So it’s a big old viral deal this “Dove Real Beauty Sketches” thing.

The video was released a week ago and now there is link flying around the internet as a response (or better yet, a rebuke) to the Dove campaign. There are several actually, but Jazzy Little Drops Tumblr is the one I saw posted by my friends on Facebook. With as much as I was not that passionate about the Dove video, for whatever reason I was passionate to defend it. I think the reason I feel this way is because Dove is TRYING, they may not be perfect and have the exact amount of diversity per second, and maybe they need a better representation of the plus size market, but they are working towards changing the way women think about themselves. Those that responded negatively to the video were also trying to take a stand for real beauty and I applaud that as well. What surprises me though is that there are hundreds or thousands of brands that want to suck every last bit of confidence out of you so that you are at their mercy in your quest to find the pot of good looks at the end of the rainbow. Dove is actually doing the opposite. They are saying YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL the way you are naturally, and don’t be a slave to all the negativity. I understand the thing about inner beauty, but Dove makes products for our body. We might use moisturizer because it makes our skin supple, or deodorant because we don’t want to smell like a steamy swine. The thing that gets me about these Dove complaints is that some people want to act like external beauty doesn’t even have a place and that is what I want to talk about.

 This was one part of the Jaz’s tumblr that caught me off guard.

A lot of people ask if we still sign. We do. SJ isn’t actively learning anymore at this time since it takes absolutely everything we’ve got to get her caught up orally now that she has the cochlear implant. However SJ knows 50+ signs and some of them, like “potty” and “sorry”are absolutely critical in our house. She also knows “where” and “hearing aid”. The sign for cochlear implant is actually different than hearing aid, but it’s what she knows from when she had hearing aids so we go with it. There have been times where she took off her CI’s and we just sign “where are your hearing aids”. She can request  her processor using this sign too which was an exciting milestone. Even as I write this I have to pause and use the signs “share” or “clean up” (go figure). This video shows 10 more signs that we use on a regular basis. SJ is, as always, the star of the show, but you can hear the brothers in the background. Hopefully they are not too loud.

                                                 
This post is linked with Top Ten Tuesday and here are the links for Signs SJ knows part one and two.  

From the moment I started a blog many people have assumed I have an online diary where I divulge every juicy, or more likely boring detail of my life. Those people are mistaken. There is so much that I don’t talk about. I just recently started (in tiny increments at a time) watching Call the Midwife. It’s a historical drama based off of Jennifer Worth’s Memoirs from her time studying and practicing midwifery in the slums of East England. She has some pretty incredible stories. I’ve got the book on hold at the library. I would love to write memoirs someday. I’ll tell stories of living in a fog. It will be riveting, heartbreaking, and heartwarming. There will be a nail biting climax and I will testify about how I stepped out onto nothing and God allowed my dreams to materialize beneath me. I hope to share that. For now I am just searching the barren cupboards of my soul for some mustard seed belief.

I hate to sound so glum. The truth is I could change every word in the previous paragraph to “blessed” and it still wouldn’t be enough to tell of just how blessed and fortunate I am. For those that don’t know here is a really brief, not even cliff notes worthy, glimpse of my story. We lived in Texas. We had jobs, we had a house, we even had chickens. We left all of that to be near my family and see what the Lord had for us in Northern Kentucky. Within months after moving in with my parents we found out that we were pregnant and that our 2 year old daughter, SJ, was deaf. Since then we have moved in with my brother and his wife so that we could get SJ into a good school that is about 30 miles from where they live.

The other day we were having a conversation with Z about people in need and I explained that there are some people that don’t have homes and he responded “Like us?” Hearing your 5 year old describe himself as homeless can kind of knock the wind out of you. We may not own or rent a home, but we definitely have a roof over our heads (a nice one). There are so many people that can’t say that. There are plenty of people that are unemployed that don’t have loved ones to take them in.

That being said, it’s time to find a place. I humbly ask that you would join us in prayer. This is the biggest spiritual mountain I’ve ever had to see moved in my lifetime. My husband needs a job desperately! He’s been able to do temp work here and there. Between the odd jobs, savings, and even help from things I am too proud to mention medicaid and food stamps we’ve been able to get by, but it’s been a year and half now and we are ready for some stability. Until we can move to Ohio we have to privately pay for SJ’s school, not to mention the hundreds of dollars of gas we put in our car each month just to get her there. Z starts school in the fall so our goal is to be moved by then. Finding a job that can sustain a family of 5 and a place to live in 3 months is not looking too realistic.

I don’t like talk about that aspect of our lives. I wouldn’t mind if it was a part of my memoirs and I could tell you how it all turned out, but as far as the present tense, it just makes me uncomfortable. However, I felt compelled to open up and I do appreciate the prayers. When the storm has passed and the battle is won we’ll look back and see how far we’ve come

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SJ is about to be 5 months in terms of her hearing age. Her first therapist drilled that idea into my head before we got the implant “hearing age, hearing age, hearing age”. So many parents get discouraged if they don’t have realistic expectations. I can now see how easily that could happen. When I feel like she should be able to talk or understand more I remind myself of her hearing age. One easy way to think about it is by comparing her to baby Ezie. He was born almost two months before SJ was activated. A little side note, you start hearing In Utero and the neural pathways begin forming before you are even born so he has that much more of a lead just from the work he did listening in the womb! That puts Ezie and SJ neck and neck when it comes to hearing and speech. Granted SJ has tons more cognitive experience and abilities that will allow her to learn faster than Ezie, but they are going to start learning language at approximately the same time. 

This makes our family dynamics interesting. Even though I have 3 kids that are all 2.5 years apart I’ve been listening to ONE kid talk our ears off for the past 4 years. He more than makes up for the lack of communication from the other two. Believe me, Z is a talker! It will be interesting to go from one talker to three next year. On top of that I have a 3 year old and a 6 month old that jabber to each other with grunts and basically “oohs and ahs” It’s hard to tell their voices apart.

 People get them mixed up all the time when I’m on the phone or the kids are in another room. I took this video that gives a little glimpse of what I am talking about. SJ is the squeaky high pitched (that’s her way of singing) and the other squawker is Ezie.  These are just some of the sounds they make.

It’s like their ears are twins. It’s a little heartbreaking in a way. I watch Ezie take in the world around him. He turns to sounds, he bangs on things, and blows bubbles with his mouth. We are all giving him an earful to listen to and he is taking it all in without even knowing how it’s stimulating his brain. He will learn our language naturally and effortlessly. For SJ she has to go to school full time and have daily therapy sessions. We have spent the past 4 months just getting her to detect sound and she has taken off with this skill and is doing great. But you can see how much work it is. I know God will be glorified through this and he has a plan for SJ. I look forward to seeing it play out.

That’s right, there is a button for “love” or “ugh”. I would hate to have to check the weather without being able to express my emotional opinion on a virtual level. You’ve probably detected my overload of sarcasm, but really, I am grateful for all the advancements in meteorology weather or not I can count on it. Heh, heh. 

This post is linked up with Miscellany Monday at Lowercase Letters! 

I wasn’t supposed to be here. 

When Z was in Pre-K I went to pick him up one day and instead of bringing him to the door the teacher invited me into the class. She told me there was something I had to see. As followed her to the back of the room wondering what he had gotten into, she said “He built New York city!” Sure enough, there it was, a preschool size replica of the clustered city that never sleeps.

I was impressed, but I wasn’t too surprised. Anyone who has spent much time with Z has probably either heard about his love for New York, or seen one of his drawings/creations.

The Statue of Liberty

One time he told me he wishes he lived in New York so that he could look at the statue all day. I don’t know where this interest comes from other than the fact that the Madagascar animals are from there, along with many super heroes.

My mom, who loves to travel (and does so for free thanks to working for Delta) has been trying to convince me for some time now to let her take Z to NYC. I told her that he was too young. It’s so big, so far, so expensive. I want him to really appreciate the magnitude of an experience like that. But the more Z talked about it and the older he got, I started warming up to the idea. This is the last big chance he has before he starts school and the best time to fly stand by is off season days (when most people are in school or working). Plus he has matured a lot in the past year. I know he is not going to run off in Central Park or have a temper tantrum in time square.

So J and I talked about it and decided to give my mom the green light. Z has no idea that less than a week from now he will be flying to The Big Apple with his Me’me’ and Pe’pe’! We aren’t going to tell him until the last minute either. It’s going to be kind of like this adorable video of the girl who was going to Disney World.

Even though I can’t go with him I have been over the moon with excitement on his behalf. There is nothing like watching your child’s dreams come true, even if they might be too young to understand how lucky they are. This week as part of our homeschooling we went to the library and checked out some materials on New York City. After a week of exploring what the city is all about he is going to be surprised with a ticket to see it for himself. I feel like his early interest in The United States and New York City is instilling in him a sense of patriotism. What better way to foster an appreciation for the land of the free than going to one of our Nation’s most important historic cities? If he gets there and his biggest concern is Nintendo World, that’s fine too.

I cannot believe both our teams made it to the final game of the NCAA championship. J has always been a Michigan fan and we love Louisville, so as a first time March Madness bracket participant those are the teams I picked (with Louisville winning in the end). Yesterday was the final four games so my two youngest wore these shirts and showed their team spirit at the park. 

I got a lot of cute pictures of them together, but now that Michigan and Louisville both made it to the National Championship this picture is priceless!

A couple years ago I mentioned Z was obsessed with maps and geography. Well, the fascination has only grown since then. This year he has tackled memorizing and being able to recognize all 50 states.The memory cues that he uses to get them “stuck in his head”, as he calls it, are pure genius. Of course this is coming from his mom who is bias, and thinks knows each of her children are brilliant. I make no apologies. 

 Arkansas– tea cup

Minnesota– a pillow with a bite taken out of it

 North Carolina– diamond

Nevada– kite

and of course many states that look like guns, knives, and dogs. He is a boy.

This video was shot while showing Z a picture of a map and pointing to each one. He can identify any state, in any order, on any US map. I hope you enjoy his enthusiasm in this video as he channels in his super powers to oblige his mother in the making of this movie.

Next up, continents.