What to do on a Friday night

Need a little smile? Just call the Nestle Crunch Hotline at 1-800-295-0051. When you are asked if you want to continue in English or Spanish, just wait quietly for about 10 seconds and you will smile. Promise! (if you comment on this after listening, don't give away the surprise...) keep going and press 4 it gets even better...

Go on and call... you know you want to! :)

(thanks Renee!)

Movie Review: The Blind Side

Yep, I got to see it TWO DAYS before you! HA!

Yesterday Tyler called to tell me he'd won two tickets from a local radio station to an early screening. Dean is out of town, and I didn't have any luck finding someone to take care of Angela, so I told Tyler we'd come get him (he had no other way to get there) and he could take his sister to the movie and I'd hang out at the mall while they were being entertained. (how sad for me, time at the mall without a child...booo hoooo!)

The station recommended he arrive by 6:30 for the movie to start at 7:30, as seating is first come/first serve. (you know, everyone gets a seat, but WHERE you sit is the question!) I had to drive 30 miles to Anoka to pick him up, then back down to Edina for the movie. Traffic is ALWAYS horrible so I allowed plenty of time. So much that we arrived at the mall at 5:30, and there were already a few people lined up! Oh well, we were going to go get something to eat first. When we came back at 6:30 the line was HUGE! Like, a couple hundred people huge.

Since there was an hour to wait, I decided to hang around, as I didn't think Tyler would be able to manage Angela in line if she got carried away. Mind you, she's usually in bed for the night between 7:30-8:00! So, I was going to stick around until they got into the movie and then I'd go shopping sit by myself in the mall, bored out of my mind for 2 hours.

Pretty soon there were another couple hundred people in line behind us, and then the theater managers showed up to shift the line around, causing some people to get a little anxious that the might loose their spot in line. I turned to to the group of young women behind us, and said, "Well, you're really one more person further ahead in line, because I'm not seeing the movie."

They looked at me, "Why aren't you seeing it?"

"Well, my son won two tickets, so he's going to take his sister. I'm just keeping them company in line until the movie starts."

The woman standing right next to me said, "I have an extra ticket. One of my friends wasn't able to come." and she handed me her pass!

Ok, out of the 400 or so people in line, we just happen to be standing next to the one who has an extra pass to the movie EVERYONE wants to see????

THANK YOU LAURA WONG!!!!

Onto the movie review.....

This is the best movie of the year. There is not one thing wrong with this movie. Not one thing. You will laugh, you will cheer, you will be shocked, and for SURE you will cry.

And THAT, my friends, is all I'm going to say about it.

Oh, what about the acting, you ask? It is SUPERB. Every single person in this movie better be getting some kind of award!

Scheduling issues

As you know, we've been waiting and waiting for notification of Angela's appointment in Boston, which finally came yesterday. We can't really be picky about the dates!

Guess what? We'll be in Boston when I'm supposed to be taking finals! GAH! Needless to say, I have some rearranging of my finals schedule to figure out!

Neurology Update

It's a good thing Angela's neurologist's office does a reminder call a couple days before your appointment. I didn't even realize we had one scheduled for today until they did. (probably because I didn't have my blackberry with me when I scheduled it, so it just never got written down.)

Anyway....

A couple months ago we tried dropping one of Angela's meds, and it didn't go so well, so we put her back on it. When I mentioned that to the neuro today he kind of chuckled and said something to the effect of "Yeah, that doesn't usually go well with that drug."

The seizure med Angela is on (Depakote) combined with Risperdal has caused her to gain a lot of weight. It's funny, because 4 years ago, when Angela was very UNDERweight, our developmental ped said, "She probably always will be. It seems most kids with DS are either under or over weight, with no middle ground. There are some, but not very many." Just a couple months later we added Risperdal, and within weeks Angela had gained....are you read?....23 pounds! In the past 4 years she has gained 65 pounds. That is alot of weight for one little kid to gain. On the DS growth chart this puts her at 50% for height, but 80% for weight.

So, one of the things the neuro mentioned today was changing her seizure meds. She's gained additional weight (around 5 pounds) but she hasn't gotten any taller. He suggested we change her seizure meds for Topamax. It usually 1) controls seizures 2) Can help with aggression 3) helps with headaches 4) weight loss. He said some kids loose 5-10 pounds on it. That would put Angela at a really nice weight.

The only drawback is some kids can get really "spacey" on this drug. We have no idea if Angela will unless we try it, and then we'll have to see if she's TOO spacey, or if it's tolerable.

Now we start the several week process of adding the new drug and dropping the old. Just in time for Boston. How does it always work out this way?

For Your Viewing pleasure

In case you need help with your smiler this morning, this should do it.

Got our dates!

Angela and I will be in Boston from December 13-18th. That'll be here before we know it! I wish Dean could come along. We just can't swing airfare for him with Christmas here. Well, that and he doesn't think he can take any time off work. There is that I guess.

So, we're headed to Boston!

So confused!

So the other night I was coming home from school. Because I was bored I'm a considerate wife, I called to let Dean know I was on my way home.

Ring ring

Dean: "Oh cool!!!"

Me: "Hi. What? I'm cool? Thanks, but I knew that."

D: "No. There's this thing."

M: "No, I'm not cool? Thanks a lot. What thing?"

D: "On the TV. When the phone rang, this thing popped up, and said it was you calling. Like caller ID on the TV."

M: "When did you order that? How much is that?"

D: "I didn't order that. Did you order that?"

M: "Why would I order that?"

D: "Well lets keep it, it's cool."

Fast forward to today. Dean was gone making a Home Depot run, Angela was watching a movie and I was on the laptop.

Ring ring

Angela: "Oh no! My movie! What happened?" (Screamed with panic, cuz the world will end if her picture is somehow interfered with.)

I looked up to see me on the TV screen. Not "ME", but "Leah S.", along with my phone number.

How could this be? I was so confused. The thingie disappeared, so I couldn't tell was it the home number or my cell? And how could I be calling when I'm sitting here on the laptop? Wait, it can't be the house number, because that's the phone that's ringing. Are you confused? I was so confused.

Finally, in a moment of clarity, I picked up the house phone.

M: "Hello?"

D: "Hi honey."

Me: "What the heck is going on? I'm on the caller ID."

D: "Um...honey? That's because I'm on your cell phone. You left it in the car."

Now, this may all seem really stupid to you, and I guess it probably is. But really, it was kind of....ok it was dumb.

How it Came to Be

Just one mom.

Just one mom, moved by God, and by her own son with Down syndrome. That's how it all started. Please watch this video. Watch the WHOLE thing! Don't turn your back. These kids can't turn away from their lives. They must endure a love-less life until someone comes for them. If nobody comes, they will endure starvation, dehydration, and sometimes hypothermia until they just can't take any more.

Not everyone is in a position to adopt, but most are in a position to give SOMETHING. There is no shortage of families to adopt these kids, only a shortage of funds.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Lilly!

Grab This Button

You HAVE to click on Lily's sweet face above, and read the story of how her waiting family came to choose her. It is a story that will give you the chills. When you read it, you KNOW this is God ordained!

I've been following Michelle's family blog for a long time now, and I'm so excited to hear they've decided to adopt!

Praise the Lord!

Do you remember my post a few days ago, about little Lera? She was literally DAYS from being transferred to an institution, where she would quickly deteriorate, and eventually die. Never knowing the love of a family. A mother's love whispered in her ear, or a lullaby at night. The only thing to save her from this fate is if someone came forward and made a commitment to adopt her.

I'm thrilled to announce that Lera has a family!!!! Meet Lera's new family! Then, follow along on their journey over the next few months as they work to bring Lera home. Lera's family has 4 biological children, which includes a set of twins. One has DS, and the other does not. They know from experience that raising a child with DS is not the curse some doctors try to convince you of. Instead it is a blessing, and a gift.

Movie Review: Paranormal Activity

First of all, I have to say I don't usually watch movies like this. I just plain don't like to be scared, mostly because I'm scared for days. And, we have "stuff" that happens in our house.

So, Dean and I wanted to see "Precious", but it's only open in select theaters, none of them near us. We looked at our other choices, and Dean really wanted to see Paranormal. I figured I could always hide my face in my sweater if need be.

The movie wasn't great, but it wasn't bad. I would give it one thumb up out of 2. And, I probably won't sleep tonight, or several nights.

The Blind Side

Oh, this movie opens next week on the 20th. I can hardly wait to see it! (though I think I'm going to bring an entire box of tissues with me! Just the trailer makes me tear up.) I hope this movie opens more hearts to adoption.

Got Sox?

My friend Lynda, over at Sox that Rock! is having a sale! If you have a girl who loves all things girly, go have a look! I really want Angela to be little all over again just so I can go buy a bunch of Rock'in sox! (But if you know Angela, you know that she is all about Star Wars, Cops and Robbers, and all other BOY things!) Anyway, go get yourself some socks!