As I sit here, I have hair dye working its magic.  In an effort to save us some money, I have started coloring my own hair.  This wasn’t an easy decision.  In fact, I had been scarred by  a previous episode of home-color care.  In high school I decided to try it out with a girlfriend.  Her hair turned out adorable.  Mine?  Not so much.  I am not exaggerating when I say that it came out black with purple-ish highlights.  Seriously.  It also had a frizzy quality that I had never experienced.  So, needless to say, I approached this new task with a little trepidation.

Lucky for me, I found a good color.

And it worked out pretty good.  I was pleased about the results for my first time.  My husband wouldn’t want me to admit this on my public blog, but he was right there with the gloves on helping me get that color into every nook and cranny.  He kept saying that I should’ve had a friend over to help me. I thought he was doing a perfectly fine job…no need for outside help!  And again tonight, he snapped on his latex gloves and got to work.  And then promptly left me upstairs to go back down and watch Sunday Night Football.  But whatever.

The point of this post is really that there is no point.  Oh no, wait.  The point is that I’m trying to save us some money.  And this is one (easy) solution to do that.  Now, if I could find a reasonably priced hair cut, I’d be good to go.  Don’t be lookin’ for a post with pictures after a do-it-yourself haircut.  It won’t happen.

Have you colored your own hair?  Any tips for a newbie?

A few weeks ago we had our family portraits taken by our favorite photographer, Keith Pitts of Keith Pitts Photography.  This is the fourth sitting we’ve done with him.  We’ve known him since Mason was a baby.  To say his work is beautiful is quite an understatement.  There’s a reason we keep going back to him, and it’s not just for his exceptional eye. He knows us.  He gets us.  He’s followed Emma’s story.  He knows her.

The thought of a family photo session with anyone else would create huge anxiety with me.  But not when the photo shoot is with him.  Even when Emma’s been in a “mood” (and he’s seen her in some pretty nasty “moods” before), he can still capture her spirit and her beauty.  That, in and of itself, is huge talent.  Because at that precise moment I’m not even seeing  by beautiful daughter!

He featured a few of his photos on his blog.  You can see that post here.  But here are a few of the photos that he took of us.  If you’re looking for an amazing photographer in the Phoenix area (or elsewhere…he travels!), please do me a huge favor and check out Keith Pitts.  I can promise you, you won’t be disappointed.

p.s. these pictures were taken at Papago Park.

I have never won any kind of contest…to the best of my memory.  And I read a lot of blogs…and enter lots of free give-aways, yet I’ve never won.  Until now!  I’m sure many of you read Raechel’s blog, Finding My Feet, right?  Well, if not, then you should.  She’s got 2 beautiful babies, Oliver and Hazel, and a real knack for hand-crafted goods.  She creates what I’d love to know how to create.

Recently, she wrote a post about Nourish Baby Organics bath products created by a friend of hers.  And she was giving away some of the lavender bath oil.  I commented .  I won. You can see for yourself, here:

I was so excited to receive my products in the mail and finally they came! Today I gave them a bath and lathered up their little bodies with the lavender oil. I am in love. I wanted to bathe myself in the lavender oil. It smelled so natural and delicious! It wasn’t over-powering at all. And I loved that it didn’t have a lingering oily layer on their skin either. It soaked right it. She has so many yummy bath treats for babies and kids and their parents anyone else who wants really soft and fragrant skin.  I really urge you to check out her store Nourish Baby Organics. Perhaps you’ll find something for your bundle of joy.  Perhaps you have someone in mind who would love a gift for the holidays.  The recipient, whomever it may be, will not be disappointed.  I plan to buy some more of her products.  My only problem is I can’t decide on which scent!

Take a peek at her store.  Which product would you get?

checking out the view

If you read my posts from yesterday and Friday, you know that we went to the Grand Canyon this past weekend.  We had a great time.  I won’t lie, there were some bumps in the road.  Those bumps were called zoloft and concerta, 2 new medications Emma was starting.  The big debate between Brett and I (actually not a debate, more like a discussion or a decision) was whether to start it before or after our trip.  We didn’t know how our trip to the Grand Canyon would go.  And we also had reservations at El Tovar to end the day.  It was going to be a long day, and the kids would be with us, of course.

We decided to try the medication on Friday.  We decided that it couldn’t hurt.  There was already a good chance her day would be off since there was no school on Thursday.  For the majority of Friday, she was dazed and a bit lethargic.  I learned that is called the seratonin effect.  She was so out of it that she spent the majority of the day in my classroom and then I took her home when I got off of work (talk about the benefit of working at their school!).

Fast forward to Saturday.  She was having mood swings.  Lots of them.  They made me very nervous.  The fear of taking an uncontrollable child to the Grand Canyon (aka the biggest hole in the earth) was very present.  She was to hold an adult’s hand at all times.  I didn’t want her close to the edge at all.  To sum it up, we made 4 stops on this tour that my brother took us on.  Her behavior was erratic during 2 of the 4 stops.  On the way to the last one, we had to bribe her to get some protein in her…cheese and ham slices.  It worked, spiked her blood sugar up, and she was golden.  We were able to watch the sunset in peace and quiet (oh yeah, except for the 4 year old who was whining).  Dinner at El Tovar went great.  No issues with her behavior, no issues with her eating.  She ate like a champ and sat quietly while the rest of us finished.  Not bad for a kid who’s used to eating dinner by 6:00 every night.

Okay, so here’s the big question: How do you enjoy the moment when your thoughts, concerns, anxieties are with your child?  Is it possible to focus on your children while you enjoy the day and the moment?  I don’t feel like I was fully able to savor the sunset at the Grand Canyon because I was a little nervous that my kids might run over the edge.  Just a little.   Have you ever been in a situation like this?  Perhaps you had your kids at a wedding.  Or on a special trip.  The circumstances are numerous.

How would you, or how did you handle it?

This past weekend was spent up north with family.  I had my cousin, Great Aunt, and Great Uncle here from Kentucky.  We spent the weekend up north and on Saturday we made the trek to the Grand Canyon.  My brother is a tour guide there.  Pretty cool, huh!  Anyway, the goal was to get to the Desert View by sunset.  But more on that later.  Here are some pictures from our time with the family!

Me and my cousin Stuart

I had never seen an elk in real life before…let alone this close!

Me, my Aunt Libby, and my Mom. We were facing the sun, hence the horrible squinting I'm doing!

Mason and Oma

Stuart, Uncle Frank, and Aunt Margie

I love this picture…she's in awe.

Oma and Emma

We’re headed up north again today.

We’ll probably see less of this:

More of this:

And definitely this:

I’m excited to spend time with out-of-town family and to show Emma the Grand Canyon!

It’s my blog-iversary!  That’s a word, right? A year ago today, I launched Jumping Waves, with the excitement and passion for educating others, and in return, learning new things.  I have learned new things.  Mostly I’ve learned about me, even though this blog is aimed towards Emma.  And what makes me the happiest is being able to help others.  I have “met” a few other families who have children with SOD or ONH, and some families who have children with other special needs.  And for me, that is what this is about.  It’s a journey, and it’s my journey.  And helping other families is the icing on the top.  And learning things about myself become the sprinkles on top!

I’m not going to link up to some of my favorite posts.  I’ll let you do the perusing, if you wish.  I would love to know, however, what would you like to see?  As I start my second year of “official” blogging, what can I improve upon?  I realize it’s my blog, but I want to keep my readers coming back.  I want to gain new readers.

Lastly, thank you to those who have stuck by me this first year.  I have amazing family and friends who have been faithful in reading my blog and giving me feedback, whether through their comments, emails, phone calls, texts, or even Facebook.  Thanks again.  I so appreciate your support.  It warms my heart!

I do this for myself.  I do this for others.  But most importantly, I do this for Emma.

I’ve come to a conclusion (with the help of my wonderful husband) that I’m trying too hard.
As a mom, you want to do what is absolutely the best for your child.
You want your child to succeed.

And trust me, I’m working my tail off to make sure that happens.
But I’m learning that my idea of success is different from what Emma’s success actually is.

I want her to start progressing again.
But in my quest for her success and progress, I’m becoming blind to the progress that’s being made already.
She willingly wants to practice her letters.
She willingly wants to learn about Ancient Egypt.
She thrives on “reading” her books. I can’t say “no” in a book store.

And maybe when I stop pushing so much and just let her be, that progress will come naturally.
So that is what I will do.
And in turn, I hope that this shift in my thinking will also quiet the stress that surrounds me.
It consumes me.

I will appreciate and love and accept and cherish everything she is, and not everything I want her to be.

A week ago we had a few half-days due to Parent Teacher Conferences.  I took that opportunity to have 3 of Emma’s friends over for a playdate.  These 4 girls are just the sweetest things ever!  They all have special needs and the 4 of them stick together like bandits.  They are special little girls indeed.  The moms thought I was crazy for hosting a playdate.  I couldn’t have been more excited.  It was so adorable to watch them play together and interact.  Yes, they were loud.  Yes, they were goofy!  But I loved every minute of it.  I envisioned slumber parties in the future.  And I embrace slumber parties in the future.  It was a taste of normalcy for Emma…something that I always want for her.  I decided a “group activity” might be a good idea so we baked cupcakes Chocolate with pink frosting, of course!  Take a peek at these adorable pictures!