Life as a Leach

...cue Les Mis music and the horrible "singing" of Russell Crowe.  (Was his performance last night wretched, or what?!  I love that they muted him toward the end.  The sound technicians deserved their mixing award, because he was a piece of work!) Any way, tomorrow is the LAST day to order Thirty-One to help the Ronald McDonald House!  The fundraiser will close at 7 p.m. EST.  Will you help us reach our goal of raising $600 for RMH?! If you aren't interested in any products for yourself, take a look for gifts.  There are plenty of affordable gifts for family, teachers, therapists and nurses (always thinking of my special needs mommas!)  One of the reasons I did this fundraiser is because Thirty-One products are actually usable and functional, and lots of people like them! Please take a look at the products by going here .  There's a lot more to Thirty-One than bags.  They also carry a great line of organizational products, including thi...

I've been threatening to make my own laundry detergent for quite sometime now.  Matt has been less than thrilled, picturing stained clothes coming out of the dryer, never to be clean again!  My friend Stacy (the same Stacy who is doing the Thirty One fundraiser!) posted the recipe she has been using and shared how much she loves it, so I decided to just go for it. But then my local stores didn't have any of the ingredients I needed. Dagger. My equally frugal sister also decided to make her own laundry detergent, without us even talking!  She went to the Super Walmart and found everything we needed.  Score! This is SO easy.  I don't know why I waited so long to make it! Materials:  4 bars of Fels-Naptha soap, Arm and Hammer Washing Soda, Borax, and Lavender oil. Some people put a little baking soda in too, and some use the baking soda in place of the washing soda.  I didn't put any in mine...just the washing soda.  I think it's kind of ...

So far, the sales from The Thirty One fundraiser are up to $1459, so we have raised $290 for RMH.  I would love to hit the $500 mark by the time the fundraiser ends!   To keep the orders coming, Stacy is offering a few incentives: - For the first three orders placed from now until 9:00 pm that are over $75, you will earn a Keep-It Caddy for FREE!! (excluding personalization or ICON it) - If we can get to $2300 in sales by  9:00 pm  tonight, she will do a raffle for everyone who has ordered for a FREE product of your choice valued up to $31!!!  ***Please note that Stacy is donating 20% of sales to RMH out of her own commission, keeping very little for herself.  This is SO generous of her!  Stacy, running a non-profit of her own, has a heart to help others raise money for organizations that are important to them.  If you are interested in hosting a fundraiser through her, let me know! If you are new to Thirty One, I...

...but have your tissues handy.  Oh my goodness. In a nutshell, this couple was dating when the man got in a car accident, resulting in a traumatic brain injury.  His girlfriend was faithful and they got married in 2010.  Wow.  What faith this girl has.  I love this video!

1.  Abby went swimming for the first time on Valentine's Day.  She LOVED it!!  We stayed for almost two hours and she had a great time splashing and playing ball.  She went down the slide with me once, but was content to just dictate which slide Anna should go on from then on out.  Either way, she had a wonderful experience! 2.  Caleb met Batman at a local consignment shop last Friday!  We surprised him and he was ecstatic!!   Abby has taken to giving her animals sips of her juice.  Snowman gets a lot of juice too!

2/20/13 Update:  Ok, the Thirty One website has been having issues.   Use this link to get to my fundraiser page.  So far we've had over $1200 in sales, which means over $240 for RMH!!!  Thank you SO much to all of you who have made purchases so far.  There is still lots of time to purchase something.  If you don't want or need anything for yourself, buy something as a gift for someone else.  Christmas is only 10 months away!!  :) ----- 2/18/13 Update:  I have heard that the link below wasn't working, so I have linked it again and it should take you to the right spot now.  So far, we have raised just about $200 for RMH!  There's still lots of time to order, so please take a look using the link below.  Thanks! ----- My friend Stacy has graciously offered to host a 31 party to help with our fundraising efforts for RMH.  20% of the sales will go to The Ronald McDonald House of Baltimore!! I love 31 and have severa...

These were questions asked by another special needs blogger, but I thought that they were really good ones worth answering as well!  Plus, I accidentally answered these first, instead of the questions I was supposed to answer.  Oops... 1.  Think of the day your child received his or her diagnosis. What is the first word that comes to mind?   devastation 2.  Who is your favorite doctor, specialist, or therapist for your child and why?   Currently : Abby's Infants and Toddlers therapists (PT and speech) are both wonderful.  They have endured SO many questions, lots of worrying, and even a few tears!  They are both fabulous at their job and aren't afraid to go with the flow if Abby isn't feeling the whole therapy thing that day.  They are Abby's biggest cheerleaders and have been a huge support to me as well.  We also adore her pediatrician, who has been there for us from the very beginning and who has never ever doubted Abby's abilit...

Some of our favorite planes from our day at The Air and Space Museum... She really wanted to touch all of the planes we saw.  :) Caleb and O even climbed in a plane and got to "fly" it.  Pretty cool!  (Abby was exhausted by this time, and she actually chose to stay in her stroller rather than climb in the plane!) Caleb loved it.  Can you tell?

If you are local, please join us at The Greene Turtle in PF on Tuesday, February 19th to help raise money for the Ronald McDonald House of Baltimore.  15% of ALL sales the entire day will be donated to our Red Shoe Shuffle Team!!  You can come for lunch and then get some take-out for dinner!!  :) The Leach family plans to be there around 5:30 for dinner and we would love to see you and say thanks for supporting The House That Love Built!

A local museum has a program called First Free Fridays where they offer free admission in the evening.  It's a great deal and they always have special entertainment as well. This is the same place that has the wonderful special needs nights a few times a year.  We go a lot, and the kids love it.   Abby playing on the boat in the kids' room Up close and personal with a turtle Caleb really liked this fish!  He told me to take a picture of him blowing kissing to it... Play lighthouse This is their favorite part.  It's a WWII video that shows our area's contributions to the war effort.  They will both stand there and watch the entire thing.  Caleb especially loves the Nazi footage in the beginning that shows them goose stepping.  I've got history buffs on my hands! As much as we have gone, Abby has never shown much interest in the skates and rays.  I don't know if it is that she is a little older or tha...

*  Pirates' Booty Puff Corn *  My iPhone (what in the world did I ever do without it?!) *  Being competitive against my husband on Words With Friends (I always win Scrabble when we play, but the lapse between turns makes it difficult for me to focus and I make poor word decisions.) *  The Wood Camera app on my phone that has way more filters and lenses than Instagram.  You can even straighten an image or add a vignette.  *  The way Abby calls Caleb "Caleb Boy" and Matt "Daddy Matt." *  The gratification of seeing students I work with in my position begin to understand material and improve their grades! *  That I haven't been to Baltimore for a doctor's appointment for Abby since January 4th.  This is most certainly a record.  (Unfortunately, our streak ends next Tuesday!) *  Manufacturer's coupons for International Delight's Iced Coffee.  I thoroughly enjoyed my iced mocha this morning. *  Taking Abby to ...

I saw this on Chesapeake Family's Facebook page and thought it was cute! Happy Valentine's Day!

I was nominated for a Liebster award by This Journey Our Life .  I have never had the pleasure of meeting her in real life, but she is a fellow special needs blogger who found me through the blog I love oh-so-much, Love That Max. Today in participation with the official Liebster Award rules, I’ll be sharing eleven random facts about Abby, and sharing my answers to Rachel's questions.   11 Random Facts About Abby: 1.  She absolutely loves "Call Me Maybe."  AND she can sing along.  As soon as those first few strands of music start, the girl is up on her feet and dancing. 2.  Abby recently received a Leap Pad as an early Easter gift.  I know, I know.  Easter is still over a month away.  But I bought it from a friend whose kids had outgrown theirs, and I knew Abby would love it.  So I gave both Abby and Caleb their Easter gifts early. 3.  Abby calls Matt "Daddy Matt."   4.  We're not sure why, but she can't say her...

 

Is it okay to put your kids in shackles if they're smiling? For the record, they ran to this display and put their arms right on in it...then Caleb told me to take a picture. Disclaimer:  no children were harmed or held against their will in the taking of this picture.  :)

We had a rare free Saturday last week, so we took advantage of it and took a day trip to The Air and Space Museum.  Our nephew O went with us; although he wasn't really sure what it was all about before we went, he had an awesome time! The main thing I wanted to see was the Discovery.  If you remember, it flew on the back of a 747 a year and a half ago. This was our view when we first walked into the museum.  Amazing!  This monstrosity actually flew into space.   Look how beat up it is!  Caleb commented on it too, but Matt told him that the scientists weren't worried about beauty--just safety! I don't think we take enough advantage of all of the museums in our area.  I'm on a quest to remedy that.  This was a good start.  A very good start!

2/8/13 Update:   Try this link to see Staci's lotion bar products!  She has some super cute little dinosaurs now! Update:  I have heard from a few people that the link isn't working.  I don't know why--I can see it fine, but my mom can't. We're both Staci's Facebook friends, so I don't think it is a permissions thing.  I did include the picture of a variety of her lotion bars in the original post, and you can contact Staci if you have a special order.  The cost for the bars is as follows:   2.5 oz. - $6.00 1.5 oz. - $4.00 .4 -.5 oz. - $2.00  I'm sorry for the dead link! Every year, I get what I call "Winter Hands."  They're really dry, rough, cracked, and even sometimes bleeding.  It's from the dry, cold air and compounded by the frequent hand washing and hand sanitizer. Until now, I've always been an Aquaphor girl.  It has been the only thing that has worked to keep my Winter Hands under control.  But, if you've ever us...

...Abby is still quite in love with her snowman! She's dancing with him here to "Call Me Maybe!" I think she's going to be awfully sad when the snow melts and the snowman goes away for another year!  Maybe I should show her Frosty the Snowman to help prepare her...

Our family was given the opportunity through The Starlight Foundation to see Disney on Ice tonight!  We are super duper excited!  I think that both kids will absolutely love the characters, music, and scenery.  Princesses and pirates--what's not to love?! I'm sure there will be many pictures to come!  I'm so thankful for organizations like Starlight!

This was ages ago (well, over Christmas break) and I totally forgot to post them!  Here are a few pictures from when all of the cousins on Matt's side got together. Abby and her cousin E All of the cousins on the Leach side...do you know how hard it is to get a good picture of all of them together?!  Darn near impossible!  This was the best I got...and I took a lot! A few cousins posing together This boy is a little ham!  I love his smiles!!