The Walk to End Alzheimer's

With November fast approaching it’s about time I told you guys about a little project I’m working on:

I have started a team to Walk to End Alzheimer’s!

I would love for you to join me! I care deeply about this subject. I think it’s a terrible disease, one that is painful to suffer from, but also unbearable when you love someone afflicted. In my usual fashion of worrying about things over which I have no control, one of my greatest fears in life is to get Alzheimer’s and leave Michael with the burden of taking care of me when I might or might not even know who he is.

In many ways I feel that Alzheimer’s is a more devastating disease than many faster-deteriorating diseases. It shortens the amount of time you have left on this earth, but it also takes away the time you have left. Sure, you might physically live longer, but it isn’t YOU. Your family is left with the emotional and financial burden of taking care of you but they don’t even get the reward of your appreciation or love. People with Alzheimer’s often go through stages of extreme fear, anger and confusion.

Watch this video of one tale of Alzheimer's only if you want your heart broken into tiny pieces and end up sobbing in your husband's arms like I did one very pregnant Sunday morning.

Please join my team…my goal is to have 10 people walk with me, but I would love to have more. You don’t even have to donate (but you certainly can)! If you can’t make the walk, I’d really appreciate any donations to help me toward my goal of $1000. You, your husband, boyfriend, children, mom, friend, great-granddad, dog and hamster are invited to join my team!



?Quien? My team name is Waltzers Against Alz’ers.

?Que? A 1 or 3 mile walk. Still haven’t decided which. I like the idea of 3 – better fitness, more hardcore, etc. But I think the 1 mile walk would allow more people to join in. For example, my 4 year-old nephew Kai could walk 1 mile, I don’t know about 3. (JP – this is my way of telling you that you and Kai will join the team OR ELSE.) Also, I could carry June for a mile in the Moby and that would be so fun! On the other hand, I could push her in the stroller for 1 or 3 miles and decorate the stroller in some crazy way, which is enticing.

?Cuando? November 5th, registration starts at 7 am, the walk starts at 9 am. I will do my best to have coffee and doughnuts or other sweet treats at the end of the walk.

?Donde? Downtown Phoenix. The 1 mile route is a shortcut and I believe both routes end in the same place.

?Por que? Because Alzheimer’s sucks big time. Or because the weather should be nice. Or because you’d like to get together to walk around and talk for a while. Whatever reason you need, join!

HERE is my team page if you’d like to join.

HERE is my personal page if you’d like to sponsor me/donate.

HERE is the website for any lurkers out there who might want to participate but would rather do so on their own/not affiliated with me. (OMG WHO WOULDN’T WANT TO BE AFFILIATED WITH THIS):

Weekend in Flag

Michael's parents came in town for Labor Day weekend to celebrate Judy's birthday. I won't tell you what birthday it was because a lady never tells, but I'll tell you that it was a major one. Okay, okay, I'll tell you...it was her 40th!

On Saturday we headed up to Flagstaff by way of Sedona. We stopped in the shadow of the red rocks for some views and some lunch.

We took the scenic route up to Flag from Sedona which wound through some passes and had some great overlooks.

After I died of happiness when checking in to the Inn at 410, we went out to dinner.

And got a crepe in historic downtown.
I tell you, a lot has changed in Flagstaff since my college years!

The next morning June was due for a bath. She loves bath time (and shower time for that matter).
We went to a Farmer's Market and an art festival.
But we got caught in the rain so we hurried on to lunch downtown.

We also drove out to Sunset Crater, a national monument with pretty cool views. The whole place used to be active volcanoes a long time ago, which renewed my childhood fears of being caught in spontaneous eruption (my parents thank you, makers of Dante's Peak). There were all of these mountains and flows made of lava rock.

And finally we enjoyed a fantastic meal at the Cottage House. After being inspired by watching Julie and Julia the other day, I had the beef bourguignon and was blown away at the deliciousness. But I doubt I'd ever have the over 4 solid hours of dedicated kitchen time to pursue Julia's recipe.
It was such a great long weekend, only slightly diminished in my mind by the fact that I came down with that crippling sinus infection (from which I am still limping towards recovery). I loved seeing my old campus, I loved spending time outdoors and I loved seeing my in-laws!

June Rolled Over!

June finally rolled over! She did it for the first time last night when Janelle, Mark, Sammi and Meredith were over, which was cute because we all celebrated together. We didn't capture any pictures though.

So today I had my camera out every time it looked like she was getting close and I had the camera rolling when she did it again!

Check it out: June Rolling Over

5 Month Pictures

Happy to be 5 months old!

June's 5 month coincided with Judy's birthday, so we took a picture of the birthday girls together!
We couldn't find a sticker with Judy's age in months.

The Inn at 410

Almost exactly 7 years ago my parents went to Flagstaff with me to drop me off before starting my college career. We stayed at a little Bed & Breakfast called The Inn at 410. Ever since then this little place has remained in the back of my mind as a little haven of tranquility and contentedness.

As a matter of fact, one aspect of the Hypnobabies birthing method is to create a "safe place" to go to in your mind with your happy, healthy baby. I spent hours of my pregnancy sitting on the front porch with an infant June, or laying in the soft grass with a 6 month-old, or watching a 2 year old June tug on the resident dog's ears...all before June was even born.

That's the reason I teared up when Michael pulled into the Inn at 410 on Saturday afternoon. We were taking his parents up to Flagstaff to celebrate Judy's birthday and I had been under the impression we were staying in a hotel.

It's just...I don't know if I can convey exactly why this place meant and means so much to me. But the biggest reason why is because I had been here with my sweet baby in my mind, and now I was here with her for real.

This place is cozy, genuine, rustic, homey, warm. And only a two-block walk from downtown Flag. Our room was called Suite Nature...the same one I had stayed in with my parents!

It certainly was sweet!

None of the furniture matched. All of the art was local. There were deer on the wallpaper. So basically I was in heaven.

We had at least 5 different authentic birdhouses in the room, and a couple of Mallards.

The books neatly stacked on the bedside table offered me some interesting choices: Four Wings and a Prayer: Caught in the Mystery of the Monarch Butterfly and Pecked to Death by Ducks.

I was very moved to be here. This is the same bed I slept in 7 years ago. That was before I even met Michael, before June was even a twinkle in his eye. And now she's here, sleeping in a Pack&Play in the very same room.

This big ol' tub was in Judy and Fred's room, the Southwest Room:

The living room is open and available at all hours of the day. Free tea, coffee, snacks and cookies are always available. There's also a big movie and book library.

And of course the whole breakfast aspect of a B&B. The first morning we had a table reserved for us by the window. The second morning we ate out on the patio because the weather was so nice.

We had specialty pancakes, corn and egg casserole, fruit, sausage, bread...everything was delicious and fresh-made.

I have to say that my fantasy almost never came to fruition. Apparently the inn-keep, Gordon, doesn't normally allow kids under the age of 7 or so. He wants to keep the tranquility intact for the rest of the guests, and I can understand why he doesn't want screaming 3 year-olds running around. But Michael made some promises about how good June would be and Gordon let us in! I was still a little nervous at breakfast that first day but she did great and got smiles from the other guests.

As wonderful as each of the unique rooms are, it's the outside of the Inn that really gets me. The courtyard, the garden, the deck...those are the places I imagined being with my Junebug when she was still an inside baby.

Yeah, that's a whetstone. Dreamy!

And faces on the trees. Some could find this creepy, I imagine, but it just reminded me of the weirwoods in the A Song of Ice and Fire series.

And finally, my baby sitting in the grass that I dreamed she'd sit in...in her pajamas.

*Sigh* Michael, you done good.

So long, Inn at 410! I'll miss you! Hopefully we'll meet again someday soon!

A Mini Reunion

I got to stay home from work today! Yay! And all I had to do was come down with a pretty bad sinus infection, ear infection and debilitating headache! Yipee! Truly, it's practically testable via scientific method that you will maintain your health during stressful times (evolutionary survival method?) and as soon as you go on vacation and let your guard down you get sick. And my vacation was only 3 days long, so it figures that my sinus infection had to come in with a vengeance.

Aaaaaanyway, by happy chance, Michael's cousin's family was in town this weekend! Mark is attending a conference, Janelle and their daughter Sammi decided to tag along, and their friend Meredith also came along for the ride! Because of this, we got to see them and spend a little time together this weekend!

Here's the whole group minus Meredith, the picture-taker.

It was so fun to see Sammi and imagine what June will be like when she's that age. Sammi was so sweet and gentle with June but on her own she was such a goof! Singing, clapping and playing with toys.
Janelle's got an armful of cute!

Five Months Old!

Our June, Junebug, El Hunebug, Juno, Junie, Juniper, Juniper Jones, Babyface, Babycakes, Babylove, Babygirl, ChunkaWunka, Chubbs McGubbs, Sweet One, Little One...is 5 months old today.

What she's up to:

· Loves sitting up. She's pretty much sitting up on her own now. She'll sit for a long time without tottering, but we still hang out around her in case she falls back. This happens most often when she's tired or spots someone new and gets really excited.

· Loves playing with toys. Shaking things, banging them on the ground, reaching out and grabbing them, trying to grab whatever we're eating.

· If she's lying down or sitting in her car seat and we say, "Give me your hands!" while holding out ours, she usually puts her hands up for us to grab. (We do this to rock her up out of her seat, or to rock her to the sitting or standing position.)

· She's very vocal. She loves blowing raspberries with her tongue, which results in people/things being covered in a thin mist of babyspit. I don't mind. She also loves making this funny sound that's like a soft shriek of joy, kind of a squeal.

· She LOVES Michael. She gets a huge gummy, tongue-out smile whenever she catches sight of him, and he makes her giggle all.the.time.

· She's undecided about the vacuum cleaner. She'll stare at it with wide eyes and every once in a while her lower lip will pout out.

· She loves touching peoples' faces. Fingers in the nose, mouth and eyeballs are her favorites.

· She's showing absolutely no interest in rolling over and more interest in crawling/scooting.

The Gift is in the Giving

June was given the cutest little stuffed caterpillar/butterfly from our Uncle Bill and Aunt Sue. It came to us all the way from New Jersey by way of Michael's cousin Janelle, who is in town with her husband Mark for a conference.

June loves the butterfly, really she does. She just...er...loves the tissue paper a little more at the moment.

These pictures don't capture it (even the little video I took doesn't get the best of it), but June was giggling and cooing this whole time. Note to self: get June tissue paper for Christmas. And maybe a box.

Indecision

Now that I got this question addressed with some advice from you all, I'd love some input on a larger issue. Yes, it's hardly tough to skip a feeding for a single night out on the town away from baby, but what about a whole weekend away from baby?

My group of New Zealand girlfriends is having another reunion in October in the awesome city of San Francisco. I would love to go. I want to see these girls so badly. We always have such a great time and I have awesome memories of our reunions (not to mention the trip to NZ). I would love to really enjoy SanFran since the only other time I've been there was on a work trip. But how would this ever work? I can't tell if I'm just trying to talk myself out of it or if the roadblocks really are insurmountable.

First, the inconvenience of pumping. It's easy to say that I'd just pump every three hours and probably dump that liquid gold down the drain rather than worry about safe storage and transport. But let's really think about it. Am I really going to ask these girls to put up with me needing to go back to the hotel every three hours? They're young, active, fun-loving girls who aren't currently encumbered with things such as pumping schedules. My need to pump would put a pretty big cramp in the plan to spend a whole day at a music festival. The thing is, I'm not so much worried about my discomfort. I'd go sit in the bathroom of some place (though I draw the line at Port-o-Johns) and pump if I had to. I'm more worried about those awesome girls having to put up with me.

The logistics of pumping. Let's say I'm the definition of a mom-on-the-go and I'm using my supercool traveling pump. Will the batteries even work well enough to get the job done? Will my milk supply drop because the pump isn't as good as extracting the milk as June is?

And you know what time I've been going to bed these days? About 9:30-10:00 pm so I can get up at 5:00 am, sometimes with a short wake-up or two in between to put the pacifier in June's mouth. How could I keep up with these girls?

And how could I ask Michael to watch June by himself for 2.5 days? He loves that baby girl. He is so sweet with her and would be just fine. But I know how important it is to have a break, and I know it'd be a lot of work. We have plenty of milk for bottles stashed away in the freezer but he'd have to do all the work of defrosting, making and cleaning the bottles all while having our more-and-more active Junebug to take care of.

And lastly - and probably most difficult for me to think about - how could I stand to be away from this baby girl for that long? For five months I have been by her side. The longest I've been away from her has been 10 hours. I don't know how well I'd do without her giggles and grins and coos for that long.

What are your thoughts? I'd love to hear any opinions.

Chair Affair

Mostly I just want to tell you all that we got a new chair.

A wonderful, wonky chair that now sits in a corner of our bedroom.

I love it.

It is comfy. It is pretty. It is different. And I love it.