Fit For a Queen

You know it's time to take your child out of the bassinet when their feet hang over the edge. That was the case for Miss Presley. My husband woke up the other morning and found her feet dangling off the side. At nearly seven months, she has officially outgrown the bassinet. Craig informed me that she outgrew it at four months... but who's counting. It's not like she sits up in the morning and goes, 'hey guys, what's for breakfast?' Frankly, I've just been a little afraid.. petrified actually.. to move her out of it because of the screaming. If we go backwards and she starts screaming again.. I'll die. Or go Crazy. Or both. But Craig made the switch. I walked upstairs and saw the bassinet in the hallway. A true sign that we were done. She was done. So she's temporarily sleeping in the pack and play. The funny thing is.. she seems to love it. She's taken her best naps since the switch. She can roll around.. lay on her belly.. snuggle up in a little ball. She's found freedom. In a pack and play. Our next step is trying to get her to sleep through the night. She still wakes up twice a night. It's killing us. We're mentally preparing ourselves to let her cry it out. But we're not there yet. At least I'm not. It's tough on a mom. Maybe she needs even more space to sleep. Maybe she needs an even bigger bed.. like our queen size. A bed fit for a queen.. and she certainly is that.. or at least a princess anyway.

We Like Mike

"Autism Speaks". What a fabulous slogan for the autism community. Well today in Kansas City, autism wasn't just speaking.. it was yelling.. 'find a cure, find treatment options, find the cause'. Nearly 10,000 people gathered this morning for a benefit walk at the Kansas Speedway to raise money and awareness for this disorder. We were there in support of our dear friend, Michael. He has autism. He is very high functioning. Upon meeting him, you'd probably never know anything was different about him. He is loving. Encouraging. He always puts others before him. He loves kids, they love him.. and he'll be the first to tell you. What I love most is that he's endearing. He sincerely cares about you. He's genuine. He also works hard at his job. Loves movies. Loves life. Before he reads a card, he always looks at the back to see how much it costs. He's fun to be around. He always kicks my rear when we run together. But he's never rubbed it in. Like so many others, this disorder has robbed him. His family. His friends. The Autism Speaks organization says that one in 150 people are diagnosed with this disorder. That's mind blowing. It's not fair. How would Michael's life be different if he wasn't 'the one'. What would he do. What would he be. Questions that have no doubt rattled through the minds of his family members millions of times by now. Michael had a very large group walking on his behalf today... raising over a thousand dollars in his honor. And that 'speaks' volumes for Michael.

Chatty Cathy

When you feel very passionate about something.. and feel like you need to be heard, it's hard to keep quiet. I can appreciate that. I am a passionate person myself. I get it. I support it. I'm on board. But, when you feel the need to get your point across at 4:30 in the morning every day.. it's a little exhausting. My sweet little Miss Presley has decided that she needs to get a few things off her chest every morning. She wakes up and just starts talking. She can go on and on without the need to really even catch her breath. Her 'speeches' are often very emotional. She'll throw in a little cry, a scream and sometimes even a laugh. She's never quiet though. She's a pretty loud talker. She doesn't really know what an 'in-door' voice is yet. I'm not sure why I should be surprised. She's been making herself heard from the get-go. She's one determined little girl. She was determined to enter the world much earlier than expected.. so she decided to pop on out about 4 1/2 weeks early. Then she was determined not to eat so she spent ten days in the NICU. When we got her home she was determined that just because she was a third child.. oh no, she would not be forgotten or overlooked. So she basically screamed her head off the five months of her life. And now she's determined to make her voice heard in the form of chatter. She too wants a say in this family. She wants to get her point across. At whatever time fits her schedule. She has apparently penciled it in at 4:30 a.m. every single day. Weekends included. The thing about Presley is.. she does not want to be told what to do. When my husband or I gently tell her, 'shh.. go back to sleep.' She's not happy. She's like.. 'Oh no. No one tells me to shh.' And she'll often cry at that point. My husband then typically hands her over to me to nurse her. That usually quiets her down. It gives her a chance to collect her thoughts again. To come up with some good talking points for later. I actually enjoy hearing what she has to say. Just as long as it's not in the form of a scream. So carry on Presley. But if you could decide to just push your speeches back a couple of hours..

Bad News Bears

Let me just start by saying I nearly broke my foot, lost my voice and almost threw my back out today. It's all due to what else... but coaching Piper's soccer game. Her team is bad. Really, really bad. And that's putting it mildly. Her coach wasn't able to make it to the game today so she asked Craig to fill in.. who then asked me to do it. I can't blame the coach for not wanting to come. We've only lost every game by lots and lots. I can't blame Craig for not wanting to coach again either. The last time he filled in, the other coach came over and apologized because they won by such a landslide. This time it was my turn.. and I was determined to do whatever it took to get our team a victory. Or at least on the scoreboard. On our way to the game.. we prayed. Asking God to allow us to play with excellence. He can move mountains.. surely he can help a little league soccer team. I had visions of 'Miracle on Ice' and 'Hoosiers'. I was fired up. If only my team of Bad News Bears felt the same. When we got there, one of the girls was crying because she didn't want to play. Her parents forced her out on the field. Literally. We all started chanting her name so she would get it together. Thankfully it worked. She was willing to at least just stand there. I told all the girls they could do cartwheels down the field if the scored. They informed me they didn't know how.. so we settled on forward rolls. My sister threw in a trip to the snack bar. Which they loved. Craig promised an all expense paid trip to Disney if they won. Yes, we're that desperate and not above bribery. While we were 'warming up' I was a total spaz. I wanted to get those girls on fire!! So just as the game was about to start, the other coach asked me if I was going to be this excited throughout the entire game. I was thinking, 'listen buddy... I'm the third string coach here. I'm doing whatever it flippin' takes to get us on the board.' The first quarter was good. We indeed got on the board.. but were still a few goals down. The second quarter.. not so good. They had an All-American on their team who was five feet taller than the other girls and could've been on the US National team. Every time the ball came within 12 feet of her, she somehow managed to score. Third quarter.. a little better. We got a couple of goals again.. the girls were turning on the heat. To continue this inspiration and motivation, I was throwing girls up in the air, waving their hands around, encouraging forward rolls, you name it. The final quarter.. a bit of a beat down. Mia Hamm was back on the field. Our girls got discouraged quick. One of our players refused to run and started yawning... complaining how tired she was. No forward roll would turn her attitude around. She was done. And fortunately, a few minutes later so was the game. There would be no trip to Disney since it was obvious we didn't win. But we were headed to the snack bar since we at least got on the board. And wouldn't you know it.. that little girl who wouldn't run.. ran all the way to the snackbar. Next week is our last game of the season. I was thinking about having Mickey and Minnie come to the game to cheer them on.. but it looks like all I need is a Snickers bar.