Merry Christmas!

Didn't want to forget a Christmas post.  I hope everyone I know is having a wonderful Christmas with their friends and family!  We are celebrating our Christmas with my dad in Temecula, CA, before we head back East to Florida!

So far, so good...except my son will have to earn Christmas next year!  Five year old boys are not fun to be around when they are in a crabby mood.  Now, I completely understand that he is not happy with our move, neither am I, but these past two weeks leading up to today has been hellacious!  I've dreamt of breaking a wooden spoon on his behind more than I cared to.  I can only hope that once we are settled and moved into our new home, he will be back to his old happier persona!

And now, for a quick update on our whereabouts. 

We have officially PCS'ed out of Travis AFB, CA!  This move has been so bittersweet for me. Not only did I make friends with other military spouses, I made friends in the Down syndrome Community as well!  Friends that I hope will last a lifetime.  The people who helped Lillian grow strong and healthy.  The ones who knew her potential.  I will miss them dearly!  But,  part of being a military spouse is learning to say hello knowing that you will have to say goodbye, even if you are not ready.  I've made many friends playing this role.  And I've cried many times.  It is never easy to leave the ones you love, knowing that you will probably never see them again. But yet, we still move, say Hello and start all over again.  However, the sweet part to this move is moving closer to "home".  I use "home" in quotation marks because I really don't have a home (moved all over being a military brat myself).  But "home" is where I went to college, fell in love, got married and had my child.  Home is being closer to friends and family that we knew we would see again.  So, it's nice knowing that we are going back home.

Merry Christmas Everyone and have a Happy New Year!

In blogland somewhere!

I've totally neglected my own blog the past couple of weeks because I've been in blog land reading everyone elses!

I'm guessing that I need to learn to manage my time better, because there are other mommies out there who have more kids than I do, but still manage to blog a lot more than me.  Speaking of time management, my dear husband says to me that I should manage my time better doing housework. WHAT?!?!?  So, I told him I was going to stop whatever it is that I do all day and do nothing.  That didn't go far, because I'm still doing whatever it is that I said I wasn't going to do!

Thanksgiving was great.  We drove down to Temecula, in Southern California, and stayed with my dad for a few days.  Lillian was repeatedly told how "fat" she was.  I guess it's OK since she's still a baby.  Because fat really only looks cute on babies!  But it's true, she is a little chunker.  It's to the point where we, meaning I, can't eat around her without her screaming with her mouth open so she can eat what I'm eating too.  At her 9 month well baby visit, she weighed in at 20 pounds, so yeah, I think she is doing pretty darn good.  OH...and I can't forget that Charlie and Katie got early Christmas presents from Grandpa...Thanks Grandpa.  I have to tell you all, that the Baby Alive doll is pretty scary!  We are actually in the middle of teaching this baby how to potty train, and she still pees everywhere!  I told Katie I was done, because I am not the mother of this baby"doll" and didn't want to think about potty training until Lillian was of age.  So, we turned her off for now.  She's taking a long nap!

Well, now that we're heading into Christmas.  I was really thinking about giving instead of receiving.  I want my children to know how great it feels to give rather than "wanting" or receiving all the time.  This is something my husband has no troubles doing.  Every store that we go to, people are always out asking for donations and he donates over and over and over again.   I used to get mad, but then I realized, hey, I'm still here.  I always have food on my table.  My kids and I have a bountiful choice of clothes to wear,  and we have a nice warm home to go to everyday.  So, yes, I am thankful and truly blessed to be where I am today.  Don't get me wrong, we are not rich, we still live paycheck to paycheck.  But at the same time, we are not in need.  Our needs are taken care of.   And that is why we are blessed.

Me me me me me!!! It's all about me!(well sort of)

I'm being a  little selfish today.  I figure I better start early just in case I have a rich family member out there reading my blog.  Today I want to post my Christmas Wish List:

1. $50,000  enough to pay off my debts and to put a little bit of money in my rainy day account :)

2. A very nice double jogging stroller, you know, it's for my health.  I need one that can handle Charlie and be delicate enough for Lillian.

3. A new SLR digital camera, like the Canon - EOS Digital Rebel XS 10.1-Megapixel Digital SLR Camera- Silver(I wanna start taking my own professional shots of my kids)

4. Laser Hair Removal.  Enough said on that subject.  It just needs to be done!

Alright...that's enough with my wishes.  On a positive note, I worked out today!  I haven't been to the gym since I left Washington and working out felt great!  I really need to focus on my weight and becoming a healthier mom.  Besides, if I can't take care of me, how can I take care of my children?  Both Charlie and Lillian were wonderful at the gym.  I hope they keep it up!

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Speaking of Charlie, he ate his dinner tonight!  Now, I'm wondering if he likes Daddy's cooking better than mine???  

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A very good friend of mine had asked me a question about Down syndrome in an email.  She wanted to know what it was that made the doctor's suspect that Lillian had Ds when she was born.  There were a few things:

1. The sandal toe, or v shape space between her big toe and second toe

2. Her upward slanted eyes  Although my mother insisted at the time Lillian has eyes like her.  My mother is Korean.

3. The simean crease on one of her palms

4. The extra skin on her neck, nuchial fold

5.  The heart murmur which lead them to believe she had some sort of heart defect

So, those were the main things.  And of course, it was confirmed after her tests all came back.

Down Syndrome Fact:

Down syndrome is a chromosomal disorder caused by an error in cell division that results in the presence of an additional third chromosome 21 or "trisomy 21".  There is also Mosaic Down Syndrome and Translocation Trisomy 21.  They all deal with chromosome 21.

This picture was taken at a museum in Seattle.  I found it interesting about how much information chromosome 21 holds!  Can you imagine how many extra pages they had to add to talk about Trisomy 21!

I think I will start posting a little Down syndrome fact daily.