Have missed u all

[steffnliv]

Heeeeeelllo UNO. Oh boy have I missed the UNO banter the last few years. But I am back n can't wait to catch up . Got a lot to do.
K I am Stephanie mom to approaching 14 year old Olivia. We now live in Santa Monica ca for about the last 8 months. Love it here... Can c the ocean from our corner. I have a wanderlust for the beach ... Can't help but love it. Anyhoo. Olivia is in the 9th grade. I chose to keep her in her old school as it's great for her with the addition of biweekly tutoring . It's working out beautifully. Kyle her older brother goes to our local high school n is on the basketball team. He's 6'1 n thin n muscular with a buzz u all who know me from b4 would never recognize him. This is the school I would have had to put Liv in n there r 3600 students! And sm special education system is far less I mean far less than stellar. Hmm. Me my job is gone till Ucla is able to start hiring again. People in my department have been let go until they r able to start getting more funds. Sheesh is anyone else tired of this horrible economy? Anyhow. Liv is doing great she has lotsa friends in our building I rarely see her. If she's not at school or friends she is at karate tutors piano or playing a sport right now it's soccer next is softball then floor hockey( calis version lol ) then basketball. Her high school plays other so Ed high schools n the games r the BEST. Jeff my hubby is great. We r working on opening up our business by next summer but for now he's at pepperdine university in business classes etc. It's all good hope to hear from u all u r sorely missed but we're baaaaaccck

[Jackie]

Hey Steff....great to see you back on board!...and Liv...14!!! just can't believe it. Hope you job returns too and sounds like Jeff is feeling good. What business do you hope to open.

Jackie

[steffnliv]

Awww thanks Jackie. Love the new em picture. Time sure flies.
Actually since the economy took a dive we have been working with a great group of business lawyers n the entrepreneurship at pepperdine. It's a clothing line specifically geared toward ds n sp needs . It's been a long road gathering info, finding the right person for our prototypes ( seamstress') etc etc etc been a work in progress that is finally going to come into fruition. We were thinking bout launching it b4 next years buddy walk. Getting lotsa press prior to it doing some fashion shows on local tv then bringing out the merchandise ( launching it) at our buddy walk. I got so sick of seeing Olivia in extremely I'll fitting clothes or worse her famous Capri pant( which r actually long pants) with the dang stripe down the side. We also have been doing a lot with bathing suits n bras. We made Olivia a bra that fits spectacular. And a bathing suit where the straps don't fall off. Just a lot of stuff. It's been crazy. I took ideas from here when it came to visual cues for the little ones to become independent dressers and hidden cues for the older kids so as not to b inside out or backwards. Best of all they r so darned cute. The older stuff we have right now is trendier teenagery stuff then less trendy stuff that's just cute n not fugly like most the clothes Liv has worn cause her options have been so limited.oh yea plus the items have adjustable pant n arms lengths cause as we all know each child is so different which made this hard but challenging at the same time.

Mostly I need to reconnect with my old pals n new ones hopefully about issues like my gals newfound thievery or her trouble with money or to share funny stories which we all have many of. I am sure I have many weird typos sorry this iPod touch is hard on these old eyes. And I am not much for double checking my posts .

[Jackie]

Sounds like a great business...and bet the clothes will end up being for more than just people with DS...lots of unusual body types out there when it comes to clothing fits. When you can do so...share some pics with us.

[steffnliv]

Oh yea for sure Jackie . I am just gearing the launch at the buddy walk to people with ds. That's all have a giant crowd n just wanna get the word out. Thought it would b a great place to start specially as it gets lotsa press. Btw Jackie I finally went to chicos. I have one close to my house. I remember u talking bout it years ago. Had some fun there.

[Emilysmom]

Steff! ! ! So good to see you! ! ! Sounds like your family is keeping very busy! ! ! I'm thrilled to hear that Jeff is doing great!! We love Pepperdine! In fact.........can you believe that Jordan is a Senior and will be going to college next year??? We looked at Pepperdine last summer and now it is his dream school.

Can't believe Olivia is nearly 14! ! ! WOW! (Especially since WE are not getting one day older!)

Post up when you can.

[Chris too]

Steff! Good to read the update! I love the idea for your new business, and I'm wondering if you'd consider adding a line for power lifters like me. I have an easier time finding clothes to fit Stevie than to fit my quads, hammies and biceps :/

Stevie has a pretty standard build so far - she's actually taller than my other kids at that age - go figure! Still, the market for your clothes will be huge and you will be sure to have many happy, happy parents and kids who can finally dress stylishly

[kittkatt]

Hey Steff!! So good to see you posting again. I hope things go really well with your endeavor. As soon as I saw your name, I wondered how Jeff was doing - but apparently he is doing well. Good to hear from an "oldie." Our kids are just growing up so much (Rhienne is 15 now and has a bit of a goatee. He is quite proud of it!). Anyway, great to hear from you.

[kg91207]

Yes, I am tired of this tanked economy too!

[Renee']

Steff!
Wow, when those close are ready let me know. Lauren wears capris too. She is in 7th grade now. I often thought about how you guys were.
Renee'

[Jackie]

oh yes...Happy Birthday too!!!!!

[kg91207]

I love the clothing line idea!!! I've been fairly lucky for Kaelyn, found that The Children's Place carries pretty proportioned clothing for her, but this year since she is still in a diaper, we've had a hard time finding jeans to fit! So we do a lot of leggins and skirts/dresses which she loves, but still, she has a buddha belly too so that factors in. It would be so nice to have clothes for her that just FIT.

[Chris too]

Brandi,
We switched to Easy-Ups partly because they fit better under the jeans. But maybe that's what you meant by "diaper" ...