My secret to endless amounts of energy

Since becoming a stay at home mom 15 months ago, I have struggled with productivity. At first, I enjoyed staying up late, dropping Elli off at school, and napping with the baby. The house was clean within an hour, and stayed that way. Once we started homeschooling, I needed to get my act together and not only wake up early, but stay awake. It was so hard to fall asleep earlier than 2am! And if there is one thing I love, it's sleep. I can sleep 15 hours if left undisturbed. Something had to change. About the same time, I was mentally ready to lose the last bit of baby weight Evan oh so generously left me with. I started waking up at 5am and heading right to the gym. It.was.so.hard!! I have always loved staying in shape, but willingly waking up that early was a struggle. But I did it! And after a few weeks of forcing myself to get out of bed, I was able get up as soon as the alarm went off - and looked forward to the time to myself at the gym! The energy I have throughout the day is incredible! Not only am I sleeping better, but I have also lost 13lbs. I'm only 7lbs away from my goal weight! 

If you are feeling sluggish, I highly recommend setting that alarm and getting active first thing in the morning! Walk on a treadmill while reading a book, lift some weights to your favorite songs. Just do it! I'm currently blogging while cooling down on the treadmill ;) Don't make excuses. If you fall off the bandwagon a couple days, just pick back up where you left off. You are the only obstacle in the way of being/staying fit. 

Sisters by Heart/Linked by Heart

Earlier this year, I was blessed with the opportunity to join my favorite nonprofit organization, Sisters by Heart, as a Regional Coordinator for their newest project, Linked by Heart. Sisters by Heart was founded in 2010 by a group of dedicated HLHS moms who wanted to offer something that was truly lacking in our community; hope and support. They joined forces and over the past 2 years have formed into an amazing organization, reaching hundreds of families that would have had no where to turn for support. Sisters by Heart sends care packages to newly diagnosed HLHS families that include super awesome items every Momma needs for themselves and their HLHS babe while in the hospital awaiting and recovering from their first open heart surgery. And their blog.. Man. These women work so hard to provide accurate and encouraging information to the hundreds of HLHS moms on the web, scouring for hope that their baby can make it through this journey. As if that weren't enough, SBH recently expanded their organization to include Linked by Heart. They have recruited HLHS moms across the country, myself included, to help support the entire HLHS community, not just the newly diagnosed moms. By registering in the Linked by Heart database, families from all over the country are able to connect with other HLHS families in close proximity, by similar complications, same hospital, etc. It is truly an amazing resource and I am so honored to "meet" and support the moms in the Southeast region!

Sisters by Heart/Linked by Heart have touched so many lives already. They rely on monetary donations to keep the support by way of care packages going. If you are touched by the hearts of the women of this organization and want to help send some love and support to Mommas of babies with a broken heart, please consider sending a donation their way here.

It's here!

For months I have wanted to sit down and revamp my blog Evan's blog. As much as I have loved using this blog to update everyone on Evan's condition, I have wanted something more; a space to write freely about the other aspects of my life. What? You didn't know I wasn't just a heart mom?! I know, it's crazy to think I have a life outside of my super special babe, but I do. I want so badly to post about my sweet girl Elli, to post my latest pinterest projects, recipes; all the fun stuff! And so I will, starting now! Welcome to MY new (to me) blog! ;)

I will trust You.

Lord I won't forget how good You are! While I was watching Evan crawl all over the house today, and pull up and cruise the furniture, this song ran thru my head. I will never forget how faithful God has been to my family, to my son, who is such a Miracle, and all the glory and praise goes to Him..

Ok, I promised it wouldn't happen again, but life happens, and I have failed to keep up with blog posts. Darn!

So what's been up? Lots. Evan has been a busy bee since my last update. This past weekend we participated in the Tampa Congenital Heart Walk. This is only the 3rd year there has been a walk in Tampa and I was sad to see few participants/supporters. Next year I am making it a priority to do what I can to shine some light on the event. Evan had a great time riding around the track in the stroller while I huffed and puffed to keep up with Elli, who insisted on running the entire first lap (1.5 miles!). She definitely took the walk seriously :) 

Evan has also dealt with two ear infections and what was suspected to be croup (but it wasn't). He was a grump for sure but did well, considering. It's been unseasonably warm here in Florida these past few months and we are definitely taking advantage of the awesome weather! We have made several trips to Disney and Aquatica water park. Evan loves Disney days and had a blast meeting Mickey and Minnie for the first time. He gave Minnie a big, wet kiss on her nose :) So stinkin' cute! He loves the rides and enjoys watching his sissy get so excited. The water park is hit or miss, ha! He loves splashing in the water, but does not like the super speed "lazy" river because you get sprayed with water. He did, however, fall asleep in his life vest after one trip around in the water and poor Dad had to go sit with him while still in the water and keep his head afloat while he napped.. Oh the things we do for our babes. 

Evan had his Cardiologist appointment last week and got some really wonderful news. His heart function looks fantastic and his leaks are still very minor. We will be keeping him on the enalipril and go back in 3 months again! It's so weird to think just a year ago we were scheduled every 2-3 weeks for appointments! And I just have to say, I absolutely love the staff at his Cardiology clinic. The nurses and receptionists are wonderful, they always take the time to entertain Evan and do whatever they can to make sure we are comfortable during the visit. His sats were good and he sat thru the EKG completely still while watching his favorite nurse dance around and blow bubbles, lol. She is the best! His echo lasted almost 30 minutes and thanks to Yo Gabba Gabba, he cooperated long enough to get the important shots. We also visited the Pediatrician for Evan's 15 month check up. He is 24lbs 120z and 31.25" long. He is continuing physical therapy until he meets his new set of goals and received a referral for speech therapy. We also got a referral to the eye DR because Evan's eyes seem to cross when he focuses. Praying it's all in my head and he is just fine.. 

Now, on to the AWESOME news! After a few months of literally no progress in physical therapy, Evan has finally decided he wants to move and has been trying so hard to catch up! He is able to pivot side to side on his belly, can get to the sitting position from his belly, can get down to his belly from sitting, is pulling up on the couch, taking big steps while holding hands, and started crawling today!!!!! I put two of his toys about 6 feet away from him and with some encouragement, he crawled all the way over to them! Oh, the tears of joy, such a simple milestone that has been a difficult mountain for my dear son to overcome.. It's just the most wonderful feeling to see him accomplish something we have been working so diligently on! I cannot wait for him to show off tomorrow in physical therapy! :)

Thank you all for continuing to send positive thoughts and prayers for Evan and our family. It is so great to have such an amazing support system <3 Much love!

The gang w/ Mickey & Minnie 

Water park! 

My monkey :)

Evan @ the Tampa Congenital Heart Walk 2012

CHD Awareness Week + Pinterest = Pure Awesomeness!

If you haven't heard of the website Pinterest yet, well, you must be living under a rock. It has quickly become one of the most talked about sites and I have to admit, I am an Pinning Addict. And proud! I have made so many awesome crafts and recipes from my pins! And thanks to a fellow heart mom, I now love it even more! Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week is February 7-14 and we are spreading awareness every way possible. There is a board on Pinterest labeled "The Faces of CHD - Congenital Heart Awareness Week Feb. 7-14,2012", you can find it here. Kids with CHDs from all around the country are featured as "pins" on this board. So head on over and read their stories and "Aww" at their cute little faces ;) And of course, don't forget to repin and help spread awareness! :)

Evan was born 12/1/2010 with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS), Aortic Atresia, and Mitral Stenosis. He endured his first open heart surgery at 8 days old. Evan suffered seizures and a paralyzed left vocal cord post surgery. His paralyzed vocal cord caused him to aspirate milk into his lungs. Evan had a feeding tube placed into his tummy at 4 weeks old. Evan had his second open heart surgery at 5 months old and recovered quickly! He had his feeding tube removed and was taken off of his seizure medicine. He still continues to struggle with his fine and gross motor skills. Evan is still awaiting his third surgery.

 And look at him now! He is happy and so so sweet, we completely adore every second we have with him. Sometimes at night while I am rocking him to sleep, I can't help but wonder how long we will be blessed to have him with us. It's hard to think of your child as terminally ill when they look so darn healthy! But, that is part of living with a CHD. You can't tell most babies/kids have a heart defect until you see the scar they proudly wear down their chest. <3

Heart defects affect 1 in 100 babies. CHDs are the #1 birth defect. There are 35 different heart defects. Currently, there is no explanation for what causes a CHD.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Years! We have been extremely busy here at the Sawyer household. We tried to hit every local Christmas event we could, and completely enjoyed spending the holidays at home with our families. It was so nice to have Evan home this holiday season, I am definitely looking forward to all of our future holidays together! 

I forgot to update after Evan's cardiologist appointment. His cardiologist is finally back from maternity leave and it was so nice to see her again. Evan's sats were in the high 80's, his BPs were great, his EKG looked fantastic, and his Echo looked wonderful. :) Evan has a slight Tricuspid Valve leak and his cardiologist has been fine with just watching it to see if it got worse and adding medication if necessary. Well, while she was out, the cardiologist covering for her decided to put Evan on Enalapril for the leak. I only agreed because there were no major side effects. I don't think our normal cardiologist was too thrilled to come back and find him on the med.. But, she left it as is since it wasn't hurting anything and we had already formed a routine around it. Oh well. She was very happy with his heart overall and we are not due back until MARCH! :)

I'll be honest, I have been avoiding updating my blog. Everytime I say "Hey self, you should update about Evan" the only thing I can think about is how delayed Evan is developmentally and how frustrated I am. And I don't want to write about that. But then yesterday, Evan started doing something wonderful! He is taking steps while holding onto my hands! WOOHOO! He used to lock his knees while he was standing and you couldn't even force him to bend and take a step, and now out of nowhere he is taking step after step and walking assisted! He is still not crawling, but he will get up on all 4s and rock back and forth. His therapist thinks he will skip crawling. We just can't get him motivated to move! The therapist was telling me on Thursday that while we are so lucky to have such a happy baby, it is also his downfall. He doesn't care if you take a toy out of his reach, he is content to just play with his hands or the floor. I've decided he is just a smart little dude and likes to take his time figuring things out. When he sees something he really wants, he'll figure out how to move. Until then, I'll just keep working with him. 

Well, that's all I've got ;) Ta Ta For Now! 

Merry Christmas! (Evan puked on his cute Christmas outfit, and Dad's too ;)

Haha, Evan and his cousin Clyde, the cutest Reindeers on the block! 

Elli's reaction to the "best gift ever", Disneyworld Annual Passes!

Firefighter Evan, following in his Daddy's footsteps :)