Please go over to: http://www.talesofthetoot.com  and reconnect/follow/subscribe over there. I love all my bloggy friends and don’t want to lose anyone in the transition.

Now that all the hard work of moving content, figuring out codes, plug-ins and widgets is done, I am excited to return to regular posting as well as visiting your blogs!

Come see me @ http://talesofthetoot.com

Thanks so much!

Christy

As much as I would have loved to be at Blissdom this weekend, I am thrilled at the opportunity to meet new bloggy friends as part of the Blizzard Blog Hop!

Here at Tales of the Toot, I write and reflect on raising a toddler with a rare kidney disorder…and doing it with sass. I am a firm believer that God is in control. I don’t always understand His ways, but I try to rest in the knowledge that he is painting a much bigger picture that what I can see today. He thought my resume was the right fit for this job….so I’m running with it!

I am all about living life abundantly in the face of this disease. My family is determined that we will not let this disease define us, our child or our lives. We laugh, we play, we love. We hope and we believe.

You will also find a few giveaways and product reviews here, but mostly just my thoughts and reflections.

Thanks for visiting! I can’t wait to get to know YOU!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying they are lying. But, do they really have it all together? Or are they just skilled at painting a pretty picture?

I wonder if I look like this from the outside? LOL, probably not! But, I’m sure that the way I seem as a mom and the reality are definitely at odds.

For example, today Aiden and I slept in. On a Tuesday–for no real reason other than we could. I won’t say what time it was when we got out of bed- but lets just say that we didn’t make breakfast, and our first meal probably didn’t even qualify as “brunch”. I’ve run around all morning trying to make it look like I’ve actually been up since 7:30. I’ve cleaned my house, dressed my little toot and even got dressed myself (minus the make-up). If you walked in now to see a clean house with me “working” away on my laptop and my little man riding his motorcycle around the house…you would think we were balanced. And I would let you think that.

Of course I want you to think I’m a great wife and mother, a dedicated housekeeper and that I am making a mental list of ingredients for a new recipe (one that I came up with on my own, of course!) in my head right now. But, that’s not the reality.

The reality is this:

• I stay up too late, and therefore sleep too late.
• I speed-clean more than I deep clean.
• Sometimes we eat Sloppy Joe’s for dinner.
• Sometimes we don’t get dressed until after noon.
• My son watches too much Nick Jr. most days.
• Sometimes I have really bad days and even lose my patience with my precious little man.

I’m not perfect.

The reality is this. I am balanced. It’s not an act. I am a perfect mix of perfection and flaw. To my husband, I am the wife he needs to balance him. He doesn’t mind Hamburger Helper now and then, because we are balanced where it is important. We stand together, face a disease with no answers, protect our son as best we can and love and respect each other no matter what. Our son is happy, silly, smart and beautiful. To him, I am Mommy. Is there any greater honor than that?

I don’t need to win admiration from my fellow moms and I don’t care if you are appalled at my lack of schedule and gourmet menu selection.

This is my life. Beautiful, chaotic, blessed, cursed, balanced or not… this is no act. This is my life.

Check your emails ladies to see if you have won the Sterling Silver “Aiden’s Cross” Pendant!!!

Thanks so much to all of you who entered, and a special shout-out to all my JJB Mama’s who have supported me and Aiden with love and prayers since Day 1 of this diagnosis.

Spread the word about AHUS. Awareness is key. We need a cure!!

Here’s the scoop: Once a month (JUST ONCE A MONTH!!) we’re challenged to get out for one hour BY OURSELVES (what?!?) and do something just for us.

Now, before all the guilt comes pouring in on all us mom types–it’s just an hour–and boy do we EVER need it!

My “hour” actually turned in to 2 1/2 this week (YAY ME!) and I came home happy, relaxed and ready to dive back into my mommy & wifey duties with gusto! So this isn’t selfish “me time” –this is actually beneficial to the entire family. (pets included).

My wonderful mother-in-law (did I mention she lives with us? That’s a post of its own, y’all!) actually watched our little Toot for us and Daddy had his own Time-Out Time while I was having mine. He went to Lowe’s (Boooo!) and I escaped to the local bookstore with my laptop. I leisurely perused the books (with special attention to the writer’s section) bought a few magazines and sat in the book store café drinking a pumpkin spice latte (affectionately termed, PSL) while I abused their free wi-fi.

It was heavenly.

What did you do for yourself this week?

 Oh, and if you need a little laugh, check this out.

~Christy

This is what happens when your 2 1/2 year old puts his pants on “by all myself”

So cute, I just had to share!

"Aiden's Cross" designed by Sterling Grace Jewelry

I am so happy announce my very first giveaway!! This giveaway is awesome for several reasons: 

1.  A beautiful sterling silver pendant that retails for $58.
2.   The pendant, “Aiden’s Cross” is a specialty item designed for and named after my son, Aiden to help promote awareness of the rare medical disorder he suffers from: AHUS (Atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome).
3.  Proceeds from the sale of “Aiden’s Cross” are distributed to the University of Iowa to help fund research for AHUS.

For more information about Aiden and AHUS visit the Aiden’s Cross Website. You can buy your Aiden’s Cross at the Sterling Grace Jewelry Website. 

Entering to win is easy! 

• First, become a Tales of the Toot follower by email and then visit www.aidenscross.com . Leave me a comment (on this blog: Tales of the Toot) telling me how you would help spread the word about this ultra-rare disorder and/or what you learned about AHUS. If you are already a follower, let me know that in your comment! This is required to enter-1 entry.

Extra Entries 

• Follow me on Twitter @AidensCross. (Please leave a comment letting me know you are a new follower or if you are already following). – 1 entry
• Tweet about this giveaway. – 2 entries/1 Tweet per day max credit
• Follow Tales of the Toot on FB’s Networked Blogs. Leave me a separate comment letting me know you did this. -1 entry
• Visit the Sterling Grace Website and let me know what your favorite piece is. -1 entry
• Post my giveaway on your blog. (Leave me a comment with the link) -3 entries!!
• Visit one other post at Tales of the Toot and leave a comment. -1 entry

 To receive credit for all entries please leave a separate comment/associated link for each task you complete.  

The winner will be selected by Random.org on Monday, February 1st at 2:00p.m. CST and will be notifed by email. If you are the winner, you will be given 48 hours to claim your prize before a new winner is selected. 

Thanks so much!  

Good luck! 

~Christy~

It was an exciting day at our house when we checked the mailbox to find 2 new DVD’s from the So Smart! Collection waiting for my our review. Aiden was ready and willing to be my little guinea pig for this project and promptly exclaimed “New movies for me! Can I watch them, mama?” So off to the DVD player they went.

We first watched “House” from the Babies First-Word Stories series. This series is created for toddlers, aged 1-3,  who are working on language development. “House” is aimed at children 1+ and introduces your child to words and names of objects found in your home as well as sounds the objects make and uses of the objects.

Although, Aiden knew most of the words covered in this particular video, he still enjoyed interacting with the characters/narrator as they would urge the children to recall the names of the items found in the home or playing hide-and-seek with the characters.

I loved the way this video encouraged interaction and not just mind-numbing vegetation in front of the TV! From calling out names of objects as they appeared on-screen to finding where Dee-Dee was hiding in the house, my little man was encouraged to be an active participant in learning as he watched.

Our second selection from So Smart is from the King Otis and the Kingdom of Goode series and is called “Lollybird’s Tale of Being Different.” This was a wonderfully imaginative story that teaches a valuable, universal lesson – it’s okay to be different! It is geared for children 3+.

Aiden (and myself!) loved the music in this story and followed along intently asking me questions about the story-line. This is a great DVD to sit and watch with your younger children so that you can engage in dialogue about what it means to be different.

Both DVDs are PC and MAC compatible and include bonus activities such as: printable activity sheets, music videos and on-screen tutorials.

Overall, I am impressed with the content of both So Smart! selections. They were both educational, entertaining and age-appropriate. It is obvious why the So Smart! Series is the winner of over 30 National Parenting Awards. If you are looking for quality, educational entertainment for your children, I would encourage you to consider the So Smart Series. These videos are a great educational tool and an investment into your child’s learning.

You can find more information and order your So Smart! DVDs by clicking here.

The DVDs reviewed in this post were provided by So Smart in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation has been given.

In church last week, we learned that by the time most of us are young children we have a dream, a God-given dream, of what we want to do….fewer and fewer of us can name that dream as we get into our teenage years, and by the time we are adults only about 5-6% of us can identify our “dream”. Wow, I wonder why that is?

As we age and get “smarter, more realistic, grown-up” do we just give up on our dreams? Are we smart enough to know that they were just silly dreams? Or are we leaving the “child-like” faith that we need to instead pursue monotonous jobs and tasks that are what we “should” be doing?

If God has formed each and every one of us with a purpose in mind, how do we go about finding that purpose? How do we get back to our 5-year-old hearts and minds? The ones that weren’t afraid of failure or expectation. The ones that didn’t even know that failure was an option.

I don’t know the answers to these questions, but wanted to put this out there for your thoughts, your perspective. Please share with me.

As for me, I recently (accidently) began doing something that was always my dream as a child. From the time I was a very young child until around my teen years I said, “I’m going to be a writer when I grow up!” Through this space and through www.travelingmom.com I have started pursuing that dream again.

Jeez, I was so smart when I was 5…

Let me tell you something, mama. Don’t stop dreaming.

When my sweet little boy was diagnosed with an ultra-rare disorder, I felt robbed. Robbed of the ability to kiss all the boo-boos away; robbed of a “normal” life for him and for me; robbed of the dreams that I had for my little boy. I cannot tell you how many nights I literally lay on the floor in his room, sobbing and praying and asking “Why?” And then I realized…

If I stop dreaming for him…I am robbing him….I am robbing myself. So, I looked around at the blessings, the joys, the wonders of all that he is. And, I thanked God for every good day we had and made plans to have as many of those good days as possible.

It’s not easy having a child with special needs. We don’t fall into the “normal” category, but we make it work. We’re okay with being “special”.  Today, I dream of a cure, a holiday season without a hospitalization, a transplant and a life without a dialysis machine. In the meantime: we take family trips, we play, we LIVE and we DREAM.

We have vowed to make everyday count. We will not let this disease define our family, our son, or how we live – and we will never stop dreaming.