storie turns 10

Yesterday was so perfect. simply perfect

it also was very surreal. It seemed dream like that my little girl was sitting on a ski lift right next to me as we ventured on our snowboarding adventure. that was my little girl who kicks trash on a board next to me ... my kid! it was so beautiful but surreal. boarding with mom was all she wanted and when she was asked what the best gift she got was she replied with boarding with mom. tear jerking ... my life is passing my by but its so amazing. i am so blessed. she is such a beautiful smart talented amazing girl. i cant believe i made her and then havent screwed up royally. instead she is royal.

i have to admit i had some reservations about taking her. in fact i was mostly geared up for sitting my behind on the bunny hill mt for the day. she is in a boarding program through her school that provides 6 lessons. she is only half way done with those so i couldnt imagine that she was capable of much even though she had assured me she indeed was.

i was more then pleasantly surprised with her capabilities. we got about 15 runs in 4 hours. she is speedy, barely falls, s curves and leafs with grace! i worked with her a little on getting more comfy on that front edge (something hard for us all lets face it) and by the end of the day she had improved dramatically. she was most proud of our little black diamond adventure.

she cant keep up with me per say but i dont mind the speed by which we ventured most of the day. at one point i was waiting for her and a frustrated woman teaching a boy who looked to be a little younger then storie pointed out how good she was and to do what she is doing! i was so proud. such a good day.

shout out to one of stories BFF mattea for sharing a birth date with her! happy bday girl and to Joel a still missed friend!

update .... see sidebar ...

so recently one of my closest friends {and i do mean that entirely & sincerely} who doesnt have a blog, and doesnt seem all that interested in them, which led me to i the wrong assumption that she doesnt read mine sent me an email, notifying me that my profile info was in need of serious update and that my kids ages were a few years off. doollllly noted and changed! thanks J .. it feels so good to know that you do read my blog, often times i feel like i write it for nothing and no one. so peeps its updated and in the now.

so little update on us ... we all just arrived home from chaos! the boys were headed to atlanta for the georgia grind. the naughty yet unusual weather back east cause significant problems in their travel. first they got stuck in houston and after hours in the airport looking for alternative plans they relented to a hotel room for the night but not before realizing that stocktons luggage with all his close and meds was no where to be found. lovely. eventually they got it back. and eventually they made it to georgia but first a few stop offs and a puddle like jump of a plan that included 3.5 hours of driving. not ideal when your plan was to get on a plain and head straight to atlanta. tourni went horrible, stock lost his A game along with his luggage and we were all sorely disappointed. but we move on and learn ... flight home got canceled of course because of the back log of flights from all the airport closures ... so another puddle like airline transfer here and there lead them home eventually. they got home a few hours before the girls and i. we spent a relaxing loooong weekend in palm springs, under the gorgeous palms and 85 degree weather. we all got a little sunkissed, relaxed and happy. drive home was hhhhhhaaaaard! but we made it in safety. then just as i laid my head down to rest. stock started throwing up ... and so my life of chaos prevails. we did saylors treatment this morning .. never a good idea and so my morning has been poop/vommit filled and i am already exhausted with a big and demanding day ahead ... thus i must be on my way ...

but PS yesterday was a special day for us. 7 years ago yesterday we discovered that spina bifida would be part of our lives!

image courtesy of prima donna bride

found this image ... it capture my artistic mind and soul .. says so many things.
Happy Vday to all those i love .. you know who you are!

what malcolm gladwell has taught me

for the last 3 months one of my goals has been to read {ie listen to on CD} tipping point, blink, and outliers. just completed the goal. i feel like i need to listen to it all again because there is soooo much to be learned from well written researched objective educational words. I listened from a business perspective but obtained just as much personally as i did professionally. and highly recommend that these be read {and or listened too!} though i realize malcolm gladwell will likely never read my measly blog i want to thank him ... for playing a role in my life, by making me think, consider, and strive.

just a touch of what i walked away with ..

Tipping Point: relationships, networking with the right peeps like mavens are the key to reaching that pivotal point. this one is the reminds me a tad of the butterfly effect and the concepts behind that theory as well as the idea to think in the realm of epidemic viral mind.

Blink: this made me realize how often first impressions or first thoughts are more accurate then educated impressions or thoughts. it also helped me obtain an A on my english exam through the chapter dedicated to affirmative action. Most recently i have been thinking about how do these principles make me a better all around person and i think being a little transparent in who you are is so necessary to give the impression you desire to give. i guess that would require some serious analyzations, i dont think all of us come across the way we ideally would like to, but if we were in all honest truth those ways then we would.

my most recent listening endeavor and the most fascinating to me personally
OUTLIERS - this book analyzes why outliers are what they are ... and in reality they are normal ordinary every day people who have been given tremendous opportunity. to me this book is about blessings, its about seeing success as a something that is created by many not just one and is attributed to many not just one. it does take 10 thousand hours of practice from a dedicated individual to become a master but it also take opportunity to practice. its advantage, the advantage of experience that creates an outlier.

infomercial kids

Does your closet look like this?


i have an abnormal child, and i dont mean in the ways of SB. Cause really saylor is just unique in every way. There are few typical things about her. She is obsessed with infomercial products. its not as though she watches a lot of infomercials either. she sees a product once and cant let go of the idea of its simple brilliance. this child wanted this for xmas and nothing else ...

and she was happy and thrilled with this cheap but useful product.

yesterday was a day of wonder for me. I dont see her the way the rest of the world sees her. I am her mom. I am also with her everyday so ... its kind of like you dont see your own grow, i see her and us but maybe not always for what she is or we are. I admit i take for granted this amazing blessing that is in my life every moment. I probably do that too often with all my kids. We had a really busy day and she was with me most of the day as we ran from place to place and then snuck in a skiing lesson at snowbird (which mind you was the best lesson yet, the strongest skiing yet, the most runs in an hour yet) down to last minutes before i went to sleep i could feel the unique angel that she is a bit stronger then on any given normal day.

she proclaimed last night that she discovered what she wants for her bday (earlier in the day she proclaimed what she wanted to do for her bday which was go fishing ... go figure) so she showed me her closet and said "does your closet look like this? you know how i have waaaay to many clothes? well there are these hanger things (and she starts drawing in the air with her hands to create visual effect) that make your closet look so much better ... i want those!"



the wonder hanger for the wonder kid i guess. whatever makes her happy. i am grateful she doesnt want an expensive wasteful toy! and she does share a closet with her sister and its a little tight on space.

She was cuddling with me in bed last night. and i was just taking it all in. for me even her smell, her skin and how it feels is unusual. dream like. so different. so special. I think at moments it looks and feels like any other kids and i am tempted to say that all moms feels this way about their own children some times, but then i realize i have these moments with storie and stock but they arent exactly like this. she is so angelic, so unexplainable sometimes.