Best Buddies 5K

Today was the third annual Best Buddies 5K, but only my first year to attend. It is usually held on the last Saturday in August, but we are also usually out of town that weekend for my mom's birthday. This year, we were here!

"The mission of Best Buddies is to establish a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-on-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities." Until three years ago, this awesome organization didn't have a Tennessee chapter. One of our fellow DS Mommas sought to change that and worked her butt off and got Tennessee it's chapter! You can learn more about Best Buddies Tennessee by visiting their website, http://www.bestbuddiestennessee.org/.

So, since we were in town, I signed up to volunteer at the race this morning. They needed me there at 5:30am, which meant I needed to leave my house by 5, which meant I needed to get up at about 4:15. Etta was kind enough to wake me at 3:45AM (!!!). It's not uncommon for her to wake in the night, but I can usually go in, find her binkie, cover her back up, and she goes back to sleep. I think she knew I had to go somewhere because she was UP. Like, walking around her room and talking to herself. I tried to go back to sleep for 30 minutes, but it was no use with all of her talking coming through the monitor. So, I got up and started getting ready. For the record, contacts are NOT easy to put onto sleepy, sticky eyeballs at 4am. Anyway, Etta was STILL awake (though quieter) by the time I left at 5. Keith says she went back to sleep until he got her up at 6, but he can sleep through just about anything!

So, off I went. Believe it or not, I actually needed a hoodie this morning! When I got there, I helped set up some and finish filling the promotional gift bags (that we handed out after registration) and then the sun came up and before I knew it, people were lined up at my registration table.

Lauren, Shauna, and Manon at the race-day-registration table (the table I worked with Lauren)

I was so excited when Keith walked up with my little E. She was so excited to see me and kept hugging me. It was super cute!

Just before the race started, they asked if I'd go out on the course and be a "course monitor". I wanted to be used however they could use me, so of course I said I would... after I went and got my bladder nice and empty! I could NOT imagine standing on a street corner for an hour needing to pee! So, I ran over to the Publix and the line for the ladies room was RIDIC! I thought about playing the "pregnant card" and/or the "I'm-volunteering-and-NEED-to-get-out-on-the-course card". Instead, I asked the guy coming out of the men's room if anyone else was in there (no!!) and I had a friend watch the door for me. ;)

Then, I was dropped off along the course. I stood there for quite some time before the first runner came through and there was a pretty big gap between the first runner and rest.

waiting for the runners....

I really never knew how far along the course I was. People would ask how much further they had, and I didn't know. What I COULD tell them was that it was downhill from there. Most of them liked hearing that because the hills in that neighborhood could be a little brutal. I snapped a few pictures of the runners/walkers as they passed by me, but I was drawn to the kids and my friends and those with disabilities. I'm only going to post the ones that include my friends here because I don't feel right about posting photos of people I don't know on my personal, but public blog.

ok, yeah, the Chick-fil-A cow guy said he wanted to run the race IN FULL COSTUME to try and beat the time of the guy who ran it last year IN FULL COSTUME! (not sure if he beat him or not?)

Emily

Erin, Jeremy, Karis and Liam 

Erin, Jeremy, Karis and Liam

Amanda

Jennifer

Debra with Silas, Anna, and Stewart

Brooke

Shauna's family

Brooke's husband and daughter, Lily

So, then, after some time, there were a couple of women pushing strollers followed by a police car. I asked the officer if that was the end of the pack (because I had not seen Keith and Etta or a few other friends) and he told me that there were a few more. So, I waited... and waited... and then these guys showed up...

Etta was SO zoned out. I'm surprised she didn't take a nap in the stroller. Anyway, we took a little family picture and they went on their way and I continued to hold down my spot on the course. Keith CLAIMS that he told me that they were the last people, but I NEVER heard that. I would have finished walking back with them had I realized that. Instead, I walked down to the corner before mine to see if Lauren (another DS mom and volunteer) was still there, and she wasn't. So, I started walking back toward the Publix parking lot. I got about halfway back and the lady who dropped me off pulled over and picked me up. We finished driving the course, but it looked like all of the other monitors had already walked back.

(I found out later that a LOT of people took a short-cut along the route, which is why I never saw some of them)

When I got back to Publix, I found Keith and Etta over with Suzy and her crew.

We hung out some and decided to go get some breakfast together. Oh, and this happened:

At breakfast, we saw Lacy and her family. Jude was really cute with Owen.

It was really a nice morning. The weather was nice and it was nice to see some of our friends and it was nice to participate in this event for such an awesome cause.

Etta and I got home at about 11 and she took a shower with me (she was covered in sticky jelly) and then she went down for a nap. She PASSED OUT, like immediately. Then, I crawled into my bed and passed out too! I slept for a solid two hours and I still think I'm going to sleep well tonight. Etta slept a little longer than me and went to bed around 7:30. I sure hope we don't have another 3:45am wake-up call tonight!

Be sure to check out my friend Emily's blog. She got some REALLY cute pictures of Etta and Cooper dancing. :)

Oh, and a big 'ol HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my mom today!! Love you, Momma!

Baby Update 32+ Weeks!

It's hard to believe that little Daniel is due to arrive in less than 8 weeks! We're busy around here preparing for his arrival. I bought Etta a toddler bed at a consignment sale a few weeks ago and we've moved her out of her converted crib into the toddler bed. The crib has been turned back into a crib and moved into our room where Daniel will sleep.

I still have some work to do decorating and clearing out my dresser (that I never use) so we can load it up with clothes and diapers and stuff for Daniel. Speaking of clothes and diapers, I have a TON of baby laundry to do! I've decided to give cloth diapering try this time around and you have to wash/dry the diapers like 10 times to prep them before their first use (to make them fluffy and absorbent). I've got a pretty decent stash of diapers going, but because some of them are sized (small, medium, large as opposed to one-sized diapers that "grow" with your baby), I still need a few more. After I get them all washed and ready for use, I may try out the larger ones on Etta... anyway, here's my stash so far (they are mostly BumGenius brand, but I've got a few FuzziBunz coming in the mail and I plan to get one or two of a few other brands to give them a try):

We've received some really sweet gifts and I wanted to share with you some of the personalized gifts we've received (well, I bought the puppy dog lovey).

(obviously, these three are Keith's favorite)

This sweet knitted blanket came from my sister Deanne's friend Clarissa. She also sent us a pink/brown/creame knit blanket/hat set when I was pregnant with Etta (and she used it a bunch! You might have seen them in pics of her when she was bittier)

I layed it out so you could see the pattern better.

So, yeah, I'm a little more than 32 weeks now, here's a belly shot for you:

At each OB visit (I'm going bi-weekly right now), they do a bunch of stuff including a fundal height measurement. This is where the OB takes a tape measure and measures (in centimeters) from the pubic bone to the top of the uterus. The number of cm SHOULD correspond with how many weeks pregnant you are. So far, I've been measuring right on with this pregnancy. With Etta I was always about 3 weeks behind (remember, she's a tiny little thing!) AND I delivered her early (37weeks 5 days, supposed to go to 40 weeks). SO at my 37 week appointment, the week Etta was born, I only measured 34 weeks. I'm already almost as big as I was at my biggest with Etta! A little nervous about how much bigger this belly is gonna get. ;)

Daniel is a pretty active little guy. He's very wiggly and gets the hiccups frequently. For fun, I caught some wiggly belly action on video for you too! He mostly hangs out the right side, so watch the right for the most action...

DSAMT Family Picnic 2011

Today was the rain date for the DSAMT Picnic that was supposed to happen earlier in the summer. Keith went canoeing and E and I headed up to the park in Nashville. Etta and I got up there at about 11:00 and I made the poor kid walk PAST the playground to the area where all of our friends were set up on their blankets. She was NOT happy about this and I decided that maybe if I let her play for a while, then MAYBE she would sit for a while so I could visit/eat. So, we headed over to the playground, but I made her stay in the play area meant for younger kids.

Etta is patiently waiting for Delaney to go back down the slide.

She did ok with this for a while, but then she started to want to wander/do her own thing. First, it was the swings that captured her attention, but before I could grab her she got knocked down by a swing. She was fine and didn't cry about this, but all of the swings were full, so this was when the first tantrum happened. She wanted to be on a swing and I wanted her away from the swings (so she wouldn't get smacked in the head again). Then, she wandered over to where the bigger play equipment was and I was SO NOT going to climb up in that thing to make sure she was safe. So, tantrum #2 happened. By now we were both hot and sweaty and she was refusing to drink and I needed to go find something to drink. I was able to redirect her back to the play structure meant for younger kids, but after she came down a slide, I realized that her skirt was wet. Great, a diaper leak!

Leading her away from the playground toward the car triggered tantrum #3, a meltdown of gigantic proportions! I literaly carried her under my arm kicking and screaming. We got to the car and I wrangled her out of her wet skirt and strapped that new diaper on her and now my poor kid was naked from the waist down. I almost just left at this point, and I probably should have, but I was feeling a little masochistic apparently. And really, I had not had a chance to visit with any of the other families yet. So, I pulled the stroller out of the back and strapped her naked ass in and gave her a cup of goldfish and the ipod and we went over to stand in the food line (which, I'm not sure what the deal was there, but it was a really long line that moved really slow). I finally fixed my plate and one of the other moms ran over to help me as I juggled my plate and drink and Etta's stroller in the grass (Thanks Dallis!). I finally sat down over on Amy's blanket  with some of our other friends (thanks for sharing your blanket, Amy!) and I ate and listened to Etta randomly fussing. She was hot and tired and hungry (but refusing to eat) and thirsty (but refusing to drink) and she wanted out of her stroller to play some more. So, I ate my food and we left.

Except, I REALLY needed to pee (you know, cause pregnant people pee a lot) and the only bathroom was a port-a-potty right by our car. Another mom, Amanda, was awesome and she helped me to the car and hung out with Etta while I went to the potty (thanks again, Amanda!). Then, we blasted the a/c all the way home!

We got home at about 1:15 and I was EXHAUSTED! I changed Etta's dirty clothes and I changed out of my sweaty clothes and I put E down for a nap. She ran around her room for an hour, of course, but she eventually passed out on the floor. Once I confirmed she was asleep, I also passed out!

I woke up when Keith got back home and I told him all about how awful my morning was and how I really should have just skipped the event since he didn't go with me. Etta woke up from her nap hungry and willing to eat (YAY!). I fed her a pb&j and some other snacks and then helped Keith prep some okra for the Fry Daddy. Etta's running around in a GREAT mood now. Happy to have a full belly and be in the air conditioning.

I really do love when our DS families get together. I love visiting with my friends and meeting new families, but this was the first big event that Keith wasn't there to help watch Etta and I didn't get a chance to visit with anyone really. I thought I would be able to handle it, which is why I told him to go out to the river, but I obviously didn't handle it very well, or at all. lol. We've had a talk about it and he promises to go with me from now on (or I just won't go). ;)