33 Days of "Random Acts of Kindness"

With the thought of my impending 33rd birthday upon me, I have decided to preform 33 Random Act's of Kindness.  Maybe in hopes to feel like this birthday is not just another day and to feel that I made some small difference in the world.

So today starts day 1 with:

Random Act of Kindness #1: Help a Baby Bird

Coming home from the park today, my son and I came across this small bird flopping on the ground and in the street.  We scooped it up and took it home and after calling around to a couple of wild life rescue facilities we were advised to put the bird back outside and out of harms way.  With any luck it's momma bird would find him and take him back to the nest.  We ended up placing him in the front yard, well away from the busy street and when I went back about 45 mins. later he was gone.  I hope that he has found his family and tonight is cuddling close to the ones that love him.  

My new place

I have finally moved out of the dark "dungeon" (as some people called it) of an apartment.  I am moved into the clouds.  A 3rd floor apartment on a hill.  All the sunlight I could possibly hope for along with the room that Mason and I needed.  We have only been here for a week but it seems as if this place was made for us.  

Below is a picture of the kitchen.  Counter space seems the only thing we have given up but the fact that we have more room to move has made other things possible.  These were cinder blocks I had used under Mason's bed to make for extra storage for summer/winter clothes.  As we now have three closets, storage is no longer a problem.  So I have converted the blocks into extra counter space.

This is the sunrise from my bedroom.  I get to wake up to this every morning.  

I now have room for Mason to have a little art nook.  He loves it.  And I love the light that now steams into his room.

This is me just being silly in my new bedroom.  I no longer have to sleep in the living room so I tend to be a little over happy about it.

 In this pic Mason playing with glow sticks in the bath tub.  He LOVED it!!  

If you can't tell from all my pictures, I am really happy in our new place.  

I am looking forward to the future.  Can you tell?

My Day, My Dinner, My Night - In Photos

This is a new segment I am trying.  Describing my day, dinner and night in 3 random pictures that I have taken throughout the day.  Hope you like it.

My Day

Day hike and lunch at the Audubon Center in Greenwich.  Great walk which included a small waterfall and a frog named Jesse Jr.. 

My Dinner

A BLT minus the bread.  I am currently trying to watch the carbohydrates I eat so this was a yummy alternative and only a total of 2 grams of carbs. for both the wraps instead of the 28 grams if I had had only one sandwich.  

My Night

Playing Jenga with my son.  Now that school has started again I have established a rule of no TV, video games or computer on school nights and during the week.  This has opened the door to some pretty fun game nights and a lot of together time. 

Tell me about your day, dinner and night?

My 150th Post

I can't believe this is my 150th post.  I also can't believe I haven't posted anything since June...I have to say it was because I have had such a wonderful summer that everything has passed so quickly.  It was filled with sunshine, trips to CA to see my mom, Mason's first surgery, dinners at the beach and my loving family.  I have enjoyed every second of it....well maybe not walking away from Mason after they gave him the anesthesia.  That was really hard.  

I look forward to the coming fall, to my brother's wedding, to the holidays, and to the snow.  

A picture can say a million words

My dad recently sent me a ton of old photographs and it has literally taken me days to look through them all. So I decided to share the ones that stood out to me. The ones I went back to so I could look at them again.

This is my paternal great grandfather with his father in the early 1900's.

A picture of my paternal grandma's mother along with her sisters and brothers. My great grandma is the one in the middle in front.

This is of my Papap when he was in the military. He is the handsome man standing on the left. I love this because you can tell these boys got into trouble.

This is my Grandma when I think she was dating my Papap. The thing I love the most is on the back of the picture they wrote the name Vee, her name is Virginia and she is very proper so I love seeing her being a little silly...

This is my paternal Grandma and my Papap on their wedding day. Along with my great grandparents.

This is my father on his 8th birthday. Something about his smile made me fall in love with this picture.

I have always thought of my dad as a very handsome man and this picture just proves it.

My mom and dad used to sell plates and I ate off the salad plate that belonged to this collection when I was growing up, never knowing it's history. Just seems funny to me.

I still remember the day my dad taught me how to dive. And I love how I have a picture of it.

I love this picture because you know exactly what I just did and how my dad felt about it.

Me and my dad and sister. Not sure but something about this picture speaks to me.

Finally me at my senior prom. I still remember how much I loved that dress.

Hope you enjoyed this pictures I have posted. I can't explain how happy they have made me and there are so many I wish I could share.

Second Spring

Mason and I are now enjoying our second spring in CT. Even though, technically we have been here for three. We first moved here right at the start of spring but I don't count it because, at the time, I had not yet experienced a cold winter. Spring did not mean as much those first few months here as it does now. It means I get to pack up our thick winter jackets. It means more time out of doors. And who could overlook the flowers. Nothing can express the happiness I feel when I first see a daffodil bloom.

The above is a picture taken during our very "first" spring. I can still remember the excitement I felt knowing we had survived our first winter in the North East. I think it is because I feel the same way today. Knowing that the weather will finally be getting warmer and that I have again survived the winter. And this winter was much more difficult then last year.

So this is us today. In the same spot next to our house. Enjoying the sunny weather and looking forward to a another great summer.

PS. When I first saw the above picture I thought it was my hand on my face, and briefly wondered why I posed like that. But then quickly realized that those are Mason's fingers. I guess there is really no doubt on who's hands he inherited.

The Move

It's hard to believe that is has been two years ago today that I took a deep breath and started the 3000 mile journey from Southern California to Connecticut.

I still remember the moment I realized that moving out here was what I needed to do. I was sitting at work, sorting iron on soccer numbers, and I was in so much pain and sadness. In a moment of pure surrender I asked my higher power for a sign if I should pack up everything and move to Connecticut. Not even two seconds later this song came on the radio. I had to stop what I was doing and just cried as I listened to the words. Afterwords I went straight to my computer to look up the song, just to see if I had heard it correctly. Well I got my sign and that day I decided to move.

So I wanted to share it, in case anyone else has ever had this type of revelation.

We Don't Have to Look Back Now by Puddle of Mudd

I'm so much like you
Restless and wreckless
I need a clue
So show me a sign
I feel like making a move
Real geographic, a change in mood
We'll let go of everything we know

[Chorus]
You and I will ride tonight
'Till the past is out of sight
We don't have to look back now
From the dark into the light
We can leave it all behind
We can stand together, we don't have to look back now

I'm so much like you
Caught in a moment, coming unglued
In a world so big, it's not easy to choose
Which path to take, which pawn to move
So we'll let go of everything we've ever known

[Chorus]
You and I will ride tonight
'Till the past is out of sight
We don't have to look back now
From the dark into the light
We can leave it all behind
We can stand together, we don't have to look back now

[Bridge]
No one can stop us now
The world is rushing by
The wind is at our back
Everything's new tonight, we're going our own way
No matter what they say
The bridge is on fire, we're flying higher now

[Chorus]
You and I will ride tonight
'Till the past is out of sight
We don't have to look back now
We are knocking down the wall, all for one and one for all
We can stand together
Never gonna look back now

Oh no, Oh no
We don't have to look back now
(Oh no, Oh no)
We don't have to look back now

I felt like it was my higher power talking right to me and telling me what I needed to do. Today I am so grateful that I listened. Even though I hurt people close to me, and walked through a lot of fear about what the future would hold, I truly feel that I am right where I need to be. And more importantly my son is right where he needs to be.

So I end this post with a saying I saw on a billboard outside a church last week:

Where God guides, God provides.

A day in the Life

Today was a great day. I had such a fun time with my son. It started with a little play time, when it was time to go out, Mason decided to style his own hair.

Then it was off to the park where Mason ran into some school friends. They ended up romping through the trees looking for bears and giant spiders.

After all the bear hunting we decided to stop for lunch at the Sugar Bowl in Darian, when the waitress fell in love with Mason. I think he won her over when he asked her over to the table and told her that she made the best ravioli.

From there we made a quick trip to Trader Joe's and back home, but oh no, it doesn't stop there. After Mason helped me put all the groceries away, we then left for Michael's and a quick stop at Party City for a little fun with costumes.


Finally we finished off the day with a trip to another park close by. And thus ended our day. I was a little sad to see it go. It was one of those perfect days where I just got to enjoy being with my son.

Mason at Lunch

This is just me playing with a website my sister told me about. Picnik.com. It's a supper cute site where you can edit your pictures. Love it! Thanks Jen.

Andrea, In Passing

Last couple of weeks I have really been thinking about this song that I thought would have been perfect for the movie Twilight. I have never made a fan favorite movie before but I thought I might as well give it a try. So I looked online and found some free movie making software that Windows offers and I made this video.

I know that teenage girls are the one who usually make video's like these, especially to the movie Twilight, which is fine. But the part I like best about this whole process and the time spent working on this was the fact that it got me editing again. It's what I went to college for and I forgotten how much I missed it.



So now that I am more comfortable working with the movie maker program I want to make more. I think I want to try and do a compilation movie of all the home videos I have of my son. I'm not sure yet, but one thing I do know is that I can't wait to get started.

Thanks for watching the video and I hope you like it.

5 Years

In five years so much can change in a person's life. I don't know if I would even recognize the person I was before I got pregnant. And at the time I would have never imagined myself were I am today. My son is the one that changed all that. He has become the light in my heart that has made me want to become a better person. A person that wants to make a future for herself.

I had some professional pictures done recently and I just got them back today. One of those pictures is a picture of my son with a beloved monkey named ChaCha. That monkey was also in my son's birth announcement just over 5 years ago. I love them both and I have to share how much my son has grown in the past 5 years.

He has gotten so big, so independent and so remarkable.

Day 21: I am grateful for luck

Mason won a PS3 today from his local dentist. Last Friday we went in for a routine cleaning and they were having a raffle for all the kids that came in that month. So I filled a ticket out and we left. I have never really won anything in a raffle so I was going to through the ticket away but I decided to keep it, just in case.

Well they called me today and told me that Mason had won. I am still having a hard time believing it but they took his picture and they are going to put it up on their website.

I am so excited for Mason but I am also a little concerned. I truly feel that there has to be a balance of good and bad in every one's lives and when you have something really lucky happen to you, you are eventually going to have something really bad happen. I am thinking it will be the possible surgeries that Mason will need to have in the future and not anything that I won't be able to help comfort him for.

But that is tomorrow and so today I am grateful for the luck that Mason received and I hope he enjoys his new PS3.

Day 20: I am grateful for creativity

I went out today and got all the things I needed to make Mason's Halloween costume. He is going to be Peter Pan this year, so I really wanted to represent a lot of nature and green. First I started with a website that shows you how to make home made costumes. I got my inspiration and hit the local Salvation Army.

I a green shirt, knife and belt for REALLY cheap and I got the rest from the local Micheal's.

I think it is coming along really nice. I am glad I did not opt out and got Mason some generic Halloween costume. I grateful that I get to make it and especially that he loves to wear it.

Day 19: I am grateful for poetry

I borrowed "The Best Love Poems of the American People" from the local library and I have not been able to put it down. I forgot how much I loved poetry and the emotions it can build within you. Here is one of my favorites so far:

"Our Heroes"
Here's a hand to the boy who has courage
To do what he knows to be right;
When he falls in the way of temptation,
He has a hard battle to fight.
Who strives against self and his comrades
Will find a most powerful foe.
All honor to him if he conquers.
A cheer for the boy who says 'No!"

There's many a battle fought daily
The world knows nothing about;
There's many a brave little soldier
Whose strength puts a legion to rout.
And he who fights sin single handed
Is more of a hero, I say,
Than he who leads soldiers to battle
And conquers by arms in the fray.

Be steadfast, my boy, when you're tempted,
To do what you know to be right.
Stand firm by the colors of manhood,
And you will o'ercome in the fight.

"The right," be your battle cry ever
In waging the warfare of life,
And God, who knows who are the heroes,
Will give you the strength for the strife.

- Phoebe Cary

This is dedicated to the young men who ended their lives because of bullying, before they realized how much of a hero they were and how much more there is to living.

Day 18: I am grateful for the thrill of finding a solution to a problem

Short and sweet. I am grateful for finally finding out why TV has not worked for the last two and half months. The only thing I am not grateful for it the knowledge that it was my fault it was not working, not because a defective video card.

Sorry for all the hate Polaroid. But at my defense....I sent you the the A/C adaptor both times I shipped the TV and your repair guys never once looked at it to see if the adaptor was the problem or not. So it was partly your fault as well but I hope we can still be friends?

Day 17: I am grateful for lazy Sunday afternoons

I am grateful for just what I stated, lazy Sunday afternoons where it is just me and Mason. Ending a perfect weekend with some play time at the park. Could any mother be so lucky.

Day 16: I am grateful for the local YMCA.

Today and all summer long I have been grateful for the local YMCA. Their indoor pool has enabled hours and hours of "together time" for me and my son. Today, after nap, we again hit the pool for a little splash, a lot of laughs, and a couple of hugs and kisses. I know it means a lot to Mason to have that time together, just the two of us, and I am so grateful to be with him as well. To enjoy being goofy with him before he turns into a teenager and wants nothing to do with me. Just kidding. I think because we have the special moments together while he is young, that our bond when he is his older will be that much stronger.

Day 15: I am grateful for goofy class pictures.

I got Mason's Kindergarten class picture today. I love them, goofy smile and all. It is just so Mason. Even during a "serious" picture he never loses that little bit of himself that makes me love him so much.

I don't have any of my class pictures, so here is a picture of me just a few months younger then Mason but the year I went into Kindergarten.

I may not have the classic smile but I do have the hair....

So today I am grateful that we take class pictures so that we can always remember how our children were way back when......and to show every single potential girlfriend. Fun times ahead.

Day 14: I am grateful for long walks on cloudy days.

Instead of driving I decided to use my feet and walk to the post office and grocery store. I loved it. I was a bit sweaty at the end but it felt good to be out and about saving my car, saving the environment and saving my health all at the same time. And the cloudy day made it just perfect for a little me time. Again I LOVED IT and I am so grateful to be able to take the time and walk.

Day 13: I am grateful for my son's health.

Today I finally watched the video from my Treacher Collins Syndrome (TCS) group about a little boy who died on September 27 2010. I cried so hard. My heart goes out to the parents of Darren. I am so sorry for your loss. Words cannot express the sadness I feel at the moment. My heart also goes out to Jamie Rose Mahan, who at 27 lost her life to TCS. There have been so may complications due to Treacher Collins Syndrome and I am forever grateful that, for today, my son is alive an well.

So to all those parents out there, take a second and hug your child, you never know if it will be the last.