These are my Confessions

Just when I thought I said all I could say, My chick on the side said she got one on the way (Usher 2004 anyone??)  That's not really my confession, I don't have a girl on the side or one on the way.  I definitely like men.

So get this, remember how I started the nursing program this semester? Or should I say, I was supposed to start the nursing program?  Yeah well that didn't exactly happen.  Well don't worry, don't worry, I will be starting in January but let me take you through the series of events that happened.  Although it is quite embarassing, its just too good to hold back.

August 16 I went to MCC for my orientation.  6 days left until I started the next 2 years of my life.  It was all about getting us excited to spend $1000 on books and letting us know we will need a good chiropractor as our backs will pretty much give out as we lug them around all semester.  They were all into "This is going to be the hardest 2 years of your life but you are going to love it! Oh, and not all of you will pass this semester. Hooray for the nursing program!"  I walked out of there feeling very overwhelmed and just wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out, that way I wouldn't have to go to school.  They told us we needed to take a drug test.  No biggie.  I just pee in a cup that's all, it's not like I do drugs or anything.  I did have to pass up a poppyseed muffin though, that was a bummer.  They gave us 48 hours to give them our bodily fluids, it was a random drug test.  So I go down there, drinking my water ready to leave my pee and get the heck out of there (who wants to sit around and chit chat to the people you just handed your pee to? I sure don't).  I go in to take the test, and nothing comes out.  Hmm, that's weird.  I usually don't have a problem peeing on demand, and sometimes I even pee when I don't mean to (remember when I wet the bed?).  So I shrugged my shoulders and the tech told me to sit in the lobby, drink more and let her know when I'm ready to pee.

................

2 hours and 3 urine tests later I walked out of there defeated.  No pee. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. I could not pee in that cup to save my life, and they are only allowed to give me 3 tries.  I wasn't able to supply the proper amount of urine in the 48 hours given, and when I went back to MCC with my tail between my legs begging them for another chance to take the test., they told me I would have to defer to next semester.  Rules are rules.  I pretty much just stared at them with my mouth gaping open.  Part of me wanted to slap them in the face and fall to the floor screaming "Wwwwhhhhhyyyyyy???", while the other half just wanted to show up to class anyway and see if they would notice.  Instead I went home and crawled into my hole I call my bedroom and never came out.  Actually I came out about an hour later when I needed to feed Mr. Man, but those are just tiny details.

All in all, it has been a huge blessing.  I have loved staying home with Jude these extra months and I will be so ready to start school fresh in January.  I have been drinking a ton of water and I'm not going to pee until that drug test.  Just kidding, who would really be able to do that? But seriously, the Lord knows what He is doing and even though He works in mysterious ways I am grateful that He has a plan just for me.

So yes, this was my confession.  I didn't start school. I know, I'm totally lame.

Walk for Down Syndrome 2011

The day was a huge success.  All of the hard work that Erik and I put into Jude's team paid off.  We ended up placing in the top 10 fundraising teams!  This was our one day where we could hold Jude up and scream "He's ours!" without annoying the heck out of everyone around us.  With our sign held high and "I'm a Jude Lover" shirts all over the crowd, Erik and I took a step back and breathed it all in. These people are here for Jude.  They are here because they love him.  We couldn't help but cry as we were surrounded by all our family and friends (ok fine, Erik didn't cry.  but I definitely did).  Although I was puking in the corner all day (no I'm not pregnant,  just a bug), we all had such a great time.

Jude had clearly just woken up from a nap and was really confused why we were still there.

Can you please take a second and enjoy the deliciousness that is coming from the bottom of this picture? It was a quick "Hey lets take your picture before you leave and things get crazy, ready set smile!" and amazingly enough that is how Jude's face turned out.  And I'm totally diggin on Jude's shirt. (Side story: Our team name was The Jude Lovers, so our shirts said "I'm a Jude Lover".  My brother in law actually had someone ask him exactly what a Jude Lover was...yes that really happened)

We had over 50 people come and support Jude, over 60 people purchase t-shirts, and we passed our goal of raising $1,500.  We want to give you all a big big THANK YOU to everyone that was so willing to support Jude.  Like I said, Erik and I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such amazing people.  We know we would not be where we are if it weren't for the wonderful people we know.  Jude's success is because so many people love and support him.  THANK YOU!!!

T-Shirt Time!

So we FINALLY have the shirts worked out for our team "THE JUDE LOVERS".  They will look a little something like this:

You are probably wondering what took us so long because its a pretty basic shirt.  Yeah well we are wondering the same thing.  A lot of things also had to be worked out behind the scenes.  But we are so excited! So buy it dang it! We are selling them for $10 each and ALL of the proceeds will go towards "THE JUDE LOVERS" team.  Please please please let me know if you want one, we need to know by this Thursday, September 1st! Did you hear me? This Thursday!

If you would like to just donate towards Jude's team, you can click on this link and it will take you directly to his team page.  Just click the big red button that reads "Donate" and it will walk you through it. We are so close to meeting our goal, just a little more!

***Also, if you would like to come join us for the walk on Saturday, September 10, you have to register! Click on this link to register for Jude's team and click the blue button that says "Register".  If you are wanting to purchase a shirt like the one above, DO NOT order a shirt from the website.  Those are the basic shirts put out by Sharing Down Syndrome Arizona.  Buy ours instead!

We are so excited for the walk coming up and we hope all of you can join us! If you would like to order a shirt for $10 please leave a comment with the shirt size and how many you want.  Or you can email me at
ae{dot}payne{at}hotmail{dot}com..  Even if you can't come to the walk we would love it if you bought a shirt!

If you have any questions please let me know!

My Replacement

I have always prided myself in the fact that Jude loves me most.  I let others believe that he loves them more, but really I know that him and I have a special connection.  I mean, I'm his mom.  I carried him in my womb.  I pushed him out for a long and grueling 20 minutes (just kidding. he really wasn't that hard to get out.  that was the easiest part of the whole labor-and-delivery experience).

But recently I have noticed a change in his behavior.  He has found a new best friend.  Someone he thinks is better than me.  I didn't think this day would come so soon.  But alas, it has.  I must get past my hatred for this new best friend and realize it is for the better of my child.  Under my breath I curse the name of my replacement, but I know I have to hold my tongue in front of Jude because I do not want to hurt him.  Jude's new best friend is named.....Daddy.


*Jude seems to think that Daddy is a better nap partner than I am (We don't take naps as much as it seems.  Well of course Jude does.  And Erik does sometimes because he leaves for work at 3:30 in the morning).  They even sleep the same:

Jude likes watching movies with Daddy more than me.  I think he has realized that no matter the chick flick, they are always going to end up together.

Jude even enjoys watching fireworks more with Daddy than he would with me.

Sigh.  I may have to pull out the big guns to get my Jude Man back.  Erik may have won this battle, but he will not win this war.

Jude is a Funny Guy

As of late, Jude has been really funny.  And really happy.  Well he's always been happy, except when he's hungry, tired, or my dad talks to loud.  That scares the bajeebies out of him.  Otherwise he is pretty much the happiest kid on the planet.

A few weeks ago Erik's parents bought Jude Man an excersaucer, and it is pretty much the best thing that has ever happened to him.  He spins around and around in it, putting his mouth on everything and pressing every button all at once. He is so happy when he is in that thing, it's as if Christmas is every day.

He gets so giddy every time he goes in there and he usually doesn't want to come out.

Jude had a wild night the night before, and he looks as if I just walked in on him with his pants down.

He has also learned how to blow raspberries, and now he is in the process of one:
(I'm so diggin' the bed head look)

And most of all, he has the most infectious laugh and smile

***Don't forget to go here to register and donate for THE JUDE LOVERS team!***

Go D-Backs!

Friday night Erik, Jude and I went to the Diamondbacks game with my family.  My dad's company had a work party there so all of his employees were there too.  It was a lot of fun!

Of course, we had to stop by Carolina's before the game to get the best tortillas in town.

(Sorry about the chewing face honey)

Of course you have to have a family photo. By that time Jude was fed up with all the Mets fans and didn't want to look at the camera.

Surprisingly enough he really enjoyed the fireworks.  We thought he would have cried through them, he is so sensitive to loud noises but he was so enthralled.

We beat the Mets 4-2 and we are still in first place! Go Diamondbacks!

Peek-A-Boo

Jude hasn't exactly caught on to the concept of peek-a-boo yet.  But a few weeks ago when I went to get him out of bed in the morning, I felt like he was doing his own version of it when I found this:

At first I didn't see his hair so I was really confused.  I knew I heard him in there and I knew no one else would be in there to get him up, and then I noticed the blanket move and saw this:

How he was able to manage to get the blanket on top of him I have no idea.  It's just like the time I put him on a blanket on the living room floor, ran downstairs for a minute, came back up and he was gone.  Literally gone.  Nowhere to be found. Out of sight.  I panicked for a moment and it wasn't until I heard a noise under the couch that I realized he has almost mastered the art of scooting backwards instead of forwards.  He went so fast he scooted himself under the couch, and was nice and cozy. He is definitely going to give me a run for my money.