aaaaaaaaaannnnddd we're back! (31 for 21)

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31 for 21, y'all. 31 posts in 31 days in honor of my girl's 21st chromosome. And a great chance for a lazy blogger to get her mojo working again.

So, let's see. Where were we?

Kids are in school. Kira for a 1/2 day and Jackson in all day Kindergarten. Jackson had a bit of a rough start, but now absolutely adores school. Adores it in a way that is sure to get his ass kicked at some point in the future. Bless him.

Kira returned to school like the princess she is. Beauty queen waving like she was on the back of a convertible all the way down the hall.

I'm in full on PTA mode. PTA doesn't play, y'all. Serious business.

ummm....what else? Oh, we have a cat. Her name is Lulu. She rocks. She'll get her own post or two this month.

I'll leave you with first day of school pics. And a promise to do my best to blog every day. And maybe even talk about Down syndrome.

Missed y'all.

Love, W.

(Jackson showing "5" and helping Kira show "3", so I'll remember when this was!)

checking in

Kam got onto me for not blogging. So, a quick check-in. We spent the weekend hanging out with this little lovely and her parents:

Oh, yes, that IS the legendary Playette. She and her parents came to Texas and we got to hang out with them for THREE whole days. It was awesome. More later.

Love you. Miss you. Mean it.

Wendy

P.S. My son is almost five. Five. When did that happen?

Good morning!

I just wanted to put up a quick post to say that after battling tonsillitis for almost a week, I'm finally feeling human again. And I'm so glad that September is here and August is finally over. I'm praying for a boring, uneventful, and HEALTHY September - join me, won't you?

Hope y'all are all doing well! I'll be posting and catching up on all my blog reading this week.

Also wanted to let you know that Down to Earth (a blog I LOVE) now has a forum, if you're interested.

Have a lovely, lovely weekend!

Golden Advocate Award

My dear friend, Tara, has honored me with the Golden Advocate Award. Tara - thank you so much! And Kira, thank you so much for letting me be your mama. I am blessed beyond belief.

The award: The Golden Advocate Award is given to bloggers who have gone above and beyond to educate and advocate for people who have special needs. It was created in honor of my daughter Sophia who has Down syndrome, but it is not limited to the Ds community as all special needs count. The recipient may be a self advocate or a loved one, caregiver, therapist, teacher, community member, etc. to a person with special needs.

The recipient of this award has demonstrated courage, strength, and wisdom, and has used their blog to show the world how amazing people with special needs truly are. Recipients of this award do not shy away from speaking out against ignorance, cruelty, or injustices related to people with special needs. They can sometimes be found making phone calls to elected officials, signing petitions, attending rallies, and blogging about issues that are important to our community. On most days they educate by sharing their everyday experiences with us, allowing us to see how people with special needs are more alike than different. They wear their advocacy hat well and the world is a more beautiful, diverse, and inclusive place because they are in it.

To accept this award: Simply accept it with the knowledge that your work is appreciated. Feel free to post it on your blog, or not. It's up to you with no strings attached.

I would like to pass this award on to Megan at Audrey & Stella's Playground. Megan is a fierce warrior mama and I'm thankful to get the chance to honor her!

Thank you again, Tara!

An award!!

Mary Ellen at Living On Love gave me the Sisterhood Award! Thank you so much! Mary Ellen is an awesome mom, a fellow couponer, and a big inspiration to me. I'm so thankful for her friendship!

The rules:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.

2. Nominate up to 10 blogs which show great attitude and/or gratitude!

3. Be sure to link your nominees within your post.

4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

5. Remember to link the person from whom you received your award.

I'm excited to pass this on to 5 bloggers who I think show great attitude and gratitude. Two are bloggers who I have the pleasure of knowing IRL, too.

Without further ado, I'm passing the Sisterhood Award on to:

• Kam at The De Leons - I've known Kam for over 10 years and am so thankful to be on this motherhood journey with her.
• Tara at The Kristofs - a new friend, thanks to Kam, who shares a similar outlook with me on so many things.
• Beverly at Adventures of Homeschooling Noah - Homeschooling Mama to the handsome Mr. Noah
• Monica at Monkey Musings- Supermama to 4 including the adorable John Michael
• Brandie at Livin for the Love - Mama to 3 gorgeous girls and expecting a sure to be gorgeous boy - calmly handling it all.

Thanks for blogging y'all!

Read this

I really loved this - maybe you will, too.

Introducing

My new blog!

wendypsaves

I've decided to do a separate blog for couponing/grocery shopping/money-saving deals. I've had a handful of people ask about how I shop. I know couponing isn't for everyone, so I thought it would be better to go ahead with the new blog. I hope you'll check it out!

I just have one post over there, so far. I hope that if you visit, you'll let me know what kind of info you need. I'll try my best to help!

Zip - Perdue - Dee - Dah will stay the same - just minus the couponing.

Woo-hoo, I'm excited!

In the spirit of sisterhood

Alright, y'all asked for it! I checked in on the blogosphere before getting everyone ready for zoo school this morning, and saw Lisa's post about Tricia's tag.

Here's the deal: Essentially the idea was: take a picture of yourself right now, no touch ups, no primping, etc...now--go! Before you change your mind.

I followed the instructions and took the picture while I was waiting for my coffee this morning. I didn't have time to post then, so here it is now.

Note to self: Do not fall asleep with hair wet ever again. Poor Derek should not have to wake up to that hair.

So, if you're reading this - TAG! Go, now, do it and let me know that you did! (Or I guess I really do have bigger ovaries than you do!)

Thank you, Cheryl!

Cheryl, supermom to 11 including the lovely Ruby, has bestowed upon me the Lemons to Lemonade award. Thank you so much!




Here are the rules for the award:1) Put the logo on your blog or post.2) Nominate at least 10 blogs that show great attitude or gratitude.3) Link to your nominees within your post.4) Let the nominees know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.5) Share the love and link to the person from who you received your award.

I'm sharing the lemonade with:

Lovin Mama @ Livin for the Love
Linda @ Lila's Miracle Life
Jessica @ Ten Squares, Three Squiggles
Melissa @ Banana Migraine
Sonia @ A Hapa Girl and her Hapa Family
Chrystal @ One More, More than One
Laurie @ Days with Dylan
Kim @ Rees's Pieces
Karly @ Our Normal Life
Nicole @ Sweet M & M

Thanks again, Cheryl! (I'm sorry it took me so long to accept!)

Sara's Feeding and Speech Thoughts

Sara Rosenfeld Johnson, SLP now has a blog. Her first post is on sippy cups. It looks like she'll be taking questions from parents, so I'm definitely adding this to my blog roll. Thought y'all might want to check it out.

Shout out

To all of the fierce mamas in the T21 blogosphere. I am so honored to be a part of this group. Thank you, Kira!

So, I think...

I may be addicted to this blogging thing. I feel like we're behind. Kira's a little over two, and I feel like I should be constantly blogging about her development up to this point.

I started following Ds blogs when Kira was around 6-7 months. I think I found Ella first, followed by Kaia dancing. Ruby reminds me so much of my daughter at that age. Finn's mom reminds me so much of myself at the beginning of our journey, only much, much braver. Georgia's mom amazes me with her candor and wit - I think our kids are about the same distance apart, only the dynamics are reversed. The Special K's and Bubba, Chicky, and Nika make me wonder if my kids might have a sibling waiting for them in a faraway land.

I am so incredibly thankful for all of the amazing moms who've helped us, without even realizing it. Hopefully, we'll help someone else out in the next weeks, months, years...