Ethan loves his cousin... a little too much

If there is one thing I am positive of is that Ethan LOVES his cousins… but the boy can go a little hug crazy! And his cousin needs a little room to breathe sometimes…

HUG MEEEEE!!!

FINE!, I'll just sit on your Dora couch and read your book...

Where my spare times goes…

Another reason of why I have been M.I.A. from the blogging world is as some of you might remember (or not) I am also the Fundraising Director for our Down syndrome association. Although I haven’t brought much to the table or big bucks to our association I have been working on small projects.  I am also part of our Buddy Walk committee…. And there are lots of things I should be working on, but I don’t know where the time goes! I am sure it goes somewhere…

I am very passionate about our Down Syndrome Association (of Houston). They were our first place of comfort when Ethan was first born. I remember the first handful of times we walked in there; always I was overtaken with emotion and fought back the tears. It felt like home. It has been home. The friendships we have formed there are ever lasting. 

DSAH provides much needed support, information, resources to individuals with Ds and their families. Gymboree for the tiny ones, summer camps for the school aged children, Education for Life for the young adults, and even sibling support through their Sibling Club. But it all takes money! DSAH provides so much for the Ds community that it can be a little discouraging to see the lack of financial support. 

And it can be a little discouraging for me as well. This is my first year in this position and I am sure they are not expecting me to bring in millions of dollars right away but it would be nice if I could at least bring in a few hundred dollars. 

But you can help! 

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DSAH and Down Syndrome Footprint have teamed up! DS Footprint will be donating 15% of sales back to DSAH, now thru July 15. All you have to do is SHOP at Down Syndrome Footprint and enter “DSAH” at the checkout in the voucher code section. SIMPLE!  What a great way to support both DSAH and Ds Footprint.

And who doesn’t love Down Syndrome Footprint! Currently their tank tops and flip flops are each on sale, $10 each! Perfect for the summer time! 

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If you live in the Houston area, Friday July 15, from 6pm-8pm, DSAH will be hosting a shopping night at Ten Thousand Villages, in the Rice Village. It’s Christmas in July! Get a head start on your shopping, or simply come out for a night of shopping and some good wine drinking! Ten Thousand Villages will be donating 15% of sales to DSAH. 

We took our kids with us last year, and they just loved the store. This cute little store offers a wide variety of handmade jewelry, toys, décor, music instruments from all over the world. There are also nice little bistros just a walk away from the store, where you and your friends can end the night with good food and more drinks! What are you doing Friday July 15?!! I hope to see you there!

(You don’t have to be part of DSAH or know anyone with Down syndrome to take part, if you enjoy shopping, especially for unique items, this is the place to be, Friday July 15!.. and bring your friends!)

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You can also link your Krogers Plus Card with DSAH. Through the Kroger Neighbor to Neighbor Donation Program, Kroger’s will donate $1 million annually. Each organization will earn a percentage of the $1 million equal to the percentage of total earned contributions attributable to that organization. 

All it takes is ONE scan of the bar code below to link your Kroger Plus Card to DSAH. After that, you just scan your Plus Card every time you shop, like you would normally do. Feel free to print this out and take it to your local Kroger’s store.  Accumulation starts July 1^st. Doesn’t cost you anything! 

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Ultimately this is about supporting DSAH… but I need some reassurance and validation as I continue in this journey as a DSAH board member…   I put in some good amount of passion and time, and it feels real good to be part of something so amazing. I also hope you can support me in my efforts. =)

And as a bonus, here are some pictures of some the happenings of the last few weeks. 

 Gabby turned 10, June 1st.

 But Ethan always thinks its always about him....

 WHAT! No gifts for me!FINE, I'll just go sit down... or beat on my sister...

 some playing at the park...

 and eating blackberries...

 and listening to some live music at the park...

went to a wildlife park (with our Ds group...)

 

 where both Andrea and Ethan got to ride the ponies...

 

 and then he tried to ride the deer... 

 then he tried to ride the John Deer...

 and some ball playing...

and of course there have been many other happenings! So I guess there is where the times has gone!

Here I Am!

Have you missed me??? Awwwwe… I know you have!

Well I am still alive! And well (sort of… I have some nasty sinus drainage that I’ve had for MONTHS… it comes and goes and no antibiotics or medicine has taken it away, I blame the lack of rain and the nasty air quality here in Houston and Ethan is the same exact way as well). With the end of the school year in May, then followed by birthday parties and graduations and all sorts of celebrations, I have been more than busy. 

I have simply been busy and somewhat lazy to blog. It takes time to gather my thoughts and write them down in a way that they make sense… sometimes I can just ramble random stuff as well, but even that takes some work… so there, I’ve been lazy! That is the real truth!

I promise to post some recent Ethan pictures later… The boy ONLY gets cuter by the second. And I am not just saying that because I am his momma…  He truly is just as handsome as they come. -wink- 

Thank you all for checking up on my blog! much appreciated!

p.s. unless we are facebook friends.. then you havent missed me! 

(And for those of you anxiously waiting for daddy to blog… well he’s been busy too.. I got him working on the patio outside! Ha!)