Princess Bennett....

....you are everything we dreamed of and more. You are so sweet and so, so loved.

Daddy, AKA "DJ Scribble", played this song for us during your delivery....it will forever be one of my favorite memories. To our little family, you are the sun. You have brought a light to our lives that we never even knew was missing.

False Alarm Numero Uno...

You would think by baby #3 I would know true labor when it happens. Turns out, not so much.

I have been having daily contractions since probably around week 30, but I've been able to control them by drinking water and resting. Last night, though, something just felt off. So, after an hour and a half of contractions coming every 5-9 minutes, and then continuously coming every 2-3 minutes...we thought it was go time. Although I'm about 4 weeks early, Rylan was 2 weeks early and Kohen was 8 weeks....so, we are on constant pins and needles around here. Needless to say...we loaded up the bags and the kiddos, dropped them off at my brother's, and headed down to the hospital.

Only to turn back around about 2.5 hours later.

Oh well. I got a sweet little gift from Kohen while we were gone, so that pretty much makes up for it in my book.

I got pretty excited, because I thought that was a nice little superhero emblem on my shirt.

Apparently, my night was full of wishful thinking.



Mom the Superwoman? Nope. That would be plain old Mom.

Plain old Mom with a big old belly....and an even bigger belly button.

And the baby's name is.....

What an amazing birthday present. I woke up this morning to find Denise Steim with White Linen Photography had put together an AMAZING little video of some pictures we had taken recently during a family photo session. Needless to say, I'm bawling. Sweet, sappy music mixed with pregnancy hormones, all on top of a 35th birthday (gulp), make for one emotional mama. For all you local people, SHE IS AMAZING. Not only does she donate a considerable amount of her time and talents to charities, but she is excellent with kids. My kids absolutely adore her and have asked multiple times when we get to go back to her house....because apparently I don't draw pink castles quite like Denise does :)

Hope you enjoy....

Vday 2012...

My sweet Valentines. Thank you for making even the silliest of holidays magical. I could never put into words how my heart swells seeing happiness on your faces and excitement in your eyes....even over something as simple as a heart-shaped chocolate bar. You are the best parts of me and everything I strive to be, all rolled into 2 perfect packages. I love you both so very much.

My B. I love you. Thank you for making my life perfectly imperfect. I can't imagine going through any day without you by my side. "You're pretty much my most favorite of all time in the history of ever."

Happy Valentine's Day.

31 weeks and counting....and the hormones are raging.

You have no idea what it took for me to finally break down and take this picture. 1st of all, I felt like I was 18 snapping a picture in the bathroom mirror like that. 2nd off, this is baby #3 and there is no part of me that feels cute or like documenting anything about this pregnancy. There are honestly only two pictures in existence of me since this pregnancy began.....and I'm perfectly fine with it. I highly doubt this baby grows up resenting me because I didn't take more pictures of myself resembling an elephant.

I.AM.HUGE.

Period.

I have "significantly elevated fluid levels" surrounding the baby.....so, my docs thought I may have gestational diabetes. Nope. My blood glucose levels were well within the normal range.

It sometimes means there is some sort of birth defect ( most likely in the trachea) and the baby isn't swallowing properly. Nope. This little booger always has a full little tummy and we've actually seen her swallowing. I've been seeing a high risk doctor (on top of my regular OB visits) because I'm prone to premature delivery, so we've had countless high level ultrasounds. So far, we've seen zero evidence of anything being anatomically amiss.

More than likely, I'm just part of that lucky percentage of people that have high levels of fluid and the doctors have no explanation as to why.

Awesome.

I know I sound like a Negative Nora. Trust me, I am beyond grateful that (from what we are seeing) the baby is healthy. The only 'risk' involved with having high fluid levels is that it makes Mama very big and very uncomfortable....and it irritates the cervix causing early contractions. I can handle all of that. I would much rather deal with a little discomfort (I'm pregnant, for goodness sake! Isn't that what I signed up for??!), than have the little peanut in distress. But.....it still sucks. By the end of the day, I feel like I can't possibly stretch any further. I look on my phone and physically count the days until my due date....hoping that I may have miscalculated the day before. Can my stomach really continuing expanding and can this baby really continue growing for another NINE WEEKS?! Is she going to be 11 pounds? With my other pregnancies, I was the happy-go-lucky person most women probably wanted to punch in the face. I loved being pregnant.

This pregnancy? Not so much.

But, check back with me tomorrow. I'll probably be planning pregnancy #4. These mood swings are a bitch.

2nd Annual Roses for Rylan Fundraiser

Aaahhhh, 2012. Welcome. Time to get my CF kickin' booty back into the swing of things. I am bound and determined to make this our biggest fundraising year yet. It's time for Rylan's Renegades to surpass the $10k mark.....the $15k mark....and make it to the $20k mark!! (I've got a healthy little contest going with another CF mama, which definitely is a win-win for everyone!!). There are so many wonderful things happening in the CF world, so now is the time to kick it into high gear.

If a 'cure' is so close (fingers/toes/and every hair on my head crossed), why is it necessary to donate, you ask? THIS is why it's necessary. There are little boys and little girls struggling with the why's and what if's of this ugly disease. There are young husbands and wives being taken too early from this ugly disease. There are people out there struggling just to take a breath. Is that ok with you? Because it's not ok with me. These people are my family and my friends. Our cure is close, but it's not here yet. The momentum is moving forward, but it needs to be BARRELING forward. And don't you want to be a part of that? I know I do. My New Year's resolution is to raise $20k for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Rylan's Renegades. And with your help, we'll get there.

Ok. Exhale.......

.......I'm off my soapbox now.

Our 1st little fundraiser of the year is.....wait for it.....the 2nd Annual Roses for Rylan, Gettin' Crafty for a Cure. I know. Original, huh? Ok.....I'm not claiming to be uber creative....and I definitely didn't do too hot in my marketing class in college. Simply put, our 1st Roses for Rylan fundraiser went great, so why fix something that ain't broke. Brilliant, right?

So, here are the details. For $7 each, or $13 for 2, you get a fun little card that we've put together.

(I got the inspiration from a cute little blog I found via Pinterest, of course! Check out her fun designs here!!)

Each card has a handmade "rose" barrette (for little girls).....

....or a fabric "rose" bobby pin for us big people.

You can choose what the message of the card says.....whether it's for a birthday or just to say hi. And the best part?

ALL proceeds will go to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (Rylan's Renegades). I'll even throw in a stamped envelope for you, so there's no excuse for you to miss your cousin's next birthday.

What I need from you:

1. How many cards do you want?

2. What do you want each card to say? Options are: Happy Birthday, Missing You, Thinking of You, or Hi Friend.

3. Do you want a bobby pin or barrette attached?

4. What is your address?

Send the above info to teresajmack@gmail.com and I'll send you payment information.

**DISCLAIMER: No, I'm not a 'pro-scrapbooker' and no, I'm not Hallmark. These cards are just a fun way to raise some money for our cure. Thanks for joining this Mommy on a Mission!!**

Blogger Challenge....Emily's Entourage

Since I've been absolutely terrible at blogging lately, I figured what better way to rejoin my little online CF world than to partake in a CF Blogger Challenge. Two beautiful souls, also known as Piper and Emily, have come up with a wonderful way to spread the love and raise CF awareness this holiday season.

Why I fight....

Rylan was 2 weeks old and we had just returned from her 1st well baby visit. Kohen was napping and Ry was all snuggled up on my lap eating when my phone rang. I looked down and saw it was the pediatrician's office. I remember thinking how strange it was, since we had literally just left there a couple hours earlier. When I answered, I heard my pediatrician's hesitant voice and instantly knew something was wrong.

The little bits and pieces of that conversation that I remember will always haunt me. I remember my face getting hot and my voice getting loud and foreign sounding. I kept asking what exactly he meant by cystic fibrosis. Was it intellect? Was it motor skills? I kept insisting he call my husband. Barry would know how to process all of this. I clearly wasn't hearing him correctly. I kept looking down at my daughter's beautiful chubby little face and thinking to myself they're wrong, there is nothing wrong with my baby.

A week after learning Rylan had CF, I showed up on the doorstep of our local CFF office, baby carrier in hand, and offered my help. I literally rolled up my sleeves and jumped in with both feet. Over the next few weeks and months, I went from someone who had maybe heard of CF a couple of times to someone who could recite what a gram negative bacteria was and how they affected my daughter's lungs. I could (and would) talk to anyone about cystic fibrosis who had 30 seconds to listen. Heaven help anyone who happened to jump on an elevator with me and comment on how cute my baby was. "She is cute, isn't she? You would never know there is a battle being waged inside her lungs. Do you know what CF is?"

I honestly wish I was kidding.

Looking back, I now know this was my way of coping. It was my way of dealing with the stress of the unknown. Some people give themselves time to digest this info. I didn't. At the time, I couldn't. I couldn't slow down long enough to really think. I was too scared that if I did stop, I wouldn't ever be able to get going again. There is so much of her 1st year of life that is a complete blur to me. I poured so much of myself into learning about CF and advocating for her, I forgot about everything else.

Fast forward to today. I now know that Rylan is no different from anyone else. I now know that she can run and skip and jump and yell and sass back and do everything any other 3 year can do. I know that she can go to school, and dance, and gymnastics, and still manage to do 60-120 minutes of therapy every day. She can smile and love and hug and kiss and bring joy to everyone that she touches. She just happens to have cystic fibrosis. Just like she happens to have beautiful blue eyes and curly hair. Most of the time, CF is just an afterthought. And it's definitely not the 1st thing I tell people when they meet her.

So, why do I fight? I fight so Rylan can continue running and skipping and jumping and yelling and sassing back. I fight so she can continue going to dance and gymnastics and one day use those skills on the dance floor at her senior prom. I fight so she may one day be blessed with her own little blue eyed bundle of joy to love and hug and kiss. I fight so we can all forget what that dumb little number is that some refer to as "the median life expectancy of a CF'er".

I urge you to take a few minutes and watch this amazing video put together by Emily's family...

Emily's Entourage Video

And after viewing, I hope you feel compelled to participate in this challenge. No one is merely asking for a donation....we're asking you to share. Whether you blog or Tweet or Facebook, share this video and it's message anywhere you can. By sharing, you're advocating. And by advocating, you're helping Rylan and Emily and Piper and Jenny and Stacey and Josh and all the other beautiful souls out there singing, jumping, dancing, and sassing their way through CF.

Official rules:

1.) View Emily's video, and then consider making a donation of your own or 'liking' her FB page (neither is required, but both are encouraged!).

2.) Create your own blog post, FB status update, or other form of social networking tool (letter, email, whatever). In the body of the message, place a small paragraph of why YOU fight for a cure for cystic fibrosis and why this cause matters to YOU. This can be your CF story, your wish for the holidays, your version of community--whatever.

3.) Link to Emily's Entourage Website and encourage your own readers to take up the challenge.

4.) Comment over on Piper's blog post with a link to your blog....leave her a message about how you shared this vision for an automatic entry into a drawing for a very special CF/transplant-awareness prize package, including gifts from iheartguts.com, apparel, and other fun goodies!

5.) Re-post these rules on your own page.