365

December 31st, 2010, 8:16am:
I had finally fallen asleep on my husbands lap.  After being awake for the entire night, sitting with my mom, holding her hand, trying desperately to not loose all hope.  I finally laid my head down and closed my eyes.  45 minutes later I was awoken by my sister.  "Shes gone"  is all she said.  I looked at her and said "no".  I knew what it meant and I wasn't ready for it.  She held my hand and said it again, as if to convince herself of the truth.  "Yes Paige, she is gone"  I sat up and tried to understand.  But all I could do was think about breathing.  One breath in, one breath out.  My aunt said do you want to go say goodbye.  I nodded yes and started to walk down the hall into the room where I had grown up to kiss my mom one last time.  My husband walked beside me and held me up as I entered the room.  She laid there looking so peaceful.  But the minute I entered the room I knew it wasn't her anymore.  There was no life and it was very evident the moment you walked in.  I closed my eyes tight and leaned over and kissed her forehead.  I whispered in her ear "I love you.  Thank you for being the best mom ever"  I turned and walked out and fell into my husbands arms and wept.  Everything after was a blur.  I wanted to run out of the house.  I wanted to go back to sleep.  I wanted to go back in one last time and just lay with her.  But I knew nothing was going to make me feel any better.  Life at 8:16am was forever changed. 

365 days later myself, my sister, my husband and my children, let balloons off into heaven.  To celebrate the life my mom lived.  We each wrote a special note on each balloon and watched 7 balloons dance into heaven.  It was magical.  I am so proud of my family.  We did it.  We endured one of the toughest years I could have ever imagined and we came out  stronger and closer than before.  Goodbye 2011.  Hello 2012.  May you bring us even more peace, strength, love and happiness.

Water

Water.  I don't ever think about how amazing it really is.  Or the fact that at any given moment I can get some fresh, clean, cold water.  From my faucet.  From my refrigerator.  From the market.  From the hose.  Did you know that a lot, I mean A LOT of children go without clean drinking water. I can't imagine not being able to make Lucys bottle or fill the kids water bottles up for school.

 

Diseases from unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Children are especially vulnerable, as their bodies aren't strong enough to fight diarrhea, dysentery and other illnesses.

90% of the 30,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and unhygienic living conditions are of children under five years old. Many of these diseases are preventable. The UN predicts that one tenth of the global disease burden can be prevented simply by improving water supply and sanitation. 
 taken from charity:water

Did you know there is something that you can do to help.  By donating just $10 to project 320   you can help change all that?  And did you know that by donating $10 it will enter you in giveaways on not just this little blog but lots of others?  How easy is that?  And how amazing to be able to fund a well that can provide clean drinking water for 10 YEARS!!!  

Here is my giveaway:

My sister in law and I are making flash cards for babies and toddlers.  They are perfect for your little ones imagination. I will be giving away the ABC set and the Animal and Insect set.  The ABC set  has 26 front and back handmade cards displaying the alphabet.
They Animal and Insect has 16 front and back handmade cards.
 Each card is laminated so you can easily clean them. Held together by a colorful ring so you or your child can easily flip through them.
Bright colors and original artwork will help your ever curious child learn and their imagination grow.
You can see more at our site, Flip to my Lou.

You can enter by donating just $10 to project 320.  One donation gets you one entry.  A $20 dollar donation gets you 2.  And so on.

Visit The Project 320 Blog to see all the other giveaways.

Spread the word about this amazing fundraiser and Good Luck!!!

thanks

Over at Joys Hope there is something amazing happening starting on Monday. After all the kindness we recieved after my mom died and Lucy was born I have never felt like I could say thank you in a way that really showed how grateful I was for all the gifts, food, cards and hugs. But this project is just a small way that I can start to pay it forward to others that might need a little happy in their life. Will you join me? Go check it out. It's really amazing how one little thing can make someones day so much brighter.

Happy

The relationship between my son and Lucy is beautiful. He loves her so much and is always making her smile. She loves him just as much. She loves to watch him as he builds legos or tells stories in the car. I can only hope that this special bond they share will carry on with them through their lives. Enjoy this video of their very special friendship.

thoughts

*School has started and while I have enjoyed the routine that fall brings I am tired, oh so tired. Staying home is a lot more exhausting than I could have ever imagined.

*Sometimes when I hear other women complain about their moms I want to slap them. For reals. Look I know I did it, we all do, but I just want to scream in their faces and say you are so lucky to still have a mom to complain about!

* I still cry like a baby when I think about my mom. Is that normal?

*Lucy amazes me everyday. How did I get so blessed with such a sweet baby? She looks at me with her big blue eyes and I just melt. She is starting to sit up, roll over and hold things and bring then up to her mouth. Amazing I tell you!

*Is it thanksgiving break yet?

*Today I went to tjmaxx I found a spirograph. I was so excited! I bought it for the kids, but between you and me, guess who will really be playing with it tonight after bedtime?

*My friends baby is very sick, he needs a bone marrow transplant. Please sign up at bethematch.org Please! You could be the one that saves this sweet babies life!

*Fall TV is back and I am in heaven. Hello parenthood, the office, sunny in philidelphia and parks and rec.

*I meant to put the pictures after this silly post but instead it's like this and I don't have the time to figure out how to fix it.

*Pictures in order
Stair fort hours of fun for a little boy
Back to school feast
Lego army built by a very creative little boy, they make me smile
Worlds happiest baby

*Have a happy weekend!

circle

When I was a little girl my mom loved the Pointer Sisters. They were pretty great I must admit. But I remember my mom would blast "I'm so Excited" as loud as she could in our Astro van and I would hide. I would slump as far down as I could in my seat and beg for her to stop. She would just turn it up louder. I couldn't understand why she would want to embarrass me this way. Now that I am a mother it all makes perfect sense. It's not so much that she wanted to embarrass me but she truly loved that song and she was having fun dancing and watching me cringe. I do it now with my kids and while they are still pretty good sports and will typically dance along with me there have been a few times when they have tried to hide from my embarrassing behavior. While watching the VMAs the other night, and feeling very old while watching, I mean what the hell is up with Lady Gaga, to me she is not original, just annoying. Also Katy Perry and Niki Minaj, both are pretty girls but why oh why are they dressed like a 3 year old on Halloween. I started to grow tired of watching the show and then came Beyonce. Oh I love Beyonce. I have since high school. "Freakum dress" should win awards. She is amazing. She is classy, She is beautiful. She has REAL talent. Then she performed her song and it brought me back to the 80's. Sitting in the car with my mom and dying while she rocked out. I realized that "Love on Top" will be the song that I will take it to the next level and make all my kids duck for cover. I mean with a song that makes you smile the whole way through you can't help but shake your body and sing at the top of your lungs. So thank you mom for teaching me about the great art of car dancing.

2011 VMA - Music - Beyoncé

moments

found on pinterest.com