Good Times
Rowe Family Adventures The past month has been a whirlwind of events! I am still working at the JuJu Gear store at Eden Prairie Center. In addition to the store, I have been doing craft and trade shows on behalf of JuJu Gear. The great news is that we are spreading good JuJu all around and gaining new fans each week! A few weeks ago I was a craft show in Maple Grove and this past week I was...
Fri, Mar 01 2013

Never Knew, Until now...
Rowe Family Adventures So the high temperature here in lovely Minnesota was -4 on Monday. That is air temp, mind you, not windchill! Whenever it gets this cold, the tv stations always play clips of other parts of the country complaining about cold temps. I guess in LA last week it was only 56 and everyone started to lose their minds. Well CA friends, I invite you to come to MN in January. I...
Wed, Jan 23 2013

Just Hear Those Sleighbells Jingling...
Rowe Family Adventures The word for today is awareness. In almost every section of the day, I experienced situations that caused me to reflect. First, during my morning Zumba workout, I was talking to my instructor after class and I started to tell her about JuJu. You have to understand that my instructor has a special light within her and she brings a wonderful energy with her. No matter ...
Tue, Nov 27 2012

Rising From the Ground Like a Skyscraper...
Rowe Family Adventures Two weekends ago, Bella participated in her first 2 day swim meet. It was a B/C meet sponsored by our team Foxjets, so Bella could attend, even though she doesn't have "C" times. The meet also had something else in it's favor, it was close. For all of you swimming parents out there, this is not new information, but boy do these meets start early. Warm ups were at 7:30...
Tue, Nov 13 2012

Some Serious JuJu...
Rowe Family Adventures This past weekend I did something I haven't done in several years. I went to work. I have been out of the workforce ever since I decided to homeschool.  A friend of mine moved to Montana about a year ago and became involved in a company called JuJu Gear. They make super cute skirts by repurposing old clothes (mostly t-shirts, but sweaters, and other cute fabric is us...
Tue, Oct 30 2012

Love is Patient...
Rowe Family Adventures This past weekend we attended my littlest brother's wedding. It was in Sioux Falls, which is about 4 hours away, so it felt like a mini vacation. It came with all the good and bad of a vacation; the packing, staying in a hotel, relaxation, the unpacking. It was fun to have the whole family together, but I have to say I was unprepared for some of t...
Wed, Oct 24 2012

What Goes Around, Comes Back Around...
Rowe Family Adventures It feels a bit surreal to be writing a blog entry. Once again, I have lapsed and been involved in daily life.   August kind of flew by for us. There was girl scout camp for Bella, illness that overtook members of our family for a week or two, my civic duty as a jury candidate, and the State Fair. Harry- 8th gradeBella- 5th gradeBecca- 11th grade Now we star...
Wed, Sep 05 2012

Leader of the Pack...
Rowe Family Adventures Life lessons occur on a daily basis. Sometimes they sneak up and surprise us. Last Friday, Bella's swim coach handed her a plaque. It had been awarded at the season end swim banquet that we had been unable to attend. It was the leadership award for her last swim level. Her current coach said, "Coach Brenda's exact words were, "She's the best listener, even though she ...
Tue, May 08 2012

Teacher, I Need You...
Rowe Family Adventures Teachers- individuals who are underpaid (in my humble opinion) and handle a large workload, often accompanied by complaints, critisisms, and stress. Not a true definition, but I believe true enough. Bella's teacher at the World Learner School is so great! In an effort to get her some recognition for her outstanding service, I nominated her for a local contest. It is ...
Fri, Apr 13 2012

And it Burns, Burns Burns, the Ring of Fire...
Rowe Family Adventures Last Saturday I attended a cochlear implant seminar to be a resource and answer questions for people who were considering getting an implant. As a parent of a child with cochlear implants, I enjoy helping others out in sorting through this difficult decision. I can only speak from Bella's experience, but I am happy to share how life changing the implant has been for h...
Tue, Oct 25 2011

It All Started With a Big Bang...
Rowe Family Adventures Unsettled. In one word, that has been our family the last few weeks. As we head into the final countdown of the school year, the seams of our regular schedule begin to tear, and we are thrown into the abyss of daily chaos. Where to today? A end of year art show? A Spring choir or orchestra concert? A bridging to girl scout event? There is no rhyme or reason to where w...
Thu, May 19 2011

Amazing...
Rowe Family Adventures What do you get when you put together two waterproof diving bags, a swimmer's ear band, a swim cap and cochlear implants? Pure magic... Tonight, for the first time ever, Bella could hear in the water while swimming. Using her back up implants, we used the set up that many other cochlear implant recipients. have used. We secured her two back up processors in military ...
Tue, May 10 2011

Upgrade Central-Bella 4.0...
Rowe Family Adventures Yesterday was an exciting day for Bella. She received the latest and greatest in cochlear implant fashion; upgrading her Nucleus Freedom processors to the new N5. She has the N24 internal piece (for all of you CI tech geeks out there). Previously she has had the sprint processors, the 3G and the freedoms, so this was upgrade #4. The biggest change in the upgrade is t...
Wed, May 04 2011

I Believe in Miracles...
Rowe Family Adventures I have noticed an unsettling trend in the media. It seems that almost everyday a "miracle" occurs. The "miracles" can range from a homeless man with a great radio voice being discovered through youtube to a contestant on American Idol being saved and allowed to compete another week. Now I know in our society of 24 hour news cycles, there is a lot of pressure to make s...
Fri, Apr 22 2011

Let the Silence Be Heard...
Rowe Family Adventures Last week Bella's class put on a class talent show. If I may be completely honest and upfront, I am not a huge fan of the talent show idea. They are a bit too much like "Toddlers and Tiaras" for my taste. Perhaps it was because as a child I was stressed out by them. I mean after you have done one or two, you tend to find out that the backhand spring you can do is cool...
Mon, Mar 07 2011