Wait a minute….it’s not Monday, it’s Tuesday – maybe it feels like Monday because this day went about as well as most typical Monday’s do. Or maybe I am just too excited for next weeks vacation Joe and I are taking or it could be the fact that my workload is just too large right now, but it feels like I cannot escape this week! Seriously.

I would pay $1,000,000 (if I had it) to go back to sitting around the campfire this past weekend. We attended the 1st Country on the River festival in PdC this past weekend for my mom’s birthday. It was filled with lots of family, fun and country music. It was not only Ella’s first music festival, but also her first time camping. She did great and loved dancing the night away with Grandpa Stevenson and playing with lots of cousins. Grandma bought her glow bracelets that she was fascinated with. We couldn’t have asked for better weather and for a first time event, everything went really well. I will go on record stating I have a crush on Blake Shelton – he was a great performer and pretty good looking. That Miranda Lambert is one lucky gal.

I have tried to write a post three separate times tonight and wasn’t happy with any of them – so here I am. My biggest issue is that I tried to post three times and didn’t… which means I am over analyzing my writing vs. just getting my thoughts out there …which I vowed to not do. So, I am going to blame it on Hump Day.

Had a crazy, crazy day, filled with work, doctors appointments, Cleft Awareness, Kella, etc. The moral of the story;
We met with our surgeon and Ella does not have any scheduled surgeries in the near future. The hole in her palate is almost non-existent and he doesn’t think it’s contributing to speech issues, so that’s great news!

We had our first pediatric orthodontist appointment. First, the Children’s Dental Center is phenomenal and I am 100% positive my childhood dental visits were not like this. We met with Dr. Dowd, who specializes with children with clefts —she is amazing, I really like her. She could potentially be the most helpful person we have met in this entire process. I will cross my fingers. She says Ella’s teeth look amazing and everything is lined up really nicely. She currently has all of her teeth, except her 2 year old molars. She may be missing a tooth next to her front tooth, but we will not know that for sure for a while. If so, no big deal!

Ella met with her speech behavior therapist for the second time. This time she was observed at daycare. I have not yet decided if this is speech or behavior therapy. No matter what, our therapist, has offered lots of useful tips on how to minimize tantrums and stop the biting, so …if something good comes from this, I will be happy! In the meantime I have been working extra hard with Ella to learn more sign language so she can better communicate her needs.

I was able to make a great contact in regards to making jewelry for Cleft Awareness. Julie, from Heart & Stone Custom Jewelry has been amazing and very helpful so I am really excited to see if something can come of this relationship. Although I am super excited to make something, I want to make sure I take my time and make the right decisions so that I like it for a long time. Lets be honest – we all know I have A.D.D. – so it could still happen

Ok kiddies – it’s no longer Hump Day so I am going to sign off for now. I will leave you with this:

Lately we have been pretty busy with ALL parts of our lives so I thought I would provide a brief update of what’s going on at La Petite Ferme!

We are scheming up big things for The Cleft Awareness Foundation. Last week I ordered my business cards and I am pretty excited for them to get here Thursday. I am sure that Joe will take some great pictures when they arrive that we’ll share later on. What do you think? The back side is white with the full color logo. I love them

We already have 350 fans on Facebook and are starting to make some great contacts. I am hoping our Kella Design schedule starts to clear up a bit so we can focus on getting the CA website up and running sooner than later.

My most recent project is making custom jewelry to give to cleft patients when they are going through surgery. I am hoping it would be something that is meaningful for them and their parents. I was inspired by this piece from Heart & Stone Custom Jewelry Design, that was created for Autism Awareness. I have the design all figured out so now I am working quickly to learn all about metal jewelry stamping and what tools I need in order to complete a piece. It might be a bit expensive and excessive in the beginning but I am REALLY excited about the opportunity! Stay tuned.

Speaking of jewelry, I was privileged to guest blog for my friend Merl from clyde’s rebirth. tonight. She is on vacation so Ella took care of getting something posted for me. Feel free to check it out and you can view all of Merl’s beautiful jewels here. I wish I had more money cause that girl is talented!

This past weekend I was lucky enough to spend time with some great family and friends. My friend LJ turned 27 so we enjoyed restaurant week at Eldorado Grill. This is where I learned I DO NOT like goat cheese. Bah.

The remainder of the weekend I spent time with two of my cousins and had a ball. This is where I learned that I am old. Lol. I love all of my family and would be happy as a clam if we all lived together on the same block. I know, we are not normal!

Last week we met with Ella’s speech therapist for the first time. We didn’t talk a ton about speech development, but more about behavioral issues we have had with Ella. I think the therapist is great so I am really excited to see how things go.

Two weekends ago Grandma & Grandpa Leschisin came to visit Ella. We had a full weekend of activities. Joe and I were lucky enough to go out to Cahoots Bar for Friday Fish Fry. If you haven’t been there to check it out, you should – AMAZING perch! Then Saturday we started our morning by visiting the Farmer’s Market, took Ella fishing, grilled out and kicked back at the bonfire. Sunday we took our 1,000,000 trip to zoo this season and enjoyed a picnic in the park, where Ella chased the birds around.

I am so grateful that Ella and I have Joe in our lives. I know, I know – pretty mushy stuff, but simply stated he is a dreamer. Some may even say his head is in the clouds most of the time. I, on the other hand, am self-admittedly a pessimist by nature. I have worked my whole adult life to change my outlook and it’s an every day battle – but with the help of Joe, I think I am making progress. Maybe it’s a small town thing, but now I’m just making excuses.

Even though I am a pessimist, I still have dreams – everyone does, right? I think what truly separates great people from the crowd is the strength they possess to follow their dreams. Lets be real, it’s scary to pursue something you really care about. Succeeding is one thing, but failure is an entirely different thing when you’re passionate.

My biggest goal is to always push and encourage Ella to go after her dreams. No matter how embarrassing it could be or how bad it might hurt to fail – I want her fearless nature to continue into her life goals. This shouldn’t be a problem with Joe as her daddy. She will most likely think she can be the first female NFL player, even though Joe’s goal is for her to become a professional female golfer – who knows?!?

For me personally – I know I am a strong person, but also know that I don’t pursue many dreams out of fear.  I don’t necessarily wish to be just like Joe, however I would like to meet in the middle of where I currently sit, feet leveled flat on the ground, and where he is, floating in the clouds – I guess I’ll settle for the tree tops.