Celebrating Difference

Rick Guidotti, of Positive Exposure, received a humanitarian award on Thursday, May 15th, 2008, In NYC. My parents had the pleasure of going last night and meeting Rick for the first time. He is such a wonderful, caring person, who does such good for others. He is an inspiration and a fun person to meet. He is so full of energy! Of course, they were excited to meet him and my mom called me first thing this morning. He remembered meeting Frankie and Lizzy last year at Perkins and has some great pictures he took of them.
My parents met some other wonderful people who had children with albinism, or who had it themselves. My mom has emails from all of them to give to me, so I can chat with them and ask any questions. She expressed how nice everyone was and how welcoming!
I am really excited to see Rick again at Perkins in a few weeks!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful, dedicated mothers I know. I got to have my mom, grandma and aunt up for the weekend for Frankie's party and Mother's Day. It was a great weekend. My mom even dressed up as Curious George for Frankie's party and my dad as the man with the yellow hat!
Things that made me happy this weekend:
Mom (Ghee to the kids)
Frankie's party
Family
John's mom (Nana to the kids)
Nice weather
George Cake
Lizzy's homemade gifts
Thinking about my pedicure

Aquarium

Last Sunday, Frankie's birthday, we took him to the New England Aquarium. He and Lizzy had a great time. We got there early and it was not too crowded, he was able to run from tank to tank pointing out the "fishies". He also liked the "jellies". Lizzy had a stuffed frog that she brought home from school for the weekend, so we had fun taking pictures of him at the aquarium. She wrote about his adventures later.
This aquarium has a large 3 story tank in the middle with small exibits on the sides. It has a variety of marine life and a number of talks and feedings. We enjoy the penguins and sea turtles a lot. I recommend getting a pass from the local library which cuts the price down a lot.
I realized that fish in an aquarium are much easier to see than animals at the zoo. So we will have to rethink all our zoo trips as Frankie gets older.

Happy Birthday Frankie!!

Frankie is 2 today! I can't believe how fast time goes, even quicker with the second child. Lizzy and I were thinking about how we had a picnic the day Frankie was born, before my water broke in her nursery school parking lot. : ) The next day Lizzy got to come to the hospital to meet him. She came to see me in my room and then we all walked down to the nursery to get him. He was in the small crib, and she was so happy to meet him! She was jumping and saying, "Frankie". The next year on Mother's Day she drew a picture of me and her meeting Frankie for the first time. : )
Frankie is such a happy child and easy going. He is a blessing to have in our lives. It is so much fun to hear him talking and he likes to laugh a lot too.
He enjoyed his trip to the aquarium today, dinner at a favorite restaurant and ice cream cake. He got a play grill that makes grilling noises that he loves. And Lizzy got him 2 cars books and musical keys. We also got to all go to church together, this evening. Frankie did so well and was quiet, doing his stickers diligently.
What a fun 2nd birthday! Happy birthday Frankie!

Walk of FAME

Today's post doesn't focus quite so much on the kids, but on me. We had a busy day today; little league parade, little league practice, a baby shower, birthday party, errands, etc, plus fitting in Frankie's nap and wrapping his presents for his birthday tomorrow! : )
So now I am feeling very tired, worn out, and a little crabby, not to mention my headache. When too much is going on or there is a lot of stress, my body reacts negatively. For a while I thought it was just normal stress, but after Lizzy was born, I started experiencing fatigue every day, pains in my legs and terrible headaches. I was finally, after many months diagnosed with fibromyalgia. The National Fibromyalgia Association describes it: "Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic pain disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal aches, pain and stiffness, soft tissue tenderness, general fatigue, and sleep disturbances.
I go through good periods and others where it flares up, sometimes for no reason. Today just got me to thinking about it and I also registered to support the NFA's first annual Walk of FAME, being held in CA on May 10, 2008. Today also reminded me that is it OK to take breaks for myself and make sure I get enough exercise, rest, etc.
I am excited about tomorrow, Frankie's birthday and our trip to the aquarium!

Watching "Georgie"

Frankie LOVES Curious George, or, as he says, "Georgie". And he has just started watching him on TV, he says, "Georgie TV".
When Lizzy has watched TV in the past, Frankie was usually not interested at all. He could not see it from the couch and even if he got closer, he was not interested. Lately, making dinner was becoming more of a challenge; he would be crying in the kitchen, under my feet, wanting me to pick him up. So I got to thinking that maybe seeing and hearing George on the TV would do the trick! So about a week ago, I put his chair close to the TV and told him he and Lizzy were going to see "Georgie"! He was excited, yelling "Georgie" and really likes to sit there are watch it. It gives me a half hour to make dinner and relax a bit. : )
I don't want him to become a "chair potato", but it is nice to have a little "mom break". He and Lizzy enjoy talking about George while they are watching too.