photo: fotogail

I was on facebook earlier this week and saw a post in a para peer group that brought me back to a moment when I was first married. The person posting was asking if any of us had ever had an “awkward” moment when someone thought we were a patient instead of someone else just because of the chair.

In general this does NOT happen, but I do recall one incident.

We were visiting my husband’s grandmother in an assisted living facility and a little old lady stopped me and asked me for a stamp when I first rolled in. She said she’d pay me back later and asked me what my room number was. I told her I wasn’t a patient and the look on her face was priceless. She was very shocked.

It happened again later on that night. I was waiting for my husband to pull the car around because it was late and the main entrance was closed or it was raining? I can’t remember exactly. Anyways, as I’m sitting there waiting this nurse or aide comes up to me and grabs my handles (or attempts to grab them, they may not have been on and that may have been part of the humor. It was 9 years ago, give me some slack! ) and she starts scolding me about being out of my room and starts to roll me while asking where my room is. I grab my self and stop her. She looks at me and gets a horrified look on her face when she doesn’t recognize me and I tell her I am NOT a patient/resident.

Please make sure you follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (<— click to follow on the web or add me! wheelchairmommy). I will be using the hastag #chevySAgetaway for all my fun updates.

You will surely want to find out if this will end of obsession with Mercedes!

Traverse

Red Traverse

In case I forgot to mention it I’m a Stonyfield Yo-Getter.

Sounds pretty cool, right? It is.

I get free yogurt and get to brag about it to my friends and share coupons with them.

I also get totally fun opportunities, like tickets to see The Lorax and I get to share them with my fellow blog friends.

Sometimes life gets in the way and I just feel like a failure because I don’t follow through with something I so desperately wanted to be a part of, but I realize that just because I didn’t do ALL the work doesn’t mean I’m not doing my “job”.

My “job” as an ambassador is to talk about it and get others involved and that’s just what I did.

I may not have been the one actually hosting but I was able to spread the word and get the product out there and that’s what it is really all about right?!

Right?! (This is the part where you reassure me and tell me that I’m right. Hint. Hint.)

Originally we had hoped to go see the movie together and come back to my house for yummy greek yogurt snacks.

That fell through.

Twice.

Once when I was supposed to be planning it and once when my dear friend took over for me, but ended up with a personal mini crisis of her own. She’s all better now. Thank goodness. Oh, and she’s going to be a THREE BOY MOM, too!!! YAY!!! I love being a boy mom .

At that point everyone decided to just go on their own.

My health caused MORE problems so I ended not hosting the yogurt tasting either and ANOTHER dear friend took that off my hands.

The yummy supplies StoneyField sent for us to sample and some bought with FREE coupons!

Top it off with a cracker and you get a YUMMY snack!

She sent me some pictures and said that everyone had a BLAST.

The kids had a blast and loved the chocolate greek yogurt and the moms liked the caramel!

Stoneyfield generously sent me a stack of coloring books, crayons and one THE LORAX book and a sticker book; these were given away as prizes.

YAY! Traci won!!

I’m bummed that I missed the party but here are some pictures taken by my friend so you can see just how much fun EVERYONE had.

Thanks SO SO MUCH, Kristin!  <— check out her blog. Her writing is AMAZING!

Are you ready for MORE picture overload?!

Yum!

He's digging for more. There is your next ad, Stoneyfield!

Such cuteness!

I can open it ALL BY MYSELF!!

Color and snack? Yes, please!

This post was not a requirement for the free goodies, but I did receive FREE coupons and 6 packages of free yogurt, as well as codes for up to 20 tickets to see The Lorax. The opinions are entirely my own.

Well, I fixed it. Feel free to hop over and see.

Heavenly Peach Photography

So, have you read The Hunger Games?

photo: KendraKaptures

No?

Well, you should.

I bet you are wondering what The Hunger Games has to do with me parking in a fire lane? Legally?

Okay. Okay. I’ll tell you. Geez.

So it was opening weekend and I really wanted to go see it. Charlie had just started so he couldn’t go. I didn’t really want to go alone. My friend Kelly posted something about sneaking out so I called and guess what? She was game. We bribed our husbands and headed out.

It was a mad house.

photo: weegeebored

There was absolutely no where for me to park. I need a handicapped spot. They were ALL full. All 15 or so of them. Crazy.I have to be able to open my door ALL THE WAY to get my chair out. No other spot would do.

I was going to mention this and totally forgot. Kelly had to park about 1/2 mile away in a completely different parking lot. It was THAT crazy. Seriously.

I called Kelly and told her I was going in circles trying to find a spot.

She went to the ticket counter and guess what??! Apparently they have a REAL police officer that works on Fri-Sunday. He went up and down the aisle to make sure everyone was parked legally and when it turned out they were (Pffft…. I bet…..) he told me just to park in the fire lane and he’d moved my van when something opened up.

photo: preciousj

So I did. I pulled up and he stood in traffic while I got my chair. I handed him my keys and made my red carpet entrance in to see The Hunger Games.

photo: fudj

I wonder how many people thought we were celebs? I mean we parked illegally, with permission and had an officer valet for us?!

If you’ve followed me for any amount of time you’ve probably noticed that I frequently change my blog around. I hope you don’t mind. I get bored really easily and like change.

I can’t rearrange my furniture but if I could I bet it’d be different at least every 3-4 months.

I take after mom in that regard.

We also have a little rearranging going on in our family life.

We have finally, OFFICIALLY decided to homeschool William.

He will finish out the school year and this fall he will continue is education at home, with me.

This is not a decision we’ve taken lightly. In fact, we’ve been talking about it for the last 2 years.

We decided to give public school one more shot and it’s just not the best fit. It worked out okay, considering all the sick time I’ve had this year and the new baby would have made it very difficult, but now it’s time to make the shift.

Will I homeschool all 3 children? I don’t know. If it fits, yes.

I’m nervous.

I’m excited.

I flat out can not wait to get started.

It’s taking everything in my power not to order the curriculum I chose right this very second, but I will be a good girl and wait.

I have a HUGE online support system and a huge REAL LIFE support system.

I’m scared out of my mind, but I know I can do it and I know William will be a better person because of this.

It’s what he needs.

photo: Goynang

is that why my body hurts?

Or is it “normal” to feel this way and I’m just a wuss?

People keep asking me how I am and they hope I’m 100% again. I’m not. Maybe I never will be. Maybe I will be when I’m completely off the meds? I can certainly hope, can’t I?

I just dropped my dose again today. Each time I do, it just takes my breathe away. Adjusting to the new dose just makes me feel like I’m being slammed into a wall. Over and over.

I have really good days where I feel like I’m on top of the world, but the next day i fall flat on my face and can barely get up, but I do. I have 3 boys that need me for this and for that.

photo: mattcameasarat

I’m forever grateful I have a loving, caring, supportive husband. Otherwise? I’m not sure I’d be able to survive this any longer. I don’t know how much more my body could take, but no matter how hard his day was, no matter how exhausted he is, my husband? He always steps in and takes over when I need him to. He does it with little to no complaint.

I love him for that. I can never repay him for everything, but I know I don’t have to. I know he doesn’t expect me to. That makes it all worth while.

Pain or no pain.

Another shot from our Heavenly Peach family session.

photo: carmichaellibrary

William loves anything and everything Titanic and as his Mother made the decision to take him to see the 3D re-release of the 1997 movie.

Guess what he says within the first 5 minutes? He calls out a HUGE mistake. The Titanic had 4 smokestakes. Only 3 were “real”. The last one was purely cosmetic. Mr. Cameron royally screwed up. All FOUR smoke stakes have smoke coming out in the movie.

FAIL.

Leave it to my 7 year old to notice that mistake. There was something else that happened and he said it was wrong  too. I believe him because this kid has read at least a dozen books on the history of this ship.

We had a great date day. We’ve been going on “dates” since he was really little.

I just started it with Lucas, too.

It’s a very special time.

I hope they always want to have a Mommy date.

Wishful thinking, I’m sure.

I want to talk about the movie again for a minute. I don’t remember seeing any of the real footage the first time I watched the movie, or at least it looked like real footage. There was real footage when they were still in the docks, right?! Seeing potential REAL people that likely didn’t make it, made it so real and so sad. The sinking was such a horrific event. Trying for just a second to put myself in anyones shoes just makes me want to cry. Thinking the fear they must have felt. Their familes. THOSE BABIES! Oh, my gosh the kids that died. It just tears me up.  Anyways, seeing it again as an adult, A PARENT and exactly when it happened 100 years later. Wow. It was emotional. I can’t imagine what this weekend was like for the children and grandchildren of any of the survivors.

This has been a very rough year. When it rains .. .

I spent most of January in the hospital and just as I was getting better my nephew is killed. Once we try and get back on track with our lives I realize life will NEVER be the same. THEN (yes there is more) my husband is sent to a cardiologist after running many tests only to be told he’s perfectly normal. THEN I get a migraine sinus infection combo that knocks me down for 2.5 days. I can’t lift my head. It sucks. It scares me and makes me think about what happened to us in 2002. Then my husband reminds me that he’s thinking about it too and I feel like  total crap.

visualpanic / Foter

I’m so sick of all the pouring.

I had a good moment yesterday and immediately shared it on facebook.

Lucas discovered what is ailing me. There was a bicycle in my heart so he used a (barrell of) monkey (ies) to get it out, then taped me up. I should be all better soon.

a.drian / Foter

It made me recall my meeting with him.

It was during the first season of Friday Night Lights and I had been a fan of Kyle Chandler’s for a long time. Not a creepy-stalkerish-read every thing I can-kinda fan, but I enjoyed seeing him on screen.

I wanted to wait to write this until I found my clips but oh, well. I can’t even remember what episode numbers I was in. I’ll search some day. When I’m bored and have nothing else to do. Uh, huh. Sure.

I was randomly approached by extras casting person and asked if I would like to be an extra in the show. I hadn’t heard of it yet, but said yes. The pilot aired and I waited for my “day”. I ended up with two days. YAY.

I remembered the scene in the pilot where Jason (the kid that endes up paralyzed) sat with his friends and said something about “Texas forever”. This is key to my “celeb story”. Not the Kyle part but continue on.

Ok.

So, my day. I get there and there is a lot of waiting and a lot of making people change. They didn’t like what the extras were wearing so they made them change. They said they loved what I was wearing. BOTH times. YAY me.

Ok. So it was mid afternoon and we were between scenes. I was rolling out of the bathroom, and I had just reached behind and taken a cracker out of my purse ( I keep my purse on my chair at all times) and I started eating it. Well, I don’t have “control” of my chair if I do something like this so I was kinda coasting on a supposed flat surface. Who do I almost roll over? Yea, Kyle. Nice. So I said “Hi, I’m a long time, uh, nice to meet you, I liked you in that show you were in with the paper and um, Hi”. Idiot.

He was very nice and asked my name, you know pleasantries.

Come on??! Can it get ANY worse?! Running him over after leaving the BATHROOM!????? of all places?!

photo: hunnnterrr

Geez!!

I met “Lila” and “Tim” during a lunch and also say next to them in a scene. They were right behind me. Tim’s hair was gross. Total grease pit. Oh and Julie. Her mom followed her every step. I didn’t actually “meet” these three. Just a quick “hi”.

I did meet the guy that played Jason. The show was still new so I was still figuring out who everyone was. So when we hanging around and waiting I decided to strike a conversation. We’d been standing/sitting there for about 5 minutes without a word so I told hi and asked if he was the “main” guy and the one that shouted “Texas forever” at the end. He chuckled. “yeah, that’s me”.

I’m a dork.

I did not take pictures with any of the stars. It was not “forbidden” but I was the “good” extra and didn’t “bug” any of the stars.

I did make friends with one of the extras that had a speaking role. She  later sat next to me after her speaking role and had a silent role along side me. We keep in touch via facebook.