Shameless Plug - And Hydrocephalus Awareness Month!

Ummmm, yeah. I haven't made a blogpost in over four years. Time flies? And, being really honest here, this one might feel a little inauthentic. However, for me, there's a legitimate cause in my heart. 

September is Hydrocephalus Awareness Month. For the last seven years, we have participated in a local fundraising walk for the Hydrocephalus Association. They are the largest research organization for hydrocephalus, and their work is obviously very important to our family. While I can't really fathom what an actual "cure" for hydrocephalus might be, aside from brain surgery, of course I would love for someone to find that other option. We remain very randomly lucky that Elodie's shunt is still her original shunt. But that's not the case for so many children and adults. Over the years, I have had friends lose their child due to complications related to their hydrocephalus, and I've watched friend's kids go through multiple shunt revisions. It's awful to watch the anguish so many families endure because of this medical condition. And I sometimes struggle with "survivor's guilt" of sorts because Elodie is so healthy and neurotypical.

Speaking of, this little girl of mine really is such a bright, bold presence in this world! Who would have guessed this 5lb9oz sick little baby would grow into the youngest yet tallest (and most gregarious) second grader some day?! 

Anyway, the main reason I'm writing today is because of that fundraising walk I mentioned. Each year, I try to raise at least $1000, and most years we've hit or exceeded that goal. So this year I decided to bump it up to $1500. I'm almost there, but currently about $120 short. A lot of these were straight donations, and another big chunk came from a Beautycounter fundraiser I held. If you have any desire in your heart to donate to our team, I'm offering two options. One, you can make a direct donation through this link: https://secure2.convio.net/hydro/site/TR/WALK/General?px=1002353&pg=personal&fr_id=1722

The other option is to support my Beautycounter fundraiser! If you don't know the brand, they are a sustainable and clean skin and beauty company that creates safer products. They relentlessly advocate for safety in the skincare and beauty industry because as many of us who have struggled with infertility or children with birth defects know, the risks of teratogens are huge! I will never know for sure what caused my miscarriages or Elodie's hydrocephalus, but I do know that I will work to eliminate unsafe products for my family's health and happiness. If you have any interest in learning more or exploring some of their products, you can check that out here: www.beautycounter.com/lisastotts  I am donating all of my sales for the month of September to my fundraiser. Yes, that's 100% of my commissions. I don't need the money, but the HA does!

Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the internet today, and if anyone out there actually sees this and wants an actual update on my kids or me, I'll get on that! I really do miss this space sometimes, but we all know how things go. Life happens, and life is busy! Plus the pandemic!! OMG y'all! I hope you're all surviving and hopefully even thriving in this strange, new world. Who would have guessed we'd be here when we all first started blogging. Leave me comments too, so I can see updates from old friends!

💗💙💗💙💗

Lisa (& Elodie!)