Preemie Moms

I read this on the Hope for Hunter Blog.  This ring so true whether you are the parent of a preemie or a child with special needs.  Not sure who wrote it but it really is written beautifully. 


How Preemie Moms Are Chosen

Did you ever wonder how the mothers of premature babies are chosen?

Somehow, I visualize God hovering over Earth, selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation.

As he observes, he instructs his angels to take notes in a giant ledger.

"Armstrong, Beth, son. Patron Saint, Matthew.


Forrest, Marjorie, daughter. Patron Saint, Celia.


Rutledge, Carrie, twins. Patron Saint...give her Gerard. He's used to profanity. "

Finally, he passes a name to an angel and smiles. "Give her a preemie."

The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."

"Exactly," smiles God. "Could I give a premature baby a mother who knows no laughter? That would be cruel."

"But does she have the patience?" asks the angel.

"I don't want her to have too much patience, or she'll drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she'll handle it. I watched her today. She has that sense of self and independence so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I'm going to give her has a world of its own. She has to make it live in her world, and that's not going to be easy."

"But Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."

God smiles. "No matter, I can fix that. This one is perfect She has just the right amount of selfishness."

The angel gasps, "Selfishness?! Is that a virtue?"

God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she will never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't know it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a spoken word. She will never consider a step ordinary. When her child says momma for the first time, she will be witness to a miracle and know it. I will permit her to see clearly the things I see--ignorance, cruelty, prejudice--and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side."

"And what about her Patron Saint?" asks the angel, his pen poised in the air.

God smiles. "A mirror will suffice."

X's 1st Year!

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Thoughtful Thursday aka The Head Cold Put A Smackdown On Me So I Didn't Post Wordless Wednesday

Boogies, Breezes, and Milkshakes

Let's start with boogies...poor Bean is sick.  Same thing he had a little while ago.  All nose/head gunk.  He started sounding like a bear in the middle of the night on Saturday so I figured some nose funk was starting.  Mother's Day it was in full force.  Runny nose, stuffy nose, crusty nose.  Poor thing.  He's been a trooper though.  He was so tired yesterday but was up all day then finally went to sleep around 10.  Today he is crashing as expected.  We think this could be tooth related as well.  I don't see toofy #2 anywhere yet.

Breezes. Not really breezes, more like WIND.  Brrr cold.  We went to have a nice day out on Saturday and it was sunny but the wind!  Had to shield the Bean from debris and he still wound up with a face full of dirt.  And it was cold in our house.  Being the lazy arses we are we tried to make it through the night with two little fleece blankets on our bed instead of walking oh so far to the basement and getting the real comforter.  The Bean's room was a nice cozy 75.  Shoulda gone in there and slept on his pile of clothes like Oakley does.

Milkshakes! Yum.  Feeling the urge to add a double dog and milkshake on TOP of our crab & avocado taco Saturday we went to Ann's Dari-Creme.  We somehow ended up with an extra vanilla milkshake that the boy got to parttake in.  He might not look anything like his mother but he sure does have her sweet tooth!

Vote for the Bean!!!

A few months ago Xavier posed for Visual Concepts Photography as one of their 'Angels'.  Visual Concepts creates an Angel Babies calendar every year with all proceeds benefiting the AAMC NICU & Peds Dept.  You all know that AAMC is very important to us!  In order for an 'Angel' to be in the calendar, they do a voting system.  The baby with the most votes gets the cover and so forth.  So here's how to vote!!

On Monday, May 10 at 9 a.m. we will go live to vote for your favorite angel. To do so, simply follow these steps:




a http://www.visualconceptsltd.com/

b click on "Portrait"

c go to "Sessions"

d Your session ID is angels_fundraiser

e Find your favorite angel (ID by number!)  Xavier is #34!!

f. Click on that number and place your order

g Votes are $1, $5, $10, $25, $50, $100

h We accept Visa or Master Card

i If you would like to send a check, write it to VISUAL CONCEPTS PHOTOGRAPHY and mail to 3272 Davidsonville Rd., Davidsonville, MD 21035 by Saturday, May 22 in order for it to count towards your angel.



At 9 a.m., Monday, May 24, we will close the voting and within the next few days we will tally the numbers to let you know who the winners are for the 2011 Little Angel Calendar. Remember, the most votes gets the cover, the 2nd most January, etc..



REMEMBER: YOUR CONTRIBUTION COUNTS AS A TAX DEDUCTION!

10 Things Tuesday

Boy Tuesday snuck up on us this time!

1. The Bean & I had a wonderful weekend filled with Mommy & Xavier time!
2. Naked Juice Protein Smoothie is thoroughly disgusting.  I really like their mango smoothie and this one enticed me with its coconuts and pineapples on the label (sneaky sneaky).  Not so much.  So my solution is to mix it with some heavy cream and test it on the Bean.  I know, pawn it off on my kid.  But instead of throw it away when it's 3x more protein I figure we'll give it a go.  Just because I don't like it won't mean he won't.
3. X had his first swim all by himself on Saturday!  I ordered a kit from Waterway Babies that is for therapeutic swimming.  It came with a pool and a neck ring.  The Bean really liked being able to move around all by himself!  It was so much fun seeing him push off the sides of the pool and be so indepedent!
4. It's HOT!  What happened to spring?
5. The Bean had his first taste of Rita's on Sunday.  He sure loved it!
6. He partied hard on Sunday...he got up at 8 and didn't crash (and literally he passed out) until almost 11 that night.
7. I hear that a Mother's Day present for a certain Mommy from a certain Baby came in the mail yesterday. I wonder what it is?  I can't believe this is my second Mother's Day!
8. Going back to last week's '10 Thing'...this boy has so many clothes that now he needs another bin just to put away winter things!
9. I got him a kickin pair of New Balance at the consignment sale.  They are ridiculously cute!
10. Every day the Bean is growing and it really is wonderful.  His development is slow but it is so wonderful to see the progress.  Every whole bowl of food eaten or quizzical look makes us just want to do a fist pump (a totally awesome Jersey Shore fist pump!).