Two days ago Alex informed me that he no longer uses toilet paper to wipe his nose. . .as we bent down to the floor to wipe whatever he had just taken from his nose into the carpet.
He is now the proud owner of his very own box of Kleenex Ultra-Soft Tissue. The elitist snob.
Last night we got together for my brother's birthday. We were sitting around the table after eating our cake (the best chocolate bundt cake in the world, by the way!) and ice cream talking, when I boastfully announced that I never feel bored. Well, today? I'm bored! My arm's hurting, but I don't want to take any Lortab because it totally knocks me out. Great when you're alone. Not so great when you are in the company of a 5 and almost 3 year old. Anyway, I finally got them playing outside with the neighbors. And now I really don't have anything to do! I'm thinking that my pronouncement that I won't be around very much might have been a little premature. As long as my tendonitis doesn't flare up (and who are we kidding, it will if I'm on the computer too much) I'm going to be on here a lot!"
For a short while, yesterday, Alex was dressed up as Tinkerbell (his first time in a dress), but then he settled on Spiderman with Lightning McQueen slippers. Kaitlin donned the hat that came with her first ever Christmas dress when she was about 8 months old, her pleated "cheerleader skirt" and her Hello Kitty slippers. They were playing Halloween, of course. It's a favorite at our house.
{Blurry, but hopefully you get the point. The last surgery looked worse--the doctor weakened his outside eye muscles so the whites of the outside of his eyes were red. You see a lot more of the outside of the eye than the inside, I've discovered. This time he shortened the inside muscles.}
Long title, I know, but it doesn't begin to express my happiness that Jeremy and I decided to contribute money into our health savings plan this year. Well, back up, first things first. A sincere thanks to everyone who expressed concern for Alex's surgery. It helps to know that there are people out there who care about our hardships, even though they are relatively small. He's back to normal now, still with red eyes, but normal. We had a rough go of it for a few days. It makes me wonder if he had more difficulty simply because he's a few months older, or if the experience was really very different physically for him this time around.
{So sad! This is Alex after his surgery. He's awake! He's "watching" a movie, except he couldn't stand to have his eyes open. Do you love his pink polka dot sunglasses?}
If you're just tuning in, my son, Alex has strabismus. In his case, when he tries to focus on distant objects his eyes turn outward. In October he had his first surgery. The effects of the surgery lasted for about a month and then his eyes started to turn out again, at first only a little, and then very quickly, a lot. Fortunately we were seeing his doctor, Dr. Abrams, every 6 weeks to 2 months, so we were able to get back in and do this surgery last week.
{Same day as surgery, just later. He's opened his eyes, but will not take of the sunglasses. Funny, though, how cupcakes could cause such a remarkable recovery! By the next morning, Alex wouldn't open his eyes again. He walked around, well, bumped, his way around the house for two hours until Jeremy restrained him and I wiped his eyes with a warm wash cloth. Problem solved. And he didn't have any bruises to show for his many collisions with our walls!}
So, why am I thankful for the health savings plan? Well, it's nice to get a tax break for saving money toward expenses that we will already have to pay for. Also, it seems to me, in conversations that I or Jeremy have had with other strabismus patients, the third surgery is the one that sticks. Yes, the third surgery. So, I am mentally preparing myself for another go 'round sometime this year. I hope it doesn't happen, but I know the odds, and poor Alex, the odds never work in his favor!
It's been a crazy week! I'm still getting used to life with two kids who have schedules busier than mine. It may kill me by the end of the (school) year, but I still think this preschool is good for Alex and his sensory issues, so we're sticking with it. I feel like I'm getting things under control, so hopefully I'll be a little more regular here, but I know I've made that promise before, and I know it is not a very strong promise. So, we'll see. This is certainly one of the places I really want to be.
Last night were were throttled by a huge snow and wind storm. I was up half the night listening to the wind whipping around my bedroom windows. This morning I am grateful to be sitting by the fire knitting a nice warm scarf for my girl. Even though she just informed me that the scarf I'm making for her is too big and I just pulled the entire thing out to make it half as wide. Oh well. Chunky yarn and big needles make for quick knitting.
Today was Alex's first day of preschool. I enrolled him at American Legacy Montessori yesterday. How excited and nervous I was to drop him off this morning. He's so young--only 2 and a half. But I think this is the right thing to do for him. He has been so restless lately, looking for something that, apparently, I'm not giving him.
I cleared off my camera's memory card yesterday, and thought I'd post a few of the pictures I found there.
These are the booties that I made for my friend Alisha's new baby this week. These are not you grandmother's booties, are they? I bought the pattern for them on Etsy, from Sylver Designs. She has children's and adult sizes in girls' styles. I just might have to make myself a pair of slippers for the winter--when I've finished all of the other crochet projects I've planned!
A rare happy picture of Alex where he isn't doing his cheesy smile. Although I'd describe Alex as a happy child, he sure seems to be unhappy every time I decide to take a picture of him. Also, at about 2 1/2 both of my children have adopted a cheesy smile that they employ only when the camera comes out. Is this normal? Or am I just too in your face with the camera?
Last weekend Alex got his new big boy bed. All he wanted to do is help put it together. Until we bought his bed, he'd been sleeping on a mattress on the floor until I could take pictures of his furniture that we want to sell. I haven't taken any pictures of the bed finished because I have a few things to do to it before it's all the way done. But it's a really cool bed that we got at Ikea. More pictures later.
Kaitlin had the treat bucket at school for Friday. Every time she has to bring treats she wants to bring cupcakes. I almost never let her. Her teacher would prefer healthier snacks and so would I. But since it's the month of Halloween, I decided to let her have her way. This month is all about sweets, right? Inspired by The Gentle Art of Domesticity I provided lots of toppings to add to the cupcakes and let Kaitlin loose. She decorated with candy corn (the traditional and pumpkin shaped ones), sprinkles, Reeses Pieces and mini marshmallows. She had so much fun creating a specific cupcake for each of the kids on her class. Unfortunately she woke up sick the next morning and didn't get to hand them out at school that day. In addition to the cupcakes, I also made slightly healthier crunchy spiders, which were a big hit with the kids. (Link is to the instructions--a fun snack for kids to help make) The only thing I did differently from this recipe is that I used whole stick pretzels instead of breaking them up. These kids get hungry!
This coming week is a busy one for me. Wednesday, Alex is having eye surgery in both eyes to try to correct his strabismus. I'm not too nervous about it--yet. I know his doctor is a talented surgeon. I think the thing that's freaking me out the most is to see him under anasthesia. He's such an active little guy, even in his sleep, that utter stillness will seem unreal. That and the fact that he'll probably have to have the surgery again. Children generally have to have the procedure done more than once. I'm also slightly terrified of the recovery period. I know from experience that Alex is a trooper. His broken arm didn't slow him down for a minute. But eyes are a different matter altogether. Fortunately my mom's coming to help me through the insanity. So, I'll be checking in from time to time, but since I can forsee a week of sitting on the couch watching Monster Sink (Monsters Inc.--that's how Alex says it!) and BuzzBuzz (Toy Story) I don't think I'll have much of interest to say.
Have you ever had one of those weeks when everything goes wrong? Last week was one of those weeks for me, beginning with our second trip to the emergency room on two months. This time it was Kaitlin's turn. She slipped of the kitchen drawers she was climbing and slammed her chin into the countertop. Three stitches and a Barbie later, she was in bed,, happy as a clam, and already talking about when she would get her stitches out.
