Free Range Family

We had a pretty decent February this year, not too much snow and just enough things to keep us busy on the weekends. Not to mention that we found out some very exciting news about Aunt Natalie and Uncle Jake's baby! Check out what happened to us this month! We celebrated Valentine's Day this month at a little party for Alan and his friends at the local coffee shop. It went really well, even better than last time, especially because Alan was feeling much better! February also meant CHD Awareness Week just before Valentine's Day, I did not write my own posts for the week but I did link up with CHD parents. Here are the four posts I wrote: #1, #2, #3, and #4. Anna also turned seven months old, and discovered her voice. Needless to say, our house is NEVER quiet anymore lol. :) But I would not have it any other way! I took Alan on a Mama and Son Date to the Family Life Expo. Then we celebrated Super Bowl with both of our families, and I suceeded in not watching any of...

Today is the second to last day of CHD Awareness Week. I hope to get a last post out tomorrow, but with everything we have going on tomorrow for the holiday and with tax return stuff too, I am not sure if I will. So do check out today's posts! I hope you enjoy them! I know that I did! Day Six: Krista @ One Woman's Dreams wrote today about Miss Annabelle finally feeling better (A BIG YAY FOR THAT ONE!!) and about making the local news for her heart group's annual CHD Awareness week luncheon. Good for them! I have yet to watch the video (both kids and the hubby are asleep right now lol, will watch it in the AM hopefully) but I am very proud of them! Kaari, Ewan and Austen's Aunt from @ Team Ewan posted this on their Facebook page the other day and I missed it. Very cute, thank Kaari!     That is all I have on my blog feed for CHD Awareness today. There will probably be alot more tomorrow because of the Valentine holiday. I really will try to post the fin...

I have been very busy preparing for Alan's Valentine's Day party at Off the Leaf on Thursday, but I wanted to get in another CHD link post! I hope you take the time to check out these wonderful people and get an insight into an someone else's life. New perspective is always good. :)  Enjoy everyone! Day Five: Krista @ One Woman's Dream wrote about feeling empathy for her heart mama friends in her post today, titled the Percent. I especially appreciated this post, heart mamas are some of the strongest women you will ever meet. Little Johnson Heartbeat shared some ways to take action for CHD awareness today, once again having an adorable little printable to go with it! I love all of these printables she has for us, too cute! Jill @ The Real Life of a Red Head thought about "what should have been" with her son Joshua. This post had me tearing up for sure. I am guilty of doing this with children Rosalie's age, I definitely feel for her. T...

I am a little late on getting this posted but here it is, better late than never right? I hope you enjoy day two of CHD Awareness Week. Check out these blogs: Day Four: Krista @ One Woman's Dreams sent us to her heart mama friend's blog today for an awesome awareness post called simply "I hate Cancer". She is sick unfortunately, feel better Krista!!!!  I read this post and it is wonderful! I urge you to check it out. Little Johnson Heartbeat shared some great information on heart resource references today. That was very helpful for some people, I am sure! Thank you guys! Kristine @ Cora's Story reminded us non heart parents to remember the parents of those heart children this week. It is not just the children going through this, the parents are along for the ride as well. She also asked that we not segregate them into "moms who kids died," that is not fair. They deserve support and love now as much as ever too. Lets not forget them. Satu...

If you remember this week last year, I wrote a post almost everyday on it. However with a newborn and a potty training toddler, this year I am not so available, so to speak lol. But I vow to spread the word about Congenital Heart Defects, so I will link up with each of my favorite CHD bloggers. Day One: Krista @One Woman's Dream wrote about The New Normal for her and her family today. After her daughter Annabelle was born with CHD, her normal changed drastically. Check out her post today to see how its different from your "normal." Little Johnson Heartbeat shared the CHD facts with us today, as well as a very cute religious CHD printout! So adorable! Check it out, she says this will be a fun week for her this year! Cannot wait to see what she has planned! Neysa @ Mason's Journey has not posted anything on her blog for CHD week today, but her Facebook page sure is full of red! She posted this picture of beautiful Mason this morning, along with this ama...

Happy Hump Day everyone! I hope it was well. Mine was decent enough, I'd have to say. Sitting here with my pop for the day lol, both children sound asleep and the husband at work. I would have to say that is a pretty good end to my day. Only wish Lon was here with me but he will be home from work in a few short hours. I honestly almost forgot to do this post today! Oops! Here is this week's What I'm Loving Wednesday! Enjoy! I'm loving ... that I do not have to work tomorrow. I know that sounds bad lol, but my house is one big toy pile right now and clutter kills my thought processes. How OCD does that sound lol? I NEED TO CLEAN TOMORROW!!!!! I'm loving ... that after speaking with my dance students tonight in class, I have a total concept and song idea for our dance showcase in May. They are going to be robots! I will give no more clues away lol! BUT I AM STILL SOOOOOO EXCITED FOR IT!!!!!! I'm loving ... Justin Timberlake's new s...

That way you can all wear  RED to suppor heart awareness today! Everyone here at Free Range Family is decked out in red for Wear Red Day. I have several blogging friends who have heart children, in heaven as well as here on Earth. Being a heart child, or person, means your life is very different then most. There are a lot of precautions they have to take and a lot of lifestyles choices that may be slightly different then ours. These people deal with a lot on a daily basis, and are some of the strongest people I have ever met. My outlook on life has greatly changed, thanks to these people. Do not take anything for grated. Everything (including life) is a gift. Last year, I did a week's worth of posts for my friend's and their amazing heart children. I will post the links here. However, this year we are so busy with everything that I only have time for one true heart post. I do urge you readers to check out these other posts from last year, check out these wonderful h...

Today is the eighth and final day of CHD Awareness Week. It is also Valentine's Day, the ultimate Heart Day! :D For my final day, I will feature Miss Kirsten and her son Ewan @ Team Ewan. Via I discovered Kirsten's blog Ocotober 2010, almost a year and a half ago. I am a pretty dedicated reader of her blog and I also have befriended her on Facebook. I care a lot about Kirsten and her family. Kirsten has two children: Ewan and Austen. Ewan has CHD, specifically two types called Tetrology of Fallout and Pulmonary Atresia. Pulmonary Atresia: A type of Congenital Heart Defect where the pulmonary valve does not form properly. A solid sheet of tissue forms where the valve opening should be and the valve remains closed. Because of this defect, blood from the right side of the heart cannot go to the lungs to pick up oxygen. For those of you that aren't familiar with these posts already, I will only be sharing a summary of Kirsten and Ewan's journey because I en...

Today is the seventh day of CHD Awareness Week. For the seventh day I will be feature Miss Krista and her amazing daughter Annabelle @ One Woman's Dream. Via I first started reading Krista's blog in March 2010, almost two years ago. I think that Krista is a very strong mother to have her youngest be diagnosed with CHD. She has gone through so much with her little one and in just under two years! Krista has four children total: Karalynn, Lacy, Gabriella, and Annabelle. Annabelle has CHD, specifically a variation of Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome called Atrioventricular Septal Defect. Atrioventricular Septal Defect: A failure of any of the tissues that help divide the chambers, leaving one or more "holes" and possibly one leaky valve instead of two developed valves. I plan on only sharing a brief medical history on Annabelle and her condition, but that is simply because I urge you to check out her blog out! Annabelle was diagnosed with AVSD when...

I figured I would take a tiny break from CHD Awareness Week and post about the happenings of my family, since I realized I haven't done too much of that this week lol. Oops! :) We are all doing good. Lon was given more hours this week, which is a total blessing for our family. This means that I can cut back on my hours and take a little break. This pregnant mama is happy! :) Alan is doing good, going stir crazy with the weather. It keeps changing from really nice to snowy. Ugh. This morning, Alan was especially rowdy. I dunno if it was because of the newly fallen snow, or the fact that he knew he had a play date scheduled with his buddy Kelton and mommy Kelsie. But from the moment he woke up, he was jumping and climbing and hollering and dancing lol. Wild man. :) We met up with Kelsie, Keith and Kelton at the YMCA around eleven. The YMCA has Open Kids Gym for members and non-members every Friday from 9:30 to noon. Open Kids Gym is the coolest place for kids under five to come pla...

Today is the fourth day of CHD Awareness Week. For our fourth day, I will feature Miss Jill and her beloved son Joshua @ The Real Life of a Red Head. Via I first began reading Jill's blog October 2010, almost a year and a half ago. I have been very invested in reading this blog and I care so much about Jill and her family. Jill has four children total: Caleb, Hannah, Joshua and Luke. Joshua had CHD, specifically a type called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome: A type of Congenital Heart Defect that refers to when the whole left half of the heart (including the aorta , aortic valve, left ventricle and mitral valve) is underdeveloped. I will only share with you a short history of Joshua and his family because I want you to check out Jill's blog yourself. Jill has been through a lot with Joshua and since and the more people who read her story and support her, the better. Please check her out! Jill had a rough pregnancy with Jos...

Today is the third day of CHD Awareness Week. For the third day, I will feature Miss Kristen and her daughter Cora Mae @ Cora's Story. Via I found Kristen's blog December 2009, a little over two years ago. Alan was only a few months old and I was a new mother, so reading the posts of Cora's last five days on the Earth honestly scared me to death. I took Alan into the doctor immediately and had him checked out for CHD, and his doctor assured me after a few short tests that Alan most likely didn't have CHD. After that, I went back to Cora's blog and have been a avid reader since. I think that Kristen is a wonderful mom, and that even now she is fully dedicated and invested in Cora. Once again, I will only share a short summary of Cora's short life and Kristen's journey afterwards. This is only because I urge you to read her blog and spread the word to others. Here is Cora's story: Kristen had a mostly normal pregnancy, and Cora Mae was b...

I am very excited today, because last night I got an email telling me that the red dress I had picked out was on its way to my house! :) Miss Bella, the wonderful gal who is donating the dress to me, said she mailed it Monday morning. So by my calculations, the dress should come either tomorrow or Saturday. Yay!!!!! :D I will be sure to take a break from my CHD Awareness posts on Saturday and will do a Traveling Red Dress Update, so be sure to tune in for that! Once again, Lon works today from 9 to 2. Alan and I need to get my car's oil change ( that will be an adventure in itself lol) and then we are supposed to meet up with Kelsie and her son Kelton for a playdate, though we have yet to decide where to meet and what to do lol. :P Then I work at the Y at four. Here's my heart healthy (for baby) Pregnancy Post! Enjoy! Via How far along: 17 weeks and 3 days Size of Baby: Seven ounces and six inches long or the size of a red onion. Developments of Baby: Ba...

Today is the first day of CHD Awareness Week. For our first day I will feature Miss Neyesa and her strong son Mason @ Mason's Journey. Via I discovered Neyesa's blog March of 2010, almost two years ago. Currently, I am an avid reader of this blog and I care a ton about Mason and his family. Neyesa has two boys, Carter and Mason. Mason has CHD, specifically a type called Tetralogy of Fallout. Tetralogy of Fallout: A congenital heart defect that refers to four anatomical abnormalities, three of which are always present. I will only share a short medical summary of Mason's miraculous journey because I urge you to check out her blog yourself. Neyesa is a wonderful mother and a better storyteller of her son's battle with CHD. Please take the time to check her out! Mason was diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallout when Neyesa was 20 weeks pregnant with him. He was born full term at 37 weeks on September 1, 2010. He amazingly only spent a week in NICU before he...

Happy Monday everyone! This weekend was a busy but good one for my family and I. Saturday I had work at the Y, where I saw my friend Heather and Alan's friend Barrett. Then once I was off of work, Alan and I went out to dinner at Fuddrucker's with my family. Sunday was the Super Bowl of course, but we just went over to my parent's for their little Super Bowl party. It was fun and I enjoyed it when my dad would yell out in excitement and surprise Alan so badly he'd jump a foot in the air lol. Alan thought it was pretty funny as well. Today I am at home with Alan. Lon works from 9 to 1 so Alan and I are spending a mother-son day together. We are planning on playing his ABC Polar Bear Game, finishing his Valentine's and watching movies. Then I work at Child Watch at four. Alan will love seeing his friends at "school"! :) Tomorrow is the beginning of Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week (February 7-14). Via Congenital Heart Defect: Any problem...

Today is a crazy day for me, I'm surprised I even get a chance to get on here. With my art classes and Child Watch combined, I work from 10 to 8 with an hour break. Ahhhhhhhhh! :) No outside time today for me, unless I convince everyone to go outside at daycare. Which I might... :P Here's Top Ten Tuesday! Enjoy! My Top Ten Favorite Bloggers!! Before I start this list, I want everyone to know that I read like 100+ blogs a day lol. So if you made it to this list, at all, your pretty special in my book. :D But this are my favorite bloggers, who I probably check their blogs at least once a day. Some of them I acutually know, and some are just blogging friends. But they all are wonderful ladies with amazing stories to share! Check them out! :D #10 Jodie@ Its All Good in Mommyhood I love this gal. She makes me laugh almost all the time! :D She is a bit older than me and has three more kids than I do, so I like to go to her blog for advice sometimes. Or for just a goo...

Today is Worldwide Pregnancy/Infant Loss Awareness Day. Please take the time to remember and support all who is affected by pregnancy/infant loss, as they often do not get a lot of support. Losing a child or even a pregnancy is one of the worst things that a woman could go through, yet the majority of women have gone through it in some way and don't receive any comfort. We must give them support and hope so that they can one day overcome their sadness and make peace with their loss. I remember you today my beloved Rosalie June, though I doubt I will ever forget you. I think about you everyday and wish you were here with Lon, Alan and I. I miss you so badly and love you with all of my heart. Lon and Alan love you endlessly also, even though they've never met you. Rest peacefully, my beautiful girl. <3 I also remember baby Ewan Eliezer, who earned his Angel Wings October 4th (my husband's birthday, that's so much sadder!) as a result of CHD.  I have never met you o...