My best friend and her husband have a beautiful daughter, and for the longest time, their plan was to be “one and done.” They had a change of heart when their daughter was four years old, and were ready to try for their second. She started on prenatal vitamins, and scheduled and appointment to have her IUD removed. A week before that scheduled appointment, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

View Post

Amazing Adventures

Is there anything more refreshing than an ice-cold lemonade on a hot summer day?  I don’t think so! We were gifted the sweetest lemonade stand by our neighbors next door that they had used fifteen years ago with their daughters in our same neighborhood.  I was so excited and grateful for this gift, since I knew it would be a great opportunity to spread some cheer in our neighborhood, and also be a way to teach Pax a little bit about entrepreneurship.  He was thrilled about serving lemonade and getting the stand ready for business.  We had four different beverage options to serve, and in compliance with precautionary health and safety measures, each item for sale was freshly prepackaged.  Unfortunately, our stand signage was a little misleading since nothing was freshly squeezed…maybe next year?  I think that Pax may be quite the businessman as he literally chased people walking down the sidewalk to offer them lemonade, and made sure everyone got a straw with their purchase, and of course Pepper followed his every move.  Pax had his piggy bank ready, and told everyone he was saving up for Magnatiles.  At one point I got pretty thirsty out in the heat and decided I could go for a lemonade myself. I told Pax that I didn’t have any money expecting him to be his sweet usual self and just give me one anyway, but instead he stepped back and said, “Ohhhh, I’m going to leave your drink right here until you go get your money, Mom.”  So basically, he learned how it all worked very quickly.  It was a big hit and we hope to do it again soon!            

{This post is not sponsored but does contain affiliate links}

We love the sand and the sun, so as soon as my husband suggested last minute that we go south for a week, I was totally on board.  We honestly didn’t think we would be able to take a family vacation anytime soon, since Sayla’s spinal surgery was scheduled for early summer.  When we found out her surgery was cancelled, I was very upset about it, so I think Patrick knew I needed some beach in my life.  It was the perfect way to end the quarantine! 

View Post

This girl is eleven years old today, and she is still the center of our universe.  Every parent wants what is best for their child, and having a special needs child determines every aspect of both my life and her father’s life.  She is the reason we currently live in Kentucky (eligible for Medicaid waiver based on disability), and she is the reason we bought a handicap accessible home.  She determines the vehicle we drive when she is with us.  She determines the jobs we have (or don’t have in my case since I decided staying home was the best choice), and dictates the insurance coverage we have.  She affects when and how we travel.  She influences even small decisions in our everyday life, but we wouldn’t trade this life for anything!  She has brought so much joy to those that know her over the past eleven years! Even though we are celebrating quarantine style, we are making this day all about Sayla!

View Post

After our Make-A-Wish Disney World trip for Sayla, in 2016, I said I could never go back due to the royal treatment we received during our stay, and thinking no other trip could compare. Well, here we are four years later, and two more kids later, we decided to go back. This stay at Disney was very different than our last, but still just as wonderful. The hardest part was not having Sayla there to enjoy it with us this time! We found out a few months ago that children under three years old, can go to Disney for free. This is what prompted us to go on this trip now with Pax (2 years old), and Pepper (14 months), instead of waiting until they are a little older. We actually flew home the day before Pax turned three. I had several people message me during, and after our trip asking questions regarding taking toddlers to Disney World. We learned A LOT on our trip, so hopefully this post will be both entertaining, and informative!

View Post