Humiliation

I always knew when I became a mom that my kids would embarrass me in public.  What I didn't truly understand was the frequency with which it would happen.

Visit to the Ophthalmologist

I took Madeline to the ophthalmologist Friday afternoon.  It turns out that she is not nearsighted like I though (since she failed her far vision test at school.)  Instead she has astigmatism, primarily in her left eye, and because of that she is developing amblyopia or lazy eye.  I have been doing a bit of research on this and basically amblyopia occurs when one eye does not see as well as the other one.  Because of this, the brain quits relying on the bad eye when processing visual input and if not treated, the brain can eventually actually stop using the bad eye altogether.  She has to get glasses and the doctor hopes that that will solve the problem.  If it doesn't we will have to patch her good eye, which is definitely not appealing. 

So we're trying to decide whether we should go back to the eye doctor we saw yesterday who is not a pediatric specialist, or take her to the eye clinic at Children's.  The guy yesterday did okay with her, but his primary practice is not kids.  Madeline seemed to like him.  I had mixed feelings.  Any thoughts?

Happiness Is

Getting a notice from the school that your 4 year old has failed the school vision test, and you must, by law, take her to get her eyes checked within 60 days.  Now this would normally not suck that much (other than you feel bad that your 4 year old inherited her dad's terrible vision and will likely need glasses).  No, what really sucks about this is that you took said child to the ophthalmologist last November or December to see whether she inherited her dad's terrible eyesight in order to decide whether or not to cover her on your vision insurance and she passed the vision test at that time.  So she's not insured for the eye exam and the glasses she will likely need.  Hooray!

Last week's parenting grade = fail. 

Stuck

Not sure why, but I have felt like I have nothing to say lately.  I considered quitting this blog, but I hate to do that since this is a record of my kids' lives.  Sometimes it seems that nothing very exciting happens to us, but on the other hand, young children are constantly learning and doing new things and that, indeed, is exciting.  So I will try harder to document how they are changing day by day and what our family has been doing.

Madeline is doing well at her school, and seems to be making some friends.  I know she likes her teachers, and enjoys the things they do at school as well as all the things she is learning.  In some ways, the things they are teaching are old hat to her, like the different letters, but I think they do a fantastic job of tying the letter of the week together with other topics that start with that letter.  For instance, the week they did the letter A, they also talked about apples and how they grow from a seed, made applesauce and had the kids taste several kinds of apples and let them vote on their favorite.  That's pretty neat.  They also have formal phys. ed. classes, a library, and music.  Still, all that being said, it will be a tough decision for us if an opening comes up at her daycare in the Pre-K class.

Lindley is talking up a storm, and I think her words are becoming more easily understood.  I still think there's a strong possibility that she'll need some speech therapy.  Cognition is no problem, she just seems to struggle with pronouncing some sounds.  I really need to have her hearing tested again.  She loves to sing, and unfortunately has become a tv junkie at an early age.  I swear she could sit and watch tv all day long if I let her.  So different from Madeline at that age.

I finally finished knitting Lindley's poncho.  The first time I tried to put it on her she yelled no and ran away.  Then I finally got it on her and she immediately took it off.  This happened the second time as well.  So glad I spent umpteen hours on that little project!  Now I'm working on a cardigan for Lindley.  I guess I'm somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 done with it.  I think it's going to be really cute.  I hope to make one for Madeline as well in a coordinating color before we take our Christmas card photos.

Madeline's school had a field trip planned for tomorrow to the pumpkin patch, but that had to be cancelled due to the fact that we've had rain here every day since last Friday.  Unfortunately they could not re-schedule until November 2, but so it goes.  At least we'll be the only people there that day!  Hopefully they will still have some pumpkins left.

Dodging Illness

I sound like a broken record these days. Late last week, the vomiting was going around Lindley's classroom so I kept her out of school on Thursday and Friday to avoid it. She had had a cold that week and seemed to be getting better. Then Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights she kept waking up crying. I had a hunch that she had an ear infection, but I was leery about taking her to the doctor after taking her the last time when she was 100% healthy, and because I figured there are probably some really sick kids at the doctor these days and didn't want to expose her. I finally bit the bullet yesterday and she did indeed have an ear infection in the same ear she had one a few months ago. Apparently that tube is not working. Poor girl.

Today I heard that the sweet baby of someone I know has to flu. He's at Lindley's day care, but not in her room. How long before the virus is running rampant in the day care? I hate to think of all these little sweet children getting sick. It breaks my heart.

On a happier note, Lindley is talking up a storm, which is so much fun. I know that George and I are practically the only ones who understand her, but who cares? She knows lots of animals and their sounds, and how to request many things that she wants.

Yesterday when I took her with me to pick up Madeline at the day care we stopped by Lindley's room and then I told her we were going to go get sister. We got on the elevator and as soon as the doors opened on the second floor Lindley shouted out "Sister!" She was so excited even though her sister was outside in the play gym. So cute. They've also stated giving each other kisses and hugs at bedtime. So sweet.

So the good news is that apparently I don't have rheumatoid arthritis. The bad news is that the doctor I saw really didn't seem to have any idea why my hands are so stiff and achy, and why my feet hurt. He told me that it was probably that I was just achy from having two little kids. I thought that comment was more than a little bit mysoginistic. That might make sense if my shoulders and arms were sore, but not with the problems I'm having. Needless to say, I am not going back to see him. He kind of made me feel like I was losing my mind.

I decided to try taking more vitamin D to see if that helps with the aches and pains. I haven't really noticed any improvement yet. In other health news, I have had a UTI for th past 5 weeks that just won't go away. I'm going to see the urologist tomorrow. The only symptoms I have had is some achiness in the right lower back. That is other than the fever and chills I got when I first came down with it.

The stomach bug has been moving around the daycare center the last couple of weeks. We went to a birthday party a week ago last Sunday and the next day, many of the people who were there ended up getting sick. Not the fault of the party-giver, just one of those things. Anyway, Monday night Madeline got sick, and I kept Lindley home the next day as well becuase I was afraid she was going to get sick, and I didn't want her to do it at school and get other kids sick. I was sick the next day. As the end of the work day neared, I was feeling really nauseated and Lindley kept wanting to sit on my lap and kept pressing into my stomach. By the time George got home I was in a cold sweat and went to lie down. Thank goodness I never threw up, but I had the other half of that particular ailment, which wasn't much fun either. I ended up taking a phenergan which I had left over from the illness I had 5 weeks ago. Then this week, kids in Lindley's room (and her teacher) have started dropping like flies. Sigh. I kept her out today because I was both worried that she was going to get sick today, and that if I wen ahead and sent her, she might catch it yet. And of course she hasn't gotten sick, but who knows! Maybe tonight is our night! I plan to keep her out tomorrow, too, just in case.

So basically all in all this has not really been a great summer. We've had a LOT of illness. It seems like our family gets sick more in the summer than in the winter. I'm ready to have things turn around for us!

Madeline is doing well at her new school. She seems to be settling in and making friends, which makes me happy. She was acting up a lot at home, we think becuase of the stress of the transition. Luckily, knock on wood, things have been better the last few days.

My 4 Year Old

Has another year passed by already? I can't believe I'm the mama of a 4 year old! I'm not going to lie, this year has been full of trials as you have grown older and learned day by day how to better interact with the world around you and the emotions inside you. That being said, I think it has been a great year. You have learned so much and I have learned quite a few things as well. I tell you sometimes, when I think you might be jealous of all the time I have to spend with Lindley because she has so many more needs, that you will always be special to me. I tell you that you were my first baby, and you teach me day by day how to be a mama, and these things will always make you special to me. Not to mention your sparkling, enthusiastic personality, of course! (And your fabulous sense of style.)


This year you have really started to get a grasp of what letters are, the sounds they make, and how they go together to form words. You are not reading yet, but you are truly on the cusp. You can write your own name, which you can spell on your own, without any help. You counted to somewhere in the 80s the other day without help, and you only quit because you were bored with it. You know your address and where your family members live (and where Tallgirl's family members live as well!



In the past year you have really become attached to your friends at school. You tell me with some regularity that your best friend is Ainsley, although you also talk frequently of Layne and Jacey, as well as Riley and Alison. You have said several times this summer that you want to go to a new school, and you got your wish. You started at your pre-k school this week, walking into your new classroom with more confidence than I knew you had. I was really proud of you. It is a neat school, and I think you will love it, but I don't know whether you fully understood before you started that you wouldn't be at school with your old friends anymore. I am sad we will not get to see some of the kids you've been friends with since you were 11 weeks old, and I think you will miss them as well. On the bright side, I'm sure you will make new friends, and we might see some of the old friends when you all get to kindergarten.


As I said, we've had some growing pains this year. Transitions can be hard for you and that is understandable. I imagine it would be difficult to have someone else telling you where you will be going and when you will go there all day long, every day. Sometimes the emotions have bubbled over in a very big way, and that's been hard for both of us. As you've gotten closer to 4, these events have happened less and less frequently and I can say honestly that it's been about 2 months since your last major meltdown, and for that we are all very grateful. I think 4 is going to be a great year for you, and for our family.



Speaking of family, one development of late for you is that you have started to seem interested in your sister. When she was really a baby, I don't think you found much use for her, since she wasn't able to do all the things you can do. Now that she's running around and talking some, you have taken an interest in her and sometimes even try to play with her. It warms my heart to think of you two developing a friendship over time that will last you a lifetime. I tell you sometimes that you need to be nice to your sister, because she's the one who's going to be your friend for life.


You have become interested in God this year, which is interesting to me. You ask questions about death and God and Jesus, and you want to say prayers every night. It's interesting to me to be able to have conversations with you about such big things, and although my answers have to be at the level of a 4 year old, you have grasped much of what you dad and I are teaching you.


We got to go on a few trips this year. We went to Memphis, Chicago, Branson and Kansas. The best trips were the ones where we got to see our family. You got to see your cousin Paige in Branson and Topeka, and we got to see your cousin Thomas in Chicago. I think you really love spending time with your cousins. You are all getting so big now!


During the past year you have also developed a lot physically. You have grown about 6 inches, and have learned to do so much. You took ballet classes at your school, learned to skip, and learned to ride a bike (with training wheels). You took swimming lessons this past summer and really improved a lot during the two weeks of lessons. You have also gotten much more confident when playing at the park, climbing on everything, and swinging by yourself (when you can't con me into pushing you!)


I love you Madeline. Here's to a great year of being 4!

First Day of School

Today was Madeline's first day at her new pre-k school. She woke up twice in the night, so I think subconsiously she was a little nervous, but she seemed really excited to go this morning. She looked so cute in her school uniform I wanted to cry. Photos to be posed later . . . We took her into her new school and into her classroom. She hung up her bag and they had her wash her hands and she sat down at a table to color. She seemed like she was perfectly happy, so I gave her a kiss and George gave her a kiss and Lindley gave her a kiss. Then I asked her if she could give me a hug, or whether she was too busy. "Too busy, Mama." So that was that.

I think she's gong to be fine.

Another New Blog

Okay, well the running didn't turn out so great, but I am very excited to say that I am swimming again. I started a new blog as an exercise journal and personal motivator. It's called Swimming My Way to Fitness. My goal is to lose about 25 pounds in the next 6 to 9 months.