Outside, Outside, The Sun Is Shining Outside

I am still attempting to finish up my list of bloggers who I want to nominate for a Liebster.  For some reason this is hard for me...perhaps I need to follow more blogs?

Anywho, in the meantime, here is what me and my two younger McG Girls did today.  We spent the morning at grandma's house helping her plant flowers.

Sophie SHOULD have been in school, but she has pink eye....seems Olivia graciously shared her pink eye.

Thanks Olivia.

Seems Sophie is also sharing her pink eye as Stella's eye was looking a little red when I put her to bed.....

But this post is really about the morning at grandmas.

So here you go:

Freaking out as I take the picture, crossing my fingers that Stella doesn't bash her face into the concrete too badly..

And YES!! She nailes it and continues to make her way down the stairs!

Here kitty, kitty, have some mushed up fruit!

Sophie found an earth worm...and loved it to death...literally.

I love days like this one!  Makes up for the crappy days!

This Blog Post Is For You Mom!

Empathy.  What is Empathy?

Empathy is the ability to mutually experience the thoughts, emotions, and direct experience of others. It goes beyond sympathy, which is a feeling of care and understanding for the suffering of others. 

(Empathy Vs. Sympathy found at www.diffen.com)

Some people are born with the ability to empathise.  My mom is one of these people.  To me, this ability is a rare and amazing gift.  Her ability to understand how it might feel to experience a situation that she has never experienced.....that is amazing!

This picture was taken the last time I saw my mom...May 2011!!

When I suffered three miscarriages in the span of 7 months back in 2007, my mom was there for me with a shoulder to cry on and loving arms to fall into.  She had never experienced the loss of a child, the loss of a baby that never made it past the safeness of the womb, yet somehow she "got it".  She was able to "put herself in my shoes" which is what I needed and wanted so badly at the point in my life.  Just someone who understood, my sadness, my loss, my anger.

I struggle some days with Stella's diagnosis.  I go through days of feeling sorry for myself, for Stella.  There are days I feel like the world is against Stella, the world is against anyone who is different, who is not what society deems "normal".  I have voiced my frustrations and worries numerous times to my mom and she is always there with empathy, love and understanding....even if she may not fully "get" how I am feeling, I know that she just naturally tries to put herself in my shoes and that gives her the ability to understand why I may feel a certain way.

This blog post is for you mom.

Thank you.  Thank you for being there for me emotionally when I have needed it the most.

Thank you for the kisses you smothered on my face as a child.

Thank you for the warm chest to lay my head on when I was sick as a baby.

Thank you for the many meals you made (even though I despised the stew that you made with all those big chunks of onions, thanks for slaving over a hot stove to make it)

Thanks for letting me watch TV all day when I was sick, and for bringing me toast cut into little strips.

Thanks for coming over almost every day when Olivia was a newborn and all she did was cry all day, everyday.

Thanks for taking over night feeds when Sophie was a baby (you living in the basement suit was so convenient!).

Thanks for letting my cry and sob on the phone to you when Stella was whisked away to the NICU the day after she was born.  Even though you weren't able to be there physically for me, just talking to you on the phone helped me.

Thanks mom.

I love you.

LOVE YOU MOM!

The Grand Finale of Question Answering

It has been awhile......yes... I have been distracted.

I have been....reading, not just blogs, but BOOKS!!!  I'll perhaps even do a book review on one of the books I am reading, but I'll save that for another post.

On my last post I answered 6 out of the 11 questions that Treyton's Posse asked me (remember my Liebster Award nomination?)

 That leaves.....5 questions.  So here we go!!

7.   Q:   What is your favourite candy bar?
   

MMMMM, Chocolate!

    A:   I don't have a favourite "brand" of chocolate.  BUT, I LOVE any type of solid, dark chocolate.  You know, the type that comes in squares, so you can break off a piece and let it melt on your tongue?? Mmmmmm, all this talk of chocolate makes me want some!!

8.     Q: Your kids are in bed and your spouse is off doing something else.  You have the television to yourself and the DVR has been recording everything from the last week.  What is the first show you watch?
       

     A:  WALKING DEAD.  Nuff said.

9.    Q:  What would you consider to be the greatest invention ever? Why?
       

      A:  At this point in my "small children, therefore sleep deprived life".....TASSIMO.  Why?  Because I don't have to remember to program the coffee maker the night before.  Because if I want a coffee... BAM!! A click, a push of a button and I have a steaming, hot mug full of delightful, aromatic, delicious coffee!

10.    Q: What is the one thing you cannot stand to be without?
          A: My iPhone.  I am hoping, I'm not the only one......I mean, it's not like I'm on my phone ALL the time.  But it's a nice security having it with me, plus I paid all this money for it (plus a plan).... I'd be wasting my money if I didn't take it everywhere with me.  Plus, it has a camera on it so if I wanna take a quick picture or video of my girls doing something funny or cute, I can just whip out my phone, instead of trying to remember to always bring my camera with me.  Makes sense to me.....

11.    Q: Who is the greatest superhero of all time:  Batman, Spiderman or Superman
       

     A: Batman.  And here is why:

• He has no real "superpower" yet, he kicks some serious ass.
• His "lair" aka "bat cave" is really cool.
• He has loads of money to spend on really cool "gadgets".
• He became what he feared the most...BATS!

TADAAAAA! And there you have it!

Over the next few weeks I will be organising my thoughts and putting together a post and "passing on the torch" so to speak.  I will be nominating 11 blogs that I feel have value and who deserve a "high five"!

It has been fun talking about myself (narcissistic much?) and I hope you all enjoyed learning a little bit more about me.

A lil' Q & A with Treyton's Posse

As some of you may know Rockin An Extra Chromosome has been nominated for a Liebster Award. Check out my excitement about my nomination Here.

With this nomination comes the requirement for me to answer 11 questions asked by Treyton's Posse.

Some of these questions.....my answers are gonna be looooonnng! I tend to expand on my answers soooooo with that being said here are a few questions and a few answers.


Q:   Why did you start to blog? 

A:    To Blog or Not To Blog.  This was my first blog post that I wrote.  I had been on the fence for a long time on whether or not I should blog.  If I started blogging I wanted to make sure I would and could commit the time into it.  I didn't want to start and then get busy and then slowly just stop.

One day I just decided to stop making excuses and just "do it".  My initial reason for starting a blog was to show those who chose to follow my blog, or those who just happened to stumble upon my blog, that having a child with T21 is, for the most part, so very ordinary.

I wanted those who were desperately seeking comfort or support after receiving a prenatal diagnosis, to find my blog and see how awesome Stella is, how fabulous her life is and also how perfectly boring and ordinary it is.

My initial vision was to show someone considering termination that, that wasn't the answer.  That their baby would change their lives for the better.  That having a child with T21 is NOT the end of the world, but the beginning of a whole new one!

Then I started blogging and something awesome happened. Something I didn't really except.  I started "meeting" other parents who share my passion for their family, who share my love of writing and who also share a similar journey to mine.

I am a very relationship oriented type of person.  I thrive on feeling connected to others.  Having found this online community of parents/families who have a child with T21, who go through similar struggles, has been wonderful.  To feel connected even though most of us live in different provinces and even different countries......monumental, at least to me!!!

Q:   When you were a child what did you dream about being when you grew up.
A:    I remember being about 7 and thinking that I would love to be a nurse.  Then when I was a little older I thought I'd like to be a teacher.  Then when I was in my late teens I thought about working with children with special needs, which I find VERY ironic.

However,  I never actually ended up following any of those dreams as by the time I grew up, I didn't want to be any of those things. At the ripe ol' age of 19, I decided to get my office administration diploma.  My sis and I actually took the course together.  What fun we had!  But we studied too, and worked hard and at the end of the course I got a really good job.  I was a customer service-import/export administrator at a chemical plant.

I sold acid.

Seriously I imported and exported chemicals. Acid....all different kinds, Nitric, Sulphuric....

I can honestly say that I LOVED my job.  I had great co-workers and a pretty nice guy for a boss.

But then in 2005 I decided to leave my nice paying job to become CEO of McGarvie Enterprises.......one of my toughest jobs to date.


Q:   What are better cats or dogs?

A:    Cats.  Here are a few REALLY compelling reasons as to why cats are better.

• I grew up having a cat as a pet so I am already biased towards them
• Cats are wayyyyyyy less work.  I have three young children, the thought of picking up more poop (I already wipe a lot of butts, thank you very much) does NOT appeal to me.
• My children love to challenge my parenting skills, I am not interested in making sure I am being the 'pack leader' as well.  
• I love to go for walks, but I don't have the time to take a dog for walk EVERY day.  
• If we want to go on vacation it's way easier to find someone to come and feed a cat every other day then it is to find someone to watch a dog.  It's true.

Q:    Assuming money was not an issue, where would you travel to and what would you do once you got there?
A:    If money was not an issue, I would go with my hubby and my McG girls and take them to visit where I was born and spent 17 years of my life....

BERMUDA!

Bermuda is a very small island, but it is NOT cheap to travel to let me tell you!

Once there I would show my family my old neighbourhood and the grade school and high school I went to.  I would take them to all the beaches that I used to go to.  I'd take them to the aquarium that their Aunt Wendy used to work at and I'd take them to the restaurants that I used to go to with my family when I was little.

Q:   What do you prefer and why: Apple IOS or Android.

A:  Well,  between the two of us (meaning Mickey and I), we have 2 iPhones, 2 iPads, 1 MacBook Air and 1 MacBook Pro.......so I'm gonna go with Apple.  Honestly I have never tried out the Android operating system.  I am not really a techie so I have no reasoning as to why Apple iOS other then, I really like how easy it is to use.

Q:   Baseball is widely know as "America's Pastime". Do you agree?  If not, what do you think should be considered America's Pastime?
A:    I'm gonna be honest. I don't watch sports....ever, unless Mickey is watching some sort of game on the TV.  Also, I live up North in good Ol Canada and I'm 100% certain that Canada's pastime HOCKEY!!  Maybe I should get the hubby's opinion on your question.........


And that is 6 out of the 11 questions......STAY TUNED for the final 5 questions!!

Liebster Award.....Rockin An Extra Chromosome has been nominated!

First of all I just want to state how cool it feels to be nominated for a Liebster  award!!

Liebster (German) = beloved, cherished, esteemed.

What is a Liebster award?  This award is a 'peer award' given to upcoming bloggers who have less then 200 followers.  (so far to date I have 19 followers)

I first heard about the Liebster Award from Rob Arnold.  He is the man behind Treyton's Posse.  I first found his blog when I joined a blog hop (I think).  Either that or from the Down Syndrome Blogs website.  I read sooooo many blogs that I sometimes have a hard time remembering where exactly I first stumbled upon a blog.  What I enjoy about his blog is the calmness and logic and love that comes through in his writing.  His post on the death of Ethan Saylor was one that stood out for me.  He came across calm, rational and logical.

WOW! Seriously, I am just so honoured that a fellow blogger thinks my blog brings value and is worthy of recognition.

So Rob, THANK YOU!

This nomination requires me to post 11 facts about me and to also answer 11 questions that Treyton's Posse has given me.

Hmmmmmm, so let's finish this post with 11 facts about lil ol me.

1.     I despise (with a capital D) onions.  If a recipe calls for onions, I will either use half or a quarter of what the recipe calls for.  Sometimes I will even omit it all together (onions in chicken pot pie???? Just the thought makes me puke a little).  I don't care if the chicken pot pie doesn't taste as good, onions are nasty.

2.     I used to be a part of an improv troupe.  (Improv? Improv is a form of theatre where most or all of what is performed is created the moment it is performed).  During my brief few years of performing I loved it!  When I got married we had improv at our wedding reception.   Once I became preggos with Olivia, however, I kind of slowly stopped going.  My priorities changed.  But I have many a great memory of those days.

The Impromaniacs was the name of our troupe 

There were more people in the troupe...they just weren't at rehearsal the day these photos were taken.....

3.  I am the youngest of three. I have an older sister and an older brother.  My big sis lives in Victoria, BC and my big brother lives in the US of A.  Salt Lake City, Utah, to be exact.  I truly miss living near my siblings and I am very excited to be able to see my sister and her kidlets again this year.  As for my bro, I haven't seen him in a loooonnnggg time! I am hoping that we can finally get our shit together and see him next year.

some really old photos of me and my sibs.  

4.    I would LOVE to be on the TLC show "What Not to Wear".  I love clothes, and I think I have a pretty good fashion sense, so I don't feel I need help per say, but I would love to spend a week in New York with two amazing stylists and be given a whole new wardrobe! And let's not forget a sassy new hair do and make up! So seriously, feel free to nominate me....this is their last season so, now is the time people!!!


5.  Zombies? Vampires? Werewolves? Ghosts?  These are a few of my favourite things....to watch...on TV.  Remember Ghost Whisperer with Jennifer Love-Hewitt?  Yeah, I used to watch that show EVERY Friday night.  It was cheesy, but I loved it.  Mickey started calling it Friday Fromage.   Then just last year the show Grimm began. I am HOOKED!

6.   I am not very fond of being call Ann.  Yeah, my name is Anna, not Ann.  I know, so trivial, right?  But as a teenager it would just bug the hell out of me when someone would read my name (as in look down at my name that was neatly and clearly written on paper (A-n-n-a), and miss the last "a" entirely and call me Ann.  Now that I am a mature woman (snicker), I am not bothered AS much when someone calls me Ann. Instead of being annoyed nowadays I just straight up correct them.  "It's Anna, not Ann." is usually what I say.  I am sure I come off as bitchy but hey, get my name right and then "bitchy Anna" won't have to rear her ugly head.

7.    I like to refer to the current city that we reside in as ButtFuck, Alberta. Here is the blog post I did on how we ended up in Alberta and why I call it BF, Alberta.

8.     Before moving to BF, Alberta, I was a certified fitness instructor.  I have let my certification expire so now I just workout when I have time (so never).

9.     When I was younger I played the violin. Yet another activity that I no longer do. Hmmmmm, I see a pattern emerging here....

10.    My first real serious boyfriend was Mickey. I was 20, he was 21.  We have now been married for almost 13 years.  He is my best friend and I love him more and more every day.

And last, but certainly not least

11.   Amusement parks are a form of torture, at least to me.  Wanna see me scream and cry and possibly pee and poo my pants? Then force me to go on a roller coaster, or a Ferris wheel or a ride that shoots you up in the air really high....pretty much any adult ride. Yup. Amusement park=torture chamber to this here lady.

There you have it! 11 things you may, or may not know about me!

Stay tuned for the next few post where I answer questions that Treyton's Posse asked me and many of the other nominees!!

Here are the other nominees:

Crayon on the Wall
Kimchi Latkes: Spicy taters!
Living by Faith
Loving Max

My Journey with Jenna
Nerd to Leader
Our Version of Normal

The Unknown Contributor
Ty’s Adventures
Words Hurt of Heal

Tumbleweeds, Crickets and Glee

You know those old western movies with the lone cowboy sitting on his horse, looking out into the vast, flat open land, while tumble weeds gently bounce and roll by?

That's how it feels to me when I post something important like (the justice that ETHAN SAYLOR deserves) and I get nothing.  No comments on Facebook, nobody shares my post, nothing....

Crickets.

I hear nothing but crickets and see nothing but tumble weeds floating by.

I am not including all those in the DS community as we are ALL screaming, demanding change, demanding justice.

I am talking about those who aren't directly involved.  It seems that nobody truly "gets" it or perhaps even cares.

How do tumbleweeds and crickets have anything to do with Glee?

You may be asking yourself this question.

They have nothing to do with Glee.  But I am very doubtful anyone will be sharing this post either, hence the tumbleweeds and crickets.

(wow, I am beginning to sound VERY bitter.... perhaps I will have to delve into this at a later date..)

For those of you who haven't watched Glee in a while or ever, the writers on Glee decided to do a show about guns.

They decide it would be a good idea to have Becky be the girl who brings the gun to school.  For those of you who don't watch Glee, Lauren Potter plays the character of Becky.  Becky (Lauren) is rockin an extra chromosome.  The fact that the writers wanted to give Lauren a "real life" role in this episode is awesome.  Lauren is a great actor and should be given more in depth parts.  But to give her this role...

I have been trying in my head and on paper to properly and coherently write down my views on that Glee episode.

Then the other day I was reading a fellow bloggers blog post.

WHAM! She was saying EXACTLY what I was thinking.

Her name is Becca and her blog is:
The Bates Motel

Is It Just Me....

Or do people really suck sometimes?

Today, was not one of my better days as a mother.  

Today is Sophie's birthday so I wanted to do something a little special with the girls to celebrate Sophie turning 4.  I took them to the library.  No, that was not the "special" part as we go there lots and well, we never stay long as Stella gets into everything and I can't really pay much attention to the other two McG girls so we usually just quickly go in look for a few books/dvds, clean up the monster mess Stella created in the kids area (ok, really only I do the cleaning, the girls usually just watch...) and then high tail it out of there.

I did not bring the stroller this time so check out was extra busy as I attempted to keep Stella from running out the door all while checking out the girl's books/dvds.  Stella was seriously pissed that I kept picking her up and not letting her walk so she was yelling pretty loudly as we were leaving the library.  I was sweating and walking fast while yelling at the older McG girls "KEEP UP, KEEP UP!"

Did I mention I was sweating?

The "special" event I had planned in my head for Sophie's birthday was to take the girls to Edo Japan for lunch.  Olivia loves the sushi and Sophie loves the shrimp.  Olivia was all keen to go.  Sophie...not so much.  "I don't want shrimp, I just want veggies and dip for lunch".  

Despite Sophie's objection for shrimp I did convince her to at least let me get the food "to go" so that  Olivia could have her sushi and then I would make her her veggies and dip when we got home. She agreed after I bribed her with an orange that she could eat while we waited for our food.

So in I go....three little girls in tow.

We go in the restaurant and I order our lunch.  The big McG girls sit on the bench to wait for the food and I put lil miss Stella beside them.  She sits and waits,  she climbs all over the bench while I pay and then I sit beside her to make sure she does not fall.  Then things go a tad crazy from there. Sophie is asking for help with opening her water bottle, Olivia is showing me what a big girls she is by getting our chopstick and forks, and Stella is moving everywhere on the bench as I try and give her bits and pieces of cheese for her to eat to keep her still.  

And then the big oopsie.

Stella kept trying to get into my purse, so I move her over to the other side of the bench and the other side of me where she can't get in my purse.

Yeah, that was the END of the bench.

I didn't clue in until it was too late.

I look over and there she is falling in what looks like slow motion, on to the floor.  She falls on her head.

I scream or yell or something and quickly pick her up.  She is screaming her head off which is a good thing, I think.  I hold her and comfort her, while poor Livi and Sophie are asking "Is she ok, is Stella ok?"

I don't answer them. I can't. I am trying to hold it together so I don't loose it in the restaurant and further upset them.

A few minutes go by. Stella calms down.  I check her pupils, they dilate evenly.  I stand her up, she sees a little boy and immediately walks over to him saying "Huuuhhh" and trying to caress his face.  She is still sad and fussy but seems to be ok.

I gather up our food, gather up Stella, and once again talk curtly to my kids "let's go, let's go!".  I practically run out of there.

I was upset.

I was mad at myself for not thinking and putting Stella on the END of the bench.

I was embarrassed and perplexed.

The restaurant was busy, and yet nobody came over to see if Stella was ok, or to ask if I needed help.

Not.....one.....person.

Oh, they all stared, but not one single person bothered to come over and make sure a stranger who clearly was distressed and worried and overwhelmed, was ok.

Not one person seemed concerned that a child fell on her head.

Sure Stella was ok, she wasn't unconscious, she didn't have any blood oozing from any part of her body, but a kind gesture, a "Is she ok? Can I help?" would have gone a long way.

I don't know, am I asking too much of complete strangers?

I know that if I had seen a child fall, I would have at least gone over to make sure the child was ok.

Maybe nobody saw, maybe they were all too busy and didn't see.

Or maybe sometimes people just suck.