lunch break

...team moustache

“What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.” Albert Pike

I have a really easy job. I get to ask people to give money to a really great cause. But what makes it even closer to my heart is that its a cause that has changed my child's life. (I only use italics when I'm serious, folks).

When Charlie started to babble, we heard one sound:

Last summer, we found Radcliffe Creek School in Chestertown, Maryland. The school is a special place for students with learning differences, and to our benefit also had a preschool! It has almost been a year since we made our first trip here and Charlie now not only has words, he has sentences. Yesterday, he told Clara she was, "Making a mess." (She was).

He is learning language through his peers (now his friends) and also through his sessions with one of the School’s speech therapist. I know it’s hard to believe that a word like, “Moustache,” can bring you to tears, but when you worry that your child will never talk, it does.

He still has a long way to go. His speech is different. But that is what is great about Radcliffe Creek. He is not compared. He is learning that it’s OK when people are different, and actually, it’s better.

But the School needs help. In order to continue changing children's lives, private donations are imperative.

The School has its biggest fundraiser at the end of this month, the Run for Radcliffe. It is the biggest source of income for the School's financial aid fund. I don't run (unless I'm being chased) and Ken is a retired long-distance runner, so our family set up a ghost team, basically to raise money so the education Charlie is receiving can be available to all children who need it.

Our goal is $500 but I'm not-so-secretly hoping to blow that out of the water. Would you consider helping me do this? Click on the button below to learn more or to donate today. Any amount can truly make a difference.

...charlie's fourth birthday party

I know all the four year-olds appreciated my calligraphy.

Invitation was from here (awesome to work with). I buy all my vintage stamps from Bid Start - the selection is unbeatable. And let me tell you, vintage stamps come in some of the most unique packaging you'll ever see.

The invitation was pretty much the beginning and the end of any kind of theme because we had the party at a local kid's gym, where I'm convinced all birthday parties should be held. We were in and out within two and a half hours AND I didn't have to wash the floors.

Charlie's shirt is from here. I've gotten him one every year so far. Ken asked if he will have one when he's 18. I looked at him, in all seriousness, and said, "Of course."

A lot of Charlie's new friends came, but some of his oldest too (and some of my oldest too, including Mercer and Molly Marine, babies in tow).

Oh, the train theme continued with the cupcakes, I suppose. Imagine the Island of Sodor, made out of Cool Whip. God Bless Acme.

(That's Ken's finger in the bottom right in case anyone's wondering. And my mom behind Charlie).

Clara liked the cupcakes just fine too.

The next day, we drove all the way to the Island of Sodor for a ride on Thomas with one of Charlie's friends. Charlie went last year, but this year he was mesmerized.

Hmm, or he might have been watching the police escort. It was Baltimore, not really Sodor, folks.

Sweetest girl. And yes, I'm wearing my Stitch Fix shirt.

Monday was Charlie's actual birthday (yes, it was like the Royal Wedding with events from Friday-Monday).

It was a school day for us, and so fun to be there with him as his class celebrated.

That night we had three presents for Charlie, and this was his last. We now officially own the entire Island of Sodor.

He is four!

...his perspective

We found an older digital camera the other day and Charlie walked around with it for the better part of the day, documenting his life. Future Project Lifer?

Sister was sleepy.

There are a whole lot of pictures of Charlie's lap. And Charlie's feet. And Charlie's hand, over the lens.

When I was looking at the pictures at the end of the day after Charlie had gone to bed, I said to Ken, "Did you stop at the hardware store?" I wonder if the clerk had any idea she was being photographed...by a three year-old.

Poppy stopped by for a visit.

There were a few still life portraits.

And two pretty awesome backseat landscapes.

Love Charlie's perspective.

...the charlie photo bomb

...I was in Charlie's classroom this morning taking some pictures of his classmates for a project I'm working on.

Except there was this one kid that kept stepping in front of the lens.

...I guess you could say he's used to being the one getting his picture taken. And there he was, at my heels, the whole time.

...And he just might make it into the brochure:

...we have very good days, and very bad days

...wednesday was a good one. We drove up to Baltimore for Clara's 18-month checkup. We had Starbucks, Clara's appointment (where we learned that she is tall...94th percentile tall!), Target, and Chick Fil A. The kids were happy, patient, kind to each other. The sun was shining.

Thursday was back to school for both kids and me, back to our normal routine. That night as we were putting Clara and Charlie into the tub, Clara started to fuss a little as I took her top off. And then she froze.

If you have met Clara in person, you know she doesn't freeze much.

Something was wrong. I put her in the tub to see if the water on her feet would startle her. Nothing. I handed her to Ken to see if she would react. Nothing. I ran for the phone to call 911 and as I was explaining what was happening, I saw her eyes roll into the back of her head, her lips start to turn blue.

God bless that person on the other end of the line and may I never hear a recording of that call.

Ken laid her on her back and swept her mouth to make sure there wasn't anything in there (per the 911 operator). At one point, what seemed like hours later but was really only minutes, she starting coughing and then she was back. I spent the rest of the 911 call trying to explain where we lived to the operator, even after he assured me they would find us.

And that they did. Six ambulances and 12 EMTs, to be exact. Our town's volunteers showed up first, followed by 10 more. It was humbling and made me love this town more than I thought possible. Any thoughts about what I can do to thank them?

No one was panicked (except Charlie, maybe a little, as Ken tried to comfort him). They did a quick exam and by then I had already diagnosed her. Febrile seizure. I had them as a baby, and I knew they were hereditary.

We made the trip to the hospital in the back of the ambulance. The only thing that would comfort Clara was watching videos on my phone of 1) Charlie and 2) Maddie (I later - in an extreme moment of weakness - told Ken that we should get her a puppy. Ha).

A high-dose of motrin, some gatorade, a little nap, and a negative flu test later, she was fine (and all like, "Hey! Being up at 10 p.m. is COOL!)

She is OK. It is a bad virus. And Charlie has croup. And mom and dad are tired. But we are OK. We know what to look for now and how to react if it happens again. And no, we aren't getting a puppy.

...baby's first ponies

...it kind of dawned on me a few days ago that Clara's hair was probably long enough for ponytails.

I'm a little rusty. She's a lot wiggly.

They looked like little side buns but nope, that's just the curl.

Ken and I were saying how there's something about a baby's bare neck...it's like a vulnerability, of some sort, that I still even feel when I see Charlie from the back. It makes me want to protect them with all that I have.

...the one who talks

...Charlie's speech pathologist describes the feeling when your second child starts reaching "normal" speech milestones as, "bittersweet."

And it's true.

Clara did things earlier, that as a second-time-around-mom, I realized Charlie never did (blow raspberries, sleep with her mouth closed, etc.)

You realize, in a sad way, sometimes, how much you missed with your first baby, the one who tries so hard for every single word that comes out of his mouth.

She goes to school with me two full days a week and the first thing she learned in her "classroom," was, "No, mine!"

Ken and I stifle a laugh every time she says it, especially when she holds whatever it is she is claiming as her own to her chest, like taking it from her means life or death.

Her teacher was very apologetic.

She explained that there's a little girl who is a bit older who says it a lot and Clara probably picked it up from her. I told her not to apologize, that this is just different for us from Charlie, who at Clara's age had no words. He very well might have been thinking in his head, "No, mine!" but he never vocalized it. It's just something we have to get used to....words...whether we want them or not.

Both Gamma and Maddie Dog are visiting. (Or, "Mad Dog" as Charlie calls her). Here's a little peak into her and Clara's relationship:

...first day

...today was the first day of work for me at charlie's school.

I call my wardrobe, "non-profit chic:"

I saw Charlie several times during the day (Clara starts on Thursday). At 10:45, his teacher e-mailed me this picture:

And at 6:00 tonight, Charlie told me what that was on his face:

...catching up

...friendship is an amazing thing. I have lost track of the comments here, the e-mails in my inbox, the texts on my phone, the notes in my mailbox that have made me realize how lucky I am when it comes to you.

Thank you.

--

I've been so absent over the last few months. Here and in person, I'm sure. There are so many things that just literally happened, big or small, that I never even bothered to talk about.

Clara and I went to Chicago to visit Carron. I flew on a plane with a child by myself! I know, I know, this is nothing to those of you who are much better mothers than me.

Ken and I went to Seattle for work.

I haven't been there in four years, when I went there with the Fontwerks group back before a lot of things. That was then:

This is now (it felt like a serious accomplishment when I found these chairs again):

Ken and I went to the Dave Matthews Band concert in Baltimore.

The last concert I went to was back in 2006, you know, when I was young. The concert was good, but I spent some percentage of my time being annoyed at these people:

I do not understand why people stand up at concerts. I didn't pay a lot of money to see you sway to the beat and make out. Thanks. The best part, by far, was The Lumineers opening for DMB. For some reason, the people in front of us restrained from the swaying/making out during that. The second best part was Ken coming back from the bathroom and telling me about some "kid smoking dope" in the stall next to him.

We finally got a proper shot of the kids with their aunties:

My friends from college and awholelottakids three and under came to visit:

Hm. This shot is probably a little more realistic:

Carron and kiddos came to visit. There was a large amount of bribery involved in this and not one child is even smiling. Should take back the bribes:

And then this morning, we woke up, and it had snowed. And if this picture doesn't make you laugh, well, then I have no hope for you:

...i...love...you

And I love you, Charlie Kurz.