Tumbleweed Coupon for Feb 9th and March 9th

On Tuesday February 9th and Tuesday March 9th, the Tumbleweed restaurant in Wooster has agreed to do a fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis!! They will donate 10% of all customers bills ALL DAY LONG if they present the Tumbleweed coupon below!!

Just click the coupon below, print it, and bring it into the Wooster Tumbleweed on those days to get 10% of your bill to go towards "A CURE 4 Lil' Chris" and all those effected by CYSTIC FIBROSIS!!



Thank you so much and please SPREAD THE WORD!!!!!
M

Lil' Chris' BEST Milestone EVER!!!

Guess what Lil' Chris did today???

He swallowed his enzymes whole with MILK!!!!

I can't believe it!!! I was sooooo excited, I gave him a big hug and kiss and lots of high-5's:) I'm so proud of him!! 2 1/2 and taking his enzymes with liquids!! Hopefully we can keep this going. So far he did it for lunch AND dinner!! The real test will be if he will do it all day tomorrow;)

Lately I have been getting my question answered on this topic on www.CysticLife.org I was very grateful for all the responses I got. I didn't realize how many other moms feel the same as me and are going through the same thing! I hope it works for them too:)

How did I get him to take his enzymes without applesauce??
I took the advice from some new friends on www.CysticLife.org and some of my blog readers and tried the "big straw method!" I used a straw from McDonald's(their straws are really big and wide) and pinched the straw in the middle and put an enzyme in there and then told him to drink! He didn't get it on the first try, but it didn't take long before he swallowed it right down!! I was shocked!! He would NEVER put an enzyme in his mouth without applesauce or some kind of baby food before. (I think he didn't like how it would get kinda sticky once it got a little bit wet.) For the second enzyme that I tried with him, I pinched the straw closer to the top so it could come out easier. At first he was hesitant, b/c he could see it. Then he came around and tried it and it came right out and he swallowed it down like a pro!! What a big boy he is now!!

You have NO IDEA what this means for us!! NO MORE APPLESAUCE!!! YEA!! Oh darn...I just remember that we just ordered a ton of those applesauce pouches. Oh well, maybe Ayla will eat them;-) It's a good "healthy" snack for her and VERY easy on the go;) But YEA I'm still so happy no more applesauce!!

This means....
No more buying the big huge containers of applesauce.
No more spinning the big container open, turning it upside down and shaking it to get the last little bit out, pouring it into a little bowl, putting the enzymes on top, getting a spoon, and then WASHING it all for the next feeding. Most importantly....NO MORE DOING THIS 5 OR SO TIMES A DAY!!!!!!!!
No more worries if we are running low on applesauce.
No more worries if we forgot to bring applesauce with us when we go out.
No more worries if we forgot a spoon(with the pouches he didn't need a spoon which was nice).
No more ordering the applesauce pouches.
No more applesauce spilling in the diaper bag or anywhere, why?????...becaaaaause...

NO MORE APPLESAUCE!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you feel my excitement??? :) I'm sure other CF mom's can relate;)

So for now, we just have to make sure we always have a large straw with us;-) Next step....NO STRAW!!! He can do it!! He is one step closer now:)

I'll let you know how he does the next few days:)

BTW, I am now addicted to not only blogging and facebook, but www.cysticlife.org too:) I LOVE IT! If you are a CFer or a CF parent and you haven't checked it out yet...what are you waiting for??? I've learned so much in just a couple of days than I have in the past 2 1/2 years!! Click one of the blue links above and check it out TODAY!!
M

Throat Culture Result and New Things

Lil' Chris' throat culture results came in the mail today...drum roll please!!......

"NORMAL"

YEA!!! I'm sooooo happy!!! I thought he was going to culture something, since he was having that weird cough at the time. Praise the Lord he didn't!!!!

Lil' Chris has been doing great!! No cough or runny nose!! YEA!! He has been doing some new things lately too...

1. He has been sitting at the table like a big boy in his new booster seat.

2. He has been eating more food...PTL!!!!

3. He has been eating his applesauce and whole enzymes all by himself. Usually we would feed it to him, b/c he would just eat the applesauce and leave the enzymes in the bowl. Now he eats both all by himself!! One step closer to him swallowing them whole with water, I hope;)

4. He has been drinking from a cup...without a lid!!! He does a GREAT job with it too!! We probably could have started it a long time ago. I think he learned it from when I let him drink the left over water from the bowl when we do his Prevacid solutab.

5. He can also drink straight from a Danimal Yogurt! I just open it and give it to him!! So easy:)

6. He has started going on the potty when we go out! He tells us "Potty first?" I guess b/c that's what I usually say to him;-) LOL We've been using pull-up when we go out, but lately when we get home they are still dry b/c he asked to go on the potty and actually went! Now we can keep him in his undies when we go out!! YEA!!

7. He has also started going on the potty all by himself! We used to have to go in there with him to help him up on the seat or just to make sure he didn't pee all over when he stood up, but not anymore:)

8. He now sings to his favorite songs on his shows. He does hand motions too;-) I'll try to get it on video;) lol

I can't believe how big my lil' kiddos are getting!!!

Guess what Ayla's been doing??.......

You'll have to wait until her 1 year birthday post;-) LOL You thought I was going to tell you, didn't you??? LOL

Today we were going to get Ayla's one year pictures taken at Kiddie Kandids in Babies R Us, but then found out that all the Kiddie Kandids closed yesterday. The bank closed them all. I was soooo sad;( They used to take the best pics and you would walk away with your pics instead of having to wait 2 weeks or so and then have to go back and pick them up. Oh well, I guess we'll have to find another place now. Any suggestions???

Since we couldn't get her pics done, we went car seat shopping instead. I can't believe she will be one in a couple of weeks!!! We found 2 that we liked. One has the wind up(so you don't have to pull the strap) and one crappy cup holder, and the other one has the strap that you pull to tighten the harness and has 2 built in cup holders. They are both around the same price. Decisions, decisions...good thing we have a couple of weeks to decide;-) Which one do you think we should get?

M

CF Awareness Day & CysticLife.org

CF awareness day is today.. "EVERY BREATH COUNTS"!!

Please help find a cure for my son Lil' Chris and all CF patients.

Every Breath Counts... 3 + 60= 63!!

3=the number of different meds Lil' Chris takes EVERY day ...(not the number of times or amounts) 60= the minutes of Chest Physio Therapy he gets EVERY day with his Vest!

These numbers will only increase if a CURE is not found soon. Please click here to donate today. Money buys science, science buys a CURE!!!!

Make sure you stop by CysticLife.org today!! CysticLife finally went LIVE!! YEA!! Thank you to Ronnie and Mandi for all that you do for the CF community!! GREAT JOB!!

M

PS. The pic above was taken right after he fell face first in the snow...I know I'm mean...I took a pic before helping him up;0 lol

Fundraising Time

It's that time of year again...Yesterday I got my fundraising packet out and started making calls and sending emails. Our walk in on May 1st at 9am in Wooster at Ida Sue School. I can't believe how quickly it is approaching!

I called CiCi's Pizza to set up some "Dough Raisers" where 10% of the receipts will go towards a CURE for Cystic Fibrosis. I'm planning on doing one on Tues Jan 26th from 5pm-8pm and then one each month from now until May. I'm going to make them A-Team events where associates from Kohl's will come and help buss tables so that Kohl's will donate $500 each month.

I plan on calling to get CiCi's to do Pin-ups again where customers can donate $1 towards a cure when they check out and in return their name will go up on the wall. I might be able to get about 15 CiCi's to do them if all goes well:)

I called Friendly's to see if we could do a fundraiser there too. I just have to get all the paper work filled out and then set up a time and date. They donate 15% of all receipts!

It's also time to start getting things set up for our walk too. I emailed Panera Bread to see if they could donate any food for the day of the walk. Hopefully that works out and if not, maybe they could do Pin-ups to help raise money???

I've also been thinking about getting a head start on our commercial for our walk. I'll post it at the top of my blog when I get it finished and leave it there until the day of the walk, just like I did last year;)

I'll let you know more when I find out,
M
PS. Please share with me any other good fundraising ideas that have worked for you. I love doing something new;-)

CF Update & Stuffy Nose

Lil' Chris has been doing much better! Thank you everyone for all your prayers:) His cough is all gone, except he does cough sometimes when he is doing his Vest(that's not a bad thing though;) We are still waiting on his throat culture results.

My next dilemma...
For the last few days or maybe even a week now, his nose has been really stuffy. It isn't runny, just stuffy. He will blow for us, but it never seems to be clear. I'm not sure if it has anything to do with his CF or not. I know CFers are prone to get nose polyps, but I don't think that is what he is getting. Although he does have some bloody boogers once in awhile. Is this the start of getting nose polyps??? What are symptoms of nose polyps?? I've seen a pic of what they look like on someones blog or caringbridge site once(I think it was Aidan's), and I don't see those in Chris' nose. Maybe he just has a stuffy nose or maybe allergies, IDK. I wish it would go away though, b/c he can't breathe through is nose barely at all. His lips are getting so chapped, b/c he has to breathe through his mouth all day and night.

Any CFers or CF moms have any insight on this??
Thanks,
M

Ayla's First time in the Snow:)

I love this pic of him:)

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Yesterday we took this kids out in the snow for the first time this year;) It was Ayla's FIRST time in the snow!! YEA!!! She wasn't too sure about it. She barely moved the whole time...although that may have been b/c she was all bundled up;-) LOL "I can't put my arms down!" LOL She went on her first sled ride and her big brother got to pull her:) She almost got to make a snow angel...maybe next time. It's supposed to snow everyday until Sat or Sun. Hopefully we'll get to go out in the snow again tomorrow:)
M
PS. Still editing the Christmas pics:) Coming soon.

Top 9 of 2009 and Top 10 for 2010!!! Try it:)

Top 9 of 2009 that God has blessed us with...

1. Lil' Chris and another GREAT "HEALTHY" year!!!!

2. The quick and painless birth of my baby girl....Ayla Christi, who was born without Cystic Fibrosis:) YEA!!

3. The love from all my bloggy buddies the whole year through;) Thank you guys;-)

4. Lil' Chris getting potty trained(at least during the day;) and NO MORE BINKY!! YEA!!

5. Our wonderful house and cars with no breakdowns or accidents:)

6. Our jobs and our health.

7. All the fun things we got to do this year...Cedar Point twice, Geauga Lake, NJ Boardwalk, Maine, Camping, and of course Kalahari:) Lil' Chris loved every bit of them all;-)

8. Reconnecting with family and friends on Facebook:)

9. Raised $4,440 to help find a CURE for Cystic Fibrosis for my son and all CFers!

Top 10 for 2010 that I'd like to achieve...

1. Another "healthy" year for Lil' Chris with no nebulizers again.

2. No hospital stays or emergency visits.

3. Lil' Chris to swallow him enzymes all by himself without applesauce.

4. Lil' Chris to get potty trained at nap time and night time.

5. Lil' Chris to start using his big boy bed.

6. Ayla to get potty trained too;-) That would be nice...NO More Diapers EVER!!! :)

7. All of us to stay as healthy as possible.

8. For my husband or I to move up in our jobs or find better paying ones:)

9. To raise $5,000 or more for a CURE for Cystic Fibrosis!!!

10. And of course.......Go to DISNEY WORLD!!! YEA!!!

I think you should do the same that I did above! Give it a whirl! Then at the end of 2010 you can look back and see what you DID get accomplished from your list of "things to achieve";-) Have Fun:)

I hope everyone has a Happy, Safe, and HEALTHY 2010!!!

M

PS. Christmas pics are still being edited...coming soon;)