Category Archives: Family

12.17.10

Shop For a Cure.


Many of you were so touched by our friends the Carmicals, and their battle with pediatric cancer. Through Declan’s Journey, thousands of people around the world were touched by this baby boy and his family. Sadly, Declan lost that battle on August 18, just eight days shy of his 1st birthday.


This past week, I spoke with Sherri on the phone and was able to catch up, which was long overdue. As you may know, Declan is buried just steps from my Mom, and the girls and I visit him often. Even after everything that Sherri has been through, the first thing that she said to me was that she thinks of me every time she visits Declan. I guess once you become part of the not-so-elite club of losing someone close to you, you get it. We even joked about how the girls and I had ice cream at Declan’s grave on his birthday. While some may think it’s morbid, or weird, it’s become a part of our lives. My mother was such a force within my life, and somehow, someway my girls feel that too. They ask to go see Grandma and actually get upset if we happen to drive by the cemetery and not stop. Sherri and I laughed about how the cemetery is like a second home to our kids— but it’s peaceful, and it’s beautiful.

So, while Sherri has found as much peace as she can visiting her baby in a cemetery, she continues to fight so that she can hopefully save other mothers from the heartache that she and Stan have been through. I will never forget how proud, touched and amazed I was at Declan’s funeral when Sherri wrote a letter to her precious boy and vowed to keep up this fight.. and what a fighter she is.

Sherri and Stan have started Journey-4-A-Cure, a foundation started in honor of Declan to advance research for a cure to pediatric cancer. Recently, they have teamed up with RuMe Bags for a promotion through December 31. Purchase any items and not only will you receive 10% off, but RuMe Bags will also donate 30% of your purchase to Journey-4-A-Cure. (Promo Code: CURE.)


They have some great designs that fold up perfectly to fit in your purse, laptop bag, or even carry on.. and how adorable is the Jr. line? I know that I will be purchasing the cuff for myself as well as Mike– great for all of the activities that we will be doing during our post-holiday boot camp. Also, I snagged a few of the reusable baggies for snacks for the girls… They can also be used as make-up bags, or a little change purse for my beach bag.

So many great options for stocking stuffers, already at great prices. Now you can get an additional 10% and donate to a great cause… Sounds like a no-brainer to me.

Love this line, and I hope you do too. Let’s all shop for a cure!

11.29.10

Tis The Season: Gifts for Him.

Wondering what to get that special man in your life? Your sports-loving, gadget consuming, beer guzzling better half? Oh, is that just my husband?… I say that with the utmost affection.

Men are from Mars, and women are from Venus.. so rather than your husband making the I just got kicked in the n$%s face when he opens his gifts this year, use this gift guide to replace that grimace. I enjoy making those that I love happy at Christmas time, and these gifts are sure to do the trick!


3. Engraved Flask– $24.99 ON SALE
5. Apple TV– $99
6. Timex Ironman Watch– $34.99
8. NFL Hoodie- $54.95
11. Magnetic Wristband– $19.95

11.22.10

Tis the Season: Gift Guide for Kids.

For the next upcoming weeks, I will be doing a gifting segment called Tis the Season. Each Tis the Season post will be filled with ideas for all of the special people in your life.

 
Today, I am kicking it off with kids. They are what this season is all about right? Ah, to see Christmas through a child’s eyes. I will never forget when E was two, and she came downstairs from her nap (she used to take four hour snoozers, so we picked that time to trim the tree) and she gasped out of sheer excitement for our beautiful tree. Of course, I shed a few tears.
 
This year it’s Lou’s turn to really “get it” for the first time.. and I can’t wait. as you can see, last year, she was less than enthusiastic.

 
Make your little tikes happy with some of these picks. Check out the kids’ gift ideas that made it onto Kiki’s List:
 
 
1. Wooden Sushi Set- $15.07 ON SALE
12. Magnetic Fishing Puzzle– $8.41 ON SALE

11.02.10

Sisters.

Having a sister is like having a best friend you can’t get rid of. You know whatever you do, they’ll still be there. ~Amy Li
I am in awe each day as I watch my girls interact with each other and their bond grow stronger. I just warms my heart.

10.31.10

Boo.


Everyone was running scared of the Salmon clan this weekend. Luckily E was able to recover in time to enjoy some of the festivities that we had planned. I, on the other hand, was benched. I was so bummed to miss out on Halloween with my girls. I have not eaten in two days, and there seems to be no end in sight.


Here are some pictures from the Halloween parade on Friday. I know that I have sung her praises before, but did I mention that my mother-in-law is also a talented seamstress? She made the girls’ costumes. While 99% of the population has no idea of who they are, these are some big characters in our house. E is Merliah Summers from Barbie and the Mermaid Tale and Anna is Toodee from Yo Gabba Gabba, of course.

10.30.10

A Fecal Matter.

WARNING.. Not advised to read unless you have a strong stomach, or are a Mom. The literature below is extremely…. well….gross.
Poor E- she had lice for 4th of July, strep for Labor Day, and we are really hoping that she is able to kick this stomach flu for Halloween. As most of you know, she started vomiting on Tuesday night. Well, yesterday we sent her to school for the first time because she seemed to be feeling much better. The girls’ school also had their annual Halloween parade, which is a big deal to these kiddos. So, off she went.
 
Mike and I showed up at 4:00 for the parade, and all seemed to be fine. She had a great day at school, and was so excited for the weekend to come. After the parade, we headed over to Chick-fil-A with friends. All of a sudden, I hear that E is in the bathroom crying… I knew it couldn’t be good. However, it couldn’t be much worse. Poor E had thought she just had to “toot”, but unfortunately, it was a lot more than a toot. The technical term for this is sharting. Whether or not they like to admit it, it happens to everyone at least once in their life. Back to E- let’s just say I had to throw away her panties, go to the car to get her new pants (Thank God I had some) and complete a rigorous clean up in that bathroom stall.
 
I thought the worst was behind us, oh what a fool I was. We got her home, put her in the tub, and all seemed to be okay. We headed down to the basement as a family to watch Scared Shrekless, which was awesome by the way. Throughout the movie there was a little toot here or there, and with each gastric explosion I would jump up and ask her if she was ok. All was good, or so I thought. Then it happened. The shart of all sharts. It all happened so fast, I am still perplexed by the whole thing. First, the shart, then E started screaming and flinging her arms in the air. I saw her trying to get her panties off. As I screamed “No, no, no!”, her soiled panties were flying through the air. Not my best motherly moment, but I lost it. I had been covered in vomit and feces for three days now, and finally broke. She got the couch, the dog, the rug, the pillows, there was even poop on her forehead. Mike heard the screaming and came running downstairs. We have a shower in our basement, so in it she went. And then the clean up began. I started the laundry and put E in clean clothes as Mike had to wash poor Bailey outside with a hose. After that, he left for a poker game that he had been looking forward to all week.
 
Now it was time for bed. I thought, this poor baby can’t have any more poop left in her body… I mean she hasn’t eaten in almost three days! I still had some Little Swimmers left in the linen closet, and surprisingly, she wanted to wear one. I read her two books and off she went. I crept into my bed, finished some e-mails and caught up on a few shows. I think I fell asleep around 12:30 or so. At 1:30 I heard the doors to my bedroom open and E was crying saying “it happened again!” I guided her to the bathroom, and put her in the tub. Her sheets were soiled beyond belief and she was crying hysterically. (Can we talk about how Little Swimmers don’t work AT ALL!) I could not have her wake up Lou, so I texted Mike and told him that I needed him to come home. He was here within 10 minutes. This time I stripped the bed, Mike got E dressed, and took her to bed.
 
This morning she has eaten toast, and drank some water (the menu of a prisoner) and so far so good. We are keeping our fingers crossed, as we have so many fun events and parties planned this weekend.

10.17.10

The Weekend in Review.

We had a jam-packed weekend full of fun. Here are the highlights:

After the girls’ dance classes on Saturday, we headed to the Great Country Farms Pumpkin Patch with some friends from the girls’ school. We LOVE GCF. We generally head out there twice each October. There is so much to do- a real pumpkin patch, a giant moon bounce, pig races, live animals, a cow train, a much, much more. Despite Lou’s ultimate meltdown the last 30 minutes, we had a fantastic time.

Today Momma was in dire need of a pedi, so I took the girls with me to get their nails painted. Across the street from the nail salon was a yard sale. The girls wanted to swing by and check it out so we did. And here’s what we scored:
2. Megablocks for Lou– $2.00

Now, I am not a scrap booker. I might be the worst mother ever because neither of my girls have a baby book. I just can’t bring myself to do it. I am banking that they will be able to log onto Kiki’s List or Facebook to reminisce. But I do frequent that aisle in Michael’s enough to know that the ginormous box that we got has about $300 worth of supplies in it. So many different papers, it kept E busy for hours today. Of course, her favorite? The “Oreos and milk” paper. As you can see, the legos were adequately disinfected.

After lunch we headed over to a group of three haunted houses that were erected by our local mall. I know what you are thinking- we are crazy to be taking a two and five year old to a haunted house. Disclaimer: E was stalking us all week to take her, and this one is advertised as kid friendly. As you can see by the look on E’s face, we will not be going back for a few years. She ran out screaming and wouldn’t even go through one of the three houses, and as Lou was walking through she said “Let’s get outta here!”