The B Hive

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Umbrella...ella...ella

Ok, so I hate cloudy days, rainy days, and being cooped up! BUT, I also love outings with my girls and teaching them to LOVE and SERVE others! So, as I was driving home from work a few weeks ago during an unexpected torrential downpour, I couldn't help but notice people waiting for buses, just standing in the rain soaked. I had an idea. Project "You can stand under my umbrella" was born. Thanks Rihanna. I went home, gathered extra umbrellas from our coat closet and emailed friends and family asking for umbrella and poncho donations! Then we stashed the bounty in our car and waited for the next rainy day. I talked to Bailey about the plan and she was on board, and rehearsed singing "you can stand under my umbrella...ella...ella" for when she handed out umbrellas. Two days ago, the rains came. In the car girls. We didn't have to go far, as we drove out onto York Rd and saw a man waiting for a bus in the rain. A quick U-turn later and Bailey was handing a bright yellow umbrella out her window to the surprised man. She giggled with delight as the man thanked her. As we drove away, Bailey shouts, "Mom there are more people, turn around!" Approaching the same bus stop was a woman and her teenage son. We had to make a detour through neighborhoods to get back around to the bus stop. When we got there, the man was standing under the yellow umbrella holding it so that it covered the woman and her son as well. Heart warming. We gave them an umbrella and poncho and continued our umbrella project for a little while longer when the rain stopped. It gave us a chance to talk about how we can help others AND got us out of the house. Two birds, one stone...and a few umbrellas.

The last poncho...

Sooo, anyone have an extra umbrellas they can donate? I know we'll be having many more rainy days this summer.

Monday, April 8, 2013

I'm gonna kick that sass

Yesterday as we left the gym, we hopped in the car and Bailey putzed around getting into her carseat. As I gave orders and said things like "hurry up" and "strap yourself in" & "leave the head rest ALONE!"....Bailey sighed and said matter-of-factly "Oh, poor mommy, she's not the boss anymore." I think she changed her mind about that as she spit the soap suds out of her mouth after we got home. Mommy-I Bailey-0....actually I think that might have been a tie. Where does this sass come from, this sarcasm? She's a quick witted one, that Bails. I'm gonna kick that sass. Or get a workout trying. Aren't my children supposed to "arise and call me blessed?" Proverbs 31...you are setting the bar pretty high! I will settle for boss, or blessed, either one at this point.

2012 Timeline

A little recap from 2012...

I returned to work in January from maternity leave and got back into the swing of part-time work as an SLP.
Ben took a new job at Medifast and continues to enjoy his job.
Bailey took swim lessons to get ready for pool days and the beach.
Bailey & I rode the lightrail and went to our first St. Patrick's Day parade downtown together.
Easter time was spent at Mom-Moms with cousins Dominic & Cady...later in the year our nephew baby Owen came along.
Springtime visit to WV to see Great Grandma and cousins.
Becca went to her first HonFest! Our "Li'L Hon" had a good time and saw a lot of beehives and feather boas. It's Bawlmor Hon.
Memorial Day was spent at Hunt Camp as a family and PawPaw came too.
Bailey turned 4 June and celebrated with a Spiderman birthday party!
Summertime brought berry picking, pool days at York Manor and PawPaw & Grandma's pool, hiking, picnics, nap-times (thank God!), snowballs, and ice cream.
Fourth of July in Catonsville---annual memories! We love crab feasts and fireworks!!!
Bailey got to ride Mr. Snickers, the horse---it was love at first sight.
Ben decided after a long bike ride in July that he didn't need his appendix anymore. So it erupted and he had an emergency appendectomy. So he spent time recuperating throughout the summer and into the fall. Ok, so maybe the whole appendix thing wasn't his idea. In fact, the whole thing sucked.
August meant Vacation Bible School for Bailey.
We went to Myrtle Beach in September with my parents and LOVED it---waves, sun, pools, and putt-putt!
Bailey started gymnastics at Rebounders and then joined Cubs, their pre-team.
Ben taught Bailey how to shoot bow & arrow, and she's pretty good. I'm pretty sure she wishes she was Merida (from Brave).
Becca turned 1 (already!) and had a pumpkin-themed party!
Aquarium trip in November. Bailey got to be the audience volunteer during the dolphin show.
Fall and winter meant cheering on the Ravens (Superbowl Champs!) throughout the regular season
December brought Christmas tree cutting at Doyles Tree Farm with great friends.
Opie the Elf came to live with us during the Christmas season. We enjoyed finding him around the house every morning. That sneaky little elf.
Our neighborhood celebrated the season with the Annual Greenridge Social Club Christmas party which never fails to bring lots of laughter, memories, and hysterical moments.
Our family enjoyed Christmas in Pennsylvania at Mom-Moms. The girls got a sled, which thankfully, the got to use ONCE during the winter. I am not sure which I am more thankful for...that the girls enjoyed their sled, or that it only snowed once.
I don't remember what we did for New Years. It was just THAT crazy that I can't remember. Or perhaps it is because I was asleep. We are SO crazy, what can I say. On to 2013.

That'll save me about 50 blog posts catching up.

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Hello Spring

Well, it HAS been awhile, hasn't it...six months or so, and over a year if you don't count my frantic plea for votes back in September for the Chase giveaway. Hello long lost friends. I missed you so.

No clue why I fell off the radar when it comes to keeping up with this blog. Life, I will blame it on life...busyness---working and chasing kids and such. And maybe b/c it is spring, I feel like we are all coming out of hiberation! But here goes, I am going to give this another go and try and keep up with some things. Not sure where to start. I do owe you all an update that the DBA Foundation DID win $100,000 in the Chase Community Giving Program...thanks to people like you who voted...thank you!!! We are so grateful. DBA Thank You

On the topic of news...wanted to give you a heads up that the next Grace Fellowship Church blood drive honoring Bailey will be held on Thursday April 25th from 2:30-8:30pm. You can sign up here: http://www.redcrossblood.org/donating-blood. I will post more info closer to the drive. Bailey needed a blood drive last month so we were recently reminded first-hand again of the need for blood donations and how thankful we are for those willing to give.

For now, I will close...trying to resist the urge to type a four page entry on life the past 6 months. I will save that for the next ten posts, which will probably be written without minutes of each other in the very near future!

Happy Spring!

"She turned to the sunlight, And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbor: "Winter is dead."
-A.A. Milne, When We Were Very Young

Thank God winter is dead. Good riddance...hello spring!

Thursday, September 13, 2012

VOTING TIME!!!

Well, it's been awhile hasn't it! I have no excuses except that summer flew by, we had lots of fun, and now fall is here! And I WILL get back to this blog again, but will have to figure out a way to avoid posting 20 posts at one time! Perhaps a top 10 of the year, haha! In the meantime, I am exhausting all avenues to let you know about something VERY important to us. As you know, Bailey has Diamond-Blackfan Anemia. She has been doing great with her steroid treatment, but the reality is that our thoughts are never far from the fact that she takes medicine to stay alive. That about a 1/4 of DBA patients don't respond to steroids like she does and are therefore dependent upon blood transfusions. Sadly, our "DBA family", comprised of families of those with DBA that stay in touch (since we are a small community affected by this rare disease), lost 21 individuals in the past 24 months. This is too many lost lives! Please take the time to read below. AND PLEASE feel free to spread the word, via any way you like (emails, Facebook, blogs, letters, flyers), in fact, I beg you to! Thanks for your support and love!

Bailey at Johns Hopkins after 4 blood transfusions, age 6 months,

the weekend her DBA journey began, Jan 2009

The DBA Foundation has qualified for a unique and exciting opportunity! We are competing in the Chase Community Giving Program and have a chance to win between $10,000 - $250,000! Over $5 million will be awarded to the top 196 charities receiving the most votes during September 6-19. This amount of money would have a huge impact on our organization and the research we could fund!

Here’s what you can do to help! Facebook users and Chase customers are eligible to vote. Facebook users that are Chase customers can vote twice. We are asking you for your personal vote and then to take it one step further! Our “DBA Family” is very small, so we need the help of our families, friends, contacts, and communities to help us spread the word. Please VOTE and then consider SHARING this exciting news via email and Facebook by forwarding it to your contacts.

Here is how you can cast your important and meaningful vote.

Chase customers, please vote here:

https://www.chase.com/online/Special-Offers/chasegiving_none.htm?dest=https://www.chase.com/online/Special-Offers/ccg_redirect.htm%3Fnptag%3DCCG

Facebook users, please vote here:

https://www.facebook.com/ChaseCommunityGiving/app_162065369655?app_data=ein|16-1459422

Facebook users that are Chase customers, please do both

To make it easy, the DBAF has created a sample e-mail (available here)and a sample press release (available here). Please feel free to use them as a template and to add your own personal information and experiences.

We are committed to making a difference. Please know that your vote(s) and your willingness to help us are truly appreciated. We sincerely thank you for your time, consideration and your vote. Thank you for caring and sharing.