smile in a different way; 

each of them have this crazy sense of humor and contagious laugh.

no matter the challenges that face us, I end the day 

thanking God they are HAPPY, HEALTHY children who are FULL of LOVE.

 and for that, I couldn't be more thankful.

my husband.

we celebrated 17 years of marriage this year. seven.teen. 

i am so proud of us.

i am proud of him. he is a wonderful father and an even better husband.

we compliment each other.

i am thankful for all his hard work which allows me to watch my kids get on and off the bus.

i fell in love with him because he made me laugh ... he made me smile,

and he still does.

and for this, I am thankful.

my mom.

since my first memories, it was always me and my mom.

we were a team. partners. we made it through thick and thin together.

she taught me to be independent,

that i could do anything i set my heart out to do,

that no one could hold me back.

she is my rock. my hero.

she is also an amazing grandma

and has a heart of gold.

for her, i will always be thankful.

friendship.

i believe every friendship made throughout life is

a reason, a season, or a lifetime.

and i appreciate each one and the lessons learned.

i cherish hour plus phone calls

that take me away from reality.

i cherish dinners out, and long chats over a bottle of wine,

as each of us vent, cry, laugh.

i cherish my friends.

technology.

i don't know if i could get through the day without my apple products.

not only do they help me keep in touch with friends and family

from around the country - at home and on the go,

(and keep my kids busy when mom needs some quiet time),

technology has provided a means to knowing a new community within my life;

a community of people, whom most, i have never met, but come to love.

and for all my fellow hearing loss families,

i am beyond thankful.

cochlear implants.

speaking of technology,

i couldn't get through this list without mentioning CIs.

everyday as he gives me a hug and says "good morning mommy",

everyday as i hear him laugh with or yell at his brother and sister,

everyday as i hear his sweet little voice,

i thank God.

without these, i wouldn't of heard this morning,

"mommy i need help charge ds please"

seven words.

blessed.

my sister-in-laws.

i have two brothers. we're close, but what girl doesn't want a sister.

now i have many.

there's nothing better than heading up  north

and spending the night chatting and laughing

and more times than not, (excuse my language), bitching, amongst each other.

another reason i'm thankful for my husband,

by marrying him i also inherited the sisters i never had.

memories of my dad.

even though it's been almost four years,

i still have tearful days of missing him dearly.

but not a day goes by that i don't think of him and smile.

as the years pass, i am thankful for being able to focus more on the memories,

instead of the loss.

and i will always be thankful for,

the father he was.

and last but certainly not least...

wine.

yep. SO thankful for wine.

not much more to say about that.

oh, and

chocolate.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

wordless wednesday

newest fascination - pockets

ten on tuesday

1. I can't believe I'm up past 10 pm. On the nights I lay with Aiden to get him to go to sleep (don't judge, bad habit, third child) I'm out right with him. On the nights I have off, once I say goodnight to K, I'm crawling in bed myself.

2. cRaZy past couple of weeks ...

3. We had my SIL's wedding a couple weekends ago. She was stunning, absolutely beautiful. Selfishly, one of my favorite parts was watching Aiden dance the night away. I've never seen him dance so much. Actually, outside of Laurie Berkner or mimicking his sister here and there, I don't think I've ever seen him truly GET DOWN . I was in Heaven.

4. Ryan had been complaining about his belly the past few weeks. I blew it off to "teenage boy eating habits". He came home from his Lacrosse game last Tuesday, scarfed down two bowls of chili, and went into complete pain mode. After giving him antacid type of meds, the pain kept getting worse and worse to the point I took him to the ER (last thing I wanted to do because I swore it was his teenage gut and at this point it was past 10 pm and WAY past my bedtime). Glad I listened to  him. He had his appendix removed early the next morning and spent two days in the hospital.

5. The day Ryan got home from the hospital, Aiden got the flu. In three years, the boy has never really puked. All.night.long - he puked. Of course he did.

6. With #3 & #4, I had to cancel Aiden's IEP, which was just fine since I wasn't completely prepared. I know what goals he needs and I (hope) they won't fight me, but we (mom & dad) just have other thoughts in mind that we're still trying to work through. For now though, we forge forward with what we have, and know it's always nice to have options. It's now this Friday. Guess I know what I'll be working on tomorrow.

7. I need a vacation. then again, who doesn't?

8. Next weekend (yep, Thanksgiving weekend), I'm heading to Chi town with one of my favorite chics, my niece, and my all time favorite daughter for a girl's weekend. I think my mom may even join us. I am BEYOND excited (see #'s 3 & 4 above).

9. I'm pretty sure we're heading to my mom's for Christmas. I cannot wait to see my grandma & grandpa. I missed them this summer and I'm way overdue for morning coffee/gossip time with the best grandma in the whole.wide.world AND for 4pm Miller time with the most amazing man ever. and of course, i'm so excited to see my mommy too (and maybe actually get date night with another amazing man I know)!

10. It's almost 11 pm. Way past my bedtime, yet this peace and quiet time is beautiful.

10a - I have so much to catch up on with Aiden ... OT, speech, his bossy language, incidental learning ... so much to say. Guess I need to stay up past 8pm more often!!

been busy

with my loves.

be back soon.

HaPpY HaLLoWeEn!

Then

the goal was to get Aiden to point at the correct picture or item

as I said the word,

witch or ghost or bat or pumpkin,
to show us he could discriminate between the words,
and associate the word with the correct object.

it was a short seven months into his journey

to hear and speak.

He was 19 months old.

If we were lucky,

and we were,

we'd get a vocal "ee-ee-ee" for the witch

"oooo" for the ghost,

and "pa-pa-pa" for pumpkin.

in fact I remember being

ECSTATIC as he went a step further and called a pumpkin,
 "uH-uN"

it was pure bliss.

Now

two years later,

three and a half years old,

two and a half years into his hearing journey,

he TOLD me he wanted to be a 

"DOST"

for Halloween or a

"DIAHSOAR! ROAR!"

and proceeded to TELL me, every.single.day how a

"Jah-o-laher a face. eyes, nose, mouf"

and when I would ask, 

"What is a JACK-O-LATERN without a face called?"

He would yell, 

"Pumpkin!"

clear as day.

and he's added words like

scarecrow, skeleton, trick-or-treat, Halloween, costume, and scary.

This year on Halloween,

he RAN up to the doors, bag in hand,

and it was HIM I HEARD,
out of all the kids,

"TRIH-A-TREAT! oh, tank you!"

and my heart melted,

each.and.every.time.

HaPpY HaLLoWeEn!