Dancing with Cinderella

I thought I would share one of my favorite things to do with my sweet little Emma. 

Last night while I was getting Emma ready for bed, we were listening to daddies Steven Curtis Chapman's CD.  It is the one with the song he wrote for his little girl who recently passed away.  It is the sweetest song.  Anyway, I was getting Emma out of the bath when that song came on.  Well, Emma loves to snuggle right after you get her out of the tub.  So, I wrapped her all up in her monkey towel and we danced around the bedroom to the song Dancing with Cinderella.  I was so close to crying.  She is growing up so fast, and listening to the song which talks about the little girl growing up and dancing with her daddy at each stage of life.  It is so sweet!  

So, Emma and me just danced around and around.  She laughed and laughed the whole time.  I held her tight and thought wow were did all the time go.  She is two and half and it just seems like yesterday that she was in the NICU right after birth.  It was such a sweet moment in time with my sweet girl.  But all to soon it ended and we went back to getting ready for bed.

Time flies, so hug your little ones, no matter how big, tonight!!

Rachel 

Mom's Night In

Friday night I went to a mom's night in at a new friends house.  We had a really good time, hanging out, eating great food, and playing games.  It was really nice to spend time with other moms without the kids in tow.  We could actually talk and hear each other!  Emma spent the night at Meme's and Pop's.  She spent the whole night singing to Pop!!  To cute!!!!

Back to the ladies night.  This group of women get together once a month, and I got added in due to my friend Adrienne who attends.  This was the first night I had  been able to attend.  Most of the women live on the same street, and hang out.  Most of them have kids three and under.  So, they started getting together to spend time away from the kids and recharge.  Which trust me we all need. 

We sat around the table sharing feeding issues, funny stories and tips on safety issues in the house.  It was funny to hear all their stories about thier silly little tots.  I shared a few about Emma too.  

I did have a moment of feeling out of place though.  I was sharing a story about Emma, and I forgot that not all knew her story.  So, I was talking about her not walking, and I got a few strange looks, and I went oops, and just sort-of said she does not walk.  I did not know what else to say.  I am sure they thought what is wrong with this kid, but I did not want to talk about it.  I just wanted to relax and not think of it.  Then, at one point I mentioned her small clothing size, and one mom said I have got to see this kid.  She sounds so small.  I just laughed.  

Later though, it hit me that even in a room full of mom's just like me, I do not totally fit in.  They did not do anything to make me feel that way, but just listening to them talk I know that I am a little bit different.  I am different and my stories about my baby are not the same as theirs.  Mine are tinted with doctors, illnesses and hospital stays and of course therapy sessions.  This does not make me strange just a little bit different I guess.  It use to bother me more, but now I try to remind myself to celebrate my unique little angel and experiences, and not dwell on the other stuff.   

I did have a great time and I am looking forward to next month.  We all need a break, and I need to spend a little time out of the madness of my life.  I am also really looking forward to getting to know the other moms and their kids too.  Our kids have played together and they all love to do it!  They accept that Emma is different and they do not mind!!!  I am gratefully to new friends and old ones too!  They are what helps support me through the hard times and I am so lucky to have wonderful friends and family!

Rachel 

What is under your sink?

Saturday night, I was putting items back under the sink and some of the items struck me as odd.  I guess I should explain why I was putting things back under the sink first.  My father-in-law and my husband spent Saturday doing some chores around our house.  They hung a fan in Emma's room, cleaned our fans in the rest of the house, and they cleaned the pipes under our bathroom sinks out.  (They were icky and slow to drain)  Well, to get to our pipes, they cleaned everything out under the sink and left it laying on the floor.  So, later that night, I was replacing everything back in it's place(you will learn as I blog that I am very OCD about my house).

I sat in our floor neatly placing the random stuff back under our sinks, and I looked down and I was holding sterlized water, gauze pads in sealed packages, Babylax, supositors, a suture kit, and a few other medical type items.  This struck me as so funny.  I went and found Daniel and asked him if he thought anyone else had those things under their sink or were we strange?  He also thought it was funny to see all that medical stuff laying in the bathroom floor.  Then, we started talking about which procedure added what to under the sink.  It is like a scrapbook of Emma's surgeries under our sink.  Most of the items came from one of her many kidney surgeries or from her bottom redo surgery:)  I am not sure why we keep them all, but they might be needed again so we do.

This makes me wonder what is under your bathroom sink?  Are you like us and it all medical "stuff" or is it the normal stuff like lotions, bandaides, and soap?

Love Rachel 

Why the name a Different Normal?

I am the mom of a beautiful two year old named Emma.  She was born with what is called Vacterl.  (I will post more about that later)  Since the day she was born we have had a life full of doctors offices, hospital stays, medical tests, and medicine.  To us this has become normal in a sense.  To others it would be out of the norm or werid, but to us it is not.  We have embraced our life as a different normal!  

After two years, I have decided that it is time to share with everyone my views and thoughts on raising my special little angel.  She might be different, but she is mine!  I love her to the end of the world and would not change my daughters adventerous spirit for anything.  I would change the pain she has been through if I could.

So, this blog is going to be about my differnt normal life of raising Emma.  I look forward to sharing my story and thoughts on my journey of parenthood.  It is not the journey most parents dream of in the months leading up to giving birth, but it is the journey I am on.  

I will post soon more about Emma and her medical difficulties.

Love and peace to all

Rachel