April began with David out of town for business, but thankfully it was only for a couple of days. We headed to Alabama the first Saturday - our first time there since Christmas - and let Grandma celebrate her birthday by cooking us all a giant feast. We caught up on the latest with each other, the kids hunted and dyed eggs, some of us grown ups shot guns, and we all ate ourselves sick. In other words, it was a usual perfect visit to Alabama.
The next week was Audrey's spring break. As I wrote in an earlier post, we tried to do a few out-of-the-ordinary fun things like a puppet show at the library, a sleepover for her with David's mom, some time with my mom, and a few play dates. The week went by quickly and I actually found myself enjoying the break from the normal MWF shuffle to and from preschool. That week we also had our master bathroom and upstairs interior doors painted (they were never done and were still just beige primer. Weird.)
David headed back to California in the middle of the month. While of course I miss him terribly (and not just for the help!), I do like getting a few projects tackled while he's gone. I've always stayed up late and done that from the time we were newlyweds. Of course, back in those pre-kid days, the projects were a lot more ambitious. I remember painting the master bedroom at our old house several different colors before giving up and hiring a painter to help me finish. I hung new curtains and artwork there and in the hall and he hardly new what house he was in by the time he got home. Late-night projects these days are more along the lines of organizing photo albums and cleaning out/reorganizing files, but it's still productive and it still counts.
Not only did I stay busy at night, but we had some fun during the day too while he was away. We got to see David's Great Aunt and Uncle who came by for a visit that week as well as the Taylors, who were in town for a family birthday party. Audrey had her egg hunt at school and I got to hide 289 eggs for her class to find as they were bundled up in the 47 degree weather. Ah, April with your fickleness.
On the Saturday of Easter weekend, David and I ran our annual Bunny Hop 5K while his parents kept the kids. We were all supposed to do it together, but it was drizzling and a little chilly so we didn't want to take the kids out in it. We got cleaned up and drove to my nephew's 6th birthday party. The kids had so much fun bouncing all around the gymnastics facility they rented out. It often hits me when all of the cousins are together how quickly time is passing. We have such a beautiful, blessed family. We ended the day with a pajama picnic and a movie - one of my favorite ways to chill these days.
Easter Sunday was wonderful. We went to the 9:00 service at our church, which we hadn't actually done on Easter Sunday in several years. They offer a Saturday night Easter service that we usually attend, but were too tired to do this year. After church, we came home and saw the Easter Bunny had come while we were away. (Funny side story: David and I weren't going to address the Easter Bunny at all and had planned on just putting out the baskets from us. However, the night before during bath, Audrey asked about the Easter Bunny visiting and completely put me on the spot. I knew that given the way her mind works, she would immediately call into question Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy if I squelched the Easter Bunny and I am NOT ready for that, so I went with it.)
After the baskets, we ate a nice lunch of ham, rolls, mac and cheese, corn pudding, and potato salad. It was no Alabama feast, but I was proud of it and everyone enjoyed it. David and I took turns hiding eggs in the backyard and let the kids hunt them before nap/rest. After they got up, we played, dyed eggs, and ate leftovers. It was a wonderful, relaxing family day that we really needed in between a busy few weeks.
The next week started off slowly - a visit to David at work to see his new office, errands, and teacher gift shopping - but built up to a slammed few days at the end. The last Thursday of the month, we had kindergarten registration for Audrey, a Room Mom Luncheon for me, and dinner with a friend. That Friday was Audrey's birthday celebration at school, her parent-teacher conference, I was Mystery Reader, and then we had a small group dinner that night. Saturday the four of us hit the zoo, which was a lot of fun once I had a teeth-gritting aside with Audrey about her incessant whining, and we loved showing them all of the animals on the gorgeous sunny day. Sunday was church and small group and then Monday I was back at Audrey's school all morning for her Field Day, after organizing a small landscaping project we were having done at the house. We sent the month out with a bang, that's for sure.
What else happened this month? David and I celebrated 15 years since our blind date and 14 years of being a couple (I had to be extra sure he was the right choice in that year in between - turns out he was), I got a physical and a nail in my tire, my running time went way down but my gym time went up, and we had a date night at the movies for the first time in a year(s?). We had small group two out of four Sundays (we took a break for Spring Break and then Easter) and I tackled a good chunk of party planning for AJ's birthday.
Kids' updates/stories
Luke is getting hilarious with his vocabulary and sayings. Audrey is always knocking our socks off with her mind and cracking us up with her humor. I really wish I did a better job of writing down all of the little quotes and tidbits, but here's what I can recall:
- Luke is getting into knock-knock jokes. Except he usually starts them with "ding-dong" and ends it with something like "APPLE JUICE" AHHHHAAAAHAAA!" It's really way funnier than an actual knock-knock joke.
- One morning Audrey sternly told Luke to "sit right there and do NOT move." He waited until she was downstairs and then I see him start dancing and hear his little voice taunt, "Look at me, Audrey! I moving! I moving! SEE ME?!" Ah, siblings.
- Watching Audrey at her Field Day made me so proud. There were no doubt some games she didn't want to do, and certainly not in front of everyone, but she never hesitated to jump in and give them a try. She was brave and gave it her best.
- Luke was drawing on the dry erase board in the sunroom and would then step back to let me guess what he drew. I'd throw something out and he'd laugh, slap the chair, and say, "No! I give you a hint..." and then tell me what it was. Every time. And it never stopped making me laugh.
- Audrey regularly uses words like eventually, evidently, appropriate, and consequence and it's so funny to hear in her little voice. I think it's time to start training her on the correct use of "literally", whose misuse is a pet peeve of mine.
- Luke's please/thank you manners and compliments are really getting good. He often says "Thanks for cooking dinner, Mommy" while we're eating or says "Good job, Audrey!" when she accomplishes something. At a little friend's birthday party he said "thank you" when he got cake without being prompted. Love it! (And you're welcome, Future Mrs. Luke Sinyard.)
That's all I can remember for now, but be sure to check out their cute faces in this month's picture gallery. My favorite shots are their adorable seersucker Easter selves (especially knowing I paid $8 for Audrey's already-monogrammed dress at consignment!)
April/Easter 2014
Happy May and please keep praying for Audrey's eyes. Hopefully I'll have a precious picture of her in her new glasses soon.
Thankful Thursday
Thursday, May 8, 2014
We are in full end-of-school-year swing (Field Day, Mother's Day, Pre-K graduation, presents for teachers, etc.) over here and also gearing up for an extremely anticipated early anniversary trip. I keep thinking I'll wrap up (read: start) my April recap and the days just keep ticking by. In the meantime, I'll pause to write out my first TT post in almost a month.
1. MOMS. Mine, my mother-in-law, my stepmother, our grandmothers, sisters-in-law, aunts, mom friends, etc. Not only would we not be here without them, but we simply couldn't survive without their care, prayers, support, and sacrifices. As a recent friend told me when I confessed I felt guilty about my freak-out over AJ's eyes: "BE overdramatic. That's what makes us good moms...we care so dang much!" To all the moms in my life who care so much - thank you from the bottom of my heart and Happy Mother's Day.
2. 85 degree weather. Sure, it's not 75 degree weather, but you know what? It's not 95 degree weather either. I'll take it.
3. Finding a decent one piece bathing suit. In an effort to become a better swimmer and be able to actually use it as an aerobic exercise effectively, I'm taking a few swim lessons this summer (No, really.) I needed a bathing suit to match my goals and, at the recommendation of my go-to guru Kara who has been coaching for 15+ years, I found one. And I don't loathe it. The swim cap she recommended on the other hand...well, we'll see.
4. Fun dates. David and I went out last Saturday morning and rode bikes (which, by the way, is not like riding a bike. It takes time to get the hang of it again!) We had so much fun doing something out of our ordinary together. Afterward, we ate lunch on a restaurant patio that was completely empty except for us. It was fantastic! Of course you love your spouse, but as someone very wise told me recently, remembering that you like them is really vital to a good relationship, too. Have I mentioned that WE CANNOT WAIT FOR OUR ANNIVERSARY TRIP?!
5. A great semester of small group. This past Sunday we had our last meeting and celebrated a wonderful 14 weeks with a cookout. It was a huge step of faith for David and I to lead a group of strangers in our home, but a dream come true to be able to use what God has given us and taught us to serve others. It'll be a nice break to have some time off from reading, lesson plans, and frantic last minute cleaning, but I have a feeling we'll be back in some capacity before too long. :)
Have a wonderful weekend and call yo Mamas!
1. MOMS. Mine, my mother-in-law, my stepmother, our grandmothers, sisters-in-law, aunts, mom friends, etc. Not only would we not be here without them, but we simply couldn't survive without their care, prayers, support, and sacrifices. As a recent friend told me when I confessed I felt guilty about my freak-out over AJ's eyes: "BE overdramatic. That's what makes us good moms...we care so dang much!" To all the moms in my life who care so much - thank you from the bottom of my heart and Happy Mother's Day.
2. 85 degree weather. Sure, it's not 75 degree weather, but you know what? It's not 95 degree weather either. I'll take it.
3. Finding a decent one piece bathing suit. In an effort to become a better swimmer and be able to actually use it as an aerobic exercise effectively, I'm taking a few swim lessons this summer (No, really.) I needed a bathing suit to match my goals and, at the recommendation of my go-to guru Kara who has been coaching for 15+ years, I found one. And I don't loathe it. The swim cap she recommended on the other hand...well, we'll see.
4. Fun dates. David and I went out last Saturday morning and rode bikes (which, by the way, is not like riding a bike. It takes time to get the hang of it again!) We had so much fun doing something out of our ordinary together. Afterward, we ate lunch on a restaurant patio that was completely empty except for us. It was fantastic! Of course you love your spouse, but as someone very wise told me recently, remembering that you like them is really vital to a good relationship, too. Have I mentioned that WE CANNOT WAIT FOR OUR ANNIVERSARY TRIP?!
5. A great semester of small group. This past Sunday we had our last meeting and celebrated a wonderful 14 weeks with a cookout. It was a huge step of faith for David and I to lead a group of strangers in our home, but a dream come true to be able to use what God has given us and taught us to serve others. It'll be a nice break to have some time off from reading, lesson plans, and frantic last minute cleaning, but I have a feeling we'll be back in some capacity before too long. :)
Have a wonderful weekend and call yo Mamas!
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Her Gorgeous Eyes
Friday, May 2, 2014
I've been up since 4:30am and cannot sleep, so I'm turning to my cheap form of therapy. For the first time in four nights, Luke isn't who is keeping me awake tonight. Instead it's Audrey. (If it's not one kid, it's the other....)
I took AJ to an eye doctor appointment today. But let me first back up and start the story at the beginning. She failed her basic pediatric eye exam at her four year old physical last July. I took her to Thomas Eye Group in August for a follow-up and, after having us wait for nearly 45 minutes, they did a full exam (mostly done by an assistant tech) and concluded that her eyes were healthy, but the jury was still out on whether she needed corrective lenses for poor vision. They told me to come back in six months for another exam. (Insert a several-month long battle about them billing medical insurance and the subsequent $350 bill we were stuck with, etc. etc.)
Six, er uh, 8.5 months later and after a recent incident where she couldn't read a sign a few feet away, I made an appointment for an optometrist recommended to me by the mother of one of her classmates. The results were far from inconclusive.
In her right eye alone, she is 3x more farsighted than the upper end of the normal range for kids her age. I was completely surprised at that finding as the child loves, loves, loves to read and does so for at least an hour a day during her quiet time.
She also has a significant astigmatism. Because of the difference between the two eyes (both are farsighted, but the right significantly more so), the doctor is concerned she is developing amblyopia, also known as "lazy eye". She is fairly confident that glasses will correct the problem without the need to patch her strong eye. They had to order frames, so we'll go back in a week to choose a pair and then back a week later to get them. Once she gets them she will have to wear them all the time. We'll follow up with the doctor every 6 to 8 weeks for a few months. If significant improvement isn't made quickly, we'll begin patching her strong eye a few hours a day at home.
First and foremost, let me me state that I'm very, very thankful it is not worse. When the doctor first reviewed the pictures of her eyes before the thorough exam, she was shocked and kept telling me how glad she was that we came in when we did (can you imagine my guilt for waiting 2.5 months longer than we should have?) It was a scary worse-case-scenario hour before she reassured me things were manageable.
So that's that. She needs glasses badly and will wear them, or some form of corrective lenses, for the rest of her life unless she gets Lasik at some point.
I am disproportionately and over dramatically bummed about this for a number of reasons. Having gotten glasses at the age of seven, I know this plight well and, frankly, it sucks. I'm concerned about the obvious medical aspect, but feel confident we'll be able to correct it somehow or another without irreversible damage. Beyond that, there's the guilt and sadness that she's been living life like this and doesn't know any different. It makes me cry just thinking about what the world has looked like for her since the day she was born. Add to that the guilt of having guilt, if that even makes sense. Then comes one of the things I do best: worry. I'm worried about her being teased (OH so much), I'm worried about the problem playing sports, I'm worried about the expense, and I'm worried I might do physical harm to the idiots at Thomas Eye Group. And lastly and a bit shamefully, there's a vanity aspect to all of it. When she was trying on frames at the doctor's office, I just hated seeing those gorgeous eyes and long, dark lashes covered up. It didn't look like "her".
So, yes, I'm losing sleep over this tonight, but God is up with me. Will you please pray for her, too? Pray for her brain to begin using her right eye as it should quickly. Pray for her to adjust to this new normal and be excited about her glasses. We're building it up as much as possible, but some mean kid along the way is going to tell her otherwise and I need that to hold off as long as it can. And, lastly, pray I sleep tomorrow night. Some decent rest would sure would help calm my mama drama. Thanks, y'all.
I took AJ to an eye doctor appointment today. But let me first back up and start the story at the beginning. She failed her basic pediatric eye exam at her four year old physical last July. I took her to Thomas Eye Group in August for a follow-up and, after having us wait for nearly 45 minutes, they did a full exam (mostly done by an assistant tech) and concluded that her eyes were healthy, but the jury was still out on whether she needed corrective lenses for poor vision. They told me to come back in six months for another exam. (Insert a several-month long battle about them billing medical insurance and the subsequent $350 bill we were stuck with, etc. etc.)
Six, er uh, 8.5 months later and after a recent incident where she couldn't read a sign a few feet away, I made an appointment for an optometrist recommended to me by the mother of one of her classmates. The results were far from inconclusive.
In her right eye alone, she is 3x more farsighted than the upper end of the normal range for kids her age. I was completely surprised at that finding as the child loves, loves, loves to read and does so for at least an hour a day during her quiet time.
She also has a significant astigmatism. Because of the difference between the two eyes (both are farsighted, but the right significantly more so), the doctor is concerned she is developing amblyopia, also known as "lazy eye". She is fairly confident that glasses will correct the problem without the need to patch her strong eye. They had to order frames, so we'll go back in a week to choose a pair and then back a week later to get them. Once she gets them she will have to wear them all the time. We'll follow up with the doctor every 6 to 8 weeks for a few months. If significant improvement isn't made quickly, we'll begin patching her strong eye a few hours a day at home.
First and foremost, let me me state that I'm very, very thankful it is not worse. When the doctor first reviewed the pictures of her eyes before the thorough exam, she was shocked and kept telling me how glad she was that we came in when we did (can you imagine my guilt for waiting 2.5 months longer than we should have?) It was a scary worse-case-scenario hour before she reassured me things were manageable.
So that's that. She needs glasses badly and will wear them, or some form of corrective lenses, for the rest of her life unless she gets Lasik at some point.
I am disproportionately and over dramatically bummed about this for a number of reasons. Having gotten glasses at the age of seven, I know this plight well and, frankly, it sucks. I'm concerned about the obvious medical aspect, but feel confident we'll be able to correct it somehow or another without irreversible damage. Beyond that, there's the guilt and sadness that she's been living life like this and doesn't know any different. It makes me cry just thinking about what the world has looked like for her since the day she was born. Add to that the guilt of having guilt, if that even makes sense. Then comes one of the things I do best: worry. I'm worried about her being teased (OH so much), I'm worried about the problem playing sports, I'm worried about the expense, and I'm worried I might do physical harm to the idiots at Thomas Eye Group. And lastly and a bit shamefully, there's a vanity aspect to all of it. When she was trying on frames at the doctor's office, I just hated seeing those gorgeous eyes and long, dark lashes covered up. It didn't look like "her".
So, yes, I'm losing sleep over this tonight, but God is up with me. Will you please pray for her, too? Pray for her brain to begin using her right eye as it should quickly. Pray for her to adjust to this new normal and be excited about her glasses. We're building it up as much as possible, but some mean kid along the way is going to tell her otherwise and I need that to hold off as long as it can. And, lastly, pray I sleep tomorrow night. Some decent rest would sure would help calm my mama drama. Thanks, y'all.
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