I’m so happy we had a visit with three families during Born Just Right’s first Google+ hangout. I’m planning to do this often so more of us can meet in person. Along with just meeting, I’m thinking about having some topic-specific meetings so we can ask questions and look to each other for possible answers.

I really feel that meeting each other in person is powerful… and if technology can help us a bit to make it happen, let’s give it a try!

I learned how to explain what it takes to join a G+ hangout and I think it was cool to introduce the technology to a couple of people. I’m happy to help you along the way if you want to join in! In the meantime, be sure to circle Born Just Right on Google+ and it can’t hurt to add me in a circle as well.

I’m all about technology. It’s what has helped me grow as a parents and an advocate. This website has been an important part of my connection to the limb difference and special needs communities. I also happen to be a geek when it comes to social networks. I train people on how to use them. I experiment all the time.

So why not use that to the benefit of the Born Just Right community?

This afternoon you have a chance to meet up with Jordan and I and have a chance to meet other families by joining Born Just Right’s first ever Google+ Hangout. All you need is a webcam, a Google+ account and add Born Just Right into a circle.

Jordan and I will start things up at 4pm ET/1pm PT. We’d love to have you and I’d love to have regular meetings with our families and friends!

I’m feeling the pull of life in so many directions these days… I feel the pull of my career sending me in so many different ways. I feel the pull of my children who need my time, attention, love and guidance. I feel the pull of my students who are looking for assistance and knowledge. I feel the pull of my husband who deserves my attention more than I give. (Can someone say “date night?”) A warm day calls me outside to go for a run. Kid activities force me out of the newsroom fast enough to take them to swimming, soccer, dance, guitar, piano…

Nap please!

The give and take is hitting me hard lately. I love the many incredible worlds I am in – journalism, social media, parenting, advocacy, special needs… But things have a give and take. The first thing I’ve allowed to give is sleep. I average five hours. I need to change that. We often eat quick meals – but I try really hard for fresh food. My house is tidy at times, but there’s a lot of dust and I can’t keep up with the dog hair. I’d love to find a Roomba to fix that. I put the kids to bed each night… And it just seems to take longer than I’d like. But I choose to take time I’d spend on this site or work or making new connections to cuddle and read and chat right before bed.

My give and take has been really intense lately. I don’t want to stop anything I’m doing… but I also realize I can’t keep up with this pace. People tell me “I don’t know how you do it” all of the time. And to be honest, I think I’ve hit my “I can do it” wall. The problem is I don’t know what to remove to lighten my load. So I’m planning to spend some time thinking and plotting about bringing my sanity back. I’m going to build a mind map of my life and priorities and compare it to a mind map of my responsibilities. I’m going to see how I can merge them a little better so I am happy and not overwhelmed.

I’m super thankful for friends and family who are there to remind me to take a nap or go out and have fun from time to time. I’m also thankful for Randy who knows when I’m feeling this way and reminds me to go to bed, eat some food and relax. I’m going to do the best I can to not let the current stress prevent me from keep up the pace of stories and connections with you here on this site. But please, bear with me. This space is precious to me… If I’m not posting as much as usual, it isn’t because I disappeared. It’s because I need to figure out a way to make sure I can keep contributing to Born Just Right without feeling stressed or overwhelmed while working on my job(s) that pay(s) some of the bills!

This week was the yearly chance for Jordan and I to meet with her pediatrician and see how much she’s grown in the last year.  It’s a chance to us to check in while Jordan is healthy and can just show off her helper arm and talk about all the great skills she’s gained in the last year. We’ve been very lucky (knock on wood) with her health. Sure, she’s picked up some gross bugs, but we rarely have to visit her doctor. Even nicer, our pediatrician is always happy to consult us about her prosthetic or orthotic needs from email since she knows us so well. (Jordan’s seen the same doctor since she was born.) Jordan also had fun goofing around the exam table.

This year Jordan was 41.9 pounds and 47 inches tall. That put her in the 30th percentile in weight and the 80th percentile in height. (A statistical occurrence I wouldn’t mind having!) Jordan’s skills of shoe tying and coat zipping impressed her doctor (since kids with two hands her age don’t all have those skills).

Along with her well-child check up this week, Jordan had an occupational therapy session. I’m actually out of town but Jordan’s OT sent me a VERY excited message. Jordan did an amazing job working with her helper arm tying her shoes, zipping, buttoning and snapping. She also built a tower of blocks (19 blocks to be exact) with her helper arm. I’m super proud. I think I can also thank Jordan’s teacher for her growing skills in using her new arm. Each morning, I put Jordan’s arm on before she eats breakfast and goes to school. Most days, Jordan takes her arm off almost the moment she walks into her classroom door. Last week, Jordan’s Kindergarten teacher challenged Jordan to keep her arm on until lunch. Surprisingly, Jordan took on the challenge and continues to wear it more during the school day. She’s finding all kinds of fun things to do with her arm and she’s having a blast showing me the tiny things she’s thought up to do… Like flying like a bird:

It really seems like the only thing I talk about is swimming but I have a little story that I think is worth sharing.

Our community has a really cool indoor pool. When the kids were younger, we were members of the community recreation center that includes the cool pool. I moved to a different gym and stopped taking the kids there. I actually started avoiding that pool like the plague because it was one of the few locations in town were I had a really consistent time dealing with obnoxious questions about Jordan’s limb difference. I’m totally cool with questions. I don’t like people who follow me around with my child just to stare and they don’t leave after I’ve asked them to either play with my child or leave. Staring and following isn’t cool. That happened all the time when Jordan was younger.

Today was an early release day for the kids and their after school program scheduled a trip to this indoor community pool. I was okay with it but I also expected Jordan to come back with stories of annoying kids (or possibly adults. It’s happened.)

I asked her if she had fun. I didn’t even prompt her to see if there were annoyances. That’s when she said:

“I had fun! Everyone left me alone. I never had to say ‘WHAT!’”

Apparently saying “WHAT” is what Jordan says if a child walks up to her and just stares. I didn’t know that. But she told me today that people who don’t ask questions and stare with leave her feeling exasperated. Today’s trip to the pool made her feel just like any other kid. I’ve never talked to her before about this perspective and heard her experiences come out without prompting. She told me she felt good and didn’t feel like anyone was looking at her. Then she laughed and mentioned how she’d never look around to check.

She had no “whats” today and got to feel like any other kid… Because that’s what she is!

And our conversation tonight opened me up to a very mature side of my little six year old. Her perspective of being in the public is a level of awareness I know I didn’t have at her age.

I love trying to stay healthy and help my kids build healthy life skills… I run as often as I can and I love taking a Body Combat class when it fits within the kids’ schedules. Jordan has shown interest in distance running with me… And slowly she and I are learning ways to run together. The trick for me is she runs the most if she’s holding my hand. It is really hard to run long distances when a little child is holding my hand. We’ll work on that habit eventually.

My biggest hope for Jordan and keeping healthy is in swimming. It’s one activity that she can do where she can use both arms to her fullest. She has learned some of the basics of pilates at Camp No Limits… but I think swimming is an awesome activity. And keeping a six-year-old focused on pilates isn’t the easiest thing to do.

So we’re getting back to swimming now that Jordan has her new arm paddle. Even her swim instructor was impressed with its ability to dig into the water. Jordan and her brother both aren’t very good at keeping their face in the water as they swim… but that’s why we take lessons. Both kids tell me they want to swim this summer on a swim team. Our pool’s manager encouraged them both to swim this year. Amazingly, they continue to tell me that is a summer goal. Once a week the kids will take lessons and I’m going to try very hard to find time each weekend to get them to the pool for fun. Their teacher told me after this week’s lesson, she’s confident both kids are on track to be good swimmers. The best way to accomplish good swimming is being in the pool! Check out her progress:

Jordan went back to dance class Wednesday… it’s the first class since we missed her big holiday recital because we were in Chicago last month building her newest helper arm. When Jordan got to class today, her teacher told me the dancers all couldn’t stop asking about Jordan’s arm. Near the end of class, she came out of class and asked if she could show off her arm.

I ran out to the car, snagged it and put her chilly arm on so she could show it off. The kids asked great questions, Jordan let them touch her new arm and she was very proud.

After class, Jordan took her arm off and started getting her coat on. One of the little girls was showing off Jordan’s arm to her mom when the mom looked over to see Jordan zipping up her coat all by herself.

“Well, she’s determined,” the mom said.

Heck yeah she’s determined. She’s the picture of determination.

This morning at breakfast, Jordan discovered another fun thing she can do with her helper arm:

Our snow has melted… But before it did, Jordan spent as much time out in the cold stuff as possible. I actually had to bribe her with hot chocolate to come inside.

I caught a few moments of her outside… she wanted to build a snowman, but we didn’t really have that much snow. But I did convince her to make a little arm snow angel:

When Jordan was born six years ago, her brother was almost four years old and his friends had a lot of questions. One of the easiest ways to explain Jordan’s limb difference to kids was, “Remember Nemo and his lucky fin? Well, Jordan has a little arm just like his fin.”

These days, that explanation doesn’t always make sense to kids. A lot of little kids have NEVER seen the movie! I know that seems shocking, but it isn’t in Disney’s DVD rotation right now and there are kids falling outside the Nemo loop. So it was thrilling to hear this announcement:

Thank you Disney for bringing Nemo back this Fall and giving us a chance to celebrate limb differences again with the help of a very cute and brave clown fish.